Author's Note: I would like to give a special thanks to Princess de la Luna for your latest review.
I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters found there in. Alex and the Mayfair mythology are my own.
Chapter 5
Alex rubbed her temples as she listened to the argument between Kevin and Dean for what had to be the hundredth time in the past two days. All the prophet wanted to do was swing by and see that his mother was okay with his own eyes. If looking would have been enough she would have been on board, but she and the Winchesters knew that just seeing is mom wouldn't be enough. Kevin would want to talk to her. That was where the problem was.
It was clear to see just how frustrate Dean was getting. His replies were becoming short and choppy. This in turn was making Kevin get louder and louder. Alex looked across the table to Sam for some help. He just gave her a look that clearly said 'What do you want me to do?'
"Guys," she said once she had finally had enough, "stop it." Both men fell silent at her unexpected outburst. "Kevin I know you're concerned about your mom okay? I would be too, but you've got to understand. Crowley is going to have demons all over that place just waiting for you to show up. The minute you show your face he is going to be all over you like white on rice, and there is no guarantee that we'll be able to stop him this time. The best thing to do is to go get the tablet and lock those gates up forever. Once we do that I will personally take you to see her myself okay?"
"I get that we're in a hurry."
"Okay, well, then, what's the problem?" Dean asked as he continued to eat his burger.
"Channing's broken neck is my problem!" He banged his hand on the table for emphasis as he began to move to his feet, and people began to stare. Sam put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. Kevin sat back down. "I'd rather not see my mom twisted into a corkscrew."
"Kid's got a point guys," said Sam.
"Stay out of this!" "It's in the completely opposite direction!" Dean and Alex said in unison.
"Kevin, you mom is fine," Dead said flatly.
"How can you possibly know that?"
"What if I just go check in on her?" suggested Alex. "I'll grab a bike, pop on over to check on her, and then report back to you. How does that sound?"
"No, that's not good enough. I need to see her for myself." Alex's head came to rest on her folded arms as she worked to contain her frustration. "Guys, my mom's all alone. She's surrounded by demons. Can you really not understand why I want to make sure she's okay?"
The thought of Bobby being stranded on his own suddenly entered Alex's mind. He was a damned good hunter, one of the best she'd ever know, but if she knew that he was facing the kind of odds Mrs. Tran was more than likely up against she'd be on the road already. Slowly, she raised her head and looked at Dean. The elder Winchester paused in his eating to watch her. The look on her face screamed that she got what the kid was saying. Looking to his brother, he knew he was going to get the same thing and did.
"Son of a bitch," Dean said as he put down his precious bacon cheeseburger and threw his hands up in the air. " Fine. Let's go."
"Michigan it is then," Alex said. "I'll just go get us some dogie bags and meet you guys at the car."
She was a little surprised when Sam offered to help her carry the food. The two of them hadn't had a lot of time to talk in the last few days. She had roomed with Kevin while he was always in the adjoining room with his brother. Tensions were still pretty high between them, and Sam was clueless as to why.
As they packed up the food, Sam struggled to come up with a way to breech the topic. He kept pausing as if to speak just to return to his work a moment later.
"Spit it out, Sam." Alex could tell he wanted to say something, and the more he kept stopping himself the more frustrated she became.
"Why do you always take Dean's side?" The minute the words were out of his mouth he knew that he had asked the wrong question.
She stopped what she was doing and looked him square in the eye. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I didn't mean – look, it seems like you are purposely trying to shut me out and I don't know why."
Alex sighed and looked down. She knew he was right. If she was going to be pissed at him, she should tell him why. Pride was what was keeping her from confessing to Sam that she knew how he'd spent the last year of his life. She wanted him to want to tell her because she still meant something to him. That was not going to change.
"I'm sorry, Sam. Really I don't mean to shut you out, not really. It's just – I just don't know where anything stands anymore and that's hard for me to process. Dean and I spent a lot of time together in Purgatory. I trust his instincts. That doesn't mean that I trust you any less. I'm just still trying to get used to being top side again ya know?"
Sam nodded. She hopped that he really did understand. The things she said were mostly true. She was still adjusting to what the world was like now. She did trust Dean when it came to choosing a battle. She wanted to let Sam in all the way again. She just didn't know if it was safe to trust him with the heart he didn't even know he had broken.
Everything in the little suburban neighborhood was picture perfect. Luckily for them there was enough greenery in the center of the round to keep them relatively hidden while they checked in on Kevin's mother. A gardener was tending to the landscaping outside of the blue house she lived in. Sam watched through binoculars in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the woman in question.
"Tiger mom, 9 o'clock," he said.
Kevin quickly grabbed the binoculars so that he could see for himself. While he looked for his mother, Alex and Dean were observing everyone else in the neighborhood. None of them were acting the way they should. They kept repeating the same things over and over again around the Tran house while looking around. To the casual observer they would have just been enjoying the beautiful weather while going about their day, but to a trained hunter who knew the score, it meant only one thing. They were demons.
Dean said as much to the others. He pointed out their unusual behavior. As he did something dawned on Alex, she couldn't see their faces. Before her little field trip to the infernal regions of existence, she had been able to see their true faces. That's how she always knew who was a demon and who wasn't. How did I not notice this before? She thought back to the demons that attacked them at the church. The same was true for them. No demon faces.
Sam noticed the slightly distressed look on her face. "Hey, Alex. You okay?"
"Yeah," she said, shaking her head to clear her mind. "Just thinking."
"What's on your mind?" asked Dean.
Not wanting to alarm the boys, she came up with a cover. "They are all going to know what we look like right? They'll be on the lookout. Our best chance at getting past them is to take them out, but to do that we need to catch them off guard." She went on to explain her plan to the boys.
"No," Sam said. "We are not using you as bait."
"I'm the fastest runner, Sam. It makes more sense for me to do this."
After a moment he nodded his consent. She had a point. Dean reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the demon knife. He presented the handle to Alex.
"You take care of yourself ya hear?" he said.
"Always do." She gave them all a little smile before she began to walk towards the house while the boys got ready to take their places.
The gardener was the one to take notice of her. His eyes instantly went black when he realized who she was. Alex kept her hands behind her back as she approached so as not to show him the knife.
"Hey I was wondering if you could help me," she said.
"The king wants to see you."
She shrugged. "Guess not." Before he even knew what was happening, Alex had plunged the magical blade deep into his solar plexus. He gave a strangled scream before falling to his knees. Alex looked up to see the mailman turning in her direction and took off running.
The demon followed close on her heals. She burst through the gate at the side of the house, tossing the knife to a waiting Dean hidden in the shadows on the other side before running into the arms of a waiting Sam.
When the demon came in behind her, all he saw was Sam Winchester holding what appeared to be a frightened former queen of Hell. He gave them both a wicked smile. Delivering the Mayfair and Lucifer's vessel to the king would definitely earn him some brownie points. He was so focused on the two in front of him that he didn't notice Dean coming up behind him until it was too late.
With the outside guard dogs dispatched, Alex moved to the bushes and told Kevin it was safe to come out. The young prophet dusted himself off and straightened his clothes as best he could. He wanted to look his best when he finally saw his mother again. He looked at Alex for approval.
"You look great Kev. Now come on. Let's go."
He lead the way to the front door. The hunters took their positions on either side of the door just as he rang the doorbell. They waited for a moment. When the door finally opened, a huge smile appeared on Kevin's face.
"Hi, Mom."
The woman's hands flew to her face as she struggled to speak through the tears of joy quickly forming in her eyes. "Oh! Kev – Kevin!" She moved to embrace him but stopped short when the hunters threw holy water, borax, and silver dust on her to make sure she was in fact human. Satisfied that she had passed the test, they allowed Kevin to move forward and finally embrace his mother.
A small smile formed on Alex's face as she watched the happy reunion. It was what she had hopped her first moments with Sam would have been like. Now she was just struggling to keep from being angry with him all the time.
Mrs, Tran stepped back to allow them to enter. That's when the smell reached Alex's nostrils.
"Sulfur."
The hunters raced through the house to the kitchen and found black smoke pouring from a woman's mouth. Alex tried again to summon a trap, but it was no use. Sam began chanting. As he did, the smoke began flowing backwards into the woman's mouth. Dean stepped forward as soon as all of the smoke had receded back into her mouth and plunged the knife into her chest.
"Eunis!" yelled Mrs. Tran.
Alex turned to her. "I'm sorry Mrs, Tran, but that's not Eunice."
The sitting room chairs were some of the most comfortable the boys had ever sat in. They sat across the coffee table from Kevin and his mother. Alex remained standing near the window. She listened to the conversation while keeping an eye out for anymore black-eyed visitors.
Mrs. Tran seemed to be taking everything the boys were telling her in stride, but it was hard to tell. She hadn't spoken a word since they sat down. In fact, she gave so little indication as to what she was thinking, Kevin thought she didn't completely understand what her friend being possessed by a demon meant.
"Have you seen The Exorcist?" he asked.
Mrs. Tran rolled her eyes before looking at her son. "Is that what you've been doing all year – watching television?" Alex had to suppress a chuckle. "Did you really have to kill her?"
Dean was the one to offer her an answer. "The demon would have warned Crowley where Kevin was if we didn't."
"And Crowley is the one who kidnapped you?"
"Yeah," Kevin said. "He needs me to translate his stupid tablet so he can take over the universe or something."
"Which is why we need to get it so that we can slam the gates of Hell forever with Crowley inside," said Dean.
Sam was quick to back him. "So that things like that don't ever happen again."
She seemed to think about what they said for a minute. She gave a slight nod of her head and turned to her son. "Prophet of the Lord, huh? It does have a nice ring to it." Kevin smiled. "I'll get packed."
Everyone stood and Alex moved to join the boys. They all agreed that a safe house was the best place to keep them. This did not seem to make Mrs. Tran very happy.
"Safe house? I thought we were going to get the tablet?"
"Uh, we are," said Dean. "You're taking a trip to a demon-free zone."
"And risk letting Kevin fall into the hands of Crowley again? I don't think so."
"And that's why Alex here is going to be your personal body guard."
"Excuse me!" Alex exclaimed. "There is no way I'm setting this one out, Dean. Not a chance."
Sam placed a hand on the woman's shoulder in an attempt to keep her calm. "Dean's got a point Alex. You've got something over on demons that none of the rest of us do. You can do a better job protecting them than either of us can."
Alex didn't like to admit it, but Sam had a point. Even if her powers were a bit shaky as of late, she still carried the Mayfair mantel. The demons at the church had only gone for Dean. She had merely stepped in and sped up the fight. She gave a reluctant head nod and looked at her new charges.
"I won't let anything happen to either of you. I promise."
"Look," Mrs. Tran said, "I really appreciate that. I do. I'm sure that you are more than capable, but there is no way I am going to just sit around with my son and wait for this Crowley to show up."
"Crowley is the king of Hell. He's a real slimy bastard. He'll take your soul downstairs in a heartbeat if you let him. It's best if you let us handle this."
"I understand, but it's not my soul I'm worried about. It's my son's."
She folded her arms across her chest in an act of defiance. Alex gave her a small smile and nodded. If the shoe were on the other foot, she would be doing the same thing. Mrs. Tran had guts. Alex could respect that.
Dean, on the other hand, did not seem so inclined. "Kevin, you want to back us up here?" When the prophet said noting, the elder Winchester gave him a hard stare. "Came all the way down here to pull her out of the fire, and now she wants to jump right back in."
"Like I can tell her what to do?" Kevin said.
"Alex a little help here."
"Give it up, Dean," she said. "I know that look. She's coming with us. Besides, have you ever been able to make me do something I didn't want to?"
Dean studied the woman next to him for a moment. She had a little half smile on her face that told him just how amusing she found this whole situation to be. He knew arguing with her was pointless. If she said Mrs. Tran was going, she was going. An idea suddenly came to him. He gave a small chuckle and shrugged as he turned back to the prophet and his mother. "All right," he said. "Coming with us has conditions. Uh, hex bags to stay off the bad guys radar. Alex think you can work us up a few?"
"Yeah," she said. "I think I can manage that."
Dean prepared to play his trump card. "And, you're gunna have to get inked up."
Kevin looked absolutely mortified. "Do what now?"
"Yeah, uh…" Sam pulled the collar of his shirt down enough to reveal the anti-possession tattoo on his chest. "You, too, shortstop. Keeps the demons out."
Alex's mouth went dry when she saw Sam pull his shirt aside. She may not have been able to see much, but it was enough to allow her to see the outline of one of the hard muscles on his chest. Her mind instantly filled with images, memories of the last time the two of them had been together. Lifetimes had passed, but she could still remember what that chest felt like under her hands as he moved inside of her. She shook her head and blinked rapidly to clear her head. Thinking about Sam's body was not going to help them out in the current situation.
"Fine," she heard Mrs. Tran say.
"Really?" Dean asked.
"What, like it's my first tattoo?"
She turned on her heel and strode purposefully out of the room. Kevin just stared after his mother in complete shock before turning to look at the three hunters. Each had a smile of admiration on their faces, but when Alex saw the look of near horror on Kevin's face she laughed.
"Lighten up, Kev. She wasn't always a mom you know."
Making sure that the station was secure was number one on the hunters' priority list. Alex stayed with The Trans while the boys surveyed the area. Once the boys were satisfied that the coast was clear, they returned to the others.
Kevin led them to the locker and handed the key to Dean. "All right," he said. "Positive thoughts." He opened the locker and looked inside. Sam's head moved back slightly in confusion. When he looked back at Alex.
"What is is?" she asked as she stepped forward.
Dean pulled out a diaper bag and gave an unbelieving look to the prophet. "You hid the Word of God in a diaper bag?"
"No."
The hunter's all looked at each other in alarm at the confession. Dean ripped the bag open and started frantically looking through it. Nothing but diapers and rash cream greeted him. With a cry of "son of a bitch," Dean threw the bag back in the locker and slammed the door.
Everyone in the station stopped to look at them. Alex quickly realized that they had to do something and fast if they were going to avoid a scene. "Follow my lead," she told them before bursting into fake tears. The boys froze. Dean was actually so taken aback by her display that for a moment he though he was the one who made her cry and tried to apologize for yelling.
Sam recovered far more quickly than his brother. He wasn't exactly sure what she had planned, but he pulled her into his arms in what he hopped was a believable sign of comfort. Mrs. Tran also picked up on Alex's intentions and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"What seems to be the problem here?" asked a security guard.
"It… it's gone!" whaled Alex.
The guard drew back slightly, clearly uncomfortable.
"The urn."
"Urn?"
"I had my mother's ashes in that locker. She," Alex paused and tried to make it look like she was composing herself, "she wa- wanted us all to be together to spread her ashes. My boyfriend and I were in the process of moving out her to be able to help his brother start a business, so we didn't have a place to live. I decided to keep it here until my Aunt Linda and my little cousin could be her to help me spread her ashes. And… and now they're gone." She burst out into another loud wail of fake grief and threw her face into Sam's chest in an attempt to sell her story.
The guard looked between Alex and Mrs. Tran. He was not convince. "She's your niece?" he asked Mrs. Tran.
"She's adopted," Mrs. Tran replied ans she stepped closer to Alex in a show of comfort. "My sister couldn't have children. She always said that the day she signed the adoption papers was the day all her prayers were answered." Alex let out another cry for emphasis.
The guard started to become visibly uncomfortable as more and more people stopped to watch the display.
"Don't… don't cry lady," he pleaded. "Look, we've been having nothing but trouble with these lockers. Got broke into damn near every day for a while. Could never figure out who it was till yesterday."
"Oh, so you know who did it?" Sam asked.
"Sure. Was Clem Smedley, a guy who worked the desk before me. Between you and me they guys a real sleazeball."
Alex made a show a wiping her eyes as she let go of Sam ever so slightly to face the guard. "Is… is he down at County? I'd want to ask him where my mom is. I'm not mad at him. I just…. I just want her back," she said with a sniff.
"I shouldn't be telling you any of this, but I know what it's like to be adopted. Makes your parents even more important." Alex gave a little smile and nodded.
The guard told them everything they wanted to know about the culprit and where to find him. Satisfied that they knew all they needed to, they group left the station. Alex clung to Sam the entire way as not to blow their cover. Once they were outside and she was convinced it was safe, she detached herself from Sam's side and strode purposefully towards the Impala.
"What was that?" Dean asked.
"It's called improvising," said Alex. "Your little outburst was drawing too much attention, so I had to come up with something."
"You got to admit Dean," Sam said, "that was pretty good."
"Good?" asked Kevin. "It was awesome! Were you like an actor in another life or something?"
The boys visibly stiffened for a moment as memories of another time filled their heads. Quickly shaking it off, they all decided to head down to the jail and see what their little thief had to say.
Dressed in their fake FBI best, Alex and the boys strode into the county jail. It only took one look at the suits and the fake badges for the local authorities to let them in to see Clem. What was probably even less surprising that the locals cooperation, was the thief's unwillingness to talk to them.
The hunters quickly fell into their old routine. Dean would stand back and be intimidating while Sam would the logical businessman, and Alex provided the compassionate listener. Ten minutes of the usual dog and pony show had Alex becoming the straight forward one and Sam showing a little sympathy for the inmate.
Sam was used to playing that part when hunting with Dean. He was a little surprised at how quickly Alex seemed to bristle, but even he had his moment when he heard Clem's response to him asking where the tablet was.
"Can I even acknowledge that without my lawyer here?"
Alex rolled her eyes and looked over to Dean. She watched as the older Winchester began unloosening his tie. He locked eyes with her for a moment before flicking them back to Clem. She knew instantly what he was thinking. While she had to agree that it was not the smartest way to go, time was of the essence. They couldn't just sit around and wait for the guy to break. He needed a good shove.
"Uh, look," Sam said, completely unaware of the silent conversation between his companions., "I'm sure we can work out a little, uh, something-something with the locals if you just cooperate."
That was exactly what the man wanted to hear. "What kind of…" his question was cut off by Dean's tie as it was wrapped around his throat.
"Dean!" Sam yelled as he watched his brother drag the man to the wall. "Come on." His eyes went wide when he saw his brother put a knife against Clem's neck. He became even more panicked when he looked to Alex for help and found none. She was leaning back in her chair, arms crossed against her chest just watching. There was noting in her body language that said she was going to move. "Dean, let him go!"
"Not until he talks."
"Alex, a little help here?"
She never moved. Her eyes didn't even look to Sam as she spoke. "Where is the tablet, Clem?"
The frightened man looked to the woman who had seemed so nice earlier and felt his blood run cold at the stony expression on her face. "Pawn shop," he said. "First and Main."
Dean release the man and stepped back. "There. That wasn't so hard now was it?" he asked as he put away the blade before calmly retying his tie while walking to the other side of the table.
"Thank you for your cooperation," said Alex as she stood and followed Dean to the door.
Sam followed them in complete shock. He had never seen either of them act like that during an interrogation. For a moment he actually believed that Dean would kill the man. He wasn't sure what to think about Alex's behavior either. She had been firmly against Dean torturing Alistair. What could possibly make it okay for this to happen in her eyes? The more he thought about it, the more it bugged him. By the time they reached the Impala, he couldn't resist anymore.
"Since when are you guys okay with torturing people?"
Dean paused before opening his door and looked to his brother. "Look, Sam. He wasn't talking , and we are running low on time. I did what I had to do okay?"
"No, Dean. It's not okay. We could have gotten him to talk. All we needed was a few more minutes." He turned to the woman beside him. "Alex, how are you guys not seeing this?" She didn't look at him as she opened the door. "I know you guys went through a lot in Purgatory, but…"
The slamming of the door cut off his words and caused Sam to jump. Alex's eyes contained pure fire as she stared him down. "You're right, Sam. You don't know because you weren't there. You didn't spend every day down their busting your ass in hopes of making it to tomorrow. While we were fighting for our lives you were back here…" Alex realized that her temper was getting the best of her and put on the breaks before she said something she would regret, "shopping at freaking farmer's markets and doing yoga. Don't you even pretend that you can understand what it's like, Sam. I don't want to hear it."
Both Winchester's just stood there watching her as she quickly got into the back seat of the Impala and shut the door. Sam looked to Dean in hopes that his brother would be able to shed some light on her sudden outburst. Dean just shrugged and got behind the wheel leaving Sam to wonder what the kindest woman he had ever know had been through to make her so cold.
Chasing down leads was the most boring part of the job. Few hunters enjoyed doing it, but you had to do your research if you wanted to get the job done. Alex was fine with the book stuff. It was the running all over the planet trying to get people to talk that she wasn't so fond of. When Mrs. Tran had managed to get the guy at the pawn shop to talk with so little effort, she had quickly becoming her hero.
Mrs. Tran's quick work led them to the door Sam had just knocked on. When there was no answer, they checked the pawn slip again to make sure they were in the right place. Alex was about to suggest they come back later when they heard someone call Kevin's name.
Turning, they found a man standing behind them. He looked rather out of place in his tailored suit. The hat and cane were a bit much too.
Dean went on the defensive. "Who wants to know?"
"Oh, relax, Dean," the man said. "I'm not going to steal you Prophet." He turned his attention to Kevin's mother. "Ah. And you must be Kevin's mother. Um… Beau." He kissed her hand and turned his attention to Alex. He bowed low. "The great Alexandra Mayfair. May I say, it is my honor to met the queen of Hell?"
"Queen of Hell?" asked Mrs. Tran.
"It's not what it sounds like," said Alex without taking her eyes off of the man. "Trust me. I'll explain it to you later."
The man smiled at the both before looking behind them to the prophet. "Kevin, imagine my lick. Here I was, working so hard looking for you that I never stopped to think you might be looking for me. I have something for you."
All three hunters went for their weapons when they saw him reach into his jacket pocket.
"Oh relax," he said as he presented them with an envelope. "An invitation, my dears, to a very exclusive auction.
"Let me guess," said Dean., "where you'll be selling the tablet?"
"Well, when we acquire an item as hot as the Word of God, it's smart to unload it as fast as possible. And we are in such desperate need of a headliner for tonight's gala."
"Any chance you have four extra tickets in there for the rest of us?" asked Alex as she put away her gun. "I'd be very upset if you invited Kevin without thinking of the rest of us. You see, where he goes, we go."
"Oh, if you're worried about the safety of the Prophet, rest assured that we have a strict 'no casting, no cursing," he looked to Sam and Dean, "no supernaturally flicking the two of you against the wall just for the fun of it' policy."
Sam found it hard to believe. The wards this Beau described were in fact quite powerful. He wasn't sure if they could do all he was claiming.
"Well, I am the right hand of a god after all – Plutus, specifically."
"Is that even a planet anymore?" Dean quipped.
Alex rolled her eyes. If the little grin Dean was fighting was any indication, he was rather proud of his little joke. Beau went on as if he Dean was an idiot, which he was making himself out to be at the moment.
"It's the god of greed. And my liege has warded these premises against Hell, Heaven, and beyond. Even the lovely Alexandra could not do magic in this place. It is quite possibly the safest place you precious prophet could be." He studied their faces for a moment. It was clear that none of them were backing down. Letting out a sigh he said, "Perhaps I'll just go ahead and add a plus –four to the prophets invitation. Copacetic?"
"It'll do," Alex said.
He tossed the envelope into the air and vanished.
"Well, thank you, Mr. Peanut!" Dean bellowed. "All right," he turned to the rest of them. "What do we have to bid?" Sam scoffed. "What? We can't just show up there empty-handed."
"Dean," began Sam, "all we have to our names is a few hacked gold cards."
"Then we'll just have to come up with some more money." He turned his full attention to Alex. "Feel like hitting the tables?"
Alex shook her head. "Even if we pulled out the old drunken couple routine, there is no way we could come up with much before tonight. I checked out the bar earlier. There's not much there."
"Well, then, we're gunna have to get creative."
"Huh," Sam said. " Well…"
Dean followed his brother's eyes. Sam was focusing rather hard on Dean's beloved Impala. He looked from the car to his brother a few times before he fully comprehended what Sam was implying.
"No. . Say it and I will kill you, your children, and your grand children." Alex cleared her throat. "Sorry, Alex." He suddenly felt a little bad. If he was going after his brother's children, it was pretty safe for him to assume that they would also be her children. Well, at least he thought it was.
"It's okay. Nobody is going to do anything to anybody's babies. Human or metallic. Okay?" She looked back and forth between the boys, eyebrows raised to indicate she expected them to answer. They both nodded.
Everyone was silent for a moment until something came to Sam. "Wait a second. They – these auctions –they display the items to the bidders beforehand, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"So all we got to do is get Kevin close enough to memorize the spell."
Alex smiled. "Sam, I could kiss you right now." In truth, if she was honest with herself she was dying to kiss Sam. She just couldn't bring herself to do it until he confessed his secret to her.
"What do you think, braniac?" Dean asked. "Think you can swing it?"
Kevin looked a bit unsure of himself. He was mercifully spared from answering by his mother. "Of course he can swing it… if the bumper stickers on my Previa mean anything."
The others moved to leave while Dean just turned to his beloved Impala with sympathy. "They didn't mean it, Baby," he said as if begging forgiveness for the conversation a moment ago. Alex place a hand on his shoulder. There was a small smile on his face when Dean turned to looked at her. Her silent words told him that she understood and wouldn't have let Sam actually do anything to his most prized possession. He nodded in thanks before going to the driver's side and getting behind the wheel.
Not being armed was making Alex very uncomfortable. She couldn't even have a small boot knife at the auction. They all agreed to leave their weapons at the motel. Waiting to unload them in the Impala once they arrived would have been too tempting, so they left everything behind. At least that's what they had agreed on.
"Really, Dean?" chided Alex when the metal detector went off.
The elder Winchester gave her a sheepish look before he began handing over his weapons. Every time it looked like he was done, another weapon would manifest itself. He looked at the guards as he placed his final weapon, the demon knife, into the box. "I'll be back for this."
Display cases filled the room. Each one contained some rare artifact that most people would consider legend. A small gasp escaped Alex's lungs when her eyes landed on a rather large hammer.
"No way," she said as she approached the case, her voice no more than a whisper "Mjolnir."
Sam came to stand by her, just as awe struck as she was. "Are you serious?"
"What are you guys on about?" asked Dean. "It's just a hammer."
"Just a hammer?" said Alex. "This is Mjolnir." He gave her a blank look. "Thor's hammer..." Still nothing. "Marvel?"
"Oh yeah," said Dean. Leave it to the Winchester to only remember what something was because it was in an action movie. "So much for having to be worthy huh?"
While Dean thought he was being clever, the others just found him annoying. At least that is what the double bitch faces he got from Sam and Alex told him. You know for two people that aren't together anymore they sure do act alike, he thought before walking over to Kevin.
The teenager was looking dejectedly at the display case before him. The case held the tablet, but the words were covered so that none could read it. "I guess we're not as original as we thought," he said.
"It's okay," Sam said as he tried to calm his clearly upset brother. "It's okay. We just got to come up with a plan 'B'."
"And what, pray tell, could possibly have been plan 'A'," a heavily accented voice behind them said. "Bring the prophet to the most dangerous place on Earth, memorize the tabled, and the vamoose?" They all turned. "Hello boys. My lady."
Dean was the one to speak. "Crowley."
"Kevin. What a pleasure to see you. Sorry about your little playdate. Alexandra, given anymore thought to my little offer?"
"Answer's still no, Crowley."
"Ah well, never hurts to ask." He turned his attention to Mrs. Tran. "And who is this lovely young thing?" He directed his attention to Kevin for a moment. "Must be your sister." The sound of Mrs. Tran's palm meeting the king of Hell's face rang through the room.
"Stay away from my son."
"Charming," Crowley said as he watched her walk away. "Defiling her course just made number one on my to-do list." Dean stepped forward as if to fight him, but Sam and Alex held him back. "Unh, unh, uhn, unh. Don't mind a love tap, but anything more and our mookie pals here may just have to throw you out, and that would be a shame."
"He's right, Dean," said Sam. "It's not worth it."
"Listen to Moose, Squirrel."
"Let it go, Dean," Alex said calmly. "He'll get what's coming to him."
The elder Winchester seemed to hear what his brother and friend were saying as he visibly relaxed. There was just something about Crowley that pissed Dean off. He wasn't sure if it was the snarky comments or the way he kept trying to pull Alex to his side, but all he knew was just that he didn't like the demon at all.
A bald man entered the room and everyone moved to take their seats. Alex held Dean back for a moment to make sure he was okay. Once she was sure that he was going to be able to keep his cool in the room full of monsters, she took her hand from his arm and turned. Alex walked right into a young man in a fast food uniform.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"It's quite alright, Alexandra," he said.
Alex was instantly wary, "How do you know my name?"
The young man looked directly past her. "Dean Winchester?"
"Do I know you?" asked Dean.
"Uh, no," he said, "but, uh, I knew Castiel."
"You're an angel?"
Alex was instantly on high alert. There had only ever been one angel she dealt with that she felt she could trust, and he was currently in Purgatory. "Are you here for the tablet?"
"We protect the word of God."
"Well, awesome job so far, uh…" Dean paused to read the name tag on the uniform he wore, "Alfie."
"Actually, my name is Samandiriel."
"Nah," said Alex. "I think I like Alfie better."
The angel gave her a tight, closed mouth smile before asking them where Castiel was. Both hunters looked at the ground. Cas was not a topic they had discussed. Alex may not have seen what happened, but she knew Dean would not have just left the angel behind. She told the angel as much. All that Dean said was that Cas didn't make it. Alfie seemed to accept this answer.
"You know, there are some in Heaven who still believe, despite his mistakes, that Castiel's heart was always in the right place."
"Is that what you think?" Alex asked, studying the angel's face for any hint of deception.
"I think too much heart was always Castiel's problem."
With that, the angel walked away. Dean was lost in his memories of the final moments in Purgatory when the sound a a gavel bringing the auction to order reached his ears. Shaking his head, he came out of his stooper and gave Alex a weak smile. He could tell by the look on her face that she desperately wanted to know what had happened in their final moments in Purgatory, but she would never push. She would never ask. Dean would tell her when he was good and ready. There was no point in bringing it up until then.
Alex lead the way to the others. They took their seats on either side of Sam. Alex sat closer to the middle next to Mrs. Tran while Dean was near the end of the row. They all began passing everything of value they had in their possession to Sam as Beu began the auction.
Crowley sat behind them and noticed how they were pooling their limited resources. "Don't know why you're so keen on that hunk of dirt," he said unable to resist getting a little dig in. "So it tells you how to blast back a few demons? I'll just make more. Can't get rid of all my black-eye boys, Samantha."
Sam turned to the demon behind him. "Yeah, we'll see."
There was something in the way the younger Winchester said these words that gave him pause. When he saw the smug look on the female hunter's face, he knew that there was something far more important of that tablet than just the spell Kevin had use to escape.
The first item brought up for action was something none of them had ever heard of before, but none of them cared. They were only there for one thing. They didn't even look up until they heard what the opening bid was.
"Let's start the bidding with, um, three tons of dwarven gold?"
Five heads quickly popped up to stair wide-eyed at Beau. The bids quickly began to climb higher and higher. Sam looked down at the measly 2 grand in his hand and instantly knew they were in trouble.
"Plan C?" he asked.
Dean quickly agreed. "Big time."
"Guys," Alex said as she leaned in a bit closer to the two brothers, "I think we are a bit out of our league here."
Dean's eyes followed one of the auction staff members as he wheeled a cart out of the room with several items on it, a plan forming in his mind. "I'm gunna head to the restroom."
Alex followed the path his eyes took. Realizing what he intended to do, she gave him a hard look. "Don't take to long," she said. "Hate for you to miss the auction."
Dean gave her a nod. "I'll be right back."
As he watched his brother go, Sam started trying to come up with ways for them to make a quick exit if Dean was somehow able to pull this off. Alex on the other hand was trying to come up with something to bid. She admired Dean's courage, but she knew there was no way he was going to be able to steel that tablet.
The Impala is out, she thought. A soccer mom isn't going to have anything to offer these guys, and there is no way I'm letting the boys make another sacrifice play. I don't think I could handle having to get either of them out of Hell again.
It was when a little old man in front of her held up a bloodstained paper bag and bid 5/8 of a virgin that an idea came to her. "Sam," she said, "I know what we can bid."
"What?"
"Me." Sam looked at her in confusion. "I'm the Mayfair. You can bid me."
Sam's eyes went wide as a small trickle of fear worked it's way up his spine as he realized she was deadly serious. "No, Alex. No. There is no way I'm letting you do this."
"Do what?" said Dean as he came to sit beside his brother. "Plan C tanked."
"Maybe you should try plan D for dumbass," Crowley offered.
Sam didn't even look at the demon or acknowledge his remark in any way. He did not get a chance to tell his brother Alex's insane idea as Beau stepped up with the main event of the night.
"Our next log, the Word of God." He held up the tabled for all to see. "Capitol 'G'. Very old. Very rare."
Crowley didn't even wait for him to finish before jumping to his feet to place his first bid. "Three billion dollars."
"Whoa," the boys said in unison as they turned to look at the king of Hell.
Alex, on the other hand, just stared straight ahead. Each bid that was placed made her even more anxious. Things were getting out of hand fast. If she was going to do something she would need to do it fast. Her muscles had grown so tense that she began to twitch. The man beside her could feel the tension coming off of her.
He could see the wheels spinning in her head. Her mind was going full stem ahead, and Sam did not like the destination. He placed a hand on her jittering knee. Her knee instantly stopped bouncing as she looked over to him. There was a pleading look in his eyes. The small shake of his head told her that he knew what she wanted to do, and he wasn't willing to let her do it.
"Ah, I'm sorry, gentlemen," Beau's voice brought them back to attention as they broke eye contact and looked to the front. "It seems that out reserve price has not been met. So in order to stimulate the bidding, we're going to add an item to this lot." He pointed to the crowed. "Kevin Tran, Prophet of the Lord."
Kevin suddenly found himself on the platform, chained to a pole near Platus' feet.
"No!" Mrs. Tran exclaimed as she shot to her feet. She started naming off everything she owned in an attempt to save her son, desperation clear in her voice. The god only chuckled. He was not interested in material possessions. Both he and Alex knew it.
The hunter rose to her feet and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. She gave her a reassuring smile before squaring her shoulders and facing Plutus.
Sam, knowing what she was about to do, reached for her hand. "Alex, please don't do this," he begged.
She gave him one quick look before facing the front again. "I bid the Mayfair."
"Alex!" said Dean. "Sit down!"
" No, Dean." She shook her head at him as a small murmur moved through the crowd. Few fully understood what it was she was offering.
"Pardon?" Beau asked. "Why would a god want something a ridiculous as an old ship?"
"I'm not talking about a ship." She felt a squeeze on her hand and turned to look at Sam. His face was a mixture of pleading and panic. For a moment, Alex felt like she had been taken back in time. As she looked into his hazel eyes she found herself back at a time before Purgatory, before Heaven and Hell, even before Lucifer. For a moment, Sam was hers once again. Her heart swelled again with love for the man beside her. It was that love that pushed her forward. No doubt in her mind that if she backed out now that Dean would do something stupid to save Kevin, and Sam would follow right behind him. She gave him a small smile and addressed Plutus again. "The Mayfair I'm talking about is not a ship. It's a mantel. My mantel."
"And?"
Alex began to talk about her family's history. She explained the power that the Mayfair held and the things she had been able to do.
Beau looked to his patron who just shook his head no.
"I'm sorry. A god has no need for your petty parlor tricks."
"Nice try Alexandra," Crowley said. "Better luck next time."
At the sound of Crowley's voice she had an idea.
"I can give you Hell."
"What?!" Crowley yelled.
Alex gave him a little smile. Two can play at this game. "The Mayfair is not just magic. It's a throne. The throne of Hell. I am the rightful queen. If you accept my offer I can give you the keys to a kingdom."
"No she can't. It's my bloody kingdom!"
Crowley looked as if he was ready to murder the woman when a few rather large associates came to stand near them. The show of force was not lost on the demon who instantly tried to calm himself.
Beau conferred with Plutus for a moment. The god spoke. "It's a good offer, but I'm afraid it's not good enough."
Sam let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. Since the moment Alex stood, his heart had been in his throat. If she managed to pull this off they would have the tablet, but it would also make her extremely vulnerable. Her powers had saved their asses more times than he could count. She was a skilled hunter and could fight without them it was true, but knowing that demons couldn't touch her and a witches curse could not kill her had always brought a sense of comfort to his mind. It was a comfort he was not ready to lose.
"As appealing as it is, if I take your offer I'll have a civil war on my hands. That's something I don't really fancy as payment."
The small Asian woman was stunned by this turn of events. She watched the hunter give her an apologetic smile before retaking her seat. By the reaction the Winchester's gave at her words, she knew that what the girl had offered was far more than she was letting on. She was grateful to her for trying, but now it was up to her to save her son.
"I bid my soul!"
"Are you sure?" Dean asked "That's a big move."
The woman nodded. Plutus, obviously intrigued by the offer sat forward in his chair. Crowley tried to offer him all of the souls in Hell, but that did not have the same appeal to him as the single soul did.
"This lady's soul is the most valuable thing she has. It's everything." There was a slight pause.
"Congrats, sweetheart." He dropped a gavel and brought the auction to a close.
Mrs. Tran could not seem to stop shaking. The realization of what she had done began to sink in. She didn't regret it one bit, but that did not mean that the prospect of losing her soul didn't scare the shit out of her.
A warm hand clasped hers. She looked up to see Alex taking a seat beside her. She gave her a reassuring smile as she squeezed her hand a little bit tighter. As she looked at the young hunter, she could not help but voice her fears.
"Losing my soul… is it going to hurt?"
"Probably," said Dean. His own experience had involve hell-hounds after all, and that was all he really had to go on.
"Will I die?"
"No." Sam was the one to answer this time. "You'll just wish you were dead." Looking to Alex, he saw the pained expression on her face. He knew that Dean had told her a bit about what happened while she was gone. There were still times he would wake in a cold sweat in the middle of the night after his dream turned into a hellish nightmare of a memory reminding him of what he had done during that year.
When Alex herd Mrs. Tran whisper an "okay" she grasped her hand tighter and wrapped her other arm around her in a side hug.
Beau entered the room and walked straight to the women. "It's time," he said.
The boys stood while Alex remained seated on Mrs. Tran's side. The woman asked for a few moments. Beau nodded and walked away. Sam and Dean looked to Alex. She gave them a small nod, ensuring them that she had it handled. She was not going to leave the older woman's side until she wanted her to.
"I'm okay," she said. "You can go with them."
"Are you sure?" Alex asked. When Mrs. Tran nodded, Alex gave her one final squeeze before leaving to join the boys.
Alex looked on in disgust as the little old man from before held Mjlonir like and old lover. It made her afraid of what he would do with it, what he had done with it. Anyone who would bid 5/8 of a virgin obviously did not have any qualms about using the hammer's powers. She moved through the room examining everyone's features, trying to figure out who and what they all were.
All of the other items had been handed out. They were just waiting for Kevin to appear with the tablet.
"Where's the kid?" Dean asked.
Plutus snapped his fingers and Kevin suddenly appeared before them. A relieved smile appeared on Mrs. Tran's face for a moment before being replaced with trepidation once more.
"What are you gunna do with her soul?" Sam asked.
"Whatever I want," the god replied. "I might sell it, or maybe I'll just tuck it away with my other precious objects, let them keep me warm at night." He chuckled when he saw the fear on the woman's face.
Mrs. Tran reached forward , and Dean noticed there was something off about her arm. "Wait!" he exclaimed before grabbing her arm and pushing her sleeve aside. A large burn took the place of the anti-possession tattoo. Something was definitely wrong.
Crowley's voice sounded from her mouth. "Hello, boys." Here eyes were the red of a crossroads demon as she gave the boys a wicked smile and sent them flying.
A stunned look appeared on Alex's face as she watched Beau kill Plutus. When she looked to what had once been Mrs. Tran her blood began to boil. "See you later love," Crowley said before he grabbed the tablet, turned, and sprinted away. Alex quickly followed behind.
Sam called out her name as she ran past him, but she didn't slow down. He was having a hard time getting to his feet. They would both be long gone before he could reach her. Dean however had made it to his feet. He grabbed his precious demon knife from the box of weapons near by and gave chase to the two women who had fled. He didn't see them in the hallway, but he could hear their footsteps up ahead.
Alex was gaining on Crowley. Mrs. Tran was no slouch in the physical fitness department, but Alex spent the last 300 years doing nothing by fighting to stay alive. The gap between them quickly closed until Alex was able to throw her arms around the smaller woman and tackle her to the ground.
Both women grunted as they hit the floor. Alex used all of her strength to push herself up and roll Crowley over. She straddled the demon to keep him on the ground and raised her fist.
"Let her go, Crowley. Now!"
"Now why would I do that. I rather like this view."
The smug look on the demon's face as he looked her up and down infuriated her. Alex lashed out and punched the demon in the face, careful not to do too much damage to the vesicle but enough to get her point across.
"Oh what's the matter, Alexandra? Can't force me to do what you say anymore?"
"Well see about that?" She raised her fist and prepared to strike again when his words stopped her.
"Tell me. How many spells have you been able to do since making your grand reentry to the world? Hum? My guess would be zero." A cold chill ran down Alex's spine as she slowly lowered her arm. Her mind was racing to figure out how he knew this, but nothing would come to her. "I know where your magic is, and if you ever want to see it again, you'll let me go."
Having her magic back would make things much easier for the former witch. Not only would the spells she once relied so heavily upon on hunts return to her, she would be able to look into Sam's mind. She would finally be able to get the answers from him that she so wanted.
Crowley, sensing her inner turmoil, decide to strike. "Face it, Alexandra. Without your little bag of tricks the only thing keeping you in one piece is my say so."
That was not the most intelligent thing he could have said. Alex's rage rose once more. She proceeded to punch him over and over again until Dean pulled her off. As he removed her, she reached for the tablet and sent it flying across the room.
"Mom!" Kevin yelled when he entered the room and saw his mother lying bloody on the floor.
Red smoke began to billow from her mouth. There was a slight pause before a door on the other side of the room opened to reviel Crowley once again in his proper form.
"Well, that was exciting," He said. " Good luck closing the gates of Hell…" he picked up the tablet from the ground, "… without this." He looked directly at Alex. " Call me when you are ready to make a deal." Then he vanished.
"Crowley!" Alex yelled. "Get back here you son of a bitch!" Sam came up and placed a and on her shoulder trying to calm her. Neither he nor his brother could figure out why she was so upset. They hadn't heard what Crowley said to her about her magic. They weren't even aware that her magic was gone. How does he know? Alex wonder. How the hell does he know?
The tension in the room was palpable. Kevin sat in front of his unresponsive mother. Mrs. Tran hadn't said a word since Crowley left her. The boys had cleaned her up as best they could. While Alex had the best first aid skills, Kevin wouldn't let her near his mother.
He had followed Sam into the room to find Dean pulling her off of his bloody, beaten mother. Sam had had to restrain the prophet from attacking his former lover when the realization of what happened dawned on him. The hateful words he had yelled at her were well deserved. Dean had tried to make him see that it was Crowley she was going after and not his mother, but Alex had placed a hand on his shoulder and silence him.
She understood where the young man was coming from. She still remembered what it was like to see Sam and Bobby taken over by a demon. The pain inflicted on the demon had also effected them. Seeing Sam writhe in pain as holy water was splashed on him had been difficult. Watching her father stab himself in the gut to stop the demon inside him had been even more so. She got it. If she had been in his shoes she would have reacted the same way.
The silence was finally broken when Kevin spoke, "I just want to talk to my mom alone."
"Sure," Sam said. "Five minutes."
The hunters walked out of the room to give them a few moments. Dean closed the door behind them and turned to find Sam giving Alex quite the tongue lashing. He could tell from the look on his face that she felt bad enough about Mrs. Tran. His brother berating her wasn't going to help anything.
"Alex, what were you thinking?" She did not look at him. "Alex?!"
"It was Crowley, Sam. You know? The King of Hell? How much better would our lives be if he was out of the picture?"
"It will be a lot better when we lock the gates of Hell. Why couldn't you just…"
"Sam, stop," Dean said.
"No. What the hell happened to you? First that guy at the jail and now this. I've never seen you this what. What is going on?"
Alex fixed her blue eyes to his hazel ones. She wished more than anything that she could tell him all that had happened. But she knew the second she did the way he looked at her would change. She already had to deal with the fact that he no longer had the look of love in his eyes that she had dreamed of seeing again for so long. Now he only looked at her with caring. Not love or even lust. Just simple affection. Once he knew the truth, he would look at her with pity. That would be her undoing.
Dean watched the exchange with baited breath. He had wanted his brother and best friend to have a sit down ever since they got back. He wanted to tell Sam himself what had happened, but it wasn't his place to say anything. Alex would tell him when she was good and ready. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't realized the sound coming from the other room. The sound of silence.
"Guys, it seem a little quiet in there to you?"
They all stopped for a second to listen. When they heard nothing, Dean opened the door and they all rushed inside. There was no sign of Kevin or his mother anywhere. Sam started calling out to the boy, but there was no response.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Dean yelled when it became obvious that the prophet was gone.
There minds all went to Crowley and thoughts of him once again taking Kevin prisoner until Alex noticed a small note resting on one of the chairs.
"Guys, look at this," she said as she unfolded the paper and began reading.
Guys,
I'm taking Mom and getting out of here. Don't come looking for me. I'll be fine. Crowley has the tablet, so you don't need me anymore. Take care of yourselves.
- Kevin
"What's that kid thinking?" Sam asked in exasperation.
"He's thinking everyone around us always ends up dead," said Dean.
"Why would he think that?"
"I heard Alfie say something to him," Dean said.
They all lost themselves in thought for a moment. There was no denying that they did a lot of good in this world, but it was also true that disaster clung to them like a cheep suit. Death was quite literally like an old friend, and it was only a matter of time before he came to visit again.
Okay guys, what do you think? There hasn't been a lot of feedback so it's been hard to keep writing. Review and let me know if you want me to keep going with the story.