The thing is, Dean Winchester wasn't an idiot. He was just stupid. That's what some people got wrong. They thought he had to be one or the other. They forget they Dean put together the biggest bass, or figured out the solutions long before Sam.
This case let Dean Winchester shine.
Dean figured out the hunt- Crossroad Demon partnered with Hellhounds. How? Because he listened to Crossroad Blues by Robert Johnson.
Dean realized the way to stop the demon. Sam stated behind to watch over the new victim. Dean was keeping everybody safe, putting himself on the line to buy time for the victim.
He paid a price for it. Not a Deal, no not yet. That would come later. This price? It was knowledge.
Cursed knowledge.
Knowledge that tore him apart inside.
==GMB==
Dean knew that Raven knew already. She said as much months earlier. If he were honest, he saw it too. He never wanted to admit it was true. He couldn't admit what it.
Rage settled in his chest. This rage was a slow boil, hearing and twisting inside of him. It made his stomach upset- swirling and giving him the impression his lunch wanted to see him again. There was this yell caught in his throat. The kind of yelling Dean didn't often do when it was about Dad, or feelings. With the way he felt, Dean wanted to scream until the whole world righted itself.
He earned that. Dean earned the right to a happier world, hadn't he? He brought his family back together- including a sister he'd never known. How hadn't that earned the Winchesters some fucking peace?
Their dad was a genius. He always was good with coming up with plans, of doing things the smart way to get the monster. Was Dad giving up his soul part of that plan? That- that maybe he would come back after Dean killed that yellow eyed son of a bitch.
That was pure wishful thinking. There was no room for wishful thinking in hunting.
==GMB==
Dean revealed what he learned from the demon. Sam listened in dismay, while Raven was concerningly silent.
Raven was a talker. So many of their drives were filled with Raven rambling about something with Sam over the music. Or telling jokes with Dean that had him busting his guts. Raven only got quiet when she was scared. When the thing in her head- demon powers or whatever- were scarier than Raven thought others could handle.
Did she see this in a vision? Of Dean finding out about his dad? Raven's visions usually involved death. Weber's powers got stronger with repeated use, maybe the same was true for her.
"Demons lie all the time, right? Maybe she was lying." Sam reasoned. He didn't want to believe. Dean didn't want to believe it.
"Come on. That really what you think?" Dean countered. Sam quieted, sinking deeper against his seat. "How could he do it?"
"He did it for Raven." Sam stressed.
Raven snorted behind them. "Yeah, that's gone real well for me."
"How is she supposed to live with that?" Dean challenged Sam. "You know, the thought of him-"
Dean couldn't comprehend the weight on Raven's shoulders. Dean himself was hurt in that hospital, he was in a coma for awhile too. If he stayed in it longer...if he had been worse... Maybe in the original car crash, if he had sat on the side that got hit...he could've protected Raven but what would that have meant for Dad?
Would Dad still be in...
"See, people talk about hell, but it's just a word." The demon taunted him. "It doesn't even come close to describing the real thing."
"Shut your mouth, bitch."
"If you could see your poor daddy? Hear the sounds he makes 'cause he can't even scream?"
"-wherever he is right now." Demons lie. Demons lie. Demons lie. "I mean, he spent his whole life chasing that yellow-eyed son of a bitch. He should have gone out fighting. That was supposed to be his legacy. You know? Not bargaining with the damn thing. Not this."
"If you could see your poor daddy? Hear the sounds he makes 'cause he can't even scream?"
"Dean, how many people do you think Dad saved? Total?" Sam prompted.
"That's not the point, Sam." Dean answered. Dad wasn't always able to save every person. Sometimes they were used as bait, like Jo's dad. Stopping the monsters was always more important.
"Evan Hudson is safe because of what Dad taught us." Sam told his brother. "That's his legacy, Dean. But we're still here, guys. So we gotta keep going, for him."
"That's a good point." Raven mused.
"You weren't with him long, Raven, but you're plenty capable of protecting people." Sam reasoned. "Dad knew that you could do it."
Raven was quiet. Dean glanced at her in the rear view. She was looking down at her Bag, rubbing her thumb on the pinned buttons.
"Dean?" Sam asked.
Dean hadn't heard a question. He might've missed it. "Yeah." He answered.
"When you were trapping that demon, you weren't- I mean, it was all a trick, right?" Sam asked him. Dean's grip tightened on the wheel. "You never considered actually making that deal, right?"
Dean glanced out the window, in thought.
Demons lie
Demons lie
Demons lie
"Can you bring him back? My dad?"
"Of course I can. Just as he was. Your dad would live a long and natural life, like he was meant to. That's a promise."
"What about me?"
"I could give you ten years. Ten long good years with him. That's a lifetime. The family can be together again. John, Dean, Sammy, and Millie. The Winchester all reunited." The demon stepped forward. Her human eyes poorly hiding the monster inside. "Look. Your dad's supposed to be alive. You're supposed to be dead."
"Me? He- it was Raven's life." Dean was confused. Raven was the one chased by a Reaper, the one that barely got away.
"She stepped in for you. Caused quite a stir downstairs. So we'll just set things straight, put things in their natural order. And you get ten extra years on top. That's a bonus."
Dean wasn't saying anything. Instead, he reached for the radio to turn it up. The music was blasting at his head. It was just barely below 'too loud'.
Sam looked over his shoulder. Another look in the rearview showed Raven shrugging, shaking her head with her lips pressed in a thin line.
"She stepped in for you"
Demons lie
==GMB==
AN: The alternative title: 'Hard Working Doggo's'. Those hellhounds are such good puppers doing their jobs. Crowley must be so proud.