CJ woke up alone in bed, instantly sitting up and looking for Dean. Her scruffy man wasn't in bed and she felt the disappointment in herself for growing attached to him. She knew he would leave, she admitted to herself that she expected it sooner, but she knew it would happen. She was always left alone eventually, and she had come to terms with that fact.

So CJ did what she did best. She blamed herself. Ignoring the dull throb between her legs, she made her way into her bathroom and started a hot shower. She was going to get the feel of his hands off of her body, even if it meant that she endured pain to get it off. So she really just sat in the tub and let the water soak her skin and hair, slowly but surely washing away the scent of him.

It was in that moment that CJ felt the need to get wrapped up in a strong set of arms and be told that everything was going to be okay. Even though she knew that it would probably never be okay for her. She had abandonment issues, she couldn't let go of Seth, she wanted Dean like crazy, and she had a family of psychos on her case for no reason. Not to mention the basically non existent relationship with her father that may hinder her ability to parent children, if she ever had any.

"CJ, babe, what are you doing?" She heard Seth call from the doorway, but ignored him because she thought she was hearing things. She just kept her knees pulled up to her chest and her head buried in her knees while she cried.

Seth, however, was actually standing in the doorway. Roman had gotten a hold of Dean and arranged to have him pick them up at the airport early in the morning and hang out at CJ's since the extra protection would be necessary. He wasn't expecting to see her so broken, though, and expected that Dean hadn't told her he was leaving for a bit. So he did what he felt was right; he got into the shower with her. He didn't bother with undressing since it hurt him too much to do so, but he braved through and slid into the tub behind her. The way she tensed up when he put his arms around her didn't surprise him, but he didn't budge.

"Dean?"

"He's in the living room. Try again, CJ."

"Seth?" She slowly picked her head up and he guided it back to lean on his shoulder.

"I missed you, baby." He whispered, guiding her into a gentle kiss. He knew by the bite mark that had obviously broken her skin she was exclusively Dean's, but he earned the right to do this when he suffered a beating at the hands of the Wyatts a because he wouldn't tell them where she was. "I missed you so fucking much."

"You have bruises." CJ whispered, reaching a hand up to caress his discolored cheek.

"So do you." He knew it was Dean's mark on her, but he leaned down to kiss it anyway. He was wordlessly telling her that he wasn't giving up on her, and he knew by the way she stared up at him that she understood. "Why is the water so fucking hot?"

"I was having an emotional breakdown, Seth. Why are you wearing clothes in the shower?"

"Because it hurts too much to pull them off, and I'm trying to respect whatever it is you and Dean have going here." Seth explained, staying still when she stood and turned off her shower. "What are you-?"

"Stay put. I'm going to dry off and throw on clothes, then I'm coming back to run a bath for you."

"Clothes aren't mandatory, babe. They've never been." Seth suggested, winking when she looked back at him while she towered off.

"You could be helpful and take off your shoes."

"Yes, ma'am."

Dean and Roman were sitting on CJ's couch; Dean listening intently while Roman filled him in on everything Seth said. He didn't expect the Wyatt's to go so far to get to her, and he certainly didn't expect Chris to be behind it all. He didn't know if they should tell CJ or not, or if he should call Adam first before he even talked to CJ about what happened to Seth.

When Roman stopped talking suddenly, Dean looked back to see CJ carrying Seth's shoes from the bedroom and out to the balcony. She was only in her lacy boyshort underwear and a white tanktop with her wet hair tied up in a messy bun atop her head, but she still looked stunning to him. He noticed that she had caught Roman's eye and jokingly smacked his friend's arm as she walked passed again, heading straight for her bedroom.

"She was definitely walking strange." Roman observed with a smirk, holding his fist out to Dean.

"All night long." He couldn't help but brag, fist bumping Roman before pulling out his phone. "I need to call Adam and get his opinion. If anybody would know what to-"

"No need, Dean. I'm already here. Not for long, but I'm here none the less." Adam cut in as he walked through the door, pocketing a set of keys before shedding his coat and draping it across the back of the couch. "First things first, how's her knee?"

"She's done nothing that could set her back except for missing physical therapy today." Dean assured, standing to shake Adam's hand.

"Why is she missing therapy?"

"The Wyatts know she's in Syracuse." Roman piped in, standing to shake his hand as well.

"Who let it slip? Actually, we'll talk about that later and not in front of her. Where is she?"

"Bedroom." With no further conversation, Adam promptly turned on his heel to head to the bedroom, fully intent on pulling her into a hug and scolding her for not calling like she was supposed to. Damn near thirty or not, she can't just disappear and not let him know when she reappeared.

"CJ."

"Adam? I thought you were in Nova- this is a serious hug." CJ breathed once Adam trapped her in a bone crushing hug, lifting her off her feet.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Adam mumbled into her neck, not at all interested in letting go. "Why the hell didn't you call me?"

"Damnit, that's right. I got caught up with sex and my morning so far hasn't been all that great." CJ explained, knowing that there was no plausible excuse for her not calling Adam. "But I'm okay, dad."

"Your skin is pink." Adam commented as he set her on her feet, cupping her cheeks in his hands. "Did Dean-?"

"This was actually my doing. He left to get Seth and Roman from the airport, I guess, and didn't leave a note so I thought the worst and sat in hot shower water until Seth pulled me out."

"Kiddo, you can't keep doing shit like that to yourself." He spoke softly, massaging her cheeks with his thumb. "Sending him an angry text calling him a cock sucking douchebag would have been just as effective."

"I know, dad. I have a bad habit of taking everything out on my body."

"We're working on it though. Baby steps."

"CJ, how do you turn this off?" Seth called from the bathroom and Adam smirked down at her.

"Raunchy." Adam teased, removing his hands from her face in time to block her slap to his chest.

"He got beat up by the Wyatts for no damn reason." CJ defended with a laugh, letting Adam kiss her forehead before he went out to the living room and she pulled on a pair of yoga pants before going to Seth's aid. She sat on the edge of the tub before leaning over to shut off the water.

"Was that Adam?"

"Yeah. I disappeared for a few hours yesterday and forgot to call him when I resurfaced so he flew here from Nova Scotia to make sure I was okay." She explained, pulling his hair out of it's little bun and getting it wet to the best of her ability. Seth couldn't help but close his eyes at the feeling of her fingers massaging his scalp. "Feel good?"

"Amazing."

"Why did you get attacked, Sethie?" CJ asked softly, moving her hands down to gently caress his bruised cheeks. Chocolate brown eyes fluttered open slowly, meeting the concerned blue eyes of his love. Her small frown brought a frown onto his face as he let out a sigh of uncertainty. He didn't know what he should tell her.

"I don't want you to worry about me CJ. All that matters is that it happened, and that it's not happening again, babe."

"Seth..."

"CJ. We're not talking about it right now." His tone told her that he wasn't budging on this issue and she nodded, leaning over to kiss his forehead. "You could join me."

"I can't, though. Dean would blow a gasket."

"CJ." Dean called, bringing their attention to the doorway. "Come here, honeybee."

"She's your honeybee?" Seth asked, earning a curious glance from CJ.

"He didn't know?"

"That's not important, CJ. Come here." Dean requested once more, noticing the way she glanced back at Seth before doing as he requested. He gingerly placed his hands on her arms and guided her out of Seth's line of sight. "I don't know how to tell you this, but Adam told me that it was probably best coming from me."

"What's going on?" CJ asked, looking up into dean's eyes for some kind of answer. They were calculating, and didn't reveal anything to her. The sigh that left his lips and the way he scratched at the back of his neck worried her. "Dean?"

"The Wyatts know that you're in Syracuse. They don't know where exactly, but they know."

"Is that why Seth is all beaten?"

"They snagged him and beat him to try to get him to talk. He didn't, though. They dumped him at the door to his hotel room last night after they got a text about where you were." Dean explained slowly, keeping his voice calm and tone even despite how pissed off he was that she was betrayed by her own father.

"From who?"

"Doesn't matter. Adam is going to handle it. Don't worry, either. We're going to take care of you. Give him what he wants today, I don't care. He's earned it."

"You're giving me a hall pass to possibly fuck your best friend?" CJ asked with a raised eyebrow and Dean nodded.

"If it comes to that I'd like to watch and maybe join in, but yeah."

"You're a good friend, Dean." CJ whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck. He could only smile and wrap his arms around her waist before kissing her.

"He took the ass beating of a life time to protect you. He's more than just my friend, he's my brother. He's your best friend." Dean corrected, resting his forehead against hers. "I heard that you were pissed at me this morning."

"I thought you left me for good. It struck a nerve."

"Never. You're stuck with me." She knew those words were supposed to be reassuring, but she couldn't help the feeling of dread that the implication. Those words could've been his way of telling her that he loved her, since the implication of forever was there. Dean wasn't supposed to slam her with shit like that, and it scared her that he did.

Seth and CJ were cuddled up in her bed a couple hours later. Like she requested, he was telling her about what the Wyatts did to him and she listened intently, lightly petting his head as he spoke. He had really only spoken about the physical beat down, but she knew that Bray Wyatt had gotten into his head somehow. Seth wasn't a clingy man; touchy and a massive cuddler, yes, but never had he ever held onto her so tightly. That bothered her.

"That's not even the worst part." Seth mumbled, looking away from her curious and caring gaze for the first time.

"Talk to me Seth."

"He called you a whore, and he basically promised to have his way with you for hours, and then give you to the other two to be used while Dean and I watched." Seth's gaze had never been more intense, and it scared her. Everything about the last thirty seconds made her want to hide under her bed and never come out. "It was torture, CJ. I can barely handle knowing that Dean can just show up on your door and have you to himself, while I can't. But the thought of those monsters hurting you for their own sick pleasure makes me want to die. I'd gladly die to make sure that you never suffered like that."

"Sethie, I'm not worthy of that. You're a good man, Seth, and an even better friend. I'll never forget what you did for me, but I'm not worthy of you dying for." She spoke softly, taking his face in her hands and gently caressing his cheeks with her thumbs. "I'm not worthy of you."

"What makes you say that, babe?"

"You've done nothing but love and care for me, while I've done nothing but hurt you." Seth frowned at her statement, seeing the tears begin to well up in her eyes.

"CJ I've hurt you, too."

"This is why we can't have a relationship. It'll only be toxic, Sethie."

"Don't say that, CJ. Please-"

"Seth, I'm no good for you. You could get any girl; one who isn't afraid, who's without abandonment issues, who can make you happy. You deserve somebody who isn't damaged, Seth, and you can find her."

"I don't want just any girl, CJ, I want you. I love you."

"Don't use that word, Sethie. Love is just a word. A stupid-" His lips on hers cut her off, and she wasn't surprised when he pushed himself to hover over her as their lips moved in a slow harmony.

"It's a stupid feeling, but I don't regret falling in love with you." Seth breathed, pecking her lips. "I never will."

I'm not sure if I want to end this soon and start a sequel or drag this on indefinitely. Lovely readers, I'd like your opinion so I'm going to open up a poll. Also, I made playlists related to this story on 8tracks and the link is on my profile if any of you are interested.

Thank you to ArtisticLullaby, ChelleLew, TaijiaK, Syd the anon, Sarcastic Nightmare, and UntilNeverDawns for reviewing the last chapter!