A/N – Sorry for the delay, for whatever reason I decided to follow Sam's example and get drunk. I was not seeing the Devil but I had pretty hellish hangover the next day. I tried to make this one a tad longer, since I should have had this out the other day. Anywho – Thank you for the lovely reviews. They make my day and it makes me want to keep writing.
Saving Sam
Chapter 7
"Next time you run, you should change your license plates. Keeping the same tags makes you easy to track." Dean spoke to the woman who had just entered into the motel room, catching her by surprise. He moved toward her, heavy hearted having pursued the woman behind his brothers back, knife in hand. She tried to convince the hunter to spare her life, but he was determined that she would kill again.
The shock in her face as he stabbed her in the heart, he knew her face would haunt him for a long time to come. Dean turned to see her son, Jacob, staring at him with murderous eyes. The scene changed to show a few familiar people, along with the young kitsune, circling around the distraught hunter. Among those who surrounded him included all of those who he had lost throughout the years, including his parents and Bobby.
"Dean? Dean! Wake up." Cas had been woken from his sleep by the flailing hunter, who seemed to be trapped fighting some invisible enemy. Dean's eyes snapped open; fear wafting from the hunter, who was franticly looking around. It took a few moments for Cas to calm the hunter down enough for him to get actual words from the man.
"It was just a dream?" He asked the angel watching him, concern showing in his eyes, from beside him on the bed. The sting from the words they had spoken certainly felt real enough; Dean could still hear their words echoing in his head.
"What did you dream about? Or rather who." Cas placed an arm around him and rested his head on the other man's shoulder.
"If I was in Jacob's situation, and I have been plenty of time, I know that I would do the same thing that he is doing. So how is it right that I am supposed to kill him for something that I have done myself? I mean, when Dick killed Bobby I was hell-bent on making sure that Dick paid. Dad did it when Azazel killed my mom and Sam did it when I sold my soul. I just don't know if what I'm doing is right anymore." A single tear drops from his eye as he lays his cheek against the angel's head. It seemed to be a very long time before the other man spoke; the angel had been trying to think of something to put the hunter's mind to rest.
"Dean. You may have killed to get revenge for those who you have lost, but you are not like Jacob in the fact that the people he killed were innocent. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. You only killed those who deserved to be killed; many more would have died if you and your brother did not do what you do best. Jacob is a child yes; however, he is also a monster. You save people from the things that they know nothing about; he kills because it is his nature." Cas had leaned back, pulling the hunter down with him, and snuggled up to the hunter. A smile pulled at the edges of dean's lips as he wraps an arm around the snuggly angel.
"Thank you Cas" He whispered as the fear and anxiety that he had felt melted away in the arms of the now sleeping angel; within moments the hunter joined his angel in an undisturbed slumber.
Sam winced away from the sun that filtered into the room from the window, rolling over to bury his head into the pillow. He ached all over and his mouth felt full of cotton, and dear lord the headache was pounding. It seriously felt like his head was going to explode from the pounding. Ugh never going to drink that much again, this is just terrible. He partially remembered the night before, mostly that Gabriel had stayed by his side throughout the time he needed him the most.
"How's the head, Sunshine?" Gabriel sat on the bed beside of the hunter, but the voice may have well been shouted through a bullhorn. Sam lifted his head to look at the archangel sitting by him, meeting his amber eyes that showed concern. There was something else in his eyes too, what is that anger?
Why is he angry? Did I do something that I don't remember? Sam was beyond confused, he was about to speak his question when Gabriel spoke again.
"Yes Sam, I am a little angry at the fact that you were seeing Lucifer and you didn't say anything to anyone about it. You just tried to drink it away. You can't keep doing this. You know, better than anyone, that your soul has been mutilated beyond repair. Lucifer made damn sure that even if you did escape the cage that he'd never be far behind. Just tell me next time? Please, I can't watch you destroy yourself Sam." Gabriel had turned away from the man lying in the bed.
"Gabe... I'm sorry. I just thought that this time I could handle it, the drinking was a mistake, I just wanted him to go away. Can we just keep this between us though? I know Dean is having a hard time as it is with this case, he doesn't need to deal with my crazy too." his head was killing him, and he knew if he did tell Dean he'd just yell and he really didn't need that right now. As crappy as he felt right now, the fact that he had made Gabriel angry at him struck him the hardest. All he felt like doing was curling up and sleeping until he didn't ache anymore. "Mind using your angel powers to banish this hangover?"
"I could, but you brought this upon yourself Sammy. You can't run away from your issues and you don't have to face them alone. I'll be right here though, so you don't have to face the hangover alone either." he turned back to the man lying in bed, currently frowning, and hands him a few aspirin and a glass of water. "This will help with the headache; sleep will help with the rest." He gave a small smile as the hunter downed the aspirin and water and then settled back into the bed. Gabriel lay down beside him, wrapped an arm around his waist, and the pair drift back to sleep within a few moments.
"Sammy? Man, don't take this the wrong way but you look like shit. How's the head?" Dean had been using his fork to push around the bits of egg left on his plate, he hadn't had much of an appetite this morning but he had enough experience with hangovers to know he needed to eat something. Castiel did not envy either of the Winchester men this morning, though of the two Sam definitely looked worse for wear. Sam slumped down into his seat at the booth, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand, trying to make the extreme headache ease off some. Gabriel had joined them a moment later; Sam knew he was still upset at him, because the angel had not even looked at him since they woke that morning.
"Next time you see me drink, just shoot me. Really, just shoot me." He was miserable, the lights were too bright and everything was too loud, he ached and was sore all over. He felt like there was some epic battle raging in his head and he wished he could just make it stop. At least his world didn't currently spin, as it did the night before, though the thought of food made him feel sick. He ordered some toast, somewhere he had read that toast was good for hangovers due to the blandness of it, and nibbled on it. Dean had provided him with some pills to help with the headache and the upset stomach; he was always looking out for his little brother.
"So Dean, What are we going to do about this kitsune? According to this paper he killed again last night" Gabriel spoke for the first time since entering the diner this morning, looking at Dean while handing him the paper. Sam's eyes drifted over to the angel beside him, who has been rather cold this morning, he feels guilt eating away at him.
"I have to talk to him; I know what he's going through..." Dean's eyes were glued to the paper, another person was dead because of him. He felt Cas's hand on his knee under the table, he gave a light squeeze in an effort to comfort him. Sam tore his gaze from the cold angel to his right, and instead directed it to his brother.
"Have you forgotten the fact that Jacob wants you dead, Dean?" Sam just kept his eyes on his brother, part of him could relate to the kitsune's need for revenge but the other part was unwilling to allow his brother to just walk into that revenge.
"He's killed 7 people Sammy; I just can't have that on my hands. So unless you have a better idea about how we should deal with this, I have to talk to him." The idea of killing a child was still a foreign concept for him but worst case scenario he would have no choice. Sam's brows furrowed as he tried to make his brain figure something out, after a moment he had thought of something.
"I'll go." Moments after these words left his mouth he felt three pair of eyes focused on him. He broke of a piece of his toast and brought it to his mouth, it was a pretty bland breakfast but at least his stomach was cooperating with him. Dean looked like he was going to flat out refuse to let Sam go in his place, Cas looked confused as to why Sam would volunteer, and Gabriel just looked worried.
"No Sam, his fight is with me. I killed his mother." Dean eyed his brother.
"Yes, but you didn't know her. I did." Sam shot back, the look in his eye told Dean that he was going to be stubborn until he won this dispute. Out of the corner of his eye he could have sworn he saw some emotion flash up in Gabriel's eyes... Was that jealousy? Soon after they split off, back to their rooms, Sam picking up the bill while Dean provided the tip. Gabriel followed the taller hunter in silence; he was still very much aggravated with him, until they reached the privacy of their room.
"Sam you don't have to do this, you don't have to walk into what quite possibly could be a trap. You don't have to play the hero." His voice was so soft, just above a whisper, that the taller man at first thought he had imagined it. Sam looked up from his task of rummaging through his bag, relieved that his angel was speaking to him but nothing he would say was going to change Sam's mind.
"If I don't try, Dean will go alone. He'll go, knife in hand, and end up killing a child. Do you not see how much this is already affecting him? I just want to save him from tormenting himself about it." Hazel meet Amber for a moment before Sam refocused on his task of digging through his bag for his silver knife, he hoped he didn't have to use it but he would if need be.
"What about you? Won't killing this child torment you?" He moved closer to the man across the room, placing a hand on his shoulder. Sam had missed the warmth of the other man, who had been giving his the cold shoulder all morning. Pinching the bridge of his nose, this headache was becoming aggravating, he found his knife. He turned to face the shorter man, meeting concerned eyes.
"If I can't talk him down, I don't see what other choice we have. He likely will not stop until Dean is dead." He let out a pointed sigh, he wasn't sure if he could actually harm a child and he hoped it wouldn't come to that. Gabriel pulled the hunter into a hug, warmth encasing the taller man. At first Sam is caught off guard, but quickly melts into the hug, he nuzzles Gabriel's neck.
Sam located the school fairly easy, the town only had one so this had to be it, just in time to hear the bell sound and see the children scramble out. After a few moments of searching he found his target, heading towards the woods near the school. Sam followed the boy, staying just out of earshot, just as he had his mother all those months before. Rustling in the leaves behind him made him turn and eye the bush with suspicion, which grew even more when the rustling stopped. He leaned in closer to see what was in the bush when it jumped out, startling the hunter, and hopped away. Regaining his composure he turned back towards the trail and stopped dead in his tracks.
"Sammy, it was only a rabbit" Words spoken in a mocking tone, Lucifer was propped against a nearby tree just grinning at him. For a moment Sam's brain refused to process and he just stared at the hallucination, he really didn't need to deal with this right now. He reminded himself that he was supposed to be following the boy, who luckily hadn't gotten too far ahead of him.
"How's your head Sammy, you drank quite a bit to try to get rid of me. Tell me did that work?" Lucifer walked beside the hunter, who was trying to ignore him and focus on his task. "Aww I thought we were past the 'trying to ignore me' stage. I guess I'll have to try harder"
Sam focused on finding the boy, following him to a cabin in the woods. He was going to scope the place out and see if the boy was alone when the cabin just burst into flames, the heat was just unbearable. Sam's eyes grew in shock until he realized that Lucifer was standing behind him with a smug look on his face.
This is not real; it is not really on fire. The flames do not exist. He repeated to himself as he walked up the back steps onto the burning porch, where he still felt the heat but he was not burned. The fire disappeared as Lucifer tried to think of something else to taunt the hunter with. Sam circled the cabin twice, noting that the boy was in there alone, at least something was going right for him, before he picked the lock on the back door. He silently entered and found Jacob in the kitchen, doing homework.
"I know you are there, Sam" the young kitsune turned to face the doorway that Sam was hiding inside of. "You can come out."
"You know who I am?" the tall man stepped out of the shadows of the door frame and met the gaze of the young boy at the table. He had hoped that this was not Lucifer's doing, but a quick glance around showed the Devil was nowhere in sight.
"My mom told me about you, Sam Winchester, when we were going to leave town. But then your brother murdered her." Rage was present on the young boy's face, Sam shifted his weight slightly.
"We should sit and talk, Jacob. I'm going to sit at the table with you." He waited for a nod from the boy before he made his way toward the wooden table. He took a seat across from the young kitsune, who turned to face him. Something caught his attention behind the boy though; several clowns had entered from the bedroom and were now standing at various spots in the room. Panic started to fill the hunter as one clown stood directly beside his chair. He caught a glimpse of Lucifer leaning against the door frame, who merely gave Sam a knowing look with that damned grin on his face.
"Are you ok?" The boy had noticed Sam's eyes darting around the room and then the panic that showed in those hazel eyes. Sam refocused on the boy in front of him, trying to ignore the clowns that were dancing around him.
"Y-Yeah, just dealing with, uh, just dealing with a lot right now. Sorry. So I assume your mom told you what I am." Sam saw Lucifer moving behind the numerous clowns, weaving his way toward the hunter, his eyes following the annoying hallucination.
"She did tell me you were a hunter, thought she left out the part about you being bat-shit crazy. I guess you know it was me that killed those people, to draw in your brother?" his eyes narrowed at the hunter in front of him and the fact that he was barely paying attention to him. What better way to ensure that Dean sought him out than to kill his brother. Sam was having a time not jumping out of his skin for the fact that there were clowns on either side of him and the others were closing in.
"Just Stop! Please?" Sam shouted as he stood up and quickly backed away. His eyes focused on the smiling Lucifer but his words stopped the boy from following through on the attack that he's been moments from doing. The clowns vanished in a burst of rainbow colored confetti; Sam eyed Lucifer who merely grinned at him. The pain emanating from his cheek brought him back to reality as he felt a second set of claws tear through the skin of his chest.
Pain and shock filled him but instinct kicked in as his silver knife slid through the young boy's heart, as if it were only butter. Sam staggered and dropped to one knee as the shock on the boy's face registered in his mind. As the light faded from the boy's eyes Sam felt dizzy from the blood loss and felt the ground rise up to meet him as he fell sideways.
"Why would I stop Sammy, you let me in. Again." Lucifer kneeled down beside the fallen hunter, as flames rose up around them both. These flames were hot, they burned, and they felt real. Sam managed to pull himself into a ball, trying to hide away from the pain that he felt. He tried to call out, but his voice betrayed him, tears were threatening to fall.
Gabriel, please, I need you. You're right I can't handle it. Not even close. He had closed his eyes, expecting to die from the fire or from bleeding to death, and just drifted off to sleep hoping that his angel would find him.
A/N – So yeah, I had to poke at Sam's fear of clowns. Please Review. :)
