A/N: This episode really freaked me out when I first saw it - in a good way :)
There But For Grace
Chapter Five
Episode 5 – Bloody Mary
It was probably Charlie's state of panic that meant she hadn't objected to the unconscious girl in the second of the two beds that furnished the motel room. In a normal situation she would have been demanding an explanation from the Winchester brothers, but Bloody Mary seemed like a more pressing issue.
When all the reflective surfaces were covered and Charlie's story had been told, however, Grace began to pose a problem.
"We can't leave Grace here," Dean told his brother, as Sam went to leave.
"What? Why not?"
"Are you kidding? If she wakes up, chances are she'll shoot Charlie. Not really the outcome we're going for here."
Sam sent a look at Charlie, who was still sobbing, her head cradled in her hands, then turned towards Grace, fast asleep on the bed, dark hair shadowy on her pale skin.
"So, what do we do?"
"We're gonna have to take her with us. No matter how pissed she gets," Dean walked over to the bed and picked Grace up in his arms. "Get the door will you."
Sam held it open for them to pass through and glanced back at Charlie before leaving himself, locking the door behind him. Reaching the car he saw Dean trying, and failing, to prop Grace up in the back seat. He soon gave up, letting her fall onto her side, and took off his leather jacket to put over her.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
It was on the way back to the motel, after Bloody Mary had finally been subdued, that Grace woke up.
"Oh god," She groaned thickly, sitting up so Dean's jacket slid off her and reaching up a hand to brush her tangle out of her face. "I feel awful."
"Sorry about that, you wouldn't sit up straight," Dean didn't even glance back towards her, blatantly implying that she had brought her aches and pains upon herself.
She scowled at him. "What am I even doing here?" she demanded. "I distinctly remember falling asleep in a motel room."
"Yeah, we had to move you," Sam explained. "We're looking after this girl, Charlie, and we didn't want you to shoot her when you woke up."
Grace took a split second to attempt indignation, but it was impossible to maintain so she contented herself with settling back into the seat and stretching as much as was possible in the cramped conditions.
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
The journey to take Charlie home was full of awkward silence. It sprung from Charlie expressing shock at the fact Grace was alive and not some dead body the boys were lugging around for whatever reason. Which led to an argument between an irritable Grace and a stressed Dean. Eventually, Grace had given up and started ignoring him, stuffing her headphones in and turning her music up high.
When Charlie got out of the car, the two girls exchanged vague waves. Sam lent out of the car window to say something to Charlie and his serious expression didn't escape Grace's notice. She maintained her silence, however, and when Dean looked into his rearview mirror to check if she was tracking the conversation, she turned away to look out of the window.
It was clear that they needed to talk, and to talk privately. Unfortunately, within the confines of the impala that was virtually impossible when Grace was sitting, awake, on the back seat.
She sank further down, below the line of the window, concentrating on the dappled shadows the trees made. She couldn't hear a word of what they were saying, but couldn't help but feel she was intruding however hard she tried not to.
Guilt was not an emotion she enjoyed experiencing. In her situation, however, it was hard to avoid. There seemed to be very little she could do to help the Winchester boys, or their father, yet she was completely dependent on them to keep her safe and not leave her in a random motel somewhere in the United States.
She did what she could to avoid it. Not asking many questions, helping out wherever she could when she was awake; she had committed a fair amount of credit card fraud herself and sometimes a pretty girl had an easier job of getting answers out of a man than two young guys. But, really, this amounted to less than nothing and for the most part, she felt useless. Not even apathetic, but aggravating. And guilty as hell, especially if she had argued with Dean and she tried so hard to avoid that.
And that hardened her resolve to do something about it. John had tried, tried to find some way to stop her sleep, or to get her to wake up. But if that was impossible, then she would just have to find somewhere else to stay, somewhere protected.
Grace let her eyes fall closed, the sunlight staining her lids red with blood.
A/N: Bit more about Grace and some old fashioned angst. Let me know!