chapter thirteen

death's door

♰

CORDELIA MOORE WAS in the middle of a case when she got a call from a frantic Sam Winchester. She hadn't been able to answer ⸻ but when her phone lit up with multiple notifications, she got worried.

So, there she stood in an abandoned building, machete in hand, clothes covered in vampire blood and the last vampire running at her. She held her phone between her shoulder and ear as she listened to Sam's voicemail.

"...There's been an accident. Dean, he's got... he's got a month at most... apparently all they can do now is keep him comfortable," Sam scoffed through the tears, voice thick with emotion.

Cordelia's face dropped at the words playing in her ear and before she could react to the news, that last vampire ran before her, she shot her leg out, kicking it away ⸻ giving her a chance to pull her phone from between her shoulder and ear. She shoved her phone in her pocket and raised her arm, the sharp end of the blade meeting the neck of the vampire.

Cordelia's arm fell back to her body and she huffed, she dropped the machete to the floor and reached back into her pocket, pulling her phone back to her ear.

"...I've been looking and I can't find anything. I've gotta find somethin', Cordy... and- and I need you here, please. My dad, I've tried callin' him, but he won't... he isn't answering. I just... I really need my best friend right now."

That's where it ended.

Cordelia ran her fingers through her hair in distress, trying to take it all in. Dean was hurt. He only had a few weeks. John wasn't there.

Cordelia had been gone just over a month and this had happened. She lifted her head at the sound of footsteps, eyes settling on Lee and Carter.

She would've been amused at the fact Carter took a step away from Lee after the older man sent him a glare for standing too close to him, but her mind was whirling.

"Why'd you look all mopey?" Carter asked with a frown, eyes flitting up and down her figure. Cordelia's face was downturned, blood was splattered along her clothes and face.

Lee sent Carter a hard stare that caused him to raise his hands in mocking surrender and walk out of the room. Lee intimidated Carter ⸻ I mean, why wouldn't he? Lee Moore was fifty-one years old, had muscles for days and a scary glint in his eye. Carter knew that Lee wanted to strangle him for merely being in the same room as him, so, he kept out of his way.

But now especially since he could tell that Cordelia was worried about something and Lee could only deal with that.

"What's wrong?" Lee asked his niece as he slowly approached her, he carefully dropped his machete beside hers.

"Uh, Sam called... said something happened to his brother. They... he needs me there, because Dean's dying," Cordelia breathed out, like she was trying to take in the words that were leaving her mouth, her eyes flitted to the floor ⸻ thoughts running wild in her mind.

"Okay, so, we'll go," Lee said, the young Moore's eyes snapped up to his in surprise at his words.

"What? You're coming with me?"

"It's Sam," Lee shrugged. While it had been months since he had last seen him, Lee did still care about the boy. After all, Sam was Lee's favourite out of all of Jess' boyfriends.

Plus, Lee Moore felt like he knew Cordelia better than anyone ⸻ and he knew that she cared for 'Sam's brother.' The way she kept referring to him as 'Sam's brother', gave it away.

"Go to the car, I'll deal with the bodies," Lee said gently, lifting his hand to squeeze her shoulder. She nodded lightly and moved off to do just that.

♰

It was a three-day drive down to Nebraska and Cordelia had never felt so anxious in her life. She had spent the past seventy-two hours researching, looking for something, and she finally found something.

As her uncle's car trudged down the narrow, muddy roads, she glanced around. The weather was miserable and cloudy and rain spat from the sky ⸻ kind of like her mood.

As the car came to a stop, she caught sight of a familiar black Impala. As Cordelia climbed out of the car, her face frowned on instinct as water dropped down on her face, she crossed her arms over her torso and slowly made her way over to Sam. Lee and Carter following after her.

Sam's eyes immediately caught hers and relief flooded his face at the sight of his best friend. He started walking towards her until the two met in the middle and he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

Just as the brunet pulled away, he opened his mouth to say something when his eyes caught sight of the two figures behind her. Sam's face dropped and before anyone could react, he was charging towards Carter ⸻ fist flying at his nose.

A high-pitched squeak left Carter's mouth and Sam's furious gaze fell onto the Moore girl, she rolled her lips into her mouth awkwardly.

"The hell is he doing here?" Sam spat, emotions already messed up due to Dean's condition.

Once again, Carter clutched his nose and glanced up at the mirky sky, "Missed you too, Sam."

Sam shot Carter a look of disbelief and opened his mouth to say something, when a hand clamped on his shoulder, drawing his attention to Lee.

Sam looked shocked, he hadn't noticed Lee up until then and many emotions bubbled up inside him. Regret, guilt, sadness, but when Lee pulled him into a tight hug and slapped his back, he felt oddly fine.

"Hey, Sam," Lee smiled at him as he pulled away. "You manage to get in touch with your old man yet?"

"No, sir," Sam shook his head, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Lee rolled his eyes, "How many times have I told you to quit callin' me that?"

A bashful smile crossed Sam's face, Lee always made him feel like part of the family ⸻ he remembered when he asked Lee if he had his approval in marrying Jess and Lee told him that he 'couldn't imagine anything better'.

Cordelia rolled her eyes as Carter grumbled complaints under his breath about his nose and how 'people keep hitting him'.

She begrudgingly reached into her bag and pulled out a pack of tissues before shoving them at his chest.

"Quit being a baby," she muttered and it was at that moment Dean rounded his car and slowly made his way over. Cordelia swallowed roughly as she looked him up and down.

He looked awful, his hands were stuffed into his jacket pockets, his face pale and dark circles surrounded his eyes.

His gaze flitted between the four people before him, eyes lingering on Cordelia for just a moment longer. "Hi," he breathed out, eyes solely on her.

"Hi," her voice was unusually quiet. She smiled lightly but didn't say anything else, not wanting her voice to betray her. He seemed a little deflated at her actions but brushed it off and looked toward the two unknown men.

Sam noticed his brother's eyes shift to Lee and Carter. "Oh, Dean this is Jess' dad, Lee," he began to introduce. Lee stuck his hand out and politely, they shook hands.

"Nice to meet you," Dean nodded in acknowledgement, a small smile on his lips before his eyes shifted over to Carter, his stare hardened and the small upturn of his lips disappeared.

"And that's Carter," Sam said, tone flat and bored as he spared a quick glance over at the brunet.

"Nice to meet you, man," Carter, too, held his hand out but went ignored as Dean merely looked down at the hand and back up to him, face blank.

Sam pursed his lips in an attempt to hide his amusement as he met Cordelia's stare, the two shared a look before Cordelia cleared her throat loudly and looked down at the ground.

"They're here to help," Sam began to say, focusing his attention on his brother. "Cordelia found this guy, he's some kind of specialist."

"Thought you said we were going to see a doctor?" Dean griped. He was already in a piss poor mood because Sam wouldn't let him die how he wanted to, and then Cordelia was here and she had brought along her ex.

Jealously spiralled in his mind as he watched them. He didn't know what he was jealous of, exactly, I mean, Cordelia rolled her eyes or looked at Carter like she wanted to kill him, but at least he got that ⸻ Dean didn't get a bat of the eyelid, not even anger. He would prefer her to be pissed with him, at least then she'd talk to him.

But he got it, he said she was a screw-up and that their kiss was a mistake when it wasn't, only she didn't know the latter.

As the five began walking towards a large, white tent, Cordelia spoke up, "A friend of my dad's came here a while ago, it works." She looked over at him for a split second and was surprised to see he was already staring over at her.

"Look Dean, this guy's supposed to be the real deal," Sam argued, glancing over at his brother, but his brows furrowed to find his eyes on Cordelia.

"I can't believe you brought me here to see some guy who heals people out of a tent," Dean snapped his attention back over to Sam, a bite to his words.

"Reverend Le Grange is a great man." An older woman, holding an umbrella, said, turning to glance at Dean in disapproval as she passed him.

"Yeah, that's nice," Dean retorted sarcastically, shooting her a dry look.

A snort fell from Cordelia's nose, but when Dean glanced her way, she looked elsewhere. His eyes focused on her once again, he felt as though he couldn't stop staring ⸻ he probably looked like a creep but he couldn't help it.

It'd been a while since he had last seen her. She looked the same, yet different. A few scars littered across her face, there was also a cut on her lip ( he'd definitely remember seeing that one ), and when she raised her arm to run her fingers through the front of her hair, her top rose and he noticed the scars on her stomach.

Though, he wasn't the only one noticing things. Lee saw how Dean was eyeing his niece, and it wasn't that kind of eyeing, over the past few weeks Lee had to put up with men leering at his niece and it made him sick. But Dean didn't look at her like that, he looked at her with care in his eyes.

As the group of five passed a protester, Dean rolled his eyes. "I take it he's not part of the flock."

"Well, when people see something they can't explain, there's controversy," Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, but come on, Sam ⸻ a faith healer?" Dean gave his brother a look of disbelief.

"There's no harm in having a little faith," Cordelia rose her eyebrows as she turned to look at him.

"You know what I got faith in? Reality ⸻ knowing what's really going on."

"How can you be a sceptic? With the things we see every day?" Sam questioned.

"Exactly. We see them. We know they're real," Dean quipped, shooting his brother a look of disbelief.

"But if you know evil's out there, how can you not believe good's out there too?" Sam shot back, stopping in place, causing the others to do the same.

Carter leaned down by Cordelia's ear. "How long are they gonna keep yapping about this?" He asked, voice lowered.

"Could be five minutes, could be five hours," Cordelia grumbled before sighing.

She had never met anyone who could drag out an argument quite like a Winchester.

"Because I've seen what evil does to good people," Dean continued to argue, raising his eyebrows at his brother as if to say carry on.

"Maybe God works in mysterious ways." A young, pretty blonde woman said as she stopped in front of the group, a teasing smile sat on her lips.

Cordelia pulled a face and sent a side-eye to Carter, the two thinking the same thing ⸻ who the hell interrupts a conversation like that?

Sam sent the woman an awkwardly polite smile, Dean on the other hand grinned widely, a flirty smile on his lips, "Maybe he does. I think you just turned me around on the subject."

Cordelia's eyes narrowed slightly as they flickered between Dean and the mystery woman. Jealously bubbled in her stomach and irritation climbed through her veins.

Dean could feel Cordelia's eyes flickering between him and the blonde ⸻ hell, he looked over just to see if she was looking. He didn't want to say he was doing this on purpose, but he was totally doing this on purpose.

Since they had arrived, he kept watching Cordelia and Carter like a hawk, and, weirdly enough, he felt jealous at the mere sight of them even standing together, but when they were whispering to each other and Carter got too close to Cordelia ⸻ he got jealous.

Jealously equals flirting with pretty strangers.

"I'm gonna go find somewhere to sit," Cordelia muttered bitterly under her breath, unable to stop herself.

Lee's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched his niece, soon followed by Carter, walk towards the large tent. He glanced between Cordelia's retreating figure, the blonde woman and Dean.

His eyes pierced through the Winchester and, feeling the burning gaze, Dean glanced over at Lee ⸻ internally shrinking under his stare before the older man followed after the brunette.

Cordelia may not have said anything, but Lee had eyes, he knew what was going on, or, well, what wasn't going on.

As Carter caught up to Cordelia he couldn't help but grin widely, failing to hide his amusement as he spoke, "Why'd you get all jealous out there?"

She turned her head briefly and shot him a bored look, "I didn't."

"You did. You always pulled that face whenever Mandy Lindsey spoke to me. That exact face," he thrusted a finger down in her face, but she slapped it away and grabbed him by the jacket before shoving him into one of the rows at the back.

"I didn't pull a face then and I didn't pull a face now, if I did it was because Mandy Lindsey was an annoying bitch," Cordelia huffed in irritation as she sat down beside Carter, Lee on her other side.

"It was jealousy. You were jealous then, you're jealous now," Carter shrugged, the words firm as they fell from his mouth. He knew Cordelia and nothing could convince him that she wasn't jealous, and the idea that she had some form of feelings for Dean, weirdly, didn't phase him one bit.

"Something happen between you and Dean?" Surprisingly, it was her uncle who had spoken up. Cordelia turned to him, mouth wide in shock and annoyance.

"Oh my God, no. Can you two quit it?" She huffed, brushing her hair back as she slid further down her seat in dismay.

"Why don't I believe you?" Carter pursed his lips in question, earning a nod and a hum of agreement from the older man.

"Believe what you assholes want, nothing happened," she shrugged it off with a small shake of her head.

"Did he hurt you?" Lee asked, scrunching his brows together in question.

"Oh my God, stop talking. I should've left you two back at the motel."

Fortunately, before anymore questions could be asked, Sam and Dean made their way into the tent and the former made a beeline for Cordelia.

"Come on," Sam lent down by the three. "We're sitting up front."

"Uh, perfectly fine here," Carter rolled his lips into his mouth in an awkward smile.

"Funny, 'cause I wasn't talking to you," Sam retorted, eyes falling on Cordelia and Lee ⸻ the hard stare he had given Carter was replaced with a softer expression.

"Okay, c'mon," Cordelia sighed as she rose from her seat, Sam sent her a look of appreciation ⸻ Dean, on the other hand, did not look happy.

He did not wanna sit front row.

So, like a stroppy child, Dean sulked as he followed after his brother to the free seats near the front. There were three seats in the second row and two behind, of course, Dean tried to opt for the latter, but Sam, ever so stubborn, grabbed his brother by his jacket and pulled him into the second row.

As Cordelia moved to take a seat on the third row, beside her uncle, Carter gave her a rough shove forward and lowered his voice, "I'm not sitting next to him, he looks like he'll choke me out if I stand within three feet of him."

Cordelia clenched her jaw and rolled her eyes. "Stop being such a baby," she glowered over at him. She, herself, didn't particularly want to sit beside Dean, but Carter was a pussy ⸻ there was no way he'd willingly sit next to Dean, or Sam.

As she sat down, both Winchester's turned to glance over at her. Sam, gave his soft, reassuring smile and Dean, Dean was... Cordelia couldn't explain how Dean was looking at her. He wasn't smiling, but his eyes held a softness in them ⸻ perhaps an apologetic look.

Dying asshole, she couldn't help but think.

"You alright?" Sam asked, the question directed towards his brother, concern quickly overtook his features and his left hand reached out, grasping Dean's shoulder in a comforting motion.

"This is ridiculous. I'm good," he huffed in irritation, pulling his gaze to the ground as he shrugged Sam's hand off of his shoulder. "Dude, get off me."

Cordelia pursed her lips to hide a smile at Dean's stubborn words, just then, an elderly man staggered onto the stage. A pair of dark sunglasses rested on his nose and a clean suit sat comfortably on his body. A woman, who they could only assume was his wife, began to help him out of his suit jacket, just as he began to speak into the mic.

"Each morning, my wife, Sue Ann reads me the news. Never seems good, does it?" Roy asked the crowd, a slight southern drawl to his words.

"No," the crowd let out collectively.

"Seems like there's always someone committing some immoral, unspeakable act. But I say to you, God is watching and God rewards the good, and he punishes the corrupt," Roy continued, voice loud and clear as he spoke ⸻ clearly, he was very passionate about what he was talking about.

However, Cordelia, wouldn't know what he was talking about because she was not listening. She was too distracted by the fidgeting man beside her.

Cordelia looked up at the top of the tent briefly in irritation before lowering her voice. "Stop moving," Cordelia hissed under her breath.

Sam shot her a disapproving glare at the sound of her voice.

Oh my God, he's such a Mom, Cordelia thought to herself.

"I'm not freakin' movin'," Dean shot back, sending her a weird, yet defensive, look and for a second it felt normal again, normal between them.

"Fidgeting, then," she retorted in annoyance. "Quit it."

"I'm not doing anything," his voice hitched in defence. "Get off my ass, if you wanna complain about something, your boy-toy back there-"

"Boy-toy?!"

"Uh, not her boy-toy."

"Be quiet," Sam hissed looking between the three in irritation. He read the expressions on their faces; Cordelia's full of irritation, Dean mirroring that and Carter, Carter looked offended, but no one really cared how Carter felt.

The three, like pouty children, closed their mouths and turned their attention back to the front.

"It is a Lord... who does the healing here, friends, the Lord who guides me in choosing who to heal by helping me see into people's hearts."

"Amen!" The crowd called in unison.

"Yeah, or into their wallets," Dean grumbled under his breath as he crossed his arms over his chest. Sam shot his brother a deadly look.

A beat of silence flitted around the room before the elderly man, Roy, spoke, an amused smile sat on his lips, "You think so, young man?"

Dean paused, eyes widening lightly in embarrassment, "Sorry."

"No, no. Don't be, just watch what you say around a blind man, we got real sharp ears," he joked, making the crowd laugh light-heartedly at his words. "What's your name, son?"

Dean cleared his throat awkwardly. "Dean," he answered politely.

"Dean," Roy repeated, nodding lightly. "I wan- I want you to come up here with me."

Cordelia and Sam's heads whirled around to face Dean, and hope quickly filled their features. Dean, on the other hand, was hesitant as the room filled with cheers of joy and applause.

"No, it's okay," Dean kindly declined with a shake of his head.

"What are you doing?" Sam exclaimed in confusion.

"Are you stupid? Get your ass up there," Cordelia added, urgency obvious in her tone.

But Dean merely ignored his brother and Cordelia.

"You've come here to be healed, haven't you?" Roy asked, frowning lightly but a knowing look sat on his face.

"Well, yeah, but, uh..." Dean trailed off just as the crowd began cheering once again, trying to convince him to get up there. "Maybe you should just pick someone else," his voice rose a little louder, trying to be heard over the cheering.

Roy laughed lightly, a large smile on his face, "No. I didn't... I didn't pick you, Dean. The Lord did."

Dean, however, looked more hesitant as he sat there. He looked embarrassed, almost like he didn't want to go up there.

He glanced around in contemplation, first looking over at his brother who nodded in encouragement. "Get up there!" Sam grinned widely.

Then Dean drew his eyes over to Cordelia, who smiled lightly at him ⸻ a smile he hadn't seen in so long. "It's alright," she reassured him.

"This is ridiculous," Dean grumbled as he slowly rose from his seat and began to make his way over to the small stage up front, with the help of Roy's wife, Sue Ann.

Cordelia watched in anticipation, hoping that it would work for Dean as it did her father's friend.

They watched as Dean briefly spoke to Roy, but Roy only kept smiling. "Pray with me, friends," the elderly man spoke towards the crowd.

Everyone held their hands up in the air, some interlaced with the people sat beside them. The group of four sat down, didn't, however, they were too busy watching Dean intently.

Cordelia's eye flickered to Sam's bouncing leg, he was nervous. She reached over and grasped his forearm in a comforting motion, to which he placed his other hand over hers. He sent her a brief smile in thanks before his attention flitted over to his brother.

Roy slowly lifted his hands before he reached out towards Dean, his hand landed on his shoulder ⸻ using it as a guide to find Dean's head.

Cordelia sat up in her seat, worry coaxing her face as Dean grew paler, his eyes began to hood over and suddenly, his knees buckled, hitting the ground before he collapsed.

Sam didn't waste a second as he rose from his seat and rushed over to his brother. Cordelia stood in shock but didn't advance towards him. She watched in anticipation, ignoring the cheers that reverberated around the room.

Sam tugged at the material of Dean's hoodie in an attempt to wake him, and shortly after, he succeeded. Cordelia let out a relieved breath she didn't know she was holding.

He was okay.

Dean was okay.

♰

Sam Winchester had a way with words.

Cordelia had planned to leave after Dean was healed, but Sam had coaxed her into staying a little while longer. He stated that she needed to be there when they went to the hospital ⸻ to double-check everything was alright, and she supposed he made sense, I mean, they did need to make sure.

So there she was, stood in a check-up room bright and early the next morning. She couldn't help but yawn as she leaned her hip against the patient's bed Dean was sat on.

"So you really feel okay?" Sam questioned his brother, once again, a clear look of relief was painted across his features.

"I feel fine, Sam," Dean said dryly, staring blankly at the floor.

Cordelia's brows twitched lightly at his tone. She couldn't help but feel as though Dean wasn't exactly happy with his being healed. She remembered how reluctant he was to go up on stage, but she figured that was just nerves, now, she wasn't so sure anymore.

"Well, uh, according to your tests, there's nothing wrong with your heart," the doctor announced as she flickered through a clipboard. "No sign there ever was. Not that a man your age should be having heart trouble, but, uh, still... it's strange ⸻ it does happen."

"What do you mean, strange?" Dean asked as he took in her words.

"Well just yesterday, a young guy, like you ⸻ twenty-seven, athletic... out of nowhere, heart attack."

Dean visibly froze at her words, he swallowed roughly, mind swarming with a thousand thoughts before he dragged his eyes over to the doctor and gave her a tight smile, "Thanks, Doc."

"No problem," she smiled kindly at the three before taking her leave.

"That's odd," Dean pursed his lips as he looked up at his brother pointedly.

"Maybe it's a coincidence," Sam shrugged it off. "People's hearts give out all the time, man."

"No, they don't," Dean shook his head in disagreement.

"It happens," Cordelia shrugged as she pushed her weight off of the bed and slowly came to a stand beside Sam. "People have heart attacks, people die. You had a heart attack."

"Yeah, and how was that caused, Cordelia?" Dean shot back, raising his eyebrows at her expectantly.

She pursed her lips at his words and looked down at the ground, he had a point... asshole.

"Look, Dean, do we really have to look this one in the mouth? Why can't we just be thankful that the guy saved your life and move on?" Sam asked his brother.

"Because I can't shake this feeling, that's why," Dean snapped as he rose from his sitting position.

"What feeling?" Cordelia asked with a sigh, watching as the oldest Winchester brother moved over to the other side of the room, back facing the pair as he grabbed his jacket.

"When I was healed, I just- I felt... wrong," he paused for a second as he shrugged his jacket on. "I felt cold, and for a second, I saw someone ⸻ this old man. I'm telling you, it was a spirit."

"But if there was something there, I think I would've seen it, too. I mean, I've been seeing an awful lot of things lately," Sam suggested.

"Oh, excuse me, psychic wonder, you're just gonna need a little faith on this one," Dean tauntingly repeated the words Sam had earlier said to him. "Sam, I've been hunting long enough to trust a feeling like this."

Sam sighed and shook his head in defeat, "Yeah, alright. So, what do you wanna do?"

Cordelia continued to listen but slowly moved to the back of the room. She figured, while here, why not stock up? Before you judge, she was a hunter, okay? Hunters needed medical equipment, not to mention she was broke.

She reached into the bag that was slung over her shoulder and pulled out two bobby pins, using them to unlock the large white cabinets.

Once opened, the doors creaked and she winced at the sound. Sam turned and rolled his eyes before he headed over to her and shut the cupboard doors, "You have a problem."

"Yeah, financial problems, this stuff's like twenty bucks online," she shot back, but Sam did not find her funny, instead he grabbed her forearm and began dragging her out of the room, Dean following in toll.

Dean rose his eyebrows in an agreeing motion with a tilt of his head before he directed his gaze back over to, the not so amused, Sam. "Why don't you go check out the heart attack guy, I'm gonna visit the reverend."

The three made their exit from the hospital and as they reached the car, Cordelia pursed her lips ⸻ suddenly feeling very awkward.

"Well, since you're not dying anymore, I'm leaving," she stated bluntly, leaning against the Impala.

Dean was stunned, he didn't even make a complaint about her touching his car. He knew she'd leave, but he didn't think it would be already ⸻ he figured he had a day or two left with her, a day or two so he could apologise, or try to work up the courage to apologise.

"Right... I'll, um, see you, then," he stumbled out his words, not knowing what to say, a look of disappointment crossed his face before he hid it with a tight smile and a short nod as he clambered into the front seat.

Sam looked between the two with narrowed eyes. "No."

"Huh?" Cordelia pulled a face at that.

"You can't just leave, we need your help, if Dean is right about this..."

"Then you two can handle it," she smiled reassuringly. "You've worked cases without me before, I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Maybe, but, I want you here, we want you here," Sam tried to convince her, a pleading look on his face ⸻ those damn puppy eyes. "Besides, whatever happened on the day we left, with you and Dean, you can fix it."

"Fix it? I didn't do anything. Nothing needs to be fixed," Cordelia got defensive and narrowed her eyes at her best friend.

Sam rolled his eyes at her tone and gave her a look, "Okay, well, it gives Dean a chance to fix whatever he did, then. You've barely spoken two words to him... I know you, Cor, you get silent and stroppy, then you get borderline crazy, have a breakdown and watch Charlie's Angels, like, fifty times."

"They're good films," she defended with a small frown.

"Yeah, well, I don't think I can sit and watch them one more time, so... make up, Okay? Great."

Without giving her a chance to speak, or much choice, Sam headed to the driver's side of the car where Dean was, not so, discreetly watching the pair.

His knuckles drummed against the glass and Dean looked up, acting as if he hadn't just been watching them. He rolled down the window and nodded at his brother in a 'what's up?' kind of motion.

"Change of plans."

♰

    After they had dropped Sam off, it left Cordelia and Dean alone in the car ⸻ safe to say, it was awkward as hell.

Cordelia didn't know if she wanted to hit him or jump out of the moving car more, probably both. The duration of the drive to Roy Le Grange's house was quiet, only the soft hum of the music played quietly in the background.

As the pair clambered out of the car and headed up the porch of the Le Grange residence, Dean cleared his throat, hands stuffed in his pockets, "So, uh, how come you're hangin' around with your ex? I thought you hated that guy."

While Dean tried to keep his tone neutral, trying to come across as unbothered ⸻  he sounded bothered as hell.

"What were you doing with yours?" Cordelia shot back, raising an eyebrow at the Winchester. Dean pursed his lips and nodded his head in a you got me there motion. "And I don't hate him, I don't like him."

Dean narrowed his eyes in thought. Many things ran through his mind; were they getting back together, was that why she brought him along? Was it just sex? Were they even sleeping together and if they were, why did it bother him so damn much?

But he knew the answer to the latter.

As Cordelia's knuckles softly knocked against the door, Dean's hand reached out, grabbing her arm to gently pull her back, her brows furrowed as she looked up at him.

"Hey, uh, look, about what I said..." he trailed off, scratching the back of his neck with a grimace.

"No it's fine," she shook her head almost too quickly, but not as quickly as she pulled her arm out of his grasp ⸻ as though his touch burnt her. "You were right, it was a mistake. So this," she gestured between the pair, a tight, uncomfortable smile on her face, "... already forgotten."

The words felt bitter as they left her mouth, but it was better to go along with it ⸻ maybe she wouldn't feel so weird that way, but if anything, lying made her feel worse.

The expression on Dean's face made her feel worse.

The Winchester opened his mouth to say something, but the front door swung open, silencing him. Roy's wife, Sue Ann stood in front of them, eyebrows shooting up in surprise but her mouth sported a smile.

"Dean... hello, nice to see you again," her voice was polite, the Winchester shot her a smile and a nod in greeting, allowing her eyes to fall onto Cordelia. "I'm sorry, and you are?"

"Cordelia, nice to meet you," the Moore girl spoke, lips pulling into a tight smile.

Sue Ann smiled at her before pulling the door open wider as a silent invitation. "Come in, come in," she coaxed and the pair did just that, as she shut the door she turned to face Dean. "I take it you're here to see Roy," when Dean, once again nodded, she continued, "Roy! Someone's here to see you!"

Cordelia winced as the woman's high pitched screech reverberated through her ears.

She led them into the living room where Roy was sat. He got up to greet them, leading Sue Ann to ask if they wanted a drink.

"Just a water, please," Cordelia said kindly as she took a seat.

Cordelia was an enigma, one second, she was the kindest girl you could ever meet ⸻ she was caring, sweet, and gentle, then the next minute she could be a big bitch, fighting and she had a mouth of a sailor. It was all a part of the act.

Cordelia wasn't what most would say was a stereotypical hunter, don't get me wrong ⸻ she liked beer and bar crawling, but in between cases she'd happily sit and flick through a vouge magazine whilst watching a sappy movie that she could cry to.

Unlike most hunters, she still was herself. She wasn't that broken shell of someone she used to be ⸻ she remained whole.

For now.

"How you feelin', Dean?" Roy asked as he sat comfortably in his chair, a prideful smile on his face.

"I feel great," Dean answered as Sue Ann re-entered with a jug and two cups. "Just trying to, you know, make sense of what happened."

Roy nodded in understanding, whilst Sue Ann spoke up. "A miracle is what happened," she told him. "Miracles come so often around Roy."

Cordelia and Dean briefly shared a look at that. Sue Ann, whilst coming across as a sweet, older woman, had a strange feel to her. She was overly kind, always smiling ( maybe Cordelia was just suspicious of kind people because she could be a bit of a bitch ).

"When did they start?" Dean inquired with a curious look coaxing his features. "The miracles?"

Roy was hesitant before he spoke, "Woke up one mornin' stone blind. Doctors figured out I had cancer, told me I had maybe a month. So, uh... we prayed for a miracle. I was weak, but I told Sue Ann you just keep right on praying. I went into a coma, doctors said I wouldn't wake up, but I did... and the cancer was gone."

"Just like that, huh?" Cordelia spoke softly, eyes flitting between the older couple, carefully assessing the pair. Sue Ann smiled widely, but as she noticed Cordelia's gaze on her, she shifted her eyes over to her husband.

"Just like that, a miracle," Roy nodded in reply to the young brunette. "If it wasn't for these eyes," he began to remove his sunglasses, showing his white eyes, "No one would believe I'd ever had it."

"And suddenly you could heal people?" Dean questioned in that same tone Cordelia had.

"I discovered it afterward, yes," Roy nodded once again. He seemed more than willing to answer any questions the pair had, Sue Ann on the other hand let her eyes flicker between the two, suspicion growing. She seemed hesitant to let Roy speak. "God's blessed me in many ways."

"And his flock just swelled overnight," the woman stated proudly, earning a tight smile from the brunette. "And this is just the beginning."

Cordelia pursed her lips at her words, she had a feeling that this conversation was coming to an end and they had gotten what they needed, so as she went to get ready to leave, Dean, surprisingly, spoke up.

"Can I ask you one last question?" He asked. Cordelia turned to him with a frown at his change in tone.

"Course you can," Roy nodded as he placed his sunglasses back on the bridge of his nose.

Dean was tentative, it was clear on his face, he inhaled deeply before licking his lips, "Why? Why me? Out of all the sick people, why save me?"

Cordelia gave the side of his face a weird look. Dean could feel her eyes burning into his skull, but he kept his gaze on Roy. While they were in the tent just yesterday, Cordelia had a feeling that Dean was hesitant to go up to get healed, this solidified it. It was almost as though he didn't want to be saved, like he felt as though he didn't deserve it.

"Well, like I said before, the Lord guides me. I looked into your heart and you just... stood out from all the rest."

"What did you see in my heart?" Dean asked with a frown, leaning forward slightly.

"A young man with an important purpose, a job to do... and it isn't finished."

As the pair made their way down the wooden porch steps of the Le Grange household, they bumped into the pretty blonde Dean was talking to, or rather, flirting with, the day before.

"Dean, hey," Layla spoke softly, causing him to stop mid-step to smile at her.

"Hey," he responded with a kind smile, Cordelia bit her tongue and killed the thought to roll her eyes; he was being nice, that was all.

Cordelia could be so bitter sometimes, damn.

"How you feeling?" She asked with a tilt of her head, voice dripping with concern.

"I feel good. Cured, I guess. What're you doing here?" He asked, sparing a glance over at Cordelia who was a few steps further down the porch, but when she met his eye, she looked away, causing him to purse his lips.

"You know, my mom," she said, gesturing towards the woman who was slowly approaching them, a wide smile on her lips ⸻ though that was directed at Sue Ann. "She wanted to talk to the reverend."

She gestured towards the door, prompting Sue Ann to step out from her place between the porch and the door. "Layla," Sue Ann spoke softly.

The blonde smiled widely and Cordelia couldn't help but feel bad for her as she spoke. "Yes, I'm here again," Layla sighed, almost in embarrassment.

"Well, I'm sorry, but Roy is resting. He won't be seeing anyone else right now," Sue Ann told her gently, a sympathetic look crossed her face.

"Sue Ann, please," Layla's mother pleaded desperately. "This is our sixth time. He's got to see us."

Sue Ann sighed, "Roy is well aware of Layla's situation and he very much wants to help just as soon as the Lord allows. Have faith, Mrs Rouke."

Without another word, Sue Ann returned to her house with a sickly sweet smile perched on her lips. Cordelia narrowed her eyes at the retreating figure; as soon as the Lord allowed or as soon as Sue Ann allowed?

As Mrs. Rourke spun on her heels, she set her hard eyes on Dean, glowering over at him. His face dropped slightly as she glared at him, and his eyes flitted over to meet Cordelia's in confusion.

"Why are you still even here? You got what you wanted," Mrs Rourke spat, eyes scanning up and down his body in disgust.

"Mom, stop," Layla swallowed roughly, embarrassment creeping up her spine as she lowered her gaze to the ground.

Mrs. Rourke gave her daughter a look of disbelief. "No, Layla, this is too much. We've been to every single service. If Roy would stop choosing these strangers over you, strangers who don't even believe. I just can't pray any harder."

Cordelia could understand Mrs. Rourke's frustration ⸻ her daughter was dying and she wasn't getting any better, but there was no need for her to diminish Dean like that, like he didn't deserve it just as much as anyone else who sat in that tent the day before.

Dean swallowed roughly and glanced over at the blonde, "Layla, what's wrong?"

She avoided his gaze and looked at the ground, shaking her head lightly, "I have this thing..."

"It's a brain tumour. It's inoperable," Mrs Rourke stated, a faraway look formed in her eyes, as though she was losing hope. "In six months, the doctors say..." Layla placed her hand on her mother's shoulder, stopping her from continuing.

"I'm sorry," Cordelia spoke up for the first time, her eyes flickering between the mother and daughter in sympathy. What else could she say to them?

"It's okay," Layla's kind eyes fell onto Cordelia and a sad smile graced her lips.

Mrs. Rourke, on the other hand, looked like the devil reincarnated. Her sharp gaze fell upon Dean. "No, it isn't," she said lowly. "Why do you deserve to live more than my daughter."

Cordelia opened her mouth to say something, but Dean, already knowing she was going to say something, lifted his hand and perched it on her shoulder ⸻ silently telling her not to, as they watched Mrs. Rourke storm off, a hesitant and apologetic-looking Layla following after her.

The pair was silent for a moment as they watched the mother and daughter walk off, many thoughts swarmed each of their minds.

Dean thought about how Layla's mom was right, how he didn't deserve to be saved over her; Cordelia thought about how Dean deserved to be saved as much as anyone else.

"You do deserve to be alive," she voiced, quieter than usual. "You deserve it just as much as everyone else."

Before he could even say anything, she had already began to head in direction of the Impala. He watched her retreating figure with a sigh before following after her, shortly.

The motel was about a fifteen-minute drive from the Le Grange residence and for five of those minutes, they sat in awkward silence.

Dean didn't know how much longer he could take it, especially since he knew he had caused it. So, whilst he had the courage, he decided to speak up.

"Can we talk?" He asked, eyes flickering between her and the road ahead. The genuine tone in his voice and the pleading glint in his eyes practically compelled her to pull her gaze from the window.

Taking that as a silent yes, Dean continued. "Listen, sweetheart..."  he began to say, and Cordelia internally thought to herself, please don't call me that right now, it almost felt like she just had a one-night stand and was getting that awkward talk, "I'm sorry for what I said, you're not reckless, you're a good hunter, hell, you're a better hunter than I am... I was just pissed about Sam leavin' and I took it out on you when I shouldn't have."

Cordelia didn't want to say she accepted his apology, because she didn't. Saying sorry would imply that on some level she had put that behind her, but she hadn't. Dean's words had reminded her of her father's. Her dad always liked to go on about how she was reckless and hunting with her was like waiting for a ticking time bomb to go off ⸻ but he was the reckless one, he was the bomb awaiting explosion.

Edward Moore was a bit of a prick if that wasn't clear enough.

When she did not answer, Dean deflated a bit and a contrite look crossed his face. "And I..." he hesitated, lifting a hand to scratch at the back of his neck as he let his eyes fall onto the road ahead ⸻ suddenly not able to glance her way. "I shouldn't have led you on like that, I shouldn't have kissed you... I can't give you what you want."

I do wanna screw you, but that's all it'll ever be, sweetheart, a bang, meaningless sex, the words the shapeshifter had said to her a few months back suddenly played in mind. She should've expected it, honestly. If she hadn't kissed him, this past month would've been different.

"I don't want this to be awkward."

Cordelia pursed her lips and spoke after a moment of silence, "It won't be."

He finally gained the confidence to pull his eyes to meet hers, he stared at her for a moment longer before a short sigh left his lips, "Okay."

Despite the agreement of it not being awkward, it was awkward as hell.

Dean eventually grew fidgety and couldn't cope with the silence in the Impala, so, in an attempt to lighten the mood and cut the tension, he began humming whatever song he had playing on the speakers.

Cordelia ran her fingers up the bridge of her nose as a headache formed. "Stop," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest ⸻ Dean knew she hated when he did that.

Dean shot her a short glance and huffed, "Fine. I'll be quiet... I'll be quiet if you will."

Her face scrunched in confusion and she looked over at him, "I didn't even say anything, but fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

She crossed her arms over her chest and rested her head against the window, "You think you're gonna miss it?"

"Miss what? Your talking?" He retorted, raising his eyebrows at her teasingly.

Her tongue poked the inside of her cheek in annoyance, oh, he was being petty now. "Fine," she replied stubbornly, directing her gaze out the window.

Dean sighed and glanced over at her, "Miss what?"

"No, nothing," she chirped with a shake of her head.

"Oh, come on," Dean muttered in irritation.

"What?"

"Don't do that," he griped.

"Do what?" Cordelia asked, acting coy, she knew what he was talking about, but it was her turn to be petty.

If he wanted it to go back to normal, this was it. Cordelia could swallow her feelings, lock them up in a tight box and never think of them again, of course, that wasn't going to happen, one could hope. But getting back to being friends would be semi-easy, all she had to do was act annoyed at ninety-five per cent of what he said, and the fact she was annoyed at him anyway helped.

"That! Stop," Dean huffed. "What am I gonna miss, Cordelia?"

She bit the inside of her cheek and turned over to face him, "I forgot."

Dean rolled his eyes and let his head fall back in irritation, he briefly shut his eyes before focusing on the road, "Bull."

"So... what have you been doing besides screwing your ex?" She asked, raising her eyebrows in curiosity. She was petty, sue her, but Dean didn't detect the jealousy in her tone, in fact, he suspected nothing. She would've asked him that question regardless of what went off between the two. "Any interesting hunts?"

Dean shrugged, "Sam's psychic radar went off again, that's about as weird as it got."

"Yeah, he told me about that... I had a teenage witch," she cleared her throat, "Carter wouldn't let me kill her, said she was just a kid, that she'd learn from her mistakes."

"That's gonna bite you in the ass," Dean crooned, shooting her a pointed look.

"That's what I said," she huffed in amusement, a small smile pulling at her lips.

But Dean wasn't smiling, the reminder that Carter was with them remained in his head. He pursed his lips and glanced over at her a few times, like he was internally debating whether he should speak up or not.

"So, uh, you and Carter... is that like... are you two-?"

Without him even finishing what he was trying to say, Cordelia pieced his question together and frowned deeply, "What? Ew, no."

"Oh, right... okay."

The atmosphere between the pair wasn't the same as it was before. It felt different, a weird different. But she didn't know what else she expected, she knew what kind of guy Dean was, and she couldn't expect him to just change his mind because of her.

Carter didn't change, her Dad didn't change. She had no reason to believe Dean would.

But it was just for a few more hours, then, she'd be in the wind ⸻ far away from Dean.

After all, being friends with him would be a hell of a lot easier if she didn't have to see him every day, so that's what she intended to do.

♰

    When they got back to the motel, Cordelia had asked Sam to bring her some of her stuff that had been carelessly shoved in the Winchesters' bags ⸻ being on the road, and being herself, Cordelia had a lot of baggage, a lot more than the boys did, and often her stuff would get bagged in their duffels, when she left that night, she hadn't grabbed it all, being in a rush to get away.

So, that was her plan. To go back to the motel with Dean, get her stuff and leave.

Dean pushed the door open and stepped aside, allowing her to walk in first. She looked between the three men already sat in the room. Lee was at the table with Sam, sat opposite him as he sipped on a cup of coffee and Carter was stood by the sink in the small kitchen, keeping a fair distance between himself and Sam and Lee.

Dean chucked his keys onto the bed and rid himself of his jacket, the material carelessly slumped on the bed. "What'd you find out?" He asked, the question directed at his brother. He wasn't wasting any time, his visit with Sue Ann and Roy made him feel iffy, like something weird was going on and whatever Sam had to say would confirm or kill his suspicions.

Sam looked down at the table, shame and sorrow painted across his delicate features. He couldn't even look up to make eye contact with Cordelia as she walked by him, taking a seat in the chair opposite him.

"I'm sorry," his voice was low, quiet. 

"Sorry 'bout what?" Dean's tone was hard as his eyes set sharply on his brother.

"Marshall Hall... died at four-seventeen," Sam let out a dejected sigh.

"The exact time I was healed," Dean mumbled, features faltering at the news.

"Yeah. So we put together a list of everyone Roy has healed ⸻ six people over the past year and I cross-checked them with the local obits."

"Every time someone was healed, someone else died," Lee began to say, pulling Dean's attention over to him. "They all died of the same illness Le Grange was healing at that time."

"So someone's healed of cancer and someone else dies of cancer?" Cordelia asked as she slowly began to piece it up.

"Somehow Le Grange is trading one life for another," Sam nodded in confirmation of her theory.

Dean slumped down on the edge of the bed and ran his hands over his jaw in dismay, "Wait, wait, wait ⸻ so... Marshall Hall died to save me?"

"Dean... the guy probably would've died anyway and someone else would've been healed," Sam said softly, a crestfallen look playing on his features.

"You never should've brought me here," Dean shook his head as he came to a stand from his place on the bed.

"Dean..." Sam sighed, guilt filled his body but he and Cordelia did what they could to save him, and he was cured. "I was just trying to save your life."

"Sam, some guy is dead now because of me!" Dean rose his voice.

"I didn't know," Sam replied quietly.

At Sam's words, Dean's face softened lightly, though his accusatory gaze fell upon Cordelia. Feeling eyes on her, she lifted her head and scoffed lightly under her breath, "Don't look at me like that, I didn't know, either," her tone was guarded, she didn't like the unsaid accusation that was being thrown her way.

"What? Your dad's friend, he know?"

"No. No one knew, okay?" She defended as she got up from her seat. "There's nothing we can do about it now, they're already dead. All you can do now is stop it from happening again."

Her words didn't go unheard by anyone in the room, you, not we, you. Sam winced, he knew Cordelia was going to run off again, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon.

"The thing I don't understand is, how is he doing it?" Carter spoke up, eyes following Cordelia as she picked up her duffel. "How's he trading a life for a life?"

"Oh, he's not doin' it," Dean shook his head, jaw tightening. "Somethin' else is doing it for him."

"What do you mean?" Sam then asked, brows furrowing at his brother's words.

"The old man I saw onstage... I didn't want to believe it, but deep down I knew it," Dean said, voice dropping an octave.

"What are you talking about?"

"There's only one thing that can give and take life like that," Dean began to say, resting his palms on the table as he leaned down. Sam only pulled a face, silently telling Dean he wasn't understanding. "We're dealing with a reaper."

So, they got out the books, Cordelia had stolen Sam's laptop and they got to work. It seemed every time she tried to run off to leave, something stopped her, but this time she was sure; she'd help with the research then she was gone!

"You really think it's the Grim Reaper? Like, angel of death, collect your soul, the whole deal?" Sam looked over at his brother from the other side of the table as he flickered through a book.

"No, no, not the reaper ⸻ a reaper," Dean clarified, briefly glancing up at his brother. "There's reaper lore in pretty much every culture on earth. They go by a hundred different names, it's possible that there's more than one of 'em."

"Thought you said you saw a dude in a suit?" Carter's brows furrowed as he shovelled chips into his mouth.

"What? You think he should've been working the whole black-robe thing?" Dean grumbled, merely annoyed by Carter's presence.

"Well, yeah," Cordelia shrugged. "Stick to the script, you know?"

Dean pulled a weird face at her words but shook his head. "Sam said that the clock stopped, right?" He glanced over at the brunet who nodded in confirmation. "Reapers stop time. You can only see them when they're coming at you, which is why I could see it and you guys couldn't."

"Maybe."

"There's nothin' else it could be, Sam. The question is, how's Roy controlling the damn thing?"

Cordelia pursed her lips and lifted her head as a thought popped up in her mind. "The cross," she said, quickly getting up so that she could snatch the book from Dean's hands, he pulled a face at her abrupt action but brushed it off as he watched her ferociously flicker through it. "There was a cross in the church, Sue Ann was wearing the same one..." she trailed off, stopping at a page. "It's gotta be dark magic."

"What?" Dean asked in confusion, angling his head to face her.

Sam's face fell into one of realisation. "I saw it too," he declared, reaching for the tarot cards beside him, he began shuffling through them, and a dry chuckle left his mouth. He pulled out a singular card and handed it to Dean. "Here."

"A tarot?" Dean questioned, sceptically.

"It makes sense," Lee piped up. "In the early Christian era some priests used magic, some fell into the path of the dark stuff. Necromancy and how to push death away, how to cause it."

"So, Roy is using black magic to bind the reaper?" Dean guessed.

"Not Roy, Sue Ann," Cordelia added, leaning forward she pointed at the cross that was pictured on the tarot card in Dean's hand. "She was wearing that cross. What if Roy doesn't know she's doing it, he honestly believes he's healing people."

"We don't know that, they could be in on it together," Sam countered, taking a moment to think about everything.

"Okay, then we stop both of 'em," Dean shrugged as he dropped the tarot card onto the table, getting up from his seat he moved across the room to lean against the counter in the small, dingy kitchen.

"How?" Sam dared to ask his brother, but he got an expectant look in return.

"You know how," Dean mumbled, a faraway look in his eyes.

"Wait, what the hell are you talking about, Dean? We can't kill them," Sam argued.

"Sam, they're playin' God ⸻ deciding who lives and who dies, that's a monster in my book," Dean retorted, raising his eyebrows at his brother pointedly.

"No. We're not gonna kill a human being, Dean, let alone two. We do that then we're no better than they are," Sam shot back and the other three in the room shared a look.

"Okay, so we can't kill Mr and Mrs Frankenstein, we can't kill death, any bright ideas, college boy?" Dean's tone was patronizing as he glared over at Sam, receiving a glare from Cordelia in turn.

"Okay, uh... if Roy's using some kind of black spell on the reaper, we gotta figure out what it is and how to break it," Sam nodded at his own words, but Cordelia merely frowned.

"If we can't kill them, how's that gonna stop them from doing the spell again?" She asked, everyone shared a look, but she went unanswered.

Dean cleared his throat and averted his gaze, "Alright. I'll go to the church, try and stop them... you go to the house, see if you can find anything there."

Sam nodded in answer to his brother and his eyes flitted to his best friend. "You comin' with me or Dean?" Cordelia pursed her lips and looked at the ground. Sam immediately knew. "Cor... come on, just this hunt. You can go back to finding the demon that killed Jess tomorrow, just... please. I miss you, we both do."

These damn Winchester boys, Cordelia internally cursed. She couldn't say no now, not with that look he was giving her.

She had already made up her mind when she began to speak. "I don't know, hunting with my ex and overbearing-" Lee's hand collided with the back of her head, she turned, looking at him in offence but he rose his eyebrows pointedly. "Caring," she corrected with an eyeroll, "Uncle, sounds so much more appealing."

"Cor, c'mon, just hunt with the poor boy before he starts begging on his knees. I gotta sort somethin' out in the next town over and Carter's coming with me. We'll be back to get you later."

Sam gave Lee a look of appreciation, but Cordelia looked at her uncle in confusion, "Sort what?"

"Your dad," Lee looked at her tentatively, trying to gauge a reaction ⸻ but her face fell flat, she swallowed roughly and shrugged, trying to come off unbothered.

"Oh."

Her dad was in the next town over. He was this close, this close and he didn't even know it. It was for the best, though, she didn't like the person she became around him, she despised that hateful version of herself, but sometimes, there was a part of her, the child in her, that wished things were different.

The look on her face had only made Dean feel worse about the comment he had made. He didn't know the depths of her relationship with Edward Moore, he didn't know what he put her through.

So, Carter and Lee made their move whilst Cordelia, Sam and Dean gathered their stuff, just in case they needed anything. As the motel room door shut behind them, Sam turned to look over at his best friend.

"What happened to you, anyway?" He asked, gesturing towards her abdomen, clearly talking about the scars under her top.

"I got a cat," Cordelia dryly retorted, tone bored, she lifted her gaze to an unamused Sam and rolled her eyes. "Werewolf, Sam, it was a werewolf."

"Shit, really?"

"Mhm."

"You kill it?" Dean asked gruffly as they reached the car, he stopped beside the driver's side and looked over at her.

"Carter did, yeah."

If not, she would've been dead.

♰

    They shortly arrived back at the makeshift church down by the Le Grange household, it was a quiet drive over ⸻ they went over the plan; Cordelia would go with Sam whilst Dean tried to stop Roy from healing anyone else. After that, it fell into silence once again.

Each had very different thoughts in mind. Dean thought about the guilt he felt that he was healed whilst others, like Layla, who he thought were more deserving, went uncured. Cordelia thought about her father, how he was so close to her without even knowing it. She wondered how he'd react, what he'd say, if he'd changed since she had last seen him.

Sam, however, thought about how much he wanted to bludgeon Carter.

As the three got out of the Impala, the youngest Winchester spoke up, "If the Le Granges are using a spell, there might be a spell book."

Dean nodded over at his brother, as they began walking, heading towards the protestor they had seen the day before, "See if you can find it. Hurry up, too. Service starts in fifteen minutes. I'll try stall Roy."

"Alright," Sam nodded.

"Roy Le Grange is a fraud, he's no healer," the protestor said, stopping the three in place as he handed them each a leaflet.

"Amen, brother," Dean clapped him on the back as he headed over towards the large, white tent.

"Keep up the good work," Sam, too, gave him a clap on the back.

Cordelia chuckled at the pair and grabbed Sam by the arm of his jacket. "C'mon," she said, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her hoodie.

So, the pair made their way around the back of the Le Grange house once they spotted Sue Ann and Roy making their way down the porch steps.

Once they got far enough away, Cordelia turned and gave Sam a shove, silently telling him to move. He frowned and slapped her hand away, sending her a look ⸻ to which she retorted with a face of her own that screamed seriously?!

So, they silently bickered like little kids as they made their way around the house, trying to find an open window. Sam was trying to force Cordelia to tell him what Dean had said that made her leave, but she ignored him, merely brushing him off.

As they climbed through one of the open windows, she winced as the skin around her scars pulled.

"Look, all I'm sayin' is you two need to fix whatever happened," Sam turned to face her as his feet hit the ground, voice low. "What even happened?"

Cordelia poked the inside of her cheek and narrowed her eyes, "What'd Dean tell you?"

"That he said somethin' stupid."

Cordelia nodded her head with pursed lips, "Then that's what happened."

Sam rolled his eyes, not believing her for a second. "Well, what'd he say?"

Cordelia gave him a look of irritation as they trudged through the unfamiliar home. "I don't know... asshole-y things."

"Like what?" Sam looked over at her briefly as he shuffled through a bookcase.

"Oh, look at that," Cordelia pointed towards one of the books before grabbing it, pulling all of the attention onto it. Sam rolled his eyes, but alas, stopped questioning her.

He averted his gaze back over to the bookshelf, his brows twitched as something caught his eye. He reached his hand between the gap and grabbed onto a much smaller book.

He nudged the Moore girl and began to flicker through the parchment. Inside, was a picture of a skeleton reaper, they shared a look at the image. This must've been it. Sam continued to flip through it, on another page was a picture of the wooden cross ⸻ the one that dangled from around Sue Ann's neck and the one that hung on the wall in the tent.

As the Winchester continued to look through the small book, Cordelia set her eyes on folded pieces of paper that were shoved carelessly at the back of the bookshelf. She pulled them out and unfolded them.

They were articles.

One of them was of the man who had died for Dean, the headline read that he was an openly gay teacher, another article, a smaller one, was about another woman who had died, just yesterday, she was an abortion rights advocate.

The final clipping caught her eye. No one else had died yet, so this had to be him. 'Wright: local church a cult' it read, it was the protester from earlier on.

Cordelia lifted the clipping between her fingers and lightly wiggled it in Sam's face, gaining his attention.

"How much you wanna bet this David Wright guy is next?"

Sam's eyes widened as he looked over at her.

"Call Dean."

♰

    "They're picking people they think are immoral," Cordelia told Dean the second he answered his phone, not giving him a chance to greet her as she and Sam hurriedly rushed out of the house. "Remember the protester guy?"

"The guy in the parkin' lot?" Dean's voice was hushed, but she could still detect the surprise in his tone.

"Yeah. We're gonna go find him now, don't let Roy heal anyone else, alright?"

When Dean didn't reply, Cordelia pulled her phone from her face and stared at it before her jaw slacked, mouth falling open.

"He hung up on me!" She scoffed, offence written all over her face. "He hung up on me!"

Sam tsked and shook his head, giving her a really? look. She shrugged and moved off in an attempt to find David.

The pair split up and ran through the parking lot, trying to set their sights on David, but he was nowhere to be seen, when suddenly, "Help!" echoed through the parking lot.

Cordelia whirled around at the bellow, trying to figure out where the screaming was coming from. She ran around the parking lot, trying to find him when in the distance, she saw a blur run by.

She headed straight towards it, successfully finding David Wright, but no reaper in sight. It was like Dean said, you could only see it if it was coming for you.

Cordelia's hand wrapped around David's arm as she looked around wildly, "Where is he?!"

Wright's arm clasped on her shoulder to get her attention and he pointed right in front of them, "Right there!"

She looked around, even though she knew she couldn't see it. She grabbed him by the arm. "Alright, c'mon, c'mon, quick!" She ushered him, dragging him along with her as they broke into a sprint.

After a minute of running, Cordelia heard Sam bellow her name from somewhere in the parking lot. She, along with David, headed towards the sound of the Winchester's voice.

It wasn't long before she found him, phone pressed to his ear. "Cordelia, I think it's okay, Dean stopped him," he told his best friend, she nodded lightly as she tried to calm her breathing and let her hand slip from her grip on David.

David, too, nodded at Sam's words and took a hesitant step forward, as he glanced around his face dropped and he paled. A small, "no," breathily left his lips and his legs gave out beneath him, knees hitting the ground.

Cordelia went to reach for him, to pull him away, but by the time her fingers clawed at his jacket, to pull him back, he dropped to the ground. His eyes white as his skin.

"Dean, it didn't work!" Sam hurriedly let out, fingers running through his hair in distress as they watched David wither around in pain, Cordelia uselessly trying to help him. "I'm tellin' you, it didn't work! Roy isn't controlling this thing!"

"Sue Ann!" Cordelia screamed over at Sam. "It's gotta be Sue Ann."

Cordelia's voice was loud enough that Dean heard her words through the phone. So, from inside the tent, his head whipped around as he tried to find the woman in question.

Once he found her, he made a beeline for her. His hand clasped on her shoulder and he roughly spun her around. She gasped in shock at the intrusion and stopped reciting.

Dean's eyes fell onto the cross necklace Cordelia had told the boys she'd seen.

Back outside, David slowly began to breathe normally, a loud gasp left his lips as he clutched his heart, and a tear ran down his cheek.

Cordelia and Sam shared a look before they each grabbed one of his arms and tugged him up to his feet. "We got 'ya, we got 'ya," Sam told him reassuringly.

David's chest heaved up and down, eyes scanning the parking lot cautiously. "Thank God," he muttered.

♰

    The three eventually headed back to the motel, they had figured out Sue Ann had built a black altar, that's how she was controlling the reaper, that's how she was killing people she viewed as immoral.

They didn't know which they had to destroy, the necklace or the altar, so they opted for both.

So, by nightfall, they made it back to the church tent. As they rolled into the parking lot, Sam sighed, "That's Layla's car, she's already here."

Layla was the next to be healed, and Dean felt guilty, they all did, but more so the oldest Winchester brother. He felt like he didn't deserve it, but someone like Layla did.

Dean sighed and glanced out the window, "Yeah."

"Dean-"

"If Roy would've picked Layla instead of me, she'd be healed right now," he clenched his jaw, a sad look in his eye.

"Dean, don't," Sam urged his brother, but the dirty blond didn't listen.

"And if she's not healed tonight, she's gonna die in a couple months," Dean continued.

Cordelia sighed from the backseat and leaned forward between the two, her eyes focused straight ahead, but her words directed at Dean, "What's happening to her is awful, but there's nothing we can do. We can't play God, Dean."

Dean sat in silence for a minute, not speaking nor moving. He briefly met her eye in the rear-view mirror, but shook his head and silently got out of the Impala.

Sam and Cordelia shared a look before quietly doing the same.

They made their way over to the back of the tent, pulling the white sheet open slightly, and they peeked inside.

"Where's Sue Ann?" Cordelia whispered with a frown, eyes flitting all around the room.

Sam glanced around and set his gaze on the Le Grange residence, "House."

The three then ran over towards the house cautiously, making Cordelia internally curse, she was still healing from the Werewolf, and all this running was going to kill her.

Though, that might've been because she was the most lazy hunter to ever live.

"Go find Sue Ann, I'll catch up," Dean said, giving Sam a shove in direction of the house.

Cordelia looked at him in confusion, "Wait, what are you gonna-"

But Dean had already started to walk away, headed towards two figures in the distance, yelling, "Hey!" As he did so. "You gonna put that fear of God in me?!"

Cops, he was yelling at cops, Cordelia rolled her eyes, but a small smile pulled at her mouth, of course he was.

The officers glared at him and dropped their coffee cups to the ground before running after him, Dean took off in a sprint.

Sam and Cordelia however shared a weird look before slowly creeping around the large bus that was parked outside of the Le Grange house.

They made a beeline up the porch stairs and over to a window, the house was enveloped in darkness, and no one was in.

"Where the hell is she?" Cordelia cursed, looking over at Sam, but something had caught his eye.

"Cellar," he nodded off to the side of the house. Cordelia took a step forward, looking down from the porch, eyes on the cellar, light emitted from the small crack between the metal doors.

Sam led the way to the cellar, he pulled open the heavy doors with an eerie creak. He held them open for the Moore, allowing her to walk in first before he followed suit, letting the metal close behind him with a slam.

The pair glanced back at the noise and Sam winced when Cordelia tilted her head, giving him a pointed look. "Could you be any louder?" She whisper-shouted over at him, voice low.

"It was an accident," he defended in that same tone, lifting his hands as if to say, my bad.

As they hit the ground, the alter immediately caught their eye. A small table was pressed against the wall, bright candles strewn all over, and the cross that had been hung up on the church was hung from a nail on the wall, just above. Dead animal parts, blood and horns were carefully placed on the table and in the middle, sat a picture of Dean.

It must've been from the security cameras.

An x was drawn across his face in crimson red blood and Cordelia's jaw dropped. "That psycho bitch is gonna kill Dean," she muttered under her breath.

Sam slowly picked up the picture, horror written all over his face.

"I gave Dean life and I can take it away," a calm voice sounded out from behind them, causing the pair to whirl around in shock. Her eyes were cold, dead.

Sam glared at her and a loud crash sounded. He had flipped the table where the alter sat, glass shattered, spilling across the ground.

Cordelia made a run for her, but Sue Ann was closer to the door. Just as Cordelia reached the stairs, the cellar doors slammed shut, Sue Ann on the other side of them. A loud click was heard and Cordelia clenched her jaw.

She locked them in.

Sam headed over to the cellar doors, fighting and pushing against them with a grunt, but it was no use.

"Sam, can't you see? The Lord chose me to reward the just and punish the wicked," she tried to reason with them. "And Dean is wicked and he deserves to die just as Layla deserves to live, it is God's will."

"You psychotic bitch!" Cordelia yelled up at the door, palms banging against the metal.

Sam turned, trying to find another way out. He picked up a plank of wood that was strewn carelessly aside and used it to break the glass of the small window. He quickly brushed away the jagged pieces that hadn't broken off.

"Cordy!" He called out, gaining her attention.

As she whirled around to face him, she grimaced at the window. She ran over to him, hastily taking her jacket off as she did so. She placed the material over the window.

"C'mon," he urged, joining his hands together so she could use them as a step. Her foot was his palm and he gave her a boost up, her body uncomfortably squeezed through the small gap of the window.

Once she landed on the ground, she waited for the Winchester, whilst cautiously looking around for any sign of Sue Ann. She hesitated before turning to brunet, who was halfway through the window, trying to mauver his larger body through the smaller space.

"I'm gonna go find Sue Ann," Cordelia said to him, not giving him a second to reply before she took off.

It didn't take long to find the woman, she was hidden behind the bus by her house. When Cordelia set eyes on her, she ran over, immediately yanking off the necklace that sat around her neck, the cross broke as it hit the ground.

Sue Ann gasped in shock and ran towards the cross, she fell to her knees before it. "My God!" She cried, hard eyes meeting Cordelia's as she hissed, "What have you done?!"

"He's not your God," Sam said as he slowly approached them, Cordelia's hoodie held in hand.

The woman paled, head snapping to something in the distance. Her breathing turned heavy and scared gasps left her mouth, she turned, in an attempt to run but suddenly stopped in place.

She tried once again, to run, but didn't make it very far. She fell to her knees, and two ragged breaths left her mouth before her eyes whitened, face as pale as snow as she slumped against the ground.

Cordelia kissed her teeth.

"Would I be a horrible person if I said she deserves it?" She asked, pursing her lips as she stared down at the woman.

Sam thought about it for a moment before tilting his head, "Yeah, probably."

"Alrightly then," Cordelia breathed out, rolling her lips into her mouth. "We should probably get out of here."

"Yep," Sam sighed, slinging his around her neck as they walked, headed back to the car.

As they reached the Impala, Dean was also making his way back over to the car. "You okay?" Sam asked his brother, worried eyes working up and down his body.

"Hell of a week," Dean slumped against his car exaggeratingly.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, "It's been two days."

Dean waved her off, as they got in the car, "Like I said, hell of a week."

Cordelia huffed and pulled her phone from her back pocket. She searched through her contacts and pulled up Lee's number.

He answered after two rings.

"Hi, how far are you?" She asked, leaning her head against the window.

Lee winced, "We won't be back 'til morning."

"What? Why?"

At her words, Sam and Dean's eyes moved to meet hers in the mirror, she ignored their gazes.

Lee scoffed, she could just imagine the look on his face, "Cause your dad went and got himself arrested, won't let me bail him out."

She huffed dryly, "Good, leave him there."

"Cordelia..."

"No, don't Cordelia me. Leave him and come get me." She knew she probably sounded like a snotty brat, but she didn't care.

Lee sighed. "In the morning," he told her. "I got another stop to make for Deb first."

She chuckled lightly, "You're so her little bitch."

"Can you quit with the language? If she heard you she'd smack you 'round that dumb fuckin' heada' yours."

♰

    The next morning, Cordelia made her way over to Sam and Dean's room. She hadn't stayed with them last night, and honestly, it wasn't because of Dean. Sometimes she needed space. She was stuck with boys all the time, messy, gross boys.

Her own space was needed once in a while.

So, as she made her way to their room, her eyes widened as a blonde head of hair was already stood there waiting. Layla. Cordelia pursed her lips, looking around for an escape. As she went to run off, Layla had already seen her.

So, with a quiet curse leaving her mouth, she headed over to the door and silently stood beside the woman. She cleared her throat and met the blonde's eye, "Hi."

"Hey."

Silence.

Oh God, kill me now, she wished.

Thankfully, Sam soon opened the door, letting Cordelia escape from the awkwardness that was... whatever that was.

Sam didn't seem to think anything of it, he smiled at the pair. Opening the door wider so that they could walk in, Layla slowly made her way over to Dean, whilst Cordelia hung by the door. Dean, however, widened his eyes and pursed his lips. Huh. The woman he had feelings for and a woman he had spent two days flirting with.

Kill me now, he wished.

"I was just coming to say goodbye," Cordelia set her eyes on Sam, but her words were for both brothers.

"You're really not staying then?" Sam asked with a frown playing on his face, leaning against the open door.

"Oh, no, um, Lee's outside, waiting for me," she told him with a small smile.

"Are you sure?" He asked. "That you don't wanna stay?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," she nodded, unconvincingly. "I've gotta find..." her words trailed off, weary eyes on Layla. "It."

It being the demon that killed Jess.

Sam nodded in understanding but sighed nonetheless, "Just... call me if you need me... or if Carter pisses you off."

A wide smile pulled at her mouth, "I don't know, I kinda missed having him around, you know?"

Sam's face fell lightly as he thought about his relationship with Carter. "Yeah," he sighed before he pulled her in for a tight hug. "I'm serious though, okay? Call me or Dean if you need anything."

"I will."

"Yeah, no, in Cordelia's world, that means maybe," he rolled his eyes teasingly before a sad look coaxed his features. "Call me later, okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded before hesitantly looking over at the oldest brother, who at the same time, pulled his attention from the blonde who was talking to him. "Bye," she mouthed, not wanting to interrupt the conversation.

As she left the room, Sam pursed his lips and looked over at his brother, a silent conversation being held. "Hey, Layla, mind if I borrow Dean?"

Without giving her a second to answer, he strutted over to his brother and grabbed him by the forearm, pulling him towards the door, far enough that the blonde couldn't hear them.

"Say bye, you ass," Sam whisper-shouted down at his brother, briefly looking up at Layla who was staring at the pair in confusion ⸻ Sam gave her a wide, yet borderline creepy, smile.

"I was going to!" Dean shot back in that same lowered tone, he glared at his brother as he headed towards the door, telling Layla that he'd only be a minute.

Once he got out of the room, he ran through the parking lot, catching up to the girl. He spotted her uncle's truck not far away.

"Cordelia, hold on a second," he grabbed her by the arm, successfully stopping her in place, she stared at him in a mix of confusion and impatience. He hesitated before he spoke, "You're not leaving because of me, are you? Look, I know I said-"

"I'm not leaving because of you, Dean," she told him, a soft smile pulling at her lips in an attempt to reassure him. With the many months of being around him, she had come to realise Dean had abandonment issues, and while she was leaving because she needed space, she wasn't leaving because of him. "I just... wanna find that demon, for all of us."

Dean hesitated, not really believing her, but we nodded along at her words anyway, "And we're okay? We're good?"

"We're fine, Dean." There she stood, giving him that same smile, trying to be reassuring, but she didn't believe it. She had feelings for him, that wouldn't change overnight ⸻ no matter how much she wanted them to. But sometimes you had to swallow them down and play pretend.

She was good at doing that... playing pretend.

Author's Note!
cordelia is a juicy girl, when i picture her in my mind she'll always be in like a juicy hoodie with jeans or the whole tracksuit idk it fits her vibe

I know Lee hasn't really said much, but one, he's not much of a talker and two, it was more to introduce him to Dean, he won't be in many chapters but he will be like a bigger part of season 2 when Cordelia and her dad's relationship is explored