Okay, here is the usual disclaimer: I do not own supernatural, nor any character created by the show, nor some of the ones in this story 'cause I stole them from almost 'real' life (my friends). Nor am I making any money from this unless my friends try and bribe me not to put it up, but I will anyway, so alas no money.
A/N: This came about due to the fanfic written after last season's finale and I finally have the guts to write it. Please understand this isn't an attack on anyone who enjoys these stories, it is merely how I think Dean and Sam would feel about what was written. Also apologies for it being so short but I've got the other chapter almost ready to go so I thought I'd post this before the 18th.
Beta'd: morning sunlight gave her wondrous talents to this chapter in the form of support and suggestions that pushed me onward.
Thanks to: griffen-girl02 aka Ellen, thanks for taking the time to read it over and throw a couple good plot points my way.
Good writing
Serenity for all
Sincerely Rae Artemis
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Hiatuses Are Hell
"Where's your computer?" Dean asked as he popped into existence beside Rae on the concrete picnic table.
"Whaidshfdskjhgio!" Rae shrieked as she jumped sideways off the table, overturning her electric lantern as she landed in a heap on the damp lakeshore.
"Nice." Dean chuckled, as he leaned back on the cold tabletop, staring at the far shore of the lake, his eyes growing distant.
"Jerk." Sam muttered as he literally materialized out of the dark, having appeared just in time to see Dean and Rae's interaction. He leaned over Rae, helping her up from her crash landing.
"What? All I did was ask her a question." Dean protested his innocence, attempting his version of Sam's patented puppy dog eyes.
"Argh!" Rae groaned as Sam's strong grip lifted her off the ground and off her feet. "Geez when did you get so comfy with the 'ghosting'? I thought you hated it?"
"Hey I've spent the last long while as either a ghost, a demon, or just in plain old Hell." Dean levelled mildly unbalanced eyes at her. "I'm just happy to be here, even if I do have to travel around like a spook." He chomped nervously on his gum, left leg twitching slightly as he stared into the distance again.
"Sam, could I speak with you?" Rae gave Dean a bright, cheery smile. "Over here?"
Leaving Dean suddenly and oddly still on the bench, staring at the lake, his face blank. Rae stared at the silhouette, not sure what was going on but quite certain she didn't like it.
"What the Hell is going on with him Sam?" Rae hissed, bringing her worried gaze to Sam, who stood with his hands shoved into his pockets and his head slumped forward. "I saw you guys little more than two weeks ago, what happened to him?"
"Rae, you last saw us just over a month ago and it's been a hard month." Sam sighed and scrubbed at his face, which Rae noticed was unshaven and hollow. "After that damn season finale it was okay for a little while. People wrote stories that it was only a vision or a dream or something like that. But pretty soon the writers were accepting it." Sam almost spat 'accepting'. "They began to detail his Hell, torture him or demonize him…"
"And you."
Sam and Rae both jumped as Dean stepped out of a very deep shadow, cast by the tall trees. Rae actually squeaked in terror, causing both Dean and Sam to look at her with amused looks.
"Sorry, you uh, startled me." Rae strangled out, her heart pounding against her ribs. Without warning Dean giggled, which caused Sam to snicker at him, which in turn made Rae chuckled. A slightly mentally unbalanced look was passed around and the trio broke up into hysterical laughter. Rae was laughing so hard that she had to sit down before she fell. In short order Sam and Dean landed beside her, still laughing and wiping the tears from their eyes.
"Wow, that was random, eh?" Rae gasped out, one hand on her stomach sore from the laughter.
"I think I needed that." Dean muttered, staring at the starry sky with a look of wonder.
"I know you did." Sam stated, his grinning brother was a sight for very sore eyes. "And I sure as Hell did."
"Was I really that bad, Sammy?" He asked, almost off handedly his eyes still glued to the night's sky, not noticing Sam's eyes tearing up at the usage of 'Sammy'.
"Yeah and the fanfic stories were even harder."
"Well…hey how about Vegas now?" A maniacal tone slid into Dean's voice, the joy of the laughter fading, by and by.
"How about a vacation?" Rae suggested, not wanting to see the strange sadness return, her presence nearly forgotten by the brothers.
"Sure, but how?" Sam muttered, kicking at a stone near his foot. "We're on duty 24/7, no matter how we try we always seem to get dragged away."
"But you guys hang out and, well it seems like you do your own thing and-"
"And yet we're always dragged back to the pit." Dean just about growled, the joy completely gone and the previous stillness infecting him again.
"If there's a way we don't know it." Sam said, apologetically to Rae, his voice hollow and fading.
She pushed herself off the muddy path and dusted off her jeans, looking down at them in the dim light.
"Screw that! There's got to be a way for you guys to get a little R&R, especially this summer." She looked down at their pale faces looking back up at her, without hope. "Oh come on guys, I can so figure this out! Just give me a little time, I'll have you kicking back with beers and beach bunnies in no time."
Sam gave Dean a look that to the average observer would mean nothing but between siblings it was a conversation in itself. They traded a few complicated looks and eyebrow raises before nodding and reaching up to apparently seal the deal by shaking Rae's hands. Just as they touched her outstretched digits they faded and were pulled back to fanfic, something Rae had never seen before. It really was a busy summer for poor Sam and Dean.
She shuffled listlessly back to previous perch on the picnic table, crouching to collect her laptop replacements for the night, her book and pen. Her electric lantern had somehow cracked its plastic cover, and now a small piece was missing exposing the little naked light bulb within, making the light too harsh. The damp had gotten into the paper of her book, causing the page to stick together and the pen ink to smear.
"Perfect." Rae muttered, fighting the childish urge to throw a tantrum, toss her book into the lake and have a little scream. "Bloody freaking brilliant."
She closed her eyes and let the sound of the lake, the wind through the trees, and all the other quiet sounds calm her. Are there stars in Hell? Rae wondered opening her eyes to stare up at what had entranced Dean earlier, probably not.
"He shouldn't be there. Not all summer, not there." Rae shifted as the wind picked up and the lake became choppy. "I won't leave him there. Hell if anyone deserves a vacation those two do." She nodded to herself, the plan forming in her head like one of her story ideas. "I've got work to do."
Rae turned from the lake, now thoroughly chilled by the wind and walked back up to her car. As she did the cliché nature of her last sentence caught up with her and she couldn't help but laugh at how melodramatic she must have sounded.
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A/N2: Pretty, pretty please review my story? With a cherry on top? Reviews make the world go 'round, or in my world they do, so please? I'd do puppy dog eyes but Sam has trademarked them.