(Disclaimer: Don't own anything. Story belongs to me)

Battle Weary.

Chapter Seventeen.

Tick-tock. It should have been quiet. It wasn't. It couldn't get any louder. Tick-tock. Wasn't the hand that marked down the seconds on the clock the quiet one? It should have been, but all they heard was the loud, booming toll of time racing forward. Tick-tock. It crashed into their minds, driving all other thoughts out of it. There was nothing but time allowed here. It staked its claim on any passing thought, destroying it before it could take hold. Tick-tock. No amount of willing it to slow down, willing it to stop would work. Time was the victor here….it always would be. Tick-tock. Tick tock….

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Jay watched Gus' retreating figure. What the hell had that meant? That wasn't how the phrase went...'the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step', not twelve. And the way he'd stared at her…no, something wasn't right at all. She closed the journal and looked at her watch…two hours and thirty-one minutes til dusk. She shivered involuntarily, got up and went to the window. Dean, Sam and Gus were leaning against her car, beers in hand, swords across their backs. She looked to her left, and there it was…the camera. Fuck me, she thought. She shook her head, picked it up and walked outside.

The three of them looked up as the cabin door opened, they saw the camera in Jay's hand, then looked at themselves.

"Fuck me…" said Dean.

Jay laughed "Yeah, imagine how I felt when I looked out the window and saw you three like that. Now cuddle up, smile for the camera and say 'cheese'"

They laughed as she took the photo "Well, I guess that makes sure the photo…" she laughed "shit, I don't even know how to finish that sentence"

"Grab a beer, Jay and come and hang out" said Sam. She nodded, went back inside and came out with four more.

She sat herself up on the hood of her car "Dean" she tossed him the car keys "music, sunshine"

Dean caught the keys and grinned "I want to drive this baby when I get back"

She smiled "You get back in one piece, I'll even teach you how to do 'donuts' in her"

He scoffed "I know how to do 'donuts', Knievel…" he grinned "When I get back, we'll go get the Impala and race back here"

She laughed "You'll be watching my arse the whole way" he grinned and she rolled her eyes "I meant the car's arse, Romeo"

He grinned again "Whatever you say" he put Zeppelin in the cd player and turned it up loud. "Now that's good fightin' music. You reckon they'll let me battle to a soundtrack?"

"Hey, if you're lucky, Jay can pole dance while you're fighting, distract 'em while you get slash-happy" said Sam with a laugh.

"You're fucking hilarious, Sam" she grinned "And I haven't done that in a loooong time" the three men stared at her. She rolled her eyes "Dear lord….I was joking, stop thinking with your dicks"

Dean grinned.

"Don't say it" she said.

"You've been reading some of my books, Jay" said Gus. The change of subject was so dramatic, they all looked at him. Gus looked at his watch, two hours and twenty-five minutes til dusk.

Jay took a sip of beer "Mmmhmm"

"Find anything interesting?" he asked.

"Interesting? Yeah. Anything that'll help me with Zeke? No." she turned to Sam "You saw him, Sam" she paused "Did he look…okay? I mean…"

Sam smiled "He looked fine, Jay. He sure is big though"

She laughed "Yeah, he said he needed to be…to stop people wanting to beat me up"

Dean raised an eyebrow and laughed "Gee, I wonder why they'd want to do that?"

"Hey, I haven't stabbed you like you promised I could…so watch it, buddy" she said as she sipped her beer. "Oh and probably best to wear a long-sleeved shirt when you fight, don't want 'em to see you heal"

He nodded "Yeah, I figured that" he looked at his watch, two hours and twenty-four minutes til dusk.

"I'll drop you off at the property, Dean. You call us when you're done and we'll come get you" said Gus.

"You won't need to, Gus. I'm going with him" said Sam, determination in his voice.

Gus shook his head "No. You're not. You stay here with me and Jay. You don't go anywhere near that field"

"He's right, Sammy"

Sam shook his head "No. I'm not having this argument. I'm going and that's final"

"Sam, you listen to me, son…"

"I'm NOT your son, okay! Don't fucking well argue with me on this! I'm going and that's final! No arguments will be entered into!" he looked at his watch, two hours and twenty-three minutes til dusk.

"Sammy…"

"No!"

"Alright, arguing's not gonna do anyone any good" she looked at her watch, two hours and twenty-two minutes til dusk "Lets just …oh god, I can't believe I'm actually gonna say this…but …lets-just-sit-back-and-enjoy-each-others-company" she pulled a face "That was more painful than I thought"

Sam laughed out loud "That whole 'being nice' thing not quite what you expected?"

Jay shivered "I think my brain started to shut down from the mere shock of it"

Dean laughed "You know it doesn't matter what you say, you may be a major league pain in the ass…but..." he grinned at her "we like you…" he laughed again "stop pulling that face"

She stopped pulling the face "More beer?" she asked, desperate to get away from the conversation.

"I'm in" said Dean. He looked at his watch, two hours and twenty-one minutes til dusk.

"Dude, ease up…I mean…." he looked at his watch, two hours and twenty-one minutes til dusk.

"Not to worry, Sam. When you self-heal it takes a lot to get pissed and you never get a hangover" Jay grinned.

Dean grinned right along with her "I'm in booze heaven".

Sam laughed "You said 'booze' right?"

"Eyes up, Sam" said Jay as she went into the house "And if I hear the words 'nice rack' just once, I'm coming back with an arse-kicking" she smiled when she heard them laugh, the tension finally eased…for now. She looked at her watch, two hours and twenty minutes til dusk.

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Jay was sitting on the porch steps, going over her journal, an array of Gus' books at her side. Sam and Dean were talking quietly near the back of her car and Gus was pacing inside. The tension was starting to build again. She looked at her watch, one hour and forty-six minutes til dusk.

Jay closed the journal, stood, stretched, turned…and saw Gus staring at her through the window. Alright, so that was undeniably creepy, even for Gus. She grabbed his books and headed inside. She went straight to the bookcase and put the books away. She turned round and Gus was there…right there.

"Alrighty, Gus…personal space issue here. Is there something…."

"Shut up and listen…"

She frowned "Gus?"

"I…he….shit, he's….hide, Jay. Now! Hide!" he muttered.

She didn't need to be told twice, she'd just seen some scary shit in his eyes and she was outta there. Outta there and into the closest room she could find…his. She closed and locked the door behind her… and stopped dead. What the fuck? Every available piece of wall was covered in scraps of paper, notes, messages, photos and drawings. There were protection symbols all around the room as well. The roof, the floor the walls…everywhere. It was in stark contrast to the neatly made bed, the perfectly aligned photographs and keepsakes on the dresser and the clothes in the closet that were organised by colour and type. OCD anyone? she thought.

She went to the dresser and picked up the pill bottles that were there, raised and eyebrow and put them down again. She started to read some of the scribblings that papered the walls…most of it was about time and its workings, about the demons that were coming for Dean and Sam, different scenarios as to how they were going to beat them and musings as to how the demons travelled. She walked around, looking at the walls, taking as much in as she could. She got to a photo of Dean, he was young, maybe sixteen or seventeen…she pulled the photo off he wall and there was a symbol drawn on the wall behind it. She frowned, she'd seen that symbol before. She grabbed a pen from the side table and drew the symbol on a piece of paper and put it in her pocket before replacing the photo. She took a photo of Sam off the wall but there was only a blank piece of wall behind it. She put it back in its place and started going through Gus' drawers. Lucky she didn't have a guilty conscience about that kind of stuff. She found her answer in the third drawer she opened. She looked at her watch, one hour and thirty-four minutes til dusk.

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She was sitting on the bed, waiting impatiently, when there was a knock at the door. She got up slowly and went to it.

"Who is it?"

"Gus. Open up"

"You sure?"

She heard him laugh softly "Yeah. Open up, Jay"

She opened the door a fraction and looked out. It was Gus, blue eyes twinkling. She opened the door wider and he stepped in, leaving the door open behind him. He looked around the room and noticed the pill bottles had been moved.

"Aaah, yeah, sorry about that…got a little bored…..and I'm nosy"

He nodded "Helps with the …you know, after the war…flashbacks, that kinda thing…it's got that many names I can't think of the right one for it"

She nodded "Battle Weary?"

He smiled "Yeah, it's been called that" he laughed "And aren't we all? I'd imagine those boys out there are too."

Jay nodded "I'm sure they are" she cocked her head "And that's all you're dealing with Gus?"

He smiled "I'm a little …complex" he nodded towards the bottles "Don't let on to the boys"

"Don't worry, Gus. Your secret's safe with me"

He stared at her, nodded, smiled and walked out the door. She looked at her watch, one hour and twenty-eight minutes til dusk.

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Jay was looking at one of Gus' books when Sam came and sat next to her. She shut the book and looked at him.

"You alright?" she asked, knowing how stupid a question it really was.

He shrugged "Can I ask you something about your brother?"

"Sure"

"Does he make mistakes?"

"That's a pretty difficult question to answer, Sam. We all make mistakes, you know that" he nodded "But does Zeke make many? No, not really. He thinks everything out and while sometimes it may be a mystery to me why he does the things he does….they tend to work out in the end" she paused "Although this whole Hell thing just jumped to the top of his 'Big Fucking Mistakes' list, I can tell you"

He gave her a short smile "But if he told you to trust him on something, would you?"

"Of course, he's my brother. But …" she looked at him "you're not asking for me, you're asking for you, aren't you? What did he tell you?"

"Nothing"

She laughed "Alright, Sam"

"Nothing that concerns you anyway…" he paused "and I didn't mean that to sound as bitchy as it did" he gave her another small smile.

"Look, Sam. I don't know what it is that you want to hear, but if Zeke told you something, asked you to do something then I'd seriously think about going along with it. Especially if it concerns the battle, he's not just looking after me, he's looking after you two as well"

Sam sighed and she laughed "I hear ya, Sam. I hear ya"

Sam looked at his watch, one hour and eleven minutes til dusk.

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Jay put the book away slowly. Bugger. Bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger. Were they ever gonna catch a break? Well apart from the whole 'take two' thing…but still. Okay, time to think….time to think….time…she looked at her watch, fifty-two minutes til dusk. She looked out the window, Dean and Sam were talking, laughing with each other. That was good. She figured the fighting would start up again when Sam wanted to go with Dean to the battleground.

She went back to the bookcase and looked at the books, damn there were SO many. She grabbed one she hadn't read and sat down. This was an old book. She flicked through the pages until something caught her eye. Huh. How about that? It was here all along. She read quickly, making notes in her journal. She put the book away and got out a map of the States she kept at the back of her journal and started to mark it. Maybe….just maybe….

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Dean and Sam were leaning against Jay's car, neither of them wanting to think of what was coming. The biggest battle of their lives was under an hour away.

"Sammy, you gotta promise me…if something happens to me…you run. You don't come back here, you ring Gus and you tell him and Jay to run as well. The three of you split up and you don't contact each other"

"Dean, nothing's gonna happen to you. You'll kick demon ass and well be fine"

"Just promise me okay?" he looked at his watch, forty-seven minutes til dusk.

"Dean…."

"Promise me, Sammy"

Sam sighed "Okay, I promise".

Dean nodded "I gotta go drain the snake" he grinned at his brother and went inside.

Sam looked at his watch, forty-six minutes til dusk.

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Jay was putting a book away when Dean walked in. He shook his head, her and the damn books. She wasn't gonna stop until she found what she was looking for. He smiled, pain in the ass. He looked at his watch, forty-five minutes til dusk. He pushed that thought to the back of his mind and walked over to her.

"Jay, I need a favour"

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Lothar paced. An hour….an hour til the battle. He was still no closer to finding out who had reset everything and he was starting to panic. The Man Downstairs was pissed. Six squads of demons had already lost their heads and He was hunting for more. He'd had no word from his 'sleeper' and they were no closer to finding the woman either. Her brother had not been forthcoming at all. It didn't matter what they did to him, he refused to talk. Two years, he'd lasted. Two years of mental and physical torture and he still hadn't broken. He was much stronger than they'd anticipated which meant that the one called Dean probably was as well. He needed to concentrate. He had a battle to fight but he still needed to figure out who had done this. The woman was no where to be found but her ability was of little consequence to him. He stopped. Could there be another warrior out there? One they didn't know about? He shook his head. Impossible. There was only the four of them left. He was positive. They had one warrior, there were three more to go. But would they be as hard to break as the one called Zeke? His mental….he stopped…no…not him…surely not.

Zeke knew the time was drawing near….he closed his eyes and reached out to his sister. He saw Dean and Sam outside, Dean with his swords over his back, arguing with Sam. He moved on and found Jay sitting on the lounge reading, like she always did… and he saw Gus watching his sister. He didn't like the way he was watching her either. Something wasn't right there. The other part of his mind heard footsteps coming towards the dungeons and he reached out once more to his sister. He saw her look up, frown slightly and touch a hand to her cheek, he smiled and broke contact.

To be continued….