Sixteen

"Sam? Dean? So nice of you to join us," Adrianne cried, smiling widely at them. Her eyes flashed to all three hunters. "I'm a little busy right now, but just give me a minute and I'll be right with you."

"Get away from Reggie, Adrianne," Dean growled, gripping the knife tightly in his hand. He raised it up, preparing himself. He heard Sam gasp at his side and glanced at his brother.

"Adrianne?" Sam muttered, his face a mask of disbelief. She chuckled at them and Dean went back to glaring at her.

"Don't give me that sympathetic look, Sam. I'm fine. Better than fine, actually." She took a step towards them, her eyes dancing from one to the other. "Who's your friend?" she asked as she looked Bobby over.

Dean moved to the side, trying to circle the ghoul to Reggie as she stood in the center of the room. Adrianne glanced at him and grinned manically. He stopped, waiting for her to attack. After a few seconds, she turned her attention back to Sam and Dean began moving again. He saw that Bobby had begun circling the opposite way as well, so that all three of them were spread out around Adrianne.

"I was looking for you yesterday, Sam."

"I'm sorry I wasn't around," Sam said as Dean got closer to Reggie. He met Dean's warning look and nodded, trying to tell his brother that he had the situation under control. "If I'd seen you in the bar, maybe you wouldn't be here now."

"I told you, Sam, I'm fine. Been fine for a while now." Adrianne sighed heavily. "Stop right there, Dean," she snapped, her head whipping around to glare at him. He was only a few feet away from Reggie, who remained still. "If she isn't dead now, she will be before you can stop me."

"Why were you looking for me, Adrianne," Sam asked, trying to get the woman's attention back on him. She glanced at him for a moment before returning her ruby-red eyes to Dean.

"I liked you, Sam. You smell and look so yummy."

Adrianne hissed and jerked her head around to glare at Bobby, who was now just about even with Dean.

"I don't know who you are and perhaps you didn't hear me earlier when I warned Dean, but I wouldn't take another step. Not unless you want me to make sure Reggie's dead."

Bobby froze under the woman's angry glare. Dean took advantage of the temporary distraction and took another step. From where he was standing, he couldn't tell if Reggie was even breathing, her body lying in a heap on the ground.

"Adrianne..." Sam began, trying to get her attention back on him so that either Bobby or Dean could get to Reggie. She glanced over at Dean for a second before settling her eyes back on Sam, waiting for him to continue. "You realize that we're going to have to kill you, don't you?"

"You can try," she snarled.

Adrianne took a step toward Sam and Dean tensed, waiting for the woman to attack his brother. She turned her head to Dean, her crimson eyes alight, and smiled.

"I can smell the fear rolling off of you, Dean. Tell me, is it for Sam or Reggie? Or maybe yourself?"

"Shut up, bitch," Dean snapped.

The ghoul smiled at him which only made him angrier. She wagged a long finger at Dean and shook her head, still laughing.

"Your brother has no manners, Sam," she said as she stared at Dean.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? Our dad didn't raise us to have respect for freaks like you," Sam spat.

Adrianne's head whipped back to him, the smile disappearing instantly. She took two more deliberate steps towards Sam, her hands balled into fists. Dean took the moment to take another step towards Reggie and saw Bobby do the same. Sam waited, watching the creature before him as it glared at him, hands clenching and unclenching at its sides.

"That wasn't very nice," she hissed and launched herself at Sam.

Dean's body involuntarily turned towards Sam, his need to protect his brother still strong despite knowing that Sam didn't need it. Adrianne hit Sam, knocking him backwards into the door, which slammed closed with a bang. The snarls and growls coming from her echoed throughout the room. Dean saw that Bobby had frozen too, torn between helping Sam and helping Reggie.

"Help Sam," Dean yelled at the hunter as he turned back to Reggie. Bobby nodded and rushed to Sam's aid.

Dean dropped onto the floor beside Reggie, calling her name. He hesitated, his hand stretched out above her bare arm. He was afraid to touch her, afraid that they were indeed already too late and Reggie was dead. He could hear the fight going on to his left, hear Adrianne's snarling and Sam and Bobby's cursing.

Dean glanced over and saw Sam cut off her head, silencing her screams of anger. He turned back to Reggie just in time to see her eyes snap open. Relief washed over him. She tried to push herself up, crying out as she put weight on her right wrist.

"Easy," he said, grabbing her left arm and helping her sit up. Reggie winced as she leaned back against the stone wall. Dean could see the bruising across her ribs had spread further.

"Help me up," Reggie ordered.

Dean took her hand and helped her up, holding his hands out as she swayed on her feet.

"I'm okay," she said, glancing at him for a second.

Reggie turned her gaze to the bright blue flames at Sam's feet, watching them intently for a moment. She shivered and Dean shrugged off his jacket and draped it over her bare shoulders. She smiled weakly at him and slipped her arms through the sleeves. Reggie had to push them up to free her hands, the coat clearly too big on her slender frame.

"Is that...?" she asked, still watching the burning corpse.

"Yeah, it's Adrianne," Sam said as he stepped around the fire. "Are you okay?"

Reggie nodded and forced a smile on her face. "I'll be fine." She took a deep, shaky breath and exhaled, closing her eyes and causing all three men to take a hesitant step toward her, afraid she was going to pass out. She opened her eyes and snorted. "Relax, fellas. I'm okay, really."

"Let's get the hell out of here then," Dean said and started for the door.

"Hey Bobby," Reggie said as she passed the man, following behind Dean.

All four hunters moved silently down the dark hallway, Dean in the lead with his flashlight bouncing ahead of him. They had just made it back to the main entrance, a breeze drifting through the open door bringing with it clean air, when a figure stepped out of the shadows, blocking their path.

"You have ruined everything," Cassandra screamed. Dean dropped his flashlight and threw out his arm, stopping Reggie and pushing her behind him. Cassandra remained in their path, seething with rage, her blue chest rising and falling heavily. "I've lost everything!"

Dean spotted Sam and Bobby out of the corner of his eye as they stepped up beside him. They were all waiting for the creature to attack, to make the first move, but instead she just stood there, glaring at them. Bobby raised the hand holding his knife and Cassandra hissed at him.

"Let's just get this over with," Dean snapped as he took a step towards her. Cassandra turned her eyes on him and, for one fleeting moment, Dean saw the creature's own fear and despair. Then she spun and took off, running into the darkened forest. Dean turned to Bobby and Sam in confused disbelief.

"What the hell?"

Sam glanced in the rearview mirror at Reggie and Dean who were slumped together in the backseat of Bobby's Chevelle as they sped down the road back to the motel. Both of them looked horrible. They were covered in cuts and bruises, blood dried into their hair, deep, dark circles under their eyes. But they were alive and that was all that mattered.

Bobby followed a bend in the road, speeding along the dark highway, and Sam watched as Reggie's head slid onto Dean's shoulder, realizing she'd dozed off. He saw Dean's eyes open a little, reacting to the weight of the woman's head, before drifting closed again as he too fell asleep.

Sam looked out the windshield, watching the trees speed past them as Bobby drove. His mind swirled with the events of the last twenty-four hours. "Where do you think she's going to go?" he asked, his voice low. He turned to Bobby, trying to read the man's face in the dark car.

"Well, there really ain't too many places she'll be able to hide now," Bobby replied, glancing at Sam.

Sam sighed. "I can kind of get why she ran. She didn't want to die, but now she's alone. She's going to have to keep running, looking over her shoulder for the day when one of us finds her again," Sam said, staring at his dirty hands as they rested in his lap. He heard Bobby sigh and looked up.

"It ain't a great life, but at least, for now, she's still got one. I'm just thinking about all the people she's gonna kill before she's stopped for good." Bobby pulled into the motel parking lot, easing his car into a spot next to the Impala.

Sam glanced around. "It feels like a lifetime since we were last here," he said. He yawned, feeling the stress of the last several hours as it finally crept into his body. Sam glanced in the rearview mirror again and saw that Dean's eyes were open, watching him. "Hey."

Dean nodded at him, stifling his own yawn. Sam climbed from the car and pushed the seat forward, stepping back to allow his brother to climb out from the backseat. When Dean didn't move, Sam leaned down.

"You need any help?" he asked, watching as Dean awkwardly struggled with whether to wake Reggie or not.

"No, I got her," Dean said as tried to slide across the seat with Reggie. Sam heard Bobby chuckle as he got out on the driver's side. Reggie stirred just as Dean tried to lift her from the car.

"I can walk to my room, Dean," she yawned. She took two steps and stumbled. Both Dean and Sam threw out their hands to catch her and Reggie glared at them, already steady on her feet. "I'm okay," she growled. She started walking again, Dean close behind her.

"I'm gonna go get a room," Bobby called as he headed across the lot to the motel office, laughing to himself. Sam followed Dean and Reggie to their rooms, twirling his room key around his finger.

Reggie paused at her door and cursed. "Dammit! My key was in my jacket pocket," she groaned, patting the pockets of her jeans with her uninjured hand. "We gotta go back."

"Tomorrow. Right now you need to get some rest," Dean stated and grabbed her arm, leading her down to their room. "You can sleep in our room tonight."

Reggie opened her mouth to object, looking back at Sam for some kind of help, but Sam shook his head at her and tossed Dean the room key.

"I wouldn't even try. I'm with Dean, Reggie. You need to get some sleep. You can barely stand up as it is."

"Fine, all right, I give!" she cried as Dean opened the door and pulled her inside. "But I'm getting a shower first!" Reggie turned to face them, waiting for their argument.

Instead, Dean shrugged. "Fair enough." He looked over at Sam, who was still standing in the doorway. "Can you go out to the Impala and get the first aid kit?" he asked.

Sam nodded and slipped back outside. Dean glanced back at Reggie and saw her struggling to pull off his leather jacket. He walked over and gently tugged the coat off, tossing it on the end of Sam's unmade bed.

"Thanks," she said, covering her mouth as she yawned again. Dean looked over some of the cuts on her skin, his fingers tracing just below the deep gash on her collar bone. She shivered and smiled sheepishly up at him. "That tickled."

"Sorry," he muttered and stepped back, suddenly aware of how naked Reggie looked in just her bra and dirty jeans. "Why don't you go get your shower. When you're done, we'll patch you up."

"I'm going to need some clothes."

Dean nodded at her. "Yeah, I know. I'm sure we can find something for you to borrow for tonight." He turned and headed for one of the duffle bags on the floor. He waited, as he sifted through the clothes inside, to hear the bathroom door close as Reggie went to take her shower.

"Dean?" He turned his head towards the sound of her voice and saw her standing in the bathroom doorway looking hesitant.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," Reggie said softly and stepped into the bathroom, closing the door quickly behind her. Dean was still staring at the closed door when he heard Sam come back. He pulled out one of his many black t-shirts and stood up.

"I need you to help me with my shoulder," Dean said, wincing as he dropped into one of the chairs. "It dislocated when I was being tossed around like a rag doll."

"Sure. And we can take care of some of your cuts, too."

Sam placed his hand on the back of Dean's shoulder, holding his brother's arm in the other.

"Ready?" he asked.

Dean nodded and took a deep breath. Sam pushed and felt the pop as Dean's shoulder slid back into the socket.

"Son of a..." Dean cried, slamming the fist of his other hand down on the table. He dropped his head, breathing heavily as his vision swam, trying to grit through the pain.

"You okay?" Sam asked, opening the first aid kit and pulling out a bottle of aspirin.

Dean nodded at him and held out his hand. Sam dropped three little white pills into his hand and Dean swallowed them dry. Sam continued to remove things from the kit: surgical tape, bandages, alcohol swabs, a needle and thread. He eyed Dean carefully, watching as his brother's pain subsided some.

Sam pulled the second chair over and sat down, tearing open one of the alcohol swabs. "I'm going to clean the smaller cuts first. Then I'll see if Bobby's got something liquid to help kill the pain before I start stitching up the rest."

Dean nodded at him and gently lifted his t-shirt. He closed his eyes as he sat back against the chair. Dean heard Sam wince as he took in all the wounds across his torso. He opened his eyes and looked at Sam.

"They aren't as bad as they look," he stated.

Sam looked at him, his eyebrow raised. Dean chuckled at the look of disbelief on his brother's face before closing his eyes again. He concentrated on the sound of the shower running as Sam went to work.