A/N: The song for this chapter is AC/DC's If You Want Blood. Also, in reference to a line from Ty in this chapter, the actual all-girl cover-band is called AC/DShe. Also, you may recognize some lines at the very end of the chapter from the episode 3.10 Dream A Little Dream of Me. There will be more incorporated from this episode in the next chapter.
Chapter 15: Blood
It's criminal
There ought to be a law
Criminal
There ought to be a whole lot more
You get nothin' for nothin'
Tell me who can you trust
We got what you want
And you got the lust
If you want blood, you got it
If you want blood, you got it
Blood on the streets
Blood on the rocks
Blood in the gutter
Every last drop
You want blood, you got it
Yes you have
It's animal
Livin' in the human zoo
Animal
The shit that they toss to you
Feelin' like a christian
Locked in a cage
Thrown to the lions
On the second page
If you want blood, you got it
If you want blood, you got it
Blood on the street
Blood on the rocks
Blood in the gutter
Every last drop
You want blood, you got it
O positive
Blood on the rocks
Blood on the streets
Blood in the sky
Blood on the sheets
If you want blood, you got it
I want you to bleed for me
Most of the group spent the rest of the day hard at their research. Sam had practically moved into Bobby's panic room, which was convenient because it meant he wasn't around to harp on Dean for not doing his fair share. The others seemed too wrapped up in their own work to notice that he wasn't really even looking at the pages he was flipping in the book he was supposed to be checking for references to apocalyptic events. It just seemed a little pointless when he already knew where he was going to get some intel. He just didn't want to go there yet. What he really wanted...hell, what he needed at this point, was a break. He'd settle for just one day, just 24 hours of R-and-R. The way things were going it was probably the last chance he'd get and damn it, didn't he deserve this much after everything he'd been through, everything he'd sacrificed?
"Hey, Dean." Ty called as she walked over to where he had camped out on Bobby's couch, drawing his attention and making him freeze guiltily, wondering if he'd just been caught blowing off the big group research-a-thon. Luckily, Ty seemed a little distracted herself, "I am starving. You feel like taking a break and going into town with me?"
Dean practically chucked the book down on the couch and leaped to his feet, "Definitely."
"Cool." Ty smiled, "I'll let the others know and meet you at the car."
"Great." Dean nodded, grabbing his jacket and heading for the door.
Within moments, the pair was headed down the road from the salvage yard. Dean almost sighed with relief at the small respite from everything, but then Ty shifted around on the passenger side to face him and he instantly realized his mistake. She knew him too well. She knew something was up and had manufactured a way to get him alone to talk about it.
Sure enough, she said, "So you've been pretty quiet the last few hours. Almost zero moaning and groaning about boring research. What's up? Low blood sugar? You need some pie?"
Dean couldn't help but smile briefly at her words, but he was also weighing his options quickly. He'd pushed her to let him in and she hadn't hesitated to call him on it when he hadn't done the same. And she was right, it wasn't fair for him to expect her to open up to him if he wasn't willing to reciprocate. But there were some things he had to keep to himself, that he couldn't share with Sam or with her, for their own good. So, he'd have to tell her something, even if he couldn't tell her everything.
"Well, always, but no, that's not it." he admitted, "I'm feeling kinda burnt out. I mean, one thing just keeps piling on top of the last and I'm not seeing an end in sight anytime soon. I just...I need a break."
Ty couldn't help her surprise. He'd said earlier that he was anxious to get to the fight, which she completely understood, but now it sounded like he wanted to just press pause on hunting altogether. And while she couldn't argue with any of the things he'd said or begrudge him for feeling burnt out, it was still something of a surprise. As long as she'd known him, Dean had been all about the hunt, particularly throwing himself into it when he was trying to avoid dealing with other issues.
So while it probably wasn't the most sensitive or tactful response she could have made, she found herself asking, "Really?"
"Just like for a day." Dean continued, "You know, recharge the batteries."
"Uh…yeah, okay. Whatever you want, I guess." Ty said, still feeling a little adrift about this.
"I'm not saying everyone has to drop everything. I mean, if the rest of you want to keep digging, by all means. I just think…it would be nice to maybe have a day off before…" He stopped himself before he finished the sentence with "before it's too late." Still, he worried that Ty could hear the unspoken words so he covered by adding, "I mean, I'd be fine if it was just you and me. More than fine, actually."
He flashed her a grin and a raised eyebrow and, just like he hoped, she relaxed and rolled her eyes back at him.
"Alright, Winchester. You sold me. Tomorrow can be your day, but that means I get to pick dinner." Ty declared.
Dean groaned, "Ah, man. Come on. Small town South Dakota is not where you get Indian food. Besides, it'll make my car smell."
"Sandeep's is the best and your car has handled way worse smells between you and Sam. Now, less whining and more driving. I'm hungry." Ty grinned.
Dean shook his head, but inwardly he was pleased. That couldn't have gone any better. Now he could focus on having one great day with Ty before he had to do what he had to do. If it turned out to be his last day with her, well… he'd deal with that if it came to it.
When they returned to Bobby's with enough Indian take-out to feed a small army, Ty volunteered to take some downstairs to Sam. She figured that would give her a chance to ask him what he thought about Dean pulling a Ferris Bueller.
Taking the steps two at a time, Ty quickly reached the bunker. She found Sam sitting at the desk with materials piled all around him, including a few stacks on the floor. She pulled the door closed behind her, just in case, before speaking.
"How's it going?" she asked.
Sam sighed, "Slowly. Like you said, it's hard to parse out the religious doctrine stuff from anything that might actually be useful. Still, I've started a list of things that I think could be Seals based on your idea about Revelations and I've been digging into the lore on angels, too. It's just…there's so much."
"Well, here." Ty said, handing him a bag of food, "Take a dinner break. Come upstairs and join us, if you want."
Sam took the bag, took a whiff of the contents then glanced up in surprise, "Dean agreed to Indian food?"
"Agreed is perhaps too strong a word." Ty allowed with a grin. Her expression sobered quickly however since he'd provided her with a transition to what she wanted to ask him, "But, about Dean…he told me he's feeling burnt out. He said he wants to take tomorrow off, take a break from hunting. That seem weird to you?"
Sam set the food down on the desk with a frown. His mind immediately went back to the conversation they'd had on the drive over. More and more it was seeming like Dean had already given up, like he'd resigned himself to being killed by demons after Lilith's bounty and was going to just spend the rest of his days like they were numbered. He hated it, hated seeing his brother like this, but he already knew what he had to do. If Dean wanted to take a day off, maybe that would give him the chance to contact Ruby again and really get his powers working. He'd just have to make sure Ty kept him out of the way.
"Yeah, kinda, but with everything going on… He deserves it. I think he should take a day off, enjoy himself." Sam said.
Ty was a little surprised by Sam's ready acceptance. She'd expected more concern. Maybe even for him to go upstairs and demand Dean talk to him. But she figured he knew Dean better than anyone and if he was okay with this, then…maybe she should just get on board.
"Yeah, you're right, I guess." she said, turning to go back upstairs.
"Hey, Ty." Sam called, stopping her. She turned back to him, "Take care of him, will you? I mean, he should have some fun, but just in case something happens…"
Ty nodded in understanding, "I've got his back. Don't worry."
"Good." Sam smiled, "Thanks."
Late that night, Ty was still awake long after Dean fell asleep. She knew that worry about Dean was the cause of her insomnia this time, but she tried to distract herself by reading the Tom Petty biography she'd picked up a few weeks ago. The man was pretty fascinating, after all.
"Hey, are you still up?" Dean's groggy voice startled her.
"Oh, yeah. Just reading."
"Didn't you get enough of that earlier today?" Dean grumbled, reaching out to take her book away.
Ty twisted to keep the book out of his grasp, "Hey, this is about Tom Petty. Did you know he wrote the song I Won't Back Down after an arsonist set fire to his house with him and his family inside?"
"Huh." Dean said, pausing in his attempt to take her book, "No wonder Dad liked it so much."
Ty frowned. Shit, why hadn't she realized how close to him that story would be? Was she trying to make him feel worse?
"God, Dean, I'm sorry. I didn't think…" she began.
Dean shook his head and cut her off, "Nah, it's fine."
Ty set her book aside, shutting off the booklight, but neither hunter was able to get to sleep immediately. After an awkward moment of lying next to each other in silence, Dean asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Knowing she couldn't tell him the truth, that she was thinking about how there was something wrong with him that he wasn't being completely honest about, Ty shared the first random thought she had instead, "Just whether there's an all-girl AC/DC cover band called SheC/DC and, if there isn't, whether I should start one."
Dean stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. He muttered under his breath, but loud enough for her to hear, "Why do I even ask?"
Ty stuck her tongue out at him and Dean grinned. They both relaxed and after a few more moments, Ty heard Dean drift back to sleep, snoring softly. Shifting over a little so she could curl up against his back, Ty was finally able to do the same.
Dean was only marginally conscious and planning on becoming even less so when he rolled onto his side and reached an arm out to pull Ty closer. However, when there was no curvy female form to be found next to him, he found he could no longer settle back into sleep. With a groan, he forced his eyes open and sat up.
"What're you doing?" he demanded in a tired mumble when he saw Ty was already up and dressed.
Ty released her arm from the stretch she'd been holding and shot Dean an apologetic smile, "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you."
Dean continued to stare at her like he could not comprehend why she wasn't still in bed so Ty continued, "I'm just stretching. Go back to sleep. It's your day off, remember?"
She resumed her stretches as she spoke, as if to demonstrate. When she bent over, stretching her hands down to her toes, Dean found his eyes drifting over her figure, displayed more obviously in the yoga pants and tank top she was currently wearing than in her usual attire.
"Hmmm...yeah, stretching's great." he drawled, suddenly feeling more awake.
Ty immediately straightened, shooting him a quick glare. Dean grinned in response and raised an eyebrow. Ty just rolled her eyes. He was certainly incorrigible, but unfortunately that was one of the things she liked about him.
"So this some new fitness thing of yours?" Dean asked when it became clear she wasn't going to be baited by his ogling, "If so, I recommend yoga. Good for flexibility."
Ty ignored Dean's suggestive smirk.
"Nah, not really. When I started hunting with Alex, we kinda just developed this routine of working out between jobs." she shrugged. She paused to brush her hair back from her face, then frowned and started combing it back into a ponytail with her fingers.
Dean frowned, "You're going to work out with Alex?"
"Yeah. He wanted to get some exercise in before they get back to the research and he says he needs me around for motivation or something." Ty answered over her shoulder, momentarily distracted by her search for a hair tie. She wandered over to her bag, digging through it for one.
"Yeah, I'll bet." Dean grumbled sarcastically.
"Huh?" Ty asked, straightening and glancing back over her shoulder.
"Nothing." Dean shook his head, "Hey, come here."
Curious, Ty finished securing her hair with the elusive but finally located hair tie and walked over to the bed. Dean scooted closer, wrapping his arms around her waist and tugging her towards him.
"Come on. Forget that. I can help you with a workout right here." he said, lips curling back into a sexy grin.
Ty let her eyes roam over him appraisingly, "Tempting…"
Dean's smirk widened.
"...but no. Not this time." Ty finished, slipping free of his hold. Dean looked fairly disappointed so she softened the rejection by leaning down and giving him a quick kiss, fingers trailing along his jaw, "Raincheck. I'll be back before you know it."
With that, she turned, grabbed a sweatshirt, and left. Dean stared after her. He could hardly believe that had just happened. Had she really just rainchecked sex with him so she could go exercise? What the hell? And it wouldn't be quite so bad if it wasn't for the fact that that dick, Alex, was involved. Dean had no doubts whatsoever about his motives for wanting to get hot and sweaty with Ty.
With a growl, Dean threw back the sheets and got up. He'd never been much of a workout guy, figured he got plenty of exercise from hunting alone, but he was suddenly feeling the need to don some sweatpants and do some reps. Son of a bitch. Now he not only had to get out of bed before he'd wanted without the benefit of a morning roll in the sheets and head out to track down Ty before either coffee or breakfast, but he had to try and find sweatpants. Man, he really wanted to clock that asshole. This was supposed to be his freaking day off, his day to spend having fun with Ty.
It took a frustratingly long time to find the single pair of sweatpants he owned and by the time he'd dug them out, it looked like the Impala had been ransacked. He was at least reassured by the fact that Alex's truck was still parked out front so he figured they couldn't have gone far. Finally, clad in sweatpants and a t-shirt and feeling slightly ridiculous, like he was heading to gym class, Dean set out to find them.
When he spotted them in the field bordering Bobby's salvage yard, he was surprised to find they weren't doing jumping jacks or push-ups like he'd expected, but were actually sparring. Then he felt briefly annoyed because he could do that in his normal clothes so finding sweatpants and trashing his car had been pointless. But ultimately, he realized that this was actually perfect because now he had an excuse to take a few shots at Alex.
Dean had just started to head over to join them and was just about to announce that he was there to show them how it was done, when Alex tackled Ty to the ground.
"Cheap shot!" she cried as she tried to shove him off her.
"Deal with it." Alex replied, flashing her a grin.
The grin vanished as Ty managed to dig her knee into his stomach, upsetting his weight over her and giving her the space she needed to grab his arm and throw him to one side while she rolled the opposite direction. She was on her knees and about to jump back to her feet when a firm grip on her ponytail pulled her backwards. Alex wrapped an arm around her neck and she felt her back hit his chest. He too was on his knees, but his hold was pretty secure.
"What the hell?" Ty demanded angrily, "Let go of my hair, jerkwad."
"Told you you should've cut it." Alex retorted, grinning triumphantly.
The sound of someone noisily clearing their throat had both hunters freezing before they turned their gazes to find Dean standing a couple yards away, arms crossed, eyebrow raised, and lips pulled down in a frown.
"Dean!" Ty cried in surprise. She shot an elbow backwards, catching Alex in the ribs. He gave a grunt as it knocked the wind out of him and released his hold, allowing her to finally regain her feet, "What are you doing here?"
"Not interrupting anything, am I?" Dean asked dryly, his mind immediately recalling some choice training sessions of his own with Ty that had involved them both ending up on the ground in some rather compromising positions.
Ty frowned and pulled her sweatshirt back up over her shoulder from where it had slipped down during the sparring, not liking Dean's implication or the look on his face. Sure, back in their early time together, she'd tried to make him a little jealous, but he had to know that they were past that now, didn't he? Heck, she hadn't even been able to move onto someone else after eight months apart when by all rights he would have deserved it for disappearing without a word. She hadn't been able to because even then she'd still loved him. Did he not believe her about how she felt? Or did he just not trust her?
Before she could work out her reply, Alex chimed in unhelpfully, "Yeah, actually. My partner and I are trying to get some sparring in here."
"Right. And that's why you're all over her." Dean continued in the same skeptical tone.
"Dean…" Ty protested, but he cut her off, moving past her towards Alex.
"Okay, how about you try me then?" he challenged, "But I gotta tell you, I'm not really into the hair pulling."
"Okay, wait…" Ty tried again. She was getting a sinking feeling in her gut that this was about to turn real bad.
Alex climbed to his feet, his eyes radiating aggression right back at Dean, "Sure. If you think you're up for it."
"Try me." Dean repeated, looking distinctly unimpressed by his opponent, "And don't think I'm pulling any punches, just because…"
Dean was cut off abruptly by a sucker punch to the jaw.
"Alex!" Ty yelled, "Goddamnit!"
Dean rotated his jaw a bit, then, evidently satisfied that the blow hadn't caused any significant damage, stretched his neck to either side and started slowly moving to the side, hands raising as he started circling the other hunter, "Okay. If that's how you want to play it, fine by me."
Ty watched wide-eyed as the two men began trading blows, her mind racing for a way to break them up. This was just so stupid it was pissing her off. She debated running back to their cars and getting a rock salt-loaded weapon to unload on both their asses: Dean for being a jealous dick and Alex for being a prick and goading him. What was the deal with that, anyway? She knew for a fact that things weren't like that between her and Alex. They were just friends, partners. So why did he keep getting into it with Dean, anyway?
Frustrated, Ty debated just letting them duke it out. God knew they both deserved a few punches. Maybe they'd do her a favor and just knock each other out. But no, she couldn't let this continue. They had enough things out there wanting to kill them. They didn't need to be fighting amongst themselves and making things any easier for their enemies.
So, figuring it was probably a colossally bad idea but not coming up with any alternatives, Ty waited for the right moment, then threw herself between the two fighters. She figured she'd probably catch a blow or two in doing so, but she was prepared to take it.
Dean barely managed to catch himself before he snapped an uppercut right into Ty's jaw, "Ty! Move, damn it!"
Similarly, Alex nearly tripped and fell on his face trying to pull back on a kick meant to knock Dean's legs out from under him. He stumbled forward, but managed to catch himself before he ran into her back, "What the hell?"
Ty silently took half a second to be grateful she didn't get clobbered from both sides, but made sure not to let any of that show on her face. Instead, she shot a furious, steely gaze at first one man and then the other.
"I said knock it off." she growled at them.
"He started it." Alex muttered, earning him an extra glare.
"Shut it. I am sick of you two acting like idiots." she turned to Dean, stepping closer to him, "You. Alex and I are hunting partners and friends. That's it. Stop being a jackass. And even if he did want to get in my pants, I'm the one who has the say in that. Not you two."
She whirled around, stalking back towards Alex, "And you. I know you don't think about me that way, so why are you being such a pain in the ass?"
Alex shrugged, refusing to meet her gaze.
"Start talking or I swear to God I will kick you right in the dick." Ty threatened.
Alex's eyes widened and he took a precautionary step back before he sighed, relenting, "I just got so pissed about how he strung you along all those months and how he's been treating you since he came back, like he didn't do a damn thing wrong. You don't deserve that, okay?"
Ty felt Dean moving behind her and shot a quick glance over her shoulder, stopping him before he could interject,"I got this."
Turning back to Alex, she placed her hands on her hips, "And you didn't think I could fight my own battles? Like I'm some helpless little girl who needs you to defend my honor?"
Alex shook his head, "It's not like that."
"Alex, I love you like a brother, but what's between Dean and I is none of your business, okay?"
"But…" Alex protested.
"No. Uh uh. This is my choice." she said, gesturing between herself and Dean, "If you've got a problem with my choices, you can bring that to me. You don't try to make them for me. Period."
Alex sighed again, but Ty could see he wasn't going to fight her anymore. Instead, he offered her a hesitant smile.
"Okay, you're right. You're a big girl. I just...I love you like a sister, too, tiger, and I guess I let the overprotective big brother thing get out of hand. I'm sorry." he paused, glancing over her head at Dean, "But I still think you could do better."
"One step forward, two steps back." Ty muttered in aggravation, "Okay, beat it, jerk. I need to talk to Dean."
"Fine." Alex rolled his eyes. He turned and made his way back towards the house. When he was a ways away, he glanced back, making sure no one was looking before he let himself wince and gingerly probe the spots Dean had struck him. Damn guy was fast and he hit like a sledgehammer.
Ty, meanwhile, knew that this next conversation was going to be a lot more difficult, but she had to get this out in the open. They had enough problems and she had figured that this would have to take a backseat, but it looked like that wasn't going to be the case. She took a moment to collect herself before she turned to face Dean.
"Like a brother, huh?" Dean ventured, trying to seem nonchalant about it.
"A very annoying, very stupid brother." Ty agreed.
She could see the tension in Dean's body lessening slowly. He also offered her a small smile, "Guess I've got one of those, too."
Ty smiled back briefly, but she knew she couldn't keep avoiding their other issues. She took a deep breath, then forced herself to keep going.
"But the bigger problem here is you don't trust me. I picked you, Dean. I told you so."
Dean frowned and shifted his weight awkwardly. It looked like it was taking more out of him to have this talk with her than the fight with Alex, but to his credit, he wasn't running. At least, not yet.
"It's not that I don't trust you, really…" he protested, "It's more that I don't trust someone else like him coming along and...I don't know…"
"What?" Ty pressed, "Stealing me away? Again, I make my choices, okay?"
"Yeah, I know." Dean agreed quickly, frustrated with his inability to find the right words to explain himself. He started to pace a bit, dragging his fingers through his hair, eyes focused on the ground, "But what if I'm the wrong choice? He'll, maybe he's right. I mean, he is right. You could do better. I've been a dick. I've got nothing to my name but my car and the junk in it. Heck, I'm a high school dropout with a rap sheet. It's probably just a matter of time before someone can get you to see that..."
"Dean, stop." Ty jumped in before he could go any further. She'd deliberately avoided bringing up her feelings for him again, afraid to freak him out any more than she already had, but now she realized maybe that had also been a mistake, "You need to stop. Stop worrying about whether I'm going to change my mind. I haven't, okay? After all this time and everything that's happened, I still haven't. I won't. "
She moved closer so she could look him in the eye. She grinned a little, "I mean, you've definitely been a dick. But I'm still here, so that should tell you something."
Dean gave her a similar grin back, "That I'm amazing in bed?"
Ty punched him lightly in the arm, but she couldn't quite stop a little laugh and a smile from escaping. Dean's grin grew, became more self-assured. Ty rolled her eyes at him.
"Listen, dumbass. I'm trying to be serious here. I told you before that I can't keep doing this forever. I need you to decide, alright? It doesn't have to be right this second. I'm not trying to pressure you, really. I just...I need you to promise that you'll really think about it and tell me when you decide: do you pick me, too? If you don't feel the same or want the same things, that's okay, but you have to decide what you do want."
For once, Dean didn't make a wisecrack. He just held her gaze and slowly nodded. Relieved and thankful, Ty kissed him. She wasn't being completely truthful. If he decided he didn't feel the same way about her as she did about him, it wouldn't be okay. Not for her, anyway. But she'd deal with it, find a way to live with a broken heart. It had to be better than not knowing. It had taken her a while to come to that conclusion. She'd been so afraid of losing him that she'd just taken what she could get, choosing to remain in limbo. But after so much time apart and everything they'd been through since, she knew she couldn't continue that way. One way or another, she just had to know.
"Come on. Let's get back." Ty said, "Let me change and then we can do whatever you want, okay?"
Dean fell in step next to her as she started back towards Bobby's.
"Whatever I want, huh?" he asked teasingly.
"I'm gonna regret this, aren't I?" Ty mused aloud, teasing him back, relieved that what she'd just said to Dean hadn't made things awkward between them.
"Oh, I don't think you'll have any complaints." Dean declared confidently.
Ty was caught between blushing and grinning at his comment. Not wanting him to see either reaction, she stepped up her pace a little. This evidently amused Dean as well because he chuckled as he followed after her.
Meanwhile, Sam called Ruby almost as soon as he woke up. Before he could even get a word out, she said, "Just a minute, Sam."
This was followed by the familiar and distinct sounds of a fight.
"Ruby!" Sam called into the phone in concern.
She didn't reply, but the fight continued. Sam could hear the sounds of impact, screams of pain. Finally, he heard someone swearing angrily and Ruby's voice back on the line, although she sounded out of breath, "Alright, what do you want, Sam?"
"What the hell is going on over there?" Sam demanded.
"What do you think?" Ruby replied peevishly, "I was snooping around trying to get some more intel for you and your ingrate brother and I got spotted."
Sam overheard whoever was swearing in the background calling Ruby, and her mother, some particularly heinous names and then what sounded like her kicking him hard in response.
"Now, was there a point to this call?" she continued.
"Yeah, I need you. I need to practice more." Sam said, "Before we run out of time."
"Hmm, well, you're in luck, then. I've got just the guinea pig for you." Ruby said and he could almost see the malicious grin on her face.
Sam wasn't sure what she meant by that, but he took down the location and promised to be there as quickly as possible. He scrawled a note with a vague excuse about checking into some info and left it on the panic room door before he borrowed one of Bobby's barely-functioning vehicles and took off before anyone could notice that he was leaving.
Driving quickly, Sam arrived only a few hours after his call with Ruby. When he pulled up at the location she'd given him, he found that she was in a surprisingly suburban residential neighborhood. Not the sort of place you would typically expect to find a demon hiding out, but then again that thing with the demon and the witches in Massachusetts proved that even the white picket fence neighborhoods could harbor evil. Still, Sam made sure to double check the address before he approached the door.
When Sam reached the cheery, pastel yellow front door, he saw that the lock had been busted. He gently pushed the door inward, reaching behind him to pull out a gun just in case.
"Ruby?" he called inside.
"Come on in, Sam!" Ruby's voice called back to him from further inside the house, "I've got a friend who's dying to meet you."
Sam entered cautiously, keeping his gun in hand. When he found Ruby, she was standing amidst the ruins of the dining room. At her feet was a bloodied and bruised man, pinned to the floor by her knife through his shoulder and her boot on his leg. As Sam approached, he thrashed against the magic blade, turning a black-eyed gaze towards the hunter.
"You fucking traitor whore!" the demon swore, "You chose the Winchesters over Lilith?"
"Such a sweet-talker." Ruby sneered, digging her heel into what appeared to be an already shattered shin bone.
Sam's eyes shifted from her demon captive to Ruby herself. She was still bleeding slightly from a split lip as well as a laceration on her head. At the sight of her blood, Sam found his mouth went a little dry and something like hunger stirred in his gut. He tried not to think about it.
Slowly, Sam holstered his gun, "So, what did you find out?"
"Well, he's a talker, but nothing useful so far." Ruby replied, "But I think he'll change his tune once we get you warmed up."
Sam wasn't sure what she meant or whether he really wanted to know, but he was in too deep to quit now. Ruby held a hand out to him, palm open, looking at him expectantly. Sam looked from her hand to her face, briefly confused before he realized that she wanted his blade. He handed it to her, swallowing hard as he watched her roll up her sleeve and cut deeply into her arm.
"What the hell are you doing?" the demon demanded, squirming under Ruby's heel.
Sam and Ruby both ignored him. Sam's eyes were fixed on the blood welling on Ruby's pale skin. He moved towards her like he was being pulled, his body acting on its own. The shouts and protests of the demon on the ground faded into the background as he lifted her arms to his lips. Every time he consumed her blood, he could feel himself getting stronger, but this time it was like he could almost taste the power on his tongue the moment the blood hit it. He gulped it down hungrily.
Sam didn't know how long he spent sucking the blood from Ruby's veins. His whole body felt flushed and he felt almost light-headed, but he couldn't stop. Finally, Ruby had to push him away.
"Okay, easy there, Sam." she chided, looking even more pale when he looked up at her, blinking in confusion, "I need some of that, too."
Sam shook his head to clear it, coming back to his senses, "Sorry."
"No, it's fine. How do you feel?" Ruby asked.
Sam paused to consider it as he straightened. He stretched out his arms a little, "Good. Strong."
"Perfect." Ruby grinned, transferring her gaze back down to the demon who was staring at them with a horrified look on his face, "Let's see what you can do."
Sam focused his gaze on the demon, reaching his hand out. His brow furrowed as he strained to reach out with his power and, unlike the last couple times he had tried, this time it seemed to respond instantly. The demon jerked, back arching up off the ground like electricity was running through his body. Ruby quickly backed away since she obviously was no longer needed to hold him in place.
"Good, Sam, good. Now, tighten your hold. Make the demon inside feel what you want him to feel." she instructed.
Sam closed his outstretched hand into a fist. Flashes of light seemed to sizzle from inside the man on the ground and the demon screamed, thrashing on the ground, heedless of the knife digging further into his shoulder. Evidently, whatever Sam was doing hurt even more than Ruby's blade. Ruby smiled. He was progressing quickly.
Sam relaxed his hold a little and the demon collapsed back to the floor, gasping for air. Ruby stepped forward and quickly retrieved her blade since Sam didn't seem to need any help this time. She smiled at him like he was her prize pupil. Sam tried to ignore her since her expression made him uncomfortable. Instead, he focused on the demon and getting him to cough up whatever he knew.
"What is Lilith planning?" he demanded.
The demon coughed painfully, before glaring at him, "She's going to peel the flesh from your face and make herself a new wallet."
Sam clenched his fist again and the demon screamed, writhing in agony. Sam didn't entirely understand how his power worked, but it looked like it was affecting the demon more than holy water or an exorcism. Determined that he was going to make this demon talk, telling himself this was the step he needed to take to save Dean, Sam devoted himself to exploring the extent of his abilities. By the end of it, the demon was begging him to just kill him. More importantly, he also told him everything he knew, which included a lead on the next Seal Lilith was trying to break.
When he was satisfied that the demon wasn't holding anything back, Sam glanced at Ruby, silently asking her what to do now.
"You can cast him out, Sam. With your powers, you don't need an exorcism." Ruby said.
Sam nodded. He moved his hand like he was adjusting his grip. The demon seemed to lift off the floor slightly and black smoke started to leech from him. Sam could feel that it was working, but evidently he had already used up a lot of his power. His arm started to shake as he struggled to keep his hold. His head was starting to pound. He lost control for a moment and the demon dropped back to the floor, the black smoke pulling back into the host's body. Sam clenched his fist more tightly, feeling blood starting to drip from his nose from the strain, but it was no use. He didn't have the juice.
Ruby sighed and drew her blade.
"Ruby, wait!" Sam protested, but it was too late. She'd already plunged the blade into the demon's chest. Light crackled around the blade for a second before the demon slumped, lifeless. Sam scowled at her, "I could have done the exorcism. Maybe that guy who was possessed might have lived."
"Maybe," Ruby shrugged, "but probably not. You want to save the host, work on getting better with your power."
With that she retrieved her blade, sheathing it again as she started striding towards the front door. Sam stared after her. She was definitely a demon with morals to match and part of him hated her, but not all of him and that concerned him. He didn't really have words to describe how he felt about her.
"Good luck with that Seal. Let me know when you want to do some more…training." she called back over her shoulder before she disappeared out of sight.
Sam frowned after her, but knew he had to get moving, too. He needed to get back before anyone got suspicious about what he was doing and he needed to share his lead. They'd need to move fast if they wanted to stop Lilith from breaking another Seal.
It was evening by the time Sam returned to Bobby's place. He noticed the Impala was missing from its usual spot and figured Dean was still out enjoying his day with Ty. He was glad both because he thought it would be good for him and because it meant he could avoid an interrogation about where he'd been. Returning Bobby's car to the lot, Sam headed back inside.
Almost as soon as he entered, he could hear Jo and Ellen in a shouting match. Sam followed the sounds although the last thing he wanted to do was interfere in a fight between those two.
"This is more important than your need to constantly control me!" Jo was screaming at her mom when he found them glaring at each other in the living room.
"I'm your mother." Ellen snapped back, "It's my job to try and keep you safe!"
"So what? You want me to just sit in a corner and let the world end? How safe do you think I'll be then?" Jo demanded.
"I am sick and tired of having this fight with you." Ellen said, turning her back on Jo and spotting Sam, "Sam!"
"Uh…hi?" Sam replied.
"Sam, good, you're back." Jo said quickly, "Can you please talk some sense into her? I can't sit out on a lead."
Well, there was absolutely no way that Sam was going to interject himself into this debate, so he dodged Jo's request by asking, "You have a lead?"
Jo opened her mouth to answer, but Ellen cut her off quickly, "Panic room."
Jo shot her an annoyed glance but nodded gruffly and headed downstairs. Ellen and Sam followed. When they got down to the panic room, Jo pulled the door open and Sam saw that Alex had apparently taken his post there.
"Sam!" he said, jumping to his feet. He turned his laptop that he had perched atop some of the books scattered over the desk towards him, "Check this out."
Sam moved closer so he could lean down and look at the laptop screen. It took him a moment to parse what he was seeing before he realized that Alex had compiled a list of demonic signs and was using it to run searches. When he got hits, he was taking the info offline and running a comparison with their info from Revelations and creating possible leads ranked by the likelihood that they might be something worth looking into. It was pretty impressive and reminded him of maybe a less-sophisticated version of something Ash would devise.
"Wow." Sam said, "This is good work, Alex." Sam said as he looked it over.
Alex smiled, looking slightly embarrassed by the praise, "Thanks. It was mostly Jo, though. I just helped. If Ash were here, he'd have a better version running automatically in minutes, but this was the best I could do."
Sam didn't reply, but focused on the lead at the top of the list. His eyes widened a little in surprise. Straightening and glancing around at the others, he pointed to it on the screen, "This one here. The info I was looking into, it's the same. I think this is legit."
Everyone crowded close to the screen to see what Sam was pointing out. Alex looked back up at Sam, his expression now serious, "We need to call Ty and Dean."
Dean took a large bite from his burger and Ty smiled at the look of unadulterated bliss on his face. When they'd stopped for gas, she'd covertly asked the attendant what the best burger place was in the area. Judging by Dean's expression, it had been a good recommendation. It was so nice to see him happy, that instead of starting on her own food, she rested her chin on her hands, elbows propped on the table, and just watched him eat.
"This is the best burger I've had in forever." Dean mumbled with his mouth full. He paused, noticing that Ty hadn't touched her food, "Not hungry?"
Ty smiled and shook her head, picking up her own burger and taking a bite. She wasn't half the aficionado that Dean was, nor would she rank burgers among her top favorite foods, but it was certainly pretty good.
Suddenly, Dean's phone rang. Dean gulped down the food in his mouth as he pulled it out to answer it.
"Sam?" he asked.
Ty set her burger down again. If Sam was calling now, it had to be something important. The suddenly somber look on Dean's face confirmed that for her. He was silent as he listened to whatever Sam was saying. Finally, he said, "Okay. We're on our way back."
Hanging up, Dean looked over at Ty and sighed, "Well, this was fun while it lasted."
"What is it?" Ty asked.
"They think they figured out the next Seal." Dean said, "Sam didn't want to give me details over the phone."
Ty nodded, immediately scooting out of her side of the booth to get back to her feet. Dean did the same, but paused to cast a longing look back at the last few bites of his burger. With another sigh, he pulled some cash out of his wallet and dropped it on the table.
Ty and Dean headed back towards the car, but they had just stepped out of the restaurant when Dean's phone rang again. Dean glanced at it before he answered and his brow furrowed, not recognizing the number.
"Hello? Yes, this is Mr. Snyderson. What?" Dean demanded, looking quickly over at Ty, eyes wide with surprise and concern, "Where?"
"What? What is it?" Ty asked quickly the second he hung up the phone.
"It's Bobby."
