Chapter Twenty
Dean and Bobby looked over at Sam who stood in stunned silence. The Demon sneered at him, drawing its tongue around it's lips suggestively. Dean knew what was going through Sam's head right now and reached over to him.
"Sam – you didn't know. Don't go there man, this isn't your fault..."
Sam pushed him away violently and moved towards the edge of the Devil's Trap. "How long?" he said, his voice shaking. The demon grinned broadly but stayed silent, tormenting him. "How long?" he shouted and Dean moved quickly, grabbing him just before he stepped over the outer lines.
"Bobby, get him the fuck out of here!" Dean yelled and Bobby closed around him, pushing them both towards the door. Sam struggled against him and Jody came forward to help.
"You can't be in here Sam. You need to go." Dean joined them and managed to get him through into the hall. "Keep him out Bobby!" he shouted and slammed the door, flicking the lock catch. He could hear Sam yelling in protest as they moved him away and it tore at him.
He turned to the Demon, pulling out a flask of Holy Water from his breast pocket and took a long, slow breath in and out.
Game face on, Dean. One rookie move and it'll take full advantage and slaughter everyone.
"Oh Dean, look at you. Poor little Sammy's gonna chew over this one for a long time, huh?" It laughed and sat down on the chair. "Nearly had her in Duluth but who knew he was just biding his time until he could stick it to her real good here!" It drew it's hand up around its torso. "And such a deliciously dirty fuck it was, too. He likes it dirty, your little brother, likes it hard and fast. Oh – and let's not forget you, Dean. Let's talk about how hard you were when I gripped your cock and milked you like a stud..." It laughed heartily again, throwing back its head.
Dean continued to breath slowly, staying calm, biting down the urge to rip off it's head with his bare hands.
Jo is in there.
He felt a wave of nausea as he thought of what she'd been going through all this time with them having no idea. And all he'd done was be a bastard to her, thinking she was pitting the brothers against each other.
He prayed to God she hadn't been awake for any of it...
Almost as if it knew what he was thinking it said, "Of course she's awake, Dean! I made sure she's been here with me the whole time.."
Dean shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "You son of a bitch.." he muttered and felt the sting of tears just behind his eyes.
"Actually, I'm not a son Dean, I'm a daughter. I'll tell you a story shall I? About little Jo Harvelle and her dead mother. Feel free to get a drink and some snacks, might as well get comfy..."
Dean opened the Holy Water and splashed it across it's face, taking some pleasure at least from the sizzle it made as it burned into the Demon.
It went completely still then and stared back at him, black eyes unblinking. "Careful Dean. Like I said, she's in here with me. Wouldn't want anyone's neck to snap, would we now?"
Dean put down the flask. "Go on," he said flatly.
It smiled. "So, the tale begins with a plan involving a seventeen year old boy called Dale. Jo remembers Dale, don't you Jo?" It chuckled. "I found Dale and made him my meat suit just in time to put a bullet inside Momma Harvelle's skull one night. She went down nice and easy. Pathetic really, I'd heard she was more spirited than that. Still, with her gone I was hoping to get straight into my current hostess but unfortunately her surrogate Daddy had taught her too well."
"She wore a talisman."
It nodded "She did. Very unhelpful. But unlike you boys, it was on a bracelet so it was just a matter of waiting until the opportunity presented itself and I could slip inside her. Pretty little thing, isn't she Dean..?"
"Fuck you."
It giggled. "Your brother did."
Dean clenched his teeth together. Not yet. "So when did this opportunity present itself?"
The Demon tutted. "Don't skip ahead, Dean. Too much other good stuff to tell you first. I followed her to you boys – she was so upset about her Mommy she needed to see you Dean, her Knight in shining armour."
"Why'd you go through all the bullshit with the Djinn then? What was the point?"
"RJ was just another meat suit. How'd you think I was able to stick around? I thought that experienced Hunters like you might have clocked on to me and I needed you distracted. You were so busy squabbling over the girl and where the old man was to even consider you were all being played. It was a genius move."
"When did you take her?"
"Sammy left her when you found Bobby, remember? All alone and - oh my, she'd somehow lost her bracelet – I believe it may have been when she knocked you on your ass, Dean? You two do like to fight. Anyway, it would've been rude to have left it any longer. So that's when the game was well and truly on!"
"What fucking game? Why not just come for me and Sam? What was the point of this bullshit if all you wanted to do was kill us?"
"Not kill, Dean."
"Then what? "
"We wanted you and your brother to stop dicking around with the whole 'brotherly love' crap and for Sam to take on the role he was destined to take. "
"What role?"
"To fight the war, Dean! To drink the blood and be the strongest, lead the Demon army and save us all. The prophecy, his destiny! And you? You were just in the way. But if we killed you he'd never turn himself over to us. It would just make him pathetic, crying over his big brother that he loves so much. There's no place for love and emotions and all that fucking bullshit in our war, Dean. We needed him angry and fuelled with hate. Hate towards you. Then, then..." It drew back up against the chair. "...we would have our King."
"Divide and conquer.." Dean whispered.
It nodded. "And what better way to split the famous Winchester boys up than with a girl!" It clapped it's hands together gleefully. "Now, it was obvious from the start that Sam wanted to fuck her but you – you were much more tricky to seduce. You know what the irony is though? Jo loves you Dean. Oh, how she loves you. Came here hoping you'd scoop her into your big loving arms and look after her heart forever. Thinks you're just like her Daddy, all brave and strong, her champion! So sweet." It leant forward and leered, "Imagine how she felt when you rejected her. It almost made me cry. Now she knows you don't want her but Sammy? Well, he happily stuck his cock insider her over and over and over again..."
Dean gripped his head in his hands as the full realisation of what he was being told hit him.
It sighed dramatically, crossing it's legs and leaned back to observe him. "Too late to feel bad now, Dean. The things you said to her? My, my, my, like a dagger into her poor chest. Where was her White Knight when she needed him, huh?" it pouted.
"Why are you telling me all this? You must know we're just gonna send you straight back to hell?" he said quietly.
"Well, here's the thing." Suddenly it leant down and picked up the glass bowl, smashing it against Jo's head. Large shards of glass fell to the floor and as Dean reacted, it grabbed one of the larger pieces and held it against her neck. "I've just thought of a plan to reduce the likelihood of that happening."
Sam stared at the coffee mug as Jody placed it down in front of him and saw his hand shaking as he reached for it. She looked at Bobby and they both shared a worried expression. They all knew what the implications of this were and they also knew they couldn't say a single word that would give Sam any possible comfort.
"I'm gonna check on Dean, make sure he's got things under control," Bobby said indicating to Jody that she should talk to Sam. Jody glared at him but pulled out a chair and sat down.
"You want something a bit stronger, honey?" she asked gently but Sam just continued to stare blankly ahead. She sighed. "Look Sam. There ain't a God damn thing that I can say to you right now that's gonna help. But know this. That thing in there was only interested in one outcome. This. Making you feel like you do at this moment. That evil fucking thing wanted to drive a wedge between you and your brother and everything it did led us right here. You gotta somehow try to hold on to that and not let it get to you."
Sam turned to look at her. "Dean told you? About me and..." he stopped himself. "Jesus Christ, Jody.." Tears ran down his cheek and she leaned into him.
"It's okay, Sam. It's gonna be okay.."
Sam pulled back wiping his face with his sleeve. "How Jody? How can any of this ever be okay? I thought..." he swallowed trying to get out the words but choking. "None of it was real and I knew she didn't think of me that way, I fucking knew it but I loved her and when she said she loved me...I...oh my God, Jody. What have I done?"
"Sam, I know. It's awful, but you can't blame yourself for this. How could you possibly know that she had that thing inside her?"
"You all knew!"
"Only just before we came back, I swear. Dean and I started talking about how different she was since you found Bobby and with everything else going on it just clicked into place. I don't know when Bobby figured it out but it can only have been some time today too."
"Jo's been in there the whole time, Jody and we should have protected her, I should have protected her and instead I..."
Jody stood up and leaned over him, holding his shoulders firmly. "Sam! You gotta remember Jo knows the life, she understands how this shit works. What's happened to her is unimaginable but we have to try and stay focused on getting that fucking thing out of her. That's the most important thing right now, okay? If you fall apart, the Demon wins and that's no help to her."
Sam nodded, running a hand through his hair. He stood up too, "Okay...yeah okay, you're right. We gotta go help Dean finish this."
Dean looked up questioningly as the door opened and Bobby stood there."What? Got a spare key - my house, remember?" He came into the room and studied the Demon. "So, looks like we got another little situation going on then.. " he added as he saw it holding the glass weapon into Jo's jugular.
"How's Sammy doing?"
Bobby scowled at him. "Best we don't discuss that in front of our guest, don't you think?"
The Demon rolled it's eyes."Oh, how's Sammy doing? Really? He wasn't the one that got raped."
"Don't fucking say that you filthy demon bitch or I'll cut your fucking head clean off!" Dean yelled.
"Except you won't, because you can't damage the meat suit," it said smugly. "Demon Hunting 101 Dean, come on now. Stress making you a little vague on the lore?"
The door opened again and Sam appeared. Dean went straight to him, "Whoa...Sam no, seriously dude, you can't be in here with it. Jody, take him back outside."
She moved forward and put her hand on his arm but Sam shoved her away. "I'm part of this Dean, I need to help you finish it, for Jo."
"No Sam..."
"I can handle it...I need to do this!"
"No!"
"Why?"
"Because it's gonna say all kinds of shit to you Sammy, shit that's gonna seriously fuck with your head, you can't help with this right now."
"After what I've done to her Dean I should hear it, I should know how Jo feels. You can't protect me from that!"
"Damn it Sam, will you listen to me for once! Just let me and Bobby handle it."
"Does he know I tried to fuck you too, Dean?" They all stopped and slowly turned round. "Maybe you should tell Sammy here about all the times I came to you, begging you to put your cock inside me."
Dean moved towards the boundary mark, his face like thunder but as he did so the Demon pushed the glass into Jo's skin enough to make it bleed. He cursed and looked back at his brother imploringly. "Please Sam...go..please!"
"You see Sam – and I'm being honest with you here as we've been so intimate and all. Jo kinda has a huge thing for your brother, always has. And, as we are being so honest, you always knew that right? I mean, you always knew that Dean was the one Jo really wanted to be with..? And yet you took full advantage of the fact that all of a sudden she wanted you. Naughty boy. Yet your brother here, well he never touched her, despite every attempt I could think of to get him to. He's the true hero, right?."
Dean could feel the panic rising within him as he saw Sam's face but felt completely helpless to stop any of it.
"You like to think you're a good man, a good person like your brother? But you're not. You've a dark heart Sam Winchester, you're one of us, selfish and cruel. Demon blood runs through your veins however hard you try to deny your heritage. When you eventually see that, our Lord will embrace you and you'll fight with us till we win! One day you'll sit beside Lucifer and rule in a majestic world where Demons walk freely amongst you pathetic simpering monkeys. Why wouldn't you want that, Sammy? It's gonna be beautiful."
"No." he said quietly, his expression broken as the Demon's words hung thickly in the room.
Dean went to him, his eyes begging. "Don't listen to it Sam, it's all bullshit! You know Demons lie, it's just trying to get to you." But he could see he was already too late. Dean knew his brother had always believed his destiny was to become something evil.
And if he was honest, it had always been his own biggest fear for Sam too.
Suddenly, the demon started to shake, it's head thrown back and body distorting as the chair started to slide over from one side to the other of the circle. "No!" it screamed out, looking round at Bobby who'd been quietly reading out from a note book.
Bobby moved forward, yelling to Dean, "Get the glass, Dean! Now!"
Dean sprung into action, stepping into the circle and pushing the Demon backwards on the chair. As it fell, he snatched the shard and rolled back out of the Devil's Trap before the demon could move.
Bobby continued to read the incantation, this time loudly and the demon cried out in pain as it bucked and thrashed on the floor. Books, files and boxes started to fly across the room and the window smashed open sending more objects in various directions around them.
"Lucifer is coming for you Sam! Send me back to hell if you want but Our Lord will find you!" it screamed.
The Demon started to spit out thin lines of black smoke in between gasps as it roared and choked, it's eyes black and arms reaching out at them.
They moved back together, watching it's final death throws, smoke now forcing it's way out of Jo's mouth in a thick stream up to the ceiling. The smoke gathered in a pool, looking for a way to get out of the Devils Trap but then lunged down to the floor in a circle of flames. It bled into the ground and disappeared.
The room went quiet.
They stood for a few seconds, gasping for breath as Jo's body went completely still. Dean rushed into the circle, gathering her up onto his lap on the floor.
"Jo! " he shook her gently. "God damn it...Jo!" She remained still and lifeless in his arms. Bobby and Sam looked down at them as Dean's eyes filled with tears. He leant into her, his forehead pressed against hers. "Please Jo...not like this...not like this..."
Then her hand moved up to his head and her eyes opened slowly. Dean pulled back a little and Bobby and Sam knelt down beside them too. Jody came forward with a glass of water and gave her a sip. She gulped it down, coughing. Dean wiped her face with his shirt sleeve and tenderly moved blood stained hair from her eyes. "You okay...?"
Jo nodded, her lips blue and quivering with emotion.
"She's in shock Dean," said Jody. "You need to get her upstairs."
Dean lifted her easily into his arms and carried her out.
"I'll call Ron – that head wound looks deep, might need stitchin." Bobby said and went through to the kitchen as Dean carried on upstairs with her and Jody.
Sam stood still in the room, his hands now balled into a tight fist. His eyes closed as he breathed out heavily.
Jo was, at the very least, alive.
He knew he should go upstairs and be with her too but he couldn't. The gravity of everything that had happened was already pushing down onto his chest like a vice and he thought he might throw up.
All he'd wanted was to love her and it'd been one of the happiest times he could remember. He understood now that every time he'd gone near her she must have been screaming out for him to help her. And when they'd made love...Sam put his face in his hands, the shame too overwhelming to bare.
All of this, all of it, was because of him. The whole thing, all to get him to follow Lucifer. One huge master plan, hurting everyone he loved. And Jo – she'd paid the highest price of them all.
How was he ever going to face any of them again?
Jody came out of the bedroom with Ron and patted his shoulder. "Thanks, love" she said and he nodded at Dean who was sitting on the top stair, an unlit cigarette at the side of his mouth.
"She just needs to rest up now. Physically she's fine, just change the butterfly strips after a couple of days unless it bleeds some more."
Dean stood up. "Thanks, Doc. Did she say anything?" he asked quietly.
Ron shook his head."Likely she'll feel better in a little while though." He turned to Jody, "I'll call you later?" he said and started down the stairs.
Jody smiled after him. "Sure," she said and looked at Dean. "Think maybe we'll all need a little while, huh?" Closing in and putting her arm around his waist, she added. "Why don't you go have an enormous glass of bourbon downstairs along with that Cancer stick you so desperately need. I'll stay with her, honey." she said gently. Dean moved into her for a hug, needing the warm comfort of his friend right now. She kissed his cheek affectionately. "I know, sweetheart. It's gonna be okay. Go be with Sam. I'll watch her, promise."
"Thanks, Jody."
He moved away and she went into the bedroom, closing the door. Dean went to go downstairs but then stopped. He knew his brother needed him right now too, but what the hell was he going to say to him? He felt the familiar anxious knot burn in his stomach. There was so much shit to process he didn't even know where to start. He took a deep breath and pushed himself to go find Sammy even though every instinct he had was telling him to just get into the Impala and never look back.