Scarlett sat in the study of Bobby's familiar home, waiting for the men to join her. Bobby was making a pot of coffee, obviously preparing for a long night of strategy.
"What's going on?" Scarlett called out to Bobby in the next room.
Bobby grunted. "One thing at a time, boy's 'll be down in a minute."
"What? You think we wake up like this?" Dean walked into the study, freshly showered. "Sam's hair doesn't feather on it's own you know."
Scarlett let out a scoff.
"What about my hair?" Sam entered the kitchen and helped Bobby with the coffees.
"Ok, Bobby, what do you have for us?"
"Well, now that we're all reunited…" Bobby shot Scarlett a raised eyebrow, "we have some serious work to do."
"New omens?" Sam questioned, handing his brother a mug as Bobby handed one to Scarlett.
"And thensome."
"Ok, so what's the plan?"
"Divide and conquer, I'd say." Dean offered.
"We have two very concerning reports, and then the obvious…" Bobby nodded his head towards Dean.
"No, no. We've already discussed this and any kind of-" Dean began to protest.
"Stop." Sam demanded quietly.
"Sammy…" Dean said solemnly.
"He's right, Dean." Bobby continued. "None of us are gonna sit here and wait while you've got the Hounds of Hell nippin' at your ankles."
"There's nothing to do about it."
"What is that?" Sam almost shouted. "Do you want to die? Is that it?"
"Of course not!" Dean got defensive.
"Well then why won't you let us try to save you?! What? You're the only one that can be a hero?" Sam snipped.
"Ok, settle down now." Bobby gestured his hands for them to calm down. "I think I've got an idea."
"Yeah? And what's that?" Dean asked skeptically.
"Well, the Crossroads Demon told Sam she had a boss, right?"
"Right." Sam confirmed.
"We track down the son of a bitch that holds your contract and we take them out."
"Great, got any leads?" Dean asked with an eye roll.
"Not yet, smartass...but if we're all on the same page-" Bobby started.
"There's nothing to do, alright?!" Dean raised his voice.
"Well we can't do nothing!" Sam matched his tone.
"Not to mention it's three against one!" Bobby agreed.
"Yeah? Scarlett? You got somethin' to add to the conversation?" Dean looked to Scarlett.
She looked to her hands in her lap.
"Yeah, I thought so. Scarlett know's I'm doomed, when will you two get it in your fuckin' heads?"
"Don't you cuss at me, boy." Bobby threatened.
"Would you all just shut up?!" Scarlett stood up, her eyes fiery.
The three men obliged and looked to her.
"You can go back and forth about this until Dean's last day or we could actually get something done. No matter what fight we're looking at there's one thing we need to accomplish before we do anything else: we need to get the Colt back from that turncoat bitch, Bela. Sam, you think y'all can manage not getting totally fucked by this damn femme fatale or does this need to be a woman's job?"
The boys cowered.
"Speak!" Scarlett shouted.
"No, we can do that." Sam finally spoke up.
"Great, next: Bobby what job have you got? I'm sure you and I are more than capable of handling it."
"Well, there seems to be an old case of John's who has a copycat or worse maybe has gone unresolved...Doc Benton: an alchemist. Some people have been showing up at a hospital in Pennsylvania with organs missing, sewn up with silk sutures."
"Fan-fuckin-tastic. We'll head out in the morning." Scarlett huffed. "As for Dean's...date with Death, if he's fine to die and leave us all here cleaning up this mess then that's just God damn peachy fucking keen." Scarlett turned to stare down Dean, but he wouldn't meet her gaze. "Be a fuckin' martyr. See how far that goes in saving the rest of fucking humanity. You want to know where I went for 6 months?" Dean finally locked eyes with Scarlett, not daring to interrupt. "Anywhere that wasn't around you cause I couldn't watch you give up. And you're fucking delusional if you think I came back here just to sit on Bobby's couch with my thumb up my ass waiting so we can all watch you sacrifice yourself to the fucking enemy."
They all stayed quiet; Scarlett's words filled the air around Dean and threatened to suffocate him.
"Let me know when y'all are ready to get something the fuck done!" Scarlett stormed out of the room and upstairs.
The boys looked around at each other, dumbfounded.
"Well for fuck's sake." Bobby got up and followed after her to his own room.
"Jesus, who the hell does she think she is coming in here, after going AWOL, barking orders at us, mouth like a sailor on leave?" Dean grumbled to his little brother.
Sam just shook his head, "I don't know, Dean, maybe she learned it from you."
The next morning Scarlett woke up to a knock on her bedroom door.
"Scar?" It was Sam's voice.
Scarlett pulled a sweatshirt over her head and shuffled over to let him in.
"It's early." Scarlett groaned.
"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you before anyone started making moves today."
Scarlett read the turmoil on Sam's face. "Come in, what's up?"
"Well, I was just wondering how you'd feel about me coming with you to Pennsylvania instead of Bobby?"
Scarlett climbed back under her blankets and patted the end of her bed for Sam to sit. "Any particular reason?"
"I remember the alchemist, Doc Benton, from my dad's journal, my dad ripped out his heart."
"Yikes. That'll do it, I guess."
"Yeah...well, maybe not. If this isn't a copycat, if it's really Doc Benton back at it again, that means he came back from the dead."
Scarlett knew where this was headed, she also knew it didn't lead anywhere good...but even still, she couldn't bring herself to take away the youngest Winchester's hope, not when there was so little to go around.
"Ok, Sam. Do you want me to tell Bobby?"
Sam nodded. "He can't know about why, though."
"I got you." Scarlett tapped her nose.
Another knock came at her door.
"Come in." Scarlett called.
Bobby walked in.
"Speak of the Devil and he doth appear." Scarlett chuckled.
"Lookin' fer Sam, got a lead on Bela...Dean's already in the shower."
"Oh, uh…" Sam scratched the back of his head.
"Bobby, would you mind going with Dean on this one?" Scarlett asked.
"Why's that?"
"Well seeing as she's given them the slip more than once now…"
"Yeah, that might be best." Bobby agreed. "What are you two up to in here."
"Just, uh, catching up." Sam smiled.
"Really, I'd love to know what you've been up to." Bobby eyed Scarlett intensely.
Scarlett stayed cool and mustered up a yawn. "Unfortunately nothing but dead ends and dashed hopes."
"What's everyone doing in here?" Dean came in, dripping wet and sporting a towel wrapped around his waist.
Scarlett averted her gaze. "Morning meeting. We're switching partners."
"Y-y-uh-you're going with me to find Bela?" Dean stuttered.
"No, I'm going with ya to make sure you don't throw all sense out the winda' in front of a pretty face again." Bobby rolled his eyes.
"I do not-"
"Can you drip somewhere else?" Scarlett got up to shoo the men out of her room. "In-fact, why doesn't everyone head down so I can get dressed?"
Dean eyed Scarlett's bare legs protruding from an oversized sweatshirt before exiting with the rest of them.
"Jesus, he drives like a maniac." Scarlett remarked to Sam as she gestured to Dean's Impala ahead of them.
"Yeah, at least some things never change." Sam sighed.
Scarlett's cell rang.
"Could you check that?" Scarlett asked, eyes locked on the speeding Impala.
"It's Bobby." Sam looked at the phone.
Scarlett nodded for him to answer.
"Hey Bobby."
"Looks like we might lose you, just wanted to make sure that you get off at the next exit for Erie. We're staying at the Erie Red Carpet Inn."
"Sounds luxurious. Alright, see you there." Sam hung up.
"What's this one called?" Scarlett asked.
"The Red Carpet Inn."
"Well, you should probably put on a sport jacket at least." Scarlett mocked.
"Yes, I wonder what kind of Red Carpet event this establishment hosts." Sam said in his best snobby voice.
"Hmmm...opening night of the prostitute murders?"
"Starring Jack The Ripper?"
"Oh yes, that must be it. The carpet used to be beige before the blood stains."
The two half heartedly chuckled and then fell silent.
"That was fucked up." Sam said after a long pause.
"Totally." Scarlett agreed seriously.
"Speaking of fucked up…" Sam began.
"You're so good at segways."
"Are we going to talk about what you found in your 6 month solo adventure?"
"Wouldn't I have come home sooner if I found something out?"
"Depends on what you found."
"What could I possibly know that I would keep from you?" Scarlett tried to act incredulous.
"I don't know, but I do know that you only answer in the form of a question when you're lying."
"When have I ever done that?"
"I couldn't possibly say." Sam rolled his eyes. "Don't miss the turn."
"Got it." Scarlett pulled off the highway.
"You called it 'home'." Sam smirked.
Scarlett caught up to the Impala at a traffic light and silently weighed the options for telling Sam.
She followed Dean and Bobby to the motel parking lot outside the lobby.
Dean looked to them as he and Bobby got out of the Impala; Sam rolled down his window in response.
"Just wait, we'll grab your keys." Dean instructed.
Sam nodded and turned to Scarlett: she was looking after Dean walking away, her brows furrowed as she chewed the inside of her lip, he could tell she was warring with her mind.
She finally let out a violent huff.
"Look, I don't really have good news...just, if I tell you this that's all I'm gonna say on the topic, got it?"
Sam nodded that he understood.
"I haven't found a way out of Dean dying…" Scarlett paused and sighed.
"But…?" Sam pushed.
Scarlett looked at the wishful Winchester, hope glistening in his eyes; this wouldn't be a win, merely a consolation prize.
Scarlett let out another sigh. "But I did find a way to make sure his soul gets released from Hell."
"What does that mean?" Sam searched Scarlett's face for better news.
"It means he'll still die, he'll still go to Hell...just...I found a way to make sure his soul gets put to rest in Heaven instead."
Sam's eyes watered but he shook away the emotion. "How?" He asked seriously.
"I can't say much else."
"No, you can, you just won't." Sam pressed again.
"You're right. I won't." Scarlett dug her heels in and Sam knew that was the end of their conversation for the night.
"Jeez who died?" Dean leaned toward the open window, resting his hand on the hood of Scarlett's Honda.
Sam and Scarlett both looked at Dean, neither in the mood for morbid jokes anymore.
"Tough crowd…" Dean fanned out three keys and held them in the window. "3A, B, & C: take your pick."
Scarlett reached past Sam and grabbed a key envelope.
"3C it is. Meet out front building 3 and we'll take room B, Sammy." Dean returned to an upright posture and patted the hood of Scarlett's car, ushering her to head farther down the property.
Alone in her motel room, Scarlett read through newspaper articles from the past couple months, jotting down names of the people who had surprise surgeries and attempting to 411 whatever info she could on the victims, when a knock came at her door.
"It's Sam, can I come in?"
Scarlett got up to open the door.
"Hey, I'm headed out to pick up some Johnnie Walker blue for Bobby's case, thought I'd check to see if you wanted to look through this tonight." Sam held up his father's journal.
"Really?" Scarlett gingerly reached out for the tattered book.
"Yeah, this is an important case, I figured someone who knows something about surgery might have a better set of eyes."
"Yeah, I'll go through it with a fine tooth comb." Scarlett could hear the desperation in Sam's voice. "So where is Bobby?"
"He and Dean went out to find a crossroad's demon to shake down for intel on what Demon is holding Dean's contract."
"Well they need the Colt back before they can kill him."
"Please, that thing is long gone. I'm sure Bela sold it the moment she got her hands on it."
"So your plan is…"
"Immortality."
"You think that Doc Benton is immortal?"
"Maybe, I hope so. We need to find out." Sam reached out to flip through the journal in Scarlett's hands. "Start on this page, somewhere in here is a clue to becoming immortal."
Scarlett was worried, there probably was a clue to immortality in this journal or with Doc Benton, but she was sure that the price was not something Dean would be willing to pay.
"Okay Sam, I'll look, but this is still a case to solve...people are dying."
"I'll see you in the morning. Bright and early." Sam left to run Bobby's errand.
About fifteen minutes into reading, Scarlett saw a pattern in John's journal that aligned with the pattern emerging in the news articles; Sam was right, it was definitely Doc Benton's M.O. What she couldn't believe was that Sam would be willing to snake the organs from innocent people in order to keep Dean from dying...or maybe she could.
The sounds of Bobby in the next room, shouting in latin broke Scarlett from a dangerous thought and she decided a walk was needed, and maybe a smoke.
Scarlett crossed the parking lot to her car and fumbled around in her center console for a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She was in luck, 1 cigarette left in the pack. She climbed up on the hood of her car and watched the motel, careful not to burn herself with the lit cigarette.
Dean walked out of the hotel room and slammed the door behind him. Scarlett watched silently as he punched the air with a grunt and walked to his hotel room door. Dean paused just outside before turning around and squatting down on the curb. He sighed and looked off into the distance.
Smoke cut through Scarlett's lungs as she inhaled, her exhale announced that she was there.
Dean stood up and walked towards Scarlett, she noted he always seemed to strut.
"What are you doing out here?" Dean walked up to the car hood.
Scarlett took another drag, "What does it look like?"
Dean leaned up against the car to face Scarlett and pulled at her calves. Scarlett slipped forward towards Dean, his body now between her legs and blocking her from reaching the ground. Dean leaned over and Scarlett allowed herself to indulge in the scent of him. She looked up, unsure what his next move would be.
Dean was looking down, watching Scarlett's breath quicken. He placed his hand on her shoulder and lightly traced down her soft skin with his callouses.
Dean quickly snatched the cigarette from her hand and took a drag himself before dropping it and twisting it under his heel. "I thought I told you, these will kill you."
Scarlett smiled, no they wouldn't. "You'll be the death of me, Dean Winchester."
"Me? Why, I won't be here to bother you much longer…" Dean checked his cell phone "2 weeks, 3 days."
"That's not funny." Scarlett looked down.
Dean used his pointer finger to gently guide her chin back up so he could see her face, her eyes were sad and tired.
"It wasn't a joke. You know it's true, better than any of them, don't you?"
"Dean, I-
"You would have come back if you found anything good." Dean was still holding her face to look at him and Scarlett knew he was asking more than telling. "Right?" Dean's eyes welled.
"I tried to come back, so many times…" Scarlett hated that she wasn't there for him. "I just couldn't, I'm so sorry."
"Trust me, I get it. If it weren't for Sammy...I would just drive until I couldn't anymore."
"No you wouldn't. You're a fighter."
"You might be right...but what's the point?"
"So they know they can't break you."
"And what if they can?" A tear spilled from Dean's eye and fell onto Scarlett's cheek.
"They can't." Scarlett reached up around his neck and pulled him down to her.
Dean burrowed his head into Scarlett's clavicle and let out all of the worry he'd let build up while she was gone. Scarlett stroked his head and tried to muffle his sobs with her cooing, she knew he'd never want Sam to see him like this.
"Dean, I wish I had more hope to give you. But I promise you that you will not spend eternity in Hell. I promise."
Dean pulled away from Scarlett's chest just enough to see that she'd been crying with him. He wiped the tears from her cheeks and she, in turn, wiped the tears from his jawline. Scarlett gave a soft, comforting smile to Dean. All he could think was that he should memorize her face before he couldn't see it again. He traced her lips and her mouth slightly parted. He recognized her tell and almost let himself give in to it.
Dean let out a sigh and turned away from Scarlett to collect himself.
"Shit, I'm sorry, I really didn't want to do this to you."
"Do what?"
"I'm dying, Scar, soon. You should have stayed away, I never wanted you to…"
"Care?" Scarlett got up from the car and walked to stand in front of Dean.
"I guess."
"Why not?"
"It's not...I'm not...I can't give you what you want."
"And what do I want?"
"2.5 kids, white picket fence, golden retriever."
Scarlett recalled the conversation he was referencing. "Dean, that was another life, a different person said that to you."
"Still, it's the kind of life you deserve, and it's not one I'd ever be able to show you- even before the deal."
"Jesus, Winchester...who asked you to?" Scarlett pulled Dean into a kiss.
Dean knew he should pull away from her but his body wouldn't listen. Scarlett pulled away to catch her breath but she held her hands around Dean's neck and he kept his forehead resting against hers.
"I missed you." Dean whispered into her ear. "Why was it so hard to come home?" Dean trailed small kisses down to her shoulder and back up her neck.
"Because…" Scarlett's head went dizzy "I love you."
Dean reached Scarlett's mouth and swallowed the same breath that she'd spoken with, attempting to devour the words themselves. Scarlett gripped the back of Dean's neck with one hand and pulled at his hair with the other as she bit at his lip, begging to deepen the kiss. Dean hoisted her up by the waist and Scarlett wrapped her legs around his torso. Dean gripped Scarlett's thighs and felt her grind her hips into him. He headed blindly towards the motel room, desperate to get her alone.