ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ: "I'm not leaving you."
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DEAN COULDN'T GO THROUGH WITH KILLING DUANE TANNER.

It made the next few hours very tense for the hunters.

They were currently seated in one of the clinic's rooms, assembling makeshift explosives with the cabinet of supplies they spotted earlier.

Silence plagued the room the entire time they worked.

Until the doctor walked in with news.

"It's been over four hours. Duane's blood is still clean. I don't think he's infected."

Venus let out a huge breath, momentarily putting down the bottle of alcohol she was holding.

"I'd like to untie him if that's alright?" Amanda added.

Venus raised a brow at Dean, awaiting any protest from him. But he remained silent and went back to his previous task. "Sure, go ahead," she eventually told the doctor, gaining a nod before she left.

"You know I'm gonna ask you why," Sam turned to Dean.

Venus' eyes darted between the brothers, curious about Dean's reason as well.

"Yeah, I know," Dean replied, holding up the bottle he was tending to, "I'm surprised Venus didn't beat you to it."

Venus rolled her eyes from where she sat across from him, stuffing a white cloth in a finished bottle. "I already decided to not give you shit for locking me in a room against my will, don't push your luck."

"So," Sam chimed in, "Why? Why didn't you do it?"

Dean looked up at each of them, but only briefly before returning his attention to the Molotov cocktails on the table. "We need more alcohol," he not-so-subtly changed the subject.

Sam sighed but relented, leaving the room to go grab more supplies.

Venus watched Sam as he left, the younger hunter's head hanging low, a small frown on his lips. When she turned around, she locked eyes with Dean, who looked like he wanted to say something. She raised a questioning brow at him.

"You're really not mad at me for the whole...thing?" he finally spoke.

Venus took a deep breath and then shrugged. "It sucked but I know that in your own weird way, you thought you were doing the right thing."

Dean nodded, taking in her words. "Well, I'm...sorry."

"I know you are," Venus smiled, reaching a hand out to gently grab Dean's that rested on the table between them. Dean's eyes lingered on their connected palms, fighting back his own smile.

"I guess it runs in the family," Venus added.

Dean furrowed his brows at her. "What do you mean?"

The brunette lowly chuckled at the memory. "At the hospital, right before your dad died, he grabbed me and threw me in a supply closet. Said that he 'couldn't have me trying to save him'. He bolted the door, blocked it with a chair and everything," she explained, spotting a soft smile crawl onto Dean's face.

What she didn't know was how much he inwardly scolded himself. Being his father's son was a curse as much as a blessing.

"How fucked up are our lives that we find getting locked in a closet funny?" Dean jokingly questioned after a few seconds.

Venus hummed in thought. "Laughter's not too bad as far as coping mechanisms go."

"Coping mechanisms," Dean repeated the phrase, smiling at how foreign it felt on his tongue.

"What?" Venus pressed, sensing the humor in his tone.

"Nothing, it's just..." he trailed off, the smile slowly fading from his face, "It's just a shame that you can't put all that geeky psych knowledge to good use like you wanted to, that's all."

Venus' lips pursed slightly. "Well, I wouldn't say it's not being put to good use," she shook one of their completed Molotov cocktails, "We're helping people, aren't we? As long as we keep doing that then I'm all good. No existential crisis here," she reassured.

Before Dean could fully celebrate her response, Sam's pained grunts met their ears.

The older hunters quickly stood and grabbed their guns, running over to the dispensary with Mark behind them.

Venus tried to open the door but found it locked from the inside. So she took a step back and kicked it off the hinges, running in and aiming her gun at where Pam was bent over Sam's body.

Venus and Dean didn't waste another second, both firing shots into the infected nurse's body. Once her limp body hit the floor, they slowly approached Sam.

"Shit," Venus mumbled spotting the bloody scalpel in Pam's hand.

Dean reached a hand down to help him up but was held back by Mark. 

"She bled on him. He's got the virus."

-ˋˏ [   ] ˎˊ-

"Doctor check his wound again, will you?"

Dean was now pacing the floor of the small examination room, his eyes locked onto where Sam was silently sitting, holding an ice pack to his chest.

Venus sat on a chair in the corner of the room, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees as her face rested in her hands. She hadn't said a word since it happened, only trying to sort through the numerous thoughts in her mind, varying from ideas about saving Sam to the possibility that he may only have hours to live...before she or Dean has to put a bullet in him.

"Doctor!" Dean shouted at Amanda who hadn't moved at his previous request.

Venus tuned out the noise of the room from there, not paying attention to the argument that sparked, or Sam asking Dean for his gun to 'do it himself'.

Her eyes remained locked onto the pale floor tiles until the sound of a gun cocking reached her ears. It happened so fast that Mark didn't even have time to fully aim the weapon at Sam. 

Venus sprung up from her seat, pulled out her gun, and pointed it at Mark's head, now standing beside Dean. Her breath was steady and her eyes hard, despite her previous state.

"I'm gonna say this one time," Dean began, his voice low and dangerous to accompany Venus' deadly aim, "You make a move on him, you'll be dead before you hit the ground, you understand me?"

Marks' eyes darted between the enraged hunters, flinching when Venus cocked her beretta and took a step closer. "Say you understand," she urged him, voice shaking unlike her hands.

"I–I understand," he slowly returned his handgun to his pocket. "But what are we supposed to do?"

Venus' grip on her gun loosened slightly, her mind attempting to conjure up an answer for the man. She came up empty.

But then Dean suddenly threw Mark his keys. "Get the hell out of here, that's what. Take my car, you've got the explosives, there's an arsenal in there. You've got enough firepower to handle anything now. You three, go with him."

Venus peeled her eyes away from Mark, finally lowering her gun and spinning on Dean. "What? What about you?"

Dean didn't need to answer for her to know what he was thinking. His eyes said it loud and clear.

Her jaw clenched defiantly. "No. I'm not going. I'm staying here with you."

"Venus, please–"

"Dean, I'm not asking," she sternly cut him off, not an ounce of reluctance in her voice or face, "I'm not leaving you," she paused and looked at Sam, "Or you. Not a chance in hell."

Dean couldn't even find it in himself to argue with her. For years it had always been him protecting Venus and Sam at every turn. But more so, it was always him and her protecting Sam. He was stupid to think that would change in the face of death. 

"What?" Sam protested, "Guys, no. No. Go with them. This is your only chance," he tried to convince them.

"You're not gonna get rid of me that easy," Dean forced a smirk.

Mark walked over. "No, he's right, you two. Come with us."

But one look from each of them told him all he needed to know. They weren't going anywhere.

"Okay, it's your funeral," Mark finished, exiting the room with Duane and Amanda on his tail.

The blonde doctor stopped at the door and faced them one last time. "I'm sorry. Thanks for everything, Marshalls," she told them, meaning it.

"Oh, actually, we're not really Marshalls," Deam confessed.

"Um...oh."

Amanda awkwardly left the room with one last sarcastic smile from Dean.

Venus released a breath once Dean bolted the door shut, running a frantic hand through her hair. She mustered a smile at Sam, spotting the tears in his eyes. "Everything's gonna be okay, 'mano."

He sent her a knowing look, neither of them really believed that.

"I wish we had a deck of cards or a foosball table or something," Dean joked with a nervous chuckle, walking further into the room to stand beside Venus.

"Dean, Venus, don't do this," Sam pleaded, tears in his eyes, "Just get the hell out of here."

"No way," the older hunters said in unison.

Sam lifted a shaky hand. "Just give me my gun, and leave."

Venus sniffled back her own tears, shaking her head. "For the last time, Sam, no," she snarled.

Sam slammed his fist against the metal tray table nearby. "This is the dumbest thing you've ever done. Both of you," he cried.

Dean pursed his lips in thought. "I don't know about that. Remember that waitress in Tampa last year?" he replied, shivering dramatically.

"I'm sick, it's over for me," Sam told them both, "It doesn't have to be for you."

Venus scoffed, turning away for a moment and wiping her face. 

"You can keep going," Sam insisted.

"Who says I want to?" Dean answered, causing Venus and Sam to look up at him in shock.

"What?"

Dean avoided both their burning stares, walking over to the table across the room and sitting on it. He placed down both his and Sam's guns. "I'm tired," he admitted with a wry chuckle, "I'm tired of this job, this life, this weight on my shoulders...I'm tired of it." Dean had completely given up, Venus could tell. He wasn't even crying, he just looked defeated and weary. She wondered if there was something else plaguing him besides their current dilemma.

Venus walked over to the metal table beside him and sunk to the floor, hugging her knees and leaning her head back to stare at the ceiling. There were too many thoughts swirling in her mind at the moment. Maybe there was something she could have done differently, something that she could've seen before it was too late. Now, no matter what happened in the confines of the small room they were locked in, their lives would change forever.

"So, what? So you're just gonna give up?" Sam argued, "I mean you're just gonna lay down and die? Look, Dean, I know this stuff with Dad had–"

"You're wrong, it's not about Dad," Dean interrupted him, swallowing harshly, "I mean part of it is, sure..."

"Then what is it about?"

Dean's eyes darted over to Venus for less than a second, the girl barely catching wind of the small action. But before she could question it, hurried footsteps sounded from the lobby of the clinic.

Venus quickly stood up, gripping her gun again while Dean did the same. They relaxed slightly when Amanda's face appeared on the other side of the door, the blonde knocking urgently.

The hunters exchanged a confused look, Dean soon moving to let her in.

"You better come see this," she told them.

The three of them followed her outside of the clinic, all stopping on the sidewalk beside Mark and Duane and looking around at the empty street in shock. Gone were the small groups of infected citizens armed with guns, watching the clinic closely. There wasn't even another vehicle on the street.

"There's no one, not anywhere. They've all just...vanished," the doctor explained.

"Croatoan," Venus mumbled, taking in the true scale of their situation.

When daylight rolled around hours later, the group grew even more confused.

Amanda revealed that Sam's blood was clean, not a trace of the virus in it.

But so was Beverly Tanner and her husband's.

Venus didn't know which fact unsettled her more.

Even as she leaned back in Dean's open arms, a chilled bottle of beer in her grasp, her mind still wandered back to it. Venus' empty hand absentmindedly traced shapes along Dean's arm that was wrapped gently around her stomach, trying to find comfort in his hold despite her racing thoughts.

They were far outside Oregon now, pulled off the road by some fence with the last leaves of autumn falling onto the ground around them.

"Last night," she began, unable to hold her tongue, "You want to tell us what the hell you were talking about?" she asked.

She felt Dean's hold tense around her. "What do you mean?" his response came soon after.

Venus rolled her eyes and glanced over to where Sam was seated on the same fence beside them, silently urging for him to take over.

"You said you were tired of the job and that it wasn't just because of dad," Sam added.

"Forget it," Dean said, taking a sip of his beer.

Venus stepped out of his hold and turned to face him, resting her beer on the fence for safekeeping. She was already regretting this but she had to know what he meant, especially when he glanced over at her in the doctor's office. "I can't, Dean, no way," she sighed.

"Come on, I thought we were all gonna die. You can't hold that over me," he replied, eyeing them both.

"No, no, no you can't pull that crap," Sam shook his head, "You're talking."

Dean smirked, mischief flaring in his eyes. "And what if I don't?"

Venus took a step closer to him, bringing her palms up to rest on his chest, fiddling with his necklace. "Maybe there's something in it for you if you do talk," she mirrored his smirk.

"That's not fair," Dean tore his eyes away from her, already prepared to accept her offer.

Venus clicked her tongue softly, stepping back to stand beside a grinning Sam. The youngest held out a fist which she bumped with hers. "I don't play fair when I want something, Dean," she declared.

The aforementioned hunter glanced at each of them, scoffing. But he decided to speak anyway. "I don't know. I just think maybe we oughta...go to the Grand Canyon," he said, a faraway look in his eyes.

Venus almost lifted a finger to clean her ears, surely believing she heard that wrong. "Huh?"

Dean smiled. "Yeah, y'know, all this driving back and forth across the country—do you know I've never been to the Grand Canyon? Or we could go to T.J.? Or, better yet, Venus, why don't we hit up one of those shady Vegas chapels and get married, have Elvis officiate and everything?"

"You want to get married?" Venus raised a skeptical brow at him. She wasn't taking anything he said seriously, she knew him better than that. Dean couldn't even commit to a relationship, she couldn't imagine marriage being in the cards for them.

Hell, she was starting to lose hope of a relationship being in the cards for them.

"Yeah, why not?" Dean tried to keep the joke going. But he soon faltered at the look on Venus' face telling him she wasn't buying it one bit. "I just think we should take a break from all of this. Why do we gotta get stuck with all the responsibility? Why can't we live life a little bit?"

Venus' eyes widened at his words. She never thought she'd live to hear him say them.

"Why are you saying all of this?" Sam asked, his brows knitted in confusion.

Dean looked at them for a moment, then turned away, bringing his beer to his head. Venus could almost see him emotionally shutting down on them again.

"Hey," she reached over and grabbed his wrist before he could fully turn away, "Dean, it's us," she gestured to herself and Sam, "Whatever weight you think you have to carry, let us carry it with you, okay? You're not alone, in any of this."

Dean took a deep breath, now facing them again. "I can't," he voiced, "I promised."

Venus released him, even more confused now.

"Who?" questioned Sam.

"Dad."

"What are you talking about?"

Dean couldn't even look them in the eyes. "Right before Dad died, he told me something. He told me something about you, Sam."

"Dean, what did he tell you?" Sam demanded.

Venus braced herself, knowing that by the look on Dean's face, this was going to be bad.

"He said that he wanted me to watch out for you...take care of you," Dean began, finally looking up at his younger brother.

Sam shook his head, still confused. "He told you that a million times."

"Well, this time it was different. He said that I had to...save you."

"Save me from what?"

Dean shrugged, secretly wondering the same thing. "He just said that I had to save you and nothing else mattered, and if I couldn't I'd..."

"You'd what, Dean?" Sam snapped.

But then it happened again, Dean's eyes darted over to Venus'. This time, they stayed locked in on her.

"He said that Venus might have to kill you, Sammy. That if I couldn't save you, she'd be the only one who could kill you."

Venus froze, a pit forming in her stomach. "What?" she murmured, unsure if the syllable even left her lips fully.

"Kill me?" Sam repeated, spinning on Venus, "Did you know about this?"

Venus shook her head frantically. "No! Sam, I swear I didn't know!" she answered.

"Well, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sam asked, unshed tears pooling in his eyes.

"I don't know," Dean looked down at the leaves crunching beneath his boots.

Venus ran a hand over her face. "Dean, he must've had some reason for saying it," she insisted, slowly panicking. Did John know about her abilities? 

"Did he know the demon's plans for me?" Sam was now shouting, "I mean, am I supposed to go dark side or something?"

Venus pressed a hand to Sam's chest, stopping him from marching up on Dean. "What else did he say, Dean?" she questioned, trying and failing to keep her voice even.

"Nothing, that's it, I swear," he shook his head, eyes begging her to believe him.

Venus nodded in understanding, sighing audibly and walking over to lean against the fence.

"How could you not have told me this?" Sam yelled at Dean.

Venus couldn't even find it in herself to be angry once she remembered the equally big secret she was keeping from them both, a secret that was most likely connected to this. She was absolutely terrified about how they'd react once they found out. But she had a feeling that she'd have to confess soon.

Before she knew it she was turning away from the boys and their argument and facing the lake, taking deep breaths that were growing shorter and shorter. As she fiddled with her fingers she realized that she was spiraling and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Not when her mind was playing images of her going toe to toe with her best friend, throwing punches at a black-eyed Sam and beating him bloody until he fell to his knees before her. And even when he'd fall, she kept going, her own eyes shining that bright white that she remembered from her encounter with a reaper earlier that year, and fists covered in Sam's blood. She swallowed a whimper at the image, almost swearing that she could feel the thickness of the blood on her hands. God, she wanted to throw up...

"No," she whispered to herself, slamming her eyes shut and willing the thoughts away. It wasn't real, and it never would be. She would die before she let it happen.

"Venus?"

Her eyes flew open at the sound of Dean's voice, finding him standing right beside her. She quickly brought a hand up to dry her eyes, not even aware that she was crying until then. "Yeah?"

Dean opened his mouth to say something, even wanting to bring a hand up to touch her, but decided against it. He'd messed up enough. "We're leaving."

"Okay," Venus nodded, holding her head down and stomping over to her bike, not meeting either of the boys' eyes.

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A/N: I definitely could've made this chapter longer but for the fuckin life of me I couldn't think of stuff to add that didn't sound corny and stupid.

Anyway, this chapter is like three days late but enjoy, and as always, let me know what you're thinking in the comments. (They literally make my day)

Lovely GIF banner up above made by the incredibly talented prodigybitxhhh (seriously go check out her stories yall)

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