Chapter Two: Ain't No Rest for the Wicked

Chapter Two: Sympathy for Lost Souls

Ella parked her car in the lot of the hospital and rushed in, heading straight down the corridor to the room Dean had mentioned in their phone call earlier that day. It had taken her all day to get to the hospital; traffic had been awful and she'd almost been pulled over a couple of times. As she practically bounded down the hall, a man in a white coat, presumably a doctor, shuffled anxiously past her.

"I'll use my game leg and kick your friggin' ass! Yeah, you better run!"

She smiled at the sound of that voice, having practically memorized it over the years. Ella walked into the little hospital room to see the three men. Bobby Singer sat angrily, mumbling curses under his breath in the bed, wearing a hospital gown with an IV stuck in his arm. Dean and Sam Winchester stood over by the window, Sam's face sad and Dean's stoic.

"What's all the fuss about?" Ella said as she entered.

"Ella," Sam exclaimed, moving over to pick her up in a tight hug.

"Hey Sam," she smiled, hugging him back as hard as she could. When he put her down, she reached up on her tiptoes and ruffled his hair.

"How you been?" he asked.

"Alright. Just finished a case with Mallory. Friggin' ghost doctor ripping hearts out of his victims. You can understand why I'm less than thrilled to be in a hospital right now."

"That makes two of us," Bobby said gruffly, arms crossed over his chest, almost like he was pouting.

"What have they done to you this time, old man?" she sat down on the edge of his bed and wrapped an arm around him.

"Watch your mouth, kid. Just 'cause I'm locked up in here don't mean you ain't gotta show me any respect," he said, but his tone was soft. She knew it was how he showed affection; she'd gotten used to it over the years.

"So what's wrong with you this time?"

"This time?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow, "you make it sound like you have to do this all the time!" he fell silent, looking at his hands, "It's my legs...I might bet my life that the doctor needs to go back to med school, he says I won't be able to walk again. Can you believe that yahoo?"

This news seemed to take Ella by surprise. She just sat there for a second, sadness swimming inside of her. Bobby was a fighter down to the bone. Something like this couldn't happen to him. She nodded sadly, offering the old hunter the best reassuring smile she could manage.

Finally, Ella turned to Dean. When their eyes met, she swore she could see something breaking inside of him.

"Hey Dean," she said softly, waiting to see if he would approach her or not.

"Hey sunshine," he said, his voice sounding more pained than it had over the phone. He leaned down and hugged her but it was half-hearted. She could tell he was hurting, but why, she wasn't sure.

"How's life of the almighty Winchesters?" she asked, taking on a joking tone but it didn't help at all.

He shrugged, "Same as always, no rest for the wicked."

Ella nodded, eyes soft. Then she remembered why he called her there. She set her bag down on one of the empty chairs in the room and started taking some things out. "Hey Sam," she said, "could you shut the door? Wouldn't want anybody to see."

Sam nodded.

The witch got to work, taking out ingredients of all different shapes and sizes. Dean watched her as he let out a sigh. It felt like everything recently had been weighing down on his shoulders, so it was nice to know someone else had the answers for once. It had been a few months since he'd seen Ella. After his return from Hell, she'd distanced herself, whether it was because she was afraid of him or afraid of what had brought him back, Dean didn't know - neither was better. But after the first appearance of the angel Castiel, Ella had come back into their lives, more than eager to learn about these so-called angels. Dean knew the woman like the back of his hand, every smile, every gaze. It made him feel vulnerable to know that she knew him that well too.

"Okay," Ella said, breaking Dean from his thoughts, "it's done."

"Bring it here," Bobby said, reaching out for the bowl. Ella handed it to him and he brought it to his mouth, swallowing all of the dark, purple liquid in one go. He coughed, covering his mouth like he might throw up. When he was sure he wouldn't he turned to Ella, "You're supposed to be healing me, kid, not killing me."

Ella laughed, sitting down on the edge of the bed again, "I know the stuff sucks. Sorry." The room fell silent as Ella held her hands just above Bobby's legs, closing her eyes. She took a breath, focusing on the energy she felt in front of her. Sam seemed to watch with a heightened sense of interest and Dean just turned away, shifting uncomfortably. "Haec, quae sanitatem terrae fractum," she murmured the spell quietly. A light emitted from her palms. Once it was gone, she waited a moment before opening her eyes. She looked up at Bobby, and he waited a moment before shaking his head.

"Dammit," Dean muttered, turning to look out the window.

"I'm sorry, Bobby," Ella said softly, guilt overtaking her, "I don't know why it won't work. This is something I just can't heal."

"It's alright. You tried your best, kid."

The four of them were silent as Ella packed up her ingredients. Once she was finished, she turned to Dean and gestured to the door. He followed her out into the hallway and closed the door behind them.

"What the hell is going on?" Ella said, anger in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Dean said.

"Dean Winchester, don't you play coy with me. Whatever is wrong with Bobby's legs - it's not natural. And you and Sam look like...you look someone just died or you killed someone. Not sure which is worse. What's going on?"

The man sighed and his entire being seemed to deflate, he rubbed the back of his neck, "Sam, he...he...set Lucifer free."

"What?" Ella gasped, covering her mouth to keep herself quiet, so as not to alert any of the staff.

"I know...it's just...he didn't mean to. He was being tricked by this demon and...now the angels are saying Sam is Lucifer's true vessel and I'm Michael's vessel and..." his voice trailed off and he fell silent.

"I can't believe this," the blonde haired woman said softly, "Are you alright?"

"Yes," he said, but his eyes said no.

Ella nodded, "I'm here, Dean. No matter what, okay? You guys need a hand, you call me alright? With Bobby out of commission you're gonna need somebody to help out."

"Alright, sunshine."

"So," Sam said, the first to speak up, "let me ask the million-dollar question. What do we do now?"

"Well, we save as many as we can for as long as we can, I guess. It's bad. Whoever wins, Heaven or Hell, we're boned," Bobby sighed.

"There has to be something we can do," Ella piped in, biting her lip.

"What if we win," Dean asked. The others looked at him in disbelief and he shrugged, "I'm serious. I mean, screw the angels and the demons and their crap apocalypse. Hell, they want to fight a war, they can find their own planet. This one's ours, and I say they get the hell off it. We take 'em all on. We kill the devil. Hell, we even kill Michael if we have to. But we do it our own damn selves."

"Dean, how're we supposed to that?" the blonde haired woman crossed her arms, shoulders slumped forward.

"I got no friggin' idea. But what I do have is a GED and a give-'em-hell attitude, and I'll figure it out."

Bobby sighed, "You're nine kinds of crazy boy."

"It's been said before," Dean smiled at the older man. It was an odd smile, not entirely forced but not entirely natural. "Listen, you stay on the mend. We'll see you in a bit."

The three of them started for the door.

"Sam," Bobby said.

The younger Winchester turned to look at him, apprehension in his eyes.

"I was awake. I know what I said back there. I just want you to know that," Bobby paused, "that was the demon talking. I ain't cutting you out kid. Not ever."

Sam sighed, "Thanks Bobby."

"You know Dean," Sam said as the three of them walked out to the parking lot, "maybe we could go after the Colt."

"You lost it?" Ella said in disbelief.

Dean shrugged, "Why? What difference would that make?"

"Well, we could use it on Lucifer. I mean, you just said back there-" Sam started but he was cut off.

"I just said a bunch of crap for Bobby's benefit," Dean muttered.

"Dean," Ella frowned, grabbing his arm.

He stopped and turned to look at the two of them, "I mean, I'll fight. I'll fight till the last man but let's at least be honest. I mean we don't stand a snowball's chance, and you both know that. I mean, hell, Sam, you of all people know that."

At those words, the younger Winchester seemed to stand up taller and he took a step forward, "Dean."

Ella looked from one brother to the other, gauging the tension that was practically radiating between them. "I'm gonna give you guys a minute," she said softly, turning and walking in the direction of her car.

She sighed, running a hand through her hair and opening the backseat of her 1980 chevy truck. She threw her bag onto the stained, carpet floor and lifted up the leather seats. Underneath was a hollow compartment where she kept her guns. Ella pulled a pistol from the pile and tucked it into the waistband of her jeans before putting the seat back and slamming the door shut.

"Ella," Sam said, walking over to her as Dean got into the Impala.

"Hey Sam, everything alright," she asked.

He shrugged, corners of his mouth turning down slightly, "Anyway, thanks for coming down at such short notice."

"Oh no problem. I'm just sad I couldn't help more."

He nodded, "Well we're heading out. We'll give you a call if we need a hand, okay?"

"Sure thing," she stepped forward and hugged him, "you stay in touch Sam. Whatever we're dealing with, we do it together."

He smiled, his hazel eyes sad, "Yeah, Ella, I know."

"See you boys around," Ella waved as she got into her truck and started driving. Once she was out of the parking lot, she turned on the radio and "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" blasted through the speakers. She almost laughed at the irony, but then again, there wasn't really anything funny about it.

Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked,

Money don't grow on trees,

I got bills to pay,

I got mouths to feed,

There ain't nothing in this world for free.

Oh no I can't slow down,

I can't hold back

Though you know, I wish, I could,

Oh no there ain't no rest for the wicked,

Until we close our eyes for good.