Dean woke with a gasp to find himself in a small dark space. He wondered briefly if this was some new demons idea of torture, it was certainly new and creative.
Dean reached out a hand and almost instantly was stopped by a solid barrier. Slowly, he felt around, exploring the small box he seemed to be in. As his hands moved, they brushed against something in his pocket and he reached in and felt the familiar shape of his lighter. He pulled out the lighter and flicked it open, illuminating the small area.
It was a wooden box.
Dean looked around for a moment when he realized it was a coffin.
He tried to call out but all that came out was a dry rasp. Seeing no other option, Dean reached out and pushed on the coffin lid, creating a shower of dirt as it moved slightly. He managed to wiggle it open and a wall of dirt descended on him, barely giving him time to inhale deeply.
Moving as fast as he could, Dean dug through the soft earth. After what seemed like years, he felt his hands breach the surface and quickly pulled himself out, gasping in the warm midday air.
When Dean finally got his entire body out of the hole he stood and looked around only to see a large area of forest leveled around him.
When he finally got his bearings, he stumbled towards where he assumed the road would be. It didn't take him long to reach the road and when he did, he realized he wasn't far from the Roadhouse. If he was lucky, he would get there before the hunters started rolling in and he would have less chance of getting shot on sight.
Dean rolled his stiff neck and shrugged off his jacket as he made his way down the road, he remembered when he had walked this road with Sam over a year ago. Was it a year? He had no idea how long he had been dead, or how he got back for that matter. He just hopes Sam hadn't done anything monumentally stupid.
As Dean contemplates what could have happened, the Roadhouse comes into view. Dean smiles when he sees the place looks slow. He stumbles up to the door and braces himself before entering.
At first glance, he only sees Ash asleep on the pool table, but he knows Ellen is here, maybe Jo is too. He makes his way behind the bar, as quietly as his current state will let him and gets himself a glass of water.
He cringes when he catches his reflection, he knew he looked rough but he didn't think he looked that bad.
As Dean drains the glass of water he hears a small click behind him and lets his head fall forward, he had been hoping to do this without guns. Ellen's voice is sharp and familiar as she growls, "Who the hell are you and what are you doing behind my bar?"
Dean is silent a moment but finally manages to speak, though his voice is rough and unrecognizable, "If I turn around, promise you won't shoot?"
Ellen laughs, "We'll see about that." Dean sighs, knowing that's the best he can expect from Ellen and slowly turns to face her. For a moment her face shows only pure shock, but then anger over takes it and Dean barely manages to duck as a bullet flies through the space his head had occupied only seconds before.
"Jesus, Ellen." Dean rasps, "It's me, so don't frickin shoot me. Dying once is enough for me."
The gunshot had Ash awake and on his feet and Jo burst through the door holding a shotgun. Neither catches a glimpse of him before Ellen fires again and Dean ducks around to the other side of the bar for cover.
"Mom, what is it?" Jo's voice is tinged with worry; she had never seen her mother so angry before.
"Damn demons, or shape shifters, coming here to try and ruin the memory of a good man." Ellen's voice getting louder as she speaks, until she is yelling, "I won't let you dammit, he was a good man and you can't do this to his memory!"
Dean bites back a curse, he should have known it wouldn't be easy, "I'm not possessed and I sure as hell am not a shifter, or anything else. I drank a glass of water, and I know you blessed the pipes. Can't be possessed if I drank holy water." Ellen growls, knowing Dean is right "You could still be a shifter or a revenant." Dean reaches a hand up, "Silver knife can prove I'm not." Dean waits for a minute, and then winces at the sudden bite of a blade on his palm. A moment of silence passes and Dean risks asking, "Can I stand up now or are you going to try and shoot me again?"
Another long silence before Dean hears Ellen say, "Yeah, you can stand, but try anything and you get a bullet in the brain."
Dean pulls himself up slowly, his body stiff and sore. Slowly he turns and faces the three people he considers friends. Jo's jaw drops in shock and Ash looks like someone just hacked off his mullet. Dean meets Ellen's piercing gaze, "How long have I been dead? I'm pretty sure time works a bit different down stairs, so I have no idea how long it's been here."
Ellen's gaze softens, "It's September 18, 2008. You've been dead four months." Ellen pauses, looking at the hidden pain in Dean's eyes, "How long has it been for you?"
Dean cringes, "Forty years." The room falls silent, the only sound being Dean's heavy breathing.
Ash is the first to speak, "Damn man, how'd you get out? And how in the world do you not look like an extra in a zombie flick?"
Dean shrugged, "No idea, I woke up in my coffin. Had to crawl my way out, and damn you should see the place, looks like it got hit by a nuke. Trees were leveled in a perfect circle, pretty big circle too." Dean's voice faded off and Jo was quick to hand him a glass of water, which he downed in seconds. He gave her a thankful nod and turned to Ellen, "You hear from Sam or Bobby at all? I need to get in touch with them as soon as possible."
Ellen shook her head, "Haven't talked with them lately but I can get Bobby here pretty quick. You'll have to get Ash to help you find Sam; he's dropped off the radar. Nobody knows where that boy is."
Dean nods, turning to Ash who already has his computer out and is searching anything he can hack into, for the younger Winchester.
Jo had been silent the entire time until she walks up to Dean and slaps him. He raises a hand to his cheek and looks at her like she's crazy until she says, "That's for making the damn deal and for making me go to your funeral."
Dean is dumbstruck as he watches Jo storm out of the room and turns to Ellen and Ash for answers. Without looking up, Ash answers the silent question, "She's pissed cause she cried at your funeral." Dean shakes his head in wonder; he doesn't think he will ever understand the mystery that is Jo Harvelle.
Ellen snorts in amusement at the scene before picking up the phone. After a few rings, a familiar gruff voice answers and Ellen smiles, "Bobby Singer, you might wanna get down here. I got someone you might wanna see. Oh and bring that psychic friend of yours, she might be useful."
SPN~SPN~SPN
A/N- so this is a Lazarus Rising AU. The Roadhouse never blew up, Ash is alive and Dean makes it there instead of that random abandoned convenience store. Anyways, enjoy, more to come.