Clarion Motel, Columbia, South Carolina

    It wasn't a dream. Cassandra had been awoken five hours later by a harsh shaking from Dean, her eyes fluttering open to reveal the blond Hunter, reminding her that everything that had just happened in the past twenty-four hours was real. Angels and demons were real. She was a Nephilim. She was practically kidnapped by her dead sister's boyfriend, his brother, and their pet angel.

    "Wake up, princess," Dean grunted. Cassandra squinted her eyes and sat up groggily in the backseat where she had been sprawled out. Reaching up, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and glanced behind Dean.

    "A motel?" she questioned as she slid on her flip flops and grabbing her things before crawling out of the Impala. Dean nodded and slammed the door to Baby shut behind her. Cassandra yawned and stretched her arms out, surveying the area around her. "Where are we anyways?"

    "Columbia, South Carolina," Sam's voice replied. Cassandra spun around to see Sam grabbing two duffel bags from the trunk. He sent her a small smile before closing the trunk, walking towards room three-one-six and pulling a key from his pocket. "Angels and demons can't find you here. Not unless they actually see us out and about." He pushed open the door and stepped aside so Cassandra can enter.

    She walked in, wrinkling her nose in disgust at the moldy walls, the smell of mildew drifting around the room but never escaping out the open door. She glanced down at the carpet and cringed at the unrecognizable stains. She didn't even want to think what those stains could be. Cassandra shuddered at the thought. She turned to face Sam and Dean.

    "Guys, I appreciate you trying to help me, but Cassiel—"

    "Castiel," Dean quickly corrected. Cassandra furrowed her eyebrows but nodded.

    "Right. Castiel, warded me. Shouldn't I be safe? Can't I just go home, take my finals, and graduate?" Cassandra questioned. Dean nudged her in the room further, the blonde stumbling and toppling to the floor from the sudden action. Dean arched an eyebrow as he stared down at her.

    "Are you always this clumsy?" Cassandra lifted her gaze towards the emerald-eyed Hunter, frowning as she rubbed her butt. Suddenly her eyes widened and she gasped, reaching for her backpack. She unzipped it and started to rifle through its contents, panic appearing in her eyes. "What?"

    "My meds. I must've forgotten them back at the apartment. I need those." Sam furrowed his eyebrows and shut the motel room door behind him and tossed the bags on the nearest bed.

    "What are they for?" he asked.

    "Uh, one is for my knee. They're painkillers—"

    "So we'll give you some advil and whiskey and you'll be good to go," Dean said with a shrug. Cassandra narrowed her eyes up at Dean and scowled.

    "And the others are sleeping meds and, uh, certain pills," she finished. Sam and Dean exchanged glances before Dean looked back to her with a single eyebrow arched.

    "Birth control?" Cassandra's eyes widened and she recoiled at his words. Dean held his hands up in surrender, rolling his eyes. "Didn't mean to offend the princess," he grumbled, walking around her. Without warning, he grabbed onto her arms and lifted her off of the floor effortlessly. "And gain some weight, would you? Anyone could just toss you and throw you across the room. You need stability when a fight breaks out." Cassandra whipped her head around and stared at Dean in disbelief.

    "A fight?" she squeaked. Dean nodded as if it were obvious while he unzipped his bag and pulled a bottle of whiskey from it. She eyed the bottle curiously then shook it off, her gaze shifting back to the older Hunter. "I don't fight." Cassandra crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly.

    "Yeah, well, you're gonna have to," Sam chimed in. She frowned. "And you're not going back Monday."

    "But my finals—"

    "You can't go back. They'll find you," Sam interrupted. Cassandra threw her head back and groaned.

    "Why can't you just wait around while I take them? I just need to take them, pass, and then we can go back to wherever you're taking me. It won't take long. Just a couple of hours. I'll even take them all early," she argued. Sam shook his head, shrugging. Cassandra's shoulders slumped slightly and she plopped down on the bed next to her. She bounced twice, cringing at the squealing springs that seemed as if they were screaming at her to get off.

    "Because we just can't. Cassandra, they will have angels galore waiting at that campus for you. It'll practically be Heaven there," Dean told her. "We can't risk you falling into their hands."

    "I can fight my way out," she lied. Dean rolled his eyes.

    "You just said you can't fight."

    "Dammit!" Cassandra mentally cursed herself, telling herself that she really needed to think about what she'd tell the Winchesters and their pet angel. Sam chuckled and shook his head. Suddenly, without warning, an idea popped into Cassandra's head. A plan. "I'm gonna go take a shower and change," she announced, swiping her bag up from the floor along with her boots and heading into the bathroom. Sam and Dean didn't question it, taking this as their chance to converse. As soon as the door was shut and locked and they heard the water turn on they started talking.

    "I can't believe that that is Michael's daughter. Isn't he the Angel of War or something?" Dean asked in a hushed tone. Sam nodded his head, shrugging.

    "Dean, she's been raised as a human. You heard the girl; she was an Atheist for her whole life up until the moment we showed up. Everything is new to her." Dean sighed and sat down on the bed, running a hand down his face.

    "I don't know, man. She just doesn't seem like our girl. Maybe Cas got it wrong."

    "You saw that Grace in her, Dean. Even if she's not Michael's daughter she is a Nephilim. They're dangerous, abominations. Heaven could use her or kill her either way. And she's innocent. You saw her. She wouldn't harm a soul," Sam argued. Dean nodded, licking his chapped lips as he thought Sam's words through. "Give her a chance."

    "Alright, fine. But the minute she screws up—"

    "She's gone, I know." Despite Dean's harsh tone, a smile made its way onto Sam's face.

    The water continued to pound on the bottom of the bathtub and Cassandra let out a grunt as she struggled to pull herself up on the ledge of the window. Luckily they had gotten a corner room on the bottom floor which meant there was a window in the bathroom just big enough to escape through. Once she managed to hoist herself up—no thanks to her nonexistent muscle—she snatched her backpack from the hook. Giving one last glance towards the bathroom door, she crawled through the window and jumped onto the ground, choking back a scream as she landed on her bad knee.

    "You all are fucking crazy," she grumbled under her breath, shaking her head as she started to make her way across the parking lot. She pulled her phone from her boot and turned it on, notifications starting to flood her phone. She cursed as her battery dropped ten percent, but she still had sixty percent left. That could get her far enough until she needed to stop and plug it in.

    Shocked to see that one of her friends from back home had left a voicemail, Cassandra clicked on it and brought the phone up to her ear.

    "Cassy, it's Michelle. There's some guy here who keeps asking for you. He says his name is Michael." Michelle's breathing sped up and it sounded like she was running. "Please call me back. He's trying to find your mom and now he sent someone after me. Cassandra, please. I can't outrun them forev—" Michelle's scream pierced the air on the other line, the speaker crackling as the phone fell to the ground. The voicemail still played. "Cassandra Moore, if you want your friend back alive then I suggest you meet me where your sister's life ended. You have four days."

    The voicemail ended and Cassandra stopped walking, staring down at her phone with wide eyes. California. Could she even get to California in four days by bus? It takes three just by car and that's without any stops. Cassandra checked the date and time from the voicemail. Five hours earlier. Sliding her phone back in her boot, she took off.

    The hot South Carolina sun pounded down on her, beads of sweat forming from the constriction of her light blue skinny jeans and black leather jacket. Even though heat exhaustion threatened to take over after half an hour, Cassandra pushed through. She was just grateful she had ran cross country in high school and still trained when she could.

Back at the motel, Sam and Dean exchanged glances when they realized the water hadn't stopped. Dean held up his wrist to read the black watch before glancing back towards the bathroom door.

"I know women take long, but shouldn't she be done by now?" Dean questioned. Sam shrugged, returning his attention to his laptop. Dean sighed and got up, making his way to the door. He knocked on it before pressing his ear against it so he could hear better. "Cassandra? You alive in there?" No reply. He could only hear the water running. "Cassandra?" Sam looked up with interest.

"Hear anything?" he questioned. Dean shook his head before pounding his fist on the door this time.

"Cassandra!" Dean jiggled the handle, only to find that it was locked. He looked to Sam and nodded his head to the side before taking a step back, kicking in the door. Sam jumped slightly before getting up and running in the bathroom. "She's gone!"

"What?" Dean turned to his younger brother and gestured towards the open window. "Okay, well, she's on foot so she couldn't have gotten far. Let's go." Dean shook his head and rushed out after his brother, fishing the keys to the Impala from his pocket.

"Okay, which way would she go?" Dean asked, turning the keys in the ignition. The Impala rumbled to life and it shook slightly as Sam and Dean glanced both ways. Sam pointed to the right.

"Right. If she went left we would've seen her in the window." Dean nodded and stepped on the gas, turning right and speeding down the road in search of the blonde Nephilim. His grip on the steering wheel tightened as his gaze skimmed the roadway, desperately trying to lay eyes on Cassandra Moore.

"Why would she run? We told her how dangerous it is for her out there alone," Dean said. Sam sighed, shaking his head as he continued to search for the Nephilim.

"She's scared, Dean. Her whole world was just turned upside down in the matter of an hour. I'd run, too, if I were her," Sam defended. Dean looked over to his brother, constantly shifting his gaze between Sam and the road.

"Are you defending her because you mean it or because she's Jess' sister?"

"Dean—"

"No, Sam, seriously. Out of all of the people we've given the talk to, how many have actually bolted? You've got to be nine kinds of crazy to do that after hearing what we said. You know what, maybe we should just let her go. She ran, this is her problem," Dean ranted. Sam stared at his brother in disbelief.

"Dean!" he yelled. Dean shrugged innocently. "Cassandra could end the world if she's in the wrong hands. I really don't want that to happen. Now just shut up and keeping looking. We should be getting close." Dean clenched his jaw and flicked on the radio, letting the music drown out the tension between the two brothers. Sam's hazel eyes ran over the pavement and his leg shook in anticipation. The angels could've already gotten her by now.

Cassandra slowed to a walk, panting and gasping for breath as she leaned forward, her hands on her knees. She glanced up at the bright sun and narrowed her eyes at it before sitting down, telling herself that she deserved a break. Besides, she didn't think that Sam and Dean had noticed her disappearance yet. And if they did then she had time before they caught up to her. She pulled out her phone and stared down at it.

iPhone temperature high. Needs to cool down before use.

Cassandra threw her head back and groaned. Even her phone was exhausted from the heat. She wasn't sure how much farther she could walk. She didn't exactly think her escape plan through. She had no water, no food, she didn't have her medication, and she didn't have a phone charger since she dropped it back at the motel, let alone a place to even charge it. Cassandra hoped that she wouldn't die out there, but all she could do was push through it and keep moving.

"Michelle and Mom. Just get yourself to a bus station and you can get to Michelle and Mom. That's all you have to do. Easy," Cassandra told herself. She pushed herself off of the sizzling pavement and got up, wiping her hands on her jeans. She shook her hands out and jumped up and down a few times to get the blood in her body moving again. She got in a running position but stopped, paling when she heard a familiar honk. She stood up straight and turned to see the Impala.

"Get in the car, princess!" Dean yelled, leaning forward to see the blonde past Sam's head. Sam sent her a pleading look as she glanced down the road before looking back to the Impala. "The longer you're out here the quicker you bake. Get your ass in the car now." Without warning, Cassandra dropped her bag and took off down the road again. Dean rolled his eyes and got out of the Impala to chase her down.

Cassandra mentally scolded herself for wearing heeled boots instead of packing sneakers like a smart person would do. She glanced over her shoulder to see Dean on her tail, a pissed off expression resting on his face. Her eyes widened and she looked back in front of her, willing herself to run faster. Michelle and Mom. Michelle and Mom. She repeated their names in her head as motivation to move faster. She just needed to find someone and explain that Sam and Dean were trying to kidnap her. That's all.

"Cassandra!" That wasn't Dean's voice. It was Sam's. "Cassandra, stop!" Suddenly she was tackled to the ground, rolling from the pavement and down into the grass and weeds on the side of the road.

"Get off of me!" Cassandra screeched, her eyes clenched shut as she tried to shove Dean off of her. He was too heavy compared to her small, light frame. She smacked his chest and turned her head to the side, desperately trying to kick her legs up to get him off. Dean's knees pinned down her legs and she cried out in pain when he hit her left kneecap. He managed to grab her flailing arms and wrap his hands around her wrists, slamming them down on the ground. "Please just let me go!" she cried out. "I promise I won't tell anyone your identities or what you do." Sam slowed to a jog, raising his eyebrows at the position they were in. Dean was practically straddling her.

"Stop crying," Dean barked. Cassandra nodded and sniffled, choking back the tears and forcing herself to open her eyes and look him in the face. "Cassandra, do you want to die?" She shook her head, knowing that she'd start to sob if she opened her mouth to speak. "Then stop trying to run. We are trying to help you."

"Why? You don't even believe what the angel said about me!"

"I saw your Grace! It's proof enough. If those angels get ahold of you then you're screwed."

"They're angels! They're probably better than you two!" she yelled out. Dean's grip on her wrists tightened and Cassandra desperately cried out, the pain almost too much to handle. "Stop! You're hurting me!" Dean's grip never loosened. It only tightened. "Dean, stop! Please!"

"Dean, let her go!" Dean's head whipped around to see Castiel standing behind him. "Pain is a beacon. The more you hurt her the faster they'll find her. It's how I found you," he explained. Reluctantly, Dean let go and rolled off of the blonde. She jumped up and ran over to Castiel, hiding behind him and shaking slightly. "You cannot cause her any pain."

"That's gonna be hard considering she doesn't listen, she doesn't know how to fight, she's injured, and she's a pain in my ass!" he roared. Castiel rolled his eyes before pulling a ziploc bag containing multiple orange bottles from his trench coat and held it up to show the Hunter.

"Her medications block the pain from her injury which is why the angels haven't been able to find her." Castiel turned and handed the bag to Cassandra who gratefully accepted it with a small smile. He nodded once before turning back to Dean. "You need to keep her safe, not hurt her."

"Why don't you just take her?"

"Because I can't. If the angels find that I have her then they will kill both of us. Also, they can still track me. They know I've seen her and they know I know who has her. I cannot take Cassandra otherwise I would," Castiel explained. Cassandra sniffled behind the angel, rubbing her wrists. She could feel the bruises forming already.

"I don't want to stay with them," she mumbled. Cas frowned down at her. "I need to get to California." Cas cocked his head to the side, squinting his eyes in confusion.

"Why? What's in California?" Cassandra pulled her phone from her boot and turned it on, mentally cheering now that she could use it, and pulled up the voicemail before playing it for Castiel.

"Cassy, it's Michelle. There's some guy here who keeps asking for you. He says his name is Michael." Michelle's breathing sped up and it sounded like she was running. "Please call me back. He's trying to find your mom and now he sent someone after me. Cassandra, please. I can't outrun them forev—" Michelle's scream pierced the air on the other line, the speaker crackling as the phone fell to the ground. The voicemail still played. "Cassandra Moore, if you want your friend back alive then I suggest you meet me where your sister's life ended. You have four days."

"That was about six hours ago," she said softly, turning off the phone and sliding it back in her boot. "My mom and my friend are in danger along with anyone else who knows me. I have to get back there and help them." Cas nodded.

"I will go and make sure your mother and friend are safe. You go with Sam and Dean back to the motel." Cassandra eyed Dean warily before glancing back up at the blue-eyed angel. He reached out and touched her shoulder, frowning when she flinched away. "Please, Cassandra. Dean won't hurt you again."

"And Sam?" she whispered.

"Cassandra, I'd never hurt you," Sam said from behind her. She turned to look at the younger Hunter, unsure if she could trust him or not. "I'm not like that. I knew Jess, Cassandra, and she talked about you a lot. You're a good person and as much as you don't deserve any of this, Cas is right. If you come with us we can keep you safe. Michael and the other angels won't be able to find you," he assured her. She nodded, biting her lower lip.

"But that's as long as you don't try to run again," Dean chimed in. Cassandra didn't turn to face him. "If you do then you're as good as dead." Sam glared at his brother over Cassandra's head.

"Dean!" he hissed. Dean simply shrugged. Sam looked back to Cassandra and went to place a hand on her arm but she took a step back, practically curling into Castiel's side. Sam sighed and pulled his hand back, sending Dean a sharp glare. "Cassandra, please just come back with us. We'll figure all of this out. Cas will go make sure your mom and friend are okay and we'll head back to the hotel." Cassandra wrapped her arms around herself and glanced over at Dean, then Cas, then back to Sam. She nodded.

"Okay," Cassandra whispered. Sam let out a relieved breath, running a hand through his hair. Castiel disappeared in thin air, presumably to California, leaving the two Hunters and Nephilim alone on the side of the road.

"Get in the car, Cassandra," Dean growled, making his way back to the Impala. Sam and Cassandra exchanged glances before following after the blond. Sam went to place his hand on the small of her back but she smacked his hand away, scowling.

"Don't touch me. I don't care if you were even married to Jess. I hate you both," Cassandra sneered, picking up her pace as her grip tightened on the bag with her meds. Sam sighed and hung his head, shaking it. Dean had just made things even more complicated than they should've been.

~*~

The entire ride back to the motel was quiet, the radio shut off and Dean's grip tight on the steering wheel. Cassandra sniffled every now and then, silent tears running down her cheeks as she sat with her arms wrapped around her torso, staring out the window. Dean pulled into their original parking space at the motel, cutting the engine and turning around in his seat to look at Cassandra.

"Alright, princess. Here's how it's going to go—"

"Just shut up," she muttered, getting out of the Impala and making her way to the motel room door. She stood there and waited for Sam and Dean, backpack in hand. Sam and Dean exchanged glances before following her up to the door. Without a word Dean unlocked the door and pushed it open, Cassandra shoving her way in. She threw her backpack down onto the table and went to lock herself in the bathroom when Dean grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"No." Cassandra rolled her eyes and instead turned, walking over to the far corner of the room where there was an outlet. She swiped her charger from the floor and plugged it in, taking a seat in the dusty corner of the room. She pulled her knees up to her chest and connected the phone to the charger before grabbing the bag of meds. Cassandra opened the bag and pulled out the larger orange bottle, popping the cap open. She winced when she shifted her leg, rubbing her knee before pouring two white pills in her hand.

"What is that?" Dean questioned. She dry-swallowed the pills before tossing the bottle at him. Dean caught it effortlessly, reading the label. He raised an eyebrow. "Pain meds?" She nodded and pulled out another bottle, eyeing the label and turning it over in her hand. "And that?" She stuffed it back in the bag, shoving it behind her.

"Nothing," Cassandra muttered. She set her phone down next to her and leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes. She let out a shaky breath and willed herself to sleep.

"There's a bed, y'know," Dean grunted. Cassandra peeked open one eye.

"Two beds, three of us and I highly doubt you two share beds and I'm definitely not sharing with one of you. Now leave me alone." With that, Cassandra blocked everything out and drifted off to sleep, exhausted from the heat of the sun and all of the running. Sam sighed and flopped down on the bed closest to the door, staring up at the ceiling.

"Sammy?" Sam turned his head to look at his brother who sat on the edge of his own bed. "You think we're doing the right thing? Holding Cassandra here against her will? We're ruining her whole future, man. She's just in college," Dean said. Sam sighed, his hands behind his head.

"She's the same age as me, Dean," Sam deadpanned. "She's not a kid. I think that, with time, she'll be able to handle this and live up to her potential." Dean arched an eyebrow.

"And what's her potential?" Dean questioned. Sam shrugged.

"Don't know but it's gotta be big. I mean Michael's daughter? She's not just some Nephilim, she's the daughter of an archangel."

Castiel rapped his knuckles on the large wooden door three times before taking a step back. He glanced around warily, his arms at his sides as he waited for an answer. After a minute of silence he knocked again. He turned and eyed the car in the driveway. According to Cassandra her mother lived alone which meant she only needed one car.

"Mrs. Moore?" Castiel called out. He pushed down the handle, furrowing his eyebrows when he found that it was unlocked. Cas didn't know much about the human world, but he did know that it was odd to leave the front door unlocked. He pushed it open, stepping inside. "Mrs. Moore, your daughter sent me. Are you home?" Something to his left crashed and his head snapped in that direction, his vessel's feet taking him straight towards the sound.

Cas stopped outside of a closed door, pulling his angel blade from his coat, and nudged it open. With the blade raised he barged in, his eyes widening when he saw a brunette woman sprawled out on the floor, a blade driven through her chest. A pool of blood continued to grow, seeping out from under her. A redhead around Cassandra's age was in a similar position next to Mrs. Moore, her eyes burned out of her head. Castiel's determination fell.

"Castiel." Cas spun around to see an unfamiliar angel standing behind him. "It seems you were too late to save these pathetic humans."

"Why did you kill them?" Cas growled, his grip on the angel blade tightening.

"They were close to Cassandra and wouldn't give up any information. I know I gave her four day but these humans were just too whiny and people were starting to ask questions. We couldn't have that, now, could we?" A sick grin spread across the angel's face as he eyed the bodies.

"Michael gave clear orders to bring Cassandra back unharmed. He made it clear that her family and friends were to be left alone," Castiel replied, his glare locked on the angel. "You have disobeyed clear orders."

"And you haven't?" the angel spat, his eyebrows furrowed in disbelief. "You have been working with the Winchesters!" Not wanting to listen to another word, Castiel raised his blade and drove it through the angel's chest. He glowed in a bright, blinding, white light that burst throughout his body and filled the room.

"Cassandra is to be protected at all costs." Cas yanked the blade from his vessel's body, watching as it toppled to the ground. Castiel pulled out the phone that Dean had given him and clicked on his contact, bringing it up to his ear.

"Cas?" Dean asked groggily.

"Cassandra's mother and Michelle...they're dead." Dean bolted up in his bed, suddenly fully awake.

"What? How?"

"An angel killed them. One smited and the other stabbed. I killed him." Dean breathed a sigh of relief. "Dean, you cannot tell Cassandra. Just like physical pain, emotional pain is a beacon. She was willing to risk her life to get back her mother and friend so just imagine the pain she will be in if we tell her. She can't know." Dean sighed, running a hand down his face. He glanced over at Cassandra's sleeping figure in the corner before looking to Sam who clutched a pillow to his chest.

"So what do we tell her? She'll ask questions." Castiel turned and stared at the bodies on the floor of the living room.

"We tell her that they are alive and well. That we've taken them to a safe place. She does not know much about the supernatural world so it will be an easy lie for her to believe."

"And when she finds out?"

"She cannot know until after all of this is over."

"Dammit, Cas. Okay. I'm going back to sleep and I'll tell her that they're fine in the morning," Dean told him. Castiel nodded curtly, hanging up.

Dean Winchester set his phone back down on the nightstand and turned towards Cassandra, watching as her chest rose and fell steadily. Her breathing seemed a little fast to be considered normal, but Cassandra wasn't normal. She let out a whimper and turned her head, kicking her leg slightly. Dean furrowed his eyebrows.

"No," she mumbled. She shook her head. "N-No. Jess." Her mumbling got louder. "Jess! Jess, no! Jessica!" Sam stirred in his bed, rubbing his eyes as he sat up. He furrowed his eyebrows, looking to Dean. "Jessica!" This time it was a scream. "Jessica, no! Help!" Dean rushed out of bed, racing over to Cassandra's side. He shook her awake, her eyes flying open as she gasped for breath.

"Cassandra?" Her chest heaved with every breath. "Cassandra, it's fine. It's fine. It was just a nightmare," Dean assured her. She looked to Dean, eyes still wide, and processed the sight. When reality and realization kicked in she shoved him away. Dean, figuring she was still panicking over the dream, reached out to try and calm her. "Relax, relax! It was just a nightmare. It's okay. You're safe."

"Get away from me!" she screamed, still attempting to push the Hunter away. "Get away! Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" Dean instantly pulled his hands back from her arms, holding them up as he leaned back on his calves. Cassandra unplugged her phone and snatched it up from the ground, standing up and racing out of the motel room. Sam watched her go in confusion, still sitting up in bed with the blanket over his legs. Dean knew that Cassandra wouldn't try to run again so he let her go cool down, sighing as he leaned back against the wall.

"What just happened?" Dean shrugged, letting his hand fall to his lap.

"She was having a nightmare and I just tried waking her up. I was only trying to help," Dean explained, his voice soft and his eyes full of guilt. He knew why she didn't want him touching her. He had hurt her and now she was frightened by the Hunter. Dean had hurt and scared an innocent woman.

Sam jumped out of bed, ignoring the fact that he was just in boxers and a t-shirt, and rushed out of the motel room to find Cassandra. He tugged the door shut behind him and glanced around, his gaze landing on the blonde sitting on a yellow parking curb under a dimly lit streetlight. He could hear her sniffles, her head buried between her knees as she rocked back and forth slightly. She had more baggage than he thought.

"Cassandra?" Sam asked softly, making his way towards her.

"Go away, Sam." He continued to walk to her. "Seriously, just leave me alone. I won't run," she said, her voice muffled from her legs. The cold air nipped at her nose, turning it a light shade of pink as she shivered slightly. Sam ignored her requests and sat down on the curb next to her, pulling his knees up to his chest in a similar position. His arms hung loosely over his legs, his head turned towards the Nephilim.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She shook her head. "I heard you calling out Jess' name. How long have you been having nightmares about her?"

"Four years," Cassandra muttered. Sam nodded. Since she had died. Cassandra had been burdened with these nightmares and sleepless nights for four years. It was no wonder why she looked the way she did and stayed up all night studying.

"I had nightmares about her death, too." Sam's gaze fell to the ground. "Except they came true. It was her dying before she even died. Before Dean had even come to get me." Cassandra stopped sniffling, listening to Sam's story but never picking her head up. "You know, I, uh, I had these visions and they came true. They mostly came to me in my sleep, but over time they got stronger and I had them when I was awake. I was one of the psychic kids. It's a long story, but it wasn't good. I had a hard time dealing with the nightmares, especially when they would come true," he explained. Cassandra sniffled once.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because it helped when I talked about it. I only had Dean, and right now we're the only ones you got, Cassandra." Sam shrugged. "Maybe it'd help if you trusted us or at least talked to us about the nightmares. You don't even have to trust Dean. Just me. You don't ever have to speak to Dean if you don't want to." Cassandra picked her head up and turned to look at Sam with bloodshot, puffy, red eyes. "I know it's hard, but you can get through this. Hell, maybe you'll even get to go back to college when this is all over." Cassandra scoffed, shaking her head.

"I have a feeling I won't make it out of this alive," she admitted. Sam frowned.

"Why not?"

Dean stepped out of the room and leaned against the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched Cassandra and Sam converse. He could hear what they were saying clearly and his heart tugged in his chest when he heard what Cassandra said next.

"Because I'm weak. I don't truly have a purpose as a human."

"But that's just it, Cassandra! You're not a human! You're something greater than that; something so powerful that you can change the world for the better!" Sam exclaimed, sending her a warm smile as he spoke. Cassandra shook her head slowly.

"No. I'm a monster." Sam's face fell. "You and Dean hunt monsters and it's only a matter of time before you kill me. So why don't you just do it already? It'd make everything a hell of a lot easier for the both of us. My family wouldn't have to worry, you and Dean would be whatever you consider safe, Castiel wouldn't have all of those angels on his ass, and Michael wouldn't have a weapon. Everything would be better without me here." Dean's breath hitched in his throat. Here was a girl that worked her ass off her whole life to be something greater, and the moment she's told what she is she sees herself as a monster. She loses all hope and just wishes for death.

"Cassandra, you're not a monster," Sam said softly.

"Yes I am!" she shouted. "I'm just like the thing that killed my sister!" Cassandra's voice cracked and she choked back a sob. "Oh my god. I'm the reason Jess is dead. They were trying to track me down, weren't they? They killed her because of me. I killed my sister." Cassandra broke down and Sam instantly pulled her in his arms, shocked that she didn't flinch away or fight back.

"You're not the reason Jess died, alright? That was my fault. I brought Azazel to her and I got her killed. I had visions of her dying for days and I never did anything about it. Your sister's death is on me, not you," Sam told the blonde. Cassandra shook her head and continued to sob, her eyes clenched shut as she fisted the sides of her leather jacket.

"I killed Jess."

Sam shook his head again and said, "No, Cassandra, you didn't. You didn't kill anyone. You have no blood on your hands. You're pure; you're good. You didn't kill anyone." She shook her head but didn't say anything else, her cries too strong for her to manage to speak. Sam pulled her closer to him, his chin resting on top of her head as he rubbed her arm soothingly. He turned his head towards the motel room and saw Dean standing there, watching them. Dean turned and walked back in the motel room, closing the door behind him but leaving it unlocked for Sam and Cassandra.

Cassandra's cries lightened up slightly, but Sam knew that this was a burden she carried with her everyday. "You're not a monster. You didn't kill Jess. You just happened to get mixed up in a dangerous world, but we can fix that. We can stop the Seals from breaking and you can go back to your normal, apple pie life. You can become the therapist you want to be and you can help people because that's what you do. You help people, Cassandra. A monster hurts them and you don't do that," Sam said.

The two sat like that for what seemed like forever but was only a matter of minutes before Cassandra calmed down and stopped crying. When Sam looked down at her he realized that she had fallen asleep in his arms, worn out from the day's events and her tears. He sighed and slid his arm under her knees, his other arm resting on her back as he lifted her from the ground and carried her back to the motel room bridal style.

Dean looked up from his phone when the door opened, raising his eyebrows at the sight of Cassandra in Sam's arms. The Hunter gently laid her down on his bed, pulling the blanket over her shivering body. Sam looked up at his brother when he waved the phone.

"Cas called," Dean said in a hushed whisper. Sam crossed his arms over his chest, gesturing for Dean to continue. "He found her mom and Michelle."

"And?" Dean sighed and shook his head, Sam's expression dropping and his arms falling to his sides. "They're—"

"Yeah."

"Dammit." Dean nodded.

"I know." Sam ran a hand through his hair, glancing back over at Cassandra. "We can't tell her, Sam. Cas said that just as physical pain is a beacon, emotional pain is a lot stronger. Her breakdown that she just had is nothing compared to what would happen if we told her what really happened," Dean explained. Sam nodded.

"So what do we tell her?"

"That Cas found them and that they're okay. I mean if you think about it, they are. They're most likely up in Heaven and her mom is probably with Jessica. As crazy as that woman sounds, I think she deserves a spot upstairs." Sam nodded again and glanced around the room, his gaze landing on the bag of medications. He furrowed his eyebrows and walked over to them, opening the bag and pulling them out. "What is it?"

"This is a lot of meds. She's like a walking pharmacy." Sam picked up a bottle. "Lexapro."

"Antidepressant?" Sam nodded.

"Also helps with anxiety." He set the bottle down and picked up another. "Clozapine." Dean furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, snatching the bottle from Sam's grasp.

"The hell is Clozapine?" Dean questioned, turning the bottle over in his hands. Sam walked over to his laptop, bringing the meds with him, and pulled up Google and typed in the name. His eyes skimmed the screen before he leaned back, letting out a small sigh. "What is it?"

"Clozapine is an antipsychotic. It can treat schizophrenia and it can also lower the risk of suicidal behavior in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder," Sam read before looking up to his older brother with raised eyebrows. Dean glanced back down at the bottle before circling the table and reading over the laptop screen.

"We're hiding a depressed, schizophrenic, injured, Nephilim?" Dean inquired. Sam sighed, nodding as he tapped his index finger on the table.

"Seems like it."

"I know she's got baggage but she doesn't seem to be schizophrenic. I can understand depression. I mean, she's a freakin' college student! School is about as depressing as it gets." Sam turned his head and shot his brother a glare, only earning an innocent shrug.

"Anna was also on meds," Sam replied. "It was from tuning into Angel Radio. You think that maybe Cassandra was also tuned in and they just classified her as crazy?" Dean pursed his lips in thought, nodding his head to the side.

"It'd make sense." He reached into the bag and pulled out another bottle. "Oxycodone," Dean read. He set it down next to the other two bottles. Sam pulled the last orange bottle from the bag and read the label.

"Temazepam." He typed it into the search bar and hit enter, waiting for the page to load. It came up a second later. "It's used to treat insomnia. Not only does it help you fall asleep, it helps you stay asleep. Looks like it can also cause suicidal thoughts, which explains the Clozapine. Clozapine reduces suicidal thoughts which can be caused by the Temazepam. Basically this girl is about as broken as you can get," Sam explained. Dean nodded, glancing up at her sleeping figure, before looking back down at the computer.

"Do you think you could pull up her medical history?"

"Dean, going through her meds is bad enough. Now you want to see classified information?" Dean rolled his eyes, the expression on his face pressing the question. Sam sighed and nodded. "Yeah, give me a minute," he muttered. His fingers danced across the keyboard as he searched up Cassandra's name and hometown. It didn't take long to find her information. "Therapy, Physical Therapy, hospitalization for—oh."

"'Oh' what?"  Dean snapped. Sam read over the medical file again, making sure he hadn't missed anything.

"Well, her breakdown makes sense. She's been hospitalized nine times in the psychiatric ward  since November third, two-thousand-five." Sam gulped as he scrolled down the list. "All suicide attempts," he whispered. His gaze drifted over the computer screen and towards Cassandra who balled up a part of the blanket in her fist.

"Does it say why she did it?" Sam nodded and turned the screen towards Dean instead of reading it out loud. He couldn't bring himself to read it, knowing that he was the cause. Dean sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "'I couldn't bear to live without my sister. The pain and agony were too much. The voices got louder, telling me that it was all my fault and that I could only be redeemed if I joined them in Heaven.'" Dean furrowed his eyebrows and glanced over at Sam. "But she was an Atheist. She didn't believe in any of that crap."

"Keep reading." Dean eyed him unsurely before looking back to the laptop.

"'I don't believe in Heaven or Hell at all, but I had a little bit of hope because it was my sister's voice.'" Dean's voice slowed down and lowered towards the end.

"Keep going."

"Man, I can't—"

"Keep reading, Dean. Trust me. It's worth it." He gulped and nodded, averting his gaze to the file.

"'I know it's just a hallucination, but I saw her. I saw Jessica and she looked exactly as she did in the most recent picture I had gotten in the mail. The only difference was that she had pitch black eyes. She said that she could come back to life if I died. That's why I did it.'" Sam crossed his arms over his chest.

"No wonder why she was frozen when she saw Sandy Myers as a demon. It's because she's seen a demon before except as her sister. She thought it was a hallucination. That her meds weren't working anymore and that she was going crazy," Sam explained.

"But she never was crazy. The voices were angels and the hallucinations were demons or angels, hell, maybe even both. The only thing those meds do is lower the risk of suicide," Dean replied. Sam nodded. The blond continued to scroll down, stopping on a photo. His fist flew up to his mouth and he choked back a gag. "Oh my god," he whispered. Sam stared at him in confusion, so Dean turned the laptop towards him. Sam's eyes widened and he closed the laptop, not able to handle seeing it anymore.

"She did that?" Dean nodded.

It was hard to make out the photo. There was just so much blood. It was everywhere. Cassandra's stomach, her hands, arms, legs, pooling on the floor around her. If it weren't for her angel Grace then she probably wouldn't have survived. But it wasn't the blood that scared Sam and Dean. It was the word that was carved into her torso.

    MONSTER was carved across her stomach diagonally, taking up almost her whole torso. It was hard to make it out with all of the blood, but Sam and Dean could read it just clearly enough.

    Sam and Dean stared at the woman sympathetically. "God, I'm such a dick," Dean muttered, shaking his head. "I hurt her and after everything she's gone through—"

    "Dean, you didn't know," Sam replied softly. Dean shook his head again, holding it in his hands. "You couldn't have known. She obviously wasn't going to tell anyone about it any time soon. Yeah, you were a little rough on her, but we had no idea. You were just focused on keeping her safe." Dean got up and stumbled towards the bed she lay in, lightly running his fingertips across the hand-shaped bruises on her wrist. He had caused those. Dean Winchester had hurt her.

    Deep down Dean knew that Sam was right. He couldn't have known. But on the surface the guilt ate away at him and he wanted nothing more than to go back and time and stop himself from ever hurting her like that. But he couldn't. It just wasn't possible. To Dean, the only monster in the room was himself. So he laid down in his bed and did his best to push the feelings away, slipping back into a deep sleep as the nightmares gave him something to relive that was worse than Hell.

So I know Dean probably wouldn't be that violent with women, but it'll all pan out and make sense as the story goes on.

Poor Cassy and Dean. He was just trying to help her but his mistake just set them back ten steps.

I know that's a lot of baggage for one person that I threw in there, but it seems that in most fanfictions I read the women are just already strong and know what they're doing. I figured if she was weaker and knew absolutely nothing on the supernatural world and how to protect herself it'd be a lot better. And the mental illnesses will be shown more throughout the story. There will still be nightmares and breakdowns and more just to show that these are things that people struggle with on the daily and go unnoticed.

Do you ship Cassandra with anyone? If so, who?

Dean?

Or Sam?

I would ask about Castiel but that's her uncle and...just no. I really hope you don't ship that.

Remember to Always Keep Fighting, guys. I love all of you so much and it would kill me if I found out one of you lost your war. My messages are always open, as are my DM's on Instagram.

Instagram: @winchesters_angels