Toying with a couple of ideas...
Message me if you'd like to have input...
- Sam's POV -
As soon as my eyes met hers, I felt my heart sink. Her irises glowed the color of the light that had emanated from her when she'd been stabbed. I knew in that instant that a battle had been won, but that the war had only begun.
"How did you know?" Dean asked, breaking the silence. It took a moment for Diana- or, whoever she was- to tear her gaze from me.
"Lisa and Ben told me," she told Dean in Diana's voice. "They said Castiel told them to find me so I could come get you."
"Where are they?"
"Outside."
Our eyes widened. "What!" we shouted together. Dean ran out the door but before she could follow him, I grabbed her arm.
"Why would you bring them here?" I demanded.
She shrugged. "I knew they would be safe, they were with me."
"You were going up against a god!"
"But I knew I'd win," she replied, cocking her head to the side and staring at me with those luminescent blue eyes as though I had said she should have been more careful when her opponent was a slug. My jaw set and I pulled her out of the room by her arm. She yanked her arm from my grasp, but walked beside me willingly, head held high. We found Dean outside, locked in the embrace of his adoring ex and her son.
"I told you they would be fine."
"Thank you," Lisa smiled at Diana, squeezing Dean tightly, then moving to put an affectionate hand on my shoulder. "Thank you."
"I didn't do it for you."
Lisa ignored the snide comment, moving back to Dean, but I threw a glare at her. This woman beside me was definitely not my Diana, but the fact that these things were coming out of her mouth pissed me off. I turned to Dean.
"What do we do now?"
"We go get the car and head back to home base," he sighed, gazing at Ben. "Sorry, bud, but we can't let you go home yet. Don't worry, though, our friend Charlie brought a bunch of game systems to where we're going so you should be set."
"You have a house now?" Lisa looked up at Dean, her hand still on his chest.
"Not exactly," he said, smiling softly down at her and, for just a moment, they looked like a couple again. Ben moved to Dean's side and completed a picture that made me smile to myself.
"We'll get the car, you guys grab anything you want and check out of the motel," Diana ordered before turning on her heel and starting away. I looked at Dean and we exchanged nods before I followed Diana out.
"What was that?" I asked when I caught up with her.
"What?" she asked, taking a sharp right and strutting down the next street.
"You just burst out with your plan that you didn't check with anyone else and walked away."
She gave me that you're-a-sad-idiot look again and exhaled. "Clearly, they needed a moment. I got us out of the way so they could have their family time before possibly having to say goodbye to each other forever. I would've thought you of all people would have appreciated that gesture."
"That was... Very thoughtful," I replied, casting a sidelong glance at her.
She stopped suddenly and turned to me, folding her arms beneath her breasts.
"What?" she growled. "Am I incapable of being considerate just because I'm not exactly what you want me to be?" She rolled her eyes and started to march away again.
"No, you're incapable of being considerate because you're friggen La Femme Nikita times a hundred!" I replied, close on her heels.
"Sam, I'm exhausted, don't start," she warned.
"Or what?" I challenged. "You'll throw me through a wall?" She ignored me. "What? What are you gonna do? Are you gonna kill me?"
"No, I'll-" she stopped suddenly, swaying on the spot, her voice fading. "I-I'll..." Her eye lids slid closed over the glowing blue eyes and her body went limp, collapsing into my arms.
"Diana!" I yelled as she fell back against me. I held her against my chest and lifted her face to mine. "Diana?"
Just as suddenly as she'd passed out, her eyelids fluttered open again. The blue light had faded. As her warm hazel eyes blinked up at me, I felt my Diana, the Diana that I'd come to know and cherish, return to my arms.
"Diana?" I asked again, softly, hopefully. She smiled softly.
"Haven't we been here before?" she asked. I hugged her tightly against me, burying my face in her hair.
"I thought I'd lost you," I whispered. She reached up and wrapped her arms around my neck, stroking the back of my head as we held each other.
"I never left, Sam," she replied quietly. I pulled away, holding her a few inches from me, peering into her eyes. In the most inner part of her irises, right on the edge of the darkness where her pupils began, a slim ring of the blue light glowed very dimly.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Sometimes, when it's exorcised too much, the power gets worn out and retreats to recharge, going on auto-pilot," she explained. "Usually I can regain control of myself at those times, but it never lasts very long."
I exhaled, my shoulders and heart sinking knowing she'd leave again. "How long?"
"I don't know. I haven't exactly fought many gods before," she replied, faking a smile for me. When I didn't return the smile, she reached up and pulled my head down so we were nose to nose. "I'll never stop fighting," she promised. "I'll always come back to you." I sighed and nodded, brushing my fingers against her cheek. She offered me another warm smile and kissed my lips softly. "We have to go," she whispered when our lips parted, her forehead still touching mine. I nodded but pulled her closer and kissed her again.
With our arms wrapped around each other and our mouths meeting for the first time in what seemed like a century, I felt myself losing grip of reality, and I desperately wanted to let it all just fade away so that I could forget Artemis, Castiel, Crowley. Forget the war between heaven and hell, forget the war between me, my brother, and the rest of the world, forget the war that Diana was fighting within her own mind. I just wanted to lie in her arms, savor her kiss, and not ever have to worry about monsters or hell or any of that. I could just stay in this moment forever.
But, no. No, we sacrificed our imaginary paradise and pulled away because there were lives on the line and because we were fighters, not cowards. We would fight to the death for our freedom, and even after death, with our history. But there was one consolation in it all, one glistening prize in all the shit we were buried beneath, family. And, cliche and cheesy as it was, I was grateful for it. I had Dean and I had Diana and I knew that with those two by my side, I could get through anything.
As we walked down the back roads near the lake, looking for the car, I took comfort in simply holding Diana's hand and as we talked, she kept a calm and controlled composure, but I knew she was terrified. I squeezed her hand gently when she told me she'd watched herself do things that she wasn't proud of. I told her that she wasn't alone.
"To be honest, you're not really one of us until you've died and returned as well as made a few huge mistakes," I told her. She smiled weakly up at me and I dropped a kiss on her head. "Whether you're proud of it or not, it happened and you can't change it. It's hard. And it never gets easier, I can promise you that. But we're in a war. Casualties are guaranteed. We can limit them, but not eliminate them."
She nodded, but didn't say anything. We walked a little farther, then stopped so I could look around and try to figure out if I'd been down the road we were on.
"This way," I said, pulling her along. We made a few more turns before finding the car, exactly where I'd left it, completely in tact.
"Wow. Looks like no one has even come by," Diana said, then raised an eyebrow. "That's the most suspicious thing I think I've ever seen."
I nodded, then cautiously walked around the car, peering through the windows for any sign of damage. I checked the trunk and under the hood. Everything was there. When I put the hood down, Cas was standing beside me. Diana and I both jumped and I threw my arm out in front of her.
"What do you want, Castiel?" I demanded.
"You will find everything in tact," he informed me. "I took the liberty of shielding the car so that you would be able to retrieve it as you had left it. It wouldn't be fair if you had lost the car or your equipment or it had been damaged because a goddess had captured you. I figured it was the least I could do after upsetting you so when I killed- well, tried to kill- the girl."
"Let me guess, you thought I'd be so grateful that I wouldn't mind if you tried to kill her again," I snarled.
Cas hung his head. When he lifted it, he looked pained. "I see now that the vessels are not merely suits for the power to wear." His eyes shifted to Diana. "They are people who are very real and very dear to my friends. While I still believe her incapable of loving you, as your friend, I am willing to listen to your reasoning as to why we should not strip the power of it's vessel and move it somewhere else."
I exchanged glances with Diana, then looked back at Castiel. "Look, Cas, we can't talk now. Dean's waiting for us. We're still running from every other creature out there that wants to get their hands on Diana. We need to hole up somewhere safe so we can make a plan. If you're willing to help us, that's great, and we'll gladly accept, but we can't discuss differences in opinion now. We need to go."
"I understand," Cas nodded. "When you wish to speak with me, pray to me and I shall come to you." And with that, he disappeared.
I felt Diana physically relax behind me and I glanced over my shoulder when she rested her forehead against my arm. I pulled her close and whispered more promises to keep her safe, then we got into the car and raced back to the motel.
Once the others had all piled in, I filled Dean in on Diana's state, how the power was expected to tune in and out, and on Castiel's offer. He stared at the road ahead, lips pursed, considering all that I had just thrown at him, then nodded.
"We'll talk."
"Great, but Dean, if he's just trying to-"
"We'll talk to him, Sam. But, for now, that's it. No more."
I nodded and we drove the rest of the way in silence.
Once back home, we got Ben set up with some video games and Diana brought him cookies and other junk to dig into. He dove into the games, probably to distract himself from all the crap he'd been facing. We moved to the library where Diana's books were still strewn all over the table, each open to a page, a pile of notes by her laptop in the center of it all. I helped her move everything off to the side so that we could all sit around the table and discuss what to do next.
"As the non-hunter here, I have to say that I'm getting very lost," Lisa admitted. She looked at Diana. "I'm sorry, but I still don't really understand who you are."
"Honestly, I'm not sure I understand either," she sighed, massaging her temples.
"Diana is our friend," I told Lisa. "We met her on a case and found out she has something powerful inside of her that every supernatural creature is vying for. We've been training her to be a hunter and fighting to protect her."
"So you're not a hooker?" Lisa asked. We all burst out laughing and a great deal of the tension was released.
"No, I'm not a hooker," Diana grinned.
"Nah, she's more like the second little sister I never wanted," Dean smirked. He and Diana shared a smile and he winked at her.
"Who's the first?" Lisa asked.
"Another friend of ours, Charlie," I smiled. "She pops up occasionally."
"Of course, we both consider Charlie our little sister," Dean smirked. "I'm the only one who thinks of Diana like a little sister."
"Oh?" Lisa raised her eyebrows at me with a smile and I felt my face heat.
"Yeah, okay. Moving on."
"Your friend, you said?" she teased.
"No, not exactly," I admitted, glancing at Diana who was blushing as well, but smiling just the same. "Anyway..."
"Our problem," Diana said, saving me, "boiled down to basics, is that I have this power inside of me that I can't control and that everyone else wants and are willing to cut throats to get it. Unfortunately, that means that you and Ben are targets because you are important to Dean, which automatically makes you important to me."
"How sweet," Lisa sighed. "Unfortunate and consequential, but sweet."
"Sorry," Diana smiled shyly. "I wish you weren't at such risk."
Lisa shrugged. "It's all right. We're kind of used to it at this point."
"But that's not okay," Dean told her. "You shouldn't have to live your lives in fear."
"Every mother lives in fear, Dean," Lisa replied.
"That's not what I meant and you know it," Dean said, giving her a hard look.
"This isn't the time," Lisa protested.
"Actually, it's the perfect time," Dean argued. "If you'd rather we spoke in private, we can go to another room, but we do need to talk about this. Now."
Lisa sighed, excused herself, and rose to follow Dean into another room, leaving Diana and I alone again. I stared at her as she watched them go. She sighed, but didn't say anything.
"What is it?" I asked, touching her hand.
"They love each other," she said softly. "And they don't think they can be together."
"Well, they've tried," I said, pulling her from her chair beside me and into my lap. "It never works out because Dean's a hunter and he'll never stop being one, but Lisa cannot raise her son and sit at home waiting for the day when Dean doesn't come back. It's not fair."
She sighed and rested her head against my shoulder. "But he loves them so much... I just wish he could at least have that one thing, you know? In all of the crap that he's done all his life, he can't even keep the woman and child that he loves..."
I nodded and nuzzled her hair, letting my lips linger on her neck. She kissed my temple and held my hand in hers, lacing her fingers through mine.
"I'll fight for you," she said after a few moments of silence. I lifted my head to look her in the eyes. "I'll always fight for you. And I don't care if I have to spend the rest of my life holed up in hiding here or out on the road eating greasy diner food and sleeping in crappy motels, working on cases. I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, Sam. You are the most amazing man I've ever met, for so many reasons. You're incredibly smart, kind, selfless, among other shining qualities. And, yes, you're also scarred and broken. You have a very dark past and you come with a lot of baggage. You have and will probably continue to hurt me. But in life, everyone hurts you. But you, Sam Winchester, you are different because you're worth it. You are worth suffering for. And that's how I know. That's how I know that I love you."
Thoughts?