Episode 5 – Snake In A Cave
Author's Notes: Thanks for all the amazing reviews I received so far :) y'all are brilliant!
Trying to come up with teasers and monster-of-the-week type things is harder than I thought, especially since I'm someone who usually fast forwards because it's always pretty obvious what is about to go down… I'm not giving up the episodic structure, though, I can do this! *assumes-battle-station*
Also, my portrayal of Iraq is probably extremely biased. No offense is meant and please let me know if something is really off and offends nonetheless.
xXx
Clara knows she shouldn't have stayed out this late. It's Sunday and she has work tomorrow, but the club was on fire and that cute girl was working at the bar and kept smiling at her while Carla was dancing with her friends.
"Hey, you need a ride?" someone asks out of the blue. The stranger is tall, muscular and if she's being honest, rather creepy.
"No, I don't have far, thanks."
She stalks of, rummaging in her purse as covertly as she can to locate the pepper spray her roommates make her take with her. She never saw the point until now because she hears footsteps behind her and speeds up her own pace, even though walking in those heels hurts after hours on her feet.
When she looks over her shoulder, however, the guy from before is getting into a taxi and Clara releases a breath she wasn't aware of holding.
She hesitates at a junction. The dark alley takes ten minutes off her walk home, if not more if she hurries. She bites her lip and glances down the well-lit main road. She's blonde and barely five foot four…
Screw it, she decides. If Buffy can do it, so can she. Besides, nothing ever happens in Lebanon, Kansas.
She makes it to the middle of the alley before a hooded figure jumps – yeah, actually jumps – down from a fire escape above their heads, blocking her way.
"People never learn," a low, masculine voice drawls.
"Maybe she though she's tougher than she looks," another voice chimes in, definitely feminine and Clara whirls around, coming face to face with a brunette who looks like she can break bones.
Clara swallows, producing her pepper spray. "I'll scream," she threatens but her voice is shaking so she doubts it has much effect on the woman and the man.
"She's cute, can we keep her?" A third voice, Spanish accent, coming from above. Clara looks up and sees another one hanging off the fire escape ladder.
"No, Carlos, we have to send a message."
"I can do that," Clare blurts. "I'll do whatever you want, but just… I have work tomorrow, people will know I'm missing, I have roommates!"
"Oh, we're counting on that," the woman whispers, making Carla jump because the voice is right in her ear and she can feel a body against her back.
Lips against her neck make her shudder and Clara can't hold back the whimper that escapes her throat.
"Not that kind of message," Carlos comments before landing right in front of her. He brings up a hand to push a strand of hair from her neck and the woman rakes a hand into her hair from the other side, twisting her head so that Carla's neck is bared.
She has always wondered how she would react to her impending death. Would she scream, would she sob? As it turns out, Carla can but whimper as sharp teeth sink into her skin and pain erupts from her forearm, which Carlos is holding against his mouth.
Carla sees the teeth, makes the connection, doesn't believe her eyes for a moment until the third attacker comes at her with more teeth and then there's no denying it, these are vampires and Carla is doomed.
She sobs brokenly as the edges of her vision grow dark and then there is nothing as the world fades to black.
xXx
"Cassie, stop whining already!"
"I just don't understand why we need to spend so much money on a hotel room that won't be of use since neither of us actually sleeps."
"We need a place to set up camp, chap, that's why."
"But a smaller room would have done just as well, Gabriel."
"Live a little, oh brother mine. It's not like it's your money."
"Or anyone's money," Castiel grouses. "You can't tell me that your trickster money is legitimate here."
Dean snorts at Gabriel's deer-in-the-headlights look.
"Gabriel, we can't just smooch off the locals, they have lives to life. They need to earn money."
"Come on, Cas," Dean finally chimes in but only 'cause his head's starting to hurt like a bitch from all the whining. "It's part of the deal, fighting the good fight. Sammy and I've been living off fake or stolen credit cards since I was old enough to forge signatures."
"That doesn't make it right," the angel grumbles but drops it and Dean stretches out on the hotel bed he snitched the moment they came through the door. It's the one closest from the wall and only now Dean realizes that his caution might have been a bit redundant. Nothing that comes through that door can kill him except his own knife.
They reached Hillah a few hours ago, scouted out the city and settled on a place to set up their headquarters. Gabriel chose Hillah because apparently it's near the ruins of Babylon and he said that if they're gonna get intel on the snake, they'll get it here.
"So, how's this gonna work?" Dean asks the room in general. "We splitting up or sticking together?"
"Why don't you and chucklehead go together; I don't wanna scare my contacts."
Dean shrugs, noting the faint jab of anticipation that comes with being teamed with Cas without even having to manipulate anyone. "Fine by me."
"So let's get a move on, we ain't got all day," Gabriel tells them and Dean laughs in his face. He probably hasn't laughed this much in such a short period of time since… well, since the last time he massacred a few demons. Dean shakes his head – no need to dampen the mood – and returns to the conversation.
"We do, actually."
"Well, then use the time to put on something that's less all-American-boy chic and more world-savvy traveller, eh?"
"Fine," Dean says, swinging up to a sitting position on the bed and sliding off it immediately after. He grips the hem of his t-shirt (admittedly, a Metallica t-shirt might not have been the best idea) and pulls it over his head.
Dean can feel eyes on him but when he turns, Cas glances down. And usually that would've been Dean's clue to be more modest but this time around… Dean suddenly wonders why he's always been so shy around Cas. Or maybe shy's the wrong word – he simply never had the opportunity and now that he sees the reaction it evokes, Dean realizes he's been missing out.
So he makes a slight show of fishing in his duffle bag for a shirt that might allow him to blend into the background more and unearths one that's light brown (or what Sammy calls "Beige, Dean, it's beige!").
"That okay?"
Gabriel shrugs, then grins and glances over to where Cas is suddenly very interested in the contents of the bedside table. "What do you think, little bro?"
Now Cas has to turn and the way he pointedly looks into Dean's eyes amuses Dean to no end. "It seems adequate."
So Dean throws it on. It occurs to him that his lowered inhibitions may have something to do with him being all horned and everything now but that's nothing he can change anytime soon, so why shy away from such an opportunity? A little bit of teasing never hurt anybody and it's fun.
"You got anything that's not denim?" Gabriel musters his pants with a frown.
"Don't think so."
"Well." A sigh and a snap of the archangel's fingers later and Dean's wearing a pair of brown (actual brown this time) slacks. "And you too, chuckles," Gabriel adds, snapping his fingers at him. Within the split of a second Cas has lost his holy-tax-accountant look and seems more like a plain tourist, scarf and all.
"Alright, Crocket and Tubbs, let's get this show on the road!" Gabriel is out the door, leaving them no option but to follow.
"I don't understand why he chose that reference," Castiel states, blinking after his brother. "The comparison makes little to no sense."
Dean snorts despite himself. Somehow it's wrong that Cas gets their pop culture references now, but at least he fails to get the joke most of the time, so his reaction isn't too far off from his one before Metatron shoved all that shit in his head.
"I guess he's just making noise for the hell of it, Cas." Dean pats him on the back and follows the archangel.
xXx
Sam inspects the fridge and the kitchen shelves warily, trying to find a combination of food that might actually pass as a normal meal. Once that is settles, he pours a cup of coffee and wanders back into the library where Kevin has fallen asleep with his head on the tablet. By the looks of it he's drooling on it and Sam barely resists the impulse to take a picture.
"Hey," Sam says softly, shaking him awake. Kevin rubs his eyes tiredly. "I brought coffee?"
"You're a life savior…"
Kevin gulps down the hot liquid eagerly while Sam studies the kid's notes, not that he can decipher much. "You getting anywhere?"
"Yeah, but I feel a migraine coming… We got any Advil in the bunker?"
"Sure, there's a medicine cabinet in the bathroom."
Just then, Sam's laptop beeps. Startled, he walks across the room to where he left it open from doing some research earlier and checks what is going on.
The sound was a notification Sam set up to alert him should there be any autopsy reports with certain suspicious markers, like claw marks or puncture wounds around the neck. Today's report features the latter and Sam freezes when he sees which city the body was found in.
Lebanon, Kansas.
"What happened?" Kevin must have noticed the look on Sam's face.
"Looks like we got vampires in town."
"Oh. But they can't find us here, right?"
"No, though the rest of the town is fair game." Sam runs a hand through his hair, wondering if he should leave Kevin alone over this, yet when he glances at the prophet, he smiles indulgently.
"You should go. I'm safe here and I'm sure you'll get tired of babysitting me all day pretty soon anyway."
"You sure?"
"Yes. As long as there's food in the kitchen – I'm starving…"
"Yeah, help yourself." Sam hurries to his room, pulls off the t-shirt he is wearing and exchanges it and his jeans for one of the FBI suits still hanging in the wardrobe. He checks that he has what he needs three times, the same way he does prior to every hunt, and thanks Kevin on his way out, promising to be back soon.
Getting to the corpse doesn't pose a problem and Sam doesn't need to inspect it for very long to conclude that the girl, Clara Desmond, has indeed fallen prey to a vampire attack. Judging from the puncture wounds in her neck and both her wrists it is safe to assume three of them fed off her.
Outside the morgue, Sam dials the bunker's spare cell they gave Kevin.
"Sam?"
"Yeah, listen, I was right. I was gonna check out the industrial area to see if I can find their nest. Everything okay with you?"
"Yeah, pain killers are doing their job just fine. How long before I should start worrying about you?"
Sam chuckles, unable to imagine Kevin of all people going after three vampires. No offense meant to the guy, but there's a reason Kevin is a prophet, not a hunter.
"Four hours? I don't know, you don't need to worry, man. Concentrate on the tablet, okay?"
"Alright."
Sam hangs up and slides into the Impala.
xXx
What Dean learns in Iraq that afternoon is that his true form is enough to have most demons pissing their pants and then scrambling for the nearest exit.
"We just want to ask you some questions," Castiel would say in that unseemly way of his that would have you believe he's innocent as a kitten. The good cop, bad cop routine works wonders, though. More like good angel, bad demon routine, eh?, Dean thinks, laughing at his own joke.
"You need to talk to Khaled, one of your guys," the lowly demon explains hastily with a thick accent, his eyes on Cas.
"And where to we find this Khaled?" Dean growls, making a show of moving his hand closer to his knife.
"By the river – there's a small park, he hangs out there sometimes, that's all I know, I swear!"
Dean relaxes but doesn't ease on the frown. Cas meanwhile nods, satisfied.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
Then they're out of that dive of a bar and Dean laughs once the door shuts behind them. "Man, that was awesome, I thought the guy was gonna faint for a moment there!"
"Well, your true form can be a bit… overwhelming," Cas comments and for all Dean knows it sounds like a compliment so he's gonna take it as one.
"It gets the job done. So we meet up with Gabe and check out this Khaled fella?"
"Khaled?" Gabriel looks at them flatly when they tell them what they found out. "Right, that was his name…"
"You now the guy?"
"Designated guard to the snake, yeah."
"And you couldn't have mentioned that before we spent three hours hounding demon bars?"
"Well, screw you and the horse you rode in on! There're only so many angels and so many missions I can actively keep track of," Gabriel grouses. "So let's go."
The archangel grips Dean's shoulder and Cas' as well. A moment later they reappear in a park near a small cabin. The sun has started to set and dusk slowly settles over the land.
"Looks like he's settled down," Dean remarks, causing Cas to narrow his eyes.
"Shouldn't he be with the snake, guarding it?"
"You bet'cha," Gabriel confirms darkly and is kicking in (metaphorically, though) the front door seconds later.
By the time Dean and Cas catch up, Gabriel has a middle-aged Iraqi man pinned to the wall. The guy, probably Khaled, is wearing one of those long-sleeved white dresses Dean has seen around town with a matching head cover. He is pinned to the wall and looks like he is seconds away from having an aneurism.
"Why aren't you manning your post, soldier?" Gabriel growls and in that moment Dean remembers that he's an actual archangel, Heaven's most fearsome weapon.
Khaled seems to be well aware of that fact, too, for he pales visibly. "I just – after the angels fell – I lost my connection, I had no idea what was happening, if I should still protect the site –"
"Of course you should, you dimwit!" Gabriel shoves him against the wall, finally releasing the tight grip he had on Khaled's robes. He makes several aborted gestures, body tense with rage, and eventually simply points a finger at his fellow angel. "Listen. You're going to take us to the site and when we got what we came for, we're gonna take you upstairs and you'll face your judgment, do we understand each other?"
Khaled looks pained, then. Dean knows immediately that something's off. "What?" he snaps, drawing the angel's attention on him for the first time and the coward actually whimpers.
"I… They moved it."
Gabriel breathes out through his nose, probably counting to ten in his head or some shit like that. "Who moved what?"
"I'm not sure… Demons. They moved the snake. I don't know where, I was only gone for a bit because I thought I could find some information after I lost my connection and then –"
Gabriel balls his hand into a fist and for a moment Dean thinks he'll hit the guy but Castiel places a placating hand on his brother's shoulder. Dean feels strangely detached from it all. He doesn't doubt that they're gonna get to the snake eventually, and if everything fails, a few cuts with the blade will loosen everyone's tongue.
"Let him tell us what he knows and we shall hand him over to Hannah before we continue on our journey, brother."
Khaled turns towards Cas with big eyes filled with gratitude, which only doubles when Gabriel mumbles in assent.
They get a name from the guy – Rafea, supposedly in charge of the demonic snake patrol.
xXx
Sam can hear voices – this has to be it. He flicks off the torchlight in his hand and pockets it, tightening his grip on the small sword he found in the bunker's weaponry. It's sharp and should cut through necks like butter.
From what he can tell one of the vamps is standing near the door, probably with his back turned. If Sam's fast he'll make it.
Taking a deep breath, Sam barges into the room, aiming the sword at the neck nearest to him. The man's head rolls to the floor and Sam does a quick survey of the room. One woman, one man, teeth bared.
"Look what the night dragged in, Carlos," the woman sneers and the one that has to be Carlos takes a step closer.
Sam widens his stance.
"Sam Winchester. Took you less time to find us than we thought," Carlos says.
"What do you want with me?"
"Just talk. Well, originally. Now I'm famished." Carlos smirks and his pointed teeth make it look more threatening than the thing probably is.
"Well, I'm not on the menu tonight," Sam snarls and launches at the guy.
Carlos ducks away and Sam is after him, keeping an eye out for when the woman will take her turn. He sees her coming and jams a needle in her neck, pushing the dead man's blood he stole from the morgue right into her blood stream.
After that it is easy going. Carlos looses his head shortly after she goes down screaming.
"Why did you come here?" Sam asks her once she is tied to a battered chair Sam found in another room. "Why set up a trap for me?"
"We wanted to see if the rumors were true."
"What rumors?"
"Those of your brother. Word on the down low is that he's gone dark. Serves Crowley now."
"And what were you gonna do with that information?"
"Report back to my clan."
"And you thought you'd survive this, didn't you?"
She shrugs. "I got my orders."
Sam considers her, mulling over his options. She's a vamp and killed an innocent woman, so killing her in turn is definitely on the list. Or he could send her back to her clan, let her report… what, exactly? That Dean's a demon but they're still hunting? That Sam Winchester let a vampire go to spread the word?
Sam swallows. They're already treading shady territory with the missions Crowley has Dean carry out. Sam isn't going to add to their ledger.
"Too bad," he says and swings the sword.
He isn't deluding himself into thinking that the news of Dean's affiliation to Hell won't spread, but he won't fuel the stories that are bound to start spreading soon if he can't help it.
He burns the bodies right there, smashing the few intact windows to allow the smoke to clear. His suit is ruined but at least he got the job done.
xXx
Dean is pacing, growing restless. His skin is starting to itch. Gabriel has been talking to Rafea, the only demon who knows of the snake's location, for the past twenty minutes and Dean can tell she won't budge without a little persuasion. He knows the type – tough, hardened, with more perseverance than Gabriel's endless chatter can wear down.
"Five minutes with her, man," Dean asks for the third time, aware of Cas' eyes on him. He doesn't turn to meet his gaze, knowing fully well that he won't like what he'd see in them.
Gabriel's face is expressionless when he admits defeat and nods at Dean, who can feel his heartbeat quicken. "Be right back," he says and zaps to get some salt and holy water from halfway across the globe.
"We can do this the easy way," he tells Rafea, "or the hard way. I'm kinda hoping you'll chose the hard way."
Her eyes grow wide. "You're a Knight of Hell?"
"Yup."
"You working for Crowley?"
Dean's face darkens. "Sometimes."
"Well, then we got a conflict of interest here, hot stuff, 'cuz I'm here on his behalf."
"Too bad, I ain't taking his orders right now," Dean shoots back and douses her in half the holy water he has. She screams, but it's held back and Dean won't stand for that.
He goes to town, working her over with the little means he has. Not that he needs much. He looses himself in the task, pausing between cuts and peeling pieces of her skin off before rubbing salt in the wounds. It hurts like a bitch, he's sure of that, has experienced it himself. The blade he uses was doused with holy water, something that does the trick every time.
"Jabal Kumar!" she finally screams and Dean's almost sad she broke this fast.
"What was that, dear?" he sneers, earning himself a glare.
"Jabal Kumar. It's a mountain. North-east of here. There's a cave, you're bound to feel it when you get near. The snake's hidden there, but there're guards."
"They won't be a problem."
"Yeah," she sighs, energy draining from her body.
Dean releases his telekinetic hold on her and she slumps to the ground but Dean has already turned around. The looks he receives from Gabriel and Cas barely register – what's more, he doesn't want them to register. He can feel the high he is riding but he still has a lid on it. He's still in control.
"Let's move," he barks and ignores the stunned glances the angels exchange.
xXx
Dean buries his blade to the hilt in the first demon they encounter near the cave and strikes down the second one a moment later. There is no urgency, no desperation in his actions. He isn't as strung out as he was when he confronted the demons for Crowley and he's glad for it since he can pretend he's simply paving the way for Cas and Gabriel, not killing for the hell of it.
Everything's a bit jumbled in his head. Cas' presence is seriously messing with him. He wants to take the demons apart limb for limb but the stronger part of him holds him back, makes him go straight for the kill, forgoing the torture.
Like he said, he's in control.
Dean straightens up when all four guards are on the ground and chances a look at his companions. He can identify the shock in Castiel's eyes, but there is something more, something of baser nature that is gone too quickly for him to identify.
They move forward in silence, posed for the next obstacle blocking their way.
Dean senses their presence before he hears them – announcing their arrival with too-familiar howls.
Hellhounds.
Where the mere thought of them used to make Dean tense in fear (one of the sons of bitches did drag his sorry ass down to Hell, after all), now there is no trace of it in Dean's system.
He can feel Gabriel and Castiel a few feet behind him, their angel blades raised.
The dogs come barreling around the corner, overeager and at neck-breaking speed, yet when they catch their first whiff of Dean they stop in their tracks, red eyes narrowed.
The larger one barks and Dean approaches, a little wary but overall confident. Maybe it's like with horses, he muses and reaches a hand out to pet the thing. He's not too keen on loosing a hand but something tells him this is gonna work out.
It does, to Dean's great surprise.
He pets both the dogs simultaneously, which proves a bit of a challenge but nothing he can't handle. He wonders if he can sell it to Sammy that a hellhounds are just like a regular dog. Sam always wanted a puppy and never got one after all, and hellhounds gotta reproduce somehow, right?
"I see this encounter with Juliette is more amiable than your last one."
Dean's head snaps up to where Crowley is smirking down at him, sitting back on his hunches and playing with what apparently is the same hellhound that wanted to kill him and his brother only weeks before.
Dean snorts at the irony. His life – unlife – is definitely screwed up.
"A little birdy told me you're looking for the snake. Colour me surprised." Crowley sends a toothless grin the angels' way. "Now what might you want with that piece of satanic treasure? It's under monumental protection, you know."
"We need it to reopen Heaven," Castiel explains before neither Gabe nor Dean can speak up. "Which should be in your best interest. The veil is filled with souls without a home. Sooner or later it will affect this plane of existence."
"And that is my problem because – oh, no, it's not my problem. At all."
"What use could the snake be to you anyway?" Gabriel wonders.
"Accumulation of goods. So when the time comes that someone wants something from you," Crowley sweeps his hand over their group to underscore his point, "I have leverage."
"What do you want, Crowley," Dean grunts.
The smile he receives in return is enough to make Dean shiver. This can't be good.
"You're the new First Knight. As you might have noticed, there are no other Knights, which makes your title somewhat redundant, wouldn't you say? I intend to change that."
Dean knows Castiel tenses at that without having to look at the angel. "I don't know, Crowley, my schedule's a little tight right now."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll want to make room for that."
Dean knows exactly what point the King of Hell is trying to get across. Training the Knights means showing them how to fight, torture, main… and kill. It would feed Dean's need without Sammy or Cas ever having to see any of it.
"Our original agreement still stands?" Dean asks, sure that Crowley will get with the game. No killing innocent humans.
"Of course."
Dean chances a glance at Cas who seems torn. However, it's Gabriel who speaks up. "Dean-o, can I talk to you for a minute?"
He zaps them out of hearing distance and Dean wants to give him a piece of his mind for manhandling him around like that, but Gabe cuts him off.
"Dean –"
"What, you gonna tell me not to take the deal?"
Gabriel wriggles his eyebrows mysteriously yet before Dean can figure out what the angel is playing at, Dean is doubling over, grunting in pain that came out of nowhere.
"You even try to cross me, demon boy here gets a one-way ticket to Hell, eh?" Crowley sneers in the distance.
Cas' hands are on Dean's back then, his piercing blue eyes filled with worry.
"I'm fine, Cas," Dean say.
Cas opens his mouth, undoubtedly about to object because no one ever fucking believes Dean and it's annoying, but he closes it again, heaving a sigh. "Will you take the deal?"
"What choice do I have?"
"You always have a choice," Cas argues vehemently and it stings to have his own words flung back at him like that.
"Yeah, and as commander of the Knights I've got a front-row seat to what Crowley's up to."
Neither of the angels seems to be able to find a valid counter-argument.
"Well, I hate to say it but we really do need that snake," Gabriel concedes eventually. Cas still looks cross but Dean ain't dealing with that right now. He gets back on his feet and, just because he can, zaps in front of Crowley, getting right up in his face.
"We got a deal – I train the Knights. But listen, I ain't cutting back on my hours with Sammy, you hear me?"
"Loud and clear. Good thing you're not exactly Sleeping Beauty nowadays."
Dean grins but he doubts its anything more than a grimace. "Now give us the snake."
Crowley snaps his fingers. The snake is larger than Dean expected, probably thirteen feet long, pitch black and thankfully in a cage that radiates powerful energy, just like the animal.
Crowley holds Dean's gaze a moment longer, and it's probably supposed to be meaningful but Dean doesn't give two shits right now, so Crowley rolls his eyes and nods at Cas and Gabe. "Pleasure doing business with you."
Then he is gone, along with both hounds. Gabriel is the first to approach the cage.
"Well. Say hello to our new pet, Cas. You think we can teach it tricks?"
The snake hisses and Gabe jerks back before it can do anything else.
xXx
They return to the hotel to gather their things, mainly the rest of Dean's weapons. Gabriel is downstairs to settle the bill and Cas is driving Dean out of his skin with all the hovering he's doing while Dean makes sure he has everything.
"What?" Dean finally snaps at Cas, stepping closer.
"I'm just –"
"If the next words outta your mouth are gonna be 'worried', then you can shove 'em where the sun don't shine, Cas. I'm fine."
"Are you?"
Dean clenches his jaw, noting how close they actually are. Their feet are barely a few inches apart and he's well intruded on Cas' personal space. He can feel the heat radiating from Cas' body and his eyes fall on the small bits of his throat and neck that are exposed where he unbuttoned the shirt he is wearing.
Dean's mind is shouting at him to get his ass away from there 'cause teasing is fine, sure, but who's he kidding? He's a demon now and after what Cas witnessed him doing today, there's no doubt that… Dean can't even bring himself to finish that thought.
So Dean tears himself away from bright blue eyes and enticing collarbones, rubbing a hand over his face.
"Yeah, Cas. I'm sure."
Then he walks out the door before he destroys something.
xXx
In a bar somewhere in Michigan, a young man is crouched over an almost empty pitcher of beer.
His clothes are torn and dirty. He smells like he hasn't washed in several days and the other guests are keeping their distance. Strands of greasy brown hair fall in front of his face, shielding it from view.
He doesn't even startle when a man approaches him, but his head does snap up when the stranger speaks.
"It looks like you could use a drink."
There is no denying that, so Gavin nods and downs the rest of his beer.
xXx
End Notes: Hello there, Gavin! And hello there, sexual tension ;) And damn it, Crowley, I wasn't planning on that… This chapter is a perfect example of my characters taking over and over-complicating everything. *sighs* Or me thinking I could sneak the snake thing by the King of Hell and he proving me wrong… either way: balls!
I hope this chapter wasn't too… I don't know. Dean's headspace is a messed up place right now and writing his POV is I think one of the hardest things I've ever had to write. I hope it worked, though!
/*author-rant-over*
PS: I made a gif set for this chapter, which you can see here: post/88864969936/season-10-au-the-good-fight-chapter-5-summary. I'm multifandom-madnesss on tumblr, and my author blog is jayez-fics in case anyone wants to annoy me :)