SN – fic Ga'lo chapter 3.

By J.A. Carlton.

aka sifichick

Own 'em: I don't… Kripke does.

Love 'em: Oh yeah, me'n about a bazillion others out there or maybe we just love 'em a bazillion's worth…

BOBBY'S HOUSE.

"So you're trying to tell me you're teaching that girl to hunt?"

"Mmm hmm," Bobby nodded.

"And Dean… my son Dean… the same son…"

"Yes John, the very same one convinced me to do it," Bobby confirmed.

John scrubbed his bearded face with his hands, "I don't believe it," he sipped the cup of coffee before him and took another bite of toast. He could feel how wasted his body had become with two months of minimal nutrition and complete lack of movement. He figured he'd lost about 30 pounds, all of it muscle from what he could tell. Thankfully Bobby had a penchant for drawstring sweats.

"And this woman Laura…?"

"Believe me… she's a friend,"

"She's been staying with your for the last month?" John looked at his friend suspiciously.

Bobby recognized the look and grinned shaking his head, "Dirty bastard, it's not like that… besides she's Dean's age…" he met John's dark brown eyes and realized he couldn't hide anything from him, "There's something you need to know about her and your boys…"

John cocked his eyebrow, he needed to be filled in on everything that had happened over the last couple months, his boys were on the way to see him and he wanted to be up to speed. He was willing to hear almost anything that would take his mind off the sick feeling in his belly, How can I look at them? How can they stand the thought of coming to see me after everything I did to them… him. Everything I said… how can they…he possibly find it in his heart to forgive me when I can't forgive myself?

"John…" Bobby snapped his fingers getting John's attention, "it's not your fault, they know that."

"How do you know?" he nearly snarled but there was pain and fear behind the gruff.

"Because I know your boys man, they love you and they want to see you. After what happened you all three got things to get through if you're going to take the bastard down…"

"Just how the hell do you know what we went through? You don't have any clue what that son of a bitch did while he was in my skin! You don't know what he did to my son!" John yelled with more force than Bobby would've guessed he had at the moment.

"I know enough to know it's going to tear you all apart if you don't deal with it. You and I both know you got some festering crap going on that's gonna leave you ripe for the pickins again if that bastard comes here lookin' for you…"

At that John's eyes met and bored into his old friends'. He hadn't really thought about Bobby's fortifications being breached but if that thing could ignore salt and holy water there was no telling what other methods of 'security' it could bypass.

"Yeah, that's right it could come for you, whatever's goin' on you and the boys are right smack in the middle of it… thankfully we've recently added some extra eyes around the place so that could help but there's no guarantee, not if that thing can possess anyone it wants…"

John sighed, I think I was better off in the coma… "I suppose it's good to know where you stand… so what have you got in place?" John asked.

"Like I said, eyes… and I didn't do it…"

"This Laura person did it?" John asked skeptically.

"Ayup…"

"Potent magiks?"

"Ayup."

John sighed, "Tell me about her…"

"There's plenty to tell my friend… some of it I'm not even sure she knows…"

At this John cocked his eyebrow and settled down to listen as Bobby told him what Dean had told him, what she'd shared of her story, and what he'd found out on his own. There was a lot to go through in very little time.

ON THE ROAD.

"We're not going to Bobby's first?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head, Not yet… maybe seeing my baby will calm me down.

"Tiny's?" Sam asked wondering how he'd been talked into letting Dean back behind the wheel. Guilt Sammy boy… you did try to exorcise him… oh man that doesn't sound right any way I say it…

"Yeah… I need a little… grounding or something. I mean first we find… what we found… anything in the papers?" he asked suddenly realizing that Sam's clodhoppers were shredding up the few area newspapers they'd picked up.

"Thankfully no… look Dean I already said…"

"You're sorry yeah I know, and really… believe me… I DO understand. Believe it or not I'm actually kinda glad you did it though I gotta say, holy water up the nose stings like a mutha…"

"Yeah I'll bet."

"Dude are you sure you didn't see my pendant when you pulled me out of the car?" he asked agitated.

That was another thing I know it means the world to him but did he really think he'd have it forever? With what we do? "Yeah, pretty sure… I mean we both did a ten yard out perimeter walk from the car. We tore the car apart including our bags, the trunk… everything… that pendant isn't anywhere here. Could you have left it in the motel in Oregon?" he asked though he knew Dean never took the thing off.

"I don't take it off Sammy, ever, you know that," he shook his head trying to remember the last time he'd actively noticed it around his neck. When I was chasing the Ga'lo? I think so…I'm pretty sure…he remembered a glint of light bouncing off his chest as he gave chase through the woods, before the thing popped his sternum back into place, Okay yeah, had it then but what about after that? When I finally took the sum bitch down… jeez don't tell me it's sitting in the middle of a woods in freakin' Oregon! Probably wind up in some damned squirrel's nest…

"What's the deal with that thing anyway? You've had it forever… but I don't remember you getting it," Sam asked.

Dean shook his head, "It's just… look…" How do you explain something like that without sounding crazy… even for us? "never mind… look once we check on the car we gotta go back Sam…"

Sam could feel his brows furrowing, he knew Dean developed odd attachments to inanimate objects; his chrome plated .9mm, his knife, the car… Well Metallicar's different, she is part of the family… did he just say check on the car? "What about dad?" he asked as they pulled to a stop in Tiny's lot.

"What?" Dean asked looking confused at his little brother.

"You said, 'check on the car' what about Dad?" he asked.

Dean swallowed hard then hid behind a stiff bravado, "No Sam… we came all this way to NOT see dad…" he shook his head, "Dork," then shifted the car into park.

So that's what brought it on, Sam realized with a flash of insight, aided by the fact that his 'cool as a cucumber' older brother had just started dripping sweat for no apparent reason.

"Dean you know it wasn't dad…" he watched Dean roll his eyes.

"Yeah I know that Sam… it was the demon thanks for the newsflash…" he pulled the handle and pushed the door open even though he felt like a melting puddle. Just need a little fresh air is all.

"All I'm saying is that after everything it did to you Dean, you have a right to be a little…"

"What? Scared? Up to my eyeballs in Post Traumatic-y goodness?" And why shouldn't I be? "Give me a break Sam," Breaking open my damned chest like green wood, "You know it was the demon," In Dad's skin, "The demon knows it," What do you want to bet it said those things because dad was thinking them? "I'm sure dad knows it," was telling the truth 'cause that sure hurts more, "and yeah, I know it was dad…" Cause really, it was right…It was right, when you guys fight even I can see it's dad's way of saying how much he cares… does he ever fight like that with me? Well it's not like I give him a reason to either… but still all I get are 'the looks'. Hey… he's saying something again…

"…dad?" Sammy was looking at him expectantly.

What? What'd I say? What the hell does he think he's lookin' at? "What?"

"I said 'do you realize you just said you knew it was dad?'" he repeated oddly fascinated by Dean's current state. There was something about what was going on with his brother that was like watching a train wreck, he appeared to be on the verge of falling apart. Sam could almost swear he saw Dean's outer appearance, all that armor he kept so tightly buckled around himself, spider-webbing like safety glass. Wow… he might just be heading for a breakdown… Not Dean, never happen. He won't let it…he'll get a grip… yeah like he did on the road? What if he's already splintered… let's not forget about the blood soaked clothes in the trunk right? They are his… maybe we shouldn't go see dad, it could throw him right over the edge if he's as close to it as I think he is.

Dean shook his head angrily, "Oh so what's that? a Freudian slip… I thought Freud had a Mother complex…"

"That was Oedipus," Sam corrected reflexively.

"Yeah whatever dude… You go ahead and use that psyche 101 course to your hearts content 'cause I'm just psychobabbalicious and we both know it… Now are we gonna go see…"

He stopped in his tracks, his scowl clenching for a moment as a familiar choppy, glass-pack enhanced thunder came rolling at him across the dusty lot, from somewhere he couldn't see. But he knew that sound.

They met eyes and broke into mirror grins as each looked at a different side of the garage, waiting, watching for their favorite girl. She came around from the left, on Dean's side, like she was homing in on him, and she was beautiful. Her chrome shot stabs of impossible brightness into their eyes as it caught the sun but her glossy black body soothed them quickly. Dean could feel pinpricks at the corners of his eyes as she came to a stand still before him, her grin game and her eyes gleaming, ready to re-join the fight against evil. He barely moved as Sammy slapped him on the shoulder saying, "Breathe man I won't pick you up this time…"

Sam doubted he'd ever seen Dean look so stunned. He realized then just how much of him that car really was. It was as if all the stress left him and to his amazement, Dean had stopped sweating and was once more 'cool as a cucumber' as the saying went. Grinning hugely Sam leaned in and whispered something in Dean's ear that made him blush and shove him hard away though it was definitely in good humor.

Tiny seemed to take that as his cue to step from the car. As the door opened and the familiar squee and buckle hit his ears he actually gasped. He didn't grease her greeting out Thank God…my baby's whole again…I could cry… except Sammy'd never let me live it down…oh baby we need to go for a ride and find us a nice girl to make some new memories with…oh yeah… And to his surprise, Dean felt something inside himself fall almost completely back into place. He suddenly had the sense that he just might be able to handle seeing dad after all. Hopefully, he thought stepping forward and taking the big man's hand into both of his and shaking it vigorously before daring a manly arm wrap around his shoulders he was so grateful. Tiny's smile seemed to light up the lot. This was the moment that was most rewarding for him when he restored a car.

Tiny inspected Grey Betty while the boys transferred their gear and inspected Metallicar. He hoped they wouldn't mind the liberties he took with her. He'd lined her trunk with a custom made weapons trunk complete with holders or cut-outs for everything from their garlic and throwing stars to their guns and boxes of shells. He left a nice big foam lined spot for anything that was odd shaped, or too big for the pull-out accordion shelves he'd built, he'd equipped the false bottom with a roll type titanium combination lock and reinforced the most common impact zones with fine sheets of titanium as well. The job had cost an arm and a leg but Laura hadn't seemed to care. She had income that kept coming and after liquidating her retirement accounts, despite the penalties she still had enough to keep herself afloat for a solid year before she'd have to tap anything else. That was one of the benefits of knowing your past lives, you could will yourself quite a bit if you really tried.

"So what the hell happened to the beast?" he asked later while they sat up in his apartment having a beer.

Dean and Sam toldhim the story of the Ga'lo and all that had happened to lead them up to that point. Neither of them mentioned the carefully bagged blood soaked clothes or Dean's… moment on the road but even still Tiny had been around enough supernatural elements to know they were hiding something and it wasn't long before they were talking about a lot more than just invisible creatures that fed on guilt.