Family Don't End In Blood

He couldn’t walk in right away. Just being there didn’t feel right. Sam offered to go for him, but he felt as if it was his responsibility, not his sons. 

Taking a quick glance over his shoulder to see if Bobby was on his way out of his meeting, he then took the first step into the office of his eldest son. It was clear that Bobby was going to be a few minutes more and John didn’t feel right just standing in the doorway any longer. 

An empty box that the station usually uses for cases sat on the desk, a reminder of why he was there if he were to forget for any reason. But that wasn’t possible. 

Running his fingers along the dark wood of the desk, John moves around to the office chair and pushes it back a little so he can access the drawers. He sighs as he looks over the desk top, a few pictures of family smiling up at him and giving him a few good memories to grin about. 

Reaching out for the one of him and Mary, he lifts it with ease, his thumb running over his wife in the picture as he smiles for the first time that morning, but that doesn’t stop the sinking feeling he gets when he goes to set it into the box. And that’s why he knew that he needed to come here and do this, not Sam.

He moves slowly, grabbing each picture and setting it in the box but not before looking them over first. Next, he starts opening the drawers, grabbing anything that looks like a personal item of Deans.

“Hope that box is big enough.” The sudden company startles him, but he sends the man a soft smile.

“Yeah, it should be fine. Doesn’t look like he has much here anyway.” Bobby nods and slowly moves into the office, sighing as he looks around. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah.” Bobby sighs heavily, slipping his hands into his jeans. “It’s just…weird.”

“I get it.” John sympathizes, still pulling a few things from the drawers. “Are you going to give the office up?” It was a legit question, but Bobby has to admit that hearing it feels just as weird as seeing the room missing the owner.

“No. I don’t think I’ll be able to do that.” he says, shaking his head gently. It falls silent between the two while John continues to look for Dean’s personals, but when it looks like he’s about done, Bobby asks.

“What time is the service again?”

“Three.” John confirms, nodding while resting his hands on the box.

“Do you and Mary need me to do anything? Food maybe?”

“No, she’s got that handled. She just hired a caterer.” The two men nod, not knowing how else to respond. “And Sam and Sarah took care of the flowers, so,”

“Good. That’s good.” Neither would want to admit that they were both getting a little teary eyed. “Well,” he starts but has to clear his throat. “If you guys need anything, just shoot me a text or give me a call, okay?”

“Definitely.” John pushes a soft smile, trying to be as comforting as he can. “I should uh, get back to the house.”

“Of course.” Bobby nods, stepping aside to let John through the threshold first. “I’ll see you in a couple of days.” John sends him a nod and then slowly makes his way out of the station, glancing at Eddie’s desk along the way. 

Bobby stands outside Dean’s office, his heart heavy as he watches his friend leave, carrying a box that held the life of his best detective. In denial that any of this is happening, he turns to shut the office door and his hand lingers on the doorknob for a moment before latching it. As he goes to head back for his office though, he takes a quick look at Eddie's desk too, the heaviness of this entire situation just weighing him down and he knew there was nothing that would help make it go away.

-

Mary was probably standing at the counter for over fifteen minutes just watching the coffee drip into the pot. The silence in the house assisted her in spacing out. It’s only when the machine makes a deep gurgling noise that she’s able to snap out of it and she pulls a few mugs down from the cupboard.

She fills all of them to the owner's liking and then sets the pot back on the burner. Grabbing the sugar bowl, she puts in a couple spoonfuls in hers and stirs it up, her attention span trying to escape again but she holds on by a thread.

When she hears her son clear his throat from the adjoining room, she sets the spoon down and quickly fixes up the others. Like a pro, she gets a good grip on the handles and carries them over to the table where Sam and Sarah are folding programs. 

“Here you go, sweetie.” Sam looks up at his mom, sending her a gentle smile as she slides a mug over to his wife and then nudges his closer to him.

“Thanks, mom.” Mary’s eyes linger on the cream colored pamphlet, her heart aching as she runs the tips of her fingers over one of the pictures on the inside.

“I’ll be right back.” she tells them quietly, her coffee along with another in her hand as she heads for the backdoor. Careful not to spill either mugfull, she pushes on the handle with her elbow getting it to come loose enough for her to push it open with her foot. She then looks at the person sitting on the deck, a heartbreaking sigh falling from her lips before she makes her way over and takes a seat.

“I know you won’t take water but I’m not giving you alcohol.” she says to her eldest son as she hands him the other coffee in her hand. His little grin doesn’t last long, but Mary understands.

It kills her, everything that has happened. Dean was in the hospital for a few weeks, at one point on the brink of death. Doctors told them to prepare themselves and she was sure that she was losing her son, but he fought back. Just like he did everyday of his life, and now, here he was. Though, with how the outcome was for others, it didn't exactly feel like a win.

“How are you holding up, honey?”

“I’m doing alright.” he answers after a few moments, his voice hoarse and low as he hasn’t spoken a word for hours.

“Your leg hurting or anything?”

“No, I’m okay.” Switching her coffee to her right hand, Mary then rubs Dean’s back a little before leaning into his side and resting her head on his shoulder. He leans against her, welcoming the comfort though he said he wanted to be left alone. He couldn’t deny that it was nice to have that in that moment.

“Uh, mom?” Neither of them heard the backdoor open, but when they heard Sam they pulled apart and looked over their shoulders. “It’s the caterer. They have a question about one of the dishes.” Holding the cordless phone up, Sam can’t help but look between the two of them, his curiosity of how his brother was doing being one of his main focuses.

“Okay.” Mary says as she gets up from her spot.

“Mom, I can get it if you…”

“No, no. I got it. You just drink your coffee.” she points to the mug before reaching for the phone and heads back inside. Sam watches her for a moment but then steps outside and shuts the door behind him. Seeing this, Dean turns back and takes a sip of his coffee, letting his eyes disappear into the black liquid.

When Sam sits down, he sighs and looks over at his brother. Dean eventually looks up and they share a similar sad grin before Sam pats his brother on the back and then they both look out over the backyard together. 

No words needed to be said between the two, and even if there was, neither of them knew what to say. After what they all have gone through over the past couple weeks silence was one of the best things for all of them.

-

Though he was sitting in the front row with his family, Dean couldn’t hear a word that the priest was saying. His eyes were locked on the casket at the front of the room. He never even heard his name being called from the man. It was Mary that got his attention when she put her hand on his leg.

He looks a little lost for a minute but then realizes he’s been summoned up on stage. As he walks by the casket, he takes slower strides and tries his hardest to keep his composure. But despite keeping himself together, once he gets up to the podium and looks out over the crowd, he locks back up. 

Everyone is patient of course, not one person not understanding what he was going through, but that didn’t stop him from feeling a tad embarrassed for the fact that he’s lost his tough guy persona in front of so many.

He feels like he’s up there for hours before he’s able to clear his throat and finally look away from the casket. Reaching into his suit jacket, he pulls out a folded piece of paper, slowly unraveling it to remind himself of what he had written down. It took him days to get down what he wanted to say, and even then he knew it would never be enough.

“Hi.” One word out and he already has to clear his throat. “I’ve uh…I’ve spent days going through every memory I possibly could trying to come up with the best thing to say for this. But the thing is,” he pauses, shaking his head as tears start filling his eyes. “Nothing I say will ever reach the heights that it should.” With how emotional he was already getting, Dean knew he would have to pause his speech multiple times.

“The truth is, and we all know it, is that this should have never happened. There’s evil all around us all the time and I’ve dedicated my life to trying to stop that. And despite what everyone has told me, multiple times, I feel as if I’ve failed.” he croaks and has to reach up to rub his neck, in an attempt to loosen the tightness he was feeling.

“I think about that night over and over again, and I think about how if I was just a little more aware, if I just looked around a little more before entering that barn, then maybe I could have prevented this from escalating as much as it did.” Dean wipes at his face and then smooths out his notes on the podium. The sniffles coming from the crowd go unheard by him because he’s so stuck in his own thoughts and feelings. He’s struggling to focus on his own speech let alone how the room is reacting to what he’s saying.

“Many of you have told me your side of the story, about how everything went down that night and I know that none of us are surprised.” Dean’s able to smile just a bit as he looks out at his fellow officers. “Eddie was just as dedicated to the job as I was and that’s why I was honored to have him as a partner.” He seems to reminisce for a second before clearing his throat again, the speech heading back into emotional territory. 

“I don’t know if it’s because of his lack of family and support or if we were just meant to click the way we did, but over the years he’s become family to me and I couldn’t imagine working alongside anyone else.” Dean looks up from his notes then, his eyes landing on someone in the front row and they don’t so much as flinch as he continues. “Eddie spent his last moments protecting the most important person in my life, and I know that even if we weren’t as close as we were, his actions wouldn’t have changed because that’s the kind of person and officer he was.” Eyes dropping back to his paper, he has yet to dry another tear that slips from his eye.

“There’s nothing that I’ll ever be able to do that will repay him for what he’s done. I just hope that I can honor him throughout the rest of my life and I hope that it’ll be enough.” Dean swallows and then straightens himself a bit before looking over at the casket again.

“We’ll see you on the other side, brother.” he concludes, haphazardly folding up his paper and sticking it back in his jacket. Then, he carefully walks back to his seat, babying his leg since standing for too long seems to make it flare up.

He couldn’t walk in right away. Just being there didn’t feel right. Sam offered to go for him, but he felt as if it was his responsibility, not his sons. 

Taking a quick glance over his shoulder to see if Bobby was on his way out of his meeting, he then took the first step into the office of his eldest son. It was clear that Bobby was going to be a few minutes more and John didn’t feel right just standing in the doorway any longer. 

An empty box that the station usually uses for cases sat on the desk, a reminder of why he was there if he were to forget for any reason. But that wasn’t possible. 

Running his fingers along the dark wood of the desk, John moves around to the office chair and pushes it back a little so he can access the drawers. He sighs as he looks over the desk top, a few pictures of family smiling up at him and giving him a few good memories to grin about. 

Reaching out for the one of him and Mary, he lifts it with ease, his thumb running over his wife in the picture as he smiles for the first time that morning, but that doesn’t stop the sinking feeling he gets when he goes to set it into the box. And that’s why he knew that he needed to come here and do this, not Sam.

He moves slowly, grabbing each picture and setting it in the box but not before looking them over first. Next, he starts opening the drawers, grabbing anything that looks like a personal item of Deans.

“Hope that box is big enough.” The sudden company startles him, but he sends the man a soft smile.

“Yeah, it should be fine. Doesn’t look like he has much here anyway.” Bobby nods and slowly moves into the office, sighing as he looks around. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah.” Bobby sighs heavily, slipping his hands into his jeans. “It’s just…weird.”

“I get it.” John sympathizes, still pulling a few things from the drawers. “Are you going to give the office up?” It was a legit question, but Bobby has to admit that hearing it feels just as weird as seeing the room missing the owner.

“No. I don’t think I’ll be able to do that.” he says, shaking his head gently. It falls silent between the two while John continues to look for Dean’s personals, but when it looks like he’s about done, Bobby asks.

“What time is the service again?”

“Three.” John confirms, nodding while resting his hands on the box.

“Do you and Mary need me to do anything? Food maybe?”

“No, she’s got that handled. She just hired a caterer.” The two men nod, not knowing how else to respond. “And Sam and Sarah took care of the flowers, so,”

“Good. That’s good.” Neither would want to admit that they were both getting a little teary eyed. “Well,” he starts but has to clear his throat. “If you guys need anything, just shoot me a text or give me a call, okay?”

“Definitely.” John pushes a soft smile, trying to be as comforting as he can. “I should uh, get back to the house.”

“Of course.” Bobby nods, stepping aside to let John through the threshold first. “I’ll see you in a couple of days.” John sends him a nod and then slowly makes his way out of the station, glancing at Eddie’s desk along the way. 

Bobby stands outside Dean’s office, his heart heavy as he watches his friend leave, carrying a box that held the life of his best detective. In denial that any of this is happening, he turns to shut the office door and his hand lingers on the doorknob for a moment before latching it. As he goes to head back for his office though, he takes a quick look at Eddie's desk too, the heaviness of this entire situation just weighing him down and he knew there was nothing that would help make it go away.

-

Mary was probably standing at the counter for over fifteen minutes just watching the coffee drip into the pot. The silence in the house assisted her in spacing out. It’s only when the machine makes a deep gurgling noise that she’s able to snap out of it and she pulls a few mugs down from the cupboard.

She fills all of them to the owner's liking and then sets the pot back on the burner. Grabbing the sugar bowl, she puts in a couple spoonfuls in hers and stirs it up, her attention span trying to escape again but she holds on by a thread.

When she hears her son clear his throat from the adjoining room, she sets the spoon down and quickly fixes up the others. Like a pro, she gets a good grip on the handles and carries them over to the table where Sam and Sarah are folding programs. 

“Here you go, sweetie.” Sam looks up at his mom, sending her a gentle smile as she slides a mug over to his wife and then nudges his closer to him.

“Thanks, mom.” Mary’s eyes linger on the cream colored pamphlet, her heart aching as she runs the tips of her fingers over one of the pictures on the inside.

“I’ll be right back.” she tells them quietly, her coffee along with another in her hand as she heads for the backdoor. Careful not to spill either mugfull, she pushes on the handle with her elbow getting it to come loose enough for her to push it open with her foot. She then looks at the person sitting on the deck, a heartbreaking sigh falling from her lips before she makes her way over and takes a seat.

“I know you won’t take water but I’m not giving you alcohol.” she says to her eldest son as she hands him the other coffee in her hand. His little grin doesn’t last long, but Mary understands.

It kills her, everything that has happened. Dean was in the hospital for a few weeks, at one point on the brink of death. Doctors told them to prepare themselves and she was sure that she was losing her son, but he fought back. Just like he did everyday of his life, and now, here he was. Though, with how the outcome was for others, it didn't exactly feel like a win.

“How are you holding up, honey?”

“I’m doing alright.” he answers after a few moments, his voice hoarse and low as he hasn’t spoken a word for hours.

“Your leg hurting or anything?”

“No, I’m okay.” Switching her coffee to her right hand, Mary then rubs Dean’s back a little before leaning into his side and resting her head on his shoulder. He leans against her, welcoming the comfort though he said he wanted to be left alone. He couldn’t deny that it was nice to have that in that moment.

“Uh, mom?” Neither of them heard the backdoor open, but when they heard Sam they pulled apart and looked over their shoulders. “It’s the caterer. They have a question about one of the dishes.” Holding the cordless phone up, Sam can’t help but look between the two of them, his curiosity of how his brother was doing being one of his main focuses.

“Okay.” Mary says as she gets up from her spot.

“Mom, I can get it if you…”

“No, no. I got it. You just drink your coffee.” she points to the mug before reaching for the phone and heads back inside. Sam watches her for a moment but then steps outside and shuts the door behind him. Seeing this, Dean turns back and takes a sip of his coffee, letting his eyes disappear into the black liquid.

When Sam sits down, he sighs and looks over at his brother. Dean eventually looks up and they share a similar sad grin before Sam pats his brother on the back and then they both look out over the backyard together. 

No words needed to be said between the two, and even if there was, neither of them knew what to say. After what they all have gone through over the past couple weeks silence was one of the best things for all of them.

-

Though he was sitting in the front row with his family, Dean couldn’t hear a word that the priest was saying. His eyes were locked on the casket at the front of the room. He never even heard his name being called from the man. It was Mary that got his attention when she put her hand on his leg.

He looks a little lost for a minute but then realizes he’s been summoned up on stage. As he walks by the casket, he takes slower strides and tries his hardest to keep his composure. But despite keeping himself together, once he gets up to the podium and looks out over the crowd, he locks back up. 

Everyone is patient of course, not one person not understanding what he was going through, but that didn’t stop him from feeling a tad embarrassed for the fact that he’s lost his tough guy persona in front of so many.

He feels like he’s up there for hours before he’s able to clear his throat and finally look away from the casket. Reaching into his suit jacket, he pulls out a folded piece of paper, slowly unraveling it to remind himself of what he had written down. It took him days to get down what he wanted to say, and even then he knew it would never be enough.

“Hi.” One word out and he already has to clear his throat. “I’ve uh…I’ve spent days going through every memory I possibly could trying to come up with the best thing to say for this. But the thing is,” he pauses, shaking his head as tears start filling his eyes. “Nothing I say will ever reach the heights that it should.” With how emotional he was already getting, Dean knew he would have to pause his speech multiple times.

“The truth is, and we all know it, is that this should have never happened. There’s evil all around us all the time and I’ve dedicated my life to trying to stop that. And despite what everyone has told me, multiple times, I feel as if I’ve failed.” he croaks and has to reach up to rub his neck, in an attempt to loosen the tightness he was feeling.

“I think about that night over and over again, and I think about how if I was just a little more aware, if I just looked around a little more before entering that barn, then maybe I could have prevented this from escalating as much as it did.” Dean wipes at his face and then smooths out his notes on the podium. The sniffles coming from the crowd go unheard by him because he’s so stuck in his own thoughts and feelings. He’s struggling to focus on his own speech let alone how the room is reacting to what he’s saying.

“Many of you have told me your side of the story, about how everything went down that night and I know that none of us are surprised.” Dean’s able to smile just a bit as he looks out at his fellow officers. “Eddie was just as dedicated to the job as I was and that’s why I was honored to have him as a partner.” He seems to reminisce for a second before clearing his throat again, the speech heading back into emotional territory. 

“I don’t know if it’s because of his lack of family and support or if we were just meant to click the way we did, but over the years he’s become family to me and I couldn’t imagine working alongside anyone else.” Dean looks up from his notes then, his eyes landing on someone in the front row and they don’t so much as flinch as he continues. “Eddie spent his last moments protecting the most important person in my life, and I know that even if we weren’t as close as we were, his actions wouldn’t have changed because that’s the kind of person and officer he was.” Eyes dropping back to his paper, he has yet to dry another tear that slips from his eye.

“There’s nothing that I’ll ever be able to do that will repay him for what he’s done. I just hope that I can honor him throughout the rest of my life and I hope that it’ll be enough.” Dean swallows and then straightens himself a bit before looking over at the casket again.

“We’ll see you on the other side, brother.” he concludes, haphazardly folding up his paper and sticking it back in his jacket. Then, he carefully walks back to his seat, babying his leg since standing for too long seems to make it flare up.

He couldn’t walk in right away. Just being there didn’t feel right. Sam offered to go for him, but he felt as if it was his responsibility, not his sons. 

Taking a quick glance over his shoulder to see if Bobby was on his way out of his meeting, he then took the first step into the office of his eldest son. It was clear that Bobby was going to be a few minutes more and John didn’t feel right just standing in the doorway any longer. 

An empty box that the station usually uses for cases sat on the desk, a reminder of why he was there if he were to forget for any reason. But that wasn’t possible. 

Running his fingers along the dark wood of the desk, John moves around to the office chair and pushes it back a little so he can access the drawers. He sighs as he looks over the desk top, a few pictures of family smiling up at him and giving him a few good memories to grin about. 

Reaching out for the one of him and Mary, he lifts it with ease, his thumb running over his wife in the picture as he smiles for the first time that morning, but that doesn’t stop the sinking feeling he gets when he goes to set it into the box. And that’s why he knew that he needed to come here and do this, not Sam.

He moves slowly, grabbing each picture and setting it in the box but not before looking them over first. Next, he starts opening the drawers, grabbing anything that looks like a personal item of Deans.

“Hope that box is big enough.” The sudden company startles him, but he sends the man a soft smile.

“Yeah, it should be fine. Doesn’t look like he has much here anyway.” Bobby nods and slowly moves into the office, sighing as he looks around. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah.” Bobby sighs heavily, slipping his hands into his jeans. “It’s just…weird.”

“I get it.” John sympathizes, still pulling a few things from the drawers. “Are you going to give the office up?” It was a legit question, but Bobby has to admit that hearing it feels just as weird as seeing the room missing the owner.

“No. I don’t think I’ll be able to do that.” he says, shaking his head gently. It falls silent between the two while John continues to look for Dean’s personals, but when it looks like he’s about done, Bobby asks.

“What time is the service again?”

“Three.” John confirms, nodding while resting his hands on the box.

“Do you and Mary need me to do anything? Food maybe?”

“No, she’s got that handled. She just hired a caterer.” The two men nod, not knowing how else to respond. “And Sam and Sarah took care of the flowers, so,”

“Good. That’s good.” Neither would want to admit that they were both getting a little teary eyed. “Well,” he starts but has to clear his throat. “If you guys need anything, just shoot me a text or give me a call, okay?”

“Definitely.” John pushes a soft smile, trying to be as comforting as he can. “I should uh, get back to the house.”

“Of course.” Bobby nods, stepping aside to let John through the threshold first. “I’ll see you in a couple of days.” John sends him a nod and then slowly makes his way out of the station, glancing at Eddie’s desk along the way. 

Bobby stands outside Dean’s office, his heart heavy as he watches his friend leave, carrying a box that held the life of his best detective. In denial that any of this is happening, he turns to shut the office door and his hand lingers on the doorknob for a moment before latching it. As he goes to head back for his office though, he takes a quick look at Eddie's desk too, the heaviness of this entire situation just weighing him down and he knew there was nothing that would help make it go away.

-

Mary was probably standing at the counter for over fifteen minutes just watching the coffee drip into the pot. The silence in the house assisted her in spacing out. It’s only when the machine makes a deep gurgling noise that she’s able to snap out of it and she pulls a few mugs down from the cupboard.

She fills all of them to the owner's liking and then sets the pot back on the burner. Grabbing the sugar bowl, she puts in a couple spoonfuls in hers and stirs it up, her attention span trying to escape again but she holds on by a thread.

When she hears her son clear his throat from the adjoining room, she sets the spoon down and quickly fixes up the others. Like a pro, she gets a good grip on the handles and carries them over to the table where Sam and Sarah are folding programs. 

“Here you go, sweetie.” Sam looks up at his mom, sending her a gentle smile as she slides a mug over to his wife and then nudges his closer to him.

“Thanks, mom.” Mary’s eyes linger on the cream colored pamphlet, her heart aching as she runs the tips of her fingers over one of the pictures on the inside.

“I’ll be right back.” she tells them quietly, her coffee along with another in her hand as she heads for the backdoor. Careful not to spill either mugfull, she pushes on the handle with her elbow getting it to come loose enough for her to push it open with her foot. She then looks at the person sitting on the deck, a heartbreaking sigh falling from her lips before she makes her way over and takes a seat.

“I know you won’t take water but I’m not giving you alcohol.” she says to her eldest son as she hands him the other coffee in her hand. His little grin doesn’t last long, but Mary understands.

It kills her, everything that has happened. Dean was in the hospital for a few weeks, at one point on the brink of death. Doctors told them to prepare themselves and she was sure that she was losing her son, but he fought back. Just like he did everyday of his life, and now, here he was. Though, with how the outcome was for others, it didn't exactly feel like a win.

“How are you holding up, honey?”

“I’m doing alright.” he answers after a few moments, his voice hoarse and low as he hasn’t spoken a word for hours.

“Your leg hurting or anything?”

“No, I’m okay.” Switching her coffee to her right hand, Mary then rubs Dean’s back a little before leaning into his side and resting her head on his shoulder. He leans against her, welcoming the comfort though he said he wanted to be left alone. He couldn’t deny that it was nice to have that in that moment.

“Uh, mom?” Neither of them heard the backdoor open, but when they heard Sam they pulled apart and looked over their shoulders. “It’s the caterer. They have a question about one of the dishes.” Holding the cordless phone up, Sam can’t help but look between the two of them, his curiosity of how his brother was doing being one of his main focuses.

“Okay.” Mary says as she gets up from her spot.

“Mom, I can get it if you…”

“No, no. I got it. You just drink your coffee.” she points to the mug before reaching for the phone and heads back inside. Sam watches her for a moment but then steps outside and shuts the door behind him. Seeing this, Dean turns back and takes a sip of his coffee, letting his eyes disappear into the black liquid.

When Sam sits down, he sighs and looks over at his brother. Dean eventually looks up and they share a similar sad grin before Sam pats his brother on the back and then they both look out over the backyard together. 

No words needed to be said between the two, and even if there was, neither of them knew what to say. After what they all have gone through over the past couple weeks silence was one of the best things for all of them.

-

Though he was sitting in the front row with his family, Dean couldn’t hear a word that the priest was saying. His eyes were locked on the casket at the front of the room. He never even heard his name being called from the man. It was Mary that got his attention when she put her hand on his leg.

He looks a little lost for a minute but then realizes he’s been summoned up on stage. As he walks by the casket, he takes slower strides and tries his hardest to keep his composure. But despite keeping himself together, once he gets up to the podium and looks out over the crowd, he locks back up. 

Everyone is patient of course, not one person not understanding what he was going through, but that didn’t stop him from feeling a tad embarrassed for the fact that he’s lost his tough guy persona in front of so many.

He feels like he’s up there for hours before he’s able to clear his throat and finally look away from the casket. Reaching into his suit jacket, he pulls out a folded piece of paper, slowly unraveling it to remind himself of what he had written down. It took him days to get down what he wanted to say, and even then he knew it would never be enough.

“Hi.” One word out and he already has to clear his throat. “I’ve uh…I’ve spent days going through every memory I possibly could trying to come up with the best thing to say for this. But the thing is,” he pauses, shaking his head as tears start filling his eyes. “Nothing I say will ever reach the heights that it should.” With how emotional he was already getting, Dean knew he would have to pause his speech multiple times.

“The truth is, and we all know it, is that this should have never happened. There’s evil all around us all the time and I’ve dedicated my life to trying to stop that. And despite what everyone has told me, multiple times, I feel as if I’ve failed.” he croaks and has to reach up to rub his neck, in an attempt to loosen the tightness he was feeling.

“I think about that night over and over again, and I think about how if I was just a little more aware, if I just looked around a little more before entering that barn, then maybe I could have prevented this from escalating as much as it did.” Dean wipes at his face and then smooths out his notes on the podium. The sniffles coming from the crowd go unheard by him because he’s so stuck in his own thoughts and feelings. He’s struggling to focus on his own speech let alone how the room is reacting to what he’s saying.

“Many of you have told me your side of the story, about how everything went down that night and I know that none of us are surprised.” Dean’s able to smile just a bit as he looks out at his fellow officers. “Eddie was just as dedicated to the job as I was and that’s why I was honored to have him as a partner.” He seems to reminisce for a second before clearing his throat again, the speech heading back into emotional territory. 

“I don’t know if it’s because of his lack of family and support or if we were just meant to click the way we did, but over the years he’s become family to me and I couldn’t imagine working alongside anyone else.” Dean looks up from his notes then, his eyes landing on someone in the front row and they don’t so much as flinch as he continues. “Eddie spent his last moments protecting the most important person in my life, and I know that even if we weren’t as close as we were, his actions wouldn’t have changed because that’s the kind of person and officer he was.” Eyes dropping back to his paper, he has yet to dry another tear that slips from his eye.

“There’s nothing that I’ll ever be able to do that will repay him for what he’s done. I just hope that I can honor him throughout the rest of my life and I hope that it’ll be enough.” Dean swallows and then straightens himself a bit before looking over at the casket again.

“We’ll see you on the other side, brother.” he concludes, haphazardly folding up his paper and sticking it back in his jacket. Then, he carefully walks back to his seat, babying his leg since standing for too long seems to make it flare up.

Squad cars surrounded the house. Flashing lights just spinning in circles and lighting up the neighborhood while officers searched Cassidy’s residents. Bobby was out front with a team, looking over a map and trying to think of where they should look next. 

They went through evidence and any clues that they could come up with that might help find where he was hiding, but they continued to come up with nothing.

There was one lead that they had a team looking into, but they haven’t heard back from that unit yet. Bobby had sent a few officers out to the house that Paul and, to whom they know now as Cassidy kept their victims and he was anxiously waiting to hear from them.

“I can’t get a hold of Dean.” Styles stressed, hanging up the phone for what felt like the hundredth time. “I texted Sam to see if he could go check on them, but…” When Styles sighs, Bobby looks up. “I don’t have a good feeling, Bobby.”

“Me neither.” Hoping that he would already have an answer, Styles looks down at his phone, but of course there’s nothing yet. “Alright, let's see what we can do.” As Bobby crosses off a few spots on the map, his radio goes off, getting the attention of every officer standing by.

“Captain?”

“I’m here. What do you got?” 

“Well, the house is empty. Doesn’t look like anyone has been here for a while. But, we got a call from someone claiming they heard gunshots not too far up the road from here, so we’re going to go check it out.”

“Gunshots? What direction?” Frantic, Bobby looks over the map to find where the house was located.

“Just a few miles East.” Bobby slides his finger along the road, looking to see if anything shows up on the map that could look like something.

“It looks like it’s all farmland. But there might be a residence up that way. Check it out, watch your backs.”

“You got it” By the time the team clicked off, Bobby looked up to see that Styles was looking at his phone again, his thumb clicking on the screen every now and again. 

“I don’t think you’ll hear back from Sam for at least another fifteen minutes.”

“That’s not what I’m doing.” Looking confused, Bobby listens to his detective. “I’m looking into the land up that way. We know that serials not only like to take trophies, but they also like to feel safe. Comfortable.”

“Right.” Bobby agrees, still a little confused.

“I’m trying to see if there’s anything up that way that could be connected to Cassidy.” Bobby’s a little frustrated that he didn’t think of that earlier, but he was grateful that he had a team heading that way and that he had someone with a brain looking into it.

“The land belonged to the Vanderbelts for decades…” Styles shakes his head, hating that it didn’t sound like it was connected to their guy.

“Wait! Vanderbelt?” At Bobby’s excitement though, it gives him some hope.

“Yeah.”

“That was Cassidy’s wifes maiden name. That land must have belonged to her family.” Their eyes said it all and they knew they needed to move. “Alright! I need you, you and you to stay here in case he comes back! The rest of you, follow us!”

-

The first set of officers came upon the scene, seeing flames coming from the old abandoned barn. They got on their radios and called in for a fire team right away all while Bobby, Styles and the other officers that followed heard what was going on through the radio communications.

“Anyone seem to be there?” Bobby asks, the radio letting out a bit of static as he gets off the line. Styles stares ahead, wanting to get there as fast as he can because he just knew in his gut that something was wrong and he wanted to find out what it was before it was too late.

“I’m not sure. I’m approaching the entrance now. Hold on.” The seconds between that and the next call out was torture. It was so quiet in Eddie’s car, he didn’t even have the radio on. He kept looking from the road to the clock on his dash, minutes just kept ticking by and he didn’t understand why they weren’t coming back. Was Cassidy still there? Were they hurt? So many questions ran through his head.

It wasn’t until about five long minutes later that static picked up on the radio and Rocky, the main officer's voice came through, finally.

“We need immediate medical assistance! Officer down! I repeat, officer down! Requesting air support!” Styles stumbled with the radio, trying to lift it from the holder in a frenzy.

“Rocky! Who is it!?” he lets go of the button for a second to readjust the device in his hand. “Is it Winchester!?” Again, some silence goes by, making Styles want to scream, but then the confirmation comes through. 

“Affirmative! Detective Winchester is clear of the building but is in serious condition! We need to….” At the sudden cutoff, Styles begins to panic.

“Rocky!?”

“Rocky? What’s going on?” Bobby then chimes in and Styles holds his breath.

“Sorry. Winchester says that Cassidy took off. Not sure which direction he went though.”

“Does he have his car!?” Styles is praying that the answer is yes knowing that he can trace the squad car.

“No. Winchester is shaking his head. He…he’s not doing good though, guys.”

“Air support is on the way. Tell him to hold on.” Bobby was always someone that held himself together, but for the first time ever, Styles heard emotion in his voice. “What type of injuries are we looking at?”

“Uh…Three GSW’s, two to the chest and one to the thigh. It looks like he has a nasty laceration on his head too.” Styles instantly feels sick. Seeing him shot in the shoulder was enough, but this…this was so much worse.

“Is Captain Singer on this line?” A new voice comes through, getting everyone confused on what was going on now.

“I’m here. What is it?”

“Well, I know one of your detectives has a pretty distinct car, just wanted to check with you and see if you knew where he was tonight. You know, the one who owns the Impala?” All their hearts stop in that second.

“What about him?”

“Well, I just pulled one over for running a red light. License plate, Kilo, Alpha, Zulu, Two, Yankee, Five. But it didn’t look like your guy, so…thought I’d check.”

“That’s his plate, Bobby!” Styles screams into the radio, the anger he’s feeling because of this entire situation making it hard to keep his officer mindset. This was personal and he was going to make sure he finished this. “Where was he headed!?”

“Well, when I let him go he was heading south on Gilpin, just off of Blackwood.”

“Thank you, officer.” Bobby sends through, hoping that the officer will switch channels.

“No problem.”

“I’m going after him, Bobby.” Styles puts through, practically an order as he was more than ready to flip his car in the other direction whether Bobby was okay with it or not. It’s only silent for a few beats before the Captain clicks on.

“Okay. I need two other units to go with him. Don’t care who.”

“You got it, boss.” One patrol unit confirmed and seconds later, another. Styles slowed down and then turned back to see if he could cut off Cassidy from another direction, the two other patrol cars mirroring his movements and keeping up with no issues.

-

Bobby’s tires spat up the dirt as he pulled up to the barn. He barely got the patrol car in park when he was jumping out of his seat and rushing over to where the EMT’s were hovered.

“Dean!” As he gets closer, he starts pushing people out of his way. “Move! Move! Dean!?” They had him on a stretcher and were just about to lift him and move him to the helicopter a couple yards away, so he made it just in time. “Oh, son…” Dean opens his mouth to speak, but only gurgled whispers come out. Yet he doesn’t quit until Bobby catches at least one word.

“Y/N?” The detective nods, grateful that he understood. “Where is she?” When Dean’s eyes close, Bobby takes the hint. “She’s with him?” That’s when Dean opens his eyes again, tears pooling quickly and overflowing without a sound being made. “Okay. Well, Styles is on his way to cut him off. He’ll get her, alright?” There does seem to be a relief that washes over the man, but it’s not enough to heal him unfortunately.

“We need to get him out of here.”

“Right. Yes, go ahead.” The paramedics lift the stretcher then, but before they can wheel him away, Dean reaches out and grabs Bobby’s arm and in return he places his hand over his. “We’ll get him.” he tells him, squeezing his hand. “I promise.” More tears slipped from Dean’s eyes, the salty liquid mixing with the blood stains on his face.

While Bobby watches them load up his non-blood related son, he gets on his radio and calls out for Styles, wondering if he found Cassidy or not.

Thankfully, luck seems to be on their side.

-

“It’s over, Cassidy! Drop the knife!” You shook in his arms, the knife to your throat even pinching your neck a bit. You wouldn’t be surprised if he had nicked some skin at this point. “You’re surrounded and we’re not letting you leave here unless you’re in one of these patrol cars, so you mine as well give it up.”

“Man, you and Dean are so optimistic. But I can tell you right now that that isn’t happening.” 

Styles knew right then and there that Cassidy wasn't going to give in. He might not make it out of this alive, but he sure as hell will take as many of them out along with him and his first priority? Y/N. He knew that no matter what happened in the next few minutes, he had to protect you at all costs. For Dean.

Without drawing too much attention to himself, Styles glances at the officers to his right. They’re just out of sight for Cassidy and they may have the advantage of getting the drop on him without you getting caught in the crossfire. But he forgot how good Cassidy really was.

Seeing this, Cassidy’s eyes sneak a peek to his left, but they don’t waste too much time on looking for the threats. He’s as quick as a cat. With you still in his hold, he drops the knife and whips out Dean’s gun, sending off two shots and taking down the two officers advancing on him. In that time, Styles sends off a shot of his own but Cassidy drops to his knees, tearing you down with him.

But at least that worked to their advantage. With that motion, you were able to get free. Knowing it wasn’t safe to be within shooting range of Cassidy, you took off towards the woods just off the road. It wasn’t the first time you’ve had to run for your life, so it wasn’t a hard decision to make.

In retaliation, Cassidy sent a shot off towards Styles before turning and shooting the remaining two officers with him and then he took off into the trees after you. 

Grateful, Styles was able to dodge the bullet that went flying at him and when he realized that, he too took off into the tree line, hoping that he could find you before Cassidy did.

-

You had heard the other shots go off when you took off running. At first you were afraid that those bullets were meant for you, but when you heard boots shuffling through the brush behind you, the more you started thinking the worst.

The thought of all those officers, including Eddie, dying because they were there to save you caused you to choke up as you made your way through the trees. You only made it a few more feet in when you had to stop. Between the running and your emotions heightening, you felt like you couldn’t breathe. 

Finding a large tree, you leaned up against it, peeking around the trunk and trying to listen for any movement around you. When everything seemed to be clear, you rested back against the bark, taking calming breaths as best as you could.

Your eyes dropped to the handcuffs locking your wrists together and the pessimist in you seemed to seep out. Dark thoughts instantly clouded your thoughts and your emotions rose even more.

You thought about how you were stuck out here with Cassidy. Dean was gone, and if not, he was probably going to be soon because Cassidy was a good shot. For all you knew, Eddie and the other officers were laying out in the road, bleeding to death and if there was another unit coming, the odds of them making it to you before Cassidy does was very slim.

You were screwed.

Tears fell to the ground below you, your hands shaking as you let yourself break down. The heaviness of the situation was crippling and you were terrified that you weren’t going to make it out of this.

The thought of losing Dean was the worst of all. You couldn’t stop picturing him on the ground, bleeding everywhere as you were pulled away from him. But the more you stood there and thought about him, the more you were reminded that he wouldn’t want this. He wouldn’t want you crying over him when your own life was still on the line. You could even picture him there in front of you, trying to get you to move your ass. Sweet but firm, of course.

For how much your subconscious fought back and told him to shove it, you knew you needed to stop. You needed to get out of this and if anyone was capable of doing that, it would be you. You escaped hell once before, who's to say you can’t do it again? 

Taking another moment for yourself, you looked down at the ring on your finger, letting a few more quiet sobs shake you before lifting your hands and kissing the object that connected you and Dean. Then, cautiously, you peeked around the trunk again. You couldn’t hear anything but that meant nothing with this guy. He was good and you had to remember that.

Taking a chance, you slowly made your way further into the trees, keeping your eyes peeled and your ears on full alert. You were terrified. You were trembling, but you knew you needed to keep going.

After making it a few more feet, you heard a twig snap somewhere behind you. Out of reflex, you spun around, your eyes darting all over the place as you tried to find what made the noise. But there was nothing. Of course you knew better, but you couldn’t see anything which only made you more scared. 

Carefully, you kept moving. Slow but steady as you tried to make it to the next huge tree so that you could get some cover again. 

You were only a few feet away when you were swept off your feet, a hand going over your mouth as you were flying forward. Just as you were shoved up against a tree trunk, you started flailing your arms, trying to hit anywhere and everywhere you could, refusing to be taken prisoner again. Heavy breathing and panicked noises were kept muffled by the man in front of you and it wasn’t until he was able to pin your arms against your chest that your eyes widened.

“Shhh.” Getting you to calm down a little, Eddie then peered around the tree, hoping he was covered enough to keep himself safe but exposed enough to where he could spot Cassidy. But just like you, he sees nothing. “Okay. When I say so, we’re going to head that way.” he nods to his right. “Try to keep low and stay close to me. Alright?” You nod against his hand and he finally peels it away from your face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” you answer as quietly as you can, tears still falling from your eyes. “Dean.” you choke. “He…”

“He’s getting help.” Your eyes widen, your breathing becoming shaky again from the shock.

“He’s….”

“For now.” Hearing that, a sob slips from your lips and Eddie pulls you close, whispering ‘I know’ into your hair. “But we need to get you out of here, alright?” You nod frantically, wanting nothing more than to get out of there and get to Dean. “Alright…” he peeks around the tree once again, his eyes sharp before he pushes you a bit to get you moving.

Like Eddie, you keep an eye out still, looking for any movement and listening for any sound, but thankfully it seems to be clear for now. You followed his orders, keeping low and making sure he was right behind you the entire time. If anything, it brought you comfort to have him so close.

But for what happened next, it only reminded you of how much better at this Eddie was than you.

“Y/N!” His loud voice caused you to flinch forward, but the sound of a gun going off made you collapse onto the ground. You fell face first into the dirt and when the shock wore off, you frantically felt yourself up, wondering if you were shot.

Grateful that you didn’t feel anything, bullet hole or blood, you flipped over onto your back, keeping close to the ground since you knew now that Cassidy was close. You looked into the distance, still not seeing anything and it honestly pissed you off that he was this good. But it’s when you look to your feet, to where Eddie should be right behind you when your panic comes back.

“Eddie?” you cry out in a shaky voice, but he doesn’t move. “Eddie?” you call out again, just a little louder this time. When you hear a low moan you scramble to his side, not caring if you’re seen.

Once you’re over him, you see that he’s in pain and that’s when you look down to his chest. Blood was starting to soak into the side of his shirt telling you he was hit.

“Eddie.” you cry, trying to keep yourself together, but you just couldn’t do it. “Hang on, please? Please.” you melt a bit more, your hand pushing on his wound to help stop the bleeding.

“Well, well, well.” Hearing Cassidy makes you freeze, but you don’t move from your position. You refuse to let go of Eddie. “This wasn’t my plan but I guess it’ll have to do.” You finally look over your shoulder to see him standing over you both, the gun pointing in your direction. But you can tell by the angle that he’s pointing it at Eddie. A kill shot for sure, right to his head.

Taking Eddie’s hand, despite how weak he may feel, you place it on his wound and tell him to press down as much as he can and that’s when you turn around and block the bullet's path to its indicated victim. Cassidy of course gets that smug smirk and to your surprise, that’s when he shifts the barrel, the kill shot now intended for you.

“Seems my plan has already been fucked, so I guess there’s no reason to keep you around any longer.” he states as he gets a better grip on the gun. “Say hi to Dean for me.” Your entire body shakes, your fear of death front and center as he starts to pull the trigger back.

“Drop the gun, Cassidy!” 

“Drop it!” Multiple people start screaming at the man to drop his weapon and you take a second to look around. The three of you are surrounded by officers and you even spot Bobby in the crowd.

“Now, Cassidy! Drop it!” He clearly doesn’t want to follow orders, not that you expected him to. You figured that he wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

You have no idea where it came from or why, but somehow in that moment, surrounded by all of Dean’s fellow officers, you got up the courage to stand up to Cassidy. Getting up from your knees, you stood right in front of him, holding your head high as you challenged him to shoot you without saying a word.

“Cassidy! Now! Drop the gun!”

“Drop it, Cassidy!”

“Drop it!”

While everyone around you yelled at him to surrender, you just kept your eyes locked with his, your gaze hard and unwavering. Then, as some more time passed without any movement on his part, you closed your eyes, practically giving yourself up to him.

You don’t know what had calmed you so much, but you were suddenly unafraid. You were expecting him to shoot and you were waiting to hear the echo of the shot before peace took you over. But all you kept hearing was the officers screaming at him to drop the gun.

For a brief second you could hear Eddie behind you, calling out for you to move. But before you could react to him, it happened.

Squad cars surrounded the house. Flashing lights just spinning in circles and lighting up the neighborhood while officers searched Cassidy’s residents. Bobby was out front with a team, looking over a map and trying to think of where they should look next. 

They went through evidence and any clues that they could come up with that might help find where he was hiding, but they continued to come up with nothing.

There was one lead that they had a team looking into, but they haven’t heard back from that unit yet. Bobby had sent a few officers out to the house that Paul and, to whom they know now as Cassidy kept their victims and he was anxiously waiting to hear from them.

“I can’t get a hold of Dean.” Styles stressed, hanging up the phone for what felt like the hundredth time. “I texted Sam to see if he could go check on them, but…” When Styles sighs, Bobby looks up. “I don’t have a good feeling, Bobby.”

“Me neither.” Hoping that he would already have an answer, Styles looks down at his phone, but of course there’s nothing yet. “Alright, let's see what we can do.” As Bobby crosses off a few spots on the map, his radio goes off, getting the attention of every officer standing by.

“Captain?”

“I’m here. What do you got?” 

“Well, the house is empty. Doesn’t look like anyone has been here for a while. But, we got a call from someone claiming they heard gunshots not too far up the road from here, so we’re going to go check it out.”

“Gunshots? What direction?” Frantic, Bobby looks over the map to find where the house was located.

“Just a few miles East.” Bobby slides his finger along the road, looking to see if anything shows up on the map that could look like something.

“It looks like it’s all farmland. But there might be a residence up that way. Check it out, watch your backs.”

“You got it” By the time the team clicked off, Bobby looked up to see that Styles was looking at his phone again, his thumb clicking on the screen every now and again. 

“I don’t think you’ll hear back from Sam for at least another fifteen minutes.”

“That’s not what I’m doing.” Looking confused, Bobby listens to his detective. “I’m looking into the land up that way. We know that serials not only like to take trophies, but they also like to feel safe. Comfortable.”

“Right.” Bobby agrees, still a little confused.

“I’m trying to see if there’s anything up that way that could be connected to Cassidy.” Bobby’s a little frustrated that he didn’t think of that earlier, but he was grateful that he had a team heading that way and that he had someone with a brain looking into it.

“The land belonged to the Vanderbelts for decades…” Styles shakes his head, hating that it didn’t sound like it was connected to their guy.

“Wait! Vanderbelt?” At Bobby’s excitement though, it gives him some hope.

“Yeah.”

“That was Cassidy’s wifes maiden name. That land must have belonged to her family.” Their eyes said it all and they knew they needed to move. “Alright! I need you, you and you to stay here in case he comes back! The rest of you, follow us!”

-

The first set of officers came upon the scene, seeing flames coming from the old abandoned barn. They got on their radios and called in for a fire team right away all while Bobby, Styles and the other officers that followed heard what was going on through the radio communications.

“Anyone seem to be there?” Bobby asks, the radio letting out a bit of static as he gets off the line. Styles stares ahead, wanting to get there as fast as he can because he just knew in his gut that something was wrong and he wanted to find out what it was before it was too late.

“I’m not sure. I’m approaching the entrance now. Hold on.” The seconds between that and the next call out was torture. It was so quiet in Eddie’s car, he didn’t even have the radio on. He kept looking from the road to the clock on his dash, minutes just kept ticking by and he didn’t understand why they weren’t coming back. Was Cassidy still there? Were they hurt? So many questions ran through his head.

It wasn’t until about five long minutes later that static picked up on the radio and Rocky, the main officer's voice came through, finally.

“We need immediate medical assistance! Officer down! I repeat, officer down! Requesting air support!” Styles stumbled with the radio, trying to lift it from the holder in a frenzy.

“Rocky! Who is it!?” he lets go of the button for a second to readjust the device in his hand. “Is it Winchester!?” Again, some silence goes by, making Styles want to scream, but then the confirmation comes through. 

“Affirmative! Detective Winchester is clear of the building but is in serious condition! We need to….” At the sudden cutoff, Styles begins to panic.

“Rocky!?”

“Rocky? What’s going on?” Bobby then chimes in and Styles holds his breath.

“Sorry. Winchester says that Cassidy took off. Not sure which direction he went though.”

“Does he have his car!?” Styles is praying that the answer is yes knowing that he can trace the squad car.

“No. Winchester is shaking his head. He…he’s not doing good though, guys.”

“Air support is on the way. Tell him to hold on.” Bobby was always someone that held himself together, but for the first time ever, Styles heard emotion in his voice. “What type of injuries are we looking at?”

“Uh…Three GSW’s, two to the chest and one to the thigh. It looks like he has a nasty laceration on his head too.” Styles instantly feels sick. Seeing him shot in the shoulder was enough, but this…this was so much worse.

“Is Captain Singer on this line?” A new voice comes through, getting everyone confused on what was going on now.

“I’m here. What is it?”

“Well, I know one of your detectives has a pretty distinct car, just wanted to check with you and see if you knew where he was tonight. You know, the one who owns the Impala?” All their hearts stop in that second.

“What about him?”

“Well, I just pulled one over for running a red light. License plate, Kilo, Alpha, Zulu, Two, Yankee, Five. But it didn’t look like your guy, so…thought I’d check.”

“That’s his plate, Bobby!” Styles screams into the radio, the anger he’s feeling because of this entire situation making it hard to keep his officer mindset. This was personal and he was going to make sure he finished this. “Where was he headed!?”

“Well, when I let him go he was heading south on Gilpin, just off of Blackwood.”

“Thank you, officer.” Bobby sends through, hoping that the officer will switch channels.

“No problem.”

“I’m going after him, Bobby.” Styles puts through, practically an order as he was more than ready to flip his car in the other direction whether Bobby was okay with it or not. It’s only silent for a few beats before the Captain clicks on.

“Okay. I need two other units to go with him. Don’t care who.”

“You got it, boss.” One patrol unit confirmed and seconds later, another. Styles slowed down and then turned back to see if he could cut off Cassidy from another direction, the two other patrol cars mirroring his movements and keeping up with no issues.

-

Bobby’s tires spat up the dirt as he pulled up to the barn. He barely got the patrol car in park when he was jumping out of his seat and rushing over to where the EMT’s were hovered.

“Dean!” As he gets closer, he starts pushing people out of his way. “Move! Move! Dean!?” They had him on a stretcher and were just about to lift him and move him to the helicopter a couple yards away, so he made it just in time. “Oh, son…” Dean opens his mouth to speak, but only gurgled whispers come out. Yet he doesn’t quit until Bobby catches at least one word.

“Y/N?” The detective nods, grateful that he understood. “Where is she?” When Dean’s eyes close, Bobby takes the hint. “She’s with him?” That’s when Dean opens his eyes again, tears pooling quickly and overflowing without a sound being made. “Okay. Well, Styles is on his way to cut him off. He’ll get her, alright?” There does seem to be a relief that washes over the man, but it’s not enough to heal him unfortunately.

“We need to get him out of here.”

“Right. Yes, go ahead.” The paramedics lift the stretcher then, but before they can wheel him away, Dean reaches out and grabs Bobby’s arm and in return he places his hand over his. “We’ll get him.” he tells him, squeezing his hand. “I promise.” More tears slipped from Dean’s eyes, the salty liquid mixing with the blood stains on his face.

While Bobby watches them load up his non-blood related son, he gets on his radio and calls out for Styles, wondering if he found Cassidy or not.

Thankfully, luck seems to be on their side.

-

“It’s over, Cassidy! Drop the knife!” You shook in his arms, the knife to your throat even pinching your neck a bit. You wouldn’t be surprised if he had nicked some skin at this point. “You’re surrounded and we’re not letting you leave here unless you’re in one of these patrol cars, so you mine as well give it up.”

“Man, you and Dean are so optimistic. But I can tell you right now that that isn’t happening.” 

Styles knew right then and there that Cassidy wasn't going to give in. He might not make it out of this alive, but he sure as hell will take as many of them out along with him and his first priority? Y/N. He knew that no matter what happened in the next few minutes, he had to protect you at all costs. For Dean.

Without drawing too much attention to himself, Styles glances at the officers to his right. They’re just out of sight for Cassidy and they may have the advantage of getting the drop on him without you getting caught in the crossfire. But he forgot how good Cassidy really was.

Seeing this, Cassidy’s eyes sneak a peek to his left, but they don’t waste too much time on looking for the threats. He’s as quick as a cat. With you still in his hold, he drops the knife and whips out Dean’s gun, sending off two shots and taking down the two officers advancing on him. In that time, Styles sends off a shot of his own but Cassidy drops to his knees, tearing you down with him.

But at least that worked to their advantage. With that motion, you were able to get free. Knowing it wasn’t safe to be within shooting range of Cassidy, you took off towards the woods just off the road. It wasn’t the first time you’ve had to run for your life, so it wasn’t a hard decision to make.

In retaliation, Cassidy sent a shot off towards Styles before turning and shooting the remaining two officers with him and then he took off into the trees after you. 

Grateful, Styles was able to dodge the bullet that went flying at him and when he realized that, he too took off into the tree line, hoping that he could find you before Cassidy did.

-

You had heard the other shots go off when you took off running. At first you were afraid that those bullets were meant for you, but when you heard boots shuffling through the brush behind you, the more you started thinking the worst.

The thought of all those officers, including Eddie, dying because they were there to save you caused you to choke up as you made your way through the trees. You only made it a few more feet in when you had to stop. Between the running and your emotions heightening, you felt like you couldn’t breathe. 

Finding a large tree, you leaned up against it, peeking around the trunk and trying to listen for any movement around you. When everything seemed to be clear, you rested back against the bark, taking calming breaths as best as you could.

Your eyes dropped to the handcuffs locking your wrists together and the pessimist in you seemed to seep out. Dark thoughts instantly clouded your thoughts and your emotions rose even more.

You thought about how you were stuck out here with Cassidy. Dean was gone, and if not, he was probably going to be soon because Cassidy was a good shot. For all you knew, Eddie and the other officers were laying out in the road, bleeding to death and if there was another unit coming, the odds of them making it to you before Cassidy does was very slim.

You were screwed.

Tears fell to the ground below you, your hands shaking as you let yourself break down. The heaviness of the situation was crippling and you were terrified that you weren’t going to make it out of this.

The thought of losing Dean was the worst of all. You couldn’t stop picturing him on the ground, bleeding everywhere as you were pulled away from him. But the more you stood there and thought about him, the more you were reminded that he wouldn’t want this. He wouldn’t want you crying over him when your own life was still on the line. You could even picture him there in front of you, trying to get you to move your ass. Sweet but firm, of course.

For how much your subconscious fought back and told him to shove it, you knew you needed to stop. You needed to get out of this and if anyone was capable of doing that, it would be you. You escaped hell once before, who's to say you can’t do it again? 

Taking another moment for yourself, you looked down at the ring on your finger, letting a few more quiet sobs shake you before lifting your hands and kissing the object that connected you and Dean. Then, cautiously, you peeked around the trunk again. You couldn’t hear anything but that meant nothing with this guy. He was good and you had to remember that.

Taking a chance, you slowly made your way further into the trees, keeping your eyes peeled and your ears on full alert. You were terrified. You were trembling, but you knew you needed to keep going.

After making it a few more feet, you heard a twig snap somewhere behind you. Out of reflex, you spun around, your eyes darting all over the place as you tried to find what made the noise. But there was nothing. Of course you knew better, but you couldn’t see anything which only made you more scared. 

Carefully, you kept moving. Slow but steady as you tried to make it to the next huge tree so that you could get some cover again. 

You were only a few feet away when you were swept off your feet, a hand going over your mouth as you were flying forward. Just as you were shoved up against a tree trunk, you started flailing your arms, trying to hit anywhere and everywhere you could, refusing to be taken prisoner again. Heavy breathing and panicked noises were kept muffled by the man in front of you and it wasn’t until he was able to pin your arms against your chest that your eyes widened.

“Shhh.” Getting you to calm down a little, Eddie then peered around the tree, hoping he was covered enough to keep himself safe but exposed enough to where he could spot Cassidy. But just like you, he sees nothing. “Okay. When I say so, we’re going to head that way.” he nods to his right. “Try to keep low and stay close to me. Alright?” You nod against his hand and he finally peels it away from your face. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” you answer as quietly as you can, tears still falling from your eyes. “Dean.” you choke. “He…”

“He’s getting help.” Your eyes widen, your breathing becoming shaky again from the shock.

“He’s….”

“For now.” Hearing that, a sob slips from your lips and Eddie pulls you close, whispering ‘I know’ into your hair. “But we need to get you out of here, alright?” You nod frantically, wanting nothing more than to get out of there and get to Dean. “Alright…” he peeks around the tree once again, his eyes sharp before he pushes you a bit to get you moving.

Like Eddie, you keep an eye out still, looking for any movement and listening for any sound, but thankfully it seems to be clear for now. You followed his orders, keeping low and making sure he was right behind you the entire time. If anything, it brought you comfort to have him so close.

But for what happened next, it only reminded you of how much better at this Eddie was than you.

“Y/N!” His loud voice caused you to flinch forward, but the sound of a gun going off made you collapse onto the ground. You fell face first into the dirt and when the shock wore off, you frantically felt yourself up, wondering if you were shot.

Grateful that you didn’t feel anything, bullet hole or blood, you flipped over onto your back, keeping close to the ground since you knew now that Cassidy was close. You looked into the distance, still not seeing anything and it honestly pissed you off that he was this good. But it’s when you look to your feet, to where Eddie should be right behind you when your panic comes back.

“Eddie?” you cry out in a shaky voice, but he doesn’t move. “Eddie?” you call out again, just a little louder this time. When you hear a low moan you scramble to his side, not caring if you’re seen.

Once you’re over him, you see that he’s in pain and that’s when you look down to his chest. Blood was starting to soak into the side of his shirt telling you he was hit.

“Eddie.” you cry, trying to keep yourself together, but you just couldn’t do it. “Hang on, please? Please.” you melt a bit more, your hand pushing on his wound to help stop the bleeding.

“Well, well, well.” Hearing Cassidy makes you freeze, but you don’t move from your position. You refuse to let go of Eddie. “This wasn’t my plan but I guess it’ll have to do.” You finally look over your shoulder to see him standing over you both, the gun pointing in your direction. But you can tell by the angle that he’s pointing it at Eddie. A kill shot for sure, right to his head.

Taking Eddie’s hand, despite how weak he may feel, you place it on his wound and tell him to press down as much as he can and that’s when you turn around and block the bullet's path to its indicated victim. Cassidy of course gets that smug smirk and to your surprise, that’s when he shifts the barrel, the kill shot now intended for you.

“Seems my plan has already been fucked, so I guess there’s no reason to keep you around any longer.” he states as he gets a better grip on the gun. “Say hi to Dean for me.” Your entire body shakes, your fear of death front and center as he starts to pull the trigger back.

“Drop the gun, Cassidy!” 

“Drop it!” Multiple people start screaming at the man to drop his weapon and you take a second to look around. The three of you are surrounded by officers and you even spot Bobby in the crowd.

“Now, Cassidy! Drop it!” He clearly doesn’t want to follow orders, not that you expected him to. You figured that he wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

You have no idea where it came from or why, but somehow in that moment, surrounded by all of Dean’s fellow officers, you got up the courage to stand up to Cassidy. Getting up from your knees, you stood right in front of him, holding your head high as you challenged him to shoot you without saying a word.

“Cassidy! Now! Drop the gun!”

“Drop it, Cassidy!”

“Drop it!”

While everyone around you yelled at him to surrender, you just kept your eyes locked with his, your gaze hard and unwavering. Then, as some more time passed without any movement on his part, you closed your eyes, practically giving yourself up to him.

You don’t know what had calmed you so much, but you were suddenly unafraid. You were expecting him to shoot and you were waiting to hear the echo of the shot before peace took you over. But all you kept hearing was the officers screaming at him to drop the gun.

For a brief second you could hear Eddie behind you, calling out for you to move. But before you could react to him, it happened.