ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ: "There's s-so much blood."
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THANKS TO BOBBY, the group of hunters found an abandoned cabin outside of Sioux City, Iowa to hole up in.

It was now nighttime and the three youngest hunters were the only ones awake. John was still reeling from his injuries and Arturo had gotten a concussion from his scuffle with the demon earlier.

Dean and Venus walked out of each of the two rooms in the cabin, both just finished with checking up on their respective guardians.

"How are they?" Sam asked them both while he salted the windows.

Venus took a seat in a chair by the table and Dean leaned against it, both sighing. "He just needed a little rest, that's all," Dean spoke first.

"Well, the stubborn bastard wouldn't let me bandage up his head but he should be fine regardless," Venus told them.

A brief silence passed between the trio.

"How are you?" Dean addressed Sam.

Sam took a deep breath. "I'll survive," he tried to ignore the pain.

Venus grimaced from where she sat, watching the light hit Sam's swollen eye. "You sure you don't want me to put some ointment on that?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Sam cringed, turning away to close the salt can. "Hey, you don't think we were followed here, do you?" he asked after some time.

Venus and Dean shared a look. "I don't know," the eldest admitted, "I don't think so."

"I mean we're six hours away from Missouri and this place is pretty out of the way," Venus shrugged, "I'd say we're safe, 'mano."

Sam nodded and glanced down for a moment.

Venus leaned forward in her chair, knowing that there was something else he wanted to say.

"Uh, you two um," Sam paused and sighed, "You saved my life back there."

Venus smiled up at Dean. "He did," she replied, silently allocating all credit to him.

Dean looked between the two of them briefly. "I guess you're glad I brought the gun, huh?"

"Jesus Christ," Venus whispered, facepalming.

"Man, I'm trying to thank you here," Sam said.

Dean nodded. "You're welcome," he replied softly.

Venus stood up and moved to pour herself a cup of water by the sink, silently happy that the ache in her side had disappeared.

"You know that guy I shot?" she heard Dean speak. Venus swallowed a mouthful of water and spun to face Dean. "There was a person in there," he continued, his expression solemn.

Venus and Sam exchanged a look from across the room.

"You didn't have a choice, Dean," Sam told his older brother.

"I know. That's not what bothers me."

Venus placed down her cup and leaned against the sink. "Then what does?" she gently pressed.

Dean avoided both their gazes, looking down as he spoke. "Killing that guy, killing Meg? I didn't hesitate, I didn't even flinch. For you guys, the things I'm willing to do or kill, it just uh...it scares me sometimes."

Venus brought a chair in front of Dean and sat in it, immediately drawing his stare from the floor and onto her face. "Look at me," she spoke softly, "Nothing about that should scare you. You know why? 'Cause you did that shit for your family. That's what matters," she tried to reason, "It's selfish logic but I don't care. At the end of the day, you saved us."

"She's right," another voice entered the room.

The hunters turned to see John leaning against the doorway. "You did good," he nodded.

Venus' brows furrowed from where she sat. Those demons must've hit John on the head one too many times when they were torturing him.

"You're not mad?" Dean responded, equally confused.

"For what?"

"Using a bullet."

Sam looked between his father and brother, expecting an argument to start at any moment.

"Mad? I'm proud of you," John said, "You know, Sam and I, we can get pretty obsessed. But you," he smiled, "You watch out for this family. You always have."

Venus slowly reached for the beretta in her waistband, keeping her hand tucked on the handle and waiting for everything to go sideways. There was something unsettling about the way John spoke. Not only were the words he said strange but there was something in his eyes and overall body language that made the hairs on Venus' neck stand up.

Dean looked down for half a second to see Venus' hidden hand gripping the handle of her gun then looked back at his father. At least he wasn't the only one who found this weird. "Thanks," he spoke curtly.

The lights in the cabin began flickering, the wind picking up outside the cabin.

John and Sam moved to get a peek outside the window just as Arturo stumbled out of his room. "What's happening?" he asked.

Venus' eyes widened at the presence of her uncle. "Go back in the room tío," she harshly whispered.

"Hell no," Arturo waved her off, coming to stand by her side, "I'm fine," he insisted.

"It found us, it's here," John told them.

"The demon?" asked Sam.

John began barking orders instantly. "Sam, lines of salt in front of every window, every door."

"Already did it."

"Well check it, okay?"

Sam nodded then ran off to obey his father's commands.

"Dean, you got the gun?" John asked.

"Yeah," Dean's jaw clenched.

"Give it to me."

Venus took a quiet step back and pulled Arturo behind her, returning her other hand to the handle of her gun.

"Dad, Sam tried to shoot the demon in Salvation. It vanished," Dean explained as he pulled out the colt.

"This is me, I won't miss," John snapped, "Now, the gun. Hurry!"

Dean's eyes darted between where Venus was eyeing John, suspicion evident in her brown eyes, and the colt.

"Son, the gun please!"

Dean stepped back to stand by Venus' side, his eyes narrowed slightly.

"Give me the gun. What are you doing, Dean?"

"You'd be furious," Dean said, barely above a whisper.

"What?" John's brows knitted together.

"That I wasted a bullet," Dean added, "He wouldn't be proud of me, he'd tear me a new one." Venus and Dean cocked their guns and pointed them in John's direction at the same time, both hunters now sure of one thing.

"You're not my Dad."

Arturo was silent behind them, slowly coming to agree with their theory. He'd felt it in his gut since they left Jefferson City.

"I know my dad better than anyone, and you ain't him," Dean sneered.

John fully faced them. "What the hell's gotten into the two of you?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

John looked over at Arturo. "Would you try and talk some sense into them, Arturo?"

Before Arturo could tell him to go to hell, Sam walked into the room. "Dean? V? What the hell is going on?" he shouted at the sight of the two guns aimed at his father.

"Your brother and Venus have lost their minds."

"He's not dad," Dean said, his eyes and the colt still trained on John's body, "I think he's possessed. I think he's been possessed since we rescued him."

"Don't listen to him, Sammy," John urged.

Sam eyed his father warily. "Guys, how do you know?"

"He's different," Dean replied, his voice shaky.

Venus momentarily looked over at Sam. "Just trust us on this."

"We don't have time for this," John argued, "Sam, if you want to kill this demon, you've got to trust me."

"Don't look at him," Venus fumed, "You played your part well. Now it's time for you to drop the shitty act and tell us who the hell you are and who work for."

Sam remained silent, his eyes darting between both sides of the room.

"Sam," John called out to him, ignoring Venus.

"No," Sam faintly whispered, moving to stand beside Dean and Venus.

John shook his head, looking like he was near tears. "Fine. If you're all so sure, then go ahead. Kill me."

Those two words seemed to be a punch to the hunters' guts. Suddenly Venus' hand started shaking, and a glance at Dean let her know that his was shaking too.

John's head hung low for a moment, expecting a shot that would never come. "I thought so," his head lifted to reveal bright yellow eyes in place of his usual brown ones.

Venus held back a gasp at the sight. She and Sam lunged at the demon at the same time but were stopped when he sent them flying against the nearest wall, his powers holding them in place. She tried to pull herself off the wall and reach for her gun where it was thrown aside but to no avail.

The demon sent Arturo flying up against the same wall while Dean was thrown onto a wall on the other side of the room, the colt clattering to the floor.

'John' knelt and picked up the weapon. "What a pain in the ass this thing's been."

"It's you, isn't it?" Sam spoke first, "We've been looking for you for a long time."

"Well you found me," the yellow-eyed demon smirked, his voice low and gravelly.

Sam shook his head, "But the holy water..."

"You think something like that works on something like me?" he taunted.

Venus used all the strength she could to lift her head off the wall but it only lasted for a second before the demon shoved her back, pinning every limb even harder against the wall.

"I'm gonna kill you," Sam spoke through gritted teeth, also trying to move his body.

"Oh, that would be a neat trick. In fact, here," 'John' placed the colt on the table in the center of the room, "Make the gun float to you there, psychic boy."

For a minute, Venus and Arturo found themselves hoping that Sam would actually do it, but were proven wrong seconds later when nothing happened.

The demon chuckled and walked over to Dean. "Well, this is fun. I could've killed you a hundred times today but this..." he trailed off with a sigh, "This is worth the wait."

Venus turned to where her uncle was pinned against the wall beside her. "You okay tío?" she whispered, noticing the small stream of blood on his forehead.

"I'm okay, mija," Arturo whispered back, ignoring the dull throb of his head.

They returned their focus to the conversation across the room to hear Dean attempting a threat to the demon. "Let him go, or I swear to God–"

"What? What are you and God gonna do?" the demon cut him off fiercely, "You see as far as I'm concerned this is justice," his voice lost all humor as he stalked closer to Dean, "You know that little exorcism of yours? That was my daughter."

Dean arched a brow. "Who, Meg?"

"The one in the alley? That was my boy. You understand?"

"You've gotta be kidding me."

"What? You're the only one that can have a family?"

Venus scoffed from across the room. "Cry about it, you yellow-eyed bastard. You gonna kill us or what?"

The demon lifted a hand and slowly formed a fist, all oxygen being sucked from Venus' chest in time with it. "Shh, the big boys are talking."

The brunette thrashed against the wall, visibly struggling to breathe. Coughs and wheezes wracked her body while she fought for any air to enter her lungs.

Dean's grunts and protests could be heard throughout the room, the older hunter suddenly more determined than ever to burst free.

"Leave my niece alone you sick bastard!" Arturo shouted, his eyes darting between where Venus was turning an alarming shade of pink and where the demon wore a small grin on his face.

Eventually, the yellow-eyed man got bored of watching Venus squirm and opened his fist, allowing her to breathe again. He turned back to look at Dean, whose face contained even more rage than before. "You destroyed my children," he continued his previous thought, "How would you feel if I killed your whole family? Oh, that's right...I forgot. I did. Still, two wrongs don't make a right," the man said, lifting two fingers for emphasis.

"You son of a bitch," Dean was shaking now.

"I want to know why," Sam suddenly spoke, "Why'd you do it?"

Venus remained silent, also wanting an answer.

"You mean why did I kill mommy and pretty little Jess?"

"Yeah," Sam replied.

The demon spun on Dean. "You know, I never told you this but Sam was gonna ask her to marry him. Been shopping for rings with Venus and everything."

Venus' eyes slid closed, a singular tear falling from them as her brain replayed the memories that seemed so long ago.

"Jess might want you to be her maid of honor but what if I want you to be my best man?" Sam had asked, looking down at the brunette beside him. The pair had been strolling through a mall in downtown Palo Alto, smiles on their faces. 

Venus beamed up at him. "Well as honored as I am...you have a brother for that very purpose," she gently reminded.

Sam's jaw clenched. "We haven't talked in two years, V. What makes you think he'd say yes, or even answer the phone for that matter?"

" 'Cause regardless of how stubborn he is, that boy loves you more than he loves himself," Venus replied, inwardly surprised at her instinct to defend Dean despite the state of their relationship.

Sam smiled softly, knowing she was right. "How about this?" he perked up, "I'll think about calling Dean if you let me buy you a churro as a thank-you for coming with me today."

"Come on, Sam," Venus waved him off, "I told you I was happy to come down here with you, free of charge."

"I took up five hours of your time here, V, you gotta let me make it up to you," Sam pleaded.

Venus looked up at Sam noticing the small childish pout on his lips. "Stop that, it's weird," she scrunched up her nose in disgust.

Sam pouted even harder.

"Alright, fine!" Venus rolled her eyes dramatically, "But now it's gonna cost you two churros since I had to see all that," she gestured to his face.

Sam chuckled and reached down to tug on the brunette's hand, dragging her over to the churro stand. "Let's go."

Venus swallowed the sob that threatened to break free and opened her eyes, finding the demon standing across the room by Dean.

"I bet you're real proud of you're kids too, huh?" Dean said, "Oh wait, I forgot, I wasted them."

The next sound that filled the room was that of Dean's pained shouts and grunts, the demon only standing back and watching his handiwork.

"Dean!" Sam shouted, watching blood pour from his brother's chest.

Venus' eyes blurred with tears as she listened to Dean's helpless screams. "John, you son of a bitch, I know you hear me in there!" she shouted, "You get off your ass and save your son or I swear on my life I will make you regret the last twenty years of shitty parenting."

But the demon continued his torture, causing even more blood to rush out of Dean.

Sam continued to shout for his brother, his eyes occasionally flickering to where the colt rested on the table nearby while Venus' cries echoed throughout the room. She was watching Dean die and there was nothing she could do about it. It hurt more than any bruise or wound she had ever suffered in her time as a hunter.

His head eventually hung low, blood lining his lips, and his green eyes slid closed.

"Dean!" Venus shrieked, her chest constricting. He couldn't be dead. Not yet.

"Stop it," John said, briefly gaining control of his body.

Venus, Sam, and Arturo felt the hold on their body loosen and toppled onto the floor. Sam moved quickly, grabbing the colt and pointing it at his father.

The demon returned, yellow eyes gleaming as he stared at Sam. "You kill me, you kill daddy."

"I know," Sam scowled, firing a shot into John's thigh that sent him falling onto the ground.

Venus ran over to grab Dean before he hit the floor, placing his head in her lap. "There's s-so much blood," she whispered in shock, feeling her uncle and Sam gather at her side.

"Focus, mija, he'll be fine," Arturo gently urged her. But neither he nor Venus believed that.

"Where's dad?" Dean asked in between wheezes.

"He's right here, Dean," Sam reassured him.

Dean panted, quickly grabbing onto one of Venus' hands. "Go check on him," he urged his younger brother.

With a final glance at Venus, Sam stood to his feet and approached his father's body.

The brunette used a shaky hand to peel Dean's jacket open, revealing numerous scratches beneath his shirt. "I'm okay, Venus," he tried to convince her.

Venus pressed her palm to his forehead, the skin there cold to the touch.

"No," the word fell from her lips over and over while she continued to examine the extent of his injuries, "This isn't happening." Dean's grip on her hand grew looser by the second.

"Sammy!" John shouted, "It's still alive. It's inside me, I can feel it. You shoot me! You shoot me in the heart son!"

Arturo scrambled to his feet and ran to Sam's side, clutching onto the taller man's hand that held the colt. "Don't do this, Sam," he begged.

Venus continued to apply pressure to Dean's wounds where she could, watching her tears mix in with the blood pooling on his chest. "We need to get you to a hospital," she mumbled, barely paying attention to the confrontation happening a few feet away.

Dean jolted himself upright in Venus' arms, turning his attention to his brother. "Sam, don't you do it!"

Sam cocked the weapon in his father's direction, using his other hand to hold Arturo back.

"Sam you don't want the weight of this on your shoulders for the rest of your life, trust me," Arturo begged.

"You've gotta hurry!" John spoke through gritted teeth, "I can't hold on to it much longer!"

Venus looked up to see Sam's hand shaking, the younger hunter blinking rapidly as he considered his options. "We need to get Dean out of here," she cried, urging him to make his choice faster. She didn't even care what the choice was.

John continued. "Son, I'm begging you! We can end this here and now!"

"Sam, no," Dean whispered.

"You do this! Sammy!"

But Sam slowly lowered the gun and handed it to Arturo.

John soon gave up on trying to hold in the demon, watching it leave his body in a cloud of black smoke and disappear from the cabin.

Dean released a relieved breath and relaxed in Venus' hold. The girl brought her blood-soaked hands up to shove her hair behind her ears, blinking a few times to settle herself. She reached up and grabbed her jacket from a nearby hook and ripped the sleeves off to staunch his wounds, but found that she didn't have nearly enough fabric to cover everything. "Can we please get the hell out of here and find the nearest fucking hospital!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

The remaining hunters hurriedly helped her bring Dean to the backseat of the Impala. Arturo had to pull the girl out of the vehicle and drag her to her motorcycle, firmly assuring her that he'd tend to Dean and keep him awake.

In reality, he just didn't want her in the vehicle with Dean's body if the man succumbed to his wounds on the way there.

Venus led the way to a random hospital that she located on a map of the town, speeding down an empty highway with Sam managing to keep up behind her.

She had just driven past an intersection when the sound of a loud collision pierced her ears. The sound was so deafening that Venus felt her entire body vibrate.

She slammed down on the brakes and spun her bike around, leaving deep skid marks on the pavement, and coming face to face with the nearly destroyed Impala ran halfway off the road. A large eighteen-wheeler truck was pinned to the side of the car, its horn blaring and, from what Venus could see, none of the four men in the car were moving.

Venus swore she felt her heart stop. "No," she muttered in shock.

The door of the large truck suddenly swung open, allowing an older man to step out. But Venus could tell there was something wrong with him.

Her face morphed into a scowl as she jumped off her bike and grabbed her gun to point at the possessed man. "Hey!" she called for his attention.

The man turned to see Venus approaching and flashed his black eyes.

So she fired off a warning shot, the bullet piercing his hat and sending it flying off his head. "Don't you fucking move."

But the demon ran in her direction instead.

Venus dropped her gun and dodged the demon's first punch, grabbing his outstretched arm. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus," she began reciting the exorcism from memory while delivering two harsh blows to the man's face, "Omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii," she roundhouse kicked him to the head, "omnis legio, omnis congregatio et secta diabolical," she grabbed the demon by the neck and pinned him against his truck, "Ergo, omnis legio diabolica, adiuramus te," she drew her knife to his throat in case it didn't work. But she was soon relieved to see black smoke pouring out of his face and up into the air above them, disappearing seconds after.

She stepped away from the trucker and tucked away her knife. "Sir, are you okay?" she curtly called out.

The man stood to his feet and took in the scene before him, ignoring the bruises forming on his own face. "Oh my God. Did I do this?"

"You need to go back in your truck and radio in for a medevac. Tell them we have four adult males who suffered full body trauma from a high-impact car crash," Venus paused and glanced back at the Impala where Sam and Arturo were calling out for John and Dean, "and two of them are unresponsive. Give them the last mile marker you remember passing. Okay?"

The man couldn't take his eyes off the car full of injured men.

Venus grabbed his shoulders harshly, her hands shaking. "Sir, please. Can you do that?"

"Y-yeah."

Venus took a shaky breath and turned to look at the Impala.

"V," Sam choked out.

She ran to his door and pried it open, immediately noticing the way his neck was bent at a slightly awkward angle. "Sam, you gotta stop moving," she urged him, sniffling away tears that threatened to fall.

"Check on Dean," he panted.

Venus' eyes darted to where Dean was slumped against the backdoor of the Impala, eyes closed and even more blood and wounds over his body than earlier. "Oh God," she whimpered, reaching out two shaky fingers to check for a pulse. "He's breathing," she gasped after a few seconds.

But then she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. "Tío, your leg..." on Arturo's side of the car, the door had caved in so much that a piece impaled itself in his foot. The street was nearly pitch black but Venus could already see that the limb was broken.

Arturo took deep breaths to try and quell the pain. "I'll be okay....I'll be okay," he faintly whispered to himself, the words repeating like a mantra.

"Dad's breathing too," Sam said after some time, reaching a hand over to his father's neck.

Venus wiped her hand clean of Dean's blood for the second time that night and turned to where the old truck driver was hopping out of his truck.

"They said it'll be an hour before they get out here," he told her.

"An hour?" Venus repeated, her chest tightening. Too much could go wrong in an hour. Dean could bleed out in an hour. The nerves in her uncle's leg could suffer permanent damage in an hour. John's thigh wound could get infected in an hour. 

Before she knew it she was hyperventilating.

"Miss, is there anything I can do–"

Venus ignored the trucker and took staggered steps back to her bike, clutching her stomach and almost feeling the bile rising from there into her throat. Blood pounded in her ears and her sight became blurred, black dots dusting her vision. 

Every sound around her seemed to disappear except for the sound of her heart thudding in her chest and her own panicked breaths coming out in short pants. Venus held her shaking hands out in front of her until she felt it grip her motorcycle, grounding herself to it. A sob burst free from her lips as she felt around her jacket for her phone.

The first number she thought to dial was Bobby's.

"Venus it's four in the morning, what the hell's going on?"

She was relieved to hear his voice, momentarily catching her breath. "Bobby it's bad," she began, glancing back at the Impala, "Some demon ran the Impala off the road with a goddamn eighteen-wheeler and help's not getting here for another hour–"

"Woah, Venus, slow down," Bobby gently interrupted her rambling, "First thing's first, are you safe? Is the demon gone?"

Venus sniffled. "Yeah. I exorcised it before it could finish the job."

Bobby's relieved sigh could be heard through the phone. "Are they all breathin'?"

"For now, yeah. But, oh God, Dean lost so much blood a-and tío's leg—" Venus found herself struggling to breathe again, running a hand through her hair in distress.

"Don't you worry about that. I need you to take a few deep breaths for me and focus on the now," Bobby tried to soothe her, "Right now, they're all breathing, and help is on the way, alright? That's all that matters."

"That's all that matters," Venus softly repeated the words, letting Bobby's voice keep her calm.

"Call me back when you get to the hospital, hopefully with some good news," the older man said after a few seconds, "You've done all you can, Venus."

Venus took another deep breath and nodded though he couldn't see it. "Thanks, Bobby."

"Anytime, kid."

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A/N: AND THAT'S ALL FOR SEASON ONE FOLKS!!
Ending with some wise words from Bobby Singer
cause that's really the best way to end things idk!

I know yall are itching for some romance but we
had to go plot central for a little bit since John
wants to die or whatever :/

Super excited to get into season two tho and I'll try
and skip what I can cause this book is already ten
hours long with only ONE season down which is
insane...(I'm sorry)

Lovely GIF banner up above made by the incredibly talented prodigybitxhhh

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