All day her back has been killing her.

Sam stumbled back to the impala, collapsing into the driver's seat as her legs gave out on her for the time being. Clumsily she reached out and clutched at the half empty bottle of whiskey, ripping the top off and taking a big gulp of it, coughing at the burn as a few drops escaped her lips and ran down her cheek.

If she tried hard enough, and drank enough, she could almost imagine it was like she was kissing Dean again. She could pretend that the opening of the bottle was his lips and the taste was the same too, just a lot more whiskey and a lot less Dean.

She took another gulp of the whiskey and barely managed to find the cap and put it back on, not wanting to spill it, somehow she managed to get back onto the road and back to her motel.

Sam stumbled into the room, leaning against the wall for a moment breathing heavily as she tried to get her legs to move. Her back felt like it was about to break and the pain was slowly radiating downwards, she could also feel as if there was something almost leaking down there. There was a box of tampons and a bottle of painkillers freshly swiped from the hospital in the last town and a new bottle of whiskey that were waiting for her in her bag and she forced herself to move and start towards the bag.

She barely even registered that there was anyone else in the room with her until they grabbed her, twisting her wrist to make her let go of the knife and grab her hair to pull it back and expose her neck.

She's barely aware of how the female takes the knife from her hand despite how she tried to claw at it, the smell of sulfur clear in the air until she was almost choking on it.

"Thanks for keeping this warm for me, Sam." the female breathed out, her eyes black.

"Ruby." Sam said lowly, the pain going to the back of her mind momentarily.

"It's nice to be back. Where I was, even for Hell, it was nasty." Ruby said her voice cold, her eyes an endless limitless black. "I guess I really pissed Lilith off. Imagine my relief when she gave me one last chance to take it topside." she grinned at her, all teeth and malice. "And all I had to do was find you and kill you."

Sam stared down at her unwavering, hatred clear in her eyes and when she spoke lowly, there was a hint of danger. "Fine. Go ahead." she hissed out.

"Do it." Ruby grinned at her and pulled her arm back, stabbing it forward and burying it deep into the other demon. Sam gasped as the demon fell to the ground dead and she could breathe again.

"Grab your keys, we got to go." Ruby told her, hoisting the knife back onto her belt. "Now Sam!"

It all felt wrong, from her being in the driver's seat to Ruby sitting in the passenger seat. The smell of sulfur was slowly but surely starting to fill the entire car and she let the window down so she could at least breathe, her entire body hurting her.

"You know what sounds good? Fresh fries, I'm starving." Ruby said, sounding all too pleased with herself. She had settled into the seat with ease and if she noticed how off put Sam was at that she ignored it. "I just escaped hell. I deserve a treat." She glanced at Sam and raised an eyebrow. "You know, a "thank you" would be nice."

Sam shifted in her seat, the car seat had been molded to Deans shape and it sometimes showed when she was sitting there. Maybe that discomfort was what was causing her growing back pain. "Who asked for your help?" she muttered under her breath.

"You have no idea what I've been through. When Lilith gets pissed, she gets creative." Ruby almost hissed at her, the edges of her eyes starting to go black. "You want to hear about the corners of Hell I've seen, Sam?"

"No I don't." Sam couldn't help but snap back, shifting in her seat uncomfortably and blissfully thinking of the painkillers in the glove compartment.

"And the things I had to do to convince her I was sorry? That I could be trusted?" Ruby demanded, the smell of sulfur increasing in the car. Sam fought the urge to stick her head out the window or push Ruby out of the car completely.

"Well, this'll definitely get you a fat Christmas bonus." she said, sarcasm lacing every word as best as she could. She flinched when another shot of pain went through her and she spared a moment to try to figure out what it was before she decided to ignore it.

"Very funny. I'm a fugitive... For you, Sam. I took all of this risk to get back to you." Ruby spat out at her, leaning back into her seat. Sam could almost see the way she forced her eyes to remain clear. "So, yeah, I deserve a damn "thank you.""

"Who asked you to save me?" Sam demanded, shifting in her seat once more, gritting her teeth together as she tried to find a comfortable position.

"I'm just trying to help." Ruby told her, eyes narrowed.

"Can you help me save Dean?" Sam demanded, sparing her the barest glance from the corner of her eyes.

"No." Ruby said simply, straight to the point and at least she gave her that much, no bullshitting around the edges. "Nothing I know of is powerful enough to do that."

Sam immediately pressed on the brake, ignoring how it jostled her for a moment and caused the pain to flare, bringing them to the side of the road. "Then I have no use for you." she said curtly.

"What?"

Sam turned to her, fire in her eyes as she pressed on the button to unlock the door. "Get out." she ordered.

Ruby didn't move, barely keeping herself from rolling her eyes. "Sam."

"Whose body are you riding, Ruby?" Sam demanded, her eyes narrowing, barely resisting the urge to bare her teeth at her.

Ruby stared at her like she had just sprouted wings. "What do you care? You've never asked me that before."

"I'm asking now." Sam said curtly, the pain starting to radiate through her entire body.

"Some secretary." Ruby said obviously, shrugging slightly.

"Let her go."

Ruby rolled her eyes then, not bothering to hold back. "Sam..."

"Or I send you right back to Hell." she could barely breathe from the pain that kept growing. She was close to just clawing at where it hurt to try to tear it out.

"And what are you suggesting that I...are you alright?" Ruby's voice was fading as the darkness started to cover her vision. Dimly a part of her could feel something starting to slip out of her, staining her jeans and starting to seep out from the fabric. She clawed at the door desperately, Dean's voice echoing in her ears, "No blood on the seats Sammy!" and she gasped as she fell to the ground, which only made the pain worse. She was barely aware of Ruby coming out from the passenger seat and kneeling beside her, hands on her back. She could hear her voice saying something but couldn't make the words out.

Mercifully her vision went black and the pain faded enough for her to lose consciousness.

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