Protect Her ~ supernatural / sam winchester

Seventeen

"You want to kill the demon that made the first demon-human child in your family probably hundreds of years ago?" Sam echoed her words. Dani did not nod or respond, just stared at him with a look that was the only answer he needed. She could feel Cas make a face at the two men behind her, but she fought the urge to turn around and remind him of their deal.

Dean pressed his lips together. "Okay." He stood with his empty beer bottle in hand.

"O-okay?" Sam stared at his brother in shock, who shrugged.

"Yeah, okay. If she wants to kill the bastard I won't let her do it alone." So he did not approve of her killing it, Dani noted, but he was still willing to help. She simply nodded once at him.

Sam made an exasperated noise that sounded like a cough and a sigh. "Dani, revenge can be a dangerous and dissatisfying path and--"

"I'm aware, Sam," she cut him off, his mouth freezing in the middle of a word. "I've seen other hunter's hell-bent on revenge never get their ways and spiral out of control. And I've seen how empty they feel after finally doing what they've spent years preparing for. I'm not a child." Sam's eyes were trained on the tabletop. She placed a hand on it, drawing his attention back to her. "But I also know that this isn't just about revenge. It's about proving to myself--" her breath caught, she swallowed and started again. "It's about proving to myself that I'm not just a monster, that I'm better than and more than the thing that made me."

Sam looked over to his brother, who pressed his lips together and raised his eyebrows at him. "We'll help you," Sam finally conceded, not looking at Dani. She tried to push down on the overwhelming feeling of relief and pride. "We'll be there to make sure you don't get hurt," he continued. Now, it was not hard to ignore her thoughts.

"What?" Dani scoffed. The two just stared at her, and she felt Cas take a step closer from behind. "I don't need your protection."

Sam's mouth worked to find an answer, but his brother swooped in instead. "We're not saying that." He held his hands out in front of him as if offering the words to Dani as an apology. "But..."

She made a noise deep in her throat that may have been meant to be a laughing sound. "Wow."

"Dani, you asked for our help."

"Yeah, because you're good hunting partners and you happen to know more about angels and demons and my lineage than I do!" she explained. Looking up to the ceiling, she shook her head, the light catching her wide brown eyes and lighting them up with frustration and fire. "Help doesn't mean I'm depending on you to keep me safe. I can handle myself."

"We know," Sam finally spoke. "S-sorry."

Dani slumped back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. "Thank you."

They were all silent for a moment. Then, Dean smacked his lips together. "Welp, I'm gonna go get another beer, anyone want one?" He did not wait for an answer before he made his way to the kitchen.

Sam looked up at Castiel with tired eyes, who sat next to Dani.

"Dani," said the angel, the chair squeaking as he pushed it an inch across the floor, "killing the demon isn't gonna change your... heritage."

"It sure will change how I feel about my heritage," Dani said the word almost mockingly. She stared off at nothing as she spoke, clenching her fists on the table in front of her. Vaguely, she could feel the biting of her nails in her skin.

"We want you to know," Sam included, "we don't think any less of you because of what we've just found out. We've seen what you can and will do--"