Disclaimer: Kripke, Meyer and Ridley - *bows* These guys are awesome – I'm just the hack that borrowed their toys.
A/N: This is the final chapter. There was nowhere to break it and I didn't want to anyways because there was no point in making you guys wait for the next posting. You guys have been awesome, encouraging, enthusiastic and I'm so happy to have come into contact with you all. This story has taken up a lot of my free time the last couple of months, and I could care less because I enjoyed every minute of it (except when my laptop crashed last week and fried the file. That sucked.) So without further ado, here is the final chapter of 'Attack of the Newborns.'
23. FUBAR
It was like a really bad dream being played in super slow-motion.
Dean saw the vampire bolt out of his hidey-hole in the outcropping and saw Leah tear off after him. Her powerful legs dug into the soil, throwing up bits of dirt and clumps of grass as she tore after the escaping leech. He saw the vampire turn suddenly, saw Leah leap for him, and saw the vamp's hand rear back. There was no way that Leah could avoid it – mid-air like she was, and Dean was already running towards them but he knew there was no way to get to her before the impact. The vampire swung at her, connecting with the side of her face and sent her sprawling into the rocks. Her howl of pain sent shivers down his spine and he willed himself to run faster. He saw a large shape streak past him – a giant russet colored wolf who dove for the vamp with a vicious snarl escaping from his lips. Jake got a good hit in before the vampire smashed him across the face, stunning him enough to wrap his arms around Jake's body and squeezing with all he had. Jake gave out a sickening yelp, quickly cut off as it looked like the vampire was trying to actually rip him in two.
Dean let out a bellow of rage as he brought the machete up and swung it at the vampire with all he had. It sliced brutally into his back, eliciting the vampire's own bellow of rage as he threw Jake at the ground. Dean tried to put himself between Jake and the vampire, holding the machete like a baseball bat and waiting for that blood-sucking bastard to make a move. His red eyes bored into Dean's. Predator's eyes – and Dean could see the soulless monster behind those eyes. It was like looking into the eyes of a shark – empty and eternally hungry all at the same time.
A growl came from the side and Uley smashed into the vampire, latching on around his neck and weighing him down to the ground where they grappled furiously. The leech brought a foot up and planted it in Uley's stomach, kicking him brutally and allowing him to regain his feet. Apparently, this vamp wasn't a novice to fighting like his companions had been. He was stronger, craftier and smarter and was now watching the hunter and the big black wolf advance on him together.
Dean saw his red-eyes flick to the side, and Dean knew the cavalry was coming. "You'll never get away." Dean hissed and Uley growled his agreement. Dean could hear Jake whimpering in pain, and he could hear Leah's suffering too. The fact that this sonofabitch hurt the two of them made Dean see red. He felt as if his senses were sharper, and everything was still in slow motion. Uley was crouched and snarling at the vampire. The vamp was cagey, crouched as well and his eyes were darting everywhere because he knew he was fucked – he was just planning on taking someone with him.
Uley swiped at him, causing the vamp to jump back a step. Dean swung his machete, hitting only empty air as the vamp danced back another step. The leech looked like he was about to attack again when the crazy bastard wolf slammed into him from behind and tore into him like a dog with a rat. He wasn't alone for long as every able-bodied wolf in the clearing jumped onto the last vampire and his screams were quickly cut off as the wolves tore him to pieces.
Dean backed away from the sight, and was brought back to earth when he heard the Doc calling out and the pained sounds coming from Jake and Leah.
Jake was sprawled on the ground, clawing feebly at the grass, trying to pull himself along to no avail. It looked like one half of his body was dragging dead alongside of him and the sight made Dean's stomach lurch. The Doc dropped to the ground next to Jake, who was obviously worse off than Leah, and started running probing hands over Jake's mangled body. Jake howled out in pain at the contact – or it may have been him swearing at the vampire to get away from him – it was hard to tell. Regardless, Jake was in bad shape.
A grunt from the left brought his attention back to Leah, who was trying to pull herself to her feet. Dean ran to her side to see what the damage was. She had nearly been impaled on a sharp slice of rock. There was a nasty hole in her rear hind-quarter, an angry gouge down her entire leg, and one eye was swelled shut.
"Oh fuck Leah," he breathed, reaching out to touch her swollen face when she snapped at him. He snatched his hand back before she could relieve him of a couple of his fingers. Giving her a relieved chuckle, he said, "Well, at least your temper's intact."
"Dean?" Sammy called from next to Jake and the Doc. "She okay?"
"She'll live." Dean called back, already seeing the cuts down her leg start to slowly knit itself back together.
"Then get over here." The worry and concern behind Sam's calm voice would have not have been detected by anyone who didn't know him. Jake was in bad shape.
Embry was next to them, whining slightly and pacing back and forth. Uley was there too, keeping a watchful eye on the Doc. The Alpha glared at the other wolves who were loitering around and they all started picking up the shreds of vampire and carrying them over to the Cullens who were pouring fluid on a pile of branches and limbs. Dean caught sight of Alice standing alone on the west of the clearing and staring at the mountain. She was stock still against the green background of the tree line.
"She's trying to see," Carlisle muttered distractedly as he continued running his hands over Jake's body, much to the wolf's displeasure.
"How bad is it Doc?" Dean asked, dropping to his knees next to the vampire who had undoubtedly saved his life when he knocked him out of the circle earlier. Dean placed a light hand on Jake's rising and falling ribcage. Dude's breathing was way too labored for his liking.
"It's hard to tell. I never went to veterinary school. This would be easier if he phased back."
"Doc, phasing's gonna more than tickle right about now." Sam growled from the other side of Jake's broken body.
They looked up as they caught sight of Alice sprinting towards him. "You need to leave." She said urgently.
"What is it Alice?" Carlisle demanded.
"They're coming. We got about ten minutes at the most." She turned to Uley. "You need to get out of here. Now."
Uley growled at her menacingly. "Don't you get it?" She hissed. "We are all dead if they catch you here. Any of you." She finished while looking at the hunters. "You need to run and you need to do it now."
"Jake's not running anywhere right now Alice." Dean snarled at her. "And we are not leaving him here."
"Then carry him out."
"How the fuck are we gonna carry him out like this?" Sam threw at her, gesturing to the giant, keening wolf.
Jake gave Alice a baleful look before he let out an ear piercing howl of pain and the wolf was gone and there was a naked Quileute sprawled face down on the ground. "Happy now… you little bitch?" Jake hissed between clenched teeth.
"Take him to La Push," Carlisle ordered. "I'll be there as soon as I can."
"You hear that Jake?" Dean tried to joke as Jake's injuries became more evident in naked human form – Dude was fucked. "Doctor Blood-Sucker's gonna make a house call and bring the good drugs with him."
"Better bring… the whole medicine… cabinet," he gasped painfully.
"No shorts today, huh?" Dean asked, trying to keep everything light because Jake's joints were at angles that weren't normal and his flesh was mottled with ruptured blood vessels.
"Bite me." He grunted.
Jake let out another bone chilling howl and a string of curses when they draped his arms over their shoulders and hefted him up.
"Fuck Jake," Dean cursed, "… you're heavier than Sammy."
"Better lookin' too." Jake's head lolled and he looked like he was gonna pass out.
"I swear Sam," Dean threatened, "… you ever tell Caleb about us carrying a naked guy out of the woods… I'll kill you."
"You think I'm gonna tell him that?" Sam grunted from under Jake's dead weight. "I'm gonna need a couple bottles to burn this out of my memory."
"… No picnic… for me either." Jake gasped. "Feel like a… drunken prom date."
"If either of us had gone to a prom," Sam grunted, "…she woulda been prettier than you."
"Hey!" Emmett gave a sharp whistle and a shout but didn't come near them. "You'll never be able to carry him all the way to the road like that." Something silver flashed through the air and landed near Dean's feet. They were a pair of keys. "My jeep's a quarter mile down that trail." The linebacker vamp pointed towards a game trail. "Don't crash my ride – Rosalie suped it up for me." He gave Jake an amused smile. "Now get the mutt outta here." There was a whoosh from behind him as Rosalie tossed a match on the pyre. Thick, acrid purple smoke started to billow up and fill the air. Dean glanced at the mountain top and saw a slender column of purple smoke snaking its way across the sky there as well.
What went on up there?
Jake managed to give the vamp the middle finger on the hand that didn't look like it disintegrated. Embry picked the keys up with his muzzle and dropped them into Dean's hand so that they didn't have to jostle Jake to retrieve them themselves. A jeep just down the trail was a hell of a lot better than trying to lug the massive Quileute all the way to the dirt road and the Impala. Add to that the fact that the fucking Volturi guard were minutes away, and driving the Vamp-mobile sounded like a great option.
There was an entourage of wolves shadowing them as they went. They weren't about to run in case they didn't make it to the jeep before the guard arrived. Dean was heartened by seeing Leah do an odd but painful looking three-legged trot alongside them. She was in pain, but she was gonna pull through and get out of there under her own power.
The noises coming from Jake on the other hand, brought him crashing back to reality. There was just no way to carry the guy without hurting him. His breaths were coming out in short hard gasps and his teeth were clenched as he growled out every expletive known to man and some entirely new combinations Dean had never heard before.
"Geez Jake," Dean muttered in an effort to keep him talking. Passing out sounded like a really bad idea right about now. "…You kiss Bella with that mouth?"
"She kissed me…" he panted, head still lolling side to side.
This was officially the longest quarter mile in history. The game trial was narrow, uneven with rocks and tree roots, and there were branches overhanging everywhere. Some wolves were trotting out front, others bringing up the rear, and the rest were flanking them on the sides of the trail in the woods.
"She kissed you huh? Bet Eddie didn't like that one bit." Dean grunted under the guy's weight.
"Don't imagine he did." Jake's head suddenly dropped to his chest and Dean nearly dropped him in panic.
"Don't fall asleep on us man." Sam encouraged him. "We want you awake."
"Yeah Jake," Dean's head was spinning to come up with something to keep the guy conscious. "What happened on the mountain top? I saw purple smoke."
"Seth and Eddie…" wheeze "…bitch found them up there."
"They take her out?" Sam questioned.
"Seth took a… leech on… all on his own. Bitch had a… boyfriend… with her."
"You don't say?" Dean grunted. "Seth took him out all on his own huh?"
"Little jerk's as… stubborn... as his sister."
"Dean. Look." Sam whispered, nodding ahead of them.
Just ahead and a beautiful sight to behold was Emmett's jeep. She was the Range Rover with the roll-bars they had seen in the Cullens' garage. She was still caked in mud and she was gonna get them the hell outta Dodge.
"Hey Jake," Dean joked, "…you feel up for me rolling that bitch?"
"You come back… when I'm healed up… and I'll help you… push it over a cliff."
"That's right Jake." Sam jumped in. "You just hold on and we'll get you home. Hopefully the Doc won't be too far behind us."
"Tell 'im… I want the good drugs."
"Trust me," Dean grunted, reaching out to open the back door, "... nothin' beats morphine. Now that's the good shit." And he didn't know how they were gonna get Jake in the rear of the jeep without killing the guy. He shared a glance with Sam, who was under the same impression as he was.
Jake must have caught the look, and wheezed out, "Just do it."
They tried to be as gentle as they possibly could. It didn't stop Jake from opening up his repertoire of curse words. Sliding him into the backseat actually made him pass out, and right now, that actually made it easier to get him positioned. Dean glanced around the jeep looking for a blanket or something to cover the guy up, but there was nothing in the vehicle to use.
"Let's just get outta here Dude." Sam nudged him and jogged over to the passenger seat.
Dean climbed into the driver's seat, looked at the off-road harness and said 'screw it' to the thought of taking precious minutes to figure it out. Standing on the clutch, he twisted the key in the ignition and gave a silent prayer of thanks when it started easily. The throaty hum of the engine was music to his ears. He smiled to himself when the CD player kicked in and it was Metallica's 'Harvester of Sorrow' belting out of the speakers – truly music to his ears. Who'd have thought the frat-boy liked metal?
As soon as the jeep started moving, wolves started running ahead of them. Unfortunately, the wolves ran faster than Dean could drive the jeep over the corduroy trail, as every bump sent them rocking around in the cab of the vehicle. It didn't take long for the ride to wake Jake back up, cursing his heart out again. His unbroken hand gripped the holy-shit handle above his head in an effort to keep himself from being jostled too badly, but that wasn't enough. Dude had a set of lungs on him and a foul mouth any sailor would be proud of.
After an eternity of negotiating the treacherous mountain trail, they hit the relative smoothness of the dirt road, and Dean gunned it. Wolves could be seen in the rearview mirror zipping into the woods that would lead them home. Dean even caught a glimpse of the silver wolf darting into the trees after her pack. She was still favoring her back leg, but she was running and that was a move in the right direction.
Dean was forced to cut his speed when they got back to the main roads, as he didn't want to be pulled over for speeding and being caught with a mangled, naked Indian in the backseat would be really difficult to explain – especially in the Cullens' conspicuously expensive ride. Thankfully, the Range Rover had dark tint on all the windows and Dean was fairly confident that no one could see in. He figured it made sense for the vampires to have dark tint as glittering like a princess' tiara would attract attention if they were caught while out on the road.
They reached the turn off to La Push without Jake passing out again, and the forest lined road looked like heaven. Dean winced internally at that thought. He'd never see those pearly gates – if they even existed.
"You'll have to tell me which one is your house Buddy." Dean called to cover up the bile that threatened to rise in his throat.
"Just past the second turn… in the road." Jake grunted.
His breathing is still too shallow. He thought to himself.
"Got it."
He was just rounding the first turn when he stomped down on the brake and clutch and veered off to the side a bit to avoid hitting Embry who was standing half naked in the middle of the road.
Dean hit the button for the window to roll down and yelled, "Dude! What the hell?!"
"You can't take him to his house." Embry leaned in the window and scrunched his nose and pulled back. "The vampire stink is intense Bro," he smirked at Jake, "How they treatin' ya?"
Embry's jovial behavior didn't fool either brother. They'd been on both ends of that I'm-not-worried smirk more times than was healthy.
"I think they copped a feel." Jake moaned. "Why can't they take me… to the house?"
"Chief Swan's there and if he sees you naked and banged up like that he'll never let you hang with Bella again."
"Good call. Tell me you got some… shorts for me or something."
"Snuck in your bedroom window." Embry smirked and tossed a pair of shorts into the backseat so that they landed on Jake's middle.
Thank God.
"There's a problem…" Dean cut in. "Sammy and I can't show up in this ride with the Chief there. We already ran into him and told him we were FBI agents, and something tells me he'd recognize this jeep even if he hadn't already seen that I drive an Impala."
"I'm telling you Dude – that is a sweet-ass car you got." Embry grinned.
"Can you… car-crush... later Man?" Jake replied irritably, "What am I… supposed to do? Just sit here… and wait for Charlie to go home?"
"Quil and I thought up an alibi for you Bro." Embry nodded towards the ditch and the trees on the other side of it. For the first time, Dean noticed a wolf standing stone still just inside the tree line. "You were riding your bike and skid out."
"Charlie's gonna insist on… taking me to the… hospital moron." Jake rolled his eyes. "I don't know… if you've caught on yet… but we can't just waltz… into the ER anymore."
"We don't have to go anywhere if we wait for Doc Cullen to show up. He can say he came on the accident just after it happened, and that you're not that bad off. Charlie won't question the Doc."
"Guys," Sam broke in, "…we can't just sit here blocking the road. We gotta move."
"Pull into that break in the trees over there." Embry pointed to what looked like a wide mountain bike trail.
"The one on the other side of the ditch?" Dean raised an eyebrow at him.
"That's what this rig is made for isn't it? Besides, what do you care if you ruin Emmett's suspension?" The Quileute gave him an evil grin.
"True." Dean shrugged.
"Besides…" Jake put on a false bravado, "…weren't me and you gonna… push this piece of vampire shit… over a cliff in a couple days?"
"Jake, it's gonna hurt." Sam turned in his seat to look at the guy.
"It already fucking hurts. Just do it already… before someone comes along… and sees me with my junk hanging out… with you two driving me around… like Miss Daisy."
"Good point." Sam conceded.
Dean eased down the wide shallow ditch, toying with the clutch and gas to keep from stalling out when he was rocking at the bottom of the ditch and trying to get up the other side – all the while ignoring Jake's bellowing of pain in the backseat and trying to go as easy as he could. He managed to get up the other side and pulled as far up the wide trail as he could – it was barely wide enough to accommodate the jeep.
Branches and boughs scraped the sides of the vehicle and Jake let out a wheezy chuckle. "Emmett's gonna be pissed… that you scratched the paint… on his ride."
"What's it matter?" Dean joked back. "We're just gonna dump it later anyway."
"I got the cliff all lined up."
When Dean couldn't see the road behind him anymore, he cut the engine and squeezed out the door. There was more room on Sam and Jake's side, which was what he was going for because they would need the space to get the big guy out.
Embry was there, and suddenly there was another guy standing there and pulling a pair of shorts up around his waist.
"You and your buddies know anything about modesty?" Sam complained to Embry.
"When you're swinging what we're swinging," the new guy grinned, "…you don't care."
"Nice dude." Dean rolled his eyes. "Real classy." Cocky bastard. "Where's everyone else?"
"Sam's got them all running a perimeter around the base of the mountain." Embry replied while opening Jake's door. "Need to make sure none of the guard go into town."
"And Leah?" Dean tried to keep the worry out of his voice. Leah was in no condition to outrun a vampire at the moment.
"She's stationed a bit further out than the rest, but she'll be okay. Pretty pissed the vampire landed one on her to tell you the truth." Embry explained.
"And pissed that Seth is gloating that he got one all to himself while the rest of us had to share kills." The new guy grinned broadly. "I'm Quil, by the way." He raised a hand in greeting while climbing into the back seat from the opposite side of the jeep. "Fucking vampire stink man!" Quil's curse carried outside to the hunters. "How'd you manage to not ralph all over the place?"
The brothers stood back to allow the Quileutes room to maneuver Jake out. There was the standard screaming of curses as they man-handled him into the open. Jake was one tough sonofabitch – that was for sure because he was unbelievably broken, and he was still conscious. They laid him on the ground and Quil threaded his feet into the shorts and pulled them up his legs.
"That puts an end to your showin' off Bro." Quil laughed. "Makin' the white boys jealous."
"Remind me to kill you later." Jake grunted, his face sweating from the pain.
"Hey!" Embry's ear cocked towards the road. "What's that?"
Quil looked at Dean and gave him an evil, devious laugh. "Oh… This won't be pretty."
"What are you talking about?" Dean asked angrily.
"Listen." Quil smirked, enjoying himself way too much.
It took a moment, but the throaty growl of an engine was approaching.
It can't be… Dean looked questioningly at the natives who were grinning like idiots spoiling for a fight.
"Is that…?" He didn't even want to voice the thought, and ran down the trail to the road to see for himself. Sam wasn't far behind him as he hit the edge of the trees and the throaty growl he knew as well as he knew Sam's voice came around the turn and stopped next to him.
"That fucker drove my car." Dean whispered in utter shock. Edward fucking Cullen was getting out of the driver's seat of his classic '67 Chevy Impala. That fucking mind-reading, condescending douchebag had fucking hot-wired his baby!
"I'm gonna kill him." Dean whispered with deadly conviction. "I'm gonna fuckin' kill him."
"Now's not the time Dude." Sam said, striding towards Carlisle who jumped the ditch and was headed towards them with his medical bag in hand.
"How is he?" Doc asked Sam.
"Conscious but hurting bad. We got him laid out up here. Chief Swan's at his house and we couldn't take him there."
"Yes. Charlie's presence will make this more difficult."
Dean ignored their conversation in lieu of planning Edward's slow and painful death. He also forgot about putting up his mental blocks because Edward turned sharply towards him.
"It really is a well kept machine." He offered, reaching under the wheel and the car shut off.
Little fucker. Hot-wired my fucking car.
"You obviously love it, and it was lovely to drive for a domestic vehicle – very nostalgic." He stood back up and faced the glowering hunter.
I will fill you full of poison and tear you apart bit by bit.
"Jasper was particularly taken with it. He had one in '68. Of course we had to dump it in Lake Michigan when he… well… his control issues were worse then." Edward seemed determined not to listen to his mental tirade.
Then I'll scatter your remains in a bat cave to be shit on for eternity.
"Well, let's get Jacob taken care of shall we?"
Dean put his blocks up in time to land a stinging left hook on the vampire. Edward's head snapped back and he went sprawling. Dean stood over the fallen vamp rubbing his knuckles. Fucker had a hell of a hard face and he might have fractured something in his hand but the satisfaction of punching that douchebag in the face was worth the pain.
"You ever even look at that car again," Dean threatened, "I'll kill you." He turned on his heel and followed the sound of Jake's pained bellows back the others.
"Some of the smaller bones have started to heal themselves." The Doc told Jake, his voice serious and grave. "I'm afraid I'll have to re-break some of them to set them straight."
He had just given the Quileute a full-body rub down, and the prognosis was bad but not bleak. One side of Jake's body was indeed broken. Left femur, left radial, left fibula, several ribs cracked, broken hand and finger bones, and a likely fractured ankle. But his lungs didn't seem to be punctured, nor were any major organs. Just a kaleidoscope of bruises all over him that were more garish than deadly. So on the whole, with the way Jake's body was repairing itself, he would be back to his smart-assed self in no time. It was just gonna be a rough couple of days to start with.
"I'm going to give you a shot of morphine for the pain, Jacob." Carlisle drew a syringe from his bag and a clear vial. "I'm sorry to have to do this, but the bones must be set straight."
"Just… get on with it Doc." Jake groaned.
Carlisle filled the syringe part way, rubbed an alcohol pad on a part of Jake's unbroken shoulder, and stuck him.
"Are you sure that's enough, Carlisle?" Edward asked. "His metabolism is much faster than that of one of your normal patients. He may burn through it too fast."
"Look who's all House MD" Quil nudged Sam and snickered.
"I've been to medical school." Edward snipped at him. "I could just never practice for obvious reasons."
"How's your arm holding up, Son?" Carlisle called to Dean.
Dean shrugged. His arm wasn't bothering him. It wasn't until they reached the mountain-bike trail that he realized he'd soaked through the strips of the Doc's shirt that he bound him up with, and that was why the other Cullens hadn't come near them back at the clearing. Well… except Alice and she'd had bigger things on her mind at the moment – like getting them the hell out of there before they were all vaporized by the Volturi guard.
"I can take a proper look at it for you in a minute if you like. I have everything I need here with me." He nodded towards his medical bag.
"I'm fine Doc." Dean insisted. "Just get Jakey-boy looked after."
"I'll just let the morphine have another moment to work its way into your system." Carlisle pulled down on Jake's lower eyelid to check his pupils.
"How did things go up in the clearing Doc?" Embry asked. "Sam will need to know."
"The Volturi have left with the promise to not feed in the State." Carlisle said, ignoring Em and Quil's growl of disapproval. Feeding on someone else out of State wasn't any better.
"What about your little POW girl?" Dean asked.
"The Guard were unsympathetic towards her I'm afraid." The Doc busied himself with his black bag, but Dean could tell he was upset about the kid getting knocked off. "It would appear that Jasper was being more realistic than I was."
"You tried Doc." Sam offered, ignoring Embry's eyeroll.
"Bella?" Jake asked, his voice getting groggy and his head lolling side to side.
"She's fine Jacob." Edward reassured him.
"I kissed your girlfriend…" Jake sing-songed drunkenly.
"I'm aware."
"What-cha gonna do 'bout it?" Jake challenged him. It might have been more effective if he wasn't grinning with unfocused eyes.
"How about I wait for you to heal before I come back and break you all over again?"
"Deal Blood-sucker. Gonna… fuck you up." Edward actually smiled at him like they were best friends and this was how they always talked to each other. Who could understand these teens nowadays? But Eddie seemed to be genuinely concerned about Jake's current condition, and right now, Dean didn't care who was human, who was vamp or who was wolf. All that mattered was Jake healing properly.
"What about the Volturi and their ultimatum Carlisle?" Sam asked softly. They didn't know if Jake and the Quileutes knew about that part of the story or not, and they didn't want to be the ones to tell them Bella had an expiry date on her head.
"The Volturi will leave us alone for now."
For now. Enough said, Dean thought.
Carlisle checked Jake's eyes again. He looked up at the people standing in a circle around him and said, "I'll need you to help hold him down. This won't be pleasant."
They were still on the mountain-bike trail waiting for the Doc to come back. He and Edward had loaded Jake back in the jeep, and much to Embry and Quil's repugnance, the Quileutes rode with them back to Jake's house. It was all for appearances sake. How could Jake have been riding his bike with his buddies if they didn't ride back with him to his house with the Doc, who happened to be driving past just after Jake had skid out. Very fortunate for Jake – very fortunate indeed.
Dean used the waiting time to make calls to Caleb and Bobby, reassuring them that the thing was finished and they were fine. All fuglies dead and accounted for.
Sam was pacing, clearly something was on his mind and Dean didn't know if he wanted to know what it was or not.
"That was another one we scraped through by the skin of our teeth, huh?" Sam offered, trying to make conversation in the awkward silence in the trees.
"Yeah, and we didn't lose anyone on our side. Fucking miracle."
"Dean… Look man, I'm sorry I lashed out at you about being blinded by Leah. The wolves really came through for us today. Even Uley."
Dean did not feel like doing the whole EMO bit, but Sammy was looking at him with the puppy eyes and his shaggy hair was in his face and he looked like he really wanted to talk. So he swallowed his reluctance, and said. "I'm sorry too. About the Cullens. I'm still gonna fucking kill Eddie for hot-wiring the Impala… But the Doc is alright – Esme too."
Sam nodded, accepting the apology for what it was. They settled down on the damp forest floor to wait for the Doc to come back and tell them how Jake was gonna make out.
Nearly forty five minutes passed before the Doc and Edward came back. Apparently, Charlie was pretty determined that Jake should go to the hospital. It took Carlisle's promise of a long stint of house calls to make the Chief drop it. Little did Charlie know, that Jake would be healed up in days, not weeks.
"I'd like to thank you, Gentlemen, for everything you've done to help us. I don't know what would have happened today if you weren't there." Carlisle shook both their hands. It was a conscious effort for Dean to not recoil from the touch, but he didn't see the need to act like a jerk to the Doc anymore – the guy might have saved his life earlier. "If there is anything that you need – anything at all – please let me know."
"Thanks Doc, but unless you're gonna give us a standing prescription for pain meds… there's not a lot else we need." Dean joked.
"There is something…" Sam started, sounding like he was shy and embarrassed but determined all the same. Dean turned his head towards his little brother, wondering what the hell Sam wanted from the Doc.
"Anything." Carlisle offered.
Dean saw Edward look sharply at the pair of them when Sam turned to him and whispered, "Dean, it's about your deal."
"Sam…" He warned, not liking the way Eddie was looking at them or the way the Doc was glancing back and forth between Sam and his son, trying to catch up to what was going on.
"No." Sam growled. "I think they can help us."
"Sam!"
"Anything you want is yours." Doc insisted. "Money, help… Anything."
"Turn us." Sam blurted out.
"Sam!"
"It could work!"
"Is this what you've been up to?" Dean demanded angrily. Carlisle was clearly confused, looking to his son for help because apparently Sammy wasn't keeping his blocks up to keep the vamp out of his head. "Is this why you've been pushing them on me so hard?"
"This might be the answer to your deal Dean." Sam snarled through clenched teeth. "Just hear me out."
"No." Dean crossed his arms and took a couple unnecessary steps back. It wasn't as if the Doc was going to jump forward and bite him – he clearly had no idea what Sam was getting at.
"You want to be transformed?" Carlisle asked hesitantly.
"Yes."
"No." Dean shot at the Doc. "Damn it Sammy, how could you think this would work?" He bellowed.
"The hellhounds might not be able to kill you if you're vamped out." Sam stepped towards him, his voice pleading. "It could buy us the time to find and kill Lilith. To stop it."
"Sam," he ground out, "…this is not an answer to my problem. This is no different than the Doc Benton case a few weeks back."
"I know, I know what the problem with that was… and… my bad, okay? You're not gonna kill innocents and harvest organs to stay alive. I get it. But we could live like the Cullens…"
"We?" Dean said indignantly.
"I'll take the plunge too, Dean." He stepped forward and the earnest hope in the kid's eyes was painful to look at. Painful, because there was no way he was gonna give the guy what he wanted. Not. A. Chance. In. Hell… Literally.
"Sammy. Stop." Dean clasped a hand on the back of his brother's neck to hold his attention. "No."
"But we can live off animals, man. We won't hurt people and we can still hunt… We'll still be badass hunters…" and the tears were running down Sam's face now and every drop was another knife to his heart because he had reduced his brother to this. He had Sam reduced to thinking vampirism was a way to cheat the devil of his due.
"It's still welching on the deal Sammy." Dean shook his head. Didn't the kid get it? Didn't he understand that the sole purpose of the deal was so that Sammy could live on?
"But I'll do it too. We can do it together and I won't have to keep going without you." Sam's enormous shoulders were shaking and Dean realized that the weight the guy was carrying was getting too much. A desperate Sam was no better than a desperate Dean, but he would be the only Winchester to make the final trip downstairs. Sam would just have to realize he had more of a future than his brother did.
"You're all I got left, and you're gonna leave me." Sam whispered, tears slipping off his cheeks and falling to the damp forest floor. "Why can't you just let me help you?" He pleaded, his green eyes searching for any hint that he was getting through to his older brother.
"If offering you a place in my family," Carlisle stepped forward, speaking slowly and softly, "…would help you in any way… it's yours."
"Carlisle…" Edward said softly, placing a hand on his father's elbow and tugging him back a step. Edward gave a slight shake to his head – he could see the intentions of both men standing on the wooded path.
"We can't do it Sam. I won't do it and I won't allow you to." Dean whispered, feeling his heart wrenching in his chest.
Sam sniffed back a tear and gave a sad, frustrated laugh. "Yeah, you're just gonna leave me behind while you go to hell. Thanks Dean. That will be real easy to live with, having that on my conscience."
"Sam…"
"And what about Leah? Huh? What about her?" Sam shoved his hand off his shoulder angrily.
"What does she have to do with anything?"
"You care about her," Sam accused him, "…and you're just gonna leave her behind too."
"And you think that if I turn vampire, that she and I will just ride off into the sunset together? Didn't you notice how much the wolves hate the vampires on principle alone? I guess our wanting to kill each other on sight is no different than any other relationship in America." He said scornfully.
"You could try," Sam hissed. "You're just too afraid."
"It's Hell Sammy." Dean shouted, forgetting that they had an audience. "I got two options, and the one you're selling isn't any better than the one I'm facing."
"It doesn't have to be that way. We can live like the Cullens. The others will understand. Bobby and Caleb and everyone… They'll understand or to Hell with them."
"It's not worth the risk." He hissed.
"It's Hell." Sam ground out. "If that's not worth the risk, what is?"
"Your life isn't worth the risk Sam! Don't you get it?!"
"So that's it then is it?" Sam swiped angrily at a tear. "You'd rather die and let Lilith and the Hellhounds have you than be saved."
"If it means not turning into one of the monsters I've spent my whole life hunting? Then yes. That's exactly what I'm saying."
"You know, that's so fucking typical of you. You…"
"Guys?" Edward interrupted. "We've got company."
Dean looked up sharply and there was the gangly wolf limping onto the path from the woods.
Seth. Leah's brother.
The kid was looking at him with giant eyes, whimpering pitifully, and wiping at his muzzle.
"A little more warning would have been nice." He snapped at the mind-reader. Edward held his hands up in a gesture of surrender and took a step back. Seth whimpered again and took a tentative step closer to the hunter.
Fuck. How much did they hear?
"Most of it." Edward answered him.
Crap. Blocks.
"Stay out of my fucking head." He swore at him.
"Trust me," Edward said softly, "…your head isn't a place I want to be."
Seth whimpered again and nudged him in the arm with his nose. "Is Leah running?" He asked the wolf and the mind-reader both.
"Yes." Edward answered while Seth nodded.
Dean stepped into the mind-reader' s personal space and in a hushed whisper, hissed, "What's she saying?"
"She's not saying anything."
"Then what is she thinking?" Dean growled at him.
"No." Edward replied, shaking his head. "I'm not getting in the middle of that. You talk to her yourself."
Fuck.
Seth nudged him again and Dean felt like everything was falling in around him all at once. The fucking roof was caving in and he was stuck standing there like a cartoon idiot holding an umbrella over his head. And he felt like an idiot talking to Leah through her and her brother's mind link – and how awful that just sounded in his own head. Not to mention that every other Quileute that was running on four legs was listening in right now and what the hell does he say to her in the first place? I'm sorry I got attached to you? I'm sorry that I'm going to hell? I'm sorry that this is going to hurt you? I'm sorry for talking to you in the first place and letting you get close to me when I should have fucking known better?
Pretend they didn't just hear what they heard.
So instead of addressing Leah directly, he spoke to Seth instead. "Look man… uhhh… tell your sister for me, that I'm sorry, and I gotta go. Sammy and me got some stuff to do out of State, and… just… I'm sorry."
He had to get out of here. There was no way he wanted anyone to start looking at him with pity in their eyes. Dean stood, nodded at a solemn Carlisle, and walked down the trail to the car parked on the side of the road. He didn't make it too far before he heard Sam's footfalls following him.
All Dean wanted to do was get the fuck out of Washington. He wanted to get into the Impala and drive east and put this place and everything that was fucked up about it in his rearview mirror and never look back.
He was practically standing on the gas pedal, racing up the road that would take him out of La Push and to the back-road highways that were the closest thing he had to a home. Sam hadn't said a word, and was staring blankly out the window. It was when Sam sat forward and stared out the passenger window that Dean saw the silver wolf racing through the trees. Her body and legs were nearly horizontal with the ground, as if she were flying instead of running. Dean stepped on the brake, and pulled over roughly onto the gravel shoulder, spraying dust and rocks as he barely put his baby in park before getting out. Telling himself the entire time to get the hell back in the car – to not do this.
But he didn't listen to good advise very often, and never his own. So he slid down the short embankment and leapt over the weed filled ditch that ran the length of the road. He walked into the trees, grateful that Sam had the good sense to stay in the damn car instead of following him.
He couldn't see her, but knew she was there, just out of site. He could feel her. Feel her like nothing he's ever felt before in his life. Every cell in his body was pulling him forward. To her. Always to her.
He could have found her in the dark and blindfolded.
And then she was there.
Walking out from behind a giant tree trunk, he noticed a purple bruise on her face, and she was walking with a bit of a limp. Still barefoot and in the same gray shorts and red t-shirt she wore when he first met her, she was just as beautiful now as she had been then – bruises and all. Perhaps more so.
"You sonofabitch. Were you really going to leave without giving me a proper goodbye?" She whispered as she closed the distance between them.
"Leah… I…" He started, but was completely startled when a fist came flying straight at his face.
"Whoa!" He dodged, grabbing her arm before she could make contact. But Leah had two arms and the second thudded painfully into his shoulder when he ducked and twisted to spare his nose from being broken again.
"Leah! Stop!" He pulled her against him, holding her tight to him so that she could do less damage.
"You sonofabitch." She gasped into his shoulder as the flats of her fists beat against his chest a couple times before her fingers twisted into the fabric of his t-shirt. She seemed to bury her face into him, breathing him in. Drinking him all down so that she could keep part of his soul here with her.
And he just held her. Pressing his cheek against the top of her hair and breathing in the wild smell of forest, air and mountain-rain that was Leah. She was trembling, and Dean hoped – he prayed – that is was some freak wolf/temper thing that signaled she was close to hulking out. He hoped it was that, because if she was trembling because she was crying, then Dean was going to lose it. If he looked down into her face and saw that those so-dark-brown-they-may-as-well-be-black eyes had tears in them – it would make all of it real. And he couldn't let it be real because it was Hell, and it was coming for him and coming fast. And he couldn't keep going if he were shaking and pissing himself in fear which is exactly what was going to happen if Leah started crying.
"You're dying." She said flatly – a statement and not a question. He couldn't answer her, but his hand involuntarily fisted in the material of her t-shirt.
And God fucking bless her she didn't look up.
"How long do you have?" She mumbled into his neck and he could feel her breath through the thin cotton of his shirt. She had let go of her death grip on his t-shirt and was tracing light circular patterns over his heart. He could feel the heat pouring off her body and his skin soaked it up greedily. He'd been cold for so long that he kept soaking it up, knowing the damage it was doing and not caring.
"Not long." He whispered.
She pressed her ear against his collarbone, like she was listening to his heart beating and committing the sound to memory. She still didn't look up and all Dean could think was that Leah got him like he got her. Neither could look the other in the face right now. They didn't have the strength.
"Longer than six minutes?" She laughed sadly as she snaked one hand up behind his neck to twist her fingers in the short hairs at the base of his skull – her ear still pressed to his collar.
He sighed into her hair. "Sweetheart… There isn't enough time left in my lifetime to do what I want to do with you." And that may have been the most honest thing Dean has ever said to a woman in his entire. Fucking. Life.
So she said nothing and he continued to hold her even though he knew he was going to pay for it later – that she was going to pay for it later. But he was a masochistic bastard and told himself that all the pain he was going to be feeling later was worth the price of holding onto something so wild and beautiful and so perfectly his for a few minutes now.
Because that was all they had – a few minutes now. He was going to leave and then he was going to die and then he was going to Hell where his torturers would wear Leah's face. And all he could do was hope that he hadn't added to her hurt any more than necessary because he wanted her to move on. He wanted her to forget him and get out of this nowhere reservation and find a man that might be able to keep up with her and call her on all her bullshit. Someone who would appreciate the Earth-bound warrior-angel that was Leah.
Someone worthy of her because he sure as hell wasn't.
She sighed heavily, lifting her hand from the back of his neck and pulling away. The loss of heat was startling and he had to stop himself from reaching out to pull her back.
She kept her head down and turned away as she turned her back on him and walked into the trees without looking back or saying a word. And Dean preferred it that way. He would rather the last memory of her face be of her pissed off and throwing punches than the chance of seeing her beautiful copper skin stained with tear tracks.
He stood there, watching the way she disappeared, but she never came back. Eventually he turned back for the road, and as he was jumping the ditch again he heard a lone wolf cry out of the forest, and it was then joined by several more and the sound of it was heartbreaking and miserable.
Sam's window was down and his head jerked up at the sound of the howling. Whatever Dean's face looked like, it was enough that Sam didn't ask him anything and Dean just got in the car and gunned it.
Eventually, Sam asked, "Where are we going?" His voice was flat and lifeless.
"East." Short and to the point.
"Any particular destination?" His brother asked, detached.
"Someplace out of fucking Washington that has a bar."
Sam mouthed the word 'okay' but turned back to the window and left it at that and Dean was thankful that his brother wasn't going to push the EMO lets-talk-about-it crap that drove him nuts. Sam was too wrapped up in his own ball of turmoil to push anymore right now and sat staring stonily out the window. Dean just wanted to get away, find a bar and drown himself in whiskey until all he could remember of the last couple days were some sparkling vampires and a big-ass bonfire. And maybe, if he got drunk enough, he'd drown himself in a woman. Someone short and blond and cheap who prattled on about her manicure or her hair-dresser or whatever else stupid mundane thing that the women he chased after talked about.
Someone who was miles from the Indian Princess who fought like an animal whether she was on four legs or not. Miles from the dark haired beauty that understood him better in two short days than many people who've known him for years have. Someone to lose himself in for a few hours in a weak attempt for some relief.
Because Hell was smiling at him.
And he was afraid.
A/N: And that's the end of this story. What a rides it's been and I hope that all of you who have stuck with me and encouraged me have enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed creating it. A special treat in the form of an Epilogue is right on the tail of this – should be ready for tomorrow. You guys have been awesome and I can't say that enough!!