The Hardest Thing is Living
By Woman of Letters
Chapter Four: Dance with the Devil
Bobby flinched as bodies slammed through him. He still wasn't used to this spirit gig - going through things might be easy but he still thought of himself as having a body. And here were the boys, in a damn fool bar fight, and he felt all but useless. Couldn't throw a friggin' punch.
Deep in thought, he glanced at Sam's face and did a double-take.
Crap, Sam's in trouble. Sam looked like he was struggling with more than the fight in front of him. His aim was off and he was looking confused. Bobby'd give good money that the boy was having hallucinations again. Rotten timing!
* * *
Sam was back in Hell. Not burning, no...that would have been easier to bear.
Lucifer loved to play with the mind. 180 years with the Devil had brought that lesson home. Tonight was no exception.
He knew this wasn't really Lucifer. It was a pale imitation of the real thing, spawned by Sam's Hell-torn mind. Just two months ago, back in an empty warehouse, he'd seen Lucifer's face in place of his brother's. He'd almost shot Dean. He'd almost killed himself because the one thing he couldn't bear was going down below. Or finding out he'd never left.
Now he was seeing his brother's face everywhere he turned. Every person in the bar wore Dean's face. Which made it damn hard not to hit his brother.
And in his mind, Lucifer was laughing.
Sam faltered, and his hands hung loosely at his sides, unwilling to injure his brother. He squeezed his hand but the pain didn't help this time. Everyone was Dean.
* * *
Dean had gotten separated from Sam and was busy giving as good as he got. Then someone shoved him and almost spun him around completely. He thought he heard a clearly distinct "Idjit! Look after your brother!"
Don't be stupid. Bobby's dead.
And then Dean saw Sam. Barely defending himself, his brother's face was full of pain. The anguish on Sam's face could spur Dean to move like nothing else in this world.
"Sam!" Dean pushed through the crowd, instinct and sheer anger giving weight to his fists. Buffy was close behind.
X X X
A/N Those of you who know me as CFEditor will now note the new name: Woman of Letters. That's gonna be my fanfiction pen name on all my sites from here on in.
Sorry for the short chapter and the cliffhanger. The action needed to be quick, and it just fell out that way. Next week's chapter will be published on Monday, because Purim (a major Jewish holiday) is on Sunday and there is just no way I can post anything on Purim.
As usual, reviews are welcome!