Chapter 6: The Arrival

The portal dropped me in the same spot it had taken me. When I realized this I ran as fast as I could. It was raining and my dress was wearing me down but I couldn't stop. I had to get as far away as possible.

But where was I going to go? I couldn't go back to my apartment, even if Dean still lived there he wouldn't care if I showed up or not. I wanted to cry about my newly acquired reality, but I didn't have time.

Gabi and Sam, that is were I needed to go.

It was Christmas Eve and probably about 7 at night. The rain made it dark and not many people were on the roads, but to anyone driving I was probably an amusing site.

My once perfect white dress was torn and soaked through. My make up was running and I hadn't really been taking care of myself when I was in the realm. I had lost at least fifteen pounds which probably made me weigh only eighty five pounds. I looked unhealthy and I knew it.

The shoes didn't help either. But I didn't need them, so I took them off. Finally I found it, my old apartment building. I was weak and could barely make it up the stairs. Finally I did and with tear-felt eyes I knocked on Sam and Gabi's door.

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(Gabi's POV)

Sam, Ellie, Dean, John and I were all in the living room doting over Ellie yet again. We had all given her one present early. Being only five months old she didn't really get the whole gift giving thing, but it was still good to just be together.

Dean was still a stone, and I knew as soon as we all went to bed he would go to the kitchen and drink himself to sleep. He missed Annie. But when he was around Ellie he acted fine, he was actually warm with her and it made all of us happy to see him at least partially content.

We were just about to put Ellie to bed when we heard a knock on the door.

"I'll get it." Sam said as he handed Ellie to Dean who welcomed her with open arms.

"Finally, your dad lets someone else hold you." Dean joked looking at her. Sam rolled his eyes and walked over to the door.

"Dean, will you go put her in her crib?" I asked. With out hesitation he walked into the back.

As soon as the door was open someone fell into his arms.

"Sam?" I asked skeptically. He picked the person up and turned around.

"Oh my god…" I whispered with tears forming in my eyes. I looked over at John who had wide eyes as well.

"Annie…" I whispered. She was only half way conscious and was shaking from the cold. I didn't understand what she was wearing. It was a huge white dress that was soaked all the way through and torn. But as Sam held her I noticed something else, there was no life in her. Sure she was breathing and all. But even though she had always been a small girl she had never looked this scary. There was no muscle or meat left on her bones at all, there were huge circles under her eyes and her lips were so pale the were almost white.

"Take her to the back." John said. Sam was obviously in shock but did as he was told. Before he could get back there though, he was met by Dean.

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(Dean's POV)

I had taken Ellie back to her room like Gabi had asked. That little girl was the only thing that made me have anything to look forward to in life. I had already made it very clear to her that she was never dating though.

I looked down at her crib sadly as I laid her in it. I couldn't help but think about Annie, hell all I ever did was think about Annie. But it just wasn't fair. This could be us… everything that Sam and Gabi were could have been us. But she was gone.

I sighed and pushed back my pain through my walls that I had built up.

"Night Ellie… sweet dreams." I whispered. I walked out of her room. What I was met with made those walls break down.

Sam was carrying Annie. My Annie… but she didn't look the same. She looked sick and frail and troubled. But she was still beautiful. I looked up at Sam, he had the most confused and dumb look on his face.

"A--…" I couldn't even get it out. I touched her pale face and grabbed her hand. It was so cold, and I could fit two of her wrists through my hand. She was so tiny. The tears burned in my eyes. I was angry, and upset but at the same time I was so happy that she was actually here.

This wasn't exactly how I imagined our reunion, but as long as she was back it was ok with me.

"I'm taking her to the back…" Sam stuttered out. I nodded and followed him. He laid her down and with in seconds we were all in the room.

"We need to get her out of that dress…" Gabi said. Then, she slowly started to open her eyes.

They were different to. Her once deep blue and shining eyes were pale and lifeless.

"Annie… baby I'm here…" I whispered, letting myself cry.

"Dean…" She said in a cracked whisper. "Don't lie to me. Just leave…"

I didn't understand. "Annie, it's me. Remember, we fell in love, fought evil together, even got married… I love you…"

She turned her head away from me.

"No you don't. You stopped doing that months after I left…" Then she was gone. She thought I didn't love her. Maybe it was because I hadn't saved her, or maybe she saw some of my now very regretted drunken one night stands through that damn mirror that she had never bothered to use again.

I didn't know what it was. But this wasn't right.

Annie may have been back, but we all had a lot to do until our Annie was back.

"Ok um, I am going to go get all her stuff out of the guest room closet so we can get her changed. Until then just try and keep her warm." Gabi said as she walked out.

I tried to grab her hand again but she flinched away from me.

"Don't…" She said in her sleep. Even unconscious she was shaking and crying.

I couldn't take it anymore. I stood up and walked over to the wall and started kicking and hitting it.

"Woah… Dean calm down, you are going to wake Ellie up…" Sam said.

I pressed my head up against the wall and took a deep breath.

"What the hell did they do to her?" I whispered. Sam put a hand on my shoulder.

"She is going to be fine Dean. We are going to take care of her." He told me. I pushed him off and walked out into the living room.

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(Gabi's POV)

I found some of Annie's old track pants and her favorite oversized sweater. They would both help keep her warm so I dragged them out and we put them on her.

I remembered those pants. They were her favorite, they were the first thing she had ever gotten from Victoria's secret when she was about sixteen and practically lived in them. They used to fit her perfectly, and now, even being a small, they were practically falling off of her. The sweater could have probably fit two of her in it.

She wasn't ok. And they had done this to her.

But all in all, it was the best Christmas present I could have asked for.

I didn't understand why she didn't think Dean loved her anymore. It didn't make any sense… something else had happened to her, and we all had to find out what it was in order to help her.

John, Dean and Sam and I stayed up all night just sitting and talking about what we should do. We knew we had to talk to her and find out all we could, but we didn't want to pressure her.

Everything about her looked breakable and now we had to try and fix her. This wasn't going to be easy, but we had to do it.