The Winchester Three (S4): Lazarus Rising

Ch 8 Section 3

Angel screamed in agony as a demon, one she'd come quite familiar with, sliced through her stomach with a jagged knife. Her body hung on hooks, her breathing ragged, as the demon slowly dragged it along her skin.

"Please!" She wailed as his laughter became louder and louder with each cut, "Please, no!"

"Now now, Kitten." His laughter died down and he grinned at the flinch using her father's childhood nickname caused, "You know how to make me stop."

Angel jerked awake upon someone shaking her. She clutched onto Asa as he steadied her with calm voice and worried eyes.

"Angel, hey calm down. It's okay." He grabbed her face so she could look him in the eye, "It's just me."

Relief flooded her as she remembered where she was. She was in the middle of working a case and had laid down for a nap. A nap that didn't end too well, apparently. She straightened up, more exhausted than before the botched nap, and looked away from Asa's prying eyes.

"I'm sure i already know the answer but..." He put a piece of her fallen hair behind her ear, "You wanna talk about it?"

"Talk about what?" She scoffed, wiping her face with her hands, "My trip to DisneyLand? You wanna hear about my experience living in the Haunted Mansion?"

He looked at her blankly, clearly stating he wasn't impressed with her level of sarcasm, "Angel, i'm not your brothers. You don't have to protect me from whatever you're going through. You can talk to me." She continued to glare, making him sigh, "Look, how long have we known each other? Hm? What, I met you back in... '97, right? On that Sorority girl case I helped you out on?"

"Helped me out?" She snorted, "Please. You were trying to snake that case from me and you know it. I was nice enough to let you join me." Rolling her eyes she managed a light smile for him, "And had i not saved your ass, you would be Kappa chow right now."

"You're probably right... I thank you now and if i recall correctly..." He winked, "I thanked you back then."

"Oh, I remember." She smiled cheekily, "Every detail."

Asa chuckled, pecking her on the lips, "I've known you for 11 years now, we've been through alot. Have I lied to you once? Or given you a reason not to trust me?"

"No."

Angel studied his face closely, really not wanting to delve into this. She knew he had a point. She knew it might make her struggles easier if she talked about what happened, but she was too ashamed to bring everything to light. At least right now.

"I trust you Asa, I do. With my life... with everything. It's just..." She crossed the room to retrieve the bottle of whiskey she snaked earlier, "This entire situation is different. The things I went through... did..." She immediately took a long swig as the memories flooded her, "It's just too much to- to talk about... to relive-"

"Hey, hey." At the sound of her voice cracking he got up and crossed the room to take her into a hug, "I's alright. It's okay. You'll talk about it when you're ready." He let her separate from him so she could wipe her eyes, "You wanna go see if your brothers got anything?"

"Yeah." She took a steadying breath, "Yeah, let's get back to work."

When they shuffled their way back to the other room several things caught Sams immediate attention. Her tired face, puffy red eyes and half empty whiskey bottle in her hand had his alarms ringing.

"Sleep well?"

"Yeah." She took another swig from the bottle before sitting on one of the beds as Sam and Dean both watched with equal looks of worry, "You know what i always say, 'A day without a nap is like a cupcake without frosting.'"