Chapter 26

Dean was back in the empty building that he'd been in earlier in the day. Someone or something was in the room across the hall; he could here it moving around. Probably, Rebecca, he thought to himself. He crept forward with his gun held high, its pearl handle reassuring against his palm. Where's Sam? He hadn't seen Sam yet; but he figured he could handle a human woman himself. Besides, Sam had a knack for showing up right when Dean needed him. He'd be fine.

He paused at the side of the doorframe, his shoulder pressed lightly against the peeling paint. He took a breath, counting to three in his head, just like always. As soon as the final word was thought, he threw the door open and rushed inside, gun ready. Directly in front of him stood a woman with long dark hair. He scanned the left and right sides of the room, but there was no one else around. She must have heard him but she didn't turn, didn't react at all.

He swallowed and his throat was dry; he usually didn't feel like this. He was made for hunts like these. So why was he so nervous this time? Why did this feel so wrong? She was just a human. Even as he thought the words, flashes of the Benders flooded his head. He shook them away and stepped forward, "Rebecca?"

Finally, the woman turned. It was one of those slow, creepy turns like you see in movies. He leaned back, ready to jump away if need be and watched her turn. It wasn't Rebecca. "Nadia?" he froze in shock.

"Dean," her shoulders dropped in relief and her eyes softened.

"Nadia, what are you-" he glanced around, "what are you doing here?"

"Sam said he told you... About me..."

Dean blinked and lowered the gun. Sam's words flooded over him and his stomach tightened, "Yeah."

Her eyes saddened, "I did it for you. You know that, right? This was all for you," she lifted her arms and everything behind her changed suddenly. One upon the other lay pale bodies; some of them colored sporadically with blood and others wore expressions of horror. He felt like he'd been punched in the gut and raised his hand to his mouth to keep from being sick.

"What did you do?" he whispered.

She smiled, "Silly, I saved you. They're nothing more than quarters and pennies to get the bounty off your head."

"What are you?" he stepped back and lifted his gun again.

"You know what I am, Dean," she sounded condescending. "You love what I am."

"No," he shook his head, "I could never love this."

She stepped forward and reached towards him, "I don't understand. You kill all the time, this is no different."

"I kill monsters. You kill...people."

She narrowed her eyes, "Monsters?" Her eyes dropped to the floor and back to his face again, "I'm one of those monsters now?"

He felt like his heart was being crushed, "You didn't have to be."

She laughed, "God, Dean! Of course I did. I'm half demon! My demon-dearest knocked up my pathetic human-of-a-mother and viola! Meet the love of your life," she spread her arms wide and smiled brightly. "Seriously, did you think you deserve some virginal human? You? Dean, you're as messed up as anyone can be, and you always thought you'd get normal?" She stared at his in amusement and threw her head back, "Oh, that's right. You never thought you'd get anyone; so you should be happy that you got a few good times in bed and the back seat with me before all this happened. Now, this is what you're left with. Themi was right when she said I couldn't stay good forever. Boy was she right! You told me what an idiot you were in making that deal and out of, love," she said with disgust, "I gave up who I was. I let my true self take over and man does it freeing!" She laughed.

Dean was shaking his head as if he weren't even concious of the movement, "No. This isn't you."

"Wow, you really are as pathetic as everyone says..." she smirked.

He swallowed and hardened his face. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, et secta diabolica."

Nadia winced and gritted her teeth but laughed, "I'm not possessed, Dean. I was born like this!"

He continued through his teeth, "Ergo draco maledicte et sectio. Ergo draco maledicte et legio secta diabolica..."

Nadia grabbed her head and started screaming. "Stop! Stop! It hurts!"

"Ut Ecclésiam tuam secúra tibi fácias servire libertáte, te rogámus, audi nos."

"Please," she was crying now. "Please, Dean, I love you. Why are you hurting me like this? I've done everything for you," she sobbed. "Why isn't it enough?" He ignored the tears running down his cheecks and took a deep breath to steel himself up enough to continue but he wasn't fast enough. "No!" her head snapped up to look his directly in the eye and her's were black. He stumbled back against the wall. "I said, stop!" her hand shot out just like it had at the barn in Montana and he was pressed against the wall, unable to move a finger. She lifted him off the ground and held him there. "Men! They never listen, I swear," she said in exasperation.

"Nadia," he gasped.

"Shut-up," she replied through her teeth and he couldn't talk anymore. "Much better," she sighed. "Now-"

"Nadia!" Sam called from the doorway. He held the colt pointed at her and pulled the trigger. The blackness went out of her eyes when he pulled the trigger and she was once again the girl they'd known. His knees couldn't hold him any longer and he fell to the floor.

Dean tried to call out but she still held him in silence. He watched the bullet hit between her eyes and then she crumpled to the floor and he followed right behind her. His legs couldn't hold him up and he fell hard to the floor. He crawled over to her and stared down at her lifeless face. She wasn't what she'd been; but this loss was too final for him and he leaned forward, his forehead on her chest and broke.

Ten seconds later, her chest rose and she gasped a ragged breath. He jerked back and watched her wake back up. He couldn't move as she wrapped her hand around his and looked at him in surprise.

As soon as she recognized him, her face was terrified. She gripped his hand tight and gasped, "They're coming for us."

Dean woke up in a cold sweat, his heart racing. "Dean?" Sam sat up sleepily. Dean was shaking and looking for something; but he wasn't sure what that something was. Sam finally got a good enough look at his brother to see the panic on his face, "Dean! What is it?" He scrambled out of bed and over to Dean's side, colt in hand.

He said the first thing that came to mind, "Where's your phone? I need your phone!"

"Okay!" Sam grabbed the small black square from his bedside table, "Here. What's wrong?" Dean ignored him scrolled through Sam's contacts and then pressed send. "Dean answer me! What's wrong?"

Dean could remember everything from his dream; but for some reason, all he knew was that, "Nadia's in trouble."