The Chosen – Chapter 10

"Do we know why Cas's mojo didn't work on Zara last night?"

Dean looked up as his brother strode into Bobby's study; he could see the anxiety and tension radiating from him as he stopped in front of Bobby's desk looking down at the two men and the angel.

"Good morning to you to sunshine." Dean replied with a grin, unrepentant as his brother sent him a look which said he was clearly not in the mood to joke around.

Ignoring his brother; Sam turned to Castiel and Bobby and asked "Well?"

"We're still working on it son..." Bobby answered gruffly with a sigh, "but so far as we can figure, it's definitely a spell, dark magic. Don't know which one yet."

Sam stood quietly for a moment; frowning as he considered what Zara had told him the evening before "A blood spell" he said to himself, before looking up. "I'm sure it's a blood spell."

"A blood spell, why are you so sure that it's a blood spell Sammy?" Dean asked, turning in his chair to fully face his brother.

"Because the son of a bitch who hurt her last night was her dad." Sam answered, angry once again at the intrusion into Zara's dreams.

"Her dad!"

"Yeah, she told me after we'd gotten cleaned up. Her dad is the head honcho at The Order ..." Sam replied, going on to explain the details of Zara's dream and his theory that her dad was a demon.

"Zara is wholly human Sam, the ritual calls for a pure human soul. A demon could not have fathered The Chosen child" Castiel said, after listening to Sam's explanation "I have seen into her soul, there is no hint of demon there."

"I know, you've said that she's got a pure soul Cas, but that doesn't change that she told me that her dad's eyes turned black, not only in the dream, but she remembered it from her childhood before her and her mom escaped. He's a demon, I know it!. What if the demon left? The meat suit could have been a radical follower of The Order and more than happy to do the deed then be repossessed." Sam insisted, sure that he was right.

"That's certainly a theory you've got in that big brain of yours Sammy." Dean said leaning back in his chair as he looked up at his brother. "What does Zara think of your theory?"

"I haven't told her yet, I don't think she knows her dads a demon. She mentioned something about knowing that he was a monster, but even though she's been running her whole life she doesn't know a lot about the supernatural. I doubt that she'll have put it together."

Dean nodded. "Okay, then you bring her up to speed... talking of little sis, she still asleep? After last night I wouldn't have thought you would want to leave her alone while she's sleeping."

"She's in the shower-" Sam replied, before growling "... and will you stop calling her little sis, it's creeping me the hell out."

"What? I can't help it, she's just as I imagined a little sister would be and it beats a Sasquatch hands down. Talking of which, you're giving me neck ache. There's an extra seat you know?"

Sam sat down on the empty seat besides Dean then turned in his chair to fix his brother with a piercing gaze. "Well stop thinking of her that way or you're going to get a little upset if you see your brother and sister making out, so give it up!"

Dean's reaction was instant as he went pale under his tan, gagging. "Great! Burn my eyes out why don't you."

"Well, I trust that put an end to the sister business?" Sam said laughing as his brother put his head in his hands, clearly disturbed by the image now planted there.

Without lifting his head from his hands, Dean nodded and signalled okay.

Satisfied that Dean was suitably traumatized and that he would give up on "the little sister" thing that he had going with Zara, Sam brought the conversation back to business "So how do we find out if it's a blood spell for sure and how do we make sure that Cas's mojo isn't permanently defunct when dealing with Zara? I'd be happier knowing that our most powerful ally will be of some use to us when the shit hits the fan."

"Well the blood spell we'll need to research son. Angel boy here will need to find out what made his mojo fritz out." Bobby replied as he gestured in Castiel's direction.

"Of course" Castiel said, his blue eyes serious as he addressed the youngest Winchester.

Once he got himself under control; Dean sat thinking quietly as his brother chatted with Bobby and Castiel about the spell and Cas's mojo. He thought about what Sam had told him about Zara's dad being the Master of The Order and thought that poor kid can't catch a break. It couldn't be easy for her knowing that her brother had killed her mom, that her dad was a monster who wanted to sacrifice her. He knew all about dead beat dads but at least his dad had never tried to kill him, hell he'd died for him.

He wasn't lying when he said to Sam that he had a soft spot for her, she had this vulnerability, mingled with a strength of character and a drive to do the right thing no matter what the cost to herself that made his protective instincts go into overdrive. She had run over and over just to make sure that the planet was safe and would to sacrifice herself if she had to. To top it all off she made his brother happy, happier than he had seen him in a long time and for that reason alone above all others he would do anything to protect her.

Turning his thoughts back to the conversation going on around him, the word "impotent" ringing in his ears, he interrupted Castiel's rant about not being impotent, before the Angel of the Lord decided to smite his brother just to prove him wrong.

"Sammy, stop baiting the angel who could smite you with one thought. It's not helping!"

"but.."

"No buts Sammy, that's enough." Dean berated; he knew that Sam's fear for Zara was eating at him, but that wasn't any reason to take it out on Cas. "How was Zara last night after we left?"

"How do you think she was? She's scared Dean, scared that no matter how far or how fast she runs they're going to find her" he said, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair, worry clear in his tone as he looked at his brother. "I can't say I blame her, she's been hurt twice on our watch Dean ... I"

Dean placed a reassuring hand on Sam's shoulder. "I know Sammy and I feel guilty as hell about that, but I promise we will find a way to get her out of this in one piece."

"Hey guys."

Removing his hand from Sam's shoulder, Dean looked across the room to find Zara standing in the doorway to the study; taking in her appearance he noted that apart from looking a bit pale and a little tired she looked fine. In fact Sam had looked more anxious about the events of the night before than she did. Although he knew only too well how easy it was to cover up worry and anxiety, so he guessed that how she looked could be deceiving.

"Hey missy come on in." Bobby said, inviting Zara to join them.

Dean watched as Zara, smiling widely stepped over the threshold into the study and walked across the room towards Sam and laid a hand on his shoulder. He was surprised when instead of getting up to give her his seat Sam wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her down to sit on his knee before placing a tender kiss on the top of her head, his whole posture now calm and relaxed, when a moment before he had been tense, baiting Cas and was a few seconds from being smited. He noticed that whilst Zara flushed at Sam's attention, she didn't object to the obvious public display of affection coming from his brother. In fact rather than be embarrassed she seemed to glow a little, her grey eyes sparkling in the dull light of the study. He looked over at Bobby who was staring wide-eyed at Sam, his mouth opening and closing with no words coming out. Choking back a laugh he met Bobby's eyes and shrugged.

"So blood spells Sammy?" Dean said, still holding back a laugh as he drew Sam's gaze back to him. He nearly broke as Sam suddenly realised what he had done, a flash of colour rising over his cheeks. He had to give it to him though, he didn't let go of Zara in fact he tightened his hold around her waist and grinned his goofiest grin.

"Yeah, I guess we'll need to do some research find out what spell would allow them to enter Zara's dream's. One strong enough to physically hurt her and one that can prevent angelic help."

"Right that sounds like a shit load of research. We'll get started, you and Zara go get something to eat, then come back and help."

Zara jumped up from Sam's knee and pulled on his hand. "Come on I'm starving, you can bring me up to speed on the blood spell and anything else I missed whilst we eat."

Sam allowing himself to be pulled out of the room by the young woman.

The remaining occupants of the room watched bemused when half way down the hallway Sam stopped and dragged Zara in for a searing kiss both unconcerned with their audience.

Dean watched the exchange with a small smile. It had been since he had seen this version of his brother. In fact thinking back, it was on that first night back at Stanford when Dean had met Jessica. His brother had spent years grieving for her, only ever having a few encounters with woman since, not counting the disastrous hook-ups with the werewolf and Ruby.

"Well I'll be damned. I didn't think I'd live to see the day ..." Bobby said, unable to finish as his eyes filled with hastily wiped away tears.

"I believe that Sam has found his true mate." Castiel said, blue eyes intense as he watched the young couple disappear from sight as they headed to the kitchen.

"What!" Dean asked "What do you mean mate?"

"Dean, humans only have one true mate, I believe humans call them soul mates. Human beings have an incredible capacity to love and can love others who are not their true mates. They can spend long happy live with them, but there is only one soul which when found and joined forms an unbreakable bond, even in death. Not all humans find their true mate, circumstances, choices made in life and paths never crossing can prevent a mated pair from ever being together. Sam and Zara are very fortunate it is a very special bond to share."

"Well I guess we better get researching then, because I'll be damned if Sammy's met the girl of his dreams only to lose her to some evil sons of a bitches. Hell we beat Lucifer and threw his ass back into the cage, we're gonna do the same with Zara's dicky family and besides, if Sammy's ever gonna get laid that purity spell must go."

Hearing the sounds of his brother's laughter coming from the kitchen, mingled with Zara's soft squeals and giggles Dean sobered. He turned to Castiel and Bobby, his voice low and deadly serious. "I don't know if Sam's considered this but, if the Order doesn't succeed with the ritual, they're not gonna roll over and say "oh well better luck next time" they're gonna throw everything they have at destroying Zara and making her pay. A sliced arm is just a warning; next time they'll kill her."

No one said anything further recognising the truth in Dean's words; instead they each picked up a book and settled down for a long day of research.

They had been researching for a while when Sam and Zara re-appeared in the study, both looking a little flushed and rumpled. Dean suspected that they had spent more time fooling around in the kitchen than eating, but said nothing as they each picked up a book then sat on the old sofa and began to read. Hours passed in relative silence, the sounds of pages turning and the occasional sigh the only sounds in the room.

Putting down the book that he had just finished reading Dean scrubbed a hand over his tired eyes before standing and stretching out his aching muscles. Looking over at the sofa he saw that Zara had fallen asleep; her head slumped against Sam's shoulder, the book that she was reading lying open on her knee. He caught Sam's eyes and sent him a small smile and a wink; his brother mouthed "jerk."

"Bitch" he mouthed back the expected response.

Walking over to the sofa Dean sat on the arm nearest Sam; speaking in low tones so as not to wake Zara he asked "You okay?"

"Yeah, just keen to find a way out of this mess" Sam replied as he looked down at the young woman sleeping by his side "Dean, I had an idea, it's crazy, reckless but ..."

"We've done crazy and reckless before Sammy, spit it out"

"The Order used Zara's dream's to send her a warning, how about we use the link to push back. Send them a message to back off!"

"How do you propose we do that Sammy?"

"We'd need to work out the details, but dream root and some angelic mojo might allow us to push through the link without a spell..."

"To be honest Sammy, I can't believe you're suggesting that we put Zara back into the direct line of fire." Dean said shocked; they had been reckless in the past, when on missions that had little chance of success. Hell they had lost people, good people through crazy and reckless but this was different, Zara wasn't a hunter and she had already been hurt twice.

"You misunderstand Dean. She wouldn't be on her own, I'd be with her..." he said menacingly, his eyes hard as he once again glanced down at Zara "I'm going to take the demon killing knife, carve a slice off that son of a bitch and make him think twice about coming after Zara like that again."

Dean looked at his brother and knew that he nothing would stop him. His stubbornness would win. "Okay, sounds like a plan. We'll send the son of a bitch a message that he'll never forget"

TBC

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