"I need to leave for maybe a couple days," Lizzy blurts out the second Lou and she are away from the cabin and close to the Mustang out front.
Lou just smiles at first and huffs out a little laugh… then her face straightens back out to serious when Lizzy doesn't react jokingly. "Wait, what?"
"I gotta go take care of something. And you're coming with me," Lizzy tries again, this time making it very clear she means it. No jokes at all.
"Okay… double what?" Lou starts to get very confused. "The hell you talking about?"
"A friend of mine called. I need to go help them. Now," she makes it sound as urgent as it is.
"Who? Mari?"
"No. Someone else."
"Garth?"
"No."
"Lizard, Mari and Garth are our only friends!" Lou points out loudly. "What the fuck is going on here?"
"I have another friend. He just called…."
"He?" she asks, now very confused.
"Yes, he," Lizzy sighs. "He got into something he shouldn't have. Now he's… well, the dude is sitting on the floor of an abandoned building, hurt and waiting for my help. He's in a really bad situation and I owe him. So do you."
"Me!? I don't even know the guy," Lou rebuts, now really confused.
"It's Benny," Lizzy spills it out, having preferred telling her everything in the car on the way to helping him.
"What!?" Lou shouts, wide eyes bulging as she grabs Lizzy's arm hard. "Benny!?"
"I know him too. Well. And he needs us to help him," Lizzy says vaguely.
"But he's… he's in Purgatory," Lou reminds her sister. "He's a vampire."
"Not anymore… well, the Purgatory part at least," Lizzy tells her while prying Lou's grip off of her arm. She starts walking for the house while telling her, "I need to pack a bag quick. I'll just grab yours since it's already packed. We need to leave ASAP."
"What do we tell Sam and Dean?" Lou has to wonder.
Lizzy stops in her tracks and thinks for a second. "We need to help a friend. Past that… I'll deal with them when we get back."
She disappears into the cabin and Lou's left standing there, head whirling around like crazy. Benny? Out? He needs help? Lizzy knows Benny?
It's too much.
"The hell do you mean you have to leave!?" Dean gets angry very quickly when Lizzy been far too mysterious and vague on her sudden change of demeanor and plans.
"I mean I have to leave for a few days," she tells him, packing up the duffle he gave back to her a couple weeks ago. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Who called you?" Dean finally asks, hands on his hips as he looks at her hard, anger in his eyes.
"A friend," Lizzy simply answers, zipping up her bag when done and looking up at him from the edge of their bed. "That needs some really big help."
"Who?"
"Just… a friend," she tries again.
"Yeah, I get that. But what friend?" Dean gets more heated every second. "Garth? Mari?"
"Neither of them. You've never met this friend but that doesn't make him any less of a friend," Lizzy assures.
"Him!?" Dean gets more pissed and it's irrationally so.
Lizzy rolls her eyes and grabs her pack, pushing past him to fly down the stairs. "Yes. Him. And I'm not just gonna let a friend hang when he needs me." When she hits the bottom floor, heavier footsteps following her closely behind, she knows this is a whole battle ready to be fought.
"What are you heading into?" Dean keeps pressing on, needing to know.
"Not sure. But I can handle it. Trust me, I'm in better fighting shape than you are right now so I'll be fine. I promise."
"You can't promise that!" Dean gets way too angry with that.
"Actually… I totally can. I'm safe, dude. I wouldn't do this otherwise," Lizzy sighs. She looks to the side and locks eyes with Sam.
"Where's Lou?" he wonders, getting a bad feeling about whatever is going on.
"Uh… still outside," Lizzy says to him, him and Sammy playing with the cars on the floor. "Okay. Uh… well, we'll be back soon. I'd say three days tops. I'll call you when we get there and when we leave," she quickly blurts out and strides for the front door.
"We!?" Sam panics from the floor and scrambles up to his feet as Dean runs and blocks the front door. "Get where!?"
"No friggin' way," Dean tells her with sheer determination, standing his ground as roadblock. "Explain first."
Pressing a hand to her forehead while utterly frustrated, she asks him, "Is it so hard to believe that I have a friend that needs me and it just so happens that you never met him?"
"Yes!" Dean fires out. "Especially when you just crawled your ass out of monsterland two weeks ago and are supposed to be spending time getting to know your family again!" He nods his head to Sammy on the floor.
She looks over at her son, his green eyes fixed on her with all the confusion in the world. She breaks a little at that. "I know what you're saying. I do. But this is life or death. You have to trust my judgment here, Dean. Please."
"You've been gone for so long… I trust you but I just… worry." Dean face shows his pain and fear at her ditching right now.
"Look, time is ticking and I need to get to him. It's that serious," Lizzy keeps trying, grabbing his hand tightly. She pleads with her voice and her eyes. "Hot Shot, let me go, please. I'll explain everything when I get back. Three days. That's all I need. And it's not even a hunt. I swear."
Dean shakes his head at a loss. "I… don't know what to say."
"Then move your perky little ass and let me out," Lizzy grins. "You know you can't stop me."
He closes his eyes and drops his head. She's totally right. He can't.
"You'll call me every half a day," Dean makes his set of demands that he can't possibly make sure she adheres to. "And if things get hairy, no matter where you are… you call us."
"I'll have Lou but yeah, I'll call. Promise," she crosses her heart in vow.
"I don't like this."
"You don't say," she kisses his cheek and drops her bag by her foot. She then turns around and heads for Sammy, telling Sam, "Go out there. Say goodbye."
Sam huffs angrily, mad at Lizzy for this position she's putting everyone in and mad at Lou for going with it. He marches for the door and heads outside.
Lizzy drops to the floor next to Sammy. "Hey, sweetie. I gotta go do some work."
"You work again?" Sammy asks sadly, knowing how long it was that she was working last time.
"Not like last time," she makes her promise to him. "I'll only be gone a couple days. Then I'll come back and we can hang out like before."
"I no want you to go," Sammy tells her, having started to really get used to her. And love her. He looks at her like he should, like the mom she is, and her leaving makes no sense to him.
Lizzy's sad smile spreads across her face as he looks up at her with the same, big, expressive green eyes that her husband has. He's innocent in all this, so pure and sweet, and he can't understand. "I don't want to go either, baby. I really don't," she tells him honestly as she pulls her son into her lap and hugs him tight, his short arms hugging right back. "But my friend needs me. I need to make sure he's okay."
"He not okay?" Sammy asks, his voice muffled by her jacket.
"No."
"He hurt?"
"Yes," Lizzy says, watching Dean's ears perk up at that information. "And I can fix it. So, I have to go."
"Okay," Sammy says sadly. "You help you friend."
"And you stay here and have fun with daddy and Uncle Sam. I know Uncle Sam has missed you tons and tons. You two should hang out and play a lot."
"Okay," Sammy lightens up a touch. He then looks up at his mom. "Love you, mommy."
And there's the kicker. Her heart is a puddle at her feet. He hasn't said that yet since she's been home. Not once. And he said it all on his own, no prompting.
"Oh, sweetie, I love you, too," Lizzy gets choked and kisses his cheek. She hugs him so hard one more time, his arms around her neck, and tries not to cry. "More than you will ever, ever know."
Dean watches this with very mixed emotions. He knows how much Lizzy loves her son. There is no one, not even Dean, that she could love more. There just isn't a way that's possible. So to see her willingly saying goodbye to him to go off and do some mysterious task for a friend he's never met… well, this makes no sense. And if this mystery person is such a good friend, worth leaving her family for after being gone for so long, why hasn't Dean met him yet?
"You be a good boy, okay?" Lizzy asks of him, knowing he will be.
"Okay, mommy," Sammy answers back and she stands up with him in her arms, unable to let go.
She walks for the door, relishing every second of warm, loving contact she has with her little man before she hands him over to his dad. Dean takes him and pulls him in without thought, Sammy leaning his head onto Dean's shoulder for comfort just like every time something not great happens to him.
"I better hear from you by five tonight," Dean coldly reminds her.
"Of course," she nods at him. "And when we get back I can explain everything to you. I don't have time now. Long story."
Dean eyes her hard.
"I promise you. I'll explain all. I don't want secrets. They've never been good for us"
He accepts it for what it is. "Please don't be stupid."
She smiles sadly and presses up on her toes, kisses his cheek and then Sammy's one more time. "I love you both. So much."
"We love you too," Dean tells her. Even if his voice is still a touch cold she knows it's heartfelt. "You come right back to us, momma."
"I always do," she grins a little and walks out the door with her bag and Lou's.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
"What the hell is going on!?"
Lou rolls her eyes as is standard for her when Sam uses that tone with her. She hears Sam moving quickly from behind her, long strides in the gravel driveway heading her way. She pushes off the side of the Mustang and turns to look at him.
"You and Lizzy are just leaving!?" he outrages, not having seen this coming at all. "That's it, no explanation!?"
"We need to head out and help a friend we both know," she explains calmly.
"Who!?" Sam asks. "All your friends are dead!"
"Don't be so dramatic," Lou calls him out. "I have friends that have managed to stay alive, thank you very much. And you just haven't met this friend yet. Don't worry so much about it."
"You didn't actually think that'd lessen my worry, did you?" Sam asks with disbelief in her ease.
Lou has to smile at that. "No. But you're insane." She laughs slightly and this makes Sam also calm it down a bit. The tension was too much and her breaking it with a little lightheartedness was what they both needed. "Come on, Giant," Lou says in a pleading and overly loving tone as she brings her arms around his waist and looks straight up at him. "You know we'll be fine, honey."
"Don't use the girlfriend voice on me," Sam warns playfully, easily getting into that type of lighter headspace when with her. Marriage as done them well and she makes it easy to see when he's overreacting.
"It's my wife voice," she corrects with a cocked eyebrow.
"How could I forget?" Sam jests right back.
"Look, Lizzy's going to do this whether I go with or not," she spells out how it really is. "I remember what it's like to be back from Purgatory. The world is… weird, man. But I can relate and I think we need time to talk just the two of us anyways. Plus, I'm way more comfortable going with her than not... aren't you?"
"I can understand that," Sam honestly tells her, his past experiences with his own stubborn ass sibling making it easy to commiserate.
"Plus… this is my chance to get back on her good side after a really rough week being on her shit list. I really miss her. I miss my sister."
Her vulnerable voice makes him give in. "Just don't scare me next time. I mean, you could have come inside and told me yourself instead of letting Lizzy barely explain and freak me out."
"Sorry, honey. I was being a chicken," Lou shrugs and pulls him down by an arm at the back of his neck. She kisses him good, solid. And with heat.
"Stop trying to butter me up," Sam smiles against her lips and kisses her again, keeping it going.
"Mm," Lou kisses back before telling him, "Can I butter you up when I get back instead then?"
Sam lets go of a laugh. "What does that even mean?"
Lou laughs back. "I don't know. But I'm creative. I'll figure it out a way to butter you up."
"Oh god, don't get creative," Sam backs away from her a step. "That last time you got creative I couldn't sit comfortably for three days."
She gives him a proud smirk. "Admit it… you loved it."
He doesn't answer that verbally. He knows his reddened cheeks give him away.
"Knew it," she comments with too much pride.
Sam sighs and looks at her sappily, sitting onto the edge of the Mustang's hood to put them closer to an even level. "Do you realize we haven't been apart for more than a full day since we moved to Kansas?"
Lou's face drops in shock. "Seriously!?"
"Very," he nods.
"Well… shit," she accepts the truth.
"You gonna miss me?" Sam asks with his hands in his pockets, nudging her in the leg gently with the tip of his boot. He grins with his dimples out at her.
She smiles wide right back when her chest flutters at that. Sometimes, despite how much he's changed and grown up, Sam's still that shaggy-haired young kid that she first fell for.
"You shouldn't be allowed to be that fucking cute," Lou scolds him slightly.
"Was that a compliment?" he keeps right on pushing her, poking her with his boot again.
"Fuck you," Lou smirks and steps into him, arms around his neck and kissing him again. They stay that way for a bit, enjoying the goodbye and the quiet outdoors for the little bit of time they have left. It's nice to be on the same page these days. It's so easy now, especially compared to the year before now.
"Sam, you seemed far angrier inside than you do now," Lizzy jokes as she heads for the Mustang.
This breaks them apart. Lou doesn't let him go at first, her hands gripping the sides of his neck. Noses practically touching, Lou vows to him, "When I get back... you and me. I'll show you some buttering up for real." She winks and kisses him one last time.
"You're stupid," Sam lets her know as she backs away and he stands tall.
"You are," she offhandedly responds, looking over to Lizzy as she tosses her bag in the backseat. "Ready?"
"Yep," Lizzy nods. "Let's go." She opens the passenger door and gets in without hesitation.
"That's my cue," Lou says to Sam. He opens the driver's side door for her.
"Call me," he says to her, making it clear she better.
"Will do," she promises, getting one last quick kiss from him. She then gets in, Sam shuts the door for her, and Lou starts up the engine.
Sam waits until they're out of sight before heading back into the cabin. Dean's going to be pissed. No need to rush back into hanging out with him.
"Alright, I gave you a half hour," Lou finally says, turning down the Tom Petty Lizzy put on to suck up to Lou for coming with her on this run. "What the hell is going on? Why is Benny out?"
Lizzy looks to her sister from the side window and has a flash of yesteryear. This feels like old times, driving from state to state and hunting with her partner in crime. She hated it… but she loved it too. She misses the old times with Lou and her, conquering the world and having her best friend to back her up.
"I got him out," she tells her. "There was this spell he'd heard about…."
"That bullshit actually worked?" Lou asks with shock, peeking at her sister with wide eyes after interrupting her. "He was always rambling about a way out, that humans could get out and we could ride them out. All we had to do is wait for a human to get there… and I always said that was never fucking happening. God, he was so sure the rumor was true."
"It was," Lizzy assures her. "The portal was real too. We found it, we did the spell, and we got out. I had to stop in Clayton to dig Benny up and undo the spell. All we needed was his bones. He was good as new."
Lou rubs her face with confusion and stress. "Okay… let's just… ignore the fact that what happened to you and Benny is fucking ridiculous in the first place… why the fuck were you helping a vampire in the first place? How did that happen?"
Giving her a funny look, Lizzy just says, "You know Benny's good people."
"I know he's good vampire," Lou corrects. "For a monster, sure, he was alright. Solid. Trustworthy. But he was still a blood sucker."
"And so were you for a while," Lizzy reminds her.
"And so I'm a great judge of character on this one," Lou fires back. "How the fuck did Benny get you to trust him so much."
She remembers it all. It was over a year ago but she remembers it clearly….
She's running. Her lungs are burning. They're painful with every deep, ragged breath. But she can't stop. She can't. There's three of them and one of her. And all she has is a knife that surely isn't big enough to get the job done this time.
She's screwed.
Okay, time for a new plan. Outrunning isn't happening. So what now?
When Lizzy spots the thickly wooded area just ahead she decides it's time for something new. The trees are packed together pretty tightly and she might be able to dart between them and lose them or find somewhere to hide long enough to catch her breath.
Weaving in and out of trunks, bobbing as fast as she can, Lizzy can still hear the sound of heavy footsteps behind her. One set now. Okay, one versus one is a little better than three versus one.
Still, the lack of solid weapon isn't working in her favor. Better keep moving.
"Shit!" Lizzy calls out with fear and frustration when she skids to a stop on the leafy ground. She never lost the other two vamps. They took a different path and cut her off. They're standing ahead of her, blocking her way out. When she turns sharply around the one that was following her keeps her completely surrounded.
"Human blood," the vampire smiles so wide, his excitement level very high. He sniffs the air. "It's been a few centuries since I've tasted that. Girl, you smell good."
"Well, enjoy the smell," she huffs out, breath lost after so much running at full speed. She flips the knife expertly in her hand as she looks at them, turning around and trying desperately to formulate a plan. She's got nothing. "Because you aren't tasting one drop of this shit right here."
They all laugh at her.
"You're surrounded," the vampire in eighteenth century garb that's tattered almost beyond recognition scoffs. "And you can't do shit to us with that little child's knife. Accept fate. You weren't meant to be here for good reason."
"Humans can't handle a place like this," one of the other vamps comments.
"I'm no mere human," Lizzy confidently tells them without actually feeling all that confident. She moves lightning quick, stabbing the one talkative vampire in the eye and quickly withdrawing the blade, backing up behind his now crumpled on the ground body to get a handle on the situation.
One on the ground in pain, disabled temporarily at that, and two full power. And pissed.
They both charge at her.
"Fuck," Lizzy complains and takes off again.
This time, winded and very tired from her previous long run, it's easy to catch up to her. One of the vampires easily dives and tackles her to the ground, knocking the knife from her grip. His teeth descend as he pins her there, Lizzy's hands coming around his neck to keep him away. She scrambles and fights her best but this isn't looking good. He gnashing his razor teeth and she's tired as hell from the past week and a half of nonstop running since she's arrived.
The quick swipe of a weapon through the air and Lizzy's shocked when the vampire's grip loosens and his face goes slack. Her confusion hits harder when the head of the vamp tumbles off to the side and his body falls forward, crushing her… and behind the vamp is another new vampire, standing there with a homemade weapon in hand and fangs descended.
Lizzy closes her eyes for a second to try and figure out all that's happening. There were three vampire after her. She stabbed one and ran. Two should be after her now, the one that had her pinned and another… yet the one that just chopped a head is new to her.
He's here to devour her. That's it. She's real, human blood and this new vampire just wanted that for himself.
"Get on up, darlin'," she hears a southern drawl tell her as the body on top of her is hauled off. The new vampire reaches a hand down to her to help her up.
She doesn't take it. Instead, she scrambles to her feet on her own and swipes her knife off the forest floor. She takes her ready stance for a fight and twirls her knife once, ready for whatever. When she scans the area she sees that all three vampires after her are beheaded on the ground.
"That how you great you're knight in shinin' armor?" he laughs a little at her, completely unfazed by her readiness to attack.
"You're a vampire. Just be thankful that I'm not about to shove this up your ass," she quips, never prepared to give up or back down, even now.
"Mm. Awful strange way to punch your meal ticket, friend," he tells her.
"Friend?" Lizzy challenges.
"Well, I did save your life. And, I got something you need." He gives her a cocky smirk as he starts walking, circling her slowly as his eyes roam the tree line.
"Yeah, what's that?" Lizzy asks.
"A way out."
Lizzy laughs at him. "Come on. You know there's no such thing."
"There is if you're human. God has made it so," he lifts his hands to the sky in fake praise. "At least, that's the rumor."
"Bullshit."
"Suit yourself," he shrugs, walking a couple steps away from her. "Maybe you've gone native. Maybe you like being man meat for every Tom, Dick, and Harry."
"Prove it, then," Lizzy challenges him. "Prove to me that there's a way out and that I should trust a fang."
"Nah." It's a simple response.
"Nah?" she nearly disbelieves his response.
"You're either in or you're out."
"So you just want to guide me out of Purgatory out of the goodness of your unbeating heart?" Lizzy once more questions his motives. She adjusts her stance, still on edge and ready just in case.
"More or less."
"Don't fuck with me," Lizzy nearly growls out. "What's in it for you?"
"I'm hopping a ride," he explains to her.
"What do you mean?"
"It's a human portal, sweetness. Only humans can pass through. I show you the door, you hump my soul to the other side."
"So… you're looking for a soul train." Lizzy knows now she'll never lose the Dean Winchester in her now. She sounds like him even in a time like this.
"Sure. If that's what you're into."
"And how do I know this isn't a trap?" she has to wonder aloud. "How do I know I'm not just a snack for later or that I'm not gonna end up like your friend over there?"
"He was my friend," he shrugs. "Now you are. First rule of Purgatory, darlin'. You can't trust nobody."
"You just asked me to trust you!" Lizzy reminds him.
"You see? You're getting it now."
Lizzy stops there and thinks a moment. This is the first she's heard of this whole portal thing. It sounds iffy at best and the vampire could easily be making this up to dupe her. But then again, why bother? If he wanted her blood wouldn't he just drink her right then and there? Why bother risking running into others and having to share?
She can practically feel the family picture burning in her pocket. Her family. She needs to get home and this is the first glimmer of hope she's had since arriving days ago. Maybe this is worth the risk.
"Alright, I'm in," Lizzy tells him. "You get me outta her and I'll let you hitch a ride."
The vampire holds out his hand for her to shake. Lizzy looks at his warily.
"I ain't gonna bite," he laughs to himself, hand still out. "I do that and I ain't getting out either."
Hesitantly Lizzy reaches forward and grabs his cold, undead hand. They shake. "I'm Lizzy."
"Benny," he tells her his name.
That rings a very distinct bell to her. "Benny? Not… like… Benny, Benny?"
"Uh, not sure I'm understanding that one, girl," Benny smiles a little, forehead wrinkled with confusion.
She takes her hand back. "Benny. You're Benny. You know my sister."
His face falls. "I haven't been Earth-side for some decades now so I guess that all depends on who your sister might be."
"Lou," Lizzy says the name that Benny's missed hearing for a very long time now. "Lou Becker. She was turned and then someone killed her. She was sent here about… five years ago."
Benny takes a step back as his face shows his shock. "Nah. You ain't talking 'bout my girl Lou… I lost her a couple years ago…."
"She got out," Lizzy explains. "Lou got out. When that angel, when he sucked all you guys in and was using the power of your souls…."
"We don't speak much about that 'round these parts," he warns her darkly. "That wasn't exactly a pleasant time."
"I know that, but I'm friendly with some angels," Lizzy starts to fib a little. It seems like Castiel sucking all those souls into him is a touchy subject in Purgatory. Since she's not leaving here without him it's probably best to not let on to Benny that he's the same angel that used the souls of Purgatory to fuel his God-run. "The one that took you all in for some time… he gave me Lou back. She's been out for a year now."
Benny's speechless. His friend, his ally… she's been out.
"We turned her back once we got topside," Lizzy keeps talking, trying to make sure he gets that they're on the same team here. "The angel did something, made it as if she never fed and we knew a cure. She's… she's doing good these days. I think. And she told me about you."
"She talked about me?" Benny asks, nostalgia and sentiment in his tone.
"Of course," she smiles. "She looks at you like a good friend still. She told me the scariest part of being in Purgatory was the day she got separated from you and your nest. She'd been horrified ever since."
Benny looks around with a sad smile. "I worried about her every day after we lost her. Good to know she's safe."
"She is. She's with her family again," Lizzy assures him before her own face gets long. She tries for an emotional pull, praying this vampire still has a heart much like she's starting to think he does. She pulls her Christmas family picture out of her back jeans pocket and hands it over.
Benny looks down to see a family of three, all bright smiles and beautiful.
"That's my family," she tells them. "That's my boy, Sammy. And my husband, Dean. They are my world and if you can promise me I'll get back to them then… I'll trust you fully. One hundred percent."
Benny nods and hands back the picture. "That sounds like a deal."
Lizzy grins and pockets the picture. "Good. Um, but I need to add one more stipulation."
"What's that?"
"First… we need to find my angel."
"It was easy," Lizzy tells her sister. "After Benny saved my life from a pack of vamps… it was fairly easy to trust him. Plus, you knew and trusted him."
"You named dropped?" Lou eyes her for a second.
"The second he told me his name was Benny… I knew who I was looking at," Lizzy says simply. "He trusted me after I told him you were my sister and you were safe. I trusted him because you vouched for him without knowing it and I needed a way out."
"God damn it, what are our lives?" Lou shakes her head and looks out the windshield.
"Not at all normal, that's for sure," Lizzy tells her.
"You know, Benny was always babbling on about some exit to Purgatory… I thought he was just buying into the false hope. Plus, what were the chances a human was ever gonna make their way to Purgatory?"
"Well, pretty good in hindsight," Lizzy smirks.
"He's gonna give me the biggest fucking I told you so ever," Lou groans. "I hate when he's right."
"Yeah, well, he better be more tactful than that after we save his hide."
"How'd he end up in Washington?" Lou has to ask, only having been given a destination by her sister.
"No idea. I just know he got himself in trouble and he's down for the count," she shares. "He sounded really bad. He needs blood fast."
Lou sighs heavily. "Shit."
"What?"
"We're raiding a blood bank, aren't we?" Lou looks to her side to see Lizzy grinning in an over the top way. "People need that blood, Lizard!"
"Yeah, and Benny's one of them," Lizzy argues right back. "Look, I know it feels wrong but Benny's earned that much. I owe him. He got me back so I can do this for him."
"Jesus, what an asshole," Lou huffs. "Always told him he was getting too cocky. I bet that's what put him on his ass."
"Probably," Lizzy agrees. "But he's been gone for decades. This world isn't like his old one. I need to cut him some slack, you too."
Lou thinks about it. "I can't believe he's here."
"Well, the sooner we get our shit together the sooner you can have your reunion," Lizzy tells her, opening the search engine on her smart phone. "I'll look for a blood bank near Benny. You drive."
"They really didn't tell you anything?" Dean asks, cutting through the silence of the cabin after Sammy's been down for a nap for some time. Dean looks over from the couch, feet up on the coffee table and laptop in his lap.
"Just that they were helping out a friend," Sam shrugs, reiterating the same thing yet again. His brother's been a dog with a bone on this one. He's dying to know what it is his wife is up to and he can't get past it.
"And what… you just took that for what it was?" Dean asks, attitude in place.
Sam sighs and peers over his own laptop, the credit card statements for all of Kevin's accounts that they know of open. "Yeah, Dean. I took it for what it was."
Dean shakes his head in disgust at that. "You're so fucking whipped these days."
"Oh, and you're not!?" Sam quickly snaps back, earning a face from Dean telling him to quiet down. They definitely don't want to wake Sammy right now. "When those two have something in their heads you know there's not a damn thing either of us can do to stop them."
"Coulda tied 'em to chairs," Dean mutters under his breath.
"Even then," Sam reminds him how good they are. That wouldn't even stop them. "Look, I know Lizzy's fresh out and not totally herself, okay? I get that you're worried. So am I… but Lou's with her. You know she's never going to let anything happen to Lizzy."
Dean clenches his jaw and keeps staring at his laptop, not willing to respond since Sam's right.
"And… Lizzy said she'd explain when she gets back. She's not trying to lie to you."
"Nope, she's just buying herself time to come up with a better lie."
"Cynical much?" Sam smirks a little. "They'll explain when they get back in a few days tops. You think Lizzy wants to be away from you and Sammy right now? I mean, this has to be important if she's willing to leave you guys. Just trust her. You know how things tend to go when you and Lizzy don't trust each other."
Suppressing the eye roll over all the sense Sam's making, Dean quietly says, "I trust her."
"Nice work showing it," Sam sarcastically responds.
"I'm worried," Dean loudly responds. "I'm allowed to be worried about my wife that just got back from God's fucking toilet, okay!?"
"Okay," Sam puts his hands out and asks for a calmer Dean. "And that's fair. I'm worried about her too. But she seems pretty… uh, sharp these days." He stands up and heads for the refrigerator.
"Yeah, sharp…. She's a mess," Dean explains. "The first morning Sammy came to wake me up and she was pressed into the corner of the room like a scared animal. It wasn't good."
"Has she gotten any better over time?" Sam asks, pulling two beers from the refrigerator and shutting it.
"A little," Dean admits, watching Sam make his way over while twisting off caps. "I mean, she's not like Lou was."
"That's a good start," Sam tries to look at the good side.
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean she's good." Dean takes the offered beer and Sam sits on the chair off to the side, looking at his brother with his full attention. "She's angry."
"Rightfully so."
"But that's not her," Dean points out. "I mean, sure she was a hot head when we met and she needed to reel it back. But over time… she fixed it. L wasn't that fly off the handle person anymore most of the time. Especially not once Sammy was around. But since she's been back… she's blown up a handful of times. The last one you saw this morning." Dean stops and takes a long pull from his beer bottle.
"Well, I think she has a right to be pissed," Sam reminds. "She was taken from her family for over a year. She missed a chunk of Sammy's childhood. That's not right."
"No it isn't," Dean agrees with fire in his tone. "It's completely wrong."
"So give her time," Sam tries to suggest lightly. "With Lou… I had to give her a ton of time. And it wasn't easy. You remember how she was… the nightmares that turned into confusion, she attacked people, she was on edge every second of every day…."
"I remember," Dean cuts him off, not needed the whole list.
"But we're really good now," Sam points out the positive. "She's been, I guess, normal for a long time now."
"Yeah, she seems better," Dean nods.
"Be patient. I know that's not your thing and all…."
"Bitch," Dean calls his brother before slugging down more beer.
"But just be understanding," Sam ignore his anger. "She'll come around."
"And when she blows up in front of Sammy?" Dean challenges, this being his largest concern. Anything he sees and deals with is one thing. But his son shouldn't have to. "He's still just trying to figure out who she is. He gets confused sometimes."
Sam doesn't know how to answer that.
"You know, I thought I was gonna feel better when she got back," Dean confesses, sitting back on the couch and rubbing his eyes. "And I do, I really do… but all I do is worry now. It's still…."
"Stressful."
Dean nods, agreeing.
"Well, when has life ever been easy, man," Sam half-laughs at that. "Just more of the same. And family is stressful. Just keep in mind how fucking crazy it is that you have one at all."
"Yeah…." Trailing off, Dean thinks about it. He is thankful, and he does think it's fucking crazy that he has his own family. But he does stress. And he has a lot of concerns about Lizzy. "Hey, uh… this is gonna sound weird…"
"That's always a good way to start," Sam tries to joke.
"Shut up a second," Dean tells him grumpily, unsure of even how to put this. "Uh… when Lou came back… was she… was she… different?"
Sam looks confused. "I think we both know that."
"No, no… like, when it was just the two of you… alone. Was she, just, different?"
Still confused for a second, it dawns on Sam. "Uh… oh. Oh!" He looks around bashfully for a second. "Um… at first. Yeah. She was… she had a hard time. With that."
"Like how?" Dean presses his brother, looking for answers.
Surprised, Sam gets a little flustered. "Well… at first she couldn't let me… touch her. At all. In any way. Like, a hug was bad news."
"Lou?" Dean makes sure they're speaking of the same person.
"I know," Sam huffs. "She said touch was a very bad thing. Every time anything had come close to her it was to attack her the whole time she was in Purgatory so she basically forgot that touch could be a good thing."
Dean makes a face to show how bad he thinks that had to be.
"But, she got past it. We went slow, she… steered the ship for a long while. She overcame it."
"Clearly," Dean comments. "I've lived with you two for a year."
Sam huffs a laugh and looks away. He knows the year has been good for Lou and him. It's been enlightening to say the least. "Is that Lizzy's deal?"
"God no," Dean shakes his head. And then clams up.
"Should I not bother asking, or…?"
Dean picks at the label on his beer for a moment. "She… she's gone feral."
"Meaning?" Sam asks with uncertainty that he does in fact want to know.
"She's like a wild freakin' animal, Sam," Dean looks to his brother. "That first night… she attacked me. And that's not an exaggeration."
"That's… not like Lizzy," Sam knowingly comments.
"No shit," Dean tells him. "I mean, I was bruised up. Scratched. You'd think I hired Mistress Magda or something. It was… not her."
Sam doesn't know how to respond for a moment. Lizzy? On the attack? "Is she… still? Like that?"
"She has her moments," Dean answers. "We talked about it a little. She's calmed down. We had a good night after the first one but sometimes she… reverts a little."
"Dean, is your wife beating you up?" Sam attempts to bring in a little humor.
The look Dean shoots him was meant to kill.
Sam smiles. "Give her time on that too. And, you know, talking wouldn't be a bad thing either. I know you hate doing that but it's kind of what makes for a good marriage."
"Thanks, Doctor Phil," Dean rolls his eyes and chugs some beer. "Been married longer than you have."
"Hey, you asked. And my wife isn't kicking my ass in bed every night."
"So glad I asked about all this. Fuck you."
Sam smiles again, happy to see his brother back. He was scared about being alone with him, especially when Sammy was asleep. Dean's been pissed about Kevin, and rightfully so. But right now they're actually talking. That's got to be a good thing. "You don't seem mad."
"At Lizzy?" Dean asks. "Not her fault."
"No, at me. Lou," Sam changes the subject completely.
"What is this, a therapy session?" Dean gets grumpy.
"No. You were just talking so I thought I'd take advantage."
Dean shakes his head with annoyance, sipping some beer and looking away from Sam. Sam assumes the conversation is over.
"I was disappointed," Dean explains to the window across the room. "You lied to me about Lizzy and you left Kevin to fend for himself against Crowley. That one set me back on my ass."
"I know it did," Sam concedes. "And I know how it seems. We fucked up."
"Damn straight," Dean doesn't let him off the hook for that one. "But… you say you knew Lizzy had a way out. And it was the only way out."
"Yeah." Sam nods sharply.
"How'd you know?"
"Well… research, for one…."
"Hey, check this out," Lou says to Sam as she slide the old book over to him on the coffee table. "The hell is this eerie shit?"
"Holy crap," Sam stops everything and picks up the old, creepy tome. He runs his hand over the cover and binding, knowing he's got his hands on the answer they've been looking for.
"Uh, okay, I'm assuming you know what that book is," Lou comments when he seems too in awe to really fill her in. She pulled the weird book out of one of the many boxes of books, research, and everything informative they collected from Bobby's old stash spots. It looks… sinister.
"It's the book we got off the dragons," Sam explains barely as he opens the pages up.
"Come again?" Lou asks of him.
"Uh… we got this off some monsters the year they all started going haywire," he tells her. "It's basically a guide to Purgatory."
"You're shitting me," Lou gleefully responds and gets up, sitting on the arm of the upholstered chair Sam's in and looking over his shoulder.
"Not at all," Sam tells her. "It's missing just one page about how to open Purgatory and I'm hoping that page is lost forever."
"Here, here," Lou agrees.
"Oh my god," Sam says in a hushed voice, pulling out a folded stack of lined paper from the middle of two pages. Opened up, he gets on look and knows that handwriting well.
"Bobby wrote that," Lou comments, also recognizing it.
"It's his notes," Sam says with shock. "He translated it. Ha, he actually translated it."
"God damn, Bobby," Lou remarks, looking at his good work with total esteem. "He was the smartest mother fucker, I swear."
"Here, take half," Sam gives her some pages of translation and they set to work, skimming the notes.
"Here!" Lou says excitedly after a few minutes. "Purgatory's Human Escape Hatch."
"That's it," Sam leans into her and looks it over with her.
"Says here… Purgatory was meant for the beasts of the Earth that harbor no soul," she reads. "If a human were to find itself there then Purgatory would correct the mistake. A human, only one with a soul and a body, can pass through the portal and return to the Earth where it belongs." She hands it to him. "Mother of fuck, it's real."
Sam says nothing as he rereads the passage.
"Is that book trustworthy?" she wonders.
"It was used to get the Mother of All out, wasn't it?" Sam comments once done reading and places the papers on the coffee table. He runs a hand through his hair that just keeps getting longer. "She can get out."
"If she knows about it, yeah," Lou figures. "And… if she survives long enough to find it."
Sam places a hand on her knee, his new wedding band still shining as she looks down at it.
"She's Lizzy," Sam reminds her. "She's getting out."
Right then they hear some fussing upstairs.
"And there's the exact reason why I know that's true," Sam points to the second floor. "She'll never leave Sammy for good and you know it."
"It's just… it's bad there, Sam," Lou says yet again.
"I have faith in her," Sam says and stands up, kissing her forehead. "So should you." He starts for the stairs. "Dean will be done with his shift soon. You mind putting that away?"
"No problem," Lou say quietly, placing everything back into the box and leaving the creepy Purgatory book on top. She wants to read it later.
"We knew," Sam tells his brother. "We knew the way out was there and that Lizzy would find it. It was the safest way. Anything else we came up with was far too risky. Lizzy herself would kill us if we tried any of it."
Dean sits with all that. "At least you did you homework if you were gonna lie to me."
Sam huffs with annoyance. "We didn't want to lie…"
"I get it, Sam. I do. And even if I wasn't gonna go guano and rip Purgatory a new hole to get her out… I get why you thought I would. I might not have always been the most rational person concerning her… maybe."
"Maybe," Sam leaves it at that.
"And when you knew Kevin was out there, needing help, you left and you tried."
"And failed."
"But tried. It ain't always about win or lose. You just gotta fight," Dean reminds him. "And now, we're on the case of the missing honor student. We'll find him. He can't hide from us forever."
Sam nods and takes it for what it is. A shockingly mature reaction to his fuck up. A year before Dean would have absolutely blown up, probably punched him in the face at least once. But now he's just being an adult and moving forward. It's mind-blowing, really. "Man, you're like a full blown adult these days."
"And you're still a bitch. Shut up," Dean fires out to him and looks down at the screen on the laptop. "How long you think it'll take him to slip up?"
"If he does? I don't know. Kevin's damn smart."
"Not smarter than us."
"Way smarter than us," Sam laughs and gets up, ready to dive back into it with his own computer. "Lemme know if you see anything."
"You mean before Sammy wakes up and steals me away?" Dean comments. "Kid's a friggin' Energizer bunny."
Sam just huffs a laugh, knowing it's very true, as he goes back to work.