REVIVE ▸ d. winchester [2] ✔

Chapter 25

Dean's POV

"Dean? H-How-?" Jackie stutters through her words as if she were shivering from the cold. 

"Shh, come here," I hush her, trying to keep her from panicking in her fragile state. Still laying on the ground, I reach over and pull her into me. Wrapping my arms around her shoulders, I cradle her head into my chest and rest my chin on her shoulder. Jackie welcomes the embrace, the tension in her body seeming to wash away.

Through her hair, I can just make out the intricate black lines on her neck, right behind her ear. The mark would forever hold a reminder of what Azrael did to all of us, and worst of all, to her. I don't know if that mark will ever go away, or if we could somehow remove it like we did the angel grace, but until then, it will stand out like a sore thumb. A reminder of dark times. 

"What are you doing here?" Jackie whispers to me, pulling back slightly and looking up at me in question.

My mind races through a list of reasons that I could give her. To kill Azrael. To kill his Chimeras. To save the world again from Azrael's plans. To avenge you. All of which would open up a new line of questioning from her that I couldn't answer to. 

"It's complicated," I say, brushing hair out of her face. Rather than persisting and insisting I give a straight answer, Jackie gives a nod. "I'll tell you everything later, I promise. But right now, I'm going to get you out of here."

Jackie doesn't argue as I begin to stand up, pulling her with me. Although she had put up a strong fight against me and her moves appeared to be on par, now that she no longer had adrenaline rushing through her veins, the exhaustion on her face was evident. I keep an arm around her with my hand holding one of her own, both for her own support and my own need to keep her close. 

But before we can take our first steps back into the woods, towards where I parked the impala and away from the eyes of Azrael and his Chimeras, Jackie asks another question. Although, this time, its one I can answer. "Where's Zeke?"

I can't help but let out a small, relieved laugh. "Back at Bobby's, safe and sound," I tell her. Thinking back to how the German Shepherd had been in a constant state of restlessness these past few months makes my stomach drop.

"You know, he missed you a lot. Nearly drove Bobby up the walls." She only responds with a forced smile, one that hardly reaches her eyes. I know she doesn't know how to respond, so I leave her to meddle with her thoughts on her own. "Let's go," I urge gently, leading her into the woods with her against my side. 

We stay quiet for a few minutes, the only noise being the crunching of snow beneath our feet and the hum of battle behind us. Her presence is enough to make me go silent. I have no words for her that she would be able to take right now, so I keep them to myself.

After a while, we can't hear the restless fighting in the distance, something that gives me hope that I can get the both of us out of here safely. Every step brings me that much closer to having her back for sure, to where I can let the breath I'm holding in out. I can't help but think that something could come out of nowhere and steal her back, leaving me with nothing yet again. These thoughts bring me to pick up my pace, guiding Jackie with me as I keep my arm tight around her. 

"Dean?" Jackie suddenly stops walking, and even takes a small step out of my grip.

I look over to her, eyes scanning to make sure she's okay. "Yeah, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I-" She pauses. "The knife, the one in your jacket. What's it for? I've never seen one like it before."

Confused, I take a second to look at her. Her question was rather sudden, but not unprovoked. Yet, I find myself wondering why she stopped to ask it. Has she never seen an angel blade before?