i'm trying to be cool about it
feeling like an absolute fool about it

cool about it, boygenius

chapter nine

✦  ✦  ✦  ✦
━━━━━

CATHERINE CLOSES her eyes as the cool breeze ruffles her hair and sends a chill down her spine. She sits sideways on a park bench, hugging her knees. She doesn't realize she'd stopped paying attention to whatever Jack was saying until she's met with silence.

He was talking about a song, though she can't remember which one. The two of them had been spending a lot of time together lately, partly because Catherine feels a bit guilty for leaving him at home all the time, partly because she's worried about him.

The worry stems from a few different things. That persistent cough he's had for weeks, with no sign of it letting up is the biggest factor. She's days away from dragging him to a doctor. He's human now, so painfully human.

She's also worried that he's lonely. Besides the occasional case with Castiel, he doesn't get out much. It's not exactly easy for him to make friends his own age.

When she opens her eyes, he's just staring forward. She follows his gaze, and he's watching a group of birds gathered near a tree. There's nothing but contentment on his face. She's noticed how much he seems to enjoy just...being. Watching nature, people, the world around him.

For that, she hates how long he was trapped in her own home. Her world. There was nothing left there. Nothing to appreciate, nothing to take in. Just death.

She hasn't really had a chance to take in this world. She hasn't had time, not really. Not the way she used to, when she'd stay outside for hours with Charlie before everything went to hell. They'd stop anywhere to watch a sunset and drive for hours to see a shooting star.

It's almost like the stars stopped shining when the war started. Colors left the sky, nature went flat. Monsters became more rabid and animals disappeared. When she really thinks about it, it's probably the closest to actual Hell she's ever gotten.

That night with Dean...that helped. Though a part of her was too enamored with him to really take it in.

And that, that's a thought to save for later.

"Hey. What are you thinking about?" She asks Jack, tired of the silence.

He sighs gently, still watching the birds. "Everything feels different now."

"What do you mean?"

"Without my powers. It's all...different. The air. Sounds, colors. I don't know, it's hard to explain."

She drops her legs and shifts so she's sitting next to him. "You can try, if you want."

He shrugs, not responding for a while. Then he says, "I can't get my coffee right."

"Too bitter?"

He nods. "I think Dean would have a heart attack if he saw me put cream in coffee, but I can't drink it straight anymore."

"Well, I'll get you a latte. Come on, we won't tell Dean."

✦ ✦

WHEN THEY return to the bunker, they find Dean in the kitchen on his laptop.

"Hey, where you guys been?"

"We went to a park," Jack says, sitting across from him at the table. Dean eyes the latte cup from a local cafe that Jack sips from. Then his gaze shifts to Catherine, and she gives him a look, as if to say don't say a word. He shakes his head and returns his focus to his laptop.

"So, I think I found us a case."

Catherine goes to sit next to Dean, and he tilts the laptop in her direction.

"Three pairs of bodies have been found over the course of the past month in Indiana. Bodies drained of blood, all with matching bite marks."

"Right. Always vampires, isn't it?"

He shrugs, closing his laptop. "Guess we'll find out."

"Can I come?" Jack asks.

Dean and Catherine share a look. She shrugs, like it's not a bad idea.

Dean opens his mouth to speak, and Jack cuts him off.

"Before you say no, I've been going on cases with Cas. I can help."

"I don't know, kid." He looks to Catherine again.

"It's probably vampires. It could be a milk run."

"It could be dangerous," he counters.

"He's never gonna learn if we never let him come."

Dean sighs, hesitating.

"Mack said I can come," Jack says.

Dean rolls his eyes. "All right, fine. Let's go."

✦ ✦

IN THE car, on the long daunting drive to Indiana, Catherine doesn't talk much. Jack's in the back, either sleeping or with headphones in. She curls against the window, letting the quiet hum of Dean's music soothe her. A couple hours in, Dean finally breaks the silence.

"Hey. You alright?"

She lifts her head and looks over, but doesn't quite meet his eyes. "Just tired." She neglects to mention the fact that she hasn't been sleeping well, or much at all, for weeks now. Or the dream from two nights ago that's shaken her so much, she hasn't tried to sleep at all.

"You sure?"

She knows he can see right through her, but she doesn't have the energy to acknowledge it. She simply hums in response, not noticing the way Dean's hands tighten around the wheel, or the way he keeps glancing at her through the rest of the drive.

✦ ✦

ONCE THEY arrive, minimal words are exchanged as they check into the nearest motel. Then the next day, they split up. Catherine takes Jack to the morgue to study the recent victims, and Dean goes to the Sheriff's office.

At the morgue, Jack studies the bodies as she studies the reports. She learns the two victims were a teenage couple, each reported missing by their respective parents over a week ago. Lillian and Aiden.

"Mack, come look," Jack says. She goes over, and he shows her the bite marks he found. Right where neck and shoulder meets, and the positioning suggests they were bitten from behind. "Looks like vampires, right?" He asks.

She nods. "Yeah, it does. The bodies were drained, right?"

"Yes. There's marks here," He shows her the wrist, "and on the ankles. Maybe they were tied up?"

"Good find."

"Other than that, though, the bodies are pretty clean. I don't think they were tortured."

She nods again, examining the marks further. An odd design is pressed into the skin, like they were tied tight enough to be branded with the design of the chair. She hums to herself, then turns away. "Let's go meet Dean."

They quickly finish up. Catherine takes copies of all the reports and pictures of the bite marks before they head back to the motel.

Dean's already there with dinner when they arrive. They all sit down to eat and share their findings, though Catherine barely touches her food.

"The Sheriff knew both of them, but she was friend's with Aiden's mom," Dean shares. "Apparently she's a single mom, struggled a lot over the years and the Sheriff helped her out where she could. Aiden and Lillian were sort of newly together, so they were out all the time. And, uh, get this."

"What?" Jack questions.

"The girl's parents caught wind of us in town, and they wanna talk to us."

"How?" Catherine asks. Dean shrugs.

"Small town, word spreads fast, I guess. I told the Sheriff we'll talk to them tomorrow. So, what'd you guys find?"

✦ ✦

THAT NIGHT, she tries to sleep. If not for herself, then for Dean, because she can feel the worry radiating off of him, and she owes it to him to try. She's more exhausted than she thought, despite not sleeping for a full 48 hours. Sleep comes fast, but the nightmares come faster.

She's back in that room. She's fourteen years old again. Not again.

Her parents were already fighting when it started, Catherine was already in her sister's room trying to distract her. Then she heard glass shattering and wood breaking, and she pulled Cristina into the closet and covered her ears just in time for the screaming to start. She held the younger girl tight until it stopped.

She made Cristina promise to stay in the closet when she went downstairs. The nauseating metallic scent of blood filled her nose as she moved towards the kitchen.

The room was stained with red. She'd never seen so much blood. Her heart must've frozen in her chest when she saw her parents. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe. She just stared at her mother, her beautiful face a mask of terror, her thick curls matted with blood. She reached helplessly for her husband, loving him desperately even in her last moments.

Her father's mangled corpse stared ahead lifelessly, as if his wife wasn't dying right next to him. Even in his own death he couldn't acknowledge her.

She didn't even hear Cristina coming down the stairs.

"Cat? What's that smell?"

Then she lets out a piercing, bone-chilling scream, and Catherine wakes up. Not jolting, not screaming, just still. Silent tears stream from her eyes, down her face and over the bridge of her nose.

She looks over, and Jack's fast asleep next to her. Dean's out on the other bed. She slips off the bed as quietly as she can, and pads over to the kitchen sink. There's a small window overlooking the parking lot. Moonlight illuminates the street, along with the dim neon lights of the motel sign.

She takes a glass from the counter and fills it from the tap. She pauses, her hand hovering above the sink. The wave of nausea hits her fast, faster than she could've anticipated. She drops the glass into the sink without much of an attempt to be quiet and bolts to the bathroom, accidentally slamming the door shut.

Her whole body trembles as she finishes emptying her stomach. She tries to slow her breathing, shutting the toilet lid and dropping her head in her hands. A gentle knock on the door startles her.

"Cath? You alright?" Dean calls softly.

"Just– just a second."

Her knees ache on the hard tile floor, and the fluorescent lights hurt her head. She needs out.

She opens the door and is met with Dean, concern written all over him. "Hey–"

"Just need some air." She brushes past him, heading straight for the door.  

The cold night wind nips her skin as she steps outside, and she immediately regrets not grabbing a jacket. She can already breathe easier in the fresh air. A few seconds pass before the door opens again, and Dean steps outside wearing his own jacket, hers in his hand. He wordlessly hands it to her.

"Thanks. Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up." She slips the jacket on, not looking at him. She stares out at the parking lot, fixing her gaze on the neon sign. It flickers occasionally. She pours her energy into breathing steadily.

"What happened?" Dean asks gently.

She exhales slowly, shaking her head. "Bad dream." She crosses her arms tight over her abdomen as Dean moves closer to her, so they're standing nearly shoulder to shoulder.

"Must've been pretty bad."

"I've had worse."

"Enough to make you sick?"

She shrugs. She closes her eyes, fighting down a new wave of nausea. She sees it again, every time she blinks. The blood. The screaming. Her mother's hair.

"Hey." Dean nudges her with his elbow. "Talk to me."

She opens her eyes, the well of tears blurring her vision. She sighs, blinking furiously. "I don't want to cry," she says, voice dangerously unsteady. "I don't need to cry in front of you." She shakes her head, like she's trying to convince herself everything's fine. She bites down on her lip to keep it from trembling.

Dean turns, facing her. "Cath..."

"I found my parents when they were killed. Did I tell you that?"

Her gaze flickers to his and away again, like she can't bear to hold his stare for more than a second. He says nothing.

"I know it was probably fucked up for me to see that, but I never– I was more focused on keeping my sister safe than...processing it. It's just lived in the back of my brain for the longest time. Then I talked about it." She's not sure she'll be able to fight the tears for much longer. She angles her body so the two of them face each other, yet she doesn't look at him.

"I've always had nightmares, but nothing like this. It's...I think it's ruining me. I don't know how to take it."

Dean leans only slightly closer, placing a soothing hand on her arm. "You'll figure out. I...we will. We'll figure it out."

She closes her eyes, leaning into his touch. "Everything I've seen and lived through, and this is what ruins me," she says while shaking her head.

"They were your family. You were just a kid."

She inhales deeply, and exhales through her teeth. Then she tilts her head up, finally meeting his eyes as her tears start to fall. "I can't sleep." It comes out as a broken whisper.

Dean's face softens. He pulls her into his chest, and she lets him. It takes everything in her not to completely fall apart as he wraps his arms around her. They have a case, and bigger things to deal with.

So, she leans against his chest, her tears warm on her cold face, and lets herself feel it all. Even if for just a moment. And for the moment, it crushes her. It sucks the air from her lungs and the blood from her body, the weight of it all. 

Then the moment ends, with Dean brushing her hair back and whispering to her, "It's freezing. Let's go inside."

She nods, and he doesn't take his hand off her back as they reenter the motel room.

✦ ✦

THEY DON'T talk about it. They don't talk about it when Dean leads her to his bed, and she doesn't question it. They don't talk about it the next morning, when they wake up a mess of tangled limbs. They don't talk about it over breakfast, in the car. They definitely don't talk about it when Jack has another coughing fit.

They simply leave it unspoken.

Dean's sure she prefers it that way, and he tells himself he does too. He doesn't blame her, though she bared her soul to him and then slept in his bed. They go on as if nothing's changed, though Catherine seems a little more alive than she has the past few days. It's a wonder how a good night's sleep can help.

He pretends everything is normal. He pretends like his chest doesn't ache every time he recalls her teary eyes and trembling body. He just wants to hold her until it goes away. He'd take all the pain from her in a heartbeat if he could. If it meant she'd smile a little brighter each day, if it meant she woke up a little easier in the morning.

✦ ✦

THE DOOR is answered by a man when Dean knocks. All three of them show their badges, and Dean does their introductions. He's barely through it when the man nods them in.

Catherine closes the door behind them as the man returns to the couch, sitting with the woman already there and taking her hand. Besides the two of them, there's another woman in the room standing near the fireplace. She's much younger looking, and her face is red and splotchy like she'd been crying.

"We're glad you're here," the man says.

"The Sheriff told us you wanted to meet with us, any specific reason why?" Dean asks.

"Because they found our daughter a week ago and haven't done jack shit about it," the woman next to him, his wife, says.

The other woman scoffs in annoyance, but says nothing. They all sit down, Catherine and Dean on the empty loveseat and Jack in the armchair. Jack gives her an unsure look, to take the lead, but Catherine nods him on. He clears his throat, turning towards the couple.

"So, Mr. and Mrs...?"

"Adams," The husband answers. Jack nods.

"Was there anything you noticed about your daughter in the days or weeks before her death, any strange changes of behavior, new people, those sort of things?"

He looks to Catherine again, and she nods again.

"Unless you count her sorry excuse of a son corrupting our daughter," the wife mumbles.

The woman at the fireplace nearly laughs in disbelief. "You're such a hypocrite, Marlene! As if Sheriff Waters didn't find your daughter with drugs on her months before they got together!"

"Lay off, Alison," The husband warns.

"No, no, I won't!" She takes a step forward, pointing an accusing finger towards the couple. "Aiden would never. He's not the reason they were out there, he would've never been out that late if it wasn't for her!"

They watch the families fight, both women in hysterics while the husband tries to soothe his wife. Eventually it comes to a head with Alison deciding she's had enough. She turns towards the two of them. "Aiden was a good kid. He wasn't like that, he was smart. He always had good grades, he never broke curfew. It wasn't until he started going out with Lillian that he started acting out."

They share a look as Alison continues. "I always tried my best for him, but I know it wasn't always good enough. I know there's stuff he didn't tell me, but he isn't the reason for any of this. I know it."

Catherine stands, going to Alison and taking one of her hands. "We know. That doesn't mean Lillian played any part in it, either." She squeezes her hand before retracting. "Your children are the victims here. Both of them. We're going to figure out how this happened, alright?"

Both women nod, to her and to each other.

"Now, what can you tell us about places they liked to hang out?"

✦ ✦

LATER night, after already checking the various spots named by the parents, the last stop is, of course, a bar on the edge of town. They drop Jack at the motel before heading to the bar, much to his disdain. The reason mostly being they weren't sure he'd even be allowed in.

It's quiet when they arrive, not very full. They sit at the bar together as they wait for the bartender. She notes the odd design choice of having high chairs rather than stools at the bar. She unconsciously traces her fingers over the design on the arms as her brain races.

"Hey," Dean says, nudging her with his elbow. "Doing alright?"

It's his first time acknowledging last night since it happened. It makes her nervous, slightly afraid he'll want to talk about it more. Still, she says, "Better," and means it, with a small grin.

He nods. "Good," and leaves it at that. She takes a small breath of relief.

Eventually the bartender comes over, wiping her hands on a rag. "What can I get you guys?"

"Hoping we could ask you a few questions," Dean says as they each show their badges. She straightens slightly, but her face doesn't change. Dean shows her pictures of Lillian and Aiden. "Have you ever seen these two around?"

Her eyes flash in recognition. "Yeah, that's Lili and her boyfriend."

"When was the last time you saw them?" Catherine asks.

She shrugs. "About a week ago. Why? They in trouble?"

"You are aware that they were underage, right?"

"They don't drink, not here at least. They just play pool and eat, I've never seen any harm in it. I keep an eye on them when they come around."

Dean and Catherine share a look. Catherine shrugs. Dean puts his phone away and says, "They were both found dead a week ago."

The bartender's face falls. "Shit. What happened?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out."

She shakes her head, like she can't believe it. She fidgets with her fingers, specifically her ring finger. She rubs the spot where a ring would lay. Catherine notices an indent, revealing she probably used to wear one, but no longer did. "I was always afraid those two were gonna end up in something stupid. They were good kids, just had some messed up circumstances. I liked it when they were here, at least I knew I could keep 'em safe if they managed to mess with the wrong people."

"Do you know anything about where they were that night? See them leave with anyone?"

She shakes her head again. "Nope. Everything seemed pretty normal, same as when they always come in. Although they left around midnight, which is a lot later than they usually would."

Catherine taps her thumb on the bar, taking in the information. "Do you know anywhere they might've hung out that their parents wouldn't have known about?"

She raises her arms, gestures to the space around them. "Their parents knew about this?"

"Aiden's mom is very observant," Dean says.

"RIght. Well, uh, I'm not sure. A lot of the local kids liked to hang out in Bedford after dark, but that's mostly the junkies. I don't think they would've been there."

"What's Bedford?" Catherine questions.

"The cemetery."

"Naturally," Dean mumbles. "Well, thanks for your help. If you think of anything else, call us, alright?" He writes his number on a napkin and slides it to her.

She takes it and tucks it into her apron. "Can I get you guys anything to drink?"

They share a look once again. "Why not, right?"

"Sure."

She gets them both a whiskey and leaves them.

Catherine sighs, sipping at her drink. "This case is so..." she trails off, not knowing how to word it. "I don't know what to make of it. Every alibi checked out, there's no connection between the victims except that there's two of them every time."

"They were all together," Dean says offhandedly.

"What?"

"The pairs that were found together? They were all couples."

She definitely didn't put that together. "Okay, well, there's the connection, but I don't understand what kind of motive that brings. Especially for vampires."

He shrugs. "I don't know. My brain hurts. What do you say we call it for the night?"

She drains the rest of her drink. "Works for me."

He glances across the room, at the untouched pool table. "You know how to play?"

"I'm almost offended that you have to ask."

He grins, getting up from his seat. "Come on, then."

She returns his grin and follows. It starts off slow, she's a bit rusty, but eventually they get into a groove of beating each other.

"Next loser buys drinks," Dean challenges. She smirks as they start a new round, and Dean barely gets a chance to hit before she's knocking in the 8 ball. She laughs as he defeatedly stalks back to the bar. She starts grabbing the balls from the pockets.

She's lining up the triangle when she feels Dean come back up behind her. She straightens and nearly jumps out of her skin when she's met with someone who's definitely not Dean.

"Woah– a little warning, maybe?"

He holds his hands out defensively. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just, I saw you playing, you seem badass." He smirks, eyeing her a little too closely. "Can I buy you a drink?"

She backtracks a step, gripping her pool cue tighter. "I'm alright."

"How about a round, then?"

She sighs, glancing at the bar. Dean still has his back turned, chatting with the bartender. She looks back to the man, his eyebrows raised in anticipation. "No thanks. I'm actually here with someone."

"Aw, come on." He takes a step closer. "Just one round?"

She tilts her head, scanning him up and down. "Aw. Can't take no for an answer?"

Darkness clouds over his eyes. "Excuse me?"

She shrugs. "You asked, I answered. You can leave now."

His eyes narrow. "Or what?"

She grins at him. He moves to touch her, maybe grab her, and she touches the tip of the pool cue to his chest. "If you touch me I will shove this so far up your ass–"

"Everything okay over here?" Dean's voice echoes in her ear. She retracts the pool cue and the guy steps back.

"Just some friendly conversation."

"Really?" He hands her one of the drinks he's holding. "Doesn't look so friendly to me."

"It's alright, man. I was just seeing if she wanted to play a round."

Dean slips an arm around her waist, pulling her close. She nearly chokes on her drink. "Seems like she said no."

The man eyes his hand and takes another step back. "Whatever, man. Not a big deal."

"We're leaving," Catherine says sweetly. She downs her drink and places the glass on the pool table.

"Right. Careful with this one, man, she's feisty."

Catherine's grin only widens as she takes Dean's glass from him and splashes the whole thing on the guy's face, then slips out of Dean's grip and grabs his hand to pull him along. She sets the glass on a table as they pass.

She hears him swear, "You bitch–" and a hand grabs her wrist. She whirls around, swinging so hard his nose cracks when her fist collides with his face. He yelps in pain, clutching his nose as he goes stumbling.

She turns back to Dean, shaking out her hand. "Let's go." She brushes past him towards the exit.

He waits till they're outside to ask, "You alright?"

She nearly laughs at the question. "I'm fine. You know I don't need you to fight my battles for me, right? I was handling it."

"I know you were. It's just..." He trails off, shaking his head.

"What?"

"That's not a battle you need to be fighting."

This time, she does laugh. "It's not a big deal. Guys are dicks, who cares?"

He says nothing, grabbing the car keys from his pocket.

"Dean, I'm fine. I've had worse, trust me." She holds up her right hand. "Look, I didn't even split a knuckle." Although her hand was a bit red, and there were already bruises forming.

He sighs. "Fine. You should ice that hand."

She rolls her eyes, but grins.

✦ ✦

THEY WAIT till dark the next night to scope out the cemetery.

"Why would people come here to hang out when it's dark?" Jack questions aloud. "Especially if they're on drugs. That doesn't sound fun at all."

Dean chuckles. "Kids are dumb, especially when they're on drugs.

Catherine touches Jack's shoulder. "Hey, don't do drugs."

"I won't."

She nods, a small grin on her face. "Good."

They continue to search the cemetery, casual banter and jokes cracked between them. They don't find much, until Dean's phone rings. He answers, listening for a while.

"Alright, I'm on my way," he says, then ends the call. "That was Jackie, she said she remembered something about the last time she saw the victims."

Catherine and Jack both watch him, waiting expectantly. He doesn't seem to catch on.

"What?"

"Who's Jackie?" Catherine asks.

"The bartender?"

"Oh, right, right. First name basis?"

He rolls his eyes, pocketing his phone. "I'm gonna go talk to her, you two finish here, then meet me back at the motel."

She mockingly nods, calling after him, "You have fun with Jackie!" She cringes at her own voice, ignoring the feeling twisting in her gut, Once again, she'll leave that for later.

As they were already sure of, there was nothing left to find in the cemetery. Nothing to help them, anyway, so they head back to the motel to wait for Dean.

They go over everything once again, in case there was anything they missed. Catherine's positive they know everything there is to know, and is only doing it to keep herself busy waiting for Dean.

Even she's wrong sometimes.

Hours pass, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't worried. Though, she's sure she knows what he's getting up to at the bar.

She pours over the reports, the photos of the bite marks various other marks from the victims.

"Hey, Mack?" Jack calls from the table. She's sitting on the bed– Dean's bed, technically, though she's been sleeping in it for the past two nights. The kid hasn't questioned the switch.

"Yeah?"

"Vampires don't have venom, right?"

She looks up at the question, her brows knitted. "What do you mean?" She stands from the bed and crosses the room, looking over his shoulder at the paper he's holding.

"Well, this says they found some sort of sedative inside them, but they couldn't figure out what it was. Like, the sedative was used to keep them knocked out while their blood was drained."

Her stomach falls to her feet, recognizing the tale. "Oh, shit."

Jack's head shoots up, looking at her. "What?"

"Shit, shit, shit." She bolts back to the bed, snatching up the pictures of the bite marks. A small part of her always thought something looked off about them, but she couldn't place it. Then she looks at the marks on the wrists. Shit. "Chairs, not stools," She mumbles unconsciously, taking out her phone and dialing Dean.

"Mack, what is it?"

The call quickly goes to voicemail, pulling the knot in her chest even tighter. "Dean, we were wrong about vampires," She says to his voicemail. "Please call me back." She hangs up and tucks away her phone, turning to Jack.

"We were wrong. It's so easy to get them mixed up, and I missed it. God, I shouldn't have missed it, but I did. I missed that they were sedated, that's the key."

"What?"

She sighs. "Vetala. We're hunting Vetala." She gestures to the pictures. "I thought something looked off about the bite marks, but I thought it was just me, my sleep-deprived brain throwing me off. But these, these marks? The bar has chairs, not stools. I thought it was weird, but I didn't think much more of it. This matches the design on the arms of the chairs."

Jack's eyes widen in understanding. "And Dean's at the bar."

She nods. "But there's still some things that don't make sense. What's the motive for going after couples, specifically? I still don't understand that?"

"Well, don't Vetala hunt in pairs?" Jack says.

She nods, impressed with his knowledge. He's learning. She stills, jumping on the train of thought. "Mates. That's possible, they could hunt as mates. But that still doesn't explain the motive."

"Maybe their mate died, and they're jealous of other couples being happy. There have been lone Vetala, right?"

Once again the knot pulls tighter as she nods. Her brain races, going over everything from the past couple days. Then the flash of an empty ring finger and a bartender extra protective over the teenage victims.

The knot snaps. "I know who it is. We have to go, right now. Let's go."

She doesn't bother grabbing her bag, just two silver daggers, handing one to Jack as they hurry out of the room.

✦ ✦

THE BAR'S dark when they pull up. Unusual for a Friday night.

"Alright, you know how to kill Vetala?" She asks Jack before they go in.

"Silver, stab and twist."

She nods. "Good. Remember, never expect them to be alone, even if it's the most plausible explanation. Always be prepared for more than one."

This time, he nods. She can see the fear brimming in his eyes, at the thought of Dean being hurt, or worse. She sighs, shakier than she intended.

"He won't be dead. They feed for days."

"But...he could still be hurt. They could be torturing him."

She says nothing, turning off the car and stepping out. They approach the front of the bar, peeking in. She can see him in the window, tied to the car. Blood drips from his neck, and he looks weak. Eyes fluttering, not moving much. The worry inside her flares, like an entity clawing to get out. Reaching for him.

"You go around the back," she whispers to Jack. "I'll draw her out, try to distract her."

"Are you sure?"

"Kid, we've got one shot at this. She doesn't know you're with us, that's our only element of surprise. I'm sure she's expecting me, we put on a bit of a show when we were here."

"She thinks you're a couple."

She nods.

"But you're not?"

She gives him an incredulous look, but he seems genuinely confused. "We're– we're just friends. Let's not talk about this right now, go around back."

He sighs in near annoyance as he starts to trek around back. She loudly bursts through the door, as if she'd been running. She fake pants, eyes wild and wide, and goes straight for Dean.

"Not so fast, pretty lady." Jackie emerges from the shadows, grinning sickly. Her eyes now resemble those of a reptile, in true Vetala fashion.

Catherine shakes her head. "I should've known it was you. They were teenagers."

She shrugs, moving closer to Dean. "I got tired of them always around, with their teenage puppy love." She starts to touch Dean, running her hands through his hair and caressing his jaw. Anger bubbles in Catherine's stomach at the sight.

"So, what, someone kills your plaything and now you only go after happy people?"

Jackie bares her teeth, a low growl coming from her. "Watch your mouth."

"Go to therapy. Seriously."

Jackie chuckles darkly. "It was hunters that took my Michael away from me. Now, you two stumble in, happy as can be, and you turn out to be hunters. How convenient."

"Now that's an unfortunate name," Catherine mumbles.

She tightly grips Dean's hair, yanking his head back. "I thought, why not give you hunters a taste of your own medicine? Your kind took mine. Now I'll take yours." Then she sinks her teeth into Dean's throat, and Catherine lunges.

She rips her away from Dean, causing him to groan out in pain. She wrestles Jackie to the ground, throwing punches. She only lands a few before Jackie kicks her off. Jackie hurls for Dean, but Catherine grabs her leg and rips it from under her. She drags the monster across the bar, fumbling for her knife.

Jackie quickly gets to her feet and promptly slaps Catherine across the face. The action makes her freeze, out of pure shock.

By the time she reorients herself, Jackie's already running for Dean. Her eyes scan the bar, landing on the pool table. She bolts, grabbing a ball.

Just as Jackie's about to sink her teeth in, Catherine hits her over the side of the head with the ball, as hard as she can. She stumbles away, nearly falling to the ground.

Damn it, where is Jack?

"I changed my mind," Jackie growls. "I'll kill you instead." She gets to her feet and lunges. Catherine doesn't dodge, but she tries and fails to steer it in her direction. Jackie tackles her into the pool table. Pain ripples along her back, which makes it all the more difficult to wrestle the Vetala off her. She grunts as she fails to push her off.

She nearly screams at the searing pain of venomous fangs tearing into her skin, right on her shoulder.

It doesn't last long before Jackie stops, nearly choking out. Catherine crumples to the ground when Jackie lets go of her.

She almost sobs in relief at the sight of Jack behind her. Jackie slowly turns, and gasps when Jack shoves the dagger right into heart and twists. She chokes and gasps for air, then Jack yanks the knife out and she falls.

Jack looks pale, paler than he did before they went in, and sweat litters his hairline. He comes over, grabbing her hand to help her up. She sways a bit, but manages.

"Are you–" Jack starts, but she waves him off.

"I'm– I'll be okay."

They both go straight to Dean. His head hangs low, the fresh wound bleeding steadily. Catherine rips part of her shirt to press against the wound as Jack works at the ropes. "Dean?" He doesn't stir. She presses slightly harder against the wound, lifting his head with her free hand. "Dean, come on, wake up."

He groans, eyes fluttering lightly.

"You with us?" He groans again in response, cracking his eyes slightly. Then he catches the sight of blood staining her, and his eyes widen.

"You're bleeding." His eyes dance between her wound and her face, concern swimming in them.

She scoffs. "Says you. Can you walk?"

He doesn't acknowledge her question. Jack finishes slicing the ropes, and together they help Dean from the chair. They nearly buckle under his weight, Catherine wincing at the pressure on her own wound. Eventually, they manage to get him out to the car, slumping him in the passenger side, barely conscious.

Catherine refuses to even clean the blood off of her until she's thoroughly examined Dean, cleaning every wound and stitching the deepest ones, then leaving him in bed to sleep off the remaining venom in his system. Then and only then does she shower, bandage her shoulder, then fall into bed next to him.

✦ ✦

THEY WAIT another full day for Dean to recover before hitting the road. Catherine takes it upon herself to finish cleaning up the scene and talk to the victims' families by herself, leaving Jack behind to watch over Dean.

She returns to the motel by nightfall. Dean's up and around, itching to get on the road, and Jack's right there with him, so she quickly packs her things and they set off.

They make it back to the bunker by mid afternoon. Sam and Castiel welcome them back, asking about how the case went and the visible bandages on Dean's neck. After a short debriefing, the three of them gather in the kitchen for a long awaited meal. Dean starts to cook, Catherine sits at the table with a beer, and Jack sits across from her.

"Take this as a lesson, be thorough, even more than you think you need to be," she says to Jack. Dean hums in agreement.

"Thank you guys for letting me come," Jack says with a small grin.

"Well, you kinda saved our asses, so thank you." She returns his smile.

She notices his hands trembling around his glass of water. Her grin wavers, realizing he still looks unnaturally pale, despite sleeping the entire drive back. He takes another small sip of the water, then starts coughing, that dreaded sound.

"You alright, kid?" Dean questions, glancing for a second before returning to his task.

He doesn't answer, still trying to catch his breath.

"Jack?" Catherine presses. He shakes his head, moving to stand.

"I think I should go lay down."

That's when she notices the scarlet blood staining his lips, and starting to drip down his nose. He doesn't get far before he's collapsing to the ground.

"Holy shit–" Catherine jumps from her seat, shouting Dean's name as she attempts to catch him. Dean calls for help, then is at her side in a second.

"Jack!" 

━━━━━
✦  ✦  ✦  ✦

author's note !!

hello hello i have a bit of a long one for u today i hope this makes up for the lack of updates lol, i would say i'm sorry for that ending but i am not. :)

also i have an important question for u my dear beloved readers!!

i'm trying very hard to decide who i should pair sam with because there's too many good options and  i simply cannot decide so i need ur opinions as readers!!

out of these options, who would  u most want to see?? in the background ofc because dean and our girl are the main focus  (but to be real i'm a samgirl at heart i gotta give him something) 

anyways heres the options:

sastiel (sam + castiel)

saileen (sam + eileen)

samwena (sam + rowena)

please please please i'm begging for opinions, even if u don't usually  comment please still answer i'll love u forever 

and now that's out of the way

as always, leave votes and comments if you're enjoying <3

thanks for  reading!! 

-skye