Still not mine…
Supernatural
When he came to, he felt sick to his stomach. He was sure it wasn't entirely because of the pounding in his head, but he couldn't quite remember what else could make him sick. Then recent events hit him like a ton of bricks and his eyes snapped open. He sat up too quickly, the room spinning like a tilt-a-whirl, and said, "Sam?"
"Hey, hey, you're okay," a familiar voice said. He felt a pair of hands push him back. He didn't try to fight back, the dizziness made him want to puke. Once lying down, Anna's face swam into focus. He couldn't quite remember the last time he saw her.
"Where am I?" he asked once the initial shock of seeing Anna was gone. He needed to get his position in check, so he can start making plans to find Sam and expel Lucifer out of him.
"Bobby's," Anna replied softly. He felt something wet hit his face and was sure that Anna was cleaning up the blood that had fallen on it. It felt so good he almost nodded off again, but Sam's face swam in his vision and he jerked awake asking, "How'd I get here?"
"I brought you here," she said and the washcloth was gone. Dean could hear her swishing it around in a bowl of water, heard her wring it out, knew she was stalling. When the cloth was back on his head she said, "All angels have been grounded until further notice."
"What?"
"We have all been sent to earth, we're supposed to be fighting. Instead of that, I tracked you down." She continued to clean his blood away, not looking him in the eyes.
"Have you seen or heard from Cass?" he asked remembering the last time he saw the angel. They had been a Chuck's and an ark angel had been almost upon them. He had failed to do what Castiel asked and now they were in the middle of a war, an apocalyptic war.
Anna was quiet for a moment, wringing out his blood again, and then the cloth was back a third time and she said, "He was here when I first brought you here."
"Was he? So, he's okay," Dean asked sounding relieved. He didn't want to be responsible for Castiel's death. It was kind of his fault the angel was in trouble-if he was-because he had talked him into going against the other angels.
"Yes, the ark angel was pulled away before he could do anything. Castiel left Chuck and headed to find you. I had already taken care of you, so he wasn't sure where you were. At first he thought you were dead, that Lucifer had killed you…"
"What made him change his mind," Dean asked starting to hate being out of the loop. He should have tried harder to stay awake, tried to stop Lucifer from walking out with Sam in toe. Should have convinced Sam to not trust Ruby in the first place. Should have never agreed to torture souls. Should have put more effort into stopping himself from going to hell in the first place.
The "should have" game kept playing in his head, and he wasn't aware he had started crying until Anna wiped tears off his face and said, "This is not your fault."
"B…but I broke the first seal," he said in a small voice, ready to bury his head in the sand and give up. He was the one who started all this. Cass told him, Alastair told him, Lucifer thanked him… it was all his fault Lilith went on her seal breaking crusade. Just the thought of it had him crying harder.
Anna gently pulled him up, and wrapped her arms around his neck. She gently stroked his hair and mumbled, "Many people make mistakes. And if the angels wanted this war to happen, like Zachariah told you, then they would have found another way."
"H…how did you…" he started pulling away from her.
"Castiel told me before he left. I always told him to question every ordered he had been given. That even our father was capable of this. No one is perfect, no one.
"So, stop crying and help us. We need to find a way to send Lucifer back into hell before he can completely destroy the world."
Dean wiped his eyes on his sleeve, took a deep, shuddering breath, and said, "How do we do that without hurting Sam?"
Anna was quiet for a moment as she stood. She took the bowl of water and washcloth out of the room. Dean watched her go, propped up on Bobby's couch's arm. He wasn't sure he could make it off the couch to follow Anna. But he would try, he needed answers. He couldn't kill his brother.
So, he slid to the edge of the couch, ignoring the slight dizzy feeling it made, and used the couch's arm to pull himself up. In a bent over position the room spun slowly, but not enough to send him straight back into the couch. So, he straightened up and nearly fell over again.
A pair of hands grabbed his elbow, helping him back onto the couch. Anna sat next to him, giving him a stern look, and she said, "You could have fallen over."
"I needed answers," Dean said quietly, wanting to kick himself at how whiney he had sounded.
"Fine, Castiel's out looking for something that will help you kill Lucifer…"
"Without hurting Sam, right?" Dean asked sick and tired of hearing Anna imply that they might have to kill his little brother.
"Look, Dean, I am sure we can find a way to save Sam and kill Lucifer," Anna said softly stroking the back of his head. He knew she was just giving him empty promises, letting him hear what he wanted, but he had to grasp onto some hope that they would save Sam. He couldn't live without his brother, Sam was all he had.
He wasn't sure how long they sat in silence after that, Anna just stroking his hair and him trying not to break down, again. It wasn't until the door open that they moved. Anna was on her feet in seconds, Dean trying to see who was coming.
Bobby came around the corner, carrying a bag of food and a newspaper. He froze when he spotted Dean awake. Both food and paper fell to the floor and he was at Dean's side in seconds. He pulled the older Winchester up; embracing him like a father would a son. It took Dean a couple seconds to realize that Bobby had broken down. That the tough hunter he had grown to believe was as indestructible as his own father was having a human moment. Dean hadn't seen the old hunter this vulnerable since Sam died and Dean made the deal to bring him back. Just the thought of the deal made his stomach clench.
He suddenly pulled out of Bobby's embrace, feeling dirty and tainted. He fell back onto the couch, covering his face with his hands. He saw stars as he pressed his palms into his eyelids. He wasn't sure how long he sat there, but the sound of paper rustling and Anna saying, "This is not good," brought him back to reality. He looked up, the room momentarily dark as his sight came back into focus.
Anna was holding the paper-the one Bobby had dropped moments before-and reading the front page. She had a grim look on her face, one that made Dean really regret looking up. She shared a quick glance with Bobby then rushed out of the room. The paper fluttered to the floor, having fallen out of her hands seconds before.
"What did she see," Dean asked suddenly regretting the answer.
"This," Bobby muttered picking the paper up. Dean could tell the older hunter was reluctant to show him, but he would just keep pestering him until he did. Dean took the paper out of Bobby's hands and read: Three-hundred dead in mysterious collapse of New York bridge.
Dean's eyes widened, he couldn't breathe. He let the paper fall to the floor, putting his head between his knees to stop from puking-or passing out. Lucifer was already starting, which made him really question how long he was out.
When his breathing was under control, when he was sure he wasn't going to blow chunks all over Bobby, he looked up and whispered, "How long was I out?"
"A little over a day," Bobby replied hoarsely as he picked up the paper and tossed it onto his desk. He sat next to Dean and said, "It's not the only thing he has done."
"What else has he done?" Dean didn't want to know, but he had to. Sam was behind this, if not intentionally, and he had to know how many pieces he had to pick up when-and damn it I will-he saved his brother from this fate.
Bobby sighed, hesitant to give Dean what he wanted, but decided to get it over with. Like ripping a bandage off. He grabbed Dean under the arm, helped him to his feet, and helped the younger hunter into his library. They walked to his computer, its screen saver putting on a pipe show. Bobby moved the mouse and the computer came to life. He pushed Dean into the chair and leaned over him to click onto the internet.
Dean watched as Bobby clicked on a link. What popped up was: Mysterious disease hits New Jersey: thirty dead, one-hundred infected. Before Dean could get over that news, Bobby was clicking onto another link. Gas explosion in Boston: Eighty dead, city in panic. Three more links said things similar to that. Lucifer was working hard, and in less than two days he had managed to kill over a thousand people.
It was too much for Dean. Ignoring the fact that standing nearly made him collapsed, or that Bobby was standing behind him. He was one his feet in seconds, racing into the bathroom. He dropped to his knees, skidding across the bathroom floor, and was throwing up the meager contents of his stomach into Bobby's toilet.
When his stomach was empty, he dropped to the floor. He wrapped both arms around his stomach, pulling his knees up. He couldn't believe how much damage one fallen angel could do in just a few hours. One fallen angel with millions of demons at his disposal, he thought bitterly. A new wave of tears hit, making his whole body shake.
He heard a pair of feet walking up to him, and felt someone sit next to his head. Her hands gently stroked his hair, letting him have his break down. Anna didn't say anything, didn't bother his moment, let him get it all out before she said, "Cass is back."
"Okay," Dean managed to whisper. He took a deep, shuddering breath, and just lied there. He didn't want to move, didn't want to deal with anymore angels. He just wanted to sleep, to stay asleep so he didn't have to deal with demons, fallen angels, regular angels, anything.
"I'll let you come out when you're ready," Anna said quietly and got to her feet. Dean heard her leave, but he made no effort to follow her. He just let his eyes slide shut, let the dizziness overwhelm him, and he blacked out.
SUPERNATURAL
Anna stepped into Bobby's library. Bobby was sitting at his computer chair, looking at a gun sitting on his desk. Anna hadn't seen the gun in forever, sure that it was lost to all. She had no idea how Castiel managed to get it, what he had to do, but it was in their possession again.
Her eyes lingered on the colt for a few more seconds before they fell upon Castiel. He was sitting on Bobby's couch, head leaning against the back, eyes closed. He looked tired, something most angels never looked, and didn't acknowledge Anna's presence.
"How is he," Bobby asked before Anna could say anything. He had broken away from the colt, looking directly at Anna.
"He's coping," Anna replied still looking at Castiel. He hadn't moved an inch, he looked like he was asleep, but Anna knew better. She waited patiently until Cass opened his eyes, lifted his head, and fixed his gaze on her.
"Anna," was all he said.
"Where have you been, Cass," Anna asked curiously.
"Getting that," Castiel replied simply nodding his head toward the colt.
"I see that, but how did you get it."
"We don't have time for your questions. We need to find Lucifer and kill him. We can't let this battle go on, millions could die." Castiel was on his feet looking frustrated. Anna knew how much history Cass had with Lucifer, what the angel almost did. She didn't blame his sour mood, but she still couldn't just allow Dean to lose Sam.
"What makes you think that gun will work?" Anna asked barely glancing at the colt. She wasn't sure how much power the colt would have on Lucifer.
"What makes you think it won't," Castiel responded wearily, sitting back on the couch.
"He can't do it," Anna said slowly. She knew Castiel planned to have Dean kill Lucifer, he was already discussed among the angels. Dean started it all, he had to finish it.
"He has to," Castiel said under his breath. He was slowly going from frustrated to angry, Anna knowing exactly where that emotion could lead.
"But it's his brother…"
"Sam or not, he has to die. Lucifer was never supposed to walk free, let alone kill all these people. He's not the only one acting, you know that Anna. He's got his demons, his army, running around killing these people, too. If we don't stop him, get him to stop controlling these demons, then there will be no world to save before long. Dean will kill Lucifer: Sam or not."
"And if he refuses?"
"He won't, not after a while. His conscious will eventually beat out his love for his brother. Sam would want this anyway. He wouldn't want to be involved in all of this…"
"I don't think you know what Sam would want," Bobby interrupted. His voice was a mere growl, his fists clenched. Anna could almost see Bobby grabbing the colt and shooting Cass just out of spite alone.
Calmly, Anna could never figure out why Cass did that, he looked Bobby in the eyes and said, "Sam begged Dean to kill him so many times a few years ago. Always told him that if he went evil, to do away with him. Sam Winchester broke the last seal, he brought upon the apocalypse. He is possessed by Lucifer, he must die." So little compassion went into Castiel's voice. It was like he was taking about an evil demon, not Sam. Not someone who was just possessed.
"Then you should have killed me, too," a hoarse voice said from behind Anna. She slowly turned around to see Dean, leaning into the wall, watching the argument. He looked pale, looked exhausted, and just looked too young for his thirty-year-old self. Almost like he was six again, so scared of the outside world.
"Why?" Castiel asked playing dumb. Anna turned around in time to see something like sympathy flicker across his face before it was gone.
"Because, I started all the seal breaking. I was the one to break the first seal. Me, not Sam. If I would have just let them continue torturing me, kept refusing Alastair's offer, then none of this crap would have happened. So, in a sense, this is my fault." Dean pulled away from the wall, walking to the middle of the room. He stopped inches from Castiel, holding his arms out to expose torso. He looked Castiel in the eyes, blue looking into green, and said, "Why not kill me. The colt's right there. Why don't you pick it up and shoot me."
Bobby tensed; Anna knew that he was ready to push Dean down if Castiel tried. The angel, however, kept his eyes locked on Dean's. He was calm, collecting his thoughts. The waiting was pissing Dean off. "Come, Cass, shoot me. If Sam has to die for finishing off the seals, then kill me for starting them." Cass still hadn't moved, was still staring at Dean calmly. "If you don't do it, I'll do it myself."
Before Dean could take the seven or eight steps to pick up the colt, Bobby had already scooped it up and Castiel had laid a hand on his forehead. Dean collapsed, Castiel catching him before he fell to the ground.
"I want you to hide that somewhere safe. We're going to need it later," Castiel said not looking at Bobby. He dragged Dean over to the couch, depositing him into the cushions. He headed toward the exit, Anna quickly turning to face him and asking, "Where are you going?"
"To find Lucifer," was all Castiel said before he was gone. Anna sighed, turning back to Bobby who was taking the colt over to a painting. He pulled the painting back, reveling a safe. She didn't watch him open it, already crossing the room to sit next to Dean. She knew how much he was hurting, knew all he wanted to do was keep his brother safe, but she had to agree with Cass. The only way to save Sam was to kill him. And Dean was going to be the one to do it, whether he liked it or not.