But You Keep Them Inside
The next morning Toni woke up before her father and tried her best to keep the noise to a minimum while she started breakfast. As she pulled out a carton of eggs and a package of bacon, she felt slightly guilty because the day before he father had prepared her favorite breakfast food, but she had no clue what his would be to return the favor today. However, she pushed those feelings to the back of her mind and did her best to make a great meal despite the doubt that gnawed at her subconscious.
Her Dad entered the kitchen just as Toni was plating the bacon and the first batch of scrambled eggs. Without turning around she greeted him saying, "Good morning Colonel. Take a seat at the table and I'll get you your coffee."
He stood there dumbfounded for a moment, but sat down without any words of protest. Toni turned and flashed him a bright smile as she placed the two plates full of cooked food on the table. He started to dish his meal while she poured them each a mug of coffee then she found her seat across from him at the table.
"So since last night turned out not to be an actual mission, what would you normally do now?" The Colonel asked after he finished his mouthful of food.
"Well I had planned on calling Paulie to see if he was looking for an extra hand around the bar while I'm in town," she explained digging into her meal.
"Oh? Really?"
Toni looked up and put her fork down before chuckling then adding, "Umm… Yeah. I was hoping to save up a bit before heading out again."
"Are you having money troubles Angel?" He asked sounding quite concerned.
"Well not 'troubles' Sir… It's more along the lines that you don't earn the wage of a FBI agent just because you spend most of you time imitating one, you know? I figured that I could work for a bit until I… Uhh… I mean… We find another job somewhere."
"Oh… Yes, that does make sense," he replied with a half-smile. They continued eating their meals in silence until Toni's dad put his fork down and cleared his throat to regain. "I think I might have an easier solution for you."
"Sorry? I'm not sure that I understand what you mean," she answered, getting up to clear their plates from the table.
"Well your mother and I had put money aside for the three of you for Post-Secondary… Since your brothers enlisted straight out of high school and you went and got yourself that scholarship, none of you needed to use that money. It's just been sitting in the accounts doing nothing but accumulate interest," he explained as he took over cleaning the dishes.
Toni took a step back watching her dad load the dishwasher completely mystified. When he was done, he turned back to her and chuckled at the startled expression on Toni's face.
"If you would rather call Paulie, then that would be okay too," he offered somewhat sheepishly.
"No… No it's not that Colonel… It's just… Are you sure?"
"Of course I am. Plus it would mean that we could… Umm spend some more time together, right?"
His cheeks rouged slightly and his true intentions clear to his daughter. She took a step forward and gripped his shoulders and smiled warmly at him. After a moment's hesitation, she pulled him into a tight hug whispering, "Thank you Sir."
"I'll go get my laptop. Maybe we can find a job somewhere close to here," she commented with a large grin still on her face.
Toni spent the rest of the day teaching her father about the best way to find a case. For her the first step was to look in the local newspaper, or in this circumstance, look on the websites of various publications for specific keywords or patterns. He looked almost as if he was overwhelmed a couple of times, but he managed to hide that from Toni so that she could continue her lesson.
"And as morbid as it sounds, the best place to start is usually the obits," Toni concluded as she finally looked up from her computer screen. "Dad? Are you still with me?"
The Colonel nodded then slowly refocused his attention on his daughter's face. "No… Yeah, I'm good. It's just… Just… You sounded so much like your mother did when she used to conduct a debrief for all of us… I'm sorry Toni, please continue."
She smiled while blushing slightly and squeezed his knee then hoarsely replied, "That's basically the gist of it. Umm… Here… Why don't you use my laptop? I'm gonna try to fit in a quick run then I'll use the computer in my room, okay?"
Toni's father nodded then settled back comfortably in his armchair with her laptop distractedly saying, "Enjoy your run Angel."
When Toni returned, she found her Dad in practically the exact same spot she had left him. The only difference was that he had pulled out some books from her library and had notepads littering the footstool in front of him. Toni paused at the doorway to the living room, but just laughed to herself then continued to the shower before hunkering down in front of her new computer to start her own research.
After a few hours, she had found a couple of leads, but nothing that appeared to be overly promising. To make matters worse, the best cases seemed to be the ones the farthest away from Wisconsin. Toni cringed thinking that she would have to go clear across the country to help a family from suffering the same fate as her own. Then she had to laugh at irony because this time a month ago, she would have been beyond excited to find a job (or ten) on the West Coast to stay as far away from her father as long as possible.
"Hey there Angel, are you hungry?"
Toni scrubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands nodding as she answered, "Famished."
"Good. I've got lunch made and I think that I might have found something you should see."
She quickly followed her father down the stairs and sat at the table because he had already dished their meals. Toni started to eat straight away, but stopped when she noticed that the Colonel hadn't joined her yet.
"So… I found this article… Is this what you normally look for?" He asked cautiously as he presented her with the open laptop.
Toni pulled it closer to herself and quickly read the story her father had found in the 'Springfield Daily Reader'. When she was finished, she looked up and smiled saying, "Looks like we're headed to Illinois."
The Colonel stopped mid-bite and shook his head replying, "No Toni… I can't… I shouldn't. I don't think that I'm strong enough to go back out into the battlefield just yet."
Toni started to protest but halted her speech when she realized that he was referring to his emotional strength and not his physical strength. He was pointedly not making eye contact, so Toni opted to keep her commentary to herself.
"Okay, but you'll still help me with research, right?" Toni finally asked trying her best to keep him from hearing the tears forming in her voice.
"Of course I will Toni… But first things first, we have to get you ready for this mission."
The Colonel was up and leaving the room before Toni could reply, so she picked up her sandwich and followed his lead. Preparations for the trip were quick, easy and painless, which cause Toni to worry slightly that that meant something really nasty was waiting around the corner for her. Her dad caught the fearful look in her eye more than once, but reassured her each time that he would still be here and was more than okay with sitting this one out to help in the background. Maybe the next hunt… Maybe then he would be able to stand at her side in battle.
"No seriously Colonel, the roads were clear and it really wasn't that far away from home," Toni assured her father once again as she dumped her bags on a chair in her motel room. "Now you were saying something about a murder?"
Toni could have sworn she should hear the disapproving look on her dad's face about her lying about her driving as he answered, "Yes I was. There's a dentist sitting in a holding cell right now because he Sweeny Todded a patient. It sounds like it was pretty gruesome Toni."
"Huh… Well I'm good with blood and guts Sir… What's the address?"
The Colonel passed on both the address to both the Sheriff's and Dentist's office. He explained all of the details he had been able to dig up after calling in a few favors to some old "Army Buddies". As she hung up her phone and found a change of clothes, Toni couldn't help but laugh to herself because she should have known that her dad's connections would help to make her life easier.
She placed a call to the Sheriff's office on her way to her truck and was subjected to an incredibly awkward conversation with a Deputy about her childhood. Thankfully after the trip down memory lane, he filled Toni in on the details her dad didn't have from the interrogation of the suspect and his assistance. She of course inquired if she could have a private audience with one or both of them, but he explained that the FBI was in town so he couldn't allow that, but he did promise to get her a copy of everything as soon as possible.
She thanked him and promised to stop by later that day, especially since he seemed excited to see how she had changed over the years. Toni then did a quick search for directions so she could make her way to the dentist's office.
It took a few evasive maneuvers, but soon enough Toni found herself in front of a door covered in yellow crime scene tape. She still hated having to pick a door lock because she knew that wasn't her forte and she severely disliked having to admit she wasn't good at something. Somehow she managed to make quick work of the relatively flimsy lock and gagged at the smell of rotting blood that filled the room.
Toni turned away from the open door to take in a few deep breaths of fresh(ish) air to regain her bearings. After she made her way through the yellow police tape, Toni closed the door as quietly as possible and ensured that it was locked before starting her investigation.
As soon as she turned around, she came face to face with the scene of the crime. Although the sight was quite grotesque, Toni didn't waste any time looking it over. She already knew the what and how of the murder, the question she was hoping to answer right now was 'Why?'. Why would a man that had a stellar reputation in his profession suddenly snap and murder not only a patient, but a close family friend? What could drive a man to do that? With that in mind, she quickly entered his office and sat down at his desk to start going through his drawers.
As she slowly searched through the second drawer she had opened, Toni heard the distinct sound of the lock of the door popping open.
She finally did a check of the room and when she saw that there was no back exit, she cursed quietly, "Shit!"
Since there were no other viable options, Toni slipped off the chair and hid in the small space under the desk. She pressed her face into her knees praying that the sound of the heavy boots wouldn't get any louder. When her prayers went unanswered, she swore to herself silently and held her breath hoping the owner of the boots wouldn't be alerted to her presence.
Toni could hear him riffling through the paperwork on the desk above her head and she chanted to herself Hurry up and go away. As the intruder continued his search, he took a step forward and had Toni been paying attention, she would have been able to flinch away… Instead, the toe of a boot kicked her square in the ribs. She managed to stifle her anguished scream, but was soon confronted with the sound of a gun being cocked.
"Alright… Nice and easy… Come on out of there," a gruff, authoritative voice instructed.
She put her hands out first to prove that she was unarmed (well that she wasn't holding a gun at this time). Once her hands were out, she slowly crawled out and away from the man to stand with her back to him.
"Are you aware that it's against the law to enter a crime scene?" He asked in a stern tone.
This time Toni was able to hear his voice better, so she lowered her arms and whipped around to face him saying, "Yeah I am Dean… And it's no less illegal for YOU to be here either."
"Toni? Hey," Dean replied placing his gun back in the small of his back. "I guess I don't have to ask why you're here."
She chuckled then asked nodding towards the desk, "Nope… So find anything interesting?"
"Other than a girl hiding under his desk? Not yet," Dean teased.
Toni walked up to him and playfully punched him in the arm before he could ask, "How about you?"
"Nope, I got interrupted… But wait… Huh… People in this town sure do love their wind instruments."
Dean scowled then followed Toni's gaze to a saxophone sitting on a stand behind the desk. He quickly turned back to the desk and picked up a receipt he had seen and showed it to her.
"Jane had a sticker from here on her calendar," he commented with a quirk of his head.
"Well if we were looking for a connection that's as good a place to start as any," she said as she started out the door. When Dean didn't move, she playfully questioned, "You coming or what Winchester?"
Dean hurried to catch up with her and almost absentmindedly questioned to himself, "Where the hell did Sam find you? And how the hell could he have let you go?"
Once they were out in the hall, Toni shrugged then replied, "Blame it on his youth? So… Where'd you park because I didn't drive here…?"
Still shaking his head in disbelief, Dean silently led the way to his car. After she was seated in the passenger seat, Toni pulled out her laptop, found the directions to "Harry's House of Horns" and then helped Dean to navigate his way there. Although she was carrying her various law enforcement IDs, she let Dean maintain the role of the 'investigator' because she knew that he and Sam had already conducted a few interviews. In a town like this news travelled fast, so the appearance of a third agent could raise suspicions.
As Dean began questioning the store owner, Toni wandered deeper into the store to see if she could uncover any clues. She drifted from shelf to shelf, not really sure what she was looking for, but she still hoped something of value would catch her eye.
"Do you play?" A man's voice asked behind her while she ran her fingers over the keys of a saxophone.
"Me? No," she replied with a soft, coy laugh. "My high school music teacher offered to pay me to drop her class."
The male salesman laughed, "Oh I see… Is there something I can help you with? Looking for a gift for someone perhaps?"
She turned to face him as she replied, "Actually there is something…" She trailed off when she caught Dean's eye and gave her the 'Let's go' nod. "Umm… But on second thought, he's not much of a musician either. But thanks!"
"New lead?" Toni asked hopefully as she joined Dean outside.
"Maybe. Ever hear of Gabriel's Horn of Truth?"
"Gabriel's…? Like Gabriel the angel?"
"Archangel," Dean corrected her with a slightly smug tone. "And yeah, that Gabriel."
Toni took out her laptop again thinking that Dean was going to tell her some other information for her to look up, but when he remained silent, she stared at him then asked, "You're being serious, aren't you?"
Dean nodded then stated simply, "Best lead we've gotten so far…"
"Huh… Well there's a library just around the corner. I'll start there and meet up with you guys in a few, alright?" Toni offered still sounding quite surprised.
"Really? Okay sure. We're staying at the 'Homestead' in room 103."
Toni shook her head and smirked prompting Dean to question, "Okay, what's funny about that?"
"I'm in room 220. I'll see you there in a bit."
Even though the library was smaller than most of the ones Toni had visited, she was able to find a lot of information about the mythology of the Horn of Truth. The woman at the helpdesk was a devote Catholic, so she was more than happy to tell Toni everything she knew about the Archangel and his Horn. Once the hunter had a couple of books with the majority of the information she needed before walking back to the hotel.
Just as she was about to knock on the brother's door, she heard Dean snidely reply, "Right… Well, nice seeing you anyway."
"Dean…" An unfamiliar male's voice nearly implored.
Dean snapped out a curt, "What?"
Toni strained to listen to the conversation, thinking that maybe Sam and Dean were fighting until she heard, "About your brother… I don't know what's wrong with him, but I do want to help. I'll make inquiries."
Your brother? Something happened to Sam?
She momentarily lost herself and started knocking rapidly on the door. By the time Dean cracked it open, Toni had once again managed to regain her composure.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I think I found some helpful resources and got a little over excited for a second," Toni explained as she walked past Dean into the room. As she placed the books on the table, Toni discretely surveyed the room to see with whom Dean was arguing.
"Oh sorry, but umm… Yeah it's… Umm… That's not it," Dean hesitantly explained as he poured himself a drink.
"Okay? And how do you know that? I thought that that was our best lead."
"It was, but Cas just confirmed that it's definitely not Gabriel's horn… Sorry," Dean apologized while diverting his gaze from the scowl on Toni's face.
"Cas? Is that some sort of search engine I'm not aware of?" Toni asked trying to keep her cool and helping herself to a drink.
Dean didn't even attempt to hide his laughter as he finished his last mouthful. "No… Sorry, I forgot that you haven't met him yet. He's… Uhh… A friend of the family. But trust me, if he says that isn't."
Toni joined him at the table and started idly opening and closing the cover of one of the books she had carried in with her.
"So we're back to square one," she stated flatly. "Fuck… You know what?" Dean looked up and gave her a questioning look. "I could really use a drink and some super fatty food to recharge. Since we've got nothing to go on 'til we hear back from Sam, what would you say to grabbing a bite?"
Dean was already on his feet pulling on his jacket as he answered, "You don't have to ask me twice."
"Awesome! Well I saw a bar just down the street from the library. I'll dump these useless books there and then I'll meet you there?"
"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to the library?" Dean offered.
"Thanks, but no… I need to check in with my dad too, so I can do that on the walk over."
They parted ways at the door to the room and Toni continued towards the library without any hesitation. By the time she met up with Dean. She had been able to get a hold of her dad, who more than once 'gently' reminded her to ask Dean about how he managed to return to Earth from Hell.
Toni slipped onto a stool beside Dean as he lifted his shot to his mouth saying, "I'd just like freaking truth."
The bartender looked to Toni, but before she could speak Toni quietly said, "I'll just have what he's having."
Dean placed the empty shot glass on the bar finishing his thought, "But I'll settle for another one."
As she poured their drinks, the bartender distractedly said, "Sometimes I think I can't get pregnant 'cause God knows my marriage is a shame… Why'd I say that? I mean, I've been snorting oxy all day… Why'd I say THAT?"
Toni looked between the two of them before knocking back her shot. Dean closed his eyes and then looked at his drink saying, "I'm pretty sure I know."
After one more refill, the bartender placed the bottle on the bar close to Toni mumbling an apology and making a hasty retreat.
Toni took it upon herself to refill their drinks saying, "Well that was weird."
"You don't know the half of it," Dean replied with a loud sigh.
"So Dean? Can I ask you something?"
Dean smirked and thought to himself, Better than me asking you anything. "Sure."
"Okay… Umm… Feel free to, you know, tell me to stuff it," Toni continued hesitantly. She knocked back a couple more shots then took a deep breath and blurted out, "My dad really wants to know how you got out of Hell."
Dean chocked on the liquid in his mouth then hoarsely asked, "What?"
Toni had pick up a napkin from the bar and kept her eyes focused on it as she shredded it. "Well… He's a huge fan of those books about you guys and he even went to a convention…" Her head shot up and she looked at Dean completely chagrinned. "Oh God! Don't tell him I told you that!" She paused to down some more liquid courage before rapidly saying, "But he said that you went to Hell and obviously you're here so you had to get out somehow and… And since they aren't publishing the books anymore, no one knows and… And yeah… So he wanted me to ask you about that…"
Dean stared at his shot while he contemplated how he would explain it to her. Toni continued to tear the napkin on the bar. After a couple of minutes he decided that being honest with her was probably the best route because from what he had seen of her so far, he figured she could handle it.
"Cas… He pulled me out of Hell," he quietly answered. Toni stared at him wide-eyed. "His name is actually 'Castiel' and he's an angel."
"Holy shit! Really? So demons are real… Angels are real… Fuck… Wow…" She exclaimed not attempting to hide her shock.
"Yep," he replied no sure what else to say.
"Wow… Umm… Thanks Dean… I'm not sure that the Colonel will believe me, but that'll be his problem right?"
Toni raised her shot in a toast to Dean and he smiled softly as she finally looked him square in the eyes. He touched his glass to hers then drank it down. Toni kept hers raised and blurted out, "You know… I was so in love with Sam that I would have settled down and had a normal life with him if he asked."
Dean raised his head and turned to face Toni again. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Without saying anything else, she dropped her full shot glass on the bar, pulled out her wallet and threw a few bills down before rushing out of the building.
"Shit… This is going to be interesting."
Toni started back to her room, nearly sprinting the whole way. She couldn't figure out why she had told Dean something that she had barely admitted to herself. She worried that her honest, verbal diarrhea would persist, so she held off calling her dad again because she was afraid she would tell him the wrong thing and destroy her relationship with him again.
Back in the refuge of her motel room, she pulled out her laptop and started her search for the source of what was going on with a renewed vigor. She made a list of every spell that could be used to compel someone to tell the truth. After that she looked into curses that could do the same.
This new avenue of investigation yielded so many results that she completely lost track of time. When her stomach growled painfully, she grabbed a snack from the fridge and continued her research. Some of the theories she came up with seemed pretty farfetched, but she figured that if angels and demons are real, then who knew what else was, so there was no reason to write anything off just yet.
Other than a couple of bathroom breaks and the one trip to the fridge, Toni's attention never wavered from her computer screen, until she heard a knock at the door.
"Toni? Are you in there?"
She slowly opened the door and quietly said, "Hey Sam… Sorry I kind of got lost in research mode. What's up?"
"Dean and I have another lead… And we've pretty much figured out what we're dealing with and we thought you might want to help."
Toni turned and picked up her jacket answering, "Sure… So what is it?"
As they walked towards the brother's room, Sam explained everything to her; from Corey's obsession with uncovering the truth to the method used to summon Veritas and then finally their hunch about who the pagan god really was.
"So pagan gods are real too?" Toni questioned, completely overwhelmed as she entered their room.
Sam laughed and simply replied, "Yep."
Dean was sitting on his bed looking over some notes, but looked up when Sam and Toni entered. Toni quickly diverted her gaze away from Dean's face as her cheeks turned bright red. Sam had immediately sat down behind his laptop, so he completely missed their exchange.
As Sam started the footage, Toni sat beside him while Dean got up to retrieve a box of doughnuts and his coffee. Toni took one of the pastries that was offered to her and smiled as a silent "Thank you". She had resolved that if she remained silent, then she wouldn't run the risk of saying anything else embarrassing to Dean.
Since the brothers had managed to solve the case without her, Toni decided that she should sit back and watch them to see if she could pick up any tips from them. The Winchesters wanted to get this case solved as soon as possible to ensure Dean's safety, so they continued almost as if Toni wasn't there.
At some point during the night, Toni had curled up on Sam's bed and fallen asleep. When she woke up, Sam was still watching footage of Ashley Frank and Dean was nowhere to be found.
"Shit, Sam what time is it?" Toni asked as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
"I dunno… Late?" He replied turning away from the laptop.
Toni sat up and stretched then asked, "So did you find anything?"
Sam shook his head watching Toni very intently as she shifted closer to his side. "Nothing yet… But maybe I've been staring at the screen too long."
Once she was next to him, Sam tucked her hair behind her ear and pulled her into a kiss. Toni reciprocated until she felt Sam's hands run up her back under her shirt and started to unhook her bra. When she felt that, she placed her hands on his shoulders and gently pushed him back to force him to break the embrace.
"Sam…" She protested as he leaned in and kissed her neck.
"What? Dean's gone to get food, so he'll be a while," Sam countered as he continued to nip at her neck and collarbone.
"Sam… Come on… Stop… Please?" She attempted to cease his embraces without adding much force to her tone. "We still have a lot of work to do…"
Sam sat back and scowled. "So when I was trying to do research in Mississippi, it was fine for you to seduce me, but I'm not allowed to do the same?"
Momentarily stunned, Toni sat with her mouth hanging open until she could formulate a reply.
"Okay… First the job was finished back in Mississippi and second… There was no chance of anyone, like your brother, interrupting us."
Toni crossed her arms over her chest and scooted back a bit while she chastised him. Sam easily moved over the space she had created to pull her into another kiss.
"Fine… I'll put a sock on the door handle," he coyly replied gently laying her back down on the bed.
"Sam…" She objected again. "Stop…? Please?"
He completely ignored her words and continued to kiss and bite her flesh while she continued to ask him to stop. His mouth eventually locked onto hers and Sam smiled against her lips once her obejections were finally silenced. He trailed his right hand down her body as his kissing became more aggressive. When Toni felt Sam pop the button on her jeans, she planted her hands on his shoulders and shoved him as hard as she could. Once he had released her, she sat up and slapped him with a bruisingly violent force across the face.
"I said 'stop' Sam!" She snapped as she leapt off his bed.
Sam rubbed his cheek as he forced his facial expression to soften. "I'm sorry Toni… I… I don't know what came over me."
"Fine… Whatever… I think it would be best if I go back to my room to look further into this Veritas whatever she is," Toni curtly replied as she made a hasty retreat.
Back at her room she jumped in the shower to try to wrap her head around what had just happened. She could feel that she was going to dwell on the topic, so she tried to refocus her attention on the task at hand. After her usual searches yielded no results for the reporter's home address, she chanced a call to the local sheriff.
All it took was Toni reassuring him that she was close to ending the insanity in his town for the sheriff to search his records for the information she requested. He also gave her his personal cell number just in case she ran into any trouble, which she immediately added to her phone book, even though she hoped it wouldn't have to actually need to use it.
"What does one wear for a BNE?" She mused out loud while she found a change of clothes.
She parked close to the address figuring that she had no need to conceal her vehicle; but that she would probably need it for a hasty escape so closer was better. She found a window at the side of the house that was partially opened and Toni thanked her lucky stars. She hoisted herself up to push it opened enough for her to shimmy through and entered the house as gracefully as she could.
As she made her way through the house, Toni was hit with the realization that she had no idea what she was looking for. All she knew was that she had a lead and in her haste to get the incident with Sam out of her mind, she jumped the gun at the chance to check out Ashley Frank's house.
"Fucking cats," Toni grumbled tripping over another furry critter and nearly falling down a flight of stairs.
"Now that's not polite. You break into their home and then use such vulgar language around them?" The god questioned from her spot behind the human.
Veritas kissed the head of the Tabby she was holding then gently placed it on the ground to let it scurry away. Toni had barely turned towards the god to face her when Veritas flicked her left wrist. That sent Toni flying over the stairs onto the landing below. When her head hit the drywall, Toni was knocked unconscious instantaneously. Veritas snickered thinking to herself, Finally a moment of quietness.
Toni returned to the conscious world slowly in a dimly lit room. Her arms had been pulled behind her and were bound together with the cord of a lamp somewhat loosely. She moved slowly because she had a headache that hurt so badly that she felt nauseated. She was mildly thankful that her shoulders hadn't lost too much circulation so the only pain she had to work at ignoring was the acute throbbing in her head.
She moved her hands to test the bindings and was surprised at how slack they were. In the back of her mind she hoped that that meant that the god had gotten distracted by the Winchesters and that they knew a way to kill her. It didn't take too much maneuvering until she was able to free herself.
Once she was free, she jumped to her feet and ran to the closed door of the room. In the hallway, she surveyed her surroundings trying to decide which way to go.
"If I was a pagan god, where would I be?" She quietly asked out loud. "Somewhere other than Buttfuck, Illinois, that's for sure."
While she walked, she tried to decide which way she should go. At the top of the stairs, she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Her nose picked up the faint scent of blood and decaying flesh, so she figured that that would be the best place to head to next.
It didn't take long for the smell to become stronger and nearly over-powering. Toni tried to prepare herself for any worse case scenarios, but at the door of the room where the odor was coming from, she became frozen in her spot at the sight that awaited her. She had missed the conversation about Veritas and her need for 'tributes', so Toni had no idea that she was actually looking for the room where the god had kept her 'snacks'.
After she recovered, she walked in and passed the body of the reporter and softly called out, "Sam? Dean? Are you still here?"
Just then she heard a loud THUMP causing her to tear off in the direction of that sound. This was turning out to be a truly horrible night for her because she was once again stunned into paralysis. Growing up, her brothers had taught her how to maintain a perfect poker face, but tonight, for some reason, she couldn't focus enough for that knowledge to be put to use.
"Dean! Is Sam okay? What happened?" She finally inquired once she was at the elder Winchester's side.
Dean was struggling to hold up Sam's weight, but didn't have to ask Toni to help because she had already grabbed Sam by the opposite arm.
"Veritas… He scrapped with her while I was trying to cut through the rope she used to tie me up," he lied easily.
"Huh… So I guess the truth does hurt," Toni commented humorously. "Oh shit! I'm sorry! I crack jokes when I'm feeling uncomfortable."
Dean chuckled then dismissively replied, "No need to apologize."
"Okay… Thanks… So, I'll follow you back to the motel then help you get him to your room."
"Perfect. Thanks."