Hi guys! I was able to stick to my plan and get this chapter done today so this episode could get wrapped up! I'm super excited to be nearing the end of the first season so we can begin getting things rolling into the more 'exciting' stuff, but in the meantime, I hope you enjoy how this wraps up! As always, I appreciate you all for dedicating your time into this story and hope you enjoy it! Xoxo-NickyLynn
The white, canopy tent of Roy LeGrange's church had been a beacon of hope the first time Ariella had laid eyes on it. She remembered the way the morning sun had hit the fresh fallen rain clinging to it…the refracted light making it nearly glow almost welcomingly. Now, however, shadowed by the darkness of night, it felt nothing but ominous. The white fabric appeared gray and dingy in the darkness—like it had become soiled and corrupted by Sue Ann's dealings with the Reaper. As she, Dean, and Sam rolled into the lot for what they hoped was the final time, Ariella couldn't help but feel a mixture of emotions at the sight of it. Of course she could never allow the Minister's wife to keep playing God, but there was a small part of herself that was grateful for it. Had she not, Dean would still be on his deathbed. It was like she owed Sue Ann an unpayable debt….yet she would likely end up repaying her with her own demise. Once they severed the bond between her and the Reaper, there would be nothing stopping him from coming to claim her next…the price she would ultimately pay for playing such dangerous game.
As she, Dean, and Sam pulled to a stop and cut the engine, all eyes were glued to the small entrance and the light filtering out from it. The service had seemingly already begun, which meant they needed to find the alter, destroy it…and do it fast.
"Me and Sam will slip inside and figure out where she's hiding that altar." She said, eyes sweeping over to the house. "We've pretty much already ruled out the ground floor so it's either upstairs or in the basement."
"I remember seeing a cellar door before." Sam added in thought. "If I were hiding a creepy, human-sacrificial altar from my husband, I'd probably put it there."
"Typical." Ariella said with a groan. "Alright, let's check things out down there first and go from there." She agreed with a bob of her head.
"Looks like those police officers are still hanging around though." He noted, eyes bouncing off the police cruisers parked next to the house still.
"Well, luckily for us they seem to have a pretty big hard-on for Dean here." Ariella said, reaching across the seat to give a playful nudge of his shoulder, flashing an amused grin.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll be the bait." Dean responded unenthused, smacking Ariella's hand away. "I'll draw them away while you guys do the breaking and entering." He told them as he reached for the door handle.
Ariella pushed her own door open alongside his and, soon enough, the three of them were making their way towards the house with quiet footsteps. The two officers were stationed on the porch, so Sam and Ariella hung back in the shadow of one of the police cruisers while Dean drew them away. As soon as he took off in a sprint with them on his heels, Sam and Ariella rushed around the side of the house. Just like Sam had said, there was a cellar door on the east side of the building. The faint light filtering out from between the cracks of the metal doors was enough to reassure their suspicions as well.
Ariella stood back as Sam heaved the heavy doors open, cringing at the loud groan they let out as the old hinges strained under the movement. She quickly checked that no one was around who may have heard the loud sound before slipping inside alongside Sam. Ariella drew her gun from her waistband as she cautiously led them down the steep steps, holding it out before them as they stepped into the dimly lit cellar. They didn't have to look hard before finding the target of their searching. Sitting against the wall just opposite the stairs was a low table with all sorts of bones, books, melted candles, and blood-drawn sigils.
"Well, that was easy." Ariella noted, blinking in surprise as she lowered her gun.
"Ari…" Sam said as he stepped up to it, voice dropping low as he reached for something on top of the table. "I don't think David's our next victim anymore." He said, turning and holding the item out for her to see.
Ariella's gaze dropped down to the glass frame in his hold and her gut dropped. Framed inside was a still-image of Dean which had likely been taken from the security cameras. And across the glass on top of his face was an 'x' drawn in blood. "Shit."
"I gave your husband life, and I can take it away." Came Sue Ann's voice from behind them suddenly, causing the two of them to spin around in alarm. Ariella had her weapon trained on her in an instant, leveling the barrel of her gun on the woman's head as she stood on the steps.
"Seems to me like I'm the one in control of your life right now." Ariella countered with an arched brow, giving a jerk of her gun for emphasis.
"You should be grateful for what I've done for you." Sue Ann said, unfazed by the threat. "I saved Dean's life."
"By taking somebody else's." Ariella added with a scoff.
"I thought you of all people would understand." Sue Ann continued with a shake of her head. "The lines one is willing to cross for the man they love."
"Oh, I understand why you started all this." Ariella told her, tipping her head back towards the altar. "But this has gone far beyond saving Roy's life, Sue Ann. You're playing God…and it ends tonight." She said before turning her head. "Sam! The altar!"
Sam quickly spun around and grabbed hold of the table, flipping it over with one thrust of his arms. The contents of it scattered along the floor, objects knocking into Ariella's boots as she stood off against Sue Ann. She watched for what she assumed would be a gut-wrenching reaction, yet the Minister's wife did no more than lift the corner of her lips in amusement. "You think destroying those trinkets would really stop me?" she asked, mouth lifting into a full smile. "Say goodbye to Dean." She warned before rushing back up the steps.
Ariella had her aim set on the back of her skull, but, just as she squeezed the trigger, Sam yelled out and slammed into her side, sending her arms to the side as the bullet was released, sending it lodging into the concrete wall beside Sue Ann instead. In the next moment, as Ariella regained her footing, the metal doors above them slammed shut with a bang that was nearly deafening. Ariella's eyes snapped from Sam up to the shut doors, quickly pushing past him as she chased after Sue Ann.
She slammed into the metal with her shoulder, but, unfortunately, Sue Ann had been quicker than her and had slid something through the handles to lock them inside. Ariella let out a scream as she banged against the door, unable to budge it more than an inch.
"Don't you see?" Sue Ann's patronizing voice filtered in through the slim cracks, barely audible above Ariella's banging. "The Lord chose me to reward the just and punish the wicked! And your husband is wicked! He deserves to die just as Layla deserves to live!"
"You're the only wicked one here, Sue Ann!" Ariella screamed back at her as she continued to try pushing through by force. "And if you go after Dean, I will kill you myself! You hear me?!"
Sue Ann seemingly ran off after that, for no response came. Ariella let out a final scream of frustration before storming back down the steps towards Sam. "Why did you do that?!" she demanded, slamming against his chest hard enough to make him stumble backwards.
"She's human Ari!" Sam defended, thrusting his hand in the direction of where Sue Ann had just been. "I'm not going to let you kill someone!"
"That someone is trying to kill Dean!" she fumed, slamming her shoulder into his as she moved past him in search of another way out. She caught sight of a small window a few feet above her, which looked just big enough to squeeze through, and moved towards it.
"We don't kill people, Ariella!" Sam maintained in defense, still surprised she had so easily been ready to take the woman's life.
"Help me up." Ariella told him instead, refusing to defend herself any further on the matter. Sam's eyes flicked up to the window she was staring at and quickly cupped his hands together to help boost her up without further argument.
Ariella stepped into his offered hands with one of her boots and he easily hoisted her up high enough that she was able to slam the back of her elbow into the glass. It shattered from the impact and, after ensuring all the edges were knocked out, she began squeezing through the small opening. It was a tight fit, and she nearly couldn't get her hips through the tight space, but soon enough she had managed to pull herself through it. As soon as she was free, she ran. She ran faster than she ever had before. If she didn't manage to get to Sue Ann in time, Dean would be killed. No miraculous cures. No second chances…he would gone. That terrifying reality pushed her feet fast enough that she could feel her muscles straining against the effort.
As she made it to the tent, she spotted Sue Ann crouched down just outside the entrance, hunched over in prayer with her back turned to Ariella. She could hear the faint whispers of her chanting and had to assume she had something in her possession which held the true bond to the Reaper. She could hear Roy from inside, voice growing loud as his 'healing' came to its climax and, in a blind panic, Ariella slammed into Sue Ann. The two women crashed into the ground from the force of it, Ariella quickly overpowering the smaller, untrained woman. She poised herself above her, using her weight to force her into the ground.
Ariella's eyes landed on the small cross necklace hanging around her neck. Figuring the occultist-styled cross was what held the true spell, Ariella quickly grabbed hold of it before yanking it away from the woman as she rolled off of her, snapping the metal chain of it as she pried it away from Sue Ann's possession. She was back on her feet in an instant while Sue Ann struggled to reorient herself, her wide eyes falling to the now-empty space on her sternum.
"Looking for something?" Ariella asked as she held up the piece of stolen jewelry, pulling Sue Ann's frantic eyes over to her.
"NO!" she screamed, eyes blowing wide with realization.
Ariella's eyes drifted behind Sue Ann then, catching sight of the suit-clad man now standing behind her. "You reap what you sow, Sue Ann!" Ariella called out to the distraught woman before throwing the necklace at the ground and bringing her foot down on top of it as hard as she could. She felt it shatter under her weight, and, as she pulled away, revealing a small pool of blood which had been hidden inside, Sue Ann lunged towards it with a shriek.
"Oh my God!" she screamed, grabbing hold of the broken pieces helplessly. "What did you do?!"
"God had nothing to do with this." Ariella told the woman as her eyes snapped back to the now-grinning Reaper. "She's all yours!"
Sue Ann's distraught face snapped up at that. All color drained from it as she turned to find the Reaper standing there, before, in the next moment, he was looming over her with a satisfied grin. His hands were wrapped around her head in an instant, and Ariella did nothing but watch as he Reaped her. As she went still, the Reaper stood upright to its full height before setting its focus back on Ariella. A wave of fear washed over her briefly, knowing she could just as easily be his next victim, but he did nothing but stare at her for a moment before disappearing. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding before her eyes dropped down onto Sue Ann again, locking onto her glazed eyes. She didn't give herself time to truly contemplate what had transpired before she forced her feet to move again. Someone would likely find her body soon, and she did not want to be anywhere nearby when they did.
She trudged back through the lot as the sky started releasing heavy droplets of rain, and, as she caught sight of Dean doing the same, she nearly collapsed in relief. "You okay?" she called put to him as he drew closer, eyes flicking across his face for any signs of injury.
"Peachy." He snipped dryly. "Where's Sam?"
"Still locked in the cellar." She sighed, feeling the exhaustion settling in now that the adrenaline was fading away.
"You left Sam locked in the cellar?" he asked, brow arching questioningly.
"Forgive me for being a bit busy trying to save your ass." Ariella defended with a roll of her eyes.
"Fair point." Dean commented with a tip of his head. "Well, let's go get him out and get the hell out of here."
"Yeah, I really don't want to hang out long enough for those officers to find Sue Ann's body." Ariella agreed.
Luckily, they managed to free Sam and get back to the Impala without any trouble. The subsequential ride back to the motel was quiet for the most part, the air heavy as everyone processed what had transpired over the course of just a few days. Ariella was exhausted. Both mentally and physically. They had all wanted to leave town as soon as possible, but she was so drained by everything that she had opted to let Sam take the Firebird while she rode with Dean. Sam had packed up his belongings and hit the road shortly after returning to the motel, getting a head start on the drive, while Dean and Ariella had taken a bit more time in getting out of there. She, for starters, was in desperate need of a shower. Once she was freshly washed, changed into a clean set of clothes, and had gathered the last of their things, she was ready to go. The look she saw marring Dean's face while he sat waiting on the bed, however, was enough to stop her in her tracks.
"I know that look, Dean." She commented, mouth dipping into a frown that matched his own.
"What look?" he asked, hollow eyes flicking up to hers.
"That look." She reiterated, pointing to his slack features. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." He said instantly, brushing her query off as he stood and moved for the door.
"Hey." She said, reaching out to pull him back around to face her. "Talk to me Dean." She implored, trying to see past that hardened mask he had always liked to keep in place.
He was quiet for a moment as her eyes searched his, but after a moment he let out a sigh and relented. "We did the right thing here, didn't we?" he asked.
Ariella's brows dipped together at that. "Of course we did." She reassured him softly.
"Why doesn't it feel like it?" he questioned with a shake of his head. "If we hadn't stopped Sue Ann tonight, Layla would be healed."
"And you would be dead." Ariella added lowly, mouth pulling into a deeper frown at the thought.
"I was dead anyways." He shrugged. "We could have saved her. How is it fair that I get to live while she dies?"
Ariella's hand slipped away from him as she took in his words. "You don't think your life equates to hers." She assumed.
"I didn't deserve to be saved, Ari." He told her, voice so hollow, Ariella knew that statement had been purely truthful on his part. The pain shining in his eyes was enough to draw Ariella's own to the surface. "Marshall Hall didn't deserve to die for me."
And that was it. Dean was drowning in guilt. Guilt for his life being spared over theirs.
Ariella let the silence wrap around them for while she contemplated how to respond to that. She knew Dean would never find himself worthy of that much sacrifice. He would never be able to see himself in the way she or Sam did. He could never understand how many lives he was truly worth. After a moment she drew in a breath before licking her lips. "You know, I understand why she did it." She chose to say, eyes drifting to the side as she was sucked into the depths of her thoughts. "I get why Sue Ann went to such extremes to save her husband." She clarified. "I think even if I'd known Marshall Hall would have been killed in your stead, I'd still have gone through with it." She admitted, eyes snapping back over to his. "I would have sacrificed a hundred lives if it meant saving yours."
"Maybe that makes me just as bad as her." She continued with a shrug, truly hating herself for even admitting the lengths she would have gone to in order to keep Dean's heart beating. "And you can hate me for thinking that, but you are here, Dean." She said, reaching out to place her hand against his cheek. "And I would give anything to keep it that way."
The tears that built up in Dean's eyes with that confession were so raw that Ariella had to fight away the urge to turn away from the sight of it. "Why?" he asked brokenly.
"Because it's always been you, Dean." Ariella told him softly, stepping closer into him. "You may not see it when you look in the mirror, but I can….all the reasons why I need you here with me." She said, using her thumb to wipe away a tear. "You're strong, brave…and loyal to a fault. You're funny." She added with a small lift of her lips, only now realizing just how much she had grown to care about him. "But beneath all those layers of snarky remarks and strong-walled bullshit there's a heart purer than any other I've ever seen." She said, letting her hand drop until it settled against his sternum, feeling the rhythmic thumping of it against her palm. "And I would give anything to keep it beating. I would choose you over the entire world if I had to."
In the next moment, Ariella brought her lips crashing against his, pouring everything she couldn't say into the action. She kissed him for the first time in over two years, but it might as well have been their first ever. The amount of electricity flowing between their joined lips was enough to send Ariella onto cloud nine with the feeling of it. Dean's hands had moved to cup the back of Ariella's head, weaving his fingers into her still-damp hair as he pulled her into his frame until every inch of them was connected to the other. They moved together in tandem, both of them pouring all the unsaid words into the kiss until they were breathless.
When they finally pulled away, Ariella let her forehead rest against his, chest heaving up and down as she fought against the wave of emotions threatening to consume her in that moment. "I love you, Dean Winchester." She whispered. "I'll always choose you."