Author's Note: This is my first fanfic. Constructive criticism and comments are always welcome!

The Guardian of Man

Chapter 1

Lexi walked into the bright light of the convenience store, pausing briefly to brush the droplets of rain from her hair and scan the room for the coffee machines. She headed for the far corner, the warm, bitter scent of four different brews drawing her in as she approached.

Her attention focused on the promise of warmth and caffeine, she didn't notice the tall, long-haired man who had just stepped away from the coffee counter, her shoulder slamming into his arm as they passed, slightly knocking her off-balance. Her hand instinctively reached up and grabbed his forearm to steady herself.

"Oh I'm so sor…" The lightning strike of pain pierced through her skull sending electrified needles into her brain, her hand releasing the man's arm to grasp at her temple with a sharp intake of breath. She pinched her eyes tightly closed as a wave of images passed through her mind in rapid succession.

"Hey, you okay?" the man's voice broke through the pain and chaotic visions like a distant echo, chasing away the torrent enough to allow her to open her eyes again. She looked up to see him stooped over slightly, concerned hazel eyes trying to meet hers. His hand reached out, aimed for her shoulder in a comforting gesture. She stepped backward quickly to avoid repeating physical contact with the man.

"I...I have to go…" she whispered, turning from the man's gaze and darting across the linoleum toward the door, back out into the drizzly night.

"Dude, we are not putting a foosball table in the bunker, that's stupid!" Sam followed his brother toward the concrete stairs leading down to the door of the bunker. Dean turned back to glare at Sam as he pulled the key from the front pocket of his jeans.

"You're stupid, foosball is aweso…"

"Dean!" Sam cut him off, having stopped mid-step halfway down the staircase. He pointed to the dark mass huddled in the corner of the retaining wall at the bottom of the stairs. His blood turned icy and his heartbeat quickened, not quite able to make out what it was in the shadow created by the dusky light.

"What the hell?" Dean had followed his brother's gesture, freezing at the sight. His hunter instincts taking over, his hand immediately reached back to his waistband to retrieve his gun.

Hearing the click of the safety being disengaged, Sam glanced at Dean. Seeing the brief nod confirming he was at the ready to cover him, Sam stepped down the remaining few steps and approached the corner. As he closed in on the mass, he could make out the shape of a person, curled into a tight ball with arms wrapped around knees, a curly nest of dark hair half-covering an unconscious face. Crouching down to lean in a little closer, Sam cocked his head slightly to the side as recognition flooded over him.

"What the hell? Dean, this the girl," Sam said as he turned back to look at his brother. "The one from the Gas N Sip last week who ran out after she bumped into me!"

"What? The one you said looked like she was having a freaky vision like you used to?" Dean lowered his gun and took a step forward to look closer at the still body. "That was back in Maryland!"

"I'm pretty sure," Sam said as he reached out to brush the hair from the woman's face. "Yeah, this is definitely her, Dean."

Sam lowered one knee to the concrete to lean in closer still and laid a hand on her shoulder, shaking gently to try to rouse her back into consciousness. Her eyelids parted to reveal blue-grey eyes rimmed with red as the sound of a sharp intake of breath filled the small space. Her eyes widened as she recognized the face in front of her, a flash of fear striking across her face.

"Sam, you're in danger!" she said, her voice trembling with anxiety before she grasped both temples with her hands, letting out a quiet moan of pain. She leaned forward slightly, tightening her body into an even tinier ball before slumping back against the wall, unconsciousness taking her over again.

A quiet moan rumbled from Lexi's throat as she opened her eyes, the yellow color of the dimly lit room seeming hazy. A few quick blinks and the space around her began to sharpen. Sitting comfortably in an overstuffed chair, she took stock of her situation. She wasn't hurt, nothing on her body was in pain except for the throbbing headache she'd had continuously for the past week. The room in front of her contained several long tables, bookcases all around...a library?

"How the hell did I end up in a library?" she wondered, still taking in her surroundings. At the far end of the furthest table a man was slumped over, head resting on folded arms, his breath coming out in quiet snores.

"Great, now what have I gotten myself into?" She searched the perimeter of the room, looking for an exit, debating at the same time if she should make a noise to get the dozing man's attention. It was then that the tall, shaggy-haired man stepped into the room, instantly filling her with anxiety. She froze in the chair, still except for the uncontrollable trembling of every inch of her body.

"Sam…" The word escaped her lips before she had half a second to consider it, and his head whipped to the side of the room to look directly at her. Sam froze mid-step, then let out a slow breath.

"Hi. Are you okay?" He kept his eyes on the small woman curled into the chair as he reached back to set the coffee mug he'd been carrying on the table behind him. He started to move closer to her, but stopped when he noticed her tensing, curling herself into a ball.

"Yes, don't...just don't touch me," she said glaring up at him while pulling her arms tighter around her shoulders. "Please."

"Okay, okay...that's fine. Let's just talk, okay?" His voice was soft, comforting, as he raised both hands in front of him in a gesture of surrender. He turned slowly to pull a chair from the nearest table, moving it to face her but keeping it about six feet away. He sat, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, hands clasped in front of him. "What's your name?"

"Lexi." She let herself relax slightly, somehow finding Sam's presence soothing and anxiety-inducing at the same time. "Where am I?"

"You're in our home, we found you passed out by the door a few hours ago. My brother and I brought you in," Sam gestured to the sleeping man across the room. Just then a click echoed through the room along with a rustling of movement at the table.

"Against my better judgement. Who are you?" Dean said as he moved from sitting to standing with his gun firmly trained on Lexi's head.

"Dean, stop!" Sam stood quickly and bolted across the room to put a hand over his brother's, lowering the weapon. "Can't you see she's terrified? And we searched her, she doesn't have any weapons."

"Yeah, well if she's not after us then why did she follow us all the way from Maryland?" He tried raising the gun up again, but Sam pulled it from his hand, flipping the safety back on.

"Dean! Come on, man, we don't need a gun, okay? Let's just talk to her and figure this out." Sam put a hand to his brother's shoulder, lightly pushing him back down to his seat before setting the gun on the table out of his immediate reach. He returned to the chair in front of Lexi. Her eyes were wide and her body visibly shaking now. "Sorry, he's a little...nervous."

"I'm not in Maryland?" Lexi squeaked out, her voice shaking and barely audible.

"No, Kansas...you don't remember…"

"I don't know how I got here...last I knew...oh god…" her voice broke off as tears started to overflow her eyes and the trembling grew stronger.

"Hey, hey it's okay," Sam said as he began to move toward her, wanting to comfort her but remembering her request that he not touch her. "It's okay, we'll figure this out. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Um...I…" Lexi took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she wiped at the tears on her face. "A headache. I was at home with a really bad headache. And I kept seeing...I must have been dreaming. Then I woke up here."

"Lexi, how did you know my name?" Sam asked, eyebrows slightly raised, hoping he wasn't pushing too fast.

"Well," Lexi looked at Sam, then darted a glance across the room to where Dean sat with a scowl, his eyes boring into her. She briefly glanced at the gun on the table before returning her focus to Sam. "The headaches. I see things...when I have the headaches, I see you."

Sam's eyes grew wide as he turned to look at Dean, who sat forward in his chair, the scowl fading, a look of concern replacing it. Lexi looked from one man to the other, the trembling in her body starting up again, emanating from her core.

"When did it start?" Sam asked, returning his focus back to her.

"The convenience store. When I touched you it was like a wave." She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes against the tears that threatened to start falling again. "I know I'm crazy."

"Well you came to the right place," Dean said gently, all traces of his previous anger gone from his voice. "Crazy is what we do."

"Great," Lexi said with a sarcastic chuckle. "I'm so glad crazy headaches are in your wheelhouse."

"Visions." Sam said. "They're visions. I used to have them, too."

Lexi froze at Sam's words, staring him directly in the eyes. A new wave of anxiety shot through her, a tight band around her chest squeezing the trembling to the surface and the tears from her eyes. A sob escaped her lips and all control of her emotions left her as she sat in the chair, crying, hugging her knees to her chest. The realization that she wasn't imagining all of this, that it was, in fact, real, was overwhelming her completely. Her sobbing came louder and faster as she just broke down and let it come.

"Hey...hey, hey, hey, it'll be okay, Lexi," Sam said as he moved from the chair to kneel in front of the sobbing woman who had closed herself into a ball so small she looked like a child. He reached out and placed a hand to her shoulder, desperate to comfort her because he knew without a doubt what the fear and confusion she was feeling was like. Seconds after his hand made contact with her shaking body he felt a sharp electric twinge shoot into his hand. She let out a gasp and her hands shot up to her temples, grasping at her skull. Her face contorted into a pained wince and she leaned forward with a moan. Sam pulled his hand away from her, letting it hover in mid-air as he watched her writhe. It was only seconds before the tension all let loose and she slunk back in the chair, unconscious again.