A/N: Throwing a huge twist in here that I hope you like. Remember this is an AU and my creation. I have enjoyed continuing my Storm series and am trying to decide whether to do another short one. What do you guys think? Do you want another one? We are coming to the end of this one, three more chapters left. Thank you for coming along for the ride. Reviews/Comments would make my day. NC
Chapter 8
Earlier
It was later in the day when Bobby Singer walked into the hospital and found the elevator to go up to the second floor to find John's room. He carried a small pack with the ingredients that John had asked for. Being a hunter himself, he knew what they were for and wondered what John was going to do with them.
John looked up when the door to his room was pushed the rest of the way open and Bobby stepped into it. He tried to sit up in the bed and grimaced, deciding to use the controls instead. He raised the head of the bed before speaking.
"Thanks for coming Bobby," John greeted him. "Did you have any problem getting the car?"
"No, it's on a flatbed in the parking lot. I'll take it back to the salvage yard, but I gotta say, I don't know how much is salvageable out of it. I'm surprised any of you made it out alive from the looks of it. How is Dean doing?" Bobby asked looking John over and seeing he didn't look badly injured. He had his arm in a sling and some bruises and stiffness when he moved. He couldn't see the bandaged leg that John was favoring.
"He's in a coma and the doctors are not sure he'll wake up. When the semi hit us, he was tossed around in the back seat and received a head injury. They patched up his other injuries and gave him a blood transfusion for his blood loss. They're not very hopeful he will recover," John said hanging his head in defeat.
"And what are you going to use these for?" Bobby questioned holding the pack up for John to see.
"It's something I need to do." John got up and went to the closet for his clothes so he could get dressed. He quickly changed clothes, grunting with the strain on his body, and put on his boots. "Why don't you go see Dean? Tell them, I'll be back soon."
"John, are you going to do something stupid and get yourself killed?"
"I'll be fine. Dean is in a room down below mine, number 247." John took the pack and slipped it over his good shoulder and turned to leave.
"Think about your boys. They don't need to lose their Daddy."
John paused for a moment before continuing out the door. He was going to the parking lot first to get what he needed before finding an isolated place to put his plan into motion. Once he had the last thing needed, John headed back to the hospital and found the stairs that led down to the basement thinking he would find a place down there that would suit his needs.
He moved quietly down the tunnels and found a small room that looked like it was rarely used. John opened the pack and pulled out a brass bowl to mix the ingredients that he began to measure out, one by one. When the summoning spell was ready, John stood and began to recite:
Attenrobendum eos,
ad consiendrum
ad ligandum eos,
potiter et solvendum
et ad,
congregontum eos,
coram me.
With the last words, John lit a match and threw it into the bowl sending flames into the air and a thick, dark smoke followed. It blinded him for a moment until the smoke floated away exposing a middle-aged man dressed like a maintenance worker, with his back to John.
"Well, well, you're a hard man to kill, aren't you John Winchester," Azazel spoke in a calm, sure voice. "And why would you summon me here? You do know I'm going to kill you," he continued finally turning to face John and letting his eyes turn yellow.
John didn't waste words by saying anything to him as he pulled the trigger of the Colt that was hidden in his sling. A lone gunshot echoed through the room as the bullet sped directly into the demon's chest making him stagger back a step as he looked down at the wound in wonder and disbelief. He tried to say something but only gurgled as he raised his hand to the wound.
"That was for Mary and my sons," John sneered as he watched the streaks of red and black spread from the entrance wound and invade his entire body. They ran up his neck and across his face making him twitch and jerk in intense pain.
Azazel coughed black smoke and turned his hand to John like he was going to attack, staring in disbelief before his knees buckled and he dropped to the floor, falling to the side as his eyes glazed over and stared blankly into the room. The Colt had worked, and the yellow eyed demon was finally dead.
John stared at the lifeless body as the anger and need for revenge finally left him. It had taken so long for this one moment that he didn't know how he felt. He was numb and in shock. It was the last chapter of this part of his life and now a new chapter could unfold.
John finally broke from his trance, and knew he needed to get rid of the body before it was found. He didn't know who the man was that Azazel had possessed and didn't think it was a good idea to leave the body here to be found. He put everything back in the pack and looked around for a place to stash the body.
John found an old-style furnace back in a corner and a gurney to move the body. He went back for the body and with difficulty, got it onto the gurney. John pushed the gurney to the furnace and opened the door so he could transfer the body into the flames. He quickly shut it and turned up the heat to get rid of the body. With that done, John headed back upstairs to check on Dean.
The door was closed to Dean's room and John gently pushed it open enough so he could look inside. He saw one of the girls and Sam were sitting in the floor with a Ouija board in between them. They had their fingers on the stylus and it was slowly moving on the board. He looked to the bed and saw the other girl was in bed with Dean, pressed tightly to his side. It seemed Bobby had left already, to head back to the salvage yard with the wrecked Impala. Something seemed to draw John from the room and down the hall until he saw a sign for the Chapel.
There was no one else in the small Chapel and John walked to the front and took a seat on a pew. He looked at the wooden cross on the wall behind the altar and studied how the light seemed to make it glow. He wasn't a praying man or really a believer, that was Mary. John bowed his head and began to whisper softly to any power or entity that might be listening.
"Okay," John started. "I'm not sure how to do this, but my son is dying, and I need a miracle to save him. Please, if you need a soul, take mine instead. He deserves to live his life. He's got a girl that loves him and a brother that will give his own life to save him. If anyone can hear me, please, save my son…" John's voice cracked at the end, and he feared that killing the demon may have killed his son.
A crackling, sizzling noise made John open his eyes and look toward the altar to see a shimmering, bright, whitish, glowing ball of energy weaving around itself that made him shield his eyes for a moment. He stood, not sure what he was looking at and prepared to go on the defensive.
"John Winchester, I heard your prayer," a voice spoke in his head making John jerk around to be sure there was no one else in the Chapel with him. "I can save your son."
"What is the cost?" John asked trying to quickly work out what sort of supernatural creature could do this. "Nothing is free in this world."
"No cost, all you have to do is say yes," the voice spoke again in his head. "It's your choice or your son will surely die."
John clenched his jaw as he weighed his options which was really only one; he had to save his son, no matter what. It would be worth whatever it cost it if it saved his son's life.
"Alright, yes. Please, do whatever you want with me but save my son," John insisted. "Please, save my son."
Before John could do anything, the swirling mass suddenly surrounded him and disappeared into his mouth. He could feel the tremendous power suddenly racing through his body like a large charge of electricity flowed through his veins. His body arched forward as the mass finally settled inside of him making him stiffen and stand taller. He could feel the healing going on inside of his body. He rolled his shoulders as his eyes glowed blue with grace. The entity took in a long breath and let it out before assessing John's memories and seeing where his son was located.
Sam and Breeze looked up when the door opened, and John stepped into the room. Sam stood up because he sensed something was different with him. His sling was gone and so was the bruising on his face. He walked with ease and not with a limp anymore. Sam could tell by his stance and body language this wasn't really his father.
"Dad? Is there something wrong?" Sam asked him, stepping between him and Dean. "You don't seem like yourself."
"What's going on?" Storm asked sitting up to look at who else was in the room. She recognized John from the bar and looked to Sam wondering why he was acting so strange.
"Hello child seems we meet again," John spoke in a deeper, commanding voice.
"We haven't been introduced, but I know you're Dean and Sam's father," Storm answered.
"That's not our father," Sam told them as he pushed Bree behind him. "Who are you?"
"I can help him, if you like," John said looking to Dean and back to Sam with interest.
"How?" Sam questioned thinking something was possessing his father. "What have you done to our father?"
"Stand aside and I will save your brother. Or you can watch him fade away and die."
"I don't think so, not until you tell…." was as far as Sam got before John touched two fingers to his forehead and lowered him to the floor as he collapsed.
"Sam!" Breeze cried. "What did you do to him?" she demanded, kneeling beside Sam.
"He's only asleep. I did not harm him. Now, if you don't mind…" John stated when Storm tried to protect Dean.
"Promise you're not going to hurt him; you're going to help him," Storm insisted when she saw John's eyes glow blueish/white. She knew this feeling from when Dean had almost died before when he was electrocuted while hunting a Rawhead. She had prayed, begging for help and her prayers were answered.
"I will heal him and give him back to you."
"Are you an angel? The same one from before?"
"Yes, though you might not remember me from that time."
"I remember some of it. It's still a little fuzzy."
Storm slowly moved and let John have access to Dean. She watched as he laid a hand on his forehead and chest and then closed his eyes, letting his grace flow into Dean to heal him. Soft, glowing light shone from under John's hands and Dean's body trembled as it arched up off the bed.
Storm and Breeze watched in wonderment and jumped back when Dean suddenly tried to sit up and gasp for air around the tube in his throat. He started struggling and gagging trying to get it out.
"I'll go get a nurse," Breeze told them as Dean started choking.
"Dean! Babe! Take it easy," Storm cried out as she pressed her hands into Dean's shoulders to hold him down and keep his hands from the tube. "Calm down, Bree is getting a nurse to take the tube out. Easy, easy, you're okay." Storm tried to keep Dean's attention as she gazed deeply into his eyes seeing recognition finally. Tears flowed from her eyes and down her face to drip onto Dean's chest. "You're going to be okay honey. Just stay calm a little longer."
John stood back and watched the scene play out before stepping back and snapping his fingers to wake Sam up. He strolled from the room and walked down the hall to the stairs studying the body he was possessing and seeing how fragile and weak it really was. He headed from the hospital deciding to explore a little while he was here. The angel had not been on the Earth in an exceptionally long time. Once he was in the parking lot, the angel snapped his fingers and disappeared.
"Sam, are you okay?" Breeze asked him as she helped him to sit up. She brushed his hair from his face so she could see his eyes. They were slightly out of focus and looked confused.
"Dean?" Sam slurred as he tried to get up and get to the bed and his brother. He used Breeze's help to stumble to his feet and reached for the bed for support.
A nurse was removing the tube from his throat, but Dean's eyes were open, and he was looking around at everyone. His eyes finally locked on Sam's and held his gaze as they silently communicated. When she got it out, Dean coughed and gagged and spit up mucus and bile into a towel Storm was holding for him. He finally drew in a shaky breath, wincing with the pain in his throat and gently rubbed it.
"There may be some throat irritation from the tube. You can let him have some ice chips, which should help with his discomfort. I've paged the doctor who should be here shortly to check Mr. Winchester over."
"Thanks, Betty," Storm told her as she looked lovingly at Dean before picking up the ice chips and spooning some into his mouth. She dapped at the water that leaked from the corner of his mouth. "Don't try to talk now Dean, just rest." She kissed his cold lips and smiled at him, relieved that he was awake now and seemed okay.
"Storm's right bro," Sam told him. "We almost lost you. You need to take it easy."
"Sam, where did your father go?" Breeze asked after things settled and she got a chance to look around.
"He was…." Sam started and stepped to the doorway to look down the hall but didn't see him. "I don't know, but that wasn't Dad. I mean that was his body, but it wasn't him."
"You're right Sam. He was possessed by an angel," Storm filled in.
"What?" Dean rasped out, groaning in pain as he tried to clear his throat. "How do you know?" he questioned.
"He spoke to me; knew me from before when we were at the cabin."
"Where would he take Dad?" Sam asked.
"Hello there, seems you're my miracle patient Mr. Winchester," the doctor announced as he came into the room and continued to Dean's bedside. "Let me do a quick exam and see how things are." He took his stethoscope and listened to Dean's heart and lungs finding no problems. He shown a light into Dean's eyes and nodded his approval. "I have to say, I am amazed that you are doing this well so quickly. I'd like to run a couple of tests and if everything looks good, well, I don't see why you can't leave tomorrow. Good to see you awake. I'll check back after the tests are run." The doctor shook Dean's hand and hurried from the room.
"No, no, don't talk," Storm cautioned Dean in a stern voice when he started to speak again. "You don't need to strain your voice. Remember what the doctor said and if you want out of here tomorrow you need to do what he tells you."
Dean clamped his mouth shut and pouted as he accepted another spoon of ice chips. He silently communicated with Sam who only nodded and stepped from the room. He was going to make some calls and see if he could track John's cell, that is, if he had it on him.
When Dean was discharged, they were heading to the salvage yard to regroup and get Bobby's help in finding their father. He couldn't understand why he would let an angel possess him but answered his own question. He would have done the same to save Sam if he were dying.
