Disclaimer: Nothing. I wish I did but yeah I just don't!
AF
Layla shivered in the back of Dean's car as the brothers went out to investigate the police roadblock. They had given her strict instructions not to leave the car.
Layla thought about escaping but understood that she had no money and nowhere to go. So she leaned back in her seat, crossed her arms and kept her face grim. Sam offered her a smile on parting but Dean completely ignored her.
They were only gone for a couple of minutes but they came back arguing under their breath. They did that a lot Layla had noticed as they had travelled towards the mental asylum. But there arguments had usually been about her. She knew that because of the looks that they darted in her direction when they stopped to get food.
The boys climbed back into the car and glared at each other.
"We have no idea that this is our problem," Dean was saying angrily.
"No a man just goes crazy and kills his wife for no good reason and that's not our problem," Sam sarcastically threw his hands in the air. Layla narrowed her eyes. Murder was not something she was accustomed to but she stayed quiet. She had learned the less she drew attention to herself the less she irritated Dean.
"You saw him being taken out of the house. He was raging all over the place. That is just a regular psycho!" Dean decided.
"But the people say they never argued a day in their lives and he admitted to killing her when she dropping his bear glass," Sam eyed his brother, "Killed her over a broken glass!"
Dean rolled his eyes but it was clear his resolve was weakening. Sam could see it and pushed his argument. "It's not gonna hurt if we take a look around. It's not like we need to be anywhere soon!"
Dean looked over his shoulder at the teenager who huddled on his backseat. She had her eyes downcast but was making no pretence of not listening.
"I wouldn't say nowhere," He said flicking his eyes back to the street in front and clasping the steering wheel. Layla glared hard at his back. He was such a cranky bastard and everything she did annoyed him. She had stopped talking about being sucked into the TV but her very presence seemed to put him on edge and she had no idea why.
Dean didn't either. He and Sam had come to the conclusion that she was crazy but it wasn't that fact that infuriated him. It was some unidentifiable thing. Maybe it was the way she acted completely sane and not mental!
"Dean, she's not dangerous," Sam hissed like saying it quietly would spare her feelings. Dean didn't know why he bothered. Layla felt hope rising. If she could some how convince them to let her stay. Prove she wasn't crazy or at the very least useful. She felt a growing terror as well. She had to accept that if being sucked into the TV was possible then all the demons and ghouls the brothers fought must be real too. Layla was no warrior.
"Fine! Lets find a hotel!" Dean snapped and turned the ignition on. They pulled off into some dingy little hotel just out of town and asked for a room.
The manager stared at the three of the curiously before saying randomly, "welcome to my hotel and I would just like to say we have a strict privacy policy. Nobody ain't ask no questions here!"
The three stared at him wordlessly unsure how to act before Layla stepped forward from where she had been huddled in the corner, "They're my brothers." Her voice held a small dose of disgust.
"I meant no offence, Lady," The man tried to amend, hands in the air.
"Well I am offended," She continued, adopting the tone she used on teachers, "Assumptions are the scourge of the planet, it is through insouciant acceptance of these that we permit our world to lapse further into the destructive degradation of expectations and conformity. I have half a mind to take our business somewhere else. Our family has standards!"
"Huh?" The manager muttered.
"Amen!" Dean whispered, clearly confused.
"I am saying that we think we'll go somewhere else to sleep," Layla was obviously frustrated.
"No no! I think I can cut you a price deal. Our biggest room only has a double and a single though!" The man hurried to appeal to her. The brothers stayed in the back and let Layla argue with the man. Sam was impressed.
"That will do," Layla decreed and Dean moved forward with his fake credit card.
Inside the room alone Layla sat on the chair and withdrew into herself. She found herself unexpectedly thinking about how much she hated hotel lights. They made every inch of fat on her body visible.
"What was that?" Sam asked with a smile.
"Best way to manoeuvre authority. Use big words!" Layla advised softly, chancing a look at Sam. He treated her with kindness despite thinking she was insane.
"Well it was just a waste of breath seeing as we don't use real money any way. It just drew attention to us," Dean protested unfairly. Layla lowered her head and said nothing.
Sam glared at his brother who shrugged and mouthed, "What?"
"We should go out and talk to the neighbours and family," Sam suggested.
"Stay here Layla," Dean instructed, like she was an animal. He walked out the door without a backwards glance.
Layla felt a stirring of anger and, despite her better judgement, she flipped him off. She caught Sam's eye and blushed but Sam just grinned ruefully and followed his brother.
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Dean staggered in first holding a bruised cheek. Layla had stretched out on the single bed and had felt the groggy sleep advancing that came from doing nothing.
She blinked at him while Dean swore. Sam rushed in behind him and locked the door.
"Was it just me or was that reaction a little over the top?" He demanded.
"He certainly seemed angry," Sam agreed breathlessly.
"What the hell is going on in this town?" Dean slumped on the double bed.
"Whatever it is, it's infected the whole town," Sam said scrounging for the laptop.
"There's been another murder hasn't there?" Layla guessed. Both brothers looked surprised that she had spoken after so long in silence.
Sam nodded, "Mother killed her child because he didn't clean his room."
"Seems this whole town is up for over reacting!" Dean touched his cheek gently.
"There haven't been any other cases," Sam said searching the newspapers. "No irrational murders. This place is like perfect. Bake sales and church."
"No place is perfect. So why did everybody wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?" Dean moved towards the laptop.
"Maybe a ghost is in town or someone summoned it?"
"A spirit that died violently could spread this kinda hate," Dean suggested.
"Nah I just check for a violent murder. There are none and it would have shown up before now," Sam said shaking his head.
Layla slowly approached the two brothers, staring at the computer.
"Try demon mythology," She said quietly.
"Pardon?" Sam tilted his head to look at her.
"I study Greek mythology at… my school before I came here! There are cases when whole cities have been uh infected," She told them.
The brother's exchange looks. Dean looked disbelieving and shook his head but Sam typed in anger demons.
"I can't believe we are googling for our bad guy!" Dean exclaimed as a list of possible candidates flooded the screen.
Layla scanned the list quickly and pointed at one. Sam automatically complied and clicked the link.
"Af! Not a demon but an angel of Hell. He's from Hebrew. I recognised his name," Layla concluded.
"What made you think this is our guy?" Sam inquired.
"They believe he is a world traveller. Not summoned but goes where he thinks things are too nice," Her voice was stronger and more confident. She felt a curious sensation in her stomach. She had discussed Af in her mythology class but never with in such a circumstances that he might actually be real.
"It's worth looking into," Sam said.
"Are you kidding? You don't even know this guy exists," Dean argued. He winced as talking hurt his mouth.
"You should put ice on that," Layla said moving closer.
"I don't need your help," He retorted and shoved her away. Layla fell on the bed and looked up at the man with scared eyes.
"Dean!" Sam yelled standing between his brother and the cowering girl.
"What?" Dean shouted, rounding on his brother.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Dean paused and contemplated the question.
Layla answered. "Af is getting to him. Soon we'll all be angry."
"How do we get rid of him?" Sam wanted to know. He kept a close eye on Dean who had sat down and was taking deep breaths.
"We could appeal to him with a sacrifice… or we send him home." Layla had moved back towards the computer.
"How do we do that?" Dean had calmed down but he wasn't looking at Layla.
"How should I know I'm not the demon hunter?" Layla retaliated harshly. She clapped a hand over her mouth, feeling the heated words leave her mouth.
"There is a ritual on this site," Sam observed.
"But we can't trust that it will be correct," Dean debated, rubbing his temples. He hated to admit it but ancient angles of hell were out of his league. Folklore and ghosts were somewhat easier to cope with.
"We don't have much choice. We have to find the centre of town and cleanse it of his anger. Af will try to resist but apparently salt bullets will distract him to the ritual is done," Sam read.
"That's easy. I hold the gun and you do the voodoo crap," Dean said.
"Not gonna work. Needs two for the rituals. Two males to act as Af's angel brothers Mashith and Ema calling him home!" Sam sent a significant look in Layla's direction.
"No freakin' way!" Dean exclaimed, "We are not giving a gun to her!"
Layla's eyes widened, "What? Gun?" She had no aim or coordination, which was why she dropped PE. Of course in the stories that girls easily acquired the fighting skills but they also dropped excess body fat and since Layla hadn't she was gonna assume that she wasn't going to magically be good at what the Winchesters were.
"Back to the having no choice factor!" Sam countered.
"Right yes lets give the lunatic a gun," Dean snapped cynically, "It's not happening and that is that!"
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"I swear to god this is the only time this is happening," Dean promised as they sat on the lawn of the town hall.
Layla held the gun delicately and looked nervously up and down each street. There was silence all around. Everybody was hiding or killing their spouses! Something horrific like that.
Dean had given her a quick lesson on how to hold the gun, where to point it but she felt completely uncomfortable.
The brothers sat down facing each other and Sam help a crumpled piece of paper on which he had copied out the words of the banishment spell.
"How nasty is this going to get?" Dean asked.
"Pretty nasty," Sam grimaced.
"I, in the name of Mashith, summon the angel Af who has come unbidden to this dimension," Dean read slowly.
"I, in the name of Ema, summon the angel Af who has broken his brothers rules in this dimension," Sam finished hesitantly.
There was a huge gust of wind. Layla turned to face the men nervously, clutching the gun tighter. She felt exposed out on the street. Dean was looking anxiously over her shoulder so she turned. There was a large crowd holding various implements that could hurt.
"Hurry!" Layla squeaked.
"We just have to get through the first paragraph and then there will be a magic shield. We only have a few minutes after that to send Af back," Sam instructed, pulling the salt out of his pocket to draw the design for the gates of hell.
"Hurry," Layla repeated urgently.
The crowd wasn't running toward them but lumbering slowly with cold eyes of hate. Layla knew she should do something to draw attention from the boys but she couldn't. The brothers finished the first part of the spell.
She screamed when Af materialised in front of her.
"Shoot him," Dean commanded. Layla fumbled the gun up but he knocked it out her hand and sent her reeling into Sam. There were only a few minutes to send AF back into hell before he escaped and the whole town descended into anarchy and chaos.
Dean stood up and broke the circle. He grabbed the gun and shot the angel in his hideous decaying head. It screeched unnaturally and it's large wing flailed as it was forced back. Dean grasped Sam's hand awkwardly as the he had been sprawled from where Layla had collided into him.
Dean quickly cut his arm and then Sam's. The brother's blood dripped on the salt symbol in the grass. There was a flash of light and Af made one last charge before vanishing. There was another scream and the stench of burning sulphur filled the air.
Sam and Layla lay on the ground breathing hard. They were both bruised from the force of the blow.
"Why didn't you shoot him?" Dean demanded.
"I tried!" Layla protested, coughing on the ground.
"Yeah well you almost ruined it," Dean continued to scold her.
"It wasn't her fault!" Sam defended her.
"Whatever," Dean dismissed and stalked off through the crowd of dazed and confused people. They were muttering together and some were crying. They had no idea where they were or what was going on.
"I thought once Af was gone the anger would disappear," Layla said in a meek voice.
Sam could see tears glistening in her eyes and wanted to apologise for his brother being such a bastard. Instead he said, "He has other issues!"
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Layla was sitting in the foyer of the asylum. It was cold and sterile. They really were going to leave her here. She felt detached, as if this wasn't really happening to her but she knew it was a reality.
"Well if you could just sign some papers we'll take her," A nurse was saying brightly. Layla's face was bland and she wouldn't look at either Dean or Sam.
Sam felt bad and told Dean so.
"Look man I'll be glad to be shot of her. She almost ruined that ritual," Dean said flippantly.
"But we didn't know about Af till she pointed us in the right direction," Sam mumbled.
"Yeah so she got lucky once! She's still crazy!" Dean walked out the front door.
Sam approached Layla, "You'll be safe here. They'll help you and find your family."
He fished in his pocket and gave her a piece of paper.
"This has my number on it! Call us if there is an emergency," Sam said.
Layla let out a breath, relieved. It was something to remind her that it had all happened. That she wasn't insane!
"Well I cya later. We may even visit if we're through again," Sam tried to reassure her. Layla looked at Dean pacing outside the glass doors and knew that they wouldn't.
Sam, with nothing more to say, made for the door. Layla watched him go. Watched the Winchester boys walk out of her life forever!
AN: Please review because it would be lovely lovely! constructive crticism welcome!
MD666