Dean was showering when Sam came back to find Riley sitting in the kitchen with a mug of coffee when he jogged down the stairs from the garage, carrying the two pizzas and a six pack. "Hey. Hope you're hungry."
Riley smiled as he set everything down at the table. "I am. Dean's in the shower." Sam's eyes snapped to hers and he straightened. The look on Sam's face was unreadable and she got up from the table. "I washed the dishes while you were gone... looked like they hadn't been done in awhile." She didn't miss the way his face fell slightly at her words, but she chose not to comment.
"Thanks honey... I was gonna get to that." He murmured softly and she didn't reply. Sam's eyes were on her as she moved towards the cabinet to get three plates. "Ry?"
"Yeah?"
His jaw worked a bit, just like Dean's did when he was anxious about something. "Can I... ask you something?"
He didn't miss the subtle way her tense shoulders relaxed a bit despite knowing what was coming. "Of course you can." Riley reached up and pulled three white plates down and closed the cabinet door, turning to face the music. Sam sighed and gathered his thoughts while Riley watched him get nervous, thankful she wasn't the only one.
"I know you and my brother care about each other..." He began quietly and she nodded as she moved past him back to the table. "Did something happen between you guys? Up at the cabin?" Sam turned to watched her walk by him.
Riley sat back down slowly, the small stack of plates in front of her. She sighed softly, a slight blush covering her cheeks as her eyeline remained downcast this time, not wanting to see anything remotely related to disappointment or sympathy in his hazel eyes. "Are you mad, Sam?"
Sam's expression softened, even though she wasn't looking at him. "Riley, of course not." He sat down across from her and she dared a glance at him. "I'm going to assume... you two..." She blushed and a grin smoothed over his mouth at her shyness. "I'm not sure if you even remember, you told me a long time ago when Dean... was gone... that you loved him." Sam chuckled at her shyness. "Whatever you two have between you.. must be something pretty amazing."
She nodded slightly, a small smile on her mouth. "Yeah, it is."
"I'm glad, Riley." Sam reached out and her eyes met his this time as he squeezed her fingers gently in his. "I'm so glad."
Dean came out a few minutes later and slid in next to Sam and the trio polished of several pieces of pizza quietly, lost in thought until Sam spoke up. "So now that we're all home..." The atmosphere shifted then and they each felt it.
Dean immediately looked to the brunette across from Sam. "Yeah?"
"I want us all to be honest." Pause. "I'll go first."
Dean's brow wrinkled and he set down his beer bottle. "Yeah?" His tone was suspicious and Riley looked confused.
"When you guys were at the cabin the last couple weeks, I might have snooped in your room, Riley."
Her eyes narrowed. "Might have?"
"Okay I definitely did." Dean closed his eyes for a few seconds, knowing what was coming.
"Sam, could we not do this right now?" Riley's gaze shifted from Sam to the man next to him, suddenly suspicious of the man she'd opened her heart to for the last year.
Sam and Dean had a silent conversation for a few seconds that consisted of a couple quirked eyebrows and jaw clenches. "Do what right now, Dean?" His mouth opened to answer, then snapped back shut at her glare. Riley pushed her plate back a few inches, clearly pissed. "And why would you go through my things, Sam?"
"Because it bothered me how much you knew about the Mark."
She smirked. "All's you had to do was ask. I did my thesis on it." Sam and Dean exchanged glances. "It's on a thumb drive in my room."
"I found it." His tone was guilty. "What I don't understand is how you got that subject out of all the biblical topics and character studies you could have done, you did your thesis on the Mark of Cain." Sam's tone was slightly accusing and she didn't appreciate that one bit.
"I didn't pick the topic." Riley's voice was shaking now. "It was assigned to me by the TA."
Sam's hazel eyes narrowed a bit at her simple explanation. That seemed too easy.
Dean knew she was getting really pissed at this point and finally interrupted once again. "Guys, maybe we should talk about something else..." Both gave him an equally dirty look. "Like, hey, Riley and I are-,"
"He knows." She said flatly. "I already told him." Dean looked at his little brother. "So what exactly are you accusing me of, Sam?"
"Nothing... I just find it awfully coincidental." Sam's reason was spoken quietly.
"I know." Pause. "Before you guys showed up at Margie's cabin, I had three months to really think about just how perfectly everything lined up... me knowing Bobby, my dad being a hunter and knowing your dad." She got up to pace nervously, both sets of eyes on her. "And how my father exposed me to holy blood as a baby to protect me from the bad shit he hunted only to come to find out that my blood somehow calmed the darkness inside of the Mark's wearer."
Dean sat back a bit. "Ry?"
"And to actually come across the one person on the earth who was bearing the Mark? Wow, shoulda bought a lottery ticket. What are the freakin' odds?"
Sam let out the breath he'd been holding. "Who was your teacher's assistant?"
"I can't even remember his name anymore." Pause. "I'm sorry I lied to you guys, but I'm not apologizing for taking the Mark."
"Okay." Sam nodded at her speech. Riley stopped pacing. "I'm sorry, Ry. I wasn't accusing you of anything... this whole thing just blows my mind, ya know?"
"Me too. It's like my life was decided for me way before I could even make any of my own choices, y'know? As a baby, guys... My entire life was decided for me whether I liked it or not. Do you two have any idea what that feels-?" Her voice broke and she was scooped up in Dean's strong arms before she could get out the last word. The brunette was crying softly and the two men shared a sympathetic look over the top of her head.
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"She's asleep." Dean reentered the war room and Sam and Cas were there at the table. "So now what guys? Where do we even go from here?" He slid into the seat next to Castiel, across from his brother. Sam plucked a beer out of the cardboard six pack and slid it across the table to his brothers waiting palm.
Dean's eyes narrowed slightly as Sam and Castiel shared a somewhat concerned look. "We think... someone planned this."
"Okay... I'll bite." The older man twisted off the cap to his beer before raising the amber glassed bottle to his pouty lips. "Who?" He took a healthy swig.
"Maybe the angels?" Castiel offered quietly and Dean swished the beer around in his mouth before swallowing. "They would potentially have a huge interest in the Mark ending up on Riley." Sam saw his brother roll his eyes flippantly at the simple explanation.
"Yeah, so would anyone else. The whole friggin' purpose of the Mark in the very beginning was to keep the darkness locked away. If Ry would've removed it from me instead of transferring it to herself, we would be in a very different situation." Dean spat, clearly upset. "I don't think this is just some favor someone arranged out of the goodness of their heart almost thirty years ago."
"Yeah I agree. I hate to say it, Cas, but it just doesn't seem like the angels would be doing us a favor." Sam smiled sadly at Castiel. "No offense." Dean took another drink of his beer, watching them.
"I cannot say I disagree with that statement, Sam. I very much doubt the angels would interfere this much." Castiel sighed, his gaze moving to the hallway for a moment where Riley was in the sleeping quarters. "What now?"
Sam held his hands up. "I don't know. Do we just chalk this one up for a win? It's been four months and she hasn't turned." Riley turning darkside was seemingly no longer a touchy subject between the brothers and Castiel's blue eyes moved from Sam to Dean when those words were spoken.
Dean spoke up then, moving his fist away from his mouth. "You guys are still forgetting one thing, though." The other two men looked over at him. "Yeah, she's in control. But what about if she dies with that Mark, what happens then, hm?" His tone was a mix of irritated and frustrated, the slight headache behind his eyes getting a little worse with his worries.
"We should keep her here, where she's safe, until we find out." Castiel stated and Dean rolled his eyes.
"She's not gonna like that."
"She doesn't have to like it." Sam spoke up softy. "She just has to be safe."
The older man guzzled the rest of his beer, feeling the start of a buzz, something he hadn't felt in a long, long time. He set the bottle down on the table just a little too hard before he spoke gruffly. "I'm goin' to bed." He pushed back from the table and rose from the chair. "Riley wants to talk to you in the morning, Cas."
"I will be here." Castiel's words were accompanied by a single nod and Dean sighed. "Goodnight, Dean." He gave a half hearted two fingered wave to the two men at the table before heading down to the sleeping quarters to his bedroom. He was startled to find Riley sitting on the side of his bed, wide awake.
"Hey Ry." His voice sounded strained to her and the brunette sighed. "You alright?"
"I'm fine." Dean shrugged off his flannel and unbuckled his belt, stripping it from his worn jeans. His emerald gaze caught hers as he tossed the two articles on the chair in the corner. "I'm not fine."
That made him freeze and he spoke gently. "How's that?"
"I heard Cas out there."
"You wanna talk to him tonight?"
Her hesitation was apparent. "Not really"
"That's alright." That wasn't what was bothering her and he damn well knew it.
"Are you worried, Dean?"
Dean yanked off his tshirt and moved to pull some pajamas out of a drawer in is dresser. "About what?"
"Me?" His green eyes never left hers, waiting for the elaboration. "That I'll turn... like you did."
He regarded that carefully. "Should I be? Because I'm not." Dean shoved his worn jeans down over his thighs and tossed them towards the chair in the corner. They slid off the chair onto the ground and her eyes watched his neutral expression closely.
Riley moved back on his bed when he moved to the side where she had been sitting to pull on his pajama pants over his favorite boxer shorts. "I don't know." He flopped back on his pillow and he smiled a little half smile over at the woman next to him, wanting her to smile too. "Sam really gonna keep me here like a prisoner, Dean?" The sarcasm made his smile falter the tiniest bit. "You guys aren't very quiet and everything echoes here."
"We worry about you."
"I'm in control, Dean."
He felt the sting of her words and ignored it, knowing she meant nothing demeaning by it. "I know you are. It's everything else we can't predict." Dean shifted next to her, rolling over on his side to face Riley. "I'm proud of you."
Tears stung her eyes and he smiled lightly. "Thank you."
He leaned over and she met him in a soft kiss. "We need to find out who assigned you to your thesis and maybe we can figure out the rest of this, hm?"
Dean always had a way of simplifying things. "I can't remember his name. Nice guy though."
Right. "Get some rest," He fought a yawn and she rolled over, closing her eyes as she felt his strong arm around her. "Night, sweetheart."
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Hey y'all!
7 freaking days until SPN season 14! Woohoo! I seriously can't believe it's almost here!
Thank you to jloh217, SaphyraBlu13 and EmilyAnnMcGarrett-Winchester for your reviews on the last chapter! You guys make my week when I get the notifications. :)
Have a wonderful night!
CitrineMama