CHAPTER FOUR

Forty-five seconds after Casey had disappeared to chase down the boys, Bennett was halfway to the staircase leading to the door. She needed to get outside. Now that a demon was in their basement, she couldn't stand to be in the bunker. Despite Casey's order to stay put, she headed for the stairs and ran up them two at a time. It was stupid, she chided herself, to be this afraid now. After she'd been shredding demons not that long ago. But that was when she hadn't had much choice. When they'd been desperate. Now that she'd had time to think about it for awhile, it seemed a lot scarier than it had before.

Bennett shoved the heavy door aside and sucked in a deep breath of fresh air. The bunker felt stifling and confining and an awful lot like a tomb. She pressed a hand to her eyes against the blinding brightness of the sunshine. She hadn't taken more than two steps from the bunker before she felt exposed and completely vulnerable. The bunker was a tomb, but it felt a lot safer than it felt standing all by herself outside. But she needed to get away from the demon and its thoughts. Now that it was this close, she could hear everything it was thinking and she wished Crowley had never shown her that aspect of her power.

Pushing the door half-closed behind her, Bennett stumbled away; she had no idea where she was going. Just away. The sunlight wasn't helping her headache and even closing the heavy bunker door hadn't done anything to shut up the voice in her head. Her hands shook as they fumbled in her pockets. She dropped the lighter twice before she finally got the cigarette lit. She needed a smoke like she'd rarely needed anything in her life. Climbing the stairs, Bennett saw the Impala and made a sharp left. No smoking near the car. She'd learned that lesson.

So she just walked. Every step took her farther from the demon, but not farther from its voice.

"Why?" Bennett asked aloud. It wasn't bad enough that she'd been to hell and back, that she could sense demons, that she had freaky scary monster powers? Why did she have to be able to hear their thoughts?

This one is going to die so pretty. She might be an angel but I'm going to cut her up...

Bennett shook her head, trying to block the demons thoughts out of her mind.

They think this is scaring me? The demon's voice was clear in her head. Ha. I've had tougher job interviews…

The demon was in pain, but was laughing about it and she didn't want to know, didn't want to hear it. Bennett blew out a cloud of smoke and leaned against a tree. Pulling out all the stops, she focused all her energy on painting a picture.

Blue lake. Cloudless Sky. Peace and quiet.

She didn't even notice the blood.

MOL bunker

Casey had stalked straight to the shooting range, but hadn't yet bothered to even pick up a gun. She needed to get her emotions back in check. Needed to rein it in. Her hands were still fisted at her sides, her entire body was shaking and she could feel the tension, the anger coursing through her system. Sam had been completely right. Something she didn't want to admit, even to herself. But it was the truth. She had been out of control. She had gone into a situation without knowing what was going on and she'd lost it.

"What is wrong with you?" She said aloud, punching a fist into the wall.

The sharp pain seemed to break her. Not her hand, not skin, but her. The pain broke her mind free from the anger and everything else escaped from behind it. Her breath rushed out of her as if she'd been punched. Leaning against the wall, she let herself slide to the floor because her knees were just not going to hold her up any longer. Tears suddenly burned her eyes and she tried to fight back the sobs. Once she'd let go of some of the anger, though, the emotions that she couldn't seem to hold in check anymore flooded her. Casey lowered her face to her hands and sobbed uncontrollably. Her back hit the cold cement wall with each sob, but she didn't care.

Trying to rein in the tears, Casey lifted her head and rubbed a hand over her face. She should never have gone into that room. Dean had told her to stay out of it. It just made her bristle, made her absolutely furious that...that he was bossing her around. That was the bottom line. He had told her no, and like a three year old, she had pitched a fit and walked into something she shouldn't have. She'd been a hunter long enough to know that you just didn't jump in the middle of something like that. It never turned out well.

"Why won't he talk to me?" Casey whispered in a broken voice, still angry, but more distraught. Her shoulders shook again.

Did he not trust her? Did he think she couldn't handle it? No. She knew better. She knew he just wanted to protect her. But it was frustrating that he seemed to think the only way to make it happen was to act like some kind of chauvinistic knight in shining armor. Shining armor she wasn't opposed to, but the whole I am the man and you are my woman thing was a bit tough to take.

She knew she needed to talk to him. Needed to tell him her true feelings so they could lay this to rest. Casey scrubbed a hand over her face and whispered, "I don't want to fight with him."

But for now, for right now, she needed to stay put. She needed to breathe and get back a little perspective. If she went near Dean right now, she would probably regret it.

"Because I would very likely shoot him…"

Dean went straight for the kitchen. And not for a beer, but for the bottle of Jack. Heaven help him, he was in love with the most infuriating woman on the planet. All he wanted to do was protect her. Keep her safe. Make her happy. But apparently those things were in complete opposition one to the other. Making her happy apparently meant letting her go into dangerous situations while keeping her safe seemed to be doing nothing but making her unhappy.

"This wasn't so difficult in purgatory." Dean mumbled, shaking his head and staring up at the ceiling. He slammed the cabinet door and took the bottle with him. He needed some air and he needed not to be anywhere near Casey Economou for awhile. He sincerely hoped she wasn't going to come looking for him. Because their conversation would most likely not be their most constructive.

"Destructive, more like it." He muttered, taking a drink and heading for the stairs.

Reaching the top of the stairs, he was surprised to find the front door was unlocked and half opened. That wasn't a good thing. Bottle of Jack in one hand, he fingered his Taurus and pushed the door open cautiously. Nothing. Everything looked clear. For a moment, he wondered if Casey had gone outside, but there was no way she had gotten by him. Pushing the door closed behind him, Dean realized there was one other person who might have done it.

"Bennett?" He called out, glancing around the area. No sign of anyone. Huh. Maybe Sam hadn't closed it when they'd come back with the demon. Taking another swig from the bottle, Dean marched over to the Impala.

He yanked the front door open and got behind the wheel. Not that he was going anywhere. He just needed to sit and think.

"And drink." Dean mumbled, taking another sip. He closed his eyes and let his head rest on the back of the seat.

Sam stood alone in the hallway outside the dungeon.

For a long time.

It was quiet. It was peaceful and, for the moment, he wanted to pretend that was the way life was. Quiet and peaceful. For a few minutes he wanted to forget that he had a demon locked up on the other side of the door. Forget that Dean and Casey were at each other's throats and he didn't know how to help either of them. Forget that Bennett seemed to be falling apart. Pretend that there was no such thing as monsters. He closed his eyes and tried to remember how it had felt as a kid to not know that evil things were real; to remember life before that Christmas when Dean had told him the truth.

Whether it was the sterile and unnatural coolness of the basement hallway, the fact the he held a bloodstained knife in his hand, or the fact that he'd gone through so much since that Christmas, but Sam found he couldn't even begin to remember what it had felt like not to know. He shook his head and sighed. The moment was over. Looking down the hallway, he knew he needed to get back to reality. Needed to check on everyone else. Because, despite everything, they had a job to do.

The only question was, who did he want to try to tackle first?

He shook his head as he considered his options. Dean would probably not shoot him, (probably), but as furious as he had been, Sam was feeling a bit cowardly. Of course, going after Casey might be its own special brand of hell, he realized. Shaking his head, he wished he could simply roshambo his way to a decision; but there was nobody to throw scissors.

Part of him was tempted to say screw it and leave Dean and Casey to themselves, find Bennett and take her out for dinner. Just to get away from the tension that he could practically feel vibrating through the walls of the bunker. But given the fact that the latest tension was directly related to a demon they had tied up in the dungeon, he knew he couldn't just leave that behind. Sighing, he shook his head and returned to his options.

Dean.

Or Casey.

Sam decided he was going to take his chances with Casey. She'd gone to the shooting range, but he had a feeling Dean had headed for the whiskey. Shaking his head, Sam pushed off from the wall and headed toward the shooting range. He was surprised when he arrived and didn't hear any shooting going on. It was a bit disconcerting, actually.

"Casey?" He called out well before reaching the doorway. Just in case she was going to start shooting. At him.

"Sam?"

Breathing a little easier at the sound of her very calm voice, Sam poked his head into the room. Casey was sitting against the wall, knees drawn up under her chin. Her eyes were reddened and puffy, cheeks bright with drying tears as she sniffed and looked up at him. She looked awful and he almost wished she had been shooting holes in the wall rather than crying.

"Hey, Casey." He said softly, easing down next to her.

"Hey."

Sam asked, "How are you doing?"
She wiped her hands across her face and took a shaky breath, "I'm...well, I'm not great. I'm sorry about earlier."

"It's ok…"

"No, it's not. You were completely right. I was out of control." Her voice broke and she lowered her eyes. "And Dean was right too. I should have kept my nose out of it."

Sam said, "Dean was just trying to…."

"Protect me."

"Yeah."

"He does that a lot." Casey's smile was brief. "Kinda irritating."

Sam laughed, "Try being the little brother."

"I bet." Casey gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. She was silent for a moment, then whispered, "I just...I don't know how to deal with him being so overwhelming… you know?"

"I do." Sam nodded, glancing across the room. He thought about the trip back with the demon. The things the monster had said. Casey was involved now, though. There really wasn't a reason not to tell her. So he said, "Look, Casey...that demon. He...the things he said on the way here. It got to Dean. Big time."

Casey tilted her head, "What do you mean?"

"He was taunting us, needling Dean about you." Sam shook his head, "And this wasn't just, you know, pass the time demon chatter. This was threats. Really twisted, dark threats. Dean hadn't wanted you to know about...the demons because he's worried about you. But after what that thing said on the way here...I think he just lost it."

She nodded slowly, considering his words. Finally, she asked, "You said demons. Plural."

"Yeah."

"How?"

"Bennett sensed them yesterday."

"What?" Casey's eyes widened, "She...she never said anything…"

"To you." Sam smiled briefly. "She told me. She was really scared because she knew there were a lot of them around. I think she's still freaked out after what happened in Chicago. You know? She thought you were dead in that warehouse."

Casey blew out a slow breath. "A girl gets knocked on her butt once and she never lives it down."

Sam smiled, "It was a pretty spectacular beat down, Casey."

"I know. Ok. I get it." She nodded. "I get it. I scared you all. I'm sorry. It's just...I, I'm not used to having so many people get so freaked out about me. It's taking some getting used to."

"I know. This is a bit new to all of us."

Casey sighed, "I need to give Dean a break." She smiled, then shook her head, "But Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I need a few more minutes. If I go near him now…" She rolled her eyes, "I think the break I give him will be in a bone."

Dean had a nice gentle alcohol buzz going on when the passenger side door opened with its familiar creaking noise. Startled, he opened his eyes and sat up straighter in the seat. He looked over as Bennett got in the car and pulled the door closed behind her. She reeked of cigarette smoke and he was about to tell her in no uncertain terms that she needed to be out of his car when he took a good look at her and his priorities shifted from the upholstery to the girl sitting next to him.

"Bennett? What happened?" Dean asked, frowning and turning so he could see her better.

The dark circles under her eyes and the blood she'd mostly wiped off provided the only color to her face. Her hair was windblown and in her eyes; he saw blood splattered down her shirt and on her sleeve. She looked at him, then wordlessly grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the seat and took a swig. Watching in shock at first, Dean took the bottle away from her when it didn't look like she was going to stop until she'd drained it. Bennett glared at him when he took the bottle.

Dean grabbed her arm and held it up in front of her, indicating the blood. He asked again, "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"That's not what it looks like to me." Dean said, not liking how pale she looked or how much blood was on her shirt. She squeezed her eyes shut, opening them with difficulty and looking a bit too close to throwing up or passing out for his liking.

"You puke up that good whiskey and I'm making you clean it out of the carpet." He said and pushed her head down toward her knees. "You gotta stop this, you know that?"

"Stop what?" She kept her head down, but looked up at him blearily.

"Bleeding out all over the place. You gotta stop it or we're gonna need a fridge devoted to O negative."

Bennett raised an eyebrow, "You know my blood type? That's creepy. I don't even know it."

"O neg is the universal blood type." Dean said, "We've been around that block so many times we have address labels." He glanced around outside the car, searching for any threats. Nothing he could see. Still holding her head down, he said, "You have fifty-nine point two seconds to tell me why you were out here by yourself, smoking, don't think I can't smell it on you, and donating your blood to the driveway."

Bennett whispered, "The demon. I can hear everything it's thinking."

Well, that certainly explains a lot, Dean thought, blowing out a slow breath and considering all the implications of her admission. On one hand, what a very convenient skill to have. Interrogations would be a whole lot easier. But, staring at her shell-shocked and exhausted face, he knew it wasn't anywhere near as awesome in real life as it might be in theory. He could understand why she'd been smoking and drinking.

He said with understanding, "Not exactly happy thoughts."

"More like perverse daydreams of torture and murder." Bennett rubbed her forehead and pushed herself upright. Leaning against the seat, she looked up at him and said, "It's like I'm back there…reliving all of it. And now...hearing what it's thinking, saying..."

"Did it just start today?" He asked, cursing himself again for bringing that demon back to the bunker. "I'm sorry, Bennett. I shouldn't have…"

"It's ok." Bennett forced a quick smile. "No, it started when Crowley was helping me figure out my powers." She took a shaky breath, "It got really bad when you came back with that demon because he was so close I think. I've been trying to ignore it, paint a picture, just block it all out."

"And?"

"And my head almost exploded." Bennett sighed, motioning to her shirt. "I came up here to try to get away. I started painting a picture…and then my nose started bleeding. I think it was just too much all at once."

Dean nodded and asked, "Are you still doing it? Painting a picture and blocking it out?"

"No." She grimaced, "It hurt too much. I was coming back inside when I saw you in the car."

"So you're hearing it right now?"

Bennett shook her head and said, "It's unconscious. And it's quiet right now."

The way she said it made Dean realize it hadn't been quiet in her head for a long time. He asked, "I thought you were doing better controlling these powers. You were doing better."
"I don't know why. I'm not as focused. I was more focused before, when we were going to be killed if I wasn't. Now," she shivered and reached for the bottle. Her hand extended, she waited expectantly and said, "I don't want to hear demons all the time."

Dean hesitated for a second, then handed her the bottle. He asked, "How are you not passed out? That's the good stuff."

Bennett took a drink and smiled, "Not my first bender, Dean."

"You've been out of hell what? A few weeks? When did you have time…" He paused, watching as she raised an eyebrow. Dean frowned and said, "You were a kid…"

"I was fifteen. You didn't start drinking till you were legal?" Bennett grinned as he tried to think about that. Her smile faded and she shrugged, "It's sweet how you guys all think I was this nice kid. I really wasn't. Maybe my parents despised me for a good reason."

Dean studied her for a moment, absolutely hating the despair and resignation in her eyes, and said, "You are a nice kid and your parents sound just lovely. Like lovely enough to have deserved everything they got."

He saw the doubt in her eyes and found himself suddenly and deeply grateful that, no matter how messed up his childhood had been, he'd known his parents loved him. He said, "Look, we all have a past, Bennett. We all have things we wish we could change, could forget. Trick is to leave it in the past and make your life your own. You can't erase it, and maybe you can't forget it either. But that doesn't mean you have to be that person."

Bennett took a deep breath and nodded. She smiled and said, "I'm really getting sick of all of this."

"I bet." Dean brushed the hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Hand gentle on the back of her head, he said, "Take it from Batman, being a superhero isn't always easy."

"Apparently." She rubbed her head again and said, "I think I'm going to go legitimately and completely crazy if I hear demons all the time."

Dean grimaced and sat back in the seat, glancing at the whiskey. He shook his head and said, "Maybe it won't be all the time. Maybe you'll get a handle on it like you did with everything else."

"I hope so." Bennett said. She handed the bottle back to him and added, "I wish it would just go away, though. I'd do anything to get rid of it. I don't want to get a handle on it. I just want to be done with it."

"Sam and I were thinking it might be time to try to get ahold of Crowley. See if he has any idea." Dean said just as his phone started ringing. Glancing at the caller ID, he answered it, "What's up, Sam?"

"Where are you? Have you seen Bennett?" Sam sounded a bit panicked. "We've been looking for her and…"

"She's with me." Dean interrupted, "Demon still passed out?"

"He's in and out. Where are you guys?"

Dean considered that for a second, then asked, "Hey, does Echo still want to kill me?"

"Uh, no, I think you're safe for the moment. But she really wants to kill that demon."

"Me too." Dean said, "Ok, leave him neatly packaged and you guys come meet us up here by the Impala."

"What? Why are you out…"

"Just close the door behind you and get out here. Bring a bottle of water." Dean instructed then hung up before he had to field any more questions.

30 minutes later
MOL dungeon

"Oh come on, you can do better than that, you were doing so well," Casey said and plunged the blade into the demon's other thigh. The demon howled in agony.

Dean watched, forcing himself not to intervene. It was not easy. He folded his arms and forced a blank look onto his face, remembering he'd promised Casey that he would let her take the lead on this. Didn't mean he had to like watching her become scary Terminator girl.

"Stop stop!" The demon screamed, practically seizing in the chair. He sobbed, "I'm telling you the truth! I don't know anything else. Abbadon wants you, wants your power, but that's it. Please just let me die you heartless bit-.."

Casey backhanded him and turned to look at Dean. He shook his head. Hadn't heard anything from Sam yet. He stood behind the demon and glanced at his phone again. Still nothing. Casey went back to interrogating the demon and he crossed his fingers Sam was going to text him soon. Interrogating monsters wasn't a problem to him; but watching his girlfriend interrogate a demon was a little uncomfortable.

After Bennett had confessed to being able to hear the demon's thoughts, they'd all had a quick conference. Deciding to use this to their advantage, he and Casey had gone back into the room to interrogate the demon, leaving Bennett just outside the room with Sam. She was listening for the demon's true thoughts while it lied through his teeth to Casey.

The demon screamed again and Dean was thankful that his phone vibrated at that moment. He glanced down, then gave Casey a thumbs up. Sam had just texted him the latest information Bennett had heard from the demon. Stepping forward, Dean said casually, "So. Not that we don't appreciate all your non-helpful information here, but I have a new question for you."

All he got was a furious glare from the bloody demon. Dean said, "How about we talk about Crowley and Castiel."

"What?" Casey asked, looking at Dean in shock.

He gave her a meaningful look, then gave his full attention to the demon. "Where are they?"

The demon's face twisted into a freakish grin. He said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah?" Dean grinned, "Well, I think you do. And I think you better fess up, dirtbag. Or my girl there is gonna end you. Or not. Maybe she'll keep you here so she has something to take her frustration out on on a bad day. Personally, I like that idea. Then she's not going to beat me up."

Casey cracked a quick smile at that and took the phone Dean offered her. She skimmed Sam's message and her eyes flashed grey. Her blade to the demon's throat, she said, "Where is my father?"

The demon, for the first time, looked truly afraid. He mumbled, "How..how do you...how do you know about…"

"Never mind how. Answer her." Dean cut him off.

"No...no I can't…" The demon screamed as Casey slid the blade down across his chest.

Dean gritted his teeth and glanced back at his phone. Demon boy might not want to talk, but he wasn't so good at guarding his thoughts. They had the location. He couldn't help but enjoy the fact that they had a demon mind reader on the team now. This was gonna come in handy. Once again he gave Casey a thumbs up.

"I swear, I swear, I've told you everything I know…" the demon wailed, blood splattering from its mouth as it spoke.

"I believe you," Casey took the blade from the demon's shoulder and thrust it through his heart. His eyes and mouth flashed orange and gold and then it was over. Casey lowered the blade, took a deep breath, and glanced over at Dean. She asked, "Where are my father and Crowley?"

"Wisconsin apparently." Dean shook his head and asked, "Do you wanna tell me what that was?"

"That?" Casey glared at him, heart still pounding after what she'd just done. She said, "That was me doing my job. That was me getting the answers we needed. I told you I can handle myself, Dean. That demon was after me. You should have told me that right away instead of playing the big hero and trying to keep me in the dark."

"I wasn't…"

"You were." She cut him off, frustration bleeding into her voice. "Look, you have to trust me, involve me. You can't just shut me out, Dean."

"I didn't think you needed to know," He tried to keep his voice even. Why couldn't she understand? He tried to explain, to make her understand, "at least until we had a better idea of what was going on. It could have been nothing. Like I said, Sam and I were handling it."

"Let me make one thing very clear, Dean." Casey said, her voice low and tense, "You do not get to decide what I do and do not need to know. Especially when demons are after me. It is my life. I can protect myself. I always have. So you either support that, support me, or we need to reevaluate what exactly it is we are doing here."

"This isn't purgatory Echo. This is real. If you died here…" His breath caught in his throat as he stared at her. He touched her arm, "If I lost you again…"

"I know this isn't purgatory. And I know you're just trying to protect me. But I can't live like this." Casey said, feeling like the room was closing in around her. She'd been on her own long enough that having someone constantly checking up on her, caring about her like this was almost suffocating. She went on, "Hunting is what I do. It's in my blood as much as it is in yours."

"I know but…" Dean started again.

"No. No buts Dean. You can't stop me from hunting." Casey ripped her arm from Dean's grasp and spun on her heel. "And you better stop trying to control me. Period. End of story."

"Or what Casey?" Dean snapped, losing control of his own temper and emotions. "You'll break up with me? Go ahead. The people I try to keep safe leave me eventually, so why not cut my losses now? Make it easier on both of us and hey, you might even live longer."

"Is that what you want?" Casey asked softly, trying to keep the angry tears at bay. "Is this, is us, too much for you? You can't hunt and love somebody at the same time?"

"If I can't keep you safe, then what's the point?" Dean asked. He hated it, but he knew the desperation he felt was showing despite his best efforts to maintain the stoic front.

"If that's how you really feel then…" Casey paused, her heart aching at both his obvious insecurity and the loss she was feeling. "Then I guess there really isn't anything else left to say."

"I guess not," Dean said, voice strained.

Casey nodded and said, "We find my dad and Crowley and then I'll be gone."

Dean just turned and walked away without another word.

Aww...things aren't going very well so far, are they?