Chapter 6: Inside Job
Dean couldn't stop thinking of what Bobby had told him about dybbuks. The last thing he wanted was Sam to get hurt again, but he also couldn't bear to see the monster escape, free to hurt more innocent people like his brother.
They needed to capture the dybbuk and kill it- if that was possible- so Dean quickly dismissed Bobby's suggestion of protection wards. He began forming an idea, tentatively, not even certain Bobby would approve, but seeing no other way if he wanted to kill the bastard who had dared harm his brother. Dean didn't like it, not one bit, but he would do anything to protect Sam.
W
"Have you lost yer mind, boy?" Bobby asked, one eyebrow raised skeptically as Dean told him his idea. Sam was outside in the front yard, kicking an old soccer ball Bobby had found, against the side of the house.
"No," the young man answered, "I just don't see any other way around it. We want to catch this thing, right?"
"Yeah," the older man, "But that don't mean you've gotta go Kamikaze on me."
Dean rolled his eyes, "Nothing is going to happen. You'll be close by the whole time."
"I still don't like this, son," Bobby commented, slowly giving in, "It's a hell of a stunt to pull off, dangerous."
"And regular hunts aren't?" Dean countered and Bobby shrugged.
"You gonna tell Sam what we're doing?" the veteran hunter asked softly and Dean glanced down, biting his lip.
"I don't think so, Bobby," the young man admitted, "He'd never let me do it if he knew. It's just better if he finds out after all this."
The grizzled hunter looked skeptical.
"Look, stay close and nothing will happen," Dean told the older man, "I can handle this."
Bobby narrowed his eyes at the teen, "Mmhm."
"Trust me," Dean begged, "It'll be okay."
SPN
"Termites? Sam repeated for the third time and Dean nodded.
"That's what Bobby said," Dean commented, keeping his eyes on the road ahead of him.
"How long do we have to stay at the motel?" Sam asked, his question seeming like a harmless one but Dean heard the anxiety in his younger brother's tone.
"Just for three or four days," Dean assured his brother.
"Okay," Sam muttered and stared out the passenger window.
Dean chewed the inside of his cheek nervously. He hoped he was doing the right thing and that his plan wouldn't backfire. He almost was afraid of jinxing it, just thinking about it. The eldest Winchester had a small microphone- the type people wore when they went on talk shows- hidden in his jacket pocket so that Bobby was privy to everything the Winchesters said to one another, ready to spring into action if anything didn't sound kosher.
Sam was under the impression that Bobby had left to get some obscure relic for another hunter while his house was being filled with insecticide and would be gone for almost a week. In reality, the veteran hunter had rented out the room next to the Winchesters' at the motel so that he would be on the scene within seconds when he was needed.
Dean felt bad keeping his plan from his brother but in reality, he wasn't even completely sure it would work. There was a chance that the dybbuk wouldn't take the bait, that it would bide its time and strike weeks, months, even years from now, so Dean didn't see the point in frightening his brother over something that might not happen for a long time.
If Dean's plan didn't work and the monster didn't show its ugly mug, then there would be no harm done. Sam and Dean would have spent a few days at some motel and would be no worse for wear.
If everything went right and the dybbuk appeared, well, it would have to answer to Dean Winchester and the young man was not about to show it any mercy.
Dean pulled into the motel parking lot and parked in front of the door to their room. Glancing to his left, he saw the car Bobby was driving while undercover; a lime green Dodge minivan and Dean smirked.
"C'mon Sammy," Dean opened his door, "I gotta get the keys."
With his younger brother trudging along the sidewalk after him, Dean prayed to anyone who was listening to give him the strength he'd need to protect his sibling.
SPN
Bobby Singer paced the motel room worriedly. All he could do was go over Dean's plan and how incredibly stupid it sounded. So many things could go wrong.
"I should have put my foot down," the grizzled hunter lamented.
"Maybe there's still time to knock some sense into that idjit," Bobby muttered and pulled his cell phone out, dialing Dean's number.
The phone rang for such a long time that the older hunter wondered if Dean was just going to ignore him but then the young man picked up.
"Dean, listen to me-" Bobby began but was interrupted.
"Oh, hey Bobby! Sam and I are fine, just checking into our room now."
"Would you stop, ya idjit!" Bobby snarled.
"We'll behave. No parties; got it," Dean continued and Bobby growled, "Don't make me come over there!"
The younger man didn't rely so Bobby took that as his cue to speak, "I have a bad feeling about this, son. We'll find another way to kill that dybbuk, alright?"
There was a long pause and Bobby heard a door close.
"I have everything under control," Dean whispered into the receiver, "Please, trust me on this."
Bobby sighed and ran his fingers through his reddish hair, "Okay, okay. But if you start to get a bad feeling, call me right away. Deal?"
"Deal. Talk to you later," Dean agreed and hung up.
Bobby glanced over at the wall that the two motel room's shared and hoped that he wasn't making a mistake.
SPN
"What do you want for dinner, Sammy?" Dean asked, looking over at his brother lying on his stomach on the bed furthest from the door, attention focused on the television screen.
The younger boy shrugged noncommittally, "Whatever you want."
Dean frowned, "C'mon Sam, you have to want something. What are you hungry for?"
Sam turned towards his brother and Dean could have sworn he looked nervous.
"Uh… well… I haven't had pizza in a while," the fourteen-year old muttered hopefully.
Dean nodded, beaming, "Pizza it is then."
He grabbed the landline phone that sat on the nightstand between the two beds and dialed the number for the closest pizza place.
SPN
It had been a long time since Sam had had pizza. The last time he could remember had been after Dean had left for Stanford.
Sam lowered his hand and stared at the slice of pepperoni pizza he was holding.
"Sam? Are you okay?" Dean asked through a mouthful of crust and meat and sauce.
Sam nodded and put his slice back into the cardboard box, "I'm not hungry anymore."
Dean's eyebrows knitted together, "Okay. You sure?"
Sam nodded and wiped his greasy fingers on his napkin. The boy jumped down from his bed and went into the bathroom, closing the door after himself. Sam leaned against the door for a moment, wiping hastily at his eyes. He sucked in a deep breath, trying to push the bad memories back and failing. Sam slid down into a sitting position, pulling his legs up and wrapping his arms around his knees.
"SAM!" the boy jumped at the sound of his father's angry voice, "Get the hell out here, now!"
Scrambling up, the teen opened the door and stared into John's angry face. The man grabbed the boy by his shirtfront and yanked him from the room.
"The hell is that?" John asked, pointing one calloused finger at the empty pizza box sitting on the table.
Oh God! Sam had forgotten to get rid of the box!
"P-Pizza," Sam stammered, his heart sinking and his stomach turning cold.
"Pizza?" John asked as though he didn't quite understand.
He shouldn't be back this soon. He was supposed to out all night hunting.
Sam nodded, tears pricking his eyes.
"Where did you get it?" the father asked, his voice deceptively calm.
"I- I bought it," Sam answered, knowing whatever he said would only enrage his father more.
"Bought it?! With what? You don't have any money," John crowed in disbelief, his tone amused.
Sam sucked in a shaky breath. If he lied, his father was bound to know. It would be better just to tell him what he'd done and get his punishment over with.
"I- I t-took the money," Sam whispered, his voice barely audible, "J-Just a twenty… from y-your wallet. Last night."
It took a moment for John to comprehend what Sam was telling him before his face went beet red, eyes bulging in fury.
Sam raised his arms over his head as blows rained down on him.
"D-Dad! St-stop! Please!" Sam begged but John was beyond reason, "T-There was no f-food here!"
Sam sprawled on the ground and curled up, covering his face as his father began to kick him.
John's boot connected with his son's head and for a moment everything went black. Sam was certain he was going to pass out. Instead, the world returned in sharp focus and his father pulled him up by the collar of his shirt.
Face to face with the older man, Sam cringed away from the livid expression.
"If I ever find out you stole from me again," John hissed, spraying spittle at Sam, "You will live to regret it, I shit you not."
Sam nodded frantically; having no doubt that he would, and fell back when John let go of his shirt.
"Go to bed," the eldest Winchester ordered and Sam hurried to obey, jumping onto the mattress furthest away from his father and tugging the blankets over his head, huddling underneath.
W
"Sam?" Dean's voice jarred the fourteen-year old from his memories and he stood up quickly, wiping his face on his sleeve.
"You okay in there?"
The young man opened the bathroom door and saw his older brother standing before him, a worried expression on his face.
"Y-Yeah," Sam muttered, "Fine."
Dean didn't look convinced but he nodded, "If you're sure."
Sam shrugged, "I-I'm kind of tired."
"Okay," Dean instantly stepped out of the way so the younger man could get past him.
Without changing his clothes, Sam climbed onto his bed and covered himself with the blankets, huddling underneath.
SPN
Dean frowned at the shrouded form of his brother beneath the motel duvet. Even though he had never hurt Sam, he felt like the bad guy.
He longed to call Bobby and talk about his plan but he knew he couldn't risk Sam overhearing the conversation.
Sighing, Dean sat at the end of his bed and turned on the television, watching a show quietly until his eyelids began to slide shut of their own accord.
W
Maybe I jumped the gun on this one, Dean thought on the morning of their third day at the motel.
The past forty-eight hours had involved nothing but eating greasy take-out food and watching bad television. Just like the old days.
There was no sign of the dybbuk.
Dean glanced over at his brother poking his spoon into his soggy bowl of cereal, a sad expression on his young face.
I shouldn't have made Sam stay in a motel. What the hell was I thinking? Dean chastised himself.
Clearly, their current living conditions were only dredging up bad memories for his brother.
Sam had become more quiet and withdrawn than ever. Not even looking at Dean anymore. It was almost like living with a ghost.
I'm gonna call it off, Dean decided, that's it. I was wrong.
"Hey Sammy," Dean spoke up and Sam refused to acknowledge him, "You wanna finish up soon?"
Sam continued playing with his mushy cereal.
Sighing, Dean stood and ran a hand through his hair.
Suddenly, his cell phone rang and glancing down, Dean's eyes widened when he saw Molly Llewellyn's name light up on the screen.
Torn between telling his brother that they were going to head back to Bobby's and the temptation to talk to his friend, Dean chose the latter. Besides, he wouldn't be long.
"I'll be right back," Dean assured his sibling, not that Sam acknowledged him.
Stepping out the motel room and walking a few feet down the sidewalk, Dean finally answered the call.
"Molly?"
"Dean, what the heck's going on? You've been gone for a week and no one knows where you've gone!" Molly exclaimed, sounding worried and relieved at the same time.
"Sorry, I, uh, had a family emergency I had to deal with," Dean answered, feeling ridiculous.
"Oh, is everything okay?" Molly asked, concern tinging her voice, "Everyone is worried about you here."
"There's still some things that need to be sorted out, Moll," Dean explained, his throat tightening.
"Are you coming back to school?" the girl asked and Dean sucked in a sharp breath.
"I don't… I'm not sure," he hedged.
"You're going to miss finals," Molly informed him.
"I can't come back… not now at least," Dean replied.
"Oh…" Molly answered, sounding disappointed.
"Listen, I can't really talk right now," Dean spoke up before the girl could say anything else, "I'll call you later. Okay?"
"Dean-" Molly began but was cut off when the teen closed his cell phone.
Dean slipped the phone into the pocket of his jeans, turned around to head back inside and the dybbuk struck.
SPN
Dean's plan could go wrong in so many ways but if it didn't, if he managed to pull it off, well that would be a miracle.
Bobby went over Dean's idea over in his head, hoping to God the young man knew what he was doing.
"If the dybbuk is after Sam," Dean had begun, trying to sound as reasonable as possible, "Than we might as well be ready for it."
Bobby had nodded, because, of course they didn't want to be caught with their pants down.
As Dean continued though, the veteran hunter had to wonder what he had been doing while he'd been away in California.
"Since it's coming for a family member- that'd probably be me right- then we should kill it while we've got it," Dean told Bobby and the older man frowned.
"The hell you saying?" the grizzled hunter had asked so Dean obliged him.
"We let the dybbuk possess me and then kill it or exorcise it- whatever you do to them- before it can get to Sam," Dean had replied, calmly, seriously.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Bobby had exclaimed in disbelief.
Dean had shook his head, "It's the only way. If we don't do this, that thing could be gone forever!"
"How the hell are we gonna know if its in ya?" Bobby had asked smugly.
"Microphones. I keep one and you keep one," Dean had answered, "When I start acting out, you'll know it isn't me."
"And then what am I supposed to do?" Bobby wanted to know, "Hit you over the head and drag you back here to exorcise the dybbuk?"
Dean had shrugged, "Well, yeah."
Bobby shook his head, "It ain't going to work."
"It will. We can make it work. You're the best hunter I know," Dean protested, "All we have to do is be ready. Get stuff ready here and have you stick close by when it happens."
Bobby couldn't believe Dean was even suggesting something like this.
"It's too dangerous," he had argued.
Dean had taken a shaky breath, his eyes red-rimmed, "Please, Bobby. This thing killed Dad and almost killed Sammy. We have to make sure it never hurts anyone again."
Bobby had thought about it for a minute before agreeing. He was sure though, that he'd regret his decision.
W
At the same time Bobby's microphone, tiny thing that it was- the type that people on talk shows clipped to their shirts for clearer sound- was picking up Dean's conversation with Molly Llewellyn, the hunter in question was not in fact, listening in. No, Bobby had received an anxious call from a young, rookie hunter about how to get rid of some rather violent pixies and had rushed back to the Salvage Yard for a book on English Folklore and had forgotten all about the microphone.
SPN
Sam didn't even look up when Dean opened the door and stepped inside.
"Why aren't you ready? I told you to clean up five minutes ago," Dean snapped and Sam did look up at his sibling for the first time since waking up.
"I'm sorry-" Sam began but Dean shook his head, "Don't be sorry, just get your ass moving."
The boy frowned but did as he was told. He scraped his cereal into the trashcan and set his bowl and spoon on the table.
"Get your stuff," Dean announced, "We're leaving."
"Why?" Sam asked, "I thought we were staying here while they sprayed Bobby's house."
Dean glared at him, "Did I ask a question? Let's go."
Sam obediently grabbed his duffle bag and followed Dean out to the car. He wondered whom Dean had been talking to on the phone. Maybe that was why his brother was suddenly in such a bad mood.
"Are we going back to Bobby's?" Sam asked hopefully as he climbed into the passenger seat of the Impala.
"No," Dean answered simply and cranked the radio to an ear-splitting volume, Motorhead's 'All Gone To Hell' blaring.
Author's Note:
Chapter title comes from a Pearl Jam song of the same name.
Thanks to mandancie, BranchSuper, reannablue, SamDeanLover28, L.A.H.H, sarah, Jeanny, and angel1718 for reviewing.
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