Author's Note: There is a surprise in this one. Let me know what you think about it by reviewing.
Running Away And Staying Awhile
By: giddyfan
Chapter 2
As soon as they get back to the bunker Roxanne took off in her car in search of Dean. She knew that she would be useless hanging with Cas and Sam so she decided that she was going to prevent Dean from being stupid. It took her a few days to track him down but Roxanne eventually did. She silently thanked her police officer dad for teaching her tracking, tracing cell phones, and fighting. Roxanne enters the bar and sees Dean and Crowley sitting at the bar. As she walks up she hears something about Dean and Crowley hunting together.
"Why would he want to hunt with you?" Roxanne announces herself sitting on the other side of Dean.
"Roxanne. What are you doing here?" Dean asks her.
She smiles at him, "Making sure you don't do anything stupid." Dean rolls his eyes and takes a journal out of his jacket. He goes through it until he stops at a page.
"Oh yeah, here it is. Yeah, he picked up a protégé who had bones with Abaddon, but that's about all it says in here," Dean tells them.
"What do those numbers in the margins mean?" Crowley inquires.
"None of your business," Dean answers pulling the journal away from Crowley's reach. Roxanne grabs the journal out of Dean's hands and dangles it out of his grasp. Dean sighs and gives up, "It's a code, one of my dad's storage lockers. He may have put something about the case there."
"What does the 'T' next to the numbers mean?" Roxanne questions as Dean gets the journal back.
"Not a clue," Dean truthfully says.
"Fine. Let's go find daddy's man cave, then, shall we?" Crowley exclaims.
"And how do we know this isn't a trap?" Dean wonders.
"You don't. That's what makes it fun," Crowley conveys.
Dean and Roxanne share a look then follow Crowley out the door. Before they leave Roxanne writes a note saying to call Sam so her car can be returned to the bunker. She puts it under the windshield wiper and gets into the Impala. About halfway there Dean covers Crowley's head with a black hood so he can't see where the locker is. Dean leads Crowley in and he throws Roxanne the keys so she can unlock it. She opens it and they all step in. Dean removes Crowley's hood.
"Is all this really necessary? I mean, I've been inside your brother. We're practically family," Crowley comments. Dean's eyes flash with rage and he grabs Crowley shoving him against a shelf. Roxanne springs into action and immediately tries to break them apart.
"Listen to me. We are the furthest thing from family. You got that, dickbag?" Dean declares. Roxanne finally pushes Dean away. "Now, you want to hunt? Let's hunt," Dean commands. Dean and Roxanne walk through a gate and start going through some files. Crowley stays outside because of the devil's trap. Roxanne tries to ignore his constant talking.
"Will you shut up," she huffs at him. Crowley smirks at her.
"Here we go," Dean calls pulling out a file. "Looks like my dad was working with another hunter when he nabbed Abaddon's pet," Dean informs them. Roxanne sees the picture of a nice looking woman that is in the file. Roxanne silently reads the file with Dean.
"I guess the "T" didn't stand for terrible father. It stood for…," Crowley starts.
"Tara," Dean finishes. "Doesn't ring a bell. All right, looks like they interrogated the demon. Then they exorcised him. But not before he mentioned the First Blade," Dean reads.
"I love it when I'm right," Crowley smugly says. Roxanne is getting real tired of Crowley.
"Yeah, well, the rest of the file's empty, genius," Dean expresses.
"What? Didn't they teach note-taking at Hunters Hogwarts?" Crowley complains.
"Let's go see if Tara's still alive," Roxanne suggests. Dean puts the hood back on Crowley's head and Roxanne locks up the locker. Eventually they find the address in the file. It is a pawn shop called Tara's. They walk in a see a woman in her late fifties behind the counter reading a comic book.
"Tara?" Dean asks when she looks up.
"That's what the sign says. Can I help you?" she responds.
"Yeah. Hope so. John Winchester ring a bell? I'm his son," Dean tells her. She looks surprised then grabs her right knee wincing.
"You Sam or Dean?" she inquires.
"Dean," he answers her.
"Well, didn't you grow up pretty. Still in the family business?" Tara wonders.
"Yeah, born and raised. Listen, bunch of years back, you worked a job with my dad. Well, me and my, uh, associates h…," Dean begins to explain. Suddenly Tara raises a shotgun and aims it at them.
"Ever since '92, I get a painful little tickle in what's left of my knee whenever a demon is around," Tara reveals.
"Hunters. So trusting. I'll go grab a latte while you get this sorted," Crowley replies. He snaps his fingers but nothing happens.
"Devil's trap under the knock-off Persian, jackass," Tara explains. Dean moves the rug with his boot to reveal a red devil's trap. Tara grabs a bottle of holy water and splashes kit in Dean's and Roxanne's face.
"See? We're good," Dean says sounding annoyed.
"Look we wish we weren't working with this slimy dickbag but his is helping us out," Roxanne admits wiping her face.
"Helping you with what?" Tara questions.
"We are hunting the First Blade because we are hunting a Knight of Hell," Dean conveys.
"Why? They're all dead," Tara remarks.
"One came back, Abaddon," Dean discloses. Tara gets out a file and talks about how she found out about the Blade and how she never found it.
"And all I found? A location spell for the blade that I could never finish," she tells them getting a tray of ingredients out of her safe. "Couldn't find one ingredient, essence of Kraken," she relates.
"Kraken? I got a warehouse full of Kraken essence in Belize. Break the trap, I can be there and back before you say, 'presto,'" Crowley reports.
"Presto," Tara voices.
"I can help," Crowley protests.
"He wants Abaddon as dead as we do," Dean supports.
"If your daddy could see you now," Tara says. Roxanne takes that as a yes and scratches the edges of the devil's trap. Crowley disappears. Dean and Tara exchange a few words and Crowley reappears less than a minute later.
"Shall we?" he says holding up a small jar.
The four of them mix the ingredients into a bowl and then pour the concoction on a map of the United States. Roxanne takes a step back as Dean lights a match and sets the map on fire. The flames spread to the corners and burn the map except for one state. Missouri. A spark lands in the middle of the state giving them a precise location.
"Missouri. Figures," Tara remarks.
"Would you care to join us?" Crowley asks.
"Them? Anytime. You? Never," Tara answers.
"Thanks," Dean thanks Tara.
"Good luck, Dean. You're gonna need it," Tara wishes him. It takes almost the rest of the day to get to Missouri and it is late afternoon before they pull up to a farmhouse. They get out and start to walk towards the house but Crowley stops.
"Wait," Crowley warns.
"What?" Roxanne inquires.
"I'm feeling something dark," Crowley explains.
"What, darker than you?" Dean questions. Crowley looks in a certain direction and Dean plus Roxanne turn to see a man in a beekeeper suit.
"Oh, no. We need to leave here now," Crowley sounds frightened.
"What, are you allergic to bees?" Dean wonders.
"That's not a beekeeper. That's the father of murder," Crowley explains.
"Cain?" Roxanne inquires not believing Crowley.
"We need to be a world away from here, from him," Crowley declares. Crowley turns around and Cain is standing right in front of him.
"You're not going anywhere. Crowley," Cain says. They are led inside. Crowley and Roxanne sit on one of the couches while Dean looks around the room. Roxanne does her own observations from her seat. She notices a picture of a girl on the mantle.
"Why don't you just zap out of here?" Dean wonders noticing Crowley's panicked state.
"He probably can't," Roxanne comments.
"Cain's doing something to me," Crowley admits.
"Well it's not your day for getaways, is it? All right, so, tell me about this Cain," Dean says.
"Well, after Cain killed Abel, he became a demon," Crowley informs them.
"What do you mean 'became a demon'?" Roxanne asks.
"I mean he became the deadliest demon to walk the face of the earth. And then he just...disappeared. Everyone thought he was dead or, at least, hoped he was," Crowley explains. Cain comes in with a tea tray. Crowley looks even more frightened. Roxanne observes Cain as he hands out the tea and talks about bees. She sees a darkness in his eyes. It is sort of what Dean looks like when someone threatens Sam.
"So, what are the King of Hell, a Winchester, and a young woman doing at my house?" Cain inquires.
"Roxanne. I'm new to the supernatural world. But you know who they are?" Roxanne responds.
"I'm retired. I'm not dead. How did you found me?" Cain answers.
"That's a funny story, really. Bit of a misunderstanding. We really should…," Crowley stumbles.
Cain puts a finger to his lips and whispers, "Shhhh." Crowley is now unable to speak.
"Teach me," Roxanne exclaims.
"Why are you here?" Cain ignores Roxanne.
"We're looking for the First Blade. We need it to kill a Knight of Hell, Abaddon," Dean informs Cain. Both Roxanne and Dean notice Cain absentmindedly moving a ring on his left ring finger. So that was why he retired. "Look, I get it. You're retired. We're not here to get between you and the demonic AARP, but it's bad out there, and I'm just looking to even the odds," Dean tries to reason.
"How did you find me?" Cain demands.
"We didn't. The location spell was for the blade," Roxanne answers for Dean.
"Anyone else know you're here?" Cain questions.
"No," Dean lies smoothly.
Cain stands up saying, "Well, it's been a pleasure having company, but you can let yourselves out."
Dean follows after him, "We're not leaving here without the Blade." Roxanne doesn't want to push Cain but they need that blade.
"If your friend here could talk, he would tell you that I trained the Knights of Hell. Abaddon included," Cain reveals.
"Well, that is information I could have used five minutes ago," Dean turns to Crowley. Crowley just gasps.
"Well, here's something only Abaddon knows. It wasn't the archangels that slaughtered the knights, it was me," Cain admits.
"Why did you turn on your own?" Dean wonders.
"I admire your bravery. I have errands to run in town. Goodbye. Never return," Cain dismisses them. The three of them leave the house.
"Can we leave the country now?" Crowley suggests.
"We're not leaving," Dean says.
"Will you listen to reason?" Crowley begs.
"He said he was going into town. Awesome. We wait till he's gone and bust in," Dean plans. It is dark when they sneak into Cain's house. Roxanne had told them of her suspicions about the girl in the photo so Dean immediately goes to the mantle. They see a ring like Cain's on the woman (Colette) in the picture.
"Father of murder got hitched," Dean voices. Suddenly all the doors lock.
"He's back. Come on," Roxanne urges. They try the front door but it is solidly locked. They turn around and see Cain holding a grocery bag.
He holds out his hand, "That belongs to me." Crowley gives him the picture. Headlights flash from the driveway. Out the window they see at least six demons. One of the demons yells that he and a couple of other demons had killed Tara for information and that he wanted Dean and Crowley to impress Abaddon.
"I count…," Crowley starts.
"Too many. The whammy you put on the doors will it keep them out?" Dean asks Cain.
"For now," Cain answers.
"Let's barricade the entrances. Get ready for a fight," Dean declares.
"Good luck with that," Cain comments. Roxanne rolls her eyes as Dean and Cain start to argue. Cain goes into the kitchen and empties his groceries. Dean assigns Crowley to the front area and Roxanne with him in the kitchen where Cain is.
"What am I not getting here?" Dean asks Cain.
"Since when does the great Dean Winchester ask for help? Maybe you've lost a step. Let's find out," Cain replies. He snaps his fingers and two demons rush in before the door closes behind them. "Oh, don't mind me," Cain says.
Dean takes out the Demon Knife. The male demon goes after Dean as the female one goes after Roxanne. Vaguely she notices another demon joins the party. At one point Dean accidently drops the demon knife. Two demons pin Dean to the table. Roxanne knocks her demon to the ground and picks up the knife. She stabs on of the demons holding Dean in the neck. Dean is able to get up off the table. The girl demon grabs Roxanne from behind. Dean quickly disposes of the other demon.
"What are you going to do now Winchester?" the girl demon inquires. Roxanne moves her head to the side as much as she can. Dean throws the knife and it lands in the demon's forehead. It falls onto the floor.
"What? Was that some kind of a test?" Dean questions as Roxanne takes the knife out of the dead demon.
"I felt connected to you right from the beginning," Cain expresses.
"Except I didn't kill my brother," Dean contradicts.
"You saved yours. Why?" Cain wonders.
"Because you never give up on family, ever," Dean declares.
"Can we get on with this? What are we on some overly emotional television show?" Roxanne urges.
"I no longer have the blade. It's gone," Cain informs them.
"Gone, it can't be gone. The spell led us here," Crowley protests when they tell him the news.
"The spell brought you to the source of the Blade's power. Me," Cain says. Cain rolls up his right sleeve to reveal a mark burned into his forearm. Crowley makes the sign.
"Really?" Roxanne questions.
"It's the bloody mark of Cain," Crowley tells them.
"The mark and the blade work together. Without the mark, the blade is useless. It's just an old bone," Cain explains. Cain tells them the real story of him and his brother. Then he tells them about him and Colette.
"Well, I'm sorry, truly. But I have to stop Abaddon. So, where is the Blade?" Dean demands when Cain is done with the story.
"You never give up on anything, do you?" Cain inquires.
"Never," Dean answers.
"I can give you the mark, Dean, if it's what you truly want," Cain agrees.
"No," Roxanne declares.
"What?" Dean asks.
"The universe can't survive without you Dean so Cain is going to give me the mark," Roxanne explains.
"With the mark comes a great burden," Cain addresses Roxanne.
"Yeah I figured that's why I am paying it and not Dean," Roxanne answers. Dean goes to protest but Roxanne pushes him out of the way.
"Your sacrifice has made you worthy," Cain exclaims. Cain grabs her right arm with his. Roxanne's veins turn red and the mark appears on her arm. She stumbles as she feels the power.
"Roxanne!" Dean rushes over to her.
"I'm fine," she reassures.
"Nothing can destroy the Blade, so I threw it to the bottom of the deepest ocean. Promise me that when I call you and I will, you come use the blade on me," Cain tells them.
"Why?" Dean asks.
"For what I'm about to do," Cain answers. Cain snaps his fingers and the demons rush into the house. At the same time Dean, Roxanne, and Crowley appear outside the house. They rush into the car and drive away as fast as they can. Roxanne falls asleep having disturbing dreams.
Author's Note 2: What did you think? Write me a review. I don't own Supernatural. Episode First Born written by Robert Thompson.