Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural.
Author's Note: This is part six of the series Skies on Fire. Thanks for all the reviews!
Mary slipped into the motel room, softly shutting the door behind her. It was dark and musky, plywood furniture stained a deep rust color, the ratty couch all spotted and freckled in retro styling. The only illumination was slants of moonlight boring through a moth-eaten curtain. She spotted her father sitting on the far bed. He simply sat there, boots planted squarely on the floor, his hands lying outstretched on either side of him.
"Dad?" she cautiously asked. He nearly jumped and spun around. She saw a smile creep to his cracked lips. That was the first time she'd called him "Dad" to his face and it warmed her heart knowing the joy she'd brought him. "Dad," she asked again, "are you alright?"
He allowed the smile to overtake his face and motioned her to sit beside him. "Totally alright." He wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her tight. "Everything okay with your cousins?"
She nodded as he released her. "Yeah, we just had to discuss some stuff. Being in the past, you can change things that aren't meant to be changed. You have to be careful."
Now it was his turn to nod. "I get that." Mary vaguely remembered that he too had been sent to the past, to discover the truth about their family's connection to Azazel. But he rarely talked about that event. He never revealed details, not to her anyways, and had only ever told her the basic summary.
They were quiet for a moment. Mary took the lull in conversation as an opportunity to study Dean. There was something troubling him, something she hadn't noticed earlier. She wondered if the change had to do with what Ruby had said. If that was the case, he had every right to bear that extra weight on his shoulders. That was something she understood very well.
She took a deep breath. This was the single event in her past that she never discussed. But if it could help her father then she would swallow her own pain to take the edge off his. "Uncle Sam said you stormed in here after Aunt Ruby brought up Hell." She studied him for a reaction and received none. She decided to push forward. "I know that's a difficult subject for you and I'm sorry to bring it up again, but I think you'd be better off if you talked about it."
Dean shook his head violently. "No," he all but shouted. He looked hard at Mary. "I won't talk to Sam about it and I sure as hell won't tell you. You don't need to know."
Mary lowered her eyes and spoke in a whisper. "I already know."
She saw Dean start. She felt him tense and knew exactly what he was thinking- his future self told her about Hell and now his current self was hating himself for it. "What did I tell you?" he asked.
Mary remained quiet. She was almost fearful to tell him the truth. It would enrage him and it would kill him. He already had so many burdens she couldn't bear to add to it. But if they found common ground perhaps she could relieve some of his pain and that was worth everything.
Her silence was too much for him. He grabbed her roughly by the shoulders, his emotions taking control, and forced her to look into his eyes. "What did I tell you?" he demanded.
"Nothing," she choked. She felt hot tears brimming in her eyes.
"Then how do you-" He paused as the realization dawned. His eyes grew wide in horror and he dropped her back onto the bed. When he spoke, he shook with anger, fear, and undying love for his little girl. "You've been there."
Ruby knew she was dying. The pain as she was forcibly removed from her human vessel was so intense she was sure it would destroy her before she ever reached oblivion. She fought as hard and for as long as she could but she knew it was futile. This demon was more powerful than any she had previously known. It had ancient abilities, similar to those possessed by the angels- it would not only send her back to Hell, it would not only kill her, but it would erase her from time and space.
It was too much. She saw her essence leaving the body, she felt it wash across the sticky tar of the pavement and churn within the confines of Earth. Once she was fully free of the body she would float, a large black mass of matter, until the demon saw fit to end her permanently. But for the moment, she remained bound to her vessel and able to control its faculties. Out of her peripheral vision she could still see the motel and the Impala, Jessica's broken body lying on the ground, Sam's limp form slumped against the motel wall, and John... she couldn't see him. She was puzzled. He had been lying by his sister not a moment before. Where the hell was he?
Her question was answered almost before she finished the thought. Something had knocked the demon's hand away from her forehead and she gasped as her escaped essence returned. She shook stars out of her eyes and brought her vision into focus. John was wrestling with the demon. Ruby noted how weak he looked. He needed help, fast.
She rushed to her son's side. The demon had flipped John onto his back and straddled the boy, clutching at his throat with both hands. Ruby grasped the demon by his waist and pulled. Startled, the demon found itself spread eagle feet from its prey. "Stay the hell away from my son," Ruby warned. John looked up at her and grinned.
Together, mother and son lashed out at their attacker. The demon seemed surprised at their persistence. He blocked best he could but his martial arts skills were lacking. He was still getting used to a human body and had not yet acquired the knowledge needed to physically defend himself. He chose to rely on his powers and raised his hand a fraction of an inch. Suddenly, he was flying through the air. He landed hard on a concrete barrier in the middle of the parking lot.
Ruby watched the demon wince and enjoyed with sick fascination as it realized its human limitations. She glanced at Sam. His arm was outstretched and he pointed at the demon. He caught Ruby's eye and smiled. "You two okay?" Sam asked. John and Ruby nodded.
Sam and Ruby headed towards the demon while John ran to his sister. He knelt down and cradle her head in his hands. She had no pulse and her neck was snapped. "Jessica," he whispered. He hugged her body to his chest and began to cry. His big sister was dead. That's when it hit him- Uriel had only agreed to send them back so Jessica could warn Mary of her vision. Jessica had no other destiny than to save their cousin, the angels' warrior.
No, it couldn't be right. That couldn't be Jessica's destiny, not when she was capable of so much more, not when they still a job to finish. They had to save their family, they had to change the hell that was their life. He couldn't do it alone. He needed his big sister. She always had the answers. "What do I do?" he sobbed. "Jess, tell me what to do."
He watched his mom's eyes go black and his dad telekinetically lash out at the demon possessed track captain (the gold embroidery on his jacket gave away that little detail). Then John realized what an idiot he had been. He had been raised to shun his powers but now he watched his father's hypocrisy. When it came to family, they would do anything. John looked down at his sister. "Forgive me."
He shut his eyes and tapped into his latent half. He felt a power surge build and build and build and finally release in an ecstatic roar. His eyes snapped open to reveal pitch blackness as raw power flowed from his fingertips and into his sister's still body.
Dean gaped. Mary hastily looked away but he pulled her by her chin and turned her back around. "How?" was all he said.
Mary swallowed fresh tears with her pain. "Hell on Earth is more like demonic terraforming. Hell still exists below, they just created Hell two-point-oh above. They'd take people and torture them, just for fun. Still do, in my time. It's like baseball to them." She let the tears slip down her pink cheeks. No use holding back now. Dean wiped them away with his thumb. Mary bit her lip and continued. "After... after our parents disappeared, me and John and Jessica went out to continue the family business, you know, hunting things, saving people, that sort of thing." She expected Dean to interrupt when she mentioned his disappearance. She was greatly relieved when he didn't. Mary wasn't sure she could go off on a tangent and go back to talking about Hell. She had to get it all out in one shot or no go.
"We kept getting caught by the demons. You can guess what happened then." Mary glanced up to see her father's grim face. "But when I was twelve they sought me out. They kidnapped me. Do you know what how valuable a half-angel is down there? John and Jessica and even Castiel had no idea what happened to me. It took them a year to learn the truth of my whereabouts."
She didn't say anything more. She didn't have to. Dean understood what she implied with her silence. He hugged her again, tighter this time, as though he was afraid to let go, as though just holding her close could make the pain go away. She sunk into her father's embrace and sobbed. Something wet dampened her hair and she realized Dean was crying too.
They stayed like that for a while. Mary didn't bother to keep an accurate check of the time. She felt her father stroke her hair and was comforted. She could have stayed with him forever, never fearing she would lose him again.
Dean pulled back and looked his daughter in the face. "I'm sorry," he said. "I swear to you I won't let that happen again."
A sudden loud bang jolted them back to reality. Something must have hit the outer wall to cause the room to shudder. With one glance at one another they bolted out the door and onto the sidewalk.
Mary gasped at what she saw. A blond teenage boy whose legs were too long for the rest of his body was pinned to the wall. Ruby and Sam stood threateningly in front of him. "He's a demon," Sam explained to his brother and niece. Mary stuck out her bottom lip in a pout of understanding. "I got him," she said as she strode to the demon. She slapped a hand on his forehead and moments later the deed was done. A scared looking high-school student fell into her arms. She passed him to Dean. "Take him home."
Dean heaved the boy to his feet and led him to the Impala. While they sped off, Mary turned her attention to her cousins. Jessica rested in her brother's arms, weakly smiling at her family. John's fingers were still sparking. Mary raised an eyebrow; John shrugged. He had used his powers to revive Jessica and Mary was, surprisingly, grateful. She couldn't lose anyone else.
Sam lifted his daughter into his arms and carried her to the motel room. He carefully placed her on the bed nearest the door. "How you feeling?" he asked as Ruby, John, and Mary entered.
"I'm okay. Been better, but I don't think I have much right to complain," Jessica smiled. She twisted her neck from side to side, working out the kinks. Her body was whole again and functioning properly.
"What did you do?" Ruby asked Mary. "I've seen angels pull that stunt before but I'm still not sure exactly what that power is."
Mary flopped into the motel armchair. "It's a power straight from God. Angels have the ability to channel it. It doesn't just kill demons like the Colt does but it obliterates them. There's no coming back from that."
Sam snorted. "Demons can't come back from death, either."
Mary just looked at him. Sam sighed. "What?" he asked. Mary rolled her eyes. She thought he was smarter than that. "When you exorcise demons they go back to Hell but can always claw out again, right?" she directed the question to her uncle; he nodded. "Well, when you kill them all you are really doing is sending them into a deeper level of Hell that is more difficult to get out of. It's rare, but it's possible." She glanced at her cousins. Their faces were grey. They knew she was talking about Azazel. "But when we send them to oblivion that is God's work and that cannot be undone."
This information was generally accepted and they turned their attention back to Jessica. "You sure you're okay?" Sam inquired once again. Jessica nodded and said exasperatedly, "Yes, Dad." Sam grinned.
"Are you alright?" John asked Ruby. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. "Fine," she said. There was a look in John's eyes that concerned Ruby. "What's wrong?" she asked.
Sam looked at John now and noticed the same haunted expression. "John?" he asked. John glanced up at him then at his sister and cousin. He let out a deep breath. "It's just, I was afraid we were gonna lose you guys again. I can't go through that again, Jessica can't go through that."
"How do you mean lost us?" Sam asked curiously. Now Mary jumped into the conversation. "You disappeared. That's all you need to know." Sam frowned at his niece. "Look," Mary said, "you don't need to know the details because us three are going to personally make sure it doesn't happen."
Jessica jumped off the bed and hugged her father. "We promise we'll keep you safe," she said. She pulled out of the embrace as her stomach gurgled. "If that's all we need to discuss then will somebody please point me in the direction of a hamburger? I'm starving."
With their son and daughter comfortably wolfing down sandwiches at a local diner, and their niece politely leaving with the lame excuse of going for a walk, Sam and Ruby finally had time to themselves. Ruby leaned back against the headboard of one of the beds and sighed. This was so not how she expected her day to go.
"I can't believe I'm a mother. Or will be, at any rate," Ruby muttered. She thrust the heels of her palms into her eyes. Each day she spent on Earth, each day she spent with Sam, she felt more human. She felt connected to Jessica and John but she also hated what she'd done to them. They were half-demon. No matter what the future held, they would never be normal.
Sam slipped onto the bed and threw an arm around Ruby. "Penny for your thoughts?" He pulled Ruby's hands off her face and into her lap; he didn't let go.
"We have kids," Ruby said. Sam chuckled. "Yeah, I'd noticed," he said. Ruby frowned at his sarcasm. She was unsure if he shared her reservations. She feared what kind of parents they would make. With the war going full swing, Sam had no choice but to continue hunting and Ruby knew a life on the road wasn't the life Sam wanted for his kids. She also knew that raising them herself would never work. She wouldn't age and how would it look if a twenty-five-year-old claimed to be the mother of a sixteen-year-old? On top of everything, they were Winchesters and they were part demon. They would become the hunted strictly because of their paternity. Demons would use them against their father and human hunters would see them as nothing more than another evil being needing to be destroyed. "Do you think we can do this?" Ruby asked.
Sam kissed her temple. "No family's perfect. Our's is just a little more unconventional than others." He rested his forehead against her's. "We can't shield them from the big bad world but we can protect them and raise them to be good people. We'll just have to take life one day at a time like normal parents."
"But we're not normal," Ruby whispered. "I'm a demon, Sam, that alone is strike one. I just don't see how this can work."
Sam took her in his arms and held her close. He mumbled into her ear. "It will work. Our kids are living proof of that. Just look at them and you'll know."
Ruby had to admit that Sam had a point. Their kids were healthy and as happy as their childhood and situation could warrant. She couldn't ask for anything more. She looked up at Sam's mussed hair and ran a creamy hand through his bangs. "Guess we better get started."
Author's Note: I will be updating over the holidays, so look for part seven next Saturday!