*Sam's POV*
Helen wounded up coming sooner than expected, and Sam couldn't help but let out a chuckle when he saw the older woman do a double take and call Dean "such a handsome young man."
He may have acted a little weirded out, but Sam knew Dean was a little flattered.
Sarah took Helen to the side to talk to her about the plan, so Sam figured it was a good chance to talk to his older brother before he left with his girl.
"Hey, you sure you got this, man?"
"Don't worry about me," Dean said, "I got this. I can just dream up some pretty women if things get too rough."
Sam rolled his eyes. Of course Dean was stoked about being able to control his dreams. He wanted to get laid there as well.
"Besides, worry more about Sarah. I think she's still a little tense up about this."
"I know, but she's only tense because she's worried about you," Sam said, "She thinks something may happen to you, that the demon is going to get into your head."
The older brother just shook his head and sighed. "She worries too much about me. Feels like I'm being suffocated by two worry warts."
Sam just scoffed, knowing that Dean was never going to accept the fact that people were worried about him. Sarah was just like Sam in that sense when it came to worrying about those she cared about, except she doesn't push Dean into talking as much as Sam does.
He knew why she was worried. In her eyes, Dean was the only family that she has at the moment. Sam noted the way the two of them interacted with each other, and it was exactly like an older brother talking to his little sister.
It didn't bother Sam that Sarah had a close relationship with Dean. He was actually glad they had each other as friends. Plus, their interactions were much different that Sam's interactions with her, so he had no reason to feel insecure or jealous.
He trusted her, and from their little encounter in the bathroon, that was enough for him to know she trusted him just as much.
Sam turned to Sarah, watching her speak to Helen. He didn't know exactly what she was saying, but he wasn't looking to overhear what was being discussed. He just wanted to look at her and memorize every detail of her. This wasn't the first time he's done this and has been caught numerous times by Dean, making jokes saying, "Take a picture. It'll last longer."
Sam, at first, didn't understand why he felt the need to look at Sarah the amount of times he did, but after Dean said to worry more about her, he realized it was because he already was. Any second, she could easily be snatched away from Sam, whether it be by death or if she had enough of this life. He wanted to make sure he knew every possible detail of her face, a moment where she is just content. The last thing he wanted was to only remember her face in pain or in distress, something that is unfortunately engrained in his brain but with Jessica's face.
Guilt took over his mind when he thought about Jess again. Sam tried really hard not to think of her as much as he had Sarah now, but every now and again his thoughts betrayed him. The last thing Sam wanted was to make her feel like a rebound or a second option despite her constant reassurance that she never feels that way as she knew how much Jess's death traumatized him.
Still, the self doubt was hanging over Sam, and he wished he could put more of his focus on Sarah.
"Sam?"
Her voice snapped him out of his train of thought as he noticed that she was now standing right in front of him. Her eyes were full of concern as she held her bag along with Sam's.
"Oh...uh yeah?" he stumbled.
She then gave a small smile, giggling a bit at Sam's surprised look. He couldn't help but chuckle a little bit as well, for her giggles and laughs were very infectious.
"You ready to go?" she asked.
Sam nodded and took his bag from her hand. Dean handed over the keys to the Impala, warning Sam and Sarah to be on their "best behaviors" and that he better not see a single scratch on Baby.
"Worry more about yourself, Winchester," she said, "Keep stressing yourself out and you will NEVER get to sleep."
"I can never sleep well when you two are left in charge of the Impala," he said.
She just rolled her eyes. "Just...please be careful and do everything Helen says. You're crossing into dangerous territory here."
"I get it, I get it. Jesus, the suffocation here..."
Sarah just shook her head and exited the hotel room, Sam trailing behind her. She got in to the passenger seat as he got into the driver's side, eventually driving off to the Brown's Residence.
Sarah was quiet, looking straight ahead as trees and buildings went past them. Sam noted her thousand yard stare, knowing that she was thinking really hard about something. Thankfully her jaw was not clenched, something that indicates she was under some kind of stress or was angry.
Sam kept his eyes on the road the best he could, but once in a while he would steal some glances to see if Sarah's expression changed. He reached over to her left hand, getting it a little closer to the center so he could quickly get a hold of the wheel in case something were to happen.
She quickly responded by intertwining her smaller fingers with his, holding it while he stroked his thumb on her hand to comfort her a bit.
"What's on your mind, sweetheart?" Sam asked.
"I'm just...trying to figure out the best way to approach this," Sarah said, "April is obviously hurting a lot in this, so she's not going to be thinking rationally. I just don't want to go into this and make her feel like she's 'crazy' or...something similar."
She looked over to Sam, who kept his focus on the road but looked at her once in the while out of the corner of his eye. "I keep thinking back to when we were kids...and how people used to pick on us whenever we changed schools. I guess I sympathize her to an extent, but to kill out of revenge...I feel like I'm stuck in the middle with this one, despite the fact that people are dying, if that makes sense."
Sam just nodded, not sure if she saw that. He knew where she was coming from, but it didn't excuse April's actions.
"I don't want to kill her," Sarah said, "I want to talk some sense into her...but...God I hate the moral dilemma. It doesn't hit you fully until you're in the position."
"Don't stress yourself out, love," Sam said, "Let's just get to where we need to be and see where it goes from there."
Sarah squeezed his hand for comfort before finally looking back out the window. He knew she wasn't going to really let this go. Once Sarah was worked up, it was hard to get her to calm down a bit. She was just like Dean in that sense, except she opens up more and isn't afraid to speak her mind at all.
Sam wished Dean did the same thing, but knowing his pain in the ass brother and his "I'm the eldest here" complex he's got going on, it takes him MONTHS, even years to finally open up. Sam knew he should be more patient about it, but he was tired of Dean still treating him like he wasn't as capable because of his age and abilities with that same older brother complex.
Finally, they reached the Brown residence but parked a little further to avoid detection. Melissa said to wait a bit until April "goes to bed."
Sarah let go of Sam's hand and moved over to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her, pulling her in close while his hand stroked her shoulder to help calm her down.
Her breathing was a lot more steady this time as she began to relax, but he could tell she was still a little tensed up.
"I think it's Melissa I'm more worried about rather than April," she said, breaking the silence.
Sarah looked back up at Sam as he looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"Well...think about it. This woman lost so much; her husband, her son...I just don't want to be the reason she looses a daughter as well. April does need to face the consequences, but the idea of having to do something to her so the killings stop...her mother doesn't deserve to relive that pain."
Sam gave her a small smile before tucking some of her hair behind her ear. "We'll do what we can to avoid putting Melissa through more grief. This just can't continue, though."
"I know," she said.
Sarah curled back into Sam's arms as he continued to hold her while they waited for the cue from Melissa. They both spent this time in silence, but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Sam was actually enjoying the quiet time with Sarah.
Actually, that reminded him about something...
"Sarah?"
"Hm?"
Looking down at her a bit, he started to smile. "Tomorrow...do you have any plans?"
She looked confused by that question, as usually the plan when a case was finished was to find the next one or to see if there was progress on finding the yellow eyed demon.
"No...I figured we'd be going to find our next case...why?"
"Well...if my memory serves me correctly, isn't it your birthday tomorrow?"
Sarah's eyes grew wide with surprise, causing Sam to chuckle at her reaction.
"Wait...how did you remember..."
"Oh come on," he said, "I can't forget the countless times Dean and I tried to give you a birthday when you were younger which almost resulted in us getting kicked out of the motel and getting into trouble with our parents."
Her surprise look changed from surprise to happiness as she let out a giggle. "I'm just...wow. I can't believe you remember my birthday like that! I only just realized yesterday what the day is when Dean and I grabbed the newspapers!"
"Well we have been on the road for a while," Sam said, "Time just doesn't exist with us."
Sarah's head nodded in agreement. "You're serious...you want to do something tomorrow?"
He shrugged. "Why not?"
"I just figured we do something small, like get a free birthday meal from a restaurant and find our next case..."
"It's your first time back with us. I wanted to make it...a little more special...unless that isn't what you want then..."
"No, no, I want it," she said, taking Sam by surprise, "I really do. Birthdays weren't a huge thing when we were younger because we were on the road so much, so we just did whatever we had access to at that moment."
"Well...I just wanted to make something of it...because it's our first time...being...you know," Sam felt his face grow a little hot as he stumbled on his words.
Smooth move, he thought to himself.
Sarah smiled and gave Sam a kiss on the cheek. "I'd like that...very much."
"You...you would?"
"Of course. We both need a day off anyways."
"Okay good because...I may or may not have started setting up everything for tomorrow...and it would be embarassing if you said no."
"Wait...Sam...what did you do?" she said, raising her eyebrows.
He just smiled back at her and gave her a little wink. "You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out, baby girl."
She just rolled her eyes and leaned back into Sam. "Surprises aren't fun for me."
"Well, we're doing one this time."
*Sarah's POV*
I'm really nervous on what this "surprise" is Sam has planned, but at least he was able to keep my mind off of what was to come for a little bit.
I leaned back into Sam, listening to his steady heartbeat as he continued to stroke my shoulder. Looking outside, I saw that the sun was beginning to set, casting some beautiful colors off the clouds.
It reminded me of when I was younger, and when the sun would set, I would take Dean and Sam outside and have them watch the sun disappear. The three of us would just watch in complete silence as we enjoyed the moment, for we weren't sure when the next peaceful moment will be or if we'll be able to witness it again at all.
I soaked up the scenery like I did all those years ago, when suddenly a buzz from my phone ruined the moment. I sighed, reaching into my jean pocket and pulled it out to see that I had finally got a text message from Melissa.
April's here. She's in her room. Hurry.
It wasn't even completely dark outside, though. Why is Melissa texting me this now? Weren't we going to wait until April was fast asleep?
"What's wrong?" Sam asked.
I handed him my phone to show him the message. "She wants us to come in now. The thing is...how is April already asleep? It's not dark out."
"Maybe one of those situatuons where they go to bed early?"
I shrugged. "Possibly, but I have a bad feeling about this. We should bring some extra items for protection just in case."
"You sure?"
"Positive. Just...trust me on this, Sam. I feel like we're walking into a trap or worse. I'll feel better if we carried some extra items just in case."
I looked up at Sam who's eyes were full of concern, but he nodded. "Okay, I trust you on this."
We both got out of the Impala and opened up trunk, grabbing salt, holy water, a Bible, and two guns: one with salt bullets and another with real bullets.
I didn't know what or who we were dealing with, but we couldn't leave out the possibility that we had to defend ourselves from other humans, especially if it's Melissa and April.
Closing the trunk, Sam and I began to approach the house. We did our best to hide our items in our jacket pockets because the last thing we wanted was for someone to walk by and call the police on us. We reached the front door, only to find it was locked.
Sam reached for something to pick the lock but I stopped him. "If this is a trap, we have to go in where they least expect it. They're probably waiting for us by the front door."
"Good point," he said, "What are you thinking? Back door?"
"Let's look around. Back door if we can't find anything."
We both wounded up finding what looked to be cellar doors. There was no lock on it, thankfully, but there was one at the second door. Sam was able to pick the lock on that one, thankfully, and inside the house we go.
As we crept through the basement quietly, I looked around and saw that it just looked like an ordinary basement. There was a washer and dryer machine along with storage boxes, carrying what appeared to be Christmas and Halloween decorations.
They looked like they haven't been used in a while, though, as there was a good amount of dust collecting on them.
When we reached the stairs, we gently stepped on the steps to avoid any sort of squeaking noises that could give away our location. Sam got to the door first, and thank God it wasn't one of those that had squeaky hinges.
He looked our for a bit and turned back to me, motioning for me to keep moving. I nodded, following him up and slowly closing the door behind me.
We just stood there quietly, waiting for some noise to give away either Melissa or April's location. I tried to track them, but the energy from April was too strong that I couldn't tell the distance.
I then heard a little squeak come from above us, like someone was walking. Sam and I slowly made our way to the stairs on the second floor, checking every single corner to make sure no one would come out and surprise us.
All the doors upstairs were closed and had nothing on them except for one that had a "KEEP OUT" sign.
That must be April's.
I went ahead of Sam and approached her door, pressing my ear against it and began to read the emotions.
The strong energy came, but I was able to make out that there was a feeling of stress going on in there.
I manifested a calm feeling and gave the door a soft knock.
"Mom, what do you want?" a voice from the other side said.
I slowly began to open the door, leaving a little bit of a crack so that I'm not seen. I didn't want to scare April as much as I calmed her down.
"April...my name is Sarah. Sarah Walker. I'm a friend of your mom's. I also have someone else with me."
The door began to open more, and there stood a teenage girl with dark, black hair along with black eyeliner, dressed up in punk attire. She looked at me, then over at Sam.
"You're just like me, aren't you? I...I feel your energy..." she said, looking back ag me.
"Yes," I said. "May we both come in?"
She nodded her head and opened the door wider, turning around to sit on her bed. Sam grabbed a nearby desk chair while I sat down on a butterfly chair.
April looked over at Sam again, studying him up and down. "You're not like her. What are you?"
"I'm a demon hunter," Sam said.
"Demon hunter?"
"Yes. I search for monsters...and make sure they try to not harm other humans."
April looked over to me. "You a hunter, too?"
I nodded. "Mediums and demon hunters have an alliance; we help them with hunting to keep them safe and they help us find lost souls that need to be crossed to the other side. Mediums can choose to be hunters if they want to."
"So...if you're hunters...then what are you both doing here?" she asked, confused.
I tried to see how she was feeling so I would know if she's lying or not. However, she really was feeling confused.
No hints of guilt, no shame, not even a hint of sinister intentions.
She genuinely did not understand what was going on.
"Don't try to play dumb with us," Sam said.
"I swear, I really don't know..." April said.
"Cut the bullshit," he said, getting a little angry.
"Sam, stop," I interrupted, "She's not playing dumb here. She really doesn know..."
He looked at me confused. "What are you..."
"I'm not detecting hints of guilt or any other indication that she's lying."
"Lying about what!?" April said, "If you're going to accuse me of something, at least tell me what's going on!?"
Sam sat back down and April looked back at me.
I sighed, and began to tell April everything that has been going on: the killings, the sleep paralysis demon, Hypnos coming to try and stop it, what her mother told me...when I mentioned her mother, though, she began to grow wide eyed.
"Shit," she said under her breath.
"What? What happened? Did I say something?" I asked.
"It's...my mother...she used me..." April said, tears streaming down her face.
"Used you?"
She looked at me and Sam, distraught on her face and the feeling of betrayal coursing through her.
"My mom...the powers I have...I can summon demons like you said, but I never wanted to use those abilities. I knew...it was wrong but...I summoned one because my mom made me."
"Why?" Sam asked.
"She's in pain. She never got over my father's death, and when my little brother killed himself...she snapped. There was a time when she never came out of her room. All she did was scream in there...I would hear her every night...screaming and crying. Eventually, she came out...and she told me she wanted to teach my brother's bullies a lesson...so...she asked me to summon a demon, but...I didn't think she would use it to..."
Click*
I turned around to find Melissa holding a gun to Sam's head. I quickly got up to help him, but she pressed the gun closer, threatening to pull the trigger.
"Stay back, or I will shoot," she said through her tears.
"Melissa...there's no need for this...we can talk..." I said.
"No!" she yelled and pointed the gun at me, "You don't understand! I can't let them get away with what they did to my son..."
"No, I do understand," I said in a calm voice, "Just...put the gun down...or at least point it away from us..."
"And let you try to get to me...I don't think..."
"MOM! SHUT UP AND LISTEN!!! THEY'RE TRYING TO HELP!!!"
I looked over to April to see her standing up, ready to charge at her own mother. Melissa, meanwhile, looked at her daughter in complete shock while Sam stayed in place, afraid to move or speak.
"Never speak to your mother like that," Melissa said through gritted teeth.
"No!" April said, "You need to listen for once. All you've been doing these past few weeks is hurting not just you, but me as well. You think you're the only on suffering this?? Mom, he was my brother...my family, too! So please...for me...the only family you have left...just listen to them!!"
Melissa continued to hold the gun up, tears streaming down her face as she looked at her daughter with conflict on what her next move should be. Finally, she lowered her gun and put the gun down on the nearest book shelf.
"Okay...Melissa...I understand the grief you are going through, wanting to get back at the people who have hurt you," I said, "I've lost both of my parents, and Sam lost some people in his life, too. We get the desire for revenge. This...this isn't the way to do it, though."
Melissa continued to look at me, anger in her eyes, but the feeling of conflict was still present in her.
"It hits different...when it's a life partner," she said.
"I know..." Sam said, standing up and walking over next to me. "I lost two people, and one of them meant the world to me. My mother...I was just a baby when she was killed by the demon. Jessica...God that's still just fresh in my mind..."
I looked up at Sam, giving him a smile of sympathy while squeezing his hand in an attempt to calm him down.
"I tried really hard to be normal...but it just ended up with me loosing people. I have Sarah now, thankfully, and she's kept me sane through a lot...but it wasn't always like that. I was afraid to get close to her...because I didn't want what happened to Jessica to happen to Sarah."
Melissa's mood instantly changed. It went from conflict to guilt and shame. We were getting through to her, thank God.
She turned to April, who stared back with tears in her eyes as well. Suddenly, Melissa began to cry and acted like she wanted to reach out to her daughter, but she wounded up sinking to the floor, crying.
"Oh God...what have I done..." she said.
April approached her mother, sinking to the floor to comfort Melissa. The words, "I'm sorry" were being thrown at each other as both women comforted each other. I looked at Sam, who looked back at me with a small smile. His eyes were beginning to tear up a bit, too, but he held them back as he didn't want to upset them. I leaned up against him, trying to give him some kind of comfort.
Suddenly, a feeling of desperation soon came forward from Melissa. She started grabbing a few of April's things and started to run out the door, only to quickly return with a suitcase and threw the items in there.
"What...mom..."
"You three need to leave, now," she said.
"Wait...what?" I said, "We can't leave you here Melissa..."
"You have to. You...the demon is going to come for me...when your friend finishes it off..."
"Mom! No! Come with us! Please!" April pleaded.
"This demon...I won't let it get to you like it got to your father. You have to leave, my daughter."
Melissa turned to Sam and myself. "The both of you...that hideout you were telling me about...take her there. She needs to be with her people..."
April looked at me, stunned at what she was hearing. I was feeling the same way. I wanted Melissa to come with us, but from the sounds of it, that wasn't an option. She made a deal with this demon she forced her daughter to summon.
Yes, Dean may be able to kill the sleep paralysis demon, but that one does not hold the contract to Melissa's soul...which I assume is what she traded with.
She had no way out of this, but April did.
"April, honey, listen to me," Melissa said, "These two...they're going to take you to a hideout...where people like us meet up. They'll help guide you, something that I failed to do the moment your powers showed up."
"Mom...please," April choked out.
"It's too late for me, but it's not too late for you. Go, and remember that I love you. Your father...he would be so proud of you."
Melissa held April tight, telling her how much she loved her. Suddenly, we heard what sounded like barking coming from a certain distance.
Hellhounds.
I quickly took April's hand as Sam grabbed her suitcase. "April, let's go, now."
She nodded, tears still flooding her eyes but immediately picked up the pace. Sam lead the way, taking out his gun with the salt bullets while clutching April's suitcase in his other hand. We ran out the door and straight to the Impala, the barking getting louder and more aggressive. None of it was coming towards us, though, as their main focus was in the house.
Sam threw April's suitcase in the back and went to the driver's seat. I got in the back with April, doing all I can to put calming energy her way so she could focus.
Sam stepped on the gas, and we drove off, the house fading away.
Helen took April to the hideout, promising to take care of her and make sure she's well looked after. April thanked both Sam and me for getting her out of there, giving us both a hug as we stood outside Helen's car.
"I'm sorry...that we couldn't save your mother," I said.
April looked at me and gave me a sad smile. "I'll get through this," she said, "If I can get through what happened to my father and brother, I can handle this, too."
"Don't hold it all in, though. Remember that these people are there to listen if you need anything."
She nodded, giving me one final hug. When we parted, she looked to Sam.
"Thank you..."
Sam gave her a little nod and smiled. "Be safe out there, April."
She got into the car with Helen, driving off to the hideout. I sighed, feeling exhausted after using my abilities for so long. Sam held me up a bit as we walked back to the motel room, where Dean was fast asleep.
The sleep paralysis demon and Hypnos told him everything, and with the help of Hypnos, Dean was able to overpower the sleep paralysis demon and send it back to hell.
Well, that's most of the story we have gotten. Dean was also exhausted and could barely talk when he was explaining everything. It was hard for me to understand him, almost like he was drunk.
When we got inside, I immediately hit the bed. Sam crawled in next to me, pulling me close into his arms. I tried to fight sleep as I wanted to talk to him.
"You did good," I said.
"So did you," Sam said, "But hey...we need to rest up. We got stuff to do tomorrow, remember?"
I nodded. "Are you still up for that? I mean...it was pretty rough tonight."
"It will probably help take our mind off the stress. That is, unless you're not wanting to do it."
"No, I do," I reassured him, "I just...the way you spoke on Jess and your mother...I figured that...it bought up a lot of trauma to you."
"All the more reason to do birthday celebrations, then," Sam said with a chuckle, "I want to spend the day with you..."
I nodded a bit, feeling myself surrender to sleep. Sam gave me a little kiss on the cheek.
"Rest up, sweetheart," he said in a soothing voice.
And just like that, I was drifting off.