For a second she was confused and thought that maybe it was Dean, the real Dean, but she quickly found out that wasn't the truth once his eyes flicked to black and a haunting smirk covered his face.
She didn't think her heart could beat so fast.
"Didn't think I'd find you all alone, but can't say that I'm not happy about it."
She couldn't figure it out. What happened? How did he get loose? Her breathing increased when she briefly wondered if he would he hurt Sam. She nodded to herself. Of course he would, especially if Sam went after him, which sounded all too much like Sam.
She looked at the Demon in front of her and asked the only question she could bear to ask. "How'd you get loose?"
He moved closer and she backed away instinctively, even though she was blocked from moving any further because of the counter digging into her back. "Those handcuffs only work on demons. Sam's been injecting me with human blood and I guess it's working, because I slipped right out of them and the devil's trap."
She didn't know what to say, so she opted for saying nothing and moved away from the counter to put even more steps between her and the demon who was moving closer. "Where's Sam?"
"You're scared, but you don't need to be. I'm not here to hurt you."
"Where's Sam?" she repeated.
"Beats me. I thought he'd be with you, but I guess he just doesn't care about your well being as much as I thought."
She shook her head. That wasn't true. This was just an evil dick talking.
"Don't worry, you can come with me; I'll treat you just the way you need and want to be treated." She twisted her face in disgust and moved away. The demon laughed. "Really, you're gonna play hard to get? Okay," he nodded. "I can't say I don't love a challenge."
Before Dean could make another move, Dani made hers, running as fast as her legs would let her to the other side of the kitchen. She was nearly three feet from the threshold and she knew that if she didn't leave now, Dean would catch her and she had no idea what he'd do to her when he did.
She darted off and part of her knew she only got away because he let her. Once she was out of the kitchen she didn't know where to hide, where Dean wouldn't be able to find her. He knew the layout of the bunker better than anyone.
"Cat and mouse, it is! I'm only going to give you a few seconds head start, so you might want to make the most of them!"
Why was he giving her a head start? Was that him talking or the real Dean talking? She ran through the bunker, wanting get to the bunker's entrance, but she stopped herself. She couldn't leave, not yet—not until she knew that Sam was safe.
She was darting through the bunker, ashamed that she didn't have some kind of a weapon in her possession. Giving up hunting was really coming back to bite her on the ass. She ran down a long hallway towards Sam's room. She knew the pathway like the back on her hand. She remembered Sam coming this way and she hoped that meant that he was in his room.
When she darted through the doorway, pushing the door open with too much force, all she found was an empty room. Dread washed over her. Where was he? Was Dean lying to her? Did he know where Sam was? Did he have him locked up somewhere or worse?
She ran out of the room, looking both ways and seeing no one in sight. This wasn't good. She didn't know where Sam was and she didn't know when Dean would suddenly pop into view. She didn't know where to go, but she knew that she couldn't stay in one place.
Chances were Dean had heard her when she slammed Sam's door wide open and that meant he was probably on his way to get her. She rushed down the hallway, trying to be as quick and quiet as humanly possible, but that was difficult given how terrified she was. As much as she knew that the real Dean would never harm her, that didn't help with it came to the black eyed being.
While racing down one of the hallways, she heard Dean's voice. It instantly made her freeze.
"I can smell you, Sweetheart. You're not gonna win this game, so why don't you just come out and give me what I want?"
What did he want? She asked herself. What could she give him, besides her own life? She kept walking, moving further away from his voice, silently praying that she was eventually cross paths with Sam, before Dean caught up to her.
Suddenly it was pitch dark, but only for a second, before the red emergency lights lit up the hallway. Had someone cut the power? Was it Dean? She could practically feel her heart beating out of her chest as she tried to make her way through the bunker.
She walked carefully, having to walk instead of run, thanks to the lack of lighting. She kept turning her head, looking behind her, making sure that she was still alone.
Please, Sam! Please be somewhere close! I need you. She continued her path, reaching the end of the hallway and turning, running into something warm and solid, almost making her topple over, but before she could, strong arms wrapped around her. She shrieked, fearing the worse, but stopped when she caught whiff of the mystery man's cologne.
"Sam?"
"Shh," he quietly whispered. "No talking. Just follow me." He pulled her through the hallways, taking her to an area of the bunker that she wasn't familiar with.
"Stay here," he told her when he ushered her into a small room.
"Sam, where are you going?"
"Out there. I have to get Dean."
"Alone?"
"Yes, alone," he whispered, helping her sit down on a chair that was behind a desk. "Stay here. I'll come find you when it's all done."
"Sam what if he hurts you or worse? You can't go out there." she pleaded with him. "You can't."
"I have to. If I don't he'll eventually get out and I can't have that. He's almost cured, so I have to do this. I have to save him."
She couldn't just watch him walk out of the room, into the darkness, not knowing whether or not if she would ever see him again.
"Let me help you."
He instantly shook his head. "No, you can't be out there. It's too dangerous."
"It's dangerous for you too. Sam, I can't let you do this alone, I won't. Let me help, let me help you both, please."
Sam hung his head and then the lights were back on.
"Shit." Sam cursed. "He's going to try and escape."
Dani stood from the chair and walked over to him. "Then let's stop him."
"How?"
"He said that he wanted me, so let me help, by distracting him."
"How would you do that?"
"Talking to him. I'll try and convince him to stay, while you turn off the power again."
"Then what?"
"I'll lead him back to your room and then you can meet us there, hopefully Cas will show up before you get the power off."
"Dani, I don't want you anywhere near him."
"We don't have a lot time, Sam. We have to do this. We have to try."
Sam sighed and shook his head. "I can't let you do this, Dani, I just can't."
"Sam, I-"
Dani cut herself off when she noticed a figure in the doorway. Her heart pounded and she felt Sam's arm wrap around her waist, tugging her behind him.
She let out a sigh when she noticed the figure was Cas, not Dean.
"Cas, man, finally," Dani muttered.
"Dean's loose, Cas. We have to get to him before he escapes."
Cas nodded and closed his eyes. "He's still here; I can sense him. Let's go."
Dani moved past Sam and he grabbed her arm. "You're staying put."
"Sam,"
"If you're out there, I'll be distracted and not in a good way. Please just stay here." She wanted to argue and Sam must have sensed it before he cupped her cheek, making her meet his gaze. "I'm not going to budge on this. You're staying here. I'll come get you later."
"Sam, I can't just-" Sam quieted her by pressing his lips to her cheek.
"Stay here," he ordered, but then added in a soft voice. "I love you."
She stayed frozen in her spot, too shocked to move. Not only did he kiss her cheek, but he'd also said the three words that made her want to cry. He loved her.
He still loved her after so much time had passed, after hearing about how pathetic she had been when they went their separate ways. She didn't understand it, but she was more than thankful that Sam could still love her after so much time had passed. Of course it shouldn't have been so hard for her to believe that he could feel that way, because even though he had broken her heart, she still loved him.
She stayed in the small room, hoping that everything would be okay and that with Cas being there it would make things easier on Sam. As much as she wanted all her attention to be on Sam and Cas finding and catching Dean, she couldn't help but find herself touching the spot Sam's lips had touched.
She bit her lip, remembering his words. He told her that he loved her and as great as it felt hearing it, she couldn't help but think that he said it because he thought he might never get another chance. That thought alone brought on the tears that she'd been trying to keep at bay.
She sat in the chair, rocking herself as tears streamed down her face. She wanted to keep calm, but she couldn't, not when they were all in danger. If Dean got loose, Sam might never find him again. Dani didn't know if Dean had killed any innocent people while being a demon, but it didn't matter. He couldn't be allowed to roam free.
She wasn't sure how long she stayed in the room, rocking herself back and forth, hoping and praying that everything would be okay, that Sam and Cas would be safe and that Dean would be cured.
She must have fallen asleep at some point, because when she woke up she was no longer in that room, she was laying on a bed with a blanket pulled over her. She sat up and looked around the room, nothing looking too familiar, but she knew that she was in one of the rooms in the bunker. They all had the same look to them.
She was confused and worried. Confused because she didn't remember falling asleep or leaving the room at all and worried because she didn't know what was going on.
Had Sam and Cas caught Dean and cured him? Or was she going to have to have to find Sam and hear him tell her that Dean had escaped? She threw her legs over the edge of the bed and despite her current emotional state, she couldn't deny that the rest she had gotten was the best she'd had in a long time. Maybe because she was waking up sober for the first time in far too long.
She walked out in the hallway and was greeted by nobody; complete silence filled the hallway. It terrified her to think that she could possibly find Sam hurt or worse around any corner that she decided to take, but she needed to find him as soon as she could, so she pushed down her anxiety and pushed herself to move faster.
Just as she rounded to the corner walking into the war room, just off of the library she heard voices, but they were so hushed that it was hard not only to make out what was being said, but who was saying it. She moved slower than she had been and carefully peeked into the library, seeing Cas' face, he looked worried as he talked to Sam. She could only see the back of him, but that didn't stop her heart from pounding in her chest.
She stepped out into view and Cas' eyes found hers and he gave her a smile, before Sam turned around to face her. She carefully moved forward and Sam walked to her meeting her halfway as Cas seemed to take off in another direction.
"Are you okay?" he asked her.
She nodded. "The real question is, how are you?" she asked, checking him over with her eyes. He didn't seem to be any more injured than he was before, which she was thankful for.
"I'm good. We caught Dean."
Her eyes widened. "Really? How is he? Did the injections work? Is he okay?"
Sam gave her a small smile and nodded. "The injections worked, Dean, he...he's cured." he said and she could tell by his slight laugh that he was more relieved than he was going to show her.
She couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face and she didn't want to. "He's fine?"
"Seems to be. You know, given everything, I think he's doing as good as can be expected."
"Good." She sighed happily. "I knew you would do it. I knew you'd find a way to save him."
He looked at her with a look of amusement. "How could you have possibly known that?"
"Because it's you, Sam. I don't underestimate you when it comes to saving the people you love, especially Dean."
He smiled at little and then looked around the bunker, biting his lip. "Well, Dean's hungry, so I'm going to go grab some food for us, you going to be back here when I get back?"
Oh shit. Did he want her to stay? She really wasn't sure what to do with herself, she didn't really think of a game plan for herself once Dean was cured. Panic settled in her chest. Where would she go? She took a deep breath and stared Sam in the eyes. One baby step at a time, she reminded herself. "Do you want me to be?"
He smirked and nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."
She nodded. "Okay, then I'll be here."
Sam ran his fingers through his hair and then smiled at her. "He's in his room, you know. I'm not going to force you to do anything, but I think he'd like to see you."
"You do?"
"Yeah, I mean he asked about you. Asked if you were okay and if I thought you would ever forgive him for being such a dick."
She shook her head with a laugh. "Why wouldn't I?" She definitely wanted to see him now. "What did you tell him?"
"I told him to ask you."
She nodded. "Well, I'll go see him, then."
Sam nodded and turned to leave, but stopped.
"Dani?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"Sam, I didn't do anything. You did this, not me. Just you and Cas."
"I'm just thanking you for being here. I owe you a lot."
"No, you don't. Dean's like family to me, you know, I was glad to be here, even if I didn't really help him too much."
"You helped me."
She looked at him for a moment, remembering their last interaction. Sam being more determined than ever to keep her safe, getting her in a safe place, kissing her cheek to comfort her, telling her that he loved her. It suddenly got hotter in the room as she remembered the way his lips felt as they briefly touched her skin, they way his voice sounded so sweet and soft as he told her that he loved her.
She looked away from him, not wanting to get too caught up in the moment.
"I'm glad I could," she told him, taking a step back. "See you when you get back."
Sam nodded and then turned to leave, taking the heat that was in the room with him. Dani took a deep breath, trying to gather her thoughts before going to see Dean. She waited a few minutes after Sam left, before she made her way towards Dean's room.