They left Chicago around two o'clock that afternoon. Sam thought he'd caught wind of some omens out in Utah - so they headed straight west and stopped in Cedar Rapids for the night.
Dean found a hotel and asked at the front desk for a good place to go play pool. They were celebrating, but that didn't mean they couldn't earn a few hundred bucks while they were at it.
"Congratulations are in order," Dean said, sitting down next to Ji-a and setting her drink on the table in front of her.
"I had a head injury yesterday…are we positive alcohol is the best choice right now?" She asked.
"Look me in the eye and tell me you never drank after a fight back in Thailand?" Dean said.
"Fair enough," Ji-a chuckled.
"First kill," Sam said, "Nice work. And a vampire too. They're hard."
"Familial loyalty's a hell of a drug," Dean put in, tracing his fingers up and down Ji-a's back.
"I'd rather not dwell on it," Ji-a said, "I still get notably queasy when it crosses my mind."
"You'll adjust," Dean assured her.
"You're already adjusting pretty well," Sam agreed.
"From you that means a lot," Ji-a said, "I know you weren't entirely sold on my coming along."
Dean tapped his brother on the shoulder.
"I think we can get a couple hundreds off that guy," he gestured at a mousy looking man meticulously applying chalk to one of the pool cues.
"Let's do it," Sam agreed.
"You stay here," Dean said to Ji-a, "Anyone tries to hit on you, punch them."
Ji-a nodded. She made a point not to watch Sam and Dean at the pool table. Didn't want to draw attention.
She finished her drink and accepted when the bartender asked if she'd like another. She didn't want to think about yesterday. About the sound that thing's head made when it hit the ground. Or how her shoulders were still screaming from being tied up like that.
She shuddered and suddenly felt a hand on her back. And she knew instantly that it wasn't Dean.
Ji-a turned and found herself face to face with a large, bearded man in a ratty Chicago Bears t-shirt with cut off sleeves.
"Hey there, sweetheart," he slurred, one hand moving up to touch her face and the other down towards her breasts, "Let me buy you a drink."
"No thank you," Ji-a said.
But he was insistent.
"Come on sugar," he slurred, getting closer to her face and edging his hand down the neckline of her shirt, "A couple a drinks. We can go back to my place. Make a night of it."
"I…um…" and with that Ji-a swatted his hands away, shoved a quick palm-heel strike into his nose and bolted for the women's bathroom.
"You okay?" An older woman asked as Ji-a sprinted in and pushed her back against the closed door.
"Just some creep hitting on me," Ji-a said, "It's fine."
"Well if I could just get by…" the other woman asked gently.
"Oh," Ji-a stepped away from the door, "Sorry. Of course."
"Stay safe honey," the lady said as she stepped back into the noise and chaos of the bar.
Ji-a leaned forward on the counter, her palms starting to sweat. She hadn't handled that well.
Shit.
She took a deep, steadying breath then splashed some cold water on her face and decided she should probably go find Dean before he noticed she was missing and had an aneurysm.
She was too late.
When she got back to their table Dean was pacing and Sam was grilling the bartender about where Ji-a disappeared to.
"Hi," she said quietly, tapping Dean on the shoulder.
"Where the hell were you?" He asked, voice panicked and angry, grabbing her shoulders.
"Can we talk outside?" Ji-a suggested.
"Come on," Dean agreed, taking her arm and heading for the parking lot. He nodded at Sam to follow.
Ji-a sat on the Impala's trunk where Dean had parked in the far corner of the lot. Sam and Dean stood glaring at her.
"Start at the beginning," Dean instructed.
"Some guy, a big hairy guy," Ji-a began, "Came up and offered to buy me a drink. He got really touchy. Wouldn't take no for an answer. And I just kinda panicked. And I ran to the women's bathroom."
"It didn't occur to you that coming to me might be the right choice in that scenario?" Dean asked.
"At the time, no."
"After?"
"Why do you think I came to find you?"
"Answer," Dean ordered.
"Of course," Ji-a replied, "Once he wasn't trying to feel up my boobs and I was alone in the bathroom I realized I'd made the wrong call and I absolutely should have gone to you two. But I didn't. I'm pretty sure I broke his nose. For whatever that's worth."
"Did it occur to you what could have happened if that had gone south?" Dean asked.
"Getting raped?" Ji-a said, "Yes. That's why I hit him and I ran."
"Not just that," Sam said, "Couple years back I got kidnapped by cannibals. People are creepy as shit and I'm sure you're smart enough to realize that if you think about it for two seconds."
"Not to mention we've got a couple dozen literal demons on our tails," Dean added, "Any one of whom would have been more than happy to take you and torture you to try and get to us."
"I'm sorry," Ji-a said, "I fucked up. I get it. It won't happen again."
"That we can agree on," Dean growled.
"I'm gonna stay till last call," Sam said, "See if I can win anything. There's a couple guys playing poker really badly in the back."
Dean tossed him the keys.
"Come on," he said, winding an arm around Ji-a's waist.
"How pissed are you?" Ji-a asked as they walked back to the hotel.
He wasn't acting how she'd expected. He'd been rough with her when he dragged her out of the bar. Angry. Callous.
But that was gone now. Fading more and more with every step they took. Now he was being downright clingy.
Ji-a shivered as the wind rustled through the half-bare trees. She'd left her coat somewhere back at the bar. Dean pulled her closer.
"Not pissed anymore," Dean said, "But you had me worried. Really worried. Don't you do that to me again."
"I won't," Ji-a assured him.
"We're gonna make sure of that when we get back," Dean said.
