A/N: A huge, gigantic THANKS to darksupernatural for EVERYTHING! :D YOU GO GIRL! A huge thanks also goes out to Muffy Morrigan and Merisha for EVERYTHING as well! All three of you ROCKS! :D AND THANKS to all those who read and reviewed! I truly appreciated it!! :D
A/N: I just want to apologize to those who I still haven't emailed back! I truly and sincerely appreciated all the feedback and I will get back to you ASAP! Thanks! Enjoy...
Chapter 9
"Damn it Dean," Sam growled out, nearly slamming his cell phone down on the table in frustration as he tried calling his brother for the past hour or so.
"Jesus kid, learn to take care of your stuff, why don't ya?" Bobby lightly chastised.
"Dean hasn't answered his phone. What if –"
"Sam, Dean's fine. He probably found Monica and they're probably having themselves a good time."
"How well do you know the sisters, Bobby?"
"Well enough," Bobby replied, suddenly more interested in a marble sculptor located in the den.
As Dean left to look for Monica, Bobby and Sam had let the girls out of the confines of their rooms. Pissed as ever, the girls had decided to get rid of the body themselves and any evidence in the basement.
After that was said and done, Sam and Bobby decided to play the waiting game in the den, waiting for Dean and Monica to come back, while the girls decided to clean up the mess in the game room that the brothers used as their wrestling ring.
"Bobby," Sam said impatiently, and waited for Bobby to settle his gaze on him before continuing, "Jennifer told me that Monica killed their mother in cold blood. Did you know about that?"
"Now listen here, boy," Bobby said crossly, "there are things about them you don't wanna know, and I suggest you keep your nose out of it. What they've done is nothing compared to what I did."
Sam blinked at that as his mind started whirling, wondering exactly what his old friend had meant by that.
"What were you doing when you called me several days ago?" Sam asked innocently.
Bobby shifted uncomfortably in his seat at that and grumbled, "Trying to find something that might help that brother of yours."
"Bobby," Sam pleaded, using his very effective puppy dog eyes, "what were you doing?"
Even Bobby, like so many others before him, could not deny the younger Winchester's request for information, "I uh, I was in Utah gathering some stuff. Before that, I was in Texas, Ohio, Georgia, and North Dakota…just gathering stuff."
"What kind of stuff?" Sam questioned curiously.
After a long pause, Bobby spoke, "You've heard of the demon, Orobas, right?"
Sam nodded, "Yeah, the demon who can tell the past, present, and future, why?"
"He can also make deals, Sam," Bobby informed, looking down on the wood floor beneath his feet.
"Don't tell me you made a deal, Bobby?"
"I didn't sell my soul, if that's what you mean," Bobby said defensively, "but I did make a deal of some sorts."
Looking at Sam squarely in the eyes, he went on, "I was in Kansas hunting down a demon. Now I didn't know what kind of a demon I was after, but before I did some more digging around, the demon showed up when I least expected and pinned me to a wall. He told me he wasn't going to harm me if I did what I was told."
"What does that mean?" Sam asked perplexed.
"He told me he knew about the new 'circumstance' Dean was in with the deal, and he said he could save him."
"Why?"
"I don't know why. He just said that he has twenty legions under his command and that they are all ready to fight alongside you in this war – when you are ready to do so."
"'When'? Does that mean he saw me leading the demon army in the future?" Sam asked aghast, suddenly feeling he should drown himself in a glass of whiskey.
"Listen to me Sam, you are not going to be a leader of any demonic army, ya hear me?"
"But Bobby, this is Orobas we're talking about. From what I know, his predictions are hardly ever wrong."
"Sam," Bobby soothed, "we still have time to change the future, and hopefully save that idgit brother of yours."
"But how is Orobas going to save him? What does he want?"
"According to him, he said that there are rare relics stashed in the depths of the world, all of which he has in his possession, except five of them. He told me that he wanted me to retrieve the five relics, give them to him, and he'll save Dean."
"What kind of relics? Why does he want them? Why does he want you to retrieve them? How many do you have? Where are the others?" Sam fired rapidly.
"Whoa kid," Bobby chuckled, "calm down; one question at a time."
Clearing his throat, he continued, "I can't exactly say what kind of relics they are because the four that I have don't look anything alike. One's an old Spanish coin, the other is a small emerald ring that looks like you can buy it at a ninety-seven cent store, the third one is an ancient-looking letter cutter, and the last is a locket heirloom. I'm just missing one and all I knew was that they were located in North Dakota, Georgia, Ohio, Texas, and Utah, but unfortunately, the one in Utah isn't there anymore."
"What do you mean?"
Bobby looked at Sam and said, "It's here, actually"
When Sam continued looking quizzically at him, Bobby asked, "Before Oregon, where were you and Dean?"
"In Utah, but –" Sam cut himself off as his eyes grew wide like saucers, and he asked, "You don't suppose Dean and me have a-a relic, do you?"
"I'm not 'supposing' anything, Sam. I know."
"How could you –"
"It seems that I'm now able to locate the relics. I don't know how or what, but he assured me it will go away just as soon as I find all five of them."
"Then where is it?"
"Dean has it."
"What –?" Sam asked, but then his eyes grew wide again, "You mean Dean's amulet? His amulet is a relic?"
"Yep, but I don't know why Orobas wants the relics. I mean, at first glance, there doesn't seem to be any significance to them. But I'm pretty sure it ain't gonna be good, and I'm guessin' I'm not the only human he made a deal with."
"So what do we do?" Sam asked.
Bobby pushed a piece of paper in which he had hastily scribbled towards him, and signaled him to not read it aloud.
'What Orobas don't know is that the relic Dean has is a twin of another. I have that twin.'
Clearing his throat, Bobby said quite loudly, "Uh, we'll just ask Dean for it."
Sam scribbled something down and passed it over to Bobby as he too talked loudly, "Do you think he'll give it to us?"
'Don't you think he'll notice? Is he here? Watching us?'
"He's gonna have to if he wants to save his life," Bobby said after reading Sam's note.
'My bet is that he won't notice, but I won't rule out that he's watching us.'
"So I guess we'll just have to wait for Dean," Sam suggested after reading what Bobby scribbled.
"Did you think your dad was telling the truth about Lilith's demon buddies coming here to wreck havoc?" Dean asked, softly stroking Monica's arm.
After feeding the fuel of their desires for one another, lying in bed together seemed the most natural perfect way to spend the rest of the night.
"Huh, I didn't think of that when I left," she said, and sighing, "I guess I should be glad I didn't meet any demons on my way out."
"What is that suppose to mean?" he asked as he looked at her absorbedly, trying to savor the moment and somehow engrave it into his memory forever.
"Well, after Enrique, I just felt like I wanted to kill anything supernatural that crosses my way, which is why I wish Lilith and her demons would've come pounding on the door. But anyway…how did Bela die?"
Dean blinked a couple of times at the sudden change of topic and cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable as he was not expecting the question, "She uh, she was killed by hell hounds."
"She sold her soul?" she asked incredulously, "For what?"
Shaking his head, he said, "I don't know, but I know she had Lilith kill her parents for her."
"Dean –"
"No. We discussed this and I've already told you why."
"'We' didn't discuss anything. You bitched and I listened."
"I bitched?" he asked amused as the corners of his lips twitched in a smile.
"Dean, you won't even have to step into Hell if you'd just let us help you, and I sure as hell won't let you. What do you think Sam would say if you willingly serve yourself up to them?"
"Monica, what would you do if it was one of your sisters?"
"What do you mean?"
"Wouldn't you sell your soul for any of them if they died unexpectedly?"
"No," she answered without hesitation, "As cruel as life is, if it's their time, then there's nothing I can do…and nor would I ever want to."
"So it's safe to assume that you and your sisters aren't close then?"
"We never were and you know why. But if you don't want to talk about your deal, then why not tell me something about this? Assuming that it is at least one safe issue to approach." she said, changing the subject as she held up Dean's amulet.
Sighing in content as the memory began playing before him, he held it up and smiled, "This was a gift from Sam. Bobby gave it to him to give to dad for Christmas, but since he failed to show up, Sam gave it to me instead. And I've never taken it off since."
"Never?" she teased, their earlier discussion forgotten.
"Never," he confirmed proudly.
"Well, we'll just have to see about that, won't we?" she smiled seductively as she moved on top of him.
"This sucks out loud," Jennifer whined as she swept broken glass in the game room.
"What does?" Elizabeth asked as she picked up broken pieces of wood that was too big to be thrown in a regular trash can.
"This. All of this," she said as she waved her arms around the entire place.
"Jenny, we'll fix this, okay? Whatever broke in here we will certainly replace –" Elizabeth started, thinking that was what her sister was talking about.
"That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about you and me and Monica and what happened with Dad."
"Jenny, my head is gonna explode if you don't start making sense."
"Lizzie," Jennifer said as she stopped what she was doing, "It's just that I know how you're hurting. I know because that's how I felt when Mom died. And it took me a long while to realize and come to terms with the reason why our sister took out Mom. It was too late for her, just like it was too late for Dad."
"But Jenny, she didn't have to –" Elizabeth protested as she too stopped what she was doing, finally realizing what her sister was discussing.
"Yes, she did," she said as she swallowed hard, "there was no other choice. She did what she had to do because of us. She saved us the pain and heartache from even the slightest idea of murdering our own parents."
"So? That shouldn't have been a problem. I mean, she's killed plenty before!" Elizabeth exclaimed.
"Yes, she has," Jennifer agreed calmly, "but I don't think it has been easy on her. I shouldn't be the one to tell you this, but uh, in case you haven't noticed, Monica has had nightmares about what she had done."
"I know about the nightmares, but you're assuming that that's the reason, are you?" Elizabeth questioned skeptically.
"Lizzie, if you had pulled your head out of your ass in time and quit worrying about getting back to your husband, you would have noticed the signs."
Elizabeth didn't look the least bit shock from that statement, "So what the hell are you saying?"
"Forgive her. Forgive her for what she did because you and I know now that it was the right thing to do. She doesn't need to carry around our shit on her shoulders. She needs us just as much as we need her."
Elizabeth huffed out a sigh, "I'll think about it, okay? Just give me a few days, maybe months to figure stuff out, alright? Not mere minutes after we salted and burned Dad."
"Fine," Jennifer acquiesced.
"Fine," Elizabeth repeated, "So was that what was bothering you?"
"Huh?"
"You said that it 'sucks out loud'. You were referring to Monica, weren't you?"
"Oh, I was more referring to the fact that we're cleaning up after the Winchesters. You know what? Next time they decide to do something like this, we should make them clean it up."
Sighing exasperatedly as she turned away from her sister, Elizabeth glanced at her watch and added, "Besides, Monica's not here. You don't think Lilith and her goons got her, do you?"
Shaking her head, Jennifer replied as she grabbed her broom and started sweeping again, "Lizzie, you and I both know that Dad was probably yanking our chain. Sam and Bobby no doubt checked the perimeter for any demonic activity and found none."
Picking up another fairly large piece of wood that looked like it came from the pool table, Elizabeth asked, "Then why isn't she here already and helping us clean up the mess? Maybe after this, we'll go look for her."
"Why? Dean's already out there looking for her."
"Yeah, but I don't think he'll be able to find her."
"I doubt that."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if Dean is anything like Sam, then I shouldn't be worried."
"And what's that suppose to mean?" Elizabeth inquired sharply, looking at her sister.
Jennifer blinked a couple of more times as her mind frantically searched for an absolutely good reason, but came out with, "Uh…well…"
"What did you do?"
"Nothing…or at least nothing that I regret," Jennifer smiled slyly.
"What did you do?"
"What in tarnation are you doing now, boy?" Bobby asked as he saw Sam striding into the family office.
Picking up a map of the U.S., a red marker, and a ruler, Sam strode back into the den and settled the map on the large coffee table. Using the marker and ruler, he made points and drew lines on the map of the exact locations of where the relics were said to be.
"A pentagram?" Bobby said in wonder as he looked over Sam's shoulder once he was done.
"A pentagram," Sam confirmed as he moved back a little to let Bobby see more closely, "another damn pentagram."
"But it doesn't mean anything," Bobby pointed out, "except where Orobas was at," he added as he pointed his finger at Kansas which was situated right in the middle.
"Don't be so sure about that, Bobby," Sam refuted, "What if the five points are locations, army posts of where his legions are, and what if Kansas is like an army base?"
"Whatever it is, it can't be anything good. And we have to get Dean out of his deal so we can't check out the locations…but I think we could send the girls to check 'em out."
"Bobby –"
"Sam, whether you want to believe it or not, they can be trusted. They are reliable as you and me. They're pretty damn good hunters. A little naïve, a little green, very inexperienced, but once they get the gist of something, they're alright. Not as good as you boys, but they'll get there eventually. But if you still don't trust them, then you're sayin' you don't trust me? Do you trust me?"
Sam was about to respond when a familiar face appeared on the threshold of the den, looking extremely guilty like a dog with its tail between his legs, but determined nonetheless.
As the small rays of sunrise leisurely filtered into the room through a crack in the curtains, Dean couldn't help but wonder for the millionth time of what he wanted to do would be the right thing to do.
Do I love her? Is it even really love? The thoughts kept flowing through his mind in rapid speed to the thrum of his heartbeat. True, he had never, not once in a million years, felt like that with any other woman. Not even when he was with Cassie. Leaving them without a backwards glance was always easy for him, but he wouldn't know if it would be just as easy this time.
If Dean was really being honest with himself, he would know that what he had found at that moment was actually the real thing, but he refused to think about it. Partly because he knew how much it would hurt him if he left, and how much it would hurt him if he stayed, as well as how much it would hurt her if he left or stayed.
Just the idea of leaving her was unimaginable even to him, but he knew that she would be in danger if he stuck around her much longer. And for once in his life, he knew he would regret whatever outcome of his decision. But either way, it had to be done.
Looking at the sleeping form right beside him, he couldn't help but smile as he looked at her; to him, she looked seemingly fragile as she curled up next to his big strong durable form.
Drinking in the pleasurable scene with his eyes, he sighed resignedly as he moved carefully and silently out of bed.
She looked more fragile to him now that he was standing to his full height and looking down at the peaceful way she was sleeping.
Sighing sadly, he started picking up his discarded clothes and began putting them back on before sitting down on a small cozy chair by a window to watch her while she slept on.
As he continued watching her, barely stirring within the warm cocoon of blankets, he began contemplating again whether or not if it was the right thing to do. He knew that she was one tough cookie, knew that she could handle whatever life threw her way, but he felt the need, the unexpected need, to protect her, and that what was saddening him greatly: the idea of not being there to protect her, to love her, to want to need her. She's no doubt gonna marry the first guy that asks her, and she's gonna bear his children instead of mine.
That thought tore another hole into his already bruised heart. Seeing her stir a little more as she tried clambering up from the thick tempting walls of sleep, Dean quickly shook himself out of his reverie, and very stealthily slipped out of the room.
Starting his baby and listening to the loud roar of life coming from the engine, he stole one quick glance at his could be future, wondering for the millionth time if he was doing the right thing. Swallowing the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat as his eyes glistened with unshed tears, he cleared his throat and set his jaw as he pulled out of the parking space and headed straight back to Sam without so much as a backwards glance.
"What are you doing here?" Sam asked as he was cut off from answering Bobby's question at the sight of his brother.
"Didn't you miss me?" Dean smirked, trying to act like his old self.
Sam took in the guilty expression that his brother tried and failed to hide, "What happened? You look like you were sent to the doghouse. She already kicked you out?"
Dean was about to snap before he caught sight of the corners of his brother's lips as they were twitching up in mirth, Sam's eyes dancing in amusement. Dean also caught sight of Bobby trying to hide his own smile.
Giving out a smile of his own, Dean said, "I could say the same about you once Elizabeth finds out about you and Jennifer."
His smile grew wide as he saw his brother squirm in discomfort, "So I say we shag ass and leave before the sisters find out. Deal?"
"Wait a minute, Dean," Sam said once he finally got his discomfort at a manageable level, "you want to just leave? What about getting them to get you out of your deal? I mean, what would they think if we just took advantage of them and just leave? Without a word?"
Dean's face harden at that, "It's what we do, Sam. We use 'em and we leave 'em. That's that. And they are not going to help. I won't let them."
"Dean," Sam began as he once again tried to use his puppy dog face.
"Sam," Bobby interjected, putting a hand on the younger man's shoulder, "if Dean doesn't want the sisters' help, then we can't force him, but there's the other option of saving him," Bobby finished cryptically.
"Guys, if you mean the deal-making demon that wants this," Dean said as he brandished his amulet, "than fat chance. No one is making any kind of deals tonight," he finished harshly.
Bobby looked at him strangely, "How'd you know what we were talking about?"
"While you two were looking at that map," Dean started, nodding his head at the map, "I overheard you two. Oh, and by the way, I went on ahead and took the liberty of packing our stuff. I'll be waiting in the car," he finished as he stormed out of the room and slammed the front door shut, leaving Bobby and Sam dumbfounded at Dean's unexpected outburst. Sam was sure that whatever happened must not be good as he and Bobby looked at each other once in bewilderment before numbly followed in Dean's wake.
Striding to the passenger side of the Impala, Sam gave a small sigh of relief at finding the door open and not closed as he feared that his brother might've left him to deal with three very pissed off sisters. Stretching out his tall frame as he settled himself in his seat, he glanced at Dean as his brother started up the car and prepared to follow their old friend to wherever the road led, noticing for once that his brother didn't rush to find a good, classic, rock song for the occasion but instead losing himself in his thoughts.
Knowing that his brother hated uncomfortable silence, Sam hastily searched for a topic – any topic – that might get Dean out of his brooding mood, and began, "You know how pissed Monica would be when she finds out you skipped town, right?"
Okay, so I shouldn't have brought that one up, Sam thought when he saw the older man's nostrils flare up, the clenching and unclenching of his jaw, and the knuckles on the steering wheels turning white as Dean refused to answer.
Sam gave out a loud frustrated, exasperated sigh and cleared his throat before starting again, this time going for the jugular, "You know what Dean? You're an ass. I'm guessing you slept with her, right? And now you're running away from her with your tail tuck between your legs."
He soon fell silent when Dean didn't so much as respond to that, but before he could think of another tactic, he heard his brother huffed a sigh in annoyance.
Dean took a minute before replying as he drove on, smirk and amusement firmly planted in his voice and in his face, "Dude, is that the best you can come up with? I mean, look who's talking. You're no doubt running away from both Jennifer and Elizabeth."
A tiny smile played on Sam's features, "So what do we do now?"
"Now that we're fugitives under the female radar?" Dean asked, cocking a brow at his brother.
At Sam's nod, Dean continued, shrugging a shoulder, "I say we run as far and away from here and them as we possibly can. What do you say?"
Sam took his gaze away from the breathtaking view of the outside as the world started awakening and turned to look at his brother, "I say that's fine by me…only just as long as they find you first, jerk."
Dean took his eyes out of road for a second to glance at his brother, "Bitch."
The tension that had settled in the air between them a while ago had dissipated just as quickly as it began, leaving both brothers with a new sense of hope as the Chevy continued to eat the blacktop and leave everything else behind.
The End...
A/N: Once again, thanks to those who stood by me for the long haul! I'm grateful for it! :D Now, even though this is the end of the 'Struggle Within', it is not the end of the story. I am planning on having two sequels following this one, and I promise you - 110% guarantee that it will be tons better than this one. It'll have much more suspense, action, and the mythology will deepen tremendously. Everybody will be back including Ruby, Castiel, Lilith, and Agent Henricksen (yep, he doesn't die in my story :D). That sound good? One more thing. This story was technically supposed to be an introduction of the sisters, and I had wanted to make them likable. If y'all still don't like 'em or don't trust them in any way, then please let me know how I can fix them. How can I redeem them? I'm all up for suggestions! If y'all have any ideas, please don't hesitate to let me know! :D And again, thanks for reading and reviewing!!! :D
V.