ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ: "We're not kids, John, we can help."
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MEG STOOD BEHIND HER BLACK ALTAR chanting by the time the hunters managed to climb up the old elevator shaft across the room.

Venus stealthily pulled herself up and onto the concrete floor before pulling her beretta from her waistband. She held it aimed at the blonde while the Winchesters silently crawled out of the shaft and onto their feet behind her.

Once she was sure that they were safely up, she tucked the gun away and took soft quick steps behind them and out of sight.

The hunters came to a stop behind two large pillars, peeking out to keep an eye on Meg. Dean reached down and grabbed a shotgun for Sam and himself to use.

Right as Venus reached back to unclip her machete sheath, Meg's voice met their ears. "Guys," she spoke loud and clear, "Hiding is a bit childish, don't you think?"

"That didn't work out like I planned," Dean whispered between them.

"Yeah, I'm never going along with one of your little 'plans' again," Venus bit back, still keeping an eye on where Meg's back remained turned to them.

"Why don't you come out?" she finally turned to lock eyes with each of them.

The hunters rose to their full heights, cautiously creeping towards the blonde with a shotgun or machete in each of their hands.

"Sam," Meg took steps to meet them, "I have to say, this puts a real crimp in our relationship."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Sam scoffed.

"So, where's your little daeva friend?" Dean asked, his eyes narrowed slightly.

Meg's shoulders bounced in a quick shrug. "Around. And shotguns and machetes aren't gonna do much good."

Venus twirled her machete, pointing it at the woman. "It'll cut through something."

"So who is it, Meg? Who's coming?" Sam demanded, "Who are you waiting for?"

"You."

Before the hunters could fully comprehend it, a shadowy, menacing figure appeared on the walls around them. Venus' eyes widened as she felt claws that she couldn't see rip into her shoulder then pick her body up and toss it into a nearby stack of wooden beams.

The daeva dragged its claws through each of the Winchester brothers as well, tossing them aside, only relenting once it was sure that all three were unconscious. 

Each hunter woke up minutes later, bleeding profusely and tied to separate beams with rope. Venus winced softly, eventually moving her head down to look at the claw marks on her shoulder. It didn't look deep enough to bleed her dry yet but it sure did hurt like a bitch. Her previously white shirt was now half red with the blood from the wound.

Sam was tied to the beam closest to a smirking Meg.

Venus jerked her head in Sam's direction, silently telling Dean that he was awake. The eldest turned to look at his younger brother, examining his injuries and growing even more furious at the sight of the three deep gashes across his cheek. "Hey, Sam," he called out, "Don't take this the wrong way but your girlfriend...is a bitch."

Meg ignored Dean's comment, rolling her eyes and looking over at Sam.

"This, the whole thing was a trap," the youngest croaked, struggling against the rope bounding him, "Running into you at the bar, following you here, hearing what you had to say. It was all a setup wasn't it?"

Meg giggled.

Venus tried to feel for any snags on the beam that she could itch the rope on like the last time she was in a position like this one but found none. She gritted her teeth in frustration, coming to terms with the fact that they were basically sitting ducks. Her attention was drawn back to the conversation once Dean chimed in.

"You trapped us, good for you. It's Miller time," Dean quipped, "Why don't you kill us already?"

"Not very quick on the uptake are you?" Meg smirked, leaning forward from where she sat, "This trap isn't for you."

Venus' eyes widened in realization. "John...and my uncle." Meg's grin confirmed her conclusion.

Dean chuckled softly. "Oh sweetheart, you're dumber than you look. 'Cause even if they were in town, which they're not, they wouldn't walk into something like this. They're too good."

"They are pretty good—John even more so, 'cause let's face it, everyone knows Arturo Castillo is nothing more than your daddy's little lapdog," Meg shrugged, laughing at the way Venus' glare harshened tenfold.  She then uncrossed her legs and slowly made her way over to where Dean was tied up, "But you see," she crouched down to his level, "They have one weakness."

"What's that?" Dean prodded.

"You. They both let their guards down around you three, let their emotions cloud their judgment. And I happen to know that they are both in town." Meg explained, watching Dean's smile drop in real-time, "They'll come and try to save you. And then the daevas will kill everybody. Nice and slow, and messy."

"Meg, what's the point?" Venus spoke up from where she was restrained, "What do you get out of all of this, huh?"

The blonde's voice took on a serious edge. "I'm doing this for the same reason you do what you do. Loyalty, love, like the love you and Sam had for Jess," she paused and looked at Dean, "and Mommy."

"Go to hell," Sam snarled.

"Baby I'm already there," Meg grinned. The blonde, now tired of taunting Dean crawled over to Sam. "Come on, Sam. There's no need to be nasty. I think we both know how you feel about me," Meg moved deep into Sam's personal space, her hands wandering over his clothed torso as she straddled him. Sam tried to wriggle out of her grasp but to no avail.

Venus' jaw clenched so hard she was briefly worried that she might break a tooth. "Don't you fucking touch him!" She couldn't hear the rest of what Meg said to Sam but judging by his body language he was more than uncomfortable.

The brunette's attention was drawn away by the sudden clink of a switchblade clicking open in Dean's grasp. Her relief was short-lived, however, once Meg's head snapped in Dean's direction, meaning that she heard it too.

Meg moved quickly, grabbing Dean's blade and throwing it out of reach, before moving back to Sam. Venus couldn't hear their conversation but saw the moment fear crossed Meg's features.

Sam's hands were suddenly free as he reached around to grab Meg's shoulders and head butt the girl, recoiling from the pain.

"Sam, get the altar!" Dean called out.

Sam sprung to his feet and stumbled over to the large table hosting Meg's black altar. He used as much strength as he could to flip the table and destroy it. The daevas suddenly appeared in the shadows again, but this time they were set on Meg.

Venus grinned watching the daevas grab the blonde by the ankles and toss her out of the window. Sam eventually grabbed his blade and used it to free Dean then Venus. The hunters ran over to the broken window and looked out to see Meg's body on the pavement below. Blood was pooling on the concrete beneath her head and her body didn't seem to be moving. She was dead.

"I guess the daevas didn't like being bossed around," Sam said.

"I guess not," agreed Dean, "Hey, Sam? Next time you want to get laid? Find a girl that's not so buckets of crazy."

"Crazy's fine actually," Venus raised an open palm, "Just make sure it's a cute crazy and not a 'feed us to her pet demons for dinner' crazy."

-ˋˏ [   ] ˎˊ-

The three hunters returned to the motel within an hour, their wounds still bloody, and their bodies still aching. Sam and Venus each held their duffel bags of weapons slung across their backs.

"Why didn't you two leave that stuff in the car?" Dean said, particularly worried about Venus' shoulder wound.

"Better safe than sorry, Dean," she sighed, watching him twist the key in their room door lock.

The old door swung open to reveal a dark figure positioned by the window.

"Hey!" Dean bellowed, getting its attention.

Venus didn't waste another second, drawing her gun from her pants and aiming it. "Move another muscle and I'm emptying my clip in it," she sneered at the intruder.

"Easy there, chiquita," a familiar voice called out, another figure entering the room from the bathroom door.

Venus lowered her gun and harshly exhaled, her brown eyes widening to meet identical chestnut-colored ones across the room. "Tío?" she gasped.

The first figure turned away from the window as well, revealing the familiar face of John Winchester once Sam switched the lights on. "Dad," Dean choked out.

The worn-out hunters stood beside each other across the room, looking over at their children with somber expressions. Venus dropped her bag and placed her gun on the coffee table before breaking into a small sprint for her uncle's arms. Her shoulder ached upon impact, but she didn't care.

Arturo welcomed the warmth of his niece's body for the first time in years, folding a hand against the expanse of her back while the other clutched her head against his chest. He felt tears pooling in his eyes as an overjoyed laugh echoed from the woman in his hold. "I'm here, mija," he sniffled, tightening his hold on her.

By the time they released each other, John and his boys were standing in a small circle beside them, the oldest Winchester examining each of them.

"Well, aren't you two gonna give your uncle Artie a hug?" Arturo called out from behind the Winchester boys.

Despite the lingering tension in the room, the brothers' faces perked up slightly and each one gave Arturo a tight hug. "We missed you man," Sam grinned, patting Arturo's shoulder.

"I missed you too, cabezón," Arturo smiled, his bearded cheeks curving upwards. He then turned to look up at Dean, "Don't think I forgot about you, travieso."

Venus ignored the dull throbbing of her shoulder and turned to face John for the first time in almost four years. "John," she sent him a curt nod, trying to remain polite despite her mixed feelings for the man.

John beamed at the brunette, pride evident in his expression. "Venus. My God, look at how you grew up," he mused.

"Yup, four years will do that to ya," Venus replied, a tight-lipped smile on her face.

"Dad, it was a trap," Dean broke the tense silence, "I didn't know and I'm sorry."

John looked down for a moment, "It's all right. I thought it might've been."

Dean looked between his father and Arturo. "Were you guys there?" he questioned them.

"Yeah we got there just in time to see the girl take the swan dive," John answered.

The three youngest hunters in the room exchanged looks.

"She was the bad guy, right?" John asked with a small smile.

"Yes, sir," his sons chorused.

Venus stood silently beside them, her arms folded into her chest, looking John up and down.

"Good. Well, it doesn't surprise me. It's tried to stop me before," the eldest Winchester proclaimed.

Sam's brows knitted together. "The demon has?"

"It knows I'm close. It knows I'm gonna kill it," Arturo rolled his eyes from beside John, resisting the urge to correct his pronoun usage to 'we', "And not just exorcise it or send it back to hell, actually kill it."

Venus took a step forward, her stare hardening against John's. "How?"

"I'm working on that," was all she got from John.

She scoffed and looked away for a moment. "Why won't you let us come with you? We're not kids, John, we can help," she insisted, ignoring the look from Dean beside her.

Arturo stepped up this time. "No, Venus. Not yet."

Before Venus could respond John held a hand out in her direction, keeping his voice even. "Try to understand, V, this demon is a scary son of a bitch. I don't want you or the boys caught in the crossfire. I don't want you hurt."

"Dad," Sam tried to plead, "You don't have to worry about us."

John looked at his youngest with tears in his eyes, "Of course I do. I'm your father."

"Por supuesto, ahora tu quieres ser un papá–"

"Venus María!" Arturo softly exclaimed, interrupting his niece's rant. Thankfully he stood closest to her and was the only one who heard it.

"Listen, Sammy," John continued, "Last time we were together we had one hell of a fight."

Sam's jaw clenched. "Yes, sir."

"It's good to see you again," John's voice broke slightly, "It's been a long time."

"Too long," Sam replied. The two smiled and then moved to embrace each other. The hug lasted for a few seconds with Dean looking on happily. A small smile rested on his lips at the sight of his younger brother and father making up after all that happened. Upon seeing the relieved expression on Sam's face, Venus smiled too.

But the moment went as soon as it came once something invisible grabbed John and threw him across the room. Arturo was yanked away next, and thrown into the kitchen counter.

"No!" Dean bellowed watching the daeva sink its claws into Venus and Sam at the same time, before throwing them into the closest walls.

Another daeva seemed to appear in the shadows of the room, holding John and Arturo in place and plunging its claws into their bodies.

Venus tried to ignore the dull throbbing of her head and turned to where her uncle's pained groans pierced the air. "Tío!" she wailed, watching his head bob to one side while blood pooled on his lips.

But she couldn't move in time. One of the daevas grabbed her body and sunk its claws further into her existing shoulder wound.

Dean's scratched-up face turned in her direction at the sound of her shrieks. He tried as best as he could to move in her direction but a daeva held his body in place. Dean couldn't even see what he was hurling his fists at, but he kept trying, hoping to wriggle free.

Sam managed to roll away and reach into his duffel bag to grab a flare. Bright light filled the room within seconds, successfully expelling all the daevas. But smoke immediately filled the room.

Dean crawled over to Venus and helped her to her feet. She bit her lips to hold back the cries threatening to spill at the ache in her shoulder. "You're gonna be okay, Venus, c'mon," he slung her working arm over his shoulder and stumbled in the direction of John and Arturo.

Venus coughed with every step, trying to see through the smoke and blinding light for her uncle, but her vision was blurring as the seconds went by. She must be losing too much blood. "Tío, where are you?" she cried, her throat still raw from her screams.

"Over here," her uncle's weakened voice came soon after, "I've got John, get to the door!"

Dean managed to see the older hunters' figures through the smoke, stumbling over to the exit, and followed suit.

Realizing that Venus was struggling to keep up, Dean lifted her body bridal style and caught up with the others in the alleyway where they had parked the Impala. "Dean, you're hurt. Put me down," Venus tried to tell him, her words slurring slightly.

Dean held back a wince with every step he took, looking down at the woman in his arms, "I'll be fine. That wound on your shoulder isn't looking too good," he said, coming to a stop beside John and Arturo by the backseat of the car.

"I'll be fine," Venus waved him off with her uninjured hand.

"All right, we don't have much time," Sam panted, throwing his and Venus' duffel bags through the open window of the Impala, "As soon as the flare's out, they'll be back."

Arturo made a move to put John in the back of the car but was stopped by Dean. "Wait, wait, wait!"

The hunters complied all turning to look at Dean. Venus managed to open her eyes enough to look up at Dean, though her breaths were coming out in slow wheezes and her arm was starting to go numb.

"Dad, Artie. You can't come with us."

"What?" Sam exclaimed, "What are you talking about?"

Venus turned her head to look at her uncle, knowing that Dean was right.

"You kids," John stumbled out of his best friend's hold, taking a step closer to Dean, "You're beat to hell."

"We'll be alright," Dean insisted. His hold on Venus was slipping by the second but he refused to let her go.

"Dean, we should stick together! We'll go after those demons–"

"Sam, listen to me!" Dean shouted, feeling Venus flinch in his arms. He looked down at the half-conscious woman for a beat before speaking again, softer this time, "We almost got Venus and Dad killed in there. Don't you understand? They're not gonna stop. They're gonna try again, and they're gonna use us to get to him. I mean...Meg was right. Dad and Uncle Artie are vulnerable when they're with us."

A soft voice spoke next, drawing all the hunters' eyes to her as she did. "They're stronger without us around," she reluctantly added, sending her uncle a sad smile. Arturo, who was leaning up against the impala clutching his side, smiled at his niece, mouthing a quick 'I love you' to her, which she returned.

"Dad, no." Sam said, his chest heaving, "After everything, after all the time we spent looking for you. Please, I've got to be a part of this fight."

Venus frowned upon feeling a tear fall from Dean's face and onto her chest. She knew that this was the last thing he wanted, but it had to be done. And, as always, he had to be the one to make the tough call no matter how much it hurt him. She reached a weak hand up to wipe the stream of tears falling from his eyes, making sure to avoid the scratches there. Dean looked down at her as she did so, his eyes lingering for some time until he sniffled away the rest of his tears.

"Sammy, this fight is just starting and we are all gonna have a part to play," John spoke firmly, holding his son by his shoulder, "For now, you've got to trust me, son. Okay? You've got to let me go."

Sam didn't say another word after that, simply looking at his father and slowly coming to terms with the truth of his words. He eventually nodded in understanding and took a step back.

John gave each of his boys a final nod and then walked further into the alley where his truck was parked. 

Venus tapped Dean's arms, signaling for him to put her down and he reluctantly complied. She held onto his jacket sleeve as she tried to steady herself, turning in her uncle's direction. Arturo carefully stepped closer and brought his niece in for a last hug, not caring about how awkward the position was with her wounded shoulder.

"I'll see you soon, chiquita," he softly spoke, releasing her and guiding her back to Dean's side. He looked at each of the Winchester boys. "Take care of yourselves, niños."

Venus sniffled, watching him limp over to the passenger side of John's truck.

"Be careful," were John's last words to them before hopping in his truck and twisting the key in the ignition.

"Come on," Dean finally said, bringing Venus around to the passenger door and carefully lowering her into the car.

-ˋˏ [  ] ˎˊ-

Dean drove until he crossed state lines, stopping at some random motel in eastern Iowa once he couldn't fight sleep any longer.

The hunters stumbled into the last room on the property with distressed faces.

Venus threw her bag on the closest bed and slowly peeled her jacket off her body, revealing her shoulder wound to the faint light of the room. She winced slightly but saw that it had stopped bleeding.

"You sure you don't us to take you to the hospital to get that checked out?" Dean's voice interrupted her spiraling thoughts. He noticed that her skin wasn't the dull pale color it was hours prior, and she could walk without help, but the wound still worried him.

Venus looked up at where the older hunter had just entered the room, dropping his bag on one of the chairs in the corner of the room. "No, it's fine. I'll be okay after a couple of hours of sleep," she replied with a fleeting grin, trying to put on a happy front.

Sam entered the room soon after, tossing the keys over to Dean and placing his own bag on the only bed left in the room. The youngest then grabbed some medical supplies and beelined to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

"You think he's pissed at me?" Dean quietly asked the woman, removing his jacket and hanging it on the back of a chair.

Venus looked down in thought for a moment. "Sam's a big boy, he knows you did what you had to do. I think he's more pissed at the whole situation."

"Yeah, who wouldn't be," Dean sighed loudly, moving to flop down on the bed beside Venus.

Venus moved further onto the bed and laid down next to Dean, her head landing inches away from his. The older Winchester's eyes fluttered open to meet familiar brown ones but then drifted over to her shoulder. Before he could mention her wound, Venus' voice broke the room's silence. "You should clean that or else it's gonna get infected," she said pointing to the scratches on his forehead.

Dean scoffed. "You've got claw marks like half an inch deep in your shoulder and you're worried about my ugly mug?"

"Well, considering the fact that I have to keep looking at your 'mug' for the next few weeks, I think I'm allowed some concern," she replied, raising a brow humorously.

Her chest swelled at the sound of Dean's faint laughter.

"Besides," she continued, looking away and up at the ceiling, "I'm so fucking exhausted, I don't even wanna move."

Dean let his eyes drift over the rest of her body for a few seconds longer, taking note of the few other scrapes and bruises she'd gotten throughout the day, before using whatever strength he had left to stand to his feet. Venus didn't notice or seem to care that he moved, her eyes still locked in with the ceiling, but Dean carefully reached into her duffel bag and grabbed the first aid kit he knew she kept in there.

He quietly pulled one of the rickety old motel room chairs over to the corner of the bed where she was resting and opened the white plastic box in his lap. "Come on, princess," he softly urged her.

Venus looked down to see his new position and the materials in his hand and couldn't help but smile. Despite her body screaming for her to remain still, the brunette sat up and moved to the edge of the bed where Dean was waiting. "You got anything to help with the pain, doctor?" she asked, her tone teasing.

Dean reached down, grabbed a flask from his bag, and placed it in Venus' open palm.

"I was leaning more towards Motrin," Venus deadpanned.

"Potato, potahto," he shrugged, pulling out an alcohol pad from the box.

Venus sighed and took a swig from the small container, letting the familiar burn of Dean's favorite whiskey prep her nerves for the incoming pain.

"You know the drill," Dean trailed off, pointing to her nearly destroyed t-shirt with a smirk.

Venus held back a laugh at his expression and placed the flask behind her on the bed. She, with Dean's help, gently removed the bloody fabric, leaving her in just her bra. She carefully slid one of the straps down her arm, giving Dean full access to the wound while keeping her chest mostly covered.

Dean cleaned her wounds with gentle movements of his fingers, watching her hold back grimaces and winces every few seconds and drowning them with the alcohol in his flask. By the time he was finished, her shoulder and small back wound were decently covered and taped down with bandages.

The woman stared at him the entire time he worked, taking in the small furrow of his brows that indicated his concentration, the way his tongue poked out from between his lips every once in a while, the way how, despite the pain of her injuries, his touch had her skin buzzing in the best way possible.

"All done," he announced, smiling proudly at his work.

Venus fixed her bra strap and looked down at her patched-up wounds. "Thanks, Dean," she sent him a genuine smile.

Dean looked at her for a few seconds, saying nothing. 

God, he needed to stop doing that. 

His face soon regained its default smug expression, "Anything for you princess."

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A/N: Hi. Just hopping on here to drop this really
quick cause I gotta go finish college apps😭.

Love how quickly this book is growing, which is kinda

shocking to me cause I genuinely didn't think there
were this many SPN fans on here?

Anyways, bye now.

Translations:
Travieso - Troublemaker
Cabezón - Stubborn/hard-headed
Por supuesto, ahora tu quieres ser un papá - Of course, now you want to be a dad
Niños - Boys

Lovely GIF banner up above made by the incredibly talented prodigybitxhhh 

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