Author's Note: We are finally in season three! I have been dying to get to this season. I really hope you all enjoy the ride that is about to begin. I would love to post once a month, but I am working two jobs and have very limited time to write. I am aiming for every other. Ideally every six weeks. I know that's a long time between posting, but it's what I have to work with right now. Hopefully, you like the story enough to stick with it. Reviews feed me. If you have time please leave me one. I really hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks for reading
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Supernatural. All rights belong to the writers and creators of the show.
"Let me see your knife," Sam said woodenly. He was staring blankly out at the road passing by as they drove to their next hunt.
"What for?" Dean asked.
"So I can gouge my eyes out," Sam replied. He could not get the sight of Dean in the throes of passion out of his mind. This was literally his worst nightmare.
"It was a beautiful, natural act, Sam," Dean replied, dismissing his discomfort.
"It's a part of you I never wanted to see, Dean," Sam replied, unamused. Dean clapped a hand on his thigh.
"Hey, I appreciate you giving me a little quality time with the Double mint Twins."
"Yeah, no problem," he grumbled.
"Really?" Dean questioned. "Well, I got to say, I was expecting a weary sigh or an eyeroll. Something."
"No, not at all," Sam replied. "You deserve to have a little fun."
"Well, I am in violent agreement with you there," Dean said laughing. "What's Bobby got?"
"Not much," Sam answered. "A crop failure and a cicada swarm outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. Ahh, could be demonic omens…"
"Or it could be a bad crop and a bug problem," Dean said.
"Yeah, but it's our only lead," Sam replied.
"Any freaky deaths?" Dean questioned.
"Nothing Bobby could find," Sam said. "Not yet, anyway."
"It's weird, man," Dean exclaimed. "You'd think it would be "Apocalypse Now," but it's been five days and bubkis. What are the demons waiting for?"
"Beats me," Sam said.
"It's driving me crazy," Dean said. "I tell you, if it's going to be a war, I wish it would just start already."
"I don't know. Be careful what you wish for," Sam replied. Silence settled over the car for a few minutes. It felt unnatural. He had gotten used to Fallon's constant chatter. Traveling didn't feel right without her. He couldn't help but glance in the rearview mirror to see the backseat where she usually sat. The empty seat just made him miss her more.
After she stormed off at the cemetery, when she'd finished yelling at Dean, they'd waited for her by the Impala for an hour. When she didn't come back in that time, they'd gotten in the car, and Dean drove along the road she'd walked down when she left. There had been no sign of her. He and Dean had grown increasingly panicked at her disappearance. Dean had had a full out panic attack. Sam had finally thought to call Bobby and Ellen to see if Fallon had joined them. Both said she wasn't with them, but assured him they'd let him know if she turned up. With no clues on where she was, they decided there was nothing to do but go on like normal. They got a motel and hoped she would show up eventually…and she did. A day later, Bobby called to say Fallon was with him and would be for a while.
Both boys had initially felt relieved when they heard she was back and safe with Bobby. It quickly sunk in for Dean though, that Fallon was furious with him. He called Bobby every day begging to speak with Fallon, but she refused. Bobby had finally convinced him the other day to give her some space. Dean had agreed, but he was clearly on edge. Sam had convinced him to go out for a night to relax and have a good time. Although he was still having flashbacks to Dean's good time, he was happy it seemed to have lifted his brother's mood. Still, he knew he had to tell Dean the news Bobby gave him, and try to get his brother to properly manage his expectations.
"So, Bobby said he got Fallon to agree to join the hunt," he said carefully.
"Fallon's joining us?" Dean replied, his entire face lighting up.
"Yeah. Dean, I wouldn't get too excited," Sam said. "Bobby said she's still pretty mad. He's not convinced she won't back out."
"She'll be there. You know Fallon. She doesn't stay mad for long," Dean said.
"Dean, she didn't speak to me for two weeks once because I spilled coffee over the mass-produced paperback she was reading," Sam said. "Somehow, I think you selling your souls is a bigger offense. She's not going to just get over this." Dean scowled.
"Look, I understand she's mad, but this is an all-hands-on deck situation," Dean replied.
"Based on my conversation with Bobby, that's the only reason she's coming," Sam said. "I just don't want you to get your hopes up that she's going to be happy to see you, Dean." He brother just glanced at him blankly for a moment before looking back at the road. He could see his jaw tighten. He sighed again and sat back, knowing Dean hadn't listened to a word he said.
Sam stretched his legs as he stepped out of the car, but his joy over the end of the long car ride died as he heard the shrill cry of cicadas. "You hear them?" he said, glancing at Dean who was scarfing down a double bacon cheeseburger.
"That can't be a good sign," he replied.
"No. Not it can't," Sam agreed.
"So, we're eating bacon cheeseburgers for breakfast, are we?" Bobby commented as he approached them. Fallon was still by the old hunter's truck. She wasn't even looking at them.
"Well, I sold my soul. Got a year to live. I ain't sweating the cholesterol," Dean replied. Sam winced as he saw Fallon's shoulders tense. She definitely heard Dean's comment. Bobby also scowled.
"I barely convinced Fallon to join this hunt. I'll thank you to keep any glib comments about your deal from escaping your mouth," Bobby grumbled. Dean looked chagrined, but his expression lightened when Fallon finally came over.
"Hey, Fallon!" he greeted excitedly. She didn't even look at him, though she did meet Sam's eyes and gave him a small smile.
"Hi, Sam," she said.
"Hey, Fallon. I've missed you," he said trying to ignore the hurt look on Dean's face. He noticed Bobby giving Fallon a very pointed look, but she was refusing to look at him, too. He decided to get them all focused on the case.
"So, Bobby, what do you think?" he asked. "We got a biblical plague here or what?"
"Well, let's find out. Looks like the swarm's ground zero," Bobby replied. They went up to the house.
"Candygram!" Dean shouted as he knocked. After a moment with no answer, Fallon phased through the door and unlocked it for them. Dean tried to thank her, but she immediately turned and started searching the house. Dean completely deflated.
"Give her time," Bobby said.
"This smell is awful," Sam said, grimacing.
"Can't be a good sign," Dean commented.
"In here!" Fallon called from further in the house. The three men made their way into a family room and all grimaced at the grizzly sight. On the couch, three people sat dead. Empty gazes stared at the TV that was still playing. The stench in this room was unbearable and it was obvious the corpses were several days old.
"Oh my God," Sam groaned. "What the hell happened here?"
"I don't know," Bobby said.
"Check for sulfur," Dean said.
"There isn't any," Fallon replied.
"You're sure?" Dean said.
"I think I know how to do this job by now and I'd sense it if there were any demons here," Fallon said shortly.
"I didn't mean to imply you didn't. I was just…" Dean cut off when a noise came from outside. Sam motioned for Bobby to join him to force Fallon to work with Dean, but she didn't move from the room and he saw Dean head for the front door without her. He and Bobby quickly moved around the house back to the front. They picked up their pace when they heard a scuffle and rounded the corner to see Dean on the ground and a man and woman standing over him with a gun drawn.
"Isaac? Tamara?" Bobby said surprised.
"Bobby. What the hell are you doing here?" Tamara replied.
"I could ask the same," Bobby said guardedly.
"Heya, Bobby," Isaac greeted him in a friendlier manner. Dean waved his hand in the air from where he laid on the porch.
"Hello. Bleeding here," he said. Isaac offered him a hand up. Fallon phased through the door at that point, surprising Tamara, and Isaac.
"Everything okay out here?" she asked, glancing over the newcomers suspiciously. Tamara and Isaac looked just as wary as her.
"So, you really are working with the enemy," Tamara said.
"She hunts with us," Bobby said firmly. "She's not an enemy."
"She's a case," Isaac replied in disgust. Sam felt his own nerves prickle, but Fallon just rolled her eyes. Dean, however, became irate.
"She's not a case!" he shouted. "She's our friend." He then turned to Fallon with a hopeful expression, but she just glanced at him coolly before teleporting into Bobby's truck. Dean's shoulders slumped in dismay.
"Looks like you really stepped in it with her," Tamara commented.
"Okay, that's enough," Bobby cut it. "We've got a job to do. Let's report their deaths and convene someplace else to go over what we have so far." They all agreed and Tamara gave them the address to an abandoned house they were squatting in.
Hours later, and it was apparent that none of them knew what was going on. Dean was currently on the phone with the coroner's office, trying to charm a tech into giving him information on the family they found. Bobby was looking through books he'd brought, trying to find anything that covered what they'd seen so far. Sam had been helping him. Neither were having any luck.
Sam glanced over at Fallon to see what she was up to and found her lurking in a corner. She was pointedly ignoring Tamara and Isaac who had only reluctantly allowed her in the house. She was also ignoring concerned looks from Bobby. He frowned. She was not acting at all like herself. He knew she was mad at Dean, but she was ignoring him too. It was also so odd for her to be this quiet and reserved. Normally, she'd be chatting up a storm, animatedly waving her hands and arms about as she did so. Right now, she resembled a statue. Something wasn't right about her behavior and he felt a flicker of concern. He was about to go over and check on her when something Isaac said caught his attention.
"Honey? Where's the Palo Santo?" Isaac asked.
"Well, where'd you leave it?" Tamara replied.
"I don't know, dear," Isaac sighed. "That's why I'm asking."
"Palo Santo?" Sam questioned.
"It's holy wood from Peru," Tamara explained. "It's toxic to demons like holy water. Keeps the bastards nailed down while you're exorcising them." She pulled a wooden stake out of the duffle bag she'd been digging through and gave it to Isaac with an affectionate smile.
"Thank you, dear," Isaac said.
"You'd lose your head if it wasn't for me," Tamara teased.
"So, how long have you been married," Sam asked.
"Eight years this past June," Tamara said.
"The family that slays together…"
"Right," Sam said. "I'm with you there. How'd you get started?" He regretted the question at the sight of their tormented faces. "I, uh, you know…I'm sorry. It's not…that's none of my business."
"No. No. It's…it's all right," Tamara said after a moment. Sam wanted to say more, but Dean stepped back into the room then.
"That was the coroner's tech," Dean said.
"And?" Sam replied.
"Get this. That whole family's cause of death…dehydration and starvation. There's no signs of restraint, no violence, no struggle. They just sat down and never got up."
"But there was a fully stocked kitchen just yards away," Bobby said.
"What is this? A demon attack?" Sam questioned.
"If it is, it's not like anything I ever saw, and I've seen plenty," Bobby remarked.
"I didn't detect any demonic presence," Fallon piped in. Sam went to shoot her a smile, but she wasn't even looking in the group's direction. Her eyes were glued to a knife lying out on a table. He frowned instead.
"Well, what now?" Dean asked. "What should we do?"
"Uh, 'we're' not gonna do anything," Isaac replied.
"What do you mean?" Sam said.
"You guys seem nice enough, but, this ain't "Scooby-Doo," and we don't play well with others," Isaac replied. "Especially when those others are walking around with a case."
"She's not a case!" Sam and Dean snapped.
"Let it go, boys. Not everyone has to like me," Fallon said. Her comment made Sam feel sad, but Dean looked elated that she'd acknowledged him.
"It's not about whether we like you or not," Tamara told her sounding almost apologetic. "We just aren't comfortable working with you."
"Well, I think we'd cover a lot more ground if we all worked together," Sam said.
"No offense, but we're not teaming with the damn fools who let the Devil's Gate get opened in the first place," Isaac snapped.
"No offense?" Dean replied, clearly offended.
"Isaac, like you never made a mistake?" Tamara admonished.
"Oh yeah, yeah. Locked my keys in the car. Turned my laundry pink. Never brought on the end of the world, though," Isaac said. Dean shot some words back at him, but Sam didn't hear him. His attention went to the sound of the door opening and he saw Fallon exiting the house. He followed her outside.
"Fallon! Hey, Fallon, wait up!" he called. For a second, he thought she was going to keep on walking, but she did stop and slowly turned to face him. Her face was a careful mask of neutrality.
"Is something wrong?" she asked. "Did you need me for something on the hunt?"
"What? No," Sam said. "I just wanted to see how you're doing. You don't seem yourself." Some emotion stirred in her expression for a moment, but it was gone before he could determine what it was and the poker face was back. It was a disturbing look on his normally expressive friend.
"I'm fine, Sam," she said. Her voice was just as toneless as her face. He was beginning to realize something was very wrong.
"I know you're made at Dean, but you've been ignoring me too as much as you can. Are you mad at me too?" he asked.
"No…yes…I don't know!" she sighed. "I guess I'm just mad at everyone and everything right now. I know that's not fair."
"You've been through a lot, Fallon. We all have. No one expects you to be fair," Sam tried to assure her. She snorted and he was stunned by the contemptuous look she gave him. "What?"
"You and Dean haven't gone through anything comparable to what I have. Stop trying to act like you understand what I've gone through because you don't. You have no idea!" she shouted.
"Fallon, I…"
"No, don't…just. I'm sorry. I…I need to be alone right now," she said and she teleported away. He stood there dumbfounded until Dean and Bobby came storming outside. Both asked about Fallon and he repeated what she'd said about needing some space. Bobby replied that she'd come back when she calmed down. They parted for the day, agreeing to meet in the morning to discuss next steps.
Sam was still worried about Fallon the next day. She hadn't joined them for breakfast, though Bobby assured him she'd been back at his motel room this morning. He was hoping she'd arrive with Bobby whenever the older man showed up at the scene of the latest victim. Sam currently moved towards his brother, who was flirting with a sales girl of the shoe store. He cleared his throat and Dean excused himself from his conversation.
"Dean, what are you doing?" Sam asked.
"I'm comforting the bereaved. What are you doing?" Dean said.
"Working," Sam replied shortly. "Dead body. Possible demon attack. That kind of stuff."
"Sam, I'm sorry," Dean replied coughing. "It's just, I don't have much time left and uh, got to make every second count." His fake coughing increased.
"You know saying stuff like that isn't going to win you any points with Fallon, right?" Sam said dryly. Dean immediately grew serious.
"Yeah, I know," he sighed.
"Actually, I wanted to talk about Fallon," Sam said. "Something's wrong…"
"I know. I know. I need to work harder to earn her forgiveness. I'm trying," Dean said.
"Jesus Christ," Sam sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"What?" Dean questioned defensively.
"Not everything is about your rift with Fallon," Sam snapped. "I'm trying to tell you I'm concerned for her and all you care about it the fact that she's still not talking to you. Do you even really care about her? Have you really not noticed that something is wrong?" Dean's expression sobered.
"I've noticed," he said. "She barely seems present at all. There's not much I can do about it, though. She won't even look at me, let alone talk to me. Why don't you talk to her?"
"I tried yesterday when she walked out of Tamara and Isaac's place," Sam replied. "She got very agitated. I don't know what happened to her in Hell, but we've got to get her to talk to us about it."
"Well, hold on, now," Dean said. "We can't make her talk about it if she doesn't want to."
"Of course we can't make her talk about it, but…"
"No buts, Sam," Dean said. "She'll talk to us about it when she's ready."
"Dean, she buried what happened with Evan for years before she was willing to talk about it," Sam said.
"A lot has happened to her since then. She might not bury her Hell trauma," Dean replied.
"She's burying it now, Dean," Sam said.
"Sam, it's only been a few days. We have to give her more time to process her feelings," Dean said.
"She's not going to process them. She's going to repress them!" Sam exclaimed.
"You don't know that," Dean replied. "Give her a chance to…"
"What are you two idgits fighting over?" Bobby asked as he joined them. They both shifted uncomfortably and Bobby scowled. "You're arguing over Fallon. Dammit! What is wrong with you two? Do you want her to stay on this case or what?"
"She's not acting like herself, Bobby," Sam said.
"Of course she isn't," Bobby replied. "She just got out of Hell a few days ago. I don't know what happened to her there, but I know it wasn't good."
"Don't you think we should get her to talk…" Dean's groan cut him off.
"There you go again!" Dean cried. "She doesn't want to talk about it."
"I just want to help her," Sam said defensively.
"I know you do, Sam," Bobby said. "But pressuring her to talk about it before she's ready isn't going to help her. We all need to be patient with her and give her time."
"I'm concerned that…"
"Hey, Fallon!" Dean said. Sam turned to see Fallon approaching them. Fallon briefly met Dean's gaze before looking away.
"Hello," she said quietly and Dean beamed at her acknowledgement. She turned her attention to the rest of the group. "Find anything on the case here?"
"I just spoke with the suspect," Bobby said.
"Weren't you with Bobby, Fallon?" Dean questioned.
"No. I just got out of a prison of sorts. Why would I want to go into a different one?" Fallon replied. Sam could tell she'd tried to keep her tone light, but there was a tension to her words.
"Right. Sorry," Dean said, shifting uncomfortably. Sam quickly steered the conversation back to the case.
"So, what do you think?" he asked. "Is she possessed or what?"
"Don't think so," Bobby replied. "There's none of the usual signs. No blackouts. No loss of control. Totally lucid. Just, she really wanted those shoes. Spilled a glass of holy water on her just to be sure. Nothing."
"To be fair they were cute shoes," Fallon said. All three men stared at her incredulously. "What? I'm not saying she should have killed over them, but shoe fights can get heated."
"You know from experience?" Bobby questioned.
"Gave Kimmie Pratchet a black eye over a pair of thigh high boots," she replied. "Retaliation for her taking a few strands of my hair." Fallon smiled, but it was brittle. Sam could tell she was putting on an act, trying to convince them all that she was fine.
"Maybe the woman is just some random whack job, like Fallon here," Dean said, sending Fallon a hopeful look. She didn't even glance at him and he slumped. Sam thought he could still count that as a win. She didn't get mad or walk away.
"If it had been an isolated incident, maybe, but first the family, now this?" Bobby said. "I believe in a lot of things. Coincidence ain't one of them. Did you boys find anything around here?"
"No sulfur. Nothing," Sam said.
"Well, maybe something," Dean said motioning towards a security camera. He then gave Sam a pointed look. "See? I'm working." They faked their way into being let into the security office so they could review the footage of the incident. They watched a guy approach the perpetrator of the crime.
"Anything interesting?" asked Dean.
"I don't know yet. Maybe just a guy…or it might be our guy," Sam replied.
"We might as well look into him," Fallon said. "We have no other leads."
"All right. I'll tail him. See what I can find out," Dean said. He glanced at Fallon. "Want to join me?" She teleported away. "Dammit!"
"Give her time," Bobby said.
"You're saying that a lot, Bobby," Dean grumbled.
"And the sooner you listen to me, the sooner she starts talking to you again," Bobby said.
"Yeah, yeah. I know," Dean muttered. "I'm gonna go track down our suspect."
"Let us know what you find out," Sam said. Dean waved in acknowledgement as he walked off. Sam then noticed Bobby staring at him. "What?"
"I know you want her to talk about what happened. I know you think that will help her. But as I said to Dean, give her time. She'll talk only when she's ready to," Bobby said. Sam nodded. He understood. He didn't want to push Fallon any further away than she already was. He missed his best friend. He would do anything to get her back with him and Dean. Right now, he realized, that meant giving her space.
Later that night, Sam approached Bobby's truck. Dean had sent him information on the man he'd been tracking for him to research. He was now going to meet up with Dean, Bobby, and Fallon at a local bar their suspect frequented. He saw Dean and Bobby chatting in the front seat. Fallon was sitting listlessly in the back, though she turned her head when she sensed him. He held a finger to his lips to stop her from greeting him. She gave a subtle nod and turned back to face the front seat. He thought he saw a slight smile on her face. He took the final few steps up to the car and knocked on the window. Dean and Bobby both jumped and then glowered at him. He grinned as he slid into the truck next to Fallon.
"That's not funny!" Dean snapped. He turned to Fallon. "Why didn't you warn us?"
"I didn't notice him," Fallon replied woodenly, turning her face to look out her window, but not before Sam saw the laughing smirk on her face. He felt relieved to see it.
"So, John Doe's name is Walter Rosen," Sam said bringing them back to the case. "He's from Oak Park…just west of Chicago. Went missing about a week ago."
"The night the Devil's Gate opened?" Dean said.
"Yeah," Sam confirmed.
"So, you think he's possessed?" Dean asked.
"Well, it's a good bet," Sam replied. "So, what, he just walks up to someone, touches them, and they go stark raving psycho?"
"He's probably compelling them to do whatever he wants them to," Fallon said. "I doubt they're actually driven mad."
"These demons that got out of the gate…they're gonna do all kinds of things we haven't seen," Bobby said.
"You mean the demons we let out," Sam said sullenly.
"Guys," Dean said and they all turned to see their suspect heading into the bar. "All right. Showtime."
"Wait a minute," Bobby said.
"What?' Dean replied impatiently.
"What'd I just say? We don't know what to expect out of this guy," Bobby said. "We should tail him until we know for sure."
"Oh, so he kills someone and we just sit here with our junk in our hands?" Dean snapped.
"We're no good dead!" Bobby exclaimed.
"I can go in," Fallon said. "He can't kill me."
"No!" Dean and Bobby cried at the same time.
"He could destroy you if he's powerful enough," Bobby assed. "We're not gonna make a move until we know what the score is."
"Hey, Bobby?" Sam said. "I don't think that's an option."
"Why not?" Bobby sighed. Sam pointed to two people heading towards the bar. They all recognized Tamara and Isaac. "Damn it!"
"I'm going in after them," Fallon said and started to phase through the car door.
"Fallon!" Sam cried, but Dean was faster. He was out of the car and blocking her path in an instant. Sam and Bobby also got out of the car.
"Fallon, stop," Dean said.
"I can go through you or just teleport into the bar, Dean. You can't stop me. Just move," she said. Dean grabbed onto her shoulders and she flinched violently at his touch. Dean immediately let her go and they all paused for a moment, shocked. Dean was the first to snap out of it.
"I can't let you go in there alone, Fallon," he said softly. "The last time I let you go into a place without me you got taken. I thought I lost you."
"You lost me when you made your deal, Dean. Now move," Fallon said coldly. This time it was Dean who flinched.
"All right, that's enough of that," Bobby said reproachfully. "You said you'd try, Fallon."
"No, I said I would come on this hunt. That's all, Bobby," Fallon replied. "I didn't agree to anything else. You can't make me forgive him. I can't forgive him!"
"You can't mean that, Fallon," Sam said softly.
"But I do," she replied.
"If you gave him more time…"
"Stop," Dean said and they all glanced over at him in surprise. "She doesn't have to forgive me. And right now, we need to focus on getting Tamara and Isaac out of there."
"He's right," Bobby said.
"I'm going in…"
"Fallon, you are not going in without the rest of us," Dean said. "You want to do something, see if you can open the door." Fallon nodded and they rushed to the bar. Fallon used her powers to try and open the doors but they didn't budge.
"Gah! What is wrong with me?!" she cried. "A week ago, I could close the Devil's Gate."
"You had just escaped Hell then, Fallon," Sam said. "It may have made your powers stronger."
"I am not a demon!" Fallon snapped. Sam frowned, puzzled.
"I never said you were," he replied.
"Listen, don't get upset over it," Bobby said. "Plan B is more fun anyway."
"What's Plan B?" Sam asked.
"We just drive right through the doors," Bobby replied, leading them back to the truck. He passed Sam and Dean holy water. "Be ready to use that." Bobby slammed on the gas and the truck barreled through the door and they all piled out when it came to a stop. Sam was sad to see they were too late to save Isaac. His corpse was on the floor, clutching a container of draino. He, Bobby, and Dean flung holy water at the crowd of people surrounding Tamara. Their skin hissed and smoked where the water touched them and they fell back. Sam saw Fallon make a gesture towards one of the possessed, but nothing happened.
"That trick won't work when you're topside," he heard the demon say to her. "You're not strong enough."
"I'll show you strong enough," she cried in frustration and sent the demon flying back behind the bar. Sam took the opportunity to grab Tamara and begin to urge her to the truck.
"Come on! We've got to go!" he ordered. "He's dead! Get in the car!" When he got Tamara into the car he glanced over to his brother and saw he was still engaged in a fight with the other demons. He watched anxiously as Dean grappled with their original suspect until finally, Dean was able to stuff him in the trunk of the truck. Dean quickly slid into the truck and Bobby sped off. He drove them back to Tamara and Isaac's place where they proceeded to tie the possessed man to a chair under a devil's trap. They were currently all gathered in another room arguing over their next step.
"I say we're going back now!" Tamara cried.
"Just hold on a second," Sam said.
"I left my husband bloody on the floor!" she sobbed.
"He was already dead, Tamara," Fallon said. "There wasn't anything you could have done. We can't go back."
"Fine. Then you stay, but I'm heading back to that bar," Tamara snapped. Sam felt enormous sympathy for her, but they needed her to acknowledge the truth.
"I'll go with her," Dean said suddenly.
"It's suicide, Dean!" Sam cried.
"So what? I'm dead already!" Dean replied. They both flinched when they heard the windowpane crack from Fallon's anger. She'd lost control of her powers for a second.
"How you gonna kill them?" Sam challenged. "Can't shoot them. You can't stab them. They're not just gonna wait in line to get exorcised!"
"You sound like a dark episode of 'Dora, the Explorer.'" Fallon snarked. Sam shot her an unamused look.
"We don't even know how many of them there are!" Sam said.
"We do, actually. There's seven," Fallon stated.
"Seven?" Sam repeated.
"Do you have any idea who we're up against?" Bobby questioned. He seemed to have figured it out with Fallon.
"No. Who?" Dean replied.
"The seven deadly sins," Bobby said. "Live and in the flesh." A pregnant pause filled the room before Dean broke it.
"'What's in the box?!'" he cried out. Everyone glared at him. "Brad Pitt? 'Se7en'? No?"
"It wasn't funny, Dean," Fallon said icily. Bobby shot her a weary glance before tossing Dean a book.
"What's this?"
"'Binsfield's Classification of Demons.' In 1589, Binsfield Id's the seven deadly sins…not just as human vices, but as actual devils," Bobby said.
"The family…they were touched by Sloth," Sam realized. "And the shopper…"
"That's Envy's doing," Bobby said. "That's who we've got in the next room. I couldn't sus it out at first…until Isaac. He was touched with an awful Gluttony."
"I don't give a rat's ass if they're the Three Stooges or the Foo Tops!" Tamara cried. "I'm gonna slaughter every last one of them!"
"You tried that already, remember?" Fallon snapped. "You burst in there itching for a fight and now your husband's dead. You're not risking any of the people I care about to your poorly thought-out revenge plan!"
"I'm not the vengeful spirit here," Tamara replied icily.
"That's enough," Bobby said, ordering both women to back down. He took Fallon's side though. "These demons haven't been topside in half a millennium. We're talking medieval, Dark Ages! We've never faced anything close to this. So, we are gonna take a breath and figure out what our next move is!" Bobby and Tamara stared each other down for another moment. "I am sorry for your loss." Tamara walked out of the room.
"I didn't mean to be a bitch," Fallon said glancing after Tamara.
"You weren't," Dean said. Fallon shot him a look and then also left the room. Sam hurried after her, ignoring the disapproving glances from his brother and Bobby.
"Fallon, wait," he said quickly catching up with her.
"I don't want to talk, Sam," she said warily.
"I know. You don't have to. I just want to let you know I'm here for you when and if you do," he said.
"I know that," she said, and then offered him a slight smile. "Thanks."
"Dean wants to be there for you too," he pushed and winced when she immediately dropped the smile.
"Dean can go to Hell…oh, wait…that's exactly where he's going," she said, voice dripping with venom.
"I know you're angry, but he doesn't…"
"You're damn right I'm angry," she snapped. "You should be too!"
"I…" He cut off. He didn't want to be angry. He only had a year left with his brother if he couldn't find a way to break Dean's contract. "I only have a year left with him, Fallon. I'm not going to spend it angry at him." She snorted, and turned her head away.
"You're such a hypocrite," she sighed, voice tinged with disgust.
"Excuse me?" he said surprised.
"You're a hypocrite," she repeated. "You're standing there wanting me to talk about my feelings. To feel what I need to feel instead of burying it, but you're doing the same thing. You're mad at Dean too, but you won't admit it."
"Because I don't want to be mad at him!" Sam cried. She smiled smugly.
"Well, we can't help how we feel," she replied coolly. "You shouldn't hold your feelings in. It's not good for you." He stood there stunned and watched her walk away. He felt anger stir inside him. He was just trying to help her. Mostly though, he felt hurt.
Later, they all gathered in the room they had Envy trapped in. Bobby and Dean looked ready to have a go at the Demon. Tamara was vibrating with rage. Fallon stood woodenly in a corner. She was refusing to make eye contact with him.
"So, you know who I am, huh?" Envy said disdainfully.
"We do," Bobby said. "We're not impressed." An amused smile appeared on Envy's face, but he didn't say anything.
"Why are you here?" Sam asked. "What are you after?" No response, and Sam felt his tension increasing.
"He asked you a question," Dean snapped. "What do you want?" Envy started laughing and Sam saw the moment Dean lost his temper. Dean uncapped his flask of holy water and splashed some on the demon.
"You! Ahhh!" Envy howled. "We already have what we want."
"What's that?" Dean pushed.
"We're out. We're free," Envy said. "Thanks to you, my kind are everywhere. I am legion for we are many. So, me, I'm just celebrating. Having a little fun."
"Fun?" Sam questioned.
"Yeah. Fun," Envy said. "See, some people crochet. Others golf. Me? I like to see people's insides…on their outsides." He started to laugh, but his laughter cut off and he grimaced. Sam frowned, puzzled, and then the demon began to laugh again. "That little trick of yours doesn't work when you're topside, sweetheart. I'll give you an A for effort though. That actually hurt a little bit." Sam turned to glance at Fallon. She had an arm extended out towards the demon and she was glaring daggers at him.
"I'm going to kill you," she growled. "I'm going to kill all of you." Envy laughed.
"I'm going to enjoy watching you try," he said. "And then I'm going to enjoy tearing what's left of your broken soul to shreds."
"You son of a bitch!" Dean snarled and moved to attack the demon, but Bobby held him back. But that left Sam free to land Envy a vicious punch.
"Enough! Enough!" Bobby shouted. "Everyone stay in control." The glass in the room's windows shattered and Fallon stormed out of the room. Dean immediately went after her. Sam hesitated along with Bobby, not sure if he should stay here for the exorcism or go after Fallon. He wanted to go after his best friend.
"I'll take care of this tool," Tamara said stepping forward. "Go look after your friend." Sam nodded, giving her a grateful look, and then hurried after Dean and Fallon. Bobby was right behind him. The found them both in the living room. Fallon was pacing back and forth, occasionally causing objects to fly across the room. Dean was trying to calm her down, but she was ignoring him.
"Hey, Fallon, it's all right," Sam said gently.
"It's not all right!" she snapped. A crack formed in the wall behind her. "I should be able to kill him."
"Why would you think that?" Bobby questioned her calmly. "Ghosts can't kill demons."
"I've done it before," Fallon said coming to a halt and staring him down defiantly.
"What?" Dean replied. "When?"
"In Hello," Fallon stated. "That's how I got out." They stood in stunned silence for a moment.
"You're sure you killed them?" Bobby said. "You didn't just temporarily knock them out?"
"I'm positive," she replied firmly. "Unless they can reform from a pile of ashes, those demons are dead."
"Wow," Dean said, awed. "That's…that could be a game changer. Wow."
"Let's not get too excited over this," Bobby cautioned.
"Why not?" Dean exclaimed. "This could change everything. This tips the scale in our favor."
"If this power can even work outside of Hell, yeah, but that's not the only thing to consider here," Sam said.
"What else is there to consider?" Dean replied.
"The person the demon is possessing," Sam pointed out. "What happens to them if the demon is killed while they're possessing them? Is it the same as if it were a successful exorcism or does the victim die too?"
"That doesn't matter," Fallon said.
"It doesn't matter if this new power kills the person?" Sam replied, shocked.
"No. It doesn't," Fallon said. "What matters is that the demon would be dead. It couldn't go on to hurt anyone else. The person would just be collateral damage."
"Collateral damage?" Sam repeated.
"People die during an exorcism too," Fallon pointed out. "This wouldn't be any different."
"We don't know that!" Sam cried. "How can you talk so callously over potentially ending peoples' lives?"
"Okay, that's enough," Bobby intervened. "You're arguing over hypotheticals at this point. Both of you need to calm down. We're all on the same team here." Sam took a few deep breaths and nodded.
"Yeah. You're right. Sorry," he said. He glanced at Fallon. A layer of frost was creeping across the floor and covering the window panes behind her. She wore an expression he'd never seen on her before and didn't want to see again.
"I'm going to figure out how to do it," she said and then walked away. A window's glass exploded when she passed it. Bobby sighed.
"This fighting is the last thing we need," the old man said.
"Should we be worried?" Sam asked.
"Worried? About what?" Dean replied.
"She's acting like a vengeful spirit, Dean," Sam cried.
"She isn't a vengeful spirit!" Dean shouted. "She's Fallon. Our Fallon. And she's just been through literal Hell. You want to salt and burn her cause she's a little emotional?"
"I don't want to salt and burn her period. She's my best friend…"
"Well, you're not acting like it!" Dean cried.
"I can't just ignore her behavior, Dean," Sam snapped. "You're only ignoring it because you want back in her good graces."
"What? That's crazy. You're out of line," Dean pushed back.
"I'm out of line? You're…"
"Okay, that is enough!" Bobby said stepping between the boys. "This arguing isn't helping anyone."
"Sorry," Sam replied.
"Yeah, sorry," Dean added.
"I'm just worried about her Bobby," Sam said. "She isn't acting like herself."
"I know, Sam," Bobby said. "It's okay to be worried. I don't think she's going vengeful on us though. I think she's just struggling with what happened to her and is lashing out. It will get better for her. We all just need to give her time. And right now, we really need to focus on the case."
"You're right," Dean agreed. "How are we going to start hunting the others down?"
"I don't think we're going to have to worry about hunting them," Bobby replied.
"What does that mean?" Sam asked.
"I think maybe Envy's right," Bobby said. "They're gonna be hunting us. And they're not gonna quit easy."
"You guys, why don't you take Tamara and head for the hills?" Dean suggested. "I'll stay back. Slow them down. Buy you a little time."
"You're insane, Dean," Sam snapped. "Just forget about it, okay?"
"Sam's right," Bobby agreed.
"There's six of them, guys," Dean said. "We're outmanned, we're outgunned. We'll be dead by dawn."
"Maybe, but there's no place to run that they won't find us," Bobby replied.
"Look, if we're going down, we're going down together, all right?" Sam said. Dean sighed.
"Well, let's not make it easy for them," Dean grumbled. A scream sounded from the other room and then Tamara joined them a moment later.
"Demon's out of the guy," she said woodenly.
"And the guy?" Sam asked.
"He didn't make it," Tamara replied coldly. They didn't speak after that. Bobby went to calm Fallon down and then they all prepped for an attack. Sam felt his skin crawling with anticipation as he filled flask after flask full of holy water. He'd never felt his own mortality so strongly, not even when he'd died a week ago. Back then he'd been alone. He'd been fighting for his life and the lives of the other special children too hard to really think about dying. It had been a shock when it had actually happened. He wasn't alone now, but looking at Dean's eager face as he loaded a shot gun and Fallon's wooden expression as she stood motionlessly in a corner, he felt more alone than ever. Suddenly, an old and dead radio blared to life.
"Here we go," Dean said, cocking his shot gun.
"Tamara!" Isaac's deep voice called out. "Tamara! Help me! I got away, but I'm hurt bad! I need help!"
"It's not him," Bobby said. "It's one of those demons. It's possessing his corpse." Pounding came from the other side of the door.
"Baby! Why don't you let me in?" Isaac's voice cried pleadingly. "You left me behind back there. How could you do that? We swore…At that lake in Michigan. Remember? We swore we would never leave each other!" Tamara began to cry.
"How did he know that?" she sobbed.
"Steady, Tamara," Bobby urged. "Steady, steady…"
"You just gonna leave me out here?" Isaac implored. "You just gonna let me die? I guess that's what you do, dear. Like that night those things came to our house. Came for our daughter! You just let her die too."
"You son of a bitch!" Tamara screeched and ran towards the door.
"Tamara, no!" Bobby cried, but it was too late. Tamara ran forward and pulled open the door, breaking the salt line. Before she could attack the demon possessing her husband's corpse though, she went flying backwards into a wall and then crumpled to the floor where she laid unconscious. Sam turned his head and saw Fallon had an arm extended. A deep chuckle filled the room as Isaac stepped inside.
"All that wrath," the demon commented, delighted. "You have enough to challenge me. I'm not sure you realize how close you came to becoming one of us in Hell. And in such a short time. You let your wrath consume you. I like that about you."
"Shut up!" Fallon screeched and sent the demon flying back. His body hit the others behind him. All hell broke loose then, as the sins came filing in. Their group began to disperse so they weren't all attacked at once. Sam entered a room and closed the door behind him. The door was swiftly kicked in.
"'Here's Johnny!'" a demon wearing a young man in a business suit cried. He confidently approached him, and Sam backed up. The demon held up a hand and two other demons entered the room. Sam tried not to wince when the demon glanced up at the devil's trap painted to the ceiling. "Come on. You really think something like that is going to fool someone like me? I mean, me?"
"Let me guess…you're Pride," Sam replied unamused. He put up enough with Fallon's and Dean's egos. He wasn't in the mood to deal with this idiot. Pride smiled smugly and then used his power to put a crack in the ceiling, breaking the trap so he could approach.
"Hmm. The root of all sin. And you…are Sam Winchester," Pride said. "That's right. I've heard of you. We've all heard of you. The prodigy. The boy king. Looking at you now, I got to tell you…I don't believe the hype. You think I'm going to bow to a cut rate, piss-poor human like you? I have my pride after all. And now with your yellow-eyed friend dead, I guess I don't really have to do a damn thing, now, do I? You're fair game now, boy, and it's open season."
Pride attacked then, and Sam fell to the ground. He didn't have a chance to get his feet under him when Pride pulled him up by his throat and squeezed. Panic began to course through him as he felt his airway constrict and he tried to kick out at the demon, but he had very little effect. A noise close to the door caught his attention and he shifted his eyes to see one of the demons drop to the ground, revealing a small, blonde girl he'd never seen before.
"You!" Greed cried, but didn't get anything else out as the blonde girl plunged a knife in the demon's chest. Sam watched shocked as an orange-red light flickered from the demon, who then dropped dead. Pride suddenly released him and turned his attention to the girl. Sam quickly got the demon in a vicelike hold and angled him so the girl had an easy killing shot. The girl stabbed Pride through the throat. Sam held him until his body went limp and then let him drop.
"Who the hell are you?" Sam asked the mystery girl.
"I'm the girl that just saved your ass," she replied haughtily.
"Well, I just saved yours too," Sam protested. The girl chuckled.
"See you around, Sam," she said and left.
"Wait!" Sam cried, hurrying after her into the hallway. He glanced around in confusion. She was already gone.
"I guess you didn't need help," Fallon's voice called out from behind him. He whirled around and saw her toeing at one of the corpses in the room.
"Fallon," he said, "did you see her?" She gave him a puzzled look.
"See who?" she asked.
"A blonde girl," Sam said. "I don't know her. She just showed up and took out two of these demons on her own. I helped with the third. She had this knife. It just killed the three demons instantly!"
"What about killing demons instantly?" Dean asked joining them. Sam was relieved to see his brother wasn't hurt.
"Sam said some blonde chick showed up and saved him." Fallon replied. "I guess she had some kind of knife that kills demons instantly. Oddly, he doesn't seem concerned about the collateral damage she caused. So, I guess it's just me he has a problem with." She brushed passed him and Dean before he could say anything. He stood frozen in shock for a moment before hurrying after her.
"Fallon, wait!" he called chasing after her down the hallway. She didn't hesitate or look back as she turned down the stairs. "Fallon!" She continued down them and he hurried after her. He took advantage of his long legs to move faster than her and pushed past her and then turned to block her path.
"You shouldn't play on the steps, Sam. Now move," she said.
"No. I'm not going to move. Not before talking to you," he replied. She gave him an unimpressed look and then continued forward through him. He shuddered at the icy feeling that froze the blood in his veins for a moment before continuing after her. "Come on, Fallon. Can't we talk about this for a minute?"
"There's nothing to talk about," Fallon said. "You clearly think I'm a monster, even though you have no problem with others causing collateral damage. We don't even know if my power would affect the host at all yet somehow, it's more offensive than your mystery girl outright stabbing the hosts."
"I know. I'm sorry," Sam said. "I'm being hypocritical, but…"
"But I'm a monster you hunt and she's just a human hunter," Fallon replied.
"You're not a monster, Fallon," Sam said. Tears immediately began to swim in her eyes.
"I feel like one," she whispered and the tears spilled over, trailing down her cheeks. He reached out to her and pulled her into a hug.
"I'm so sorry I made you feel that way," he told her. "He held her tightly until her tears finally stopped. She pulled out of his hug.
"I'm not ready to talk about what happened in Hell yet," she told him. "I'm not sure I'll ever be ready."
"That's okay, Fallon," he replied. "I don't want to force you to talk about it. I guess I just want to help you feel better, and I'm not sure how to do that without understanding what happened."
"Even if I told you everything, I don't think you could truly understand," she said sadly. "Not without going through it. And knowing what happened to me won't make you feel better."
"What can I do for you?" he asked.
"Be my friend," Fallon replied.
"Always," Sam said and she smiled.
"Do you want to help Bobby with the exorcisms or should I?" Fallon asked.
"Why don't you do that?" he replied. "Den and I will take care of those who didn't make it." Fallon nodded and headed towards the living room. Sam rejoined Dean.
"Everything good?" Dean asked.
"They will be," Sam said.
"That's good. Because she can't be mad at both of us at the same time," Dean replied. Sam smiled.
"Bobby might end up with a permanent roommate if that were the case," he said.
"I wouldn't mind having a front row seat to that shit show," Dean laughed. "Can you imagine it?"
"I can imagine all the phone calls from Bobby demanding us to make up with her," Sam said.
"I think they'd get on though. After an adjustment period," Dean said.
"Probably," Sam agreed. "I hope she won't be with him permanently though." Dean looked sad.
"She'll come back to you when I'm gone. It's me she doesn't want to be around," he said. Sam opened his mouth to protest, but Dean moved away and began dragging a corpse across the floor. Sam joined him and the two carried all bodies outside. They had just set a torch to them when Bobby and Fallon joined them.
"Well, you look like hell warmed over," Dean commented.
"You try exorcising all night and see how you feel," Bobby grumbled.
"Any survivors, Bobby?" Sam asked.
"Well, the pretty girl and the heavy guy, they'll make it," Bobby replied. "Lifetime of therapy bills ahead, but still…"
"Better than being dead," Fallon finished the thought.
"Bobby, that knife…what kind of blade can kill a demon?" Sam asked. They'd told him about this earlier when they'd passed him on the way outside.
"Yesterday I would have said there was no such thing," Bobby said. "Maybe it has the same effect as Fallon's power did in Hell."
"I'm just gonna ask it again, who was the masked chick?" Dean asked. "Actually, the more troubling question would be how come a girl can fight better than you?" Fallon snorted and teleported to Bobby's truck. "Wait! I didn't mean it! Fallon!"
"Let her go," Bobby sighed. "She wasn't leaving with you anyway."
"You don't really mind having her around, do you?" Sam asked.
"No, but she belongs with you boys," Bobby said. "I'll keep working at her." He started to move off. "Catch you on the next one." Sam and Dean shared a look and then continued silently to the Impala. This case didn't feel like much of a victory.