Ok um wow...this is my longest chapter yet. And...I had to stop it half way or it would have been too long! But I had so much fun writing S4 EP 17, "It's a Terrible Life" like...a lot of fun. It was always one of my more favorite stories. Annnd...hopefully next chapter we get to start on "The Monster at the End of his Book" Like...Chuck and freaky prophet stuff and MOAR CASTIEL! Oh and what do you all think of the pacing so far for Melody and Cas? I don't want it to get too too fast, there's definitely an intrigue on Melody's part but she hasn't like "fallen" for him yet...cough, cough, yet...
Anyways, that's it for now :D OH! Annd...as of right now, the theme for Melody/Cas is You by The Pretty Reckless. It is like...so perfect for them and describes their "relationship" as of right now perfectly! Gah! My feels!
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural...I only own Melody
Melody burst through the door after Castiel and gaped in pure terror. Somehow, Alastair had gotten free from his chains and had been throwing blow after blow into Dean's face. The demon had let Dean fall over for a moment before bending down to pick the hunter up by the throat, turning around to shove Dean up against the iron star. Alastair sneered, lifted Dean up off the ground and chuckled darkly,
"You've got a lot to learn, boy. So I'll see you back in class, bright and early, Monday morning." Melody couldn't stand to watch another second. She barreled past Castiel, grabbing up the demon knife from her brother's cart and felt her powers activate. She snarled, gripping the knife tightly and running up to the demon. She grabbed his shoulder, turned him to face her and stabbed the knife deep into his chest. Alastair dropped Dean, tossing him aside before turning on Melody and back handing her across the face. She fell back several steps, stumbling and falling into a solid, warm chest. She looked back to find Castiel gripping her shoulders but he had his eyes placed firmly on the demon.
"Oh, almost." Alastair shrugged glancing down at the knife that was only a few inches above his heart. "Looks like God is on my side today." The demon grinned, staring up at the ceiling. Melody felt Castiel's hands pull her to the side. And with her shoulder pressed to his chest, and one of his hands holding onto her arm tightly, he moved his free hand upwards, aiming it at the knife. With his palm facing the demon, he made a twisting motion and Melody could see the knife slowly turning, mirroring Castiel's movements.
Alastair froze in his tracks, grimacing as the blade dug itself deeper and deeper into his shoulder. But he fought against it. And as Castiel slowly advanced on the demon, keeping his hand outstretched and twisting it back and forth, the demon was still able to overpower him. Alastair snarled, bit back his pain and took hold of the knife gritting his teeth as he slowly pulled the blade away from his chest.
When the knife clattered to the floor, and when there was the smallest of pauses between the angel and demon, all Melody could think were two words, "oh" and "crap". And before she could blink, let alone begin to formulate a plan of attack—Castiel shoved her away. Melody, surprised and not expecting the angel to be so damn strong, fell over, stumbled and crashed into the cart of various items, sending salt, holy water and other torture devices flying.
She slowly picked herself up, grumbling and moaning while she reached out and grabbed a half empty jug of holy water. It wouldn't kill Alastair, but it would certainly help. She turned around, hearing the demon snarl and scream and punches flying. Alastair roared, grabbed Castiel by the lapels of his trench coat and threw him back, shoving the angel upwards towards a support beam where a loose, large, rusting, ugly nail stuck out. Melody heard the crunch and rip of fabric and flesh and felt cold fear rise out of her stomach as she screamed,
"No!" She thought Castiel had been killed. He already had a bleeding wound at the top of his head, and red lines streaked down his face. Now she was sure, without a doubt that he had been killed. But, Melody wasn't thinking straight. She was afraid, she was running on pure adrenaline and her powers were fueling everything she did. So, she completely forgot for a moment that Castiel was an angel and that he was immortal, and only focused on the fact that she was watching him get hurt and beaten right in front of her—and she couldn't stand another second of it.
Her scream had gotten the attention of Alastair, he glanced over at her, only to feel water splash over his face. The holy water burned and ate away at his skin. The demon fell back, releasing the angel as he quickly reached up to wipe at his face. And as soon as he opened his eyes, he heard a loud, raging snarl and saw stars for a second.
Melody had tossed the rest of the holy water onto the demon, and he thankfully released Castiel, who was still hanging from the nail on the wall. She only glanced at the angel before pulling back her arms and smacking the demon across the jaw with the now empty jug. Luckily it was made of a sturdy plastic and that combined with her slightly heightened strength gave her the advantage for the moment.
Alastair fell back a few steps, blinking rapidly and when he opened his eyes he found the little blonde Winchester girl standing in front of the angel protectively. She had dropped the jug—it was terribly dented and rather useless now—and held up her fists in a defensive stance. The demon had to admire her heroism, and chuckled darkly,
"You know Melody; you are either very brave or very stupid." He grinned stepping up to her and reaching out a hand, intending to take hold of her own throat. But Melody had anticipated the movement and quickly ducked, avoiding his reach and as she came back up she threw a solid right hook across his cheek. Alastair's head whipped to the side, he hated to admit it but that actually hurt…a lot. Masking the pain, he spit out the blood that pooled into his mouth and looked back at her. This time, he didn't take any chances and when he tried the same move again and Melody avoided him again—he reached out his hand and gripped the air.
Melody froze, feeling a force tighten around her throat, cutting off her air piece by piece. She clawed at her neck trying to push and pull away at whatever was holding her, but the force only tightened. Alastair watched her choke and gag for a moment,
"You know," he said stepping up to her to get a closer look at her face, "you remind me of your father. I didn't like your father. He was…kind of an asshole." Melody looked around desperately for anything that would help her. Dean was unconscious on the floor; Castiel was literally hung up at the moment. Shit, shit, shit!
The demon stared down into her eyes, they'd returned to their normal color. He grinned and shot out his free arm, gripping Castiel around the neck, "Now, as much as I can admire standing up for someone you care about…I really don't give a damn. So, stand still—don't make a sound and let me finish this winged freak." He reached up, made a zipping motion in the air and Melody felt her mouth glue shut and the hold on her throat release. She tried to move, and only felt her feet rooted to the spot. She was only half a foot away from Cas and the demon. All she had to do was reach out her hands and she could touch Castiel's shoulder, but even her arms were frozen at her sides.
Alastair turned to Castiel, adjusting the angel on the nail as he gripped him around the neck to hold him up. Castiel tried to fight, but his vessel was growing weak now and he could only limply reach out and try to take hold of Alastair's throat as well. He only got the hand to reach the demon's shoulder. He glanced over at Melody. She was fighting, pushing and shoving against the invisible force that held her to her spot. She'd get her hands up a few inches before they were thrown back down again. It looked like she was nearly in tears as she stared helplessly at Castiel. And he felt that strange, longing sensation again. Only this time he was…regretful? Why would he be feeling regret? Because he wasn't strong enough to fight Alastair on his own? Or was it because the girl standing next to him was going to have to watch helplessly as the demon banished him to heaven? But she would be alright. So…why did—deep down—why didn't he want to leave her?
"You know…" Alastair began, grip tightening, "like roaches, you celestials." Castiel fought against the demon's strong hold. He wriggled, moved his arms and tried to pry himself away from Alastair's grasp. But he couldn't. All he could do was watch and struggle as Alastair continued,
"I really wish I knew how to kill you. But all I can do is send you back to Heaven." He raised his free hand and started to chant softly. Melody screamed against her closed mouth, pushed with everything she had against the hold on her and felt her arms move a few more inches than before. She could see Cas trying to fight. But he was struggling. His arms fell to his sides and his eyes went blank. Alastair's chants got louder and louder and Melody watched in slow growing fear as Castiel's mouth opened just slightly.
Bright blue light poured out of his mouth, she could see Cas trying to close it—trying to push himself back in, but it wasn't working. The angles eyes began to glow a bright blue, and more light escaped from them, illuminating Alastair's bloodied and beaten face. Melody screamed with her mouth closed, this wasn't happening, this wasn't going to happen! She wouldn't allow it. She couldn't lose him, not again. Please God, let him stay, Melody prayed silently to herself as she pushed and pushed.
And when she was about to start letting herself give up, when she was about to give in—she let out one last, loud scream against her mouth and—
"Ah!" She roared, surprised for a half second at the sound of her own voice. She felt the hold on her weaken and evaporate and saw Alastair start to grunt and choke on his words before he was tossed back and thrown against the brick wall. Melody didn't pay attention to him. All she could focus on was Castiel. She let out a shaking breath and quickly grabbed Cas by the arms, catching him as he fell limply against the support beam.
And when she glanced back to see who or what had saved them…she felt another wave of cold fear run out of her stomach. Sam, her little brother, was standing in the middle of the room; hand raised and palm facing the demon. He was the one who'd saved her and Cas from Alastair…using his psychic powers. Melody gaped at him for a second, felt Castiel start to fall and quickly wrapped her arm around his waist and tossed one of his arms over her shoulders. She held him up easily and helped him lean back against the support beam. The angel shot her what looked like a grateful gaze before they returned their attention to the demon and Sam.
"Stupid pet tricks." Alastair grumbled from the wall. Sam kept his palm towards the demon,
"Who's murdering the angels?" he asked and Melody thought he looked different. Physically he looked different. It was either he stood taller, or his shoulders seemed wider…either way something was different. "How are they doing it?"
Alastair chuckled, "You…you think I'm gonna tell you?"
Sam grinned, "Yeah, I do." He twisted his hand through the air, forming it into a claw. Melody saw Alastair's eyes roll back as he started to gag and choke. "How are the demons killing angels?!" Sam demanded an answer. Alastair leaned his head forward from the wall,
"I…" he chocked, "don't…know!"
"Right." Sam nodded and clenched his hand into a fist, turning it more and more. Melody was honestly a bit fearful of the display of power from her brother. She felt herself gently lean closer into Cas, and felt him instinctively grip her tighter.
"It's…not…us!" Alastair growled through his pain, "We're…not doing it!"
"I don't believe you." A vein could be seen throbbing against Sam's temple, but he wasn't struggling. In fact he seemed to be enjoying this. Again, Melody felt cold fear and buried herself even deeper into the angel's side. She glanced up at him,
"Cas…how is he doing this?" she barely whispered, and only the angel heard her. He didn't answer, only did what he thought would comfort her. He squeezed her arm again, this time actually pulling her towards him. He wasn't sure if it would help, but it was all he could think to do.
Alastair grunted, "Argh…ugh…Lilith! She is not behind this. She wouldn't kill seven angels." He sneered, panted and continued, "She'd kill one-hundred…one-thousand." Sam pushed a bit more, than released his hold on the demon. Alastair gasped for air, leaning heavily against the wall. He stared at the youngest Winchester and rolled his eyes,
"Oh…go ahead. Send me back…if you can." He challenged, grinning all the while. Sam just nodded,
"I'm stronger than that now. Now I can kill." Sam missed the fearful gaze from his sister and the completely shocked one from the angel as he raised up his hand and closed his eyes, concentrating with everything he had. Melody felt her eyes widen when she saw Alastair shout and moan, throwing back his head as his skull flashed to light for a second. She felt the entire room quake as the demon grimaced and then screamed, mouth flying open as his entire skeleton flickered off and on.
Finally, after what felt to Melody like an eternity, Alastair fell to the ground, eyes opened up widely, mouth gaping. He looked like he'd died a painful and terrifying death. But the most terrifying part to Melody? The fact that her little brother hadn't broken a sweat…once.
Melody felt her leg pump up and down as she bounced it nervously. She sat in a chair next to her brother Dean as he laid in the hospital bed. He was stable, but…there was also the whole matter that she'd just watched her baby brother kill a demon with his mind. They hadn't talked about it. Honestly Melody didn't really want to talk about it. He'd saved Castiel and her and their brother. But…what the hell was so different about him? She watched Sam from across the bed trying to put her finger on whatever was different. Nothing…but there was something.
Before she could stare at her brother any longer, she saw a flash of beige and quickly stood up. Castiel stood in the doorway leading to the room, completely healed. Sam saw his sister move and followed where her eyes had landed. When he saw Cas, he felt his frustrations and fears boil up as him and his sister followed the angel out into the hall.
"Cas…" Melody breathed out her relief at seeing him alright. Before she could ask if he'd found anything or ask if he'd heard anything, Sam pushed past her,
"Get in there and heal him. Miracle—now." He more or less ordered, jerking his thumb back to the hospital room. Castiel solemnly shook his head,
"I can't—"
Sam wouldn't hear it. He shook his head, voice rising in pitch, "You and Uriel put him in there!"
Melody stepped forward, putting her hand on his arm feeling her mouth drop open, "Sam, you know that's not true."
"Dammit Mel it is and you just won't admit it. They put him in there…"
"No." Castiel tried to stop him but Sam was in a sour mood that night and more worked up than normal and threw out his arms,
"Because you can't keep a simple devil's trap together."
Melody felt her jaw clench, "Sam, stop it." He ignored her, yanking his arm out of her hold while Castiel defended himself,
"I don't know what happened that trap—" he sighed, stopping himself and for a moment, Melody didn't want him to stop. For a half second there, he sounded like he was expressing emotions towards them. Anger, frustration, regret. Everything she and her little brother were feeling at that exact moment. "It shouldn't have broken. I am sorry."
"This whole thing was pointless." Sam sneered, "You understand that? The demons aren't doing the hits. Something else is killing your soldiers."
Melody stared up at her brother. No…no way. Castiel was in equal denial. He shook his head, "Perhaps Alastair was lying."
"No. He wasn't." Sam deadpanned, glanced at his sister and then turned to storm back into their brother's room. Melody let out a sharp breath,
"Holy shit…" She glanced up at Cas, saw he was just as shocked as her. He stared at the floor for a long while, seeming to be unable to process what Sam had just said. And as Melody was starting to reach out her hand to try and get him back, he flicked his eyes up to her face.
"I must go…I need to…figure this out." He turned his back on her fully prepared to fly away but felt a set of long, slim fingers grip his shoulder.
"Cas wait just…hang on a sec." When he turned back to face her, she realized she had no idea why or what she was going to say. She didn't want him to go, that's why she'd stopped him. But…what does she do now?
Melody wringed her fingers together nervously, glanced down at her boots and then back up to him. His blue eyes reflecting the moonlight perfectly in the dim hallway. She shook off the giddy feeling bubbling out of her stomach. Now was not the time. "Look just…be careful alright?"
He stared at her, eyes crimping at the corners, "I do not understand the question."
And Melody couldn't help it. She let out a short, breathy laugh. Dammit, why did he have to make this so hard? She sighed and knew that what she was about to do…was probably going to be the dumbest thing she'd ever attempted before. So, instead of delaying the inevitable, she chewed her lip and walked up to him, quickly wrapping her arms around his neck in a swift, tight hug.
She felt Castiel freeze at her touch. Of course he would. He had no idea what to do in situations like this. Melody knew that this would probably happen and smiled despite her slight disappointment. Not wanting to torture the poor thing, she pulled away—not before placing a light, barely there kiss to his stubble covered cheek, "Just come back to me okay? If you get hurt or…lost or if you don't know what to do. Find me, and I'll help. Got it?"
Castiel simply nodded at her, "I will try…Melody." He answered plainly but it was enough for her. She smiled, stepped away and turned her back on him retreating back to join her brothers. She didn't see Castiel's confused stare as he reached up and touched his cheek where her lips had just grazed the skin. There was certainly something wrong with his vessel. The body was overheating now, and the collar of his shirt seemed too tight.
Dean blindly stared at the muted television on the wall. His brother had fallen asleep in one of the stiff chairs by the wall, his long legs stretched out with his head laid awkwardly against his shoulder. Dean glanced down and squeezed his right hand weakly. Melody had fallen asleep next to him, her head laid down on her arm on top of Dean's hospital bed. She moved in her sleep, rubbing her temple against her outstretched arm and squeezed her brother's hand back. Dean had woken up several minutes after his siblings had fallen asleep, and when he did wake up…he found his baby sister right next to him. It was probably the sweetest and cutest thing he'd ever woken up to. Sure he'd woken up next to some pretty hot girls in his day…but seeing that his siblings had not left him and that his sister wouldn't let go of him— even in her sleep—trumped all of Dean's one night stands in a heartbeat.
He tried to move but he felt so damn drained—so damn weak. Despite finding his sister next to him and his brother safe, he felt terribly miserable. He kept thinking back to his torture session with Alastair. All the things that piece of shit demon had said to him. All of the things Alastair had claimed he was going to do to his sister…it was sickening. And every time Alastair would even mutter his sister's name, he'd pour more salt and holy water down his throat, stab him a little bit harder and deeper with the knife…and take great pleasure in all of the sniveling groans of pain that poured out of the demon's mouth.
But, Dean felt his heart grow heavy. Why? Because of the last thing Alastair had said to him before he was freed. The demon's voice still echoed through his mind, "And it is written that the first seal shall be broken when a righteous man sheds blood in Hell. As he breaks, so shall it break."
It couldn't be true. It couldn't…it wasn't his fault. None of this could be put solely on him…
"Are you alright?" A low, smooth voice asked him. Dean looked over to his left, saw the angel Castiel sitting in one of the chairs by his bed with his head leaned back against the seat.
Dean stared at him for a moment, feeling all of his anger boil up but he couldn't do anything about it. He was weak, beaten and exhausted. So instead he turned his eyes away from the angel, glancing back down at his sister and watching her sleep, trying to take comfort in the fact that she was at least there. "No thanks to you." He grumbled his throat dry and not wanting to work properly.
Castiel didn't miss the angry tone in Dean's voice. But he didn't address it. In a way, Dean was right. It was his fault that the trap had failed. He flicked his eyes around the room, saw Sam asleep underneath the wall mounted television and Melody asleep with her head resting on the bed. She was lying on one of her arms, using it as a pillow and had her other hand in Dean's.
And there was that strange little feeling in the pit of his stomach again. But it wasn't a bad feeling. No, if Castiel had to guess…it was possibly…relief? Could it be? Castiel knew he had been thinking of Melody while he was gone. But he was mostly thinking of the quick hug and her even quicker kiss. She'd asked him to be careful. So that meant that she was worried about him. She'd told him to find her if he was ever in trouble. So that meant that she cared about him. Right? Castiel could understand why. He was slowly beginning to care about the Winchesters too. Despite how wrong all of his brothers and sisters claimed it to be. But it felt so natural. Like he felt for his brothers and sisters. He would feel sorrow if one of them were hurt, and was always happy when he'd been around them.
But when he looked at Melody Winchester, it felt so much more different. Like nothing he'd ever felt before. He'd tried to ask Anna what it meant, but Anna had just smiled at him before disappearing. He had so many questions…and he had no idea who to ask. Should he ask Melody? Would she know what it meant? Probably yes. But when would he do that? She was always with her brothers, and Castiel felt that this would be a private matter. At least…he thought it would. His instincts told him it would.
He remembered before when he was about to fight his brother Uriel, how the angel had blasphemed. Uriel had called the humans ugly and a mistake. He said that they shouldn't be bowing to them. That the humans should be bowing to angels instead. But when Castiel looked at the Winchesters, when he looked at Melody, he didn't see mistakes and he didn't see anything ugly. He saw humans that he was slowly beginning to enjoy. And that frightened and excited him all at once.
Castiel sighed, watched the oldest Winchester gently squeeze Melody's hand before looking away and finding a spot on the ceiling to stare at. He leaned his head up, watching Dean carefully, knowing what he was about to say would probably anger Dean even more.
"You need to be more careful."
"You need to learn how to manage a damn devil's trap." Dean snipped back at him. Despite his condition, Dean still had that sharp tongue of his. Castiel had noticed that Melody and Dean shared that trait. And the temper. But it wasn't something Cas could dwell on at the moment. He put his eyes on Dean's face now, watching the hunter as he said gently,
"That's not what I mean." He took in a breath, "Uriel is dead."
"Was it demons?" Dean asked, but Castiel shook his head looking away from his face,
"It was disobedience. He was working against us."
Dean took a moment to process that information. So…he'd been right all along about junkless. Or as his sister liked to call him, "tall, dark and creepy". Well at least he wouldn't have to deal with that waste of space anymore. And then Dean felt his thoughts going back to Alastair and the things the demon had said. Dean sucked in a breath and glanced back up at the angel,
"Is it true? Did I break the first seal? Did I start all this?"
Castiel didn't hesitate, only paused to nod slowly, "Yes." He answered seeing Dean's face contort and wrinkle as he seemed to be fighting back his emotions. Castiel continued, "When we discovered Lilith's plan for you…we laid siege to Hell, and we fought our way to get to you before you—"
"Jump-started the apocalypse." Dean finished for him, staring off and away, his eyes not seeing anything at the moment. His whole body felt numb, all he could feel was his little sister's fingers in his hand. And he squeezed them tightly, using them as his anchor. But it wasn't helping. He needed her and Sam to be awake. He needed them right now. But they were out cold, and Dean was left alone with his bubbling emotions and a cold angel for comfort.
"But we were too late." Castiel completed his explanation, knowing that that wasn't what Dean had wanted to hear. But there was nothing he could do to change that.
"Why didn't you just leave me there, then?" Dean asked, nearly growling from frustration and deep sorrow, but he was too beaten and too tired to raise his voice. God, he needed his brother and sister now. He hoped by some miracle they would wake up. Something would fall over; Castiel would speak a little too loudly—something. Please Mels…please, please, please wake up.
Castiel saw that Dean was struggling with the information. He leaned his head back and picked his words carefully, "It's not…blame that falls on you, Dean. It's fate." Castiel glanced over, saw Dean's chin quivering as the man fought and fought against his tears. The angel leaned forward in his seat, repeating the same words that had been grilled into his head since he was first created,
"And the righteous man who begins it is the only one who can finish it. You have to stop it."
Dean looked at him then, brow creased in apprehension and guilt. "Lucifer?" He asked, "The apocalypse? What does that mean?" He saw Castiel hesitate and look away from him, but Dean wouldn't be having any of the angel's normal bullshit. He fought against his rough throat and raised his voice,
"Hey! Don't you go disappearing on me you son of a bitch. What does that mean?"
"I don't know—"
"Bull!"
"I don't." Castiel kept his voice level and calm despite the hunter's growing impatience. "Dean," the angel said looking back at the oldest Winchester, "they don't tell me much. I know…our fate rests with you."
"Well then, you guys are screwed." Dean admitted, feeling his voice crack, "I can't do it Cas. It's too big. Alastair was right. I'm not all here. I'm not—I'm not strong enough." He felt his emotions overwhelm him. Dean clenched his jaw, tried to pinch back the tears and looked away from the angel feeling so much guilt…so much torment. Dean looked down at his sister, gently removed his hand from hers and slowly stroked her hair,
"Well I guess I'm not the man either of our dads wanted me to be." He moved Melody's hair off her face, tucking it behind her ear, "Find someone else. It's not me." Melody shifted in her sleep, reaching out for his hand again and Dean automatically took it. She squeezed his hand, tucked it underneath her chin and sighed. All Dean wanted was to go back to the way things used to be. All he wanted was for his siblings to be happy again, he wanted their dad back…he wanted their mom back. He didn't want to be the righteous man. He was far from righteous. It was his fault this was all happening. It was his fault his brother was slowly drifting; it was his fault his sister was growing more and more reserved. Dean felt all of his emotions untangle and let them free. The tears flowed down his cheeks and he angrily bit them back. But he couldn't…and Dean Winchester silently cried in that hospital room, gripping his sister's hand and watching his brother sleep.
Melody popped her eyes open, her alarm clock blaring next to her. She sighed, slammed her hand down onto the alarm clock and stretched her legs. But she didn't linger too long in the bed. It was only a quarter till six, and she needed to get to the office quickly to set things up for Mr. Smith. She got out of the bed, crisp pink sheets folding over in her wake. She hummed lightly to herself as she showered and got ready for the day.
Melody picked out an outfit, trying to go for her most professional look. She chose a light beige pencil skirt, lavender blouse and a pair of light pink pumps. She put on her jewelry, admired the fresh pink polish on her nails and quickly pulled her hair back into a neat bun. Melody walked out of her bedroom, going for the kitchen and grabbing an energy bar and a bottle of water before heading out the door with her purse and leather binder in hand. She stopped at the local Starbucks, bought Mr. Smith his favorite breakfast, decaf, low fat latte and a slice of pumpkin bread before heading up the block to the office.
The young blonde entered the elevator of the Sandover building, having finished up her energy bar and water on the way she now gripped the warm coffee and brown bag of food in her hand while she hugged her leather binder underneath her arm. When the elevator dinged and the doors slowly opened, she grinned to herself and walked through the halls towards her office. She set down her purse and binder, looking through the clear glass wall into Mr. Smith's office to find that he hadn't arrived yet.
Perfect, she had plenty of time to get ready for him. She picked up her soft pink, leather journal and with his coffee and food in hand went into his office and waited for him to arrive. Nearly five minutes later, Dean Smith director of sales and marketing stepped through the door.
He smiled warmly at her, "Morning Miss West."
"Mr. Smith," she greeted with a kind smile and held out the coffee and bread. He took them both eagerly before sitting down behind his desk. Melody automatically opened up her leather binder, clicking a silver pen open and starting to read off his schedule.
"Today you have a meeting at two thirty with the board. A conference call at four with the V.P. and you have a few messages," she lifted a small stack of pink slips of paper from her binder and handed them over, "One is from James Dorsette, he reminded you about the golf tournament next week and said he was eager to "school you". The second is from Mrs. Park over in accounting, she said something about needing your assistance with a few audits—I didn't know if you would help or not so she is expecting a call later today. And the last few are from, Stacey, Amanda, and Heather. And I did as you instructed. I told them you were out of the country on business."
Dean Smith rifled through the messages, trashing the last few and laying the others on his desk. He flipped on his computer, "Thank you Miss West. Uh…get my presentation ready for that meeting." She turned to leave with a curt nod but he stopped her, "Get it done by noon, bring it in here and I'll double check it. Oh and call Mrs. Park, tell her I'll get back to her after the meeting."
Again, Melody West nodded, turning to leave for her much smaller office. It was about half the size of Mr. Smith's but, being the personal assistant of the director of sales and managing did come with a few perks. Like having your own office.
The day went on without too much of a hiccup. Melody always had to check to see if Mr. Smith needed her; the glass wall between their offices usually was their way of communicating. She helped him write up a report, helped him prepare his presentation for a meeting with the board, wrote up a few reports of her own, made a tentative itinerary for Mr. Smith's next few weeks and took most of his calls. The day was like any other day.
She got a quick visit from the big boss, Mr. Adler. He was a tall man, with grey hair on the sides of his head and a lovely bald spot right at the top. Mr. Adler wasn't somebody Melody had a lot of interaction with, but when she did, she got a funny feeling around him. Maybe she just didn't know him well enough.
By five thirty, Melody had finished up all of her work for the day and was waiting for Mr. Smith. They usually walked out of the building together and he would tell her what to prepare for the next day's work schedule. They weren't exactly friends, but they were friendly too each other. Melody didn't think she would ever hang out or hell, even date the guy. He just wasn't really her type. And something about him made him seem more like he would be a brotherly figure to her than anything else.
Melody heard a light knock on the glass wall and saw Mr. Smith give her the signal saying it was time to head out. She nodded and quickly gathered her papers and other items, stuffing them neatly into her pink leather binder before grabbing her large white purse and following Mr. Smith to the elevator. He read off his schedule for tomorrow to her while she quickly jotted it down in her small planner. The elevator dinged, and the doors opened up slowly.
"You got all of it?" Mr. Smith asked her as they walked into the elevator. Melody nodded curtly,
"Yes sir, will you be wanting coffee and breakfast tomorrow morning?" he quickly shook his head "no" at her as the doors closed shut. They both fell into a comfortable silence as the doors shut. That's when Melody felt a pair of eyes watching her closely. Mr. Smith seemed to feel them as well and both glanced over to their right. A tall man with dark brown hair and deep hazel green eyes was staring at them both. He was wearing the Sandover IT uniform. Khakis, yellow polo shirt tucked in and brown shoes. Melody smiled kindly at him while Dean sort of nodded in greeting.
Yellow shirt stared at them both, "Do I know you?"
Melody shrugged, "No…"
"I don't think so." Dean answered, returning his attention to his blackberry. Yellow shirt watched them both closely. He could have sworn…
The man scoffed, "I'm sorry, it's just you two look really familiar." All Melody could do was give him another half-smile and shrug. Dean however grew impatient,
"Save it for the health club, pal."
Quarter to six, wake up, shower, eat breakfast, skip the coffee and get to the office. Print out presentations, attend meetings with Mr. Smith, take calls, jot down messages, lunch break, and then do it all over again until five-thirty. Melody went through her routine automatically, getting home by six, eat dinner, watch some television, prepare Mr. Smith's schedule for the next day and then sleep and do it all over again the next day.
Melody leaned against her desk, waiting for her printer. It beeped, sputtered and then died. Melody let out a sharp breath of annoyance, bending down and popping open the bottom drawer. "Oh come on…" Melody rolled her eyes. The toner cartridge had broken and spilled a good amount into the printer. Luckily, Mr. Smith was going to be in a very long meeting with the other directors, so she had plenty of time to clean up. When Melody was finished cleaning up the ink she searched for a new toner cartridge. She couldn't find any, and then remembered that they usually kept them a few floors up in the IT department.
Straightening out her white pencil skirt, she grabbed her pink cell phone and walked out of her office towards the elevator. Mr. Smith had always told her, if for any reason she needed to leave her office when he wasn't around, she had to keep her phone with her should he need her. Melody couldn't help but wonder what Mr. Smith was like outside of the office. He was a fairly nice man; sure he was a bit entitled sometimes and a bit of a jerk, but most people who worked in this building were. He was certainly a health nut. And usually gave her flack for drinking a frappuccino.
The elevator dinged, and Melody stepped out into the wide open IT department. It was basically just rows and rows of computers and on the left side of the room were various offices and a break room. She glanced around, not really sure where to go or who she should speak to.
"Um…hi, you need some help?"
She turned around and found the same guy from the elevator the other night—the one who swore he knew her and Dean from somewhere—standing just behind her. He was a lot taller than she remembered. Then again, she had opted to wearing a pair of gold ballet flats that day. Melody blinked up at him, stuttering for a moment before shaking her head.
"Uh—yeah, yeah um…I need toner. For my printer. Isn't this where most of the extra supplies are kept?"
He grinned at her, "Yeah. Follow me, I'll show you." He led the way glancing back over his shoulder, "My name's Sam by the way. Sam Wesson."
"Melody West." She smiled warmly at him. Sam led the way into the break room, going for a large metal cabinet. He pulled out a canister of toner handing it to her and she gave him a grateful smile. Melody turned to leave but Sam's voice stopped her,
"Hey do you…want some coffee? I'm technically on my break."
She hesitated, should she stay? She liked Sam enough; he was a nice guy and good company. Melody shrugged, "Well, my boss will be in his meeting for another half hour. Sure why not." Sam grinned at her and poured a cup for her and himself. They both mixed their coffees almost simultaneously. Melody noticed that they both had the same tastes. Three creams and two and a half sugars. She thought that was strange. She'd never met anyone else who used the sugar like she did.
Sam turned to start talking to her but saw his co-worker Ian walk in. "Hey Ian," Sam greeted him and pointed to his companion, "this is Melody. She's Mr. Smith's personal assistant."
Ian smirked, "Oh, so you and Mr. Smith are…"
Melody laughed, "No way. I'm not into him like that." She sipped at her coffee while Ian shrugged and turned to the supplies cabinet grabbing up a few boxes of pencils before stuffing them into his pockets.
"Ian! Dude." Sam rolled his eyes while Melody just chuckled. She had to admit it was pretty funny and she honestly didn't care that Ian was stealing from the company. For some reason, she suddenly hated the company.
The IT worker, who was casually dressed and not wearing the uniform shrugged, "Just doing a little shopping. Running low at home." Melody sipped at her coffee while Sam just sighed. He couldn't believe Ian would do that and in front of this girl of all people. It didn't seem like Melody would talk though. It was strange; it felt to Sam like he knew he could trust her. He'd only just met the blonde girl, but he knew she was loyal and smart and had a good heart.
Ian's voice brought him out of his reverie. "So Sam, had any of those dreams lately?"
"Dreams?" Melody asked glancing between the two IT workers. "What dreams?" Sam glanced at her and then at Ian, giving him what Melody would call a "bitch face" before sighing and turning his eyes away. Ian threw up his hands,
"What? Don't be like that. Come on. It's the highlight of my day."
"I never should have told you in the first place." Sam grumbled but Melody was intrigued. She threw out her empty cup and turned to him, crossing her arms over her pink blouse,
"I'd like to hear about these dreams." When Sam shot her the bitch face she chuckled, "Oh come on Sam. For a new friend?"
He just sighed, "I can't. Ian will just make fun of me."
Ian's brow creased in mock hurt, "What?! No way!" He scoffed, "I won't say a word—total respect. Go."
Sam sighed, chewing his lip for a moment before flicking his eyes between Ian and Melody. He was cornered and he couldn't back out now. "I dreamt that I saved a grim reaper named Tessa from demons."
He felt his head drop when Ian let out a loud laugh before covering his mouth to stifle the sound. Melody however, had frozen in place. Why? Because she'd had a dream exactly like that a week ago. She figured it didn't mean anything, that it was a stupid dream and nothing more. She stuttered and nearly jumped back when her phone started vibrating in her hands. Melody quickly answered it,
"Yes, Mr. Smith?"
"Get up here. I need you to type out this report for me."
"Yes sir. Right away." Melody nodded and killed the line. She smiled at Ian, giving him a quick goodbye before turning to Sam. "Uh…th-thanks for the drink Sammy. Don't let your giant ass hit the door on the way out." She jabbed a finger at his arm trying to shake off the weird warning bells going off in her head and quickly exited the room.
Sam watched her go. She'd called him 'Sammy', and teased him about his height. Why did that feel so familiar? And why did it make him feel so much at home to be around her?
"Oh man…" Ian sighed watching Melody leave. "I would so go for that."
"Dude…" Sam rolled his eyes but Ian just threw out his arms,
"What? And you wouldn't? Come on, she was hot."
"I don't know," Sam shrugged his shoulders staring at the spot where Melody had just been standing, "I mean I like her. But not like that. There's just something about her that feels like…" he trailed off, unable to find the word.
He and Ian went back to their desks after the man had called him "Harry Potter" and "Wizard". Sam of course called him a dick in return. Several hours passed by, going through the motions, answering calls, helping people turn off and turn on their computers. Printing out memos, printing out schedules, print, print and print.
Sam leaned back in his chair, filling out a new report from upstairs. He stopped writing half way through his name on the paper, letting out a long, drawn out yawn. He sighed, leaned his elbow on the desk and rested his head in his hand. And as soon as he closed his eyes, he got flashes of his strange dreams.
He saw himself holding a shotgun, beating up monsters, blasting them with rounds. Shooting a woman with red eyes in the forehead and watching her body flicker and die. Shooting a cloaked, wiry monster standing between two other people. All three were shooting. Himself, a man a few inches shorter than him with short brown hair and a girl several inches shorter than him and the other guy with long gold-blonde hair. He saw a ghost, and watched as he swiped it away with a crowbar. He saw the man with short hair stabbing someone through the heart, the blonde snarling and her eyes turning silver and glowing as she punched another blonde in the stomach. The blonde smiling up at him, laughing and calling him "Sammy" and the guy with short hair clinking a beer with him while all three sat atop a black car.
Sam jerked awake looking around the office to find that no one else had seen his little daydream go bad. But it wasn't all bad. It got a little good at the end. And that's when he found the word he'd been looking for earlier when Melody had said goodbye to him. Family. Those two people from his dream had felt like family. Sam felt a cold chill run up his spine. Something was definitely up. And it had to do with Melody and her boss Dean Smith.
The next morning. Melody went through her normal routine. Wake up, shower, get dressed, go to work. Only this time she was greeted with police and other emergency personnel. Apparently, a man in IT had killed himself the night before using the microwave in the rec room she'd been standing in just that day. Melody shuttered in her desk chair, not wanting to think about the gruesome picture that would have greeted her should she have gone into the rec room.
She scribbled down a report for Mr. Smith, trying to focus on the work in front of her. But all she could think about was the suicide earlier. She glanced up, saw Mr. Smith on his computer and quickly turned to her own. She pulled up the company roster and then found Paul Dunbar's file. She skimmed her eyes over it and then sat back in her seat.
"Two weeks? You were going to retire in two weeks but you killed yourself instead?" She reached up and idly scratched at her scalp, "What the hell…"
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Melody glanced up and saw Mr. Smith waving her in to his office. She nodded, knowing that she'd need a blank copy of a 445-T report. She walked around and into Mr. Smith's office, handing down the blank paper.
"Wait here, you can take him to HR when he's done." Dean Smith said and Melody nodded curtly. She stood next to his desk, reaching up to adjust her hair before waiting patiently. "You look different today."
She glanced down; saw Dean watching her closely, like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. Melody stuttered, "Uh…w-well I—"
"Your hair is down today." Dean said, pointing at her long blonde hair. Normally she wore her hair back but today she'd been running a little late and was only able to pull half of it up, tying a large pink bow around a chunk of hair to keep it in place. A few stray pieces fell around her face, framing her cheeks nicely. Dean grinned up at her, "It looks nice Mels. You should wear it down more often."
Melody just stared at him. Mels? Nobody had ever called her that. Normally it was Mel. But…she kind of like the nickname. It was like it was only Dean who could call her by that name. Why? She had no idea. But it seemed to fit his personality, what little Melody knew of it.
"Thanks Dean—I mean, Mr. Smith."
He shrugged, "Come on, you're practically my babysitter. You can call me 'Dean'. It'd make things easier anyways."
Melody chuckled, "Alright…Dean it is." They shared a quick grin before the worker in question came into the room, softly knocking on the open door.
Dean glanced up, "Hi, Ian is it?" Melody grinned warmly at him, remembering him from the day before. He looked different today though. He actually shaved, and was wearing the uniform. Wonder what made him change, she thought as Dean told Ian to come in.
"Yesterday," Dean began and Melody automatically pulled out the report handing it to her boss, "you filled out a 445-T. And uh, no problem—just a—just a few errors. I mean we did just switch over to vista, so I'm sure you're used to filling out the Dash-R's, am I right?"
Ian completely ignored Dean's light tone and Melody watched his face fall, "Oh no…" he mumbled, trembling visibly. Dean quickly shook his head, holding out a calming hand,
"No, no, no. It's fine. It's fine." He picked up the paper and set it down on the edge of the desk, "I just need you to redo one today so I can get the show on the road with the invoicing."
"Oh my God…" Ian whimpered staring at the paper in pure fear. Melody felt her brow crease, what was wrong with him? Again, Dean held out a calming hand and kept his voice even,
"No, it's fine. Just re-file it, and we're square."
"I can't believe I did this. I can't…" Ian shook his head, fists clenching and knuckles turning white. Melody and Dean shared a look, each wondering the same thing. What was wrong with this guy? Ian's voice quaked, "I can't believe it. I…can't believe I did this."
"Hey, Ian, it's alright." Melody said stepping forward, heels clicking beneath her. "Come on—"
"No, no." Ian's voice broke and cracked, "It affected profits. It—I screwed up. I-I can't. I can't…" he sounded like he was about to hyperventilate. Ian took in a shaking breath, "I am so sorry. How could I do that? I failed Sandover. I failed the company."
Melody set down her leather binder reaching out for Ian gently while Dean slowly stood up, "Uh, why don't you sit down, Ian?" They both got closer to him, but Ian just shook his head, whimpered another "no" before turning and running down the hall.
"Ian!" Dean and Melody called after him, but he wouldn't stop. They followed him to the men's bathroom at the end of the hall. Dean turned to her, "Look, maybe you should—"
"Don't." Melody ordered, surprising both herself and Dean at her commanding tone. Where the hell did that come from? She shook her head and ignored the fact that she was about to go into the men's bathroom—and had just given her boss an order—and pushed past Dean into the restroom. Dean followed after her, more concerned for the guy inside.
"Ian, hey." Dean said closing the door behind himself and Melody. Ian was standing at the far end of the counter, leaning on it and staring at himself in the mirror. He was still trembling and seemed to be fighting back tears. Dean held out his hands, palms facing down, "Just chill out, man. Okay?"
"Yeah, everything will be fine Ian." Melody added using the gentlest tone she could muster. She felt Dean automatically push her behind him as they both took another step closer to Ian. But they froze, feeling the air turn cold and dry, their breath escaping their mouths in white puffs of air.
All of the sinks turned on soon after. But that couldn't be possible. They were motion activated sinks, how the hell were they doing that? Melody stepped back a half step when the soap dispensers came on too, pouring pink soap all over the counters.
"Dean…" Melody whispered warily, feeling a crushing instinct to run and get the hell out. But she almost didn't want to leave. Some part of her was…getting excited. She felt Dean reach back and grip her arm, pushing her further behind him while he held out a hand to Ian,
"H-hey, maybe we should get out of here, huh? Come on." The IT worker just stared at himself in the mirror. He was actually shaking, and his face scrunched up as he seemed to be fighting tears. His grip on the sink was tight, his knuckles having lost all their color as he squeezed the porcelain harder and harder. "Ian." Dean called out to him, "Look at me."
Ian finally turned to face them, frozen in place. He stared at them blankly before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pencil. Dean and Melody tensed up; afraid he would use the pencil as a sort of weapon on them. Instead…he used it on himself. Ian shot up his arm and stabbed the pencil into his neck. And Melody should have screamed, she should have run right out of that bathroom. But she didn't. She and Dean both watched Ian die, gurgling and choking on his own blood.
Dean glanced up and nearly fell back, he felt Melody do the same. They were both staring at the reflection of a tall, thin old man in a worn suit. When they looked back over their shoulders to the place that the old man should have been standing, they found the spot empty.
"Jesus…" Melody let out a shaking breath, staring back down at Ian's body. She numbly heard Dean call out for help. And numbly reported what she saw to the police. She stood back behind Dean having finished up her testimony and listened to him give his side of the story.
"No, no, no. We both uh followed him into the bathroom. He was uh…he was standing there in front of the mirror, and then…" Melody heard him trail off and curiously followed where his gaze had landed. She saw Sam Wesson from IT standing just down the hall, giving them both a stern but concerned look. "And uh, he stabbed himself in the neck. I'm sorry that's uh…" Dean finished shaking his head and staring at Sam.
Thirty minutes later, Melody was pacing the length of Dean's office, chewing her lip with her arms crossed over her chest. "I just…you saw it too right? The…the guy?" she asked stopping in front of his desk and watching him closely. Dean just shook his head,
"I…yeah I saw it but…what the hell was it Mels?" There he goes with the nickname again. Melody shrugged off the warm, comforting feeling in her stomach when he called her that. It wasn't that kind of feeling. It was the feeling you'd get if you were around a best friend…or a member of your family.
Melody sighed, plopping down in one of the chairs and rubbing at her neck, "I think…it was a ghost."
"Oh crap—yeah me too." Dean rubbed a hand down his face. And before she could think, Dean had grabbed his phone and quickly dialed, ordering whoever was on the other end to get up to his office. Melody felt her eyes widen when Sam Wesson walked into the office.
"Come on in. Shut the door." Dean ordered him. Sam shut the door, giving Melody a quick grin before sitting down in the seat next to her. Dean watched him with a careful eye, leaning forward in his chair, "Who the hell are you?"
Sam chuckled and scoffed, "I'm not sure I know."
"What the hell does that mean?" Dean asked incredulous and slightly impatient. Melody bit back throwing her boss an impatient look, instead she waited patiently, sitting in the chair and looking up at the IT member.
He sighed, "Sam Wesson. I started here three weeks ago."
"Alright." Dean nodded taking a breath before continuing, "You cornered me in the elevator, talking about ghosts. And now…" Melody watched him trail off, and she could see fear in his large, candy apple green eyes. But he shook it off, standing from his chair and pacing for a moment, "Now nothing. I uh…"
Sensing that he didn't want to talk about that, Melody turned to Sam and changed the subject, "So, you started working here three weeks ago?" When Sam nodded, she pointed to herself and Dean, "Yeah, we did too."
Dean paced a bit more, picking up his large bottle of water. Sam eyed it questioningly while Melody fought back an eye roll. He'd started it a few days ago. All he consumed was the strange mixture. She even had to learn how to make it for him. Melody shivered as he sipped at it. "Master cleanse." Dean said holding up the brown liquid, answering Sam's confused look. "You tried it? Phenomenal. Detoxes you like nobody's business."
Sam stared at him and Melody, eyes going slightly wide, "When you were in that bathroom with Ian…did you see something?"
"I don't know." Dean shook his head, "I don't know what I saw."
Melody actually rolled her eyes this time, "Well you might not know but…I certainly do—I think."
"Wait…" Melody could see the gears working through Sam's head, "did you…see a ghost?"
"Oh my God—we did!" Melody clasped a hand over her mouth, covering up the excited squeal. Dean shook his hands,
"I—we were freaking out though. I mean, the guy penciled his damn neck."
"You did, didn't you?" Sam asked and watched Melody gave him an eager nod while Dean just sighed and dropped his head. Sam, getting equally as excited as Melody sat forward in the chair next to her, "Okay look, what if these suicides…aren't suicides? I mean what if there's something…not natural?"
Dean let out a soft chuckle, "So what—ghosts are real? And they're responsible for all the dead bodies around here?"
Melody held up her hands, "Look, Dean I know it sounds crazy but…yes that's exactly what we're telling you."
"Uh-huh—based on what?" Dean asked them, clearly not believing either of Sam or Melody's beliefs. Sam and Melody both glanced at each other, each searching for the exact word that would help describe how they knew. And Melody realized that…she just knew. She stared at Sam and they both, in perfect unison said—more liked asked—one word,
"Instinct…?"
Dean stared at them, chewed his lip and glanced away for a second before let out a long breath, "I've got the same instinct."
"No way."
"Seriously?" Melody and Sam both gasped at him. They each shared a quick, eager look before Sam continued, "You know those dreams I was telling you about? I was dreaming about ghosts.
"Yeah," Melody nodded enthusiastically, getting more and more excited by the second, "and then it turns out that there's a real ghost."
"So, you're telling me that your dreams are special visions and you're some kind of psychic?" Dean asked Sam who just stared at him blankly before quickly shrugging.
"No. I mean," he chuckled, "that would be nuts. I—I', just saying something weird is definitely going on around here, right? So I've been digging around a little." Sam opened up his bag and pulled out a small pile of papers, "I think I found a connection between the two guys."
Melody leaned forward to get a better look at the papers in Dean's hands. He stared at them and threw up his hands, "You broke into their email accounts?"
"Oh my God you did?" Melody giggled, watching Sam's face fall for a half second.
"I…" he stuttered and seemed to pick his words carefully, "used some skills that I happen to have to…satisfy my curiosity."
Dean grinned, "Nice." And Melody just laughed some more while staring at the papers. Sam's shoulders fell with relief and he leaned forward pointing to the papers,
"Okay so it turns out Ian and Paul both got this same e-mail telling them to report to H.R., room 1444."
"But…H.R.'s on seven…" Melody said, brow creasing in confusion. Sam just pointed at her,
"Exactly." Dean set down the papers, rubbing a hand over his chin before musing out loud,
"Should we go check this out?"
Sam hesitated, "Like…right now?" Melody sat back, mouth opening and closing while she shrugged, unsure of what to do. Dean watched her and shook his head, rubbing his eyes,
"No. no, It's getting late. You're right." He leaned back in his chair but felt two pairs of eyes watching him closely. Melody saw the look on Sam's face before he said slowly,
"I am dying to check this out right now."
"Right?" Dean exclaimed and saw Melody shoot up from her chair, throwing up her hands in excitement,
"Yes!"
Woo! One of my favorite episodes! Well like all of them are my favorite but...yeah...anyways, I'd love to hear all of your opinions on what you think of the Melody/Castiel pacing. Should I speed it up? Slow it down? Keep it the same? Let me know!
Review, fav and follow! Thanks for reading!