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In the morning three days later, Manda decided to check herself out of the hospital a day earlier than they wanted to release her.
She was still sore and exhausted, but if all she had to do was take it easy, avoid ripping out the stitches, and treat her wounds accordingly – she could do that at home. Physically there wasn't much wrong with her that a little time off from hunting wouldn't take care of. Emotionally, well, that was going to take a little longer for her to recover from.
So, Manda checked herself out early using that as her excuse, but the truth being that she couldn't stand to spend another minute in that hospital, especially once it had clicked in that that the room she was in had been the same one her father had been in all those years ago.
After an uncomfortable cab ride where the driver had stared at her in the mirror and asked her what she had done to get the shit kicked out of her, Manda was back at the hotel and pulling on a weakly worn brave face. Truth was that she was a mess inside and out. She'd been remembering bits and pieces of what had gone on, and it was eating away at her. She just wanted to get home, and once she was there, then she could break down the way she wanted to. But she wasn't home just yet.
She made her way to Sam's room, knowing Dean was there since he'd gone back to sharing with his brother while she'd been in the hospital. She smiled a little at seeing her car was safe and sound and parked right next to his in front of the room, then knocked solidly on the door and waited for it to open.
Going to the door to answer the knock, Dean peered through the peephole first, and then flung open the door. He'd been getting ready to visit Manda, had just been waiting on Sam to head over with him, but now here she was unexpectedly. "Sprung yourself free already, Chambers? You know I would've come to get you if you had called me…" he trailed off, noticing how frail she seemed. She was just standing there shivering a little in her jeans and zipped up hoodie, trying to remain brave despite the obvious strain it was to keep up the appearance, and holding her small duffle bag that he'd taken to her the day before.
Finding herself face-to-face with a surprised and curious Dean, she smirked. "So I could wait for you to doll yourself up, Winchester? Cab was faster… and my phone is busted up worse than I am." It was true, the taxi had been the quicker option than having to wait for him, and going through the things that she'd been checked in with had revealed her phone had been broken during the fight with the demon.
Dean just grabbed the bag from her, and helped her inside in a swiftly gentle way. She seemed to be moving okay, just a little slower and a fair amount stiffer than normally, so he loosened the arm he'd put around her to guide her in. "Hospital's have phones, Manda. You could have called me to come pick you up," he said with a trace of hurt in his voice. He wondered why she hadn't bothered to call, if there was more to it than just a need to get out of the hospital.
"They also have taxis hanging around out front. And besides, miss the look on your face when you opened the door? Not a chance," Manda said as she sat down on the bed Dean had brought her to, and noticed all her stuff near his. Then she looked around for Sam, discovered the bathroom door was closed and could hear the sound of water running which meant he was in the shower.
"You okay? Why'd you check out early?" he asked, sitting beside her. He was wondering what had possessed her to pull this stunt besides being stubborn, but then knew he'd do exactly the same thing if he was her right now. He'd done it more than once before himself, and he couldn't blame her for doing it.
It was hard to keep the brave front going as she nodded before softly muttering out words she'd never thought she'd hear herself say again, and ones that were the complete truth, "I just want to go home." For the first time in almost ten years she actually wanted to go home, but she also desperately just wanted out of this godforsaken town already. It held too much pain, and too many bad memories, old and now new.
Looking at her, Dean saw the tears rising in her eyes, and averted his gaze quickly. He hadn't been able to meet her eyes since she'd first woken up in the hospital, not wanting her to see all his guilt and pain. But he also worried what he'd see from hers, because no matter how understanding she always was, what had happened had probably changed the way she felt about him.
"All right, Manda… I'll take you home once Sam's ready. He'll drive your car back… that okay?" he asked, but he wasn't really asking. She'd ride with him, Sam would drive her car, and Chuch would make the trip in her own car, that's what the plan had been for tomorrow anyway – to get her home so she could rest and heal.
"Thanks, Dean," she whispered, softly kissing his cheek, and choking back her tears. Then she just rested her head on his shoulder, closed her eyes, and felt a little disappointed when he didn't put his arm around her. He had placed his hand lightly on her leg just above her knee instead. He'd been acting a little different towards her the past few days and she didn't want to think too much about why, so she just accepted the simple touch.
"Don't mention it," he said quietly. He wanted nothing more than to hold her tightly against him, but didn't want to hurt her since he knew she had to be sore and bruised all over. And then there was the matter of her stitches in her back, more in her side. Not sure of where to touch her, he had settled for a simple touch that probably felt just as unsatisfying for her as it did for him.
Both of them knew that things just weren't the same between them now as the uncomfortable silence settled in during that moment.
So far they'd avoided talking about what had happened besides the few words shared that first day in the hospital when she'd woken up. Neither was sure how to handle this, what to say, what to make of it, or if things would be okay. They both had guilt over things that had happened, and the way they both wore it and held it close to the heart caused the doubts over what would happen with them once it was dealt with, because sooner or later, it would have to be.
Dean was leaving after he made sure she got home safely, and then he had to go. He was going to stick around for about two days and just make sure she was settled in and really doing okay, needing the downtime himself, but then he and Sam were hitting the road again.
At least that was the plan in place, and that was the way of the hunter life both of them knew all too well. Leaving before you wanted to was just something that had to be done sometimes, even if you wanted nothing more than to stay.
-
The six hour ride back had been somewhat uncomfortable. Dean had tried to talk to her, but just couldn't figure out the words to say, and after some short casual conversation, he'd found Manda was having just as much of a difficult time finding whatever she wanted to say. So she had taken to staring out the window before falling asleep, and then had stayed out for the rest of ride while he'd just driven back to her place listening to a classic rock station to fill the silence while occasionally glancing across the seat towards her.
When they'd made it back, Manda had stayed around downstairs for awhile, but had been too quiet before saying she needed a little time on her own and headed up to her room.
So the three other hunters decided to take it easy from there, relieved that this mess was over, that Manda had survived it, and that they had some time off to just hang around. They ended up talking a bit over food and drinks, and then had just settled around the house to relax for the rest of the day.
By the time night had rolled around, she'd only come downstairs once to grab a bite to eat. Dean had seen the state of her then, and was obvious to him she'd been crying and was breaking down in private. Not that he could blame her, she'd been through enough. And he'd only given her the space because she had wanted to be left alone. He would have been there with her if she needed him to be, but she hadn't. So before she headed back upstairs, he had stopped her to ask if she was okay or if there was anything he could do, and had been surprised when Manda muttered out, "Not yet… and just come to bed in a little while, Dean," before kissing him swiftly on the cheek and going back up the stairs.
The kiss and words had been reassuring that she wasn't freezing him out completely, so he'd waited another few hours to give her some more time, and then went to her room.
Finding her asleep, Dean had been disappointed but also relieved that they weren't going to have to talk. So, he'd just gotten ready to go to sleep, and then slipped quietly into bed next to her. And as much as he wanted to pull her close once he was there, he held off knowing that he would have pulled her so close he would have hurt her. Instead he had fallen asleep only longing to hold the girl he'd nearly lost, unable to give in to actually doing it.
In the morning, he awakened to find her chin just above his shoulder, her arm across him, fingers curled over his opposite shoulder. He'd slept so soundly and deeply that he had no idea when she'd gotten so close. But as nice as it was and despite how much he wanted to stay right there, he'd gotten up without waking her and left her to sleep in awhile longer.
Now it was mid-afternoon, and they had still barely said much to each other. Neither of them seemed to have the guts to confront their issues yet, and while Dean knew it needed to be done, he didn't know where to start. So, he'd taken to working on her car and then was going to work on his own.
Inspecting her Chevelle thoroughly, he found it did need a little work under the hood, so he took care of it with what he had and with what he found in her garage.
Awhile later he was bringing her car to a polished shine while her iPod playing from inside the car on a playlist that was labelled 'Dad's Favourites' kept him entertained. And it was obvious to him that Manda had gotten her love of classic rock from her dad much like he'd gotten his from his father.
Zeppelin's 'The Rain Song' was on, and Dean was humming along as he worked when a tall shadow came up near him and a beer made its way to being within his reach.
"Dude… I would have figured you'd be relaxing inside," Sam said, watching Dean grab the beer and turn around. "Or at least eating out the fridge and raiding Manda's music collection. There's a bunch of cassette tapes in the library. I don't think she'd mind if you took a few."
"I'll do that later," Dean muttered, leaning back against the car, and then took a sip from the already opened bottle Sam had brought him.
Sam chuckled, and leaned back against the car himself. "Manda's car didn't need any work, Dean."
"It needed a little… and since the girl's on the mend, it might be awhile before she gets around to taking care of it." He sipped some more on the beer, kicked the ground with his boot. Sam obviously wanted to talk, but Dean wasn't sure he wanted to.
Looking at his brother, Sam smirked. Dean would never admit it, but he was just making sure Manda wouldn't have much to worry about when they left her place in another day or so. But he knew that his brother was avoiding her a little, it was hard not to notice things seemed off between them. And while he'd filled them in on things, Dean had also avoided talking about how he'd ended up just about killing her, so Sam knew he had to press a little. "Manda seems better today… even talked a bit more about what happened that night with me and Chuch."
Dean hid behind the beer, and swallowed hard. They hadn't said much to each, but now she'd talked to Sam and Chuch? He wanted to talk to her about it, find out what she actually remembered while being possessed again, if she knew what he'd done, what he'd said, but the words… the words just weren't there. "That's good."
"Yeah." Sam saw it then, how unsure his brother was of what he should do when it came to her now. He was harbouring guilt in only the way that Dean could. "It still isn't your fault, Dean. And I'm sure she doesn't blame you for any of it."
Gripping the bottle tighter, Dean was quiet for a minute before rubbing a hand over his face. Maybe she didn't blame him, but he worried she wouldn't be as understanding as she always was about what had gone on. "Still doesn't change that everything I told her wouldn't happen, did."
Sam sighed. Dean always took the weight of things when something went wrong. Sometimes it was like he couldn't live without having the guilt, he just seemed to need it. "There wasn't much of a way to stop it, that demon wanted her dead one way or another. You did what you could for her...."
"Did what I could?" Dean cut him off as he snapped out the question with disbelief. "I almost killed her… if you hadn't of shown up right then, I would have killed her, Sam," he said with a hard tone.
Sam hesitated to say anything for a minute, wondering how to make Dean see that wasn't his fault. "Look… she made the choice to let it possess her to save you, Dean. She knew she was as good as dead at that point and gave herself up knowing you'd do what you could to end it… and you tried to save her before you ran out of options."
"It never should have gotten that far. Damn thing never should have gotten the chance to possess her again… never mind what else it got to do," Dean muttered roughly, his jaw tightening with the memories rising to the front of his mind.
"We all know how things go… sometimes you can't keep someone from getting hurt, and this was one of those times. Manda knows that just as much as you and I do." Sam was trying to offer some comfort to his brother, but it didn't appear to be working. "But if that demon hadn't been in her when Chuch and I came along, maybe she wouldn't have made it through this. Did you think about that… that by trying to save you, it helped save her?"
Dean wasn't sure if that's how it had worked, but anything was possible. He hadn't thought of that, it hadn't even crossed his mind. He gulped down the rest of the beer then, once again hiding behind it. "Dude… unless you're going to help me out with the car, go hang out with Chuch, braid each other's hair, paint each other's nails, whatever it is you two do," he said with a bit of an annoyed look and a grin, then handed the empty bottle back to Sam.
Sam scoffed, knowing Dean didn't want to talk about it anymore. So he walked away, but then stopped after a few steps and looked back at his brother. If he didn't want to talk to him, that was fine, but there was one person Dean would have to talk to sooner or later. "You love her, Dean, so when you're done hiding out here to avoid her, maybe you ought to talk to her and sort out whatever issue with guilt you've got now or you're still going to lose her." Then he continued walking to the house and went inside.
Dean turned his attention back to the car, but he was frozen there. His hands rested on the roof and his head was bowed for a few minutes as he thought about it. Sam was right, he was avoiding Manda and if he didn't figure things out soon, he would still lose her. But he just didn't know what to say to her though, and could only hope it came to him as he got back to the task at hand.
-
Manda had been watching Dean on and off out the window.
She'd seen the way he'd taken his time working on the cars, spending awhile on hers, fixing a few things, and then buffing it up to a glossy shine before moving on to his beloved Impala. But she also saw him trying to keep himself busy on this downtime, and caught the way he kept stopping, standing there for a few moments at a time as if he was thinking about things.
There was plenty to think about. She'd been thinking about a lot of it herself, going over what she knew had happened while she'd been possessed. The things that demon had done and said to Dean while it had been in her. What it had provoked him to do to her, what she'd asked him to do to her. God, she had never wanted to cause him so much pain, but she had and there was no way to take it back now.
She knew they needed to talk, because if they didn't talk now, they probably never would. He would leave, and then that would be it. Everything that had happened would have destroyed what had been building between them. What had finally become more than just a fleeting fling between the two of them would be over with. She knew that's how it would go if they let things slide like this. And even if they were kidding themselves into thinking a relationship with each other could work, the hunter life that had robbed them both of so much didn't have to take this from them now too.
It was clear to her that he thought they were finished though. He hadn't said much to her, could barely look at her, and yet all the pain he was trying to hide was bleeding through when he did either the last few days. He was holding onto guilt for what had happened, and it just wasn't his to have. But how to get him to see that was beyond her.
Manda still wanted to try dating him. And even if it didn't work out, at least then she'd know it wasn't because of some goddamn demon that had nearly destroyed and already taken so much from her.
She turned away from the window and found Chuch looking at her.
"Going to talk to him or just continue to hide in here and avoid him?" Chuch asked. She'd seen the way they were both kind of avoiding each other. But they were both kind of stubborn when it came to being open about things, but she knew they needed to talk it out somehow. "It's kind of hard not to notice things aren't quite normal between you two."
"I'll wait awhile still. I don't even know where to start with him, Chuch," she answered honestly. "He's just… well, he's just…"
"Dean," Sam finished it for her as he came into the room. There was no other way to describe him. He knew that about his brother, and so did she.
"Exactly," Manda sighed. He was just Dean, and she understood how he could be, but that didn't make this any easier.
"And you're a lot like him," Sam added in then.
Chuch laughed. "You got that right. He's avoiding her, she's avoiding him… they're both stubborn when it comes to confronting things."
Manda chuckled softly to herself, and then headed for the door.
The mistake of allowing Dean to leave without trying to straighten this out would be stupid, and Manda was through with making stupid mistakes. A few had just about cost her life a few days ago, and damned if she was going to lose Dean by making another one now.
-
Dean was shutting the Impala's hood awhile later when he heard her voice.
"Now that's gorgeous." Manda whistled as she walked towards Dean and eyed her car.
He turned around and curled his lips into a cocky smirk. He looked at her, but not quite at her though. "Gorgeous, handsome, fine… any of those will do."
She chuckled, but felt a little awkward now. Her stomach was in knots, unsure of how this would go because he still seemed to be looking right past her. "I was talking about my car… but yeah, you look good too," she admitted, finding that he looked damn good standing there in his semi-dirty jeans and t-shirt, looking at home in front of his Impala.
Leaning back against his car, Dean laughed. He couldn't help but notice she had stopped a few steps away though, and seemed a bit timid. That wasn't like her, and he found it a little strange. He nodded towards the spot beside him, and tapped on the hood of the Impala, making the first move. "You know I don't bite… well, not hard enough to leave any lasting teeth marks anyway," he said with a smirk.
She grinned, feeling a little more at ease then. "True." Manda took the few steps, closing the distance between them, and then leaned a little against the car when she was next to him.
This felt awkward to Dean. He was so unsure of what to say, what to do, and he could tell it was just the same for her from her stance. Her hands were at her sides, she seemed kind of tense.
An uncomfortable silence sat between them for a few minutes. The words that needed to be said were there, but how to get them out wasn't.
Both of them said the other's name at the same time in an attempt to break the silence, and then they chuckled at hearing each other.
"You can go first," he said to her.
"We need to talk, clear the air," Manda said casually, just stating the obvious. "I don't know about you, but I'm kind of tired of the curious glances and dreadful silence."
"I know," Dean muttered. Here it was, the moment he'd been dreading. Maybe they were done before they even really got to begin, he wasn't sure. "And it is getting tiring."
But then the silence settled in again, and they just stood there side by side. Manda turned her head slightly and looked at him, and Dean just stared straight ahead wishing he had the guts to finally meet her gaze.
Jesus, Dean... just look at me already, you know I can see what this has done to you. Manda knew he felt guilty and it was tearing him up inside, but also that she had to be the one to make things right now. Knowing it was now or never, she moved a little closer, wrapped her arm around his, and rested her head against his shoulder. "Don't even think about pulling away from me right now, or care if Sam or Chuch see us having a bit of a soft moment here. Because we're gonna have a moment, so you can just deal with it, Winchester." Her tone was calm, but firm so he would listen.
His grin was amused at how she was a little bossy right now, and then he peered out of the corner of his eye to see her. God, Manda… I should have protected you more, saved you from getting this hurt. "Getting soft on me… and with possible witnesses, do I need the holy water again?" he asked, reaching for his back pocket to tease her, and to lighten his own thoughts. The guilt was heavy and hard, just like the pain in knowing what he'd done to her.
"Nice one." Manda knocked her foot against his, and couldn't stop from laughing a little as she looked up at him. "But look…" she paused, taking a deep breath. "That demon has taken too much from me already and damned if I'm letting it take you too. I've see the way you look or don't quite look at me now, Dean. Full of guilt and pain, wondering if I blame you for what happened, thinking we're done for when you leave here… and I want you to know that despite everything, we're okay," she said quietly.
Dean should have known she could see it on him, in him. She always seemed to see what he tried to hide, and everything she'd just said was how he felt each time he'd looked at her the past few days. He looked at her face, focusing on the bruises and frowned slightly. Then his eyes finally met hers to search them as he wondered how it was possible they were okay, because he wasn't sure they couldn't be after what had happened. "Are we, Manda?"
She was quiet for a minute, just studying his eyes and seeing the pain and sorrow they held. "What happened… look, I remember some of it. Like how that son of a bitch taunted you, beat you up while it was in me, what it caused you to do to me…" she trailed off, reaching up with her other hand to lightly stroke his cheek. "God, I'm sorry for that. Sorry for how it did that… and that I caused you all this pain."
Still staring at her, Dean felt his unease start to disappear. He had no idea why he'd thought she wouldn't understand; she always did or tired to when it came to him. And now she was apologizing for the pain she and the demon had caused him, seeming to forget all the pain the damn thing and he had given her. "I, uh, what I did to you to… Damn it, I never would have… if there was any other choice… you know I wouldn't have…" he stopped, unable to say it.
She nodded. "I know, baby. You had to hit me, and that's okay. Same with doing what I asked you to do… that was the only choice left. I wish to god it hadn't been, but it was."
"If that knife had gone any further in… I nearly killed you, Manda," he said, looking away from her. He had so much guilt over having to stab her, failing to protect her the way he should have, and knowing there had been no other choice when he'd done it. But the worst was that he felt it had been like what she had seen in the demon induced dream – that he had stabbed her like she was nothing more than what they hunted and loathed. "It should never have gone that far, it was like the vision you had."
Manda sighed softly as she let go of his arm. She moved to be in front of him, then took his hand and held it over where he had stabbed her. "This had to be done, so don't you dare feel guilty over it. It's a scar I can live with, and you don't get to feel like a heartless bastard for giving it to me because doing that was anything but, Dean. And yeah, maybe it played out a little like the vision, but you weren't cruel," she said, wishing he would look at her again.
Feeling the stitches underneath her shirt, Dean closed his eyes briefly, trying to push out the guilt he had for it, guilt she clearly wasn't going to let him get away with having. Then he looked at her again and saw what lay past her bruised eyes – there wasn't a trace of blame to be found, just the love she had for him was visible at that moment. "Sorry," he whispered, moving his hand from her then. He didn't want to feel the stitches anymore, didn't want to think about the other slash he'd given her either. "It never should have come to that, Manda. I never should have stabbed you, and you… you never should have come so close to…" he stopped, stared deep into her eyes.
Both of them were silent as their looks traded that unspoken word – dying.
But she had died for a few minutes. And those had been minutes that Dean wished had never managed to tick by on the clock to create a moment that he hadn't been able to stop from happening. One horrible moment that he'd never be able to forget.
Manda knew she had died in his arms, and looking at him now, she saw the heartache he had from it. She'd give anything to take it from him, but she couldn't. She could only try to ease it in him now."Hey… what's done is done. And if you think giving me a war wound or two gets you out of this," she paused, pointing between both of them, "Think again, Winchester. You know I'd never let you off the hook that easily."
Dean chuckled, and raised a brow. She still wanted to be with him. After everything she wasn't going to allow him to walk away without some kind of fight. She really was something else, and maybe he still felt he didn't deserve her or the love she had for him, but he wanted both. "That so, Chambers?"
"So maybe relationships aren't either of our fortes, and they don't exactly work out too well in our line of work… but so far I think we're off to a good start," Manda smirked.
Laughing, Dean just looked at her amused. It was a terrible start, but he knew they couldn't have expected much better given their line of work. What would a relationship for two hunters be without something like this happening somewhere down the line? At least they'd gotten it out of the way already. "Been one hell of a start so far…"
"Sure is. Thanks to a demon, I kicked your ass, you almost killed me… but we're both still standing," Manda said, chuckling softly. "And you know I won't push you for it, but if you think you can still handle it now that I'm out of this mess…"
The choice was his, and Dean knew which one he was making. He didn't have to think twice about it, but he took a moment as if he was thinking it over just to tease her. "You know I can handle you, sweetheart. And I told you before, I could do worse," he said in a cocky tone, and flashed a charming grin at her.
Her grin was wide before she leaned in to kiss him, and then noticed how he sort of just held back a bit. "Dude… don't just leave your girl hanging. This is the part of the chick-flick moment where you kiss her."
"My girl and her chick moments… and pulling off a line or two in them too," Dean paused, rolled his eyes and shook his head to tease her a little more now. He chuckled at seeing how she rolled her eyes in fake annoyance back and gave him a look that said it all.
"Yeah, yeah, I know… deal with it, and shut up and kiss me already, Winchester," he said, and then barely let his lips meet hers. He was holding back on how hard and deep he wanted to kiss her, his hesitation to touch her was there too, and it was driving him nuts.
"Not quite what I was hoping for, but it'll do." Manda smirked a little, but could tell he was sort of worried about touching her. He'd only seen her face, arms and hands so far, so it made sense. But she was glad he hadn't seen the rest yet, he wasn't going to like seeing that he contributed to the bruises, scrapes and stitches she was covered in.
Dean saw the disappointment she tried to hide. He pulled her closer gently by the hips, and then kissed her the way he wanted to – deep and hard, passionate but sweet.
"That's more like it," she uttered with a grin, letting her hands fall from his shoulders to his chest. "Now when you're done out here, get your fine ass inside. I want to spend a little time with my man before he gets back on the road."
"Just need to wax my wheels, bring her to a nice shine, then I'll be in," he smirked. He looked forward to spending a little quality time with her. Just hanging around with his girl, and maybe finally getting to hold her close later that night depending on what shape she was really in. He was curious to see just how bad it was since she'd been keeping anyone from seeing very much of her.
"By the way, thanks for working on my car and making her look gorgeous, Dean," she said, and turned her head to look at her car for a moment. "Damn she's looking sleek and hot."
"I figured you're sporting some pretty good shiners… and she might as well match considering she usually looks as hot as you. But maybe she looks a little better than you do right now," he said with a playful smile. It felt good to be able to tease her again, and he was keeping it up as long as she was letting him get away with it.
"Nice line. And I know my car is hot, so thanks for the compliment, baby… but you're right, she does look better at the moment," Manda laughed. Then she went to turn around only to find he stopped her by lightly grabbing her by a wrist. She looked at him questioningly.
Dean just looked at her for a minute. "Manda," he paused, wanting to tell her he loved her, but knew this just wasn't the right moment. "I'm glad you're okay, babe," he whispered, kissed her on the forehead, and then let her go.
She knew he wanted to say something else but had no idea what, so she left it alone. "I know you are," she said quietly.
"Now go inside and take it easy… doctor's orders," Dean tried to say firmly, but lost the tone quickly. Then the stern look he gave her broke into a flirty grin.
Manda chuckled and couldn't stop the amused smirk that spread across her face. "Doctor's orders, huh… can't argue with those." She gave him a light, simple kiss, and then left so he could finish working on his car.
Dean watched Manda walk away with a grin on his face before starting to polish the Impala. Got to get out those words again… let her know I love her before I leave. Third time is supposed to be a charm, right?
Are you glad to see those two finally caught a break, and worked things out with each other? After everything they deserve a little bit of happiness... right? Maybe making them split up would have been better, perhaps a bit more "realistic" but at the same time, considering what did happen, maybe this is more how it would actually go. Hunters would have to take what little happiness they can find when it comes in along that crazy life...
Ah, this one took awhile to work out some dialogue, and I do hope I got it right. Tough one for the Sam and Dean bit... and not any easier for the Dean and Manda bit either.
I also wasn't sure about using Led Zeppelin's 'The Rain Song' for that exact moment, but I figure it works (lyrically speaking - if you want to interpret it with a relationship view that is) in a way for what's sort of going on relationship wise... but not quite the somewhat heaviness of the conversation between the brothers. And of course Manda's father would have a (great) Zeppelin track or two as a favourite...
Well, we're nearing the end. One more chapter to go. There's a few more things to wrap up, like getting her to hear those words (wow, that's going to be tough to write right) and then for Dean to be on his way...
But hopefully you've enjoyed this chapter! Hopefully I didn't destroy Dean with softness at times, or make him too well... unlike Dean. lol. And of course I had to get Manda and Dean back into a more normal and joking/goofy/being a bit cute and soft with each other state. Hope that transition was smooth.
I'll try to get up the final chapter soon...
Thanks for reading! And if you feel you should comment - go ahead and do it! :)