Chapter 19

"You'll be fine, Elly." I patted her shoulder gently as we walked through the tattoo parlor door, Dean on our heels.

"Says the one who has five…" Elly grumbled.

"True, doesn't mean I wasn't scared though," I said, trying for the umpteenth time to calm her nerves.

"You should've seen it when she got her first backpiece done." Dean chimed in, "She bawled!"

"I'm not the one who drunkenly got my boyfriend's name tattooed." It was a low blow, but one that would stop him before he shared too many things. Plus, it would make Elly laugh.

"Hey! You promised not ot bring that up again!" Dean's cheeks turned a shade of pink.

"Ya well," I shrugged, "You bring up the crying, I bring up the tramp stamp."

And I was right. I could hear Elly laughing as we squabbled in front of the counter. It was a good sound. A wholesome sound. It made me smile. Maybe she would be ok.

I took her hand and led her to a small waiting area while Dean talked to the lady who'd come up to the counter. He'd have to do some sweet talking to get us in so last minute, but that's what I'd brought him along for. 

"You ok?" I asked Elly.

"I'm anxious." She gave a nervous laugh. "I don't think I've ever told you, but I don't like needles. I passed out getting an IV once."

"You have not told me that." I looked down at her. She was clutching herself tightly, white as a ghost. "Ya know, it's just like a ton of little bee stings. Not that bad."

"Please don't. I will have a counterattack for anything you say." Another nervous bubble of laughter, "I was very good at it in high school. Mom said I should've been studying law. I'll always make it worse."

I let out my own nervous laughter, "Right. I believe you. But you gotta trust me here, Elly. You'll be ok."

"Will you hold my hand?" I stared at her, taking in the true fear in her eyes, and nodded. Elly sighed. "I have a stick and poke. I've had IVs. I was tortured in hell for fuck's sake. I can handle a tattoo right?"

"You can handle a tattoo." I chuckled, "You wanna impress Dean, right? This is a step in that direction."

"He has an ass tat. I'm sure anything I do is more impressive than that."

I fell back against the wall with laughter, "I'll have to show you the video I took during. God, he was so drunk."

"I will not say no to seeing him naked. But I don't want ot know why you were also there." She shook her head, a small smile on her face. It dropped as soon as Dean called us over. She groaned.

"You'll be fine. I'm right here and I'll hold your hand just like Cas did for Dean." I said as he walked back over to us. 

"Please stop telling her about that…" He frowned.

"Not for as long as it embarrasses you, oh brother of mine. I will never let you live it down." I smiled at him, watching the silent laughter swim in his eyes.

"If you need something against her to make it fair," Elly said, "She shot me."

I groaned, "You were the one who jumped in front of a gun."

Dean gave us a confused look. I hadn't told him about what happened yet. I hadn't wanted to but, by the look he was giving me now, it seemed I had to now. 

He shook his head and pushed Elly towards the back of the parlor. "Let's get this over with so we can find Lucifer."

"Agreed." I nodded, taking Elly's hand as we walked towards the artist.

She looked nice enough. She had long black hair that framed her pale face nicely. She had several piercings over her face, the silver of the metal glittering. She wore a black sleeveless dress with a corset. The faces of H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe stared at us from her arms, the inking there beautiful and detailed. She held a bored expression.

"Where do you want it done?" Her voice was steady and tired. Like she's dealt with enough shit already today and wasn't about to take any from us.

I watched Elly as she nervously stepped towards the setup table and plastic-wrapped chair. She pulled up the sleeve of her left arm and pointed at her inner wrist. The artist didn't need more than that. She went to work cutting out the stencil paper.

"Sit down." She told Elly, patting the chair. 

Elly hesitantly took a seat and got comfortable. The artist gently took her arm and positioned it on another plastic-covered cushion. Dean and I took seats along the wall next to Elly. She kicked her feet nervously.

"Alright," The artist held out the stencil and placed it gently against Elly's wrist. "There? Or more to the side?"

"That's fine," Elly whispered, her voice feeble and quivering. Her hand reached blindly for mine. I snatched it and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Oh, it's not that bad…" Dean grumbled. I smacked his arm. "Ow."

"Cas ass." I hissed at him. 

The buzz of the needle started up and I felt her hand tighten on mine. If I didn't know better, I would have sworn she was going to break my fingers. I looked back at her and gave her a kind smile.

"Look over here Elly. Dean's gonna find something better for you to look at." I felt my face twitch as she gripped my hand tighter. 

"Penguins?" She mumbled, chancing a glance at us.

"Penguins?" Dean questioned in turn. I shot him a side glare and he quickly dug his phone from his pocket.

I stuck my hand out and he slid it into my palm. I opened it quickly and slid through the apps until I had the browser open and could google search images of penguins. I flicked through a few, a difficult task with one hand, before finding one I thought was cute and showed it to Elly. As soon as she saw it, her face lit up and the pressure on my hand lightened. It was like everything had been forgotten and she was herself again. As if nothing horrible had happened to her. Like we were in her world. In her safe. Normal. Peaceful world. It made me smile until the pain hit her again and she clamped back down on my fingers.

"I think I'm going to pass out." Elly whimpered after a few minutes.

The tattoo artist stopped in her work and instantly looked concerned. She placed the tattoo gun gently onto her workstation and placed her fingers against the pulse in Elly's wrist. 

I watched Elly's face, she did look woozy. "Do you want something to drink?" I asked, standing.

"Mountain Dew," she called as I left the small room.

"Just breathe." The artist told her gently.

I made my way out into the lobby again and located the small cooler that sat against one of the walls. I pulled a small bottle of soda from it and returned to Elly, opening it for her on the way.

Dean had taken my place while I'd been gone, and he was now cooing softly at Elly and gently stroking the back of her hand. I smiled. He had always had an unnatural ability to be comforting to women. And it wasn't his charm or looks, though those helped, but it just seemed to be the way he was. He had always said he'd never be a good father. I always thought the fear of ending up like John was what stopped him. But seeing moments like these, I know he would be an amazing father. 

I tapped Dean on the shoulder to let him know I was back, but he stayed seated, merely sticking out a hand for the bottle instead. I handed it to him and he handed it to Elly. She took it from him, looking relieved for the momentary distraction. 

"So, uh." The artist started, "Is this like…some weird cult thing?"

"It's more like a family thing," I said as Dean chuckled.

We both moved to show our wards. Dean pulled down the collar of his shirt to expose his collarbone and I lifted the hem of my shirt to expose the top of the ward from my hip. The artist nodded at us.

"You know it kinda looks demonic right?" She continued.

"We get that a lot." Dean chuckled.

It was a rather common thing we were asked about. Mostly by partners or people who were new to the life. But it was always a fun conversation. Explaining to normals how it wasn't a cult thing was pretty normal for us. And talking new hunters into getting one was always a good talk to have. If it would help save more of them, then I would tell whoever I had to.

"Ok. I think I'm ok to keep going." Elly said, handing the now half-empty bottle back to Dean.

I relaxed into a chair again as he took her hand and started pulling up images of penguins again. 

All in all, the whole process took about a half hour. I was jealous of how much shorter it had been than my hour and a half. But I was glad it was done for Elly's sake. She had looked like she was going to be sick at any moment during most of it. I was letting her lean against me as Dean paid the artist. She was twisting and turning her wrist, taking in the fresh ink in every angle she could.

"How do you feel?" I asked.

"I feel like I just did the best thing in my life." She smiled, still staring at her wrist.

I laughed, "Just wait until we can get you home. You're mom'll flip."

Her face dropped almost instantly. "Oh shit, my mom…" Her voice was low, almost a whisper, "She's gonna kill me…"

She was quiet for a moment. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her close, suddenly guilty over bringing up her world. I was sure it had reminded her of the fact she was stuck. I had made it all more real again. So stupid. 

Elly jumped away from me, startling me when she suddenly yelled, "This is the best thing I've ever done!"

I stared at her, dumbstruck for a moment before laughing. "Well, that was a dramatic change."

"I can't help it!" A new light filled her eyes, making the blue gleam like sapphires. "I just realized that I never would have ever done this without meeting you." The joy in her eyes could have melted the coldest of hearts, "You are one of the best things to happen to me."

I smiled at her. It was like everything that had happened to her in the last few weeks had melted away and she was new again. Like she was my Elly again. 

"That's good, Elly." I said, pulling her into a hug, "A little adventure makes life more enjoyable."

She pushed abc from me, the biggest smile on her face. She looked like she was going to say more when Dean came back to us, holding a small bag of things. He explained it was a care bag for her new tattoo and Elly squealed with joy again. I laughed as we left the building, Elly calling thanks to the artist over her shoulder.

I smiled at her the entire ride back to the safe house. Her smile had returned, for how long I wasn't sure, but as long as it was here, I was going to bask in its light. Because I was sure we weren't ot of the woods just yet. And who knew when everything was going to come crashing back down on us again.

"Damn it!" Sam swore under his breath as he rounded a corner, running right into me.

I stumbled back slightly, Sam catching my arm to keep me from falling. He mumbled a 'sorry', an honest apologetic look on his face. I peered around him, looking towards where he had come from. Gabe's door was still ajar.

"Are you ok?" I asked, taking in the frustration that had been in his tone. 

"It's just…impossible!" He huffed, "Gabe has been tortured too much. His mind is gone and there's no way I can pull him back."

I understood. It had been a few days since we'd gotten settled in this bunker. It was nice and the accommodations had been good for Gabe's condition, but we were still no closer to getting him to talk than we had been at our bunker.

"There had to be something." I sighed. I knew Sam was exhausted, he had been at it again for well over twenty-four hours. "Maybe Cas…"

"He's already tried everything he can." Sam sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "He can't heal an archangel. And Dean keeps distracting him."

I snickered, looking around Sam again to where their room was further down the hall. "If Lucifer hadn't fled we could use him."

"He wouldn't help us anyway. Not willingly." Sam ran his hand up through his hair. It was getting shaggy again. I was always amazed it never seemed to tangle. "How's Elly?"

"She'll get through it." It was my turn to sigh. "But the sooner we can return her to her world the better."

Sam nodded, agreeing. "Why do you think he left?" Sam leaned against the wall, "I thought you said he wouldn't leave her."

I shrugged, "I guess I was wrong."

Sam smiled, a teasing glint in his hazel eyes, "You? The great Alexandria Winchester, was wrong?"

"It happens from time to time." I laughed, punching him playfully, "Don't call me that."

Sam laughed, pushing me gently. "I should get back to work. Maybe some book here can offer something new."

He pushed off the wall, ruffling my hair on the way by as he walked back down the hall. I laughed and ran a hand back through it, fixing it back into place. I padded softly in the opposite direction, continuing to the server room. I could hear Ketch talking softly on the phone as I entered the room. I found him at the end of the glass table, sitting in one of the leather chairs. 

"You're sure? You know how inaccurate she can be," He spoke into the phone as I walked up to him. "Yes. Yes. Ok. Thank you." He lowered the phone ot the table and sighed into the chair. "Last sighting was New York, supposedly."

"Lucifer?" I asked, making sure we were on the same page. He nodded. "Oh. Supposedly?"

He shrugged, "The woman supplying the details tends to see things that aren't there." His silver eyes were bored, "So I'm waiting until someone else can confirm her sighting."

"So we shouldn't get our hopes up." I nodded, leaning against the armrest of his chair.

"Indeed." He nodded in response, "And even if he is in New York, we should wait until he's somewhere smaller. Or it may be like finding a needle in a haystack."

"Makes sense." I took a look at the monitor that showed a map of the U.S. Several small lights were blinking on it. "We could go hunt something in the meantime."

"Are you bored?" He sat up in his chair, a new interest in me. 

I smiled at the way his demeanor had changed. Going from serious to something of a flirty tone. "Did you have something in mind?" I teased.

"It has been a few days, love. We've been so busy." Ketch slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me around to face him. 

I leaned forward, resting my forehead on his. "We could change that."

"We should." He said, sliding a hand under my chin and pulling me into a kiss.

It was sweet and soft and…

"Oh! Geez….sorry…." Cut short by Elly, who had entered the room silently. "I'm…sorry. I was just….the kitchen.."

I couldn't help but laugh at her amazing timing. I turned to face her, sliding my hand into Ketch' at the same time. She was blushing like she'd walked in on something far worse.

"We should apologize, Elly. We'll go elsewhere." I smiled.

"Ya. Cause you totally shouldn't just be smackin' lips in the middle of the living area." She tried to tease, the blush on her cheeks lessening. "You have a room for that."

I laughed more. It was good to see that she at least seemed happy again. I knew the dreams hadn't left her alone, I could hear her screaming at night, but she at least wore a good mask during the day. She would be damaged for a while, but as long as she could still smile, I knew there was hope. 

But she was right, there were rooms for the sort of thing my mind was on now. I squeezed Ketch' hand and pulled him to his feet. I smiled at Elly again as we left the room, walking quickly down the hall to the room we now shared.

We didn't need to turn the lights on to find each other again. My fingers found themselves tangled in his hair as our lips met again. It had been a few days, but our bodies hadn't forgotten how to move against each other. Soon we were in the bed, tangled together, movements soft and slow against the cold sheets, pushing me ever closer to him. The air was filled with whispers of love and sweet nothings between the moans and sighs.

It was sweet. Soft. Warm. Perfect. Love.