Riley's eyes fluttered open and her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. She immediately recognized her desk near the door in her bedroom and relaxed slightly as she took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm herself. A moment passed and she yawned before pushing up off the bed to sit at the side. The nightmare she'd had was so incredibly real and she rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, unconsciously trying to erase the images from her mind.
Damn, had that ever been vivid. Riley couldn't ever recall details of her foggy, anxiety infused nightmares. Just another nightmare, she assured herself. You're safe at the bunker. Even so, she pushed up the unbuttoned long sleeves of her flannel and inspected the soft undersides of her wrists, finding no marks. Satisfied, Riley tugged the sleeves back down before her gaze fell on her cell phone on the nightstand.
She frowned, not remembering plugging it in before her nap. She reached for it before poking at the black screen. The battery was fully charged and she unplugged it, letting the thin black cord fall to the bunker floor near her feet. Riley's index finger held down the power button for a few seconds before the screen lit up, powering back on. The memory card loaded before a new text message popped up. She swallowed hard when she saw it was from Sam's cell.
Riley opened the text and froze.
We're coming for you, Ry.
The same text from her dream. Her dark eyes suddenly caught sight of today's date and time. It was 10 am the next morning.
What the actual fuck was going on? Was her phone jacked up or what? Deja vu suddenly slammed into her like a shovel to the face. Where had the last twenty or so hours gone? The lump in Riley's throat grew as her thumb dared to scroll upward a bit to the previous text, sent from her phone to Sam's.
Dean took me. Holiday Inn Express. Not sure where. 4 hrs from bunker.
That made the bile rise in her throat and Riley dry heaved, her left hand across her mouth.
It actually happened?
Dean kidnapping her from the bunker and everything that happened came back to her in a flood of emotion and she slid down off her bed to the floor on her knees, heaving into the wastepaper basket next to her bed. She was crying softly and her phone clattered to the ground. My wrists are perfect, Riley tried to reason with her anxiety in between her stomach's revolt. She'd done exactly what she promised Dean she wouldn't do again. But would it even matter? She wondered bitterly. Dean was the darkness that he'd fought so hard not to be and what did her promises to him even mean now?
Riley gasped when she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and she sat back against the bed, her bloodshot eyes meeting Sam's concerned face. She frowned at his presence and sympathy flickered across his features before he spoke to her, his voice soothing her. "It's me... you're okay. I got ya." His arms came around her in a gentle hug from where he'd knelt beside her on the floor and she relaxed against his warmth. "Ry, It's okay."
"Sam," She rasped. "I had a nightmare... Dean was back and he took me and-," Riley shut up when she felt his body tense. She pushed back from him and blinked rapidly, watching his expression change from concern to regret. "Sam, you're home from the case?"
"We didn't finish the job."
"What?" Riley's head was spinning and Sam regarded her carefully before he spoke.
"It wasn't a nightmare." His voice was quiet, his words careful.
"What?"
"I have Dean in the dungeon." Hazel met brown again. "I injected him with everything we had... Cas is with him, waiting to see if it worked." Another bout of nausea washed over her and she shivered, feeling her mouth watering, her stomach turning. "He hurt you?" There was some level of shame in his question, as if he somehow felt responsible for his brother taking her. "Ry?"
"Sam?" She sounded lost and the forlorn look on her features paired with the silent tears streaming down her face made his own chest tighten.
"Are you okay?" Sam pulled back a bit to really look at her. When Riley didn't answer, he added. "Castiel healed you..." That's why her arms were clean, Riley realized. "Dean... kinda roughed you up..." He didn't dare ask about the wounds on her wrists; that was a conversation for another time. "Are you alright?"
"Dean's here? In the bunker?" Sam watched her dodge that question, something he swore she'd picked up from his brother. He nodded and she felt her chest tighten. Her breaths were shallow and he recognized the panic in her eyes. "How..."
"Just relax," His voice was soothing and his free hand came up to smooth her wild hair back. "I've got everything under control." Sam paused before letting her go some. "You sure you're alright?"
No straight answer from Riley and she continued, trying to make sense of the things he was saying to her. "You guys were on a case... How did..."
"Dean called me." Sam spoke quietly and Riley blinked rapidly, trying to hold her tears at bay and failing miserably. "He told me he had you and where you two were." Pause. "He came with me and Castiel willingly." Hazel met chocolate. "I still don't understand it, but Dean was concerned about you and whatever darkness that's inside him... was gone for a little while." Something flickered in Riley's eyes and Sam hugged her close again. "Honey, you sure you're alright?"
The brunette nodded, wiping her tears away. "I'm sorry for making you worry." There was his brother coming from her lips again, dodging Sam's concern and apologizing, like everything was somehow his doing.
Sam managed a smile. "This isn't anyone's fault, Riley girl." Her eyes closed when he kissed her temple. "I'm gonna go check on Dean and Castiel."
"I'm so tired." She murmured as he let her go some, still watching her wrap her brain around the things he was confirming.
"You want Cas to stay here while you rest?" She nodded. "I'll let him know."
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"You look worried guys." Sam and Castiel exchanged looks before looking back to Dean. "Was I... possessed?"
"Welcome back, Dean," Sam spoke softly. He and Castiel removed the cuffs and Dean rose. They gave him the cliff notes version until he interrupted the two men. "Where's Ry?" He didn't miss the looks Sam and Castiel exchanged. "What the hell's going on?"
Sam took a deep breath and somewhat patiently told him about Metatron, him dying and being back and the bunker, disappearing without a trace, then breaking into the bunker and kidnapping Riley, taking her to a hotel hours from home.
"Then what?"
Cas shrugged, a rarity for him. Sam continued. "When we found you guys, Riley was out cold." He paused there, hesitant to continue. Dean sensed that and raised an eyebrow slightly. The younger man frowned before he added. "She had bruises on her neck and her other arm. Both her wrists... were patched up." Dean's jawline tightened at his brother's careful words, an unnamed emotion swirling in his eyes.
"Wait, did I... do this to her?" Again, another set of looks were exchanged between Sam and Castiel, who stood a few feet away. "I put my hands on Riley?"
His younger brother closed his eyes painfully. "Dean..."
"What happened? What did I do?" His brow was wrinkled and Sam couldn't bring himself to say what he'd been thinking about since he'd scooped up Riley from the bed in the motel room. There was no doubt in Sam's mind the finger shaped bruises were put there by his brother, the Mark completely taking hold of Dean. Riley's face was tear soaked and pale against his shoulder as he carried her down the stairwell to the impala and the weight of the damn near lifeless young woman in his arms was something Sam never wanted to feel again.
Sam suspected she'd cut herself, but it was Dean who'd done the patch job; Sam had caught a glimpse of blood on the cuff of his flannel and a first aide kit on the nightstand. "What the hell did I do?" Dean burst out, his voice raw with emotion. Castiel stepped forward then and reached out to touch Dean's forehead, allowing him to see Riley's memory of the kidnapping and everything that came before and after it.
Dean's stomach heaved when her overwhelming fear and distrust bled over onto his soul at Castiel's hand and his eyes closed painfully. "Fuck." A fist was pressed against his mouth and he fought the nausea in his stomach, trying to get ahold of his emotions before he completely lost his shit. "Where is she? Is she here? Can I see her?"
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Good morning, beautiful readers!
What do you think? Should I let him see her? Is Riley going to accept Dean with open arms or completely shut him out? How will Sam react when he finds out about what happened in that hotel room? Reviews are love!
CitrineMama