Chapter 10
Am I Ever Gonna Find Out?
Dean gasped and woke up, his few days back in the past with his parents feeling as real as a dream. The truth of Azazel killing his grandparents then forcing his mother to make a deal with him to save his father's life was a lot to take in. Especially since Dean hadn't done what Castiel had told him he had to do; he hadn't stopped it from happening. Dean looked up and saw he wasn't alone in the motel room; Castiel was standing near the foot of his bed. "I couldn't stop it. Any of it." He said as he sat up in bed. "She still made that deal…she still died in the nursery, didn't she?"
"Don't be too hard on yourself," Castiel assured him. "You couldn't have stopped it."
Dean looked up at him with a confused look and slowly rose off the bed. "What?"
"Destiny can't be changed, Dean." Castiel explained. "All roads lead to the same destination."
Dean wasn't any less confused. "Then why'd you send me back?"
"To find out the truth." Castiel told him. "Now you know everything that we do."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Dean snapped. Castiel replied with a nod of his head towards the bed Dean assumed was occupied by his sleeping brother. It was still made. "Where's Sam?"
"We know what Azazel did to your brother," Castiel answered, apparently ignoring Dean's question. "What we don't know is why or what his endgame is." He paused. "Azazel went to great lengths to cover that up."
"Where's Sam?" Dean asked in a much more serious voice.
"425 Waterman." Castiel answered obediently. "Your brother is headed down a dangerous road Dean," He continued as Dean grabbed his keys of the night stand, picked up his jacket and prepared to leave. "And we're not sure where it leads. So stop it." He made sure he was looking Dean dead in his eyes. "Or we will."
"If something happened to my brother, I'll kill you." Dean said with a menacing smile.
"I assure you; you'll find him alive and well." Castiel called after him. "And Dean?" He turned back. "You should take your wife with you."
xxx
It was very early morning when Andie was awakened by her cell phone. She didn't get up in time to answer it but she did receive a very short and curt voicemail from Dean asking her to meet him at 425 Waterman immediately. The tone of his voice made her get moving and the fact that she'd fallen asleep on the couch in her clothes again certainly helped her get out of the motel quick smart. On her way to meet Dean, she wondered what was wrong. Something bad had to have happened; he sounded weird in his message. She assumed it must have something to do with Sam. She didn't have to wait too long to know for sure.
Dean was leaning against the bonnet of the Impala with a stony face, his eyes boring into her as he watched her get out of her truck and come towards him with her arms held out wide in expectation. "What'd I do now?" She asked.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Dean replied, his voice shaking in anger.
"Tell you what?" Andie shrugged.
"Sam and Ruby." Dean spat.
"Oh…" Andie muttered sheepishly.
"Yeah, "OH!"" Dean repeated angrily. "I just watched Sammy use his weird, psychic power to exorcise a demon while Ruby cheered him on. So not only did he lie and tell me Ruby was dead; but you knew and didn't tell me!"
"It's not like-" Andie started.
"I can't believe this!" Dean yelled. Then he scoffed. "What am I saying?" He asked himself with a dry laugh. "Of course I can! This is turning into vintage Andie, isn't it? I'll just add it to the list of Things My Wife Knows But Doesn't Feel The Need To Tell Me!"
"Would you calm down?" Andie replied.
"Y'know, I could actually overlook everything else you haven't told me," Dean told her. "But this is my brother, ok? Why the hell wouldn't you tell me he's in league with a demon?!"
"Because he asked me not to." Andie retorted, although it didn't sound quite as solid an argument as it had before. "And because he said she's helping him. And because he's actually doing okay considering what he's been through. And Ruby's being somewhat useful for once."
Dean gave her a weird look. "Have you completely lost your mind?!"
"Dean, do you have any idea how much I yelled at him when I found out about Ruby?" Andie snapped. "I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill her! But he looked me in the eye and told me she was helping him. So I believed him. Dean, whatever they have going on; it's working."
"Working." Dean repeated as he backed away from her shaking his head. "You lie to me, Sam lies to me, Castiel lies to me," He headed for the driver's side door and opened it. "I dunno why it surprises me anymore."
"Dean," Andie called after him. "Come on; you're over-reacting."
"Over-reacting?!" Dean slammed his door from the outside and stormed back over to her. "Over-reacting?! She's a demon, Andie! How are you okay with this?!"
"Maybe because I understand what he must've been going through." Andie replied. "Dean, when you died…I…I couldn't cope as well as I wanted to. But I had Cassidy. Sam…had no one." She tried not to dwell on the memory. "So if Ruby found a way to get him back to some form of normality after his whole world was ripped out from under him, then maybe you should just be grateful."
Dean winced at the very thought of being grateful for anything a demon had done. "Y'know what, Andie?" he managed to keep his voice steady even though he was seething with anger at that moment. "I can't look at you right now." He turned away from her and yanked open his car door.
"Oh, come on, Dean!" Andie hollered to his back. But he didn't answer. He just slammed the door again, started the Impala and drove away. "Dean." she called uselessly at the rear of the quickly disappearing Chevy. "Dammit." She cursed bitterly.
xxx
Andie didn't see the Winchesters again for another two weeks. And in that time all she really thought about was how messed up everything had become because she was too stubborn or proud to do anything about it. Dean being back wasn't his fault. Hadn't she wanted him rescued no matter the cost? Why was she so resistant to him? Because it's too hard, she told herself, being around Dean is too hard…. She felt like a child; being petty and trivial. What pained her most was that through all of this, Dean had been nothing but…well, Dean to her. He hadn't change and perhaps that was what scared her most. Even Dean should have been affected by Hell; Andie was very sure he was keeping the lid on that secret tightly sealed.
When Andie neared the end of her second week without hearing from either Winchester, she decided she'd just have to man-up and be the first to reach out. She'd created this little rift between her and Dean but now, when Dean was really irritated, she saw the other side of the argument and realized; she was a bitch.
Even with that little affirmation, Andie knew she would never go back to how she used to be. She thought back to how she'd been the year before, giggling with Dean in that garden and kissing like teenagers. It felt like a million years ago, not a few months. She'd let her guard down back then; that was a mistake she refused to repeat. But that didn't mean she had to be a total, utter bitch that was impossible to live with. There had to be a way she could help Dean, as Castiel seemed determined to make her do, and spend time with him without snapping at him every few seconds. And Andie was sure she'd figured out what that way was.
Using her still strong mental locating ability, Andie picked up that Sam and Dean were headed for Transylvania so she powered up Cass's truck, which Andie had nicknamed Bapi after she'd watched an old Spanish children's movie about a truck named Bapi who could talk and eventually saved the town, and headed over the state line. It didn't take her long to track them down thanks to the Impala that was, as always, a giant beacon to their location. She found Dean alone outside a motel with his head under the hood of the old car fiddling with the innards of the engine. He did a double take when he realized it was Andie pulling up into the space beside him, but he didn't greet her.
There was an awkward few minutes of quiet as Andie leant against the side of Bapi and watched as Dean tinkered with his car. He was just wearing jeans and a grease smeared, white t-shirt with sleeves that hugged his biceps ever so nicely. Sighing as she realized she would have to break the silence, Andie spoke up. "I should've told you about Sam and Ruby." She said. "You were right. He's your brother. You deserved to know." She sighed. "I'm sorry." She added quietly.
"Huh…" Dean grunted as he wiped his hands on an old rag. "That's really hard for you to admit, isn't it?" A smirk played on his lips.
"Yes it is." Andie agreed. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep a promise to one Winchester, when the other one is so mad at you?"
"I'm not mad at you," Dean told her tossing the rag aside. "I'm just…" He trailed off.
"Generally mad?" Andie finished for him. "Yeah, I know the feeling…" She mumbled, taking his small smile as an invitation and joining him in front of the Impala. "What's wrong with her?"
"Just tuning her up after a long drive." Dean replied. "So," He went back to work. "Are you here for the case?"
"Hm?" Andie raised her eyebrows at him.
"Dead guy found drained of all his blood and puncture wounds," Dean answered. "Eyewitness swears it was a vampire."
"A vampire sighting in Pennsylvania near Halloween?" Andie sighed. "It's been done."
"Well, it's also Oktoberfest." Dean smirked. "Beer and wenches? Whadda ya say?"
"I say nay." Andie smirked back and shoved her hands into her back pockets. "I should get going anyway."
"Get going?" Dean repeated with a furrow of his brow. "Wait, you really didn't know about the case?"
"No." Andie replied; wondering what he was getting at.
"So you came all the way to Pennsylvania to apologize to me?"
Andie frowned; he really seemed to like this idea. "Yeah, don't be lookin' so happy over there." She warned him. "Anyway, sounds like you have this case handled."
"Still, couldn't you use some fun in your life?" Dean asked, already knowing the answer was a resounding yes.
"I dunno…" Andie was very skeptical; this could turn into the kind of situation she was trying so hard to avoid.
"I'll buy your first drink." Dean offered.
"Deal." Andie answered immediately. After all, who could turn down a free beer? Especially for Oktoberfest?
xxx