Chapter 9: Ready To Face It All

A/N: Back to Mystic Falls we go.

The title is based off of Runnin' (Lose It All) by Naughty Boy ft. Beyoncé and Arrow Benjamin.

After what felt like hours, Katalina had finally convinced the boys to let her go back to Virginia. There was a condition of course. They had to come with. She didn't like it but the two refused to take no for an answer so here they were taking their luggage and packing them up in the boot of the Impala.

"You know we don't have to do this," Dean said as he closed the trunk shut, holding his gaze with Katalina's.

"Yes we do Dean. They're my family and I promised Esther."

"You didn't promise anyone anything," Sam argued against her, shutting the metal doors of the bunker before walking up to the other two.

"Besides, is your family really that important if they're willing to kill you," Dean questioned not giving up his argument, hoping to change the girl's mind.

"I could ask you two the same thing," retorted Katalina, switching her icy gaze to the younger brother's, "Besides I got you boys to look after me."

She walked over to the back door of the car, getting in, signifying the end of that argument, Katalina the obvious winner. Meanwhile, the two boys shared an uneasy look before sighing and getting in their respective seats inside the black car.

…

The drive to Mystic Falls was a little longer than eighteen hours. It had been about three and the entire drive had been engulfed in complete silence. Katalina was happy with her blood bags which was sat in a cooler next to her. She had already had two and decided that she should drink sparingly to save the Winchesters from her bloodlust craze.

After about twenty more minutes, Dean had gotten sick of the deafening noise of nothing, and turned on the radio, startling both passengers. They eventually returned to their silent states, the music the only thing fighting the absence of noise.

Three more hours had passed and no one had spoken yet. It was a comfortable silence. Katalina had taken peace in reading a book, her headphones plugged into her ears. Sam had dozed off around the five hour mark and Dean's eyes were fixated on the white lines that marked the road.

"Hey Dean you hungry?" Katalina broke the silence for the first time wondering if the brothers wanted to stop for some food. They were human so they had to eat. She tried not to forget that.

"No." Dean's simple answer pulled back the blanket of quiet onto the car once more.

Six hours. No one broke routine. With the exception of Sam who had woken up about five and a half hours ago and gazed out the window for the rest of the time. It was blatantly obvious that the no one was happy to go back to the small town that had settled in the state of Virginia. As the sun disappeared into the horizon, Kat decided it was time to cut the silence once more.

"Guys, I think we should stop and rest, it's getting dark."

"I thought vampires didn't need sleep," Dean let out his first full sentence since they left Kansas.

"We don't, but humans do. A-K-A, you and Sam?"

"We'll be fine, sweetheart."

"Dean, come on, we'll make it on time we don't need to be there for another day."

No reply.

"Unless, you're willing to let me drive the car the rest of the way?"

Now that broke him.

"Fine. I'll stop at the next motel I see."

They were currently in Lexington, Kentucky, and considering the number of buildings around them, it was safe to assume that they would find a place to spend the night fairly quickly.

Their assumptions proved to be correct as Dean only drove for about ten more minutes before he pulled into a parking lot. A large neon sign that read 'Sportsman Motel, Vacancy'.

Once Dean had safely stopped the car, all three hopped out almost immediately, obviously needing to stretch their legs. Dean walked towards the main office, to get them their rooms while Sam and Katalina stayed back to unpack the duffels from the trunk. They remained silent. Dean's return the one thing breaking it.

"Good news, we got a room. Bad news, we got one room."

"That's okay, I'll sleep on the couch," Katalina offered.

"You sure?" Sam finally spoke up.

"Yea, I don't need the sleep anyway." She shrugged.

…

The room was small. The walls were painted beige with a tan line bordering the top edge, the ceiling was white, and the carpet was grey. There were two single beds, one for each brother. An off-white fitted sheet covered the mattress, with two matching pillows, and a contrasting red duvet was used to pull everything together. Both beds were identical to one another. Opposite the beds there was a small television and on the right of it a pale green couch. Straight across the entrance on the other side of the room, there sat a white sliding door that lead to the smaller bathroom which contained a shower, a toilet, and a sink. To the left of the television there was a silver mini fridge and adjacent to that, a white door similar to the entrance which opened up to reveal the closet.

Katalina had gotten to the shower first and the boys let her considering she was sleeping on the couch that night. The two guys decided they would go eat while she was showering as she didn't need any actual food herself. The shower water was warm on her skin, giving her the much needed relaxation that she deserved. She wasn't going to lie to herself, she was utterly terrified of going back. Yeah sure, she had lived longer than an average human but that didn't mean she wanted to die. She knew about the other side. What it was like. It was lonely, and she wanted nothing more than to stay away. Turning the water off, she wrapped herself in a towel and went out into the room. They were still out. Good. She openly dressed herself, putting on a pair of pink and white pinstriped pyjama pants and a white tank. Picking her towel up from the floor, she sat on the couch taking a deep breath before drying her jet black hair.

Five minutes passed and the door opened to reveal the two boys. They had come in silently and Sam had headed straight to the shower. Dean seated himself on the bed furthest away from her, looking at her form in the soft lighting. He knew something was wrong with her. He confirmed it when he turned the music on it the car. Usually, she wouldn't shut up about his taste in music but this time, nothing. Sure she was wearing headphones but that car radio was turned up loud.

She ignored his green-eyed stare for a few seconds but she couldn't concentrate with his intense gaze on her.

"What?" She snapped at him turning her head to catch his stare.

He looked away and sighed. He wanted to say something but he didn't know how. Dean wasn't usually good at these things, so instead he got up and went over to the mini fridge. Opening the door, he peeked inside settling on a beer. All this time Katalina's eyes never left him, her eyes wondering what was going on his head. He sighed again, her stare didn't go unnoticed.

"Katalina," he started.

"Hey guys, I really think we should…" Sam blurted out as he came out of the bathroom, his waist wrapped in a towel, stopping when he noticed the tension that had developed in the room.

Dean and Katalina stared at him urging him to go on. Neither wanted to have the conversation that was about to begin.

"We should probably go to bed soon so we can leave early tomorrow morning," he continued in an awkward manner, pausing before returning to the bathroom.

…

The only light that penetrated the room was the ones of the cars passing by outside, the pattering of the rain and the sounds of heavy breathing enveloping the room. Sam was asleep in the bed Dean had previously been sitting on and Dean in the other. Katalina stayed awake on the couch, unwillingly. She had attempted to sleep, tried to forget about everything that had happened and everything that could happen but those were the things keeping her awake. She couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and went into the bathroom, turning on the light, hoping she wouldn't wake the hunters. Leaving the door open, she rested her palms on the sink and looked into the mirror. She took a deep breath closing her eyes before looking down and then returning her gaze to the mirror. Her eyes averted from her own as she found another figure standing in the doorway.

"Katalina?" His deep voice questioned, still harbouring traces of sleep.

She turned around and leaned on the sink, meeting her gaze with the man's green orbs but refusing to speak. He slowly walked towards her before mirroring her position and sighing.

"Talk to me." It was more of a demand than a question but he wanted to help.

"There's nothing to talk about, Dean. Just go back to bed." She refused to meet his stare.

He scoffed, "Yeah right. You think that me and Sammy can't tell there's something wrong with you. You've been distant ever since we left Lebanon. Just tell me what's wrong. The worst that could happen is that you won't feel any better."

She didn't like to admit it, but he was right. She sighed.

"Fine. I'm scared." Katalina finally fixed her eyes on his.

"Of Klaus?"

"Not just of Klaus. It's my whole family, they're so, so dysfunctional." That was the nice way of putting it.

"Sweetheart, Sammy and I are the definition of dysfunctional."

"Well, you haven't met the Mikaelsons yet."

He raised his eyebrows in agreement, "Well you know what?" He started again attempting to comfort her, "We won't let them lay a finger on you."

She shook her head looking at the door, a grimace crossing her face, "I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about you."

Dean looked shocked. He definitely did not expect that.

"And Sammy too," she corrected herself holding her head up to meet his eyes.

"Seriously, Katalina?"

The statement caused her to furrow her brows. Yes she was serious. What didn't he get?

"We'll be fine, don't worry." He chuckled at her in attempts to lighten the mood.

She averted her gaze from his. She obviously didn't believe him.

"Look, we'll be protecting each other. We protect you and you protect us. Right?"

She looked back at him, "Yeah, I guess."

Katalina still wasn't fully convinced but he did have a point. She could protect them.

Silence filled the room as the two were trapped in their own thoughts.

She looked at the man next to her once more and that's when she realised he was half naked. She eyed him up and down before moving to his face, meeting his amused gaze.

Tensing up she attempted to get herself out of the situation, "Um, so good, good talk. Good night."

She said abruptly as she walked to the door stopping as she stepped off the tiled floor her senses coming back to her, "Oh, call me sweetheart one more time and I will slap that grin off your face."

Turning her face to the side, she glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. He was looking at her with a look she couldn't pin down, the smirk on his face the only thing she understood.

Katalina sauntered out of the room, Dean following behind her, the smirk not leaving his mouth.

A/N: Thank you for everyone who has supported this fic so far. Please review and tell me what you think. Tell me what you think will happen or what you want to happen. Also guys, I kid you not, I was looking up motels in Lexington, Kentucky and found a photo of a motel called Catalina AND AND I was scrolling through Tumblr, taking a break from writing and saw this post about twins that were separated at birth. One lived in Kentucky, the other, in Virginia. What?!