Set during 5.22 Swan Song.
92: Goodbye Time
"I want you to take care of Dean."
"Shut up, Sam." Jane said dryly, glancing up at him briefly before returning her stare to the many cars in Bobby's salvage yard. She had brought out a cooler full of beer, ignoring the looks Bobby and Dean had given her as she had passed through the kitchen. They had been sitting at the table discussing, most likely, Sam's idea of handing himself over to Satan. She didn't like this plan, there was too much that could go wrong.
They had all four Horsemen rings. Dean had personally retrieved Death's, and they knew how to use them, how to put Satan back in his cage. Jane was okay with all of that. She just wasn't okay with the possibility of Sam not being as strong as he was hoping he was.
"I mean it Jane. If something goes wrong…" He took a swallow from his bottle, eyes narrowing. "Just… take care of him. Let him, give him, a normal life. You both deserve that."
She didn't bother pointing out that if things went seriously wrong, they would be running for it and anything resembling normal would become a fairytale. "I'll try." She said finally, promising what she could, which was an attempt. Planning didn't seem to work out all that well lately. "Freaking out yet?"
"Only a little."
Jane moved so she was sitting on the hood of the Impala they were leaning against, still nowhere near his head level. "Sit down, Sam."
Obediently, he sat down, smiling slightly when she leaned into him and wrapped his arm around her. "You're such a pain in my ass, Jane."
"Feeling is mutual, Winchester." She snorted, closing her eyes. For all their ups and downs, she genuinely loved and adored Sam. He had some serious, serious issues and a dark side she had experienced up close and personal several times, but… there was a goodness in him too.
"Hey."
They both looked up at Dean who was just staring at them, neither moving. He bent down to retrieve his own beer, sighing. "Okay, I'm in."
"In with…?" Sam ignored it when Jane elbowed him, just squeezed her tighter.
"The Satan thing, I'm in."
"That is… not what I was expecting you to say." Sam said slowly, letting Jane free as he stood up. He had been expecting another round of arguing, not… this. "So you're on board?"
"Not really, Sam. But you're a grown… over-grown, ass man and this is your call. If this is what you want to do, I'll back your play."
Jane had to fumble to catch her beer, blushing when she got scrutinizing looks from the brothers. "Shut up, Winchesters."
"Aww… look at the little angel… and my wife."
Sam glanced into the backseat. Castiel was slumped against the door, his head lolling against the glass and Jane was slumped against him, both sound asleep. "Angels don't sleep." He said after a moment, frowning slightly. "He's becoming human, or is human."
"So God pulled his mojo… that blows." Dean spared a sideways glance at Sam. "I got a bad feeling about this."
"You'd be insane to have a good feeling…"
"You know what I mean, bitch. Detroit. He always said he'd have you in Detroit and here we are."
"Yeah," Sam sighed, turning his gaze back out the window. "Here we are." He fell silent as Dean started doing what he had figured Dean would do. Talk about this being a trap, about Satan knowing more than them, which Sam figured was a given. On both accounts. But he let Dean say his piece, it wasn't going to change what was going to happen. "Look, if this goes the way it's supposed too, Satan and I wind up in that cage, you know that, right?"
"Yeah, I know." Dean didn't sound overly happy about it but he wasn't at panic mode or anger stage. That was… weird.
"Okay, so I need you to promise me something."
"Okay. Sure."
"I need you to not try to bring me back." Sam was now staring at Dean, watching his older brother's face intently, and sure enough… he seen the panic and anger starting to appear. So that had been why Dean had gone along with all this, reluctantly, dragging his feet, back he had gone. Because he thought at the end of the day, he was going to pop that cage and set Sam free. "Once the cage is shut, you can't try opening it, don't poke at it, nothing. If you do, you're going to wind up setting this all off all over again."
"No, you can't ask me to do that." Dean was seriously considering hitting the brakes and stopping them right there. "I didn't sign up for this."
"Deal with it. Promise me this Dean. Promise me you won't try getting me out."
"What am I supposed to do then, Sammy?" Dean's voice cracked. "I've spent all my life taking care of you and now you want me to just… what, walk away? How am I supposed to do that?"
"You'll have Jane." Sam said softly, wondering why it was easier on him. He was the one actually going on a one way trip with none other than Lucifer as his rooming buddy but he wasn't panicking. Not just yet. "You and her, you can live a normal, apple pie life together, Dean. Promise me." He had already gotten his promises from her.
Dean didn't say a word.
"Demons," Bobby said, looking around with his binoculars. "Dozens of them. You were right, something is up."
Jane nodded her agreement, eyes closed though as she began searching for the major player. She hesitated when she felt something, almost tickling her mind, and that wasn't even the most accurate way of describing it. "He knows you're here, Sam." She said finally, the shields that Satan himself had improved sliding up, and she felt uneasy. It felt like it was getting close to time to pay the fiddler for that small gift he had given her. Unwanted, unasked for, but given and taken nonetheless.
"Like I expected anything less. Come here, Janey."
This was goodbye time and she swallowed down the lump in her throat. "Sure thing, Sammy." She aimed for teasing, and moved away from the Impala to go stand with him, away from the others. "Should I argue with you about this?"
"I'd rather you didn't." He grinned anxiously down at her. "Remember the Baykaak?"
She nodded, trying not to shudder.
"This isn't as bad as that."
"True, there are no bears." And no huge ass bonfire, and no winter, but they had both come home at the end of that. With new scars and an appreciation for mild weather, but they had come home. "And I can't save you like you did me." She added in a whisper, stepping forward to wrap her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. "You're such a pain in my ass, Sam. You always have been."
"I know." He had been more than a pain in his ass. He had screwed up multiple times, and still at the end of the day, the people he loved and had hurt the most were still here. "Feeling is mutual."
Jane stepped away when he did, looking anywhere but at him as he exchanged words with everyone else. Castiel would have been amusing if the situation weren't so dire, the freshly minted human needed to learn subtlety and tact, if they survived this.
When Sam began chugging his demon juice, Dean walked over to her. "You're staying with Bobby and Castiel for this one."
"No-"
He clamped his hand over her mouth. "Jane, every time I tell you to stay behind, we're usually going up against something that winds up with someone dead. And each time, you still go. You're staying behind for this, got me?"
She glared at him.
"Yeah, I love you too, sweetheart, but promise."
Once he removed his hand, Jane licked her lips, sighing. "Fine. I promise."
"Good." Dean studied her thoughtfully, finally bending down to brush his lips against the corner of her mouth. "I love you, Jane."
"I-"
"But I don't trust you. Bobby, Cas?"
Jane could only gawk as the two other men grabbed her from behind. They weren't out to hurt her, she knew that immediately. They were restraining her, preventing her from going, and goddamn it… "Dean, don't you dare!"
"Sorry, sweetheart. But you're not walking into the Devil's den, not a second time." He knew if they made it out of this, she was going to mess his world all up for this but he'd be damned if she put herself on Satan's radar again. "Stop it." He growled, voice dropping to the husky commanding tone he generally saved for the bedroom. When she instantly stilled, he cracked a half-smile. "One day sweetheart, we are really going to explore this obedience thing you got going."
Bobby made a gagging noise while Castiel looked politely bemused. "I'll let go." Bobby cautioned.
That was his cue to leave, that and the sound of the trunk closing.
Bobby and Castiel had let her go when the brothers were out of sight. Jane could have probably followed by Bobby had threatened to shoot her in the kneecap if she tried and she believed he would. Instead, she perched on the hood of the Impala, arms wrapped around herself.
"They're coming straight to me."
That was new.
"Don't worry, Jane. I'll let Dean live."
"I really, really hope I'm hallucinating." She whispered, shivering. The last thing she needed was a direct link to Satan.
"You've taken good care of Sam for me, I appreciate that. Which is why I'm going to let you live as well."
Well, shit. She closed her eyes, reaching out and felt that tickling, numbing thing again. She knew what it was, Lucifer, and the moment she thought his name she felt him inside her head. Her shields dropped instantly.
"Jane?"
She heard Castiel but he sounded far away and broken, as if there were static between them. "What did you do to me?" She had always known being 'fixed' would come with strings, but this… what was this?
"Just a little gift, Jane. A little piece of me to keep your psychic abilities under control. I needed you. Sam needed you. You helped keep him going, and your blood… well, he's been thinking about that ever since he tasted it."
"Gross."
"They're here." It was sing-songed in her head.
That wasn't good, and she doubted the entire truth, there was more. She lapsed into silence as she focused, not able to view but somewhat hear and sense that Dean and Sam had reached their destination. Then everything shut down. Including Jane.
Dean didn't know what to do. He knew where everything was happening but how did he stop it? Was Sam still in there? Everything had gone done wrong, and Sam… Sam was not as strong as he had believed. He hadn't been able to wrest control from Lucifer.
Then there was Jane. Neither Bobby or Castiel had been able to explain what had happened to her. All they knew was that she had been talking to herself and then… nothing. She was on the ground, unconsciousness. They had tried rousing her, Dean had tried as well, and she wasn't responding. It didn't take a genius to realize Satan had done this, done something to her. First Sammy, now Jane… one way this all would end and he wasn't sure if he cared which way it went down.
"I'll fix this, sweetheart." He whispered, staring down into her lifeless face. Bobby and Cas were riding in one of Bobby's vehicles. He had laid Jane out in the backseat, propped on a pillow, covered with a blanket, though if the physical comforts were doing anything for her… there was just no way of telling. "One way or another, I'll fix it." He kissed her forehead before pulling away, making sure she was arranged as comfortably as she could be before shutting the back door.
One way or another.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Dean shook his head, not looking over as Jane climbed into the front passenger seat that Castiel had just vacated. Cas had gotten his mojo times three back and had healed them all, Jane included. It had taken a bit for her to wake up, but Castiel had seemed certain she would. Bobby was on his way home, Dean supposed, and Cas had gone back to Heaven like the good little bitch he was. "No."
She settled gingerly into an upright position, pushing her tangled hair back from her face. The last thing she remembered from outside her head was Detroit. After that… she had been held hostage in her own mind with a direct link to some seriously messed up, scarring stuff and she prayed Sam wasn't suffering anymore. She doubted it, he had gone into the cage with not one pissed off archangel but two of them but that wouldn't stop her from hoping, or attempting to comfort herself and sleep easy with the lie.
Jane reached over and took his hand, feeling his fingers entwining with hers and squeezed gently. "You okay?"
"Yeah," He nodded after a long moment. "I'm good."
