Now
Now...
J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING – FBI Headquarters – Washington D.C;
I dunno how much longer I can do this man... this is crap, it's bupkiss... it sucks. I can't, I just can't... Vic let the sentiment hang in the back of his head as he made his way to his office and closed the door, pulling up on his computer a carefully compiled group of weather, seismic, and 'freak incident' maps. Today there were two maps flashing red. One that centered over the South Eastern border of South Dakota, and another square that flashed over the South Eastern border of Ohio, where it joined with West Virginia; where he'd allowed himself to be separated from the Winchesters, for the good of all parties concerned.
"Hey Vic, suit up, you're going to Ohio," Marcus Semple poked his head into the office as Victor minimized the page, "Word is some fruitcake set off a bomb down there, took out a park ranger and the fire marshall..."
Victor frowned, "Last I heard from the geologists there was thought it might be a lava bed about to break through..."
"Well then what took out Petrelli and Torgeson?" Marcus half sneered leaning on the door jamb, "One of 'em was found headless and the other one looked like he'd been squeezed like a ketchup packet."
"Do I look like David Duchovny to you? Who am I? Mulder? You think there's something 'X' goin' on down there, YOU put in for the job..." he groused then smirked, "Oh that's right... I forgot... it's THAT particular fascination that keeps you pushin' paper isn't it?"
"Your plane leaves in an hour," Marcus huffed turning on his heel.
Sliding into his jacket Victor pulled his cell and scrolled through his phonebook until the bar stopped at Shepard McGregor. His thumb hovered over 'send' for a moment before he shook his head, closed the phone and slid it back into his pocket, Don't jump the gun Vic... hold tight until we see what we can see.
88
"Dean? Oh God... Dean Please don't go... please baby, don't go..." Mercy sniffed leaning forward until her forehead was pressed against his and her mouth at his ear, "Please don't leave me..."
"Mercy," Bobby wrapped his arm around his niece's shoulders, his own tear filled eyes shining in the blinding glow of early afternoon sun as he watched the young man's chest and belly start to move again with steady shallow breaths. Her hands were pressed so hard on either side of his wound, she couldn't feel it.
"C'mon Bob," Shep directed the older man, pointing toward Dean's legs, "Let's get him inside."
"No! Don't move him!" Mercy ordered angrily as Bobby drew her back and fought with her to remove her hands from the entry and exit holes.
"Mercy... Look..." Bobby directed, still struggling to peel her hand from his belly.
Through the tears her breath shuddered and her head shook, unable to understand what she was seeing as the edges of his skin began to knit together outlined by veins of copper colored energy moving very like an electrical charge. Before their eyes the hole grew closed and presumably the internal damage was on its way to being undone.
They watched as a patch of scar tissue formed, whose origin, should it ever need to be explained to anyone, very few would believe he'd survived.
Leaving Mercy on her knees with Jo at her side to make sure she was alright, Bobby and Shep carried the young man into the house, laying him gently on the bed across from Sam who lay unconscious in the other, placed there by Tom and Ellen.
88
"C'mon Dean, wake up... please wake up..." Sam shook his big brother gently. He couldn't stop shaking and once again his gaze went to the window the last remnant of Azazel, held deep within him had thrown Dean through. That audacity gave Sam the fury he needed to evict the last of the demon, embrace the truth of his line and his destiny, and save his brothers' life in the process. Wish I could heal him up completely...wish I could heal us BOTH up completely come to think of it...
Relief coursed through him as Dean's eyes fluttered open and wobbled around the room.
Outside the window Tom and Shep, standing on ladders nailing a plastic tarp to the window frame peered in as Bobby entered the room and pulled up a chair beside Sam, as if on cue.
Dean's eyes moved from face to face, Tom's first, "Zeke," then to Shep, "Hunk," then over to Bobby, "Uncle Henry," and finally to Sam's, "Auntie Em...I had the strangest dream..." he smiled groaning faintly.
Air rushed from Sam as the tension in his face traded places with relief, "You were dead Dean... I'm sorry... I couldn't stop it..." he looked down, catching a glimpse of light in his big brothers' eyes, that same light that told him Dean knew it wasn't Sam, that it never would have or could have been Sam.
With a smirk he knew Dean would appreciate he sighed, "... you're gonna turn me gray before I'm thirty… jerk…" Sam half frowned offering his good hand and bracing the older man with the other.
"Bitch, bitch, bitch... You're such a sentimentalist..." he grasped Sam's hand, using the young man to pull him upright, "You okay now? No YED inside?" he asked scratching his head.
Sam sighed allowing relief to bring with it comfort as he smiled, "All gone... igigi food... you knew what he did to me, you knew WHY?" he asked.
Dean nodded, "Once I had the vision of his trial I had a pretty good idea...but still with demons y'never can be too sure."
"But why all the other children?" Sam asked frowning before he made the connection, "It's the line of patrons isn't it?" he asked already knowing it was so, "All of us, all the children he seeded, we're all aligned to Marduk and through him to Enki."
Dean nodded, "That's what I was figuring... coulda been wrong though."
Bobby reached over, tossing a pair of jeans at the elder Winchester who just seemed to realize he was still sporting nothing more than a pair of boxers, "Exhibitionist... Mercy's hard enough to control when you're fully clothed... I swear to God I heard something POP when she saw you in your shorts boy," Bobby smirked, glad to be one of the few people who could actually make Dean Winchester blush.
Dean smiled through the pink, "She's got good taste what can I say?" He snapped his head around his eyes boring into Sam's, "Laura! Oh God..." he fell back onto the bed, "She went through the seventh gate... they DRAGGED her behind it... I couldn't move, I couldn't stop looking at the gate, there was something about it, something I should have known..." he frowned scratching his head as Ellen knocked twice then entered carrying a FedEx Box.
"I think this is what we've been waiting for..." she handed it over to Sam, running a hand gently over his head as she did with Dean, "How're you boys doing?"
"Fine,"
"Good," they nodded together as she cupped their chins.
"There's no way out of this but forward is there?" she asked.
They shook their heads as Tommy and Shep poked their faces in from the outside before finishing with the tarp, "Don't we wish there was..." Shep smiled kindly at the woman then blushed and ducked back outside.
"I think Shep's crushing on you Ellen," Sam whispered, surprising all three of the men by making her blush as she cut open the box, paying far too much attention to unpacking its contents.
"I heard that little man! You watch it now're I'll do some fancy stitchin' on your mouth!" Shep called through the plastic.
"Don't worry Ellen he's harmless you know that..." Tom added as they disappeared from sight, each standing on the ground now to finish the bottom edge of the plastic.
"Oh hell..." Ellen flushed, "Assault with a dead weapon Shep?" she joked blushing madly much to everyone's delight, even her own.
Dean shook his head grinning as he pulled on a t-shirt then quickly finished with his shoes and socks, "You got the frames ready to press the pressings into Bobby?" he asked.
Holding back a set of snickers Bobby nodded, he couldn't bring himself to look at Ellen, he'd known her too long and knew she could cut him up one side and down the other with that wit of hers if she chose to, "Yeah they're ready."
"Good. Can't let a little thing like dyin' get in the way of saving the universe now can we? Let's go," he nodded.
88
The Museum Of Natural History:
The sharp tinkle of breaking glass snapped Esther Tilter's eyes up from the counter where she stood cataloging several new acquisitions.
"These pieces have survived thousands of years! You won't!" she warned over her shoulder as another cascade of glass responded.
"Son of a bitch... if that was one of the humidor panels...I'm gonna personally string you up on the flagpole!" she grumbled moving hastily back toward the sound.
Along the rear of storage room was the walk-in humidor and several smaller, self contained units that operated to keep the most delicate pieces, be they cloth, papyrus, or any other various materials as close to the atmospheric conditions in which they'd been initially preserved, and those that would serve them the best for future generations.
Esther walked the length of the back wall carefully examining the tempered glass panels for cracks or other damage. Huh, she frowned as quick footsteps moved among the rows of drawers and cabinets behind her.
"Who's there?" God is THAT cliche' she smiled chasing the sound as the footsteps moved on. Down one of the rows a glittering pile of glass caught her eye and she moved smoothly toward it, the irony most definite NOT lost. She'd just been here early this morning to press these two of the cylinders for that delectable cutie with the pleading puppy dog eyes and the tight tushie that spoke of a man who knew how to make a night want to last a lifetime. Wonder if he's still got that all night long, body or if he's... mmm Man I LOVE 'em at that age!
Crouching to pick up the larger glass pieces she glanced into the cabinet, "Son of a bitch!" she bolted upright then leaned over again, double checking, making sure the spots were indeed empty.
She dashed through the stacks, racing toward the back door that would lead to the rear hallway when another smash, this one louder and heavier drew her off her original course and into the museum proper and the Babylon exhibit. They're going for the other two cylinders... who? Sam? No, that doesn't make sense. Why would anyone want them? she wondered almost skidding to a stop in front of what was once a ten foot tall glass case.
"What the hell?" she breathed astonished by the sight. From the framework to the contents themselves it looked as if something huge had crushed it.
Around one of the far cases a shadow caught her eye and she moved forward stealthily, too many questions racing through her head, the alarm hadn't gone off, had the destruction of the case been so fast it literally hadn't registered? Whatever had crushed it had to have been huge so where was it? What was it? How had it been done?
"Hey, it's okay... you can come out..." she urged softly, coming around the edge of the case. A child? She wondered taking in the small stature of the shadow.
"It's okay..." she rounded the end of the display case and stood up straight, frowning with surprise.
As she knelt down to look under the case a shadow slid along the floor.
"What the hell..." Esther sighed standing up and gazing around. She startled at the sight of a young girl of about twelve, pressed against the half wall that separated periods in the exhibit.
If she had continued onward another six feet she might have found herself staring at Rick the guard's headless corpse.
"Hi... it's okay..." she soothed moving quickly to the child who stood stock still, wearing a knee length white dress with black patent leather shoes and pink bobby socks. Her head was crowned with little blonde ringlets and against her chest she clutched a satchel. The only incongruity was the pair of cataract glasses that covered her eyes.
Poor dear's blind... she thought speaking softly as she approached.
"Don't be afraid. My name is Esther, I work here at the museum... did you get separated from your mom?"
The child shook her head.
"Your dad then?" she asked.
The child shrugged.
"Why don't you come back to my office with me and we'll call security okay?"
The child nodded and held out her hand, staying side by side with Esther as she was led back through the staff hallways, taking the short cut to the woman's office.
Moving quickly, Esther felt her heart beating deep in her throat, her head spinning with far too many questions, and a growing sense that something very wrong had happened. What could have done that to the case? Damn I wish she wasn't blind... I wonder if she heard anything...
"What's your name sweetie?" She asked drawing to a stop halfway through the hall, her lips pursed as the child frowned.
"Did you hear anything while you were out there? Anything besides the crash?" she persisted.
With serpentine alacrity and the crushing force of stone the child's hand clamped onto her arm, "You will show me a map of this land. I need an entrance," came a multilayered voice part little girl; part something earthen, rocky and monstrous.
With the seventh gate closed behind her, the way to it barred by fire, and the knowledge that the man she loved was dead, Laura, as Ereshkegal's gallas dragged her toward the Queen's throne, ceased to struggle.
'He may yet live. You know that as well as you know he would have come to harm if you hadn't done this,' something inside her spoke gently. "I know. I wish him..." not even 'everything' was enough, and if she tried to list what she wanted for him time would never have a chance to end.
88
tbc.
Please R&R.
Thanks.
sifi.