A/N: I'm SO incredibly sorry for updating so late, I'm graduating from collage this year and life tend to get in the way of written *sigh*.

Thanks to everyone who stuck with me so far and everyone who still reviews and leaves alerts of any kind, you keep me going :)

Now, onto the story, I hope you haven't forgotten what happened yet!

10 – Take a Breath

Morning found Dean lying in bed on his back, shivering and grunting. He turned his head to look at the digital clock on the small nightstand beside his bed. 8:06 am, Damn! The pressure inside his chest must have woken him up. Sighing, Dean steeled himself and rolled to his left side and gasped as every cut and bruise on his body made themselves known. The pain forced sleep and grogginess to the back of his head and made it to the top of Dean's priorities. He waited until the pain in his ribs subsided a little before he propped himself on his elbow, planted his right palm on the gritty surface of the sheet and hauled his body up in a sitting position. Big mistake.

"Ow! Son of—" Gritting his teeth and trapping more curses to not wake his brother up, Dean closed his eyes against the spinning of the room and took a minute to breathe in slowly. Once he got the trembling of his body somewhat under control, he raised his right hand up to inspect it closely. Upon seeing the thick bandage that was wrapped neatly around his palm, he remembered why it felt like every nerve in his hand was on fire. He tried to flex his fingers gradually and let out a breath of relief he didn't realize he was holding when he could move his fingers. Still, he grunted when he tried to make a fist.

Okay, maybe too soon, he thought, trying to peek under the bandage to get a closer look on the wound but experience of a lifetime of dealing with injuries assured him that it was just a deep cut, and no nerves were damaged.

Moving on to the next step of his mission to get up, go to the bathroom, and take a couple of painkillers proved to be more challenging than he expected. He didn't know why he was so exhausted or why his body felt so weak and a hurt on a scale from one to ten. It wasn't like he had never broken a few ribs and cracked his skull open before. It was more like a paper cut considering their history. Either way, he wasn't going to dwell on it, not when he really couldn't understand whatever the mark was doing to him or his body anymore, and certainly not when his body was screaming at him to do something to smother the pain.

When he finally made it to his feet, he used the support of whatever he could lean his body against and made his way to the bathroom as quietly and with minimum pain as possible. Intentionally avoiding looking at his reflection in the mirror, he spotted the first-aid kit on the counter beside the sink and it didn't take him a lot of rummaging inside it to find what he was looking for. He popped three pills of the strongest painkillers they had in his mouth before pausing to add another one for good measure and chased them with a swallow of water from the tap.

Mission accomplished, he turned and moved his body carefully back to the room where he found his brother's bed empty. Huh. No wonder Sam didn't wake up after all the noises Dean had made since the second he had opened his eyes. His brother wasn't in bed, to begin with. It was eight in the morning; he remembered waking up in the middle of the night to take a leak only to fall over and Sam breaking his fall before he face-planted on the hard floor, but he wasn't sure what time that was exactly. That and Sam waking him every five minutes, it seemed, to ask him who he was and what year and who was the current president.

Did Sam have any sleep at all? He wondered, regarding the room and noticing that all their stuff were packed and ready on the small table, except for a fresh set of clothes and their first-aid kit, apparently.

Dean decided he would give his brother some much-deserved, alone time while he showered and got ready for the road then he would call him if he hasn't come back yet from wherever he was.

His morning routine took longer than usual due to his slow, uncoordinated movements and the multiple bandages that he didn't want to get wet, and by the time he was done and freshly dressed he was shaking but successful regardless.

He stepped back into the room where Sam still didn't show up, but before he could reach his phone he heard his brother's muffled voice nearby. He put on his jacket and moved closer to the door that separated their room from the one next door—and why the hell did Sam get them an adjacent room with somebody else in the first place?—and made sure that, yeah, it was definitely his brother. Did Sam get them separate rooms last night? Did he prefer to sleep in another room instead of the one he was in? Dean swallowed hard.

Did he finally succeed in scaring away his own brother?

Before even darker thoughts could make their way up to the surface, he heard another voice coming from the other side. Feminine voice. Caroline.

Dean let his head fall in relief against the wall next to the door that concealed him from the people next room.

The diner. Taser. Spirit. Hospital. Caroline.

He remembered now.

Dean quickly straightened up his body and moved away from the door when Sam's voice started to get closer, trying to maintain a more composed posture. Seconds later, his brother opened the door.

"Hey, you're up!" Sam greeted him with a wide smile, if not a little nervous as if he has been caught doing something his older brother wouldn't approve. In that case, talking to Caroline. Not that it really mattered to Dean. Though it kind of made him uncomfortable—he couldn't begin to imagine what kind of a conversation would go between his brother and the woman he had attacked not so long ago.

"Well, aren't you Mr. obvious." Dean greeted back, trying to be his normal self and not completely succeeding, considering the circumstances.

"Hey, Dean," A hesitant Caroline came into view as Sam moved forward and into their room. "I hope you're feeling better today." She added nervously, smiling a little.

Dean's breath caught a little in his chest. He couldn't remember if he had seen her smile before. Sure, they had once flirted and smiled at each other, among other things, but it had all been a part of a mischief play, where sincerity and genuine smiles certainly were not included. And after—after, all that followed were heartbreak, fear, and hatred. He wondered what he had ever done in his life to deserve her smile.

Aware of how long it passed before he could utter an answer, Dean diverted his gaze away and replied in a hushed voice, "Uh, thanks."

"Hey man, you okay?" Of course, Sam would feel the need to ask, the supersized, mother-fucking-hen Sasquatch!

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied needlessly. He wasn't fine and he knew that both Sam and Caroline could read him like an open book right now.

He needed to get his shit together.

"So, what are you doing up so early anyway?" He turned to stuff his dirty clothes, which he has been unconsciously squeezing a moment earlier, into his bag, deflecting the attention away from himself and shutting his audience out.

Sam rolled his eyes at him, before he said, "I do get up early. I went to grab some breakfast; you were still asleep so I decided to let you get some rest." He knew Sam was lying about the sleeping part if the dark circles around his tired eyes were any indication, but he didn't call him on it. "And, umm, Caroline was awake and since we both were hungry we ate while waiting for you to wake up." He finished sheepishly, speaking too fast and giving Dean that guilty look again when their eyes met.

Dean ignored him and went into the bathroom to collect the rest of their belonging. "Alright, since we're all up and ready I'm assuming we can hit the road." The older brother said on his way back into the room. "Where the hell are we anyway?" He added as an afterthought.

"'Bout two and half hours away from the bunker," Sam answered, his eyes tracking his every movement. "Just past Alma." He added when Dean raised an eyebrow at him.

Dean nodded. Alma. A three-hour drive by Sam's standards and two by his. Good. It would give him enough time to think of what he would say to her, where to begin, and how much to reveal. Enough time for his wavering mask to slip back in its rightful place.

"You drive then." He started to lean forward to haul his bag off the table but Sam was blocking his way before he could even conceal the wince the movement had caused.

"What are you doing?" Dean resisted the instant, childish duh and just huffed impatiently.

"What does it look like I'm doing, dumbass?" He shot back indignantly. The pain was starting to make him cranky. He was tired and desperate to sit down and put his aching chest, and now his head, out of their misery and he didn't have the patience to deal with Sam being… well, Sam.

He could hear a hushed 'okaaay' in the background, followed by the sound of footsteps moving away. He let his shoulders slump a little bit when Caroline wasn't in the room anymore.

Sam, on the other hand, was staring at him with his ultimate bitch-face. "Aren't you gonna at least eat something? I brought breakfast and you sure look like you could use some food and something for the pain."

"Already ahead of you," Dean gave him a lopsided grin and tried to get to his bag again.

"Ah, Dean!" His brother sighed in frustration, his tone underlining the lecture he knew all too well.

"Sam, I'm tired and in pain and really would like if we just go home, okay?!" He cut in, tired enough to not care about revealing how he actually felt or the pitying look Sam was now throwing his way.

Caroline appeared just then with her shopping bags in her hands. She cleared her throat and quietly declared that she was ready.

Dean glanced in her way; she looked nervous but hopeful in a way. Dean still couldn't understand. He took a deep breath.

"Well, if we're all ready then let's go." He turned to Sam, his tone leaving no room for argument.

….

An hour and half of silence later they stopped for gas. Caroline excused herself to go the ladies' room, apparently giving them some room to work out the tension that has been riding with them like a fourth company so far. Dean took off his sunglasses and waited while Sam pumped the Impala's tank full. After he was done, Sam headed to the store without a word and five minutes later he came back with two plastic bags, thrusting the lighter one at Dean once he was behind the wheel.

Watching his brother all along, Dean was a little bit startled when the bag fell into his lap. He checked its content and found a big pack of M&M's and other different types of Dean's favorite candies.

"You're pale and shaky and I bet the three or four pills you've taken are already wearing off." Sam retrieved a new bottle of painkillers from his pocket and gave it a couple of good shakes. "But not before you eat something." He pocketed it again, not looking at his brother.

Dean smiled sincerely at his little brother's thoughtfulness. "Thanks, Sammy."

Sam looked at him for a moment, obviously trying to read the level of sincerity in his eyes, before his face relaxed into a smile and nodded.

"So, are you sure it's a good idea to bring Caroline to the bunker?" Sam finally asked the question that Dean knew they both were thinking of since they hit the road from the hospital.

"I don't know," Dean answered honestly, turning to look around the gas station to make sure Caroline wasn't in earshot. "I mean, what difference does it make? Sure, we can head to some random motel, could've stayed at the other one back there actually, or something. But, I just…" He sighed. He didn't really know. "I don't really know, man. I don't even know what I'm gonna tell her. Or how."

"Hey, it'll be okay." Sam, ever the optimistic one, tried to assure him. "Your chances at this conversation are actually better now that she has been actually possessed herself, you know."

Dean gave him a sardonic smile. "Ugh, you know what I mean. I don't mean that I'm glad she's been possessed, I'm just saying now that that had happened, she'll be able to get the whole, you know, demons thing." Sam clarified, voice going soft by the end of the sentence.

"Yeah, the only difference is I wasn't possessed." Dean spat and turned his head away to stare out his window.

"It wasn't you, Dean. That's all that matters." Sam waited for an answer that he knew wouldn't come. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get to Dean when it was related to the whole 'Demon' thing. And no matter how hard Dean tried, he couldn't make Sam understand that it was all him.

"Anyway, I think you're right. It doesn't matter whether it's the bunker or someplace else, it's not like she'd make much of a threat and you will need as much privacy as you can get. It's better this way." Sam moved on to the main topic, hoping he would distract Dean from whatever was going on inside his head.

"She isn't a threat." Dean turned to him after a minute, a contemplating look in his eyes. "But she might be on the run from someone...or something."

He remembered she had called him by the name of someone else when she was panicking. He remembered every second of their encounter. Dean tried to suppress a shudder at the vivid memory and failed miserably.

Sam tilted his head to the side, connecting the dots between his brother's comment and the intense conversation he had had with Caroline the other night. Dean might be right after all.

But when he felt Dean shudder, his decision was already made. "Well, whatever it is, we can deal with it later."

Caroline appeared a second later as if she had had an inkling of how much time the brothers needed. She walked slowly towards the car, stealing a quick look at Dean, who acted like he hadn't noticed, before she got in the backseat.

Sam gave her an acknowledging look through the rearview mirror and passed her a can of diet soda at which she chuckled slightly. The sound drew Dean's eyes to her reflection in the wing mirror on his side.

"Eat your chocolate." Sam's playful tone snapped him out of what felt like a trance. He turned from the mirror to Sam and to the mirror once again, briefly this time. Dean shook his head and dug into his bag.

Sam was right. He did feel shaky.

…..

Caroline stood a few steps behind them while Sam unlocked the door to what the two men kept refereeing to as 'the bunker'. The huge metal door opened with a loud creak and Sam invited her in while Dean glanced at her for a brief moment, just like he had been doing since this morning, before he disappeared inside.

Hesitating, she took a step forward but then stopped. She hadn't planned on coming to these men's house, bunker, or whatever. The fact was she hadn't planned at all; she had just reacted. But now that she was standing on the doorsteps of this creepy place, having no clue what waited inside, fear started rising back in her chest.

How could she trust them? They did save her life, but from what she understood they were just doing their job and she just happened to be in the way.

"Hey, it's alright. I know it looks scary, but I assure you that this is, by far, the safest place on earth." Sam cut through her thoughts. "It's only Dean and me who live down there. Friends stop by sometimes but it's mostly just us. And you don't have to be scared of us." His tone was gentle and open, prompting her to trust him.

The man in front of her seemed to be one of these people who always knew the right thing to say and when to say it. They only had actual conversations a few times, back at the hospital, last night at the motel, and earlier this morning while they were having breakfast and so far he had been willing to answer all her questions, except when it came to his brother. He was either a really understanding person or a really good manipulator.

Still, this was a now-or-never deal, and the other man still owed her an explanation, and she owed him an apology.

It wasn't like there was much of a choice when you didn't want to spend your life wondering. And she has done her share of wondering lately.

…

The bunker was huge from the inside and it only took her a few glances here and there to understand why they called it that. It seemed like there were no windows inside—at least not ones she could see—and it looked more like an army base than an actual house. Still, it was neat, almost antique-like, yet in a sort of a modern way that reminded her of Mystic Falls.

She turned towards Sam, who was putting the bags near one of the libraries and then disappeared inside what appeared to be a hallway after he told her that he would be back in a second and to make herself at home. Dean wasn't in sight, though, he had disappeared by the time she and Sam had descended the stairs.

Caroline didn't know whether she wanted this to not be prolonged even further and to get it over with, or if she wanted to stick around a little bit longer to know more about the brothers. If she were honest with herself, she would admit that the brothers had fascinated her in more than one way. She hadn't witnessed much, but aside from their lifestyle, it was obvious that their relationship was something different—it reminded her of Elena who has been protective of her brother Germy ever since their parents had died in the car accident—but more fierce. And even though she had only really witnessed Sam's protectiveness, it was obvious that it was a two-way street thing and not one-sided like Elena's relationship with her brother.

She almost jumped when Sam's voice rang nearby all of a sudden.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He smiled apologetically and gestured awkwardly with the beer bottle in his hand. "Umm, I don't know if you drink or what..?" He chuckled lamely and she could have sworn she had seen a glimpse of Matt—one of the people who used to be her closest friends—in Sam's eyes.

Caroline couldn't help but wonder that in a different life, maybe different circumstance, he could have been one of her closest friends too.

She missed her friends, she missed her mother… she missed her life.

Tears stung the back of her eyes but she covered them quickly by chuckling back. "I'm a big girl; I think I can handle my liquor." She accepted the bottle and turned away from Sam's too understanding gaze.

It was then that Dean finally appeared. He had taken off his jacket and was now only in a navy blue button-up shirt with a plain black shirt underneath it. The sleeves were rolled up to just below the elbows and Caroline caught a glimpse of the burn mark—as the doctors had put it—she had seen before on the inside of his right arm when Dean was in the hospital bed. The missing layer somehow made him look vulnerable and allowed his many bandages to be even more noticeable. Caroline shook her head slightly when a flash of a much more vulnerable version of this man from last night flashed in her mind.

It was a sight she knew she wouldn't forget any time soon.

She turned her eyes away, staring at anything but him and took a long swallow of her beer as if to somehow brace herself.

A couple of awkward minutes passed in silence while, still, no one had said anything until Sam finally broke the silence.

"I'll go put our stuff away," he cleared his throat. "Give you guys a minute."

And then he was gone, but not before he gave her a nod and squeezed his brother's shoulder subtly on his way, leaving her with Dean alone to finally have the long-overdue conversation.

…..

- TBC

I'm aware of how evil you think I am right now. Normally, I, in fact, am evil. except, in this case, I was really planning for them to have the conversation in this chapter, but I had to break the chapter into two because I caught a nasty cold that doesn't agree with writing, like AT ALL. So I think you'll have to wait for it, AGAIN. I'm really sorry, but I will try to post the next chapter very soon. The work is already in progress.

Thank you for your patience!

~Aya S.