A/N: First I'd like to apologize for taking so long to update this. I've been swamped with work and I've suffered from a severe writer's block with this chapter. Getting Sam and Rika to cooperate with me is difficult at times. They're living a life of their own inside my head. I can't believe how many times I've opened the document with this chapter and only written a line or two. This fic has been kicking my ass, to be honest.

Anyways, my year at uni is over, so I might have a bit more time to write. If anyone still follows this… Kudos to you for waiting.

A tiny bit of dialogue in this chapter was taken from the Buffy season 8 comics. I own neither Supernatural nor Buffy. Just the stuff I come up with in my own crazy mind.

That is all folks. Hope you enjoy the new chapter. Don't be afraid to leave reviews. It's the only way for me to know what to improve. I'd love to hear your thoughts and questions. I don't bite – vampires do.

Chapter 24 – Broken Bones

Picking up broken words
Snipping the tips off
Grinding down the long ones
That wind around your eardrums

Dangerous plastic words
For crowd dispersal
And dumb dumb words
That could blow your head off

One fine day you'll sing
Your inevitable love song
Inevitable lie song

Inevitable cry song

Time bends broken bones
Time bends broken bones
'Til they wrap around your throat
And snap around your fingers

This is a story 'bout the three of us
Down by the water and the tide is rising
This world is burning and I'm terrified
I need a little more time with you, oh

Down by the water and the tide keeps rising
This world is burning and I'm terrified
I need a little more time with you
Oh, I just need a little more time with you
Oh please, just a little more time with you

Aqualung – Broken Bones

"Willow?", Rika exclaimed.

Sam's eyes darted from the unknown redhead to Rika. She looked surprised but happy. Willow. The extremely powerful wicca that Rika had spoken of. The wicca that had promised Rika to look into ways to save Dean. The wicca who had discovered that all of his mother's aquaintances, friends and family had been killed. The wicca who was friends with the other Slayer and had taught Rika some magic. Why was she here?

Willow's face lit up in a little smile. Sam studied it. She looked happy to see Rika, but somehow he couldn't help but to feel that her smile was a little strained.

"Rika, hi!", she exclaimed, her voice chipper and carefree.

"Oh my God, hi", Rika said and hurried up to Willow, leaving a confused Sam behind. They hugged and laughed a little before pulling away from each other. "What're you doing here, Will?"

"I came to see you", Willow said, her smile more genuine this time. "And look at you, all glow-y! You look fantastic! Much better than when I saw you last. You were so broody then! This is what I call improvement."

Rika laughed and Willow looked over at Sam. "Ah, I imagine this would be the cause of that."

Rika shook her head, almost as if she just then remembered Sam being there. Her face lit up with a bright smile and she nodded. "Willow, this is Sam. Sam, Willow."

Sam had already put his gun away and relaxed a bit after he found out who the strange redhead was. Willow walked up to him and reached her hand out, a smile playing on her lips. Sam noticed she was scanning his appearance and took her hand to shake it.

"Nice to meet you. Sam. Rika's told me all about you." She held onto his hand for a moment while intently looking at him. Sam just knew she was trying to read him.

He cleared his throat. He couldn't help but to smile too, Willow's chipper attitude was contagious. "Likewise. She's told me a lot about you too."

Willow turned back towards Rika. "Nice catch, Rika. He's really tall! Hell, if I swung that way…"

Sam cringed a bit, but Rika winked at him, a little sparkle in the corner of her eye. "I know", she mused. Then she looked at Willow again. "So, how's everyone?"

"Well, we try not to get killed. That's part of our whole mission statement. 'Don't get killed.'" Willow's tone was cheery but there was an undertone to it that Sam couldn't quite figure out. He figured her words were more serious than she made them out to be.

"Well, how've you been? How's Kennedy? Are you two still–", Rika asked Willow.

"She died." Willow interrupted Rika's question and Rika's face immediately darkened, her hands shooting up to her face to cover her mouth.

"Oh God, Will… I'm so sorry, I–"

"Oh, no!", Willow replied exasperatedly, waving her hands slightly. "She's fine! Mystical thing. Only lasted a month. We're just taking it slow for a while. She's sort of in her own space, but it's cool." Willow shook her head, lost in thought. "I always tell that wrong."

Rika relaxed and looked a bit more comfortable. Sam had no idea what to say. Why was Willow here? She was difficult not to like, but there had to be some reason for her visit. She'd come all the way from Europe. It couldn't be a mere social call. What was so important it couldn't be handled over the phone? Not that he wasn't glad Rika got a visit from a friend, but it was odd. He decided to wait and see how things played out.

"So, Rika, how've you been?", Willow asked and narrowed her eyes slightly. Her expression was much more serious now.

"Fine."

"Good." Willow took a deep breath. "There's something I gotta talk to you about."

"What's that?", Rika asked and looked slightly confused.

"Maybe we should discuss it in private", Willow said suggestively and looked at Sam from under her breath.

Sam didn't know what to think. He and Rika locked eyes, she gave him a half smile and shook her head lightly.

She turned back to Willow. "No, Will. There's no need for that. You can say anything in front of Sam."

"Are you sure?", Willow asked and stared at Rika.

"Yeah, one hundred percent. I'm going to tell him everything anyways." Rika took a step back so she was standing next to Sam.

He put a hand on her back, to give Willow the signal that they were together in everything. Rika was tense, he noticed that instantly. Her good mood was gone and now she looked at Willow with a worried look in her eyes. He knew she was just as curious as she was.

Willow sighed and let her gaze dart from Rika to Sam and back again. Then she seemed to give in. "Okay", she said. "You two had better sit down."

Rika looked at Sam and furrowed her brow. He shrugged and then they looked back at Willow. They did as she told them and sat down on the edge of the bed. Willow pulled out a chair and sat down in front of them. "What are you doing here in Connecticut?", Willow asked.

"What's that got to do with anything?", Rika asked in apparent confusion.

"Just answer the question", Willow said neutrally with a calmness in her voice.

"Alright… A woman. Caroline. She got killed by– by something. When we were at her house I felt this strange… Darkness, I guess. It was nothing like anything I'd felt before. It kind of scared me."

Sam looked over at his girlfriend and rubbed her back reassuringly. He knew she was taking this case particularly hard, because of her dreams. She felt connected to Caroline.

"And how did you find out about her?", Willow asked and studied Rika. Sam had a feeling she already knew the answer.

"I had a dream."

"A prophetic one?", Willow asked.

"Well, yeah. What's with the third degree, Will? D'you know something?", Rika asked and shook her head lightly. She looked at the wicca.

"I just needed a confirmation. Rika, Buffy's been having similar dreams. About a red-haired woman in Connecticut, hanging upside down from the ceiling, dead."

"And?", Rika asked.

"She saw something else too, in the dream I mean." Willow's eyes were filled with concern. Sam wondered why.

"She saw you die."

Sam drew a sharp breath and tensed. Instantly he tightened his grip on Rika's waist. The other Slayerh had had a prophetic dream. About his girlfriend. Dying. No. He couldn't, not again. He couldn't lose her. Their family had a long history of beautiful blondes in their immediate vicinity dying. Rika couldn't– He wouldn't allow it. He was already losing Dean.

He studied Rika, expecting a shocked reaction. Or any kind of reaction at all. But she didn't respond at all. She just looked at Willow with a neutral expression.

"But then again, you already knew, didn't you, Rika?", Willow asked and studied the blonde Slayer in front of her. "You've dreamt about your death too."

Sam felt his eyes widen in surprise and shock. His gaze immediately darted to his girlfriend. "Rika, what's she talkin' about?", he asked.

Rika ignored him. She looked at Willow. "… Not exactly. Just a headstone. With my name on it. I didn't know what it meant. I thought mayb– Maybe it was a metaphor for something else."

Sam shot up. "How come you didn't tell me any of this? You swore you hadn't been having any new dreams!"

"Sam, please, just calm down. This is exactly why I didn't tell you. I knew you'd overreact, and you have more than enough on your plate with Dean."

Rika had gotten up and taken his hands into hers. Her voice was so incredibly calm that it alone managed to calm him down. She continued. "And technically, I was telling the truth. This isn't a new dream. I dreamt about the headstone the first time I dreamt about Caroline. That night when you found me in the bathroom, remember? It was just a dream, Sam. They're always cryptic, and the headstone doesn't necessarily mean that I'm going to actually die. It could be a symbol for something else. So please, just sit back down?"

She looked at him with those big eyes of hers and he just couldn't resist. He'd do anything for her. All it took was for her to look at him like that. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Alright", he resigned and sat down.

Rika followed him and this time she sat down in his lap. He'd want to keep her close, and she knew it. So she game him the comfort he so desperately needed. "I should be the one comforting her", he thought absent-mindedly.

"Okay", Rika said and looked at Willow. "What are you really doing here, Will?"

The wicca cleared her throat. "You said you'd felt an unfathomable darkness at that house. I know what it is. And it's related to that headstone you saw in your dream. The same one Buffy saw."

This time Rika did look shocked. She clasped Sam's hand and it pleased him. She was looking to him for comfort. It was all he needed from her. He needed to know she would lean on him when she needed it. He needed her to let him be there for her.

"How d'you kn–", Rika began but Willow interrupted her.

"His name is Ethan Rayne", the wicca said.

Rika shook her head. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"He's a very bad guy. He came after Buffy a few times. We always managed to fight him back, but the last time, he disappeared. It was many years ago. We haven't heard from him since, until a few weeks ago", Willow explained. The wicca was worried. Sam could tell. And if she was as powerful as Rika had said she was, and she was nervous, it had to be bad.

"Who is he? A demon?", Sam asked. It was the first time he'd asked Willow anything.

Willow looked at him briefly and then back at Rika. "His background is a long story. But I think you need to hear it to fully understand him. Ethan Rayne is human, even though his behavior doesn't exactly suggest it."

The redhead paused before continuing, as if she was trying to decide what to say. "He's a skilled chaos magician. Really dark magicks, demonology, transmogrifications, curses, that sort of thing. Back in the '70s, he met Giles, Buffy's Watcher, and they became friends."

"But Giles is–", Rika began but was yet again interrupted.

"You need to understand that Giles was young. He'd just dropped out of Oxford and he sought out the worst possible crowd to hang out with. I guess you could say he was experimenting and trying to find his personal boundaries. I guess he got into something Xander called an 'electric Kool-Aid funky Satan groove'."

Willow shook her head and smiled to herself, apparently at the thought of Xander. Sam didn't know much of Xander, other than him being a friend of Buffy's and that Rika had found him funny.

"Anyways, they started out with small magicks, until Giles and Ethan discovered a demon called Eyghon. They'd take turns falling asleep and the rest of the group would summon Eyghon into the sleeper. Giles's told me it was sort of an euphoric high. Then things went horribly wrong. The demon took over one of the group members. They tried to exorcise him, but the man Eyghon was possessing died. The death of his friend changed Giles, and he left the others. He went to the Watchers' Council and became who he is today. Giles is a good man, but he was young and stupid. Who of us weren't? Ethan on the other hand…"

"Let me guess. He went into another direction?", Rika asked.

"Yeah, you could say that. He continued with the black magic, and became really powerful. Years later, Eyghon returned and tried to kill everyone who was left of the group, including Giles. Buffy and Angel managed to beat back the demon and Ethan escaped. He bugged us a few times after that."

"So what did he want with Caroline? And what does that headstone with my name got to do with anything?", Rika asked and once more furrowed her brow. They had now come to the part of Willow's story that was most interesting to Sam and Rika, even though they both had listened with fascination up to that point.

"Rika, I– I'm afraid Caroline was a sacrifice. A casualty. I'm not sure Ethan had any real purpose in killing her, other than luring you in", Willow said. She looked at Sam and Rika and her eyes spoke on her behalf. There was some deep sadness inside them. The redhead had seemed so chipper at first. All of that had changed within half an hour.

"So you're sayin' this was a trap for Rika?", Sam asked in confusion. This was an odd puzzle and he just couldn't figure it out. Pieces were still missing.

"Yes."

"What does he want from me?", Rika asked.

"He wants you dead. And he'll stop at nothing. He's grown much more powerful since we faced him last. And he needs you for something."

"For what?", Sam asked.

"I'm not sure yet. Some sort of ritual. At least, that's what I and this coven I know are figuring."

"But why me?", Rika asked. "Why not Buffy or Faith? He doesn't even know me!"

"Because you're the lonely Slayer. Or at least, that's what he thought when he set things in motion. He probably figured you'd be an easier target. But now you got Sam and his brother and you're not alone. You gotta understand Rika, the blood of a Slayer is one of the most powerful and most desired things in the world of black magicks. They could do a whole lot of damage if they were able to sacrifice a Slayer."

"What are we going to do now?", Sam asked.

"Nothing", said Willow. "You guys should leave town. I have a few powerful wiccas arriving soon. We'll handle Ethan. There's nothing you can do. He's human, so technically you can't do anything about him. We're going to attempt stripping him of his powers, or some thingymajig like that. Just pack your bags, leave town and don't look back."

"But you'll need our help, Will. I can't let you do this without me. I'm part of this", Rika argued.

Sam touched her arm and looked at Willow. She nodded at Sam and he nodded back. They had a mutual understanding. Sam knew he had to get her out of there.

"Rika, Willow's right. There's nothing we can do. Let's leave this to the wiccas. I need you safe and in one piece. I ca– I can't lose you. Call me selfish, but that's just the way it is. I've handled more than enough loss in my lifetime. I need more time with you. I can't have time running out all of the time. Please." He was pleading to her. He didn't care. He needed her to listen to him. Just this once.

Rika was quiet for a while. She knew Willow and Sam were right. "Alright."

"Really?", Sam asked.

"Yeah, alright. I'll do whatever you guys want me to do. Just promise me you'll call if things get ugly and you need help, Will, okay?", Rika said and looked up.

"I promise", Willow said and nodded. Then she smiled. "Don't worry, Rika. We'll handle this. It's better if you're not here. We can't have you get hurt."

"I don't want you to get hurt because of me either", Rika said, her voice filled with concern.

"I won't get hurt. I'm tougher than I look", Willow said and fired off a wide, bright smile. "Now, pack your bags and get the heck outta here!"

Rika let Sam pulled her up from the bed. Quickly he packed all their belongings and swung the duffel bags over his shoulder. He took Rika's hand. "C'mon, honey. We gotta find Dean."

"Yeah", she said and nodded thoughtfully. Then she let go of his hand and ran up to Willow. She gave the wicca a tight hug. "Call me", she said. "Promise?"

"I promise", Willow said and nodded. "I'll see you soon, Ricky."

Rika laughed. "Don't ever call me that again or I swear I'll kick your wicca ass."

Willow laughed too. "That's that. Now you really need to leave. Before it's too late."

And with those words, Rika and Sam where out the door. They didn't look back. Sam picked up his cellphone and called his brother.

"Dean? Drop whatever you're doing. We're leavin'", he said.

"The hell?", Dean said on the other end. "Why?"

"It's a long story. I'll fill you in on the details. Just get to the motel ASAP."

Dean sighed. "Alright. This had better be good, Samantha."

"Just get here, jerk."

"Bitch."

A/N: Not even I'm sure how to feel about this chapter. It didn't turn out quite as I had hoped. There are still some loose ends left untied, but I'll get to that later. I swear. Just bear with me a for a moment, alright? I promise I'll get the next chapter up asap.