Finn startled awake about five hours later and pushed off the leather seats so fast, her head spun. She closed her eyes for a moment, not catching the soft smile on Sam's face when he caught the movement out of the corner of his eye, turning to look at her over his shoulder. "Hey sleepy head." Sam spoke lightly and she immediately relaxed at his teasing tone. "You've been out for hours."
"I'm sorry." She murmured, her hand coming up to attempt to fix her ponytail. Dean cleared his throat softly as Finn reached for her purse and a piece of gum. Her coffee and sleep breath tasted awful and she longed for the mint. "If you guys don't mind, could we stop for a bathroom break?" She saw them exchange somewhat apprehensive glances. "What?"
"Finn," Dean spoke gently. "We gotta find someplace... discrete." The way he put that immediately put her on edge.
Her brow wrinkled. "Why?"
His answer was to reach his right hand up his rear view mirror and turn it towards her. Finn shifted in the backseat and raised her face to the mirror and to her horror, her left cheekbone had a nasty bruise forming. Her fingers gently probed the area around her cheekbone, immediately realizing her headache wasn't from lack of sleep; it was from where Rick had backhanded her the night before.
"You were gone a little too long at the grocery store today." Rick hand was a blur and she was on the kitchen floor. "I bet you were there meeting someone, hm?"
"No, Rick. I swear." Her eye was watering already from the dizzying blow and she blinked back tears, bracing herself for whatever might come next.
"You try and leave me, you'll get what's coming to ya." His hand wrapped around her wrist and he yanked her to her feet. "Now finish my dinner so I can sleep before I have to go in tonight."
Finn sunk back, her ashamed gaze shifting to the window beside her and Dean turned the mirror back towards him. "We don't have to talk about that now." His green eyes moved to her in the mirror. "There's a couple places comin' up we can stop at. Alright?" She nodded silently, tears in her eyes.
Sam could sense the embarrassment radiating off the blonde and he sighed softly, knowing his brother was thinking the same awful things he was. Ten quiet minutes passed before the impala rolled onto a gravel lot housing four gas pumps and a tiny convenience store. The trio got out and Sam nodded at Dean. "Grab me some jerky." The older man tossed him the keys and his warm hand found the small of her back. "We're gonna hit the can."
The bathrooms were out back of the station and Dean eyed the women's room door next to the men's. Finn pulled open the heavy door and glanced inside. There was a toilet next to the dingy, white sink that sat below a buzzing fluorescent light. "I'll only be a minute."
"I'm right here." He assured her with a nod and she forced a small smile. The door closed and locked and he leaned his shoulder against the brick wall as he crossed his arms over his chest, watching the area around them as he waited. Dean counted out thirty seconds and the toilet flushed. He could hear the water running for a few seconds before the door opened. Her eyes met his briefly and he nodded. "I'll walk ya back to the car and I'm gonna take a leak real quick."
"I'm fine." Finn looked over to Sam, who was standing forty feet away, putting gas in the car. "Really. Thank you." He watched her walk to Sam before he stepped inside the men's room.
spnspnspnspn
"Aww dude... this is the good stuff." Dean was in the passenger seat now, happily eating his junk food and Finn watched him, a small grin on her face. He looked like a kid in the candy store and it was sorta adorable because she knew he was a hunter in real life. "You want some?" He offered, holding the plastic back over the front seat to her and she reached up and took a piece. Sam chuckled at his brother before speaking up to Finn.
"We're about two hours from the bunker."
"The bunker?" That sounded both interesting and ominous to Finn and she chewed on the jerky, enjoying the saltiness that danced across her tongue.
Sam told her all about the Men of Letters and the underground bunker that they called home. To them, it was home base, but to Finn, it sounded like heaven. There was an immpressive collection of lore books there, he'd mentioned and she was welcome to look through them. As Sam spoke, she glanced out the window; she just couldn't believe how flat the state of Kansas was. Finn had never really been west of Chicago before and certainly not without Rick breathing down her neck. "It's home to us and I think you'll love it, Finn."
"I think so too." She murmured. Dean slurped on his soda straw noisily and Sam gave him a hard look. Dean only smiled innocently and Finn couldn't help but smile at their antics. "It's beautiful country out here." She had the window down and her hair was blowing around. It would be a tangled mess later, but she didn't care. Dean watched her from the passenger mirror experience the fresh air of the midwest scenery that passed by the sleek black car. She closed her eyes and felt herself relax for the first time in a really long time. The ride back went quickly and the sun was setting as they pulled off the main road and back through the woods to the bunker's entrance.
Sam got her bags from the back after they'd pulled into the garage, the door closing behind the impala. Dean opened the trunk and got his own duffle and tossed the other to Sam. "You guys hungry? We should've stopped for groceries..." Sam trailed off, suddenly realizing they'd been gone for a week and probably had little to offer their guest.
"I think we got a couple frozen pizzas." Dean answered, leading the way downstairs. Sam made a face but in front of him, Finn's belly growled loudly.
"C'mon Finn. I'll get ya set up with a room and Dean can throw the pizza in the oven." Sam shot his brother a look and the older man gave him a mock salute before disappearing down the hallway towards the kitchen.
Sam opened a door and clicked on a light. "I'll get ya some clean sheets. My room is down the hall and Dean's is next door." He paused. "Shower room is down the hall if you'd like." He watched Finn set her backpack and purse down on the bed. "I'm gonna unpack. Yell if you need anything." He gave her a smile before departing her room, closing the door behind him.
Finn thought a shower sounded wonderful and got some clean clothing before heading down the hall towards the showers. To her surprise, it was a general shower room with two stalls separated by a two foot walkway to enter them and a three quarter tiled wall as to provide some privacy. She noted the placement of a stack of clean towels on the counter between the two sinks. She picked one up and undressed, leaving her worn clothing on the floor. Finn hung the towel on a hook in the outside of the tiled wall before she turned on the hot water and stepped inside.
Finn used the masculine smelling body wash and the shampoo that was sitting there, thankful for the hot water and the comfort it provided. She was standing there for a few moments, letting the steam invade her sinuses when she heard the door open and she called out softly. "Hello?" She peeked over the wall a bit to see who'd walked in.
"Shit." It was Dean. He was wearing a towel around his hips. "I am so sorry, Finn. I thought Sam-," She waved him off, knowing he couldn't see anything from where he was. "I'll just come back..."
"You can't see anything and neither can I. It's fine. I just wanted to get cleaned up." He watched her hands come up to rinse the shampoo out of her blonde locks. "I used someone's shampoo..."
"That's my stall." He admitted before stepping into the stall across from hers, tossing his towel over the wall. Dean turned on the water. "You mind?" He held out a hand over his tiled wall across the walkway between them, careful to keep his eyes closed as the water rained down on him. Finn handed him the body wash and then the shampoo, watching him rinse off before scrubbing his hair. "Water pressure's nice, hm?"
"Real nice." Finn was still looking at him, fascinated by his comfort level with her there. "Dean?"
"Yeah?" Dean turned his back towards the shower head and his chin dropped to his chest, allowing the hot water to rain down on his shoulders.
"You have any conditioner? My hair's so tangled from riding with the windows down."
Dean turned to grab a bottle from the tiny shelf in the stall he was in and handed her a half full light green bottle. "This is the good stuff Sam uses on his glorious hair." That made her smile and she took a small squirt, working it into her hair.
Finn finished up and shut off the water before reaching over the wall to grab her towel. Dean kept his eyes closed, busying himself with rinsing his hair when he heard her getting out. She pulled it over to her side of the wall before securing it around her torso and stepping carefully around the wall past Dean's stall to where her clothing was thrown onto the floor. He'd wadded his up and set it on top of the counter. "I'm gonna get dressed." She spoke and he called out as she was leaving the shower room.
"Kitchen's down the hall to your left."
She carried her clothing down to her bedroom and closed and locked the door so she could get dressed. The thought of what she'd just accomplished suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks and she sank onto the bed, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. She wiped her face on the towel, her whole body trembling.
She'd done it.
She'd escaped him.
Finn knew she would be safe with the Winchesters, but she also knew she couldn't stay there forever and impede on their home and their privacy.
spnspnspnspn
Sam was standing outside Finn's bedroom door when Dean came out of the shower room, dressed and his hair damp and messy. He froze when he saw his brother listening like a creep. "Dude."
The younger man waved him off, hearing the muffled sobs coming from inside the room. "She's crying."
"Yeah, well, he was a massive douche." Dean stopped outside his bedroom. "Give her some time. Pizza'll be ready in like fifteen." Sam rolled his eyes before knocking softly on her door.
"Yeah?"
"It's Sam." He paused and he heard the heavy lock being undone a few seconds later. She opened the door slowly and he could see she'd been crying. "Two things..." She looked up and saw the concern in his eyes. "First, pizza will be ready pretty quick and two, I think you need to call Garth." The thought of her oldest friend made a fresh batch of tears well up in her eyes and Sam smiled softly. "I'll get ya hooked up with a phone soon here. You are more than welcome to use mine."
"Thank you Sam." She shut off her light and stepped into the hallway with him, winding her blonde hair up into a messy bun. He smiled and his eyes got wide when she hugged his torso tight for a few seconds. "Look, I can never replay you and your brother for doing this. I know you don't know me and we've only hunted together a few times..."
His dimple deepened and he rocked back on his heels a bit. "You're like family to Garth and he's family to us. Believe me, it's no problem at all. C'mon, my phone's in the library." They headed down the maze of hallways and the two story room came into view and he snuck a look over at the blonde. She was looking at the collection of books with admiration and his eyes moved to the hallway as Dean approached, the pizza balanced on three plates and a bag of potato chips under his arm.
"Sammy, ya wanna grab the beer in the kitchen?"
"Yeah," Sam's eyes caught hers. "You want beer or-,"
"Water's fine." The last time she'd had alcohol was on her last hunt two years ago and all the alcohol she'd seen Rick consume was enough to last her a freaking lifetime. There was so much more behind her answer and the two men had a silent conversation.
"Yeah, of course." Sam patted her upper arm as he passed her on the way to the kitchen. Dean busied himself opening the chips and putting the plates down.
"We had one pepperoni and cheese and a veggie supreme."
"I haven't had pizza forever." Finn moved to the table and sat down. Dean poured a mountain of chips on his own plate before holding the bag to her. She nodded and he dumped some on hers. "Thank you."
Sam returned then, two beers and a glass of ice water in hand. They ate in silence, which was just fine by Finn. When she finished, she asked Sam quietly. "You mind if I use your phone?"
Dean wiped his mouth with a napkin as his brother handed over his phone. "Take as long as you need." She gave a tight smile before pushing back from the table and taking the device he held out to her. Finn scrolled his contacts and found Garth's name and hit talk, her footsteps fading down the hallway. "Dean, we can't let her leave."
"Most woman who leave ultimately return." Dean took a swig of his beer. "But I think she made the biggest step and there's no turning back now." He thumbed on his own phone and clicked on a couple things before sliding it across the mahogany table top towards his brother. "She totally outed him to everyone, so I think she knows she can't go back now."
Sams eyes scanned the social media update that was clearly written by Finn. "Wow. She wasn't playin' around." Pause. "Since when do you have social media?"
Dean took his phone back and shut it back down. "I need it for work." Sam raised an eyebrow. "Dude, how any cases have we solved because of this? Exactly."
"She signed it Josie?"
"Amateur." Dean reached across to take Sam's uneaten crust off his paper plate and biting into it. "Don't you think I looked her up too? Her real name is Josephine. We, and Garth, know her as Finn. This asshole called her Josie. I highly doubt he knew that. She pretty much dropped out of school and any kind of social life other than with asshat abot two years ago."
"I feel so bad this happened." Sam wiped a hand over his mouth and leaned back, making his chair creak with the movement. "Shit, Dean."
"Yeah," The older man leaned back too, mimicking his brother's movement. "No kidding. This chick has fought with us side by side and taken down nests of vamps but one guy has this hold over her. Pisses me off."
spnspnspnspn
Happy Thursday, lovely readers!
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought.
SaphyraBlu13, thank you for your review!
CitrineMama