Dean had a few beers at the hotel bar before he glanced at the clock. The older blonde woman at the end of the bar, maybe in her mid forties, had been eyeing him up for the last hour, but he'd purposefully kept his eyes from hers, not wanting to deal with that shit right now. Despite the no smoking signs above the bottles on the back shelving of the bar, a light haze hung silently in the air. He tipped back his tumbler, draining the cold contents, the ice clinking softly in the glass as he set it back on the shiny bar top.

It was nearly midnight as he settled his bill with the male barkeep before leaving a few singles on the bar next to his empty glass. His eyes inadvertently met the blonde's gaze and Dean looked past her as he walked by, heading up to he and Riley's suite. Random sex with some barfly was seemingly always at the top of his to do list when he woke up as a knight of hell, but tonight, that seemed to be the very last thing on his mind.

The elevator ride upstairs was quiet, but his mind was racing. Dean's thoughts regarding the brunette he'd basically kidnapped from the bunker were somewhat jumbled and confusing. His nimble fingers pulled the card key from his back pocket. He slid the key in the slot and the light flashed green. Dean pushed open the heavy door and closed it quietly behind him, almost not wanting to wake the brunette should she happen to be sleeping.

His eyes flashed to black when he saw the empty suite and he paused for a second, listening for any telltale sound. Hearing nothing but silence, Dean moved across the living room before the bedroom, seeing the bathroom door was closed. He opened it and saw the brunette sitting in the bathtub, her flannel sleeves shoved haphazardly upward. Both her wrists were oozing blood, the wine corker still loosely clutched in her right hand, the dull little blade inside covered with her blood. "Riley?" His voice was choked and he almost didn't recognize it.

Her dark red blood was such a stark contrast to the all white bathroom, the very contents of her life spilling down her sides, trailing down her torso and along her legs towards the drain. Her eyes were closed and her flannel and jeans were soaked in her blood. Dean hoisted her out of the tub with strength he didn't know he had and carried her to the bedroom, laying her down on the crisp white comforter. Yes, Dean was a knight of hell now, but something deep inside the vessel took over when he saw her laying there in that bathtub, covered in blood at her own hand.

"Damnit." He growled; Dean never imagined that she would pull a stunt like this.

Ever again, he thought bitterly.

She was still breathing though. He'd been down at the bar for about an hour, so Dean knew she must have done this as soon as he left, hoping this would be over before he came back. Dean moved back to the bathroom and his now green eyes fell on her cell phone on the counter top. He was surprised to see it and picked it up to examine it. The screen was black and the battery was dead now, but he hadn't known she'd had it and knew that at some point, she must have contacted Sam or Cas.

Dean looked over his shoulder at her still form laying on the bed before he slipped her phone in his pocket. He moved back into the bedroom and towards the window, pulling back the sheer white curtains a bit. His calloused hand pulled out his own cell phone and punched in the ever familiar digits that were ingrained in the vessel. "Sam?" There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the phone. "It's me... I have Riley..."

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"Sam?" Even the angel picked up on the subtle change on Sam's features when he let the phone drop from his ear to the bench seat next to him.

"That was Dean," He murmured. "Or whatever the hell my brother is now..." His face was lit up momentarily by an oncoming car's headlights. "He said... he had Riley."

Castiel let out a breath at the information. "He has her alive?"

Sam's jaw clenched at the filter-less question, knowing the angel hadn't meant to upset him by asking that. "He didn't say... just gave me the address... the same one we're headed to now..."

"Is she...?"

The only reply was Sam's foot pressing down even harder on the accelerator.

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Dean was standing by the window, looking down onto the evening darkened street below when he heard the suite door behind him unlock quietly. "Heya Sammy." He could feel his brother's presence a mile away and even as a knight of hell, the incredible bond they shared was still inexplicably the same. Sam's gun was aimed at him, he was absolutely sure of that.

"Dean?" His hazel eyes swept over the hotel room to make sure they were alone and Castiel moved inside the suite as well, closing the door behind them. The older man turned slowly to face them, his expression neutral. "Where's Riley?" There was a hint of warning there in Sam's tone and some worry as well.

"She's right in there." Dean nodded to the bedroom and Sam moved closer to the doorway, his studious eyes watching every movement the other man made. Dean's emerald gaze moved to the angel, who held the demon blade tightly in his left hand, ready in case this went sideways. "Cas." His casual acknowledgement was unexpected and the angel gave a single nod.

Sam, deciding the bedroom was safe as well, tucked his handgun into the back of his jeans and moved into the room, seeing Riley laying motionless on the king sized bed. Both of her wrists were bandaged and she looked pale, but she was alive. Riley's chest rose and fell evenly and Sam's studious gaze raked over her form, taking a mental inventory of any wounds.

His heart rate sped up as he noted clear finger marks on her forearms and on her neck, already starting to bruise. "What did you do to her?" Sam's anger boiled over as he checked her pulse and her pupils, his hands warm against her cool skin. She whimpered softly when she felt his touch and he was grateful to hear her respond to him. "Dean?" There was a protective tone in his angry voice and the older man wasn't shocked. "What the hell did you do?"

"I patched her up," Dean's voice was unusually quiet. Hazel flashed to green as Sam straightened. "She did that to herself when I went down to the bar..." Castiel stepped closer to Dean and the metallic clink of the handcuffs made Dean look from Cas to his brother.

"I'm taking you both home." Sam ground out, his own fury threatening to take over and just kill his own brother right there in the hotel bedroom without a second thought. Dean studied his younger brother for a few tense seconds before he held out his wrists towards him submissively. Sam crossed the bedroom, pulling the heavy cuffs from Castiel's hands before snapping them on the monster in front of him that used to be his brother.

"She's gonna be okay, right?" There was some semblance of concern in Dean's voice and Sam rolled his eyes before snapping out angrily.

"You'd better hope so." Blatant hate laced his tone and Dean's green eyes moved to the angel.

"I will heal her." Castiel said quietly. Dean nodded, his eyes moving back to Sam as he scooped up Riley in his arms. She murmured something against him as he straightened and he shushed her softly.

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Riley felt cold hands probing her neck and she whimpered at the unexpected sensation. A gruff male voice invaded her groggy world before she felt everything tilt and the cool, hardness under her back be replaced by a set of strong arms. He spoke again to her and she didn't have the strength to reply or give any indication she'd heard the words he'd spoken. She felt herself swaying back on forth a bit as she was carried to a much softer surface and laid down gently. The cool, calloused hand smoothed her hair back and touched her cheek before he left her side again.

His voice was somewhat recognizable to her ears and Riley heard him talking somewhat near to her before she felt a familiar weight settle next to her body, but she was too tired to open her eyes to see the person next to her. Riley felt strangely safe next to this person and she felt wave after wave of exhaustion washing over her, beckoning her back to sleep. The same calloused hand moved over her head, smoothing down her mousy brown hair as he sat next to her, his back against the headboard while he waited for his brother to rescue them.

Both of them.

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Hello lovelies!

I've been on vacation for the past couple weeks and was pretty much unplugged for most of the time. The beach does wonders for the soul, doesn't it? :)

Hope you all enjoy this update. Let me know what you think and feed my muse. She likes reviews. And cookies.

CitrineMama