Yes! Hillary testifies!! LOL – I love this. I really do. Here it is, fellow oddballs! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Chapter 47: Protective Witness
Gabby moved to the center of the room. "I need to call the defendant first to provide background testimony for my first witness. Samuel Winchester?"
Sam waited until Dean gave him a shove in the shoulder before he moved. He headed slowly for the center of the room. Just in front of the council was a single chair made of the same white marble as the floors and walls. Ralph led Sam to the chair.
"Samuel Winchester," Ralph intoned formally. "In this court you are bound by the same rules as our kind. You will find it impossible to lie. You can either answer truthfully or not at all. Do you understand these rules?"
Sam nodded quickly. "Yes. I do." He glanced over at Dean.
Yeah, Sam ought to understand most of these frigging rules by now. Dean gave a small, tight nod to his brother, telling Sam to go along with whatever Gabby had in mind.
Gabby exchanged places with Ralph to stand in the middle of the room, near Sam.
"You are Samuel Winchester, the defendant?" she asked.
Sam cleared his throat before answering. "That's correct."
"I understand your family calls you Sam or Sammy. Is that correct?" Gabby continued.
Sam's face hardened. "It's Sam. Only my brother gets to call me Sammy."
"Of course," she said with a smile. "Tell me, Sam. Do you like me?"
The hard expression on Sam's face softened into confusion. "Excuse me?"
Gabby stood straighter. "Do. You. Like. Me? It's a simple question, Samuel. Please answer it."
Sam swallowed hard before shaking his head. "No," he said softly. "Not really."
"How about Raphael?" Gabby gestured at Ralph. "How do you feel about him?"
Sam looked to Dean before answering. Dean knew exactly how Sam felt about all the archangels. Truth or silence, huh? How bad would Sam's personal feelings hurt his case? Oh, crap. Did he trust Gabby enough for this? She was glaring at him and so...was...Mike. Dean nodded for Sam to answer.
Sam shrugged. "Is that something you really need to know?" he asked tentatively.
"Yes. It's quite important," Gabby replied earnestly. "Please answer the question, Sam."
Sam's reluctance to answer was really obvious. "I don't like him either."
"And Michael?" Gabby pointed out the third archangel in the room. "What about him?"
Sam shrugged. "He's not exactly my favorite person."
"Thank you, Sam. You may go back to your seat," Gabby said with a broad smile, as if Sam had said exactly what she wanted to hear.
For an archangel, this chick was seriously weird.
"I must call my next two witnesses at the same time," Gabby announced as Sam made his way back. He looked a little pale. "Dean Winchester and Hillary."
Dean paused beside his little brother as Sam sat down. He rested a hand on Sam's shoulder, silently asking if his brother was okay before heading into the court. Sam nodded, giving him a pat on the arm as he motioned toward the chair. Dean passed his brother, Hillary fast on his heels.
The chair was much more intimidating up close. Dean took the seat and Hillary sat wedged between his feet. He gave her a quick pat before looking up at Gabby and waiting for the questions to start.
Gabby's smile was forced and fake. "Dean? How about you? What do you think of me?"
Dean chuckled nervously as he scratched along his jaw. "Uh, you mean other than the fact you're a raving bitch?"
"Yes," she smiled. "Other than that."
Dean shrugged, giving her a cocky smile. "That about sums it up."
"Michael?" she asked. "How do you feel about him?"
"Well, I wasn't exactly a fan for a long time," Dean said slowly, "but he's been kind of growing on me lately."
"And Raphael?" Gabby asked, pointing him out.
Dean couldn't help but grin. "Anybody who hunts demons is okay in my book."
"And Hillary?" Gabby asked as she stepped backwards. "Does she feel the same way?"
Dean shrugged as he leaned back in the hard, uncomfortable chair. "Hill kind of makes up her own mind."
"As in, her opinions differ from yours?" Gabby demanded.
Hillary's head arched backward to look up at him. "Well, sure," he said as he rubbed her neck. "Why not?"
"Why not indeed," Gabby said triumphantly. "Tell me, does Hillary ever willingly leave your side?"
"Not hardly," Dean admitted. Hillary wriggled between his feet, trying to move even closer to him. A low growl came from her directed at Gabby. "Relax," he warned the big dog as his hand slipped through the thick fur to grab her by the collar.
"Dean?" Gabby's voice became demanding. "What's wrong? Are you worried Hillary will do something you don't want her to?"
"Huh?" Dean looked at her. "Where are you going with this?"
"One more thing," Gabby said as she held up a hand to silence him. "Raphael, would you step over here, please?" Ralph came closer, his face creased in a frown. "Closer." She motioned towards Hillary.
Hillary stood up as the second archangel approached, her low growl growing louder. Gabby grabbed Ralph and shoved him closer. Dean barely tightened his hand on her collar in time. Hillary leaped at Ralph the instant he crossed some invisible barrier she had set in her mind. Just before she leaped he could see her line in the floor, how close Gabby had been standing to it. Freaking bitch probably knew, too.
Dean's boots skidded against the marble as he clung for dear life, holding Hillary back from actually attacking an angel. This was freaking insane! If he thought he could, he would frigging kill Gabby here and now. Dean glared daggers at her as he shouted for Hillary to cool it. Finally, after putting the protective mutt in a headlock and getting Ralph to take a few steps behind her invisible line, Dean had her back under control.
"Don't come any closer," he warned Ralph, waving him further back. "I can't control her when you're too close."
An excited murmur ran through the council. Dean had a death grip on Hillary's collar now, not wanting to risk a repeat performance.
"Hillary," he growled, "sit!"
Hillary backed between his feet again to sit slowly. Maintaining his hold on her collar, Dean let out a breath of relief. He had no idea having a dog could be so stressful! No wonder Bobby always left his four-legged residents at home.
"It's obvious the dog has been bonded with a human," Gabby announced to the council. "And the human is not who we would expect. Dean bonded Hillary with his brother, and the dog is now his most faithful companion." She sounded like she was ramping up. "This is not a sign of being bonded with an individual currently under demonic influence."
"Might explain why she's such a pain in the ass," Dean mumbled to himself, "if this bonding thing is what it sounds like."
He found Gabby staring at him. "It is," she said in a serious voice. "Hillary shares Sam's emotions. I don't suppose you understood what you were doing when you bonded them?"
Dean shook his head. "I didn't know I'd done anything. Are you sure I did it?"
"Dean," Mike's voice echoed in the cold white room, "was there ever a time you wanted the dog to like Sam? Where you felt as if you could force her to like your little brother?"
Dean nodded slowly. "Well, yeah. I guess. Why?"
"Because that was when you caused the bonding," Mike said as he walked to stand near Gabby. "Why did you feel the need to bond them? Was there a reason you thought this dog would not like your brother?"
Dean did not like the sound of that question, but could he really refuse to answer it? He had a feeling it would be better to give some answer than let this council draw its own conclusions.
"Dogs don't always like Sam," he replied slowly. "Sometimes not even Bobby's dogs."
"But sometimes Bobby Singer's dogs do like him?" Gabby demanded instantly.
"Yeah, sure," Dean said, not really understanding what this had to do with anything.
"Tell me, Dean. Has a dog ever disliked Sam since you healed his demonic infection?" Gabby asked.
"Objection," Mike raised a hand. "Arguing statements not yet presented." A thunderclap echoed through the room.
"I will rephrase," Gabby offered to the council. "Dean, when was the last time you witnessed an animal, or specifically a dog, show any dislike towards Sam?"
Dean scratched at the back of his head with his free hand. "Uh, well, maybe the last time we stayed at Bobby's. He had this psycho Rott back then, Rumsfeld, who couldn't stand Sam. Bobby had to keep it chained up outside."
"And the first time Hillary saw Sam was when?" she asked.
"When we dropped by to visit Bobby about a week ago," Dean explained.
"One last thing," Gabby said. "Dean, you have been polite and gracious to me for the past couple of days. Is it because I am your brother's defense in this trial?"
Dean really did not want to answer this one at all, but he found himself nodding to her. Gabby gave a quick nod in response before her gaze dropped to Hillary.
"And you?" she asked. "Are you willing to tolerate me?" Gabby took a step forward, right over Hillary's invisible line.
Hillary lunged for Gabby, teeth bared, her growls loud enough to fill the whole court. Gabby stepped outside of the invisible circle of tolerance. She walked across the court to where Sam sat. Hillary growled again but did not pull away. Gabby reached toward Sam with one hand, her gaze fixed on the big dog. Hillary growled louder. She placed a hand on Sam's shoulder while Sam watched with an expression of fascination and amazement. Hillary started barking the instant Gabby touched Sam and Dean could hear the 'back off' and 'mine' in the dog's excited, angry barks, but she didn't move.
With a satisfied smile, Gabby's hand dropped away from Sam and Hillary fell quiet again. Dean figured there was no way Hillary would be taking her eyes off one particular archangel for the rest of the trial and he hoped whatever Gabby had in mind would be worth it.
"It would appear," Gabby again addressed the council who were nearly all solid-appearing at the moment, "Hillary is more protective of Dean than of Sam. Perhaps Sam values his brother's life more than his own? Unusual behavior for someone under demonic influence, wouldn't you say?" She gave Dean a tight smile. "No more questions for the dog."
Mike stepped closer again. "The prosecution has no means of refuting canine testimony."
"Dean," Ralph said in his authoritative voice, "you may return with Hillary to your seat."
Dean had to walk bent over in order to maintain his grip on Hillary's collar. There was no way he would turn her loose now, not so close to all these archangels. Sam couldn't chill, just for once?
He sat next to his brother, casting Sam a hard look. Sam gave him a sheepish shrug. "What?" he whispered as Hillary sat between them.
Dean gestured to the dog with his free hand. "Seriously?" he hissed back. "You hate 'em all? Weren't you the one who prayed all the time?"
A scowl crossed Sam's face. "That was before I got to know them." Hillary crawled up the short wood wall separating them from the inner circle of the court. She rested both front paws on the top of the wall with her head on her paws, brown eyes sparkling with canine intelligence tracking Gabby's every move.
Dean snorted in disbelief. "You really thought they were the cloud-sitting, harp-playing kind?"
"You two idiots shut up," Bobby snapped from behind them. "Gabriel is callin' another witness."
"Bobby Singer," Gabby's voice rang out.
With a grunt, Bobby stood up to make his way to the marble seat. Dean leaned closer to his brother. "You didn't answer the question."
"Well," Sam said slowly, "I thought some of them were."
Dean rolled his eyes until they landed on Hillary. "And you," he whispered, "you possessive mutt. Are you trying to get our asses kicked? What were you thinking, going after two frigging archangels like that?"
Hillary grumbled as Bobby was made aware of the rules by Ralph, but her attention never left Gabby.
"She's right," Sam whispered under his breath.
"About what?" Dean demanded.
"You don't need any stupid archangels doing anything else to you," Sam stated in a hard voice which sounded scarily like Dad.
Dean glanced at the dog staring fixedly at archangels before looking at Sam. "You got all that from her?"
Sam glared at Gabby as she asked Bobby to tell about what Sam was like as a kid. "No," Sam said slowly. "It's how I feel too."
Dean groaned as he leaned into Sam's shoulder. "Dude, it wasn't your fault. You know that, right?"
"Sure," Sam whispered back, "it's Mike's fault."
"Well," Dean whispered while Bobby related a story about Sam writing some stupid paper about Dean in school, which Dean still kept hidden in the trunk of the Impala, "I'm glad it happened."
Sam's head turned slowly to glare at him. "What?" he hissed angrily. "How can you say that?" Sam's voice rose in volume and Dean could feel some of the council's attention turning to them.
"Sshh!" He elbowed his brother in the ribs while giving the council a broad smile. "Shut up, Sam," Dean said in a soft, sing-song voice.
"No, Dean," Sam insisted as he turned away from the court to face Dean. "You tell me exactly what you meant by that. Right now."
Great. Now more of the council were looking at them than at Gabby and Bobby. Yeah, just freaking perfect, Winchester.
"It worked out best for you," he whispered under his breath, nodding towards Bobby, hoping for Sam to pick up on the not-so-subtle hint.
Sam acted like he had no idea that Dean wanted him to drop it. How frigging typical. "How?" Sam's voice was even louder now. Bobby stopped talking to shoot both of them a glare. Dean tried to grin back as he motioned for Bobby to continue giving his testimony.
Bobby opened his mouth to continue when Gabby held up a hand to stop him. "Yes, Dean. How?" Dean glared at her. "Answer Sam's question so we can all hear it."
"Objection," Mike jumped to his feet. "Point of Order. Dean is not in the witness chair."
A wind swept soundlessly through the warm white room. Odd how it felt so warm to Dean, considering it was made of marble. As the summer breeze, complete with scents of fresh-cut grass and blooming flowers, swept over him he knew Mike's objection had been overruled.
"Dean? How has this worked out best for Sam?" Gabby restated Sam's question.
A low growl emanated from Hillary as Gabby walked a little closer. She froze. After locking eyes for a brief moment with Hillary, Gabby took two steps back. She gave the dog a questioning look. Hillary lifted her head to grunt at Dean. Get on with it.
Dean cleared his throat uncertainly as he looked into his brother's angry eyes. How often had he seen a deeper anger there, barely repressed? How much longer would Sam have been able to keep it under control? Forever, or just a few more days?
"Because I didn't know it was there," he finally told his brother and could hear the emotional strain in his voice. Did keeping a steady voice equal a lie? Apparently. "And I'm glad it's gone. If the price I have to pay for that is doing a few jobs, burping babies or diving into rivers to save some moron, then it's worth it. Actually, it's damned cheap."
There was a brief flurry of activity.
"Dean," Ralph glared at him from across the court. "Watch your language."
Dean nodded hurriedly, embarrassed. "Sorry."
Hillary let out a deep growl in Ralph's direction and Dean tightened his grip on her collar. He looked at Sam this time. "Cool it."
Sam crossed both arms over his chest as he glowered across the room at Ralph and Gabby. "I'll try."
Right. Sure he would.