Bloodlust.

CHAPTER FIVE , TRUST GOES BOTH WAYS

a/n : this fic is my current obsession rn

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Dean and Gordon were still at the bar, enjoying themselves.

Even though he had been keeping up with the conversation points and the jokes, Dean's mind lingered on the silent but deadly conversation between Sydney and Gordon earlier that night. He should've went with Sam to check on her.

"That stuff you said earlier..."

Gordon pulls his glass away from his lips and sets it on the table.

"...about Sydney and some guy."

Gordon winces, "Yeah, not exactly my best moment." He touches his chest. "I will apologize to her when we meet up with them again, I promise."

"Good, good." Dean nods. "What was the deal with that, anyway? I mean, you talking about some hunter she had issues with or...?"

Gordon blinks. "A hunter she had issues with...?—Oh, no, no, man. Seriously?"

Dean just holds his hands out, his patience honestly running thin. Gordon lets out a breath. "You and Sam really aren't in touch with the Hunter world."

He slightly leans closer to Dean in order to keep his voice low. "The guy I was referring to was her husband, Matthew."

Dean looks at Gordon with no expression, trying to register what he had just heard. "Her...her husband? Syd was married?"

Gordon nods his head. Dean pulls his brows together and keeps his eyes on his untouched shot of whiskey. He knows it's been years since they've been together. And he sure as hell knew that not only him, but Sydney had her fair share of hookups too. But marriage?

"The keyword is 'was'."

Dean refocuses, "What?"

"Matthew was her husband."

"What happened to him?" Dean asks, his jaw going slack.

Gordon sips his beer. "The guy got what was coming to him. He was an abusive prick."

Dean's hand tightens around his beer. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Matthew would beat Sydney." Gordon explains. "And she had enough. So, now Matthew is a "was" in everyone's mind. Good riddance."

Dean didn't know if he had too much to drink (he definitely did) or if he had just gotten way too much information shoved in his brain too fast. He had to take a moment to let it sink in. This is what Sydney has been dealing with. While he's been bashing on her this entire time, making her feel guilty about not answering his calls; knowing her she was already beating herself up over her own guilt. Dean feels his chest tighten and all he really wants to do now is go to the motel and see Sydney.

...

Sam had gone out of the room to get himself a soda out of the vending machine. Sydney was sitting curled up in the bed with her tea still in her hand and her throat even more hoarse than before.

The brunette kept a hand wrapped around her necklace, not able to let go. She couldn't believe it.

Sam was the first person she ever chose to tell about Matthew. It still shook her to her core even thinking about what Sam was thinking about right now. She knows he called her strong, but what if that was a lie? What if he was just telling her what she needed to hear?

Sydney hears a small clatter outside of the motel door. She lightly jumps from the noise and snaps her eyes over to the door. Sydney wasn't an idiot, she knew that going to open the door wasn't a smart idea. But, she also knew that if Sam were about there in trouble; she couldn't just leave him out there to defend himself.m

Sydney drops the blanket off her shoulders and walks over to the door. She pulls it open and lets out a breath of relief from seeing Sam in front of her. But her relief quickly stopped when she saw the panic across his face. "What's going on?"

"I just called Ellen." Sam holds his phone up. "About Gordon."

Sydney raises her brows and laughs. "Let me guess...she told us to stay away from him?"

"Yeah, and she said to ask you about the details." Sam raises his brows. "You got anymore truths to reveal tonight?"

Sydney sputters her lips. "What the hell, why not?" She runs a hand through her hair. "Uh, after I...killed Matthew I was on this reckless train of hunting."

Sam leans against the door frame, listening to the brunette.

"It was to the point I would go on hunts drunk."

"Jesus, Syd."

"Don't worry, I still handled the jobs like the pro I was." Sydney tried to laugh it off. "But to me, I just...didn't care about living."

"Then one day, I was in Alto Pass for this Vamp case and Gordon happened to be there." Sydney heavily sighs. "Gordon said his whole "I work alone" thing. But I wasn't listening to him. So, I worked the case. I wasn't side by side working with him, but there was a point we met at the same nest."

Sydney shakes her head and folds her arms. "After Gordon and I had cleared the nest. We found this girl...she hadn't even transitioned yet. I was going to get her out of there, but Gordon...he wanted to kill her." Sydney's hand tighten around her arms. "We were arguing about it. And then we fought about it...things got far heated than I intended and he shot me."

"What the fuck?" Sam pushes himself off the doorframe and stands straight.

"He killed the girl and left me there bleeding out." Sydney looks at the ground. "I had to patch myself up and find my way back to my car."

Sam shakes his head. "No, I'm calling this job off. There is no fucking way, Dean is joining him in any hunt."

Sydney raises her brows. "Easier said than done. Once Gordon's got your teeth sunk into you...it's hard to get them out."

"Well, you did."

Sydney deadpans, "After getting shot."

"Better late than never."

Sydney's mouth hangs open and she lightly shoves Sam. "Shut up." She laughs. Sam holds his hands up and laughs, "Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Sydney straightens her jacket. "I'm gonna get a soda. Since you didn't bother buying me one."

"I never actually bought one." Sam motions his head to outside. "I'll go with you."

"You think I need a babysitter?" Sydney deadpans.

"No, but I figured you might want some company." Sam shrugs.

Sydney softly chuckles, "Look, I know I freaked out after telling you about Matthew. But I can get a soda by myself."

"Okay, cool." Sam nods. "But you won't be by yourself. Because I'm going too."

"No!"

"Yes!"

Sydney rolls her eyes, "Fine!"

Sam laughs, "Way to give up so easily."

Sydney walks out of the motel with Sam behind her. "So, what kind of soda do you want?" She sighs. "Cola?"

"How'd you know?"

"You're predictable." Sydney hums.

Sam opens his mouth and chuckles. "Oh, and you're not? Miss Strawberry flavored anything."

"Except milk. I hate strawberry milk." Sydney holds a finger up.

"That's so specific and odd." Sam notes.

Sydney puts a dollar into the machine and clicks the 'cola'. After she ours another dollar in, she selects strawberry soda. Sydney hands Sam his cola and he grabs the soda. "Thanks, Syd."

Sydney waves him off and sips her soda. Sam pulls his brows together and looks around the parking lot. Sydney notices his sudden awareness and her back straightens. "Should we go back inside?"

Sam keeps his eyes to the dim lit parking lot, but he nods his head. "Yeah, let's go."

Sydney and Sam walk back over to the motel room. The two hunters make their way inside. Sam closes the door behind them and leans against it for a moment. He felt like he was going crazy.

Then, Sydney's skin prickled.

She whips her head around, only to be met with a fist swinging towards her. Sydney ducks and as the figure's fist hits the wall. Sam lunges forward, his arms wrapping around the man. The figure headbutts Sam, forcing him to stumble back. The man grabs at Sydney but she grabs his wrist and twists it. She rams the flat of her boot into his abdomen.

The fighting came back to her with a snap of a finger.

Sam punches the man in the face and shoves him against the wall. Sydney kicks his knee, forcing him down. The front door swings open and another man enters the room. A hand grabs at Sydney's hair, yanking her back. Sydney gasps in pain, her head is slammed against the wall—knocking her out.

Sydney falls to the ground unconscious. The vampire fighting Sam, grabs the motel telephone, and slams it on the side of his head—knocking him out.

☆

Sydney felt a small pat on her cheek. She pulls her head up and looks around the dimly lit rom. Sydney meets Sam's eyes. He also had a bandana shoved into mouth. She pulls at her hands that were tied to the arms of the chair, but they wouldn't budge.

Out of the shadows, the bar tender from earlier emerges. He stalks toward Sam, baring his fangs. Sydney's eyes widen when he gets close to Sam's face. A muffled cry comes from her lips and she yanks at her restraints even harder.

"Wait." A voice calls out.

Sydney whips her head over to another dark corner. A woman emerges from the shadows. "Take a step back back, Eli."

With his fangs still bared, he reluctantly steps away from Sam.

"My name's Lenore. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Sydney pulls her brows together.

"We just need to talk."

Simultaneously, Sam and Sydney look at each other. They were so fucking confused.

"Don't mind my mouth. But, I am so fucking confused..." Sydney exhales. "You want to talk, and yet—"

"And yet. Eli's teeth are still out." Sam cuts in.

Sydney presses her lips together and nods her head. "Eli, could you, please...?" She bares her teeth and then closes her mouth quickly, hoping he got the point. But Eli just stared at her. Lenore sighs softly, "Eli..." she then looks at the brunette. Lenore tilts her head and her eyes travel across Sydney. "...listen to the lady."

Sydney's heart flutters. Eli growls and puts his fangs away. Sydney softly smiles, "Th-Thank you."

"Of course." Lenore softly smiles. "And He won't hurt either of you. You have my word."

Sam softly scoffs, "Your word? Oh, yeah, great, thanks."

Sydney presses her brows together. Sam didn't seem like he was going to stop anytime soon.

"Look, lady, no offense, but you're not the first vampire I've met." Sam spits.

"We're not like the others." Lenore says. "We don't kill humans, and we don't drink their blood. We haven't for a long time."

"What is this. Some kind of joke?"

"Notice you two are still alive." Lenore simply states.

Sydney looks between the vampires with a surprised expression. M

"Okay, uh, correct me if I'm wrong here, but shouldn't you be starving to death?" Sam questions.

Sydney opens her mouth and flicks her pointer finger out. "Okay, hold on..." she looks at Sam. "A Vampire doesn't have to consume human blood in order to survive." She looks at Lenore. "The cattle. That was you guys?"

Lenore nods her head, "It's not ideal. In fact, it's disgusting. But it allows us to get by."

"Okay. Uh, why?" Sam inquires.

"Survival." Lenore answers. "No deaths, no missing locals, no reason for people like you to come looking for people like us. And we blend in."

"Our kind is practically extinct. It turns out, we weren't as high up the food chain as we imagined."

"Why are we exposing ourselves to these killers?" Eli seethes, his anger was radiating off of him.

Sydney pulls her brows together and looks at the Vampires.

"We choke on cow's blood so that none of them suffer." Eli snaps his gaze to Lenore. "Tonight, they murdered Conrad, and they celebrated."

"Eli, that's enough." Lenore says.

"Yeah, Eli, that's enough." Sam echoes.

Sydney looks at Sam, "Not helping." She softly whimpers. "Really Not. Helping."

"What's done is done."

Sydney winces, "If it makes you feel any better. We did not support Conrad dying. Like at all."

"It doesn't." Lenore says. "But thank you for trying."

Sydney presses her lips into a small smile.

"We're leaving this town tonight." Lenore states.

Sydney pulls her brows together. "Then, why did you bring me here? Why are you even talking to us?"

"Believe me, I wasn't excited about it." Lenore admits. "Especially with him by your side."

Sam grumbles and Sydney softly shushes him.

"But I know your kind." Lenore admits. "Once you have the scent, you'll keep tracking us. It doesn't matter where we go. Hunters will find us."

"So, you're asking us not to follow you." Sam understands.

"We have a right to live." Lenore replies. "We're not hunting anyone."

"Right, so you keep saying." Sam says. "But give me one good reason why we should believe you."

"I believe you."

Everyone in the room looks at the brunette. Sydney bunches her shoulders. "Look, I said it before that there has been no news about anyone besides cattle and other vampires being killed." She looks at Sam. Sam keeps his eyes on Sydney's, her confidence about this was unwavering. Anytime Sydney was 100% sure about something, she never broke eye contact. And the brunette hated eye contact.

"Okay," Sam looks at Lenore. "if Sydney wants to trust you then I will too."

Lenore softly smiles, "Thank you." She walks over to Sydney and unties her from the chair. Sydney returns a small, "Thank you." She softly repeats.

Sam obnoxiously clears his throat. "Hello. Still tied up here."

Sydney blinks and looks at Sam. "Uh, right. Sorry."

Lenore steps away from Sydney and unties Sam. "You'll need to have the bags back over your heads."

Sydney nods her head, "I get it." She holds her heads up.

Lenore grabs one of the black sacks. She walks over to Sydney. The Vampire looks down at the sack and back at the girl. Sydney swallows, "Thank you for trusting us."

"In all honesty..." Lenore cracks a smile. "I'm not trusting him." She slightly tilts her head. "I'm trusting you."

Sydney's gaze softens. "Oh..." she swallows. "Well, thank you for trusting me and not hurting him."

Lenore chuckles, "Thank you for giving me the chance to trust you."

Sydney shrugs. "Just human decency." Her mouth drops open. "That's not offensive, right? Oh, god. I am so sorry."

Lenore laughs, "You're fine. I get what you meant."

Sydney lets out a breath of relief. "You can put this mat over my head now—"

"Yeah, I'm gonna put it over your head now." Lenore puts the sack over her head, swallowing her in darkness.

With the sacks over their heads, Sydney and Sam are guided out of the house and into a vehicle. They were both dropped back off at the motel. The vampires pull the sacks off their heads and open the truck doors. Sydney and Sam get out of the vehicle and it speeds out of the parking lot.

Sydney looks back at the motel and rubs her right eye. "God, this is going to be rough." She sighs. "Gordon probably has Dean's mind warped right now."

Sam tenses and Sydney notices. She looks at Sam and raises her brows. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry."

"No, you didn't." Sam shakes his head. "I was already worried about Dean. Way before Gordon."

Sydney presses her lips together. "Right. I'm sorry." She looks back at the motel. "So, you wanna go in first? I mean, he's your brother."

"Well, he's your boyfriend." Sam instantly retorts.

Sydney opens and closes her mouth. "You can't. S-say that!"

"Why not? It's true—"

"Misters before kissers or whatever." Sydney nudges him with her elbow.

"That is not the saying."

Sydney hums, "It definitely is." She walks to the motel room with Sam beside her.

Sam opens the door and steps inside the motel. Dean turns his head and looks at his little brother. "Where you been?"

"Can we talk to you alone?" Sam points his head outside.

Dean looks back at Gordon, "You mind chilling out for a couple of minutes?"

Gordon shakes his head. Dean stands up and walks out of the motel. His eyes meet Sydney's. She was standing near the steps with her hands stuffed in her leather jacket pockets. Dean stops in his tracks and watches Sam stand beside Sydney. He looks between the two, "Okay, what's going on?"

"Dean, maybe we got to rethink this hunt." Sam says.

Dean pulls his brows together. "What are you talking about? Where were you?"

"In the nest." Sam answers.

"Wait, you two found it?"

Sydney touches her earlobe. "They found us, actually."

Dean looks at the brunette. "How did you guys get out? How many did you kill?"

"None."

Dean blinks. "Well, they didn't just let you two go."

"That's exactly what they did." Sydney exhales.

"All right, well, where is it?" Dean asks.

Sydney and Sam look at each other. Dean's agitation begins to rise. "Will you two stop looking at each other like that and just talk to me?"

"We were blindfolded. We don't know." Sydney answers.

Dean brushes Sydney off and looks at Sam. "Did you see anything?"

"It's like Syd said. We were blindfolded." Sam shrugs.

Dean scoffs, "Well, one of you got to know something."

Sam sighs. "We went over that bridge outside of town, but Dean listen maybe we shouldn't go after them."

"Why not?"

"I don't think they're like other Vampires." Sam says. "I don't think they're killing people."

"You're joking." Dean deadpans. He then looks between the two hunters, both of their expressions were straight.

"Then, how did they stay alive or undead or whatever the hell they are?"

"The cattle mutilations." Sam states. "They said they love off of animal blood."

"And you believed them?"

Sam holds his arms out, "Look at us, Dean. They let us go without a scratch."

Dean slightly opens his light. "Wait, so you're saying—No, man. No way. I don't know why they let you go. I don't really care. We find them, and we waste them." He brushes past Sam. Before he could get far, Sydney stands in front of him—stopping him in his tracks. "Why?"

Dean scoffs, "What part of Vampires don't you understand, Sydney?" He looks down at the girl. "It it's Supernatural, we kill it. That's our job." He frowns and shakes his head. "Scratch that. That's Sam and I's job."

Sydney shakes her head.

"No, Dean," Sam walks back over to the two. "that is not our job. Our job is hunting evil. And if these things aren't killing people, they're not evil."

"Of course? They're killing people. That's what they do." Dean states. "They're all the same, Sam. They're not human, okay? We have to exterminate every last one of them."

Sam runs his hands over his face. "No, Dean, I don't think so, all right? Not this time." He says.

"Gordon's been in those Vamps for a year. He knows."

Sydney shakes her head. "You can't be serious..." she rubs the inner corner of her eye.

"Gordon?"

"Yes.

"You're taking his word for it?" Sam scoffs.

"That's right."

"Ellen says he's bad news." Sam states.

"You called Ellen?" Dean scrunches his face at Sam. Sydney's heart began to ram against her chest with aggression.

"And I'm supposed to listen to her? We barely know her, Sam. No thanks. I'll go with Gordon."

"Right, cause Gordon's such an old friend." Sam lets out a chuckle of disbelief. "Syd says he is bad news."

"If you can't trust Ellen then why not trust her?" Sam questions.

Without even looking at her, Sydney hears Dean let out the most disgusted scoff she's ever heard in her life. Sydney's ears begin to ring.

"Trust her?" Dean lazily points at Sydney. The brunette's jaw clenches. And for the first time in forever, her eye twitches. "Trust. Her? She hasn't been here—"

"I get it!"

Sam and Dean turn to the brunette.

"I left. And when I left I never once picked up the phone." Sydney scoffs. "But, Dean. This isn't right. And I know somewhere deep down, you know it too."

Dean keeps his eyes on Sydney's. Not even wanting to entertain her side of the conversation. The brunette looks at Sam, "Look, I know Gordon. I know what he's like and he's dangerous. All he cares about is vengeance against creatures who don't deserve it—"

"All monsters deserve to be put down."

Sydney shakes her head. "I didn't say monsters. I said creatures." She takes a step towards him.

Dean tenses from the close proximity. Sydney lets out a small desperate breath. "What did he tell you, huh? That it's good to use the pain? To use that giant hole that's left in your heart?"

Dean's jaw clenches. She was reciting Gordon's words to a tee.

"It's not a crime to need your job." Sydney scoffs. "Am I getting close to what he said to you?"

Just from Dean's silence, Sydney knew she was right. Sydney takes an even closer and desperate step to him.

"Gordon will tear down anyone who gets in his way even people he's supposed to be saving." Sydney shakes her head. "He doesn't care about the people. He only hunts and that's not you."

Dean swallows a lump in his throat. Seeing Sydney so desperate to get him to see her point of view made him debate it. Maybe he should listen to them. But her words somehow twisted in his head into sounding far more passive than they were. He was currently running on the motivation of killing that nest. He didn't care about what Sydney and Sam were trying to say.

"Yeah, well...you don't know me, Syd." Dean's eyes beam with an unmasked fury that made Sydney's skin prickle. "And apparently, I never knew you."

"Excuse me?—"

"Married. You were married." Dean seethes.

It felt like a gut punch. She couldn't breathe, her eyes shift to Sam's in a panic. And just from the look across his face, she knew he had no idea how Dean got this information. Sydney tried to keep her composure. She swallows and looks back at Dean. "Whatever Gordon told you—"

"He told me enough." Dean snaps.

Sydney's throat tightens. "This isn't about my past. This is about you siding with a man who is going to rip away any ounce of humanity you have in your heart." Her voice trembles but there was also a passion wrapped around her words. "And I'll be damned if I let him succeed in trying to ruin someone else's life."

"This is exactly why I didn't want you anywhere near us!" Dean raises his voice. Sydney had to muster up all the strength she had in order not to flinch from his sudden yelling. "You can't just disappear and get married. You can't make a whole new life for yourself only to come back and tell me what I can and can't do with mine—you're not apart of my life, anymore!"

At this point, Sydney's eyes were filled with tears of pain. Dean felt his heart sink into his stomach. Why did i say that? Apologize, idiot. His revenge quickly drowned out his guilt and sympathy.

"Get the hell away from me, Sydney." He brushes past her, not sparing her a glance.

Sydney wipes her tears from her eyes and turns to Dean. Sam had taken his turn to stand in front of Dean and talk to him. But that calm conversation soon takes a turn on both sides.

"You don't think I can see what this is?" Sam scoffs.

Dean genuinely looks confused. "What are you talking about?"

"He's a substitute for dad, isn't he? A poor one." Sam states.

Sydney tenses from the sentence.

Dean turns away from his brother. "Shut up, Sam."

"He's not even close, Dean, not on his best day."

Dean turns back to Sam, "You know what? I'm not even gonna talk about th—"

"You slap on this fake smile, but I can see right through it cause I know how you feel, Dean." Sam says. "Dad'd dead. And he left a hole, and it hurts so bad you can't take it. But you can't just fill up that hole with whoever you want to."

"It's an insult to his memory."

At this point, Dean's breathing was heavy. Sydney hated how she instantly recognized the anger. Matthew.

Sydney swallows and walks toward the brothers. "Guys, don't—"

Dean punches Sam across the face. Sydney's skin jumps and she slaps her hands over her mouth before stopping in her tracks. Sam's head snaps to the side. He covers the throbbing spot under his eye and looks at Dean. "You can't hit me all you want. It won't change anything."

Dean keeps his eyes on Sam's but then he looks at Sydney and his stomach turns. The only look he saw across her face was fear. Dean looks down at his knuckles and his hand begins to tremble. Sydney pulls her hands off of her mouth and she swallows. Dean looks back at Sam, "I'm going to that nest. You don't want to tell me where it is. Fine. I'll find it myself."

Dean turns and stalks back over to the motel. Sam takes his hand from under his eye and looks at Sydney. He notices her quick breaths and teary eyes. "You okay?"

Sydney inhales a breath and holds it. She looks at Sam, "A-Are you?" She wipes her tears.

Sam deadpans, "I'm worried about you—"

"Stop." Sydney sighs. "I'm fine, okay?" She walks away from Sam and follows after Dean.

Sydney looks into the motel room to see only Dean in there. The brunette tenses, "Shit..."

Sam was right behind Syd, so he was thinking the same thing. "You think he went after them?"

"Of course he did." Sydney says. She looks at Sam. "We have to stop him."

"Really? Cause I say we lend a hand."

"I wasn't talking to you." Sydney snaps. "God, can you give your brother the benefit of the doubt?"

Dean scoffs and looks to the side. "I'll drive. Give me the keys."

Sydney shifts her eyes to where the keys were and a fit of laughter escapes her lips. "Oh, shit..."

"What?" Dean follows her gaze. Sam's jaw clenches, "He snaked the keys."

Sydney scratches her brow out of annoyance. "Fucking jackass. Son of a..." she marches out of the motel.

Sam and Dean follow her out of the motel and they make to his Impala. "I can't believe this." Dean begins to hot wire the car. "I just fixed her up, too."

"Some friend." Sydney sighs, she leans back in her seat.

The Impala starts and Dean turns to Sam. "So, the bridge, is that all you got?"

Sam keeps his eyes on the map. "The bridge was 4 1/2 minutes from their farm."

"How do you know?"

"I counted." Sam says. "Took a left out of the farm, then turned right onto a dirt road, followed that for two minutes slightly uphill then took another quick right, and we hit the bridge."

"You're good." Dean frowns. "You're a monster pain in the ass...but you're good." He drives out of the parking lot.

☆

"This is it."

Dean slows to a stop. Sydney quickly gets out of the car and runs up the porch steps.

"Dammit, Syd, wait!" Dean calls out.

Under her breath, she growls. "Screw you..." she pushes the door open and follows the sound of wheezing.

Sydney stops when she sees Lenore tied to a chair with blood across her face. Gordon was sitting on the table in front of her. He turns to the three hunters. "Sydney, Sam, Dean. Come on in."

"Gordon, what's going on?" Dean asks.

Gordon shrugs, "Just poisoning Lenore here with some dead man's blood. She's gonna tell us where all her friends are, aren't you?" He turns to Dean. "Want to help?"

"Look, man—"

"Grab a knife." Gordon urges. "I was just about to start in on the fingers." He slices her arm, forcing a weak cry to come from her lips.

Sydney takes a step forward, "Gordon, I swear to—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's all just chill out, huh?" Dean holds his hands up.

"I'm completely chill." Gordon replies.

"Gordon, put the knife down." Sam's voice was low.

"It sounds like Sam and Syd here need to chill." Gordon turns to the other two hunters.

Sydney scoffs, "Are you kidding me? Get the fuck away from her."

Gordon looks at the brunette then at the Vampire. "You're right." He sets the knife on the table. "I'm wasting my time here. This bitch will never talk."

"Might as well put her out of her misery." He unsheaths his machete. "I just sharpened it, so it's completely humane."

Sydney walks closer to Lenore. "I'm letting her go—"

He presses the tip of his machete in the middle of her chest. Sydney stops in her tracks. Sam and Dean immediately tense.

"You're not doing a damn thing." Gordon's tone completely changes.

Sydney squints her eyes and a small smirk forms on her lips. "There he is..." she chuckles. "I've been waiting for the little bitch to emerge."

Gordon lets out a low laugh. "Yeah? And what about you? I'm sure the real you will show up sooner or later and these two...they'll see you for who you truly are."

"Hey, hey, hey..." Dean walks closer to Gordon from the other side of the table. "Gordon. Let'ss talk about this."

"What's there to talk about?" Gordon questions. "It's like I said, Dean—no shades of gray."

"Yeah, I hear you." Dean says, his eyes shift from the machete to Sydney. "And I know how you feel."

"Do you?" Gordon turns to him.

"The Vampire that killed your sister deserved to die, but—"

"What?" Sydney looks at Dean. She then looks at Gordon and raises her brows. "That's what you told him?"

Gordon chuckles. "That's what he assumed happened." He looks at Dean. "That filthy fang didn't kill my sister. It turned her. Made her one of them. So, I hunted her down, and I killed her myself."

It's almost as if Sydney could hear Dean's brain explode. "You did what?" Dean questions.

"It wasn't my sister anymore. It wasn't human." Gordon states. "I didn't blink. And neither would you."

"So you knew all along, then." Sam murmurs. "You knew about the Vampires. You knew they weren't killing anyone. You knew about the cattle, you just didn't care."

"Care about what?" Gordon questions. "A nest of Vampires suddenly acting nice, taking a little time out from sucking innocent people, and we're supposed to buy that?"

"Trust me. It doesn't change what they are." Gordon looks back at Sydney. "And I can prove it."

His hand grips Sydney's wrist in a bruising manner and slices her fore arm open. Sydney lets out a groan. Without another second to spare, Sam and Dena pull their guns out and aim it at Gordon.

"Gordon." Sam seethes.

"Let her go." Dean keeps his gun trained on Gordon. But his eyes kept switching between him and Sydney. Gordon presses his blade against her neck and moves her closer to Lenore.

"Now!"

"Relax." Gordon says. "If I wanted to kill her, she'd already be on the floor."

"Just making a little point."

"Well, can you shove that point straight up your—"

The blood from Sydney's arm splatters across Lenore's face. The Vampire, uncontrollably bared her fangs and begins to growl. Sydney's body shifts and Dean's hand on his gun tightens. "Hey!"

"Think she's so different?" Gordon looks at Sam then Sydney. He then looks at Dean. "Still want to save her? Look at her. They're all the same—evil, bloodthirsty."

As soon as he says that, Lenore hides her fangs away and forces her head to the side. "No. No..." her voice was trembling but there was a strength to it that Sydney couldn't help hit admire.

"You hear her Gordon?" Sam speaks.

Sydney shoved Gordon off of her and crouches beside the Vampire. Sam runs to Lenore's other side. The two hunters untie her and help her out of the chair. Sydney looks across Lenore's face. "I'm so sorry." She looks at Sam. "We need to get her out of here."

Sam nods his head, "Yeah." He picks Lenore up.

Gordon takes a step towards them, but Dean keeps his gun trained in him. "Unh-unh."

Sydney follows Sam and Lenore outside. "Okay, we have to find everyone else and help them out of town."

"I can do it."

Sydney pulls her brows together. "Sam—"

"You stay here. Make sure they don't kill each other."

Sydney tenses, "I think I would rather help you."

"I know, but..." Sam sets Lenore in the passenger seat. "maybe this is a good time for you to also talk to him."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

Sam's gaze softens, "I saw the way you reacted after he hit me."

Sydney freezes.

"He's not Matthew."

"I know that." Sydney says. She looks to the side and covers her right eye. "I just feel like I don't know him anymore." She runs a hand down her face.

"Well, you do." Sam states. "Maybe even better than me."

Sydney deadpans, "That's a lie."

"A lie that would've made you feel better if you believed it, right?" Sam points at her. Sydney frowns, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Sydney looks back at the house and lets out a heavy sigh. "Be safe?" She looks back at Sam.

Sam nods his head, "Of course." He pulls her into a hug. Sydney hugs him back and inhales.

The brunette pulls away from the hug and watches as Sam gets in the truck and drives away. Sydney looks down at her cut and inhales. She walks back up the porch steps and as she got closer, she could hear loud thuds and grunts in the house. Sydney slumps her shoulders, "Already?"

The brunette enters the house and walks into the house. Sydney's boots thud through the house and she walks into the kitchen doorway to see Gordon and Dean bloodied. Except, Gordon was tied to a chair and unconscious.

Sydney looks over at Dean, and he looks back at her. Neither of them said a word, but they were both aware of the tension. Sydney didn't really care what kind of tension it was, she just knew that she had to leave. The brunette walks into the bathroom and looks around. She opens the cabinet and grabs the first aid kit. Even though she was looking for one, she was still surprised by finding one in a Vampire's hideout.

Sydney grabs the first aide kit and walks back into the living room.

Now, Sydney was sitting on the couch by herself in silence. She was trying the best she could to wrap the bandages around her arm where Gordon had cut her. Dean was still in the other room, watching Gordon. The house was silent besides her soft breathing. Sydney couldn't tie the bandages around her arm and her frustration began to creep through her chest. Not just her frustration about her cut, but Gordon telling Dean about Matthew. She didn't want her past to be anywhere near Sam and Dean. They were her light. And now that light was slowly being snuffed out because of Matthew.

It pissed her off.

"Hey."

Sydney is forced out of her thoughts and she lifts her gaze to forest green eyes. The brunette sucks in a breath and looks back at her cut. "Hi."

Dean couldn't blame Sydney for her curt response. She warned him about Gordon and in return he ignored her.

Dean watches Sydney try to wrap the bandages around her arm and he shifts. "Do you need help?"

Sydney keeps her eyes on the bandage. "I'm okay, thank you."

"Syddie, please."

Sydney's hand stops in place and her breathing heavies. She swipes her tongue across her lower lip out of anger. How could he talk to her in such a soft tone? After the way he talked to her a couple hours ago? The way he's been treating her since she's joined them on the road?

"Sure." Sydney pushes her anger down and sends him a small smile. "I wasn't really getting it anyway."

Dean's boots gently thud across the floorboards and he takes a seat next to her on the couch. The cushions dip, forcing Sydney to readjust and keep herself up. Dean reaches a hand out to Sydney's arm, but he stops himself. Touching her without a second thought came so easy to him. Even after all these years. Dean meets her gaze and just from the soft expression across her face, he knew that she completely understood what was going through his mind.

"It's okay."

Dean's mouth goes dry and his stomach twists. The airiness in her tone. The comfort it brought him. Dean reaches his hand out and gently wraps his fingers around her wrist. Her skin feels so cold. Just as cold as the day they met. For some reason, it always comforted him. Her cold skin against his. He turns her arm, facing the cut up to the ceiling. "I know I've said this before..." he speaks.

Sydney knew that Dean was going to try and apologize. But for some reason, she couldn't encourage herself to look at him.

"...but I haven't been fair to you." Dean's mouth goes grabs a cotton ball and dips it in alcohol. "Gordon told me about Matthew and—"

"We don't..." Sydney's throat begins to tightening. She began to feel her fear cold her brain. "have to talk about him, seriously." She weakly lets out.

Dean heard the fear and pain in her voice. He didn't have the right to push. He wasn't the person that could just hold her when she was feeling unsafe or listen to her when there's something hanging over her head. Not anymore. Dean daps the alcohol on her cut and Sydney's eyes burn from the heavy silence.

"I should've listened to you. Not Gordon." Dean admits. "And I knew you were right even when we were talking outside of the motel, I just brushed you off because...I was still angry about the voicemails."

Sydney inhales a soft breath. "That's okay." Her voice trembles. "You have every right not to trust me."

"That's not true." Dean says. Sydney was just telling him what he wanted to hear. But, Dean wanted her to be angry at him. He deserved it. He deserved to be punished for how he's been treating her. "Sydney, I'm sorry. I didn't know what you were going through—what you had gone through and you being able to be here with us instead of with him...that's brave."

A painful lump forms in her throat and her stomach settles with guilt. She wish she could sit up straight with the confidence that Dean's words should've given her. But the truth is, she didn't leave Matthew. She took the cowardly way out and killed him. She murdered someone she was supposed to love. Someone that was supposed to love her.

All your fault. So, instead she just smiled. Sydney looks at Dean, her eyes becoming misty. "Thank you."

"And I'm sorry." Dean murmurs. "About hitting Sam."

Sydney keeps her eyes on Dean's hand wrapping her cut. "I've seen you angry before, but..." she bites the inside of her cheek and finally gains the courage to meet his eyes. "...never like that."

There was fear deep within her brown gaze and it caused Dean's own eyes to water. "I've never hit him before." Dean's voice shakes. "And I don't know why. But I felt this rage when he was talking about my dad and me disappointing him and I couldn't breathe. I didn't...I shouldn't have done it." There was so much fear and pain in his voice, Sydney didn't know how to react. What was she supposed to do?

Sydney presses her lips together. "I know you." She softly speaks. "I think you forget that I know you."

Dean refocuses on her eyes that her filled with a soft comfort that warmed his chest. Sydney shakes her head, "I'm sorry I ever made you feel like you couldn't trust me." She keeps her eyes on his. Dean finishes wrapping her arm and secured it with medical tape. "No, I was just blinded by my anger and my dad's death amplified that anger."

For a moment it felt like old times, just the two talking. Then Dean found his thumb aimlessly tracing across her arm which causes a tickle to shoot down to the base of her spine. Sydney inhales a shaky breath.

"I know you too." Dean softly admits. "I know how strong and brave you are. Your kindness is beyond this world and I took it for granted." He swallows. "I don't care how long it takes, but I will do everything I can to make it up to you. How I've treated you since that dumb letter I left you."

"Break up letter." Sydney softly adds, matching Dean's tone. "That's important to say."

"Yeah, that's an important detail to add." Dean nods. "Because, yes, sending any kind of letter is horrific. But a break up letter?"

"Atrocious." Sydney nods. "It's atrocious."

They both begin to laugh. Sydney looks down and wipes her left eye.

Suddenly, The front door opens and Sam walks in. He looks at the with a small smile. "Looks like some things have been discussed.

Sydney's mouth slightly opens. "Oh, um..." she pulls her arm from Dean's hand and nods. "yeah. We're getting there."

"Good."

Sam focuses on Dean's face. "What happened to you?"

"Gordon happened." Dean lightly touches his now bruised facd.

"Syd—"

"They already started fighting before I got back inside." Sydney holds her hands.

"Oh, what—I don't need a babysitter." Dean has offended all over his face. Sydney and Sam exchange a look that causes Dean to grumble. The three hunters walk back into the kitchen where Gordon was now awake. Gordon looks at the three with a stone cold expression.

"Lenore get out, okay?" Sydney asks.

"Yeah, all of them did." Sam makes it apparent to Gordon." He looks at Sydney. "She said 'thank you for everything'." Sam then chuckles. " I think she has a bit of a crush on you."

Sydney raises her brows, "What? No!" She rubs her cheeks to make the light pink dust. "Can we talk about something else—anything else, please?" The girl folds her arms but she shifts. "Do you think so?"

Gordon scoffs, "Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse."

The hunters snap their eyes back over to Gordon. Sydney raises her brows, "Gordon, you're tied to a chair right now. If I were you, I would be too embarrassed to talk."

"How you doing, Gordy?" Dean teases. "Got to tinkle yet?"

Gordon just glares. Sydney smiles, "Now he's too embarrassed to talk." She points at him. "Ha!"

"Well, hope he's comfy." Dean exhales. "We'll call someone in two or three days, have them come out and untie you."

"Ready to go, Dean?"

Dean circles, Gordon. "Not yet." He stands in front of Gordon. "I guess this is goodbye. Wow, it's been real."

Sydney lets out a breath. Dean turns away from Gordon, but he quickly spins back and uppercuts him. Sydney jumps when Gordon falls back in his seat. She softly snorts and slaps a hand over her mouth.

"Okay. I'm good now. We can go."

Sydney nods her head. "All right..." she softly chuckles.

The three hunters walk out of the house. Dean stops and he softly exhales. "Sam."

Sam turns, "Yeah?"

Dean lightly jumps up and down. "Clock me one."

Sydney stops and looks back at the brothers.

"Come on. I won't even hit you back." Dean says. "Let's go."

Sydney tilts her head. Sam looks back at the brunette and she shrugs. He softly laughs and looks at his big brother. "No."

"Let's go. You get a freebie." Dean urges. "Hit me. Come on."

"You look like you just went 12 rounds with a block of cement, Dean." Sam waves him off.

Sydney presses her lips together when Dean looks at her. "Yell at me?" He squeaks.

Sydney shakes her head, "Not happening. Sorry." She raises her brows. "I'll take a rain check, though."

"I wish we never took this job." Dean huffs. "It just jacked everything up."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about all the hunts we went on, our whole lives." Dean says. "What if we killed things that didn't deserve killing? You know? I mean, the way dad raised us."

"Dean, after what happened to mom...dad did the best he could." Sam sighs.

"I know he did." Dean says. "But maybe he wasn't perfect. And the way he raised us, to hate those things—and, man, I hate them. I do."

"When I killed that vampire at the mill, I didn't even think about it." Dean continues. "Well, I even enjoyed it."

"You didn't kill Lenore."

Dean looks to his side at the brunette. "No, but every instinct told me to. I was gonna kill her. I was gonna kill them all."

"But you didn't." Sydney softly emphasizes. She gives him a small smile. "That's what matters."

Dean keeps his eyes on the brunette, his heart beating faster. Sam looks between the two with a small smile on his lips. Sydney inhales a small breath, "Then again, we are pains in your ass. So, your moral compass won't steer the wrong way."

Dean looks away from Sydney and laughs. The girl's stomach flutters and her smile grows.

"Yeah, well...as long as I have you two." Dean clicks his tongue. "Nothing can go wrong."

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authtor's note.

y'all when i tell you this story is fast paced...hold on tighttttt 😭😭

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