A/N: Good evening, all! This is the first chapter of a pretty big project I've been working on for a while. I own only the idea and none of the world. This is also an alternate universe wherein the Winchesters are sisters. If this isn't your cup of tea then skip on by. Positive feedback is always loved and inspires more than almost anything; costructive criticism is also more than acceptable. Negative reviews for the sake of negativity help no one and make me want to become a cave dweller. I also do not have this one finished yet. I've become stuck several chapters in so I'm hoping that by posting what I have I will feel the desire to continue. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy!
The call came through at just past three in the morning. The shrill, repetitive ring of the phone was one of the few things that could pierce through the heavy sleep of Samantha Winchester and it was, therefore, Sam who answered it. Waking for the phone was a habit long ingrained in the exhausted hunter and one she seemed incapable of turning off; neither danger nor Bobby seemed aware of time zones. She wished, however, that much of the same could be said of Dee; while any sounds of an intruder were surefire ways to wake her sister, Dee roused for no other noise but that or Sam's distress. Sweet, she supposed, though that didn't stop her inner bitchy monologue as, slowly but surely, Sam began her forced ascent to the world of the conscious. She took a moment or two to rub as much sleep from her eyes as possible, shoving a hand through her unruly bed-hair before groping for the nightstand where the phone had up until that moment lay dormant.
"Mmmm… Hello?" She winced at the sleep so obvious in her rasping voice, unable to even lift her head from the pilow as her eyes began to drift closed. They'd hit the hay barely two and a half hours ago, their last hunt leaving the girls winded and ready to drop. Dee hadn't even undressed. Sam had barely managed to remove her pants before sleep had overcome her. She was certain, as she shifted atop the sleazy motel room's comforter, that there was still blood crusted around the now scabbed head wound at her temple. A light touch confirmed this and she resisted the urge to groan into the phone as the thought of her own dried blood sent her into a dark place. For a moment, there was nothing in response from the other end. All at once her irritability multiplied ten-fold. Rest had not come easy for the sisters and she had been thankful when she had dropped off so easily. The past month had been nothing but case after case after case. More demons and more ghosts and more supernatural death-bringers than they had ever encountered in such a short span of time and she was officially reaching her tipping point.
"Come on, Bobby, if you're gonna call at-"
"I don't…don't have much time…" Instantly Sam was awake, adrenaline rushing violently through her system as the hunter recognized the signs of danger present in the strained, whispered tones from the person on the other end. She opened her mouth, intending to extract as much information as she could in what she felt was a rapidly closing window of opportunity, only to hear the mystery man on the other end speaking once more.
"Something new…weird… So much blood… Vampires or demons or something I just... I don't even know what the hell…," Sam's hackles rose as she heard the man begin to sob on the other end, quiet and muffled over the distance and through the limited connection phones could offer.
"Where are you?" Sam said, urgency evident in her clear voice. "Something, anything; where are you?" Her urgent words were rewarded with harsher sobs, the sound of glass shattering somewhere near the speaker, a cry just loud enough to be heard. More silence, broken only by quiet gasps and sobs from her mystery caller. The grip Sam held on the phone in her hand had tightened, now white knuckling the cheap throwaway phone. Deanna had begun to rouse from the bed beside hers, the sounds familiar in the heated darkness of the motel room.
"Astoria…Ill….Illinois…Please…please I don't…I know I won't… You have to get here and get here SOON; they're going after the children next." The man's voice was strained, his volume dropping below even a whisper, his words losing their emphasis in the static of the phone as he delivered what little message Sam could still hear.
"Astoria? Okay... Okay, Astoria; we'll be there as soon as we can. Get yourself someplace SAFE. Just run, do what you have to do to-," Words seemed to leave Sam as the caller's chilled laughter echoed over the fuzzy line.
"It's too late, don't you GET it, Sam? My life… If making this call will save my little one then that's all I care about… All any of us care about…Please, please Sammy PLEASE-" His voice wheezed suddenly, a choked scream causing Sam to jerk the phone away from her head, heart jack rabbiting in her chest. She did not have to bring the phone to her ear to hear the shrieks and screams of the dying man on the other line. The familiar click of the light switch and the room was filled with the yellow light of the motel's musty lamp revealing Dee's exhausted, drawn form. The light burned the younger Winchester's eyes, and she closed them to slits, fighting back the wave of misery that now began to eat at her.
She'd known that voice. Had met the man a few years back when college was an actuality and not simply an oft-indulged fantasy world. Greg, she was sure his name was Greg. He'd had family in Illinois, she remembered. A little brother and sister, grandparents and great-grandparents and both mother and father alive and well. Yes, she'd come to know quite a bit about Greg Sandowsky just as he'd come to know quite a bit about her. Never to the extent of lovers; Sam had already met and fallen in love with Jessie and there would be no turning back from that. But she'd cared for Greg; saving a man from a demon-possessed lover can have that sort of effect. They'd been friends before the incident and, once everything had been said and done, Greg had become someone almost like family.
But Greg was a lifetime ago. She'd neither heard nor seen anything of Greg since-
"Sammy…? Sammy what is it?" Dee's voice was both a salve and an irritant, reminding Sam that she had not unfortunately just drifted into reality from some strange dream.
"I…I dunno, Dee… We gotta get to Astoria."
"…Illinois? Astoria, Illinois? Damn it Sam it's…it's too early…too late…too WHATEVER… Do you even know who was on the phone? You realize this could all be some sort of…I dunno, elaborate hoax or trap or-" Sam's hands had clenched against the comforter of the bed, arms shaking as she forced herself to keep her fury reigned in.
"No problem, Deanna. I'll be sure to inform the monsters to wait until we've had eight straight hours of uninterrupted sleep. Do you think I somehow, magically, had this planned? A trap? A HOAX?! Sure, because Greg screaming for his life and begging me to 'save the children' is such a hilarious way to trick an old college buddy into visiting." Her words were laced with acid, venom always hiding beneath her surface bubbling just beneath her outburst. "You can stay here if you want; I'm going to get these sick bastards before any more people have to die just to get to us… Assuming, of course, that that's what's ACTUALLY going on."
"No…No, Sammy, I'm sorry that was…Out of line. If you knew the guy on the phone…" Sam froze, rearing back somewhat at her sister's rather unexpected apology. Her light blue green eyes met the subtle green-blue hazel of her sister's and Sam was certain that Dee was looking quite…contrite. For a moment silence fell around the sisters, cocooning them entirely.
Dee sighed then, running a hand through her tousled, close-cropped locks (her recent choice to cut her nearly waist-length hair into a short A-line bob had been unusual at first but suited her nonetheless) as Sam mimicked the action with her nearly shoulder-length wavy curls.
"Astoria's about an eight hour drive from here…what say we flip for the first four hours? We won't be much good to anyone without at least a bit of sleep in us…" Sam paused for a moment, considering briefly the flow of their conversation before finally speaking.
"I think I fell asleep first… I can drive for the first four hours." Dee sighed, shoulders hunching slightly with what appeared to be relief.
"Good… Cuz I'd just about drifted off when that damn phone went off." She laughed, the sound forced as she swung her legs around and out of bed and began limping her way to the bathroom. Guilt lanced through Sammy, and she now regretted her anger. She opened her mouth to say something just as the bathroom door slammed shut; she winced before extricating herself from the mass of tangled sheets and blankets and stumbling to the floor. An apology would have to come when time was not quite so of the essence. Sam paused as she tried to collect herself from the depths of her dream. There had been fire. Fire and death. Pain. And above all? Anger. That ever-present anger which had seeped so far within the fiber of her being that it was now tinting her dreams a vibrant, vicious red. With a shaky sigh Sam released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
It had been weeks, nearly a month as a matter of fact, that she had come out of what she now fondly considered the "detox room" at Bobby's. Nearly a month since even a drop of demon blood had passed her lips. Even now she found herself shaky, nervous on occasion. It had taken longer than she'd even dreamed possible for Dee to accept her back into their comfortable fold and Sam had no intention of screwing it all up again. She glanced down at her hands, shaking even now with just the thought, just the memory, of that tainted blood. Sam scrounged around her bed until she found her jeans shoved half under the bedframe. Ignoring the bloodstains she forced them on, wincing in pain before she set about packing what little had been removed when they'd arrived. Straightening, she swayed on her feet just as Dee was exiting the bathroom.
"Yo, Sam, you uh…you don't look so great… You sure you're gonna be okay to take the first shift…?" Subtle undertones of exhaustion fringed Deanna's words.
"Yeah I'll uh… I'll make it. I'm pretty tired but I'll grab a cup of coffee at an all-night joint and take the first shift. It's the least I can do, considering you're falling asleep just listening to me speak." Sam cocked her hip, eyebrows rising in amusement as she studied the steadily swaying form of her sister. "Don't worry, just…grab your bag and load up. I'll be out in a minute, okay?" Her words were met a mute nod as Dee made to grab her duffel from the side of her bed.
"And hey… Dee?"
"Yeah, Sammy?"
"I'm uh… I'm really sorry." Dee paused, eyebrows knitting together in a look both incredulous and, yes, slightly amused. "For what, Sammy? For…For bringing some horrific creature down on some small town you've never visited? And yes, I'm saying that you DIDN'T have anything to do with it. It was just the sleep talkin', okay? Now are you gonna get moving or what?" WIth a nod Sam made her way around her sister and into the bathroom. Once there, she washed her face free of the blood staining her forehead and attempted to reign in the madness that was her hair. She gave up after only a few moments and restrained her dark, chocolate colored locks in a black hair band she often wore around her wrist.
Staring in the mirror did nothing more than to accentuate the dark circles beneath her eyes and the weariness in each and every line of her face. Surely they would get a break…surely, one of these evenings they would lie down and sleep at least five hours, FIVE, without being awoken by one of their six phones or by a knock on the door or by…by anything, really. Attempting to recall the last time either of them had achieved a full eight hours of sleep brought with it a laugh that was as harsh as the lights in the bathroom. A few more splashes of the lukewarm water on her face and Sam was as ready as she was ever going to be.
One last baleful look at the grungy mirror in the grungy bathroom of the grungiest hotel they'd ever stayed at, and Sam flipped the switch for the light in the bathroom, silencing the ever-present hum that seemed to accompany all cheesy motel light bulbs.
Moments later brought Sammy to the Impala, key to the motel left in the lock and duffel safely stowed in the trunk. Deanna had already stowed her stuff, and though her seat was inclined to be nearly horizontal, she was still sitting up, watching her sister with the same wary eyes she'd BEEN staring at her with since she'd been pulled from Hell. She managed to swallow her sigh as she slid into the driver's seat and adjusted the mirrors to suit her, all the while ignoring the penetrating gaze of her sister beside her. It was only when she realized that the keys were not waiting in the ignition that Sam let out that sigh she'd held back and finally turned to Dee.
"Keys, Dee…?"
"You SURE, about this Sammy?"
"Yeah, Deanna. I'm sure. It's not like we have much choice; I can't just…just ignore that call. Let those people die… And I'm less tired than you so…hand 'em over, please." A few tense moments followed her steady words as she held her hand out for the keys. Just when she was beginning to think she'd have to repeat her request in a form that was not quite so sweet, the soft jingle of keys against leather answered her request. Cool metal settled into her palm and she nodded her thanks, inserting the keys and turning the engine over, bringing it to life beneath her hands. The soft purr of the engine cut through the quiet of the night, silencing the insects nearby.
"Go ahead and sleep, Dee… I'm gonna find an all-night coffee joint and then head out…okay?" With a quick glance Sam confirmed that Dee had, in fact, nodded off in the brief time it had taken to start the car. A pang of sympathy went out for her sister; neither of them had gotten much sleep in the past couple of weeks but Dee had experienced the worst kind of sleep. Sure Sam had had her own twisted, dark dreams but Dee seemed to relive her hellish year every time she closed her eyes. Nightmares so loud that they woke Sam; Dee tossing and turning with enough force to throw her to the floor still tangled in her sheets. It seemed that the few times she was able to sleep in relative peace was when they were on the road… In a way, this job was something of a god-send. She'd slept deeply for about half an hour, which was enough to keep her going, and now Dee would get at least four hours of rest.
With a tiny smile she pulled out of the lot and made her way down the street, eyes scoping out both sides of the street in an attempt to locate her caffeine fix.
OoOoOoO
The tension between the sisters had been palpable since Dee had first been pulled free from the Hell she'd been trapped in, tainting the air with a thick darkness that neither could ignore. Deanna had expected Sam to do something crazy with utter disregard for her own life if it meant rescuing her from Hell. She had not, however, expected Sam to sink to the depths that she had. Wrapped around Ruby's finger, so addicted to demon blood that she couldn't last without it for longer than a few days, vehemently denying that what she was doing by exorcising those demons was hurting her... Sam had screwed up royally, disappointing Deanna on an entirely new level and what little trust Dee had felt remained between the two had snapped like a delicate thread under too much stress. Sam did what she could, feigning smiles and reigning in her uncontrollable rage as well as she could under the oftentimes harsh circumstances she found herself in and, eventually, it became too much. She had struck out on her own, recognizing the need for space and time as acutely as her sister had.
Time had passed, as it was wont to do. The sisters marched on, independent of one another, towards the impending Apocalypse. It was infuriating to both to be forced together by circumstances out of their control but, as the Archangels continued to insist, their fate could not be changed. Could not be altered. And no matter how much they wanted to be away from each other, no matter how badly Dee and Sam needed time apart, they were left with little else than to band together to provide what united front they could offer against the darkness ahead.
Still… Sam's gaze had drifted over to her sister at some point during her reminiscing and she found herself hard pressed to turn away. Dee's lips were just slightly parted, eyes searching for something just behind closed lids. More than anything, more than the hatred for the hunt and the hatred of herself and the inexplicable hatred she felt for her sister, Sam loved her. The love was great and sometimes overwhelming and more than anything Sam knew that she had done what felt necessary to save her. Her anger seemed infinite but it was only her love that knew no true bounds.
A long, harsh exhalation and she brushed her hand across the top of her head, careful not to remove the rubber band holding her hair back. Sleep was beginning to tug at the edges of her vision and she was more than a little frustrated to find that her enormous cup of seemingly never-ending coffee had finally run dry. Though Samantha was tempted to stop and refuel in the most human of ways, she had the horrible feeling that any sort of stop would result in her acknowledging her exhaustion. She might stop for the night, to rest at whatever filthy motel would take them at this hour… Still, the coffee was gone, there was no arguing that. And her head was beginning to nod; this, too, there was no denying. Keeping her eyes open was feeling like an Olympian task. Gritting her teeth, she reached forward and rummaged around in the little space just beneath the radio, fingers deftly pushing aside unnecessary bits and bobs and odds and ends until her fingers touched on a cassette hidden amongst the knickknacks. It was something she'd put aside for just such a moment as this, once her iPod had been demoted to floorboard material. Amongst all the various hard rock and rock and all sorts of moss-covered oldies she'd found what she would consider a jewel. Something she loved and listened to rarely enough that during those rare moments when she DID listen, it was just as unique as ever.
With a quick, furtive glance at Dee (who had curled up on her side and was now facing the passenger side door) Sam gingerly pressed the cassette into the vacant player. She adjusted the volume of the stereo to just above audible as the first strains of guitar began to play, music filling the cab in soft waves of comfort. Though it had been a while, Sam remembered well the song and when the words began she sang along, keeping her voice at the same volume as the music.
"Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train
And I's feeling nearly as faded as my jeans.
Bobby thumbed a diesel down just before it rained,
It rode us all the way to New Orleans…"
Sam glanced over at Deanna, fingers fluttering towards the controls. Beyond a sigh and a shift in position, there was no indication of Dee returning to the land of the conscious. Feeling a little more confident, Sam turned the music up a few notches, beginning to lose herself in the rhythm of the music.
"I pulled my harpoon out of my dirty red bandanna,
I was playing soft while Bobby sang the blues.
Windshield wipers slapping time, I was holding Bobby's hand in mine,
We sang every song that driver knew...
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose,
Nothing don't mean nothing honey if it ain't free, now now.
And feeling good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues,
You know feeling good was good enough for me,
Good enough for me and my Bobby M-"
"McGeeeeeee!"
Sam blanched, jerking the wheel to the left as she jumped at the sound of her sister's voice harmonizing with her own. She flushed, cheeks flaming as she brought the Impala back under control and reached out for the volume with fumbling fingers. Dee's laughter only brought Sam's simmering anger to a violent bubble and now, seeing red, Sam signaled then pulled the Impala over to the side of the road. Gravel crunched beneath the tires, dirt and tiny stones bumping up into the under carriage of the vehicle with enough force for Deanna to loudly voice her concern. Sam had barely thrown the car into park before she was out and stalking around to the passenger side, yanking the door open just as Dee had been reaching for the handle.
"Sammy wha-"
"It's been four hours, Dee… My turn to sleep…" She mumbled, cheeks still flushed and heart still tripping in her chest. Inwardly she cursed herself for reacting as harshly as she had…and yet there was no denying her fury, hidden below a thin sheen of embarrassment for her sister having caught her singing to something she proclaimed to dislike. On a level entirely beyond her rationality Sam knew she was overreacting; could see it in the myriad of emotions flushing her sister's face. Sam was volatile; her reaction forced from some darker depth, but for now there was no denying the way she felt. For a few seconds it seemed that Deanna was going to say or do something, fists clenched at her side, before she sighed, threw her hands in the air and exited the car. Sliding past Sam, she made her way around the front of the car and flopped into the driver's seat. Sam dropped unceremoniously into the passenger seat and stared ahead into the night. After a moment or two, during which Deanna adjusted the car seat and the mirrors, the Impala purred to life and moving with the grace that came only from muscle memory, led the vehicle back out onto the road.
"Hey, Sammy I uh… I didn't mean anything by that I was just…surprised! Joplin didn't seem your style."
"…I uh…I'm a fan… I guess…" Sam mumbled, readjusting her seatbelt and removing her coat for use as a pillow. "Didn't…want you…ya know..makin' fun of me about it…" She shrugged, shifting over onto her side and curling up against the door as Dee had done before.
"Naw…I'm kinda impressed, Sammy. There are worse female singers you could like, ya know? At least Joplin's got soul…"
"Yeah…Guess that was why I liked her to begin with." Sam shrugged again, eyelids heavy and beginning to flutter against her own volition as she began the steady descent into sleep. Dee said nothing more, simply turned the volume up just enough for Janis to be heard above the engine, humming softly along with the words. A couple of minutes passed and Sam had nearly fallen into the depths of sleep when she heard Dee murmur, so soft she supposed she wasn't supposed to hear it.
"You always did have a nice voice, Sammy…" And then there was nothing but Janis and darkness.
OoOoOoOoO
Staring out the windshield and into the darkness of the night, broken only by the twin circles of light originating from the Impala, Deanna allowed her mind to wander as her gaze drifted over to her sister's prone form. Her hands gripped the wheel with enough force to cause the leather to creak. She was trying. Damn it, she was REALLY trying. But how much more would she have to "deal with?" How many more screw-ups and lies would she have to endure before shit between them was settled? How many more angry outbursts? A quiet, rough chuckle poured from her lips; more likely than not, they'd just keep building these walls and these dams between each other until there wasn't even a hint of truth left between them. Somehow this was a thought both comforting and miserably depressing.
Deanna ran her left hand through her hair, lingering on the shorter locks in the back. Absently she brushed her hand up and down and through the hair along the nape of her neck; mind lost in what was beginning to feel like the never-ending argument about Sam. Was she still jonesin' for blood? Was she gonna bend to Lucifer, say yes to the Devil himself? Hell, Dee figured she could ask the same of herself. Maybe, just maybe… she'd be the one who'd fold but to Michael. Would Sam follow suit? Maybe she'd already decided to; maybe she was just waiting for the perfect time to take ol' Lucifer in. Could be that the blood was calling or another demon was dancing in her head… So many possibilities, too many…
"You're thinking about Sam, correct?" Dee loosed a strangled cry and just managed to keep the Impala under control (though the same could not have been said about her jack-rabbiting heart). Nervously she glanced over to where Sam slept…and continued to sleep, despite what Deanna had felt was a rather loud interruption. A murmur escaped the younger Winchester, something about ice-cream Deanna thought, and then…nothing. Dee let out a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding before glaring in the mirror at the angel in the backseat.
"Damn it, Cas, what did we talk about?" She hissed, keeping her tone just above a whisper so he could hear her irritation. Cas remained silent for a moment, his blue eyes clouding momentarily as he seemed suddenly deep in thought.
"I…was not supposed to…'just appear' in the Impala?" He said, deep voice betraying his genuine attempt at a guess.
"Yeah, Cas, you're not supposed to JUST APPEAR in the IMPALA. You uh, see the problem I have here?" Her tone, though still irritated, carried a hint of amusement as the angel huffed in the backseat. Despite the terrifying couple of moments that accompanied Cas' sudden appearances, Dee couldn't help the gentle wave of calm that washed over her. Slowly in the silence following her disgruntled outburst Deanna began to relax; shoulders rolling in an attempt to loosen the stress bottled in her slight frame, hands flexing and relaxing against the wheel.
"Yes. Yes, I do recall this conversation. I'm sorry, Deanna." Dee chuckled, turning her attention back to the road.
"Sure, sure. What're you doin' here, Cas?" Castiel said nothing for some time, leaving Deanna to wonder if he'd left just as quickly as he'd shown up when suddenly he was running his hand through her hair. He lingered as he moved to the back of her head, skimming the short hair. For a moment Dee was paralyzed, eyes wide and flickering from the road to the rearview mirror as the angel in the back pressed against her skull with just enough pressure for Dee to feel his fingernails scraping along her skin. Her breath began to come in short bursts, inspired not out of confusion or fear but out of something…else entirely. She quickly became lost in the rhythm and moment, head inadvertently moving against Cas' fingernails to prolong the contact.
"Uh …Not that I mind…Cas…but what…are you doing?" She was thankful it was dark enough in the Impala for the blush creeping across her cheekbones to go unnoticed. She hoped the same could be said of her breathier than normal voice.
"I…saw you doing this. I wanted to know what it felt like. And you seemed to enjoy it when you were doing it." Was she just imagining it, or was the angel in the backseat sounding a little rougher than usual? No, of course not…surely just her imagination. After a moment she finally managed a response she felt was witty enough.
"Yeah uh…sure… And WHY, exactly, do you care if I enjoy something or not?" The hand that had been lightly scratching its' way across her skull paused in the path he had been tracing and Dee was embarrassed to admit that she had to swallow a noise of discontent. After a moment or so Cas' fingers once again began to trace the same pattern against the back of her head. An added detour took his fingers, which were surprisingly warm, skimming down along her neck, raising goose bumps wherever they touched.
"I'm not entirely sure, Deanna. I just do." His hand moved lower, dipping below the collar of her shirt to skim the skin along the top of her back. He lingered at a spot just to the right of her vertebra, pressing gently and causing Dee to hiss in pain, jerking violently away from his touch.
"No…" Cas murmured, hand moving to grip her shoulder, restraining her and pulling her back to her original position against the neck rest of the car seat. The pain was still fresh, remembering the wound's origin even more painful. She winced, tilting her head away from his touch as he continued to press lightly against her wound. It had been the first time in a long time she'd felt so…damn helpless. Even being held in a neck lock a couple feet above the ground did not leave her as naked and vulnerable as she'd felt the that night, now almost ten days past. Held down, belly flat against an icy concrete floor, one ghoul digging into her back with her own knife while another helped keep her down. She'd screamed, of COURSE she'd screamed, but Sammy had been preoccupied, trying to fight off one of her own and having more trouble than she usually did.
She still remembered the horrifying combination of sensations; flushed face forced into the icy cool of the concrete, the heat of her own blood dripping down her back, soaking first through the tattered remains of her shirt and then pooling against her sides and edging in to settle at the edges of her belly. She'd fought against their weight as she'd writhed on the floor, unable to ignore the almost ticklish feeling of her blood sliding down her back. And the sounds…The knife cutting into her flesh, slicing a chunk away, the ghoul ripping it from her back…it was a miracle she hadn't bled out; some stupid stroke of luck that had kept her from going into shock. She was certain that, had Sam been kept occupied for any longer than the minute or so they had free access to her skin she… But that hadn't happened. Sam had killed her adversary and managed to take on the two on Dee, receiving only some surface scratches and dings for her efforts. It was lucky, too, that Sam had more medical expertise than herself; Dee's back had been bound and later, disinfected and stitched together as well as possible. The pain had been bad, yes, but the inability to do anything for almost a week had been worse. It hurt still, the edges still just scabbed over and her back still delicate against any sort of pressure to it. Even driving had been difficult; leaning just enough against the seat to be comfortable without igniting the flames of pain that seemed always to linger just out of sight, threatening to return whenever a careless move was made.
But rest, real rest, would have to wait and it had waited. She'd followed Sam from case to case, drugged up and doing what she could to save anyone and everyone she could.
"I'm sorry, Deanna." Cas murmured, tracing the top of what would be the mother of all scars within a few weeks.
"Yeah well, shit happens. Just quit pokin' at-" She gasped as the pressure from Cas' fingers intensified, bringing first a sharp burning pain that spread into a wide cobweb of pain along her back…which eased into a cool feeling of relief, pain disappearing as fast as it had begun. She shuddered, a low moan escaping beyond her clenched teeth as Cas' hand continued to press at her wound.
"Cas, what…?"
"I may not be capable of stopping your injuries but I can at least lessen your pain." The pressure against her back disappeared then as his fingers, feeling even warmer against the cool relief still seeping into the skin of her back, began to trace a new pattern. Breathing harsher now than she'd like to be, Dee brought her left hand up and over her right shoulder, skimming along where the wound had been. Instead of the ridge of raised flesh she'd come to know in the past few days her fingers met a gently raised patch of skin. As though she'd had the wound for years instead of days. Only absently was she aware that she'd pulled the car over to the side of the road, noticing only when the tires began crunching along the gravel after a series of bumps alerted her to their new off-roading venture. She was entirely unprepared to feel Cas' fingers slide back over to meet her own, entwining with hers as well as he could considering her awkward position. And for a few moments there was silence, broken only by Dee's heavy yet controlled breathing and the soft breath from the angel in the backseat.
"Be careful, please." His voice was closer than she remembered it being and when she tilted her head back she was stopped by a pair of deep, sea-blue eyes, Cas' face so close their noses were almost touching. At this point, the Impala had nearly stopped. Deanna wasn't entirely sure what to expect, simply returning the unblinking gaze the angel had directed at her.
"Uhh…sure…Cas." Castiel nodded, seeming to accept Deanna's acknowledgement of his request and when she blinked again he was gone.
"Jesus, Cas, what the hell…" She murmured as she signaled to no one and returned the Impala to the road. This, she decided very quickly, was not something she wished to discuss with Sam. As far as Dee was concerned, the last time she'd seen Cas was a couple weeks ago when he'd de-briefed them about Heaven's current events. Gingerly she reached back over her shoulder, a shiver moving from head to toe as she recalled Cas' hand on her back. Memories of times alone, the days that Sam had been gone, moments that had almost happened, threatened to overtake her thoughts and put a stop to all rational forward momentum. A harsh shake of her head pushed them back and away, preferring not to relive her embarrassment while she had other things on her mind.
(Approximately four hours later.)
There was a tickling sensation, just above the tip of her nose. The hunter was only vaguely aware that she was feeling anything at all and it was almost an after thought when her hand brushed against her nose in an attempt to dislodge it. She began to settle only to feel the same thing once more against her right cheek. Snuffling giggles reached Sam's ears and, though unwilling, her eyes began to creak open-
Just in time to see Dee lowering a thread back down towards her face. Sam grunted and smacked Deanna hard enough to elicit a strangled 'OOF'; Sam would have been lying if she'd said she hadn't smirked a little. She groped around the side of the seat and, fingers finally alighting on the cool piece of metal set just to the side of her seat, she re-adjusted it so that she was sitting up. A quick physical inventory produced the typical aches and pains accompanied with sleeping in the Impala and, even more surprising, a feeling of refreshment she hadn't been expecting.
"You crashed pretty hard there, Sammy. I was almost positive you weren't gonna get up for anything." Sam was surprised to hear the light tones of amusement in her sister's voice. The seemingly constant strain between them seemed to have ebbed during their drive and though surprising it was nice. It was…comfortable. Familiar. Something she could slip back into like an old glove or a well-loved leather jacket. It gave her hope that, perhaps, with enough time…
"Yeah well…" She struggled to find something witty to keep the conversation going, only to discover that there was nothing there. Sam cleared her throat. "We're uh… there, right? Astoria?" Dee nodded and Sam suddenly realized that they were stationary. The Impala's engine was silent and the coolness of the car suggested that the heat had been off for some time. A pang of guilt rushed through the younger Winchester; had Dee reached their destination and then allowed Sam to sleep? Delayed waking her as long as possible? As though she'd been reading her mind, Deanna reached over and started the car.
"It was too early to try talking to anyone…Not even any decent coffee joints open yet!" A rough, jovial laugh and they were back on the road. Sam turned her head, gazing out the window as though indifferently scanning the landscape whilst attempting to control the sudden lump in her throat.
"You got any idea where we ought to start here, Sammy?" Deanna's business tone brought Sam back from her thoughts and, with a shake of her head, she was back to focusing on the job.
"Honestly? I'm not too sure, Dee." She frowned. "I'd say our best bet is to do a little bit of research; find out if missing person's reports have been filed? We left pretty quick last night…The only thing I know for sure is that there are multiple people involved. From what I could hear, it seemed as though there were at least two or three other people in the uh…background. Not including whatever was there with them." Deanna nodded, face set as they scoped out motels from the road.
"Sounds like a solid plan. Probably check out the police station…?" Sam nodded, rubbing her hand over her face. Having already made the drive, Sam couldn't help but feel frustrated with herself. Since when did they rush out with no background information to a town they've never been to without contacting or consulting someone? It had been so soon, Sam silently argued as they pulled into Skyward Inn, and her mystery caller had sounded so…panicked, terrified, pained… In the end, urgency had overridden any sort of intelligence when it came to saving lives. Sam came back to herself just in time to follow Dee into their rented room (the rental having been taken care of by Dee while Sam had contemplated their current situation). After a brief bout of rock, paper, scissors Dee was sent off to find breakfast while Sam sat down at her computer to conduct a bit of research.
Hours passed; by the time their bellies were aching for lunch the girls knew, relatively, what they were dealing with and where to start. Some five or six interviews later, dressed their best and flashing smiles bright enough and sweet enough to drive every man to the truth, the girls finally found themselves back in the Impala. Night was just beginning to fall, purples and oranges alighting the sky in a beautiful display that neither Winchester had the time to admire.
"So…you uh…sure that's gonna work?" Dee was hardly able to keep the skepticism from her voice and, though Sam hated to admit it, it wasn't entirely unjustified. She glanced down at the small, round-bottom flask she had cradled between her hands. Inside it was filled with a thick, dark green smoke; flashes of something bright broke through the constant swirling loops and whorls inside the bottle. She swallowed a few times before finally managing to speak.
"I dunno, Dee… I mean, I don't think that demon could lie to us. And based off of what we've found so far? I don't know about you but I'm not entirely comfortable just going into this with the intent to remove heads. Sure, vampire seems the best bet but…" She shrugged, allowing her sentence to drift away as the signs of civilized life melted away the further and further they drove.
"And Bobby seemed all for it!" Dee snorted, her overly exaggerated eye-roll evident in the gentle tilting of her head.
"Yeah, because he was about as clueless as we are and twice as worried."
"Well…yeah… I'm feeling like this is our best option, too." The girls sighed nearly simultaneously, their conversation lapsing into momentary silence as they each contemplated what they were about to do. What they were about to face. Sure, it SOUNDED like vampire…but it also sounded like something they'd never dealt with before. Some new hybrid, perhaps? It was an unsettling thought, regardless. Continuously Sam returned to the breaking of that seal…Jake and Azazel...learning that Deanna was doomed and destined for Hell one short, terribly short, year later. She shifted her right hand off the flask and over to her knee where she gripped her leg just short of painfully. So much had happened, so many horrible things and events… And now here they were. Still attempting to hunt regularly while signs of the Apocalypse began showing their ugly faces all over the world. Sure, they both knew that killing one demon here, setting some ghosts to rest there, was doing little more than postponing the fate of all these people until the Apocalypse finally began…assuming there were unable to stop it at all. More than anything Sam could not help but return to Ruby; trusting Ruby had been her true downfall. Allowing herself to believe that a demon was not, for the first time in the history of demons, out for blood had not been the first time she'd blindly trusted someone but it would certainly be the last.
Fighting creatures both familiar and new, balancing the weight of the world on their shoulders and, oh yes, attempting to evade the angels who were jonesin' for their meat suits. The thought was sickening. Overwhelming and depressing and, beyond all else, fuel for the constantly simmering rage hidden just beneath Sam's calm, cool and collected façade.
"…'bout there." Sam shook her head, trying to clear away the dark cobwebs of thought.
"We're uh…there?"
"Yeah just about… you think you can handle this…?" Sam winced inwardly and scowled, gaze still focused outside. There was something so beautiful watching the world as it disappeared into the twilight of the approaching night. They would have an hour before the sun was fully descended and though this was not an ideal time to confront the enemy, their sources had led them to believe that the sooner the better. It could mean the difference of lives saved versus lives lost and that was a risk both girls knew they had to take.
"Just… Yeah. Yeah, Dee, I can. I just wish we'd gotten ahold of Cas, knowing whether or not this is Heaven related, would make me feel a lot better, ya know?" Their silence grew uncomfortable quickly and Sam could not help but wonder what Dee was hiding this time. The Impala's lights flickered on, illuminating the rough dirt road before them and as they passed over the wooden bridge they'd been told about, Sam knew there were only a couple minutes away from the path they'd have to walk on foot. Not for the first time Sam wished she knew why Cas was ignoring them. Sure communication between them had been spotty the past couple months but the combination of Dee's stilted silence and the complete lack of surety of their situation did nothing for her already unsettled nerves.
Before long they were gearing up, the flask stored in a makeshift bandolier against Sam's hip for both safety and accessibility. They each grabbed a shotgun and a machete, tucking the latter into their belt-loops and doing once-overs on their guns. As prepared as they were, the Winchesters were left with little other option to set off down the path.
From the moment they'd entered the small clearing where the shack, which should more accurately been referred to as the most run-down cabin they'd ever experienced in their hunting memories, they'd known that someone had tipped off the bad guys. They'd experienced no one and nothing just outside the cabin but they'd felt rather than seen the eyes that were on them. The ambush had been expected but far more violent than they'd been prepared for. There'd been blood, and pain. Screaming and pain and death; it was as though they'd entered Hell the moment they'd stepped inside. The only good part had been that the demon they'd interrogated had been telling the truth. The creatures they fought moved and acted like vampires and yet they'd been faster, stronger than regular vamps. And it had been nearly impossible to behead them, as though the skin and muscle connecting their heads to their shoulders were made of stone.
They were separated right off the get-go, a group of three of the uber-vamps (as Sam was inclined to think of them as), all male, seemed to appear from nowhere and began driving the sisters apart in the cabin, one of them tackling Sam away from the entryway and into a small reading room to the right, and two of them circling Dee and pushing her away from Sam and up the stairs. Sam had about half a second to begin calling out for her sister before she was forced to begin the struggle for control with the uber-vamp, twisting and turning and using her forearm against the creature's throat to keep it's mouth at a distance. All the while she struggled to reach her machete, fingers slipping against the belt loop and against the blade, slicing her fingers open and making the struggle that much more difficult. The metallic tang of blood filled the already charged air and sent the vampire into a violent frenzy. Sam cried out as the creature tore into her arm with his teeth, wrenching and twisting and shaking himself with enough force to make Sam lose what little grip she'd still had on the creature. She screamed as his mouth released the grip on her arm and shifted down, lighting fast, to her throat, latching onto the side of her neck and tearing the skin as easily as if it were tissue paper.
Her scream turned into something like a bellow as that rage, her rage, exploded within her, nearly blurring her vision in its' intensity. Unintelligible sounds of her anger continued to spew, forced out through gritted teeth, as she finally managed to grasp the hilt of her machete. She ripped it from the belt loop, tearing the fabric and ruining the loop in her haste to save herself. The pain was just beginning to fade and now her adrenaline was laced with fear as she realized she was losing too much blood too quickly. If she didn't remove the creature she would die within a matter of minutes, if she would even last that long. With her fear now feeding her adrenaline she whipped the machete around and hacked into the creature's neck, having forgotten about the flask in a moment or reflex. It paused for a moment, hissing and loosing some strangled epitaph before it dove back towards Sam's neck.
"Oh no you DON'T you bastard!" Another grunt and the machete connected with the same wound she'd just inflicted. It took almost a full minute to destroy enough of the creature to force it away from her entirely and almost another full minute to disconnect fully his head from his shoulders. Sam was breathing heavily by the time she was done, left hand pressing down hard on her neck in an attempt to staunch the bleeding there even as tiny rivulets streamed down the same arm.
"DEE! DEANNA WHERE-" A muffled scream was all she received in response followed by two rounds from Dee's shotgun, the sound reverberating through the cabin. Sam moved towards the stairs, swaying slightly on her feet and was stopped by yet another creature, this one decidedly female. They froze, staring at each other, gauging each other. Trying to feel each other out in the couple of seconds before the brawl-
"SAMMY, SAMMY NOW!"
"I CAN'T EVEN SEE YOU, DEE!"
"JUST DO IT!" Dee's voice devolved into muffled grunts and curses aplenty; simultaneously the female lunged, screaming as Sam leapt to the side, landing on her side and jarring her shoulder hard enough to see stars. Before she had time to catch her breath she was scrambling for the flask, releasing the bit of leather holding it in place and ripping it from the holster. Just as the creature was regaining her footing Sam slammed the flask down on the floor beside her.
The uber-vamp's hands closed around her neck, clawed hands leaving tiny pinpricks of barely broken skin behind. There was a bellow of anger, a scream of pain Sam later decided had DEFINITELY come from the vamp and most certainly NOT from herself, and then she was blind. Light and heat exploded around her, originating from the shattered flask. It enveloped everything in an explosion the likes of which neither Winchester had ever experienced. Sam had just long enough to ponder whether or not she would make it out of this and, assuming she did, if she'd suffer the mother of all sunburns before all rational thought was blurred and dampened by the roaring flash of light.