Protect Her ~ supernatural / sam winchester

Twenty One

Dean watched Cas intently as he listened to angel-radio with closed eyes.

"They're coming," he relayed the information off to Dean. "They're keeping the numbers limited..." His brows furrowed. "I think... I think they're scared."

Dean snickered. "They sure as hell better be."

"Dean," Cas exclaimed, eyes snapping open, "we can't let them take her."

Dean blinked. "Well, yeah, obviously--"

"No, they aren't planning on killing her anymore," he explained. "They're going to take her back to Heaven, to do more than just bless her."

Dean cocked his head to the side. "What does that mean?"

All the angel could do was shake his head, his blue eyes conveying what he could not bring himself to say.

Sam returned and said with a sigh, "Well, she's ready for anything. What'd you get from the angels, Cas?"

The two men looked at him with pained expressions. "Yeah," Dean began slowly, "she's not gonna fight."

Alone again, Dani placed the single angel blade she owned on her night stand, feeling surprisingly reassured and happy. Sam's voice played back in her head again, "I love you." She thought she would never hear anyone say those words to her after David, but here Sam was, warm and sure and loving her.

Perhaps he was right; perhaps she was not the monster Lucifer had planned to make her-- something she still struggled to wrap her head around. Somehow, she had never considered the possibility of the devil being real. She would ask Sam about it later, she had larger problems at hand. If she was unsure about facing the angels before, she was definitely going to put up a fight now.

"Dani," Sam's voice made her look up as she reentered her room.

"Yeah?" she greeted him with a small smile.

"There's something I need you to come see," he said, not quite meeting her eyes.

Intrigued, she left her weapons behind and followed. He lead her down several corridors and a flight of stairs, each step increasing her anxiousness. Finally, they came upon a large metal door.

She glanced up at him for an explanation, but he remained silent as he opened the door to reveal shelves stacked with books, files, and boxes. Without hesitation, he slid them apart, much to Dani's surprise. They conceled a large room with an intricate devil's trap on the floor, a metal table, and even more shelves.

"What is this?" Dani asked, stepping inside.

Sam, however, remained in place. "We just keep a lot of extra information here, some artifacts and stuff."

"This is what you needed me to see?" she chuckled, thumbing the exposed pages of a book.

"Yeah." Sam's voice sounded farther away. Confused, Dani spun to see him step out of the room and slam the door.

"Sam!" she exclaimed, rushing up and pulling the handle. "Sam, what the hell? Open up!"

"I'm sorry," he called.

"What?" she breathed. She tried again. He had locked her in. "Why are you doing this?"

"It's the only way to keep you safe," he explained, his voice muffled by the thick metal separating them. "I'm sorry," he repeated.

"Sam!" This time, however, there was no response. Dani kicked the door in frustration. She fished her phone out of her pocket and called him, but was sent to voicemail after two rings. Calling Dean had the same outcome.