Chapter 14
After the funeral, Anna wanted to go back to Bobby's; she wanted to make herself busy. It was easier than dealing with the reality, Dean and Sam stayed at Bobby's for a couple of more days. And they were not planning to leave Anna alone anytime sooner; "Guys, please you have to get on with your lives. There are lots of other people that need to be saved." Anna had to practically beg them to leave.
It didn't feel right to keep them here, when instead they could be out there saving lot of lives. After she kept on promising that she is ok, the boys reluctantly decided to hit the road again. "Remember, anything... anytime. Just ring me and we will be there." Dean promised again before they leave. "I know guys." Anna replied with a smile.
The days after that went by, Bobby and Anna busied themselves in case after another. She purposely kept herself away from cases that had anything to do with demons, she wasn't ready for that still. And Bobby approved her decision; even he didn't want her meddling with those things at this time. He noticed that she was still struggling and she wasn't the happy person she used to be anymore. He knew that it was with very good reasons; people handled grief in different ways. Some jumped in to the fight guns blazing and some withdrew and isolated themselves.
He was worried about her, even though he didn't mention it to the boys; he always feared to leave her alone in the house. With the kind of things that had happened to her, he knew that it would take only a second of weakness to do something dangerous or stupid. "Bobby, you really don't have to worry." Anna felt what was going on in his mind. "How do you think you will find me when you come back home… with slit wrists, overdosed or hanging from the ceiling?" she asked. Bobby's face visibly dropped; "Is that what you are really thinking?" he asked concerned. "I am just joking Bobby. Just relax." Anna quickly added when she realized that Bobby had taken it very serious.
"You don't joke about things like that!" he replied angrily. "If you need to talk about any of this... please Anna, I am right here. Or if you want to talk about it with someone your age, all you have to do is pick the phone. Call Jo, Dean or Sam... And they will drop whatever they are doing and they will come." Bobby repeated the mantra. That's what they all said all the time; "Come on Bobby, I am fine... really I am. And I am sorry I joked about those things." Anna walked to him & patted on his shoulder.
Great, now he is going to double his efforts on keeping an eye on me; Anna thought as she walked back to her room. But she sincerely hoped that he would let it go, everyone was worried about her as if she is going to lose her mind and do something stupid. It was nice to know that people cared about her, but she wanted them to stop worrying. She had it under control, or so she thought.
Next day morning, she was in the kitchen when someone knocked on the front door. When she opened the door, she really jumped up in surprise when she saw Dean & Sam standing in the porch. "Did you just open the door without first checking who it was? Oh my God, you really are suicidal!" Dean yelled. "Way to go Dean." Sam pushed him to a side and entered the house.
"What are you talking about?' Anna asked confused looking at both of them. "Oh my God... Did Bobby call you?" she joined the dots before they could answer. "Bobby... Why did you do that?" Anna yelled in the general direction of the kitchen. She knew he was still there. "Weren't you guys working on a case? A vengeful spirit... right? Did you really drop that and came all the way here? People are dying there guys." she asked them shocked, this was exactly what she was worried about; more blood in her hands.
"Yeah, about that... turned out the spirit is cleaning out a mob, this gang that terrorized the town for years. So we are not really sure whether we should stop it or give it a medal." Dean said sitting down. "Anyway leave that a side, you are more important to us than any of that." he continued. "Are you sure he is only going after the Mob? I mean, I don't want any more blood in my hands." Anna asked as if she didn't even hear what Dean said last.
"Yes, I am sure. And what are you talking about? You don't have anyone's blood in your hands." Dean moved close to her. "Really… Well, I can think of few incidents that say otherwise." Anna leaned behind and away from Dean. Bobby looked at Dean silently giving him a look that said 'This is what I was talking about.' Dean looked at Sam, this was worse than he imagined; he knew they had to change their approach to get through to her.
"Hey, none of this is your fault. You have to know that." Sam finally joined in. "Anna, whatever you are thinking, you have to share it with us." he said softly. Anna knew what this intervention was all about; "Look guys, please... I promise you I am not suicidal." she rubbed her forehead in frustration. "I mean not that it never crossed my mind." everyone's heart stopped at her next words.
"I mean, it's true... that I wanted to just end it all, put an end to all the pain..." she looked down ashamed. "But then I realized that if I did that, I will be just passing all my pain over to you all. And I couldn't do that to you... I will not do that to you." she finally looked up. There were no tears in her eyes; it was a little out of character for her as she usually was the one who cried for everything. But she looked determined; "I know, I am a mess now. I think I am allowed to freak out. But I will be ok. I promise." and this time she moved closer to Dean and patted on his hand.
"Ok… now please… can you drop this?" she said trying to change the subject. "Maybe we should go out to grab something to eat. I didn't go out for weeks." She encouraged them. "Yes, I think that's a good idea." Dean agreed even though deep inside his heart was beating fast. She had just confessed to being at the verge of taking her own life and that was way scarier than anything he has ever had to deal with.
Everyone had a breaking point, even a willful girl like Anna; and both Dean & Sam were afraid that she was dangerously close to that point. But she was right; the best thing was to take her mind away from it. Bobby stayed behind letting the kids to have some time alone. At the Diner, they ordered their favourite meals and enjoyed each other's company as they always did.
Anna felt better and the boys felt it too; when they found her talking about things as she was used to. She even teased Dean about Jo and told him that he should actually ask her out; luckily Sam always supported her to pursue things that led to making Dean uncomfortable. All in all, they all had a good time.
After desert, Sam excused himself to go to the wash room while Dean & Anna made their way back to the impala which was parked behind the Diner. She was smiling and teasing him about Jo, when two men jumped from nowhere and grabbed Dean. Dean was fast as fast can be with his reflexes; he punched one man instantly and went for the other in under a second. But suddenly, he stopped in the middle of the blow; his jaws tightened when he saw another man holding a knife to Anna's throat. The men took the advantage of that; one pulled Dean's hands behind and locked them tight. The other held a knife to his neck demanding him to stop fighting back.
Dean could have easily broke himself free; he has had much worse opponents than this. But he was not willing to risk Anna's life for that. "Richard… What the hell are you doing?" Anna screamed at the man who was holding her. The name "Richard" rang a bell in Dean's head and it definitely wasn't a pleasant one. He was waiting for this moment for quite some time now, for the opportunity to break his face for good for what he did to Anna all those years ago.
And as for Anna, just as she started to feel a little better, fate brought Richard face to face with her. It seemed she really couldn't catch a break. The man she hated most in her life, the man who caused her so much pain & humiliation and then later used it to control her. In a way, this intrusion was long overdue; it was time she faced her fears and no longer gave him any control over her. So she stared back at him, she didn't want to look scared; she was not going to give him that satisfaction.
"Finally... I found you. By the way Steve has never been your friend. He called me the moment you hanged up." He started smiling. "And how could you leave Lawrence without even telling me? I mean I was so glad to hear what happened to your big bro... Because finally your bodyguard was gone. And then… you disappeared." Richard continued to play with the knife on her neck.
Anna didn't respond; she wasn't going to let him get through to her like that. She slowly glanced at Dean, together they could beat these 3 assholes without any trouble; they just had to wait for the correct moment. "Does your boyfriend know that you once strip down in front of the whole school?" Richard asked when he saw her looking at Dean.
And then it was as clear as day for her, it didn't really matter what people said or thought. Those who mind didn't matter… and those who matter didn't mind. "Yes, he knows." She answered with a smile. "So... go ahead put those pictures up on a damn billboard, I wouldn't give a rat's ass about that." She said looking him directly in the eye.
Richard didn't expect that answer, but he wasn't going to give up that easily. "Ok… so you have grown a little spine... that doesn't change the fact that you are still my little bitch!" He said as his friends burst out laughing. Well, that did it for both Dean and Anna; just like a synchronized move they both fought back together to get their captors off them.
Dean had taught her that move hundred times and she seized that moment since they were all distracted laughing. Few quick moves and Richard was on the floor with Anna pressing him down by her heel. Dean of course had more people to fight off, but he made it look like a piece of cake.
Dean walked towards Richard; Sam had just come back from the Diner and was obviously confused. "Sam, you are always late to the party. Here...Meet Richard." Dean said picking Richard up from his collar. Anna moved to a side, she knew Dean had another plan in his mind. "You son of a bitch... we have been waiting to have this talk." Sam rolled up his sleeves and grabbed him by the shirt.
Sam very well knew who Richard was; and just like Dean he so badly wanted to break his face. Anna was actually quite surprised to see that reaction from Sam; usually he was the calm one. "Not that she needs it, but she will never run out of bodyguards. Do you hear? If I ever see your stupid dumb face anywhere near her again, I will make you sorry that you were even born." Dean pulled him from the shirt and punched him so hard on his face that he fell to the floor unconscious.
Anna knew how strong that shot must have been, "That does feel very good." She said looking at Dean. "Oh yes... it does." Dean wiped his hands smiling. "And Anna, good job back there... very quick moves." He added proudly. "Well, I had the best teacher." She smiled at Dean and took a bow.
They were all in very good spirit, when they reached Bobby's. "Seems like you all had a good time?" Bobby asked the moment he saw them. "Yes, we took care of some unfinished business. So glad I could put that behind me now." Anna answered on behalf of all of them. Bobby made a confused face, but he didn't want to dig up any dirt again. "As long as you had a good time." He said smiling.
They caught up with some new movies and spent the day in front of the TV, it was great to act like normal people once in awhile. "Hey, what are you going do about that mob killing ghost?" Anna asked; they have to get back to their family business sooner or later. "That Ghost is really screwing us over; we went to investigate the first murder without knowing that the Mob was involved. And now they think the FBI is after them and that we are the ones that taking them out one by one." Dean casually announced.
"What? Are you kidding me?" Anna jumped up. "Dean, those people are really very dangerous. If they think like that, they will come after you." She was panicking. "Calm down… it's nothing we can't handle." Dean said very calmly. Anna looked at Sam waiting for him to support her, "Really, there is nothing to worry. We got it under control." Sam's response did not help her either.
"Uh… you guys…" she put her hands up in frustration. "Just… please… be careful." She asked emphasizing each word. Of course, they would promise her that they will, but still crossing paths with a Mob; even the idea was frightening.
Next day after breakfast, Dean and Sam decided to get back to work; Anna walked to Dean's room as she knew he will be packing his bags. "Hey, before you go, I just want to say thanks for yesterday." She said sitting on the bed. Dean stopped packing and looked at her; "Come on... there is nothing to thank me for." He smiled.
"But remember, that day outside the Motel you promised me that you will make sure I am ready to face him if it ever comes to that. And you did." Anna's eyes were shining with gratitude. "Sometimes, family isn't about blood, it's about who walked in to your life, said 'I am here for you.' and proved it." She smiled and in that moment she wasn't only talking about yesterday, she meant everything he and Sam had done for her. For being there for her when she needed it the most.
The smile that appeared on Dean's face mirrored the love he held in his heart. He pulled her to a hug, "I will always be there for you... always." He said and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
Anna waved good bye to them, she wished if they could all live together; she missed them already. But they all had work to do; People to save and monsters to hunt. Even Bobby was super busy that day, they had a vamp nest to take care of and it turned out to be a bigger one than they thought.
So he called for some other fellow hunters for backup, and by noon they all made their way to the nest. That left Anna alone in the house, she still had lot more work to do in the study. She was in the process of digitalizing all of Bobby's books; that would make their life super easy when they want to find something. "Everything would be just a click away." That was how she sold the idea to Bobby. "I think I am going to be out of a job, or you can say I am getting extinct." Bobby had smiled and given his full support.
It was getting dark and she just got off the phone with Bobby; the hunt was successful and they were already on their way back. She could relax now; so she walked to the kitchen to make a snack. But she jumped up in fear, when suddenly someone kicked the front door down. She knew for sure that it couldn't be a demon, because the whole house and all exists were guarded with devil's traps.
She reached for one of the guns hidden in the pantry and hid behind the wall. She could hear several men walking towards the kitchen and her heart beating fast. She got the first man who walked in by surprise, one punch to the face, another to the knee and he was down. The next man came at her prepared; she had no idea what kind of creatures she was dealing with. Anna quickly ducked and pushed him off; she aimed the gun at the rest of the crowd. "Stay where you are!" She yelled even though the number of people in front of her really made her chances very low.
And to her surprise, they didn't snarl or flash their teeth, they all pulled out guns. She felt like a deer trapped in the middle of wolves, as confused as she was to who these people are; she had no choice but to lower her gun. And that was it; the next thing she received was a punch on her face that sent her flying back. She hit her head on the pantry cupboard and her vision blurred.
When she finally woke up, she found herself tied to a chair; Anna tried to free her hands when she saw the five men standing in front of her. 'What the hell was going on?' Her mind was wondering over all the possibilities, but by what she has seen so far; she was 90% certain that this didn't look like anything supernatural.
"How well do you know these two FBI agents?" One man flashed a photo at her. It was a picture of her with Dean and Sam at the Diner yesterday. Her eyes widened, she was beginning to see what this was about. It looked like the Mob kept tabs on Dean and Sam thinking that they are the ones who are currently coming after their gang.
"Not much." She lied. "They knew you enough to beat those guys down." He reminded her. 'Shit... they saw that too' Anna silently cursed. "Anyway we have to make do with you." He came close and pulled her back from her hair. That hurt like hell, bastards... it's like they actually know how much it hurt.
He then took out his phone and dialed a number; "Agent Smith, a very good evening to you... I was just wondering whether you know this particular girl who is right in front of me. Curly long hair, pretty and real sweet and lives in Sioux Falls..." he paused.
On the other side of the line, Dean's heart stopped by the words he just heard; he walked to Sam and put the phone on speaker. "Leave her out of this. She got nothing to do with any of it." Dean tried to be calm, he didn't want to piss them off, not now, not when Anna is involved.
"I would, if I could. But you have messed with the wrong people this time. Do you want to say hi to your friend before we start?" He brought the phone close to Anna's face.
"Talk" He demanded. No, she wasn't going to do that; it will only bring more pain to the boys. She shook her head no; but she couldn't take what followed that. Another man came close and slapped her face several times that her cheeks burnt hot.
Dean could hear the sound of what happened, "You... son of a bitch. Don't you dare hurt her!" He screamed at the phone. Sam got up and walked away with his phone in the hand. "Talk" He threatened again. And she couldn't hold it any longer; tears fell down her cheeks. "Dean..." that's all she could manage.
"This one is so soft, only few punches in the face and she is already pouring. I wonder how she will take all that we have planned for her." The man smiled. "And just so you know, there is 5 of us here... so there will be lot coming at your little friend." He continued. Dean's face was red, it killed him that he was far away and was not able to help her.
He dread to even think what they would do to her, he picked up the chair and threw it across the room. "I swear... I will kill you." He gritted his teeth. "I will hunt all of you down to the end of the world." Dean meant every word; there were no words to express his anger. Someone was hurting his little sister and there was nothing he could do about it. He has never felt this helpless before.
When Anna earlier asked them to be careful, he had said that it's nothing they can't handle. But he was wrong; this was something he couldn't handle. He couldn't take this. Dean kept looking at Sam; he was in the phone with Bobby making sure that he will get to Anna as quick as possible.
And luckily, thanks for the big vamp nest; Bobby had backup too. And even at that second, they were coming at full speed to Anna. Sam signaled Dean to stall them as much as possible to keep them from hurting her more.
How was he going to stall them now? "How did you even find her?" Dean tried to act calm. "Just please, let her go." He wasn't ashamed to beg for her. "Not so tough now... are you? When you know there is nothing you can do to save her." The man on the other side teased.
"As a gesture of goodwill, I will let you listen." He added and put the phone down. And Dean wished he never heard that, the sound of him letting his sister down. On the other side, the men pulled her off the chair and pushed her to the ground; they kicked her so hard that Anna thought she would pass out.
One man kneeled down and ripped her shirt off, she could take any beating, but Oh God... not what she knew would follow. Just shoot me and let this end, but sometimes, there are humans who are worse than the monsters they hunt, she screamed for help as she tried to push him off her. "They are there." Sam finally spoke.
Dean was counting the seconds for that moment, he heard some gun shots. Bobby and the gang must have jumped on them unexpected. He wished to God that Bobby would make them pay real good. But on the other side, things didn't go exactly as they wanted. Bobby and the other hunters took three of them out pretty quickly; but the moment the man on top of Anna realized that they got company, he pulled his gun out and shot her.
After all they were under an order to finish her off; Bobby jumped in and pulled him off her before he could take another shot. Bobby grabbed the gun of him and aimed it back on the man's head, "Who gave you the order to come after her? Who did?" He screamed. Anna was like a daughter to him, and right now he wanted nothing but to put a bullet in his head.
The man wasn't going to surrender that easily; but after few punches, he started to cooperate. "It was our boss, Dave. He wanted to get back at those two FBI agents." The man finally answered. "Well, you will meet your boss soon... in hell." Bobby replied and pulled the trigger. Usually, he wouldn't be very comfortable killing a human; but in this case, he was fairly certain that the man he just killed was a disgrace to humankind. He was worse than the monsters they hunt, Bobby dreaded at the thought of what that man could have done to Anna if they hadn't reach there on time.
On the other side, Dean and Sam were nervously waiting to hear from Bobby. They were already on their way to Sioux Falls, "Bobby... Are you there?" Sam continued to ask through the Phone. After a few seconds, he heard the voice of one of the other hunters, "Bobby is with Anna." The hunter replied.
"Anna... is she ok?" Dean jumped in. The silence from the other side was killing them, "Anna is pretty far from ok… I am sorry boys." He finally answered. "We are rushing her to the hospital now. She is losing a lot of blood, the bastards didn't stop after beating her, they shot her too." He said quietly.
Dean brought the car to a sudden stop in the middle of the road, the tyres screeched hard because of the speed they were at. He banged his head on the steering wheel, those bastards shot her! He could feel his hands shaking; the fear of losing her was overpowering him. He looked at his brother; Sam had his head buried in his hands. But they both knew one thing for sure; this wasn't the time to break down. They had work to do.