Protect Her ~ supernatural / sam winchester

Fifteen

Sam turned a corner and stopped short, startled. He and his brother faced one another in defensive stances. Dean realized who exactly he was looking at and sighed; he leaned against the wall, breathless.

"Dani," he breathed with a smile. The girl nodded at him awkwardly. Dean gave Sam a questioning look, who merely shrugged.

"Where's Cas?" he asked instead.

Both boys jumped when a tired voice down the hall called, "Here."

Castiel trudged toward them, looking just as beat up as the Winchesters. Dani clung loosely too Sam's neck, carefully watching each of them. Meanwhile, she was being watched. The angel's icy blue eyes stayed trained on her, suspicion laced in his gaze. She tried to avoid looking straight at him.

Finally, he nodded in her direction and declared, "Let's get out of here." He grabbed both brothers by the arms and within an instant they were somewhere else.

"Safe" and "home" were words Dani guessed she should associate with the bunker. Instead, she felt even more unsure and out of place than she did before. Did they know what had become of her? What would they think? Why did they come back for her?

Sam gently placed her on an armchair in a sitting room. Dean hovered over her as Cas wordlessly pressed two fingers two her forehead. She held her breath, wondering whether or not her newfound demon-ness would interfere with the healing process. Miraculously, Dani felt her body warm and her pains dissipate. The sharp pang of hunger was still present in her stomach and her bones still were all-too prominent. The only remaining trace of an injury was a dull ache in her knee.

Sam audibly exhaled and bent down to her level. He placed a hand on her knee, and her whole body tensed. He either did not notice or pretended not to, for he smiled at her and said, "Let's get you something to eat." She did not respond, only watched as he and his brother left the room to go into the kitchen.

She was left alone with the angel.

Dani looked all around the room, eyes landing on anything but him. She could feel his icy blue eyes on her, freezing her in place.

"How are you feeling, Dani?" he asked, cautious but straight-forward.

She had to find the words-- and her voice-- before responding. "B-better now," she lied through her teeth. And he could tell. But he did not pry. Maybe it was because he saw the walls she was currently constructing to separate them from her, maybe it was because the boys were in the other room and could come in at any moment. Either way, he dropped the question.

"We're all relieved we found you when we did," he continued. Dani simply nodded, the motion small and tight.

"Y-you look as if you'd been there for months," Cas remarked with a low voice. The girl's head snapped up to look at him at last. She felt as if she had been in Hell for months. If not, how long had she been there?

She did not need to ask the question, he could read her face. "Time passes differently in Hell. Days turn to months, months turn to decades..." He sighed, eyes pained at the frantic urgency in her expression. "You were there for three days."

Dani's heart dropped. She guessed that meant three days on Earth were equivalent to three months in Hell. All those weeks she spent wasting away, the days without food, the wounds that refused to heal no matter the amount of time that passed. Meanwhile, the boys were here for three mere days.

It only took her three days to be broken.

Neither of them spoke after that; they simply waited in awkward silence until the brothers returned with the best vegetarian meal they could muster. If Dani had the ability to taste at the moment, she would have complimented them. But, it was as if the food was flavorless the moment it passed her lips. The glass of water did nothing to restore moisture to her dry mouth. Three men stood around her, carefully watching her every movement. The air was heavy and still.

Finally, Dani finished the meal, although she still felt hollow. She was asked what she wished to do, and she told them she simply wanted to sleep. Sam hastily rose with her and escorted her to the room-- her room. Dani walked with her head down and arms folded, staying as far to the right as possible. Sam noticed this and kept his distance, though longing to close the gap. Her dark hair created a curtain which blocked her expression from being seen.

Sam felt a pit in his stomach grow and became more and more uneasy the closer they came to Dani's room. He pushed his worries down, however, dismissing them as silly paranoia. She had been through hell and back-- literally-- and needed some time until she would feel alright. He understood that. Just because Cas healed her did not mean she could automatically be her normal self. She had just learned some shocking information about her past and was suddenly swept up and taken away by Crowley, things are changing...

What did Crowley do to her? Sam's insides boiled at the thought, frightening possibilities enumerated in his head. He would not ask now, however, would not press until she was ready to talk about her time in Hell.

"Let us know if you need anything," Sam said as they reached her door. She nodded tightly, eyes on the wood. He stood there for a moment too long, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She did not dare to turn around, she could not bring herself to meet his gaze. Finally, with a loud exhale, Sam turned and left.

Dani put her hand on the door before opening it, as if she were feeling the warmth of the wood in order to see if there was fire on the other side. Holding her breath, she turned the knob and the door creaked as it swung on its hinges. Everything was as she had left it, and the belongings she had packed for the hunt they were meant to be on-- possibly even done with-- were left in her duffel bag on the bed.

A hollow, gaping cavern spread in the bottom of her stomach. Hatred. Hatred was the only word to describe what she was feeling; hatred for herself, this room, Crowley, the wretched thing she was... Hatred.

It took all her willpower not to scream until her throat was bleeding, or claw at her skin in an attempt to dig out the demon inside of her. She decided the best she could do for now was shower.

Silently, she walked down the hall to the washroom and found her soaps, left in the place she had first put them the moment she arrived in the bunker. She was so quiet the boys did not know she was moving until they heard the water running. Dani peeled off her clothes, still bloodied and tattered, and decided to throw them away instead of attempting to restore them. The hot water slowly loosened her tight, sore muscles, and she watched as dirt and blood swirled around her feet and eventually slipped down the drain.

If only she could wash away the events of the past few days with some water and soap. After standing there for a long while, her head pounding, she realized the moisture on her face was not only water from the shower.

******

Holy shit it's been too fucking long since I've updated I'm sorry there's just been so much going on but it's summer now so hopefully I'll be able to update more haha.

Plus this part has been a W.I.P. for a while I just couldn't figure out what to do with it or how to write what I wanted to write. So I feel like this chapter's really uneventful but whatever.

Please vote, comment, and such!

- Sammi Winchester