CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Day 186 continued
'Bitch'
Bobby stitched up the hole in Andie's stomach as gently as he could and left her to rest. The bleeding had finally stopped now that the colt's bullet had been removed.
"Bela shot Andie." Dean muttered under his breath. "She just crossed the line from klepto to psycho."
"Dean; we don't know that." Sam reasoned. "She probably sold it to some demon. But listen; bigger issue; she was shot by the colt and she's alive."
"Your brothers right, Dean." Bobby said, wiping his hands clean on a towel. "That pistol kills anything and everything; you know that. That's what it's for." He pointed at Andie. "She should be dead."
Dean glanced over at his soundly asleep friend. "I know." Dean replied. "But she's not. So what does that mean?"
"How well do you know this girl?" Bobby asked carefully. He hadn't met Andie before but Dean and Sam had mentioned her.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked curiously.
"I mean; are you sure she's not a-"
"She's not." Dean cut him off. He knew Bobby was about to say demon.
"Dean." Bobby continued. "You know as well as I do; this ain't right! No one survives the colt; humans especially! She should've been killed instantly and she claims she's been like this a week? No; can't be. The gun doesn't wound; it kills. No matter how bad a shot the shooter is."
"Bobby; she's no demon." Sam countered. "We know her; alright? She's a bit weird but she's not evil. She's good; she's a hunter."
"Hunters aren't telekinetic." Bobby told them. "You said she was born with that power?"
"So what?" Dean snapped. "Sammy had visions and he's not evil."
"Dean; think with your head for once in your damn life." Bobby snapped back. "Something about this girl ain't right."
XXX
Andie awoke two hours later and felt as though she had a building sitting on her stomach. She dared roll over and a pain she couldn't comprehend shot all through her body. She had sweated through her blood-stained clothing and felt like utter death. "Oh, God…" She groaned.
"What?" A tired Dean replied as he sat bolt upright beside her on the floor next to the bed. "Andie?" He turned to her. "You're awake; are you alright?"
"Yeah." Andie heaved herself oh-so-painfully up so her head was resting against the headboard.
"Whoa, easy now, Morgan." Dean told her as he tried to make her more comfortable. "You'll tear your stitches."
Andie lifted up her shirt and revealed an enormous purple bruise that covered almost half over her abdomen and lower stomach centered around a tightly stitched up gouge in her body. "Oh; what the hell…"
"Yeah; you did a number there." Dean nodded at the wound. "Getting shot; that's so street of you."
"Thanks." Andie murmured as she leant her head back against the headboard.
"Anything coming back to you?" Dean asked as he handed her a glass of water sitting on the night stand.
Andie took the glass and drank a small sip of water. "No." She gasped slightly as she handed the glass back to Dean. "But I'm not bleeding anymore; what did you do?"
"Bobby took out the bullet." Dean nodded to Sam's bed where Bobby was sleeping. Sam had taken refuge on the couch and was snoring lightly. Dean looked back at Andie. "You were shot; you don't remember?"
"I remember the sound…" Andie muttered uselessly. "She called my name...I turned around...next thing I knew I was waking up on the ground bleeding like hell."
"She?" Dean asked.
"Some British bitch." Andie told him.
"Bela." Dean felt bile rise in his throat.
"Who?" Andie asked.
Dean proceeded to explain to her about all their run-ins with Bela. Her stealing his car for fun, helping her get hold of a rabbit's foot and, of course, her stealing the colt. He then carefully explained to Andie how wrong it was that she was still alive; that the colt should have killed her.
"Well; I'm clearly not dead." She told him.
"Yeah; question is why." Dean continued. "And why did Bela shoot you in the first place? What were you doing when she shot you?"
"Same old." Andie sighed. "Cemetery; following a demon."
"What demon?"
"Something called a Trixarnth. Old school; feeds on skeletons; the fresher the better." Andie told him as she shifted uncomfortably. "I killed it; no problem. I was heading out when she shot me."
"She say anything else?" Dean asked.
"Just my name." Andie shook her head. "Dunno how she knew who I was, though."
"Well; we'll ask her when we find her." Dean said firmly.
"Ok." Andie smiled tiredly. "I'm gonna sleep now…" she closed her eyes.
"Night." Dean smiled at her as she drifted off.
XXX
When Sam awoke on the couch the next morning; the first thing he saw was Dean's empty bed stained in Andie's blood. Andie was nowhere to be seen. Sam jumped to his feet. "Dean!"
Dean jumped to his feet from his makeshift bed on the floor. "What? What is it? Demon? What?"
"Andie's gone." Sam said hurriedly.
"What?" Dean looked and saw her empty bed. "No, no."
The bathroom door opened and a very sore looking Andie walked out tentatively. "I'm right here; calm down. I was covered in blood; no one can sleep like that."
Sam helped her sit down on the couch slowly. "How do you feel?"
"Like I've been shot, Sam." She told him, patting his shoulder. "Thanks."
"Bobby?" Dean asked, noticing the other empty bed.
"Yeah; he left around the same time I took a shower; said he'd be back." Andie told them.
Dean eyed her as he walked over to the couch. "You wearing my clothes?"
"Oh yeah." Andie pulled at his white t-shirt that hung loose on her body. "Hope you don't mind; I only had the one outfit. FYI; your jeans are awesome."
"Thanks." Dean said folding his arms.
"Are we gonna talk about this or are you two just gonna back and forth it for a few hours?" Sam asked.
"What?" Andie smiled.
"You're meant to be dead; you're not. You showed up last night bleeding all over the place and now you're walking around. You were bleeding for a week and you didn't die." Sam paused. "All of these are good; pick your favorite."
"Well, I got one." Dean said grabbing a dining chair and straddling it in front of Andie. "How'd you get here?"
Andie thought a moment. "Taxi, bus, train, bus, taxi, bus." She recited. "Couldn't sit up on my bike…man, I bet that Bela-bitch stole Jeremy, too…"
"Jeremy?" Sam asked.
"She named her bike." Dean told him. "How'd you know we were here?"
Andie shook her head. "I just did."
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.
"It happens sometimes." She told them, leaning her head back against the couch. "When I need something or someone bad enough I sorta see it in my head and know how to get there. Kinda part-and-parcel with the whole telekinesis thing."
"Huh." Dean nodded. "Cool."
"Where were you when it happened?" Sam asked.
Andie closed her eyes and tried to remember. "I'm not sure, I was only there for the night…Charlesville or Thomastown…something with a guy's name in it." She lifted up the front of her shirt and inspected her wound. It was even more bruised than it had been the night before. "Ew; this isn't pretty."
"Why aren't you worried?" Dean asked her suddenly. "You show up here at death's door and now you're all cutesy again?"
"What do you want me to do, Dean?" Andie asked. "Cry in your arms like last time? Please; I'm way past that." She smiled. "I don't dwell on things anymore."
"Andie; you were shot." Sam told her, holding back a laugh. "It's ok to dwell on that."
"Thanks Sam, but I'd rather focus on finding the bitch that shot me and took your gun." Andie told him.
The front door to the motel room suddenly opened and Bobby walked in with a bucket in his hand. "Devil; be gone!" He shouted as he covered Andie with holy water.
Andie could do nothing but sit there as she was soaked with water. "Thanks; but I already had a shower." She mumbled shaking off her hands.
"Already told you; Bobby." Dean stood up in front of his friend. "She's not a demon." He snatched the bucket out of his hand. "Give it a rest, k?"
"I don't blame you for being suspicious of me." Andie said to Bobby. She didn't hate the man; even though he had just drenched her in holy water. "But as easy as it would make this? I'm not evil."
"You are telekinetic?" Bobby asked her.
"Yes." Andie nodded. "Born with it. Same as my mother. Blood thing."
"Did you learn how to use it?" Bobby asked; obviously very interested.
"No, not really." Andie replied; getting kind of wary about his sudden interest. "I mean I had to learn to control it but my mother used to tell me I'd use it all the time when I was a baby."
"And you're sure you're not a witch?" Bobby asked.
Andie laughed. "Very sure. I don't cast spells, I don't use potions and I don't chant. I'm just…telekinetic." She glanced around at the three silent men around her. "Look, plenty of people can learn how to do it."
"Yeah; they can." Bobby said. "And that's how it's usually done. Power of the mind; over time you train your brain. But genetic telekinesis? That's…that's different." He paused, biting his lip. "Do you have other powers?"
Andie shook her head. "No. Well; kinda. Just this thing I was telling the guys about. Sometimes when I need to be somewhere I just kinda suddenly know how to get there." This had never been a big deal to Andie but Bobby took great interest in this.
"What's with all the questions, Bobby?" Dean asked.
"I'm just trying to figure some stuff out, Dean." Bobby said. "I restored that colt…and if it hasn't killed her then maybe I didn't do it right."
"Then we need to find the colt." Sam said.
"And Bela." Dean added.
That afternoon Bobby was talking with Sam on his way to his truck. He was about to head out to work on some leads to finding Bela and the colt.
"You don't have to go, Bobby." Sam told him. "We can find Bela together."
"Sam; I'm not just looking for Bela." Bobby told him. "That girl, Andie…"
"Yeah; she should be dead. I know." Sam finished for him. "But you said yourself the colt might be faulty."
"I only said that to get Dean off my back." Bobby said. "You know how he gets with girls like that. Protective and all." He rolled his eyes a little. "I know the colt is seamless. Ruby and I tested it again and again and again. Which means she has some kinda…tolerance to it."
"What would do that?" Sam asked. "I mean; it's killed everything so far."
"That's what I'm going to find out." Bobby said, patting Sam on the back. "I'll call you in a couple of days. But Sam; keep her with you until we figure this out."
"Ok." Sam nodded. Then he waited until Bobby had driven out of sight before heading back to their motel room. Dean was exiting as he walked up the stairs. "Hey. Bobby just left." Sam told him.
"Yeah; I saw." Dean replied. "Andie's taking a nap; I'm going to get pizza for lunch. You want?"
"Yeah; sure." Sam nodded. He watched Dean drive the Impala away and then sat on the porch. Bobby's words seemed to swim around his mind. If Andie wasn't normal…then what the hell was she?
XXX
That night after Sam and Andie were both in deep sleeps, Dean sat on the front porch with a couple of bottles of beer and just thought for awhile, mostly about Bela and Andie. He would call Andie his friend, they had shared a kiss when she'd left three months before, but for some reason he didn't know if she was being truthful. Bela was a tricky little bitch; that was for sure, but was she a killer? And would she attack Andie for no reason? Short answer was probably yes. Then there was Andie; dangerous woman to have on your bad side. But she claimed not to know who Bela was; that she was simply out chasing a demon at the time she was shot.
"Hey." Andie's soft, Australian accent muttered as she joined him on the porch. "Beer?"
Dean held a bottle up for her. "Sit it down." He told her. Andie sat carefully beside Dean on the top step, took the bottle and snapped off the beer cap.
Glancing over at her; Dean could see she even looked different to the Andie he'd met so many months before. Her dark hair was gone; it was now a light, chestnut brown in soft curls that flowed over her shoulders. Her face had a smile to it that had replaced her customary scowl. She looked quite happy; except for the giant hole in her stomach.
"So." Dean spoke up after a few minutes of silence. "Wanna tell me where you've been all this time?"
"Nope." Andie replied as she took a swig of her beer.
"Thought so." Dean nodded.
"Well; where would the mystery be in that?" Andie teased him. "I'm keeping it alive; making the fun last – this beer tastes like crap, by the way."
Dean nodded in agreement. "You gonna stay with us awhile?"
"Got nowhere else to go." Andie replied with a shrug. "And you wanna find Bela as much as I do; apparently." They sat in silence for a few minutes and just drank their drinks. Andie suddenly had the confidence to ask what she'd been too afraid to ask since she'd arrived. She rubbed her temple and downed a large mouthful of beer before she spoke. "So when were you gonna tell me?"
"Tell you what?" Dean asked.
"That you were dying." Andie muttered, fiddling with the lip of her bottle.
Dean looked over at her; he had never been able to tell her about the deal he'd made to save Sam's life. And when she left; he figured he'd probably never see her again so he'd just save her the worry. But now this? "Wh-what?" he stammered.
"Oh yeah; I know now." Andie didn't look at him but she did take another sip of beer.
"How?" Dean asked.
"Never mind." Andie replied. "Why didn't you tell me?" Dean looked away from her. She sighed. "Noble; though. Saving Sam; killing yourself. Good deal."
Dean heard the annoyance in her voice. "Don't start; please. I've been getting that from Sam for months."
"How long do you have left?" she asked warily.
"About eight months." Dean answered.
Andie nodded and finished the last mouthful of her beer. "You didn't answer my question."
"I said eight months." Dean repeated.
"Not that one." Andie looked him in the eyes. "Why didn't you tell me? After everything we went through with Charlie and then my mother...I mean; why wouldn't you want me to know?"
"I don't wanna talk about it, Andie." Dean stared back at her; the moonlight hit her eyes and Dean noticed they glistened. With tears, maybe?
"Well, I do." There was anger in her voice; but she couldn't help it. She'd spent two months with Dean and Sam and never heard one iota about this deal. Plus, she and Dean had grown quite close. He'd helped her get over all the guilt she'd felt over her mother's suicide. Granted, she hadn't kept in contact over the time she'd been away but that wasn't an excuse. "Tell me why."
Dean sighed. "Look...when I first met you I didn't know that you'd...that you were...ah...I didn't think we'd end up being friends." He managed to say. "And then you showed up with baby Charlie...and Sam wanted me to tell you but I didn't see the point if you were leaving again. And then you did leave but you kissed me and..." He trailed off.
"Wait; so this is my fault for kissing you?" Andie asked with a scoff.
"No." Dean closed his eyes, so frustrated with her way of thinking. "I just…"
"Forget it." Andie wiped the corner of her eye with her hand. "I'm over being mad at you." She sighed. "What can we do?"
Dean shook his head. "I dunno. Sam and I are trying to figure something out but with all the demons around its been kinda tough."
"Yeah; well, you haven't had me." Andie turned to him and smiled; any remnants of tears now completely gone from her face. "If anyone can save you; I can." She added confidently. Then she leant on Dean's arm and pushed herself up onto her feet; wincing as she used the muscle under her bullet wound to move. "Get some sleep, Dean. We gotta move early tomorrow."
Dean watched her go back inside the motel room out of the corner of his eye. He wondered if she was just being over confident; pretending she had the answers when she really didn't. Or maybe she did; and maybe it had something to do with why the colt's bullet hadn't killed her.