Contains dialogue from the episode When the Levee Breaks, it belongs to Eric Kripke and Sera Gamble.
Part of my Deleted Scenes series. Full list of fics in reading order available on my profile page. They will make more sense if read in order. :)
Ruby sprawls out on the squishy leather couch and opens the old book. She hates this part. Reading of any kind is boring as hell but researching what humans know about her own kind is unbelievably tedious. But she needs to, because she has to figure out some way to get Sam out of that insane panic room of Bobby Singer's. Dean throwing him in there isn't exactly surprising, because Dean's an asshole, but it is problematic. And, as far as Ruby can figure, she won't even be able to get near it. If Dean doesn't cave and let Sam out, they're screwed. This whole thing is a ten-thousand piece puzzle Ruby's been slaving over for years, and Sam killing Lilith at the exact right moment is the final piece. Without it, everything she's been working for will just evaporate. Ruby doesn't even want to think about what will happen if she doesn't pull this off.
She stretches and looks around the house she's commandeered for the afternoon. She doesn't know where the family that lives here is right now, but whatever. If they come home she'll just tied them up with their own intestines. It'll be fun. They must be rich, whoever they are, because the place is nice. Ruby might even just kill them anyway and keep this place. It'd be sweet to have a home-base somewhere without bedbugs and jizz-stains.
For just a moment, Ruby doesn't notice him. She sees him standing there out of the corner of her eye, but her brain doesn't register what it means. Then she jumps up, her heart racing suddenly. She takes one look at him and knows he's an angel. She can smell it. Shit. Acting on instinct, she closes her eyes and tries to disappear, but then she can't. "What did you do? Why can't I leave?" she demands, trying not to sound as scared as she is.
"My name is Zachariah," he says.
"Nice to meet you," Ruby snaps sarcastically. "Let me go!"
"Relax. I'm not going to kill you."
Ruby glares are him. "Why?"
"Because you're not worth the effort."
Smarmy jerk. She doesn't believe him for one second, but there isn't much she can do about it. Sam has the knife, she's helpless. She's not even sure the knife would work on an angel. Ruby crosses her arms and juts one hip out to the side. "Then what do you want?"
"To talk."
"About what? Male pattern baldness?"
He just smiles. "Believe it or not, you and I could be of great use to each other."
"Yeah, I'm not givin' tug-jobs for nickels this week. Thanks, though."
He takes a few steps into the room, trailing his fingers over the banister. "You know, given that it would be more work for me to blink than to wipe you off this earth, you might consider showing me some respect."
Ruby doesn't back away. This guy would be funny if he wasn't such an enormous bag of dicks. "What, are we gonna paint each other's toenails? You wanna talk, so talk. Otherwise get to smiting. I'm busy."
"I'm here to talk about Sam Winchester."
She narrows her eyes, wondering exactly how much he knows and whether he's still planning on killing her when this is over. Which would not be cool at any time but especially now, when Ruby is so close to reaping the rewards of two years molding Sam into the perfect Apocalypse start-gun. "He's cute, right? Sorry, Feathers, he's taken."
"I know what you're doing with him. That he's going to kill Lilith and bring about the end of the world."
"And let me guess, you'd like me to stop? I gotta say, this is underwhelming. You'd think an angel could get things done in a more badass way than asking nicely."
"Not at all," he says with a chilling smile. "I'd like to help you."
Ruby blinks. She thinks she heard what he said, but those words don't make any sense coming from him. "You're telling me the angels want the Apocalypse to happen?"
"No, I'm telling you I want the Apocalypse to happen."
"Why?" she asks flatly.
"You think demons have the market cornered on hating humanity? Humans are disgusting. They're filthy, horny animals. They steal and lie and cheat and murder each other, they're parasites. My father created them and then he took off and left us to clean up after them. Frankly, I'm tired of it. I'm looking forward to watching them burn."
Ruby crosses her arms and shakes her head. There's no way he's telling the truth. "I don't know who you think you're talking to right now, but I'm not that stupid. Demons are supposed to want Hell on Earth and angels are supposed to fight it. That's how this goes."
Zachariah laughs. "Have you never picked up a Bible? The Apocalypse is not something that anyone wants or doesn't want to happen. It's something that is going to happen. Because it has to."
"So then what do you want from me?"
"You may think you have your claws in the Winchester boy but you don't. Not yet. Sam likes to think he makes his own choices but at the end of the day, he won't kill Lilith if Dean tells him not to. The only way this works is if you break them apart."
"You think I don't know that?" she asks, raising an eyebrow and spreading her arms out. "I'm workin' on it."
"Well work harder. I assume you know Dean locked Sam up."
"Yeah, I'm aware. I've been trying to figure out how to spring him, so far I'm comin' up empty."
"I will get him out. You just worry about getting to him before Dean does."
"What if I don't?"
"You will. The Winchesters are easier to predict than they think they are. Dean will find his way to Sam eventually, and they'll fight. Dean will make Sam choose, and if you play your cards right, Sam will choose you. And then later, Dean will call Sam to apologize. He'll leave a message, and we'll change it. We'll make Dean call Sam a monster, and that will tip him over the edge."
"How the hell do you know all that?" Ruby asks. She's still not entirely sure she believes any of this.
"Because it's my job to know," Zachariah answers tiredly. "We're on the home-stretch. If everybody does their jobs, this whole carnival should go off without a hitch. Sound good?"
Ruby glares at him again and doesn't answer. The idea that this sort of means she's now working with an angel is making her skin crawl.
"Oh, and one more thing, demon. If you fail? You'll wish Lucifer was the worst you had to deal with."
He smiles at her one more time and then disappears, and Ruby clenches her jaw and glowers at the air he'd just been occupying. She really, really hates angels. Almost as much as she hates demons.
Ruby keeps on believing Zachariah is full of angel-flavored shit until Sam calls her, not from the panic room. Then Ruby starts to think maybe the guy was for real. Either way, Sam's out. So that's good news. He gives her an address and she takes her time getting there. He'll already be twitchy from the lack of blood, but she needs him just a little bit more desperate before she gives him what he wants. When she gets to the hotel, she waits outside for twenty minutes or so, keeping him wanting it for just a little bit longer. Then she finds his room and knocks on the door, the sounds of him moving to open it apparent almost instantly.
Action.
"Honeymoon Suite, really," she says with a smile as she steps inside. "I'm flattered."
Sam closes the door behind her. "Did you bust me outta that room?"
"How could I, Sam?" Ruby asks, taking off her jacket. "The whole thing's engineered to bite me in the ass."
"Then how did I get outta there?"
"I don't know," Ruby lies. "I don't wanna know. You're out. That's all that matters. I'm glad you're here."
Ruby gets a good look at him for the first time in weeks, and damn, he looks like crap. He's sweaty and jittery and there are bags under his eyes and blotches on his skin. He's in worse shape than Ruby thought he'd be. Perfect. He'll be hungry.
"Yeah? Where the hell have you been?" Sam asks angrily.
"I got here as quick as I could."
"I mean the past three weeks! I've been calling you!"
"I've been pretty deep in it, trying to dig out Lilith!" Ruby snaps back at him. "Sometimes I can't sit around and check my voicemail."
Sam just stares at her, his whole body moving just slightly as he shivers.
"I'm sorry you're hurting," Ruby says, softer now. Sam responds to sympathy. He's sweet like that. "Really. I had no idea that Dean would do that to you."
"You and me both," Sam mutters. Good.
"You didn't book this joint just to impress me, did you?"
"He's gonna come after me," Sam says, walking towards her slowly. "And he knows my habits, my aliases, everything. He knows exactly which motel I'd pick."
Rub nods. "Hence the room."
"Whatever it takes to shake him."
"Well, it won't be easy. I mean, he knows you better than anyone."
"Not as well as he thinks," Sam says, with a slight edge to his voice. It's just too fucking simple.
Ruby brings out the doe-eyes she learned from watching Sam. "Y'know, it's sad."
"What?"
"That things've gotten this bad between you two." Ruby reaches out and brushes her fingers through Sam's hair like she's watched Dean do a million times.
Sam stares at her for just a second and then he grabs her roughly and throws her down on the bed. For a moment Ruby thinks he's going to kiss her and she leans up for it, but then he moves down her body and finds the knife tucked into her boot. He takes it and slices into her arm, and Ruby's skin tingles with the sharp sting. Sam ducks down and covers the cut with his mouth, sucking her blood out greedily. Ruby smiles. He drinks for a long time, longer than he ever has, which is exactly what's supposed to happen.
"You should sleep," Ruby tells him when he finally stops and wipes his bloody lips with the back of his hand.
"I'm fine," he mutters.
"No you're not," she argues. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you this long. And I bet you haven't slept since Dean put you on lock-down. Take a nap, okay? Let the blood do its thing while you rest. I promise when you wake up you'll feel better." Sam looks unsure, so she adds, "Trust me."
"Yeah." Sam nods and takes a deep breath. "Yeah, okay. What're you gonna do?"
"I've got plenty to keep me busy," she says, getting off the bed and getting a towel for her arm. "Don't worry, I'll be here."
Sam stares down at the blood on his hand for just a moment, and then he nods again. He goes into the bathroom to wash it off and then he comes back out in just a t-shirt and boxers and climbs into the bed without a word. Like a trained Doberman, Ruby thinks with an inward grin.
He sleeps for hours, and eventually Ruby gets sick of watching terrible daytime TV and crawls into the bed with him. She can probably get him to sleep with her one more time before they have to leave. That'll work wonders for getting Dean out of his head.
When he wakes up, he looks sleepily over at her and then inhales sharply like her being there startled him.
"Easy, tiger," Ruby says, reaching out and touching his arm. "It's just me."
"What're you doing?" he asks accusatorily.
She rolls her eyes. "I got bored, you were out forever. I didn't rape you or something if that's what you're thinking."
Sam puts his head back down onto the pillow and doesn't answer.
"Your appetite's gotten much bigger," she tells him
Sam pushes himself up to his elbows and looks at her like she offended him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Sam, relax, it's okay. It's good. It just means you're getting stronger, that's all. Means you're strong enough to kill Lilith. And just in time, too, because the final seals are breaking."
"How many are left?"
"Three. Two."
Sam's eyes widen. "What? Where are the angels?"
"Screwing the pooch, wherever they are. The point is, it's looking more and more like we're getting down to the final seal. And I found out something big."
"What?"
"Seal 66? It can't be broken by just any demon. Apparently only Lucifer's first can do it."
"Lucifer's first?" Sam asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Demon Sunday School story," Ruby explains. "God prefers humans to angels. Lucifer gets jealous, and then he gets creative. And he twists and tempts a human soul into the very first demon, as a screw-you to God. It's what got him locked up in the first place.
Sam shakes his head like he's trying to wrap it around the whole thing. Ruby resists rolling her eyes. Sometimes he's painfully slow. "That was Lilith?"
"She's way older than she looks."
"Wait." Sam sits up. "So, if Lilith is the only one who can break the final seal, if I get to her in time …"
"Then Lucifer never busts out of his cage, exactly."
Sam's face lights up. "Great! You figure out where she is?"
"That bitch can hide. But I finally have a lead on someone who might be able to help us. I closed in on a member of Lilith's entourage. You might call her a personal chef."
"Chef? Seriously? What does she eat?"
Ruby grimaces and shakes her head. "You don't wanna know."
Sam drops it, and he gets up and showers. He's still mopey and sad about Dean, and Ruby pushes all the buttons she can. Makes Dean seem like an asshole and sympathizes with Sam and the whole nine. She plays him like a fiddle and he just lets her. Sometimes Ruby wonders how Sam's even made it this far in life, how he hasn't just walked into traffic or off a cliff by accident. He's really unfathomably, colossally stupid. And Ruby loves it.
After a while, Dean does show up, like that dick angel said he would. Either that guy is some kinda psychic or he actually went ahead and peaked into the future to see how this would all go down, and either way Ruby's fine with it because Sam stops Dean from killing her and inserts himself between them exactly like he's supposed to. He tells Ruby to leave the room and she does, but she sticks around and watches from the shadows anyway. They fight, tossing around harsh words they can't take back, and then they actually fight, throwing fists and breaking lamps and it's like freaking porn. Sam gets the upper hand and nearly strangles his brother to death, which is really just a sign of how far gone he is and how well Ruby's crafted the whole thing. She's an artist, and this is her Mona God-damn Lisa.
She meets Sam outside the hotel when he leaves Dean lying in a pile of broken glass, wiping the blood from his lip and saying how sorry she is and promising him that once Lilith is dead, Dean will realize he was wrong and they'll get their mojo back. She brushes his hair lovingly out of his eyes like Dean used to and tells him that one day, Dean will understand why Sam had to do this. Sam doesn't look like he believes it, and that's even better. They get into the car Sam stole, with Ruby behind the wheel because Sam's upset, and he thinks he hides it but she sees the few tears that spill down his cheeks as he watches the hotel disappear from view. Ruby can't hold back the smile that tugs at the corners of her lips.
Cut. That's a wrap.