Author's Note: Hello, Dear Readers, I hope this chapter finds you all safe and well. I'm so happy I finally got to write this chapter. I've had parts of it rattling around in my head in various forms since shortly after I started writing this story. I hope you enjoy it.
As always, if you like what I've written, please leave a comment or send me a message. I love hearing from my readers.
I have started cross-posting this story on AO3 under the username BeauBeauCat. The posting there has been brought current, and I will be simultaneously posting new chapters on both sites.
CHAPTER 27
If anyone had ever told Dean Winchester that he'd be in a line of cars dropping a teenager off at a high school football game, he'd have checked to make sure they weren't demon possessed. But, that was exactly where he had found himself that Friday evening. He sighed as the Impala inched forward as the car at the front of the drop-off line pulled out into traffic after depositing its load of teenage passengers. He shifted so he could reach into his hip pocket and pull out his wallet. He opened it and pulled out a couple of bills and held them out to Krissy. "Here, for your ticket and food. Knock yourself out."
Krissy grinned as she snatched the two ten dollar bills from his hand. She couldn't believe the Winchesters had actually agreed to let her attend the game, much less that Dean was dropping her off at the football stadium. She'd expected them to refuse to let her come, especially since it was against Salina Central High School, the archrival of Lebanon High School. The Winchesters had argued over the size of the crowd that was bound to be in attendance and the dangers it would pose. Finally, Sam had talked Dean into allowing her to go, saying that they had to start trusting her, and she knew how to take care of herself until they could get there should something happen.
Sam had stepped into her room as she was getting ready to leave to slip her some spending money and to admonish her to behave herself and not do anything stupid. Krissy had grinned and given him a hug in thanks for his efforts in convincing Dean. As for Dean, he had decided to take advantage of having to go into town to drop Krissy off and had plans to hang out at a local bar for a couple of hours to drink beer, hustle pool, and find a pretty woman to flirt with.
"You know the rules," Dean said as he pulled the car to a stop beside the entrance to the stadium. "Watch out for yourself and don't do anything stupid."
Krissy flashed him a quick grin as she opened the door. "I won't." She slipped out of the vehicle, and Dean watched as she ran to join a group of four other teenagers near the front gate. He wondered which of the two girls was Zoe and whether he should be worried or relieved that she had joined the group.
A honking horn behind him drew Dean's attention back to the line of vehicles behind him. He glanced back to where Krissy and her friends were now in line to pay their admission into the ball game. He signed heavily, wishing his gut wasn't sending warning signals, before he pulled the muscle car into the flow of traffic and headed toward Clint's, the bar he liked to frequent when he got the chance.
All thoughts of Dean and his admonition were banished from Krissy's mind as she joined her friends. Shelby immediately stepped forward and gave her a hug. The other girl stepped back and draped an arm around Krissy's shoulders. "It's about time the two of you met," she said, indicating Zoe with her other hand.
Krissy looked at her friend. The video that Zoe had sent to her and the tracker that Sam had found in it and his warning to use caution around the other girl came to mind. Before she could say anything other than hello, Devin grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Shelby.
"Come on," he said, "let's get our tickets and get inside. I'm starving, and I can't wait to get a couple of hot dogs."
Krissy let him drag her along in his wake, but didn't bother to hide the confused look on her face. Micha spotted the look and said, "the marching band runs the concession stands at the football games. Rumor is several years ago a restaurant donated their famous hot dog sauce recipe to the band when they decided to close down because the owners were getting too old to run it. Anyway, I know people who will pay admission to the ball games just to come in and buy hotdogs and leave. They'll also put it on nachos or fries if you ask."
Krissy grinned. "Is it really that good?"
"Oh, yeah," Devin said with a smile. "It's the best I've ever tasted. I'm not really into football. I just like to come hang out and eat hot dogs. Although, I really like their chili cheese fries, too."
"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Krissy asked. "Let's go, I'm hungry, too." She thought of the $20.00 Dean had handed her before she climbed out of the car, and the money Sam had slipped her before they'd left the bunker. She had enough to be able to gorge herself on junk food if she wanted.
The game had already started by the time they got their food and found seats in the bleachers. Krissy balanced her food box on her lap as she squeezed a packet of mustard onto her hotdog. She took a bite and smiled. "Oh my god, this is great," she said around a mouthful of food.
"Told you," Devin grinned as he popped a cheese and chili covered french fry into his mouth.
The marching band, which was in the section of the bleachers next to them, chose then to come to their feet and begin playing the school fight song. Krissy took a drink of her soda and let her mind wander back to the last high school football game she'd attended. It had been before Victor had died. She and the other trainees had been sent to the game to patrol for vampires. They'd caught and dispatched two of them. Looking back, she couldn't help but wonder whether Victor had set the whole thing up as a training exercise. She didn't think she'd ever been to a football game just for fun before.
She quickly became lost in the excitement of the crowd around her and was slightly startled when Micah nudged her shoulder. "Come on, let's go walk around a while."
Krissy popped the last bite of her hot dog into her mouth and looked over at her friends. They were all looking at her expectantly, like her answer would be the deciding factor in what they did. "Um, sure," she answered hastily. She grabbed her soda and rose to her feet before gathering the trash from her meal to dispose of at her first opportunity.
They walked around for several minutes, weaving in and out of the crowds of people. Krissy was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the large number of unknown people who were around her. Unlike when she was sitting in the bleachers, her senses were in overdrive, and she was beginning to feel paranoid that the crowd that large was the perfect opportunity for something supernatural to make a move without being detected. She was so busy studying the people around her she almost ran over Shelby when her friend suddenly stopped and turned to speak to Devin.
"Did you bring it?"
"Yeah," he responded. "I took it from my sister's room. She's just bought a new stash."
"What?" Krissy asked, somewhat suspiciously.
Devin grinned and raised his eyebrows as he pulled a baggie out of his front pocket only far enough for his friends to catch a glimpse of the joints in the bottom of it.
Krissy's eyes widened. She hadn't smoked weed since a few weeks before she'd left the house she'd shared with Josephine and Aidan for the hunt that had ended with her being caught by Jody. They didn't use it regularly, but they had partaken often enough that she knew she would enjoy how it would make her feel. "Won't you get in trouble if your sister misses it?"
"Nah," Devin commented as he shoved the baggie back down into his pocket. "She won't say anything to our parents, since that would mean she'd have to confess to having it in the first place. They wouldn't be too happy about it. She also knows that if she says anything to me about it, I'll just tell Mom." He grinned. "I'll face the consequences if that means she gets in trouble, too. And, she'd likely get it worse because she's older and has been in trouble for having weed in her room before."
Krissy'd spotted several uniformed police officers milling among the throng of people in the stadium. She was sure there would be at least a few plain clothed officers and teachers in the crowd, too. The last thing she'd need would be getting picked up by the cops for smoking weed. Dean and Sam would definitely be unhappy about that, and she imagined Jody would have a thing or two to say about it as well. She chose to completely ignore the little voice shouting warning in her head. "Where are we going to smoke it?"
"Our usual place?" Zoe asked as she moved up beside Krissy and linked her arm with hers.
"Yep, come on," Micah said as he turned and began elbowing his way through the crowd.
"Where are we going?" Krissy asked as she allowed Zoe to drag her behind the boys. Shelby came up and took Krissy's free arm in her own. Krissy had a momentary thought that they must look like a Wizard of Oz reenactment walking that way. She felt like she ought to she skipping along between her friends. She almost laughed out loud when she wondered which of them was the Scarecrow and which was the Cowardly Lion.
"There's a place we use under the visitor's bleachers. Nobody's ever bothered us there," Shelby responded.
"You do this a lot?"
"Often enough. It all depends on if we come to the game, whether Devin can get something out of his sister's stash, and if the crowd in the visitor's bleachers is big enough to hide what we're doing."
The group of teenagers wove their way through the crowd until they were standing near the back of the visitor's bleachers. Krissy looked at the metal work supports and the large number of people in the stands and wondered briefly whether going inside the structure was a smart idea. Still, she followed Micah and Devin into the gap between a couple of vertical supports. Shelby and Zoe followed closely behind her. They passed other groups of people, mostly teenagers, but also a few adults, smoking or imbibing in various substances. There were also a couple or two who didn't seem to mind that they were essentially having sex in public.
She couldn't help but stop and stare at one couple they passed. The couple consisted of two men, one of whom was performing a blowjob on the other right out in the open where almost everyone coming under the bleachers had to pass. The man on the receiving end looked up and met Krissy's gaze. "Want to join us? There's always room for one more, especially a pretty little thing like you." She quickly averted her gaze and hurried to catch up to her friends, who had continued, seemingly oblivious to the sex act being performed.
The boys finally stopped when they reached an empty area near the front left corner that was sheltered from the outside by what Krissy recognized as the back wall of an unused concession stand or storage building. There was enough ambient light left that the teenagers could easily see what they were doing as they sat on the ground and Devin pulled the baggie out of his pocket, along with a disposable lighter.
Krissy was glad to see that there were three good-sized joints in the baggie. With as many people they had, she figured they'd each only get one or two tokes off a single joint. In her opinion, that wasn't enough to feel anything. It was going to take at least two of them, if not all three for everyone to get high. And, after all, wasn't that the purpose of smoking it?
Devin passed the first joint and the lighter to Micah. He brought it to his lips and lit it, inhaling a lungful of smoke before passing it to Zoe, who sat on his left. When the joint made its way around the group to her, they others looked at her expectantly.
"You know what you're doing?" Micah asked curiously.
In response, Krissy merely placed the joint to her lips and inhaled deeply. She passed the joint on to Devin, who was sitting to her left, while she held the smoke in her lungs for a moment before exhaling.
Micah laughed. "Guess you do!"
By the time the second joint was making its rounds, the friends were feeling mellow. The sound of the spectators in the bleachers above them and the game announcements over the public address system faded into the background. At one point, Krissy looked over at Zoe and though her friend's eyes had flashed solid black. It had only been for a split second, and Krissy wasn't quite sure she had actually seen anything. She'd never hallucinated while stoned on weed, but there was always a first time for everything.
When the joint came back around to her, she decided she had a good buzz going, and that was enough for the night. She knew she would need to be able to act sober enough to fool Dean when he picked her up, so she decided to pass it on without taking a drag from it.
A few moments later, she was glad she had. Her cell phone buzzed, signaling an incoming text message. "Oh, crap," she said as she read the message from Dean. "Game's almost over, I'll be there in 15 to get you. Be waiting outside the front gate."
Micah grabbed the joint from Devin, who had just taken a pull from it, and snuffed it out. He ripped it apart and scattered the remnants in the dirt and leaves where they'd been sitting. Everyone clumsily came to their feet and began brushing at each other's clothing to remove all trace of evidence that they had been sitting anywhere other than in the stands.
Krissy was a little amazed as how quickly the group had moved. Less than five minutes after she had received Dean's text, they were buying soft drinks at the concession stand. She bought a can of Mountain Dew, hoping the sugar and caffeine would help sober her up as she felt a bit unsteady on her feet.
"Chug it," Devin advised as they joined the crowd streaming through the exit toward the parking lot. "The jolt will help."
Krissy nodded and took a long drink from the can, the carbonation causing her to burp loudly. She giggled, finding it funny. She heard the others laughing as well. Still, she was feeling a bit steadier on her feet when the Impala pulled up.
"Bye! I'll see you in class on Monday," she told the group as she opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat.
Dean glanced at his passenger as he pulled into the line of traffic leaving the stadium. He kept himself from reacting when a deep breath confirmed the odor of marijuana he'd thought he'd detected when she slid into the vehicle. He glanced at her before asking. "How was the game? Did your team win?"
"It was fine, and yeah." She took another drink from the soda can.
"So, what was the final score?"
"I really don't know," Krissy admitted. "I didn't pay much attention to the game. We mostly walked around and ate junk food. I just heard the guy who was announcing the game say that Lebanon had won."
Dean pulled out of the parking lot and into the street. They rode in silence until they reached the outskirts of Lebanon. "So, what did you have good to eat?"
Krissy grinned. This was a safe topic of conversation, and she didn't have to worry about slipping up and giving herself away. "The concession stands serve this really awesome hot dog sauce. I had a couple of hot dogs and an order of cheese fries with it. Devin told me there are people who pay admission into the football games just so they can buy hot dogs to take home for dinner. I'd believe it, they're so good."
"Hmmm," Dean hummed. "Maybe Sammy or I will go to a game soon and try them."
Krissy shrugged. She knew that she, at least, would have to curb any future weed smoking during the game if either of the Winchesters were present.
Neither said anything else until Dean parked the Impala in the bunker's underground garage. Krissy reached for the handle to open the door so she could escape to her room.
"Stay put," Dean stated. The tone of his voice clearly indicated it was an order rather than a request. He shifted in his seat until he was facing Krissy. "How much weed did you smoke tonight?"
"I don't know what you mean," Krissy said a little too quickly. She had to force herself to sit still and not squirm under Dean's gaze.
"I strongly suggest that you don't lie to me right now," he said. "You reek of marijuana. And, for your information, Salina Central won the game by fourteen points. They were playing the game on the radio at the bar." He paused to allow Krissy to register the information. "So, don't make me ask you again. How much did you smoke?"
Krissy sighed. She looked at the nearly empty Mountain Dew can in her hand. She brought it to her lips and drained it. "I only had about four puffs. We passed a couple of joints around, and that's all I got off them. It was only enough to give me a buzz. I really didn't get high."
Dean nodded and straightened in his seat. After a moment in thought, he reached for the door handle and pushed the door open. "Come on, Sam needs to be included in this discussion as well." He climbed out of the vehicle and moved to stand by Krissy's door. When she didn't make a move to exit the vehicle, he opened the door himself. "Do you need help out?"
Krissy swallowed hard. She didn't know what he intended, but she was sure she didn't want to take a chance. "No, sir," she responded quickly as she climbed out of the car. She was relieved when a swat didn't land on her backside as she passed by Dean and headed toward the door that would lead them into the bunker.
Dean waited to allow her to enter the corridor first before he pulled out his phone. He shot off a quick text to Sam asking him to meet them in the kitchen. He'd considered using the Map Room, but the kitchen had become the location of their most serious discussions.
He caught up with Krissy as she started down the stairs to the Map Room. When they'd both reached the bottom of the stairs, he placed a heavy hand on the back of her neck. "Kitchen," was all he said.
When they reached the kitchen, Dean let go of Krissy. He wasn't all that surprised when she headed directly to the pantry and began rummaging around. He gave a sharp whistle that caused her to look in his direction. "Sit," he ordered as he pointed to the table.
Krissy groaned as she grabbed a bag of potato chips from a shelf and turned toward the table. She was more sober than she'd been when Dean had picked her up, but she could still feel the lingering effects of the buzz. She sat down in her usual chair and had started to open the bag when Dean pulled it out of her grip. "But, I'm hungry," she whined as she reached to reclaim her snack like it was a prize he'd wrongfully withheld.
"I'd bet you are," Dean responded sarcastically. "You'll live." He'd turned to return the bag of chips to the pantry when Sam walked in.
"What's up?"
"You want to tell him, or should I?" Dean asked as his crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Krissy.
She slumped down in her chair and tried to hide behind the curtain of her hair.
"Sit up," Dean ordered as he took a seat across from her and nodded to the chair beside him, silently indicating to Sam that he should sit there.
It didn't take Sam long to notice how red Krissy's eyes were in the bright overhead lights and the odor emanating from her. He had a sneaking suspicion about what he was about to hear. He took a seat at the table and crossed his arms over his chest. He had a serious expression on his fact. "What is it, Krissy?" His voice held an unmistakable note of command.
Krissy continued to slump in her seat. Dean sighed and ran a hand across the back of his neck. "Krissy, it's in your best interest right now to do as you are told and to take responsibility for your actions. Continuing to act like this is only going to make things harder for yourself."
She glanced at Dean through the curtain of her hair and nearly winced at the expression on his face. She looked over at Sam and realized he was growing just as impatient with her as his brother. Sighing, she scooted back in her chair until she was sitting straight. "Could I have a glass of water," she asked Dean. Her mouth felt like it was lined with cotton.
Dean growled under his breath in frustration, but turned to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. He dropped it onto the table in front of her. "Talk."
Krissy opened the bottle and took a long drink of the liquid before replacing the cap and setting the bottle on the table.
"I smoked weed at the game with my friends," Krissy said softly, her eyes focused on the bottle of water in front of her.
"Eyes up and look at me," Sam directed. "And say it again loud enough that I can hear you." He glanced over at Dean as his brother took a seat beside him at the table. Obviously, Dean already knew what was going on and wasn't going to give Krissy any slack.
Krissy looked up, but she couldn't meet Sam's gaze. She'd known when she'd joined her friends that she would be in serious trouble if she got caught. She just hadn't expected to be caught. Looking back, she realized she should have known that their location under the bleachers didn't have enough air flow to completely remove the odor of marijuana smoke. She briefly wondered if the others were having similar problems, or if she was the only lucky one due to the Winchesters' heightened observation skills.
"Krissy," Dean growled, quickly losing patience with her and bringing her thoughts back to the matter at hand.
She picked up the water bottle and took another long drink. More to steady herself and gather her thoughts than from thirst. She knew that both men were beginning to grow impatient. Sam hid it better than Dean, but it was there if you knew what to look for. She sighed. "We spent most of the time at the ballgame smoking weed under the visitors' bleachers."
Sam raised an eyebrow and sat back in his chair. "I'm not sure how to react to that, Krissy. But one thing I do know is that you betrayed my trust. Why?"
Krissy reached up and wiped at the tear that had started rolling down her cheek. "I'm sorry."
"That's not what Sam asked," Dean said. "I'd like to hear the answer to his question, too."
Krissy lowered her gaze. She could feel the glares on the top of her head. Deciding that the truth was the best option, she looked up and said, "No one forced me to do it. I smoked it willingly. I used to smoke it on occasion with Josephine and Aidan, and I like the way it makes me feel." She shrugged as if it wasn't that big of an issue. "I thought I was being smart about it. "I was with people I trust, and we were away from the public eye. Plus, I didn't smoke enough to get anything more than a buzz."
"You thought that was being smart?" Dean demanded in a hard voice. It was all he could no not to yank Krissy out of her chair and blister her ass right then and there. But he know, in the long run, that wasn't the best response at the moment. He took a deep breath to calm himself down marginally before he asked, "what did we tell you about drugs when we laid out the rules for you?"
Krissy swallowed. She wanted to give a flippant answer, but she'd only seen Dean that angry with her a few times in the past, and it had never boded well. She glanced over at Sam. She could tell by the muscle ticking in his jaw that he wasn't any happier with her. "Not to do them."
"And do you have any idea why that is, Krissy?" This time it was Sam who questioned her.
"They're illegal? But half the stuff we do as hunters is illegal, so why should that stop me?"
"No," Dean said as he slapped his hand down on the table. "I don't give a damn that weed is illegal. I know you've got a brain rattling around somewhere in that empty head of yours. Use it."
Krissy looked confused. The effects of the drug hadn't completely worn off yet. As a result, her thought processes weren't as clear as they should have been, and that should have been her first clue as to the direction Dean was going with his questions.
Sam leaned forward and braced his forearms on the table, bringing him closer to Krissy. "What do drugs, including marijuana, do to your reaction time?"
Krissy thought for a moment. "They slow it down."
"And to your thought processes?"
"They slow down," she repeated.
"So, not even considering the supernatural, what if someone had wanted to hurt you? Would you have been able to fight them off?"
"Yeah, I could have?" She was indigent at the suggestion that she would not have been able to protect yourself.
"Would you have really?" Dean asked.
"Yes, I would have."
Dean reached over and lightly smacked her on the side of the head. He hadn't moved all that quickly, but he was still able to make contact before Krissy could react and block the threat. "You sure about that? If I'd intended to hurt you, you'd be on the ground now. That's a blow you should be able to block in your sleep – if you aren't stoned."
"Not to mention the fact that you were out of the public eye where no one could see you or hear you if you needed help." Sam picked up the thread of the conversation.
"But," Krissy started to say, but Dean interrupted her.
"But nothing. You broke the rules tonight. But we're going to table this discussion until after breakfast tomorrow. Sammy and I need to discuss your consequences, and I want you sober when you face them." Dean studied her for a minute. "Go to bed," he ordered. "I don't want to see you anywhere in this bunker except your bedroom or your bathroom until eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Then your ass had better be sitting in that chair read to face the music. You got me?"
"But I'm starving," Krissy whined.
"I don't care," Dean responded. "Having the munchies ain't gonna kill you. But I just might if you don't do as you're told."
"Yes, sir," Krissy said quietly as she came to her feet. She looked at the bottle of water on the table, briefly wondering if taking that with her would be against Dean's restriction or not.
"You can take that with you. I suggest you drink all of it," Sam stated. His voice was slightly milder than it had been just a few minutes before.
XxxxxX XxxxxX XxxxxX
At 7:58 the next morning Krissy stepped into the kitchen to find Sam and Dean already sitting at the table. They both had empty breakfast plates in front of them. She stood in the doorway and watched as Sam took a sip of coffee without even taking his gaze away from the large book that was open on the table. Dean was concentrating on something on his computer.
She must have made some sort of noise or small movement that drew the men's attention to her. "Grab yourself some breakfast and sit down," Dean directed without looking up.
Sam glanced up at his brother's words. He closed the book and stood, gathering his and Dean's dirty dishes. "You sleep okay last night?"
"Not really," Krissy responded. "It's kinda hard to sleep when you're facing the firing squad the next morning." She grabbed a carton of eggs out of the refrigerator and put them on the counter.
"I doubt it's going to be that extreme," Sam commented as he rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher.
Krissy grabbed a pan from the dish drainer and put it on the stove. After coating it liberally with non-stick spray she cracked a couple of eggs into it. "Says the person who isn't at the center of the target." She grabbed the loaf of bread and dropped a couple of pieces into the toaster. She really didn't want to eat due to a slightly queasy stomach, but she knew from experience that food was the only thing that would help.
"You don't want to be in front of the firing squad, don't break the rules," Dean said from his spot at the table. "It's as simple as that."
Krissy didn't acknowledge his words, since she knew full well that he was right.
Fifteen minutes or so later, Krissy took the last bite of her breakfast and stood to take her dishes to the sink to clean up after her meal.
"Finish that up and come sit back down," Dean directed. "We need to talk about last night."
"Yes, sir," Krissy responded meekly. She had been expecting it, but that didn't stop the frisson of fear that ran down her spine.
"So, how much do you remember about our discussion from last night," Dean asked when Krissy returned to her seat at the table.
"All of it," Krissy said, studying her fingernails. "I only had a buzz. I wasn't completely stoned."
Dean nodded. "That doesn't make it any more acceptable. Do you understand why Sam and I are so upset?"
Krissy nodded.
Dean briefly considered making her give verbal confirmation. Instead, he chose to press on. "Tell me."
Krissy swallowed. She'd hated when her dad had done this to her. Somehow, it was even worse when Dean or Sam did it. She knew she'd screwed up, and it was so embarrassing to have to actually say it. "I put myself and others in danger when I smoked weed last night because my reasoning and reaction times were affected and because we did it in an isolated area where nobody would have been able to see us if we'd needed help."
"And?" Sam questioned.
"I broke the no drugs rule."
He nodded in acknowledgement of her response. "Who brought it to the game?"
She winced. She didn't know what Sam intended to do with the information. She was willing to accept the consequences for her own actions – not that she really had a choice in the matter. But, she didn't want her friends getting in trouble, too, even though it had been their idea.
"Devin brought it. He said he stole it from his sister's stash."
Sam nodded. "And how often does he do that?"
"They said they only did it occasionally, when he could get away with it."
Sam sighed. "I know you probably weren't thinking beyond getting a buzz going, especially since you haven't done it in a while. But, what you did was dangerous, and not just from the side effects of the drug. What assurance did you have that the weed you'd smoked wasn't laced with something else that was even more dangerous? What if any of you had had an adverse reaction? Who would have known you needed help?"
Krissy's shoulders drooped, and she hung her head. She hadn't thought about those possibilities.
"Krissy, look at me," Sam said. His voice held a softer note than it had only seconds before. He waited until her gaze met his before continuing. "It's not only that, but you also broke mine and Dean's trust. You worked hard to gain it, and you lost it with one careless decision. Now, you are going to have to work twice as hard to get it back."
Krissy nodded in response. "Yes, sir," she said in a quiet voice as she wiped at the tears now rolling down her cheeks. Out of everything that Sam had just said to her, his last statement had affected her the most. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."
"We appreciate the apology," Dean said as he straightened in his chair. They had decided that Sammy would take the lead with the discussion that morning as he could do so without losing his temper. Now, however, it was Dean's turn to take over. "But, you're still going to have to face the consequences. Go to your room and wait for me. I'll be there in a few minutes."
Krissy nodded as she rose to her feet. Her steps were slow as she made her way to the kitchen door, as if she wanted to prolong what was about to happen as long as possible.
"Krissy," Sam said just as she was about to step through the doorway into the corridor. He waited until she'd turned to look at him before continuing. "After Dean is finished with you, come find me in the library. Our discussion of this isn't over."
Krissy swallowed hard. She sincerely hoped that didn't mean he was going to spank her, too. She had no doubt that was what Dean had in mind, and it was going to be bad. She didn't know if she could handle a second one from Sam so soon. At least the last time he'd given her time to recover before he'd lit into her. Unfortunately, she couldn't read anything in his face or his body language that hinted at what he might have planned. "Yes, sir."
A few minutes later, Krissy was curled up on her bed when a knock sounded at her door. She didn't have the chance to respond before Dean pushed the door open and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. Her heart sank when she spotted the paddle he carried in his right hand.
He moved to sit on the foot of the bed and laid the paddle beside his hip. "Scoot down here." He waited until she'd moved to sit beside him, then draped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side. "I get it, I really do. You want to be a normal teenager, doing normal teenager things like getting stoned under the bleachers. But, you aren't a normal teenager, Krissy. You know what's really out there. And, even if you don't want to be a hunter, there is a target on your back because of who you are and what you mean to me and Sammy. Neither of us would be able to live with it if something happened to you because you had made a stupid decision to get high at the wrong time. I wish things were different for you, but they aren't. You're just going to have to learn to live with that." He gave her another squeeze to reassure her. "Do you have anything else you need to say, or should we just get this over with?"
"Please, Dean, I get it. I promise, I won't do it again," she shifted to look up at him with tears filling her eyes.
Dean had to harden his resolve and bit back a sigh. "Can you honestly tell me that this isn't the consequence you knew you'd receive if you got caught when you made your decision? Think before you answer, because lying to me will only make things worse for you."
"No, sir," Krissy said softly. "I knew what would happen."
Dean nodded and pulled her to her feet so that she stood beside his right thigh. "Lose the pants," he ordered. Once she had pushed her jeans down to her knees, he helped her across his lap so that she laid over his left thigh. He secured her legs in place with his right leg. "Why are you getting this spanking?"
"Because I broke your trust and smoked marijuana." She gasped as a dozen hard swats landed against her backside and sit spots. The high-cut style of the underwear she'd donned that morning left most of her buttocks bare, giving her no protection from Dean's hard right hand.
"What else?" Dean asked as he rested his hand on her as yet untouched thighs.
"I put myself and my friends in danger." She had to resist the urge to kick her legs and try and dislodge herself from Dean's lap as he resumed spanking her. Swat after swat fell, and soon she was reduced to a sobbing mess.
Her backside throbbed so badly that it took her a moment to realize that Dean had stopped spanking her. He was rubbing his hand in circles on her back in an effort to help her regain some of her composure. It wasn't long, though, before Dean reached down and stripped her jeans off her legs and tossed them in the floor. "On your feet," he commanded.
He helped her stand, and once he was sure she was steady on her feet, he rose as well. "Bend over the bed," he said as he picked up the paddle.
Krissy's eyes widen. Her butt already felt like the fires of Hell had been lit on it, and she didn't think she was ever going to sit comfortably again. She didn't think she could handle a paddling on top of it. "Dean, please don't. I promise, I won't do anything like that again.," she begged.
Her heart dropped when he merely pointed to the bed. "Bend over," he ordered again. "Don't make me tell you again, or I'll add to what you've already got coming to you." He sincerely hoped she obeyed him. He already hated himself for what he had already done and what he was about to do. It really didn't want to have to make it harder on either of them.
With a sob, Krissy did as she was told and bent over the end of the bed, resting her weight on her forearms.
"My dad had a very simple rule for when we royally screwed up. We got one lick for each year of our age. Remind me again how old you are," he ordered.
Fear shot through Krissy. She didn't know if she would be able to handle sixteen swats. Even the idea of a single swat with that paddle was daunting, since she already had experience with the sting it would leave behind. "Dean," she begged again.
"No, Krissy. This is the consequences of your actions. You can cooperate and answer my question, or I can add more onto it. It's your choice."
"Sixteen," she said with a sob as she buried her face in her arms. She yelled when the first blazing swat landed on the back of her thighs.
Dean intended the paddling to have more of a psychological effect than anything else. So after the first two hard swats, the next dozen were still hard enough to add to the fire blazing in her backside, but were delivered with less force. He delivered the last two swats hard and fast to her sit spots and tossed the paddle onto the bed.
He helped Krissy to her feet and pulled her into his arms, maneuvering her until he could sit on the bed with her perched crossways on his lap. He cradled her, running his hand down her hair and making soothing noises until she was calmer.
"I'm sorry," she whispered into his shirt.
"I'm sure you are," Dean answered softly. "Let's not make this a habit, okay? I really don't want to have to do that again."
Krissy nodded into his chest.
He patted the side of her thigh, indicating it was time for her stand up. "Wash your wash, and put some pants on." He couldn't help but grin at her groan. He had a good idea of how her backside felt and knew the last thing she'd want would be to have fabric rubbing against it. "If you want to go meet Sam in the library wearing nothing but your t-shirt and underwear, that's up to you. Personally, I think it might be a bit drafty, not to mention embarrassing. But if that's what you want," he shrugged rather than finishing his sentence.
She moved to rise to her feet, and Dean waited to make sure she was steady before he stood. He grabbed the paddle and headed toward the door. "I suggest you don't keep him waiting too long."
Krissy waited until the door had closed behind him before she looked down at the pair of jeans lying in a heap on the floor beside her bed. There was no way in hell she was going to put those back on. Instead, she kicked them in the direction of her closet as she headed to the sink and splashed cold water on her face. She wished she had time to apply some to her backside, but she knew better than to keep Sam waiting. If she didn't show up when he thought she should, he would come looking for her. It was bad enough that he knew she'd just had her ass handed to her. The last thing she wanted was for him to catch trying to sooth away some of the ache Dean's hand and paddle had left behind. Knowing Sam, he'd decide it was his duty to reignite whatever fire she'd been able to extinguish.
She sighed heavily as she walked stiffly to her dresser and opened the drawer that contained her pajamas. She pulled out her softest pair of loose-fitting pants and pulled them on. She didn't try to stifle a groan as elastic in the waist band grazed against her reddened flesh.
A few minutes later, she walked up the marble steps into the library. Sam was sitting in an armchair reading what appeared to be a novel of some kind. He stood as she approached and pointed to the nearby work table. She moved in that direction and, this time, she did stifle her groan as she spotted the legal tablet and pen sitting on the table in front of one of the chairs.
"Have a seat," Sam instructed as he pulled out the chair across from the one he'd indicated Krissy was to take. He waited until she was seated before he, too, sat. He pinned her with a gaze that had her squirming in her seat for more reasons than just her sore backside.
"I know Dean had impressed upon you the seriousness of your actions. However, I want to make sure that lesson sticks." He nodded toward the pad and pen. He bit back a grin as Krissy gave a huff as she pulled them to her. "You are to write 'I will not place myself or others in danger by using illegal drugs' five hundred times in your best handwriting. We've been here before, so I assume I do not need to tell you the rules?"
"No, sir," Krissy looked up from where she had written the sentence on the top line of the pad.
Sam nodded. "You are to sit at this table until you are finished. If you need to get up for any reason, you are to ask my permission. That includes getting something to drink or going to the bathroom. I reserve the right to deny your request if I feel you are abusing the privilege. Is that understood?"
Krissy sighed. This was going to be worse than she thought. "Yes, sir."
Unfortunately, Sam wasn't finished. "It goes without saying that you will not be allowed to attend another ball game for a while, if ever." He paused to allow Krissy to register what he had said before continuing. "And I will be accompanying you to the library while you attend the study group." He held up his hand when Krissy started to protest. "I won't be staying in the study room with you," he commented in such a way that clearly told Krissy that possibility wasn't completely off the books, "but I will be in the library the whole time and will be keeping an eye on you. You are going to have to work hard to rebuild our trust. Until then, Dean and I will be keeping you on a tight leash." He stood and pushed his chair into the table. "I suggest you get started, you have a lot of writing to do. Do you need me to bring you anything?"
"No, I'm fine," Krissy said and sighed as she numbered the next line on the pad and began writing the assigned sentence.
Some time later, she had just numbered the two hundredth line when she suddenly felt a presence behind her and a low voice said, "who are you, and what are you doing here?"