Chapter 13

Good God, Y'all!

The drive to River Pass, Colorado was uneventful and Sam, Dean, and Fiona spent much of the time discussing how things would be working. Dean thought that since Fi wasn't as mobile, it wouldn't be safe for her to be in the middle of the fighting.

But Fiona wasn't about to be left behind and said as much as they headed down the dirt road which led to town.

"Damnit," Dean said, pulling to a stop. Getting out of the car, he looked at what had been the only road in or out of town. It looked like they might be able to cross the rocky river bed on foot, but thinking of Fi, Dean cursed again before looking over the edge of the bridge. There was a gap between the edge of the road and the fallen concrete and the slope didn't seem to be too bad…

"Dean?" Sam asked as he got out as well.

Dean looked at the fallen bridge and then at Sam and Fiona who was still in the car. "Looks like we're hiking in," Dean replied, going to the trunk and grabbing their bags.

"Dean, Fi can't climb down this," Sam commented as he looked at the bridge.

"Yeah," Dean muttered, looking again at the fallen bridge and the river bed below. There seemed to be a clear path heading through the woods, but the problem was still all of them getting down there in one piece. "Okay, Sam. You get Fiona. Follow my lead."

Sam didn't want to say that he thought his brother was completely insane for trying to get across, but he had to wonder just what Dean's plan was. Going to the backseat while Dean grabbed Fiona's wheelchair, Sam looked at Fi who seemed to be unsure of what was going on. "Bridge is out," Sam explained.

"So now what?" Fiona wanted to know. Would they just take her back to the nearest motel or what?

"Now we get across," Sam finished, lamely. "Come on."

Fiona moved so she was sitting on the edge of the backseat, her legs hanging out of the car.

Sam bent down and after Fi put her arms around his neck, he picked her up, using his hip to close the car door. Going to the edge of the bridge, Sam saw that Dean was steadying himself at the top of the fallen concrete, where the gap was most narrow. It looked like Dean had dropped the bags down first, using them as a cushion, before sliding the folded up wheelchair down next.

"Okay, Fi," Dean said, making sure his footing was as secure as possible. Holding out his hands towards Fiona, he waited until Sam bent down, leaning forward as best he could. Fi reached for Dean and just as she thought she was going to fall, she felt Dean grab her and she threw her arms around his neck as he held onto her with one hand while his other hand was gripping the twisted metal of the partially demolished bridge.

"Now what?" Fi asked, trying not to sound as scared as she really felt.

Dean didn't reply as he tried to position Fiona as best he could. Looking at her, he said, "Okay, count of three—let go. You should land on the bags."

"Okay," Fi replied, her heart pounding as she tried not to look down.

"Okay," Dean said, hoping this worked. "One… two… three."

Fiona let go and slid down, landing on top of the bags. Letting out the breath she'd been holding, she looked up at Sam and Dean before calling, "I'm alright!"

Up at the top, Dean looked at Sam who just joined him on the broken edge. "Your turn, Sammy."

Sam was about to refuse and tell Dean to go next, but didn't and after a moment, also slid down the concrete, landing next to Fi.

Once Dean had come down, they started on the next phase. Dean grabbed Sam and Fiona's bags and the wheelchair while Sam took Dean's bag and picked Fiona up in his arms again.

Getting to the other side of the river was slow going, but once on the wooded path, Dean set the wheelchair up and Sam gently lowered Fiona into it.

Once they were good to go, Dean took one last look at his car before they headed down the path towards River Pass.

xxxxxxxxxxx

They trio finally made it to town late afternoon and Fiona's hands were scuffed and dirty from the wheelchair. She looked around the town which must have been charming once, but now it reminded her of villages in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sam was ahead of Fi, a sawed-off shotgun in his hands, and Dean was behind, finger on the trigger of his own sawed-off.

As they headed down the street, they stopped, looking at the blood next to a gray car.

Fiona froze as she heard the sound of someone cocking a pistol behind them and wheeled around just as Sam and Dean stepped up, getting between her and their would-be attacker.

But both Winchesters immediately lowered their weapons when they saw that the person who had snuck up on them was Ellen Harvelle.

"Hello, boys," Ellen said, still keeping her gun aimed at the three hunters.

"Ellen, what the heck's going on here?" Dean asked, just as she threw holy water in his face. Blinking, he remembered nearly a year ago when Bobby had greeted him the same way after Dean had showed up at the older hunter's house after getting out of Hell. "You and Bobby sure got a strange way of greeting old friends," Dean muttered, wiping his face off with one hand.

Without another word, Ellen led them into the church nearby and once the door closed, she hugged Dean. "Real glad to see you guys," she said, her voice shaking the slightest bit. But a second later, she backed away and slapped Dean hard across the face. "The can of whoop-ass I oughta open on you!" she said, irritably. "What, you can't pick up a phone? Are you allergic to giving me peace of mind?"

"Things have been a little… crazy," Fiona explained, lamely, indicating herself.

Ellen looked at Fiona and her anger seemed to ebb. "Sorry. Things have been… well, come on," she said, heading for the stairs, stopping as she looked back at Fiona.

"It's cool," Dean assured her before nodding at Sam who picked Fiona up and followed Ellen down the stairs, Dean following with the wheelchair. "So what's going on, Ellen?"

"More than I can handle alone," Ellen confessed. Sneaking a glance at Fiona, she started, "You sure you're up to—?"

But Ellen was cut off as Sam asked, "So how many demons are we looking at?"

"Pretty much the whole town—minus the dead people and these guys," Ellen replied, understanding what Sam was trying to avoid saying. Knocking on the door, she waited until someone looked through the makeshift peephole. "It's me," she confirmed.

The door opened and Sam and Dean walked through, with Fi bringing up the rear.

The group was small, and most of them looked a bit lost with exception to the mid-20's guy guarding the door.

Closing the door behind them, Fiona turned to look at the others. At best guess, only 4 of these guys had ever seen real fighting and she was surprised when the kid guarding the door straightened up as he looked at her.

"Good to see you again, Gunny," he said with a dry smile.

"Jason?" Fiona said, suddenly recognizing him. "How're you doing?"

"Been better," Jason replied, quietly.

Ellen introduced Sam, Dean, and Fi, and while Fiona got a few looks from the others, she tried to ignore them.

"Listen, no offense," a guy in a rumpled suit said, pointing to Fiona doubtfully before looking at Ellen, Sam and Dean. "—but she doesn't exactly seem like the best back up in the world," he added, derisively.

Jason started towards the suit guy, anger in his eyes, but a hand held him back. Looking to see that Fiona was the one restraining him, he said to her, "Look, if this guy knew what you've done—"

"That's enough," Fi said, firmly.

Jason backed off, but he kept glaring at the guy in the suit. "Sorry, ma'am."

"It's fine," Fiona assured him.

"The two of you served together?" Asked a young black girl who looked to be in her teens.

"Yeah," Jason replied, nodding. "Brendon here… she, uh… she saved my life one night."

Fi wheeled over to the table in the middle of the room, looking at the assembled group. She didn't honestly know what she could do from an offensive view, but she did know how to plan an attack. Maybe she could help here after all.

"So how'd you get into all this?" The young pregnant woman asked, curiously.

Fiona gave her a smile and asked, "What's your name?"

"Liz," the woman replied, a hand on her swollen abdomen.

"Call me 'Fi'," Fiona said, shaking hands with Liz and her husband, Mike. "And to answer your question, my dad was a hunter. Sam and Dean? Their father was one, too."

"Is that how you, uh…?" Mike started to say, unsure of how to ask the question.

"Yeah," Fi replied, shortly. Giving Liz a reassuring look, she said, "Look, I can't think of anyone I'd trust more than Sam and Dean, okay? And Ellen? Don't let her sweet demeanor fool you. She's as feisty as a Mama Bear when her cubs are in danger."

"Yeah, but…" Liz looked at Fiona and tried to feel reassured, but the fact that this woman, this… this hunter was in a wheelchair because of these demons wasn't exactly helping.

"Look, what happened to me was a random fluke," Fi pressed. "And it was a rookie mistake that I shouldn't have made."

"Fi," Dean called from over near the door.

Fiona went over and looked from Dean to Sam. "You guys are leaving?" she asked.

"Supply run," Sam replied. "Need you to stay here with Ellen—get these folks trained on the guns.

"Right," Fi nodded, knowing she couldn't go along with the boys. Before Sam left the room, Fiona stopped him, giving Ellen and Dean a silent look.

Ellen nodded and went off to talk to the priest who looked like he was unsure of what to do.

"I'll be upstairs, Sammy," Dean said, patting his brother on the back before leaving the room.

Fiona looked at Sam, wanting to tell him to be careful… that she was sorry she started all of this… "So, uh… it turns out… we can still have sex," Fiona said, giving Sam a smirk. "Which means you need to make it back here so we can figure out how things work on that front."

Sam bent down and gave Fiona a long kiss before he turned and headed out the door.

Meeting Dean at the top of the stairs, Sam noticed the look on his brother's face. It was that sly smile Dean always wore when he caught his little brother watching porn or flirting with an attractive waitress at a diner. "What?" Sam asked, frowning.

"Nothing, Sammy," Dean said a little too quickly.

Sam knew his brother only too well and glared when he realized what Dean was grinning about. "You were listening, weren't you?"

"I'm impressed, Sammy," Dean said as the two headed outside and towards the sporting goods store in town.

"Impressed with what?" Sam asked, not sure if he wanted to hear this.

Dean stopped, licking his lips and looking around as he thought of how to phrase the thought. Looking at Sam, he said, "That the two of you aren't giving up."

"Giving up what?" Sam asked, still not sure he was understanding.

"I read the literature, dude," Dean clarified, even though the combined idea of 'Fiona' and 'sex' in the same sentence still weirded him out. "I mean, yeah, Fi can still have sex, but it's not like she'd get anything out of it, you know?"

"Dude!" Sam said, his expression equal parts disbelief and disgust. "I'm not talking about my sex life with you!"

"I'm not asking you to," Dean snapped back. Biting his lower lip as he ran a hand over his face, he sighed and said, "But after… you know… I was worried that if you and Fi couldn't have sex it might kill the relationship."

"You don't have to have sex to have a lasting relationship with someone," Sam countered. "I mean Bobby and Ellen—"

"Sammy, if you finish that sentence, I swear to God I will beat your ass," Dean warned, even though the imagery was already seared into his brain.

Sam nodded and looked at the Quick Mart and then at the sporting goods store. Turning back to Dean, he said, "I'll get the salt, you get the guns?"

Dean hesitated and shrugged as he said, "Why don't we go together?"

Sam frowned, not sure why Dean wanted them to stick together. "Look, it's faster this way, alright? I'll be fine. I can handle a couple demons, Dean."

But Dean had his doubts as he went to the abandoned store, loading up on shotguns and rifles, even nabbing a couple flare guns, just in case. After snatching some extra lighters and other things, he paused, thinking of what Sam had said. He knew his brother could handle demons, but right now it was how Sam might handle them that had him on edge.

Sure the detox had taken, but who was to say that Sam wouldn't fall off the wagon if the opportunity presented itself.

Coming out of the store, Dean stopped as he saw two figures heading towards the Quick Mart. Raising his shotgun, he carefully followed.

xx

Dispatching the two demons was almost too easy, and while Sam wished he could believe that it was simply because they were unprepared, something didn't sit right with him.

Looking at the blood dripping from the knife, Sam was suddenly gripped by a strong, unrelenting desire to lick the blood from the blade. Demon blood… the very thought of it made his heart rate quicken. But this was wrong… it was all wrong… The blood had the same pull, but the smell wasn't the same.

It was that alone that kept Sam from giving into his impulses.

That and the arrival of Dean whose expression was unreadable as he took in the sight of his brother standing next to two dead demons, their blood pooling by Sam's feet. "Come on, Sam," Dean said, flatly, keeping his eyes on his brother as they headed back to the church.

xxxx

Between Ellen, Jason, and Fiona, by the time Sam and Dean got back the others were doing fairly well with the guns.

The teenage girl—Natalie—seemed to be unsure of her way around the guns and Fiona went over to her. "I just… I'm not comfortable with this," Natalie protested.

"It takes a while to get used to it," Fiona assured her, pulling out the Colt .38 Super she favored. Putting the safety on, she pulled the clip and drew back the slide to clear the bullet from the firing chamber. "Okay: Watch and learn."

Natalie nodded, watching Fiona load the loose bullet into the clip before loading the clip into the gun pulling the slide.

Fiona handed the gun over to the teenager, and smiled as the girl managed to unload and reload the clip before pulling the slide and putting the safety off and back on. Going to her bag and pulling out the Smith and Wesson .38 she kept in there, she handed it to Natalie. "Same thing. Show me."

Natalie did so, still feeling a bit uneasy, but the gun seemed to be easier to handle. "Thanks."

"When you shoot—" Fi went on, showing the teenager how to hold the gun before correcting her stance. "—be careful how you stand. Recoil can catch you off guard the first time."

"Um, what do I aim for?" Natalie asked, thinking if she actually had to shoot someone.

"Either the shoulders or the legs," Fiona replied after thinking for a long moment. "Aim for the chest or stomach only if you have no other choice."

The teenager nodded, trying to show more bravery than she felt.

xxxx

When Ellen and Sam left to go find Jo and Rufus, Fiona again had the uncomfortable trapped feeling she'd had when they first arrived.

She didn't want to be stuck in this small room in a church basement! She wanted to be out with Sam and Ellen, or… or doing something other than just sitting on her ass.

But that was the whole problem—sitting on her ass was the only thing she could do.

"Why the hell would you haul Fiona into this?" Ellen demanded to know as she and Sam walked down the street.

"She wanted to come, Ellen," Sam replied, flatly. "I don't like it. I think it's a bad idea, but…"

"But what?" When Sam didn't elaborate, Ellen stopped walking and waited until the younger hunter looked at her. "What is going on with you three? I mean, Dean doesn't want you to be out here, you're acting like a recovering alcoholic at a wine tasting, and both of you are treating Fiona like she's useless. So I'll ask again—what's going on?"

"Look, can we not talk about this now?" Sam asked.

"Sam, I don't know what happened between you and Dean," Ellen said, the maternal side of her coming out in spades at that moment. "But you boys and Fiona? The three of you are stronger together."

Unbeknownst to the others, even to the Horseman—War, himself—an undercover archangel watched the town of River Pass.

He watched the ragtag group of humans as they discovered the source of all the chaos and he watched as Sam and Dean took War's ring, bringing an end to the carnage.

The archangel knew that whoever was left alive would never set foot in this town again. It was a shame, really.

Before leaving to enjoy a few days in the tropical sunshine, he decided to see what was up with the Winchesters and Fiona.

Other than being bruised and banged up, Natalie was doing okay and heading for her aunt and uncle's home in Wyoming.

Liz and Mike were heading to Mike's parents house in Maine.

Ellen and Jo had promised to keep in touch as they headed out with Rufus.

Watching Sam and Dean sitting at a picnic table, talking, Fiona jumped a bit when Jason came up to her and touched her shoulder. "How're you doing, Jason?"

Jason gave a dry laugh and shrugged as he moved to face his former CO. "I'm not going to be sitting on a hill pointing a gun to my head this time, if that's what you mean." After a while, he sighed, "I'm glad you were here, Gunny." Seeing that Fiona looked doubtful, he went on. "I mean it. I mean that kid, Natalie? You should have seen her. She handled that gun like a pro."

Fiona knew what he was trying to say, but she just didn't want to hear it. "Take care of yourself, Marine," she said, straightening up a bit.

"You, too," Jason replied, giving her a salute before he said, "Semper fi."

The smile Fiona gave him in return was genuine as she replied, "Ooh-rah."

"So, pit-stop on Mount Doom?" Dean said with a weak attempt at a smile.

"Dean…" Sam began, his tone serious.

"Sam, let's not," Dean cut in, quickly. He'd felt the talk coming for a while now, but he hadn't been in the mood. He still didn't feel like talking about it, but knew that right now it was unavoidable.

"No, listen—this is important," Sam insisted. "I know you don't trust me. I don't trust me either."

Dean found that interesting and listened as Sam talked.

"Dean, when I saw the blood in that store, I wanted it," Sam went on. "It didn't smell like demon blood, but the pull was so strong…" He took a moment and then got to the point. "I'm in no condition to be hunting. We have enough to worry about without the idea of me falling off the wagon."

"Well, I'm not going to argue with you on that," Dean admitted. "So what do you want to do?"

"I think we need to go our separate ways for a while," Sam replied, looking at his brother.

"I think you're right," Dean muttered, even though it hurt to say it. Putting War's ring away in a pocket of his jacket, he looked at Sam and voiced the question of the moment. "What about Fi?"

Sam thought about that long and hard for a while. In truth, he wanted Fiona with him. But there was a part of him that was afraid that he'd be trading one addiction for another. "She should go with you," he said, knowing that he'd spend every second missing her.

"Alright then," Dean said with a tone of finality. When Sam headed off to catch a ride from one of the River Pass survivors, Dean turned to look at Fiona who seemed surprised. But after a while, they got into the Impala which Sam had driven from where they'd left it on the bridge to the park.

Driving away, Dean wondered if maybe this would be a good chance for him and Fi to try and fix the gaps between them.