Episode 9: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For/ Let The Good Times Roll
"Focus, Mina." Castiel looked deep into my eyes. "I know you can do this. You're getting really good at it."
I nodded back at him. I was focusing as hard as I could. I closed my eyes.
"Where are we going?" He asked me for the third time.
"We're going to Sydney, Australia. The Opera House." I said. I had chosen somewhere notable. Easy to recognize. I focused really hard. But still, we sat in Sam's room in the bunker, going nowhere. Cas and I had been training at this off and on for three days, and it was still hit or miss. I would decide on a destination, try to will myself there, and, if successful, Cas would follow me, and then follow me home. Sometimes I could zap myself to the Golden Gate Bridge on the first try. Other times, the Sears Tower remained elusive for hours. The last few tries had been completely successful. Sydney was being difficult, though. "I'd like to master this soon." I said. "I kind of want my dreams back."
Cas nodded. "I'm fairly sure you're trained enough to not accidentally transport yourself anywhere, but it's best not to take chances with that sort of thing."
I agreed, then refocused on the opera house. Finally, I felt the world shift, and I found myself standing across the street from the large building. I breathed a sigh of relief. It had taken me the better part of an hour to get to this freaking opera house. At this point, I'd been so many different places in the span of a few days, I didn't care at all that I was suddenly in Australia. I heard Cas's wings behind me. "Are you ready to return?" I turned to him and nodded. I wasn't sure if it was just me, but I thought Cas looked a little tired, too. Did Angels get tired? I sure as hell was tired. Between this and the fight training, I was drained.
I closed my eyes and imagined Sam's little room in the bunker. Sparse. A bed, a desk. A lamp. His pillow. My pillow on his bed with the pink pillow sham on it that I'd just bought at the K-mart in town and that Dean made fun of me for. The warm feeling of home washed over me and I smiled. In an instant, I was back in that room. Cas followed shortly.
"I think that's enough for today." He said. I agreed.
"I'm exhausted." I told him. "This is really mentally taxing. I don't know how you do it all day every day."
Castiel shrugged. "I was created knowing how to do it. It comes to me as naturally as... walking does to you."
"You didn't learn to do it a third of the way through your lifespan?" I asked, smirking. He shook his head no.
We made our way through the bunker. It was around five o'clock, and Dean was in the kitchen cooking up some grub for dinner. Everyone would be gathering in the main room soon to discuss the days' events. I dropped a kiss on Sam's head as I passed by him. He was lost deep in a book, but briefly looked up to smile at me on my way to the kitchen.
Cas and I helped Dean bring the burgers out to the studying hunters, and we all sat around the tables.
"All right, guys, eat up. Gourmet burgers, a la Chef Dean." Dean said, taking a big bite of his hamburger. He made a face that looked a tad orgasmic. I rolled my eyes.
"I may have some news on Zeus." Sam said. All eyes turned towards him.
"Go on." Dean said. "What's the old bastard up to these days?"
"He's up to his ears in women." Sam said, raising his eyebrows and ending his sentence in an up-note.
"My kinda guy." Dean and Charlie said simultaneously. Dean smiled to himself and took another bite of his burger.
"Apparently, in a small seaside town in Portugal, a bunch of young, beautiful, intoxicated, married women have been reporting coming home to find a good looking, middle aged man in their beds, who charms them into sex, then leaves before morning. Their husbands are not pleased." Sam shook his head. "Sounds like Zeus."
"Why don't we just summon Zeus?" Garth asked.
"We can just summon him?" I turned to Sam. "Why are we wasting time if we can just give him a call?"
"Whoa whoa whoa it ain't that easy, kids." Dean motioned for us all to calm down. "We've summoned Zeus before."
"You have?" Garth asked. "What was he like?"
Dean gave Garth a stern look. "He was a dick."
"It didn't end well." Sam said. "Long story short, we trapped him, he got untrapped, he killed Prometheus, he threatened a kid, we all got electrocuted, and his daughter shot him with an arrow."
We all sat for a moment, letting that sink in. That sounded like it could have definitely gone better.
"So, why do we even think he's going to want to be on our side in the first place?" Charlie asked exactly what I was thinking as well.
"I also wonder this." Cas stated.
"It's not so much that he'll want to be on our side, as that he'll want to be on the side where his brother doesn't make his domain a horrible place to live." Dean shrugged. "It's worth a shot. Maybe he'll be in a good mood since he's been getting laid a whole lot lately."
"Zeus is kind of always getting laid a lot." Sam said. "But, he's always fighting with Hades. We may just have to give him a reason." He added.
"And you don't think summoning him and just not trapping him might be the best option?" I asked.
Dean looked at me. "Have you ever been electrocuted? Like by a lightning bolt?" I shook my head no. "I have. By Zeus. I'm trying to find a different option. Don't really want to go there again." He was being short with me, but I really couldn't blame him. I hadn't had the pleasure of being electrocuted by Zeus. He just looked at me a moment to let the point sink in, then continued, changing the subject. "Speaking of ass kickings, how's training with Cas going?"
"Well..." I stammered. I wasn't sure what to say. To be honest, any outsider would say they'd been going very well. "Teleportation has been hit or miss. Sometimes I nail it on the first try, sometimes it takes me hours to get set on a location and actually transport myself there. But I'm making progress." I just wanted to leave it at that.
"And the physical training?"
God damn it. He just had to ask. I hated how much of a freak Crowley had made me. I turned to him coolly. "It's going well."
"How well?" Dean arched an eyebrow at me. "You gotta give me something, Mina. What's up?"
"Maybe just ask Cas." I mumbled.
Cas was sitting at the end of the table, staring off into space. Dean stared down at him expectantly for a minute or two, then cleared his throat to get his attention. Cas looked up. "Yes?"
"How's Mina's physical training going?" Dean asked. "She's decided she doesn't want to chat all of a sudden."
"Oh. It's going well." Cas sat up straighter. "Crowley's plasma strengthened her in ways even I cannot fully comprehend. She's much faster, stronger, and more agile than before. She can exert for longer periods of time."
Hearing that, Dean winked at Sam. "Hear that, Sammy?"
Sam rolled his eyes. "Eat me, Dean."
"What was that?" Cas asked.
"Nothing, sorry, Cas, as you were saying?" Sam snapped to attention.
"Oh, all right. Mina is exhibiting extreme power."
"Just how strong is she?" Dean questioned.
"She can easily throw even me across long distances now. To be honest, apart from me, she's the strongest person sitting in this room right now." Castiel answered.
Everyone took that in for a minute. I sat uncomfortably. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy being bad-ass. It wasn't even that I didn't enjoy being more bad-ass than the two baddest guys I knew. It was only that it was thanks to blood from the King of Hell.
Sam put a reassuring hand on my knee.
"Finally Crowley did something good for a friggin change." Dean said, forcing a smile at me. The situation was obviously an awkward one for all of us.
"Charlie." Sam turned to our redheaded friend. "How's the search for Hades coming?"
She put down the last remnants of her burger. "I'm narrowing it down. I didn't have a lot to work with, but I figured since the guy had been in the Underworld for so long, he'd want to go big or go home." She wiped her hands off on a napkin, slid her laptop in front of her, and clicked on a tab. "After the burglary in Cairo, I started checking recently rented, or purchased, high-priced properties in the USA that had high security safes or storage rooms for high valued items. I've found quite a few. I'm narrowing them down, but including hotels, it may take a few more days.
"Good job. Garth, how are we doing on Poseidon?" Dean asked.
"He's in the wind, man. I'm zoning in on his summoning spell though. I should have it translated by tomorrow. I'll just need the ingredients."
"Awesome. Cas and Mina can quantum leap the ingredients and the Trident here once you figure it out." Dean smiled. "Everything is falling into place."
I looked at Sam. He seemed worried all of a sudden.
"Sam, what's wrong?" I asked, reaching for his hand. He started, seeming to come back from being lost in thought.
He smiled at me. "Nothing." He said. "Nothing at all."
That night at eleven, Charlie's search got a hit. Though Hades was currently enjoying himself in a penthouse on the Vegas strip, his base of operations was a few miles away from his hotel, in a high rise apartment building. He had rented the whole complex.
"Bingo." Charlie whispered to herself. She slid into the chair in front of the computer, looked at the readout, and whistled. This place had it all. State of the art security systems, firewalls, everything. She set to work hacking into the live feed from the security cameras.
The bunker was awakened the next morning to Charlie Bradbury yelling "I Friggin Got It!" and victory dancing around the tables in the main area as they all emerged from their respective rooms.
"Got what?" Sam asked, rubbing his eyes and going to start the coffee pot.
"I not only found out where Hades is currently staying, I found out where his base is, and hacked into it's live feed." Charlie feigned like she was buffing her nails on her lapel. "We can watch them 24/7 from now on. You can all call me awesome later."
"Way to be humble, your highness." Dean smirked, taking a look at the screens on her computer. "Good work though. Damn. He's got a lot of goons on this place. And- what the hell? Shit."
"What?" Charlie moved behind him, looking over his shoulder. I looked over her shoulder. Garth peered over mine. Sam was stuck looking over all of us.
"Cas, man, where you at?" Dean called out. With the sound of wings, Castiel appeared in the room. He gave all of us a weird look.
"What are you all doing?" He asked.
"Looking at the computer." We all said in unison, realizing we looked stupid and scattering.
"Charlie, can I borrow your computer for a second?" Dean asked her. She nodded. "Sam, Cas, my room, now." With that, he took off down the hall with his determined, "scary Dean" walk.
Charlie, Garth, and I looked at each other.
"What the fuck was that all about?" I asked.
Garth shrugged. "I don't know. I'm gonna go get some coffee. You ladies want some?"
We both shrugged and nodded. Might as well. Whatever Dean waupset about, we wouldn't know until the guys came back out and told us.
Dean set the laptop on his desk and pointed at it. "What do you all see? Top floor. Vault."
Sam and Cas both peered at the security footage of the vault.
"Well, I see a couple of guards outside. Can't tell if they're human or some kind of Greek Underworld Demon..." Sam trailed off.
"The room is warded." Castiel said. "And it's the 25th floor."
"Exactly." Dean looked at Sam. "That's why Crowley didn't kill Mina."
"No." Sam sat down on the bed.
"Because we need her to even get to the jar."
"No." Sam put his head in his hands. "This can't be happening."
Cas peered at the feed. "That room is warded against Demons and Angels, and Greek Gods. Nothing can jump in except a human."
"Nothing stands a chance of making it all the way up there either, because you can bet your ass the rest of the floors are warded and it'll be slow going, and filled with guards." Dean flipped through the screens of security footage from each floor. "Yup... yup... warded... yup..."
"Crowley knew we'd need her for this all along." Sam still had his head in his hands.
"Crowley does nothing just to be helpful." Cas stated. "We should have anticipated this the entire time."
"We can't put her in there. As soon as she's in, Hades has her. She's as good as done." Sam said.
Dean was pissed. "Is it even possible for her to be fast enough to get in, grab the jar, and leap out?"
Cas thought about this. "At her current speed... no. But it is very possible that Hades doesn't know she has this ability. Crowley doesn't want Hades to have her. His plan doesn't involve Hades having Mina. That would be detrimental to Hell. He wants us to protect the jar. Hades won't be ready for her. He isn't expecting her."
"How do we even know that's true?" Sam asked "Crowley isn't exactly a reliable source."
"I ran some reconnaissance. Hell isn't warded properly. Hades "screwed him over" as you say." Castiel told him.
"You're sure?" Dean asked.
"Yes Dean, I'm sure." Castiel looked at his friend solemnly. "Hades will not be expecting her. He shouldn't know she even has this ability."
"So if Charlie breaks into Hades' computer feed, loops the security back on itself while Mina jumps in, Hades never has to see her while she's there... Everyone else is running interference starting at the first floor." Dean was thinking out loud. "She could essentially teleport in, destroy the wards, and teleport out. Then we could get Cas to leap us in."
Sam shook his head no. "I don't like it. She can teleport me in. Then she can leave. I'll do the rest. I'll get into the safe. I'll destroy the wards so Cas can come get me. That's a better plan." Sam sighed, still not looking happy. "I don't like it, but I can live with that. In and out. Ten seconds."
"That could work." Dean nodded. "Crowley is such a dirt-bag."
"You really need to stop being surprised every time, Dean. He's never going to stop being what he is." Castiel admonished him. Then he turned to Sam. "Sam, I don't know that Mina will be strong enough to teleport a second person with her."
"What?" Sam asked him, seeming surprised. "She can't?"
"Eventually she can." Cas said carefully. "Right now, no."
Dean stepped in. "That's fine. Original plan. She jumps in, destroys the wards, then Cas jumps us in and she gets the hell outta Dodge. She's there three minutes, tops."
Sam sighed in despair. "It always comes down to this."
"What do you mean, Sammy?"
"The worst possible outcome." Sam let his hands drop between his knees and his head fell back, and he looked blankly at the ceiling. "It can never just be us. It can never just be how we plan. It has to be who we love or who we don't want to risk."
"Who we love?" Castiel sent a questioning look to Dean. "We love Mina?"
"Yes, Cas, we do." Sam sighed dejectedly, still looking at the ceiling.
"I see. When did this happen?"
"Sometime after she pumped you full of buckshot and before she killed a werewolf." Sam closed his eyes, his face still tilted up towards the heavens.
Castiel nodded. "I can see where this complicates things." He sat next to Sam. "If it helps, I too am quite fond of Mina."
"Can I have a minute, guys?" Sam asked. Dean and Cas nodded, and left. Dean looked heart-brokenly at his little brother as he closed the door. Sam was never the one to give up hope. He was the one to cling to whatever shred they had until the very, very end. Seeing him deflate like this was concerning, but understandable. After all these years, Sammy had caught a break. He'd met a wonderful woman, a woman who could feasibly fit into this life. Who almost fit into it better than they did. And he was being forced to put her in harms way.
Since Sam was occupying Dean's room, they crossed over to Sam's.
"This seems like the only option." Dean said to Cas as they entered and closed the door. "Do you see another way? Because if you do, please, let me hear it. Now's the time."
Cas shook his head. "I cannot enter the building, or the vault, until those wards are destroyed. It will take a lot more men than we have, a lot more time than we have, to fight our way to the top. This is ours, and humanity's, best bet."
"We'll have to run it by Mina. But I already know she'll say yes." Dean said. He slammed his fist down on the desk. What would make most others jump, only made Cas shoot him an inquisitive look.
"Damn it Cas. Have you seen how happy Sammy's been lately? It's unreal." Dean asked. Before the Angel could reply, he continued. "She's been with us nearly two months. They've basically been going at it the whole time, which is pretty surprising for Sammy, but when it's right it's right, I guess."
"Going at it?"
"Having the sex, Cas."
"Ah."
Dean sighed. "But Sam is so happy, and, I mean, I didn't know Mina before, but she seems really happy too; to really love Sam. They're crazy about each other. If something happens to her, it will destroy Sam. Again. And if something happens to Sam because he isn't on his game... this whole situation is fucked up, man. It's just fucked up."
I sat on the counter, swinging my legs and drinking my coffee. "I wonder what they're talking about in there?" I wondered out loud. It had been a while.
"I don't know, but something has Dean rattled, man." Garth took a long pull of his coffee. "He wasn't happy when they left." He looked around the kitchen with shifty eyes. "It's making me a little worried."
Charlie sighed. "He gets like that. And it's usually not good." She paused. "Scratch that. It's never good."
I considered this. I knew Dean fairly well, but these two were his longtime friends, and I knew to trust their word. Something was most definitely wrong. I took a deep breath. "Okay. Well, we need to keep trucking. Garth, do you have the list of ingredients to summon Poseidon yet?"
"Almost." He poured another cup of coffee. "I'll go finish that up."
I nodded. "I'll take Cas... as soon as he's back... and we'll get those for you. I'd do it myself but I don't know where to look."
"I could go with you. I know where to go." Garth said.
I shook my head. He looked disappointed. "No, not like that, Garth. I'd totally take you with me on a field trip. I just don't know how to bring a passenger along yet."
"Oh." He nodded and smiled. "I get it. Bummer man." He made his way back to the main room.
It was just Charlie and I in the kitchen.
"I feel like I should be working, but they stole my computer. And theirs are so plebeian, I can't even use them." She sighed to me.
I smiled. "It's nice having another female around." I said, refilling my coffee, loading it up with creamer, and sitting down across from her.
"Yeah, it can get a little too dudish around those two." She said. She paused, eyeing me. "I feel like this is the place where I tell you I'll kill you if you hurt Sam... but I actually like you and don't think you're gonna do that."
I smiled. "I really love Sam." I said. "It's weird."
"Honey, it's ALL weird around here. But you hang on to that one with everything you've got." She looked at me seriously. "He's a good one. They both are."
I nodded. Charlie seemed like a woman who knew her shit. Suddenly a voice called me from the doorway.
"Mina, hey, can we talk to you for a sec?" Dean motioned towards the bedrooms with his head. I nodded, and followed him as he silently made his way back to his bedroom. We entered. Sam and Castiel were already waiting. Sam sat on the bed, looking stone faced. Cas had taken the desk chair. Dean motioned for me to sit on the bed, and he leaned against the desk.
"So, some new information has come to light." Dean started. He showed me the computer screen, pointing out several things. "The vault where Pandora's box is kept is on the top floor. Each floor is guarded and warded against everything except humans. Including the top floor and vault."
I could kind of see where this was heading.
"Originally our plan was... well, we didn't have one because we weren't sure what we were dealing with yet, but it involved keeping you as far away from the jar as possible." Dean let out a deep breath. "That isn't an option anymore."
"Cut to the chase Dean." Sam cut in, sounding annoyed and angry, though not at his brother. "You're the only person who can teleport into the vault, Mina. In order to get the jar, the wards need to be destroyed so Cas and whoever else we can get to help us can leap in. You're the only one who can-"
"I'll do it."
"If he catches you, he'll make you open the box, and kill you."
"I'll do it."
"I was hoping you'd say no."
"Sam, I'll do it."
"Please, say no." He looked at me with pleading eyes.
"The world depends on this, Sam. I'll do it."
Sam looked at me. He reached up and touched my face. "Of course you will." He smiled sadly to himself. "That's my girl."
"That's all of it." I said, giving a brown paper bag over to Garth. "We can summon him now."
"Awesome. Thanks!" Garth said, going in for a hug. I returned it, not finding his habit quite as odd as the others seemed to.
He went off to set up. Cas turned to me. "I'm going to find Dean. We have to go steal a Trident. You did well today." He nodded and smiled at me. I had located and teleported everywhere first- Cas had followed. He hadn't had to drag me along anywhere. I'd also learned how to haggle for magical goods, which was a talent I'd never thought I'd need to know.
He went off to find Dean, and I went to find Sam. I of course found him reading in the main stacks. I pulled a chair up next to him. He turned towards me and smiled. "Hey babe." He said in a low voice, leaning over to kiss me. I returned the kiss, putting a little tongue into it. He raised his eyebrows. I smiled, he shrugged, looked around, and went back in for another kiss, his hand cupping the back of my head. I dragged him up out of his chair and he half pushed, half carried me down the hall. Once inside his room, he backed me up to his door, stripping off my clothes and pinning me with his hard, now naked body.
"I've been thinking about you all day." He breathed into my ear.
"Yeah?" I ran my hands down his back, scratching his flesh lightly with my nails. "What about?"
He dipped his head, smiling and nipping my neck, and picking me up and wrangling me roughly onto his bed. "What do you think?" He asked in a deep voice, looking at me wolfishly. I giggled.
"I can't imagine." I said, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist. "So are you gonna keep a girl waiting or what?" I raised an eyebrow and shot him a half smile.
He bent down to kiss me, simultaneously pushing himself deep inside of me. I gasped, then tightened my legs around him and pulled him in deeper. "I wanted you so bad." He breathed into my neck as he began thrusting. "All day."
"Then take me." I moaned. "Right now, and I want it rough, Sam."
We lay in his bed twenty minutes later, sweaty and spent. It had been an intense session. Sam was a quiet guy, a patient man, but he was a passionate lover, and when you told him you wanted it rough, he could take you there. I lay with my head on his chest, tracing a line up and down his abdomen and listening to his slowing heartbeat.
"Listen, Mina, this morning. I'm sorry. I wasn't fair to you. It's your choice. I shouldn't have tried to talk you out of it." Sam finally broke the silence, surprising me. I stopped what I was doing.
"Sam... it's okay. Anyone in their right mind would try to talk me out of it."
"They would?"
"Yes." I propped myself up to look at him. "My decision is insane."
He smiled. "But it's yours to make." He stopped for a few moments. "I'm... I'm proud of you for making it though."
"Don't be proud, Sam. It's the only decision to make. There's no other way." I lay back down.
"No. You could have said no."
"I could have. But what kind of selfish prick would say no when the fate of the entire world, not to mention heaven and hell, is in their hands?"
Sam pulled me tighter. "Not the woman I love. That's for damned sure. I'm still not thrilled about it. But I'm proud."
I settled back in. He was warm and comfortable. I hated that we were going to have to go up against Hades. I wanted to stay here, right here, with Sam, forever.
Suddenly there was a pounding on Sam's door. "Stop going all Fifty Shades of Grey in there and get out here! We're back with the Trident and about to call Athena and summon Poseidon." Dean called through the door.
Sam and I looked at each other. "Just for the record, we are never going all Fifty Shade of Grey." I said.
"Not even handcuffs?" Sam asked, pulling on his shirt, a playful smile on his face.
I considered this. "Maybe handcuffs."
Athena paced the room. "I'll be interested in knowing what the old man's been up to for the last three decades." She said disdainfully. "And you'll be happy to know I've recruited Ares, the God of War, to help. If I can pull him off the battlefield when the time comes."
"I thought you were on the battlefield currently." Charlie asked her.
"I was. But my time there is finished. I have other endeavors that are more pressing." She looked at the trident in her hand. It was the color of old sea grime, and covered in barnacles. She passed her hand over it, and it glistened gold once again. We all drew in our breaths.
"I thought you were the Goddess of War." I admitted to her. She laughed. "I was also delirious."
"Wisdom." She said. "Though men who think they possess this trait often cause war. So you weren't too far off."
Dean came out of the other room with Garth. The preparations were done. They had decided to trap Poseidon, just in case, and had drawn a huge circle. Once summoned and trapped, Athena was going to talk to him, explain the situation, and see if they couldn't go and try to convince Zeus to help out, being the strongest and all. They had all agreed that after the last incident, the Winchesters had almost Zero chance of convincing Zeus themselves.
Garth did the summoning spell, a burst of smoke appeared, and a middle aged man with waist length white dreadlocks, a long beard, and dressed in linen pants and a Tommy Bahama shirt appeared. I raised my eyebrows so high I thought they might shoot off of my forehead. This was Poseidon? Was this a joke? I looked at Sam. He had the same reaction I did. We both looked immediately at Athena.
She did not have the same reaction. She was pissed.
"Uncle, where have you been? We've been worried sick and looking for you!" She yelled in English, then let out a tirade in rapid fire Greek that none of us caught except possibly Garth, who looked like he was following along pretty adeptly. Once they were done arguing in Greek, Poseidon noticed that he was trapped.
"What is this?" He asked, though not very angrily, to be honest. He seemed kind of laid back, which was not what I expected. The last thirty years must have been good to the guy.
Sam stepped forward. "Poseidon, my name is Sam Winchester, and this is my brother, Dean. We trapped you, frankly, because last time we summoned your brother, things got out of hand." Poseidon nodded.
"If it's Zeus you speak of, I can see how that may have occurred." He kept nodding. I had a feeling the God of the ocean was stoned.
"We come to you for help." Sam continued. "Your brother, Hades, has found Pandora's box. Mina is the key to open it. He plans to unleash everything within it on Earth, Heaven, and Hell, to force everyone to migrate to his underworld and become King of everything." Sam indicated me. I waved meekly. "We have the means to safely lock the box away so that it will never be able to be opened. But we need help getting it, and we need help banishing Hades back to the Underworld. We can't do it alone."
Poseidon looked at Sam. Then he looked to Athena. "Is what he says true?" She nodded. "So much has transpired since I've been away?"
"Since you've been smoking weed and laying on a beach, or whatever you've been doing for thirty years, Uncle!" She was getting agitated again. "We ALL know we need to keep an eye on Hades."
Poseidon now looked pointedly at me. "How is this young one the key?" He approached me, stopping at the edge of the trap.
"She's half angel, half demon." Dean stepped up. "We aren't really sure why, to be honest. The lore doesn't seem to fit."
"She's pure." Poseidon closed his eyes.
Dean held back a laugh. We all exchanged glances. I was 30. Pure had gone out the window a long time ago.
The God seemed to know what we were thinking. "Not virginal. Pure." He continued after a beat. "She is of two beings who forged into one. Out of love. They found a way. She is the only one. Hence, she is the only one who can open the box."
"Ohhhhhh." We all said in unison.
"Why isn't Hades threatening my family yet?" I asked.
"He doesn't know where you are. He can't threaten you if he doesn't know where to send the threat." Dean supplied this one. "Or I'd assume."
I nodded. "Thank God for small miracles."
Poseidon eyed something on the table. He got wide eyed, and a small tear ran down his cheek. "Is... is that my Trident?" he asked.
Athena went and retrieved it, and handed it to her Uncle. "Yes, it is. You left it laying around eons ago. It was in a museum, disguised as sea trash." She scolded him.
He cradled it in his arms lovingly, then looked up at Dean, somehow knowing he was the one actually in charge. "I'd like to be untrapped, and I will help you. My brother has gone off the rails, and he must not be allowed to proceed. I will try to talk to him." Poseidon said.
"Uncle, he is unstable and violent. I warn against that." Athena said him. "At the very least, speak to Zeus first. In case something happens to you with Hades."
Poseidon frowned, but nodded. "Untrap me. I will go talk to each brother. Summon me again tomorrow at the hour of nine am. I will have news."
Dean and Sam looked at each other, and Dean nodded. Sam scratched out part of the circle, and Poseidon disappeared.
"Holy Greek Gods." Charlie stated, collapsing in a chair. Realizing Athena was still there, she sheepishly smiled and said "hi!"
Athena regarded her strangely. "Dean, I think we should go over strategy." Dean snapped to attention for the beautiful dark haired woman.
"I agree."
"Hold on." I said. Everyone turned and looked at me. I looked at everyone in the room. Garth, Charlie, Athena, Dean, Sam. Me. We were all tired. We had bags under our eyes (with the exception of Athena). We had been bingeing on coffee, researching all day and into the night. Running ourselves down. "Guys, we need a break."
"Too much to do." Dean said.
"Is there, Dean?" I asked. He began to protest, but I held up my finger at him. "I'm not questioning your authority. But there is only so much we can do until Poseidon comes back with information. Hades doesn't know where I am, so we're fine on that count. We're tired. We're researching all day, every day. Charlie knows everything there is to know about his stronghold. You can strategize tomorrow. I propose that from now on, every night, at 7 pm, we halt our investigations, and we relax and cut loose."
"You mean like, we party?" It was Dean's turn to raise an eyebrow at me.
I nodded. "I'll even make a beer run." I looked at everyone. They were considering it. Even Sam, strangely enough with how into studying he was. "We will be useless if we are tired and strung out. What are we even fighting for if we never have fun ourselves? If we never live?"
"I agree." Athena stepped back into the room.
"There you go." I said. "The Goddess of Wisdom agrees. I can't be completely wrong."
"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Dean shrugged. He slung his arm around my shoulders, and slipped a fifty in my pocket. "Make sure you buy the cheap beer."
That night, we played old records, we danced, we drank. We told stories. Garth told the best stories. A lot of his stories started with "this one time, I was drunk at Burning Man..." Once we were really hammered, Charlie regaled us with tales of being Queen of a mythical kingdom called Moondor. I'm not gonna lie, it sounded pretty awesome, and I counted myself completely in for the next epic battle. Athena was quiet and took it all in with a smile. Dean and Sam wrestled. Then Dean decided he could wrestle me, which involved Dean being thrown into a shelf of books, and then that shelf of books having to be re-alphebetized by a bunch of drunk people, so wrestling was over. Cas even seemed to be enjoying himself.
We decided to make relaxing and community the nightly ritual. Let the good times roll, because we didn't know how many good times we had left.
That night on my way to the bathroom, I passed Athena, coming from the bathroom. I nodded blearily in passing, then noticed. First of all, she was still here. And second, she was wearing one of Dean's flannel shirts. I hurriedly used the facilities and raced back to Sam.
I climbed into bed and woke him up. We'd both had a lot to drink, then had a lot of sex, and he was passed out pretty good, but I had to tell him this. "Sam. Sam!" I shook him. "Sam!" He finally stirred.
"Yeah babe. What's up?" He drowsily rolled towards me, reaching for me.
"I just passed Athena in the hallway."
"I thought she left." He blinked at me sleepily.
"Apparently not. She was wearing one of Dean's shirts." I let that sink in. "Only one of Dean's shirts."
Sam looked at me blankly for a minute before his eyes got wide. He propped himself up on an elbow. "My brother just bagged a Greek Goddess?" He was dumbfounded. "The Greek Goddess of Wisdom? How the hell did she even get that title?"
I laughed. I shook my head. "Your brother's a charming guy. Nothing says a wise Greek Goddess can't take a Winchester for a spin."
Sam still looked shocked. "I will never understand his luck with the ladies. It's uncanny. He's like an X-Man."
I leaned in to kiss him. "You have better luck with the ladies."
He smiled. "Yeah, I do."
The next morning was spent anxiously waiting for word from Poseidon. At the agreed upon time, we summoned him. It was immediately clear that his meeting with Hades had gone poorly.
Poseidon appeared on the floor, bloody and disoriented. Athena and I ran to help him, while Sam went to get the first aide kit, though it turned out it wasn't really necessary for Gods.
"What happened, Uncle?" Athena asked, pulling Poseidon into a sitting position.
"Hades wasn't happy to see me."
"Obviously." Dean stated. Athena shot him a look.
"He plans to go through with it. He's looking everywhere for Mina. He tried to extract information from me as to where she is. You summoned me out of there. I couldn't have told him anyways, this place is very disorienting."
"What about Zeus?" Sam asked. He handed Athena some bandages. She thanked him but didn't use them. Poseidon's wounds were starting to heal already.
"Zeus says he will help no Winchester. Ever, for as long as there are Winchesters."
"Great. So we gotta plan this whole thing without the man in the sky." Dean sighed. "Won't be the first time. Seems like they're always the ones who split when you need them."
"Don't I know it." Athena muttered under her breath. Out loud she said "We can start planning now, at least."
"I'll have all of the printouts of the building layouts for you. You'll have full access to security feeds. There's a lot of guards. I can't tell if they're humans or not."
"They aren't." Athena told her. "They're like your demons. Possessed bodies, nothing more. Extremely hard to kill."
"Will the angel blade work on them?" Castiel asked her. She took his weapon and examined it. She nodded. "Yes, I think this will do nicely." She gave it back. "You angels are quite inventive." She turned to Dean. "We should summon Ares, if we are to plan an attack."
Dean nodded, preparations were made, and Ares appeared. He was a tall, swarthy man, with long black hair, five o'clock shadow to die for, dressed in battle fatigues and carrying a huge machete. He looked around the bunker, taking it all in calmly. He looked at each of us in turn, sizing us up. Then he looked at Athena. "So this is your band of misfits."
Athena nodded. "They're stronger and more clever than they seem." She said.
He let that sink in. He walked up to me. My knees were shaking. "You." He said. "You're strong. But you're mortal." I nodded. "How is this possible?"
"Blood from the King of Hell, sir." I said, trying not to feel slightly ashamed.
Ares nodded. "Take it where you can get it." He said, and walked away.
"What the hell does that mean?" Sam leaned over and whispered to me.
"I have no idea. I think he thinks I killed the King of Hell." I replied.
Sam, Dean, Cas, Ares, and Athena spent the entire day locked in a room, discussing strategy. It was agonizing for the rest of us. I already basically knew my role. Leap in, destroy the wards, try not to get caught. Charlie was home base, providing backup and computer coverage. As for the rest, I had no idea. After agonizing hours, they finally came out. We all sat around the table.
Dean stood at the head of the table.
"We've looked at everything, over and over, every possible way. This attack, guys, is quite possibly a suicide mission. If you want to back out now, you can. No one will fault you for it." He waited. None of us moved. So he continued. "We're looking at 25 floors of Greek demons, wards that need to be scrubbed before an angel, demon, or Greek God can pass, locked doors... and a vault on the 25th floor containing Pandora's Box. Also warded."
Athena stepped in. "At the bottom, we'll have Ares, his band of marauders, Poseidon, myself, Garth, and Dean. They'll be running interference, causing a distraction basically. Mounting an attack from the ground. Mina will teleport in to the top floor, destroy the wards, and leap back to safety." She turned to me. "It is imperative you do this quickly. Don't hesitate. This is your only job, to clear a path for Castiel and Sam to come in and steal Pandora's Jar." I nodded. I understood.
"Cas and I will come in after her, get into the vault with explosives, take the jar, get the hell out of there. By that time, Hades will notice whats going on upstairs. Athena, Poseidon, and Ares can take him back to the Underworld and trap him. In case they for some reason can't do that, Garth found a banishing spell that we can do as a last ditch effort."
We all sat in silence. We were all thinking the same thing. There was no way this was going to work. But no one said it. It was the best plan we had. It was set in motion for the day after tomorrow. We had three Greek Gods on our side. This was as good as it was going to get.
That night, we partied a little more than we had the night before. Let the good times roll.
The next morning, I found Sam in the small room that passed as a living room in the bunker. He wasn't studying for once. He was sitting, deep in thought. I almost didn't want to disturb him. I was about to walk by, but he saw me, and motioned me over. He had a look on his face, like he'd been thinking some really deep things.
"What's up, Sam?" I asked, sitting down next to him. I turned to face him, and he turned to face me. He took my hand.
"I've been thinking about the last couple of weeks. The last two months really." He said.
I nodded. "Okay."
"They've been amazing." He smiled, his full smile, that reached all the way to his eyes.
"They've been amazing." I agreed.
"If it all ends tomorrow..." He trailed off, but only for a moment. "I feel like I found my soul mate, with you. You saved me. You don't have to say anything. It makes me feel good, just to tell you."
I reached up and touched his face. "I found mine with you too, Sam."
We sat together in silence for a long time, thinking about our time together, and thinking about what tomorrow would bring.
"Marry me." Sam suddenly said to me.
"What?" I asked. He slid off the couch and got down on his knees. What was happening?
"Mina Miles, if we make it through tomorrow, marry me. Let me spend the rest of my life with you. Let me make you happy. I know this life, it's not what either of us thought we'd have, or what we wanted, but it could be what we need. It could be-"
"Yes."
"Yes?"
"Yes, Sam Winchester, if we live through tomorrow, I'll marry you. I'll spend the rest of this crazy life with you."
Sam smiled bigger than I thought possible. I knew my smile matched. He picked me up, slung me over his shoulder, and swung into the kitchen where everyone was congregated, drinking their morning coffee and shooting the breeze.
"What exactly is going on here?" Dean asked with a smirk as Sam burst through the door, me draped over his arm.
Sam put me down. "She said yes." He said matter of factly. Charlie gasped and clasped her hands together. Garth smiled knowingly. Dean looked at Sam, confused. "Dean, she said yes." Sam repeated himself. Finally. "If we make it through tomorrow, she's agreed to marry me."
Dean stood still for a second, shocked. Then a slow smile spread across his entire face. He stepped across the room and hugged his brother tight. "Congratulations, Sammy." He said. I could see a hint of a tear in his eye. "I'm happy for you, man."
"Um, why don't you do it today?" Garth asked quietly from across the room. We all turned towards him.
"Huh?" Dean asked.
"Well, not to put ideas into heads or words in mouths, but if I had a fine lady such as you do, and we might all die tomorrow, which we very much probably will, why not get hitched today? Die knowing I had someone? Spend my last day on Earth married to the woman I love and party?"
We all thought about this. Sam looked at me. I nodded and smiled. Then he looked at Garth. "Can it even be done today?"
"I can be ordained in 45 minutes." Charlie said, pulling out her laptop.
"Legally?" Sam asked. "I want this to be legal"
She shot Sam a withering look. "Sam, your identity is barely legal." She typed in a few things. "Yes." She finally said, tortured. "It will be legal. Now go away and let me work."
That evening, the main room had been cleared out, and a long walkway had been set up. Charlie stood up at one end, Sam next to her. He was nervous. Not hesitant nervous. He'd never wanted anything more in his entire life. Nervous in the way that he expected that those doors at the other end of the room might never open. Nervous that Mina might not walk through them.
He wore slacks with a white button up shirt, with the sleeves rolled up just the way he knew she liked them, a single red rose pinned to his lapel. Dean stood next to him, also in slacks and a black button down with a rose. He had of course asked Dean to be his best man. Who else could possibly ever stand beside him, in this or in anything else in this world? Garth stood on the other side. Mina had asked him to be her Brides-man, and he'd graciously accepted. He waited for her with a big smile on his face. He'd strewn flower petals along the walkway for her.
Music started playing from the record player. Sam had had Cas find this particular song on record, even though it wasn't their usual genre. "Going out tonight, changes into something red..."
Dean leaned over to Sam. "One Direction?" He whispered skeptically.
"She loves this song." Sam whispered back.
"But One Direction, dude."
"She could kill you just by looking at you, dude."
Dean rocked back on his heels. "Then I like it, too." He leaned back up to his little brother. "You sure you're ready to do this?"
"I'm more sure than I've ever been of anything. Ever." Sam smiled. He was ready. His mind was racing. But he was ready, for this, for her.
Dean patted his brother on the back. He was glad. His little brother was happy, and that's all he'd ever wanted for him.
Sam stood back in anticipation as the door opened.
Castiel opened the door for me, and I stepped into the room. I wore the dress I'd worn the first date with Sam, the backless black one. Cas and Garth had been gone for a while this afternoon, and when they'd come back, they'd had a long white veil that I also wore even though it didn't match my dress, and I had a bouquet of red roses. Charlie had given me a garter belt, I didn't know where she'd gotten it, but it was under my dress and Sam didn't know about it yet. She'd also given me a blue anklet to wear, so that covered something borrowed and blue, and I was wearing an old locket of my grandmothers. The veil was new. Cas offered me his arm, and I took it, and we began our walk down the aisle. Someone had put on a song that I absolutely loved. I had a feeling it was Sam's idea. This song was definitely not Dean's idea.
"We're only getting older baby, and I've been thinking about you lately"
I could see him watching me as I approached. My heart was nearly beating out of my chest. We finally got up to Sam and Charlie, and Cas took my hand and placed it in Sam's large hand. Cas kissed me on the cheek, and went to sit down next to Athena, Ares, and Poseidon. Sam smiled own at me. "You look beautiful." He said. I blushed.
"Even when the night changes, it will never change me and you."
We both turned to Charlie. She smiled a large grin. "Greetings, bitches." She said, clearing her throat. We giggled. "We are gathered here today to join the lives of Samuel Winchester and Mina Anne Miles, in Holy Matrimony. If any here have any reason why these two should not be wed, keep it to yourself." She looked around. She nodded, then continued. "I've had the pleasure of knowing Sam for quite some time, and Mina for only a little while, but I have seen the changes in Sam since meeting Mina, and I know that they are better together. Whatever challenges they will face, they will face together, and be better for it. Have you prepared vows?
Sam nodded. He unfolded a 3x5 card. "Uh, mine are kind of short. Mina, I promise to love and take care of you for the rest of my life, no matter how crazy things get. And to never let you drink bad hotel coffee." He folded his paper back up.
"Sam, I promise to love you always. I promise to put you first, and not get jealous if you go on hunts without me. And I promise to come find you when you don't come to bed because you're researching and fell asleep in the library again."
Charlie smiled. "Does someone have the rings?"
"Rings?" Sam and I asked in unison. We hadn't bought rings.
"I have them." Dean said, surprising us, bringing forth a small pouch from his pocket. He handed Charlie two small, slim gold bands. She handed Sam's to me, and mine to Sam. Dean smiled softly and stepped back beside his brother. So that's where he'd gone this afternoon.
"Repeat after me. 'With this ring, I thee wed. Take this ring as a right of my covenant. I will stand with you in health, illness, prosperity, poverty, paradise, or trouble. I will stand with you always."
We repeated her. We slid the rings on each others fingers.
Charlie smiled. "By the power vested in me by the internet, the Kingdom of Moondor, and the state of Kansas, I now pronounce you man and wife. Kiss your wife Sam, she's waiting for you!"
Sam put his arms around me and brought his lips to mine. It was the most perfect kiss we had had; more perfect than the first gentle one in the bar the night of our first date, more perfect than the passionate one in the car that same night, more perfect than the one the night we had decided to become a couple. It meant we belonged with each other. I kissed my man giant, and my friends hooted and hollered. I smiled into the kiss. "I love you, Mina Winchester." Sam whispered into my ear.
It was quite a reception, for having just eight people total. Sam was pleased and embarrassed about the garter belt. He turned red, going under my dress for it, and shot it into the small crowd. Garth caught it and seemed super stoked. Charlie caught my bouquet. Athena and Dean got really drunk and dirty danced to Low Rider like three times. Castiel couldn't figure out why there were two tiny people on the cake. In the end, it was perfect. The only thing I could have asked for was that my family could have been there, and that we weren't all going to die tomorrow.
Before we cut the cake, Dean stood to give a toast. He looked from Sam, to me, and back to Sam. He started, then paused, then started again. Finally, he began to really speak. "Sammy, man... I can honestly say that with the life we live, I never thought I'd get to this moment. I never thought both of us would be around long enough to see one of us get married. I always hoped it was in the stars for you though, I really did. It's all I've ever wanted; for you to be happy. And the last few months, well, you've been happy. Happier than I've ever seen you." He turned to me. "And I have to thank you for that. You took my grumpy, knucklehead brother and you made a lovesick man out of him. And I can't tell you how thankful I am to you for that." His voice cracked, but he pulled himself together. "The future is going to be bright for you two." Dean closed his eyes for a minute. He knew what was coming tomorrow, but he chose to ignore it. "You hang on to each other. Sammy, you don't let her go." Dean looked around, as though suddenly aware he was giving a heartfelt speech, and grabbed his beer. He took a long drink. "Let's party!"
We went to bed late, back to Sam's room. I'd made it clear that I wanted to keep a room to myself, if we lived through tomorrow (once Charlie was not borrowing it) because I was a girl who needed space, but for all intents and purposes, Sam's room was our place to sleep.
What Sam also didn't know was that I'd transported myself back to my lingerie store earlier in the day and bought some sexy bridal stuff. I had the lacy panties that said Bride across the butt, and a lacy white bra with little bows at the nipples... and a set of red handcuffs. It was going to be a fun night with my new husband. I just hoped to God it wasn't my only night with him.
Stay tuned for Episode 10: Light it Up