A Bitter Draught
Soundtrack:
Peaches- Boys want to be her
The Goo Goo Dolls – Iris
The Kills - Hawkeyes
Dean was driving by himself in the Impala when his phone began to ring
"Yeah?" He answered, seeing it was Sam.
"There's a cop car outside." Sam told him
"You think it's for us?" Dean frowned.
"I don't know."
"I don't see how. I mean we ditched the plates, the credit cards."
"They're leaving. False alarm." Sam said, relieved.
"Well, see. Nothing to worry about."
"Yeah, being fugitives? Frigging dance party." Sam grumbled.
"Hey man, chicks dig the danger vibe." Dean smirked.
"Do we?" Dean cursed and swerved as he realised Lacey was sitting next to him.
"Dean?" Sam asked on the other end.
"I'm fine, I'm fine, it's just Lacey." Dean told him.
"So you got anything yet?"
"Are you kidding me? How could I? You got me sifting through like 50 square miles of real estate here." Dean grumbled.
"Well, that's where all the victims disappeared."
"Yeah, well, I got diddly squat. What about you?"
"Just one thing. I'm pretty sure of it now. We're hunting a Djinn." Dean's eyebrows went up.
"A freaking genie?"
"Yeah."
"What? You think these suckers can really grant wishes?"
"I don't know." Sam mused. "I guess they're powerful enough. But not exactly like Barbara Eden in harem pants. I mean, Djinn have been feeding off people for centuries. They're all over the Koran." Dean smirked.
"My god. Barbara Eden was hot, wasn't she? Way hotter than that Bewitched chick."
"Pffft!" Lacey rolled her eyes at him. "Never mind Samantha's hotness or lack there of, Aunt Clara was hilarious." Dean raised an eyebrow at her and shook his head.
"Are you even listening to me?" Sam asked on the other end.
"Yeah… so, where do the Djinn's lair up?"
"Ruins usually. Bigger the better, more places to hide."
"You know, I think I saw a place a few miles back. I'm gonna go check it out."
"Wait, no, no, no, no, no." Sam protested. "Come pick me up first."
"Nah, I'm sure it's nothing. I just wanna take a look around." Dean told him, before hanging up and turning the Impala around. A few minutes later they pulled up outside an abandoned factory. Lacey shivered, as they got out of the car, looking up at the building looming over them in the dark.
"Well, it's definitely got the creep factor." Dean chuckled and pulled a flashlight from his jacket as they entered the building. The front door creaked as they opened it.
"See, creepy." Lacey muttered. They made their way up one of the corridors, Dean playing the flashlight over the hall ahead of them. Lacey turned her head, listening as a dripping sound echoed in the darkness. As she turned back Dean was rounding the corner ahead of her. There was a crash and the flashlight fell to the floor, the beam bouncing as it rolled away. Lacey ran around the corner and found the Djinn with Dean pinned to the wall, it's hand began to glow blue. Lacey raced forward, intending to tackle the Djinn but as Dean's eyes began to glow blue, she felt a pulling sensation from the back of her stomach and as soon as she took another step began to fall.
Lacey's head felt heavy as she began to come to. She was lying on something soft, she frowned as she opened her eyes. She had dived toward Dean in that abandoned warehouse. If she had fallen then logically she should have landed on the concrete floor, but as she sat up, her eyes adjusting to the darkness, she realised she was in a bed, in a room she didn't recognise. There was a rustling and movement beside her as Dean sat up too. They stared at each other for a moment.
"Where are we?" Dean asked as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up.
"No idea." Lacey said, following suit. As Dean pulled on a shirt and searched for his phone, Lacey padded across the bedroom and opened the door. She peered out and found a dark and empty living room.
"Sam?" Dean walked out behind her, having found his phone. "I don't know. I don't know where I am." Dean put the phone on speaker as Lacey began to look around the room.
"What? What happened?"
"Well, the Djinn. It attacked me."
"The gin? You're drinking gin?" Sam sounded confused.
"No, asshat. The Djinn. The scary creature. Remember? It put it's hand on me and then I woke up with… someone…" Dean shrugged at Lacey.
"Who? Lacey?" Sam laughed on the other end of the line. "Dean you're drunk, you're drunk dialling me." Lacey glanced up from the mail she'd found on the table.
"I am not drunk. Quit screwing around!" Dean glared at the phone.
"Look, it's late. All right, just get some sleep. And I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"
"Wait! Sam? Sam!" Dean shouted but he'd already hung up. As Dean hung up the phone, Lacey waved the envelopes at him.
"Have a look at these." Dean took them from her and began to read the addresses on the front of the envelopes.
"Dean Winchester, Lacey McNulty, 153 Barker Avenue, Lawrence?" Dean frowned. "What the hell?"
"Yeah that about covers it." Dean gave her a reassuring grin but his expression froze as he spotted something behind her. "What?" Lacey asked as he brushed past her, grabbing something from the shelf behind her. "What is it?" She asked again.
"We gotta go."
Lacey had slipped on the first clothes she could get her hands on before Dean dragged her out the door. They found the impala parked outside the building and Dean drove them in silence. After a short drive they pulled up outside a house and Dean shut off the engine.
"Wanna tell me where we are?" Lacey asked, glancing around at the darkened street.
"Maybe I should just show you." Dean said, before getting out of the car. Lacey raised an eyebrow but followed him out of the car. They headed together up the front walk. When they reached the front door, the porch light came on. Dean hesitated for a moment before banging on the door and ringing the bell. They stood in silence, waiting. Moments later the door opened and Lacey's eyes widened in shock.
"Dean." Mary Winchester looked back at them in confusion. "Lacey." Lacey blinked for a second, her mind reeling.
"Mom?" Dean's voice broke as he said the word.
"What are you doing here? Are you alright?" Mary looked between them, worriedly.
"I don't know." Was all Dean managed to get out.
"Well… come inside." Mary ushered them in. Dean began to look around the living room, taking it all in.
"Let me ask you a question. When I was a kid, what did you always tell me when you put me to bed?"
"Dean… I don't understand…"
"Just answer the question." Dean snapped. Lacey could see it was taking all of his self control to hold it together right now.
"I told you angels were watching over you." Mary told him, gently.
"I don't believe it." Dean walked over and pulled Mary into a hug. Lacey tried not to make a sound, although she'd been ready to gasp at the irony of what she'd just heard.
"Honey you're scaring me. Now just tell me what's going on." Dean loosened his grip and stepped back.
"You don't think that wishes can really…" Dean trailed off, realising what he sounded like.
"What?"
"Forget it." Dean pulled her into a hug again. "Forget it. I'm just happy to see you that's all." Dean pulled back but still kept hold of Mary, studying her. "You're beautiful."
"What?" Dean let go and began looking around the room again. As Mary watched him, bewildered, Lacey stepped forward and wrapped her in a hug as well.
"Oh, thank you, Lacey." Mary patted her on the shoulder.
"Hey, when I was young, was there ever a fire here?" Dean asked.
"No. Never."
"I thought there was." Dean shrugged. "I guess I was wrong." Lacey walked over and joined him, studying the photos on the bookcases. Dean began to chuckle, picking up one of the photographs. The frame held a black and white photo of John Winchester, wearing a softball outfit and holding a bat. "Dad's on a softball team." Dean shook his head in amusement. "Dad's softball team. That's funny to me." Dean looked up at Mary who looked back at him with sadness in her eyes.
"He loved that stupid team." Lacey took a deep breath and Dean shook his head, adjusting.
"Dad's dead? And the thing that killed him was…"
"A stroke. He died in his sleep. You know that."
"That's great." A look of relief briefly passed over Dean's face.
"Excuse me?"
"That's great. That he went peacefully, I mean. It sure beats the alternative." Mary studied his face, worry etched across her features.
"You've been drinking."
"No, I haven't, mom." Mary looked at Lacey for confirmation and she nodded.
"Well, maybe I should call you a cab or something to take you home." Mary picked up the house phone.
"Wait. No, no!" Dean protested. "Don't do that. We can stay here."
"Why?" Mary asked, putting the phone back down.
"Because… I miss the place. It's okay, you go to bed, okay?" Dean sat down on the couch and Lacey took a seat beside him.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Mary asked, stroking his cheek.
"I think so."
"Okay." Mary kissed him on the forehead and gave Lacey a hug. When she reached the living room door she paused and looked back at them. "Get some rest. I love you."
"Me too." Dean smiled back at her.
Lacey woke up the next morning as Dean shifted beside her on the sofa. She could hear the birds chirping outside the window. Dean pulled out his phone and tried Sam's number but it just went straight to voicemail.
"What's up?" Lacey asked, yawning as she sat up.
"You up for a field trip?" Dean asked.
"Sure, where are we going?"
"Well, I don't think I've seen you two in my class before." Lacey shifted her feet uncomfortably. They were standing in the office of the Anthropology Professor at the local College.
"You kiddin' me? We love your lectures. You make learning fun!" Dean told him, giving him a slightly strained smile.
"So, what can I do for you?" The Professor asked.
"What can you tell us about Djinn?" The Professor pulled some books off his shelf and
began leafing through them until he found what he was looking for.
"Well, a lot of Muslims believed the Djinn are very real. And they're mentioned in the Koran."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. Get to the wish part."
"What about it?" The Professor frowned at him.
"Do you think they could really do it?"
"No… no I don't think they can really do it. You understand these are mythic creatures?" He looked worriedly between the two of them.
"Oh, we know." Lacey interjected quickly and Dean began to nod.
"Yeah, we know. But, you know, in the stories. Say you had a wish. But you never even said it out loud. Like that a loved one never died. Or that something awful never happened."
"Supposedly, yes. I mean, they have godlike power. They can alter reality however they want. Past. Present. Future."
"Why would the Djinn do that? What, self defence? Or maybe it's not really evil."
"Son?" Dean looked up from studying the pages. "You been drinking?" Lacey tried her best not to smirk.
"Everybody keeps asking that, but no."
Lacey and Dean left the Professors office and headed out to the car. Dean opened Baby's trunk and chuckled at the random junk he found in there.
"Well, who'da thought, Baby. We're civilians." Dean smiled at Lacey, but his smile slowly turned into a frown. Lacey turned around to see what he was staring at. There was a pale, dishevelled girl standing in front of the college building, just staring at them. Dean brushed past Lacey to walk over to her. As he stepped into the road there was the sound of squealing tires as a car came to a halt just before colliding with him.
"You ok?" Lacey asked as he stepped back onto the sidewalk.
"Yeah." Dean frowned, the girl had disappeared.
Lacey gazed on in amusement, and a little amazement, as Dean took a huge bite of the sandwich Mary had made for him. He closed his eyes, making appreciative noises.
"Mmm, mmm, mmm! This is the best sandwich ever!"
"Thank you." Mary called out from the kitchen. Lacey shook her head and took a more manageable bite of her sandwich.
"I tried to get hold of Sam earlier. Where is he?" Dean called back.
"Oh, he'll be here soon." Mary said as she joined them at the table.
"Good. Dying to see him."
"Sweetie, don't get me wrong. I am thrilled you guys are hanging out here all of a sudden. But shouldn't you be at work?"
"Work?" Dean frowned.
"At the garage?" Mary provided. "And Lacey, shouldn't you be at your sisters office?"
"Right. The garage. It's where I work. No, we took the day off." Dean said, and Lacey nodded along with her mouth full. Mary shrugged. Dean glanced out the window and something caught his attention. He got up and pulled the nets aside.
"That lawn looks like it could use some mowing."
"You want to mow the lawn?" Mary looked surprised.
"You kidding me? I'd love to mow the lawn." Dean looked over at her excitedly.
"Knock yourself out. You'd think you'd never mowed a lawn in your life." Lacey paused mid chewing. Her eyes followed Dean as he happily went out into the yard. Mary looked back at Lacey questioningly. Lacey swallowed her bite.
"What can I say? He's got a new lease of life."
Lacey stepped out onto the front porch. She sat down on the steps next to Dean and handed him a beer.
"Thanks." He said as he took a sip.
"So, any ideas on what we do next? I mean, where even are we, cos this ain't home?" Dean shrugged.
"Either the Djinn changed reality or it put us in a different one, those are my best guesses." Lacey was about to respond when a car pulled up outside the house.
"I don't believe it." Dean said, staring at the car and getting to his feet.
"What?" Lacey asked, following suit. Sam got out of the car and opened the trunk. As he pulled the luggage out, a blonde woman got out of the passenger side.
"Jessica!" Dean grabbed her in a bear hug. Lacey's eyes widened. She had heard the story of how Sam had gotten back into hunting all those years ago.
"Good to see you too, Dean. Can't breathe, okay." She managed to gasp out and Dean let go. "Hey Lacey." Lacey looked a little surprised as Jessica hugged her.
"Sammy." Dean smiled at him as he closed the truck and came towards them, bags in hand.
"Hey."
"Look at you. You're with Jessica, I don't believe it." Dean beamed.
"Yeah." Sam looked slightly confused as he hugged Lacey hello.
"Where'd you guys come from?"
"We just flew in from Calif…" Sam began, before Dean interrupted him.
"California! Stanford, huh? Law school I bet."
"I see you started off Mom's birthday with a bang as usual." Sam said, motioning to the beer in Dean's hand.
"Wait, Mom's birthday, that's today?" Dean looked confused.
"Yeah, Dean, that's today. That's why we're here. Don't tell me you forgot." Dean glanced at Lacey.
"Of course we didn't forget, he's teasing you." Lacey swatted Dean on the arm.
"So, you're coming for dinner?" Jessica asked.
"Yes, in fact we're just heading home to get ready, will you text me the address and we'll meet you at the restaurant?" Lacey asked, taking Dean by the hand and heading for the impala.
"Thanks." Dean said under his breath.
"No problem."
Lacey nervously straightened the dress she was wearing. They had gone back to the apartment and changed into more formal outfits. Lacey was wearing a turquoise lace mini dress, the skirt sticking out like a ballerina. The five of them were sat around a table in a fancy restaurant. A waiter approached the table with their starters and Lacey couldn't help but smile at the look on Deans face as a plate was deposited in front of him, stalks of asparagus sticking up from it.
"Wow. That looks awesome." The whole table began to laugh. Sam raised his glass.
"All right. To Mom, Happy Birthday." Everyone clinked glasses.
"Happy birthday." The girls echoed.
"Thank you." Mary beamed at them.
"To Mom." Dean smiled back at her, his gaze was distracted by Sam and Jessica kissing. He smiled at his brother, looking so happy.
"You ok?" He whispered to Lacey.
"Yeah, I'm good, foods a bit over the top though."
"You're telling me." Dean poked at the asparagus with his fork.
"Stop for burgers later?" Lacey suggested.
"You read my mind." Dean gave her a playful grin. Sam cleared his throat.
"All right. Jess and I actually have another surprise for moms birthday. You wanna tell them?" Sam turned to Jessica.
"They're your family." She pointed out.
"All right." Sam nodded.
"What? Tell me what?" Mary asked, excitedly. Sam held up Jessica's hand, a large diamond sparkling away on her ring finger. "Oh my god! That's so wonderful." Mary gushed.
"Congratulations guys." Lacey and Mary got to their feet to hug Sam and Jessica.
"Thank you." Jessica beamed.
"I just wish your dad was here." Mary said as she hugged Sam.
"Yeah, me too." Sam told her.
"Jessica, let me see that ring." Mary said, taking hold of her hand.
"Congratulations Sammy." Dean got to his feet and hugged Sam.
"Thanks."
"I'm really glad your happy." Sam looked a little bemused at this. Suddenly Dean grabbed Lacey's hand, pointing over Sam's shoulder at the girl they had seen earlier that day. She was standing by the entrance to the restaurant. Dean brushed past Sam, pulling Lacey along with him, but as they walked through a group of people the girl disappeared. The two exchanged confused looks before heading back to the table where everyone was staring at them.
"So… what was all that back at the restaurant?" Sam asked as they walked through the door into Mary's house.
"I, uh, I thought I saw someone. I'm sure it's nothing."
"Well, I had a lovely birthday. Thank you. Good night." Mary waved to them all as she headed upstairs.
"Good night." Everyone called after her.
"Yeah, well, I'm beat. Ready to turn in?" Sam asked Jess.
"Sure."
"All right. Good night guys." Sam turned to go.
"Wait a second. Wait a second." Dean protested. "Come on. It's not even nine o'clock yet. Let's go have a drink or something." Dean suggested.
"Yeah, maybe another time."
"Come on man, look at us. Huh? We both have beautiful women on our arms. You're engaged. Let's go celebrate."
"Guys, can you excuse us? I just want to talk to my brother for a sec." Sam asked, a stiff smile on his face. Lacey and Jess exchanged glances.
"Sure." Lacey was about to follow Jessica into the other room when Dean grabbed her hand.
"Lacey stays, anything you can say to me, you can say to her."
"Okay. What's gotten into you?" Sam asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean this whole warm, fuzzy ecstasy trip thing."
"I'm just happy for you, Sammy."
"Yeah, right. That's another thing, since when do you call me Sammy? Dean, come on. We don't talk outside of holidays." That last comment hit Lacey right in the gut, and from the expression on Deans face he felt the same way.
"We don't? Well we should. I mean, you're my brother."
"You're my brother?" Sam looked at him, incredulously.
"Yeah."
"You know, that's what you said when you snaked my ATM card, or when you bailed on my graduation, or when you hooked up with Rachel Nave?"
"Who?" Dean looked confused.
"My prom date. On prom night." Lacey winced at that one.
"Yeah, that does kinda sound like me. Well, hey man, I'm sorry about all that." Dean moved towards Sam but he backed away.
"No, that's all right man. You know I'm not asking you to change. I just, I don't know, I guess we just don't really have anything in common, you know?" Sam headed for the stairs.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Yes we do. Yes we do." Dean called after him.
"What?"
"Hunting."
"Hunting? I've never been hunting in my life Dean."
"Yeah, well, then we should do it some time. I think you'd be great at it." Sam shook his head and carried up the stairs.
"Get some rest."
Dean and Lacey drove back to the apartment in silence. Once they were inside the two of them collapsed on to the couch.
"Well that was… yeah…" Lacey trailed off. "Is it just me or does this whole thing feel more and more wrong by the minute?"
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Dean ran a hand through his hair. "This is not what I pictured my wish turning out like."
"I guess be careful what you wish for is a real thing." Lacey shrugged. "Part of your wish came true but the good parts you left behind don't exist here. Do you think we're stuck here or can we go back?"
"No way of telling, I guess in the morning we start doing some more research into Djinns. Dean suggested. He picked up the remote and switched the TV on.
Dean changed the channel several times before landing on the news. He sat up straighter when he heard the words;
"And today marks the anniversary of the crash of United Britannia Flight 424. Indianapolis residents held a candlelight vigil in memory of the hundred and eight people who lost their lives."
"What? What is it" Lacey asked at the stunned expression on Dean's face.
"No, no. I stopped that crash." Dean turned the tv off and after searching the apartment for a few minutes came back with a laptop. He began pulling up articles.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on or just keep me in suspense all night?" Lacey asked. Dean turned the laptop screen towards her and showed her the articles.
"All of these, they're cases that Sam and I worked on. We saved all of these people. But in this reality we never became hunters. Mom never died and Dad didn't go looking for revenge so Sam and I grew up like normal kids. There was no one around to save those people. Every case Sam I and I worked on, they're all dead." Lacey stared back at him in shock.
"All of them? That's a lot of dead people."
"It's…" Dean stopped and nudged Lacey, pointing to the bedroom door, where a figure in white disappeared around the corner, out of sight. The two of them got to their feet, following the figure. When they stepped inside the bedroom no one was there. Dean pulled open the closet and Lacey let out a gasp. Several corpses were hanging from the hooks inside. Lacey grabbed Dean's arm as a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. They turned in unison to find a woman standing before them, blood dripping from a cut on her forehead. She flickered for a moment before disappearing. As they turned back around the corpses in the closet had disappeared.
"We have to get out of here."
Lacey wanted to get out of the apartment so they got in the Impala and Dean drove them around for a while before they eventually came to a stop outside the cemetery. They began to walk up and down the rows of graves until Dean found what he was looking for. Lacey stood quietly beside him as he stared down at John's grave.
"All of them. Everyone that you saved, everyone Sammy and I saved. They're all dead. And there's this woman that's haunting me. I don't know why. I don't know what the connection is, not yet anyway. It's like my old life is coming after me or something. Like it doesn't want me to be happy. Course I know what you'd say. Well, not the you that played softball but…. "So go hunt the Djinn. He put you here, it can put you back. Your happiness for all those people's lives, no contest. Right?" But why? Why is it my job to save these people? Why do I have to be some kind of hero?" Lacey could see the tears streaming down his face. "What about us, huh? What, Mom's not supposed to live her life, Sammy's not supposed to get married? Why do we have to sacrifice everything, Dad?" Dean felt Lacey's hand slip into his own and squeeze. He wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve.
"Come on. It's time." Lacey told him gently. Dean nodded and they slowly walked back to the Impala, hand in hand.
They drove over to Mary's house and parked outside. Dean managed to pick the lock and they quietly made their way through the dark house. Dean had remembered what they needed to kill the Djinn so they figured their best bet was hoping Mary had some real silverware. Dean opened up the cupboards and began going through them when they heard a sound behind them. As a shadowy figure swung at Dean he ducked and knocked them to the floor. In the low light coming in through the window, they could make out Sam on the floor.
"That was so easy I'm embarrassed for you." Dean told him.
"Dean? What the hell are you doing here?"
"I was looking for a beer." Dean joked.
"In the china cabinet?" Sam asked turning on the light and noticing Lacey for the first time. "Lacey?" His eyes travelled down to the open silverware box. "That's Mom's silver."
"Sam."
"What, you broke into the house to steal Mom's silver? I can't believe you'd be involved in this Lacey?" He looked disapprovingly between the two of them.
"It's not what it looks like, ok. I didn't have a choice." Dean tried to explain.
"Oh really? Why? What's so damn important you gotta steal from your own mother?"
"You want the truth?"
"Yeah, yeah I do."
"I owe somebody money." Lacey stared at him in shock, expecting him to tell Sam about the Djinn.
"Who?"
"A bookie. I lost bog on a game. I gotta bring him the cash tonight. Lacey was trying to stop me."
"I can't believe we're even related." Sam shook his head.
"Sam, I'm sorry."
"Yeah."
"I'm sorry that we don't get along. And I wish to hell that I could stay and fix it. But I gotta do this. People's lives depend on it." Dean bent down and picked up one of the knives.
"What are you talking about, Dean?"
"Nothing. Forget it. Just… hey, tell Mom I love her." Dean motioned to Lacey and they headed for the door.
"Dean." Sam called after him.
"I'll see you, Sammy." Dean gave him a small smile before they headed out the door.
Lacey and Dean climbed into the Impala and Dean started the engine.
"You ok?"
"Yeah, it's fine, I…" Dean shut up as Sam opened the back door and climbed inside. The two of them stared at him.
"Get out of the car." Dean told him.
"I'm going with you."
"You're just going to slow us down."
"Tough." Sam shrugged.
"This is dangerous and you could get hurt."
"Yeah, and so could you, so could Lacey." Sam pointed out.
"Sam…"
"Look, whatever stupid thing you're about to do, you're not doing it without me. And that's that." Sam told him matter-of-factly.
"I don't understand. Why you doing this?"
"Because you're still my rother." A smile twitched at the corner of Dean's mouth.
"Bitch."
"What are you calling me a bitch for?" Sam frowned.
"You're supposed to say jerk." Lacey giggled at the confused expressions on their faces.
"What?"
"Never mind." Dean shook his head and pulled the Impala away from the curb.
They drove in silence for a while until Sam began to fidget in the back seat.
"What's in the bag?" Sam asked, prodding the paper bag on the seat next to him.
"Nothin'" Dean responded.
"Nothin'?" Sam didn't sound convinced.
"Yeah, nothin'."
"Fine." Sam picked up the bag and began to open it.
"You don't wanna do that." Dean warned him.
"Oh really?" Sam pulled the container from inside the bag and stared at it. "What the hell is this?"
"Blood."
"Yeah, I can see that it's blood. Dean! What the hell is it doing in here?"
"You don't really wanna know."
"It's true, you don't." Lacey confirmed, turning around to face him.
"No, I do really wanna know. I really, really do."
"Yeah, well, you're gonna find out sooner or later." Dean admitted. "I needed a silver knife dipped in lambs blood."
"You needed a silver knife dipped in lambs blood." Sam sounded exasperated. "Why?"
"Because there's this creature. A Djinn. And we have to hunt it."
"Okay, um… stop the car." Sam instructed.
"I know how it sounds."
"Great… just stop the car."
"It's the truth, Sam. All right, there are things out there in the dark. There are bad things. There are nightmare things. And people have to be saved and if we don't save them, then nobody will."
"Look, I wanna help you all right. I really, really do. But you're having some kind of psychotic breakdown, so I just…"
"I wish." Dean scoffed. Sam pulled his phone out of his pocket and began to dial a number. Dean rolled down his window, Lacey grabbed Sam's phone, handing it to Dean who chucked it out the window before rolling it up again.
"What the hell was that? That was my phone!" Sam protested, staring out the window in the direction his phone had gone.
"I'm not going to a rubber room, Sammy. And we got work to do."
"What? I was just trying to help you out. Dean, I don't want you to get yourself hurt."
"What? You protect me?" Dean laughed.
"Yeah!"
"Oh that's hilarious. Why don't you just sit tight and try not to get us killed." Dean shook his head in amusement.
They drove on through the night until they ended up back at the old factory where they had encountered the Djinn. Sam was sleeping in the back seat when they arrived. Dean turned off the engine and pulled a flashlight from the glove compartment and shined it in Sam's face until he woke up.
"Where are we?" Sam asked, looking around, confused.
"Well, we're not in Kansas anymore." Dean joked. "Illinois." He responded after Sam gave him a less than impressed look.
"And you think something's in there?" Sam asked, nodding in the direction of the run down building.
"I know it is."
Lacey followed Dean, picking her way through the debris into the foyer of the factory.
"See? There's nothing here." Sam said, scanning the room with his flashlight. Dean ignored him and headed down one of the hallways. Lacey followed him and Sam trailed behind.
"Come on, let's just go." Sam called. Dean shushed him as he heard a noise coming from another room. Sam and Lacey heard it too.
"What the hell is that?" Sam asked.
"Stay behind me and keep your mouth shut." Dean told him quietly as they crept towards the sound. They entered a larger room and Lacey ad to stifle a gasp. Bodies. Bodies hanging from hooks with IVs attached to them, draining them of blood. Lacey flashed back to the bodies they'd seen hanging in the closet earlier.
"What the hell?" Sam muttered.
"It's her." Lacey followed Dean over to a girl in a white dress, the girl they had seen throughout the day. The girl let out a whimper .
"Dean, what's going on?"
"Shhh!" Dean grabbed Sam and Lacey by their arms and pulled them down behind some boxes as the Djinn entered the room. It approached the girl, who began to cry.
"Where's my dad?" I won't tell..Where's my dad?"
"Sleep." The Djinn touched the side of her face and a blue flash glowed between them.
"Sleep….sleep…" The girls head fell forward, unconscious. The Djinn reached out to the blood bag connected to the girl, pulling it out and dripping some of the blood into its mouth. Sam made a gagging noise and the creature spun around. Dean motioned for them to move and they headed around the corner of the boxes and into the next room. The Djinn approached the boxes, finding nothing it headed up some creaky stairs. The three of them watched it go.
"This is real? You're not crazy?" Sam sounded shocked.
"She didn't know where she was." Dean was muttering to himself. "She thought she was with her father." They walked back over to where the woman was hanging. "What if that's what the Djinn does? It doesn't grant you a wish, it just makes you think it has." Lacey nodded.
"That would explain a lot."
"Look, that thing could come back, all right?" Sam asked, looking around, nervously. Dean walked across the room, staring up at the bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. Lacey followed his gaze and the room began to flash in and out of focus. Suddenly Lacey could see Dean, hooked up to one of the IVs himself. In a flash he was back to normal. He turned around and the two shared a look.
"Deanm please." Sam protested.
"What if I'm like her? What if I'm tied up in here some place? What if all this is in my head?" Dean walked back over to the woman. "I mean it could, you know, maybe it gives us some kind of supernatural acid and then just feeds on us slow."
"That would make sense with what we've been seeing." Lacey nodded.
"No, it doesn't make sense, ok?" Sam was getting worked up.
"What if that's why she keeps appearing to us? She's not a spirit. It's like, more and more like I'm catching flashes of reality. You know, like I'm in here somewhere and I'm catatonic, and I'm taking all this stuff in but I can't snap out of it."
"Yeah, ok, look. Yeah, yeah, yeah you're right. I was wrong. You're not crazy, but we need to get out of here, fast." He grabbed Dean's arm and tried to drag him towards the door, but Dean shook him loose.
"I don't think you're real." Dean told him. Sam grabbed him by the shoulders.
"Dude, you feel that? You feel this? I'm real. This is not an acid trip. I'm real, and that thing is going to come down here and kill us for real. Now, please…."
"There's one way to be sure." Dean pulled the knife out of his jacket.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing?" Sam asked, backing away.
"It's an old wives tale. If you're about to die in a dream, you wake up."
"No, no, no, no, no. That's crazy. All right?" Sam protested.
"Maybe." Dean and Lacey shared a look.
"You're gonna kill yourself." Sam approached him, his hands held out.
"Or I'm gonna wake up. One or the other."
"Ok, this isn't a dream, all right. I'm here, with you, now. And you're about to kill yourself, Dean."
"No, I'm pretty sure. Like, 90% sure. But I'm sure enough." Dean gripped the knife with both hands and was about to stab himself when Sam shouted out;
"Wait!" Dean stopped and Lacey blinked as Mary appeared beside them, wearing her white night gown. "Why'd you have to keep digging?" Sam sighed as Jessica appeared beside him. "Why couldn't you have left well enough alone? You were happy."
"Put the knife down honey." Mary told him, gently.
"You're not real, none of this is." Dean said, tears welling in his eyes.
"It doesn't matter. It's still better than anything you had."
"What?"
"It's everything you want. We're a family again. Let's go home." Dean shook his head.
"I'll die. The Djinn'll drain the life out of me in a couple of days."
"But in here with us, it'll feel like years. Like a lifetime. I promise. No more pain. Or fear. Just love and comfort. And safety. Dean, stay with us. Get some rest."
"You don't have to worry about Sam anymore." Jessica told him. "You get to watch him live a full life."
"Why is it our job to save everyone? Haven't we done enough? I'm begging you. Give me the knife." Dean looked between the three of them until Lacey stepped in front of him, filling his vision.
"This isn't real. As much as I don't want you to, you know what to do." Dean nodded, closed his eyes and stabbed himself. As he collapsed to his knees he felt Lacey's arms around him.
"Dean! Dean! Dean!" Dean opened his eyes, his vision fuzzy. He realised he was looking at the real Sam, not a hallucination. He felt Lacey's arms slip from around him and there was a bright flash of light. Sam staggered back, shielding his face from the light. As he blinked and adjusted he saw a figure outlined in the light before it faded away.
"Dean! Oh god. Come on. Hey. Wake up, Wake up damn it!" Sam gently shook Dean awake. When Dean opened his eyes again he realised he was hanging from the ceiling, hooked up to an IV just like the girl in his mind.
"Hey. Hey!"
"Auntie Em. There's not place like home."
"Thank god. I thought I lost you for a second." Sam said as he pulled the IV tube out of Dean's neck.
"You almost did. Lacey?"
"She's around." Sam said. "Let's get you down." He began to cut Dean down.
"I'm here." Lacey said, getting shakily to her feet. She felt drained of energy, the Djinn had clearly been feeding off the both of them.
"Sam!" Dean called out and the two turned to see the Djinn standing behind them. Sam tried to stab it with his knife but it was knocked to the ground as the Djinn grabbed him by the throat, holding him up with one hand, raising a blue glowing hand to Sam's forehead. Lacey gathered her remaining strength and punched the Djinn in the face. It let go of Sam and staggered backwards just as Dean managed to free himself from the ropes and stabbed it in the back. A look of shock passed across its face and the blue light died from its eyes before it collapsed to the floor, dead. As Sam got to his feet, Dean walked over to where the girl in the white dress was still hooked up to her IV. He put a hand on her neck, feeling for a pulse. A tear fell down the girls cheek
"She's still alive." Dean handed Sam the knife to cut her ropes before pulling the tube out of her neck. "I gotcha. I gotcha. We're gonna get you out of here, ok? I gotcha." Dean said as he caught her.
Sam took the girl from Dean and walked ahead of them to the car.
"How you feeling?" Lacey asked as they hobbled along.
"I'll live." Dean told her, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth.
"If you guys have got it from here, I should probably go while I still have the energy to." Lacey gave him a strained smile. Dean reached out a hand to her.
"Hey, before you go, I meant to ask…" Dean paused, finding the words. "How did you end up in there?"
"I don't really know." Lacey admitted. "I just dived after you and whatever it did to you sucked me in too." She shrugged, unable to come up with a better explanation.
"Well, I'm glad it did." Dean told her. Lacey smiled at him before leaning over and kissing him gently.
"I'll see you soon, Dean." She said. Dean squeezed her hand for a second before she faded away into nothing.
