Replies to reviews:

Blondie20000: Cute and awkward with a hint of fluffy is what I was going for, it was needed after two very serious chapters. I loved the rabbit foot episode, but probably not for the same reason you did. I know you like Bella and miss her, but I liked that episode cuz Sam was super hilarious in it, which is usually Dean's role. Thanks for the review.

Secretwrittenword: A bit of domestic bliss... Way to describe it, wouldn't have done it better myself. Don't worry; they'll resume their search for answers soon. Thanks for the review.

Ncsupnatfan: Yes, a lot of thoughts and emotions, not enough action, but the next one should be a bit different. Thanks for the review.

Summer: The tension is killing you? That's why it is called a slow burn, ya know? Thanks for leaving a review though.

Aisha: I don't know if that was meant to be a praise or were you being sarcastic, but the review made me smile either way, so thanks, really. I know I said I wasn't going to shower you with gifts anymore… But I had to do this.

Guest: Well, here's more. Thanks for the plea, made me smile.

Chapter 17: Take another little piece of my heart

There was a deep sigh of relief that escaped Sarah the moment she reached her home, shut the door at the outside world and leaned her back on it, the old wooden door giving her a moan of disapproval and stress. No matter what, she always felt safe there, in Doc's home, despite the other feelings, good or bad she might have had.

Still, it was no time to dwell on that. Safety wasn't what she was going after, not this time. This time she knew she had to get out of her comfort zone if she was ever going to find out more about herself. And in the past two days, she had learned more than in the 37 years of her life. Sarah rolled her eyes and groaned at her thought. Three months ago, on May 2nd, she turned 37 and was still single and living with her foster father.

Sarah walked over to her bedroom upstairs and into the bathroom and removed her clothes in few swift motions, piling it in the hamper and finally turned the shower on. Getting in and letting the hot water wash away all the smells and the debris from the warehouse, she closed her eyes. She wouldn't let her mind wonder towards the fact that she was this old and lonely, instead, trying to figure out more about herself that resulted in that loneliness.

Like what exactly happened in that warehouse? Dean said he knew, he said he would explain, but they haven't had a chance to talk yet and with each passing minute, her mind started developing doubts and ideas. First she thought it was Dean that did something, maybe it was a witches' spell, something he learned in his hunting life and used in occasions like this.

But he seemed so confused when it happened.

Then she thought maybe Dean had a guardian angel or something like that. Someone willing to assist him out in occasions like this, to use their abilities to help those that help others. This would make more sense, especially if Dean thought the guardian angel to be gone, and was surprised to receive such help. He did seem to know what it all was.

As she walked out of the shower and dried herself, Sarah couldn't help but think back on the image of that warehouse, of that room and what was left of it. Little charred outlines around a slight hole in the room that resembled a very shallow crater, the pile of ashes that was clearly Brian, name tag buried in it, half of it sticking out. It was all... Disturbing.

But the chains were gone, disintegrated and she was sure Dean was half healed, so there was a plus to it. She remembered that awful feeling when she saw him pale, sitting in the pool of his own blood in that Camaro. She knew his soul, she knew that most of his life he knew of suffering and just that, two distinctive things still scaring his weakened heart. Oh, how she wished she could heal it.

Sarah stepped back into her room, thoughts filled with worry about Dean and she absently pulled on a few shirts from her closet. Frowning at each one, she tossed the yellow one and then the pink one away and instead chose a shirt with the color of peach, a perfect blend of the previous two. Next she had to find something for Dean.

Sarah took a deep breath as she stood in front of her Father's bedroom. She has been in there a few times, vacuuming and cleaning a bit, but Doc didn't like it when she entered it and to be quite honest, neither did she. She would try to come in and vacuum, most of the time finding the room almost borderline OCD clean. All things had their place and it was like they were never moved. The bed was always made and it always looked like no one has ever slept in it. If Sarah didn't know any better, she would say a ghost lived there.

Though it might not have been all that unbelievable. Sarah was never able to get a read on the man, not like all the other people, and she always thought it was strange. But there was this one time, when she listened to some music while dusting the living room and turned and saw him staring in the distance, emotional pain written all over his face. But why? Why would Phil Collin's song about homeless people bring out such emotions from a man who never, not once in her whole life showed any sign he had them. Or was he just that good in hiding them?

Sarah rolled her eyes when she opened her Father's closet. Suit after suit after suit, a few coats and two formal tuxedos. Not a single sweat pants, nor regular pants, no nothing. Not even PJs. Weird. And as Sarah rummaged among the hanged clothes, trying to find something Dean would feel a bit comfortable in, she spotted something on the ground pushed way back, deep inside the closet. A fluffy old brown blanket covered a pile of something and Sarah carefully reached and pulled the blanket off.

Out of all the things she thought she would find, a pair of jeans and a plaid shirt on top of a small wooden box was not one of them. Ok, at least she found something for Dean. She should just take the clothes and cover the box and just get out of there. She should. She definitely should. Doc would be very pissed to learn she was going through his stuff. But considering all that has happened, he will be pissed either way, right?

Slowly she reached and picked up the box that had some beautiful carvings engraved into it. Lead by pure curiosity, her right hand reach and removed the latch, opening the box.

Inside were two things. The first one seemed to be a knife, no... A blade of sorts, a dagger, but only the round hilt was visible, the sharp end was in a rectangular three dimensional hard pouch, and she picked it up, feeling slightly drawn to it. The feeling reminded her of the demon blade Dean had shown her and she decided to put it back for now, not wanting to come into any more contact with it.

The second thing was more interesting. It was another box, a much smaller velvet box everyone always knew what it was used for. With a deep breath, Sarah picked it up and opened it. Staring back at her was a beautiful ring with a nice little ruby that shone so bright and Sarah couldn't help but remember that distant look in Doc's eyes she only once caught a glimpse of. Never has Sarah thought there might have been someone in his life. She had lived with the man for over twenty years and now? Somehow she got this feeling she didn't know him. Not at all.

Aisha was fuming. Billy parked the stolen SUV a bit further down the road and then they both tried to break into the house, both unsuccessfully, because the minute they would come near it, a blinding headache would overpower them, very similar to the one they felt when their brother was disintegrated.

Billy was as cool as ever about the whole thing, lazily looking up at the house while Aisha was pacing in front of him. Then she suddenly stopped and sent her brother a death glare, angry with him too. Angry he wasn't as pissed as she was, angry that he isn't doing anything but stare at the house. He would seem like a mindless junky, or rather a wasted old teenager wannabe at times, dumb and clueless, but the fact was, Billy was just the opposite.

"Why are you just standing there doing nothing? Why aren't we trying to find a way in, trying to get to her and tear her apart?" Aisha almost stomped her feet in a bit of a childish way, and Billy only glanced at her, giving her a small smirk before he drew his attention back on Sarah's house.

"Why would we do that when we could wait for her to come out?" He simply replied and pushed himself away from the SUV he was leaning on. "Tell you what? I'll watch the back, you watch the front. It is getting late, and there are fewer people on the street, we'll just grab her when she walks out." To that, Aisha grinned widely.

Billy nudged his head towards a park that was across the house, suggesting Aisha should retreat to it, and avoid being seen by Sarah from inside the house, and then he proceeded to the back of the house sticking to the fence as not to get too big of a headache that the house seem to evoke. he hid behind a shed of sorts and settled to watch the house.

Aisha went to the park and sat at a bench that was turned away from the house. She sat on its edge and turned halfway to it, trying to look as discreet as possible. Half an hour later, she was tapping her foot on the ground, nervous and eager to reach the girl already, but still there was no sign of Sarah. Another half an hour, and Aisha was ready to storm her house, screw the headache and everything, and sink her teeth into the bitch that killed her brother. But then, she noticed movement at the front door and she quickly stood up, her eyes focused on the house and she stepped forward, bumping into a short fat man and getting her shirt covered in his strawberry ice-scream.

Face filled with bewilderment, Aisha raised her angry eyes at the man in front of her, but the man said nothing, only stared sadly at the ground where the rest of his ice-cream and the cone ended up. There was nothing more Aisha wanted to do then to rip that asshole apart. But if she drew too much attention to herself now, being at this distance, the bitch would have notice too soon, and Aisha would miss her chance to grab her. So instead, she pushed the guy out of the way with a low growl and started towards her prey.

Aisha didn't get to finish her first step when her foot glided over the ice-cream, and flew up towards the sky, the other foot followed and the vampire ended up falling on her ass, hitting her back first and then her head. Some strange feeling washed over her and for a second she felt a bit woozy, her eyes closing on her.

Sarah got out of the house carrying something wrapped up in a blanket, sat in the blood smeared Camaro with a frown, set the bundle she was carrying onto the back seat and drove away, feeling on alert, but not noticing the two vampires that were stalking her.

Aisha battled to stay away, and just when she thought she won that fight, the face of her older brother Billy leaned over her and with a wild teasing grin, he said "Quit lying around.". That earned him a death glare, and when Aisha got up, she noticed Sarah and the car were gone.

"Goddamnit! Why did you let her get away?" She yelled at Billy, but the other vamp didn't seemed fazed by her sister's outburst as he started walking back to the SUV. He opened the back door and pulled a bottle of Vodka, taking a long thirsty swing and wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"I didn't let her get away. – he said – You did. But it is understandable. From around the back, I caught a glimpse of some strange markings, normally invisible, but with the sunset shining at it in just the right way… Whatever those are, they were meant to keep people like us away. They are the reason behind that headache and probably why we feel so weak around it."

All that caused Aisha to spin around and look at the house, confused. She turned back to her brother when he started speaking again, of course after taking another swing at the bottle. "This is getting to be a drag, and it is slowly starting to annoy me. Let's just go back to the hospital, kill them there and be done with."

"I want them to suffer for what they've done!" Aisha spat at her brother and it was his turn to glare at her, instantly changing her angry look to a guilty, compliant one. Still, she huffed an irritated breath when she turned away from him, turned towards the house. She squinted her eyes at it for a minute, just stared and then, when an idea popped into her head she swung back to her brother and snatched the bottle out of his hands.

To ease her rage and maybe get back at her brother just a bit for being bossy, she took a long swing, brought the bottle down, ripped her shirt (the part that wasn't stained with pink ice -cream) and started pushing the cloth down the throat off the bottle. Billy rolled his eyes at her, but didn't try and stop her as she pulled out a lighter, lit the cloth up and walked towards the house as close as it would allow her. With a wild grin and a crazy look in her eyes, she threw the makeshift Molotov cocktail at the house, managing to hit a window and smash right through it with the bottle. The small cracklings of fire were proof it worked and Aisha could only hope it would ignite the whole damn thing.

Dean's eyes fluttered open and started darting around the white room. Somewhere in the distance there was a beeping song, a song that suggested he was hooked on a heart monitor and he figured he must have been in a hospital. With a small grunt, he lifted his head and felt pain in his leg. Remembering what happened, he was surprised it didn't hurt a lot more considering it was broken and with an open fracture, but they must have had him dosed with morphine. And he couldn't have that, not now, not with everything he...

"Whoa, whoa, there. Where's the fire, sugar?" A voice spoke and Dean looked down to see dark hands pushing him to lay back down. There was confusion written over his face as he looked up at the woman before him.

"M.. Missouri?" He barely managed with a coarse voice. The woman handed him a glass of water that he greedily took and drank in an instant, handing her back the glass. He was met with disapproval in his eyes that only served to remind him more of his friend that passed away.

"I know I am a bit round around the edges, but I ain't as big as a state!" was her scolding reply. It made Dean smile nostalgically, accepting the second glass of water she gave.

"No, you're not, but you do look a lot like a friend of mine. Act like her too." She said after drinking the second glass and letting his head fall back down on the pillow.

"You mean to tell me you have a friend that is fabulous and a good looker like me, and at the same time, helpful and caring?" she said fixing his blanket and checking his IV. As it was almost out, she detached the line from him and threw it in the bin.

"Precisely." Dean charmed making the nurse smile.

"Oh, you tease, you... But from what I have gathered you're already taken..." Miranda said wanting to see his reaction to that. She expected to see that little spark that lit up in Dean's eyes, but she did not expect to see that high level of worry as well. It made her worried as well.

"Where... Where is Sarah?" he asked with a dose of gravity in his voice, studying the woman in front of him, feeling a lot less relaxed then he was a moment ago. A thought crossed his mind that the nurse could be an enemy here, and he needed to see her reaction to his question to dismiss the idea. But before Miranda could answer, Sarah walked in the room.

Miranda got her answer as soon as Dean laid his eyes on Sarah, the spark glowing brighter then the nurse has ever seen. The way his mouth wrapped in a wide smile, the slight relief flashing upon his face, and those wide eyes. To Miranda, it was as clear as day, the man was in love.

Sarah smiled back at him, her own eyes giving out a slightly shyer spark, but a bright one nonetheless. She walked into the room and set a bag on a chair, giving Dean a once over. "Hey." she said.

"Hey..." he said back, and for a moment, both just starred at each other.

Sarah broke the eye contact first, glancing over at Miranda and then asking "How are you feeling?"

"Good, all things considered..." he replied looking away, but quickly bringing his gaze back upon Sarah, as if he couldn't tear his eyes away from her.

"His X rays have arrived while you were out..." Miranda pointed out, nudging her and handing her a folder, wearing a pleased smile of her took the folder out of her hands and gave her an amused smile, seeing the look on her friends face.

"Thanks. And thank you for staying here." She said and by no chance did she mean Miranda had to leave, but the nurse figured they needed time alone, so after giving Sarah a wink, she excused herself and left the room. Dean watched as Sarah pulled out the X rays, lifting it to the light and he watched as her smile turned into a confused frown. Dean already knew why it was so.

"This... This is... Impossible..." Sarah darted the sheet, examining Dean's bow leg.

"Not in my line of work..." Dean almost whispered, too serious and their eyes locked for a moment, some silent exchange between them before Sarah brought her gaze back upon the X rays. She could grasp some mild healing, but something to this extent? It was... Impossible.

"But, yesterday it was a clear break with an open wound... Your bone was sticking out of your leg, for Christ's sake! You're telling me this is... Normal for you?" Sarah asked with some paleness to her cheeks and some fear in her eyes that made Dean's breath hick up for a moment.

It was unnerving, when you think about it. Not the way his leg was almost healed, he knew why it was so. The unnerving part was that this was in fact normal for him. And he might have given people the talk about the supernatural before, but he never stuck around nor cared enough to see people's reaction and help them cope with it. Last one was sorta Jody and then her girls, but there were others to help them understand. There was Bobby for Jody and Jody for Patience. He didn't have to deal with it, not really.

Sarah saw the pallet of emotions flash upon Dean's face and felt the heaviness of each and every one of them, as Dean's eyes darted the ground. But she was still too confused, too uncomfortable with it all and she just had to push on, she had to know, she needed to know.

"Yesterday your leg was... - she motioned towards his cast, not feeling like repeating the state his leg was in – and now? Now it is nothing but a small fracture, and the rate it is going? It will be healed within a day or two. How? How is this possible?"

"Angels..." Dean simply replied.

"A... Angels? Angels." Sarah repeated the word, first time with confusion, then as a confirmation. "And... Did they... Did... Back at the warehouse?" Sarah tried, but couldn't even find words to describe what exactly happened back there.

"It is called collective angel smiting. And yeah, I think it was them, in a way..." I didn't quite make sense to Dean either. Last time he almost witnessed such an event was with Amara, and it was bigger, accompanied with a lot more destruction. In fact, it was complete destruction, so much so that the air wasn't even breathable. This was a lot smaller, a lot more focused, and... It delivered both destruction of their chains and of Brian along with healing of their wounds. It was weird, different, and Dean couldn't help but think it was Jack's attempt. Despite everything, Dean was grateful for that.

"You think? You're... Not sure?" Sarah asked slowly, her brows pinched in what seemed to be more worry then confusion, but before Dean could reply, Miranda walked back in the room, slight fear upon her face.

"Catherine wants to see you." was all Miranda said, and Sarah sucked in a breath. Of course the head nurse wanted to see her. They wanted information, they wanted to cover themselves legally in case anything happens. Sarah was surprised they haven't notified the cops yet, but she attributed their courtesy to the fact that she was Doc's daughter and he was well respected in the hospital. They have given Sarah a day, and she knew she couldn't ask for more, but considering Dean's much better condition, maybe she could weasel them both out of there before anyone starts asking too many questions.

Catherine was a bitch, but she was the bitch that was in love with Doc, and just wouldn't back down despite his rejections. So Sarah used that, used a promise of a possible arranged date to get out of saying too much. She hated doing that, she hated lying and hated the way she offered her father like that, but most of all, she hated how easy it was to do all that. A part of her felt bad, felt dirty, but all those thoughts and feelings were soon dispersed a second later. That was when Sarah rounded a corner and saw Aisha and Billy at the nurses station, talking to the nurse on the reception.

Surprise and shock, followed by fear washed over her and she swallowed hard. How are they here? How did they find them? Did they follow her? She remembered that feeling she had when she made the short trip to her home and assumed that must have been when they found her.

Sarah was never in situations like this. She never needed to find a fast solution, an easy fix and she never had to be quick on her toes. Not even when she was a nurse intern, their superiors never allowed her that. And if she had time to contemplate about it now, she would be surprised at the fact that her mind worked so fast, came up with such a plan in a matter of seconds, all the while feeling panic starting to rise within her.

With a corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Miranda across the hall, and managed to catch her eye. With a few motions, she was able to convey that it was time for Miranda's distraction and quickly retreated back to Dean's room. Grabbing crouches, she hoped to God Dean could manage down the fire escape on those, because they needed to get out of there now.

She could hear gasps and shouts and Miranda faking a heart-attack and a fond smile crept upon her face only for a moment before it disappeared, replaced by seriousness. She waltzed into Dean's room, finding that he already changed into the clothes she brought him, and it only took him one glance at Sarah to become instantly on alert. He tried to ask, but got his answer before the question even left his lips.

"The vampires are back. We need to leave, now." Sarah said with a flat tone that even scared her. Because deep down she knew she was freaking out, every voice inside of her was screaming at her, the flight instinct burning hard, but she was doing it anyway, right? She wasn't staying and fighting, she was fleeing and that must have been what kept her calm on the outside, right?

Seven minutes later (how Sarah managed to count the exact minutes, she had no idea), Dean was easing into the back seat of the Camaro, because a) the front seat was covered in his dried blood and b), his leg was still trapped in a cast that they had no time to remove. Not that Sarah would let him remove it, the fracture was still not healed enough for that. Sarah was once again behind the wheel and speeding away from the hospital.

But then, fourteen minutes minutes later (seriously, how does she know that?), she hit the break so hard, Dean almost flew to the front. He turned to her with a slight frown, confused by her action. What he saw made his breath hitch. Sarah was pale, her lips parted and lower lip trembling just a bit. Her eyes were wide, filling with tears and her irises' reflected the yellow light of open flames. And when Dean turned, following her line of sight, the image before him made him gasp loudly, enveloping his heart in painful sadness.

Sarah, her eyes still focused to what was in front of her, slowly opened the door and stepped out of the car. Dean fumbled with the door, trying to get it open and trying to maneuver his way out of the damn car, cursing at everything he could think of. Sarah walked closer to the place that was her home and her sanctuary for so long, the place that welcomed her when no one else would, when she thought she would end up on the street at the age of sixteen. She walked as close as the crowd and the fire-department barriers would allowed her, her lip still trembling, her tears trailing down her cheeks as she watched her greatest enemy, her greatest fear consume another piece of her life. Dean walked closer to her, keeping his eyes on the open flames. His lips pinched in a thin line to prevent his lower lips from shaking and he swallowed hard.

A part of Dean wished he could be struck down right there and then, but the other part knew he had to be there for her. Even if this was all his fault. If he hadn't dragged her into all this, none of this would happen. But he had to be there for her, he owed her at least that much. And as he limped his way to her, crotches forgotten in the car, he wanted nothing more then to hug her tight and allow her to cry in his arms, let it all out. He wanted her to scream and to yell at him for getting her into this mess.

But all Sarah did was stand perfectly still, her fists clenched tight, stoically taking in the event before her, shedding a few silent tears, never allowing a whimper, never allowing a sob to part her when she turned to Dean and looked at him with those blank eyes, the hunter couldn't help but gasp at the sight, the total lack of emotions on her pretty face. The hunter couldn't help but feel yet another sting to the heart, the total lack of that joy and perkiness in her eyes. They have gone stone cold, and suddenly Dean felt like he couldn't breathe.

This was all on him.

Sarah turned, and looked at Dean. She wasn't angry with him, she didn't blame him for anything. How could he have known this was going to happen? She felt his guilt, but she was too enveloped in her own anger to react to his anguish. Angry with those vampires, angry with her father, angry with herself. Why? It didn't even matter anymore.

Maybe it was the fact that she allowed herself to be cocooned within the safety of her home and her situation to explore her powers further and find out more about herself, about who she is, maybe all of this could have been avoided.

After everything that has happened, Sarah felt like she cracked open the Pandora's box that were her powers, taping in deeper then she ever did before. Pushing herself to try and use them instead of letting her powers take the lead. And somehow, she doesn't regret doing that. Despite everything, she felt better, she felt alive. She felt free. And all that more determined.

So when she turned to Dean and met his eyes, she said with a blank tone "We still have work to do. We still need to find your brother. So let's go do that now." There was strong resolve in her voice that maybe wavered at the end there, but she wouldn't let it show. With that, she brushed past him and went back to the car, leaving Dean to stand there and feel like crap.

Dean didn't expect her to be able to look at him, much less say what she said. And when she walked away, he knew she was expecting him to move, to go back to the car and then... What? Figure what to do next, just like that? And Dean most certainly didn't expect her to come back with the crotches in her hands and help him back to the car, making him feel like an even bigger piece of crap.

A/N: I know this chapter was a little longer then the rest, I hope you don't mind. Thoughts and comments are welcomed, needed, desired like water in the desert. So please... Drop some. Or better yet, make it rain.