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SEASON 01, EPISODE 22

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"They have Dad," Delaney cried as she shakily brought the phone away from her, the dial tone beeping loudly on the other end as Mason hung up. 

"Mason? What did he say?" Sam asked as Dean went ghostly pale and dashed around the room trying to get their things together.

"I just told you, Sammy," Delaney whimpered, dropping to the bed as she couldn't hold her own weight anymore on her shaky legs.

Dean sniffled from behind them and Delaney and Sam turned to look at their brother who was tucking the Colt into the waistband of his jeans, grabbing their stuff.

"Dean, what are you doing?"

"We got to go."

Sam waved his hands and stopped Dean from moving from between the two beds in the room. "Why?"

"The demon knows we're in Salvation. It knows we have the Colt and has Dad. It's probably coming for us next," Dean replied, shrugging his jacket on.

"Good," Delaney said, pushing herself up from the bed and grabbed the Colt that stuck out of Dean's waistband. "We still have three bullets left. Let it come."

Dean snatched the Colt back from his sister and shook his head. "No way, tough guy. We aren't ready. We don't know how many of them are out there. We're no good to anyone dead. We're leaving... now."

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Delaney sat in the back of the Impala with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. They are so close to ending this whole thing and Dean just wants to run away? It made no sense to her. "I'm telling you, Dean, we could have taken him."

"What we need is a plan," Dean said as he sped the Impala through the empty, dark roads. He was going so fast that Delaney wondered if he had been a NASCAR driver in a previous life because she had never met anyone else that could go this fast and still drive perfectly fine. "They're keeping Dad alive and we need to figure out where. They're gonna wanna trade him for the gun."

"Not true because Mason didn't even offer a trade for Dad's life," Delaney breathed shakily as realization dawned on her. If Mason hadn't offered anything for their dad and said they would never see him again, there could only be so many explanations as to why. "Dad might be - "

"Don't!" Dean warned sharply.

"I don't want to believe it any more than either of you. Hell, I could feel my hands beginning to shake and my lungs feel as if someone is squeezing it. The thought of him being dead is giving my anxiety its own form of anxiety, but this would be more of a reason to kill this damn thing. We still have the Colt. We can finish this job."

Sam groaned and rubbed his temples as dozens of scenarios and plans flashed across his mind. He needed a serious drink at this point. "Can we all just assume Dad is still alive and they're holding him until we hand over the Colt?"

"Just screw the job, Delaney!" Dean added.

"I'm just trying to do what Dad would want us to do. He would want us to keep going."

"Stop talking about him like he's dead!" Dean snapped. "Listen to me, everything stops until we get him back, you understand me? Everything!"

Sam ran a hand over his face as he exhaled loudly. "Okay, any idea on how we find him?"

"Maybe we go to Lincoln. Start at the warehouse where he was taken," Dean suggested.

Delaney scoffed and leaned back in her seat, her arms crossed over her chest. "You really think those demons would leave a trail?"

Dean seemed to take that into consideration for a moment because he sighed, rolling his head around his neck to relieve some of the pressure that was building up in his neck. "You're right. We're gonna need help."

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A few hours later, Dean was pulling through a metal arch that had AUTO SHACK written across the top. He followed the dirt road to a small black house with a blue truck parked in the front, a large black, Rottweiler laying on the top of the hood.

Delaney gasped when she recognized the dog and was pushing her way out of the Impala before Dean fully stopped the car. She ran over to the Rottweiler and ran a hand over his head. "Hey, Rumsfeld," she cooed, placing a kiss to his head. "You've gotten a lot bigger than the last time I've seen you, buddy."

Rumsfeld lifted his head off his paws and licked Delaney's face as she giggled softly. He was their Uncle Bobby's dog and the two of them were thick as thieves when she was younger. On the rare times that the boys didn't stay at the Uncle Bobby's with her and instead went with their dad, Rumsfeld and her would spend every second together. She had a picture framed in her room of her asleep on the couch with her small, six year old buddy curled up against Rumsfeld's side with her head resting on his back while he slept peacefully, his head cushioned by his paws.

"Delly, come on!" Sam called from Bobby's porch, the front door already open to reveal Bobby who was smiling at Delaney's reunion with his dog.

"I'll come back," Delaney promised before she was running over to the boys and following them into the house. "Hi, Uncle Bobby."

Bobby Singer grinned widely as he brought Delaney in for a tight hug. He looked the same as he always did with his brown hair hid underneath a trucker hat, brown eyes still holding the same warmth they did whenever looking at her as if she were actually his own niece, and had his usual outfit of a t-shirt underneath a flannel with a vest over it, blue jeans and brown boots.

"Missed you, kiddo," Bobby said into her hair as he kissed her head softly and pulled away. He lead the three siblings into his study off to the side of the entrance way. Bobby grabbed three small tin flasks and handed one each to them. "Here you go."

Delaney furrowed her eyebrows as she looked down at the flask in her hand, shaking it lightly. "Is this... Holy Water?"

"That one is," Bobby replied and held up his own flask. "This one is Whiskey."

Delaney giggled to herself as she watched Bobby took a long swig from his flask and took a seat at the desk behind her, opening a random lore book and flipping through it.

"Thanks for everything, Bobby," Dean said, placing his flask of Holy Water onto the desk in front of Delaney and leaned against the front, watching as she aimlessly flicked through the page. "I wasn't sure if we should even come."

"Nonsense," Bobby waved a hand dismissively. "Your daddy needs help."

Sam chuckled and leaned against the other end of the desk Delaney sat in. "Yeah and the last time we saw you, you threatened to blast him full of buckshot. You cocked the shotgun and everything."

Bobby shrugged innocently and exhaled heavily. "Yeah, well, what can I say? John has that effect on people." His eyes fell on Delaney who he still couldn't believe had grown so much since the last time he had seen all of the Winchesters years ago. If he focused hard enough, he still pictured the wide eyed, innocent six year old girl that would walk around the house in one of his hats because she wanted to be a trucker like her uncle. "Last time I saw you, Delaney didn't even know what a demon was."

Delaney looked up at the sound of her name and smiled innocently at Bobby. "I guess we're all cursed to this life, huh?"

"I guess so, but none of that matters right now. All that matters is getting your daddy back."

Delaney continued to flip through the book in front of her and shook her head. It was different to any of the other books she had ever seen. There were countless demons, spirits and lores throughout and had the whole history of them and how to fight them. It was way more detailed than their dad's journal. "Bobby, this book... I never saw anything like this."

"Key of Solomon?" Bobby asked, walking around the desk to look over Delaney's shoulder at the book while Sam and Dean glanced over their own shoulders down at the book, even though it was upside down to them. "It's the real deal, alright."

"These protective circles," Delaney began, pointing to one of the symbols presented in the book. "they really work?"

"Hell yeah. You get a demon in one, they're trapped and powerless. It's like a satanic roach motel."

"The man knows his stuff," Dean commented with a soft chuckle.

Bobby nodded his head as his eyes trailed the page Delaney was looking at. "I'll tell you something else, too. This is some serious crap you three stepped in."

"How's that?" Sam questioned.

"Normal year, I hear, say, three demonic possessions, maybe four," Bobby informed, leaning his hand on the back of Delaney's chair. A mixture of both worry and fear overtook his features. "This year alone I heard of twenty-seven so far. You get what I'm saying? More and more demons are walking among us - a lot more."

Delaney huffed as she sat back in her chair, running a hand down her face in slight frustration. She wondered why there were so many different cases since she hopped on the road with her brothers. She remembered the boys and her dad being around for longer periods of time before they would lie and say they had to go on a trip while Delaney stayed with Bobby or Pastor Jim. Delaney was young then so she didn't think to question where they went all the time.  

Now it seemed like every town they hit there was some kind of supernatural entity taking over said town. Granted, it helped Delaney get into the groove of being on a hunt, but it was still a little unsettling that all these demons were popping up more than they had in the past.

"Do you know why?" Delaney inquired, glancing up to Bobby who shook his head. 

"No idea, but I know it's something big. The storm's coming and you three, your daddy - you are smack in the middle of it."

Before the conversation could continue, Rumsfeld's loud barking broke through and Bobby rushed over to the window to see what was going on. Delaney peeked around her uncle to look out the window from her seat and noticed Rumsfeld was no longer on the hood of the truck, his chain on the wooden post by the truck was snapped. She scrambled to her feet, an uneasy feeling settling into her stomach. 

The front door was suddenly kicked in and Mason strolled into the study looking as if he had never fallen out of a seven story window. He smirked at Delaney as he wiggled his fingers at her. "No more playing around, kiddos, okay?"

Dean growled as he reached for the holy water next to him on the desk, charging at Mason to throw it on him when he was flung across the room. He toppled over the large stack of books and crashed into the bookcase behind them, crashing to the ground with a groan.

Delaney gasped and stood protectively in front of Bobby and Sam before Mason could even think of doing something to them next. She glared daggers at Mason as he faced her again.

"I want the Colt, Lane - the real Colt - right now."

Delaney gripped both boys' sleeves behind her and moved them cautiously to put distance between them and Mason. "It's not here. We buried it."

Mason laughed darkly as he followed Delaney, the two walking circles around each other as Delaney continued to try and put more distance between them, moving between the rooms. "Didn't I say no more crap, baby? I swear - after everything I heard about you Winchesters, I've got to tell you, I'm a little underwhelmed." 

Delaney gulped inaudibly as she backed up with her brother and Bobby behind her as Mason continued to stalk after them like a predator to its prey. She wondered if Mason could hear her heart beating erratically in her chest and it was so loud she could hear it in her own ears. It was a wonder how it didn't burst out of her chest yet.

"First Johnny tries to pawn off a fake gun," Mason continued with a small tsk. "And then he leaves the real gun with you three chuckleheads. I mean did you really think I wouldn't find you?"

The three were officially trapped against the fireplace behind them and Delaney felt Sam wrapped his hand around the back of her jacket, pulling her closer to him. Though she wasn't exactly sure how Sam could protect her against a demon when they had no weapons and said demon could practically fling them all across the room without breaking a sweat.

"Actually, we were counting it," Dean grunted as he stumbled into the room, leaning against the frame for support since he was still a bit off from slamming into a bookcase followed by the hardwood floor.

Mason turned to face Dean with a dark scowl and Dean smirked as his eyes trailed to the ceiling where the same symbol from the book Delaney had been looking at was drawn into it. He followed Dean's eyes to the symbol, tensing slightly at the realization he was trapped.

"Gotcha," Delaney taunted with a wicked grin. She grabbed a nearby chair and pushed behind Mason's knees forcefully so he dropped down onto it. Tying his ankles and wrists with rope she found near the fireplace, Delaney stepped back and smiled proudly at her work as Mason could barely move in his new restraints.

"You know if you wanted to tie me up, you could have just asked, babe," Mason mused as Delaney backed up to stand between her brothers who had both moved during Delaney's task of tying him up.

Bobby rushed out of the room and came back a few minutes later to inform the siblings he had salted any possible entrance or window to the house so no demons would be getting in and Mason sure as Hell wouldn't be getting out. 

Dean pat Bobby on the shoulder and moved closer to Mason so he was standing just outside of the symbol. "Where's our father, Mason?"

"You didn't ask very nice," Mason mused, tilting his head mockingly at the eldest Winchester.

Dean rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Where's our father, asshole?"

"Jeez, you kiss your mother with that mouth?" Mason gasped mockingly as a smirk took over his face. "Oh wait. You don't."

"You think this is a freaking game?" Dean yelled, stalking closer to Mason and placed his hands on either side of his chair, bringing their face inches apart. "Where is he?! What did you do to him?"

"He died screaming. I killed him myself."

Delaney growled and pushed Dean away from Mason, having Dean stumble back towards Bobby and Sam. She stood where Dean had previously and flashed a dark look to Mason. "You're lying."

"Nope, princess, daddy's dead. He joined your mother in Hell," Mason spat and was met with a hard punch to the face from Delaney, whose chest heaved in fury not believing a word he said. "That's kind of a turn on, baby."

Delaney went to punch him again but Bobby wrapped his hand around her fist and dragged her into the kitchen behind them. She tore her hand out of Bobby's grip and gave him a look. "What the Hell, Bobby?"

"Lane, you have got to be careful with him. Don't hurt him."

Delaney rose an eyebrow at her uncle and exchanged a confused look with her brothers who had followed the two into the kitchen. "Dare I ask why?"

"Because that thing in there, that's actually a boy."

"What are you talking about?" Sam questioned, gazing over his shoulder at Mason who resorted to humming to himself while the four ignored him.

"He's possessed," Bobby explained and all three Winchesters' eyes went wide. "That's a human possessed by a demon. Can't you tell?"

Dean looked into the adjacent room to Mason with a bewildered look on his face. He looked as suspicious as Delaney and Sam did. "So you're trying to tell me there's an innocent kid trapped somewhere in there?"

Bobby nodded silently, his own eyes trailing over to Mason.

"That's actually good news."

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The three Winchesters stood in a half circle in front of Mason. Sam to the right with their dad's journal propped open in his hand, Dean to the left with his arms crossed and a determined look on his face and Delaney stood in the middle, just outside of the symbol.

"You gonna read me a story?" Mason teased as he noticed the journal in Sam's hand.

"Something like that," Dean replied gruffly. "Hit it, Sam."

Sam began to read the exorcism that was jotted down in the journal as he slowly circled the symbol, eyes bouncing between the journal and Mason.

"An exorcism? Are you serious?" Mason rose an eyebrow in amusement at them.

Delaney tilted her head tauntingly the same way Mason had earlier to her brother. "Oh, we're going for the whole enchilada - head spinning, projectile vomiting, everything."

"Della, that only happens in the movies," Dean whispered to her.

"Shut up, Dean."

As Sam got further along in the incantation, Mason moaned quietly and squeezed his eyes shut as if in pain. He took a sharp breath in before slowly letting it out, fluttering his eyes open and snapping them over to Sam who now stood behind him. "I'm gonna kill you."

Sam froze in reciting the incantation and glanced from Mason to his brother and sister who barely flinched at the threat. What could Mason possibly do to them when he was both tied to the chair and trapped in the symbol? 

"I'm gonna rip the bones from your body," Mason continued when none of the Winchesters uttered a word, his eyes bouncing between each of the siblings. 

"No you're gonna burn in Hell unless you tell us where our dad is," Dean gritted through his teeth. He waited a long moment for Mason to answer, which he didn't and just looked up at the eldest Winchester through his eyelashes. "At least you'll get a nice tan."

Mason began to shake and his breathing came out in broken pants as Sam went back to the exorcism. He clenched his fists on the arms of the chair that his wrists were tied to and squeezed his eyes shut again. A sharp scream escaping his lips paused Sam yet again in the incantation. "He begged for his life with tears in his eyes! He begged to see his sons and his precious little princess one last time. That's when I slit his throat."

Delaney shot Sam a hard glance to continue the incantation or she'd kick his ass. Once Sam had begun speaking again, she took two long strides to stand directly in front of Mason and placed her hands on her knees so they were eye-level. The look she gave Mason would have sent the demon back to Hell on its own if it were possible. Both of her brothers didn't think they had ever seen such a dark look take over her features before. "For your sake, I hope you're lying. Cause if it's true, I swear to God, I will march into Hell myself, and will slaughter each and every one of you evil bitches, so help me God."

A wind burst through the window, flinging open some of the books strewn across, the pages flying rapidly as the winds grew stronger. Sam was half way through the incantation and pretty soon, the demon would be gone for good. Mason gasped in pain as the shake took over his body again.

"Where is he?" Dean asked as he circled Mason slowly.

"You just won't take dead for an answer, will you?" Mason weakly answered, heavy breaths falling past his lips.

"Where is he?!"

"Dead!"

"No, he's not! He's not dead, he can't be!"

Sam and Delaney both frowned at their brother, the pain evident in both his tone and his expression as he yelled back and forth with Mason, their faces mere inches apart. Sam jumped slightly when Dean yelled at Sam to get back to reading and he quickly went back to the task at hand.

Mason's chair began to move around the symbol, the wooden legs screeching loudly against the ground while Mason screamed bloody murder. Delaney stumbled back so she wouldn't get mauled down by the rapidly moving chair and she stopped next to Dean.

"He will be!" Mason shouted suddenly and Dean threw his hand up to shut Sam up.

"Repeat that."

"He's not dead, but he will be after what we do to him."

Delaney chewed on the inside of her lip as she analyzed Mason's face. It was blank and gave nothing away, but she also knew even if he had looked sincere, it wouldn't have meant it was real. Demons were always known to lie or twist the truth a bit, so God only knew if he was actually being truthful or not.  "How do we know to trust you?"

"You don't!"

"Sam!" Dean shouted.

Before Sam could begin reading again, Mason quickly stuttered out, "A building, okay? A building in Jefferson City."

"In Missouri?" Dean prodded. "Where, where? An address!"

"I don't know!" Mason stressed, his chest heaving slightly as he tried to regain his posture and his breath.

"And the demon we are looking for - where is it?" Delaney cut in.

Mason shook his head with a shrug. "I don't know. I swear. I don't know where it is. That's everything I know."

Delaney's eyes darkened as she stared down at Mason. They had what they needed so Mason was no longer for them. "Finish it."

Mason's eyes blew wide as he looked up to Delaney. "What? I told you the truth!"

"I don't care," Delaney replied, her eyes narrowed at Mason. "I no longer need you."

"You bitch, you promised!"

Delaney tapped her chin in fake thought. "Hmm, don't remember promising that. Must have lied." Her eyes cut to Sam who was looking at her oddly along with Dean. Both surprised with how hard she had suddenly become. "Finish it. Now."

"We can still use him and find out where the demon is."

Delaney gestured to Mason with raised brows. "Hello, he doesn't know, Sam. Now finish it. There is an innocent boy trapped somewhere in there. We have to help him. Now you better get back to reading or I'll do it myself, Sam."

"You're gonna kill her," Bobby informed as he walked over to the trio. "He fell from a building, remember? That boy's body is broken. The only thing keeping him alive is the demon. You exorcise it, the boy is gonna die."

"I am not gonna leave him like that," Delaney argued.

"She is a human being, Delaney," Bobby retorted.

"And we will put him out of his damn misery, Uncle Bobby!" Delaney turned back to her brother and taped the journal in his hand. "Sam, finish."

The three older men had a silent conversation with each other at Delaney's outburst. None of them seemed to agree with her, but she didn't care. The boy was in pain whether the demon was inside of him or not, and she would be damned if she let this demon continue to possess him. They might be able to save him if they get the demon out and Delaney was determined to try.

"I cannot believe my life has come to me taken orders from my little sister," Sam mumbled to himself before finishing off the exorcism.

Mason screamed at the top of his lungs as Sam got closer and closer to the end. His head shook frantically back and forth before it was tossed back and black smoke shot out of his mouth, disappearing into the symbol above his head. Once all the smoke was out, Mason's chin fell onto his chest, blood dripping from his mouth.

Delaney stood with bated breath as she waited for anything to happen with Mason. He was still for a few seconds and then wheezing was heard, his head lifting slowly as more and more blood pooled out of his mouth. "He's still alive!"

"Call 911. Get some blankets and water," Dean ordered Bobby, rushing over to Mason to untie his ropes.

"Thank you," Mason gasped so quietly that Delaney almost didn't even hear it. 

"Shh, shh, just take it easy," Sam whispered softly to him as he helped Dean untie the ropes. He grabbed one side of Mason while Dean took the other and they laid the boy gently onto the floor a few feet from the chair. 

Mason gasped and wheezed as the boys withdrew their hands and looked lazily up at the ceiling. "A year," he strained through a shallow breath.

"What?" Delaney asked, stepping closer to the three.

"It's been a year," Mason clarified weakly. "I've been awake for some of it. I couldn't move my own body. The things I did - it's a nightmare."

Dean licked his lips as he pitifully looked down at the practically dying boy in front of him. "Was it telling the truth about our dad?"

"Dean," Delaney scolded gently.

"We need to know, Delaney."

Mason weakly nodded and closed his eyes as he tried to breathe. "Yes, but it wants... you to know that... they want you to come for him."

"If Dad's still alive, none of that matters."

Bobby came back with a glass of water and two blankets, one bunched up so it could be placed under Mason's head to act like a pillow. He draped the second blanket over Mason's form as Dean tilted his head up to allow him to drink from the glass.

"Where is the demon we are looking?" Sam inquired once Mason was laid back against the bunched up blanket and drank some water.

"Not there," Mason whispered. "Other ones. Awful ones."

"Where are they keeping our dad?" Dean asked next.

"By th-the ri-river," Mason stammered sounding a whole lot weaker than he had previously. "Su-su-sun...rise."

Delaney's hand clasped over her mouth as she watched Mason take his final breath. She wanted the demon dead, but not him.

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A few hours later, the three Winchesters were on the side of the same train tracks they had originally been before John drove off towards Lincoln. Sam leant his forearms on the top of the Impala while he skimmed through the Key of Solomon Bobby had allowed them to take in case they needed it. Bobby was going to cover their asses whenever the cops and paramedics arrived to pick Mason up. Delaney wasn't sure what he would have told them, but he claimed the Winchesters didn't invent lying to the cops and he would be perfectly fine. 

Delaney leant against the side of the trunk while she watched Dean check all the equipment in their arsenal. "You're quiet."

"Just getting ready."

"He'll be fine, Dean," Sam assured, going back to flipping through the book and paused on a particular page. He grabbed the book into his hands and a white stick that reminded Delaney vaguely of a colored pencil. Bringing the tip of the white pencil down, Sam began to draw the symbol that the book was opened up on.

Dean did a double take when noticed Sam doodling on his car and quickly grabbed Sam's wrist to stop his drawing. "Dude, what are you drawing on my car?"

"It's called a Devil's Trap," Sam explained as he continued to draw the triangle with a circle in the middle of it and a star drawn in the center of the circle. "Demons can't through it or inside it."

"So?" Dean snapped, clearly not happy that his precious baby was being ruined.

"It turns the trunk into a kind of lockbox?" Delaney asked as she moved out of Sam's way when he came to her side of the trunk. "We're going to hide the Colt in the trunk or something?"

"Basically," Sam absentmindedly replied as he doodled the same symbol onto the other side of the trunk.

Dean scoffed and crossed his arms. "Um, what? We're taking the Colt with us."

"We can't, Dean," Sam countered, finishing up the other symbol. "We only have three bullets left. We can't just use them on any demon. We have to use them on the demon."

Dean rounded the car to Sam and Delaney. "No, we have to save Dad, Sam. We're gonna need all the help we can get."

"Sam is right, Dean," Delaney chimed in and Dean looked to her in shock that she wasn't taking his side. There was a first time for everything. "How pissed will Dad be if we used all the bullets before we got to use any on the demon? He wouldn't want us to bring the gun."

"I don't care, Delaney!" Dean yelled, throwing his hands to the side. "I don't care what he wants, okay? Since when do you even care what Dad wants?"

Sam threw his head back and let out a long breath. "Oh here we go."

Delaney ignored Sam's comment and stood up straight, glaring at Dean. "We all want to kill demon. You used to want that, too. Hell, you're the one that came and got me from school when I didn't even know this whole life existed! You ruined my normalcy, Dean! You dragged me into this. Now I'm trying to finish it.

Dean laughed humorlessly as he shook his head. "Wow, you and Dad are a lot more alike than I thought. You both can't wait to sacrifice yourself for this thing. But you know what? Sam and I are gonna have to be the ones to bury you, Delaney."

Delaney felt her anger dissipate and her heart squeeze at Dean's rant. She opened and closed her mouth like a gaping fish before eventually shutting it, not having a response to that. How did you even reply to that? She glanced to Sam and he gave her a sad smile, seemingly agreeing with Dean.

"You're selfish, you know that?" Dean continued, catching Delaney's attention again. "You don't care about anything but revenge."

"That's not true, Dean. I want dad back, but they are expecting us to bring this gun. They get the gun, they will kill all of us. That Colt is our only leverage, and you know it, Dean. We just can't bring it in."

"She's got a point," Sam mumbled and quickly rolled his lips into his mouth when Dean sent a glare his way.

Dean was quiet for a long moment before he grabbed a gun and fiddled with it. "Fine."

"I'm not joking, Dean."

"I said fine , Delaney. Drop it." Dean sarcastically waved the Colt in his sister's face before he tossed it into the trunk.

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"Well, I see what Mason meant by Sunrise," Dean commented as the three siblings found themselves across the street from an apartment complex named SUNRISE APARTMENTS. "That's pretty damn smart. If these demons could possess anyone, they can be any person in that building."

"And make anybody attack us," Delaney added.

"Which means we can't kill any of them because there are a bunch of human shields," Sam informed his two siblings who let out low, frustrated groans.

Dean ran a hand over his hair as he tugged at the end of his hair. "They probably know what we look like and can look like anyone."

"God, this sucks!" Delaney huffed and scanned the area for anything that could give her an idea on what to do. "Any ideas on how to get in, boys?"

Dean chewed on his thumbnail as he looked around, his mind racing a millions miles a minute as way too many scenarios and plans flooded his head. He eventually tapped his sister on the arm and gestured to the building. "You go pull the fire alarm and get all the civilians out."

"But the city responds in like seven minutes, Dean," Delaney remarked, not seeing how this idea could work.

"Trust your big brother, would ya?" Dean didn't give her any room to argue as he pushed to start moving across the street.

"Famous last words," Delaney grumbled and made her way up the front steps of the apartment complex, opening the glass front door and slipping inside without any giving her a second glance. She pulled open the second inner glass door and made her way over to the red fire alarm on the wall. 

However, when she went to pull it, a business man was making his way down the hall to the right of the alarm and Delaney walked over to the steps, making it seem like she was making her way up to the apartments above. She waited a minute for the man to exit the building before she ran over to the fire alarm, pulling the lever and slipping back out before anyone could see her.

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"Jeez, these things are hot as hell," Delaney complained as she tugged at the heavy fireman suit she wore, following her brother through the halls upstairs. 

Dean held his EMF meter up to every door they passed, but so far nothing had showed up as off. They still had other floors they could check, but the longer they spent looking, the less time their dad had at surviving. "I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up."

"You never told us that," Sam said in surprise. 

Finally, they came up to a door where Dean's EMF meter went crazy and the three exchanged a look. Dean pounded on the apartment door loudly and cleared his throat as he yelled, "This is the fire department! We need you to evacuate."

Locks were heard on the other side and once the last one clicked out of placed, Delaney kicked the door in, knocking the short haired woman behind the door over the small circle table in the middle of the kitchen near the door. The two boys grabbed their fireman hoses strapped to a box on their backs and sprayed the woman and her husband with holy water, smoke emitting from both their bodies as they screamed in pain.

Delaney tore open the closet to the side of the apartment door and gestured for the boys to throw the couple inside. Once the two were flung inside, Delaney shut the door quickly and leant against it as the couple banged on the door. She put all her weight on the door as it opened a bit before closing again when she would lean more heavily on it.

"Can the both of you hurry with that salt?!" Delaney snapped as the boys fumbled in the duffle for the salt container.

Dean pulled the salt container out of the bag and opened it, sprinkling the salt around the door and Delaney's feet which caused the banging on the other side to finally stop. She sighed in relief as she pushed herself off the closet door and tossed the fireman jacket off her body and onto the ground.

"Let's find Dad," Dean said, leading his siblings over to the bedroom door at the other end of the room. He slowly pushed open the door and the three stepped inside to see John tied to the bed by his wrists, some blood coating his chin and nose.

Delaney ran over to their dad and shook him gently. "Dad, hey," she whispered softly, continuing to shake him when he didn't respond. Lowering her ear to his mouth, Delaney waited to hear his breath and relaxed when she heard a faint breath coming from him. "Thank God, he's alive."

"Wait!" Sam yelled when he noticed Delaney going to untie their dad from the bedpost. "He could be possessed for all we know, Delly."

"Are you nuts?"

"We have to be sure," Dean agreed with Sam and handed Delaney a small vile of holy water.

Sighing, Delaney decided to appease her brothers and opened the vile, pouring some of the holy water over their father's chest, but nothing happened. Just wet his shirt as he stirred slightly on the bed.

"Princess?" John whispered as he lifted his head off the mattress to look at Delaney. "Why are you splashing water on me?"

Dean's whole body seemed to relax and he rushed over to John's other side. "Hey, Dad, are you okay?"

"They've been drugging me," John rasped, his head falling back onto the mattress as he breathed heavily. "Where's the Colt?"

"Don't worry, Dad. It's safe," Sam assured John, gripping the strap of the duffle on his shoulder.

"Good, kids," John praised and the three siblings each gave each other a small smile.

Sam and Dean wrapped both of John's arms around their necks while Delaney took the duffle from Sam so he wouldn't be so weighed down by both their dad's weight and the duffle's weight. They made their way out of the bedroom just as the apartment door was kicked back open by a fireman who was followed by a civilian. Both clearly possessed.

"Go!" Delaney yelled as she pushed her brothers back into the bedroom. She slammed the door behind her and locked it, a hatchet being hit into the door just inches from her face. Screaming, Delaney jumped back from the door and scrambled into the duffle for the salt container. She whipped it out and shook some out in front of the door. 

"Della, let's go!" Dean shouted from the open bedroom window, reaching out to take the duffle from her so she could escape effortlessly.

Delaney tossed Dean the bag and hopped out onto the fire escape once he was out of the way and sprinkled more salt onto the windowsill so the demons couldn't follow them. She dropped down to the ground after her dad and brothers, the three running off towards the impala.

Sam was tackled to the ground by a demon and he straddled Sam's waist, throwing punches left and right at him. Dean tried to get the demon off his brother but the demon flicked it's wrist, sending Dean flying into a nearby car.

Delaney gasped and dropped the duffle by John who leant limply against the brick wall Dean had sat him against when he went to save Sam. She ran over to the trunk of the Impala and opened it, grabbing the Colt. Without a second thought, she pointed the gun at the demon's forehead and shot it, the demon flickering for a second before dropping to the ground - dead.

◆ ◇◆ ◇

Delaney sprinkled salt over every single window and door that lead to the small, abandoned cabin that Dean found while speeding down the dark road. It was perfectly hidden away from anything and no one would find them. Hopefully.

Dean walked out of their dad's room where he had previously laid him down so the older man could rest a little. "Dad should be fine. He just needed a little rest. Sam, how are you?"

Sam inhaled deeply as he lowered himself more into the chair he sat in, holding an icepack to his face. "I'll survive I guess."

Once Delaney was satisfied with her salting, she turned to face her brothers, fiddling with the salt container in her hand. "Hey, you guys don't think we were followed do you?"

Dean shook his head, leaning against the table by the chair Sam lounged in. "I don't know. I don't think so? We coudn't have found a more out-of-the-way pace to hole up."

"Delly," Sam rasped as he lowered his icepack from his face so he could properly look up at his baby sister. "You saved my life back there."

"Bet you're pretty damn happy I brought the gun then," Dean teased his brother as he playfully pushed his shoulder.

"I'm trying to have a sentimental moment with our sister, Dean."

Delaney giggled behind her hand and ruffled Sam's hair playfully. "You're welcome, you tall freak."

"You guys ruin every sweet moment."

Delaney smiled for a moment before it fell as she thought back to saving her brother. She had shot a man. Yeah he was possessed but the man himself was innocent. "I shot a guy. There was an innocent man inside."

"You didn't have a choice, Della," Dean whispered as he brought her into his side in a sort of awkward side hug.

"That's not what bothers me," Delaney sighed shakily. "Killing that guy and Mason. I didn't even hesitate or flinch. I just did it. For you guys or Dad, the things I'm willing to do or kill, it's just... it scares me sometimes."

"It shouldn't."

Delaney's gaze snapped up to John who had just walked out of his room and stood in front of the three kids. "Dad."

"You did good, baby," John promised his daughter who stood up straight at the sight of him. Something was wrong.

"...wait, you're not mad?"

"For what?"

Delaney furrowed her eyebrows as she analyzed John. The bad pit in her stomach started to bloom in her stomach and she didn't like it. That implied that the man standing in front of her wasn't John and she didn't want that to be true. "I used a bullet, Dad."

"Mad?" John asked rhetorically. "I'm proud of you. You know, us boys, we can get pretty obsessed. You - you always have your brothers' backs no matter what."

Delaney glanced to her brothers, but neither one of them seemed to be as off put as she did. If anything, they didn't even notice anything was particularly off right now. She thought at least Dean would sense it, but it was only her that could tell their dad wasn't their dad.

As if to prove her point to herself, the lights in the cabin flickered and the wind outside whistled loudly as it picked up with each passing second.

John - or Delaney guessed Not John? - walked over to the window and looked outside, scanning the area before turning back to the siblings. "It found us. It's here."

"The demon?" Sam's eyes widened.

"Sam, lines of salt in front of every window, every door," John ordered.

Delaney crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "I already did it, incase you didn't notice it."

"Just check it, Sam. Dean, go with him so you can split up."

Delaney felt her nerves spike slightly when she realized that the boys just left her alone with Not John. If the demon was actually inside her father, Delaney wasn't sure what she would do. Yeah she had the gun, but when was the right moment to use it and if she did use it, would it kill John also?

"Delaney, you have the gun?"

"Yeah?"

John held his hand out for Delaney to place the gun in. "Hand it over to me."

Delaney tugged the Colt out of the waistband of her jeans, but didn't move to place it in Not John's hand. "I tried to shoot the demon in Salvation. It vanished."

"It's me. I won't miss. Now hand me the gun."

Delaney gripped the gun tighter in her hand as she slowly backed away from Not John.

"Give me the gun. What are you doing, Delaney?" John demanded, clearly annoyed she wasn't following his orders. At leas that was close to normal John. Not enough to convince her that it was actually John though.

Delaney looked at Not John skeptically and shook her head. "You would be furious, especially because it was me that did it. I wasted a bullet. Dad would never be proud of me for that. He'd tear me a new one." She slowly raised her hand and cocked the gun, aiming it directly at Not John. "You are not my dad."

"Delaney, it's me."

"I know my dad better than anyone," Delaney whispered, not moving an inch. "and I'll bet you ain't him."

"What has gotten into you?" Not John snapped.

Delaney scoffed and glared at Not John over the gun. "I could ask you the same thing, buddy."

"Delaney, what the Hell are you doing?" Dean yelled as he rushed back into the room with Sam, both boys eyes wide as they processed the scene in front of them.

"Your sister has officially lost her damn mind."

Delaney tore her eyes off Not John to look over her brothers. "This isn't dad. I think he's possessed. He's been possessed since we rescued him."

"Don't listen to her, boys."

"How do you know, Delaney?" Sam questioned, his eyes bouncing between Delaney and Not John. He seemed torn between wanting to believe Delaney and him.

Delaney snapped her gaze back to John and ticked an eyebrow up at him. "He's different."

"We don't have time. Boys, if you want to kill this demon, you have to trust me."

Dean and Sam both looked to Delaney who pleadingly looked at them to believe her. She had never been so sure of anything in her life and she just needed her brothers to trust her instincts. They were usually never wrong and she wasn't even sure if it was because of the freaky powers she had or if it was because of woman intuition. Either way, she knew she wasn't wrong.

"No," Dean breathed and he stood to one side of Delaney and Sam took the other side.

Not John stared at the three siblings in pain (or fake pain, rather). "Fine, if you're so sure. Go ahead. Kill your old man." He bowed his head and when Delaney didn't move to shoot him, he chuckled darkly. "I thought so."

Delaney gasped and stumbled back into her brothers when Not John lifted his head and his eyes were yellow. The demon. 

Before any of the siblings could react, they were each thrown into a separate wall, held up by an invisible force. The force of hitting the wall caused Delaney to drop the Colt to the ground and she groaned, trying to fight against the force.

The demon bent down to pick the Colt up and inspected it as he stood to his full height again. "This thing has been such a pain in the ass."

"It's you, isn't it?" Delaney questioned as she stopped fighting against force, realizing it was no use. She was stuck. "We've been looking for you for a long time."

"Well, you found me, kiddo!"

"But the holy water..." Delaney trailed off, not understanding how it didn't make him so much as flinch. Wasn't that like a sunburn to demons?

The demon laughed as he looked over to Delaney. "You think something like that works on something like me?"

Delaney lifted her head off the wall as she growled at the demon, but it forced her head back against the wall again. "I swear i'm gonna kill you."

"Oh, that would be a neat trick," the demon grinned wickedly and placed the Colt down on the table that was across from the wall Delaney was pinned to. "In fact, here. Make the gun float to you there, psychic girl."

Delaney looked to her brothers out the side of her eye and they both still struggled against the force, even though it was clearly useless. None of them were getting off the wall. She glared at the demon, not even bothering to play into his little games.

"I could have killed you a hundred times today, but this..." the demon trailed off as he walked around the room, stopping near Dean. "this is worth the wait."

Dean grunted softly as he lifted his head off the wall and turned his head to look at the demon, who had already been looking right at him.

"Your dad - he's in here with me," the demon taunted with an evil smirk. "Trapped inside his own meat suit. He says hi by the way. He's gonna tear you three apart. He's gonna taste the iron in your blood."

"Let him go or I swear to God," Dean warned angrily.

The demon raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Oh, what are you and God gonna do? You see, as far as I'm concerned, this is justice." He slowly stalked over to Dean and bent a little so he could be eye level with the eldest Winchester sibling. "You know that little exorcism of yours? That was my son."

"Who, Mason?" Dean questioned in confusion.

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

Dean scoffed and banged his head against the wall he was pinned to. "You have got to be kidding me."

"What? You're the only one that can have a family?" the demon spat in Dean's face. "You destroyed my children. How would you feel if I killed your family?"

Dean's eyes trailed over to Delaney and Sam who were both breathing heavily, pinned to the walls next to each other.

"Oh that's right," the demon whispered, gaining Dean's attention again. "I forgot. I did. Still, two wrongs don't make a right."

"You son of a bitch."

Delaney groaned as she struggled to move her head again, but it was useless now at this point. The demon officially had her whole body pinned to the wall with nowhere to go. "I want to know why. Why did you do it?"

The demon slowly spun to face the youngest Winchester and raised an eyebrow. "You mean why did I kill Mommy and handsome, little Will?"

"Yeah."

"You know, I never told you this," the demon smiled evilly at Delaney, sending a chill down her spine. "But Will was gonna ask you to marry him. He had been shopping for rings with his sister and best friend... Harrison, was it? Was going to propose right in the middle of that football field once they won the championship, because we all know he was going to win. Planned on asking you to move in once he graduated, had an apartment picked out and everything."

Delaney felt her world stop as she processed what the demon had said. Will wanted to propose? They had talked about marriage a few times, both of them knowing they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. 

Will had been acting strange for a few weeks before his death, but Delaney had always chalked it up to him feeling the pressure of the upcoming championship game. He had actually asked her once or twice what her ring size was and covered it up with wanting to get her the princess ring she had been obsessing over anytime they passed the Pandora shop in the mall. He always called her his princess and he had been promising her the ring for a while, but never had the time to actually pick it up. The thought back then always got her excited because it meant she was one step closer to getting the ring that would always remind her of Will and would be something special between them.

But to know that he had been just two weeks away from proposing to her... that sent a shock to her heart and she felt it squeeze harshly in her chest. Tears welled in her eyes and she quickly tried to blink them away, but there were too many and she felt some spill down her cheeks. If she wasn't stuck to this wall, the demon would be six feet under by now.

"You want to know why?" the demon asked, now stood directly in front fo Delaney. "They got in the way."

"The way of what?" Delaney snapped.

"My plans for you, Laney - you... and all the children like you."

Delaney tensed and her mind whirred, too much information being fed to her at once. So she wasn't going crazy. The demon did have something planned for her. 

"Listen, you mind just getting this over with, huh?" Dean rasped, cutting off any response Delaney would have had. "I really can't stand the monologuing."

"Funny," the demon loudly exclaimed and turned back to Dean. "But that's part of your M.O., isn't it? Mask all that nasty pain, mask the truth."

Dean's eyes darkened as the demon stood in front of him again, their faces mere inches apart. "Oh, yeah? What's that?"

"You know, you fight and you fight for this family, but the truth is they don't need you. Not like you need them. Delaney- she is clearly John's favorite, why do you think he tried so desperately to keep her from this life and why he pushed her way harder than you? When they fight, it's more concern than he's ever shown you. Sam - even though he followed John's orders like you, John loves him more because he doesn't cling to daddy and can breathe without him constantly around, unlike you."

Dean's jaw ticked and if looks could kill, the demon would be banished to Hell forever. "I bet you're proud of your kids, too, huh? Oh, wait, I forgot, I wasted 'em."

The demon froze and Dean lifted one of side of his face into a taunting smirk. He narrowed his eyes at the eldest Winchester and a whooshing sound was heard followed by Dean's screams.

"Dean!" Sam and Delaney cried and momentarily forgot they were stuck to a wall when they both moved to run to him, but were slammed back harshly into the walls they were pinned to.

Dean's hands clenched into fists as blood seeped into the front of his shirt. He gasped and screamed as his eyes squeezed shut at the pain.

"You let him go, you son of a bitch!" Delaney thundered.

"Dad!" Dean gasped weakly. "Dad, don't you let it kill me!" He only groaned louder when the demon put more pressure on Dean's stomach and he whimpered.

Sam and Delaney yelled for their brother as they continued to thrash against the force put on them. Delaney had half a mind to try and channel a power she wasn't even sure she had and have the Colt fly into her hand from the table.

Bloody scratches appeared down Dean's chest and blood began to bubble out of his mouth and drip down his lip and chin. "Dad... please." He begged but the demon only made his powers stronger and Dean groaned weakly before passing out, his chin dropping onto his chest.

"Dean!" Delaney sobbed, falling limp against the wall as she stared at her unconscious brother. God please just have him passed out and not actually dead.

"Stop..." the demon whispered and the two younger Winchester kids snapped their gaze to it, where John's brown eyes flickered through. "Stop it."

Delaney and Sam were suddenly let go from the wall and she landed on her feet. She scrambled to the table and gripped the Colt, pointing it at the demon again as he turned to her while Sam rushed over to Dean's side.

The demon's yellow eyes flickered back, it clearly having control over John again. "You kill me, you kill daddy."

"I know," Delaney shortly replied before quickly switching her aim to the demon's thigh and shot it.

The demon flickered, a ghostly skeleton flashing brightly as he dropped to the ground.

Delaney lowered the gun and ran over to Sam and Dean where Dean was propped against Sam's chest, gasping and wheezing quietly. "Oh my God, he lost a lot of blood," she whimpered when she took in the sight of her bloodied brother. 

"Where's Dad?" Dean weakly asked, scanning the room.

"He's right here. He's right here," Delaney replied, glancing over her shoulder to where the demon still laid on the floor, unmoving.

Dean fell more against Sam's chest as his eyes fluttered shut. "Go check on him, Della."

Delaney opened her mouth to argue but Sam kicked her foot gently and her gaze snapped to his. 

"Go, I have Dean," Sam whispered.

Delaney bit her lip but reluctantly nodded. She kissed Dean's forehead before she was scrambling to her feet again and walked over to the demon. "Dad... dad?"

"Laney!" John cried through gritted teeth as his head suddenly snapped up. "It's still alive. It's inside me. I can feel it. You shoot me. Shoot me in the heart, baby."

Delaney shakily raised her hands to aim the Colt at John while Dean and Sam begged her to not shoot him. That there had to be another way.

"You have to do it now! I can't hold on much longer," John begged as he breathed heavily, all his energy obviously going to keeping the demon's control away. "Shoot me, Laney! We can end this now! I'm begging you."

Delaney felt hot tears streaming down her face as she couldn't get herself to move and shoot John. How did he expect her to so easily shoot her father? Her hands shook violently as she tried to steady them, but it was useless. She felt the claws of her anxiety begin to tear at her throat and she tried to force it deep down. However, she felt her breathing begin to go uneven and her mouth went drier than the desert.

A demonic growl escaped John's lips before black smoke was shooting out and escaping through the cracks in the floorboard.

Delaney gasped and stumbled back a step as she watched her dad go limp in front of her. Once again they lost the demon and it was her fault.

◆ ◇◆ ◇

Delaney sped the Impala down the road as Sam sat in the back with Dean, applying pressure to his wounds so no more blood could seep out. John sat next to her in the front, breathing heavily as he stared out the car window. If this wasn't such a serious situation, Delaney would be praising every god that ever existed for allowing her to be in the driver's seat - the rarest opportunity. Rarer than seeing a dinosaur roaming the streets - aka NEVER.

"Dad, just hold on, okay? The hospital is only ten minutes away," Delaney promised as she pressed a little harder on the gas pedal to shoot the car further ahead.

"I'm surprised at you, Laney," John sighed and snapped his eye over to his daughter. "Why didn't you kill it? I thought we saw eye-to-eye on this. Killing this demon comes first. Before me, before everything."

Delaney's eyes traveled to the rear view so she could see her two older brothers who were already looking at her through said mirror. Dean's chest heaved and his eyelids dropped, looking extremely weak and Sam's face was full of worry and anxiousness the closer they got to the hospital and the more Dean's breathing labored. 

"Not everything, Sir," Delaney responded and her two brothers seemed to understand what she meant between the lines because they both offered her weak, sad smiles. "Look, we've still got the Colt. We still have one bullet left. We just have to start over. We already found the demon - "

Before Delaney could finish her plan, headlights shined in the passenger side window and a truck was smashing into the side of the car before Delaney could move the Impala out of the way. The truck pushed the Impala onto the side of the highway and into the thicket of trees at that scattered either side of the highway. 

That's when everything went black.

authors note

Hi hey hello

HOLY SHIT THIS BOOK IS DONE AND I'M LIKE ACTUALLY CRYING ABOUT IT? I got to the final scene and I was like "OH MY GOD, THIS IS THE LAST SCENE OF BOOK ONE! I'M ACTUALLY ABOUT TO BE ON THE SECOND BOOK AFTER TWO YEARS! WHAT?!??!!" Y'all don't even know how both upset and excited I am that this one is over. I'm excited to move on to Season 2/Book 2, but I'm also kind of sad because I've loved writing Delaney's experience of hunts so much and now my baby is a full blown hunter now. THEY GROW UP SO FUCKING FAST I'M NOT OKAY!

Book 2 will be posted some time tomorrow (April 20th), but I will not be starting it until around May 9th or 10th? I want to give it a little bit before I hop right in to Season 2 and so I can wrok on my other series for the next two weeks so I can catch up on some of them since I have been so focused on this one with it being so close to the end. I'm posting the second book two weeks early so all of you can add it to your libraries and be notified when the first chapter gets published! 

You'll know when the second book is posted because I'll make a post in this book so you all get notified when it's up. So even though this book is classified as COMPLETED don't archive it just yet so you can be informed when the second book is published!

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR STICKING WITH THIS BOOK FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS. I WOULD HAVE NEVER MADE IT THIS FAR WITHOUT YOU GUYS. I APPRECIATE AND LOVE YOU ALL MORE THAN YOU COULD EVER BEGIN TO IMAGINE. CAN'T WAIT TO SHARE MY IDEAS FOR SEASON TWO WITH ALL OF YOU (lowkey already have the final episode/chapter planned out already for book 2 and I already made myself cry over it so HA BE PREPARED!)