Chapter 2

Dean

"Get me another set of towels!" I shouted, doing my best to keep as calm as I could as my angelic wife bled out on the floor of my shop. "Gracie, stay awake. Help is coming," I breathed, pleading. "Come on Cas! Pull the bullets!"

Castiel bent in front of Grace, his eyes were closed, and he was focused with his hands extended over her. "I'm trying," he grunted. "They're not moving. I don't know what's wrong."

Stu looked panicked and I did everything in my power to stay in control. "Did he say anything to her?" I asked, staring at my friend as Cas worked. "What happened before he came in?"

Stuart was at a loss, shaking his head slowly. "Holy shit," he breathed. "I don't know. I don't know what happened."

"Stu, focus," I demanded as Grace's eyes rolled closed. "Grace, stay awake," i muttered, trying to keep my attention on Stu. "Replay it in your head. The door opened and she greeted him. What happened next?"

"She, uh. She greeted him," Stu nodded and tried closing his eyes, blocking out the scene before him. "She looked worried, like wary, so I walked over."

I nodded, encouraging him, "And? Then what?"

"I asked if she needed help and she said she didn't know yet. Then," tears came to Stu's eyes and I tried to stay focused. "He asked if she was Grace Winchester. Out of nowhere, he raised two guns and fired."

Exchanging glances with Cas, I shook my head. "Not a mind reader, not angelic," I muttered. Cas nodded in agreement. "A human with Weapon Stone bullets etched in Enochian?"

More nodding.

Licking my lips, I shook my head, keeping my hands pressed on Grace's neck, feeling her reassuring pulse. "Someone put a hit out on Grace, but supplied the bullets?" I took a deep, shaking breath, and steadied myself. "She's still breathing. Get those bullets out of her and maybe she'll be able to self-heal." I glanced back outside, staring at the man that had tried to kill my wife. He lay dead in a pool of his own blood, still in the same position from when he collapsed after I loaded him with lead. I leaned back, squatting in front of Grace and unloaded the guns I had taken from the mystery man. "Three rounds left in this one, five left in here. All stamped with Enochian."

"Whoever it is, knows she's angelic," Cas commented, still attempting to retrieve the bullets lodged in my wife. "And because of the inscriptions, I can't get the bullets out. They need to be taken out surgically."

I was ready to pull my pocketknife and go in after them myself, but I hesitated long enough to hear the reassuring sounds of sirens in the distance. For once in his life, Tony had come through in calling an ambulance.

"They're not gonna know what to do with her on a surgery table," I muttered, shaking my head. "Try not to freak anyone out, babe."

Grace opened her eyes and smiled weakly, still in obvious pain.

"They're coming," I whispered, bending down to kiss her forehead. "Hold on."

…

Serra

"Answer the phone," I muttered, shaking my head. "Answer the goddamn phone." Grace's phone went to voicemail again and I hung up, angrily shaking my head. Tapping Dean's name again, I held my phone to my ear and waited as patiently as I could. Still nothing.

We were only minutes away from the shop and I did what I could to prep myself for what may or may not be coming. Gunshots at the shop were still something I had always been ready for, but it was the middle of the day on a Tuesday, and things had been quiet for about six months. God forbid we get through the calendar year without something drastic happening.

Finally, I scrolled through the numbers on my phone and tapped the number for the shop itself. The other end rang twice before a voice answered, sounding breathless.

"Winchester Auto, Tony speaking," he greeted.

"Put Grace on the phone," I demanded, skipping all the pleasantries.

Tony was taken aback, "Uh," he stuttered. "She's, um, not available."

"Tony, what happened?"

"Serra?" he gasped. "Serra, it's bad. She's – Grace was shot! A guy came in and—"

"Put Dean on the phone," I interrupted. "Right now."

There was static as Tony carried the phone towards my brother-in-law. I waited as patiently as I could, but now that I had confirmation that something awful had happened, I was in full-blown panic mode. I could hear the interaction between Dean and Tony as he tried to give my brother the phone.

"Dean, phone for you," Tony explained.

I could imagine the look Dean shot at him, "I'm a little busy, man," he growled. "Take a message!"

"It's Serra," Tony added.

There was more static as Tony managed to get Dean to take the phone. "Serra?" he whispered into the phone. "Sere, where are you?"

"I'm on my way. I'm in the ambulance." I glanced outside to see how close we were to the shop. "Only about four minutes out. What happened?"

Dean breathed slowly into the receiver and I could tell he was shaking his head and running his hand through his hair. The only reason he ever hesitated the way he was right now was because his mind was on overdrive. "I don't really know, Sere," he sighed. "There was a guy with a couple of guns. He came in, asked if she was Grace and shot her three times. She's still breathing, but they're stamped with Enochian and Cas can't get them out of her." He sighed and tried to control the waver in his voice. "She's bleeding pretty bad."

"We're close, Dean," I repeated. "She'll be alright. It's not like they're made of Weapon Stone."

Dean swallowed again. "I'm pretty sure they are," he whispered. "It's like someone put a hit out on her."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "We're close," I repeated.