Hello hello everyone! Moving right along with part two of this episode. As stated in the previous chapter, please be aware that this episode contains themes that may be triggering for some individuals. Please continue with caution in you are sensitive to things such as S.A. With that said, I'm excited to get this next part up for you guys! This episode was such a great way to be able to delve into Ari/Dean's inner thoughts and I enjoyed being able to work on it. As always, I hope you like it! (and would be thrilled to know what you think) Xoxo-NickyLynn

When Ariella finally felt herself stirring back into consciousness, she became vividly aware of the bindings wrapped tightly around each limb. Her hands were tied together behind her back, while her feet had been bound securely to the legs of the chair she had been placed upon. She let out a groan as her mind began churning with thoughts again, quickly realizing how fucked she was. One tug against the rope holding her in place was enough to know there would be no freeing herself from it. Ariella didn't know how many victims the shifter had managed to tie up like this, but he was proficient in it, she had to give him that.

"Good. You're awake." came Dean's voice as she began to shift with movement, eyes fluttering open to find that she had been placed in the center of the living room, fire still burning behind her.

"Where's Dean?" she bit out in a raspy voice as her eyes landed on the creature impersonating him. "And Sam. What did you do to them?"

"I am Dean, Sweetheart." He told her in response as he stepped closer, coming to a stop in front of her. Ariella caught sight of the glint of a large blade in his hand and she had to swallow the lump of fear that grew at the base of her throat in response to the sight of it.

"Where is he?" She demanded, voice low as he hovered over her.

"I wouldn't worry about him." He said in response, leaning down to place his hands on either one of her knees as he bent down to be eye to eye with her. "I'd worry about you."

Maybe antagonizing a serial killer wasn't the best idea Ariella could come up with in that moment, but without thinking things through more than wanting to wipe that smug look off his stolen face, she whipped her face forward quickly, slamming her forehead into his nose as hard as she could. Unfortunately, it didn't have nearly as big an effect on him as she had hoped for. He stumbled backwards from the force of it, bringing up his hand to staunch the flow of blood as a bubble of laughter erupted from him.

"Now there's that fire!" he shouted in delight as he tried wiping the blood away the best he could, leaving a large smear across his upper lip. "I swear this is the most fun I've ever had." He said then, smile stretching across his face as he took a step back towards her. "The thoughts running through his mind when it comes to you-" he said, cutting himself off as he let out a loud growl of pleasure. "Oh, it's borderline addicting."

"What do you mean his thoughts?" Ariella questioned as she tried keeping her heartrate from going out of control with the sheer amount of adrenaline coursing through her system.

The shifter brought his hand up in response, tapping on the side of his temple. His eyes screwed shut tight then, jerking his head to the side as if he was in pain. After a moment of looking as if he were fighting a terrible migraine, he opened his eyes again, gaze falling back on Ariella. "You know, I've been in a lot of heads, but his—" he said, letting out a low whistle. "Watching poor mommy die…jumping from town to town, never being able to have a home or friends…little bro getting to leave for college…and don't even get me started on the daddy issues." He said taking another step forward as he leaned closer, voice dropping low. "But you, Sweetheart?" he said, bringing the tip of his blade up against her chest. "Oh, you've got him so messed up, he can't even see straight."

Between the blade digging into her skin, and what she was hearing…Ariella was frozen to the spot, mouth going dry. "It's like those pretty little eyes of yours have always been able to see right through him, and oh it drives him mad." He said, letting the blade slide up along her neck until it was resting against her carotid artery, pressing it just hard enough to draw a dribble of blood. "See, deep down, he knows you're right—too scared of what Daddy would say, that he never let himself be more than an empty puppet…a freak…and he knows that's why you left. That's why you abandoned him."

"I didn't abandon him." She defended with a sneer, angry tears hitting the back of her eyes.

"Oh, but you did." He said, pressing the blade deeper. "You…Sam…good old Daddy…in the end everyone abandons him. All because he's too scared to be…how did you put it again—" he said, tilting his head in thought. "An actual fucking person."

"You don't know anything about us." Ariella told him with a shake of her head, refusing to believe that anything he was saying could really be how Dean felt.

"I know that me and Dean are more alike than he'd ever admit." He told her with a wicked smile. "See, he hates you." he said, leaning in until their noses nearly touched, eyes burning into hers. "Hates you because he can't stop thinking about you….about what it felt like to hear his name panting from those lips…" he said, bringing the blade up and dragging it across them. "That noise you would make whenever he touched you." He continued, other hand trailing up the length of her leg.

Ariella bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood, pulling her eyes away and leaning back as far as she could in an effort to get away from him as the tears began to fall. "What it felt like to be inside you." He went on, hand cupping her as he pressed his face against her hair. "You're like a drug he wants to quit." He whispered in her ear as she let out a whimper. "But he just can't stop himself from craving that next hit….you're addicting." He brought the blade back down, using the tip of it to rip through the buttons on the front of her blouse. "It's like a set of magnets spinning round and round…stuck between being repelled by the very thought of you and the overwhelming need to have you pulling him right back in. It drives him mad." He breathed out with a groan as he pulled back enough to let his eyes rake over her. "It drives me mad." He said, eyes flashing dangerously. "See, he's too scared to ever let himself cave to those temptations running through his head. But me? I'm going to do us both a favor and take what he's been denying himself all these years." He told her, smile stretching so wide it turned Ariella's stomach.

"You're nothing like Dean." Ariella bit out as harshly as she could, the fear coursing through her causing her voice to shake as her muscles began to tremble under her skin. "You're a coward!" she snapped angrily. "A coward who has to go around wearing somebody else's face to gain an ounce of backbone!"

Ariella's head was whipped to the side in the next moment, the side of her jaw stinging with a jolt of pain as the shifter brought the back of his hand across her face. She took a moment to readjust her sight as the wave of sudden dizziness passed before slowly bringing her head back around to face him again. The previous delight he had been emanating just seconds prior had now been replaced by anger. A pool of blood had formed in Ariella's mouth from her teeth cutting into the flesh of her cheeks. She spit it into his face, finding satisfaction as she watched it splatter across his irate features.

That satisfaction quickly evaporated away as he lunged forward, pressing the side of his blade against her throat as he used his other hand to push the chair backwards, tipping it onto two legs as he loomed over her. He growled at her, baring his teeth as he pushed the knife hard enough that Ariella could feel the warm slickness of her blood seep down her neck. "You're going to wish you hadn't done that." He warned before the sounds of her screams filled the otherwise empty house.

Later that night, just shy of dawn, Sam and Dean raced through town on foot, doing their best to stay off the main streets and out of view. The shifter had decided to go around playing serial killer with Dean's face, making this job go from hard to difficult beyond belief. They had managed to free themselves from where the shifter had left them tied up in the sewer, but after coming across an electronics storefront, it's displays airing a news alert about an attack that had taken place at Rebecca's, they knew the entire police force would be on the hunt for Dean. There was an APB out on Dean, they had no weapons, the thing seemed to have run off with the Impala, and the two Winchesters were out of options. They needed backup.

"We can do this without her, Sam." Dean said as they jogged across yet another dark street, following Sam as he made his way towards a small phone booth. "We've just got to figure out where that bastard stashed my car."

"Yeah, and how do you expect to do that?" Sam shot back at him, knowing Dean had been less than pleased with his idea to call Ariella. "Walk every street of town until we happen across it? Or the police happen across us?" He argued. "Dean, we need help on this one."

Dean let out a grumble in response. He knew he was right. Hell, it really was the best play on the board currently, but the thought of having to ask for help…having to ask her for help…it left him stewing in discontentment. He came to a stop as Sam slid into the small booth, turning to keep watch for any signs of police while he made the call.

Inside, Sam dialed the number he had memorized long ago, just praying she would be awake. After the fourth ring the line went quiet, as if someone answered, yet he heard nothing for a moment before she answered quietly. "Who is this?" she asked hesitantly, concerned lacing her voice.

"Ari, it's Sam." He answered quickly, eyes flicking outside to make sure no one was around. "Look, me and Dean could really use your help on a case. How quickly can you get to St. Louis?"

Sam's eyebrows pulled together as he heard her let out a sob. She didn't respond for a moment, and when her voice finally did hit his ears again, it was wavering with emotion. "Sam where are you?" she asked before drawing in a loud sniffle. "Is Dean with you?"

"Y-yeah." He answered, concern growing for her. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Fucking peachy." Ariella bit out. "Considering me and your new shifter friend just had a real up and personal meet and greet."

"What?" Sam asked, eyebrows pulling tighter as a wave of worry filled him.

"This isn't the first call for help I've gotten tonight." She explained with a huff. "How do I know this one isn't another trap?"

"Ari, where are you?" Sam demanded as his grip around the receiver tightened, that previous flare of worry morphing into anger.

"Listen—I have had a long night and I'm not in the mood for mind games at the moment." She bit out rather harshly. "Give me one reason I should tell you where I am. How do I know you aren't him?"

"Because we've got no weapons, no money, and no idea what to do." Sam told her in response, not sure how he was supposed to convince her it was really him. "Hell, Dean's only got an undershirt on and has been a moody bastard ever since finding out the shifter stole his car."

Ariella was quiet for a moment before she let out a defeated huff. "Well, tell Dean he can stop worrying about his damn car." She told him. "I didn't want the cops impounding it, so I took it."

"Ari, please tell me where you are." Sam said, letting out a sigh. "It's really me, I swear."

Another beat of silence passed over the line before she answered. "The Sunset Motel on the east side of town." She answered. "But I'm warning you…if this isn't Sam…I've got a silver bullet waiting for you if you're dumb enough to come after me again."

With that, the line went dead, and Sam pulled the phone away from his ear with a shake of his head. He hung it back onto its cradle before pulling the sliding door back open and stepping outside. "Well?" Dean asked once he was out.

"That victim the news was talking about…" Sam began to tell him. "I don't think it was Rebecca."

Dean eyebrows pulled together in confusion for a moment before his entire face fell in understanding. "Son of a bitch." He breathed out. "Is she okay?"

Sam could only shake his head at him. "I don't know." He answered, honestly. "She's at a motel on the east side of town." he explained as he started walking again. "Oh, and she's got the Impala."

It took them about twenty minutes to find the motel she had given the name of, and it didn't take them long to spot the two distinct cars parked side-by-side. Dean practically ran for the Impala as soon as he set eyes on it, running his hand over the length of its body as if he were checking for injuries. "Oh, Baby, am I glad to see you." He breathed in relief after seeing no obvious signs of damage.

"Dean." Sam said in a low voice while he was busy inspecting the paint for any scratches. He looked up to find Sam looking into the driver's window, tipping his chin towards it. Dean stepped up to him and leaned down to follow his line of sight. There were several dark patches soaked into the seat, and Dean didn't need to inspect them further to know it was blood. He caught eye with Sam then, and although he wanted to be upset by the stains he would now have to scrub out, he found only worry swirling in his gut. They quickly made their way towards the motel door the cars had been parked in front of, Sam throwing his fist up against the wood of it a couple of times.

After a few moments, they could hear Ariella's muffled voice filtering out from behind the door. "Back up a step." She ordered.

Dean's eyes flicked up to the peephole, sure she was watching them from the other side. Without any sort of argument, he and Sam took a couple of steps backwards. The sound of the locks being undone followed, before the door cracked open just wide enough for Ariella's hand to snake out and toss a blade towards them, it clanking against the concrete. She pulled the door shut as soon as the dagger hit the ground, lock clicking back into place. "Draw it against your arms." she instructed from the safety of the room. "I need to know it's really you."

Dean could hardly blame her for being apprehensive. He was sure that if he were in the same position, he'd be just as hesitant to blindly trust them. He scooped the silver blade up before taking a step closer, holding his arm up as he let it slice into the flesh of his arm. After no reaction occurred, he handed the blade to Sam, who quickly did the same. The sound of the locks being undone again hit their ears before the door pulled open wide enough for them to step in.

Dean quickly slipped inside, followed by Sam. Ariella had been walking away as they entered, but as Sam shut the door behind him, she turned, and Dean's face fell. She looked downright awful. Her bottom lip had been busted open, leaving a circle of blue around it, there was a thick layer of gauze wrapped around her neck, and she was covered in blood. The thin camisole she had been wearing had been practically dyed red. A thick trail of it seemed to have originated from a wound in her left shoulder, having hastily been sewed back together, leaving the flesh of it looking inflamed and angry.

"Jesus, Ari—" Dean breathed out, taking an unconscious step forward as he took in the sight of her. Ariella had her gun on him in an instant, moving so quickly he had hardly caught the sudden movement. Dean pulled to a stop as her aim fell on him, instinctively raising his arms at the sight of a weapon trained on him. Her wide eyes swept over him for a moment before she lowered her arm, shaking her head as if suddenly remembering herself.

"I-I'm sorry." She told him as she tucked the weapon back into the band of her pants, having drawn it on instinct. "I'm just still a little jumpy."

"Ari, what happened?" Sam asked, voice low with concern.

"I thought Dean called me for help so, like the idiot I am, I walked right into the shifter's trap." She explained with a bitter huff. "He…" she said, eyes flicking to Dean briefly before her jaw snapped shut again. A beat of silence passed before her mouth fell open again as she continued. "He managed to catch me off-guard is all." She said with a shrug. "A neighbor must have heard it and called it in, because the cops showed up before he could do any serious damage and he ran." She explained with a wave of her hand.

"Serious damage?" Sam repeated in disbelief. "Ari—look at you!"

"Yeah, I look like shit, I know." She responded with a roll of her eyes. "Scared the hell out of the poor cashier at Rite Aid." She added with an arched brow before turning and heading towards the bathroom. "Now, come on…now that you're here you can help me stich up the back of my shoulder and then we can figure out how the hell we're going to bring this bastard down."

"I'll do it." Dean offered, moving to follow behind her.

"No!" Ariella shouted as she spun back around, wide eyes landing on him. "I..er..." she stammered hesitantly, eyes flicking from him over to Sam uncomfortably. "Sam's always been better at patch jobs." She said in cover before turning back around and slipping into the bathroom.

Sam's eyes slid onto Dean as he stepped past him, the two of them sharing a look. Ariella wasn't just being jumpy….she was downright terrified. And although she thought she was doing a good job at hiding it, Dean knew that fear was directed right at him. He didn't know how to react to that. He found himself stuck between a wall of guilt and anger. Anger that Ariella had been subjected to God only knew what…and guilt that it had been his face the shifter had used to inflict it.

Sam pulled his eyes away with a shake of his head before following behind her. He slid into the bathroom, finding an array of torn apart boxes, bandages, and other supplies spread across the small counter, along with several smears of blood. Ariella was sitting on the toilet seat, bottle of liquor in hand, eyes staring blankly at the floor. As he entered, her eyes flicked up to him. She sat up, taking another swig of the liquor in preparation, before turning her back towards him. Sam's eyes fell on the small wound that needed to be closed up, letting out a sigh as he stepped closer.

"You should have gone into the hospital." He admonished with a shake of his head as he washed his hands in preparation. "You'll be lucky if you don't end up with an infection."

"Well, the thing about going up against something that can take any form it wants, is that you have no idea who you can trust." She responded with a shrug before taking another gulp of liquor. "Besides…"she added after swallowing it down, holding the bottle up over her good shoulder. "That's what this is for."

Sam shook his head again as he pulled the bottle from her grip. He then poured a steady flow of it over the open wound, feeling bad as she let out a hiss of pain. "Sorry." He muttered in apology as he reached over to set the bottle down on the counter, instead swiping up the spool of thread which had already been covered with bloody fingerprints.

"It's okay, just get it done." She told him sharply.

Sam drew in a breath as he took hold of the needle, readying himself for the next part. "Just try to hold still." He said as he brought the needle up against the wound. He watched as Ariella's shoulders went rigid in anticipation, and without more of a warning he plunged it into her flesh. She flinched in response, but kept her shoulder from moving as she did her best not to whimper in pain.

"When we find this thing, I'm going to drive my blade right into it's fucking heart!" she bit out as he pulled the thread through, her anger helping mask the pain as he worked on stitching her up.

"I'm sorry we weren't there." He responded with a frown, guilt building in him. "If we'd have known-"

"It's fine, Sam." She said rather harshly, cutting him off.

"It's not fine." Sam denied as he pushed the needle in yet again, eliciting another groan from her. "Whatever he did to you….whatever he said to you-"

"Sam!" Ariella said, cutting him off again as she turned her head to cast him a withering look from over her shoulder. "I don't want to talk about it." She told him lowly.

Sam's jaw snapped closed and he chose not to say anything more on it while he finished closing up her wound. He worked for the next few minutes in silence, but after he tied off the final stitch, he let out a sigh as she stood back up to examine his work in the mirror. "It wasn't Dean, you know." He said quietly, eyes meeting hers in the mirror.

Ariella turned to face him, shaking her head like he had said something absurd. "Of course it wasn't Dean." She scoffed.

"I'm just saying…whatever it said to you…it wasn't Dean." He reiterated, keeping his voice low enough that it didn't filter out into the main room.

Ariella's eyes fell onto the doorway behind Sam then, silently considering her thoughts. After a moment, they drifted back over to him and her brow quirked up in question. "Did you talk to it?" she asked.

Sam nodded in response as his mind flicked back to the brief conversation he had had with the shifter…of the things it said to him. It made him wonder just what it could have said to her. "Yeah. A bit." He told her honestly.

"Then you know." Ariella said quietly, eyes moving from him back to the doorway. "It may not have been Dean who did those things, but they were his thoughts." she said, voicing the one thing that had been plaguing her mind nonstop.

"It wasn't Dean." was all Sam could say in response, though he found himself having a hard time believing his own words.

Ariella said nothing more before sliding past him as she walked back into the main room. "Alright, let's figure out what we—" she began to say before the words died on her lips. Sam followed behind her, and as he stepped out of the bathroom, he noticed what had made her stop mid-sentence. "Where's Dean?" she asked upon seeing the empty room, worried eyes flicking over to Sam questioningly.

"I don't know." Sam said, moving towards the door quickly and pulling it open. As his eyes fell on the now empty parking space next to Ariella's Firebird, he let out a curse.

"He went after it alone." Ariella said in realization as she stepped up behind him, noticing the missing car for herself. "Oh, that idiot."