The Dream I Dreamed (A Dean Winchester Love Story)

Chapter 20: Shame (Part 2)

Chapter 20 Shame (Part 2)

Hope was fine for two more days. In that time she read most of the Supernatural books--all of the ones that had been originally published--and helped Sam, Dean, and Cas do research on killing the Knights of Hell. She was still upset with the younger Winchester, but at least now she would talk to him.

On the after noon of the third day, Hope was carrying a tray of snacks from the kitchen to the study where they were working on decoding an old Men of Letters book. Suddenly, a white hot pain shot through her and she crumpled to the ground, the tray banging noisily against the tile floor.

"Hope?" Dean called, alarmed. He ran to the hall where she lay, trying to sit up. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Castiel came running into the room behind him. "Let me see her." He ordered, and Dean obeyed, pulling Hope into his lap and turning so Cas could examine her. The angel placed a hand on her forehead and frowned. "It's her grace. Or, what's left of it. I repaired it, but it's burning again."

"Can you fix it?" Dean demanded. It was obvious that Hope was in pain; her eyes were squeezed shut and her face was pale and tight. Her small hands were curled into fists. Dean stroked her arm, hating that there was nothing he could do to make it stop. "Cas?"

Castiel's blue eyes were uncertain, but his voice was determined. "I can try" he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, looking in at Hope's grace to try to find what exactly was wrong. The normally cool whitish-blue light was now a flaming shade of orange. Cas got to work.

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"Is she okay?" Sam asked as Dean came out of his room. He had just placed Hope in his bed to sleep off the damage that her torn grace had caused. Cas said that he thought he had fixed it and that she would be okay, if a bit weak, but Dean was on the war path.

"For now." He told his brother. "Listen...can you keep an eye on her door a while. I need to do something."

"Uh, yeah." Sam looked concerned. "You're not gonna do something stupid, are you? Dean-"

"I'll be fine, Sammy. Just take care of Hope. Call me if anything changes. And if she wakes up while I'm gone, tell her I'll be back soon." With that he walked out of the bunker to the Impala, started her up, and drove off. He needed to find Abbadon. And, more importantly, a way to kill her.

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Dean and Crowley pulled up to a farmhouse in Missouri. The tracking spell they had gotten from Tara had led here; the First Blade must be somewhere inside.

After Dean left the bunker Crowley found him, spinning some tale about the First Blade, the weapon the archangels used to execute the Knights of Hell. There was an entry in John's journal about a demon who supposedly knew its location, and that led them to Tara, a hunter who had worked with John to exorcise the demon. Now they were here. God knows why the most powerful weapon in the world would be hidden with a friggin' beekeeper. Dean thought, but he didn't say anything, just got out of the Impala, Crowley close behind.

"Wait." Crowley said, stopping.

"What?"

"I'm feeling something." Crowley hissed, squinting to try to identify the feeling.

Dean scoffed. "What, cramps?"

Crowley shook his head. "I feel something dark."

"Darker than you?" Dean asked.

Crowley was about to retort when he noticed a man in a beekeeper suit tending bee hives over by the house. "Oh, no. We need to leave here now."

"What, are you allergic to bees?"