A Rose By Any Other Name Chapter 14, a supernatural fanfic

"Hey, Rose. I-I know you're still pissed. I get it. Hell, if I were you, I'd be pissed for another year. But Dean...just..something's happened. He doesn't have any control right now. Cas and I got him locked up, but I could really use your help on this. Just for a bit."

Not knowing what else to say, the youngest Winchester ended the call and sighed. He really needed Rose right now. He could only pray that she would check her messages in time and be willing to put her anger on hold. Just for a bit. Just until Dean could control himself.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

In which Rose does what she has to

(Written to: West Wing by Alan Menken from Beauty and the Beast)

Listenonrepeat: /watch/?v=VCy08FsFwJU#Beauty_And_The_Beast_Soundtrack_~_West_Wing

They had barely sat down at a table with their food in front of them when Crowley began to fidget in his seat.

"Something wrong?" Rose cocked an eyebrow.

"I'm being summoned." He sighed in response.

"Figures. By who?"

"Three guesses."

Rose groaned. "Just….be careful, okay?"

"Aren't I always?" That only earned him a bitch face that seemed to run in the Winchester family.

"Try not to get into too much trouble."

"No promises, Flower." Crowley stood from the table, gave Rose a kiss and Gavin a nod, then he left.

Rose sighed. Across from her, Gavin was beginning to stuff himself with food.

"Well I guess we're on our own for the day. You wanna explore the city?" Rose mustered up the biggest smile she could manage despite her worry.

Gavin beamed and nodded, his mouth resembling that of a chipmunk's.

Crowley vanished from New York City only to appear in a devil's trap in the depths of the Men of Letter's bunker. "What's that smell?"

He looked around, expecting to see both of the idiotic Winchester boys, but only Dean stood in front of him - locked in his own dungeon.

"What the hell's happening to me, you son of a bitch?"

Crowley shrugged. "Liquor before beer? Bad taco? How should I know?"

"I can't turn it off! Ever since I killed Abaddon, it's - it's like this whole...other thing." Dean was equal parts furious and anxious. "I get this high and I-I-I really need to kill. I mean, I really, really need to kill. And if I don't-"

"You yak your guts out." Crowley finished for him. "It's the Mark."

"Meaning?"

"It wants you to kill. The more you kill, the better you feel. The less you kill, the less better you feel."

Dean eyed Crowley. He had a feeling he knew where this was going. "How much less better?"

"One would imagine the least-best better."

"So dead." Dean nodded to himself. "Well, Cain had the Mark. He didn't die."

"Cain was a demon." The thought of how Cain became a demon flitted in the back of his mind. "Your body's not strong enough to contain the Blade's power."

Dean swallowed hard. "What if I got rid of it?"

Crowley raised a brow. "You want to get rid of it?"

"What I want is Metatron." Dean felt himself beginning to lose control again. He had to figure it out. He felt like a ticking time bomb, and he didn't like one second of it.

"Go on."

"But I have to get through that door-" Dean pointed at the sealed entrance behind him. "and I have to get the Blade. And you're gonna help me."

Rose was grateful that Crowley had zapped them up some weather-appropriate clothes when they traveled to New York. It was somewhat chilly at the moment, and Rose had to button up her black jacket to keep the breeze from chilling her core.

Despite the cold, Rose couldn't help but laugh at Gavin's amazement. He was in awe of such a big city with its tall buildings and bumper-to-bumper traffic. In all honesty, he had seen a fair bit of similar sights through his window in Chicago, but there was something about New York that just seemed...grander.

Rose had shown him the Statue of Liberty across the water and they had stood at the base of the Empire State Building. She told him all about the giant Christmas tree that they put up every year and they had walked through Time Square.

She was in the middle of telling him about all the parades and the New Year's celebrations when she felt her phone vibrate for what must have been the fifth call in the last two hours. When she dug it out of her pocket to check the caller I.D., Rose discovered that she had six messages - all from Sam.

"Hang on a sec, I gotta check these." Rose muttered, then fumbled to dial her voicemail.

"Rose, Dean took the First Blade and he's running loose with Crowley. We think he might be going after Metatron with him. I could really use your help, Rose."

"Rose, please, answer your phone. This is life or death, so I'm going to keep leaving messages until you answer. I don't care how pissed you are. I need to find Dean before he gets himself killed. That stupid Mark is messing with his head. Please, Rose."

"Message number three. I'm not going to stop anytime soon. Cas and Gadreel have a plan to help defeat Metatron so maybe Dean stands a chance. That leaves me on my own to find him. Rose, I need your help. Please."

"Listen, you can stay pissed all you want, but Dean and I are still your brothers. We didn't ask for your help before, but now I'm telling you that we really, really need it. If something happens to Dean…."

"Metatron is playing Jesus now, not just God. He's healing people - performing miracles. I'm heading to talk to the lady he healed right now. If you decide you wanna help us, I'll text you the address. Please, Rose...just call me back."

Rose groaned and pulled the phone away.

"Somethin' the matter?" Gavin turned to watch her.

"Dean's gone rogue with Crowley in tow, and Sam is chasing after him and begging for my help." She flipped her phone over in her hand, over and over, biting her cheek all the while.

"You should go."

"Go where?" Crowley appeared beside them, the look on his face resembling a cross between a grimace and a question.

"Sam wants my help finding Dean." Rose explained. Then before he could register it, Rose stomped forward and punched him on the shoulder. "What the hell were you thinking? Running around with Dean when he's got the First Blade!"

"He wanted my help! He wasn't going to use it on me!" Crowley rubbed his shoulder. "And you should know that the brothers have been reunited and are going after Metatron without me."

Rose ground her jaw. After Metatron, Crowley would be next. If she was going to make her move, she needed to do it soon.

"I want you to take me to them."

Crowley did a double-take. "What?"

"I'm gonna call Sam, and then I want you to take me to them."

"Why on earth-I thought you were still livid with them?"

Rose inhaled sharply. "Oh, I am. But if they think I'm gonna sit this one out after keeping me on the sidelines for six years, they are sorely mistaken."

Crowley pursed his lips and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Fine. We'll go back to the cottage, you can call Moose, then I'll take you to them."

Rose nodded. "Okay. But you aren't sticking around. You've spent enough time around them today."

Crowley sighed. He had no desire to hang around Rocky and Bullwinkle and get caught in their quarrels, but he did want to make sure Rose was alright. However, he knew there was no winning with her once she was set on something. Besides, she could take care of herself.

Sam had picked up on the first try. They had a brief discussion after which Rose promptly hung up and Sam texted her the location of the homeless camp 'Marv' was staked out in. After setting Gavin up for however long she would be away, she told Crowley she was ready, and they zapped to the camp.

They stood outside waiting for the Impala to pull up.

"You sure you're alright with this?" Crowley asked, watching the girl closely.

She nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine. Relax."

"Easier said than done." He mumbled.

It wasn't long until the familiar headlights came around the corner. Crowley pulled her into a tight hug, planted a kiss on her forehead, then muttered: "Try not to get into too much trouble."

Rose swallowed hard. "No promises."

Doing her best to smile convincingly, Rose pulled away from his embrace and gave him one last kiss before he left her to deal with her brothers.

By the time she made it over to the car, Sam was out cold on the ground, and Dean was clutching the wrapped-up First Blade.

"Sorry, little brother. It's not your fight." Dean began to make his way to the homeless camp.

"So it's all up to you? The great Dean Winchester?"

Dean spun, surprised to see his baby sister standing maybe ten feet behind him with her hands on her hips. Clearly, Sam had failed to tell Dean their sister was joining the fight.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm the only one with the Mark."

Rose raised her hands in a sign of peace. "Hey, I'm not gonna stop you. You can go get yourself killed if you want."

She took a few careful steps towards him.

"So what are you here for, then? To bitch at me some more about keepin' you in the dark?"

"First of all, Sam begged for my help with this. After all the big cases I've had to sit out on, I ain't sittin' out on this one." Now relatively close to her big brother, she grabbed his right arm and pulled up his sleeve, revealing the red mark beneath it. "And I've been reading up on the Mark of Cain. It's pretty nasty."

"What about it?" Dean watched his sister carefully. She seemed too calm after everything that happened.

"As pissed as I am with you two, I wouldn't wish this curse on even my worst enemy. So," Rose held a tight grip on his arm with her right hand and traced over it with her left. "I want to hear that when this is over - when Metatron is dead - you'll get rid of it. Either you find a spell or something or you give it to someone else."

"Who could I give it to? People aren't exactly lining up to take it. Besides, it's too powerful to give to just anyone."

"I know. But I want to hear the words. Even though it doesn't mean much to me, I want to hear you promise that after Metatron is dead, you'll get rid of it. Whether it's a spell or you have to give to someone, you'll get rid of it."

Dean sighed. He shifted his weight and rotated his grip on the weapon in his left hand. "Yeah, okay. I promise."

"You have to say it. All of it."

"I'll get rid of it. I'll get rid of the Mark."

"Keep going."

Dean huffed. "After Metadouche is dead, I'll get rid of the Mark. I'll find a spell or something."

"Or?"

"Or I'll give it away. I'll find someone who's 'worthy' and give them the Mark. I'll pass it on."

There was a twinge of pain in his right forearm the moment the words passed his lips. He had to make things up to Rose. If this was what she wanted, he would do it. She was family, and he wanted her back with them. So even though his frustration was through the roof, he meant every word.

It wasn't until he saw the faint red glow that he understood what she was really doing. The vaguely familiar dull bite of pain moving through his arm and onto Rose's. She gritted her teeth.

"No. No, no, no!" Dean shouted.

But it was too late. Rose released her grip on his arm, took a step back, and wrenched the First Blade from his hand.

"I'll clean up your mess, then this'll all be out of your hair."

"Rose, what the HELL have you done?"

"I saved your sorry ass. You should be grateful." She took several steps towards the camp and past Dean before he grabbed her and spun her around.

"Give it back."

"No."

"I'm not letting you do this."

Before he could even register a second of what she was doing, he was out cold on the ground.

"I wish I could say I'm sorry." Rose glanced down at his motionless form one last time before stalking off to find the S.O.B. hiding amongst the homeless.

She rubbed her forearm absentmindedly as she walked. She could feel the little bumps and ridges beneath her sleeve and the power coursing through her veins.

She had the Mark of Cain.

So, uh...y'all watch The Wether Project last night? Oh the feels...but if they kill off Crowley, I'm gonna be really mad.

Also! I won't be writing every episode from Season 10, so some of it might move a little quickly. That being said, once I catch up to the current episodes, updates will come a little more slowly. In the free time that that creates, I'll be starting up another Supernatural story based on an idea I've had floating around for several months. It's gonna start around the beginning of Season 3 if anyone is interested.

Anywho! I do not own Supernatural, but I do own Marian Rose Winchester and anything that her presence alters. If anyone has any suggestions, concerns, criticisms, or requests, all are welcome!