A/N: And here is the next update! Ugh, I cried so much during this episode! I want Ellen and Jo to come back! Anyways let's get on with the chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural
The town was simply, nothing. There was no sign that anything living had once inhabited this town. It wouldn't be the first time they had encountered something like this. The job back in River Pass was something that Natalie will never forget. The feeling that you were the only living inhabitants is a haunting thought and it isn't something that you forget to easily.
Sam rolls down the window of the Impala, holding his phone out, trying to search for a signal. "Are you getting a signal?" Sam asked Dean, who was also holding his phone out the window.
"No, nothing." Dean pulled his phone back in and looked back at Natalie. "Hey, Nad, is your phone getting anything?"
Natalie quickly pulled out her phone. "Nope. I'm not getting anything."
Dean sighed and focused his attention on the street. "Well then, isn't this all nice and spooky." Dean waved his hand at the other car to pull up next to him.
Jo rolls down the window, "Place seem a little empty to you?" Ellen asked.
"Yeah. Sam and I are gonna go check the PD. You guys stay here, see if you can find anybody." Dean turns back to Natalie. "Hey Nad, why don't you go with Ellen and Jo? See if you guys can scout out the area."
Natalie simply nodded, sliding her phone back in the pocket, and got out of the car. She walked over to the passenger window and looked in. "You two be careful."
Dean smirked. "You know we always are, Nad." Natalie smiled and stepped back, watching as th car drove off.
Ellen parked near the curve and Jo quickly got out of the car. She looked over at Castiel still sitting in the back seat. Jo walks up to the window and peers in, "Ever heard of a door handle."
"Of course I have." Castiel answered back, though now he was standing outside of the car. Natalie smiled though it soon faded, seeing the look on his face.
"What is it, Cas?" Ellen asked, walking up beside him.
"This town's not empty." Castiel replied.
Natalie looked around them, seeing nothing. Her brows furrowed at Castiel's words and she looked back at him. "Cas, what are you talking about? There is nothing—no one here."
"Reapers."
"Reapers? As in more than one?" Ellen questioned.
"They only gather like this at times of great catastrophe. Chicago Fire, San Francisco Quake, Pompeii." Castiel continued scanning the area. "Excuse me, I need to find out why they're here." Castiel walked off, stopping occasionally to look at a reaper, though to Ellen, Jo and Natalie he was looking at nothing.
Natalie turned to Ellen and Jo. "I guess we should start checking out the place. What do you two think?"
Ellen nodded. "Alright, let's see how much we can do on foot, then we'll get in the car and take another look around." Ellen turned and began to walk down the sidewalk, with Jo and Natalie following closely behind.
The farther they went into the town, the more eerie all of this was becoming. The silence was almost deafening and despite there being no one, Natalie felt the sensation that something was watching them. Every turn, every single check they made at stores or buildings, it would all turn up with nothing.
Natalie peered through the window of a store, her eyes scanning the desolate space only to find nothing, which wasn't a surprise. Natalie stepped back and sighed, turning to see Ellen motioning her over.
"Let's get back to the car and find Sam and Dean. There ain't nothing left here for us to find." Ellen said.
….
Ellen pulled the car up to the station, spotting Sam and Dean standing outside of the station. She pulled the car over to them. "Station's empty." Dean said.
Ellen nodded. "The girls and I checked everywhere else...it's all empty."
"Have you seen Cas?" Jo asked, leaning towards the drivers window.
"What? He was with you." Sam said.
"Nope. He went after the reapers." Ellen responded.
"Reapers?" Dean looked over at Sam. "He saw reapers? Where?"
Jo shrugged. "Well, kind of everywhere."
Sam and Dean look at each other, silently processing the information. Dean turned back to Ellen, "Alright, let's get our guns and take another look around. Try and find him." Ellen nodded, pulling the car next to the curb.
Natalie got out and made her way over to the back of the Impala, where Sam and Dean were rummaging through the trunk.
Dean pulled out a shot gun and looked at Natalie, handing it over to her. She took the gun, taking a quick check over it before grabbing her bag from the trunk. Ellen and Jo grabbed shot guns from the trunk and slid on their bags. Dean looked at everyone, seeing that they were all set. "Okay. Let's go."
"Well, this is great, been in town twenty minutes and we already lost the angel up our sleeve." Dean said as they walked the street.
"You think, uh, you think Lucifer got him?" Sam asked hesitantly.
"I don't know what else to think at the moment." Dean answered back. The five of them continue on their walk up the street.
"There you are." A voice behind them suddenly said. The five of them turn around, their guns aimed at a familiar face.
"Meg?"
Meg smirked at Sam mentioning her name. "You shouldn't have come here, boys."
"Hell, I could say the same thing for you." Dean said, aiming the colt at Meg.
Meg gave Dean a fake surprised look. "Didn't come here alone, Deano." The puddle near Meg splashes and the sounds of dogs growling and barking soon surrounded them. Natalie could feel her heart pounding as she looked around her for the source of the sounds.
"Hellhounds." Dean finally spoke.
"Yeah, Dean. Your favorite. Come on, boys. My father wants to see you."
"Yeah I think we'll pass, thanks." Sam retorted.
Meg chuckled and slid her hands in her pockets. "Your call. You can make this easy or you can make it really, really, hard."
Dean looks back and Ellen nods. "When have you known us to ever make anything easy?" Dean shifts his aim and shoots at one of the hellhounds.
"Run!" Sam called out.
Natalie turned around and ran, hearing the footsteps of the hellhounds chasing after them. Natalie tuned everything else out, except for the fact that she had to run. "Dean!" Natalie heard Jo call, causing her to stop in her tracks. She turned around and saw Jo firing at the hellhounds when something came up from her side, taking her down.
"Jo!" Natalie broke out into a run towards her.
"Nad! Don't!" Sam called out.
Though Natalie didn't stop, her heart pounded against her chest and intense panic washed over her. Then, suddenly, the hellhound created a gash down Jo's side and her scream echoed through the streets. Natalie could feel her stomach drop at the sight. It was almost exactly like what happened to her mother and father.
Natalie ran faster towards Jo and raised her gun, shooting in the direction where she was sure the hellhound was. The shot pierced the hound, causing blood to splatter to the ground. Natalie kept her eyes focused on the spot as she continued sending off rounds.
Dean looked up at Natalie, seeing that she was providing cover for him, then got up to his feet and quickly picked Jo up, "Dean come on! Go!" Natalie called out, continuing her firing on the hound to keep it back. Dean quickly ran past Natalie, his hold on Jo adjusting every few moments in order for him to keep a tight grip on her.
Natalie slowly backed up, still shooting off rounds when the gun began to click. Natalie looked down at her gun, knowing that she was out of ammo and heard the hellhounds began to quickly approach her. She quickly turned around and ran to where she saw the others making for a store.
Ellen opened the door to a convenient store, allowing Dean to rush in with Jo first. Ellen went in after him as Sam held the door open for Natalie to walk through. Natalie ran in and once Sam was in, she slammed the door shut. Natalie held it close and yelped as a few of the hounds banged against the door, trying to bust through. Natalie turned to her side and pressed her body against the door to try and keep it closed.
Sam turned around and looked for anything that could help keep the doors closed. He spotted a bundle of metal chains and quickly picked it up. He dashed over to the door, motioning for Natalie to move away from the handles, which she did. Sam wrapped the chains around the handles and tightened the chains.
Natalie looked to her right, spotting a few bags of salt and quickly picked one up, tearing it open with her knife and poured out a line at the base of the door Sam had barred. She passed the bag over to Sam, who then quickly took off to pour salt lines at any other locations the hounds to get in.
Natalie looks back at Jo, who was leaning against the counter with Ellen treating to her wound and quickly made her way over to them. Natalie knelt down next to Jo and looked at her hand pressing against her wound. "Okay, Jo. Let me take a look at it."
Jo barely nodded as Natalie carefully moved her hand away from the wound. As she did, blood began to gush out of the wound, causing Jo to groan in pain. Natalie felt her stomach churn at the sight of blood running like that.
"Okay...umm." Natalie looked around, trying to figure out what she needed to do. She slid off her bag and pulled out her spare sweater and gently pressed it against Jo's side. "Alright, Ellen keep...keep pressure on it. We need to find something to patch her up with."
Ellen motioned towards her bag. "There should be some bandages in my bag."
Natalie crawled over to Ellen's bag and pulled out the bandages and securing tape. She made her way back to Jo's side. "Okay, I'm gonna get you patched up Jo." Natalie took out the bandages and pulled the sweater away. She quickly applied the bandages to Jo's wound, "Alright, Ellen. Hold them in place for me."
Ellen reached over and pressed both her hands on either side of the bandage. Natalie unrolled the tape, using her teeth to tear off strips, and pressed them on all sides of the bandage. Natalie secured the last piece of tape on the bandage and examined Jo's state.
Her face was pale and beads of sweat were streaming down her forehead and cheeks. Her breathing was heavy yet labored. Though her body looked so numb and there seemed to be no trace of strength left in her body. Natalie offers Jo a small smile and looked behind her shoulder, seeing Sam and Dean looking down at them.
Sam brought over a bowl to Ellen before walking over to Dean. Natalie began to clean up the supplies and putting them back in the bag. Jo looked over at Natalie's sweater, that was now caked in dried blood. "Sorry...about your sweater." Jo said, her voice was weak and dry.
Natalie looked over at Jo and smiled, "Nah, it's fine. It was an old sweater anyway." Jo smile weakly and rested her head against the counter wall. Natalie looked down at her hands, seeing them covered in dried blood, and her eyes became fixed on them.
Ellen reached over and nudged Natalie's arm. "Why don't you just take a breather? You've done all you can."
Natalie looked up at Ellen and smiled gratefully. She looked over at Jo, putting her hand on her shoulder. "Just hang in there."
Natalie stood on her feet and walked through the different aisles. She needed to keep herself grounded and focused. Though it was hard to when she kept on thinking about how Jo got injured. It had spurred the memories of her mother and father and now she could feel her wall being cracked once again. She came to a stop at the end of one aisle and walked over to the wall, leaning her forehead against it.
"Nad?" Sam asked, walking up behind her. Though she didn't say anything to him nor did she really acknowledge that he was there. Sam gazed at her and placed his hand on her shoulder, forcing her to turn around. Natalie did so and faced him, though she refused to look him in the eyes. She, instead, looked down at her blood stained hands prompting Sam to do so as well. "Are you alright?"
Natalie kept her gaze down, silently debating whether she wanted to talk or not. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "No." Her voice was quiet and slightly hoarse.
Sam sighed, his eyes never leaving her hands. "You helped as much as you could."
Natalie slowly shook her head, her gaze moving from her hands to look at Sam. "It's not that." She let out a deep breath. "What happened to Jo...it just. It reminded me of my mom and dad...that's all." Natalie let out a grim laugh. "You know, I tried saving my mom and of course that failed. And yet, I helped Jo as much as I could and I still feel like it's not enough..."
Sam gazed at Natalie, his eyes emanating sympathy at the guilt she was feeling right now. "It's not your fault. Jo is still alive..."
"But, for all we know..." Natalie stopped in mid sentence, biting the inside of her cheek. "Maybe if I had ran quicker...or shot faster, Jo wouldn't be in this situation."
"Stop. Don't do that. We are going to get Jo out of here and everything will be fine." Sam said, trying his best to reassure Natalie. Though, he wasn't to sure for himself. The building was surrounded by hellhounds and Jo was in horrible condition. He began to consider that maybe, Jo might not make it.
Natalie groaned in frustration, more towards herself. She was letting her guard down and she could feel that intense vulnerability starting to seep through. She closed her eyes, forcing back any tears that were threatening to spill and took a few deep breaths. "I need to get it together...need to pull myself together."
Natalie took a breath and allowed herself to calm down. "So, what are you and Dean doing in that back room?" Natalie asked, trying to push the subject toward a different direction .
"Dean was able to patch through to Bobby. We found out the location where the devil will be tonight." Sam said.
Dean walked out from the back room after getting done with his talk with Bobby. He looked down the aisle and saw Sam and Natalie. "Hey." Natalie and Sam looked at Dean, who motioned for them to come over. Dean looked over at Jo, "Alright, so we know where the devil's gonna be, we know when, and we have the colt."
"Yeah. We just have to get past eight or so hellhounds and get to the farm by midnight." Sam said.
"Yeah that's after we get Jo and Ellen the hell out of town." Dean looked over at Natalie. "You might as well go with them. Sam and I will take care of the devil."
Natalie shook her head. "No. I am not going to leave you two to do this. I'm staying with you guys. I want Ellen and Jo to get out of here as well...but, I'm not going anywhere."
"Stop. Guys, stop." Jo said, causing the three of them to look over at her. "Can we, uh, be realistic about this, please?" Jo tried to adjust her position, wincing at the pain. "I can't move my legs. I can't be moved. My guts are being held in by an ace bandage. We gotta—get our priorities straight here. Number one, I'm not going anywhere."
"Joanna Beth, you stop talking like that." Ellen interrupted.
"Mom. I can't fight. I can't walk. But I can do something. We got propane, wiring, rock salt, iron nails, everything we need."
"Everything we need?" Sam questioned.
"To build a bomb, Sam."
Natalie mouth dropped and she shook her head. "No, Jo. You can't..."
"You got another plan, Natalie? Those are hellhounds out there. They've got all of our scents. Those bitches will never stop coming after you. We let the dogs in, you guys hit the roof, make a break for the building next over. I can wait here with my finger on the button, rip those mutts a new one. Or at least give you all a few minutes head start."
Ellen shook her head. "No, I won't let you do this."
"This is why we're here, right?" Jo asked, looking over at Ellen. "If I can get us a shot on the devil—" Jo looked up at Dean. "Dean, we have to take it."
"No!" Jo tiredly looked over at Ellen. "That's not going to—"
"Mom. This might literally be your last chance to treat me like an adult. Might wanna take it?" Jo said, smiling faintly.
Ellen shook her head grimly, tears began to stream down her face. "You heard her. Get to work." Ellen finally said.
Dean and Sam look at each other, before gathering up the materials that they needed. Natalie walked over to Jo and sat down next to her. They both looked at each other, small smiles tugging at their lips and descended into nothing but silence.
Natalie lost track of the time and became lost in her own thoughts. When she came back to reality she was a little surprised to see that night had fallen already. Ahead of her, she could see several propane tanks lined up in a row, with Dean readying the detonator.
Natalie looked over at Jo, and knelt up on her knees. She was trying to find something to say to Jo, but nothing was coming to mind. All she could feel was immense guilt about all of this, even though it wasn't her fault. "I'm sorry, I couldn't do more for you."
Jo laughed faintly and shook her head. "You've helped me enough. Thank you." Natalie nodded and offered a small smile. She picked up her bag and gun, then walked over to stand next to Sam.
Dean brings the button over to Jo and put it in her hand. "Okay, this is it. I'll see you on the other side. Probably sooner than later."
"Make it later." Natalie watches silently as Dean and Jo said goodbye. Doing so, was just making this all the more difficult to do. She turned her head away, biting down on her lip, only looking back when she felt Dean stand next to her.
Ellen sits back down next to Jo, offering her a smile. "Mom, no."
"Somebody's gotta let them in. Like you said, you're not moving." Natalie could feel her body weigh down with the reality of Ellen's words. "You got me, Jo. And you're right, this is important. But I will not leave you here alone."
"Dean—"
"Get going now, you guys." Ellen said.
"Ellen—"
"I said go." Natalie, Dean and Sam look at each other then start to walk away. "And Dean?" Dean stops and looks back. "Kick it in the ass."
The three of them turn to leave, "Natalie." Natalie stopped and looked back at Ellen, seeing a smile on her lips. Ellen got up and walked over to her, holding her in an embrace which she returned. "Take care of the boys." Ellen said quietly.
Natalie let out a breath, closed her eyes and nodded. "I will."
Ellen gently rubbed Natalie's back and then pulled away. "Alright, then. You three get going." Natalie gave Ellen a hesitant look, before turning and walked down the hallway.
Sam opened a door that led to the fire escape. The three of them quickly made their way across the escape and then down the ladder that led to an alleyway. They take a moment to assess their surroundings and then made their way down the alley. They soon found themselves back on the main street and begin to run away from the buildings.
An explosion soon erupted, prompting all three of them to stop and look back to see the hardware store go up in flames. Natalie could feel her breath hitching her throat, trying to wrap her mind around the fact that Ellen and Jo were now gone. She felt a hand on her arm and turned to find Sam ushering her to move. Natalie casted one last glance at the store before taking off.
Sam, Natalie and Dean sneak up through the bushes, spotting dozens of men standing in the field, looking at something that was out of their view.
"Guess we know what happened to some of the townspeople." Dean said.
"Last words?" Sam asked.
Dean looks over at Sam, "I think I'm good." Dean then looks at Natalie, "Just stay here Nad. Stay hidden and you'll be fine."
Natalie nodded her head, clearly not in the mood to put up any argument. "Here goes nothing."
Sam picks up his shotgun and walks out from behind the bushes and approaches Lucifer. "Hey!" Lucifer drops his shovel and turns around. "You wanted to see me?"
"Oh, Sam, you don't need that gun here. You know I'd never hurt you. Not really."
"Yeah? Well, I'd hurt you." Dean said, pointing the gun at Lucifer. "So suck it." Dean fires a shot in Lucifer's forehead and he collapses.
Dean and Sam watch the corpse when Lucifer inhales and stands back up. "Ow." Lucifer looks over at Dean. "Where did you get that?" Lucifer then punches Dean, who then flies back into a tree.
Natalie felt her body surge forward, ready to run after Dean, but she stopped, her eyes flicking over to Lucifer and Sam. They want me to stay behind. Natalie bit down on her lip and braced herself, quickly appearing from the bushes and made her way over to Dean, ignoring Lucifer, who was gazing at her curiously. Natalie knelt down next to Dean, lifting his head and resting it in her lap. She quickly checked his pulse and looked up at Sam, who had made his way over to them. "He's fine."
"You know, I don't suppose you'd just say yes here and now?" Lucifer began to question. "End this whole tiresome discussion? That's crazy, right?"
"It's never gonna happen!" Sam answered.
"Oh, I don't know, Sam. I think it will. I think it'll happen soon. Within six months. And I think it'll happen in Detroit."
Sam glared at Lucifer, his eyes fuming with intense rage. "You listen to me, you son of a bitch. I'm gonna kill you myself, you understand me? I'm going to rip your heart out!"
"That's good, Sam. Keep fanning that fire in your belly. All that pent-up rage. I'm gonna need it." Natalie's eyes narrowed at Lucifer, scoffing in disgust.
Sam looked around at the men who are still standing in their positions. "What did you do? What did you do to this town?"
"Oh, I was very generous with this town. One demon for every able-bodied man."
"And the rest of them."
Lucifer turned to the hold he had been digging. "In there. I know it's awful, but these horsemen are so demanding. So it was women and children first. I know what you must think of me, Sam. But I have to do this. I have to. You of all people should understand."
Sam's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Lucifer turned back to him. "I was a son. A brother, like you, a younger brother, and I had an older brother who I loved. Idolized, in fact. And one day I went to him and I begged him to stand with me, and Michael—Michael turned on me. Called me a freak. A monster. And then he beat me down. All because I was different. Because I had a mind of my own. Tell me something, Sam. Any of this sound familiar?"
Sam's gaze falls and turns back around, making his way over to Natalie and Dean. Dean groaned himself away, his eyes suddenly going wide with alert, trying to take in everything around him. The ground soon begins to rumble and Natalie looks up only to see Castiel standing before them. He holds a finger to his lips and soon they find themselves back at Bobby's house.
Natalie looked down at Dean, and gently pushes him into a sitting position, kneeling herself on her legs then stands up, grabbing a hold of Dean's arm, helping him back on his feet. Bobby rolls in, his face filled with nothing but relief to see everyone in one piece. But, he soon realized that there was something off. There were two people missing. His eyes met Dean's, who allowed his gaze to fall. It was all Bobby needed to know that Ellen and Jo were gone.
Bobby turned his chair around and wheeled himself into the living room. He picked up the picture that he had taken before they set off for the search and moved over to the fireplace. Sam, Natalie and Dean walked over to the fireplace and watched as Bobby drops the picture into the fire. Natalie places her hand on Bobby's shoulder and he reaches up gently taking her hand in a brief hold. She looked over at Sam and Dean, seeing the look of despair written on their faces. She sighed and turned around, walking out of the room.
Natalie walked out of the house and stood on the porch, trying to get her emotions back in line. The days events looped continuously in her head. Maybe if she had done more, Ellen and Jo would have lived. But, in the back of her mind, Natalie knew that there was nothing she could have done differently. That very thought alone only caused more pain. Natalie closed her eyes and let out a pained sigh, trying to dispel the thought from her mind.
In the short time she had known them, Natalie was able to form a mutual bond with Ellen and Jo. In a way, Ellen and Jo had become trusted confidantes to Natalie. There was no mistake that Ellen and Jo enjoyed her company. Ellen had taken a maternal approach to Natalie, considering her like another daughter. As Jo looked at Natalie as another good friend. Now, these two amazing women, have been cut out of the picture. They were gone.
Natalie could feel that all to familiar emptiness returning. Losing Ellen and Jo, just reminded Natalie how she felt when her father, brother and mother died. That sense of loss and hopelessness. That feeling of not knowing how to carry yourself, not knowing how to function or how to even handle yourself. People she cared about were being cut out, and she feared it was only a matter of time when she would be the last one standing. The horror of being the only member of your entire family to exist. It was a terrifying thought, yet for her, it was close to the reality that she was living. The reality being that everyone loses people who are close to them. Some lose more than others but it is a fundamental fact. A fact that Natalie hated to acknowledge at all.
Her hands dragged down her face as tears began to brim her eyes. Her throat tried to swallow back the sobs that were threatening to come out. She wanted so desperately to allow herself this one moment of supreme sorrow. To finally, unleash, all of the anger and sadness that had been building for the past two years. Unfortunately, keeping her emotions hidden and always taking precaution to not let them slip, were coming back to bite her. She had been so used to putting everyone else's needs before hers. Always making sure that Marina was alright, especially after their mother died, Natalie took no interest in herself. That was a motto Natalie always stood by. Put your family before everything else...even yourself. It was a trait that she wanted to get rid of, but she always felt comfortable in that small, isolated shell. To not show emotion, actually made her feel stronger, and it helped numb the pain.
Natalie let out an angry huff and wiped away the tears from her eyes. She gazed out across the yard and saw the Impala parked near some of the cars. Natalie walked off the porch and mindlessly made her way over to the Impala. She sat on the edge and scooted back and laid against the windshield. Her eyes fixed up at the night sky and an old, yet familiar peace came over her. Natalie always liked looking up at the stars. It was something she always did when she was younger. But, this little habit had diminished to nearly nothing the past two years.
Sam walked out onto the porch, wanting to take a break from the grief that was consuming Bobby's house. He looked out and saw Natalie lying on the Impala. His brows furrowed slightly and he made his way over to the Impala.
"What are you doing?" Sam asked.
Natalie sighed, keeping her eyes fixed on the sky. "Stargazing."
Sam nodded faintly and sat down on the edge of the Impala. The two fell into a silence, both of them could feel the grief emanating from each other. Sam sighed and scooted himself onto the Impala and back towards Natalie. He copied her position and laid against the windshield, looking up at the sky.
"I always enjoyed doing this." Natalie finally spoke.
Sam turned his head towards her, his brows furrowed. "What? Stargazing?"
Natalie nodded, "When I was younger, my dad would take me, Drew and Mari, and he would pile us into his car and drive out to an open field. And when the sky was clear, we would lay out on his car...and look up at the stars. All night." Natalie let out a small sigh. "Every night. Every night my dad was home, he would do this with us. Then he would take off, and we wouldn't see him for weeks."
Sam pressed his lips into a thin line and hummed in response. Hearing Natalie talk about this, made him remember his own childhood. Of course, he and Dean would travel with their dad, but he could relate to not seeing his father for a certain period of time.
"After he died, we just stopped. Drew, Mari and I just stopped looking up. And I haven't done this until now of course." Natalie finished.
"Why? Why all of a sudden are you looking up?" Sam curiously asked, his eyes roaming the sky.
Natalie sighed and paused for a moment. "Because, losing Ellen and Jo...it just made me realize that we are all mortal. You know, especially being in this job, you aren't guaranteed a full life. I mean for all we know, I could die tomorrow or on the next hunt."
Sam's breath hitched in his throat and he could feel his chest compress. "Don't say that." Natalie gazed over at Sam, seeing the tension on his face. "Don't say that, Nad." Sam's voice had gone quiet and his body had tensed.
Sam swallowed several times, feeling a lump beginning to form in his throat. Losing Ellen and Jo was one thing. But, the thought of losing Natalie, for Sam, was unthinkable. "I-we can't lose you, Nad. Can't imagine what it would do to Bobby, Dean and I."
Natalie sat up and brought her knees up to her chest. "It's the truth though. You can't control fate. Now, I really don't fear death...in fact I think I look forward to it. I mean I have so much experience with it..."
Sam sat up from his position and looked over at Natalie. Now, the thought of losing her was buzzing around his head. But, she was right. This kind of life doesn't give you a pass to live a long life. Death is so common in this job, it almost occurs on a daily basis.
Natalie sighed and wrapped her arms around her legs. "I'm tired Sam. I'm tired of all the death, sadness, grief...the damn guilt. I just want it...to stop. But, I know it won't because I'm still in this job...and I can't get out. None of us can."
Sam wrapped his arm around her shoulder, gently pulling her towards him. Natalie didn't resist and instead rested her head against his shoulder, feeling a sense of security wash over her. "I know how you feel Nad. Growing up, I hated everything about the life that we lived. I just wanted out of it." Sam gently rubbed Natalie's back. "But, I realized that no matter what...this is who I am. And I can't change that...and neither can you. We just have to continue moving forward. That's all we can do." Sam said, continuously rubbing her back soothingly as his lips brushed the top of her head.
Natalie's eyes closed in a peaceful satisfaction at the comfort she was feeling from Sam's small gestures. Her arm wrapped around his back, allowing her to nestle closer to him. Sam smiled to himself at Natalie's movements and rested his cheek on the top of her head, breathing in a deep breath. Natalie wanted this night to be over with and yet she didn't want to face the coming days. She didn't want to go through the stages of grief all over again. She'd had enough of death to last a lifetime, but like Sam said there was nothing she could do to stop it. Once again, death managed to find it's way back into her life, and she felt that there was no way of escaping it.
So, how did you all like it? Don't forget to drop me a review! Xx