Once again I wanted to thank you for reading! I have been loving the feedback reviews. Keep them coming! They keep me going with this little story. I love all the guesses as to what might happen next! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter :)

Note: There may be some triggers.

THEN:

Chapter 21

Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Home of Jody Mills.

It was 1030am and Dean hadn't heard a peep from Charlie all morning much less overnight. Between him and Jody, they had checked on her during the night at least half a dozen times, and each time she seemed to be peacefully sleeping. He hoped she had gotten a good night's sleep. He wasn't sure what the day would bring but the more rest she had gotten the better off she would be. He quietly walked up to the bedroom door and hesitated when he heard some kind of muffled movement behind it. It sounded like she was finally up. Perfect timing. He knocked on the door.

"Charlie? You up?" He asked then waited a for a few moments. "Charlie?" He heard some kind of movement again. "Can I come in?" There was no answer. He made a quick decision to turn the doorhandle and push it open slightly. He caught a sliver of Charlie's form sitting on the edge of the bed through the door opening. She was dressed and still. He pushed open the door and automatically scanned the room, his eyes shifting from right to left looking for anything out of the ordinary. His instincts were making some noise.

The curtains were still drawn closed leaving the room dimly lit and all the blankets he had pulled from Jody's closet the night before now lay in a pile on the floor at the foot of the bed. His eyes then fell back to Charlie. Slightly hunched over with her elbows leaning on her thighs and both feet firmly planted on the carpet, her form was silhouetted by the translucent light filtering in from the window. He noted her her hand hanging between her knees with an object dangling from her fingers. He saw a glint of light reflect off of it. His stomach did somersaults when he recognized what she was holding.

"Charlie? What's going on?" His voice hinted at his trepedation.

Charlie shook her head. "My life is not my own. It has to stop." Charlie spoke in a subdued and oddly flat sounding tone.

Dean took a few steps towards her and after a moment, she finally raised her eyes to his. They were puffy and bloodshot with dark circles around the edges. She had been crying and from the looks of it, there had been some sort of mental and emotional shift in her demeanor and it was unnerving to witness. His eyes drifted back to the object dangling from her fingers.

"Why do you have a gun ?" He asked slowly.

She lifted the gun up turning it slightly in her hand. She rolled the deck back showing the chamber was full and then proceeded to remove the safety lock. Dean's stomach dropped when he heard it click.

"I spoke to her." Was Charlie's sole response.

Dean knew automatically who she was referring to.

"In a dream, I think or just in my head like a hallucination... I don't know for sure. ..but I remember this time...all of it. She didn't take my memory." Charlie rambled on. "The warehouse. I met with Crowley apparently." She looked back at Dean uncomfortably." She made a deal with him... when I wouldn't." Charlie's tone was remorseful.

Dean gave a few short nods conveying little emotion but listening intently all the same.

"I just.. I thought I had to.. " She went on.

"I probably would have done the same." He paused, "I have done the same." He corrected himself.

Charlie had lied to him and Sam. Yes. But, he also knew she had felt in her mind it was the only way to survive. Desperation can take a person down many roads. How many times had he done the same in a situation that seemed to have only impossible solutions? How could he fault her? He couldn't.

"Charlie.., " Dean said gently, "What was the deal?"

"She wants her freedom. And she plans to split from me to get it. Crowley is going to make it happen." She answered.

"What's in it for him?" Dean asked.

"She's going to do what I wouldn't." She replied.

"Awesome." Dean scoffed. He shook his head. "How? How are they gonna do it?"

Charlie slowly stood up, Dean watching her movements intently as she did.

"It doesn't matter. There's only one way to stop it dead in its tracks before it even starts." She said coldly. "She told me that without me, there is no her."

Dean stared at her. It caught him by surprise at how different she suddenly appeared to him compared to the night before. He was staring back at some stranger who merely resembled Charlie. A pale reflection. A shell. And it burned a fire inside of him. She was like this runaway train coming off a mountain. And what was he compared to that? She was getting further and further away from him and whatever hope he still gripped to tightly was slowly degrading to the inevitability the situation was dictating.

"What does that mean?" Dean asked his stomach now in knots.

"Without me Crowley can't do what he's planning." She looked at him with stark eyes. "darkCharlie has too much control already and now she has what she needs to get exactly what she wants." Charlie said. "And if I don't do what needs to be done... she'll get it."

A long heavy silence bared down on them. Dean's expression mirrored that of confusion at first. "She has what she needs to get what she wants." He repeated. As soon as he said the words a realization hit him.

"The key." Dean blurted out. He felt like he had just been hit with a ton of bricks. "The Wizards key. She has the Wizards key." Dean berated himself mentally. How the hell did he do not see that one? His thoughts were spinning in circles.

His eyes gravitated back down to the gun she held in her hand when another realization hit him even harder than the first. It now dawned on him where her intentions lay and even then he still couldn't fathom it.

"Without you..., " He said softly.

"There's no her." Charlie completed his train of thought.

Dean began shaking his head vehemently. "No... no... Charlie, no. That is NOT gonna happen." His voice became dark and rough around the edges. He was truly scared. "No way in hell I'll let you just do yourself in.. just no...!"

"It's the only way." She raised her voice suddenly.

"Are you kidding me right now?!" Dean sounded flabbergasted.

"She's stronger than I am. She knows my weaknesses and she's knows how to exploit them! And she has! Look at how far she's gotten?" Charlie practically yelled at him. "I take myself out of the equation and it stops. Everything will just... STOP."

Dean looked at her disheartened. "What you mean is IT all stops for YOU, right? No more pain for YOU. To hell with everybody else!" Dean said angrily. He couldn't take the idea of her giving up. He just couldn't.

Dean stared at her for a few uncomfortable moments. "You're right." He finally said. "She is stronger when you're compromised. And right now... you ARE compromised in every. single. way. You're letting your loss, your grief, and your fear dictate your actions. You're not thinking straight and that is exactly what she wants. Your letting her win Charlie. Why?"

"Don't you get it? I'm not letting her win. I'm not giving up!" Charlie said. "I'm stopping her!"

Dean laughed at the sheer craziness of what was happening. He never believed he'd ever be in a situation where this was happening. Not with her.

"And this is how you want to do it? After everything you've been through, this is the road you want to take?" Dean said in an exasperated tone.

Charlie unknowingly gripped the gun tighter. She felt a surge of chaos building inside her mind making her head hurt.

Dean shook his head in disbelief. "The things I've seen you battle against and overcome and never once backing down- No, this sounds like your giving up." He said flatly. "You've been fighting your own demons since you were twelve years old... " Dean shook his head in desperation. "What do you think your parents would think of you doing this?" Dean said harshly. His gut screamed at him. He felt like he was losing this argument.

"Don't you dare bring my parents into this!" Charlie yelled at him.

"You have a family again. She doesn't. You have people who care about you. She doesn' have people who love you and will do anything to help you. She doesn't!" Dean shot back.

"God you make me SO mad!" She yelled back at him.

"Good! Be mad! Be angry! But not at me Charlie. Be angry at the man who raped you. Be angry at the demon who wants to exploit you. Be angry at the part of yourself that wants to end you! Use it to fight Charlie! Use it to survive!" He said to her with a raised heavy sounding voice.

Charlie's heart was beating so fast she was sure it would burst right out of her chest. "I should have stayed dead that night! Don't you understand!? Wrong or right it was how I was meant to go!"

Dean looked back at her sadly. "You honestly believe that, don't you..."

Charlie merely shook her head in response.

"What happened to you was wrong Charlie. And if anyone deserves a second chance, it's you.." He argued. "Why are you punishing yourself?"

The tension between them had risen to seemingly dangerous levels. Charlie was serious about her intentions and holding a weapon she was ready to use. Talking her down from the situation seemed less and less likely as the seconds passed on.

He placed his hand on the gun she still gripped tightly and desperately searched her eyes for any glimmer of hope that he was getting through to her. He didn't find what he was looking for and instead found something he wasn't expecting: her pupils dilating and a particular smile that he associated with only one person.

Oh, fuck, he thought.

"Don't worry. She'll get what she deserves. I'll make sure of it." darkCharlie spoke.. her voice now smooth and sure.

"No, no, Charlie.. come back Charlie... come back to me god damn it!" Dean begged even though he knew in his heart it was already too late.

Dean's instincts kicked in. He suddenly pushed her back against a wall, pinning his body against hers as he struggled to force the gun from her grip.

"It's too late!" darkCharlie yelled out.

"Charlie if you can hear me, take control!" Dean begged.

darkCharlie tried to knee him but there was barely any room to move against him.

"Crowley will only screw you over!" Dean said.

"How do you know he hasn't already... ", She shot back angrily.

The remark took Dean off his game for a split second as he stopped and looked at her. Unfortunately, it gave darkCharlie just enough of an opportunity to knee him hard between his legs. Dean let out a sudden gasp and groaned loudly in treacherous agony. Nonetheless, he held steadfast to the gun and her hand. He'd rather die than let go.

"Charlie! If you can hear me. .please. .. " Dean pleaded. His panic grew exponentially when he felt his sweaty fingers slowly losing their grip on the gun.

Then it discharged. They both froze. And everything stopped.

Dean's heart almost stopped dead in its tracks, thinking Charlie had been shot. But within moments he felt a sharp shooting pain careen up through his calf and then thigh. He took an unbalanced step backwards as he looked down to his foot. Blood seeped through his boot's leather bindings where the bullet hit. Dean stared back up at her. And when he did, he swore he saw a shadow of remorse flash across darkCharlie's eyes. An eternity of seconds passed between them; with eyes locked, and heavy breaths, their steadfast grip on the gun remained.

"I need her." Dean's voice suddenly cracked. "Please.. don't do this to her.. ." He begged.

An unforeseen hesitation gripped darkCharlie. She was seeing for the first time something she had never expected from him or any man: truth. He loved her. There was no doubt in his eyes. The revelation invoked a feeling of vulnerability for her, and it made her angry. She reminded herself she wanted her freedom. She deserved her freedom as much as Charlie did. She deserved those feelings and wants as much as the next person too. And no matter what.. not even this man standing before her pleading for Charlie would stop her.

A new wall of inner resolve hit her and she yanked herself out of the moment. She took advantage of the moment and pushed Dean back hard, jumped on top of the bed and then landed onto the carpeted floor on the other side. Dean twisted himself around and lurched forward with his hand out but only managed to grab the tail end of the back of her t-shirt. A section of it tore off as she yanked it harshly from him. Standing in front of the bedroom window she quickly flung the curtains apart, unlatched the lock on the window, opened it and scrambled through with the ease of a practiced escape artist.

"Charlie!" Dean yelled. "No!"

Just then Sam appeared in the bedroom doorway. "Dean?" He exclaimed as he quickly surveyed the room just in time to see his brother tumble off the bed.

"She's getting away!" Dean yelled. Sam's expression changed as he quickly shifted gears into Hunter mode. "It's darkCharlie.. " Dean pointed to the window. Sam headed for the window, realized he couldn't fit through it, spun around and ran out of the bedroom instead, nearly running Jody over in the process.

"Sorry!" Sam yelled back at her as he sprinted around the hallway corner.

Jody gathered her wits about her and finally appeared in the doorway. "What the hell is going on? Was that a gunshot?"

Dean pushed himself off the floor. Jody immediately noted blood on her carpet as she cautiously took a few more steps into the room.

"Is that.. .blood?" Jody asked surprised.

Dean grimaced as he pulled himself onto the bed and sat clumsily down. Jody looked around the bed and saw the blood on Dean's leg.

"Who shot you?" Jody asked flabbergasted.

Dean immediately shook his head. "darkCharlie." Dean said through a tight lipped grimace. "She took off." He motioned to the open window.

Jody stared at him in shock. "darkCharlie?" She looked out the window and responded with, "Oh boy.."

She shook her head and then quickly moved towards Dean, knelt down, and tired to get a better look at his foot. "We need to get you to a hospital."

Dean just gave her a look that clearly expressed what he was thinking.

"Right. Hunters avoid doing the sensible thing at all costs when it comes to their own medical care."Jody quipped. She let out a huge sigh. "What the hell happened?" She asked as she got up and started rummaging through the bedroom closet. She pulled out a small red bag first aid kit and quickly returned to Dean and his injured bleeding foot. "Was darkCharlie trying to kill you?" Jody asked as she carefully removed his boot.

"No. ." Dean paused and squeezed his eyes closed as he felt another jolt of pain shoot through his leg.

Jody looked back at him questioningly. "Then what?"

"She was going to kill herself." He said flatly.

Jody stopped and stared back at him with a gaping mouth. "I don't -I don't understand."

"darkCharlie is going to force a physical split from Charlie." Dean further explained.

"Like the split that happened in that story you told me about Oz?" She asked.

"Yeah... " Dean groaned from the pain. "Charlie thinks the only way to stop everything is to off herself." He hesitated. "She's in a 'really' bad place Jody. I'm gonna lose her..."

"Oh, Dean.. " Jody was speechless.

Sam suddenly showed up in the bedroom's doorway breathing heavily. Dean looked at him questioningly.

"She got away." Sam said.

"Oh great. That's just great... " Dean punched the mattress.

"Dean, we'll find her." Sam responded.

"Find her?" Dean pointed to the night table. "Her phone is right there. We have no idea where she's headed." He looked back up to his brother. "We're screwed."

To be continued. ..