Moonlight 4

I couldn't reach any of my contacts, so I left messages on Ian and Eli's voice mails. Hopefully one of them was relatively near by. Sam answered on the first ring, obviously worried since he hadn't heard from his brother in over a day. I explained what happened, told him where we were, and then passed on Dean's request for him to help us with my problem. We spoke at length about some of his various experiences, and he told me how he and his brother had dealt with them. We were soon trading hunting stories, and by the time we hung up I felt much better about asking the Winchester's for help. I'd been sure I was a lost cause ever since that thing had wandered out of my dreams and into the bathroom, but Sammy had given me hope. Just talking to someone that knew my experience calmed me considerably.

Scouting around from my higher vantage point, I discovered there was a trail down below along side the river. I was guessing, but it looked like it could run back to the road in one direction, and to the cabin in the other. I made my way downhill through the brush and went to investigate.

...I made it back to the cabin quite a while later, finding Dean asleep with a book on his chest and others scattered around him on the bed. The sun would be going down soon. There was a chill in the air, so I brought in some wood for the fireplace. I poured a line of salt all around the bathroom, then went outside and added a line completely around the cabin for good measure. No stupid spook was gonna ruin MY magic bathtub time ever again.

After my bath, I'd dressed, combed out my long hair, and coaxed a fire out the wood in the fireplace. I was curled up on the couch, staring dreamily into the flames when Dean sat down next to me. "Hi there." I looked over at him.

"Hey. Why didn't you wake me up?"

I just smiled. "I was throwing wood around in here. I'm guessing a Transformer could have stepped on your head and it wouldn't have woke you up. You needed the rest."

He got up and stretched, wincing a little, then grabbed a bottle of water and sat back down next to me. "I guess. How's Sammy?" He took the cap off and offered it to me.

I shook my head. "He's completely adorable. We talked for quite a while."

Dean rolled his eyes at me. "You fallin' for my little brother? You haven't even seen him yet. He's not half as good-lookin' as me."

I returned the eye roll. "Looks aren't everything. But no, sadly enough, I think he's too young for me."

"Huh? You look his age." He seemed genuinely confused.

"You're sweet, but I'm probably older than you." I watched for his reaction a little too carefully. I'd already had this talk with myself. NO hooking up! It wasn't fair to anybody.

He shrugged. "Age isn't everything, either." He took a long pull off the water.

Good answer. But it didn't matter. "Oh! He had a message for you. He said to tell you... he's very glad to help, and that you should get real and take care of yourself better. I told him you kept trying to pull your stitches out." I'd barely started the last sentence and his eyes widened. Suddenly he was choking on the water.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Damn. Went down the wrong pipe. Now what did Sam say? Exactly?"

I gazed at him suspiciously. "Code word you weren't expecting?"

"What? No. What are you talking about? I just didn't hear you. What'd Sammy say again?"

I repeated myself and watched closely. He managed to keep his expression the same for a second, but then had to look away. "That Sam…"

"What's goin' on, Dean?"

"Nothin'… Shit. All right. There was a code word. Sam went on ahead to do some research in the next town because we're working a case, kind of a big one. I don't want to go into detail, but he just told me - through you - that he was onto something big. Did he say when he might be done?"

"Two or three more days. He said that would give you time to settle in and get well."

His eyebrows shot up in the air and his eyes went all big again. He cleared his throat. "Okay."

I was sure Sam had dropped another code in there. He knew Dean would, of course, ask how long the research would take him in town. I was familiar with the whole code word thing, having teamed up with my brothers on occasion. Sometimes you just didn't need anyone else knowing what you were up to. Dean's reaction just seemed a bit off to me. I reminded myself I was like Mulder, looking for conspiracy theories everywhere and decided it was none of my business. Move on, girl. "Let me take a look at your stitches and make sure everything's ok."

He obligingly laid back and lifted his shirt for me. "How about you? Did you find a ride?"

I pulled the tape holding the gauze pad from his skin and looked underneath, moving close to see in the dying light from outside. "No. Nobody would answer. It was kinda weird." His stitches looked good, with no indication of infection. "Can you stand up so I can see the one in your back?"

He stood with his back to me and raised his shirt. "Am I gonna make it, Doc?"

This wound looked fine too. "As long you stay down. Let me put some fresh bandages on." I went to the bin and got some out, along with the tape. "You're not dyin' on my watch."

He smiled. "So you've sewn up your brothers? Is that why you know how to do that stuff?"

I nodded. "Dad taught me."

"Are you the baby, then?"

I nodded again, finishing up his back. We both sat back down on the couch.

"How many brothers?"

"Four living. Ian, Eli, Jake, and Jesse. William died about 8 months ago." It still hurt enough to bring tears to my eyes.

"I'm sorry. Was he on a hunt?" Dean's voice was soft.

I shook my head. "Well. Kind of. Iraq. Jake's still there."

He was silent for a minute. "My – Dad… died not long ago." He struggled to get the words out.

I immediately felt terrible for saying anything about Will. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring up bad memories." I laid a hand on his arm.

"It's ok. Sam says I never dealt with it." He put his hand over mine as he stared into the fire. "It wasn't so hard to say this time. I think it helps that we - saw him again."

I turned to him, surprised. "Did you seriously? When? I mean – you don't have to tell me." I felt like I was invading his privacy.

He paused for a full minute. "It was when the whole thing went down with the yellow-eyed demon. See, when Dad died, the demon – well, he ended up in hell. Dad, I mean... He got out that night, before we got the doors shut again. He was there, and he was so happy and proud of Sammy and me………He just smiled, then there was all this white light and he disappeared." He was quiet, remembering.

"Dean, that's so incredible! To have the privilege of seeing him go into the light - to just SEE him one more time! Everyone wishes for that when they lose someone they love." I was genuinely thrilled for him.

"I never thought about it like that before." He gave me a sad smile. "Yeah. It was… good."

I needed to change the subject. "When did you start hunting? Were you really young, too?"

He nodded. "Dad had me shooting when I was 4, I think. I guess we both were really weird kids, huh?"

"Totally abnormal. But I didn't know it at the time. Do you feel like you grew up too fast?"

He nodded.

We peppered each with questions, laughed and sympathized with each other about our crazy times growing up. Hiding the truth from kids and teachers at school, the incredible burden of knowing what we knew and the feelings of being such an outcast in the normal world……

………I woke up to see sunshine streaming through the window, making bright square patterns on the rug. The angle of light told me it was still early morning. The fire was out, but embers were still glowing hot in the fireplace. I was incredibly comfortable and warm under the bedspread. I stayed very still, wanting to enjoy the rare feeling and savor the knowledge that I didn't have to get up and race off anywhere on a desperate hunt for a lead in some case I was working. The only case I had right now was my own.

We'd talked all night. I remembered Dean waking me and telling me to get to bed when the sun was just beginning to rise. I'd stumbled over here; he'd pulled the covers up over me and padded back to the couch. I'd gone to sleep after watching him sit and stare into the flames for a minute or two, yellow firelight flickering across his face. He wasn't there now, and the slow, sleepy realization of why I was so comfortable and warm drifted over me. I looked down and saw that his arm was around my waist, the other slid under my neck, his hard chest pressed against my back as we spooned. A little voice in the back of my mind was screaming "Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!" but the rest of my brain overpowered it and told it to shut the HELL up. I just wanted to stay right here, warm and cozy next to this man for as long as possible. A sigh escaped me as I faced the fact that I had it pretty bad for him. I was supposed to be able to control these things, damn it. I understood the hilarity of that as soon the thought popped into my head. Even a life of strategy and gathering clues, keeping your poker face on when danger was near, and my own annoying habit of over thinking everything - it didn't prepare you for any of this romantic crap. I sighed again. This called for another level of honesty.

His whisper made me jump. "You awake?"

I could feel him tensing up against me. I nodded and skimmed my hand down his arm around my waist, lacing my fingers through his in answer.

"That mean you're not gonna shoot me?" He was still whispering.

I laughed and matched his tone. "No shooting."

He gathered me up in his arms, pulling me closer. I felt a kiss in my hair and he relaxed back into the pillows.

"Go back to sleep." He murmured. "You were up late."

"So were you." I reminded him.

"I slept all day."

He had a point. I was still dead tired. I let myself drift back to sleep.

…………………………………….Suddenly I was sliding across a slick mat of dead leaves, small shrubs and overgrowth reaching out of the gloom to snag in my hair and rip into my flesh. An abrupt stop against a stone wall drew a grunt from me as I felt something in my wrist snap. To my horror I could hear the creature coming straight for me at full speed. Apparently I'd miscalculated. Ignoring the pain, I reached for my gun and scrambled up to my feet. No gun! I took half a second to look around frantically, then hurdled the low stone barrier and landed in a run while I grabbed for my knife. It was there! I pulled it and the blade, glittering in the moonlight, immediately fell to the earth as searing pain shot through my hand and halfway up my arm. Shit!! Wrong hand!! Way beyond terrified now, I slid to a halt and did a 180 just as a bunch of needle-like teeth and talons preceded a pair of glowing red eyes over the fence at me. I ducked but it was too late and I shrieked as my chest was punctured and it's weight knocked me back flat on the ground. It shoved its talons in me as deep as they'd go, then delicately pulled them out and licked them clean of my blood as I watched in revulsion and pain. I had trouble breathing as it sat on my hips and I was paralyzed, unable to move or tear my eyes away from it. When its claws were clean it smiled and ripped open my shirt with one razor-edged talon. The thing lowered its face to lick the blood steadily oozing from the holes it had punched in my chest and I ordered myself to MOVE but just lay there frozen and powerless and hysterical on the inside. It took its time, relishing my blood like a wine connoisseur and I began feeling cold and weak. I looked beyond it, and to my shock I saw that a large group of these things had gathered and were jostling each other as if trying to get the best place in line! The creature on top of me noticed them too, and reluctantly stood; stepping aside to let four others surround me. They raised their talons and I tried to scream and –

"Six!"

I heard his voice and turned blindly toward it. I felt something grab me and automatically resisted.

He released me. "It's just a dream!"

I struggle to get control and finally did, finding myself standing near the front door. I looked over at him, confused.

He gave me a dramatic "hell if I know" look. "When Sammy has visions he just sits up in bed and kinda gasps like a fish. You were as close to airborne as I've ever seen a human get. You know how Fred Flintstone would be like hanging in the air with his legs moving then he would take off like a shot? Yeah. That was you."

"Funny." It was actually a little amusing.

He shrugged, watching me. "Made you smile. Come 'ere." He sat back down on the bed.

I joined him, my hands still shaking.

"Tell me." He'd been going through books again, and I saw that several were book marked now.

"It stuck its claws in my chest and then l-l-licked them off." I shuddered, remembering the feeling of its coarse tongue on me. "Then it tore my shirt off and – and licked the b-blood off me. Then I was a freaking smorgasbord for all of its dumb-assed buddies." Now I was getting mad. It had basically passed me around like I was a tub of KFC thighs and drumsticks. Not cool. I felt sharp pain and looked down at my chest, not believing what I saw. Blood was staining under my shirt. "Dean!"

He saw it, his eyes widened, and then he rather comically had a moral dilemma; reaching to pull up my shirt, then pulling his hands away like it was on fire. "Do you – can I -? I mean I won't – Shit. It's not like I haven't seen it." His hands had been dancing around and now he gave up and just grabbed the fabric, pulling it up over my bra. I raised my arms for him and he smoothly finished removing it, throwing it behind us on the bed. We both stared at my chest. There were 10 identical puncture holes in an arc across the top of my breasts, each bleeding lightly. I groaned and went numb, falling back on the bed.

He went to the bathroom and returned with a cloth run under cold water, then began dabbing the blood away. "They're not deep. Shouldn't bleed long."

I swallowed and tried to nod. "I'm a lot of fun to hang out with, huh?" I muttered sarcastically.

"I've had worse times." He got the last of the blood off of me and went quiet.

I opened my eyes and caught him staring intently at the area below the holes in my chest.

He looked up, caught my eyes and non-plussed, lowered his gaze to my rack again. "Nice."

"You're taking advantage of a situation."

He didn't look away. "What's your point? Did you expect me to NOT look now that I know you're not bleeding to death?"

I felt a hard kick from my conscience, reminding me that I'd done the same thing to him. But I hadn't looked at private stuff, I argued with myself.

A slow smile spread across his face as my nipples turned traitor, enjoying the attention. They were standing up and announcing that they were damned glad to meet him.

I watched as his eyes softened, wandering down and then back up my body to my face. I knew he was going to kiss me. Oh. My. God. That look in his eyes. I instantly understood what those women had been talking about when they said you'd give him anything he wanted. At the moment I was thinking I'd give up my beloved Harley and throw in a billion dollars worth of muscle cars just to get him naked. Wait. That was what I wanted. But did I want to be one of those women? I already knew the answer to that. If I were just something fun to him, I would get my feelings hurt. I already liked him and I was old-school - I preferred not to give it up unless it meant something. I had to be honest. That's just the way I rolled. I battled for sanity.

He sighed and sat back. "Looks like you're trying to make a decision."

"Yes!" I grabbed onto the lifeline eagerly. "I need to, um, tell you something." This was dangerous territory, and also a proving ground. He could very well run like hell when he heard my secret.