November 6, 2008
Lady appreciated that she didn't have to hang out in the motel with Sam. Whether or not that had been the motivation for Dean to escape with her in the Impala she didn't know. As he drove he had a slight smile on his face.
Lady was impatient by nature and after only a few minutes had to ask, "Where we going?"
"There is a ShopKo in town, you can get some clothes and whatever you need," Dean answered, smiling as if he thought that he was doing something as kind and selfless as giving away a kidney.
"I'm not shopping at ShopKo," Lady said flatly.
Dean lost his smile, "How long do you think my t-shirt is going to last you? Not exactly the warmest time of the year to be running around in shorts with your ass hanging out, Lady."
She hated he was right but couldn't help but complain, "Can't we go to a mall?"
Dean rolled his eyes. There was no mall in town. They were lucky there was even a department store. "Not here. Hey, just get what you need to last until we reach Bobby's. I bet you'll be thrilled that he didn't throw your stuff away. Sentimental old bastard kept your room exactly how you left it."
Hearing that did make Lady happy enough that she let out a short laugh. But it quickly made her wonder and worry about Bobby all over again. She couldn't wait to see him. Bobby had always taken care of her without trying to smother her. He was the most consistent thing she'd ever had in her life, and it was easy to say he was like a father figure to her just as he was to Sam and Dean. But what it came down to he was her best friend. He had never let her down, and on more than one occasion gave her the kick in the ass she needed.
They reached the department store and Lady carefully walked barefoot across the parking lot with Dean. "First stop, some shoes," Dean said.
"I'm not buying shoes here!" Lady hissed in a high whiney voice.
"Suck it up, Lady," Dean snapped right back, giving her a firm gaze to silently tell her to use her indoor voice, which she didn't really have. There weren't many people in the story but already they were staring. Lady stood out in a way she couldn't hide. Her buzzed hair, no shoes, and wearing a t-shirt that went down to her mid-thigh. Not to mention the odd patches of red on her legs and the criss-cross scars on her forearms. She looked messed up.
"People are staring at me," Lady said in a subdued tone.
"Yeah, well it doesn't look like you are wearing any shorts," Dean said, putting a hand on her back and leading her toward the clothing section.
"I'm not," Lady admitted.
"What? Why didn't you put your shorts back on?" Dean asked.
"Well it isn't like I knew we were going anywhere," Lady said lightly.
Dean's hand casually went down to her waist and sure enough he felt nothing underneath. Lady turned her head slightly to look at and give him a devilish grin, and he had to pull her to a stop to keep her from walking into a display of deodorant. Once the collision was averted he returned her naughty smile.
Lady reached the clothing section and looked at the selection with distaste. "This…no, no I'm sorry I can't wear any of this. I've spent years mastering my style and I can't be caught dead in any of this."
"I've seen you wear worse things than this stuff," Dean said. "Jeans, t-shirts. No problem."
Lady narrowed her eyes on him, "You are completely blind to fashion. There is a phenomenal distance between designer jeans, and what ever it is you are holding."
Lady watched as Dean gave her his best charming smile, and had he asked her to she would have worn a potato sack right then. Normally she had more self restraint, however she had spent months missing that handsome face. The corners of his eyes crinkled and his eyes told her he knew he had won the brewing argument before it had really started. "Just until we get back to South Dakota," he said, offering her a pair of jeans.
"Fine," Lady said, trying to continue being difficult to keep up appearances. Though it was hard to fight the continual glee she had that everything was back to how it should be. Other than missing her psychic abilities she was too happy to put up a fight in the name of fashion.
She could tell that Dean was happy as well. The main sign that he was happy was he was actually shopping with her. But he also didn't give her his annoyed eye roll or even mention once how unnecessary her make-up was, though he did laugh when she briefly looked at shampoo before remembering she was bald. And once she was done he didn't complain about the cost.
After shopping Lady enjoyed a comfortable drive sitting beside Dean with his arm around her shoulders. Dressed in her new ShopKo jeans and wearing a pair of flip flops. After a half hour drive Dean found a dark and secluded spot to park. The sky was cloudy and only a shapeless glow of the moon above clouds could be seen.
Wordlessly Lady let herself be taken into a longing kiss and eagerly returned it. Unable to help herself she began giggling.
Without even knowing why Dean joined her laughter. "What's so funny?" he asked, leaning back slightly to look at her face. The electronics of the dashboard were their only light and it was a beautiful blue glow against her face.
Lady ran her hand over his arm, "I don't think I've ever made it with a guy that was prettier than me before." Lady laughed once again. His nearly flawless skin was attractive and appealing, but she had never been bothered by Dean's interesting scars either. "You are so pretty now if I put you in a wig and a dress I could call you Barbie and sell you on a street corner. We go to the right neighborhood in Vegas and we don't even need the wig or dress, pretty boy."
"Shut up," Dean said in a low and amused growl.
Lady turned on her deep southern accent, "Put that purty mouth to work, boy."
Dean shook with silent laughter as he did just that. Lady exhaled softly as his mouth moved over hers and down her jaw to her neck. She felt a tremor of excitement as he gave her a gentle nibble and suck above her collarbone. She took a moment to be annoyed at the fact he had waited until after she put pants on, but didn't care. Her fingertips moved through his hair, silently urging him on. Lady bit on her lip as he moved to the other side of her neck, and she had a moment to appreciate the new level of excitement that not having her psychic abilities gave her. Not knowing exactly what would happen next, being unprepared, was different and new.
Eager and unable to take much more of his gentle teasing Lady shifted so she could move into Dean's lap. Dean leaned back and moved his hands to accompany her. Lady went to put her leg over his. In her mind the movement was supposed to be graceful and sexy. However her flip flop caught the shift lever, she fumbled to save the moment while Dean was trying to keep her from breaking his car. In the brief scuffle Lady's balance failed and when her foot became free she went crashing into Dean's lap, her knee hitting him in the groin.
Dean's breath exploded out of him in a rush from the sudden intense pain. Lady let out a short high pitched yelp the moment she realized what she had done. She let herself be removed from Dean's lap and pushed into the passenger side, and sat horrified at her clumsiness as Dean uttered a string of curses as he stepped out of the car and slammed the door.
Cautiously she rolled down her window. "Babe, I am so sorry."
"I know," Dean said in a pained voice. After several moments he got back into the car and shifted into drive.
"It was an accident," Lady said after a few minutes of driving.
"I know," Dean said tensely. "It's fine. I'm fine."
Lady folded her arms across her chest and looked straight ahead, her mind trying to figure out how she could get her psychic abilities back before she accidentally killed her newly resurrected boyfriend.
XXXXX
After Dean and Lady had left the motel room Sam started working. First he cleaned up the room. In the bathroom Lady had left his things just spread out. Every last one of his razors was in the garbage, along with his shaving gel. He saw his toothbrush had somehow fallen into the toilet and he quickly decided he wasn't even going to mention it to Lady. From his previous experience she couldn't hold a grudge indefinitely, her friend Maxine had shot at her and had eventually earned forgiveness after all, not to mention how many times Dean had pissed her off and she still loved him. Sam knew she had every right to be mad at him. He was still mad at himself for what had happened. If he hadn't been stubborn, if he had been half an hour faster, then maybe she wouldn't have been lost in her own head for so long. He had managed the guilt he felt, and now that Lady was back he was eager to smooth things over with her.
Sam finished tidying up the motel room before sitting down with his laptop. He began the tedious task of searching for information. He had done this, or some version of this, so many times he had lost count. He took on the challenge with confidence that he'd find out the secrets of the coin, but he was realistic that it would take a while for him to find it. Just when he stumbled upon a promising website his phone rang. He recognized who it was and suspiciously looked at the door, expecting Dean to arrive and catch him. He jumped off the bed to make sure the Impala wasn't back before answering the phone.
"Yeah?"
"Sam?" Ruby's voice answered him. "Is it safe to talk?"
"Yeah, they are out right now," Sam said in a low voice, still worried he might be caught talking to the demon.
"They?" Ruby questioned.
Sam was surprised at himself at how easy it had been to welcome Lady back into their lives. With a short laugh he decided to share the good news, "Lady is here. She's back."
"She is?" Ruby said in surprise. "The real Lady? You are sure it's not her possessed by a demon or something?"
Ruby's voice was laced with real worry. Sam looked at the devil's trap drawn on the ceiling which Lady had passed through without a problem. And then she had devoured a few cartons of salty Chinese food. "She's fine," Sam said.
"You have to be more careful. She could be anyone, anything! She could have one of Lilith's lackeys in her right now, just waiting to kill you with your guard down. Or Dean. Where are they?" Ruby snarled at him.
"I don't know," Sam said stiffly. "She walked through a devil's trap, she's no demon."
Ruby huffed a breath of air into the phone, "What did you do, Sam? How did you finally put the broken egg that was her brain back together?"
Sam tiredly rubbed his eyes, "I didn't. I'm still trying to figure it out, I'll fill you in later."
"Fine, whatever. I was just calling to see how hard Dean was riding your ass, but looks like you cut a break seeing as he'll be riding Lady instead."
"Yeah, for a while at least," Sam said with a sigh.
"Maybe we can meet up?" Ruby asked in a cautious way.
Sam was already shaking his head, "Not a good idea."
Before he could continue to give her any reasons why Ruby said, "That's fine. I have things to check in on anyway. Good luck."
Sam went back to his laptop and continued looking. And after just a few more minutes he found a picture of the same coin he had seen in the wishing well. He discovered it depicted Tiamat, the Babylonian dragon deity of primordial chaos. Sam anxiously ran a hand over his hair as he read on, hearing tales of how wishes turned bad to the point entire towns off the map. He began calling Dean, and increasingly became more concerned when his brother didn't answer. It wasn't until after midnight that he heard the Impala pull up to the motel and he saw both Dean and Lady through the window that he relaxed.
Sam was standing when they entered. "Hey," he said, his eyes looking over his brother and Lady. "You guys okay?"
Dean was walking stiffly, "We're fine."
"I accidentally crushed his balls," Lady admitted, hanging her head guilty.
"I'm fine," Dean gruffed, and then he uncomfortably sat on the edge of his bed.
"At least she didn't shoot you," Sam said helpfully.
Dean gave him a tired glare, and then took his pistol from his waistband. He made a show of unloading the bullets from his gun.
"There is a reason Lady is so clumsy," Sam said.
"Yeah, because I don't have my visions," Lady answered.
"Sure," Sam agreed. "But also because that wishing well is more of a curse than a blessing. The coin depicts Tiamat. He's the Babylonian deity that specializes in chaos. Legend goes that the coin activates the wishing well, and starts granting people's wishes. However the wishes start turning bad. So bad some places have been completely wiped from existence. For example, the manic-depressive living Teddy Bear, and a clumsy psychic without her psychic abilities."
Lady leaned against the wall, "I get it. The wishes begin to escalate in a downward spiral. Probably eventually killing the person. Classic 'be careful what you wish for' crap. In the beginning people are happy, then word gets around, more and more people start feeding into its power bank. I bet the last time this coin was used the fastest way to communicate was still horseback. Imagine how big this can get once someone posts it to the internet."
"Fortunately there is a way to fix it all. Legend says the person who put that coin and cast the first wish is the only one who can pull the coin out, shutting off the well," Sam said.
"Sounds good. How do we find the first wisher?" Dean asked.
Sam shrugged, not sure yet himself.
Lady listened quietly as Sam and Dean tossed back and forth a few suggestions. While they decided whose job it was to search newspapers over interviewing people she thought about the magic that would have been used to create the coin. Even without her psychic abilities Lady's mind was sharp and busy. Maybe she couldn't pin down exactly how to make a coin like it, but she had understanding of how it could work.
"Guys, pulling that coin out isn't going to just shut off the well," Lady interjected herself. Her eyes locked onto Sam's. His eyes were large and brown and sad, and she knew he already was aware of what she was talking about.
"What do you mean?" Dean asked.
"If we can remove the coin it will undo all the magic," Lady answered. "All the wishes get taken back. Teddy Bear goes back to being a boring toy, invisible pervert goes back to being just a pervert, and then we got me." Lady looked away, shaking her head as she began to get pissed off at the situation. "Damn Babylonians," she uttered.
"We don't know," Sam said. "Maybe…maybe this is just what you needed? You got a jolt, enough to become aware again. Maybe you won't go back to how you were."
"Or maybe I do," Lady said evenly. She let out a huff of breath and worked on calming herself. Getting worked up wouldn't do anything. What she could do was help the brothers to the best of her abilities in shutting down the wishing well for good.
"Great," Dean uttered, and he stood up. "I'll be right back."
"Where are you going?" Lady and Sam both asked at the same time.
"Just outside," he snapped back at them, and exited the motel and slammed the door.
Lady and Sam looked at each other. As angry as she was with Sam she was trying to overcome that for Dean, he was worth finding a way to overcome a grudge. Sam, obviously trying to do what he can to mend things, said to her, "Lady, we have to find a way to keep you…if you go back to how you were I don't know if Dean can handle it. I haven't seen him this happy since he got out of hell. He keeps saying he doesn't remember what happened there but…I've been really worried about him. Since you've been back I haven't seen him hit the bottle."
Lady thought about a few times she had noticed Dean's eyes grow distant and wondered what he had been thinking of. He had casually said he had no memories of hell, only of the hellhound that killed him. She hadn't really believed him, but it wasn't something she'd ask anyone about. "So what if he remembers?"
Sam looked surprised, "He needs help, Lady. You haven't been around, you don't know what he's like most of the time. Depressed and drinking, all the time." Lady took a few moments to think about it. That would be a shitty way to go through life. Sam recognized she was starting to see his side. "Dean might open up to you. He's so happy to have you back I think he might do anything."
"I'll talk with him," Lady offered after several moments of silence.
Sam smiled gratefully at her. Not just because she was willing to help with Dean, but because it felt like they were friends again. "Thank you. It means a lot. And it means a lot to me just having you here. It's nice to have the family back together."
Lady's eyes immediately went hard. "I'll do this for Dean, that is if he even needs it. As for me and you, we are not family."
Sam swallowed hard and looked at her sadly. He had mistakenly told her the same thing and had remembered regretting it. However he could see on her face she didn't regret it. If anything she enjoyed being able to say it back to him. "Lady, I'm more sorry than you can believe."
"I know. I just don't care," Lady said. "I'm sure you'll keep apologizing, sucking up and kissing ass. Who knows, maybe one day I'll get so sick of hearing it that I accept it. But until then, know this, the only reason we are in the same room together is because there are no other vacancies in this motel. But that doesn't mean I won't turn on the charm when Dean gets back to convince him to kick you out anyway. We used to be friends, Sam. And you might think you know how much of a vicious bitch I can be, but you are about to find out that all this time I've actually been holding back."
Sam looked back at her, surprised at her eerily calm hostility. He wasn't sure what she thought she'd do to him, but there were numerous ways she could make his life unpleasant. "Fine, I deserve it for how I treated you."
Lady hated how self-sacrificing Sam could be at times. In fact it sort of made her want to bash him over the head more. Damn right he deserved it. She just wasn't sure what she'd do to him yet, and damn it if he kept looking so pathetic she may not have the heart to do anything at all.
Dean returned soon enough and made it obvious his elated mood from earlier was a distant memory now. Sam gathered his stuff and excused himself to sleep in the car. And Lady carefully got into the bed and made it bounce until Dean looked at her.
"From the sound of it I was making my way back sooner or later," Lady said gently. "This wish, how I am now, it's not right. I don't feel completely right, and it isn't just being without my visions." With a sigh she let herself fall over onto the pillows. "I'll try to figure something out. While you two work this case I'll work on me. I got myself into it, I should be able to figure out how to get out, right?"
Dean let her pull him down onto the pillows next to her. "I'm not letting you get taken away from me again," he said, and it sounded like more of a threat than a promise. "I just can't keep taking hits like this."
Lady fell into silence, thinking about ways she could stay like she was. She crossed her arms over her chest while staring up at the ceiling with a frown. But before she made anything resembling progress she fell into an exhausted sleep from a long and exciting day.
November 7, 2008
The next thing Lady recalled it was morning. There was the chirping of birds, the few that had not yet migrated or perhaps were going to tough it out through the quickly approaching winter. The sun was up, but was muted behind the cheap motel curtains. Slowly she began to stretch, but stopped when she saw Dean asleep just a few inches from her. A grin spread across her face. She remembered they weren't completely out of the woods, but at the same time she had to appreciate that they were together again. She admired the length of his body, still in jeans and a flannel shirt, but long and well built. She noticed his eyes moving under his eyelids while he slept and that he didn't seem relaxed and at rest like he should be. "What's going on in your head, Dean?" she uttered in curiosity as she began to wonder just how she should wake him up.
Dean was sitting on the hood of the Impala, one of his feet resting on a cooler full of ice and beer. There were crickets chirping, the stars were out, he was surrounded by lush green trees and bushes with full ripe berries. He had been camping. He couldn't remember if he just felt like enjoying a peaceful night outside or if he just didn't have the cash for a motel. Then out of no where Lady appeared, giving him a nudge and a smile. He knew, just felt it deep down, that if he could be with her, that everything would be okay. He took her in his arms and laid her down on the soft blanket of grass. He felt the swelling happiness as they kissed and their hands battled for dominance as they undressed.
But like so many other times when he began to remember good things like this, something that made him happy or feel human, it began to hurt. Like a deep aching pain right in the heart of his chest. It was nearly unbearable, it made him want to scream and cry out, but he couldn't. He could only choke it down and let the pain fuel him so he could continue what he had to do to save himself.
Instead of making love to Lady under a beautiful starry sky he was now back in hell. Lady was stripped naked and chained down. Chunks of meat from the other souls he had tortured were hanging around him like trophies, and there was an empty hook so he could take something from Lady. Horrified he watched himself lightly touch a tray of instruments and tools until he found a wicked looking thing that was twisted and serrated. Lady screamed and begged, but he no longer had control. He wanted to save her but instead was about to watch as she was tortured. He struggled, fighting with all he had to be free so he could stop it.
Lady jumped as Dean violently woke himself up. She stared at him with wide surprised eyes. For a moment he met her eyes, but then avoided them. In a soft voice she asked, "You okay, babe?"
"Yeah, fine. It was nothing," he muttered, getting out of bed and going to the bathroom.
Lady sat cross-legged on the bed and waited several minutes. When he came out of the bathroom she watched him silently. After he had washed his mouth out with whiskey and gave himself a new layer of deodorant he asked, "You hungry?"
"Not really," she answered.
"I'll go pick something up," he said as if he hadn't heard her.
Lady hated to admit that Sam was right, there was something seriously wrong with Dean. And she was willing to accept that his theory of Dean having memories of hell was correct as well. But seeing the dark side of Dean she understood Sam's concerns, and could even appreciate that Sam wanted to help Dean. And was ready to put forward her own effort.
"You don't have to tell me everything, but is it really necessary to lie?" Lady said a bit more harshly than necessary. She immediately saw the signs in Dean that told her he was about to get defensive. She took a brief moment to be impressed by her own skills without the aid of her psychic visions before she continued. "I don't blame you for not wanting to talk about it, but at least man up and say what's wrong."
Lady looked at Dean hopefully. He wasn't a sissy, he didn't require sugar-coating, in fact being a little rude and mean was often the only way to get things done. Perhaps that was why Sam had difficulties getting through to Dean. Sam, while also not a sissy, was more sensitive. He had a soft way of handling people, delicate and caring. Lady lacked that same feminine touch, plus she didn't have the patience.
"Nothing is wrong," Dean said, grabbing his leather jacket.
"Stop being a pussy," Lady said, carefully moving off the bed to stand up with plans to block his exit. "I'm not asking you to cry on my shoulder and have a long heart-to-heart. I just want you to stop being a jackass and…say something, at least."
"Alright, I'm a little stressed," Dean said angrily. "I'm in the middle of a case and my girlfriend just magics up here from the nut house, suddenly okay again. And I just found out that when I finish this case, she's going right back to the loony bin. And instead of figuring out a way to stop that, she's bitching to me about I don't know!"
Lady actually appreciated the outburst from him, it meant she was getting through. "I know that isn't what is up."
"No, Lady, you know jack shit," he said flatly. He put his hands on her shoulders and forcefully moved her from the door, then left. She flinched as he slammed the door shut.
A few moments later Sam came into the motel room, looking rather disheveled from his night in the car. "Dean just walked off. What happened?"
"I decided to take your advice and I talked to him," Lady snapped at him, happy she had someone there to yell at. But she didn't have the motivation to really yell at Sam, it was her fault Dean stormed off. Dean was pissed for several reasons and she had picked a poor time to try and talk to him, but she couldn't help it. She didn't like seeing him miserable. But now she was miserable and wishing terribly that she had her psychic abilities again to help speak to him.
And then she realized something very obvious. She could wish for those abilities again.
"It's okay, he'll come back after he cools off," Sam said. "I'm going to take a shower before he gets back, did you need to use the bathroom first?"
"Uh, no, no I'm good," Lady said. She didn't move until he was in the bathroom and she heard the shower start. Once it did she surged into action, getting her shoes on and getting dressed, and then escaping from the motel room into the cool morning.
Lady couldn't remember the address of the restaurant, however it was a small town so her best guess of Main Street was correct and she quickly found Lucky Chin's. Eagerly she stepped off the curb to cross the street, but jumped back when a car honked and nearly hit her. Her heart jumped up into her throat, and as she tried to swallow it back down she looked both ways and this time crossed the street without nearly being road kill.
She went around back and broke in through the kitchen. She found the fountain, empty except for the one coin magically stuck to the bottom. "Alright, Tiamet, time to help a girl out," she said, looking around the fountain for a way to fill it with water.
A/N - Happy early mother's day to those who apply lol
