"When are we getting lunch?" Sara asked as she leaned her chin on the back of the front seat.
"Why, you hungry?" Sam asked surprised.
They left late last night after giving everyone some time to get their barring's after yesterday's series of events. Sara had been napping on and off in the back seat during the night, and Dean grabbed her a small breakfast the last time they stopped, he didn't want to wake her.
However Sara awoke on her own not even an hour following, and had already eaten the breakfast they picked up for her, and picked at Dean for half of his M&M's.
"Starving." She looked up to him with wide eyes and raised her eyebrows dramatically.
Sam laughed in response.
"There's a town about an hour or so up, should have plenty of places to stop." Dean noted.
"What are you in the mood for?" Sam asked her.
"Anything really.
"You must be feeling better."
"Yeah." She grinned. "I think I have more pep in my step than I've had in weeks to be honest."
"Good. We've got some training to catch up on." Dean reminded her.
"Yeah yeah, we still did training."
"Not at the level we should have been training."
"Well I'll be sure to kick your ass extra hard when we get back to the bunker." She teased as she sat back against the seat, shooting him a playful smile as he looked at her in the rearview mirror.
He almost lost his breath just at the sight. He could tell over the last several hours that she was becoming more herself by the minute.
"So, what are we hunting?"
Sam and Dean shared a brief look.
"Uh uh… nope. You're doing the talking but not talking thing again. Cough it up." She said leaning over the seat.
"This one's kind of a rough one." Sam explained. "The town we're going to has had 4 child deaths in the last few weeks."
"Oh." Sara said sadly as she settled back into the seat. "There are monsters that go after kids?"
"Some monsters take everything. Most monsters stick to those who have more bang for the buck, ya know bigger… but there are a few who target kids." Dean answered with a disappointed tone.
"What is it?"
"Well… we think it's a Shtriga." Sam answered.
"Have you ever hunted on before?"
'Yeah… same monster, well type of ancient witch actually. Twice."
"Twice?" She asked with raised eyebrows. "Did it come back to life because I can't for one second believe that either of you would walk away from a case or let a monster get away if it was coming after kids."
"We didn't… it wasn't like that." Sam smiled sadly.
"It came after us." Dean paused. Remembering the feeling of terror as he almost lost his brother when he himself was only a kid… taking on responsibility he was still trying to make himself ready for. "Our dad was hunting it. But, it came after Sam, and when that happened he grabbed us and bolted. Same monster… different tow ``1n. Several years later."
"How do you know it was the same one?"
"Well. There aren't very many of these out there to begin with."
"Thank God for that." Sara interjected.
"And it was pretty close to the first town, followed its hibernation patters. It only feeds once every 15 years or so. I wish we had gotten it the first time, but… you can't save everyone."
"Well I guess we gotta get this thing on the first go round then." Sara said, scratching the back of his neck slightly before she sat back in her seat again.
"Oh, we will definitely do that Sweetheart." He replied confidently.
…..
…..
…..
"What's the first stop?" Sara asked as they dropped their bags on the beds. The motel was decorated in neutrals, but featured one very red wall behind both beds. Soft colored paintings over each bed. She took in the sight of the distracting wall before turning back to face Sam and Dean.
"We need to go by the hospital, see how many children are currently affected. See if any of them are siblings. This thing is known to come after the other once it's finished with the first one." Dean answered pulling out specific bullets and loading their weapons.
"How… how does it feed on them?" She asked hesitantly while Sam dug for their fake CDC badges.
"It takes their life force… feeds on them until they finally become so weak that their immune systems can't fight off simple bacteria, usually they develop a pneumonia a few days after the feedings start and their parents take them to the hospital, by then its too late. It's just a matter of time."
"How do we kill it?"
"We have to kill it while it feeds."
"WHILE it feeds?"
"It's the only time its vulnerable, other than that they're pretty much untouchable."
"How do we do that?"
"Uhh… we had a kid who's little brother was in the hospital. Told him the truth, and he was willing to be the bait. Draw the thing out."
Sara nodded up and down.
"Okay, what's our cover. Do I need to get some scrubs?"
"Actually… that's not a bad idea." Sam said as he handed Dean a badge. "We only have two CDC badges and we may need more access than that can get us, maybe it will get us an opportunity a lot faster."
"We need to get the name of a staffing agency. It's the only way I can slip in without days worth of vetting. Nursing licenses are listed in state databases. Its hard to fake being a nurse."
"Lucky for us you're not faking." Dean grinned.
"I'm faking the name and license regardless… but if they're short handed which I imagine they are, then hopefully they will just see another set of hands and not ask too many questions."
"Okay, I'll find one and print you badge. Be back in an hour." Sam said as he left to find the nearest printshop or library.
"Do we need to get you some scrubs?"
"… its an old habit but I kind of always have a set." She smirked as she unzipped her bag and pulled out the blue scrubs.
"Prepared. I like it." Dean nodded.
"So.. we kill it while it feeds, but how?"
"Wrought iron rounds." Dean said as he loaded another sawed off shotgun. Then handed it to Sara.
"Don't think I can conceal this in my waist band." She joked.
"Ha, no… probably not."
"Hey Dean."
"Yeah?"
"The first one… it came after you guys. You were just kids, right?"
"Yeah. Sam was maybe 8."
"You were alone?"
"We were almost always alone. From the time I could shoot that gun in your hands and reach the deadbolt on the door. I could work a microwave and learned how to county money for the quickmart. We had what we needed to get by."
Dean spoke of it as if it was so natural. So normal… It made Sara sad to picture Dean as a kid, trying to be the adult. Trying to raise Sam. The more she thought about it the more she understood why Sam was the easier one to talk to. Dean has been practicing talking around things his entire life, its second nature now and he doesn't even realize that he does it. He jokes. He charms the people around him. But when it matters, he hides it… for the benefit of those around him.
"Why are you staring at me?" He asked suddenly as he looked up, pulling Sara out of her thoughts.
"I'm just thinking about how lucky I am."
Dean looked side to side and then back to her with curiosity.
"Which part? The monsters or the dirty motel?"
"Shut up." She rolled her eyes while trying to push back her grin. She stood and went back to her bag, pulling out things she knew she might need. Dean watched as she pulled out a few pens, a small note pad, and finally a solid black stethoscope."
"You really did come prepared huh?"
"I never go anywhere without it." She shrugged as she rubbed her thumb over the bell. "It just reminds me that I was good at something, that I served a purpose, ya know?"
"Sara. You still serve a purpose." He told her honestly, stopping the busy movements of his hands to give her his full focus as she took in his words.
"Yeah, keeping your ass alive is a full time job." She grinned.
Dean shook his head and went back to loading and prepping their supplies.
…..
…..
…..
"Sara. Sara Miller." Sara said as she checked in at the nurse's station.
"I don't have you on my schedule?" The charge nurse responded as she went over the staff assignments for the day.
"Yeah, I'm agency. I just go where they tell me that morning. Usually, it's a new place every day."
"Well. You don't have computer access but we could still just use a set of hands. We're loaded down, how much experience do you have?"
"Five years, ER nurse."
"Sadly those are some skills we could use." The nurse replied before looking down at her sheet again. "I've never coded this many kids back to back."
"How many have you lost recently?"
"Its up to 5 now, lost one yesterday."
"Same thing? Virus or something?"
"I don't know." She sighed. "It's like… they just give up. Their body just doesn't want to live."
Sara's heart felt that old familiar tug… the one the made her want to do better. Be better. Every day she went in she told herself that she was there for someone else, never for herself or personal gain. But the simple desire to help someone.
"Point me in the right direction, I'm a quick learner."
"Maria, over there in the pink. Stick with her today, she's got the highest acuity load today… she has one that's not looking so good. It's the brother of the one we lost yesterday."
"Yes maam." Sara nodded as she walked away and headed towards the frazzled nurse in pink scrubs.
As she rounded the corner her eyes turned and caught sight of Sam and Dean, both in suits speaking with one of the doctors. The conversation seemed intense, but Dean turned and caught her glance. He looked at her differently in scrubs. Knowing that this was as true to herself as she will probably ever be in front of him. It fit her well, not just the scrubs on her ass… but the way her confidence grew when she slipped them on and pulled her stethoscope over her neck. He pulled himself out of his thoughts, winking back at her. She offered a small smile before leaving his line of sight again.
"It's like nothing I've ever seen. The parents are all fine. No symptoms, no weird family history, no genetic patterns. It's like whatever this is just goes after the kids… usually one right after the other."
"How many patients do you have now displaying symptoms?" Sam asked the doctor, not even noticing Dean's distraction.
"Three. One is the younger brother of a boy we lost yesterday. The other two are girls. One's an only child, but the other has a sister… single mom. She's been hanging around, I've tried to keep an eye on her and watch for any early signs. Maybe we're just not getting to them fast enough." The doctor mumbled more to himself than anyone else. Sam could tell this was weighing on him heavily.
"Okay, well. We're going to need access to the charts. We know you're very busy. Thank you for speaking with us."
"Of course." He said before turning around to the secretary at the desk. "Erica, give these gentlemen whatever they ask for, please."
"Yes sir." She nodded. Sam began to ask for a list of charts and information. Dean however wandered down the hall, there seemed to be some kind of commotion getting everyone's attention.
"Code Blue, room 814." The pager repeated twice overhead. Dean watched as people ran past him. He kept walking until the room came into sight. Standing by the door were a man and a woman, the parents he had to assume… crying and praying out loud. He looked over and his eyes found Sara, doing compressions on the small boy's chest. Calling out for medication to be given.
"Dammit." Sam mumbled coming to stand beside him.
They continued to watch as Sara swapped places with the nurse who was giving air to the boy with an ambu bag, pumping it rhythmically. After several minutes they watched as she switched back to take over compressions again. The meds, the compressions, all of it was in vain… they watched as Sara yelled CLEAR and stood, the machine shocking him. Every head in the room glued to the monitor, but there was nothing but a flat straight line.
The same doctor who had just spoke with them reached over to Sara and gently grabbed her arms. Although they couldn't hear what was being said, they knew. He let her go as she stepped back from the bed. Everyone's head hung low as they removed their gloves and dropped their supplies… the doctor moved to the speak with the parents while Sara and one other nurse stayed to clean things as best as possible. Once the boy's parents walked in, Sara and a nurse in pink walked out and closed the door.
The nurse in pink walked away, crying and moving to embrace another nurse in the hall. Sara however leaned her back against the wall. She leaned her head back and took two deep breaths before sliding down and hiding her face in her hands as she squatted.
Dean watched as her shoulders slightly shook, without thinking he moved to walk towards her.
"Wait." Sam said, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
He stopped, and at that moment Sara stood again and shook out her hands. She gave a quick swipe under her eyes and then moved to the next room.
"She's got this." Sam said as they watched her put on a smile and cheerfully walk into the room of another patient. Dean shook his head and turned back to Sam.
"We get what we need?"
"Yep." Sam said as he lifted the printed copies of the charts.
"Okay, lets get to work."
…..
…..
…..
As the sun started to move lower in the sky Sara made her way to the small waiting area with floor to ceiling windows, admiring the colors.
"Yes, Mama." A small voice caught her attention. She turned and found a small girl. Brown curly hair bounced as she nodded and her mother reached down and kissed her on the cheek before walking out. The girl turned back to her coloring book.
"What ya coloring?" Sara asked with a friendly smile as she knelt down next to the young girl.
"A picture for sissy."
"Oh, wow is that a lady bug?!"
"Yes! And a butterfly… sissy loves butterflies."
"Well, you're quite the little artist. What's your name?"
"Anna." The small girl smiled. Sara's heart tugged at her once more.
"Wow, Anna is my favorite name."
"What's your name?"
"I'm Sara."
"I like that name too." The girl nodded as she traded her purple crayon for a blue one.
"So is your sissy here too?"
"Sissy's sick." She mumbled.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Anna. I'm sure she'll get better soon."
"I hope so, we were supposed to go see ponies tomorrow."
"What's your sissy's name?"
"Her name is Melanie, but I just call her Sissy."
"Well, Melanie sure is a pretty name too."
"Yeah it is, maybe I should put her name on her butterfly!"
"I bet your sissy would LOVE that!"
"So, Anna." Sara breathed as she finally sat on the ground, pulling her knees up. "How long has sissy been sick?"
"A couple of days ago… I think it's cause of the dark."
"The dark?"
"Yeah. At night sometimes the window opens and the dark comes in from outside."
Sara's senses were on alert, realizing suddenly that this wasn't just a sick sister… this was a girl with very little time left, and Anna herself was sure to be next.
"Anna, can you tell me how long the dark has been getting in the window?"
"I never saw it before Tuesday night. It was taco Tuesday, and I always remember taco Tuesday!"
"Well who can forget about tacos?" Sara grinned. "Did sissy say anything about the dark?"
"No. She was asleep."
"Did the dark make any noise?"
"It whispered, but I couldn't hear it, I was hiding under the blanket."
"Well you are a smart girl, Anna."
"Thanks. You must be smart too, because you're a nurse. Sissy wants to be a nurse when she grows up too."
"Well then Sissy is just going to have to get better because we need all the nurses we can get."
"Anna." Her mom called from the hallway. "Let's go, its dinner time and we need to go home and let Buster out."
"Okay." Anna jumped up and began to pick up her crayons. Sara helped her put them all back in her pencil bag.
"Here." Anna said sadly as she handed Sara her picture. "Can you give to Sissy? I can't go to her room."
"I'll take it to her RIGHT now, I promise." Sara said before she hugged the small girl with big brown eyes. She stood watching the girl and her mom leave, then she wandered back to the desk to find Melanie's room number. Once she found it she made her way to Melanie's room. She was only 12. She looked a lot like her little sister. Sara noticed the other pictures taped to the wall and smiled, she walked over and added the new picture to the collage before turning back and grabbing Melanie's hand.
"Hang in there sweet girl. We got you."
…..
…..
…..
Sara walked across the parking lot, spotting Dean parked in the back corner. She took a deep breath of the cool evening air, letting it fill her lungs and give her a sense of peace. Sometimes after a hard day she would pass her apartment building and drive to a spot right outside of town, it was just a simple road side pull off, but the view was enough to soothe her. She would park there until it was too dark to see the mountain line on the horizon, then she would go home and just be thankful she got to see another day.
"Hey you." Dean smiled as she approached him, carefully watching her. He knew tonight would be a rough one for her, after everything that happened today he was prepared to offer a little more comfort than usual if she needed it.
"Hey." She grinned as she slid into the passenger seat. "Where's Sam?"
"Back in the room going through the information we got from the hospital today."
"There's a girl… her older sister is sick, I think it's the Shtriga."
"You sure?" Dean asked intently.
"She called it the 'dark'. She said the dark came inside through the window a few nights ago, whispering something. Said that her sister was asleep but she was hiding under the blanket every time it came in."
"Yeah. That sounds like our Shtriga."
"You guys probably have their info already, her name is Melanie."
"The sister or the patient?"
"The patient… the little girl's name was Anna." Sara smiled up to him. Dean could see the sad edge in her eyes as she looked up to him.
"We're gonna kill this son of a bitch, Sara. Don't worry."
"I'm not. I know we will."
"So. You uh, feeling okay?"
"Yeah. I'm good."
Her smile was genuine, and she didn't seem to be dodging him. He was kind of surprised she was handing things so well.
"Okay." He nodded, a little caught off guard. "I rented a movie for tonight, thought maybe if you wanted watch something other crappy cable we could have one ready."
"Thank you. What'd you rent?"
"Aqua Man." Dean said as he wiggled his eyebrows.
"Haha, trying to convert me?"
"I figure the only shot I had was Superman or Aqua Man."
"Oh, wrong choice." Sara shook her head. "I got a thing for Henry Cavill."
"Yeah but show me one woman who DOESN'T have a thing for the Aqua Man guy?!"
"Eh, fair point." She shrugged as Dean pulled into the motel. He came around and got the door for her as she was pulling her bag out of the floorboards.
"Thank you." She smirked, surprised at his gesture. Something he had only done if he was already beside or behind her. She eyed him carefully as he led her towards their room and opened the door for her.
What is he up to?... Sara thought as she walked in and kicked her shoes off at the door.
"Hey, I just got back with dinner." Sam smiled at her as she walked in. He walked over and put an arm around her, kissing her on the top of the head quickly before moving back to the table. "I got you cheese dip and chicken quesadillas."
"Thanks." Sara said eyeing him suspiciously.
"Yeah, sure. Oh, and I picked up some of those chocolate chip cookies you like too." Sam said standing again and moving towards the small kitchenette counter.
"Great, perfect for the movie." She said looking between the two of them.
"Yeah, so uh. Dig in." Sam smiled as he sat down.
Sara sat across from him, Dean to her left. She picked up a chip and started eating, paying closer attention to the brothers on either side of her.
"So Sara caught a lead." Dean said with a mouthful of nachos.
"Rea lly? What is it?" Sam asked.
"The patient, Melanie Griffin. Her little sister Anna talked to me today, told me about the 'dark' that comes in through their window at night."
"Melanie…" Sam mumbled as he reached over and dug through the stack of papers. "Yeah. I got it right here. She lives pretty close actually, neighborhoods a couple miles down the road."
"So, we go in tonight. How do we get in without setting off alarms for Mom?" Sara asked as she took a bite.
"Well, um. Are you sure you're up for that tonight? How are you feeling?" Sam asked.
Sara stopped mid chew, her eyes darting back and forth between them. She dropped the quesadilla in her hand back onto the Styrofoam box it came in and sat back crossing her arms.
"Okay." She said chewing the last of her food. "What the hell is going on?"
"What do you mean?" Sam asked with concern.
"Look. You two are pretty good to me on a normal basis. I appreciate that by the way, but tonight you both have gone out of your way to do things for me. You have both looked at me with those big ole Winchester worry eyes and asked word for word 'how are you feeling'… what are the two of you not saying?"
Sam sighed and looked down, his face obviously guilty.
"Sara." Dean said, she turned to look at him expectantly. She wanted an answer, and not for him to tiptoe around it. "We were there today… we watched what happened with the little boy. You don't have to pretend like it doesn't bother you, we get it."
"Yeah." Sam nodded. "We just thought maybe you could use a little TLC after today, watching a child die would make anyone upset."
Sara leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table, her eyes looking between them.
"Guys. I'm okay… I really am." She said softly. "Today, was something I've done more times than I ever wanted to. Death, of all ages, was a part of my day to day life long before the two of you showed up." She sighed as she sat back in her chair, chewing on her lip. "I have worked on a two year old, who's mom swore she only took her eyes off of him for 10 seconds… he was gone before he ever got to us. I have seen children, torn apart by the windshield because they were ejected, no seatbelt or improper car seat safety. We did a rape kit on a 10 year old girl, who's father later went home grabbed his shotgun and blew the brains out the back of his own brother's skull… I came home with both of their blood on me that day."
Dean shifted uncomfortably, looking down at the table listening to her speak.
"Monsters, demons, the world of the unknown and things lurking in the dark… it scares the hell out of me. Dead bodies have always bothered me… but. When they're our patient, when we're pumping someone full of drugs, cracking ribs, and using all of our resources to try to save one who is probably already gone, its different. They don't feel dead yet. It's like… by some miracle maybe they'll come back."
"Some of them did… because of you." Sam reminded her.
"Yeah, and some of them didn't. I've held wailing mothers, watched a man become widowed after 65 years of marriage and walk out the doors alone and empty handed, knowing that it would be days before he would probably be gone too… I scraped someone's brains off the bottom of my shoe before walking into the next room and being called a stupid bitch because I forgot their cup of ice."
Sam looked down and shook his head. Her eyes eventually began to water, she looked to Dean who finally looked up and back at her.
"I know I'm not as strong, or as tough as either of you… but I'm not as fragile as you think I am."
"No, Sara. You're not." He finally said. "You're a lot tougher."
"Dean." She laughed as she shook her head back and forth. "I'm not… you and Sam quite literally saved the world from the apocalypse, I don't need to know the full story to know that you two are probably the only souls on earth who could pull that off. You literally went through hell. You see these… things. These monsters that-"
"Sara. Monsters, they live and they die… there's not much gray area there. I could never do the things you do, the things you did today."
"You just learn to… shut it off." She finally said, her eyes going distant.
Suddenly, so much made sense to Dean. The way she could be so vulnerable with him one minute, and slam that door the next. The same way she shut off her emotions, and put on that fake face today. She's had practice, and she had gotten damn good at it.
"So. About tonight." She said pulling them back. "Melanie doesn't have much time. Anna is probably already being fed on, we don't need to wait for this one."
"Okay. Well… I think we should try to test a theory." Sam looked up to her.
"What if we get the Mom and Anna out of the house, and you're the bait."
"No." Dean said instantly.
"Yes." Sara said turning and looking at him as he shoved his face full of food.
"Dean, It could work."
"The thing goes after kids Sam… it can sense their life force is a lot stronger than an adult. It won't work and we'll lose time waiting for another chance."
"Dean, no ones life force is going to be greater than Sara's. Everything we've encountered is drawn to her once its in her presence… the warding keeps things away, but having it right there in front of you? I don't think it could resist it."
"Dean. I'm not putting that little girl in that room if we have another option. I'm doing it." Sara told him plainly.
"And what if it doesn't take the bait and we have to wait another 24 hours? Does Melanie have that much time?" Dean challenged her.
She stared back at him. Then she stood and slipped her shoes back on.
"Where are you going?" He turned and asked her from the table.
"Back to the hospital to check on her vitals and labs. That will tell me whether or not we have the time." Sara said not looking up to him, but rather pulling her light jacket on. Finally once she was dressed and ready she looked back up to them.
"Well are you gonna toss me the keys or are one of you gonna give me a ride?" She asked with her arms crossed. Dean rolled his eyes and stood, pushing the chair out of his way and walking out to the car without saying a word.
"Sara." Sam called out to her as she turned to follow him, she paused and turned back. "Dean's not going to just cave on this, tread lightly."
"I know." She smiled to him. "But he might listen to science."
"Good luck." Sam chuckled as she walked out. He shook his head and went back to flipping through papers.
Sara got into the passenger seat and Dean put the car in reverse, pulling out on the road. Just as Sara went to speak he reached forward and turned up the volume on the radio. She rolled her eyes, scooted to the middle of the seat and reached forward, turning it back down.
"Dean." She said putting a hand on his knee. "I'm going to do this, and I'll be fine because you will keep me safe. You'll kill it before it ever touches me."
His resolve was slowly softening as she touched him, he knew Sara would work as the bait… but he didn't want to risk it. Risk her, what if something went wrong?
"I don't like it." He finally said as he stared forward.
"I don't like letting that little girl be the bait."
"Its worked in the past."
"I wasn't there as an option in the past."
"Sara." He said irritably as he shook his head back and forth, he finally looked over at her. "Why do you have to throw yourself out on the line EVERY time you get the chance."
"Because I can't help in a lot of other ways, Dean. You know that, and I'm not more out on the line for this case than I am any other… like Sam said. They're drawn to me. We know that already."
"Yeah but you've never been the bait."
"Well then I guess it's my turn, ain't it Winchester?"
He leaned forward and cranked the radio again, Sara leaned forward and turned it back down.
"Dean." She said softly as Dean pulled into the hospital's private drive. He waited until he was parked in the very back of the parking lot to stop the car and turn to look at her, his arm going over the back of the seat behind her.
"What?"
"I trust you."
The words were calm. They weren't angry, they weren't shaky. They were genuine and honest… and Dean knew that. He stared at her, sure that eventually she'd pull away first and he could find a way to argue this with her. But she didn't.
"I don't like it." He finally said again.
"I know, but it's the right thing to do." Sara said as leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek. "I'll be back in ten, don't change your mind while I'm gone.
She got out and he watched as she walked across the parking lot.
How does this women do this to him?
…..
…..
…..
"Excuse me, ma'am. I hate to bother you so late, but there seems to be a gas leak in the area. We're asking everyone to make arrangements to leave for tonight. We should have it fixed before dawn." Sam lied convincingly to the girl's mom.
"Shoot." She sighed. Running her hand through her hair. "Are you sure it won't be fixed in a few hours?"
"No ma'am, we're estimating at least 6-8 hours worth of repairs. Do you have somewhere you can go for tonight?"
"Um, yeah… I uh. I'll make it work." She said. Sam could see the stress on her face, knowing that her mind was in a hundred different places.
"I do apologize, can I help you make arrangements? Compensation?"
"Oh, no… My daughter is at the hospital, so I think I'll take my other daughter to my brother's for the night and just go back. I should probably be there anyways." She smiled sadly. "Thank you though."
Sam nodded politely and then made his way back around the corner to the car.
"She buy it?"
"Yep, gas leak."
"How long do you think it will take for it to show?" Sara asked.
"Not long, I mean if Anna was awake when it started coming then I can't imagine she was up in the middle of the night." Sam guessed.
"Good." Sara nodded. Melanie's vitals were stable for the moment, but her labs had worsened every time they ran them. She knew their time was limited. She prayed they were making the right decision.
After several minutes they watched as the van pulled out of the garage and down the road. They gathered what they needed and tried to be unseen as they made their way to the house, and around through the back yard. Just as they opened the door a dog began to bark, not large by the sound of it. Sure enough as they stepped in an English bulldog came around the corner, trying to rid his home of the strangers.
"Hey there Buster." Sara said as she kneeled down and reached for the dog.
"Sara!" Dean whisper yelled. "That thing can take your hand off."
"Dean, stop being dramatic." Sara said as she rolled her eyes. She reached into her bag and pulled out some of Dean's beef jerky. She held a piece out to the gruff looking dog, and suddenly the barking stopped and Buster eagerly accepted his bribe.
"Lousy guard dog." Dean mocked.
"Lucky for us." Sara reminded him.
"Let's get busy." Sam said as they made their way up the stairs, it wasn't hard to figure out what room belonged to the two girls. Butterflies all over the walls and ponies on the blanket.
"Okay Sara, you'll need to lay under the blanket so that when it comes in it doesn't see you and get spooked.
"Where are you going to be?"
"I'm going to be right underneath you, under the bed. Sam is going to be in the closet."
"Okay." She nodded, suddenly feeling nervous.
"Hey." Dean said noting the change in her body language. "You still trust me?"
"With my life." She said confidently.
"Then get your ass in bed." He winked before handing Sam a shotgun and moving to lay on the ground, Sara waited until he was well situated before climbing into the bed, Sam pulling the covers over her before hiding himself in the closet.
It felt like every minute of waiting lasted an eternity in Sara's mind. Laying in the dark, waiting for this thing to show… she was rolled towards the wall facing away from the window, making sure that the Shtriga would have to be close to get to her. The minutes continued to tick and she was getting anxious, she carefully and slowly let her hand slip off the edge of the bed, hanging over the side.
It was only a few seconds before Dean's hand reached up and squeezed her fingers. She squeezed back, taking a deep breath and remembering that this was for Anna and Melanie… that Dean would protect her. That Sam was right on the other side of the closet door.
She was safe.
She said over and over in her head and had just started to cam down then the latch on the window clicked and she could hear as the night air blew in. She froze, not even sure she was breathing. Dean let go of her and slowly moved his hand back to the shotgun. Sara closed her eyes and gripped the small iron dagger Dean had given her.
It sounded like the wind itself was moving closer to her, and that's when she realized it was the 'whisper' Anna thought she was hearing. It was the Shtriga moving about in the room. She listened as it grew closer and closer until it finally stopped.
Something long and thin reached up and began to pull the blanket down, inch by inch, attempting not to wake whomever was underneath it. Sara's heart pounded against her chest, and just as the Shtriga pulled it far enough down that Sara could see its mouth open with an odd green tinted glow she shot up.
"NOW!" She screamed as she shoved the dagger up through its chin. Her entire body curled itself up and away from the monster as it screamed out in pain, Dean rolled out from under the bed and blasted a shot, hitting it directly from the side and knocking it onto the floor. Sara stayed against the headboard and pulled her knees up to her chest, her hands over her ears as they rang from being too close to the barrell.
Sam kicked open the closet and shot it twice more where it laid… the room got quiet. Dean jumped up, reaching for Sara.
"Sara! Sara, you okay?" He said as he grabbed her and pulled her hands away.
"Yeah." She said as she nodded, shaking but okay. "I'm okay. I'm good." Dean looked over to Sam who was pushing against the Shtriga with the end of his shotgun.
"It's dead."
"That will fix Melanie, right? And the other kids?"
"Yeah. Sara, as long as they're strong enough to bounce back they'll be fine."
"Good." She sighed in relief.
…..
…..
…..
Sara leaned against the wall, watching Anna sit on her sister's bed. The two playing with Ponies across the blanket as if it were a meadow. Their mom sat in the corner, looking like she had taken a breath for the first time in days.
Sara's eyes watered and spilled over.
"Oh, now you start crying?" Dean teased as he walked up behind her. She turned to him and rolled her eyes softly looking back at the young girls.
"Different kind of cry." She said as he leaned against his shoulder, he reached one long arm around her. Rubbing his hand up and down her arm a couple of times.
"We gave them that." She mumbled.
"Yeah."
"Nursing… its hard, but its one of the best jobs in the world. I like knowing we made a difference, that we saved them."
"Yeah. It never gets old." Dean agreed. "You ready for another case?"
"We got one lined up?" She looked up towards him.
"Yep. Bunch of dead truckers. All went through the same truck stop before they died."
"Well, that sounds riveting."
"C'mon." He said as he pulled her towards the elevators.
They stood against the back wall as it rolled down to the front lobby.
"You did good." Dean smiled to her. She smiled back.
"I would say the same but my ears are still ringing." She teased.
"Well now you can't say I didn't warn you, its not easy being the bait."
"It gets easier when you know who's behind you."
The doors opened and Dean moved first.
"Or under you." He said to her seductively before walking forward. Sara stared at him in surprise, then moved to walk behind him. She shook her head as she followed him back to the car to meet Sam, wondering how she was ever going to stop herself from wanting him in the ways she can't have him.
She looked up to Sam as they reached the impala, he gave her a knowing look, making sure Dean wasn't paying attention, she threw him a Winchester approved bitchface and he chuckled to himself as she slid in the backseat.
"Okay, we can crash tonight, leave in the morning. Or roll out and now and be there by breakfast tomorrow. Any preferences?" Sam asked.
"Let's crash." Sara suggested. "I want a hot shower, a bed to sleep on, and we still have cheese dip."
"Okay, crash it is."
They rolled back to the motel and took turns showering, eating left overs and watching the movie Dean had rented the night before. Sam was already snoring by the time the credits rolled, Sara looked over and laughed, grabbing her pillow off his bed.
"I don't want to wake him, do you mind?" She turned to Dean as he double checked salt lines and devils traps.
"I never say no to a pretty woman in bed." He answered, half teasing and half testing to see her reaction as he moved back to the bed. She smiled at him nervously, feeling like maybe that answered was more than just a joke. Sara pulled back the covers and threw her pillow down on the side closest to her. Dean sat and reached up, hitting the button on the lamp, letting the room become dark.
They laid down, Dean on his back, and Sara facing away from him.
Both of their heads spinning with questions. Both swearing the other had something to hide… both wondering why the other wouldn't just come out and talk about what happened.
"Hey Sara." Dean mumbled. "You awake?"
"Yeah." She mumbled as she turned towards him, barely able to see him in the dark. He turned to face her too.
"How do you do it, shut it off like that? I watched you, sure that you were going to stay against the wall until you had cried it all out, but you didn't. You just shook it off, and walked into the next room smiling and laughing."
"I could ask you the same question. I mean, you've been through literal hell… that leaves wounds that can't be healed. Everything you've seen, the people you've lost. Yet, here you are. Charming the pants of off women in every bar across the country."
He chuckled.
"Its different. It took time… I can't walk from one room to the next and pretend what happened didn't just happen? I mean yeah. I can shove it down after a few drinks, a drive. But that's not an immediate result." Dean answered.
"I don't know." Sara sighed. "The first few. They were hard. I'll never forget them. The first baby… it was only a few months old. I cried for days. I still remember the name of the 83 year old woman who killed herself after her husband passed away, she took the pills, and then called 911 so that nobody had to find her body. Left a letter for every one of their children. The first time I had to tell someone that they had a tumor on their lung, or that we can't find a heartbeat on an ultrasound. They all hit me like a bag of bricks."
"What changed?" He asked as he reached up and pushed her hair behind her ear.
"I knew that I couldn't keep doing it if I didn't find a way to shove it in a box and lock it away. It's not that they went away, or I left them at the door because sometimes you just can't. But if I wanted to be a nurse, keep helping people, keep doing good for someone… I had to find to a way. So I just put it the box and move on to the next room."
"That box can only hold so much, Sara."
"That's why so many nurses do different things. They change their fields every time they start to burn out, or feel like its too heavy. Sometimes they leave nursing all together. There's a few that can do it day in and day out their whole careers but that's rare."
"You miss it huh?"
"Yeah. I miss a lot of things, but. I gained a lot of things too. I got you and Sam, and that means more to me than you'll ever know."
"It mean I don't know that it's much of a trade off, but we're not going anywhere."
Sara looked at him, and while she didn't answer with words she moved to lay her head against his shoulder, as if it was natural to him he wound his arm around her and she breathed in him.
"That's enough for me."
