Chapter Eight

Three Months Later

Dean paced back and forth in the visitor's room of the jail. Sam watched him and the frustration that was pouring off of him and wished he could do something to help Dean. Sam could tell that he was about to go stir crazy, but the only thing he could really do was work with Dean's attorney on his case and hope a miracle would happen and Dean would be let go.

"I've been working with your attorney to come up with a defense," Sam told Dean. "On the surface, it seems like it should be an easy case to defend yourself against. They can't produce a body, and we know you didn't kill Liz. Plus, you were in another state when she died. Unfortunately, we can't prove that because there's no death certificate for Liz because technically Delores Hill died that day in the hospital. Liz was cremated, so there's no body to dig up and do a DNA test on. They can't really prove she's dead, but we obviously can't prove she isn't. That's bad news for us because they did produce a witness that has some damaging evidence."

Dean stopped pacing. "How bad is it, Sam? Tell me straight up."

"The DA won't consider a plea bargain."

Dean looked upset. "You've been trying to plea bargain!?! I didn't kill Liz, and I won't say that I did."

Sam held up his hands. "No. And it's not that we would plea bargain, but it's a bad sign that the DA isn't offering us anything. It means they think they have their case won. Well, it's more than thinking. They know they have the case sewn up."

"Bobby?"

"Doesn't have a plan. He says he does, but I'm pretty sure he's just buying time hoping he comes up with something."

Dean sat back in his chair with a defeated sigh. When he spoke, his voice was thick with barely controlled emotion. "So, I'm pretty definitely going to prison is what you're saying." He cleared his throat, and the emotion left his voice. "I can deal with that. I don't guess I have much of a choice."

"We're working on it," Sam said, "but it's kind of hard to play against a stacked deck."

"You've done everything you can, Sam. I don't blame you for this, so you shouldn't blame yourself. I'm just glad that my attorney is letting you help him with the case."

Sam nodded then rubbed his face tiredly. "In different circumstances, it might be kind of fun to carry water on a case like this," he admitted. He fidgeted in his chair for another moment, gathering his courage to tell Dean the next thing he wanted to. "There's something else I need to talk to you about, Dean, and you're not going to like it."

"If it's worse than hearing that I'm probably going to prison for life, then it must be bad."

Sam smiled halfheartedly at Dean's joke. "I'm going to ask Lauren to marry me," he told Dean.

Dean stared at him without saying anything.

"Say something, Dean. You're my brother, and I'd really like you on board with this."

Dean was clearly thrown for a loop. "Congratulations, Sam," he managed to get out.

"I know you don't like her very much, but—"

"I'm happy for you, Sam. You love her, and that's good enough for me."

Sam broke into a relieved grin. "Thank you, Dean."

Dean nodded, trying very hard to bury his unhappiness at the thought of Lauren marrying Sam.

XXX

Liz's knee bounced impatiently as she waited for Cassie to pick up her phone.

"Hello?" Cassie finally answered.

"Hey. Did you check out the stuff I sent you?" Liz asked quietly.

"Why are you whispering?"

"My chaperone's asleep. I'm trying to keep it that way."

"Okay."

"So? What do you think? Does everything sound good to you?"

Cassie hesitated. "Well…I don't like going behind Bobby's back."

"I know you don't, Cass. I respect that. If you think it's something that's a deal breaker for you, then let me talk to Alex. I don't want to make you do anything you don't want to."

Cassie sighed. "I never said I wouldn't do it. I just wanted to make my reservations known. The plan is fine," she admitted.

"So, you'll do it?" Liz asked, trying to keep her excitement under control.

There was a long pause. "Yeah, Linds, I'll do it. Alex, too. He gets excited just thinking about it."

"Can I talk to him?"

"Sure. Let me go get him."

"Before you do that, I wanted to ask how things are going between you two."

Cassie rolled her eyes. "Well, he hasn't made me crave sausage yet, but he's not as awful as I was afraid he'd be."

"So, you're saying you like him?"

"Well, he has an uncanny ability to get past your defenses. It's not natural."

Liz smiled. "You should ask him about what he did in Reno. It might give you back a little of the upper hand."

"Alright, I will," Cassie promised. "What about you? How are you and your new partner? I can't imagine that Andrew is a wonderful conversationalist."

"Bobby didn't send Andrew. He sent Roy."

"What did you do, Lindsey?" Cassie asked in a shocked voice. "Bobby must have been pissed, whatever it was. Roy's hardcore."

"Tell me about it. He's asleep right now, or I wouldn't even be able to call you. That man needs to lighten up. I'm not even allowed to go to the store by myself."

"That sucks. I know how you need to be alone every once in awhile."

"Yeah, well…can you hand the phone to Alex now?"

Liz could sense the waves of discontent coming off of Cassie. "Sure. Let me go grab him." She held the phone away from her ear as she called Alex. "Alex! Phone!"

Liz could hear noises as the phone was passed off. "What's up, beautiful?" Alex greeted her.

"For all you know, I could have been Bobby," Liz replied.

Liz could tell that Alex was smirking. "Cassie's voice changes when she talks to you."

"Shut up."

"Make me."

Liz rolled her eyes. "What do you think of the plan?"

"I think it's awesome, Lindsey. If we pull this off, we're gonna be legendary. I don't know how you got Bobby to go along with this, but I bow at your feet for it."

"About that…Bobby doesn't know. Is that gonna be a problem?"

"You know me, Lindsey," Alex said. "Danger's my middle name."

Liz laughed. "Too bad your last name's stupid, huh?"

"Funny and pretty. Whatever did I do to deserve you, Lindsey Nightingale?"

"Well, there was that time in Lubbock…"

"Shut up."

Liz smiled in amusement. "Listen, I've gotta go, but I'll talk to you soon. My flight leaves in the morning, and I want to review my plan for escaping Roy one more time. I'll call you when I'm back stateside."

"Sounds good. Wanna say goodbye to Cassie?"

"I'd better."

XXX

"All rise. The honorable Judge Blanton presiding."

"Honorable," Dean scoffed. "Yeah, right."

Sam elbowed him. "Stay quiet, Dean."

"Why? We know how this is gonna end."

Sam gave him a disapproving look but didn't scold him further.

The judge came into the courtroom and sat on his bench. Everything went quickly after that. The prosecution presented a surprisingly scant amount of evidence, but what little they did present was pretty damning. Then it was the defense's turn to call their witnesses, and Dean was called to the stand. His attorney, Mr. Flannery, went over Liz's death and the subsequent events, and then it was time for the prosecution to ask their questions.

Tom stood in for the DA. He smirked at Dean's surprise when he was called as co-counsel. "Bet you didn't know that I have a law degree, huh? It was one of the three approved careers my father laid out for me."

He walked to the window and pulled the blinds open so that the swarms of media camped out could be seen. He watched them thoughtfully for a moment. "That media frenzy out there is for you, Dean." He turned back to Dean. "People seem to so love hearing about an attractive psychopath."

"You love to hear yourself talk, don't you?" Dean observed.

Tom glared at Dean. "We'll get down to business if that's what you want. You say that Liz died five years ago on the 18th of July. There is no death certificate for Elizabeth Barrister or Elizabeth Winchester registered anywhere in the United States with that day of death on it. What do you have to say about that?"

Dean's jaw twitched. "Liz died that day, and I'm not going to sit here and listen to you tell me otherwise."

Tom gave Dean a condescending look. "I thought you would be happy at the prospect of her being alive. Interesting."

"You son of a bitch," Dean replied, starting to stand.

The judge banged his gavel. "Son, you need to take a seat and calm yourself."

"Stay calm, my ass," Dean rebutted loudly. "That son of a bitch is saying that Liz is not dead. He's trying to bait me, and it's working."

Tom smiled evilly. "Well, someone has been impersonating her. The company has her address listed as a post office box in a small town in Wyoming. The mail gets picked up. Bills that are sent there get paid. Are you sure you don't want to change your statement, Dean?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Dean looked at Bobby. "Do you have any idea what he's talking about?"

"None."

This infuriated Tom, and he slapped the table in front of him. "You see, either I am going to prove that my sister is alive, or I am going to prove that you did something to her, Dean. You can make this easy and just tell me why she had to die."

"If anyone killed Liz, it was your bastard of a father," Dean answered, anger lacing his voice.

Tom's eyes narrowed. "Stop playing games with me and tell me the truth, Dean. I know that Liz is alive, so tell me where she is."

"Liz is dead, you bastard."

Tom cocked his head thoughtfully. "You really think that, don't you?" he asked, realization dawning on his face. "Liz kept you completely in the dark on this one."

"Judge, would you please do something about the 'prosecution'?" Dean's attorney asked in a defeated voice. "He's clearly badgering the witness."

The judge banged his gavel and looked at Mr. Flannery. "I'm the judge in this court, so I'd suggest you not tell me what is 'clearly' happening." He looked at Tom. "Continue."

Tom shrugged. "I'm done. This witness has nothing to say that I want to hear," he said. He made a show of walking back to the prosecution's table and propping his feet up on the table with forced casualness.

The judge looked at Dean. "You may step down."

Dean silently took his seat between Mr. Flannery and Sam.

Mr. Flannery took a deep breath to center himself. He knew his client was going to be upset with what he said next. "Your honor, I have a witness who is not on my pre-trial list of witnesses. I would like to ask the court to allow me to call her."

Tom sat up, anticipation gleaming on his face. The judge was unimpressed, however. "Motion denied," he told the attorney.

"Let him call his witness," Tom told the judge.

The judge looked at Tom. "Are you sure?"

Tom turned to Mr. Flannery. "Call your witness."

Mr. Flannery sighed and tried to mentally prepare himself for the hell that was about to break loose. "The defense calls Elizabeth Barrister Winchester to the stand."

Dean grabbed his attorney by his lapels and hauled him to his feet. "You son of a bitch! Are you working with that bastard?" He shook him, hard. "If you are, I will…" Dean trailed off as the door at the back of the court opened and Liz walked in.

She had changed in the years since he had seen her. Her hair was short and blonde. She must have had contacts in because her eyes looked yellow. She was immaculate in a button-down shirt, knee-length skirt, and strappy heels, and she was just as beautiful as Dean remembered.

She strode confidently into the room and focused on Tom. She purposely avoided looking at Dean. "This is highly improper, Tom," she said in a severe tone. "I see the judge is just letting you use his courtroom as your own personal interrogation room. I imagine that is why these are closed proceedings. Now, Tom, here I am. Why don't you cut the crap and leave this poor man alone?" She waved her arm to indicate Dean but still didn't look at him.

Liz walked to the witness stand and sat down, finally gathering up the courage to look at Dean. He was still holding the lapels of his attorney's jacket, but loosely now, and he was staring at Liz, ashen-faced. Liz looked away guiltily.

Tom was enjoying himself now. "What's the matter, Dean? You look like you've seen a ghost," he taunted, relishing Dean's obvious pain.

"Liz?" Dean said her name as a question, filling it with such confusion and pain that it was heartbreaking. He sat down in shock.

"Hello, Dean," Liz answered, voice full of contrition.

"Cheer up," Tom interrupted smugly. "At least you know you won't be facing murder charges now, Dean."

"What is this about, Tom?" Liz asked tiredly. "I'm here. You got what you want, so what is this about?"

Tom smiled. "Where's your kid, Liz? Did you not want him flying to see dear, old dad? You've gone to such links to keep him secret. There must be a reason."

Liz drew her eyes eyebrows together, angry disbelief apparent. "Really, Tom, you cause a media storm to find me because you are imagining little green children? I think you should apologize to everyone here."

"I want to see my nephew," Tom demanded. "No more games."

"I wasn't aware that I was playing any games, dear brother," Liz said angrily. "Why would you think that I have a kid? Did your little Ouija board tell you that? Last I checked, I hadn't talked to you in over five years."

"Don't be coy, Liz," Tom replied. "Dad did a fertility spell on Sam before he turned him loose to have his way with you. Dad was great at stuff like that, so you had to have had his kid."

Liz rolled her eyes. "So this is what this is about? You can't admit that Dad wasn't perfect? I didn't have a kid, you moron," Liz belittled him.

Tom shook his head in disbelief. "That was the whole point in having you sleep with Sam."

Liz laughed humorlessly. "Really? I thought the whole point in me sleeping with Sam was to birth an evil demon into the world."

Tom's jaw ticked in response to Liz's taunting. "That was one objective," he conceded. "However, Dad believed that if anyone could figure out a way around the death clause, it would be you. It was spectacular how you managed that, by the way," Tom told her, glowing with pride and reminding Liz of the father she had killed. "He threw the fertility spell in because he believed in you that much. So you see, I do not believe your denials. You had to have had Sam's child."

"I don't know what to tell you, Tom," Liz replied with an unconcerned shrug. "I feel like you want me to say that I am flattered and touched by Dad's confidence in me, but I'm not. He made me choose between letting Sam die or killing myself by sleeping with him and unleashing a major demon onto this dimension. That he also tried to get me knocked up because he felt positive that I would get around the fact that sleeping with Sam should have killed me doesn't give me warm fuzzy feelings towards him. It makes me want to resurrect him so that I can kill him again. Now, Tom, I need for you to walk out of this courtroom and call off your bloodhounds before I destroy your life as badly as your dumb cult has destroyed mine. I never want to hear about you even thinking of messing with any of my friends again. Next time, if you're out for blood, come after mine. Leave Dean out of it."

"Dean? What happened to 'this poor man?'" Tom asked derisively. "You know, I am trying to decide whether it is sweet or pathetic that you still care so very much for him when he has obviously moved on to less frigid venues." He glanced at Jo, who averted her eyes. He smirked. "Oh, yeah, I know about you, honey."

Liz stared at him with open contempt. "Leave her alone."

Tom looked put out. "I am not giving this up, Liz. You had Sam's son, and he will be mine. I will kill everyone you care about before I let you keep me from him."

"I don't know what else to say to prove that I didn't."

"You are lying, Liz!" Tom yelled.

"I am not," she insisted.

Tom considered Liz for a moment and then nodded curtly. "Fine. You say that you don't know what I'm talking about. Are you willing to take a truth potion to prove it?"

Liz looked annoyed. "If that's what it takes to stop this stupid charade," she replied.

Tom pulled a vial of blue liquid out of his pocket. He winked at Liz as he handed it to her. "I know what you're thinking, sis: this was so clever and forward-thinking of me to have this waiting on hand."

Liz took the potion and rolled her eyes at Tom. "That is exactly what I was thinking," she deadpanned then tipped the contents of the vial into her mouth. Her lips curled in distaste as she swallowed the potion down.

"Where's my nephew?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Did you have Sam's son or not?"

"No."

Tom looked confused. "You had to have. It was prophesized."

Liz shrugged. "Well, I didn't."

"You didn't have Sam's kid?"

"How many times do I have to answer that?"

"Then something went wrong," Tom insisted. "Did you actually have sex with Sam?"

Liz stared at him for a moment, then glanced at Sam. She quickly looked away, a deep blush tingeing her cheeks red. She took a deep breath and nodded her head. "Yes," she answered. She purposely kept herself from looking at anyone but Tom.

Tom nodded. "How did you get around the curse? No one but Dad believed you could. I have always wanted to know how you did it." The gleam of anticipation was back in his eyes.

Liz shook her finger at him. "Now, now, Tom, find out for yourself. You know Dad always hated a cheater."

"Dad only hated cheating when others were trying to do it to him. Come on, Liz, tell me. Even Dad seemed impressed that you emerged so...intact," he informed her with relish, smiling smugly at her.

"And you wonder why I don't miss Dad," Liz commented, avoiding answering his question.

"Are you resisting answering me?"

"I don't see the point in dragging all this up again," Liz said.

Tom cocked his head as he considered Liz. "I thought you might need some motivation," he said. "I'm sorry it had to come to this, but you have forced my hand." He signalled to one of his men who were waiting by the courtroom doors. "Have them bring her in."

The man left and came back in a few minutes, prodding a bound and gagged Ellen forward with the barrel of his gun.

"I advise you to answer all of my questions, dear Liz," Tom told her smugly.

"Dean forbade me from telling anyone," Liz replied to buy some time.

"So."

"So I cannot disobey a direct order from him."

Confusion blossomed on Tom's face. "But that is only if..." he trailed off and his eyes lit up in sudden understanding. "Ah, yes. Everything just became a little clearer. I bet you love having to ask permission from your boy."

Tom turned to Dean then. "Dean, free your wife to tell me what I want to know," he demanded.

Liz hazarded a glance at Dean and immediately regretted having done so. He was staring at her with such unadulterated pain that she immediately looked away.

"I don't know what she's talking about," Dean said. Liz flinched at the anguish in his voice. "I never told her she couldn't tell you anything. She can do whatever the hell she wants to. Obviously."

Tom was having fun now. "You have to actually tell her that she is allowed to tell me whatever she pleases to for her to be able to do so," Tom told him with a taunting smile. "It is such a charming system that we have, is it not?"

Liz looked at Dean again and held his gaze. "If you don't want me to tell him anything, then I'll figure something else out," she told him.

Tom crossed his arms. "I think you are forgetting that I have a gun held on someone you hold very dear," he reminded them.

Dean looked defeated. "Tell him what he wants to know, Liz. I don't care."

She looked unhappy as she turned to Tom. "Why don't you let everyone leave?" she asked. "You don't need them. It's me you want."

Her brother's face hardened. "How about you don't tell me what to do, Liz?" he said then smiled maliciously. "What is so bad that you want the B team to leave? Whose face should I be looking at to catch the moment that their heart is ripped out?" He laughed viciously. "The blonde? Dean? Bit of both?"

Liz crossed her arms protectively around herself and did not reply.

Tom smiled predatorily. "I am surprised you care about their feelings," he mused. "But, it only makes it that much sweeter for me that you do. So, tell me now, Liz, how did you escape death?"

She put her head in her hands. "I always have to tell the damn stories," she muttered angrily. She focused on Tom again as she began. "Well, I consummated the bond with Dean then had him name Sam as his surrogate..."

"And how was your first time, Liz?" Tom interrupted. "Was it everything you hoped it would be and more?"

"It was more," Liz replied quietly.

Tom bellowed out a laugh. "You have to say that because Dean is in the room," he pointed out. "What else would you say?"

Liz stared in horrified silence at him. "You're such an ass," she said.

"A brutally honest one, though, unlike a certain sister of mine."

Liz shook her head in denial. "You don't know what you're talking about. I meant what I said. I just took a truth spell, you idiot. I'm not trying to spare Dean's feelings."

Tom feigned a yawn. "Bored now. Can you finish your story already?"

Liz sighed unhappily but continued with her story. "So, Dean named Sam his surrogate, a bitch of a spell, by the way, and then I strengthened the bond between Dean and me. I then had him use his newly acquired control over me to command me to have sex with his brother or he would kill me," Liz explained. Her eyes got a faraway look in them as she revisited the past. "I wasn't even sure that it would work even with all of that." She came back to the present. "But then, we are all here, so it obviously did."

"What happened when you went to Sam?" Tom asked.

Liz visibly shrank in on herself. "I don't want to talk about that."

"I don't care what you want, Liz. I am trying to figure out where Dad went wrong, and I do not care if you are uncomfortable or if everyone in this room is irreparably scarred by what you reveal. The next time that I have to ask you twice to tell me something, I will put a bullet in your friend there."

"You men and your threats," Liz grumbled. "Fine. Okay." She glanced at Sam before continuing.

Sam cut her off. "I'll tell you..." he began.

"Tsk, tsk," Tom said, raising his finger to set the man holding Ellen on alert. Sam stopped talking. "I want her to tell me the gory details."

Liz glared at Tom but started to talk. "I left Dean about an hour before the sun came up. We had Sam chained up in the basement. I went down to him, and he was...the demon was...it was bad. He was almost crazed." She paused a moment as she became lost in things only she could see. "I tried to make things easy for both of us, but the demon did not want things to be easy."

Tom interrupted her again. There was a gleam in his eyes. "What do you mean, 'did not want things to be easy?'"

She paused for a moment, face anguished. Tom did not have to threaten her to begin again, however. "It tied me up and took me somewhere. I don't know where. You'll have to ask Dean and Jo if you want to know. When we got there, it hurt me. Hit me, tied me up, made me kiss it. It prodded me until I fought it so that it could rape me." Her hands were shaking slightly as she finished speaking.

Everyone was silent. Liz glanced at Sam again and then started to rush her words. "It took days, but eventually the demon came out of Sam. I thought that I had done all of this in vain, the way that Sam was screaming. I thought that I had seen a lot and was above being affected by it until then. The demon was horrifying and huge. I couldn't believe that something that big had come out of Sam. There was not a drop of blood on him. I remember thinking then that Sam did not have a drop of blood on him and there was so much on me. I didn't know how that was possible. And then the demon laughed. There was a body in that place. It ate it. It ate the whole body. And I watched because I was afraid of what would happen if I looked away. After it was finished, it turned its attention back to Sam. It picked him up and tossed him on top of me like a rag doll. I couldn't tell if Sam was breathing or not. And then he finally did. Unfortunately, when I was looking at Sam, I wasn't looking at the demon, so I wasn't prepared when it grabbed me and kissed me. It said something over Sam and forced him...back...inside of me because he hadn't..." She trailed off. She looked at Tom. "You do understand what I am saying, don't you?"

"Spell it out for me," Tom insisted.

Liz swallowed audibly then cleared her throat. "Um...he...he had not orgasmed. After that, the demon knocked me out. When I woke up, Sam was...gone. Dean and Jo found me a couple of days later, and here we are today."

"That doesn't make any sense, Liz," Tom said. "Dad did everything right; even the demon played his part. And you still did not get pregnant. I am beginning to seriously doubt your status as Sam's mate."

Liz looked down and cleared her throat. "I guess, maybe, the spells counteracted one another," she told Tom.

"Maybe," he agreed. "It is very curious."

Liz raised her head. She looked sad. "It's also not my problem, Tom. Have a good life. I'm going to go try to pick up the pieces of mine now."

"You are not going anywhere, Liz."

Liz stood up decisively. "Yes, I am, Tom. The press knows that I'm in here. I made sure they saw me before I came in."

"I own the media," Tom rebutted.

Liz shrugged. "You're not going to stop me from walking out of this courthouse. You're not going to stop anyone else from walking out of this courthouse. You're going to let Ellen go, and you're going to apologize to her for having troubled her. You're going to give Dean back that amulet of his that you are wearing to piss him off, and you're then going to apologize to him."

"I am, am I?" Tom answered, clearly amused. "You and I both know that Dean was only bait and that there's no way I'm letting him leave this court room alive. Stop playing tough, Liz, and gather your things and come with me."

Liz smiled wickedly. "You'll do what I say, Tom, because if you don't, I'll kill Marisa," she promised. "You can call her cell and verify my story if you want."

Tom's eyes widened in shock. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. He listened to the voice on the other end of the line and went white.

"If you touch one hair on her head…"

"You'll do nothing, Tom," Liz finished for him. She stepped down from the witness stand and strode across the room to stand in front of him. She held her hand out and waited for him to hand over the amulet he was wearing. When he did, she nodded once. "Don't follow me, Tom. I'll let Marisa go when I'm safely on Bobby's property and everyone in this room I care about is there with me."

Tom watched her walk away. "You'll regret this, Liz," he called after her.

Liz looked over her shoulder at him. "We'll see about that."