'It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.'
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Caroll.
To be truthful, Beth hadn't entirely convinced that she should meet this Bobby Singer person that Sam and Dean kept going on about. She didn't know how he would react to finding out that John Winchester had had two more kids and never told anyone. She didn't want to be treated differently just because she was the 'bastard' daughter of John.
But Sam and Dean had been telling her non-stop during the ride down to Sioux Falls from Pontiac that Bobby would like her and wouldn't throw her out when she had nowhere to go.
As it turned out, Beth was surprised at how nice Bobby actually was towards her when they had arrived and Sam had introduced them. He was gruff and seemed a little rough around the edges but he was polite enough and seemed pretty welcoming. He even offered her a glass of whisky, which she accepted before he sat her down and Sam, Dean and him told her about the different supernatural creatures they'd faced over the years.
She stopped them half way through a story of a rugaru they'd recently faced with a queasy look on her face and had said that if they didn't mind, she would like to go and lay down for a while.
Bobby had readily agreed and sent her up the stairs with directions to the quest room.
One day later
"Okay, run this by me again," Beth ordered, arms crossed over her chest and a stern expression on her face. "I was asleep for just a day and in that time, you've locked Sam up in the panic room and are putting him through some sort of detox thing?"
"Pretty much." Dean nodded as an unamused smirk crossed his face.
"I don't understand why he's being put through a detox, what's he addicted to?"
"You saw what he did in Pontiac," Dean responded slowly, "what do you think he's addicted to?"
"Y-you're telling me that he's got an addiction to demon blood?" Beth's eyebrows shot up in horror. She glanced quickly at Bobby, who nodded in confirmation. "Why is he doing it?"
"Because he thinks it's gonna make him strong enough to kill Lilith to stop the apocalypse."
"Kill Lilith? Stop the apocalypse?" she repeated dumbly. "What are you talking about?"
"That's why those damn angels are walking among us," Bobby explained gruffly, "they're trying to stop Lilith from breaking the seals that will free Lucifer from his cage."
"Lucifer? Thee Lucifer?" She gaped at them, her mind reeling. "As in the devil, Lucifer?"
"Oh yeah, isn't it just awesome?" Dean asked snarkily. "If 66 seals are broken, he walks the earth."
"A-and that will bring about the whole apocalypse thing?" At Dean's nod, Beth let out a shaky breath and deposited herself on the chair behind the desk. "This is too much. This is probably all just a dream and I'll wake up back at University and mom and Adam will be alive and they'll laugh when I tell them about this."
Dean and Bobby shared a pitying look before glancing back at Beth as she ran her hand through her messy waves.
"Beth, it's not a dream." She looked up at them through blank hazel eyes and nodded slowly.
"I know… but I want it to be."
Dean was silent for a moment, staring down at his half-sibling. "I'm gonna go see how he's doing."
"I'll come too," Beth said eagerly and stood up, wanting to move around and do something instead of just sitting there doing nothing.
"Suit yourself, but we're not going in there," Dean told her firmly and she nodded quickly, following after him towards the basement stairs.
Dean opened the hatch on the door and peered inside, catching Sam's annoyed gaze. Beth fidgeted behind him, peering at Sam almost nervously.
"Okay, let me out. This isn't funny," Sam ordered, a scowl spreading across his lips.
"Damn straight," Dean agreed.
"Dean, come on." Sam approached the hatch slowly, staring out at his siblings. "This is crazy!"
"No. Not until you dry out."
"Look, I'm sorry—I shouldn't have lied to you," Sam started lowly, his eyes giving away the irritation he felt. "Just open the door."
"You don't have to apologize," Dean told him. Beth frowned at him, thinking that Sam should apologize for doing what he'd done, that he should know that it's wrong, unnatural. "It's not your fault. It's not your fault that you've lied to me over and over again, or that you scared the crap out of Beth back at that factory. I get it now—you can't help it."
"I'm not some junkie," Sam argued defensively.
"Really?" Dean asked cynically. "I guess I've just imagined how strung out you've been lately."
Sam chuckled in disbelief. "You're actually trying to twist this into some kind of ridiculous drug intervention?"
"If it smells like a duck," Dean retorted.
"Dean, I'm not drinking demon blood for kicks," Sam said firmly. "I'm getting strong enough to kill Lilith."
"Are you?" Sam was startled by Beth's sudden question as he glanced towards her. "Are you really? Because it doesn't look like it from where I'm standing—this problem of yours is just going to end badly and Dean… Dean and I will be left to pick up the pieces."
Dean was clearly going to back up Beth the longer he stared at his brother. "Strong?" he repeated quietly.
"Yeah!"
"This is about as far away from strong as you can get. Try weak. Try desperate, pathetic."
"Killing Lilith is what matters," Sam countered impatiently. "Or are you so busy being self-righteous that you've forgotten about her?"
"Oh, Lilith's gonna die," Dean assured him, "Bobby and Beth and I are gonna kill her, but not with you."
"You're not serious." Sam shook his head.
"Congrats, Sammy," Dean stated mockingly, "you've just bought yourself a benchwarmer seat to the apocalypse."
"Dean, look-" Sam was cut off as Dean began to close the hatch. "No! Wait!" He banged angrily on the door, causing Beth to jump in surprise. "Come back here! Dean! Beth! Let me out of here!"
Dean grabbed Beth's shoulder gently and guided her away from the door, pushing her up the stairs in front of him. She glanced back once, feeling sorry for her second oldest brother as he continued to pound on the door.
"You said that I was gonna help you kill Lilith, but I don't know how to fight," Beth pointed out, resting against the desk.
"I know, that's why I'm gonna teach you the basics," Dean told her. He picked up the gun from beside him and gestured for her to follow him, which she did hesitantly.
"Where are we going?" she asked, trailing after him along the path in between scrap metal and old cars.
"Just a little further." Dean stopped just at the edge of the woods by Bobby's house and held the gun out to her. She took it nervously, holding the butt of the gun with her thumb and forefinger away from her body. She stared at it as though she expected it to go off like a bomb. "Relax, it's not loaded," Dean snorted in amusement.
"Well, excuse me! I've never even held a gun before." She glowered at him, huffing in irritation.
Dean's amusement died down a bit as he was suddenly reminded that the Beth that had been there when Adam was learning to shoot was actually one of the ghouls and not his real, human half-sister. Beth seemed to realize why he was suddenly all sombre and quiet and set a hand on his arm, squeezing gently as he looked up in surprise.
"Don't blame yourself—they were rather convincing," she said gently.
"How did you know?"
"It was kinda obvious and… and they bragged about how Sam was awfully eager to teach them how to shoot and didn't even know something was off."
"I should've noticed sooner," Dean pointed out as he took the gun back and showed her how to load the gun and how to use it step-by-step.
She took it from him after he had taken it apart again and copied his actions, struggling only when it came to putting the bullets in the gun. Dean had to show her twice before she finally caught on.
"Now. Time for the shooting part."
"Wait, what?" Beth demanded, eyes wide. "You never said anything about actually firing the gun."
"Well how else are you gonna learn?" Dean rolled his eyes at her.
"By watching you and hoping for the best?" she offered pathetically.
"Get over here," Dean grumbled and waited until she was standing beside him before going to readjust the target on the tree about five feet away. "Now, you need to straighten your spine." He set a hand against her back and put pressure on it until her back was completely straight. He went on to adjust her arms, telling her to square her shoulders because the gun would have quite a kick and would jerk her shoulder back if she wasn't careful. "Stand with your legs a little apart," he instructed, standing behind her and showing her how to hold the gun properly. She nodded, listening carefully as he told her what to do.
"What now?" she asked.
"Now you have to focus on the target and when you think you've got in it lined up right, you shoot." Beth nodded in response, closing one eye and lining the gun up until she was satisfied. She opened her eye, took a deep breath and squeezed the trigger. A loud bang sounded and her shoulder snapped backwards slightly at the impact. The bullet hit the red ring closest to the centre circle of the target. "Good, now try again, but this time, aim for the middle." Beth smiled slightly at his words of praise and moved the gun slightly to the left and braced herself, firing a second later. This bullet hit the edge of the centre circle.
Beth huffed quietly and fired again, her eyes widening and a grin crossing her face as she finally managed to hit the centre.
"Did you see that?!" She turned towards him, a laugh slipping out. "I actually did it!"
"Well, you seem capable of handling a gun, but how good are you at fighting? Or using a knife?"
Beth deflated at that, her smile falling. She was terrible at fighting, her being thrown through a door and having her wrist snapped by a demon was proof of that… and her terrible skills of using a knife, she'd had no idea what she was doing when she used Anna's blade to try and protect them both, all she did was slice and stab at the demons clumsily.
"This is gonna end in disaster," she told him with a sigh.
"I'll be the judge of that," Dean retorted and pulled two knives out of his pocket, handing the plain looking one with a black handle to her and keeping the strange looking one from Pontiac for himself.
So, as it turned out, Beth was as terrible as she had expected and Dean had kicked her ass. She had two scratches to prove it, one on her arm and the other on her cheek. It was just two more wounds added to her collection. She had finger shaped bruises on her neck from when she had been strangled by the male demon after helping Dean and she had the cut on her head from being thrown into a wall.
She had immediately left Dean and Bobby in the study and rushed down to the panic room the moment Sam had started screaming, ignoring Dean's order to stay put. He may be willing to sit by and let his brother scream himself hoarse, but Beth couldn't stand it, she wanted to help, she had to help.
"Sam!" Beth yanked at the lock until it came loose and she pulled the door open, rushing to her half-brother's side after closing the door behind her. "Sam?"
She let out a yelp as he suddenly sat up, staring just to the left of her and began talking about how about their dad and Jess and how he was sorry about something. She stared at him in fear, wondering who he was talking to.
"S-Sam?" She reached out to him and set her hand on his shoulder. Sam jumped, startled and blinked at her as though he was seeing her for the first time. "Are you okay?"
"What happened?" he asked, glancing around wildly.
"You were screaming, so I came down here to see if you were okay…"
"What is it?"
"You were talking about dad, and someone called Jess," Beth replied quietly.
"I-I'm fine. I'm just tired." He rubbed a hand across his pale, sweaty face.
"You should get some sleep," Beth said and pushed at his shoulder until he lay down fully. She grabbed the jug of water from the table and dipped the rag she'd found in it before ringing it out and set it on his forehead. "It's okay. I'm here."
"Thank you," Sam whispered, his eyes slipping shut. Beth nodded, even though he couldn't see it and lifting the bandana and wiping his face with it, cooling his overheated skin.
"It's no problem, big brother," she answered lowly, perching herself on the edge of the cot.
Beth sighed wearily as she entered the study to find Dean and Bobby finishing their glasses of whisky. They both looked up as she stopped in the doorway.
"How is he?"
"He's… he's feverish," Beth answered after a slight hesitation, "he's tired, he won't eat, and he's practically dehydrated."
"There's somethin' you're not telling us," Bobby said pointedly.
"I think he was hallucinating," she admitted. "He sat up when I went down there and was talking about dad and someone called Jess."
"This isn't good," Dean sighed, scrubbing his face with his hand. "I think we should call Cas."
"Why?" Beth demanded. "You heard what he said last time, he won't want to help us."
"Yeah, well, he ain't got much of a choice," Dean replied sharply. "We have questions that need answering and I'll make him answer if I have to."
"It won't work," Beth warned, but Dean shook his head and started for the door. She let out a deep breath, not surprised that he wasn't going to listen to her. "Stupid, stubborn asshole," she grumbled and headed after him.
Two hours later, Beth was still stood behind him, impatiently watching as he continued to yell and order Cas to get his 'feathery ass' down here now. After what seemed like forever, the fluttering of wings filled the air and they both turned to find Cas standing a few feet away, staring at them through emotionless eyes.
"Hey feather brain," Beth greeted teasingly.
"About damn time! I've been screaming myself hoarse for about two and a half hours now," Dean snapped, striding forward to stand beside Beth.
"What do you want?" Castiel asked gruffly, walking slowly forward.
"You can start with what the hell happened in Illinois," Dean responded quickly.
"What do you mean?"
"Cut the crap," Dean snapped, "you were gonna tell me something."
"Nothing of import." Beth scoffed loudly, rolling her eyes as he stared down at her.
"That's a load of crap, it was clearly important if you were dragged back to heaven because of it."
"Beth's right. You got ass-reamed in heaven but it's not of import?" Dean scowled at the blue eyed angel.
"Dean, I can't…" Cas looked behind him, as if he was afraid someone was listening from the shadows. "I'm sorry."
He walked past them, the bottom of his coat brushing against Beth's leg as he moved. They followed him with their eyes, turning slightly to keep him in their sights.
"Get to the reason you really called me. It's about Sam, right?"
"Can he do it?" Dean questioned. "Kill Lilith? Stop the apocalypse?"
"Possibly, yes," Cas replied, his back to them. "But as you know, he'd have to take certain steps."
"Crank up the hell-blood regimen." Dean nodded bitterly.
"Consuming the amount it would take to kill Lilith would change your brother forever," Cas said as he turned to face them. "Most likely, he would become the next creature that you would feel compelled to kill. There is no reason this would have to come to pass, Dean. We believe it's you, Dean. Not your brother. The only question for us is if you're willing to accept it. Stand up and accept your role."
"Hey, hold up," Beth ordered. "No one is accepting anything around here. We can worry about Lilith when Sam is better."
"We don't have time to waste, Bethany." Castiel turned to her. "Killing Lilith is our main priority right now."
"Oh yeah? Well that may be top on your list, but it sure as hell ain't on mine. Sam is more important right now," Beth argued, folding her arms over her chest. "He's suffering and he needs help."
"Beth, just can it for a minute, will ya?" Dean interrupted and she stared at him in disbelief.
"You are the one who will stop it," Cas said suddenly, regaining Dean's attention.
"If I do this," Dean began, clapping a hand over Beth's mouth as she started protesting loudly. "Sammy doesn't have to?"
"If it gives you comfort to see it that way," Cas answered simply.
"God, you're a dick these days," Dean scoffed and moved away from the angel. Beth nodded in agreement after being released by her eldest brother. "Fine, I'm in," he continued after a moment.
"Dean, no-" Beth started, but quickly fell silent as Cas pressed his fingers against her forehead and she slumped into his awaiting arms, completely out cold.
"The hell did you do that for?" Dean demanded as he spun around to see why Beth had stopped talking.
"She was testing my patience," Cas replied as he carefully set her on the trunk of a nearby car.
"Yeah, I get that." Dean nodded in agreement after a moment.
Cas turned back to the matter at hand. "You give yourself over wholly to the service of God and his angels?"
"Yeah, exactly," Dean replied.
"Say it," Cas ordered.
"I give myself over, wholly," Dean glanced back at him, turning around, "to serve God… and you guys."
"You swear to follow His word and His will as swiftly and obediently as you did your own father's?"
"Yes. I swear," Dean answered stiffly. "Now what?"
"Now you wait," Cas explained, "and we call on you when it's time."
With that, Cas disappeared, leaving Dean standing outside in the cold with a knocked out sister beside him and a wary feeling settling in his gut.
"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but you willingly signed up to be the angels' bitch?" Bobby questioned gruffly, sitting on the edge of his desk with his arms crossed. "I'm sorry, you prefer 'sucker'?"
Beth let out a sudden groan from the couch, her eyelids fluttering open to reveal disorientated hazel eyes. She sat up abruptly, and immediately let out a whine as the room suddenly spun before her eyes.
"The hell—?" she slurred, pressing a hand against her throbbing hand. "Where's that trench coat wearing asshat? I'm gonna kick his ass."
She blinked up at Dean and Bobby and took in their sour expressions. "Wow. Who died?" Her eyes flickered back and forth between them. "Wait—no one actually died, right?"
"Nope. But Dean-o over there signed up to be the angels' lap dog," Bobby said, sending a taunting look at Dean, who scowled and looked away.
"You did what?" She glanced around wildly. "It was Cas, wasn't it? He talked you into it. Oh, now I'm really gonna kick his ass!"
Bobby shook his head. "After everything you've said about them, now you trust them?"
"Come on, give me a little credit, Bobby," Dean snapped, pushing away from the wall. "I've never trusted them less. I mean, they come on like shady politicians from planet Vulcan."
"Then why in the hell—?"
"Because what other option do I have?" Dean retorted. "It's either trust the angels or let Sammy trust a demon?"
"I see your point," Bobby said reluctantly.
Beth frowned, but nodded her agreement with Bobby's statement. She turned her head away from Dean, looking towards the stairs to the basement.
"It's awfully quiet down there, isn't it?"
"That's just what I was thinking," Dean agreed.
"That's a little too much nothing," Bobby added and the three of them darted for the stairs, Dean in the lead, followed by Beth and finally Bobby.
Dean yanked the hatch open and they peered in to find Sam convulsing on the floor. Beth felt her eyes grow wide as Sam let out little groans every so often and continued to convulse.
"What if he's faking?" Dean questioned.
"You really think he would?"
"I think he'd do anything," Dean answered.
Beth let out a shriek as Sam's body was suddenly thrown into the wall to their left, his body hitting the iron with a loud bang. Dean's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden move.
"I-I don't think he's faking!" Beth gasped from behind him.
"That ain't faking," Bobby agreed and reached for the handle, tugging it free with Dean's help.
Beth remained behind them as they grabbed Sam's arms and pulled him back towards the bed, pushing him down on it gently.
"Beth, your belt," Bobby said loudly, pinning Sam's arms down, "put it in his mouth, stop him from biting his tongue."
Beth nodded shakily and undid her belt, yanking it free and carefully setting it in Sam's mouth, he bit down on it immediately as he continued shaking.
"We're gonna have to tie him down for his own safety," Bobby told them. Dean just stared at his brother, not appearing to have heard Bobby. "Dean? You with me?" Bobby shared a worried glance with Beth. "Dean! Before he has another fit!"
The seemed to snap Dean out of his reverie and he nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just get it over with."
"Dean, I can do it," Beth said and gently moved Dean's hands out of the way. He sent her a thankful look and back away quickly, watching as they both grabbed some cloth from the nearby table and wrapped them around Sam's wrists. Beth was silent as she was handed a pair of handcuffs and hooked one of the cuffs around the thick cloth and hooked the other one around the metal bar on the edge of the bed.
She did the same with the foot nearest her and sat back when she was finished, swallowing deeply as she pushed her messy hair from her face.
She was starting to wonder just how much of this supernatural business she could take.
After leaving the panic room, Beth had left the house with the excuse that she needed fresh air. Dean and Bobby remained in the study, talking quietly amongst themselves as she left the house, not bothering to pick up her jacket or her cell phone.
She had been walking for about five minutes when she finally stopped, glancing around the woods nervously as she realized that she hadn't bothered paying attention to where she was going and had ended up lost.
"Dammit!" she yelled, glaring at the tree in front of her, as though it were the tree's fault. "Son of a bitch!"
"Beth?"
Beth let out a startled yelp, tripping over her feet and landed in a heap on the grass. A smile spread across her face as she stared up at the face of her red headed friend.
"Anna! How nice to see you."
"What are you doing out here? And without a jacket." Anna gave her a scolding look as she pulled the brunette to her feet.
"Getting a jacket wasn't on my list of priorities," Beth explained defensively. "We, uh, we just had to restrain Sam. He was having seizures and he was being thrown around the room and everything… it's not something I wanna experience again. Ever."
"He's going through withdrawals," Anna said quietly, "it's not a surprise that's happening."
"You knew? About the blood, I mean."
"I could sense something different about him," Anna agreed carefully, "I just didn't expect him to be doing that."
"You're not the only one," Beth sighed softly. "I just… I don't understand why he would do that. Why would he put himself through that?"
"I think that he just thought he was doing what was right," Anna answered lightly as she snapped her fingers and Beth suddenly found herself covered by her brown leather jacket.
"But it's not right, it's so far from right, that he should've known it was wrong."
"I'm not saying I agree with him, but I can understand why he was doing it—he wanted to prove himself to his family, to show them that he was capable of being the strong one for a change."
Beth knew that Anna didn't really believe that, that she thought Sam was disgraceful for putting himself and his family through that and she was just saying it to make Beth feel better and they both knew it, but Beth was surprised at how much it actually helped. She was about to say something in response when Anna suddenly frowned, lifting a hand and pressing it against her head.
"What's wrong?" she asked in concern.
"It's Castiel—he's summoning me."
"What, now?" Beth asked in disappointment.
"Yes, I have to go."
"Wait! You'll be careful, won't you?"
"Of course I will. I'll see you soon, Beth," Anna gave her a light smile.
"You betcha, Ariel," Beth grinned and waved as Anna disappeared.
Beth eventually found her way back to the salvage yard and decided to climb into the backseat of the Impala, glad that it was still unlocked, and curled into a tight ball, resting her head against the duffel bag she'd left in the car when they'd arrived at Bobby's the other day.
She knew she should let Dean and Bobby know she was okay, but she could face going back into the house and having to listen to Sam scream in agony any more.
Beth jerked awake to the sound of a gun being cocked and shot up, glancing out of the window to find Bobby pointing a gun at Sam, who was standing in front of an old car a few feet away.
"What the hell is going on?" Beth asked, clambering out of the car.
"Uh uh, Sam," Bobby said, ignoring Beth. "The only place you're going is back inside with me and Beth."
"No," Sam disagreed, staring at them through exhausted hazel eyes. His face was extremely pale, and appeared almost paper thin under the harsh glow of the light of the moon.
"Sam, you're sick. You need to come back inside," Beth said encouragingly. Sam shook his head and Bobby let out a loud sigh.
"Dammit boy."
"You won't shoot me, Bobby." Sam risked a step closer.
"Don't test me," Bobby countered, though it lacked any heat.
"You won't do it." Beth stepped towards Bobby, eyeing Sam warily as he came even closer. The end of the barrel of the gun pressed firmly against Sam's chest. "You can't do it."
"We're trying to help you, Sam," Bobby told him, voice full of emotion.
"What are you doing?" Beth asked, panicked as Sam took a hold of the gun and moved it up to rest over his heart.
"Then shoot." Tears pooled in Sam's eyes as he stared at his surrogate father.
"Bobby!" Beth cried out as Sam yanked the gun from Bobby's hands and roughly hit the older hunter in the face with the butt of the gun. She let out a gasp as Sam suddenly turned on her, grabbing her and covering her mouth as she tried to call out for Dean. "Sam!" she begged, voice muffled by his large hand.
Sam wrapped his other arm around her neck and squeezed tightly, putting a large amount of pressure on her throat. Fearful gasps slipped out and black spots filled her vision as she struggled to stay conscious. Beth dug her fingernails into his arm, kicking and bucking against him as she tried desperately to free herself.
"Just let go, Beth," he encouraged gently, willing her to give in to the darkness. "Just let go."
Beth let out one final breath before falling unconscious for the second time that day. She went completely limp in Sam's arms and he removed his hand from her mouth, releasing her slowly and turning away as she slumped to the ground.
"Dean, I don't think this is such a good idea," Beth rasped, holding the towel full of ice against her freshly bruised neck. "Sam's dangerous right now."
"I ain't gonna leave him out there, especially not with that bitch," Dean countered, tinkering with the engine of the Impala.
"I know you don't want him near this Ruby, but you need to think about this."
"I have. I'm gonna find him and then I'm gonna kill Ruby," Dean snapped.
"Well… then I'm not gonna let you go alone," Beth said finally.
"Beth, no. You have to stay here with Bobby."
"Dean! I am not letting you go after him alone," Beth answered firmly. "You need help, especially if there's gonna be a demon there."
"…You're not going to give in, are you?"
"Definitely not." Beth shook her head.
"Fine," Dean sighed and went back to working on the engine.
Beth zoned out as Bobby reappeared and began telling them about two cars that had been stolen near where his car had been found in Jamestown, North Dakota.
"C'mon Beth," Dean called as he opened the door to the driver's seat. "Time to go."
"You two be careful, you hear?" Beth nodded and hesitated before hugging Bobby quickly and climbing into the car.
"See ya soon, Bobby."
Dean reversed quickly, stopping to say goodbye to Bobby before peeling out of the salvage yard. Beth settled back in her seat and clasped her hands in her lap to prevent herself from picking at her nails—a nervous habit she'd had since she was a child. She wasn't sure how Sam was gonna react when they finally tracked him down, but after what he'd done, she wasn't surprised at the fear she felt when she thought about him.
"Wait, are you sure this is it?" Beth grabbed Dean's arm as he stopped in front of a fancy white door.
"Oh yeah, this is it, all right," Dean promised, glaring at the door.
"Remember what Bobby said, we're here to talk to Sam, not to fight," Beth reminded him. Dean scowled, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. But if Ruby's there, she's dead."
"Agreed." Beth nodded jerkily.
He proceed to open the door quietly and they both slipped inside. A dark haired woman was standing at the bed, her back to them as she worked on zipping up a duffel bag. A floorboard creaked under Dean's foot and the woman spun around just as Dean lashed out with the knife, cutting her jacket open. She grabbed his arm as he tried to stab her with the knife.
"Beth!" Dean barked at his half-sister, snapping her out of her surprise. She pulled out her own knife and lunged towards the woman, knowing without having to be told that this was Ruby, the one who had gotten Sam addicted to the demon blood in the first place.
"You little bitch!" Ruby hissed as Beth left a long cut across her abdomen. She pulled one arm free long enough to knock Beth away from her before she was shoved up against the pillar in the room and Dean put all his strength into pushing the knife towards her. Ruby let out a muffled moan as she struggled to hold him back.
Dean managed to overpower her and was about to stab her with the demon killing knife when he was grabbed from behind and yanked backwards.
"No!" Sam barked, fighting against his brother. "Let her go!"
Beth's eyes narrowed as Sam defended the black eyed monster, he failed to see Beth and she used his distraction to lunge at Ruby, knocking the other female to the floor and catching Dean's knife mid-air as he threw it to her.
"Get off of me!" Ruby growled.
"I don't think so, you black eyed bitch," Beth returned and pushed all her weight down on the hilt of the knife. She only managed to embed the tip of the knife in Ruby's chest before Sam grabbed the back of her jacket and tossed her backwards. She ended up doing a backwards roll and landing at Dean's feet.
"Just take it easy," Sam ordered as both of his siblings glared at him.
"Well, it must've been some party you two had going," Dean started, helping Beth to her feet, "seeing as you tried so hard to keep us from crashing it. Well, solid try, but here we are."
"Dean, I'm glad you're here," Sam told them after a minute. "Look, let's just talk about this."
"Soon as she's dead, we can talk all you want," Dean replied.
"I second that," Beth added and glared at Ruby.
"Ruby, get out of here," Sam ordered, glancing back at her.
"No. She's not going anywhere."
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Beth demanded as Sam stopped her and Dean from going after Ruby.
"She's poison, Sam!"
"It's not what you think," Sam said calmly.
"Look what she did to you!" Dean argued. "She vanishes for weeks at a time and leaves you cracking out for another hit."
"She was looking for Lilith!" Sam shouted back defensively.
"That is French for manipulating your ass 10 ways from Sunday," Dean retorted.
"You're wrong, Dean."
"Sam, you're lying to yourself." Disappointment flashed across Dean's face. "I just want you to be okay. You would do the same for me, you know you would."
"Just listen," Sam started, tossing the knife onto the bed. "Just listen for a second. We got a led on a demon close to Lilith. Come with us, Dean, Beth. We'll do this together."
"That sounds great," Dean responded and Beth stared at him in disbelief. Didn't he know that Sam meant with him and Ruby? "As long as it's just us three. Demon bitch is a deal-breaker." Beth nodded her agreement, siding with Dean without a second thought. "You kiss her goodbye, we can go right now."
"I can't," Sam sighed.
"The hell you can't!" Beth snapped angrily. "It's not that difficult, you stab her with that knife and we can all forget she ever existed."
"It's not that easy, Beth," Sam disagreed. "I need her to help me kill Lilith. I know you can't wrap your heads round that, but maybe one day you'll both understand. I'm the only one who can do this."
"No. You're not the one who's gonna do this," Dean told him firmly.
"Right. That's right, I forgot. The angels think it's you," Sam said mockingly.
"You don't think I can?"
"No, you can't." Sam answered sharply. "You're not strong enough."
"Who the hell are you?"
"I'm being practical here," Sam explained. "I'm doing what needs to be done."
"Yeah?" Dean raised an eyebrow. "You're not gonna do a single damn thing."
"Stop bossing me around, Dean!" Sam snapped. Beth glanced between her brothers, wondering what had happened the kind, selfless male she had met after waking up in the hospital back in Windom. Whoever this was standing in front of her, it definitely wasn't the Sam she knew and had grown to care about. "Look. My whole life, you take the wheel, you call the shots and I trust you because you're my brother. Now, I'm asking you for once, trust me."
"No. You don't know what you're doing, Sam," Dean said finally.
"Yes, I do!" Sam argued.
"Then that's worse!" Dean yelled.
"Why?" Sam asked in confusion. "Look, I'm telling you—"
"Because it's not something that you're doing, it's what you are!" Dean interrupted furiously. "It means…" Dean trailed off.
"What?" Sam demanded, hurt flickering across his face. "No, say it."
"It means you're a monster," Dean continued reluctantly, as if he couldn't believe that the day would come that he would call his brother that. Sam nodded bitterly, tears springing to his eyes. He suddenly drew his arm back and punched Dean in the face, sending him crashing to the floor.
"Dean!" Beth darted to his side and helped him up. A look of anger appeared on his face and he shrugged out of her grip, retaliating with a punch of his own, that sent Sam stumbled backwards.
"Stop it!" she cried as they started fighting each other, trading punches. She let out a strangled gasp as Sam threw Dean face-first against the mirror before sending him crashing through one of the white, criss-crossed pillars. The wood broke under Dean's weight and he landed on the coffee table, shattering the wood and the glass immediately. He lay there, dazed as he coughed weakly. Sam was on top of him seconds later, wrapping his hands around Dean's neck. He squeezed with all his might, ignoring Beth as she screamed at him to let go, his gaze was locked firmly on Dean's slowly reddening face. "Sam!" Beth tugged at his shoulder, trying to get him to free Dean.
Sam suddenly back handed her, sending her tumbling across the room where she tripped over the edge of the bed and landed flat on her back near the window. Sam finally released Dean when Beth sat up and began yelling at him again.
"You don't know me," Sam stated lowly as he rose to his feet. "You never did. And you never will."
"You walk out that door, don't you ever come back," Dean wheezed, a hand pressed against his chest. Sam paused at the door, glancing back at them. Without a word, he opened it, still looking back at them.
"You don't know how far you've fallen, Sam," Beth whispered in disappointment. He glanced at her once before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. She hurried to her feet, rushing over to Dean. He clenched his jaw, rolling over onto his side. "I'm so sorry, Dean," she whispered as she knelt beside him. Dean simply squeezed her knee, resting his forehead against her side.
"We've lost him for good."
That was the last thing either of them said before they fell silent, more interested in being quiet and enjoying each other's company than talking about what had just happened or the brother they'd just lost. The brother Dean had practically raised since they were kids and the one Beth had only known for a few weeks, but already cared deeply about.