Rian was pacing paced nearby as Dean made yet another phone call to Ellen Harvelle. Sam had disappeared about one week ago, and she wasn't able to recall where he went. All she knew was that she forgot something imperative, but she couldn't remember what. It had been happening a lot to her lately. As she tried to recall future events she got nothing. And even worse than that the journal she had created at the beginning of her time in this universe was gone. Which was really really bad.
Rian wrapped her arms around her waist and stopped pacing to listen to Dean talk to Ellen. She could see the worry lines on his forehead and heaved a sigh, Dean to frowned at her.
"I don't know where he went or why. Sam's just gone," Dean said, bringing the phone down to look at it for a second before bringing it back to his ear "Hang on." He clicked a button on the phone, "Sammy, where the hell are you? Are you okay? Hey, hey, hey, hey. Calm down. Where are you? Don't move. We're on our way."
Dean turned and left the motel room, neglecting to grab his bag. Rian sighed and grabbed the bags for him before following Dean out to the Impala. She threw the bags into the back then slid in next to them, ignoring the look from Dean.
"Do you remember anything yet?" Dean said, more harshly than he intended to.
"If I remembered something I wouldn't feel so damn useless," The young brunette growled before running a hand down her face, "I don't know what happened Dean. I woke up on the day he disappeared, and I couldn't remember a damn thing."
Dean was silent and the two-hour ride to Sam was filled with only the Zeppelin songs coming from Dean's tapes. When they pulled up outside of the motel, Dean was the first one out of the car and Rian followed him quickly. They stopped outside of room 109, and Dean knocked on the door, shifting from foot to foot as he waited for a response
"Sam, it's me." There was no answer, "Sam!" Again nothing, Rian reached forward to try the door knob, jumping back behind Dean when the door swung open, "Sam?"
"Hey." Rian murmured when they spot Sam sitting on one of the beds.
"Hey, Dean, Fin," Sam said, glancing up at them then back at his hands.
"Are you bleeding?" Dean questioned, noticing the blood on Sam's hands.
"I tried to wash it off," Sam muttered, his voice sounding like a child's. Rian gulped, the lack of knowledge had left her feeling queasy, and the sight of blood pushed her to her limit.
"Oh, my God." Rian gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. She ran past Dean and to the open door leading to the bathroom. Rian flung herself down by the toilet and emptied her stomach.
"I don't think it's my blood," Sam explained, glancing worriedly back to Rian who was sitting by the toilet, breathing heavily. Dean forced layers to the side, looking for any injury.
"Whose is it?" Dean asked glancing from the blood to Sam
"I don't know," Sam said after a moment, Dean glanced at him sharply.
"Sam, what the hell happened?" Dean asked as he stood up, giving the younger Winchester his personal space back.
"Dean I don't remember anything," Sam informed the shorter man.
Rian stood up and groaned clutching her head. Luckily she didn't throw up again. When her head stopped spinning, and the pain receded, Rian went back out to join the two men.
"Fin, what's wrong?" Sam asked from his spot on the bed.
"Nothing, 'm fine," Rian said even as she took a deep breath to quell the second wave of "I'm all right, I should probably drink more water" she gave the brothers a small smile, "and anyways, your problem is more important than my dietary habits."
Dean glanced at Rian and Sam before picking up his keys and starting toward the door. He saw how pale Rian was and knew that she needed to see for herself that Sam was okay.
"I'm gonna go see if anyone saw anything" Dean explained before leaving the room.
Sam and Rian wait in silence, both of them looking at the floor. After five minutes of uncomfortable silence, Rian sat next to Sam on the bed, careful not to get blood on her clothes.
"I'm sorry I can't help you, Sam." Rian apologized as the younger Winchester glanced at her. Rian grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, "I don't know what's going on. But I do know that whatever happened it wasn't you. You could not have done anything wrong."
"Thanks," Sam said, giving her hand a squeeze back enjoying the feeling of comfort that the girl gave him.
When Dean came back into the room, Sam had showered and changed at Rian's urging. Both Sam and Rian were sitting at the table in the room playing a game of go fish. He shook his head at them as they sat down the cards and looked at him.
"What did you find out?" Sam asked, his voice quieter than normal.
"You checked in two days ago under the name Richard Sambora." Dean told the duo, sitting at the table with them, "I think the scariest part about this whole thing is the fact that you're a Bon Jovi fan."
"Dean." Sam admonished, not in the mood for Dean's comments.
"Your room's been quiet." Dean said, getting up and checking the fridge for a beer only to find it disgustingly empty, "Nobody's noticed anything unusual."
"You mean no one saw me walking around covered in blood?" Sam asked surprised, surely someone had seen something.
"Yeah, that's what I mean," Dean said, taking his seat at the table with him.
"Then how the hell did I get here?" Sam asked. Glancing at Rian who was being oddly quiet, "What happened to me?"
"I don't know, but you're okay, and that's what matters," Dean said, also sparing a glance to Rian who was staring blankly out the window, "Everything else, we can deal with."
"Oh, really?" Sam asked, standing up, "Cause what if I hurt someone or worse?"
"Sam," Dean warned, noticing how Rian flinched at the sudden movement
"What if this is what dad warned you about?" Sam warned not even looking at Rian.
"Come on, man." Dean begged, "Let's not jump the gun here. We don't know what happened. We got to treat this like any other job. What's the last thing you remember?"
"Me and you and Rian in that motel room in West Texas." Sam said, glancing at Rian who was still looking out the window, "We went out to grab some burgers."
"West Texas -That was over a week ago," Dean said with a frown
"That's it." Sam said, "Next thing I knew, I was sitting here Bloody. I felt like I had been asleep for a month."
"Okay, retrace your steps." Dean commanded, "Manager said you left yesterday afternoon and never saw you come back."
"Hey," Rian said suddenly, pointing at the window. She had been staring blankly out the window but when her vision focused she saw the spots of blood on the windowsill. She stood quickly and moved to it, "I think Sam came in this way."
Rian opened the window and quickly climbed out when she was sure there was no one nearby. She glanced back at the brothers who were sharing a look. Rian rolled her eyes.
"We're retracing Sam's steps, yeah?" Rian asked before gesturing for the brothers to follow her out the window.
"Recognize anything?" Dean asked after they had made it a block from the motel. They were in a neighborhood that seemed to specialize in both personal and warehouse storage.
"Not really," Sam said dejectedly, looking around, he stopped in front of a storage container, eyeing it carefully, "Wait."
"What?" Dean asked coming up to Rian
"I think I was here," Sam explained, looking up and down the row of units.
"You remember?" Dean asked, exchanging a look with Rian that told her he's still peeved with her for forgetting pretty much everything.
"Not really." Sam said, examining a unit carefully "It just feels familiar, you know?" He pointed to the unit next to them, "Try that one."
"Yeah." Dean said skeptically, pulling out his lockpick it, "Okay."
"Wait," Sam ordered, fishing something out of his pocket. He pulled out a key and handed it to Dean who tried it on the lock, finding himself hoping that the key wouldn't work.
Inside the storage unit sat an old blue convertible bug. Rian examined it closely noting the blood stains on the handle and the careless way the car was parked. She knew something was fishy; Sam took much better care to hide the evidence than what had been taken here. It was like someone wanted them to find the evidence.
"Please tell me you didn't steal this," Dean pleaded from where he had been examining the car, glancing up at the younger Winchester,
"More blood." Sam pointed out in lieu of answering.
"Sam, backseat," Dean said, pointing to something on the floor.
Rian moved to get a better look when Sam pulled out a bloody knife. She examined the blade with growing trepidation, not liking how this is looking at all. The longer they looked around, the surer she became that they were being led on a wild goose chase. She growled to herself, moving outside of the storage unit, not liking the fact that she didn't know what was going on
"You think I used this on someone?" Sam asked Dean, watching Rian leave the unit with growing concern for the girl.
"I'm not thinking anything," Dean said moving to search the rest of the car with Sam's help. "Okay, now, this is disturbing." He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from behind the passenger seat. "Come on, man." Dean said, trying to sound upbeat and failing horribly, "This couldn't have been you. It could have been someone else -Somebody who, uh, smokes menthols."
"Hey, a gas receipts, a few towns over." Sam said after rolling his eyes at his brothers strange optimism.
Dean grabbed a paper from the glove box and held it up for the other two to look at, "Alright, receipts for ten gallons at pump number two" He said before leaving the storage container, intent on getting to the Impala.
"You getting any goose bumps yet?" Dean asked when they pull into the small gas station two towns over from where they had found Sam. "God, this looks familiar,"djavu vibes?" Sam shook his head "Maybe someone inside will remember you. Come on."
"I'll wait out here," Rian told the brothers as they exited the car, not wanting to get in the way. Sam and Dean nodded at her before going into the store, Sam glancing back at Rian in concern.
"You -Out of here." The man behind the counter ordered as soon as Sam walked in, he picked up the phone, "Now. I'm calling the cops."
"You talking to him?" Dean asked, glancing between the clerk and Sam.
"Yeah, I'm talking to him." The man growled, reaching for the store phone, "Jerk comes in yesterday, stinking drunk, grabs a 40 from the fridge, starts chugging it."
"This guy?" Dean asked, smacking Sam on the chest before questioning his brother, "You're drinking malt liquor?"
"Not after he whipped the bottle at my friggin' head." The guy said still glaring at Sam
"This guy?" Dean asked again, obviously irking the clerk
"What, am I speaking Urdu?" The man wondered impatiently
"I'm really sorry if I did anything," Sam started to apologize only to be interrupted by the guy
"Tell your story walking, pal, okay?" He said, done with Sam's shit, "Popo will be here in five."
"Wait," Dean pleaded urgently, throwing up a hand, "He's leaving. Put the phone down. Sam, go wait in the car."
"But, Dean-" Sam began to argue
"Go wait in the car!" Dean demanded, and Sam exited the store.
Inside the Impala Rian was sprawled on the back seat with her arms covering her face. Sam glanced at her before looking out at Dean. With a sigh, he turned in the front seat so that he could address Rian better.
"Hey," Sam said, startling the young woman, "What's wrong?"
"I can't remember anything," Rian told Sam after a moment, removing her arms from her face and looking at Sam from her spot on the seat, "I don't know what's going on and this is the first time this has happened and I feel useless. I-I don't know how to hunt, the only reason Dean tolerates me is because I know things and now that I don't-"
"Fin, calm down." Sam said gently, reaching over the back of the seat and laying a hand on her flannel-clad shoulder, "We'll figure out what's going on with the both of us and we'll get it fixed, you're not useless."
"What if we can't?" Rian whispered, sitting up slowly once Sam had removed his hand, "What if we can't fix this and I'm just here, and useless, and getting in the way?"
"Fin, you're not useless." Sam tried to placate her, not liking that the woman saw herself that way. Not when she had saved both him and Dean countless times.
"I am Sam," Rian argued, trying not to cry, she hated how weak she felt, "I don't know how to hunt, I'm shit at research, I'm out of shape, I cry when I get a splinter. I'm useless Sam. The only thing I was good for was my extensive knowledge of the future, and now I don't even have that."
"Rian," Sam said harshly, causing Rian to look at him sheepishly, "Calm down. We'll teach you how to hunt, as much as we don't like you getting more involved. You're right; you need to be able to protect yourself." Rian nodded slowly, having not expected this from Sam, "And you are not shit at research. I know you research all the cases anyways despite having knowledge of them."
"Okay, I don't agree with you but okay," Rian said, finally smiling a little at the younger Winchester. "Thanks, Sam."
Dean opened the driver door then not giving Sam the chance to respond. He tossed a snickers bar to Rian and a twix Sam. Rian smiled at Dean, not really surprised that the hunter had remembered her favorite candy bar.
"The smoking, throwing bottles at people-" Dean said to Sam when he started the Impala, "That sounds more like me than you."
"Yeah, I know," Sam says, settling into his seat, missing how Rian glanced back and forth between the two in confusion, "What did he say?"
"You went north, heading out of town." Dean said as he too turned north, "Keep an eye out for anything familiar."
A few miles later Sam sat up in a rush, demanding: "Dean, wait. Wait. Here. Turn down that road."
"What?" Dean said, making a sharp turn that threw Rian tight against her seatbelt with a grunt. Dean gave her an apologetic smile which she returned with a grimace as she pulled the belt away from her body to prevent it from doing any further damage.
"I don't know how I know." Sam said, his voice tight, "I just do."
"Whoever lives here, I'd say they don't like surprises," Dean offered once they pulled up to a large house with an extensive security system. "Should we knock?"
"Yeah, I guess." Sam said eyeing the house warily moving to check out the rest of the house
Rian watched from the car, not wanting to get in the way. They had promised to get her when they were sure the house was clear. Sam and Dean surveyed the house, each cautious of what they might find.
"Hey, Dean," Sam called, pointing out a broken window to his older brother.
"I'm surprised the cops didn't show -place like this you'd think would have an alarm." Dean said as he inspected the window, noting it was broken from the outside.
"Yeah, you would." Sam agreed, opening a panel on the side of the house that revealed the cables for the security system, cables that had been cut.
With a sigh the boys entered the house. They found it a mess with things broken everywhere and lots of glass on the floor. Dean entered the first room on the right and stopped for a moment to take in what he saw.
In a pool of blood was the body of a many, probably in his mid-fifties. His throat had been cut by what was probably a kitchen knife. Dean frowned at the scene, a feeling of trepidation causing him to shiver slightly.
"Hit the lights," Dean demanded as he moved to the body to get a closer look.
His wound was worse than Dean had initially seen, the man has a cut all the way around his throat, and there was dried blood in his hair and on the throw beneath him. Dean pulled back and covered his mouth, noting the stench the guy had left. Sam looked around the room, anything he could do not to look at the body he knew he had put there.
"Dean, I did this," Sam said, voicing what was going through the minds of both men
"We don't know that," Dean argued back, not liking where this was going.
"What else do you need?" Sam yelled, "How else do you explain the car, the knife, the blood?"
"I don't know, man." Dean told Sam, "Why don't you tell me? Even if you did do this, I'm sure you had a reason -you know, self-defense, he was a bad son of a bitch -Something." Dean pushed himself up from the man, "He doesn't have any I. D."
"I need your lock pick," Sam demanded, eyeing the cabinet that he had been standing in front of.
"What?" Dean asked, turning to look at Sam
"I need your lock pick." Sam repeated and this time Dean handed it to him.
As Sam began to pick the lock, the brothers heard a small gasp from the doorway of the room, and they turned to see Rian there, holding her hand over her mouth. Her tanned skin was pale, and she looked like she was about to throw up or pass out.
"Fin, you okay, there?" Dean asked, standing up and walking over to her, making sure to keep himself between the body and Rian.
"Yeah," Rian managed to get out, looking up at Dean, making sure she didn't let her eyes wander from the man's face as Sam finished his work on the lock, "I mean, I had no problem on all the other hunts why is it affecting me so bad?"
"I don't know Fin; you should wait in the car while we figure this out, okay?" Dean said, pulling Rian in for a quick hug, surprising the girl who buried her face into Dean's shoulder, "we'll figure all this crap out and then we'll go back to antagonizing each other, alright?"
"Okay," Rian said before pulling out of the hug and turning to make her way back out to the Impala, being extra careful not to step on anything.
Once she was in the back of the Impala, Rian wrapped her arms around her middle and laid down in the back with a shudder. If she was completely honest right now, she was freaking out. Rian knew she could handle bodies. She had helped Dean and Sam dig up graves on a few small hunts; she had been to the morgue with them. She had seen things a lot more gruesome than that dead body inside.
With a groan, Rian rolled over so that she was staring at the back of the Impala's front seat. She couldn't help but think back to the Croatoan case. She had been a mess then, so sure of what needed to be done and not mindful of what others were going through. She'd been a bitch and hadn't cared.
It had scared her. Rian had felt out of control, but at the same time, she felt like she was in control of everyone and she had loved it. It just wasn't her style, though. Rian was perfectly content to let others take the lead, which she was proving right now with her inability to do anything.
Rian let out a sigh when Dean and Sam came back to the Impala. Sam glanced at her worriedly, and she shook her head, letting the Winchester know that she didn't want to talk. The brothers got into the Impala, and Dean started driving before anyone spoke.
"What now?" Rian asked, proud of herself for keeping the fear she was feeling out of her voice.
"To the motel, I guess, we got everything we could here," Dean said simply and the conversation died until they make it back.
"All right, we get a couple hours' sleep, and then we put this place in our rearview mirror," Dean ordered when everyone was in the room that he had got for them, Sam didn't reply so Dean walked over to him, "I know this is bad, okay? You gotta snap out of it." there was no response from the younger Winchester, "Sam, say something."
"Just get some sleep and leave in the morning?" Sam said after a moment, glaring at Dean, "Murder, Dean -That's what I did."
"Yeah, well, maybe it was a shifter," Dean suggested as Rian made her way into the bathroom to take a much-needed shower.
"Oh, come on. You know it wasn't." Sam argued, watching Rian enter the other room with concern, "You saw the tape. There was no eye flare, no distortion."
"But it wasn't you, alright?" Dean said, getting frustrated, not bothering to pay attention to Rian. His primary concern right now was Sam, "Yeah, it might have been you, but it wasn't you."
"Well, I think it was," Sam said adamantly, much to Dean's surprise, "I think maybe more than you know."
"What the hell does that mean?" Dean asked as the shower in the bathroom shut off. They're quiet for a moment as faint humming comes through the thin door,
"For the last few weeks, I've been having I've been having these feelings," Sam said, lowering his voice so that Rian couldn't hear him.
"What feelings?" Dean asked raising an eyebrow at his brother.
"Rage Hate." Sam told Dean, not looking at him, "And I can't stop it. It just gets worse. Day by day, it gets worse."
"You never told me this." Dean accused, his eyes narrowing at his younger brother.
"I didn't want to scare you," Sam said quietly
"Well, bang-up job on that." Dean scoffed, flopping down on the bed
"Dean, the yellow-Eyed demon -You know he has plans for me." Sam said, "And we both know that he's turned other children into killers before, too."
"No one can control you but you," Dean said, his voice hard.
"It sure doesn't seem like that, Dean." Sam murmured, "it feels like no matter what I do, slowly but surely, I'm just becoming."
"What?" Dean demanded when Sam trailed off.
"Who I'm meant to be," Sam finished with a shrug, "you said it once yourself, Dean. I got to face up to who I am."
"I didn't mean this!" Dean argued
"But it's still true. You know that. Dad knew that, too. Hell, even Fin knows that." Sam told him, "That's why Dad told you if it ever came to this-"
"Shut up, Sam." Dean interrupted harshly.
"Dean, you promised him." Sam pleaded, "You promised me."
"No," Dean said, neither brother noticed that the humming had stopped awhile ago."Listen to me. We're gonna figure this out, okay? I mean, there's got to be a way, right?"
"Yeah, there is." Sam said, picking a gun out of the duffel Dean brought in and handing it to Dean "I don't want to hurt anyone else. I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to hurt Rian."
"You won't." Dean said slowly, "Whatever this is, you can fight it."
"No, I can't not forever." Sam said after a moment his voice quiet, tears in his eyes, "Here, you gotta do it."
Rian opened the door to the walked straight over to Sam, cupping his cheeks with her hands, forcing him to look at her. Her long hair was still wet and started dripping onto the younger Winchester, but he hardly noticed as he looked at the young woman. She forced him to turn his whole body away from Dean and gently took the gun from his hands.
"Listen here, Sam. You did not murder him. I don't give a damn what you think; that wasn't you. Sure it may have been your body, but it was not you." Sam started to protest, and Rian shook her head at him, "No Sam. We'll figure this out, but I know it wasn't you, okay? Now, get some sleep so we can figure out what the fuck is going on here."
"Fin" Sam protested weakly, but she shook her head at him again, moving one of her hands to cover his mouth.
"No, Sam. Until we figure out what is happening do not do anything stupid. Do not put your brother in that position again. Do you understand how much it would kill him to do that to you?" Rian took a deep breath, trying not to let the tears gathering in her eyes fall, "you have to understand that he can't do it. He cannot kill you. He won't and even if he could physically do it I wouldn't let him."
"Fin," Sam said harsher this time before roughly pushing her away.
Rian stared at Sam, hurt in her eyes and her face twisted in pain from hitting the dresser too hard. Dean spun to face Sam but he already had the gun in his hand. Without waiting for Dean to register anything Sam knocked him over the head. He walked over to Rian and did the same thing, leaving the two unconscious in the room.
A knock on the door woke Rian and she looked around the room to see Dean slowly waking up too. She groaned, reaching up to feel the lump on her head and hissed at the sting it caused. She lowered her hand and heaved a sigh at the caked blood that stuck to her fingers. Dean helped Rian up and they made their way to the door, opening it to reveal the managers.
"It's past check out time." The manager says coldly, "And another couple needs your room."
Dean and Rian share a look before shrugging; Dean grabbed his bag, and they leave, ignoring the manager who grumbled as he followed them. Dean paid for the extra day after Rian glared at him. Dean cursed when they don't find the Impala and turned back to the manager.
"I need to use your computer," Dean demanded much to the other man's displeasure
"Why would I let you use my computer?" The manager, a crusty looking man, asked.
Dean just sighed and pulled out his wallet, handing the man some cash. With a smirk, the man lead them to his office. He stood near the door while Rian and Dean walk over to the computer. Rian looked around the office as Dean gets to work on locating Sam.
"Hi." Dean said when the support for the phone company picked up, " Uh, so sorry to bother you, but, uh, my son snuck out of the house last night and, Uh, went to a Justin Timberlake concert." pause, "What? Yeah. Justin is quite the triple threat." Dean glanced at Rian who was just staring at the ground.
"Uh, anyway, he's not back yet, and I'm starting to worry. Right, yeah, boys will be boys. But, see, Sammy has diabetes, and if he doesn't get his insulin, then I just -I have to find him. Please, I'm begging you." Rian shifted just a little bit, "No, no, no, I'm on the website right now. I just need to activate the GPS on his cellphone. Yeah, right there. Duluth, Minnesota. Yeah, that is a long way to go for a concert. I appreciate your help."
Dean hung up the phone and exited out of the windows on the computer before thanking the manager and walking out with Rian right behind him. They walked for a few blocks when Dean finally stopped to hotwire a car.
"So, you still don't remember anything?" Dean asked after they've been driving for awhile, "because it might be nice to know what's going on."
"I still don't remember anything," Rian confirmed, her voice small.
Dean looked over at her and let out a curse, noticing how pale the young woman was. She was shaking, and he could see tears forming. He pulled over and turned to Rian, placing a hand on her knee.
"Hey, Fin, what's wrong?" Dean asked, watching her carefully as her breaths sped up slightly.
"I don't know, Dean," Rian turned to him with wide eyes, "I don't know what's going on. Ever since the Croatoan case I've felt anxious like there was something wrong. And now I can't remember anything, and I feel useless. I'm a dead-weight when I don't know anything Dean. I'll probably get in the way." She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself and get her breathing back to normal, but she just began to hyperventilate even more.
Dean let out a soft breath and shifted in his seat so that he could pull Rian into his side, wrapping an arm around her and tucking her head into his shoulder, allowing the girl to cry on him. Rian grabbed his coat as she sobbed into the hunter.
"Just let it out, Fin." Dean murmured, rubbing her back, "I'll take you to Bobby's so that you can get some rest, okay?"
Rian nodded into his shoulder and Dean continued to rub her back. After a few minutes, the sobbing subsided, and Rian sat up, wiping her face.
"Thanks, Dean." She said shyly, not making eye contact with him, "I know you don't like chick flick moments."
Dean just grunted and pulled back onto the road while Rian moved over to lean against the window. She put her seatbelt on and shortly fell asleep as they made the drive to Bobby's.
Rian slept the whole trip to Bobby's and woke up feeling a lot better than she had before. After a quick goodbye with Dean, she found herself standing in front of the old hunter's front door. Rian knocked and patiently waited for Bobby to answer, rubbing the tattoo on her arm.
"Hey, kiddo, what's up?" Bobby asked upon answering the door. He was holding a shotgun, but he lowered it as soon as he saw who it was.
"I'm a mess, and Dean needs to concentrate on finding Sam so we decided that the best place for me right now would be here," Rian told him as Bobby let her into the house. She wasn't really surprised that Dean hadn't called the older hunter before dropping her off.
"Want anything to eat?" Bobby asked, and Rian looked at him slightly shocked, "What? I just made steak."
"That would be nice," Rian agreed with a smile, "I don't think I've had anything since before we found Sam."
After they finished eating Bobby forced Rian to shower before they sit down in the dining-room-turned-study. Both of them were reading lore books and pretty much ignoring the rest of the world.
"What exactly is going on?" Bobby asked after they had been reading for a few hours.
Rian slowly raised her head to look at Bobby, "I don't remember anything that's supposed to happen." Rian told him, "After the last case it's like a switch was flipped and I don't remember a damn thing. It was about the same time that Sam disappeared, so I think it has something to do with that."
"Well, I guess we'll figure it out when we get Sam figured out," Bobby said turning back to his book.
"Yeah," Rian said, also turning back to her book.
After a few more hours Rian decided to go to bed. She said goodnight to Bobby and slowly made her way up the stairs. To the spare room that Bobby had cleaned for Rian as a project one weekend.
The room was white and large. There was a desk with a chair behind it. The chair behind the desk was occupied, so Rian sat on the metal chair that was on the other side of the desk. The person spun around to face Rian, and she rolled her eyes when she saw that it was Zachariah, the angel douchelord.
"I thought you guys weren't going to be interfering until Dean gets his ass thrown into hell," Rian quipped, trying to cover how nervous she felt.
"You've created a particular case." Zachariah said, "One that we're trying to take care of."
"So you guys are the reason I can't remember anything?" Rian asked, "Why do I remember you douchebags?"
"No. But we do know who is interfering. It will be dealt with soon." Zachariah told her, ignoring the insult like he always did.
"Who is it?" Rian asked when Zachariah didn't continue, "who the fuck messed with my head."
"You get feisty when you're scared," The Angel observed, and Rian just scowled at him, "Fine, alright, we're not sure how she did it, but the demon Meg is the one who messed with your memories."
"Is there any way to protect me from further… interference?" Rian asked nervously, watching the angel closely.
"It would be very… painful." Zachariah said after a moment of weighing his options. He wanted to keep Rian as an asset for the future but at the same time what she knew could potentially ruin the plan.
"Do it," Rian said without hesitation, "I'm assuming you want my help. That means you're gonna need to earn my trust. This is a good first step. Do it."
Zachariah nodded. He leaned forward and touched two fingers to her forehead. There was an intense pain and then all Rian knew was the darkness.
Rian woke up with a start and ran from the room, barely making it to the bathroom. After she was finished puking out her guts her intense migraine subsided and she was able to focus on what she could now remember. She searched for her phone before running downstairs to get Bobby so she only had to tell her newly remembered information once.
When she and Bobby were settled in the study Rian quickly dialed Dean's number, putting the other hunter on speaker phone and waiting impatiently for him to pick up.
"Sam's going to be at Bobby's." She told him quickly in lieu of greeting, "You need to get here now. He's possessed by Meg."
Rian hung up after a few more details were shared and quickly searched her room for the sawed-off Bobby had gifted her and the holy water she kept in a flask. Once she found them she slowly made her way downstairs, avoiding the third step from the bottom because she knew it creaked. She was making it a habit so she wouldn't forget it in the future.
Bobby already had everything set up by the time Rian was back downstairs. She gave the man a hug in gratitude and then sat down to wait. Bobby had offered her a beer but she declined. She felt clear headed for the first time in weeks and she wanted to keep it that way.
When Dean showed up, Rian told him her plan and got further input before holing herself up in the kitchen while Dean went up the stairs, just out of sight of the living room. They figured that Meg would be much less worried if she saw Rian rather than Dean. When they figured she wouldn't be coming for awhile, Dean and Rian settled down for some go-fish.
A few hours later when Sam knocked on the door, Rian quickly retreated to the kitchen. She did not feel the need to be near Meg, especially not after what had been done with her memories. She listened to Dean settle on the steps before nodding to Bobby who then went to get the door.
"Sam," Bobby greeted pulling the man into a hug and hiding his look of disgust.
"Hey, Bobby," Sam said, hugging the man back "It's been a while."
"Come on in," Bobby said, leading Sam into the house, "So, what brings you?"
"Working a job nearby, and I thought I'd stop in and say hey," Sam said as he looked around the room
"Where's Dean?" Bobby asked, walking into the kitchen where Rian was waiting with a flask of holy water for the beers.
"Holed up somewhere with a girl and a 12-Pack," Sam said with a smirk in his voice
"Oh, yeah?" Bobby called as he poured the holy water into the beer intended for Sam, "Is she pretty?"
"You ask me; he's in way over his head," Sam said, his eyes quickly turning black before turning back as Bobby looked over at the man.
"Well, it's good to see you," Bobby informed, handing Sam a bottle. He lifted his bottle in the air, "To John."
"To dad," Sam toasted his father. He took a long drink of the beer and suddenly smoke started to come out of his mouth and he was on the floor, hissing in pain
"What'd you do?" The demon inside Sam growled
"Little holy water in the beer, it was Rian's idea," Bobby told the Demon, "Sam never would have noticed. But then, you're not Sam, are you? Don't try to con a con man." Bobby pulled back his arm and punched Sam, effectively knocking both Sam and the demon out.
Rian and Dean moved from their spots to help Bobby move Sam's hulking form to the living room and tie him to a chair. She stretched when they're done and gives the men a smile.
"How'd you get your memories back?" Bobby asked, not for the first time.
"It's a secret. I can tell you in a few years… if you remember." She said cheerfully, wrapping an arm around Bobby's shoulders
"Well, it's good to see you back in good spirits," Dean said from where he was nursing a beer of his own. They had decided to take a break before continuing with their interrogation. Rian wanted to make sure that Sam's body wasn't harmed in the process so she had convinced Dean to give himself a few minutes to calm down.
"Alright, we've had our breather, would you do the honor, Dean?" Rian looked at the Winchester expectantly and watched him walk over and slap Sam.
"Ugh!" The demon, Meg, groaned before noticing the three people in front of her, "Dean. Back from the dead. Getting to be a regular thing for you, isn't it? Like a cockroach."
"How about I smack that smart-Ass Right out of your mouth?" Dean growled
"Careful now." Meg teased, "Wouldn't want to bruise this fine packaging"
"Oh, don't worry." Dean said as Rian handed him the bucket of holy water, "This isn't gonna hurt Sam much. You, on the other hand," He tossed the contents on Sam, "Feel like talking now?" He asks as Sam begins to grunt in pain.
"Sam's still my meat puppet." Meg informed them redundantly, "I'll make him bite off his tongue."
"No, you won't be in him long enough." Dean said before turning to the older hunter, "Bobby."
Bobby started the exorcism. Rian stood back and watched carefully. She may haven't gotten her memories back but she couldn't remember exactly how Meg had been able to posses Sam in the first place. Rian rubbed her fingers absently over the raised tattoo that had appeared on her hand when she first came to the Supernatural Universe.
"Whatever bitch-boy master plan you demons are cooking up, you're not getting Sam, you understand me?" Dean said glowering at the demon, "Cause I'm gonna kill everyone of you first."
"You really think that's what this is about - the master plan?" Meg asked with a smirk "I don't give a rat's ass about the master plan."
Bobby stopped the exorcism when he noticed that it wasn't working, he looked back at Rian who was watching Meg closely. She glanced down at her tattoo and back at Meg before an idea began to form. With a smirk Rian walked over to the fireplace and grabbed a poker, she was glad that they had positioned Sam's body so that Meg wouldn't be able to see her stick the poker into the flames
"Oops. Doesn't seem to be working," Meg teased before breaking the binds, "See, I learned a few new tricks."
"This isn't going like I pictured," Bobby said redundantly as he backed away from Med
"What's going on, Bobby?" Dean asked while he kept himself from panicking.
Rian silently watched Sam and Dean from her place by the fire. She wasn't going to move until she was sure that the poker was hot enough. If she messed it up, they would lose their chance to save Sam.
"I can't believe I forgot about that," Rian muttered under her breath while she watched Sam carefully.
"Now I'm Sam." Meg said as she stalked towards Dean, "By the way I saw your dad there. He says "howdy". All that I had to hold on to was that I would Climb out one day and that I was gonna torture you, Nice and slow, like pulling the wings off an insect." Meg stepped from the devil's trap and started punching Dean, "But whatever I do to you, it's nothing compared to what you do to yourself, is it? I can see it in your eyes, Dean. You're worthless. You couldn't save your dad, and deep down, you know that You can't save your brother. They'd have been better off without you."
Rian nodded at Bobby when she moved by Meg and Bobby jumped to grab Sam, holding him still as Rian held the poker to his arm, burning off the mark. She ignored the smell of burning flesh while she tried to keep up with Sam's movements. Rian breathed in relief when she watched Meg smoke out of Sam's body.
Everyone sat in silence breathing hard for a few minutes before Rian dropped the poker and ran over to Sam, checking him over. She saw Bobby move to Dean and help the man stand.
"Sammy?" Rian asked when Sam's eyes opened. She held a hand to the man's chest, not letting him get up just yet.
"Did I miss anything?" Sam asked with a frown, looking at the people around him, "By the way, you really look like crap, Dean."
"Yeah, right back at you." Dean replied with a smirk; he turned to Bobby who was watching the two of them silently, "What is it, Bobby?"
"You boys ever hear of a hunter Named Steve Wandell?" Bobby asked suddenly, piecing some things together. He picked up the poker that Rian had dropped and moved it back to the cement hearth before it could burn his house down
"Why do you ask?" Dean asked glancing at Bobby before grabbing the first aid kit so that he could patch up Sam's burn.
"I heard from a friend, Wandell's dead - Murdered in his own house." Bobby explained, "You wouldn't know anything about that?"
Rian shook her head at the man before going upstairs and grabbing the charms that she and Bobby had made. She handed them to the hunter when she got back down and then moved into the kitchen to grab beers for the men and a root beer for herself.
"Take these," Bobby said, handing the charms to the boys,
"What are they?" Dean asked even as he took the two charms and gave one to Sam.
"Charms," Rian answered for Bobby, giving the boys their beers, "They'll fend off possession. Though I've been trying to tell Bobby that the anti-possession tattoo will work a lot better."
"That demon's still out there." Bobby said with an eye roll, "This will stop it from getting back up in you."
"That sounds vaguely dirty, but, uh, thanks," Dean said standing up and going to the kitchen to get an icepack.
"You're welcome," Bobby called after Dean before walking to his study.
"Ouch," Sam winced as Rian rubbed an ointment on the burn after deciding not to wrap it.
"You're such a baby," Rian teased with an eye roll.
"You seem a lot better now." Sam observed, "did you get your memories back?"
"Yeah," Rian said with a small smile, "and I still want to learn how to hunt, Sam."
"Okay, Fin," Sam said standing up now that his burn was taken care of and helping Rian stand too.
"We should probably head out," Dean called from the kitchen.
"You okay to come with us?" Sam asked, watching Rian carefully.
"Hell yeah," Rian said with a grin. She found that she felt like the last two weeks hadn't even happened.
"You boys be careful, now," Bobby said when everyone was ready to go, "Watch out for Rian and make sure nothing happens to her."
Rian rolled her eyes and gave Bobby a quick hug before following the boys out to the Impala. She carried one more duffel bag than usual, having filled it up with more books courtesy of Bobby.
After about an hour of the drive, the silence in the car was broken by Dean, who turned down REO Speedwagon's Back on the Road Again.
"You okay?" Dean asked glancing at his brother who was staring out the window and didn't hear Dean, "Sam? Is that you in there?"
"I was awake for some of it, Dean." Sam said, not looking at his brother, "I watched myself kill Wandell with my own two hands. I saw the light go out in his eyes."
"It must have been awful," Dean said sympathetically
"That's not my point. I almost carved up jota. I could have killed Fin," Sam said, "But no matter what I did, you wouldn't shoot."
"It was the right move, Sam." Rian said from her spot in the back, "It wasn't you. And anyways, I won't let anyone shoot you, Sammy; I'd be lost without my moose."
"Yeah, this time." Sam scoffed, ignoring the warm feeling he got from Rian's promise, "What about next time?"
"Sam, when Dad told me that I might have to kill you, It was only if I couldn't save you." Dean said with a frown, "now, if it's the last thing I do, I'm gonna save you."
The trio fell into silence after which was broken when Dean laughed suddenly
"What?" Sam and Rian asked at the same time sharing a look
"Nothing," Dean said, still smirking like a little kid.
"Dean, what?" Sam asked again, wanting to understand the joke.
"Dude, you, like, full-on had a girl inside you for, like, a whole week." Dean said, turning to look at Sam, watching his reaction "That's pretty naughty."
Rian sighed and leaned forward to smack Dean on the back of the head.
"Hey," Dean said in protest, glaring at Rian through the rearview mirror
"Eyes on the road, Squirrel," Rian smirked before turning to look out the window.
A/N: I am seriously grateful to everyone who has followed, favorited, or reviewed this story. You people keep me writing. Please keep doing that for me so I can keep the motivation to keep writing there. I have so much going on right now that sometimes its hard to keep up with this.