Chapter Two: You're Not Alone
Some days I just can't go on
I stumble and fall
And I hang my head
But You reach out for my hand
And You lift me up
Again and again
Oh, yes, You do
-Owl City ft. Britt Nicole
Dean sighed happily. He didn't know when he met the Bates' that he would come to care so much for the girl who annoyed the hell out of him as soon as they met. He had known Shelby for nearly ten years of their lives. In 1989, John was following up on a lead about the demon who murdered Mary.
-TOL-
While driving down a dark back road heading to what he hoped would be a motel, John Winchester sighed angrily at his rearview mirror. His two sons were bickering in the back seat, seat belts long forgotten. He didn't have the energy for these two.
"Dean! Control yourself son. Buckle your brother back in and get in your own seat. You hear me? So help me if you don't, I'll pull this car over and make you two walk to the motel!" John eyed his eldest son angrily through the rearview mirror before Dean sniffled a bit and pushed Sam back down into his car seat. Just as Dean buckled his own seatbelt, he lurched to the side, hitting his shaved head on the side of Sam's own shaggy one. Rubbing his own head while checking his little brother over, Dean asked his dad what happened. Only to be answered by a growl and slamming of the Impala door. The two boys' heads popped into view of the window and looked out into the rainy night. A royal blue Camaro sat perpendicular to their own car, smoke coming out of the hood and the hood slightly tee pee'd.
While John looked over the damage of the body on his car, the other man walked up and held his hand out with an old receipt from a gas station. It had chicken scratch on the back; probably the driver's insurance information. John shifted angrily. His poor Baby, he had just had it washed. He grabbed the receipt out of the man's hand. He paused. Was that?
"Are you a hunter?" John asked with surprise in his voice. Hearing his dad, Dean got out and walked around to the other side of the Impala, looking up at the scruffy man in the leather jacket. Dean followed his father's line of sight to the mystery man's wrist, where a braided leather bracelet with an anti-possession pendant tied into it. A squeak came from the uninjured side of the Impala. A second later, Sam came up by Dean and grabbed his hand. He was still a bit shocked by the impact. Dean shrugged him off and walked away when his father gave them a look, telling them to get back into the car.
"What?" Is all the verbal response John got back. His question was answered when the man's hand slowly went behind his back.
"Whoa, whoa man. No need for a gun. I'm not the boogeyman. I'm the guy who hunts him. John Winchester." John said with a tight smile, slightly forgiving the fellow hunter for the impact on his car. The man huffed quietly and shoved his hand out to shake John's.
"Sorry 'bout that. Can't be too careful. Name's Colt Bates. And this-" Colt said, turning around to behind his Camaro and reaching into the shadows,
"Is Shelby, my daughter. Shelby, mind your manners now. What would your momma say?" Colt lightly scolded the young brunette, who had silent tears running down her eyes. She looked up at John through her eyelashes and sniffled, then held out her hand to the large man.
"It's nice to meet you Mr. John." The shy girl said. John shook her hand, eyebrows raising ever so slightly at how firm the handshake was coming from such a small girl. After releasing her hand, John called for his boys to come back around.
"Now boys, this here is Colt Bates and his daughter Shelby. They're going to ride back with us to a motel and we're gonna come back tomorrow to tow his car." At the words coming from the legendary hunter's mouth, Colt stilled.
"Nonsense John, we can call a cab-" While the two older men discussed what to do with the vehicles and such, the three young children looked at each other tensely.
"Hi, I'm Shelby. What are your names?" Shelby looked at Sam and Dean with her bright green eyes, tears still coming down but getting less frequent. Dean scoffed at the crying girl, What a wussy! He thought. Shelby just ignored him and looked at the short, brown haired boy next to the mean blonde one. He smiled shyly at her and introduced himself,
"I'm Sam, it's nice to meet you. This is Dean, my big brother. He can be a jerk sometimes." That made Shelby smile a little and Sam chuckled, while Dean crossed his arms over his chest and stomped back the Impala. He slammed the door to the back seat. Shelby and Sam shared a small smile.
The slamming door grabbed the two mens attention and John grumbled while Colt smiled a bit. They had decided to drive back in the Impala, since it had less damage to it. Colt unloaded some essentials from his car and loaded them in the trunk of Johns ride. He whistled softly at the impressive arsenal in the demon-warded trunk. He'd have to take note of some of the items in there.
The car ride to the motel was filled with the quiet chatter of the men talking about what they needed to fix the cars. Dean noticed that John had relaxed and seemed to have forgotten about the yellow-eyed demon for the time being. He was okay with that. Anytime John caught wind of that thing, Sam and Dean took the brunt of his frustration when he lost the trail, which happened more often than not. Maybe this dude and his wussy daughter would distract him long enough for a break.
Dean scoffed when Shelby's head fell on his shoulder as they rounded the corner for a motel. Sam and her had fallen asleep about 10 minutes into the ride. He ignored the cold feeling he got when Colt picked Shelby up from the middle of the back seat.
-TOL-
Almost as if she was reading his mind, the warmth from his left side disappeared when Shelby bolted out of her position gasping his name in terror. Another nightmare. Dean shifted to a more comfortable position and glanced at Shelby sidelong. She had tears in her eyes, much like the night they met. Only this time Dean didn't think of her as a wussy.
"Sorry, Dean." She murmured. Dean nodded his acceptance and rolled out of the bed. Shelby pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. She eyed Dean carefully as he padded the kitchenette and started the coffee pot. He then walked over to his duffel and grabbed a few things before heading into the bathroom. Before he shut the door, he heard a soft 'thank you' leave Shelby's lips. He turned slightly and gave her a soft, half-smile.
"Anytime, Princess." Shelby's mood lightened at the nickname he had given her years ago, while she was in her pony-wanting stage. She gave him a warm smile as he turned around and shut the bathroom door. She checked the time. three p.m. Damn, we slept longer that I would have liked. Shelby watched the coffee brew as her thoughts flew back to her dream. One she had often.
-TOL-
Breathe, Shelby. Just breathe.
But she couldn't, the cold water surrounding her at all angles wouldn't allow it. She looked down at her hand, which was connected to her mother's bigger one. She followed the tan skin up her mother's arm and to her face, to her closed eyes. This wasn't right. She should be looking at bright green eyes. And her mother's skin should be a deep tan, not turning pale.
Tired. So tired. Right as Shelby closed her eyes she felt someone grab her harshly from above. Dragging her up.
Breathe, Shelby. Just breathe.
"Damn it Shelby. Wake up. I can't lose you." Shelby swam out of the darkness and towards the familiar voice and gorgeous green eyes. But not her mothers.
"Dean." She shot up, gasping for air.
-TOL-
The real memory didn't quite match the nightmare she always had. It was her dad's bright blue eyes and his deep, gruff voice that met her when she awoke. Fifteen years ago., her mother drowned. Sucked down by something supernatural while trying to rescue Shelby when she leaned too far over the lake's dock. Her family had been on a short vacation in Arizona. Colt and Amelia had just taken out a huge vampire nest and decided to celebrate. To this day they never found out what had grabbed Shelby off the dock and ultimately took her mother. To this day she still hadn't stopped blaming herself.
Ever since she and Dean had started to get along, her nightmare changed. To his voice, his eyes. Rescuing her. She had long since told him and Sam about her mother's mysterious death. And Dean knew about her regular nightmares. She still never told him about his appearance in it. She was too embarrassed.
She heard the shower turn off and glanced at Dean as he stepped out of the bathroom, clad in a blotchy green towel. Shelby averted her eyes from Dean's bare chest. She had seen the smooth slab of skin so many times before, she wouldn't be able to count. But after her dream she felt jumpy around him. Dean looked her way while he moved to the dresser by his bed and grabbed the clothes he would need for the day. Shelby cleared her throat before grabbing her workout clothes and disappearing into the bathroom. Dean dressed, smirking to himself the whole time. He loved to tease her.
Shelby wiped last nights makeup away from her face and pulled her knotted hair back in a high, messy bun. She pulled on her black shorts and grey tank top before splashing some cold water on her face to wake her up a bit. After brushing her teeth, the brunette opened the door to a fully dressed Dean on his laptop.
"I'm gonna go for a run. Wanna come?" Dean shook his head no and continued to check the internet. Probably looking for a lead. Shelby sighed. She was itching for a case, but she wanted to enjoy this day, especially after everything that had happened last night. Grabbing a twenty dollar bill from her brown leather book bag she smirked.
"You know, one of these days all those greasy double bacon cheeseburgers and pies are gonna catch up with those rock hard abs. And you'll be saying, 'Damn, why didn't I listen to Shelby when I had the chance?'" Dean rolled his eyes at the girl, grumbling about having good genes, and turned towards his laptop once again. Shelby sat down next to him and pull on her socks and running shoes. She slipped the twenty into her shorts pocket, then her moms old army knife into her thigh sheath that the shorts covered. It wasn't very comfortable while running, and the shorts didn't hide the huge bulge coming out of her left leg but she'd rather look stupid than be caught without a weapon.
"Well don't take too long. I wanna be on the road by tonight. Might have something in Alabama. Hey, and stay away from that damn bar! Shelby?" Dean got no reply as the door slammed behind the huntress. He smirked at her. Such the attitude. That's one of the things that drew him to her constantly.
He pulled the old ring out of his front pocket. He'd seen the heart-shaped garnet ring in a thrift shop a few months ago while their dads were on a hunt in Indiana. He, Sam, and Shelby had decided to check out the small town. They came upon a thrift shop. While Shelby was busy softly fiddling with an old guitar, Sam pointed out the antique ring to Dean, who bought it as quickly as he could without her seeing. Garnet was Shelby's birthstone. It was killing him to keep this from her.
Even something as small as a ring, which was supposed to be a surprise, made him feel slightly guilty about not telling her what was happening. He told Shelby everything. She was honestly the only person keeping him together in this life his father dragged him into. When John yelled at him for screwing something up on a hunt, it wasn't his little brother that brought him out of his rut. It was Shelby. She had this thing about her, that made everyone in the room a little happier. That something, whatever it was, drove him crazy half the time. Because he wanted to be mad, get angry back at his father. For making him feel useless, like he didn't matter. It wasn't Sam's voice saying not to listen to him, no. It was Shelby's soothing voice that brought him back to reality. A reality where he mattered. He saved people's lives. He did matter. Shelby made sure he knew that.
-TOL-
Shelby took a few big gulps of the Cucumber flavored Gatorade she had purchased from a gas station a few blocks back. She looked at her watch. 5:26. She should probably head back, It was getting dark. Shelby was glad for the warmer January weather in Georgia. She was a little chilly when she started her run in her tank top and shorts, but by the time she had been running for a few minutes she started sweating. She drained the rest of her Gatorade quickly before tossing it into a recycling bin by a bench in the park she had found.
Her trip back was quicker than she anticipated, Dean too apparently, for when she opened the unlocked door at 6p.m., she saw Dean had a crumpled piece of old college-ruled notebook paper in his hands. His eyes were tinged pink around the edges and glassed over when his head shot up. Shelby looked away quickly, not wanting to impose on whatever he was thinking about. She grabbed a change of clothes and her shower bag out of her duffel and headed to the bathroom for a long-awaited shower.
-TOL-
When Dean heard the shower turn on he glanced back down at the piece of paper in his hands. Shelby didn't know he had stolen it from her a few years ago. It was a song she had written. For him, but apparently she hadn't wanted him to see it because he found it in an old journal of hers while he was looking for some info on a case his dad had caught wind of. It was right after John busted his mouth open for raiding a Djinn warehouse by himself, only being saved from death by the sure, calculating hands of Shelby. Just in time. Shelby had cried silently that night in the bed across the cheap motel room, scribbling something in her leather-bound journal. He assumed it was new info on the Djinn they found.
Turns out it was this song, which he keeps folded in his wallet at all times. It helped him through whenever his dad got rough on him.
Some days I barely hold on
When life drags me down
I wanna let go
But when my spirit is weak
You come to my aid
And strengthen my soul
I'm lost without You
I'll never doubt You
Your grace is beyond compare
And though when it rains, it pours
You know all I have is Yours
You smile when you hear my prayer
You rescued me and I believe
That God is love and He is all I need
From this day forth for all eternity
I'll never wander on my own
For I am Yours until you call me home
I close my eyes and I can hear You say
You're not alone.
Some days I just can't go on
I stumble and fall
And I hang my head
But You reach out for my hand
And You lift me up
Again and again
Oh, yes, You do
Dean smiled lovingly at the doodles lining the side of the page; a horse head, some flowers, and a very detailed sketch of a .44 her dad carried around all the time. There were small notes of lyrics, like they were added as an after-thought; having no home yet in the script on the page. She was a great singer, and even better at writing songs it seemed. This wasn't the first she had done. Some of them she even shared with Dean; sometimes Sam, who could never seem to stop complimenting her on the job well done. Dean felt the same about her songs and voice, she had this way of painting a picture with her voice. The way her fingers glided over the guitar strings killed him. Yet somehow he could never seem to do more than smile appreciatively and murmur 'good job' when she was finished. Maybe it was because he saw how she squirmed under the lime light of Sam's doting; and how her eyes lit up like New York City when she heard the soft acceptance from the oldest Winchester brother.
Shelby opened the bathroom door just as Dean slipped the paper back in his wallet. He looked her over before saying,
"Alright, let's pack up, we got business to take of."
"Dean, are you forgetting something?" Shelby tried to keep a smile from her face.
"No, unless you found my razor, I've been missing it since Florida." Shelby had noticed. The dark stubble adorning his otherwise smooth face explained everything. She had found it, in the back seat in between the cushions. She had left it there, rather enjoying the 5 o'clock shadow.
"Nope" She popped the P. She squirmed under the stern green eyes latched onto her form.
"Well in that case-"
"Dean, come on! I wanna do something for my birthday!" Dean smiled. Oh how he loved teasing her.
"I know Princess, if you would just calm yourself and get ready, I have something to show you." Shelby smiled as she ran to her duffel bag, excited for what Dean had in store.
-TOL-
Here is Ch.2 revamped! Tell me what you think! Your reviews fuel my writing fire! Thanks minions! Gooseygirl