The long-awaited chapter 10 is here! Thanks for all of your reviews for the previous chapter. I'm glad I can keep you all on your toes. Now let's see what I have in store for the boys now :)
Chapter 10
Once they were back at the loft, however, Sam and Jim were greeted by more bad news.
"Are you sure your source knows what he's talking about?" Jim growled.
Cas had gone away to his own business after dropping the bombshell on Dean and Blair, which was probably a good thing, considering Jim's mood. Blair's lips twitched at the question.
"I mean, he's an angel, isn't he? If you can't trust them, who can you trust?"
"You shouldn't trust them, actually," Dean said. "Most of them are opportunistic dicks. However, I do trust Cas."
"How much do you trust him?" Jim challenged. "Because right now it looks like you're trusting him with Blair's life."
Dean looked Jim straight in the eye.
"Let's put it this way: I trust him with Sam's life and the list of people I can say that about is far shorter than you can imagine. That good enough for you?"
Sam cleared his throat.
"I think we're veering a little off topic here. Nothing much has changed. We still need to get the amulet within probably less than twenty-four hours or the three of us are all dog food."
"What about afterwards?" Jim asked. "You destroy the amulet – then what? You still need that…that exchange. Who's gonna volunteer for that? You?"
"Hey!" Dean exclaimed. "Now, look here…"
Sam grabbed his arm and gently pulled him away.
"Dean," he said, slowly. "It's ok."
Dean shrugged him off.
"The hell it is. Sam…"
Sam patted his shoulder.
"It's ok," he insisted, then turned to Jim. "No one's volunteering for anything. But I do think that, once we have the amulet, we're gonna need to try a face off with Moira before anything else."
Blair frowned.
"You want to sic Cerberus on Moira, aren't you? Guys, don't you think that's a little bit extreme?"
Jim turned to face him.
"Extreme? She had four people killed, Sandburg. She's trying her damnedest to kill three more, one of them being you."
"She's grieving," Blair pointed out.
Jim took a deep breath.
"Sandburg, I swear to god…"
"What?" Blair asked. "So it's alright for you to empathize with Alex, but when I start to see what Moira's going through I'm – what? Inconvenient? Irrational?"
Sam and Dean exchanged knowing looks. The two of them had practically invented this kind of lashing out and they knew that if someone didn't stop Jim and Blair, they would keep going at it for hours.
"Alright," Dean said clapping his hands loudly and earning a wince followed by a very dirty look from Jim. "As we all know, we don't have much time. So let's get to it. Sam and I will go get the amulet. Detective, I know you said nothing illegal while we're here. Unfortunately, we won't be able to hold our end of the bargain."
Jim shrugged.
"Whatever. Do what you need."
Dean smirked.
"I knew you'd see it my way."
xxXXxxx
Two hours later, Sam and Dean drove back to the hospital. They'd broken into a lot of places that were supposed to be secure, so the job was more or less routine for them. One time, Dean had even confessed to enjoying it.
"I think you and I would have made good bank robbers, Sammy," he had said years ago. "Or…you know…those fancy thieves that perform museum heists. Can you imagine? The two of us, traveling the world, living the life and taking all that stuff people say is too secure to be stolen? I mean, think of the excitement."
"I can't imagine how a life of excitement would feel," Sam had drawled sarcastically, earning himself a swat from Dean.
Still, looking back Sam had to admit this was one of the best parts in a hunt. The way they worked to beat the system in place and get in and out undetected, the diversions they planned and how they worked together to make sure everything went smoothly – Sam lived for that. It made him realize just how close he and Dean were. Of course, that last part he would never admit out loud. Dean would call him a sap and schedule a training session so Sam wouldn't forget he was supposed to be a guy.
They reached the hospital and Dean set up a diversion to make sure the guards would be there when they walked in. Sam was already familiar with how the cameras worked after watching one of the tapes with Ellison that afternoon, so he had hacked into the system and made it so all cameras would conveniently stop taping when Sam and Dean passed them. They were wearing doctors' coats, just in case they got caught, but they were both hoping it would not happen. There would still be a lot of explaining to do as they could not just waltz into a coma patient's room without explanation.
Luckily, the ward was deserted, the nurse on duty fast asleep. The two of them reach Alex Barnes' room without incidents. Barnes was in bed, seemingly asleep. At least, her eyes were closed.
"Alright," Dean said, his voice low "What now?"
Sam shrugged.
"Now we look for the amulet."
"If it's not here we've just wasted our time majorly."
Sam nodded.
"Right. But Ellison thinks it's here, so…"
Dean shook his head.
"So if he's wrong, I get to tell him I told you so," he whispered.
"I wouldn't do that right now, he's a bit testy," Sam commented. "Also, I don't know why you're whispering. The general consensus is she's not aware enough to hear anything. And if she was, you whispering would not help. She's got heightened hearing."
Dean glanced at the figure on the bed. This whole set up was wrong to him.
"You know, she's not bad looking," he commented. "For a murderer."
Sam had that "where did the world go wrong with you?" look that always cracked Dean up.
"You do realize you're creeping on a coma patient, right? I mean, that's gotta be a new low even for you."
Dean shrugged, pretending to be sheepish.
"Yeah, I'm going to hell. Again, apparently."
He immediately regretted the careless quip when he saw Sam's face grow white.
"Don't you ever joke about that again," he said tightly.
Dean had the grace to look regretful, but he had no idea how to apologize. He knew what Sam was feeling – he had felt the same over the last year – but there were still so many things unaddressed between the two of them. Dean wondered if Sam and him had even talked enough after Dean's own stint in Hell. There had been so much to distract them that Dean had never thought of sitting Sam down and having his brother give an honest account about what had happened after Dean's death. Who knew? Maybe things had been different then. Maybe Sam would not have had to pay with more than a hundred years of torture if Dean had just talked to him when the time was right.
"Dean?"
Sam's voice was curious and slightly concerned. Dean turned to look at him.
"Yeah?" he asked distractedly.
Sam bit his lips, another sign he thought something might be wrong with his brother.
"We should search for the thing. I don't know how much time we've got before someone figures out the security cameras are on the fritz."
Dean nodded quickly.
"Right. I do hope Moira didn't put it round her neck. That would be pervy even for my standards."
"I'm glad to hear you have standards," Sam quipped. "But I don't think so. The doctors would notice it."
He walked to the night table. There was a flower vase – with artificial flowers in it.
"Probably Moira brought them. She might have thought the smell would bother Alex."
"Weird," Dean mused. "I mean maybe it would have bothered her enough to wake her."
"Or maybe it would have caused her pain," Sam said. "Sometimes people have to make tough decisions if they don't want to cause their loved ones more pain."
Was he talking about the soul? Robo-Sam had said the same thing: that Dean should leave the soul where it was. Cas had been even more blunt. Cas had nearly come up and told Dean that killing Sam outright would have been a better idea. Dean clenched his teeth.
"Are you alright, Dean?" Sam asked worriedly.
And that right there was why Dean couldn't let Sammy go, why he'd have crossed the entire world on foot several times to get Sam's soul back. He cleared his throat.
"Never better. So…"
They searched the entire room without luck. Dean was starting to think they were wrong. Then he looked at the flower vase.
"Why would there be flowers anyway? I mean, Barnes can't see them."
"Sentimentality, I guess," Sam said.
But Dean did not think so. In fact, he suspected soulless Sam would have spotted the ploy right away. He strode to the flower vase and picked it up. He took out the flowers, then tipped the vase around. A small object landed on the table. Dean reached out, holding the golden chain.
"There it is," he said.
Sam grinned.
"Mission accomplished?"
Dean's face grew grave.
"We still have to destroy the thing. And make it so it doesn't hurt any of us."
He knew instinctively he was asking for too much. No Winchester had ever had such luck. Something was bound to go wrong.
xxXXXxxx
They were out of the hospital room and heading down the corridor when Sam suddenly halted, the unmistakable feeling of something breathing down his neck taking hold of hm. He glanced back and froze.
"Dean," he said in a strangled voice.
A black dog was behind them, sitting on its haunches, watching them with small red eyes. It only had one head, but still Sam knew exactly who that was.
"Cerberus," he whispered.
For now, the dog wasn't doing anything to them – maybe because it sensed they had the amulet, or maybe it was just getting ready to pounce on them when they least expected it. Either way, Sam was not going to be comfortable turning his back on it again.
Dean pulled his gun and shot, then dragged Sam with him across the corridor towards the back entrance, as alarmed footsteps approached the hallway, alerted by the gunshot. Cerberus was nowhere to be seen, but he'd be back, and they both knew they could not use the amulet to control him, not if they wanted their souls safe. Not to mention that soon the place would be crawling with cops.
They fled down the stairs pushing each other forward. Thankfully, the car was parked close by. Dean was peeling off the sidewalk before Sam had managed to close the door properly.
"Well, that's not good," Dean said.
"Moira's gonna know we've been there," Sam agreed. "And worse, Cerberus is loose with no one to control him. If we can't figure things out, one of us is gonna have to volunteer for that exchange."
And of course, Sam was indirectly volunteering already. Dean scowled.
"One step at a time, Sam," he said through clenched teeth. "Let's just try plan A first before we move to more drastic solutions."
Dean was not allowing his brother to sacrifice himself ever again, no matter how many ends of the world he might prevent by doing that. He swore to it.
xxxxXXXxxx
The amulet stood on the coffee table. It looked entirely too innocent.
"So, what do we do with it?" Jim asked. "Set it on fire? Blow it up?"
"No need to be so drastic," Dean replied. "Cas says simply smashing it with a hammer would work."
"But we're gonna need an exchange of souls," Sam said pointing to the amulet. "A deal of sorts that would make sure Cerberus stops walking around tearing people's throats out."
Jim nodded.
"And the best way to do this is to have Moira fix her own mess."
Sandburg went to the phone. Jim frowned.
"Just what exactly do you think you're doing?"
"Calling Moira," Blair said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Setting up a meeting to talk about this. We need to lure her to us, don't we?"
Jim did not back off.
"And you suddenly think you're the one who's gotta do this because…?"
Blair rolled his eyes.
"Come on, Jim. It's me she wants. Who best to negotiate with her?"
"Back off a minute," Dean said. "Negotiate? What exactly are you planning to do here Sandburg?"
"Get himself killed, what else?" Jim muttered.
Blair took a deep breath, as if he was trying very hard not to fly off the handle.
"Look, maybe I can talk to her. Convince her to let all this go. Send Cerberus back on her own. That way no one else needs to die."
Jim ran his hand wearily over his forehead.
"Sandburg, five people have already died. And their families are never getting closure because even if we get Moira, how will we prove she did the killings?"
Blair squared his shoulders.
"Well, I don't know if you noticed, Jim, but she ain't getting closure either. She wants her friend back. Hell, I can understand that. And it really irks me, man, that you get to empathize with Alex, but when I do the same with Moira I'm suddenly the bad guy."
"Alright, time out," Sam said. "This plan of yours, Blair…"
"I'm doing it," Blair insisted. "And no offence, but I don't need your permission or blessing or whatever any more than I need Jim's."
Sam nodded quickly.
"No, you're probably right. We should try it your way. She's human, we can reason with her."
Dean looked as if he was agreeing with Ellison's point of view, however reluctantly, but wasn't too surprised that it was being so vehemently overruled.
"I suppose it won't do any harm to call her," he decided. "I mean, we have to get to her before she gets to us anyway."
Blair nodded smugly. He went to the telephone when Jim stopped him, grabbing his hand.
"Put the phone on speaker."
Blair hesitated, but Jim looked as if this was one argument he intended to win. He shrugged.
"Fine, man. Fine. It's not as if you wouldn't have been able to hear us anyway."
He dialed the number Dean and Jim had got from Ethel the librarian. The phone rang twice, then a terse voice answered:
"Who is this? Do you know what time it is?"
Blair cleared his throat:
"Moira. I thought we might need to talk."
There was a long silence on the other end and Blair was beginning to fear Moira had hung up. When she spoke next, her tone was breathless.
"Sandburg. This is a surprise."
"Is it?" Blair asked pointedly. "You must know by now we have the amulet."
"Have you called to gloat?" Moira asked tightly.
"No," Blair replied, keeping his voice level. "I've called to talk. Moira, using that amulet can have consequences you might not be aware of. You could mess with stuff that's above both of our paygrades."
Moira huffed.
"There's only one thing I care about. You destroyed my friend."
Jim shifted, ready to intervene, when Blair gave him a pointed look.
"I was trying to help your friend," he corrected gently. "She's the one who tried to destroy me. As for what happened later, that had nothing to do with me at all."
Moira was silent for a while, then Blair heard her sigh.
"What do you want?"
"How about we meet?" Blair suggested. "We talk, and you decide to call Cerberus off us and we'll decide what to do with the amulet."
He waited with bated breath, hoping that Moira would not back down.
"You want to meet today of all days?"
Blair glanced at the watch. It was 12 thirty in the morning. It was officially the day he had died. He took a deep breath, trying to control his agitation. If he betrayed any hint of distress, Jim was likely to terminate the conversation.
"Sure. Why not? Sounds fitting. Just say when and where."
There was something dark in Moira's tone and when he heard the answer, he had to clutch at the table to fight the sudden dizziness.
"How about five thirty at Rainier? You remember that place by the fountain, don't you?"
He heard Jim's gasp, but he could not look at the others.
"I remember," he said tightly.
"Good," Moira said cheerfully. "Then it's a date. Oh, and one more thing, Blair. Come alone."
xxXXXxxx
"Absolutely not!"
"Come on, Jim, I can hardly say no, can I?"
While Jim and Blair had started another round of arguments (to be expected considering Moira's proposal), Sam was looking at the vial of water from the Styx that Agatha had passed on to Nana to give to Dean.
"Think it could be genuine?" Dean asked.
Sam shrugged.
"I mean, looks like plain water to me. But the only way to know there's something different with it would be to drink it."
Dean took the vial from Sam's hand.
"Yeah, not happening. There's no telling what it would do to you."
Sam rolled his eyes.
"I wasn't actually planning on drinking it." He noticed Dean's tenseness and added: "What's got you so worried anyway?"
Dean shook his head.
"We don't actually know how long this will hold Cerberus off," he pointed out. "And we haven't got that much. What are we supposed to do anyway? Throw it all in his face?"
Sam thought about it. The method was definitely impractical. For one, it would require someone being quite close to Cerberus and Sam was sure none of them had any inclination of getting within the biting range of a gigantic dog. Then, he had an idea.
"Hold on," he told Dean. "This might work. It might improve our chances a bit, at least."
He dug out three bullets and showed them to Dean.
"We'll dunk these in the water. Unfortunately, we don't have enough for four, so one of us will have to go without."
"Oh that's cool man. I'm not packing anyway."
Sam looked up at the sound of Blair's voice. He had not noticed him approach them.
"Done with your little tiff?" Dean asked.
Jim was somewhere on the balcony, pointedly banging some things, which showed that the argument had not been won by him.
"You know how he is," Blair said shrugging. "I suppose he has a point. I mean – I don't wanna go, either. Especially not there and especially not then."
"What do you mean not then?" Sam asked curiously.
Blair was chewing at his lower lip, suddenly fascinated by something on the floor.
"The time she chose…it's the exact same time Alex drowned me three years ago. All I can say is someone taught her intimidation quite well."
"It's more than intimidation," Sam said. "The same date, the same time, the same place. If Moira held all the cards, she could perform some pretty powerful dark stuff against you."
Blair looked uncomfortable.
"But she doesn't have all she needs though, does she? I have the amulet. Technically, I control Cerberus."
Dean frowned.
"Hey, you heard what Cas said. The more that amulet is used, the more chances something of biblical proportion is gonna happen to the world."
"And you don't want to be responsible for that," Sam said tightly. "Trust me."
Blair looked at Sam curiously, but did not ask him to elaborate.
"Got it. Don't use the amulet."
"Use it as a last resort," Sam corrected. "If it's used one more time it probably won't do more damage than it's already done."
"But you can't know for sure," Blair said, pocketing the amulet.
Dean and Sam exchanged looks. Could they?
"Let's just say it's a fifty-fifty chance right now."
Jim approached them. He looked calmer but still avoided making eye contact with Blair.
"So what's the plan?" he asked.
"Sandburg meets Moira as settled," Dean said. "Don't worry, we'll be close by watching. Sam and I will be in the Impala, you pick another spot opposite us so that it's all more or less covered. You'll also need this."
He gave Jim the bullet dipped in Styx water. Jim frowned.
"Why would I need this?"
"It's supposed to act as a sort of tranquilizer. For Cerberus."
Jim pocketed the bullet.
"Do I get a tranquilizer for Sandburg as well?"
Dean snorted. Blair was looking indignant.
"Hey, I get you, but not yet. As I said, we'll be there. At the first sign that something's about to go south, we'll be ready."
"Ready to do what?" Blair asked.
Dean looked grim.
"Capture Moira. Make her cooperate with us and put a stop to this or make her volunteer her soul for that exchange Cerberus was needing."
Blair looked like what Dean was suggesting would be a step too far for him. But with so many lives at stake – one of them being Sam's – Dean was not going to feel sorry for someone who was practically a mass murderer.
xxxXXXxxx
It took them another hour to get ready. As dawn was approaching, they all climbed into their respective cars and headed for Rainier university. Dean and Sam parked in one of the student lots which was as close to the fountain as they dared to get without tipping Moira off. It would take a while for her to show up anyway.
Blair was already at the fountain, and had looked fine the last time Dean had seen him. Of course, Dean had first-hand experience in that sort of thing and knew there was a whole world of difference between looking fine and actually being alright. Speaking of which…
"How you doing, Sam?"
Sam twisted his head to look at Dean, surprised by the question. Dean could not really blame him. It was definitely not the kind of conversation they usually had, and Sam was still remembering how Dean had been during the whole Lucifer fiasco much better than Dean did. Sam did not have the luxury of one and a half year to put that time behind him, so this attentive Dean was probably a strange change for him. Not that Dean did not understand. He still remembered Sam's attitude while he had been walking around without a soul and had his own difficulties with the unexpected return of the "vintage Sammy" version. He was still looking for proofs it was all a trick and the world would come crashing down on him again.
"So?" Dean asked, suddenly feeling the need to have his question answered more pressing than before. "You still in there?"
Sam's lips tilted upwards.
"Where else would I be?"
Nowhere else, Dean thought fiercely. Not if I have any say in it. Just here by my side and I swear I'm not letting you go ever again.
To distract himself from his thoughts, he turned his attention to what was happening at the fountain. Sandburg was pacing nervously, but he did not look about to run in a panic just yet.
"I've gotta say, he's got some balls of steel," Dean muttered. "I don't know what I'd do if I was ask to go to that house where we were hiding from the hellhounds."
He heard Sam's sharp intake of breath.
"Yeah, I keep secretly hoping I won't have to go to a cemetery too soon."
Dean remembered what Blair had told him at the restaurant. He had already made up his mind to talk to Sam and thought now was as good a time as any. Better than most, even. They were on surveillance duty, and Sam would not risk getting out of the car to avoid their conversation.
"So," he began in a falsely casual tone. "This afternoon in that basement…anything you wanna tell me?"
Sam cast him an irritated look.
"I told Sandburg not to tell you."
Dean snorted, amused.
"I don't know if you've noticed, but Sandburg's not that do-as-you're-told type. Which is a good thing in this case. I needed to know. Sam…"
"I'm not poking at the Wall," Sam said quickly. "I'm just…"
He stopped and shrugged helplessly. Dean turned in his seat so he could look at him.
"What happened in the basement, Sammy?" he asked carefully. "What did you remember?"
Sam leaned his head against the seat.
"I don't think I actually remembered something. It's just…I was falling you know. When the floor broke, I was falling and it felt like a long way."
Dean frowned. Sam had fallen through floors before. He had not been too affected by that. Then it dawned on him.
"Oh crap, Sam," he said.
He kicked himself for not realizing this sooner. Because how could Sam not be affected? After waking up from his re-souling, Sam had told Dean the last thing he remembered had been the cemetery and falling into the pit. Another fall, so soon, it was bound to trigger a reaction, Wall or no Wall.
Sam must have noticed the horrified look on Dean's face. He reached out and touched his shoulder briefly.
"Hey, I'm fine. I just got my bell rung a bit, that's all. I was kinda confused afterwards. Didn't know where I was."
But Dean was already sure where Sam had thought he was.
"Look, Sam," he said. "Don't keep me in the dark about this. The Wall, I mean. If it's crumbing, I want to know. I need to know."
Sam was staring straight ahead, but he nodded tersely.
"The Wall's fine."
Dean watched him curiously, intrigued by his phrasing.
"And you? Are you fine?"
He noticed Sam's hesitation.
"I'm mostly ashamed," Sam confessed.
Dean frowned.
"Ashamed? Why? It can't be because of what your soulless self did."
Sam had his eyes closed, and Dean had to fight the urge to shake him until he saw sense.
"Some of those things haunt my nightmares even if I don't remember them," Sam whispered.
Dean tensed. That was it. He was giving Cas a piece of his mind the next time he saw him. Maybe Bobby too for acting suspiciously when Sam had first woken up.
"Bobby's right, you know," Sam said. "I can't just waltz back into your lives after all that. I need to earn it."
And a century with Lucifer is not enough for you? Dean nearly shouted. What more do you think you need to do to earn our trust after what surely happened to you down there? But Sam didn't know what had happened to him down there. That was the entire point of the Wall, and Dean could not risk scratching at it just to make a point.
"Sammy, that person who did those things…he's not here anymore."
Sam stirred restlessly and opened his eyes. He looked more lost than Dean had seen him in years.
"He's in here, Dean," he said, touching his chest. "And I'm responsible for him, whether I like it or not."
Dean did not know what to say to Sam to convince him it was not so. He did not even know if he had a right to do that. Sam had a point. And if Sam needed to exorcize some – metaphorical, this time – demons, who was Dean to stop him?
"We'll talk about this later," Dean said at length. "We should focus on the work now."
Sam's lips curled in a small smile.
"Situation normal, then?"
Things were far from normal, but at least Dean had Sam – the real Sam, safe and whole – by his side. And there was nothing else he would ask for in life.
Well, I think I just poked as many of their traumas as I could in this chapter. I'm really not that sadistic in real life, believe me ;) I think about two more chapters should cover this. See you all next week!