Angel and Hellfire

Chapter 24

A little while later Dean and (y/n) got up out of the dirt and (y/n) decided on a bath. Dean insisted on being in the bathroom with her while she did.
He was worried she might try to harm herself.
She sat in the bubble bath and just listened to Dean talk about anything and everything that came to his mind.
"Dean? What are you doing?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why are you so attached to me right now? I'm just taking a bath. Pretty sure I can handle this by myself."
"You say that now. Last time was different though."
She thought back to the last time with her and Dean. She vaguely remembered feeling like she was drowning. Only, she was the one holding herself down. She understood why Dean was hesitant to leave her alone.
"This isn't last time Dean. You have nothing to worry about."
"I know it's not. I just don't want you to be alone. And truth be told, I don't want to be without you right now either."
She gave it a minute before she said, "if you don't want to be alone, then get in the tub with me." And she slid forward for him to climb in behind her.
He stripped his clothes and climbed in, pulling her back to him and wrapping his arms around her. She could feel him physically relax.
"There we go, get comfy honey." She said with a smile, leaning back to relax.
Dean grabbed the washcloth and body wash.
"Where would you like me to start, beautiful?"
She laughed, "my feet, please!"and she raised her leg, until she winced from pain.
"Sweetheart, you know you can't do that yet!" Dean said with a small laugh and turned her around to face him.
"I just want you to be careful, that's all." He said.
(Y/n) gave him a kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I'm trying, Dean. I'm not going to do anything crazy. At least not on purpose. I've got too many people counting on me right now. My story isn't over yet. And it won't be for a long time. Now kiss me like you mean it, Winchester."
Dean pulled her close and wrapped a hand in her hair as he guided her mouth down to his. They had themselves a small make out session before washing themselves off and getting out of the tub.
They had just finished getting dressed when there was a knock at the door. Dean went to check and laughed.
"I think it's for you, sweetheart."
"Huh?" Walking around Dean, she nearly cried.
The girls fixed her bike and it looked like new. She was going to spend the week working on it and the girls beat her to it.
"They care about you, (y/n). They just want to help take care of you too. Why don't you go spend some time with them?" Dean said, wrapping an arm around her waist.
She turned around and hugged Dean before grabbing her helmet and riding her bike down to the bar. It was noon and the bar was open to the staff right now to prepare for the nights adventures. (Y/n) walked through the front doors to see Nikki struggling with a keg of beer. She quickly ran over and grabbed the other side so they could walk it over to the bar.
"Thanks, (y/n) that's hard to do by yourself." Nikki said brushing hair away from her eyes.
They both laughed, "yeah it's not easy when you're bartending alone at night either. Last time I had to have one of the truckers help me out." (Y/n) said.
"Oh god he didn't try to hit on you did he?"
"Oh, no he was smart. He had a wife and a couple kids at home. He knew better than that."
"That's a smart man. So what's up?"
"You guys want another bartender tonight? I could use some time with my girls."
"Seriously? Yes! We could always use one more! Line dance night always pulls in a big crowd."
"That sounds good. I can't dance tonight though. About all I can do is pour drinks right now."
"That's ok! That exactly what we need! Everyone's going to be so happy to see you! Come on! Let's go get ready!"
The two met the rest of the crew in the back room and they just chatted for a few hours before starting their shifts while picking out their attire for the evening.
By 8pm the bar was packed and everyone had so much fun dancing. Around 9, one of the patrons played the girls song and they all climbed onto the bar for their number. (Y/n) hung back and just smiled as the girls all laughed and did their thing. When she looked over to the corner of the bar, Dean and Sam were there. Sam was watching JJ, while Dean just stared at her with a small smile.
She quickly pulled 2 beers from the cooler and gave them to the boys.
"How's your night going sweetheart?"
"It's going fine, just watching from afar is all I need."
"Are you doing okay? Do you need help?"
"Oh no I'm good, just enjoying the time with my sisters. How about you and Sam?"
"We're good. Wanted to check in on you is all."
"Thank you honey, I appreciate that." (Y/n) leaned across the bar and kissed Dean.
"Hey! I thought you and me were going steady! Who's this guy?" One of the regulars piped up when she kissed Dean.
"Oh, Harold, you know darn well it would never work between us." She laughed, and poured Harold another drink.
"Can't blame a guy for trying." Harold said with a smile.
Dean laughed and held out a hand for Harold to shake.
"Hi, I'm Dean. (Y/n)'s boyfriend. Harold, is it?"
"Yes it is, young man. You better be good to her, or I'll be on your ass real quick like." Harold said when he shook dean's hand.
Dean laughed, "yes sir, I believe you would be. Sweetheart? I'm going to go sit in that booth over there if that's okay."
"Yeah that's fine, here's some menus. Holly will be over soon to take your order."
He and Sam went to sit down while the girls finished their dance. Everyone got down off the bar and continued about their work.
20 minutes later, holly brought out the boys food, so (y/n) grabbed some food from the kitchen to go eat with them for a bit. Sliding in next to Dean, she smiled at Sam before taking a bite of her burger.
"Got any leads for us to follow yet, sammy?" She asked with a smirk on her face.
"You better be joking. One week, remember?" Dean said setting down his burger and looking at her very firmly.
She laughed and leaned her head on his shoulder.
"I was just joking, hun. I know we're here for the week."
Finishing her food, (y/n) went back to work. Dean and Sam hung around for a little while longer so Dean could keep an eye on her discreetly. She was so animated and chipper with her customers and just made everyone feel welcome.
One man came in, jimmy was his name. The second (y/n) saw him, he signaled for her to meet him outside. She nodded and made her way out of the bar. This made Dean nervous. As he started to leave the pool table they were currently occupying, Nikki caught his arm and pulled him back.
"That's nothing to worry about, dean. He's been waiting to give her something for around a month. They'll be right back in, I promise."
"Are you sure? Let me just-."
The doors swung back open and (y/n) came back in with jimmy in tow.
She climbed up onto the bar carefully, "Alright, I need everyone's attention!"
The bar got quiet.
"It takes courage to go against everything you know and try something new. It takes more courage to admit you have a problem and ask for help. Jimmy here has done just that. He didn't think he was worth any sorta goddamn. Turns out he was wrong everyone!! Jimmy made himself a promise. And he's now fulfilled that. So let's give a big cheer to Jimmy being ONE YEAR SOBER!!!" And she gestured for Jimmy to lift his one year chip as proof.
Everyone in the building clapped and cheered for him. Dean couldn't believe it. A bar full of people cheering for a sober man. That's a hell of a community. Dean really started to love this place.
"Wait, I'd really like to get a picture with (y/n). She helped me find the help I needed and stayed with me through the toughest parts and didn't give up on me, even when I wanted to give up on myself. She told me to keep going. I'm here today because you never let me get down that far again. Once I found my footing you eased up a bit.. but you still called me or texted me every week after my meetings. That meant everything to me. Thank you." Jimmy went over to (y/n) who climbed off the bar, and gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. Gail ran up with the camera. Jimmy held up the coin and they both smiled for the photo.
"Sober looks good on you, Jimmy. I'm so proud of you!" She said.
"Thank you, (y/n). I'm gonna go home now, I just wanted to show you first."
She walked him out of the bar and they said their goodbyes before she hopped back behind the bar to fill more drink orders.
"Sammy, I'm gonna head back to the room. You staying or going?" Dean asked.
"I think I'm gonna stay for a while. JJ's gonna meet me soon. I'll keep an eye on (y/n)." Sam said.
"Thanks, Sammy."
"It's Sam."
Dean laughed and made his way to the bar.
"Just how many people have you helped out in this town?" He asked when she came over.
"She's helped everyone, son." Harold said before (y/n) could answer him.
(Y/n) laughed and handed Harold another beer.
Nodding, she turned back to Dean, "you going home for the night?"
"Yeah I think I am. What about you?"
"I'll be there as soon as it dies down a little. Then Nikki can jump back here again and take over. So I'll see you soon."
"Okay, see you." Dean leaned far over the bar and kissed her before leaving the bar.
"That's one lucky man you got right there, darlin'." Harold said with a laugh.
"He certainly is, isn't he!" (Y/n) laughed right along with him before going to fetch some food from the kitchen.
Soon enough it began to slow down so (y/n) asked Nikki to jump back behind the bar so she could go home. Nikki agreed so (y/n) lined up 3 shot glasses and filled them with whiskey. She downed each one after the other and walked back to the motel.
Inside, Dean had fallen asleep on the couch with the light on. She gave a small chuckle and put her things away. After finishing up in the bathroom, she shook Dean awake just enough to walk him to bed before climbing in herself. Dean curled himself around her and pulled her close before his breathing evened out again. Back to sleep he went, leaving (y/n) to her thoughts.
The more she thought, the more she felt the pain of losing a child. If she let the pain settle in again, she knew the familiar feeling of failure would be right along with it. She felt a tear roll down her cheek and onto deans shirt. She promised herself she wouldn't let go of her sanity this time. So she squeezed her arm around Dean a little tighter and thanked the lord for his presence.
Dean must've felt it, because he rolled to his side and hugged her into his chest a little more.
"I love you, sweetheart. Always have." He whispered to her, making her smile.
"I love you too." She whispered softly.
Slowly she drifted off to sleep with the man who's seen everything about her and still chose to stay, holding her close.
The rest of the week went a little more smoothly, aside from the fact that everyone was watching her like a hawk. At one point she felt herself getting annoyed with it, so she hopped on the bike and took off down the road for a while. She knew they only wanted what's best for her. She's just not used to being watched over and worried about so much. She usually does the watching and worrying for everyone else.
Helen invited them all over for supper a couple nights that week, and Hallie made her presence known as much as she was allowed.
(Y/n) assumed they were trying to have Hallie steer clear of her for a while because of recent events, so every time she came into the room, (y/n) made sure Hallie was the first one she talked to. Just because she has pregnancy complications doesn't mean Hallie will be loved any less by her. Dean spent some of his time with Hallie and David as well. Dean showed David the car and Hallie would tag along to input her knowledge, which Dean appreciated very much. He'd never met a child with as much knowledge on cars as Hallie. He could only assume (y/n) had a lot to do with it. She was right next to him when John was giving lessons on car maintenance. She just passed down her wisdom to Hallie, in a much calmer fashion than John ever could. It made Dean smile when Hallie talked shop with him. (Y/n) came around the corner and snatched Hallie before she could run away.
"Desserts ready fellas. Come on little miss! You're scooping the ice cream!" And she tickled Hallie into submission all the way back to the house.
(Y/n) scooped the dessert into dishes and slid them to Hallie for the ice cream.
They all sat in the back yard eating while Hallie put on a one man comedy show of sorts. From jumping up and down to funny dances, and telling jokes, she had a little of everything to perform for them.
"So what's your plan now, (y/n)? You guys staying a little longer?" Helen asked quietly as Hallie finished another dance.
"Well, Sam caught wind of something going on in Chicago, so I think we're going to head out tomorrow for Illinois. The break was very much needed though. Thanks for being so patient with us this past week." She said as she turned to look at Helen.
"Honey, that's not patience, that's just human nature. You went through a thing. Human nature is to help you where I can, when I can. Patience is required when you do something crazy. This was not crazy. I love you, and I'll always be here for you when you need me. And even when you don't." Helen said.
"I'll always need you mama. I love you too." She squeezed Helen's hand and stood up.
It was getting late and Hallie needed to go to bed.
"Ready to go boys? We've got an early day ahead of us tomorrow."
David stood up and pulled (y/n) in for a hug while Hallie attacked the boys with hugs of her own. Then David took her inside and the 3 headed back to the motel. They packed their things for an early morning and tried for some sleep. It didn't come easily for (y/n) so around midnight she climbed out of bed and took a short walk. Just around the block a few times before heading back. When she reached the parking lot she noticed Dean sitting on the bench by the door. Sitting down next to him, she leaned her head on his shoulder and wrapped an arm around his, interlacing their fingers. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Dean wrapped an arm around her and kissed her forehead. Back inside, they were finally able to curl up and get some rest for a few more hours.