A/N: Welcome back, all! Vivi here for yet another chapter of Internal Medicine. Fair warning, Ali reflects on some pretty dark things for a few sentences towards the end, but nothing is graphic or descriptive. Keep up with the reviews. They've been helpful! Enjoy!
When I woke up, it was dark. We'd left at around noon. Had I slept the whole way?
The radio was playing some music from a few decades ago. A man's voice came through and announced it to be eight o'clock. My stomach growled, then lurched.
I thought we were going to go off the road. Cas yelped and the car swerved dangerously close to the ditch before he slammed on the breaks. The blanket I had hidden under was violently ripped away from me, allowing me to see the sunset through the windows and Cas' furious, albeit terrified, face. He'd jumped up and was kneeling on the front seat, poised to attack with his angel blade shining in the last light of the sun.
"Hiya, Cassie." I smiled sheepishly. He sighed in relief and rested his head on the back of the front seat.
With his forehead still on the front seat, he addressed me. "I knew that music was too loud for your ears. Why did you come?"
"Dean's missing and I just wanted to help. Can't a girl get any respect around here?" I asked, uncurling my slowly cramping legs to sit on the backseat and face my chauffeur.
Suddenly Cas' head was up and his face was very close to mine as he leaned over the seat. His left hand was supporting him on the back seat, but his right hand was very close to my chest. I looked down to see what he was doing after the initial shock of his action wore off. He was grasping my pendant, muttering something in a language I could only guess was Enochian. It was a few seconds before he stopped and released my necklace.
"Your warding is about to fail. Did you not hear me when I told you that the pendant was weak?" He sat down in the front seat, clearly frustrated, and pulled out his cell phone. He called a number on speed dial.
"I'm sorry, Cas… I thought you were just trying to keep me from leaving the bunker." I said.
"Sam." Cas said. He waited for Sam's greeting before continuing. "Allison stowed away in the back seat of my vehicle. She tricked me into thinking she was in her room at the bunker." He waited for Sam's reply, which sounded just as agitated as Cas' statements. "Yes, in about two hours. Then anything will be able to find her." I actually heard Sam say 'dammit' rather loudly on the other end, followed by more dialog. "I know of a place about an hour from here." Cas said, glaring at me from the front seat before putting the car back in gear. We were hauling ass even before Sam finished his statement. "It will delay our progress, but we've been planning to do this for several months now anyway." Cas looked back at me again, this time as if he were appraising a head of cattle. I was nervous as Sam spoke. "I'll meet you there then." With that, he hung up.
"What place?" I asked timidly.
"You are testing the limits of my human patience, Allison." He glared at me from the rearview mirror. "Please cooperate from now on."
"What place?" I asked, adding an edge and some strength to my voice.
His eyes narrowed in the mirror as he continued watching the road. It was flying by more quickly than I'd ever gone. "It's called Calloway's."
Calloway's was a small metal building situated along the main drag in a small town about an hour south of Centerville. It looked intimidating, but Cas grabbed me under the arm and pulled me inside. Apparently, he didn't want any more delays in the plan. It was getting late and the heavily tattooed fellow behind the desk didn't look too happy about us arriving a few minutes before closing.
"What can I do for you?" He barked. I looked around, a little scared, and saw a lot of art on the walls and a big black curtain hanging just behind the desk. Cas let me go and lifted his shirt. I was surprised to say the least; that was not something he ever did, much less in public.
On his skin was a crude tattoo with strange symbols and things that kind of looked like letters. I found myself staring; I'd seen some of those symbols and letters in the books Cas and I were researching to try and fix his grace.
"She needs one exactly like mine tonight." Cas said. "Please."
The man lifted an eyebrow. "That's gonna take at least an hour." He said to Cas. Then he turned to me. "Honey, can I see you behind the curtain real quick?"
I hesitated, but agreed to go with him after Cas nodded and shot me a reassuring glance.
"Is he bad news, little lady?" The man asked softly, arms crossed, as we stepped behind the curtain. We were in a room covered in art work with three mechanical, adjustable chairs and big mirrors on the walls. Two large televisions hung from the ceiling. A tattoo parlor. That made sense.
Confusion colored my face as I realized what he was asking. "What?"
"Is he manipulating you? Like hurting you, selling you, hitting you? I saw how he pulled you in here. You didn't seem like you wanted to come." The man was clearly concerned.
I smiled. "Thank you. But he's my friend. I was sleeping when we got here. I'm usually a little groggy until I've been awake for a few minutes. We live up in Centerville and it was dark… I just can't stay awake in cars at night." Lying through my teeth was one skill that I wasn't proud to be good at.
"You sure? You're not drunk or drugged, are you?" He asked, looking me up and down.
I laughed. "No, just sleepy. Thanks for watching out for me though." I said. "I've actually been meaning to get a tattoo to match his for few months now, but I hadn't had the nerve. I decided tonight was the night. I know it's a little late, but if you could, I would appreciate it." I shot him my brightest smile and my most innocent eyes. He seemed to relax.
"Alright. I'm Tim by the way. Let me get that design off of your buddy there and we can start. I'mma charge you overtime though. I was gonna watch the game." He huffed, going back around the curtain.
"I'm Ali. You can watch it from in here, can't you? I don't mind." I said, returning to the other side of the curtain.
It really did take him an hour. One painful, ice-hockey-commentary filled hour. The text from Cas' tattoo was slowly, yet supposedly quite rapidly according to Tim, written on my left side. The symbols and letters wrapped from my back to my front just below my bra, along the last few of my ribs. My tattoo was significantly smaller than Cas' but I still squeezed his hand to keep from crying. As Tim was just about finished and my eyes were watering, I saw Cas start to draw the tattoo that Dean and Sam had over their hearts.
I looked at him in confusion. "I need both?" I asked, trying to keep their meanings a secret from Tim but desperate to know what they meant. Cas nodded.
Once Cas finished drawing it, I showed it to Tim. "Can I have this one too? Just centered below the last one, and a little smaller?" I batted my eyes and smiled sweetly.
Tim looked at it, squinted, looked at my side, and spoke. "O' course. That'll be a few more minutes though."
A few minutes later, I was slathered with some kind of cream and wrapped in cling wrap with two shiny new, jet black tattoos adorning my side.
As we left the parlor, Cas seemed visibly more relaxed. We arrived at the car and he pressed his hand into my tattoos. I gasped at the stinging pain. Once his Enochian mutterings were finished, he got in the car and I caught my breath. I was in mild pain as we took off, speeding towards Centerville.
"Cas, I know you and Dean and Sam have these tattoos, but no one bothered to tell me what they are. Why do I need both?" I asked, trying to find a position in the front seat that didn't allow the seatbelt to rub my new ink.
"One is to disallow anything from finding or tracking you and the other prevents possession by demons." He said.
"Which is which?" I asked.
"Sam and Dean have the anti-possession tattoo on their skin and the protection sigil carved into their ribs. Ours is a different sigil than theirs, however. Both work well." He didn't look away from the road. I couldn't blame him. I think we were going faster now than we were earlier.
"What does ours say?" I asked, pulling up my layers of clothing to look down at it. It looked kind of cool. Somehow, it made me feel a little safer.
"The exact translation from Enochian makes little sense in English, but the general wording of the sigil goes: prevent vessels or ethereal creatures from finding me; swear to prevent others with the intention of battle and murder in their hearts from finding me." Cas said. "It's much more poetic in Enochain."
"I believe you." I said softly. "So now nothing can find me?"
"Nothing. Not even me." He turned to make eye contact with me. "Allison, if you ever get lost and need me to find you, pray to me. Understand? Tell me your location, or any details you know or can see about where you are. If you pray long enough, I may be able to lock onto your location and go to you even with the sigil. It's difficult, but I think I can do it."
I gave him a small smile. "Thanks Cas. Thanks for not dumping me somewhere and leaving me to fend for myself, or blowing up in my face when you found me. And thanks for letting me crush your hand for an hour." That finally elicited a smile from him.
"We had planned on taking you to get the sigils for several months but in your state of health it hadn't seemed wise. Now was not an ideal time, but as Dean would say, 'there's no time like the present'."
"So why did you get your tattoo? I can see why Sam and Dean got theirs… and the rib carvings, which were from you, I'm guessing?" I trailed off. "I mean, those kinds of injuries would have killed them unless something like an angel did it."
"Yes, I inscribed the sigil on their ribs to protect them from the angels and demons hunting us at the time. I received my tattoo after I rebelled against Heaven to help the Winchesters." Cas said stiffly.
"You never told me that." I said softly. "They must really mean a lot to you for you to do something like that."
"Sam and Dean have been the only truly reliable friends I have had in my existence. Even with my grace inaccessible, they see worth in me. " He frowned. "I fear that may change now." We were quiet for a few minutes. I had no idea what to say and was at a loss until he spoke again. "I believe my current condition is caused by spellwork, not depleted grace. I can feel it inside me, I just can't access it. It is deeply frustrating."
"We'll figure it out, Cas. Don't get discouraged." I said.
"I should have been able to find Dean on my own by now, Allison." He glanced over at me. "I'm useless to them now."
"I disagree." I said. "You make a mean researcher, Cas. And a great chauffeur. Not to mention a steady medic and a kind ear to talk to. You're brilliant, Cas. Give yourself some credit." I play punched his shoulder.
"How am I rude or angry in my research? Why is that considered a good thing?" Cas said, clearly very confused.
That had me giggling. "No, Cas. It means you're very good at researching tough topics."
"Oh." He smiled to himself after a moment of thought. "I guess I can see your point."
Cas parked our car next to the Impala at the Atrium Inn Motel. Sam peered through the curtain and came out. "Allison, what were you thinking?" He asked, taking my flowery duffel and coat from me when he saw me wince at the pain in my side.
"I was thinking I can help find Dean." I shot his attitude right back to him. "And if anyone stands in my way, they won't for long. I'm not some helpless little girl." I started walking towards the hotel room. "By the way, I've been elbow deep in other peoples' blood more times than I can count. And not all of those were surgeries."
Cas and Sam followed me in. The room was covered with articles about missing people and the house. Some drawings of the house and eye witness account-based sketches of a humanoid with white eyes were on the wall too. Dean's things lay half-packed on one bed and Sam's on the other. The rest of the floor, save the path to the bathroom, was covered in camping supplies and weapons.
"I just got back from a supply run." Sam said, pushing past me and dumping my things on his bed. "I'd like to head out at first light."
"I thought we were going out tonight?" I piped up.
"This monster is a great hunter during the day but an incredible one at night. We wouldn't stand a chance." Sam said. "And if it really does have Dean, it's not likely that it'll kill him in the next few days. They like to… uh… take their time."
"What is it?" I asked. Sam and Cas exchanged a worried, hesitant look. I rolled my eyes and sighed.
"Come on, guys. You're making me feel really left out right now." I said.
"It's a Wendigo." Sam said. "Human turned monster after resorting to cannibalism during hard times. They're incredibly fast, can mimic voices, and have long, sharp claws."
The bitchface settled right where it fit me best. "Stop trying to scare me out of going out with you, Sam. Do you even remember the past five months?" I asked. He and Cas seemed confused. "When I was borderline suicidal and you left me alone? When the demon's voice, which I thought was my own, was in my head telling me to kill myself, to hurt myself, to hurt you guys, to drink boiling water or bleach… to do anything so long as it hurt me. I lived like that for five months. Five months. Don't I at least deserve a little respect for making it through that?" I realized I was almost shouting. I calmed down a little and spoke in a more mellow tone. "You hardly know what I can do, Sam Winchester. I can help."
Sam frowned and looked away from me. Then he looked back, his expression less irritated than before. "I know what it's like to live like that. You never told us you were hearing things or having thoughts like that."
"Well, the voice told me you'd be mad at me if I told you guys. That you'd kick me out. It was very convincing at the time." I sat on Dean's bed and looked at my hands, folded in my lap. "I'm alive and that's what matters. Let's make sure Dean is too."
A/N: Review review review please! See you soon for the next installment!
