Ch 2
"Who's there?" Bobby's gruff voice called as he unlocked the deadbolts to his front door. He swung the door open and Dean's smiling, exhausted face was waiting for him.
"Hi, Bobby," Dean calmly said. Bobby stumbled back away from the door as Dean walked inside.
"How? What?" Bobby stuttered as his hand grasped the silver knife he had hiding on his desk.
"I dunno, Bobby. I'm so glad to see you," Dean said. Bobby swung the knife at Dean in a deadly arc, "God damn it, Bobby. Knock it off!" Dean countered the older man's attack, grabbing the knife out of his hand.
"Shifter trash!" Bobby yelled throwing a punch.
"I ain't a shifter," Dean yelled back ducking the fist that came swinging at his head.
"Then you're a revenant!"
"If I was a shifter or a revenant could I do this with a silver knife?" Dean pulled his shirt up, exposing his bicep, he took a deep breath and slid the sharp knife across his skin.
"Dean?" Bobby said, he stepped forward and grabbed his adopted son in a tight hug, "Boy its so god damn good to see you! How'd you bust out?" He let go of Dean and turned back towards his desk.
"No idea Bobby-" his answer was cut short as Bobby splashed holy water in his face, "I'm not a demon either," he said annoyed, spitting out a mouthful of water.
Bobby smiled, chagrined "Had to check…" Bobby relaxed and hugged Dean again, "How'd you get outta the pit, son?"
Dean shrugged his shoulders and glanced around the room, empty bottles of whiskey lay on every surface along with piles of trash and open books. "I dunno but look at this," Dean pulled the sleeve up on his shoulder and showed Bobby the raised, angry looking handprint seared into his flesh.
"What the hell kinda thing leaves something like that?" Bobby muttered.
"I was hoping you would know. Demon maybe, probably?"
"You don't remember nothin' ?" Bobby asked again.
"I remember Lilith…she killed my b-" Dean cleared his throat, the sudden surge of emotion threatening to overwhelm him, "She killed River and then I was a hellhound chew toy. And then I woke up in a pine box. "
"Dean, River a'int dead son. Don't know how she ain't, she says she doesn't know either," Bobby told him, grabbing onto his arm.
"Where the hell is she, Bobby?" Dean asked, "Oh, hell you think she woulda made a deal? Or Sam?"
"Balls…I dunno son, her and Sam they've been real secretive. Sam's been MIA pretty much since we buried you and River,I just don't know son," Bobby shook his head, "She's renting a room in town only been here once after she got back to grab some of her things."
"Came back from where? The hospital?" Dean asked.
Bobby motioned Dean to follow him and they sat in front of his dated computer, "Took me a while but I was able to hack into the hospitals security footage…After you ya know, Sam checked River and she was still alive. Barely. Got the ambulance there in a hurry and gave'em some B.S story she was hit by a car. Me and Sam, we had to bury you. I wanted to burn you but Sam said you'd need your body when you got back… and by the time I got to the hospital she was gone."
"Gone where, Bobby?"
"I dunno son, watch." Bobby started the footage for Dean and they both watched the video play. A surgical suite appeared before them, a group of 10 or so people draped in blue scrubs and surgical masks rushed into the frame, pushing a naked, bleeding body on a gurney. River lay unmoving on the table as a breathing tube was shoved down her throat and she was prepped for surgery. Dean watched as the doctors hurriedly opened her abdomen in a desperate attempt to stop her hemorrhaging. One of the nurses stepped back from the table holding her hands over her face as she saw River's mangled insides and the surgeons removing lumps of bloody tissue. Dean closed his eyes and shook his head; Bobby put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. Something changed in the room, the doctors waving frantically as more blue clothed people swarmed and started CPR and shocked River trying to restart her heart. The light above the surgical table shattered, sending sparks across the room. "What the hell?" Dean murmured.
"Oh just wait, it gets better," Bobby commented.
The figures on the computer screen stumbled and fell, grasping their heads and ears as the lights and glass around them exploded. A brilliant orange light flared on the screen and the hunters watched as the eyes of those dumb enough to keep them open were burned out of their heads. The light grew brighter and Dean moved his face within inches of the screen, watching intently as what appeared to be a figure appeared in the light. The shape was vaguely human and Dean swore he saw two sets of giant wings wrap around River's unmoving form. Then they were gone, no flash, no static, no break in the film, just gone.
"What the hell?" Dean repeated looking at Bobby with wide eyes.
"All in all, five dead. Eyes fried outta their heads and River was gone, vanished," Bobby said shaking his head, "She showed up on my doorstep four weeks later. Right as rain, said she didn't know how or why. Put her through the same rigamaroo as you. She stayed long enough to pack up her stuff, said she'd stay close by and wanted to start huntin' again."
"I gotta go see her, where is she?"
"Called me this morning, she was headed home from a case she was working in Wyoming," Bobby grabbed his cellphone out of his back pocket, "Lemme see if she's home yet."
He punched in River's number and listened as the phone rang. "Hey, Papa Bear. What's up?" Rivers tired voice echoed over the phone.
"Nothin' sweetheart, just wanted to make sure you made it home ok," Bobby waved Dean away, he had been creeping closer to the phone, " You wanna come over for dinner, got some things I'd like to talk about."
They heard a door shut on the other line and River sighed loudly, "I'd love to Bobby, but I'm only home for a shower and to grab some ammo. I gotta be in NOLA by midnight tomorrow which means I have to not get arrested for felony speeding."
"What the hell you got goin' in New Orleans?" Bobby asked.
"Nothing you need to worry about, it's just a meeting," the heard more rustling as River shifted around on her end of the phone.
"What type of meeting? You planning on making a trip to a crossroads?"
"Yeah because we both know how well that went the first time I tried a crossroads demon…black eyed bitch laughed at me…look if I tell you , you can't freak out ok?" River said.
"Does this have anything to do with the Trickster? I know you two have been thick as thieves the last couple of months," Bobby said shooting a glance at Dean.
"What, Loki? No, he's not even talking to me since I summoned Hel last month…shit I shouldn't 've told you that, I gotta go Bobby."
"Now, wait a god damn minute, you summoned Hel, the goddess of death?"
"Son of a bitch," Dean muttered clenching his fists.
"Look, it was a big waste of time. She couldn't or wouldn't help me. Bitch just took her offerings and threatened to eat me if I summoned her again," River sighed.
"What'd you have to giver her?" Bobby asked, worried.
"A bull and the weapon of a warrior so I gave her Suki's katana, it belonged to her great-great grandfather…she ate the bull, horns and hooves and balls and fucking everything and then she said she couldn't help Dean and Gab—" River coughed, "Loki got fucking pissed at me and he now he won't talk to me either."
"Balls, girl what were you thinkin' summoning something like that?"
"I was thinking that Dean is in Hell, Bobby, and I'm out of ideas and Sam won't talk to me and I got no where else to turn…so I really need to go. I've got ghoul bits in my hair and I need to hit the road."
"What are you plannin' on doin' in New Orleans?"
The men heard River take a few breaths, "You remember that Voodoo priestess,Ursula I told you about?" Bobby grunted an affirmative. "Well her and her sisters liked my sob story-"
"You ain't got a sob story, girl." Bobby interjected.
River laughed humorlessly, "I got the best sob story Papa Bear. My unborn sons were ripped apart in my womb and the man I was stupid enough to fall in love with was dragged to hell by a white eyed demon bitch and I'm left here to live under an umbrella of fucking never ending grief and depression and fuck everything… Ursula is summoning Baron Samedi and Maman Brigitte and they've invited me to plead my case to bust Dean outta Hell."
"God damn it, River! You ain't goin' alone," Bobby told her.
"Oh yeah old man? Fine be at my place in an hour, you still got my spare key? 'Cause I'm gonna be taking a hot ass shower for a while."
"Yep, you got anymore of those Enchilados?"
"Enchiladas Bobby and yeah I got some in the freezer. Get your ass over here and I'll feed you before we hit the road." River hung up the call.
"Baron Samedi! What the hell is she thinking?" Dean yelled, "Give me her key, I'm gonna go kick her ass." Bobby pulled out the keyring River had given him (Drink coffee, Hail Satan) and directions to River's apartment.
"Look, son. Maybe we should go together, you might not want to surprise her, she's…it's been a rough four months Dean."
River sighed again and put the frozen enchiladas in the old oven to warm up, put some Garth Brooks to play on her IPod for Bobby and finally climbed into a searing hot shower to wash off the ghoul that still clung to her.