Bobby Singer closed his laptop with a sigh. There was no way he could find Sam; only Alexis and Dean would be able to do that. Sam was gone, just... disappeared after Dean got sent to Hell. And Alexis... well, she'd stayed with Bobby for a little while. They did bury Dean on her 24th birthday. One hell of a birthday present, if you asked him. When that clock hit midnight and the hellhounds tore Dean to shreds, that poor girl turned 24. He worried about her. Her best friend was in Hell, and her boyfriend had just disappeared into thin air. Not two months after, she vanished as well. Now it had been four months, and he was still just as worried as when she first left.
He heard a knock at the door and stood up. He hesitantly opened the door to see Alexis, and she did not look good. Her shoulder length chestnut hair hung limp, her green eyes were dull. Her jeans were stained with mud, and her white cami was covered in blood. It wasn't fresh, which meant whatever wound that was from was probably infected. Bobby knew Alexis, so he knew she wouldn't stop to take care of her own open wounds. She would die trying to find Sam before stopping to take care of herself. That was just the kind of girl she was.
"Alexis..." he said. "Where the hell have you been?" She smelled like a bar. "Have you been drinking?"
"I'm fine," she muttered.
"Yeah, far from it," he countered. She was near tears.
"You're right," she whispered, her voice trembling. "I'm not fine."
"Come in," he said, guiding her in with a hand on her back. He led her to the couch and got her settled down. "What's wrong?"
"I can't take this anymore, Bobby," she said, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. "I've searched everywhere for Sammy, he's just gone. I can't do this. I just... I can't. What do I do, Bobby?"
"Just get a good night's sleep," he said, helping her lie down and putting a blanket over her shoulders. "You'll feel better in the morning."
Alexis spent the whole night staring at nothing.
The next morning, she walked out again. She knew she shouldn't have vanished on Bobby again, she just didn't know what to do. She decided to visit Dean's grave. She had her normal stuff with her; silver knife in her boot, gun in her waistband, silver bullets, rock salt shots, vials of salt and holy water. The whole nine yards. She took a bottle of beer from Bobby's counter as she left.
She sat in front of where they had buried Dean. She noticed how all the trees in the area had just, fallen down, but she didn't really care. She took a sip from the bottle.
"Dean," she said. "If you can hear me, I need help. Sammy's gone, and I'm losing it. I guess this might be hard to believe, but I'm pretty sure you were the glue. You get dragged under, and the two of us – we just... stopped talking. Insane, right?" She laughed a little. "Most people thought Sammy and I were a match made in Heaven. It just..." She took another sip. "It just all went awry. And it's tearing me apart. So, if you can hear me, please."
A hand burst out of the dirt. Alexis stood up quickly and stepped a few steps back with a gasp, pulling her gun out of her waistband. Another hand shot out of the ground. Slowly but surely, a gasping Dean crawled out of the ground. He lay on his back for a minute, catching his breath. He stood up and looked at Alexis.
"Alexis?" he asked. His voice sounded a little hoarse. She had her gun trained on him, rock salt shots ready for fire. Her eyes were wide and calculating.
"What are you?" she asked.
"I'm me," he croaked. She carefully pulled a vial of salt out of her pocket and threw it in his face. Nothing happened. "See? Just me." She splashed a vial of holy water on him. Again, no response but a, "Great, now I'm wet." She pulled the silver knife out of her boot.
"How are you here?" she asked, ready to slice. As much as she wished it was him, she never really had any luck since meeting the Winchesters. It was as if all her luck in the world combusted the second she stepped into the backseat of the impala.
"Give me the knife," Dean said. "I'll prove it." She hesitantly handed the knife to him. He proceeded to cut his arm. Not deeply, but enough to prove to her that he was really him.
Without thinking about taking the knife back, she hugged him, causing him to drop the knife in surprise.
"Oh god," she breathed. "It's been Hell up here too, trust me."
"Can't breathe," he choked out. "Can't breathe!"
"Sorry," she apologized, taking a step back.
"Did you see what happened?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" she asked back.
"I'll take that as a no," he said.
"I'm just going to go find Bobby..." Alexis muttered, still unsure if it was really Dean. She began to walk away.
"You're just gonna leave me here?" Dean called hoarsely after her. She didn't reply. He noticed the bottle in her hand. Alexis doesn't drink... he thought, confused.
Alexis made her way back to Bobby's. He let her in with a scolding that she didn't really pay attention to. She took the last sip out of the bottle as she sat down on the couch.
"I think I'm finally losing it, Bobby," she said softly, looking at the ground. He stopped scolding her and gave her a strange look. "I just saw Dean walk out of his friggin' grave. That's not something that just... happens." She looked up at him. "I'm going insane, aren't I?"
"You're not going insane," Bobby assured her. "Whatever you saw, there was a reason. I'm sure of it." His phone rang, and he picked it up. "Yeah? Yeah? Who's "me"?" He hung up the phone. "Well, whatever you saw. It's real at least." His phone rang again. "Who is this? This ain't funny. Call again, I'll kill ya." He turned to Alexis. "This probably ain't good."
The next day, Alexis was startled awake by a pounding on the door. Bobby opened it, and Dean was standing on the doorstep. He looked winded and apprehensive. He let out a cautions smile, and Bobby eyed him suspiciously.
"Surprise," Dean said.
"I, I don't..." Bobby couldn't think of what to say.
"Yeah, me neither," Dean replied, walking in. Alexis just gave him a strange stare as he passed her. He shot her a quick smile, and she just kept staring blankly. She still couldn't believe that it was really Dean, there had to be a catch somewhere. "But here I am."
Bobby grabbed a silver knife. The action evaded Dean's attention, but caught Alexis'. She didn't make any sign of noticing, though. As Dean approached Bobby, the older man lashed forward with the knife. Dean grabbed his arm and twisted it around, causing Bobby to drop the knife and backhand him in the face. Alexis didn't make a move. She already tested this... Dean-that-might-not-be-Dean several ways, but she was going to let Bobby test him as well. That way, they could be sure.
"Bobby!" Dean said. "It's me!"
"My ass!" Bobby spat.
Dean shoved a chair in between himself and Bobby and held his hands out, showing both Bobby and Alexis that he had no weapons. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Your name is Robert Steven Singer. You became a hunter after your wife got possessed, and... you're about the closest thing I have to a father." He looked at Alexis. "Your name is Alexis Caroline Henriksen. You became a hunter after Sam and I helped you when you were kidnapped by a demon. Last I heard you were his girlfriend, and your adopted father was trying to put Sam and I in handcuffs for the longest time. Guys, it's me."
Bobby lowered the knife and stepped forward. He gently placed a hand on Dean's shoulder. Without warning, he slashed at Dean again. Dean quickly disarmed him and got a few steps away.
"I am not a shapeshifter!" he defended.
"Then you're a Revenant!" Bobby countered.
Dean shoved Bobby away and took the silver knife. He held it out in front of him
"Alright," he said. "If I was either, could I do this with a silver knife?" He rolled up his sleeve and sliced his arm above the elbow. A line of blood appeared and he grimaced.
"Dean?" Bobby asked, starting to believe that it was really Dean. Alexis finally believed him alright, but she was too busy dealing with a headache to stand up.
"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Dean said. Bobby pulled Dean in for a tight hug. He returned the hug enthusiastically. A wave of relief crashed over Alexis. Yes, she was relieved but the relief was a mix of everyone's in the room.
The emotion sharing was natural to her. It had been happening for the last couple years, getting more and more common. At first, they thought it was because she was like Sam. Everything fit. Her mom died in a house fire when she turned six months old, psychic abilities manifesting, etcetera. But when she got dragged off to that ghost town with Sam, Ava, and the others, the Yellow-Eyed Demon had come to her in a dream. And the freakiest thing was that he said his blood never made it into Alexis' system. So how could she feel what other people were feeling? It wasn't just supersoniced empathy. Either way, she hadn't told anyone that the demon blood never got into her, not even Sam. She didn't know what it was, so she didn't want to worry anyone.
Another unusual case like that was the Trickster. It was something constantly nagging at her. They ran into the Trickster at a time when all monsters looked at Sam and instantly knew who he was and recognized him. This Trickster, though, looked at Alexis and recognized her, not Sam. Then there was the time she asked the thing about it, and he said something. She didn't remember what he said, but she remembered what it did to her. For a split second, it felt like she could feel the emotion of every person in the world at once. Then she blacked out and woke up three days later.
Other strange things like that had happened once or twice, but it wasn't as strange. The Trickster thing nagged her the most, but she'd get over it. Oh well.
"It's... it's good to see you, boy," Bobby said.
"Yeah, you too," Dean replied. Alexis shakily stood up and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of Aspirin. She filled herself a glass of water and took two of the pills.
"But... how did you bust out?" Bobby asked.
"I don't know," Dean said. "I just, uh, I just woke up in a pine box..." Bobby splashed a vial of holy water in Dean's face. He paused for a second, then spit excess holy water out of his mouth. "I'm not a demon either, you know."
"Sorry, can't be too careful."
"From what I saw," Alexis said, walking into the room. "I saw a hand, then another hand, then he just crawled out, not a scratch."
"You saw him come out?" Bobby asked.
Alexis nodded, "I told you I saw him crawl out of his friggin' grave. I just didn't know if it was my own eyes or the alcohol seeing it."
"But... that don't make a lick of sense," Bobby said.
"Yeah," Dean agreed. "Yeah, you're preachin' to the choir."
"Dean, your chest was ribbons," Bobby said. "Your insides were slop. And you've been buried four months. Even if you could slip out of Hell and back into your meat suit-"
"I know," Dean interrupted. "I should look like a Thriller video reject."
"What do you remember?" Bobby asked.
"Not much," Dean said. "I remember I was a hellhound's chew toy, and then... light's out. Then I come to six feet under, that was it." Bobby sat down. Alexis re-took her seat on the couch. "Sam's number's not working. He's, uh... he's not..."
"Oh, he's alive," Bobby said. "As far as we know."
"Good..." Dean said. "Wait, what do you mean, as far as you know?"
"I haven't talked to him for months," Bobby said.
"I've been spending my time looking for him," Alexis shrugged. "The guy vanished."
"You're kidding," Dean said. "You just let him go off by himself?"
"He was dead set on it," Bobby replied.
"Bobby, you should've been looking after him," Dean scolded.
"I tried," Bobby defended. "These last months haven't exactly been easy, you know. Not for him, not for me, and not for Alexis. We had to bury you."
"Why did you bury me, anyway?" Dean asked.
"I wanted you salted and burned," Bobby said. "Usual drill. But... Sam and Alexis wouldn't have it."
"Well, I'm glad they won that one," Dean said, flashing Alexis a grateful look.
"Sam said you'd need a body when he got you back home somehow," Bobby said. "That's about all he said."
"What do you mean?" Dean asked suspiciously.
"He was quiet," Bobby said. "Real quiet. And then he just took off. Wouldn't return my calls. I tried to find him, but he didn't want to be found."
"I've spent three and a half of the last four months scouring the country," Alexis said. "It's like the guy can teleport now. Any slight wind I could get of him blew out by the time I was only, oh, still days away from where I was headed."
"Dammit, Sammy," Dean muttered.
"What?" Bobby asked.
"Oh, he got me home okay," Dean said. "But whatever he did, it is bad mojo."
"What makes you so sure?" Bobby asked.
"You should have seen the grave site," Dean said. "It was like a nuke went off. And then there was this... this force, this presence, I don't know, but it, it blew past me at a fill-up joint. And then this." He took off his jacket and pulled up his sleeve. A handprint brand was red on his shoulder.
"What in the hell?" Bobby asked, standing up.
"It was like a demon just yanked me out," Dean replied. "Or rode me out."
"But why?" Bobby asked.
"To hold up their end of the bargain," Dean replied.
"You think Sam made a deal," Bobby accused.
"It's what I would have done," Dean said with a shrug. Bobby turned to Alexis.
"Why didn't you tell me the grave site looked like a nuclear testing zone?" he asked her.
"Nasty hangover," she reminded him. "And I dragged a bottle out with me anyways. Didn't even believe myself when I saw Dean crawl up."
"Since when do you drink?" Dean asked.
"Since my best friend got dragged to Hell and my boyfriend disappeared off the face of the Earth," she retorted in return.
Dean tracked Sam's cell phone and the three of them were off to a hotel in Indiana, right near where Dean was buried. Alexis was mentally beating herself over this. She had been right here, and that was where Sam had been? Damn, she hadn't been thinking.
They walked through the hallway of the motel and knocked on a door. The door had a 207 in a red heart on the front. A young woman with dark hair opened the door, and she wasn't exactly dressed. She was only wearing a tank top and underwear. One look at her and Alexis was uneasy. Not because of her clothes – or lack thereof – but there was just something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. The woman gave them an expectant look.
"So where is it?" she asked.
The three of them exchanged confused looks before Dean asked, "Where's what?"
"The pizza," the woman continued. "...that takes three people to deliver."
"I think we got the wrong room," Dean said.
Sam stepped into the doorframe. He looked grim, focused. If Alexis didn't know any better, she might not have recognized him.
"Hey," he started. "Is-" he cut off when he saw Dean and Alexis. He swallowed hard. It didn't take Alexis' connection to his feelings to tell that he was shocked. His eyes flickered between Dean, Alexis, and Bobby.
"Heya, Sammy," Dean said quietly.
Sam remained silent as Dean, Bobby, and Alexis were let into the room by the young woman. As Dean got closer, Sam pulled a knife and lunged at him. The woman screamed as Dean blocked Sam's attack and Bobby pulled Sam off of Dean. Sam struggled against him. Alexis stood there, unsure of what to do.
"Who are you?!" Sam shouted angrily.
"Like you didn't do this?!" Dean shouted back.
"Do what?!"
"It's him," Bobby assured Sam. "It's him. Alexis and I have been through this already, it's really him." Sam's eyes flickered to Alexis for a second before staring at Dean.
He slowly stopped struggling before breathing, "What..."
Dean advanced cautiously, not taking his eyes off of his brother. "I know. I look fantastic, huh?"
Bobby let go of Sam. Alexis felt like she was about to cry. Of course, they weren't her tears. If she didn't hold them back she probably would cry for real, but the feeling itself wasn't hers. They were Sam's tears. Well, probably everyone's.
Sam stepped forward and pulled Dean into a desperate hug. They just hugged for several seconds, and Alexis felt like she could suffocate with all the emotion in the room. It definitely wasn't a bad thing, there was just a whole freaking lot of it. Even Bobby was on the verge of tears. Sam pushed Dean back to an arm's length.
"So are you two like... together?" the woman asked.
"What?" Sam asked. "No. No. He's my brother."
"What about her?" she asked, nodding to Alexis. Sam shifted his gaze to Alexis, who returned the gaze evenly. It wasn't a challenging look. The look Sam gave her showed that he was a little unsure about what to say, but needed to talk to her.
"It's, uh, complicated," he said. Alexis remained silent. She didn't know what to say, if there was anything to say in the first place.
"Uh... got it," the woman said. "I... I guess. Look, I should probably go."
"Yeah," Sam said. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Sorry."
Sam had put a white button-down over his t-shirt. He opened the door to let the woman out, now wearing jeans and a blue plaid shirt.
"So, call me," she said.
"Yeah," Sam said. "Yeah, sure thing, Kathy."
"Kristy," she replied, disappointed.
"Right," Sam said. She left and he closed the door.
He walked back into the main room and sat down on the bed. Dean stood above him with his arms crossed. Alexis stood silently next to Dean. She had nothing to say. Well, actually, she had a lot to say. There were so many things she wanted to say. She just didn't know how, she didn't know when, and she didn't know if she even should.
"So tell me," Dean said. "What'd it cost?"
"The girl?" Sam said, smiling. "I don't pay, Dean."
"That's not funny, Sam," Dean replied. "To bring me back. What'd it cost? Was it just your soul, or was it something worse?"
"You think I made a deal?" Sam asked incredulously.
"That's exactly what we think," Bobby said.
"Well, I didn't."
"Don't lie to me," Dean said threateningly.
"I'm not lying," Sam replied.
"So what now," Dean said, advancing on Sam. "I'm off the hook and you're on, is that it? You're some demon's bitch-boy? I didn't want to be saved like this."
"Look, Dean," Sam said angrily, standing up. "I wish I had done it, alright?"
"There's no other way that this could have gone down," Dean said, grabbing Sam by the front of his shirt. "Now tell the truth!"
"I tried everything!" Sam yelled, breaking Dean's grip. "That's the truth. I tried opening the Devil's Gate. Hell, I tried to bargain, Dean, but no demon would deal! Alright? You were rotting in Hell for months. For months, and I couldn't stop it. So I'm sorry it wasn't me, alright? Dean, I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Sammy," Dean said. "You don't have to apologize, I believe you."
"Don't get me wrong," Bobby said. "I'm gladdened that Sam's soul remains intact, but it does raise a sticky question."
"If he didn't pull me out, then what did?" Dean asked.
They all got comfortable in the room. Alexis sat on the bed, Dean and Bobby sat on the couch. Sam passed bottles of beer out to everyone, then sat across from Dean. Alexis just watched the interaction.
"So," Dean said. "What were you doing around here if you weren't digging me out of my grave?"
"Well, once I figured out I couldn't save you," Sam replied. "I started hunting down Lilith, trying to get some payback."
"All by yourself," Bobby accused. "Who do you think you are, your old man?"
Dean frowned and walked towards Sam.
"Uh, yeah, I'm sorry Bobby," Sam said. "I should have called. I was pretty messed up."
Dean picked up a pink flowered bra and held it up.
"Oh yeah," he said. "I really feel your pain." Alexis raised an eyebrow. Nothing to say? They had a lot to talk about.
"Anyways, I was checking these demons out of Tennessee," Sam continued. "And out of nowhere, they took a hard left, booked up here."
"When?" Dean asked.
"Yesterday morning," Sam replied.
"When I busted out," Dean said.
"You think these demons are here 'cause of you?" Bobby asked.
"But why?" Sam pondered.
"Well, I don't know," Dean said. "Some badass demon drags me out and now this? It's gotta be connected somehow."
"How you feelin', anyway?" Bobby asked.
"I'm a little hungry," Dean replied.
"No, I mean, do you feel like yourself?" Bobby asked. "Anything strange, or different?"
"Or demonic?" Dean finished. "Bobby, how many times do I have to prove I'm me?"
"Yeah, well listen," Bobby said. "No demon's letting you loose out of the goodness of their hearts. They've gotta have something nasty planned."
"Well, I feel fine," Dean assured him.
"Okay, look," Sam said. "We don't know what they're planning. We got a pile of questions and no shovel. We need help."
"I know a psychic," Bobby suggested. "A few hours from here. Something this big, maybe she's heard the other side talking."
"Hell yeah," Dean said. "It's worth a shot."
"I'll be right back," Bobby said. Alexis followed him out, uncomfortable with the atmosphere in the room. He turned to her when they got out of the room. "Why the hell didn't you say anything?"
"I don't exactly know what to say," she said angrily. "I don't know whether I should yell at him, hug him, or just freakin' re-introduce myself to him."
"Alexis, you need to talk to him," Bobby said. "Go back in there." She shot him an unsure look and walked back into the room. Sam was packing up, and Dean was out of sight.
"Hey," he said, sounding unsure of himself.
"Where's Dean?" she asked, trying to avoid the obvious subject.
"Bathroom," he said. She walked further into the room and sat down on the bed. This whole situation was awkward for her. "How, uh, how have things been with you?"
Now she knew what she should say. "How have things been with me?" she repeated. She looked at him angrily. "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure that when something like this happens, people who are close need to stick together. You just left, Sammy. I spent almost the whole time trying to find you."
"I'm sorry," he said. "I went off to find Lilith, it was nothing against you."
"And you couldn't have just asked me?" she countered. "I wouldn't have said no if you asked me for help."
"I wasn't thinking straight," he said. "I just, I needed to find Lilith."
"And I could have helped!" She stood up. "You don't have to do everything yourself, you know. There are people who care about you who would've helped you without asking questions! Bobby, Ellen, Jo, me! It's not all about you."
Bobby walked back into the room.
"We're all set to go," he said. Dean poked his head out of the bathroom and followed Bobby out. Alexis and Sam followed without another word to each other.
"She's about four hours down the Interstate," Bobby said as he led them to the parking lot. "Try to keep up." He got in his car.
"I assume you'll want to drive," Sam said. He pulled the keys to the impala out of his pocket and tossed them to Dean.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" Dean said with a chuckle. He approached the car and ran a hand along the side. "Hey, sweetheart, did you miss me?"
Dean got in the driver's side as Alexis slid into the backseat. He gave a dirty look at the stereo, which had an iPod plugged in. He glared at Sam as he got in.
"What the hell is that?" he snapped.
"That's an iPod jack," Sam replied.
"You were supposed to take care of her," Dean scolded. "Not douche her up."
"Dean, I thought it was my car," Sam replied.
Dean sneered, sighed, then started up the car. Sam's music started playing through the speaker. Dean rolled his eyes and gave Sam a pained glare.
"Really?" he asked.
Sam shrugged innocently in return. Dean pulled the iPod out of the jack and threw it in the backseat carelessly.
"Watch the head!" Alexis snapped as she lurched to the side to avoid an iPod to the face.
"And she speaks," Dean said.
Alexis sat quietly as Sam and Dean talked about what happened to Sam the night the hellhounds got Dean. She didn't need a recap of that night; she didn't want a recap of that night. Her own memories of that night were painful enough for her.
She and Sam were stuck to the wall when the hellhound tore Dean to ribbons. She had been squeezing her eyes tight, wishing she could move enough to cover her ears. She could hear the hound and she could hear Dean screaming. The last thing she needed to do was watch as well.
When the noises stopped, she dared to open her eyes. Dean was a bloody mess on the floor, and Lilith had turned to her and Sam. White light had begun to form from Lilith's hand. Before Alexis knew what was happening, she was outside the house, away from the white light. Looking in a window, she had seen Sam huddled in a corner, and the body Ruby then Lilith had possessed on the floor next to Dean's body.
She cautiously crawled back in the window, making her way over to Sam, who was holding his brother and crying.
Alexis closed her eyes and opened them again, blinking away the memory. She didn't need to think about that. But it did pose another question; how did she suddenly end up outside the house? She knew that white light was supposed to kill her, not magically teleport her. Just another weird occurrence to add to the ever-growing list.
"So what happened to you?" Dean asked her.
"What?" she asked back. She hadn't been paying attention. "Sorry, zoned out. Letting you two have quality brother time."
"Well that's exactly like you," he said sarcastically. "Sam said something about a white light that was supposed to kill you guys. He was immune. You were immune too, right?" Right. They didn't know that Azazel's blood never entered her system. They still thought she was like Sam.
"I wasn't immune," she said. "I got instinctively teleported outside the house instead."
"That's just freaky."
By the next morning, Bobby had led them to the psychic's house. A strong, beautiful woman with dark hair opened the door.
"Bobby!" she exclaimed. She hugged him, briefly lifting him off of the ground. Sam and Dean exchanged strange looks.
"You're a sight for sore eyes," Bobby said. The psychic took a step back from Bobby and looked the brothers over. Then, she shifted her gaze to Alexis and smiled. Alexis nodded in return.
"So," she said. "These the boys?"
"Sam, Dean, Alexis," Bobby said. "This is Pamela Barnes, best damn psychic in the state."
"Hey," Dean said in a flirting tone.
"Hi," Sam said, a little awkwardly.
"Mmm-mmm-mmm," Pamela said. "Dean Winchester. Out of the fire and back in the frying pan, huh? Makes you a rare individual."
"If you say so," Dean replied.
"Come on in," she said.
Pamela ushered the four of them into her house. Bobby went in first, then Dean, then Sam, and Alexis last. She shut the door behind them.
"So," Bobby said. "You hear anything?"
"Well, I Ouija'd my way through a dozen spirits," Pamela replied. "No one seems to know who broke your boy out, or why."
"So what's next?" Bobby asked.
"A séance, I think," she said. "See if we can see who did the deed."
"You're not gonna... summon the damn thing here," Bobby double-checked.
"No," Pamela replied. "I just want to get a sneak peek at it. Like a crystal ball without the crystal."
"I'm game," Dean said.
Pamela spread a black tablecloth covered in symbols over a small table. Sam and Dean looked at it warily.
"Who's Jesse?" Dean asked, referring to a tattoo on Pamela's lower back.
"Well, it wasn't forever," Pamela replied with a laugh.
"His loss," Dean said.
Pamela stood up with pillar candles in her hand, and stopped in front of Dean with a smirk.
"Might be your gain," she replied.
"Dude, I am so in," Dean said quietly to Sam.
"Yeah, she's gonna eat you alive," Sam replied.
"Hey, I just got out of jail," Dean defended. "Bring it."
"You're invited too, grumpy," Pamela said, giving Sam a wink.
"You are not invited," Dean said once Pamela had passed out of earshot. Alexis chuckled to herself.
When Pamela got all set up, the five of them sat around the table, which had six lighted candles in the center. Alexis sat in between Bobby and Sam.
"Right," Pamela said. "Take each other's hands." They all held hands in a circle, Alexis and Sam exchanging unsure looks as they took each other's hands. "And I need to touch something our mystery monster touched."
Dean jumped a little. "Whoa," he said. "Well, he didn't touch me there."
"My mistake," Pamela smiled.
Dean nervously took off his outer shirt and pulled up his sleeve, revealing the handprint brand. Sam stared at it, shocked. Right, this was the first time he had seen it. Pamela laid her hand over the print.
"Okay," she said. All five people at the table closed their eyes and Pamela began to chant, "I invoke, conjure, and command you, appear unto me before this circle. I invoke, conjure, and command you, appear unto me before this circle. I invoke, conjure, and command you, appear unto me before this circle." A television in the room turned on to static, and Pamela continued, "I invoke, conjure, and command... Castiel? No. Sorry, Castiel, I don't scare easy."
"Castiel?" Dean asked.
"Its name," Pamela replied hastily. "It's whispering to me, warning me to turn back." Alexis could swear she was starting to hear voices.
"Stop," it was saying. The voice was male, and that was about all she could tell. It was neither old nor young, kind nor angry, threatening nor inviting. Alright, maybe a little threatening. "Turn back. Stop."
"Maybe we should stop," Bobby suggested as the voice became sterner. The rattling in the room matched with when the voice was saying something.
"I almost got it," Pamela defended. "I command you, show me your face. Show me your face now!"
The candles suddenly flared several feet in the air and Pamela screamed. Her eyes flew open and were filled with a white hot flame. Reaching out to Pamela's feelings almost instinctively, Alexis felt that the white was painful for her. In fact, it was painful to look at for everyone else in the room. Alexis didn't know what it was, but there was something familiar about that white fire. She shook her head. She was just imagining things. All the while, the voice was continuing, "Stop. Don't look."
Bobby caught her as she collapsed and ordered, "Call 911!"
Sam scrambled out of his chair and into the next room. Dean crouched over Pamela and Bobby while Alexis just watched from the table, thinking. What was that?
"I can't see!" Pamela sobbed. Her eyes were completely burned out, just black holes in her eye sockets. "I can't see! Oh god!"
Bobby got Pamela to the hospital, and Dean, Sam, and Alexis went to a diner for food. Alexis ordered a small salad, while Dean ordered pie for him and Sam.
"Be up in a jiff," the waitress said.
Sam re-entered the building after stepping outside to talk on the phone.
"You bet," he finished his conversation before turning off the phone. He sat down.
"What'd Bobby say?" Dean asked.
"Pam's stable," Sam replied. "And out of I.C.U."
"And blind," Dean said. "Because of us." Had they not heard the voice telling Pamela to stop?
"And we still have no clue who we're dealing with," Sam said.
"That's not entirely true," Dean said.
"No?" Sam questioned.
"We got a name," Dean said. "Castiel, or whatever. With the right mumbo-jumbo we could summon him, bring him right to us."
"You're crazy," Sam said. "Absolutely not."
"We'll work him over," Dean suggested. "I mean, after what he did?"
"Pam took a peek at him and her eyes burned out of her skull," Sam recapped. "And you want to have a face to face?"
"You got a better idea?" Dean challenged.
"Yeah, as a matter of fact I do," Sam replied. "I followed some demons into town, right?"
"Okay."
"So, we go find them," Sam continued. "Someone's gotta know something about something."
"You didn't hear it?" Alexis asked them.
"Hear what?" Dean asked.
"It did warn her not to look," she said. "It was telling her to stop; and it had good reason."
"The only thing to hear was Pamela chanting and earsplitting white noise," Sam said.
"Wait, you heard the thing?" Dean asked. Alexis nodded. "What did it sound like?"
"Male," she replied. "That's all I got. It wasn't old, young, kind, angry, anything. It was just warning, that's it."
"So we know it's a guy with the power to burn eyes to nothing just by looking at it," Dean said. "This'll be interesting."
The waitress came back with the two plates of pie and the small salad. She set the plates on the table.
"Thanks," Sam said and Alexis nodded her thanks.
The waitress sat down in a chair at the end of the table. Dean looked at her with a smirk.
"You angling for a tip?" he asked.
"I'm sorry, thought you were looking for us," she said. Her eyes went black for a moment, as did the eyes of the cook and a uniformed man at the counter. The uniformed man locked the door and stood in front of it. The waitress' eyes changed back to normal. "Dean. To hell and back. Aren't you a lucky duck."
"That's me," Dean replied.
"So you just get to stroll out of the pit, huh?" she asked. Alexis reached out to the thing's feelings. It was jealous. "Tell me. What makes you so special?"
"I'd like to think it's because of my perky nipples," Dean retorted. Alexis fought the urge to smack him upside the head. "I don't know. Wasn't my doing, I don't know who pulled me out."
"Right," the waitress replied, not believing him. "You don't."
"No, I don't," Dean confirmed.
"Lying's a sin, you know," she smirked.
"I'm not lying," he said. "But I'd like to find out, so if you wouldn't mind enlightening me, Flo..."
"Mind your tone with me, boy," she snapped. "I'll drag you back to hell myself."
Alexis tensed up, ready to spring, as Sam shifted in his seat, ready to attack. Dean held up a hand and the two stopped, settling back into their seats.
"No, you won't," he said confidently.
"No?" she challenged.
"No," Dean replied. "Because if you were you would have done it already. Fact is, you don't know who cut me loose. And you're just as spooked as we are. And you're looking for answers. Well, maybe it was some turbo-charged spirit. Or, uh, Godzilla. Or some big bad boss demon. I'm guessing at your pay grade that they don't tell you squat. Because whoever it was, they want me out. And they're a lot stronger than you. So go ahead. Send me back. But don't come crawling to me when they show up on your front doorstep with some Vaseline and a fire hose."
"I'm going to reach down your throat and rip out your lungs," she threatened.
Dean leaned forward challengingly. He threw a right hook at her, which she just took. He threw another. She did nothing but glare, looking more and more nervous by the second.
"That's what I thought," Dean said. "Let's go." The three of them stood up and the demon didn't move a muscle. Dean pulled a roll of cash out of his pocket and pulled a ten dollar bill out. He dropped it on the table. "For the pie."
The three of them stalked out of the diner and to the street.
"Holy crap, that was close," Dean breathed.
"We're not just going to leave them in there, are we, Dean?" Sam asked.
"Well, yeah," Dean replied. "There's three of them, probably more, and we've only got one knife between us."
"I've been killing a lot more demons than that lately," Sam continued.
"Not anymore," Dean said. "The smarter brother's back in town."
"Dean, we've got to take 'em," Sam said. "They are dangerous."
"They're scared, okay?" Dean countered. "Scared of whatever had the juice to yank me out. We're dealing with a bad mofo here. One job at a time." He shot Alexis a strange look, wondering why she was being so quiet. He guessed she and Sam hadn't let off enough steam yet.
They got back to the motel, and Alexis crashed on the couch. She didn't wake up again until the television flicked to loud static and the radio started whining. She looked up to see Dean grab a shotgun and look around cautiously.
The voices started again. It was the same voice as at Pamela's. Alexis couldn't make out what it was saying. Dean was covering his ears when a mirror shattered and rained broken glass all around the room. Alexis covered her head with her arm, dropping to the ground. Dean was still covering both ears as all the glass in the room shattered. He was screaming, but Alexis could clearly make out the voice now.
"Dean," it was saying, trying to get her friend's attention.
"Dean?" she repeated back softly before Bobby ran into the room.
"Dean!" he yelled.
The three of them got out of the room as quickly as possible. Bobby was driving, Dean was riding shotgun, and Alexis was in the back. Dean had a rag to wipe the blood from his face.
"How you doin', kid?" Bobby asked.
"Aside from the church bells ringing in my head, peachy," Dean replied.
"It wasn't necessarily a nasty noise," Alexis pointed out. Dean gave her a strange look. "You didn't hear the voice?"
"All I heard was a constant noise that sounded like a plane going down," Dean replied. He pulled out his cell phone. Alexis only heard Dean's half of the conversation. "What are you doing? In my car? Well, uh, Bobby's back. The three of us are going to grab a beer. Done. Catch you later."
"Why the hell didn't you tell him?" Bobby asked.
"Because he just tried to stop us," Dean replied.
"From what?"
"Summoning this thing," Dean said. Bobby looked at him in shock. "It's time we faced it head-on."
"You can't be serious!" Bobby countered.
"As a heart attack," Dean said. "It's high noon, baby."
"Well, we don't know what it is," Bobby argued. "It could be a demon, it could be anything."
"That's why we've got to be ready for anything," Dean said simply. He pulled Ruby's knife out of his jacket. "We've got the big-time magic knife, you've got an arsenal in the trunk, Alexis can hear the thing..."
"This is a bad idea," Bobby warned.
"Yeah, I couldn't agree more," Dean said. "But what other choice do we have?"
"We could choose life," Bobby suggested.
"Whatever this is, whatever it wants, it's after me," Dean said. "That much we know, right? I've got no place to hide. I can either get caught with my pants down again, or we can make our stand."
"Dean, we could use Sam on this," Bobby said.
"Nah," Dean blew him off. "He's better off where he is."
They got to an old warehouse, and Bobby and Alexis got to work spray-painting traps and talismans all over the floor, walls, and ceiling. Dean started setting up all their weapons at a table.
"That's a hell of an art project you've got going there," Dean said. Alexis looked at the picture Bobby gave her to make sure she got the seal on the door right.
"Traps and talismans from every faith on the globe," Bobby said. "How you doin?"
"Stakes, iron, silver, salt, knife," Dean listed in response. "I mean, we're pretty much set to catch and kill anything I've ever heard of."
"This is still a bad idea," Bobby muttered.
"Yeah, Bobby, I heard you the first ten times," Dean said. "What do you say we ring the dinner bell?"
Bobby nodded reluctantly. He walked over to another desk, and sprinkled a pinch of powder into a bowl. The powder made the bowl begin to smoke. He began a chant in Latin.
Bobby finished the chant and nothing at all happened. The three of them waited, ready for anything, for about ten minutes. After that, they all looked at each other.
"It's not invisible, right?" Dean asked.
Alexis shook her head, "I doubt it."
By the end of twenty minutes, they were all sitting on tables, swinging their legs, completely bored.
"You sure you did the ritual right?" Dean asked. Bobby gave him an annoyed look. "Sorry. Touchy, touchy, huh?"
Suddenly, there was a loud rattling shaking the roof. Dean and Bobby armed themselves with shotguns and Alexis grabbed a handgun. Bobby had regular bullets in his gun, Dean had rock salt shots, and Alexis had silver. The three of them took positions at the back of the warehouse, aiming their weapons at the front door.
"Wishful thinking, but maybe it's just the wind," Dean joked.
The door burst open and a man in a business suit and trenchcoat stalked in. He had short brown hair and a little stubble. The light bulbs above the mystery man shattered as he passed them. Dean, Bobby, and Alexis opened fire, but the guy didn't even hesitate as he got blasted with all three types of shots. Dean grabbed Ruby's knife. Alexis refilled the gun with more silver rounds.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition," the man replied.
"Yeah, thanks for that," Dean retorted. He plunged the knife into the man's chest. The man just looked down, completely unconcerned, and pulled it out. He dropped the knife on the floor. Bobby attacked from behind. Without taking his gaze off of Dean, the man grabbed Bobby's weapon and used it to swing him around. The man simply touched Bobby on the forehead and he crumpled to the ground.
Alexis readied the gun again and took careful aim.
"We need to talk, Dean," the man said. "Alone."
Alexis took a steady shot, and the silver bullet hit the man's forehead dead center. He turned to her. She fired again right at the heart. She took two more headshots and one shot at his left knee.
"I would appreciate it if you didn't shoot at me, Alexis Henriksen," he said.
"You would appreciate it?" she snapped, discarding the handgun and grabbing a shotgun full of salt rounds. "Too bad, buddy." She fired at him repeatedly.
"Of all the times to become yourself again," Dean muttered. "Now?"
"I'm so pissed at Sammy right now, did you know that?" she replied angrily, discarding the shotgun and hurling a silver knife at the man. "I need something to take my anger out on. Plus, that attitude just made me mad."
The man caught the knife out of mid-air. "I will not ask again," he said.
She grabbed a rifle and pointed it at him. "One condition," she said. "You don't do that to me –" she gestured to Bobby "– and I get to listen to what you have to say."
The man walked towards her, and she prepared to pull the trigger. He took the gun and set it down on the table next to her.
"Very well," he said. She and Dean exchanged confused looks.
"Very well?" she countered. "Are you just trying to mess with us?"
"Don't test my patience," the man threatened. "Alexis Henriksen or not, I will put you to sleep as well if you don't behave."
"What's so special about me?" she challenged. "Huh?"
"That, I can not tell you." The man started looking through the books on the table, so Dean took the time to check Bobby's pulse. He glared at the man, who Alexis hadn't stopped glaring at. "Your friend's alive."
"Who are you?" Dean asked.
"Castiel."
"Yeah, I figured that much," Dean replied. "I mean what are you."
"I'm an Angel of the Lord."
Alexis and Dean exchanged suspicious looks.
"Get the hell out of here," Dean said. "There's no such thing."
"This is your problem, Dean," Castiel said. "You have no faith."
Lightning flashed through the windows, and Alexis could make out wings unfurling as shadows on the wall behind Castiel. When the light went out, the wings disappeared.
"Some angel you are," Dean challenged. "You burned out that poor woman's eyes."
"I warned her not to spy on my true form," Castiel replied. "It can be... overwhelming to humans, and so can my real voice. But you already knew that."
"You mean the gas station and the motel," Dean confirmed. "That was you talking?" Castiel nodded. "Buddy, next time, lower the volume."
"That was my mistake," Castiel said. "Certain people, special people, can perceive my true visage. I thought you would be one of them. I was wrong."
"Like I could," Alexis said.
Castiel gave her a hesitant look before replying, "Yes, like you."
"And what visage are you in now, huh?" Dean asked. "What, holy tax accountant?" Alexis had to hold back a chuckle.
"This?" Castiel asked. "This is... a vessel."
"You're possessing some poor bastard?" Dean asked angrily.
"He's a devout man," Castiel replied. "He actually prayed for this."
"Well, I'm not buying what you're selling," Dean said. "So who are you really?"
"I told you," Castiel said with a frown.
"Right," Dean said, not believing a word. "And why would an angel rescue me from Hell?"
"Good things do happen, Dean," Castiel said.
"Not in my experience," Dean countered.
"What's the matter?" Castiel asked. "You don't think you deserve to be saved?"
"Why'd you do it?" Dean dodged the question.
"Because God commanded it," Castiel replied. "Because we have work for you."