Hello! Another chapter! And on the day the final Supernatural episodes are going to start airing! KISMET!
Hey Cassie. It's me… again. The family and I are heading to a place we found. Supposed to be a mother of all supernatural shit or whatever… Sorry, Sammy! Mommy didn't mean to say bad words. Thanks, baby. Anyways, you need to meet us there whenever you can. Sam and Lou already checked it out and it's safe but we want you in on this. Could be helpful. Just, uh… call me. Please. Or just show up. I'll text you the address. I just want you to check in. Love you, Cassie. Call me.
Castiel pulls the phone away from his ear and looks at the screen for a moment once her voicemail message ends. Cocking his head, feeling no urgency to return her call, he lets the screen go black before pocketing it into his long trench coat. As soon as he does, Castiel feels a presence behind himself. When he turns around, he's face to face with Lizzy. She's standing there with a bright grin on her face.
"Cass! Hey!" she delights with joy as she jogs the few yards between them. As is her usual way, Lizzy plows right into his form, her arms around his neck as she hugs him tight.
He doesn't respond physically or emotionally. Arms dangling limply by his side during the entirety of the embrace, Castiel's empty eyes fix ahead to the white wall behind them.
Lizzy then ends the hug to back up a step and immediately shove him in the chest with both hands. The force makes him step back a step, just one. She's strong but not quite like he is… especially these days. "Where the hell have you been? We've been worried about you!"
He watches Lizzy's eyes slowly grow confused when he never responds. Her bright smile falls, her mouth a straight line and her brown wrinkled.
"Cassie, you okay?" she wonders.
Again, he says nothing. Instead, his angel blade drops from his sleeve and she grips it tightly.
The glinting silver metal does not escape her sight. Her body freezes with the clear threat. "Cass? Cass, what are you doing?"
He advances on her quickly, taking two long strides to reach her. Lizzy thrusts a hand out to block him but he grabs her wrist and twists, the bones snapping and popping as he does.
Lizzy's scream of agony is nothing to his ears as he uses his fist around the angel blade to throw a devastating punch right into the side of her face. Her body crumbles to the floor. When Castiel lets her wrist go she immediately pulls it into her body and cradles gingerly it with her free arm. The joint is all twisted and at an odd angle, the damage extensive.
"Wh-what the fuck is happening?" Lizzy cries out as she backpedals, her boots digging into the concrete floor as she scoots backwards on her ass. Her face is already swollen, cheek dripping blood where the skin split, but her eyes are filled with pain. It's not exactly a physical pain he's recognizing though. She looks devastated, hurt to her core. "Cassie, what is this?"
Waiting no time, he marches forward again, blade raised high.
"No! Wait, Cass!" Lizzy cries out with desperation, her uninjured arm trying to block him to no avail. He drops the blade with force, hitting its mark expertly with a sickeningly wet thunk.
The sounds in the room stop. Everything pauses. Lizzy's wide, tear rimmed eyes look down at the gleaming hilt of the blade sticking out of her chest before slowly raising to meet Castiel's cold stare. "Why?" she asks.
Castiel simply stares back without a single emotion showing.
"Cassie, I love y…."
He cuts off her declaration by turning the blade hard once before pulling it free from her body with a hard yank. Lizzy drops limply, eyes open but vacant. Her face is slack and empty as a pool of red spreads quickly under her form.
Castiel continues to stare before the bright industrial lights illuminate around him. The cliche slow clap from behind him lets him know he's done well this time.
"No hesitation. No mercy. You're almost there, Castiel."
When he turns around, he sees Naomi's approving expression as she stand there, ridged in her gray suit.
"Now, we just need to get our plan straight for when the time comes. Yes?"
Castiel nods automatically.
"Come on, Castiel. More work to be done," she lets him know, her heels clicking with an echo through the cavernous room.
And Castiel easily follows her out of the warehouse, ready to keep working on the master plan.
Behind them they leave pile after pile of dead Lizzy and Dean lookalikes. Each one brutally killed. Each one with the same vacant look. Each one meaning nothing to the angel.
Peeking back yet again, Lizzy catches the same sight she's seen for the past half hour; Sammy fast asleep in his car seat, head hanging down to the right at an uncomfortable looking angle, and Derek in his own world on the opposite side of the backseat. She can hear the bass thumping from his bright blue Beats headset, the sound canceling the rest of the car out for him. His face is set in pure determination and focus.
Currently, he's reading through John's journal.
In quick succession, Derek's made it through one of Bobby's journals and Lou's journal already. As he has read and reread, he's had a legal pad and a pen with him constantly. At this point, the yellow lined pages are now filled with an incredible collection of questions for the hunters and terms/monsters/sigils/etc. to further research later. The information found in personal hunter's journals is always disjointed, jumping from one hunt to the next and interspersed with personal recollections and experiences. It's hard to sort and organize but Derek always had a knack for these kinds of things. Organizing is one of his personal specialties.
Right now, he's just starting John's journal. It's concerning for Lizzy. The first fifth of the pages aren't just filled with research and hunts and contacts. It's instead littered with personal anecdotes about his life… and the life of his children… following the attack that killed Mary. It's ugly and really dark. It mentions the times John's grief made him incapable of caring for his baby son, the stretch of weeks after Mary's death in which four year old Dean refused to talk (or couldn't), the benders he went on and hunts in which he left his children for days on end… and all the assorted other examples in which Dean and Sam's lives had been beyond difficult.
Lizzy's concern is what Derek may ask the brothers about their childhood… and what it may dredge up.
But for now, that's not her main concern. Her concern is where they're headed.
Knee bouncing a mile a minute as it does every time she's feeling that familiar jolt of anxiety deep in her chest, she flinches when a hand clamps down on one and stops it's erratic movement.
Eyes snapping over to Dean, she sees him peering at her through his periphery while driving the Impala to Lebanon.
He glances at her once, thumb rubbing her knee through her jeans. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Uh-huh," Dean sarcastically responds.
Lizzy sighs with an eye roll. "I'm worried," she snaps at him, crossing her arms over her chest.
"About?" Dean asks, having no idea what she could be so concerned about.
"This whole… mother load place," Lizzy admits. She bites on the inside of her lip for a second before adding, "And what it means. You know, I just got used to everything the way it was."
Dean's brown wrinkles. "What do you mean?"
"Life," Lizzy huffs a nervous laugh at her own self. "I mean… over a year of running and scrapping to survive, a year of looking for an angel that now seems dead set on ignoring me… and I'm here. I have a home. And a nice quiet life… most of the time." Lizzy can't help but genuinely smile at the thought.
Dean smirks a little at the sentiment as he reaches across the bench seat with an upturned palm.
Lizzy grasps onto it with her left hand and squeezes. "Have I thanked you for that yet?"
"I think so…?" Dean wanders off, jokingly.
"Thank you," she tells him sincerely, kissing the back of his hand before letting their entwined fingers drop onto the seat once more. "I came back from the shittiest of shit… to find you made me a home. Baby, you made me a home. And a great life. And even if I'm still adjusting now and then, even if I'm not perfect yet… it's everything I have ever wanted." She can feel the prickly sting of tears behind her eyes at the beautiful thought. "I just… I don't want that to change."
"It doesn't need to change," Dean turns her thoughts around.
"Yeah, okay," she bitingly replies, not believing him for a second.
"Okay. Then, why would it change?"
"The motherload of all supernatural whatever?" Lizzy challenges. "I don't know, man. It feels… game changing. Really big."
Dean nods a second while thinking everything over. "Okay, so… maybe things will change. But they can only change for the better."
"How do you figure?"
"Well, we were told this place holds everything. What if it makes everything easier. What if it has answers, the kind we've been looking for?"
Lizzy nods and stays silent.
"What if we get an answer for Sammy there? And his fate?" Dean pushes on.
Lizzy's mind wanders, actually allowing her the luxury of hope. "You think it'd be that easy? We discover his powers and how bad his fate is and immediately we trip over the place that holds the answers?"
"Maybe," Dean shrugs.
"When have we ever been that lucky?"
"We're due then."
"Who the fuck are you?" Lizzy laughs at him. "Where is this optimism coming from?"
Dean smiles briefly. "Hey, I lost you and somehow got you back. If you ask me, that's about as bad as it gets. I figure, from here on out… how bad can it be for us?"
Lizzy huffs a laugh at the thought. "Yeah, you might have a point. Or you're just delusional after all these years…"
She's interrupted by the opening riff of Immigrant Song. She grabs her phone from the dashboard and takes a look at the screen. With a sweet grin she answers the phone and puts it on speaker. "Garth," she greets with all the warmth in the world.
"LL Cool Noon!" he greets right back. "Is that really you!?"
"It's me, baby!" she laughs out, her tone so calm and filled with obvious affection that Dean eyes her funny, wondering where it's coming from.
"It is so good to hear your voice, Lovely Lizzy," Garth lets her know, clearly adoring the chance to talk to her. "It's been years."
"Too many!" Lizzy agrees very much. She's always had a soft spot for him.
"You know I don't like going too long without my Lizzy-fix," he tells her with nothing but fondness in his voice.
"Aw, you're trying to make me blush," Lizzy laughs out, her body relaxing immediately with the sound of her old and quite sweet friend.
When she gets swatted twice on the arm, she looks to her left. Dean's confused face stares back and mouths, "Who is that?"
Lizzy just waves him off with a smile. She can't explain now, not mid-conversation.
"Last I saw you, you were glowing something fierce!" he delights.
"Oh man, that's right!" Lizzy laughs, recalling the time during her pregnancy that Garth stopped at Bobby's. They spent a few days together, sorting through baby items and catching up. "It's been almost three years then!"
"Unfortunately, it has," Garth laments. "Bobby was more than over the moon to tell me when you had your little one. Bragged about that bundle of joy for near a half hour straight, with an actual smile on his face."
"Yeah, my son kinda melted that icy shell around the old man's heart," Lizzy happily recalls, her wistful smile true as she thinks of her father figure she lost.
"Always knew there was a softy under all that grump and beard."
Lizzy can't help but laugh at that.
"How's that boy of yours doing?"
"He's… amazing," she answers honestly. "Sammy's smart and funny and silly. And sweet, he's just so sweet. Garth, he's the greatest thing in my life."
Next to her, Dean nods absently as he fully agrees with her statement. He squeezes her hand in his grip, letting her know he agrees."
"Thought that was the famous Dean of the hunting Winchesters?" Garth responds with sass, making an over-the-top kissing sound over the phone.
"Eh," Lizzy shrugs and winks at her husband jokingly.
"Whoa, trouble in paradise?"
"Never," Lizzy rolls her eyes, ignoring the whole fiasco that lead to the almost dissolution of their marriage.
"Yeah, you did seem pretty googly-eyed over that guy last I saw you. Still crazy to me that I haven't run into him yet. Or Sam."
"It is weird," Lizzy conceded.
"Well, I don't mean to cut this short since you know how much I love catching up with you, but I have a weird-ass case I'm working on and could use some help."
"Okay, well… Louie would probably be the one you want to call."
"Tried. A couple times this morning. She isn't answering," Garth explains.
"Yeah, she's been… occupied," Lizzy tells him, Dean miming throwing up at the thought of what Lou and Sam were doing this morning. "Well, I'll give it a whirl. What are you dealing with?"
"At first, I thought it was ghost possession," Garth starts explaining. "People are offing loved ones and they claim they don't remember afterwards. They just blank out. But, while they're being all murderous, they keep leaving random last names painted in blood at the crime scene before they come to. So far, each name is someone from the deceased pasts so it's definitely vengeful, whatever it is. And, the kicker… I found ecto."
"And it's not ghost possession?" Lizzy has to confirm.
"Unless ghosts suddenly started leaving green goo behind instead of black."
"Huh…" Lizzy trails off, trying to figure out what this is. "You burn any bones?"
"Didn't work."
"It's a specter," Dean pipes up, knowing what Garth is dealing with already.
"Is that… is that Dean Winchester!?" Garth delights when he hears a new voice.
"Yeah," Dean responds hesitantly.
"Of the hunting Winchesters?"
"Uh… yeah. I guess…."
"Oh wow! Well, it is really great to meet you, Dean!" Garth keeps the joy in his tone. "I was wondering when I'd finally have the pleasure!"
"Yeah, well… pleasure's, uh, all mine," Dean stutters through with the polite man on the other line. "But it sounds like a specter. It's like a ghost but not because its born of a grudge in life. It kinda makes people act on their deepest resentments. And it can attach to an item so that's probably why this thing is roaming around town unlike a usual ghost. "
"Well, hot damn," Garth cheers. "That's a huge help. You ever killed one before?"
"Yep. You need to find the object it's attached to and destroy it. Should do it."
"That easy?"
"That easy," Dean repeats. "Every now and then you get a softball."
"Yeah, it's just a really long time between now and then," Garth breezily replies. "Hey, uh… you happen to know much about wraiths while I got a legend on the line and all."
"Aw, Garth. Thanks. You're sweet," Lizzy jests, jokingly assuming he was speaking of her as the legend.
"You're a legend too, LL. You know that."
When Lizzy giggles Dean scrunches his face with dislike.
"What do you need to know about wraiths?" Dean wonders, throwing Lizzy a suspicious look. She just rolls her eyes in return.
"Got a guy up in Idaho… nope, sorry. No Idaho. I sent Randy to Idaho. I got a guy in Wyoming that thinks he found a wraith. I haven't had time to refresh my knowledge on them because I've been on this specter case. Gimme a refresh?"
"They suck brains but silver to the heart can end them," Dean quickly sums up.
"Perfect. Only killed one once but I couldn't remember how… so dang long ago…."
"Um…" Lizzy starts, pausing to let his words really sink in. She peers over at Dean while she asks her question. "Garth, dude… are you dispatching and helping hunters on cases?"
Dean's wide eyes snap onto Lizzy, shock and an almost fear settle into his expression at the thought.
"You know it!" Garth answers with pride.
"Why!?" Dean demands, already knowing what the answer will be.
"Well, Bobby isn't with us anymore. And a lot of hunters were left in the lurch by his absence, myself included. And since y'all went M.I.A. I just figured…."
"You're not Booby!" Dean punches out, blood already boiling over the thought of his father-figure being replaced.
"Dean!" Lizzy sharply says his name with disgust in his reaction.
"It's okay Lizzy…" Garth tries to amend but gets interrupted.
"Well, he's not!" Dean gets pissed.
"Calm down," Lizzy warns in a stern and even tone, pointing to the sleeping kid in the backseat. He was getting too loud and risking an easy drive with a kid taking a much needed nap.
"I get the fire, Dean," Garth lets him know. "Losing Bobby was hard on us all, but you and Sam were like his sons. I can't imagine that loss. I know all about both of you from that old man's rambling brags. Never give that man cheap whiskey and say the name Winchester, I tell ya."
Garth's easy laugh and can kind words calm Dean's quick rage. He glances at Lizzy with an apologetic yet still hard look. She just nods, showing she understands.
"And trust me when I tell you that I know for sure I am no Bobby Singer. The real problem here is that no one is. Or ever will be, really," Garth easily agrees. "But his legacy can continue. Now, I'm no master guru of the hunting arts but I can make some calls. I can do a little extra research and make other hunters' lives better. I can pick up the slack for all the times Bobby saved my ass. Or reminded me I was a idjit."
Lizzy grins warmly at the thought. "You are a idjit."
"Am not. Well, maybe only a little," Garth playfully returns. "Point is, Bobby meant a lot to a lot. You two more than anyone know what he was. I can't just let that die along with him."
Lizzy hangs her head, all the memories of Bobby coming flooding back. He was a good man, the best there was. And for her, knowing his legacy won't disappear is priceless. "Thank you, Garth. For doing that."
"I like to think he'd be proud," Garth returns with, a smile clearly heard in his tone of voice.
"Hey, did you know Lou's been running a hunter outpost in Kansas lately?" Lizzy asks.
"Yeah, I heard about that!" Garth delights. "Knew being dead wasn't gonna stop that one."
"Nothing can stop Lou," Lizzy jokes lovingly.
"And can I just say, I am so glad to know she's back on the game board! That girl is nothing to fuss with and we could use her back out there."
"You got that right," Dean nods, knowing Lou's fierceness is an asset. "She's downright scary sometimes."
"And when you get intimate with her best friend, you become enemy number one for a while. It's no fun, but I'm sure you know all about that, Dean."
Dean huffs a laugh and nods with total agreement. "You said it, Garth." Shaking his head with a smile, Dean lets Garth's words sink in. His smile fades quickly. "Wait… what?" Dean's head whips over to Lizzy, her face beet-red as she looks down at the phone screen to obviously avoid her husband.
"Okay, now. That's enough, Garth," Lizzy's embarrassed voice pleads. "No more talk about my past. I'm a married woman and a mother."
"And how lucky they are to have you, Noon," Garth fawns.
"Wait a minute…" Dean cuts in but Lizzy stops him.
"So, we have to go," Lizzy tells Garth, looking for a quick end to their phone conversation before Dean gets too pushy on the subject. "I'll text you Lou's number. We're looking into something right now, but in a few days you need to call her and get her hooked up with your network. Her bar is hunter friendly, she has lodging for a few at a time, and our collective knowledge is pretty vast so don't hesitate!"
"Aw, you're the best, Lizzy," Garth adores. "Dean, it was a pleasure to finally speak to you and I hope we can meet at some point. I'll being the beer."
"And you'll be cut off at one!" Lizzy laughs at him.
"Hey now. Don't embarrass me in front of the legend," Garth jokes.
"Bye, Garth." Lizzy grins out.
"Later, LL," Garth departs and the line goes dead.
Lizzy lets out a quiet giggle of pure fondness. "What a freakin' dork," she says to herself mostly as she drops her phone between them on the bench seat of the Impala. She stares ahead at the road, smiling. Lost in thought for a moment, she's pulled back when some clears their throat.
Lizzy looks to her side to see Dean's expectant face staring back.
"Right," Lizzy nods. "You wanna know?"
"You had sex with Garth I take it?" Dean asks her, not all that surprised but his voice has an edge to it.
Pressing her lips together for a quick second, Lizzy answers him. "Yes."
"Wow."
"I wasn't a virgin when we met, dear," Lizzy remind him, patting his shoulder.
"But isn't Garth, like…" Dean starts but doesn't know how to answer. He makes a lame, dorky face to express what he's trying to ask.
Lizzy laughs at him. "Definitely. But that's his charm. He's sweet and super lame and really awesome at the same time. He's a very endearing person."
"Bobby used to tell me he was an idiot all the time."
"Idjit," Lizzy corrects him.
"Same thing."
"Nope. Idjits are idiots Bobby loves. He loved Garth through all his fuck ups and whatnot."
Dean stays quiet, trying to figure out how he can pry and ask more without looking like he's as jealous as he is.
"Look, he saved my life once," Lizzy explains. "He backed me up on a hunt years ago because Lou was busy and I got myself cornered. He came in, gun blazing… and he saved my life. We became good friends after that and later that night I got super drunk and…." She just shrugs as she looks at him.
"I mean… I guess that happens," Dean comments with a sour tone.
"You never fucked another hunter?" Lizzy challenges.
Dean thinks a minute. "Maybe one…"
"Who?" she has to know.
"You ever met Annie?" Dean asks. "Bobby always kinda liked her, I think…"
"Pretty. Probably, like, 40ish?" Lizzy asks.
"Yeah. We met up on a hunt once and we…" Dean waves his hand in the air.
"Hmm. Good thing you never told Bobby."
"Why?"
"They had a thing," Lizzy explains. "They were, like, hook up buddies for a while there."
"No shit," Dean nods. "Whoops."
Lizzy laughs at that. "Yeah, well, we all get lonely on the road. I had my Garth moment. You had Annie. It happens."
"Guess you're right," Dean nods. "But Annie wasn't into me. Garth, on the other hand…."
"He's harmless," she assures him.
"But he's into you. His voice goes all chick flick when he compliments you."
"So what?"
"So what? You're married."
"He knows that."
"Doesn't seem to respect it," Dean grumps.
Lizzy laughs at him. "You're so jealous."
"Am not," he petulantly returns with.
"You are!" Lizzy laughs at him. "Wow!"
"I just think he's really friendly when maybe he should back off," Dean comments, head held high with fake confidence.
"Mr. Winchester, you are quite frustrating," Lizzy tells him, her cradling the cheek closest to her as she drives on. "Doesn't matter what he thinks or feels. I only want you."
"Still," Dean shifts uncomfortable.
"Don't go getting your tough guy feelings hurt," Lizzy makes fun. She grabs the other side of his jaw and quickly pulls him into a fast but meaningful kiss.
When she lets go his eyes return to the road ahead. "I'm driving here, woman," he weakly chastises.
Lizzy doesn't say anything after that. She settles into her seat and watches the asphalt disappear. As she does, she grabs Dean's hand once more and holds tight. They share a knowing glance between them, heart-eyes and all, as they keep rolling.
"Oh, good. You're done bickering over… whatever it is old married couples bicker over," Derek pipes up with sass from the backseat as he pulls the headphones off his head. "Dean, I'm reading your dad's journal and… you guys were in Massachusetts in 1992?"
"Uh, probably," Dean comments, thinking back. "I can't remember most places off hand we stopped at back then though so I'll take your word for it."
"But… this says you guys were staying in our town," Derek clarifies. "Like, as in… the town I grew up in. Canton."
And all the puzzle pieces fit together at once. Dean looks over at Lizzy with big eyes, asking silently what they should say here.
Lizzy nods. "He wants full in, right?"
Dean shakes his head, knowing the story is probably too big as of right now. "Okay. Well, Derek, yeah. We were in Canton in '92. Spent a couple weeks living there at an old motel."
"The Pineapple Inn. Yeah. I remember the place right off the local highway," Derek comments while disturbed. "Um, just… to clarify some stuff I'm reading… where did you guys enroll in school while you were there?"
Lizzy closes her eyes a moment. "Derek… we have a weird fate thing going on with us, as you know… and yeah, the Winchesters went to our school for a few weeks."
"Um… what grade were you in at the time, Dean?"
Dean pauses a second. "Sixth…"
"So… when John here writes about how Dean's new teacher is actually getting through to him, unlike all the others…."
"Yeah, it was mom," Lizzy lets him know. Her mother taught sixth grade for years at the elementary school they all attended. She was still teaching when she was killed.
"Oh, dude! John totally had the hots for Cathy!" Derek realizes with a little dislike. "What the hell!?"
"She was pretty hot…"
"What!?" Derek shouts with Dean's response.
"Dean remembers having mom well," Lizzy explains with amusement now that it's been a part of her life for a while. "He had a total crush on her because she saw his potential and tried with him."
"And because she was hot," Dean repeats.
"I guess that makes sense…" Derek comments, all the sarcasm in the world in his voice.
"I'm pretty much a carbon copy of mom, so yeah. It does," Lizzy nods.
"Met Dean's teacher today," Derek reads verbatim. "Quite the woman. She says she sees potential in Dean, that he's been behaving in class. This is not Dean's usual way but somehow Cathy has gotten through to him. It's a shame she's married." Derek finishes reading and looks up to Lizzy. "Ew."
"I know, it's weird. But we're used to it now. You'll get past it," Lizzy reassures him.
"So weird," Derek shakes his head as he puts the headphones back on.
Lizzy sighs as she's reminded of her mother for a moment. She was a great teacher and a wonderful mom. It's oddly comforting for her to know that her husband got to meet and adore her mother while she was alive. She takes Dean's hand once more and looks at him. "I miss her."
Dean just nods and squeezes her hand tighter.
Lizzy peeks at her sleeping son before looking out the windshield. "She would have been the best grandma."
Pulling her hand to his lips, Dean kisses the back of her hand as she wipes her eyes.
"She would've spoiled Sammy rotten," Lizzy's chin quivers, wanting that so much for her boy.
"Only bested by my mom if she had the chance," Dean smiles a little.
"I mean… this can't be it," Lizzy says with sheer disbelief when the Impala comes to a stop in front of an abandoned industrial building in the small area of Lebanon.
"It's where Sam said to go," Dean assures despite his voice sounding equally skeptical as they both look upward through the windshield. He then nods ahead of the car a good fifty feet. "Lou's girl is parked right there.
The blue paint shines in the sun and Lizzy sighs when the sight of it makes it true.
"it's a dump," she sadly observes.
"Maybe it's a fixer-upper," Dean wonders with only a little hope.
"Sure it is," Lizzy complains as she turns around and waves at Derek. The movement pulls him out of his journal page and grabs his attention. He pulls the headphones off his head. "We're here."
"Yeah?" he smiles with excitement.
"Oh, yeah," she answers.
Derek immediately gets out of the car after marking the journal entry he's in the middle of, looking around the empty dirt path once he's standing. He makes a full 360 degree turn as the other two adults also get out of the car. He exaggerates his observation of the tall building in front of them, then turns to look at the other two and points at the building in silent, eyebrow-arched question.
"Yep," Lizzy nods with a downer attitude.
"I'm not going in there," Derek declares.
"Baby," Dean makes fun.
"It looks condemned," Derek rebuts. "It could collapse on us… and Sammy. Not. Going. In."
"Oh, yes you are!" a voice calls out. Lou walks up the few steps from the door built into the ground and smiles at the group.
"Oh my god, did you just come out of that sewer!?" Derek horrifies when he sees the rounded brick entryway behind her.
"It's not a sewer, jackass," Lou bitches. "It's the door."
"Why does it go underground then? And look like it smells like a sewer?" Derek challenges right away.
"Dude, if bad smells and condemned places weird you out?" Dean starts, walking to him. He pats the newbie on the shoulder. "Hunting just ain't for you."
"Seriously?" Derek asks.
"Know what a corpse smells like?"
"Shit?"
"Yeah… but much worse," Dean laughs at him and heads for Lou. "Alright. So, this is it?"
"She's not much to look at from the outside, I'll admit," Lou nods, peering up at the place with a squint into the sunlight. "But she opens up. Really got an ass on her. And Lizard, she's vintage… well, everything."
Lizzy doesn't respond, despite loving vintage everything as Lou mentions.
"Okay, then. Lead the way," Dean gestures with a sweeping arm, ready to follow.
"Wait, lemme get Sammy," Lizzy asks as she jogs for the car. In a quick half minute she has the sleeping boy in her arms, his cheek pressed to her shoulder. She knows it won't be long before her shoulder is drenched in drool but oh well. "Let's go."
Lou heads down the stairs and through the heavy metal door on squealing, burdened hinges. She brushes away a cob web for the taller people behind her as she leads the way further down a grated stairway.
"Wow, super safe place," Lizzy sarcastically comments, only seeing the place through a mother's eyes. Already there's jagged, rusted metal everywhere and long steep stairs. This is not good.
"Nothing we can't fix, dear sister," Lou smiles right back, seeing the fight for what it is now. Lizzy's not in on this whole place without even seeing it. She'd worried about that. Years ago, as a more carefree hunter without many attachments and without a son, Lizzy would have been charging head first into this place with glee and her brass knuckles on just in case. Now she's a mom with completely different priorities.
Stopping by a metal door on the grated landing, Lou turns around with a wide grin. "Get ready for your hunting lives to completely change." She proceeds to push open the door and gesture with the excitement of Vanna White into the open space.
Locking eyes with Lou for a second, Dean lifts an eyebrow in question. She just rolls her eyes at him, letting him know she's impatient with his questioning.
So, Dean takes a few steps into the building, Derek following behind him and Lizzy with Sammy coming last. All three stand side by side at the railing of the balcony they're on. Looking down over the vast area, they see Sam walking into what appears to be a war room down below them with an old book in hand.
"Hey!" Sam brightly greets, smile on his face. He looks around him and opens his arms. "What do you think?"
Dean doesn't say anything as he takes everything in. A big table with a world map as its surface, instruments and place markers strewn about it as if someone had just been planning something on it. The old technology set up in stations against the walls, the Art Deco style, and the feel of a place long forgotten yet clearly once functioning has all three observers silent.
"I know, right?" Lou says as she elbows her sister and then makes her way down the curved metal staircase that leads to the bottom floor. Everyone follows, eyes still darting about to take everything in as they move.
"So… what the hell is this place?" Dean finally asks when they're standing together near the large table.
"We think it's a bunker," Sam answers. "This was a Men of Letters… outpost, I guess you could call it. They have everything here. A library, kitchen, storage with tons of really valuable stuff…"
"It's like a freaking underground college," Lou half laughs. "Dorm rooms and a giant joint bathroom and all. It's crazy."
"Wait… people lived here?" Lizzy wonders, her heart dropping at the idea.
"Definitely!" Sam smiles at her. "There's even used coffee cups up by the chess set you passes when you came in. Whatever happened, the Men of Letters clearly fled in panic and no one ever came back."
"Yeah, because the Men of Letter disbanded with Abaddon." Dean nods and peers around. "So, what? This place is just up and working after over half a century locked away?"
"Yeah," Sam huffs in disbelief. "We turned the electricity on, it worked. Running water flowing through clear pipes. We even have heat and ventilation."
"How is that possible?" Derek wonders aloud, eyes still wide as they continue to roam.
"Can't quite figure that one out yet," Sam answers, having actually tried to solve that one already.
"All the symbols hidden around here, I wouldn't be surprised if it had a little magical help," Lou adds her opinion. "But whatever, stuff for another day. Why don't you guys make yourself comfortable, look around, maybe put Sammy down in one of the rooms…."
"He's fine," Lizzy cuts Lou off, sitting into a map table chair to settle in for the rest of his nap time.
Lou just stares at her sister a beat, deciding not to bring up her shitty attitude. "Alright. Well, if you change your mind, the rooms are down that hall to the left," she points to a doorway. "The first five doors you see are rooms with clean sheets. They have a massive laundry facility so we ran a few loads. Dusted the rooms too. I'm gonna run out and grab some food for dinner tonight, maybe some cleaning supplies."
"Chicken parm?" Dean questions with maybe too much hope.
Lou stares at him with annoyance. "Don't you get sick of me making the same thing all the time?"
Dean just looks back with a deadpan face. "No," he answers with obviousness.
"Yeah, fine," Lou shrugs with defeat. "I'll make chicken parm. Again. And I'll get beer."
"Yes," Dean whisper-cheers with a fist pump.
"Why don't you guys get your bags and settle into a room," Sam suggests. "Then I can take you on a tour."
"We're staying the night?" Lizzy asks with worry. "Here?"
"I… uh, we kinda just assumed. It makes sense," Sam answers with hesitation.
"And it's free for once," Lou jests.
"Or… we could just go home," Lizzy suggests, making it clear she doesn't really want to be here. "It's not all that far."
And Dean can see he needs to step in. "Why don't we get our stuff in here and look around before we decide," he directs, easing the tension his wife is making in the room. "We can have a family dinner and hang and see where we get."
"Dean, this place is not for kids," Lizzy spells it out. "We didn't bring many toys and there's no way this place has a TV. Looks like it has plenty of weapons just out in the open for small hands to grab though." She nods to the open doorway leading to the library where several sharp implements are on display.
"I'll go pack away anything dangerous. I'll do it right now," Dean swears.
"I'll help. We can lock them in storage for now," Sam nods, looking to ease the issue.
Lizzy's eyes dart around the room, her posture ridged and on edge. Her knee continues to bounce just like every time she has anxiety. With how raised and stiff her shoulders are, her discomfort is obvious.
"Hey, uh… Sam?" Lou gets his attention. "Can you show Dean and Derek around, help them settle a little just in case they end up staying tonight? And then get rid of the weapons?" She shares an expression with him that Sam understands immediately.
"Oh, uh… yeah, yeah. Sure," Sam nods several times and heads for the door.
"L, you okay?" Dean asks, checking in when he knows everything isn't actually okay.
"She's good," Lou answers for her sister and waves Dean off.
Knowing this may be one of those times where his wife really just needs her sister, he lets it go. With their bags in hand, he follows Sam out with Derek.
"You are freaking the fuck out," Lou states plainly, no harsh accusations in her tone. Taking a seat at the table next to Lizzy, Lou stares right at her and waits.
Lizzy rolls her eyes. "Clearly."
"Why?"
Lizzy's chin quivers as she takes in their surroundings. "It's too much."
"Lizard?" Lizzy's eyes can't stop wondering. "Lizzy, look at me."
Eyes locking onto Lou's, Lizzy's face is fraught with fear and concern.
"I know that look," Lou reminds her. "I had it for nearly a year after I got out. It's Purgatory, isn't it?"
Lizzy shakes her head. "I don't know. I… maybe?"
"You want to run away?"
Lizzy nods a yes.
"Scale of one to ten, how badly do you want to do it?"
"Like… eight? Nine, maybe?"
"Where would you run to?" Lou questions.
"Home."
"You gotta be more specific than that," laughs Lou.
"Smith Center," Lizzy clarifies.
"So… that's home to you now?" Lou keeps prying. "Not Massachusetts or my car or anything?"
Lizzy nods again. "Guess so."
"Okay. Okay. Why?"
"I really like my life now," Lizzy explains. "I love our little house and the normalcy of it all. I want to have Sunday coffee making eyes at my hot ass husband while Sammy runs around the back yard. I don't want… this."
"You don't want hunting?"
"I… don't want to die. Or disappear again. Or Dean to not come home one day…."
"Slow down," Lou tells her as she gets worked up. "You got comfortable?"
"So comfortable," Lizzy sighs with heavy sorrow.
"I get that. I do… but, before you go and have a panic attack, I need you to take some deep breathes and really hear me when I remind you that you're not trapped here. You're okay. We are all here with you and finding this place isn't a bad thing."
Inhaling deeply several slow times, Lizzy closes her eyes and thinks about the little family she has under this massive, industrial roof. Her people are with her.
"You seemed like you were doing so well. I'm really sorry I stopped paying attention," Lou apologizes as she grabs Lizzy's hand. When Lizzy opens her eyes she sees the sympathetic look on her sister's face.
"This isn't your fault," she reminds Lou.
"But I know what it's like and I should have paid better attention."
"Uh, you have plenty on your plate right now," Lizzy reminds with wide eyes, glancing down at Lou's stomach.
"Shh," Lou shushes.
The disappointment if obvious on Lizzy's face. "He still doesn't know?"
"It's complicated and we'll talk later about me. For now, I need you to look at this the right way," Lou asks of her sister. "This place is warded out the ass and we've never been somewhere so safe. With Sammy's new powers, you still recovering from Purgatory, Derek being super green, me and my whole… deal… we should be here. Together."
Lizzy nods rapidly at that, nerves still running.
"And, if at any point you feel like you want to run… find me. Tell me. But don't run," Lou pleads with her.
"Okay," Lizzy vows. "I'm sorry. This just feels…big. Like, change big. And I was just getting comfortable with life at home, in a real home. I wasn't ready for whatever the fuck we have here. It's like I can feel it in me… this place is pulling me and telling me it's important."
"It is. Have you looked around at this fucking place!?" Lou disbelieves. "Books on shit we've never even heard of are in that library. There's a massive section dedicated to just the Bible. Lizard, we have to be here. At least for now. I don't think it'll be forever but… we have to try and find answers. We need this for Sammy."
Unintentionally, Lizzy's arms tighten around her boy while he sleeps in her lap. "You think we can help him with what's here?"
"If anywhere in the world has answers, it's here." Lou reaches over and grabs her sister's hand. "Just try for me. If you want to head home after a while and recharge, I'll go with you. But please, give this a chance."
Lizzy nods with agreement. "Okay. I'll try my best. But… what the hell do I do with a toddler in a place like this?"
Lou grins wide. "We take him to the Walmart that's a short drive away and we hook this kid up with all the toys he could need."
"You spoil him," Lizzy accuses.
"Like you don't?" Lou rebuts.
"No, I don't. Because one of his parents has to be the good influence."
"I heard that," Dean points at his wife as he walks into the room and heads for the Library with a big, empty box. "And I don't spoil him."
"You absolutely do," Lizzy sternly responds.
"No I don't! That kid deserves everything he gets!" he fights over his should as he walks up the handful of stairs into the library.
"He needed a millionth stuffed animal the other day while you two ran errands?" Lizzy challenges.
"He asked if he could have it," Dean answers as if it's the perfect excuse.
"So what?"
"He said please."
"So, if he says please, he gets it?" Lizzy asks, clearly not agreeing with Dean's point of view on parenting.
Dean thinks for a quick second as the realization of who he is as a dad settles in. "That's exactly what I'm saying," Dean says with false confidence before turning around and getting an eyeful of the immaculate room.
"He's gonna be a spoiled brat!" Lizzy reminds her husband.
"Whoa," Dean awes as he walks into the library, conversation forgotten. "Check this place out."
"I will when Sammy's awake," Lizzy answers, leaning her cheek onto the top of her son's head. She's perfectly content to sit there with numb legs until he's rested and ready to wake up. She can revel in holding him and use it to calm herself down for a bit.
"Pretty sick, right?" Lou agrees and gets up to join him.
"You and Sammy are gonna go all nerd on this shit, aren't you?" Dean asks as he drops the empty box onto one of the large wooden tables and moves straight for a scimitar on display atop one of the many bookshelves.
"Uh… duh!" Lou tells him with obviousness as she crosses her arms. She then decides to give him fair warning as he picks up the sword. "That's really sharp."
"Nah, it's just been sitting her for decades," he says, looking the gleaming metal over after wiping the dust off with his flannel covered arm.
"I'm telling you, it's sharp."
Dean brings the sword overhead and swipes it down with force in a mock blow to an invisible opponent. He then brings his thumb to the blade to test it. "No way is…." He stops and yanks his thumb away when the pain hits. When red blood seeps to the surface of his skin quite quickly he pops it into his mouth before looking at Lou. "That's very sharp."
"I know," she grins and gives him a thumbs up, the band-aid wrapped around her thumb proving that she does in fact know how sharp it is. Dean smirks at her. "Did the same thing last night."
"Maybe next time I'll listen to you," Dean tells her as he places the very sharp blade into the box to pack away.
"You won't though," Lou knowingly tells him as she joins him, grabbing the nearest katana to add to the box.
"Probably not," Dean agrees easily.
If you're still out there reading this story, THANK YOU! I know I've been absent and keeping up with a story that's months between new chapters isn't easy. I love you! Thank you!
Enjoy the episode tonight!