Last Night
"Are you sure that we have time for this?" Gwen was turned out in her best jeans, as shirt full of spangles, and heels. Her hair cascaded over the shoulders in beachy waves, something she hadn't bothered to make it do for the past few weeks, what with having bed-head from being smushed in the back seat so often. It had taken some quality time with the hairdryer and curling iron, but she had finally wrangled a look she was proud of.
Mary had done the same, and three hours later, they had made a pact to get their hair chopped short at the next stop. Her shirt proudly displayed the Beatles, all four of them in black and white. She was wearing wide smile, the genuine kind that Dean hadn't seen a lot of during this trip.
Well, the Beatles had been one of her favorite bands, and they were headed for a Beatles tribute concert.
"It will take Jody and the others a little while to get everyone in position," Dean said. He was wearing his cleanest pair of jeans and a t-shirt with a guitar plastered across the front and swirling letters. The shop owner had assured Dean that the Portuguese phrase was something akin to 'rock'n'roll never dies', which Dean found acceptable to concert-going. "We can have one last night. Music. Beer. Family. The perfect end to a perfect vacation."
"Perfect vacation?" Sam asked, one eyebrow raised.
Dean shrugged. "It's the only vacation I've had, so yeah. I thought it was pretty good."
"But the Men of Letters, and all of our friends are ready to help, and-" Gwen fidgeted with her hair. "It just seems wrong to go have a wild and crazy night with so much going on."
"You get used to it." Sam wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Dean's right. Everyone needs time to get into place. Jody, Garth, and Eileen need to round up the American hunters. Besides, the drive will take several days. One extra night won't set us back. So we may as well have fun."
A wide smile broke across Dean's face, as if he had been waiting forever to hear his brother say those words.
The phone rang. Gwen picked it up, rattled off a few words in Portuguese, and then announced, "Our ride is here!"
"Ride?" Dean's tone was defensive. He'd already left his Baby behind once on this trip.
"The limo. We have VIP backstage passes. Gwen has family in the band. We get a limo." Mary beamed, refusing to be daunted by Dean's scowl.
Dean looked down at the keys to the Impala, then back up at his brother. He had no expected to be betrayed tonight of all nights. Going to a concert without his Baby?
Sam just watched, waiting, eyebrows raised as he silently laughed at his big brother. "Come one, Dean, it's a limo. You're telling me you don't want to ride in a limo?"
Vacation. It made a man do strange things. Slowly, he set the keys down on the bedside table. "Alright. Let's do this!"
o0o
The Buckshot Inn, Smith Center, Kansas
"Why would the American Men of Letters pick a town that doesn't even have a hotel?" Mick sighed as he finally set his bags down in his room. It had been a long trek from Lebanon, after a long night of hiding in the bushes waiting to see if that thing would come back.
"I have no idea why Americans do anything." Ketch tossed his bags onto the second bed. In the midst of the running and the screaming, someone had lost their credit cards and they only had cash for one room.
Ketch pushed the phone toward the center of the table and nodded to his partner. "Well, go on then. We missed yesterday's check in and the old men will not be pleased."
"Me?" Mick took a step back and shook his head. "I'm not calling this in. What exactly do you think I should say?"
Ketch shrugged. "The Winchesters engaged a spell that we have not seen before, which overwhelmed our forces."
"Oh, yeah, and when they ask about the spell?" Mick crossed his arms. "They'll never believe me."
Ketch didn't believe it himself. He'd been beaten. He'd turned tail and run from a man made of...marshmallows. A giant. A giant made of marshmallows who could crush cars and probably swallow a man whole.
Yes, that was the important part. Forget the part about the marshmallows.
"Then tell them what they will believe," Ketch muttered.
"Oh, if you know what to say, why don't you make the call?" Mick said. "What, don't want to admit you finally met your match?"
"I didn't meet my match, I just didn't have the right weapons on hand," Ketch said.
"What do you think could take that thing out?" Mick raised his hands to indicate the height of the giant marshmallow man. "It was bigger than this building. They haven't got anything in the arsenal that can handle it. We're not getting into that bunker."
And there is was. The reason no one wanted to phone home.
"Right. You tell them that," Ketch said. He emptied his gun and set it out on the table for a cleaning. "See how well it goes over."
Mick swallowed hard and sat down on his bed. "So, you think we should get our stories straight before we do this?"
o0o
The pre-show party in the back of the limo left a little something to be desired. The website gave assurances that the limo could fit 12-15. The people who measured limo interiors clearly had not had Winchesters in mind.
"Somehow, I thought that when I finally got to ride in a limo, there would be enough leg room." Sam's tone was mournful as he stared at his knees, which were tucked up nearly touching his chin.
"What are you talking about? The Impala has plenty of leg room," Dean said.
"Not since I turned sixteen and got taller than you," Sam replied.
There was leg room, plenty of it. But it was filled with twelve other sets of legs, and feet, and purses for the ladies. Las Vegetarianas, two pagan gods, a jaguar shaman, a hunter, a Literato, four Winchesters, and one angel were packed like sardines into the seats. Everyone had jumped at the chance for free tickets to a Beatles-tribute band. And a chance to party with the infamous Winchesters. There was a betting pool going on how many drinks Dean would consume, and how drunk he would actually be after he had consumed them.
"Get your elbow out of my ribs!" Inez muttered.
"That's not my elbow!" Maria responded.
"Oops, sorry," Alejandro shifted, tucking his arm closer to his side.
"I think my foot is falling asleep," Beatriz sighed. She kicked and shifted in the narrow space.
Mary made a face. "Um-I'm not sure I can move."
Castiel rolled his eyes. "I could just take you all there one at a time, and it would be much faster-"
"No!" Gwen would have stamped her foot, but there was no space in the over-crowded back seat which held . "We're on vacation. We're going to a concert. We have VIP passes. And we're riding in the limo!"
Beatriz looked at Huey. "You're supposed to be a god. Can't you make the space a little roomier?"
Alejandro shook his head. "No, pagan gods aren't omnipotent. They can only exert power over a certain sphere of influence."
Huey just shrugged. "Sorry, no music. But trust me, the sound system and acoustics at this concert are gonna be great!"
"Don't draw attention to us!" Tlaloc muttered. "It's one thing to do that stuff back home, we don't know what sort of gods live here. There's something with power running about, I can sense it." He shivered, with a sideways glance at the shaman. She responded with a fierce smile. The woman from the rain forest (no one had yet figured out how to pronounce her name) looked like an average city-dweller now in a t-shirt and jeans, but for her wild hair and the fierce glint in her eyes.
"No one is hunting and no one is using their powers," Dean announced sternly, as if he had any control over what this motley crew did. Say it like you mean it, and it will be true. "We're going to have a perfectly normal, completely awesome night."
The limo pulled up to the curb outside the theater and Winchesters and co stumbled out onto the pavement. The sidewalk was crowded with vendors hawking t-shirts and CDs for the band, as well as the long, zig-zagging line of concert goers waiting for the doors to open.
"Look at this stuff." Dean pointed to a stand hawking t-shirts in his most mocking tone. "It's a bunch of guys who couldn't make it big playing someone else's songs, and they want thirty bucks for a shirt?"
"Fifteen for a CD." Sam was not fooled by his brothers condescending tone. Dean loved music. Good music. Bad music. It didn't matter. "With your VIP pass you get ten percent off."
Dean snorted, but stepped over to the stand, cash already in hand. "Well, we can't arrive backstage empty-handed now can we?"
"Take a picture!" Gwen held up a t-shirt with her grandfather's face and imitated his carefree grin while Mary snapped off a photo with her phone.
"You don't want that one! That's a terrible picture." The man pictured on the t-shirt stood beside them in a black t-shirt and battered jeans. His hair had more gray streaks that the publicity photo would admit to, and his eyes were crinkled with crows feet.
"Abuelo!" Gwen dropped the shirt and flung her arms around her grandfather.
"Did you really drive all the way here?" Toni Torres asked.
Gwen nodded. "Yep. I learned to drive a stick shift."
"Wow." Toni stared at Sam and then Dean. "I am impressed. So, we've got twenty minutes before the show starts. Come, have a drink and tell me all about your adventures!"
"You drink before you go onstage?" Mary asked.
Toni grinned. "But of course! Who wants to hear a sober musician?"
"Hear, hear!" Huey held up the bottle of beer had had already procured, or perhaps had called up out of thin air. "Go, get ready. We will await you in the front row!" He waved the Winchesters away and turned to lead the rest of the group to the front of the ticket line.
Toni ushered Gwen and her family through a door marked 'staff only.' Dean felt a giddy shiver run down his spine. Backstage! He was finally backstage with a real musician.
"Seriously?" Sam could sense his brother's excitement, and decided to break the mood right on cue. "You don't even like the Beatles."
"Well-" Dean's glance shifted toward his mother. He knew she loved the band, but he'd always drifted more toward the Metallica and AC/DC end of the music spectrum. "It's a rock concert and I'm backstage!"
Sam just grinned and shook his head.
Toni ushered them to a small room covered in graffiti. Everything from spray paint to sharpie marker decorated the walls. Hand-prints, signatures, even a lipstick print. It was a tribute to every band that had ever played here. Dean touched the layered paint reverently and grinned. Awesome.
Somewhat less awesome were the two men draped across the worn-out sofas that ringed a coffee table laden with snacks. They all had graying hair that looked a little frayed around the edges. One picked at a guitar. Another sucked down a beer and beat out a staccato beat on his thigh with his fingertips as if he simply wasn't comfortable without a drumstick in hand. They lounged with such a casual attitude. There was no need to warm up or rehearse because they had done this so many times before. None were famous, but all had stuck with their music for the long haul.
That was dedication Dean could admire.
"Where's Roberto?" Toni asked.
The bass player rolled his eyes. "Tucked away out of sight with a lady, what do you think?"
"Bacon!" Mary dived for a plate of h'our devours. Dean followed, then caught sight of the food and backed away quickly. It was bacon, yes, but it was wrapped around asparagus, and fruit, and other things that bacon should never touch.
"Hey! Hey!" The bass player dropped his guitar to defend his food. "We need that!"
"Oh, there's plenty." Toni smacked his band-mate's hand away, kicked his feet off the couch cushions, and sat down in the now-empty space. "Be nice! This is my family."
The bass player raised one eyebrow. "The dead-beat that knocked up your daughter, his brother, and their girlfriend?"
Mary spit out her bacon-wrapped-thing. "Girlfriend?"
"Cousin," Dean said. Mother certainly wouldn't do.
"Dead-beat?" Sam looked as if he'd been punched. He opened his mouth to protest, but snapped it closed again. He had slept with a girl at age fifteen and then left two weeks later never to be seen again.
"Yes." Toni didn't even look embarrassed. "Though I'll give him this. As soon as he knew she existed, he made sure someone else was in charge of raising her."
"Ha!" Toni's band-mate picked up his bass again. "Smart man. Got any requests?"
Dean glanced at his mom. "Hey Jude." Mary smiled. The bass player nodded, and played the opening chords. Toni picked up a guitar and chimed in. Mary set down her plate and closed her eyes, leaning into the music. She started to hum, then to sing.
Dean felt his throat clench. He hadn't heard that sound in over thirty years.
"Hey Jude, don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better." Slowly, more voices joined in, until everyone was singing in harmony.
"Nah, nah, nah nah nah nah nah!" The door opened and more voices joined the group. Four men filed into the room, dressed for the 1960s with vintage guitars, vintage suits, vintage haircuts, and vintage faces. Even Sam recognized those faces. He stared and elbowed his brother, who just shook his head and elbowed his mother, who stopped mid-note to stare wide-eyed at her favorite music icons in the flesh.
The Beatles settled into the couch, never missing a beat, their guitars joining Toni's.
"Dean, is that-?"
"John, Paul, George, and Ringo," Dean said, voice hushed. "Circa 1968, judging by their haircuts."
"So, a nice, normal night, huh?"
The last notes of the song faded, and all eyes turned to the man standing in the doorway, the finaly member of Toni's band. "Guys, you will never believe it! I was making out with this girl in the closet and she says, what would you sell your soul for? And I say, to play one night with the Beatles! She says we seal the deal with a kiss, and just when I think I can take this to the next level, these guys show up. In the closet. It was really crowded, and now I can't find the girl."
"Dude." The drummer pointed at one Beatle, then another. "They-I mean-this can't-"
"I know, right!" Robert spread his arms wide, as if the problem were obvious. "They refuse to take their masks off. Claim they aren't wearing any. Say they're here to play and that's that. I say, this could be a really awesome fun show!"
Toni set his guitar outside and looked up at Sam. "So. Father of my granddaughter. Can I talk to you? Outside?"
o0o
Toni stood in the hallway, hands on hips, brow furrowed as he looked Sam up and down. Dean stood at his brother's shoulder, unwilling to let Sam face the in-law alone. Mary stood at the other shoulder, and Gwen was slightly off to one side, ready to jump in between if things got bloody.
Not that Toni had showed any anger toward Sam before. But tonight his face was ashy gray, and his glare gave big brother Dean cause for concern.
"So. Gwen tells me you and your brother know about demons."
Sam's mouth dropped open, then snapped shut again. "I-uh-" He glanced over at Gwen, who nodded. "Yes. Yes we do."
"So you should know that that that-" Toni jerked his thumb toward the lounge and the Beatles. "Is the work of a demon and you need to get Gwen out of here."
Sam nodded. "Alright. Let's go."
"Whoa!" Dean refused to be moved. "We drove to Brazil for this." Dean gestured to the theater around them. "This concert is why we're here. I rode in the backseat of my own car! The Beatles are here! We're not leaving."
"You don't think they're really them, do you?" Mary asked.
Dean nodded affirmative. "Time travel is possible. Who knows? Wouldn't be a real deal worth a real soul if it wasn't the real them, now would it? This concert is going to be awesome. I'm staying."
"Dean, as much I agree this is going to be the best concert ever, if there's a demon here-" Mary began.
"We are on vacation." Dean had made his decision, and he was sticking to it. "No demon killing. The guy's soul is already in hock anyway, and the demon has probably moved on."
"You don't understand!" Toni waved his hands to draw their attention back to him. "This demon, she knows me. She wants me with her in hell."
Sam grimaced. "Ew. Tough luck on girlfriends, man."
"No," Toni growled. "She is not-Her name is Sofia, and she was my cousin. She taught me everything I know about music, and then she sold her soul for ten years of fame. A few years after she died, she started to haunt me. She'll do anything she can to get me to make a deal. Gwen." Toni turned to his granddaughter. "You are the most important person in my world. You're not safe, not if she's here."
Sam's jaw stiffened, and he nodded. "So we go."
"No!" Dean put his foot down. "Sam, she'll be fine. I mean, it's us! We can handle a regular old crossroads demon."
"Dean, if anything goes wrong-"
"It won't."
Toni's eyes narrowed. "I don't care who you are or what you think you can do, Gwen is not safe-"
"We're the friggin' Winchesters, and we can keep Gwen safe," Dean said. He held up a hand and pulled out his phone. "Hey, Cass? Can you come here? The quick way?"
There was a gust of air, and Toni found himself staring at a man in a trench coat who had not been there a moment before. "What are you?"
"I am an angel," Castiel replied. He took in the tense faces all around. "Is something wrong?"
"Cass, Toni says there is a demon here and it might hurt Gwen to get to him." Sam glared sideways at his brother. "But Dean still wants to stay for the concert."
Cass frowned. "Just one demon? With everyone here, that shouldn't be a problem."
"You can keep her safe?" Toni asked.
"I can smite a demon with a touch," Castiel replied. "She will be safe."
Sam sucked in a deep breath. "I don't like this."
"Relax!" Dean said. "With all of us here, what could go wrong?
o0o
Dean had a new heaven. Yes, setting off fireworks with Sam had been a moment to remember for eternity, but this was better. He had his mother on one side, his brother on the other. Castiel and Gwen were there too, cheering and dancing as the Beatles-the real Beatles-took the stage. Mary cheered so loud Dean thought his ear might burst. But he cheered right along with her. They laughed, they cried, and they sang along at the top of their lungs.
Until a sharp tug at Dean's sleeve brought him face to face with his brother's fiercest glare.
"What?"
"Gwen's not here." Sam's words were sharp and just loud enough to cut through the music that blasted from the stage.
Dean looked past Sam to the row of empty seats beside him. "No one's here. Who would walk out of a Beatles' concert?"
Maria, Alejandro, and Huey, that's who.
Sam shrugged. "They left a while ago. Huey took one look at the Beatles and decided that he needed to find whoever had interfered with the show."
"And you didn't tell me?"
"You were busy. Besides, I thought a pagan god, a hunter and a literato could handle one little demon. But then Gwen went to the bathroom and she hasn't come back."
Dean cast a longing look back at the stage, and frowned when he realized that Toni had abandoned his guitar. With a bad feeling forming in the pit of his stomach, Dean moved to follow his brother out of the theater. There was sulfur in the air, and it didn't matter who was on stage or how far they had come. They were Winchesters, and they had a job to do.
"What did you manage to sneak past security?" Sam asked, certain that his brother hadn't come empty-handed. Yes, they had passed through metal detectors, that but wouldn't stop Dean from getting an angel blade through somehow.
"What?" Dean actually looked surprised at the idea. "Me? I didn't."
"You didn't?" Sam stared. Who are you and what have you done with my brother?!
"No! We're on vacation. It's a concert. We have an angel and two pagan gods with us. I thought-"
"Maybe we should go back and get Cass-"
"Nooo!" The cry came from the backstage lounge, and both brothers immediately turned to respond. They burst through the door, despite the fact that they had no weapons of any kind.
Toni stood in front of Maria and Alejandro, his arms flung wide. Gwen was there, tugging as his arms, but Toni wouldn't budge. He glared at the Mexican hunter, who had her gun aimed at the woman cowering behind Toni.
She was dressed in a STAFF t-shirt and jeans, but her eyes were black. "Don't let them hurt me!" she wailed.
"She's a demon! Get out of the way!" Maria snarled.
"She's my cousin! You can't kill her!" Toni shouted back.
Maria rolled her eyes. "I can't kill a demon with a gun! What do you think I am, a Winchester?"
"AAHHHHH!" The demon shrieked at the sight of the brothers and scrambled backwards into the couch. "Winchesters! What are you doing here? I don't go to the States!"
Dean grinned. "We're on vacation." He circled around to cut the demon off from behind. "You ruined the best concert I have ever been to."
Sofia stared. "Ruined? I replaced a tribute band with the real thing!"
"I know! And now I'm here instead of out there watching them!" Dean snapped back.
"Oh. Well...I'll just go! You can get back to the concert. Enjoy!" Sofia tilted back her head and opened her mouth, the demon ready to smoke out.
"Wait!" Sam yelled.
Sofia coughed and blinked at him warily. "What? Oh!" She rolled her eyes and held out a piece of parchment, which burst into flames in her hand. "There, the idiot's soul is free. Happy?"
"No!" Gwen stamped her foot and glared. "You've been stalking my grandfather for fifty years. You don't get to run away and just come back again after we've left."
Sofia raised her eyebrows. "Oh? You want to kill me and break your grandfather's heart?" Sofia turned her wide, scared eyes on Toni.
Toni clenched his fists. "I can't let you kill her."
"Dude, half an hour ago you were worried she would kill Gwen!" Dean said. "Make up your mind!"
"She's family," Toni replied, and Dean deflated.
"Killing her or letting her go are our only options," Maria said. "And we should decide before security gets back here and arrests us all."
"No, we have another option," Sam said, a small smile on his face as he realized the words were true.
"Like what?" Alejandro asked. "Unless you can cure a demon-"
Dean grinned at his brother. "Actually, we can."
Sofia shook her head and gave a nervous laugh. "No. That's impossible. Even for a Winchester..."
Dean grinned. "Nothing is impossible for a Winchester."
o0o
Meanwhile, in Sioux Falls South Dakota
Jody's ear was beginning to ache it had been pressed to the phone for so long. She hadn't realized until today just how many hunters she knew. And across the table, Garth had a list twice as long as her own. Eileen was busy on video conference, and between the three of them, every hunter in the States would be on alert within the day.
"Yes, you heard me right. Those Brits who have been recruiting are bad news."
"Bad news! I'll say. They think some kind of marshmallow man terrorized them out somewhere in Kansas."
Jody nearly choked on a laugh. "Yes, they may be crazy, but not the fun kind! Trust me when I say they're dangerous."
"Dangerous, huh?"
"So say Sam and Dean," Jody replied.
"Winchesters?" There followed the sound of a shot of whiskey being drained very swiftly. "That's bad. They got a plan, you said?"
Jody grinned. She never got tired of this part. "Yes, yes they do. They're mustering an army like you've never seen before."
There was a horrified stretch of silence. "It's bad enough the Winchesters are asking for help?"
"The problem is more that there are so many of them. We want to take them out all at once, instead of having to chase them across the country for a year. We've laid a trap, and everyone is to meet in a week down at the border. Will you be there?"
"Oh, I'll be there. Hellhounds couldn't keep me away!"
o0o
"Where were you guys?" Mary finally found her sons again after the concert, waiting for her by the limo.
Dean and Sam exchanged a look.
"Hospital. Had to track down a coma patient."
Mary stared. "A what? Why? How is that more important than the Beatles?"
"It's a long story," Sam said.
"What about the after party? I thought we were supposed to hang out with Toni."
"He's gone to confession," Dean said. "Then he's got a family reunion to attend."
"What about the rest of our group?" Sam asked, nothing that Las Vegetarianas and their other companions were absent.
"They found a 'really awesome' party to go to," Mary said. "I've got the address if you want to go, but I thought we could do our own thing."
"Limo ride through downtown! Dibs on the sunroof!" Gwen clambered into the limo, only to pop her head out the top a few moments later. She drummed her hands on the roof. "Come on!"
Sam smiled and clambered in behind his daughter, followed closely by Castiel. Dean looked at his mom. "Do you think the Beatles are still backstage?"
She shook her head. "They vanished as soon as the curtain went down. I checked."
"Man!" No autograph and no photo op. "Was it good?"
Mary grinned. "The best." She wrapped her arms around Dean's elbow. "But this is better."
Dean drew her close to his side in a tight hug. "Yeah. This is better. Are you gonna fight Gwen for her spot?"
"You bet!" Mary grinned, and dived into the limo. Dean followed behind and shut the door. Gwen shrieked with glee as the driver pulled out into the road.
YAY! One more chapter to go. Please review!