CHAPTER 21

"Well that was…something." Veronica said as she rubbed the left side of her hip.

"You didn't pick the most painless place to get it." Sam smirked.

"Well I wasn't gonna walk around with it on my arm or something tacky like that." She replied, and then smacked her hand over her mouth when she saw a few of the slayer girls glaring at her because they had theirs on their arms.

Sam laughed and Veronica hit him across the arm. "Ow, sorry but it was funny." He smiled.

Sam had taken the slayers – the willing ones anyway – to get anti-possession tattoos. There were only about fifty who were willing to get them, but that's fifty less people able to get possessed. After the earthquake and the storm the previous night – it was odd weather for Cleveland – the two hunters and two original slayers were taking every precaution. Bobby was going to come to Cleveland, bringing with him some anti-possession charms for those without tattoos. Dean had called Cas, who was now at HQ drawing Enochian sigils all over the walls, and Willow and Tara were putting some protection spells around the building.

"Does it still hurt?" Sam asked her, daring himself to reach out and touch her tattoo. When he did, she didn't move and Sam let out his breath.

"Yeah a little. I thought 'high-pain-tolerance' would come with the job, but obviously not." She let out a nervous laugh.

'God dammit Sam!' she thought frantically while trying to appear calm. His touch was sending chills up her spine and there were butterflies soaring through her stomach.

"Come on; let's go get you some pain killers." He moved his hand around to the small of her back and they walked to the medical rooms.

When they got there a nurse directed Sam to the cabinet with the aspirin. He and Veronica walked over to it and opened it, but there were a million of the little orange bottles and boxes of medication in there.

"Sit down, I'll get it." He said to Veronica. She walked over to the nearest bed and sat on it. She watched as Sam rummaged through the cabinet and pulled out a small white box. He poured her a glass of water and took it over to her. "Here."

She swallowed the aspirin and she went to jump off of the bed but Sam grabbed her waist and helped her down.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"Well, your hip is sore." He shrugged. She nodded and they began to walk back.

"Thanks for last night, by the way." She said as they walked down an empty hallway. He tilted his head and looked at her.

"What for?" he asked. She sighed and leaned against a wall.

"For not laughing at me when I told you I was afraid of storms. For giving me your jacket. For staying and holding me when I was scared…" she winced at how cheesy she was about to sound. "For making me feel safe."

She waited for Sam to laugh at her; he does that a lot. When she says something stupid, or awkward, he laughs and smiles that dimpled-smile of his, and she melts. But this time, he didn't laugh.

He stepped in front of her and hooked his forefinger under her chin. He tilted her head up until their eyes met and he leaned down. Their lips crashed together and it was like fireworks were set off. Veronica's stomach flipped and her hands took on a life of their own as they made their way up to his hair – both of them unaware of Dawn and Dean watching on. Sam's hands roamed around her back and her sides as he pulled her even closer.

All of a sudden Sam jumped back away from her as if he'd been burnt. He ran his hands through his hair and muttered an apology to her before running off, leaving her standing confused in the hallway.

Sam nearly ran over Dean in his bid to escape the corridor.

"What the hell was that?" Dean asked. "Why'd you run away? She was all over you, isn't that what you want?"

Sam groaned. "Dude, not right now." Sam snapped, angry at himself rather than Dean, and then rushed past his brother and the blonde slayer's little sister.

Dawn turned to Dean. "You go talk to him, I'll handle her."

Dean nodded and ran after Sam. Dawn walked down the hallway toward Veronica. During the time that Veronica had been here, she and Dawn had become quite close friends. They bonded over being left out. They were about the same age but Dawn wasn't a slayer and the girls who were slayers, didn't like Veronica.

"Hey, V, what just happened?" Dawn asked her friend.

"That's a good question."