A/N: This chapter contains content from the following episodes: Its's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester and Sex and Violence. Chapter title and song is Season of the Witch by Donovan.
Chapter 25: Season of the Witch
When I look out my window
Many sights to see
And when I look in my window
So many different people to be
That it's strange, sure is strange
You've got to pick up every stitch
You've got to pick up every stitch, yeah
You've got to pick up every stitch
Oh no, must be the season of the witch
Must be the season of the witch, yeah
Must be the season of the witch
When I look over my shoulder
What do you think I see?
Some other cat lookin' over
His shoulder at me
And he's strange, sure, he's strange
You've got to pick up every stitch
You've got to pick up every stitch, yeah
Beatniks are out to make it rich
Oh no, must be the season of the witch
Must be the season of the witch, yeah
Must be the season of the witch
You've got to pick up every stitch
You've got to pick up every stitch, yeah
The rabbits running down the ditch
Oh no, must be the season of the witch
Must be the season of the witch, yeah
Must be the season of the witch
After the angels vanished abruptly from the motel room with nothing but the sound of flapping wings to signal their departure, the group headed back out to the Impala to get back to work. However, Ty found herself freezing in her tracks as she took in the eggs splattered all over the sleek black paint. Dean nearly ran the remaining distance to the car, circling around to the driver's side and taking in the destruction. Sam followed slowly, watching for Dean's reaction. Dean finally straightened on his side of the car, his face furious as he glared around for some sign of the culprit.
"Astronaut!" he yelled angrily and Ty wondered if they would need to worry about Dean trying to assault a minor if he ever saw the kid again.
"Should've just given him cash." she muttered to herself before moving around the car to place a calming hand on Dean's arm. When his eyes finally shifted over to her, she offered him a smile, "Hey, we'll hit the carwash and if we see any kids dressed as astronauts, I promise you can pants them."
Dean grumbled something under his breath that Ty couldn't make out, but that definitely contained the word 'astronaut,' probably some creative death threats, but he opened his door and got in the car. Ty climbed into the back and Sam took his usual spot on the passenger side. As they all settled into the car and Dean started heading out of the lot to drive by Tracy's place one more time, Ty noticed the upset look on Sam's face.
"Sam?" she asked, "You okay?"
"It's nothing." Sam said, but his face told a different story as his eyes dropped to the hex bag he had in his lap, the one Castiel had found in their motel room wall. He took a breath before he admitted, "I thought they'd be different."
"Who, the angels?" Dean asked.
"Yeah." Sam confirmed.
"Well, I tried to tell you." Dean said and Ty glared at him because an 'I told you so' was not exactly helpful.
Thankfully, Sam didn't seem rankled by Dean's comment, just disappointed, "I just…I mean, I thought they'd be righteous."
"Well, they are righteous, I mean, that's kinda the problem." Dean said.
"And there's nothing more dangerous than some self-righteous a-hole who thinks he's on a holy mission." Ty agreed.
Sam finally looked up, shifting his big, brown eyes from Ty to his brother, "But, I mean, this is God? And Heaven? This is what I've been praying to?"
Dean sighed. He hated to see his brother look so disappointed, so despite his own beliefs he found himself saying, "Look man, I know you're into the whole God thing. You know, Jesus on a tortilla and stuff like that. But just because there's a couple of bad apples doesn't mean the whole barrel's rotten. I mean, for all we know, God hates these jerks. Don't give up on this stuff, is all I'm saying. Babe Ruth was a dick, but baseball's still a beautiful game."
"Beautifully boring." Ty muttered, but both brothers ignored her.
Sam didn't look completely convinced, but he shifted his attention back to the hex bag. He opened the bag up and sifted through the contents. It was clearly the same witch's work, down to the blackened child's bone. Fingering it, Sam frowned as something Ty had said earlier came back to him.
"Ty, you said it would take more heat than a normal funeral pyre to burn bone like this, right?" he asked, turning slightly in his seat to look back at her.
Ty nodded, wondering what Sam was thinking, "Yeah, it would take some intense, concentrated firing in a contained environment."
Sensing his brother had thought of something, Dean prompted, "Okay, and what does that mean?"
"It means we make a stop." Sam informed him, directing him to head back towards the high school.
It only took a few minutes to drive back to the school and soon Dean and Ty were following Sam back into the art classroom where the brothers had spoken to Don. Sam had explained his theory that the pottery kilns in the classroom could have been used to provide the type of heat Ty had described, but Dean still wasn't sure how this was going to get them any closer to finding the witch.
"So Tracy used the kiln to char the bone, what's the big deal?" he asked as he looked over the kiln.
Sam was already rifling through the contents of Don's desk. He didn't pause as he answered, "Dean, that hex bag turned up in our room not after we talked to Tracy…"
"After we talked to the teacher." Dean realized.
"So Mr. Call Me Don's our witch?" Ty asked, "And he was just using Tracy to throw us off the scent?"
"Bingo." Sam nodded. Looking down he spotted a drawer locked with a latch, "Hey, grab something to help me open this."
Ty snatched a hammer off of one of the work stations and passed it to him. Sam knelt next to the drawer and struck the lock until it broke. Dean joined them as he pulled open the drawer and revealed a bowl full of very small, but distinctly human bones.
"My God, those are all from children." Sam said.
"And I'm guessing he's not saving them for the dog." Dean remarked, "We need to track down Don."
"And fast." Ty said as she glanced towards a window and saw the light was rapidly fading from the sky, "He's going to be making that third sacrifice any minute."
The hunters hurried out of the high school. Sam grabbed his laptop as soon as they reached the car, pulling up the list of vehicles and properties registered in Don Harding's name. Not long after that, they arrived at Don't house where his car was parked in the driveway.
"Looks like our witch is home." Dean said, drawing his gun, "Sam, you and Ty take the front. I'll take the back."
Before either of the two pains in his neck could argue about him going off alone, Dean ducked around the side of the house to find the back door. Ty glared after him, but figured they'd meet up inside shortly so it wasn't worth fighting him on it. Besides, who knew how much time they had left to stop this and Sam was better at picking locks than she was. So, she followed him to the front door, keeping a lookout while he picked the lock, then covering him as they swept the front of the house. They worked quickly and quietly, meeting up with Dean after only a few moments. Ty was just looking towards the stairs to the second floor when a muffled sound from below them reached their ears.
"Basement." Dean said quietly.
No sooner had the three hunters reached the bottom of the stairs, then they caught sight of Don standing in front of a bound and gagged Tracy, holding a knife in one hand and an old-looking silver chalice in the other. Don raised the knife over his head, about to bring it down in a violent stab to his victim, but all three hunters immediately raised their guns and fired. His body jerked as the bullets struck his torso, then he collapsed to the ground. Dean immediately moved to help Tracy while Sam and Ty went to check Don and make sure he was really dead. Ty kept her gun trained on the body while Sam checked for a pulse, waiting to holster her gun until Sam nodded, confirming he was gone.
As soon as Dean cut her down, Tracy ripped the gag from her mouth, "Thank you, he was gonna kill me! Ugh, that sick son of a bitch. I mean, did you see what he was doing? Did you hear him? How sloppy his incantation was?"
As that last sentence hit them, the hunters all tensed, their eyes shifting to Tracy.
"My brother always was a little dim." Tracy continued, throwing her hand up and yelling an incantation before any of the hunters could draw their guns. The spell hit them like a shockwave, knocking them all backwards so they hit the ground hard and holding them there with a painful intensity.
"He was gonna make me the final sacrifice." Tracy continued, walking slowly over towards her brother's body, "His idea. But now, that honor goes to him. Our master's return? The spellwork's a two man job you understand, so for 600 years I had to deal with that pompous son of a bitch. Planning, preparing, unbearable."
Kneeling at his side, she picked up the knife and chalice that had fallen to the floor next to him.
"The whole time I wanted to rip his face off." she growled, taking the knife and plunging it into one of the bullet wounds, then catching the blood that flowed out in the chalice. As the cup filled, she glanced back up at the hunters writhing on the floor in pain as her spell tore into them, "And you get him with a gun. Uh, love that."
With a full chalice, Tracy stood and moved to an altar erected just beyond where Don had tied her up. As she prepared the final steps to complete the ritual, she added over her shoulder, "You know, back in the day, this was the one day you kept your children inside. Well tonight you'll all see what Halloween really is."
With that she started reciting another incantation. Realizing that there was no way they'd be able to stop her in time now, Ty racked her brain for everything she could remember about Samhain. An idea popped into her head and she cast her eyes around for anything she could use to make it work. The only thing very close to her was Don's corpse and the steadily growing pools of blood leaking from it. Ty's eyes landed on the pool of blood spreading closer to her and she grimaced to herself, but reached out and dropped her hand in it. It hurt to move, but she managed to pull her hand back and smear the blood across her face. Now, she just needed to reach Sam and Dean.
Dean wasn't far from Ty and he'd caught sight of her smearing the blood on her face. In a strained whisper he demanded, "What are you doing?"
"Just shut up and follow my lead." Ty replied, coating her hand in more blood and dragging herself painstakingly across the floor until she was close enough to smear it across his face, too. Dropping her hand in the pool one more time, she spread it onto Dean's hand, "Get Sam."
With a groan, Dean rolled over and reached out to streak his brother's face with blood, as well. As he was doing so, the floor of the basement seemed to rumble and the ground cracked next to Don's body. Black smoke poured out of the crack and surged into the corpse. Ty scrambled as far back from it as she could, but froze as Don's eyes opened and he started to rise. Whatever spell Tracy had cast on them seemed to be fading now that the incantation was finished, but Ty knew they were far from out of danger. She watched as what was once Don glanced around the room with milky white eyes before moving towards Tracy. She turned to face him, smiling brightly as he leaned down to kiss her.
"My love." she practically sighed as he pulled away.
"You've aged." Samhain, newly risen demon, remarked as he gazed at her.
Tracy's smile faltered, "This face…I can't fool you."
"Your beauty is beyond time." Samhain replied, leaning in to rest his forehead against Tracy's in a loving gesture. However, a moment later he snapped her neck harshly and let her body fall to the floor, "Whore."
Turning away from Tracy's prone form, he sniffed at the air. Walking sedately across the room, his eyes drifted over Sam, Dean, and Ty where they were laying frozen on the floor. Ty barely even dared to breathe as she waited to see if her hunch would pan out. After what seemed like the longest moment in history, he moved past them, shutting the door behind him as he left the basement.
Dean rolled over to face Ty, eyes still wide, "What the hell was that?"
Ty pushed herself up so she was sitting as she replied, "Halloween lore about Samhain says people wore masks to hide from him. It was all I could think of to disguise our faces, so I gave it a shot."
"You gave it a shot?!" Dean hissed.
Ty just shrugged.
Dean continued to stare at her wide-eyed, shocked at the gamble she'd taken, but Sam was already climbing to his feet, "Nice work, Ty. Let's go."
As the trio hurried out of the house to the street, Ty expected to be greeted by the sound of screams, but when she looked around, she noticed that trick-or-treaters were everywhere and she realized that a man covered in bloody clothing was not going to stand out at the moment. Luckily, with everyone walking around in costume, they should be hidden from Samhain, as well.
She followed the boys over to the Impala, "How are we going to find him?"
Sam wiped the blood from his face before over the roof of the Impala at her, "Where would you go to raise other dark forces of the night?"
"Oval Office?" Ty offered.
"Very funny." Dean said, sliding behind the wheel, "Think local. The cemetery."
Ty nodded and climbed into the car, as well. She accepted Sam's bloody handkerchief to wipe off her face, as well, while Dean drove them quickly away from Don Harding's house. Ty watched the streets as they drove for any sign of Samhain's passing, but everything was small-town Halloween normal. She really hoped the boys were right about where the demon was headed.
Sam and Ty jumped out the car as soon as Dean stopped outside the cemetery and Dean was not far behind. There was no sign of Samhain amongst the headstones, but there was a large mausoleum in the center of the cemetery grounds so they headed quickly towards it. They hadn't gone too far into the cemetery when the sounds of rap music coming from the mausoleum reached them. When they reached the entrance, the sound of people yelling could be heard, as well.
Hurrying quickly down the stairs, the hunters found a group of teenagers trying to pull open the iron door that sealed off a recessed area full of crypts. It was clear they had been having a party, but now they were trapped inside and the doors to the crypts were starting to shake as if the bodies inside were trying to escape. The teens were moving as far away from the crypts as they could get, but there was only so far they could retreat. Before the hunters could reach the gate, one of the doors flew open and an undead body crawled out and grabbed a teen boy by the ankles. He gave a panicked scream as the zombie yanked, knocking him off his feet, and dragged him back into the crypt. A second later a burst of blood splattered out of the small cavern. The remaining teens panicked, rushing towards the hunters and screaming for help.
"I got them. Find Samhain." Ty said quickly.
The brothers both turned and ran further into the mausoleum while Ty drew her gun.
"Get back!" she snapped at the scared teens, "Back up!"
Seeing the gun in her hand, they obeyed, backing away from the gate so that she could shoot the lock. The ricochet made her duck instinctively, but it worked, breaking the lock. She kicked the gate open and the teens surged out, racing out of the mausoleum. Ty watched them go, before a crash behind her made her spin back around. Another crypt covering had been knocked out and crashed to the ground. A zombie crawled out, standing and immediately focusing on Ty. She holstered her gun, knowing it would be no help against these things. She'd never fought zombies before, but she trusted Sam and Dean when they'd told her that a silver stake was the weapon she'd need for these things.
Before Ty could even pull the stake from her pocket, a second zombie started to emerge from another crypt. Ty quickly shook the weapon free from her coat. She had to keep this contained and hope that Sam and Dean took care of Samhain quickly or this Halloween was going to be more of a horror flick than any of the townspeople were prepared for.
With that thought in mind, she raised the stake and growled, "Alright, you Romero rejects, come and get it."
Deeper in the mausoleum, Sam and Dean were moving quickly, but cautiously in their search for Samhain. Dean already had the Colt in hand, while Sam held Ruby's knife, but Sam mentally prepared himself for the fact that this demon might be too powerful for them to handle even with those weapons. He might need to use his powers even if Dean was there to see him do it. He'd face Dean's anger if it meant protecting him. Jaw set with determination, he subtly inched in front of Dean as they moved farther down the hall.
The brothers turned a corner and spotted Samhain inside a room, facing the far wall. They exchanged a quick look before they both moved silently into the room towards him. However, before either Winchester was close enough to strike, Samhain turned and threw out his arm. A bright, white light burst from his hand. It struck Sam first and he flinched, expecting to be thrown backward into his brother or maybe even atomized on the spot, but as the light dimmed, he was surprised to find it hadn't affected him at all. Glancing behind him at Dean, he was relieved to see that he'd apparently also managed to block whatever power that was from hitting his brother.
Unfortunately, in the moment Sam had taken to check on Dean, Samhain was already rushing towards him. Since he hadn't been able to strike him with his powers, the demon struck him physically, using his supernatural strength to throw him forcefully backwards. This time Sam did find himself flying backwards. He hit Dean hard and they both landed painfully on the ground. He heard Dean swear and saw the Colt slide across the floor, but he didn't have time to think about it as he scrambled back to his feet. Thankfully, he'd managed to keep his hold on Ruby's knife, so as Samhain stalked closer, he slashed out at him. The knife bit into the demon's skin, sizzling as it pierced him, but Samhain was able to knock the blade out of Sam's hand before it could stab too deeply. Sam swung at him, but the demon blocked the blow before closing a hand around Sam's throat in a painful grip. Sam struggled and he could hear Dean behind him, but he couldn't look to see if his brother had managed to recover the Colt and he couldn't risk Samhain unleashing another of those blasts of power when he wasn't there to shield Dean from it. He had no choice.
Sam shoved his hand against Samhain's chest and he felt his power racing through him to impact the demon. Samhain's grip on his throat immediately fell away as he staggered backwards from the blow. The demon's milky white eyes narrowed and he struggled to advance on Sam again, but Sam gritted his teeth and increased the force of the power flowing out of his outstretched hand. He could already feel this was more power than he'd ever used before and he could feel blood starting to trickle from his nose as he put everything he had into casting this demon back into Hell. He grimaced as his head started to pound from the exertion and he grabbed his head with his free hand, but refused to let up. It was working. Samhain was held in place and dark smoke was seeping from him.
Eyes squeezing shut against the pain, Sam put everything he had into the exorcism. He could taste the coppery taste of blood on his lips as more of it trailed down his face. But after a moment, even with his eyes closed, he could feel that he had done it. The demon was gone. The pounding in his head slowly started to recede and he cautiously opened his eyes. Don's body was once again lifeless on the ground.
Sam swiped the back of his hand across his face to remove some of the blood as he slowly turned around. Dean was staring at him. Sam could practically see the emotions warring in his eyes: shock, anger, betrayal, disappointment, even fear. He found he couldn't bear to meet his brother's gaze and quickly looked away.
"We need to check on Ty." he said quietly.
Dean said nothing, but spun on his heel and headed back the way they'd come. As he neared the room where he'd left Ty, he passed a zombie with a silver stake sticking out of its chest laying on the floor. Stepping around the body, Dean continued on. He passed another dispatched zombie before he found Ty leaning heavily against the wall, chest heaving as she caught her breath. Their eyes met and he knew she was about to ask him about Samhain, something he was definitely not ready to talk about, so he quickly said something he knew would distract her.
"Just two zombies, huh?"
Ty pushed herself off the wall, eyes narrowing angrily, "Three zombies and two ghosts, thank you."
Dean nodded, actually looking somewhat impressed, "Not bad."
"Not bad?" Ty repeated, eyebrows raised, "For that, you owe me some of the candy I know you've been hiding."
"I already told that astronaut, I don't have any candy." Dean replied.
Ty rolled her eyes. She smiled past him at Sam, glad to see they both appeared to be fine, but her smile faltered at the look on Sam's face. Glancing between the brothers, she noticed a tension in Dean's body that she hadn't picked up on before. Something had happened down there with Samhain, something that had Sam looking guilty and Dean looking upset. She waited for a moment for them to tell her something, but neither brother spoke up.
"Okay, well, let's get out of here." she said into the awkward silence, "I'm about Halloweened out."
Without another word, they all headed back to the Impala. On the drive back to the motel, Ty noticed that Dean seemed to be directing the majority of his attention towards her and ignoring Sam. In typical fashion, he wasn't outwardly acknowledging that anything was wrong, no matter how obvious it was to the other passengers in the car. Instead, he kept trying to banter with her while Sam sulked in the backseat in silence. Not sure what else to do, Ty went along with it.
"So, Ty…" Dean drawled, eyes sliding over to her and his lips lifting in a smirk, "I think we missed an opportunity for some undercover work back there. Should've had you dress up and go to that cemetery party."
"What could I dress as that includes guns and stakes? Buffy?" she asked.
"Hmm," Dean mused, "or maybe Lara Croft?"
Ty shot him a look of exaggerated offense, "You're telling an archaeologist to dress up as a tomb raider?"
Dean raised an eyebrow, "Is there a difference?"
Ty's eyes narrowed in a glare, "Fork over the candy, mister."
Dean chuckled, although it didn't quite light up his eyes the way she was used to. At the next stop sign, he reached down under his seat and pulled out a mostly empty bag that still had some candy at the bottom and held it out to her. Snatching it from his hand, she pulled it quickly to her.
"I knew it!"
Dean rolled his eyes, making the turn down the street to their motel, "Astronaut still has it coming."
The next morning, Dean was still avoiding Sam. He declared that he was going for a walk, leaving Sam and Ty behind. Ty watched him leave, then looked back at Sam. The younger brother looked so hurt as he looked down at the floor that she almost couldn't stand it.
"I'll talk to him." she said, moving towards the door.
"You don't even know what happened." Sam protested.
Ty met Sam's gaze, "It doesn't matter."
Sam didn't know what to say, but Ty seemed to read the gratitude he was feeling because she flashed him a small smile before heading out after his brother. Sam sighed and started to pack up his things.
"Tomorrow." a deep voice said unexpectedly.
Sam jumped at the sound of someone else in the room with him and turned quickly to find Uriel standing behind him.
"November 2nd. It's an anniversary for you." Uriel continued.
"What are you doing here?" Sam asked.
Rather than answer, Uriel continued as if Sam hadn't spoken, "It's the day Azazel killed your mother, and 22 years later your girlfriend, too. It must be difficult to bear, yet you so brazenly use the power he gave you. His profane blood pumping through your veins."
Sam's eyes widened in surprise at the knowledge of both his past and his recent activities the angel possessed. It took him a moment before he could respond, "What was I supposed to do? That demon would have killed me, and my brother, and everyone."
"If you use those powers, you're no better than a demon yourself." Uriel replied.
"If Samhain had gotten loose in this town…"
"You've been warned." Uriel interrupted.
"You know what?" Sam said with a frown, "My brother was right about you. You are dicks."
"The only reason you're still alive, Sam Winchester, is because you've been useful." Uriel growled, "But the moment that ceases to be true, the second you become more trouble than you're worth, one word, one, and I will turn you to dust."
His grim warning issued, Uriel vanished. Sam couldn't help but look around the room for him, his eyes wide, but he was gone. Sam sat heavily on the edge of one of the beds, his mind racing. He was saving people by using his powers. He was turning it back on the demons and protecting his brother. It was necessary. But now an angel had told him to stop and he knew Dean would feel the same way. What was he supposed to do now?
Ty was a little surprised when she tracked Dean to a park. He was sitting on a bench, absently watching some kids playing on the playground. She was about to walk over there to join him when Castiel suddenly appeared on the bench next to him. She hesitated, uncertain if she should interrupt them. She didn't particularly fancy being knocked unconscious like Bobby had been the last time the angel wanted to speak with Dean alone. Glancing around, she edged over into the trees nearby, close enough that she could overhear them, but remain out of sight.
Dean couldn't really say why, but he wasn't particularly surprised by the angel's appearance this time. Despite himself, he was actually starting to get used to his presence. Not that he liked the guy or trusted him, but it seemed like he was stuck with him for the time being. Still, if he was here for the reason Dean suspected, he wasn't in any mood to talk.
"Let me guess you're here for the 'I told you so.'" he said.
"No." Castiel answered.
"Well, good, 'cause I'm really not that interested."
Castiel glanced over at the hunter, but Dean refused to meet his gaze, "I am not here to judge you, Dean."
Dean found that hard to believe, "Then, why are you here?"
"Our orders…" Castiel began.
"Yeah, you know, I've had about enough of these orders of yours."
"Our orders," Castiel continued anyway, "were not to stop the summoning of Samhain. They were to do whatever you told us to do."
Dean looked over at Castiel in surprise, "Your orders were to follow my orders?"
"It was a test, to see how you would perform under...battlefield conditions, you might say."
"It was a witch, not the Tet Offensive." Dean protested, but Castiel didn't seem phased by his comment. Turning his gaze back to the playground, Dean continued, "So I failed your test, huh? I get it. But you know what? If we had to do it all over again, I'd make the same call. 'Cause see, I don't know what's gonna happen when these Seals are broken…hell, I don't even know what's gonna happen tomorrow, but what I do know is, that this, here? These kids, the swings, the trees, all of it is still here because of Ty, my brother, and me."
"You misunderstand me, Dean. I'm not like you think. I was praying that you would choose to save the town."
Surprised again, Dean asked, "You were?"
Castiel was also looking out at the playground, "These people, they're all my father's creations. They're works of art, and yet, even though you stopped Samhain, the Seal was broken and we are one step closer to Hell on earth, for all creation. Now that's not an expression, Dean, it's literal."
The pair sat soberly in silence for a moment. Finally, Castiel turned to look at Dean again.
"Can I tell you something if you promise not to tell another soul?" he asked quietly.
"Okay." Dean nodded.
"I'm not a…hammer as you say. I have questions, I have doubts. I don't know what is right and what is wrong anymore, whether you passed or failed here. But in the coming months you will have more decisions to make. I don't envy the weight that's on your shoulders, Dean. I truly don't."
They shared another look before Dean shifted his gaze away. When he glanced back again, the bench next to him was empty.
Ty was digesting the conversation and trying to decide how she should approach Dean when the angel suddenly reappeared next to her behind the trees. Ty jumped, but managed to keep herself from unleashing a startled yelp.
"Jesus!" she hissed, "Do you have to do that?"
"Ty Falkner." Castiel said in a stiff greeting, "I know you heard our conversation."
Ty winced and glanced away guiltily, "Uh…yeah…sorry about that."
"I am not upset." Castiel assured her, "I believe Dean would have told you what we spoke of anyway."
Ty looked at the angel in surprise. For some reason it just seemed natural that he knew things without being told, like her name, but it was just striking her that his knowledge seemed to run deeper than that.
"What makes you think that?" she asked slowly, wondering how much this angel actually knew about her and the Winchesters.
Castiel fixed her with a look that made her think he knew probably more than she'd like. It was unsettling.
"Dean has a very important destiny." Castiel informed her, "He will need your support."
"He has it." Ty said immediately, "Whether he wants it or not, the stubborn ass."
There was a subtle twitch to Castiel's lips that made Ty think that maybe he'd almost smiled before he nodded, "Good. There will be many trials ahead. I know you don't have much faith, but…if you need me, I will hear your prayer."
Ty swallowed hard and glanced away. Finally, she nodded, "Thanks, Casti…"
She trailed off when she looked back and saw Castiel had already vanished.
"Gonna put a bell on that guy." she mumbled to herself before finally heading over towards Dean.
He glanced up as she approached the bench.
"Hey," she greeted him, gesturing towards the empty seat next to him, "that seat taken?"
Dean shook his head, "Not anymore. You just missed Cas."
Ty raised her eyebrows at him as she sat down, "Cas? I didn't know we were on a nickname basis."
Dean shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe…maybe he's not all bad. I like him better than that other dick with wings anyway."
Ty almost laughed, "Yeah, me too."
They fell silent for a moment. Ty slid a little closer on the bench, letting her leg bump against Dean's.
"What happened last night?"
Dean sighed. His back hunched as he leaned over, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands hanging down between his legs, eyes focused on the ground. Ty waited, knowing if she pushed him she'd never get anything out of him. Finally, he glanced over at her, "Sam used his psychic thing to exorcize Samhain."
Ty's jaw dropped and she found herself speechless. Dean didn't seem to notice, his gaze still fixed on the grass between his boots.
"I should've seen it." he continued, "He's been weird for weeks and…the visions. I just…I didn't think he'd outright lie to me."
"Dean…" Ty began, but trailed off, still not sure what to say.
Dean glanced at her and the look in his eyes broke her heart. He must have seen something in her face because he quickly looked away again.
"It's like…like I don't even know the kid anymore."
Ty didn't know what the right thing to do or say was, but she slipped her arms gently around him, instinctively feeling like she needed to make sure he knew that she was there if he needed her. She leaned her cheek against his shoulder, wishing she had the power to fix this and trying not to think about how she was keeping secrets from him, too. But there was no way she could dump that on him now. Not when he looked like this.
"Dean, he's Sam. He's your brother. I don't know what's going on with him, but I know he loves you." Dean said nothing, so she went one step further even though she knew she might be overstepping and it could lead to Dean resenting her for it, "I think…I mean, I know this isn't the Winchester way, but I think you need to talk to him."
Ty waited for a scathing remark about chick-flicks or holding hands and skipping, but Dean just sighed again. He sounded resigned when he spoke, "Yeah, you're probably right."
Ty straightened, removing her arms from around him so she could nudge him in the side, shooting him a grin when he looked at her questioningly, "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? Wait, let me record it."
A small smile tugged at Dean's lips, "Shut up."
Relieved, Ty smiled back. She stood up, turning to him and pulling him to his feet after her, "Come on. Go talk to your brother and I'll go track down some of your gross coffee and some food."
Before she could head off, Dean pulled her closer. Sliding his hand into her hair, he tilted her head back and pressed a kiss to her lips.
"Thank you." he said softly.
Ty gave him a quick kiss back and smiled, "You're welcome. Be back soon."
Dean watched her walk away. He really didn't deserve her. She could be pig-headed, reckless, and infuriating (sometimes all at once), but damn if she hadn't wormed her way into his heart. He really needed to figure things out, make it right with her. Well, first things first…he needed to talk to Sam.
Sam looked up quickly when the motel room door opened and his brother walked in. Dean hadn't said two words to him since the incident in the mausoleum and he had no idea what to expect now.
"So…I get the feeling that wasn't the first time you did something like that." Dean finally said.
Sam paused for a moment before he shook his head. The cat was out of the bag now. There was no point in denying it.
"Well…" Dean said, sitting on the bed across from Sam and gesturing for him to spill.
Sam took a deep breath, "I can do exorcisms now without the ritual."
"Yeah, I saw that." Dean said dryly, "How long has this been going on?"
"Since we met up with Ty and Alex in Denver."
Dean blinked in surprise at that, but pressed on, "And what? Your psychic stuff just randomly started up again?"
Sam frowned. He didn't want to tell Dean about the demon blood. Even if he could somehow get him to accept his powers, there was no way Dean would understand why he needed to drink demon blood. He could already imagine how Dean would react. He wouldn't want to hear any explanations, he wouldn't care that he needed it to get strong enough to protect him, to protect all of them.
"Not exactly." he hedged.
Dean's eyes narrowed as anger flared in him. He was sick and tired of Sam keeping things from him. That, more than anything, is what really pissed him off, "What exactly?"
Sam found his gaze wandering to everything in the room except his brother, "Well…uh…Ruby said…"
"Ruby!" Dean exclaimed, surging to his feet, "I should've known that demon bitch had something to do with this! You been sneaking around with that skank?"
Sam got to his feet, shifting uneasily and gesturing for Dean to calm down, "Dean, hang on, okay? Let me explain."
"I told you, Sam. I told you working with a demon was the wrong move." Dean continued to rant angrily, pacing back and forth across the room.
"I didn't have a choice." Sam protested.
"Now she's got you sneaking around, lying, god knows what else." Dean growled, talking right over him. Finally, he stopped and spun back around to face his brother, "When's it going to stop, Sammy? I mean, what else aren't you telling me?"
"Nothing." Sam replied immediately, but at Dean's skeptical look he amended, "Nothing you need to know."
"There." Dean snapped, pointing at him, "That right there. You're hiding things from me. We used to be in this together, Sam."
Frustrated, Sam couldn't help but snap back at him, "Okay, fine! You want to know why I didn't tell you? Because I knew you'd be like this and I'm trying to save you, Dean. I'm doing what it takes to stop Lilith, to save your life, and to stop the freaking apocalypse!"
"Not like this." Dean said firmly, frowning.
"Then how, Dean?" Sam demanded, "You summoned Melchiresa because we're out of ideas. How was that any different?"
"That was a mistake, Sam! A mistake that got a bunch of innocent people killed. Is that the road you wanna go down?"
"That's not going to happen." Sam replied, shaking his head, "I'm saving people, Dean. And I'm going to save you."
Dean forced himself to take a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly as he tried to get ahold of himself. Sam was as stubborn as their dad had been. He wasn't going to get through to him this way. He had to try something else.
"Sam, you told me you wanted me to be your brother again. Well, I want my brother back, too. This, this isn't my baby brother." Dean said, gesturing at him, "I don't know this Sam."
Sam found he couldn't immediately reply. The lump that had formed in his throat was keeping him from forming words. Swallowing hard, he felt tears burning the corners of his eyes as he replied, "I don't want to lose you, Dean. We already lost Dad. I can't lose you, too."
"You're not going to lose me." Dean assured him. He forced a confident smirk onto his face in an attempt to defuse the tense emotions, "Between you and Ty, I'm pretty sure one of you would murder me if I got myself ganked."
"That's not funny." Sam sniffed, but a small smile was struggling to surface.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm hilarious."
Sobering, Sam shook his head, "Seriously, man. What are we going to do?"
"I'll tell you what we're not going to do, we're not going to let ourselves get dicked around by demons again." Dean replied, "We're going to stop playing catch up."
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, brow furrowing.
"I mean, we stop waiting for the demons to make the first move. We track down Lilith and we take the hunt to her. We've got the Colt, we've got the knife. We can take her."
"I don't know, Dean." Sam said doubtfully. He didn't want to bring up Ruby again, but she'd said that his powers were their only shot at taking out a demon of Lilith's caliber.
"Trust me, okay?" Dean asked, his eyes pleading for Sam to get on board, for them to be a team again.
Sam couldn't help but agree, "Yeah. Yeah, of course. We'll do it your way."
