Months later
Sam's phone rang while he was at the wheel of the Impala. Casting an eye at the display he saw it was Melody and took the call.
"Hey Melody, how's it going?"
Dean watched his brother blush slightly as he spoke on the phone and could tell Melody was flirting with him again. They spoke for a couple of minutes but traffic was starting to build so he passed over the phone to Dean
"Barbie-Doo!"
"Derek!"
They always greeted each other that way. Melody had mistakenly called him Derek at some point and remembered how it irritated him. Dean swore he would call her Barbie-Doo until she ditched the pink camper van.
They spoke for a while, Melody asking for advice on a case. Ever since the job they did together in Nebraska they had stayed in touch. It turned out both girls were pretty handy in a fight.
Sam and Dean had hoped their little encounter with the vengeful spirit in Royale, Nebraska would have proven that the girls were totally unsuitable to the lifestyle. Unfortunately they had some skills and more importantly the balls to walk into a fight when they didn't really know what they were walking into.
Melody had been right when she said her cousin was fearless. Libby had walked around the abandoned factory like it was a well visited ghost train. She barely flinched at whatever the spirit threw at her.
After Nebraska Libby had returned to the mission of destroying the demon that killed her mother. Finding people she could trust had been the key. Sam had given her Garth's number as well as their own.
Back in the car Dean ended the phonecall as he always did. Telling the girls to take care.
3 days after that
"Thank you for talking to us Mrs Harris, We'll let you know if we find anything out" Sam said and then turned to his brother who was already pulling at his neck tie. Playing FBI agents was all good and well but they weren't suit people. Dean always felt like he was on the way to being strangled with one of them on.
They turned to walk away from Mrs Harris and her personal tragedy, taking in what she had said and trying to piece together their latest puzzle. No more than a half dozen steps away from the house and Dean's phone rang.
He gave a side smile at the name on the caller ID. "It's Mel" he said turning to Sam and putting the phone to his ear.
"Dean!".
The smile on his face dropped instantly. All she had needed to say was his real name and he knew something was wrong.
"Where are you?" he said and his brother watched him look up to the skies mentally calculating the length of the journey to meet her.
"Ok, sit tight, I'm on my way." he instructed and hung up the phone, looking over to Sam
"It's Mel and Libby, We gotta go to Buffalo" he said pulling the tie completely off.
"Dean we're in the middle of a case we cant just….."
"This is more important!" Dean barked
"There have been six dead bodies, if we leave now there's probably going be a whole lot more" Sam said trying to reason with his brother
The two were set in a stand off, both staring silently waiting for the other to back down.
Dean hated when his brother was the voice of reason. He knew they couldn't leave the current situation, it was a mess and the monster needed to be ganked fast. But Dean felt a need to help those two girls, he couldn't explain his reasoning, he just needed to.
"Another hunter must be near to their location, we should call someone and let them check on the girls" Sam added, again a good sensible idea. Dean put his cell to his ear.
"Garth! Where are you right now?" he asked and Sam smiled glad that his brother was seeing sense.
"Good, I need you to come down here and help Sammy out on a case. Something has come up and I've got to split" Dean said watching the expression change on his brothers face.
"Why do you have to be the one to go?" his brother yelled, anger obvious in his tone.
"Because I feel responsible. A few months ago we were all sat in a bar listening to the blonde say she was all for quitting. Then I suggest they join us on a hunt and after that she's back on board" Dean explained shaking his head at his own stupidity.
"They made their own choices Dean, they are adults not kids" Sam tried to argue, but he knew his brother too well and the stubborn guilt he felt in not being able to save everyone.
Garth showed up just over an hour later and Dean was in the car driving across country within seconds of receiving his obligatory hug from his weedy-looking friend.
"Goddamn it" Dean cursed as he threw his phone across the passenger seat with rage. He'd been trying both girls cell phones every 15 minutes for the past two hours and had no response. He put his foot down on the gas and prayed he'd make it in time.
The sun was rapidly setting when he arrived at the address Melody had hastily given him over the phone, Dean stood in the centre of the kitchen of an old abandoned farmhouse. The place was covered in blood and the girls were nowhere to be found.
He had no clue where to look next. Thoughts whirled around his head and he crouched down to the floor cursing while trying to calm himself enough to find order in his mind. Luckily one idea rose above the rest as he once again looked around at all the blood. Someone was hurt bad and the best bet would have been to go to the hospital.
Dean drove a little way until he found a decent cell/wifi signal then set about searching databases and scanners for anything that could match his girls. After a good forty minutes he found something hopeful down at the city hospital.
"Hey, my name is Detective Ramis and I'm here to see a couple of girls that came in some hours ago. Tall brunette and small blonde?" Dean said flashing is badge at the hospital front desk. He added a little pout and leaned over the desk towards the nurse who was staring at his badge. Dean wasn't above using his sexuality to help him get what he needed.
The nurse obliged and took him through a number of corridors until they arrived at the room. Dean stood by the doorway and looked in at the body laying motionless in the bed. The nurse left him alone and he tentatively took a step towards the beeping machines, tubes and wires that seem to surround the girl.
The sight made him feel sick. Libby looked barely recognisable lying so still and so pale.
"She's not long been out of surgery" a voice said behind him.
He knew it was Melody but she sounded so forlorn, Dean turned and saw a battered and bruised version of the tall feisty girl he had come to know. Even though she looked like she'd gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson his heart lifted knowing that she was stood there on her own steam and not in a bed like her cousin.
"What the hell happened?" Dean asked and watched her walk over to the bed and stare at Libby.
"The demon found us. The one that killed my aunt. All these years we've been trying to track it down and in the end it came and found us" she began.
Dean listened as she continued.
"It seems getting pally with a Winchester suddenly lights you up on the radar. The monster couldn't have cared less about us before, but now…Well we had seemed a little more threatening" Dean noted she used past tense on her last statement.
Melody faced away from Dean, he could see her grip the edges of the bed. She was such a tough thing and never let anyone see her cry but he could tell she was going to struggle this time.
"They don't know if she'll make it, the son of a bitch broke her back. It came out of nowhere and we didn't have a chance" she said and Dean could hear the break in her voice.
He let her just be for a minute. A little time to find composure, but composure wasn't to be found. Her shoulders went first then her head dipped forward, lastly it was her inability to speak. Emotions had got the better of Melody and she couldn't stop herself from breaking down.
"Hey!…Mel!… Hey! Dean said lightly, moving towards her and placing a hand on her shoulder. Melody tried to shrug him off but he kept coming. She turned away the closer he became refusing to let him see her cry.
In the end Dean couldn't take it any more and pulled her around. He wrapped his arms around her as she fell against his chest. Heavy sobs accompanied the tears that he felt against his heart. Dean did his best to comfort her but there was nothing that could be said to ease her pain.
"I can't lose her, she's all I have. I just don't know what to do" Melody sobbed into Dean's T-Shirt.
There was despair to her voice and her legs seem to give way a little. Dean helped her slowly down to the floor until they were both sat on the ground, legs entangled in each others. He held her close feeling utterly helpless whispering pointless words of comfort.
Greens and Pinks swirled around like gentle breezes. Melody knew she was dreaming. She'd had the dream so many times. It came to help her when life got a little too much. The colours always preceded the feeling of sanctuary. Those shades wrapped around her leaving only calm and security. Melody let the sensation wash over her, until she felt at peace but something was different. That familiar feeling of security felt more physical than before. The colours grasped a little tighter than usual. It forced her to wake from the world she was inhabiting.
Opening her eyes she found the source of the extra calm. Dean Winchester still had his arms wrapped around her. Melody realised she must have cried herself asleep, something she could quite easily do again after hearing the beeping of Libby's monitors.
Lifting her eyes up to his face Melody saw a peaceful looking guy. His eyes closed and breathing even. The pair of them were still tangled together on the floor. She wondered how long they had been there.
Being so close to the surly warrior suddenly gave her an unexplained urge to kiss him. His lips were mere inches away from hers. If she was careful Melody believed she could lightly press her lips against his just for a second without him noticing.
She reached up staring at those perfect pink lips and softly tasted them. The sensation made heat momentarily run across her skin. They were a little dry from the AC and she could taste alcohol there too. Melody held her lips there for a little longer than intended then pulled away, instantly wanting to do it again, but to her shock she found him staring straight at her.
Her breath seemed to freeze in her throat realising he wasn't asleep just resting. Neither seemed able to move with shock at what had happened.
Eventually her brain suddenly kicked into gear and she pulled her self away from him. Managing to get to her feet.
"I'm so sorry Dean, I don't know why I did that, please forgive me" she begged starting to become distressed. Honestly unaware of why she had just kissed him.
" I asked you here to help me and instead I tried to kiss you. How could I do that while my cousin is fighting for her life?" she shouted a little disgusted by her own behaviour.
Silently Dean rose to his feet, his expression was serious and a little dark. She found it impossible to work out what he was thinking. What was he thinking? He took a step towards her but a sound stopped them both.
Melody looked up to see Sam standing in the doorway. She ran to the door throwing her arms around him, using him to hide her embarrassment over what just happened.
Sam's presence lifted the tension in the room. They sat and talked for a good half hour covering every detail of the girls ordeal. The main concern was that the demon could come back and finish what it started, and that wouldn't end well while the girls were so weak.
"I've booked in at a motel a couple of miles down the road" Sam said
"That's good I think you should take Mel there and the both of you get some rest. I'll stay here and watch over Libby " Dean suggested but Sam just looked at him in disbelief.
"Dean! you haven't slept for over two days, you are the one who needs to rest. I'll stay here, you two go back to the motel" he ordered his brother.
Dean conceded and shared a quick glance of acceptance with Melody.
'Great' she thought. That wont be awkward at all.