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Chapter Eight
The bar was busy, musty, and Sam's usual idea of a nightmare, but tonight he was enjoying himself. He was back on the road with his brother, he had a beer, and Dean was smiling. Life was good.
He sat back in his booth and allowed his eyes to skim his surroundings—hunter's habit—and he saw something at the door to make his day even better. Two people had just walked in the door, and they were people Sam was very pleased to see.
He nudged Dean. "Look who it is."
Dean looked up from the darts game he'd been watching, and grinned. "I'll be damned."
The pair at the door noticed Sam and Dean at that moment, and their mouths parted with shock. They weaved through the crowd toward Sam and Dean's table.
Sam stood to greet them. "Ellen, Jo."
"Sam!" Jo looked at him as if she was seeing a ghost. "But how are you…? We heard…"
Dean chuckled. "Tell me about it."
Jo threw her arms around Sam and hugged him tight. "It's good to see you."
Sam patted her back. "You too."
Ellen stepped forward and raised a hand. Sam flinched—Ellen was known for occasional bouts of violence—but she just patted his cheek gently. "Good to have you back."
Sam sat down and scooted along the booth so Jo and Ellen could sit with them.
"So, Sam, don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see you topside again, but how did you escape?" Ellen asked.
"It wasn't so much an escape as it was a call back," Sam said. "We heard what was happening up here, and so we came to help."
"We as in you and the Devil?" Jo asked, snagging Dean's beer bottle and taking a sip.
"Lucifer, yes," Sam said calmly.
"That's for real, too, then," Ellen said. "Not Bobby's ramblings. You've really hooked up with the Devil."
"Lucifer," Sam said patiently. "And yes. We're together."
Ellen blew out a breath. "You Winchesters sure like to keep things interesting."
Dean raised his eyebrows. "Don't go blaming me. It's Sammy that's gone off the reservation."
Sam frowned at him. "You know it's not like that."
"Yeah, sure," Dean said.
Sam was hurt by Dean's words. He thought Dean had accepted Lucifer. It had seemed like it at least. Now it sounded like he had reverted to the same incredulous attitude he'd had in the days immediately following Detroit.
"Drinks!" Dean said suddenly. "What can I get you?"
"We'll take a beer apiece," Ellen said.
Dean stood and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. "Be right back."
Ellen watched him go and then she turned to Sam. "So, where's Lucifer now?" She laid emphasis on the name, making Sam realize that they weren't going to accept him anytime soon.
"Heaven."
Ellen raised her eyebrows. "Granted it's been a while since I went to Sunday school, but I thought he was exiled from Heaven."
"He was," Sam said, "by his brother, Michael. Michael's dead though, so there's nothing stopping Lucifer from going back. He and another archangel are up there, fixing the mess."
"What mess?" Jo asked.
Sam didn't answer. He was watching Dean. He had retrieved their drinks, and had been crossing the bar when he bumped into a man. He wasn't big, smaller than Dean, but he was facing off with Dean, and he was apparently lacking in the survival instinct, as Dean was glaring at him as if deciding where to start pounding on him.
Sam rose to his feet and crossed the bar toward his brother in time to hear Dean saying, "Watch where you're walking."
The man stiffened and opened his mouth, but Sam cut him off.
"We don't want any trouble."
"That's a real shame." The man blinked, and when his eyes opened, they were onyx black. "Because trouble's what I'm all about. Sammy Winchester, I heard you took a page out of the Winchester family vacation plan and took a trip downstairs."
"I'm back," Sam said through gritted teeth.
Dean reached into his pocket, where the demon killing knife was concealed, but Sam caught his arm. "Not in here, Dean."
"Yeah, Dean, not in here," the demon said scornfully. "Besides, the boss wouldn't like it. We've got strict orders we can't even break for you. As much as I'd like to."
The barman ambled over to them then, looking like he expected trouble and wasn't afraid to quell it. "Now, now, fellas, take it outside."
The demon nodded sycophantically. "Yes, sir." He turned on his heel and walked toward the door, looking back at Sam and Dean, who had now been joined by Ellen and Jo. They followed the demon out of the door and into an alley.
"Hello, Ladies," he leered, catching sight of Ellen and Jo. He looked around the alley and grinned. "No Devil's traps to hold me. What are you going to do now?"
"What did you mean strict orders?" Sam asked. "Whose orders?"
The demon grinned. "The new boss. We've got strict rules to work with now. No more operating in the open, we're strictly working on the—"
The demon was cut off as Dean lunged forward and slit its throat with the knife.
"What the hell, Dean!" Sam exclaimed.
Dean wasn't listening though. He was plunging the knife into the demon again and again. Blood pooled around the corpse, making the air stink of sulphur.
"Dean!" Sam grabbed him around the chest and dragged him bodily back. "That's enough!"
He didn't know what had possessed his brother to act like that. There was killing a demon and there was pounding into one like a madman, and Sam knew exactly which category his brother fell into.
"We've got to get out of here," Ellen said, grabbing Jo's arm and dragging her out of the alley. "You boys, too. Pack up your stuff and get the hell out of dodge."
Sam nodded, still holding Dean's arm. Dean was panting heavily and staring down at the demon. With a deep breath, he seemed to come back to himself, and he pulled from Sam's grasp.
"What the hell was that?" Sam asked.
"Hunting."
"We don't hunt like that!"
Dean shrugged. "I do. Let's get gone."
Sam nodded, staring at his brother. He didn't know what had just happened, but whatever it was, it wasn't good. He was going to sit Dean down and find out what he was thinking, but first they had to get out of the alley before the police arrived.
They got back to Bobby's place in the early hours of the morning. Ellen and Jo had caught up with them in Mason City, and they remained on their tail all the way into Sioux Falls.
Sam had tried to broach the topic of what had happened in the alley a couple of times, but Dean had refused to talk. He knew he had let his temper get out of hand with the demon, but it had felt good to be able to take some of his frustrations out on the evil son of a bitch. There was one less demon in the world now, and as far as he was concerned, that was his job.
As soon as they pulled up in front of Bobby's place, Sam climbed out of the car and strode into the house, letting the door swing shut behind him. He was clearly pissed, and Dean felt bad. He didn't want to fight with his brother, but he couldn't face a heart-to-heart about how he had changed, especially not the way he hunted.
When he got inside, Sam was standing at the sink, downing a glass of water. He turned as Dean came in and set the glass down on the drainer. "You ready to talk about it?" he asked.
Dean shook his head. "There's nothing to talk about."
Sam shrugged. "In that case, I'm going back to the motel. I'll catch you tomorrow."
"Sam…" Dean didn't want his brother to leave pissed. Hell, he didn't want him to leave at all.
"Whenever you're ready, Dean. By the way, Bobby and Cas have a hunt. They left a note."
Dean picked up the note and read it through. There had been freaky deaths in Indiana, and they'd gone to check it out.
Sam grabbed the Chevelle's key from the side table and disappeared out of the door. Dean heard another car pulling up by the house and he knew Jo and Ellen had arrived. Raking a hand through his hair, he prepared himself for a second interrogation.
Jo was first in the door, and she looked dead on her feet.
"Sam's staying in a motel for the night," Dean said. "You and your mom can take our room. I'll crash on the couch."
She nodded gratefully and, swinging a bag over her shoulder, she disappeared up the stairs.
Thinking a drink might be a good idea, Dean rinsed Sam's glass and poured himself a shot of whiskey.
"Pour me one of them," Ellen said, coming through the door.
Dean did as she had bidden and then sat down at the kitchen table. Ellen picked up her glass and sat down beside him.
"You want to talk about it?" she asked.
Dean shook his head. "Not even a little."
"Tough luck. You and I are long overdue for a chat."
Dean sighed. "No disrespect, Ellen, but I'm tired. I just want to crash."
"Sure you do," she said. "So you can lie there, not sleeping, going over how big you screwed up today."
"I sleep just fine," he said doggedly.
"Who are you kidding? You haven't slept right for two years. Not since you took off on your own and went rogue. "
"What do you know about it?" Dean asked belligerently.
"I've seen plenty of hunters go down that path you went down. It's a dark place. It doesn't end with long nights of restful sleep."
Dean knocked back his glass of whiskey and stood to refill it.
Ellen caught his arm. "You can talk to me, Dean."
Dean stared out the window at the dark scrap-yard. "There's nothing to talk about."
"I call bullshit. What about what you've been doing? You made quite a name for yourself these past couple of years."
"I've been doing my job, Ellen."
"Since when did your job include killing people?" She asked. "We kill monsters, not humans."
Dean's hands fisted at his sides. "I did what I had to do. Sure, there were some innocents caught in the crossfire, but I helped more than I hurt."
"Is that what you're going to tell Sam when he asks?"
Dean glared at her. "I'm not telling Sam anything. He doesn't need to know."
"He deserves to know. It's all down to him, isn't it? He's the reason you went off the rails, because he up and left you. And while we're on the subject, why the hell didn't you call us when he was taken? We could have helped."
Dean laughed sardonically. "You could have helped! You think you could have gone up against Lucifer and lived? No one could have helped; that was the problem."
Ellen sighed and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "You got him back though."
Dean scoffed. "Yeah, but it cost him his life. Sam took a bullet to the chest. Lucifer saved him, not me."
"Lucifer saved Sam?" she asked incredulously.
"Yeah, basically. He brought him back to life anyway."
"Why?"
"Because he loves him," Dean said impatiently. "Him and Sam, it's the real deal."
"And that makes up for the fact he's the Devil?" she asked, a frown creasing her brow.
"He's different now," Dean said. "I didn't want to believe it myself, but he is. He took himself out of the running for the sake of the world, for the sake of Sam."
"Does that cancel all the damage he did before that, too? I was there in Colorado. I watched people die because of War. That was all down to Lucifer. Saving one life doesn't wipe away all that blood."
"Tell me about it." Dean was thinking of all the blood that had accumulated on his hands. There was no washing it clean. The only reprieve he had was the fact Sam didn't know about it. He would do almost anything to stop Sam learning just how far he'd gone after he had left him.
"I get that you love your brother, but what Sam's doing with Lucifer doesn't fly with me," Ellen said, breaking into his thoughts. "I know your daddy raised you better."
Dean scowled. "What am I supposed to do? You didn't see what it did to him when they were separated. Sam barely lasted a week before he took the dive. I got my brother back, which is a miracle. Having Lucifer back too is the price we pay."
"Is it a price you're ready for the world to pay?" she asked.
Dean pushed away from the counter where he had been leaning. "He's different now, Ellen. Whether you want to believe it or not, Lucifer is on our side. I'm saying this to you and any other hunters you come into contact with from here on out: Lucifer is one of us now. You want him, you got to go through me."
"Hunters won't stand for this, Dean."
"Then I suggest you don't tell them."
"I don't like this."
"Neither did I at first. Just give him a chance. Lucifer might surprise you."
Ellen was silent for a long time then she spoke up in a defeated tone. "Fine, but don't be inviting me for supper when he's here."
Dean smiled wanly. "Gotcha. Now, If you'll excuse me, I'm going to the couch. I have some insomnia that I've been neglecting."
So… We had a visit with Ellen and Jo. If you've read my Brotherhood series, you'll know how much I love their characters. Snarks feels the same.
Until next time…
Clowns or Midgets xxx
