haunted [SPN]

✦ ROBBERS TO THE EAST, CLOWNS TO THE WEST

the devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me
would it be enough if i could never give you peace?

peace, taylor swift

chapter twenty two

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CATHERINE SITS on the floor at the foot of her bed. She's barely been in her room since getting back. Now, she doesn't exactly know why she came in here. Certainly not to sleep.

A knock echoes through the room. "Cath?" Dean calls. He doesn't wait for an answer before opening the door.

"In here," she answers.

He closes the door and goes to sit next to her. He doesn't say anything, content to just sit with her. For a while, she doesn't either. There's so much she's been wanting to say lately, ever since that last case. So much she's been afraid to say, because of what comes after.

But she's not sure she could live with herself if she says nothing.

"How long do you think this is going to last?"

He looks over at her, stunned at the sudden question. "What?"

She taps her forehead with the tip of her middle finger. "It's been over a month. We're no closer to any solution."

"Well, it's not just gonna pop up overnight."

"I know that. I'm just..." She trails off, shaking her head.

"Did something happen?"

She shakes her head again. "I'm just nervous that in all this time waiting, doing nothing, something will give, and everything will come crashing down. And I'm most nervous that the something will be me."

Dean shifts in his spot, facing her. "Don't say that. You can handle this."

She drops her gaze to her hands, fidgeting with each other. "Dean, listen...I've been talking to Rowena."

His brows knit, suspicion creeping onto his face. "Why?"

She clears her throat and hugs her knees to her chest. "Back on my world...there's a cave system under a mountain range. I never went there, it was overseas, but I heard of people who'd use it as a shelter. It's one of the only places Michael doesn't know about."

His face morphs into fear. "Why are you telling me this?"

"It's deep, and...dark enough that even an archangel wouldn't be able to navigate it well. Rowena thinks she'd be able to find a way to get me there. Archangel warding isn't that difficult to produce, especially for her."

Fear and now disbelief are etched on his face. He blinks once, then turns away and gets to his feet.

She sighs and mirrors his action, crossing her arms around her middle. He paces to the other side of the room, one hand resting on his waist and the other rubbing his eyes. He laughs dryly and turns to her. "You can't do this. You can't just spring this on me and then expect me to be okay with it."