Losing Hope | {BOOK 4}

13| Cass Has an Emergency

Dean and I watched as Cole got into his jeep and drove away.

"He say where he was going?" Dean asked me.

"Home," I replied, not looking at him.

"Rowena?"

"In the wind."

"What you said earlier, back there, about being past saving- were you really-"

"I was just telling the guy what he needed to hear," I cut him off, finally looking over at him. "Come on. Let's get Sam and the kids and go."

⁘

I was on my knees in the middle of a room. Blood covered me from head to toe, and several bodies littered the ground around me. A blade sat in one of my hands as I looked around at the carnage surrounding me, feeling a mixture of shock, sadness and acceptance. Shooting up in bed, I looked around at Dean and my dark room. Beside me, Dean shifted in his sleep, and I looked over at him, breathing deeply. Swallowing, I moved my gaze to the Mark of Cain barely visible in the darkness on my arm.

"Ellie Bear?" Dean asked sleepily. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I told him. "Nothing, go back to sleep."

He grunted, burrowing into his pillow and falling back asleep. As quietly as I could, I slipped from the bed and snuck out of the room. I stopped at the room next door, opening the door gently and peaking inside. The usual large bed had been removed, being replaced by two smaller ones to fit Maddie and Zep. Both were sleeping soundly under the covers, Maddie hugging her Ellie Bear and Angel Doll and Zep fisting his baby blanket, his thumb in his mouth.

I smiled, ducking out once more and shutting the door quietly. Padding further down the hall, I made my way to the kitchen and grabbed myself a beer from the fridge before snagging Sam's laptop and heading into the library. After our last hunt, a nest of vampires that we found out about because Jody had called us from a sheriff's retreat where we also ran into Donna, we had decided to take a little bit of a breather back at home.

Several hours, two and a half more beers and four episodes of FRIENDS later, I was joined in the library by Dean, who was holding a cup of coffee.

"Did you even try going back to sleep?" he asked me.

"Not tired," I shrugged, still staring at the screen.

"Ellie Bear-" Dean began, but was cut off as a sleepy Zep appeared in the doorway.

He was still carrying his blanket in one hand and was rubbing his eyes with his tiny fist with the other.

"Hey, little big man," Dean told him, picking him up.

"Hi, Daddy," Zep greeted him sleepily. "I hungy."

"Well, let's get you some breakfast, okay?"

"Otay. Want Mommy."

I paused the show, shutting the laptop, and looking over. Dean carried the young boy over, handing him off to me. I sat him down on my lap and he snuggled into me, sticking his thumb in his mouth and keeping a firm grip on his blanket.

"What do you want to eat, bud?" Dean asked him.

"See-ral," he mumbled around his thumb.

"Okay. Be right back."

My husband disappeared to the kitchen to get the requested breakfast for our son.

"How'd you sleep, buddy?" I asked him.

"Good," he replied, looking up at me. "I had a cool dweem."

"Really? What was it about?"

"I fought bad guys like you and Daddy."

My heart dropped in my chest, looking over to see Dean carrying in a box and cereal and a few bowls. Maddie was at his side, carrying the spoons. He and I made eye contact as he set the items down on the table.

"That's cool, bud," I told Zep, moving him to the chair beside mine so he could eat his breakfast.

After making sure he and Maddie were situated with bowls of cereal, I grabbed Dean's hand and dragged him out of the room, heading around the corner so they wouldn't overhear the conversation.

"He's catching on," I groaned. "He's still three, he shouldn't be catching on yet. Maddie didn't start questioning things until she was four!"

"What's going on?" Sam asked, walking up to us.

"Zep's started to figure out we fight bad guys," Dean informed him. "At least he doesn't know they're monsters like Maddie. It could be worse."

I balled my hands into fists at my sides, closing my eyes and taking deep breaths to try and calm myself down.

"Where are they?" Sam asked.

"Eating cereal in the library."

"'Kay."

I opened my eyes, watching as Sam disappeared around the corner to be with his niece and nephew, leaving me and Dean alone again.

"Ellie, we really have to talk about what's going on with you," Dean said in a hushed voice.

"I'm fine, Dean."

"Really? Then why didn't you go back to sleep at 3 am when you woke up?"

"I wasn't tired," I shrugged. "Already told you."

I tried to go back to the library, but Dean grabbed my hand, glancing briefly at the Mark visible on my arm before making eye contact with me once more.

"Ellie, please. I'm worried about you."

"Everything's fine, Dean. I'm good. Now, I want to go eat some breakfast with our kids, if you don't mind."

He finally relented, letting go of my hand and allowing me to head back into the library to grab a bowl and eat some cereal with Maddie, Zep and Sam. It looked like Sam had cleared my beer bottles and moved the laptop away from the table while Dean and I were talking. While we were eating, my phone rang.

"Hey, Cass," I answered it.

"I have an emergency," Cass informed me.

"What's up?"

"Can you come meet me?"

"Yeah, sure. Just text me the place. But what's going on?"

"Just get here as soon as you can."

With that, Cass hung up on me.

"Cass? Cass!"

I pulled the phone away from my ear, sighing as I saw the text that only contained the location of a restaurant.

"What's going on?" Dean asked me.

"Cass needs our help with something."

"Did he say what?"

"Nope. Just to come as soon as we could."

"Can we come?" Maddie asked hopefully.

"Not this time, darling," I told her.

"But I want to help! I hate Connor's house!"

"Since when?" Dean asked. "I thought you and Connor were friends."

"No. I want to help with the bad guys."

I raised my eyebrows, realizing that Zep had probably learned about the 'bad guys' we fought from his sister.

"Not this time, princess. Sorry."

"Ugh!"

Shoving her bowl away, Maddie got up from her seat running out of the room. A moment later, the tell-tale sound of her and Zep's bedroom door slamming echoed from down the hall.

"Maddie angwy?" Zep asked, looking from me to Dean and back.

"Yeah, bud, Maddie's a little angry. It's okay, though. Let's go get ready to play at Libby's house, okay?"

"Otay."