Disclaimer: Still don't own Buffy or Supernatural. I have a feeling you'd all be able to hear me even across the globe if that ever changed.
Dawn dozed off around hour five of the drive, figuring she could probably use the extra energy on the other end, though truth be told she was trying her best not to think what would happen when they got wherever they were going.
She was jolted awake as Ruby swerved into a parking space in what was probably a stunt driver worthy maneuver. All Dawn knew for sure was that she was cramped, car sick and her neck killed. She really hoped she was getting out of the trunk soon.
Her prayers seemed about to be answered when the sharp clip of Ruby's heels rounded the car. She stopped however, what must have been no more than three feet away from Dawn. She could hear the dull jangle of keys as the demon played with her key ring.
After a moment Ruby leaned back against the trunk and Dawn heard her speak, a one sided conversation that Dawn presumed was directed into a cell phone. "Hey Sam, long time no see. You need more yet?" A pause. "Well, if you're sure..." A sigh. "Fine, but we both know that there is no way you're beating Lilith without it. The sooner you accept that, the sooner I can stop wasting my time."
Dawn pulled a face and mouthed along with the words, silently mocking 'I'm a skanky dealer hoe and I'm gonna screw you then screw you over, 'cause I'm just skanky like that'. It didn't have as much bite as Dawn would have liked, but she was too distracted with her physical discomfort and trying to hear the rest of the conversation to do any better. It wasn't like anyone could hear her anyway.
Most of Ruby's side of the conversation was silent after that, with only a word or short sentence here or there that didn't really tell her anything. It wasn't long at all before Dawn heard the snap of a flip-phone closing (and who on earth uses flip-phone's anymore? Must just be to make hanging up more satisfying) and Ruby's footsteps clipped away.
Dawn scowled in frustration and renewed her efforts at finding some way out of the trunk.
It couldn't have been much more than ten minutes before her kidnapper returned, banging on the trunk as if to make sure Dawn was awake. "C'mon cookie, we got a long drive ahead of us and I for one need a break." She opened the trunk, catching Dawn as she attempted to lunge out of the demon's grasp. She marched across the parking lot towards a sprawling motel building, hand vice-like on Dawn's arm. She deftly opened the door to a room one handed and herded her captive inside. It was the work of moments to pull up a chair from the fold-out table at the side of the room and force Dawn down to sit on it; only a few more to dig in her bag for some long cable ties that she used plasti-cuff style to tie her in place. After, she threw herself down on the bed with a sigh, stretching out and making loud groans as her stolen muscles relaxed.
"I didn't know demons needed to sleep." Dawn commented, her voice sulky despite her best efforts to sound grown up. She was nearly twenty-one for God's sake! Why couldn't she get past the sulky fifteen year old who was always a helpless damsel in distress who had to be rescued? A small voice answered that it would be a lot easier if people stopped treating her like one.
"We don't." Ruby said, her voice surprisingly amicable, considering. "But Sam gets uncomfortable if he's the only one sleeping, and seeing as I need him to feel at ease around me, well as much as possible anyway, I took up the habit."
"Aren't you worried I'll escape while you're napping?" Dawn rolled her eyes. Falling asleep with a prisoner you know nothing about tied up a few feet away was a rookie mistake.
"Look, I'm not telling you how to be kidnapped, so don't tell me how to do the kidnapping." Ruby looked at her. "I've done this plenty of times before, how 'bout you?" She said sarcastically.
Dawn thought it best not to answer that.
"Anyway, if you're done I'm going to catch some beauty sleep." Ruby turned her head away and closed her eyes, giving a final stretch as she got comfortable.
Dawn pulled a face as she wriggled her already cramping shoulders. She'd thought her days of sleeping tied to chairs were over.
Dean leaned back against the counter, trying to remember why they'd decided to help a couple of witches anyway (and there was no way he was buying that the younger one didn't practice), they had more than enough on their plate as it was.
Sam was geeking out in the living room with Willow, seemingly oblivious to her obvious line of questioning. Not that he didn't approve; useful as she had proven so far, he had no love or trust of Ruby and couldn't blame Willow for jumping to conclusions. All the same, he was having a hard time understanding why she didn't just ask; it wasn't as if Sam was going to try and cover for her.
He didn't deny he was a little worried for the little brunette; she was in a world full of nasties she knew next to nothing about, maybe held captive, maybe out there all on her own, maybe doing just fine for now; all in all she was prime monster bait and whether or not she was out there of her own accord, it wouldn't be long until she found herself in a bad situation. But it wasn't really his problem. He wasn't going to chase after every runaway he came across on the off chance. Shame Sammy was such a soft touch.
Bobby came in from the yard while Dean was still inwardly cursing his brother's overly helpful nature, greeting the refrigerator before he greeted Dean and having a cool bottle of beer pressed to his lips by the time he got a reply. "She given up and asked him yet?" Bobby asked, his grumpy tone doing nothing to hide his amusement.
"Nope." Dean answered needlessly. "You really think it could be Ruby?"
Bobby shrugged non-comittally. "It's possible. Sam may have a crush on her, but she is a demon after all. Who knows what agenda really is."
"Bobby! Sam does not have a crush on a demon! God, I so did not need that image in my head." Dean moved to get his own beer, Bobby's enjoyment of his sparking a craving.
"You mean you haven't noticed that those two are bumping uglies whenever they get the chance?" Bobby asked, a little confused by Dean's ignorance of the situation. "Hell, you said you met 2.0 in his hotel room!"
Dean frowned. "I was trying not to think about that."
"Yeah well, sorry to burst your bubble but you ain't the only one with an otherworldly crush." Bobby said scathingly. How those two kept so close when they kept secrets like that he had no idea. In his opinion it was only a matter of time before they had a major blow out, and God help the world on that day.
"Me? Who the hell do I have a crush on?" Dean snapped.
Bobby just mumbled something under his breath and left the room. He wasn't sticking around for Dean's temper tantrum.
Dean glared at his retreating back and tried to suppress the mental image of Sam and Ruby calling each other 'honey' and doing couple-y stuff. It was a disturbing thought.
Willow looked up as Bobby came over to them, giving a brief smile before going back to probing Sam for information about his demon girlfriend.
Bobby rolled his eyes at her efforts and Sam's oblivious responses. "Sam, did you tell Ruby about the girls?" He jumped straight to the point. Subtlety was lost on his boys, smart as they both were.
Sam frowned. "I may have mentioned them, but not in detail. Why?"
"You don't think the demon network could have gotten wind of their being here?" Bobby could've slapped Sam, he really could. It was one thing talking to Ruby about Lilith, she really did seem to be on board with bringing the bitch down, but it was another telling her about the rest of it. Just 'cause she wasn't going to greet the apocalypse with open arms, didn't mean she was suddenly all hugs and puppies.
"She wouldn't have told anyone." Sam said certainly. "Besides, she wouldn't have much to tell. All I told her was that a couple of girls were staying here while we helped them out."
"You sure?" Bobby asked.
Sam nodded.
"Okay then." Bobby sighed out. "Back to square one."
Willow wasn't convinced, but she kept her opinion to herself for now. There was no way she could explain her mistrust of Ruby without telling them things they really shouldn't know yet. "Maybe not. Even if Ruby isn't behind this, she still has access to the demonic grapevine, right? So why don't you ask her to ask around, listen out for anything that could help." Willow suggested.
Sam looked relieved that no one was challenging his trust in Ruby. "Yeah, sure. I can do that. Give me a sec." He left the room, tugging out his cell phone as he went.
Willow tapped her fingers on the desk and gave Bobby a sheepish look. "I'm sorry for earlier. You know, the magic thing. I was just really worried and-"
Bobby had known the girl less than a week, but already he knew she was headed for a rambling, nervous explanation filled with broken sentences and possibly made up words. "It's fine," he cut her off, "just try not to curse anyone."
She nodded and smiled.
"We'll find her. The boys may be complete idjits, but they're good at what they do." He tried to reassure her when her smile faded in favour of a worried expression.
"I know. And it's not like it's first time she's ever gone missing, I mean she's practically a pro at being kidnapped, and she can look after herself as well as anyone can..." She trailed off, trying to fix her own words in her mind.
"Just how many times she been kidnapped?" Bobby asked, surprised by Willow's assertion.
Willow gave a smirk. "Too many."
Bobby gave an answering smirk; he knew exactly what she meant. "Never gets easier, does it? You worry just as much every God damn time it happens."
Willow nodded. "I'm just lucky her sister..." She stopped, not sure how much to tell him. "Well, the local bad guys learn pretty quickly not to mess with Buffy or her family."
"What about you? I mean, Buffy sounds great, but having a badass witch looking out for you's got to have its perks." Dean entered the room and the conversation simultaneously.
Willow smiled at the compliment. "Dawn has a lot of people looking out for her that are more than capable of putting anyone who hurts her in a world of pain. Too bad I'm the only one who's here."
Dean felt a pang of jealousy. If only he and Sam had that, maybe their lives would have been a lot easier. "Well, I'm thinking you're more than enough." He tried to smile reassuringly, but in all honesty he'd seen this end badly for far too many people, including himself and Sam, to really believe what he said.
Dawn fidgeted non-stop for twenty minutes; testing her restraints at the same time as easing what muscle kinks she could that she'd gained in the car; but the bonds were tight and too restrictive for her efforts to do much good. She'd tried breathing in and tensing while Ruby tied her up, but the demon already knew that trick and managed to tie her securely anyway.
She wondered if Willow had guessed who had taken her yet and if she would break her no interference rule and attempt a rescue with the Winchesters. Whether she'd come at all wasn't even a question.
It still felt strange being here, with what only days ago had been fictional characters and places. She almost expected to wake up soon, or find out she'd been kidnapped in her world and was hallucinating under the influence of some heavy drugs or magic. Still, she'd been through weirder. Or at least as weird.
One of the stranger things was that she could tell the difference. She'd stayed in motels before; not often by anyone's standard, but even she could tell the room she was in was fairly typical. But there was something off. Something not quite right; a feeling that her surroundings weren't how they were meant to be. It was disconcerting, but she had a feeling she'd get used to it with time.
She scrunched her face in irritation as her nose began to itch. Her determination grew a little frantic at the sensation, her hands moving jerkily in an attempt to relieve the itching. Her arm scraped against something sharp and she pulled back, mouthing 'ow' as she stared down in puzzlement. The plastic back of the chair was a collection of horizontal bars, each joined to the vertical metal sides, and one of those bars had fractured. She leaned back against it, her neck straining as she kept her eyes of the break. As she slowly added more pressure the point of the fracture went pale and the sharp line stretched further, following the cloudy circle of pressured plastic until it nearly reached the far edge of the bar. She pulled a face in frustration as the line refused to stretch further. It was no use; she didn't have enough leverage to fully snap the bar.
She attempted to rub her still irritated nose against her shoulder and settled down to rest as well as she could.
The sound of the bathroom door banging shut woke Dawn from her fitful dozing, and she opened her eyes to the sight of a towel clad Ruby pulling fresh underwear from her bag.
The demon turned as Dawn shifted, making the chair squeak a little. "Oh, good morning sleepy head. I was about to wake you." Ruby said, unabashedly removing the towel and dressing. "Usually I'd just let you sit there, but considering we have a fair amount of time together left I figured letting you use the bathroom would be as much of a mercy to me as it is to you. Do you have any idea how much people stink when they piss themselves?" Ruby's face took on a look of distaste. She finished dressing and quickly cut Dawn free of her restraints. "The window's nailed shut, I checked, so I wouldn't waste any time trying to get out of it." She shooed Dawn towards the bathroom.
Dawn stumbled forwards, her legs nearly giving from the sharp jolts of pins and needles, growing to a steady numbness in her feet. She pulled the door closed behind her and used the bathroom for its intended purpose first and foremost.
She drip dried her hands in favour of using the crusty looking hand towel hanging next to the sink, wondering briefly where Ruby got her clean towel from. Her attention turned to the cupboard under the sink. She opened it and rummaged through the various cleaning fluids; useful if her kidnapper had been human and therefore vulnerable to bleach and astringents, but given her circumstances, not likely to do her much good.
She came across a small manicure set and examined the blunt scissors and clippers, deciding both were much to flimsy. She settled on taking the small but pointed nail file that probably wasn't much better, but made her feel a little less useless.
A knocking at the door and Ruby's loathsome, sarcastic voice signalled the end of her bathroom break.
She shoved everything back under the sink, glancing at the window and noting that Ruby hadn't lied about the nails, before heading back to the door. She was given a drink from a plastic bottle of water and tied to the chair once more. Dawn suppressed a small smile when the force of Ruby pushing her into it snapped the rest of the bar she's worked on the previous night. Much better than her blunt little nail file.