"Dean? Dean?" I could hear Sam's voice, heavy with relief. I felt Cas kneel down beside me. My head starting pounding, my heart thudding against my ribcage. He's alive. He's alive.
Tears started welling and my mouth went dry. I wanted to say something, to say his name, to thank god, but I couldn't. I watched Sam haul Dean up and I followed suit, getting up off my knees, finally finding the strength to pull Dean into a tight embrace, my head pressed against his chest, savouring the sound of his heart beating. I couldn't let go, I never wanted to let him ago again, but I had to, we had to get out of there. I tried to step back but I couldn't- couldn't make my fingers unclench his jacket, my arms unlock from his body. My legs felt like jelly underneath me and it was as though every ounce of strength had seeped from my body. My knees buckled, Dean's strong arms grabbing my wrists trying to steady me. Then, every bone and muscle in my body gave out and everything went black.
"Maya? Maya can you hear me?"
I let my eyes flutter open, sunlight burning my eyes. I was in the back of my Jeep, the back seats dropped down and a pile of coats underneath me. I could hear the heating system blowing full blast, the windows steamed up. I tried to sit.
"No, no. You stay there. You okay?" Dean: alive, breathing, talking. Asking how I was? He looked perfect, those green eyes crinkled with concern, not a single scratch that I could see.
"You're alive." I said, dumbly.
"Thanks to you. You wanna tell me what happened back there, angel?"
I leapt up, pulling him into another tight embrace, relishing the warmth of his body and the way his hair felt between my fingers and how his hand slid up my arm and around my neck.
"You're alive," I breathed again.
"You saved me… you saved my life, and you took out every single angel in a two-hundred-yard radius," He cupped my cheek with a warm, rough hand, "soon as I woke up, you went down. Do you feel okay? Are you hurt?"
I shook my head vigorously, the movement sending a shooting pain through my skull. "I… I'm fine? At least I'm not hurt. I think I just exhausted myself, you know? The fighting and the healing and screaming and the…killing?" I squinted at him. "I did that? Those angels- that was me?"
"According to Sam… the screaming?" He raised a quizzical eyebrow,
"You were dead, Dean. We thought we'd lost you…I-"
Dean winked. "Ha. You'll never lose me, kiddo. Never."
"How did I kill all those angels? What did I do?"
"Um. In case it's slipped your mind, I was kind of heading toward the light at this point… didn't really see what was going on…"
The driver's side door opened, letting in a few flakes of snow and an Arctic chill. Sam hopped in, shivering from the cold, his face a painful hue of blues and purples.
"It was like a massive power surge. The ground started shaking and there was this noise… like when thunder's right on top of you. Then, bam. Gone. It was like a reaction to Dean um… to Dean. Like your power reacted to your emotions. More importantly though: you okay?"
"I'm fine, Sam, honest. I guess it was just an effect of using all that power. Made me weak, I suppose. Where's Cas?"
"He and Phanuel had to get the hell out of dodge for a while. Said they'd meet us at the bunker when the heat dies down."
"And?..."
"Jody's fine. We told her to head home, just in case they send anymore infantry. We only lost one man today, a hunter from Columbus. His name was James Grayson."
I shook my head. "Damn it. Nobody should have had to die for me."
"Angels killed his son. They got caught in the crossfire of a heaven versus hell brawl. He was, and I quote, 'happy to die killing those bastards'. Jody's making sure gets a proper send off."
It was something, but it didn't make me feel much better. I just wanted to get the hell out of there.
"Please tell me we can head back to the bunker?" I look between the two brothers.
"We've got to, it's the safest place for us. We need to let the heat die down- gauge the situation." Sam's eyes were crinkled. "You sure you're okay? Need anything before we head?"
"Sleep, and lots of it." I gave them a small smile, but I could feel my eyes getting heavy and tiredness washing over me.
"You got it." Dean laughed. More cold air drifted into the car as Dean moved the driver's seat, but I barely noticed. I let my eyes flutter shut.
The next time I opened my eyes, I was in my room in the bunker, the TV humming quietly, gently illuminating the room.
"Mornin' angel." Dean was sitting in the small armchair next to the bed, legs crossed, a mug of coffee in his hand.
I rubbed my eyes. My throat felt like sandpaper and my arms like lead. "How… how long was I out."
"We're home aren't we?" His head tilted and his eyes narrowed as he looked at me. "You sure you're alright? All this sleeping…." He waved his hand at my bed, "this isn't normal. You can tell me, you know that, right?"
I sighed. "I don't know. I feel so… weak, like the life's been drained outta me… Maybe I just need a hot shower and breakfast."
His eyebrows lifted. "Need a hand with that?" A smirk pulled on the corners of his mouth.
"I think I can manage the shower. Breakfast on the other hand…"
"Fine, fine. I need more coffee anyway." He stood up, stretching into a yawn, placed a kiss on my forehead and left me alone.
I carefully edged out of bed, not quite trusting my legs to do their job. I moved slowly, picking up a clean towel, some sweatpants and a fresh t-shirt. My body felt strange, like it was lighter, like something was missing. Nothing hurt, I just felt weird: even bending down to pick up some socks was an effort.
I padded to the bathroom, humming a song whose name I couldn't remember, and slipped out of the clothes I'd had on for days. I looked down at my legs, they were covered in bruises, scuffed like a kid in a playground. I looked at my arms- the same, mottled with purple, a small nick just above my elbow. I couldn't help the frown that creased by face; there shouldn't be bruises, there shouldn't be cuts. My skin should look exactly the way it did before all this happened. Then it clicked.
I showered quickly but thoroughly, letting the water beat down on my bruised body, soothing me the way it always does. I dried off, slipped into my clothes and almost ran to the kitchen.
Dean was standing over the stove, dish towel draped over his shoulder like he was working in an old-school diner. They'd fought their battle and won; Maya was here with them, alive and well; the bacon was sizzling, the pancakes were ready to go, and Sam had only just bought a fresh bottle of maple syrup a few days ago. It was going to be a damn good day.
He didn't notice her come into the kitchen, but felt her arms snake around his waist and her body press against his.
"Whoa, whoa, lil' lady, I'm working my magic here," she smelt like vanilla, and her body was still warm from the shower.
She spun him round to face her, "'lil' lady?'"
He shook his head, smiling. "I dunno, just thought it fit the vibe I was going for- 'hard working diner chef in a small town'."
A smile broke across her face, lighting her eyes. "You're an idiot."
He just shrugged, turning back to the stove.
"Where's Sam?" he heard the scraping of a chair as she sat down.
"Library, I think. Why? You don't wanna share all this syrupy goodness, surely?"
"I might be inclined, if I was feeling nice… no, I just have something you guys might wanna hear."
As if on cue, Sam's head poked round the kitchen door. "Is that pancakes?"
Dean screwed his face up. "You don't eat pancakes, health freak."
"I went to the store this morning and got some fruit, so yeah, I'm eating pancakes."
"Way to ruin something fun, jerk." Dean flipped a couple of pancakes and some bacon onto a plate and set it down in front of Maya.
"Now, now, Dean. We've got to respect each other's life choices here, no matter how stupid." She threw a cheeky grin Sam's way and poured way too much syrup on her plate.
Dean sat down next to Maya, handing Sam his plate, turning his nose up when he pulled out raspberries and strawberries from the fridge. "Gross… so, what did you wanna tell us, angel?" he asked, breaking off a piece of bacon from his own plate and stuffing it in his mouth.
To his surprise, she didn't say anything, instead, starting rolling up the sleeve of her shirt, all the way to her shoulder, and held up her arm.
"Bruises?" Sam asked, an eyebrow raised. "…Bruises! How do you have bruises?"
Dean's face pulled tight, and her took her arm gently in his hands, inspecting the purple marks. "These should've healed, right?
She nodded. "Right."
"But they haven't?"
She turned her eyes to her arms as if to say 'duh'. "I think this is why I've been feeling so weak... I think my mojo might have, I dunno, been spent?"
Sam chewed the inside of his cheek. "I guess that would make sense. You used a hell of a lot of power in the field. You bought Dean back andganked all those angels in one go."
"Try it." Dean said, watching her with a hint of worry set into his face.
She turned to the door, determination in her eyes. They narrowed, and her hands screwed up, but there was nothing. The door didn't budge.
"Oh." The two brothers said in unison.
"Oh." Maya echoed.
"We should call Cas," Sam suggested, his eyes meeting Dean's.
"You said he was in hiding, you know, until the heat dies down?" Maya replied, rolling her sleeve back down her arm. She looked to both of them, eyes sparkling, skin glowing from the shower, smiling, like she knew something they didn't. "This is a good thing. Sure, I don't have any juice anymore, I can't smite anyone or close doors with my mind, but I'm no longer a target. I'm one hundred percent human, baby, they got nothin' on me,"
"She's right, Dean," Sam's eyes lit up. "We sent them a message, told them not to mess with us, and they won't- Cas will make sure of that. It's like... everything's just wrapped itself up in a neat little bow for us."
Dean rubbed his stubble. "Sam... when do things ever work out this perfectly for us?"
"I say we take it as a win, hundred percent. We'll cross any bridges when we come to them. But right now, they got nothing. I'm no longer undesirable number one,"
Dean lifted his coffee mug. "I'll drink to that. We take whatever win we can."
"The three of us are here and alive and eating Dean's legendary pancakes. What the hell else could we want?" Maya smiled that smile that made Dean's stomach knot, put her warm hand on his knee, and squeezed. Like she always did. It made him feel safe, the way it always did.