My sincere apologies if you cross paths with typos or grammar mistakes, but this chapter wasn't betaread… Well, it was, but it was by myself… But, I promised to post this chapter this weekend no matter what, so here you go!
I hope you will enjoy it. Don't hold back any thoughts and send them to me in the shape of a little review once you're done reading ;)
This chapter contains elements from the episode 'Sam, Interrupted' (5x11)
Universe One: The Supernatural Universe.
Universe Two: Kate's Universe.
Universe Two.
October 19th, 2008.
Topeka, Kansas.
Standing right at the exit of the parking lot of her old working place, Kate glanced down at her watch. It was almost time for her past-self to receive that call that would make her rush out of the building in order to go to her apartment. The fact that the brunette could remember that day so clearly and so precisely was due to the fact that when she landed at Bobby's, she had spent days and days thinking about the week preceding her dimensional traveling. It was that time when all she wanted to do was find a way back to her universe. And although Kate had never really stopped looking for answers during the following months, she had still come to a point where she didn't feel as eager to return to her universe as she used to.
No matter how dangerous and scary Bobby Singer's universe was, Kate had come to feel more at home there than in her own universe. The people she had met, the things she had seen and the adventures she had been through. All of these things had helped her in more ways than she could ever say. Sadly, it took her to return in her universe, away from the world she had been living in for months, to realize how much different it all was.
The beeping of her watch pulled her out of her thoughts. It was time. Her past-self would be running out of the building in two minutes. Kate threw a glance at the building before quickly crossing the street to get to the car in which Mary was waiting for her. She opened the driver's door and slid into the seat behind the steering wheel.
"Almost time," Mary remarked from the passenger seat she was sitting in.
"Yeah," Kate replied, turning the keys to start the car.
"Did you know that your boss had a mini-fridge in his car, too?" Mary asked her, sparks of wonder in her eyes.
After Kate had made Mary go to the reception of her old working place to get her former boss' car by using the name of Kate Anderson and the boss' code, the blonde had spent some time checking the car. Back in 1983, cars with GPS and phone didn't exist yet, so Mary was quite thrilled when she saw all of these new technologies.
Kate turned to look at Mary who held up a little bottle, "Some sparkling water?" The brunette couldn't help but chuckle. "What?"
"Nothing," Kate smiled, but the truth was that for a moment Mary reminded her of Dean.
"You're sure about the date and the time, huh?" Mary asked, unscrewing the bottle to drink a sip.
"I remember as though it was yesterday. My office's phone rang while I was watching the hands of the main clock tickling," Kate explained. She raised a finger up and said, "It was 10:35. No more, no less."
"So, the Other-You is supposed to get out in one minute upmost," Mary replied as she capped the bottle back before putting it on the dashboard.
"Yeah," Kate turned her head and looked over the building and the parking lot.
After a minute, the brunette looked down at her watch and frowned. Her past-self was taking a little bit longer than she was supposed to, and that was noticed by Mary as well.
"Uh," Mary glanced down at her own watch. "Alright. What's your office's number?" Kate turned to her and frowned when she saw the blonde holding the car's phone in her hand.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm gonna give the Other-You a ring to hurry her up a little," Mary just replied. "Come on, your number."
"Mary –"
"Come on, I'm sure you remember your office's number," the retired hunter interrupted Kate who ended up telling her the number of her old office. "It's ringing," Mary told her and Kate sighed, turning her head to look over at the building. "Kate? Kaitlin Anderson?" The brunette glanced at the blonde before returning her attention to the building. "What are you still doing there? What about the fire in your apartment? Didn't you just receive a call about that? ... What do you mean no one called you?" Kate frowned as she turned again to look at Mary who was faking panic in her voice. "Well, it's on fire, girl, and it seems that your boyfriend is in there. Call him, you'll see he won't reply –" She cut herself off and then looked up to meet Kate's brown eyes and stated "She hung up on me." Kate slightly frowned at her. "We're not on time, but I think she's gonna run out of that place in less than a minute," Mary added, shifting her gaze to look over at the building.
"No. We're on time," Kate breathed out, causing Mary to look at her with a confused face. "The clock back in my office, it was… It was late of a couple of minutes," she explained what she had just remembered. "You're the stranger who called me…" She trailed off, still taken aback by what just happened.
"What? How – " Mary began before cutting herself abruptly when her eyes caught glimpse of the past-Kate rushing to her car. "She's here!" She pointed towards the window for Kate to turn and see.
The instant Kate saw her old, greyish blue car rush out of the parking lot, she stepped on the gas and followed her past-self.
Universe One.
October 27th, 2009.
Ketchum, Oklahoma.
At the Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital.
It had been a day since Sam and Dean checked into that psychiatric hospital, both not quite sure that there truly was a case in this place. But, after seeing the sucked-dry brain of one dead patient the previous night, their doubts completely vanished away. That got them to spend the entire night awake and thinking in their respective rooms as they impatiently waited to join Martin in the lounge room the next day. Once with him, the two brothers told him about their findings and he quickly figured out what creature they were dealing with: a wraith. Although Martin had never tangled with one before, he knew these feeding-on-brain-juice creatures and he knew how to kill them: silver. The only hitch was that these creatures could pass as humans and only the mirror could reflect their true form.
That was the reason why Dean went to stand at the corner of the lounge room for some while. There he could watch everyone, from the staff to the patients, and find out who the wraith was thanks to a round mirror up in the corner by the ceiling. The clicking sound of heels approaching him made him glance to his left, only to find the good-looking Doctor Cartwright smiling at him.
"What's up, Doc?" Dean greeted her with his arms crossed over his chest.
"You tell me," she replied, glancing up at the round mirror Dean was fixing at.
"Hunting," he replied, turning his green gaze to her. "A wraith, actually. Could be anybody."
"So, I could be a monster?" She inquired, causing Dean to check her image in the mirror. She looked perfectly normal.
"No, you're clean," he stated.
"Why you?"
"Why me, what?" Dean looked at her.
"Why do you have to hunt monsters?" She asked, looking right into his eyes. "Why not let someone else do it?"
Dean shrugged and smiled, "Can't find anybody else that dumb." The doctor watched him as he looked away, his face wearing a thoughtful expression. "It's my job. Somebody's gotta save people's asses, yours included."
"So, is there a quota?" She asked, causing him to look at her again. "How many people do you have to save?"
"All of them," he replied with no hesitation because that truly was the way he felt. He had to save these billions of people. It was his job. It was his responsibility. He couldn't fail. Not again.
"All of them?" She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You think you have to save everyone?"
"Yep. Whole wide world of sports."
"How?"
Dean took a deep breath, licked his lips and turned to look at her. He didn't want to answer this question. As a matter of fact, he didn't want to answer to half her questions. She didn't make him feel comfortable enough for him to open up about these kind of things. Her blue eyes were too bright and too professional. There was no warm. No softness. No sincerity. None of these things that he had gotten so accustomated with over the past year. And, it was all because she was gone.
"Believe me, whatever you've got, I've heard weirder," the doctor said, taking him out of his thoughts. He refocused his eyes on her and blinked when he saw her biting down on her lip.
The way she did it, it clearly wasn't a seductive action. But, it enchanted Dean as it reminded him yet again of the impossible girl who left way too soon. His green eyes traveled to the doctor's hair and he noticed all of sudden that her long curls were now shoulder-length – just like hers before she left.
"You got a new hair-cut?"
"Yesterday, after work," Doctor Cartwright confirmed. "But, don't change the topic, Dean. Tell me."
The hunter shifted his gaze from her hair to her blue eyes. Too blue. Not brown enough. Not brown at all.
"Come on," she softly said with a tilt of her head.
He sighed as he gave in, "It's the end of the world, okay? I mean, it's a damn Biblical apocalypse, and if I don't stop it and save everyone, then no one will, and we all die."
"That's horrible," she commented with a little frown.
"Yeah, tell me about it," he replied, turning to look up at the mirror.
"I mean, Apocalypse or no Apocalypse... Monsters or no monsters, that's a crushing weight to have on your shoulders," she developed and he looked at her. "To feel like six billion lives depend on you... God... How do you get up in the morning?" Dean stared at her for a moment as he was hit by the hard truth of her words.
"That's a good question," he nearly murmured, his fingers quickly reaching for the hair-tie around his left wrist while the woman watched him do.
"Hello, Eddie," Doctor Fuller greeted as he passed by.
"Uh, Doc," Dean replied before looking up at the mirror to check the doctor's image. He was instantly taken off guard when he saw an ugly decaying face with matted hair instead of the normal look of Doctor Fuller.
Doctor Fuller was the wraith.
Pushing away from the wall and burying all his pain and guilt away, Dean watched Doctor Fuller walk down the hall.
His hand dropped away from the hair-tie.
He had work to do.
Universe Two.
October 19th, 2008.
Topeka, Kansas.
When her parents got killed by a demon, Mary left the hunting life, promising herself to never step back in it. She had always wanted to run away from that world that she hated so much. But it was the death of her parents that proved to her how terrible that life was. It wasn't that easy for her to start a new life. She had to lose all of her hunter's reflexes. The truth was that for years she had struggled not to care too much whenever she came across a bizarre article on the newspapers. For years she had to learn not to quickly grab a sharp object when she heard a faint, weird noise. But the worst of it all were the lies to her husband. Night after night she had to reassure him that her screams at night were nothing and that her nightmares were too stupid to be told. Day after day she had to tell him that she was alright after going through a panic attack. But, John never stopped taking care of her. He held her tight at night until she was no longer trembling and he kissed her tenderly at day until she was smiling with her full heart.
For years, John was her rock.
Then, all of sudden, a month ago, after John had some problem at the garage he worked in, he became grumpy. He and Mary started arguing for the slightest things until he left their home. Mary's world seemed to crash at that moment. The articles on the newspapers appealed her interest so much that she began giving anonymous calls to hunters so that they could take care of those cases. When Sam or Dean's toy dropped on the floor with a fainted noise she would grab the closest object, ready to fight. And, the nightmares were back. She once screamed so loud that little Dean awoke and ran to her in the middle of the night. The worst of it all was that this time around she had to lie to her son. She had to reassure him that she was alright when the truth was that she wasn't. That was the night when she pulled herself back together and buried back her old life to the past.
It was as though she had been given a second chance when John came back the following day. Since then, they had been slowly forging back what made their home a peaceful place full of love. So surely, when Kate had reassured her that her marriage would be okay in the future, Mary had felt as though the biggest relief had washed over her.
John would remain her rock in the future.
No matter what would bring the hunting world back to Mary in the future and no matter how long or short the hunting world would be back for, John would never stop loving her.
That thought comforted her even though she had first thought that it was all truly over.
Sure, Kate hadn't told her exactly what the future would be like for Mary and her family. But, the blonde understood that the hunting world had to catch her back for Kate to know her in the future. All she hoped for was for was for her family to not be involved.
It was weird how a week ago, she thought that the hunting life really was behind her, and now she was living the unexplainable just like she used to. As a matter of fact, it was even madder than what she was used of living in the past.
Today, she was in a whole other universe; in which she had spent a good couple of hours trailing the past-self of the woman who had saved her son. No matter how many explanations the brunette had given, the situation was still crazy for Mary. It was so crazy that Mary couldn't help but act as the hunter she used to be.
Once they had trailed the Past-Kate until the latter went to her mother's place after finding out that her boyfriend was cheating on her, Mary showed to Kate how to spy on the other Kate without getting caught on. And, after Kate had told Mary that the neighbor across the street was an old lady who was never there during the week, the blonde broke her old promise as she broke into the empty house so that they could have a place to stay at while keeping an eye on the other Kate.
It had now been hours since they started squatting the house. They had tried to make some spells with the few ingredients that they had found in the kitchen, in vain. Magic didn't work in this universe simply because magic didn't exist. After accepting that fact, the brunette had gone upstairs to look for an object that she knew her neighbor had and that she knew would be very useful for their time of watching the other Kate across the street. Meanwhile, Mary was in the kitchen trying to cook dinner with the few things that she found.
"I got it!" Kate announced as she walked down the stairs.
Mary walked out of the kitchen, a wooden spoon in one hand, and looked over at the brunette who settled a telescope in front of the large window that gave out on Kate's mother's house.
"You know how to get it to work?"
"Yeah, Mrs. Smith used to let me borrow it once in a while," Kate replied as she fiddled with the object.
"Good," Mary simply remarked before Kate glanced at her.
"What are you cooking?" She asked as she saw the red sauce coloring the oval part at the end of the handle.
"Tomato rice soup," Mary replied, causing Kate to freeze as a flashback took hold of her.
"When I got sick, my mother used to make tomato-rice soup."
That was what Dean had confided to Kate when he was sick a while ago.
"Don't look at me like that, I cook excellent tomato rice soup."
"I don't doubt it," Kate replied in a little voice before clearing her throat. "But, um, why didn't you cook something more simple? A tomato salad would've taken much less time."
"I know, but I wanted to cook something that reminded me of home," Mary admitted. "My mother used to cook me that when I got sick and I kind of kept up with the tradition. She'd add four pinches of cinnamon to enhance the flavor. But, my little Dean prefers when I put only three." A reminiscing smile crossed her lips for a second before a sad expression appeared all over her face. "Dean gets sick pretty often. Always taking his scarf or hat off when the weather's bad and then coming back home, running a temperature and asking for mommy's soup," she finished, the little smile coming back on her lips.
A few other pieces of memory from that day back in Kansas City flashed in the back of the brunette's head.
"I ain't Superman, Kaitlin. I've already caught a bug several times in my life; I just never let it slow me down on a hunt…"
"I've been ill quite a few times when I was a kid and my mother was still…"
"I remember her bringing me that soup to bed, and humming that song she used to sing me and Sam to sleep. I remember her wiping my sweat away the same way you did, I remember the peach perfume of her hair as she leaned down to kiss my head and… I remember feeling good. I was ill, puking my guts out, but I was feeling good…"
"I was feeling good, because she was taking care of me..."
Kate blinked away these images and then, in attempt to change the topic that was slowly causing her heart to ache, she asked, "So, cinnamon is your secret recipe?"
"Secret recipe?" Mary chuckled. "I wouldn't really say that, but that's definitely a must-have recipe in a kitchen. It's even good for pies."
"You mean cinnamon-pie."
"No, all kind of pie," Mary replied. "Three pinches of cinnamon and you get the best pie. No matter if it's apple, cherry or pecan pie."
"Pecan pie?" Kate lightly grimaced. "I never tasted this one."
"Really? It's Dean's favorite," the blonde replied. "And, actually, I got a secret recipe for pies. Vanilla. A simple teaspoon of vanilla extract in the filling. It's –" Mary was interrupted by the beeping of the timer in the kitchen, announcing that the soup was ready. "Time for dinner," she smiled at Kate before making her way back into the kitchen.
Kate stood still on her spot. The more time she spent with Mary, the more she learned about her. And, the more she learned about Mary, the guiltier she felt. There was so much hope and so much life in this woman that her fate was starting to look like a rueful doom. Undoubtedly, Kate wanted to change that. She wanted to save Mary. But, she knew that she couldn't, and it was slowly killing her. It was simply killing her.
"Kate," Mary called from the kitchen and Kate immediately went there. The instant she stepped into the doorway, she saw that Mary was already serving two bowls. "Maybe we should eat by the window so that we can still keep an eye on the other you and the area around?"
"Good idea," Kate agreed as she watched the blonde serving. "It smells really good."
"I hope you'll like it," Mary smiled up at her.
"I'm sure I'll do."
"Do you cook?" Mary casually asked, putting the first bowl on one of the two little trays, on which there was a spoon, an apple and long glass of water.
"Um, not really. But, on a good and lucky day, I can cook pretty good pasta," Kate replied as she took the first tray. "Though, without cinnamon."
"Cinnamon isn't necessary in every recipe," Mary told her as she took her own tray and followed the brunette into the living room. "Although, it's quite good in pasta sauce."
"You sound like a real chief," Kate commented as they passed by the long table to get to the couch nearby the window and the telescope Kate had just settled down. The women sat down on the couch, putting their trays on the little coffee table.
"We actually don't know each other that much in the future, do we?" Mary asked, taking the brunette by surprise.
"What makes you say that?" Kate frowned as she looked at the blonde.
"I don't know," Mary lightly shrugged. "It's just that sometimes, you seem to know me, to understand me and even to care about me. Then, there are times when you look at me as though… As though I'm a stranger. A fragile stranger that you're afraid to bruise or harm in any way. But, still a stranger… I can't help but wonder who you are for me in the future. You have to be someone important if I gave you my ring."
"Mary, I—" Kate began hesitantly.
"I know," the blonde gently cut her off. "You can't tell me about the future. But, you can't blame me for having a hundred questions running in my head, huh?" Kate gave a little nod before turning to the food. "By the way, sorry to tell you this, but you made a little slip the other day."
"What do you mean?" Kate asked, moving her gaze to look at Mary who was biting down on her lip as she tried to hold back a grin.
"You told me I could be proud of my boys," Mary replied before taking a spoon of soup up while Kate just watched her. "I would be lying if I didn't say that I wished it was a little girl this time around. But, as long as he's healthy, another little boy is as much of a blessing," she smiled as she put the spoon in her mouth.
Kate didn't say a word, her brown eyes dropping down to Mary's belly and her heart aching as she was reminded that on November 2nd two persons would die, burning on the ceiling.
Not just Mary Winchester.
But, Mary Winchester and her unborn baby.
October 27th, 2009.
Ketchum, Oklahoma.
At the Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital.
After Dean had warned Sam and Martin that Doctor Fuller was the wraith they were looking for, the two brothers waited for the night to come so that they could get a hold of the creature. Since Martin wasn't feeling capable to help them on the hunt, Sam and Dean had to cover the field on their own. Dean took the east wing of the hospital while Sam took the west wing, both had a silver-plated knife in hand.
Noiselessly, the younger Winchester walked down a hallway, looking in each room he passed. When he came to another hallway, he looked around the corner and spotted Doctor Fuller heading his way. Sam instantly stood up against the wall to hide himself, he clenched his hand around the knife and waited for the doctor to get closer.
It had been a while since they had gone hunting. It had been more than a while actually. Ever since Carthage, Sam and Dean had spent their time at Bobby's place. While Dean did his own things, Sam tried to keep himself busy by putting all his energy in doing research. It was the best way he had found to avoid enduring the pain and guilt that kept scratching the hole inside of him. Sure, it wasn't as intense as it had been at first. Sam knew that he had to be strong for his brother so he did his best to keep that in mind. However, culminating all these feelings inside of him so that he could be strong for Dean, was slowly taking its toll on him. Sam felt like something was boiling inside of him, desperate to explode to the outside.
When Doctor Fuller coughed, Sam shook his thoughts away and that was the exact moment when the doctor rounded the corner. Sam immediately stepped forward to jump on him with the knife. The doctor yelled when the blade cut his arm. Sam was going for another swing when two orderlies came out of nowhere and grabbed him. They started to drag him away, but the hunter struggled. The determination to kill that monster plus the thing boiling inside of him gave him enough strength to throw off one orderly and punch the other.
Sam could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins and his heartbeats echoing louder and louder in his ears.
When one of the orderlies approached Sam, the latter quickly grabbed him and knocked his head into a window, shattering it. The other orderly jumped on him and Sam naturally fought back.
Sam felt like fighting against demons. He didn't hold back his punches. Truth be told, he couldn't hold them back if he tried. Something raw was boiling inside of him, making him want – need – to use his full strength against these people.
When Doctor Fuller started to run away, the young hunter violently pushed away the orderly he was fighting with. He grabbed the knife from the ground and ran after the doctor.
It wasn't long for Sam to catch the doctor and tackle him down to the floor. The doctor yelped with a fear that Sam didn't even notice. His heartbeats were too loud in his ears for him to hear the doctor beg him to stop as Sam raised the blade.
Right when Sam was going to stab the doctor, his arm was grabbed back.
"No! No!" Martin shouted at Sam who tried to pull his arm away so that he could finish his job. "Look at his arm. That cut's not burning." Sam looked at the cut, only to see that Martin was indeed right. "It's not him. It's not him."
Sam moved his gaze up to look at the doctor's face as the drumming sound of his heartbeats began to decrease in his ears. The stunned expression on Doctor Fuller's face caused Sam to understand what he almost did.
He almost killed an innocent man.
Universe Two.
October 20th, 2008.
Topeka, Kansas.
Mary was sitting in front of the large window of the living room, one hand on the telescope as she was watching the Past-Kate pacing back and forth in her living room while talking animatedly on the phone. The blonde pulled slightly away from the object and yawned. She was exhausted after the long night she and the brunette had spent.
Indeed, the previous night, Kate and Mary had alternated keeping an eye on the Other-Kate with the telescope and making rounds in the neighborhood in the search of a hidden creature. There hadn't been a soul out there and as for the Other-Kate, all she had done was drink herself to sleep after watching hours of television. When it was Kate's turn to inspect the streets, Mary had checked the schedule of the brunette's past-self. Apparently, everything was happening quite accurately as it was supposed to happen.
Mary, who had wondered about the absence of Kate's mother in the house, found her explanation on one of the napkins: the woman was on a job trip at that moment and would only return on the morning of October 21st. No matter how many times Mary tried to bring the subject up, Kate hadn't wanted to talk much about her mother. All she had let out was that she and her mother never got along.
In fact, the brunette was so against the idea of talking about her mother that she even decided to follow the other Kate on her own that morning so that she could avoid the conversation. Little did Mary know that by doing so Kate was also trying to avoid the conversations about Mary and her tragic fate.
"I'm back," Kate's voice announced, pulling Mary out of her thoughts.
The blonde turned to look at the doorway as the brown-head stopped there, taking her shoes off.
"You were quick," Mary remarked sarcastically, causing Kate to slightly scoff.
After following her past-self to her old working place, Kate had followed her past-self as she made her way back to her mother's place. Then, Kate had returned to the house she and Mary were squatting. However, she didn't stay more than a few minutes with the blonde as she quickly went to park her former boss' car somewhere near her old work place.
"I left my boss' car about 10 minutes away from the building and then I had some trouble finding a car that I could break into in a matter of seconds. But I got us one," Kate explained. "Oh and by the way, now I know why I got fired."
"Mmh?" Mary frowned.
"Well, you know I told you I'd get fired on October 20th," Kate began as she finished taking her shoes off.
"Yeah, and that's also the reason why the Other-You is going crazy on the phone over there," Mary nodded towards the window, indicating the house across.
"Exactly," Kate nodded as she shrugged her jacket off. "If I remember well, I'm – well, the Other-Me," she corrected herself. "Is currently cursing at people for accusing me – well, her – for stealing the big boss' car."
"Oh," Mary let out as she understood.
"Yep," Kate gave a nod with raised eyebrows before tossing her jacket on the floral couch just three steps on Mary's left.
"So, your job meant more than your boyfriend or what?" Mary asked, in a curious tone as Kate slowly sat on the couch.
"What do you mean?" Kate asked, looking at her with frowned eyebrows.
"Well, the Other-You seems more upset about losing her job than having a heartbreak," Mary noted and Kate gave a half-hearted chuckle.
"It wasn't a heartbreak," Kate simply replied and Mary looked at her, silently telling her to develop. "Um, I wasn't in love with Peter. He came around when I wasn't at my best. I had just lost my father and I… Um, that was also the time when I found refuge in alcohol. I drank a lot. More than I could ever admit. But, I needed it. I needed to drink down my loss, my pain. And that's when Peter came with his great and charming words that could make any girl's knees go weak. But, he wasn't making my knees weak; he wasn't making me weak at all. He was making me feel alive. Or at least, I thought so. He was making me forget about my sadness. Actually, thinking about it, I realize that he was… He was convenient," Kate looked down, ashamed by her own words. "The truth is that for a long time, I thought he was the one who used me. But, it wasn't only him. It was me, too. I used him. I was so afraid of being alone again that I became a selfish and terrible human being," Kate was ashamed but she still lifted her head to meet Mary's gentle blue gaze. "He may have cheated on me, but the truth is that I cheated on myself long before."
"You still had some feelings for him, didn't you?" Mary asked in a soft murmur.
"I can't say I was in love with him, because honestly I don't even know what it really is to be in love," Kate nervously chuckled. "But, I'd be lying if I told you that I hadn't grown attached to him."
"He wasn't that bad of a guy for a cheating asshole," Mary commented with a tiny smile.
"We can put it that way," Kate let out a breathy chuckle.
"So, no remorse that I called you, then?" Mary inquired and Kate lightly frowned. "The stranger call about the apartment in fire. Ring a bell?"
"Yeah, right," Kate nodded before a thought crossed her mind. "Now that you mention it," she started, biting down on her lip. "I used to remember these few days as one hell of a few days. Running out of work because someone told me my apartment was on fire, but then finding out that my boyfriend is cheating on me. And, then getting fired the next day. And the argument with my mother tomorrow…" She trailed off as Mary watched the pensive expression increase on the brunette's face. "It's like now I get to know the other half of the story. And, there's you on the other half. I mean, you're the stranger who called me and you're the one who pretended to be me at my work place to get the car, getting me fired in the process," Kate raked her upper teeth on her bottom lip. "All the pieces are slowly falling into place," she added in almost a whisper.
"That's good, isn't it?" Mary asked, causing Kate to look at her. "It means we're on the right track to get our way back."
Kate didn't say anything but as she stared at Mary, all she could think of now was what Chronos had told her.
"The first thing your eyes will land on will be what brought you here."
What if there was no creature waiting for the right moment to send her past-self to that other universe?
What if there never was any creature?
What if it was Mary Winchester all along?
But, how?
Universe One.
October 27th, 2009.
Ketchum, Oklahoma.
At the Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital.
Dean walked down the hallway, glancing at the people he passed by. He couldn't understand how he had mistaken Doctor Fuller for the wraith. He was sure that he had seen the creature in the mirror and yet when Sam attacked him with the silver-plated knife, nothing happened. All of that meant one thing: the creature was still walking freely in the hospital. With Sam put away in a room because of his violence against the hospital staff and with Martin too afraid to face the wraith, Dean was on his own to do the job before another patient became a victim.
"You missed our session today," Doctor Cartwright remarked as she joined Dean in his walk.
"A little busy," Dean replied, glancing at her.
"Still hunting that wraith?" She asked as they walked through a large doorway.
"People are dying."
"People die all the time," she responded.
"Look, lady, why don't you just let me do my job, maybe save your life."
"It's not my life that I'm worried about," the doctor explained, which exasperated Dean.
"Oh, my G– I am fine, okay?" He nearly snapped, stopping in the middle of the corridor to press his fingers on his eyelids. "I'm fine."
"Come on, even you don't believe that," she told him as he rubbed his eyelids. "All this pressure that you're putting yourself under, all this guilt; it's killing you," she told him and he slid his hand down his face before opening his eyes to look at her.
Dean instantly froze when his green eyes met brown eyes.
"Wait… Didn't you have blue eyes?" He asked with a frown.
"Don't pretend that's what bothering you. You know that the real matter is that you can't save everybody. You can't," she declared softly. Dean stared at her, still confused by the color of her eyes when she finished in a hard voice, "Hell, these days, you can't save anybody, Dean."
"What did you say?" He asked as she turned around, ready to leave.
She turned back to him, "The truth, Dean. You got Ellen and Jo killed. You shot Lucifer, but you couldn't gank him. You couldn't stop Sam from killing Lilith, and – oh, yeah – you broke the first seal. All you do is fail. And that is why she left you," she sharply told him, her brown eyes slowly taking the shapes of the ones he loved the most. "Did you really think that you, Dean Winchester with a GED and a give-'em-hell attitude, were gonna beat the devil?" Dean started to get confused and afraid. This woman couldn't know all these things. She just couldn't. "Please. The world is gonna burn, and there is nothing that you can do about it. Kaitlin knew that; she knew that you were only gonna fail again. She knew that you weren't worthy. This is why the second she had the chance to leave, she ran; ran away from you and your pathetic little self."
"Who are you?" Dean demanded, anger starting to wrap around his fear and confusion. "How do you know that stuff?" He half-shouted, causing an orderly who was sorting laundry a few feet away, to look up at him.
"Hey, settle down," the orderly instructed.
"Tell me!" Dean shouted, taking a step closer to Doctor Cartwright.
The orderly walked around his cart of laundry and approached Dean, "I said, settle down."
"Who are you?" Dean whispered to the brunette standing in front of him, his eyes scanning her face as he backed away from her. He looked over at the orderly and pointed at her as he asked, "Who is she?"
"Who?" The orderly asked.
"What are you, blind?" Dean shouted, pointing at the doctor again. "Her!"
"Pal, there's nobody there," the orderly calmly stated.
It rooted Dean to the spot as he slowly shifted his gaze back to Doctor Cartwright. She wore a twisted smile, her brown eyes back to looking blue and cold; terribly cold and heartless.
"I'm not real, Dean," she told him, still smiling. "If you had waited a little bit longer, I would have looked like her. I would have looked exactly like her. And, you would've liked it. Yes, I'm not real, Dean. I'm in your head... Because you are going crazy."
Dean could feel a lump form in his throat when the brown-haired doctor suddenly vanished into thin air. He looked around the hallway, feeling as though his sanity had vanished as well.
It couldn't happen to him.
There was something wrong with this place.
He couldn't go crazy all of sudden.
Something wrong was happening.
He couldn't lose his sanity all of sudden.
Something really wrong was happening.
Dean looked over at the orderly and then swallowed down the lump of fear that was threatening to choke him. He clenched his jaw as he wrapped his hand around his wrist; just above the hair-tie. "Just leave me alone," he told the orderly before stalking down the hallway.
Dean felt the need to get away from that corridor. He had to find Martin. He had to ask him for help. Or maybe he could get to call Bobby. Bobby would know what to do. Bobby always knew what to do. Bobby would get him and Sam out of that place.
As he passed a couple of nurses, Dean couldn't help but glance at the mirror on the other side and that made him flinch as he saw that both the nurses looked like wraiths. He started to tremble, sweat forming on his forehead, as he curled his fingers around the hairband, nearly pulling at it.
He had to get Sam and himself out of that place.
Something wrong was happening in this hospital.
His heartbeats were starting to get loud in his ears, nearly too loud, and also too hard against his ribcage.
He had to get out of that place. He wasn't crazy. It was this place, it wasn't him.
As he passed a couple of patients, he looked up at the mirror and saw that they looked like wraiths, too. He pulled at the hairband as he quickly passed them.
Something was wrong with this place. It was this place, it wasn't him.
The corridors were too bright. They were too long and too short at the same time, and also too large and too narrow at the same time.
Dean had to get out of that place.
He had to get out.
He went for a door and tried to open it, but it was locked.
Suddenly, his lungs seemed to forget how to work. He started to pant as though air was lacking from his entire body. He backed into a corner, right next to the door and slid down to the floor.
Something was wrong with this place. It was this place, it wasn't him.
Usually, everything was on him. But, this time he knew it wasn't his fault. He brought his hands up to his face, closed his eyes shut and rested his wrist with the hair-tie against his lips.
Something was wrong with this place.
It wasn't him this time. It wasn't his fault this time.
It wasn't.
"It is. It's always your fault, Dean," Doctor Cartwright's voice said in his head.
"No," he mumbled against the hairband.
It wasn't. It wasn't. It wasn't.
Universe Two.
October 21st, 2008.
Topeka, Kansas.
In the very early morning, Mary blinked a couple of times, and awoke. Her blue eyes stared at the ceiling for a few seconds as she slid her bandaged hand up to caress her belly. When she turned her head to the side, she was surprised not to find Kate settled in front of the telescope. Sitting up Mary looked around the living room until she spotted the brunette's shoes next to the doorway leading to the hallway. She glanced down at her watch, and stood up. She went to the kitchen, only to find it empty. However, she noticed that the backdoor was ajar so she walked out, hoping to find the brunette in the backyard. She went to the middle of the backyard and looked around before frowning when there was, once again, no sign of Kate.
The blonde turned around, ready to make her way back inside the house when she finally saw the brunette sitting on the roof of the house.
"Good morning," Mary greeted, causing the young woman to look down at her.
"Hey," Kate simply said back.
"What are you doing up there?" Mary asked as she glanced at the ladder at Kate's feet. "I thought we were supposed to keep an eye on the Other-You?"
"The Other-Me won't wake up before a couple of hours," The brunette reassured in a thoughtful tone, her eyes focused on the beautiful sight in the distance.
"What about the creature? Or the entity? If there's one, we might be missing it right now," Mary explained.
"As long as we follow my past-self when she drives to Lawrence, I'm sure it's gonna be okay."
"If you say so," Mary replied, studying the young woman.
"Have you ever watched the sunrise?" Kate asked after a moment of silence. Mary turned to look over at the sunrise that she could still see without going up on the roof like Kate.
"That's something that I used to do a lot, yes," Mary replied, her eyes glued to the beautiful sight of the sky filling with a myriad shades of orange and red as the blue and purple colors slowly disappeared. "It's so ordinary, yet so extraordinary, isn't it?"
Kate remained quiet. Mary was right. It was extremely ordinary, but at the same time, it was beyond extraordinary. The brunette had never taken time to watch the sunrise when she used to live in this universe. The first time she had ever watched the sunrise was back in Mary's universe. It was months ago. Kate could remember so clearly that day.
She was sitting right outside the motel room she was sharing with Sam and Dean, in a balcony-hallway that gave out to the parking lot and the clear horizon.
Then, Dean had joined her, sitting right next to her.
She could remember the way he watched the sunrise for a moment. The traits of his profile were so hard, yet so gentle. His jawline showed a big strength while his full lips showed a deep tenderness. His freckles made him look so young and innocent while his emerald green eyes did the contrary. His eyes had always been filled with many memories; most of which were sad and painful. But, still that didn't diminish the beauty of his eyes, nor of his face.
He looked beautiful.
He was beautiful.
And, since that day, Kate had noticed something different in Dean's eyes. The tiny glimpse of hope that she had caught a very few times before, wasn't that tiny anymore. It was nearly as visible as the pain of his green eyes.
And strangely enough, that made him even more beautiful.
"Today's the big day… How do you feel?" Mary inquired, pulling Kate out of her thoughts.
"I don't know," the young woman admitted, glancing down at the blonde.
"You don't know?" Mary asked in a tone of surprise. "We're going to find out what made you travel the first time around. And by doing so we're going to get our way back to my world. This means that after giving the marble to Chronos, you'll finally be able to get back here. Aren't you happy to know that you'll get to watch more of these sunrises?"
"There are sunrises in your universe, too," the brown-head simply pointed out, looking down at the blonde who shrugged before turning her gaze back to the sunrise.
"It's true that they're not that different," Mary stated.
"Actually, they are," Kate declared in a wistful tone, her brown eyes still glued to the sunrise, as though trying to memorize it.
Mary crossed her arms over her chest, tilting her head to the side as she watched the colors change.
"Yours are much more beautiful," Kate whispered as her mind flashed her the image of Dean watching the sunrise that long gone day. "So much more."
Universe One.
October 28th, 2009.
Ketchum, Oklahoma.
At the Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital.
Standing in the room he was put away to, Sam was lost in his thoughts as his hazel eyes looked out the window. He couldn't believe what had happened the day before. He couldn't believe what he had done. He couldn't believe that he had almost killed a man. It was as though he had lost all control of himself. As though a force had taken control of his entire self.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear Doctor Fuller and an orderly entering the room; not until the doctor spoke up.
"You asked to see me?"
Sam spun around, relieved that he could see the doctor after what he did to him. Shame and guilt burned inside of him when he met the hard and distrusted look that Doctor Fuller was giving him. When they first got to this place, Sam had noticed that while the rest of the hospital staff seemed to stick with strict professionalism, Doctor Fuller had always acted different. He was professional yet very gentle with his patients. His eyes used to hold some kind of compassion and understanding that Sam had found quite comforting. But, now, there was none of it.
"Yeah," Sam replied in a little voice. "Thanks. I, um... I just wanted to apologize. I feel horrible about what I did to you. I thought you were a monster."
"I know that. The question is, why?"
"I was..." Sam began before sighing. "It doesn't matter, um... Because after what happened last night, I had a... A moment of clarity. I realized... There's no such thing as monsters."
"Well, I'm glad to hear you say that," the doctor declared. "But, honestly? Monsters are the least of your problems. People can learn to live with delusions, but the anger I saw in you... You hurt those two men, and you were going to kill me. The look in your eyes when you came after me, I... It was like you were barely even human... Like a man possessed."
That made Sam even more guilt-ridden and ashamed of himself. The doctor's words were bringing back one of his biggest fears. Suddenly, the case wasn't as important as it used to be. And, although he knew he had to do anything to get out of this room so that he could get his hands on the real wraith, Sam needed something else. He needed to get the doctor to trust him again. If the doctor trusted him again, then it would mean that Sam was still human.
It would mean that Sam wasn't a monster.
"I know. Please... Just... Could you give me a second chance?" Sam pleaded.
"Well, this isn't a prison. You'll be allowed to go to the day room, under supervision," Doctor Fuller replied, the gentleness coming back in his eyes and washing Sam with some relief.
"Thank you," the young man genuinely replied.
"But if there is one more outburst," the doctor took a step towards Sam. "I will transfer you to a facility that is equipped to handle violent patients. And, believe me, they will be far, far less forgiving."
Sam nodded. He could take this. As long as he was trusted not to be a monster, he could take these words. He could take anything as long as he wasn't considered a monster. Sure, he had lost control, but he wasn't going to let it happen again. No, he wasn't going to let it happen. Because he wasn't a monster.
He wasn't a monster.
He was not a monster.
But then again, if he wasn't a monster, why was he so afraid of losing control again?
Universe Two.
October 21st, 2008.
Topeka, Kansas.
Kate and Mary were ready, or rather as ready as can be.
After going over the plan of following the Other-Kate on her way up to Lawrence, the two women had spent the day juggling between watching the Other-Kate and doing other activities to kill time until the clock would strike the hour when they would have to leave the house they were squatting.
Mary had watched some television for a while, feeding her curiosity on the channels and shows of the future and surprising herself with the high definition of the images. She asked a hundred questions to Kate and although the brunette had spent the last few days saying that she couldn't tell her about the future, she still answered all of the blonde's questions. Mary hadn't found it any weird as she reasoned that knowing about the future of the world of television wouldn't create any big time paradox.
The television session had been followed by a cooking session. Mary had found there was enough ingredients in the kitchen to give Kate a little cooking lesson. The cooking lesson was more of a baking lesson as the two women baked together a little apple pie. Somehow, that time spent preparing the pie had reminded Kate of her time trying to cook with her father. Mary was as patient, gentle and considerate as Kate's father used to be.
Surely while showing to Kate how to prepare the crust or the filling, Mary had casually mentioned her family a few times. Kate hadn't stopped her. As a matter of fact, the brunette even told her a couple of things. She assumed that there was no harm in telling some things about Sam and Dean to their mother, although she made sure not to say anything about the hunting part. She had told her ordinary things that wouldn't give away too much about the future. Things like how Dean never stopped loving pies and that he cooked the best burgers she ever tasted. And, that Sam cooked amazing shaped pancakes and always made sure to eat very healthy. Mary had asked her about her third child that was still growing in her belly but she didn't get any answer as the beeping of the timer gave to the brunette the opportunity to change the topic.
The next hour had been spent with Mary and Kate chatting and putting everything back in places in the house. There were only a few minutes left before Kate's mother would return from her job trip and the argument between her and the Past-Kate would happen. The argument would be followed with Kate leaving her mother's house to go see her father's grave in Lawrence. And, that would be on that way to Lawrence that Past-Kate would get aspired to Mary's universe.
Yes, Kate and Mary were ready. Or rather, as ready as can be.
"I'm done," Kate declared as she walked down the stairs after putting the telescope back at its place. "What are you doing?" She asked as she saw the blonde reading the napkins as she stood at the end of the staircase.
"I'm thinking… Here you said that your car stopped in the middle of your way down to Lawrence," she looked up at the brunette who arrived at the end of the stairs. "But, this morning when you took a shower, I crossed the street to check your car and I didn't find anything wrong with it."
"What do you mean?" Kate frowned in confusion, ignoring the fact that Mary had risked their hiding.
"I mean that your car may be old and a little dented, but the engine works perfectly fine," Mary explained. "And, trust me, I know what I'm talking about. My husband works at a garage; I can't tell you how much he showed me."
"Yeah, okay, but I don't see where the problem is."
"There's no problem, I'm just wondering if we're sure that your car is gonna stop where it stopped last time."
"Why wouldn't it stop where it stopped last time?"
"Well, I don't know," Mary shrugged. "But, better be safe than sorry."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that maybe we should help your car to stop working in the middle of the road," Mary suggested.
"And, how do you wanna do that?"
"I know a couple of things about cars, and I know which wires not to cut if we don't want a car to stop working after twenty minutes of driving. Or rather eighteen minutes."
"Eighteen minutes? You're so precise," Kate remarked, mimicking the tone that Mary had used when making the same kind of remark the other day. Mary gave a shrug as she smirked at her. "So, basically, you wanna sabotage my car?"
"You have a better idea?" Mary inquired as Kate just stared at her, looking a bit unsure. "Look, you said it yourself, Kate. Your car stopped in the middle of the road after about twenty minutes of driving. If it happened in the past, then it has to… To happen today."
"Yeah, I know, but I actually thought it was something supernatural that made it stop," Kate admitted before biting on her lower bit.
"Maybe you're right; maybe it's something supernatural," Mary replied. "But, if it's not, then your car will never stop. And, that creature or entity that opened that breach to bring you to my world in the first place, then it may catch someone else. Not you. You told me that you've been said that you have nothing special. So, maybe whatever took you, will take someone else if we don't make sure that your car stops where it's supposed to stop."
Kate contemplated Mary's explanation for a moment. It had been a moment now that Kate believed that Mary was more than just connected to Kate's first dimensional-traveling. After all, Chronos had told her that she would see what brought her to Bobby's universe and the more time Kate spent with Mary Winchester, the more she believed that Mary could have been the one doing so. Mary could have been the one who sent her to Bobby's universe. It was a head-aching theory, but it still made some sense. Nevertheless, the question of how Mary could have done that was still left unanswered; or at least for now.
"You're right," Kate gave a nod. She looked down at the napkins in Mary's hands before they heard the noise of a car driving in the street. They both went to look out the tiny window by the frontdoor. "That's my mother's car," the brunette stated as the black car parked in front of the house and then a tall red-haired woman in a brown suit stepped out. "And, that's her."
"I imagined her with curly brown hair like yours," Mary murmured thoughtfully.
"She dyes it," Kate simply explained as Mary glanced at her before returning her blue eyes to the woman taking out a suitcase from the trunk of her car. They saw her throwing a few glances at the greyish blue car a few times before walking into the house. "The argument is gonna start."
"Then, we should go and check your car, right now," Mary told Kate who simply nodded.
The two women immediately walked out of Mrs. Smith's house to make their way to the blue car. While Mary looked under the hood, Kate kept throwing glances around, afraid that a neighbor might see them or that her past-self would step out of her mother's house.
"Your knife," Mary said, holding her hand out. Kate glanced at her before quickly sliding her knife out of her boot. She gave it to the blonde and watched her as she cut a couple of wires. "Done."
"Alright, let's go," Kate rushed her, still afraid that her past-self would see her. Mary gave her back the knife and put the hood back down when Kate saw the frontdoor opening. Out of panic, she quickly grabbed Mary and pulled her to the bushes, just a couple of feet away from the car.
They heard her past-self going back inside the house, leaving the frontdoor open.
"Let's go over there," Kate pointed to the bushes that were against the house's facade and that were clearly bigger for them to hide behind.
With the frontdoor open, the two women could hear perfectly the harsh words exchanged by the mother and the daughter inside the house. Mary looked at the young woman crouched by her side and she was taken aback by the emotionless expression painted on her face. After all these days, it was the first time that the blonde saw such an expression on the brunette's features. Without doubt, the argument was affecting the short-haired brunette beside Mary.
"You did say that you didn't get along with your mother, but I didn't think that it was…" Mary trailed off.
"I know," Kate just replied in a little voice while her past-self ended up saying a few hard words before the slamming of the frontdoor echoed loudly.
Still hiding, the two women moved their gazes and watched as the angry Past-Kate went into her old, blue car and drove away.
"Let's go," Kate announced as she and Mary stood up. The brunette was going to rush to the car she had stolen the day before, when Mary suddenly grabbed her arm, stopping her. "What?" Kate asked, spinning around to look at her with a confused expression.
All Mary did was nod towards the window that was just above the bushes they had been hiding behind. Kate followed her gaze and instantly froze.
Her mother was crying.
Kate had never seen her mother crying.
Not ever.
Her mother had nearly always worn a rigid and cold-stone expression.
But, there she was. Sitting on the couch and crying.
"I don't know what happened for you two not to get along when you grew up, but there's something I know," Mary looked at the young brunette. "A mother who cries like this after an argument with her daughter, it means that she's filled with deep remorse."
"We better go," Kate said, ignoring Mary's words as she pulled her arm away from the woman's grip.
"Kate, no. Your mother's crying –"
"So, what?" Kate snapped, surprising Mary a little.
"'So, what'?" Mary repeated with a frown. "So, she's your mother –" Kate scoffed.
From the very few things Kate had said about her mother, Mary had figured out that this woman surely had never been the mother of the year. But, it didn't stop Mary to believe that the present dimensional-traveling situation could only put all the disagreements on the side.
"Look, I understand that it can be difficult and complicated. But, the Other-You is going to be sucked to another world. And, youmight not come back to this world before a long time. Actually, we have no assurance that you're gonna get back here just like we have no assurance that I'll get back to my world… What I mean to say is that… It may be your last chance to make up with her. To tell her that you're sorry things were that way with her."
Kate stared at Mary as fragments of a memory came back in her mind.
"So, maybe, you should call her, and tell her that you're sorry," Jo had suggested to her when they were doing the dishes together the day before Chronos came to Kate. "Because, that's pretty obvious that you are sorry."
"Because, she looks like she is sorry, you know? She looks like she is deeply sorry. Besides, you never know what really is in someone else's heart. What pain and sorrow and darkness is in someone else's heart… And, that includes your mother," Mary continued, causing Kate to look at her pensively.
"What do I do?" Kate asked in almost a whisper.
Mary approached the young woman, put her hand on her arm and gave her a supportive rub, "You can't face her. I don't think she'll understand that you look this different in just a few minutes. Let's go back to Mrs. Smith's house. You can call her from there and tell her what you wanna tell her. What you've always wanted to tell her."
Universe One.
October 28th, 2009.
Ketchum, Oklahoma.
At the Glenwood Springs Psychiatric Hospital.
Once Sam and Dean killed the wraith, they quickly ran away from the hospital, the alarm bell ringing loudly. And, as they ran towards the woods near the hospital, where the Impala was parked, the alarm bell kept on ringing. It was only a matter of seconds before they finally arrived by their car.
"Well, looks like Tom Cruise was right. Shrinks suck," Dean commented as he reached the driver's door. He stopped when he realized that Sam was still standing at the trunk. "What are you doing? Sam? You okay?"
"No," Sam breathed out. "No. The wraith –"
"What about her?"
"She was right," Sam declared, sounding completely drained.
"No, she wasn't," Dean shook his head. "She's dead, okay? Let's hit the road. I need a drink, or twelve."
"Most of the time, I can hide it, but," Sam started to say, taking Dean a bit aback. "I am angry. I'm mad at everything. I used to be mad at you and Dad, then Lilith, now it's Lucifer, and I make excuses. I blame Ruby or the demon blood, but it's not their fault. It's not them. It's me. It's inside me," he admitted and Dean closed his eyes. The anger, anguish and exasperation that filled Sam's voice was hurting Dean like a stabbing knife. "I'm mad... All the time… And I don't know why."
Dean stepped closer to his little brother, "Stop. Stop it… So what if you are? What are you gonna do? You gonna take a leave of absence? So, what you gonna say yes to Lucifer? What?"
"No, of course not. I –" Sam began, only to be cut off by Dean.
"Exactly. And that's exactly what you're gonna do. You're gonna take all that crap and you're gonna bury it. You're gonna forget about it, because that's how we keep going! That's how we don't end up like Martin! We're not gonna run away to some other universe –"
"How can you say that?" Sam interrupted him, his brow furrowed. "She's got nothing to do with that. K—"
"Don't say her name," Dean cut him off in a harsh tone. Sam's eyebrows shot up on his forehead.
"You know what? No," Sam shook his head. "No. I'm tired of you pretending that her leaving didn't affect you, but then when someone start to mention her, you flip out." Dean clenched his jaw, looking away. "No one can say a word about her or about what happened back in Carthage without you flipping out on us! And, that's unfair, Dean. That's unfair and selfish. You're not the only one who lost people you cared about!"
"You think I don't know that?!"
"Then, why do you act like that? Why do you feel the need to pretend that she's never been here or –"
"Because what's the point?!" Dean cut him off again, his voice cracking with emotion. "Can you tell me what's the point in remembering that one moment she was here and the other she just vanished? No, she didn't even vanish. She made a deal with Chronos to leave. She chose to leave."
"Dean, she had to go back eventually," Sam gently remarked.
"Yeah, I know that! I do, okay? It's just… Everytime we got something, it's ripped out of our hands. And, she was something good… She… She was a good person. Hell, Ellen and Jo were good people. They didn't deserve to die, but they died. And, even though I know it's on us, I feel like there's something else. I feel like God, the Guardians and all of the fuckin' universes have a blast at making us go through that. It's like a game for'em. They give us a girl to protect, they wait for her to mean something to us and then they just take her back. That was all just a game for them…" Dean took a deep breath and looked down at the hair-tie around his wrist. He continued in almost a whisper, "She gave me hope, Sam."
"I know," Sam gently whispered, his green-hazel eyes watching Dean's hand going over the hair-tie.
"And the worst is that she knew it. She knew that she gave me hope and peace. She knew it, but she still chose to leave," Dean half-scoffed at himself. "As much as I wanna forget about this, about her, there's a part of me that can't… That doesn't want to. But, the more time passes by and the more I realize that there's no point… No point at all," Dean slipped the hair-tie off his wrist and held it tightly in between his fingers. "So, I bury that crap. I bury it with all the other crap that's ever happened to us. And, that's what you're gonna do, Sam. You bury it all and that's how you keep going." He looked at the hair-tie for a couple of seconds and then threw it on the ground. He looked up at his little brother, "Are you with me?"
Sam stayed silent, his gaze fixing at the hair-tie. Dean had spent weeks with that hair-tie around his wrist.
"Come on, man. Are you with me?" Dean repeated, causing Sam to lift his gaze up to him.
"I'm with you," Sam eventually replied, though in a rather weak voice.
"Good. Let's get the hell out of here," Dean stated before getting into the Impala.
Dean didn't even glance at the hair-tie that had helped him for weeks to remember the brunette who had once been a light to his darkness.
Author's note:
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter even though there surely were a lot of mistakes since I did the betareading myself… I wanted to keep my promise of posting this new chapter on this weekend, no matter what. I wish I could have given you the edited work, but the fantastic 'Igotzapped' is pretty busy lately, so I couldn't really get her to betaread my writing…
I truly hope that there weren't as many mistakes as I used to make when I first started writing this story! Speaking of which, I think about re-writing the first volume, or rather correcting all of my types/grammar mistakes and all these kind of stuff. So if anyone wants to give me some help, that'd be really nice of you! (MisssSupernatural, if you are still reading this story, I remember that you suggested doing this for me a million ages ago, so if you're still interested, send me a PM please!)
Thank you very much for the supporting reviews: 3 guests, RomainieSweetheart, Emily, Klandgraf2007, Emma, Jules and the 3 guests! I promise to answer to those reviews of yours on the next chapter!
You guys are truly amazing for staying so loyal to my story. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul.
No spoilers, but I think you will LOVE the next chapter so come back next weekend ;)
Happy Valentine's Day,
A.