Title: They've Got One Hell Of a Band
Authors: Cowritten by Michelle (Christie) and Sarah
Rating: PG-13 (maybe R later)
Summary: Dean goes against Sam's wishes and gets in way over his head in their latest case.
Disclaimer: We own nothing about Supernatural, though we'd both like to own Dean!
They've Got One Hell Of a Band
Ch.2
"What's the matter Sam? You two have a lovers spat?" Cass asked, briefly turning her head from the road ahead to look at the brooding man sitting in her passenger seat.
"Ha ha, you're hilarious." was his only response.
After sitting in silence a few minutes longer, she once again tried to talk to him.
"So where are you and your cousin from?" she asked.
"I really don't want to have a get to know each other session right now if you don't mind." he snapped in reply.
"'Scuse me, Mr. Anti-social. You didn't have to bite my head off." she said sarcastically with an indignant huff. "Just trying to make conversation with the strange man I'm being trusting enough to give a ride to."
"Look Cass. I'm sorry. Really." He said after a moment. "It's just Dean is always doing things he shouldn't, and giving me no say so whatsoever."
"Whoa. So you guys really aren't just cousins." she remarked with a low whistle. "That's just a cover up story, huh? I sometimes surprise myself with how I can read people. I have a hell of a gay-dar, not that I have a problem with that lifestyle or anything." she added quickly.
"What? No! It's not like that at all. Yuck!" Sam said with an appalled look on his face. "He is just my cousin. You're one sick individual. You'd get along great with Dean."
"Ok, my bad. So what's your beef with him joining the band then? He's a grown man, you know." she said.
Trying to word his thoughts in a manner that wouldn't let on to their profession, he replied, "He's been sick and just got out of the hospital this morning. I just don't want him to hurt himself by doing too much too soon."
"He looked okay to me." she commented, looking at him again.
"That's just Dean for you. Hell, he could be dying and you probably wouldn't ever know until the day he croaks." Sam said, frustration evident on his face.
"Different people handle things different ways Sam." she stated matter-of-factly. "Maybe that's just the way he's most comfortable with. After all, would you like someone fussing over you all the time?"
"Who are you, Dr Phil?" Sam asked with a groan.
"I wish. Wouldn't have to work at a stupid bar to have enough money for school then, would I?"
"No, guess not." Sam said with a smile.
"Well, here we are." she said, pulling into the hotel parking lot.
"Thanks a lot Cass. You're a lifesaver." Sam said, opening his door.
"Not a problem. You didn't really think I'd let you walk home, did you? Somebody could have kidnapped you, and then the only interesting guy I've met in that hole in months would be gone." she replied with a wink. She had to laugh when he actually looked embarrassed by her words, then, putting her hand on his arm to stop him just when he was getting out, added "Family's too important to let stupid quarrels ruin it. You should give him another chance before you give up on him."
"Um… Yeah, you're right. See you later?" he asked after a pause, and stood there smiling goofily at her for a moment when she said, "You bet you will." then turned around and walked to the door to his room, waving at her when she honked her horn at him before she pulled off.
"Woo hoo, score one for Sam!" he exclaimed, walking in and flopping down on the bed with a satisfied sigh. He didn't want to have another serious relationship for a long time, but what could a little flirting hurt? He was a 22-year-old man after all.
Dean will be impressed by this; he always says I need to loosen up.
Dean.
Oh crap, maybe I was a little hard on him, Sam thought recalling the look of shock and disbelief on his brother's face when he told him he'd be leaving again after this.
He was cooped up in that hospital for a month. Can I blame him for wanting to try and get things back to normal after that?
He didn't even come to talk to me about it though, Sam thought, looking at his brother's empty bed. If he cared he would have come here instead of running off with those freaks, wouldn't he? So maybe subconsciously he would be relieved if I left, I am the one who ends up getting hurt ninety percent of the time when we go on hunts and causing him all that extra stress and worry over it. He might really be better off if I did leave.
Laying back and putting his pillow over his head with a groan, he suddenly started laughing, remembering how he had called Cass Dr. Phil. And here I am trying to analyze a two-minute conversation I had with my brother. I'm certainly one to talk.
After letting loose a big yawn, he got up and taking off his jeans and shirt, Sam lay back down in his boxers and turned the TV on, flipping the channels until he finally let it stay on Comedy Central where "South Park" was on. He needed something happy to watch, and nothing was funnier than badly animated little kids cussing like sailors. It was one of his brother's favorite shows, and though he'd never really thought much of it, other than the immaturity it displayed, he found himself laughing along with the kid who liked to insult everyone, even his friends and family.
His eyes growing heavy, Sam once again let his mind drift to his analyzing of his and his brother's relationship. Dean was kind of like the chunky kid, though Sam would never tell him that. God forbid, Dean be compared to anyone other than some macho badass, much less a big, chunky, potty-mouthed cartoon character. Still, they both had similarities. Dean and his carefree, tough- guy attitude, who loved his brother more than anything, but would never say it because he didn't
want to lose face by partaking in a chick flick moment. And the chunky kid, who always insulted his friends and family, but wouldn't have anyone if he didn't have them. In the end, they always forgave him and acted like nothing happened, and if they could do it, he could too.
Oh my god, I can't believe I'm comparing Dean to a cartoon character. Those two beers I had must've really got to me. And once he thought about it again, Dean wasn't anything like that chunky kid. He was a bit bossy sometimes, but wasn't near as bad as the cartoon kid.
Go to sleep, Sam, he ordered himself with a smile, and minutes later he was drifting off, a picture of Dean in his head wearing one of those hats like they did on the cartoon, talking in that one kids voice, saying, "Oh my god. You killed Kenny. You bastard."
(Steve's House)
"So, what exactly happened to the guy I'm replacing?" Dean asked, leaning back on the couch he was sitting on, looking at the three other people with what he hoped came off as innocent curiosity on his face.
"He's dead." Kara answered bluntly.
"Really? I'm sorry. How? He have a wreck or something?" Dean asked, hoping he wasn't pressing his luck by doing so.
"He got eaten alive." Steve replied, with what resembled a smile on his face. "By an escaped animal."
"Ow." Dean exclaimed with a grimace. "Did they ever find it?"
"No, and I don't imagine they ever will." Steve answered, and Dean could have sworn the man licked his lips after saying this.
"It's no big loss anyway." the woman commented, "He was starting to loose his oomph, so we needed some new blood in the band."
"He was your brother, Kara." Caleb said angrily through gritted teeth, glaring at her.
"Like I said, no big loss." she replied, looking at her fingernails, an expression of boredom on her face.
"You're such a bitch." Caleb hissed at her.
"I know." she replied, lifting her middle finger at him.
"Now children, we don't want to make a bad first impression on the new member of our family, do we?" Steve asked, smiling sweetly at them.
"I wouldn't dream of it." the woman said silkily, winking at Dean.
He had to suppress a shudder at this, and instead smiled flirtatiously in return, turning on the ole Dean charm as he started asking her questions, "So Kara, how long have you been in the band?" he asked when the other two left the room for a minute, taking a drink of his third beer, using the opportunity to pump the woman, who obviously was into him for information.
"Oh, since the beginning." she answered, putting her hand on his knee.
"Ah, a founding member." he said, mentally stopping himself from knocking her hand away. "Was it you, your brother, Steve and Caleb originally?" he asked.
"No, that little prick wasn't with us at first. We had a real guitar player." she replied, a look of intense dislike on her face, while rubbing Dean's knee at the same time.
"Why'd he leave the band?" Dean asked.
"You know what? You sure do ask a lot of questions." she said, looking at him with suspicion.
"I just like to know as much as I can about investments in my future is all. Is that a bad thing?" he asked, putting his hand on top of hers, thinking to himself, 'The things a man has to do just to get a little info.'
"No, I suppose not." she said with a seductive smile, before replying to his earlier question, "He's dead too."
"What?" he asked, feigning surprise. "Maybe I should've thought twice about signing up."
"You'll be fine." she said, squeezing his leg, adding "As long as you remember where your loyalties lie."
Before he could question her remark, Steve walked back into the den and sat down on the other side of Dean holding a clear bottle of a strange greenish-colored liquid. Caleb followed shortly thereafter, sitting across the room, not looking at his band mates.
"You two kids having fun getting to know each other?" Steve asked, smiling lazily at them.
"I think we're going to be getting along just fine, don't you, Dean?" Kara asked.
Dean nodded his head, staring at the bottle in the other man's hands.
"Well, folks, I think it's time for me to hit the road." he said, standing up quickly. He didn't need any psychic abilities to know that whatever the green liquid was for was bad, and he needed to leave now. "I'll hook back up with you tomorrow." He hadn't learned much tonight, but he did have an inkling that the three victims fellow band members had a lot more to do with their demise than they let on, and he was confident that he and Sam could figure out what exactly they did have to do with. So it was time to cut out of here, get back to their room, and get some sleep. He would then make things right with his brother in the morning
"Now, now. No need to be hasty, Dean." Steve said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back down. "You haven't completed your initiation yet.'
"Look man, this is a band, not a fraternity. Last time I checked, there wasn't any initiation to bands." he replied, shrugging the man's hand off.
"This is a different kind of band Dean."
"Fine, what do I have to do then? Run naked down the street?" Dean asked sarcastically.
"It's not that kind of initiation. All you have to do is drink this." Steve replied, holding out the bottle of thick green liquid.
"What is that, man?" Dean asked.
"Just a little concoction we came up with."
"What's in it?"
"Just various types of alcohol and some fruit juices, nothing major." Steve replied, but Dean noticed he averted his eyes while doing so, and seeing this, decided there was
no way in hell he was going to drink that shit.
"Then it can wait until tomorrow. I have to drive back to the hotel you know. Don't want a cop pulling over your new drummer for drunk driving do you? Wouldn't be good publicity." Dean said, standing up quickly and moving out of Steve's reach so he couldn't pull him back down again.
"You can crash here tonight." Steve said, standing up and moving between Dean and the door.
"No can do. My cousin is waiting on me." Dean said flatly.
"He's a grown boy. He'll survive one night without you." Kara said, eyes narrowed, as she rose to stand beside Steve.
"I have a headache and just basically feel like shit. So I am leaving. "Dean stated, walking and shouldering past them.
"Sorry, Dean, we can't let you do that until you drink this." Steve stated, and moved in front of him, once again blocking his path to the door. Then actually turned the doors deadbolt, clicking it into place
"No, I'm leaving, so get the hell out of my way. Now." he replied angrily, shoving the man to the side and grabbing the doorknob.
"Dean." Kara said in a whiney voice, and he turned around to find her standing right in front of him, a pout on her face. "I thought we were going to finish getting to know each other."
"No offense, Kara, but you're not my type. Don't get me wrong, I like aggressive women, but for some reason you just don't do it for me." he said with an apologetic grin and turned away from her.
"Wrong answer." he heard her hiss, before what felt like a ton of bricks came crashing down on his head, and all went black
"What the hell Kara?" Caleb asked angrily, glaring at her as he ran over and lifted Dean's limp body, checking his neck for a pulse. "You trying to kill him?"
"You know our little Kara doesn't handle rejection well." Steve said with a grin.
She just smiled, shrugging her shoulders as she set the large glass ashtray she'd hit him with back on the table. "Stopped him didn't it?"
"You are one sick bitch, you know that?" he asked, a look of relief on his face after locating Dean's strong, steady pulse.
"So? Your point is?" she asked, lighting up a cigarette and thumping it into the ashtray she'd hit Dean with after taking a long draw off of it.
"What's done is done, Caleb." Steve interjected. "So just help me put him on the couch and we'll give him the drink."
"You can't give it to him now!" Caleb exclaimed. "Psycho woman just knocked him out, and that will leave one hell of a headache, and you know what that shit does."
"Do not call it shit, Caleb." Steve warned.
"Excuse me, let me use the "proper" term then. You know what the demon blood does. Is that better?" he asked sarcastically.
"We have no choice, Caleb, he's not being cooperative. So help me now and shut up before you piss me off even more than you already have!"
"Why don't we just let him play without drinking it? He's better than Tom was without it." Caleb suggested.
"You know the deal, Caleb. He has to drink it." Steve answered, looking at him steadily as he added, "Now, do as I say. I'm not asking you again."
"Ooo, please disobey again." Kara begged. "I would really enjoy you dying."
"Screw you, bitch." Caleb said, and grabbing Dean's upper body, he and Steve laid him on the couch.
Opening the bottle, Steve poured the thick liquid into Dean's mouth, and put his hand over his nose and mouth, causing him to swallow by reflex, then, with a satisfied smile, patted him on the head and sat down, saying, "Now we wait."
They didn't have to wait long. Not fifteen minutes later, Dean sat straight up on the couch, a confused look on his face.
"What the hell did you do to me?" he asked, putting his hand to his throbbing head, as he got up from the couch.
The three other people in the room said nothing, just watching his actions.
He got halfway to the door before he fell to the ground, a searing pain shooting through him.
"What-" he started to ask when he could breathe again, but they didn't get to hear the rest of his question because it was cut off with a strangled scream when another jolt of pain went coursed through him.
"God, what a baby you are." Kara said, getting up, walking slowly to where he laid writhing on the ground, and put one leg on each side of him, before settling on his stomach, straddling his struggling form. "You know what, Caleb?" she asked, looking at Dean with a look of curiosity, fascinated by the look of pain on his face. "I think he could be even more of a pussy than you were, but a much better looking one." she said, then snickered at her own words.
Giving Caleb no chance to respond, she turned her attention back to the man lying beneath her.
"Poor baby." she said, putting a hand on his flushed, sweaty face. "Does it hurt?" she asked, turning her head to the side, staring with emotionless eyes as she waited for his response.
"G-get off me, bitch." Dean managed to say before being barraged by more pain.
"Is that any way to talk to your friend, Dean?" she asked with a hurt look. He let out another strangled gasp and she smiled indulgently at him, saying, "You could have made this a lot easier on yourself if you'd just cooperated. Bet you wish you hadn't been so rude now, don't you? This will pass though, Dean, don't worry. It's just a little side effect from our immune systems reaction to the demon blood." she explained, putting a fingertip on the side of his face, capturing the single
tear that he'd let slip from the corner of his eye, and wrinkling her nose with disgust, "Don't you know men aren't supposed to cry Dean. It's a definite sign of weakness."
"Oh, leave him the hell alone!" Caleb exclaimed angrily. "It wouldn't be so bad if you hadn't hit him with that damn ashtray. Can't you do something about your woman?" he asked Steve, who was observing her actions with a look of amusement.
"Let her have her fun, Caleb." was his only reply.
"Are you weak, Dean?" Kara continued with her "fun" as he'd called it. "A big strong man like you doesn't strike me as being weak, but you can't judge a book by its cover, can you? Did the bad woman hurt your little head?" she asked in a taunting voice, leaning closer to where her face was touching his and kissing his lips softly.
Then as she was sitting back up, she was almost thrown off due to a fit of coughing that overcame him; she caught her balance and looked down at her shirt, frowning when she saw flecks of blood sprayed across the front.
"Damnit! This is an $85 shirt you idiot." she exclaimed angrily, smacking him in the head, then turned to Steve, pouting as she said, "Baby, look what he did to my shirt. He ruined it."
Seeing her shirt speckled with blood, Steve raised his eyebrow and said, "Well, that's new. I don't think anyone's ever coughed up blood before after drinking it."
"What?" Caleb asked, looking at them with an alarmed look on his face, coming back into the room after using the bathroom and catching the last words that Steve said.
"He ruined my shirt!" Kara repeated angrily. "And blood stains never come out." she added, still sitting on top of Dean.
Caleb saw the blood on her shirt and pulled her up roughly by the arm saying, "Get off of him!" then knelt down beside Dean on the floor.
"Steve, this isn't normal man." he announced. "The side effects usually wear off by now, and if anything, he's getting worse."
"Oh well." was Steve's only reply.
"He's coughing up blood man. That can't be a good thing. We need to get him help." Caleb said frantically when Dean coughed again, sending more of the blood onto his clothes.
"Sure thing, Caleb. We'll just dial 911 and tell them that we have a guy who we've given demon blood too and he may be allergic because he's having a bad reaction to it. How's that sound, you fucking dumbass?" Steve asked, practically yelling the last two words.
"We can make a story up about what happened." Caleb suggested.
"No! The heats already on us because of Tom and the others deaths, and now our drummer comes down with a mysterious illness after playing once with us? I'm not going to take a chance on it."
"This is different, Steve. He just met us today! He didn't do anything to deserve this like you claim Tom and the others did." Caleb said, trying to talk some sense into the other man.
"Steve, I'm hungry." Kara said, coming back into the room, wearing a fresh shirt. "Lets go to the Waffle House or something."
"Sounds good to me. Come on, Caleb." Steve said, looking at him with flat eyes.
"You just want to up and leave him here, possibly dying on the floor, while you go to the Waffle House?" Caleb asked incredulously.
"Yep. That about sums it up." Steve answered with a shrug. "Don't sweat it, Caleb, if he dies, we can find another drummer. It's no big deal."
"I'm not going, Steve. If you and your crazy woman want to go, then go. But I'm staying here."
"Fine, Caleb, do what you want, but remember, you're just as involved in this as we are and if you do anything stupid, you know who will pay the price."
"Yeah, Caleb." Kara added with a sneer, "You better listen to what Steve says, or that sister of yours will have to be picked up piece by piece when the cops find what's left of her." and smiling sweetly, walked towards the door with Steve.
"Oh yeah. Clean up this mess." Steve ordered over his shoulder." And get the blood out of my Berber carpet while you're at it. I just had it put in last week."
Caleb cursed the day he had let Tom talk him into joining up with these sadistic losers, but he had been gullible then, and his best friend's promises of guaranteed fame seemed more than worth the small price of drinking the blood. Steve and Kara's true self's had come out shortly, but by that time, it was too late for Caleb to change his mind. He even had to stick with them after Tom's death. His best friend since grade school murdered, and he had to just keep right on playing in the band with those who were directly responsible for his death. He had no choice. There was only one way to break the tie, but he wasn't even going to think about that right now.
Turning his attention back to Dean, he saw that the other man had passed out finally.
"I can't just let him die." Caleb said aloud.
They said I couldn't call 911, so I'll just get in touch with his cousin instead, he decided. But how? And how can I assure he won't call the cops as soon as he sees what's been done to Dean. Suddenly he remembered seeing Dean's cousin leave the club with his sister, and he assumed that since Dean had driven the car,
Cass had given the other man a ride home, so she had to know where they were staying, and he could use that information to get in touch with him.
I'll just tell his cousin the truth. Hopefully he'll believe me and understand why he can't call the cops.
Yeah right, not likely to happen, Caleb.
Looking at the panting, sweat and blood covered man on the floor, and deciding he had no choice, he took out his cell phone from his coat pocket and dialed his sister's number.
TBC