Sorry this one's taken a while! Work has been super busy lately. But it's been so nice to come back and see that people have been reading and favouriting/following the story. Thank you! And massive thank you to XXTigerXEyesXX, Angeleyes31102 and Shazza19 for my first reviews. Coming back to those was a great help getting me back into the story. I'm glad you're enjoying it so far.

4. The Benders

Four of a kind. I had him! My guess was he had a flush. Good. But not as good as what I was holding.

The jukebox was on full blast—some country guy was singing about his truck or his ex-wife—and the pool balls clashed. The air was getting a little thick and heavy for a number of reasons. One: the bar was crammed, with truckers, hunters—of the animal kind—and ladies dancing away their marital problems. Two: one of the truckers in front of me was about to lose a very costly game of poker—he just didn't know it yet. And three: the incubus making his way through the ladies was about to get his heart cut out—he just didn't know it yet.

"Come on, blondie. Fold your hand and we can call it a night. Though I'd be more than happy to buy you a drink with my winnings." The man's ego was bigger than his gut. Just about. He scratched his wiry, overgrown beard as he waited for me to accept his offer while a couple of his buddies leaned against the wall, mocking smirks across their mouths. The only offer I'd be accepting was taking his money.

From the corner of my eye, the incubus put his arm around a short brunette and led her to the corridor next to the bar; he'd lead her out the back door for a little one on one time. Time that I'd be interrupting. I'd tracked him here and figured I may as well have some fun making money while I waited for him to pick his prey. I couldn't very well attack him on the crowded streets or in the bar; people would probably make a fuss if I started cutting up a dude. Now that he was alone, I could move. So I had to put the trucker out of his misery sooner than I'd have liked.

"I'm afraid you won't be buying any rounds tonight." I laid my hand down and stood from my chair, grabbing my denim jacket from the back of it. I reached over to collect the money in the middle of the table. Trucker dude grabbed my hand. His grip was tight but I'd be able to break out of it no problem. I'd break his nose in return. Seemed fair.

"What the hell is this?" He snarled.

I looked back at my cards. "I believe that's called a four of a kind. And I also believe it beats whatever hand you've got. So that means," I leaned over towards him. "I win." I rotated my wrist and wrenched out of his grip.

He reared up in his chair. "Cheatin' bitch." His friends straightened up and put their drinks down on the table.

I didn't have time for this. I needed to get to the alley. "Look, I get it. You got beat by a woman. Must really burn your balls. But if you and your buddies don't back down, this bitch is going to make your night even more miserable. Goodnight gentlemen." I collected the last of the money and headed to the back exit. They were more than welcome to follow me; I had my blade on me, tucked into a sheath at my back. If they wanted to get well acquainted with it? Well, be my guest.

Once I'd passed the bar and got to the hall, I raced for the door. I pushed it open and stepped out into the alley; the air filled with promise of rain. I scanned up and down the alley but couldn't see either of them. Please don't let me have left it too late. With my heart thudding in my chest, I ran down the alleyway, stopping when I got to the deserted car park at the back. There. Just over in the far corner the incubus had the woman pinned against a car. A more remote location would have been preferable, but with half the streetlights out, hopefully no one would witness what was about to happen.

I jogged over to them. "Hey! Hey, lady! I wouldn't do that if I were you."

They both turned simultaneously towards me. The woman's red lipstick was smeared across the incubus's lips. Hopefully he hadn't already latched onto her. Once an incubus got his metaphorical claws into you, it could invade your mind and suck the life outta you. But they'd make sure the experience was a pleasurable one. Still, the woman seemed to have enough wits about her that I figured I'd made it on time. Not that I could blame her for wanting to spend some quality time with him. With his blond hair and chiselled chin only the beginning of his movie star good looks, he could have any woman, or man, he wanted with a click of his fingers. He wouldn't be very good at his job otherwise.

"Get out of here, we're busy," the woman said with raised eyebrows and a pointed look.

"Yeah… busy with my husband! What the hell do you think you're doin'?"

She instantly shoved him back, eyes wide and palms raised. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know." She ran off as fast as her four-inch heels could carry her, before Mr Incubus could even open his mouth to try and talk himself back into her good graces.

Once we could no longer hear the clack of her heels, he turned to me with a chilling chuckle. "Well done. Let me guess… hunter?"

I responded with a smile of my own as I drew my knife from my back. I wiggled it in the air. "What gave it away? Wanna make out now?" I blew him a kiss.

With a snarl, he charged.

The handy thing about an incubus was once you knew what they really were, they were easy to handle. All of their power lay in their seductive disguise. When you could see through that, they had no power over you.

I dodged his body as he tried to ram me, instead shoving him aside until he flew to the floor. But he was quick. He was up in a flash, arms thrashing. I blocked most of the swings, landing some of my own. His fist grazed my cheek, throwing me a little off balance.

"Hey! Watch the face." I threw the knife up and caught it in my left hand. I swung out and the knife plunged straight into his chest. Bullseye. He froze before collapsing to his knees. "Really? That's it? You didn't even put up a fight." Typical. Just when I needed to let off some steam, I had to come across the weakest monster about.

Seeing as removing hearts tended to get a little messy and wasn't the quickest thing to do, I'd have to hot-foot it round the corner to get my truck. I'd have to heft the little sap into the back and do my thing elsewhere. Otherwise someone was bound to find me hunched over the corpse. "Don't move buddy, I'll be right back." He wasn't properly dead yet. But with that knife firmly lodged in his heart, he wasn't going anywhere any time soon.

I jogged back to the front of the bar, across the street, then round to another small parking lot. As I got to the car, I took my keys out of my jacket pocket.

There was a low rumbling, grating noise. More than that, there was a heaviness in the air. Something had followed me. The only weapon I'd actually had on me was currently preoccupied with keeping the incubus down. I needed to get in my truck. Just as I reached for the door handle, something grabbed my legs and pulled me down. I kicked out with my feet when I hit the ground, hoping to hit something, anything. Before I could fully work out what the fuck was going on, something covered my mouth and in mere seconds, I was out. Shit.

I was cold. And I was resting on something rough. Someone was pounding on a drum. Wait. No. That was just a rampaging headache. Great. My eyes fluttered open. What the hell? I was on the floor of a rundown barn with sunlight peeking through a roof that looked like it would cave in at any moment. As I sat up, I realised something else... I was in a fucking cage! The headache faded away; the coldness replaced with a blazing fury. Without hesitation, I stood up—as best I could—laced my fingers through the cage's roof, leaned back and kicked out at the metal door. The impact vibrated up my leg, but it only made me kick harder. Kick after kick. The damn thing wasn't budging.

"Don't you think I've tried that?"

I spun to my right. A guy at least a decade older than me occupied another cage. "Who the hell are you?"

"Alvin." He sat at the back of his cage, dishevelled but pissed as hell. I knew the feeling. "Who the hell are you?"

"Alexis." I threw the random name out as I continued kicking at the door. I didn't care what the sound would call. Once I got out of this cage—and I damn well would—the thing would be dead.

"Seriously, it ain't gonna budge," Alvin continued. "It opens from that panel over there." He pointed to the other side of the barn.

Yeah, it wasn't gonna spring open. I let go of the cage and slumped back down. It would probably be smarter to conserve my energy anyway. "Where are we?"

"I don't know. The country, I think. Smells like the country."

I sighed. "So what you're telling me is we're in the middle of goddamn nowhere." I gave the door one last frustrated kick.

"Pretty much."

I shivered despite the rays of sun that were glancing through the cracks in the roof. They—whoever they were—had taken my jacket and left me in my tank top. If I didn't get that jacket back, they'd die for that alone. I liked that damn jacket.

"Please tell me you got someone who knows you're missing." I had no one waiting on me at home. Didn't even have a home to go back to.

Alvin ran a hand through his hair. "My mum will eventually. I hope."

"Great." Guess it was up to me to get us out of here. I just had to know what I was dealing with. "Do you know what took us?"

"What do you mean 'what'?" He scoffed. "They're just some psycho hillbilly rednecks looking for love in all the wrong places."

Surely, I hadn't heard him right. There was no way I got taken down by some pesky humans. Great, now I'm starting to sound like a villain from Scooby Doo. "They're people?"

"What else did you expect?"

Vampires… werewolves… I would have expected any monster. There was a motivation for what they did. It was their nature to hurt, to kill. But humans? Why the hell would they snatch us? It didn't make sense.

"How long you been here?" I asked.

"About a day."

Two people in two days. I turned to my left. Another cage sat empty. Something told me we were going to have company soon.

Hours had passed. I had no clue how many, but the sun had set a while ago and the temperature had dropped rapidly. Alvin had been right. The things that had got the jump on me in the parking lot were humans. Part of me was damn glad there had been no one around at the time; I'd never live it down if someone I knew saw me get jumped by some regular assholes. Not that I knew many people. They'd shown up a couple of hours ago, cloaked in black with hoods over their faces, so I couldn't get a good look at them. They didn't respond to any of my questions. Okay, so I wasn't really asking them questions, more just yelling every curse I could think of at them. The two men—I could only assume they were men from their build—left a plate of food in each of our cages. They'd pushed some button on the other side of the room to open the doors. I didn't make my move then; I still didn't know what I was dealing with and for once thought it best not to be too brash. Please don't let me regret that decision. Alvin had dived for the food. It wouldn't have made sense for them to drug the food as we were right where they wanted us. But I wasn't going to touch mine anyway, at least not until I was sure Alvin wasn't going to topple over and die.

I was reaching my arm through the bars, trying to grab hold of a nearby chain resting on the floor when the men came back. Only this time, they weren't alone. Between them, they were carrying someone. Whoever it was, they were unconscious. As they got closer, I could see it was a man. A tall one at that. The hooded man that was carrying the unconscious dude's feet dropped them to the floor then wandered over to press the button. The door to the cage beside mine swung open. They threw the guy in, locked the door, and just as before, they left without a word.

I scurried over to the side of my cage. "Hey dude. Hey!" The man was facing away from me, but I guessed he was knocked out the same way I had been. There was nothing else to do but wait until he woke up. Maybe he knew or had seen something that could help me figure a way out for all of us.

"How many more people do you think they're gonna take?" Alvin asked.

There were no more empty cages left, so whatever they had planned, I had a bad feeling they were gonna make their move soon. "I think it's just us. For now at least."

With no other options, I went back to the front of my cage and once again tried to reach the chain. I knew it was no use. My arms were too short. "Are you sure there's nothing around your cage you could reach? Nothing to use as a weapon?"

"Believe me, I've looked. There's nothing."

After a dozen more unsuccessful attempts, I gave up. I would just have to wait until they unlocked my cage, probably when they brought the next round of food, then I could try something and hope for the best. How difficult could it be to overpower a couple of humans?

A gasp sounded from the third cage. The man was sitting up and rubbed his head, turning to—

"Sam?" I never thought I'd be so surprised or pleased to see a Winchester.

Sam's eyes widened when he looked at me. "Hey."

"What's a guy like you doing in a place like this?" I asked as he moved towards my cage.

He laughed slightly. His head was probably still pounding. "And this place is where exactly?"

"Slap bang in the middle of nowhere probably. You ok?"

He winced a little. "Yeah. You?"

"Peachy." I smiled. And it was a genuine one. My hopes for us getting out of here unscathed increased dramatically knowing he was here. Two hunters were better than one.

Sam looked past me to the other cage. "Hey, you're Alvin Jenkins, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Alvin responded.

"You know each other?" I asked. Small world, huh?

Sam sighed. "I was lookin' for him."

"Oh, yeah?" He didn't sound too pleased. "Well, no offense, but this is a piss-poor rescue."

"Well, my brother's out there right now, too. He's lookin' for us."

"So you two made up?" That night at the side of the road had been one hell of an uncomfortable scene. And that was before Dean had turned his anger onto me.

"Yeah." Sam wore a small smile.

Well, big congrats to them. At least help would be on the way if we couldn't find our own way out. If I was sure of one thing, it was that Dean was gonna find his brother no matter what.

"So, we're just gonna wait for them to come back and do God-knows-what to us?" The desperation was rising in Alvin's voice.

"What are they?" Sam asked. "Have you guys seen them?"

"What is it with you two? What else would they be?"

"They're just human," I replied. It still sounded so weird to say. "They've only been in twice since I've been here. To drop off food. And then to drop off you."

"And that's the only time you've seen 'em?"

Then Alvin responded. "So far. But I'm waitin'."

"Waitin' for what?" Sam asked.

"Ned Beatty time, man."

Sam got up and started looking around his cage. "I think that's the least of our worries right now."

He was right. Normal people didn't go around snatching other people off the streets. We weren't going to like whatever they had planned.

"Sam, above your cage." I pointed to the side closest to mine. "There's something hanging over there. I've been trying to reach the chain over there for ages. You should be able to grab that, though. We need at least one weapon between us."

"What do you think they want, then?" Alvin asked as Sam reached through his cage and grabbed the tube that was dangling down. He yanked on it but it didn't budge.

"Depends on who they are."

"What's your name, again?" Jenkins asked.

"It's Sam," he grunted in response as he continued to pull on the coil.

"Why don't you give it up, Sammy, there's no way out."

"Don't… call me… Sammy!" With a final yank it fell. Something metal clanged on the ground.

"What is it?" Alvin asked as he tried to peer past my cage.

Sam picked it up and inspected it. "It's a bracket."

"Well, thank God, a bracket. Now we've got 'em, huh?"

This guy was growing more irritating by the minute. "Hey, we need anything we can get our hands on. We don't know how strong these guys are. So cut the attitude."

Suddenly, mine and Alvin's cage unlocked and creaked open. Sam and I turned to one another, looks of concern mirrored on each other's faces.

Alvin was already walking out of his cage. "Maybe you knocked somethin' loose," he said to Sam.

"He didn't knock anything loose," I said. They opened the doors on purpose. But why? And why not Sam's cage? I followed Alvin out and stood in front of him. "Get back in the cage."

"What? Why the hell would I do that?"

"This isn't right," Sam added from his cage.

Alvin turned to Sam and back to me, confusion marring his face. "Don't you guys wanna get out of here?"

"Yeah," I said. "But that was too easy." I wandered over to the control panel where the button for the doors were. "Damnit. It needs a key." Looked like Sam was staying put.

"Look, I'm gonna get out of here, and I'm gonna send help, okay, don't worry." Once again Alvin tried to leave.

I stalked over to him and grabbed the back of his shirt and swung him to the floor. A little tough love never hurt anyone. "Don't be an idiot. You stay here, I'll go. Get back in the cage."

"Listen little lady, I've got this." Alvin stood back up, dusting off his shirt. "Why don't you hang back and wait for the rescue, huh?"

If he called me little lady again, he was getting a fist to the face.

"Jenkins—this might be a trap," Sam insisted.

Jenkins looked to Sam, then back at me. He was gonna run for it. Any second now.

"Bye, guys." And off he ran.

I put my hands on my hips as my head fell back. Just what we needed: a rouge civilian playing hero.

I looked over at Sam, shrugged, then shook my head, knowing what I had to do, even though this was definitely a trap. Thanks Alvin! "Shit. I'll go after him." But what if something happened to Sam once I was gone? Maybe that was the trap.

"I don't like this." Sam clutched the bars of the cage. Even from here I could see his knuckles turning white from the force of their grip.

"Neither do I."

Sam nodded. "Be careful. Don't worry about me."

Funnily enough, I was worried. More than I should have been. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Before I could change my mind, I ran after Alvin. I pushed open the door he went through and found myself in another room. This one had plenty of potential weapons. I quickly scanned the room and settled on a branding iron. It would do.

I crept outside, and of course it started to pour with rain. Because why would anyone want to make my life easier? I looked around but couldn't see a single sign of Alvin. Couldn't see much of anything. But there, in the mud, were tracks. Hopefully they were Alvin's—they looked fresh enough. I followed the footprints into the forest. I couldn't hear anything past the constant tapping of the rain but kept scanning all around for any signs of the men. They knew the layout of the land, so they already had the upper hand.

Just ahead I hurt a grunt, followed by a maniacal laugh. I sprinted towards the sounds, my feet slipping in the mud. Ahead, Alvin was on the ground and two men with spears were standing over him. If they were going to kill him, why were they waiting?

"Hey assholes!" They whirled around to face me; Alvin seemingly forgotten.

One of the men cried out, "Woohoo!" as they began to circle me, their spears aimed at me. The branding iron was too short, there was no way I could reach them without walking into their blades. Adrenaline flooded my body. My heart rate picked up. Fuck it. I kicked one of the spears away and lashed out with the iron, hitting the first guy around the head. He fell to the floor. As I spun around to face the other, a burning sensation sliced across my side. I jumped back before the second guy could have another go.

"We got ourselves a fighter," he says as he pokes the spear in the air, aiming for me, causing me to back further towards the tree behind me.

"You get the other one." The man I hit with the branding iron was up. And he was pissed. "I got the bitch."

Alvin wasn't where I'd last seen him. He'd gone. The man standing in front of me looked like he wanted to argue but thought better of it. He ran after Alvin.

"Think you can hurt me, bitch? That ain't how this works." The man threw the spear down and drew a knife from the sheath strapped to his thigh. He spun the blade in his hand, almost begging me to make the first move. I was more than happy to.

I charged at him, ducking as he swung the knife. He was thrown off balance, so I grabbed him arm and kneed him in the stomach. I threw a punch at his face as he buckled over. The pain in my side was screaming at me to stop. That wasn't an option. I darted for his spear. I grabbed it and turned to face him only to be met with my own punch to the face. Somehow I managed to stay standing. The blade moved towards me once more but I batted it out of his hands with the spear. With his body open to attack, I lunged. The spear pierced his shoulder and sunk into the tree behind him, pinning him in place. He screamed like a wounded animal that…

That's what they were doing. It was more than just bringing us out here to kill us. They were hunting. Unfortunately for them, I knew a thing or two about hunting.

There was no time to wait. Maybe I should have finished him off, but I needed to get to Alvin. And fast. I put my hand to my side as I ran in the direction the second man had gone. My hand came away wet. Whether that was from blood or from my rain-soaked shirt, I didn't know. But I didn't have time to check myself over.

There was a small incline, my boots had just enough grip to get me up it. Once I reached the peak and saw what was going below… all I could do was cry out.

"No!"

Alvin was once again on the ground. This time, a spear was wedged in his chest. I was too late. Why did I always have to be too late?

The man looked back at me, hunger written across his face. "Last one before number three comes out." He pulled the spear out of his chest.

"You really need that to kill me?" I spat. "What kind of man are you if you need a weapon to kill a woman?" Come on, put it down. I can beat you in a straight fight. They were nothing special. They really were just some psycho hillbilly rednecks.

"Oh I don't need it at all." The idiot threw it down and at once, we ran for the other.

Fists swung left and right. He got a few blows in but it was dawning on him quickly that I was stronger than I looked… and I was pissed. I grabbed the back of his head and hauled it down into my knee. Even over the rain I could hear his nose crunch. But I wasn't letting him off that easy. I yanked his head back up and threw a few more punches. His bloodied face more red than it was white.

Then a whack to the back of my head had me falling to the ground. I had just enough awareness to roll to the side as a spear headed towards me, instead landing in the mud. Somehow the other guy had unpinned himself from the tree. His eyes blazed with fury. "Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this."

I had no choice. My head was spinning. My side hurting more every second. I had to run. I scrambled up as their laughter echoed behind me. I didn't know where I was, which direction I needed to turn to get back to Sam. Maybe it was better that I drove them away instead. They were angry I'd hurt them. I didn't know what I'd do if they went back and took their anger out on him.

So I blindly ran in any and every direction. I had to keep one hand on my side; I was definitely losing a fair bit of blood. Suddenly I tripped. Something had cut into my ankles, bringing me down. It didn't matter what it was. Get up! I clambered up once more.

A shot rang out.

A searing pain spread through my thigh.

I went down.

I tried to keep the scream in.

The fuckers had shot me!

Get up!

More laughter rang out but it was certainly further away. I could outrun them. At least normally. The bullet wound was gonna slow me down. But I was no quitter. I ran as fast and as hard as I could. I ran for what seemed like forever. Branches scratched me. Dips in the ground tripped me. How long had I been running? I wasn't gonna last much longer. I needed to rest. But had I lost the rednecks? Had they gone back to Sam?

Just up ahead, I saw a road. I crawled up the steep hill to get to it, my breathing becoming more laboured by the second. I lost my balance as I got up there and fell into the road.

Bright lights.

Tires screeched.

Footsteps thudded.

I didn't have the energy to lift my head. Someone turned me onto my back.

"Shit. Short stack?"

I must have been imagining things, imagining that voice. I opened my eyes. Dean! I would never admit it out loud, but damn was I glad to see him.

"Fuck, you're hurt. What the hell happened?" His eyes scanned me up and down frantically.

"Got into a fight with a squirrel. Rabid little bastards." I laughed then winced in pain. Note to self: don't laugh. Now that I'd stopped, my whole body was aching.

"Come here." With surprising gentleness, he lifted me off the floor and into his arms. "Got a blanket in there? She's freezing." He called out to someone as he carried me over to a waiting car. Not just any car.

"So someone's finally through with your bullshit and decided to call the cops on you?" A cop was running around the car to open the back door.

"Very funny," Dean replied. "People love me. But I'm with my good friend Kathleen here looking for Sam."

"I was with him."

Dean stopped in the middle of the road and our eyes met. "Where?"

"I don't know. I'm… I'm sorry. But he's ok. At least he was when I last saw him."

Dean nodded sombrely. "Don't worry, let's get you sorted out first. Just tell us what happened."

We reached the car and Dean propped me up against the side of it. The cop, Kathleen, tucked a blanket around my shoulders. The material irritated my scratched and bruised skin, but the warmth it provided was worth it.

"I got jumped in a parking lot after dealing with an incubus. Wait… fuck! His body's still by the bar."

"Excuse me?" The cop's, Kathleen's, eyebrows shot to the top of her hairline. Yeah, that probably wasn't the best thing to mention. She may have been with Dean but I had no idea how truthful he'd been with her.

"Ha! It's the blood loss talking." Dean laughed unconvincingly. He kneeled down in front of me and peeled my shirt up to my ribcage. I glanced down. Yep. Definitely a bit of blood loss.

"Hell, Princess. That's a hell of a cut." He glanced down. "And you've been shot!"

"I'll get the first aid kit." Kathleen headed for the trunk.

"Let's get that cut taken care of first. I think you were lucky; looks like the bullet just grazed you."

Kathleen came back with the kit. "Here, let me—"

"No." Dean sounded rather adamant. "I've got her." He opened up the kit and placed it on the roof of the car, gathering the items he needed. "Sorry, Princess," he said as his thumb moved gently back and forth over my hip. "This is gonna sting." Then he poured what could only be described as pure gasoline over my stomach.

"Ahh! Fuck!"

"Worst bit's over. Let me bandage this up, then I'll sort your leg out. You were telling us about what happened…"

"Right." I took a deep breath to try and ease the stinging. It didn't work. Go figure. "Anyway, I got jumped in a parking lot. Blacked out. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in a cage in some barn. That's where Sam is. The guy you and Sam were looking for, Alvin Jenkins, he was there too."

"Who are they?" Kathleen asked.

"I don't know. I didn't get any info, couldn't even really see their faces. But they're hunting, Dean. That's what they took us for. The door to mine and Alvin's cages opened. Alvin… he…" I swallowed past the lump in my throat, the bitter guilt. "I tried to save him… It was pitch black. And they had spears. I couldn't get at them before they got to him." I should have tried harder to keep him in that damn barn. I was supposed to kill monsters for a living to save people. I couldn't even save Alvin from a few humans. Some hunter I was. "They're probably gonna be pissed I got away, I messed one of them up pretty bad, so make that doubly pissed. We need to get back to Sam."

Dean's jaw clenched. But he finished off taping my side with care before ushering me to sit in the back of the car, my legs still on the ground, then beginning to wrap a bandage around my thigh. "We will."

"Did you see anything, something like a landmark when you were running?" Kathleen asked as she opened a map onto the hood of the car.

"No. Nothing. Just a shit load of trees."

"You cross any roads apart from this one?"

"No."

"And how long were you running for?"

Man it felt weird to be so compliant with a cop. "Hell, I don't know. A half hour maybe?"

"Well that helps narrow it down." She whipped out her flashlight and shone it over the map.

"There. That should hold you together for now." Dean was crouched in front of me. He looked up and once again locked eyes with me. Worry was woven across his face. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Well, I will be once we sort these fuckers out and get Sam out."

Dean's mouth lifted in the smallest of smile. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Caring about him."

What am I supposed to say back to that?

Dean cleared his throat. "About last time…"

"Ok, we've got a few possible we could hit," Kathleen came to stand behind Dean.

I was more than happy to let the conversation Dean wanted to start die before it had even begun. The words he had thrown at me when we were last together still smarted. Yet the Dean I was face to face with now seemed worlds different. Still. There were more pressing things to worry about. "Let's go then." I launched up out of the seat, only for my leg to buckle under me.

Dean reached out to steady me. "I don't think so Wonder Woman. You're gonna take a break in the back."

"Like hell I am. I'm the one who got kidnapped, remember? I'm not sitting this out."

"I didn't say you were," he said as he once again eased me down, like he was placating a child. "But you told me you blacked out when they took you, and it was pitch black when you left the barn, so you don't even know what this place looks like. You've given us a shot by narrowing down the area. Just take a damn break you stubborn pain in my ass."

He may have had a point. May have. "You were doing so well up until that last point."

This time, Dean's smile was beaming. "You bring out the worst in me, Princess."

I huffed. "Fine, I'll rest. But I'm not sleeping."

Dean reached out and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. "No one said you had to sleep. Just. Rest."

Frantic knocking woke me. It took me a few seconds to remember where I was. So much for not sleeping. Knock. Knock. Knock. Dean was standing outside the car window. I shuffled, painfully, over to the door and opened it. As soon as I stepped out, I saw his problem. Looked like Kathleen had handcuffed Dean to the door. I was liking this cop more and more.

There was a screech of brakes. "Get me out of this. Someone's coming." He nodded to the antenna sticking up at the back of the car.

I flew into action, pain on the backburner. I unscrewed the antenna, my hands surprisingly steady given the blood loss. Adrenaline's a hell of a drug. Then I spun to Dean and began unlocking the cuffs. Two voices were getting closer. We needed to be gone. Now. The lock clicked and Dean freed his wrist before grabbing my hand and leading us into the tree line. Just as we reached it and huddled down, two men rounded the path and headed straight for the vehicle. One of them had a heavily bandaged shoulder. It was them. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but one of them pulled out a set of keys and opened the door. Dean and I turned to one another. They had Kathleen. Once they drove the car away, we straightened.

"Ok, here's the plan. You stay here—"

"Whoa! I already told you I'm not sitting this out. So save your breath, quit wasting time and let's go." Not waiting for a response, I headed in the direction the men had driven off, assuming they were going back home. Would be pretty foolish for them to drive around town in a stolen police car. Not that I thought they were particularly bright.

"Are you kidding me? You can barely walk."

At Dean's comment I tried to hide the way I was hobbling. Yet the more I straightened up, the more my side started to hurt. Goddamn psycho redneck hillbillies! "These men hunted us like animals, Dean. I need to… I want…"

Dean stopped me with a tug on my shoulder. "I get it. I do. But tell me, honestly, how are you gonna hold up after you've been stabbed and shot?"

"I'll hold up just fine."

Dean raised an eyebrow and poked me in the side.

"Ow! Asshole!" I shoved him back, but it was a pathetic attempt. Ok, maybe he had a point. But I was struggling to think rationally through this red haze that had descended over my vision. I wanted them to pay. Personally.

"Trust me when I say that they aren't gonna get away with killing Jenkins, with taking my brother… with what they did to you." It could have been the several blows to the head I'd received in the last forty-eight hours, but it sounded like he actually cared. "But if I have to look out for you in there as well as try to get those two out alive, it's gonna make my job that much harder."

Damnit. He had a point. Maybe I was being a little too stubborn. Not that he needed to know I agreed. "Fine. You make a very convincing argument. Just promise that if you need me, you'll come get me."

"Deal."

Dean left me hunkered down behind some beat-up truck with a witty, "Huh, it's almost as old and nasty as yours." I'd get him back once I regained my full strength and ability to make comebacks. Once my body stopped feeling like someone was jabbing at it with ice picks that was. My brain was telling me to jump into action, but there was no way I was physically able to. It was debilitating, feeling weak. Being able to fight, to stand up for myself, was the only thing that kept me from losing my sanity.

It was quiet. Too quiet. It was killing me, not knowing what was going on. As I peeked around the back of the truck, someone passed by one of the windows. They were dragging someone. Shit. That couldn't be good.

I crouched and ran up to the side of the house, holding my side, breathing through the pain in my leg. I pressed my back against the wall then carefully peered through the window. Dean was tied to a chair. Three men surrounded him, with a young girl among them. This probably counted as 'needing me'.

I crept around the porch to the front door and pushed it open as slowly as I dared. The house was falling apart, the smell of rotten wood invading my senses. If I pushed the door any harder, it would probably collapse to the floor. When I got in, I tiptoed through the debris littering the floor. I paused outside the room where they were holding Dean.

"Ah, you son of a bitch!" At Dean's yell, I peered once again into the room. He had a nasty cut on his forehead, but worse was the red-hot poker iron being held up to his face as one of the guys held his head in place.

"Next time, I'll take an eye." This guy I hadn't seen before. At least I didn't think I had. He was significantly older than the other ones. Maybe their dad? How lovely! A family of sickos.

"Alright, the guy, the guy! Take the guy!" Dean reluctantly yelled.

"Lee, go do it. Don't let him out, though. Shoot him in the cage."

Him? Sam? I needed to act, and fast. But Dean had been right. I was pretty useless in this state.

"What? I thought you said you were gonna hunt him. You were gonna give him a chance."

"Lee, when you're done with the boy—shoot the bitch, too. Better clean this mess up before any more cops come runnin' out here."

Lee was coming closer. I whipped around the corner, hiding in the room next door. If anybody spotted me, it would be game over. The only thing I could think to do? Distract. I bent down and picked up a beer bottle from the floor. Steadying myself against what I knew would be a shooting pain in my side, I launched the beer bottle across the other side of the house. It smashed against the wall.

Silence filled the room next door. "Lee?" The old man called out.

A split second later, a gunshot rang out.

There was a moment's pause before Dean spoke. "You hurt my brother, I'll kill you, I swear. I'll kill you all. I will kill you all!

"Lee! Lee!" Yeah, Lee's not responding asshole. Sounded like daddy dearest was worried about his little boy. "Jared, you come with me. Missy, you watch him now."

As footsteps once again grew closer, I darted back around the corner. When they left the house, probably heading to the barn. I headed into the room.

The little girl was standing inches from Dean, a knife hovering close to his eye. Now a kid I could handle.

"Hey sweetie," I said in the softest voice I could muster. One, to make me sound like a lovable, kind woman. And two, so she wouldn't jump and accidentally poke Dean's eye out.

The girl spun towards me as Dean lifted his head. "Are you talkin' to me?"

I sighed. "Really, Dean? Now's not—"

With a screech that could have deafened me, the girl raised her knife and ran at me. I was getting really sick of people coming at me with a knife. Just before she reached me, I dodged to the side and stuck my leg out. She tripped and went skidding across the floor. As fast as I could, I reached down and hauled her up, no doubt tearing my wound. There was a closet across the room that would hold her just fine. As she kicked and flailed, I chucked her into the room and grabbed a chair to wedge under the handle. See? I was perfectly fit and healthy to help out.

"Nicely done," Dean said as I hobbled over to him and untied the rope binding his hands.

"Thanks. How's your head?" I grabbed him and helped him up, though I was pretty sure I was more beat up than him.

"Just a scratch. Let's find Sam."

Before we could take a step, a second gunshot rang out. We both bolted for the back door. As we ran down the steps, Kathleen and Sam appeared from the barn, dishevelled but unharmed.

"Sammy!" Dean raced ahead of me, over to his brother and they hugged one another. "You ok?" He checked Sam over just as he had done to me when he found me on the road.

"Yeah, I'm good." Sam turned to me as I reached them. "I see you brought the cavalry."

"Oh, you know, just thought I'd bring them along for the ride," I said with a smile.

"Where's the girl?" Kathleen asked.

"Currently locked in a closet," I replied.

"What about the dad?" Dean asked with a hint of bitterness in the words.

"Shot," Kathleen said. "Trying to escape."

Judging by the look exchanged between the three of them, that wasn't exactly how it went down. I couldn't care less. He was dead. I was ok with that.

Dean cleared his throat as Kathleen's radio came to life. "I think the car's at the police station."

Kathleen had her ear to her radio, then ended the transmission. "Well, state police are gonna be here within the hour. They're gonna wanna talk to you. I suggest that you're both long gone by then."

"Thanks," Dean said. "Hey, listen, I don't mean to press our luck, but we're kind of in the middle of nowhere. Think we could catch a ride?"

Kathleen nodded her head towards me. "She can catch a ride. She's not the one with the sketchy criminal history. You two? Start walking. Duck if you see a squad car."

Sam chuckled. "Sounds great to me. Thanks."

"Listen, uh….I'm sorry about your brother," Dean said.

"Thank you." If I wasn't mistaken, Kathleen's eyes began to water. "It was really hard not knowing what happened to him. I thought it would be easier once I knew the truth, but it isn't really." She breathed out as if letting go of some painful history. So this had been personal for her. I'm glad she got some kind of peace, of closure. "Anyway, no offence, but I don't want to see you around again." She strolled off, heading for her car.

"How are you holding up?" Sam asked me.

"What can I say? I had a good nurse." I nodded my head in Dean's direction.

"If you need a sponge bath at any point, you let me know." Dean said with a smirk and a wink.

And there was the Dean we all loved to hate. "Pig." We shared a smile. "But seriously... thanks. You saved my ass back there."

Dean shrugged. "Yeah well, you saved my ass from that little serial killer in the making. My eyes are way too pretty to be stuck in a glass jar."

We laughed before a weighty silence filled the air between us. A lot had happened the last time we were together, and again tonight. I didn't really know what to say. By all appearances, neither did Dean.

"We better get moving," Kathleen called as she stood by the driver's side door.

"My chariot awaits," I said, backing away from the boys.

"See you around, Princess," Dean said.

The boys each smiled, then began walking away. Something had changed. I didn't know what. But these boys weren't just a few hunters I happened to bump into on occasion. They'd saved my ass today. Dean especially. I owed them for that.

"Raelynn," I called out to the boys' backs.

They turned to face me. "What?" Dean asked.

"Raelynn. My name is Raelynn."

After a second, a smile lit Dean's face. Before I could say anything else, before he could reply, I walked away, heading for Kathleen. I knew there were still things that needed to be said between Dean and I, but maybe bumping into the Winchester's every now and then wouldn't be so bad.