Title: Fifteen Minutes
Author: TigerTiger02
Spoilers: All Hell Breaks Loose Pt 2
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Dedication: to those who cried.
For the first time in years Ellen cries.
The Roadhouse is gone… the last thing left of her husband, other than Jo, is gone. Fifteen minutes. God… such a short amount of time but believe it or not fifteen lousy fuckin' minutes can change your life. They had run out of pretzels. God! Fuckin' pretzels! Of all things!
She knew the moment Ash called something was wrong. She was standing in the snack aisle of the grocery store. There seemed to be a million and one fuckin' pretzels to choose from and Ellen wondered if she should called Ash and get a vote on which ones she should get. She never used to have to do this, Jo used to this kind of shit. But Jo's run away back to college and she won't speak to Ellen. She knows now how precious a normal life is.
The phone rang and as soon as she answered and heard the sheer terror and panic in Ash's voice she knew that the demon that had been chasin' after the Winchester's for years had attacked.
"There's something they need, something important! Ellen in the safe! In the safe!" and then his voice cut out. She was out the door and roaring down the highway before she could even think. Winchester's, in her mind they were nothing but trouble. They bought nothing but misery and pain. They were cursed. And they were the only ones who could stop this, the only ones who would deal with that demon.
She leaped out of her car and there the Roadhouse was. Flames illuminated the area and she found herself on her knees.
"Oh god." So many people were in there. So many good hunters perished because of that fucking demon. Because of the Winchester's who were so determined that it didn't matter who got hurt as long as they got their man. They led the Demon right to them. She felt rage boil within her, the same rage that had risen up when her husband had been murdered because of John's amateur stupidity. Her mind flashed back to Ash, whose voice had been so scared but underneath is all excited, he had found something.
She knows she has to leave as soon as she can but she also needs whatever Ash put in the safe. She watches the fire die down, the brilliant dance of colors sucking her in but at the same time she watches it with glazed eyes. She wipes her eyes and face free of any tears and stands up.
There's so little left and she gets queasy when she realizes that she's walking across the bodies of her friends. She spots Ash's hand and vomits. She started crying again and she knows that once your start it's damn hard to stop, which is why she hasn't done it since her husband died.
The safe is hot to the touch and she knows she'll have at least first degree burns on her fingers by the time she's done. She keeps trying to use her t-shirt as a buffer from the heat but its no use and when she's finally got the safe open there's a rush of confusion followed by vague understanding. She doesn't know what she's looking at, but she does know that it is important. She tucks it into her jacket and tries to ignore the bodies around her as she threads her way through the maze of still smoldering building.
It isn't until she gets to Bobby's that she starts to feel safe. It isn't until they've shut the gate to hell that she feels safer. Ellen knows this is some kind of fantasy; she'll never be safe as long as she keeps the Winchester's around. She'll never be safe until all the demons that clawed their way out of hell that night are back in hell where they belong. She hopes to god nothing else changes her life, even though fifteen minutes is enough to destroy everything.
A/N: this is the second one in the AHBLpt2 series. Like Bobby, I've never written Ellen so it was a new experience. Hope y'all liked it. Next up is Sam.
