Protect Her ~ supernatural / sam winchester

Twenty

Dani was going mad. Every day her hope of figuring out her lineage seemed to stretch thinner. She was done waiting around for the demon to decide it was time to reveal itself. She was done trying not to see black eyes whenever she looked in the mirror and trying to calm down after she had a nightmare.

Sam could see it; she was spiraling. Ever since she was hexed, Dani had been even more distant. Sam longed to reach out to her, feel her, make her forget all of her problems. But it would do no good; he and Dean both knew that the only way to get her back normal was to get her closure.

The three of them were sitting around a table in the library, trying to research demon children and lore, when Dean slammed his book shut. Sam and Dani looked up at him.

"I've been thinking," he began. "One of the demons we... interrogated said we'd have to go higher up the food chain to find out what demon started the bloodline, right?" They nodded.

"And all the other demon's we've found weren't exactly of a higher status," Dani said flatly.

"Well, we haven't tried one option." He looked to Sam knowingly, whose eyes lit up in understanding before his face fell with doubt.

"Dean, no." He held out a hand as if to stop his brother from speaking.

"Crowley," Dean told Dani. Her stomach dropped at the name, but her eyebrows lifted.

"I..." The brothers looked to her for an answer. "I guess you're right."

Dean smirked at his brother triumphantly, who was reluctant but stayed quiet. "We'll contact him, you can stay out of it. To stay safe."

Dani did not respond. The Winchesters looked to one another uneasily, the silence uncharacteristic.

"Let's get to it," Dean said, standing.

Sam took one last look at the girl sitting next to him, staring at the book in front of her but clearly not reading it. With a sigh, he got up and followed his brother.

Dani looked around when she was sure she was alone, feeling as if all the books in the room were trying to talk to her but were not giving her the answers she needed. The now-empty seat at her side felt cold, so she got up and went to make some tea. Joseph's pale face was plastered on her eyelids, the sound of the boiling water taking her back to sharing tea in a motel with him and David. She sighed, rubbing her eyes as if she could get the image out of her mind.

******

Sam finished reciting the incantation, he and Dean holding their breath as they waited for Crowley to appear in the devil's trap. After a second, he looked to his brother anxiously.

"Hello boys." They heard the voice before they saw him. Crowley stood with his hands in his pockets, looking around with a bored expression. "What a surprise."

Sam clenched his fists at his sides, his jaw set.

"Heard you and your demon-girl have been going around killing my demons." Crowley shook his finger at them. "That was a naughty thing to do."

"We want to know what demon started Dani's bloodline," Dean demanded.

Crowley sucked his teeth. "Yeah, no."

Sam toed the edge of the devil's trap. "Tell us or I'll gut you."

He barely blinked. "That time of the month, Samantha?" Sam clenched his jaw. Crowley paced the small area. "And what if I didn't know?"

"Bullshit," Sam spat.

The demon smirked. "I will tell you who ordered the move to be made." His eyes flashed. "Lucifer."