The Devil Within

I Don't Think My Diner is Supposed to Taste Like Blind Faith

"Is Raphael not coming?"

"He said he might be late depending on how well his conversation with Michael goes," you said, rubbing Ashley's head. "Raphael has taken a particular interest in a problem down on Earth."

"That would be?" Don asked, raising a brow.

"Creepy people," you said, shrugging as Ashely decided to barrel into Aleksei, scaring the poor thing. Zachariah chuckled as he walked up to Ashley and Aleksei, planning on translating their conversation to the other like every other week. Once Ashley was out of earshot, you explained what happened. "A creep grabbed me out of nowhere. I humiliated him and he tried to pull a gun on me. Raphael was pretty pissed off when it happened. It only got worse when I mentioned how I, as a woman alone, have to face crap like that almost daily."

"Is Raphael trying to change that?" Kate asked, sounding relieved. "Oh, I hope he's successful. I don't want Ashley to have to deal with any more sick bastards."

"Neither do I," Don said, nodding. "What exactly does he need to do?"

"Convince Michael to start handing out punishments before the afterlife," you sighed, rubbing the back of your neck. "Neither of us is confident that Michael will listen to anything that isn't Apocalypse related."

It was the Sunday after your failure of a Hunt against Lucifer. Now, nightmares weren't a new thing to you. Ever since you got to this world you've been having them. All of your nightmares up until this point have been about the day of your death or watching Lyra die over and over again. There were times, on really good days, when you didn't dream at all. Those were the most peaceful nights and kept appearing as you worked through your trauma from home. But those peaceful nights were quickly replaced by nightmares you could easily describe as worse than your previous ones. Sometimes Spencer would have piercing red eyes paired with a sadistic grin he usually wore in your memories. Other times it was Lucifer beating Lyra into a bloody pulp. Mostly, it was the same memory you always saw, you being completely helpless as Spencer slit Lyra's throat but Lucifer was holding you up close to the scene. He would prevent you from screaming and reaching toward Lyra before breaking your neck. Those were the nightmares that only Raphael could calm you down from. Though, the first time it happened, he couldn't come down...

Sam offered to drive the rest of the way to Bobby's on Friday after you guys finished eating. You and Castiel wouldn't allow Dean to drive until his concussion was healed and Sam didn't like the idea of you driving in your sleep-deprived condition. While Sam drove, Dean sat next to him in the front seat and you stayed in the back with Castiel. You fell asleep pretty quickly and actually started off with a nice dream of you and your family. Your older siblings, Michael and Gabriella, were playing your favourite game with you and Lyra while your parents were in the kitchen. You could practically smell the fresh bread before the warm atmosphere melted away into the parking garage Lyra was left for dead in. According to Sam and Dean when you finally woke up, you were screaming and thrashing so much that all three of them were concerned you were going to hurt yourself. Castiel needed to restrain you until one of the men could wake you up. It eventually took pouring ice cold water on you before you could wake up. 

You didn't sleep for the rest of the car ride.

"At least he's trying to do something about it," Kate sighed, biting the inside of her cheek. "It's more than what our governments do, that's for sure." Kate paused as she took a breath before giving you a concerned look. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," you said, waving your hand. "Not my first douche nor will he be my last."

"That's not what I meant," Kate said your name. She almost sounded motherly with her tone of voice. "Don told me about the Hunt."