TRIGGER WARNING: MENTION OF ASSAULT AND STALKING!

Written by: gooberlanes13

Edited by: KariGorsuch

The ride back to the hotel was quiet, the tension hung thick between Dean and myself while Sam poked at mine and Bri's theory with Bri. I glared up from the backseat, arms crossed and leaned completely back, watching Dean's eyes scan the road and periodically look back at me.

We arrived at the hotel and started to, slowly, make our way back up to the hotel as Sam, Bri and now, Dean, began to brainstorm on a game plan. I was the first to enter the hotel room, slapping the wall to snap the lights on. Without a single word, I moved to our bags in the corner and pulled out some pajamas.

"Anyone need to use the john?" I asked, looking at Sam and Bri, who both shook their heads gently.

Dean slid past me, hesitantly making his way into the bathroom, with an eye roll I dropped onto the Queen bed that Bri and I had made before leaving.

"You shouldn't let him get to you," Sam spoke suddenly, and it took me a minute to realize he was speaking to me. I raised my head, tilting it at Sam as he continued, "He's trying to test you, your confidence -" He looked between Bri and myself at this point and continued, " - He's been one that has always tried to make sure things are 100%."

"Yeah, but you guys have clearly never ran on hope, or half-baked theories -" I started, but Dean stepped out of the bathroom to interject. "- Ugh, here we go..." I muttered, raising to my feet as he spoke this time.

"- I'm just saying that for two people that aren't very experienced in Hunting, you're making a lot of good theories," Dean shrugged as he spoke. "I'll give you that, but they're not solid, they're not hard -"

"- what the fuck would you know about hard?" I shot, immediately savagely hitting below the belt about something I truly had no idea about.

Dean's hard face and clenched jaw loosened as he dropped his face a little, looking down as his voice cracked a little, "How did you know?" He smirked, earning a punch in the shoulder from me as I shoved past him into the bathroom for a shower.

Inside, after locking the door, I heard Bri's voice humming and all I could make out, before turning on the shower was:

"...you know we're right, you just can't stand the fact that we figured it out before you, or is it the fact we're girls?"

I rolled my eyes at the topic and silently hoped that the hot shower would calm me down and maybe level me out in order to have a simple conversation with the Supernatural know-it-all.

Once again, the shower didn't last long, 10 - 15 minutes tops - damn you Army. I moved across the room, thankful to see my hairbrush sitting on the counter as I began brushing it and twisting it into the familiar bun that I wore all day, everyday for 3 years straight, in hopes it would grant my hair some sharp waves for the next day.

I moved into the room as the three continued to talk, no longer arguing, and I walked straight through the conversation. I stuffed the dirty clothes into one bag and pulled out a headband to keep my hair slicked back for the evening.

Dropping onto the bed, with one leg dangling off the edge as the they continued to talk;

"- what I'm saying, Dean, is that maybe it's not that far fetched." Sam spoke with a tone that seemed to be intertwined with curiosity and certainty. "Maybe we -"

"- Maybe we have a little faith in the rookies?" Bri interjected, stepping up to Dean, which - for some reason - triggered me to insert myself, physically between the two.

"How about this?" I asked, gesturing for everyone to calm down as all eyes were on me. "We set up a second meeting with Miss Mordy -" I paused long enough to smirk at Dean over my shoulder to say, "- you'll be happy to see her again - " and then I moved forward with the plan. "- for later on tomorrow evening, and if the same three people are there, which I'm pretty sure they will be...we'll use the process of elimination."

"How do you expect us to do that, genius?" Dean hummed into my ear, placing his hands on my shoulder, but I didn't snatch away - I didn't make a move to be released from his grip, but I did turn my head over my shoulder to answer him.

"In short? I stay in one room and which ever one that walks in and causes me to pass the fuck out - there's your Beasty." I smirked, finally snatching out of his grip. "Now that that's settled -" I growled, taking a deep breath."- has anyone seen my fucking phone?"

Everyone sat silent as Dean hesitantly, reached around my stance to pull it out of the same trashcan I had left it in from the day or evening before.

"Thank you." I exhaled sharply, moving away from the three and sitting against the wall in the entryway, stretching my legs across the walkway.

"Why?" snorted Bri, looking over Sam.

"It's not the bed, all the chairs are taken and it's not around him." I shot, glaring at Dean, who just beamed back. I pulled out my phone and unlocked it, only for my face to go from tight to loose and full of absolute terror.

"Eve..." Dean's tone shifted from the aggressive hiss he'd had with me all night, to a concerned one as he squatted next to me. "...what is it?"

"Eve?" Bri chimed, from over Dean's shoulder.

"Another attack?" Sam chirped as I attempted to stand back up, and struggled but with Dean's help I stood up straight.

"No." I spoke silently, not able to close my mouth. "Fuck..." I whimpered, too distracted by the contents on my screen to care if I dropped my phone, but Dean gently took it and walked me over to his bed and sat me down. "...Shit." I choked as Dean sat down beside her, and looked at the screen.

"Dean, what is it?" Bri asked, leaning forward off the loveseat.

"I'm assuming this is Nick?" Dean held the phone up to Bri, and she almost mirrored my expression but with more anger. "Whose the other guy, Jared?"

"How do you -?" started Bri as Sam interjected.

"Whose Jared?" Sam inquired, looking between myself and Bri as Dean showed him the picture.

"Why are you freezing up on me, Eve?" asked Dean, and then he did something I never thought I'd see, or experience- he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and pulled me against him, holding me close. Obviously I was too blown away to really react but, looking back, it was so nice.

"It's..." I stuttered, looking over Dean's arm to Bri's face as her face flushed red.

"She can't talk." Bri spoke firm and hard as she raised to her feet and began pacing. "It's a freeze response -"

"Freeze response, isn't that a symptom of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?" Sam asked, looking concerned between both of us, but I was all but deaf at this point.

Dean stiffened beside me, his grip tightening protectively. "What happened?" He demanded, his tone sharp as he turned his glare on Bri. "No one should make another person this terrified."

"When we were in the Army," sighed Bri, glaring down at the screen that was reflecting both Nick and Jared at the Denver Airport with the caption: Look who I ran into at the airport. "Jared cheated on me, but this guy - fucked her up."

Dean looked from Bri to me, now unwrapping his arms to take my face in his hands. "Stay with us, Eve...blink for me at least."

I felt my eyes glistening over as I fought tears, but a few escaped and ran down my cheeks as I blinked once before he pulled me back into a warm, safe hug.

"This guy..." Bri growled, as Sam raised to his feet and gently took Bri's shoulders and led her to the loveseat. He softly sat her down as he took the phone from her and turned off the screen to set it down on the coffee table. "...he...he..." I heard Bri pause for a long second before the poisonous words slid out of her mouth, "...he assaulted her. And stalked her."

Dean's jaw tightened as his chin rested on the top of my head. I buried my face deeper into his chest, squeezing my eyes shut as if that could block out the memories threatening to flood in.

"He thought he could control her," Bri went on, her voice now a mix of anger and sorrow. "Told her what to do, when to do it and how to do it. And even when she knew he was bad news, she stayed. Because he made her feel like she didn't have a choice."

Sam's hand moved to Bri's knee, a small but grounding gesture that didn't go unnoticed. Her shoulders relaxed just slightly under his touch, but even in my state I could tell it meant more to her than she'd ever admit.

Dean pressed his chin onto my head as I remained still.

"She didn't even know who he was talking about when he would accuse her of cheating on him..." Bri said with a bitter smirk, looking from me to Dean. "She didn't even know the dude."

A heavy silence settled over the room before Bri continued.

"The way she told me what happened was...he wanted into some motorcycle club and the only way the guy would let him in is if he shared her." Bri's voice faltered, and she shifted uncomfortably. "She didn't drink much at all, let alone on weeknights, but he pressured her into taking two shots- one whiskey, one vodka. Everything got blurry after that."

I finally found a moment of clarity and gently pulled away from Dean's chest, though he kept one arm firmly around my shoulders. His other hand moved to rest lightly on my knee, as if anchoring me.

"All I remember is the popcorn ceiling of the trailer - or the house -" I said quietly accepting the tissues Sam handed me with a small nod of thanks. "He blamed me for it, said I wasn't to speak to him ever again." My voice wavered. "I didn't even know the..."

Dean frowned deeply, his lips pressing into a thin line as I continued.

"...then his abuse almost escalated to physical -"

"- Almost?" Dean interjected sharply, his voice edged with anger, but I ignored him and pushed forward.

"- he bruised my hand before a Field Exercise, and I broke up with him over text." I paused, fidgeting with the very hand he bruised, "There was no cell signal out there for a phone call..." my voice steadying slightly. "When I got back, Bri was there for me. Because he stalked me for three days before I went to MPs for a No Contact order."

"No Contact Order?" Sam asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"It's like the Army equivalent of a Restraining Order." Bri verified, her voice clipped.

"It's been a year now - and he does this." I choked out, wiping at my eyes.

"Does what? Follow you across the country?" Dean's voice rose, his frustration spilling over before he quickly reined it in. When I flinched at the sudden volume, his tone softened immediately. "I'm sorry..." He muttered, pulling me back into his arms, his grip protective and unyielding. "...I'm so sorry."

The room fell quiet again. Sam's jaw tightened as he turned to Bri, "Are these guys in town, like now?"

"Not here," Bri replied, pointing to the floor to indicate Cripple Creek. "It looks like they're at Denver Airport."

"The thing is," I began, my voice muffled and thick with emotion as I nodded toward the phone on the table. "That picture was sent hours ago..."

"Wait." Bri's eyes widened slightly, and her voice sharpened. "Does he still track your phone?"

That question seemed to light a fire in Dean. "Track your phone -?" He stopped himself, his mouth tightening as if struggling to decide between yelling or punching something. Instead, he looked back at me, his expression torn between anger and concern. "What do you need?" He asked, his voice low, steady, and full of sincerity.

I leaned into his shoulder, exhaustion weighing me down. "To sleep." I murmured, my voice barely audible.

Dean nodded, his voice gentler than I'd ever heard it. "Okay. Whenever you're ready, sweetheart."

Over my head, Dean shot a glare at Bri, his expression demanding answers without saying a word. Bri, for her part, returned his look with quiet resolve, clearly debating how much more to say.

The weight of recounting the memories, the flood of emotions, and the steady stream of tears left me drained. Sam, ever the peacekeeper, tried steering the conversation into lighter territory. It worked, at least for a little while- thirty minutes, maybe- but my mind had already begun to slip into exhaustion.

"Eve," Dean's voice cut through the haze, low and steady, like a lifeline. It rang in my ears, soft and familiar, as comforting as the sound of rain against a window. My head lifted off his shoulder, my eyelids fluttered open just enough to make out his figure, slightly blurry in the dim light.

He stood to lean down and gently guide me off the bed, his touch careful but firm, as though I might shatter. "C'mon," he murmured, leading me to the edge of his bed. He tugged back the covers and made sure I had more than enough to wrap myself in. "Are you warm?"

I smiled faintly, too tired to form words but wanting him to know I was okay- or at least as okay as I could be. My eyes drifted shut again as I felt the woft weight of the blankets settle over me.

The last thing I remembered was the blurry outline of Dean watching over me, his presence solid and reassuring. Safe.