||CHAPTER FOUR // TRAUMATIZED||
They make it to the psychic's house by morning, the three men stand on the porch while Bobby knocks. Dean holding a sleeping Dakota on his hip, her head lulled over his shoulder. A beautiful brunette answers the door with a gleeful laugh.
"Bobby!" She grins, hugging the man tightly, even lifting him off the ground a bit. The two Winchester exchange a glance before Sam shrugs.
"You're a sight for sore eyes." (The foreshadowing is real)
"So are these the boys?" She asks, looking Sam and Dean up and down appreciatively.
"Sam, Dean--Pamela Barnes." Bobby introduces, "Best damn psychic in the state."
"Hey," "Hi," The boys say at the same time. Dakota shifts around and makes a tiny noise before sighing, remaining fast asleep on her dad's shoulder. Her hand grasping closely at his jacket.
"Mm, mm, mm." Pamela hums. Bobby gives her a look which she chuckles at. "Dean Winchester. Out of the fryer and back in the frying pan, huh?" The boys shift uncomfortable, Dean's movements disturbing Dakota before she falls back asleep. "Makes you a rare individual."
"If you say so." Dean answers, shrugging one shoulder, rubbing Dakota's back with his free hand.
Pamela invites them in politely. She asks Dean if he wants to put Dakota on the couch, but he refuses, wishing to hold on to her.
"So, you hear anything?" Bobby asks, bringing the attention back on the reason that they are there.
Pamela sighs gently. "Well, I ouija-ed my way through a dozen spirits." She answers as she shuts the door, the Winchesters casts looks around the house. "No one seems to know who broke your boy out or why."
"What's next?" Bobby asks the psychic.
"A seance I think." Pamela nods at the oldest hunter. "See if we can see who did the deed."
"You're not going to summon that damn thing here, are you?" Bobby asks sounding a bit nervous.
"No." Pamela chuckles, uncrossing her arms. "I just want to get a sneak peek at it, like a crystal ball without the crystal."
Sam smiles in amusement as Dean turns to Bobby. "I'm game." Dean says, walking off with Sam at his heels. Bobby sighs and shakes his head before following after them.
Bobby and Pamela prepare for the seance as the two Winchesters stand awkwardly not knowing what to do, Pamela passes beside Dean and he watches as she crouches down to dig through a cupboard. The hunter notices a tattoo on the psychic's lower back. He nudges Sam with raised brows, pointing it out to his younger brother, who nods with the same expression.
"Who's Jesse?" Dean asks, which makes Sam send him a look. Dakota stirs in her dad's arms, annoyed with his movements and loud voices, She shoves at his chest and jumps from his arms before he releases her. "Stop doing that!" He scolds. Dakota sticks her tongue out, her hair disheveled and her eyes tired. She walks over to Bobby as Dean and Pamela talk.
"Uncle Bobby." She says quietly, tugging on his jacket to get his attention, Bobby looks down at her with a gentle smile. He crouches down in front of her.
"Yeah, sweet pea?" He responds quietly back.
"Do you think Pamela would let me nap on the couch? I'm really tired." She says shyly, fidgeting with the hem of her t-shirt.
"I'm sure she will, I'll ask her for you, okay?" He says with a smile, patting her shoulder before going over to Pamela. Sam walks over to his niece as she rubs her eyes.
"You okay, bug?" He says, using the nickname he gave her a couple of months ago. He started calling her that after realizing how much bug juice she drinks, she's addicted to the stuff.
"I'm tired." She responds, leaning against his legs, he smooths her hair down before picking her up. He holds her against his hip and she cuddles into him, burying her face in his shoulder. One of her arms circles around the back of his neck, she plays with the ends of his hair absentmindedly.
Bobby comes back over to the two and takes Dakota from Sam's arms, both chuckling at the sound of protest that slips out of her mouth. Bobby lays her on the couch and ruffles her hair before leaving to perform the seance. Dakota is soon sound asleep on the couch.
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Dakota wasn't asleep for long, being disturbed by a loud pained scream filling the air. She runs into the room where they were performing the seance, she spots Pamela on the ground with her eyes burned out. Dakota screams and covers her face, causing Dean's head to whip around at the sound.
"Dakota!" He shouts, before grabbing her and pulling her from the room, holding her against his leg as he calls 911. Dakota cries into Dean's pant leg, while Sam and Bobby try and help Pamela before the ambulance arrives.
"Dean." Sam says as he walks into the room, he glances sadly at his traumatized niece. "Bobby says we should take off before they get here, he'll call us with information."
Dean nods, picking up his daughter before following Sam out to the impala. Sam takes Dakota from Dean, holding her as he gets into the passenger side, she wasn't letting go anytime soon. She keeps her head buried into his shoulder as she cries, her hands over her face. Sam tries to soothe her, rubbing her back and whisper assurances, but she couldn't get the images of Pamela's eyes burned out of her head. They kept replaying, scarring the young girl deeply.
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The older Winchesters decide to wait in the local diner, not really knowing where else they can go. Sam continues to cradle his niece, bouncing her slightly as he walks in. Dean grabs a seat, trying to peel his daughter from his brother, but she clings onto him.
"C'mere, baby." He says gently, rubbing at her back before trying to take her again.
"Kota, go to your dad." Sam tells her quietly, kissing her head before trying to hand her off.
"Daddy..." She mumbles before practically launching herself at him, her arms and legs wrapping around him tightly, her head going into the crook of his neck. He shushes her gently, rubbing her back as he sits down at the table.
A waitress comes by soon after they sat down, Dakota's crying makes the woman slightly uncomfortable as she tries to take Dean's order. Dean gives her an awkward smile before telling her what he wants.
"Be up in a jiff." She says, giving them a tight smile and walking away. Dakota's cries, though muffled, are still loud enough to draw attention.
Sam hangs up with Bobby and sits down when the waitress leaves.
"What'd Bobby say?" Dean questions immediately, running a hand through Dakota's hair. Her cries slowly turn to whimpers, so Dean continues to run his hand through her hair, soothing her gently.
"Uh, Pam's stable and out of ICU." Sam sighs.
"And blind because of us." Dean says gruffly, Dakota whimpers loudly but Dean's quick to quiet her, kissing the side of her head and whispering 'it's okay' over and over a couple times.
"And we still have no clue what we're dealing with." Sam informs, looking over at his brother rocking Dakota.
"That's not entirely true." Dean cuts in. Dakota finally stops whimpering, Dean glances down at her and spots that her eyes are closed. He looks up at Sam and places a finger over his lips, while his other one rubs her back.
"No?" Sam asks confused by what Dean meant with the situation.
"We got a name. Castiel or whatever." He answers with a shrug. "With the right mumbo jumbo, we could summon him, bring him right to us." Dean plans.
"You're crazy." Sam says with an unamused grin, Dean looks away trying to figure out what's wrong with his plan. "Absolutely not." Sam continues, shaking his head at his older brother.
"We'll work him over, I mean, with what he did?" Dean reminds, leaning forward slightly.
"Pam took a peek at him and her eyes burned out of her skull," Sam nearly shouts, Dean quickly shushes him, glaring at his younger brother and bringing Dakota closer to him. "You want a face to face?"
"You gotta better idea?" Dean challenges, raising a brow.
"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do." Sam says, leaning forward and places his arms on the table. "Kota and I followed some demons to town, right?" He continues, glancing at his niece.
"Okay?" Dean replies, confused as to what that had to do with anything.
"So we go find them." Sam says in a "duh" tone. "Someone's got to know something about something."
Edited 4/2/19