A/N: And here it is, the chapter that all of this have been building up to! I really hope that I am able to deliver for you all! Also, Dean's love interest will hopefully be introduced in the next chapter, unless I decide otherwise. But, she will be introduced very soon and I really do hope you all will fall in love with her!
Also, in regards to the de-aging spell hunt I had you all vote on, the finalized votes were counted and you guys chose for either Natalie and Dean taking care of child!Sam or Sam and Natalie taking care of child!Dean. I have decided to go with the first one, since Dean kind of goes through a de-aging spell in this season. But, this hunt shall be coming up soon!
TRIGGER WARNING: In this chapter, Natalie talks about her past relationship. Now, she doesn't go into great detail about it, but it might just be enough to trigger some people who might've had some abusive or controlling relationships. So, I am just going to put this trigger to warn people to read cautiously!
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural
Dean felt himself slowly starting to wake up. At first, he felt delirious and when he opened his eyes, his vision was distorted, which made him feel sick to his stomach. Rubbing at his sore eye lids, he turned his head to the side and began to focus his sight so he could see where he was. A heart monitor was settled next to him and this prompted him to look down at what he was lying on and saw it was a hospital bed. It all started coming back to Dean. He and Sam returned to the house, only to find the place completely torched and was nothing more than a charred pile of ruble. Sam and Dean immediately thought the worse. After several missed calls to Bobby and Natalie, the brother's were finding it hard to accept the idea of Bobby and Natalie's bodies lying underneath the ruined home. Then they encountered one of the Leviathan that had stayed behind and that altercation ended with Sam and Dean being transported to Sioux Falls General.
"Damn." Dean quietly cursed, remembering that he needed to get out of here. Pulling the covers away from his body, he gingerly moved his legs over to the side. As he tried to stand up, Dean fell immediately to the ground. Confused, Dean looked down and saw that his right leg was in a cast.
Just as he began to mentally curse the fact that he was rendered almost useless, the door to his room opened and Bobby quickly stepped in. Dean was pretty much gawking as he stared at Bobby, thinking how he and Sam thought he was dead. But, Bobby didn't seemed phased by Dean's staring. Instead, he gave Dean a confused look.
"Bobby?" Dean asked, hoping it would give him some clarification that this wasn't a dream.
"Yeah, it's me. What are you doing on the floor?"
Dean blinked, remembering how he had gotten in the position by his pathetic attempt to get out of bed. He pressed his hand against the ground to push himself up. Bobby quickly walked over and grabbed Dean by the arm, helping him up.
"I...monster broke my leg." Dean fumbled over his words as he finally was seated back on the bed. He looked back up at the aged hunter, still in disbelief that he was actually here. "We thought you were dead.
"Yeah, well, I ain't." Bobby offered.
"So, then, where's N..."
As if on cue, the door opened and Natalie slipped into the room. "Bobby. Hey, we kind of need to hurry and get these two out of here."
"Right." Bobby turned back to Dean." Where's Sam?"
Dean, who had been staring at Natalie, realized that he had not answered Bobby. "Uh...head scan."
Bobby nodded and then gently patted the side of Dean's face. "Hey. I ain't going nowhere"
Bobby turned around and Natalie made a clear path for him to leave the room. Once he was gone, Natalie got to work. Placing the bag down on one of the spare tables, she pulled out a set of Dean's clothes that Bobby retrieved from the Impala back at the house.
"Okay. Here are some clothes for you to put on." Natalie walked over to Dean to hand him the clothes and paused when she saw him staring at her. "What?"
"What?" Dean repeated. "Nad...we thought you were dead."
Natalie pursed her lips together. "I know..."
At this point, Dean had pushed himself up and wrapped his arms around Natalie, tugging her close to him. Natalie could only respond by wrapping her free arm around him as well. He really thought that they were dead. But, Natalie had to remind herself what that must have been like for Sam and Dean. Returning to the junk yard, only to find that the house was destroyed and Natalie and Bobby were nowhere to be found. She probably would have thought the worse as well.
Dean finally pulled away and sat down back on the bed. "Why didn't you answer our calls?"
"Bobby and I were in a little bit of a situation..." Natalie said, but she could see the expectant look on his face. "I'll explain it on the way to the ambulance. You need to put these on so we can get the hell out of here." Natalie offered the clothes to Dean, who slowly took them out of her hands.
"Oh." Natalie spoke up, her lips pouting out. "You don't need any help putting those on...do you?"
Dean looked down at his broken leg and his eyes widened at the thought. "Uh. No, I should be fine."
"Okay." Natalie said with a small smile. Turning around, she walked towards the door and paused to look back at him. "Try to go as fast as you can. I'll be right out the door."
...
Natalie, while waiting outside of the hospital room, made sure to keep herself from being recognize by any of the nurses or doctors that walked down the hallway. She didn't know who was a Leviathan and who wasn't. Due to this, she had to be extremely careful with how she handled herself out in the public, especially when it came to returning to a location where they could instantly recognize her.
The door opened and Natalie turned, seeing Dean shuffling out on his crutches. Natalie could feel a smile come on and she cleared her throat, trying to rid of it.
Dean was able to catch the beginning of it and gave her a glare. "It's not funny, Nad."
"No, I know. It's just...never thought I would see the great Dean Winchester on crutches."
"Shut up." Dean rolled his eyes. "Can we just get a move on?"
Natalie nodded and began to walk at an even pace with Dean, making sure to keep her head down when a doctor or nurse walked by.
"So, are you going to tell me why you didn't answer any of our calls?" Dean asked, hoping to finally get an answer to his question.
"Yeah, well, Bobby and I got to the house and these group of guys were setting the house on fire."
"You were there when it happened?"
Natalie nodded quickly. "Then they tried to get into the car and we had a little scuffle with them. My phone must've fallen out during it."
"Then what happened?"
"We got out but three cars starting following us. Of course we had to get rid of them so I shot out their tires."
"Damn. Nice Nad." Dean proudly commented.
"Thanks." Natalie replied, not really fully taking Dean's compliment. "How did you and Sam end up here? And with a broken leg?" Natalie motioned towards his casted leg.
"Sam and I got to the house. We tried looking for you and Bobby. One of the Leviathan stayed behind. Threw me into a car, broke my leg and Sam got his head nearly kicked in...literally."
"Just what he needs. More injuries to his head."
"We squashed the guy with one of the junk cars though." Dean added, as if he thought it would make her feel better.
Natalie raised her brows. "Creative. Where was Sam? I mean when you called me about Sam not being at the house...where did you find him?"
"Oh, yeah, that." Dean recalled the memory quickly. "I tracked his phone and found him at this warehouse. He was hallucination Nad. It was messing with his mind to the point he pointed his gun at me."
Natalie looked over at Dean with wide eyes, which he only equaled hers with a scoff. "I know right. But, I was able to calm him and that's when Bobby called us." Dean took a survey of one of the waiting rooms as they passed it. "What was going on here anyway that got you involved?"
"Uh, Jody Mills, you remember that who zombie epidemic thing that happened here last year?"
Dean nodded.
"Well, she was in here, recovering from an appendectomy and she saw her doctor eating the liver from her roommate."
Dean slowly looked over at Natalie, his brows knitted in a surprise, disgusted look.
"She wanted me to come down here to check it out. I got here out of the hospital and then called Bobby to come and help. We got down to the morgue to examine the body and there was literally nothing in her. She was already "autopsied" on." " Natalie said, making sure to air quote the word.
"Then we got confronted by the doctor and we made a beeline out of that place. And I guess you can piece together how it coincided with Bobby's phone call." Natalie finished.
"So, Leviathan's just taking over whatever they can get their hands on." Dean commented.
"But, there is really no way of knowing who is a Leviathan. I mean..." Natalie paused to let a group of doctors walk by them. "That entire group could be nothing but Leviathan. We have absolutely no way of knowing."
"Well, let's just get the hell out of here and figure it out later."
As they continued down the hall, Natalie could see a few of the staff were giving them looks. Each time they would pass a group of staff, the stares they would get increased and Natalie could feel a small sense of panic. "Alright, Dean. We need to kinda hurry it up, because I feel like they are starting to know what's going on."
Dean looked up and around the area as they began to make their way past the main desk. Without saying a word, Dean tried to pick up his pace as Natalie tried her best to not move faster than him. Even though she wanted to get out of the hospital, her and Dean trying to make a break for the ambulance dock would be fairly suspicious if anyone saw that. With that in mind, Natalie made sure to navigate their movement so that it would be less noticeable.
Making it to the ambulance dock, Natalie told Dean to stay behind until she was able to see if the area was clear. Finding no one there, Natalie walked back towards the section of the dock hallway where Dean was and motioned for him to come down. Walking over to one of the doors, she pushed it open and kept her back against it to keep it open, allowing Dean room to walk through.
Once Dean was out, Natalie helped him over to the passenger side, opened the car door and helped Dean into the vehicle. Once he was in and she shut the car door, Natalie made her way over to the back entrance of the vehicle. Right as she reached for the handle, the door that she and Dean had come out of opened. Looking over Natalie saw the same doctor she and Bobby encountered in the morgue along with a nurse. Throwing the door open, Natalie quickly jumped in.
"Go! Bobby drive!" Natalie called out as she turned to close the ambulance doors. Before she could get them closed, the doctor and the nurse began to run after the vehicle. Slamming the door shut, Natalie's body fell against the doors as Bobby pressed down on the accelerator.
"You alright Nad?" Bobby called back to her, having heard a decent thud coming from the back of the ambulance.
"Yeah. I'm fine." Natalie groaned as she stepped away from the doors. She looked down at Sam, who was still unconscious, lying on the gurney and her lips pressed into a thin line. "How long till we get there Bobby?" Natalie asked.
"It's gonna take a while, so you might as well get comfortable."
Natalie blew out a breath and maneuvered herself over to one of the benches near the gurney and plopped down. Feeling a little hope in herself that Sam would wake up during the ride. That way, she could show him that she wasn't dead. She was still here.
Raising her hand, Natalie reached over and gently brushed away a few strands of hair from his face. "I'm still here Sam. I'm not going anywhere."
The sky was just beginning to turn dark as Natalie walked over to the passenger door, which was already opened, and waited for Dean to slowly get out of the vehicle. She could see the exhaustion that was emanating from him. Hell, they were all exhausted from that ride. None of them had successfully gotten any kind of sleep during the ride. Trying to sleep in an ambulance wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do.
Once Dean slid out of the vehicle, he took out his crutches and began to make his way over to the porch steps with Natalie following closely behind. Once they reached the steps, Natalie took Dean's crutches, set them up against the steps railing and motioned for him to put his arm around her neck, which he did. After securing her hold on him, Natalie and Dean began to make the rather difficult trudge up the steps. With Dean only able to hop on one leg, it was making for a rather interesting moment for them.
Natalie tried to lift Dean up as much as she could, since he was bigger than her, but she was hoping it would be enough to make it easier on his good leg. About halfway up the steps, all of Dean's weight suddenly clamped down on Natalie and his body began to slump, as if he was about to fall down. Natalie paused and tried to keep him up and she could hear him groaning.
"What's wrong?" Natalie asked, the strain in her voice was evident. She was worried that he would slip right through her hold.
"Cramp." Dean's singular answer caused Natalie to roll her eyes.
"Are you serious Dean? Come on." Natalie hoisted him back up, giving him a moment to let the cramp in his good leg run its course. Then they continued up the rest of the stairs and Natalie quickly threw the door open.
"Over to the couch we go." Natalie quickened the pace to the point that she was nearly dragging Dean. But, luckily they got to their destination quickly and Natalie gently settled Dean down onto the sofa.
Leaning back up, she stretched out her back and let out a breath. "You were seriously making a scene because of a cramp in your leg?"
Dean looked up at her. "Hey. It freaking hurt okay." Dean complained as he rubbed at his now sore thigh.
"Worse than a damn broken leg?" Natalie pointed at his gimp limb.
"It was unexpected, alright. I didn't expect to have a Charlie horse right then and there."
Natalie made a semi-sympathetic face. "Do you want me to give you one of my world renown leg massages?" She asked, her hands doing a little squeezing motion.
Dean looked up at Natalie, genuine questioning crossed his face, he didn't know whether she was really serious, but that sounds like heaven. "Would you actually do it?"
Natalie rolled her eyes.
"Hey you're the one who brought it up, not me." Dean added towards the end.
"Just stay on the couch and don't try to move." Natalie ordered.
"Wouldn't dream of it." Dean quietly commented.
Natalie walked back out of the house, not giving Dean any kind of remark as she went down the steps to get his crutches, which were still resting against the stair railing. Walking back in the house, Natalie set them down against the couch armrest, next to Dean so that he would have quick access to them.
Bobby walked up the porch and through the open door with Sam, who was walking with the aid of Bobby. Natalie turned and raised her brows at seeing Sam up on his feet.
"Is he awake?" She asked.
"Kind of." Bobby casted a quick glance over at him. "He's still a little...delirious, but he's able to walk somewhat."
Natalie nodded and looked down seeing that Sam was wearing a pair of gray sweatpants under his hospital gown. "Did you get those pants on him yourself?"
"Don't ask." Bobby commented. "I'm gonna get him into one of the rooms."
Natalie nodded. "Alright. I'll go and get the rest of the bags."
Bobby adjusted his hold on Sam before taking easy steps towards one of the bedrooms. When Bobby said that Sam was sort of awake, he actually meant it. He was conscious, but, the hit he took to his head was giving Sam a serious side effect. He was nothing short from delirious and was mumbling words that Bobby couldn't make out.
Walking into the room, Bobby hauled Sam over to the bed and gently sat him down on the mattress. With Sam's sweatshirt in his hand, Bobby set down the garment on the bed while he took off Sam's hospital gown. The whole time Sam's body would start to fall back and Bobby would have to quickly sit him up right again. Sam was literally like a rag doll. He had absolutely zero control of his body's balance. Gently pulling the hospital gown over Sam's head, Bobby quickly slid on the gray sweatshirt and Sam apparently knew that Bobby was done, because he wasted no time in falling against the mattress, his head sinking into the pillows.
Natalie walked into the room, Sam's bag in hand and placed it down on a spare chair near the nightstand. "Got his bag from the car."
Sam pried his eyes open halfway, only able to see two blurry figures standing next to his bed. He couldn't make them out, but he did recognize the voices. Bobby and...Nad? How is that possible? I thought they were dead.
"They are dead. You're just seeing what you want to see. It's okay, Sam. It'll pass." Lucifer's voice rang through crystal clear to Sam.
Sam turned to his side, huffed out his annoyance at hearing Lucifer in his head again and tried to gain some stability so he could push himself up. But, the two other voices began to grow closer and more clear. It was Bobby and Natalie.
"Nad?" Sam's voice rang out in a scratchy call that made the voices stop. Sam could feel himself grow frustrated from the silence. "Nad?" Sam asked, this time his tone took on a more frantic tone.
Natalie quickly walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge of the bed, taking hold of Sam's arm. "Yeah. I'm here." Natalie used her other hand to touch his cheek and she would feel how warm he was. "Bobby." She looked over at the hunter. "He's really warm."
"I'll go and get some cold water." Bobby said as he walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
Natalie turned her attention back towards Sam. His eyes were open and he was looking right at her, but when she really focused on him, it was almost like he couldn't actually see her. "Sam, I'm right here."
Sam blew out a strained breath as he rolled onto his back, his eyes closing from the pounding in his head. "...no...the house-it was gone...you...couldn't find..."
Natalie continued pressing gentle pressure against Sam's cheek, hoping him feeling her physical touch would somehow give him a sense of reality. "Sam...I'm right here. I'm here."
Sam feebly shook his head, as if he was trying to not listen to her. "...you're gone..." Sam finished with a huff that sounded more like a sob, which tore through Natalie. Sam turned to look at Natalie, his eyes, which were now glazed over, stared down at her. "...you're not real..."
Natalie pursed her lips together. Sam really thought that she was dead and that what he was looking at was, what, simply a hallucination? He thought that she was just a figment of his imagination. The fact that his wall was no longer existing and he retained a serious blow to the head, it was messing with him.
Bobby walked back into the room, carrying a medium bowl with cold water and a rag was sitting in the liquid. Natalie stood up and took the bowl from Bobby. "You'll be able to handle him?"
Natalie looked up at Bobby, who was staring at Sam, physically concerned for how the younger Winchester was behaving. Staring down at the bowl, enough time to gather her thoughts, she slowly nodded. "Yeah, we'll be fine."
"Alright." Bobby nodded. "I'll leave you to it. If you need anything, I'm right outside that door."
With a slow nod, Bobby casted one last look at Sam and then left the room, making sure to quietly close the door behind him. Natalie turned and sat back down on the bed, placing the bowl on the nightstand in front of her and made sure to place her phone down on the table as well. Picking up the rag, she dipped it in the cold water, wringed out the excess and folded the rag twice.
She went to work with wiping at his forehead and both cheeks. It was evident that the relief was greatly appreciated since she heard Sam hum his approval. Then, she moved the rag down to his neck, already feeling the cloth warming up. After doing the first over, Natalie dipped the rag back into the bowl and repeated the cycle, hoping to keep his temperature from rising. The whole time, Sam was making incoherent words that Natalie could not, for the life of her, decipher. It was just mumbling to her ears.
Natalie went to repeat the cycle of getting the rag cold, when Sam's voice finally spoke up, this time in something that she could understand.
"...when would you...have told me." Sam slurred out.
Natalie knitted her brows together in confusion. "What?"
"...if you didn't tell me at Fort Collins...when would you have?"
All Natalie could do was stare at Sam, perplexed by what he was all of a sudden trying to discuss with her. But, the words soon rang through as familiar and she brows raised when she realized that he was talking about their conversation, back at Bobby's. Either he thought they were having it for the first time or this was just a side effect from his head injury.
Natalie fiddled with the rag in her hands and blew out a breath as she tried to remember what she told him exactly back at the house. "I don't know. But, if you want to know the truth...I probably wouldn't have told you." Natalie said, repeating what she had said earlier.
Sam gave her his best attempt at a surprised look. "...why..."
Natalie shrugged. "You told me that you didn't have the best history with women and I understand why you would reject the idea of any kind of relationship."
"I've thought about it...a lot, pretty much every single day...and I guess I was just afraid you were going to get hurt...by me."
Natalie cringed at hearing him talk to her in the past tense. "Sam, you would never do anything to hurt me."
"Well, you already kinda did." Lucifer's voice appeared from the foot of the bed, prompting Sam to open his eyes, seeing him standing there, looking at him. "I mean, she really is gone Sam. The burnt house, not answering calls, you couldn't find her...oh yeah, she's definitely gone."
"...I couldn't save you, that's on me." Sam painfully admitted, his eyes still glued on the spot where Lucifer was continuing to taunt him.
"Sam..."
"I wanted to have that...that chance of normalcy...I wanted to have it with you...I wanted it so badly." Sam's face contorted at feeling his own guilt ridden anguish and since it was mingling with Lucifer's words, it was promising effective damage for Sam. This false guilt and grief he was experiencing was effecting him in a way Natalie couldn't even begin to try and come up with a way to snap him out of it.
Abandoning the rag into the bowl, Natalie leaned closer towards Sam, her hand resting against his cheek, feeling that his face was still very warm and she tilted his head to the side to make sure that he was looking at her. "Sam, it's okay."
Sam slowly shook his head. "...no, I should've told you...I didn't tell you..."
Natalie framed his face with her hands, ensuring that he couldn't look away from her and this allowed for their eyes to lock down on each other. "Sam. Tell me what?"
Sam's face finally relaxed, they were already red and irritated from the tears that had been brimming for far too long. Natalie felt a breath hitch in her throat. The look he was giving her, it almost seemed dead. It was just a blank stare that she was getting from him. But, she also see the conflict in them. To Sam, this wasn't real. She wasn't real and this was just his mind playing tricks on him, forcing him to relive what he wanted most.
During the moment of complete silence that fell upon them, Sam raised his hand up only to run a finger through her hair. "...I love you..."
His proclamation was so quiet and to Natalie, it felt like it came out of nowhere. Surprised, Natalie only managed to allow her jaw to drop open slightly as Sam's eyes roamed over her face.
"...I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner..."
Was he telling the truth? Or is this just his concussion doing all the talking? Honestly, Natalie, in the few seconds after, believed that this wasn't true. That it was just Sam talking "gibberish". This was dispelled when she repeated the words over and over in her mind. The grim look in his eyes that followed immediately after, it was all she needed to know that this was absolute truth.
Natalie leaned down and pressed her lips against Sam's forehead, enabling her to take her own moment in relishing in the fact that he actually said it to her. He might not be completely coherent, but she could tell that he was being truthful. Leaning away enough for her to touch her forehead against his, Natalie breathed out a silent sigh of relief.
"I love you too." Her words were so quiet, but Sam was able to hear them since she could feel his hand on her back pull her closer to him. But, he still thought this was all apart of his imagination. That she was just this made up form he was conjuring up in his broken mind. Despite all of that, Natalie knew what was real and all of this was. And Sam would know it once he was able to actually get some rest.
"You need to sleep Sam." Natalie said as she hesitantly pulled away from him. "Go to sleep. I'll be right here."
Sam didn't give much of a fuss. He just simply rolled over to his left side, but he made sure to take a hold of Natalie's hand and he didn't loosen it. Soon, she found her arm was trapped. Sam had her in a hold and frankly, she didn't want to pull herself from it. She was tired and they had been driving for a long time before they reached the cabin. Without any regard, Natalie kicked off her boots and maneuvered herself so that she was lying behind Sam, facing his back with her arm wrapped securely around him. As Natalie slowly felt herself succumb to her exhaustion, the slight appearance of a smile tugged at her lips.
When Sam first woke up, he sucked in a slow, quiet breath, allowing it to wake up his senses. He gently opened his eyes, to a small slit and was greeted by the constant stream of sunlight that was seeping through the blinds. His body gave a small twitch and it was then that he could feel an immense weight on his right side. Sam randomly moved his right hand and could feel the softness of fabric and the physical weight of something underneath his hand. Curiously, Sam began to moved his hand up the figure, thinking that it felt like the outline of someone's back. When this came across his mind, Sam's hand reached the tussle of soft hair that was also covering his forearm.
At this, Sam forced his eyes open all the way and when he gazed down, he could see the top of someone's head. Tilting his head towards the side, Sam was actually surprised to see that it was Natalie and his hand reached up to her head and he began to gently brush at her hair. Her cheek was resting against his chest, while her right arm was nestled across his stomach, keeping her close to him.
Sam's brows knitted with confusion as he continued to brush at her hair. The events of what happened last night were coming in spastic, unclear memories, but Sam could recall seeing Natalie. Of course, in his mindset thinking that she was dead, he didn't think that what he was looking at was real. Not to mention the fact that Lucifer was taunting Sam from behind Natalie, manipulating Sam into believing that it was all fake. That Sam had actually lost Natalie.
Nad? She was alive? She's...alive.
Sam could feel his entire body ease as a huge relieved sigh escaped his body. The relief he felt was unreal. The fact that she was actually there with him, sitting next to him and trying to keep a conversation going, Sam had to reprehend himself from waking her to ensure that this moment was real. But, in his moment of pure jubilant relief, Sam recalled one certain memory that hit him hard. Sam could hear the words play over in his head.
"...I love you..."
Sam had actually said it to her. He was beyond delirious, but he had finally told her what he really felt. She knows now. At least there won't be anymore awkwardness between them and this has all been resolved. Raising his other arm, Sam wrapped it around her, bringing her body closer to him. Her head nestled closer towards his neck and he gently rested his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes, hoping to relish as much of this as he could. But, the action stirred Natalie and she rubbed her cheek against his chest and her face scrunched up as she tried to wake herself up. Sam moved his chin away and titled his head back down to look at her and made a mental note at how adorable-that's not even a common word for him-Natalie was when she scrunched her face like that.
Natalie brought her hand up to her face and rubbed at her eyes. Turning a little onto her stomach, she tilted her head up, so that her cheek was resting against his shoulder and opened her eyes seeing that her face was a mere few inches away from Sam's. Their eyes locked down on each other, silently conveying to one another that this was real and that the previous night's conversation was not forgotten between them. Sam reached up and gently stroked her cheek with his thumb, sending a peaceful jolt down Natalie's spine.
Sam tugged her closer allowing their lips to brush against each other, adding a small sense tension between them in this silent, peaceful moment. Natalie's lips twitched into a small smile as she brushed her lips against Sam's, who moved his hand from her cheek to rest on the back of her neck. With that act, Sam closed the small distance, his lips coming into a soft contact with Natalie's.
Natalie could feel herself melt into him, her hand raising up to rest on the back of his neck, drawing him closer to her. Natalie couldn't help but notice that this kiss was different from the other times she kissed Sam. Before, they were fairly short and gentle. Now, Natalie could feel that the kiss was fervent, like Sam was trying to trace every second of this into his memory. Almost like he thought it was all going to disappear once they pulled away.
A loud thud from outside the room caused Natalie to give a quick jump and it effectively ended their session as they both could hear a faint "balls". Natalie slowly pulled away, her hand moving from the back of his neck to his cheek, her thumb brushing over the skin. As much as she wanted to stay here, in bed next to him, she had to get up. They still had Sam's head injury to deal with.
Natalie turned over onto her back while she reached into her pocket to get her phone, finding that it wasn't there. Turning her head to the side, she saw it sitting on the nightstand. Resting her head against the pillow for a brief moment, Natalie rolled herself towards the side of the bed and grabbed her phone, turning it on so she could see the time.
12:30 p.m.
"Well, then..." Natalie breathed out as she set her phone back on the table and pushed herself up to her knees. Running her hands down her face, she then turned back to Sam, his eyes still on her and Natalie couldn't help but smirk at how he looked. Really, she shouldn't since he took a hard hit, but he looked so out of it, almost like he was hungover.
"You know staring isn't a polite thing to do." Natalie playfully scolded.
Sam merely shrugged. Natalie shook her head at his state as she reached forward and gently pressed her hand against his forehead.
"How are you feeling?" Natalie asked, her voice was starting to rid of the grogginess in her tone.
Sam hummed in his approval at her hand against his head. "...mmm, head...hurts..." Sam finally slurred, which made Natalie's smile falter.
"Well, you did get hit pretty hard...from what Dean told me."
Sam once again only hummed in response, feeling a little disappointed when she moved her hand away. Instead, Sam decided that it was time for him to get out of bed. He turned over and slowly swung his legs over to the edge of the bed, as if he was about to get up and Natalie was quick to act.
She sprung forward, her hands clasping down on his shoulders tugging him back. "Sam, what are you doing?"
Sam, looking a little perplexed, looked back at Natalie. "I'm...going to get up...try and walk."
"Why?" Natalie had to give Sam another tug to keep him on the bed.
"If...if I get up...then I can move around and...make myself useful."
"Sam, why? There's no need to rush yourself, we're stuck here in this house for...who knows how long. You need to take it easy..."
"No." Sam protested, though not much determination was behind it, he was still delirious. "I need to move...around."
"No, Sam you need to stay in bed, until you are able to function at one hundred percent."
"I'll be fine, Nad."
Natalie leaned back on her knees and gave an annoyed sigh, along with a shrug. "Of course, you're gonna do what you wanna do, no matter what I say, because that's you." Natalie moved to the edge of the bed and got off.
"I'll be fine." Sam said again, trying to reassure her.
"Yeah, we'll see." Natalie replied as she strolled over to the bedroom door and opened it. "I'm gonna see if I can get some food for you." She finished before walking out of the room, letting the door close behind her.
Now that he was alone, Sam moved his body until he was sitting on the edge of the bed, his hands pressed down on the mattress beside him. Just moving himself towards the edge felt like a workout. His entire body was numbed with terrible aches and his head was swirling and pounding in various parts. Sam scrunched his eyes closed and let out a hiss as he felt a slow oncoming headache. Despite this, he began to muster what strength he could and tried to push himself off of the bed. Barely halfway up, Sam plopped back down on the mattress, the headache now having turned into a mass pounding.
"Okay...sit back up in bed." Sam quietly ordered himself as he slowly scooted his body towards the headboard until his back made contact with it.
Sam rested his hands in his lap and sat in silence, the only noise that was being made was from the kitchen and he knew that it was Natalie messing around in there. Once her name came across his mind, Sam's mind became flooded with chopped pieces of memories from the previous night. He tried to take each piece and get as much information from it as he could. Sam remembered waking up, still under the influence of his head injury, Bobby was carrying him into the house. At first, Sam was thought that it was a hallucination. Bobby was buried in the burnt rubble of his home, that's what Sam was convinced of.
But, as he continued to sift through his memories, Sam recalled hearing Natalie's voice during that time, but he was so out of it and her voice was so muffled and distant, he didn't register that it was her at first. Only when he was finally down on the bed, in his gray long sleeved shirt and washed out sweatpants, Natalie came strolling in did Sam recognize her voice. Their conversation was sporadic in Sam's mind, he wasn't able to piece it all together to get one clear continuous memory out of it. But, the one thing that was at the forefront of his mind was that he told her that he loved her.
That wasn't at all how Sam planned on telling her. Initially, Sam was going to tell Natalie at Bobby's, but of course, something came up as usual. And since he thought that she was actually gone this "hallucination" he thought he was experiencing was the only image of her that he had. And to make up for the fact that she never heard it, Sam thought that if he just said it, it would somehow make up for it all. And it sort of did. Natalie was actually there and she heard him say it and Sam remembered her saying it as well.
The door opened and Sam looked over, seeing Natalie walk into the room, only to stop under the doorway, a small smile slowly appeared on her face.
Sam slowly shook his head at her smile, knowing exactly what she was thinking. He was still in bed, where she had told him to stay and to not overexert himself. Of course he didn't listen and because of that, he didn't even make it off the bed. "And you're back so soon."
Natalie let out a laugh. "And you're still in bed." She playfully inquired. Natalie walked fully into the room and shut the door with her foot. She walked over to the bed, a plate with a ham and cheese sandwich in one hand and a bottle of water and painkillers in the other. Taking a slow seat down on the mattress, she maneuvered herself until she was sitting comfortably on the bed.
"So, how much walking did you get done?" She asked as she set the plate down in front of her.
"I...I didn't get anything done." Sam tiredly admitted, his head rested against the headboard.
"Oh." Natalie hummed as she placed her hand on his forehead again. "Well, that's good. You're still a little warm, but it's going down. So." Natalie turned her attention on the plate and picked it up, handing it towards him. "We only had enough in this place for me to make you this...lousy sandwich, but it's better than nothing."
Sam turned his head and looked at the plate, his eyes switching from the plate to Natalie before he finally took it.
"Bobby went out on a errand, to get some supplies to stock this place up. Also..." She picked up the bottle of painkillers. "Good thing I had these in my bag. You're gonna take two of these when you get done eating so..." Natalie motioned at the plate. "Get to eating."
Sam let out a breathy laugh. "Yes, ma'am."
Natalie placed the pill bottle on the bed and then rested her back against the headboard, turning to the side so that she was facing Sam and pulled her knees up to her chest. She watched in silence as Sam tore the sandwich into smaller pieces and slowly ate them, wincing every once in a while as he chewed.
But, her eyes on him was a distraction and when he looked over at her, he could see the slight amused look on her face. "You know...you can start a conversation so that you're not just watching me eat." Sam said, his mouth full of food.
"Okay..." Natalie rested her head against the headboard. "How much are you...remembering from the past few days?"
Sam chewed the rest of his food and then swallowed. "Well, the night that you and Bobby encountered that Leviathan at the hospital, it's all clear in my mind. It's everything that happened yesterday, I'm still behind on. So...maybe you could fill in the spaces for me."
"Right, um." Natalie looked up in thought and pursed her lips to the side. "So, Bobby and I were at the house when the Leviathan's were setting the house of fire, but we got out...hid out at one of his cabins. He got word that you and Dean were at Sioux Falls General and of course, we had to get you both out of there."
Sam nodded in his agreement.
"So, we got you both out and we drove all the way out here..."
"And where is here?" Sam asked as he placed another piece of the sandwich in his mouth.
"Whitefish, Montana."
Sam paused his chewing for a moment to raise his brows. "Creative name for a town."
Natalie let out a laugh. "Yeah, I know. But, we're a good distance away from Sioux Falls so...we're good. Anyway, we got here, Bobby got you into the room and then you started kind of...freaking out when I came in and then I just...stayed with you. And you just...talked."
Sam looked over at her as he tore off another piece from the sandwich. "What did I say?"
Natalie tried to refrain herself from smiling. "You were just talking, actually, you were repeating the conversation you and I had at Bobby's, before I left for the hospital."
"Oh."
"You don't remember any of this?" Natalie asked, hoping that if he did remember it, she could force him to say it again.
"It's all in fragments, I can't really make out what I was saying, but I do see bits of seeing you...sitting next to me."
Natalie silently nodded. "You didn't think I was real. You were talking to me like I was just a figment of your imagination."
Sam looked down at his half eaten sandwich and nodded. "I really thought you were gone Nad. And, the fact that my head isn't really top notch right now, I thought I was just seeing...what I wanted to see."
"I know. That's why I didn't really try to convince you that I was real. I knew it was just a product of your head being messed up, so I just, went with it. Acted like we were having that conversation all over again."
Sam occupied himself with tearing his sandwich into pieces when he couldn't help the faint smile that appeared. "I do remember one thing that I said to you."
"Yeah?" Natalie drew out the word, long enough for him to know that she had him hooked.
Sam half smiled and let out a breath, nodding to himself. "I told you that...I love you." Sam kept his eyes off of her, feeling his face beginning to grow warm from feeling flustered. He had not said that to anyone, not since Jess. In all honesty, it felt almost new for him again. Like he was experiencing it all over again, from the beginning. Finally, Sam looked over at Natalie and was only greeted by a huge smile from her.
"What?" Sam asked, looking a little taken back from her expression.
Natalie shook her head. "Nothing. But, you did. And I'll be honest, I didn't believe it at first. Because, your head and with the injury you got, I thought it was just making you say things. But, I could tell, you meant it."
Sam nodded. "I did, Nad. I was gonna tell you at Bobby's, I really was, but my head just got the better of me."
"Lucifer." Natalie offered, quite hesitantly.
"Not only him, but me as well. I just kind of, shut down once Jody called and I just...I couldn't tell you after that. I think it was because I was being doubtful about it...deep down. That's why I refrained from telling you."
"Well, I don't blame you. You've had your experiences with relationships, affected how you perceived future ones. I understand."
"Yeah." Sam picked at what was left of his sandwich, now having lost his appetite. "My relationship with Jess really was the beginning of it all."
Natalie pursed her lips together, pulling her knees closer to her chest, debating silently whether she should ask this question, but she couldn't stop herself. "What was she like?"
Sam looked over at Natalie. "Who?"
"Jess." Natalie immediately regretted asking the question. The look on Sam's face turned somber and she felt guilty, instantly, for making him remember a painful part of his life and also, she was asking him about a past relationship. Isn't that something you're not supposed to do? Natalie thought to herself. But, despite all of this, Natalie was very surprised when Sam continued.
"Jess." Sam felt a faint smile cross his face. "I haven't really talked about her in a while."
"You don't have to...if you don't want to. I really shouldn't have asked you."
"No, it's fine Nad." Sam assured her. "Well, I met her when I went to Stanford..."
"You went to Stanford?" Natalie asked, her brows raised faint surprise.
"Yeah." Sam answered. "That's right, I never told you about that. I really hated the life that I grew up in, constantly on the road, changing schools every few weeks or so, my dad was hardly ever there. I just hated it. I wanted out. So, I got out. Got into Stanford and I left."
"That must've not set well with your dad and Dean."
"It didn't." Sam shook his head at the memory, the night he left. It was one that had been buried in the back of his mind and it would only show itself on a rarity. "My dad was pissed and I knew Dean was to, but, I needed to get out."
Natalie nodded in her own agreement.
"I didn't really have any contact with them, my dad and Dean. I didn't call them or anything. I was living my life and then Jess came into the picture. She was caring, nice, was really easy to be friends with. She always had this open mind about everything. But, I think the one thing that really drew me to her was that she was supportive and understanding. You know, I left my dad and Dean, without much support from them and then she comes along and..."
"I understand. So, what happened between you two?"
Sam pressed his lips into a thin line. "Dean showed up, out of nowhere, told me that our dad had been missing after leaving for a hunt. And I went with him, to go find him. We ended up in Jericho where my dad was looking into a case, before he disappeared. We got done with it and Dean wanted to go on with the search, but I needed to get back to school. I give him props, you know, he took me back and..." Sam's voice tapered off, his teeth digging into his bottom lip as the memory flooded back.
Natalie kept her body tense, feeling guilty for having asked him the question. Clearly this was something Sam hasn't dwelled on it in quite sometime and there was a great reason for it.
"She was dead." Sam managed to finally mutter out the words, not wanting to go into the full detail of what he saw that night. "And after that, I had nothing left back at Stanford. I had this image of what kind of life I wanted and she was apart of that and when she was gone...I had no motivation to continue with that route. So, I left with Dean and...here we are."
"I'm sorry." Natalie finally said, after she had been able to absorb all of the information he had just loaded onto her.
"For what?" Sam asked, genuinely confused.
"You didn't deserve all of that and neither did Jess. I'm going to give you credit though Sam, you were able to branch out all on your own. I mean, leaving your only family at eighteen, got yourself into Stanford on your own when you had to change schools so frequently. I mean, you made a life for yourself. I don't think most hunters would've been able to really do what you did."
"I was oblivious to it all. I actually thought that I could leave that life, the life of being a hunter, behind. And I never told Jess about any of that, I kept it all from her. I probably should've just been truthful with her."
"You were just trying to protect her."
"Even when I thought that I was protecting her, it didn't do any good in the end. That's why with you...I was so hesitant at first."
Natalie loosened the hold her arms hand around her legs and she pursed her lips together. "Listen, I can see that you still hold guilt over what happened to her. But, Sam, you always told me, after my dad, my mom and my brother died, you always said that it wasn't my fault. Those two years after my dad died, before I met you, I had been living with this mindset that I was responsible for my his death. I witnessed it and I didn't do anything to stop it."
"Because you couldn't."
"Exactly. It's the same with you."
"Not necessarily."
Natalie's brows knitted together. "What do you mean?"
"Before Jess died, I had nightmares about it and I just brushed them off."
"Okay. But, it's because you thought of them as nothing more than just nightmares."
"I still could've taken it more seriously. From the life that I grew up in, something like that shouldn't be something that I just brush off."
"Jess, in her case, it is different from anything else. But, you still couldn't have known that something like that would happen. There's only so much you can do to protect someone. You can't control fate, as much as we may want to."
"Even though that's the truth, you can't really help yourself from feeling guilty or trying to find a way to avert it."
Natalie silently shrugged. "Well, it's human nature. We don't want to have to lose people that we love."
Sam silently nodded and he actually felt like some weight had been lifted. Sam never talked about Jess. It was a subject both he and Dean avoided at all costs. Dean never brought it up and neither did Sam. And as painful as it is, to look back on it, talking does do wonders. "And what about you?" Sam asked, looking over at her. "What's your experience?"
Natalie turned so that her back was leaned back up against the headboard and rested her head against it. Her eyes became glued on the ceiling allowing her and Sam to simmer in a thick silence.
"You don't have to tell me Nad..."
"No." Natalie quietly interrupted. "It's only fair, I mean you told me about Jess." Letting out a breath, Natalie tried to prepare herself for the humiliation that she was bound to feel once she told Sam the story.
"When I moved to Iowa, I made a few friends at my school and one of them was this boy and we became really close friends. All through junior high and into high school."
Sam nodded at her statement. "To me that sounds like the beginning of a typical relationship during school."
Sam could see the faint outline of a smile that began to cross her lips. "Yeah, it actually was. Well, by the time we were freshman, I guess you could say I developed the typical school girl crush on this guy. And he actually wasn't that bad looking either."
Out of the corner of her eye, Natalie could see Sam's expression change and when she turned to him, his brows were knitted together and had a look on his face that seemed to ask "seriously?". Natalie could only laugh at it.
"Sorry. Just saying." She lightly defended, but she saw Sam's expression disappear, telling her that he wasn't being to serious. "Anyway, I had this crush on him, but I thought that he wouldn't want to be with someone like me, so I just kinda brushed it off."
Sam gave Natalie a curious look. "Why wouldn't he be interested in you? Why kind of teenager were you?" His curiosity sparked at the last question.
Natalie's small smile turned into a bright grin that was followed by a laugh as she looked at him, knowing exactly where he was going. "I wasn't a brainiac or a 'nerd' if that's what you're thinking, but I was shy and quiet. If I had a class where none of my friends were there, I kept to myself and did my work. Never tried to talk with anyone."
She paused to wait for Sam's acceptance of her answer, which was given in the form of a nod.
"But, Sophomore year, I had a biology class with this guy and we always sat together, we were each other's lab partners. And then one day, he just asked me out and of course I said yes. And It was a...good relationship. The summer after sophomore year, I went on a hiking trip with him and his family. He was a great."
Natalie trailed off as she began to recollect the memories of what happened after that trip. As far as she can remember, that was when it all seemed to start to go wrong.
"But..." Natalie sighed out. "It was the last week of the hiking trip when he started to bring up the subject of...sex." Natalie made sure to quiet her voice towards the end. "The more I think about it, that's when it all started to go wrong. But, he would talk about it, not in the sense that he was telling me we should, it was just general talking on the subject. I told him to not think too much into it because it wasn't going to happen and he would back off...only for a little bit. And then he would bring it back up again."
Natalie could feel her body give a shake from a chill that ran down her spine. At the time, when he would talk to her about It, Natalie didn't really seem to notice anything off about it. It was her first real relationship. She has admitted to herself several times that she had no idea really what the hell she was doing. It was a learning experience for her.
"For weeks he talked about it and as it got close for school to start he started to say that it wouldn't be a bad thing, if we did. And I always told him no. But, he got into my head. I started thinking about it a lot. Whether it was the choice if I had sex with him or not. But, it was just a few weeks into the school year and he asked if we..." Already Natalie could feel herself becoming humiliated. She really didn't need to actually say it, She knew that Sam was more than aware of what she was going to say.
"Asked if we could..." Natalie paused once again, not even able to bring herself to say it. "And I said yes." Natalie decided to go past the task of physically saying it. "I didn't even think about. I took no time to really decide if I wanted to, it was just...yes. And after that, things just took a turn for the worse. He became a lot more...clingy? I guess is the word. He would get so upset when I would do something that didn't involve him."
Sam's face contorted into confusion and surprise.
"And we got into arguments about it. God, Sam I can't even bring myself to say all that happened between him and I. But, he wanted control over me and...he got it. That's where the whole 'meaningless sex' comes from because...that's what it turned into." Natalie sucked in a breath that stung at her throat. The lump was becoming hard to keep down and the sting in her eyes were signaling the oncoming tears.
"Did he ever hurt you, physically?" Sam couldn't help himself from how cold his voice sounded. This was, of course, all news to him and to think that Natalie went through something like that, it pissed him off. But, there was still an underlining to his question and Natalie knew that Sam was trudging more towards something other than just physical abuse.
"No. He never did...but, whenever he wanted it...he got it." Natalie cringed at her words, already feeling the tears break through. "Wow. I really stooped low didn't I? I never refused him. He always made me feel like complete shit. But, I never left. I never broke it off."
"Why not?"
Natalie looked over at Sam, shaking her head. "I guess, I felt like I had an obligation to try and make it work. Every time we fought he always made it seem like it was my fault. That because I wasn't making time for him, I was ruining the relationship... and I believed it. So, I felt it upon myself to make it work. But, that just made us grow distant, we got into more arguments whenever we were together. And by the time Junior year ended, he wanted us to take a break. He wanted us to see other people, but he could still come back to me. But, I told him no. If we break it off then we break it off for good. I'm wasn't going to let him use me anymore like some toy."
Her voice cracked at the end and Natalie quickly wiped at the tears in her eyes before they were able to break free. "And he got pissed at me. And just ended it right then, left me to sit in the dust. A part of me was happy though, because I clearly didn't have the strength to leave him, because I really thought that...I loved him."
A silence permitted between them both, allowing Sam to try and come to terms with what Natalie had just told him. And Natalie was having a hard time believing that she just told him all of this.
"Nad." Sam finally said, after the silent session. "I don't even know...what to say."
"Don't say anything." Natalie's voice broke. "I can't believe I told you...that was something that I vowed to never tell anyone."
"Why?" Sam went to wrap his arm around her, but when he did, Natalie gently pushed his arm away.
"No, Sam. Just..." Natalie moved to the side of the bed and stood up."Why?" Natalie repeated and let out a wet scoff. Standing at the foot of the bed, she shrugged. "Because I felt so disgusted with myself." Her hand pressed against her chest. "Why would I let myself go through that? Why would I let some guy have control over me? I regret it so much. I wish that I could take it back and do it differently. But, I can't. And what I went through was my fault."
"How was it your fault?" Sam's question sounded so surprised and a little upset that Natalie looked over at him with wide eyes. "This was something out of your control."
"No, it wasn't." Natalie shook her head, a new round of tears spilling out. "I could've prevented some of it. I knew when the relationship was falling apart, I knew that what he was doing to me, wasn't right. But, I never left. If I had just, left him, broke off the relationship early on...I wouldn't have gone through all of that. It's on me."
Natalie could feel herself finally begin to break,her bottom lip trembled which prompted Natalie to sink down into a chair that was settled next to the door. "And I hate myself so much for what happened. And I didn't want to tell you any of it, because..." Natalie's sentence was cut off by a small sob. "...because I thought you would think less of me." She buried her face in her hands, feeling incredibly silly for crying like this.
Sam moved the plate on his lap over to the night stand next to him. Moving his legs over the side of the bed, he braced his hands against the mattress and slowly pushed himself up onto his feet. Standing there for a moment, trying to reorient himself after a dizzy spell, Sam slowly sauntered over to Natalie and knelt down in front of her.
"Nad." Sam spoke, but Natalie didn't look at him, she only continued to hide her face from him. Sam raised his hands and gently grasped her wrists. "Nad, come on, look at me." Sam gently pulled her hands away from her face, seeing that her palms were wet from her tears. She kept her head down, not wanting to give in and look up at him. Framing her face with his hands, Sam tilted her head up until her red, swollen eyes were finally on him.
Sam took a quick assessment over her features. Swollen red eyes were starting to brim with new tears and Sam thumbed away the ones that managed to escape.
"Nad, you can't blame yourself for what happened. You had no idea that he would turn out to be some pathetic asshole." Sam's tone turned hard towards the end.
Natalie silently shook her head, her eyes looked like they were beginning to sag from the distress that Sam was detecting from her. "I was so stupid Sam. I was so unbelievably stupid. I just should've..."
Sam gently tugged Natalie towards him, allowing her to rest her head against his shoulder and rubbed soothing circles on her back. "Nad. It's okay. "
Natalie closed her eyes, exhaling a heavy sigh. "It's not okay, Sam. I should've been smarter...and I should've just told someone..."
Sam's body went tense, but he continued with his soothing rubs. "You never told anyone about it?"
"No. Not my mom, or Mari. Not even Aunt Clara." Natalie then let out a wet laugh. "And I definitely never told my dad or brother. No one knew about it...except you. You're the only one."
"Why didn't you ever say anything? To your mom or sister?"
Natalie feebly wrapped her arms around Sam, ensuring that she was kept close to him. "I didn't want to be a disappointment to them."
"I'm sure they would've understood, Nad." Sam answered honestly.
"I can't do anything about it now. I'm really good at not doing what the right thing is. I mean I stayed in that crappy relationship."
"Hey, come on." Sam gave her a small squeeze. "Stop beating yourself up over it. Nad you had no idea that would happen. And if it was your first real relationship, you had no idea what to expect or how to handle certain situations. This is not on you. And if you think it makes me think less of you...it doesn't."
"You say that a lot." Natalie inquired lightly.
Sam allowed a small smile to appear. "Because it's the truth Nad."
Natalie smiled, tiredly, but she could feel Sam's stance was beginning to falter. He shouldn't be out of bed right now and he only did so because she was crying her eyes out, which made her feel completely exhausted at the moment. But, she remained in her position, cheek laying against his shoulder, arms wrapped in a weak hold around him and his soothing rubs against her back were helping calm her. Inhaling a deep breath, her body relaxed in Sam's hold and Natalie gently pulled herself away from Sam, bracing her hands on his shoulders to help keep him balanced.
"You shouldn't have gotten out of bed." Natalie quietly commented.
"I couldn't just leave you to sulk in this chair alone."
Natalie genuinely smiled, which Sam was glad to see at the moment. "Come on. Get back in the bed." Natalie stood up from the chair, took a hold of Sam's arm and helped him back up onto his feet.
Although, Sam was determined to walk to the best himself, which he did, despite the fact that he would sway from side to side. He had to admit, he was getting fairly annoyed with how dizzy he was. Sam gently lowered himself back onto the bed just as Bobby knocked and opened the door. Natalie and Sam both looked over at him, Bobby pointed out towards the kitchen. "What do you two want for dinner?"
Natalie simply stared at Bobby and then shrugged. "I don't care. I can help make it if you want." He didn't really seem to notice Natalie's red, swollen eyes. But, Natalie knew that once she was out there in the kitchen with him, he would notice it.
"Fine, by me. How you feeling Sam?" Bobby asked, gesturing towards him.
Sam gave a lazy shake of the head and exhaled. "I think I'm as good as I'm going to be right now."
"Not the most satisfying answer, but it'll have to do." Bobby motioned for Natalie to follow. "Alright, Nad, let's go see if we can destroy the kitchen."
Natalie smiled and gave her nod of compliance. Bobby turned out of the room as Natalie looked back down at Sam, "Just rest. Also...thank you for listening."
Sam looked up at Natalie, giving her a half smile. "You listened to me, so it really isn't something you have to thank me for."
Natalie leaned down and placed a quick kiss against his forehead, her hand momentarily brushed through his hair, feeling that it was massively tangled in some places. He really needed to take a shower. Pulling away, Natalie brushed her thumb against his cheek.
"Oh, by the way, your hair really is a mess right now." Natalie inquired as she began to walk towards the door, but she made sure to keep her eye on Sam, whose reaction was priceless.
His brows knitted together, mouth parted and he looked almost genuinely offended, but Natalie could tell that Sam knew she was just trying to poke at him. "Then I'm gonna have to take a shower soon." Sam lightly retorted.
"Not right now you aren't." Natalie finalized, giving Sam a light-hearted stare.
As she turned towards the door, Sam's voice, once again, stopped her in her tracks. "Nad?" Natalie paused and turned to look at Sam.
"You know that I would never do that to you, right?"
Natalie allowed her gaze to drop at the subject he was poking at. She knew that Sam would never do something like that to her. He would never try to forcibly take control of her life or make her feel so used. She knew this. What she experienced in high school was hopefully the only time she would have to go through a horrible relationship. But, it was still reassuring to hear him say it and knowing that he meant it.
"I know."
And I am going to stop there for now. So, what did you all think?! Not really the typical way someone confesses their love for another, I know. But, I had several different scenarios written out for the love confession and I don't know, this one just seemed to stick out more to me. So next chapter we will be meeting Dean's future love interest and someone else will return!
Review Responses:
Ladysunshine6: It was really good to be back, especially after the hell I went through with chapter 2! And I hope you like this chapter!
Marieniz V: AHH HERE IS THE NEXT CHAPTER FOR YOU! I hope that I was able to deliver for you all!
Fyen: I am so glad you like the chapter and I hope you like this one as well! And thank you! Sometimes I do have a hard time incorporating Natalie to some scenes, but I manage my way!
Marloweee1856: I am glad you're liking the longer chapters! I'm pretty sure from now on, there will be nothing but long chapters HA! I KNOW THE FEELS ARE UNREAL BETWEEN THESE TWO! I hope I was able to somewhat kill you with it this chapter. Nad and Jody are definitely a lot of fun to write together and I hope I'm able to put Jody into my story more than she is on the show, but we will have to see. And Bobby and Nad...oh man my heart hurts just thinking about it. It is honestly going to be so painful writing Nad's reaction to his death. And the car scene was one of my favorite things to write. I love writing badass!nad! And with Caden, you will just have to wait and see...
Sarahmichellegellarfan1: Glad you liked the last chapter! And I really hope you like this one! It has been a long time coming.
Soul's Companion: I am so glad I'm hitting you all with the feels! That is my goal! HA! Sam/Nad they are just adorable, aren't they?
January Lily: Writing Caden and Elle would be one of the most epic things ever! HAHA! I know, I know, the feels are just to much when it comes to these two. Fangirl with me! I am right there with you!
Guest: Glad you loved the chapter and I hope this one settles your Sam/Nad cravings! And Sam and Nad will have sex, sometime in the near future, but it won't be a full out, detailed scene. It will just be implied they slept together.