Chapter 10
"You do realize I could've driven here myself, don't you, Bobby?"
Bobby shot a hard look Dean's way as he continued driving down the highway and then rolled his eyes,
"Driven here, my ass!" He shot back with a roll of his eyes,
"You would've gotten yourself killed, boy," The older hunter broke in just as Dean was about to object and held up a hand,
"And don't say that you don't care, because I happen to care and if we're going to get your brother, I know for a fact Sam would want you alive and not dead somewhere in a morgue! So shut your hole for one minute and just be grateful I happen to care about you boys more then my own life."
Dean scowled for a brief moment before glancing down at his lap, his hands shaking madly even as they clutched the open bottle of beer,
"Just stay in the car when we get there, alright, Bobby?" He demanded, not looking at his friend,
"Sammy's gonna need me-"
"Dean, Sam's gonna need you with your head on straight," Bobby interrupted with a shake of his own head,
"And these past months, you haven't been doing anything to get your head on straight. As far as I'm concerned, your brother will need the both of us-"
"I didn't make that deal for the hell of it, Bobby!" Dean snapped, glaring to his left and holding the look for a few moments,
"It's not like I sold my soul or anything to that Archangel…" His gaze softened somewhat as he thought over the last couple of months,
"And to tell you the God's honest truth, Bobby, you're just wasting your time trying to help me. You should've known from the start that I was a lost cause. My little brother is the only one who can help me…if helping me is even possible."
"Damnit, boy," Bobby mumbled under his breath, feeling his heart break all over again,
"You and Sam are practically family to me and I know I'm going all chick-flick moment on you, but I love you boys like you were my own. I know I'm not Sam, but I still care about you just as much as he did-"
"You're right, you're not Sammy," Dean interrupted, his green eyes following the road as Bobby's truck passed the "Lawrence-10 Miles" sign,
"I just need Sammy, Bobby, is that too much to ask?"
Ignoring the question that pierced his heart, the older hunter glanced over at his boy and asked instead,
"You're never going to get better after that deal you made with that angel, Dean…you know that, right?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Dean took a hearty chug out of the bottle and leaned his head back, forcing himself to not let the tears fall from his eyes,
"It's worth it, Bobby-"
"Making a deal with an angel and agreeing to be an alcoholic for the rest of your life is worth it?" Bobby huffed, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel,
"You do realize that if you stop drinking, you'll die, right?" At Dean's nod, Bobby hissed under his breath,
"Dean-"
"It's either that or leave Sam in Hell! I'd rather go with drinking myself into oblivion."
"You've already drunk yourself into oblivion, idjit."
"So?"
"So…I can't help wondering, what will Sam feel when he finds out about this?" Bobby's heart hurt as he thought of his youngest boy. How in the world would Sam feel when he escaped from Lucifer's Cage and found his older brother like this? When he found out that Dean didn't keep his promise and instead, nearly got himself killed?
"He's my baby brother, Bobby, we'll help each other," Dean replied so quietly, his voice was barely audible.
"Why wouldn't you have let me convince that damn angel to make some other sort of deal, boy?" Bobby let out a heavy sigh as he glanced at the time. They still had a full hour…a full hour to get to Stull Cemetery. That would be when Sam would be rescued and not a minute sooner or a minute later; they had to be on time,
"Allowing yourself to have this addiction forever…what the hell, Dean…?"
"I told you, Bobby," Dean growled without looking Bobby's way,
"It was the only option he would give me. And I'm an alcoholic anyways, so…"
"Are you still seeing that hallucination of your brother?" Bobby knew he was treading on thin ice with that question; he knew he would probably get his head bitten off, but he had to ask it. Dean couldn't be seeing a false image of his brother when his real brother was going to be escaping from Hell,
"Please tell me he's still not talking with you-"
"Of course he's still talking to me," Dean sighed heavily as he closed his eyes,
"Not as much, though…"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean, ever since I made that deal with that son of a bitch angel, I've been ignoring him," The older brother replied,
"He's sitting right in between us, you know?"
"What's he saying to you?" Bobby asked, holding his breath as he tapped his fingers nervously on the steering wheel of his truck.
"Nothing that's of great importance to you," Dean hissed, turning his head to look out the window, watching the familiar scenery pass by,
"Doesn't matter though…"
"Of course it matters," Bobby urged softly, lifting a hand and removing his cap,
"You'll need to know you're seeing your REAL brother when we get to Stull, you know that right?"
"I'm fully aware who my baby brother is, Bobby; I don't need any help," Dean snapped back, taking another shaky sip out of the bottle.
"Sure," Bobby sighed again and shot another quick glance Dean's way before falling silent again,
"Sure, Dean…"
Silence filled the truck as Bobby thought back to earlier that week when he and Dean had finally agreed on summoning an Archangel in order to make some sort of deal to get Sam out of the Cage. It had taken a lot of arguing on both of their parts, with Bobby trying to convince Dean to not sell his soul to a Crossroads demon. The older hunter didn't know what had finally convinced Dean to not do it that way; he really didn't care at the time, all he cared about was going about this some other way and try summoning an angel instead. After all, those angels were as big of dicks as the demons were.
He had never expected the tall Archangel, that looked as scary as Death himself had looked, to actually agree on helping them get Sam out of the Cage; but of course, it had come with such a heavy price. Thankfully, it wasn't either of their souls; instead, he had wanted something more personal from Dean.
The Archangel had agreed to the task if only Dean would continue drinking, even after Sam was out. If he so much as attempted to stop, he would die. No questions asked. If he didn't drink at least once a day, the deal would be off. Dean would die and even worse, Sam would return to Hell.
"Yeah, this is better then the Crossroads deal, Dean…" Bobby grumbled to himself, his heart heavy with grief as he stared out the window,
"The consequences are exactly the same…" Letting out a heavy sigh, the older hunter settled back in the seat of his truck and continued driving, his destination getting closer and closer.
Glancing at the time on the radio and saw it was just a quarter past 11 at night, Bobby stepped on the gas and continued driving, fully aware they were going over the speed limit. Midnight that following morning was the time they had to appear at Stull Cemetery and there was no way on this earth Bobby was going to be late.
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"Did we make it?" Dean rubbed a hand over the prickly stubble on his face and then through his hair,
"We're not late, are we?"
"No, we're right on time I think," Bobby replied under his breath as he drove his truck through the gates of the cemetery. Stull Cemetery as a matter of fact,
"It's almost Midnight…"
"Let me out of the car, Bobby," Dean demanded, his skin itching from the feel of the tracker still firmly clamped around his wrist,
"Let me out and you just stay here…"
"Dean, I'm not sure if that's a good idea-"
"It's my brother, Bobby. It's Sammy. You can have your own time with him after me," Dean hissed, his temper rising at the very thought of not having his own personal time with his baby brother,
"Now let me out of the damn car!"
Knowing it would be best if he did what Dean ordered, unless he wanted some broken bones, Bobby put the truck into park and unlocked the door. He watched silently as Dean fumbled clumsily with his seat belt, liquor bottle still in hand, and climbed out of the truck, his weak leg nearly taking him down.
"Damnit, Dean-"
"I'm fine, Bobby," Dean interrupted, rubbing his bad leg and slamming the door shut behind him. He blinked his eyes as he started walking through the Cemetery, his goal on the exact same place he had seen Sam take the swan dive almost a year and a half ago. If there was any place in this cemetery Sam would reappear, it would be in the same place he lost him to begin with.
The older Winchester attempted to blink back tears as he walked unsteadily, the figure of his brother suddenly reappearing right beside him.
"Get back in the car, Dean," The annoyance was written plainly on his face as he spoke,
"You know this isn't the way to go. Just end it already!"
Tempted to reply, Dean instead shook his head silently as he stumbled over his own feet and fell to his knees. He was about to get back up and continue walking when he looked around and saw that this was it. This was the same place. It was right there where the ground had opened up, the sounds of the souls in Hell screeching endlessly for all to hear. It was here where Sam had given him that final look, one of nothing but love and pain before he had pulled Michael into the Cage with him.
That last image he had of his brother…until the figure beside him at appeared.
Tilting his head back as the memories washed over him and sent a sharp pain through his gut, Dean chugged down some more of the liquor until it was nearly empty. Glancing at his watch and watching as the time switched from 11:59 to 12:00, Dean held his breath.
And waited.
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He didn't know how it happened. He didn't know when it happened, really. He was being tortured, being forced to watch image after image of his big brother drinking himself into oblivion until he finally crashed the Impala and took off on foot, only to be hit by a truck a few hours later. The images flashed in front of his eyes even when he felt a presence grab onto him and pull him. Hard.
He didn't know what it was that had pulled him, it was all so foggy. But as he finally opened his eyes, tears streaking his burnt cheeks, he looked around him and found that he was no longer in the Cage. The Cage was gone. The fire and agony and screaming was gone. What he saw now was a cemetery that looked oddly familiar…but why did it look familiar?
Sam looked down and first noticed that he was on his hands and knees on the ground, the sky was dark and dreary; but the stars twinkling above him caused Sam to nearly cry as that alone was something he never saw in the Cage. Never.
Feeling a sharp pain slicing through his hands, Sam closed his hazel eyes and would have screamed out loud if he was able to. If he was able to get any words out at all. Collapsing, he sat down heavily on the ground and brought his hands up, opening his eyes as he looked at them, wondering why in the world they hurt so much.
That was when flashes upon flashes of memories appeared and Sam remembered how Lucifer had scorched him, tortured him and took away all the use of his fingers, his hands; Lucifer had destroyed his hands years ago. He remembered being unable to even slightly defend himself down in the Cage due to the damage. All that he felt in his hands was pain and nothing else. Opening his mouth, Sam attempted to speak, and once again, found himself unable to.
His voice was gone. His voice had to have been stripped from him as well…probably due to the screaming he had done, the endless screaming down in the pit.
Looking down at himself, Sam saw that he was wearing the same clothes he had worn the day he had fallen into Hell; but something was different. His jacket was torn, his shirt was ripped and covered in blood and holes. His jeans were shredded at the knees, while his shoes and socks were nowhere to be found.
Folding in on himself, Sam attempted to hug his body close to himself as he shivered in the cold air. He didn't understand why he was shivering; he had felt nothing but fire and heat and pain for all those years down in the Cage. His lower lip trembling madly, Sam attempted to push himself back to his knees as he looked around him, hoping to find some sort of explanation for this sudden rescue.
And then his gaze fell on something.
Or better yet, someone.
A loan figure was kneeling a few feet from where he was, a bottle in his hand, and he appeared to be speaking to someone or something with the way his lips where moving. Sam blinked his eyes rapidly, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him; it wouldn't be the first time, mind you. The figure in front of him looked so much like his big brother, yet at the same time, it didn't…the hair was longer, he wasn't clean shaven like he always was and he was talking to himself.
That was not Dean.
But what if it was?
Sam attempted to open his mouth to speak his brother's name, just in case it was him, but nearly cried when nothing came out.
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"Just get back in Bobby's truck and go home, Dean," Sam was telling him even as he shook his head in denial,
"You'll feel so much better, I know it-"
"Shut up!" Dean finally snapped, unable to take anymore as he glared at the figure in front of him, smirking,
"Just shut the hell up for once!"
"I will once you do what you said you were gonna do, Dean-"
Shaking his head, Dean drowned the final droplets of liquor and let it burn his throat as he shut his eyes,
"Just go away for once…" As he opened his eyes however, Dean looked over the figure's shoulder and his eyes widened like saucers at what he saw behind Sam.
A loan figure, a tall figure, was struggling to his feet. His hair was plastered to his face, his clothes were torn to shreds while blood was splattered all over them. He wasn't wearing any shoes or socks and he was desperately looking around, confusion contorting his features as he appeared to be trying to figure out where he was exactly.
This figure looked exactly like Sam, all the way down to the same clothes he had worn the last time Dean had seen his brother. Glancing in front of him and rubbing his head wearily, Dean shook his head to rid himself of what Bobby called a "hallucination" and was relieved for the moment that his "hallucination" was gone.
"S-Sammy…?" He whispered, more to himself then anyone else. His eyes stayed on the loan figure as their eyes suddenly locked and Dean couldn't help but notice his brother's mouth open, to say his name, but no words came out,
"Sammy?" He repeated, watching as Sam finally made it to his feet and started walking towards him.
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Sam nearly fell on his face as he took that first step forward, finding himself shaking uncontrollably as his eyes finally met with his brother's eyes…if that was his brother. It had to be Dean, there was no other way around it. If he ignored the stubble on his face and the much longer hair and the liquor bottle he had set on the ground beside him, Sam could make out his brother's familiar face.
Opening his mouth again to attempt to say his brother's name, all that came out this time was a low grunt. Feeling lightheaded, the younger Winchester nearly collapsed to the damp ground, but forced himself to continue walking. If that was his brother right there, if that was really him-
"Sammy?"
A sob escaped Sam as tears cascaded down his face and he pushed himself further and further until he finally was standing just a few feet from Dean. As he was unable to say anything at the moment, much less his brother's name, Sam watched as Dean looked back and forth between him and thin air, as if he was unsure if it was Sam standing there.
Unable to just stand there anymore, Sam rushed forward, his bare feet and legs screaming in agony, until he was standing face to face with his brother. As he watched Dean's eyes travel behind him and then back to him, the younger brother let out another low grunt before reaching his arms out and felt his brother's jacket underneath his destroyed hands. Glancing down as he saw the familiar looking amulet hanging from Dean's neck, Sam choked on a sob as he then realized the truth.
This was his brother. His big brother. Here in the flesh.
Ignoring the pain, Sam reached his aching arms out and threw them around Dean's neck, closing his pain-filled eyes as he took in his brother's familiar scent. As he felt Dean's arms wind at first almost tentatively around him in return and then soon clutch at him just as tightly, Sam buried his face in his big brother's jacket and did the only thing he could do.
He cried.
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TBC