Cherry Pie

Code Red

[Rayne]

It had been a few days since the whole Greek god mess, and we were miles away, staying at a different hotel, hunting a different monster. I was slowly starting to get the hang of the on-the-road life, and I was only slightly alarmed at how comfortable I was with it.

Yeah, I missed my hometown and my mom, but I had never felt as right about doing something as I did about hunting. It was as if I were made for the crappy motel rooms, the junk food, and the never ending bruises and aches. I was doing something good. I was helping people. I was following in my father's footsteps and that made me feel closer to him than any old Metallica t-shirt ever could.

I couldn't deny, however, that the last hunt affected me more than I'd cared to share with either Dean and Sam. What Phil said about sensing the darkness inside of me had me kind of freaked. I didn't have any urges to set buildings on fire, nor did I hear voices telling me to kill people, but the information had me expecting the possibility of that starting real soon. I knew I should have at least talked to Dean about it, but on the tiny off-chance that what Phil said was true — that there was in fact something evil inside of me — I kept my mouth shut. It was a terrible character flaw of mine; I tended to ignore unpleasant stuff in the hopes that it would go away by itself eventually. Then again, with the Winchesters, I was in good company.

Dean and Sam left thirty minutes earlier to interview the surviving victims of some angry ghost chick, which meant that I would finally be getting to experience my first simple salt-and-burn case. I stayed behind at the motel because I wasn't feeling my greatest that morning and the thought of putting on an ugly suit and impersonating an FBI agent was beyond my range of care or will for the day.

Hoping a cool shower would make me feel better, I went to the bathroom only to come out two minutes later feeling frustrated and slightly panicked. Apparently there was a reason why I'd been feeling sick. I didn't know why I didn't immediately recognize the all too familiar combination of moodiness and stomach pain. In between finding out about the world of monsters and then dropping my life to join the Tour Bus of Freaks, I had completely forgotten about my dear old friend, Aunt Flo, as those health guide pamphlets that tried to make your period seem friendlier than it actually was called it.

What worried me most at that point, however, was that I was completely unprepared, and the situation was kind of dire. I groaned as I thought over my options. I didn't have a car and I didn't remember seeing any stores in walking distance when we checked in the previous night. Waiting till the boys came back and discreetly getting them to drop me off at a pharmacy also wasn't a good alternative.

With a long and (justifiably) over-dramatic sigh, I reached for my cell phone that was lying on the table by the bed. I dialed Sam's number, figuring that of the two brothers, he would be the more sympathetic and less awkward one about the whole thing. He used to live with his girlfriend, after all. I was certain the topic must have come up at least once or twice during that time. The phone rang. And rang. And then went to voicemail. I called him again. Still nothing.

Crap.

Knowing I was going to regret what I was about to do sooner or later (most likely sooner), I paced the room nervously as I called Dean. He picked up on the second ring.

"Rayne?" he asked from the other end, always sounding like he was prepared for the worst.

"Dean," I started hesitantly, "...hi."

"Cherry Pie," — I heard a somewhat irritated grunt come from the receiver — "you better not be calling me just to say hello again."

"I...uh..no," I stammered. "Do you know where Sam is? I called him but he didn't pick up."