They arrived at the storage unit around eleven that night. They had decided it was probably a good idea to avoid Crowley's minions by arriving long after the employees had gone home.
Dean and Benny led the way, with Kevin following close behind. The storage unit was pretty much deserted, and in a treed area, so Dean wasn't hiding his bolt cutters.
The lock was more complex than Dean could manage with the lock picks or even the bolt cutters, but Benny used his super-vampire strength to force it.
Linda was inside chained to the floor. Dean winced at the state of her. She looked dirty and unhealthy. Kevin ran in and hugged her.
"Kevin, we should test her to make sure she's not a demon," Dean said.
"Benny, break these chains," Kevin said.
Benny glanced at Dean, who shrugged. Benny went and broke the chains.
Dean went through the rigmarole of testing Linda. He found she was human, and then her mouth proved she was Linda Tran.
"Where the hell have you boys been?" she said.
"We would have looked for you, mom, but Crowley told us you were dead," Kevin said.
"And you believed him? Because he's so truthful all the time, I guess," she said sarcastically.
"Listen, let's just get you out of here. If I know Crowley, he has this place alarmed. We have a place to stay a couple of hours away—but if you'd rather, we can stop at a motel so you can get a shower and some food," Dean said.
"Did you bring me any clothes?" Linda asked.
"Benny and I will find you some. We'll steal you some from a Laundromat if we have to. Kevin will order you a pizza, and you can get cleaned up. But if you'd rather, we're about three hours away from our home," Dean said.
"I'll take the motel," Linda said. "Who's the guy with super-strength?"
"I'm Benny," Benny said. "I'm a vampire. But I don't attack humans."
"I'm not sharing a room with him," Linda said.
"That's fine," Dean said. "Let's all just get in the car."
Dean liked Linda, but she made him feel like a little kid. It was annoying. He stopped at the first motel he saw that looked clean and booked two rooms. Kevin and Linda got out, and Dean and Benny drove around until they found an all-night grocery store that sold clothes, and got Linda some pajamas and a track suit for the next day, plus a toothbrush, hair brush, moisturizer, and first aid stuff for her cuts and bruises from being a prisoner.
They took the stuff back and handed it off to Kevin, who seemed a bit surprised at Dean's thoughtfulness, but he only thanked them and told them goodnight.
"I guess they didn't save you any pizza," Benny said.
"Shit," Dean said. "We never got you any blood."
"Let's see what we can do about that," Benny said. "You bring your computer?"
"Sure," Dean said. They went into their room, put their bags down and Benny opened the computer. "What are you looking for? Black market blood delivery?"
"Kind of. There was an ad that used to run in the papers of towns with black market blood sources. Coded, you know? I assume nowadays they put it on the internet," Benny said.
"Coded, eh? What does it say? Or is that secret vampire stuff?"
"It's a request for interviews with people who've seen aliens. Back before aliens were all the rage they used to say fairies. I guess there's some kooks who call up, but mostly no one calls but people who know what's what," Benny said, running his finger down the screen. "Here we are, Wichita."
"Your cooler is in the trunk," Dean said. "You want to take the car?"
"Are you seriously lending me your car? In Purgatory you talked about missing that car almost as much as you talked about missing your brother," Benny said.
"I'm just really tired. But I can come with you if you want," Dean said.
"Let me see if this number works before we go crazy," Benny said. He called it and had a short conversation with the person on the other end of the call, and then hung up. "Were you serious about letting me use your car?"
"I trust you with my life, and Cas and Sam's lives. I think I can trust you with my car," Dean said.
"Thanks, brother. I'll be back soon," he said.
Dean lay in bed, unable to sleep. In any quiet moment these days, his thoughts turned to his brother. He was incredibly worried that Sam wasn't getting better. What was the point of stopping the trials if Sam was going to die anyway?
And were they doing the right thing by letting Crowley free? It was true, they'd worked with him before, and he didn't seem as dangerous as Abaddon, but he'd done some pretty awful things. More than awful. Evil.
Dean wondered why it always felt like everything was up to him—why it always seemed like the world was on his shoulders. Well, sometimes it was. But usually Sam was by his side. These days, Sam didn't just seem sick, he seemed tired of all of it.
Was it possible that Sam might find his normal life, and Dean could try to get along without him?
Could Dean let Sam go?
It didn't feel right, but maybe he could do it, if it was what Sam wanted.
He knew he could work with Benny, and he knew Benny could kill monsters with the best of them. But could they really work as hunters? What if a town sheriff wanted to shake the fake FBI agent's hand, and he realized he was as cold as a corpse?
What if other hunters targeted them? Well, it wouldn't be the first time.
And why did having Benny back in his world make him feel things he'd never felt before?
Fuck that. He'd rather think about Sam dying. Dean got up and called Cas.
"Hey, man, were you asleep?" he asked.
"No Dean. Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, we got Linda Tran. We have to stay the night at a motel because she—well, it's just cruel to ask her to sit in a car for three hours," Dean said. "How's everyone there? How's Sammy?"
"He's fine. And if you really called to see what I found out about Sam's condition, I haven't made any progress. I'm thinking the best bet would be to ask another angel to help assess his condition," Cas said.
"Is it that serious? Is he dying?" Dean asked.
"I don't know, Dean. I would only ask one I trusted."
Dean just barely refrained from commenting about how well it worked out for everyone the last time Cas had trusted an angel. "Whatever you think is best," Dean finally said.
When he hung up the phone, Benny came in the room. "I thought you were going to sleep," he said.
"I can't sleep. I don't sleep," Dean said. "You get what you need?"
"Right here," he said.
Dean noticed he had a cooler. "I must be more tired than I thought—I didn't even notice that. But I can't get my brain to shut up."
"Just lie down and try to sleep. I'll keep watch," Benny said.
Dean wondered if any part of him was unable to sleep because before because there had been no one to watch his back. It was possible. He lay down on the bed, his mind drifting once again.
"You know, I've seen fairies. They're real," he said.
"You say something, brother?"
"You said the ad used to ask for interviews with people who have seen fairies. I have seen them. They're real," Dean said.
"You've had some kind of crazy life," Benny said. There was something like admiration in his tone. He sauntered over to the bed beside Dean's and lay down. "What are fairies like?" he asked.
So Dean told him everything he knew about fairies, and after that, he finally fell asleep.
The next morning they all piled in the Impala and started for home. "What do you say? You want diner breakfast? Coffee? Fast food?" Dean asked.
"Was he always this considerate?" Linda asked her son.
"He feels bad that he never suspected you were alive and saved you," Kevin said. "And he feels bad that he's letting Crowley go."
"If either of you don't want that to happen, it won't happen. We'll find another way to help Elizabeth," Dean said.
Benny looked over at Dean, alarmed.
Dean shrugged. "Sorry, buddy. Kevin and Linda didn't do anything to deserve the crap he put them through. And we've hardly looked for another solution."
"The implication being that Elizabeth deserves to be possessed by a demon because she messed with magic she didn't understand," Benny said.
"That's not what I meant. We're not going to stop until Elizabeth is safe. I promise you that. I only mean that I feel uncomfortable enough letting Crowley go without seeing what he did to Linda. It's not a done deal. We can still talk about it," Dean said.
"If it was Sam at risk would we still be talking about it?" Benny asked.
Dean shook his head, knowing this was an unsubtle reminder that Benny had been willing to die to save Sam. Dean should at least be willing to piss off his friends for Benny's family. He sighed. It was not like he disagreed, but he owed the Trans, too.
"Breakfast?" he reminded them.
"I could use some fast food," Linda said.
Kevin nodded in agreement. Benny just looked away.
They went through a drive though and then were on their way.
By the time they were back at the bunker, Linda and Kevin appeared to have forgotten there was any argument, and were in the back seat chatting away. Dean hadn't forgotten. Three hours of silence from Benny had his guts churning. He was used to tension between himself and Sam, but he always knew that that would be resolved. They were brothers. Benny might call Dean his brother, but did that mean he'd ever forgive Dean if they didn't make the deal with Crowley and something went wrong with Elizabeth?
Dean popped the trunk and sat for a moment as the others got out of the car and started into the bunker. When Kevin and Linda were in the bunker he sighed, got out and picked up the remaining bags.
Benny walked up and leaned against side of the trunk. "She ain't just my family. It ain't just that I love her. She's my legacy, Dean. You've saved the world. Even you hadn't, there's hundreds, maybe thousands of people alive because of you. And you kept your brother alive through a dozen perilous situations. She's the only good thing I've ever done, Dean. She's the only proof I was once more than the evil son of a bitch that stands before you."
"I don't want to let you down. But Crowley is a bad guy. It's not just up to me. I promise you that if we decide not to let him go, I won't rest until Elizabeth is safe. No matter what," Dean said.
"So there's really is other ways to do this? You promise me you aren't just sweet talking me, here?" Benny asked.
Dean smirked. "If I was sweet talking you, you'd know it, believe me."
Benny gave him an inquisitive look, but didn't say anything in reply, only smiling back at Dean. Finally, he said, "I'm sorry Dean. I do trust you. I know I shouldn't question your devotion to family or to helping people, especially people you care about. And I know just how frequently you do the impossible."
Dean swallowed around some emotion he couldn't quite identify. It was largely relief—that was obvious. But there was another feeling kind of like disbelief mixed in. He'd thought he'd let Benny down, and Benny was going to be pissed and their friendship would be another thing he sacrificed in order to 'do the right thing'. It was surprising that Benny seemed to be apologizing to him. Trusting him. "I mess up all the time. I won't always be the best friend. But I consider Elizabeth family, and I am not letting demons take anyone else from me."
"That's good enough for me," Benny said.
