A/n. This entire chapter is taken directly from season seven, episode 17, "The Born Again Identity". If you haven't seen the episode, or it's been a while, you might want to wait to read this until you've watched it, or read a synopsis, just so you don't get confused, or read something you don't want to know! I know I forgot to mention all that when I posted the last chapter, I was in a hurry to get it posted, and totally didn't think of it.
so many nice reviews, and new readers this last couple weeks. To XGuestx, sari, Isadora, aeliel, minstead, and kalyn, thanks you guys! And thanks to the new followers, and favorites!
Chapter Twenty-four
Alice didn't even have time to scold herself for what had just taken place. How could she have just blurted it out like that. She peeked around the corner, and saw the man, dressed like an orderly headed straight toward her.
She inhaled, pressed her back against the wall, and held her breath in hope that he wasn't about to turn the corner where she was standing.
But he did.
She went on the offense, splashing her water bottle in his face, and using her leg to knock him to his knees. She stood over him, preparing to start the prayer, when she noticed he looked terrified. And not in the, "I'm about to be expelled from this body," kind of way. More like the, "what the hell is happening?" Kind of way.
"Who are you, what do you want?" He cried out, putting his hands over his head, like he was surrendering.
Alice looked down at him, the holy water she had thrown on him, dripped off his hair into his eyes, with him showing no response other than fear.
"Shhh." She quieted him, and knelt down next to him. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I thought you were... Someone else. Are you alright?"
"I guess so," he said, looking down at himself to make sure he was all there. "Who are you? How did you get in here?"
Alice grabbed his arm, and pulled him to his feet. She looked around, and moved him against the wall. "Listen, I don't want to be rude. But I really need you to be quiet."
She peeked back around the corner, one hand resting on his chest to keep him in place. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be anyone headed their way. "I'm sorry about that, really, but there are some dangerous people inside the hospital, and you need to hide."
"Are you one of them?" He asked in a terrified whisper.
She smiled, "no, lucky for you, I'm not. But you do need to get out of here."
He nodded, and she moved her hand to let him go. He only got a couple steps, before she grabbed him again. "Hey, wait a sec."
"You know the guy from that room over there?" She pointed toward Sam's room.
He nodded, "Sam, right?"
"Yes," she nodded, "I can't find him, he's not in his room. Do you know where he is?"
"Uh, yeah." He looked down at his feet, "is he..a.. Friend of yours?"
"Yes, why?" She stepped in front of his face.
"The doctor ordered for him to be taken upstairs. The nurse wheeled him up there a few minutes ago."
"And what's upstairs?"
Once again, he looked down at his shoes. "Listen, I'm really sorry that your friend has such dark issues. But the doctor only did what he thought was best."
"What's. Up. Stairs." Alice said, making no mistake he was going to answer her question.
"Electro-shock therapy." He said sadly, and then turned and ran away before she could respond.
This was not how Dean wanted this to go.
"Am I Cas?" He asked with such innocence, Dean almost felt bad for the guy. He just looked at him, not knowing what to say.
Cas interpreted Dean's expression. "I had no idea, I don't remember you. I'm sorry."
Meg interrupted him, trying to convince him of how easily he could get rid of all the demons they were facing.
When Cas finally relented to try, Dean watched him walk away. "This ain't going to go well." He muttered.
"I don't know," Meg stepped forward, "I believe in the little tree topper."
Dean almost held his breath, as he watched Cas approach the first demon he came to. He didn't know what was said, but couldn't help but exhale in relief, as Cas placed a hand on the demon's head, killing it easily. And then he turned to the rest, and finished them all off so quickly, Dean was a little bit proud.
"Told you." Meg said, over his shoulder. "Now, go and save your brother, and your girlfriend."
Dean looked back at her, in surprise.
She shrugged, "what can I say, news travels fast in the underworld."
"And what exactly are the monsters saying?" Dean felt his blood heating up.
"Just that there's a new woman in yours, and Sam's lives. There wasn't any proof of who she was to you, until what I overheard today."
Dean stepped forward, pointing a finger an inch from Meg's face, "if any demons come after her, now that you know, it's coming down on your head. You understand me? Crowley can't know about her, and neither can the leviathans. They'll use her against me, and that will NOT be good for you, you got me?"
Meg out her hands up in surrender, "sheesh, I won't say a word. But if you keep toting her around, eventually everyone's gonna know."
Castiel approached them, his expression a combination of fear, and regret. "I remember you. I remember everything."
Dean couldn't help but feel bad for the guy, as he lamented on his poor decisions, but he really didn't have time for it right now.
"I shouldn't be here." Cas said simply walking away.
This had been exactly what Dean was afraid of, he chased him down. "Cas!"
As he stood arguing with him, he realized that he needed to remind Cas of who he was before all of this. "Wait." He said, stopping him before he could get any further.
Dean popped open the trunk of the impala, and reached inside, pulling out one of the rare relics he carried everywhere. Castiel's trench coat. It was covered in blood, and was filthy, but when he placed it in his friend's hands, he saw the change.
"You kept it." He said softly.
"Of course I did, my friend died, and this was all I had to remember him by."
Cas looked down at his coat. He lifted it, and slipped it on. As it hit his shoulders, the look of resolve the old Cas used to carry was back. "I believe I'm ready to help." He said, and Dean breathed a sigh of relief.
"Shouldn't you two be going?" Meg approached them from the hospital doors.
"What about you?"
"Oh, I think I'll sit this one out for now. Call me when they're all dead." And she sat down on the hood of the impala.
"Get off my car," he shouted back at her, as he an Cas headed back toward the door.
"You okay?" He asked Cas, as he walked next to him.
"I can never completely make up for what I've done, can I?"
Dean patted Cas on the shoulder, "let's worry about that later, just get me to Sam."
Castiel nodded, and put an hand on Dean, taking him straight to Sam's location.
Alice didn't know how many flights up Sam was, so she started her search on the next floor up. When she didn't find anything but patients rooms, she kept moving.
She had to be slow, and silent, as she had no idea which employees were human, and which ones weren't. After multiple close calls, she got to the very top floor, and it looked ominous and neglected. Her phone was on silent, but she heard the buzz coming from her pocket. She looked down at the screen, and saw the inside of the Tardis.
"Alice." The Doctor's face entered the screen, a worried look on it. "Are you alright? Your friend has been safely returned to her home with her parents. I'm fairly certain she will be fine. Should I come for you." He said it all so quickly, she didn't even have time to intercede.
"Shh," Alice whispered, looking around, but seeing no one in sight. "Not yet, it's still too dangerous, just give me..." Alice didn't finish the sentence, suddenly she heard screaming coming from the end of the hallway. "Sam," she said. "I have to go, I'll call you back."
"Alice," she heard him say, but she hung up and shoved her phone back in her pocket, as she started running.
The screaming had stopped, and she found herself praying, "Please don't let him be dead. Please don't let him be dead." Over and over again in her mind.
She looked through the window carefully, and almost cried out in joy, as she saw Castiel destroy the demon that was hurting Sam.
She opened the door, and walked slowly into the room. "Cas? You're alive!" She said, and then she let out an involuntary sob, as a hand grabbed her arm from behind, as she turned and saw Dean.
"Dean." She said, throwing herself into his arms.
He held her tightly, as Cas turned back to Sam, and put a hand on his head. Alice held her breath, waiting for Sam to sit up, and say that everything was alright.
But instead, he just lifted his weary head, looked at Castiel and murmured, "you're not real." Over and over again.
Cas turned back to Dean and Alice looking defeated. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure there's anything I can do."
Dean let go of Alice and stepped forward, "wait, what do you mean?"
Alice ran to Sam's side, undoing the straps that were holding his hands down, and trying to comfort him. But he just kept mumbling the words over and over again. "You're not real. You're not real."
"What does that mean? There's nothing you can do?" Dean demanded of Castiel.
"Dean," Alice said. But he wasn't listening.
"Fix him Cas, you broke him, now fix him." His voice rising as he pointed at his brother.
Sam winced at the sound of Dean's voice, his face contorting, as the volume went up.
"Dean!" Alice shouted, running back to him, placing a hand on his face. He finally looked back down at her.
"We need to get Sam out of here. Back to his room, at least. Look at him." She pointed at Sam, the electro shock helmet still strapped to his head.
Dean's face crumpled and he nodded. Alice ran back, and carefully removed the head piece, as Dean unstrapped Sam's legs. They wheeled the bed back to the elevator, and managed to make it all the way back to Sam's room without trouble. The rest of the demons must have run, Alice thought to herself. Cowards.
The moved Sam back to his room, and Alice sat in the chair next to his bed, she was careful not to get too close, as every touch seemed to frighten the hell out of him.
Dean and Cas stood whispering in the corner, and Alice sat there helpless. And then she glanced up as Cas stepped forward.
"I may be able to shift it." He said approaching Sam. "It would get Sam back on his feet." He sat next to Sam on the bed, and Sam tried to move away.
Cas glanced up at Alice, "I'm glad you're here Alice. Take care of them."
"Wait, Cas, what are you doing?" Alice asked, leaning forward.
"Sam this May hurt." Cas said, putting a hand out. "And if I can't tell you again, I'm sorry I ever did this to you." He put his hand on Sam's head, and Sam grunted in pain, his body shooting upright.
Alice flew from the chair, and Dean grabbed her before she could interfere. He held her tightly to his chest, and she buried her face in his jacket, closing her eyes.
When Cas finally let go, Alice felt Dean release her as he rushed forward. "Sam?" He called, running to his brother's side, and Sam looked up at him.
"Dean?"
Alice felt a rush of relief, until she looked at Castiel's face.
"Cas?" Sam asked, "Cas is that you?"
But Castiel just looked at Sam with absolute shock and terror, as all he saw was Lucifer.
After a discussion with Meg, the three of them were back in Sam's room, only this time it was Castiel in the bed.
"She'll take good care of him right?" Alice asked quietly.
Dean tightened his hold around her waist.
"I mean, I know she's a demon," she continued. "But she seems to like him. She's not going to let anything bad happen." Alice wasn't sure if she was asking, or trying to convince all of them that they made the right decision.
"Of course I'll take care of him."
They all turned, as Meg entered the room, dressed in scrubs like the rest of the staff. She carried a tray of food, that all of them knew Cas didn't need. "You'll just have to trust me." She set it on the table, smiled at them, and walked back out the door.
The got outside the hospital, and Dean pulled Alice aside. "Listen..." He said, and Alice gave him a glare.
"Don't say it, don't you dare say it." Tears filled her eyes, as he pulled her to him fiercely.
"It's too dangerous Al. You've got to go with the Doctor and get out of here." He rested his chin on the top of her head, and closed his eyes.
She had called him before they left, and they could both see the Tardis sitting in the parking lot.
"I can't leave you. I can't," she said into his chest.
He lifted her chin, "it's not forever, just till we can get some things figured out. A few weeks maybe?"
"I don't care if it's dangerous." Alice said, "I want to be with you Dean, good times, or bad."
"Mostly bad, it seems." He said, resting his forehead on hers. "I need you to be safe Alice. You're all I have left, and even though the thought of watching you walk away is killing me, I can't give Dick Roman, or Crowley any more ammunition against me. If they find out about you...well, I don't know what they would do. So please, for me, go with the Doctor. Go back to work, and we will be together again as soon as I can keep you safe."
He gave her a lingering kiss, and kissed her again on the forehead. "I love you too Al." He said before walking away.
She wrapped her arms around herself, and felt the unwanted tears roll down her face. And then she felt his familiar presence next to her.
"He made a difficult decision Alice, but he did it for your benefit." The Doctor whispered, gently putting an arm around her shoulders.
Alice closed her eyes, and said what she knew was true in her heart. "Our lives will never be safe, or normal. If he doesn't start to realize that, we will forever be saying goodbye to one another."
The Doctor knew she was right, so instead of saying anything, he just pulled her to him as she watched Sam and Dean drive away without her again.
