Disclaimer: Its still not mine, and probably not yours either.
Author's Note: So...I pretty much just changed the entire ending of this chapter. I had some serious writer's block going on and I decided that the only cure was a chapter that sucked a little less. This is the result. To any of you who have been following this fic, thank you and I'm sorry if I've made a mess of things, but I'm really much happier now.
The Red Caress
Chapter 11
For once, Sam couldn't distinguish the look on his brother's face. The room was oppressively silent, and Dean was staring at him with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Sam shifted around self consciously, uncomfortable that he wasn't able to predict how Dean would react. Deciding to make the first move, he fumbled for the right words.
"So…" Dragging the word out, he squinted once again at Dean's face, hoping for some type of reaction. Finally, Dean closed his mouth and sat up straighter, drawing in a deep breath through flared nostrils. No doubt in preparation to ream Sam a new one. Sam hastily stood up, preparing to defend himself for whatever Dean had planned for him. Instead, Sam was shocked to see Dean's head bow, a fisted hand coming up to cover his mouth, his shoulders beginning to tremble and shake.
For one wild moment, Sam actually thought his brother might be crying, but then he realized what was actually happening. He was being laughed at. His brother, who he had just saved from an eternity in Hell, was laughing at him. And he didn't even have the decency to try and hide it. It started with a few guffaws of sound escaping through Dean's clenched lips, snorts of amusement making their way out periodically. Soon enough however, a rich, deep, roaring laughter came pouring out. Sam hadn't heard Dean laugh like this, a laugh that came deep from within his chest, since they were children, before their father and Stanford had come between them. Tears were leaking from the corners of Dean's eyes, and he had rolled back onto the bed, unable, it would seem, to hold himself together any longer. Finally, the laughter started to subside, if Sam was interpreting the gasps for air correctly.
Sitting back down on his bed, Sam crossed his arms and waited for Dean to gain some semblance of control over himself. "This is so like you Dean, I save your ass from Hell and all you can do is laugh. You'd think you could be just a little bit grateful for what I did. You're unbelievable!" Standing back up, he began to pace between the beds. "I spend every second of every day, for months, trying to help you, and this is the thanks I get. This isn't funny Dean, this is our lives. And not just ours, but Rae's too. We gave up a lot for you, the least you could do is not laugh in my face." He finished his speech with an indignant huff and a glare at Dean.
By this time Dean had quieted down and was merely smiling at Sam with that indulgent look he always got when he thought Sam was doing his best little brother impression. Sam hated that look. "Sammy, don't get me wrong, I'm damn glad you sprung me from the pit, but only you could manage to do that and get hitched at the same time. So tell me, how was your first time? I hope she took good care of you." He let out a gale of what sounded suspiciously like giggles, before settling down into a few chuckles and letting his face settle into a dopey smile. As much as Sam wanted to be pissed at Dean's amusement, he couldn't help but see the hilarity of the situation he had gotten himself into. Besides, he hadn't even had Dean back a full day yet, he wasn't about to start fighting already.
Letting a smile of his own make its way to his face, Sam socked a friendly punch to Dean's shoulder. "Man, Shut up." He had missed this, he hadn't even realized how much until right now. Seeing Dean like this, it felt like he had just woken from a nightmare, and these last long months had all been a figment of his overactive imagination. It was almost painful how much Sam wished that were true. Dean seemed to sense his abrupt shift of emotion, and seriousness once again descended on them.
"Okay, so let me just make sure I understand everything. You're married, I'm out of Hell, and that's it. We don't have any demons chasing after us to drag me back to hell, or upset wives after you. I mean, is this it? It all just seems a little too easy to me. I mean a marriage ceremony, really? That's the key to escaping Hell. I think if it were that simple a shit ton more people would be making deals, and be walking around to tell about it." Dean stated, the skepticism clear in his voice.
It was a valid point, but unfortunately, it was one that Sam didn't know the right answer to. "Truthfully, I have no idea what's going to happen now. I was kind of stuck on the 'you being in Hell' part. The ritual I found never mentioned any repercussions, it didn't say a lot about anything really. All I know is that it gave me the instructions on how to save a soul from Hell, that's it. But all that matters is that you're out, we can deal with the rest as it comes. We always do." But in the back of his mind, so small that it was easy enough at the moment for Sam to ignore, he knew that they were well and truly screwed. They were Winchesters after all.
Dean seemed to have reached the same conclusion. "Well it's too late to stop you from doing something stupid,", and Dean paused here to give Sam another exasperated look, but continued, "so I figure we better wise up while we still can. I think our best shot is going to Bobby, and I think we need to do it A.S.A.P. Besides, after that little debacle with the tent, it can't hurt to be as far from the cops as possible. And that was some really amateur shit you pulled, too. When do we ever leave equipment behind? That was just asking for trouble." Dean finished his rant with a pointed look at Sam, daring him to explain his way out of this one.
A sheepish look on his face, Sam realized he hadn't quite finished filling Dean in on that day's events. "Uh, so you know how you're all bandaged up? Well there's actually a really good reason for that. You weren't exactly in this good of condition when we found you. And the handprint's new, too." he added, as an afterthought.
"Then how about you fill me in on all the details." Dean said with a hard edge to his voice. So Sam told him. About his wounds and Ruth's, the angel called Castiel, and everything in between. Dean, as expected, did not take the news well.
"I don't know what you think you saw, or what that thing told you, but it wasn't an angel. Angels don't exist Sam. This just means we're in more trouble than we thought. What the hell could get past all of our protections, or heal me? They're playing mind games with us Sammy, we can't let them get to us." Dean said all this seeming rather unfocused, his eyes roaming the room until they spotted the weapons bag and their duffels in the far corner of the room. Getting up, he dropped to his knees and began digging around for his clothes, pulling out his favorite black Metallica t-shirt and a pair of worn jeans. He managed to pull on his pants without problem, but the bandages were giving him problems with his top. "A little help?", he asked, his voice muffled behind the material. Sam made his way over, pulling his knife out as he went. Hacking his way easily through the wrappings, he finally freed Dean.
Finally dressed, Dean leaned back down and rooted around in the other bag until he found what he was looking for. Pulling out his favorite gun, along with his usual small arsenal of knives, he methodically armed himself until he was so full of metal he would sink like a rock if he were to step foot off a boat. He did, however, seem much more comfortable than he had all day. Sam knew he was the same way about his weapons, and he didn't need to be told how sad of a fact that was.
Standing back up, Dean patted his pockets, appearing content. "Alright, you ready to get this show on the road?" he asked, snatching up the keys to the Impala from their place on the table. "And, you better have taken care of my baby, or you're gonna get your ass kicked." Looking to Sam for confirmation, he saw that they weren't yet on the same page.
"Uh, I still need to call Rae and check up on her. We haven't talked since I left her at the hospital and it might be a while until we come back to town." Sam explained, already pulling his phone out of his pocket.
"Come back? Sam, when do we ever come back? Why would we come back, you saved the girl, end of story.", Dean said, not seeming to understand what Sam was trying to say.
"Dean, we're married, she's my wife." Sam replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "This is forever. I mean, me and Rae didn't really talk about would happen with us afterwards, but we're stuck with each other. So we can either be alone for the rest of our lives or try and figure out what we want from each other. And I for one don't want to be alone if I don't have to. So yes, I plan to come back, if she wants me to that is."
"Is that it then, are you done hunting? You bring me back just to leave and go live your apple pie life?" Dean accused him. Sam couldn't believe what he was hearing. He spends nine months doing nothing but trying to save his brother, and Dean actually thinks that he would immediately abandon him.
"Dean, of course I'm going to keep hunting. I realized and accepted that this was my life a long time ago. But in this case, I can't just think about myself. Rae gave up any chance of a real husband or children when she agreed to help me with this, I owe her. And I don't know, maybe she'll tell me that she never wants to see me again, but I at least have to ask and find out. But Dean, hunting is my full time job, you're stuck with me.", Sam explained.
Dean took it all in silently, giving Sam a long assessing stare. Clearing his throat, he swiped an embarrassed hand across his mouth, but Sam still caught the small grin he had been trying to hide. "Right. Well, can we finish up this chick flick moment, I'm about ready to choke on all the estrogen floating around in here."
Smiling to himself, Sam nodded his head in agreement and led the way out the door. Before Dean could get more than a foot away, Sam surprised him and shot out a hand to grip his arm. "Don't think this is the end of our conversation, though. We still haven't discussed your half of the story. I told you the truth, and I expect the same from you." Dean just rolled his eyes before removing his arm.
"Hell may have done a lot of things to me Sammy, but erasing my memory of you and your love for touchy feely conversations was not one of them. Bitch.", he said, with just the slightest hint of a smile, before he slid into the car and slammed the door shut without another word.
Sam took the hint and shut up. "Jerk.", he couldn't resist adding.
Rae turned over in bed and decided that had to be the strangest dream she had ever had. This had been nothing like her usual dreams of vivid colors and disjointed action. This time her vision had been veiled, dark shadows and swath s of scarlet warring for dominance. Unlike her usual experiences, it was as if she could not think, but only feel. Surges of overwhelming protectiveness and fierce rage mixed with wonder and awe. She wondered what it all meant.
Restlessly flipping over again, Rae was halted by painful pulls on her arms. Coming fully awake, she opened her eyes only to find herself in what she could only assume was her own private hospital room. Depressingly white walls surrounded her, with a multitude of beeping and whirring machines next to her bed and all connected to her. Sitting up, Rae saw that she had been stripped of her bloody dress and been washed and dressed in a clean hospital gown. An IV of clear fluid was feeding into the veins of her right hand, while a her left side was connected to what she could only guess were devices for measuring her heart rate and blood pressure. She was not able to investigate further, for at that moment a nurse bustled into the room.
"Well hello Miss. We didn't expect you to wake up so soon, the sedatives should have kept you out for another couple hours at least. But don't you worry, I'll get the doctor and have you straightened out in not time." The nurse, an average sized middle aged woman, said all this in a very soft and quite voice, her tone and expression hinting at something that made Rae confused and uncomfortable. The woman disappeared into the hallway, only to reappear moments later with a white coated man in tow.
Before they reached the bed, Rae was already spouting out questions. "How long have I been here? What happened? Is my sister all right, have my parents been called? I need to see Ruth right away, can you give me back my clothes, or maybe some scrubs?" She was already half way out of bed, before the doctor pushed her firmly back on to her pillows.
Smiling down at Rae in a kindly but cautious manner, the doctor quickly flipped through the pages on his clipboard before speaking. "Why don't we start with your name miss? You didn't have any identification on you, nor did the other young lady you say is your sister. We can contact your family right away, I'm sure they're very worried about you both."
"Uh, well I'm Rae Montgomery and my sister is Ruth." She said, giving them her parents contact information, but nothing else. She debated for a moment about whether or not to tell them about her sister's circumstances, but figured that it would all be out in the open soon enough.
After sending the nurse out to place the call, the doctor continued, "You were found on the bathroom floor this morning by an orderly. You were lucky he spotted the blood seeping out from under the door or you may have been lying there until it was too late to get you help. You lost quite a bit of blood, and had to be given a transfusion, but luckily you stabilized after receiving it. We also started you on fluids as well as some mild sedatives and painkillers. You were in the beginning stages of dehydration and were starting to go into shock. Because of the nature of the blood loss, you were given a vaginal exam as well as an ultra sound." He paused for a moment, assessing how well she was understanding what he was telling her.
Rae nodded for him to continue. "And what did you find?" She thought she might know where the doctor was heading, and it wasn't good.
"The ultrasound revealed severe damage to your uterus and ovaries. I've never seen or heard of anything like it. Both ovaries had ruptured, and your uterus looked as though it had been through a meat grinder to put it bluntly. If I didn't know better I would have thought you had been mutilated, except that you show not a single exterior injury that could have caused this. You were lucky that the wounds no longer pose a threat to your health. The bleeding has stopped, and it seems that they will heal nicely on their own, so no surgery will be necessary. If I hadn't seen you before first hand, looking at you now I would have guessed that your injury was weeks old. It really is remarkable. The vaginal exam, however, revealed slight trauma as well as semen. Given the nature of your injury the police have been contacted, and need you to give a formal statement. A rape kit was done and the results are being assessed as we speak."
Rae was shocked into silence and the doctor mistook the fear he saw in her eyes, thinking he had hid on the truth. "Now don't worry, the police will take good care of you and your sister. We won't let whoever did this to you hurt you again."
"The police! Doctor, you have it all wrong, I wasn't raped, nothing happened to me. I was just bringing my sister to the hospital, she's the one that needs help." Rae could feel herself starting to panic, so much for secrecy.
"Miss Montgomery, I know how difficult this must be for you, but if you want the monster who did this to you to be caught, to pay for his crimes, you need to have the courage to tell the truth. You don't need to be afraid, we have an armed guard in front of both you and your sister's rooms. Maybe I didn't explain this well enough to you, the damage you suffered has left you sterile and unable to ever carry a child to term. You won't ever be able to have children of your own." Rae could hear the pity in his voice. She didn't want it, and she sure as hell didn't need it.
"Yes, I understand that. It is very unfortunate that the stress of finding my sister caused me to have such a severe and unexpected reaction, but as you said doctor, there were no physical causes to be found. As for the rest, I am twenty two years old, an adult. And as such, I have a right to my privacy. I can only assume that your nurse will have the discretion not to discuss my personal information with my parents. I expect it to stay that way. You no doubt understand the consequences of going against my wishes as well as the sacred doctor-patient confidentiality." Rae spoke calmly and controlled, leaving no room for argument.
"What you are going to do now is apologize to the police officer for the silly mistake you made. You are going to write in my file exactly what I have just told you; stress and uncontrollable factors led to this unfortunate series of events. After I leave this room you are to never again discuss, hint at, or even acknowledge my existence to anyone, unless you would like a very large lawsuit. You will have the bill sent to my home address, and nowhere else. Have I made myself clear?" The stunned face of the doctor and nurse was all the answer Rae needed. "Very good. Now, would you be so kind as to fetch me some clean clothes to wear. Oh, and I would like everything you took from me as well." But if Rae had thought she could intimidate the man she was sorely mistaken.
Looking grim, with all hints of kindness gone from his face, he spoke again. "Obviously I haven't made myself clear enough. The police guard at your door is not only for your protection, but also to keep you under surveillance. The circumstances of your arrival were extremely suspicious by themselves, but combined with the news of a possible kidnapping and murder that took place nearby and the timing of your arrival, I thought it best to get the police involved. Frankly, the question of rape is the least of my concerns. You are confined to this room until the police arrive and investigate, until that time I suggest you stay in bed and get your story straight." And with that he swept from the room, closing the door firmly behind him.
Rae sank back onto the bed. Her entire body trembled and shook, and she felt like she was close to tears. Never in her life had she talked to anyone like that, or been talked to that way, and it was an experience she didn't care to repeat. Closing her eyes and taking deep breaths, she willed herself calm. She needed to decide what her new cover story would be, because obviously her previous plan had gone down the drain. By the time the nurse returned she was well on her way to regaining her control over herself. The woman cautiously placed a folded pair of blue cotton scrubs at the foot of the bed. She left without having said a word or looking Rae directly in the eyes.
Not wanting to face the police in a flimsy backless hospital gown, Rae gently removed the needle from her arm, wincing at the unpleasant sensation. Unstrapping the arm band and tugging off the finger clamp, she cautiously slid off of the bed. She cautiously laid a hand to abdomen, applying a gentle pressure. There was no pain or tenderness, it was as if nothing had happened. Deciding to leave this mystery for another time, she slipped out of the hospital gown and quickly into the scrubs. They hadn't given her any underwear, and she mentally reprimanded herself for being worried about a thing like underwear at a time like this. Finished dressing, she took a careful look around the room, resting her eyes on the window. Walking over she pushed the curtain aside to find that the sky had darkened. She had slept the day away.
Peering into the frosty night, Rae knew she had precious little time to figure out her next move. With the police arriving any moment and no way to escape the confines of her room, she had only one option available. Turning to look at the phone lying on her bedside table, she silently gave herself a pat on the back. She knew it had been a good idea to memorize Sam's cell phone number. Picking up the receiver, she prayed to hear a dial tone. Her heart gave a jolt when she heard the buzzing and she quickly punched in the number, holding her breath when she heard it start to ring. "Come on Sam, pick up…pick up." She whispered.
"Rae? I was just about to call you. Are you still at the hospital? How's Ruth doing, you didn't get visited by a guy in a trench coat did you?" Sam asked these questions without pausing for breath, and he would have continued had Rae not interrupted.
"Sam!" she pleaded, and continued when she heard him pause. "Sam, we're in trouble."
Please let me know what you think of the changes, it might make the next chapter come all that much sooner! :)