A/N: holy crap, I am so sorry! I updated on Saturday and it is...Tuesday...*hides in shame because this isn't even that long of a chapter*
Anyways, thanks so much for the response to last chapter! I want to thank Kas3y, VattaKeto, sammysmissingshoe, Naivaraeladrin, ncsupnatfan, Sara B, Hades Lord of the Dead, mb64, Dani, Sharllissa, Jenna, and NikkieSheepie for reviewing! I'm sorry...sort of...for making some people tear up over Sam and Dean's parting. For those trying to get into my panic room...well, I'd say give up but after this chapter I don't think you'll want to...
-Jaq
Dean has an inkling that it wasn't right to send Sam off like that. He knows. But it had-and still does- seem like the best thing to do. Sam was dangerous, he was untrustworthy, and Dean cares too damn much about him. If they set off on a hunt, or were captured by angels or demons, or any scenario where Sam gets hurt, Dean doesn't want the blame.
So maybe he's a selfish bastard. But he doesn't regret his actions. Not at all.
He's still sitting on the bench fifteen minutes later when Bobby and Cas return. Neither looks to be in a good mood.
Both notice Sam's absence immediately, causing Cas to stop whatever he was saying about Bob Marley. Cas' reaction is more subtle; Bobby's the one that launches into an enraged telling-off that includes a lot of cussing.
Dean just sits there and nods. "It was the right thing to do," he says finally.
"The right thing to do? Hell, boy, you two are pretty much the only thing you got left and you're telling me sending him off was 'the right thing to do?'"
"I'm trying not to get him killed!" Dean snaps, standing up. "He set off the damn apolalypse, chose a demon over me- hell, he shot me, and I'm supposed to take him back like nothing happened? Like whatever bond or whatever we had isn't a pile of crap? I'm not happy about it, but believe me, I'm not hunting with someone I can't trust my back with."
"And how does that tie into trying not to get him killed?" Bobby looks furious, but Dean doesn't give a crap. Not anymore.
"Trust goes both ways," Dean says, biting each syllable and smiling sarcastically. "I can't expect him to trust me, either."
"You are most most probably safer together," Castiel adds, nonflinching at the glares Dean and Bobby throw at him for butting in.
"Trust me. You know what I wanna do? I wanna sit back and drink my problems away, and I wanna have really good sex, I want to stop having to save the damn world, and I want a cheeseburger," Dean says angrily. "But instead I'm going to try and find a way to clean up my brother's mess. Like I always do. And I'm not complaining! But if he's going to do stuff like this, maybe it's best if he picks a hemisphere."
"Mabye you should think of someone other than yourself!"
Dean just smiles bitterly. He's a screwed-up train wreck, he knows that. He's selfish, he knows that. Sammy's more important, he knows that. But hell if he is going to put that boy's life in danger by being near him.
"Yeah, maybe. Sorry to dissapoint," he snarks, starting to walk away (down an avenue. Sam took a street. He's not taking one chance that he'll meet his brother). "You can all have fun by yourselves without me. Call if you find out how to kill the devil, okay?"
A lady walking her dog gives him an odd look and hurries past, but at this point Dean doesn't care at all.
A couple hours later, the $50 he had was spent on two bottles of cheap liquer and a frigging terrible hotel room. That doesn't have computers or wifi.
One part of him knows that he really, really should stick with Bobby and Cas, if only because that way they're more likely to get a semidecent something together. But another part is still pretty mad, and needs a couple days to cool off. He has his cellphone still, thank whatever cares, and he can always call them if he needs to.
Dean hasn't felt this awful in a long time. He slings himself onto a ratty-looking chair with a questionable stain and twists open the first bottle, toasting the air.
It's gonna be a long night. At midnight, Bobby calls. Dean lts it go to voicemail and picks it up afterward. Bobby tells Dean (cryptically, of course) where they're going. And there is one tiny bit of good news. Apparently, Cas popped back to Bobby's and, while the house is pretty much a grease spot now, some of the cars sustained only minor damage, including the Impala. Still, they won't be going back there. Too much of a risk.
After that, Dean turns his phone off. He can listen to any voicemail messages in the morning, or the next time he cares.
-:-
Dean wakes up with a raging hangover and a crappy attitude, the result of eating and drinking nothing save for two bottles of liquer. After puking in the bathroom, he grumpily stomps back into the room.
There stands Zachariah, a simpering smile on his face. Dean immediately draws his gun, but he really can't do anything.
"How the hell did you get here?" Dean snarls, backing up.
"Have you checked your voicemail recently, Dean?" the angel says calmly, pulling out Dean's phone from his pocket.
"What? No. How did you find me? Cas used the sigils, made it impossible..."
"Yes. But New York City? Really? We'd been tracking you, but you suddenly dropped off the map. No matter, it wasn't that hard. Poor Dean, his brother's trying to kill himself, he hasn't got a home, and everybody including himself hates him. So he gets drunk. Predictable. Now, I'd love to talk more, but I have a job. Have fun, Dean."
The angel reached out and touches Dean's forehead, and suddenly he's somewhere else.
Somewhere surrounded by chain-link fence. Dean reels a little before recovering his balance to find one word written on a half-torn down wall just before him.
Croatoan.
A/N 2: *dark laughter* Alright. Let's see...three cliffhangers? 1) where are Cas and Bobby (not that big of one tbh) 2) according to Zachariah, Sam's trying to kill himself, and 3)Croatoan. So...yeah. And you aren't going to find out anything about Dean for two chapters. *more dark laughter*
in other news, I'm changing the rating on this to T...I just feel like I ought to.
Thanks to sammysmissingshoe, my 200th reviewer. Shoe has been with me from the very start of this fic and she's brilliant, so I'm posting a oneshot for her that will contain much Sam torture either later tonight or tomorrow.
Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed, please leave a review. Even the most basic reviews make me happy because that's how I know you care. :) Have a great day!
-Jaq