A/N:

Hey guys!

Yes, this is super short, so there will be another update by Saturday. (A family member entered hospice this week, so I've been preoccupied.) :(

Shout out to Jennhopp12, EmilyAnnMcGarrett-Winchester and jloh217 for your reviews on the last chapter. Y'all rock!

CitrineMama

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She'd sliced Dean's arm open just under the Mark and ran her thumb through the blood before smearing the crimson fluid on her own forearm before reading the ancient spell from the notebook. A bright light emitted from the Mark made her eyes close and she felt a surge of power course through her veins and burn underneath her skin. She cried out at the unexpected sensation and dropped to her knees, feeling extremely lightheaded.

Riley wasn't sure how much time had passed but the light eventually dissipated and she looked over at Dean on her bed. He was still breathing, lying motionless. She crawled over to him and tugged his flannel sleeve up. His arm was still bleeding, but the Mark was gone.

She'd done it.

Riley scrambled to her feet and searched her own body frantically until she found the Mark on her right hipbone. She looked over at Dean one more time after grabbing her bag from underneath her bed. "I'm so sorry, Dean." She whispered before grabbing her backpack from beside the bed. She picked up the friendship lamp next to it and looked at him one more time. His breaths were deep and even and as much as Riley wished to stay and stare at him, she knew she had to go.

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"Guys? I'm back." Sam's voice echoed through the bunker and he felt inexplicable worry settle in the pit of his stomach when no one answered him. "Dean? Riley?" The six pack of beer and pizza were abandoned on the table in the war room as Sam palmed his gun. He searched room by room until he saw Dean passed out on Riley's bed. He shook his brother awake. "Dean?"

"What happened?" Dean murmured sitting up. "Shit." His brow wrinkled at his mild headache. "Where's Riley?" He surveyed his surroundings. "Sam?"

"What the hell's going on?" Sam demanded, his voice full of worry. His brother looked confused as he tried to recall why he was laying on Riley's bed. "Dean."

"She called me in here and I came in and Cas... he freakin' put me out-," Dean began and was interrupted by a change in the air pressure and Castiel appeared suddenly, breathless. "What the hell, Cas?" Sam focused his attention on the angel as Dean sat up carefully, a bit woozy from the movement.

"I swear... I did not know why she asked me to put you out." He looked distraught and Sam threw his hands up, his jaw clenched angrily.

"Alright... why do you think she wanted you to put Dean out?"

"Sam, I don't know." The angel was frustrated. "All she said was-,"

"Uh, guys?" Dean spoke carefully.

"Castiel, what reason could she possibly have-," Sam shot back, his anger spilling over.

"Guys, we got a problem." The oldest Winchester's quiet tone made both men stop arguing and look at Dean, who was now sitting at the edge of her bed. "What?" Sam sounded exasperated, tucking his gun back in the waistband of his jeans.

"We have a colossal," Dean shoved his flannel shirtsleeve up, the cut underneath clotted off. "Massive, earth shattering problem." His tanned forearm was cleared of the Mark that plagued him. Castiel closed his eyes and Sam shook his head, not believing it was gone. His eyes held Sam's for a long moment, conveying every emotion he couldn't voice.

"My God, Riley... what did you do?" Castiel murmured, suddenly noticing a white envelope on the nightstand simply labeled boys. He reached down to pick it up and he stared at it for a moment before handing it over to Sam.

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25 minutes earlier...

Riley was in her truck and on the road two minutes later, closing the bunker garage behind her. She was praying not to run into Sam on the access road out. She slammed on the brakes when a deer darted out in front of her. She swore and hit the steering wheel with the heel of her hand before continuing out the rutted path towards the main road. "C'mon, c'mon c'mon," Riley chanted softly.

She pulled out onto the road and headed east. She had roughly an eight hour drive ahead of her and the Mark on her skin was making her feel energized in a way she never had. In the back of her mind, she tried to force that rush off as adrenaline.

Riley felt flushed and she reached out to crank her truck window down, letting the night air roll in, cooling her a bit. How long before she'd feel it's effects? For Dean, it had been roughly four months. She took the next left and headed towards the highway. Thunder rumbled ominously in the distance and the sky was darker now that it should have been for seven in the evening.

She saw the first drop of rain splatter against her windshield. Then another. Riley reached out numbly to click on her wipers and her headlights. Before she knew it, the rain was pelting consistently against the old truck, attempting to drown out the thoughts swirling around in her mind. Riley's eyes slid to the rearview mirror for what seemed like the thousandth time, making sure she wasn't being followed.

Her windshield wiper blades were snapping back and forth to clear the windshield momentarily, only to have the raindrops continue. The radio was off, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Riley's mind drifted back to the night Dean had walked in on her in the bathroom. He'd been so good to her and she almost hated that they'd gotten close; just another person that she'd grown to love and trust snatched from her life. The rain suddenly reminded her of the first night she'd gone to Dean's bedroom, her anxiety peaking and her hands shaking, wanting so badly to get rid of that feeling, she could taste it.

But she found herself instead, in his bed, curled up against Dean, his arms around her as they laid there. They found solace in each other's quiet company in the wee hours of the morning.

"Riley, I'm glad you're here." That soft phrase made the damn inside her chest break. "I don't want you being alone when you feel like this. Thank you for coming to me this time." Dean hummed a bit and he felt her take a nice, deep breath. He reached over to pull an extra blanket over them. It was sort of heavy and he liked it; pulling it over himself after a long day always comforted him in some small way.

He rubbed her back in circles and felt her relax against him some. "You wanna listen to something?" Riley just nodded slightly and she felt him reach across her body for something on the nightstand. She felt one of his earbuds being pressed into her left ear gently and she opened her eyes to find him putting the other one in his right ear before turning on what he'd been sitting in here listening to before she'd come to him.

He thumbed something on his cell phone and the sounds of a thunderstorm came through their earbuds. Riley closed her eyes again, seemingly content with his selection. He smiled a bit; only bad thing about the bunker was that when it rained, all the noise was drowned out.

Riley felt the sting of tears; Dean was probably furious, but who gave him the damn right to carry everything for them? The weight of their world wasn't on his shoulders alone and she sighed, knowing they were frantically searching for a way to find her.

But Riley had taken care of that.

She'd drawn a warding mark in permanent marker on her arm and on the inside of each of the truck windows. No locator spell or Castiel could find her until she was ready for that to happen. Her cell was off and in her canvas messenger bag on the bench seat next to her. The guilt she'd initially felt about this whole spell and going behind their backs to remove the Mark was quickly fading, being replaced with thoughts and reason. She simply needed to get it off of Dean so he could continue doing what he did best; fighting the good fight alongside his brother.

Saving the world.

How could Riley honestly feel like she'd done the wrong thing?

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Well, you didn't think this was over yet, did you?

Reviews are love! Have a wonderful evening! :)

CitrineMama