Part Three: Hello, Goodbye
Things had become awkward. He had made things awkward. It had been a week since Dean's mind trip and the day he had kissed her. He had explained what had happened while he was in the future. How they had gotten together. That doesn't sound like me. She thought. She had always told herself she works alone. No attachments. But somehow or another, she and Dean had become attached. Sure, there was an obvious attraction with him, he leaks sexual tension, but she had never thought in a million years that she would end up with a hunter. Dean Winchester no less. She sighed as she rolled over onto her side. She bunched the covers up around her chin like a child in time out. She didn't want to make things more awkward than they already were, but she needed to get it off her chest. She sighed as she threw the blankets off her legs and picked up her cell phone. 2:51 am. She groaned. He would probably be asleep. She took a chance anyway and dialed Dean's number. The dial tone rang through her ears three times. Just as she was about to shut the phone, she heard his voice.
"Reese?" he said quietly. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Dean. I just…" she paused. It was all so awkward. She sighed. "Can you come to my room for a minute?" she finally said, looking at the ceiling. She felt like she was seventeen again, talking to a boy from high school. She wrinkled her nose at the thought.
"Yeah, give me a minute." he hung up. Reese sighed once again as she shut the phone and sat there. Should I get dressed? Should I put my hair up? Should I even really go through with this? The voices in her head were giving her a headache. No. she thought. I will be myself. No man will change who I am. Especially Dean Winchester. With her mind made up, she got out of bed and sat in the not so comfy couch. After about a minute, she heard a knock on the door. She stood and walked to it. She opened it and Dean was standing there, his eyes fell to the ground. Reese turned back around, leaving the door open for him to enter. She returned to her spot on the couch.
Dean laid in bed, the covers barely covering his body. His arms tucked under his head as he stared at the ceiling. It was almost three o'clock in the morning and he hadn't gotten a lick of sleep. He glanced over at Sam, who was sprawled out on the bed on his stomach. One arm under his head, the other clutching the gun stowed under his pillow. Dean giggled to himself, noticing his feet hanging off the edge of the bed. His little brother was too tall for his own good. He smiled again as he resumed staring above him. He couldn't get her off of his mind. Everything he had seen in the future had been almost everything he wanted. Minus the dead planet. He had an amazing woman by his side and she was stitched to him, not willing to leave. He sighed in contentment as his phone started to vibrate. He reached over and looked at the caller ID. A small thread of panic rushed through his chest as he flipped it open and put it to his ear.
"Reese? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Dean. I just…" she sounded off. Dean could tell by the sound of her voice that she was conflicted with something. "Can you come to my room for a minute?" she said. Before she could finish her statement, Dean was already heading to the door.
"Yeah, just give me a minute." he hung up and tossed his phone back on the bed before slipping out of the door. He didn't bother changing or putting on his shoes. In the cool fall air, he wished he had. He was only wearing a plain black tee and a pair of grey sweats and his socks. He patted over to the next room and knocked softly. Not having to wait long, the door opened and there she stood. He immediately dropped his eyes to the ground. She was wearing a black tank and a pair of sleep shorts that came just below the middle of her thighs. Any right minded man would have jumped her bones there, but he had a little more respect for her than that. She turned on her heel and took a seat on the couch. He stepped into the room and shut the door and followed her in. He sat at the small table and looked at her. She leaned on the arm of the couch and tucked her feet under her. She was so beautiful. Her hair was down and it flowed over her shoulders like curtains. It framed her face in ways he couldn't explain. But it was her eyes that he was falling for. Deep blue eyes shown from under her lashes like a deep clear ocean. He sighed to himself.
Reese looked over at Dean and realized just how attractive he really was. His hair was mussed, like he had been running his fingers through it a lot. The sweats he was wearing hung low on his hips and his shirt looked like it was painted on. She saw how the muscles under it rolled as he lifted his arm to run his hand through his hair. She had been right. He had been running his hands through it. Trying to lighten the mood she chuckled at herself. Dean's brow raised at her. "What?" he smiled.
"That's how your hair gets oily so fast." she said, glancing his way. He looked down at his hand and looked at her again. She looked away, noticing how the moonlight caught his emerald eyes. "Dean…"
"I know." he interrupted. "I crossed the line." Reese looked at him, her eyes confused. He knew exactly where it was going. "I should have talked to you first. Hell, I shouldn't have done anything. I just…" he paused, looking away. Reese shifted so her feet were on the floor.
"Dean, I'm not saying it was a mistake. Not at all." he waited for him to look at her before she continued. "It just caught me by surprise. It's not every day you go from 'just a few hunts' to being kissed in a parking lot. Let alone by someone you barely know." Dean looked away again. Now he felt ashamed by kissing her. He looked down at his hands. He chewed on the inside of his cheek. "I told you from the beginning that I work alone. That I couldn't form attachments." Dean looked at her through his lashes. He could see something brewing deep within her.
"I'm sorry, Reese…" he started. "I never meant to…"
"Don't apologize, Dean." Reese said, standing to her feet. She paced around, not knowing what to do next. Dean stood with her, but he didn't move. "I work alone. That's what I've always told myself…" she said to herself. Dean looked down again, not wanting to meet her eyes. "If I get attached, I could lose them in a heartbeat." she turned and looked at Dean and snapped her fingers. "I could lose them. I can't lose anymore people I care about. I care about you and Sam, Dean!" she raised her voice. Dean took a small unnoticeable step towards her. "I let myself care for you two. You two have been through hell and back, literally. I let myself worry about you, I let myself become attached. And now, when and if I choose to go on my own, I-" she was stopped dead in her tracks when Dean crashed his lips to hers. She gasped into his lips and melted. Her arms snaked around his neck as she pulled him closer to her. His tongue flicked out to rub her bottom lip. She nibbled on his lip before she realized what she was doing. She quickly put her hands on his chest and shoved herself backward. Her hand came up to touch her mouth. Fury was burning in the pit of her stomach as she looked at the man in front of her. "See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You can't just lock lips with me and expect me not to fall head over heels over you!" she turned her back on him. He simply smiled. He put on his signature grin and watched her anger flare. She continued her rampage. "I've known you for two months, Dean! Two months!" she said, holding up two fingers at him. "And now, I don't know if I can leave." Dean's eyes widened.
"You want to leave?" he said quietly, not for sure if that was what she said.
"I did. After I found out you two started the apocalypse." Dean bowed his head in embarrassment. "But now…" she paused. "Now I can't. I've gotten too close to you two. I've gotten too close to you." Dean's head snapped up to look at her. Her blue eyes piercing his green ones. "And from what you told me what you saw in the future…" she started. She sighed. Dean took a step closer to her. His body tensed when he saw her hands clenched into fists. He took another step. "How do hunters even find something like that?" she whispered, noticing that he was getting closer to her.
"We make it work…" Dean said softly. His breath washing over her face as he was uncomfortably close. Reese let out a small breath.
"How?" she said. Her fingers itching to touch him. "Hunters are not guaranteed tomorrow." Dean lifted his arm and placed his hand on her cheek and sweetly smiled down at her.
"Reese, what I saw. That was something hunters don't get. They don't even come close to getting it. But I did. We did. I took a chance at the motel. I'm hoping to God that I made a good one." Reese looked into his eyes. She saw something she hadn't seen after her sister died. Something that she thought she'd never see again. Dean had taken a chance. Now it was her turn.
"I hope you're right." She whispered before crashing her lips to his. Her hands slid up his shoulders as she pulled herself closer to him. His arms snaked around her waist, pulling her as close as possible. The smell of his body soap and mint gum filled her nose as she opened her mouth and attacked his. Her tongue clashing with his, in a subtle game for dominance. Dean's hand went to cup the back of her head before tangling both in her hair. Reese squeezed her hands against his shoulders before sliding down his sides, sending shivers down his spine. Her hands reached the bottom of his shirt and slid them inside, feeling the warm skin underneath. Parting only for a moment, she pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it behind her. Her shirt following soon after. Their bodies crashed back together. Dean grabbed her on the back of her legs and hoisted her up to rest on his hips. She wrapped her legs around his waist for leverage. Dean's lips trailed down her jaw and onto her neck leaving fire in their wake. She let out a gasp as his teeth grazed across her skin. Dean walked to the corner of the room where the bed was. He gently laid her down and covered her body with his. Her legs wrapped around him again. Dean's hands ran down her side and up her thigh, while still nibbling on her neck. She let out a moan. In response, Dean ground his hips into hers, making her moan again. Her hand grasped his short hair and pulled him back to her lips. Her other hand playing with the waistband of his sweats. She could feel his arousal against her belly. Just as her hand was about to enter uncharted territory, a small knock made them stop and look at the door. Someone knocked on the door again. Reese quickly pushed Dean off of her, retrieved her shirt and threw it on before opening the door to see who it was. She only opened it enough to see the person. A small shred of fury burned in her stomach when she saw Sam standing before her. Her lips were swollen and her neck was red from Dean's teeth. She played it cool and acted surprised.
"Sam?" she said, her voice a higher pitch than what she wanted. "What are you doin' here?" she swiped the hair from her face. Sam's face turned a light shade of pink seeing Reese in her current outfit.
"Uh…" he stammered. "I was just wondering if you'd seen Dean." he said. Reese swallowed the lump in her throat. "He left a little bit ago and hasn't come back yet." Dean was laying on the bed, embarrassed. He got up quickly and quietly, recovered his lost shirt and walked to the door. He grabbed it and pulled it open slowly. Reese looked up at him, thankful he had put his clothes back on.
"I'm right here, Sammy." he put on his classic grin. "Did you miss me that much?" Sam chuckled. His eyes wondered to his brothers arms, noticing small inflamed scratches running down his biceps.
"No, you jerk. You left without saying a word and didn't come back. I thought you'd run off again." Sam said, meeting his eyes. Dean chuckled.
"Well, I'm fine Sammy. Just fine. I'll be back in a little bit." Dean nodded and went back into the darkness of the room. Reese turned her head to Sam and smiled. Sam nodded and smiled and headed back to his room. Reese watched him disappear and she closed the door. She turned and looked back at Dean who was sitting back at the table. He looked up and met her eyes and smiled. She didn't move from her spot. She had almost slept with Dean Winchester of all people. His stern voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Whatchya thinkin' about?" he said, turning his body to look at her. Her eyes widened slightly and she shrugged.
"Dean, we were almost caught by your brother. This isn't a good idea." she squared her shoulders. She could see the guilt and embarrassment wash over his face. His shoulders slumped slightly. "We shouldn't take whatever this is any further." her voice was soft.
"Oh come on, Reese." he said, standing to his feet. "Sam is harmless. And I highly doubt he would give two craps if we did it." he let out a small chuckle. Reese chewed on her bottom lip.
"Dean, the future you saw isn't set and stone. You heard Cas. The future can change in an instant." she raised her arms. "Dean, I know you want what you saw in the future. But I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. I'm barely through my twenties. And you said it yourself. Hunters don't get a happy ending."
"Reese don't do this." Dean pleaded. Reese looked at him in the eyes. She flicked her fingers to move the hair that had fallen over her face. She sighed. She walked over to Dean and looked up at him. He was giant compared to her. She stepped on her toes to gain more height and grazed her lips over his. He leaned down to capture more of her. His hands attached themselves to her waist. Her hands cupped the sides of his head. After a long moment, Reese pulled back leaving her hands where they were.
"We have a job to do Dean. We can't let ourselves be distracted. Maybe once you save the world I'll still be around. Then we can decide where to take this."
"Reese. I'm already distracted. How can you expect me not to care for you?" he asked. She let out a sigh.
"Being distracted will get you killed." she dropped her arms and her voice deepened. "And I don't want that blood on my hands. And deep down, neither do you." Dean stared at her, his eyes wide with surprise. She took a step back and walked to the door and opened it. "You should go. Get some sleep. We have a lot of driving to do tomorrow." she looked down at her feet, refusing to meet his eyes. He sighed and slowly walked to the door. He stopped at the threshold and looked at her, hoping she would look up. But she didn't. He walked out of the room and back into his. She shut the door and sat on the edge of the bed. She couldn't be the reason he's killed. She made that mistake once, she wasn't going to do it again. She got up, and went to her duffle laying on the table. She retrieved her jeans and plaid shirt. She quickly got dressed and grabbed her keys. Then it hit her, realization. She was running again. She always ran from her problems. After Athena died, she didn't want to care for anyone. They slowed her down and put a worry in her heart. She slapped on her emotionless mask and slug her duffle over her shoulder. She snuck out of her room and quietly walked to her car. As softly as she could, she opened the door and tossed her bag into the car, then crawling into the driver seat. The one thing she disliked about her car is that it was too loud for a quiet getaway. She put her foot on the break and pulled the car into neutral. It wasn't the first time she's had to do it. But in order to get away without the brothers noticing, it had to be done. She walked around to the front of the car and pushed it backwards toward the road. Luckily for her, the road was directly behind the car. Once the car was in the road, she hurried to the driver seat, tapped her breaks again and put her into park. She started the engine and sped off before the boys could get out of the room. She peeled down the highway, leaving her only form of family behind. She wouldn't and couldn't watch them die too. She refused. Maybe one day they would meet again. But, right now, she was only doing what she thought was right.
Dean walked back into his room and shut the door. He sighed as he walked over to his desired bed and flopped down on it. Sam was sitting up right on his bed, watching the television. Sam looked over at his brother with a smirk. "So, what were you doing in Reese's room at three o'clock in the morning?" he said, implying that Dean was up to something. Dean looked at his brother.
"Wouldn't you like to know." he said, pasteing a smirk on his face.
"You didn't do anything stupid did you?" Sam asked, sitting up and turning to face his brother.
"Sammy. You always think the worst of me." Dean said, turning his body to face his younger brother.
"When it comes to girls, you have no control." Sam said. "What happened?"
"I did something stupid." he said bluntly. Sam cocked an eyebrow. "I kissed her a couple days ago. The night I called you to come back." Dean looked down at his hands. Sam scoffed.
"Why?" then it clicked. "Is this about what you saw?"
"Basically."
"Dean…" Sam said in a warning tone.
"What Sam?" Dean countered. "Can we not find someone to settle down with? Why can't it be a hunter and not a civilian? Someone who knows the life, ya know."
"Dean you make a good argument, but we barely know her. How do you know she just won't leave?" Sam said in a quiet tone. Dean sighed.
"She won't. She told me." the brothers were quiet for a few moments. before Sam began his questions again.
"So, why are you so girlie over her?" he asked smiling. Dean scrunched his face at his brother.
"I'm not getting girlie, asshat." he looked down again. "I don't know. She's great. She's beautiful. She's caring but a badass. She's got these eyes you can get lost in…" Sam let a belly laugh. Dean looked at him confused. "What?"
"Dude, you are so caught in your own little chick flick." Sam laughed. Dean picked up his pillow and launched it at his younger brother.
"Shut up." Dean laughed. "I don't know man. Seeing what I did, seeing that the future didn't look so dark with her in it, makes me finally see the light at the end of the tunnel." he sighed. He laid back on the bed and tucked his arms under his head. Sam did the same. They laid in silence when a familiar sound of an engine startled them to their feet. Dean looked at Sam and they both ran outside. Dean ran to the Impala, noticing that the Mustang was gone. "No." he looked at the road to see the Mustang's tail lights becoming smaller in the distance. "No, no no no no no!" he ran back inside to grab his cell phone. He dialed Reese's number. "Come on. Come on! Damn it!" he said, throwing the phone against the pavement.
"Why would she leave?" Sam asked, coming up beside him. Dean put his hands in his hair and bunched it in his fingers. He watched the car disappear into the darkness of the night.
"I don't know…"
Reese sighed again as she turned off onto the interstate. She had to get as far away as possible. She stopped a few miles back to replace her plates. She knew the boys knew what they said and she didn't need them tracking her. She turned the GPS off on her phone and turned it over to silent. She also knew they both would be calling her as soon as they found out she was gone. She looked at the clock on the radio. 5:36 a.m. The sun would be coming up soon. She sighed once again as she took the first exit. Even though they were in Ohio, Kentucky still seemed like a very long drive. She pulled off into a small town just outside of Cincinnati and parked off in a closed wooded area. She didn't want to check into a motel and risk her car being seen. She grumbled to herself as she wrapped her jacket around her arms and laid the seat back. "I might as well get some shut eye before hitting the road again." she groaned, stretching her body out as much as she could. Just as sleep was calling her name, she felt her phone vibrate. She picked it up and read Dean's name on the front of it. She slammed the phone back down on the seat and turned her head the opposite direction. The vibrating stopped and she sighed with relief. Then she heard the short vibration from an incoming voicemail. "What the hell." she said, opening her phone to listen to the message. She closed her eyes when she heard his voice.
"Reese. It's Dean. Call me back, damn it." he sounded angry. Reese closed her eyes in regret. She had made him angry. She had to leave. She had gotten too close to the boys. Too close to Dean. She scoffed. Her sister would be slapping her crazy. She could hear her voice in her head. You idiot! A fine as hell man right in front of you, wanting to have something with you, and you leave his ass behind! Are you crazy!? Reese covered her ears, as if to get the voice to stop. She would give it a couple of days to see if they would keep calling her, and if they did, she would go find them again. If they stopped, then she would continue hunting alone. Sure, she dreamed of settling down with a man, having a couple of kids, having a normal life. But, with a hunter, those things would never come to pass. And she felt a pang of regret in her heart because deep down, she was blaming Dean for being a hunter and never giving her those things. She felt the sting of tears settle on her lids before swatting them away and putting on her blank mask. She would keep hunting. She would keep saving people. She would keep doing it until it finally killed her.