When the Cradle Falls
Chapter Twenty-Five: Shoulder the World
Noah was finally having a nightmare. He knew he was dreaming, but he also knew this nightmare would soon become a reality.
For in the dream, he was dressed in a black suit-he didn't even own one-and wore white gloves. He held onto one of the silver handles of a shiny wood casket. It was a dark mahogany, and Noah could see a distorted reflection of himself on the surface. Looking away from his eerie double, Noah removed his hands from the handle and heaved the closed lid up. The coffin was suddenly on a stand so it didn't need to be held by him and the other faceless pallbearers anymore. The lid swung back into an upright position. And propped up unnaturally in the casket, with white skin, was his father. Dean's face appeared rubbery and his hands were strangely arranged across his chest. His head was bent at a strange angle, resting against a lacy white pillow. He also wore a black suit.
"Dad?" Noah asked. His voice sounded far away, like he hadn't been the one to say it.
But as Noah said that, the lid of the casket suddenly pounded shut and the ground disappeared beneath his feet. Landing six feet under the ground, Noah attempted to claw his way out of a freshly dug grave.
As he looked up and saw the bright blue sky, a shovelful of dirt flung itself onto his face. Coughing and sputtering, Noah watched Cara's head poke over the side. She squinted as if she couldn't see all the way down. She wasn't wearing her glasses, and eventually, it seemed like she didn't think there was anything to see at the bottom of the grave.
"Cara!" Noah called, but it sounded like a faint echo.
Her head disappeared and another shovel of dirt landed at his feet. This time, Alice's head poked out. It was obvious she was distraught, crying and shaking. "My poor baby," she wailed.
"Mom! I'm alive! Help me! Mom?" Just like Cara, Alice vanished from sight.
Another shovel of dirt, and this time, his father was there. Alive.
"Dad, why can't you see me? I'm right here in front of you!"
Just as with the others, Dean didn't hear him.
The shovels of dirt kept coming and it seemed like everyone Noah had ever seen was there, seeing right through him, burying him alive. There was Uncle Sam, Aunt Jan, Uncle Bobby, and countless others.
Eventually, the dirt was packed around him, all the way up to his chin. He could barely move his head, and soon, he wouldn't be able to breathe.
"It's not even that deep,"
Upon hearing that, Noah's marrow chilled and he immediately began to panic. Thrashing, he tried to free himself from the dirt, but it was as solid as concrete.
He was stuck, left to watch in horror as Tyler and Jason Hanratty peered over the side. "You know, I think being buried alive is worse than drowning."
"Don't you dare!" Noah screamed, convinced someone else's voice was speaking for him. He'd never heard himself sound that frantic or deranged. It couldn't possibly be him.
"We're just playing a game!"
"No! You were gonna hurt us!" Noah cried back.
One of the boys peered down. He had black eyes. "We didn't get to finish our game last time."
And as Noah opened his mouth to scream, a final layer of dirt came down upon him, completely burying him.
Noah shot up with a loud gasp. Staring around the darkness, his eyes slowly adjusted, and he realized he was in a motel room, on a pull out couch bed. Hand clutching at his chest, he had to remind himself out to breathe for a few moments before it leveled out.
Looking out across the room, Noah saw his parents asleep in one bed, Cara sprawled out on the other.
Laying back down, Noah was about to go back to sleep when he remembered why they were in a motel. His dad was dying.
Heart rate shooting up again, Noah sat up quickly and grabbed his shoes and jacket that were in a pile near the couch.
Dad's dying.
Dad's gonna die.
Dad's gonna be dead in a month.
Very carefully, Noah tiptoed across the room, to the door. He unlocked it and winced when it clicked loudly.
Not even bothering to look back to see if anyone had woken up, Noah shut the door behind him and crossed his arms to fend off the cold.
But at least he could breathe.
Noah went and leaned against the hood of the Impala, parked between their and Sam's room. Aunt Jan had left for Chicago the night before, after Dean insisted she didn't need to worry about him.
Dad's gonna die.
Dad's gonna die.
Dad's gonna die.
"Stop it," Noah whispered to himself. He remembered years ago when had pushed Cara into the coffee table years ago. Now, he can't even recall why he had done it. But Mom had been so mad at him and Dad had told Noah he needed to protect those he cared about.
That's what being a man was: taking care of those who couldn't take care of themselves, and protecting those he loved.
So what kind of man would be be, if he couldn't comfort his mother and sister, let alone himself without falling apart like a girl? Why couldn't he be strong for his dad, show Dean that Noah would be able to be the man of the house after he was gone?
Two steady streams of tears began to fall down Noah's cheeks. Angered at himself for crying so much, Noah growled and kicked his feet against the bumper of the Impala. "Why can't you just stop crying?" he hissed to himself, which only caused the tears to turn from sad to frustrated.
Having lost track of how many times he'd flipped through his father's journal, Sam had to push it away when his eyes began to hurt, staring at the script. He rubbed his eyes and groaned.
The journal was written in a strange half-cursive half printed font. The letters left deep and angry indents in the page, indicating John Winchester always pressed too hard with the pen when he wrote. Without even reading the words, the very appearance of the letters themselves revealed John Winchester's hunger for revenge.
Once again irritated with his father for ignoring his calls, Sam slammed the cover of the leather-bound journal shut, and gripped it angrily between his two hands. Feeling like he wanted to tear it apart, Sam took several deep breaths before smashing it back down onto the table.
He couldn't look at those pages filled with angry scribbles anymore.
But he had to keep looking.
Calm the fuck down, Sam hissed internally.
Then he paused and thought for a moment.
He was a mess.
Knowing he should get some sleep, and knowing he was tired, but also knowing he wouldn't be able to fall asleep, Sam stood and stretched out his cramped back. He'd been sitting for hours, attempting to find a Hail Mary so he could save his brother. Not only for his own sake, but for Alice and the kids.
Moving to the window, Sam pulled back the curtain, to see if the sun was anywhere near rising.
When he peered outside, he noticed a figure, hunched over, a top the Impala.
Feeling himself stiffen, Sam grabbed his pistol and shoved it into the waistband of his pants. He turned off the light in his room before pulling open the door, so the figure wouldn't see him coming as easily.
Stealthily, Sam covered the small distance from his door to the car.
But he stopped just short of parking lot, where an awning hanging over the doors, met the blacktop.
The figure on top of the Impala was much smaller up close. It was curled upon itself, muttering angrily and sniffling.
And Sam realized it wasn't a monster, or even a vagrant.
"Noah?" Sam's hand immediately fell away from the handle of the gun.
Blinking in surprise at the sound of someone else's voice, Noah glanced up to find his uncle standing in front of him.
"Buddy, what are you doing out here?" Sam asked. He glanced around the dark parking lot. It wasn't a particularly great place for a ten year old to be hanging out in the middle of the night, especially alone.
Noah sighed, his entire body shuddering. "It's stupid."
"What?"
Noah drew his knees up to his chest and shoved his face against them so anything he said was muffled. "I had a bad dream."
Quietly, Sam came and sat beside Noah. "It's not stupid. I have bad dreams sometimes, too."
Surprised, Noah glanced up at his uncle. "Oh. What do you dream about?"
"Some are about Jess."
"Oh."
Sam nodded and gently asked, "Do you want to tell me what it was about? You don't have to if you don't want to."
Noah was shaking his head. "No it's okay. I'll tell you."
He mentally prepared himself.
"I had a dream we were burying my dad. But suddenly, I was the one in the ground. In a grave. One at a time, people I knew would poke their head down and then throw a shovelful of dirt on me. But they couldn't hear me scream. They didn't even see me. It was like I wasn't even there.
"And eventually...those two that tried to drown me and Cara showed up."
Sam felt his breath catch. He had only ever heard of the Hanratty brothers, and he knew if he ever crossed their paths, he would've killed them, even though they were kids.
They had these...black eyes. And they buried me."
"What?"
"Huh?" Noah looked up, confused. His eyes felt itchy.
"What did you say?"
"They buried me?"
"No. Their eyes turned black?"
"Yeah?" Noah said, not sure why his uncle was so hung up on that one detail. Little did he know those brothers had been possessed by that black eyed bitch Sonja, as she'd nearly reached Cara and Noah, with nothing but evil intentions.
Sam shook his head. Why was Noah having dreams about demons when he didn't even know what they were? "Nothing."
"And then I came out here cause I needed some air," Noah said, moving past the strange glitch in the conversation. Still, Sam's mind hung on that one piece of information.
"You really shouldn't be out here alone, you know," Sam chastised gently.
Noah shrugged. "I know." He had other things he actually had to worry about, then. "I wish I would stop crying."
Sam sighed and put his arm around Noah. "It's alright to cry."
"I just wanna be strong for them."
As if he were a little boy again, Sam caught a glimpse at a young Dean, a child who had the weight of the world on his shoulders. However, the boy in front of him was not Dean, but Noah.
For Dean, the necessity of him to look out for his family was drilled into him by John Winchester.
For Noah, it seemed to be innate.
"It's not your job to take care of everyone," Sam said softly. It was something Dean had never been told, and maybe it was something his son needed to hear.
"But how can I not? It's my family."
Again, Sam was blown away by Noah's fierce loyalty at such a young age. No doubt, Dean was proud of him.
"Noah, I promise I'll do everything I can to make sure your dad doesn't die."
"What can you do?" There was a jaded edge in the boy's voice, and Sam felt a barb in his heart.
Sam wanted to bite back that he was doing everything he could, but how could he explain it to Noah without spilling the beans that monsters were real? "Just...have some faith."
Tiredly, Noah nodded, not saying anything. Sam couldn't tell if Noah really believed him or not, or if the boy was just humoring him.
"You should probably head back to bed before your parents wake up."
"Please. Just a few for minutes?"
"Fine. Just a few minutes."
They sat there in silence for longer than a few minutes. Sam's head spun as he thought about what Noah had seen in his dream. Black eyes.
Surely, it was just a coincidence, but how could it be?
After sitting out there for a little longer, Sam nudged Noah, but the boy's head lobbed to the side, meeting Sam's upper arm. Realizing Noah was sleeping, Sam sighed.
Not wanting to wake his nephew up, Sam carefully lifted the boy in his arms and started walking towards the motel room. As he reached the door, it swung open and a sickly looking Dean stepped out past the doorframe.
"He's fine," Sam explained quickly. "He just fell asleep-"
Dean just smirked. "I know. I was watching through the window the entire time."
Sam frowned. "Then why-"
"I figured he could use some space. Don't worry, I had my eye on him. But thanks, for going out there. I got him," Dean insisted, when Sam tried to carry Noah into the room.
Reluctantly, Sam handed Noah to Dean and watched the father stagger and struggle to carefully place his son on the couch, without waking him up.
After he'd covered Noah in a blanket, Dean limped back over to the open door and appraised his brother. "Why does it look like you haven't gotten any sleep?"
"I have. I-"
"Whatever dude." Dean didn't feel like arguing. There was no point when he didn't have much time left.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Sam asked.
Sensing the urgency in Sam's voice, Dean looked back into the dark motel room and shut it behind him. He leaned against the wall of the building, trying not to make it obvious it was a struggle for him to stand. Carrying Noah the four feet to his bed had really sapped Dean of his energy.
What kind of father did that make him that he couldn't even carry his child to their bed?
Banishing the self-flagellating thoughts, Dean crossed his arms. "What's up?"
"Noah had a bad dream."
Dean raised his eyebrows and tried to remain nonchalant. "A ten year old having a bad dream? Call the cops."
"Shut up for a second and let me talk. In his dream, he said he was being buried alive and he saw those brothers that almost drowned him and Cara. You know? The ones Sonja and her asshole pal possessed?"
"Yeah I know," Dean snapped. Any mention of those little sociopaths made him see red.
"In his dream, Noah said they had black eyes."
Dean frowned and looked up. "What did you say?"
"Those brothers had black eyes in his dream."
Dean didn't say anything.
"He...doesn't know about demons, does he?"
"No!" Dean snapped, insulted. "And he's not ever gonna know!"
"Dean-"
"It's just a coincidence, Sam."
Sam knew Dean was trying to deny anything could be going on. Dean refused to believe Sam's dreams came true. And surely, Dean wouldn't want to believe Noah's dreams were similar to Sam's.
"How could he dream about something like that? That's not a coincidence. Dean...what if they're like mine?" Sam was terrified to even suggest it, but Dean shut him down.
"No. They're not like yours. And besides, you just have bad dreams. Everyone has bad dreams." Dean paused. "Look, Sam. I know you haven't probably slept in days. You look worse than me. Get some shut eye, alright?"
Sensing the conversation was coming to a close, Sam deflated. "Sure, Dean."
"Oh, and one more thing?"
"What?"
"Don't tell Alice. She's got enough to worry about."
With that, Dean said goodnight and shut the door to his motel room.
Slowly making his way back to his own room, Sam felt his mind whirring overtime.
He needed to find a way to save Dean.
And fast.
"Where are we going again?"
Alice sighed and blinked against the bright, rising sun. "Iowa. Your Uncle Sam said he found someone that could help Dad." Dean was passed out in the passenger seat and Cara was in the back, leaning forward between the seats.
"How is he gonna help Dad?"
"Cara, put your seatbelt on," Alice demanded, glancing back in the rearview mirror.
Huffing, the young girl slid back to her seat and buckled herself in.
In front of them was Sam driving the Impala, leading the way. After much begging, Noah had finally convinced Alice to let him ride in the Impala with Sam, citing that his uncle needed company. Alice was half expecting Cara to try and ride in the Impala as well, but she seemed to want to stay close to her father, a sort of new behavior for her. Usually, Cara was aloof and standoffish around her father. Perhaps knowing he was dying made her regret being so terrible to him for so many years.
"How can they help Dad?"
"I don't know baby. But have some faith." Alice felt dirty for telling her daughter that when she didn't even believe it herself. When Sam had told them he head a lead, he was so forceful, and hopeful that Alice and Dean didn't even get the chance to question him. Dean decided to let Sam have his lead that would likely go nowhere, while Alice was afraid to let go of the last hangnail of hope they had.
Cara nodded and stared at the back of her father's head, but remained silent. Cara knew better than to hope everything was okay, but she couldn't imagine living in a world where her father wasn't there. Not one where he existed but didn't see them, but one where he was dead.
So, against her most rational thoughts, Cara allowed herself to hope.
Noah leaned forward in his seat as Sam drove the Impala up to what looked like a circus tent. Above the entrance of the tent was a crudely painted sign reading "The Church of Roy LeGrange. Faith Healer. Witness The Miracle."
Frowning, he turned to his uncle. "Where are we?"
"Uhh…" Sam pretended to focus intently on parking the car. He exited the Impala quickly, Noah following behind, questioning.
Sam and Noah were getting out as Alice pulled up behind them. As the trio got out from that car, Sam tried to ignore the bitchy glares his brother was sending him, even when he went to help him.
"Man, you are a lying bastard. Thought you said we were going to see a doctor," Dean muttered under his breath as Sam helped him out of the car.
"I believe I said a specialist. Look Dean, this guy's supposed to be the real deal."
Alice joined the two men and glared pointedly at Sam. "Seriously?"
"What?"
"What? Was Joel Osteen taken?" Alice snapped quietly. Dean started chuckling at that.
Ignoring his response, Alice indignantly continued. "Look, that's now how God operates, Sam. All those TV evangelists and anyone of the sort are all fakes. You can't just ask God to-" Alice immediately stopped talking and coughed when Cara and Noah ambled over to the group, both wary of their surroundings.
The kids were the first to notice a man arguing with a cop. Cara had nudged Noah in the ribs, and the two quietly watched the altercation. The protesting man pointed indignantly towards the tent. "I have a right to protest. This man is a fraud. And he's milking all these people out of their hard-earned money." He held a sign that read "Roy LeGrange is a Fraud" in all red block letters.
Cara felt her mouth turning down into a frown. What the hell were they doing here? Looking at her brother, she could tell he was thinking something along the same lines.
Looking aggravated, the cop flexed his arms. "This is a place of worship. Let's go. Move it along."
Obviously not wanting to chance getting arrested, the man stalked away, the cop trailing behind to make sure the he actually left.
"I take it he's not part of the flock," Dean commented.
"Dean," Alice hissed. She smacked his chest and nodded back at Cara and Noah, whose attention was swivelling back to their parents and uncle.
"What? It's not like you believe any of this anyway. And I'm not gonna give my kids false hope. I mean come on, Sam. A faith healer?" Dean turned his attention from Alice to Sam.
"Maybe it's time to have a little faith, Dean."
"You know what I've got faith in? Reality. Knowing what's really going on."
Sam shook his head. "How can you be a skeptic? With the things we see everyday."
"That's enough you two," Alice cut across. "No more." She nudged her head back at Cara and Noah, who were silently listening to their conversation, seemingly just absorbing everything the adults were saying. It was easy to see both weren't convinced by the spectacle. It was also obvious they knew something wasn't sitting right with the adults.
"What are we doing here?" Noah finally asked, entering the adult's circle.
Sam cleared his throat. "Hopefully Pastor LeGrange can heal your father-"
"Uncle Sam…" Cara began, but slowly trailed off. Her tone was lofty and and questioning, but it was obvious There was still a small part of her that was clinging to hope.
Alice sighed in aggravation. She didn't know what to tell her kids. She wanted them to have faith, but this was so obviously a sham, even if there was a caring God. And she could tell even they saw through the bullshit "Let's just go in. Okay?" she suggested tiredly.
The family entered the tent and Sam immediately headed for the front row, with Dean in tow. Mumbling under her breath Alice followed behind them, Cara and Noah bringing up the rear.
The inside was dimly lit, the only light source a few candles up on a makeshift altar. A heavy, intricately decorated wrought iron cross sat in the middle of the candles.
In stark contrast with that, security cameras hung around the tent.
"Uh huh peace, love, and trust all over," Dean grumbled as they made their way towards the front.
As the group huddled around the pew, Dean tried to go in first, but Sam pulled him back. Alice slid in first, followed by Noah, then Cara. Dean tried to slide in after his daughter, but Sam pulled him back once again.
"Dude, seriously?"
"Sit on the end so you can get out."
"This is ridiculous," Dena growled, as Sam slid in. Reluctantly Dean slid in last, on the end of the pew in the very front. He felt exposed.
"Perfect."
"Yeah, perfect," Dean mocked, pouting.
"Dad?"
"Yeah, sweetheart?" Dean leaned past his brother to his daughter, who was staring at him with a strange expression on her face.
He frowned. "What's wrong?"
Abruptly leaning back, Cara swallowed. "N-nothing." How was she supposed to have hope when her father didn't even have any?
"Cara," Dean began, but before he could continue, the audience hushed as a gray haired man in sunglasses was ushered onto stage by a woman with a tight bun and a cross around her neck. She had a stony expression on her face, that was poorly veiled by a smile.
Alice could tell that smile was fake.
Because it had suddenly struck Alice how much that woman reminded her of her mother, Sherry Mercer, right down to the mannerisms.
That revelation alone put a bad taste in Alice's mouth.
Leaning back in distaste, Alice crossed her arms tightly across her chest, growing wearier and warier with each passing minute.
Glancing down the pew at everyone, Sam hoped this would work. It needed to work. Of course, Sam hadn't told Alice his contact had been a hunter he'd found in his father's journal. He was just glad she'd been too baffled and taken off guard by the whole event to question it. He was prepared for later, when she ambushed him. But first, this had to work.
Roy's hands attempted to reach for the sides of the lectern. After several attempts, he finally gripped the edges as the crowd quieted.
"He's blind?"
"Noah," Alice hissed, mortified at how loud her son had asked the question.
Roy's head swiveled towards the source of the sound. He smiled. "Yes I am, young man. Children. Truly a gift from God."
A chorus of amens echoed throughout the tent. The Winchester/Mercer family winced and looked around with varying levels of embarrassment and discomfort.
As the murmurs died down, Roy began. "Each morning, my wife, Sue Ann, reads me the news. Never seems good does it?"
The people in the audience nodded and murmured in affirmation.
"Seems like there's always someone committing some immoral, unspeakable act," Roy continued. "But I say to you, God is watching."
Alice swallowed as the crowd fervently agreed.
"God rewards the good and punishes the corrupt."
Feeling like crawling into a shell or storming out of the tent, Alice's eyes darted from side to side. It felt like everyone was watching her, like they knew her sins by name, the levity of her actions. In her head was a tug of war of the doubt that gnawed at her and the guilt of that doubt and for the things she should've done differently. She'd lied to a nun and had been running from God and then reaching out to Him at the same time.
Clenching and unclenching her fists in her hands, Alice tried to take some deep, quiet breaths. Her heart was hammering away in her chest. The beat increased with each guilt-inducing statement Roy proclaimed.
"It is the Lord who does the healing here friends. The Lord who guides me in choosing who to heal by helping me see into people's hearts."
Dean scoffed, not buying this crap the crook was putting down. "Yeah and into their wallets," Dean muttered snidely to Sam, from the corner of his mouth.
A faint smile graced Roy's lips. "You think so, young man?"
Immediately, the crowd became silent. And Alice knew now people were actually looking at them.
"Sorry," Dean said.
Waving a hand, Roy laughed it off. "No, no. Don't be. Just watch what you say around a blind man. We have real sharp ears." The crowd laughed in response.
"What's your name, son?"
"Uh...Dean."
Roy nodded at that, like the answer didn't surprise him. "Dean. Strong name. I want you to come up here with me."
"Nah. It's okay."
"What are you doing?!" Sam poked his brother sharply in the arm.
"But you've come here to be healed, haven't you?" Roy asked.
Glaring at Sam, Dean reluctantly answered the blind man. "Well yeah I guess...but maybe you should pick someone else."
Roy seemed almost amused by Dean's hesitation. "Oh no. I didn't pick you, Dean. The Lord did."
Starting to feel exceedingly uncomfortable by everything and the atmosphere of the excited audience, Alice was beginning to wonder if there was more to this than met the eye. Sam was obviously eager for Dean to get up on that stage. It made her wonder what he hadn't told them.
And although she knew they hunted monsters, dancing with death didn't seem like a smart idea.
But if it could work…
After pressure from the crowd and Sam, Dean found himself reluctantly up from his seat, slowly moving towards the stage. He could feel the creepy, brainwashed eyes of the crowd behind, drilling into his back. I swear I'm gonna kill you Sam, he thought as he climbed the wooden stairs.
Sue Ann ushered Dean to stand beside Roy.
He looked out at the crowd, focusing on the first row. Sam was forward in his seat, eager for the process to begin. Cara and Noah looked anxious and unsure. Dean immediately wished they weren't here. Although this place was supposedly "family-friendly" and supposedly churchy, it gave off a more culty vibe. He didn't like Cara and Noah surrounded by a bunch of fanatical drones.
"You ready?" Roy asked.
Finally, Dean made eye contact with Alice. She was nervously biting her nail, rigid in her seat. He knew she probably wanted to be here even less than he did.
Returning his gaze, Alice stopped her fidgeting and became still. She held his gaze for a moment, her eyes conflicted. But eventually, she gave a subtle, reluctant nod.
"As ready as I will be, I guess."
Roy placed one hand on Dean's hand and raised the other one in the air. "Pray with me friends. Alright now. Alright now."
As Roy continued to mutter, Dean began to look strange. His eyes began to droop, mouth hanging open. Eventually, his knees buckled and he collapsed to the ground, still.
In a frantic blur, Sam, Alice, and both kids were up on their feet, simultaneously yelling "Dean!" and "Dad!" while the crowd roared with ironic applause in the background.
Alice had thrown herself onto Dean's body, tears streaming down her face. "No no no Dean no!" Alice muttered hands pulling at his shoulders begging him to wake up. "We weren't supposed to be like this!"
There was a growing, irrational panic that Alice had caused this. God was punishing her for the sinful live she'd led and the lack of faith she'd had in Him. She thought God was just cold, but she hadn't believed he was wrathful. Not until now.
While she continued to shake, Roy's voice came behind them. "Don't you worry kids, God has taken care of your dad and restored his health. Now young lady, there's no need to cry. Take him to the doctor and they'll tell you he's fine."
As Roy spoke, Dean's eyes fluttered and Alice let out a relieved gasp. Her hands moved to either side of his face as he stared in confusion over her left shoulder.
"Dean, you're okay," Alice reassured.
A heavy hand fell on Alice's shoulder and she whipped around.
Roy's wife Sue Ann was staring down at her with a superior, icy grin. "You see young lady, the Lord works in mysterious ways."
In a crappily lit patient room of the closest hospital to LeGrange's religious circus, Dean sat in a white paper gown on a flat mattress, with crossed arms and a stoic expression on his face.
"So you really feel okay?" Sam asked from where he stood near the doorway.
"I feel fine, Sam."
Noticing how Dean was avoiding his gaze, Sam was about to ask him again when Alice re-entered the room. "So," she began. "I talked to the doctor."
Sam perked up. "Yeah? What'd they say?"
She glanced at him sideways, with a slightly scathing glance. "That it's is a freaking miracle. According to the tests, there's nothing wrong with him. I looked at the tests too and there was no sign there was anything ever wrong with your heart, Dean. The doctor almost didn't believe you had a heart attack."
"That's odd," Dean intoned quietly.
"Not just odd. You're a medical anomaly, Dean." Alice kept her voice soft and careful while she talked to him. She saved her wrath for when she rounded on Sam.
"What the hell did you do?"
Shocked at the way she had spoken to him, it took Sam a moment to realize she was in fact talking to him.
"What?" Sam asked in confusion.
"I wanna know where the hell you found this 'faith healer' Sam, and what kind of sacrilegious-"
"Where are Cara and Noah." Sam asked, trying to change the conversation.
"In the cafeteria," Alice brusquely responded. "Don't try to change the subject you-"
"You used Dad's journal, didn't you?" Dean cut in, fully participating in the conversation.
Sam nodded. "Yeah there was a contact that told me about Roy."
Dean shook his head. "You shouldn't have done that."
"What, why?"
"There's something off about this whole thing."
Sam sighed. "Look, Dean, do we really have to look this thing in the mouth? Why can't we just be thankful that the guy saved your life and move on?"
"Because I just can't shake this feeling, that's why."
"What feeling?" Alice asked.
Dean glanced between Alice and Sam, standing on opposite sides of the bed. He gestured helplessly. "When I was healed, I just...I felt wrong. I felt cold. And for a second...I saw someone. This, uh, this old man. And I'm telling you Sam, it was a spirit."
"A spirit?" Alice squeaked just as Dean's doctor entered the room.
"A spirit-the spirit of the Lord healed you, honey. What a miracle. Amen," Alice awkwardly fumbled as the doctor gave her a curious glance. She coughed and smiled at him innocently.
"What's up, Doc?" Dean asked.
The doctor smirked and shuffled through his clipboard. "Just wanted to do one last check on you before you go. Of course, everything looks good. No sign there was ever anything wrong. Not that a man your age should be having heart trouble. Although strange, it does still happen."
"What do you mean, strange?" Dean asked.
"Well, just yesterday, we had a patient, a young man, just like you, twenty-seven, athletic. And then out of nowhere, heart attack. Take care."
"Thanks, Doc."
"No problem," the doctor said as he left the room.
With raised eyebrows, Dean gave his younger brother a pointed look. "You believe me now that there's something off?"
Sam shrugged, a little more unsure. "Well, what do you wanna do then?"
"I want you to go check out the heart attack guy. I'm gonna visit the reverend."
"You can't be serious, Dean!"
"Huh?" Dean looked at Alice in confusion.
"You just got healed by healed and now you wanna go poking at the thing that healed you?! Don't bite the hand that feeds you, Dean!"
"I thought you weren't okay with this. You're telling me you don't want answers?"
She shrugged, torn. "I'm damn curious, but if sniffing around the thing is gonna reverse what happened to you-"
A bit frustrated, Dean ran a hand through his hair. "Look, Allie, I know the risks. But this is what we do, and if you don't like it, then don't let the door smack you on the way out."
There was silence for the moment, and Sam was slowly beginning to backpedal towards the door.
Alice's mouth flattened into a thin line. She crossed her arms. Giving Dean her signature "motherly" glower, normally reserved for Cara and Noah, Alice began tapping her foot. "You really think you're gonna be able to scare me away now, Winchester?"
Dean's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. "I-I-"
She leaned forward and pecked a kiss on his open mouth. "I'm gonna take the kids back to the motel. Call me if you find anything."
Cara and Noah sat at a table in one corner of the cafeteria, with instructions not to move until someone came back to get them. Their mother had brought them there to get something to eat while she talked to the doctor.
Out of boredom, Noah was blowing raspberries as his head laid on his arm. Cara was holding her glasses in her hands and pulling them away and back to her face, watching through the lenses as the scene around her changed, from bigger to smaller, and from sharper to blurrier.
Their fear of their father collapsing to the excitement of finding out he was okay had dissolved into boredom as they waited for someone to come get them. They had finished their food ages ago and now the warped cafeteria trays sat forlornly on the table, abandoned.
They had discussed Roy LeGrange to great lengths and decided they didn't understand anything of what was going on. Alice tried to convince them it was a miracle from God, but both had heard her talk about her disbelief on the issue to their uncle and father.
They were eventually left with Alice flat out telling them to stop asking questions in a tone that indicated Alice didn't want either of them trying to cross her.
"Should we just go back up to his room?" Cara asked. She was in sixth grade and thought it was ridiculous she had to wait for her mommy to come pick her up, especially when there were much more pressing things to worry about.
"Mom said to wait," Noah muttered half heartedly.
"I know where the room is. You just go down the hall and then turn left-"
"Hi Mom," Noah piped up as Alice suddenly approached.
She seemed ruffled as she came to the table, like she was in a hurry. "Sorry it took so long."
"But Dad's okay? The doctor said so?" Cara demanded, needing the reassurance.
"Yes. Dad's good as new."
"Can we see him?" Noah asked.
Apprehensively, Alice wrung her hands together and mentally prepped herself. "Not right now. We're going back to the hotel."
"What? Why?"
She sighed. "Dad and Uncle Sam have some things to take care of."
"What things?" Noah asked impatiently. Cara wanted to see her father, but she was just so relieved he was okay, that she didn't want to add to the stress everyone was feeling. So she remained silent.
"I don't know. They didn't say."
Neither of them were buying the weak explanations their mother was giving, and even though Cara had internally swore she would behave herself, she was irritated her mother was treating her like they were too stupid to understand what was going on. She clamped her mouth shut and looked down at the table, trying to remain quiet.
"You didn't ask?" Noah asked sassily.
"No, I didn't."
Don't ask don't tell. Cara scoffed. That was the code in which their family lived by when it came to what their dad did when he wasn't with them-which was most of the time. To Alice, she at least knew what Dean did with his time. Cara and Noah had no idea.
Not a clue.
"Aren't you curious?" Noah inquired, staring at his mother intently.
Alice clenched her teeth. She was always glad her kids were so smart and so intuitive. She had always encouraged their inquisitiveness, but as they grew older and more aware, it became harder and harder to explain things she hardly understood, and hardly believed.
"It's none of my business," she responded.
"But he's your-" Noah stopped himself. What were his parents to each other? They weren't married. Weren't even really boyfriend and girlfriend. "But it's Dad."
"I've never asked. Look, it's been a long few days. I'm sure you guys are tired-"
"Stop treating us like we're babies!" Cara spontaneously spat. She was up, one knee resting on the bench, the other foot placed firmly on the ground. Her hands were pressed against the table as she leaned forward and glared at her mother.
Alice raised her eyebrows, forcing herself to stand her ground. If there was one thing about Cara-the girl thought she was grown, and she insisted she be treated as such.
"Yeah! We know something's going on that you're not telling us!" Noah added, egged on by his older sister. "This whole thing has been super weird and now suddenly you're acting like everything is fine! Stop lying to us!"
While they weren't exactly wrong, Alice wasn't going to let herself be disrespected by her kids that had no idea what was going on. They didn't know what they were talking about, and it was her job to make sure it remained that way, even if it meant bringing down the hammer, and making them hate her for a little longer.
She'd rather they hate her and be safe than like her and be in danger.
She hated it had to be that way, but that was the way it was.
"You're not a baby, Cara. I know you're very mature, but you're not an adult either. And Noah, don't you dare accuse me of lying to you again."
Alice intensified her tone and gave the two a stern, motherly look. "I told you two no more questions about this. So cut it out. One more word or complaint from either of you and I'll ground you two for a month. Got it?"
Surprised by the uncharacteristic harshness from their mother, Cara and Noah blinked rapidly. Verbally slapped, they slowly nodded with lowered eyes, afraid to look at her.
Wishing she hadn't had to go there with them, Alice maintained her current composure. Any crack or insecurity in her character was something they could use against her. She wasn't going to let them undermine her. She was their mother and she knew what was best for them, even if they didn't like it.
"Okay, good. Throw your garbage away and put those trays back from where you got them. We're leaving."
Doing as they were told, Cara and Noah sullenly did as they were told and began to follow their mother out of the cafeteria, out of the hospital, and without their father.
Heart racing in a mixture of anger at the fact her kids wouldn't take her crappy word, and Dean for just leaving, and also the fact there was a case here, Alice tried to keep her breathing level and face even and smooth. It was times like this she wished she had a normal, nuclear family. It was so hard when she had to be the bad cop all the time. She was the one who had to discipline on a day to day basis. And although Dean did occasionally when he came over, he didn't do it with much gusto. Alice knew he felt guilty and didn't want to have Cara and Noah be mad at him for the small amount of time he was over. So that was why he was usually a pushover when it came to behavioral issues. And now that he had been pulled back from the brink of death and Alice wasn't even allowing them to see him, she knew they were going to resent her for that too.
If she had a husband or least a consistent parent, she could lean on them and talk to him. And although she loved Dean and loved it when he came to visit, she often felt lonely.
And now, he was off working a case with his brother. His two lives were bumping up against one another, with Alice the only buffer between hunting and his children.
Add that to her own existential crisis of faith and self, and the loneliness and hardship of raising two kids virtually alone, Alice didn't know how much more she could take.
She wasn't Atlas, after all.
Slamming the motel door behind him, Dean tossed his keys and jacket onto the table. He had just gotten back from talking to Roy and his wife Sue Ann. According to the couple, Dean being healed had been a miracle, the grace of God. He hadn't believed it.
And then, not able to contain himself, Dean asked why Roy had chosen him of all people, to be healed.
"I looked into your heart, and you just stood out from all the rest. A young man with an important purpose. A job to do. And it isn't finished." That was what Roy had said.
What had that job been? Was it to find his father? Or be a better father? Dean had wondered this briefly, before deciding Roy was nothing more than a crazy, maybe evil, old con man with something supernatural in his pocket.
"I'm sorry."
"Huh?" Dean glanced up at Sam. "Sorry about what?" he approached the bed Sam was slumped against.
"Marshall Hall died at 4:17." Marshall Hall was the man who died of a heart attack mentioned by the doctor after they had determined Dean was fine.
"Same time as me," Dean muttered. "How'd he die?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"Heart attack," Sam supplied. He shuffled through some papers on his lap. "Yeah. So, I put together a list of everyone Roy's healed, six people over the past year, and I cross-checked them with the local obits. Every time someone was healed, someone else died. And each time, the victim died of the same symptom LeGrange was healing at the time."
"So, someone's healed of cancer and someone else dies of cancer?"
Sam nodded slowly, looking somewhat ill. "Somehow, LeGrange...he's trading one life for another."
With a sickening realization, Dean sank down onto the edge of the bed. "Wait, wait, wait. So you're saying Marshall Hall died to save me?"
"Dean, the guy probably would've died anyway. And someone else would've been healed."
"You should've never brought me here," Dean whispered. A man, an innocent man, was dead in place of him.
How was he supposed to live with that?
"I was just trying to save your life," Sam pleaded, maybe a bit with himself as well. After all, this whole thing had been his idea.
"Yeah, but now some poor bastard is dead because of me."
"I didn't know...but Dean, your kids won't have to grow up without a father."
Feeling the parallels between his own kids and himself and Sam, Dean just shook his head.
"The thing I don't understand," Sam began. "Is how Roy is doing it. How is he trading one life for another?"
"Oh, he's not doing it. Something else is doing it for him."
Sam glanced up at Dean's side profile. "What do you mean?"
"The old man I saw on stage. I didn't wanna believe it, but deep down I knew."
Startled and concerned, Sam pushed the papers to the side and swung his legs over the bed so he sat knee to knee with his brother. "You knew what? What are you talking about?"
"There's only one thing that can give and take a life like that."
Sam shrugged, when he didn't catch on to what Dean was saying.
Dean glanced at his brother. "We're dealing with a reaper."
"The Grim Reaper? Like with a scythe?" Alice asked into the phone. Her back was pressed against the outside of the motel room door. Inside, Cara and Noah were in bed, hopefully sleeping.
"That's what I said," Sam replied excitedly. Alice could tell Dean was rolling his eyes from the other end of the phone. They had her on speaker while they filled her in on what they were dealing with.
It was strange.
"No. Just a regular reaper. Pretty much every culture on earth has lore on it. They stop time, ad you see them when they die. They collect your soul," Dean supplied.
"Oh. That's…" Alice trailed off, not sure what to say.
"The question is, how is Roy controlling the damn thing?" Dean asked, ignoring Alice's comment. She was grateful for that.
"That cross."
"What?" Alice asked.
"There was this cross in the church-"
"The one on the altar," Alice added. She remembered it. It was big, iron, and had made her feel strange when she looked at it
"Yeah," Sam said, sounding surprised. "I knew I recognized it from somewhere. It's a design on a Tarot card."
From the line, Alice listened as Sam handed Dean a Tarot card and explained it to him.
"You have Tarot cards?" Alice asked, feeling the Sunday school girl inside her cringing.
"Yup," Dean said. She could hear the smirk in his voice.
"You guys don't have a Ouija board, do you?"
Both of them laughed at her hesitant and uncomfortable tone of voice.
"No, we don't have a Ouija board," Sam responded, chuckling at her innocence. "Not like they work anyways."
"What? You never played with one of those at a sleepover?" Dean asked.
Alice scoffed. "You've met my parents. They thought Halloween was the Devil's birthday."
"Right. If anything, I'd think Tax Day would be the Devil's birthday."
"Like you pay taxes," Alice responded.
"Right you are," Dean laughed.
"Guys, can we focus?" Sam asked, voice in the background.
"Sorry," both Dean and Alice responded at once.
"Anyways. Tarot cards date back to early Christian eras, back when priests were still using magic. And if I remember correctly, a few of them veered off into some pretty dark stuff. Stuff like necromancy and how to push death away, and how to cause it."
Alice blanched. The Christianity she had grown up with had always claimed to be perfect and pure. And it seemed almost blasphemous to suggests priests used to have such sacrilegious practices, even though she herself hadn't been completely Christian in a long time.
"So...magic is real?" Alice asked.
There was another round of chuckles. "Oh you're so cute," Dean commented. He turned his attention back to Sam "So, you're saying Roy's using black magic to bind the reaper?" Dean asked.
"If he is, he's riding a whirlwind. It's like putting a leash on a great white."
Alice's stomach lurched at that.
"Okay. Then we stop Roy," Dean said.
"How?"
"You know how, Sam."
There was silence on the other and, and Alice pressed the phone closer to her ear.
"Wait, what the hell are you talking about, Dean? We can't kill Roy."
Alice's stomach completely dropped at that.
Dean gave an aggravated sigh. "Sam, the guy is playing God. He's deciding who lives and who dies. That's a monster in my book."
"No. We're not going to kill a human being. We do that, we're not any better than he is."
"He's no human-" Dean began.
"Dean," Alice said. "You can't kill him. You just can't." She couldn't believe she was even having this conversation. It felt like she was dreaming.
There was a charged silence over the line. "This is what we do, Allie."
"'Don't let the door smack you on the way out' I know."
"I didn't mean that. I was-"
Alice cut Dean off. "Look, I may not know a monster from Adam, but the faith Roy had seemed genuine. He's not a monster. He's just a man thinking he's doing the right thing." She scoffed. "Now if you ask me, his wife seemed more malicious than he did." She added the last part carelessly, a bit jokingly.
"Sue Ann? Yeah, right. No one that evil can make chocolate chip cookies that good," Dean said.
"Would you two stop flirting so we can focus on the case?" Sam asked. He sounded irritated with the two.
"Okay then. We can't kill Roy and we can't kill death. Any bright ideas college boy?" Dean inquired mockingly. Alice snorted from her end.
There was the sound of papers being moved around. "Okay. Uh...if Roy's using some kind of black spell on the reaper, we gotta figure out what it is. And how to break it."
"Alright, well get cracking on that Mr. Ivy League."
"Dean why don't you-"
Sam's voice suddenly cut out.
"I took you off speaker," Dean informed. "How are the kids?"
Alice rubbed a hand across her forehead. "Pouting."
"What? Why?"
"They're mad at me because I wouldn't let them say goodbye to you. And they kept asking questions I couldn't answer. They eventually stopped under threat of grounding."
"Well, you had to lay down the law. I know it's hard, but you're doing the right thing. They can't know about this."
"I agree. It's just exhausting, you know?"
Dean sighed. "Yeah, I know. But you're a great mother."
She scoffed quietly. She didn't feel like it all the time. "Maybe I can understand better after you take me on that hunt."
There was hesitation before he responded. "Wouldn't you rather go mini golfing or wine tasting?"
"Nope. You promised me on your deathbed. You're not getting out of this one. Not that I wouldn't love to see you sipping wine in a vineyard."
"You drive a hard bargain, Mercer."
She scoffed. "Go save the day, Winchester. Night."
"Night Allie. Love you."
"I love you too."
The next morning, the brothers returned to LeGrange's tent to finish the job.
Inside the tent, a young woman named Layla with a brain tumor ascended the stage to be healed by Roy. Dean had failed to distract Roy and Layla, so now, he watched helplessly as she moved to the center of the stage, in the similar location to where he had stood only a few days before.
But now, he knew what the stakes were.
Pulling out his phone, Dean quickly called his brother. "Sam, hurry. Layla's already on stage."
"On it."
Outside of the tent, Sam hung up the phone. He was keeping a close eye on the protesting man, next likely target of LeGrange's twisted soul acrobatics. Approaching the man, Sam quickly told him he was in danger.
The protesting man gave Sam a look like he was crazy. "What are you talking about? You're as insane as the rest of them."
"Please! Let me help you!" Sam pleaded.
"Get away from me!" The man stomped away from Sam.
As Sam went to follow the man, his phone rang. Seeing it was Dean calling him, he quickly answered. "Dean. I'm following the man, but he doesn't see anything. Are you sure he's the one who-"
Dean's frantic voice cut him off. "Sam, it's Alice! She's the one the reaper is going after!"
"What? How?" Sam felt his heart twist.
"I don't know! But Cara called me in a panic! I'm on my way to the motel. Sam, you have to finish it!"
Feeling like there was a weight in his gut, Sam felt himself begin to run on pure adrenaline. "I will, Dean."
Earlier
"I told you two to pack!" Alice exclaimed loudly as she shoved her clothes into her poorly packed bag. Dean and Sam were finishing the hunt and she was tidying everything up.
In the middle of packing, Cara and Noah had abandoned their things and were watching some obnoxiously animated show on the grainy TV. They paid no mind to her, completely entranced by the colors and irritating voices.
At the end of her rope with the two of them, she grabbed the remote and turned the television off, met with the chorus of protests from the two.
"No. No TV until you're done packing. I told you already."
"The episode was almost over!" Noah insisted.
"We can watch and pack at the same time!" Cara retorted.
"I don't want to hear it from either of you!" She shouted, on the verge of losing her temper. "For the love of God, can you two just do as you're told without complaining for once?"
She snapped around with that last part, glaring angrily at the two.
Upon seeing their betrayed, broken faces, any anger she was feeling dissipated from her body.
Deflating and feeling her heart sink, Alice took a step forward. "I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean it. I-"
Stopping cold, Alice's gaze moved behind them.
Behind her kids, standing between the two beds, was an old man in a suit. His skin was papery and white. His face was expressionless.
"Who are you?" Alice demanded. She began to reach for Cara and Noah to pull them away from the man.
"Who are you talking to?" One of them asked. Alice wasn't sure which one.
All that she was aware of was the man was slowly moving closer to her and her kids. Shoving Cara and Noah behind her, she began to move them towards the door. "Stay away from us!" While Alice yelled for the old man to get away, the sounds around her were becoming muffled. Her heart began beating fast, and her breaths were becoming more labored.
"Mom there's no one there!" Someone yelled. It sounded like they were shouting to her from land while she was under water.
With a blink, Alice was suddenly on her knees, and the man in the suit was in front of her.
Looking into his white, flat eyes reminded her of Roy LeGrange's clouded ones.
Roy LeGrange.
The man who had healed Dean by trading his life for another through a reaper.
A reaper.
The man in front of her was a reaper.
Cara and Noah couldn't see him.
And that meant he was here to collect her soul in place of another.
Hardly able to breathe, Alice felt herself falling forward. Cara and Noah were suddenly in front of her, holding her up while she knelt in front of them. They were screaming.
"Mom! Mom! What's wrong!"
"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Please!"
"Call 911!" One of them screamed.
Through their wails, her weak, shaky hand pointed towards the nightstand behind them, to her cell phone. "Call your Dad."
"Mom, no, we need to call an ambulance!"
Tears ran down both their faces.
"Call him!" Alice demanded. And suddenly, her vision blurred and she felt herself gasping for breath, like a freshly caught fish flopping on the deck of a boat.
"Noah, watch her!" Cara animated into action and lunged for the phone behind her. Going to the first button on speed dial, she pressed the button and held the phone to her ear, gasping and crying as she returned to their mother, who had begun to seize.
Before Dean could even answer, Cara was crying incoherently into the phone.
"Cara? Cara! What's wrong?" Dean demanded from the other end.
"Something's wrong with Mom!' Cara screamed. "Mom! Mom!" She cried to her mother.
"What's wrong with her?"
"I don't know! She's-she's not breathing. She said to call you!"
"Okay, listen. I need you to stay calm. I'm on my way right now. I'll be there in five minutes. Okay? Stay calm okay? And keep her talking I'll be there soon. Do not call 911, okay?"
"But Daddy I-"
But he had already hung up.
With a cry, Cara let the phone drop and returned to calling for her mother, alongside her brother.
If Dean thought in the past he had driven fast, then all those times were child's play compared to how fast he flew down the road.
He had a tunnel vision, only able to think of one thing.
Alice
Alice.
ALICE.
It hadn't even occurred to him to destroy the cross and call off the reaper. He had to be with her now. Hearing Cara crying on the phone and Noah begging Alice to wake up in the background electrocuted his heart all over again.
It felt like he reached the motel in a year and a second all at once. He parked illegally in front of the door and didn't bother to remove the keys from the ignition. Not even bothering to turn the knob, Dean kicked down the door with so much force, it came off the hinges.
Using the momentum to carry himself forward, Dean rushed forward and fell to his knees. One the ground, Alice's face was white, lips blue. Her eyes were wide and she was fruitlessly gasping for air. Cara and Noah on either side of her greeted their father with cries of uncertainty.
"I need you two to back up, okay?" Dean demanded.
"But Dad-"
"NOW!" He yelled forcefully.
Quickly, the two backed up and leaned over him, watching tearfully.
How unfair that they had nearly lost one parent, and now they were going to lose another.
Only now, they were watching the life being sucked out of their mother.
Leaning over Alice, Dean placed his hands on other side of her face. "Sam's gonna fix this. Stay with me, stay with me, okay? Hey, hey, look at me. You remember that time we snuck out and went to that junkyard? Huh? And we climbed up this pile of trash to this old bathtub?"
Alice's eyelids fluttered.
Dean's voice became more desperate. He was beginning to break down. "No. No don't do this. Come on. I didn't go anywhere and neither are you. Remember I still owe you that hunt? I promised."
Her struggles for air were becoming subdued.
"Don't you dare. Don't you go. Don't you dare, Alice Mercer! I love you! You hear me? I love you!"
Her eyes closed and chest collapsed.
"Allie? No no no no no no. Allie! Come on. Open your eyes! Hey. Hey! Allie. Damnit Allie! No!" Dean continued to yell incoherently as his phone rang.
Not even hearing it go off, Noah grabbed it and answered it. "Uncle Sam?" he asked, sniffling. His mother was dead. Alice was dead.
"Noah?" Sam sounded out of breath but relieved. "Is your dad there? Can I talk to him?"
As Sam asked that, there was a sudden gasp of air as Alice's chest elevated and her eyes opened wide. Her hands flew up to her throat and she felt her lungs begin to expand again. Her vision focused and no longer was there an emotionless old man floating above her. Instead, it was a worried Dean with red, teary eyes. His hands gripped either side of her face in terror.
There was a blur of movement as Dean roughly pulled Alice up into a hug. He pulled her tightly to him, gripping her so hard it hurt. Pulling away a bit, he then crushed his lips to her breathless ones, hands winding in her hair. She clung onto his arms weakly.
Once they pulled away, Cara was there, sandwiching herself between them, one arm around of the their necks, clinging to her parents.
Watching in shock, Noah listened to his uncle's voice in his ear. "Noah? Are you there? Can you tell your dad it's done? Is your mom okay?"
"Yeah. She's umm. She's…okay." He trailed off, letting the phone drop from his hand as he was pulled into the group hug by Dean. The father wrapped his arms around the three of them and breathed deeply.
Grabbing the phone with one hand, Alice held it to her ear. "Sam?"
He sounded surprised. "Are you okay?"
Still out of breath, but breathing, Alice responded. "Yeah. I'm okay. You finish it?"
"Yeah. It's over. And you were right. It was Sue Ann. Roy had no idea what was going on."
She felt herself let out an unbelievable laugh. "Knew it."
"Yeah, sure you did. I'll be there in a few minutes."
"We'll be here."
They hung up the phone, and the family clung to each other.
They were in tact.
Alive.
Sam arrived awhile later, and quickly pulled Alice into a hug. Once they pulled away, Dean was quick to pull his brother into a hug.
"Thank you for saving her," Dean whispered and he patted Sam on the back.
"That's what you do for family," Sam responded.
Dean smiled at his brother, looking fondly back at Alice.
She was sitting on one of the beds, arms around Cara and Noah who were sniffling quietly. She was comforting them in a low whisper.
Here she was, back from near death, and selflessly taking care of her children.
God he loved her, Dean thought.
His heart dropped for a minute when he realized how close he came to almost losing her and what that would've done to him.
He was never going to let her go again.
No matter what.
It had been a bit messy, but Dean, Sam, and Alice were able to patch together a flimsy story of what had happened. Alice's near death had been a severe panic attack at the thought of Dean almost dying from a heart attack. She had irrationally convinced herself he was dead. The fact she had wanted to call Dean instead of an ambulance was because she needed to hear his voice to convince herself he was actually alive, and not dead. And Sam calling was to tell Dean that the last test from the hospital had come back and was done.
The adults were almost certain Cara and Noah didn't completely believe the story, but they were too emotionally raw to care.
As for Dean breaking down the door, he explained he had taken martial arts classes in the past, and he had been so worried about Alice that he had simply done it out of worry. As for the hunt part, that was easy enough. Cara and Noah were told their father enjoyed big game hunting as a pastime, and that he had promised to take their mother deer hunting in the near future.
Out of pure exhaustion, Cara and Noah had passed out soon after that, after assurances their parents weren't going anywhere.
To give them privacy, Sam had gone back to his motel room.
Currently, Dean and Alice sat side by side on the pull out couch. Cara and Noah had fallen asleep sprawled out across the two queen sized beds.
Dean held one of Alice's hands in his own, delicately tracing over each finger and her palm. He had memorized how her body felt already, but needed a reminder of something as simple as her hand.
"I can't believe that bitch sent a reaper after you," Dean muttered softly.
Alice shrugged, pretending like she hadn't thought about it.
But she had.
She didn't know for sure but somehow, somehow, Sue Ann had sensed the guilt that was gnawing at Alice. She knew the stains that were on Alice's heart, and the poor foundation that was supposed to be her faith. Perhaps it made her an easy target.
"I don't know," Alice lied.
"I can't believe I almost lost you today," he whispered.
"Can't believe I almost lost you too." Alice still felt weak. Her voice was hoarse, like she had been screaming. "Let's not talk about it. We're both okay and our kids are okay. Let's just enjoy this right now. Okay?"
He nodded, not wanting to think about the past anymore, content to live in the moment.
He didn't want to think about how his kids had almost been orphans twice over, how Noah had dreamed of black eyed demons, Sam's weird visions, his missing dad, or how Alice was weighed down by the supernatural.
Everything he needed was right in that moment.
And he clung to that.
Hope you enjoyed! I know it took me a bit longer than usual to get this out! Finals and what not. From now on, I'm going to try and get at least one chapter out a month. I would like to get out more, but I'm busy with summer classes and work, so I'll try my best!
Please review and let me know what you think, I'd really appreciate it!
And stayed tuned for the next chapter! It's gonna include Alice and Dean's hunt and then Cara, Noah, and Sam at Bobby's And there's another surprise in the chapter I don't want to spoil, but it's gonna be good!
Lastly, thank you to everyone who has liked and favorited! I appreciate every single one of my readers!
See you soon and happy summer!