Backlash {Fourth book in the "Born to Be a Hunter" Series}

Post-Loss Drinks

I sat on Mary's bed in her room. Since I had left, her room had changed. All the unicorns and stuffed animals were gone, and they had been replaced with Zeppelin and Guns&Roses posters. Her barbies had been replaced with pens, notebooks full of lore, and a laptop.

She was becoming a blonde version of me.

I looked at her windows, salted. She had a rug by the door, Velcro devil's trap that could be reattached. Under her bed, holy water and devil's-trap-silver-bullet loaded revolver.

I took the nearest pillow off her bed and realized that it was the one I stitched her name into. I did a piss-poor job, but she loved it because it took me months to make and gave me many pricks and cuts in my fingers.

I held it to my chest and just sat there. I had been gone for five years and I missed so much.

I wasn't there to teach her how to shoot a gun. I wasn't there to teach her to make a devil's trap. And I wasn't there for her first monster kill.

I wish I was there, but I was in the ground.

Sam walked into the door, "Hey."

I didn't bother to answer, and he closed the door.

"How are you?" he asked, pulling out Mary's desk chair and sitting. He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees.

"They took her because of me." I said. "When they found out I removed the tracker, they tracked my last known location to here and found her."

He sighed, "Do you know where their HQ is?"

I shook my head, "Before I ran away, they injected with some serum and it was supposed to brainwash me. The demon part of me fought it off, but not before it wiped out that info."

"Fine. Grab you're jacket and come on." He said, and I didn't move. "Let's get a drink. Dean and Matt are trying to find their location, you're moping around in Mary's room, and we just ran out of whiskey."

*

We drank for a couple hours and was completely wasted by the time Sam was ready to go. He practically had to drag me to the car because I couldn't walk.

When we pulled up to the bunker, Sam had called Matt beforehand. He was there as we pulled into the garage with his arms crossed.

Matt opened the side door of the impala and reached in to get me, asking, "How much has she had to drink?"

"Enough that I had to drag her to the car.'" Sam said, closing the driver side door.

Matt held me in his arms and carried me inside where Dean sat with case files littering across the table.

"Is she gonna feel it in the morning?" Dean called to Matt.

"Oh, yeah." Matt said, carrying me to our room.

He put me on the bed and started to take off my boots, "Can you undress yourself or do I have to do it?" He stood at the foot of the bed and unlaced my boots.

I smiled drunkenly, "I can, but why don't you do it?"

He saw where my mind was going and smirked, "You sure? You're not gonna remember it tomorrow."

I knelt on the bed and rest my hands on his shoulders, putting my lips on his, "But I'll remember it right now."

*

My head hurt like a bitch the next morning. I wore nothing but a bra and underwear when I woke up. I didn't remember anything.

I rushed to the bathroom and puked my guts out into the toilet.

Matt ran down the hall in his boxers and stopped at the door, pistol in hand, "Are you alright?" I just continued what I was doing, and he put his gun down to hold my hair.

He put his palm on my forehead and with a soft ringing in my head, my vomiting stopped but half the hangover remained.

He helped me up and I brushed my teeth before he brought me back to bed, "I'm gonna cook you breakfast. I'll be back soon."

About twenty minutes later, Matt came in with a tray of eggs, potatoes, fruit, and a mug of coffee.

I was lying on my stomach with my arms crossed under my head. I was half asleep, but I heard him place the metal tray on the night stand and felt his hand trace down my bare back.

"Eat." He said, nodding toward the tray. "I'm going to shower. When you're ready, we could go see your dad."

I sighed and turned my head, "I'm not hungry."

"Jack, you just puked your guts out. You need to eat." Matt said gently.

I sat up and the comforter slipped off my torso, "I'll eat when we find Mary." I scoffed, "I wasted time last night, drinking my ass off and I'm gonna make up that time today."

Matt turned from the bathroom door, "Dean and Sam have been going through the Men of Letter's files with a fine-toothed comb. If there is anything, we'll find it."

I looked at him finally, "You sure?"

"Jack, you're my wife and I love you, but I think it's best you keep your head as clear as possible." He sat on the bed and took my hand in his. "You just got your memory back and your mind is still in repair. Plus, we've had time to adjust to working without you. Maybe you should

ease into hunting again."

It hurt to hear it from him, but I guess he was right.

And Dean would have said the same thing.