A/N: So I said I'd update on Saturdays and then on the very first Saturday after announcing that I nearly FORGOT TO UPDATE. (I'm a disaster). But hey it's only 11:16 where I am so technically speaking I didn't actually miss the update. I just came very close to it. Whoops.

Episode #08:

Déjà Vu

"They say that history repeats itself so if you don't learn from the past you will make the same mistakes. So I have become an archeologist of my own history. Digging up what has long since been buried, exhuming those forgotten memories, piecing together all the broken fragments. Trying to distinguish what is real from folklore, trying to gain underatanding, rather than relying on myth." –M.P. Robinson

There was a rock ballad hanging in the air around me mingled only with the roar of an engine two voices softly talking. I slowly opened my eyes, but the only thing to greet my vision was the roof of a car. A car. I was lying on the backseat of a car. I shifted in place, squeaking against the leather seats, but no pain or aches overcame me. That wasn't right. I was hurt, wasn't I? I had gotten…

I had gotten shot.

The memory of what had happened snapped like a taut rubber band in my brain and I shot up in a panic gasping for air. My hands gripped the back of the leather front seat in front of me and I glanced around frantically.

"Look who decided to finally wake up." A deep chuckle said from the driver's seat. Rick sat there, his hands on the steering wheel, but his eyes glanced at me through the rear-view mirror. He smirked, "Morning, sleeping beauty."

"Rick?" I questioned, but my voice was ignored.

"Leave her alone. She's probably tired from cleaning up after you yesterday." I turned to the passenger seat to see Daryl leaning back in his seat with a teasing smile.

Rick scoffed, "Ok, that was not my fault. That fanged asshole came out of nowhere. Show some concern."

This wasn't right. Both men weren't acting like they usually did. Daryl was too open and cheery as he made fun of Rick, and Rick was… it just didn't feel right. The deputy sheriff had always had confidence, but it was an easy confidence that exuded strength. This Rick gave off an arrogant, cocky vibe, but not in a negative way. It worked for him. Something in my head told me it was a front for something softer, but I didn't know why that thought came to me.

Still, it wasn't right.

They weren't even wearing their usual clothes. Rick's uniform was replaced with a t-shirt and maroon button up, a large leather jacket over it all, and his wedding ring was gone. Now it was replaced with a silver ring on his right hand with a collection of odd bracelets around that wrist. Daryl, on the other hand, had jeans and a plaid shirt with a canvas jacket over it. It almost felt like a sin to see him wearing sleeves.

Even the location was wrong. The group didn't have a car like this in the convoy. Black and sleek, an old muscle car based off the loud engine. Plus, when I glanced out the window all I saw were open plains and dying foliage. Fall. It was Fall?

What the actual fuck?

"Guys, what is going on? This isn't right. Where are we?" I cried, my heart racing in my chest, "Where's the rest of the group? Why aren't we in Georgia—"

"Yeah, we're about ten minutes outside of Cottonwood Falls." Rick replied, but the answer didn't match my question entirely. He shrugged, "Figure this is where the runaway went. We find him, off him, and then we'll be on our way to— place by nightfall."

I blinked in confusion. He had said a name. He had said we'd be by someone's place by nightfall, but the name hadn't made any noise. It was like he just moved his mouth, and nothing came out.

"I didn't catch that." I shook my head, "What are you talking about?"

Daryl nodded, "You're right, but this is the closest town and our best bet. If it doesn't work out here we could always check Elmdale. It's the town west of here."

This was not right. Nothing I said had anything to do with whatever the hell they were talking about. Rather than question them again I just sat there staring, and they both suddenly began to chuckle as if I hadsaid something. My hands drifted up to cover my face in confusion as I sat back in my seat. What was going on? I glanced up again to see Rick and Daryl were carrying out the conversation as if I was still a part of it, but nothing was making any sort of logical sense.

I let my hand trace the leather threads of the seat I was on and there was something hypnotic about the motion. This felt right. If I ignored the weird Rick and Daryl up front and just focused on the world around me… I recognized it. I closed my eyes and tried to concentrate just on what I felt. The warm leather under my hands, the AC/DC song dancing around me, the rumble of the engine going up through my feet into the rest of my body, and the smell of grease, bourbon, and something else. Someone.

This was a memory.

Rick and Daryl weren't part of it, they weren't supposed to be here, but this was one of my memories. I sucked in a sharp breath and opened my eyes. Rick and Daryl had grown quiet in the front. Daryl was looking through a journal of some kind and Rick was bobbing his head to the music. His eyes lifted to the rear-view mirror and caught mine again. He held the gaze for only a second before darting away.

Somehow, I had been shot and now I was here. Either I was dead and my afterlife was some weird combo memory of my past and present, or… shit, what was the or? A pain induced hallucination?

I couldn't limit myself by just trying to make sense of this though. That wasn't going to come to me. I needed to divert my energy to something else. Quickly, I began to dig through the back seat looking for a clue to what was going on. On the floorboard was my old bag, the one that burned up at the CDC. When I opened it though, it was filled with the same items I had already seen. Creepy IDs, extra clothes, and a medical kit. Near the bottom though there was something new. My bag had been filled with that weird rock, but now instead of the rock there was a journal of some kind. It was thick and old, filled with scraps of paper that stuck out. I kicked the bag aside and tried to flip through it, but every page was smudged.

"Oh, come on." I complained. It was like my brain knew the journal was filled with writing, but I couldn't remember it well enough to be able to sit here and actually read through it. I continued to flip through the pages, hoping something would be legible, but nothing happened.

I threw the book aside with a roll of my eyes.

This was going to be a long death/pain hallucination coma.

Castiel sat in a rocking chair perched in the corner of the small bedroom. Victoria was lying in bed with gauze over her sutured wound. Hershel had wrapped up the surgery hours ago and said the rest was in Victoria's hands. Everything had gone well, now it was just a waiting game.

The house was quiet and Castiel could see the beginning of the first light beginning to stream into the room. Sunrise wasn't far away, the surgery had ended well past midnight, but the house remained still. Patricia had finally fallen asleep he assumed. After finding out her husband Otis had died for the surgical supplies she fell apart. For a while, all Castiel could hear were the sounds of his new friend's slow breaths and Patricia sobbing upstairs.

He laced his fingers together, his elbows on his knees, and leaned his lower face against his hands. Castiel was tired. He still wasn't at 100% since he was patched up on the highway, but he couldn't bring himself to sleep. Worry plagued him.

It wasn't logical of him to care so strongly for someone he had just supposedly met and yet he did. The woman was a stranger to him according to his mind. It didn't feel that way though. Castiel didn't buy it. He didn't know what was going on, but he was sure of three things. One, some part of him was missing. He had a hole in his chest, and it felt very, very wrong. Two, there was something dangerous lurking outside. It was more than just the walkers. There was an evil in the area that Castiel couldn't quite put his finger on, but it made him feel ill. Three, Victoria was very important to him. He didn't know in what way or how, but he knew he'd do anything for her.

If that meant losing sleep to watch over her, to make sure she was safe as she healed, then so be it.

Time passed, the light and shadows in the room slowly marked it, and when the first real rays of sun came through Hershel had come in to check on her. He looked at her wound, checked her pulse and blood pressure, and then nodded to him before leaving.

Castiel could hear others in the house milling about, but no one else came in to check on her quite yet. After a moment, he heard the rumbles of engines outside. Castiel tilted his head to focus in on it but didn't bother to rise and look. He assumed it was the rest of the group. The engines cut out and Castiel went back to watching over Victoria.

The next sound to distract him were light footsteps. Seconds later Daryl stood in the doorway. The redneck stared at the woman with a clenched jaw and balled up fists. Castiel shifted in his seat and Daryl's gaze snapped to him. His eyes hardened and he marched over to the bed without hesitation. Castiel watched curiously as Daryl grabbed the blanket gathered around her hips and pulled it up to cover up her bare, lower back. He could no longer see the fresh gauze or the old scars.

Daryl shot him another silent glare before storming out. Castiel hummed in curiosity before settling in his seat again. Interesting.

"You think they got pie here?" Rick asked as he parked the car in front of a small diner. We had gotten to the town and based off the size of main street it was tiny. I slid to the side to try and get out, but after opening the door I paused to look at the back bench behind the top of the backseat. It was covered in a layer of carpet material.

I lifted my hand, it hovered over the bench hesitantly, but after steeling myself I pushed back the corner of the mat. Honestly, I wasn't sure what gave me the urge to act on this, but I was rewarded all the same. Underneath the plain, thin carpet was wood and said wood had initials crudely carved into it.

S.W.

D.W.

'We were kids when we did it. I always make sure that piece gets built back into the Impala during repairs. Feels right.'

My attention snapped back to reality, this weird reality at least, and I quickly climbed out of the car to chase after fake Rick and Daryl who didn't bother to wait for me. The diner was quaint and actually pretty cute. It was themed like an 80's soda shop with neon lights and quirky music drifting out of an old-time jukebox.

There were a couple other people seated around the diner, but at the sight of them my feet came to a clumsy halt. They had no faces. I stepped closer to a table where a family of four sat, but each person at the table only had a blur where they face should be. It reminded me of when I found the photos of Marie and I outside that house with the horse with Rick. I could remember medical school knowledge and my work in the hospital, the way it felt, but any thought I had was filled with faceless people.

Quickly, I tore my gaze away and tried to find the only two with faces. Luckily, Rick and Daryl had grabbed a booth near the back away from everyone else in the diner. Daryl sat in the middle of his bench which left me no room there, but Rick had pushed himself up against the wall so I could sit beside him. I dropped down into the seat and fell into the middle of the conversation they had already been having.

"—no bodies dropped yet. They probably won't until he makes a new nest. We're gonna have to track him down before that happens though." Daryl said while looking over a menu.

Rick shrugged, "Well, we know what he looks like. Not a big town. I think we can manage to find and gank him quick, right?"

"Are y'all actually talking about killing someone? Are we killers?" I asked even though I knew they weren't going to really hear me. "Am I a murderer?"

Rick grinned and clapped me on the shoulder, "See, Daryl? That's the kind of confidence you should have in us. Dream team."

Daryl rolled his eyes and I melted in my seat as the waitress came by. I glanced up and felt my blood run cold. Jacqui stood at the head of our table dressed in a pale-yellow dress with a white apron wrapped around her waist. She smiled brightly at the three us, "What can I get you, folks?"

"I'll take the Caesar salad." Daryl said and handed her the menu. Seeing her reminded me that I missed her. I had never got the chance to really say good-bye to her. Jacqui had chosen to stay with Jenner and after hearing the news he gave me I wasn't in my right mind to stop and hug her good-bye. She was just gone, and yet…

Jacqui turned her gaze to me after taking Rick's order. I reached out and wrapped my hand around her wrist, "Jacqui, I'm so sorry. I never got to say good-bye. We all miss you."

She tilted her head with a smile, "Chicken sandwich no tomato coming right up, hon."

The middle-aged woman walked away and out of my grip. With a sigh, I turned back and tried to catch what Rick and Daryl were talking about now. I wanted to gain something from this, to understand something, anything, but so far all I got from this was I might have been a criminal murderer who rode around in an old car with a guy who likes a pie and a guy who picks the salad option in a greasy diner.

"You think it's weird we haven't heard from Cas in a while?"

My head whipped to Daryl who seemed nonchalant about what he said, but I was acutely aware that he had used Castiel's nickname. Was it like Rick and Daryl being here or did his name actually belong?

"Nah." Rick waved his hand, "You know how he is. He'll pop up when he hears more about the shit going on upstairs."

"What's going on upstairs?" They didn't answer. "God, who the hell am I?"

Still no answer. I leaned against my hand, elbow on the table, and tried to zone out. A phone somewhere in the diner was going off faintly. Someone hit a hand bell and I looked up in time to see Jim poke his head through the kitchen wall window.

"Order up!" He called and I straightened in my seat with wide eyes. He set a few dishes on the ledge and disappeared out of sight again. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. The phone rang again. Jacqui came by a second later with our meals.

She set the plates down and left. The phone rang again, louder.

I flinched and glanced around for the source of the ringing. It suddenly got louder to the point where I had to lift my hands in a desperate attempt to shield my ears. I stood up from the table. Rick and Daryl kept on as if I was still in my seat.

The ringing was coming from somewhere in the back. I hurried through an arch that led back to a back hallway where the restrooms were. Hanging on the wall was a black payphone ringing incessantly. I narrowed my eyes at it and hesitantly picked up the phone.

"H—Hello."

"Who is this?" A familiar, female voice whispered.

"This…This is—" I felt like my throat was filled with concrete. "This is Victoria Smith."

"No, it's not." The voice argued. "She doesn't exist."

My face paled and I could feel my hand on the phone start to shake. The voice had just said my worst fear out loud. To hear it was different than just feeling it live in the back of my head. I shook my head, "No! I exist! Victoria exists! My name is Victoria and I'm an ED doctor and—"

"You and I both know Victoria isn't real."

"Who—" Anger was all I felt. I slammed my free hand into the wall beside the payphone, "Who the hellis this!? Tell me!"

The voice chuckled, "I'm you."

The phone slipped from my fingers and I fell backwards into the wall behind me. It felt like the world around me was crumbling. My brain craved answers, but it was like the answers had been ripped out of me and now all I had was a gaping hole in my head that ached anytime I got near it.

My back slid against the wall until I was on the ground with my knees pulled into my chest. I covered my face with my hands and tried to disappear. I didn't want to be here anymore. I wanted to go back. I wanted myRick and my Daryl back.

Footsteps stopped right in front of me and I peeked out of my hands to see my own boots standing in front of me. The figure spoke, the familiar voice I now recognized as my own, "I'm you. Our name isn't Victoria. That's just a name we found in a phone book, and Smith—well, Smith is a last name we chose because we weren't clever enough to find a better one." I couldn't bring myself to look up at my own face. I just stared pathetically at the boots. "Victoria Smith is a lie. A dream we wanted but knew we couldn't ever really have. My name… Our name is—"

"Hey, are you ok?" My eyes snapped up from the boots to see Amy looking down at me. There was concern in her eyes as she knelt down, "Are you alright?"

"Amy." I reached out to her, but her eyes grew glazed and blood began to drip from her mouth. I scrambled back and watched as she collapsed to the floor coughing up blood. Quickly, I lunged forward to try and help, but the moment my hands touched her she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"They all die in the end." I stiffened then slowly stood up. The voice coming from behind me, "Everyone around us always dies."

I turned around and there was a wall sized mirror cutting through the hallway now. My reflection shook her head at me and walked closer. I found myself involuntarily moving forward as well until the two of us were inches apart.

My reflection tilted her head and smiled, but there was something wrong with the way my eyes looked. My pupils were too dilated. To the point where I almost couldn't see my actual eye color. She leaned forward with a sickening grin, "You need to let it go. Let it all go. Stop chasing your past."

"Don't you mean our past?"

Determination flickered in her eyes, "This is your chance for a new start. You don't want to know the sins you've committed. Trust me." I opened my mouth to speak, but a loud crack stopped me in place. My reflection chuckled, "Sam and Dean Winchester are dead. Don't bother looking."

Another loud crack and suddenly the mirror shattered into a thousand pieces.

Rick clenched his jaw and watched as Hershel looked over Victoria. It was midday and she not only hadn't woken up, but she also had some form of a seizure. Castiel alerted Hershel and others to what had happened, but Rick hadn't been far anyways. Apparently, it came on suddenly and stopped just as quickly.

"Her blood pressure is too high for my liking and her pulse isn't staying stable." Hershel sighed, "This isn't ideal. I was hoping she would have woken up by now."

"Is it an infection? Or—Or is she bleeding?" Rick offered. They hadn't gone through all of that just to watch her slip away now. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

Hershel shook his head, "She has no fever and her wound site is still clean. I'm… I'm not sure where this is all coming from."

Castiel rose from his seat, "You have to do something."

The older man shook his head, "I'm only a veterinarian. I've done what I can, and I'll keep trying, but… there is nothing else I can say."

Rick and Castiel watched him leave the room feeling worse than when he first entered. Castiel walked over to the bed and set his hand on Victoria's own hand. He stared down at her with a look of concentration and frustration. After a moment, he pulled his hand away with a sigh.

"You care about her." Rick thought aloud. Castiel nodded in confirmation and Rick spoke again, "Did the two of you actually know each other?"

"No. I don't think so." Castiel replied, but Rick felt like it wasn't true. There was a tone in the man's voice that he couldn't help but doubt. Plus, it didn't make sense for a stranger to sit by the bedside for literal hours. That was something you did if you cared, if you knew the person.

Rick motioned to the door, "You should take a break, Cas. Get some food, maybe some sleep."

"I don't want to leave her unpr… alone." Castiel changed his words last minute.

Rick sat down in the rocking chair, "I'll keep an eye on her, Cas."

It took another minute to convince him but finally the unusual man left the room to get something to eat. Rick had a feeling he wouldn't be gone long. He stood up and walked over to sit on the bed by Victoria's side. He felt like a failure. Here he was the leader of this group, and he couldn't do a single damn thing right. Sophia was still lost, and Victoria was still hurt.

"Come on, Victoria." Rick sighed. "I need you to wake up."

The force that broke the mirror had sent me sprawling, and now I sat in the middle of the hallway surrounded by tiny shards of glass. I swallowed hard and forced myself back up to my feet.

Sam and Dean Winchester. SW and DW.

That's what this memory was. I was supposed to be with them, but for some reason my mind had filled in the blanks with people I knew. I couldn't remember Sam or Dean so my brain pictured Rick and Daryl. Shaken, I stumbled back out of the hallway to the table where I had left the memory playing.

Rick and Daryl continued on as if I had never left. A nudge from my side made me glance over to see Rick had lightly elbowed me but his gaze was staring at the TV hanging in the corner over the diner counter across the room. Daryl turned to watch as well.

"—dangerous criminals, wanted for the murder of—" The newscaster was talking, but the sound cut in and out. Not that it mattered. My entire focus was the mugshots on the TV screen. My face was drawn in a look boredom and exhaustion. The other two mugshots had those same familiar names under the pictures, but the pictures were blurred out. It wasn't Rick or Daryl, but it also wasn't the real Sam and Dean. It was just nothing.

"Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, and—"

"We gotta go." Rick pushed me out of the booth and when I looked back up the TV was off. I narrowed my eyes as Daryl threw a wad of dollar bills onto the table. Rick and Daryl rushed out of the diner and I struggled to follow after them. I slid back into the backseat of the black car and in seconds Rick peeled out of the parking lot with a squeal of the tires.

The car roared down the road and a sense of déjà vu washed over me. My gut twisted in worry, and I knew—I just knew—that something terrible was about to happen. Just as the thought hit me red and blue lights filled the rear window of the car.

"Fuck." Rick spat.

More red and blue lights ahead of us. Rick turned the steering wheel, trying to make a sharp turn, but the street he turned down on was filled with two more cop cars that blocked the way. He slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting them and then hit his hand against the steering wheel.

"Get out of the car with your hands up!"

"It's gonna be ok. We'll get out of this. Just don't do anything stupid." Daryl breathed before him and Rick began to get out. My hand hesitated over the car handle before I finally pushed it open and stepped out.

Suddenly, Rick and Daryl were gone. I watched as the man who climbed out of the passenger seat was put into handcuffs by an officer. He was tall, significantly so, and his light brown hair was on the longer side. Ending just at the nape of his neck. He faced away from me though and all I wanted was him to turn around and see me.

"What is going on!? We didn't do anything!" He barked in a voice different than Daryl's. It was deep and smooth as he played dumb with the officer.

"Whoa, whoa!" My eyes snapped to the driver's side where an officer had slammed him against the hood of the impala, handcuffing his hands together as well. His head was facing the opposite way from me and was covered in short brown hair. I wanted to see him. More than anything I wanted to see the color of his eyes. He let out an amused laugh, "You gotta buy me dinner first before you get that handsy."

"Hands up!"

I glanced behind me to see Shane holding a pistol leveled at me. Every other officer had no face, just like the others in the restaurant, but for some reason this one was Shane. He nodded at me and I stumbled backwards. Dean and Sam had been dragged toward the cop cars away from me, and I just walked backwards with my hands raised.

In the distance, the sound of a car backfiring went off loudly followed quickly by the firing of a gun. A sharp stabbing pain and sound was gone again. I glanced down at myself to see a bloody hole in my shirt. It was the exact location of the bullet scar I had found while at the CDC. I set my hand against it and suddenly I was falling backwards.

I hit the ground hard and the moment I did sound came back. Dean was screaming. I recognized his voice. It was angry and sharp. Panicked. There was a scuffle and suddenly I was in someone's arms. Behind his head was the sun and it left his face dark and unseen.

"S—Sam! Sam, he shot me!" The words came from me involuntarily, "I can't—Please!"

The pain ebbed away, the scene disappeared, and now I was standing in the middle of the street alone. I glanced down at my hands, but there was no blood. There was no wound, and now I wore the same exact outfit I did while looking for Sophia. When I looked up, ahead of me was Rick and Daryl, but this time it was the real them.

Rick had on his uniform, and Daryl stood beside him in his sleeveless shirt and crossbow. They motioned toward me. Rick spoke first, "Come on, Victoria. I need you to wake up."

"Sunshine, stay with us." Daryl added.

Another voice behind me spoke up. It was the involuntary voice that always seemed to speak up in my head, but this time I was hearing it outside of my skull. It sounded desperate and scared. It sounded like Dean, "Don't leave me. Please don't leave me. Please. Please."

Half of me screamed to run forward while the other half was desperate to turn around. A part of me knew though, turning around would be welcoming something bad. If I stayed here in this memory, I don't think I'd wake up again in the real world. This is where I'd stay. Forever.

"I'm sorry." I whispered an apology to someone I didn't remember and then lunged forward. I was inches away from Rick and Daryl when they both faded into the air. My eyes widened in shock, but the fear was short lived.

A sense of peace settled over me, the scene around me turned blindingly white.

"Hi Tori."

I spun around to see Marie standing there in a long, white flowing dress. It wasn't an outfit that seemed to match with how I imagined her, but it looked good on her none the less. Her long, dark brown hair flowed loose around her shoulders. I shook my head, "Marie?"

"You can remember me." She said softly, stepping forward to close the space between us. She set her hands on my arms, "You remember that I died. You went to my funeral."

"Marie." I lifted my own hands to squeeze her arms back. Tears dripped from my cheeks, "I can't remember what happened. I know…I know that I know you and I know you were so important to me, but I can't…"

Marie smiled warmly at me, "That's ok. Here's what I need you to know, Tori." I nodded once and she continued, her smile morphing into worry, "My death wasn't an accident. I was murdered and I was murdered with a cause. You knew it, but you never told anyone."

Her white dress began to glow, and I blinked in pain, "Why didn't I—"

"You should've told Sam or Dean, but you didn't! They don't know and now it has a head start." The dress only got brighter and brighter and soon I had to shut my eyes tightly to stem the burn, but still the light flooded all my senses, "It's winning, Tori! You can't let it win!"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Marie!?"

"Don't forget me, Tori."

"We need to keep lookin'."

"And we will. We're stuck here until Victoria heals anyways."

"I can go myself. I'd be fine."

"I don't want that. Going alone is dangerous. Even for someone like you who knows the woods well… Accidents can happen."

I groaned, understanding the conversation happening in a cloud around me, "Yeah, DD, accidents are no fun."

There was movement, but nobody spoke up. I shifted in the warm bed I was lying in and my entire body ached. It felt like I had been hit by a truck and then that same truck reversed over me just to hit me again. I tried to open my eyes, but it took a few a tries. Finally, I managed to keep them open, but it still felt like I was underwater. I twisted as much as I could, avoiding the wound I knew I had on my back, and spotted my visitors.

Daryl stood at the foot of my bed while Rick stood at my bedside to the left. I forced a grin at them, but it probably came out more of a grimace, "Good morning."

"It's nearly sunset, sunshine." Daryl scoffed, "Took you long enough to finally wake up."

Rick stuck his hand out to catch my attention, he let it rest on my own hand, "How do you feel? Are you in pain?"

"Mhmm." I shook my head, "I'm sore, but it's manageable. I had a—a weird dream. You guys were there. You told me to wake up."

Rick chuckled, "We did, and we're glad you listened."

Daryl cleared his throat and I glanced over at him again. His eyes were narrowed, but there was a softness in his eyes. Maybe you were still hazy, but it sure looked a lot like relief. He nodded at you once then left the room.

"He's been in and out checking up on you. Not that he'd admit it." Rick pulled the rocking chair closer to the bed and sat down. "Castiel has been in here non-stop."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He just stepped out for food. I twisted his arm on the matter." Rick was smiling ear to ear, the relief on his face was loud and easy to read. He rubbed his face with his hands and shook his head again, "How do you feel?"

I giggled, "You already asked that." Rick shrugged and I offered him another answer, "Really, I do feel fine. Just tired. Is that silly? All I've been doing is sleep."

"You need rest. It's understandable."

"How long have I been out?" I forced myself to sit up swatting away Rick's hands who had tried to force me back down. When I got into a seated position, I lifted the tank top someone had put me in and stared at the bullet scar on my abdomen. So that entire dream. It really had been a memory. I let my finger trace the scar until Rick's voice snapped me back to reality.

"You got shot yesterday afternoon. Hershel operated on you last night, it ended a little past midnight, and you've been out since then. You scared us." He shook his head, "Your vitals were all over the place for a little while. We think you had a seizure."

"Sorry to scare you."

Rick let out a humorless laugh, "Sorry? You don't have to be sorry. Victoria you—" He grabbed your hand with his again and squeezed. "You saved Carl. You—How did you know? How did you know Otis was going to shoot we didn't—we didn't see or hear, but you just…"

"I…I don't know." I set my other hand on top of his to try and offer some semblance of comfort. "I guess I heard the gun loading? It's…It's hazy. I guess I just went with my gut."

Rick grinned, "Thank you, Victoria. I owe you everything."

"No, you don't. You saved me first remember. Plus, I vaguely remember you carrying me all the way to this Hershel guy." I chuckled.

Thundering footsteps could be heard and then Castiel was in the doorway with wide eyes. Once his eyes landed on me, I could see his shoulders relax. He heaved a sigh and came closer, "Tori. You're awake."

"I am. Sorry for worrying you."

He nodded once, "You are forgiven."

Rick and I chuckled in amusement, but Castiel didn't seem to catch why. Rick stood up from his seat and Castiel didn't hesitate to fall into the chair himself. The officer cleared his throat, "You got a lot of people who wanna visit, but I'm gonna try to hold them off for a little bit. You get your rest."

"Thanks, Rick." After Rick left, I turned to look back at Castiel. He just sat in the rocking chair staring at me, but I didn't wilt under the look. It was one of those odd things that I shouldn't feel used to and yet I did. My thoughts drifted back to the dream—memory, where his name had been brought up. I reached out to him, "Cas, I heard you stuck by my side this entire time."

Castiel furrowed his brow, as if the question was ridiculous, "Of course."

I sighed, "This is going to sound crazy, Cas, but I think I know you. Don't know how, but…"

He paused for a moment before nodding, "I feel the same, Tori. You are… familiar." His words confirmed my theory and it opened a door I wanted to throw myself into. There was so much to go over to try and figure out, and Castiel must have seen the gears turning in my head. He cleared his throat, "We can talk about this later. You need to rest."

"But—"

"Rest."

I sighed and laid down slowly. Castiel was right. Despite sleeping for longer than 24 hours I still felt so tired. Just another hour or two of sleep would do me wonders. Castiel mumbled comforts to me and I fell asleep listening to his deep voice.

The next time I woke up, it was officially nighttime. The moment I was up again I had a parade of people coming through the door to see me and it was the best medicine of all. Glenn came in, still a little pale, and I nearly suffocated him with a hug as thanks. I always knew he was a good friend, but this sealed the deal. He was family. T-Dog came with him and he was looking a lot better than I last saw him. Hershel had sutured him up and he was pumped full of antibiotics as well. I got to see everyone except Lori and Shane.

I also got to meet the Greene family. Hershel came in the most, he was the older man who had saved my life, and he didn't seem overly warm, but he was nice enough. He had two daughters, Maggie and Beth. Maggie was the oldest, maybe only a couple years younger than me, and Beth was a perky, blonde 17-year-old. There was also an older woman living here, named Patricia, and a young boy named Jimmy who was dating Beth. Patricia was apparently the wife of Otis, the man who shot me, and I hadn't met her in person yet. Castiel explained that Otis had died out on a supply run to gather medical supplies to save me. He may have shot me, but he was also one of the reasons I was alive.

Carl was sitting at the foot of my bed beaming at another dumb joke I had shared with him. I cleared my throat and bumped my foot against his, "Hey, grab my bag for me? It's in the corner over there."

The kid hopped off the bed and grabbed it without question. When he brought it back I dug through it looking for the candy I had tossed in what felt like ages ago. They had fallen to the bottom, but I finally fished them out.

"Here you go!" I handed them over to him. "One for you, and one for Sophia when we find her."

Carl grinned, "Thanks, Tori!"

There was a knock on the doorframe and when I glanced over it was Lori standing there with a small smile on her lips. I nodded at her and turned back to Carl with a smirk, "Ok, kid, time to beat it."

He gave me a quick wave and bounced off the bed before running out the door pausing only once to look at his mother. Lori waved him out and then stepped further into the room which I hadn't actually been expecting.

"Everything ok?" I asked.

Lori hummed, "I should be asking you that. How do you feel?"

I shrugged and flinched slightly at the ache that came with it, "I've had better days, but I've also had worse days." She chuckled. "Hershel's letting me use the last of his morphine. He's a saint."

Lori rubbed her arms and she couldn't meet my eyes suddenly, "Tori—"

"If this is just more thanking me for what happened it isn't necessary." I said quickly before she could continue. "Rick covered all the bases. Anyone would've done the same."

"No. Not everyone would've." Lori said firmly, finally meeting my gaze. "And even after I was so rude to you—"

I lifted my hand to stop her, serious now, "That's between us. Why would I ever let that effect how I treat or act around Carl?"

Lori crossed her arms again and closed her eyes. She shook her head and I felt awkward about all of this. Castiel stepped back into the room, but when he noticed what was happening, he stopped and slid out of view.

"I am so sorry." Lori opened her eyes again. She put her hands together and pointed her hands in my direction, "I'm sorry and I just need to thank you so much. I don't know what I would've done if—." I nodded at her once, but she continued on, "I owe you my life for saving Carl, but I haven't changed my mind."

I blinked in confusion, "Huh?"

"I don't like you spending so much time with my husband." Lori said her piece and then turned and immediately left the room. I sat in shock at what had just happened. She didn't like me spending so much time with her husband? I didn't spend that much time with Rick to begin with and when I did it was a mutual friendship. What the hell was that?

Castiel stepped into the room with a plate of food, "That seemed awkward."

I laughed, his words bringing me back to my good mood, "Very much so." He sat down and offered me the plate which I took eagerly. "Mmm. Cas, you are an angel."

"The possibility, though low, does exist."

"I'm so glad Shane didn't leave you on the side of the road." I snickered.

His eyes widened slightly with a bob of his head, "I can agree with that."

I dug into the plate that was brought to me. It reminded me of the nice meal we had at the CDC before it all went wrong. After getting about halfway through the plate I glanced up at Castiel who was looking out the window. I cleared my throat, "Do you recognize the name Sam or Dean Winchester?"

Castiel's head snapped back to me, "Where did you hear those names?"

"You do recognize them, don't you?"

"It's…it's like you." He hummed. "I don't know them, but I… know them?"

I set the plate on the end table. Any appetite I did have was gone now at the thought of what was going on. We knew each other. Somehow, we knew each other and we also knew this Sam and Dean as well. The weirdest part of all this was the fact that Castiel and I both ended up injured and amnesic on the side of a road. That was a huge coincidence and I didn't even believe in little ones.

"There is—is an evil here, something dark." His words caught me off guard and I gave him a quizzical look. "I don't know how to explain it. I just…feel it, and I wanted to know if you could as well. If we shared that trait too."

An image of that black creature flashed in my mind. Was that the darkness Castiel spoke of? Could he really feel its presence? I didn't feel anything unusual, but I knew it had to be around still. It had been stalking me since the CDC. Up until getting shot, my brain had convinced me it was some weird hallucination, but… the black was what led me to Castiel. It warned me about Carl or maybe it had been trying to kill him. To be honest, I was still unsure about that.

"I don't feel it, but I think I've been seeing it." I said slowly. Testing each word mentally as it rolled off my tongue. If Castiel was surprised he didn't show it. "I've been seeing this black figure, like a shadow, it was there at the CDC, it showed me where you were, it was there when I got shot and…" I thought back to seeing my reflection. The swirling inhuman essence filling my eyes. "I think it was in this mem—well, the dream part of this memory I had to live through while I was out."

Castiel tilted his head at that last part and I waved it away mumbling 'long story'. He hummed, "Do you think this…black, and this Sam and Dean Winchester—do you think all of this has something to do with both of us not being able to recall what happened leading up to when we awoke in the apocalypse?"

Yes. Deep in my bones, I felt the answer was yes. Saying it aloud though? Answering him? I was scared to voice my confirmation. It would be too surreal. Too terrifying. I shook my head and forced a smile, "Maybe we're both just crazy?"

"Maybe." Castiel nodded once, but the look in his eyes told me he was on the same page as I was.

I laid back down in bed and watched as Castiel leaned further into his seat. His gaze drifted upward to stare at the ceiling for a moment before he closed his eyes. The silence between us was comfortable, and before I knew it I was drifting off again.