Cherry Pie

The Good Stuff

[Dean]

She was a statue, standing on the front porch — her arms wrapped tightly around her torso. Like she was trying to hold herself together. Her body was almost curling in on itself. The sight made something in my chest crack. I pushed open the screen door and approached her slowly. 

"Rayne?"

She stiffened and then turned around to glance at me. The hazel eyes that were usually bright and vibrant were now dimmed. They didn't look like they belonged on her face. Then again, her face also held only a faint trace of the life that it usually did. "Is he okay?" she asked in a hollow voice.

"Yeah," I said, noting that she didn't say his name. "Yeah, Sam's all right."

She nodded but didn't respond. We stood in silence for a minute. I was trying to think of something to say. Meanwhile she looked like she was simply concentrating on remembering how to breathe in and out.

"Why'd you do it, Ray?" I finally asked.

One corner of her mouth twitched upwards — almost like she'd found my question amusing somehow. "A lot of reasons."

"Name one."

"I told you I wouldn't let go."

I nearly scoffed in annoyance. "Name another one."

Sighing, she uncrossed her arms and let them drop at her sides. "Dean — not now."

"Yes, now, Rayne...we need to talk about this. I need to know why you did it."

"Well, I don't want to talk. Can't you just thank me and move on?" She didn't look up again as she passed by me and therefore didn't see how much her words stung. "Besides, there are cases to find. Monsters to kill."

"Cherry Pie," I said firmly, grabbing her arm before she had a chance to go inside, "we're not going on a hunt. Sam just came back from the dead; you just lost your mom...we need a breather." 

She turned to look at me then and even took a step in my direction. "Dean, please." Her tone was vulnerable, small. "I need this. Please." 

Reluctance was at the forefront of my consideration for her request. But then, as I searched her pleading gaze, I realized that I couldn't deny her that. Not when she'd just saved my brother. I hung my head and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Okay. All right. But it has to be something close by. I want to stick around Bobby's for a while." 

She gave a small nod of her head. "Deal." 

~~~

I was skimming through the headlines in the paper while Rayne was scouring the Internet on our laptop for a case. I wasn't paying attention to the news columns before me, however. Rayne's rigid posture and feverish eyes distracted me as she clicked on one website after another without pause.

We were all tired. I couldn't quite remember the last time any of us had slept. It must have been the night before the theater rock show concert. I set the paper aside and stood up. "Cherry Pie, when did you last eat something?"

"What?" She glanced at me distractedly. "Oh, um...I don't remember. I'm not hungry." 

"I'll make you a sandwich." 

"Okay," she replied absentmindedly, turning back to the laptop screen. 

Sighing, I headed towards the kitchen. Sam passed by me on his way in, and we exchanged a quiet look. His brows were interwoven into a worried line. "Is she...?" 

I simply shook my head. "No, she's not." 

Guilt puckered his forehead. "Oh." 

"Keep an eye on her, will ya?" I said. "I'm gonna go make her something to eat."