CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Nyx goes out for a walk by herself to try and clear her head, and then she hears gunshots. She immediately runs to where they came from and when she gets there, she sees Dean standing over a man's dying body.

"Dean?" She walks over to him, and he looks at her. "Was that the—"

"Werewolf. Yeah." He nods.

A few hours later, the two of them are sitting in the Impala talking to Sam about what happened last night. Caroline's at the motel with the twins, she loves babysitting.

"It was sort of sad, actually. Glenn had no clue what was going on." Dean's saying. "Why do you think he turned Madison instead of just killing her?"

"I don't know." Sam says. "He kind of seemed to have a thing for her."

"So, maybe his primal instincts did too. Maybe he was looking for a little hot breeding action." He says, then he looks at Nyx, who's sitting the backseat behind him. "You're not gonna hit me for that one?" He asks, and she looks at him for a second before looking away.

"What's going on with you two?" Sam asks. He knows that things have been tense, but it seems to be getting worse.

"So, you gonna see Madison again?" He changes the subject. He doesn't know what's bothering Nyx at the moment anyway.

"What?"

"You liked her."

"She thought I was stark raving lunatic." Sam says.

"You saved her life." Dean says.

"She doesn't know that." He argues.

"Actually, I think maybe she does." Nyx says, and the boys both look at her.

"What makes you say that?" Sam asks, and then there's a knock on his window.

"That." She says as he turns to see the girl that Nyx's assuming is Madison.

"You know, for a stake out, your car's a bit conspicuous." Madison says as Sam rolls his window down. "What are you still doing here?" She asks.

"Honestly, um..." Dean starts. "We're pretty sure you're​ not gonna turn tonight, but we got to be one hundred percent, so, you know, we're...lurking."

"Look, I know this sounds crazy—" Sam says.

"It sure does." She cuts him off. "Well, if you're gonna wait it out...we might as well do it together."

The four of them go upstairs, and she unlocks her apartment door. The boys walk in behind her, and Nyx stops in the doorway, unable to get in.

"What are you doing?" Madison asks when she notices the younger girl just standing outside the apartment.

"I, uh... Well..." The teenager'a eyebrows furrow as she sighs.

"She needs to be invited in. It's an overly polite thing she's got." Dean says.

"Come on in." Madison says, obviously a little confused, and Nyx forces an awkward smile as she walks through the threshold. She closes the door behind her.

"You were telling the truth, weren't you?" She asks the boys. "About everything. What you did — it was to help me."

"Yeah." Sam says.

"I did all those horrible things...when I turned."

"You didn't know."

The two of them just look at each other for a few seconds, and Dean looks down at Nycole. Her gaze turns to the floor, and she sighs as she closes her dark eyes, shaking her head.

"So, when will we know for sure?" She asks. "Moonrise?"

"No, I don't think so." Sam says. "You turned in the middle of the night last night. I think we gotta hang in until sunup."

"Well, looks like we got ourselves a few hours to kill." Dean says. "Poker anyone?"

"I'm gonna check in with Care." Nyx tells them before walking into the kitchen.

"Hey, how's it going?" The blonde asks.

"I'm not sure yet." She says. "How's everything there?"

"I got barfed on, and it was gross." She says, and Nyx laughs. "But we're okay now."

"So, you don't need me to come back?"

"Nope. We're good." She says. "They're sleeping​ like little angels for now."

Nyx's phone makes a noise, and she looks at the picture that Caroline just sent her. "Aw, they look like little angels." She says as she puts the phone back to her ear.

"Until Alex starts yanking on your hair." She says, and Nyx chuckles.

"Yeah, I blame Dean for that one. He laughs every time, and I'm convinced that Alex thinks it's funny now."

"I noticed."

"What did I do?" Dean asks as he walks into the kitchen.

"You laugh when your son pulls anybody's hair." Nyx tells him, and he starts laughing. "Case, and point."

"It's the best when he does it to Sam."

"I'm starting to think you have three children." Caroline says.

"You and me both, sister." Nyx agrees, and she laughs.

"I'm gonna take a nap while they're out. Be careful." She says, and the brunette nods.

"We always are."

Dean then moves to stand beside Nyx as they leans against the counter, and she shows him the picture that Caroline sent. "They're cute kids." He says, and she nods with a smile as she looks down at the picture. "And we made them."

The brunette laughs as she looks up at him. Their faces are only inches apart because he's already looking down at her. Her gaze falls to his lips, but she backs away before anything can happen. He sighs as he shakes his head and then walks away from her.

Nyx clenches her teeth as she looks down at the tiled floor. She closes her eyes as she grips the counter tightly behind her and takes deep breaths through her mouth. The guilt and shame she feels is becoming too much as the weeks go by, and she's choking back tears.

The four of them wait all night long, and Madison doesn't turn, which they take as a good sign. They all watch the sunrise the next morning, and she looks at the three hunters.

"Does— Does this mean it worked​?" She asks.

"Yeah, I think so." Sam says.

"Oh, God, thank you." She hugs Sam. "Thank you so much." Dean clears his throat, and she looks over at him. "You too, Dean, thank you."

"Ah, don't mention it." He says. "So, we're just gonna head back to the motel and watch some pay-per-view or something." He tells them, and he and Nyx leave Sam at her apartment.

The two of them head back to the motel, and Caroline looks over at them as she's buckling the babies into their stroller. "Hey, I was just about to take the twins out. Do you mind?" She asks.

"No, go for it, we could actually use some sleep." Nyx tells her, and she nods, then the three of them leave. Caroline has the stroller that Nyx was using back in New Orleans.

Dean takes off his jacket and turns to look at Nycole as she taking off her shoes. "This is crap." He says, earning her attention. "It should be my choice if I'm with you or not. I know the risk, and I don't care. You're the mother of my kids, you're the woman that I'm in love with. And I get that you're scared, I do, but I'm not. I know that you would never hurt me. I trust you, Nyx."

"But I don't." She tells him. "I'm terrified that I might hurt you. And if​ I ever did, I couldn't live with that."

"And I don't want to live without you."

"Dean..."

He moves closer to over to her, and she looks up at him. Slowly, he moves his hand to rest on the side of her face, and she has to work at keeping herself​ in control. He then moves a dark lock of hair out of her face, and her hand moves up to rest on his. Her eyes are locked on his green ones as his fingers curl around her wrist.

Dean leans down and presses his lips softly to hers. Hesitant at first, she kisses him back, until she feels her eyes start to change and the hunger building. Nyx pulls away from him, but he catches her at her waist, not letting her walk away this time. The brunette looks back up at him and keeps her breathing​ under control like she's learned to do over the past few months.

He places his hand on the side of her face and runs his thumb lightly over the veins under her eye. "I'm not afraid." Dean tells her, and she closes her eyes as she pushes herself onto her tippy-toes and presses her lips against his again.

Before long, they're on one of the beds, and he intertwines their fingers as he pins her hand above her head. He starts kissing gently down her neck, and she pulls on his t-shift with her free hand. Quickly, he sits up and sheds the clothing before leaning over her and reconnecting​ their lips in another passionate kiss.

Nyx flips them so his back is pressed into the mattress as she's straddling him, and she starts trailing kisses down his skin, starting at his jaw. As she reaches the crook of his neck, she feels the bloodlust coming back. The brunette stops and rests her forehead against his bare shoulder as she fights to keep in control. He feels her cool breath fan against his skin as she exhales.

She then places her hands flat on his chest and pushes herself up so that she can look him in his eyes. "I'll agree to giving us a real attempt, if you can agree that we've​ pushed this far enough for one day." She tells him. "Maybe I'm stronger than I think I am, but I'm not as strong as you think I am. And I really don't want to hurt you, Dean."

He nods, still trying to catch his breath as his green eyes meet her own brown ones. "Fair enough." He agrees, and she rolls off of him.

—

"Hey, about what you said before." Nyx starts, and Dean looks at her. They're laying on the bed, both fully clothed again, and she's laying on her side as he rests on his back.

"Which part?" He asks.

"When you​ were listing all the reasons that this — us being together — should be your decision."

"Yeah."

"Did you mean it?" She asks, and a small smile spreads across his face.

"Is that even a question at this point?"

She shrugs. "It's just... Neither of us have ever said it before...which seems a little ridiculous when you think about everything that we've been through, and the fact that we have kids together..." She shakes her head. "You've just never said it before, and things between us haven't been the best lately. I—"

"I love you, Nycole." He says, and her rambling stops as she looks at him. "I am more in love with you than I ever thought could be possible... I guess I just didn't think it needed to be said for you to know. I'm better with you... I'm not complete without you."

She smiles as she sits up and moves closer to him. "I love you, Dean. You and our babies — you're my entire world. I can't exist without you." She leans down and presses a soft kiss to his lips. He reaches up and places his hand on the side of her face, and she rests her forehead against his, both of them smiling.

Someone starts banging on the door then, and they pull apart. The banging continues, and Nyx quickly​ goes and opens​ the door. She finds Sam standing outside, and he looks panicked.

"She— She turned." He tells her.

"What?" Nyx questions, eyebrows furrowed.

"I couldn't grab her in time." He says as his brother walks up behind her.

"We'll find her, Sammy." Dean tells him.

The three of them are now on their way out of the motel to go and look for Madison. "I already called Bobby." Sam tells them. "He doesn't know anything, except he knew severing the bloodline wouldn't work. They all say it's impossible to reverse it."

"How come she didn't turn when we were with her?" Dean asks. "So, you put her to bed and then she wolfed out. Maybe she's got to be asleep to turn."

"What the hell does it matter?" He questions. "We got to find some way to help her, some legend we missed."

"Don't you think someone we know would have known?"

"Then we have to look harder until we find something." He argues.

"Sammy, I don't think we got a choice anymore." Dean tells him.

"What?"

"I get it, she's a sweet girl, but part of her is—"

"Evil?" Sam questions.

"Yeah."

"That's what they say about me, Dean, and vampires." Sam says as he looks at Nyx. "So, us you won't kill, but her you're just gonna blow away?"

Sam's phone rings, and Dean looks down at Nycole. She takes a deep breath and looks away from them.

"Madison, where are you?" Sam asks.

The hunters quickly go to the car, and he tells her that they're going to find her. They finally leave the motel parking lot, and then they take Madison back to her apartment. She sits down at a table.

"I don't remember anything." She tells them. "I probably killed someone last night. Didn't I?"

"There's no way to know yet." Dean tells her.

"Is there something else we can try to make it go away?"

"We'll find something." Sam says. "There's got to be some answer somewhere."

"That's not entirely true." Dean says, and she looks over at him. "Madison, you deserve to know. We've scoured every source. There's just no cure."

"Is— Is he right?" She asks Sam, but he doesn't answer. He gets up and turns away from them.

"Look, we could lock you up at night, but... You will bust out, and some night you will... Someone else dies. I'm sorry. I am." He tells her, and she nods.

"So, I guess that's all there is to it then."

"Stop it. Don't talk like that." Sam says.

"Sam, I don't want to hurt anyone else. I don't want to hurt you." She picks up the gun from the table and walks over to him.

"Put that down." He tells her.

"I can't do it myself." She says. "I need you to help​ me."

"Madison, no."

"Sam. I'm a monster."

"You don't have to be." Sam says as he looks over at Nyx. She turns away from him so that he won't see the tears in her eyes. "We could find a way, alright?" He tells her.

Nyx walks out of the living room and goes into another room. Dean joins her a few minutes later and looks at her.

"Don't." He says. "I know what you're thinking. You haven't hurt anyone."

"All I have to do is lose control once, and then it's going to be me and you having that conversation." She says, and he shakes his head. "Hell, we basically just did have that conversation. Minus the you putting a bullet in me part."

"You won't hurt anyone."

"You don't know that. You can't possibly know that for certain." She argues.

"I know you. And you're not—"

"She's not a bad person either." She says, and he just looks at her.

They hear a gunshot ring out from the other room, and they both flinch as tears run down their faces. Sam just killed Madison...like she asked him to do.