Challenge Issued By: enviousxbeauty
My Bad Ass Beta: enviousxbeauty, who also supplied the latin for this fic.
Set after: Free To Be You and Me.
Ashes
Quod vir mos orior ex cineris gratia sto denuo…
{ And man will rise from the ashes in order to stand anew}
He'd allowed himself to be tricked and trapped and tangled into a Yes before.
But he wasn't going to make that mistake again. This time, it'd take fifty years before the thought even crossed his mind. And the answer would still be no-fucking-way.
The whole damn town reeked of sulfur when he rolled in. The hunt was quick and dirty. His voice was hoarse by the end of it, and his ammo was in desperate need of restocking.
Michael was leaning against the hood of the Impala. "You know what would have made this hunt so much easier?"
"No." Dean said as he got in the door and slammed it shut.
o-o-o-o-o
Two states over, he was adding the fifth stitch to his hurt arm. Dean grunted and pulled the needle through. He picked up the bottle of whiskey and took a long swallow before continuing.
His phone rang, shaking violently as the display declared: Sammy.
Rolling his eyes, he reluctantly picked up the phone. "Yes?"
"Dean," Sam breathed a sigh of relief, "I wanted to talk."
"Did you say Yes to Lucifer?"
"No, Dean, of course not."
"Then what's there to talk about?"
"Look." Sam's tone was suddenly defensive. "I just wanted to see if you're okay."
"Just great." Dean said between clenched teeth. More blood oozed from his arm.
Sam hesitated. "I think I'm being followed. Dean, we should meet."
"Sam, I don't want to make us easier targets, okay?" Dean said firmly on shaky foundations. "We're better of were we are."
"Alright." Sam frowned. "Bye."
Dean closed the phone. "Bye, Sammy."
Michael sat down on the motel and tsked. He looked at Dean's tattered first aid kit. "It doesn't have to hurt like that."
Dean looked over at him and glared. "No."
o-o-o-o-o-o
Michael began humming bible hymns whenever Dean was least expecting it. Dean hummed mullet rock louder as he worked. After a particularly trying day in Wisconsin, the world was ten demons less. As he headed back to his motel, clutching his wounded side, his phone rang.
"Hey." He grunted.
"…Dean?" The voice on the end was ragged. It sounded like he'd run a marathon.
"What's wrong Sam?" Dean froze. Michael stopped humming and leaned closer to hear the other end.
"I just… just got away…"
"From who?" Dean forgot about his side and headed straight over to the car.
"Hunters. In Minnesota, they …" Sam gave a strangled cry.
"What town Sam?"
Sam choked out a single name and began to cough.
"I'll be there soon." He hung up the phone and got in the car.
Michael leaned back and put his feet on the dashboard. "I know how to get there quicker."
"How?" Dean said with venom.
"Well, if you had angel wings…"
"No." Dean cut him off.
o-o-o-o-o
It wasn't hard to find Sam in Minnesota. Dean only had to follow the trail of blood. The Water Lodge Motel hadn't asked questions about the lanky guest when he checked in. And they didn't care enough to ask questions when the blond stormed in only a few hours later.
Dean went into Sam's motel room expecting bad, but not that bad. Sam was passed out on the bed. His cheek was cut, he had a black eye, his wrists had horrible cuts and rope burn on them.
Worst of all, Dean noticed Sam was wearing only boxers and a loose t-shirt. His body an array of bruises and cuts.
Dean was filled with rage.
"You know why they did this Dean. The kid started the apocalypse, after all." Michael shook his head. "Good thing you weren't with him, right? They would have nabbed you to."
Dean stopped digging through his medical kit. "No. If I had been there, they wouldn't have gotten either of us."
Michael stood up. "And if I was there, none of this would happen."
Sam groaned a little. Dean moved to his side. "Go away already." He hissed. "The answer is still No."
Michael shrugged. "Dean. I won't leave you as easily as Sam left you. I'm staying by your side."
Dean chucked a loose bandage at the receding image. He began to take care of his brother but Michael's words kept coming back to him. He wondered how much fault was his own. Just because he kept saying no. At least, every time Sam said no things were prevented from falling into chaos. But every time Dean told Michael no… Hunters got another crack at attacking Sam, just because of a mistake.
Dean shook his head and tried to focus on the task at hand.
o-o-o-o-o
When Sam was tucked away, breathing steadily Dean let himself relax. He sat next to Sam's bedside with tired eyes. His brother's worn face was a map of pain and sorrow that Dean easily reflected.
He realized he was going to have to get food soon for them both. Michael leaned in the doorway, munching an apple. "Well what do you know, after years of tearing people apart I didn't think you knew how to put them back together."
Dean stood up quickly, knocking his chair over. In a voice like thunder, he rumbled, "I don't need you!"
Sam woke up suddenly hearing his brother's voice. He looked at Dean. "Really?"
Dean panicked. He looked at Sam. "No…"
Sam looked at him with broken eyes. "It's okay Dean. I understand." He started to sit up. "…Thanks for helping me."
"Sam…"
"I'll be more careful from now on." Sam avoided Dean's gaze. "I understand if you want to leave."
Dean picked up his coat. "I'll be back okay? I'm just going to get us-"
"Don't bother." Sam said leaning against the head board. "I'm fine now."
Dean huffed and walked out of the room. He headed down the hallway with Michael matching his stride. "Where you going?"
"To get pie. Make it up to my brother."
Michael laughed. "It'll take more than pie, Dean. Why, you'd practically have to stop the apocalypse if you want things to be normal again."
Dean stared straight ahead trying not to look at Michael.
"I can help with that." The angel said seriously.
"No." Dean said again.
He entered the lobby and was half way out the door when he saw the lights flicker. He looked around. The front desk girl was hitting her radio to get a better signal. Dean cursed and ran back down the hall to Sam's room.
Sam didn't answer when he knocked. Dean kicked down the door.
Frozen in terror on the bed was Sam.
Dean followed his eyes upwards and saw the horrifying image of a darker Sam Winchester. The bastard was grinning, just calmly grinning with his back to the ceiling and his arms folded across his chest. "Say yes, Sam. Those Hunters won't hurt you again. You don't have to worry about your brother leaving you. You just have to say yes."
The smile grew broader and the haunting imitation of Sam began howl with shrieking laughter. Fire erupted around it.
Sam kept mouthing. "No… no… no… no…"
The ceiling began to crumble and the walls started to shake.
Dean grabbed Sam and carried him out of the sulfur laden flames. Struggling out of the ashes, they made it back to the car in one trembling piece.
"No…no…no…" Sam kept saying while shaking in the passenger seat. Numb. Blank. Dean sat next to him the car with his hands drumming on the steering wheel. He leaned over to the backseat and grabbed a water bottle.
Dean handed the cool water to his brother. "Sam?"
Sam looked up dazedly. He blinked to clear his thoughts. "Yeah?"
"You know I want what's best right?"
Sam nodded, sipping the water.
"Then you have to trust me." Dean pulled the keys to the Impala out of the car. "I've got to do this."
Sam took the keys. "Dean, wait… what are you going to do?"
Dean smiled sadly. "Just promise me that we'll see each other again."
Sam frowned. "Dean- no, you can't do this…"
"Yes." Dean said sadly. "I am. One of us was going to. Might as well be me. Bye, Sam."
Dean walked away from Sam. Sam buried his face in his hands. "No…"
Dean wandered the streets until he found a desolate alley. He looked around to make sure he had privacy. He had promised that he would never hurt Sam. But lately…nothing he did was right. The very commandment that promised him life proved to be his death.
He looked up into the dark heavens littered with wishing stars and simply said:
"Yes."
.:The End:.