The End
Dean pulled up to the Century Hotel at night, parking right before a religious man who was trying to hand out pamphlets to the various men and women walking past and seeming to have no luck. Michelle got out of the Impala, grabbing two bags from the backseat as Dean shuffled out, nearly dead on his feet. He moved around the car to her side and went to grab one of the bags, only for Michelle to step back and glare at him. He just held up his hands in surrender, a small smile on his face as they headed towards the hotel.
"Excuse me, friends," the religious man addressed them, "But have you taken time out to think about God's plan for you?"
They stopped and looked over at him, holding up a pamphlet for them, 'God Loves You.'
Dean nearly grimaced, "Too friggin' much, pal," he turned to walk into the hotel, holding the door open for Michelle.
"Sorry," she smiled at him before heading in as well, the man just watching them go, his eyes widening.
~8~
Dean walked around the room as Michelle sat at a small table with her journal open, seeming to be reviewing some notes as Dean spoke to Castiel over the phone.
"We're talking about the Colt, right?" Dean was asking, "I mean, as in, the Colt?"
"We are," she could hear Castiel reply loudly, he still hadn't seemed to grasp using the phone yet.
"Well, that doesn't make any sense," Dean frowned, leaning against the counter of the small kitchen area, "I mean, why would the demons keep a gun around that, uh, kills demons?"
"What?" Castiel shouted as they heard a car drive by, "What? Did…I didn't…I didn't get that!"
Dean laughed, "You know, it's kind of funny. Talking to a messenger of God on a cell phone. It's, you know, like watching a Hell's Angel ride a moped."
"This isn't funny, Dean. The voice says I'm almost out of minutes."
"Ok, alright," Dean nodded to himself, "I'm…I'm telling you, Cas, the mooks have melted down the gun by now."
"Well, I hear differently. And if it's true and if you are still set on the insane task of killing the devil, this is how we do it."
"Ok. Where do we start?"
"Where are you now?"
"Kansas City," Dean answered, heading to the bed to grab the room key.
"Century Hotel," Michelle called over, "Room 113."
Dean nodded, dropping onto the bed instead of continuing for the key, "Century Hotel, Room 113."
"I'll be there immediately," Castiel said.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. No, no, come on, man. I just drove like sixteen hours straight, ok?"
"I told you I could drive for a while," Michelle sighed, shaking her head, but not looking up from her journal.
"Ha," Dean nearly snorted, "After that drive to get back to Chuck? Not likely."
"What?" she laughed.
"I like my baby in one piece thank you," he retorted, before getting back to his conversation with Castiel, "Look, I'm human. And there's stuff I got to do."
"What stuff?" Castiel asked.
"Eat, for example. In this case, sleep. I just need like four hours once in a while, ok?"
"Dean..." Castiel began.
"I'm sure Michelle does too," Dean cut in.
"Yes," Castiel agreed.
Dean nearly smirked, he'd learned long ago that Michelle wasn't able to get things out of just him anymore, it seemed like Castiel was just as powerless against the girl as well. And he used it to his advantage whenever he could, "Ok, so, you can pop in tomorrow morning."
"Yes. I'll just..." Castiel began, but Dean hung up.
~8~
Dean rolled over, groggily, to the noise of his phone vibrating on the bedside table. He opened his eyes blearily, wincing at the slight light that invaded them, seeming so bright in the dark. He squinted, finally seeing that Michelle seemed to have fallen asleep at the table, her head resting on her arm, the small lamp on beside her. There wasn't a couch in the room and she refused to share a bed with him...except...once. Nothing had happened, not at all, but it had been a few hunts back when everything that had happened finally seemed to hit her. He'd been waiting for it actually, shocked it had taken as long as it had for Michelle to just break down and get a good cry out. He'd held her as she cried, both of them falling asleep on the bed beside each other from the emotional exhaustion.
Neither of them spoke of it the next day, nor did they ever plan to. Nothing had happened and Michelle would rather have had him not privy to the fact that she had been crying at all. Neither would ever tell Sam either, they knew, ever since they'd found out Michelle was the Shield to Michael's Sword, he'd been on edge, wondering just what that pairing might mean. That would just set him off or break him, even though NOTHING happened. They really were too much like siblings to EVER go that route.
And Dean knew, the only one for Michelle was Sam.
The phone rang again and he grabbed it.
He quickly answered it, afraid of waking the woman, "Damn it, Cas, I need to sleep!" he hissed into the phone.
"Dean, it's me," he heard Sam reply.
Well speak of the devil.
"Sam?" he frowned, "It's quarter past four."
"This is important," Sam said quickly.
~8~
Dean sighed as he grabbed a beer out of the fridge. Sam had just finished telling him about the visits Lucifer had given him. He'd taken to staying in Michelle's house, actually reading up on some things about the angel in the library. As it turned out, her parents had quite the collection of Biblical lore and angelic mythos. It sort of explained how Michelle knew so much about angels and Heaven, well, that and Castiel, the man who'd watched over her what seemed like her whole life. Both brothers knew Michelle and Cas were close, it would make sense that he'd tell her things that couldn't be found in any religious text.
"So, you're his vessel, huh?" Dean asked, "Lucifer's wearing you to the prom?"
"That's what he said," Sam sighed.
"Just when you thought you were out, they pull you back in, huh, Sammy?" Dean nearly laughed.
"So, that's it?" he could hear the frown in Sam's voice, "That's your response?"
"What are you looking for?"
"I don't know. A…a little panic? Maybe?"
"I guess I'm a little numb to the Earth-shattering revelations at this point."
"What are we gonna do about it?" Sam asked after a moment.
"What do you want to do about it?"
"I want back in, for starters."
"Sam..." Dean shook his head.
"I mean it. I am sick of being a puppet to these sons of bitches. I'm gonna hunt him down, Dean."
"Oh, so, we're back to revenge then, are we?" Dean frowned, glancing over at Michelle, "Yeah, 'cause that worked out so well last time."
"Not revenge," Sam said seriously, hesitating a moment before speaking, "Redemption."
"So, what, you're just gonna walk back in and we're gonna be the three amigos again?" Dean rolled his eyes.
"Look, Dean, I can do this. I can. Michelle cleaned me out, I'm me again. I'm gonna prove it to you, to the both of you."
"Look, Sam…it doesn't matter…whatever we do," Dean sighed, "I mean, it turns out that you and me, we're the, uh, the fire and the oil of the Armageddon. You know, on that basis alone, we should just pick a hemisphere. Stay away from each other for good."
"Dean..."
"You want Michelle to get caught in the crossfire again?" Dean cut in, he hated to play that card, but Sam was leaving him no choice. Sam was silent, "You know as well as I do Sammy, that girl will do anything to save you if it comes to it, to save me too. And God knows if something happens and you say yes, she'll be the first one he'll kill to get to you."
"Dean," Sam swallowed hard, "It won't happen. We can fight it. But I need you and Michelle to help me."
"We can fight it," Dean agreed, "But not together. We're not stronger when we're together, Sam. I think we're weaker. Because whatever we have between us…love, family, whatever it is…they are always gonna use it against us. And you know that. Yeah, we're better off apart. We got a better chance of dodging Lucifer and Michael and this whole damn thing, if we just go our own ways."
"Dean, don't do this," Sam begged, "Please."
"Bye, Sam," Dean sighed, hanging up and rolling back onto the bed for some more sleep.
~8~
"Dean!" Michelle hissed, shaking him, "Dean!"
He groaned, waking up, only to feel something was off. He opened his eyes and saw he was basically lying on the springs of the bed, the mattress was gone, the room was trashed. He quickly sat up and looked over at Michelle, who seemed fine despite the state of the room, "What the hell?"
"It gets worse," she said, heading over to the window and throwing it up. He looked at her for a moment before heading over as well and looking out, only to see the city destroyed.
"Shit..." he mumbled.
He looked back to see Michelle cocking a gun and putting it in her belt before heading to the door, waiting only a moment before Dean did the same.
They stepped outside to see the area devastated, everything broken or graffitied, mostly both. There was a sound of something being broken just behind them, glass being smashed. They looked over to see an alley and glanced at each other before moving to investigate.
There was a small girl in the alley with a teddy bear, kneeling on broken glass, "Little girl?" Dean asked, slowly approaching her. Michelle pulled her gun out, keeping it ready in case whatever had attacked was still there, "Little girl? Are you hurt?" he continued to walk towards her, kneeling down, "You know the not-talking thing is kind of creepy, right?"
Michelle's eyes widened as she saw a bit of blood drip from the girl's mouth, turning her gun on the girl only a moment before she shrieked and moved to attack Dean with a shard of glass. She shot, her aim ringing true as the girl fell down, her forehead smoking, just as Dean jumped back.
"Shit!" Dean nearly shouted, before looking around, his eyes widening as he saw a large piece of graffiti at the end of the alley reading 'Croatoan,' "Oh, crap."
"What?" Michelle asked.
"That virus from the books," Dean said quickly, nodding back over at the sign.
"Shit," Michelle breathed, recalling that part of the series. She'd read most of Chuck's 'Supernatural' books, catching up on the boys' adventures before her.
Suddenly several people appeared at the ends of the alley, coming around the corner, having heard the gunshot. Dean and Michelle looked over at them.
"Infected," Michelle whispered to him, seeing their eyes black from the demonic virus.
"Great," he replied before grabbing her arm and running down the alley.
They managed to make it back to the street, the infected chasing after them. They were staying pretty far ahead of them...until they came to a chain linked fence, trapping them. They turned to face the infected, when Michelle suddenly pulled him down as shots rang out. Dean looked over to see a tank with soldiers wheel over, shooting at the infected people, shattering what was left of the windows around them. One of the soldiers flicked a switch and suddenly the Contour's 'Do You Love Me' began to play.
"Come on!" Michelle shouted, grabbing Dean's arm this time and hauling him towards an alley where they managed to dive down and avoid the gunfire and falling infected.
~8~
That night Dean and Michelle finally managed to make it through the city and find a break in the fence to crawl through.
"August 1st," Dean commented, reading a sign on the fence, "2014!"
"God damn angels," Michelle muttered, only they would have the power to do something like this, and she could just guess which one had meddled in their lives this time.
Dean rubbed his head before looking over to see a few cars discarded. He headed over to one and got to work hotwiring it as Michelle got into the passenger's seat. He quickly hightailed it down the road, towards Bobby's, hoping that, despite whatever had happened, the man had survived.
"No service," Michelle said as she held up her cell, trying to get a signal.
Dean leaned forward to turn on the radio, only to get static, "That's never a good sign."
"'Croatoan pandemic reaches Australia,'" someone said from the backseat.
"Go away Zachariah," Michelle snapped, not even phased at the angel's sudden appearance, unlike Dean who had started. He glanced back to see Zachariah reading a newspaper.
"I thought I smelled your stink on this 'Back to the Future' crap," Dean commented.
"'President Palin defends bombing of Houston,'" Zachariah continued, ignoring them, "Certainly a buyer's market in real estate. Let's see what's happening in sports. That's right…no more sports. Congress revoked the right to group assembly. What's left of Congress, that is. Hardly a quorum, if you ask me."
"How did you find us?" Michelle cut in, glaring at the angel as she twisted in her seat to face him.
"Afraid we had to tap some unorthodox resources of late…human informants," the man grimaced, "We've been making inspirational visits to the fringier Christian groups. They've been given your image, told to keep an eye out."
"The Bible freak outside the motel…he, what, dropped a dime on us?" Dean figured.
"Onward, Christian soldiers," Zachariah smirked.
"Ok, well, good, great," Dean rolled his eyes, "You have had your jollies. Now send us back, you son of a bitch."
"Oh, you'll get back…all in good time. We want you to marinate a bit."
"Marinate?"
"Three days. Three days to see where this course of action takes you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Michelle asked.
"It means that his choices have consequences," Zachariah replied, glaring at the girl before turning back to Dean, "This is what happens to the world if you continue to say 'no' to Michael. Have a little look-see."
"He's gone," Michelle commented as soon as the angel disappeared.
"Good riddance," Dean replied, flooring it.
~8~
They'd made it to Bobby's house the next day, both concerned at seeing it in disrepair, empty, open.
"Bobby?" Michelle shouted from the front door.
"Bobby, we're coming in!" Dean added as they entered, looking around.
It was trashed, with spider webs and dust everywhere. No one had been there in a while.
"Oh no," Michelle breathed, seeing Bobby's wheelchair on its side. Dean stepped forward, setting it upright, running a finger over the bullet holes and dried blood on the back of it.
"Where is everybody, Bobby?" Dean asked himself.
Michelle headed over to the fireplace, pulling out a plate in the center of it to reveal a secret compartment where she knew he kept his secret stashes. John Winchester's journal was there, "Dean," Michelle called, holding up the journal for him to take.
He strode over, flipping through the book to see a photo of Bobby with Castiel and three men, all holding guns before a sigh, "Camp Chitaqua."
~8~
They sped to the camp in the photo as fast as they could, quietly making their way over to the fence around it to see men with guns walking just inside it, obviously on patrol. Dean stepped back, staying out of sight with Michelle, when he suddenly caught sight of something very disturbing.
There was the Impala, smashed up and rusted to all hell, just…sitting…there.
"Oh, baby, no," he breathed.
Michelle grabbed him, holding him back until the two men on patrol disappeared before releasing him to sneak into the camp, following after him as he approached the Impala. She looked around carefully as Dean peered inside the driver's side door, sans door.
"Oh, no, baby, what did they do to you?" Dean muttered.
"Dean!" Michelle shouted.
Dean's eyes widened, hearing some sort of smack that sounded like someone being punched. He spun around about to help Michelle, only to see she was the one knocked out. He looked up, stunned, only to see a fist fly at his face as well before it went dark.
~8~
Dean slowly woke up, only to find himself handcuffed to a ladder. He was even more startled to see himself, a slightly older version on himself, sitting across the room, cleaning a gun.
"What the hell?" Dean demanded.
"I should be asking that question, don't you think?" his future self asked, "In fact, why don't you give me one good reason why I shouldn't gank you right here and now?"
"Because you'd only be hurting yourself," Dean smirked.
"Very funny."
"Look, man…I'm no shape shifter or demon or anything, ok?"
"Yeah, I know. I did the drill while you were out. Silver, salt, holy water…nothing. But you know what was funny? Was that you had every hidden lock pick, box cutter, and switchblade that I carry. Now, you want to explain that? Oh, and the, uh, resemblance, while you're at it?"
"Zachariah," was all Dean could say.
His future self stood up, "Come again?"
"I'm you from the tail end of 2009. Zach plucked me from my bed and threw me five years into the future."
"Where is he? I want to talk to him."
"I don't know."
"Oh, you don't know," his future mocked.
"No, I don't know," he glared, "Look, I just want to get back to my own friggin' year, ok?"
"Ok," Future Dean crouched down before himself, "If you're me, then tell me something only I would know."
Dean smirked, "Rhonda Hurley. We were, uh, nineteen. She made us try on her panties. They were pink. And satiny. And you know what? We kind of liked it."
"Touché," his future self smirked as well, "Then that means she's the real deal too?" he nodded to the side.
Dean looked over to see Michelle sitting against a wall, her own arm handcuffed to some sort of pipe, knocked out, "What the hell did you do to her?" he demanded, struggling to get out of his cuffs and get to her. He could see a cut on the side of her temple from where she'd been hit.
"Knocked her out," Future Dean replied, "I wouldn't hurt her. Especially not..."
"Not what?" Dean turned back, glaring.
He watched as his future self swallowed hard, "Now that she's back."
He frowned, "Where'd she go? She join up with Sam or something?"
Future Dean stood, "She's dead."
"What?" he breathed, completely stunned.
"Right after the virus broke out."
"Was she attacked? Or..."
Future Dean shook his head, "She can't get infected, remember?" he let out a scoff, "Her powers protected her."
"Then what?"
"She thought her powers might be able to help the infected," Dean turned to half-glare at the girl, "And they did...but she tried to purify too many at once. Burned her heart out."
"No..." Dean shook his head.
"So, what, Zach zapped you up here to see how bad it gets?" his future self changed the topic, turning away from Michelle.
"I guess," Dean frowned, still staring at Michelle, unable to think of a future without her there to smack him when he was being a jerk, "Croatoan Virus, right? That's their endgame?"
"It's efficient. It's incurable now, and it's scary as hell. Turns people into monsters. Started hitting the major cities about two years ago. World really went in the crapper after that."
"So she's been gone two years?" Dean swallowed hard, tearing his eyes away from Michelle, "What about Sam?"
His future self stiffened, "Heavyweight showdown in Detroit. From what I understand, Sam didn't make it."
"You weren't with him?" Dean demanded. It was wrong, so wrong. As soon as that virus hit he would have walked to Sam if he had to, blasting his way through the infected to do it.
"No," future Dean shook his head, "No, me and Sam, we haven't talked in…hell, five years. Only one he kept in contact with was her," he nodded towards Michelle.
"We never tried to find him?"
"I got other people to worry about," he countered, turning to leave.
"Where you going?" Dean shouted.
"I got to run an errand," was all his future self said.
"Whoa. You're just gonna leave us here?"
"Yes," he turned to glare at Dean, "I got a camp full of twitchy trauma survivors out there with an Apocalypse hanging over their head. The last thing they need to see is a version of 'The Parent Trap' or 'Ghost.' So, yeah, you stay locked down."
"Ok," Dean glared as well, "Alright. Fine. But you don't have to cuff me, man. Oh, come on. You don't trust yourself?"
"No. Absolutely not."
And with that he walked out, leaving Dean trapped there.
"Dick," Dean muttered to himself.
~8~
Michelle was kneeling next to him, picking the lock of the handcuffs. She'd woken up a few minutes ago to see Dean and herself handcuffed and got to work as Dean explained what happened, checking if Dean, a future Dean apparently, had found the pick in her bra...he had.
But, as Dean quickly learned, Michelle was far more prepared than he thought. She had another pick hidden in the sole of her boots and managed to pick her way out of her cuffs before working on him.
She was done in no time and they were out the door, looking around the camp in daylight.
"Hey, Dean!" someone called. They turned around to see Chuck walking over to them, "You got a second?"
"No..." Dean began, but Michelle elbowed him, "Yes. Uh, I…I guess. Hi, Chuck."
"Hi," he smiled about to go onto his question, when he caught sight of Michelle standing next to him. His eyes widened slightly as he stared at her a moment, as though he'd seen a ghost, before shaking his head fiercely and frowning. He looked down at his list, "So, uh, listen, we're pretty good on canned goods for now, but we're down to next to nothing on perishables and…and hygiene supplies. People are not gonna be happy about this. So, what do you think we should do?"
"I…I don't know," Dean strained to find an answer, "Maybe, uh, share? You know, like at a kibbutz."
"Wait a minute...aren't you supposed to be out on a mission right now?"
"Absolutely," Dean nodded, "And I will be."
"Uh oh," Chuck began, looking up over Dean's shoulder.
They turned around just as a woman came up behind them and tried to punch him. Michelle, having the quicker reflexes, stepped in the way and twisted the woman's arm behind her, shoving her away, making her stumble.
"Jeez!" Dean shouted, ducking behind Chuck as the woman spun around to glare at Michelle, "Easy, lady!"
"Risa," Chuck greeted.
"Risa?" Dean frowned, wondering why the woman was out for his blood, though held at bay for now by Michelle.
"You spent the night in Jane's cabin last night, didn't you?" Risa demanded.
"Uh, what?" Dean gaped, "I…I don't…did I?"
Chuck could only nod.
"I thought we had a 'connection'," Risa glared, using air quotes, "But I guess you're connecting with this one too?" she gave Michelle the onceover.
"Ew," Michelle grimaced.
"Hi, Risa," Chuck nodded as Risa stepped past them.
"Screw you," she spat.
"Oh, jeez. I'm getting busted for stuff I haven't even done yet," Dean muttered to himself, stepping away from Chuck as Risa left.
"What?" Chuck frowned.
"Never mind him," Michelle cut in, "Is Cas still here?"
"Yeah," Chuck began slowly, eyeing the woman, "I don't think Cas is going anywhere."
Dean could only give him a questioning look.
~8~
They headed to a cabin, Michelle looking out at the camp more as Dean entered through a curtain of beads to see Castiel sitting amongst a circle of women.
"So, in this way," Castiel was saying, "We're each a fragment of total perception…just, uh, one compartment in that dragonfly eye of group mind. Now, the key to this total, shared perception…it's, um, it's surprisingly physical..." the floor creaked as Dean stepped more into the room, Castiel catching sight of him, "Oh. Excuse me, ladies. I think I need to confer with our fearless leader for a minute. Why not go get washed up for the orgy?"
Dean's eyes widened at that as the women left.
"You're all so beautiful," Castiel called to them as he stood and stretched.
"What are you, a hippie?" Dean shook his head at the man.
"I thought you'd gotten over trying to label me," Castiel remarked.
"Cas, we gotta talk…"
"Whoa," Castiel turned to face him, stumbling back just a bit and staring at him, "Strange."
"What?"
"You...are not you. Not now you, anyway."
"No!" Dean shouted, "Yeah. Yes, exactly."
"What year are you from?"
Before Dean could answer, Michelle walked into the room, "Did those girls say 'orgy' and 'Castiel' in the same sentence?" she looked over at the angel in question to see him staring at her, his eyes wide and looking as though the air had just been sucked out of his lungs, "Cas?" she frowned, "You ok?"
"Michelle?" he breathed, stunned.
"Yeah," she shook her head, not understanding his reaction, she glanced at Dean, "What's going on?"
"Uh..." Dean swallowed hard, not sure how to tell her what he'd learned.
"You're dead," Castiel beat him to it, "You died."
"I...what?" Michelle breathed, her eyes wide.
"I'm sorry," Castiel said softly, stepping forward to hug her tightly, "I'm so sorry."
"It's alright?" Michelle said, shaking herself out of her shock at the sound of Castiel sounding so heartbroken, "I'm sure it's not your fault."
"It is. I couldn't protect you."
"How?" Michelle asked, stepping back.
"You sure you wanna..." Dean began.
"How?" she repeated.
"You tried to cure the virus," Castiel told her, "It was based in demon blood and you thought you could stop it."
"And I was wrong?" she frowned.
"You were right," he shook his head, "But it was stronger than it was before, you used too much of your powers too quickly."
She nodded slowly, processing that, "When?"
"Two years ago."
She nodded again, "Ok, so we have three years to make sure it never breaks out," she smiled, "Piece of cake."
"So you are from 2009?" Castiel guessed, they nodded, "Who did this to you? Is it Zachariah?"
"Yes," Dean replied at the same time as Michelle said, "Who else?"
"Interesting," Castiel said slowly.
"Oh, yeah, it's friggin' fascinating," Dean rolled his eyes, "Now. Why don't you strap on your angel wings and fly us back to our page on the calendar?"
"He can't," Michelle frowned sadly at the angel. She couldn't see his wings anymore. There was barely a hint of an outline, he was almost entirely human.
"I wish I could just, uh, strap on my wings," Castiel nodded, "But I'm sorry, no dice."
"What, are you stoned?" Dean's eyes widened as he took in Castiel's speech.
"Uh, generally, yeah," Castiel nodded.
"Oh Cas," Michelle shook her head.
"What happened to you?" Dean frowned.
"Life," Castiel replied, before glancing quickly at Michelle, "Death."
~8~
Dean, Michelle, and Castiel were walking around the outskirts of the camp, just outside Castiel's cabin, when a jeep and a car pulled up. They watched as Future Dean jumped out with three men. He grabbed a few beers, tossing them to the men, and taking one for himself before drawing his gun and pointing it at a soldier before him with his back turned.
"Hey!" Dean shouted, seeing this, "Hey! Watch out!"
The soldier turned around just as Future Dean shot him dead. The two remaining soldiers looked between the two Deans, confused.
"Damn it!" Future Dean hissed, seeing himself standing there with Michelle and Castiel before turning to the soldiers, "I'm not gonna lie to you. Me and him…it's a pretty messed up situation we got going. But believe me, when you need to know something, you will know it. Until then, we all have work to do."
He turned to glare at the past him before grabbing Dean's arm and half-dragging him to a cabin, Michelle following as he shoved Dean inside, shutting the door behind them.
"What the hell was that?" Future Dean demanded.
"What the hell was that?" Dean countered, "You just shot a guy in cold blood!"
"We were in an open quarantine zone. Got ambushed by some Croats on the way out."
"Croats?" Dean shook his head.
"Croats," Michelle nodded, working it out, "Croatoans."
"One of them infected Yeager," Future Dean agreed, he'd almost forgotten how sharp Michelle was.
"How do you know?" Dean asked.
"'Cause after a few years of this, I know. I started seeing symptoms about a half an hour ago. Wasn't gonna be long before he flipped. I didn't see the point in troubling a good man with bad news."
"'Troubling a good man?' You just blew him away in front of your own people. Don't you think that freaked them out a little bit?"
"It's 2014. Plugging some Croat, it's called commonplace. Trading words with my friggin' clone…that might have freaked them out a little."
"Alright, look..."
"No, you look," Future Dean cut in, "This isn't your time. It's mine. You don't make the decisions. I do. So, when I say stay in, you stay in."
"Alright, man," Dean held his hands up, "I'm sorry. Look, I…I'm not trying to mess you...me...us up here."
"I know," Future Dean sighed before turning to pour three glasses of alcohol, pausing at the third glass before putting it away, muttering, "She doesn't drink."
"It's just been a really wacky weekend," Dean defended as his future self put the glasses down and took one.
"Tell me about it," he grimaced as they both drank.
"What was the mission anyway?" Michelle asked as soon as they finished.
Future Dean didn't reply, just reached into his bag and pulled out the Colt.
"The Colt?" Dean's eyes widened.
"The Colt," his future self smirked.
"Where was it?" Michelle asked.
"Everywhere. They've been moving it around. Took me five years, but...I finally got it. And tonight…tonight, I'm gonna kill the devil."
~8~
"So, that's it?" Risa lifted an eyebrow at the gun, "That's the Colt?"
"If anything can kill Lucifer, this is it," Future Dean nodded.
"I told you it won't kill him!" Michelle rolled her eyes, she didn't know how many more times she would have to say it before anyone realized she was right. She scoffed to herself, she knew from experience, when those boys wanted to believe something, they'd believe it till evidence to the contrary was literally shoved in their face. Hell, they probably wouldn't believe her till they shot the devil point blank and he was still standing.
"Have we got anything that can find Lucifer?" Risa asked, glaring at Michelle's interruption a moment.
"Are you ok?" Future Dean frowned.
"Oh, we were in, uh, Jane's cabin last night," Dean cut in, "And, apparently, we and...Risa have a connection."
"You want to shut up?" he glared at Dean, who just raised his hands in surrender, "We don't have to find Lucifer. We know where he is. The demon that we caught last week, he was one of the big guy's entourage. He knew."
"So, a demon tells you where Satan's gonna be, and you just believe it?" Risa countered.
Michelle had to admit the girl had a point.
"Oh, trust me, he wasn't lying," Future Dean smirked.
"And you know this how?" Michelle asked.
"Our fearless leader, I'm afraid, is all too well schooled in the art of getting to the truth," Castiel cut in.
"Torture?" Dean frowned, "Oh, so, we're…we're torturing people?" Future Dean just looked at him, "No, that's…that's good. Classy."
"It's not like I had Michelle's specialties to help," Future Dean glared at him.
Dean tensed, realizing that his future self was willing to force Michelle to relive the tortures of Hell just to get his way. Something was seriously off.
"Wow you are a dick," Michelle shook her head at Future Dean.
Castiel laughed and Future Dean just glared at him instead, "What? I like past them."
"Lucifer is here," Future Dean continued, "Now. I know the block and I know the building," he put down a map with a single location circled in red.
"Oh, good…it's right in the middle of a hot zone," Castiel commented, glancing at it.
"Crawling with Croats, yeah," Future Dean nodded, "You saying my plan is reckless?"
"Are you saying we, uh, walk in straight up the driveway, past all the demons and the Croats, and we shoot the devil?"
"Yes."
"Ok, if you don't like, uh, 'reckless', I could use 'insouciant', maybe."
"Are you coming?" Future Dean looked at him.
Castiel sighed, "Of course. But why are they?" he nodded back at Dean and Michelle, "I mean, last time Michelle dealt with the Croats, it didn't end well, and he's you five years ago. If something happens to him, you're gone, right?"
"They're coming," Future Dean's jaw tensed.
"Ok," Castiel nodded, "Well, uh. I'll get the grunts moving."
"We're loaded and on the road by midnight," Future Dean called as Castiel and Risa moved out of the room.
"All righty," Castiel called back.
"I'll help," Michelle said, following after them.
"Why are you taking us?" Dean asked after a moment, when he was sure everyone was gone. He had to admit, he was curious.
"Relax," Future Dean waved him off, "You'll be fine. Zach's looking after you, right?"
"No, that's not what I mean," Dean shook his head, "I want to know what's going on," Future Dean remained quiet, "I could always go get Michelle in here to ask instead," and by ask, he meant beat it out of him.
Future Dean seemed to realize that as well and flinched just a bit, as though recalling previous instances where Michelle had gotten him to talk, "Yeah, ok. You're coming because I want you to see something. I want you to see our brother."
"Sam?" he frowned, "I thought he was dead."
"Sam didn't die in Detroit," Future Dean sighed, "He said 'yes.'"
"'Yes?'" Dean's eyes widened. There was a long silence, "Wait. You mean..."
"That's right. The big 'yes.' To the devil. Lucifer's wearing him to the prom."
"Why would he do that?"
Future Dean shook his head, "It was our fault."
"What?" Dean looked up, startled.
Future Dean looked away, "He asked us one thing, protect Michelle. And we didn't. She died and I had to be the one to tell him," he looked up at his past self, "I called him up, he was in Detroit, I had to tell him what she did and what happened. Next I heard, he'd said yes."
It was silent again.
"Even after years apart," he continued, "She was the only thing keeping him going, keeping him strong. I gave up on him. She didn't," he shook his head, "Without her...what point was there to keep going?" he scoffed, "We weren't enough."
Dean was silent, processing that. He knew his brother loved Michelle deeply, he knew Michelle felt the same way. And just the thought that Michelle's death would be the straw that broke the camel's back was something he could understand, especially if the only time he'd contacted Sam in the future was to say she died. He shook his head, maybe if he'd been there for Sam, found him, he could have kept his brother going afterwards...but now...
"But now we don't have a choice," Future Dean spoke, as though reading his younger self's mind, "It's in him, and it's not getting out. And we've got to kill him, Dean. And you need to see it…the whole damn thing, how bad it gets…so you can do it different."
"What do you mean?" he looked up.
"Zach said he was gonna bring you back, right? To '09?"
"Yeah..."
"Well, when you get back home…you say 'yes.' You hear me? Say 'yes' to Michael."
"That's crazy," Dean shook his head, "If I let him in, then Michael fights the devil. The battle's gonna torch half the planet."
"Look around you, man! Half the planet's better than no planet, which is what we have now. If I could do it over again, I'd say 'yes' in a heartbeat."
"So why don't you?"
"I've tried! I've shouted 'yes' till I was blue in the face! The angels aren't listening! They just…left…gave up! It's too late for me, but for you…"
"Oh, no," Dean shook his head, "There's got to be another way."
"Yeah, that's what I thought," he glared, "I was cocky. Never actually thought I'd lose. But I was wrong, Dean. I was wrong. I'm begging you. Say yes," there was silence again, "But you won't. 'Cause I didn't. Because that's just not us, is it?"
"No, it's not," someone said. They turned to see Michelle leaning against the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest.
They both stared at her, already knowing that she'd heard everything. She straightened up, dropping her arms, revealing an old worn journal in her hands. Her journal, the one thing Future Dean had managed to keep of hers over the years. He'd given it to her on the way over to this cabin, claiming he hadn't been able to make heads or tails of it, it was written in some sort of language not even Castiel could read. She'd rolled her eyes and said 'of course it was, like I'd want anyone, man, demon, or angel, to read my things.'
"And as of right now," she continued, frowning at Future Dean, "I'm thinking instead of guilt tripping Dean, we should be heading out to find Sam."
Future Dean glared at her as past Dean looked startled, he hadn't even realized his future self was guilting him till she'd said it.
Future Dean just stalked out of the room.
"We'll save Sam," Michelle said to Dean as his future self left, "I promise."
Dean closed his eyes for a moment, that was one promise he was afraid she would make, because the last time she'd promised that...she'd nearly died...
~8~
"So, you're really from '09?" Chuck asked as they walked towards the convoy.
"Yeah, afraid so," Dean replied.
Chuck breathed a sigh of relief, glancing at Michelle, "Good...I thought I was going crazy for a minute."
"Seeing dead people?" Michelle joked.
"Seeing a ghost," he laughed, "I almost convinced myself you were just someone who looked way too much like Michelle," Michelle just gave him a curious look, "What?"
"Nothing," she shook her head. Chuck would have known what happened…this whole thing…it was wrong, it was off.
"Some free advice?" Chuck continued after a moment, "You ever get back there, you hoard toilet paper. You understand me? Hoard it. Hoard it like it's made of gold. 'Cause it is."
"Thank you, Chuck," Dean nodded, uncomfortable.
"Oh, you'll thank me, alright," Chuck said seriously, "Mark my words."
"We'll see you around," Michelle smiled as they got into a car.
"Yeah," Chuck waved, "Ok."
The car drove off. Castiel driving, with Dean shotgun and Michelle in the back, almost like old times...except Castiel popped a few pills.
"Let me see those," Dean said, taking the container from him.
"You want some?" Cas asked, handing it over.
"Amphetamines?" Michelle frowned, squinting over Dean's shoulder at the label.
"It's the perfect antidote to that absinthe," Cas smiled.
"Mhmm," Dean nodded, putting the bottle down, "Don't get me wrong, Cas. I, uh. I'm happy that the stick is out of your ass, but…what's going on…with the drugs and the orgies and the love-guru crap?"
Castiel laughed.
"What's so funny?" Michelle asked.
"I'm not an angel anymore," Castiel said, more to Dean than Michelle.
"What?" Dean frowned.
"Yeah, I went mortal."
"What do you mean? How?"
Michelle had to admit, she was curious about that as well, she could tell he still had his Grace so he hadn't Fallen...
"I think it had something to do with the other angels leaving," Castiel shrugged, "But when they bailed, my mojo just kind of…psshhew!...drained away. And now, you know, I'm practically human. I mean, Dean, I'm all but useless. Last year, broke my foot, laid up for two months."
"Wow," Dean breathed.
"Yeah."
"So, you're human…well, welcome to the club."
"Thanks," Castiel smiled a bit, "Except I used to belong to a much better club..." Michelle frowned, that didn't sound like Castiel, "And now I'm powerless. I'm hapless, I'm hopeless. I mean, why the hell not bury myself in women and decadence, right? It's the end, baby. That's what decadence is for. Why not bang a few gongs before the lights go out? But then that's...that's just how I roll."
She looked over at Dean to see him frowning and looking away. She reached over and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. He looked over to see her smiling and gave a small smile of his own, reaching back to put a hand over hers.
~8~
Castiel, Dean, Michelle, Risa, Future Dean, and a few other soldiers walked through a seemingly deserted part of the city, carrying guns, scanning the area. Michelle frowned, for a hot zone, it didn't seem too hot.
"This way," Future Dean called, leading them through an alley to the edge of a forest, heading towards a large building, the Jackson County Sanatorium. He pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked at the building, "There. Second floor window. We go in there."
"You sure about this?" Risa asked.
"They'll never see us coming," Future Dean nodded, his face hard. Both Dean and Michelle frowned at the expression, "Trust me. Now, weapons check. We're on the move in five."
"Hey, uh, me," Dean called, "Can we talk to you for a sec?" he nodded to the side, getting up and walking off a few feet with Michelle, waiting as Future Dean got up and joined them, "Tell us what's going on," he demanded, quietly.
"What?" Future Dean frowned.
"You're lying," Michelle said, frowning at him.
Future Dean rolled his eyes, "Is that so?"
She glared now, "I know you," she said tensely, not liking being treated like a child, "I know you and Sam better than you know yourselves alright? I can tell when you're lying."
"She can," Dean agreed, it always creeped him out how she could just tell. He knew Sam knew when he was lying, knowing his expressions, he'd gotten used to turning his back on his brother when he needed to lie, but Michelle seemed to be able to sense it without seeing his face, some kind of woman thing he supposed, "And I know your lying expressions. I've seen them in the mirror. Now, there's something you're not telling us."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Future Dean insisted.
"Oh, really?" Dean raised an eyebrow, "Well, we don't seem to be the only member of your posse with some questions, so, uh, maybe I'll just take my doubts over to them..." he turned to head over.
"Ok, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Future Dean called them back, "Wait."
"What?" Dean turned around, stopping Michelle as well.
"Take a look around you, man."
"Yeah, this place should be white-hot with infected," Michelle rolled her eyes, growing impatient, "We know."
"We do?" Dean looked at her, startled. He hadn't noticed.
Michelle nearly face palmed, one day she was really going to have to give Dean and Sam some lessons in subtlety, "Yes, we do."
Future Dean nodded, "So where are they?"
"They cleared a path for us."
"Which means that this is..." Dean's eyes widened, realizing.
"A trap," Future Dean finished, "Exactly."
"Well, then we can't go through the front."
"Oh, we're not," he smirked, nodding at Castiel, Risa, and the soldiers, "They are. They're the decoys. You and me and Michelle, we're going in through the back."
"What?" Michelle demanded, disgusted.
"You mean you're gonna feed your friends into a meat grinder?" Dean gaped, feeling equally disturbed with his future self, "Cas, too? You want to use their deaths as a diversion?" his future self just looked away, "Oh, man, something is broken in you. You're making decisions that I would never make. I wouldn't sacrifice my friends."
"I wouldn't let him," Michelle agreed.
"Well you're dead," he countered.
"Not yet," she glared.
"But you're right," he turned to glare at Dean, "You wouldn't. It's one of the main reasons we're in this mess, actually."
"Enough!" Michelle spat.
"These people count on you," Dean agreed, "They trust you."
"They trust me to kill the devil and to save the world and that's exactly what I'm gonna do," he argued.
"No," Michelle shook her head, "Not like this you're not."
"We're not gonna let you," Dean agreed, stepping up.
"Oh, really?" he mocked.
"Yeah."
Future Dean waited a moment before moving to slug Dean. Michelle jumped forward, grabbing his arm, trying to twist it behind him, much like she'd done with Risa, when Future Dean slipped his foot behind her leg and knocked it out from under her, effectively dislocating her knee as well.
She fell, hard, to the ground. The last thing she saw was Dean lunge at himself only to be held back by the soldiers and backhanded, falling to the ground. Future Dean walked over to her and, with one deft kick, knocked her out.
~8~
Dean woke up on the ground of the forest to the sounds of gunfire in the building behind him. He jumped up, looking over to see Michelle wincing awake as well, before grabbing her leg. He quickly scrambled over to her side, hesitating a moment before she nodded, bracing herself. Dean quickly placed his hands on her knee and snapped it back into place, wincing as Michelle let out a groan of pain. He offered her a hand which she grabbed, hefting herself off the ground, limping just a bit as she got her balance. They looked over at the building for only a moment before running towards it, Michelle managing to keep up with Dead despite the pain in her leg.
Thunder and lightning crashed around them as they reached the garden of the Sanitarium, only to see Future Dean on the ground, his neck being held down by someone wearing a white shoe. He opened his eyes to see them standing there before the weight shifted and his neck snapped.
The man turned around to reveal Sam, wearing an all white suit.
"Oh," Lucifer blinked, seeing Michelle, "Hello Michelle," he smiled and nodded at Dean, "Hello, Dean," they could only stare, "Aren't you a surprise."
Thunder and lightning flashed. Michelle quickly turned around, grabbing Dean's arm to pull him back as Lucifer appeared behind them.
"You've come a long way to see this, haven't you?" he asked.
"Well, go ahead," Dean glared, "Kill us."
"Kill you?" Lucifer frowned, looking over at Future Dean's body, "Don't you think that would be a little...redundant?" they didn't speak, he sighed, "I'm sorry. It must be painful for the both of you, speaking to me in this…shape. But it had to be your brother. It had to be."
He reached forward for Dean's shoulder but Dean stepped back, pulling Michelle with him.
Lucifer dropped his arm, "You don't have to be afraid of me. What do you think I'm going to do?"
"I don't know," Dean shrugged, "Maybe deep-fry the planet?"
Lucifer appeared behind them again, now looking at a rose on a bush as they turned to face him.
"Why?" he asked, turning to them, "Why would I want to destroy this stunning thing? Beautiful in a trillion different ways. The last perfect handiwork of God."
Dean was silent.
"You ever hear the story of how I Fell from Grace?" Lucifer asked him, "I know Michelle is familiar with it, but how about you Dean?"
"Oh, good God, you're not gonna tell me a bedtime story, are you?" Dean grumbled, "My stomach's almost out of bile."
"You know why God cast me down?" Lucifer continued, ignoring him, "Because I loved him. More than anything. And then God created..." he smirked, "You. The little...hairless apes. And then he asked all of us to bow down before you…to love you, more than him. And I said, 'Father, I can't.' I said, 'These human beings are flawed...'" Michelle frowned at his words, at how he was speaking, "'Murderous.' And for that, God had Michael cast me into Hell. Now, tell me, does the punishment fit the crime? Especially, when I was right? Look at what six billion of you have done to this thing, and how many of you blame me for it."
"Six million infected with a demonic virus," Michelle nodded, "Created by demons, created by Lucifer..." she scoffed, "If the shoe fits..."
Dean nearly smirked. Michelle really had a knack for managing to go toe-to-toe with angels and turn their arguments against them.
"You're not fooling us, you know that?" Dean did smirk now, "With this sympathy-for-the-devil crap. I know what you are."
"What am I?" Lucifer asked, seeming interested.
"Like Michelle implied," Dean glared, "You're the same thing, only bigger. The same brand of cockroach we've been squashing our whole lives. An ugly, evil, belly-to-the-ground, supernatural piece of crap. The only difference between them and you is the size of your ego."
Michelle couldn't help but smirk at that.
Lucifer smiled, "I like you, Dean. I get what the other angels see in you. Goodbye. We'll meet again soon," he turned to walk away.
"You better kill us now!" Dean shouted after him.
He paused and turned back, "Pardon?"
"You better kill us now. Or I swear, we will find a way to kill you. And we won't stop."
"Why don't I believe you?" Lucifer smiled.
Dean glared, "My promises may not mean as much as Michelle's here. Hell, I know I don't got the best track record with keeping them. But this one...this one..." he shook his head, "I will see to or die trying."
Lucifer smirked, "I know you won't. Neither of you," he glanced at Michelle before turning back to Dean, "And I know you won't say yes to Michael, either. And I know you won't kill Sam. Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up…here. I win. So…I win."
"You're wrong," Michelle said.
"See you in five years, Dean," Lucifer disappeared.
Dean turned around, feeling Michelle's grip on his arm tighten, only to see Zachariah behind them. He reached out and pressed two fingers to their foreheads and they were gone.
~8~
Dean leaned against the sink of the kitchenette in the hotel, now back in 2009, Michelle sitting on the counter, an ice bag on her knee, beside him.
"Oh, well, if it isn't the ghost of Christmas screw you," Dean commented, glaring at Zachariah.
"Enough," he rolled his eyes, "Dean, enough. You saw it, right? You saw what happens. You're the only person who can prove the devil wrong. Just say yes."
"How do I know that this whole thing isn't one of your tricks?" Dean asked, feeling Michelle tense beside him, "Huh? Some angel hocus-pocus?"
"The time for tricks is over," Zachariah waved off the question, "Give yourself to Michael. Say yes and we can strike. Before Lucifer gets to Sam. Before billions die."
Dean seemed to consider it a moment before shaking his head, "Nah."
Michelle smirked.
"'Nah?'" Zachariah's eyes widened, "You telling me you haven't learned your lesson?"
"Oh, I've learned a lesson, alright," Dean smirked as well, "Just not the one you wanted to teach."
"Well, I'll just have to teach it again! Because I got you now, boy, and I'm never letting you..."
They disappeared.
"Son of a..."
~8~
Michelle stumbled, now standing upright, her leg not expecting the sudden weight. Dean grabbed her and kept her steady, looking up to see Castiel standing before them, smiling.
"That's pretty nice timing, Cas," Dean smiled.
"We had an appointment," Castiel shrugged.
Dean reached out, resting a hand on Castiel's shoulder, "Don't ever change."
Castiel nodded, reaching towards Michelle's leg but she grabbed his hand and pushed it away, he looked up at her, startled, "Save your strength," she smiled at him, "Humans can heal you know. Just takes us a while."
He nodded, standing up, "How did Zachariah find you?"
"Long story," Dean laughed, "Let's just stay away from Jehovah's Witnesses from now on, ok?"
Michelle stepped away from Dean, limping slightly, as he pulled out his phone, standing on her own.
"What are you doing?" Castiel asked.
"Something I should have done in the first place," Dean replied, before looking over at Michelle, "And yes, I know, 'you told me so,'" he smiled at her, seeing her just smile as he hit send.
~8~
Dean was leaning against the front of the Impala, parked near a bridge, Michelle sitting on the trunk with an icepack on her leg, just waiting.
"So how did you know it was a trick?" Dean called back to her.
"What do you mean?" Michelle asked.
Dean just rolled his eyes, turning to face her, "You tensed when I mentioned it might be some sort of angel trick..."
"And?" she shook her head, though the smirk on her face told him he was right.
"And," he smirked as well, "You only do that to alert us to something, to warn us without saying it out loud, like with demons," he sighed, "It's how I knew it really was all just a trick."
"It could have been real," she admitted, "But there were too many things that didn't make sense. It felt like a version of the future that the angels were controlling. I knew it was a trick almost from the beginning."
"How?" he frowned.
"Lots of reasons," she shrugged.
"Like?" he shook his head.
"Like how future you didn't remember that happening. If you really had gone to the future and seen all that, then he would have remembered it happening. Like how everyone was trying to guilt you, even Cas, it was just too much for it to be real. Like the things you said to yourself."
"Like what?"
"Like Lucifer wearing Sam to the prom? You said it not long before we were sent to the supposed future and then, five years later, you remember that exact phrase? You'd think with the Apocalypse looming you'd be thinking about anything but proms. You'd have called it a meat suit by then."
He was silent, "How'd you know I said that?"
She smirked, "You and Sam both need to really learn when I'm asleep and when I'm not," he shook his head, smiling, "There were a whole bunch of other things, like Chuck not knowing, and he's a prophet, it's his job to know. Like Michael ignoring you supposedly saying yes, it's his father's will to face Lucifer, he wouldn't just not take the chance. Like you being willing to make me torture a demon, you'd never do that," he nodded, "Like my journal."
"What about it?"
"Keep a secret?" she asked, he nodded, "No one, not angels, not even Cas knows this but...there's a charm on it that keeps anyone from reading it that I don't want," she explained, "If I die, it becomes legible to whoever I pick."
"Who?" he asked.
"You, Sam, Bobby, or Castiel. And future you couldn't read it even before I showed up again."
"Maybe you changed it in the future," he shrugged.
"It's not just that," she sighed, "The notes in it, the ones from now, from a few days ago, they didn't match, they made no sense. It was like I'd never written them. And despite whatever future is out there, whatever I've done up to now should have been there. The only reason that would happen is if whoever made that future had no idea what I'd written, like Zachariah."
"Huh," he nodded, made sense.
She smirked, "Like you being able to take me down…twice?" she raised an eyebrow at him, "Like that could ever happen. Sloppy, sloppy work."
He laughed just as another car pulled up dropping Sam off before pulling away, Dean smiled and walked over to him, Michelle staying behind to watch, knowing this was something they had to do themselves.
"Sam," Dean greeted, pulling out Ruby's knife. Sam looked down at it nervously, but Dean just flipped it over, holding it out to Sam, handle first, "If you're serious and you want back in...you should hang on to this. I'm sure you're rusty..."
Sam took the knife, unable to meet Dean's eyes.
"Look, man, I'm sorry," Dean said after a moment, startling Sam into looking up, "I don't know. I'm...whatever I need to be. But I was, uh…wrong."
"What made you change your mind?" Sam frowned.
"Long story," he waved Sam off, "The point is...maybe we are each other's Achilles heel. Maybe they'll find a way to use us against each other, I don't know. I just know we're all we've got. More than that. We keep each other human."
Michelle smiled, finally!
"Thank you," Sam smiled, "Really. Thank you. I won't let you down."
"Oh, I know it," Dean nodded, "I mean, you are the third-best Hunter on the planet."
Sam laughed, "Third best?"
"You think either one of us could take her?" Dean just looked over his shoulder, revealing Michelle sitting on the Impala, "Even injured?" he looked back to see Sam just smiling softly as he stared at her and shook his head.
"So, what do we do now?" Sam asked, shaking himself out of his staring.
"We make our own future," Dean replied.
"Guess we have no choice."
"Oh, there's always a choice," Michelle said, walking over to them, her limp nearly gone. Dean smirked stepping back, knowing Michelle wanted to…have a word…with Sam as well, "For example, I choose to..."
And then she punched Sam clear across the face, hard.
Sam grunted, nearly loosing balance at the force of the hit. But he knew he probably deserved worse so he did nothing but straighten back up and face her again, preparing himself for the next blow.
"And I can also choose to do this..." she reached up and grabbed his jacket, pulling him to her for a kiss.
Sam's eyes widened comically, not having expected that, before falling closed and pulling her to him, wrapping his arms around her as though he were afraid she would disappear or he would wake up and find out this was just another one of his many reconciliation dreams. But when she wrapped her arms around his neck, nearly choking him as she pulled him closer, he knew it was real. He smiled into the kiss, deepening it.
They pulled apart only when oxygen became an issue.
"Wow..." he breathed, panting.
"Welcome back," she smirked, giving him one more peck before heading towards the Impala, leaving him standing there, stunned.
He looked up to see Dean shake his head with a smile on his face before getting into the driver's seat, Michelle in the back, both just waiting for him to join. He smiled, jogging over and getting in.
It was good to be back.
A/N: It's the start of Sam/Michelle repairing what they had. There'll still be tensions, still be some lingering doubts, but...distance makes the heart grow fonder. The time away from Sam and the trip to the 'future' has made Dean and Michelle realize that they need Sam, that they can't do it without him, that he'd fight tooth and nail to keep saying no to prove himself to them (at least till Michelle died) and that, maybe, he deserves a second chance.
What will this second chance lead to? I guess we'll find out :)
A note on a review/guess at the inconsistency in Michelle's story...you're close, really close actually. It IS something to do with her parents, not the phone book though (but a really good guess! :))
And, I'm glad I could help quell some fears about Michelle :) I always try to take time to answer/reply reviews if it's something really important or really confusing to people. Speak of reviews, I love you guys. It's only been about 3 chapters and we already have half the reviews of 'Hell!' Keep it up and we'll probably make 100 before I even get halfway through the story! ...in which case I just may do a little happy dance lol :)