10

After a week at Bobby's Nina had fallen into a routine. It was in her nature to try and control her surroundings. Bringing order out of chaos brought her calm. The mornings she would spend with Bobby and Sam researching for seals and hunts and her afternoons were filled with training sessions with Dean. Everything from weapons and hand to hand combat, to Latin exorcism rights. Then she would come inside and cook the guys dinner. Sam had taken her into town and she had stocked Bobby's kitchen with so much food she could feed an army. After dinner she would take a shower and try to write. So far she had written 43 first chapters and dismissed them all for one reason or another. She was beginning to wonder if she would ever write again. If she hadn't killed Christine off she might have considered bringing her back.

Liz had contacted her about the final chapters. Thrilled beyond words at the book but worried that Nina had gone on a "spiritual walkabout" as she called it. She wasn't pleased about not having their final review weekend either. Liz complained it was much harder to have a final edit through email but Nina just scoffed and reminded her of all the times she had told her to get out of her tiny house.

Nina had spent the first few nights waiting for the return of her nightmare and been pleasantly surprised to find her sleep undisturbed. The dark circles had faded and her energy was returning. The regular meals, the training with Dean and the good nights sleep were doing wonders for her body. By the time they had been at Bobby's a month Nina stopped and stared at herself in the mirror after her shower. Another touch she had added on one of her many trips into town with Sam. He had become the big brother she had always wanted. Funny, understanding and always looking out for her.

She wasn't vain but she did take some pride in her appearance. Now as she stood gazing at her naked form she could see the lean muscles defined on her torso and arms. Her tiny frame didn't look as delicate anymore and she smiled at the thought that she wasn't helpless. Dean had been ruthless in his training. After the first few days she hated him so much she often thought about shooting him with whatever gun he was forcing her to use at target practice but by the second week she realized he was preparing her. When he knocked her to the ground for what felt like the hundredth time she closed her eyes and pictured the black eyes of the demon in her living room and she found the strength to get up and try again. She was still sore from the training. She had numerous bruises is varying stages of yellow and purple covering her body but instead of looking at them as marring her perfect white skin she saw them as accomplishments. Each one represented a challenge she had fought her way through.

Of course everything wasn't perfect. Dean was a complete and total asshole. If he wasn't training her he barely spoke 2 words to her and while he was training her most of the things he said could not easily be repeated in polite company. Part of her was glad he was making it so easy to hate him but another small part yearned for his approval. For him to offer just one tiny word of kindness or encouragement. She hated to think of herself as a glutton for punishment but there had to be something wrong with her if she was still waiting for Dean's soft side. She tried not to think about all the parts of Chuck's books that she had loved so much. All the times Dean had taken care of Sam to the detriment of everything else. How could the man who had sold his soul to the Devil for his brother be the same man who sneered at her with such contempt every time she touched him?

That night at dinner she had been enjoying Sam's story about his first roommate in college when her world had been throw into turmoil again. She had been clearing the plates when she turned back to the table to see Castiel sitting in her seat. She gasped and nearly dropped the glass bowl she had been carrying but Deans arm reached up to steady her. She tried to think about the last time he had touched her outside of training and couldn't remember.

"What the hell Cas? Can't you knock like everybody else?" As soon as he was sure Nina wasn't going to drop anything he pulled his hand back. He had a self imposed strict no touching policy outside of training. The look in her eyes told him she had realized and that she was aware of the aberration.

"Would you like me to go out and come back?" He asked without any sarcasm.

"No you are already here so say what you came to say." Dean picked up the last roll and started shoving it into his mouth.

"You and Sam are needed outside Pittsburg. There are an inordinately large number of Demon's in the area and we have been picking up lots of talk about a seal."

"Great, Sam and I will leave after dinner." Nina looked at him expectantly. It wasn't as if she thought they would never leave she was just surprised at how much she was going to miss them.

"Nina and I will hold down the fort here." Bobby looked up at her with kind eyes. Nina had come to respect him and she could understand why the boys thought of him as a father figure. He was gruff and ornery but he was also insightful and caring. Of course if she said that out loud Bobby would have called her an idjit and said she was just pretending he was more than he was but that was part of his charm. He would lay his life on the line for the Winchesters and pretend like it was nothing more than holding the door open.

An hour later she stood on the porch with Bobby and watched the boys drive away. She hated the sick feeling that settled in her stomach. They would come back. She knew they could take care of themselves. She just didn't realize how fast her solitary existence had vanished and she was once again part of a family. A highly unusual and dysfunctional one, but a family all the same. The worst part was that she really liked it.

She felt Bobby's arm come around her shoulder and steer her back into the house. He wouldn't offer platitudes about how they would be back soon or how she wouldn't even miss them. He wasn't that guy. But with one small gesture he had let her know he missed them too. She sighed and headed up to her room pausing only to say good night to Bobby. It has been a long day and Nina could barely wait to crawl under the sheets and sleep.

Bobby watched her walk up the stairs before heading off to the den to watch some TV. There was a John Wayne Marathon on AMC and he was looking forward to just sitting on his chair and watching the Duke for a while before heading off to bed. He silently cursed Dean under his breath. He understood why the boy kept Nina at arms length. Dean was a dichotomy when it came to being told what to do. The only person Dean had ever listened to was his daddy. It was like he had used up all his obedience listening to John and had nothing left over for anyone else. He would hit himself just because you told him not to. He could only imagine how much the idea of a preordained love must sit with the boy. Bobby knew there was no love lost between Dean and the Angels and he could understand that but prophecy or not Nina was… Well she was perfect for Dean as far as Bobby could see. He didn't have flowery words of love but he knew the real thing when he saw it and these two had something real. Of course both were too busy running in the opposite direction to realize it. He wasn't much for destiny. He figured you carved out your own way and lived with the consequences of your decisions. Good or bad. But even with Dean being as stubborn as he was it was only a matter of time before he gave into the pull he felt towards that girl.

Bobby was dozing lightly in his chair when The Duke had just saved another town and was about to ride off into the sunset. He smiled slightly as he imagined himself in the role of hero. He felt sleep pulling him down when he was jolted fully awake by Nina's scream.

Leaping from the chair he knocked over the coffee table. Grabbing his shotgun he ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. She was still screaming when he kicked open the door to her room. There, sitting in a tangled heap of sheets was Nina. Screaming into the dark. Her eyes wide with terror unable to focus on her surroundings. Bobby scanned the room quickly. He remembered Sam telling him about the nightmares but she hadn't had a single one since they arrived so Bobby had simply dismissed them altogether as complaints of a hysterical female. Standing here in her room in the middle of the night while she screamed until she ran out of air he was forced to reevaluate his stance. Moving towards the bed he mumbled Christo just to be certain. Her scream had finally stopped but now she was repeating something over and over again so fast Bobby couldn't make out the words.

Not sure what to do he put the gun down on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed. He reached forward and gripped her shoulders tightly, shaking her slightly trying to get her to come around.

"Nina, I need you to wake up. It was just a dream."

She spun around at the sound of his voice and her eyes focused on his briefly. Bobby saw sadness like never before. "Can't go on. Can't go on. Can't go on." Bobby was finally able to make out her words.

"Can't go on, why?" He asked her. Trying to bring her back to the real world.

A sob tore from her throat, such pure loss that Bobby was momentarily unsure of what to do." Dean is dead."

For a moment Bobby's heart stopped. Did she have a prophetic dream? He moved away from her and grabbed his phone pushing the panic down. He didn't think he could survive that boy's death a second time. Hitting the number in speed dial Bobby waited.

"What's up?" Dean's voice was fuzzy and sounded far away." Is Nina okay"

"She's freaking out. Keeps saying you're dead. Have to say she even scared me a bit. Hold on." Bobby turned back towards Nina and handed her the phone.

Bobby couldn't hear what Dean was saying but he watched as Nina slowly calmed down. She blinked a few times and nodded her head, followed by a muffled okay, as if she belatedly realized he couldn't see her.

A moment later she handed the phone back to Bobby. She still hadn't spoken but she was much calmer and the despair had left her face.

"Whatever you said worked. She is coming back around. Now you want to tell me what that is all about?" Bobby was angry but he kept his voice soft. Not wanting to set Nina off again.

"She dreamt I died saving her again. At least that is the only part she will tell me. I'm going back to bed now Bobby. Sam is looking at me funny like it's my turn to drive when we already agreed I wasn't taking over for another 100 miles. Goodnight." Bobby closed the phone and turned back towards Nina.

"You okay now?" His voice was still gruff.

"I'm sorry Bobby, It's been so long since I had the dream I thought it just might be gone." She smiled weakly at him.

"So Dean dies trying to save you?"

She looked away. Nina wasn't a good liar and she didn't want to have to attempt it with Bobby. Turning back she grabbed Bobby's hand. "Promise me you won't call him if I have another?"

Bobby didn't like the protective look she got in her eye. Dam girl was just like Dean. Always worried about everybody else. "For now but I need you to be honest with me about the dreams Nina."

"Not tonight Bobby, please, in the morning. Just promise me you won't tell him." Bobby nodded silently and left the room.

He stopped at the door and turned back. "I'm sleeping in Dean's room tonight if you need me I'm just next door."

Nina rolled over slowly pulling the pillow to her chest and fought the urge to cry. She was afraid if she started she would never stop. The nightmare was back, Dean and Sam were out on a hunt to god knows where and she was alone. She wasn 't sure how she knew, maybe a shift of the bed or a temperature change or maybe it was just her subconscious, but she was aware that she was no longer the only one in her room.

"It doesn't have be." Cas's voice was deep and soft and she felt a calm wash over her. "You can save him."

Nina's eyes got wide. Was that possible? "I don't understand?" Her voice cracked and she mentally cursed herself for being so week.

"Yes you do. You let fear rule you." He moved towards her and sat on the edge of the bed. It was an odd mix of comfort and awkward.

"I can't do it." Nina bit back the sob that threatened to escape.

"Yes you can." Leaning in he brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. "The heart is a resilient organ. It can be damaged repeatedly and somehow still function at peak condition."

"But…" She had intended to tell him that Dean didn't even like her and how it would never work but he was gone. As quick as he had come he had vanished.

Could he really save her and in turn have her save him? Was it even possible for there to be some sort of happily ever after? Nina tried to fall back asleep instead spending the rest of the night dozing off for moments only to shoot back awake at the sound of Dean's neck snapping. By morning she had gotten a sum total of 3 hours of sleep and most of that had been in 10 minutes increments. She was the walking dead and no amount of Bobby's coffee could change that fact despite its tar like consistency.

AN sorry It's a short update. I noticed some people are adding my story to their alert. To them I say THANK YOU, and humbling beg for a review. Please please please.