Rock Ridge, Colorado
"Dean!" Bela called out again and got the same result as the last time. If that bloody Winchester was still in the area, he didn't want her to know it. Ever since Dean got that damned ghost sickness, he's been a complete pain in the ass. Everything from spiders, snakes, and even making left hand turns nearly made him wet himself. Bela at first found the whole thing to be completely hilarious as things started but that quickly changed.
Two days before, things were looking up. Bela managed to finally convince the brothers to make a stop in North Platte, Nebraska where Bela had a stash of supernatural items in a storage locker for a rainy day. All of them should provide enough money to get her old apartment back and not need to remain the third wheel of the Winchester hunting club. Dean and Sam weren't exactly thrilled with the idea of putting some of that stuff on the black market but Bela told them this wasn't up for debate as whatever they don't let her sell, she'll break into their dad's old warehouse and find something else to sell. Surprisingly, that actually worked though it could be the brothers finally wanted her gone.
It wouldn't surprise her. Bela was getting a little sick of being with them as well. Sitting in the backseat for hours on end was killing her legs and the constant juke food the Winchesters considered to be edible made her want to puke. How on Earth they haven't died of a heart attack yet, she'll never know. Also the constant cheap motels, sleeping in the car, and the occasional squatting made Bela miss her own bed more and more. Finally the best part of all was risking their lives to find monsters and ghosts to kill. Bela just got back her life and didn't want to lose it again because of some stupid hunt. So she made a deal with the boys. Bela would sell her merchandise to various clients and once she did, they would part ways.
But her current negotiations with various former clients was taking time which meant she was stuck with the Winchesters a little while longer and that meant earning her keep by helping in hunts. And the current one involved several people who all died of heart attacks even though they were all healthy men with no family history of heart disease. The Winchesters and Bela first paid a visit to the morgue where Sam got a taste of spleen juice in the face during an autopsy. It was disgusting but amusing at the same time.
Next they visited the local sheriff who used so much hand sanitizer, a hypochondriac would tell him to calm down. All the victims were apparently good people which was code to Bela for harboring a dark secret. Then they interviewed a neighbor of one of the victims and that's when it started. Dean was visibly unnerved by the massive amount of various reptiles and snakes the neighbor had for pets. Things became clearer something was wrong with him when he refused to make any left hand turns while driving. Bela made a comment about comparing him to a superstitious grandmother that got under his nerves. The jokes ended when Sam's EMF meter went off around Dean.
The next morning, Bela headed to Dean's room to check up on him but didn't find him. She searched around the motel until she finally checked the parking lot where Dean was lying down in the front seat of the Impala drumming to the music of Eye of the Tiger. They still hadn't fixed the radio since Loki left his parting gift. Bela could help herself, this was just too good an opportunity to pass up. She pulled out her new cell phone and started recording the elder Winchester. This'll make a great embarrassing video to use on occasion. Sam soon showed up to interrupt the fun and filled everyone in on what was going on.
Dean was suffering from a ghost sickness, something akin to a spirit controlled virus. It makes you paranoid, scared, and then kills you via a heart attack. Suddenly this whole thing was starting to lose its humor. Why Dean was infected and not Sam and Bela wasn't important and the only way to stop it was to destroy the ghost responsible for all this. Easier said than done considering they had no idea who it might be. Dean developed a rash on his hand and coughed up a woodchip. That led them to the town's old sawmill.
That's where things got really awkward. Dean refused to carry a gun because he was too scared it would go off. Sam and Bela were too worried about leaving him by himself all alone so they had come along with a flashlight. After finding the wallet from one of the victims inside, they heard a noise coming from a locker. They opened it up and it turned out to be nothing more than a cat. But the feline was quickly forgotten when Dean screamed the loudest, most obnoxious scream ever heard. "Could you do that again? I want that for my ringtone," chuckled Bela.
Moving on, they found a room with drawings of one of the victim's decease wife. Clearly someone had been obsessed considering how many there were. They also found an ID for a Luther Garland. The machinery in the room came on and Garland's ghost attacked them. He was easily repelled with salt rounds but Dean took off running back to the Impala. At least they finally knew who the ghost was. The three headed to the local sheriff's station to get Luther Garland's file to figure out what happened to the guy and hopefully find his remains so they can charcoal them.
As usual, things weren't so simple. The file on Garland's death was suspiciously vague so they visited his only living relative in a nursing home. Things would have been simple had Dean not suddenly turn into a full blown paranoid delusional. He jumped as the slightest thing and couldn't shut up about how their fake badges wouldn't work. Bela finally shut him up with a slap to the back of the head. "Just shut up and let Sam and me do all the talking," she ordered him.
Luther's brother filled in lot of gaps surrounding the man's death. Poor Luther was killed by one of the men who died of the ghost sickness. Luther had a crush on the man's wife and when she went missing, naturally people thought he was responsible. Turns out he was innocent as the wife committed suicide in some motel and the sheriff swept the whole thing under the rug. Now it seems Luther was getting his revenge by infecting the people who killed him and covered it all up and Dean was unfortunately caught in the middle of this.
But now they were left with a bigger problem. Luther was killed by wrapping a chain around his neck and hooking it up to a truck, dragging the poor sap down a street. Which meant his remains were scattered for miles so salting and burning his remains was out of the question. Then Dean had something akin to a combination of an epiphany and a maniac episode. He said what they did, hunting down ghosts and monsters, was stupid and that only crazy people do stuff like this. Then he spouted on about the fast food they always eat, the cheap motels, and the truck-stop waitress with the bizarre rash.
"Wait? What waitress?" Bela frowned. Dean ignored her and kept muttering about how insane their lives were. Finally he tossed Sam his keys which itself was a bad sign. Dean declared he was done with it all. The hunting, the monsters, the ghosts, demons, apocalypse, everything. Then he stormed off down the street.
"Great," sighed Sam.
"And here I was starting to think he was becoming more selfish. I was so proud of him too," muttered Bela. Sam threw her a look. "Fine I'll go get him," she groaned.
And that's how she ended up looking for Dean all by herself in the middle of the night. "Dean! Where are you!" Bela shouted but got no response. "Bloody Winchesters," she grumbled.
Suddenly, she heard a ruckus behind her. Bela turned to see Dean tumbling to the ground after knocking into a garbage can. He got back to his feet with absolute fear in his eyes. "Run! It'll kill you!" he shouted, pointing past her. Bela turned to see what he was so terrified of and to her surprise, saw it was a small Yorkie with a bow on its head.
"Ah. He's so cute," smiled Bela. She reached and picked up the dog that seemed more than happy to try and lick her face. Bela was normally a cat person but the little furball was adorable. A distinct thud behind her caught her attention. She turned around to find Dean lying on the ground unconscious. Did he just faint?
"Dean?" Bela called out to him.
After Bela called Sam and let him know their location, the two managed to get the unconscious Dean back to their motel room. Sam said he was meeting up with Bobby to resolve this whole problem but somewhat vague about the details. He just told Bela to keep an eye on Dean and left. Bela wasn't comfortable just sitting on her hands playing baby sitter but someone had to keep an eye on Dean and make sure he didn't run off again. He spent the next several hours rolling around in his sleep, probably having nightmares. Bela was tempted to wake up Dean but the man hadn't gotten much sleep in the past few days. So she sat around watching him for hours as he moaned and groaned from whatever nightmare he was experience.
Finally Dean jolted up, nearly falling off his bed. His eyes scanned the room as if checking that whatever monsters within his nightmares had followed him to the real world. "Good afternoon," Bela said casually. "Before you ask, you're back at the hotel room…" she started to say. Dean was about to interrupt her but Bela cut him off. "…and for the last time, Martians have not bugged the room."
"Just because you didn't find anything doesn't mean we're not being watched," complained Dean. Bela rolled her eyes. She didn't think it was possible but there's a version of Dean Winchester that's more infuriating then his normal self. "What happened? Last thing I remembered was you locking lips with a hellhound."
"Oh you mean the little Yorkie named Jojo? She was quite adorable," smiled Bela.
"Who are kind of lunatic names their dog Jojo?" groaned Dean.
"What kind of people name their son after their grandmother," Bela quipped. She was certain Dean was starting to regret telling her all about his little Back to the Future ordeal.
"Where's Sam?" Dean asked as he glanced around the room.
"With Bobby. Told me over the phone that they had a plan to save you," answered Bela.
"Did he explain how?" Dean inquired.
"Just that it was a good plan," replied Bela.
"Crap I'm in trouble," moaned Dean. Bela didn't need the man's paranoia to know Sam had lying. Maybe he and Bobby did have a plan but it was probably a terrible one. "Shouldn't we be helping them?" Dean added.
"As much as I would love to hear that scream of yours again, you'd be nothing but a liability darling," Bela quipped. She took Dean's groan as a surrender. He plopped back down on his bed, fidgeting nervously. It didn't help that the bed was creaking every time he moved a muscle. He repeatedly tossed and turned, making just enough noise to annoy Bela. "Dean either fall back asleep quietly or I can help you with a blow to the head," she growled.
Dean glared at her then picked up the remote for room's television. He turned it on and for the first few minutes, Bela finally was experiencing some peace and quiet. Until Dean started gasping in fear. Bela glanced at the television and was quite surprised by the source of his terror. "Dean what could possibly be so frightening about the Home Shopping Network?" she groaned.
"They're selling kitchen knives. Those can kill someone," Dean moaned. Bela sighed and got up to quickly snatch the remote of Dean's hand. She shut the television off, figuring if he panics over something as simple as a shopping channel then accidently stumbling onto a CSI marathon would kill him. So they tried playing cards until Dean said the Ace of Spades kept moving closer to him and was waiting to kill him the moment he looked away. It went downhill after that. Bela had to close the blinds because Dean thought a mailman across the street was a terrorist delivering a pipe bomb. He jumped and started freaking out at the slightest noise, virtually having a panic attack every second. Bela was starting to get worried. Sam and Bobby better get rid of this ghost soon because Dean wasn't going to last much longer.
"Dean we should get you to a hospital," Bela said.
"That won't help me," Dean shivered. He seated on the floor leaning his back against one of the beds, arms wrapped around his knees.
"It's better than just sitting around here waiting for you to die," Bela sighed.
"Maybe I deserve it," Dean said.
Bela frowned, "What are you talking about?"
"I'm going back to hell and I deserve it. I deserve it. I deserve it," Dean repeated over and over again.
Bela finally shut him up with a slap to the face. "Don't say that," she snapped.
"They're here. The hellhounds! I can hear them!" Dean screamed. God he was getting worse by the second. If Bela didn't calm him down, Dean wasn't going to last the next five minutes. Bela sat down next to him and wrapped her arm around him.
"Dean listen to me. You are not going to Hell. All your life, you've saved people. The only reason countless people are still walking this Earth including me is because of you. Now someone like that does not deserve to go to Hell. People like you are the best thing this world has to offer. For God's sake Dean, you got me hunting with you. Me of all people. Before I met you, I only cared about breaking my deal and getting rich regardless of anyone else. Now look at me. I'm actually hunting and profit isn't my motivation. And it's all because of you Dean," Bela whispered. Dean rested his head on her shoulder, seemingly calming down.
Maybe this whole honest open heart thing was actually working. And truthfully, Bela didn't know if Dean was going to last another hour so she figured she might as well get what's been on her chest for a while. "I know I'm selfish and greedy. I didn't deserve a second chance but you gave me one. You saved me from Hell and to tell the truth it made me want to be better. I'm a work in progress obviously but somehow you did it. You made me want to be a better person Dean because I actually care what you think of me," she told him.
Suddenly Dean shoved her away. "No no no. You're not real," he said getting to his feet.
Dammit he was hallucinating again. "Dean calm down," Bela said as she got to her feet. Dean gasped and keeled over, clenching his chest in pain. Bela grabbed him to prevent him from falling but again he shoved her away.
"I'm nothing like you Lilith," Dean snapped. "I'm nothing like you!" he shouted over and over again until he gasped once again and dropped to the floor. Bela rolled him over and could see he was having a full blown heart attack.
"Just hold on I'm going to get some help!" Bela said, her hands shaking as she rushed over to her purse and pulled out her cell phone, dialing 911. Then without any warning or reason, Dean took a deep breath and calmed down.
"911 Emergencies," Bela could hear on her phone before she quickly hung up. Sam and Bobby must have been successful. Dean was breathing normally and got to his feet.
"Good ole Bobby and Sammy," Dean smiled, knowing who he needed to thank for his miraculous recovery.
Bela sighed and surprised Dean with a embrace. "Don't you ever scare me like that again," she told him before they separated.
"No promises," Dean shrugged.
Hours later, Dean and Bela met up with Bobby and Sam outside of the abandoned wood mill where they dealt with Luther Garland's ghost. Dean and Sam were enjoying a couple of beers while Bela and Bobby were recanting the various embarrassing moments involving Dean within the past few days.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Bela tried to imitate Dean's scream when he was frightened by that cat they found in a locker. Bobby busted up laughing and Sam tried his best not to laugh while Dean didn't find any of this funny.
"I couldn't help myself okay," Dean grumbled. "You try getting this ghost fever and not freak out."
"Ah isn't he just adorable," laughed Bobby. Dean fumed while everyone else had another laugh at his expense. "Take care you three," Bobby told everyone before getting into his truck and driving off.
"So you're back to the normal you. Something that seems to constantly change in your line of work," laughed Bela. "Within a matter of months, you've gone from alive to dead than alive again. You've turned into a woman and now you know what it's like to be a little more rational in your line of work."
Dean glared at her. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Sam chuckled, "It means she kinda liked how when you were scared of everything."
Bela shrugged, "At least you knew to run away from ghosts and monsters instead of rushing headfirst towards them."
"Whatever," grumbled Dean as he took another sip of beer.
"I'll be back," Sam told them as he headed off. No need to ask what it was about. Finding privacy away from anyone else, Bela had to guess Sammy needed to visit the little boy's room. At least it gave her and Dean a little privacy. Bela didn't want to ask her next question with Sam or Bobby around.
"Back in the motel room, you were really freaking out towards the end," Bela commented.
"Yeah let's not do that again," sighed Dean.
"What were you seeing? You thought I was Lilith and kept muttering how you were nothing like her but that you still deserved hell."
Dean was silent for just a second too long. "I thought I was a demon," he told her. Liar, there was more to it than that. Bela didn't want to just let it go but something told her Dean wasn't going to tell her the truth no matter how much she pried. "So what did you say to me before I started freaking out? I felt like you were trying to say something important then all of a sudden your eyes turned white and you started talking like Lilith," Dean inquired.
Dammit Bela opens up to him and he was hallucinating the whole time. She could have repeated everything she said back in the motel but the truth was she didn't want to. Not when Dean wasn't willing to open with her. "I was just trying to tell you that you were going to be alright," Bela lied.
They both eyed each other but didn't say a word as Sam got back and the three drove off.
(Okay this chapter wasn't really important in the long scheme of things and took way too long to finish but at least it's done. Next chapter is the Great Pumpkin Sam Winchester from the perspectives of Castiel, Uriel, Balthazar, and Adriel.)