Summary: One year later, Dean’s got some big, big plans.
Pairing: Cowboy!Dean x Reader
Warnings: none I can think of
Word Count: ~2,500?
A/N: I can’t promise it’s any good, friends, but here it is! It’s been awhile, so I’m a little rusty! Hope you enjoy. You guys can thank Chris Lane and his song Big, Big Plans for kickstarting my brain. Because wow, it needed it.
Summary: When Dean runs into you at the Roadhouse, things get a little… complicated
Pairing: Cowboy!Dean x Reader
Word Count: 2,300
Warnings: Language. I can’t help it.
A/N: It took a little longer than I was hoping, but I feel confident blaming Marvel and Sarah J Maas for thoroughly distracting me this past week. New movies and books really threw a wrench into things. Anyway, this one’s from Dean’s pov which always stresses me out… hope y’all like it!
Summary: Things with Dean get explosive after you have a fall, making you both question your choices…
Word Count: 2,100
Pairing: Cowboy!Dean x Reader
Warnings: Language, minor fall, horses being scary, Dean yelling
A/N: I wanted to get this out sooner this evening but life got in the way, sorry guys! But here it is - a bit shorter this time but you get a peek inside Dean’s head towards the end, like I promised! Hope you like it!
Find the Series Masterlist and previous parts HERE
A/N: I hope y’all can feel the intense judgement and displeasure coming from my cat, who is less than thrilled I’m on my computer instead of snuggling him… lol… anyway, hope you enjoy the next installment! Not too exciting but that’s coming, I promise!
Setting out on a new path is always tenuous, and you arrive at Singer Performance Horses with more than a little uncertainty about your new job as an apprentice. But when you receive a less-than-warm welcome from the head trainer, things seem insurmountably difficult. Can you prove your worth and establish a place for yourself? Or will you pack up and head home empty-handed?
Part 1: Coming Soon!
If you’d like to know more about the setting for this series, I’d recommend watching “Down the Fence” on Netflix. It will give you insight into the world of reining cow horses as well as some incredible horsemen and horsewomen - aka real life cowboys.
Title – The Men Who Hunted Her Pairings – DeanxY/N, Sam and Y/N friendship Word Count – 5,453 Warnings – Violence, non-con, cursing, being drugged SPNMixedBingo Square filled – Kidnapping
“Who’s calling you at this hour?” Sam questioned, looking up from his laptop. Dean picked up his phone and looked at the caller ID. He saw the name across the screen and rolled his eyes.
“Fucking Y/N,” he growled savagely. Sam instantly frowned.
When Dean and Y/N got together, Sam was nervous. It was like watching fire and gasoline join and when it was good, they were quite the pair to watch. They were an unbeatable force on the hunt or in the bar, and the unbridled passion they had for each other was unlike anything he’d ever seen.
But when they fought, it was just as bad. The hoarse shouting, the uncontrollable fury, sometimes even the thrown punches. There were things said that was downright unforgivable to many but for them, it was just who they were. They were as furious as they were passionate.
The last fight between Dean and Y/N was a vicious one. The screaming went on for hours. It got to the point where they didn’t even know what they were fighting about anymore. Sam didn’t know what they were fighting about anymore. And when Dean bluntly told her to get out, she left without saying a word. That was weeks ago. Sam and Y/N kept in touch behind Dean’s back, but Dean was miserable. He knew Dean regretted throwing Y/N out of the bunker, but his stubborn pride was in the way of asking her to come back.
The radio silence between Dean and Y/N had been hard on Sam, but at least Y/N was still speaking to him. Or was until four days ago. That’s when she went off the radar. If she was calling now and calling Dean, something was wrong. Before he could say so, Dean already had the phone to his ear.
“The fuck do you want?” he growled fiercely into the phone.
“Don’t hang up!” Y/N’s whispered voice begged as soon as he picked up the call. “Please, please, pleasedon’t hang up!”
“Y/N?” Dean asked, evident anger vanishing instantly. Her hushed begging suddenly confused him.
“Please,” she sobbed uncontrollably. “I know you’re mad at me, but please don’t hang up. Please. I don’t know what else to do. I don’t know who else to call. Please don’t hang up. Please.”
“Hey, hey, hey, calm down. Talk to me. What’s wrong? What’s going on?” Dean asked worriedly. Sam stood up and walked closer to his brother so he could hear the call. Something was most certainly wrong. “Baby, slow down, I can’t understand you.”
“… grabbed me from behind, I didn’t even see them…supposed to be hunting a ghoul…hit me in the head, knocked me unconscious,” Y/N got out between strangled sobs. Dean stood up and promptly went for his keys; Sam followed closely behind, grabbing his laptop along the way.
“Who has you? Who are they?” he demanded impatiently.
“I don’t know… I don’t… They keep drugging me…” Y/N said, trailing off.
“Baby, I need you to take a deep breath for me,” Dean said desperately. Y/N nodded despite Dean not being able to see her.
“I’m so tired,” she whispered fearfully, wearily leaning her head into the heel of her palm.
“Y/N, listen to me. Where are you?” Dean asked forcefully.
“I don’t know! I don’t know where I am!” she sobbed. “They had me in the trunk when they brought me here! I… I was able to… to fight… to hide… I knocked one of them out… I grabbed his cell phone, and I’m hiding, but they are looking for me… They…”
Y/N’s anxious voice was cut off when a loud banging was heard along with two or three male voices shouting furiously. Y/N covered her mouth to muffle the harsh sound of her breathing, making herself as small and as quiet as she could. She hugged the cell phone to her chest to hide the light as well. After a few minutes, the sound went away, and she pulled the phone back to her ear only to hear Dean shouting for her.
“De….” Y/N whispered. The profound relief Sam saw in Dean’s face when he heard Y/N’s whisper would be something he’d remember forever.
“How many are there?” Sam asked eagerly when Dean couldn’t speak.
“Five…. No, si…six. six of them,” Y/N whispered. Sam cursed under his breath.
“Well, that’s how they got her. No way she can take on six guys by herself. Y/N… Are you on a cell phone?” Sam asked while Dean gathered his raw emotions together.
“Ye… yeah. I stole it from one of them… I had to get to you… I had to get help…” Y/N said quietly. Sam nodded.
“Do you remember how to turn on the GPS?” Sam asked, flipping his laptop open.
“Ye…yeah,” she answered. Within minutes, Sam saw the blip show up on the screen.
“Perfect. We have it. Keep the phone with you, okay? We’re coming.”
“There you are!” an agitated voice bellowed behind her as she slipped out of the cracked window. Wide eyes looked back, and she dropped just as a gun went off above her head. Without wasting any time, Y/N took off running through the long grass and into the trees that surrounded what she now saw was a cabin inside the woods.
“Did you get her, Jackie?” a rough male voice frantically asked. A third male cursed as he saw her running in between trees.
“Bitch is in the woods. We got to stop her before someone finds her and she starts talking,” a younger male voice said. A sinister laugh echoed in the opening.
“Butch! Mikey! Marlo! Gear up! Looks like we’re going hunting…”
“Keep going straight, then at the third left, take it,” Sam said. His eyes kept bouncing between the map in his hands and the blip on the screen in front of him. They had been driving for roughly 45 minutes, and they were already out of Kansas and into Oklahoma. Dean was going 20 over the speed limit just to get to her as fast as possible.
“I never should have thrown her out,” he muttered fiercely under his breath, gently shaking his head. Sam dared an apprehensive glance up at his older brother, taking in the clenched jaw and the raw emotion he normally saw hidden from his eyes.
“You didn’t know this was going to happen, Dean,” Sam commented quietly. Dean’s hands tightened on the steering wheel.
“If anything happens to her, I will never forgive myself,” Dean growled furiously.
“We’re gonna find her, and we’re gonna destroy the assholes who took her,” Sam said, his voice so dangerous Dean had to glance at him.
“Damn straight.”
Y/N ran as fast as her bare feet would let her go on the floor of the woods. She ignored the torn skin and puncture wounds she was getting from the sticks and stones stepped on along the way. She used her arms to help launch herself over a dead tree that had fallen and continued running. Having not eaten in over a week, she had no idea where the energy was coming from, but she knew she couldn’t stop.
If she stopped, she’d inevitably die.
She heard an apparent gunshot in the distance and paused her running to look around at her surroundings. Nothing looked familiar; it was all trees and underbrush. Y/N nervously looked at the phone and was relieved to see it still had service. She couldn’t be that far from modern civilization if the mobile phone had service.
The faint sounds of someone shouting met her ears. She darted a look behind her in fear then started looking for something she could use as a weapon. Spotting a length of wood, she followed it with her eyes to see it was embedded into the carcass of a dead animal. Moving carefully, she slid over to it and pulled the old arrow out of the decaying corpse. Thankfully, the flinty tip was still sharp. Breaking the used arrow in half, she tossed the worthless half aside.
Then she climbed up the closest tree and hid.
“Splitting up was a bad idea, Jackie,” the rough voice of Marlo grunted out. He held the double-barrel loosely in his hands and frowned as he walked by the trampled ferns, kicking at them as he went.
“Oh, shut up, Marlo. If you can’t take down one bitch, then there’s something wrong with you,” Jack said, using his pistol as an extension of his arm to lift up some low-hanging branches out of his way. Jack bristled at the direct insult.
“It ain’t that and you know it! This ain’t just some bitch!” Marlo growled. “This a hunter! An’ she ain’t all drugged up like you been keepin’ her!”
“Whatever, man, she’s just like the rest of them. Just a toy we can dispose of when we’re done with her,” Jack said gleefully, looking back at Marlo with a lewd grin. When Jack turned back around to face front, Y/N dropped down on his plump shoulders and brutally stabbed the arrow into his throat.
Marlo shouted frantically in surprise as he watched blood spurt from the ragged wound in Jack’s throat, the two tumbling to the ground. Y/N snatched up Jack’s pistol and raised it, but Marlo was faster, shooting off a round from his shotgun.
Buckshot scattered and Y/N cried out as some of it embedded itself into her battered body. As Marlo racked another shot ready, Y/N fired off two shots of her own. The hoarse cries from the burly man in front of her echoed off the trees. Somehow, he was still standing. Shoving Jack’s now dead body away from her, she got herself in a better position and with wide eyes on the wounded man, she fired again. She hit her mark as Marlo’s body dropped hard onto the wooded ground.
Panting hard, Y/N remained frozen, listening anxiously for any sounds of the other men who were after her. Hearing nothing, she slowly stood up, a sore arm covering her chest. Little red spots started to show up across her dirty white shirt from the buckshot that caught her. She hissed as she moved, looking down at herself to see at least six spots where there was now embedded metal in her skin.
“Dammit,” she muttered savagely.
Moving gingerly over to where Marlo lay, she pulled the shotgun toward her and patted down his shallow pockets for more ammo. She was able to find six more shells. With shaking hands, she slid them into the pocket of her now torn and stained jeans before turning away. Making her way back to where Jack lay, she dug around in his pockets next. Nothing.
Y/N took a moment to swallow back the abject despair threatening to overwhelm her. She was aching all over, desperately tired, hungry, so very thirsty, and four of her captors were still in the woods looking for her. She pulled the phone out of her back pocket. Still had four bars of service, still transmitting the information. Shoving it back into her pocket, she stood uneasily from her crouched position and heaved a sigh.
“Where are you, Dean?”
“We’re close. Turn into this park,” Sam said, pointing to a side road on the left. Dean took the turn at speed, leaving tread marks on the road behind them. The brothers looked around carefully at the drive, noting the hunting lodge motif that seemed to engulf the area.
“They took her to a hunting ground, where no one would be bothered by the sounds of gunfire,” Dean growled impatiently. Sam opened the glove box and started digging through their fake IDs until he found their Ranger ones as Dean proceeded up to the security stop. Handing Dean his, Sam took control of the worsening situation to cover for Dean’s uncontrolled rage.
“Evening, boys. Can I help you?” the security officer politely asked. Sam lifted his ID, nudging Dean to do the same.
“Yes, Sir, we’re looking for a group of men who may be staying on your property who may be hunting outside the limits set for the active season. Tell me, have you seen any groups of say five or six men come in and rent out a private cabin?” Sam asked. The officer frowned slightly, turning to pull a clipboard off the side of the wall of his hut.
“Well, Ranger, now that you mention it… We did have a group of six guys coming up here in the middle of the night about four or five days ago. Thought it was odd they came in so late. A couple of them were acting kind of nervous, constantly looking over their shoulder and whatnot,” the officer said. Sam nodded and glanced stealthily at Dean, undoubtedly noticing his eyes narrowing.
“Yeah, those might be our guys. What cabin are they in? We’re going to pay them a surprise visit,” he asked. The officer flipped up the papers and read the paperwork in hand.
“Looks like they are staying at the Ravenwood Cabin. It’s the one that’s farthest back in the woods. Just follow the yellow trail all the way to the back, and then the black diamonds to get to the drive,” he said, promptly handing the boys a map. Sam took it and nodded.
“Thanks, Officer…” he started.
“Thoroughbred. Good luck in there, and be safe,” he said, punching a button to lift the gate. Dean forced himself to drive slowly through the gate but once he was out of sight of the security office, he picked up speed.
“Of course, they would pick the cabin farthest out,” Dean ground out through gritted teeth. Sam glanced at his laptop and saw the red dot had stopped moving. He compared it to where they were, then looked up and pointed eagerly.
“Keep going straight and keep your ears open.”
Y/N limped to a stop and leaned back against an overgrown tree, reached into her pocket, and pulled out the stolen cell phone. She was down to two bars of service. She prayed it was enough to send out a GPS signal to Sam. She stuffed the cell back into her pocket and looked down at her feet. They were torn up, bleeding heavily in some places. If those guys who took her had dogs, they would certainly be able to find her. She had to keep moving.
She desperately needed a break, though. Y/N was exhausted, and her last bit of energy was tapped. She could feel her battered body starting to shut down involuntarily. Y/N knew if she didn’t find a safe space to hide soon, she could be in real trouble.
Shoving away from the tree, she relentlessly pushed through the wooded area, desperately trying to find anything that looked familiar. Nothing but trees, brush, and branches surrounded her. She had walked for another fifteen minutes before she heard it. Freezing in place, she listened intently. Footsteps, and not in a cadence she recognized. With a terrified look behind her, she started to run frantically.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are…” she heard a maniacal voice shout. It only made her run faster and harder in the opposite direction. Glancing nervously behind her to see if she could spot the man chasing her, she stumbled awkwardly and as she tried to right herself – a strong hand lashed out and viciously grabbed her arm. She felt a sharp pain a second later in her neck.
“Gotcha,” a different male’s hateful voice said in her ear. Without rational thought, Y/N thrust the butt of the shotgun into the man’s face, shattering his nose. He cursed loudly, dropping her arm, and frantically grabbing his broken face with both hands. Y/N then spun on him and fired indiscriminately in his direction. She heard the man cry out as dark spots danced in front of her eyes. She fired again for good measure and heard a hoarse grunt before she turned uneasily and blindly started to stumble away, inadvertently dropping the shotgun in the process.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck fuck fuck FUCK she thought anxiously. Okay, we’ve dealt with this already. Take deep slow breaths. Slow your heart down. Control your movements. We can handle this. We beat the drugs once; we can beat them again.
Only this time, she wasn’t as positive.
“Wait, did you hear that?” Sam asked impatiently. Dean slowed the Impala down and listened intently through the open windows. Pulling the car off to the side of the road, he shut the engine down. The brothers listened intently to the world around them, hearing the wind blowing through the leaves and the odd cricket when suddenly
BANG! BANGBANG!
Dean’s furious eyes narrowed.
“They’re hunting something out in those woods,” Sam said, critical eyes on the tree line. He leaned back, vainly trying to see what was there.
“What are the chances it’s her?” Dean asked stonily. Sam turned to look back at the laptop, shrugging.
“It’s possible. She’s in the woods somewhere,” he responded. “Her signal is moving slowly, but I can’t pinpoint an exact location in the woods here.”
“Then we’re going in,” Dean said impatiently, opening his car door. Sam slapped his laptop shut and shoved it under his seat before following suit. When he got to the trunk of the car, Dean already had it open and a shotgun pulled out. He reached in and grabbed his own sawed-off, shoving shells into his pockets. Dean grabbed his pistol and shoved it into the back of his jeans along with a throwing knife. Sam grabbed his own pistol, then reached over to grab one of their empty backpacks and shoved a canteen and the first aid kit inside it. Dean looked at his brother with a raised brow.
“We don’t know what shape she is in. We should be prepared,” Sam explained gently. Dean’s eyes narrowed as he studied his brother, then he reached over and grabbed the other empty backpack and did the same. Dean added a blanket to his pack, while Sam added extra ammunition and a flare gun to his.
BANG! BANGBANG! BANG!
Gunshots rang out again, causing the brothers to look at the woods sharply. Dean slammed the trunk to the impala hard and racked the first shot in the shotgun.
“Let’s go, Sammy,” Dean snapped viciously as he led the way in.
Y/N blinked rapidly, desperately trying to clear her vision as she forced herself to move. She tripped and stumbled awkwardly into a nearby tree, scraping the skin off her arm in the process. A whimper escaped her as she forcefully pushed off the tree and forced her legs to keep moving. She had to keep going, she had to keep moving. She refused to die out here in the woods; she had to get back to Dean.
She wiped a hand across her neck and felt a small trickle of blood. She knew they injected her with whatever illegal drug they had been doping her with. She wiped her hand on her jeans, then reached behind her to grab the stolen pistol from the back of her pants. She didn’t know how many bullets she had left in it, but it made her feel comfortable having it in her hand.
She pressed on then, shoving away from the tree and moving slower than before as she made her way into the woods.
I can’t… I CAN’T…she thought miserably. A strangled sob got stuck in her parched throat as she stopped moving and leaned against a tree. Her breathing started growing ragged, almost like she couldn’t get enough air. She started yanking at her shirt, vainly trying to pull it away from her neck.
“I can’t… I can’t breathe,” she whispered brokenly to no one in particular. She pushed off the tree she leaned wearily against and attempted to walk again. She stumbled awkwardly with every few steps she took. The blurred vision and the dizziness told her the drugs were almost at full effect. It wouldn’t be long before she blacked out completely.
She felt an unknown hand grab her shirt to stop her, and with quick maneuvers made on instinct, she had it off her exhausted body in moments. With the remaining energy she had, she thrust her hand upward and felt the heel of her hand connect roughly with the nose of the person behind her. The sickening crunch and following yowl of pain was music to her ears. Y/N fought through the blurry vision and dizziness to grab the man’s head and forcibly bring it down sharply to her uplifted knee. She cried out herself at the violent contact, her entire leg aching terribly from the hit, but the man was unconscious and wouldn’t be bothering her anymore.
Four down. Two left.
Dean held up a hand with a closed fist when he heard the shrill cry of pain. He recognized that sound anywhere. He and Sam locked eyes, and Dean moved his fingers toward the direction he heard the sound coming from. Sam nodded and turned toward it. Slowly and silently, the two hunters crept forward until a gunshot had them running.
The following scream had Dean seeing red.
Fiery pain tore savagely through Y/N’s abdomen, ripping an agonized scream from her burning throat. She staggered her steps, colliding into a tree before collapsing into the brittle leaves on the dirt floor of the forest.
“Y/N!!!!” She heard someone shout frantically. Pulling on all the strength she had left, she yelled back.
“I’m here!!” her hoarse voice cried out. Y/N put both hands on her stomach and pressed, feeling lightning hot pain race through her, riding her veins down to her leg. She felt something warm and sticky there. When she lifted a hand to see what it was, she was mildly surprised to see something red on her fingertips.
She dropped her hand back to the bleeding wound, a hoarse groan ripped from her as complete exhaustion finally took hold. Her stinging, blurry eyes slowly drifted shut, tears making tracks through the dirt and blood on her face.
“She’s over here!” a gruff voice close to her shouted frantically. She listened carefully for the footsteps to come closer to her, but instead, she heard another gunshot. Shouting. Angry voices and crashing foliage. Flesh hitting flesh and another gunshot.
Y/N tried to hang on but felt herself start to drift. Between the drugs and now the gunshot wound, her desperate grip on reality was slipping fast. She felt her head fell back and her mouth open, which was helpful. It made breathing a little easier.
“Y/N. Y/N can you hear me? Y/N!!” she scarcely heard someone say, gently grabbing her face. She tried opening her eyes, but they wouldn’t listen to her. Her harsh breathing started to come in painful little gasps.
“I’m here,” she desperately tried to whisper. Everything sounded so distant, so far away from where she was right then.
“Dean!!” the voice shouted, fear lacing the word. Sam, then, she thought wearily. Her arms were getting heavier, numb even. Even the unbearable pain was going away. She hoped this was just the drugs making her feel this way. She didn’t want to die.
“You’re not gonna die, Y/N. Just hang on. DEAN!!” Sam shouted. That’s nice, she thought distractedly. She heard the distant rustling then the pain was back, sharp and engulfing her. She gasped, her eyes flying open to stare right into the brilliant green of Dean’s frantic ones as he relentessly pushed on her stomach wound.
“C’mon baby, you gotta stay awake for me,” Dean said, his voice filled with anguish and fear. Over his shoulder, Sam was on his phone. No doubt he was calling for help. Y/N’s eyes drooped.
“De…. Dru…gg…ed…” she got out through a pant, then grimaced as a violent wave of pain ran through her body, causing her to shiver violently. Dean’s eyes instantly started looking over her face and neck, before spotting the pinprick on her neck that was bleeding slightly.
“Drugged? They drugged you?” he asked frantically, but she was already out. “Babe? Y/N!? Y/N!!”
Dean started to panic, pushing two fingers into her neck to find your pulse. He found your pulse beating too slowly, but at least it was beating. He had no clue what kind of drug they gave her. Sam hung up the phone and turned back to his big brother.
“We need to get her to the road. They can’t land life flight in the woods,” he said, looking down at Y/N.
“They drugged her, Sammy. See if any of them have any drugs or syringes on them. I’ll start taking her to the car,” Dean demanded, moving to pick Y/N up bridal style so he could carry her. Sam nodded and started going through the pockets of the men around them.
Minutes later, Sam ran up to him with a syringe in his hand. Together they got Y/N to the car, then made it to the main road just as Rescue was pulling up.
The first thing she was aware of was the beeping of the heart rate monitor. The second was the heavy warmth around her hand. She could tell it had been there a while, that she had been there a while, simply by the ache in her joints and muscles. What she wouldn’t give to just stretch and instantly feel everything pop and move back into place like they were naturally supposed to be.
Instead, she tried opening her very heavy eyelids to see where exactly she was.
The hospital room she was in was dimly lit, just a lamp in the corner on the lowest setting. It looked dark outside the window, so it was either really late or really early. When her tired eyes caught the sleeping man in the chair next to her, a contented smile played on her face.
Dean looked tired. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his clothes were rumpled. He was sleeping soundly on his folded arms, one eager hand wrapped around hers in a very tight grip. Suddenly, whatever they were arguing about before seemed so unimportant. She couldn’t even remember what it was about. All she really wanted more than anything right then was to see his gorgeous eyes and his charming smile.
Gently squeezing the hand he had a secure grip on, she tried to call his name with no success. Her throat was dry and scratchy, so any sound came out sounding broken and crackly. Thankfully, the door to her private room opened then and Sam walked in with a cup of coffee. When he realized she was awake, he smiled fondly at her with wet eyes.
“Hey, Y/N,” he said quietly, walking over to the opposite side of the hospital bed that Dean was resting on. He leaned down and gently kissed her on the top of the head, knowingly causing her to close her eyes and grin at him. “Welcome back.”
Sam then walked around the hospital bed to where Dean was and set his coffee down on one of the tables in the room. He put his hands on each one of Dean’s shoulders, squeezing slightly.
“Dean… Hey, I need you to wake up for me,” Sam said soothingly, rubbing his arms to gently wake him up. The older Winchester still woke with a jolt and a slight groan. Y/N watched him, eagerly waiting for him to look up at her.
“Look who’s awake, Dean,” Sam said softly. Dean immediately looked up at Y/N and his eager face broke into a relieved smile when he saw her pretty eyes looking back at him. He carefully moved from the chair to the side of her bed and gently pressed a chaste kiss to her mouth. Y/N pressed her hands to his face, needing to feel him, his skin on hers.
“Hey, baby,” Dean whispered tenderly. Y/N sniffled in response, carefully slipping her hands to his flannel shirt, and fisting it tightly. Sam had taken a step back, pouring some water into a cup with a straw for Y/N. He willingly handed it over to Dean who then took it and carefully held it out to Y/N. She took a few long sips of the water and attempted to clear her sore throat of the crude clogging it.
“Are they dead?” she asked, her pleasant voice sounding raw and painful. Dean nodded.
“Yeah, they’re all dead. You’re safe now,” Dean said, running his hand over her hair. “And I am so sorry…”
“No apologies,” Y/N mumbled, gently interrupting him. “You didn’t hang up the phone and got me away from them. That’s more than enough.” Dean shook his head, intentionally avoiding her eyes.
“If I never told you to leave, you would never have been in that position,” he said regretfully. Y/N couldn’t argue that one. Instead, she just took his hand and interlaced her fingers with his.
“Lesson one in learning how to fight correctly: don’t kick each other out of the bunker,” she whispered tenderly, a gentle smile playing on her lips. Dean simply shook his head, swallowing hard. Y/N carefully studied his face. “Hey,”
Dean looked up at her, taking in the cuts and bruises scattered across her face. The guilt in his heart weighed down heavily on him and she could see it in his eyes. She pulled his face back down to hers and eagerly pressed their lips together again.
“I don’t blame you, Winchester,” she whispered fiercely against his lips. “But if it makes you feel better, I forgive you.”
Sam watched from the far side of the hospital room as his big brother and Y/N took the time to thank whoever listens to them that she made it out of this horrible ordeal alive. The drugs that those men kept pumping her full of took three full days to get out of her system. Thankfully, there should be no lasting damage to her. The gunshot wound was superficial, but thanks to the drugs, bled a lot. She’ll have an ugly scar, but she’ll live to talk about it.
It was the rape kit they had to do on her that infuriated the brothers. The doctors inadvertently discovered the need for it when they were prepping her for surgery. It took everything Sam could do to control Dean and his relentless fury. He was on the receiving end of a few punches before he invariably got Dean in a hold that stopped the violent attacks.
“Listen to me. HEY! LISTEN to me!” Sam shouted furiously at his brother once Dean was pressed up against the wall with his arms pinned. “Stop. You’re going to get kicked out of the hospital if you keep this up. The guys who kidnapped her are to blame for this. Not you, not me, and not the medical staff, alright?”
Dean stormed out of the hospital with Sam and Y/N’s doctor watching with frowns on their faces.
“Is he going to be okay?” they asked Sam. He didn’t know how to answer that, so Sam just shrugged. He told the doctors to do what they had to do for Y/N and he’d sign whatever paperwork was needed. Sam ended up sitting with Y/N for almost two days before Dean made his way back. When he arrived, he looked like he hadn’t slept and reeked of smoke and gasoline.
“They won’t be able to hurt her again,” he said as he stared at Y/N from the foot of her bed. Sam simply shook his head and sent Dean to the hotel room he rented to get a hot shower and some sleep.
Sam knew this was going to be new nightmare material for both his brother and Y/N. Dean’s overwhelming guilt would be enough to inevitably create new scenarios in his head that wouldn’t be real. He’ll wake up screaming horribly in the middle of the night thinking he didn’t save Y/N in time. And since Y/N had the Winchester habit of not talking about things, she’d be reliving this in her dreams as well. All Sam could do is be prepared to help them as best he could from the sidelines and remind them how to avoid getting to this place again.
Which does, in fact, start with not kicking each other out of the bunker during a fight.
Title – Of Nightmares and Sandalwood Pairings – Y/N & Dean Word Count – 3,928 Warnings – Do Nightmares count? Cursing, arguing SPNMixedBingo Square filled – Early Morning, Touch Starvation, Bed Sharing Prompt: “I don’t sleep. My mind has the scary capability of being dark and demented.” “you are afraid of your dreams?” “Yes,” he said quietly.
She doesn’t know what wakes her up, only that something was off, and she couldn’t sleep until she fixed whatever it was. Rolling over and looking at the clock, Y/N realized that it was just before three in the morning.
With a sleepy groan, Y/N climbed out of her warm bed. She reached for a flannel (undoubtedly stolen from one of the brothers, she’s certain) to pull over her tank top and shorts. She slipped on her flip-flops before wandering out of her room to see what was out of the ordinary.
The kitchen was dark, the dishes sitting in the drying rack, so it wasn’t that. Sam’s bedroom door was closed, and she could hear his gentle snores behind it, so she knew it wasn’t him. The bathroom light was off and the door was open, so no one was there.
Dean’s bedroom door, however, was open. Curiously, Y/N walked toward his room and looked inside to find his bed unmade and empty. Frowning, she walked down the hall to the library in search of the older Winchester. The expansive room designated as the ‘Dean Cave’ was dark and empty, as was the library. It wasn’t until she heard familiar music coming from the garage that she got the idea to check there.
Opening the door quietly, she spotted him. He was standing barefooted in the garage with the hood of Baby up, dressed in dirty jeans and a black t-shirt that fit snugly over his chest and shoulders. His expression held a world of unspeakable pain that he couldn’t seem to hide as he focused on some invisible problem with the classic car, his mind a million miles away.
Y/N frowned as she stared thoughtfully at him, knowing something wasn’t right.
Gently closing the door behind her, she walked up to the cooler Dean had a beer sweating on. She picked up the bottle and took a long pull from it, switching off the music with her other hand. The entire garage instantly plunged into silence, causing Dean to startle. He turned on her quickly, pulling his loaded gun from the small of his back and pointing it at her chest in less than a second. His fierce eyes narrowed, a controlled fury there she hadn’t seen in over a decade.
She swallowed the hoppy beer, carefully set the bottle back down, and gently leaned against one of the older cars that were parked in the garage.
“Morning, stranger,” she muttered, a tired frown on her face. Dean grunted at her as he pulled the loaded gun away from her direction, uncocking it and carefully putting it back where it came from.
“Dammit, Y/N. I could have killed you,” he muttered gloomily. Y/N simply raised a brow at him. “And quit drinking my beer!”
“Why are you armed inside the bunker? You know it’s safe here, Dee,” she answered instead. Dean intentionally threw her a dirty look before leaning against the car again, looking down into the engine block. He willfully refused to properly answer her. She tried again.
“Hey, what’s going on?” she asked gently. Dean tried to ignore her once again. Y/N frowned at him. She looked at the Impala, remaining quiet for a few minutes. Dean didn’t move. After a while, Y/N started to shiver, so she pulled the flannel she had on around herself tighter.
“It’s really late. Or early, depending on how you look at it. Why are you awake right now?” she asked. Dean snapped and slapped the side of the car, causing a loud sound to echo in the garage and Y/N to jump.
“What’s with the twenty questions, Y/N? Can’t you tell I want to be left alone? Can’t you get the hint?” Dean shouted furiously at her. Y/N looked down and away, away from his angry face. She felt her emotions start to overwhelm her again, but she swallowed down her frustration. She refused to be deterred. His deflection wasn’t going to work this time. She started picking at the sleeves of the flannel she wore
“No,” she said quietly.
“What?!” Dean snapped at her. Y/N carefully lifted her eyes and stared thoughtfully at Dean, her face not giving away her emotions.
“I said, no,” she repeated herself. “I can’t just go back inside and act like I don’t know that you are out here hurting. I want to give you your space and let you take out your frustration or whatever it is you are feeling on Baby, but I just can’t walk away this time.” She shrugged, looking away.
“Sorry,” she said distantly, as she diligently studied the car she was leaning on. Dean stared at her, his hands on his hips. He undoubtedly knew he was being cruel. But it was his typical reaction to lash out and push people away. After a long minute, he released a long, heavy sigh.
“I had a nightmare,” he said quietly. Y/N looked over at him silently, encouraging him to continue speaking. She watched as Dean walked over to the Impala and rested his hands on the end of the car, leaning over the engine block yet again.
“What was it about?” Y/N asked, her voice soft in the large room. Dean gently shook his head, staring down at the car once again. “Must have been pretty bad if it’s keeping you awake right now.”
“I’m fine, Y/N,” Dean growled impatiently. Y/N bit her tongue. Yeah, you look terrific. Instead, she just watched as he stared sightlessly at the engine again.
“Why don’t we go inside? I’ll make us something to eat, or maybe we can just grab a few drinks,” she politely suggested. Anything to get that icy cold look off his face. “We don’t even have to talk about the nightmare unless you want to.” Dean remained silent, but the twitch in his jaw showed her that the man heard her. After a few minutes of silence and Y/N sighed.
“Dean, come on. Work with me here,” Y/N started, standing up straight to face the older brother. That’s when Dean snapped again. He reached up and slammed the hood of the Impala, much rougher than he typically would. He turned toward her and growled.
“I’ve about had it with you, Y/N, and your feel-good bullshit. I just said I didn’t want to talk to you, and I don’t want to talk about it,” he shouted. Y/N wasn’t even sure what he was saying anymore, only that she was done with him and with his bullshit.
“Stop fucking yelling at me!” Y/N finally shouted back, causing Dean to shut his mouth with an audible click. “Jesus Christ, Dean. What the hell is your problem? Not everyone is your fucking enemy or is trying to hurt you. I’m not trying to fucking hurt you!”
Dean stared at her, his breathing harsh through his nose as he tried to control his temper and his raging emotions as he watched Y/N finally lose her temper with him.
“I woke up, and I didn’t know why. I was merely checking on you and Sam and noticed you were missing. I’m so sorry that my checking on you was such a fucking inconvenience to you, Dean!” she bellowed snidely. The two glared defiantly at each other for a long minute. Finally, Y/N held her hands up in a surrender motion.
“You know what,” she started, her voice low and monotone. “Forget I said anything. You want to stay out here and wallow in self-pity and whatever bullshit you got rolling around in that head of yours instead of talking to me about it, be my guest. I’m done.” Y/N turned on her heel and walked toward the door out of the garage and back into the main part of the bunker.
For reasons Dean didn’t understand, he instantly started to panic.
“Y/N,” he said cautiously to get her attention.
“Go fuck yourself,” she muttered fiercely, simply waving her hand at him. She swung open the door, moments away from crossing the threshold. His panic grew, and he intuitively knew if he didn’t get her attention back now, he would be doing irrevocable damage to their relationship.
“Y/N!!”
That stopped her. Dean’s voice sounded agonized, hurt, and broken down. But at this point, so was Y/N. She turned back to look at him, one foot inside the pleasant warmth of the bunker and ready to forget this even happened.
“What?!” she snapped at him; her kind eyes narrowed and glassy.
“I don’t sleep,” Dean said. Y/N’s expression changed from one of hurt and anger to one of confusion.
“What?” she bit out, confusion coloring her tone this time.
“I don’t sleep. After my nightmares, I don’t sleep. My subconscious mind has the scary capability of being dark and demented,” he gently explained, his eyes anywhere but on her face. “Once it starts, I can’t seem to stop it, so it’s just safer to… not sleep.”
“You’re afraid of your dreams?” Y/N asked softly, her heartbreaking for him.
“Yeah. Sure,” he said quietly. His weight subtly shifted between his bare feet.
Y/N watched him for a long moment, then walked back into the garage. The door slammed shut behind her, but she ignored it. Dean noticed she was walking toward him and shoved his hands in his pockets, feeling incredibly vulnerable now. Once she was next to him, Y/N carefully wrapped her hand around his arm, slid it down his soft skin, and held onto his wrist. She gently rested her head against his shoulder as she pulled his left hand out of his pocket and intertwined their fingers together.
Dean turned his head to look cautiously at her, his mask sliding into place so she couldn’t read what he was thinking. She didn’t need to see his face to feel his trepidation, his worry, his comfort at her closeness, or his self-loathing for feeling he didn’t deserve it. Y/N lifted her Y/C/E to Dean’s green ones.
“Do you trust me?” she asked quietly.
“You know I do,” Dean answered just as softly. Y/N offered a tiny smile before gently pulling him with her toward the direction of the door inside.
“Come on,” she whispered, tilting her head toward the door. Y/N squeezed his hand, then took a step back, away from the Impala. “Come on, Dean.”
Dean watched her try to pull him away from the car, the garage, his sanctuary, with pain-filled eyes before he closed them and sighed brokenly. It was then he finally moved and let Y/N pull him toward the door back inside the bunker. She turned away from him to see where she was going, but once they were down the stairs, she turned and looked back at him. When she looked back at Dean, he had his eyes fixed on the ground.
Y/N stepped closer to him, still leading them through the bunker, carefully wrapping his arm around her waist. She felt more than heard his breath catch as his fingers brushed against the bare skin of her belly from where her tank top rode up a little. He naturally tried pulling away, but she wouldn’t let him. He genuinely needed comfort, and she wasn’t going to let him deny himself that. Once they were in front of his room, she turned to look at him.
“I’m going to run to my room for a moment to grab some things. Be in bed by the time I get back,” she explained softly to him. Dean shook his head and instantly started to protest, which caused Y/N to hold up a dainty finger to his lips. His eyes opened fractionally at her soft touch.
“I wasn’t asking,” she said knowingly. She stared resolutely into Dean’s eyes until she saw when he relented, then nodded her head. She squeezed his hand before she turned and walked across the hall and down a few doors to where her room was. Once inside, she moved quickly. She grabbed her sandalwood and vanilla lotion, tucked her pillow under her arm, and turned off her diffuser. She emptied the water and oils she had in the machine already, wiping it out with a microfiber cloth.
Opening the small wooden case of oils, she chose a few scents she thought Dean would find calming: Sandalwood, Cinnamon, and Caramel. She put drops of the oils in the diffuser and grabbed a bottle of water to fill it with once she got back into Dean’s room. She grabbed her sound machine then left her room, using her elbow to flip off her light.
Walking into Dean’s room, she was pleased to see he had done what she had asked. He was lying on his back. His thick blanket was pulled to his waist, and he was staring wistfully at the ceiling. The room was dim and cool, the only light coming from a lamp on his nightstand. Y/N walked over to the bed and dropped the pillow from under her arm onto his bed. Dean turned his head to watch her.
Without saying a word, she went over to where his desk was and set all her items down. The first thing she did was plug in the diffuser. She set the machine on his desk, removed the lid, and opened the bottle of water in her hand. Filling the basin to the top of the waterline, she put the lid back on it. She then set it to run steadily throughout the next 8 hours. Sealing the water bottle once again, she moved to her next task.
She then turned her noise machine on to the sound of white noise. Typically, she’d fall asleep to the sound of ocean waves or rainfall, but this was for Dean. White noise was the easiest thing to choose. She set the volume to low: loud enough to be heard over the noise of the diffuser but quiet enough to be in the background and not keep them awake. She picked up her lotion and turned to face Dean.
“Take your shirt off and turn over on your belly,” she said softly, walking over to the bed. Dean stared at her for a long moment, wanting to argue. “Just trust me, Dean.”
With a huff, he sat up and pulled his t-shirt over his head. He tossed it aside and rolled over onto his belly, and settled down on his bed. Y/N grabbed her pillow and put it up next to Dean, so she had something to lay on, pulled off her flannel and tossed it over the chair, climbed up onto the bed, and straddled his hips. She felt Dean stiffen as her body touched his, and she instantly hushed him.
“It’s okay, Dean. Close your eyes and take deep breaths,” Y/N quietly said. Dean heard a soft ‘click’ of the lotion bottle opening, then silence. Slowly, Dean willingly let his eyes drift shut. He inhaled slowly, and the spicy scent that filled his senses started calming him almost instantly. When he exhaled, he felt Y/N’s soft hands run over his tense shoulders.
“That’s it,” he heard her say, her voice almost melodic. “Take some deep breaths. Inhale slowly, exhale just as slow. Let the sandalwood and cinnamon fill your senses, calm your mind, ease your spirits.”
Her hands started out gentle as they ran over his shoulders and up to his neck, slowly growing in pressure. Her hands would find a knot in his muscles and spend some extra time there, focusing on the spot and adding some careful pressure there to ease the tension. The entire time he continued his deep breaths, focusing on keeping them even and steady.
“I want you to think about something good, something that brings you joy,” Y/N said as her hands ran up and down his spine. “Think about a moment when you remember being completely at ease and relaxed. Who was there with you, where you were, what you were doing…”
Dean immediately thought of the evening a few nights ago, when the three of them were sitting around the library just hanging out and chatting. They were sharing a bottle of whiskey they found created by Metallica. When Dean found out about it, he was so excited he bought four bottles. They opened one immediately when they got home and just sat around the table and talked about music while passing the bottle around. He found out just how much music they all actually had in common that same night.
“Now take a deep breath, nice and slow…”
He inhaled, and the scent of vanilla filled his nose with the spicy scent of wood and cinnamon. He felt pressure on the base of his skull now, easing tension he didn’t even know he had there. He took a deep breath and released a soft moan of pleasure as he exhaled, turning his head so that Y/N had easy access to his neck and skull.
“Just breathe easy and let the tension go… Focus on the good and release the tension in your body…”
Her warm hands felt so good sliding across his skin, putting pressure on different parts of his body that were sore. He was feeling peaceful with the warmth of her body close to his, and he felt himself drifting…
“Take a deep breath, Dean. In through your nose and release slowly out through your mouth,” he heard her soft voice say next to his ear. He inhaled slowly, and when he exhaled, he felt her warm hands put solid pressure on the muscles next to his spine, moving slowly upward. He felt the vertebra give, popping deeply and releasing tension as her hands moved their way from his lower back upward to his shoulders. It pulled a deep moan from him as his muscles gave a slight twitch before relaxing under her touch. Once she had finished the pressure trail up to his neck, she ran her hands gently up and down his spine.
“There you go,” he heard her soft voice mumble gently to him. “Just breathe deeply, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Let the scent of sandalwood and vanilla calm you. Clear your mind of any thoughts and rest.”
Dean felt the pressure again, but this time against his neck and skull. Y/N pressed her thumbs at the base of his skull, pushing down against the soft spot at the center and brushing outward to where the occipital nerve rests on each side. At first, he tensed up again, but remembering what she said about breathing, he forced himself to relax and continue the deep breathing. Soon, the soft touches grew deeper and harder, gently pressing the tension away.
With everything that was happening all at once, he caught himself slowly growing tired, and sleep danced on the edges of his consciousness. He fought the urge to slip away until he heard Y/N start humming above him. Just as he floated off to sleep, he realized she was humming Hey Jude.
When Y/N realized that he was asleep, she intentionally slowed her hands against his skin until she stopped moving altogether. Moving as slow as she possibly could, she gracefully slid off Dean’s body and reached over to turn off the light. The room instantly dropped into complete darkness, and Y/N used her hands to guide her to the opposite side of Dean’s bed. With careful movements, she slid under the covers and curled up next to Dean.
She ran her fingers through his short hair, running her fingers down his back to where the sheet and blanket rested at his waist. Using careful and slow movements, she gently pulled them up over them both. Once they were properly covered, she leaned over and tenderly kissed Dean on the temple.
“Good night, Dee,” she whispered almost silently into his ear before snuggling up against him. With a deep sigh, Y/N felt herself relax off to sleep herself.
The next time he became aware of his surroundings, he felt a pleasant warmth pressed up against him. It was in his arms. He took a deep breath, and the spicy scent that calmed him the night before was still lingering nearby. He realized, quite suddenly, that he had slept soundly the rest of the night after a horrific nightmare.
He slowly opened his eyes, looking down to find Y/N wrapped in his arms. Her head rested peacefully on her pillow, her back pressed against his chest, his arm wrapped around her waist. Dean stared at her, uncertain what to think.
“Stop thinking so hard, it’s still too early,” Y/N muttered, her voice rough with sleep. She snuggled down into her pillow, her body pressing closer against Dean’s.
“I slept through the night last night,” he said softly. Y/N smiled; eyes still closed.
“Yes, you did,” she said.
“I haven’t slept through the night after a nightmare. Ever,” Dean said thoughtfully. “How did you do that?”
“Hmmm?” Y/N hummed sleepily, rolling over and gently pushing at Dean. He promptly turned onto his back and let Y/N curl up on his chest; her hand curled up next to her face, her head resting comfortably on his shoulder. Dean wrapped his arm around her, running his fingers up and down her arm. Y/N smiled gently at his touch.
“I said, how did you get me to sleep through the night after a nightmare?” he asked softly, tilting his head toward hers. Y/N pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Is the diffuser still running?” she questioned. When Dean didn’t respond, she repeated herself. Dean lifted his head and looked around his room until his eyes fell on a small machine shooting a mist into the air on his desk. When he asked if that was it, he confirmed it was still going.
“Then it’s not time to get up yet. Go back to sleep, I’ll explain it later,” Y/N said. Dean looked down at the woman in his arms and let a smile play on his lips. He carefully brushed a kiss on her forehead then snuggled down under the blankets and closed his eyes.
Maybe he should have nightmares more often if it meant he got to wake up with Y/N in his arms, asleep in his bed. Maybe he could have this after all, and it would be okay. Maybe there was something more here than he originally thought. Maybe… Dean felt a hand against his cheek, causing his eyes to open, then slip shut as he felt Y/N’s soft lips press against his in a tender kiss.
Their mouths moved against each other gently, cautiously feeling each other’s lips against each other sweetly. Just as Dean was about to deepen the chaste kiss, Y/N pulled away and slowly opened her eyes to stare at him.
“You’re thinking too much. Go back to sleep,” she whispered, gently brushing a delicate fingertip over his mouth. “I’ll answer all of your questions in a few hours. Then maybe we can try this again.”
Dean watched as Y/N shot him a sleepy grin, then settled back down against him. He blinked once, then twice, then broke into a huge smile. Tightening his arms around the extraordinary woman in his bed, he buried himself into her and the delicious warmth of her skin. There was a promise of something exciting and new waiting for him after they woke up once again.
If all his nightmares had this kind of outcome, he’d take all the night terrors he could get.
Title – Something to be Thankful For Pairings – Jensen/Reader Word Count – 2,498 Warnings – Nothing for this final chapter! Square filled – Thanksgiving
Jensen Ackles’ life changes when he walks into his favorite coffee shop and meets Y/N, a Florida girl making a new start in Austin, Texas, as a Sheriff’s Deputy with the help of her sister. The two hit it off and quickly become an item that even the tabloids can’t tear apart. Jensen is excited to show his girl off at Thanksgiving dinner with his family, but she has to work the parade that morning first. What starts out as a normal event filled with balloons, clowns, and cheery faces soon turns deadly as one of the floats explodes and gunfire fills the air. Soon, Y/N is in a fight for her life as she and the rest of the deputies fight back against whoever it is trying to take over Downtown Austin.
Is Jensen doomed to watch the woman who brought love back into his life perish in a tragic mass attack, or will he have Something to be Thankful For after all?
AN: Thank you so much for all the love for StbTF! You guys have seriously made my heart so full with your kind words. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO BE ADDED TO MY TAG LISTS!
Chapter 8
TIME STAMP – 9 MONTHS
“This was a good session, everyone,” the counselor said, closing the folder she had in her lap. “I’m proud of the progress each of you are making. I know it’s hard, and it’s still going to take some time, but know you are all doing great. We’ll see you next week.”
Y/N stood up from her chair and waved goodbye to a few of her fellow deputies. The Sheriff made it mandatory those who were involved in the fray on Thanksgiving were to attend counseling sessions. It was met with resistance from many people, but when word got around that the sessions were going to be run by Maya Sonder things changed.
Maya Sonder is a well-known psychologist in law enforcement and had done plenty of presentations regarding PTSD, stress management, and the like. In fact, some of her sessions were required for new deputies who were just starting out. After she led a few of the sessions with those specifically involved in the Thanksgiving shooting, requests came in for more sessions unrelated to that specific incident.
Now, Maya was an employee of the Sheriff’s Office with her own office on property. She had group counseling sessions daily and always had her door open for one-on-one sessions in the case of an emergency. Even civilian employees started to take advantage of her services. It did wonders for the morale of the agency.
Y/N pushed the doors to the administration offices open and walked out of the building, pulling her sunglasses from the top of her head, and placed them over her eyes. Scanning the parking lot, she spotted Jensen leaning against his truck and playing on his phone. Smiling, she made her way over to him. She had been halfway toward him before he looked up and spotted her, a smile gracing his own face.
“Hey, sailor,” she said in a sing-song voice. Jensen chuckled, and when they met in the center of the parking lot, he cupped a gentle hand against her cheek and pulled her in for a deep kiss. Y/N responded with a quiet whimper, rising on her toes to reach him.
“Get a room, you two! This is a business, not a brothel!” they both heard someone shout. Breaking away, they laughed as they turned to look at Trevor as he walked by them on the sidewalk.
“Hey, Trevor,” Jensen said, pulling Y/N into a hug.
“Hey, Jensen. Get her outta here. Enjoy your weekend together,” he said with a wave. Jensen looked down at Y/N in his arms and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Sir, yes sir,” he responded, turning them toward his truck. Jensen kept his arm around Y/N’s shoulder. He opened the passenger side door and helped Y/N step up into his truck before closing the door and going to the driver’s side. When he climbed in, he looked over at Y/N with a cheeky grin.
“Hey, babe,” he said sweetly. Y/N leaned over pressed a kiss to his lips.
“Hey, yourself,” she responded. “Let’s get out of here.”
Jensen nodded and turned the truck on, putting it into drive. He held Y/N’s hand the entire ride home.
It had been a tough 9 months for them. She was finally walking without a limp and breathing without any pain in her chest. The only remaining signs she has from the attack during the Thanksgiving Day Parade are the scars: physical and mental. The bullet wound on her hip was already covered by a tattoo thanks to a trip with her sister. The one her leg is something she will have to live with; there is no covering the damage there. The one on her face is thankfully covered by her hair.
Jensen was still doing his own therapy group up in Vancouver, and sometimes Jared would go with him. A support group for loved ones of Law Enforcement was something that helped both not only understand the heavy physical demands that being an officer requires but also the emotional ones as well. It’s more than PT tests and name-calling. The insight the group was able to give allowed both men to understand why Y/N would react to certain sounds, why she had to sit with her back against a wall, or why she always had a weapon on her person when they went out.
While she did her weekly group therapy with people at the agency, she still did her own therapy outside of the agency once a week as well. Five months later, she still had a hard time accepting the fact that Danny’s death was not her fault. A shooting incident while on a call didn’t help matters much.
Jensen flew back to Austin to surprise Y/N with a long weekend together, only to find her curled up in the corner of their shared bedroom crying hysterically. When he realized what was going on, Jensen dropped his things and approached her.
“Y/N?” he said quietly, cautiously reaching out to her. “Honey?”
When he finally landed a gentle hand on her arm, she startled. Jensen sat back on his haunches to keep from being on the receiving end of a fist, but she didn’t lash out. She started to cry harder.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Jensen asked, reaching a hand up to her cheek. Instead of answering, Y/N reached for him. Jensen sat down on the floor with his back against the wall and pulled Y/N into his lap, pressing her head down on his shoulder. She gripped his shirt tightly with both hands, her sobs getting harsher. He just wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
Suddenly, her cell phone rang. Looking around for the mobile device, Jensen realized her cell phone was on the floor next to them. He reached over and grabbed it without letting go of Y/N, looking at the caller ID before answering it. Maya.
“Hey,” he answered in a strained voice.
“Jensen?” Maya said surprised. “Where is she? Are you with her?”
“What happened? She’s hysterical, and I can’t get her to calm down,” Jensen said.
“Whereareyou?” Maya asked again.
“What the hell happened, Maya? I came home from Vancouver to find my girlfriend in hysterics over something, and I can’t get her to calm down. What is going on?!” Jensen demanded. Maya sighed on the other line.
“We had… an… incident. A domestic violence suspect was barricaded inside his house, refusing to come out. It had been hours before we were able to get him to release his girlfriend and come out. He was able to get a few shots off before we neutralized the threat. No one died, but there are some injuries,” Maya summarized. Jensen closed his eyes and swallowed hard.
He then rattled off his address and hung up the phone, dropping it on the carpet next to him. He wrapped his arms around Y/N and pulled her closer to him, hushing her softly.
“It wasn’t your fault, babe,” he muttered quietly. “Danny wasn’t your fault. Todaywasn’t your fault.”
Y/N just cried harder, her arms wrapping around Jensen and clenching in his shirt behind his back. Jensen was rocking her slowly when he heard his front door open, and a voice calls out. He shouted back at them to direct them to the master bedroom. Moments later, Maya and a tall man were walking into the room.
Jensen glared at them as they carefully made their way over to where they were sitting on the floor. Maya knelt beside them, frowning with deep sorrow in her eyes. When she looked up at the man next to her, he shook his head.
They had come to find out the man who was with Maya was Trevor Benson, Y/N’s lieutenant. He had been worried about how Y/N was acting after the domestic violence scene and had been trying to get in touch with her to do a wellness check. When she didn’t respond, he got Maya involved. It wasn’t until Jensen answered the phone they finally located the hurting deputy.
Maya decided to add an extra counseling session to Y/N’s treatment and asked Trevor to be there. Since he had experience in attacks like what happened on Thanksgiving, and in losing deputies much like how Danny died, Maya thought maybe he could help Y/N learn to forgive herself.
“It’s not something you are ever going to forget, Y/N,” Trevor had told her during one session together. “But you can’t control what people choose to do. In Danny’s case, he chose to go into the open. That’s on him, not you.”
“I could have saved him if I wasn’t injured. He saved me,” Y/N said quietly, her eyes on her hands. “He helped me.”
“Even if you were at 100% Y/N, you were not going to be able to save him. The shot that took him was lethal. I know you want to believe you could have saved him, but sometimes bad things happen to good people. You are not to blame for this.”
The group sessions continued for months. Trevor even escorted Y/N to see Danny’s grave, something she had yet to do because she was feeling so guilty. He held her as she cried her grief and allowed her some time to talk to Danny by herself when she asked for it. After that, she had been doing better.
“Um, Jen?” Y/N suddenly asked. “Where are we going?”
“We’re going to dinner,” Jensen said with a smile. Y/N gave her adorable boyfriend of almost one year a suspicious look and Jensen laughed. “Just relax! Enjoy the evening.”
Jensen pulled up to Wink, one of Y/N’s favorite splurge restaurant’s in Austin. They discovered it one night early in their relationship, and Y/N fell in love with their art, small dishes, and local purchasing. It was something you simply didn’t get from places in Florida, so Y/N immediately fell in love with the place. Y/N’s eyes lit up when she saw where they were.
“Really? What’s the occasion?” she asked excitedly. Jensen chuckled as he handed the keys to the valet and wrapped her arm around his.
“I just wanted to do something nice for us. We deserve it,” he said softly. Y/N melted, kissing Jensen on the cheek as they walked in. He blushed slightly at the display of affection in front of the hostess, who giggled at them, before giving his name for the reservation. The two were escorted to a private table and were handed glasses of red wine immediately.
“What did you do?” Y/N asked suspiciously. Jensen laughed again.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Reservation already made, the wine already here, you’re up to something mister,” Y/N said with raised a brow at him. She took another long sip of her wine causing Jensen to laugh again.
“Just enjoy the dinner, honey,” he said as a plate of appetizers was placed in front of them. The evening went along beautifully as they enjoyed a wonderful meal. It gave them a chance to catch up after he was gone in Vancouver filming. He told stories from the set, and she laughed at the crazy antics. She filled him in on the happenings of Austin and how her sister was thinking of opening a second location near the Sheriff’s office.
Toward the end of the meal, the two were sharing a dessert when a slow song suddenly started playing. Jensen watched Y/N carefully, suddenly feeling insanely nervous.
“Hey, wait a minute…” Y/N said, listening carefully. Jensen set his spoon down and wiped his mouth. “Isn’t this… Oh my God! Jen!”
“Yeah,” Jensen said quietly, standing up. He held out his hand, asking Y/N to stand. With a smile, Y/N took his hand and stood. Jensen smoothly guided Y/N into his arms. Her eyes were soft when she looked at him, his arms wrapping around his waist.
It played out stranger than it seemed But what went down came true Like an all day dream
The two started to slow dance in the small space next to their table, Jensen softly singing the lyrics to his song in Y/N’s ear. Y/N couldn’t stop the smile from playing on her face. Jensen held her closer, his heart fluttering as he heard her voice in his ear singing the lyrics as well.
I don’t want to be the one to say it’s wrong When the heavens open and a new day comes along I know I would rather be together alone In a big top circle and a world we can call our own It’s all our own
Jensen pulled back a little, looking into Y/N’s eyes as they sang the next part together. His fingers gently brushed his fingers into her hair, curling it behind her ear. Y/N rested her forehead against his, her heart so full of love for this man.
In a world we can call our own You’ll find shelter darlin’ Where I’ll always promise to Never let it be
“I love you,” Y/N whispered to Jensen, pressing her lips to his as the song ended. Jensen pulled back and looked at Y/N with so much emotion.
“I can’t imagine my life without you, Y/N,” Jensen said, slowly bringing them to a stop. “The day I saw you in the coffee shop was the best day of my life. The next best day was Thanksgiving when they told me you were alive. You can top both by answering this one question.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet box before dropping to one knee. Y/N’s eyes widened dramatically, her mouth opening in surprise.
“Y/N Y/M/N Y/L/N… Will you marry me?” he asked, opening the velvet box to display a beautiful solitaire ring set in a platinum band with two sapphires on each side of it. Y/N nodded, her eyes filling with tears.
“Yes. Of course, I will marry you,” she whispered. Jensen smiled brightly, standing, and crashed his mouth to hers in a passionate kiss, Y/N’s hands on his cheeks. When they separated, Jensen slipped the ring on her finger while both laughing.
“God, I love you,” Jensen said, kissing Y/N again. Cheers were heard behind them, causing them to separate. Y/N watched as Jared walked up behind Jensen and dropped a hand on his shoulder. Y/N’s eyes lit up and she laughed. Holly walked up and cheered, giving Y/N a hug as well.
Soon, the small area was full of their friends and family. Waiters from the restaurant carried out trays of wine and champagne for the guests, and soon the celebration was underway for the group. Y/N grabbed Jensen’s hand and pulled him outside.
“You okay?” Jensen asked concerned. Y/N just nodded and pulled him in for a passionate kiss. Jensen wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. By the time they separated, they were both panting.
“You are the best thing that ever happened to me,” Y/N breathed. “Thank God I moved to Texas.”
Title – Something to be Thankful For Pairings – Jensen/Reader Word Count – 1,705 Warnings – RATED R FOR: Violence in the form of a mass bombing/shooting, injuries both explained and detailed, cursing SPNMixedBingo Square filled – Thanksgiving
Jensen Ackles’ life changes when he walks into his favorite coffee shop and meets Y/N, a Florida girl making a new start in Austin, Texas, as a Sheriff’s Deputy with the help of her sister. The two hit it off and quickly become an item that even the tabloids can’t tear apart. Jensen is excited to show his girl off at Thanksgiving dinner with his family, but she has to work the parade that morning first. What starts out as a normal event filled with balloons, clowns, and cheery faces soon turns deadly as one of the floats explodes and gunfire fills the air. Soon, Y/N is in a fight for her life as she and the rest of the deputies fight back against whoever it is trying to take over Downtown Austin.
Is Jensen doomed to watch the woman who brought love back into his life perish in a tragic mass attack, or will he have Something to be Thankful For after all?
Chapter 7
Jensen walked into the hospital room slowly; eyes wide and scared as he looked toward the bed. The head of it was lifted a bit more than it had been the last time he was in there, and Y/N was propped up with extra pillows. The nurse that left the room as they walked up had told them a new IV bag, another dose of antibiotics, and pain medication was administered, but Y/N was awake.
Right then, she had her eyes closed as she rested against the pillow behind her head, her hair a halo against the white sheets. As if sensing someone was in the room with her, Y/N slowly opened her eyes with a whimper. From where he was standing, he could see that Y/N was looking around the room without moving her head. When she noticed Jensen, Y/N’s breath caught as her eyes filled once again. The weight in Jensen’s chest lifted slightly seeing her eyes open.
“Hey, baby…” Jensen muttered as he came further into the room.
“Jen,” Y/N breathed, watching as he came closer to her. For what felt like the thousandth time that day, Y/N started to cry as she lifted her hand toward the man she loved. Jensen took it in both of his as he sat in the chair next to her bed. He kissed her fingertips, and then pressed her hand against his cheek. Her skin was cold against his warm skin, but it was still the best feeling he had in the last 12 hours.
“I am so thankful you are okay,” Jensen choked out, his own eyes shining with unshed tears. Y/N simply stared at him, watching him carefully through a haze of pain and drugs. Jensen smiled at her softly before his expression melted into one of sorrow and fear. A wave of guilt crashed over Y/N, causing her eyes to slide shut. She felt a sob escape her, causing her face to scrunch up painfully as tiny stabs of pain danced along her ribs.
“I’m sorry, Jen,” Y/N choked brokenly. Jensen shook his head. “God, I’m so sorry.”
“No,” he whispered back, his own voice cracking. “No, Y/N. Don’t be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry for. I promise. It’s just…Y/N…” Y/N slowly opened her eyes, tears streaming down her guilt-stricken face. She watched as Jensen stood and fiddled with the side railing of the bed until he figured out how to get the thing to lower. Carefully, he sat down on the mattress next to Y/N, whispering his apologies every time she winced. He leaned over to get as close as he could dare to, bringing their faces inches apart, his warm hands cradling her face.
“I thought I lost you today, Y/N,” he whispered. “I thought I lost you without ever telling you just how much I love you. I won’t let another moment go by without saying it again.”
Y/N’s breath catches at the word love, causing her eyes to widen slightly. She blinked a few times, forcing more tears to rush down her face. Jensen brushed them away with his thumbs, pressing a kiss to her forehead before continuing.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to say it, and I’m sorry I’m saying it like this. I know I should have made the moment more romantic and not just after a tragedy, but I almost lost you today,” Jensen said. He paused and looked at you in silence for a long moment, a tear breaking free and running down his cheek unchecked. “I almost lost you today,” he whispered, his breath catching. Y/N lifted a hand to grab a hold of his wrist gently, a small smile playing on her lips.
“I love you too,” Y/N breathed, her own tears spilling. “Before everything happened this morning, I was thinking about how I should tell you. I just didn’t think you felt the same.”
Jensen’s eyes lit up at her words and he delicately pressed his lips to hers, kissing the woman he loves and almost lost. When they separated, they simply stayed close together to share the same air. Y/N sniffled slightly, blinking a few more tears free that Jensen all too eagerly brushed away.
“I’m sorry, Jen,” Y/N whispered again, only to have Jensen hush her gently. He pressed his lips to her forehead.
“I love you so much,” Jensen whispered back, slowly settling himself back into a seated position on the bed. Y/N looked up at him, interlacing her fingers with his. They stared at each other in silence for a long time before Y/N found the strength to speak again.
“I love you, Jen… and I feel like I should warn you. What happened today… what I saw…” she said brokenly.
“No matter what happens, I will help you any way I can,” Jensen said quietly.
“It could get ugly. I’m going to be messed up for a while. I won’t blame you if you want to cut and run now,” she said, dropping her eyes. Jensen leaned down to kiss Y/N once more.
“I love you, and I will help you any way I can. Now get some rest. When they release you, you are going to stay with me.”
“I’m so sorry, Jen,” Y/N whispered again. Jensen shook his head.
“Hey, no. No more of that. None of this was your fault,” he said. “Just get some rest. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
Ten days later, Y/N sat in the wheelchair with her favorite blanket wrapped around her, dressed in the most comfortable pajama pants and a zip-up hoodie she stole from Jensen. She shifted gingerly in the chair, making sure she was as comfortable as she could get before Jared walked back into the room to push her out of the hospital.
“Okay, I think we have everything packed up. Are you sure you don’t want to take the slipper socks? You never know when you’re going to need them,” Holly asked, holding up the ugly pair of red socks with white rubber tread. Y/N gave her sister a dry look.
“No,” Y/N said flatly. Holly nodded and dropped the socks back on the bed with a wry smirk, before zipping up the overnight bag of things that ended up making their way to Y/N’s hospital room. Clothes, blankets, toiletries, and a few electronics like her new phone and charger, and iPad all were packed up.
“Do you have any plans while you are at Jensen’s?” Holly asked with forced nonchalance. Y/N looked down at her hands, picking at her nails.
“They’re on hiatus for the holidays, so I’m just going to relax and enjoy my time with him between my physical therapy appointments,” she mumbled. “Continue with therapy.”
“Danny wasn’t your fault, Y/N/N,” Holly said sympathetically, walking around to face her with the overnight bag.
“Yeah,” she murmured. Y/N looked at her sister with a sad smile, trying to take the bag from her. Holly held it away from her.
“No,” Holly said firmly. “Your ribs aren’t healed yet, and the doctor said you can’t lift anything for three more weeks.”
“I’m not an invalid,” Y/N huffed. Holly shook her head with a sigh.
“No, honey, you’re not. You’re injured. There is a difference,” Holly said, kneeling down to see Y/N face to face. “This isn’t like the school shooting where you were able to walk away with a few bumps and bruises. We almost lost you. I watched you almost get blown up live on television. So if nothing else, humor me and let us take care of you, yeah?”
Y/N watched her sister for a long moment, before looking away with a nod. Holly stood up, slung the overnight bag over one shoulder, and crossed her arms over her chest. Y/N sighed and snuggled down in the blanket around her as Jared walked in.
“Okay, you two. Your paperwork is finished. Jensen is waiting downstairs with Cliff, making sure we can make a clean getaway. Ready to head out?” he asked. Y/N nodded.
“Yeah,” she replied quietly. Holly and Jared shared a concerned glance, but let it go. It was a quiet walk to the front of the hospital with Jared pushing the wheelchair and Holly carrying Y/N’s items. When they got there, Y/N saw Jensen talking with her doctor.
“…and I’m serious about the extra therapy. We’ve got some good doctors here that would be able to help,” she heard the doctor say. Jensen nodded, taking the pamphlets from him before shaking his hand.
“Yes, sir. We’ll be going,” he said. Jensen turned to face Y/N, his entire expression lighting up when he set eyes on her. “Hey, baby.”
“I’m already looking at going to therapy for the attack,” Y/N said, feeling insulted that they were talking behind her back. Jensen shook his head.
“It isn’t for you. It’s for me,” he explained. Y/N mouth opened in surprise.
“Oh,” Y/N muttered in surprise as Jensen knelt next to Y/N. “Are you okay?” she asked him quietly, the concern in her voice evident. Jensen’s smile softened and he took her hand in his, kissing her knuckles.
“I’m fine. I was getting information about a therapy group for loved ones of law enforcement officers. I know we have a rough road ahead of us, and I don’t know the first thing about how to help you. So, when I asked for advice, Dr. Marx suggested this as a starting place I could go to gain some insight from others who are in the same place I am,” he explained. Y/N closed her eyes and felt ashamed of herself. She dropped her head, hiding behind her hair.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I shouldn’t have assumed anything.” Jensen brushed her hair out of the way and carefully lifted her face so he could look into her eyes with a gentle smile. He leaned over and kissed Y/N on the forehead.
“Sweetheart. It’s okay. I told you, I’m here. I know it’s going to be tough” Jensen said. “I just know we’re tougher.” Y/N looked at him lovingly.
“I love you,” she said. Jensen smiled.
“I love you, too,” he replied. “Now, let’s get you home.”
Title – Something to be Thankful For Pairings – Jensen/Reader Word Count – 2,807 Warnings – RATED R FOR: Violence in the form of a mass bombing/shooting, injuries both explained and detailed, cursing SPNMixedBingo Square filled – Thanksgiving
Jensen Ackles’ life changes when he walks into his favorite coffee shop and meets Y/N, a Florida girl making a new start in Austin, Texas, as a Sheriff’s Deputy with the help of her sister. The two hit it off and quickly become an item that even the tabloids can’t tear apart. Jensen is excited to show his girl off at Thanksgiving dinner with his family, but she has to work the parade that morning first. What starts out as a normal event filled with balloons, clowns, and cheery faces soon turns deadly as one of the floats explodes and gunfire fills the air. Soon, Y/N is in a fight for her life as she and the rest of the deputies fight back against whoever it is trying to take over Downtown Austin.
Is Jensen doomed to watch the woman who brought love back into his life perish in a tragic mass attack, or will he have Something to be Thankful For after all?
Chapter 6
Once the doctor was out of the room, the two turned and looked at Y/N. Her pale skin almost matched the crisp white sheets she was laying on, and she looked small underneath the blankets pulled up to her shoulders. Holly moved carefully to sit in the chair next to the bed, reaching over to take the free hand Y/N had available in hers. She tried to ignore how cold Y/N’s skin felt.
“I’m not sure what we are supposed to do now,” Holly whispered brokenly. Jensen released a shaky sigh, moving to stand at the foot of the bed. He stuffed his shaking hands into the pockets of his jeans, hiding just how much this was affecting him. He had to swallow the lump in his throat twice before he was confident his voice wouldn’t crack when he spoke.
“Now, we wait for Y/N to open her eyes,” Jensen said quietly, staring at the woman he had fallen in love with as she lay broken in the hospital bed. His heart was beating hard and fast in his chest, causing him to feel slightly light-headed. The realization that he almost lost her hit him like a sucker punch to the gut. He had to get out of there for a few minutes.
“I’ll give you some time, I’ll be back in a little bit,” he said roughly before turning and walking out. Holly turned to look at him, noticing his tone of voice.
“Jensen?” she called, her voice concerned as she watched the back of his head disappear down the hallway. She frowned, unsure if she should follow him or not. When she turned her head back to look at her sister and stared at her for a long moment. That long moment turned into a minute, then minutes.
Holly settled down in the uncomfortable plastic chair, burrowing herself inside her puffy coat. She leaned her chin in the palm of her other hand, elbow resting on the hard plastic of the arm of the chair. With a deep, long sigh, Holly knew that the only thing that would make Jensen feel better would be Y/N awake and talking to them.
She’d be lying if she said it wouldn’t make her feel better too.
It was over an hour later that a soft whimper caught her attention. Holly had fallen into a light doze, her hand still holding Y/N’s. The sound of something other than beeping was enough to force Holly to open her eyes and stare at Y/N’s face. There was silence for 20 seconds; making Holly think she had imagined it before it happened again. Another whimper accompanied by a squinting of closed eyes.
“Y/N?” Holly whispered to her sister. Silence. Holly leaned back in her chair with a pout, closing her eyes. A few minutes later, it happened again. Another whimper. Holly’s eyes snapped open, and this time she stared at Y/N. She reached over and clasped Y/N’s hand in both of hers, thumbs rubbing gently against the soft skin of her hand. Then she saw it.
Y/N’s face scrunched up slightly, just for a quick second. If she had blinked, she would have missed it. Holly swallowed the laugh that was trying to escape her throat, knowing that this wasn’t a time to celebrate. Her sister may be trying to wake up but it was clear she was in significant pain. Holly leaned forward and moved one of her hands to push back some of Y/N’s hair from her face.
“Y/N…” she said quietly. “It’s okay, Y/N, you’re safe now.”
What sounded like a muffled sob escaped Y/N’s throat, causing Holly to tear up herself. She looked over her shoulder; eyes darting out the door and into the hallway, wishing Jensen was there. When Holly looked back at her sister, something between a gasp and a sob caught in her throat.
Y/N’s eyes were just barely open, clouded in a haze of pain and drugs. Holly smiled through teary eyes as she stared at her broken sister’s face. She couldn’t help but tighten her grip on Y/N’s hand, causing another whimper to escape. Y/N’s eyes closed as tears slowly leaked from her eyes, running down to the pillow her head rested on.
“Hi…” Holly whispered with a sniffle. Y/N’s eyes opened slowly, moved toward her sister, and she stared at her before closing again. She whimpered again, trying to clear her throat. The tears were coming more steadily now, and suddenly Holly clued in.
“Oh, God, Y/N. Are you in pain?” Holly questioned. Y/N nodded slightly, and Holly reached over to the morphine pump and pressed the button. It took a few moments for Y/N to feel the rush of the medication to push through her veins, but soon her tears slowed. The next time she cracked open her eyes, Y/N looked over at her sister with a slight smile.
“Hi…” Y/N mouthed to Holly, causing Holly to cry quietly. Y/N tried to clear her throat and winced, her eyes drooping shut. By the time she was able to open them again, Holly had a cup of water waiting for her. Y/N’s eyes darted up to Holly, laced with drugs and gratefulness, as she opened her mouth a tiny bit. Holly placed the straw into Y/N’s mouth, letting her sip the cool water. To Y/N, nothing felt better than the liquid chasing what felt like a mix of Florida sand and Texas’ dry heat from her mouth.
“You know, we are so late to Jensen’s parents’ place for Thanksgiving Dinner,” Holly joked quietly. Y/N finished sipping from her water, eyes slipping closed again, and Holly put the cup back on the cart. Y/N quirked a lip into a slight smirk.
“Might not be any pie left,” Y/N’s gravelly voice whispered. Holly’s relieved laugh echoed through the room, tears spilling from her eyes.
“That’s my favorite part,” Holly retorted, her voice clogged with tears. The girls fell silent for a few minutes: Holly’s sniffles and the constant beeping of the heart monitor filling the room. Slowly, Y/N opened her eyes once again. She looked at her sister for a long moment before looking down at herself, noticing a brace holding her arm in place across her chest. A sharp spike of pain through her head caused her vision to white out and the world vanished. When she came back to reality, her head was back on her pillow and Holly was staring at her with wide, worried eyes.
“Okay, so, we aren’t going to do that again,” Holly said, an edge of panic laced in her voice. Both Holly and a nurse were arranging blankets back around her, lifting the head of the bed to get her to sit up a bit more than she was. Y/N realized her face was wet belatedly because she had started crying again. Confused and more than a little scared, Y/N turned her wide, frightened eyes to her sister for an explanation on what just happened.
“You’re okay, Y/N. You just have a lot of injuries we need to pay attention to,” Holly said, settling back in the chair she had been sitting in since she got to the hospital hours earlier. She poured more water into the cup for Y/N and let her have a few more sips of it from the straw before setting it back down. Holly stopped then, staring at the cup as if it had a way of giving her the strength she needed. Y/N took this opportunity to close her eyes and rest.
“I thought you were dead,” Holly whispered brokenly.
“Me too,” Y/N quietly whispered back. She tried to open her eyes to look at her sister but could only manage slivers.
“We tried calling you so many times,” Holly said, her breath hitching. Y/N frowned, staring at her sister.
“I… I actually don’t know where my phone is. I don’t remember even getting here,” Y/N responded in a whisper, her tired eyes focusing on her sister. Holly nodded, clutching Y/N’s hand as if that were the only thing proving to her that Y/N was alive. Perhaps it was.
“Okay. I get it.” Holly nodded. They went silent after that, Y/N’s eyes drifting shut. Holly stared at their hands with tears running down her face. When Y/N opened her eyes again a few minutes later and saw her sister not realizing that she was crying, she squeezed Holly’s hand.
“I’m here, Holly,” Y/N whispered again. Holly nodded her response, starting to cry in earnest in her chair. “I made it out alive.”
“I know. I’m just scared,” Holly quietly replied, wiping her eyes. “I almost lost you.”
“I’m sorry,” Y/N answered. Holly shook her head, knowing there was nothing Y/N had to be sorry about. This was the job Y/N chose. This was her life. There was nothing Y/N could have done to stop the attack. Y/N squeezed her sister’s hand, trying to convey the feelings she was too hurt and too drugged to convey with words. She knew her sister understood when she felt a tight squeeze back and saw the small relieved smile on Holly’s face.
“Your boss wants you to get therapy,” Holly said. Y/N quirked a brow, her eyes drifting closed.
“I’m sure,” she said with a slight nod. Y/N already knew therapy was going to be required. There was a lot that happened that day that would leave deep scars on her soul. Much deeper than the school shooting back in Florida. “Is it over now? Did they get the guy?”
“They got him,” Holly said with absolute certainty. “They got all of them. It’s over.” Y/N let out a deep sigh and let her eyes drift shut. It’s only just begun, she thought. After sitting quietly for a few more minutes, Holly sniffled slightly and leaned over to press a soft kiss to her sister’s forehead. This caused Y/N to open her eyes slightly.
“I’m going to go find Jensen and let him know that you are awake,” she said. Y/N’s eyes widened some, hope and more tears filling her eyes. Her breath caught in her throat as she remembered hearing his voice in the room earlier, or what she hoped was his voice.
“Jensen’s here?” Y/N whispered, her tears flowing over. Holly brushed the tears away with a nod before straightening
“Yeah, he was pretty scared too.”
Jensen was staring listlessly out of a window, not really seeing anything when his phone rang. He had been texting with Jared since he got to the hospital to keep him up to date with what was going on, so he automatically figured it was him. He was surprised when he saw who it was across his caller ID.
“Dee?” he answered, his voice gruff and confused. “Everything okay with the kids?”
“Hey. Yeah. Yeah, of course. Yeah, the kids are fine, Jen. I was calling to see how you were doing, how Y/N was doing,” she answered. “I saw what happened on the news and I remembered you saying she was a cop with the Sheriff’s Office.”
Jensen closed his eyes against the wave of grief that washed over him right then, slamming into him for the hundredth time that day. A harsh breath pushed out of his lungs, leaving him breathless as he swallowed the emotion that choked him and stole his voice. At that very moment, he had never been more grateful for the relationship he still had with Danneel, despite their divorce. She was still one of his closest friends and she genuinely cared about him as he cared about her.
Another thing to be grateful for on this horrible, horrible Thanksgiving.
It was during one of their evenings together with the kids that he filled Dee in on his relationship with Y/N. He told his ex-wife all about the new woman in his life while they watched their kids play on the playground, explaining how he wanted to introduce the kids to Y/N in the near future. Dee thought it was a great idea if Y/N was going to be a long-term fixture in his life. She herself wanted to meet the woman who swept Jensen off his feet and put that look of romantic goofiness back in his eyes.
That was a week ago, and it seems so much longer now
“Jen?” he heard her say through the phone. He must have gone silent for longer than he thought. Jensen cleared his throat, trying to gather as much strength as he could.
“She’s…” Jensen started, his voice breaking. He had to pause and take a breath to strengthen his tone. He sounded so broken himself. “She’s hurt pretty bad. Y/N was on the street when the whole thing started and… and she’s pretty messed up.”
“Oh, Jen…” Dee breathed sympathetically into the phone. Jensen turned his gaze out the window once again, staring sightlessly at the evening sunlight. When did it get so late?
“She’s got two gunshot wounds, Dee. She… she actually got shot,” he said distractedly. He heard Dee gasp. “And she was too close to an explosion that gave her a concussion and broken ribs. They did like… I don’t know, thirty stitches in her head alone to close the wound. They had to put her in a brace that makes her arm immobile because she dislocated her shoulder. She might even have a hearing problem from a blown eardrum. I mean, how does that even happen? You get shot in a terrorist attack, but it’s your hearing that might be lost.”
“Oh, honey…” Dee started softly.
“I thought she was dead for so long,” he said quietly. “I was trying to accept the idea of losing her before telling her how I really felt when they told me she was alive. Now, I’m here at the hospital, and she’s alive but…”
“But?” Dee gently pushed. Jensen shook his head.
“But where do I go from here? What do I do now? She’s hurt in so many ways… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. How am I supposed to do this?” he asked, his voice cracking.
“You just need to focus on the fact that she’s alive,” Dee said quietly. “There are a lot of people who lost their loved ones today, but Y/N made it back to you alive. I know you’re scared, and confused, and are looking for some answers but remember: we don’t always get answers to attacks like this. Just like we tell JJ, sometimes we don’t get the answers we want.”
“Yeah,” Jensen mumbled, looking over his shoulder at the figure approaching him.
“Just be thankful that she is alive, Jen. You’ll figure everything else out along the way,” Dee said.
“Hey, Dee, let me call you back. Holly, Y/N’s sister, needs me,” Jensen said as Holly smiled gently at him. She stayed a few steps away to let him finish his conversation.
“Okay. Let me know if you need anything okay? I’ll keep the kids until you’re ready to see them. I know they’ll understand,” she said with a smile in her voice. Jensen shut his eyes as he realized that he was supposed to have his kids for a week.
“Oh, my God, Dee….” He started, but Danneel stopped him.
“No, don’t go there. This is an extreme circumstance that no one could have predicted happening. JJ is already asking questions about it, so she has an idea about what’s going on. I can handle it,” she explained. Jensen still felt guilty.
“I was supposed to give you and Craig a break,” Jensen said guiltily.
“And I said it’s fine. Go see to Y/N and make sure things are okay. Call me later and let me know if there is anything I can do. Okay?” Dee asked. Jensen nodded.
“Okay. Thanks, Dee,” he answered.
“You’re welcome. I love you, Jen.”
“Love you too, Dee. Bye,” Jensen said as he hung up. He took a moment to gather his emotions before turning to Holly. When he did look toward her, he found her leaning against the wall with a sad smile on her face. “What?”
“If I didn’t already know how madly in love with my sister you were, I’d be seriously questioning what you were doing here,” she said. Jensen’s face contorted in confusion. “You really care about Danneel, don’t you?” Understanding colored Jensen’s expression.
“She’s the mother of my children and was my wife for a long time. Those feelings don’t just go away. And we were friends for a long time before that. We still love each other dearly… just, not romantically. Not anything like I do your sister,” Jensen explained. Holly nodded, then tilted her head behind her.
Title – Something to be Thankful For Pairings – Jensen/Reader Word Count – 2,058 Warnings – RATED R FOR: Violence in the form of a mass bombing/shooting, injuries both explained and detailed, cursing SPNMixedBingo Square filled – Thanksgiving
Jensen Ackles’ life changes when he walks into his favorite coffee shop and meets Y/N, a Florida girl making a new start in Austin, Texas, as a Sheriff’s Deputy with the help of her sister. The two hit it off and quickly become an item that even the tabloids can’t tear apart. Jensen is excited to show his girl off at Thanksgiving dinner with his family, but she has to work the parade that morning first. What starts out as a normal event filled with balloons, clowns, and cheery faces soon turns deadly as one of the floats explodes and gunfire fills the air. Soon, Y/N is in a fight for her life as she and the rest of the deputies fight back against whoever it is trying to take over Downtown Austin.
Is Jensen doomed to watch the woman who brought love back into his life perish in a tragic mass attack, or will he have Something to be Thankful For after all?
Chapter 5
It had been hours since the TCSO finally neutralized the violent men that took over the tall building and started blowing up the floats in the Thanksgiving Day Parade in Austin. The news stations continued showing video of the horrific explosions and Holly finally had to turn away before she had her third meltdown of the day.
Both she and Jensen had been frantically calling Y/N for hours and there had been no response. Holly was thinking the worst. Jensen refused to believe it. He promised to give thanks to whatever God was listening if Y/N would just answer her phone… or sent another sign that she was alive.
All eyes turned to the door when it cautiously opened, and you could hear gasps when a uniformed deputy walked in. His eyes scanned the area, darting to the screen that showed news coverage. He frowned thoughtfully at it and then looked at the people watching him once again.
Holly and Jensen stood from where they were at and stepped together, eagerly clutching each other’s hands. Jared’s wide eyes watched from where he stood next to Jensen. Holly was shaking, on the verge of panic. Wasn’t this what they did when they were letting family members know their loved ones had died? Is he here to tell her that Y/N is gone?
“Is there a Holly I can speak to?” the deputy asked politely, his eyes and voice kind. Holly swallowed as all eyes swung to her.
“I’m Holly,” she whispered fearfully. The deputy looked at her sympathetically and nodded, his kind smile widening a bit.
“Do you mind stepping outside with me, so we can speak privately?” the deputy asked, gesturing at the door behind him. Holly’s breath stuttered, and she blinked rapidly to hide the tears that were gathering in her eyes. She nodded, gripping Jensen’s hand tightly before stepping forward. Jensen pulled back on her arm and Holly looked back at him with a sad smile before following the deputy out. Holly stepped out through the door.
“We have tried reaching you over the phone. But given the circumstances surrounding the attack on the Thanksgiving Day Parade, the phone lines have not been working,” the deputy said as she walked up to him. Holly nodded jerkily at his words, holding her breath. Again, that sad smile played on his lips, causing Holly’s breathing to hitch.
“Your sister, Y/N, is currently in the hospital,” the deputy said. Holly sobbed out a breath for a moment, her eyes widening in genuine surprise.
“What…?” Holly breathed.
“Your sister, Y/N…” the deputy started, but Holly interrupted him.
“Is alive…?” she whispered earnestly. The deputy paused, smiled, and nodded.
“Yes. Y/N is alive, Holly. She is in the hospital right now,” the deputy said kindly. Holly closed her eyes and her knees buckled as the relief coursed through her body. The deputy caught her, and Holly rested her head on the Deputy’s shoulder for a second as another sob tore from her chest.
“She’s alive. Oh my God, she’s alive,” Holly chanted under her breath as she tried getting her bearings back. The deputy helped her stand up, holding her until she was able to stand on her own. Suddenly, Holly looked at the deputy in shock.
“I’ve got to tell Jensen. He’s going to be so relieved too,” she muttered, turning to go back into the café. She stopped instantly after just a couple of steps and looked back at the deputy. “Please don’t leave yet. I have to tell Jensen, that’s her boyfriend. He’s been so worried too; we both have been. We thought she was… Please don’t leave yet. I have questions for you. I’m sure he does too. I just need to tell Jensen.”
“I’m not leaving, ma’am,” the deputy said, but Holly was still talking, still crying.
“You have to tell Jensen that she’s alive too,” she pleaded earnestly, sniffling. Her shaking hands reached up and gently wiped at her eyes. “You… You have to tell Jensen that Y/N is alive. Then we have to go see her. We can see her right? At the hospital?”
“I’ve been ordered to bring you to the hospital to see Y/N,” the deputy said patiently. Holly nodded approvingly and turned back to the door of the café.
“Jensen’s coming too,” she said on a hiccup’d sob before going back to the café. “I’ll be right back.”
Jensen’s head shot up from where he had it cradled in his hands when he heard the front door open. He watched with red, teary eyes as Holly came back inside the building. She went behind the coffee counter and grabbed her purse from the cabinet under the register. She then walked toward Jensen and grabbed him by his right wrist. Jensen stared at her with wide eyes, hope and fear swimming in the green pools that stared up at her.
“Holly?” he whispered fearfully.
“I need you to come with me,” Holly said, her voice monotone despite the constant flow of tears pouring from her eyes. Jensen’s expression broke then, his eyes clenching shut. His head dropped and a strangled sob of his own tore from him. A heavy hand landed on his shoulder and squeezed; Jensen knew Jared was standing next to him and offering support.
“I’m so sorry, man,” Jared’s choked voice said. The overwhelming sorrow was thick in his voice, having become close with Y/N over the months that she and Jensen had been dating.
“No,” Holly croaked out. Jared looked over at her confused. “No, she’s… She’s not… She’s… You need to come with me.” Jared understood immediately. A few others in the coffee shop did as well, and an excited murmur broke out among the crowd. Jared helped get Jensen to his feet. Jensen, who was lost in his grief, followed the hands that got him standing and walking out the door of the coffee shop.
Once back outside the building, Holly and Jared dragged Jensen to the deputy who was patiently standing by his patrol car. His sad smile graced his lips as he watched the two bring a grief-stricken Jensen back to him.
“Sir, please…. Please tell Jensen what you told me,” Holly said in her monotone voice. Jensen’s stricken eyes looked up to the young man standing in front of him, his expression tortured.
“Yes, ma’am. Mister Ackles? As I told Holly, we have been trying to reach you over the phone. Given the circumstances surrounding the attack on the Parade, the phone lines have not been working,” the deputy said. “Y/N is currently in the hospital. I’ve been sent here by her lieutenant to pick Holly up and bring her there to see her.”
Jensen’s eyes went from tortured, to wide and hopeful, to filled with disbelief. He turned and looked at Holly who was crying, her eyes filled with raw emotion.
“She’s alive?” Jensen breathed. Holly nodded her head, her expression filled with shock. Jensen repeated the question to Jared, who was smiling and crying himself. At some point, he turned back at the deputy. Jensen swallowed hard and shook his head.
“Y/N… my Y/N… She’s alive?” The deputy smiled and nodded his head.
“Yes, sir. She is. Would you both please join me as we head to the hospital?”
The first thing Y/N was aware of as she clawed herself out of the darkness that was holding her hostage was the steady beeping sound. Beep, beep, beep. The next thing was the soft sounds of conversations and footsteps. Where was she? What was that noise? Then her sense of smell slowly came back to her. Medicinal and clean. Too clean, like bleach and… some other cleanser she couldn’t identify. And something was in her nose… giving her oxygen. A hospital? Yes. A hospital. She was in a hospital. Relief flooded her.
The next thing she became aware of was the pain. Oh, God…
It was everywhere. Her head, her chest, her hip, her leg, her arms… Everything hurt. It hurt to breathe, it hurt to just be there in the bed, it hurt to be awake. If she was in a hospital, why the hell was she in so much pain?Someone, please, make it stop. A whimper escaped her lips, and suddenly she felt someone grab her hand. She flinched, trying to pull away. Even that hurt.
“Y/N? Are you with us right now?” a soft male voice spoke to her. Another whimper escaped her, and a tear fell from her eye. She felt warm fingers caress the tear away, lingering on her cold skin. The soft sounds of a conversation occurred around her even though she couldn’t respond to what was being said.
“Are you in pain, Y/N?” the male voice asked. More tears fell from her closed eyes, more whimpers coming from her. She tried to nod her head, but she wasn’t sure if it happened. “Okay, we’re going to fix that right now, okay? Just hang on a second.” A few moments later, Y/N felt something rush through her body. Slowly, the fiery pain began to fade away and she sighed in relief as weightlessness engulfed her. She felt herself slowly start to slip away once again.
“It’s okay, Y/N… It’s all going to be okay…” she heard a distant voice say. She couldn’t respond even if she wanted to. The blissful darkness where the pain was a distant memory was pulling her back under. She wanted to go into its nothingness and escape again.
The next time Y/N became aware of her surroundings, she felt the warm buzz of drugs in her system keeping the pain at bay. She was grateful this time they got the medications right and took a moment to linger in the blissful place between wakefulness and unconsciousness when she heard voices once again. This time, it wasn’t just the soft sounds of murmured conversations, but voices she recognized and words she understood.
“…severe concussion. I think it happened during the explosion that threw her back. We can find out more when she wakes up. That explosion is also most likely where the broken ribs and dislocated shoulder came from as well. It looks like they put the shoulder back in place while out in the field. The brace is to keep her immobile as the muscles heal.”
“There are a lot of stitches on her face…” she heard a timid female voice say. Holly?
“Yes. We think that laceration was where she hit her head on the concrete. It’s very close to the hairline so if it does scar, her hair will hide it. She did have two bullet injuries we had to clean and sew up. One was on her hip where she got grazed by a bullet and the other was along her calf,” the unknown voice said. That had to be the doctor, right? Right? Y/N felt the blankets resting on her lift and expose her leg. She felt fingers brush against whatever bandage was there.
“This one was much deeper. Both, unfortunately, will leave scars,” the alleged doctor said, placing the blankets back over her body. There was rustling in the room, then a long moment of silence.
“Are there any other injuries we should know about?” a male’s voice asked. Jensen? Oh, God Jensen, are you here?
“We stitched up the worst of the abrasions, and she will need to see an audiologist to make sure the explosion didn’t do long-term damage to her hearing. Her eardrum burst, but that happens often when you are close to something like that. Otherwise… Y/N is incredibly lucky. She should make a full recovery in about 8 to 10 weeks,” the doctor said.
“Thank you so much,” Holly responded, her voice clogged with tears and emotion.
“Thank you, Doctor,” Jensen’s voice said, his voice softer and lower than she had heard it in a long, long time.
“If you need anything, the nurses know how to page me. She should be able to go home in a few days if she feels up to it. At most, she’ll be here for a week,” the doctor said before walking out of the room. Well,Y/N thought to herself, now would be a good time to try and open my eyes…
Title – Something to be Thankful For Pairings – Jensen/Reader Word Count – 1,146 Warnings – RATED R FOR: Violence in the form of a mass bombing/shooting, injuries both explained and detailed, cursing SPNMixedBingo Square filled – Thanksgiving
Jensen Ackles’ life changes when he walks into his favorite coffee shop and meets Y/N, a Florida girl making a new start in Austin, Texas, as a Sheriff’s Deputy with the help of her sister. The two hit it off and quickly become an item that even the tabloids can’t tear apart. Jensen is excited to show his girl off at Thanksgiving dinner with his family, but she has to work the parade that morning first. What starts out as a normal event filled with balloons, clowns, and cheery faces soon turns deadly as one of the floats explodes and gunfire fills the air. Soon, Y/N is in a fight for her life as she and the rest of the deputies fight back against whoever it is trying to take over Downtown Austin.
Is Jensen doomed to watch the woman who brought love back into his life perish in a tragic mass attack, or will he have Something to be Thankful For after all?
Chapter 4
Holly clutched at her necklace as she watched the television screen. Her heart raced, not knowing where her sister was in that mess. The news was calling it a terrorist attack; something she was certain her sister wouldn’t see as a law enforcement officer.
“Holly…” she heard a familiar voice say. With wide, scared eyes, Holly turned and looked into the terrified face of Jensen, who had Jared in tow.
Holly slowly turned her head to look back at the news, just as the news chopper on screen captured another explosion at the parade happening downtown. Holly gasped as they watched a deputy get thrown by the explosion. At the same time, the chopper flew at a dangerous angle to get out of the way of the flames that were flying upward. The screen flicked back to two stricken-looking anchors on set.
“Holy shit,” Jared breathed.
“I don’t know where Y/N is,” Holly whispered.
“Okay, I’ve about had it with these douchebags,” Danny muttered. Y/N shook her head.
“Whatever you are thinking, don’t do it,” her rough voice ground out. She was leaning back against the car, eyes closed.
“I say we head in that direction. Cause a distraction. Give SWAT a chance to get into that building. Take out the fuck face that is blowing these bombs up. We’ve gotta end this.” Another male voice said with a shake of his head.
“No. Let’s just stay here. We are outgunned. SWAT has armor and we don’t,” Y/N said.
“Yeah, but some of us got military experience,” a third voice said. “We’ve beat these odds before.”
“I have a dislocated shoulder and a concussion,” Y/N said. “Danny, you have what I’m sure is a busted knee based on how you are moving. You, dude I don’t know, that has got to be a gunshot wound in that arm. And SWAT is right there.” Everyone turned to look at where she was pointing, the large armored vehicle speeding down the destroyed street.
“Just give them another minute,” Y/N pleaded.
“Then we can keep ‘em distracted,” Danny said, getting ready to run. The rest of the guys crouched and double-checked their weapons.
“No. C’mon, just wait,” Y/N warned. She grabbed Danny’s arm with her good hand, moving to a squat anyway. She already knew she lost the men to this daredevil idea. “Don’t do this. This is signing your death warrant.”
“You stay here and get the two on the right, Newbie,” he said with a cocky smirk, wiggling his brows. He then darted out into the open, three other deputies on his heels. Gunfire erupted.
Y/N cursed, jumping up and firing with one arm clutched to her chest. She watched as one of the two she was targeting went down and as she aimed at the second, she glanced at Danny. He got three shots off before he took a bullet to the left side of his neck.
The blood spay was large, and she forced herself to look away. She knew he’d be dead before his body hit the ground, and that pain was channeled into her trigger finger as she rapid-fire shot at the assholes who ruined what was supposed to be a cake assignment.
Holly, Jensen, Jared, and the rest of the patrons at The Last Drip watched in horror as the carnage unfolded on the television screen in front of them. Holly didn’t realize that she was crying silent tears until Jared handed her some tissues. Holly took them with a nod of thanks.
“I’m so sorry, I’m just so scared,” Holly muttered quietly. Jared shook his head.
“You have every right to be,” he said, before turning to look at Jensen. Both saw how rigidly he held himself, eyes glued to the screen with hopes of catching just a glimpse of the woman that had taken his heart. “You aren’t the only one, either.”
“What am I supposed to do if she dies? She’s my sister, the only family I have left,” Holly muttered softly, her eyes focused back on the television screen. “I don’t know how to live without her.”
“She’ll make it home,” Jared said. “She has to. She has a very special Christmas to look forward to.”
Y/N leaned back against the vehicle she was hiding behind and did a quick inventory.
Concussion? Check.
Dislocated shoulder, crudely put back in place? Check.
Massive hearing issue and bleeding from one ear? Check.
What is going to be a fantastic pattern of bruising on her back? Check.
Countless scratches and cuts, including a gouge at her hip where she got grazed by a stray bullet? Check, Check, and Check.
There was also that strange burning sensation in her leg that she hadn’t looked at yet. Overall, Y/N was starting to feel the blood loss and the concussion, her adrenaline running dangerously low. She was collapsed behind an overturned car, her head resting against the side panel. However, she heard footsteps fast approaching where she was hiding. She knew if she wanted to see Jensen or Holly again, she had to find some kind of reserve energy to lift her arm and aim her gun at the man heading toward her.
The relief that raced through her veins when it was a Tavis County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team member that turned the corner caused her to lose consciousness completely.
It had been hours since they finally neutralized the men that caused the attack on the Thanksgiving Day Parade in Austin. The news stations continued showing video of the explosions and Holly finally had to turn away before she had her third meltdown of the day.
Both she and Jensen had been calling Y/N for hours and there had been no response. Holly was thinking the worst. Jensen refused to believe it. He promised to give thanks to whatever God was listening if Y/N would just answer her phone… or sent another sign that she was alive.
All eyes turned to the door when it opened, and you could hear gasps when a uniformed deputy walked in. His eyes scanned the area, darting to the screen that showed news coverage. He frowned at it and then looked at the people watching him once again.
Holly and Jensen stood from where they were at and stepped together, clutching each other’s hands. Jared’s wide eyes watched from where he stood next to Jensen. Holly was shaking, on the verge of panic. Wasn’t this what they did when they were letting family members know that their loved ones had died? Is he here to tell her that Y/N was gone?
“Is there a Holly I can speak to?” the deputy asked kindly, his eyes and voice kind. Holly swallowed as all eyes swung to her.
Title – Something to be Thankful For Pairings – Jensen/Reader Word Count – 1,644 SPNMixedBingo Square filled – Thanksgiving
Warnings – RATED R WARNINGS BEGIN THIS CHAPTER: Violence in the form of a mass bombing/shooting, injuries both explained and detailed, cursing
Jensen Ackles’ life changes when he walks into his favorite coffee shop and meets Y/N, a Florida girl making a new start in Austin, Texas, as a Sheriff’s Deputy with the help of her sister. The two hit it off and quickly become an item that even the tabloids can’t tear apart. Jensen is excited to show his girl off at Thanksgiving dinner with his family, but she has to work the parade that morning first. What starts out as a normal event filled with balloons, clowns, and cheery faces soon turns deadly as one of the floats explodes and gunfire fills the air. Soon, Y/N is in a fight for her life as she and the rest of the deputies fight back against whoever it is trying to take over Downtown Austin.
Is Jensen doomed to watch the woman who brought love back into his life perish in a tragic mass attack, or will he have Something to be Thankful For after all?
Chapter 3
Y/N laughed quietly as she watched the group of people cheering on one side of the railing. Her trained eyes scanned for anything that was out of the ordinary. Danny was a decent guy: a typical full-blooded Texan who liked mudding, and hunting. He wasn’t her type though. Not like the actor-slash-musician she had grown to dearly love.
She turned her attention back to her partner for the morning; he was waxing philosophically about his latest hunt and the twelve-point buck he got while watching the street to her back. The local parade had started roughly an hour ago, with balloons of beloved cartoon characters floating by and colorful floats carrying local homecoming queens slowly cruising along the street.
“I’m telling you, Y/N. You ain’t done nothing in Texas until you been hunting,” Danny drawled out. Y/N shook her head, looking over her shoulder.
“I refuse to go shoot my own turkey when I can just buy one at the grocery store,” Y/N replied.
Before Danny could even respond, it happened. The violent explosion caught them off guard, momentarily stunning the law enforcement officers. One of the floats exploded into a ball of flame. Colorful bits of paper, car parts, and who knows what else was thrown into the panicked crowds of people watching.
People were running frantically in every direction, screaming, and crying hysterically. The acrid smell of smoke filled the air as fire raged. Odd pieces of twisted metal fell from the sky as it flew up and out from the brightly decorated truck that exploded. Y/N and Danny both darted off in that direction immediately, shouting at the terrified people running frantically by them to get as far away as possible.
They started hearing the gunfire when they were directing the people fleeing to safety.
Holly politely handed the couple their drinks and pastries with a pleasant smile and started to wipe down the counter. They finally slowed down a little bit now that the parade started rolling by. The café was filled with some of the usual folks who wanted to come by and show their support on Thanksgiving, the television on its usual music station.
Holly turned to properly clean some of the equipment as one of her longtime employees went around to pick up some of the coffee cups that had been left behind. Humming to herself, she missed the murmurs behind her until someone had frantically asked to turn up the volume on the television.
“What? Why?” Holly asked as she turned and looked. She glanced at the television and saw a news organization was breaking in on the music channel. That’s odd, she thought. She reached behind her to grab the controller and turned the volume up. What she heard made her stomach drop.
“We don’t have much information right now, Scott. All we can confirm is that at least one of the parade floats has exploded and there is currently a shootout happening on Firth Avenue in Downtown Austin…”
“What the actual fuck is going on?” Danny shouted furiously as he dove behind a nearby vehicle. Glass shattered above him as gunshots relentlessly followed him down. Y/N followed him, diving down to the sidewalk, and involuntarily putting a hand over her head. When the gunshots stopped, she shook the shattered glass out of her disheveled hair.
“Does someone hate turkey and gravy that much they have to blow up a parade?” she questioned under her breath. Danny glanced at her before looking critically over the hood of the vehicle, desperately trying to discern where the violence was coming from.
“You have any mass casualty training?” he asked grimly. Y/N nodded, swallowing the overwhelming fear threatening to overtake her.
“Yeah, there was a school shooting back in Florida. You?” she asked. Danny nodded wearily.
“Mall shooting way back in the day,” he said. They had looked at each other for a few moments before another explosion occurred, screams by people who were still in the area exclaiming once again. They both ducked down for cover, Y/N jumping slightly when a large piece of a truck landed near her.
“Jesus Christ,” she muttered savagely, staring incredulously at the metal. Y/N looked over at Danny with wide eyes.
“That was a little close,” Danny said unsteadily. Y/N nodded her agreement.
“Yeah,” she merely said.
“What’s happening?” someone asked in a timid voice as she anxiously watched the screen. Holly nervously shook her head, not answering her. She couldn’t find her voice. It was silent in the café, no one was speaking. Instead, they were just listening to the news reporters and anchors tell them nothing because they didn’t know anything.
And still, in the distance, they could hear violent explosions.
“Y/N’s out there,” Holly whispered fearfully.
“We don’t even know what’s happening out there, or where there is,” someone said nervously. Holly shook her head.
“Y/N’s out there. I know it.”
Y/N was crouched behind a battered pickup truck that used to be a high school science float, looking over her shoulder at the chaotic scene ahead of her. After taking a few moments to get herself together, she remembered her training and got herself in gear. She wasn’t alone among the terrorists that were blowing the parade up. She had other deputies by her side, and they all were ready to take the enemy down.
There was twisted metal and smoke everywhere. The scent of blood, gasoline, and smoke filled the air. The sounds of gunfire and exploding gas tanks randomly broke through the screaming of people running to safety. Y/N was working with three other deputies, trying to get closer to a building they thought was the headquarters of this operation.
None of the exploding vehicles were near it.
Glancing over the hood of the car, she spotted a face covered with a mask near the front of the local news van. Moving quickly, she squeezed off three rounds and watched with morbid satisfaction as the guy went down. She knelt and grabbed her radio.
“One down by the Local 4 truck, unknown how many are still here,” she shouted.
“I count at least six at the front of the McDonald’s Float,” she heard Danny’s voice say, rough and scratchy over the radio.
“Roger, trying to make my way to you. Dispatch, how long till back up is here? We’ve got a lot of fatalities out here,” Y/N heard another voice say. Just then gunfire lit up the area, drowning out whatever dispatch was desperately trying to tell her.
“Mother fucker…” Y/N grit out as she ducked her head down. Seconds later, she scarcely heard another horrific explosion go off – this one closer to her. She felt herself lift and fly a few feet before slamming on the ground hard, her head bouncing off the concrete. Her hearing was nothing but a painful high-pitched tone, her head aching. With a sob in her throat, Y/N clenched her eyes shut against the pain that ricocheted through her. She tried to get her body to cooperate, opening her eyes just enough to see a blur of color through her tears.
Through blurred vision, she saw what she thought were flames. A person in a mask was running toward her. Was that a weapon pointed her way…? She had to move, to lift her own weapon, but her body felt like it was moving through quicksand, her brain muddled as it throbbed in time with her heart. Suddenly the mask was hit by a bullet, then two before going down. A hand grabbed her by the back of her shirt and hauled her back behind a charred vehicle. Her eyes drifted closed again, the tears leaking out before she opened her eyes again.
“….Danny” she muttered low once she realized who grabbed her. Danny was yelling something at her, but she just shook her head trying to get her senses back. She watched dazedly as Danny pulled out a handkerchief and wrapped it around her head. Her head lolled on her neck; it throbbed painfully still.
“…. Okay, just stay with me. SWAT should be here in 90 seconds,” she finally heard as Danny tightened the bandana. Y/N sighed in relief, closed her eyes, and squeezed Danny’s wrist in understanding. She swallowed hard to keep the nausea that came with concussions at bay, resting against the vehicle protecting them.
“Who the fuck are these guys and what the hell do they want?” she heard a voice say. Danny shook his head as he fired off a few more rounds. He dropped the empty clip from his gun, sliding in a full one.
“No idea, but they have some serious firepower with them. This ain’t a homemade operation. These guys are professionals,” he said. Y/N groaned as she sat up, her hand gripping her shoulder. Danny looked at her, meeting her eyes first then glancing at her shoulder. He noticed when he pulled her back that it looked out of place but didn’t say anything. He was focused more on getting the bleed on her head under control and getting her back with reality. Now that she was a bit more with it, they had to get that shoulder back in place if she had any chance of being able to fight back. Y/N nodded at him.
“Okay,” she said wearily. Danny sized her up, placing one hand on her bruised back, the other on her wounded shoulder. Y/N focused her gaze on the bullet holes in ruined the wall of a building behind her, forcing herself to breathe deeply.
“On three… one, two…” he said, viciously snapping her shoulder back into place. Her agonized scream of pain was drowned out by the eruption of errant bullets over their heads.
Title – Something to be Thankful For Pairings – Jensen/Reader Word Count – 1,459 Warnings – RATED R FOR LATER CHAPTERS: Violence in the form of a mass bombing/shooting, injuries both explained and detailed, cursing SPNMixedBingo Square filled – Thanksgiving
Jensen Ackles’ life changes when he walks into his favorite coffee shop and meets Y/N, a Florida girl making a new start in Austin, Texas, as a Sheriff’s Deputy with the help of her sister. The two hit it off and quickly become an item that even the tabloids can’t tear apart. Jensen is excited to show his girl off at Thanksgiving dinner with his family, but she has to work the parade that morning first. What starts out as a normal event filled with balloons, clowns, and cheery faces soon turns deadly as one of the floats explodes and gunfire fills the air. Soon, Y/N is in a fight for her life as she and the rest of the deputies fight back against whoever it is trying to take over Downtown Austin.
Is Jensen doomed to watch the woman who brought love back into his life perish in a tragic mass attack, or will he have Something to be Thankful For after all?
Chapter 2
I don’t want it to be Thanksgiving yet. Wasn’t it just Halloween? Y/N read on her mobile phone as she stood in her bathroom, getting ready for work. She smirked at the text message from Jensen and typed out a quick reply.
What are you complaining about? You get to stay in that warm bed and sleep in. I’m the one who has to go stand out in the cold for like 6 hours. Carefully setting her phone down, Y/N focused on making sure all the strands of her hair were tucked up in the French braid she styled her long locks into and off the collar of her shirt as the uniform code required. She was carefully checking her make-up one last time when her phone chirped a reply.
I’m lonely in this warm bed. You should have stayed the night, he replied promptly. Her smirk grew into a full-on grin. Gently shaking her head, she replied.
If I did stay the night, then I would end up late to call. Again. That was a glorious morning, and she would have been happy to repeat it. Instead of spending the 45 valuable minutes getting ready to leave, she willingly spent them in the shower with Jensen. She invariably ended up showing up 15 minutes late to the briefing with wobbly legs, still wet hair, and a few beard burns on the inside of her thighs.
I’d be happy to make a repeat performance of that morning anytime you want, sweetheart. Just get that tight ass back here in my bed, he replied eagerly.
Maybe I’ll stay the night tonight after Thanksgiving dinner with your parents. How’s that? Y/N responded before setting her phone down to make sure her shirt fitted correctly across her bulletproof vest. Grabbing her phone and walking out of her bathroom, she felt the buzz of his reply.
It’s a date, he sent. Y/N felt herself smile widely before sliding the phone into her back pocket. Their first date was the day they met at her sister’s coffee shop. Their second date was the next night. It went on like that for a few days before they shared their first kiss. It was a few weeks later when a photographer caught them. The next day, a celebrity rag ran the photo of them sharing a kiss in front of a fountain in Austin with the headline “Jensen Ackles Post Divorce Fling!”
Feeling wrecked, Y/N waited for the inevitable to come. She was certain he was coming over and telling her that he couldn’t be with her because of the publicity. She was genuinely shocked when he shrugged the article off as no big deal.
“So they ran the story before I could formally ask you to be my gorgeous girlfriend. Nothing they wrote changes how I feel about you,” Jensen said with a shrug that afternoon when he showed up at her place. Y/N looked at him in surprise, making Jensen stare at her. “What?”
“I just… I expected you to tell me you had to stop seeing me is all,” Y/N said quietly, staring off into the distance, trying to wrap her head around what was happening.
“Do you want to stop seeing me?” Jensen asked, suddenly very nervous. Y/N shook her head sharply, snapping out of her reverie.
“No!” she exclaimed fiercely, causing Jensen to let out a startled chuckle. Y/N instantly closed her eyes, intentionally took a deep breath, and looked at Jensen. “No. I don’t want to stop seeing you. I was just afraid the unfavorable publicity was causing you or your… publicist… or… whatever stress. I mean, it’s only been a few weeks and suddenly there’s a big deal about how a TV show superstar shouldn’t be dating a cop,” she said quietly, her voice sneering a little when she mentioned her occupation. Jensen took Y/N into his arms with a soft smile and rested his forehead on hers, forcing her to look up into his emerald eyes.
“I may have only known you a short while, Y/N, but I already know how I feel. I want to see where this goes. I don’t give a rat’s ass what any celebrity magazine, publicist, or whatever has to say about it. And I don’t have a problem dating a cop. I appreciate your concern about this, but I actually want to make this official, if you’d have me,” he breathed. The radiant smile that graced Y/N’s face lit up her y/e/c eyes.
“Really?” she asked tentatively. Jensen gently pressed a chaste kiss to her mouth.
“Really,” he confirmed.
“I can’t imagine us being anything else than together,” she whispered tenderly to him. His delighted grin widened before he pressed his lips against hers again, deepening the kiss that left them both breathless. When they broke apart, they were panting.
“You know, I…” Y/N started, her eyes wide as they stared up at Jensen. She never finished her possible declaration, but Jensen nodded slowly in agreement anyway. He knew what she was about to say because he felt the same way.
“Yeah, me too,” he replied eagerly. That was precisely four months ago, and they are still going as strong as ever. Now it was Thanksgiving, and Y/N was heading out to work a security detail at the annual parade while Jensen got to sleep comfortably in his warm bed. Jealous, party of one.
Glancing at the clock as she walked out of her bedroom, she noticed that it ticked close to 4:15am. That gave her just enough time to grab her gear, grab a coffee, and head downtown to be at the meet location at 5am. She picked up the key to her safe and unlocked it to pull out her service weapon, two extra magazines, and her agency-issued taser. Sliding them into place, she turned and grabbed her radio and earpiece to do the same with them. Snagging her agency-issued laptop and her jacket, she walked out her front door, then skipped down the steps to the door that led her to the café.
“Got your coffee ready, Y/N!” she heard Holly shout at her as she carefully locked the private door to the stairs. Y/N snagged the paper cup out of her hand without missing a step.
Holly was already in the café with one of her employees, getting it ready for the onslaught of parade watchers who were sure to be heading downtown in just a few hours. She planned to take full advantage of all the people heading out in the cold weather thanks to a freak cold front by graciously offering discounted coffee and tea.
“Thanks, girl! Love you, Holly!” Y/N called out as she walked toward the door.
“Love you too! Be safe!” Holly yelled back.
“I’m on parade security, what’s there to worry about?” Y/N said, laughing. Holly promptly stopped what she was doing, turned at her sister, and glared fiercely. Y/N held her hands up in surrender and nodded understandingly. “You’re right, I’m sorry. Anything could happen. I’ll do my best to remain safe, I promise. I’ll call you when I’m done and heading back.”
“You had better,” Holly said, pointing a knife in her direction before she went back to cutting whatever she was cutting. Y/N shook her head with a smile as she left the café and walked over to the side lot where her patrol vehicle was. Reaching into her pocket, she pushed the button on the key fob that unlocked the doors. At the beep, she opened the front door.
She placed her coffee into the cup holder and pulled her phone out of her back pocket. She dropped into her seat and set her laptop up on the stand before opening it and turning it on. As it booted up, she sent out one last text.
About to head out to the parade. Stay warm for me, okay? And go back to sleep! Why are you even awake?? She tapped out on her phone to Jensen. She looked over and saw that her portable computer was up, so she logged in. Once it was set up, she pulled the car radio up and turned over the engine.
“3888, Travis,” she properly said into the portable radio.
“3888,” she heard back. Her mobile phone buzzed at the same time. She reached over to grab it as she called back.
“3888, I’m 10-8. Heading downtown for parade briefing but available if necessary,” she responded as she opened her text messages.
I’m awake to see my favorite girl off to work. Stay safe out there, love. I can’t wait to see you later today.
“3888, 10-4,” the distinctive voice said. Y/N let herself swoon to the new nickname Jensen had taken to affectionately calling her: pressing her phone to her chest, letting her head fall back against the headrest, and smiling herself silly. After her moment, she focused on the job at hand. Today was going to be a breeze.
Jensen Ackles’ life changes when he walks into his favorite coffee shop and meets Y/N, a Florida girl making a new start in Austin, Texas, as a Sheriff’s Deputy with the help of her sister. The two hit it off and quickly become an item that even the tabloids can’t tear apart. Jensen is excited to show his girl off at Thanksgiving dinner with his family, but she has to work the parade that morning first. What starts out as a normal event filled with balloons, clowns, and cheery faces soon turns deadly as one of the floats explodes and gunfire fills the air. Soon, Y/N is in a fight for her life as she and the rest of the deputies fight back against whoever is trying to take over Downtown Austin.
Is Jensen doomed to watch the woman who brought love back into his life perish in a tragic mass attack, or will he have Something to be Thankful For after all?
Title – Something to be Thankful For Pairings – Jensen/Reader Chapter 1 Word Count – 1,742 Warnings – RATED R FOR LATER CHAPTERS WHICH WILL INCLUDE: Violence in the form of a mass bombing/shooting, injuries both explained and detailed, cursing SPNMixedBingo Square filled - Thanksgiving
Jensen walked into his usual coffee shop with a smile on his face. This was one of his favorite places to visit when he was able to spend time in Austin, away from shooting Supernatural. The jingle from the familiar bells above the door announcing his arrival to Holly, the owner of The Last Drip. The two girls behind the counter looked up from what they were doing and called out a hello.
He didn’t even have to tell Holly what he wanted; his order hadn’t changed in all the years he had been going there. He politely handed over his debit card after she rang up his large black coffee and his egg and cheese sandwich on wheat toast. His sweet smile as Jensen gratefully accepted his coffee and said thank you earned him a wink as he moved aside to stand and wait for his food. As he waited, he looked thoughtfully around the café.
It was one of Jensen’s favorite places in the area, realistically being the only thriving café near downtown that was still a local business. Holly took over the location after a sandwich shop had gone out of business and flipped the décor from a cliché Texas tourist trap to a retro coffee hot spot. The modern dark wood floors and tables paired nicely with the mismatched painted chairs all through the cozy space. Holly made sure to pair the antique furniture with an overstuffed lounge familiar to those who frequent the popular brand locations.
Jensen genuinely loved it. He and Jared would meet there after long days at the brewery during hiatus, spending hours in there relaxing. Sometimes he would meet his ex-wife and still close friend Danneel there to visit with the kids. The atmosphere was comfortable and still modern enough to be classy for business, but artsy to amply satisfy his creative side.
As he was looking around, an unfamiliar woman caught his eye. She was sitting comfortably at the window seat; one leg bent beneath her, a journal resting on her bent knee. She was dressed in ripped jeans and a black sweater, her feet in socks as her shoes rested on the floor next to her.
“Your usual breakfast sandwich,” Holly said, handing the item out.
“Who’s the new girl in the window seat?” Jensen asked Holly as he took his breakfast from her. “I haven’t seen her around here before.” Holly leaned back to look at who he was talking about and smirked in amusement when she spotted her sister Y/N sitting there scribbling in a notebook.
“That? Oh, that’s Y/N, my sister from Florida. She just moved to Austin to work with the Sheriff’s Office. You should go say hi!” Holly exclaimed enthusiastically. Jensen stared at Y/N and smiled fondly.
“Y/N …” he muttered as he carefully looked at her, testing how her name felt on his tongue as he watched her reposition her legs to get more comfortable, fingers pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
“Jensen… Jensen?” Holly said with a smirk. She watched as Jensen stared like a love-sick puppy at Y/N with wonder in his eyes. Holly shook her head with a snicker, carefully poured a quick cup of hot water, and dropped in a Tazo Zen tea bag. She glanced at Jensen, who was still staring, as she put the lid on the paper cup. Setting the cup in front of him, she snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Hey, Romeo!”
“Huh? What?” he asked, startling and looking over at her. He realized that he was staring at Holly’s sister and got embarrassed. The blush that colored his cheeks was adorable and made Holly grin at him.
“Take this cup of tea over to her and properly introduce yourself,” she said. When he didn’t take the drink, she scooted the cup closer to him. Holly smirked, putting a hand on her hip. Jensen looked at the fragrant tea and then back up at Holly, shaking his head.
“No. I mean, should I? She looks busy,” he said cautiously, looking over at her again. Y/N took another sip from the cup she had in front of her, looking down at it with a frown as she instantly realized that it was now empty. Holly’s smirk turned into a kind smile, aware of Jensen’s shy side. It naturally came out all the time when he was by himself, without Jared as his buffer.
“Yes, you should. Take that with you. Make a good impression, Handsome,” Holly said softly. With a reassuring nod, turning away to make another customer’s coffee. Jensen looked at the tea Holly put in front of him and sighed. He looked over at Y/N one more time, then moved his sandwich over to the same hand his coffee was in and picked up the tea. Slowly and cautiously, he walked over to where Y/N was sitting. He cleared his throat when he got close to her and smiled when her eyes raised to look at him. Jensen blushed when he noticed the surprised recognition in her eyes.
“Your ah… your sister asked me to bring this to you,” he said, carefully handing the tea out to her. Y/N’s eyes widened as she pointed eagerly to him.
“You… you’re Jensen Ackles…” she said softly. Jensen chuckled a little and nodded his head.
“Yeah,” he said humbly, holding out the paper cup a little farther. Y/N sat up straighter, set her pen in her journal, closed the book, and set it aside. She reached out to carefully take the paper cup he was brought her.
“Jensen Ackles is bringing me…” she lifted the lid of the cup he handed her. “…my favorite tea.” Jensen laughed wryly at this and shook his head. She looked back up at him. “Wow.” Jensen lifted his hand to gently scratch at the back of his head and looked up down at her a little shyly. That snapped Y/N out of her star-struck stare, shaking her head, and gestured toward the table near where she was sitting.
“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry. I’m an idiot. Hi. Please, sit down. Thank you for the tea. I’m Y/N Y/L/N. You…” she stuttered out. Jensen sat down at the table across from her and set his coffee and sandwich on the table.
“I take it you know who I am, but yeah… I’m Jensen. You’re a fan?” he asked tentatively. Y/N nodded.
“Huge fan. Since season 1. It’s my guilty pleasure,” Y/N said. Holly watched as they started talking, smiling to herself. Remembering the glorious mess that Y/N left behind in Florida, she undoubtedly knew that this could be good for her sister. Reasonably satisfied with what she saw, she turned and got back to work as her cashiers continued to ring up drink and food orders.
“So, Holly said something about you moving here from Florida?” Jensen said, opening the wrapper to his breakfast sandwich. Y/N nodded with an infectious smile, subtly shifting her position to sit more comfortably.
“Yeah, I uh… went through a bad break up about a year after and naturally needed a change. So, when Holly told me that I had a room here with her if I was genuinely interested, I went ahead and sent in my application to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. Three weeks later, it was a thing. Put in my papers and packed up my meager belongings. Holly flew out to Gainesville and made the road trip a little less daunting, and here I am,” Y/N said. If Jensen was startled by the start of her story, he didn’t show it. Y/N looked down at the hot cup of tea in her hands, smiling softly at it.
“I’m sorry about the breakup,” Jensen said softly. Y/N looked back up at him with a gentle shake of the head.
“Don’t be. It realistically was a long time coming,” Y/N said just as softly. Her kindly smile turned sad. “Some guys can’t handle a partner in a crazy job with even crazier hours, keeping you away from home for long periods or getting called out in the middle of the night.”
Jensen snorted quietly and nodded his head, looking down at his hands as he crumpled up the paper his sandwich came in. Y/N paused for a long moment, and then looked contrite.
“But… you probably know all about that, don’t you? I’m sorry to hear about your divorce, Jensen. I’m sure that couldn’t have been easy,” she said soothingly. Jensen looked up at Y/N with unspeakable sadness in his brilliant eyes. His charming smile, small as it was, was genuine.
“It wasn’t. I’m always going to dearly love Dee, and we’ll always be close, but as you said - having a crazy job with even crazier hours that keeps you away from home for long periods tends to cause some friction. Sometimes the writing is on the wall. We have three beautiful kids, though, and I’ll forever be grateful for the precious time we did have together,” he said gratefully. That made Y/N smile widely.
“And that’s all that matters in the end. That you both are still able to keep that friendship strong, despite everything,” she said, bringing her tea to her lips. Jensen stared at her, his eyes filling with wonder for a moment. That wasn’t the reaction he was realistically expecting from her. Y/N looked at him quizzically.
“What?” she eagerly questioned. Jensen simply shook his head with a light scoff.
“Just… not the reaction I expected, honestly. Most everybody else tends to get excited to see me as a free man. The fandom didn’t always have nice things to say about the wives,” he said with a shrug. Y/N smirked and leaned forward as if to eagerly tell
Jensen a well-kept secret.
“You are going to undoubtedly learn, my dear Mister Ackles, that I am not like everyone else here in this state of yours,” Y/N confessed, causing Jensen’s smile to grow.
“Is that so, Miss Y/L/N?” he questioned her. Y/N nodded solemnly at him.
“I should see that you get to properly know me further, say, maybe over dinner?” Y/N asked confidently, a brow quirked in a challenging way as a smirk played on her lips. Jensen faked offense at her offer, huffing a scoff at her indignantly.
“Miss Y/L/N! You undoubtedly stole my line!” he exclaimed joyfully. This naturally caused Y/N to chuckle.
You could hear the hustle and bustle of the many bodies that took up the large conference room before you even made it to the door. So many people talking and laughing, and you knew that your fake smile and laugh would be joining them soon.
With a squeeze of his arm, Dean had you looking up at him. He shot you a wink and started pulling you into the room without you saying if you were ready or not. He knew you weren’t, and he knew you may never be, so he was jumping into the shark tank head first while pulling you along with him.
A lot of the people you could see right off the bat were just distant aunts, uncles and cousins. People you really didn’t talk to, even at these things. They kept to their own circle while you tried to avoid yours. Out of everyone in that room there were only a few that you knew you would see this week, because it was the same few that you see every time.
Of course, there was your mom. The queen of it all and the one you wished you could hide from the most. There was your step dad that you adored. He definitely related to you more than anyone else there and you actually looked forward to seeing him every time these things came around.
Then there was your cousin, Jackie. She was your best friend and the one you could turn to about anything, includingfamily. She never ratted you out and you two were like your own little circle within a circle.
But then that brought you to your aunt Tanya and her daughter Hannah. They were set on a peg just below your mom. They were rich bitches and they always gloated. It was sickening. You honestly didn’t know which was worse sometimes, your mom or those two. If you could just avoid all three, that’d be great.
The further the two of you moved into the room, the more you felt your heart rate rise. The quartz floors sparkled as you stepped across it and the noise from the rest of the family was making you feel so small because you already knew how they saw you. Then you imagined your mom walking up to the two of you, and that just made everything crumble.
“Dean, wait.” you locked your arm in place, bringing him to a stop.
“What?” he asks as you just stand there, your eyes scanning the full room. He can see the panic in your face, your cheeks flushing.
“I can’t do this.” you finally whisper, your body turning to face him as your eyes struggle to look away from the reunion of people.
“Y/N…”
“I can’t!” you quietly cry out so that no one else notices that you’re there yet. “They’ll see right through this. My mom will see right through this and it’ll be a disaster. They are so judgmental and I just…I can’t…” Before you can even register what’s going on, Dean has pulled you a little closer and attached his lips to yours. Then his free hand meets the side of your face before he pulls away and you can do nothing but just stare at him.
“Let them judge.” A shaky breath finally leaves you and yet you can still feel his lips on yours. Like an aftershock that just won’t quit. “I need you to trust me, Y/N. Because if you don’t, you’re right, it won’t work.”
“Y/N!?” You hear your name being called from across the room before you can even begin to pull yourself back from that kiss let alone tell Dean that you trust him. Or at least tell him that you’re trying to.
“Y/N! Oh my God!” You turn just as your cousin Jackie runs up to you, an empty glass in her hand as she goes to swing her arms around you. “I’m so glad you’re here!” she squeezes you tight before pulling away, her arms still wrapped around you. “I thought you said you weren’t coming this time?”
“No. I said I mightnot be coming.”
“Oh. Well, I’m so glad you did because I missed you so much!” she cried as she pulled you back into a bone crushing hug. It wasn’t until she pulled away again that she even glanced in Dean’s direction, but once she saw him, she was awestruck.
“And who is this?” she breathes as she finally lets you go and you can’t help but chuckle at her reaction. Her eyes are locked on Dean like he’s the only one in the room and she’s practically drooling over him.
“Jackie, this is Dean. Dean, my cousin, Jackie.” you introduced, your hand gesturing between them while they stepped forward and Dean took her hand.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh, trust me…the pleasure’s allmine.”
“Jackie!” you scolded quietly, but you didn’t miss the grin on Dean’s face.
“Sorry.” she breathed again; probably the only breathing she was able to do at the moment, then she stepped back, curling the hand that Dean just had in his. “I uh…I need to top off my drink so…I’ll just leave you two alone.” She had to rip her eyes away from your date and when she locked gazes with you, she winked.
“So, that’s Jackie.” Dean states as you both watch your cousin walk away.
“Yeah. She’s great. The only one here other than my dad that I can trust with anything and who doesn’t stab me in the back.”
“Good to know.”
“There’s my princess.” Dean watched your smile grow before you turned away from him again, this time to greet an older gentleman. But the only thing that tipped him off that he was older was the gray in his hair, otherwise he was aging very well.
“Dad.” you seem to sigh in relief as you fall into his embrace.
“How are you, sweet pea?”
“I’m good.” you whisper to him before pulling away, and that’s when the man locked eyes on Dean.
You had told Dean that your step dad was in the army and with his own dad having a similar background, he made sure to stand straight and make eye contact when he looked at him.
“You didn’t tell me that you’ve been seeing someone, Y/N.”
“I know. I’m sorry, dad, it’s just been…”
“Nice to meet you sir.” Dean greets as you struggle to finish your sentence. He leans forward and takes your dad’s hand, giving it a nice firm shake.
“Good to meet you…”
“Dean.”
“Dean.” your dad repeats softly, letting his eyes rake over your date. “Military man?”
“No, sir. But my dad was.”
“Oh yeah? Where was he?”
“Marine Corps. Corporal.”
“Nice.” You smile when you see that your dad’s impressed. Not that you thought he wouldn’t be, but he also wasn’t the one to please here. At least, not the only one. “So, how long have you two been together?”
“Just about two months now.” you answer, giving Dean a bit of a break.
“Not too long then.” he says, glancing at you before locking eyes with Dean again. “Very bold of you to show up to a reunion where you’re going to meet her entire family.”
“Yeah, well…” Dean slid his arm around your waist and smiled down at you. “I know she didn’t want to come alone and I just want to make sure she’s happy.” Your dad’s smile grew as he looked between the two of you.
“I’m liking you already.”
“There she is!” The tender moment is interrupted by a familiar high voice, and though you know who it is, you wait until your eyes confirm it.
“Oh god…” you breathe, turning into Dean a bit before your mom’s hands are on your cheeks and she’s placing rough kisses all over your face.
“Oh my girl!” her hands flatten against your cheeks, practically squishing your face. “Hmm.” and here it comes…
The way she tilts her head and looks you over, you know that she’s found something that she can pick fun at. You’re just waiting to hear it.
As her right hand slides down under your chin, she pats your jaw a few times before that infamous disappointed look in her eyes makes its appearance.
“Oh, honey. It looks like you’ve gained a little weight.” You try to hold in your irritation when she lets go of you, but that’s when she sees Dean. This is going to be terrible, is all that you had going through your head. You just wanted to grip onto Dean’s hand and run for the exit.
“Oh…” her eyes rake over your date and though this entire relationship is fake, you still feel this twist in your gut that makes you want to throw up. You couldn’t believe it. Your own mother was checking out your boyfriend. Not that it surprises you, but it still bothers you nonetheless. “And who are you?”
“Mom…” Turning into Dean’s left side and wrapping your arms around him, he follows your lead and holds you close, his hand visible on your waist. “This is my boyfriend. Dean.” It shouldn’t have surprised you, but it still hit deep when she started to laugh.
“You…no. There is no way that you are dating my daughter.” Dean can feel your hand shaking against his side and to calm you, he reaches his right hand over and holds yours firm against his body, keeping his smile as he looks away from you and up to your mother.
“Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I amdating your daughter.” Her eyes slide back and forth between the two of you for a moment before she has to add one more stab.
“Was it on a dare or something?”
“Okay. Honey, why don’t we leave these two alone, let them get some food, alright?”
“Okay.” your mom giggles as your dad pulls her away, but she plants her feet at one point to shoot out another bullet. “By the way…Dean. When this doesn’t work out, you know, the two of you…I want you to know that it was reallynice to meet you.” As she sends a wink in your direction, not only is your patience gone, but so is your dad’s.
“Let’s go!” Your dad pushes, kind of giving her a shove in the other direction. After she’s a few steps away, your dad takes a hold of your arm to get your attention.
“Don’t let her get to you.”
“I try.” He pulls on a smile and kisses your cheek before giving Dean a nod.
“I’ll see you two soon.” It didn’t register with you that you were still in Dean’s embrace. Not until his left hand slid up your back.
“Well ain’t she a gem.” When all you do is nod, Dean pulls away a bit and looks down at you. He could see you absorbing everything your mother had said and saw that it was taking you over.
“Hey.” Pulling on your waist, he turns you so that you’re facing only him now and he presses two of his fingers under your chin to get you to look up at him. “You look beautiful.” But his attempt was shot down. You scoffed and rolled your eyes a bit as you tried to look behind you.
“I’m serious.” he pushes, making you look back at him. “You should listen to your dad. Shedoesn’t know what she’s talking about.” You force your eyes to drop from his again, not caring that he wanted you to look at him. You felt stupid and naïve. How could you ever think you could walk into one of these and actually meet the standards of everyone else.
“Why don’t we go grab a drink, huh?” You lift your head a bit, but not enough that it satisfies him. He just knows he’s going to have to work even harder to keep you on his level throughout this week.
“Come on.”
There were a few greetings while Dean led you through the crowd, and like always, you plastered on a smile and squeezed in a few words, but you were dying for that drink. So you made it as short and sweet as you possibly could and kept moving.
Dean was quick to put in your order as you approached the long bar and it still surprised you on how fast he learned your drink.
“So, what happened to your dad?” he asks after the bartender sets your drinks in front of you.
You look away for a minute, spotting your dad across the room and you become slightly confused on what Dean means.
“Nothing?” When Dean notices you glancing at your step dad, he can’t help but chuckle a bit.
“No. I mean your actualdad.”
“Oh.” Taking the small black stir stick, you let it roam around your glass for a second before getting up the energy to answer. “He uh…he died. When I was two.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Died doing what he loved from what I hear.” you laugh a bit before taking a sip of your drink. “I honestly don’t even remember him. I have pictures and that’s it, really.” Cradling his beer, Dean gave you a sweet smile before looking around the room. There wasn’t an abundance of people, but it was a pretty full room considering.
“So. We have breakfast tomorrow morning and a big farewell dinner at the end of the week…any other scheduled occasions I should know about?” You smile into your drink, enjoying the strength of the alcohol before bringing it to rest on the bar’s counter.
“Uh…not really. It’s mostly a go about your own business type of thing. You get to go around and do what you want, with who you want and just let the gossip circle around on its own.”
“So, I’m guessing before now, you’ve just been…”
“Stuck with my mom.” you giggle as you take another drink. “Yeah. That and my aunt Tanya and her daughter.”
“I’m guessing they’re just as bad as your mom?”
“Sometimes worse.” you admit quickly. “Tanya…she just…” you scoff lightly as you struggle to find the right words to describe your aunt. “I swear she thinks she’s the queen of this whole room. Her and my mom are the ones who usually set this up and her daughter is just as big headed as her.”
“Are you sure you weren’t adopted? Or…maybe switched at birth or something?” he jokes, but there still seems to be a hint of seriousness in there.
“You seriously have no idea how many times I’ve asked myself that same question.”
“Look who decided to show up!” The familiar voice had you tensing up again, and Dean was definitely beginning to understand why you were so tense on the days leading up to this.
He sees a woman walk up behind you, blonde hair, long and slightly curled with blue eyes and an expensive cocktail dress hugging her body down to her thighs. She had money, there was no doubt about that.
“Hannah.” you greeted with a forced smile. “Looking beautiful as ever.”
“Yeah.” she giggles. One that actually makes Dean cringe a bit on the inside. “And look at you. Dressed up in…” she pauses for a moment and takes a step back, looking you up and down. “…you know…I think I saw that in the Walmart catalog when I was at the dentist office the other day.” she laughs and you fight back the urge to punch her in the face. “It’s cute.” You know she’s lying. Hell, the bartender knows she’s lying.
You can feel Dean step up behind you, pressing himself against your back as his free hand finds your waist and you know he’s trying to give you comfort. Reminding you that he’s right there and that you need to use him to block out the verbal abuse.
“Right.” you breathe, taking in a good breath as you tilt your head up. “Hannah, this is my boyfriend, Dean.” Her eyes do the same thing your moms did. There’s a shock, but then they’re instantly eating him up and you can practically see her brain working on ways to steal him from you.
“Wow. Well, aren’t you just a big piece of eye candy.”
“Here you go, pumpkin.” Dean’s eyes avert from your cousins as a man walks up behind her, handing her a drink.
“Thanks.” she whispers to him before turning back to you and Dean, a cocky smile on her face as she looks from Dean to you. “You remember Josh, right Y/N?” You meet Josh’s gaze for a moment before turning a bit in Dean’s body.
“Hey, Y/N.” Josh greets with an almost too stiff expression.
“Hey.” you greet back, letting Dean’s body stop you from running for the door.
“Josh used to be Y/N’s boyfriend way back when.” Hannah spits out with a large grin as she locks eyes with Dean. “Don’t worry. You’ll come to your senses too. Just give it time.”
Not taking another word, you set your glass down on the bar and slip out of Dean’s embrace. He looks over his shoulder as he watches you moving quickly through the crowd, heading for the wall of large floor to ceiling windows and glass doors.
“Hmm. Typical.” Dean hears your cousin scoff out and he sends her a bit of a glare before following your same path.
He hated to admit that you were right. He didn’t take you as seriously as he should have when you talked about your family, but he was here now and to be honest, he was grateful he was. No one deserved to be treated this way. He honestly wasn’t sure why you even made the trip every time it came up. But of course your mom would probably just come and hunt you down if you didn’t show. It was clear that everyone saw you in the same light. Everyone but your step dad and your cousin Jackie. Again, just like you said.
As he reached the doors and stepped out into the warm evening air, it didn’t take him long to look down the way and see you leaning against the metal railing. He weaved through a few rows of tables before coming up alongside you.
“You sure you’re not regretting coming with me?” He grinned a bit before leaning on the rail next to you.
“Meh. But it’d be kind of fucked up to leave you right now.” You huffed out a little laugh, but still hadn’t looked in his direction.
“I wouldn’t blame you though.”
It remained silent for a few minutes after that. Both of you just looked out to the ocean, listening to the waves rolling in and creeping up onto the shore. A light breeze brought you some comfort, but it didn’t take away the knowledge of everyone inside the building behind you.
“I thought you only had one long relationship.” Dean finally breaks the silence, feeling guilty for bringing up such a sensitive topic but was too curious to wipe it away.
“I did.” you reply fairly quickly, your voice as strained as he expected it to be. “It was with Josh.” you admit before going quiet for a few more beats. In that time, Dean felt the crushing pain just rolling off you.
“It was so weird. We were in high school so…I wasn’t sure if it would last or not. But I was happy, and there was always this little sliver of hope that maybe this could be it. Maybe after all those years of…ugh.” you stop to sniffle and wipe away some stray tears.
“I thought I had finally caught my break. But…at one of our family BBQ’s, I caught Hannah talking to him, and she was giggling and…touching him. It was clear she was flirting with him. But he seemed to always brush her off, you know? I thought that he was just being polite since she was family and all that.” He saw your jaw lock up a bit and another tear slide down the side of your face, but this one you just let go.
“But then the following year…I had lost him in the crowd somewhere. Was trying to find him to see if he wanted to help me get the dessert out and set it up.” your head dropped a bit as you and you sniffled a few more times. “I finally found him after about ten minutes. He was up in my room…with her.” Dean’s eyes fell shut as he could practically picture what you walked in on.
“That was one of the last times we had a BBQ at our house and my mom started doing these destination things. But, every year….there they are.”
“I’m so sorry.” Dean finally says, not sure what else he can say to that.
“They always win. I really don’t know why I keep trying sometimes. I mean…when I emailed you I was just so irritated about all the texts I was getting. I told my mom that I might not be able to make it because of work, and she had spread word so fast. My phone was blowing up with texts and emails…and I couldn’t take it. I was hoping that if I could bring someone, that maybe…just maybe they would look at me and for once not have anything to say but congratulations.” Dean’s jaw ticked as he felt the frustration seep into him.
“I’m such a fucking idiot to think that could be a thing.”
“No, you’re not.” he could hear you scoff. “You’re not. It’s not right how they treat you and it’s only normal to want that kind of acceptance from your family. You’re not an idiot, Y/N.” You could feel his hand meet your upper back and he began to lightly massage your neck. But as the two of you heard a faint, “There you are.” in the distance, his hand slid down your back. You both pulled away from the rail and looked over to see your stepdad heading your way with a soft smile on his face.
“I was just about to call it a night, but I had to say goodnight to my girl.” And just like that, Dean saw your sadness disappear and a smile spread across your face as you went in for a hug with the man. “That, and I wanted to see if you wanted to use me as your own escape decoy.”
“He knows me.” you say to Dean after a few moments of just smiling at your father.
The three of you then keep close as you make your way through the crowded room and out the other side. The halls were quiet as everyone was still chatting and drinking away in the large room.
“You two are on the third floor, right?”
“Yeah.” Your dad hit the silver button on the elevator and stood with you both until it arrived. “Thanks, dad.”
“Of course. I know that I’ve had my fair share, so I knew you had to be ready to run for the exit.” The three of you share a light laugh and that’s when the elevator doors open. “You two have a good night.”
“He really does get you.” Dean says after your dad heads down the hall and the two of you step into the elevator.
Summary:Dean x Reader - Neighbours AU - Dean and the reader live next door to each other and can’t stand each other. Will things change once circumstances bring this bartender and businessman duo closer together?
Triggers:Talk of kidnapping, injuries, hospitals
Y/N = Your name | Y/L/N = Your last name | Y/E/C = Your eye colour | Y/H/C = Your hair colour
Dean The incessant beeping pulled Dean back out of the darkness that had temporarily swallowed him. Sending shocks of dull pain, diluted by annoyance, through his system as he kept his eyes shut, trying to get his bearings.
How long had he been out?
What had happened after the click of the gun he’d been sure would end his life? He thought he remembered the cops.. He was sure that he’d felt the twinge of relief of (Y/N) being safe. Had he imagined it all?
Summary:Dean x Reader - Neighbours AU - Dean and the reader live next door to each other and can’t stand each other. Will things change once circumstances bring this bartender and businessman duo closer together?
Triggers:Talk of kidnapping, injuries, hospitals
Y/N = Your name | Y/L/N = Your last name | Y/E/C = Your eye colour | Y/H/C = Your hair colour
Dean The incessant beeping pulled Dean back out of the darkness that had temporarily swallowed him. Sending shocks of dull pain, diluted by annoyance, through his system as he kept his eyes shut, trying to get his bearings.
How long had he been out?
What had happened after the click of the gun he’d been sure would end his life? He thought he remembered the cops.. He was sure that he’d felt the twinge of relief of (Y/N) being safe. Had he imagined it all?
The last thing he remembered was… What was it?
He remembered the sounds of paramedics, urging him to respond to them. And (Y/N), he remembered his beautiful girl next door. She’d been crying. He’d tried to… Had he told her how he felt? He thoughthe did, though he couldn’t be sure if it wasn’t just all a dream concocted by his mind once he fell unconscious. The final confessions of a doomed man.
Still, he was sure he heard her, saw her. In the ambulance? Had he beenin an ambulance? Damn it, his mind was jumbled and slow and he had to fight the urge to not scream in frustration. Everything was hazy… Blurry.
It was all snapshots, but nothing fit together right. The only clear spot was her. His sunshine girl.
Where everything else was out of focus, she was crystal clear. The tears that had stained her beautiful (Y/E/C) eyes and the slight tremble to her lips as she tried to hold back her sobs. Her small voice begging him to be ok, begging for forgiveness for crimes that weren’t hers to carry. Her fragile-but-strong shoulders had been shaking under the weight of those damn unearned chains and shackles, and Dean hadn’t been able to push them away or carry them for her.
Though, even if those moments with her were clear. They were all still just as jumbled together as everything else. As if the heavy hit to his head had rearranged the fragmented memories from the hellish night.
Wrestling with his own memories, Dean frowned at the constant beeping and the voices arguing quietly in the background. It was all too loud, too much. He couldn’t think straight with all that noise.
Gritting his teeth in preparation for the light he could somehow sense through his shut eyelids, Dean opened his eyes carefully. Looking out through the veils of his eyelashes at first, before the sight in front of him made him open them fully.
(Y/N),thank god…
She wasn’t looking his way, her jaw set with that cute stubborn expression she’d wear to show whomever got in her way that she wasn’t budging. And, as Dean finally managed to blink away the rest of the fog over his eyes, the target of her stubborn rage and whispered arguments came into view. At first, Dean had to fight the bile rising in his throat when he saw the crisp uniform of the Detective, however, as his features came fully into view, the panic that was slowly building vanished with a short push of air through pursed lips. Detective Davies, not Ketch.
Thank god, she was safe. He hadn’t just dreamt it all up.
“You heard the doctor Ms. (Y/L/N), Mr. Winchester will be fine. His ribs are mainly bruised with just one hairline fracture. The bullet only strayed him and the injury to his head wasn’t serious either. At most he might be suffering from a concussion. He’ll be cleared to return home after one night under observation…” Mick Davies’ voice was exasperated as he kept his words soft and barely even audible in the otherwise quiet room.
“Itoldyou. I’m not going anywhere until Dean wakes up,” (Y/N) whisper-yelled at Detective Douchebag as she crossed her arms defensively over her chest as if physically restraining herself.
“I’m sorry Ms. (Y/L/N), but we need you to…”
The nearly mechanic way the words left Mick Davies told Dean that it wasn’t the first time he’d parroted those exact words. And by the exhausted look in his eyes when she cut him off with another stubborn shake of her head, it wasn’t the first time the girl from apartment 42 had refused to listen either.
“Nodetective. I am not going anywhere. He was shot trying to save me after Brian tried to kill him. And then one of your own, Ketch, tried to finish the job!” Though whispering, it was clear to Dean that she was lacing each word with as much vitriol as she could. Using them as weapons to keep the detective at bay and shut him up.
Yet as quick as the anger and spite had shown up in her voice, it bled away with a single relieved sob as her eyes strayed to Dean on the bed. Eyes widening as they met with his once she realised he was awake.
“Thank God… Dean,”
Her stiff hold crumbled away as she hurried to his side. Unshed tears veiling (Y/E/C) eyes; she slid into the seat next to what Dean now realised was his hospital bed. Though he couldn’t take his eyes off of her for long enough to check the rest of his surroundings.
Reaching out a weak, heavy hand, Dean tried to lift it up to wipe at the tears staining her beautiful, tired eyes. Yet, before he could reach her, (Y/N)’s smaller hand wrapped around his and gently placed it back on the bed.
“How do you feel? The doctor said you were incredibly lucky. The bullet only…” She started, ready to parrot the same diagnosis that Dean had heard the detective talk about only moments earlier as he just smiled at her.
Squeezing her hand softly, he cut off her talk before she started rambling. He had so much he wanted to tell her… He wanted to reassure her he was fine. He wanted to finally fully let her know how he felt. Hell, he needed to make sure she was uninjured… Yet, as he opened his mouth, the only thing that truly mattered ended up spilling out past dry lips.
“You’re safe,” Dean sighed in relief as he let his thumb run along the back of her hand, revelling in the feel of her skin under his fingers. She was warm, safe, alive… She was there. Away from Brian, and the whole nightmare. Thank god.
“I’m so sorry Dean, I…” Her soft voice trembled and broke over the words as she once more tried to apologise for sins that weren’t hers to carry or ask forgiveness for. Shaking his head softly, Dean bit the inside of his cheek to keep from groaning in pain as his brain still rattled painfully in his skull from every small move he made.
“Don’t (Y/N). It’s not your fault… Please don’t,” Cutting off her words, Dean pulled softly at her hand, making her lean in closer to him as he gently removed his fingers from hers to move a few stray hairs out of her face and softly swipe his thumb against the wetness on her cheek.
“Never apologise. This isn’t on you. Ok?” He whispered, as his weak arm lost what little strength it had and fell back on the bed as his fingertips reached for hers.
“Ok…” Finding his hand again, his girl next door gently squeezed his hand with a small nod as she took a few steadying breaths and wiped away the rest of her tears with the sleeve of her jacket.
“So, what happened?” Throwing her a small, tired smile, Dean kept his eyes on his sunshine girl as he raised his voice enough to be sure the detective could hear him too. Finally giving fully up on trying to understand his own fragmented memories.
Seeing the question as his cue to speak up, Mick Davies stepped closer to the bed, though still keeping himself at a professional distance. Close enough to be seen and heard, but not close enough to disturb the fragile calm that had fallen over the hospital room as (Y/N) held onto Dean’s hand with a small, tired smile.
“When we arrived at the lakehouse, Mr. Lackland was trying to restrain Ms. (Y/L/N) and Arthur… Mr. Ketch had you handcuffed on the floor,” Luckily Detective Davies started at the beginning. Saving Dean from having to ask him to go back to when his memories grew hazy and soft at the edges from the blow to the head and lack of oxygen in his lungs.
“We were very lucky. If we’d arrived a moment later, or if Mr. Ketch hadn’t valued his own life above anything else… When we called for them to put their weapons down, they both did so without a fight,” The detective continued, the unspoken ‘what ifs’ clear in his tone as Dean internally shuddered at the thought of a gun fight breaking out in the cabin and (Y/N) getting caught in the crossfire.
Yeah…
They’d been lucky. Lucky that she hadn’t gotten hurt. Lucky that the police showed up when they did. Hell, they’d been lucky the police showed up at all. Considering they barely even saw Brian as a threat.
Gritting his teeth to keep the anger that was slowly bubbling up from under the surface from rising, Dean cleared his throat as he forced himself to pull his eyes off of the girl from apartment 42 to look at the detective. The whole incompetent police force had nearly ended up getting him killed and her… Fuck, something so much worse almost happened to her.
“Why?” Dean tried to keep the anger and vitriol out of his voice as he shot the question at the uniformed man. Clipping it down to only the basest syllable in fear that if he kept speaking, he’d start screaming.
“I… What do you mean?” Mick Davies seemed genuinely confused as his eyes went from Dean and over to the tired woman, the victim, in the chair next to him. As if he could find the rest of Dean’s question hiding somewhere else in the sterile hospital room.
“Why did you even come? I thought you said you didn’t believe that Brian was anywhere near the lakehouse?” Giving up on hiding his anger, he spat the questions at the detective, his hand gently squeezing (Y/N)’s as he spoke. As if to reassure himself she was really there and that this wasn’t some dream he’d concocted in his final moments on earth.
“Ms. (Y/L/N)’s lawyer, your brother, called. He had been unable to get through to you. At first the phone rang, but when he tried again and again, it kept going to voicemail. So… He contacted us fearing the worst. In our conversation with him, some of the details he mentioned about the officer he had spoken to earlier in the day led us to look into Arthur Ketch. Only to discover he had been missing for hours,”
The near automatic drone of the detective’s voice hinted at practised and rehearsed words he’d probably already shared with the girl from apartment 42 earlier while Dean was still unconscious. Yet, to him it all just sounded like excuses. As if the uniformed man was rambling, looking for some way to excuse his own failures.
Of course, it was Sammy.
In this whole fucked up situation, the only person they could have counted on was Sam. He had a good head on his shoulders. And once more, he’d managed to save the day.
“Mr. Winch… I mean, Sam Winchester then pushed us to bring a few officers out to the lakehouse to check on you, having a hunch regarding Arthur Ketch. Which was verified when we realised that the earlier sightings and reports of Brian in town had been filed by Ketch himself,” Detective Davies continued his rehearsed speech, choosing to ignore the burning look Dean threw his way as he focused on the wall over his head instead.
The detective’s earlier words echoed in the back of Dean’s mind, giving him pause. It all made sense now. Why Davies had been so sure Brian was nowhere near the cabin when he called them. Ketch had filed false reports spotting Brian in town to throw them off the scent and buy them a few more hours. That bastard had played the whole system.
All for his sadistic little plan.
“So when you realised…” Dean pushed when he noticed that Davies had stopped speaking, waiting for some form of input from him.
“Yes, when we then realised that Brian could be on his way to your location, we mobilised a full team. Plus we got another team working on finding out everything we can about Mr. Ketch as well. The results so far have been… Troubling,” Davies picked up where he left off with a curt nod. His lips pursing and brow furrowing at the idea of one of their own pulling one over on them.
“Hedid talk about how he’d been running circles around you guys this whole time,” Dean hadn’t meant for the words to make the detective flinch. Yet, as he saw Mick Davies’ otherwise tense and strict hold shift uncomfortably, he found some twisted pleasure in putting the detective back in his place. This was all their fault.
Opening his mouth to argue against Dean’s words, the detective seemed to think better of it as he shook his head with a tired, defeated sigh. His shoulders falling as he seemed less like an officer standing at parade rest, and more like just a man.
“Unfortunately… It also seems he’s been using government databases to feed Brian information. Much of what Mr. Lackland learned about Ms. (Y/L/N)… About both of you, was information given to him by Mr. Arthur Ketch. I’m sorry to say that he was telling the truth, he has been hindering this investigation from day one,” Davies finally said with a sigh. Admitting to their failures, even though he still put all the blame on the monster in their midst.
“Stop calling him that,” Before Davies could continue his robotic retelling, a small voice spoke up from next to Dean. (Y/N)’s voice was low and barely audible. But in the quiet of the hospital room, with only the machines attached to Dean’s body whirring and beeping away, her words were still clearly audible to both of the men in the room.
For a beat, the room fell silent as the detective tried to wrap his head around her words. His lips parting and closing around nothing as he tried to find some fault in his own by-the-book retelling of the events.
“Stop calling that monster Mr. Ketch. He is one of yours! A detective,” (Y/N)’s voice was stronger this time around, growing in volume as (Y/H/C) hair whipped around her when she turned to throw the words directly at the detective. Making him once more frown. Though not from guilt, Dean noted, but rather confusion.
“No Mr… Officer Ketch was never a detective. It is true that he was aiming to become one. He had recently passed the exam, but… Some of his previous arrests were… Dubious. So, he was under heavy review,” The detective picked his words carefully. Rolling them around in his mouth before delivering each and every carefully selected word as he paused between statements.
In the hospital bed, Dean froze for a second as the realisation hit him, before slowly, painstakingly so, sitting up a little more in the bed. Gritting his teeth against the dull pain that was once again returning now that whatever painkillers they’d pumped him full of were slowly waning.
Ketch’swhole plan, the plan that had hinged on him rising through the ranks, had failed from the start. Even if something had happened to (Y/N) that night, it wouldn’t have been Ketch that got the case. Damn it, the bastard wasn’t just sadistic, he was delusional. Just like his puppet, Brian. Both of them had been living out their own sick, twisted play. And (Y/N) had been cast as the unwilling lead. By two delusional bastards.
Looking back up, Dean realised the room had grown quiet again as his eyes went from (Y/N)’s fiery ones and over to the confused detective looking at them both for clarification. But the girl from apartment 42 kept her lips firmly together, pursed in annoyance and anger as she refused to meet the detective’s eye. Keeping herself busy by letting fidgeting hands straighten out Dean’s sheets and fussing over him whenever he grimaced uncontrollably from a new burst of dull pain. The fire in her eyes softened as she busied herself fixing his pillows to try and make him more comfortable.
“He told us he was. He said that when he planned this whole thing back a year ago. He had Brian wait because he needed a promotion. That he had planned it all out so he would lead the investigation if (Y/N) was… If I hadn’t been there that first night,” Dean finally clarified as he reached for her hand. Unwilling to talk about what could have happened that night if he hadn’t been around and if she hadn’t slept on his couch instead of going back to apartment 42.
“Well, he had been promoted within the ranks of officers, but not to the level where he’d lead a missing persons case,” Davies hesitated over his words as he took a small notepad out of his jacket pocket. Jotting something down as he mulled Dean’s words over. For a second the only sound in the room was pen against paper as he quickly wrote down the details, before shutting the notebook with an audible snap and placing it back in his jacket.
“We still have a lot to investigate. And I can’t do anything but apologise for the fact that our operation was compromised the way it was, but… We have them both in custody. And though we need to wait for the results of the investigation and the subsequent court proceedings, I am confident they’ll both be going away for a very long time,” He finally continued, summing up the short retelling of events with words that portrayed the anger simmering right under the surface in the detective as well.
Though the words were standard and basic, devoid of any emotion, Dean could tell… Arthur Ketch had betrayed his comrades at the police station. And they weren’t going to let that go.
“I hope they rot in jail,” (Y/N) spat, her eyes still only on Dean as she carefully brushed some hair out of his face before curling her trembling fingers into a tight fist. She was trying so hard to be strong. And it broke Dean’s heart. Lifting his hand, he gently pried the fingers loose, holding her small hand in his own as he kept his eyes on hers, even when the detective continued speaking.
“We have them both on attempted murder charges, as well as attempted kidnapping, bodily harm… The list goes on and on. Not to mention that Officer Ketch has additional charges for hindering the investigation, aiding and abetting a criminal, and the theft of a standard issue firearm, since both guns found at the scene were police issued weapons,” The detective’s words were nothing but facts, but they held a promise. To both the police itself, and to the girl from apartment 42, that he would do everything in his power to lock them up and throw away the key.
Making a show out of looking at his wrist watch, the detective released a tired sigh as he looked out the hospital window at the sun that was slowly rising over the horizon and painting the sky in the first few soft shades of pink.
“Now, we’ll need…” He started, but before he could finish his sentence he was cut down by the door nearly hitting the wall as it was pushed open. The end of his sentence, fully drowned out by the redhead in the doorway as she let out a relieved sob from seeing her best friend safe and sound.
“(Y/N)!” Charlie rushed into the room along with Gabriel, both of them ignoring the detective as they nearly threw themselves at the girl from apartment 42. Fuzzing over her as they looked for any signs of injuries on their best friend.
Looking at the scene with a tired smile, Dean let his eyes drift towards the door to give them some semblance of privacy as his eyes met a frazzled Sam’s. Throwing his worried brother a lopsided grin, he chuckled weakly at the tried and tested eye roll he got in return as his little brother rushed to his side.
“Sorry I didn’t answer your call, I was kinda… Tied up,” Dean joked. Though, by the look in Sam’s eyes, his attempt at humour fell flat as his brother just squared his jaw and shook his head. Sending shaggy brown hair flying back and forth. His normally perfectly styled appearance, which came with the job, all out of place as the signs of Sammy’s night were written clearly on his body. From the wrinkled mess of a shirt to the way his hair fell haphazardly around his face after clearly having spent the better part of the night pulling at it in worry.
“Jerk…” Sam just huffed in return, his voice tired and worried as he took in the machines surrounding his brother.
“What did the…” Before Sam could ask any more questions, the detective cleared his throat and nodded towards the door.
“I’ll give you all a…” Shutting his mouth as Charlie scoffed at him, he just nodded curtly before making his way to the door to give them all a moment.
Looking around the room, at the small group of friends, family and strangers that had all been pulled together by the hellish events, Dean finally felt himself fully relax.
Summary: Dean x Reader - Neighbours AU - Dean and the reader live next door to each other and can’t stand each other. Will things change once circumstances bring this bartender and businessman duo closer together?
Triggers: Talk of kidnapping, injuries, hospitals
Y/N = Your name | Y/L/N = Your last name | Y/E/C = Your eye colour | Y/H/C = Your hair colour
A/N: We’re closing in on the end now! Just two more chapters and an epilogue left to wrap it all up.
A/N 2: In this chapter, some of Dean’s “internal monologue” have been formatted in green bold italics.
ReaderAs Sam’s whispered words to his brother were being drowned out by Charlie’s panicked voice, you gently herded your two best friends out of the room. Choosing to talk to them in the busy hospital hallway instead so that Dean could have some time with his brother, without Sam having to worry about you as well.
He needed some time to just be a brother, not your lawyer.
Yet, even in the busy hallway, you couldn’t take your eyes off Dean through the half open door. Your friends’ worried words were coming through muted in your mind as you wrapped your arms around yourself, trying to keep yourself from rushing back to the man in apartment 43’s side when his green eyes met yours.
“I was soscared (Y/N)… When Sam contacted me I thought…” Charlie’s trembling voice broke through your muted pain as you pulled your eyes off of your superhero next door to look at your best friends.
“I’m fine, I was… Dean protected me. I’m not going to lie, it was hell, but Dean was there,” You sighed as you threw your friends a small smile, your eyes flitting over to where Dean was still watching you before biting your lip and forcing your attention back onto your worried friends.
“And thank god for that,” Gabe sighed as he wrapped an arm around your shoulder. Pulling you close into a small hug as you let out a breath you hadn’t even noticed you’d been holding.
You were back home, and your friends were safe. It still hadn’t fully sunk in, but the feel of your oldest friend’s strong arm wrapping you up in a hug helped solidify that it wasn’t just all some hopeful dream. The men that had made your life hell, and that had terrorised the people close to you, were caught. They couldn’t hurt you anymore. They couldn’t hurt your best friends, or Dean…
“Everything… It all just happened so fast, yet it felt like days,” You disguised your small sob as a cough to clear your throat, not wanting to worry your friends any more than they already were. Blinking away traitorous tears, you lifted your eyes to meet theirs. Your own hands dug into your upper arms as you held yourself together. And, as more words left you, you slowly but surely started retelling the events to your two best friends.
The words came out staggered as you stopped to hug Charlie once her eyes started tearing up again at your words or leaned against Gabe as you watched him struggle to breathe from the horrific events. It hurt to talk about it, but you had to.
You would have to recount those events over and over again now. To police officers, to friends and family… To a court, somewhere down the line. So you wanted them to at least hear it from you first. Instead of the robotic retelling of events that the police would offer up or the sensationalised version the media would tell if they got a hold of the information.
Which you had no doubt they would.
Hell, even as you kept speaking, telling the story on autopilot, your mind was still racing trying to catch up with everything that happened. Your eyes moving off of your friends and towards Dean in the other room whenever it became too hard to breathe through the horrible memories that clung to your heart and chest. The little part of your mind that kept telling you that you were still in that cabin, in the middle of the nightmare, clinging on stubbornly even in the bright synthetic lights of the hospital hallway.
“So, the police came and I… I couldn’t just leave Dean. I’m not hurt, Charlie. I promise. I barely have a scratch on me,” You finally said with a sigh as your friends kept fuzzing over you. Giving them a tired smile as they both cast dubious glances in your direction.
You knew you looked like hell, but you were telling the truth. Dean had acted like the shield you hadn’t wanted him to ever be. Which only added to your guilt as you blinked back tears and hugged yourself tighter, looking over at Dean once more.
Everytime you glanced over, you were met with the warm, worried green eyes of the man from apartment 43. As if he hadn’t taken his eyes off you the whole time, even as his brother kept talking to him.
Noticing where you were looking and the little furrow in your brow, Gabriel gently pulled you closer to his side and placed a soft kiss on the crown of your hair as he gave you another one armed hug. Squeezing you closer against his side and temporarily blocking you from seeing your saviour.
“Let’s go get a coffee? Give them some time?” The question left your best friend as a breath of warm air into your hair as you simply nodded. Letting your two friends lead you down the hallway of the hospital and away from Dean.
He needed time with his brother. And, as long as you were standing in the hallway looking over at him every few minutes, with pain and worry staining your eyes, he wouldn’t be able to focus.
“I’ve heard horrible things about the coffee here. You might have to check yourself in to get your stomach pumped after drinking it,” Gabriel’s voice echoed off the hospital walls with strained, fake enthusiasm as he gently pushed you forward down the hallway. In an attempt at lifting the heavy mood with a joke as you walked down the sterile hallways side by side, supported on each side by your best friends. But his normally jovial tone was lacking. Leaving the joke hanging awkwardly between the three of you as you forced a tired smile out.
“If I end up hospitalised then you’retelling Davies that I can’t come down to give my statement,” You shot back, grateful for the attempt at normality, no matter how forced and strained it was, as your shoulders finally relaxed and your hands dropped from your bruising hold on yourself.
“Happily. I’d love to piss that bastard off,” Gabe shot back, sounding genuinely excited at the prospect.
—
The coffee was awful.
To the point where you found yourself wondering where the hospital disposed of toxic waste, so you could wash that swill down the drain along with it. But it was at least luke warm and caffeinated, which your tired and freezing body sorely needed. Though the gentle jabs and arguments between your friends as they tried to pretend things were normal for your sake warmed you more than any cup of coffee could.
“Iswearhe was flirting with me,” Gabriel shot back at Charlie’s incredulous laugh after he got done retelling his time spent pranking the police officers charged with watching over him. Fully believing he was being straight up courted, like he was part of some Victorian era day time drama, by the older officer who’s been his main security for the last few days.
“I don’t think him following you everywhere was him flirting, Gabe. It was his job,” Charlie laughed as she rolled her eyes at your trickster of a friend’s wide eyed look. Though by the way she’d shyly blushed when she’d talked about Dorothy, the junior agent working alongside Jody Mills to watch over her, she herself had gotten some flirting in. And a new job, apparently, as the Cyber Crime Unit seemed very interested in her skills.
“You didn’t see his eyes. They were lustful, I swear. And the way he asked me if I liked sugar in my coffee? With a soft southern drawl? That man wanted some of this. Not that I blame him, I mean… Come on,” Gabe’s eyebrows lifted along with his trademark smirk as he let his hands gestured to his own body. Wiggling said eyebrows a little more when he noticed he’d managed to tease a soft laugh out of you.
“Soft southern drawl? Sounds more like you’rethe one with the crush,” You quipped as you grimaced around another sip of that awful hospital coffee.
“Oh, you know me babe. I flirt with everyone,” Gabriel shrugged, shiteating grin solidly in place as you rolled your eyes at him. Your very own Casanova had probably made both of the poor officers watching over him work extra hard for their money. At least based on the pranks he’d told you about. And you were sure that wasn’t all he’d done. Gabriel didn’t play well with others. At least not with people tasked to make sure he didn’t get himself into trouble. Not when trouble was his favourite thing to get into.
“Tell me his name and I’ll try to get you his number,” You chuckled as you crushed the empty paper cup in your hand. Lifting your eyes you tried to find any clocks on the wall, for some indication of how much time had passed. Before giving up and lifting yourself out of the uncomfortable plastic seat in the hospital cafeteria. Even if Dean was still busy talking to Sam, you just wanted to seehim.
While your best friends had done their best to make you feel as if life was back to normal, and not the damned nightmare that it all truly was, you still hadn’t managed to fully fall back into the lighthearted routine. Your mind and heart was stuck, somewhere down the hospital hallways. Settled in next to a hospital bed, with Dean, as you could;’t help but wish you were still by his side.
You wouldn’t bother him, but you just… You needed to see him. To make sure those green eyes were still bright and open. And not silently closed, bruised and bloodied, like they had remained the whole awful drive to the hospital in the back of the ambulance.
Yet, before you could push yourself away from the table and go back to him, a hand on your shoulder made you flinch. Your body freezing in fear as the words you’d been wanting to say to your friends died in your throat. Though you knew the hospital was safe, your mind was still stuck in fight or flight. And the small, harmless action was enough to send your heart into your throat as images of Ketch and Brian flashed in front of your eyes.
Turning your face towards the owner of the big hand on your shoulder, you looked at him wide eyed for a split second. Before finally letting out a shaky breath as you came face to face with Detective Mick Davies. His eyes softened apologetically as he removed his hand from your shoulder and took a step back to give you space.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you…” Davies dragged out the final words as he looked from you to your friends and back down at his wrist watch. Seemingly hesitating over his next words before steeling himself and refocusing his attention on you again.
“I just wanted to see if you are ready to come down to the station now Ms. (Y/L/N)? Now that Mr. Winchester is awake and…” The detective continued, keeping his eyes on you as he gestured towards the cafeteria exit.
“GOD! Just let her breathe damn it!” Charlie’s loud voice echoed in the cafeteria, still mainly empty this early in the morning, as she cut off the detective and lifted herself up out of her own seat. Fiery red hair whipping around her as she glared at the detective and made her way around the table to stand in front of you like a protective mama bear.
“She’s been through enough. And who are you to rush her? You guys took your sweet time helping,” Your best friend continued, not lowering her volume at all, even as the few people coming in for their morning coffees turned to look your way.
Placing your hand softly on Charlie’s arm, you gently stopped your fiery best friend from verbally pummeling the detective any further with a small shake of your head. Sending her a grateful smile as she opened her mouth to argue before sighing in defeat when she read the pleading look in your eyes. You really didn’t want to have to have your best friends end up in cuffs for assaulting an officer on top of everything else you’d had to deal with.
“It’s alright… Just, can I go and talk to Dean first? Just for a moment?” You finally asked the detective. Turning your head to face him once you were sure your best friend wouldn’t resort to actual violence against the uniformed man.
For a second, it looked like Detective Davies would say no. His brow knitted and eyes hesitant as his gaze dropped from yours to once again look at his wristwatch. But, with another tired sight and a hand pinching the bridge of his nose, he finally nodded.
—
“Do you want us to come in with you?” Charlie whispered as you got closer to Dean’s hospital room and your steps slowed down to a crawl.
Your little train of followers probably looked strange to the staff and other patients of the hospital. With you in the lead, looking like you’d been through hell.. Which, well, you kind of had. Followed by Charlie and Gabe, who refused to let go of you, yet stayed half a step behind to block Davies’ view of you. As the uniformed detective was left to follow a few steps behind. While your two best friends thoroughly ignored him.
Yet, though you wanted to get away from the curious looks of the rest of the hospital. You couldn’t help but slow down when you were getting closer to Dean’s room. The guilt that still weighed heavily in the pit of your stomach slowing your steps as your hands trembled lightly. You needed to see him, and though you knew he didn’t blame you, your mind was still twisting your guilt into ugly, vicious images of the Winchester brothers both throwing you accusatory looks when you came back into the hospital room.
After all, you were just a neighbour. A former stranger that Dean Winchester had decided to help out on a whim. And you’d nearly gotten him killed.
Chewing on your bottom lip you still shook your head in response to Charlie’s question. Eyes not leaving the door down the hallway that hid Dean from you as you forced your feet to listen to you and continued the rest of the way towards the hospital room.
“No… I need to talk to him alone,” You said, your attempt at a smile twisting into a soft frown as you let your eyes drop to your hands. The guilt painted them blood red in your mind’s eye as you curled your fingers into soft fists in a foolish attempt to hide how bloodied they were from yourself, and from your friends. Even though you knew they saw nothing but the trembling hands of their broken best friend.
“Are you sure? We don’t mind,” Gabriel pushed as his eyes focused on your shaking hands. Gently prying them open before lifting his hands to turn you to face him instead of the half open door where Dean was that you had finally come to a full stop in front of.
“I’m sure. It’s just… I feel so damnguilty. It’s my fault he’s…” You sighed, trying to shake your head. But, before you could complete your sentence, or the shake of your head, both were cut out as Gabriel lifted a hand to place it over your mouth. Muffling your words just as Charlie spoke up, a little too loudly for the quiet hospital hallway.
“No! Nope, you don’t get to say that. No way,” She half-shouted, earning her a few dirty looks from a nearby nurse as you tried to remove Gabriel’s hand over your mouth to tell her to quiet it down. And failing miserably as your best friends ganged up on you.
The damned dynamic duo; God, you loved them.
“You did not do anything wrong (Y/N). Those two monsters did that to him, to you. So you don’t get to feel guilty. You get to feel angry. And you better embrace it. Be angry at them. Be pissedoff. And make the world listen. Ok?” Charlie pushed, though she thankfully lowered her voice to a quiet hiss as her eyes burned into you. Making sure you heard every single word.
You were only able to nod as Gabe’s hand was still stopping you from speaking as you cast a glance towards the door you’d come to a full stop in front of. As your eyes found the room behind the half closed door, they were met with Dean’s amused, if not a bit confused, smile from the inside.
Great.
He’d seen your friends gang up on you. Though, considering everything else he’d seen of the messy, broken and downright awful thing you called your life… Seeing you being physically silenced by your two best friends was probably just a nice change of pace for the man from apartment 43.
“Good, now get your cute butt in there and talk to Mr. Greek-God-Next-Door and we’ll wait out here for you. We’re coming with you to the station to make sure the police behave. If they don’t I’ll sic Char on ‘em,” Taking his hand off your mouth Gabe whispered the words into your ear before ending them in a soft kiss to your temple as he stepped back and let you go with a small smile.
Returning the smile and mouthing a quiet ‘Thank you’ to both of your friends, you took a deep breath before opening the door to Dean’s hospital room fully. Sending a tired smile Sam’s way as you watched him lift his tall body out of the chair by his brother’s bedside.
Stopping right inside the door, you watched as the younger Winchester walked over to you. Placing a large warm hand on your shoulder with a soft pat, as if he was tagging you in, before taking the last few steps over to the door and slipping out of it. Closing it softly behind him just as he turned towards the Detective that your two best friends were doing their utmost to completely ignore.
Taking a shaky breath, you only made it two steps further into the room before you stopped, frozen. Looking back down at your trembling hands as you wet chapped lips, trying to find something to say.
“Hi,” The shaky greeting was all that left you, as your eyes looked up towards him through your lashes.
—
DeanDean couldn’t focus on Sam’s words. At least when (Y/N) was still in the hospital room, he’d been able to feign focus. But as she’d left to give him some privacy, he’d fully shut out Sam’s worried words as his eyes stayed on her fragile body in the hallway.
The way she was hugging herself under the artificial lights breaking his heart as he longed to just wrap her up in his arms. Yet, he’d stayed put. Feeling his heart soar whenever she caught him staring, and longing to trace her bottom lip with his thumb to stop her from chewing on it.
His eyes stayed on her until she walked off down the hallway with her friends. And it took everything he had in him to not get out of bed to follow her as illogical panic gripped his heart. She was safe. There were no more monsters hiding in the shadows. Yet, even as he tried to tell himself that, he couldn’t make himself believe it. Somehow that ancient, protective part of him just refused to see it.
Dean just wanted to be by her side, to keep her safe.
But, instead he stayed; trapped in his hospital bed. And as the last few strands of her hair disappeared out of view, he let out a tired sigh as his eyes fell to his bedsheets. He had so much he wanted to tell her, but everything was still just too hectic. Too crazy.
“Are you sure you’re fine?” Sam’s voice finally dragged Dean’s mind back into the hospital room while his heart was still busy following (Y/N) down the hall. Lifting his head, he turned it as gingerly as he could, to stop the fresh shots of dull pain from shooting up his spine and into his brain, to look at his little brother. Only to be met with equal parts annoyance and worry in his hazel eyes.
“I’m fine Sammy. Just a bit roughed up. As I said, I’ll be out of here by tomorrow, at the latest,” Dean shot back dismissively. Truth was, he was in a hell of a lot of pain. But he’d grown up taking care of the kid, and he could see Sam was already near frantic with worry. So he wasn’t gonna add to it.
“When I called and you didn’t pick up… I feared the worst Dean,” Sam’s voice was thick with those same what ifs that had probably plagued him when he couldn’t get through to Dean. The worry shining just as brightly in the younger Winchester’s eyes as the big brother in him softened slightly, lifting a still weak hand to pat his younger brother on the back with a tired sigh.
“I know, kid… Thank you for acting so fast. You saved my life. You saved both our lives,” He murmured softly as he gave his brother another pat on his shoulder before withdrawing his arm with a small wince from the dull pain. He tried to conceal it, but by the way the furrow in Sam’s brow got deeper it was clear the observant younger Winchester had seen the way even a small movement had him wincing in pain from his bruised ribs and shaken brain.
“You could have died,” Sam shot back, a mix of anger and fear in his words as he ran his fingers through his hair. A nervous habit Dean remembered the kid having since his early teens.
“But I didn’t, and… Hell, I needed to be there for her,” Dean said with a weak shrug. He knew he’d acted like an idiot out there in the cabin. Hell… He shouldn’t have tried to fight Brian. He should have just taken her hand and gotten the hell out of dodge. But if he had… Brian would have probably shot him in the back before they got to the car. Or worse, shot her.
“I’m just glad the police arrived when they did,” Sam’s voice was shaky as he pushed the words out with a relieved sigh, letting his back hit the back of the chair as he leaned his head back. Blinking away traitorous tears at the future that hadn’t come to pass. A future where he died and (Y/N) was lost forever.
“All thanks to you Sammy,” Dean said with a grin as a comfortable silence fell over the hospital room and the two brothers.
—
After taking a few moments to breathe and digest the fact that Dean was still alive, both brothers had spent the next little while dissecting the case and what Sam knew so far. At least the parts that he could share. Though most of it wasn’t news to Dean after his earlier talk with detective Mick Davies. Who had been surprisingly forthcoming if what Sam shared was anything to go by.
Sam had just started talking about his two hour drive to the hospital when Dean spotted her (Y/H/C) hair outside of his room again through the half-closed door. His breath stuck in his throat the moment his eyes found her again. Even as a soft smile was teased out of him when he watched her best friends nearly tackle her to stop her from whatever she was saying.
By the guilty look she’d thrown his way, Dean had no doubt it was yet another apology for something that was in no way her fault. And, damn it, he couldn’t help but feel bad for how he used to roll his eyes at the group of friends as they loudly brunched on her balcony in the sun while he worked. They were great friends to have, and Dean was sure they’d be great friends of his too, if he was ever given the chance to get to know them better. Which he hoped he would be given… Once all of this bullshit was finally over.
As (Y/N) finally stepped back into his hospital room, Dean couldn’t help himself as he straightened up as best he could on his bed. Flinching at the fresh shots of aching pain as he sent her a small, careful smile.
Once again, Sam had practically ceased to exist as the girl from apartment 42, his sunshine girl, became the only clear spot in the room. And, as if sensing it, the younger Winchester got up out of his seat without another word. Walking over to her, Sam only gave her a small smile and a reassuring pat on the shoulder before silently leaving the two of them alone.
Sammy was always good at reading the room. Part of what made him such a damned good lawyer.
As the soft click of the door shutting signalled that the two of them were all alone, (Y/N) only moved a few more steps, until she was standing in the middle of the room. Her trembling sugar and sunshine lips parting and closing over nothing as she looked for the right words.
Not that Dean minded just waiting and watching her. The way her beautiful eyes moved across the room between throwing glances in his direction, or that cute furrow that was back on her brow as she tried to sort her thoughts out.
Damn it, he could watch her forever.
Yet, just as that though hit him. Her small voice finally filled the room. Warming the space between them as Dean let out a sigh in contentment. No, he didn’t just want to watch her. He wanted to talk to her, to understand all the complex thoughts swimming behind her eyes. He wanted to be there for her. He wanted her to think of him as her confidant. Someone she could finally let her walls down with. Hell…
He just wanted her to think of him.
“Hi,” Was all she said as she looked down at her hands, tearing at her shirt as she squeezed her eyes shut, as if cringing at her own one word sentence.
“Hey… Come on over here,” Dean shot back, keeping his voice soft and light as he patted the spot next to him on the bed in the direction of where the chair was. Though, hell, he wouldn’t have minded if she decided to sit on the bed with him instead.
“I have to go to the station… The statement and all that stuff. But, I wanted to just… Stop by first,” She said hesitantly as she threw a few glances at the closed door before walking the few steps across the hospital room and sinking into the chair where Sam had been sitting only moments earlier.
“Ah, so that’s why Charlie looked ready to kill Davies,” Dean mused with a lopsided smile, hoping his lighthearted words would help shake some of the guilt and tension off of her shoulders. A smile that only grew as he was rewarded by the beautiful sound of her laughter.
“She was ready to fight him in the cafeteria. I worried I’d have to bail her out for assaulting a police officer,” She laughed as (Y/E/C) eyes grew warm with fondness for her best friends.
Yet, as soon as the laughter warmed the room, it died down again. Leaving the girl from apartment 42 to fidget in her seat as she wet her bottom lip. Opening and closing her mouth, she looked up at him through her lashes as she tried to find the right words.
As the silence lasted for a beat. Then two. Dean finally decided to break it by clearing his throat. If nothing else, then to help remove the tense heavy air that seemed to be hanging around her as she frowned at her own inability to find the right words.
Then again, Dean wasn’t any better.
Though he wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in his arms and tell her how he felt, he just… Couldn’t. They were both too bruised and broken for him to lay it all on the line right there and then. Even though god, he wanted to. Still, what happened in the cabin was too fresh. And he couldn’t touch on the feelings they’d left behind there, nor on the half-conscious confession he barely remembered making. So instead, he settled for the relative safety of stating the obvious. Even as the words he really wanted to say echoed in the back of his mind.
“So… You’re finally safe now,” He said with a relieved sigh. And though he meant every single word. It wasn’t the ones he wanted to say. No, as the words left him, his mind translated them silently and buried the truth of them in his heart…
I’d do anything to keep you safe.
“You too. I’m sor… Thank you,” (Y/N) started to apologise, but as her eyes met his and she saw the small frown on his features, she corrected herself with a tired smile. Finally shedding the guilt that wasn’t hers to carry. If even just for his sake. Damn it, she just cared so much. Of course, he’d fallen for her. With her bright eyes and fiery spirit hiding such a fragile, gentle soul.
I’m falling for you.
Parting his lips, he nearly let the words slip just from the sight of the heartbreak that was still evident in her eyes. Refracting the light in the room through shards of her own broken heart before sending it back to him as a beautiful prism. Yet, he managed to bite his tongue. Thinking better of it as he swallowed them back down with a small, slightly stiff smile.
“They’ll both be going away for a long, long time,” Dean promised, though he knew the promise wasn’t his to make. Yet, again, his mind changed and shifted his words as he stored them safely in his heart. Transforming them into the only promise he truly wanted to make; I’ll stay. Right here. With you.
Biting her lip, (Y/N) just nodded, her head dipping as she played with her fingers in her lap. As Dean followed her gaze, he watched as one trembling thumb circled the light band of purple bruised skin around her ring finger, where the ring Brian had forced her to wear had been. Squaring his jaw, Dean reeled his anger back in with a heavy breath as he felt his hands curl into fists. Clearly the police had taken the ring as evidence. Though Dean wanted nothing more than to see the small piece of metal destroyed.
“I hope so,” Her voice was small when she finally spoke up. (Y/E/C) eyes barely met his before her head dropped again and she squeezed them shut to hold back tears. Damn it… He didn’t want to make her cry. He never wanted to make her sad. Groaning internally at his own stupidity. He struggled to think up something, anything else that could take her mind off of the monsters who had haunted her.
Yet, as he opened his mouth to speak, the words that came out were not as innocuous as he’d meant them to be. As the one thing he couldn’t help but worry about slipped out instead of a lighter topic, once his eyes landed on his own split up knuckles with a grimace.
“I’m sorry… I probably scared you with…” He sighed as he gestured to his knuckles with a small frown. The small voice in his heart begging her to not be scared of him as he bit back the words.
I’d never hurt you.
“No, it’s fine. He… He deserved it,” She sighed, finally looking up at him again.
The few tears in her eyes had been hastily wiped away by the sleeve of her shirt before her hand instead hovered over the split skin on his knuckles. Anxious worry stained (Y/E/C) eyes as she looked for some way to heal his hurt with just a simple touch of her fingers.
Giving up, his sunshine girl didn’t pull away however. Choosing instead to let her soft, trembling fingers trace a pattern against the back of his hand. Carefully avoiding the injured skin around his knuckles as he sighed in relief. She didn’t hate him.
“I just needed you to be safe is all,” He shrugged, as his eyes closed involuntarily at the pleasurable feel of her fingers playing across his skin. Damn it, she was better than the morphine drip the doctors had given him. And it took everything he had to not blurt out what he really wanted to say, as his mind once more twisted his words into a confession in the back of his mind.
I need you.
“Thank you Dean,” She whispered as Dean opened his eyes to look at her again. His heart soaring when he saw that small smile that had come to mean everythingto him during their stay in the lakehouse.
“No problem,” He said with a smile as he swallowed heavily with his heart in his throat from the heavenly sight of her smile. Forcing down the only words he’d really wanted to say, this whole time.
I’m in love with you (Y/N).
Chasing the words away with a heavy breath, Dean instead just brightened his own smile. He couldn’t tell her. Not yet. Not when there was still so much weighing on her shoulders. Yes, he’d tried to tell her how he felt, or he’d at least made some laughably weak attempts at telling her, back at the cabin. Hell, he’d even openly told Brian that he liked her. But she was fragile then and, damn it, he had taken advantage of that fragility to bare his heart to her.
Sure… She’d seemed to hint at feelings that mirrored his back then… And no matter what happened, the taste of her kiss would never leave him. It was tattooed onto his very soul. But, now that she was out of it all? Hell, maybe he was just her neighbour again… If that was what she wanted, fuck, it would hurt, but that would be what he’d be.
Still, he couldn’t ask her now.
He couldn’t risk ruining the smile that was slowly blossoming once more. And, damn it, he didn’t want to be the reason for her tears or anguish. She was already carrying guilt that didn’t belong to her. What if she felt guilty for not feeling the same way as him?
No… Dean couldn’t say it. So, instead he bit the words back and kept his voice, and his change of topic, light.
“So, what now?” Dean cringed at his choice of words. It was… Laughably weak and would only bring the conversation full circle. Seeing as she had already told him she would be going down to the station to give her statement. Yet, as she sighed and let her bright eyes go unfocused she seemed to search for an answer beyond the police station. (Y/E/C) orbs staring into a future that once more existed instead of the terrifying nightmare of prison bars and cameras she’d been faced with only hours earlier, Dean still held his breath as he waited for her answer. Wondering if he was anywhere to be found in whatever future she was staring into.
“Now, I don’t know…” She shrugged and frowned in that way that sent Dean’s heart into his throat again as he swallowed hard. Letting his hands dig into the blanket, he bit the inside of his cheek in an effort to stop himself from reaching out to erase the cute creases in her forehead with his thumb.
“I don’t think I can go back there. To… That place. Gabe’s offered up his guest bedroom, until I find another apartment,” She sighed, her eyes dropping as Dean’s heart fell into the pit of his stomach. Leaving him nauseous and winded at the revelation.
“Oh…” Was all he managed to push out as he moved his eyes off of her to instead focus on his hands.
Of course she’d move. It shouldn’t have come as a shock to Dean. Yet, the thought of the apartment next to his being empty. The very idea of not hearing her little annoyed knocks against his bedroom wall in the morning. Or of not knowing she was right there, next to him, still tore at his heart as he swallowed the lump in his throat.
“But! I’ll… I’ll call you. Ok?” She shot in, throwing him a look tinged with worry and the early rays of fresh hope. Her bright (Y/E/C) eyes begging him to believe in her.
“Alright, I just… I want you to be happy (Y/N),” Dean said, giving her a small smile that he hoped looked believable as she returned it with her own shaky smile and placed her hand on his.
For a second, they just sat there in silence. As Dean searched for the words to make her stay… Or at least the words to make her smile that full bright smile from the days back on her balcony in apartment 42. However, before he could, the sharp knock of knuckles against plywood cut him off as Sam pushed open the door and peeked in.
“(Y/N)? Detective Davies is…” Sam started, cutting off his words when Dean shot him an annoyed look. Yet the damage was already done as his sunshine girl let out a tired sigh.
“Oh… Of course. I’ll… I’ll call you?” Her words came out shaped as a question instead of a statement as she waited for his permission, though she didn’t even have to ask. Dean would do anything for her.
Letting her fingers play with his hand again she smiled softly as he nodded. Before a trembling hand lifted to gently move a few stray hairs out of his face as Dean closed his eyes to revel in her touch.
“I’ll be waiting,” He hummed as he opened his eyes again and gave her a soft, genuine smile.
Smiling back, his sunshine girl, the girl who would no longer reside in apartment 42, gave him a small wave as she removed her fingertips from his skin and lifted herself out of the chair.
Parting her lips, she looked as if she wanted to say something else, before thinking better of it as she hurried back across the hospital room and over to the door where Sam was waiting. Wetting those sugar lips before mouthing a final bye his way, she slipped out, and into the hallway where Detective douchebag was waiting for her.
Yet, even as her eyes focused on the detective and her friends, Dean’s eyes didn’t leave her. Not as she readied herself to leave and took a few careful steps down the hallway before throwing a final glance his way over her shoulder.
No… Dean’s eyes stayed glued on her retreating form. Not leaving her until she was fully out of sight.
