"Your fight's over, Dean." There was a slightly sad smile trembling on Tessa's pale lips. And what he assumed was a reaper's equivalence of pity in the eyes lifted to his. "You need to accept that and move on."
"I do, do I?" Dean couldn't stop the trickle of amusement that crept into his voice. "And why is that?" He folded his arms across his chest and gave her what he hoped was his dirtiest look. "Because you say so?"
"Yes."
Her expression and tone were both adamant. As if she fully expected him to simply give in and do as she commanded because she commanded it. Well, sister, you got another thought comin' there...
"That's why?" He sniffed, once, to show his disdain for her order. "Because you say I gotta?"
"Your fight is over is also why you need to accept this," she patiently explained. "You have nothing left to prove, Dean. Nothing left that you need to do."
Dean didn't agree with her assessment. Not by a long shot. His fight wasn't over. It wasn't over by a long shot. Not with Dad and Sammy camped out at his bedside, bitchin' at each other over stupid stuff - like always - while waiting for his ass to return from its trip to La-La Land. There was no way in hell he could leave them. Not when there was so much left unsaid between them. There were too many mistakes not owned up for. Too many years spent keeping secrets and hiding truths not yet resolved. And there was still that yellow-eyed son of a bitch who put him in this hospital bed out there who needed to pay for what he did to Mom. No, his fight wasn't over. It wasn't over until they put a bullet in his ass.
"No." He turned to pace a few steps away, putting distance between him and her to avoid doing something he might truly regret. "No way. My fight ain't over. It ain't over at all."
"It is for you, Dean." He flicked his eyes over his shoulder and saw the slight bit of sympathy on her face. Heard it in her voice. And wanted to chew nails because of it. "There is no going back."
"My dad and Sammy will find a way to get me oughta this." His lips curled at the corners. "See, they aren't ready to toss in the towel anymore than I am. Not when that yellow-eyed son of a bitch is still out there and waitin' for us to put a bullet in him."
"Dean, you're not the first soldier I've plucked from the field." She speaks in what Dean assumes is her most patient voice. As if he was just some dog she needed to bring to heel. "The others all felt the same as you. They can't leave. The world hangs in the balance because of them. They have many things left they need to do. But they were wrong. Same as you're wrong." She stepped towards him and set a hand on his arm. "The battles went on without them. Same as they will go on without you."
Dean found himself tempted to give in. To toss in the towel and accept things as she wanted him to. However, pride and loyalty hammered back any selfish desire he might have possessed. Sammy and Dad needed him and dammit, he wasn't gonna abandon them!
"Maybe you didn't hear me." He turned so he could stare down into her face. "I said I ain't going no damn where."
"Dean-"
"No." He shook his head. "I ain't leaving my dad and my brother alone. They'll kill each other if I'm not around to play referee!"
"Maybe they will," she allowed with a slight nod of her head. "But then again, maybe they won't. There's nothing you can do about it. You're done here."
"No." He doesn't growl it. There wasn't any need too. The way he saw it? He was simply stating facts. "I ain't."
"It's an honorable death, Dean." Tessa's fingers gently squeezed his arm. Silently beseeching; subtly tempting. "A warrior's death. You couldn't ask for more."
"Yeah?" He reached up and removed her hand from his arm. "Well, I ain't interested, a'ight?"
He turned then, meaning to head back to his room, to his dad and Sammy but Tessa letting out a sudden gasp of pain had him spinning around. What he saw rocked him to the core of his being.
Yellow-eyes replaced Tessa's chocolate ones.
"Well, seems like today is your lucky day," he heard above the buzzing in his ears. "Time for you to go home."
"What the hell?" he managed to croak around the giant lump stuck in his throat. "Where the hell's Tessa?"
"Sorry, the little reaper isn't in at the moment."
A hand clapped to his forehead before Dean could make a move.
Everything went bright.
Then dark.
A/N: Hello, all! Hope life has been treating you well!
This is taggrd to episode 2x01.