Chapter 26

Leah was livid as she made her way down the busy sidewalk, tears that she refused to release burning and stinging at the corners of her eyes like tiny shards of glass. Damn him! She was not going to cry over Dean again. She needed to hold onto her anger, concentrate on it, embrace it. Better to be furious with the man for his sneaky actions then to cry over his insensitive ones.

So he gave her a gift to cover his tracks, not because he wanted to share some deeper sentiment. So what? It was Dean Winchester, after all, that she was injudiciously involved with. What did she expect?

What should bother her most was that he didn't believe in her enough, trust her enough, to talk to her about his suspicions; still preferring to slip off without her knowledge to bully and demoralize anyone he deemed a threat. That was something to worry about in their relationship. To dwell on her feelings being hurt because his gift had no meaning seemed rather shallow and pointless in the scheme of things.

A familiar sound pulled Leah from her thoughts. She knew it well. Over the years, she'd spent so much time waiting for it. Praying to hear it. So she didn't have to turn around to know the loud rumbling engine headed toward her belonged to the Impala. Only this time the sound didn't bring a rush of excitement, but instead spurred on that anger she was clinging to, increasing her need to distance herself from the man driving the machine.

Although there were a fair number of people walking around, Leah worried that Dean would spot her. It was best to duck inside one of the stores until he passed by. Dealing with him now would only be a huge mistake.

The Impala was getting closer, causing a spike in Leah's pulse. To her immediate left was an entrance to a pub. Leah pulled on the door but it didn't budge. What the hell? A quick glance at her watch...11:00 am. They should be open. She heard the car draw near and knew there wasn't time to move onto the next door without Dean seeing her. This one had to open! She yanked on it again with no luck, then in frustration shoved as hard as she could. The door flew open and she fell inside, landing rather harshly on the bar's rough wooden floor.

Sprawled out on her stomach, the breath knocked out of her, Leah managed to kick her right foot out, catching the edge of the heavy door and slamming it closed. She wanted to assure that she was hidden from Dean's view, whom she was certain would have been passing by right about then. Pushing herself up to a kneeling position, she glanced around, unsurprised by the curious looks she was receiving from the small group of patrons. As casually as possible, Leah stood up, brushed off her hands and strolled over to the bar where she eased gracefully onto a stool.

"Nice entrance." the bartender commented as he walked over to her. He was tall and thin with light blue eyes, a pencil thin mustache and long brown hair that was pulled back into a ponytail.

"Yeah. I give it a 9.5." a hefty man with a wiry red beard added from his nearby stool.

Leah played along with them. "Thanks. It's taken some work, but I think I've managed to perfect it."

"Coulda been a 10, but you woulda had to been naked." an elderly man at one of the small tables chimed in, his speech slurred from a large intake of rum. He gave her a thumbs up and grinned widely, revealing several missing teeth.

Well, this was going to be a fun experience, Leah thought. She'd never been in a bar this early in the day before and now she knew why. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." she told him, shaking her head at the brash remark.

"Don't mind ole Harry. He thinks everyone should be naked." the bartender informed her. "He gets a bit rowdy, but he wouldn't hurt a soul."

Leah smiled. Her first impression of the young man behind the bar was that he was working there because he wanted to, not because had to. "That's good to know." Then she added, "I'll have a beer."

"You old enough?" he asked as he wiped down a glass and set it aside.

"Right now I feel more than old enough, sweetheart, but thanks. You made my day." Leah took a twenty from her wallet and placed it onto the bar.

"Guess we're even, then. You walking in here made my mine." He drew a beer from the tap and set it in front of her. "Name's Brian." he said with a smile. Its warmth and openness helped to soothe the churning sensation that had taken up residence in the pit of Leah's stomach ever since her fight with Dean.

"I'm Leah." Curiosity got the better of her. "So, Brian, you own this place?"

"Yeah, sure do. And my dad owned it before me and his dad before him." He had a look of contentment as he glanced around. "Same group hangs out here most of the time. Can't complain about the bunch I'm stuck with, but it sure is nice to see a pretty face like yours show up once in awhile."

Though a compliment from a nice looking man when her confidence was a bit rattled was uplifting, Leah ignored it. She wanted a few drinks and no problems. "Well, it's a nice place." She picked up her glass and took a deep drink, not stopping until she'd drained a good third of its contents.

Brian watched her chug the beer, then rested an elbow on the bar as he leaned toward her. "Man troubles?" he asked, certain that was the only reason a looker like her would be in there downing a drink at that hour of the day.

"I'm that easy to read?" Knowing she showed her heartache so clearly wasn't what Leah wanted to hear. She wished she could hide it better. But then if she was with Dean long enough, she was sure she could pick up a lot of good tips on hiding one's emotions.

"You're showing some signs. He break your heart?"

A short burst of laughter escaped at that comment. If this man only knew! "Since the day I laid eyes on him."

"So why do you let it happen?" Brian asked, wondering why such a beautiful woman would stay with a man who continually hurt her.

Leah downed some more beer. That was a loaded question, she thought. An image of Dean rose up clear and strong, along with the warmth and ache that always filled her when she thought of him. "Because I love him." she said quietly.

Brian nodded, completely understanding where she was coming from. He'd had a similar relationship a few years back. The woman was still in his blood, too, God help him. "Yeah. Love sucks, doesn't it?"

"Amen!" Finishing off the rest of her drink, Leah slid the glass toward him. "How about another one?"

By the time Leah finished her third beer, she was sitting at one of the tables surrounded by several male customers, having captured not only their attention but their admiration as well as they discussed weapons and swapped stories of bar fights.

Dean had tried to call her cell phone several times, an interruption that aggravated her to no end until she finally thought to put the ringer on low. Between the loud music of the juke box and the cocoon her coat's deep pocket created, the quiet ring tone fell away, leaving her free to enjoy the beer and her new companions without the constant reminder of why she was there in the first place.

As the men talked and the beers disappeared, Leah began to relax, the hurt and anger that Dean's callous actions had caused slipping to the furthest corners of her mind. Leah lost all track of time in the dark interior of the quaint pub, which was of little concern, but she also lost count of how much liquor she'd consumed. Round after round, each man taking their turn setting a beer before her, had a hazy drunken fog settling over her.

It was around that time that she decided to call Amy. Her sister sounded a little upset at first, complaining that nobody had heard from her in the past few hours, but that tone changed when Leah asked Amy to meet her at the pub. She hung up, excited by the prospect of the two of them having some good old fashioned 'girls night out' fun. When she mentioned that to her male companions, they were thrilled at the idea of having another young lady join their party.

Fifteen minutes later Leah announced it was her turn to get a round of drinks. Pushing herself up from her chair, she swayed just a little before gaining her balance. Making her way to the bar, she hopped up so she could lean across it and gain Brian's attention by touching his arm. Grinning up at him, she informed him they were ready for the next round. When Brian told her they should make ole Harry treat she giggled and told him the man would probably only pay if they were all naked. That was when she felt someone take hold of the back of her pants and tug her roughly off the bar.

Dean stopped by Blake's motel room first and was greatly relieved not to find Leah there. More than likely she'd gotten a taxi and went back to Amy's. He went there and waited, fear sinking in when half an hour passed and she failed to show. He decided to drive around and search for her, not really sure where to look, but he was too restless to just sit idly by. Nearly two hours had passed when he got a call from Amy telling him where he could find Leah.

Now Dean's hands gripped the wheel tightly as he made the short drive to retrieve her. Sam sat silently beside him, having insisted he tag along. Just in case, he'd said, considering the circumstances. Dean had argued at first, not wanting to waste time by driving back to Amy's to pick his brother up, but then he realized Sam was right. Leah had been in that bar for a few hours and had probably drawn a crowd. Although he was mad enough to fight a small group of men, it wouldn't hurt to have Sammy there for back up.

"Dean. We walk in, get Leah and leave. No problems, right?" Sam asked as his brother parked the car in front of a row of shops not far from the pub.

If Sam really wanted to believe it was gonna happen that way, who was he to spoil his silly fantasy? "Right. No problems." Dean agreed, although the scowl that marred his handsome face did little to reassure the younger Winchester.

Dean walked briskly to the pub, shoved open the door and stepped inside. He moved to his right, giving Sam room to enter as well, then took a moment to let his eyes adjust to the dim lighting before searching out his target.

He spotted her right away, his jaw clenching as he watched her get up from a table full of men. He could see by her swagger as she sauntered over to the bar that she was feeling the effects of the liquor. Apparently her 'friends' were as well, by their hoots and comments for her to hurry back as she left them.

"Goddammit." he muttered. The jealousy (or what Dean would adamantly swear was just anger), that had been simmering within him from the moment Amy called and told him Leah was in a bar, promptly boiled over.

Sam tried to keep his brother calm. "It's no big deal, Dean. They're just sitting around drinking and talking. Why don't you wait here and let me get her?"

"No, I'll get her."

As he stormed toward the bar, he saw Leah hop up and lean across it so she could tug at the bartender's sleeve. The act left her backside sticking out rather seductively, the tight jeans hugging her curves and leaving nothing to the imagination. Dean's eyes shot over to the table full of men and as expected, every one of them was ogling the same tempting view.

Dean was furious for three reasons. First, he was furious with the men for looking; second, with Leah who was giving them something to look at; and third, with himself for upsetting Leah enough to bring all of this on. Even though the last reason was the one he should have centered on, it was a hell of a lot easier to take care of the first one.

He stared at the table, quickly sizing up the men. Dean knew he could easily take out half of them in no time at all. The other three, however, were fairly big guys. He could take them out, it would just be a little more work.

He took a step toward them, but Leah giggled, pulling his gaze back to the bar. The bartender was leaning in toward her, getting a little too damn up close and personal for his own good. Slight change in plans. Dean's long strides quickly put him directly behind Leah. With his left hand, he snatched the back of her jeans and tugged sharply, pulling her off the bar and up against his body. His arm snaked around her waist, pinning her tightly to him. At the same time, he snagged the front of the bartender's shirt with his right hand and yanked him forward, slamming the man into the bar so hard it produced a loud grunt.

"Shit! What the hell, dude?" Brian managed to say through gritted teeth.

Leah's head was spinning slightly from both the beer and the motion of being abruptly pulled backwards. She didn't have to see who had a hold of her to know who it was. She knew by his touch and his scent and the way her body responded to both.

"Brian, this is Dean. You know, the heartbreaker. Dean, this is Brian you're trying to beat up. Oh wait!" She gave a derisive snort, then continued. "Dean doesn't beat people up. He just helps them understand things better. Isn't that right, Dean?"

"How much has she had to drink?" Dean asked Brian, ignoring her baiting remark. He let up just enough to remove the edge of the bar from the man's ribcage, but not enough to completely relieve him of pain.

Brian's mouth moved wordlessly for a few seconds, then a jarring shake from Dean helped him spit out an answer. "Um, uh, five. Maybe six beers."

"It's none of his business!" Leah scoffed. She tried to break free, but Dean's grip was like steel. "Will you let go of me? I don't want to talk to you right now, Dean! I just wanna go back with my friends."

"Her tab paid up?" At Brian's nod, Dean started to let him go, then tightened his grip and pulled him closer. "You didn't go and do somthing dumb like hit on her, did you, Brian?"

"Dean!" Leah kicked at his leg, but it didn't seem to faze him at all.

Brian shook his head and swallowed hard. He was by no means a coward. He'd never backed down from a fight in his life, but the killer look in this guy's eyes was enough to scare the shit out of him. "No...nope. Nobody did. Honestly. Leah's sweet and the guys, they were just talking with her. Nobody wants any trouble with you."

Too bad, Dean thought. It might help to throw a few punches at someone. "Right. You're all just a bunch of good ole boys, aren't you?" Reluctantly, he released his hold on Brian's shirt.

As soon as Brian was free, he stumbled back, putting plenty of distance between him and Dean. Rubbing at his sore chest, he threw a worried look toward the table full of men. He hoped that Leah, or the tall guy who'd shown up with her irate boyfriend, would be able to keep things under control because the last thing Brian wanted on his hands was a barroom brawl.

Dean turned to face the group of men, Leah still locked in his embrace. She was squirming around as she tried to pry herself free, using both hands to push at his arm while kicking at his legs with alternating feet. Her efforts were wasted as it had no effect on Dean whatsoever, his determination to keep her within his grasp overriding any discomfort she caused.

The men were watching them and when Dean started their way, the large red haired one stood up, set his drink on the table and rolled up his sleeves. A slow smile of satisfaction spread across Dean's face as he felt that familiar rush of adrenaline kick in. So the big guy wanted to fight! Good, because he sure as hell did. In fact, the itch to hurt one or two or six of them was very, very strong.

Leah's half-hearted struggles intensified when she saw where Dean was going. "No!" She twisted her head to the side trying to look at him. "No, Dean! Don't do this. They were just being friendly!"

"Oh I just bet they were!" Sarcasm dripped from Dean's voice as he stopped before the big red haired man, but before he could do anything Sam appeared in between them. He shook his head at Dean and held up his hand.

"Dude, we agreed. No problems." Facing the angry looking patron, who stood nearly as tall as him but outweighed him by a good forty pounds, Sam smiled. "Look, we don't want any trouble. We're just gonna turn around and walk out of here."

A fist shot past Sam's face, and with wide eyes the younger Winchester watched Big Red's head jerk back from the impact. Sam let out a shaky sigh. He should have known better. After all, keeping things short and sweet wasn't Dean's style. To add to the fun, Sam heard the sound of chairs scraping along the floor, warning him that at least a few others were planning to come to their friend's aid. So much for walking in, getting Leah and walking right back out...

Dean let go of Leah, giving her a slight push to the side and out of harms way. He ducked in front of Sam to grab the front of Big Red's shirt and hit him twice more in the face, breaking the man's nose. It momentarily stunned the large man, allowing Dean to ram an elbow into a fleshy, sagging midsection. Red sharply doubled over in pain.

While Dean was taking care of Big Red, Sam exchanged blows with another of the larger men who was trying to take off his head with wild, hammering swings. The guy wasn't as beefy as Dean's opponent, but he was certainly big enough to withstand several of Sam's powerful punches. Though Sam managed to block most of the man's, a few hard ones landed, splitting Sam's lip before Sam finally dropped him with a flurry of hits to the chin and torso.

After being shoved aside, Leah watched the melee unfold. There were close to 25 people packed inside the pub's small interior and most of them had jumped up to participate in the fighting. Only a few seemed interested in going after the Winchesters, the rest choosing instead to spar each other.

She saw Dean hitting the red haired man she knew as Frank. Despite the size difference, Dean was getting the better of him, which wasn't surprising. She also saw poor Sam, who'd been ungraciously dumped into the middle of this mess, defending himself as another of the men she'd only recently been laughing with stepped into the mix.

Although her head was fuzzy from the alcohol, Leah sighed and moved toward the fight. No way was she going to stand by and watch while the boys were involved. Even if one of them did start it! She was headed for a tall lanky guy who had decided to help Frank in his battle with Dean, when she saw someone approach Sam from behind, a beer bottle in hand. Changing direction, she used a front snap kick to knock the bottle away. The guy shook his numbed hand and turned toward her, making it easy for her to kick out again, this time catching him square in the chest with a solid side kick. The man flew past Dean, landing on his back and skidding along the wood floor until he came to a stop in a heap beside the bar.

Dean groaned as he saw Leah stroll into the midst of the fighting. He was impressed that she was handling herself so well considering all the beer she'd had, but he wasn't about to let her take part in it. With Big Red laid out on the floor, he finished off the skinny guy by throwing a couple of punches to the guy's chin. When slim fell to his knees and refused to get up, Dean rushed over to Leah.

He latched onto her arm as she was about to grab hold of the back of someone's shirt. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Stay out of this!" he yelled, then quickly jerked her out of the way as a man came flying backwards toward them.

Leah tried to shrug him off. "Don't tell me what to do, Dean! I'll fight if I want to."

"Like hell!" His grip on her arm tightened as he dragged her aside. With nearly everyone in the place throwing punches and bottles, it was time for them to make a hasty retreat. He pushed her against the wall. "Stay here! I'm getting Sam and we're out of here!" Because he doubted that she would listen, his voice deepened and took on a harsh edge as he pointed his finger in her face. "I mean it, Leah. You've had a lot to drink and I don't want you hurt! Wait right here for me!"

Leah's brown eyes flashed as she watched him walk off to round up his brother. "I hate it when he thinks he can boss me around!" she mumbled to herself before targeting a nearby man who was getting the best of one of her earlier drinking companions.

Dean forced his way through the men until he found Sam, then two of them fought their way toward the wall where Dean had left Leah. He growled out his frustration when he saw that she wasn't there. Motioning to Sam to head out, he once again made his way back into the crowd until he spotted her.

Rather than waste his time talking, or more like arguing, with her he simply spun Leah around to face him, gripped her by the waist and hoisted her up over his shoulder. It was a tactic he knew she wouldn't be happy with but she'd left him no other choice. As he headed for the door, Leah proved him right as she began to curse and beat furiously on his back.

TBC