Ch 13
Dean and River emerged from the foggy bathroom a while later. "You wanna get something to eat?" Dean asked his brother as he sat down to pull his boots back on. Sam drummed his long fingers on the table and said nothing for a moment.
"There's a Doctor Who marathon on. I don't want to go anywhere," River called from the bed where she was propping the pillows under her back and legs.
"Comfy?" Dean asked sarcastically. She nodded and burrowed further into the pillows.
"Will you two…You want to know why I trust Ruby?" Sam asked quietly. River turned the TV off and sat forward interestedly, Dean shook his head. "I just wanna talk, I don't want to be interrupted, I don't want comments from the peanut gallery." Sam looked at River pointedly, she zipped her lips closed with her fingers.
"You were dead. I was drowning my self in alcohol, bouncing from pointless case to pointless case. I had no leads, no plans. I just wanted to drink and kill things. One night I came back to my place I was so trashed I could barely walk. Ruby and another demon were waiting for me," Sam started. "Said she'd been sent to some nasty corner of hell after Lilith took over her last vessel. Then Lilith came to her and offered her another chance. Kill me and she'd be redeemed. She had me Dean; I was as good as dead except she didn't kill me, she killed the other demon she was with and let me go." He took a deep breath, "She told me she did whatever she had to to get out of hell and get back to me. …Ruby wanted me to stay with her so we could go after Lilith together. But I couldn't knowing that she was possessing some innocent person. I told her to let her vessel go, she was riding some blonde secretary from Reno. And she did; she let her go uninjured. The body Ruby's in now for all intents and purposes it's her. She did that for me, Dean, she let an innocent woman go and found some braindead nobody to take."
River moved to sit across from Sam and Dean at the small table, patiently waiting for Sam to continue his story. "Ruby told me she couldn't get you out of hell but she could help me go after Lilith. I just had to sober up and she'd teach me how to use my powers."
"So, what did you learn?" Dean asked impatiently.
Sam laughed, "That I'm a bad student firstly. We caught so many demons, test dummies. And I couldn't exorcise one of them. Just gave myself migraines and nosebleeds. She never gave up on me, she encouraged me, helped me get through the…loneliness." Sam looked down at feet and nervously tucked a strand of hair behind his ear and quickly told them about having sex with Ruby.
River blinked several times and shook her head letting out a deep sigh. "I need to…I need… I don't ever need to hear about that again, please." Dean said disgustedly. "You haven't told us anything besides you let that demon bitch get her claws in you; let her get into your head."
"There's more,Dean," Sam assured him.
"Well, maybe just gloss over the Skinimax parts," River mumbled.
"Ruby told me she had a lead on Lilith but I needed to stay away. I wasn't strong enough to fight her but I flipped out, threatened to kill her if she got in my way and ran out on some stupid suicide mission," Sam shook his head at the memory. "The little girl…the vessel was empty by the time I got there. A trap Lilith laid for me. She left two demons waiting for me. They were gonna kill me except Ruby came back for me; we got the girl out safely. Ruby killed one of the demons and I was able to exorcise the other…whatever you say she saved me, she got through to me. The things she said to me to keep me going they were what what you would've said, Dean. I wouldn't be here without her."
Dean sat forward and leaned his elbows on his knees. River worked her jaw back and forth, "You left me alone, Sam. You just…how do you think I felt? How I've been feeling? I've been hanging on by my fucking fingernails half hoping some fucking monster would just end it! I lost everything that night, Sam. As much as you did and You. Couldn't. Even. Call me!…" she pressed the palms of her hands angrily to her eyes trying to stop the tears.
"River," Sam begun but was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Housekeeping."
River turned towards the door and yelled, "No thank you!"
"Ma'am, I got ya'll clean towels."
"Motherfuck," River stormed to the door, "We don't need any fucking towels!" A short, plump African American housekeeper in a lite blue smock pushed through the open door. River shut the door after her and watched as the woman closed the curtains and stood in front of Sam.
"This is the address where I'm at," the woman handed Sam a crumpled piece of paper.
"The fuck?" River muttered, "Should I shoot her?"
"Go now, through the bathroom window. Leave your stuff, leave your car." the woman continued.
"Wh-Ruby?" Sam said raising his eyebrows.
"Yeah, get over it. I'm riding this body for a hot minute. There are demons in the parking lot and hallway."
"What about… your other body?" Sam took in her new appearance.
"What? Little Miss braindead Jane Doe? She's slowly rotting on the floor of that cabin with Anna, so if you don't mind I gotta hurry back." The maid turned and left the room shutting the door behind her. River was angrily pulling her layers of shirts and flannels on and threw a couple weapons into a small bag.
"Let's go," River called from the bathroom. She stood on her tip toes and slid the small window open. "Is anyone out there?" she asked when the taller men crowded into the small bathroom.
Sam peaked out the window and shook his head, "Me first, then you, then Dean." They made it out the window and into the dark alley behind the No-Tell motel. The cabin, which was little more than a lean-to with a roof, was a two mile hike through the dark woods.
"Anna!" River cried thankfully when Ruby swung the door open. "Are you ok?" Anna sat quietly on a old crate and smiled when the hunters arrived.
"Yes, I'm ok. I think. Ruby…she's not like other demons." Anna smiled weakly. "She saved my life." River sat down on the crate next to the other red head and glanced at Ruby.
"Yeah, we heard she does that." Dean shuffled his feet, "Look I guess I should, you know…I owe you for…Sam, you know…" Ruby crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.
"I'll concede, Ruby and say that this is a step in the right direction. You protected Anna knowing full well what she means to other demons. Thank you." River said.
"Wow, that would actually mean something to me if I cared about your opinion, fire crotch." Ruby snapped.
"Fire crotch?" River mouthed looking at Dean with eyebrows raised.
"Dean, do you think I could call my parents? Just for a quick sec and let them know I'm ok?" Anna asked suddenly. Dean smiled nervously and blew out a deep breath.
"Anna, your parents," River began when she saw Dean and Sam shift uncomfortable under Anna's gaze. "I'm sorry but we were too late. They're dead." She put a hand on the woman's slender shoulder, Anna's face crumpled as a sob bubbled up.
"Why…why is this happening," she began before grabbing her head suddenly, "They're coming! They're coming!" The lights in the cabin flickered and hissed.
"Get in the back room!" Dean yelled pulling Anna up and ushering her into the other room. The hunters and the demon grabbed weapons out of the duffle bag River had brought.
"Guys, where's the knife?" Ruby demanded after a cursory glance into the green bag.
River smiled and cocked her head. "We lost it…again," Dean said. Ruby turned to glare at him. "What don't look at me!" he yelled, eyeing River.
"Oh, Thanks D!" River yelled back. The door shook on it flimsy hinges before bursting backwards in a gust of wind. The hunters and Ruby gathered shoulder to shoulder, waiting for the intruder or intruders to show themselves. They didn't have to wait long because a few seconds later the angels, Castiel and Uriel strode into the small cabin.
"Please tell us you're here to help!" Dean said tiredly. "We've been having demon issues all day."
"I can see that." Uriel said, his lip curling in disgust at the site of Ruby.
Castiel cast a quick glance between the humans, "We're here for Anna."
"What do you mean you're here for her?" River demanded.
Uriel took a step forward, "Stop talking!" River took a step back, sensing the electric buzz of his anger beginning to radiate outward, she had no inclination to suffer another crushed windpipe.
"Are you gonna help her?" Sam asked evenly.
Castiel turned to face the tall hunter, "No. She has to die."
"What? Why?" River asked.
"Out of the way," Uriel sneered at them taking another step into the room.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Dean said holding his hands out, "I know she's intercepting your heavenly chats or whatever but thats no reason to gank her."
"Don't worry. I'll kill her gentle." Uriel crooned with a sick smile.
"You feathered douchebags." River muttered.
"You are some heartless sons of bitches, you know that?" Dean asked, shaking his head.
Castiel nodded, "As a matter of fact we are. And?"
River glared at the cold, blue eyed angel. "She's done nothing wrong. Anna is an innocent."
"She's far from innocent," Castiel said knowingly.
Uriel sneered again, "She's worse than this abomination you've been screwing." He cast a disgusted look at Sam who glanced worriedly down to Ruby. "Now give us the girl!"
"Eat a bag of dicks you winged asshats! You can't have her." River said tensing.
"You three gonna stop us? Or this demon whore?" Uriel pulled Ruby forward and slammed her into the wall. He slammed her head into the termite eaten wood savagely, letting her drop to the floor in a bloody heap. Dean ran forward and attacked the bald angel. The attack was fruitless as Dean's first blows never landed, the angel was too strong and too fast. The tables were turned instantly and Dean was on the receiving end of the angels fists.
"You son of a bitch!" River swung a thick fallen board at the angels head. The board shattered on impact and didn't even leave a splinter in the angel. Uriel turned and faced the shorter red head, "I've been waiting for this."
"Cas, please stop this!" Sam yelled at the trench-coated angel. Castiel didn't look at Sam as he touched his forehead with two fingers causing the hunter to collapse in a deep sleep. He turned towards the small room Anna was hiding in and grasped the doorknob. Thunder shook the cabin and the angels screamed, their grace flaring brilliantly and then they were gone.
"What the hell?" Dean muttered struggling to his feet, half his face bruised and swollen from Uriel's attack.
River grabbed Ruby's arm and yanked her up, "You ok?" Ruby nodded and they went to Sam's side where he still lay on the ground. "He'll wake up eventually." She muttered to Ruby brushing sweaty hair out of Sam's face. Dean glanced at his younger brother then continued on into the room where Anna was hiding.
"River! Need your help now!" he barked a second later. River jumped to her feet and ran to Dean.
"Shit, Anna. What did you do?" River quickly took in the scene, Anna was slumped in a chair in front of a mirror, which had a sigil River had never seen scrawled in blood. Dean was holding a dirty rag to Anna's bleeding forearm. River took his place and peaked under the rag to inspect the wound and was greeted with a fresh flow of dark blood.
"I don't know, I just saw this in my head and I drew it. I don't know how," Anna murmured quietly. Sam stirred in the next room and River sent Dean to the car for the first aid kit.
"You saved our asses, Anna. Did you kill them?" River asked once Dean returned with requested items.
"No, I just sent them far away."
River nodded appreciatively, "Well score 1 for Gingers, Angels 0."
Anna smiled nervously, "What are… what are you doing?"
"I'm going to stitch you up so you don't bleed to death, is that cool?" River answered.
Anna glanced at Dean where he leaned against the doorframe, "Ca-can Dean stitch me up?"
He straightened up and smiled, "My stitches are prettier than hers anyways."
River rolled her eyes, "Yeah, sure fuck my three years of nursing school… I'll go check Sam."
"Yeah, so Anna's getting pretty interesting, hmm?" she and Sam talked quietly in the hallway while Dean patched up Anna. Anna and Dean murmured quietly back and forth while he mending her bleeding arm. "We need to get out of here; get her somewhere safe. And we need to figure out what the fuck is going on with her." The safest place they could think of was Bobby Singer's, he was armed to the teeth and had a library of occult knowledge at their disposal. Bobby was currently in the Dominican on a supposed case and gave them permission to use his home after a hurried phone call during which he mostly bitched about roaming charges.
"You'll be safe here, iron coated in salt, demon traps above and below us, warded against ghosts, demons, and almost every other evil son of a bitch," Dean said giving Anna the grand tour of the Singer panic room. Anna nodded unsurely and sat curled in a chair.
"I find that racist," Ruby appeared at the entryway and looked in. "Like I'm some second class citizen."
"I'm sure there's like a hotline or something you can call to report that, " River said from where she sat at the small desk surrounded by a stack of books on Angel lore and Enochian spells Bobby had found buried in a hexed chest.
"Here, don't say I never gave you anything. Keep them close," Ruby tossed two small cloth bags at Dean.
"Hex bags?"Dean asked. Ruby nodded. Dean handed Anna a bag and instructed her to keep it close.
River looked up at the huge fan that was slowly rotating, "Sounds like Sams back."
Dean nodded, "Yeah, you two stay down here." River gave him a quick salute and returned to the archaic passage regarding angel hierarchy. Anna fidgeted in her seat, glancing between Ruby and River.
"Is he coming back?" she asked after a few minutes.
River nodded and kept reading, "They're having their super secret Winchester brother meeting then they'll be down."
"I have to pee. Can you come upstairs with me?"
River closed the book and stood up, "Me too. Lets go." They came to the door and stared at Ruby, "Move, please…." Ruby glared at them a moment then relented and stepped out of the way.
The two red heads walked up the rickety staircase followed by Ruby to the first floor and heard the hushed tones of Dean and Sam discussing something. "What's the word?" River asked smiling at the two.
Sam turned towards the three women, his mouth a thin line, "Anna,I found psychological records from your childhood. They don't make a lot of sense…We need to know why the angels said you were guilty of something. Is there anything you want to tell us?"
The thin, pale woman crossed her arms across her chest, "Sam, I swear I don't remember anything. My life has been leveled, my parents are dead. And for what? I would give anything to know." She sobbed, covering her mouth with her hand.
River wrapped an arm around Anna's shoulders and looked at the Winchesters, "Then lets find out."
Several hours, dozens of broken speed limits, and a two state round trip later Dean escorted Pamela Brown psychic extraordinaire to Bobby's panic room. Pam's curly, auburn hair bounced with each cautious step down the narrow stairs, Dean leading her with a firm grip on her hand and words of encouragement. "Pam, shit it's good to see you!" River hugged the other woman, "You rock the 'I wear sunglasses at night' punk rock-cougar- thing."
Pam laughed, "Wait, wait. Where's Sam?"
Sam stepped forward, cautiously, "I'm here, Pam."
She gathered the big hunter into a hug and squeezed his butt, "Hey grumpy, I missed that sweet ass of yours." She let Sam go and turned her blind eyes to Ruby and Anna, "Hmm , a demon and you-you're Anna. Hi there sweetheart."
Anna smiled, "Thank you for helping me. But…but why, why put yourself at risk to help me."
Pamela smiled again, "I'm down for any opportunity to dick over an angel. They took something from me…" she removed her dark shades and flashed Anna the plastic caps she now wore in her eye sockets. "Shall we?" Pamela hooked an arm around Anna's thin waist and the two walked together back into Bobby's panic room.
"I'll count back from five, when we reach zero you will be in a deep state of hypnosis." Anna lay on the small metal cot in the middle of the room surrounded by Pam, Dean, River and Sam while Ruby stood guard outside. "Five, four, three, two, one, zero." Pam slowly counted back and Anna's eye fluttered shut. For several minutes the only sounds in the panic room was the quiet whisper of the giant fan overhead. "Anna, can you hear me?"
Anna's chest rose and fell in a slow, deep rhythm her body completely relaxed under Pam's ministrations, "Yes, I can hear you."
"Anna, how can you hear the angels."
"I don't know. I just can," Anna's eyes remained closed, her body flaccid in her deep sleep.
Pam scooted forward on her chair and leaned closer to Anna, "Anna, tell me who your father is."
"Rich…Milton," she sighed quietly.
"Ok…We're gonna go back further now. Anna, tell me who your real father is."
Anna's face scrunched up in fear, her hands gripped restlessly at the sheets. "No, I don't want to. I can't…"
"Just a quick look, Anna. That's all we need. Who is your father? Why is he angry at you?" Pam gripped Anna's hand as head continued to toss back and fourth.
"No,no,no," she chanted. Electricity buzzed in the room, the light above them flickered, the radio turned on. "He'll kill me! He's gonna kill me!" She sat up suddenly, her eyes still closed and screamed. The light above Dean shattered, sending sparks flying across the room, the giant iron door slammed shut locking Ruby out.
"Anna! Calm down!" Pam yelled but the younger woman kept screaming.
Dean jumped up and tried to shake her awake. "Dean, don't touch her!" River yelled trying to pull him away before he touched her. His fingers barely grazed her skin and he was sent flying across the room and slammed into the opposite wall with a dull thud. "God damn it, Pam! Wake her up!" she yelled over her shoulder as she and Sam ran to Dean.
"5,4,3,2,1. WAKE UP!" Pam bellowed into Anna's face. She immediately stopped screaming, the loud buzzing stopped and the radio turned off.
Her eyes opened, her face radiating serenity, "Thank you, Pamela." Sam pulled his brother to his feet and the three hunters gathered around Anna. "I remember now."
"Remember what?" Sam asked confused.
"I remember who I am."
"Alright, Anna. Enough with the fucking suspense, who the fuck are you?" River snapped.
"I'm an Angel," She replied smiling. River closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair; Sam and Dean exchanged a look.