"Is this the place?"
Issa nodded as they pulled up in the parking lot of an old abandoned mill located a few miles outside of Winchester, Massachusetts. Dean sighed as they all filed out of the car, doors slamming shut behind them. "How come everything has to meet with us in abandoned mills or factories? Why can't they meet us somewhere fun or safe – like a Doctor's Office or a Chuckie E. Cheese?" Issa laughed.
"You guys did have to deal with that wannabe Roanoke Colony didn't you? Well, there was your 'Doctor's Office' joke flying out the window. As for the Chuckie E. Cheese, well . . ." She shrugged. "We can always hope, can't we?"
"So who are we meeting here?" It was Jason who asked this question, and both Issa and Dean glanced back at him.
"We . . . we don't know." Issa spoke quietly. "We found the note lying on the dresser this morning, before you woke up." Jason pursed his lips.
"Oh, so you guys were awake?" Dean and Issa glanced at each other.
"Yeah, but it wasn't what you think . . ." Dean spoke quietly as he led the way into the abandoned mill, a shotgun in each of their hands. And indeed, it wasn't what Jason surely thought. Issa didn't wake up that morning and crawl into Dean's hotel bed like she was sorely tempted to do. No, she woke up that morning, made a pot of coffee and sat down to do research into what exactly Sam was doing in Massachusetts ten long years ago. When Dean woke up, he joined her. There was no making love that morning between them. Actually, there had been no making love between them at all since they left Kansas.
"The note smelled of sulfur – didn't you catch that?" Dean asked her, and Issa nodded.
"Yeah, I caught that pretty quickly, actually. It means there's a pretty good chance that we're meeting a demon." Dean's jaw hardened.
"Well, you know, as long as they don't try and kill us, I suppose they're worth hearing out." Issa glanced at him.
"And if they do . . . try and hurt us?" Dean looked at her, holding her gaze unwavering with his.
"Then I'll kill them without batting an eye, Issa . . . simple as that." He spoke before they entered a huge room that had to be the actual industrial floor, where the mill had made its signature goods. Their booted feet landed heavy on the concrete floor, causing echoes to spread throughout the darkened room.
"Is this . . . what you guys had to deal with every day?" Jason asked, swallowing hard, and Dean shrugged.
"Not every day . . . but basically, yeah."
"Not every day? Oh come on, Deano, you know it was pretty close!"
All three of them whirled around, shotguns pointed at the tall man wearing all black standing before them. Dean and Issa's eyes hardened. "Crowley . . . should have known it would be you." Issa spoke coldly and he smiled at her.
"Oh Issa, its go good to know that your looking as beautiful as ever! You still the spitfire between the sheets as Sam likes to brag about?"
"I don't know, why don't you ask me?" Dean growled and Crowley's eyebrows rose in amusement as he turned his attention onto Dean.
"Well, well, well . . . you certainly like your Winchesters, don't you Issa? They happen to be your favorite gun as well as your favorite men! Tell me, is there no Winchester aside from your own son that you haven't banged?" Issa's teeth gritted in anger.
"Well, there was always John -"
"Yeah, there was, but you know . . . Lana got there first, didn't she? She was quite vocal about it too, from what I remember. It's always been a poor subject between you two, hasn't it?" Dean eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Crowley turned a wide-eyed, almost reverent stare onto Jason. "And you . . . you must be the Prodigy himself!"
"Prodigy? What the Hell are you talking about?" Jason demanded, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion, and Crowley turned a surprised eye onto Issa.
"What, you didn't tell him?"
"Tell him what?" Dean asked, as confused as Jason was, and Crowley laughed.
"You mean you don't know either?" He asked, and Issa shook her head.
"Crowley, I'm afraid you have all of us here at a disadvantage. I don't even know what you're talking about!" She spoke, and Crowley nodded.
"You mean . . . you – favorite daughter of God, lover of Michael and Lucifer and Gabriel – don't even know about your own son . . . what he is!"
"Mom, what's he talking about?" Jason asked in bewilderment as he through a glance at her, and Issa shook her head.
"Crowley, what the fuck are you talking about?" She snapped and he sighed and rolled his eyes as he turned around and walked off a few steps.
"You mean, neither of you know the powers your boy possesses?" He asked as he turned around to face them again. "You mean you don't know how both Angels and Demons quake at the sight of him – as the progeny of an Archangel and a mortal – a mortal who was once chosen to be the Vessel of Michael?" Crowley gazed at him in respect. "Son, you have quite the fanbase and well as pedigree."
"So what is it, Crowley? He's the strongest fuckin' Angel in centuries?" Issa asked sarcastically, laughing, but trailed off when Crowley turned an interested gaze onto her. He shrugged.
"How is that funny?"
"You're not fucking serious?!" She asked in disbelief and for once, Dean too found himself speechless. Jason's eyes widened in shock at what he was hearing.
"How is that so hard to believe, Issa?" He asked her as he crossed the distance between them, where he gazed into her eyes – deeply. "The strongest Angel has long been thought of as being the progeny of a mortal and an Archangel!" He grinned then. "You've got it all, girlfriend!
"For instance, Issa!" He spoke, holding up a finger. "Have you ever noticed how powerful your son already is? He resembles Michael in power, doesn't he? Can already wield fire like a semi-Pro – has the emotional depth of a Buddhist Monk – something that some Angels have yet to master – centuries later!" Crowley shook his head. "That only happens when two very special people conceive a child. You, being the Archangel," He spoke, holding out a hand to her. "And one very special mortal!" He spoke quietly and Issa's eyebrows furrowed together in slight confusion.
"You mean Sam . . .?" Crowley shrugged.
"I can't say. I honestly can't."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean snapped and Crowley shrugged again, more exaggeratedly.
"It sounds exactly as it is supposed to!" He all but snapped back as he glanced at Dean. "Fortunately for you, however, I am not here to be Maury or Montel. I am here to tell you, that I do indeed, have Sam."
"Where is he?" Issa demanded angrily, her eyes snapping with electricity, and Crowley laughed as his eyebrows rose in amusement.
"Oh wow! Damn, I now know who has the dick in the bedchamber, if you catch my meaning!" He glanced at Dean. "No wonder she's fuckin' you on the side! At least you can give her a run for her money in bed!" Dean growled as he lowered the shotgun and took out the Colt instead, where he aimed it straight for his head. Crowley immediately threw up his hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa there, Tonto – get off the horse! It was a simple joke!"
"I don't call that a joke, you son-of-a-bitch!" Crowley's eyes widened even further in amusement.
"I guess the rumors were true, then . . ."
"What rumors?" It was Jason this time who spoke, in a small, quiet voice, and all three of them glanced at him. Crowley continued to gaze at him, long after Issa and Dean had returned their glares back onto Crowley himself.
"There are rumors that the love your uncle Dean and your mother here, share, is more than just a mortal coil. Many whisper that it's . . . predestined."
"Crowley, where's Sam?" Issa asked firmly, ignoring his words – choosing to ignore his words. Dean pursed his lips slightly but stood unwavering, the Colt still pointed at his head.
"He's safe . . . relatively, anyway. Although he's done more man-slutting around than Dean here, ever has! He also has something I want too . . . an Item that I very much want but I have yet to find. The more he lies about where he's keeping it, the more I'm going to torture him until he does eventually rat!" He spoke and Issa gritted her teeth, Jason doing the same. Crowley laughed and gazed at Issa in approval. "I see the pup is baring his teeth! And what sharp teeth they are too!"
"Crowley -!"
"Don't you talk about my dad, you sick mother -!"
"Jason!" Dean snapped, interrupting both Issa and him, and Crowley continued to laugh in glee.
"Yes, pup, listen to your uncle! Of course, that's not all you have to listen to, isn't it?" He asked, his brows rising in slight interest. "Do you also have to lay awake at night, in some shitty hotel room and listen to them fuck in the next bed, feet away? Or wait, no you don't! They have more courtesy, don't they? They do it in the bathroom, don't they – in the shower, while you read or play your videogames in the main room, all the time trying not to think of what exactly they are doing in there. But you can still hear them, can't you?" Grinning wolfishly, he moved slowly over to Jason and for the life of her, Issa had to give it to her son – he stood his ground and held the imperious demon's gaze the entire time. Dean followed him with the Colt all the while and Issa's eyes flitted to him the entire time.
"Dean . . .?"
"But it's different than hearing your parents fuck, isn't it Jason? When your parent's fuck in that big sleigh bed in their bedroom, its almost expected, isn't it? It's easier to drown out sounds that have always been and that always will be. But how does it feel knowing that . . . they fuck?" He asked, glancing back at Dean and Issa. Jason didn't follow his gaze; he simply averted his eyes to the concrete floor underneath their feet, his hands tightening into fists at his side. Dean noticed this and tensed slightly. "How does it feel knowing that your precious uncle Dean, who you've worshiped since you were a child, is taking the one thing that's supposed to be your father's, unquestionably? Can you honestly love your mother . . . knowing that she allows him to – that she takes everything he gives her like a little whore -!"
Crowley never got to finish the sentence. At the sound of him calling his mother a whore, Jason's teeth gritted in anger and flames immediately started engulfing his hands, licking and growing bigger in the stale air of the mill. Crowley abruptly stopped and began stepping backwards, his eyes wide at the sight of his hands.
"It's true! It's all true -!"
"Don't you . . . dare call my mother a whore, you demon bastard!" He growled before he ran at him, his flaming hands meeting Crowley's face with a sizzling popping sound. Issa winced away, Dean taking her in his arms to shield her from the fire and the smoke and the smell. They heard Crowley's screams from Jason's hands meeting the flesh of his face and there was scuffle before Jason let out a pained yell. Then, there was running footsteps that gradually slipped away and Issa slowly unfurled herself from Dean's arms. When she saw Jason slumped a few feet away, holding a profusely bleeding arm, her face paled and she let out a shriek of fear as she ran over to him. She slumped to the concrete before him, allowing him to fall into her arms as she did so.
"Jason – Jason, baby, what did he do to you?" She asked shrilly, and Jason grinned and laughed.
"I'm fine mom! I think . . . I think he dislocated my shoulder when he broke away . . ." He spoke as Dean kneeled before him and rolled up his sleeve.
"What about the blood?" She asked, and Dean shook his head.
"I don't think it's his, Issa . . . I think its Crowley's . . ." He spoke as he finished rolling up his sleeve. Not seeing any wound in order for there to be blood leaking from Jason's body, he gently touched his shoulder. Jason flinched and let out an agonized yelp as he bit the back of his hand. Dean sighed. "Yeah, he's right; he's got a dislocated shoulder. I should know . . . I've had enough of them myself!"
"Let's take him back to the hotel room, Dean!" Issa spoke hurriedly. "I don't want to be here if Crowley gets mad and decides to come back for him!" Dean nodded in agreement as they got to their feet, Dean placing Jason's one good arm around his shoulders as they made their way to the front door of the mill to the waiting Impala beyond.
"Okay buddy, this is gonna hurt like a mother!" Dean spoke as he took a firm, but gentle grasp on Jason's dislocated shoulder. Jason nodded and closed his eyes tight. "On the count of three, okay . . .?" Jason nodded and gritted his teeth together as he braced himself for the incoming pain. Dean's eyes held Issa's for a moment, the both of them counting down. When they hit one, Dean pushed with all his might and Jason let out a strangled yelp of pain as his shoulder was popped back into its socket.
"Oh God, I was so worried about you!" Issa cried as she took Jason into her arms then and rocked him gently back and forth. Dean sat down on the floor and leaned against the bed, where he rubbed his face with his hands. "I thought I would lose you!" With eyes stormy with anger, she broke apart from him. "How could you have done something so stupid? We had the Colt with us for a reason!" She demanded and Jason swallowed heavily, his eyes ghosting over with tears.
"I didn't . . ." He swallowed heavily and shook his head. "I saw red when he called you a whore. Your not a whore mom . . . your not a whore if you love someone." Issa and Dean's eyes connected and Issa swallowed heavily as she resolutely turned her eyes back onto her son.
"But, back at the house, you -"
"That was stupid of me, mom!" He interrupted her, closing his eyes in sudden weariness. "I was angry and I was confused and I . . . I took it out on you. I shouldn't have, I know that now." Issa nodded as she rubbed his back gently.
"Your tired . . . you should go to bed." She spoke and he nodded as lay back on the bed he shared with Issa, his eyes immediately closing. Dean, however, stood up from his place on the floor.
"I'm, uh . . . I'm going to be outside . . ." He spoke, somewhat awkwardly, and Issa nodded numbly.
"Yeah, I'll be out there in a minute . . ." She replied quietly, and he smiled a small smile as he left the hotel room, closing the door quietly behind him. He stood outside for a minute, breathing in deeply the clean night air, before he moved over to sit down on the hood of the Impala. He sat there for a minute, thinking, and was only brought out of his thoughts by the door to the hotel room opening and closing quietly. He glanced up and smiled a small smile when he saw Issa step out. She returned the smile as she moved to join him on the hood, her arms crossing in front of her chest.
"Dean . . . Dean, what happened back there?" She asked quietly, and he shrugged his broad shoulders.
"I don't know. I was about to ask you the same thing!" She shook her head.
"I never would have expected him to react that way, Dean," She spoke, her voice still quiet. "This entire time, it seemed he always showed a certain amount of loyalty towards Sam. But when he . . . when he hurt Crowley for calling me a whore, I . . . I felt proud of him." Dean gazed at her.
"You should. He used his powers to protect you. Nothing is stronger than a bond between a mother and child." She smiled in interest at him.
"You knew it would happen, didn't you?" Dean shrugged again.
"Kind of . . . I saw how tore up you were over this whole thing with you and Jason since we left Kansas, and I knew what Crowley would pinpoint on. It was either now or never, I suppose . . ."
Issa smiled and opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by her cellphone going off in the pocket of her jacket. Brining it out into view, she cut it on, her eyes running over a new text. When she was finished, it closed it and hopped off of the hood of the car.
"Come on, we gotta go meet someone real quick." She spoke and Dean, gazing at her in bewilderment, stood too.
"Who is this again?"
"No time, Dean, just get in the car! Jason will be fine by himself; we'll only be gone for at least an hour!" She told him hurriedly and Dean shrugged as he moved to get in the driver's seat of the Impala.
"Well, I've had more trying things happen to me today, I suppose . .