Spencer Owens is dead. Lark and Dean now head to Missouri's house to make sure Christina is going to be alright. What will happen once they get there? Is this ordeal all over?

Thank you for your continued support and comments. Keep it up! -DSCWIN

Chapter 16

Dean was packing a few clothes in his duffel when he heard a soft knock on his opened door.

"Hey." Lark said with a small smile. "May I come in?"

"Yeah." Dean said zipping his bag and placing it to the side of the bed and away from anyone so nobody will trip on it. "What's up?"

"Dean I'm worried about your sister."

Dean placed his arm around Lark's shoulders and gently kissed her forehead. "Its going to be okay. We're going to head to Missouri and find out what we have to do."

"But what if Owens has permanently damaged her? Things like this happen a lot with possessions."

"Lark, I know that Christy is still struggling with what she went through, but she's strong. But I do understand your fear. We'll go talk with Missouri and find out what we can do. She may say that Christy's better. That all she need is to have a support; which she does."

"When has anything gone easy for us?" Lark asked looking at Dean squarely. "I'm not even a Winchester yet and nothing ever went easy for me."

Dean looked at Lark with a soft twinkle in his green eyes. He smiled and stood up. "You better go and pack, babe. We're needing to head out soon. It's already late in the afternoon."

Lark watched as Dean walked out of the room, grabbing his duffel bag as he went. As she sat there wondering why he had a slight tease to his voice, it finally dawned on her. Her cheeks heated up as she bluntly wished for a Winchester boy to propose. Lark forced herself to leave Dean's room and walked into hers. As fast as she could Lark gathered her belongings and made sure the vial she had been giving was in her jacket pocket before she left.

Sam, Bobby and Castiel were sitting at the table talking among themselves before Bobby looked over and smiled over at Lark. "He's just making sure the dodge is up and ready." He said sensing the question she was about to ask.

"He's wanting to take my car?" Lark asked surprised as she looked out the window seeing Dean bent over the open hood his duffel sitting right beside him. "Why does he want to do that?"

"Because he wants you to take control." Christina said softly making all the boys leap to their feet getting ready to face a possible meltdown with her. Christina looked over at Sam, Bobby and Castiel and shook her head before looking at Lark. "He's wanting you to be in charge. He regretted pushing you away and he thinks this is the best way to make it up to you."

"But what if he says or does something that makes me want to leave?"

"He has our numbers and he'll wait for us to pick him up. He doesn't want you to feel you have to stay." She flashed a grin before handing Lark two white envelopes one with her name while the other had Dean's.

"What are..."

"They're for you and Dean. I actually wrote one for everyone." she pulled out three more envelopes from her back pocket and handed them to their respectful owners. "They're basically a personal apology for what has happened in the last few months."

"If you're explaining what they are, why bother writing them in the first place?" Sam asked not harshly but felt guilty for even asking as his sister's face fell. "I mean..."

Christina shook her head stopping him and forced the tears to stay in her eyes. "I wanted each apology to be unique for each person." Christina's face lowered with shame as she headed for the stairs and disappeared to her room. Lark stared down at the envelopes before she turned when she heard the front door opening.

"Lark, car's ready to go." Dean said and raised an eyebrow at the everyone in confusion. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah..." Lark said holding onto the envelopes and smiling up at Dean. "It's just fine. Your sister just gave me some apology letters to hand to you when we get going."

Dean took the envelope nervously but relaxed when he saw that Bobby, Sam and even Castiel had one of their own. "Well, if you wanna beat the afternoon traffic I say we better get going."

"Okay. You're wanting to drive or..." Dean had her keys already hanging by his fingers and she took them happily. "Thanks. See you later guys."

"Drive safe you two." Bobby called out already tearing into his envelope.

~DSCWIN~

Lark hated driving at night, even when she was hunting alone. The long endless hours, the empty streets and the wildlife made her uneasy. It made her feel like a victim in a horror movie and every dark shadow she saw off the side of the road she would jump thinking it was a monster or restless spirit needing help. But as she would drive closer it would only turn out to be mile markers, exit signs, or vegetation. It also didn't help that she and Dean had left in the early evening instead of the morning when she had planned. She couldn't pass the blame to anyone in particular as, easy as it would, blaming the dead was pointless.

As she glanced over at Dean her mind momentarily shut off due to the tiredness. Her car slowly veered off striking the rumble strips that was off the side of the road causing Dean to wake up alert as Lark quickly corrected the mistake.

"You okay?" he asked after blinking a few times and trying to wake up. Lark slowly shook her head trying to keep herself awake until the next exit with a hotel.

"Just a little sleepy." Lark said reaching for the radio and turning the volume up to keep her mind busy trying to understand the words as they came out as mumbles.

"Why don't you let me drive for a while?" Dean offered turning down the music and glancing at the mile marker that came by. "I mean we still have an hour and a half to get to Lawrence. Plus another five minutes to get to Missouri's."

"I'm fine." Lark said veering over to the shoulder again her tires once again hitting the strips once again. "I can drive."

"No, you're not. Pull off I'll drive."

Lark sighed and reluctantly pulled off the exit and into a gas station and pulled into a parking space; she had seen she was still good on fuel. She gave a slow sigh and clambered out of the car while Dean did the same.

"Why don't you go stretch your legs. Give you some time to clear your head and get some sleep before we see Missouri. I don't need her riding my ass on not trying to be considerate."

"Seems you got a soft spot for her." Lark joked smiling handing Dean the keys to her car as they both headed towards the doors to the store.

"She helped us out a while ago. She seemed to have known what I was thinking before I knew myself..." he shuddered slightly as he opened the door allowing Lark to enter first. "She scared me."

Lark gave a soft chuckle making the young male teen, who was playing on his phone in the corner of the empty store, to jump and quickly began to clean once again.

"Can I help you with anything?" the teen asked trying to look like he'd been doing that the entire time.

"No I think we'll be just fine." Lark said with a smile fighting back a yawn. Dean had disappeared in the small store and Lark concluded that he'd retreated into the restroom to make the remaining trip more comfortable. Lark headed that way as well as she too felt the urge to save herself the trouble of being uncomfortable as she knew she'd be needing to take a nap.

As she entered the restroom Lark glanced at herself in the mirror and sighed. She did look as though she hadn't slept in months. The dark lines of countless sleepless nights was finally coming back to bite her hard. But she felt warmth spreading through her stomach as she noticed that Dean still had that look of admiration and love towards her.

"He truly loves you." A voice from inside her mind said. Lark recognized it as the woman in her hospital room. "He doesn't blame you for what has happened. He doesn't even blame his sister. The fact that he truly cares shows that his love for you is genuine. He needs someone like you in his life. Without you, he would continue to do his work without a reason besides, 'It's what dad wants.'"

Lark shook her head as Dean's voice appeared in her head. She splashed a handful of cold water on her face trying to clear her wondering mind and quickly used the commode. As she finished and washed her hands she glanced herself in the mirror again to see a small blurry form behind her. She turned around and saw nothing was there. I really should sleep; she thought as she dried her hands and left the restroom.

~DSCWIN~

Sam's mind whirled not allowing him to close his eyes and relax. He hated when his brain wouldn't stop thinking. Wouldn't stop working. He remembered many nights in college, especially before a large test that he would struggle to get a good night's sleep. He however knew he would pass but this was different. Something was eating at his thoughts making it difficult to shut down. A soft bang and even softer sobs drifted through his walls and he knew where the source was. He slowly climbed to his feet and walked out of his room to head to the room next to his.

"Christy?" Sam knocked softly. He heard the sobs slowly grow louder as he pushed the door open. He found his sister huddled in the corner, hugging her knees and laying her head down. Her shoulders, even the dark, started to twitch. "Christy...what's wrong?"

"I can't stop hearing him..." she hesitated sobbing as she was afraid of seeing the annoyance in her brother's face. "...but I can handle it...go ahead and head back to bed..."

"Christy, I can't be annoyed of you." Sam said walking over and sitting next to her. "This reminds me of when we were in college. Right after we met. You had that large fight with Zach that left you in pieces while he moved away. If I said your mood was annoying back then, than I'm very sorry. But now you're not annoying. You didn't think I was annoying when I kept having those nightmares like Dean did a few times."

Christina nodded and leaned up against her brother trying to take deep breaths as her mind echoed with Spencer's voice. "Sam? Could you stay until I fall back asleep?"

Sam nodded slowly. "Yeah."

Sam gently helped his sister back to her bed and sat down on the chair of her desk. He watched as she stared at the window and close her eyes trying her best to relax. Sam watched as his sister's body slowly relaxed and fell into the softness of sleep before he quietly left her room. He walked to his door and hesitated before heading down the stairs and into the den to try and calm himself down. He feared if they can't fix the problem. His sister might end up the same as he was when he was hooked on Demon blood and he lost all sense of reality.

~DSCWIN~

Missouri Mosley's house looked warm and inviting even with all the lights, excluding the porch, off. Dean noticed a piece of paper on the door and didn't want to wake up Lark as she was fast asleep. He slowly pulled to a stop and parked the car. He left the car running as he climbed out and went to grab the piece of paper. It was blank on both sides and it confused Dean greatly. He looked back at the car and decided to head over and maybe find a hotel when something caught his eyes. Black ink started to appear making Dean look down.

"Dean and Lark,

Glad you two made it out here in one piece. I'm out of town picking up some much needed supplies. I should be back in a couple of days. Since you two were planning on showing up late I left a key under my welcome mat. Please wipe your feet before you enter my house, Dean."

Dean felt a stab of fear as it was uncanny how Missouri was able to know not only who would show up, but who to target mostly in her letter.

"There's food left for you in the fridge. Just set it in the microwave for three minutes and you'll have a ready meal. One of your rooms will be on the first floor. Take the hall next to the kitchen and it's the room to the right. The second, is on the second floor middle room. I think Lark should take that room."

Dean smiled at Lark as she began to twitch and moan as she slowly realize the car had stopped.

"I will be calling you in the morning around seven. Hope to see you soon. -Missouri

P.S.

Dean I have a pie in the fridge that needs cookin'. 375 for 25 min. Make sure to share."

Dean smiled as he slid the note into his jacket pocket before heading back to the driver's side and got in.

"Wha...?" Lark asked trying to comprehend what was happening.

"We arrived." Dean said shutting off the car. "Missouri is gone for a couple of days. Says we can just stay and wait for her here."

"So should we head inside?"

"Thought you'd never ask." Dean smiled and after quickly gathering their bags they headed inside. Sure enough Lark, not knowing what was in the note, reminded Dean to wipe his feet on the welcome mat before they headed inside.

The darkened house lit up when Dean flipped the light switch. Lark looked around and then back at Dean who set down both their bags next to the front door.

"Ms. Mosley?" Lark called making sure nothing jumped out and scared her.

"She's not here. Won't be for a couple of days. Had to go pick up some supplies." Dean answered leading them both into the kitchen and opened the fridge. "You want something to eat?"

Lark watched as Dean pulled out two plastic wrapped plates, both with some pot roast, fried red potatoes, and some steamed vegetables.

"Sure. If Missouri went through all the trouble of making our plates. We might as well eat them." Lark shrugged taking off her jacket. "What's the sleeping arrangement?"

"There's a room on the second floor for you. It's the middle room." Dean answered placing the still wrapped food in the microwave. After several minutes Dean pulled out the first plate and set it on the counter. He nodded towards the plate and Lark sat down and was handed a fork.

"So what's the plan tomorrow?" Lark asked seeing the note and the writing on it.

"Thought we just hang out maybe I'll take you over to my old neighborhood. Just to see how everything's going."

"Okay. Where are you planning on sleeping?"

"There's a room for me next to the kitchen." Dean said joining Lark at the counter and sitting next to her. "But I think I'm too tired to pass on the apple pie that's inside the fridge."

"You passing on pie...wow, you must be tired." Lark chuckled.

"Don't rub it in. I'm planning on attacking that pie tomorrow. Come hell or high water." Dean said finishing his food.

~DSCWIN~

The night's lullaby drifted through the partially opened window as Lark tried to stop her mind from going over everything that had happened in the last few weeks. As she lay there, she glanced around the cute little guest room and she saw the letter Christina had given her, before she left with Dean, still in her jacket pocket.

She continued to stare at the envelope for a few more minutes until she got up and collected it. It was quick to retreave the letter from inside and lay back down to read the words that were scribbled on the surface.

"Lark,

I know that what I did doesn't deserve to be forgiven, at least not for a while. I know that saying 'I'm sorry' after what happened is like trying to patch a sinking boat with duck tape after with water coming in. It can be done but it's not really gonna stop the water. Nor will it change the fact water came in the first place.

"Even though I know things won't be the same between us I hope that one of these days we can look back on this and grow closer together. So that being said, (Sorry it took so long to say it) I'm sorry for what I have done to you. You, as well as everyone else we know, knows that I'm not an aggressive person. I hate even sparing with my brothers, not because they're bigger then me, its mostly because I hate to fight unless I have a reason. So when I shot you there wasn't a good reason for me to do that. Except for the fact Spencer Owens said that if I were to I would be free and he will let me go. I didn't want to kill you, even though he said I needed to, so I purposefully shot you in a spot where if you could get help you would be safe. But I couldn't call for help as Owens was in my head."

Lark traced her wound carefully with her finger tips. Even though Christina had shot her it was true she wasn't aiming for a vulnerable area. Even though Lark didn't think Christina had much control over what had happened. She still shot at Lark. At least she's trying to applogize; Lark thought and continued to read.

"Whatever happens from now on is up to you. I will understand if you don't want me anywhere near you for a while just please let me know. Please don't let what happened between us define your feelings for my brother. Dean is a strong minded and strong bodied hunter. But he is also quite vulnerable towards you. If you are going to leave him be blunt but not harsh. He may act like Mr. Tough-guy when you give to him straight but he's quite the romantic if you just let him show it.

"Don't let him take control over you, but let him treat you like the queen you are. I know I'm sounding like your mother, trying to give advise for something like this, but let him do it. He is a great match for you as you bring out the best of him. I believe if he didn't push you to the point of you leaving, I most likely never have to have been in the situation I was in. I wouldn't have been captured, and I wouldn't be needing help. No I don't blame you...or Dean for that matter. I know deep down I'm the one at fault. I shouldn't have stayed but I guess Devin and Robbie wouldn't be living their dreams.

"I'm sorry I'm rambling even in this apology letter. So I'm sorry and I hope this is the beginning of the road to forgiveness. As always you will always be my older sister. I hope I'll still be your little sister. Signed, Christina Amy Winchester"

Lark smiled at the thought Christina had put into writing this letter. To make it more personal then just saying the same apology to everyone. She sighed deeply as her eyes slowly began to close. She knew she could forgive her one day, despite knowing it wasn't her really wanting to shoot her. Lark knew she would one day be able to face Dean and tell him how she felt, but that was for another day. She first needed to be there for Christina. She needed to be there for her sister.