Behind Your Eyes

The smoke from her lit cigarette twirled up in streams from the ground where it lay. A woman's hand covered the girl's mouth, keeping her screams muffled and unable to reach anyone's ears. The man to her right took her face into his hand as she struggled against her captor. He evaluated her looks for a moment before grinning, she was the one they were after. But they surely did not count on him being close by, and the shock read on their faces as they noticed him standing there silently. Without a word between any of them, he placed his palm to the woman’s forehead, the other hand covering the girl's wide eyes.

What she could not see was the flash of intense white light that caused the demon (for at least that much was clear to him, even while being drunk) to be expelled and her vessel to drop to the ground. He repeated this action with the man and turned to the bartender, removing his hand from her face. She looked at him with confusion, tears silently rolling down her pale cheeks, making black trails of wet eyeliner. Before she could ask what just happened, he placed two fingers to her forehead, causing her to instantly fall into a deep sleep and he caught her before she fell. He picked her up bridal style and then they disappeared in a brief second.

He took the young women to the motel he knew that his friends were inhabiting for this week. He placed her on the bed of the empty room they appeared in, before popping into the connected room without a word. Sprawled along the first bed was a tall man with short brown hair, another, taller man, was fast asleep on the couch, the TV was the only light source in the room. He moved towards the man on the bed, putting one hand on his shoulder and giving him a little shake.

“What the--” The man began tiredly, eyes blinking rapidly to try and make out who had just woke him up. His first instinct was to pull the gun from under his pillow and point it at whomever had intruded into his room.

“We need to talk Dean.” The man stated simply, though his mind was still foggy from the booze, the fight had cleared his senses and he was now aware of what he had been missing in the bar. He didn't even blink at the sight of a gun being aimed at him in point blank range.

“Cas?!” Dean grunted, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from his green eyes. He dropped the gun onto the bed next to him and glanced over to see his brother had passed out while watching the boob-tube. On the other side of the room, Sam began to come to on the couch. “Can't it wait 'til morning? Unlike you, we need sleep sometimes.”

“No, it cannot wait. This is a matter of utmost importance.” He replied (his words slightly slurred,) turning the lamp on the nightstand on, nearly blinding Dean who was still not completely awake.

“That was uncalled for.” Dean grumbled as he glanced at the clock, it was only 2:45A.M. “What's so important that you have to wake us up?”

“I need you to purchase the conjoining room.” Cas stated without explaining further.

“You woke us up to get you a hotel room?” Sam barked, heading towards the coffee pot. If they had to be up, caffeine was in order. “Why is that so important? You don't sleep.”

“Are you two going to continue to point out the obvious, or are you going to listen to me?!” He shot back, his patience beginning to ware. “I need the room, I will explain after you get it.” Dean leaned towards him, a brow raised. He caught a whiff of the alcohol on the angel's breath and grimaced.

“Have you been drinking again?” He demanded and Cas rolled his eyes. This piqued Sam's interest and looked over at the angel with his own eyebrow arched.

“Yes I have, but I am not nearly as far gone as last time. Now, the room next door so I can explain before the headache sets in, please.” Cas answered before disappearing from their room back to the girl.

“What the hell is going on with him?” Sam asked his brother, who simply shook his head and tossed his credit card to him.

“Just go get the room, I'll meet you there.” Dean replied, standing up and fixing himself a cup of coffee.

While Sam headed to the front desk, Dean stood waiting at the door of the other room, coffee in hand. Inside, Cas stared down at the girl, his mind swirling from the alcohol and his rushing thoughts. He was stirred from his focus by the door opening, and the boys shuffling in, their eyes wide as they fell upon the girl. He knew what it would look like to them; a scantily clad young women in the room he requested. They would see it as him trying to 'hook up' with the unconscious girl, and they were far from right.

“Is that a hooker?” Dean questioned, looking up at Cas with a half grin. He took a closer look at the girl's style and chuckled, further adding, “You picked up a Goth?!”

“No, this woman is a bartender.” He answered, once again rolling his eyes at his friend. Dean's mind always landed on sex first, and in this instance it definitely wasn't helping him.

“So why is there a passed out bartender in your room?” Sam followed up, at his brother's comment the angel quickly covered the girl with his over-coat to keep Dean from peeping.

“I found her being attacked by two demons outside the bar.” Came his reply as he sat at the end of the bed, rubbing his temples as his hangover began to set in, his head seemingly splitting open.

“The bar you were apparently getting hammered at.” Dean commented as he sipped at his coffee, not really seeing what Castiel's point was he demanded, “And that has what to do with us?”

“She is a prophet, a very, very important prophet at that. Both sides of this war have been searching for her for years, and if I hadn't found her.....” Castiel cut himself off, not wanting to think about what would’ve happened to this girl if he hadn't been in that bar.

“Your certain about this?” Sam wondered aloud, not ready to take a drunk angel's word. Last time he had seen Cas this way, he had drank an entire liquor store and had been quite belligerent.

“I told you before, every prophet's name is burned into my mind. Yes, I am certain. She needs protection, something I can't help much with unfortunately. That's why I came to you two.” Cas looked up at the Winchesters, hoping that they were smart enough to agree to help.

“Okay, we get it. But before we say yes or no, we have two conditions.” Dean said, setting his cup down and crossing his arms over his chest. “One, you tell us why it is she is so special and so in need of our help. Two, you wake her up and we ask her how she feels about this.”

“Dean, she cannot just go back out into the open!” Castiel raised his voice, getting more frustrated with them by the minute. And his aching head was not helping.

“I understand that but I'm not keeping her against her will either, now wake her up.” Dean growled back, not in the mood to fight with his friend.

Without saying anything, he placed two fingers against her forehead once more, this time causing her to wake up. Once her eyes shot open, she sat straight up, curling up against the headboard as she took in the sight around her. She was now in a motel room with three men she didn't know, how had she gotten from the bar to here? She began to replay the night silently, remembering the fight outside and nothing else after that. What had he done to her? To the people trying to take her?

“How did I get here, did you drug me? Is that why I can't remember? Who are you and what do you want? And who were the people at the bar?” She rushed all her questions to them, glancing back and forth from Cas to the boys. Panic was written on her face as she clutched the coat to her body like it was some sort of protection.

“Whoa, slow down there kid. We'll answer all your questions, just take them one at the time.” Dean offered, putting his hands up as if in surrender. “There's no need to panic, we're just here to help.”

“If you're here to help then why can't I remember? Who were those people and what happened to me?” She replied, running her hands through her hair in frustration.

“This may be hard to believe but,” Sam paused looking at his brother then the girl. “They were demons. They attacked you and Cas here stopped them. Then he brought you here.”

“Well no fucking shit they were demons! Who are they?! And what do they want with me?!” She demanded, raising her voice as the three men looked at her with shocked faces.

“You know about demons?” Dean questioned, he didn't understand how she could already know. Had they come for her before? He gave Cas a puzzled look only to see he was just as clueless to the subject.

“I've dealt with them before. Now answer my question.” She shot back, she needed to know why this had happened. Castiel, who kept his eyes locked on her, could trace the looks she was giving to Dean's unattended coffee cup. He stood up long enough to retrieve the cup and hand it over to her before sitting back down.

“You are a prophet of the Lord. “ Cas began, looking the young woman in the eyes as he spoke. “The demons and the angels have been looking for you for a very long time. You are the only being in existence that knows the outcome of the apocalypse. This is why I brought you here; you need protection that I cannot give you. But you two can.” He finished turning to the Winchesters.

Dean and Sam looked flabbergasted at the idea that this young women knew the end of not only their stories, but the whole worlds. Wasn't Chuck bad enough already? “Why do they need a separate prophet for the apocalypse? And why me?!” The girl demanded before gulping down most of Dean's coffee to which Dean grumbled at, in turn stealing Sam's cup.

“Because to give this information to another prophet with other priorities would surely kill them. You were created and conditioned to be able to handle this knowledge. You and you alone were the one chosen, the one strong enough to carry this burden.” Castiel explained serenely, he didn't want to frighten the girl more then she already was. But why? The boys were his friends and seldom did he care if he had to bring them bad news. What was drawing him to her in such a way?

“So what? I'm just supposed to drop my life I've built and run off with two guys I don't even know?!” She exclaimed, starting to become emotional again.

“Hey now, we're not that bad. I promise.” Dean replied holding his hands up in surrender once more, chuckling. Honestly, he thought she was hot, and wouldn't mind having someone other than Sammy around. “I mean I know Gigantor over there can be pretty intimidating but--” And before he could finish with a smirk on his face, Sammy punched his brother in the arm, rolling his eyes. The girl let out a small laugh at his half of a joke and the corners of her lips turned up. “What's your name doll?”

“Alytha Morgan, but everyone calls me Aly.” She answered softly, peering up at them from behind her colored bangs.

“Well Aly, I'm Dean Winchester, and this is my not so little brother Sammy. And you've already met our friendly angel, Castiel. There, now you know us.” Dean walked towards the girl and sat on the bed next to her. “Now were not going to make you go with us against your will. But according to Cas, it's in all of our best interests if you come with us.”

Alytha looked around at the three men, and quietly finished her stolen cup of joe, contemplating everything that had been said. Not that she had lead on, but there really wasn’t much for her to leave behind. She hadn't been in town long (four months at the most) and all she had was in a small, dingy, barely furnished apartment close to the bar. She had no family here, no friends to speak of; so why was it so hard to decide? They knew what they were talking about, right? It was what was best for her, right? She sighed and looked at the empty cup in her pale hands, teeth pulling at her bottom lip.

“I'd have to quit, get my last check and pack, cancel my lease.....” She softly said, refusing to look up at them, knowing all their eyes were trained on her. She could feel Cas' eyes burn into her and a feeling she couldn't place filled her. Was it trust? Did she feel safe knowing she had just been rescued by an angel, a real, live angel?

“So...that's a yes?” Sammy questioned, running a hand through his almost shoulder length locks before looking at his brother.

“Yes.” She replied, finally looking up at them, blue eyes wide with worry of what was to come. But it eased when she felt someone's hand grab hers and give it a reassuring squeeze. She looked up expecting it to be Dean because he was right there next to her, but her eyes locked on Cas' own blue orbs and she smiled softly at him.

“They will keep you safe, I promise. And if you need me, all you have to do is call.” He said softly, looking over at the Winchesters. Cas had planned on leaving then, but as he went to pull his hand from hers, she squeezed it tightly.

“Please, Castiel, stay here with me tonight?” She pleaded, mostly with her eyes and he could tell she was still frightened from the nights events. “I won't get any sleep otherwise....”

He simply nodded his head in agreement before giving the boys a look that said they could go back to sleep now. Dean stood and smiled at the girl before clasping Cas on the shoulder and making his way towards the door that connected the two rooms, unlocking it.

“I'll bring you some asprin before I hit the sheets.” He said, quickly adding to both of them, “Leave this door unlocked, and we'll just be on the other side if you need anything. We'll sort everthing else out tomorrow, so get some sleep doll.”

True to his word, he brought Cas in a bottle of pain reliever for which his throbbing head was thankful for. Dean retreated back to bed as did Sam and Cas got himself a glass of water to wash down the pills he so desperately needed. As he moved about the room, Aly took off her apron and set it on the nightstand before beginning to strip down so she could get in bed. Catching a glance of this in the mirror, Cas adverted his eyes until he was sure she was under the cheap covers of the motel bed. He sat down once more at the foot of the bed and she giggled softly at him.

“That's not where you're staying tonight is it?” She questioned, propping herself up on her elbow to look at him. “It's kind've creepy.”

“What would you prefer?” He asked, tilting his head to the side. He was oblivious to the sleeping customs of humans when more than one person was involved. This earned him another giggle from the young woman.

“Just lay next to me.” She replied before laying back down on her side. Cas complied, taking over the spot next to her laying completely flat on his back, arms at his sides. She shifted to face him, looking at his face until she went under. Once she had, part of Cas wanted to leave, but he stayed anyways. Completely awake, staring at the ceiling, every once in a while glancing over to check on her. Sometime later she had managed to curl up against him, which made him somewhat uncomfortable, but it put a smile on her sleeping face.