Born in Blood

Chapter Four

Dean's POV

I carried Leah in my arms, cradling her against me so that she wouldn't fall. Sam walked beside me, and it wouldn't be long before we made it back to Hannah's.  I knew she had to be worried sick about her daughter.  And with good reason.  If she had seen what I did...well...I don't think Hannah would have been able to stomach it.
Despite having been healed by Cas, who was now who knows where, she was still unconscious.  Seeing her bloody and on the verge of death had been haunting. I hadn't expected to be that upset by it.
Leah grunted in my arms, and slowly fluttered her eyes open.  I stopped, frozen, as she looked up at me.  Sam hadn't noticed, and faltered a bit when he realized I wasn't still beside him.

"What happened?" She asked, looking around.  She was taking in her surroundings, realizing we were no longer in the vamps nest.

"Almost lost ya, but you're gonna' be okay." I said, setting her down on her feet. She looked down, confused, before peering back up at me.

"I thought my leg was broken?"

"Oh...na..."
She didn't seem convinced and I couldn't really blame her.  I wasn't entirely sure why I was trying to hide the truth from her, other than knowing that's what Hannah wanted.  Not that it mattered. She has just faced off with a vampire so I knew she had to have some sort of inkling that something was up. She slowly reached up, prodding at her nose.

"My nose....it was pretty messed up." She pointed out.  I looked over to Sam who smirked and shrugged.  He was enjoying this...watching me squirm.  I scoffed, and ignored her probing statements. 

"Look, don't worry about it.  The point is that you're fine now!" I growled, walking past her.  I sauntered a few more steps before sighing, and turning back to her.
"Are you coming?"

Then, as if snapped out of a daze, she quickly hurried to catch up to me and Sam.  The three of us walked together in the dark, in silence.  It was an awkward silence.  I knew she probably had no idea what to say to me the same I did her.   We could see the houses now, in the distance, through the trees.  The crickets were singing loudly.  It would have been peaceful, if it weren't for the tension.  This wasn't how I imagined my first day as a dad would go. 
As we emerged from from the bramble and bush back into civilization, we could see Leah's house just a few houses down.  I instantly saw a change in her as she began to race back home.  I smiled to myself.  It was kind of nice...having her around. 
But, we got closer to Hannah's house, I could tell something was wrong and I knew the others could sense it too.  I grabbed Leah by the shoulder, despite her protest, and shoved her behind me.  The front door was open, and the house felt deserted.  But I knew I could sense some type or presence on the other side of the door. 
I pulled my machete from its holster, and Sam did the same, as we slowly approached the door, using the machete to push it open the rest of the way.

"Damn it!"
I turned away, instantly pulling Leah into my arms and shoving her face into my chest, protecting her from the gruesome scene on the other side.  Hannah was dead.  She was sprawled out on their white carpet, her dead eyes starting out into the unknown, in a pool of her own blood.  Her neck was was shredded.  It really did look like some type of animal attack.  But I knew better. 

"Don't look." I warned as Leah tried to fight her way out of my grasp.  I tried to keep her at bay, but it was no use.  She fought her way out of my grip and ran inside.  I followed after her, but I wasn't quick enough.

"Mom!" Leah exclaimed, rushing to the corpse that was once Hannah. I watched, helplessly, as she collapsed to her knees and cradled her mothers body against her, sobbing.

"The body is still warm." Sam whispered as he came to stand beside me.  We knew what that meant.  Whatever had killed Hannah was probably still in the house somewhere.