Ruby and Sam stood facing each other, each with their arms crossed over their chest. The tension in the room was something you could cut with a knife. Neither of them refused to back down, and the argument was getting ugly. Ruby was on the verge of using her demonic powers against him, and Sam was ready to lock her in a devil's trap just to keep her from going.
"It's too dangerous," he spat at her.
"I'm a demon, Sam! It's not like they can really do anything to me!" she spat back.
Neither of these were new arguments. They'd been going around in circles for hours now - ever since Ruby had said she was going to summon the crossroads demon and find out about the soldier demon that ran loose.
"I should have never told you. I should have just gone in the middle of the night. Then we wouldn't be having this argument."
"If you would just stop being so stubborn and let me go with you, we wouldn't be having this argument. It would already be over and we'd have the information."
"Sam, you're not listening to me. Lilith wants you dead. Don't you get that? If any of them working for her get a chance, they will put a bullet in your brain! Period! There won't be any negotiations, no begging for mercy. They will just kill you and go on. They won't even think twice about it."
Sam faltered slightly on his stance, but he quickly recovered and went stoic again. "And what do you think they're going to do to you - especially if they find out you're asking in order to help me and Dean?"
Ruby decided it was time to try another tactic. She softened her expression and released her stance. She took a step forward and put both her hands on Sam's arms. She looked up at him with the eyes of a woman - a real woman - one who could feel and love and wanted to be loved. It hadn't been all that long since she'd been a human. She did still remember what all those emotions were. "Sam," she started with her voice low and sweet. "They aren't going to hurt me. They know they'd be risking too much if they did. Besides, I do have some leverage with them. If worse comes to worst, I can always fight my way out."
Sam felt himself slip a little at her touch. There was something electrifying about the feel of her hands on his skin, even just his arm. He knew as he looked down at her that he would eventually cave.
Before either of them had a chance to say anything else, the door burst open and Bobby - looking haggard and scraped up from head to toe - stumbled inside. Sam immediately broke free from Ruby and ran over to help Bobby inside.
"Bobby! What the hell happened?" he asked quickly, concern lacing his voice.
Bobby staggered from the door to the bed and sat down heavily. He watched as Sam went to the small motel bathroom and got a washcloth, drenching it in cold water. He handed it to Bobby and Bobby covered his face with it. The wet cloth against the scratches on his face stung, but felt good at the same time. He took a deep breath before lowering the cloth and pressing it against another wound on his arm, this one bleeding more than the ones on his face.
"While you two bickered about it, I went to the crossroads at the edge of town. She wasn't pleased with my line of questioning."
Sam and Ruby looked at each other in astonishment. "You confronted a crossroad's demon about this? Alone?" Ruby asked incredulously.
Bobby nodded, flinching slightly as he move the cloth from one wound to another. "You two couldn't seem to agree on anything, and we needed answers - fast. So I went alone. You didn't even notice I was gone till I came back."
Sam felt immediately ashamed. He knew that Bobby was right. He known that Bobby was gone, but it hadn't occurred to him to ask where he was. "I'm sorry, Bobby," he said quietly, feeling quite contrite.
Ruby fought the urge to roll her eyes. This moment of male bonding was sweet and all, but they needed to know what Bobby knew. "What did you find out?" she asked, adding just the right amount of worry and concern to her voice to make it sound almost genuine.
Bobby shook his head. "Nothing. Except that they really don't want us to know what is going on."
Ruby threw Sam an "I told you so" look and reached down to grab the keys to the Impala that Sam had been so protective of moments ago but had discarded when Bobby came in. "That's it. I'm going." She held up a hand to stop Sam before he could even speak. "Alone!" she said angrily. Without another word, she stormed out of the room, leaving Sam and Bobby inside.