Author's Note
Hey everyone! :)
I hope you're liking the story so far, and thank you to everyone who has stuck with it- it's long, I know! I can't bear to cut it any shorter…
As always, I do not own or claim to own Supernatural or its characters (the only character I do own is Ella)- all credit for that goes to the lovely writers.
Alright, that's enough boring stuff from me- enjoy the story!
We pulled up to the warehouse and slid silently out of the car, trying not to make a single sound. I looked over at Sam, who nodded, and the three of us walked towards the entrance, the gravel softly crunching beneath our boots. I followed closely behind the two brothers as we crept to the elevator gate, looking up at what seemed to be an endless column of metal bars. Sam motioned for me to go first, and I sighed and made sure all my weapons were secure before starting the climb. I grabbed bar after bar, testing each one to make sure it would hold- the last thing we needed was someone falling down the shaft and breaking their neck.
I finally reached the top, and poked the top of my head over the lip of the floor. I caught a glimpse of Meg standing at her altar and chanting another language in a low, honeyed voice, and I quickly ducked down. I reluctantly wrenched one of my hands from the bar it had been holding onto, and looked down at the boys, who were watching me for a signal. I held up a quick thumbs-up sign before bringing my finger to my lips, and they nodded in response. I looked back at Meg and saw that she was distracted, and slid through the small space between the gate and the wall. I crept over to the other side of the room and knelt down behind a stack of crates, soundlessly slipping my knife from my boot. Sam and Dean trailed behind me, drawing their guns as they slipped behind the crates. They aimed their weapons in Meg's direction as I crouched behind them, keeping my eyes on Meg. Suddenly, she stopped chanting and tilted her head to the side, and we all froze.
"Guys," Meg chided, her voice sickly sweet, and I shot a panicked glance at Dean. "Hiding is a little bit childish, don't you think?"
"Well, that didn't work out like I had planned," Dean grumbled, and Meg turned toward us, her face shadowed despite the warm glow of the candles that surrounded her.
"Why don't you come on out?"
Sam and Dean stepped out from behind the crates, pulling me behind them as we walked towards Meg. She smiled coyly at Sam, who glared back at her, his eyes blazing with pure hatred.
"Sam, I have to say, this really puts a crimp in our relationship," she commented, and I resisted the urge to call her every insulting name I knew. The corner of Sam's mouth curled up into a snarl as he spoke, his voice low and threatening.
"Yeah, tell me about it."
"Where's the Daeva, Meg?" I growled at her, and she smiled sweetly at me before shrugging and turning to Dean.
"Around. You know, that shotgun's not going to do much good," she taunted, and I was about to ask her if she wanted to test that theory when Dean spoke up.
"Oh, don't worry, sweetheart," he drawled, grinning at her slyly. "The shotgun's not for the demon."
"So, who is it, Meg?" Sam questioned, and Meg turned to him, a smug smile painted across her face. "Who's coming? Who are you waiting for?"
"You," she hissed, and I could see a shadow on the wall shifting into a menacing shape. Sam was suddenly thrown to the ground, and I yelled out to him. Then the wind was brutally knocked out of me as the back of my head slammed into the wall, and I could hear Dean being thrown into a pile of crates just before my vision went dark.
When I finally came to, I found myself slumped against a post, the back of my head throbbing painfully. I moved to get up, and promptly realized that my wrists had been tied together behind me. I looked around frantically and saw that Sam and Dean were in the same situation, while Meg sat in front of us with a pleased look on her face. I saw Dean stir and slowly open his eyes, looking around in confusion before realizing what was happening. He glanced over at me and raised his eyebrows, and I nodded to tell him I was fine. We heard Sam come to and spun our heads to look at him, and as soon as we made sure he was okay (aside from 3 nasty slices on his cheek), Dean shot Meg a seriously pissed-off look.
"Hey, Sam? Don't take this the wrong was, but your girlfriend is a bitch."
"You forgot to mention she's a…" At this point I let out a string of swear words that would have gotten me banned from any public place ever, and the two brothers laughed as Meg glared at me.
"The whole thing was a trap…" Sam started, and Meg turned to look at him smugly. "Running into you at the bar, following you here, hearin' what you had to say. It was all a set-up, wasn't it? And that the victims were from Lawrence?"
Meg laughed, and shrugged carelessly. "It doesn't mean anything. It was just to draw you in, that's all."
"So you killed those two people for nothing," I snarled, and she turned to me and smirked.
"I've killed a lot more for a lot less."
"So you trapped us- good for you," Dean quipped, and smirked at Meg. "Why don't you kill us already?"
"Not very quick on the uptake, are we?" Meg teased, and leaned in closer to Dean with a coy smile on her face. "This trap isn't for you."
Dean looked up at her, confused, and my heart sunk in my chest. Sam must have had the same thought as me, because he looked up at her, horror dawning on his face.
"Dad. It's a trap for Dad."
I looked over to Dean, expecting him to have the same reaction, but he just grinned confidently at Meg, who smiled back at him.
"Oh, sweetheart.. You're dumber than you look," he drawled, but Meg just looked at him condescendingly as he continued. "Cause even if Dad was in town, which he's not, he wouldn't walk into something like this. He's too good."
"He is pretty good- I'll give you that," Meg conceded, and walked over to Dean. She sat down, straddling his legs, ignoring the glare he shot at her. "But you see, he has one weakness."
"And what's that?" Dean asked smugly.
"You," Meg replied coyly, and I saw Dean's smile flicker as a look of hatred clouded his features. "He lets his guard down around his boys and his precious girl, lets his emotions cloud his judgment. I happen to know he is in town, and he'll come and try to save you," she continued, and I choked down an extremely rude comment. "And then the Daevas will kill everybody- nice and slow and messy."
"Well, I've got news for ya," Dean began, leaning towards her. "It's gonna take a lot more than just some shadow to kill him."
"Oh, the Daevas are in the room- they're invisible," Meg said slowly, as if she was talking to a small child. "Their shadows are the only part you can see."
"Why you doin' this, Meg?" Sam piped up, and she turned to look at him, her eyes shining in triumph.
"I'm doing this for the same reasons you do what you do- loyalty. Love. Like the love you had for Mommy, and Jess," she cooed, and I snarled in her direction.
"Go to hell," Sam hissed at her, but she just smiled and got off of Dean, who called her a few creative names under his breath.
"Baby, I'm already there," she purred, and slid over to Sam. "Come on, Sam. There's no need to be nasty." As she leaned in to whisper in his ear, I reached for the knife I had strapped to my wrist earlier and started to slide it out of its holster
"I think we both know how you really feel about me," she continued, and I finally pulled the whole knife out, almost dropping it in the process. Meg apparently didn't hear me, because she straddled Sam and continued to flirt with him.
"You know, I saw you watching me- changing in my apartment. Turned you on, didn't it?" she said softly, and I heard Dean groan from across the room.
"Get a room, you two."
I laughed, and he looked over at me with a smug smile on his face.
Knowing that I had his attention, I mouthed 'knife' at him, and he nodded slightly.
"I didn't mind. I liked that you were watching me," Meg confessed, and I choked down a laugh at how obvious she was being. "Come on, Sammy… You and I can still have a little dirty fun." At this, she began to kiss his neck, just as I sliced through the rope tied around my wrists.
I looked over at Dean and nodded, and he mouthed that he almost had it.
"You wanna have fun? Go ahead then- I'm a little tied up right now," Sam growled, and Meg continued to kiss him. I rolled my eyes and shot a pointed look at Dean just as I heard his knife clatter to the floor.
"Really?" I hissed at him, and he shot me a sheepish grin as Meg got up and walked over to him. She walked behind Dean's post and took the knife from his hand, tossing it into the corner. Dean chuckled apologetically as she swung around the post to look at him before sliding back over to Sam.
"Now, were you just trying to distract me while your brother cuts free?" she pouted, and Sam gave her a smug smile.
"No. That's because I have a knife of my own."
Confusion flashed across Meg's face, and Sam broke free from the ropes and knocked his head against hers. She fell to the floor, groaning in pain, and I threw the shredded rope from around my wrist and lept to my feet, running over to help steady Sam.
"Get the altar!" Dean yelled, and once I made sure Sam wasn't going to fall over, I ran over to the table and gave it a savage kick, spilling its contents onto the floor before turning back to Meg and grinning triumphantly.
"I guess you are dumber than you look."
An unearthly howl filled the room as the shadow appeared on the wall and grabbed Meg, dragging her across the floor. I ran over to Dean and quickly cut the ropes around his wrists, and he jumped up and pulled me behind him just as we heard a loud crash. We turned and saw Meg falling through the shattered window, and by the time I reached the window she was sprawled on the sidewalk, her eyes cold and dead.
Sam and Dean reached the window a second later, and once they saw that Meg was dead, I heard Sam laugh quietly.
"So, I guess the Daevas didn't like being bossed around."
"Gee, you think?" I quipped, and Dean laughed before turning to Sam and grinning slyly.
"Hey, Sam?"
"Hm?" Sam mumbled absentmindedly, and I turned to Dean curiously.
"Next time you wanna get laid… find a girl who's not so buckets-o'-crazy, huh?"
I laughed, and Dean smiled at me before turning to walk away. Sam stood there, still staring down at Meg's broken body, and I reached out to touch his arm. He turned to smile at me and slung his arm around my shoulder, and I looked up at him worriedly.
"How's the face?" I asked, and Sam grimaced.
"I'll live," he replied, and we turned away to follow Dean. We climbed back down the elevator shaft until we reached the stairs and left the building, not turning back.
We parked the car outside our motel room and staggered towards the door, Sam bringing the bags with him. I shot him a puzzled look, and he shrugged.
"Better safe than sorry."
I nodded in agreement as Dean unlocked the motel door. As we walked in, we saw a shadowed figure standing by the window, the lights from surrounding buildings outlining him in an unearthly glow. I pulled my knife from its holster on my left arm and was about to throw it at the figure when Sam turned the lights on, and the man turned to face us.
I wish I could say that I reacted gracefully, but I was so shocked that I dropped my knife- had I not been wearing steel-toed boots, things would have ended very badly. I glanced over at Sam and Dean and saw that they were just as stunned as I was, and we froze for a second before Dean managed to speak up.
"Dad?"
"Hey, guys," John said, and Dean started walking towards him. Once they reached each other, John pulled Dean into a long hug, slapping him on the back and laughing. Then they pulled apart and John came over to me, a huge grin on his face. He grabbed me and pulled me into a bear hug, my toes grazing the carpet as I was lifted off my feet. I laughed breathlessly and John put me down before turning to Sam, who wiped the sad expression off his face and managed a small, thin smile.
"Hey, Dad," he said softly, and he and John just looked at each other, the tension hanging heavily in the air. Then Sam put the bag of weapons on the floor, looking away from John, and we all looked at each other before Dean broke the silence.
"Dad, it was a trap," he spoke up, shaking his head apologetically. "I didn't know- I'm sorry."
"It's all right. I thought it might have been," John said reassuringly, nodding at his eldest son.
"Were you there?" I chimed in, and John looked over at me and smiled proudly.
"Yeah, I got there just in time to see the girl take the swan dive. She was the bad guy, right?"
"Yes, sir," Sam and Dean said at the same time, and John turned to them and nodded, his smile fading into a business-like mask.
"Good. Well, that doesn't surprise me- it's tried to stop me before."
"The demon has?" Sam asked, surprise flickering across his beat-up, bloody face.
"It knows I'm close- that I'm gonna kill it," John said triumphantly, drawing his shoulders back and crossing his arms over his chest. "Not just exorcise it or send it back to hell- actually kill it."
"How?" Dean questioned, and John turned to him and smiled knowingly.
"I'm workin' on that," he drawled, and Sam stepped forward with a hopeful gleam in his eyes.
"Let us come with you. We'll help," he said urgently, and I was about to nod in agreement, but Dean shot us both a warning glare, and I looked down at the floor instead.
"No, Sam. Not yet," John began, and I could see the hope fade from Sam's face as he continued to talk. "Listen, this demon is a scary son of a bitch, and I don't want any of you caught in the crossfire. I don't want you hurt." He glanced over at me as he said those last words, but I ignored him to look over at Sam, who looked confused.
"Dad, you don't have to worry about us," he said quietly, but John just shook his head at him.
"Of course I do- I'm your father," he replied, pausing as he looked down at his feet. When he raised his head to look up at Sam, I could see his eyes shining with regret. "Listen, Sammy… last time we were together, we had one hell of a fight."
"Yes, sir," Sam said carefully, and John smiled at him sadly.
"It's good to see you again... it's been a long time."
"Too long," Sam agreed, and John reached out to pull him into a tight embrace. I could see Sam's shoulders begin to shake as tears started to creep down his face, and I smiled at him. Dean reached over to me and slung his arm around my shoulders, and I leaned into him and sighed happily, feeling my own eyes start to tear up. Sam and John pulled apart, and we all looked at each other in silence.
But because our lives aren't a Lifetime movie, the moment didn't last long. Suddenly the Daeva appeared and grabbed John, throwing him into the cabinets above the sink. He fell to the ground heavily, groaning, and I was about to run over to him when I was slammed back into the wall. I yelled for Sam and Dean to run, but it was too late- they took one step towards me and were brutally thrown to the ground. I screamed in pain as I felt the skin on my shoulder being shredded, and was about to reach out to check the damage when I was thrown into another wall and almost got the wind knocked out of me. I managed to pull myself up off the ground, and saw everyone else in the same position. Dean and John were both on the floor trying to get up, and Sam was crawling towards the bag of weapons. The corners of my mouth curled into a snarl as I got to my feet and held my arms out to the side, taunting the demon.
"Come and get me, you son of a bitch!" I growled, and the demon rushed towards me, slashing its shadowed hand at my ribs. I felt one of its claws tear into my side and yelled in pain, trying to keep my eyes on Sam. He reached the weapons bag and pulled out a flare, turning to us with a pained grin on his face.
"Shut your eyes! These things are shadow demons, so let's light 'em up!" he roared, and I dove to the ground and covered my eyes with my arm just as a blinding white light filled the room, followed by a cloud of smoke. I could hear the demon screech in agony as it disintegrated. I managed to pull myself off the ground, clutching my side and coughing harshly, and felt someone grab my arm. I saw that it was Sam, and he pulled me out of the room and towards the stairs. I slammed my injured side into the handrail and choked down a scream, but managed to continue running down the stairs. We finally reached the door and stumbled out onto the street, still coughing and gasping for air as we ran to the car. I slumped into and pulled my hand away from my ribs, gritting my teeth at the pain. Sam reached out to me in concern, but I waved him away, and he ran around to the other side of the car.
"Come on, we don't have much time- as soon as the flare's out, they'll be back!" Sam yelled, and was about to get into the car when Dean interrupted him.
"Sam, wait!" he urged, turning to John. "Dad, you can't come with us."
"What?" I gasped, trying to stay on my feet and not pass out or cry from the pain. "What the hell are you talking about?" John nodded.
"You're all beat to hell-"
"We'll be all right," Dean cut John off roughly, and Sam turned to him in shock.
"Dean, we should stick together. We'll go after those demons-"
"Sam! Listen to me!" Dean demanded, and Sam fell silent. "We almost got Dad killed in there. Don't you understand? They're not gonna stop! They're gonna try again, and they're gonna use us to get to him."
"Dean…" I started, but he turned to me and smiled sadly.
"Meg was right. Dad's vulnerable with us- he's stronger without us around."
"Dad, no," Sam begged, and reached out to put a hand on John's shoulder. "After everything- after all the time we spent lookin' for you… Please. I gotta be a part of this fight."
"Sammy, this fight is just starting," John sighed as he reached up to grab Sam's wrist , and looked at each of us sadly. "And we are all gonna have a part to play. For now… you've gotta trust me, son."
Sam shook his head emphatically, and John looked at him somberly.
"Okay? You've got to let me go."
We stood in silence for a moment, and I painfully made my way over to Sam. I reached out and touched his arm with the hand that wasn't covered in blood, and he turned to look at me with tears shining in his eyes. He looked back to John and patted him on the shoulder once, and then stepped back. John looked over at Dean meaningfully and turned to walk back to his truck. I stumbled, and Sam reached out to steady me. Just before John got into the truck, he looked bak at us and smiled sadly.
"Be careful, boys. And take care of Ella." And with that, he drove away, leaving us standing on the street.
"Come on," Dean said quietly, and we got into the car. I laid across the backseat and managed to pull my jacket off without crying out in pain, and I saw Sam and Dean shoot each other a knowing glance as John's truck turned the corner. Dean started the car and backed into the street as Sam turned around to check on me, his eyes filled with concern.
"You alright, El?"
"I've had worse," I groaned, managing a small smile as I pulled my shirt up to check out the wound. Sam turned away politely, and I rolled my eyes at the back of his head before looking down at my side. It hurt worse than it looked, so I pulled my makeshift first aid kit from my backpack to patch it up. I grabbed some butterfly bandages and some alcohol wipes, and made sure the wound was clean before bandaging it up. I tossed a few alcohol wipes over the back of the seat and into Sam's lap and took care of my shoulder before sitting up and sticking my head between the two brothers.
"So what do we do now?"
Sam looked at me and shrugged as he wiped the blood from his face, and we both turned to Dean expectantly. He glanced over at us and thought for a moment before grinning back at us.
"I don't know, but I could go for some pie right about now."
"Dude, you look like you lost a fight with a paper shredder," I quipped, and Sam laughed. Dean rolled his eyes, and I grinned at him. "I mean, if you want to give some poor waitress a heart attack, go right ahead…"
Dean thought for a second, and then a grin flashed across his face as he looked over at me and raised his eyebrows. I shot him a confused look before I realized what he was thinking, and laughed as I shook my head.
"Dean, my shirt is covered in blood and my hair's a mess. I don't think they'll let me in either."
Dean sighed and looked over at Sam, who was staring out the window, lost in thought. He shrugged and pulled over, and as Sam turned to him in confusion, he put the car into park and took his jacket off. He then took off the plaid shirt he wore over his t-shirt (at this point, Sam looked at him like he was insane) and tossed it back to me. I looked it over for a second and declared it blood-free before giving the two brothers a pointed look.
"You guys mind?"
They both turned around and covered their eyes while I pulled off my bloodstained shirt and dropped it on the floor next to me before putting on Dean's shirt. I buttoned it up and laughed silently at how big it was on me, and then leaned forward to rest my chin on the back of the seat.
"Sooooo… pie?"
Dean smiled at me and started the car, and we drove to the nearest diner. I ran in and grabbed a pie for us to share, and grabbed some plastic forks before heading out to the car. I climbed in and smacked Dean's hand away as he reached over the backseat for the pie, and he rolled his eyes before starting the car.
We found an empty lot and parked, and Dean refused to eat in the car ("Ella, if you get crumbs in my Baby, I will MURDER YOU IN YOUR SLEEP"). I spread a blanket out on the dirt and we had a miniature picnic, laughing at Dean's pouty face when he realized he was expected to share. Once we had finished the pie, we attempted to play frisbee with the tin, quickly realizing that playing while holding flashlights was harder than it sounded. We tossed the tin around until I started to yawn, and we packed up and got in the car. We drove in no particular direction until I could no longer keep my eyes open and curled up in the backseat, falling asleep to the sound of Dean quietly singing along to the radio.