Guys, the writer's block is insane. Feel free to PM me any ideas you have for monsters for our dear heroes to fight, case ideas, or scenes in general! Also I am SO GRATEFUL for all of the love I've been receiving about this story. You guys seriously rock.

PS Happy Holidays to my Supernatural family!

CHAPTER 21

Paulo was the first to reach me. He gripped me in a hug that was so swift and so tight, it sucked the air right out of my lungs.

"Tesoro mio," he whispered over and over. The straining in his voice increased with each word and suddenly he was crying. My sleeve soaked through with his tears; I couldn't find the words to comfort him, so I stood there, stroking his silver speckled hair while his body shook against me.

"What just happened?" Anna was the first to speak after a few moments. "What were those things?"

"Soul eaters," I blurted out. I scolded myself; I had wanted to ease into it. Anna stared at me, as if she were waiting for a different explanation.

"I'm sorry, what eaters?" Anna folded her arms and shifted her weight to her left leg.

"Soul eaters," Sam answered for me.

"How… How do you know about soul eaters?" Betty looked directly at me.

"She knows," Paulo sniffled and lifted his head from my shoulder. "She knows about them all."

"Oh, my," Betty gripped the back of a chair and slowly lowered herself down. She stared directly at me, her eyes wide with horror. "Your parents…"

"What about my parents?"

"Someone explain what the hell just happened!" Anna screeched before Betty could answer.

"They were after you," Dean told her. Dean obviously wasn't one to beat around the bush.

"Me?!" she screamed so loud I couldn't help but cringe. "Why were they after me?!"

"Because you're pregnant," Sam answered.

"Because I'm pregnant," Anna repeated. "What, monsters have something against pregnant women? Our cravings and stretch marks and creating life too much for them?"

"It's the souls, Anna," I spoke softly. "You have two souls to your body right now-yours and your baby's. It's just more convenient as far as feeding goes."

"You're kidding. They actually wanted to eat my soul," Anna paused for minute. "Wait… Macee was pregnant too. Is that…?" She didn't need to finish her question. The looks on our faces was answer enough.

Anna's hand flew up to her mouth. Betty and Paulo lowered their heads. The rest of us were silent as we allowed Anna time to process. Slowly, she lowered her hand to her belly, stroking softly where her unborn child resided.

"I-I need to go home," she was breathing heavily. "I need to get home to my AJ."

"Let me take you," I reached out to touch her arm. My friend slapped my hand away and looked away. I looked at my hand, still hovering awkwardly in the air, in shock. Without another glance in my direction, Anna quickly stormed out the door.

I watched after her in despair. The hand she had slapped away stung with the pain and betrayal my friend felt toward me.

"Give her time," Betty gently put her arms around me. "She's going through the same thing you did when you first found out. Be patient with her."

"Chardonnay didn't panic for a second," Dean snorted. "She was attacked three times when we first met and she didn't even question why." I was silent.

"Three times?" Betty gripped my shoulders to face her. "By the same things?"

"All different, actually," Sam answered. "Interesting, now that you mention it." Panic stirred inside me, starting as a constant pinching in my gut and rising to my chest as it crushed my soul. Dean was right. In the first months I had known the Winchesters, multiple different parties of the supernatural had personally targeted me and I hadn't batted an eye. I wondered if I had just been in denial in those last months, like I had convinced myself all that time was just a dream.

The anxiety I felt reassured me those events were real; I had been attacked, and I felt the weight of the world crashing down on me. All of the fear and doubts I should have confronted months ago flooded back all at once.

"Drew?" Betty cocked her head to the side as she closely studied my face. I could barely hear her over the sounds of my own jagged, shallow breathing.

"Drew?" I think she shook me, for my field of vision, though fuzzy and distorted from tears, rattled. I felt like my skin was on fire, my throat burned, and my chest ached.

I clutched at my chest, and if I hadn't been unable to breath, I would have laughed at my situation. All of the monsters I had survived, and the coroner would say the cause of death was a panic attack.

"Char?" Dean's voice rang in my ears. Betty moved to the side when Dean took my hands in his. They were warm and comforting against my skin and I resented him slightly for holding my hands when they were as sweaty as they were.

"Everyone get out," Dean's eyes were locked on me. I was getting dizzy from lack of oxygen to my brain. I wondered how long I could go before I passed out. Would my lungs give out first? Dean yelled again for everyone to leave.

"Chardonnay, look at me," Dean's voice was soft and slow. "Look at me." I tried to keep my eyes on him, but I couldn't focus as I gasped for breath.

"Breathe, Char," Dean told me. I wanted to yell at him; if I could breath, I would.

"I-I can't," were the only words I managed to choke out.

"Sit," he commanded. Releasing his grip on one of my hands, he gently lowered me down until I was securely seated across his lap. He held my head firmly against his chest and pressed his cheek to the top of my head. He whispered to me that everything would be okay when the tears flowed endlessly down my cheeks. My entire body ached; I was exhausted and wished the lack of oxygen would just knock me out quickly. My head was already pounding.

"Chardonnay, I need to you focus on my voice. Can you do that for me? Focus on my voice and only my voice," Dean told me. I nodded and tried to hear his voice over the constant screaming in my head.

"Look around this room, and find five things you can see. Tell them to me." I drew in a shaky breath and looked at my surroundings. The diner was a mess; it was going to be a pain to clean up after that battle.

"I see… I see a table," the words were hard to speak. I could barely push them out over the knot in my throat. "I see… I see… I can't, Dean." I gripped his hand even tighter and squeezed my eyes shut, unable to focus on anything but my body and my mind dying.

"Yes, you can," he murmured and stroked my hair gently. "Four more things, that's all I need."

I forced my eyes open. "I see… I see a fork, and, um, I see a chair. There's a, um, a bird outside the window… And I see a lamppost in the parking lot."

"Good," Dean smiled. "I need you to do something else for me, okay? Can you find four things you can touch for me?" I didn't understand why he was asking so much of me. I was going to die if I didn't get oxygen in me soon. I used one hand to wipe the tears off my cheeks, and tried to focus on what Dean asked of me.

"Um… My hair. It'-uh-I can feel that. I can feel the tile under my feet. I can feel my phone in my pocket. Um… Your shirt. I feel your shirt against my cheek. And I can feel your hand against my head. I feel your other hand holding mine; I can feel you."

"That was more than four things, but I'll take it," Dean chuckled. "You're doing so well, Char. What can you hear? Can you think of three things you can hear?"

I sniffled, wiped more tears from my eyes, and settled against him. "I hear crickets outside, and the wind whistling through the door. I can hear your heart beating in your chest."

"What about two things you can smell?"

"It smells like burgers and sweat," I told him.

Dean laughed. "What about one thing you can taste?"

I licked my lips and thought. "Is it weird to say blood?" Dean laughed again.

"What's with all these questions? They're really weird," I looked at him.

"Maybe," Dean smiled. "But they helped."

"Helped…?" That was when I realized I was no longer crying. My breathing was regular, and my ribs had ceased its attempts at crushing my heart. Dean had stopped my panic attack.

"Dean," I cried as I threw my arms around him. He held me tightly to him and I was convinced I could have sat there in the middle of the diner floor, in Dean's arms, for the rest of my life.

"Thank you."

Two days passed and it appeared the threat of the soul eaters had been taken care of. Matt and the Winchesters were equally convinced we wouldn't have to worry about them for a long time. In fact, they were convinced there was no longer any threat to my home at all.

Paulo, Anna, and Betty had resumed work as normal. The talk of the town was still the three hooded figures that had attacked the diner. The Winchesters were the town heroes, as they were known as the FBI agents who were in the right place at the right time, and saved our beloved waitresses.

I took the opportunity to introduce the boys to my home. I brought them through my high school, and introduced them to friends my parents had made at local restaurants. It was a small town and there weren't many exciting things to share, but I took great pleasure in reminiscing.

I told the boys I had a surprise for them. I gave Dean instructions and he drove us there without too much interrogation. We pulled up to a cemetery.

"What are we doing here?" Sam asked me.

"I-I wanted to introduce you to my parents," I chewed nervously at my bottom lip. I was afraid they would be weirded out by it. Sam slung his arm around my shoulders and smiled at me.

"Lead the way." I wrapped one arm around his waist and held the wrist of the arm he had around my shoulders.

We walked for a few minutes before reaching my family's plot. Two headstones stood gracefully next to each other.

"Kendall James Ashley

January 27, 1955 - June 29, 2003

Not parted, only just apart; in memory, kept close in heart"

"Tristan Rae Ashley

October 16, 1956 - June 29, 2003

A beautiful life came to an end. She died as she lived, as everyone's friend"

I knelt down in front of the plot where my parents' bodies had been laid to rest three years prior.

"Hi guys," I spoke. "It's been a while. You wouldn't believe the way my life has been lately. But I brought some friends to meet you. We've been travelling together lately. Fighting monsters, can you believe it? I guess it's a good thing you entered me in all those shooting competitions, Dad. They came in handy. Um, this is Sam and Dean Winchester."

Sam knelt down on my right and Dean knelt on my left.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Ashley," Sam said. "You raised a strong daughter. You'd be so proud of everything she is."

"We're grateful to you two," Dean chimed in. "For bringing Drew into this world. I'm sure the world is a better place because of her." Joy filled my heart. I was worried they would think it was weird talking to headstones, but they spoke as if my parents stood right in front of them. I would have liked to see where their mother was buried. Jess, too. I hoped one day they would feel comfortable enough with me to introduce me to them.

"She's a badass, you know," Dean laughed, but quickly stopped himself. "I mean, she's a good hunter." He leaned over and whispered to me, apologizing for swearing in front of my parents. He said it was because he was never very good at the whole "meeting the parents" thing. I giggled and assured him my parents wouldn't have minded the language.

"She's brilliant, and she's saved our lives more than once. It's incredible, really, how she's made her place. She fits in so well with us. Like it was fate that brought us together. Drew was meant to be with us," Sam smiled at me.

We carried on for a few more minutes. It was mostly just the boys showering me with compliments, trying to make me look good to my parents. I asked if I could have a few minutes alone, and the Winchesters agreed to meet me at the car.

"Okay, so here's the deal," I shifted to sit crisscross. "These past few months have been absolutely insane, like, Mom, you would probably have a heart attack. I've been surrounded by so much destruction and death. And I can't help but wonder if you knew about it. Or how you'd react to this. I just need to know what to do with my life. I think I knew long before this that working at the diner won't get me very far in life. I used to think I could go about my entire life working there and I would be content. But I think I want more. I think I can do some real good with the Winchesters, you know? Hunting monsters, saving people. It's dangerous and it's scary, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that those boys would die for me. I'm afraid they will die for me though, with the way things have been going."

I left that cemetery with a pit in my stomach, as I had finally gained the clarity to do what I needed to do.

Until next time xx much love

TeamNoSleep

If you're a Big Time Rush fan, head on over and check out my rewrite of Serenity's story: Nothing But A Memory.