PART II: PACT WITH THE DEVIL'S OWN

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica po… potes…tas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio et s…secta diaboli… Dean…"

"This is important, Lisa."

"I know. I've been trying to learn this exorcism for five days now. I don't speak Latin!"

"Me neither. You just have to get used to the words in case you need to read them one day. If you trap a demon, you can't have it hanging out in the house stuck under a devil's trap like a coat hanger. You gotta send the bastard back!"

Lisa chuckled and lost herself into the thickly lashed green eyes for a second. She was going to miss him so much.

"Protection," Dean continued.

She huffed and started reciting, "Salt at the doors and windows at all times. Protective circle in case of trouble. Holy water in every drink served, in a perfume bottle I can use as pepper spray if I get suspicious. The hex bags in the house, in the car, in Ben's back pack, in my purse. The seal of Solomon, at the front door, under the carpets in the car, in the trunk, I carry a can of spray paint everywhere and I practice the drawing everyday in case of an emergency. I'm going to be fine!"

Dean looked down with a sad smile. He wished he could share her optimism. She was smart, resourceful, and a great student; but what about Ben? He was a kid who still had to go to school, play outside, do all the things kids did, and it didn't include playing hide and seek with black-eyed girls in pigtails. He sat on the couch and pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes. She sat next to him.

"You think Ben could be in danger, don't you?"

Dean looked at her. It had been a week since Meg had made her unwelcome reappearance. He had never gone back to work and spent his time training Lisa since the night he had buried the coins. He had also been thinking about their situation, trying to come up with the best solution for all involved, going back and forth between staying to protect them, or leaving to protect them. He hoped she would forgive him one day for the option he had chosen, and for all of the chaos he was bringing into her life.

"He already is," he replied plainly, "and so are you. It was a clear warning. This is not some random Changeling that could have picked another neighborhood. You two are marked because of me."

Lisa took a deep breath and nodded quietly.

"You're taking this a little too well." He tried to ease the tension with a joke. "I notice I'm still in one piece."

She touched the anti-possession charm hanging from her necklace and gave him a smile. "Dean, when I invited you in, I knew there was a risk, and I also knew you'd do anything to protect me and my son. That was my decision. I'm not gonna fault you for something I chose to do. I would do it all over again, having you with me, watching you give Ben so many memories… it was worth it."

"Lisa, I'm so sorry. This is all my f…"

"You're not hearing me. I'm a big girl and I made my choice. You're cute and you might be some big hero, but I still could have kicked your butt to the curb."

Dean smiled. She took his hand and asked, "What do I need to do to keep my son safe?"

"Do you have a place where you can go for a while, while I hunt them down?"

"Yes. It's a good thing we're not in the middle of the school year."

"You have to go there. I'm gonna give you everything you need to be safe on the road, and I'll put you in contact with a preacher who can help."

"Okay."

"I can't go with you."

"I know that."

He swallowed noiselessly and delivered the last blow. "We can communicate but I can't know where you are. If I fight those things and lose, they will get it out of me. I won't fail, but I'd rather not take that risk."

She looked up at the ceiling to keep the tears from falling. "I understand."

"It's only temporary. I'll get them, I swear and then..."

"This preacher, he'll know what to do if we're in trouble?"

"He delivers sermons with a gun strapped to his leg. He's the man for the job."

"Then I'm sure we'll be fine, and I think it would be best if we try to move on. Ben needs stability. I don't know how long this is going to take you and I can't put our lives on hold."

"I would never ask you to."

"I want you to move on, too. After you find those things, keep doing what you do. Too many people still need you out there, so do your job and don't look back."

Dean absorbed her words, letting the feeling of loss and the conviction that they were doing the right thing settle in his chest before asking, "What about Ben?"

"Don't worry about him. I would never let my son think that you wanted to hurt him and that you abandoned us. He knows what you do, and he'll miss you; but I'll make sure he understands that you had to go back to the field and fight to make sure we, and other people, stayed safe."

Dean looked at her, impressed by her generous nature, and especially by her strength where another would have surely fallen apart. He had no idea how she had just managed to let him go without making him feel like he was breaking her heart and depriving Ben of the only father he knew. Better, she was promising to keep him as a cherished memory in their hearts.

He pulled her in his arms. "Thank you. You'll be safe, I promise, and you'll always have a way to contact me whenever you need me."

She clung to his shoulders and nodded tearfully.

"I'd like to spend some time with Ben before I leave. I don't want to just disappear on him."

"Of course. I wouldn't let you do that, but first, we have to discuss what we're going to tell him."

She pulled away from him and wiped her cheeks.

"Hey, could you go get me a couple of things at the grocery store? We'll talk more when you get back."

"Are you sure?" Dean asked, surprised by the unexpected request at a moment like this.

"Yes. I really need a moment alone."

She handed him the shopping list she had prepared, watched him grab the keys and drive off, and waited. She cringed when the sound of slow clapping echoed in her ears.

Sam Winchester stepped out from behind the door.

"Good job, Lisa. You were superb. You memorized that script like a pro."

She looked down and wrapped her arms around herself.

"I meant it," she shot back, tired of being manipulated. "I knew what I was getting into when I asked him to stay."

She knew he had won and had no more reason to hurt them, but now, she simply couldn't hold her tongue anymore. He had threatened her, toyed with her, turned her life upside down, and destroyed her happy home without a care. She owed it to herself to at least try to wipe that smug look off his face.

She looked him straight in the eyes and retaliated, "I wouldn't take any of it back. The time we spent together; the times he held me, kissed me, made love to me, fell asleep in my arms..."

Sam's jaw twitched. Two months earlier, the ceiling would have been decorating the floor. Lucky for her, he had learned to control his negative emotions. He stretched his lips into a closed, menacing smile before answering, "You're going to love the house, Lisa, the neighborhood, too. And you can whip the bored housewives from that nice little community into shape in your shiny new studio. Don't act like I'm the enemy here. I know you're hurting, but I gave you the very best. Your life will be easy and your son is going to a great school. Trying to get a rise out of me after everything I had to do to make it happen will only remind me that I could have spared myself the trouble."

He crossed his arms over his chest and added dispassionately, "We still have business together. In a few days, we're supposed to write him a nice, sweet, happy, reassuring letter to let him know how great you and Ben are doing. You might want to stay on my good side."

He held her gaze, responding to the contempt that filled her eyes with a triumphant sneer and waited until she had left the room to limp toward the door. He couldn't pull off the disappearing act that usually concluded their interactions, and he didn't want her to know that he could be weakened. He needed her scared, paranoid, thinking he was, at all times, powerful enough to read her thoughts and paralyze her in her sleep with a snap of his fingers.

His batteries were completely drained, and he was still recovering from using his powers at full capacity to create a new Dean-free life for Lisa somewhere far away. He had spent days running around, pulling demons strings, and broken his golden rule of never allowing them to possess an unwilling host, to run them through a dozen bodies, so Lisa could be signed into a charming three-bedroom house, hired at a high-end health club, and for Ben to be enrolled into a new school, no questions asked.

He could barely stand on his feet when he had made his way to Lisa's house to witness the break up scene; but he had to make sure she stuck to the plan. He took cautious steps on shaky legs and dragged himself to the street where he parked his car. He tripped once, pulled himself back up, and kept going.

He was so exhausted; he wouldn't have enough strength to drive himself home. He decided he would just take the car out of the neighborhood and take a nap. He opened the door and slid behind the wheel. He coughed and wiped the blood that dripped from his nose. He was a wreck, but it was all worth it.

Soon his brother would be with him again; and after he had bound Dean to him with one of the most powerful blood spell he knew, he would have everything he didn't know he wanted, until his brother had placed himself under Lucifer's fists so Sam would know, just how much Dean loved him.

Chapter V: Netted Butterfly