SPN; Fighting For Nothing

By: Paraflymore

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Supernatural and if I did I would be way nicer to them all.

A/N: Okay; so I have decided that this story will be ten chapters because that sounds like a nice, even number and enough to get everything in. Then I will post another story to continue the series. And thank you all so much for reading. It means so much to me :)

Summary: These things take time, love; these things take back bone

Fighting For Nothing

Chapter Seven

"Weigh Your Wars"

Dean always felt like he had a sixth sense when it came to his father, he could always tell what kind of mood he was in, like he almost felt it himself. Chalk it up to being around the man for days on end while they hunted, holed up in the Impala with nothing but empty wrappers between them.
So he knew, before he even said hello, that John Winchester was pissed.
"What the hell is wrong with you two? Running off like that without so much as a god damned note!"
Dean scrubs his hand down his face. "I've been meaning to call you,"
"Well I've been meaning to kick your ass."
Lila could hear him yelling, she rolls her eyes. It was astonishing to Dean that she had never been afraid of his father. Not one little bit.
"I don't know who you think you are boy but you don't just get to take off like that, you hear me Dean?"
"Yes sir."
Lila holds her hand out for the phone, smirking at him.
He shrugs, it was her own fault.
"And another thing-"
"Hello John."
He stops and takes a deep breath. "Hello Lila."
"I'm sorry that we didn't tell you we left. A friend of mine had an emergency in Florida."
"What kind of emergency."
"She had a little ghost problem. Dean took care of it."
"I came back and the house was empty, nearly gave me a heart attack."
"I'm really sorry."
"Its okay."
"Don't be mad at Dean," she says, brushing her hand through his hair. "He has been doing a really amazing job."
He eyes her, snatching the phone away from her before she had the chance to embarrass him anymore.
"We were just going to head back that way," he ignores Lila's pouty face, sliding out of bed and reaching for his boxers. She buries her face into the pillow and groans.
"I'm in Birmingham, you two just meet me here." He says, and Dean can hear the irritation back in his voice.
"Yes sir."
He tosses the phone on the bedside table and starts searching for his clothes. He doesn't think he's wore a shirt in about three days. Lila is still hiding her face in the pillow.
"We didn't even go to the beach!"
He jumps in bed with her and starts tickling her sides, she screeches out something that sounds like fuck you but he can't quite make it out. "Come on sleeping beauty we gotta go."
She sighs, kicking at his legs. "Fine." She tosses the sheet off of her and he finds his tshirt. It looks way better on her anyways. "But you still owe me a beach day."

...

Lila sleeps most the way to Birmingham, only opening her eyes long enough to devour a breakfast burrito that he waves under her nose. One thing he knew about Lila was she never said no to food. Not even if she just ate. He had seen her put it away, he just wasn't sure where she kept all of it.
She is wide awake when they pull into the motel address that his dad gave him, and he had seen his dad stay at some shady places, but this one was pretty bad. He reaches for Lila's hand as they make their way up the stairs. She raises an eyebrow, looks up at him with a smirk on her lips. He kisses her, sliding his fingers between hers.
"Don't think any thing of it," he makes a point to say this because her smirk doesn't leave her lips after he's done kissing her. "I just don't want anyone to think your available..."
She eyes him. "So I'm not available then?"
He just kept digging a bigger hole...
"No, you're not."
One of the doors on the floor above then opens and both of them jump a part like they were two kids caught doing something they weren't supposed to.
"Get your asses in here!"
Dean tugs her along the rest of the few stairs, pushing her a head of him. He wasn't trying to use her as a shield or anything... He just wanted something in between him and his dad.
Lila yawns, waving at him as they walk into the door. She notices first that there is an open bottle of whiskey on the small table and two glasses. She turns and eyes him. "Did you have a guest?"
John eyes her, the way she's looking up at him now, arms crossed over her chest, big brown eyes searing into his own. She looked just like her damn mother.
"It was one of the deputies."
She shrugs, turning around to eye the room. It was odd, seeing John Winchester in his natural habitat like this. The walls were lined with photos, hundreds of newspaper clippings. She stops, throat closing on her when she realizes what the headlines read.

Animal attack.
Young girl slain.
Wolf attack?
Attacks on rise, caution urged in the south.

No.
This was not still happening.
"I thought all of this was over?"
He shook his head. "You wanna sit down darlin'?
"No." She snaps, shaking her head. "I want you to tell me what's happening."
Dean eases towards her. She reminds him of a scared animal, her eyes doubled in size, her breaths coming out in short spurts. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."
She eyes him. "I'm not worried about myself." Lila brings her thumbnail into her mouth. "I'm worried about all of these people."
John pours himself more whiskey and sits down at the table. "I'm on it darlin' I've already got a lead on this new alpha."
Dean felt his stomach drop. "How big is this pack?"
"Its been around for centuries, all the lore I dig up dates them to around the 1700s."
"Damn."
He nods, taking a drink. "We had no idea what we had stumbled on son, this is big."
Lila turns around, eyeing him. "You found their new alpha?"
"I got a pretty good lead on who it is. Deputy was telling me this story about this family who lived here in the 70's they got a pretty bad reputation in town, fighting and stealing. Then one night three of the sons were arrested for murder. They were covered in the victims blood-" he reaches for a folder, opening it up he hands Dean a piece of paper. Lila looks over his shoulder at what it is. Three mug shots, she assumed the three boys John was talking about. There faces were covered in something dark gray, and she was going to pretend that it wasn't blood. But that is not what turned her stomach.

It was the last name.

Putnam,

"Putnam." She croaks out. "That was Clay's last name. Clay Putnam. Oh my god."
Dean reaches for her then, not caring that his dad might get pissed. He hates the look on her face. He runs his hand slowly down her arm.
"We have to end this, once and for all." She whispers, "before anyone else gets hurts "

...

His dad saddled him with a hunk of research. And then he asked Lila to come with him to get food.
"Well I'm hungry too." He says, looking up from the computer.
"There are two burritos in the mini fridge. Eat up."
Lila followed him anxiously outside, giving Dean an apologetic look on her way out.
John didn't talk the whole way to the diner, he just let the music drift between them, a much colder atmosphere than Lila had anticipated.
"So, you wanna tell me what really happened?" He asks finally breaking the silence. She glances up from her menu, years and years of experienced lying made her look of innocence almost believable.
"What do you mean?"
"You don't have a friend in Florida do you?"
Lila reaches across the table for his coffee, she pours sugar into it and then a lot more cream. Then she takes a drink. "I couldn't stand that house anymore. She's everywhere."
John nods. "I understand. I really do, I just need you not to disappear like that."
"I was with Dean."
He scoffs..."
She rolls her eyes. "You do realize who were talking about right? I mean he is your son."
"My point exactly." He flags the waitress down and orders another cup of coffee. Eyeing her. "Bring us two deluxe breakfasts too sweetheart."
Lila rolls her eyes. Winchester charm was definitely genetic.
"I know my son."
"Me too."
He scoffs again.
"Do you have something caught in your throat John?"
He eyes her. "You're just like her you know?"
Lila takes a slow drink of coffee. "I know you told her that you would look after me but I'm not a kid, and I am more than old enough to choose who I spend my time with."
He sighs. "You are."
"And I honestly don't see why you are so opposed to to it. Because my mom told you she had a dream or something?"
"You've seen them come true just like I have Lila."
"So tell me what it was then,"
John cleared his throat. "You really think you can do it? That you can put up with the traveling and the danger? You really think you can handle all of the stress?"
"Yeah." And when it came to Dean she was willing to do almost anything. She might never admit that out loud, especially around him but it was true. She would follow him into fucking hell if she had to.
"Dean has a responsibility. He has a job to do, and I just think that this thing you have going on will get in the way of that."
"Is that why things never worked out with you and my mom?"
He scrubs his hand through his beard. "Me and your mom were never going to last."
"Why? You loved her didn't you? I know she loved you."
He nods. "Yeah, but love doesn't conquer all, despite what they say."
"That's bullshit."
The waitress appears, her eyes are weary as she sits there plates down in front of them. Two deluxe breakfasts, sausage, bacon, eggs, a biscuit and gravy, and even a waffle on the side. Lila's mouth was watering.
"I think you Winchesters have something seriously wrong with you. You don't think its okay to love people, you push everyone away because you're afraid your gonna lose them." She stabs her fork through a sausage link. "But everyone dies, not just the people you love. Its just how fucking life is."
He shakes his head. "You really have a way with words."
She smirks, reaching across the table for the ketchup. "I am my mother's daughter."

Dean is pacing the room, talking on the phone when they get back. Lila hands him a cup of coffee and sits down at the small table. The laptop is open to some weird website full of pictures of wolves. She starts scrolling through, her eyes widening as she read.
Lycanthrope is the mythological ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a werewolf.
She's thinking how stupid she was, allowing herself to get so involved with a monster.
She's thinking about the smooth way that he weaseled his way into her life. How she almost trusted him...
She feels Dean's hand on her back, she looks up and he's looking at her.
"Thanks for the coffee."
"Figured you could use it."
"What did you find out?" John asks, eyeing him.
"I found out that the Putnam's own an old farmhouse about two hours from here, I think it might be where the pack is hiding."
He nods. "We'll go check it out tonight."
Dean nods. "Yes sir."
"If they're this huge pack don't you think we need a little more back up?"
"I got all that covered darlin', Pastor Jim is a phone call away. My buddy Caleb is corralling a group together as we speak."
Lila nods. "Good."
"Speaking of, I'm gonna give him a call. You two start packing up."
Dean nods, and john slips out the door with his phone in his hands.
Lila sighs, looking up at Dean.
"How you doing with all this?"
"I just want it all to be over with. I want some kind of vengeance for all the people they've hurt. For my mom."

He nods. If anyone could understand vengeance he could. But something about the look in her eyes made him wonder if this was too much, she looks like she was moments away from breaking down.
He reaches for her hand, squeezing her fingers.
Lila pulls him down into a kiss, breathing him in like fresh air. Only time she felt like her chest was whole was when he was close.
Her momma used to tell her that you should never let allow yourself to need another person too much.
But Dean Winchester was oxygen.
And without him she couldn't breathe.
...

Memories of that night start flashing in Lila's mind as the drive up the winding road leading up to the farmhouse. It was all too familiar, and the wounds were all too fresh.
She watches Dean from the backseat, willing herself to be brave.
Lila was tough.
She prided herself on being strong and resilient, but this ache in her chest, this overwhelming fear that she was running out of air in the small car was too real.
She thinks she is having a panic attack.
"I think we should go,"

And as soon as she says it the garage door opens and a big black car starts it's way down the long driveway. Lila reaches for Dean's hand. She feels like her heart is going to beat right out her chest.

"Do you think he's going out looking for the next victim?" Dean asks, resisting the urge to climb into the backseat with her. He could tell she was anxious, he could just feel it in the way she had grabbed his hand/
"They probably already have one lined up." He tells him, "They stalk them, gain their trust and then kill them."
Lila swallows the lump in her throat. She is willing herself not to cry. There is no time for any of that, she is pretty sure that hunters don't cry.

John waits a few more minutes before he pulls the car out of it's hiding spot and then he takes off down the road. Lila lets her hand slide out of Dean's and she rests back against the seat. Her head was pounding, and she felt like she might be sick.

What was happening to her?

"Are you okay?" Dean's sweet voice seems to float through the haze in her head.

She nods, rubbing her forehead. "I just feel dizzy."

But it was so much more than that.

Her vision was blurring around the edges and her head was pounding awful behind her her eyes. Her stomach was churning, and her palms were sweating so badly, she kept wiping them on the front of her jeans.

"Lila?" His voice sounded so far away.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to will all the pain away.

When Lila opened her eyes she was looking down at her hands, they were covered in dark blood, blood that had been dried for some time. She swallows and her throat was coarse.

"Lila,"

Dean is standing there, he's looking down at her and the front of his gray t-shirt is ripped open and he's bleeding. His intestines are seeping out between his fingers and she wants to scream, but it comes out as a laugh.

"Lila, don't do this."

She lunges for him, her fingernails, no, her claws ripping him apart.

She wakes up to screaming, and it takes her a second to realize it's her own.

Dean is holding on to her, and Lila is trying to get away from him because seconds before she was killing him.

"I got you, its okay." He smoothes her hair down and kisses her forehead.

"What did you see?" John asks her calmly. He is sitting at the small table, looking into his glass of whiskey. He looks up and his dark eyes are seering into hers. "In your dream, what did you see?"

She swallows the lump in her throat. "No." She shakes her head, pulling away from Dean. "No, this isn't happening to me."

"She talked about it once, she called in transference. She said when her mother died her abilities got so intense that she almost went crazy. It's something that happens with psychics sometimes..."

"But I'm not psychic."

John stands up, walking slowly over to the bed. "Doesn't mean anything."

Lila lets out a deep breath. "I... I think I was one of them, they changed me." She looks up at Dean. "I was killing you..."

Dean touches her face. "It was just a dream."

She shakes her head. "What if I'm having visions of the future? What if they get to me and I... What if I hurt you Dean?"

"Stop." He grabs both of her hands. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

Lila yanks her hands away. "I can't hurt you... I can't."

He looks to his father, how was he supposed to fix this. It wasn't exactly something he could just put a bandaid over. This was something serious that they had gotten themselves into.

"Nothing is going to happen to you Lila. We aren't going to give them a chance to get to you."

She looks up. "What do you mean?"

"We came up with a plan, all we needed to do was find their lair and we could go through with it."

"What's your plan?" Dean asks.

John smirks at them. "Blow those fuckers up."

…

Dean had, by some miracle talked his dad into letting them get another room. He said he didn't want Lila to have to stare at the werewolf wallpaper that his father had decorated his room in. And they both could agree that Lila could use the night away from the stuff.

He was sitting on the bed, trying to come to term with the fact that she was having psychic visions and that they were about killing him.

It was kind of a trip.

The sound of the shower cut off and he stood up, moving around the room just to have something to do.

All of this felt like some kind of bad movie.

She comes out in just a towel, her dark hair wetted down on her head. She smelled like roses, and when she looked up at him with those big brown eyes it was all he could do not to smile at her.

"Strange night."

He smirks. "I've had stranger nights, believe it or not."

She walked over to the bed, digging through her bag for something to wear. "I don't even want to know."

He sits on the edge of the bed. "You wanna bail I totally understand."

She scoffs, sliding his t-shirt over her head. "Are you serious?"

Dean gets up, his eyes softening when he sees what she's wearing, she looks too damn good in his clothes. "It's a fucking shame that I don't look that good in that shirt."

She smiles, and it feels weird, strange on her face like it doesn't belong there. "Do you think his plan will work?"

He sighs. "I thought we said no werewolf talk..."

"How can we not talk about it?" She pulls her wet hair to one side and reaches for her brush. "I mean, I just had a psychic vision, which by the way was like a bad fucking acid trip and your dad just told us he plans to blow up a pack of werewolves-"

Dean catches her face, winding his fingers through her wet hair. "I can think of a few things to distract you..." His lips brush across hers and she wishes she could just makeout with him and forget about the day she's had but...

"I'm sorry," She leans away, tossing her hairbrush on the bed. "I'm really tired."

He nods, letting his hands fall to his sides. "Yeah, me too."

Lila catches his hand, squeezing it a little. "I just can't turn it off."

"I get it. This is a lot to take in."

"I'm pretty wigged out."

"As you should be."

Lila lets his hand go, and turns back to the bed. "You're staying right?"
"Of course." His voice is barely a whisper.

"Good." She pulls the comforter back, and climbs into the bed. "I don't want to be alone."

He crawls into the bed next to her, settling beside her with his arm around her waist. She takes his hand and laces their fingers together. It reminds him of all those nights after her mother died, when she cried herself to sleep and he lied there next to her and kept her from falling over the edge.

It just felt different now, bigger ledge to fall of maybe.

Lila turns slowly around and looks up at him. "promise me something?"

"Anything..."

"If they get to me, and make me one of them. Promise me you'll kill me." Her voice is so desperate, so needing that it makes his stomach flip

How could he ever keep a fucking promise like that?

She kisses him on the lips, a whisper of a touch. "Don't let me kill you, don't think that you can get through to me, don't think I'm still me. Just end it."

He squeezes his eyes shut.

"Dean?"

"It won't go down like that."

She grabs his face. "Please. I won't be able to close my eyes and sleep until you promise me."

It breaks his heart, and he can literally feel it disintegrate in his chest. "I promise..."