Okay I decided to do Scarecrow because I wanted some Dean/Buffy alone time and hopefully I did it well for you guys.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Eric Kripke owns Supernatural and it's scripts and Joss Wheedon owns Buffy. This was made for fun.
I used the TwizTv script for Supernatural Season 1, Episode 11 "Scarecrow"
Buffy was right in that part of sleep where you're surrounded by serenity and you're just fading into the darkness of a deep sleep and total relaxation... then what felt like seconds later was the persistent blaring rock music coming from Dean's cell phone and then Sam's booming voice for his brother to answer the phone filled Buffy's ears, as she was asleep beside Sam (Buffy now found it best to sleep beside Sam as she didn't feel the need to ravish him as she did when she slept beside Dean) by the sounds of it though Dean wasn't waking up. Reluctantly Sam reached his arm on the bedside table and felt around for the cell phone. Finally Sam found the phone, and the heavy guitar sounds getting closer and closer to Buffy it was getting harder for her to fall back to sleep, he checked the number but it wasn't one he recognised, "Hello?" he greeted sleepily on the phone.
Seconds later Sam shot upright in bed, "Dad? Are you hurt?" he asked manically, Buffy turned around and saw Sam was sat upright, his fingers running though his hair and almost relief on his face.
"We've been looking for you everywhere. We didn't know where you were, if you were okay." Sam spoke again a few seconds later, this time he didn't sound so panicked but he still sounded shocked.
There was a moment of silence in the room then Sam glanced over at Dean's waking form on the other bed, "We're fine. Dad, where are you?" Sam asked. A frown appeared on his forehead, "What? Why not?"
Dean sat up in his bed and rubbed at his eyes, "Is that Dad?"
When Sam didn't reply he looked at Buffy and she nodded that he was talking to their dad. Sam sat straighter and he glared, "You're after it, aren't you? The thing that killed Mom."
Buffy looked at Dean and she saw the urgency to talk to his father on his face.
"Demon? You know for sure?" Sam asked his father.
Dean shook his head, "A demon? What's he saying?"
Sam ignored him, "You know where it is?" he asked down the phone.
Suddenly Sam turned and planted his feet on the floor but was still sat on the bed, "Let us help."
Sam sighed after a minute, "Why not?"
Dean held out his hand to his brother, "Give me the phone."
Sam glanced at Dean and held a hand out in a 'stop' motion and he frowned at the voice on the other end, "Names? What names, Dad—talk to me, tell me what's going on." He asked almost sadly.
His father seemed to say something down the line that Sam didn't agree with cause he seemed to get redder and redder and he shook his head, "No, all right? No way."
"Give me the phone," Dean leant over and snatched the phone out of Sam's hand and put it to his ear, "Dad, it's me. Where are you?" when the voice on the other end spoke Dean sat straighter and seemed more alert, like a general was talking to his troops, " …Yes, sir.…" Dean then looked around himself and picked up the pad and paper that were lying on the table, "Uh, yeah, I got a pen. What are their names?" he scribbled down a list of names his father rallied down the phone then nodded a couple of times with the usual "mhmm" and "yes" then he said goodbye and hung up. Dean looked at the list for a second before looking at a pissed off Sam and a sleepy Buffy, "Get your stuff."
Twenty minutes later Sam was driving on the highway; Dean still didn't really explain everything his dad said to him, he just kept telling them that he'd explained in the car. After twenty minutes of him saying nothing, just flipping through pages he printed off the internet, Sam gave in first,
"Alright, so, the names Dad gave us, they're all couples?" he asked as he switched gears to turn.
Dean nodded, "Three different couples. All went missing."
"And they're all from different towns? Different states?" Buffy asked from the back seat.
Dean nodded, "That's right." He picked up the list from the dashboard and held it up for Buffy to see, beside every couple had a town or city they were from, "You got Washington, New York, Colorado. Each couple took a road trip cross-country. None of them arrived at their destination, and none of them were ever heard from again." He finished and put the paper back on the dashboard.
"Well, it's a big country, Dean. They could've disappeared anywhere." Sam sighed.
Dean nodded then flipped through pages he was holding, "Yeah could've. But each one's route took 'em to the same part of Indiana. Always on the second week of April. One year after another after another." Dean explained.
Buffy counted with her fingers, "This is the second week of April." She stated.
"Yep."
Sam sighed, "So, Dad is sending us to Indiana to go hunting for something before another couple vanishes?"
Dean pointed at his brother, "Yahtzee. Can you imagine putting together a pattern like this? All the different obits Dad had to go through? The man's a master."
Buffy saw Sam's annoyed look through the mirror but she was a little surprised when he pulled them over to the side of the road and stopped the car.
"What are you doing?" Dean asked a little annoyed and a little shocked.
"We're not going to Indiana." Sam said flatly.
Dean blinked a couple of times, "We're not?"
The younger brother shook his head, "No. We're going to California. Dad called from a payphone, Sacramento area code."
Dean rolled his eyes, "Sam-"
"Dean, if this demon killed Mom and Jess, and Dad's closing in, we've gotta be there. We've gotta help." Sam spat out before Dean could argue.
After a small pause Dean said softly, "Dad doesn't want our help."
Sam's face hardened, "I don't care."
Dean turned slightly in his seat and glowered, "He's given us an order."
"I don't care. We don't always have to do what he says." Sam spoke firmly.
"Sam, Dad is asking us to work jobs, to save lives, it's important." Dean retorted back.
Sam sighed and his voice softened slightly. "Alright, I understand, believe me, I understand. But I'm talking one week here, man, to get answers. To get revenge."
Dean held up a hand, "Alright, look, I know how you feel-"
Sam frowned at him, "Do you?" at the shocked look on Dean's face Sam carried on, "How old were you when Mom died? Four? Jess died six months ago. How the hell would you know how I feel?" He spat, his voice full of anger and sorrow and pain.
Dean's face softened, "Dad said it wasn't safe. For any of us. I mean, he obviously knows something that we don't, so if he says to stay away, we stay away."
Buffy sat up in her seat, she hated it when they argued, and they always seemed to forget that she was here with them, "Urm, guys?"
Sam shut his eyes and shook his head, "I don't understand the blind faith you have in the man. I mean, it's like you don't even question him."
"Yeah, it's called being a good son!" Dean exploded.
Dean and Sam stared at each other for a second before Sam got out of the car, leaving the door open and Dean followed. Buffy got out purely to see what was happening. Sam had the trunk open and was pulling out a backpack and throwing them over his shoulder.
Dean headed for the back of the car, all the pent up rage was now all over his face clear as day, "You're a selfish bastard, you know that? You just do whatever you want. Don't care what anybody thinks."
Dean watched as Sam took his laptop out of the car.
Sam slammed the trunk shut and looked down at his brother, "That's what you really think?"
"Yes, it is."
Sam flung his backpack over his shoulder, "Well, then this selfish bastard is going to California." He said and turned around and walked away.
Buffy walked and stopped when she was beside Dean, "Sam? Where are you going? It's still pitch black out here!" Buffy yelled but he just continued to walk, she turned to Dean, "You can't let him go."
"Come on, you're not serious." Dean called to his brother, ignoring Buffy once again while the boys had their drama.
"I am serious." He called back.
"It's the middle of the night! Hey, I'm taking off, we will leave your ass, you hear me?" Dean yelled.
Sam finally stopped and turned around and he gave Dean a small smile, "That's what I want you to do." He yelled back.
Buffy watched the pair stare each other out for a few minutes until Dean sighed. "No. You can't let him go." She cried at him then jogged up to Sam, "Sam, you can't leave."
He looked down at her and smiled, "I have to, I'm sorry." He pulled her into a hug and Buffy wrapped her arms around him tightly, "Look after him." He whispered in her ear.
Buffy nodded and sniffed back tears, "I promise." She whispered back before letting go.
"Goodbye, Sam." Dean said angrily as he slammed the trunk shut, "Buffy, get in the car." He yelled as he turned and got inside.
Buffy looked at Sam once more and took one of his hands and squeezed it, "I'm gonna miss you." She said with a little laugh.
Sam laughed too, "Me too. Promise me something else?"
"What?"
Sam smiled, "Don't kill him if he pisses you off."
Buffy laughed, "I'll try but I'm not promising."
They both laughed for a second but were interrupted by the horn of the Impala. Buffy said goodbye to Sam one last time before jogging back to the car and getting in the passenger seat and no sooner had she shut the door did Dean sped off and Buffy watched Sam get smaller and smaller in the distance.
When she couldn't see him anymore she turned around and watched Dean driving calmly, like leaving his brother in the middle of nowhere didn't affect him at all. Dean could see her staring at him angrily, she'd never looked scarier.
Dean sighed, "What?"
That's all it took, one word from Dean and Buffy exploded, "I can't believe you left him there! At the side of a road in the middle of nowhere!" she yelled.
"He wanted me to!" Dean tried to explain calmly, though he too was yelling.
"No he didn't don't be so naive! He wanted to go and find your dad yeah but he wanted to do it with you! Not going off alone in the middle of the night! I mean... What if something happens to him?"
Dean choked back a laugh, "Please, he's a big boy he can take care of himself. Awww you gonna miss your BFF?"
Buffy tutted and turned to face the front of the car, subconsciously putting her feet up on the seat and wrapping her arms around her knees, "Oh shut up." She grumbled.
Dean glanced at her long enough to see her feet on the seat and gently slapped her thigh; realising what she'd done she sighed and put her feet down, she crossed her arms and leant her head back on the headrest of her seat and watched the darkness whirl by beside her.
"Why are you getting so upset over him going? You don't..." Dean didn't finish the sentence; instead he sighed and shook his head.
Buffy turned her head and glared at him, "What?"
"Nothing." He grunted.
Buffy rolled her eyes, "If you have something to say just say it!"
Dean looked almost ready to stop the car and chuck her out, he pursed his lips and took in deep breaths through his nose and he refused to look at her for a second. After a moment he seemed to relax then he just shrugged and gave her his usual cheeky smile, "I dunno, just... You don't like have the hot's for Sam do you? Because that's just gross if you do." He teased.
Buffy choked back a laugh and looked back out the window, "Please, Sam is like… He's my boy Willow." She said the last art quietly.
"He's your what?" Dean asked a little confused.
Buffy sighed, "Willow. She… She is – was – my best friend."
After a quiet moment Dean cleared his throat, "Is she one of the ones from Sunnydale?" he asked quietly.
Buffy nodded and turned to look at Dean with a smile, "Yeah, her and Sam are pretty similar actually. Always did the research, much better at the Latin when it came to spells."
Dean nodded and laughed a little, "They sound like soul mates."
Buffy laughed, "She's a lesbian"
Dean gave Buffy a beaming smile, "Really? I like the sound of this girl." He chuckled.
Buffy shook her head and leant to turn on the radio, "Okay perv that's enough of this conversation." She said as she turned the volume up on the radio so Dean couldn't tell her all the pervy things going on inside his mind right then.
They finally arrived in Burkitsville a few hours later, neither of them mentioned Sam the rest of the way; they either drove in silence or spoke a few monotonous sentences about weather or the song on the radio. They stopped at the nearest motel; luckily this one was close right next to a diner so Buffy went to order them food while Dean checked them in and put their bags inside. Dean squeezed into the booth just as the waitress was bringing over his burger and Buffy's salad.
"Ah you know me so well" Dean said happily as he opened his burger bun and covered it in ketchup.
Buffy chewed on her salad, "Well I just knew to order the greasiest one on the menu." She said through a mouthful of lettuce. Taking a sip of her water she cleared her throat, "So now we're here do you have a plan?" she asked as he pierced more lettuce and put it in her mouth.
Because Buffy asked as he was taking a giant mouthful of burger it took him a few minutes to chew and swallow, he then had to down half his coke before answering, "I thought we'd just ask around a few of the locals." He shrugged as he picked up a few fries and stuffed them in his mouth.
Buffy put down her fork and looked at Dean with raised eyebrows, "Seriously? We're just going to go up to people and go "Excuse me have you seen these people, they were last seen going through here and we think you killed them all"?" she asked sarcastically.
Dean rolled his eyes at her and swallowed the bit of burger he was eating, "Not quite like that Buff but pretty close" he said with a little smile and then they both continued to eat in their comfortable silence they've both developed.
When they finished eating they headed further into town, Dean pulled over outside a café and he unconsciously pulled out his cell phone and scrolled until he found his brother's name. Buffy watched as his finger loomed over the call button. "It's okay to call him you know." Buffy spoke softly but Dean still jumped slightly but cleared his throat and put his cell phone back inside his pocket and got out the car.
Buffy let out a puff of air, "Forget I mentioned it." She said to herself and got out the car and followed Dean towards the café opposite.
There was a man sitting in a chair on the porch of the café and he looked at them like he didn't like visitors in his town as Buffy and Dean made their way up the steps.
Dean pointed to the sign that said "Scotty's Café", "Let me guess, you're Scotty?" he asked a little amused.
The man nodded, "Yep."
Dean smiled politely, "Hi," he pointed at Buffy, "This is my wife Jenny and my name's John Bonham." Buffy gave Dean a look when he said she was his wife, she also scoffed at the name Jenny.
Scotty narrowed his eyes at Dean, "Isn't that the drummer for Led Zeppelin?"
Dean looked at Scotty with wide eyes, pretty taken aback by the comment, "Wow. Good. Classic rock fan." He laughed a little.
"What can I do for you, John?" Scotty asked hastily and shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
Dean looked to Buffy and she pulled out two flyers of the latest missing couple from her back pocket and handed them to Scotty.
"We were wondering if, uh, you'd seen these people by chance." Buffy asked as Scotty took the flyers from her and examined them.
Scotty shook his head, "Nope. Who are they?" he asked.
Dean looked at Buffy and he pulled her close to him and put his arm around her shoulders, "Friends of ours." He said sadly, trying to look convincing that they were actually his friends. "They went missing about a year ago. They passed through somewhere around here, and I've already asked around Scottsburg and Salem-"
"Sorry." Scotty cut Dean off and handed back the flyers, "We don't get many strangers around here." Buffy nodded as she took the flyers back, shaking Dean off her shoulders in the process – she didn't think she'd be able to hand another thing like that again.
Dean looked at the serious expression on Scotty's face and smiled, "Scotty, you've got a smile that lights up a room, anybody ever tell you that?" he asked, Scotty just stared at him strangely which made Dean chuckle, "Never mind. See you around. Come on Sweetheart." He said as he walked down the steps. Buffy gave Dean a strange look before smiling at Scotty, "Thank You for your time." She said before following Dean back to the car.
When she got inside the car she turned to Dean, "What the hell was that back there?"
Dean glanced at her as he started up the Impala, "What was what back where?" he asked a little confused.
Buffy puffed up her chest and did her best impression of him "Hi this is my wife Jenny! Yeah, yeah they were our friends. Come on sweetheart!" She saw Dean smiling "Seriously?"
Dean laughed and just shrugged, "What I had to make up a story. Being my wife was my first thought."
Buffy blinked a couple of times then leant back in the chair, "Well next time warn me if you're going to do that."
Dean was still laughing, "I'm sorry next time I won't make you my wife. I'll make you my prudish sister next time."
Buffy stared at him in shock and slapped him on the arm, "Hey!" she laughed. They were both laughing as Dean drove off and into town.
They drove all over Burkitsville and it was almost dark when they'd spoken to everyone. They had no leads. Everyone was claiming that they had never seen the couple come through. Buffy was starting to get a headache from all the driving, the stress of getting nowhere and tiredness. Dean parked up at a gas station, "I'll just ask the people here and get some gas and then we can head back to the motel." He said to Buffy who had her eyes shut and leant her head on the cool window to which she just nodded and listened to Dean getting out the car. Buffy could hear the gravel crunching beneath Dean's feet as he walked away from the car, then it turned into quiet – just the squeak of the leather as she shifted comfortably in her seat. Her mind went blank, her thoughts shut off and she fell into a peaceful dreamless sleep, one she hadn't had in months. What felt like seconds later the creak of the Impala door woke her to see Dean moving her feet off his seat and sliding inside. He smiled at her, "I got a lead."
Buffy sat upright, "Thank God. Well?"
Dean let out a breath and looked out the window towards the gas station, "They were weird. They're hiding… something. They pretended not to know them but then the girl, their niece I think, recognised them and they changed their tune. They pointed me in the direction they left. I say we follow." He explained.
Buffy groaned and tilted her face to the roof of the car, "Dean, you promised we'd go back to the motel. I'm tired; we haven't slept in over a day."
Dean lifted Buffy's head so she would look at him, "Hey, hey. Look I'm saying we just take a drive over to the interstate and if we don't see anything I'll take us straight back to the motel and we can look again tomorrow okay?"
Buffy looked straight at Dean and slowly nodded her head, "Fine. Better be quick or I'm gonna kick your ass." She retorted.
Dean let her go and started the car with a small laugh and drove out of the gas station and towards the interstate.
They spoke as they drove and searched the stretch of Interstate road, mainly to keep Buffy awake. It was mostly Dean doing the talking, telling Buffy about his favourite bands and pranks he used to pull on Sam when they were kids, occasionally Buffy would talk about Sunnydale but she never went into much detail, like the fact that she dated a vampire or her nest friends ex was a werewolf. It was Dean rambling when Buffy could hear a noise, a strange whirring noise.
"Dean shut up. What's that noise?" she said holding a finger up to signal him to be quiet.
Dean stopped talking and listened, the high pitched whirring was getting louder and faster, "What the hell?" He frowned and pulled the car over.
Once he stopped the car he leant over into the back seat of the car and rummaged into the duffel on the seat, he pulled out an EMF meter from the duffel and it was whirring frantically and all the lights were shining all the way into the red zone.
Buffy looked up at Dean, "What does that mean?"
Dean looked out of his window and over to the orchard, "I'm thinking there's something spooky in that orchard."
Buffy snorted when Dean opened his door and got out, "What like a haunted scarecrow?" she joked as she got out also and followed him into the orchard. When she caught up with him Dean was stood looking at a creepy scarecrow sat on a post with its two arms outstretched at the sides like a cross.
Dean climbed up the ladder at the side of the scarecrows post and stopped when he was eye level to the scarecrow, "Dude, you fugly" he said with a grimace.
Buffy slowly made her way closer to the scarecrow; her "spider sense" growing more and more, the need to fight was building so she knew it was something to do with the scarecrow.
"A haunted scarecrow?" she asked a little in disbelief. She didn't really want to believe that her joke may be true.
Dean stared at the scarecrow but it didn't move: it wasn't giving any indication that it was in fact alive, only when Dean started examining the scarecrow was when he noticed the sickle in its hand and had a design on its arm.
"Hey Buff, hand me those missing couples flyers." He said holding his hand out for it without looking at her.
Buffy pulled out the folded flyers from her pocket and put them in Dean's hand, "What is it?" she called up the ladder.
Dean opened the flyers and held up the flyer of the missing boyfriend, he moved the clothing away from the scarecrows arm to get a better look at the design and then looked at the flyer; both the scarecrow and the boyfriend had the same tribal tattoo on the same arm. Dean looked back at the scarecrow, "Nice tatt." He said seriously then waited for some kind of reaction.
Nothing.
Dean made his way back down the ladder and stood beside Buffy with an annoyed expression on his face, Buffy shrugged at him and wrapped her thin denim jacket tighter, now the sun was fading it was starting to get very cold. "Now what?"
Dean sighed and looked back at the scarecrow then over in the direction of the Impala, "We got some more questions to ask."
Buffy groaned, "Well can it wait till morning? I'm sick of sitting in that car and I need a shower. Can we find some place to crash?" she begged. Sometimes Dean needed reminding that he was only human and needed to sleep and eat otherwise he'd keel over from taking on too much in one day.
Dean thought for a moment then gave her a small smile, "Sure. Come on." He started walking back towards the car and Buffy hastily tried to keep up with her small legs.
They checked into a motel that was just outside Burkitsville, the first one they drove past, Buffy didn't want to wait any longer. Buffy got out and followed Dean to the motel reception.
The warmth from the reception hit Buffy straight in the face when Dean opened the door, her hands suddenly were sore from the cold outside and she blew warm air onto her hands to heat the pain away.
Dean rang the little bell on the desk and waited for a response. He turned around to see Buffy warming her hands up, "You cold?"
Buffy looked up at him, "What gave it away? The chattering teeth or me warming my hands up?" she joked as she put her hands at her side and moved so she was stood beside him and leant on the reception desk.
Dean smiled, "Not used to the cold weather are you?"
Buffy glared at him, "I'm from California, what do you expect" she said defensively. Dean just laughed and rang the bell again.
A woman came out of a door behind the counter, she was at least mid-fifties but looked good for her age, Buffy saw Dean even eyeing her up as the woman came over with a welcoming smile.
"Are you here for a room?" the woman asked in a mousey voice that mirrored her plain hair and average clothes.
Dean smiled and pulled a credit card from his wallet, "Yeah we'd like a room for a couple of nights thanks." He said sweetly and handed over his card.
The woman looked at Dean then at Buffy and smiled and took his card, "No problem Mr… Beufort. One room. Two nights." She said as she typed into the computer then swiped the credit card into a machine and handed it back over, she also gave him a paper to sign.
"If you'd just sign there…" she pointed to where he was meant to sign and picked a key from the key rack, judging by the lack of keys it seemed like this place got a lot of visitors, she handed the key to Buffy with a smile, "and there is your key. Have a nice stay." she said to the pair of them, took the paper back from Dean then headed back through the door she came out from.
Buffy handed the key to Dean with a raised eyebrow, "She was… freaky"
Dean laughed at her comment and headed back to the car to grab a couple of bags. Buffy took a couple of her own bags and locked the car behind her and followed him inside.
Dean was stood right inside with his bags on the floor, "Crap."
Buffy sighed, "Don't tell me you want anything from the car cause I already locked it" she said as she came up behind and entered the room. She dropped her bags when she saw the one queen sized bed in the middle of the room.
"What is this?" Buffy demanded, turning to him with her hands on her hips.
Dean shut the door behind them, "Twin room. One twin room. I never have this problem when I'm with Sam!" He muttered to himself.
"Dean I am not sharing a bed with you. Go and get our room changed." Buffy growled and folded her arms.
Dean sighed and opened the door just before the old woman from reception was about to knock, her hands full of fresh towels and other bits and bobs.
"Oh sorry, am I disturbing you?" the woman asked a little startled.
Dean smiled, "Oh… No I was-"
The woman cut him off but thrusting the towels and other bits at him, it having a peek inside it seemed like a bag full of toiletries and some packaged sandwiches. "Here. You both look absolutely worn out. A newlywed couple like you should take it easy." The woman explained and gave Dean a little wink.
Buffy started to protest, "Oh no it's not like-"
Dean smiled and thrust the towels and other stuff into Buffy's hands, "Well that's very kind of you. It's true we are very tired. Thank you for the hospitality." He bowed his head in thanks and winked at Buffy when he saw her looking on at him wide eyed and puzzled.
"So you are newlyweds!"
Dean smiled broadly and put an arm around Buffy, "Yes we are. Only a few weeks. My sweetheart here wanted to road trip around America for our honeymoon and so here we are." He laughed at the end and pulled Buffy close and gave her a small kiss on her forehead. Buffy wouldn't lie and say her heart didn't skip a beat when he kissed her head, she'd tried to forget how soft his lips were and so kissing her – even if it was just on the forehead – didn't help the matter. Buffy saw the owner going all doe eyed at the pair and Buffy smiled and played her part, she dropped the towels and stuff on the bed beside her and wrapped her arms around Dean's waist – feeling him tense up – and spoke, "Well it's something we've both wanted to do for a long time." She said and let him go and shrugged him off and headed towards the woman and whispered quietly, "You know we've been driving for hours and we haven't really relaxed in a while, we haven't even had the honeymoon night yet so could you…" Buffy trailed off thinking her request was obvious.
The woman looked at her wide eyed, "Oh of course! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to intrude. You two have a good night." She said and winked at the pair as she left and shut the door behind her.
When she was gone Buffy sighed and leant her head against the door.
"What the hell was that?" Dean asked.
Buffy slowly turned around and leant her back on the door, "What was what?"
Dean waved his hand at her, "That… thing you did… with the hugging and smiling and whispering?" he said uncomfortably.
Buffy stood up straight, "I'm sorry, did I take you by surprise? At least you knew we were married! I was just playing my part" she shrugged and pushed herself off the door and picked up a couple of bags and put them on the bed to start unpacking.
Dean slowly turned around and watched her, "What are you doing?"
Buffy pulled a shirt out of the duffel and took a hanger out of the wardrobe, "Well it's not like we can go and ask for a new room with two beds now after that show so looks like we're stuck in here." She explained hanging up the shirt in the wardrobe and going back to the duffel and pulling out a few pairs of jeans and folding them and piling them neatly and putting them in the wardrobe.
Dean sighed and took off his jacked, hanging it on the back of one of the two dining chairs, he grabbed two glasses from the kitchen cabinet and pulled his flask out of his jacket pocket and filled the two glasses halfway. He watched Buffy neatly putting away her clothes – which was over two duffel bags and almost a whole wardrobe full – then grab the duffel that he knew held her shoes and pictures. He handed her a glass of whiskey when she was looking at a picture, he saw it was a picture of her and what must have been two of her friends sitting in a garden all smiling happily, it looked like it was taken a few years ago, Buffy looked about sixteen in the picture.
Buffy jumped slightly when she saw the glass in her eye line, she looked at Dean who just held it out to her, and with her free hand she slowly took the glass, "Thanks"
Dean shrugged and sat on the edge of the bed, "You look like you could use it." He said as he took a mouthful of his drink. He watched her put the picture on the nightstand and gingerly take a sip. "Those you're friends?" he asked quietly.
Buffy nodded, "Yeah… That's Willow and that's Xander." She said sadly. She missed them so much it was almost unbearable, they both knew Buffy so we'll sometimes she didn't even have to tell them what was up they just knew by a look in her eye. She took another sip of the whiskey and made a face and a funny noise escaped her mouth.
She saw Dean laughing at her and she sighed, "I don't drink this stuff okay"
"Do you drink at all?" he asked, "I mean, have you even had a drunken night since you came back to life, or you know ever?" he asked in more detail.
Buffy sat beside him and took another drink and made another face, "Well when you're the only protector in Sunnydale – which got attacked all the time – you don't have time to get drunk, I might be a Slayer but even I wouldn't be able to function with a hangover." She said.
Dean thought for a moment then downed his drink and stood up, "Come on." He said as he went to put his jacket back on.
Buffy stood up and turned to face him, "What?"
Dean moved to the wardrobe and took out her red leather jacket, his favourite of her jackets – and it went well with her tight dark blue jeans and her black tank top – and handed it to her. "We're going to the closest bar around and we're gonna get drunk." He stated.
Buffy took the jacket but just looked at him, "What about the scarecrow?"
Dean shrugged, "Well there's nothing more we can do till tomorrow and I could use a beer and you need to get that stick out your ass and have a good time." He said as he headed for the door, "Come on." He said as he went outside.
Buffy was still for another second before shaking it off, downing her drink and putting her jacket on and following him outside – making sure she had her key as she left.
The nearest bar seemed to only be a few minutes away, a good thing about motels was they were always close to bars and diners – hence why Dean always stayed in a motel. The bar might not be The Bronze like Buffy was used to, for one thing it was only one level and two it only had a jukebox whereas The Bronze had multiple levels and always had a live band playing. Another thing she missed.
"Grab a seat I'll get us some drinks" Dean spoke loud in her ear over the thumping music.
Buffy grabbed a small table close to the bar and struggled to get on the high stools but got there eventually, as she took of her jacket she saw a very drunk and very tattooed man approaching her table.
"Hey there lil'lady" the drunkard said and Buffy grimaced, he smelled like tequila and vomit. "What's a purdy lady like you doin' here alone? It's not safe." He said with a grin.
Buffy grimaced again and looked up at him, "I'm here with someone, he's at the bar right now."
The drunkard almost fell on her table and he hiccupped a few times, "Still not safe on yer own."
"She's not on her own." Dean said coming back with a try with about four beers and loads of shots. He put the tray down and looked at the drunkard harassing Buffy, "Now beat it. Go grab another tequila." He said with a grimace when he could smell the man.
The drunkard looked at both Buffy and Dean then shook his head and walked away.
"You okay?" Dean asked as he handed her a beer.
Buffy nodded and took a swig of the beer, "Thanks and yeah I'm fine. Glad you showed when you did otherwise I may have had to kick his ass." She laughed and drank again.
"Well that would have been something I would have loved to see." He smiled and held up his drink and Buffy did the same in a "cheers" gesture before them both taking long drinks.
"Have you heard from Sam?" Buffy asked to make conversation.
Dean shook his head, "Nah, I doubt I will either." He replied and drank more of his beer.
Buffy put her drink down, "I know you miss him, why don't you call him?"
Dean shook his head, "Don't talk to me about Sam, now just keep drinking."
Buffy nodded and downed her beer almost an entire bottle, she saw the shock on Deans face and she laughed, "So what do you do in these bars other than drink?" she said as she took a shot, it wasn't till she drank it that she realised it was tequila.
Dean smiled, "Can you play pool?" he laughed as he also downed his beer and followed Buffy's suit in downing the shots.
A few hours and a few more shots and beers later Buffy found herself arm wrestling with most the guys in the bar. Her and Dean did start off playing Pool and coning people out of their money but they soon found out that Buffy could not play pool as well as Sam and so Buffy thought the best and easiest way to make some cash was to arm wrestle with some of the bar patrons. It was easy cash flow seen as none of these guys were as strong as Buffy. They'd easily made a few hundred just on the fact that a few of the guys couldn't handle the fact that a tiny blonde could beat them and so they kept trying. People eventually gave up nobody wanted to play anymore but they didn't care, Dean was over the moon.
He waved the cash in her face with a giant smile, "You are incredible!" he said and fanned the money out so she could see how much was there, "We made over three hundred at least just on you kicking ass!" he said in awe and put half the money in his wallet and handed half to her. "Here's your cut."
Buffy looked at him wide eyed and a little woozy, the drink was finally starting to hit her, still she was more sober than Dean but her brain was just starting to numb, "What for?" she asked as she took the money.
Dean took a beer off their table full of beers and more shots, "Hey you earned that cash. Screw Sam I'm bringing you out to hustle, easiest three hundred I've made in barely two hours." He chuckled and drank more beer.
Buffy put the money in her jeans pocket and raised a brow, "Come to think of it, you're the only one who hasn't challenged me."
Dean shook his head, "No way, been there done that, I know how strong you are." He refused and drank the remnants of the bottle in his hand.
Buffy started to remove all the empty bottles from their table with cleared it slightly and she pouted a little, "Oh come on. You're not going to back out now. Chicken?" she teased.
Dean grinned, "Oh I'm a chicken now am I?" he asked as he rolled up a sleeve in accepting the challenge.
Buffy took his hand and she instantly felt his pushing her down, now Buffy wasn't even trying to keep her hand where it was, she was very strong, and she wasn't even using half of it. She could see the strain on Dean's face as he desperately tried to get her hand down. After a few minutes Buffy slowly let her hand lean further and further back until she finally let all her strength go and her hand hit the table.
"Oh my God I can't believe you beat me!" she said in fake shock and took a shot.
"You're a cheater! You let me win!" Dean laughed and joined her in a shot.
Buffy shook her head innocently, "No I didn't my arm must be really tired from all the earlier wrestles. Slayers get tired too." She said as she batted her eyes innocently and rubbed her arm feigning that it was sore.
Dean shook his head as he pressed a beer to his lips, "You're a big liar." He snorted and downed the remnants of his beer.
Buffy shrugged and picked up the last shot, "Maybe." She eyed Dean and gave him a grin, "But you'll never know." She said and downed the shot. They seemed to be going down far too easy. After ordering and downing more and more shots with Buffy, he started to see a different side to her, granted she might be drunk but in the weeks he'd known her he'd never seen her smile so much, she was easy to talk to, she was funny and she loved to dance. A couple of times she tried to drag him on the dance floor but after minutes of him not giving in she would go off on her own and dance like nothing else mattered. There didn't seem to be enough liquor in the world that made Dean that drunk and happy it seemed, but then again he never allowed himself to get that drunk.
When Buffy was starting to fall into people and no longer make any sense Dean thought it was best to get her back to the motel. It took a lot of encouraging and pleading but eventually he just picked her up and carried her out after he realised she couldn't even stand let alone walk. She struggled for the first few minutes but gave up and rested her head on his shoulder and babbled in her own world, most of it didn't make sense he only heard a few choice words, "Angel", "heartbreak", "Dracula", "Willow,", "Dawn" all of it not making any sense to Dean but it probably would to Buffy if he asked her.
Dean spotted the motel owner going into her own room and she stopped to smile and wave at him as they passed, "I told her not to drink on an empty stomach." Dean joked as he passed her and dug in his pockets for a key. He finally got the door open with great difficulty of juggling Buffy between one hand as he tried to unlock the door and turn the knob, he kicked the door shut behind them and Buffy jumped in his arms.
"Are we home?" Buffy said quietly and a little distant.
Dean glanced down at her and gave her a little smile when she looked at him a little dazed, "Yeah we are, come on, let's sleep off this drink." He whispered and carried her to the bed and gently set her down on the bed. Buffy made a little whimpering noise when Dean pulled away and her arms seemed to tighten around his neck, taking his arms in his hands he gradually pulled her arms off his neck. "Come on, you have to sleep." He spoke softly in her ear and Buffy started to pull away.
Buffy opened her eyes and looked up at Dean and stroked his face, she watched his face frown then soften and shut his eyes.
"You deserve to be happy you know" she said groggily and smiled at him as she put both hands on his face.
Then Buffy sat up and pulled Dean down until their lips met, then she pulled him on top of her and she crashed back down onto the bed. Dean pulled her in close and pulled at her hair and arm as he kissed her harshly, trying to take in as much of her as he could and Buffy pulled at his shoulders and pushed herself into him as much as she could. When her hands ran under his shirt and up his back Dean pulled away.
"I….can't" he said panting and pushed himself off her and walked as far away as he could which was only a few feet away and he lent on the kitchen sink and looked out the window.
"But… why?" he heard Buffy speak up, he couldn't look at her but he turned his face so he could see her out the corner of his eye, he could see her sitting up in the bed and pulling her shirt down. He saw her stand up and gingerly walk towards him. He turned his face away and stared back out the window just as he felt her hands on his shoulders, "I know you want to" she giggled in his ear and ran her hands down his arms.
Dean spun so quickly Buffy had to take a couple of steps back, "Oh, believe me, you have no idea how badly I want to." He said quietly still looking at anywhere but at Buffy.
Buffy smiled, "Well why don't you?" she said and closed the space between them and lifted her head into a kiss but Dean grabbed her shoulders and pulled her at arms distance, "You're drunk. I won't take advantage." He stated.
Buffy shrugged him off her arms and held out her arms, "Advantage? You have permission, by all means go ahead! You have the advantage!" she yelled.
"You're drunk!" Dean yelled back so loud Buffy jumped startled and blinked and slowly brought her arms back to her sides. "Now get your skinny ass in that bed before I have to knock you unconscious" he said quieter but still forceful.
Buffy nodded, "Okay," she spoke quietly and headed back to the bed, "But we will talk about this in the morning!" she piped up as she kicked off her shoes and got under the covers.
"If you even remember" Dean laughed under his breath and rubbed at his face, trying to wipe away the last few minutes. He'd never missed Sam more than right this moment where he was stuck alone in a motel room with a beautiful blonde that he didn't dare touch and he just wanted his brother here to talk to. He pulled out his cell and opened his phonebook and scrolled down to Sam's name and his thumb hovered over the Call button. After a minute or two he shut his phone back off and put it back in his pocket. He looked back out the window again, the motorway across was fairly busy mostly delivery trucks drove by and every now and again one would come in the parking lot and get a room.
"Fuck… Sammy," Dean whispered to himself. He turned back around and looked over at the bed; Buffy was sprawled out – like a starfish – with her head hanging off the side of the bed and the covers only on her feet. Dean slowly walked across the room and gently lifted her head back onto the pillow, he saw Buffy frown slightly and he froze but after a second her face softened and she took a deep breath.
"What the hell am I gonna do with you?" he whispered to her but it was more a question to himself. Would he be able to keep his hands off her, he doubted it. Dean knew it was only a matter of time before he finally gave in but he knew he would only break her heart in the end, like he always does.
He pulled the covers back up and over her body so she was fully covered and he took the pillow she wasn't using and threw it on the sofa.
He sighed. "At least one of us is gonna get a good night sleep." He mumbled as he took off his shirt and boots and lay on the sofa and pulled the kaftan down over himself and tried to sleep but all he could think about was either his brother or just curling up beside Buffy and sleeping happily.
The sound of a long horn woke Buffy with a start, the sound of a Lorry horn made her jump upright and then the hangover kicked in. It felt like a drill going off in her brain, her eyes hurt, her throat was scratchy and her stomach was doing star jumps she didn't know whether she was hungry or was going to be sick.
She looked around the motel room. Dean wasn't there. She listened. He wasn't in the shower so he was out. She glanced over at the clock on the nightstand and her eyes widened. "Four P.M?" she yelled to herself as she threw the covers off and swung her legs around and put them on the floor, she felt around her jeans pocket until she got her cell out and looked at the clock on that.
Yep.
Four P.M.
Jumping out of bed Buffy stumbled a little and as she walked to the bathroom she felt like she was on a ship, everything was moving around her. Buffy managed to make it to the bathroom without falling over and she clutched at the porcelain sink and leant her head on the mirror. A wave of nausea almost knocked her over but she managed to strip off and get into the shower. The warmth of the water eased her nausea and the power from the shower massaged the aches that were creeping in her joints. It was in this moment that Buffy vowed she would never drink that much ever again.
Buffy didn't know how long she stood underneath the shower but the sound of the front door closing brought her back to reality and she shut off the shower and fumbled about the shower for a towel.
"Dean is that you?" Buffy called her voice still a little scratchy.
A few seconds later she heard, "Yeah… It's me." He sounded distant.
Buffy came out of the shower with the towel wrapped tightly around her and Dean was stood by the kitchen table, a bag of food on the table, and he wore the biggest pissed off expression on his face.
Buffy pulled the towel tighter as she came out the bathroom, "You okay?"
He didn't answer.
"I've just woke up," Buffy laughed, "Why didn't you wake me?" she asked, trying to fill the awkwardness.
Dean glanced at her but he didn't really look at her, "I tried but you were out for the count so I thought…" He finally realised she was stood in front of him in a towel and her eyes so wide and confused and she looked so innocent to him that it felt like to him the Buffy that tried to sleep with him the night before was just a dream. He smiled a little, "You should get dressed. Then eat. I bet your pretty hungry after the alcohol you consumed last night." He said as he sat at the table and opened the bag and brought out their burgers.
Buffy groaned and moved over to the bed where her bags were. "Hungry? I don't know whether I'm hungry or want to be sick. I'm never drinking that much again." She exclaimed as she turned her back to Dean and got dressed via in her towel.
She heard Dean chuckle, "Well I'm not surprised, you drank more than me." He watched as she hastily got dressed while she was in her towel and was amazed that she got her bottoms on in seconds then when she took off the towel to put her top on Dean looked away and cleared his throat in surprise.
Buffy hooked her bra on then put on a plain white vest top on and put on a grey oversized "U.C Sunnydale" sweatshirt. Her hangover really made her lazy today, she didn't put on any makeup and she just ran a brush through her hair quickly and let it try naturally. When she was dressed she put on a pair of grey tennis shoes and then sat down beside Dean and dug into her food.
She just bit into her burger when she saw Dean looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She raised hers back, "What?"
Dean just shook his head, "Nothing, it's just strange not to have to wait hours for you to be ready." He laughed.
Buffy glared at him then shrugged, "Well when I'm feeling like this you just be lucky that I'm dressed at all!" she laughed. She noticed again that he wouldn't look at her properly, "Did I…. do something last night? Did I make a fool of myself?"
Dean coughed nervously and put his food down, "I think it's best if you don't know." He commented then went back to eating.
Buffy thought for a moment then just nodded, "Well whatever it was I'm sorry." She said quietly and finished her burger. "So what have you been doing while I've been sleeping?"
Dean filled Buffy In on the new couple that had arrived and how he tried to get them to leave before nightfall but Scotty the café owner and the local sheriff made him leave town and he had to double back on himself to come back to get her.
"There's something fishy going on in this town and I'm not leaving this couple to get killed." Dean said as he scrunched up the empty burger wrapper and threw it inside the food bag.
Buffy got up and cleared the table, "Well you're right, there is something not right about this town it's too…." She shrugged at a word to describe this town and threw the empty bag in the trash can and picked up her coffee, "Anyway, let's leave it till it gets dark and we'll check out that orchard and make sure that couple isn't next." Buffy told Dean before running into the bathroom and throwing up everything she'd just eaten.
Oh the joys of alcohol.
It wasn't long before it finally got dark and once Buffy had stopped throwing up and was finally able to eat something without bringing it up again they headed back out to the orchard.
"You okay? How do you feel now?" Dean asked Buffy who was resting her head on the dashboard.
Her muffled voice came a few seconds later, "I still feel like crap but I will survive." She sighed and sat back upright.
"I feel responsible for you being in this state. I shouldn't have let you drunk so much…" Buffy heard him say but she stopped listening when she felt an ice cold wave running down her back, at first she thought she was going to throw up again but when she felt the hairs on her neck stand on end she knew it was her Slayer senses telling her something was happening.
"…If it wasn't for me you wouldn't have made an idiot of yourself last night-"
"Dean." Buffy held up a hand to signal him to shut up, "Do you hear that?" she asked and wound down the window.
Right at that moment Buffy heard the scream; Dean sped up the car round the corner but stopped abruptly when he saw a car abandoned at the side of the road. Their lights were still on and both doors were open.
Both Buffy and Dean got out and Dean threw her a rather large knife that he had in his coat pocket and he took his sawn off shotgun from underneath his seat.
They went at had a closer look at the car, "This was the couple's car."
"Do you think it's got them?"
Another scream.
They both nodded to each other and ran into the orchard.
GIRL: I can't believe it. We just got the car fixed.
They were about half a mile into the orchard when the couple almost fell on them they were running so fast.
Buffy looked past them fast enough to see the scarecrow walking towards them.
"Get back to your car!" Dean yelled and they both did so without question.
Buffy and Dean watched the scarecrow getting closer, he grabbed Buffy's arm, "Go! Go!" he yelled and they both started jogging backwards out the orchard. Dean cocked his shotgun and fired it straight into the scarecrows chest; it stumbled a little but carried on walking.
"I don't think bullets are going to kill this one." Buffy stated as she stopped jogging, "Go, I got this." She said.
Dean stopped running and cocked his head at her confused, "And I got your back, go do your thing. Be careful."
Dean, with his shotgun up ready to fire, watch Buffy run towards the scarecrow, quickly filling the gap between them and when she was almost a foot away from him she jumped up, kept her legs together and smashed her feet into the scarecrows chest. The scarecrow staggered a little more and Buffy fell on the floor winding her but she swung her legs and got back on her feet. The shot behind her which hit the scarecrow right in the chest caused the scarecrow to fall which gave Buffy enough time to pick up the knife she dropped and start swinging. But Dean caught her arm and she stopped to look at him, "Let's go."
Buffy pouted a little and looked back towards the scarecrow, "But…" it was gone.
Dean started pulling her away, "I don't think even you could kill this one without knowing what it is first." Dean stated and they both started running back out the orchard.
They found the couple standing by their car, when they were out of the orchard Dean cocked his gun again and looked around but there was no sign of the scarecrow.
"What—what the hell was that?" The guy asked panting.
Buffy and Dean shared a look, "Don't ask." Was all Dean said to him.
When they made sure the couple got out of Burtkitsville and back onto the highway they doubled back on themselves and drove back into town. They were driving a little over an hour, both not really saying anything, when Dean got his cell out of his pocket and dialled a number. He put it on loudspeaker and rested it on the dashboard.
When Sam's voice answered on the other end Buffy smiled happily. Finally Dean gave into his stubborn senses.
They both quickly filled Sam on what had been happening while he wasn't here, minus the Buffy getting drunk part.
"The scarecrow climbed off its cross?" Sam asked a little taken aback.
Dean nodded, "Yeah, I'm tellin' ya. Burkitsville, Indiana. Fun Town." Dean joked.
"It didn't kill the couple, did it?" Sam asked after a pause of silence.
Buffy shook her head, "No, we got there just in time."
"I can cope without you, you know." Dean joked.
Sam seemed to just ignore it or didn't hear it, "So, something must be animating it. A spirit."
Buffy shrugged, she really didn't have a clue, she wasn't used to researching what she was up against she was more stake first ask questions later. Dean on the other hand, shook his head, "No, it's more than a spirit. It's a god. A Pagan god, anyway."
Buffy looked at Dean a little taken aback that he would figure something like that out, "What makes you say that?" she heard Sam ask. Looks like they both agreed on that one.
"The annual cycle of its killings? And the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman. Like some kind of fertility right. And you should see the locals. The way they treated this couple. Fattenin' 'em up like a Christmas turkey." Dean explained.
"The last meal. Given to sacrificial victims." Buffy said finally getting the gist.
"Yeah, I'm thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some Pagan god." Dean nodded and changed gears.
"So, a god possesses the scarecrow..." Sam started.
"And the scarecrow takes its sacrifice." Dean finished, "And for another year, the crops won't wilt, and disease won't spread."
"Do you know which god you're dealing with?" Sam said loudly over the noise in the background of wherever he was. Judging by the sound it was a bus or a train station.
"No, not yet." Dean answered.
"Well, you figure out what it is, you can figure out a way to kill it." Sam explained.
Dean rolled his eyes, "I know. I'm actually on my way to a local community college. I've got an appointment with a professor. You know, since I don't have my trusty sidekick geek boy to do all the research." He laughed, and waved off Buffy's "you never told me!" look.
Sam laughed also, "You know; if you're hinting you need my help, just ask."
Dean shook his head, "I'm not hinting anything. Actually, uh-" he eyed Buffy at the corner of his eye and stumbled over his words, he wasn't used to opening up to his brother let alone when a girl was around, "I want you to know….I mean, don't think…."
Sam sighed down the other end, "Yeah. I'm sorry, too."
"Sam. You were right. You gotta do your own thing. You gotta live your own life." Dean said as he turned the corner, Buffy grabbed the phone before it fell off the dashboard and put it back when Dean drove straight again.
"Are you serious?" Sam chortled.
Dean nodded to himself, "You've always known what you want. And you go after it. You stand up to Dad. And you always have. Hell, I wish I—anyway….I admire that about you. I'm proud of you, Sammy."
"I don't even know what to say." Sam said softly down the phone.
"Say you'll take care of yourself." Dean told him.
"I will."
"Call me when you find Dad." Dean spoke as quietly as Sam did a moment ago.
"OK. Bye, Dean." Sam sounded sad that their conversation had ended and when he hung up Dean took his phone and put it back in his pocket.
Buffy sat watching him drive for a few minutes, "What?" Dean asked impatiently.
Buffy shrugged, "I just thought that was really nice of you to let go of Sam like that." She replied and shifted in her seat so her back was on the door and she could see Dean properly.
Dean also shrugged, "Well he's gone and there was no way for me to get him back here. I just hope he finds dad and… kicks his ass or something." Dean laughed at the end. Buffy just smiled at his joke but realised it was better not to talk about it anymore, she could see that Dean missed his baby brother and she herself missed her family and knows how hard it is to talk about so she left it alone and let him drive.
Buffy woke with a start when she felt her arm being shook and someone shouting her name. Dean was leaning over her in the Impala with his hands up in surrender, it was then Buffy realised when she woke she instinctively raised her fist but she dropped it when she saw it was Dean just waking her up. She must have passed out on the way to the college which by the looks of the sunlight outside had taken them all night.
"Sorry. Just thought I would tell you that we're here and I'm going inside. You stay here." Dean said as he moved to get out of the car.
Buffy blinked a few times to process his words, "Okay… Hey, were you ever going to tell me we were coming here?" She asked as she sat upright and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
Dean smiled, "Yeah…. When we got here." He chortled and got out the car, before he walked away he leant down and looked at her through the open window, "I shouldn't be too long maybe twenty minutes so just wait here for me…. And remember…. Do not touch my car." He said the last part seriously.
Buffy rolled her eyes, he was never going to forgive her for the Gwen Stefani thing, "Sure, sure now go away so I can go back to sleep." She waved him off and when he turned away Buffy sprawled her legs out on the front seat and rested her eyes.
She shot her eyes open again and huffed. Now she was woken there was no way she could go back to sleep. One thing being a Slayer that was a pain in the ass was that she could function with little sleep, oh how she missed sleep.
Buffy sat up and flicked on the radio and she was met with the usual rock music she heard in the car but strangely she was getting used to it now, it wasn't music she would ever have listened to – the closest to rock she listened to was Dingoes Ate My Baby and they weren't really hard core. She thought about changing the radio channel but knowing her luck Dean would pop out and give her the third degree again. So she sat in her seat and sang along with the rock songs she kind of knew which were the ACDC and Led Zeppelin songs. After two or three songs Buffy didn't know the rest, she'd never been in the car long enough to know the rest on the tapes, so she just sat tapping her foot on Dean's seat and tried to ignore her hunger. She only ate a small amount after throwing all her breakfast up the day before and now the hangover was wearing off her hunger was returning.
And so was her memory.
She remembered the arm wrestling hustling she and Dean did and how much they earned; she remembered the hundreds of shots she drank; trying to get Dean to dance and him having none of it and so she was dancing by herself – she got very embarrassed by remembering this as Buffy herself wasn't a big dancer especially by herself – she remembered Dean carrying her home… and them making out…. And Dean pushing away… and Buffy telling him she wanted him to carry on….
"Oh my God!" Buffy sat upright then hit her head on the dashboard two or three times then buried her face in her hands. "Oh my God Buffy! What the hell!" she cried in her hands. No wonder Dean couldn't look at her properly! She didn't blame him; if it was the other way around and Dean was throwing himself at her Buffy wouldn't be able to look at him the same again.
She slowly removed her face from her hands when she eventually calmed down and her hands went into her hair, she frowned when she saw the car drive past her and stop outside the college. A police car, to be more exact the Sherriff squad car.
Turning off the radio Buffy watched the police officer get out of his car, he looked very pissed off – Buffy thought maybe he was here to pick up a student but Dean being inside it was too much of a coincidence. Taking the keys out of the ignition Buffy slowly got out the Impala and followed the police officer as closely as she could. She stopped at the bottom of the steps and watched the officer enter the building, she crouched beside the pillar attached to the steps and waited and a few minutes later the officer and another old man were carrying Dean outside. Buffy ran to the closest car and hid behind it and peered over and watched the two men stuff Dean into the trunk of the squad car.
"Crap!" Buffy whispered loudly and did a crouch run back to the Impala and tried to open the door as quietly as she could and creeped inside all the while keeping her eyes on the officer and the man – which Buffy guessed was the professor Dean was meeting – who were currently having a heated conversation. Buffy started up the Impala when the officer got inside his car and pulled out onto the road.
"Dean I'm doing this to save your ass so please forgive me" she mumbled as she put the car into "Drive" and pulled out onto the road and very slowly followed the squad car.
It had been a long time since Buffy drove a car and hadn't wrecked it in the process. Actually there isn't a car that she'd drove that she'd never wrecked. Taking a gulp Buffy put her foot on the accelerator and sped up gradually until she met up with the police car but not too close for him to notice.
Buffy followed the squad car to a small house in a residential area, she stopped the Impala a few houses down and got out and kept as close to the other houses and out of eyesight as much as she could. Buffy followed the officer, who was dragging Dean along the front garden, around the back of the house. She wedged herself between the edge of the house and a large bush so she could turn to look around the corner without being seen. She saw a group of people all stood around a basement door that sat at an angle on the side of the house and she watched as they opened it and pushed Dean inside – closing the doors behind them. Once again the group had a heated discussion and then an old couple went inside the house for a few minutes and brought out a young blonde. She looked familiar but Buffy couldn't place where from she'd seen her. The young girl had tears streaming from her face and was gasping for breath.
"Aunt Stacy. Uncle Harley, please." She sobbed as the old couple opened the cellar door and pushed the young girl in and led her down the stairs. "Why are you doing this?" Buffy heard the girl yell.
The couple came back out of the cellar and the woman looked down sadly into the cellar, "For the common good." She said proudly and shut the cellar.
Buffy rolled her eyes, she figured out they were now going to use Dean and their own niece as a sacrifice for the scarecrow and it was now up to Buffy to stop it.
Just then Buffy heard breaking of twigs behind her and she turned and ducked quick enough to miss a garden rake to the face. Scotty, the owner of the café she saw a couple of days ago, kept swinging the rake so much Buffy had to push her way out of the bushes and into sight. She ducked every swing and eventually Buffy caught the pole in her hands and pulled it free from Scotty and snapped the wooden pole in half.
"Now that's no way to greet new people into your town." Buffy said as she threw the broken rake on the floor and dodged punches from Scotty.
Buffy threw in a punch to Scotty's nose and he fell like a ton of bricks, Buffy stood over him, "And that wasn't even me at my best. You try to hit me again and I'll show you how much damage-"
WHACK!
A blow to the back of the head sent Buffy falling sideways. Everything went black except the stars that floated in her eyesight. Buffy felt a kick to the stomach strong enough to wind her slightly.
"Who the fuck is she?" she heard a male voice say a few yards away.
"She's with that guy. His wife or somethin'" The nasally voice Buffy knew was Scotty.
Buffy rolled onto her stomach and started to push herself up but another blow to the head sent her back to the floor.
"W-What shall we do with her?" Buffy was only hearing muffled voices now. It was a woman's voice so she imagined it was the old lady. "Should we kill her?"
Another kick to her side and Buffy yelped. "No. We'll take her to the orchard." Nasally. It was Scotty again.
"We already have our sacrifices. Emily and that guy." A muffled man said. Old guy?
Buffy rolled on her stomach and earned a kick in the face.
"We'll take her anyway. I'm sure Vanir will take pleasure in killing her too." Buffy blinked a few times and saw Scotty, the officer and the old couple standing over her. The officer was holding a shovel. It was clear who was the one knocking her in the head.
Scotty looked at the officer beside him, "Tie her up first. She's strong." He said then gave another kick to the side before walking away.
Buffy glared up at the three people standing over her, she looked straight at the officer holding the shovel. "When this is over. I'm going to kill you." She didn't mean it. She would just hut him a little. But the look on his face was enough. Though she didn't expect him to bring the shovel back down and whack her straight on the side of her face. Everything went black. She went out like a light.
Eventually when it was starting to get dark they were ready for the sacrifice. They took Dean and Emily out of the cellar and drove to the orchard. The officer tied Dean to one tree and Emily to a tree next to him.
"How many people have you killed, Sheriff? How much blood is on your hands?" Dean said through gritted teeth.
The sheriff sighed "We don't kill them." He said plainly as he knotted the rope around the tree.
Dean looked straight at him but the sheriff wouldn't look him in the eye, "No, but you sure cover up after. I mean, how many cars have you hidden, clothes have you buried?" Dean asked just as plainly but the sheriff just got up and walked away.
"Uncle Harley, please." Emily sobbed and struggled while her uncle tied her up.
"I am so sorry, Em. I wish it wasn't you." Her uncle replied with slight sadness.
Her auntie walked and stood beside her uncle, "Try to understand. It's our responsibility. And there's just no other choice. There's nobody else but you." She exclaimed.
"I'm your family." Emily glared.
Her aunt knelt down to look at her niece, "Sweetheart, that's what sacrifice means. Giving up something you love for the greater good. The town needs to be safe. The good of the many outweighs the good of the one." She said softly and stroked Emily's cheek.
Her aunt and uncle walked away and Dean was just about to shout at them when he saw Scotty, who was sporting a very fat nose and two black eyes, come into view with a blonde in his arms.
"Shit! Buffy!" Dean yelled and struggled against his ropes. He watched as the Scotty tied Buffy down beside him. Dean noticed Scotty was using more rope than he did on Dean so they knew she was strong. "What the hell have you done to her?"
Scotty pulled out more rope from a backpack and starting tying her again, "She saw us earlier. We can't take the risk. She's another sacrifice for Vanir." He said matter-of-factly as he finished the knot in her ropes and stood up and looked at Dean.
"If that thing kills her I'm comin' after you!" Dean roared and pulled on his ropes.
Scotty just smirked, "Look where you are. You'll be dead long before you can catch me." He believed and walked away.
"I hope your apple pie is freakin' worth it!" Dean yelled after him, he struggled against his ropes for a second then lent back on the tree.
"So, what's the plan?" Emily asked tiredly.
Dean looked around then back to Buffy, "I'm workin' on it."
Hours passed. It was almost pitch black. Buffy still hadn't woken and all three of them were still tied up.
"You don't have a plan, do you?" Emily grumbled.
Dean was still looking around, "I'm workin' on it." He said sounding slightly panicked.
Emily sighed and rested her head on the tree. She saw Dean turn his head to look at Buffy for the hundredth time. "Who is she?"
Dean looked over at Emily, "What?"
"The girl. Buffy? Who is she?"
Dean thought for a moment, "She's… a friend." He said quietly.
Emily shuffled around until she got a little comfortable, her bottom was starting to numb. "She seems like more than a friend to you. I mean I saw the way you looked when Scotty brought her out and I heard what you said to him." Emily explained.
Dean sighed, "Your one smart cookie." He mumbled and looked away from Emily, "She is a friend but she… I can't give her what she wants we'll leave it at that." Dean finished and tried to look behind him.
"Can you see?" he asked.
"What?"
Dean turned to Emily, "Is he moving yet?"
Emily looked behind her but all she could see was trees, "I can't see"
Dean turned to Buffy and leant as close as he could to her, "Buffy! Buffy wake up!" He whispered loudly.
Buffy seemed to wake slightly but she kept her eyes shut.
"Buffy!" Dean yelled in her ear so loud that Buffy jumped awake. Dean let out a breath, "Finally. If I knew that would have woke you I would have done that hours ago." He stated and leant back on the tree.
Buffy took in her surroundings then she felt the pain in her head and remembered the group of people planning to sacrifice them all. "God I feel like I've gone ten rounds with Mike Tyson." She said as she struggled against the ropes.
Dean laughed, "You look it too."
Emily was still looking over her shoulder to watch for the scarecrow when she saw a shadow moving towards them, "Oh my God." She said and began to wriggle in her ropes.
Both Buffy and Dean tried to look behind them but neither had a good view. They could hear the footsteps loud and clear though. They both started to try and get free but Buffy noticed they took extra care in tying her up as she had more rope than anyone.
"Oh my God!" Emily screamed as the shadow came closer.
"Dean?" came Sam's voice and seconds later he came out from behind the trees and stopped to take in the three of them tied up.
Both Buffy and Dean relaxed and were smiling happily.
"Oh! Oh, I take everything back I said. I'm so happy to see you." Dean said overjoyed, "Come on." Dean looked up at his ropes and Sam began to untie them.
"How did you get here?" Buffy asked a little dazed, the blow to her head really concussed her.
Sam looked at Buffy nervously, "I, uh—I stole a car."
Dean smiled, "Haha! That's my boy!" he laughed happily. "And keep an eye on that scarecrow. He could come alive any minute." Dean told him as Sam finished the last knot on the ropes.
Sam looked behind him, "What scarecrow?" he asked confused.
Both the brothers get up and Dean looked over at the scarecrow post… it was empty.
"Crap…" Dean muttered, he tapped Sam on the chest and pointed at Emily, "Help me untie them. Quickly"
Sam went to untie Emily and Dean made his way to Buffy who was struggling to keep her eyes open, he tapped her face softly so she would look at him, "Stay awake for me okay? We're gonna get you out of here." He said softly and pulled out his pocket knife from his back jeans pocket and started to cut at her ropes.
"Dean…" Buffy said quietly.
Dean turned his head and saw Emily was free. He looked to Sam, "Get her as far from that post as possible. Keep your eyes out. We'll catch up."
Sam only nodded and ushered Emily in the opposite direction.
"Dean…"when he heard his name being called he looked back to Buffy and continued to cut through her ropes. He managed one knot… only three more to go.
"I remember…" Buffy trailed off. "…What I did…"
One more knot cut.
"I remember trying….trying to seduce you… I'm sorry." Buffy said quietly.
Dean let out a little laugh as he cut through his third rope, "Ah its okay. Actually I'm pretty flattered. You don't have to apologise." He said softly and cut the rope.
One more to go.
A rustling behind him made Dean cut faster.
"C'mon Buffy you gotta help me get these off. Use your super strength." He pleaded and Buffy pulled at the ropes as hard as she could while Dean sliced at the rope until finally it snapped and Buffy fell forward on her face.
Dean helped her up and put an arm around her waist to keep her upright, "C'mon" he said as he got her to run with him in the direction that Sam and Emily went.
After a few minutes of running Buffy seemed to waken and become more alert she was able to run by herself but Dean kept a close distance to her just in case. They caught up to Sam and Emily and all four were running through the orchard, Dean and Buffy taking the lead.
"Alright, now, this sacred tree you're talking about-" Sam said through pants as he ran at the back.
"It's the source of its power." Dean answered.
"So let's find it and burn it." Sam exclaimed as he followed Dean and the girls around a corner.
Dean shook his head, "Nah, in the morning. Let's just shag ass before Leather Face catches up." Dean stated as they reached a clearing but rustling caused them to slow down. Waiting in the shadows were the townspeople that tied them up earlier – plus a few more – with guns. Dean took Buffy's hand and grabbed Emily's arm, "This way." He turned them around another corner but there was Scotty holding up a shotgun at them. Looking around they realised they were blocked in all directions. They could hear the scarecrow getting closer.
"Please. Let us go." Emily cried.
"You don't have to do this!" Buffy yelled and squeezed the hand that Dean was holding.
"It'll be over quickly, I promise." Emily's uncle said while he held up a shotgun at his own niece.
Emily sobbed, "Please."
The gun her uncle held started to shake, "Emily, you have to let him take you. You have to-"
All of a sudden, the scarecrow's sickle pierced through the uncles stomach. Emily and her aunt screamed, Emily turned and tried to bury herself into Sam. Buffy let go of Deans hand and got into her slayer fighting pose The sickle in her uncles chest was pulled out and the scarecrow grabbed for her auntie.
Buffy saw the townspeople lower their weapons and run while the scarecrow kept hold of Emily's aunt and put the sickle in her uncles leg and drag them away.
Dean put a hand on Buffy's back and pushed her forward, "Come on, let's go." They started to run but Buffy stopped. Dean stopped too.
"I can't leave here. I have to help them." Buffy stated.
"Buffy, they're as good as dead already." Dean sighed and tried to usher her forward. Buffy shook him off.
"But they aren't dead yet. This is my job. I have to save them." Buffy shook her head at him and ran in the direction the scarecrow went in before Dean could talk her out of it.
Buffy could feel her blood pumping in her ears and her legs were aching from how fast she was running. She hadn't run so fast in a long time. The wind on her face and the crunching of the twigs beneath her feet brought her alert.
She stopped and listened for a sign of where it could be. She heard a faint screaming coming from her left and Buffy sprinted in that direction. The next thing she knew she was on the floor. She'd tripped over something. She was half laying on it. Scrambling to her feet Buffy saw the pale body of the uncle had been skinned and various organs were missing. She forced herself not to be sick and carried on running.
There was a small clearing near a giant tree which Buffy guessed is the sacred one. The scarecrow had Emily's aunt pinned to the tree with nails in her hands and she was crying in pain. The scarecrow wasn't in sight so Buffy ran to her and tried to pull out the nails.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry" the woman kept repeating over and over.
Buffy grabbed at a nail that was embedded in her palm, "its okay. We're going to get you out of here. This is going to hurt." Buffy shut her eyes and pulled at the nail and slowly it started to come out, the woman screamed and writhed in pain but eventually it came out. Buffy threw it on the ground and she grabbed the nail in the other hand.
"Well done. Okay only one more then you're free." Buffy said reassuringly as she pulled out the last nail in her other palm. Again she screamed and writhed but the nail came out and she was free. Buffy helped her to her feet and began walking the way she came.
The woman kept saying "sorry" over and over again and when Buffy stopped to tell her that she didn't have to be sorry was when a sickle went straight through the woman's throat. Killing her instantly. The scarecrow pulled his sickle out and grabbed the body and threw it a few feet away on Buffy's right. The scarecrow started towards Buffy and she continued to walk backwards but when it started picking up speed Buffy turned and started to run. Not realising there was a tree right behind her; luckily though Buffy got the right footing and ran up the tree and flipped backwards and kicked the scarecrow in the head and it staggered into the tree. Landing shakily on her feet Buffy turned around and was caught in the face by the scarecrows arm. It came at her with its sickle, it slashed at her stomach but Buffy was quick enough to dodge. The scarecrow raised its hand to slash at her from above but Buffy blocked it with both hands and kicked it in the stomach and as it fell back she grabbed the sickle from its grasp. This time Buffy did the slashing and the scarecrow did the dodging. But it wasn't fast enough. Buffy got in some deep slashes too its stomach but naturally it didn't do anything it just pissed it off more. A shot from behind the scarecrow made Buffy jump and the scarecrow lost focus from Buffy to turn around. Dean was by the sacred tree holding up a shotgun. Buffy used this opportunity to take the advantage. She swung the sickle into the scarecrows arm and pulled him back and swung the sickle and slammed it into a tree. The scarecrow tried to move but it was stuck and it swung out with its free arm to grab Buffy but she was already running to Dean.
"I got her free but it killed her…" she said quickly.
Dean looked over at the scarecrow who was trying to pull the sickle out with its free hand, "We gotta go."
Buffy nodded and they both ran back the way they came and made it out of the orchard and onto the main road where Sam and Emily were waiting in Sam's stolen car. As she and Dean got in the back Buffy just shook her head at Sam to signal she didn't save anyone.
The next morning they went back to the orchard. Buffy directed Sam to the street that the Impala was parked on, she explained to Dean that she drove and though he was a little shocked he didn't scream at her. They swapped cars, she and Dean smiled when Sam put his stuff in the trunk, Emily picked up some clothes and money, and they headed to the motel. They bought another room for Emily and Sam shared with Buffy and Dean – Buffy had the bed, Dean and couch and Sam the floor (even though she insisted one of them have the bed). After a few hours' sleep until the sun came out they drove back the orchard to finish the job. Buffy and Dean directed them to the spot where they found the tree. There was no body. There was no scarecrow. Sam opened the bottle of gasoline he'd been holding and poured it over the tree. Dean grabbed a branch and rubbed the end in some of the gasoline before lighting it.
Emily held out her hand, "Let me."
"You know, the whole town's gonna die." He stated as he held hold of the branch.
Emily took the branch from him and turned towards the tree, "Good."
They watched as Emily closed the gap between her and the tree and throw the burning branch onto it. Within a second the entire tree was up in flames and they stood and watched it burn to a crisp.
A couple of hours later they packed up their belongings and headed out of town. They stopped at the bus station to drop off Emily. Buffy walked with her to the bus that was heading to Boston with the boys trailing behind.
"You sure you're going to be okay?" Buffy asked.
Emily nodded, "Yeah I have another Aunt who lives there, I called her last night so she knows I'm coming. Will… Will you guys be okay?" Emily asked as the bus pulled up.
Buffy laughed and nodded, "Yeah we'll be fine." She looked over at the brothers and smiled, "All of us."
Emily started up the steps to the bus but stopped and turned to Buffy, "No matter what he says… he cares about you. Even I saw that."
When she saw the confused look on Buffy's face Emily just smiled and continued up the bus. She stopped at the top of the bus and looked out the window, Buffy was walking back to the boys and Emily smiled at them. When Dean waved a goodbye Emily waved back.
All three stayed to watch the bus leave.
"Think she's gonna be alright?" Sam asked as they watched the bus revers.
"I hope so." Dean replied.
"She will." Buffy corrected.
Sam looked at his brother, "And the rest of the townspeople, they'll just get away with it?"
Dean cocked his head and rolled his eyes, "Well, what'll happen to the town will have to be punishment enough." He said as he walked back to the car. After a pause Dean said casually, "So, can I drop you off somewhere?"
Both Buffy and Sam smiled, "No, I think you're stuck with me."
They stopped when they reached the car, Sam turned to face his brother and Buffy stopped beside Dean.
"What made you change your mind?" Dean asked.
Sam shook his head, "I didn't. I still wanna find Dad. And you're still a pain in the ass."
Dean just nodded.
"You got that right." Buffy muttered.
"But, Jess and Mom—they're both gone. Dad is God knows where. You and me. We're all that's left. So, if we're gonna see this through, we're gonna do it together." Sam explained.
Dean nodded and pursed his lips, "Hold me, Sam. That was beautiful." He said in a mock cry and put a hand on Sam's shoulder.
They both laughed as Sam hit his brother's hand off. Buffy just shook her head at the pair; it was like nothing had happened. They all walked around the car.
"You should be kissing my ass, you were dead meat, dude." Sam said pointing at his brother. Sam noticed Dean's hand on Buffy's back as they rounded the side.
"Yeah, right. I had a plan, I'd have gotten out." Dean stated as he opened his door.
Buffy opened her door, "I clearly remember your plan was waking me up so I would set you free so we could run away?" Buffy said to Dean with a little smile and a raised brow.
Dean laughed, "What, it was a perfectly good plan!"
Buffy laughed and shook her head, "So, can I drive?"
Dean's eyes nearly popped out of his head and he just shook his head, "Hell no!" was all he said and when Buffy started laughing he started too.
Sam watched the pair as they smiled at each other before they got inside, "Right." He mostly said to himself and got inside the car. The dynamic had changed since he left. Something had happened between the pair... only time would tell if it would work.
Well that was my version of "Scarecrow" I hope you liked it. Next episode will be "Faith" where Buffy is reunited with an old enemy. Comments and criticisms are always encouraged :D
