Chapter 7. Reflections
As Marla stealthily went around the house the familiar smell of whiskey and tangerines came to her. She turned quickly ready to fight however Crowley leaned against the wall. "Lovely to see you again, darling." He ogled her up and down for a moment and gave a smug smile. "In the sunlight the shirt is basically see through."
Marla let her arms drop to her sides. "What do you want?" She asked.
"Alastair off my back." Crowley said. "Cas thinks he's got it all figured out but he forgets I'm always one step ahead."
"So you're here to beg for my help?" Marla asked as equally arrogant as Crowley.
"I don't beg." Crowley said back.
"Well you better start because I'm not going to just give you help." Marla said. "You've caused Bobby a lot of trouble so—"
"—not as much trouble as you're going to cause him..."
"Talk fast Crowley or I will rip your meat suit's spine out of his back." She retorted.
"You're adorable when you're threatening." He said back. "Though, you're even more so when you're clueless."
"Excuse me?" Marla said her interest and curiosity peeking.
BOBBY'S P.O.V.
There are a few things about Marla I couldn't understand, that night she left she kissed me, I never thought she felt the way I felt about her and I had stated it to her more than once and she never showed any emotion toward it up until that night.
Then again that's how she always is unlike Karen who said what she thought and showed what she felt.
"I hate this wallpaper." She told me when we moved into our first apartment shortly after we were married. "I hate the carpeting, I hate the tiles and I hate the kitchen cupboards."
When she said the word hate it was a sign that you had to do something about it otherwise you'd be as much of an enemy as the wallpapers or the carpeting or the tiles in the bathroom.
"I'll fix it." Was all you had to say and she'd be in a good mood again and it never took Karen another minute to pick up on your mood. She'd just know some how she wasn't oblivious like Marla however sometimes that was a bad thing.
Karen often over thought things and sometimes it turned her sad and she was sad for weeks on end sometimes and those were the days that I really had to be what I was to her, a husband.
Like the few weeks before she was possessed she was sad and I guess that's what made her vulnerable to possession. She had just gotten a miscarriage and I wasn't sure what to do about it. I was home a lot and soon enough I cracked in the silence.
"It isn't you goddamn fault!" I snapped.
"I know, but maybe God hates me… then that'd be my fault, wouldn't it?" She said calmly not even paying attention to how angry I had become. "He probably thought I didn't deserve a child."
"Well then forget him!" I said. "I love you and that's all that matters and we can try again."
She turned to face me; her face seemed older than it was. "He won't let it happen." She said. "I need to rest."
"Damn it Karen, that's what you've been doing for almost a month now, you need to get out, walk out into the sun—just be who you were."
She finally snapped as well after that. "AND WHAT?" She yelled. "—and what Bobby? Know that I could be happy walking out in the sun with what could have been our child but I can't because he isn't here, he died!"
"Karen." I said gentler as she began to cry; she shaking sat herself on the third step of the stairs her legs stretched down to the first step. I walked over to her.
"Bobby what did I do wrong?" She cried as I held her. "Is it because I hated my mother?"
"No." I said. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"Maybe it's because I didn't do anything right…"
"He's out to kill me?" Marla said as Crowley and she sat in the darkness of Bobby's room.
"Exactly." Crowley replied. "So, seeing as we're both on the same sinking ship we might as well go out with a bit of style."
"If I could 'go out'." Marla said stretching her legs out in front of her as Crowley silently paced back and forth.
"Well like I said it isn't a sure thing but he'll try anything to keep you from getting in the way." Crowley stopped as her heard footsteps passing by. "Maybe we should have this conversation somewhere more private."
"I can't leave them, they may need my help." She told him.
"I doubt it." Crowley said. "Plus, I'll have you back before Bobby even notices you're missing."
Marla reached over to take Crowley hand from where she sat when Bobby opened the door. His eyes grew as he watched the two silhouettes disappear. "Son of a bitch…"
Bobby rushed back downstairs both worried and angry at why Crowley would take her and why she would go with him and as it seemed, willingly.
"You two—my study—now." Bobby told Sam and Dean who were in the middle of a conversation with Jodie and the mother who was revealed to be named Annamarie.
"Alright." Sam said and Dean shrugged and followed.
"What exactly did Crowley talk to you two about?" Bobby asked as they were out of earshot from everyone. "In detail."
"The Croatoan and he needed our help to kill someone otherwise you'd be in danger." Sam said.
"Balls!" Bobby said. "That idjit… doesn't matter we can't do a damn thing now, we have to focus on what's in hand."
"Can you hold on a bit Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, what's got you so panicked all of a sudden?"
"I can't—"
"Hey," Jodie said. "Is there anything in your fridge we could eat?"
"Yeah, there should be some frozen food or something in there, just toss it in the oven and turn the fan on." Bobby told her and she returned to the kitchen and then looked over to Sam and Dean. "The next time you see Crowley you kill him, you two go that?"
"Sure…" Dean said feeling the opposite of what he had just said.
Crowley and Marla appeared in the middle of a field; the tall golden grass looked like a ocean waves as the wind blew through them. "Where are we?" Marla asked.
"Does that really matter?" Crowley said. "Anyway the point is we're out of earshot."
"Exactly where I want you." Alastair's voice came. "King of Hell, huh?" Alastair jeered then looked over to Marla and ogled her up and down. "I see you've got her where Castiel wants her."
Marla's arms turned into flames. "Easy there kitten." Alastair said. "You wouldn't want to kill us all."
"I wouldn't?" Marla said.
"I know you're a good girl, you've got your rules, and you'd never do it." Alastair pushed.
"Good girls don't need rules." Marla said. "Now isn't the time to find out why the hell I have so many."
"Before we get any more melodramatic here I should point out, this is where the plot twists." Crowley smiled smugly over at Alastair. "Cas got you to bring her back because I absolutely refused now there's no use for you mate."
The flames or Marla's arms blew away. "You got it wrong."
"I think I got it quiet right." Crowley narrowed his eyes and lifted his hands ready to snap and once he did … nothing. "Well that can't be good."
"There's one thing you should know Crowley you shouldn't ever say no to your boss."
"…and you shouldn't keep talking." Marla interrupted before Alastair could snap his own fingers and the golden field turned into flames. Marla grabbed Crowley's wrist and pulled him to a run.
"You'll regret ever leaving your boyfriend, Marla!" Alastair yelled loud enough for Marla to hear.
"What does he mean?" Marla asked Crowley as they ran out of the field.
"I said 'I doubted' I didn't say they wouldn't need your help."
"French fries." Annamarie said. "This is like deep fried crack." She told Jodie catching Sam's attention.
"What did you just say?"
A smile curled into Annamarie's lips. "Oops …" Her eyes turned black.
BOBBY'S P.O.V.
Maybe even if you don't do anything wrong you might never do anything right and Karen may have been right about that but she was wrong about it being about her because it was me who never did anything right except marrying her and so far a few other things.
"Bobby!" Dean's voice came. "We sort of have a problem up here!"
"A problem, I need to see my wife." Owen said.
"I need you two to stay here, keep the door closed, your wife is fine."
"Wrong." Annamarie's voice said after knocking Dean off his feet. Her foot steps came closer and I had my gun at the ready. "She's better than fine." Annamarie smiled eyes back to normal. "Sorry big boy you won't need that." She waved her hand and the hand-gun flew across the room.
She had Bobby by the throat she smiled as she got ready to speak again however Sam came at her with her own knife except this time it didn't work. "How...?" Sam said taken aback.
"Ask Alastair." She replied and received the look she wanted. "Yes Sam, he's back too." With one look Sam flew against the other wall pinned there.
"Who are you?" Bobby asked choking.
"Hey bitch!" Dean's voice came and right when he shot her, she vanished with Bobby.
"Son of a bitch!" Dean said and Sam fell to the floor.
"You two should just stop while you're ahead." Alastair said to them as they ran in the burning maze; Crowley choked on the air as the smoke thickened around them.
"Crowley." Marla said. "Stay down here."
"What?" He coughed. "Why?"
"Just do it." Marla told him and he dropped to the ground on his knees. She held his shoulder with her left arm while her right pointed over to Alastair.
"Are you going to kill me now sweetheart?" He asked.
"No, but she will." Marla pointed behind Alastair and a arrogantly smiling Meg stood and the moment Alastair turned Meg kicked her twenty five yards from where he stood past Marla and Crowley.
Marla had ran through the feild burning only the parts she meant to burn to get Meg's attention, she'd written 'Meg' on the golden grass that she'd burnt down.
Meg ran over to them and took Marla's arm however saw Crowley. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... Marla, you never said anything about that..." She gestured to Crowley.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Marla said. "Just bring us to Bobby's and we'll worry about him later." With that the trio vanished and appeared in the middle of the busy road of Sioux Falls.
"What the fuck?" Marla said.
"Like I said he made me cure and erase their memories." Crowley said as he got up. They quickly got out of the road Meg at Marla's right side and Crowley at her left.
"I don't see why we can't just ice this asshole." Meg said.
Crowley smiled. "Because unlike you Marla's pretty clever."
"You son of a bitch." Meg retorted.
"Shut up!" Marla boomed. "Why didn't you zap us over straight to Bobby's?"
"I tried but someone blocked it off and I'm pretty sure the Winchesters aren't smart enough to do that."
"A demon?" Marla asked as she looked over to Crowley for the answer.
"Ruby." He said. "That's who he brought back."
Dean went out to the back to find a proper car to get Jodie and the father and son out however he found that everything was back to normal. "DAMN IT!" He bellowed. "Damn..." He went over to the shed to cool off and kicked the walls a bit until he heard something fall over a few things.
"Shit." He said to himself and walked inside the car shed, Bobby had just finished working on two cars, his own Ford truck and someone's 1971 blue Camaro. He'd managed to knock over a rusty red motorcycle and he moved over to put it back up he realized that he'd seen it before. "Marla...?" He said and got up.
He rushed over to Sam who was in the kitchen talking the family through what had just happened. "Will my mom be okay?"
"I'll get her back." Sam told the boy who was named Toby.
Toby nodded and hid under his father's arm. "I want to come." Owen said.
"Sir, I know how you feel but we can't have you get mixed up in all of this. Your son needs you." Owen looked down at Toby and gave Sam a nod.
"Dude," Dean said. "We need to talk." Dean gestured for Jodie to come as well.
The three talked in the hallway. "Marla's bike, Bobby had it in his shed."
"Marla?" Jodie said. "So what if he has her bike in his shed?"
"Well she's dead." Sam said.
"No she isn't she was giving me the green-eye yesterday night when I was over."
"Wait, what?" Dean said. "Short girl, dark brown hair-"
"-wore cherry red and a leather jacket." Jodie said. "Yeah I know what she looks like but what does she have to do with any of this?"
"Because ... no, Bobby would never..." Dean began. "-it doesn't matter, if she's alive she can help us."
"Dean what if she's the one who brought Ruby back?"
"Hold on ... sorry what's happening?" Jodie asked.
"We'll explain when we get back, you need to get that family back home safe and stay with them until we come for you." Sam said.
"Alright." Jodie said and quickly got the family out.
Once the house was empty Sam and Dean locked up a few blocks away from Bobby's house Dean went through Sam's bag. "Dude what are you doing?"
"Using your laptop, I need to find out more about that Marla chick." Dean said.
"Well we've found out enough Marla's full name was Marla C. Slade she moved from place to place ever since she was five-"
He took Sam's laptop bag and accidentally held it upside down making the papers, laptop and his comics fall out. "Dude!" Sam said annoyed as he drove.
"Calm your tits man." Dean said and picked up everything carefully placing them back and then laid his eyes on the first Ghost Rider comic that had slightly ripped from it's impact. Dean looked at the page it had been opened on.
'Then the very heavens open...the thunder rolls...and an eerie figure is seen silhouetted against the ebony skies... and, as suddenly as he appeared the macbre horseman vanished into the darkness...' The passage said on the comic. Dean closed it after reading it in his head and realized something he had wished he saw earlier. "What's the 'C' in Marla's name stand for?"
"Carter." Sam said. "Why?"
"Marla Carter Slade?" Dean said. "Son of a bitch she isn't human she's a fucking Ghost Rider."
Sorry you guys it was a bit rushed but thank you KansasAngel94 - on another note I may take longer to update seeing as the summer is over for me however when I do update they'll probably be longer than usual that is if it take more than a day or two. What are your thoughts on Marla's true identity? I would really like to know and also Ruby being back and Cas's plan for everything and predictions? Also get ready for a Bobby flash back with and Ellen slash :)? Get ready for the wildest chapter yet (which will be posted after one or two more chapters after this one) I have been obsessing over it for three days now.
(sorry for the sloppy Bobby POV in this chapter)
For now keep calm and carry on my wayward son...