It was twenty after midnight when Dean, Seth and Roman pulled up on Serena's block. They saw the police ushering the last of the press away from Serena's house. Roman looked over at Dean, who had been dour and silent the entire trip, sitting in the passenger's side, keeping his intense gaze on the road. Seth shook his head. "As if Serena hasn't been through enough…" he said, shaking his head in disgust. He stopped the car behind an ABC News truck and killed the ignition. Dean was already out of the car, walking across the lawn with purpose, his gaze fixated on the front door. The entire trip had been torture for Dean, who worried about Serena's safety with the press convening on her lawn.
One of the officers stepped in front of him. "You need to leave."
"Back off, copper, I'm in no mood," Dean warned him darkly. Seth and Roman ran up behind Dean, grabbing him by the shoulders and ushering him back. The officer, a tall redwood of a man, looked like he was ready to swing for Dean's jaw, while Dean looked like he was ready to kill the officer where he stood. With Dean's heightened emotional state, Seth and Roman knew it was going to be their job to keep him calm and keep the situation from getting out of hand.
"We're not press, Officer. We're friends of Serena's and we've driven a long way to get here," Seth explained. The officer's eyes were still locked on Dean. "Don't mind our friend. He's just very concerned."
The front door opened and Serena came out onto the porch, stepping down the three wooden steps and onto the grass. She was in her bare feet. The second Dean's eyes rested on Serena he broke away from the guys, running towards her at full-speed. The officers didn't expect him to move so fast, unable to reach him before he caught Serena.
"Serena!" he said, wrapping her up in his arms and hugging her tightly. He swung her to and fro with his embrace. "God, I've been so scared," he confessed. He kept his grip on her tight. He never wanted to let her go.
"You know these men?" the officer asked. She nodded.
"They're my best friends," she told him. She hugged Dean back just as tight, thankful she could put his mind at ease. The officers left them as Seth and Roman approached.
"Are you okay, Serena?" Seth asked.
"I'm scared to death," Serena confessed. Dean squeezed her tighter. "How was the drive? You know a flight would have gotten you three here a lot faster than driving." They motioned at Dean, who was still clinging to Serena like a second skin and she nodded.
"Come on. You guys must be exhausted and hungry for something that didn't come out of a drive-through. I'll make you something to eat." She disentangled herself from Dean and went into the house, the three of them following close behind. Dean looked around.
"Where's Barrett?"
"Upstairs reading," Serena answered. "I need to talk to you guys, and Wade thinks it might be a good idea if I talk to you without him around." They nodded and followed Serena into the kitchen. She got out some pots and pans and set about making omelettes, grabbing a carton of eggs and a bag of shredded cheese out of the fridge. Dean, Seth and Roman sat down at the island.
"I think this is the first time I've ever seen you with your hair up," Seth observed. She nodded.
"I've had my reasons for keeping it down," Serena confessed. She turned away from them, showing them the '8' scar on the back of her neck. They gasped. "There's no nice way to say this, you guys, but he branded me." Knowing that now was the time to keep the ball rolling she took her shirt off and showed them her scars. She slid the cutting board, an onion and some bell peppers over to Seth to cut, but he was just as captivated by all the scarring as Dean was. They felt physically nauseous seeing the tic-tac-toe scar, complete with an x and an o on the inside of the boxes.
"Oh, my God, Serena…" Dean breathed. His hand reached out and touched the scar. Roman looked stricken. Dean's eyes fell on the cross scar. "Serena, I…"
"It's all right," she told him, brushing a strand of hair out of his face. It fell back into place. "Does this explain all the turtlenecks, you guys?" Dean touched the mark at the juncture of her neck. Seth and Roman nodded; they were stunned. Dean got up and hugged her. She laughed, but hugged him back. His grip was so tight on her she was having difficulty breathing. "It's all right, Dean. I promise you, I'm okay," she assured him. "This is going to sound ridiculous, but I had a feeling he'd at least attempt an escape. This guy was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. It was a matter of time before he felt a little too…confined."
"We need to get you out of here," Dean told her urgently. "We need to get you packed." Serena shook her head. "Serena, I love you to death and I mean this with no disrespect, but don't be fucking stupid about this. Your house is probably all over the news. He's probably on his way here now."
"I can't spend my life running," Serena told him. Seth was busy cutting up bell peppers. "This place is rigged up like a fortress. Alarms, motion-sensitive lights, you name it, I've got it."
"Think about what you're saying, Serena. He's probably on his way here for you and you just want to sit here If I have to carry you out of here, Serena, you're leaving. That's just all there is to it. Barrett should have gotten you out of here the second he saw the press on your lawn. That's what I would have done."
"I don't want to run anymore, Dean. Being afraid is exhausting."
"Don't think of it as running," Dean told her. "Think of it as saving yourself. God only knows what he's going to have in his arsenal if the police don't catch him by the time he's here."
"Dean, the cops are watching this place. They have the same thoughts you do. The second he shows up here, they're going to grab him. This is probably the safest spot I could be right now." She put everything together in the pan.
"Have you told Vince about this?" Seth asked. She nodded.
"I called him earlier. He told me to take all the time off I need to deal with this. He's scared. I could hear it in his voice. I've always heard Vince is hard to rattle." She put her shirt back on and grabbed some plates. The first one went to Seth. "I appreciate you guys being here. It means a lot."
"We're always here for you," Dean told her. Serena started making the second omelette. "But I still think we should get you out of here. You can stay with me, or you can stay with Wade, Seth or Roman. Just until this blows over." Serena knew he wasn't going to drop it. "I don't want you here when he shows up."
"He's going to have to get through a barricade of cops. Trust me; it's going to be fine."
"I'm with Dean. You should get out of here. In the chance he manages to get through the police, we don't want you here as a sitting duck," Seth told her. "I know you're tired of running. I know you're tired of being afraid. I get it. We get it. But we don't want you in danger." He looked at Serena's face. "What's wrong?"
"You don't smell that?"
"Smell what?" Dean asked. He sniffed the air. "It smells like gas."
"Get Wade," Serena told Roman. Upstairs, they heard a loud thump. They all looked at each other. "Wade?" Serena called. There was silence. No answer.
"I don't want to alarm anyone, but New Jersey is a short drive from New York," Roman pointed out. Serena shot him a look and he shrunk. Serena turned off the stove and rushed into the living room.
"Wade -!"
That's when there was the explosion outside.