Respect

Chapter 25: Thicker Than Blood Itself

Daniel's POV
It felt like days since I had last seen Athena. I was rarely home and some nights, I wouldn't even go home. This was my way of giving her peace and comfort, but it was taking a lot out of me not seeing her.

We had found a lead on her attacker and were closely following it. We had been following him for days now, and finally, were led to a house, and judging by his looks, it certainly wasn't his house.

I sent my men to scope out the area with Dean leading them, but the whole time, something felt off about being there. This was a bit too easy. Forget easy, this didn't seem like an ideal place to put a house for criminal activity. It was too, public. I hadn't been home in days and was living off reports about Athena and finding this lead seemed to be just what I needed to get things moving, but why was it this easy to track this man?

I sat in the back of the car and looked around to see if anything was suspicious when Lucas knocked on my window informing me that everything was okay. I stepped out of the car and proceeded to walk towards the house when....

"GET BACK!" Dean shouted looking at me when the whole house went up in flames with a loud explosion.

I fell to the ground with so much force. Getting to my feet felt impossible. A sharp ringing noise filled my head as I tried to take in what had just happened. I looked at the house practically at its foundation, Dean was no where to be seen.

A crowd gathered round. Distant cries for help echoed in my ears, when I felt people helping me up and dragging me to the car. Staring in horror at the damage caused by the explosion and the number of lives that had been taken, realisation hit me, I had lost my friend.

They placed me in the car and drove off. I couldn't feel anything, but this I felt, 'pain'. I felt loss. I had lost more than my men, I lost my friends. I felt myself getting weaker, my head spinning, and my heart racing as pain surged through my every limb and slowly gave into my body's cries for slumber.
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I woke up in my bed feeling every part of me weak and aching. Somewhat out of place. I was still trying to understand what had just happened and why.

I sat up and called for Dean. Something inside me told me, he was dead, but I never wanted to believe it.

He never came

Rubbing my eyes and running my hands through my hair, I called out, again, when I finally heard my door open and heard her sweet voice.

"He's not here" she said, her voice low, instantly grabbing my attention.

This was the first time in a long time that she'd brought herself to talk to me. It was comforting at the time, but still far-fetched.

"Where's Dean?" I asked looking away, not wanting to get my hopes up.

"How are you feeling now? You've been out for some time..." she said walking to my bed side.

"I asked you a question" I said firmly. She seemed scared and uncertain. She was shaking and avoiding eye contact.
"Athena" I growled, grabbing her arm. "Where is Dean?"

I could see tears rolling down her face as she turned to face me.

I turned away and attempted to get out of bed, and felt my legs practically disconnect. I stumbled, and in anger, yelled for Dean. I felt as though my world was yet again crumbling, a feeling I had only felt once in my life, when my mother died.

I called out for him and hoped that he'd walk through that door and say something stupid, as he always did. He never did. I fell to the ground calling for him and started to lose sight as my eyes filled with tears, blinded me. Something I hadn't done in a while.

I suddenly felt her arms wrap around me from behind as she tried to console me, to no avail. I couldn't believe that he was really gone. I felt like I had lost a brother, and Dean was just that.

Dean had always been there for me. Getting in trouble, he was right there beside me. Through everything, even when I was the hot headed bastard that I was, he put up with me and made me feel like there was hope, even in this chaotic world we lived in, and in the end, I couldn't even save him. I had failed him.

"Leave" I said, pushing her away. The only thing I was ever good at.

"D-Daniel..."

"I said LEAVE! GET OUT! LEAVE ME ALONE!" I shouted, causing her stumble. She fell to the floor, crawling her way to her feet, running out of my room.

I fell on my bed and lay there helpless, for the first time. A feeling I wasn't accustom to. I wanted him back. I wanted him beside me again.

He was my voice of reason, and my partner in everything. We were never related, but he was more family than I ever had-- than I ever deserved. I was going to find whoever did this to him and I was going to make them pay greatly, that was the least I could do for him.

Everything I had struggled to get over came rushing back, like it had never left. The demons I tried so hard to bury, came at me like flaming arrows, penetrating my soul and embedding themselves like metal shards. I had felt this before and for so long, I was running, running away from the same pain of loss. I thought I was strong enough to handle it, but losing Dean was something I had never anticipated would come like this.

It was clear to me now that family really isn't defined by blood relations. In my case, my own family tried to have me killed, and my one true friend, whose paths crossed by mere chance, stayed with me and protected me, they too managed to take away from me. Yet again, my own family was the cause of my grief.