Well, here it is guys, the final chapter. I hope this one ties it up as nicely as it can, but like Chuck said "endings are hard. As always all mistakes are mine and the Winchester's aren't mine. Hope you enjoy. :)
The Vacant Year
Chapter Five
Lisa sleeps more soundly than she thought she would. She only woke once when one of Dean's nightmares had him thrashing about. He ended up screaming himself awake and rolling as close to the edge of the bed as possible. The sound of his haggard breathing lulls her back to sleep.
She rises a half-hour before she has to get Ben up. She sits up and stretches her arms above her head. Lisa looks down at Dean. He's curled up on his side facing the door. The blanket is twisted up in his fingers and he keeps twitching in his fitful sleep.
Lisa carefully extracts herself from the bed. She freezes when he stirs slightly, but thankfully he doesn't wake. She creeps across the semi-dark room and quietly pulls open her dresser drawers. She removes her clothing and silently glides the drawer closed, ensuring that it doesn't bang shut. Lisa tugs the bathroom door shut before flipping the light switch. She's determined to keep whatever peace Dean for as long as possible. She keeps her shower brief this morning since Ben has school.
Dean's coughing when she returns to the bedroom. At the first they're tiny hacks, like he swallowed the wrong way. But they escalate until Dean gasps to breath over the side of the bed. Lisa swiftly crosses the expanse of the room. She places a hand on his back and rubs until the coughing abates.
"That doesn't sound too good," Lisa states.
"I'm fine, just a tickle," Dean lies.
She wishes to call him out on it but knows that will lead to his walls shooting back up and he doesn't have the energy to maintain them right now, so she lets it go.
"Coffee will be ready in fifteen," she calls as she leaves the room.
After rousing Ben, Lisa gets the coffee mater going. She opts for decaf this morning. The less wired Dean is the better. Dean stumbles the steps before Ben. He's showered and dressed but looks horrible.
He stiffly walks across the room as if his joints are filled with lead. He sits down at the table and digs his fingers into his temples when he thinks Lisa isn't looking. She pours him a cup of coffee and sets it in front him. He wraps both his hands around the mug as if he's soaking in the warmth.
Lisa sets about making Ben's lunch. She smears equal amounts of peanut butter and jelly on pieces of bread and puts a handful of M&M's in bag. She places both of those items along with an apple and a juice box into his lunch bag. She's about to holler up to her son when she hears him thumping down the stairs.
"DEAN!" Ben exclaims.
Dean winces at the volume and forces a smile. "Hey Ben."
"Feeling any better?" Ben asks as he prepares his cereal.
Dean takes a sip of coffee. "Little bit."
Lisa frowns at the blatant lie but says nothing. She'll call him out on it later. "Hurry up and eat or you're gonna miss the bus," Lisa says as she sets his lunch bag down next to his backpack.
Ben shovels cereal down faster than she thought possible and is heading out the door less than ten minutes later. Lisa smiles fondly at her son's rushing and gets started on her own breakfast consisting of granola mixed with yogurt. "You want anything?" Lisa asks before she sits down.
"Refill?"
Lisa takes his mug and tops it off, passing it over to him before grabbing her own items and sitting down next to him. She visually examines him while she eats. Dean holds the mug with two hands due to the fine tremor running though his body. There's a thin sheet of sweat coating his face and his eyes keep drooping closed even though he just got up. The third time his chin dips to his chest Lisa shakes his arm.
"Why don't you go back to bed?"
"I'm fine, just need more coffee," Dean mumbles.
Lisa frowns. "Dean you're exhausted at least go lay on the couch, you don't have to sleep. Just give your body a day off."
He grumbles and begins to protest but before he can even get the first word out his lungs seize up and he starts hacking again. Deep, chest rattling coughs that has Lisa scrambling around behind him to vigorously rub between his shoulder blades. That's when she feels the heat. Even through the two layers he has on she feels the warmth oozing off his skin. Eventually the coughs taper off, but Lisa doesn't move.
She cups the back of his neck with one hand the palms his forehead with the other. He sluggishly attempts to bat her away, but fails. "Jeez Dean," mutters. "You're burni-hot."
The lack of a sarcastic come back confirms to her just how lousy he's feeling. "Couch now," Lisa orders. She knows it's a low blow, but Dean has never responded well to concerned requests.
She watches the internal battle play out on his features. A mask of defiant stubbornness settles in his eyes. He starts to formulate a counter argument but his defiance slips into defeat when he coughs again. Dean closes his eyes and pushes back from the table. He sways slightly when he rises, Lisa holds her hand out just in case she needs to grab hold of him. Dean quickly regains his balance and slowly makes his way to the couch.
Once Dean is seated, Lisa heads upstairs to her bathroom. While she raids the medicine cabinet, she calls her boss to inform him that Ben caught a stomach bug and she needs to stay home with him for the next couple days. Lisa is lucky her boss is the understanding type.
Lisa comes back down with her arms full of drugs and a couple blankets. She brought down everything she could possibly need. Cough syrup, Tylenol, and a thermometer. Gather the supplies was the easy part, now she just had to convince Dean to let her do all the work.
Dean's exactly where she left him. He cradles his head in has hands and massages his temples. His shoulders quake as fine shivers course through him. Lisa sets the bundle of items down on the couch arm and holds the thermometer out to him, he waves his hand dismissively.
"Dean, I need to know how high it is," Lisa remarks.
Dean shrugs and goes back to rubbing his temples. And that's when it slams into her. He believes he deserves this. In his mind he failed and therefore has to suffer. He failed Sam, his father, and his own standards. Now he's self-punishing by pushing his body far beyond its breaking point. Lisa moves around to the front of the couch and perches herself on the edge of the coffee table. Dean's gazing down at his lap.
"Hey," Lisa says as she gently tilts his chin up. "I don't know what happened to Sam, but I do know he thought the world of you. You're his hero. And no matter what you'll always be his big brother. Now, I think it's time that the man who saved the world got a little attention." She smiles and holds the device out again. A tear slides down his cheek as he takes it and slips it under his tongue.
While she waits for it to beep, Lisa retreats to the kitchen and fills a glass with water. She pours orange juice in another glass and grabs a box of crackers out of the pantry before returning to the living room. She sets the items down and removes the thermometer from Dean's lips.
"What's the damage?" Dean asks.
"101.2, could be worse." She shakes out a couple Tylenol and drops them into his outstretched palm. She passes him the water and he drinks half before handing it back.
Dean rests his elbows on his thighs and claps his hands on the back of his neck. Lisa sits down next to him and soothingly strokes his shoulder. He coughs twice into his fist and shudders.
Lisa snags the blanket off the couch arm and drapes it over his shoulders. "You wanna watch a movie?"
Dean shrugs. "I don't wanna ruin your day."
She gets up off the couch and strides over to the entertainment center. Lisa opens the movie drawer and runs her fingers across the DVD cases. She passes over all of Ben's action flicks knowing those will just wind Dean up. She skims the titles and grins when she finds the one she was searching for. She pops the disc out of the case and inserts it into the player. Lisa tugs the curtains closed in her way back to the couch.
She plops down on the cushion next to Dean, who has pulled the blanket snug around his body. Lisa presses the power button and the TV blinks to life.
"I called in hooky today," she says as she pushes play. "Decided I need a stress free day."
Dean nods and coughs. "What're we watching."
Lisa smirks. "The Proposal." Dean scowls. "Hey, I never get to watch my chick-flicks."
Dean snorts and leans back against the cushions, his eyes fixated on the scree. Lisa smiles at the genius of her plan. Not only did she get to watch one her favorite movies, but it will also act as a foolproof lull-a-bye. The non-action driven plot combine with soft-spoken dialogue is sure to put Dean to sleep. He survives a half-hour before he starts listing to the unoccupied cushion.
Lisa wraps her arm loosely around his shoulders and guides his body in the other direction. She keeps pressing him down until his head lies in her lap. He slowly blinks up at her with dewy eyes. An amused smirk crosses his lips as she slides a hand under his knees and gently coaxes his legs onto the couch. She drapes an arm across his chest and lightly drags her fingers along his t-shirt. Lisa turns the volume down a couple clicks and Dean sighs, his eyes slipping closed as he sinks further against her leg.
He stays like that for a good hour and then the dog barks. It's not even a real dog prancing down the sidewalk outside the window; it's a puppy on the TV. One yap from the dog and Dean jolts up, almost clipping Lisa in the chin with his head.
Dean swings his legs over the side of the couch and sits rigidly, ready to spring into action at a moments notice. His unfocused eyes wildly jump around the room. His breath comes out in short, choking bursts.
For a moment, Lisa is startled. She leaps back in her seat with a surprised squeak. But when she realizes what's happening she hastily surges into action. She moves over and sits on the table directly in front of Dean's line of sight. He gazes straight through her, breaths coming out even faster, eyes as big a saucers. Lisa has the urge to snap his fingers by his ear, but logic overrides. Sudden noises probably aren't welcome.
Panic rises in her chest as Dean's skin tone drops another shade and he beings to tremble. Then, the solution crashes into her. Sam. What would Sam do? Almost instantly after that she knows how to help.
Lisa latches onto his hand. He squeezes back with such ferocity she swears she hears bones break. But, she doesn't let that faze her. She lightly sweeps her thumb in a curricular pattern across his clammy skin. Lisa hops the feather light touch grounds him back on Earth.
"Hey Dean," she says softly. "You remember when we first met?" He blinks. "It was what, early 1999? You were twenty, I was twenty-one. I remember it was some dingy biker bar, smelled of smoke, booze, and motor oil. You had just finished hustlin' pool when you drifted over to my friends and I. You leaned against that bar next to me, all cocky in that leather jacket of yours with that charming win-all smile." Dean's breathing slows slightly, gasping only occasionally. "And what did you say?"
"C-can I b-buy you-u a d-drink, S-sweet H-heart," Dean stutters.
Lisa smiles in relief. "And then you became best-night-of-my-life-Dean."
He attempts to laugh but it comes out more like a stifled cough. Lisa returns to her seat on the couch. He's still tense and shaking slightly, his skin glistens with sweat.
"You okay?" She asks. He nods. "Didn't know you were afraid of dogs."
Dean stiffens. "Didn't used to be." He goes back to watching the movie cutting off further communication.
After about five minutes, Dean starts to squirm, shifting his weight from one side of his body to the other and nervously glancing over towards her. Lisa shoots him a reassuring smile as she reaches her arm out to him. She grips his shoulder and pulls him against her. Dean scoots down until his head is pillowed in her lap again. He sighs contentedly as she throws the blanket over his body. Lisa rakes her figures through his hair, but stops when he tenses up.
"No," Dean breathes out. "That…uhhh…feels nice."
Lisa places her arm back across his chest and absentmindedly plays with his hair with the other hand. He lets out a long breath as exhaustion consumes him.
For once in weeks, possibly even years, Dean rouses slowly. He's drifting in a semi-conscious state. His limbs feel waterlogged and his brain is filled with cotton balls. But, there's something pleasant wafting through the air. Dean deeply inhales, pulling the wonderful scent in. He cracks his eyes open, blinking a couple times to clear the fuzziness.
Dean shifts slightly and that's when he notices he's alone. He shoots upright, aching muscles protesting. The room is cloaked in darkness, the only light filtering in from the streetlights. Terror settles in his chest.
'Lisa's not here,' he thinks. 'What if a demon broke in…kidnapped her…and Ben?' His breathing speeds up. 'Oh, god…what if they're being used as bait?'
The world fades away as Dean formulates how to track the son of a bitch down and send his ass straight back to the Pit.
"Hey! Dean! Hey!" A voice cuts through the fog and there's a pressure on his neck, forcing his head down. Dean struggles weakly. "Dean it's okay. You're okay. Settle down, I'm right here."
The quiet litany eventually cuts through the panic. "Lisa?"
"Hey Dean," Lisa says sweetly. "Sorry, Ben got home."
He runs a hand down his face and nods. "'S okay."
"I gotta go make sure Ben doesn't burn down the kitchen," she says as she gestures in that direction. "Dinner will be ready soon."
He wants to tell her that he's not hungry, but, instead just grunts in response. He figures he can choke down a few mouthfuls for her. Dean leans his head back and groans. He finally slept for more than three hours and he still feels as if he could pass out for at least another week. He doesn't even realize he's dozed off until Lisa gently shakes his shoulder.
"Ben wants to watch Fast & Furious, you good with that?"
"That's fine," Dean replies. "Dinner?"
"Yeah," Lisa says and Dean starts to push himself up. "Don't." She presses him back down. "TV dinner, Ben insisted on making this for you."
Dean settles back down and Lisa leave the room. She returns a few minutes later carrying two steaming bowls and Ben trails behind her holding a glass of juice. She sets the bowls down before returning to the kitchen to get the last bowl. While she's gone, Ben places the glass in front of Dean and gets the movie set up before plopping down in the armchair.
"You ever seen this?" Ben asks.
"Can't say I have," Dean says.
Ben's eyes light up. "It's awesome!"
Lisa enters and hands the bowl before sitting down on the couch. She picks up her own bowl and passes the other over the Dean. Ben jabs the play button and the room fills up with roaring car engines.
Dean gazes down at the soup. There are chunks of chicken, carrots, and peas, but the best part is the noodles. They aren't the thin, spaghetti like ones; they're the fat, curly ones. Dean smiles and slurps up a spoonful. The flavor is like fireworks exploding in his mouth and he quickly finishes the entire bowl.
The soup warms him up making him drowsy. His head drops down onto Lisa's shoulder and she pulls him in close, running her hand along his arm. He gropes around on the cushion until his fingers brush against her skin. Dean interlocks their hands and traces patterns across her flesh.
There's still a gaping Sam-sized hole in his heart. But, this is what Sammy wanted. This was his dying wish. The nightmares will never stop and he knows he'll soon be reacquainted with his pal Mr. Jack Daniels. But, every Apple Pie Life has it's rough patches, that's what makes it normal.
Whew, that was a long one. I think that's all for this story, thanks for sticking with me :) Hope you all enjoyed, drop a review and let me know, I'd love to hear from you. Have an amazing day!