Chapter 11: Tongue Tied
When Andy got back to Bobby's she was glad that everyone had turned in for the night. She definitely wasn't ready for company. She parked her bike and stepped carefully through the front door. She was glad Bobby wasn't back yet. She knew if the old hunter saw her right now he would be looking at her either asking her gruff questions, or sitting with her in quiet, stoic support. She quietly crawled into her bed and curled herself into a ball. It took all of a minute for sleep to take her.
Something brought her to awareness. She wasn't quite sure what. She opened her eyes and the bottom dropped out of her stomach. Her arms were stretched wide, her wrists were shackled with iron rings, her bare feet stood on sharp stones. A metal collar was around her neck. Every time she turned her head she felt the hot sharp sting of spikes digging into her throat. She heard the scrape of metal being dragged across stone. Not wanting to see she closed her eyes.
"Oh, now sweetheart, didn't you miss me?"
The voice was awful. A sick imitation of a person she cared about. It was cold, and harsh.
"If I didn't know any better I'd think you weren't happy to see me baby." The voice came closer. It was right by her ear.
"Why don't you give your guy a kiss?" it said, and she felt hot dry lips against hers with a scrape of stubble along with a cold brush of metal along her arm. Her eyes flew open. He was there, right in front of her. Knife in one hand dragging it along her flesh. His green eyes filled with savage joy and rage. She gagged.
"Come on now darling, it can't be all that bad," he said with a twisted smile. He moved liquid fast, pressing the hard lines of his body against hers. She tried to pull away, but the shackles held her and the pain in her feet made her cry out.
"Mmmm, that's what I like to hear," Dean said. "A little pain with my pleasure." He brought the knife between them and slowly pressed it into the space just below her sternum. It burned, tore, sliced through her. She screamed.
And woke up.
She was in her bedroom, twisted in her sheets. She tore out of them and launched herself out of bed. She hit the floor on hands and knees. She felt bile rising in her throat and she scrambled to the door. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs and a low voice. She didn't care. Barely making it to her feet she wrenched open the door to the bathroom and collapsed to her knees as she wretched into the toilet. She felt a hand on her back and recoiled from the touch scrambling away to the wall of the small room. Her breath was coming ragged gasps, her body shuddering.
"Andy, you're safe. It's ok. You're ok."
The voice was soothing, familiar. But it had her lurching back to throw up again. Dean was there, trying to talk her through it.
She couldn't be there. She was trapped in a tiny room with him. She couldn't. She staggered up and shoved past Dean. He tried to reach out to her, but she pushed wildly at him, and he fell against the wall.
"Don't touch me!" she shouted.
She saw the silhouette of Dyson in the door to his room. She bolted for the back door.
Air. Open space. That was what she needed.
She nearly fell down the stairs, but she made it out into the open of the salvage yard. She sucked in the cold December air. The shock of it. The difference from her dream started to calm her down. She sat heavily on the ground and just breathed. After a few minutes she heard the screed door swing open and shut and heavy footsteps came down the stairs. She could tell it was Dean without looking.
She couldn't face him yet.
"Leave me alone Dean, please."
The footsteps stopped.
"Andy…" His voice was low and rough with concern.
"Dean…I can't –" Her throat closed for a moment.
"Andy, let me help you," he pleaded.
"You don't understand Dean," she said her voice cracking. She drew a ragged breath. "There are times when all I want is to put my arms around you and keep you close," she swallowed as tears jumped to her eyes again. "And then there are times when you're the lump in my throat and the knot in my chest, and it's all I can do to…You're the thing in my nightmares and the person I need the most Dean. I don't know what to do…"
Dean was silent.
"I'm sorry…" she said and buried her face in her hands. "I don't know what I'm trying to say…Please, just…go back inside."
She heard a deep sigh and the footsteps turned and went back the way they had come.
She cried then. Cried for the fear that they were broken. Cried for the fear that she would never be able to let him touch her again. Deep gut-wrenching sobs tore through her as if pulled from something deeper than pain. She knew in some small part of her mind that that wasn't true. She had held him close just the day before when she had told him what had happened to her. She had been alright then. But now. In the dark and cold with the fading echoes of the dream still rattling around in her brain, she felt like she would always see him as the twisted version. The one that bound her and pressed hot blades into her.
Dyson came out with a blanket and wrapped it around her shuddering body. He quietly crouched in front of her and held out his hands. She took them when she was reduced to shuddering gasps and the occasional hiccoughing cry. He pulled her to her feet. Andy followed him inside. Dean was sitting on the stairs. Hands clasped in front of him. He looked up at her when they came back inside. His face was ashen. She couldn't hold his stare. Dyson led her back to her room and sat her on the bed. He brought her a cup of tea which helped ground her some more. He kissed her softly on the forehead and left. He knew her well. She thought she heard lowered voices, but she couldn't bring herself to listen. She didn't sleep for the rest of the night.
In the morning Andy stumbled out of her room. Dark circles under her eyes, head pounding from lack of sleep, but she felt a little bit steadier and more prepared to face her family. Dyson took one look at her and grimaced.
"You don't look great love," he said.
"Yea well, shit happens," she replied and b-lined for the kitchen to put the kettle on. Dean was just pouring himself a cup of coffee from Bobby's ancient percolator, and he started when he saw her.
"Hey…you uh, how're you doing today?" he asked haltingly. Andy hesitated. Truth was she wasn't great, but she wasn't in the same place she had been the night before.
"I'm ok…not great, but ok," she said with an unconvincing smile. They were quiet for a moment while Andy put the kettle on the stove and started making a pot of tea. She caught Dean's small grin out of the corner of her eye.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing," he said still with a smile in his voice.
"You judging my beverage choices Winchester?" Andy asked with sass.
"Wouldn't dream of it Connor," Dean replied.
"Damn right," Andy muttered good naturedly. It hit her then. Just how easy it was to slip back into their old banter. How after what they had been through they could still talk like this. Dean started to head out of the kitchen, mug in hand. Andy turned to him and touched him lightly on the arm. He turned back to her, surprised at the contact. His eyes met hers and her heart stuttered at the look of desperate hope that was in them.
There he was. Dean as himself.
She held his eyes for a moment, then tears came to hers and she buried her face in his chest. It took Dean all of a second to set his coffee down and wrap his arms around her.
"I am so fucking tired of crying," she said vehemently.
"You and me both sweetheart," Dean said, his own voice a bit shaky. Andy looked up at him, and sure enough his eyes were shining too. She couldn't help but chuckle a little. She pulled away from him and wiped her eyes on her sleeve.
"Dean…I…I really want us to be ok," she said.
"We are –" Dean started, a flash of panic crossing his face, but Andy stopped him with a hand.
"Let me finish," she said. "I meant what I said last night. But I also know I want to make us work. You mean way too much to me to not. But I need you to know there might be times when I am not ok, and I need you to know that I will do everything I can to come back to you. But I might need you to give me some space sometimes. Do you think you can do that?"
Dean swallowed thickly and nodded.
"I can't promise I won't mess up sometimes, but…" Dean paused and cupped her cheek, "but you are definitely worth the work."
Andy smiled at him, a real smile. Dean pulled her in for another hug and kissed the top of her head. Andy sighed, and something loosened in her chest. She thought that maybe, they would be ok.
For the next month or so the boys went out on job after job. For whatever reason Dean was compelled to keep working. One job after another. Andy chose to stay at Bobby's and Dyson stayed with her. She wasn't ready to start seriously hunting again. Dean called regularly and gave her updates on what they had been doing. Andy kind of understood the need to keep going, keep working, but she couldn't help feeling that Dean was running. Running from her, from hell, she wasn't sure. It hurt. Their moment in the kitchen had been weeks ago. Andy had felt then that they would get through it. They would be ok, but she hadn't seen Dean since then. Dyson did his best, but as much as he was a comfort, Andy found herself distancing from him as well. Bobby was his usual self. Gruff and quietly caring. He gave her projects, lore searches, found her some herbalism books that she hadn't read before. It really was his silent support that got her through the days.
She was reading in the study one evening while Bobby combed through his stack of newspapers.
"Hey Andy," he said suddenly, "listen to this…" and he told her about a town in Wyoming where no one had died in the past week. This included a terminal cancer patient, and a guy who had been shot in the heart at point blank range and walked away from it.
"Well that sounds weird," Andy said and put her book down and went to read over Bobby's shoulder.
"Worth letting the boys know you think?"
"Could be…" Andy agreed.
"Why don't you call Dean and let him know then," Bobby said and folded up the paper and pushed away from his desk in one smooth motion he was out into the kitchen effectively avoiding any argument from her. Andy glared after him. She knew exactly what he was doing. She hadn't talked to Dean in a while. Bobby seemed to think this was a good way to get her to reach out. Andy sighed and pulled out her phone. She hedged her bets and called Sam.
Sam seemed keen to look into the case and told her that they would check it out. Andy thought he sounded a little tense, but considering the pace they had been hunting, she wasn't too surprised about that.
"You going to come down with us?"
The question almost came off as casual as Sam intended. But Andy caught the slight hint of pleading that was in Sam's voice.
"You think you'll need the back up?" Andy asked. Sam hesitated.
"No…Andy…I-we…Look some stuff went down a couple days ago and…I know he would be happy to see you. He misses you. We both do."
Andy sighed.
"Well, I guess I'm taking a ride to Wyoming."
As it happened she didn't ride to Cheyenne. Dyson made a pretty good argument that it would be a bad idea to have her bike there if she ended up staying with the boys for a while. The main argument that decided it for her was that she wouldn't have to waste money on gas. So Dyson took her to Greybull.
Andy could tell something was off with the boys. When she knocked on their motel door Sam answered. He looked relieved to see them, but his smile was strained. Sam explained they had just come back from interviewing a guy who had been shot in the heart but was still walking and talking. Despite the warm hug he gave Andy, and the friendly nod he gave Dyson, Dean was surly and quiet, and Sam was pushing to get some kind of lead on the case. She didn't want to get into it right now. If it became a problem she would knock their heads together and tell them to get over it. For now, they had work to do.
"You really think this is miracles?" Andy asked.
"Well, there's no deals, no skivvy faith healers. These souls just aren't getting dragged into the light," Dean replied as he poured himself a cup of coffee. Andy looked at Sam. He seemed pensive.
"Maybe that's just it…" he said.
"What do you mean?" Dyson asked.
"That's what reapers are supposed to do right? Schlep souls? Maybe there just isn't one around." They all looked at each other.
"So, what the local reapers on strike?" Dean asked skeptically "I don't know Sam."
"Well let's go ask someone who knows." Sam said.
"Like who?" Andy asked.
"The kid."
"The kid is a doornail."
"Yea, and we have our own personal reaper with us. Let's see if we can find him and talk to him."
"I love how matter of fact we are about having a personal reaper and talking to a dead kid. Strange lives." Dean said.
Later that night they were in a cold graveyard trying to summon a spirit while Dyson wandered around keeping an eye out for him. Dean and Andy were sitting on a head stone while Sam set up the spell.
"You sure this is going to work?" Dean asked.
"No, but if the spirits around this should smoke it out." Sam said. Dean sighed. Andy looked at him questioningly. Something was bothering him.
"What's up babe?" Dean looked at her.
"This job is jacked. We do this, people are going to start dropping. Good people."
"I know. It sucks. But…that's just the way it goes."
"She's right Dean. There's a natural order to things." Dean looked at Sam.
"Seriously. We're like poster boys for unnatural order. All we do is ditch death."
"Yea, but normal rules don't really apply to us." At that, both Andy and Dean looked at Sam a bit shocked. It made Andy nervous hearing Sam talk like that…this was not a good attitude for him to have. Dean was going on about how they were no different than everyone else, and Sam was making some good arguments to the contrary. Suddenly Andy felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She looked around just as a voice called out.
"Hey! What is this?"
After a fumbling attempt to talk their way out of the situation Sam said,
"Look, we're leaving." The man looked at Sam and said,
"You're not going anywhere ever again…Sam." His eyes rolled white.
"Alistair," Dean said stoically. Andy flinched at the name.
"Anyway, no time to chat. Got a hot date with Death." With a flick of his hand, Alistair sent Dean flying. He crashed into a head stone a dropped.
"Dean!" Andy shouted and ran after him. Alistair didn't seem interested in her. "Dyson!" She yelled hoping he would hear her. "Dyson!" He appeared next to her. "Alistair, he's here." she said quickly.
Dyson spun around to look, just in time to see him smoking out. They got Dean up and in the car. He woke up on the way back to the motel.
"What the hell happened?" he mumbled.
"Alistair flung you into a headstone." Andy said as she checked his head. He had a pretty decent lump forming.
"Yea, ow! I remember that. What happened after?"
"He tried to fling me, but it didn't work. Then he just bailed."
"Huh," was all Dean said. Andy got the feeling again that something wasn't right between the boys. They got back to the motel and Andy got some ice for Dean.
"How you doing?" she asked.
"I'm in pain. That's how I'm doing." he said roughly. Andy sighed. Whatever was bothering Dean, he had decided to take it out on anyone and everyone it seemed. The door opened and Sam came into the room.
"I think I have a concussion," Dean mumbled. "So, what happened again?"
"I told you, Alistair tried to fling me. It didn't work so he bailed."
"How come he couldn't fling you. He chucked you pretty good last time."
"I don't know," Sam said flatly.
Dean shook his head. Andy could feel it coming.
"Sam do me a favour. You can have your little secrets, I can't really stop you, but don't treat me like an idiot." Andy backed away. She wanted to see thing head on. Dyson looked at her questioningly. She just shrugged.
"Dean, I'm not keeping secrets."
"Mmm hmm. Yea, whatever. So did you go back and Q&A the dead kid?"
"Bobby called," Andy said still wondering at what had just happened. "He thinks we're on the right track with the Reaper thing. Apparently if you kill a Reaper under the solstice moon, you have a broken seal. The solstice moon is tomorrow."
"How do you ice a Reaper. You can't kill death." Dean said confused.
"Who knows." Sam said.
"Well, with the right tools you can kill anything," Dyson piped up. Dean nodded in acceptance.
"So, what are we supposed to do, swoop in and save a reaper."
"That's the plan."
"And how do we do that. Reapers are invisible."
"Not to me they're not," Dyson said.
"Yea, but you are not doing this alone," Andy said.
"Yea, no kidding." Dean said.
"But how are we going to help when only the dead and other Reapers can see them?" Sam asked. Dean looked up.
"Well, if ghosts are the only ones that can see them…then we become ghosts."
Andy shook her head and sighed.
"This is a bad idea."
"What other option do we have Andy?" Sam asked as he placed candles along the dressers.
"I don't know but dragging Pamela into this again…She doesn't need this."
"Yea, especially when I could do it just as easily," Dyson said his arms crossed.
"Dyson, we talked about this. Being tethered to their bodies is not going to work. They would need freedom of movement anywhere. I still think this whole thing is stupid."
"Well, if you have another suggestion I'm all ears," Dean said. Andy rolled her eyes at him. "That's what I thought." So, Dean left to pick up Pamela. Needless to say, she was about as happy with the idea as Andy.
"I can't begin to tell you how crazy you all are." she said as she opened the door.
"No argument there." Andy mumbled. Dean shot her a look.
"Andy, did you at least try to talk sense into these boys?" Pamela asked.
"You know I did. Not that they would listen to me."
"So, which one of you came up with Astral Projection?"
"Yo," Dean said.
"Of course. So let me get this straight. You want to rip your souls out of your bodies and take a little stroll?"
"Mmm hmm."
"Do you have any idea how heavy duty insane that is?"
"It's not that insane," Dyson mumbled crossing his arms. "I do it all the time."
"Dyson. Shut up." Andy said stonily. Dean just glared.
"Well, that's where the reaper is so that's where we need to be," Dean said.
"It's still nuts." Pamela replied.
"Well not if you know what you're doing."
"You don't know what you're doing."
"But you do," Sam said.
"And so do I." Dyson piped up again.
"Dyson!" Andy shouted. Pamela turned her head in their direction. She sighed.
"Yea, I know what I'm doing. And I'm sick of being dragged into this angel demon crap of yours."
"Look, I'd love to be kicking back with a cold one right now." Dean said. "But we're talking the end of the world here." His voice had gone deep and serious. Andy watched him closely. "No more tasseled leather pants, no more Ramones CD's no more nothing. We need your help." Pamela was quiet for a moment.
"Well, let's get projecting then."
They got the room all prepared. Sam and Dean laid down on the beds and Pamela did her thing. When it was done, Dyson confirmed that the boys were in the veil. Then he lay down on the floor and went Reaper mode. Andy stayed behind with Pamela to keep an eye on her boys. It was a long wait. Pamela and Andy talked a bit. But mostly they were quiet. Waiting. It was night before something happened. They both heard a noise. Soft, nothing telling. But they were both suspicious. Andy got up, locked and dead bolted the door. A breeze ruffled the curtains. The hairs on the back of Andy's head stood on end.
"I know you're here," Pamela said. "What's wrong? Afraid of a skirt or two?" That was when Andy saw it.
"Pamela behind you!" She shouted. Pamela tried to get to the boys' bodies to call them back. She made it to Sam, but it was hard to tell if she had been able to get the full incantation out before the demon grabbed her. Then another one showed up and tried to grab Andy from behind. She kicked out and managed to catch him off guard. Thinking fast she took hold of the water in his meat suit and held him still, like she had with Ruby a few weeks ago. She turned just in time to see the other one burry a knife in Pamela's stomach.
"Pamela!" she shouted. Suddenly Sam sat up. Pamela must have gotten through the spell. He saw the demon. He held out his hand and the demon went flying against the wall. He looked at the one Andy was still holding. Reached out a hand and black smoke came out of both the meat suits and vanished. Andy realized with a sick horror that Sam had just exorcised two demons with his mind. She shook off her shock and rushed to Pamela. She was breathing heavily, but chuckling.
"I can't die. Not in this town."
"Pamela, you need help," Sam said as he knelt with Andy by her side.
"Why don't you make me a drink Sam."
"Pamela, you need a doctor."
"Sam. Make me a drink." Pamela's voice brooked no argument.
Andy helped Pamela onto the empty bed.
"Pamela, you really need some help. If Dean managed to stop it, the reaper will be starting up again soon."
"I know," she said quietly.
"Then let me help you."
"What can you do Andy?" Pamela asked incredulously. Andy chuckled.
"Those boys like their secrets don't they. I'm a healer Pamela. I can heal you," Andy said. Pamela scoffed.
"Right, and I'm the Easter bunny."
"It's true. Please let me help you."
Pamela said nothing, so Andy decided to take that as a yes and went to work. It was strange not having to work around blood. When she dulled the pain Pamela let out a sigh of relief. Suddenly Dyson sat up from the floor. Andy looked around at him. When he saw her healing he stood and came over.
"What happened?" he asked putting a hand on Andy's back.
"Demons. Trying to kill you guys off. Pam got a knife in the gut for it."
"Shit. You got her covered?" he asked. Andy nodded.
"I'll be tired but yea, I got it. Where's Dean?"
"He's just helping Tessa take care of the kid."
"Who's Tessa?"
"She's the reaper that was after Dean after the accident with Dad," Sam said handing Pamela her second drink. Andy's eyes widened.
"Wow, talk about coincidence," Andy said. She went back to healing Pamela who sipped at her drink. When Andy was done she sat a bit heavily on the floor.
"That's some talent you have there." Pamela said.
"Sure is," Andy said. Pamela went over to Dean's bed and said the spell to bring him back to his body. After a few moments he gasped and sat up. He saw Andy on the floor looking a little pale, and Pamela moving a little stiffly back to the other bed and sitting heavily on it. He looked around confused.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Pamela got knifed. Andy fixed her up," Dyson said.
"Thanks for the summary," Dean said rolling his eyes. He knelt next to Andy. "You ok?" he asked running a hand through her hair. She smiled and nodded. "Pamela, you ok?" he asked turning to her.
"More or less."
"Awesome," Dean said. He took a deep breath and blew it out. "Let's get the hell out of this town."
As they parted ways. Pamela took Andy aside for a moment.
"Did he really do what I think he did?" she asked. Andy knew right away what she meant.
"Yea, he did."
Pamela shook her head.
"There is something dark in that boy. I can feel it inside him."
"I know. I don't know what it is yet. But I have a feeling we won't be in the dark much longer," Andy said sadly. She hugged Pamela and walked away. She saw her whisper to Sam before she left, and Sam's eyes go wide with fear. Andy sighed and climbed into the Impala.
"Home crappy home." Dean said as he and Sam walked into the motel room after dropping off Pamela. Suddenly a deep voice broke the quiet.
"Winchester, and Winchester."
"Oh, come on," Dean said as he looked up and saw Uriel.
"You are needed."
"Tough shit,"
"You watch your tone with me boy." There was a knock at the door Sam opened it. Andy walked in and stopped short when she saw the same two men who had been set to kill Anna only weeks before.
"What's going on?" Andy said slowly advancing to Dean's side. The angels reacted to Andy in an unexpected way. Uriel recoiled and Castiel looked from Dean to Andy and back clearly distressed.
"What is she doing here?" Uriel asked acidly.
"None of your business junk-less," Dean said testily.
"Dean, you should not be associating with this woman," Castiel said carefully his eyes focused on Andy. It made her uncomfortable.
"Why the hell not?"
"She is an abomination," Uriel said.
"You really like that word don't you. But that doesn't mean anything."
"Dean, she's the devil's prophet."
"I'm the what?" Andy said still confused as to just what was going on.
"It is not of import at the moment. Dean, we have a job for you."
"Not of import?" Dean said cocking his head. "What the hell Cas."
"Dean, now is not the time. You need to come with us." Castiel said urgently.
"Yea well I'm not going anywhere." Dean crossed his arms across his chest defiantly.
"Oh, but I think you are." Uriel said with a slight smirk. With a brief gust and a stirring of wings the two angels and Dean vanished. Andy and Sam looked at round startled.
"Damn it!" Sam shouted.
"Son of a bitch," Andy muttered under her breath.
"I'm calling Ruby," Sam said wiping out his phone "she can do a location spell."
"Sam, I'm not sure if that is a good idea."
"Why not?"
"Just a feeling. I can't really explain."
"But we need to find him Andy. He can't do this!"
"I know we need to find him Sam. Dyson can track him."
"We don't have time for that."
"Sam, it'll take all of an hour. By the time Ruby got here did a spell and we got on the road, Dyson could be there back, and we would be ready to go." Sam sighed heavily.
"Fine, let's get him then."
Andy was back in her room packing a few essential items, waiting for Dyson to get back, when the first vision hit. It was a series flash of images. Sam's puppy eyes looking up at someone. Ruby, a sweet smile on her face. Sam with a knife in his hands. Sam…Sam sucking on Ruby's bleeding arm. The vision let her go and Andy stumbled back onto the bed breathing hard. She didn't understand, couldn't believe that it was going to happen. She shook it off and continued to pack, but when had she ever been wrong yet.
Dyson came back within the hour, but without Dean. Andy's heart fell.
"You couldn't find him?"
"I found him." Dyson said. Andy sighed with relief. "I just thought I would come back for you. He's ok at the moment. He's just talking to Uriel and Castiel. Figured I shouldn't go around killing angels at random so here I am. Are you ready?"
"Let's get going." Sam said grabbing the keys.
"Uh I think it would be like a 4-hour drive. So, I should probably pop us over but it will be a little hard with the car. Take what you can carry."
"Yea, whatever, let's go." said Sam.
It was always a little disorienting traveling with Dyson. It took Andy a moment to take in the room. She saw Castiel, a serious slightly menacing look on his face. He was looking at someone. Then Andy saw who he was looking at. The red hair and hazel eyes. It was Anna.
"Go," was the low rumbled word that Castiel ground out. Before anyone could say anything Anna was gone.
"Wait!" Andy shouted without thinking. That was when Castiel realized that they were there.
"You shouldn't be here," he said to Sam. "You don't want to witness this."
"Yea, well I don't want him doing it so…" Sam let the statement hang in the air. Andy looked around and saw the door. Through the window she caught a glimpse of a shape that could only be Dean. She went to the door, intent on flinging it open to stop what ever horrible things were going on behind it. She got to it and grabbed the handle, but she made the mistake of looking through the window first. She could see a complex Devil's trap with a man, a demon she assumed, chained up. She could see Dean as well. He was just turning around so she could see his face. What she saw stopped her heart. It wasn't her Dean in that room. The hard lines of his face were set in a cold mask. His jaw clenched. It was a look she never wanted to see again. Then his eyes flicked up for a moment, as he was planning what his next torture would be. She saw what she had only seen in her nightmares. Roiling, savage pleasure. It was just a moment. A flash, then he was back to cold and shuttered. Andy lurched back from the door and gasped.
"Andy? What? What is it?" Sam asked.
"Sam, don't," Castiel's warning came with a fluttering of wings, and he was in front of the door, blocking the way. "This must be done. We need to know how they are killing our soldiers."
"Cas, he is not going to survive this!" Sam shouted. "He can't do it!"
"He is our only choice. I have orders to follow Sam, and I will not let you stand in the way of them."
Sam turned away from Castiel, frustrated. It was then that Andy noticed it had gone oddly quiet in the room. She carefully tried to catch a glimpse through the small window in the door again. She couldn't see Dean…or the demon in the Devil's trap anymore.
"Something's wrong," she said urgently. Castiel turned took look. He was moving in a moment. The door was wrenched open, and Cas was in there in a second. Andy stumbled through the door next followed by Sam and Dyson. Nothing good was happening in the room. Dean was being severely beaten by the demon. Castiel had picked up the demon knife and had made an attempt to kill him. Unfortunately, he missed anything vital and had gotten himself impaled on a nail and the demon, Andy finally put it together that it was Alistair, started chanting a spell to send angels back to heaven. Sam raised a hand and Alistair was thrown against a wall. He laughed giving Sam a creepy amused stare.
"How are the demons killing angels?" Sam shouted. Alistair struggled against the hold Sam had on him. "How are they doing it?" Sam shouted again and squeezed.
"I don't know," Alistair gurgled. "It's not us. Lilith is not behind this," he gasped as Sam seemed to squeeze again. "She wouldn't kill seven angels, she would kill a hundred…a thousand," Alistair reveled in the idea. Sam let go of his death grip, but kept Alistair pinned to the wall. Dyson had been watching this exchange, and he noticed Castiel watching as well with a concerned, almost fearful look on his face.
"Oh, go ahead Sam. Send me back to Hell. If you can." The smirk on Alistair's face made Andy's stomach turn. Sam glanced at Dyson.
"You're not going to Hell," Sam said with a smirk.
"At least, not the Hell you think," Dyson said as he drew his blade and sliced swiftly and cleanly across Alistair's chest. A stream of red light poured out of the wound, then the body sank to the ground, empty.
The moment Sam had gotten Alistair off Dean, Andy had rushed to him. He was unconscious, with a lot of broken bones, bruises, cuts, and his throat was crushed. She slipped into her healing sight and went to work slowly, so she wouldn't waste energy. Once Alistair was dead, Sam rushed to where Andy was healing Dean.
"Andy, is he going to be ok?" She let go of the healing to look at Sam. She was worried. Dean wasn't getting enough oxygen, and he had some serious head trauma.
"I need some time Sam. I can't do this all at once."
Sam stood. He looked at Castiel.
"Heal him." His voice was low and menacing.
"I can't."
"This is your fault. You and Uriel brought him here. He's dying because you couldn't keep a simple devils trap together."
"That trap should not have broken. I am sorry for that."
"This was all pointless. The demons aren't killing your soldiers. He wasn't lying." Sam turned his back on the angel. Andy had been watching the exchange, hoping that Castiel would heal Dean, but he just vanished. She went back to work on him. When she had done what she could to keep Dean breathing on his own, Dyson took them to Bobby's one at a time. She told him to warn Bobby that they would need oxygen for Dean while she rested. While Dyson was taking Sam, Andy noticed the cart of knives, holy water, and other gruesome instruments. Memories flashed through her mind. Knives carving into her. Green eyes and a gut-wrenching smile. The thought brought bile to the back of Andy's throat. The flashes of memory suddenly became flashes of a vision. Castiel talking to Anna about disobedience. Uriel speaking about a new order in Heaven. Uriel, stabbing Anna in the back with a seraph blade. When she came out of it Dyson was standing in front of her.
"Come on Andrea. We should get out of here."
"Uriel is the one killing the angels." she said in a rush. Dyson raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, he is now, is he?"
Andy nodded.
"Cas and Anna are going after him, but Anna…she's…" Andy was near tears. "Help them. Please, will you help them."
Dyson smirked.
"Help them kill that dick of an angel. Not a problem." Dyson took her back to Bobby's first, then she told him where they were. He gave her a smile and blinked out. Andy sucked a ragged breath into her lungs and hopped Dyson would be enough to save Anna considering all the trouble he had been having with the big demons like Lilith and Yellow Eyes. She was exhausted and wrung out. She had to build up the courage to go and sit with Dean. Sam was already there, sitting next to his bed. Chin propped on his clasped hands, watching his brother breathe. He was bad. He might have been breathing on his own, but he was still bad.
"Should we…" Sam paused, "should we take him to a hospital?"
Andy shrugged.
"At this point kid, I think it might be better if we don't move him. I've got him. It might take a bit of time, but I've got him."
Andy sat staring at him for a long time. She couldn't help thinking of Dean torturing Alistair, and the satisfaction she knew it must have brought Dean. As much as she knew Dean hated himself for what he had become in Hell, she also knew he still held a lot of rage in him.
Bobby came in with an oxygen tank and a canula and she helped him get Dean situated. She made sure he got through the night. She would make sure that her Dean would come back. She would make sure that the caring, protective, strong lover came home to her. When Dyson came back and told her Uriel was dead, and Anna was fine she breathed a bit easier. When Sam started nodding off she sent him to bed. He almost didn't go, but she convinced him that Dean would skin both of them if they wore themselves out on his account.
Later, Andy had fallen asleep with her head on her arms resting on the edge of the bed. She slowly came awake and heard the low rumbled of Castiel's voice which almost made her stand straight up and try to fight an angel, but then she heard Dean respond and, much to her own shame, she listened in. Her heart broke when she heard that it was Dean giving in that had broken the first seal. It broke even more when she heard what Dean really thought of himself. Not strong enough. Not the man either John or apparently God wanted him to be. When Cas had left she wanted to let Dean have his privacy, but she knew she had to tell him what she had seen. She pretended to wake up a few minutes after Castiel left. She smiled at Dean, glad to see he was awake.
"Hey, sleeping beauty," she said and took Dean's hand. He gave her a weak smile back.
"Speak for yourself sweetheart, you were just dead to the world not five seconds ago."
She winced hearing Dean's voice. It was completely wrecked. She looked away from him for a moment. She was trying to steal herself to tell Dean what she had seen. Finally, she felt like she was ready but…her mouth wouldn't open. Not because she had decided to wait, but literally she couldn't open her mouth to say the words "Sam is drinking demon blood." It was impossible. She looked at Dean, frustrated.
"Andy? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Dean, I just don't like seeing you like this," She hedged. Her voice cracked. Dean reached out to her and took her hand.
"Hey, you saved me. You did what the freaking Angels wouldn't."
She smiled softly at him. Dean gently pulled at her hand. She leaned in and kissed him softly. "I'm so lucky to have you with me Andy."
"You know it," she said. She tried to tell him again. About Sam and the demon blood. But no matter how hard she tried; nothing would come out. It was then she began to get an inkling of what being the devil's prophet might be like.