A/N: here is the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural
Waiting was something that both Natalie and Dean hated doing. To wait and see if Ellen and Sam would return in one piece was nerve wracking for the both of them. Dean was pacing back and forth in front of the door, while Natalie had been alternating between sitting in a chair and leaning against the wall.
God I really hate waiting.
Natalie leaned her head against the wall, her lips pouting in boredom. Dean walked over to her and smirked, "Trying to keep yourself sane?"
Natalie gazed over at him and rolled her eyes, a smile gracing her lips. "Just trying to settle my impatience." Natalie said sarcastically.
Dean smiled when suddenly a panicked knock came from the door. Everyone jumped at the sound and Dean casted a hesitant look to Natalie before walking over the door to look through the peephole. He quickly opened it and Ellen came rushing in. Natalie could see a washed out look on her face, but she was alone. Natalie peered her head out the door, and didn't see Sam, which caused her stomach to drop.
"Where's Sam?" Dean asked.
Ellen shook her head and sat herself down at the table, drinking from a water bottle that was given to her.
"They took him? The demons took him? Oh my god." One of the women began to panic.
Natalie could feel her entire body freeze and everything around her seemed to slow down. She finally turned to Dean, who was trying to figure out what to do next. Dean walked over to the table and picked up a shotgun, he was determined to go out there to look for Sam, but he soon stopped and gazed up at the group of people before him. He looked back at Natalie before looking over at the people, "We need to come up with a plan, tell me everything Ellen."
Dean and Natalie were sitting at the table with Ellen, who was running through everything that happened when she and Sam went out to look for Jo. All of it kind of seem like a blur to both Dean and Natalie. There was something about it that didn't seem right. "Dean, one of them is in Jo. We got to get it out without hurting her." Ellen said before snorting, "It called me a bitch."
Dean's brows raised, "Bruise a little easy, don't you think?"
Ellen looked up at Dean, "No, that's not what I meant. It called me a black-eyed bitch."
Black-eyed bitch. Natalie pondered on what Ellen had said. Why would Jo call Ellen a black-eyed bitch?
"What kind of demons are these? Holy water and salt roll right off. My daughter may be an idiot, but she's not stupid. She wears an anti-possession charm. It's all just kind of weird, right?" Ellen asked.
Dean began to think about any explanation for it but he couldn't, "The whole thing is just off."
Ellen nodded, "What's your instinct?"
Dean looked at her and shrugged, "My instinct? My instinct is to call Bobby and ask for help. Or Sam."
Ellen gave him a look, "Well tough. All you got is me, and all I got is you. So let's figure it out."
Dean nodded, knowing that Ellen was right, "Alright." Ellen all but smiled. "Do you know why Rufus came to town? Was there a specific omen?" Dean asked.
Ellen began to think back to what Rufus told her over the phone, "He said something about water. That's all I know."
Dean quickly focused his attention on the pastor. "Padre, you know what she's talking about, the water?"
The Pastor looked a little confused at first but then his face lit up in realization, "The river. Ran polluted all of a sudden."
Natalie perked up at this and her brows furrowed, "When did this happen?" She asked.
Austin then suddenly chimed in, "Last Wednesday. And the demon thing started up the next day."
Dean and Natalie looked at each other, "Anything else? Anything?" Dean asked.
Austin shrugged, "Maybe, but it's pretty random."
Dean nodded, "Good. Random's good."
Austin half shrugged, "Shooting star-does that count?" Dean, Ellen and Natalie all looked at each other, thinking that this guy was trying to be sarcastic. "Real big. Same night. Wednesday." Austin added.
"That definitely counts." Dean said as he walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out the bible. He brings it back to the table and begins to search through it. "So, uh, you think that all of this comes from outer space?" Austin asked.
Dean gave Austin a look, "This isn't X-Files, pal."
Dean continues his search through the bible and tapped on the page he was looking for, "Ah! I found it." Natalie walked over to Dean and look over his shoulder down at the page as he began to read, "And there fell a great star from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell upon the river, and the name of the star was Wormwood. And many men died." Natalie looked up at Dean who gazed down at her.
"Revelation eight ten. Are you saying this is about the apocalypse?" The Pastor asked in a little bit of horror.
"You could say. And these specific omens, they're prelude to what?" Dean asked turning to look at the Pastor.
Pastor thought for a moment and stared at Dean with grim realization, "The Four Horsemen."
Dean nodded, "And which one rides the red horse?" The Pastor was trying to search through his mind that was clouded with fear and also confusion.
Natalie perked up, "It's War." Dean looked down at her. "War rides the red horse."
Dean nods his head, "Yes, that cherry Mustang that we saw parked on Main." Natalie eyes widened slightly remembering the car she and Dean admired on the way here.
"You can't think that a car-"
Dean stared at the Pastor, "It's the way I'd roll. It all makes sense. If War is a dude, and he's here, maybe he's messing with our heads." Dean said. Natalie nods her head, finally putting together the pieces that didn't seem to make sense.
"Turning us all against each other." Ellen adds.
Dean turned to Ellen, "You said Jo called you a black-eyed bitch. They think we're demons, we think they're demons. What if there are no demons at all and we're all just killing each other?"
Natalie walked closer to Dean and Ellen, "That would explain why nothing was adding up. I mean the salt rounds weren't working, and the holy water having no effect." Natalie offered.
The Pastor rubbed his temples, "Wait, just back up. It's the apocalypse?"
Dean looked over at him, "Sorry, Padre."
...
Everyone in the basement were now in some sort of a frenzy. Anyone would be if they found out that the apocalypse had just started. "So now you're saying that there are no demons and war is a guy." Austin said trying to make sense of all of this.
"You believed crazy before." Dean accused.
Suddenly, a hammering against the door caused everyone to freeze. "Open up! It's Rodger!" The voice from the other side called out.
Austin opens the door and lets Rodger in, he was breathing heavy as if he had been running. "I saw them, the demons. They know we're trying to leave. They said they're gonna pick us off one by one."
Dean and Natalie became extremely confused. They had both come to the conclusion that War was responsible for this and there were no demons. "Wait, wait, wait. What?" Dean asked clearly confused.
Austin looked over at Natalie and Dean, "I thought you guys said there were no demons." He said accusingly.
"There's not. Where did you go?" Dean asked Rodger trying to prove that there weren't any demons.
"I thought someone should go out and see what's going on!" Rodger exclaimed.
Dean nodded his head, closing his eyes in frustration that he didn't answer his question, "Where did you see the demons, and what did they say exactly?"
"We just sit here, we're going to be dead!" Austin called out.
Dean snapped his gaze over to Austin, "No, we're not!" Dean exclaimed.
"They're gonna kill us unless we kill them first." Rodger added.
Dean raised his hands, "Hold on, hold on." Natalie watched as everyone was getting armed in order to escape. Everything was now going downhill. "Whoa whoa whoa, slow your roll everyone. This is not a demon thing." Dean said trying to calm everyone down.
Natalie saw out of the corner of her eyes, Rodger was messing with a ring on his finger. Before she could question, Rodger began to call out, "Look at their eyes! They're demons!" Rodger exclaims pointing at Dean, Natalie and Ellen. Natalie looked at Rodger then back at the group of people seeing the horror in their eyes.
The Pastor raised his gun towards them and Natalie could feel her heart stop. "Go, go!" Dean yelled out ushering Natalie and Ellen before him as they ran out of the basement. A gun shot went off, blowing a chunk out of the door, causing Natalie to scream in surprise. "Keep moving!" Dean exclaimed.
Natalie and Ellen sprint up the stairs two at a time with Dean right behind them. Natalie reached the door of the church and slammed her body against it throwing it open. The three of them take a minute to catch their breaths and to decide what they were going to do.
Natalie caught her breath and looked around before her eyes settled upon Dean, "What are we going to do?"
Dean sighed and shook his head. Then an idea came to him and he turned to Ellen, "Take us to where you and Sam got separated. I think I got a plan."
Dean, Ellen and Natalie come upon a house that was being used as a base camp. They ducked behind some bushes and scouted the house. They were guards posted at different points in the house ready to take down any 'demon' they see. Natalie let out a breath, "Right, so what's the plan Dean?" she said her eyes still fixed on the house.
"Okay, they aren't demons so that is one danger out of the way. But, they think we are, we need to convince them that we aren't demons and all of this isn't real." Dean said.
Natalie gave a single nod before furrowing her brows and gazing at him, "How are we supposed to do that? If they think we're demons, they're not going to listen to us."
Dean froze and his lips pursed forward, "Well, I'll take Rufus, Ellen you can take Jo. If we can convince them then we can get the others to know."
Natalie half shrugged a little bit of doubt filling her, "I'll find Sam then."
Dean gazed at her and hesitated, "Nad, let's just get through Jo and Rufus and then we'll worry about getting Sam."
Natalie huffed, but agreed regardless, "Alright, fine."
Dean took another glance at the house before letting out a breath, "Alright, let's get this going."
The three of them quietly ran from the bushes, and began to slowly make their way to the front of the house. Dean stops Ellen and Natalie behind him and points of a pipe bomb hanging from a window. He turns to Ellen who gives him a nod before walking off trying to find another way in. Dean picks up a rock and pushes Natalie farther behind him. He hurdles it towards the window and then shields Natalie as an explosion rips through the window.
Dean leaned closer to Natalie's ear, "Just stay here." He said before turning towards the window and grabbing Rufus by the shirt.
Natalie watched in horror as Dean and Rufus began to beat each other, all the while Dean was trying to convince Rufus that he wasn't a demon. Dean had Rufus pinned up against the wall, "I am not a demon Rufus...think!" Rufus stared at Dean with wide eyes and turned his attention to Natalie, seeing her eyes were also black.
"Yeah right! You both are!" He exclaimed and kneed Dean in the groin and throwing a punch across his face.
Rufus reached for the gun and aimed it towards Natalie, who moved out of the way as a shot rang out. Natalie leaned the opposite side of the wall hearing Dean and Rufus scurrying with each other.
Natalie cautiously walked out from the corner and saw that Dean was still holding down Rufus but with less strength. "The horseman!" Dean strained out.
Rufus looked at him with confusion, "Horseman?"
Dean nodded his head, "Yes. He's turning us against each other. You're hallucinating." Rufus blinked his eyes a couple of times and saw Dean's eyes clear. He looked over at Natalie and saw her eyes clear as well.
"Did you figure this out all by yourself genius?" Rufus sarcastically asked.
Dean lifted Rufus back up to his feet and brushed him off. Rufus looked over at Natalie, "I am sorry for shooting at you-"
Natalie shook her head bringing her out of her trance, "Natalie Collins."
Dean appeared between them, "Maybe introductions aren't the best right now."
The three of them burst into the house and found themselves having a gun aimed at them by Ellen. "Whoa, whoa!" Dean said.
Ellen narrowed her eyes slightly, "We all on the same page?" Dean, Rufus and Natalie all nodded in response.
Dean looked at Jo, "Hi, Jo."
Jo have Dean a small nod, "Hey."
Natalie watched the interaction between Jo and Dean and slightly smirked. She saw Jo eyeing her curiously and she began to eye her back. "And who are you?" Jo asked.
"Natalie." Natalie said and watched as Jo extended her hand which Natalie took. "Jo." Natalie nodded, already forming a liking for Jo. She seemed like a girl who could handle her own and didn't take crap from anyone. "Okay, we got to find War before everybody in this town kills each-"
Suddenly, gunshots ring out and everyone ducks down. "Where's Sam?!" Dean called out.
"Upstairs!" Rufus answered.
Natalie stared at Dean who gave her a nod, telling her that she could go. He hands her a gun and a knife and grabs a hold of her arm, "Be careful."
Natalie smiled, "I always am." She said before quickly making her way up the stairs.
Natalie sprinted up the steps two at a time and found herself in a hallway with several doors. She huffed in annoyance, "Why can't there just be one door?" she asked herself.
Natalie began to open the doors, only to find them empty, no sign of Sam. She quickly made her way down the hall, until she came to the last door. Natalie slammed it open and found Sam bounded to a chair. She smiled in relief seeing him alright and that she didn't have to look anywhere else.
"Heya, Sam. Did you miss me?" Natalie asked trying to make some light of the situation.
Sam let out a relieved breath, "Nad, there are no demons."
"It's War." Natalie and Sam said at the same time. "Dean and I figured it out back at the basement, though we can't figure out how he's doing all of this."
"The ring." Sam added.
Natalie began to think and it all came coming back to her. She saw War messing with his ring but she didn't have time to question and she didn't want to. "Of course! I saw him messing with it while he was there in the basement with us." Natalie walked over to the chair and cut Sam's bonds. "Go, down to Dean. Then you two go after War."
Sam looked at Natalie with a questioning look, "What about you?"
Natalie shrugged, "Stay here. Help make sure that it all stops." Sam nods before taking off down the stairs and rushes towards Dean. "Dean...we need to get War's ring...that's how he is doing all of this." Dean gazes at him before nodding, "Alright, let's go."
...
Natalie rushed down the stairs and began to look for Ellen and Jo. Jo walks in from the other room, "Sam and Dean took off."
She was glad to hear it. For a moment, Natalie allowed herself to look around the house, "Where's your mom?" Natalie asked before taking off out of the door and down the porch steps. Her eyes scanned the yard until she fell upon Ellen lying on the ground with Austin standing over her. She was about to charge after him but stopped when she realized he wasn't trying to kill her. It was in the moment she took in her surroundings and noticed that there were no more gunshots, everything was calming down and it was then she realized. Sam and Dean got War.
Natalie smiled with relief and took a seat on the porch steps, burying her face in her hands. It was all over. Another job down and Natalie was beyond happy about it. During this whole day, she felt just completely exhausted and had to keep herself in high spirits which wasn't easy to do. She just wanted this to be over so they could go on their way and now it was done. Ellen walked over to Natalie and sat down next to her, lacing her hands together.
"So I never asked...you travel with Sam and Dean. What's it like being around them almost 24/7?" Ellen asked causing Natalie to laugh, feeling the atmosphere around them began to lighten.
"It's not that bad. They keep me entertained." Natalie said her smiling growing more. Natalie looked up and saw Sam and Dean walking up the lawn, "Speak of the devils." Dean and Sam stopped in front of Natalie and Ellen, "Did you get the ring?" Natalie asked. Dean held it up and Natalie nodded in approval. "Another job down."
Natalie woke up with a startle and looked around her, she found herself in the backseat of the Impala. It took a moment for her to remember that they had left River Pass and she immediately fell asleep in the car. Natalie rubbed her eyes and sat up, gazing through the windshield, she saw Sam and Dean sitting at a picnic table talking. Her phone began to buzz and Natalie groaned before picking up the phone.
"Hello?" Natalie answered but she was a little surprised at how gruff her voice was.
"Nad? Hey it's me." Marina said.
Natalie cleared her throat, "Oh hey Mari, hold on." Natalie said as she opened the car door and stepped out. Her head began to spin the minute she came in contact with the breeze. "Mmm." Natalie winced in pain and pressed her palm against the side of her head before walking to the trunk of the Impala.
"Hey Mari, so what's up?" Natalie asked, leaning against the Impala.
"Just helping Aunt Clara with some research. But, apparently people are saying that all of these catastrophes are signaling the apocalypse."
Natalie scratched at her head, her teeth scraped against her bottom lip, "Yeah, well it is the truth." she said blatantly.
Marina went quiet on the other line and Natalie cringed at how bland she was acting, "So the end of the world...this is just great." Marina exasperated.
"Don't worry Mari. We are working on trying to stop it...it will all be fine." Natalie reassured her.
"Nad, are you alright? You sound really tired and sick." Marina asked with concern.
Natalie smiled and laughed it off, "No Mari I'm fine. I am not sick...but I am tired."
Marina hummed in response and soon Natalie could hear Aunt Clara calling in the background. "Nad, I have to go. I'll call back soon to check up on you. Love you."
"Love you too Mari." Natalie said before hanging up and putting the phone back in her pocket. Natalie could feel her head begin to throb and it was beginning to get heavier and heavier. Her fingers pressed against her temples in an attempt to relieve the pain.
A hand held onto her shoulder and she looked up to see Sam looking at her with concern, "Are you alright, Nad?" Natalie nodded and her brows furrowed in confusion at the sight of Sam's back around his shoulder.
"What's going on?" Natalie asked.
Sam sighed sadly, "Listen, Nad. I'm leaving."
Natalie stared at Sam in shock, "W-why?"
"I just...I don't trust myself Nad. I feel like I am a danger to both you and Dean. And I just can't trust myself on a hunt, I just need to...take a step back." Sam said trying to make Natalie understand. Natalie shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. She didn't know how she felt about all of this. Natalie opened her mouth to say something but stopped. She didn't know what to say to Sam. It was obvious she didn't like the idea of him leaving but what could she do?
She tried searching through her head for a reason to give him so that he would stay, but she came up empty. Natalie cleared her throat, "Do you want me to go with you?" she asked. It was the only thing she could think of to say. Though a part of her was hoping that he would ask her to go with him, but how could she just leave Dean? To go with one and the leave the other behind was something Natalie didn't want to do. Yet, she couldn't just let Sam go on his own.
Sam's gaze fell and he slowly shook his head, "No. I think it's best for you to stay with Dean. Someone needs to keep him in line." Sam said with a small smile.
Natalie shook her head and bit her lip, trying her best to keep back the tears that were beginning to sting her eyes. "And what about you Sam?"
Sam fell silent, his gaze falling once again. He could hear the pain that was etched in her voice and he couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes in that moment. He could feel her eyes burning into him, the confusion and hurt that emanated from them was to strong to not feel. Sam knew that this wasn't what Natalie wanted to happen, but there was nothing any of them could do. Sam's actions would undoubtedly have consequences and this was one of them.
"I'll be fine, Nad." Sam said, though there was doubt intertwined with a forced positive overtone.
Natalie sensed this right away. Sam was only doing this because he felt it was the right thing to do. Not only for him, but for her and Dean, as well. She thought back to that night at the motel, when she told Sam that everyone had the right to act on what they felt was the right thing to do. That is exactly what Sam was doing, and she didn't agree or like it. Natalie made a silent vow, back when she was with Bobby at the hospital, that she would do everything she could to make sure that Sam and Dean got through this. Only now did she realize that this wasn't hers to fix. As much as it hurt to see these two brothers falling apart, it was up to them to fix their damaged relationship.
Natalie's eyes closed and she sighed, "I-I don't know...what to say about this."
Sam focused his eyes on her once again and offered a smile to try, "You don't have to say anything because I already know how you feel about this. But, trust me. This is the best thing for all of us." Sam said, trying his best to reassure her. His eyes gazed over at Dean, who was still sitting at the table. His focus went back to Natalie, "Just promise me something."
Natalie wiped at her eyes and cleared her throat, "What?"
"Promise me that you and Dean will look out for each other. Don't let yourself veer off on the wrong track. Okay?" Sam said, though his eyes were silently pleading with her. The look alone made it impossible for her to say no.
"I promise." Natalie answered.
That was an absolute relief. The two stood in a bearable silence, not knowing what more to say to each other. Though they both surmised that they didn't need to say anything. They knew what the other was thinking and that was enough for them. Sam felt that if he were to try and say anything else,it would just make things worse.
He walked forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. Natalie's arms immediately wrapped around him and tightened. She didn't know when she would see him again and that was mixing in with the hurt and confusion with the fact that he was actually leaving. Natalie began to think about whether Dean even tried to stop Sam from leaving. But, considering how he his trust towards Sam has diminished, there was no way he would stop Sam from doing this.
Natalie pushed that thought out of her mind and instead snuggled closer to Sam's chest and she let out a sigh. Sam rested his cheek on the top of her head, trying to savor every moment of this. He didn't know when he would see Natalie again, or, if he would ever see her again. Now everything was definitely falling apart and Natalie didn't like it. There was nothing she could do to fix it. This was strictly between Sam and Dean, but not being able to do anything made her feel useless.
Sam lifted his cheek and pressed his lips against her forehead, his hand moving to the back of her neck. Sam reluctantly pulled away and Natalie loosened her hold on him. Their gazes fixed on each other, for only a brief moment before Natalie offered him a forced smile. Sam offered her a small smile, before turning around and making his way towards a truck that was parked nearby. Natalie's eyes were fixed on Sam, nothing around her seemed of any importance. Sam said something to the driver and walked around the other side, into the passenger seat. Natalie watched as the car drove off and felt nothing but numbness. Sam was gone. There was no way in fixing this. Now everything has fallen apart.
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to review! Xx
(edited 10/15/17)