Author's Note: Hey lovelies! Please read and review! I love to hear thoughts, comments, suggestions from you all! I'm hoping to update my other story Thursday for those of you who read both. I hope you like this chapter! Some of it is filler, some of it is fluff, and some of it is a little fun! Love to hear what you guys would like to see more of! Please REVIEW! Love yall!
The sound of a pan hitting the stove rather harshly woke Sam up. He rolled out of the bed and dragged himself down the hall. When he passed Sara and Dean's rooms the doors were both closed, so he was unsure of who he would find in the kitchen, but as he rounded the doorway rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he stopped, seeing a brunette in short shorts and a hoodie fanning smoke at the stove. On the back of her thigh was a tattoo, a rather large tattoo, of an owl. He pulled his eyes away from the tattoo and back up reluctantly.
"Sara? What are you doing?"
She jumped slightly before turning and giving Sam a nervous look.
"Trying to figure out how to cook on a gas stove top again… mine have been electric for so long. I got a little over zealous with my stirring and the grease flew right onto the flame, and so I'm trying not to burn down your bunker." She rambled. Sam watched in amusement and shook his head before slowly walking over to her and helping her readjust the flame on the stove.
"There. That should be plenty high enough for bacon." He said as he calmed the flames.
"Thanks." Sara sighed. Sam looked down and noticed the tip of one of her fingers was dark, almost purple. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
"What did you do to your finger?"
"Oh, the hammer got it." She shrugged as she began cracking eggs into a bowl. "How do you like your eggs?"
"Uh, over easy is fine. Do you need me to look at that?"
"Sam." She chuckled. "I think you and Dean are forgetting that I'm a nurse. If anyone in here is qualified to care for a smashed finger its me."
"Fair enough. Just. Put some ice on it, it's painful to look at."
Sara rolled her eyes slightly, she wondered if these two would ever understand that she was more than capable of caring for herself. She always has. She's never needed anyone to swoop in and save the day. She's saved herself before and she's more than prepared to do it again. After all, how many people can you really trust?
"Coffee?" Sam offered.
"Got some." She said lifting a mug from beside her. Sam sat at the small table on the other end of the kitchen as he watched her finish cooking. Even though he offered his help multiple times, she turned him down. Telling him to enjoy his coffee. Just as Sara was putting the last of the bacon into the pan Dean entered the kitchen, robe on, hair smushed to one side, and eyes only half open.
He paused when he saw Sara at the stove, he looked to Sam and silently pointed, as if asking what she thought she was doing. Sam only shrugged and sipped on his coffee.
"Do you cook every meal?" Dean asked her.
"Uh, just on my days off. When I work I pretty much munch throughout the day on whatever's lying around. Makes eating real food even better."
"Hm." Dean shrugged as he poured himself some coffee. Sara plated the boy's breakfast and sat it down in front of them. They both seemed shocked, no one other than paid waiters had ever served them food before. And especially not in THEIR bunker.
She paused noting the looks on their faces.
"… What's wrong?" She asked, afraid she had offended them in some way.
"Nothing!" Sam assured her quickly. "This looks great, thank you for breakfast."
Sara watched them carefully for a moment before turning back and scraping some egg onto her plate and popping the toast out of the toaster. She sat down as Dean placed the first piece of bacon in his mouth. He closed his eyes and began to moan in all sorts of satisfying ways… enough that Sara had to stop herself from blushing.
"Good god what did you cook this bacon in?! Its amazing!" He asked with a mouthful of food.
"Secret." She winked at him.
"How long have you been up?" Sam asked her.
"Since about 5."
"Were you not able to sleep?" Sam asked concerned. Already debating on getting her a new mattress if the one she had wasn't good enough. Dean pulled his attention away from his plate to hear her answer.
"Uh. Yeah I slept fine, I guess I'm just used to early mornings at the hospital."
"Okay, good." Sam nodded slightly. Dean continued to shovel his food in his mouth like he hadn't eaten in days. Sam ate at a slightly slower pace, and Sara couldn't help but smile as she watched. She finished off the last of her toast and stood, taking plates from the table.
"Okay no. I have to stop you…" Sam said pulling them away from her.
"Why?" She asked confused.
"Because you already cooked AND made our plates for us. Least we can do is clean up." He said as he pulled her plate away from her and began to clean the kitchen. Sara watched, but felt guilty. She was always taught if you make a mess then you clean it.
"Are you sure you don't need help?" She kept asking as she watched Sam.
"Dean. Please get Sara out of her before she tries to become the chef and the maid." Sam said playfully.
"Yeah, yeah… Beat it Paula Deen." Dean tipped his head towards the doorway. Sara caught on and decided she would go and get dressed for the day. Leave the two brothers to clean the kitchen. Or rather… Sam to clean and Dean to talk.
"So Cas dropped in last night." Dean said once he was sure Sara was out of hearing range.
"Oh yeah? What'd he say?"
"You know, same ole same ole. Said we have to make her trust us and that she'll be walking to her death if she tried to take off."
"Great." Sam sighed. He like Dean had already felt a sense of responsibility for keeping Sara safe, and knowing that she would be easy to scare off made him apprehensive about the situation. Knowing that she'd most likely die if she did leave made him even more so.
"Yeah. So why don't you pull some of that chick flick slumber party crap so that she'll be our BFF."
"Its gonna take time Dean, she's just going to have to learn she can trust us. It's not gonna happen over night."
"Try telling that to the feathered one."
"Well… what do we need to get done today?"
"I don't know. She still seems a little nervous for me to throw a bunch of guns and knives in her hands."
"Well we could do a monster run down. A briefing on what's out there and how to kill it."
"Yeah. Lets just take it slow… don't want to freak her out more."
"I don't know. She seems to be handling it fine."
"On the outside maybe, but I still think she's itching to run on the inside."
"I don't think you're giving her enough credit Dean. She's trying really hard to settle in with us, which is obviously not an easy thing to do. I mean what more do you want from her right now?"
"Nothing, geez. Get your panties out your ass."
"Just. Go take a shower. You look like you haven't had one in about a week." Sam said motioning to Dean's hair. Dean self consciously tried to flatten his hair and left the kitchen with his coffee cup in hand.
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"I'm sorry… a, a Raith?" Sara stuttered. Sam leaned forward and laid the book down in front of her, so she could get a better look at the name. "How often do you see these things?"
"Not often. Its bee a while since we've seen one." Sam shrugged.
"What do you see the most?"
"Um, vengeful spirits probably."
"And those are the ones who you have to dig up and burn?"
"Salt and burn." Sam corrected.
"Right. Salt… not just used for cooking anymore."
"Yeah." Sam laughed.
"And vampires, are dead man's blood?"
"Correct."
"… Um. How exactly do you get the deadman's blood?"
"We usually have to break into a morgue. Drain a little out of a body. We try to always keep stocked on some in the trunk."
"Oh. Yummy." She said with a cringe.
"Didn't you do dead bodies at the hospital?" Sam asked surprised by her reaction.
"Not really." She blushed. "I can do the blood and the guts and the gorey shit when I'm in the mindset of fixing the problem, but something about the body being… empty? I guess. About the person being gone. It just kinda freaks me out. I always got lucky and someone else would do the post mortem care. I always offered to do the charting which is what most people hated."
"Oh. I see… well. I'll be honest you're definitely going to see your fair share of dead bodies. But If it gets to be too much for you then we can adjust."
"No, no… its fine. Facing all my other fears, so I might as well face that one too right?"
"Yeah. That's one way to look at it."
Sam looked at her with admiration for her willingness to try.
"Sara, you're doing great. With all of this."
"Thanks Sam."
They both perked up at the sound of a door opening and closing. Dean came in carrying lunch and dropped the bags on the table. Grabbing his burger out and leaning back with his feet crossed on the edge of the chair next to him.
"So. How's it going?" Dean asked as he chewed.
"Uh. Well. I never knew such horrible creatures existed, and now that I do I don't know if I'll ever be able to sleep again." Sara said with as wide fake smile.
"Don't worry sweetheart. Ain't nothing bumping in the night around us. They've learned better by now."
"Right." She nodded as she let out a long sigh. Trying to remember that for once she's not a lone wolf. She won't face this on her own.
"So I thought maybe after this you'd like to learn a little hand to hand combat, didn't wanna throw a bunch of weapons at you just yet." Dean winked.
"Sure. When do we start?"
"After Dean digests his lunch so we don't all have to see it again." Sam answered. Sara half laughed as she ate her burger.
"So you guys live here, but you don't stay here very much do you?"
"Anytime we take a case we're out on the road until we finish it. So we could be gone days, sometimes even weeks at a time."
"So would I be going with you guys on cases?"
Sam and Dean shared a brief look before Sam nodded and continued.
"Yeah,even though this place is like a fortress we wouldn't want to leave you vulnerable by leaving you alone."
"And we may need you to save our ass." Dean smiled.
"Yeah, that too." Sam said flatly shooting Dean his famous bitchface.
"Does that mean that I'll be like… hunting these things with you? I mean do I have to kill them?"
"You will probably be in a situation where you'll have to kill something, but most likely it will be because its your life or theirs, and at that point your survival mode will kick in. It won't be as bad as it sounds." Dean encouraged.
"But I won't have to do that right off the bat right?" She asked nervously. Sara only killed spiders. And she barely did that… they terrified her. Other than the occasional bug she kind of had a soft spot for living things. Its in her nature to preserve life, not destroy it.
"No, of course not. We'll do all the dirty work, we'd just like it if you came along for the ride." Sam said trying to put her more at ease.
"So do you guys eat out for every meal?" She asked raising an eyebrow at Dean.
"Pretty much. If it doesn't come out of a microwave or a fryer I don't eat it."
Sara looked him up and down, wondering how in the hell he maintained a body like that eating food so soaked in fat and grease.
"There's a lot of salads on the road too, you don't have to eat like Dean." Sam winked.
"Good to know!" She giggled.
"Hey- there's nothing wrong with the way I eat." Dean said with mild offense.
"Well if we're home, I'll cook. I really don't mind. And I think it would be a nice break from road food if we've been gone a while."
"That actually sounds fantastic! Just keep the bacon coming."
"And ask if you need any help." Sam included.
"Sounds good. Well, I'm gonna get changed, and let you two finish digesting before we start training."
"Meet us outside. Grass is a lot softer than this floor." Dean called as she walked away.
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Sam and Dean had been going over different things they wanted to teach her when the sound of footsteps coming up behind them caught they're attention. They turned to find Sara with her hair to the side in a braid, and a set of tight fitting work out clothes.
"Uh… are we still training?" Sara asked taking in their boots and jeans, she thought that training required loose clothing, and those jeans definitely aren't loose. Not that she minded.
"Yeah." Sam smiled.
"Uh, usually hand to hand combat in our lives happens in every day clothes. I'm sorry, we should have explained." Dean chuckled.
"Grrrreat. Well. I feel like an idiot." Sara blushed nervously.
"No, not at all. Its good. You probably need to have the mobility to loosen up your muscles anyways." Dean told her, as his eyes struggled to stay on her face.
"So can we get started now, cause this whole looking at each other thing is not helping me feel any less like an idiot."
"Yeah, yeah. Uh… have you ever taken any kind of self defense classes before?"
"Nope. I just bought a gun."
"Smart girl!" Dean praised. "But, you should know how to defend yourself if you ever lose your weapon."
"Okay, so what's first." She asked walking up towards Dean so that they were only a foot or two apart. Sam stepped back and let Dean start the lesson.
"Okay, first point against you is you're short." Dean started.
"Uh, no… you two are just giants." She corrected.
"Regardless, you'll be an easy target. They'll think they can take you no problem due to your size, so you have to make that your advantage. Aim low. Most of the things you will have to hand to hand with will have some sort of sensitive organ below the belt. Don't be afraid to aim for it."
"Right. Kick it in the balls." She nodded.
"Knee caps are your friend. If you can kick one front behind it'll knock them down and they'll be on your level. Even better if you can kick them backwards from the front. You'll break the knee and they'll be unable to chase you or escape, depending on the situation."
"Ouchhh." Sara cringed as she imagined the sound of bone crunching.
"Okay. So. I want you to turn around and I'm going to attack you from behind. When I do. I want you to try and fight me off."
"But what if I hurt you?" Sara asked.
"Sweetheart." Dean let out a cocky but breathtaking smile. "You won't hurt me. I promise…. You ready?"
"Yeah." She said letting out a deep nervous breath and turning to face Sam. He gave her a confident nod as she waited for Dean to advance her.
Dean moved quickly and grabbed her, putting her in a choke hold from behind. Sara's adrenaline kicked in and she began to try and pull at his arm, but when she realized that his strength was too much for her she started swinging her leg, aiming to get to his knee.
"Okay stop." Sam called. Dean loosened his grip but didn't release her. Sam walked forward towards her.
"Okay, use your foot to travel up his leg and find the location of his knee so you aren't swinging around wildly." Sam instructed as he grabbed her foot and trailed it up Dean's leg. She felt breathless. Half because of Dean's arm around her neck, and half because both of these gorgeous men had their hands on some part of her body. She tried to swallow back nerves and listen as Sam spoke. But the way his gentle hands moved up her leg was so distracting.
"Okay, try again." Sam said as he released her and stepped back. Dean slightly tightened his grip and she quickly traced her foot up his leg in search of his knee. Once she located it she kicked, feeling the contact as his leg slightly dipped.
"Good, now do it again, but use your heel to kick it this time instead of your toes. It'll double the power."
Sara nodded and repeated her actions, finding his knee and then pulling her leg forward before jamming her heel backwards and straight into Dean's knee cap. He let out a small groan and released her.
"Good job." He said as he stood straight again. "Now let's try again. When someone comes up behind you pull your body lower to the ground. Lean forward. This gives anyone taller than you a disadvantage because they'll have to bend over to keep hold of you.
"Alright." She nodded. Dean attacked her the same way, Sara leaned her upper half of her body forward and reached back to kick Dean, but this time instead of his knee she used the opportunity to send her heel straight into his balls.
He quickly let her go and they both stumbled to the ground. Sam erupted in laughter and Sara quickly began apologizing.
"Oh my gosh! Dean! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry… I just. I don't know!" She rambled frantically as he tried to stand again.
"Nope… Nope." He said in a strained voice. "You did great… Sam your up." He said as he waddled to switch places with Sam. Sara watched him with guilt all over her face, a small part of her wanted to laugh, but she didn't know him well enough to know if she had angered him or not. And she didn't want to ruin what was going well so far.
"Is he okay?" She asked Sam as he approached her.
"Oh he's fine. Trust me." Sam said waving Dean off. "You did great. Okay, so now I'm gonna come at you from the front. I'm a little taller than Dean, so it would be really hard for you to get to my face. So what we're gonna do is I'm going to advance you from the front. I need you to hook your foot behind me knee and pull me down."
"Um, okay." She nodded trying to figure out how she was gonna do so.
Sam took a few steps back and quickly came at her, she squealed out of surprise and tried to jump out of the way. This time it was Dean who laughed.
"Sara, you can't just dodge them all." He laughed as Sam and her went back to their original positions.
"Sorry!" She called out shyly. "He scared me."
"Try again." Sam smiled with amusement.
Sam ran at her for the second time, and this time she tried to prepare herself to trip him, but as he got within arms reach she just kinda crumbled hiding her head under her arms as Sam tackled her to the ground.
"Are you okay?" Sam asked as he quickly lifted his weight off of her.
"Yeah… I just chickened out." She said meeting him with shy eyes. She tried to breathe as his body hovered over hers, but it kinda took all of the air out of her chest.
"Okay. Lets go again, this time I won't tackle you okay?"
"Yeah." She nodded. As Sam moved to stand she finally let out a breath and took his hand as he pulled her up. Sam readied himself again and Sara stood in her position. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes for a second before nodding to Sam.
This time as Sam advanced her she kept her eyes on his long legs, once he was close enough to grab her she reached up and hooked her foot behind his knee hard, jerking them both to the ground, but this time it was her who pinned him down.
"Good!" Dean called out as Sam smiled to her from the ground.
"I did it!" She squealed in excitement.
"Okay." Dean said running over. "Now once you've got them on the ground hit them as hard as you can as quick as you can, because most people will be able to over power you, so you've gotta strike fast while they're still surprised and knock em out."
"How do I do that?"
Dean kneeled down to face level with her as she still sat straddled over Sam's long waist. He reached for her hand and molded it into a fist. "When you hit, put all your power behind it, take your fist and nail it into the side of his jaw… right here." He pulled her hand down and made it connect softly with Sam's face.
"Okay. Why there?" She asked curiously.
"Here stand up. I'll show you." Dean said as he reached down to pull her up. She did and Sam quickly stood as well. Dean reached forward and his hands landed on her face. She flinched instinctively.
"You're okay." He assured her as he let go and then slowly put his hands back on her jaw line. Her eyes bored into his as his fingers massaged finding the nook in her jaw he wanted to point out. Once he found it his mouth did an adorable half smile.
"Okay feel that?" He asked as he applied a little pressure. She pulled back slightly at the odd pressure.
"Yeah." She nodded.
"That's the money spot sweetheart. You hit anyone hard enough at that spot and its an instant knock out." He explained as he massaged the spot lightly. Sara got the urge to lean her face into his warm hand and let him keep going, but she reigned herself back in and shook off the thought.
"That's the spot. Got it." She repeated softly as her eyes stayed locked on his.
"Okay. Let's try something a little different." Dean said as he pulled out a pocket knife. He held it up and handed it to her. Then he took a step back and waved his fingers for her to come at him.
"What the hell do you want me to do?" She asked confused.
"Come at me." He said as if it was plain as day.
"Uh, with a knife?! Are you crazy?"
"Sara. You're not gonna actually stab him. I promise. He can disarm you before you even get close." Sam assured her as he rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Hold up the knife like you're going to attack me." Dean commanded.
She raised her hand and spread her feet out slightly. The knife pointing upwards in the air.
"If you come at me like that you're gonna lose control of that knife very quickly, and not only that but you won't be able to do much damage." Dean said as he stepped towards her. "Hold it like this." He turned the knife in her hand so that the blade was pointing in the opposite direction. Her hand making a fist over the handle instead of holding it like a kitchen knife.
"Now raise your hand." Sam instructed. She did as she was told. "Do you feel the difference now?"
"Yeah." She nodded as she realized this gave her more power behind her stab.
"Stab and drag. When you make contact yank that blade downwards. You'll do ten times the damage." Dean smiled to her. "Now come at me."
She took two steps forward and hesitantly plunged the knife towards Dean's shoulder, but before she could blink the knife was out of her hand and suddenly against her neck, with Dean's body pressed against the back of hers.
"Whoa." She breathed. "How the hell did you do that?!"
"Another lesson for another day. Now… once someone's got you here you're gonna have to eliminate the immediate threat of the knife. You can't just kick and run, the blade can still catch you. So you're going to have to make me drop it.
"How?"
"Bite. Hard." Sam told her as he approached. His hand reaching for hers. "Feel this muscle right here under your thumb?" He asked as he squeezed it in her hand. She nodded. "That muscle is controlling a lot of his grip. You're gonna have to really bite down, but if you can get that muscle to release then the knife will drop to the ground. Giving you a chance to make your move."
"Bite hard. Stab and grag. Kick it in the balls." She repeated a few times to herself.
"I think we're done for today." Dean said as he released her. Her body missing his warmth almost immediately as the breeze blew, she shivered.
"Good job." Dean winked as he turned to walk back inside, Sara and Sam following him.
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Sara sat on her bed and skimmed over the notebook she had written down all of the monster information in. One after another. Trying to drill the information into her head. She wanted to stay alive, she wanted to be useful and not just dead weight… but mostly she wanted to find a way to make Anna's death for a reason. She'd be damned if she let the world lose someone like Anna just for her to ride along with the boys… she felt an all new level of motivation to help.
So she continued to study the information Sam provided her with. Writing and re-writing her notes. Forcing her brain to remember it all. Occasionally she would stop, and picture what the monster would have looked like… pictured it attacking her, and how the hell she would fight it off.
She reviewed the section over demon's particularly in depth. But as she read her mind just kept trailing back to Sara, lying in the floor covered in blood. SO much blood. On the walls. The floors. The ceiling even… she wondered if Anna screamed. Begged for mercy.
One thing she knew is that if they were interrogating Anna for information, Anna never would have sold her out. She would have held strong. Never betraying her best friend, even if the cost was death. She tried to shake the thought, but the longer she stared at the paper the more it persisted.
She finally stood and pushed her notes to the side, stepping out of the room and making her way down to the kitchen where she grabbed a beer out of the fridge. Once she popped the top she padded her bare feet down the cold hall and into the library where light bled into the hall from the fire place. She expected it to be empty, but stopped as she turned the corner and found both boys sitting at the table.
"Oh, sorry… I didn't mean to intrude." She said moving to walk back to her room.
"Oh no, not at all… we're just doing a little case hunting. Seeing if there's anything nearby to check out." Sam told her.
"This late?" She asked.
"Yeah. Habit." Sam shrugged.
"You're welcome to sit." Dean nodded pushing a chair out with his foot. She smiled and walked down to sit with them, pulling her hood up over her head and her feet up into the chair, drinking her beer slowly.
"What about you? Can't sleep?" Dean asked recognizing the look on her face. That look that screamed 'I'm trying to prove I'm okay. But I'm not'. It's one he had worn many times before.
"I was studying all the monsters, and… kept thinking about Anna. What they did to her."
Sam's face fell slightly as he listened to her voice become weaker as she went.
"You and Anna were really close huh?" Sam asked.
"Um…" Sara debated opening the can of worms she knew would require her to explain more than what they were expecting. But she took another sip and figured, why the hell not? They'll find out eventually.
"Sara's the only family I've ever had." She said with a smile pulling at her lips.
"You… never had a family?"
"Nope. Dropped off at the orphanage when I was two. My mother was a crackhead. God knows who my father could have been. They used to tell me that I wasn't the first child taken from her, and that I wouldn't be the last…"
"OH." Sam answered surprised. "How did you meet Anna?"
"My last foster home wasn't all that great, but it came with the benefit of a private school. And with a private school came advanced classes, which got me a scholarship to college. I had no idea what the hell I wanted to do. But I knew I wanted to get the hell out of that house, and once I turned 18 they would have kicked me out anyways." She shrugged, both boys listening intently as she spoke.
"Anna was there when I walked into my dorm. Pinning up pictures of whoever was on the cover of Men's Health and Fitness for the month." She paused to laugh at the memory. "She was so nice to me, I mean I showed up with a duffle bag full of clothes and a few trinkets. She came with color coordinated bedding and decorations and food, and a mini fridge. And then her parents walked in and I quickly realized where her generosity and kindess came from. They went straight out and bought me the exact same bedding as Anna when they realized I didn't have any, so our dorm would match. And from then on… they just kinda took me in. Anna became more of sister than a friend. I told her about the foster homes, and she made me come home with her on holidays. They all showed me what a family really was. She shared everything with me till I landed my first job, which I only got because she flirted with the boss. So I followed her into nursing, and we just stuck it out together."
"She sounds like a great person." Sam said as Sara paused, her eyes glassy as she tipped the bottle to her mouth.
"She was the best." Sara said softly, laughing slightly at a distant memory that was pulled to her mind. "She pulled me out of this shell I'd lived in my whole life ya know? When you grow up bouncing place to place you just learn to live in this box, and that way you always have a safe place to go, and she ripped that box wide open and pushed me to be a real person. She made me socialize, and date, and party… god the partying."
"College parties were the best." Sam nodded in agreement.
"You went to college?" Sara asked surprised.
"Stanford."
"Wow!"
"It was fun while it lasted." Sam smiled, a sad edge to his voice.
"So Anna was a party girl huh?" Dean asked getting Sara back on subject, He knew that her talking about Anna was her way of opening up, and he wanted to see how far she would go. The further she went, the more she was beginning to trust them. Something he wanted desperately.
"She WAS the party." Sara smiled widely. Her teeth nearly glowing in the dim light, Dean's breath hitched slightly as her eyes met his. "She could walk into any room and instantly it was brighter, happier. People loved to be around her, and she loved to be the center of attention… she was joy, and life, and love…. She was everything I wasn't." Sara finished sadly.
"I have a hard time believing that."
"Anything good in my life I can attribute back Anna in some way or another… she saved me. In so many ways." Sara paused looking down. "And I couldn't save her."
"Sara, you can't put that on yourself."
"… Why not?"
"Because it wasn't your fault. You had no idea what was out there."
Sara nodded lightly, slowly. Tipping her beer back again. She sucked in a long breath trying to push her emotions down.
"Her parents… they must be devastated." Sara finally said, her voice cracking at the end. "I mean, can you imagine knowing your daughter was murdered like that? And I can't even see them, tell them I'm sorry, hold their hand at the funeral… none of it. I'm just gone. They must hate me."
"Sara." Dean said leaning up and speaking lowly to her. "Cas, he can change things. The way things appear, and the way people remember things… He went back to Anna's. He made her death look very peaceful, an aneurysm I think."
Sara put her hand over her mouth as her lip trembled, she nodded. Feeling a gush of relief knowing that her parents wouldn't have to see their daughter in that horrible bathroom, painted in her blood.
"He also, wiped any memory of you out of your coworkers, friends, Anna's parents too… that way they couldn't be used against you."
"Good." She finally nodded, sniffling. "I think it's better that way."
Sam reached out, putting his hand gently on her arm, rubbing his thumb against it.
"Well. I think I'm going to take my pity party back to bed." She said as she stood and finished off her beer. "Night." She said as she turned.
"Hey Sara." Dean called out to her, she stopped and looked back to him. "It gets easier. I promise."
"I hope so." She said as her feet padded down the hall.
Sam and Dean watched until she was out of sight, then they shared a relieved look.
"Well… I think it's safe to say she's not looking to run anymore." Sam announced. Dean nodded in agreement.
"She's got nowhere to run to now."
"Yeah."
"She'll bounce back quick, she's tough."
"Sounds like she's had no choice but to be that way."
"Ya know as bad as it sounds, if she was only anchored to a few people, then it will make this transition easier on her. Not as many ties to cut, and the only one she would have been unable to cut was taken from her."
"That's kind of a fucked up way to look at things Dean."
"It's an honest way of looking at things, Sam."
"Well regardless, well just deal with what we've got."
"I'll check on her before I go to bed." Dean said as he watched Sam shut down the laptop and stand, heading for bed himself. Dean knew he wouldn't be far behind after finishing his last beer.
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Dean walked down the dark hall, and a trail of light caught his eye. He realized it was coming from the cracked door to Sara's room. He gently knocked but didn't get a response. So he slowly pushed open the door. He found Sara curled up on her bed, books and papers around her. He walked over and began to look through the notes. He shook his head and smirked as he realized she was quite literally studying the books Sam gave her about monster and ghosts. He stacked them all neatly and set them on the desk. Then he pulled back her blankets carefully and slid them over her.
She shuffled slightly as the blanket covered her. Her eyes never opening but her hand reaching out for Dean's arm. He froze. Worried he had woken her, and that she might not like waking up to Dean in her room unexpectedly.
"Deannn." She sleepily moaned. He didn't reply waiting for her to go back to sleep, but she nuzzled into the pillow and began to mumble."M-sorry I hurt you."
"I'm fine sweetheart, get some sleep." He chuckled.
She snuggled into her pillows and as Dean was walking out he could almost swore he heard her whisper 'stay with me'. He hesitated, but then he proceeded to turn off her lights and leave, closing the door securely behind him.
As he stepped out he ran into Sam.
"She good?" He asked.
"Out like a light."
"Hey, listen… uh. I think we should holler at Cas."
Before Dean could open his mouth to respond Cas was suddenly behind him in a rustle of wings.
"Uh. Cas… could you step out of my personal space please?" Dean asked as he noticed the angel was standing close enough to breathe on him.
"Yes. My apologies." Cas nodded as he stepped backwards. Dean turned to face him.
"Cas, did you find a way to hide her?"
"Temporairily perhaps, but it will be painful."
"How painful?" Sam asked.
"Enochian Carvings on her rib cage. Same as the two of you."
"Wait why would that just be temporary? Ours are still there."
"Sara's body will fade them. Her grace will slowly but surely heal and erase the markings"
"Great. How often will they last?" Dean asked rolling his eyes.
"That is not known, we would have to try and then see how long it lasts."
"Well. I guess we don't have a choice." Sam shrugged.
"Well I'll get right on it." Cas said as he turned to walk in Sara's room.
"Wait! NO! Cas, not right now!" Dean called him back with a whispered yell. "She's sleeping!"
"Well then why did you call me in the middle of the night if you weren't ready yet?"
"We didn't. We were just discussing calling you." Sam told him.
"Oh. My mistake. Call me again when you are ready. She should be hidden before she leaves this property. Or you may attract more trouble than you expect."
With those words still hanging in the air Cas disappeared. Sam and Dean both shook their heads and split ways to go to sleep.
…..
…..
…..
"Wait, I'm sorry? I still don't understand exactly how he's going to carve them into my ribcage?"
"Very quickly, but very painfully." Dean answered before tipping his coffee mug.
"Its part of the whole angel grace ability thing. All he has to do is touch you with the intent of placing the markings and they will be carved into place."
"So we have to do this why?"
"Because now that the knowledge of your existence has spread you'll be hunted. You'll put off something kind of like an aura, that the supernatural can pick up and track. You don't want that, trust me."
"This just gets better every day." Sara sighed. "Alright. Let's get it over with."
"I'm ready." Cas called from behind her. Causing her to squeal and jump towards Sam for safety. She quickly latched her grip onto his arm and he was little surprised at the speed she possessed.
"What the hell!" She squealed. "Will you always enter the room scaring the shit out of me?!"
"I apologize. I sensed that you were ready for me now."
"Ya know dude, you really gotta work on your people skills."
"It's a work in progress." Dean leaned forward and told her.
"What do I have to do?" She asked finally releasing Sam and standing in front of the angel.
"Nothing, but please know this will be an unpleasant feeling."
"Unpleasant as in the kick to the shins? Or unpleasant as in a piercing?"
"If you are referring to the small pieces of metal inserted into yo-"
"OKAY! STOP!" Sara quickly leaned forward and shoved her hand over the angels mouth. Dean and Sam both watched in shock, then shared and interested nod with one another. "Please for the love of god don't finish that sentence."
"Well I do love God, so I guess I will not finish it." Cas shrugged confused at the connection between the two.
"Thank you." Sara said, she turned back to the boys and her face immediately turned bright red as she noticed the curious looks they were shooting her. She quickly faced Cas again.
"Just. Do the damn thing already." She said closing her eyes.
"Very well." Cas said as he lifted two fingers and touched them to her sternum. The pain was very short lived, but very severe. Her eyes flew open and she quickly flinched away from the angel. Her face contorted as she bit on her lip to hold back a cry of pain.
"Mother fucker…." She growled as she squatted down and rested her elbows on her knees.
"Sara, you good down there?" Dean asked nonchalantly.
"I need whiskey… and a nap." She groaned as she stood and walked out of the kitchen, holding her ribcage as she walked.
"That's my girl." Dean smiled as she left, she held up her middle finger as she turned the corner. Causing his to smile to grow widely.
"Well. That's done." Sam laughed as he stood.
"How is your trust building coming along?" Cas asked.
"Good, I think." Sam nodded.
"She seems to be more comfortable with the two of you. I can sense it when she was in fear. She may not trust you completely but she now knows you mean her no harm."
"I don't think you can say the same for yourself." Dean mumbled.
…..
…..
…..
Sam was doing some research on his laptop while Dean cleaned the impala, he looked up when he heard footsteps enter the room. A wet-haired Sara approached him with a small smile.
"Hey, how ya feeling?"
"Fine now. It just hurt like a bitch for a few hours."
"Yeah… he did the same thing to us. So we literally feel your pain."
"So now that I'm uh, hidden, or whatever you wanna call it. Can we go into town?"
"Sure. What do you need?"
"Um, well I noticed you and Dean have one, and I was reading about them, and I think it'd be a good idea if I had an anti-possession tattoo. I'd hate to think a demon could use me to get close to the two of you. I don't want to be responsible for any more deaths."
"Sara, you're not responsible for any deaths in the first place… but I do think the tattoo is a good idea. There's a shop a couple towns over. I'll see if Dean wants to go."
"Great." She nodded. She followed Sam as they trudged up the steps and into the garage, where Dean had wax and a towel, carefully going over the hood of the impala.
"Uh, Dean. You wanna take a ride?" Sam asked.
"Where to?"
"Tattoo shop couple towns over."
"Tattoo shop?" Dean asked raising an eyebrow.
"I need one of those." Sara said as she pointed to the spot on Sam's chest that his shirt was now revealing as he pulled it to the side.
"Ah. Yeah. That's probably a smart idea."
"Gimme 10 minutes."
…..
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…..
Sam and Dean stood and watched as Sara got the tattoo placed on the back of her neck, right where her spine runs between her shoulder blades. Sara sat perfect still and chatted with the artist on and off as he started some small talk.
"Dude. She's taking it better than you did." Dean said as he lightly slapped Sam on the chest.
"Um. I think you're forgetting which one of us nearly punched the guy when he first started." Sam corrected him.
"Hey. That was because he was a dick."
"Sure." Sam nodded slowly.
"So, where do you think her piercing is?" Dean leaned over and asked softly.
"No where she wants us to see obviously."
"Ten bucks says it's a belly button ring."
Sam stared at him for a moment, narrowing his eyes in thought.
"You're on."
They quickly shook on it and then brought their attention back to Sara as the man finished and led her over to the mirror to see her new ink.
"Well, what do you think? Cool enough to make me an official member of the club?" She asked playfully as she held her hair up and turned her back to the boys.
"Member for life now." Dean smiled. "Now you just need your plaid shirt."
