Eighteen

Dean pulled over onto the side of the road behind Reggie's dark blue Plymouth and shut off the engine. He had driven by the bar, hoping that she had perhaps just stopped somewhere in town, but knew, deep down, he wouldn't find her there.

Dean had driven, as if on autopilot, back to the old house where the ghouls had set up residence during their time in Bridgewater, his hands gripping the steering wheel as he forced the memories away. He got out and started across the road, the wind whipping around him as he walked.

Dean headed past the old, crumbling house, heading towards the large outbuilding, a chill running down his spine as he looked at it. Flashes of the night before sped through Dean's head again and he pulled out a flashlight, gripping it tightly, as he stepped inside.

Dean began making his way slowly down the long, dark winding hallways, listening for any sounds that might indicate where Reggie was within the labyrinth of passageways. He'd been wandering around for what seemed like hours when he saw a flash of light up ahead before it quickly disappeared.

Dean started in the direction of the light, his footsteps echoing around him. Seconds later, he entered a large open room, recognizing it immediately. It was the very room they had found Adrianne standing over an unconscious Reggie, the same room the ghouls had spent hours torturing Reggie and him in.

Dean spotted Reggie in a corner of the room, standing with her back to him. He was sure she had heard him enter, but she didn't turn around. He cleared his throat, trying to get Reggie's attention.

"What do you want, Dean?" Reggie asked icily, her back still to him.

"I came looking for you. What are you doing here, Reggie?"

"I don't know. I guess I needed to come back to put some closure on what happened." She sighed, her shoulders slumping forward. "Sam said he and Bobby checked every room. All those people the ghouls took, they're dead, Dean." Reggie finally turned to face him, her eyes alight with a mixture of anger and despair. "I couldn't save a single one. And Adrianne..." She squeezed her eyes closed, her hands balled at her sides, breathing deeply. Dean stood watching Reggie fight for control.

"There was nothing you could have done, Reggie. Nothing any of us could have done," he stated, taking a hesitant step towards her. Reggie's eyes snapped open and she glared at him.

"You're wrong! If I'd stopped the ghouls sooner, maybe Adrianne would still be alive," Reggie shouted. "This is my fault. All of it."

His whole body shaking with rage, Dean crossed the room and grabbed her by her arms. "It isn't your fault," he snapped, shaking her roughly. "God, Reggie. We barely got away with our own lives!" She tried to yank out of Dean's grasp, tried to push him away, but Dean held onto her tightly.

Finally, Reggie slumped against his chest, her breathing hitched with emotion. "You should run as far away from me as possible, Dean," she muttered, her voice muffled by his jacket.

"What?" he asked, confused. Reggie looked up at him, tears brimming in her eyes. She began blinking furiously as she tried to hold them back.

"You should leave town. Get as far away from me as you possibly can," she stated more forcefully.

"I heard you the first time. I just don't get it," Dean growled, pulling her away from him so that he could see her entire face.

She swiped at the tear rolling down her cheek, angry that it had broken free. "I put all the people around me in danger. They die around me, Dean, or haven't you noticed? I don't want anything to happen to you or Sam or Bobby. I don't think I could live with myself if anything did.

"The other night, when we were in here and the ghouls were torturing you, all I could think about was that it was my fault you were here. It was my fault that you could have, that you almost, died. I don't want another almost, Dean. You need to leave, to get as far away from me as possible, and stay away. Just forget you ever met me before I get you killed."

Dean gaped at her, at a loss for words, his anger almost choking him. He couldn't believe the words coming from Reggie's lips.

"You're nuts," he finally cried, stepping away from her. "You're absolutely bonkers!" He glared at Reggie, watched as the hurt flashed across her face before she forced it away. "I...why...how," Dean stuttered angrily.

He threw his hands into the air and paced in front of her. "How can you think that what happened - to Frank, to Adrianne - to any of us, is your fault? Do you realize how unbelievably frustrating you are?

"You preach to me about carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders and how it's not my responsibility; that I can't blame myself for every bad thing that happens, for every life I can't save, then you go and do the same thing! You can't have it both ways, Reggie!" Dean stopped pacing and glared at Reggie, waiting for her to say something.

"I guess we both have a lot to work on," Reggie finally said, staring at the floor.

When she finally looked up at him her face was calm, relaxed. Her green eyes sparkled, but not with tears and Dean felt himself relax a little. Reggie gave him a weak smile and Dean returned it.

"How'd you know to find me here?" she asked, clearly trying to change the subject.

Dean shrugged. "It's where I would go." He grinned at Reggie. "If you haven't noticed, you and I seem to be a lot alike."

"Yeah, I've noticed," Reggie said, chuckling. Dean felt the mood lighten considerably more and the tension in his shoulders eased away completely.

"Let's get out of here. Go get a beer or something," he suggested.

"It's one-thirty in the afternoon, Dean."

"Okay, so we'll just go get something to eat instead," Dean relented, grinning broadly. Reggie snorted and swatted him, wincing as pain shot through her injured wrist. "We never looked at that last night," Dean said with concern.

"It's fine," Reggie replied. Dean cocked an eyebrow at her and held out his hand. Reggie rolled her eyes and stepped up to Dean, laying her wrist in his open palm. He took her hand gently in his and pulled up the sleeve of her jacket. The wrist was badly swollen and disgusting shades of purple and blue.

"I think maybe we need to make a stop at the hospital first, to get that checked out by a doctor." Dean draped his arm casually over Reggie's shoulders and began to lead her out.

Once Reggie's cast had dried and a nurse stopped by to have her sign the forms for her release, Dean and Reggie made their way back outside to the parking lot. "I'll see you guys in a bit," Reggie said as she headed to her car. Dean started for the Impala, lost in thought.

He picked up Sam at the motel and headed back into town to meet Reggie at the small diner he and Sam had eaten at when they first got into town. The drive to the diner seemed much shorter than before and Reggie was waiting for the in the parking lot as Dean swung the Impala into it.

Once they got inside, Sam, Dean, and Reggie saw that they were the only patrons so they picked a table by the large glass windows along the front of the restaurant, relishing in the warm sunlight shining through them. Sam slid into the booth next to Reggie and took the menu she offered him. The waitress who had waited on them the first time they had come to the diner strolled over to the table, her black and gray hair pulled back in the same severe bun.

"What can I getcha," she drawled, her voice uninterested. They ordered their food and Sam watched the woman disappear into the kitchen.

"So, I think we should go get a couple of beers at Madison's tonight. You know as a celebratory goodbye," Dean suggested.

"I don't know, man. The last time we went in there, the two of you were taken hostage by a bunch of ghouls. I can't imagine who you'd go home with tonight," Sam teased. He saw Reggie shiver and regretted bringing the ghouls up.

"Ha ha ha. First of all, they're dead, Sam. And second, Reggie still hasn't given me a chance to win back the money she cheated me out of when we played pool."

"Cheated? I won that game fair and square," Reggie cried indignantly.

"You pretended like you'd never played a game of pool in your life and then - WHAM! Suddenly you're an expert," Dean argued.

"So?" Reggie raised her eyebrow at him.

"So?" Dean replied in the same tone. "So, that's not fair, that's cheating!"

"Life isn't fair, Dean. Hasn't anyone ever told you that," Reggie laughed. Dean opened his mouth and she held up her hand. "Fine, fine. If you want to lose some more of your money, who am I to fault you."

"Oh, you think that's how it's gonna go, huh?" Dean growled menacingly, leaning forward to look at Reggie ominously. "Bring it on, baby."

Sam snorted as the two of them playfully glared at each other across the table. The waitress brought their food, dropping the chipped white plates onto the table in front of them and, without another word, turned and walked away.

"What a peach," Reggie mumbled as she opened the lid of her bacon cheeseburger and began squirting ketchup onto the bun.