The case starts out like they usually do and ends in a damp basement inside an abandoned house. That's where the three hunters are now, inching down some rickety stairs that belong in a horror movie, armed with taser amped up to 100,000 volts.
The basement, like the front of the house, is cramped with all kinds of dilapidated furniture and old knickknacks; there are bits of white bone poking out of a couch cushion near the stairs, spiderwebs clinging to any available surface, a several small puddles along the concrete floor.
A sudden, rapid tapping has all of them turning to the right, tasers raised and their fingers on the triggers. Dean nods to an old wooden cabinet, the others joining his side again as they approach it. "On three," Dean whispers. "One…Two…Three." He swings the doors open quickly, finding the children instead of the monster. The little boy and girl are curled up in the bottom of the cabinet, filthy and shaking from fear and cold.
"Is it still here," Sam asks in a whisper. The boy gives a fearful little nod, bottom lip wobbling. Elizabeth tucks the taser away in the back waistband of her jeans before picking him up, smoothing down his dark hair.
"It's gonna be okay. Grab my brother's hand and we'll take you two home." The little girl practically launches herself into Sam's arms, he and Elizabeth running up the stairs. At this point, they're more concerned with getting the kids out safely rather than keeping quiet. They're halfway up the stairs when a hand reaches out and latches onto Sam's ankle, Sam barely able to hand the little girl off before tumbling down.
"Keep going, Liza!" With a nod, she takes the girl's hand and runs as fast as she can without dragging her. For the house to be relatively small, there's a lot of obstacles in the way of the front door, the Rawhead making his own little maze to keep the kids confused if they ever tried to sneak out. Luckily for all of them, Elizabeth's impatient as hell and just pushes the shit out of their way in order to get the kids outside.
"I want my mommy," the girl's crying as she climbs in the backseat of the Impala.
"I know, honey," Elizabeth murmurs, buckling both kids in for when they make their getaway. "We're gonna get you both back home, alright? You're safe now." Elizabeth looks up when the front door bangs open again a moment later, Sam basically dragging Dean out of the house and laying him across the front seat. Dean's out cold and an ashen color that doesn't bode well. "What the hell happened?"
"He was electrocuted," Sam answers, almost shaking too badly to hand over the keys. "We gotta get him to the hospital." She yanks the keys out of his hand and moves to the driver's seat, quickly adjusting the mirrors and waiting long enough for Sam to climb into the backseat before speeding away from the abandoned house.
"I'll drop you two off at the hospital and then take the kids home before heading back." She uses her free hand to slap lightly at Dean's face, wanting nothing more than for him to grin up at her and yell surprise, but he doesn't even crack an eye open and he's getting cold.
"Sounds good." She can see him nodding in the rearview mirror, brown eyes panicked even as he tries to keep a brave face in front of the little ones.
"He'll be alright, Sammy, we both know how stubborn Dean is at this point."
"I know." But neither one of them sounds sure of anything, Elizabeth whispering a prayer under her breath for Dean to make it out of this okay. He has to or else she doesn't know what she'll do. She and Sam would be lost without Dean. Elizabeth pulls up next to the emergency room doors, jumping out with Sam to help him get Dean inside.
"We need help," she shouts once they're inside, struggling to keep Dean upright. A few staff members and people in the waiting room look up, a male nurse running over with a wheelchair and taking Dean from her.
"I'll call you if anything happens, but you need to get those kids home." She nods, casting one last look at Dean over her shoulder before hurrying out again. The kids are huddled together against one door, wrapped around each other like to let go means to lose the solid ground under their feet.
"Will he really be okay," the boy asks as Elizabeth starts to drive again.
"Of course he will," she says, pressing her foot down harder on the accelerator to get this finished quicker. "He's the strongest guy I know, kind of like Superman." She gives them a weak smile and they're able to return it with one of their own, quiet for the rest for the drive.
She comes to a stop in front of the only house with a police cruiser in the driveway, the kids out almost before she has the car thrown into park. They sprint across the lawn as she gets out, throwing themselves against their sobbing parents. The cop wanders over to Elizabeth, arching a brow with a notepad pulled out. She lies easily, barely stopping for breath.
Once that's finished and the cop is satisfied that she isn't a deranged kidnapper, Elizabeth finds her way back to the hospital, running up to the nurse's station to find out what room Dean's in.
"Can I help you," the nurse on duty asks.
"My boyfriend was brought in a few minutes ago, he'd been electrocuted."
"Liza," Sam calls from down the hall, waving her over. It takes every ounce of restraint in her body not to sprint as she paces over to Sam, but it doesn't stop her from elbowing any unfortunate person when they get in her way. "The doctor just left."
"Is he gonna be okay?"
"Dean had a bad heart attack and they said there's nothing they can do. He might have a month left." Elizabeth's shoulder collides with a wall, using the handrail to keep her upright. Part of her, a small part that's mostly unhelpful at the best of times, reminds her to be grateful that she's got an empty belly otherwise Sam's shoes would be a lost cause right about now.
"Then you and I will find something to get him back on his feet." Her voice is as weak as she feels, a barely there whisper of air.
"My thoughts exactly. Do you wanna see him? He's awake now." She nods, letting Sam lead her inside the room. She's got just enough energy left to cross the room before her knees unlock again, dropping onto the bed and curling up against Dean. Dean looks awful, the circles under his eyes are dark, his skin is still pale and a little clammy, and there's a slight tremor in his hands as he wraps one arm around her and uses his free hand to flip through channels.
"Ever actually watch daytime TV," he asks without looking away from the small TV screen. "It's terrible."
"I talked to your doctor," Sam tells him, hesitating near the door.
"That fabric softener teddy bear? I want to hunt that little bitch down."
"Dean." He finally turns the TV off and sets the remote down on the bed beside him, his free hand moving to cover the one Elizabeth has over his stomach.
"Right, well, looks like the two of you are leaving town without me."
"The hell we are," she snaps, glaring over at him. "I'm not leaving when you're in the hospital, Dean, you can forget it."
"Listen, Liza, someone has to make sure Sammy eats all his vegetables." He turns his gaze on Sam now, looking too worn out for her liking. "And you better take care of that car or, I swear, I'll haunt your ass." His chest vibrates under her cheek when he lets out a soft laugh.
"I don't think that's funny," Sam returns.
"Come on, it's a little funny." There's a brief silence filled with the tension of everything Sam and Elizabeth want to say but can't bring themselves to. Every hunter knows an early death is in the cards, but it always comes as a shock when that particular card is pulled out of the deck. I can't lose him yet, goddammit. "Look, Sammy, what can I say, man? It's a dangerous gig and I drew the short straw. That's it, end of story."
"Don't talk like that, alright? We still have options."
"What options? You got burial or cremation." Elizabeth stiffens, not liking how resolved he sounds about it all. "I know it's not easy, but I'm gonna die and neither of you can stop it." His voice breaks, letting on to how he's really feeling. The tremors in his hands increase as he tightens the hold he has on Elizabeth.
"Watch me. Liza, stay with him, alright?"
"Where else am I gonna go," she asks, mustering up a smile. Sam nods, patting Dean's foot before walking out and closing the door behind him. "You're not allowed to die yet, do you understand me?" She sits up in order to look into those impossibly green eyes.
"Relax, I'm not going until I'm good and ready." He tugs gently on a strand of her hair that has fallen from behind her ear. "You know I love you, right?" She nods, brows furrowed as she stares down at him. She's known him since she was a baby, it'd be weird if they weren't at least fond of each other.
"Yeah, of course." Dean just gives a little shake of his head, closing his eyes for a moment as if he's getting ready to do something he isn't entirely sure about. "Dean?"
Dean's pulling her down and kissing her before she has time to figure out the expression on his face, full of emotions and tasting of whiskey and chocolate. His lips are soft as they move against hers and the passion he puts into it isn't of the sexual variety that she's grown used to. This is something else altogether that leaves her head spinning and everything else fading into the background. For those few blissful moments, it's just Dean and Elizabeth in the bed and nobody else in the world matters.
He pulls back slowly, reclining on the bed so he can take in the dazed expression on Elizabeth's face, her lips still parted and eyes closed. She swallows hard before letting her eyes flutter open again, staring down at him with no idea of what to say.
"That was…" She trails off, letting out a slow breath. There's a bit of color in his cheeks now, eyes glittering even in the poor lighting of the hospital room. If it hadn't been for his heart monitor beeping a little faster than it had been, Elizabeth would have thought the kiss hadn't had the same effect on him that it had on her.
"Yes, it was." He grins, pulling her down to rest against him with one hand on her hip while the other plays with the loose strands of her hair. "When I said I loved you earlier, I meant that I love you. You're basically the only woman out there that likes me for more than the sex."
"I love you, too."
"Don't say it just because I'm dying."
"If I didn't love you, then I wouldn't feel like I'm losing part of myself right now." She bites her lip, glaring at the wall like it's responsible for this entire mess. "You leave me and I'll bring you back to kill you myself." Dean laughs softly, placing a kiss on the crown of her head. "Please don't leave me yet, Dean."
"I won't go until I have to, Liza." There's a moment of quiet where they just lay there holding each other and taking comfort like they did when they were little, Elizabeth humming softly. "Sing something for me."
"Sorry, I only sing in the shower."
"Just this once, then." Rolling her eyes, she gives him a nod and sings the song that's stuck in her head.
"Stars shining bright above you, night breezes seem to whisper,' I love you', birds singing in the sycamore tree—dream a little dream of me. Say 'nighty-night' and kiss me, just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me. While I'm alone and blue as can be, dream a little dream of me. Stars fading, but I linger on, dear, still craving your kiss. I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear, just saying this. Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you, but in your dreams, whatever they be, dream a little dream of me."
"Stars fading," Dean joins in, voice harmonizing with hers," but I linger on, dear, still craving your kiss. I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear, just saying this. Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you, sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you, but in your dreams, whatever they be, dream a little dream of me."
The song is 'Dream a Little Dream of Me' by Ella Fitzgerald.