Need You Now

By Ammie Hawk

Disclaimer: Still don't own.

AN: Okay, so this chapter was difficult. Please don't judge me too hard on how it ends, I have plans… Anyway, moving on.

Chapter 7

Dean sat behind the wheel of his beloved Impala with Sam beside him in the front seat and Sev taking up the back as they made their way to a safe place to regroup before they set off to confront Lilith. The soft strains of some song or other played over the radio, but none of them were really paying attention.

"Okay," the raven finally broke the silence that had been between them for the past hour, "this is getting awkward, are you two against talking?"

"Naw," the elder Winchester shrugged, adjusting the volume even lower. "So what'd ya wanna talk about, Sev?"

"I don't know," he leaned forward, resting his arms on the back of the front seat. "Don't really care, either. It's just kind of a bit too quiet. Ya know, I don't know that much about you, Dean, so why don't you tell me about yourself."

"No," hazel eyes rolled in annoyance. "I'm not spending the next six plus hours listening to Dean talk about himself. Instead, why don't you tell us how you got into all this? And what the hell is up with this whole Master of Death thing? Because apparently, I don't know anything about you."

"Sam," the raven gave a longsuffering sigh, "we each have our secrets but that doesn't mean we don't know each other. So I didn't tell you I'm the Master of Death, but I've only told a select few people that, but you didn't tell me you were a Hunter, so what's the difference?"

"He's got a point there, Sam," Dean shot a glance at his brother.

"Dean, stay out of this please," the bespectacled male held up his hand. "Look, Sam, I get you want to protect me, but you could've talked to me instead of just pushing me away. How many nights did we spend at Stanford just talking until dawn, about anything and everything, including the supernatural. Granted, most of those conversations were theoretical, or hypothetical, or what have you, but the point is you knew I wasn't closed off to it. The truth is, I've known about all this… shit since I was a kid. Hell, I became the Master of Death at seventeen."

"Okay," the short haired brunet cut in, unable to help himself, "not to interrupt your beautiful tirade, and not that Sammy doesn't deserve it, but how does one even become the Master of Death? And what does that even mean?"

"Alright," he sighed heavily. "You mentioned the Hallows, and I told you the Peveralls were real. The Hallows are three objects that Death gave the Peverall brothers, for 'outsmarting' him. If a person can collect all these items they become the Master of Death. When I was seventeen, I unwittingly got all three. As for what that means, well, long story short, my soul belongs to Death."

"Wait," Sam frowned as he turned to stare at his former boyfriend, "are you saying you made a deal to get the Hallows? How long do you have?"

"It's not like that, Sam," he rubbed his eyes behind his spectacles. "It's the fine print, it'll get you every time. Once the Hallows are collected, your soul belongs to Death. There's no time limit, I'll live for however long I live, but when I do die, my soul will go to Death. It won't go to heaven, it won't go to hell, it goes to Death. What he's going to do with my soul, I have no clue."

"Okay," Dean pursed his lips thoughtfully. "But as Master of Death, what can you do? What perks come with giving up your soul?"

"As I said before, it's mostly a title," Sev shrugged. "I mean, I can't be possessed, or make a deal, so demons leave me alone. I can see things others can't, ghosts and such, specifically Reapers. And I can interact more fully with the spirit world, communicate and stuff. I actually have some spirits that seek me out just to talk."

"So you're basically a medium?" the younger Winchester clarified.

"It's a bit more involved than that," he shook his head, "but that would work in a pinch to keep my identity as Master of Death secret. Which I would ask that you do, because unfortunately, people think it's more than it is, and would happily kill me to steal the title away."

"We can do that," Dean nodded. "But if it's just a title, like you claim, why are demons scared of you?"

"Not sure why they'd be scared of me," a thoughtful look crossed his features. "I mean, yeah, I can tell when a demon is possessing someone, and I know all their tricks, and I could probably stop them if I wanted, but seriously have never heard they were scared of me. Hate me, definitely, but fear, not so much."

"Well, that's what we heard," the short haired brunet shrugged. "So what's the big plan for Lilith? What are we gonna do?"

"Okay, so," Sev leaned forward further, "I should be able to keep the hellhounds at bay for a bit while you two work her over. The ideal outcome is for her to rip up the contract, but if you have to, settle for her amending it so you get more time, cause from there we can figure something else out."

"That's it?" Sam frowned. "What if she doesn't agree to either?"

"Then we gank her sorry ass," his brother answered confidently.

"That won't break your deal, Dean," he ran his hand through his hair agitatedly. "That would just pass it on to another demon. You would still go to hell."

"Yeah, well," the elder Winchester shook her head, "at least I'll take her down with me."

"Use that as a last resort only, Dean," he sighed. "Please?"

"Fine," the short haired brunet pouted slightly.

"Great," he sat back in his seat. "Though, if I'm gonna be dealing with hellhounds, there's a few things I need to get. So when we stop I'm gonna leave for a bit cause I can't just go to any corner market to get this stuff. I want you guys to stay there, wherever it is we stop, so I can fine you again. In the meantime, you two work on getting that weapon and finding Lilith."

"Can't you just snap your fingers or something and find her?" the elder Winchester asked incredulously.

"Doesn't work that way, Dean," emerald eyes rolled in annoyance. "Anyway, I will be looking for her too, it's just not gonna be easy. She'll more than likely sense me looking."

"We'll do what we can," Sam shook his head, he still couldn't believe the man he loved, the man he thought he knew, was not only interested in the supernatural, but apparently heavily involved in it.

Silence filled the Impala after that, except the soft music from the radio. After a few hours, Dean pulled off the road in front of a run down, obviously abandoned cabin, that the brothers had obviously used before and cut the engine.

"Okay," Sev said as he slid out of the back seat. "I'm off. Call me if you find anything, or something comes up, or… You know what, just call me, regularly."

"Will do," the older brother assured. "Do you want a ride somewhere or something? How are you supposed to get around?"

"I'll manage," he chuckled wryly. "I always do. Besides, I saw a house a little way back that looked like it had some extra vehicles."

"If you're sure?" Sam frowned.

"I am," he shook his head. "Don't worry about me, you focus on Dean right now. Everything'll work out and I'll see you in a few days."

With that, he shouldered the duffle he'd brought and headed back to the main road. The brothers shared a look about the confusing young man before heading into the cabin.

888888

The Winchesters stood side by side at a table going over their arsenal. They checked their guns, making sure they were all loaded before they headed out to confront Lilith.

"You call Sev?" Dean asked as he slipped the clip in his gun

"I tried when we got the location," his brother shook his head. "Straight to voicemail. I don't know if he's just out of range, the battery died, or something bad happened to him."

"I'm sure he's okay," the shorter male patted him on the shoulder. "He'll probably call back soon."

"I'm sure you're right," he sighed in resignation. "So we're just gonna let Ruby rot down there?"

"That's the idea," Dean shrugged.

"Dean, what if, uh…" the shaggy haired brunet hesitated. "What if Ruby's right? What if I can take out Lilith?"

Green eyes turned incredulously on the younger male.

"Quit looking at me like that."

"What," the short haired brunet scoffed, "are you gonna give her the Carrie-stare and Lilith goes poof?"

"I don't know what Ruby meant," Sam frowned. "You know, maybe we should just go ask her."

"Sam, you wanted the knife—" his brother huffed irritably. "I got you the knife."

"Dean, just listen to me for a second," hazel eyes followed the other as he moved to another table. "Last time Lilith snapped her fingers and put thirty demons on our ass, and all we got's one little knife? I mean, like you said, we go in smart or we don't go in at all."

"Well, this ain't smart."

"We got one shot at this, Dean," the taller male sighed heavily. "Just one. So if there's a sure fire way then maybe we should just talk about it."

"Sam," he walked back over to his brother's side. "We are not gonna make the same mistake all over again."

"You said that," the shaggy haired brunet shook his head, "but what does it even mean?"

"Don't you see a pattern here?" Dean sighed. "Dad's deal, my deal, now this? I mean every time one of us is—is—is up the creek the other is begging to sell their soul. That's all this is, man. Ruby's just jerking your chain down the road. You know what it's paved with and you know where it's going."

He turned around and leaned back against the table, half sitting on it, and picked up one of the guns. Sam shook his head and moved to his brother's side.

"Dean," he mimicked the other's position. "What do you think is gonna happen? This is me, I can handle it."

Dean stopped what he was doing, gaze trained on the floor before shaking his head.

"And if it'll save you…"

"Why even risk it?" jade eyes locked with hazel.

"Because you're my brother," he said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Because you did the same thing for me."

"I know…" the older brother scoffed, "and look how that turned out." He shot a pointed look at the other, who couldn't help but look away. "All I'm saying… Sammy, all I'm saying is that you're my weak spot. You are," he smiled slightly at his brother's shocked look. "And I'm yours."

"You don't mean that," Sam said rather hoarsely. "We're… we're family."

"I know," he ran his hand through his hair. "And those evil sons of bitches know it too. I mean, what we'll do for each other, you know, how far we'll go? They're using it against us."

"So what?" the younger scoffed. "We just stop looking out for each other?"

"No, we stop being martyrs, man," he sighed. "We—we—we stop spreading it for these demons." He reached over and grabbed the knife they had taken from Ruby and held it up. "We take this knife, and we go after Lilith our way. The way Dad taught us to. And if we go down, then, uh… then we go down swinging. What do you think?"

The taller male looked contemplatively at the floor for a moment before answering, "I think you totally should have been jamming Eye of the Tiger right there."

"Oh, bite me," Dean got up. "I totally rehearsed that speech, too."

Sam smiled at that admission, that was so like his brother. Before anything else could be said between them, his cell phone began to ring. He fished it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID. He shot a quick glance at the older male before flipping it open.

"Hey, Sev," he greeted rather breathlessly. "I tried calling but you didn't answer. Is everything okay?"

~No, everything's fine,~ the other replied. ~Just out of range. What's up?~

"Uh, well, we, uh," he chuckled nervously, "we, uh, got a lead on Lilith, and were about to head out."

~That's great!~ Sev said happily. ~Look, I'm on my way back anyway. Give me ten, fifteen minutes, less if I punch it. Don't leave without me. See you in a bit.~

With that the line went dead. Sam pulled the device away from his ear and stared at it blankly for a moment.

"So, what did Sev have to say?" Dean's voice cut into his muddled thoughts.

"He's, uh, he's on his way back," the shaggy haired brunet sighed. "He said not to leave without him."

"Okay," his brother nodded. "Let's go load the car. We'll leave as soon as he gets here."

"Ya know," he shook his head, "I don't feel right about this."

"What's not to feel right about?" the elder Winchester frowned. "We're going after Lilith and hopefully, I won't end up in the pit."

"No, not that," he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "That's the best plan we've got. It's bringing Sev in. I mean, this is our fight, why should he be involved? He could get hurt, and that would be on us."

"Dude, I'm gonna stop you right there," jade eyes leveled him with a glare. "This might be my last night on earth, so I'm gonna straighten you out, just in case. Now, you're my brother and I love you, but you've handled this whole Sev situation like a bitch. You claim to love the guy but you left him without so much as a word."

"So, what?" Sam scoffed. "I was supposed to call him up and say Sorry, I can never see you again because my past came back to bite me on the ass?"

"I'm not saying a phone call would've been best," his brother shook his head. "But it would've been better than what you did. I'm not talking about some half assed voicemail either. Any explanation would've been better than none."

"You know," the shaggy haired brunet matched his glare, "you don't have any room to be lecturing me. You have a string of girls in every town we stop in."

"No, you see, there's a big difference there," Dean held up his hand. "The girls I hook up with know it's over as soon as I walk out the door. You were set to marry this guy and then you just up and left. And you know what, miracle of miracles, he never gave up on your sorry ass. Most people would. Add on top of that, he didn't run screaming when he found out what we do, or call the loony bin. But you still want to push him away. Dude, I would kill to have someone like Sev."

"Dean," hazel eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Look," he shrugged, "I'm not saying I'd try and take him from you, but if I make it through this and you let him go, he's fair game. And if I don't make it, and you send him packing, you can bet your ass I'll claw my way out of the pit, kick your sorry ass and then get with him."

"Okay, I get it," the younger scowled. "You're going to try and get with Sev. Not that he'd actually go for someone like you."

"I think you'd be surprised," the short haired brunet chuckled. "Me and him seem to be on the same wavelength. And I think he'd actually appreciate someone seeing him as more than a pretty face."

"I don't see him like that."

"No?" a dark brow rose incredulously. "Cause that's sure as hell how you've been treating him. Lock him up in the tower so he doesn't get hurt. Dude, you don't like it when I try and bench you, so stop trying to bench him."

"Look," Sam sighed heavily, "I'll think about it… Let's, let's just focus on taking out Lilith right now."

Dean just shrugged and began filling their duffels. Once all their weapons were packed they made their way out to the car to wait for Sev. They had just stashed the bags in the trunk when a sleek motorcycle pulled in behind them. The brothers shared a confused look as the newcomer cut the engine.

"You guys look like you weren't expecting me," the helmet came off to reveal a head of tussled black hair.

"Dude," the elder Winchester shook his head, "where'd you get the bike?"

"You don't want to know," Sev chuckled slightly. "Anyway, Sam said you found Lilith?"

"Yeah, we did," he nodded. "She's holed up in New Harmony, Indiana."

"Great," green eyes shifted between the brothers. "So what are we waiting for?"

"You," the taller brunet frowned. "You asked us to, remember?"

"Right," the bespectacled male shook his head. "Well, I'm here now, so let me stash my bike and we can hit the road."

He turned and began maneuvering the vehicle into the trees. He returned a few minutes later only to find an older man standing next to the Impala talking to the brothers. He hung back until the other walked over to another car and started the engine. When he felt it was safe, he slid into the backseat.

"Okay," he grinned as the brothers whirled around to face him. "Don't know what that was about, but what do you say we go find us a bitch."

888888

The group arrived in New Harmony and began scoping out the area. Thanks to Dean, they were able to figure out where Lilith was and who she was possessing.

"It's the little girl," he indicated the house they were watching. "Her face is awful."

"That is her flavor of choice for a vessel," Sev's face scrunched up into a scowl. "There's a reason I can't stand her."

"Who is this kid?" Bobby asked, sending a suspicious glance in the raven's direction.

"You're right," green eyes rolled in mild annoyance, "these boys have no manners. And nor, apparently, do you. However, I'm Sev, Sev Black. Sam's ex, and a friend, and I'm just here to try and help. So if you could lose the suspicion it would be much appreciated. Now, I think I've got the basics of a plan."

"Oh?" Sam cleared his throat, trying hard not to laugh, he had forgotten how feisty and snarky the other could be. "What're you thinking?"

"Well," Sev bit his lip in thought, "with all the demons in the area, we need to find a way to separate them from Lilith, so you can have time."

"The best way would probably be to bless the water main," the older hunter scratched his head under his cap. "Then we just turn on the holy water sprinklers."

"That… would work," the bespectacled male nodded. "Though it won't hold them for long, so you guys had better work quick. I'll be waiting out of sight to keep the hellhounds at bay."

"And how exactly are you going to do that?" the short haired brunet frowned.

"Well, Dean," emerald eyes twinkled mischievously, "the trick with any beast is to know how to calm them. Hellhounds… all you have to do is play a bit of music and they go straight to sleep."

"That was the Cerberus in Harry Potter," the younger Winchester deadpanned.

"You're lucky you're cute," Sev shook his head.

"What do you think Cerberus is?" Bobby scowled. "It's a guardian of the underworld, ya idjit. In other words, the big bitch. The main hellhound. But how do you know that'll work?" his gaze shifted to the raven. "As he said, that tidbit's from Harry Potter. I've never seen any lore that it would actually work."

"Apparently," Dean chimed in, "all fiction has a basis in truth."

"I'm glad you were paying attention, Dean," the bespectacled male flashed him a grin. "But what Sam seems to have forgotten is that while I majored in Literature, I minored in Mythology and Occult Studies. Trust me, it'll work. Why do you think radios and electricity are the first things to go when the hounds show up? Let me tell you, most people who encounter them are too scared to start singing or grab and instrument."

"Good to know," the elder Winchester pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"It's not one hundred percent though," he sighed. "As soon as you stop, and you will have to stop, they wake up and you're dead."

"Got it," the short haired brunet nodded. "Just buying some time while we deal with Lilith."

"You're getting it," Sev smirked. "Anyway, let's get this show on the road."

888888

The brothers slammed the office door closed, just in time for the hellhound to crash into them. Dean snatched a pouch out of his jacket pocket and poured a liberal amount at the base.

"Where the hell is Sev?" he snapped as he moved to place some of the goofer dust on the windowsill. "I thought he was supposed to be handling these things."

"I don't know," Sam raked his hands through his hair in frustration. "I just don't know. He could be dead for all we know."

"Give me the knife," Ruby interjected suddenly, "maybe I can fight it off."

"What?" hazel eyes turned to her confused.

"Come on!" she insisted. "That dust won't last forever."

The elder Winchester turned to them, a frown marring his features. The shaggy haired brunet hesitated for a moment before pulling the knife out and extending it to the demon.

"Wait!" Dean said, causing his brother to turn to him in confusion.

"You wanna die?" the blonde snapped.

"Sam, that's not Ruby," he frowned. "It's not Ruby!"

The younger turned back and stared at the demon. The blonde scoffed before raising her hand and pinning the taller male forcefully to the wall. Upon impact, the knife flew out of his hand and clattered to the floor. She then raised her other hand and flung Dean onto the table.

"How long have you been in her?" the short haired brunet grunted slightly as he struggled to lift his head.

"Not long," her voice changed octave to a more childlike tone as she glanced down at herself. "But I like it. It's all grown up and pretty."

As she looked back up, her eyes shifted to an opaque white.

"And where's Ruby?" Sam ground out.

"She was a very bad girl," she cocked her head to the side, accompanied by a sickening cricking noise, "so I sent her far, far away."

"You know," Dean scoffed, "I should have seen it before… but you all look alike to me."

Her eyes narrowed into a glare at the insult before she turned her attention back to the younger Winchester.

"Hello, Sam," she prowled over to him. "I've wanted to meet you for a very long time." She took his chin and forced her lips on his. "Your lips are soft."

"Right," he tried to jerk out of her grip, "so you have me. Let my brother go."

"Silly goose," she laughed. "You wanna bargain, you have to have something that I want. You don't. And neither does the Master of Death that you brought with you."

Two demons appeared with the raven held between them, his hands tied behind his back and a cloth over his mouth. How they had gotten past the holy water, neither brother was sure, but there they were. One of them gave a sharp tug on the black locks, forcing the other's head up. Blood trickled from an unseen wound into blazing green eyes as they glared at the lone female.

"You shouldn't have come," an evil smile crossed her features, as she made her way over to the shorter male. "You have no business here, Harry. And I don't want you here."

"Luckily," he managed to dislodge the gag from his mouth, "I don't care what you want. And my business is my own."

"Un-uh," she shook her head. "You're here interrupting my deal, my contract. Not yours. You can't stop me."

"I didn't come here to stop you, Lilith," he said through gritted teeth. "I just came to play with the hounds. You know how much they like me."

"That's enough of your lies," she ran her hands through his hair as she grabbed the cloth and refitted it into his mouth and secured it more tightly behind his head. "You were trying to stop the hounds from getting what's mine. But in the end, they don't listen to you, no matter how nice you are to them."

"So is this your big plan, huh?" Dean cut in, trying to distract her so one of them might possibly get free. "Drag me to hell. Kill Sam. Lock up Sev? And then what? Become queen bitch."

"I don't have to answer to puppy chow," Lilith glared at him.

She moved over to the door and grabbed the handle.

"Sic 'em boy."

The brothers shared a desperate, panicked look as the doors slid open. Sev struggled frantically against his bonds as the goofer dust blew away and the hellhound ran into the room. The hound lunged at the table and dragged Dean to the ground and began tearing into him.

"No," Sam yelled. "Stop it."

He continued pleading as his brother was attacked, over and over. Tears streamed down the raven's cheeks as he watched helplessly as the other was killed right in front of him and he was powerless to stop it. Lilith just smiled as she watched the scene unfold in front of her.

"You know," she said when it was obvious her victim was well passed saving, "he had a pretty good idea." She moved over to the bespectacled male, "I hadn't decided what to do with you yet. But now… Take him away. I'm sure we can find somewhere strong enough to hold him. We can't have him getting in the way again."

The two demons nodded and dragged the now limp raven out of the room. Once they were gone, she stepped over Dean and held out her hand in Sam's direction. A white light erupted from it, and the shaggy haired brunet turned away, bracing himself for the inevitable. Suddenly, the light disappeared, much to Lilith's confusion. Sam, somehow, ended up on the floor, with his hands thrown up protectively over his face.

After a moment, he slowly lowered his hands. He looked over at the blonde and scrambled to his feet.

"Back," her voice trembled slightly, as she held out her hand again.

Experimentally, Sam took a step forward when he didn't feel her power slam into him like before.

"I said, back."

"I don't think so," he shook his head as he bent down and picked up the knife. "You bring him back. You bring both of them back, right now, you bitch!"

He lunged forward, knife ready to strike, but before he could follow through Lilith abandoned the vessel and fled the premises. Once the blond collapsed, he turned and fell at his brother's side. With tears streaming freely down his face, he gathered Dean's broken and bloody body into his arms.

"No… no… Dean… DEAN!"

Ammie: So there it is. This chapter is really long, but I figured it'd be better to do it all at once rather than cut it into two. And I know, I'm evil, but hey, it'll all work out in the end, right? Anyway, let me know what you think, and I'll see ya'll for the next chapter.