Chapter 10

"How are you doing?" Sam asked his little sister. Laney was sitting between him and Dean. They were still in New York State and heading south towards Bobby's place.

Laney sighed. "I'm freaking tired. I don't know how I'm going to do it. There's a reason sleep deprivation is a method of torture."

"We'll do everything we can," said Dean, sparing his sister a worried glance before looking back on the road.

Laney nodded. "I swear to God, I will never take sleep for granted ever again."

Sam huffed a laugh. "I'll bet not." He reached over and ruffled his sister's hair. She was nervously chewing on her bottom lip.

"What's on your mind?" he asked.

"Nothing," she sighed, "Everything."

Sam and Dean exchanged a worried glance.

"You can talk to us you know," offered Sam.

"It's really driving me crazy that we didn't catch this guy."

"It happens sometimes," said Dean.

"But I thought you two always get the bad guys."

Dean smiled, "We're good, but every once in a while there's one that gets away."

Laney leaned her head back against the seat.

"I promise that we'll keep on it…keep looking into it. Okay?"

"I know," she said. And she meant it. She knew that Dean had to be just as bothered as she was about the one that got away. He wouldn't give up so easily.

"What you did back there, for that kid Tim…that was really awesome," said Dean, with a tinge of pride in his voice.

Laney looked down at her lap, blushing. "It was no big deal. I'm pretty sure I committed several federal crimes though. I hope you'll visit me in the slammer when they finally catch up to me."

Sam laughed, "Of course we will."

"Yeah, I'll bring you pecan waffles and Dukes of Hazard on DVD," added Dean.

Laney laughed. "Is this where you start making fun of me for my love of old television shows? I can't help it."

"I think it's freakin' cute," chuckled Dean.

"Well, there wasn't much else to do when you guys were out hunting, but read and watch really old and bad television in all those crappy motels with no cable," said Laney.

Sam looked over at Laney; he couldn't be sure, but he thought he might have detected a tinge of bitterness in her voice.

"Not that I'm complaining," she said, when she noticed Sam's look.

Dean looked between Sam and Laney feeling like he had just missed something.

Laney leaned her head back against the seat again; a wave of dizziness and nausea washing over her. It was probably the third time it had happened since they'd left Buffalo. She figured it was withdrawal from the Adderall. She didn't feel like mentioning it to her brothers. She was causing enough trouble as it was.

Sam looked at his sister as she had suddenly gone quiet. He noticed her face had gone extremely pale and she was sweating.

"Hey, Laney, what's wrong?"

Damn, I really should have sat in the backseat where they couldn't see my every move.

Dean took one look at his sister and pulled the Impala over to the side of the road. He put the car and park and turned in his seat to face her.

Laney opened her eyes to look at her brother. "It's nothing, Dean. I just got a little dizzy."

Sam wiped the sweat from his sister's face with the sleeve of his shirt. "You sure? You don't look good."

"Thanks for the kind words," said Laney sarcastically, "You know a month of no sleep and kicking the bucket fifteen times will do that to you."

Dean gave his sister a flustered look. "Laney, it's time to get serious. No screwing around. If you're not being honest with us about how your feeling, it's really just going to piss me off."

"Yeah, and no one likes a pissed off Dean," said Sam.

Laney rolled her eyes; which took more energy than it should have.

"I've been getting dizzy on and off and I feel a little nauseous."

"You've hardly eaten anything," said Sam.

"We'll find some place to stop," said Dean. He was feeling completely powerless in helping his sister; the least he could do was get her some food.

"It's going to take a lot more than food to fix me," muttered Laney under her breath.

"What was that?" asked Dean, even though he'd heard his sister clearly.

"Just feeling sorry for myself." She felt like she was on a rollercoaster, up and down, her moods and emotions all over the place. It wasn't like her and she hated it.

"You know, you can't control what's happening to you. It's okay to be scared and it's okay to be pissed," said Sam. He knew what he was talking about.

"We wouldn't think any less of you," added Dean. He knew his sister. She didn't like to show her weaknesses. She always had to be in control.

"What if he's after me? Yellow-eyes." said Laney, finally giving voice to one of her biggest worries.

Dean rubbed his hands through his hair. He'd been asking himself the same question practically every five minutes since they'd gotten the first phone call that Laney was in trouble.

"I don't know," answered Dean, "And even if he is, he's never going to get you. Neither one of you." He was never going to let that yellow eyed bastard get his hands on his brother and sister.

Sam took a deep breath. "You know, baby, my visions…when I get them, they've always been related to one of the other special children. I haven't had any about you, so maybe that means something."

"Maybe," said Laney. She'd come to that conclusion a while back. She just hadn't been sure that Sam would tell her if he'd had a vision involving her. But she could tell he was telling the truth to her now. "Those kids are all the same age as you and they all have some kind of gift. I don't have any gifts. Unless experiencing other people's deaths is supposed to be useful somehow."

Sam was a little surprised by her tone. Despite what she was saying; that yellow eyes had nothing to do with what was happening to her; something in her voice betrayed her words. He wondered what more there was that she wasn't telling. He decided he was going to have a discussion with Dean about it when they were in private.

"I think it's a little premature to be having this discussion anyway. Let's just get to Bobby's and see what his person says. Let's not worry until we need to," said Dean.

"Easier said than done," said Laney.

Dean didn't say anything. He put the car in drive and got back on the road. It was a good 40 miles until the nearest rest stop. Until then they had nothing but their thoughts to keep them occupied.

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"So, what will it be?" asked Dean, "Waffles? Pancakes?"

They were sitting in yet another non-descript diner in the middle of nowhere.

"I'm –uh…" Laney was about to say she wasn't hungry, but thought better of it. She wasn't up to a fight. "Ham and cheese omelet," she answered.

Dean smiled at her, pleased that she wasn't trying to weasel her way out of eating something.

"Scoot, Sammy," said Laney. She was sitting against the booth window, next to her brother. "I need to make a bathroom run."

Sam and Dean exchanged a look. Laney sighed dramatically, "Really…It's the bathroom…do I need an escort?"

Dean gave her a dirty look, but nodded his head at Sam to let her out.

Laney pointed in the direction of the restrooms. "Look, you can see everyone that comes in or out from our table." She knew she was being kind of bratty, but she was irritable and cranky. It was hard to keep perspective that her brothers were just looking out for her.

"Make it snappy," said Dean.

She reached over Sam's lap and grabbed her bag. Dean eyed her suspiciously. Laney noticed, she rolled her eyes, but decided to forget the bag. She didn't need him thinking the worst of her, even though it was all her fault. Just like that, she felt the tears welling up in her eyes. She abruptly turned and headed for the restroom.

When she reached the restroom there was a sign on the door stating it was closed and to use the restrooms around the back of the restaurant. She looked back towards the table to signal to her brothers she was going to use a different one, but they were deep in discussion and not looking her way. She could have easily walked over and told them, but some little part of her was feeling angry and resentful. She wanted to be able to take care of herself. She wasn't a kid anymore.

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"She's not telling us everything," said Dean, fully expecting Sam to disagree.

"No, she's not."

Dean raised an eyebrow at his brother.

"What?"

"Did she tell you something I don't know about?" Dean demanded.

"Dean, no. She hasn't told me anything you don't already know. I just… I don't know...I get the feeling something's not right."

"Well of course, something's not right! She can't close her eyes with buying the farm!"

"Dean, keep your voice down. What I meant is that there's more to this that she's not telling us. I just feel it in my bones."

Dean took a deep breath, "Do we make her talk?"

"Like that's going to work. She's exhausted, she's scared…she's withdrawing from those pills. I don't think it's a good idea to push her. You know how she is."

"Yeah, I know. She'll just shut down."

Sam nodded in agreement.

"Doesn't mean I don't want to shake her till she talks."

"I know."

"Even with all that, she's still pretty awesome," said Dean, changing the topic, "What she did for that kid."

"She felt responsible for him."

"She shouldn't though."

"I think it's just a Winchester thing."

Dean smiled. That's not a bad thing.

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The sky outside was darkening again with the threat of rain. It looked more like evening than just before noon. Laney didn't mind so much. She loved the rain. She could spend hours watching the rain fall and never get bored. She found it incredibly soothing.

She found the bathroom which was attached to the back of the diner and next to the truck stop. She looked around observing her surroundings, like the way she'd been trained by her father. She noticed a man standing outside of his truck about 15 feet away. He was slim build, average height, dark hair, jeans and a grease stained t-shirt. He looked like every other trucker she'd ever seen. He was looking right at her. She nodded a hello at him and quickly walked into the restroom. She felt a chill go through her. But she thought it had more to do with her mood than any real danger. In and out, she thought, then go eat as much as I can stomach and get to Bobby's. She quickly did her thing and walked to the sink to splash some water on her face. She heard the door opening behind her, but assumed it was someone else coming to use the restroom. She was startled when she looked up in the mirror and saw the man from the truck staring back at her, a look in his eyes that she didn't need any training to understand; he was there to do bad things to her.

Taking a deep breath, she quickly did a mental rundown of everything she'd been taught about self defense. Let him think he has the upper hand and then strike, stay cool and calm. Laney turned around to face him.

"What are you doing in here? This is the Ladies room," she asked calmly.

"A pretty little thing like you could get hurt in a place like this. I was checking to make sure you were okay in here."

"Well, I appreciate the concern, but I'm good. My brothers are probably already waiting for me outside."

"Those two fellas you came in with? No, I don't think so. They're still sitting in the diner."

Laney's heart froze. He'd been watching her.

"Well then I need to get back before they miss me."

She took a step in his direction to walk around him, but he blocked her way, stepping back against the door, effectively cutting off her only route of escape.

"What do you want from me?" she asked, as she took quick stock of the bathroom, looking for anything she could use as a weapon. There were two stalls, one sink, and a large metal trash can in the corner of the room. There wasn't much, but there was a least enough space to maneuver around a bit. She could put up a pretty good fight if she had to. She was small, but Dean and her father had taught her how to use that to her advantage.

"Oh, come on. I just want to get to know you a little. You're very pretty you know…and I bet you're really sexy under all those clothes."

"I'm going to start screaming if you don't let me pass."

"Go ahead, I like screamers," he sneered.

He started walking towards her and she backed away. He reeked of body odor, cigarettes, and beer. When he had her nearly pinned against the wall, she decided it was her time to strike. She punched him square in the throat. He yelped with shock and pain. Laney took the chance to dart around him, almost making it to the door before he grabbed her arm and yanked her back hard, sending her down to the floor.

"Help!" She began screaming, losing all rational thought, "Please help me!" Laney thought it was futile. Aside from this guy, she hadn't seen a soul out in the parking lot. Her only hope was that Dean or Sam would notice something soon.

Her attacker pinned her down against the hard concrete of the bathroom floor, before she could get up. Laney kicked and struggled with all her might out of instinct, before she regained her calm. She knew she was going to wear herself out and her father had taught her that 90 percent of the time her brains would get her out of a bad situation over muscles. She didn't have the physical strength to outdo an attacker this size. So she stilled beneath him.

Her attacker clearly thought he had the upper hand. "See, that's better. I'm not so bad honey." He was rubbing his hand up and down Laney's leg. She had to swallow hard to keep from vomiting. "I can show you a really good time."

"I won't fight you," said Laney, calmly, "You're bigger and stronger than me. I'll go anywhere you want me to."

If she could just get outside, it would better her chances.

"Oh, this here is just fine. I promise I'll let you go…I'm not going to hurt you." He placed a disgusting, wet kiss on her neck.

It took all her will not to turn her neck away. She had to let him think she was going along with his plan. She couldn't help the tears that were beginning to fall from her eyes. She started to concentrate on Dean and Sam as if she could will them with her mind to come and save her in case she couldn't save herself.

He hefted himself up on his knees, keeping his hands on Laney's arms to pin her down. He realized he was going to have to let one of her arms go if he was going to get anything done. The second he took his hand off Laney's arm, she reared up with all of her strength, sending her attacker off balance and into the trash bin. She stood up and gave him a good solid kick to the groin before spinning on her heels, and then tripping over his legs. He was doubled over, but managed to yank her back by her long hair that had spilled out of its ponytail. He pulled her around and punched her right in the eye, even with his diminished strength, it was enough to send her to her knees, and briefly into darkness, her thoughts on how pissed her brothers were going to be.

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Dean looked towards the restroom. His sister was taking an awfully long time to do her business. Sam followed Dean's eyes to the restroom doors. He was thinking the same thing.

"Should I?" asked Sam.

"Give her one more minute and then I'll go," said Dean.

"Okay…I-"

"What's wrong?" asked Dean, when Sam stopped abruptly.

Sam felt the familiar sensation at the back of his head, followed by a flash of light; his brother's face went out of focus.

Dean knew immediately when he saw his brother's eyes what was happening.

"Aw, Jesus now is not the time for this shit," said Dean. He knew he just had to wait for Sam to come out of it. He quickly got up from his spot and sat next to him, hoping he wouldn't draw any attention.

It lasted less than five seconds, before the room came into focus again and Sam looked into his brother's face with horrified eyes, "Laney."

With that one word, Dean jumped up from the booth, Sam right behind him. Dean's eyes grew wide when he saw the notice on the door. "Oh, shit."

They took off at a run outside, making a beeline for the restroom. Dean pulled his gun from the waistband of his pants.

Laney faded between darkness and light for a few seconds before fully regaining her senses. Her attacker was up on his feet again, with murder in his eyes. He was furious. Any thoughts of raping her out of his mind, he was going to kill her and he was going to make it hurt.

Realizing this was it, she staggered to her feet, trying to think of her next move. He came at her with full speed, knocking her into the wall and wrapping his hands around her throat. He whispered into her ear, "Now, you've made me mad. I'm not going to play nice anymore."

Laney stiffened, straight as a board. The voice and the words, she recognized immediately. She had never seen the man's face before, but she remembered his voice, his smell, and his last words, which she hadn't shared with her brothers, because she never thought it mattered. How could it be? The chances of this happening; this was the man that had killed Darla and countless other women.

Laney sucked in as deep of a breath as she could before he began to squeeze. The familiarity of it was startling. For a brief moment she wondered if she had somehow fallen asleep and this was happening to someone else. But she caught her reflection in the bathroom mirror. It was definitely happening to her.

He squeezed her throat with all his might. Laney knew in about 30 seconds she would be dead. And she was pissed. She began kicking and fighting. She couldn't go out like this. Dean and Sam would never forgive her.

The door to the bathroom suddenly swung open, startling her attacker. He dropped his hands sending Laney to her knees, where she began taking deep breaths between coughs. She looked up to notice Dean, who spared her a brief glance before throwing himself at her attacker. Dean was blinded by fury. He punched the guy several times. Sam was right behind him. When he noticed Dean had the situation under control, he directed his attention to his sister. "Baby, are you okay?"

Laney nodded. "Stop Dean," she croaked out. Sam looked over and noticed Dean with his gun cocked and aimed at the guys head. It appeared he was knocked out cold.

Sam walked up to his brother, "Dean, you can't, it can come back to us."

"It's him," whispered Laney. Her voice was cracking from the strangling.

Dean looked over at his sister, the left side of her face was swelling and red, and her neck was bruising already. He pushed the gun more firmly against the attacker's temple.

"Dean, no… It's him…it's him…the killer. Darla's killer. He's the serial killer."

Sam looked at Laney. "Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent sure."

Sam and Dean looked at each other. Dean wanted nothing more than to kill the man right then and there. He knew what would have happened to his sister if he had been just seconds later. But killing him might be too kind. Dean pulled the keys out his jacket pocket and threw them to Sam. "Go get some rope."

Sam looked back and forth between Laney and Dean, deciding that as long as his sister was there, Dean wouldn't do anything too stupid.

Sam walked to the Impala as quickly and casually as he could, putting some rope in a bag and slinging it around his shoulder and walking back to the bathroom. He was glad to see when he re-entered the bathroom that everything was the way he left it.

Sam handed Dean the rope. "Help me tie him up," said Dean.

Less than a minute later, Darla's killer, who had killed numerous other women, and who had come within minutes of adding Laney to his list, was hog tied.

Dean called 911 from Laney's untraceable phone and told them he had a serial killer in custody. He gave them some details from the most recent slaying in Buffalo. He led his brother and sister out of the restroom, locking the door behind him and putting up an Out of Order sign. They quickly walked to the Impala and got the hell out of town.

Dean drove as fast as he could without drawing attention to himself. Last thing they needed was to get pulled over.

"How did you know I was in trouble?" asked Laney, her voice still coming out raspy.

"Sammy had a vision," said Dean reluctantly.

Laney's eyes widened in shock, "Are you okay Sammy?"

"I'm fine," he answered, putting his arm around his sister to comfort her.

"Don't lie," said Dean.

"I'm not. There was no pain," he said, not able to keep the surprise out of his voice.

Dean gave him a questioning look.

"It wasn't like the usual visions. There wasn't any pain. I saw Laney in trouble and calling out for help. That's it."

Dean rolled his eyes towards the sky. Could this shit get any freaking weirder?

Laney nodded at her brother, wincing at the pain in her neck and the pressure that was building up in her cheek. She was shaking now that the adrenaline rush was leaving her body. She'd just been nearly added to the notch on a serial killer's belt. Her brother had a vision of her in trouble; a vision that didn't send him to his knees in pain. Everything was making less and less sense.

Dean noticed his sister's pallor and shaking. She was going into shock. Dean pulled off on to a side road, feeling he'd put enough distance between them and the diner.

Dean and Sam both stepped out the Impala. Dean came around to the passenger door.

"Laney, look at me."

She turned her eyes up to her brother. "Are you okay? Did he-"

"No, I fought back. Just like you and Dad taught me. I remember what you guys taught me. I didn't forget," she sputtered out, "I'm not completely worthless."

Dean let go of the breath he didn't even know he'd been holding. "What are you talking about?"

"It's just one screw up after another for me," she answered. She was shaking violently. Dean pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around his sister to warm her up. He knelt down in front of her.

Laney looked up at her brother and saw nothing but barely restrained fury in his face. She broke down. She sobbed for a good 10 minutes; Dean and Sam both offering words of comfort and taking turns holding her. When she seemed all cried out, Dean took the opportunity to examine her injuries. He gingerly touched the bruises on her neck and her face. He pulled an ice pack from the cooler in the trunk.

"Put this on that eye," he instructed. He turned his attention to Sam. "You okay?"

"I'm good, Dean."

"What do you think it means?" whispered Laney. Her brothers turned to look at her.

"What are you talking about, baby?" asked Sam.

"Your vision of me," she sniffled.

"I don't know."

"Yellow-eyes," she whispered.

"Laney, we don't know that. We don't know what the hell is going on!" yelled Dean, who kicked the tire on his beloved car. He was angry and scared.

"Dean, chill out."

Dean took a deep breath. "Let's get the hell out of here and to Bobby's before anything else happens."

They all got in the car and drove off, tension filling the air. Laney had grown more tired than she had ever been. She wanted to curl up in a ball and be dead to the world. She didn't want to feel anything anymore. She wanted the nightmare to end.

The Winchesters had finally put some serious miles behind them, driving for several hours, stopping only to refill the car with gas and ply Laney with coffee and Red Bull. The monotonous drive and the roar of the Impala's engine were only lulling her to sleep. More than once Sam or Dean had to shake her awake as her eyes drifted closed.

They were only 6 or 7 hours from Bobby's place. Laney thought it might as well be 600 or 700 hours for all the good it was doing her. She was too the point where she didn't care if she fell asleep and had to die again. What she was experiencing now was the worst kind of torture imaginable to her.

They pulled into a gas station to fill up the car. Sam finally convinced Dean to trade places and let him drive the last stretch. Dean was getting very tired at the wheel. He didn't think he was capable of sleep though, and it seemed entirely cruel to go to sleep when his sister couldn't.

Dean escorted his little sister to the restroom. He went in first and inspected it for any prowlers before letting his sister in and standing guard outside the door. Laney splashed some cold water on her face, and combed her hair. Her left eye was pretty swollen, but all the ice Dean had her hold on it had kept it from completely swelling shut. It was going to be quite the shiner though. Her neck was bruised too. Outside of New York, she had stopped and changed into an oversized hoodie to hide the bruises. She was afraid of any question that might be raised. She kept her head down low and a knit hat pulled over her hair in an attempt not to draw attention to herself.

Dean was feeling guilty. He hadn't said much since leaving the diner in New York. He was afraid of losing his temper again. He was upset that his sister had gone off on her own and not told them about the bathroom change. But he was even more upset that he hadn't even noticed that she had gone off. He'd come too freaking close to losing her.

She came out of the restroom. "Go ahead back to the car, I'm going to use the can," he said more gruffly than he intended.

Laney nodded. Dean waited until he saw she was with Sam before he went in.

"Hey, baby, how ya' holding up?" asked Sam.

"Not well," she answered, too tired to lie.

"We're close, now…you just got a hang on a little longer."

"I don't think I care anymore."

Sam frowned. "You don't mean that."

"I do mean it, Sammy, I don't care. I just want to sleep. I just want to not be in my skin for a few minutes."

He gave her a sympathetic look. There was nothing he could do at the moment to help her other than let her vent her frustration.

"Dean's really pissed off at me."

"What are you talking about?"

"He's pissed. He thinks that what happened to me in the bathroom is my fault. I can tell. He thinks I was stupid and reckless."

"Did he say that to you?"

"He doesn't have to."

"Laney, I don't think you give him enough credit."

"Forget it Sammy. I know. You were gone for over three years. I spent every waking minute with him while you were gone. You think I don't know what's going on inside his head."

Sam sighed. She clearly had some issues with his going off to college that she had never brought up. Now, with her fatigue she wasn't able to keep up the shield she usually did. This was pure, raw emotion coming from his little sister.

"He's mad at himself."

"I know that," she snapped.

Sam let it slide. She was on edge. She couldn't help it. She started to cry again. How she had any tears left in her, she didn't know. She'd probably cried more in the last 2 days than she had in her whole life. Sam reached out to her and pulled her close.

He noticed Dean walking quickly over to them. Sam put his hand out to motion his brother to stay cool and that everything was okay.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's okay, baby. You don't anything to feel sorry about."

"But I do. I'm sorry. You guys didn't want this. You didn't want this burden."

"What burden?" asked Sam confused.

"I went off to college so you guys wouldn't have to be burdened by me. So you wouldn't have to worry about me. So you'd be able to do your thing without me in the way and here I am, not even a year later and causing all this trouble. I suck."

"What gave you the idea that we didn't want you around?" asked Sam, looking at Dean.

"Dad."

Sam's eyes narrowed.

Dean walked over to his sister. "Laney, what are you saying?"

She pulled away from Sam, startled that Dean was there. She hadn't even noticed he'd returned.

"Dad told me that you guys wanted me away. He said you told him that you couldn't concentrate on tracking yellow-eyes if you had me tagging along. He said you didn't know how to tell me, so he thought I should just go off to school. That it would make it easier on everyone and you wouldn't feel guilty about it."

Sam was beyond furious. Their father had lied to her. He had lied to them.

"Dad told us that you wanted to go off to school. That you didn't want this life," said Sam.

"That's not true. What else would I want to do with my life? What would I be without you guys? I don't need college. There wasn't anything they could teach me that I don't already know."

Dean swallowed the lump in his throat. He'd spent eight miserable months away from his little sister because their father had manipulated them into getting what he wanted. Worst of all, Laney had spent that whole time believing they didn't want her around.

"Why would Dad lie?" asked Laney.

"He probably just wanted to keep you safe," offered Dean.

"In case you hadn't noticed, the safest place for me is with you and Sammy."

Sam smiled at his sister's complete and utter faith in them. They were going to have to deal with Dad some other time; wherever he was and whenever he decided to show his face again.

"Sweetheart, all you need to know is that Sam and I never tried to get rid of you. I'm sure it's all some kind of misunderstanding."

Laney smiled through her tears, "I'm so glad to hear you say it. I don't want to go back to school."

"Let's not worry about all that right now….right now we need to get back on the road. At this rate, we'll never get to Bobby's."

Laney chuckled softly, wiping at her eyes. It was true. They couldn't afford any more delays.

Getting into the car, Dean and Sam exchanged looks that said they needed to have a serious discussion.