The next morning, you were woken up by the smell of cheeseburgers. You groaned and opened your eyes, lifting your head up to see Dean open a bag from a fast food joint. You groaned and sighed as you sat up, wiping the sleep and tears from your eyes.
"Where are we?" You asked.
"Just outside of Lincoln, Nebraska," Sam said as Dean drove to where they were expecting to meet Bobby. You saw a farmhouse come into view and before you know it, Dean was parking right outside the place. The noise of the cicadas was the nosiest things there.
Dean was munching on his cheeseburger as he got out of the car. You got out and squinted at the light of the sun, seeing Bobby already there, waiting for the three of you.
"Hear those cicadas?" Sam observed.
"Yeah, that can't be a good sign," Dean said, taking another bite of his cheeseburger.
"So, we're eating bacon cheeseburgers for breakfast, are we?" Bobby said when you walked over to him. You were glad to see his face, not knowing what happened to Ellen after the huge macho showdown.
"Well, I sold my soul. Got a year to live. I ain't sweating the cholesterol." Dean said, chewing happily.
"Don't remind me." You said, getting tears.
"How are you doing?" Bobby said, putting a hand on your shoulder.
"Doesn't matter. We should check this place out." You said, shrugging out of his touch and leaving the group. You hated feeling this way but you couldn't help it. You walked up to the door and pounded on the door, receiving no answer except the chirps from the cicadas.
You sighed and got out your lock pick kit and sunk to your knees just as the three men joined you. You picked the lock easily, opening it. You took out your gun you always carried on you and walked inside, pointing the gun everywhere you looked.
Immediately upon walking in, you were hit with the stench of death. You gagged and covered your nose with your arm, still holding the gun in front of you.
"Oh wow, that's awful," Sam said once he got a whiff of the odor.
"That so can't be a good sign," Dean said, following you inside. You walked around the house, searching in the rooms but always coming up empty-handed. You sighed and walked to a closed door where the smell seemed to be getting stronger. You paused as you heard muffled screams come from the room behind the closed door.
"You hear that?" You asked Dean who was near you. He nodded and you stood by the door so when he opened it, you would be the first one in there. Dean looked at you and when you nodded, he kicked down the door and you walked in, your gun raised. You expected something to jump out at you, to attack but you instead, you found the source of the rotten smell.
Sitting on the couch in front of you were three people, dried up like fruit. You gagged, seeing flies move around the dead bodies. You groaned and lowered your gun, covering your nose from the potency of the smell. You looked in front of them and saw where the screams were coming from. They were watching a TV show and you sighed, looking at Dean for help.
"What the hell happened?" You asked, lowering your arm. The stench was still strong but you could tolerate it now. Bobby came walking into the room, recoiling in horror at the bodies.
"Bobby, what the hell happened here?" You asked, trying to ignore the sound coming from the TV.
"I don't know." He answered, shrugging.
"Check for sulfur," Dean ordered and Bobby got right on that, searching around the room. You started to look but the high-pitched scream came from the TV again. You growled and walked over to it, slamming your hand down on the power button.
Both Bobby and Sam looked at you. You were pissed, angry, hurt, broken and probably much more. You clenched your jaw and looked away from them, looking at Dean who was peeking through the window. It wasn't fair how life treated you but whoever said this was going to be easy?
Who was going to save Dean from Hell? You sure as hell couldn't and you knew as much as Bobby and Sam believed there was a way to save him, they couldn't. You couldn't get to the door of Hell without opening it again and releasing more demons and you didn't know of anyone who could go down there easily.
Everything seemed hopeless at this point. You were so much in your own head, you only snapped out of it when you heard Dean softly whistle to get yours, Bobby and Sam's attention. He pointed to the window, probably heard a noise or something and signaled that he was going to check it out.
He got up and walked out of the room, presumably to go on the porch that was right outside the window he was looking at. You looked at Sam and followed him, getting away from the window while Bobby went out the back way, seeing if he could spot anything out there.
"How are you doing?" Sam asked, seeing the pain evident on your face.
"Why do people keep asking me that? I'm fine." You snapped, walking away from him.
"You know, it's okay to be scared. I'm scared." Sam admitted.
"No, Sam, I'm not scared," You whipped back around to face him. "Dean is my soulmate, that much I believe. My other half and he's going to be dead in a year. I'm not scared, Sam, I'm falling apart." You turned back around before the tears could fall and you walked to another window where you could see Dean.
You frowned when you saw a couple standing over Dean, holding him at gunpoint while he was on the floor, holding his nose. You gasped and got up, rushing outside, only to stop when you heard Bobby say something to the couple.
"Isaac? Tamara?" Bobby knew the couple and upon seeing him, they relaxed, figuring that Dean was with Bobby.
"Bobby, what the hell are you doing here?" Isaac said, smiling at him. You rushed to the group, pushing them aside while kneeling before Dean. Tamara looked at you but knew you were in no danger to them.
"I could ask the same," Bobby said. You helped Dean sit up and you examined his nose, wiping some of the blood away from him. He stared into your eyes and you looked into his, memorizing the color and the little specks of gold in the middle.
"Hey, come on, get up, boy," Bobby said, helping Dean up.
"I think you better come back to our place. We need to talk about a few things." Tamara said. You looked at her, liking the British accent she had. You took Dean's hand and stayed by his side the entire time, even when you arrived at their place.
"I'm going to make a call," Dean said once inside the house, looking at you. You nodded and let him step out of the room to get some privacy. You sighed and stayed in the corner, watching Sam, Bobby, Isaac, and Tamara interact with one another.
Their house was filled with Supernatural things: bones, glass containers of items you didn't know of, protection gear, and many more items. It was a very crowded house but where you stood, you were away from all that.
"Jenny! That is a beautiful name. That's my sister's name, actually." Dean said on the phone. You sighed, not caring if he had to flirt his way to get the information from people. You didn't care about a lot of things right now.
"Honey? Where's the Palo Santo?" Isaac asked his wife, searching for it.
"Well, where did you leave it?" She asked.
"I don't know, dear. That's why I'm asking."
"Palo Santo? What's that?" Sam asked, his attention going from the things hanging from the ceiling to the couple.
"It's holy wood, from Peru. It's toxic to demons like holy water. Keeps the bastards nailed down while you're exorcising them." Tamara explained, walking over to Isaac and digging through a bag. She pulled out a large, pointed stake and handed it to Isaac. She had on an affectionate smile to him. You bit your lip, seeing how happy they were together.
Your breathing began to pick up, sending panic signals down your spine. You watched the happy couple and realized you'll never get that with Dean. All because of his stupid deal. You started to breath quicker, taking in short breaths.
Damn it, another panic attack for you in a room full of people.
"You'd lose your head if it wasn't for me," Tamara said, not noticing you.
"So, how long you two been married?" Sam asked, smiling at them.
"Eight years this past June," Tamara answered.
"The family that slays together..." Isaac said, trailing off. You began to see spots in your vision, the room spinning a little.
"Hey, are you okay?" Bobby asked, noticing your actions.
"Yeah, I'm... fine." You forced yourself to say, breathing in quicker breaths, not getting enough oxygen to your brain. You stumbled forward, grabbing onto a corner of a desk to hold yourself up. You felt yourself start to cave in and you didn't know how to bring yourself out of it.
"Y/N, are you sure you're alright?" Bobby asked, not knowing how to help you.
"Yeah." You managed to get out. Your hand slipped from the corner and you fell to the ground just as Dean walked back into the room, off the phone. One look at you and he was racing to you, getting behind you.
"No, she's not alright, she's having a panic attack," Dean said, grabbing you and pulling you close. You tried to take deep breaths in but your body wouldn't allow it. Your throat contracted, not getting enough air in your lungs.
"What can we do?" Tamara asked, finally seeing there was something wrong with you.
"Nothing, just let me handle it," Dean said, making you look at him. "I'm right here, sweetheart. You're okay, just breathe with me."
"Dean, I-I ca-can't." You said, looking at him. You could barely see him with the amount of black spots that were showing up. Dean nodded and sat up a little straighter, placing your head on his chest, right against his heart. You could hear his heartbeat loud and clear.
He smoothed down your hair, rubbing circles on your back to help calm you down. You struggled for a minute or two but soon, you started to breathe in rhythm to Dean's breathing. You slowly calmed down, the black spots going away.
When Dean knew you were going to be okay, he pulled away only slightly to look at you.
"Are you okay now?" He asked.
"No," you whispered, looking at him.
"Alright, come on, let's get up." Dean helped you up, knowing that you were fine from the panic attack. He knew what was going through your mind at the moment and he couldn't change that right now. You held onto him and refused to look at anyone right now. You turned and buried your head in Dean's chest while he spoke to the group.
"That was the coroner's tech I was speaking to earlier. She said the cause of death from the family was dehydration and starvation. There were no signs of restraint, violence or struggle. They just sat down and never got up." Dean said, raking his fingers through your hair.
"But there was a fully stocked kitchen just yards away," Bobby said, looking at you. He hated seeing you this way but it was like he didn't even know you. He wanted to help but didn't know how.
"Right. What is this, a demon attack?" Sam asked, looking at you. You had stopped shaking, just glad to be in Dean's arms.
"If it is, it's not like anything I ever saw, and I've seen plenty," Bobby said.
"Okay, so, what do we do now?" Dean asked.
"Uh, we're not gonna do anything," Isaac said, butting into the conversation.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, confused.
"Look, you guys seem nice enough, but, this ain't Scooby-Doo, and we don't play well with others."
"I think we'd cover a lot more ground if we all worked together." Sam offered.
"No offense, but we're not teaming with the damn fools who let the Devil's Gate get opened in the first place," Isaac said, glaring slightly at Dean and Sam.
"No offense?" Dean asked, scoffing. He was about to go to him but you gripped his shirt.
"No, don't." You whispered.
"Isaac. Like you've never made a mistake." Tamara said, looking at her husband.
"Oh yeah, yeah. Locked my keys in the car or turned my laundry pink. Never brought on the end of the world, though."
"Alright," Dean chuckled. "That's enough."
"Guys, stop it, this isn't helping anything." You said, pulling away from Dean and looking at Isaac.
"Look, there are couple hundred more demons out there now. We don't know where they are or when they'll strike. There ain't enough hunters in the world to handle something like this. You brought war down on us, on all of us." Isaac accused.
"Shut the fuck up, Isaac! This wasn't his fault, God dammit!" You yelled at him, feeling overwhelmed.
"Alright, that's enough from everybody," Tamara said, pulling her husband out of the room. You shook your head, hot tears running down your face.
"Y/N." Dean said, reaching for you.
"Stop it, Dean." You pushed past him and left the room, going to the front room by the front door. You walked to the window and sat on the bench underneath it, pulling your knees up to your chest. You looked out the window and didn't see much. It was kind of foggy but you had the sense something was watching you from out there.
"Y/N, you know he's just trying to protect you," Sam said, coming into view. He took a seat next to you and you looked at him.
"No, he wanted to protect himself. I can't live without him. You saw me when he got into that crash last year. Imagine me when he dies, what'll happen then?"