10.
River sped back to the motel, music blasting her eardrums. Her left ankle was on fire, definitely not broken but sprained and swelling, her boot beginning to get tight. Once back in her room she took a long, hot shower, giving her plenty of time for her anger at Dean to dissipate. She changed into her favorite Harry Potter pj's and glanced in the full length mirror by her bed. Her right side and hip were bruised, the bruise leaching down half her thigh in ugly black and blue streaks. "You are one sexy bitch," she muttered to herself. She made herself an icepack, opened one of the bottles of wine she had stolen from Casey's and flipped on the tv. Her phone buzzed just as she got comfortable.
"You wanna head out early tomorrow Bobby?" Sam asked the older hunter when they got back to the motel. Bobby grunted an affirmative, trying to get comfortable on the lumpy couch in the boys room. Dean was still in the shower, the steam curling under the door. "You think everything's ok with Dean?" Sam asked laying down on his bed and opening his laptop to check emails.
"As opposed to what, boy?" Bobby asked, his voice slightly muffled by the hat he had pulled down over his face. A moment later Dean emerged from the foggy bathroom wearing flannel pajama pants and a plain white shirt.
"You think that coffee shop down the street is still open?" he asked Sam, searching his duffle bag for a minute before pulling out a battered paperback book.
"Ah, no Dean, its almost midnight. What the hell do you want coffee for anyways. Get some sleep so we can get outta this dump in the AM." Sam replied to his older brother.
"Yeah, your right," Dean flopped down on his bed and opened his book. Sam looked over at his brother, he knew Dean read but he usually did it in secret. As if his self imposed image of masculinity would be shattered if the world knew Dean Winchester was a book nerd.
Sam smirked, "Whatcha reading?"
"Just a …some smut I picked up at the gas station." Dean said turning on his side away from his brother, he was in fact reading something by William Faulkner.
"Would you idijits shut up so a man can get some sleep," came the disgruntled bitching from under Bobby's hat. Dean readjusted in bed, flipping the pages in his book, he'd lost his place and couldn't focus. He finally gave up and set his book down on the nightstand between his and Sam's bed. Dean paced the room a few times before walking to the decrepit coffee pot in the corner, he rooted around in the cabinet it was sitting on before finding a packet of coffee.
"Dean, what the hell you doin' boy. Get some sleep." Bobby finally sat up on the couch and watched Dean, Sam was also looking at him with a bemused smile.
The coffee pot beeped when it was done and Dean poured two cups of coffee before heading to the door. "Sammy get the door would you?" Dean asked.
"Dean, what hell dude?" Sam asked. Dean crossed the hallway to River's room, he tried balancing the cups in one hand so he could knock on the door and finally gave up. He leaned forward and banged his head on the door a few times.
"Thank you for being a friend…" River was quietly singing along to the Golden Girls theme song when she heard a muffled knock at her door. She set her glass of wine down and grabbed the silver knife she kept under her pillow. She limped towards the door and checked the peephole, Dean was grinning back at her. She opened the door as far as the chain would reach, "What do you want, Winchester?"
Dean smiled at her as she appeared in the door, "You said if we survived we should get coffee and…talk about books." Dean held up the cups of coffee, she reached through the door and took one of the cups.
"Here," She handed the silver knife back through the door, Dean grabbed it without hesitation. Satisfied, River shut the door and Dean heard her undo the chain lock before opening the door all the way. He walked in and River glanced across the hall, just seeing Sam's hair whip back and the bill of Bobby's hat sticking out from their doorway.
"What's with the knife, Riv?" Dean asked her, setting the knife down on the table and taking a sip of coffee, he grimaced and choked it down.
"Oh, gawd this tastes like ass," River sputtered behind him, she placed the mug of coffee on the table next the the knife. "Just a precaution. I think I pissed off my friend the other night." She handed Dean her phone, "I'm sorry. You guys really don't need any of my bullshit." Dean swiped through the photos, there were a few distance shots of River walking in front of the hotel and a closer shot of River and Dean at the laundromat, River's legs wrapped around his waist as he leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"It's here. Now?" Dean asked shutting the phone off.
"Yeah or he was. He hasn't been this close in a while, at least I don't think he has," River crossed her arms over her chest, a chill had run up her spine and now she was self-conscious that she didn't have a bra on under the thin top.
Dean looked over at her, noticing the pink color in her cheeks and the Hufflepuff tank top stretched across her chest. "I'm in Gryffindor, at least thats what the website told me." Dean said, taking a few steps towards her.
She smiled, relaxing her arms, "Of course you are, 'You might belong in Gryffindor, Where dwell the brave at heart, Their daring, nerve, and chivalry set Gryffindors apart," she blushed and giggled, "Oh man, I've had too much wine or maybe not enough."
Dean smiled, "You're drunk?"
"Yeah, a little bit. If I knew you were coming I would have brushed my hair and not had that third glass of wine," she laughed again and then winced, one hand going to support her ribs.
"You ok?" Dean moved towards her, hands wrapping protectively around her waist, "Shit, River, is anything broken?" He bent down to looking at the huge, ugly bruise on her thigh.
Her breath caught as he ran his calloused hand along the tender skin, her entire body went rigid at his touch, "No, nothings broken. Just sore." He stood, trailing his hand up under the hem of her shirt, she moved her arm so he could lift the shirt up to look at the purple and blue marks. His fingers delicately probed from her ribs down to rest on her hip.
"Rest, ice, recuperate you'll be good in a few days," Dean said, not removing his hand from her hip.
"Yeah, thanks Dr. Sexy, I'm an RN, remember?" she said looking into his emerald eyes.
"Dr. Sexy always gets the hot nurse at the end," he smiled down at her.
Before she could make a snarky comment on his cheesy pick up line Dean tilted his head and slowly lowered his face towards her. She stood on the toes of her uninjured foot to meet his lips. His lips were soft and tender so different from the rough, strong hand that still gripped her hip. River's hands went to rest on his shoulders as she deepened the kiss, running her tongue over his lower lip before it slipped inside his mouth. Dean raised his free hand and tenderly massaged her right breast, his thumb flicking her nipple through the thin tank top. River moaned into his mouth as he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her closer to him, she pressed up higher on her toes wanting to be as close to him as possible. "Ow, ow, shit," River broke the kiss and settled back down on her feet, her sprained ankle had seized up and she bent down to rub it, "Yeah , definitely not drunk enough," She muttered as she slowly stood back up. Dean's eyes had a glazed look as he watched her grab the silver knife off the table and limp back to the bed. She gingerly laid down on the bed and put the homemade ice pack back on her ankle. "Why don't you open another bottle of wine and we'll binge watch the Golden Girls?" She patted the bed next to her, Dean licked his lips still tasting her on them.
"I love the Golden Girls." he said, popping the cork on a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and laying on the bed next to her.
"When I grow old, I want to be like Sophia. Absolutely zero fucks left to give." River murmured, her head resting on Dean's chest, arm wrapped loosely across his body. They had finished the second bottle of wine and were both pleasantly relaxed.
"You're kind of like that already." Dean replied laughing.
"Time for bed, Winchester," she said elbowing him in the ribs and turning the TV off.
Her heart pounded, sweat beginning to bead on her forehead. Her wrists were bound to the bed frame and tied above her head. She pulled with all her strength against the cords trapping her, blood beginning to seep where she had rubbed the skin away. She knew she only had a few more minutes at best to try and escape before he got back. The panic she had held at bay was now blossoming from her chest and moving outwards. "No! No! No" she yelled, thrashing herself awake. She sat up, shaking and sweating, grabbing in the darkness for the silver knife she had laid on the nightstand.
"River, lay back down, you're safe," Dean murmured, reaching his arm back around her waist and gently pulled her towards him. He and Sammy had had enough nightmares through the years, he was instinctively trying to calm her down.
She took a deep shuddering breath, reality settling back in. She was in her bed, Dean Winchester asleep next to her and the both of them somehow still fully clothed. "Two bottles of wine and the Golden Girls marathon, remember?" she thought to herself as she relaxed and let Dean pull her closer. She laid down on her side, away from Dean, he turned towards her, draping his arm protectively across her and pulling her to his chest. His breath was warm against her neck and she quickly fell back asleep.
She awoke a few hours later, not by another nightmare but the intense pressure in her bladder. She tried to move away from Dean, but every time she squirmed a few inches from his chest his arm would tighten like a vice and pull her back. "Dean, I have to pee. Let me go, please." He grunted and loosened his grip on her waist. She quickly got out of bed and ran the few paces to the bathroom. Bladder relieved, face and breath freshened she climbed back into bed next to Dean. "What the hell time is it?" she asked, the room was still pitch black. The motel had apparently spent its budget on top notch black out curtains and nothing else.
"Who cares," Dean murmured into her ear, he had closed the gap between them again. Spooning her from behind, his hand resting on her belly.
"Do you think we should get up?," she asked, not really wanting to. Last night was the best night of sleep she had gotten in several years, including being woken with the nightmare.
"No," was all he said. River relaxed back into his hard, warm chest. Listening to the slow, calm breaths in her ear. The hand Dean had rested on her belly began to slowly slide south. His fingers moving under the elastic band of her shorts then down her underwear. "I wanna stay in bed a while longer," he breathed into her neck, goosebumps erupted everywhere and she shivered against his body. She grabbed his forearm, breaths coming in shallow gasps. "You want me to stop?" he asked, fingers retreating a few inches.
"No, please don't stop," she whispered releasing his arm. His fingers continued on their destination, running slowly through her soft, short curls before expertly finding her clit. She shivered against him again, moaning lowly as he teased her. Deans fingers moved in firm, slow circles. He shifted against her, lips brushing against the back of her; enjoying the moans and pants he was eliciting from her. Dean groaned, his erection throbbing as he dipped two long fingers into River's warm, wet center.
"Oh," she moaned, hips bucking towards his fingers. A few more thrusts of his fingers and Dean turned her onto her back. As he settled himself over her she started shivering again.
"You ok? Did I hurt you?" he asked adjusting himself on his forearms to not put any of his weight on her bruised body.
"No, I'm good. I'm just…it's been a while. I guess I'm just nervous. You have a reputation..." she repeated glad for the relative darkness of the room. Her face felt hot and she knew she was probably scarlet red. "Take your pants off, Winchester." She moved her hands down to the elastic band of his pants and began to pull them down.
There was a loud knock at the door just as River's hand encircled Dean's erection. "You guys coming up for air anytime today? It's almost 9:30, we gotta checkout in thirty minutes," came Sam's voice from the other side of the door.
"Go away, Sammy." Dean yelled over his shoulder.
"Bobby wants breakfast, you know how grumpy he gets when he's hungry." Sam pleaded into the shut door.
"Fucking Winchesters and your perfect timing," River muttered into Dean's chest, she ran her hand up Dean's member one more time, he bucked his hips involuntarily into her. "Can't have a grumpy Bobby on our hands."
"Son of a bitch," Dean said frustrated as he climbed off her and stomped into the bathroom. River got up and opened the curtains , momentarily blinded by the bright sunlight. He came out of the bathroom a moment late adjusting his crotch before walking to the door.
She opened the door and gave Sam a sheepish smile, "Sorry we stayed up kind of late, the clock in here is broken too. Give me ten minutes to get packed up and we can decide on where to get breakfast?" Sam nodded at her. Dean walked out sullenly. "Raincheck?" she called to him as he walked across the hall to his room.
He turned and smiled at her, "Anytime."