A/N: Sorry chickpeas, it took forever for me to have time to write. But, I'm on break right now so expect more updates! Thank you for reading my story, you guys have been amazing!
Chapter Eleven
Violet sat on the edge of the bed, head in her hands. Sam was pacing around their room trying to explain everything that happened with finding out the first trial. At some parts she would tune out, but not intentionally. Her mind would start to go off on its own about this whole ordeal. He got to the end of his story so she looked up at him with eyes filled with tears.
"So you did it to keep Dean from going on a suicide mission?" She gave a shaky laugh.
"No, I did it…" Sam searched for the words. He had wanted to do it to keep Dean from killing himself for the world again. But Sam saw this as insurance. It was his job to protect his wife and his brother, he had to make sure that no matter what happened she would always be safe. "I did it for us."
"How will you dying help us?" She closed her eyes on the wave of pain.
"We don't know that will happen."
"We don't know that it won't."
"Dean?"
He gave a faint smile at the shock through her voice. "Hi Pippa."
She paused before responding. "Is Violet okay?"
"Yeah, yeah her and Sammy are having a little chat." Dean cleared his throat before looking over his shoulder to make sure they couldn't hear him. "Look, I know you probably expected me to be the last person to ever call you…"
"Most definitely," She sighed through the phone. "What's going on?"
"It's a family problem," he started.
Pippa gave an un-lady like snort. "Obviously showing your view of me by not telling me. Then why call me?"
"Because I think you should be here and watch over Violet." He rubbed a frustrated hand over his eyes. Dean didn't want to ask her for help, but Violet was going to need someone to get her through this. His Red was strong, but she had never been through something like this. The Winchester Brothers had practice over near-death (and death itself) experiences.
"Is-is it bad?" She asked lowly.
"It's probably not going to end well, I'll tell you that." His damn brother thinks it's his responsibility to carry the whole world on his shoulder. "If I tell you where to find us, will you stay here a while to help Violet?"
"Of course, I want to help her. But…"
"But?" He encouraged, a bite to his tone.
"But," she snapped. "The last time we were near each other it didn't end very well. I know you don't like me, so why would I want to be stuck around a person who's going to try and bite my head off?"
God, someone save him from nagging women. "Look, I can put that aside. It's Red I'm worried about. She's my brother's wife so that makes her my sister, my family. I do whatever it takes to take care of my family. Got that?"
She was silent for another moment. "How do I get there?"
"Sam," Violet sighed softly. "Why didn't you wait to talk to me about this?"
Sam's jaw clenched unintentionally. He was trying to do the right thing and protect the ones he loves, but nobody could see it that way. "I knew what you would say."
"Not to do it?" She guessed. "You're right, but I wouldn't want Dean doing it either. Why does it have to be either of you? Haven't you both saved the world enough?"
He gave a weak smile as he sat beside her. "It doesn't work out that way, Vi. This is another job that needs to be done and it's going to be done by me."
She finally let the sob come out, burying her face into his shoulder. "I don't want to lose you. I couldn't live if you were gone!"
"It's going to be okay." He whispered into her arm, his arm wrapping lovingly around her. "I'm doing this so we can have a future."
She calmed herself by listening to his heartbeat. As long as that was going, he was okay; he was here. "It was predicted," she mumbled.
"What was?" He asked curiously.
"Well, not predicted. Grams…Elizabeth asked me to look you guys up." She was mostly talking to herself at this point.
"Violet, what are you talking about?"
Violet took a deep breath before relaying the tale to Sam. The tone of her voice seemed to be like that of a zombie as she told the truth about her life. Funny, it seemed to start to make sense in her mind as she said it aloud. She was a Child, born into a family of hunters, was lost in the grief of a woman's love.
"Violet, this is…she really said for you to ask us for help?" Sam's hand continued to rub her back.
"Yep. I think maybe she knew one way or another I was going to end up in this life."
"Would you? I mean, if we had never met then it might have been awhile, or never, that you remembered that journal. If we weren't together, would you still want this life?"
Violet stilled. Would she want the danger and the killing? Or the comfort of helping people and the chance of maybe saving a life? "I don't know, Sam. I just…" Her eyes closed as she leaned closer into him. "Can you just hold me?"
"Always."
As they lay back on the bed, Violet traced her fingers over his tattoo like she had done once long ago. Then she had been ignorant of everything out there. She believed she had already been in love with him at that point. Or maybe, she thought, I had been in love with him the first time I saw the pain in his eyes in the diner.
"Do you ever think about what would happen if we were given a normal shot?" She asked curiously.
"All the time," he whispered. "Would you want kids?"
She nodded shyly. "I think I would. Even though my own history seems a little messy right now, I think I would love the chance to give someone a great and loving life."
"What would we do if we had a normal life?" He thought aloud.
"Let's pretend for a moment that everything is okay." She closed her eyes, tears falling down her cheeks and onto his shirt. "We have a normal life where we aren't chasing a killing evil things."
"We have a beautiful house and you have a garden."
"I have daisies growing in the front yard and in the back I grow vegetables."
"But you hate salads." Sam smiled though his own eyes were haunted.
"I use my vegetables to make salsa." She corrected. "I work in a museum restoring artifacts."
"I teach at a college." He played. "I teach a mythology course."
"Are we happy?" She asked sadly. Her tone almost sounded like a child's.
"Very." He was struggling to keep his composure. "Are we happy now?"
"I love you, I love you more than I could ever have thought about loving another person. But I don't know if I can be happy if the thought of you dying is constantly hanging over my head."
Violet wasn't sure when she fell asleep. She remembered smelling Sam's soap as she let her breathing steady. Her dreams had been hazy, ones filled with her loved ones telling her it was going to be okay. At one point in the dream, Elizabeth had been holding her and telling her that they couldn't control fate. She had her head on the older woman's lap as the woman softly said that destiny has its own course. It was then she began to feel a tickle on her nose and Pippa's voice in the background. Violet tried to swat away the thing on her nose but she only got a laugh in response. Slowly, her eyes opened to see Pippa lying beside her with a gentle smile.
"Penelope," Violet muttered.
"You only get a few times to call me that." Pippa teased.
"What are you doing here?"
"Well," She grunted, crawling under the covers. "I drove all night to get here."
"Why?" Violet's voice croaked.
"You know why." Pippa looked at her cautiously. "I don't because apparently I'm not considered family. Which is fine, I expect that. I mean, we haven't known each other that long."
Violet's sniffles interrupted the other woman's rambles. "Pippa, I don't know what to do…"
Pippa struggled slightly. She cared for Violet, she honestly did, but she wasn't used to crushing emotions like the younger woman was apparently feeling. Penelope Jones was used to being…distant. You had to be in this life, you can't form connections. Yet, as the younger woman began shaking from sobs, Pippa knew she couldn't be distant from her. So she offered the only comfort she knew and held Violet's hand in hers.
"Why don't you start by telling me what's going on?" Pippa suggested.
"Okay," Violet sniffed. "There are these trials that can shut the Gates of Hell and put all the demons back where they came from. Sam did the first trial which means he has to do the rest."
"This is great, Violet!" Pippa sat up. "He can save so many people by doing this! Shutting Hell up is exactly what this world needs. These guys know this better than anyone!"
Violet nodded. "I know."
"Then why are you so upset?"
"Because everything has a cost." The younger woman said wisely.
It took a moment before Pippa realized what she was saying. "You're saying Sam could die from this?"
"He said that Dean was looking at this like it was a suicide mission, which tells me there is a good chance."
Pippa closed her eyes and rested her head on her knees. Of course Dean was going to do it at first, she thought, he was known for taking care of his younger brother. What better way than making sure Sam got the life he wanted? Plans change, though, and now there's the chance Violet will lose Sam.
"This is what you're going to do." Pippa said in the most serious tone Violet had ever heard from the other woman. "You're going to go into the lobby where your husband is and you are going to spend every last moment with him."
"Pippa?" Violet slowly sat up.
"Look," Pippa's eyes locked with hers. "Some of us don't get the chance to see the end. If this does end up killing Sam, don't let it end with you wishing you had done everything you could with him. Live like this is the end, Violet. We're not sure, but don't take any chances. You have someone you love till death and he feels the same way. Make it count."
Violet had taken her time getting ready and was now more dressed up than she had been for her wedding day, including her favorite yellow sundress. She leaned against the wall as she stared lovingly at Sam as he worked on his computer. Life without him? It seemed as if she had never had a life before him. Make it count, she reminded herself. He must've sensed her presence because his eyes suddenly turned towards her direction.
"Hey!" He stood in surprise. "You look amazing."
"Thank you," she leisurely started walking towards him.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better." She smiled shyly. "Thank you for bringing Pippa here."
He shrugged. "It was all Dean."
"Then I will be sure to bake him a pie." She stopped walking before she could reach him. "I'm not upset or angry anymore."
"You're not?" He asked skeptically.
"Well," she bit her lower lip. "I understand why you did it and I'm still a little upset. But it's part of who you are, Sam, and I knew that they day I married you. You want to save everyone else."
"Violet, I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about this."
"Sam?" She smiled wider.
"Yeah?"
"We've been sad long enough. I think we should just be happy we're together, don't you?"
He nodded with the beginnings of a smile. "I do love you, you know that?"
Instead of responding, she jumped into his arms, her legs wrapping around his waist. They were clutching each other so tight that they were close to becoming one person. Violet buried her face in his neck as he kissed her cheek. Remember this, she told herself, just in case. Sam was telling himself the same thing. Remember the smell of grapefruit and lilies, he thought, remember that you have to stay strong for her and Dean. He was doing the right thing, he believed that. Once this was all over, they were all going to be happier and maybe Dean was going to have the chance to get what he has. Dean deserves that, it was one of the many reasons Sam had started this. Dean deserved a taste of what Sam has. But as he felt her skin against his and as all the memories of them being together rushed through him, he knew he could never leave her.
"I'm going to do whatever it takes to stay alive for my family. I'm going to do whatever it takes to protect you all." Another promise.
