Ch 30
"They told you to come alone. So you're goin' in alone, understand. We'll sneak in, go through the catwalks and pin them in. We'll get your family out ok?" Sam clapped Jimmy around the shoulder. The three hunters and the nervous man wearing Cas's trench coat stood outside an abandoned car factory.
'It's always gotta be some creepy ass old building,' River thought to herself. "This'll work, Jimmy. No bodies gonna get hurt. Stay calm, we'll do our part and all you have to do is yours."
"Stay calm! How am I supposed to do that?" He nervously straightened his jacket again, "Just gimme a couple of minutes." He quickly walked away from the hunters leaving them to watch his retreating form.
"This is a trap," River said aloud to no one in particular.
"I know it is. That's why I got a plan." Dean cockily smiled back.
"You wouldn't mind making us privy to it, would you?" Two large men and an auburn haired woman appeared in front of the hunters, their black eyes shining maliciously.
"Son of a bitch," the three tired hunters muttered in tandem. A scuffle quickly ensued, Sam surged forwards demon knife gripped tightly in his sweaty hand. Dean took on his own demon leaving the third to attack River. She swung her balled fist and connected with the demons jaw, his head knocked to the side but quickly recovering from the blow. A grunt from one or both of the brothers echoed behind her, fists connecting to flesh and the metallic clatter of the knife being dropped. The demon rushed forwards and gripped River around the throat, lifted her a few feet off the ground and then slammed her into the hard, cracked asphalt. The wind immediately knocked out of her lungs and she saw bright spots around her peripheral vision. Dean and Sam soon landed on their backs next to her and they all groaned in pain. "This part of the plan too, hot stuff?" River asked as she was yanked painfully back to her feet and marched into the building along with the Winchesters.
"Now the party can get started," Amelia leered at the three hunters as they were shoved forward. Jimmy stood aside to make room for them, Claire was tied to a chair across the room, her head resting silently on her chest. "Did you get the knife?" she asked her henchman. The auburn haired woman opened her jacket and showed Amelia the knife she had tucked into her belt loop. Amelia smiled and blinked letting her obsidian eyes show. "Well, well. I was pissed to get this assignment. I hate wearing these stinking meat suits but look now things are finally coming up my way. Still have you four assholes and the kid to take care of though…"
"Listen-listen to me please, let my wife and my daughter go. Please, they have nothing to do with this," Jimmy took a step forward, hands outstretched placatingly.
"You weak, mortal coward they have everything to do with this." She pulled a pistol out from behind her back, "It's time for you all to die now. Go kill little orphan Annie." One of the nameless demons behind them broke off and stalked towards the young girl. Amelia aimed the gun at River, the hunter rolled her shoulders and straightened her back; at least she would die standing up straight. The demon smiled then turned the gun on Jimmy firing one shot into his stomach. The man let out a startled grunt and fell backwards, hands clutching at the blood now pouring from his abdomen. River tried to dive towards the man now bleeding out on the floor but was stopped by one of the men behind her yanking her back by her hair. She let out a pained yell before smashing her elbow into the demons nose. The distraction was all the other two needed, Sam and Dean took on the the demons behind them. Across the room the demon Amelia had ordered to kill Claire got a nasty surprise. The little blonde girls head suddenly snapped up, hers eyes glowing with a fierce blue light. The ropes binding her to the chair snapped and she stood up. The demon tried to scramble away but Claire laid her hand on his forehead and killed him instantly.
Jimmy watched from where he still lay on the dirty ground, hands pressed into his bleeding stomach. "Castiel?" He asked. His little girl looked down at him, eyes cold and unconcerned as his life blood spilled out. She strode calmly into the foray of struggling hunters and demons. Claire grabbed the one that currently had River pinned underneath him, his huge fist pulled back to wallop her again. The red head flinched in preparation for another punch, her upper lip split and cheek an ugly red from the first impact of his fist. Except the blow never landed, the demon was pulled off her and thrown onto his back as if he weighed nothing. Tiny, silent, doll-faced Claire stood over him, her head cocked to one side as she scrutinized his black eyes. The demon tried crawling backwards away from the little girl. She followed his retreat, placed one small, pale hand on his sweating forehead and burned out the demon inside the vessel. River sat up, wiped the blood off her lips and watched as Claire similarly killed the demon Dean had been fighting.
"What the shit?" she muttered as Dean hauled her to her feet and pulled her towards his younger brother. "She has fucking wings, D….Castiel is that you in there?" River yelled at the little girl as she walked away from them. Claire stopped briefly and glanced over her shoulder, face stoic, eyes unreadable.
Sam and his adversary had tumbled several feet away. Sam's giant body was kneeling over the struggling woman about River's size, she grunted in pain as Sam's head dipped down to her neck. Sam groaned in pleasure and stood up, head dipped back in ecstasy as the demon blood entered his needy body. He turned his head and came face to face with his brother, River and Claire. His mouth and jaw covered in sticky, red blood. He ran his tongue over his lips gathering more drops of the blood before turning his attention back to the moaning demon still pinned underneath him. He grabbed for the demon blade still caught in her belt and plunged it into her heart. He then pulled himself to his full 6'5'' height and turned back towards his brother and River. They stood as if rooted to the floor, wearing similar looks of disgust and confusion. They were so focused on him they didn't hear Amelia running towards them. Sam looked over their heads and shot his hand out, the demon that was riding Amelia skidded to a halt black smoke instantly poured out of her mouth and burned to oblivion at her feet. She teetered unsteadily and River caught her quickly under her arms. "You're ok," she told the woman. Amelia reached out for her daughter who turned and walked wordlessly away.
"Claire?" Amelia called following her daughter. They found Claire kneeling in front of Jimmy, where he sat leaning against a wall in a rapidly expanding puddle of blood.
"We do keep our promises, Jimmy. You have our gratitude. Thank you," Claire gently turned Jimmy's face closer. "It's time to go home Jimmy. Your real home. You will rest for eternity in the fields of the Lord."
Jimmy shook his head weakly, "No. No. Claire."
"Claire is with me. She is chosen. It is in her blood as it is in yours."
"Just take me. Please, take me," Jimmy moaned as another waive of pain and weakness shook him.
"I want you to understand Jimmy; if you make this decision you will not age, you will not die. If this last year was painful for you imagine a hundred, a thousand more like it."
"It doesn't matter. Take me. Let my daughter go."
"As you wish, Jimmy Novak," Claire gently held her fathers face in her hands. A blinding white light exploded from Claires eyes and hands, traveling from her to her father. The four other humans that had been silently watching the exchange staggered away from the kneeling figures covering their eyes. The brilliant light of Castiel's grace flared once more through Jimmy's eyes then disappeared. Claire fell to her hands and knees, shaking uncontrollably. Amelia rushed forwards and gathered her daughter into her arms. Jimmy once again under the control of Castiel stood up, completely healed and disinterested in the reunion between mother and daughter. He walked quickly away from the crying duo and pushed past the hunters.
"Castiel? What the hell, dude?" River reached out and grabbed his hand as he walked past her. The angel stopped and turned his ice blue eyes towards her. She let go of his hand and took an involuntary step back.
"Cas, hold up a sec would you?" Dean blared as the Angel once again turned to walk away from them. Castiel sighed loudly and River almost laughed. "What did you want to tell us?"
"I learned my lesson while I was away, Dean. I serve heaven. I don't serve man. And I certainly don't serve you." He disappeared an instant later, leaving nothing but fluttering moats of dust. Dean turned away from the spot Cas had disappeared from back to his brother, who was still covered in demon blood, and River who was mindlessly rubbing her thumb along the lollipop charm hanging from her neck.
"Go wash your face before you scare the kid," she said. Sam quickly wiped his hand around his mouth and grimaced when he saw the sticky blood clinging to his hand. "Come on, I'll get the car started for you." River coaxed Claire out her mothers arms and led them out of the abandoned building.
The brothers followed her out of the building a few minutes later. They had stayed behind to clean up the bodies. River sat in the front seat, furiously tapping away at her phone and made no movement to get out of Sams way when he leaned down and looked through the window. He straightened up and threw Dean his best bitch-face over the roof of the car, "Can you make her move?"
"Nope." Dean answered as he slid into the seat next to her. Sam opened the backdoor and begrudgingly folded himself into the backseat.
"Who're you texting?" Sam huffed from the backseat as Dean turned the car on.
River typed a few more words into her phone before setting it down on the seat between her and Dean. "No one…Loki. He's cheating at 'Words with Friends' again. He keeps using ancient Norwegian words. Fucking stupid super powers…" she grumbled sliding across the seat and squeezing Deans knee.
"Could you just not give him a hand job while I'm still awake." Sam harped. River and Dean flashed him their middle fingers as they drove away. They drove in silence for several hours, the only noise coming from the speakers as Dean's favorite Zeppelin album played on loop. River rested her head on Dean's shoulder and watched as the miles ticked by on the odometer. "You guys gonna say anything?"Sam finally asked after the fifth hour of silence.
"What do you want us to say?" Dean sighed as River sat up and shifted across the bench seat.
Sam sat forward, mimicking the way River usually sat with her arms draped over the seat. "I don't know. Anything. Yell at me. I mean aren't you guys mad?"
"No." Dean answered quickly.
"Then let me explain myself."
"I don't want to hear it," River said quietly.
"Then maybe my brother does."
"Nope, don't care." Dean told him.
"You don't care? Really?" Sam sat back heavily against the seat rubbing his eyes. His phone buzzed in his pocket and stopped him trying to push the subject any further. "Hey, Bobby, whats up?"
"The apocalypse you genius. I need you three to shag ass here. How far out are you idjits?" Bobby grunted into the phone.
"I don't know an hour or two?" Sam answered.
"Alright good. Hurry the hell up I need some help with something big once you get here." He ended the call as suddenly as he initiated it.
Sam huffed and slide the phone back into his pocket, "What the hell crawled up his ass?"
River shrugged her shoulders, "That grumpy old bastard always something or other up his crotchety ass." A passing cars headlights lit up her blue eyes and she mets Deans worried jade ones across the seat as she grasped his hand and planted a soft kiss on the back of it. They arrived at the Singer salvage yard a little more than an hour later. Bobby was waiting impatiently on his bowed front porch.
"Took you three long enough," he gruffed at them, "Come on its in the basement." The three younger hunters tiredly ascended the steps and into Bobby's cluttered, comforting home. He didn't wait for them to catch up, his trucker hat whipping down the back hallway to the stairwell that led to the basement.
"Jeez Bobby, you think we could get a cup of coffee or something first." Sam grumbled following him down the rickety staircase.
"We'll have time for that later. We got a demon problem on our hands. It's in here," Bobby said over his shoulder as he swung the iron door of the panic room open, "Go see for yourself." He nodded his chin to Sam who stepped into the panic room confused. Dean and River hung back watching as he turned in a slow circle not seeing or sensing anything out of the ordinary.
"What's the demon problem, Bobby?" Sam asked turning back to the doorway where his family stood.
"You." Bobby slammed the heavy iron door in his adopted son's face, swinging the lock and the peep hole closed. Sam's angry muffled voice echoed immediately from the other side of the door as did blunted clangs where he kicked and punched uselessly.
Dean rested his head on the cool metal and whispered, "I'm sorry."