Chapter Text
Panda Bears.
The first sight that greeted Daisy upon opening her eyes was pandas on her feet. Black and white with happy smiling faces, staring up at her. This was admittedly a strange sight but after the events of the past night not much could really surprise her. A witch removing a spell someone placed on her mom, her pulling everyone into a vision and then demons breaking into that vision? Run of the mill in her life these days. So smiling pandas on her feet didn’t seem all that startling, which in itself was probably reason enough to think she had gone insane. It took a few seconds for her eyes to focus enough to figure out that what she was looking at were actually slippers. OK that at least made more sense than actual pandas. Her friend Becky had a pair just like this in eighth grade and Daisy had wanted some too but had never gotten them. Until now. She wiggled her feet slowly, watching the happy panda faces waving back and forth. So I can breathe a sigh of relief, Daisy thought sarcastically. I’m only as crazy as I was yesterday. Her eyes moved up her body, taking in the pink and white Gilmore Girls pajama set she was wearing. (These in fact she did own. They were a gift from Rose for her birthday one year and she would often wear them while watching the show with her sisters. Hers of course had a snotty comment by Michele because she loved his snark. “People are incredibly stupid today. I can't talk to any more of them.” Oh Michele, you don't even know.). Slowly her eyes took in more of her surroundings. A fireplace with a roaring fire, low lighting giving the room a cozy feel, rustic wood and leather furniture; This was the ski lodge she had gone to in Montana her junior year with some friends for a long weekend. It turned out Daisy hated skiing (The cold, the wet, the falling on her butt-So not her thing) but she loved the ski lodge; Being all snug and cozy inside, drinking hot chocolate and flirting with cute boys she'd never see again-That was her thing. That had been a fun weekend in her book. Daisy frowned. She definitely hadn't been wearing pajamas then though.
She felt movement behind her and suddenly realized that she was actually propped up against someone. Glancing over her shoulder she saw Cas' serious face staring back at her. He looked worried and concerned which put Daisy on edge. In the short time she had known Cas she had learned that he didn’t worry over inconsequential things: he only wore that expression for a good reason.
"We're at the ski lodge in Montana" she said and Cas nodded, watching her face closely.
"This seemed to be a good place" Cas said. "You were happy here."
"Mmm hmm. I was" Daisy confirmed. "Why the pajamas though?"
Cas frowned and Daisy could feel him worrying, concerned he had got something wrong. Could that be why he wore that expression, something as small as wanting to get the details right for her? "These felt warm in your memory, comfortable. Since it's just us here I thought they would be good."
Daisy smiled. "Good choice" she murmured and felt his relief flood through him. "I was hurt, wasn't I?" she asked softly.
Cas nodded, shifting slightly so that her back was against his chest and he could wrap his arms around her comfortingly. "You were injured severely but you're in the hospital now. Your mother is here and Lily and Sam left just a few hours ago."
"Was anyone..Is everyone else OK?" Daisy asked tentatively, scared of the answer.
"Everyone else is fine" Cas said soothingly. Before Daisy came into his life he would have answered any question with the total and absolute truth without a second thought for the repercussions. Now he understood why when he had questioned Dean once about not always telling the whole truth Dean had said it wasn't always what people needed, that it could do more harm than good. At the time that had made no sense to him, had just seemed like an excuse to take the easier path. But now he understood. He felt a strong, almost overwhelming desire to protect Daisy, be it physically or emotionally. She was so fragile right now, hurt so very badly. She didn't need to hear about Rose's injuries at this moment.
"Tonight was it, wasn't it? What we knew was coming?" She felt Cas nod. "Did I do OK?" Her voice was nervous, obviously desperately hoping she had done well and needing Cas' approval.
Cas hugged her tightly in his arms. "You performed admirably, beyond any hopes or expectations. I've seen seasoned generals who showed more fear than you and who acted with much less bravery." Daisy smiled and Cas rested his head against her soft curls. "You did exactly what you needed to do, Daisy. Now you must rest. Your mind and body have been through so much and they need time to recover. Sleep now, little one." Cas leaned back, pulling her so she was laying against his chest.
"But I'm not tired, Cas" Daisy protested, even as she snuggled back into his arms, nestling her head under his chin.
Castiel smiled at her feeble protests. "Try anyway, Daisy. For me."
Daisy yawned and snuggled against Cas, finding him safe and warm. "OK" she murmured, "But just for you."
The words were barely out of her mouth before sleep overtook her.
If you don’t know who this is why the hell are you calling me? (Rose was too shook up to smile at Lily’s voicemail greeting, as blunt and as un-sugar coated as ever.) I'm sorry. I know you're going to be mad but I couldn't stay, Lily. Not after what happened. You got hurt, Daisy got hurt because of me. You heard what the demon said: the longer I'm around the greater the chance someone else will wind up dead. I'm not, I can't live with that. I love you, Lil, I love..all of you... You and Dean, they'll figure out who I care about the most and they'll go after you two...I can't live with that. I promise I’ll take care of your car and I’ll get it back to you somehow. Stay with Sam and um, watch out for Dean if you can, please...love you. *click*
Stop at ATM and get cash - √
Get gas (Who leaves their car nearly empty?? Answer – My big sister) - √
Call Lily - √
Turn my cell phone off (Should toss it but I just can’t) - √
Buy disposable cell phone - √
Get the hell out of Kansas - Working on it
Rose’s head hurt. It felt like a migraine coming on and God she couldn't have one now. Digging in her purse she dug out a bottle of Advil and gulped down two with the soda she'd grabbed at the gas station. Please work, she prayed desperately. Rose stared out at the near empty highway in front of her. She'd worked through her mental check list and was on track so far. All the tasks she'd wanted to do while still in Lebanon or close to it had been handled. Now it was just a matter of driving. Rose figured she could get a good distance between her and the bunker before anyone realized she was gone. She'd gotten enough cash out of her bank account that she should be good for several days. Her phone was off so they couldn't trace that. The only problem now was the car. She needed to either ditch the car or switch license plates. Well there was no way she was leaving the car. Lily adored this car, not as much as Dean loved the Impala (Rose wasn't sure that it was possible for anyone to love their car as much as he did.) but enough that Rose couldn't abandon it. She'd get somewhere it was safe and leave the car and somehow notify Lily where it was but for now she was keeping it. So that meant switching plates. Once she got some distance between her and Lebanon she'd try a truck stop with lots of cars and lots of people not paying attention. OK so that was a plan. Plans were good. Plans were things to focus on.
Rose kept her mind busy, going over details, thinking about what she needed to do. It kept her mind off leaving, off the fact that fairly soon the people she cared about most would be waking up to find her gone. She tried not to think about how everyone was going to react, all the upset she was causing, of how Dean was going to react. She shook her head, needing to clear it of that thought. She couldn’t go there right now. Once she had found someplace to rest for a few days she could fall apart, deal with all she had just lost.
Her mind was a jumble and she was trying not to be concerned over the fact that her purse was lifting off the seat, then settling back down, then lifting again. She wasn't able to stop it, to control it yes, keep it from flying all about the car, but not stop it. She had tried deep breathing, had tried to calm herself down but she must be too upset for that to work. So the purse kept going up and down as she kept driving. Her head felt weird, not just achy but full. That was the only way Rose could think to describe it, even though she realized that didn’t really make any sense. There was too much going on in her mind, too many thoughts and too many weird sensations to explain. She needed to just concentrate on the road, yes that was the plan.
The GPS on the phone she bought said four hours till she was out of Kansas but she figured she could make it in three. Where she went from there she would figure out later.
Dean woke up, his hand immediately reaching out for Rose and finding an empty bed. His eyes flew open to find Sookie watching him from Rose’s pillow, but Rose was nowhere to be seen. He sat up quickly, his eyes scanning the room and seeing no sign of her. He jumped out of bed, grabbing his phone and leaving a startled Sookie behind as he threw the bedroom door open (ignoring when it hit the wall with a bang) he stalked down the hall, heading towards the kitchen and main area of the bunker. He tried to tamp down the panic he felt rising up in him as he moved from room to room and saw no sight of Rose. He dialed her phone quickly, on the slightest chance she had wandered down to the lower levels and felt his anxiety rise as her phone went directly to voice mail. Rose never turned her phone off, not even at night, preferring to silence it so she had quick access to it if she needed it. Not finding Rose he headed for the hallway again, stopping at Sam and Lily’s door and banging on the door loudly. He had a bad feeling, a sense that something was very, very wrong here.
Further down the hall Charlie’s door opened and her head appeared, looking around dazedly. “Dean?” She asked, spotting him standing in the hallway. “What’s going on?”
“Have you seen Rose?” He asked and Charlie’s eyes widened at the urgent tone in his voice.
She shook her head. “Not since last night.”
Impatiently he knocked on Sam and Lily’s door again and finally a sleep rumpled, barely awake Sam opened the door.
“Dean what-“
“Have you guys seen, Rose?” Dean demanded, cutting his brother off, not wanting to waste time on explanations. Dean could hear that his voice was louder than it needed to be, that there was a note of panic and desperation in his voice but he was unable to control it. “Have you talked to her?” Dean saw Lily sit up in the bed behind Sam, and hearing his words she immediately reached for her phone.
“What? No” Sam said, his confusion clear in his voice. Charlie appeared behind Dean suddenly and Sam looked at her in bewilderment. “We’ve been asleep. We didn’t get back from the hospital till nearly-“
His room, he hadn’t checked his room! Dean realized suddenly. He rushed that way now, not waiting for Sam to finish. Maybe Rose had woken up and came down here to get her clothes, after all he had brought her bag in here yesterday so that would make sense. She would tease him about getting so wound up over nothing, telling him he was so overprotective and Dean would growl at her not to worry him like that and pull her into his arms and kiss her till she was breathless. He might even tell her how much trouble she was in for making him worry, just to watch those gorgeous eyes of hers darken and to see her smile at him in that flirty, seductive way of hers. Yes, she’d be in his room and everything would be just fine. Dean had almost convinced himself of this in the short time it took him to get to his door.
He pushed his door open, holding his breath as his eyes swept the room, feeling the silence and seeing no sign of Rose. He released the breath he has been holding and his shoulders slumped when it became evident she wasn’t there. Her bags were gone, he realized with a jolt and a sickening possibility began to occur to him. She wouldn’t…
Spotting the pink sheet of paper on his bedside table he walked toward it hesitantly, suddenly not sure he wanted to know what it said. His name was written on the front in Rose’s swirly, feminine handwriting and with a slightly shaking hand Dean reached out and picked it up and opened it. As he read it he sank to the bed, his legs no longer holding him up.
“Damn it, Rose, tell me you didn’t do what I fucking think you did” he muttered as his eyes flew over her words. Put you in harm’s way, I won’t bring that down on all of you, Please don’t look for me, I’ll always be yours…
“Dean, what’s going on?” Sam asked from the doorway. Dean looked up and Sam took a deep breath, seeing fear, anger and pain in his brothers’ eyes. With a growl Dean picked up the closest thing to him which just so happened to be Rose’s hairbrush that had been tossed on the bed yesterday (Guess she didn’t do such a great job packing, Dean thought.) and flung it across the room, where it hit the bathroom door and landed with a crash. Then Dean sank back down on the bed and dropped his head into his hands.
“She’s gone” he groaned.
Before Sam could respond Lily appeared behind him, Charlie trailing after her. Lily’s face was pale, her hair a disheveled mess and her eyes wide with unshed tears. Dean looked up at the sound of her voice. “She left me a voicemail, said she was sorry and she took my car" she said softly. Sam reached out and pulled her to him, wrapping an arm around her and she sagged against his side.
“How long ago?” Dean asked gruffly. “How long ago did she leave the message?”
Lily looked at her phone. “About an hour ago?”
“Then I can catch up to her!” Dean started, getting to his feet. He looked ready to jump into the Impala and drive just like he was before Lily’s words stopped him.
“No you can’t.”
Dean gave Lily a cocky smirk. “Oh trust me, sweetheart, I can. An hour isn’t that much of a time gap and I can make that up. Unlike your sister I don’t actually pay attention to the speed limit-” Dean stopped when Lily let out a laugh and kept right on laughing. “Why are you laughing?” He asked. “Why is she laughing?” he demanded of Sam when Lily didn’t answer.
Sam just shook his head. He had no idea what Lily found so funny but whatever it was she wasn’t done laughing yet. While Sam, Dean and Charlie stared at her like she was crazy, hysterical perhaps, Lily laughed till her stomach hurt, till she staggered forward and dropped down to sit on the edge of Dean’s bed. Finally she managed to gasp out a few words. “What makes you think Rose wouldn’t break the speed limit?”
Dean frowned at her question. It was obvious, wasn’t it? “Well, I mean she’s not a rule breaker is she?”
Lily smirked at Dean, her laughter finally dying down. “Did you never stop to wonder why Rose didn’t drive her own car here? Why she’s never offered to drive anywhere?”
Dean rubbed the back of his neck, running Lily’s words over in his mind. “Um, no, I never did.” He looked at Sam helplessly. “Did you?”
Sam shook his head. “No, but Dude, she’s your girlfriend.”
“Oh thanks, Sammy, way to have my back-” Dean started. Charlie rolled her eyes, amazed at the fact that they were starting to bicker like children. The boys usually were much better in a crisis than this.
“Why doesn’t she have her car here, Lily?” Charlie asked calmly.
“Because Rose has a suspended driver’s license” Lily said and that caused both Sam and Dean to stop their argument mid sentence. They were both quiet for a second before Dean cleared his throat and asked softly:
“And exactly why does Rose have a suspended driver’s license?”
“Well the state of Nebraska tends to not look too favorably upon someone driving their car at excessive rates of speed. Ninety miles an hour in a sixty mile zone tends to get you a pretty hefty ticket.” Dean and Sam both winced at that. “Especially when you get caught three different times in a year.” Lily laughed at the look on the boys faces. “Rose’s car is currently locked in our garage and her license is suspended for at least another year.” Lily smoothed her t-shirt down, enjoying the shocked looks both boys were wearing. They really had no idea. “My sister loves to drive. Unfortunately she loves to drive fast. You never thought it was odd she never told you to slow down, not even once with the way you drive?” Lily asked, looking at Dean. When he just shrugged she rolled her eyes. “We all have our vices, boys, even saints like Rosie. She’s actually a great driver, can handle a car better than anyone I know.” Lily smirked at Dean’s questioning look. “Ya Dean, even you and when I someday rob a bank she’ll totally be my getaway driver.” That got a little chuckle from Sam. Leave it to Lily to have a plan for a bank job. “But for now, she’s got a head start in a car than can haul ass. Now she’ll be careful, since she doesn’t have a valid license but there is still no way you’re going to catch her. Take my word for it.” The smile was gone from Lily’s voice now, all her humor having fled as the realization of what this meant sunk in. “My sister’s gone.”
Everyone was silent for a second as Lily’s words sunk in and then Sam stepped forward and pulled Lily to her feet. “Let’s all get dressed. We’ve tracked people down before. If anyone can come up with a plan it’s us.” Charlie nodded and headed back to her room and with a sympathetic glance thrown Dean’s way Sam led Lily out.
Dean was quite once everyone had left his room, walking towards the bathroom door and picking up Rose’s brush from where he had hurled it. He looked it over and was amazed to see it didn’t even have a mark on it after he’d thrown it with such force. The damn thing really was sturdy. Lily’s words about Rose and her love for speed were playing over in his mind. How had he not known any of this? He sighed. Of course it couldn’t be as easy as just chasing her down. God, he had never been this angry at her in all the years he had known her. Of course he’d never had a reason to be terrified for her before either. How could she do this? Did she not realize how much danger she was putting herself in? With a muttered curse Dean tossed the brush on the bed and left the room. He didn’t care what he had to do he was going to find Rose and bring her home with him where she belonged.
Sam ushered Lily into their room, his mind working on what they needed to do first. He watched as Lily walked to their closest and stared inside, seemingly lost in thought. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “We’ll get her back, Lil.”
Lily nodded and let her head fall back against him. She was swinging back and forth between fear and anger at an alarming rate. She wanted to hug her sister desperately and wanted to strangle her at the same time. She should have seen this coming. She knew how Rose felt about responsibility, should have known that Rose would see running as a viable option.
Sam straightened suddenly. “Cas! Cas can locate her easily. Damn, why didn’t I think of this?” He silently berated himself for not thinking of this sooner. He pulled back from Lily and texted Cas quickly and within seconds Cas was standing in their bedroom. His clothes were rumpled and Lily had to admit he looked every bit the part of a worried husband who had spent the night by his wife’s bedside. He also didn’t look overly happy to be called here.
“Sam” he said, in that deep toneless voice that Lily was beginning to understand was his normal tone. “You said there was an emergency?”
Sam nodded. “Cas, ya thanks for coming so quickly. Rose has taken off sometime in the night or early morning, I guess.”
Cas sighed, looking up at the ceiling and Lily narrowed her eyes, not liking his reaction. “Your brother chose a very difficult female to be involved with and he doesn’t seem to be able to control her very well. He should do something about that.” Sam and Lily both gaped at him, shocked and surprised by his words. “You wish me to locate her, I take it?” Cas asked wearily and Sam nodded, too stunned by Cas’ other comments to say anything. Cas closed his eyes for a second and then opened them again. “I can’t. Now, if there’s nothing else-“
“Wait! What do you mean you can’t?” Sam asked before Cas could disappear.
Cas sighed again. It was evident this was not where he wanted to be. “I can’t sense her. I can’t find her the same way I can’t find you and Dean because of the Enochian symbols burned into your ribs.” Lily’s eyes flew to Sam’s face at these words, obviously not knowing about this. “Rose is different from anyone else I’ve known so it is possible this is just something in her makeup.”
“Could it be a spell? Could she have done something?” Sam asked.
Cas nodded. “There are spells that would have this affect so yes, that is possible.”
“Can you sense her sisters?” Sam asked curiously. Cas closed his eyes and then nodded. “Yes, quite easily” he said, opening his eyes. “I believe it’s most likely something to do with Rose’s powers. It’s quite possible it’s the same way for demons with her too. I would be surprised if they could track her either.” Cas sighed again and laid a hand on Sam’s shoulder. “I am sorry if I have been short with you, Sam. I don’t mean to be but my thoughts and concern is with Daisy now and it’s hard to pull myself away.”
Sam nodded. “It’s OK Cas, I understand. Go back to Daisy. We’ll handle this from here.” With a slight nod Cas disappeared and Sam and Lily were left looking at each other.
“Rose doesn’t mess with spells” Lily said. “Not since junior high.” At Sam’s curious look Lily shook her head. “That’s a story for another time. Your angel friend is weird” she said shortly, turning back to the closet and pulling out clothes.
“He is” Sam agreed “But he’ll take care of Daisy.” Lily nodded and they both changed quickly and then headed out towards the library where they found Charlie already at her laptop, clicking away.
“Dean’s in the kitchen, making coffee and calling Bobby” Charlie said to Sam. Sam nodded and headed that way. “I’ll need your license plate, Lily if you know it…..”
Sam found Dean in the kitchen his cell phone in hand, staring at the coffee pot.
“Hey” he said softly and Dean looked up. Sam winced, hating to see the concerned, worried look on Dean’s face. He seemed to be fluctuating between fear and anger at the moment, which Sam understood.
“I called Bobby, filled him in. He’s gonna notify a few hunters he knows in the nearby states, have them keep an eye out for her. Figures a pretty redhead in a fast red car should be pretty noticeable, especially if she drive like Lily says she does. And a few of the guys he knows know Rose too, or her family at least.”
“Good idea” Sam said, coming over and leaning against the island across from his brother. While they waited on the coffee pot Sam filled him in on his conversation with Cas and Dean let out a dark chuckle when Sam relayed the part about Dean controlling Rose.
“Oh I can’t wait till he tries to control Daisy. I want to be there for that. I chose a difficult woman.” Dean snorted. “He has no idea. He’s obviously never seen Daisy throw a tantrum. Think he knows his little…girlfriend, wait, are we calling her his girlfriend now? I’m not really sure what they are to each other but it’s something. What? What’s that look for?”
Sam ran a hand through his hair. “Um, we didn’t get a chance to tell you since you were in bed last night but um, wife would be more fitting.” He filled Dean in on their visit last night and the fact that both Cas and Daisy were wearing the elder Sullivan’s rings.
“That’s just, well I mean OK, from a strategic stand point it makes sense” Dean admitted and Sam rolled his eyes at his brother, ever the tactician. “But otherwise it’s just all kinds of fucked up.”
“Ya, it didn’t go over well with Lily at all. Getting back to Cas, he said he can’t locate Rose, that he can’t sense her for some reason. He thinks it’s to do with her powers.” Dean swore softly. Cas being able to locate her would have been just too easy. “Up side is he doesn’t think demons can find her either.”
“God Sam, this is just a whole fucked up mess.” Dean started to pace and Sam leaned back, letting his brother burn off some energy. “She was supposed to be safe here. I knew we shouldn’t have taken her to the hotel, knew it was dangerous but no, we had to. And of course she took everything those demons said as the truth, never mind that they’re demons!” Dean flung his arms wide to demonstrate the absurdity of this. “So now it’s all her responsibility if we get hurt. Does she even know what we do? God, why does she have to so damn stubborn?”
Sam let his brother rant and pace a bit, listening to him with half an ear, while in his mind he was working on what they could actually do to fix this. He was curious as to how good Rose was going to be at staying off the grid and off of their radar. Sam knew she was smart and took in more than people realized. He had a feeling she may well be quite a bit better at this than anyone expected her to be. Now as for how Dean was handling this…Sam eyed his brother who was still pacing and was now waving his arms. Well the fact that he had thought to call Cas before Dean did said a lot. Nine times out of ten Dean was the man with the plan but not today. Last night had really affected Dean and to wake up and find Rose gone had thrown Dean more than Sam could ever remember. He was really shaken up. Sam figured between the rest of them they could get things going, give Dean time to get his head together. Dean had stepped up for all them enough in the past.
When the coffee pot finished Sam poured himself and Dean a cup just as Dean seemed to have finally wound down from his rant. He handed Dean his cup, poured one for Lily and led the way to the library to see just what Charlie had come up with to help them get Rose back where she belonged.