Before Sam could volunteer himself for the back seat, Castiel climbed in on Dean's side out of habit. Rachel slid in next to him, giving Sam a small glance before keeping her focus on the side window.
It was a three hour drive back to Lincoln, which gave her more than enough time to think—too much time. Hailey was so young. She didn't deserve a death like this. If Sam and Dean were right, then there would be little to no hope for her to survive after Arioch fed on her. Could Castiel heal her? She wasn't sure—even he, an apparently powerful angel, seemed intimidated by Arioch.
The first two nurseries were dead ends. It was dark by the time they reached the third. The four climbed out of the Impala, Sam and Dean shining their bright Maglite flashlights, and Rachel her smaller one, through the thick darkness as they walked toward the rows of greenhouses.
Something about the nursery made Rachel uneasy, which she assumed was a good thing in their case. Sam insisted she stay close by him, but when she spotted the large storage facility, her heart stopped. She knew Hailey was in there. She naturally sped up, Sam yanking her back. "Easy," he said softly. "Stay with us." She hated the way Sam kept her on a leash, but she forced him and the others to go faster, clutching her gun as they approached.
Dean halted her, taking the lead as he peered into the dark building. When he saw it was clear, he gave Sam a nod, and the two slipped inside, Rachel following, Castiel behind her. Sam kept her behind himself, following Dean's charge as they shone their lights through the empty space.
It was damp and wet inside, just like Daniel Thurman described. Moonlight filtered through the opened windows and slatted sides, casting a glow over the interior of the building. In the distance, Rachel spotted large poles and bolted forward, remembering Daniel's descriptions. She heard Sam's strained voice as he tried to call her back, but she didn't care.
Rounding the corner with her small flashlight and gun, she saw three shadowy shapes against the poles, her stomach lurching as she smelled decaying flesh. She aimed her light, gagging as she saw the condition of the first two bodies. Racing to the third, she gasped, falling to her knees and dropping her gun and light, lifting Hailey's drooped head. "Hailey," she shuddered. Her eyes were closed, her skin both pale and purple. Rachel checked her pulse, feeling a faint beat just as Sam gripped her arm and moved her away from the body.
"Dammit, Rachel!" Dean growled. He was furious. "What the hell were you thinking? You could've gotten yourself killed!" He was glaring down at her like a big brother would a younger sister, his concern more than evident.
"She's alive," Rachel breathed, fighting against Sam's hold. "Let me go! She's alive!"
Rachel watched as Dean checked the other two bodies for a pulse, somber as he stood and walked with Castiel to Hailey. He looked to Castiel, who laid his hand on Hailey, his eyes closing as he focused on attempting to heal her. After a few long moments, Castiel lifted his hand, looking to Dean with a small shake of the head. "But she's alive," Rachel argued, fighting Sam's powerful arms. "She's alive! She'll be fine!"
"He's fed on her soul, Rachel," Castiel said solemnly. "She is too far gone."
She heard him, but she refused to accept it. "She's breathing! We need to call an ambulance!"
"Rachel," Castiel said gently, approaching her as she struggled against Sam, "she cannot recover from this. She is almost a shell, like the others. There is very little of her soul left."
Rachel stopped fighting, Castiel's words sinking in. "No," she argued. "She's … She's still …" She shuddered, Sam drawing her small body into his arms as she tried to escape.
"The best thing we can do for her is to give her peace, so Arioch can no longer harm her," Castiel said, distressed as he saw Rachel's eyes widen in realization. She knew what he meant. They were going to kill her.
"No!" she screamed. "You can't!" She thrashed against Sam, who took her punches as she tried to escape him.
"Rachel," Dean said, swallowing as he approached her. "I know … I know how this sounds. But all we want is to give her peace."
"By killing her?!" Rachel nearly screamed. "She's alive!"
"Sweetheart," Sam whispered above her, keeping her to himself, "she will never recover. She may be alive, but she's hanging by a thread."
Rachel covered her mouth, gagging against the reality. Tears slipped down her cheeks, her stomach sick as she looked from Dean to Castiel, who both looked back at her with pained expressions. She couldn't let Arioch take the last of Hailey, but what they were proposing went against everything inside of her. "I can't," she shuddered, clinging to Sam's arm as he held her.
Dean nodded, approaching her. "I know," he whispered. "You won't. … I will."
"Please, Dean," she begged. "Please don't do this."
"You don't want her to suffer," he argued gently, his own brow drawn tight as he wrestled his own emotions down.
Her face soaked with tears, she trembled, looking into Dean's eyes. "Dean," she shuddered, "she's all I have."
Dean's jaw flexed as he swallowed. "I know, sweetheart," he whispered. He reached out and gently stroked her cheek, his own breath shaky as he wiped her tears away. "But you can't let him win. We need to give her peace."
Rachel's heart stopped. She saw the rawness in Dean's eyes, the disgusting truth he barely wanted to admit-he was willing to do the unthinkable for not only Hailey's sake, but hers, so she wouldn't have to have that on her conscious. She gave Dean the smallest of nods, and Sam let her go, aching as he watched her stoop down to Hailey's body, embracing her. He shut his eyes as he heard her cry, his own tears threatening to escape.
"Sammy," Dean whispered, his voice raw, "we've got to go. If we're burning the body, we need to move."
Sam ran his hand over his face, hating himself as he approached Rachel. "Sam," she begged him, "please. Please don't." His heart twisted, and he gently took her arm, pulling her to stand as she fought him. "No!" she screamed. He held her, letting her pound against his arms and chest as he took her away from Hailey. Deep down, he knew Rachel had resolved herself to what Dean would do, but she also couldn't help her instinct to want to protect her.
Castiel took up Rachel's flashlight and gun, moving away near Sam as Dean moved toward Hailey. "No!" Rachel screamed. "Dean, no!"
"We need to, baby girl," Sam urged, pressing her close.
Rachel quivered against him, clinging to his shirt. She cried out as Dean raised his gun, his hesitation clear. Sam turned her inward to his chest, pressing her head against himself and shielding her eyes as she sobbed and struggled to look. "No, don't," Sam whispered, keeping her tight to himself. "You don't want to."
"Sam," Rachel whispered through her tears.
"I'm here," he reminded her, drawing her as tight as he could to himself to block her view, covering her ears as he watched Dean cock his gun. He braced against Rachel's fight to see what was happening, kissing the top of her head. "No, sweetheart," he whispered into her ear, denying her the view she thought she wanted. "Just focus on me. I'm right here. I'm not leaving. You're not alone." Sam kept Rachel's blood-curdling scream muffled into his chest as Dean pulled the trigger, firing a round. "Shhh," he shuddered, pressing kisses on her head. "It's over. She's free, baby girl."
Nearly two hours later, Rachel was sitting in the passenger seat of her own car, Sam driving it back to Lebanon for her. Dean and Castiel were in the Impala ahead of them, the road seemingly empty besides them.
Sam had decided the safest thing to do was to get Rachel back to the bunker. They knew once they cut off the last of Arioch's supply, he would double down on hunting her. At the bunker with Castiel, she was safe, and they could go back and pursue Arioch.
Rachel, of course, wasn't a fan of Sam's plan in the slightest. She didn't want to be safe. She wanted to kill the son of a bitch who took Hailey from her. Sam would not be moved, though—even Dean agreed that his plan was for the best. She was outnumbered, and far too emotionally drained to fight after a while.
She spent the first third of the ride thinking about what Sam had said to her as Dean did the unthinkable. He called her "baby" and "baby girl," and he told her she wasn't alone, that he would be there. Would he? Or was he desperately trying to soothe a crazed woman? His kisses and pet names said otherwise, but she couldn't help the cynical feeling that overcame her. Hailey was the last of her bloodline that would even speak to her. Besides her car and her few clothes, she had nothing. Did Sam truly mean what he said—did she have him?
Rachel stole a glance at Sam, whose knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel. Her car was pretty junky, so it couldn't really keep up with the Impala, which was evident by how Dean and Castiel had disappeared into the darkness except for two small red tail lights in the distance. Sam's eyes were bloodshot, as she imagined hers were too. He had given her his jacket, which she tugged tighter around herself as she watched him.
A bright white glow stole her focus, and she looked out at the car approaching in the opposite lane. It was going pretty fast, but then again, it was late at night on a country road, so it was probably pretty average. She narrowed her eyes, swearing she saw the headlights drift a little closer to their lane with the passing seconds.
"Sam," she whispered, "that car. It looks like it's coming into our lane."
Sam immediately tightened his hold on the wheel, shifting the car away from the oncoming vehicle. Still, it drifted until it was aiming right for them. "Hold on!" Sam shouted, cutting the wheel sharply to the left around the car just before impact, managing to keep it under control.
As they passed by the car, which was stopped in the distance, Rachel looked out the back window, seeing it turn around. "Sam! It's following us!"
"Shit!" Sam growled, trying to look for a viable path to escape to. Rachel's heart slammed in her chest as the headlights behind them got brighter with each second.
Before he could swerve to avoid the hit, the car behind them rammed into their rear bumper, jolting them forward as Sam wrestled for control. Another hit sent Rachel's lightweight car sliding to the left; Sam was unable to control it, and Rachel screamed as they flew into a ditch on the opposite side of the road.