Sin City

Dean was in Bobby's yard with Abby and Michael when Sam joined them. "I think I might have something in Ohio. Dry lightening, barometric pressure dropped. It could be Demonic."

Dean looked up then back at his kids. "No thanks, Sam. I'm good right here," Dean said standing up and twirling Abby around. He smiled as she laughed brightly.

"Come on, Dean. It's been weeks since we've had a job," Sam argued.

"Sorry. I'd just rather stay here," Dean replied.

Sam sighed and went back into the house where Bobby and Lizzy were working on the Colt. "Any luck?"

Bobby glared at him. "The only thing it's good for now is figuring out what makes it tick."

"So what makes it tick?" Sam asked earning another glare from Bobby.

"What about you? Any luck?" Bobby asked.

"No. He still won't leave," Sam sat next to Lizzy. "Maybe you can get him to listen."

"I'll try," she said before getting up and walking outside.

"Whatever happened to 'I will think about it?'" she asked him. "You know he is just going to give up on you and head out on his own... and you know he isn't ready for that," she said.

Dean looked up from where he was playing with the kids. "He's going to have to learn sometime. Might as well be now when he can call and I can back him up if he needs it." Dean pointed out.

"That is what Bobby and me are here for, but not today. There might be demons there; He shouldn't go there alone. If you don't go with him, I will," she said before turning to go back inside.

Dean caught her wrist and stopped her, turning her to face him. "Is it so wrong to want to spend my time with my family rather than Hunting?" Dean asked. He brushed a hand across her cheek lovingly.

"No, but it's been weeks Dean. You need to go out there. Raise a little hell before... We will still be here when you get back. A few days are all I'm asking for you to check it out. Make Sam happy. I'm sure you will even be back before Abby starts kindergarten next week," Lizzy said with a smile.

Dean sighed. Dean let go of Lizzy and turned on his heel taking several steps then turning back. "I wish you'd reconsider home school. What if something comes after her at school?" It was an old argument that Lizzy had already won, but it offered a change in subject.

"Because, Dean, she deserves a normal life. That was the whole point of the house, the picket fence, so that our children could be normal, Dean, that they can be anything they want to be, so that they could have FRIENDS. She has no one her own age to play with Dean. School will be good for her," Lizzy told him again. She wasn't going to back down.

"Anyway, she's got protection from Demons and anything else, well she can sense and act accordingly," Lizzy added. "So stop changing the subject, you going or not?"

"You aren't going to let up on this... are you?" Dean asked looking up at Lizzy then down at his shoes.

"You know me; I'm too hard headed about some things. Though you always love it when I agree with you," she said with a smirk. "I'll go get your things packed, while you finish playing with your kids."

"WOAH! You're making me leave now? What's wrong with in the morning?" Dean protested.

"You can leave in the morning, but that doesn't mean I can't pack for you now," she said with a sigh before heading inside. She walked past the boys.

"He will leave tomorrow," Lizzy said before sitting next to Bobby as he messed with the gun.

Sam looked at Lizzy impressed. Bobby just smiled.

"How'd you get him to go?" Sam asked.

"Well I'm more stubborn then he is," she said before helping Bobby with the gun.

Later that night Dean tucked the kids in bed. He watched Abby sleeping before he saw Lizzy standing at the door. He turned to kiss Abby's head once more before standing up and joining her. "I just don't want to miss anything," he said explaining his reluctance to leave.

"I know, but it's just a few more days. Think about the people you can save in that time," She said.

"It's a lot to ask considering everything I'm going to miss," Dean said quietly closing the door and following her to their room. "Lizzy, I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?" She asked.

"Sooner or later we know Bobby's going to get that gun fixed. When he does... If I ever come back... as a... I want you to shoot me." Dean said looking anywhere but at her. He sat on the bed facing the window. He couldn't believe the corner they'd backed him into.

Lizzy looked at him wide-eyed. She understood the fear he had. They had a plan for him and this thought had crossed her mind a few times. She felt the tears prickly her eyes.

"Could you shoot me? Sam? God Dean, don't put that on me..." she said, getting quite upset. She knew, deep down inside she would, she would have to in order to protect her family but she sure as hell wasn't going to talk about it.

"I'm... going to get some air," she said, before booking it out of the room and the house. She couldn't stop the tears that flowed then. She didn't want to think about him dying, let alone coming back as a demon. This was all just too much for her right now.

Dean understood why she needed to get out. Hell he wanted to get away from himself sometimes. He took a shower and dressed for bed. He laid there staring at the ceiling waiting for her to come back.

Sam found Lizzy sitting on the front porch and handed her a steaming cup of Bobby's 'special' hot chocolate. "What's the matter, Liz?"

She wiped the tears off her cheeks. "Your brother is an ass," She said

"What did he do now?" Sam said, sitting next to her.

"He... he asked me to kill him, if he ever came back as a demon," she said, tears welling up again. "How can he put that on me? He isn't even gone yet and he is asking me to kill him," She said.

"It wouldn't be him anymore, you know that?"

"I do. But how could I? I would, but it's not something you ask of your wife."

Sam pulled her close, letting her cry into his chest. "I know Lizzy, but he is just scared. Scared of coming back as a monster, of hurting you, Abby or Michael." She pulled away from him for a moment.

"I can understand that. But it's still a lot to ask a person. He should know better," she said. "He never has to ask. I would have, without him asking me too. Doesn't mean I want to be reminded of it," she explained. "So how is the research going? I haven't found anything in Bobby's library that can reverse this," she admitted.

"He's asked me to stop. He doesn't want to risk reversing the contract. He takes comfort in knowing his kids will be safe."

"I know he does. What about this Ruby? Does she have any bright ideas?" Liz asked.

"No, she keeps teasing me with it, but she said she can help, in time. I'm not sure we can trust her."

"She's a demon. Of course we can't but we can use her, if she can help save Dean. Speaking about demon's, any word on Bastion?"

"None that I could find. Are you sure about this... and keeping it from Dean?"

"I don't care. I'm sure it won't reverse the contract but seeing him dead will make me feel better. If we can get the Colt working again, I'm going to take the bastard down."

"You sound like our father when you say that."

"Well come next year... me and John will have more in common, now won't we?"

"I will help you anyway I can. And hopefully, we can find a loophole somewhere and then this all will just be a bad memory."

"Yeah, but when has anything ever come easy for the Winchesters?" she asked him.

"Point. God and I thought we were pessimist?"

They talked some more as she drank the hot chocolate, feeling it warm her up in more ways than one. Before she knew it, Sam got her smiling and then laughing. She leaned in giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks for being an awesome brother-in-law," she said. "Now let me go spend some time with my husband before I push him out the door," She said with a smile before getting up and heading inside.

Dean stood at the window, not believing what he was seeing.

"Amazing isn't it?" came a voice from behind him. Dean turned.

"Bastion. To what do I owe the DIS-pleasure of your visit?" Dean snarled.

"Awww, Dean, such hostility. And here I thought we'd become such good friends." Bastion said smoothly. "It's amazing that you aren't even dead in the ground and already look at her... and with your little brother... tsk, tsk, tsk... Not surprising really. I mean after all didn't she just accuse you of cheating?" Bastion asked him.

Dean spun back around toward the window. "Is there a point to your visit?"

"Not really, just keeping tabs. Oh and a warning. No welching on the Deal, Dean. Try to weasel your way out of this and it's all off. She'll die, you'll die and your kids will be fair game to Demons again," Bastion hissed out.

Dean spun on the Demon again but he was gone. Dean turned slowly back to the window trying to get a grip on himself. He moved away from his place by the window when heard the bedroom door open. He pasted on a small smile as he faced his wife. "Feeling better?"

She looked panicked, and was slightly out of breath like she booked it up the stairs.

"He was here... wasn't he?" She asked, partly worried, partly mad.

Dean cursed silently to himself. He should have known that she sense him. He wanted to deny it, to say he didn't know what she was talking about, but he couldn't.

"Yeah, Bastion was here," Dean said. "He's gone though. Don't worry. He just came to talk."

"That couldn't have been pleasant. Are you ok?" Lizzy asked, walking over to pull him into a hug.

"I'm fine," Dean said pulling away. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, Sam let me rant and I realized I was being foolish. Are you sure you're ok?" She asked at him pulling away. "What did he say?"

"I'm fine. He didn't say anything important, just taunting me really. So Sam huh?" Dean said moving toward his side if the bed. "Of course it had to be Sam," Dean muttered.

Lizzy blinked for a second. "What is that supposed to mean?" she said a little shocked at the way Dean was acting. Any other day, he'd have her half undressed by now or at least well on the way there.

"Just that lately anytime you need to talk or rant or rave or hell even beat the shit out of something you go to Sam. Sam said this; Sam said that, Sam helped you find something. You used to come to me, used to talk to me. I'm not dead yet for Fuck's sake! Or is that why you asked me if I cheated on you?" Dean said harshly. Part of his brain was screaming at him to shut up, but he didn't listen. Dean hated to think he was losing one of the three people that meant the most to him. It was even worse to lose her to his little brother.

She glared at him. "When could me and Sam find the time huh? I'm either with you or he is, or Bobby's there or the kid's. And, I wasn't asking you if you where cheating, well, I was. But I was telling you to!" she yelled. "You have so little time and... I don't know. Have a little fun, raise a little hell. I wasn't really thinking straight back then. I'm still not sometimes. But don't you DARE accuse me and Sam of being anything more then what we are... Friends. One of the FEW I have left in this world. I know you aren't gone yet Dean... but right now... you make me wish you were," She said before she left the room, slamming the door. She wasn't sure where else to go, so she went to the only place she could think of. She went to the kids bedroom, before slipping into the little girls bed, wrapping her arms around her.

"Mommy?" The little girl said sleepy. "Did you and daddy have a fight?"

"Shhh, just go back to bed, baby."Lizzy said, snuggling into the little girl.

Dean growled and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t shirt. He slid his feet into his boots and grabbed his weapons bag. He stormed through the house and slammed the back door heading for Bobby's firing range. He loaded his .45, aimed and fired. He emptied two clips before he started to calm down. He set the gun on the small table and sighed. "How long have you been there?" he asked turning around to finally look at Sam.

"I heard the yelling, and saw you head out. I wanted to see if you where... okay," Sam said, taking the gun, putting another clip in, moving to fire as well.

"I'm fine," Dean bit out taking his backup 9mm out of his bag and loading it. He moved to stand next to Sam at the line. "I don't suppose you took the time to tell her that she's not the first one I asked to put a bullet in my brain, did you? I mean she talks to you more than me these days," Dean said icily. He took a few shots with the 9mm and frowned. The sights needed adjusting. He dug around for a screwdriver.

"I was mostly trying to calm her down," He said, taking a few more shots. "Is that jealousy I hear in your voice Dean? Is that the reason you've been flaunting her around me so much?" Sam asked.

Dean stopped making adjustments and looked up at his brother. "Watch it, Sasquatch. I haven't flaunted anything. I'm just trying to enjoy what time I have left with my wife and kids," Dean replied.

"Oh? Then where did the whole kitchen table thing come from. Was that hers or your idea because watching my brother and his wife going at it is not my idea of entertainment," Sam said with a smirk.

"Hey she attacked me that morning. I just took advantage of the situation. It was 5am, we didn't know anyone else was awake," Dean said defensively. Sam let out a little laugh, shaking his head.

"So yea, Liz talks to me. She is my friend Dean. I'm allowed to have one. We talk mostly about YOU, Jerk." Sam said.

"She asked me if I was cheating on her when I'm gone, Sam. Hell she practically gave me a green light to fuck around until my heart explodes. Why would she do that? How could she think that I want anyone other than her? And then HE comes along... You know what? Never mind. Let's just get some sleep and do the job. The sooner we get back the sooner I can start making things better with her." Dean said making his final adjustments and taking a test shot.

"Dean... she's trying to let you go. She loves you, more than I think you know. But in ten months, you are not going to be here anymore. She will be 27 and a widow, with two kids, Dean. She's hurting more than anything," Sam said, placing the gun he was still holding beside Dean. "I will see you in the morning," Sam said before heading inside.

Dean sighed before packing away his gear. He went back in the house and leaving his boots by the door, slipping up the stairs. He crept into the kids' room and checked on Michael, smiling at his sleeping son. He wiped away a tear as he turned and focused on his sleeping girls. He sat on the floor next to the small bed and slipped his hand into Lizzy's as she slept curled protectively around their daughter.

"I'm so sorry, Baby. I didn't mean it," Dean whispered. "Of course you should lean on Sam. You'll have to take care of each other. Bastion was here. He said terrible, horrible things. It just fed my fears. Always wondered what a girl like you saw in a guy like me. Remember when we first met? I called you 'Angel' cause of that sexy little tat you got. You should have walked away from me right then. You'd have been alright. Winchester men are cursed and now you have to pay the price." Dean didn't bother to try and wipe away the tears he just let them come. He kissed her hand and whispered, "I'm so sorry Elizabeth."

She laid there with her eyes closed, listening to him. She felt her heart break at his words.

"If I would have walked away," Lizzy said, eyes still closed. "Then Abby and Michael wouldn't be here, and that is something I wouldn't change for anything," She said softly, opening her eyes to meet with his sad ones.

Dean moved to the other side of the bed and Lizzy rolled over so that they were not reaching around Abby. "I'm so sorry, Lizzy. Please forgive me."

She tried to smile, but she wasn't feeling it at all. "It just... hurt me is all. I'm sure Bastion didn't help at all. But let's be stronger than that. If they want us to break, then lets hold on even tighter. He's going to get you soon enough, now is our time," She said, caressing his cheek.

"We should get some sleep. I guess I have to go to work in the morning. Are you coming or am I camping out in here tonight?" Dean asked with the smallest wisp of a smile.

"If all you want is sleep, then hop in," She said. "I'm sure Abby would love seeing you first thing in the morning," She said with a smile.

Dean smiled and got in the bed with his girls. He drifted off to sleep quickly.

A/N: So Dean's getting all jealous as Bastion pushes his buttons. What else could go wrong?