Chapter 6
Don't Let Me Go
Sam stood against the wall by the door. He listened as Haley continued to go down memory lane and talk to Nathan about all the times they had shared together. She started doing this in hopes that it might trigger something in Nathan to make him wake up.
Listening to Haley's stories for over an hour, Sam had begun to feel slightly envious towards Nathan and the relationship he shared with Haley. It seemed to be a relationship that could stay strong against anything and everything. It's the type of relationship he had imagined having with Jessica once upon a time.
His thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the door and Brooke peeking in.
"Hey Hales." Brooke says softly as she makes her way over to Haley and hugs her. "How are you holding up?"
Haley breaks the hug and shakes her head, "Not too good. There hasn't been any significant change with Nathan and time's running out."
"Hey," Brooke rubs Haley's shoulders, "You don't know that. No doctor can give you any specific time frame. They can give an estimate and that's it. The rest is up to Nathan." She smiles reassuringly at Haley, "And we both know that Nathan is not going to leave you and Jamie."
Haley nods and sits back down. Brooke pulls a chair up next to Haley and sits.
Sam watches as the two engage in conversation. Dean comes up beside him.
"Sam, "He whispers. "We need to talk."
Sam nods and follows Dean out the door. Brooke watches as the two disappear. She wanted to know what was going on. Dean didn't say anything the whole ride to the hospital. Something in him had changed. But what?
Dean and Sam slip into an empty corridor.
"What's up?" Sam questions Dean.
Dean sighs, "We have to leave."
"Leave?" Sam looks at Dean curiously. "What are you talking about?"
Dean rolls his eyes and starts pacing, "Castiel came to me this morning and said that our task here is done and we must leave Tree Hill by tonight!"
"Dean, we can't leave right now. There's no way I can leave Haley like this…and I know you don't want—"
Dean cuts in, aggravated, "Sam! We don't have a choice! Castiel isn't budging on this and I can't help but feel like something will happen if we don't leave."
Sam folds his arms across his chest, "So what exactly are we supposed to do?" He gets sarcastic, "Do the angels have a new "task" for us?"
"I don't know, Sam!" Dean stops pacing and looks angrily at Sam. "All I know is you need to say your goodbyes and we need to go!"
"My goodbyes?! Dean, what about Brooke? You can't just leave town without telling her!"
Dean sighs and then quickly walks away. Sam stands there, confused about everything that just went down.
Two hours later…
Dean and Brooke had already left. There was a bit of tension between the two of them. Haley noticed it the moment they came in. But Brooke never said anything and Haley didn't want to pry.
Haley leans down and kisses Nathan on the forehead. She stands up and looks over at Sam, who had been sitting in one of the chairs, checking his watch every fifteen minutes.
"I was thinking about going to get something to drink. I think there's a vending machine down the hallway." She sighs. The past 24 hours were becoming one big blur. She's not even sure what she's been saying half the time.
Sam stands up, "I can go get it. You just stay here."
Haley shakes her head, "No, it's okay. I need to get out of the room for a few minutes. Would you like to come with me?"
Sam nods, "Sure." He was actually surprised by her invitation. He assumed she wanted to be alone. But he guessed now was as good a time as any to tell her he has to leave.
Haley squeezes Nathan's hand one more time before walking toward the door. Sam holds it open for her and they both walk out. Haley cups her face in her hands and sighs. She runs her fingers through her hair.
"I feel like this is a never-ending day. Sometimes I feel like Nathan has been in this hospital for weeks now and sometimes I feel like it just happened."
They slowly start walking down the hallway. It's silent for a few moments. Haley looks up at Sam, realizing just how much taller he is than her. She softly smiles.
"I haven't had the chance to really say thank you."
Sam shrugs, "No thanks necessary. It's our job."
Haley stops walking and touches Sam shoulder, "No, that's not what I meant." Sam stops and looks at her curiously. Haley continues, "I understand that saving us is part of your job. But you didn't have to stay the night with me here. You didn't have to take Jamie to school for me. You've sat in the room with me, just listening. Never expecting anything from me."
He was caught off guard with the way Haley was looking at him. She had such sincerity in her eyes. Something he hadn't seen in a long time. It made him realize this goodbye thing was going to be much harder than he thought.
"Listen, Haley." Sam sighs and glances down at the floor, unsure of what to say. "I can't stay." Sam looks back up to find Haley searching his eyes with her own. "Oh." She says, "Okay." She stammers a bit, "I-I understand…"
Sam sighs, "There's just a lot going on right now that needs to be taken care of. It's for the best." If she only knew, Sam thought to himself. He forces a smile, "Trust me."
"You know," Haley nervously laughs, "We didn't even know each other two days ago and now--," She pauses and smiles, "Now I feel like we're old friends."
Sam smiles back, "Same here."
*****
Brooke tosses her keys onto the kitchen counter and rests her head in her hands. She hears Dean shut the front door. She waits for him to walk closer, but he doesn't move. After a few minutes of silence, she composes herself and walks toward the refrigerator.
"Would you like something to drink?" She opens the door and starts naming off some beverages. "Don't really have a lot right now. There's some tea, lemonade, sprite…beer?" She lightly laughs.
"Actually," Dean finally speaks, "I, uh…I can't stay."
Brooke quickly lifts up and looks at him over the refrigerator door. He still hasn't moved from that one spot. "Okay…" She brushes the hair away from her eyes, "That's fine. I mean, you and Sam go do what you have to do. I'll be here…"
"It's not like that, Brooke." Dean lowers his head. This is exactly what he was trying to avoid. He tries to find the right words to use here, but none of them could possibly make things any easier. He looks back up at Brooke. "Sam and I… we're leaving Tree Hill."
Brooke shuts the refrigerator door and slowly walks around the counter. "So, um…I guess everything is taken care of right? We're safe?"
Dean forces a reassuring smile, "Yeah." He hated lying to her. But there's no way he could tell her what he was really thinking. What he was feeling. The truth is, he couldn't shake the feeling that this was far from over. But he had been given orders. What else is he supposed to do?
"Everything can go back to normal."
Brooke stares and softly says, "Normal…I don't think things are ever going to be normal for us anymore."
Dean steps closer, his face filling with concern. He had said the wrong thing, "Brooke—"
Brooke lightly laughs, "It's okay." She gives him a teasing smile, "You should know by now, I can be pretty strong."
Dean smiles back, "Of course."
"So, this is why you've been acting strange all morning. I was worried it was something I had done."
Dean decides to keep the playfulness going, so it doesn't get too serious. "Well, yes and no. I just can't be around someone who owns a pair of rubber ducky pajamas." He shrugs his shoulders.
"Ah!" Brooke laughs and playfully hits him on the arm, "Shut up!"
They laugh a few more moments, then the tone changes. They both grow quiet. Brooke watches as Dean averts his eyes away from her.
"I'm sure you hear it all the time, but…thank you. For everything."
Dean slowly lifts his eyes to meet hers once more. He nods and nervously clears his throat, "I…uh…" he points toward the door. "I need to get going." He starts to turn around, but feels Brooke's hand lightly grab his arm. His breath catches from her touch. "Dean—"she says, almost breathless.
He slowly turns around. There's a lot of emotion in her eyes. She steps closer and he feels himself stop breathing. Before he can worry about what's about to happen next, Brooke quickly throws her arms around him, pulling him in for a hug.
Brooke whispers, trying to hold back the surprising emotions that are filling her, "Would you hold it against me if I said I didn't want you to go?"
Dean tries to suppress his own emotions, "I'll let you know the next time we see each other." And with that, he pulls away, turns around, and walks toward the door.
"Wait…" Brooke quickly says.
Dean hesitates then slightly turns back around, his hand on the doorknob.
"So I'll see you again?"
Dean could've easily told her yes. But they both knew he'd be lying. Dean knew very well this would be the last time their paths would cross.
He smiles, "Goodbye, Brooke."
Dean walks out the door, leaving Brooke standing in the middle of the foyer, alone.
"Goodbye, Dean." she whispers.
*****
Three days later…
Brooke rushes into Nathan's hospital room, carrying a tray of drinks and a bag of donuts.
"Hey!" she says, almost out of breath. "Sorry it took so long."
Jamie rushes past her to Haley. "Hey mama!" He jumps up into Haley's lap.
"Oh my goodness!" Haley squeezes Jamie closer to her, "How was school?"
"Great!" He starts talking excitedly about everything they did.
Brooke smiles as she places the tray on the table. She hands Haley one of the drinks. "Thanks." Haley softly smiles at her.
"Brooke let me pick out the donuts!" Jamie runs over to the bag and pulls out a chocolate one with sprinkles. He rushes it back over to Haley, "I picked this one out for you, mama."
"Oh thanks, baby…" She smiles and ruffles his blond hair, "My favorite!"
Brooke sits down in the chair next to Haley. "So, how's he doing today?"
"Uh…" Haley hesitates, "No change."
They watch as Jamie takes Nathan's hand, "Hey daddy. You won't believe what I got to do at school today."
Brooke glances over at Haley, whose eyes have begun to fill with tears as she watches Jamie. Brooke squeezes Haley's knee, letting her know she's there for her. Haley replies with a smile. As Jamie continues to talk to Nathan about his day, Haley quickly wipes away her tears and turns more toward Brooke. "So uh….you okay?"
Brooke looks at her curiously, "Yeah. I'm fine." She shrugs, "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Oh I don't know. I just thought with Dean gone…"
"It was going to happen sooner or later." Brooke quickly cuts her off. "It's what they do. They have to go save the world one town at a time." She enhanced "save" by making her own quotation marks. "And we just have to focus on our own lives and make sure Nathan comes back to us." She gives Haley a reassuring smile.
Haley watches Brooke. She knows Brooke well enough to know when she's putting up a front. This was one of those times. But she wasn't going to push her about it. Truth be told, Haley found herself missing Sam. Not in a romantic way of course, but his presence there had become a comfort to her.
*****
Dean and Sam had been on the road for three days now. They weren't exactly sure where they were supposed to go. Just as long as they got as far away from Tree Hill as possible.
Sam had taken over the driving an hour earlier. He glances over at Dean, who is staring blankly out the passenger window.
"We can talk about it." Sam suggests.
Dean dryly replies, "There's nothing to talk about, Sam."
Sam tries to stay focused on the driving, but the silence is killing him. He sighs, "It's just…do you ever wonder…I mean besides the whole saving people and the world thing…if maybe we're meant for something else too?"
Dean arches his left eyebrow and looks at Sam curiously.
"It's just…Haley…" Sam hesitates.
"Dude, don't even go there." Dean interrupts, "She's married!"
Sam glares at Dean, "I didn't mean it like that! Listen, while you were with Brooke, I stayed with Haley and I just sat there, listening to her talk to Nathan about all the struggles they've face and how everything in the universe seemed to be against them. Yet here they are. Still together after seven years…" He pauses.
"Where exactly are you going with this, Sam?"
Sam looks at Dean, "It just made me think…why not? You know? If they can beat all odds and still maintain a relationship, then why can't we?"
Dean shakes his head, "Sam, we live completely different lives than they do."
"What makes it so much different Dean? Struggles are struggles."
"Being surrounded by death everyday is a huge difference, Sam! We're constantly putting our lives in danger. Do you really think it's fair to her to leave her everyday and possibly never come back?"
"So you're telling me that you've never considered it?" Sam glances at Dean, "Not even after meeting Brooke?"
Dean softens at the mention of Brooke's name. He sighs, "Sam…" He lowers his head, "It wasn't like that. She was…" He struggled saying the next part, "She was part of a job. That's all it was."
Sam nods, "So you're telling me that you're satisfied with the way you left things? I mean, she's just part of the job, right? No strings attached. Just a simple goodbye and that's all."
Dean tries to not let Sam's words get to him. So far he had done a good job at keeping the last week's events in the back of his mind. It was just another job that he and Sam had completed.
Dean slowly looks back toward the passenger window, "Yeah." He softly says. "That's all."
*****
Brooke's dreams started out quite decent. The moment she finally drifted off to sleep, she was suddenly back in high school. Everyone she cared about was there. Nathan was chasing Haley around the rivercourt, Mouth and Skillz sat on the bleachers. Even Lucas and Peyton were there. Everyone was happy. Just the way she always imagined they would be.
The dream shifts and she's at Clothes Over Bros. Staring into the eyes of the handsome stranger that just walked in. Dean Winchester. She teases him about using that smile of his to get his way. He continues to smile at her. Never losing eye contact.
Suddenly, everything seems to get colder. She finds herself in a dark room. Complete silence. She feels a sense of panic wash over her. She calls out for someone, but not one sound escapes her lips. She tries to run, but where to? There's no indication of light anywhere.
Her heart starts beating faster when she feels a presence lurking behind her. Too scared to turn around to face it, she decides to try one more time to make a run for it, but before she can, she feels two strong hands grab her hair and pull her back. She screams.
The hands, and the feeling of razor-sharp nails dig into her neck. Suddenly, she's bent backwards and looks up to see two glowing, red eyes staring evilly back at her.
"Please…no." She says breathlessly.
She hears the haunting voice whisper in her ear, "We've been waiting for you."
Brooke's eyes widen as she sees a long, crooked dagger shining above her. Before she can do anything, the dagger comes crashing down into her chest.
"No!" Brooke sits straight up in bed, breathing heavily. She shivers from the cold sweat that has broken out over her body. After a few moments of trying to compose herself, she quickly checks her body for any damage. She gives a sigh of relief when she finds everything still intact.
She slowly runs her fingers through her hair, "What is wrong with me?" she whispers. She looks around the dark room. There's complete silence. Nothing but the sound of the heavy wind outside.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Brooke almost jumps out of her skin at the loud banging coming from the living room. She looks over at the clock. It reads 1:00 AM. Is someone at the door? Maybe it's Haley.
Brooke hesitantly gets out of bed and slowly walks out into the hallway.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Brooke stops abruptly as she realizes the knocking seems to be too strong to be Haley's. What if it's not her? What if it's someone else...or worse…something.
She slowly makes her way to the door and places her hand on the doorknob. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before opening the door.
Bang! Bang!
Brooke quickly pulls the door open and stops dead in her tracks. She stares straight ahead into the eyes of…
"Dean—" she softly says.
She caught him in the middle of knocking. She notices he's breathing heavily and there's a certain eagerness in his eyes. He lowers his arm, never breaking eye contact.
"What are you doing here? I mean…I thought—"
Her words are silenced as Dean pulls her in closer and presses his lips against hers. She's caught off guard by his actions, but she soon feels her own eagerness start to build. She pulls Dean even closer, never breaking the kiss. She had imagined what it would be like to kiss Dean Winchester. Ever since the moment she first met him. But even her wildest dreams could never compare to how it really felt.
The kiss turns into something much more. Dean sweeps Brooke up into his arms and carries her into the bedroom. Brooke leaves trails of kisses down his neck and he lightly moans with delight. This sends a thrilling sensation through Brooke's body.
They fall onto the bed and it's not long before they've found each other's lips again. The room is filled with their heavy breathing. Brooke lifts the bottom of his shirt up and starts kissing his stomach. Dean sighs and Brooke pulls his shirt up over his head. Now straddling him and his face just inches from hers, she stares into his eyes.
"I can't believe you're here." She says breathlessly.
Dean gives her his famous smirk and quickly pulls her in for another kiss. He gently removes her silky, pajama top and kisses her neck. Suddenly he's on top of her, making sure his lips don't miss one inch of her body. She closes her eyes, savoring every moment. Every kiss. She'd never experienced anything like this. And she knew from this moment forward, nothing would ever be the same again.
NOTE: I've made a special video to go along with this chapter. I really hope you enjoy it! If the link doesn't show up, please PM me and I'll happily send the link to you. Just go to YT and type in rest of address.
.com/watch?v=zq5TFxu6sOk
Hope you enjoyed this long overdue chapter and I promise….there's more to come!
