Need You Now

Chapter 2

AN: Not much to say here. Enjoy!


Dean didn't even bother putting the cap back on the whiskey bottle. He was on his third shot and wasn't planning on stopping anytime soon. He wanted to drown his thoughts in amber liquid. It was better than knowing she was an hour away from him and there was nothing he could do about it.

The eldest Winchester was currently stretched out on the motel room bed, bottle in one hand, remote in the other, the television blaring out some sitcom. He and Sam were working a case in Holly's home state. At first Sam was hesitant to even be so close to her town, knowing the effect it had on Dean. But the ever persistent older brother said no, it was fine, they should take the case because that's what they did, right? Hunted things? Family business and all that crap?

"Family business my ass," Dean muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Sam said, pushing his arms through the sleeves of his jacket.

"Nothing," Dean said. He glanced over at Sam. "You going somewhere?"

"Yeah, food. Need a break from the research and haven't had anything since this morning. Wanna come? There's a bar and grill across the road."

"Nah, it's fine. Think I'll stay here and enjoy…whatever the hell this is." Dean waved the whiskey bottle at the television.

"Alright well just…be careful."

Dean frowned. "Of what? I've only had three shots, it takes a lot more than that to get me drunk, Sammy-"

"That's not what I meant," Sam said and sighed. "With Holly so close by, I know it's been hard on you."

"What?" Dean scoffed. "Give me a break. I'm fine."

"Oh come on, Dean, you've been moping for two days now, ever since we got here. And I know it's because of her."

"Holly dumped me, Sam, remember?"

"Yeah and I also remember how messed up you were after that. She made it very clear to stop trying to contact her. So no drunk dialing, okay?"

"Would you quit worrying? I'm fine!" Dean repeated.

"You say that but-"

"Sam, I mean it," Dean warned, his voice low. He swiveled his head to the left and glared at his brother. "Don't."

Sam huffed out a defeated sigh. "Fine, man, whatever. I'll be back later." The door slammed loudly behind him and Dean was met with the hum of the television. He gazed at the door and couldn't stop wishing that she would walk through it. She always had a smile on her face. He loved the way her lips curved up, how bright and bubbly her laugh was. It was one of the things he missed the most. After the breakup, Dean became listless for a while. He threw himself into cases without a second thought, putting himself and Sam in danger, who always came chasing after his big brother. Dean thought that if he buried himself in working that he wouldn't have time to think about her. It worked for the most part. Until those nights came that he had had one too many drinks, and then his mind swam with nothing but memories of her. The two of them together, laying on the couch, eating dinner, having pie at the diner. Those moments in time were going to be branded into Dean forever. Eventually he got to a place where thinking of her didn't hurt so much but now, in this town, he was slowly spiraling. He hoped to God that this case ended soon so they could get the hell out.

Dean wasn't sure how long he sat in that position on the bed. Everything was sort of blurring together. By now he had lost all interest in the show and instead his mind wandered to the last time he saw her.


Five months prior, Dean and Sam were tracking a small nest of vamps in a forest in Minnesota. Despite the chill in the air and the snow on the ground they trudged on, determined to take out every last one of them. The boys quietly discussed tactics on the best way to round them up. Being so out in the open with nothing around for miles made the Winchesters nervous. There wasn't enough cover and the Impala was parked miles away in the opposite direction. Dean hoped they had stuffed enough dead man's blood syringes in their pockets. These particular vamps were nasty sons of bitches, especially the mate of the leader, whom Dean sliced and diced mere hours before. She was hell bent on revenge.

They came upon a small clearing, just a smattering of tall oak trees here and there, a wide patch of untouched, freshly fallen snow all around. When the vamps attacked, they practically came out of nowhere. Dean saw the hatred flare in the female vamp's eyes as she lunged for him, arms out and teeth bared. He threw up his machete in front to protect himself, but she pushed him back. The two of them fought while Sam did his best to hold off the others. Suddenly she caught Dean off guard, knocked the machete out of his hand, and shoved him roughly by the shoulders until his back hit the nearest tree.

"Dean!" Sam shouted. The other two male vamps grabbed his arms and held him back as he tried to lunge for his brother.

"Guess you're pretty pissed at me, huh?" Dean smirked. She growled viciously. "That's what happens when you kill innocent people. Your lover goes bye bye."

"Maybe I should level out the playing field. Give your baby brother a little taste," she spat. Dean frowned. "I know exactly who you are, Winchester, I'm not an idiot. I've been around long enough to hear the stories. I also know how far you're willing to go to protect Sam. Maybe I should just kill him instead of turning him. Let you feel what I'm feeling."

Dean chuckled. "Any of those stories you heard mention how we've literally come back from death more than once? You can try and kill us but we'll find our way out eventually."

Her already vice like grip on his shoulders tightened. She leaned in close to his ear. "Then I'll just have to-" She paused, inhaled sharply, and pulled away. "My what a pleasant scent you have on that jacket."

Dean stiffened. "The hell are you talking about?"

"It's so light and pure," she practically buried her nose into the lapels of his jacket and he recoiled in disgust. "It's not yours or your brother's scent. Someone new, perhaps?" He glared daggers at her and refused to speak but his mind sparked and he remembered. It smelled like Holly. He was with her all day yesterday and she walked around the park wearing it because she was cold. She wore it back to the house and while she cooked dinner and watched TV that night. It didn't leave her body until that morning. "Interesting. Your heartbeat and your breathing have both increased. Your pupils are dilating. Is it someone you care about?" She was smirking now, almost giddily.

"Shut up."

"Oooh I think I've struck a nerve!" She taunted. "Come on, Dean, who is it?"

"Go to hell," Dean growled menacingly. He would never give Holly up, not in a million years.

"You boys up for a road trip?" She turned to her two male companions. They grinned wickedly and nodded. "Guess we need to pay this person of yours a little visit."

Dean struggled against his captor. "Don't you dare!"

"See you real soon, Dean."

Before he even had time to react, she hauled back and punched him square in the jaw. He fell to the ground in a heap, giving all three vamps the opportunity to sprint away. Sam cursed, rushed over as quick as he could to Dean, and they tightly grasped each other's arm. Sam pulled his brother up in one quick move.

"You alright?" Sam asked. Dean shook his head and blinked several times to force away a dizzy spell.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing his jawline, wincing at the tender spot that was sure to bruise over the next day. "Fucking bitch. Come on, Sam, we gotta go, she's after Holly."

They started their trek back to the Impala at a jog. Dean was thankful that they were hours away from where she lived but vampires were considerably faster on foot, especially when tracking prey. Once they reached the car they threw their machetes into the backseat. Dean started it up and peeled out. He fumbled for his phone and tossed it to Sam, indicating that he wanted his brother to call her.

"Straight to voicemail."

"Shit. Try again."

"Dean-"

"Try again, Sam!" But it still went to voicemail. Maybe she was in class and her phone was off. "Text her then. Tell her to stay at school and I'll meet her there." He hoped she would get that in time. Otherwise…he didn't want to think about what could happen to her.

He pressed his foot harder to the gas pedal.

A few minutes to nine that night and Dean was driving by the school. All of the lights were off and he didn't see her car. So he made a u-turn and headed straight to her house. The Impala slowed to a crawl and he parked in front of another house a few feet away. Sam jumped out before the engine cut to stealthily make his way over, machete back in his hand. Dean followed from behind and together they crept silently up the driveway.

He heard them before he saw them. All three were in her living room, shouting and laughing. He poked his head up to look through the front window and they started knocking picture frames off the walls, books from their shelves, breaking lamps and the television set. He crouched back down and turned to Sam.

"I'll take the front and you come around the back in case they try to run for it."

"Did you see Holly?"

"No," Dean shook his head. "Hopefully she got away and she's hiding somewhere. Let's make this quick, I don't want her finding out what we actually do."

They nodded at each other and Sam took off around the back of the house. As soon as Dean made it to the front steps, he heard shrieks so thinking it was her, he all but kicked the door down. He rushed through, machete raised for action, and nearly tripped over a freshly sliced vampire head.

"What the-" He halted in his tracks when he saw her, standing above the fallen vamps wielding a rather large machete in her right hand, blood spray on her blouse and trousers. "Holly?"

"Dean! What-what are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't be back until later!"

"I was trying to save you from them," he pointed to the headless vamps. "But apparently you already took care of that."

"Uh yeah," she said, tossing her weapon to the floor. "I can explain-"

"Are you a hunter?"

Her eyes widened. "No! I'm not-I mean I was but-Wait a second, are you a hunter?"

Dean lowered his weapon and sighed. "I didn't want you to find out like this-"

"Oh God," she groaned. "Out of all the men I could have met, it figures that I would choose a hunter."

Sam came around the corner and stopped. He took in Dean and Holly's positions and the blood on her clothes. "Whoa. What happened here?"

"She's a hunter."

"No, I'm not-"

"You have the knife, you knew how to kill the vamps, yeah I'd say you are!" Dean argued.

"It's more complicated than that, Dean."

"Oh well please, fill me in on what you've been hiding from me for the last year-"

"You never told me either!" She shouted in disbelief. "I should've known. 'Traveling for work' should have been the first clue. I can't believe I missed that!"

"I'm gonna go…" Sam trailed off, looking extremely uncomfortable being a witness to the argument. Neither Dean nor Holly noticed his absence after he left.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Dean said quietly. He wasn't angry at her, he was surprised. Actually it was a relief knowing that this was out in the open and he didn't have to hide it from her anymore.

"The same reason you didn't tell me," she said, shrugging. "I thought you were this normal guy and if I told you about my past, you'd freak out."

"Yeah, I guess that was my reason too." He rubbed the back of his head. Her head was bowed and her gaze was averted.

"You have to go, Dean. I'll take care of the bodies but I need you to go."

"What? Why?"

She walked up to him, grabbed his by the front of his jacket, and kissed him fiercely. His empty left hand gripped the back of her neck and pulled her closer to him. She broke away and he was startled to see tears rolling down her cheeks. "Holly, what's wrong?"

"I can't be with you anymore. I'm sorry, you have to go," she repeated with a sob. Dean's stomach clenched.

"I don't understand."

"I'm breaking up with you. It's over. Please leave."

"No, what-this doesn't make any sense. Holly, what's going on? Talk to me!" He tried to take her hand but she snatched it away quickly.

"You're a hunter. I can't be with you. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it has to be." Tears continued to flow down her face. Dean felt like someone sucker punched him straight to the stomach and knocked the wind out of him. She gripped his arm and started pushing him back through the door, forcing him out.

"No no no, please, Holly, please. I can't lose you." He started to panic. What did she mean? Why would she say that?

"Goodbye, Dean. Don't call me anymore." She had him on the front porch before he could blink. She didn't look at him as she shut the door. The lock clicked into place and Dean merely stood there, a glaze coming over his eyes, staring back at the door. Sam came over apprehensively with his hands in his jacket pockets.

"God, Dean, are you okay?" Apparently he had heard the entire thing.

"She didn't mean that. She can't have, why would she do that? Holly!" Dean yelled, pounding on the door. He continuously shouted her name until Sam had to pull him away. He struggled against Sam's grasp as he tried to reach out, to get back to her, but it was useless. Sam was too strong. He was sternly telling Dean that they needed to leave before someone decided to call the police for noise disturbance. Without a word he slumped into the front seat of the Impala and Sam drove them quickly out of the neighborhood. Dean's mind reeled all the way to the interstate. Why would him being a hunter affect their relationship?

Neither of them said a word until they were a state away and pulling into a motel parking lot. Once checked into their room, Dean immediately called her, texted her, left her voice mails pleading to call him back. But over the course of several days that slowly turned into weeks and then eventually into months, he heard nothing. It was like she disappeared off the face of the Earth. And inside, Dean shattered. Never again would he hear her voice. Hear her laugh. Touch her face, her body, run his fingers through her hair. Kiss her lips…


Dean awoke abruptly. The room was dark except for the dimly lit lamp on his bedside table. The television was off and his whiskey bottle was on the table, capped. Sam was sleeping soundly in the next bed. What time was it? Dean stretched and reached for his phone. It was almost one-thirty in the morning. He stared at the screen and wondered what she was doing at this very moment-

Suddenly the phone began vibrating in his hand and it lit up with her number.

He froze. She couldn't be calling him. It had to be a trick, maybe aftereffects from the alcohol. He took a deep breath and answered it anyway.

"Yeah."

"…Dean?"

Holy hell. His heart beat wildly in his chest.

"Holly?"