Chapter 3

Sam stared at Addy from the doorway of Bobby's hospital room. She sat next to Bobby near the window, her hand over his in a comforting gesture. She glanced to him but quickly looked away. Dean came up from behind Sam.

"It's been like three days now," Dean said.

Sam sighed as they stared at Bobby and Addy's attempt to cheer him up.

"Do you remember the first time my Dad took me to meet you?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah," he answered.

She smiled," I remember you made this disgusting chili and then you showed me this old as dirt car and let me help you fix it up."

"You were a mouthy little thing," he said with a chuckle.

She smiled wide at his first joke in days," You thought I was hilarious."

They laughed and then his face sobered as he looked at her neck.

"What is that?" he asked and she quickly brushed her hair over her neck.

"Just a bruise," she said quickly.

He raised a brow," You think I don't know the difference between a bruise and a hickey?"

A reminder from her lack of control with Dean still hadn't faded yet. She looked away from him as her cheeks heated up.

"Dean?"

She nodded slowly.

"Girl what are you getting yourself into?"

"I don't know," she answered, glancing towards the door," It just happened once. I stopped it before it went too far."

Bobby sighed, rubbing his forehead," You just finished with his brother, Addy. Don't do this to yourself. You need to get away."

"Bobby you're in a wheelchair," she said sadly," It's not me you have to worry about."

Sam and Dean walked in with Castiel.

She stood up quickly," Heal him."

"I can't," he said as Bobby turned to him in his chair.

"Say again?" Bobby asked, his tone making the room quiet.

"I'm cut off from heaven and much of heaven's power. Certain things I can do. Certain things I can't," he said and Addy sighed.

"You're telling me you lost your mojo just in time to get me stuck in this trap the rest of my life?"Bobby asked angrily.

"I'm sorry," Castiel said remorsefully.

"Shove it up your ass," he said, turning his wheelchair back to the window.

Cas led the boys out of the room to talk and Addy stayed with Bobby. They sat in silence for a long while before she finally mustered the courage to talk to him.

"You know there's physical therapy and surgery you can do to-"

"To what?" he asked without looking at her," Be a hunter again."

"You'll always be a hunter, Bobby," she whispered.

"A hunter who can't run," he said with a scoff.

Addy's phone begins to ring and she saw it was her father. She answered it and gunshots were the first thing she heard.

"Dad…We have a bad connection…No…Where…River Pass, Colorado…Dad…Dad."

She stared at Bobby as the line went dead and Sam and Dean came back in the room.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked, noticing the alarm look on her face.

"It's my Dad," she said with wide eyes,"He said something about demons and I heard gunshots in the background."

"Go," Bobby said quietly and she looked at him.

"But what about you?" Addy asked.

"I'll be fine," he said and reached into the pocket of his robe," By the way. I grabbed this off the porch before the demons got me."

He took out her necklaces, both the rings on it, and she stared at it. She slowly took it from him and put it in her pockets. She turned to Sam and Dean and moved past them without another word.

SUPERNATURAL

They walked through the road of the deserted town. Addy held her gun tightly as she kept her surroundings open. There was no sign of life other than them.

"What do you think happened here?" Dean asked.

"Nothing good," Sam said quietly.

Suddenly, a gun cocked behind Addy's head and they all froze. Addy turned, grabbed the gun and turned it on the person. She lowered it in shock when she saw who it was.

"Kitty Turner is that you?" she asked quietly.

"Ellen," she said in disbelief and the older woman threw holy water in their faces," What the hell?"

"We're us," Dean said, wiping water from his face and without a word she walked between them, leading them to a church. They made their way inside the demon trapped area and once they were safe, she turned around and gave Dean a tight hug.

"Real glad to see you," she said and then let him go and slapped him hard across the face.

Addy and Sam winced at the noise as Dean said," The can of whoop ass I ought to open on you."

"Ow!" Dean exclaimed, rubbing his cheek.

"You can't pick up a phone? What are you, allergic to giving me peace of mind? I got to find out that you're alive from Rufus?" she asked, her hands on her hips.

"Sorry, Ellen," he said, fearing another slap and she nodded in satisfaction of his answer.

Addy smirked at the exchange as Ellen turned to her," And you too Kitty Turner. The hell have you been?"

The smirk dropped from her face," It's Addy now, Ellen and I've been around. Just kind of busy."

"Addy my ass, you're still little Kitty Turner with the pig tails to me," she said and hugged her as well," I raised you right alongside Jo. You're my little girl too."

"Missed you too, Ellen," she said under her breath as she let her go and she led them through the church," Now what's going on? My Dad said something about demons over the phone."

"I'll tell you one thing," she said as they descended a staircase," Can't handle it alone."

"How many demons are there?" Sam asked.

"Pretty much the whole town, minus the dead people and these guys," she said, coming to a door and she turned to them," So, this is it, right? End times? It's got to be."

Addy looked away from Ellen's prying eyes, guilt filling her conscious.

"Seems like it," Sam said.

Ellen knocked on the door," It's me." The door opened and they entered, various people scattered around a room," This is Sam, Dean, and…Addy. They're hunters. Here to help."

"You guys hip to this whole demon thing?" a man asked.

"Yeah," Dean said, giving the man a once over," Are you?"

"My wife's eyes turned black. She came at me with a brick. Kind of makes you embrace the paranormal," an older man said, twisting his wedding ring and she gave him a sympathetic look.

Dean turned back to Ellen," All right, catch us up."

"I doubt I know much more than you. Rufus called. Said he was in town investigating omens. All of a sudden, the whole town was possessed. Me and Jo were nearby-"

"You're hunting with Jo?" he interrupted.

"Yeah, for a while now. We got here, and the place…well, the place was like you see it. Couldn't find Rufus, then me and Jo got separated. I was out looking when I found you," she said, finishing her story.

"You think they're possessed?" Addy asked in worry.

"Doesn't matter," Dean said, giving her a reassuring look," We'll find them."

"Either way, these people cannot just sit here," Sam said as Addy noticed a pregnant woman looking around alarmed," We got to get them out now."

"Do you not see the pregnant girl in the corner?" she asked with more spite in her voice than she intended," These people are no army."

Dean sighed as Ellen said," There used to be twenty of us."

Addy looked around, her eyes wide," You lost that many."

"Demons are everywhere. We can't cover everybody," she replied.

"What if we get everyone guns?" Sam speculated.

"Most of them look like they don't know how to use it," she said quietly, looking over the room.

"It's our best shot," Dean said, giving her a wary look," There's a sporting goods store we passed on Main on the way in. I bet they got guns."

"All right. You stay. We'll go," Sam said.

"If we see Jo or my Dad we'll bring them back," Addy promised her.

As they went for the door Dean stopped her and she frowned at him.

"What?" she asked, looking between him and the door," Let's get going. Every second counts. We need to find them."

"Look you heard Meg," Dean said," Lucifer has some sort of plan for you and there are tons of demons out there. It only takes one of them to grab you and it's all over."

Her jaw tensed, "We both know that's not why you don't want me out there."

"Can we talk about this later?" he asked and she could tell he was glancing at Sam over her shoulder.

"So when do we talk about the fact that you don't think I can hunt anymore, Dean?" she asked, her voice raising and she lowered it when she realized some of the townspeople were looking at her," I can take care of myself and you still don't get that."

"That's not it," he replied sternly.

"Than what is it?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

He visibly tensed," Ellen needs help here. Don't leave her alone, Addy."

"So you're gonna play that card," she said under her breath and sighed," I'm staying for Ellen. Not because you told me to."

He smirked," I'd expect nothing else."

He went around her and the door closed behind them as she stood seething. Ellen shot her a look with a raised eyebrow as she came over to her.

"Wanna explain to me what you're doing with the Winchesters?"

She shook her head," Trust me when I say that'll take more time than I have."

"Too complicated, huh?" Ellen asked.

She nodded," You have no idea."

Ellen noticed the pregnant woman becoming increasingly stressed and she walked away from her. Addy picked up the bag she'd brought with weapons and went over to a nearby table. She dumped it and braced her hands on the table weight as she sighed heavily.

"Your boyfriend is very protective."

She turned to see one of the guys from town behind her. She turned her back to him as she said," He's not my boyfriend."

"Oh," he said with a slight Southern twang and she took note of the pleasant note of shock in his voice," So you're a hunter too? You fight these things?"

"Most of my life," she replied as he rounded the table and stood in front of her.

"Austin," he said, sticking out his hand to her and she stared down at it, blinking furiously as she frowned at it with no intention of being rude. He retracted his hand and she shook her head, clearing it.

"Sorry," she said quietly.

"You alright?" he asked genuinely.

She smirked," Yeah."

"You zone out like that a lot?" he asked and she frowned at the personal nature of the question," Sorry, it's just you have this look."

"What look?" she asked, still not looking at him

"The look of someone's whose been in war," he said and she met his eyes," I'm a veteran. Watched more than enough buddies go off the deep end after getting back from tours."

"Thanks but my tour never seems to stop," she replied quietly.

He nodded in understanding," Your name's Addy, right?"

She nodded.

"You ever talk to someone about this?" he asked.

She scoffed," And tell them that I fight monsters. I'm not sure how much help I can get in the loony bin."

He chuckled, "A sense of humor. That's good. Don't ever lose it."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but why the interest in me?" she asked, looking him over.

"Pretty girl with brown eyes that hold a million stories," he said with an attractive smirk," I couldn't help myself."

She chuckled lightly," You don't wanna go there with me. Save that sweet talk for a girl who doesn't have most of those stories as nightmares."

He nodded," Yeah but those girls don't get it like I think you do. Wake up in the middle of the night screaming tends to be a turn off."

She laughed this time and he laughed along with her.

"Pretty smile too," he said, looking her over," When this is all over we should go out for drinks."

Her face sobered," Sorry, Austin, but I'm doing you a favor. Don't go there with me."

"Alright pretty lady," he said," Just let me know if you still want that drink when this is done. Have a talk about those nightmares. I feel like we could help each other out."

With that, he walked away.

"Highly doubtful," she said under her breath.

SUPERNATURAL

Addy looked over to see Dean helping a few people fill shell casings with salt. She turned back to assembling guns with Austin in silence. Sam had left with Ellen to help find Jo and Rufus.

She clicked a gun and aimed it, making sure it was aligned.

"You weren't kidding about doing this for a long time," he said as she put it down.

"Yeah, I wasn't."

"There was this guy here earlier…Rufus," he said and she tensed," He's your father, isn't he?"

She nodded,"Yeah."

"Can I ask why you weren't with him?"

"Complicated," she said as Dean came over to them and began assembling in silence again. He saw Austin's ease with the gun.

"Where'd you serve?" Dean asked.

"Fallujah. Two tours. Got back a little over a year ago. Takes one to know one. Where'd you serve?" he asked.

"Hell," he answered and Addy froze.

Austin scoffed," No, seriously."

"Seriously," Dean said, his face sober," Hell."

Addy put down the gun and began walking away. She went out the door and up the stairs. She collapsed halfway on a step and struggled for breath.

She heard the door open again and she looked to see Dean. She shook her head, looking away from him as her breathing slowed.

He walked up the steps and sat down on the stair below her, leaning against opposite walls as he stared at her.

"I shouldn't' have said that," he said quietly.

She shook her head," No, you shouldn't have."

"I wish you'd forget," he said quietly," About hell."

"I can't," she said, leaning her head against the wall," And you're right. Maybe I can't do this job anymore and I'm kidding myself into thinking I can…I feel like I'm trapped in my burning house again, but this time there's no door. No way out."

He looked up at her, refusing to meet his eyes," Look at me."

Slowly, she did.

"It's not that I don't think you can't do this," he said," It's that I can't do this if something happened to you. You're not kidding yourself, Addy. You can do this. I know it and if not, then I'm your way out. I don't care if we're together or not, I'm right here."

"You say that like I can actually be there for you," she said, getting up and walking over him down the steps.

She made it to the door, but he stopped her," Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what, Dean?" she asked with a sigh without turning to him

"Walking away from me," he answered as she kept her back to him," I don't talk to people about how I feel, but I can talk to you. You make it easy. So tell me why you can't talk to me?"

"Because every time I make the effort to open up to someone it ends badly," she said, still not turning to him," I've learned that lesson way too many times but here I am learning it again. I'm sorry but it'll be awhile before I can-"

"Trust me," he finished, looking hurt.

She shook her head," Before I can trust myself."

"With what?"

"With you," she whispered, finally turning to him," I know you don't say it a lot but you love me, Dean and that's a big deal. I have to be careful not to hurt you like…"

She stopped, taking a deep shaky breath as she blinked furiously. He could see the tears welling in her eyes and she looked away from him as she struggled to hold them back.

"You can cry, Addy," he said softly," You haven't let it out yet. I won't think any less of you if you do."

She shook her head," I can't afford to cry, Dean. It's a sign of weakness and we have too many enemies right now for that."

He sighed," I'm not your enemy."

"I know," she replied.

Once again he'd gotten close to her without her knowing. She could feel his breath on her face as she struggled to keep her eyes anywhere but on his lips. He gently put his hand on her face and brushed her hair back from her neck in a caring gesture.

"I just want you to be happy without feeling like it's about to end for once," she whispered.

"I am when I'm with you," he said, leaning in and then paused," Is that a hickey?"

"Moment over," she said sarcastically, putting her hair back over it.

"I did that?" he asked with a smirk.

"Don't be happy with yourself," she said, going to hit him in shoulder, but he caught her hand in his and yanked her flush against him, "What are you doing?"

"Tell me to stop," he said, and she sighed as he dragged her lips on his neck," Just say it and I promise I'll never try this again."

Her back hit the wall and she tangled her hands in his hair as his hand traveled underneath her shirt and touched her bare skin.

"Addy," he said, his voice raspy," Say it."

"I-I can't," she whispered, closing her eyes and she felt Dean's smile on her neck.

"Do you have any idea how crazy you make me?" he asked.

"Feelings mutual," she said breathily, tilting her head back. Suddenly, they heard a door open and footsteps that grew closer. They let go of each other as Ellen stood at the top of the stairs…alone.

"Where's Sam?" Dean asked.