TWENTY-FOUR
Christina groaned as she opened her eyes, she felt like she'd been hit by a truck. Her head pounded like she was coming down from something. Maybe she was, she couldn't remember. She attempted to move, but her wrists and ankles were bound with rope to whatever she was lying on.
Lifting her head she looked around the room she occupied, only to find she was closed in by bare brick walls. She struggled to free her wrists - she couldn't. She was bound tight. Now would be the perfect time for super strength. But she was merely flesh and bone.
As she slowly began to regain her strength, she struggled harder against her restrains - to no avail. She was not getting out of this. She lost her cool, and thrashed against the hard surface she lay on, screaming out as she did to anyone who would hear her. That's when he stepped out of the shadows the dark corners provided. Skulking. Watching his prey like a wild animal, waiting to strike.
"That isn't going to do you any good grasshopper."
She immediately smiled, "I knew it was you."
His brow furrowed, "I doubt that."
"Look at the complete lack of surprise on my face Alastair and tell me I'm lying."
He studied her features as though searching for a clue that she was bluffing but didn't find any. But he quickly dismissed her attempt to throw him off his game and walked around the contraption she was restricted to, "Do you know you're pregnant?" He asked. "I assume that's a Winchester too."
She tried not to react to his question but she couldn't stop the small gasp that escaped past her lips or the tears that formed in her eyes. "Why am I here?" She asked in a whisper.
"We're old friends; I thought it'd be nice for us to catch up."
"If we're such old friends, why am I tied up?"
"Because… you can't always be trusted to play nice."
She laughed then, a tight laugh etched with a sprinkle of fear, "You and I both know that the only reason you tied me down is because I can take you."
He leaned in closer to her ear, "Nice try grasshopper, but did you really think it would be that easy to get free?" He paused. "By the way, you should know that your death is the push that puts your son firmly on our side."
She gritted her teeth, "Dean won't let that happen."
"But Dean will be too busy hunting me to notice he even has a son."
"Go ahead, kill me if it'll make you feel better, but my son will never join you."
= X =
Dean paced back and forth in the room he'd left Christina in, wearing tracks in the carpet. "Who would be able to get close enough to her in order to take her?" He asked out-loud the question that had been rolling around his head since they'd found Christina missing.
Suddenly, like a light had been turned on, Sam had it. "Alastair."
Dean stopped pacing and frowned at his brother, "Why?"
He shrugged, "He tried killing her before, maybe he wants to finish the job."
"But he could've done that when she had no memories. Why has he waited until now?"
"Maybe she has something he wants."
Panic immediately struck him in his heart, "DJ." He said grabbing Christina's cell phone off the table and scrolling through it for the number he was looking for. Hitting the call button, he placed the phone by his ear, "Uh hey, this is Dean Winchester, DJ's father. Is my son still with you?"
"Yes. Is everything OK?" Lynda asked down the line.
"Yeah, we've just got a bit of a situation. Would you mind keeping DJ for a few days until I can get back there to pick him up?"
"Sure, not a problem."
"Great, thank you – and listen, don't give him to anyone but me, even if it's CJ."
He could hear her brow furrow, "What? Why?"
"I really don't have time to explain right now but would you just do this for me please and I'll fill you in when I fetch him."
= X =
Alastair balled up his fist and drove it into her jaw for the fourth time, "Where's your son?"
Christina gathered the blood that had collected in her mouth and spat it into his face, "I will never tell you."
"Oh you will. It's just a matter of how much pain you can withstand." He said picking up a surgical scalpel and toying with the blade, "Where is he?"
"The angels hid him from you for a reason and I will die before I tell you."
"That can be arranged."
She gritted her teeth and looked him in the eye, "Then get it over with."
He raised his eyebrows, "If you insist." He said laying two fingers to her forehead causing her eyes to roll back in her head.
The images started to play out like they were happening in real-time. She was stood in the house with Sam, Dean and Ruby… but Ruby wasn't Ruby, she was Lilith. She witnessed as Dean was restricted to the table by an invisible force. Suddenly she knew where she was. This was the night Dean had been taken to Hell. She watched as Lilith opened the double doors announcing, "Sick 'em boy." And she tried to close her eyes, but it was like her eyelids were glued open.
The Hellhound bound at Dean, grabbed him by the legs and pulled him down to the floor. He screamed as its claws began to rip into his skin and a sob built in her throat. She couldn't move to stop it as Dean struggled on the floor to break away from the demonic canine. He was going to Hell, and these were his last moments on earth. The hound ripped into him again and forced a scream from his mouth as the excruciating pain took a hold. The tears flowed down her cheeks. She hadn't had to see what had happened to him at the time he'd actually been dragged to Hell, imagining the pain he'd gone through had been enough, but now she was forced to observe.
She continued to helplessly standby as Dean was flipped over onto his back and ripped apart by the invisible beast. When he started to choke on his own blood the sob escaped past her lips and once she'd seen him take his last breath, she was taken back to the beginning again.
= X =
"Castiel!" Dean shouted alarming the two men in the room with him.
Just as suddenly the angel appeared, "You yelled."
"Alastair has CJ. We need you to find her."
He hesitated, "I'm not a GPS tracker."
Dean rolled his eyes, "Just find her Cas. We need to get her back."
Without fighting the losing battle he was sure to face, the angel disappeared only to reappear a minute later, "I can't see her."
The older Winchester frowned, "Where did you look?"
"Everywhere." He responded flatly.
"You were gone for a minute." He stated. "You searched everywhere in a minute?"
"Yes." He reaffirmed.
"Well can't you do some angel mojo and get through whatever Alastair has put around them?"
"No."
He hesitated, "Just, no."
"Demons have their magic and we have ours, it's our protection. How much good would it be if our enemy could get through it?"
= X =
The scene kept playing out in front of her. She was frozen to the spot, unable to move, unable to cover her eyes, unable to stop it. Every time the scene reset, her heart gave out a little bit more. It was enough to drive anyone crazy, to watch the one person that gave their life meaning, die over and over. But she had to force herself to be strong and not give in to Alastair's demands. She had to stay strong to keep her son safe.
Alastair watched her twitch as the images he'd forced into her subconscious played out. "A few more days of this and she'll give up her sons location with ease. She can't bare to see her beloved Dean being ripped up over and over for too long before it all gets too much for her."
= X =
Sam rubbed his brow as Dean continued to pace back and forth in the room they'd found Christina missing from. He hadn't been able to sit still since they'd discovered her missing and it was beginning to eat away at his last nerve. He was just as worried about her as his brother, but he contained it better.
"Dean, you're not helping." He said drawing everyone's attention in the tension filled room.
"You think I don't know that Sam? But I don't know what to do here." He admitted. "If Castiel can't find her, where the hell do we start?"
Sam sighed, "I hate to say it but I think we need to call Ruby."
His older brother stopped in his tracks and stared at him, "Ruby?"
"Like it or not I think she's our only option right now."
"And how do you figure that?"
"She's a demon, if anyone'll know how to find Alastair, it's her."
He hesitated to think over his brother's reasoning but found himself dismissing it instantly, "I'm not asking that demonic bitch for help."
"Not even for CJ Dean?"
He took a deep breath and reconsidered his decision, "Alright… call her."
Sam didn't need telling twice, jumping up he retrieved his phone from his back pocket and dialled her number, but after a few rings it directed him to her voicemail. He disconnected the call and hit redial. The same thing happened. "Damn it Ruby, now is not the time to ignore your phone."
Dean looked over at him, "You're telling me after all your talk of trusting her she's gone radio silent on us?"
"She probably just hasn't heard her phone." He said repeating his actions. But when the call redirected him a third time he hung up with a sigh. "She'll call me back when she sees the missed calls."
"I won't hold my breath and I'm not sitting around here waiting for her to come back, pack up your shit and meet me at the car." He said to his brother as he grabbed his jacket off the back of one of the chairs and exited the room.
= X =
"So, where are we going?" Sam asked as he got in the passengers side of the Impala.
"I called Bobby, he's driving around to see if anyone's seen her so we're going to get DJ." He replied.
But Sam frowned, "Why?"
"Because if Alastair took CJ, he's after DJ."
"So being away from us is probably the best way to keep him safe."
It was Dean's turn to frown, "How d'you figure that?"
"The angels hid him from the demons, if he's with us and they find us, they find DJ. He's safer where he is for now."
"Huh? Don't get used to this Sammy, but I think you're right." He said starting the engine.
= X =
It had been a week since Christina had been taken from the motel in Bedford, Iowa and Dean hadn't stopped searching for her since but he was fast running out of ideas of how to find her and so they'd hauled up at Bobby's. Ruby hadn't got back to them yet – leaving Sam hanging is probably her idea of foreplay, he thought as he lowered the paper he'd be distracting himself with into his lap.
If there was one thing he knew about Alastair it was that torture was his speciality and he would give Christina the best of his ability. He knew he had to find her sooner than later or there might not be much of her left to find.
= X =
Christina was scared, she didn't want to be because fear left you wide open to all sorts of stuff, but she couldn't switch it off. Every time Alastair pulled her out of the rerunning torture her resolve weakened a fraction and she had to imagine DJ's face in order to remain strong. If Alastair wanted her son he would not get the information of his whereabouts from her.
Suddenly the images stopped and she was back in the room with Alastair, "Tell me where your son is." He demanded giving her a second to regain clarity from the images he'd been torturing her with.
She tried to catch her breath from the pain he'd inflicted on her, "Alastair… let me… save you… some time. You better kill me, because I will… never… tell you."
He looked confident – cocky even – as he stood over her, "Then you leave me no choice." He countered before another demon in a meat suit stepped out from the shadows, "It's time. Do it." He instructed before walking out of the room.
= X =
Suddenly Sam's cell phone started ringing and it generated enough energy in Dean for him to jump out of his seat, hoping it was Ruby. It was – and his shoulders relaxed in relief, though he didn't know it.
"Ruby, where have you been?" His brother asked. He couldn't hear her response but he guessed it was vague. "Can you come to Bobby's?" Again, he couldn't hear her counter, but he guessed she'd agreed when Sam hung up. "She'll be here soon." He set his brothers mind at ease.
= X =
Christina was disorientated as she stumbled around the room, "What did you do to me?" She asked.
She knew Alastair was in the room with her, she could smell the stench circulating in the air. She knew he was close even though she couldn't see him. Whatever he had drugged her with was enough to impair her vision and make her unsteady on her feet. But at least now she was free from her restraints. If only she could get her shit together enough to rip Alastair a new one, then she could get back to her son.
"I just gave you a little something to make you more co-operative." His steady low voice bounced off the surrounding walls.
She felt her way along the brick wall that supported her poorly in her attempt to shake off whatever was happening to her, she wasn't sure if she was trying to escape or just moving to prove she still could. She felt like she was losing the battle of upright movement and she hated the feeling of being out of control.
"Stop fighting it, give in to it and you'll feel right as rain in no time at all." His slithery voice crept up her spine making her shudder.
= X =
Sam opened the back door to find Ruby stood the other side, "Hey, thanks for coming." He said stepping aside, silently giving her permission to enter.
Walking through the door she took in the faces around the room and instantly knew she'd been called as a last measure and not a booty call, "What do you want?" She asked, saving any attempt at small talk.
He glanced at Dean before returning his eyes to hers, "We need your help to find Alastair."
She frowned, "Alastair. Why?"
But Dean's patience had run out. He'd already been put in the position of asking her for help against his better judgement; he wasn't going to pander to her twenty questions too. "He's got CJ. Can you help or not?"
She shifted her weight to one side and folded her arms across her chest, "If you want my help I'm sure you can ask nicer than that."
"I don't need your help that bad." He said throwing his hand up in the air and spinning on his heel to walk away from her.
"Dean." Sam said, silently reminding him that she was their only option.
"To Hell with her Sam. For all I know this bitch is working with Alastair, so if she wants me to beg for her help she's got a shock coming, it's not going to happen. I'll find CJ with or without her help, and when I'm done getting her back I'll hunt this demonic honey trap down and send her back to the hot box with a smile on my face."
Sam sighed; he hated being in the middle of the ongoing battle between Dean and Ruby. It was beginning to eat away at him. He knew Ruby was a demon, but she'd proved herself over and over in the four months Dean had been in hell and it seemed that no amount of reassurance by him was going to change his brothers' mind.
"Ruby." He pleaded with the tone of his voice as he got to his feet. "We need to find her."
= X =
She felt like she was watching herself bounce off the walls of the room Alastair had confined her to. She was shouting at herself to get it together, suck it up and kick his ass already but it was as though she couldn't be heard. She was going to die here, and no one would know where to look for her – and that would be OK if she didn't think Alastair was right when he said Dean would be too busy hunting him down to remember he had a son. She'd witnessed first hand what affect death had on her dad, so he wouldn't be reliable. The only one she could count on was Sam. He would make sure DJ was kept out of demon clutches – at least if he wasn't caught in them himself and she didn't trust Ruby one bit. No. The only one her son could count on to keep him safe was her. She had to get out of there.
She stopped moving, as though admitting defeat and allowing whatever Alastair had done to her to take a hold. It was altering her coordination skills but it didn't feel like it was going to kill her. Maybe if she didn't fight it, this would be over with and she could finally go home to her little boy. She turned her back to the wall and allowed it to guide her to the floor as she closed her eyes.
= X =
The map spontaneously combusted and just as quickly the flames died leaving only the part they needed to find Christina. After little persuasion by Sam Ruby had done a location spell for Christina and now they had a search area.
"That's where you'll find her." The demon said.
"Great, let's go." Dean said grabbing his jacket and heading out the door.
Bobby followed without any direction. "You're welcome!" Ruby shouted after them.
"Thanks." Sam said apologising for the lack of gratitude she'd received.
She nodded, "You're welcome."
They stood consumed by an awkward silence for a minute before Sam grabbed his jacket, "Anyway I better…"
"Yeah… go. But maybe when you get Christina back we could hang out or something." She suggested.
"Yeah, sure. I'll um, I'll call you." He said dismissing her as he walked out into the corridor to follow after his brother.
= X =
Christina seemed to feel her life slipping away from her as she waited for whatever it was to take a hold on her. She felt like she'd been sat on the cold concrete floor forever and nothing had changed. She could feel it travelling through her body, except she didn't know what it was. Her mind was jumbled, she couldn't form a rational thought among the haze that kept her down and she was weak, like she'd been drained of all her fight. She screamed out for someone to find her, but those screams were only in her head.
"Give into it." Alastair encouraged as he stood over her.
"I'm trying to." She said breathing heavily as she allowed the wall behind her back to be her support.
"Do you know what your problem is?"
She shook her head as she licked her lips, "What?"
"Your instinct is to fight – even when you tell yourself not to – but you'll feel better if you just stop."
"I don't know how to." She admitted, her breathing becoming shallow.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" A different voice in the room asked. It sounded immature, not fully developed… childlike even.
"I'm confident it will."
"We need that boy as leverage over the Winchesters."
"I'm certain they'll do anything to protect him."
"Still, we have to be prepared for every outcome."
"Understood."
"See to it that this one is put in place." The little girl's voice said, ending the conversation.
Christina heard her leave the room. It was Lilith. Even without seeing her, she knew that much. She wasn't sure what they were cooking up exactly, but she had to get out of wherever she was to warn Sam and Dean. She forced her eyes to open and her vision met with the blurry outline only Alastair could provide.
It took all her effort to force herself up onto her feet but she did it and she felt her way along the walls for a way out. She expected Alastair to stop her but he didn't. He just let her make her way out of captivity.
She stumbled out into the fresh air to feel the chill of the night on her skin but instead of refreshing her, it made her even more disorientated and she fell to the ground beneath her feet. Her landing was hard, causing her to call out in pain. She tried to move but her body wasn't willing to cooperate so she resorted to the only way she knew how to get attention.
"Help me!" She shouted into the darkness hoping she was close enough to civilization for someone to hear and come to her rescue. But her vision still wasn't clear and she couldn't hear a thing. She rolled onto her back, "Somebody, HELP ME!"
Suddenly she convulsed, like there was something inside her fighting to get out. Her mouth opened as wide as it could and black smoke poured out ferociously before her body slumped back down to the ground. She was drained, barely able to keep her eyes open much less move but the thought of her son gave her the strength to call out into the night.
= X =
"Shhh! Did you hear that?" Dean asked prompting the two men with him to stand completely still and listen for any noise.
But after a minute of hearing nothing, Sam looked across at his brother, "What?"
"Shhh!" He reiterated waving his hand in a downward motion.
"Please… someone… HELP!" The voice came again.
Bobby's eyes shot in the direction he'd interpreted it had come from, "This way." He directed.
"I think it was this way." Dean said, pointing in the opposite direction.
"Let's split up." Sam suggested gaining a nod of approval before they all separated, going their own ways.
= X =
Christina lay on her back feeling the concrete of the road beneath her and prayed to God that someone had heard her plea for help. She hadn't got the energy to call out anymore and she definitely couldn't move. She would lie here and regain what little strength she could before she attempted to move.
Alastair had got a demon to try and possess her but it hadn't worked, which made no sense given that her fear left her wide open to it – she truly thought she was going to die in that room but he'd let her go. He probably expected me to be a black eyed bitch by now that's why, she thought. Then it hit her – she was pregnant. Maybe her baby protected her from becoming possessed; it's the only thing that made sense. Wait until she told Dean, God he was not going to be happy that she was having another baby, even though half the blame lay with him.
She had to get home to the son she already had, "HELP!" She managed one more cry into the night.
= X =
As Dean turned the corner in the abandoned suburbia Ruby had led them to, he saw something lying in the road up ahead. His pace accelerated, whatever it was wasn't moving but it looked like a person – his person. It looked like Christina.
"CJ." He called out softly as his strides quickened to running. With his haste came panic and volume to his voice as he called out again, "CJ?"
Suddenly there was movement, "Dean?" She called back.
"Oh God, CJ." He said relieved and worried at the same time as he reached her side.
"Alastair, he tried to..." She trailed off exhausted allowing him to help her to her feet.
"It's OK. I'm here. I've got you." He assured her scooping her up in his arms as he called out to Bobby and Sam. "Guys, I found her. We're over here."
Christina nestled her head on Dean's shoulder just under his chin and instantly felt comforted. She could relax, she was safe. She was so exhausted she allowed her eyes to close, knowing she was going home. She was barely awake as Dean opened the rear passenger door of the Impala and eased her inside. But she reached for his hand in a bid to stop him leaving her and he obliged by slipping in beside her. Scooting closer to him she resumed her position – her head on his shoulder – and her eyes closed securely, she was so tired. She was semi-conscious when Dean fished inside his jean pocket for his cell phone and called Sam.
"I found her; we're back at the car." He told his brother before hanging up.
Dipping his head he looked down at her, wondering what untold horrors Alastair had put her through and he moved to put his arm around her so that her head eased to his chest. He was thankful that she appeared to still be in one piece, but if he knew anything it was that the scars Alastair left you with weren't always visible. It was obvious she was exhausted, so he allowed her to rest just grateful to have her back.
= X =
Spotting Bobby and Sam, Dean wound down the window and held his car keys out to the eldest man.
"Is she OK?" Her father asked not being able to see inside the back to make his own mind up.
Dean half nodded, "She just seems tired." He replied honestly.
Without another word Bobby got in behind the wheel while Sam got in the passengers seat. The eldest man started the engine and began their way back home before he spoke again.
"Well, is she OK?" Bobby asked glancing over his shoulder momentarily as he drove toward South Dakota.
Dean glanced down at her, "As far as I can tell." He answered, "But who knows what he did to her. We're not going to know how she is until she wakes up."
"She looks in one piece."
"Bobby, you don't know Alastair like I do. He's one sick son of a bitch and what he did to her you won't see on the surface."
She could hear the voices that filled the car as they moved toward their destination but she couldn't hear what they were saying. She could smell and feel Dean beside her, his arm secure around her and she knew he was worried about her. He had first hand knowledge of Alastair's speciality and she suspected that he didn't expect to find her alive – if at all. The images of Dean being ripped apart by Hellhounds plagued her mind and along with them came memories of what he'd endured in Hell. Ordinarily it would make it difficult to sleep but her encounter with Alastair had left her worn out.
= X =
Dean lowered Christina down to the mattress on her bed and covered her with the blanket before returning to the lounge where Bobby and Sam stood waiting for him to emerge.
"Did she budge?" Sam asked as he saw him sooner than he expected.
He shook his head as he headed to the couch and sat down, "I doubt she'll move until morning."
"Why do you think Alastair let her go?"
"No idea. But he's up to something." He replied rubbing his brow to try and remove some of the fatigue that had built up there during Christina's disappearance.
"Shall we fetch DJ?"
"Not tonight. She needs to sleep. I'll fetch him in the morning." He sighed. "I need sleep. We all need sleep." He got to his feet. "Can we pick this up tomorrow?"
"Sure, get some sleep." Sam agreed. "We'll head back to Bobby's and get our heads down."
Bobby looked at the younger man and then to his brother. "You call me the minute she wakes up."
Dean nodded, "Sure thing."