Down the Rabbit Hole

Heart of Darkness Part 1

Pain. White searing hot pain that nipped at every nerve end and distorted her senses. She had the vague notion of being carried as she faded in and out of consciousness. The blackness was preferable to what she felt when she was awake so she drifted back as much as she could. Eventually she had no choice though as a familiar sound brought her out of her dream state.
"Lace?" That voice, that voice meant she would be ok. That voice would help the pain go away and make sure she never felt it again. She never had felt anything like this before. She slowly blinked her eyes open. She was no longer in that room, her first thought that the place had looked like a slaughter house had been more right than she could have known. As her eyes adjusted to the light and her surroundings came into focus she realised she was back at Bobby's, laid out on one of the beds in his spare room.
"Hey sweetheart, don't try to move too much." Her eyes focused on Dean who was looking at her with obvious concern. "I'm gonna get some supplies from downstairs so we can get you cleaned up." Dean gave her a reassuring smile before heading for the door. As soon as the door shut behind him the smile dropped from his face. He made his way downstairs and found Bobby in the kitchen.
"How's she doing?" He asked as Dean grabbed the first aid kit from the cupboard.
"She's not healing, Bobby. Not one single cut has healed up. I don't know what that bastard did to her..." He trailed off. "I better get back and clean her up." When he reached the landing Dean took a deep breath before opening the door again. It didn't get any easier, looking at her broken form, no matter how many times he saw it.
"I'm gonna cut your dress off ok sweetheart? Not like you can wear it again anyway." He found the scissors in the box and looked at her expectantly, waiting for a reply. She just stared into space, looking like she hadn't even heard him speak. He gently sat her up which finally got her attention as she made a noise at the back of her throat.
"I know, I know it hurts, but the quicker we get you cleaned up the quicker you'll start to feel better." She gave a small nod and he sat her up against the pillows while he cut the tattered remains of her dress from her body before slowly peeling it off. Once it was removed he could examine her wounds better.
"Ok, some of these are going to need stitches, and that's not gonna be pleasant." She nodded again before shutting her eyes and screwing them up as Dean got to work on them. She gripped the covers with her hands and let out a cry of pain as Dean began to stitch her first wound. This continued for a little while as he stitched up the three deeper cuts on her body and the one on her forehead before cleaning and bandaging the shallower ones.
"Ok, we're almost done, I'm gonna get some water so we can get rid of some of this blood." Dean headed to the bathroom and filled a dish with water and brought it back to the room.
"I'm gonna need you to stand up, okay?" He took hold of her hands and gently pulled her to her feet. She whimpered slightly as she straightened up. Dean cautiously let go of her and she swayed for a moment before getting her balance. He knelt down and began to gently sponge her down, getting rid of the dried blood that coated her body. When he' finished he patted her dry with a towel before finding some loose clothes in her bag and helping her on with them before tucking her into the bed.
"I'm gonna go get rid of this and check on Sam." He told her. He was about to head for the door when she let out a cry and grabbed his wrist.
"Please..." Her voice came out as barely more than a whisper. "Please, don't leave me." Her eyes stared up at him pleadingly. He leant down and kissed her forehead.
"I'll be two minutes, promise. Then I'll stay with you as long as you want." She nodded and curled up as he headed for the door.

Over the next few days Dean barely left the room. Lacey stayed in bed most of the time but seemed to panic every time he left her sight. Eventually Dean managed to coax her to come down for food and today for the first time she had gone outside. Dean was lying on his back on the front seat of the Impala trying to push the crushed roof back into shape. Lacey was sat on the ground with her back against the car.
"Come on! Come on, Baby!" Dean groaned as he leaned all his weight into the roof.
"So you fixin' her or primal screaming?" Lacey jumped at the sound and reached out a hand to grab onto Dean. Dean sat up on the edge of the seat and squeezed Lacey's hand. She calmed down, realising it was just Bobby.
"Thanks." Dean said as Bobby handed him a beer. "How's Sam?" He asked as he took a swig.
"He's still under, but alive."
"Yeah, what about God Part deux?" Lacey stiffened at the mention of Cas.
"I got all kinds of feelers out, so far diddly."
"And what exactly are you looking for?"
"Exactly. What? Miracles, mass visions, trenchcoat on a tortilla? I don't know what I'm looking for." Bobby shrugged.
"Ah, well, he'll surface."