John's P.O.V.
It wasn't hard to sneak out once Sam was gone. The redhead was nowhere in sight as I walked past the demons room and then Dean's room, anger rising in my chest at the entire situation. I forced myself to move past my eldest son's room without stopping to check on him and slowly made my way to the hospital's basement, holding the bag of ingredients tight to my chest as I moved. Sam came back demanding to know why I wanted ingredients to summon a demon, though I wasn't willing to tell him the reason. I sighed a bit as I reached the basement and looked around, setting things down and clearing a space on the floor before drawing the rune and putting the ingredients in the bowl in the order they belonged in. "Attenrobendum eos, ad consiendrum, ad ligandum eos, potiter et solvendum, et ad, congregontum eos, 'coram me." I chanted out to summon the one thing that I dreaded most, the very thing that murdered my wife and poisoned my son. "Come to me you bastard."
I stood and stared at the area ahead of me, waiting impatiently until the demon showed up, his eyebrows raised and an irritating smirk on his face. I rolled my shoulder back and braced myself, taking all of my energy not to attack the fucker. "You're the last person I would have expected to call me John. But I'm curious as to why I'm not already dead." He sneered, moving closer to me with a glare in his eyes. I felt bile rising in my throat and swallowed it down, forcing myself to keep eye contact as I spoke.
"I'm not here to kill you. I'm here to make a deal." I answered calmly, keeping my face straight and watching the monsters face form a look of shock before it turned into a look of delight, a grin spreading wide across his disgusting face. He gave a quick, grating laugh and moved forward a bit, not leaving much space between us. "I want you to bring Dean back. Save his life.
"Oh now this is interesting. You're ready to drop everything for the eldest Winchester?" He cackled, starting to pace as he spoke, his voice taking on a low growl. "And nothing else? You don't want to know why I'm going through all this trouble?"
"I know what you did my boy, what you want to do to him, your final plan, your end game and I'm telling you right now that it's not going to happen. They will stop you, even if I can't, my boys will." I snapped, another wave of anger rising in my chest. I hadn't spent all of these years tracking him down blindly. I'd been working to find out what he wanted, why he killed Mary and everything else. Demons always seemed to think that we humans never thought that far ahead and they were always shocked when they realized we do. Especially because that's when they ended up back in hell or dead.
"Oh really? If that's so then why haven't you stopped me yet, why am I still here, that is if you even have a rational idea about my plans for Sam. You really have no idea what my end game is, you may just be scratching the surface and yet you are compelled to threaten me." Yellow eyes stopped pacing, standing a few feet away from me, I could feel his hot breath on my face and felt some spit hit my chin. I gritted my teeth and balled my hands into fists at his words, concentrating on not pulling the colt from my back pocket and shooting him in the face. "And even now with your other son's life hanging in the balance, you still try to be the big, scary John Winchester that everyone is so 'afraid' of, but here we are, you on your knees begging for your son's life. You wanna make a deal, well I'll deal. Under two conditions." He finished and I narrowed my eyes a bit, running a hand over my face. I waited a bit for him to add the conditions, only speaking when he didn't.
"You talk a big game, and you're right I should be killing you right now, but my boys mean more to me than killing you. But don't you worry, I'll find you again and lock you up, torture you slowly for what you've done to my family. Now, get on with it, what are your conditions?" I demanded, ready for just about anything. I expected my soul to be part of it, and I was ready to give it to him. I'd give him anything to make sure that Dean would be okay.
"I want that sweet little toy you have in your back pocket." He held his hound out, looking expectant as I shook my head. I wasn't expecting that for whatever reason, but it would be dangerous to give him the colt. The boys needed it or they wouldn't be able to kill the asshole.
"No."
"No deal then."
"Fine." I said, reluctantly taking the weapon from my back pocket and holding it out to him, growling when he grabbed it, my eyes widening a bit when he grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to him, so her as barely an inch away from my face, though he didn't speak again. "What's the second one?" I demanded, annoyance filling me as his grip tightened on my hand, his skin burning hot.
"My daughter is going to be leaving them soon, and your boys are to be told to leave her alone. No hunting her down to kill her or to get her back. I have big plans for her." He purred, his eyes swirling a bit and his rancid breath filling my senses.
"Deal." I said without hesitation. I would rather that the black haired demon took a bullet from the colt to the head, but if this is what it took to save Dean then I would promise him. They may not listen but I would tell at least Dean that they aren't to go after her, but I doubted they would want to without the colt. She wasn't the biggest threat either, especially if she was in the same state as Dean was. If anything they could get away before she woke up.
"Oh. And one more thing….I want your soul."
Dean's P.O.V.
I followed after Sam as he ran to our dad's room. I frowned at the sight of the blankets thrown back and the bed empty. I shrugged it off as Sam grabbed dad's journal from off the stand beside the bed and flipped it open, skimming through the pages. I leaned over Sam's shoulder and scanned the page for information, nothing really popping out at me until I read the bottom. I had to reread the line twice to make sure I hadn't read it wrong and frowned with a groan. "... Reapers can take a human form, huh?" I spoke out loud though no one could hear me, but it had always helped me think. I rubbed a hand over my face thinking back to how I had been following the reaper from my room when I ran into Tessa and how the reaper wasn't actually there when 'she' was 'dying,' like it was when I was supposed to be dying. Anger rocked through me as I stormed out of the room and down the hall. "Tessa!" I shouted, my voice echoing off the walls. After calling out to her several times with no response, I reached the room where I had found her the first time. She stood by the window in the now every empty room, her back to me as I entered the room. "Hey!" I shouted at her, my hands in fists at my sides.
"Dean." She turned her head slowly, half looking at me from over her shoulder, her eyes dark but still wide and innocent at the same time. I swallowed back anger and glared hard at her, waiting for a moment before speaking again.
"You lied to me. I trusted you...you're a reaper." I growled low in my throat, waiting for her to say something. I took a few steps forward, meeting her as she turned and, in the blink of an eye, she stood in front of me baring a smile.
"And?" She questioned, her words smooth but slightly ragged as she stared at me, her gaze intense. I took a step back, staring down at her and swallowing hard. I was essentially alone on this side of the veil, except for Akuma if she was still even here, but i didn't want or need her help. I didn't have any way to stop her except for managing to get Sam to help, which would be pretty difficult.
"Why did you do it? Why not just kill me instead of playing this game?" I took another half step back to give myself some space, folding my arms over my chest as I spoke. I sucked in another breath and held her gaze, wanting to break our eye contact but refusing to break it first.
"I can't just take souls, that's not part of the job Dean. It's your choice to either to stay as a disembodied spirit, and become the type of vengeful spirit that you hunt, or pass from this world with me." Her voice was smooth as she spoke, her argument was very compelling. I took in the information slowly, turning away from her and pacing towards the window where she had been previously standing. My brows furrowed in contemplation, taking every possibility into account. I knew that I could maybe find a way back, but knowing me I would become a vengeful spirit if i couldn't find a way back. I started to weigh the pros and cons of being a ghost, like being able to stay around and take care of Sammy, but shook my head hard to lose the thought of ever becoming the very thing that I spent my whole life hunting down and destroying. I sucked in a breath, it seemed rather useless considering I didn't actually need to breath in this state and took into account that if I did go with her, I'd let Sam live his own life, he wouldn't have to worry about if I was going to ever wake up or not, he wouldn't have to stay locked away in this hospital with me for the rest of his life. I don't want that for him, I want him to live and not have to deal with all this crap, my being a ghost and having him hunt me down some day and destroy me. I shivered at the thought of my own brother having to kill me and I turned back to Tessa.
"Alight, I've made my choice." I said to her, speaking cautiously. She smiled and approached me carefully, her eyes softening.
"I promise you that you will be happy, some day Sam will join you in Heaven and you'll be together again." She bite her bottom lip slightly, stepping closer to me, her body just inches from mine. I watched as she closed her eyes and tilted her head up so that her mouth was almost in line with mine. I was skeptical at first but I bent my head down to reach for her lips. I kept my eyes open as my mouth almost skimmed hers, but before our lips could touch her eyes shot open revealing the yellow gleam of the demon. I pulled back fast, almost tripping over myself. She, he, it, reached out and grabbed me by the shoulder, pulling me in and placing a hand on my forehead.
"Not yet, kiddo." There was a bright light that seemed to scorch my skin until everything around me was black and numb. My entire body jolted hard, my eyes shot open, sitting up in the bed. The nurse in my room quickly responded to me, getting the doctor and taking out the tube that had been shoved down my throat. There was a dull thumping in the back of my head as the room had slightly begun to spin. I watched as Sam rushed into the room, dad following behind him.
"Dean!" Sam reached out and pulled me into a tight embrace and I winced a bit, my body sore as I hugged him back, relaxing slightly but I was still confused as to what was happening. "You're awake!?"
"What happened, how long was I out?" I asked, my voice gruff as I coughed. My throat was sticky and dry and I could still feel the ghost of the tube in my throat. I swallowed hard as Sam pulled away from me and held my gaze, looking confused, excited, and worried.
"A few days, Dean did you find the reaper?" Sam asked, a smile spreading wide across his face. I frowned at him and lifted a hand to my forehead, rubbing it lightly and pushing my hand through my hair before dropping my hand again, clearing my throat.
"The what?" I asked confused, my eyes glancing between my dad and Sam, looking for answers on their faces. Seeing none on Sam's I turned my gaze back to dad, taking in the relieved and slightly rushed look on his face.
"Nevermind that Sam, just be glad that he's alright." Dad spoke quickly, he was standing over me now. "Sam, I think a couple coffees could do some justice here." He kept his eyes on me as he spoke to Sam. Sam nodded and left the room. "I'm proud of you boy, I regret everything that has happened to you, what I've put you through, carrying the burden for caring for the family, that was supposed to my job, not yours. I'm sorry, son." I felt a dull ache in my chest as he spoke, his eyes welling up slightly with tears. I have never seen my father act like this before. "I want you to take good care of Sammy." I nodded and frowned slightly, knowing that he was about to say something else. He lowered his head to my ear and whispered something to me that made my eyes widen, my lips parted and I stared up at my father. He placed his hand on my shoulder and gave me a single nod and then left my room. I sat there in shock as I let this secret information circle my brain. Sam stopped at the door and smiled, coming in and placing a coffee on my night stand.
"Where's dad?" Sam asked quietly, being respectful of my now pounding headache. I looked up at him and closed my eyes for a second against the glaring light for a moment before I opened them again.
"Went to his room to grab something." I lowered my head and eyed the coffee, not ready to take a sip yet. Sam sighed and opened his mouth to speak again but instead a shrill voice screamed from down the hall. Sam and I stared at each other for a moment before he rushed out the door and ran down the hall to see what was going on. I closed my eyes for a few minutes to let the pounding in my head to settle. The sound of a machine flatlining from next door brought me back to reality and I frowned when I saw Alice sprint past my window and into the next room.
Akuma's P.O.V
I stood in the doorway of the empty room, watching the exchange between Dean and the reaper. I was glad Dean had his back to me so he wouldn't notice me, but I wanted to make sure he didn't anything stupid. The reaper had seemed to notice me when I first arrived but she was too concentrated on trying to convince Dean to kill himself to say anything. The reaper moved unnervingly close and I clenched my jaw, narrowing my eyes as she spoke about not being able to take spirits. I bit down on my lip, trying to hold off until I was sure whether or not Dean would say yes or no to going. He needed to stay and find a way to get back, but right now it didn't seem like he would. I was about to step in when I saw Dean bend his head down but stopped when he stumbled back and I saw my father's bright yellow eyes. I went to move forward again when he grabbed Dean and said something low but was stopped by a blinding flash. By the time I could see again, the room was empty and everything seemed silent except for the bustle of noise a few rooms over. I ran down the hall and to Dean's room, moving right through Sam as he left the room, looking a bit grumpy.
Dean was sitting up in the bed as John spoke quickly, looking confused and groggy. I didn't bother with listening to the words, only stared at Dean, relaxing when I noticed he was okay. I stepped back and out of the room and ran my hands through my hair, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. I didn't want to leave, I wanted to stay with my sister but Dean was right. I'd be the reason that she died if I stuck around, my father hated her but he hated the whole idea of me being with her more and he would hurt her if he really wanted to get to me. I slowly moved to my room, taking my time and barely noticing when John passed me. I watched Alice coming up the hall for a moment before I ducked into my room and stared down at my body, closing my eyes before laying down. When I opened my eyes again I could feel how sore everything was, the bruise on my face pulsed, though I could feel that it was smaller than before. I didn't bother wasting time in pulling the breathing tube from my throat, but left the rest of the wires and tubes attached for now. I slowly pushed myself up, wincing at the sound of Alice's panicked scream, but reached out for the paper and pen that had been left on my bedside table by a doctor. I wrote a quick note for my sister before sucking in a deep, painful breath and pulling out the tubes and wires one by one, finally yanking off the cords for the heart rate monitor and gathering my strength, picturing where I wanted to go and disappearing from the hospital.
Alice P.O.V.
I sighed, holding two new coffee's in my hand, one for myself and one for Sam as he had asked me to grab him one after he took a couple for Dean and John. I headed back towards Dean's room. I rolled my shoulders feeling the soreness start to settle in and I stopped outside of Akuma's room to look into the room, relaxing but frowning when I saw her still lying there, her body more healed than it had been even an hour ago. I lifted my coffee to my lips and drank some of the disgusting, lukewarm drink that was more water than coffee. This entire situation sucked and I couldn't wait to get out of here. I continued on and froze as I went to pass John's room. He was on the ground at an awkward angle and I barely registered the coffee's slipping from my hands as I rushed into the room and dropped to my knees. I pressed my fingers to his neck and frantically searched for a pulse, my heart beating erratically, pounding hard against my chest when I couldn't find one. "Someone HELP!" I screeched, moving back and rolling him slightly, grabbing his wrist and attempting to find a pulse there, calling for help again at the lack of pulse.
I stayed there until I felt someone's hands on my shoulders and heard a voice urging me to stand. I followed instructions and moved out into the hallway, looking around and watching Sam approach at a light jog, confusion and worry on his face. "What happened?!" He demanded, meeting my eyes. He didn't look towards the room and I bit down on my lip, sucking in a deep breath through my nose. I didn't want to tell him because I wanted John to be alright but it really didn't seem like he was going to be. Still, I waited another minute, hoping and praying, but nothing happened. I dropped my gaze for a moment before looking back up at Sam.
"He's… there wasn't a pulse Sam…" I stuttered, sucking in a breath and trying to force the words out of my mouth again. I managed a small sigh but nothing else as I took in his panicked and confused expression, my heart dropping.
"What do you mean?" He sounded panicked and looked exactly the same. His eyes hadn't left me yet and I wished that he would look towards the room instead. It would be easier if he did, I didn't want to be the one to tell him that his dad was dead. But with Dean awake and perfectly okay the only thing that would make sense is that he sold his soul. And when Sam said that his dad had him bring ingredients to summon a demon. I swallowed hard and closed my eyes for a moment before opening them again and forcing myself to hold his gaze.
"Your dad... he's..." I tried again, swallowing against the lump in my throat and gesturing to the room instead. He finally looked towards the room and I felt my heart constrict as the doctor pronounced John dead and Sam's face crumpled, his body seeming to cave in on itself as the hallway was overcome with silence. I felt the urge to hug him but the loud sound of a machine flatlining filled my ears and my throat closed. Without another word I pulled away from Sam and ran towards my sisters room and throwing the closed door open. My heart dropped when I saw the bed empty, not sure whether to be relieved that she could be alive or scared that her dad could have her. I turned my gaze around the room and stepped in, trying to force my lungs to inhale air. I managed to get one in before I noticed a folded piece of paper on the bedside table. Opening the paper revealed her scrawling handwriting forming the words "I'm sorry, but don't look for me."