Faith
Another chapter! Since many seemed to like the increase in pace, I'm going to try to stick to that as best I can and move the story along faster. This chapter is snippets of scenes from the episode 'Faith'. Hopefully, it isn't confusing and everyone can follow it okay.
I wrote this horribly fast and barely edited it. It's not the most sophisticated chapter by any means, but it's written and I hope you all enjoy it.
As always, if you're enjoying it, please review and help keep my motivation alive.
Thank you so much for reading! Enjoy!
After her shower Ellie carefully rinsed off the clay mud from her boots and stuffed her muddy blue jeans into her backpack. With the addition of the bolt cutters, the spell book and all her other gear she kept in her Jansport, the bag was practically stuffed to the brim making it look like a balloon about to bust at the seams. Ellie placed her overstuffed backpack in the small corner to the right of the bathroom door so when the door would swing inward it would conceal it from view for the time being. It wasn't ideal by any stretch of the imagination, in fact, it made Ellie's nerves dance with fretful unease to leave her bag chocked full of demining evidence behind the bathroom door. However, truth of the matter was, she really didn't have a choice as she couldn't very well walk out of the bathroom with her bursting backpack, secure the bolt cutters back in their gear bag, and hide her muddy jeans at the bottom of her duffle bag without them seeing her. It was a foolproof way to be instantly caught, tired, and convicted right on the spot. Therefore, she had no alternative, but to keep the stuffed backpack in the bathroom until she had an opportunity to cover her tracks and conceal her evidence properly.
With her brow crinkled in a troubled expression, Ellie bit her bottom lip nervously, as she considered the horrifying notion of Sam and Dean having the spontaneous desire to look inside her bag. Despite, the Winchesters having a healthy respect of her private and personal belongings and never felt the need to go through her stuff, not once, Ellie's anxious mind couldn't help, but be paranoid by the possibility. No matter how slim the chance may be, the fact that there was a chance, made Ellie egregiously nervous as just one glance inside would condemn her instantly.
Feeling her spastic nerves getting worked up into a frenzy, Ellie took a cleaning breath through her nostrils forcing herself to exhale a steady stream of air. She needed to calm down and keep a level head or she was going arouse suspicion in the observant and astute men who, not to mention, trained all their lives to spot the abnormal and the strange. She needed to get a grip on her twitchy nerves and take a serious chill pill if she was going to be successful. If she acted casual and nonchalant, like she had nothing to hide, then the men would be none the wiser, but if she acted like a nervous twitchy fool who would jump at her own shadow, she, undoubtably, was going be caught and her hope of saving the man would be all, but crushed. And after all she has been through, conquering all the seemingly impossible odds stacked against her obtaining that spell book, it would be a crying shame if it all came crumbling down simply by her inability to keep it together.
Forcing herself to endure the fretful uncertainties, Ellie opened the door just a crack and requested a new pair of jeans from her duffle bag with surprising fluidity and calmness giving her the encouragement she need to stealthily stow away her nerves and continue to do what she had to do to save the man.
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"But come on Sam, a faith healer?" Dean accused in hard skepticism; his tone edgy with a biting annoyance as he trudged grudgingly alongside his brother toward the entrance of the large commercial tent of Reverand Le Grange's church.
"Maybe it's time to have a little faith Dean." Sam countered optimistically not letting his brother's stubborn cynical mindset bring down his hope that there were good forces at work in this world.
"You know what I got faith in? Reality, knowing what's really going on." Dean informed bluntly unwilling to get pulled into a false hope of nothing, but letdown and dilution. It was a nice and pretty thought, but the man had seen too much evil in the world to bring himself to believe in the comforting power of faith. Faith did not kill the evil son of bitches out there and it sure as hell never did him any favors. If he'd relied on faith anytime he was being attacked by a vengeful spirit, a wendigo, a werewolf, he'd be six feet in the ground and it would be no thanks to God.
Ellie tilted her head up to glance at the back of Dean's head from under her ballcap. Her dark eyebrows furrowing a touch feeling frustration pinched at her nerves at the man's stubborn ability to be so pessimistic and dismissive of anything that could possibly save him. Why not at least try? What was so bad about believing in good? Ellie squinted her eyes pensively thinking Pastor Jim would kick his butt for saying that. Although, almost immediately, she countered her quick judgment knowing she wasn't one to talk, considering she practically stole a Grimoire, a satanic spell book, from his lock-up room only a couple hours ago. Ellie face instantly faltered feeling a weighted guilt press down on her limbs as she dipped her head down knowing he'd be more inclined to kick her butt than Dean's. But desperate times call for desperate measures and Ellie was convinced her actions were justified in light of the fact the man's life was on the line. No matter how 'unclean' the means may be, if she could find a way to carefully navigate through the dark practice and it resulted in saving the man, it would be well worth the effort.
"How can you be a skeptic? With the things we see every day?" Sam questioned in good humor despite Dean's pushback, a bit baffled by his brother's insistence to remain completely opposed to the idea of 'good'.
"Exactly we see them, we know they're real." Dean pressed insistently trying to bring his brother back to the harsh reality of the cold dark world they lived, a world where divine intervention was never witnessed.
"But if you know evil's out there, how can you not believe good's out there too?" Sam questioned defending his belief on the possibility of divine power, thinking the idea of God is not something to write off as nothing more than a fantasy of hope.
"Cause I've seen what evil does to good people." Dean bluntly countered without missing a beat as he halted his boots, right to the side of the entrance to the tent, looking his overly optimistic brother in the eyes.
"Maybe God works in mysterious way." A smooth gentle voice intervened making Sam and Dean jerked their head towards the young woman who stood in front of them completely unaware someone was listening to their conversation so closely.
Ellie looked up at the blonde-haired young woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties. Despite the grey umbrella she held over her head, it didn't darken the charming shine of the woman's lovely face one bit. Her straight blonde locks were pulled away from her face in a simple half updo displaying her feminine features which were lined in a gentle, but poised expression.
And just like that, Dean's desire to argue flew out the window like yesterday's paper as his masculine eyes took in the beautiful woman in front of him.
"Maybe he does." Dean instantly agreed in light of the woman's pretty face as a charming grin began to spread across his lips, automatically straightening his hunched posture and lifting his chest. "I think you just turned be around on the subject." Dean falsely expressed making Sam scoff and shake his head at his brother's antics.
Ellie, who was now standing next to the smitten man, jerked her head up to look at him with her mouth gaped opened dramatically, absolutely dumbstruck by his ability to be instantly swayed by a pretty face.
Now, all of a sudden, he was on board to the idea of God? That was the biggest load of horseshit she had heard in a while.
Despite, the obvious reason for the instant change of heart being that she was attractive, the young woman simply smiled at him and nodded graciously her understanding unable to help, but being a little charmed and flattered by his handsome man's implication towards her.
"Yeah, I'm sure." She mocked gently in good humor letting Dean know she was in no way convinced he changed his beliefs.
"I'm Dean." He introduced as he extending his arm out respectfully to shake her hand which she politely obliged grasping it firmly.
"This is Sam and Ellie." Dean continued dipping his head to the side gesturing towards Sam, who nodded in polite acknowledgement, before gesturing down to Ellie who could only manage to give her brief tight smile which was polite on the surface, but inwardly mediocre at best. Not just because she was awkwardly shy around 'normal' people, which definitely played a part in withdrawn and modest behavior, but because she also was still frustratingly baffled by Dean's immediate desire to agree with a woman, he had only met for a grand total of thirty seconds. And there was a slight ping of jealousy at the fact that she didn't get even an ounce of that compliance and understanding from the man whenever she dared to disagree or challenge him. Granted, she just a thirteen-year-old and wasn't always the best at expressing herself in the most diplomatic of terms, but, still, the young adolescent girl couldn't help, but see an unfairness in it.
"Layla." The young woman replied in kind as she shook his hand, her light feminine locals elevating slightly.
"So, if you're not a believer, then why are you here?" Layla asked curiously, her light blue eyes fixed on Dean for answers.
"Well, apparently, my brother here believes enough for the both of us." Dean responded lightly, his mood lifted a touch by Layla's mere existence and kind disposition.
Suddenly, an older woman, perhaps in her mid-fifties, in a dark brown overcoat walked beside Layla placing a guiding hand gently on her back.
"Come on, Layla, it's about to start." She urged in a gentle and loving manner to which Layla nodded. And after a quick friendly smile from both the mother and daughter, they took their leave and walked into the tent entrance together.
"Well, I bet you she can work in some mysterious ways." Dean commented as he watched Layla walk into the tent still taken by his masculine desires toward the beautiful woman.
Ellie scrunched her face into confused and ignorant grimace wondering what the man exactly meant by that and, unfortunately, for the two men the young teenager was inclined to ask.
"What is that supposed to mean? Sex?" Ellie asked offhandedly with a slight edge of teenage moodiness creeping into her tone as she casually looked downwards preparing to take a step to follow the men into the tent. Although, Ellie had faced the harsh realities of the Hunting world, shredding her of her childlike innocence in many ways, that didn't change the fact that Ellie was still only thirteen and her innocence towards sexual intimacy between adults was still, blessedly, naïve in many aspects and she was sincerely unaware of just how inappropriate that question was.
Feeling their muscles instantly jolt and tense in horrid discomfort, Sam and Dean, in swift unison, whirled their large frames around as they channeled all their undivided attention onto the small clueless teenager behind them.
Catching their swift movements, Ellie immediately jerked her head up to look at the startled men under her navy ballcap. Ellie's lips parted in genuine surprise feeling a stream of air wedge in the back of her throat as she was met with two, rather intense, expressions which appeared to be frozen with dumbfounded shock. Dean looked God-smacked with a disturbed and confused look on his face like he suddenly remembered a thirteen-year-old girl had been traveling with them for the past couple months, while Sam's eyes were as wide as saucers looking dreadfully uncomfortable like she had just told him she kissed a wendigo.
With her wide eyes darting from one Hunter's face to the other, a pale look of confused apprehension began to wash out her young features suddenly coming to the swift realization that what she said was wrong or offended them in some way.
Not expecting that intense response from the Hunters, Ellie felt her body full up with an awkward embarrassment accompanied with a nice hardy dose of the fear in being in trouble. In Ellie's teenage mind, she didn't rightly understand what was so shocking about what she said. Adults shouldn't get bashful about sex nor should it be so disturbing that she, a thirteen-year-old, knew what it was. She heard it talked about countless times by other Hunters before and it wasn't like her uncle was a monk or anything. Despite not knowing all the aspects, she understood the 'gist' and didn't grasp their overreaction toward something so normal. Sure, it probably wasn't a casual subject to bring up, like the weather, but Dean insinuated it first and all she did was ask if 'sex' is what he meant. What was so bad about that?
What Ellie's teenage mind failed to comprehend was the mere mention of 'sex', or anything remotely geared towards adult intimacy, coming out of a thirteen-year-old's mouth to grown men was a dreadfully unwelcomed, uncomfortable, and very inappropriate topic. And Sam and Dean were not prepared for the girl's casual reference to it, not by a long shot, making it ungodly awkward for the two men who, in their eyes, deemed Ellie as, practically, a baby.
"What?" Ellie demanded masking the dreadful embarrassment with a moody irritation as she attempted to appear nonchalant about the whole ordeal and brush off the awkwardness to get them to stop staring at her like she had two heads.
"I'm not stupid or anything. I know what sex is." Ellie informed bluntly and, unfortunately, way too loudly as she attempted to get her point across and show them there was nothing to get all bent out of shape for. She was thirteen, not two, and she knew where babies came from. The only reason that it was awkward was because they were making it awkward. Why were they being so weird? All she said was 'sex'. Was it because she was right in her guess and they were now overly bashful about it?
In all of Ellie's efforts to put a stop to the awkwardness, it seemed to do the exact opposite as Sam felt his chest crack in horrid mortification like no other as his eyes caught sight of an elderly woman gripping onto a walker. She stopped just a few feet behind Ellie and locked onto Sam like a hawk, instantly pinning him as the father. The crinkles in the woman's aging face were deepened in an appalled and disapproving frown, no doubt hearing Ellie's loud announcement of her knowledge of sexual activity, making Sam's face muscles wince in chagrin. It seemed Ellie was too focused on getting her point across that she completely ignored the important fact that there were people mingling in close proximity to them at the entrance of a church no less.
"Did you hear that, Sam? She knows what sex is." Dean deadpanned in disturbed sarcasm, in a tone that gave off every indication that that was something he never wanted to hear again for the rest of his life, making a silent promise in his head to sign the girl up for the nearest convent convention. Although it didn't necessarily surprise him that girl was aware of it, that did not mean it didn't disturb him to a high degree to hear it coming from her mouth so casually.
Unable to stand there and take one more second of the horrendously awkward moment, stifling an irritated eyeroll, the man casually turned around and walked through the entrance.
Sam pressed his lips together in a thin line shooting his brother an exasperated look, finding his sarcastic comment to be anything, but helpful at the moment. Sam opened his mouth, a retort hanging on the edge of his lips, but immediately closed it as his brother had already cross the threshold into the tent leaving him alone with Ellie.
Sam awkwardly shifted his attention back to Ellie who had her eyebrows furrowed in irritated confusion still innocently baffled by their overreaction.
Embarrassed as all get out and unable to think of damn thing of any substance to say, Sam swiftly reached his long arm down and grabbed ahold of the girl's bicep. Before the outspoken teenager felt the need to say anything else on the taboo subject, in a swift and guiding motion, Sam dragged the girl in front of him forcing Ellie to shuffle her feet quickly across the threshold into the large tent.
Once Ellie was inside Sam immediately reached over Ellie's head and grabbed the brim of her navy cap. Without a word, Sam swiftly pulled the cap off her head making Ellie nearly gasp in surprise feeling her nerves shutter with an instant discomfort. At its essence, it was just a hat, but since Ellie was hiding some pretty damning secrets at the moment, which included disobeying direct orders, lying to their faces, stealing a truck, and having a freaking Grimoire in her backpack, having her concealing garment plucked off her head made her feel frightfully exposed like her front line of defense was being taken away from her.
"Hey!" Ellie gasped as she reached up and touched to top of her exposed head before jerking her body around to face the man, her dark brows furrowed in frustrated offense.
Sam simply extended the hat towards her and pressed it against her petite chest compelling Ellie to grab a hold of it.
"Were in a church." Sam explained, a firm assertiveness lining his calm tone, tipping Ellie off that keeping the hat off within the confines of the tent was not a request.
Ellie's teenage urges wanted to argue the fact that it wasn't technically a church, it was tent, and that no one would care if she wore the hat or not, but the fretful thought of needing to remain cool and collected stop her urges dead in its tracks. The last thing she needed was to arouse the men's suspicion that something was amiss or bring them to the conclusion that she was on edge in anyway. If she wanted to remain inconspicuous, she had to act like having her hat off was no big deal and that she had nothing to hide. Therefore, with resisting reluctance harshly tugging at her muscles, Ellie forced herself to nod respectfully and give him a polite 'yes, sir'.
While, Dean had every intention of sitting in the back and riding this fiasco through undetected, Sam had other ideas as he informed Dean they were sitting up front which spiked Dean's ill-temper to new heights.
To Sam's satisfaction and Dean's hardy annoyance, two black folding chairs were vacant in the second row from the front.
"Perfect." Sam declared pointing to the two open seats just behind Layla and her mother.
"Yeah, perfect." Dean repeated, his tone dripping with grumbling sarcasm.
"Take the aisle." Sam insisted lightly ignoring his brother's cranky attitude completely.
Once the brothers settled their backsides into the black folding chairs, Ellie stood in the center aisle, only a few inches from Dean's outer thigh, awkwardly biting her bottom lip thinking she was going to have to find another seat somewhere else. However, that fleeting thought was pushed aside immediately when Sam spoke up.
"Come here, Ellie." Sam encouraged casually as he angled his body slightly toward the aisle, shifting his backside on the plastic seat as he patted his left thigh, a clear indication that is where he wanted her to sit.
Ellie's eyes widened in shock feeling a misplaced adolescent embarrassment grip her tense muscles.
"What?" Ellie forcefully whispered her freckled nose crinkling a bit in disinclined disgust. "I'm not gonna sit on your lap." Ellie informed as she cautiously peered to her right then her left for any onlookers that might judge her for such a childish act. She was a teenager, and her pride insisted that she was far too old to be sitting on anyone's knee.
In all of her desire to be looked upon as mature, little did she know her resisting attitude and misplaced embarrassment was saying otherwise. It wasn't just the act of being propped up on a knee that deterred her, but it was the natural awkwardness that came with sitting on the man's lap. Despite the developing connection and growing care she had for the two brothers; the truth of the matter was they still weren't her kin. And there was a hidden part of her that pushed back against small displays of bonding and closeness, not only because of the dreadful fear of hurt and rejection that was bound to come later on, as it was simply inevitable, but because there was a still an egging longingness and loyalty to get back to her uncle side where she rightly belonged.
Sam pressed his lips into a thin line feeling his face fall into a tired, but gentle expression as he attempted to find patience with the teenager's stubborn and guarded disposition.
"Ellie, come on." Sam encouraged once again in a commendably gentle manner.
"I'll just sit in the back." Ellie countered with a false indifference. Despite the anxiety it gave her in being alone among a large crowd of strangers, she judged it was a hell of a better than being propped on the man's knee like a toddler.
"Oh, for the love of…" Dean began not hiding his annoyance in the slightest at the teenager's lack of compliance finding little to no patience to spare on his already agitated nerves. "…just do as your told, kid." Dean ordered perhaps a little too crossly as he let his bad-mood get the better of him. Despite knowing her reasoning, the man couldn't bring himself to care one ounce of her 'embarrassment' to something so trivial as sitting on his brother's knee. She was acting like he was asking her to do the chicken dance in front of everyone rather just sit down. It was ridiculous.
There were no other seats available anywhere in their vicinity and, truth be told, he did not want her anywhere out of his direct line of sight. Leaving her alone in the motel room for an hour was more than the man's edgy nerves could take today. To Dean, she was making a mountain out of a mole hill. She was no adult and shouldn't be so damn picky about where her ass sat and he damn well thought she shouldn't have the nerve to refuse what was asked of her twice now. What did the kid think, it was a freaking discussion or something?
Dean's deep vocals cut into Ellie's chest making her muscles constrict agitating her already spastic nerves as his tone gave off every indication that she had no choice, but to suck it up.
While Dean's stern voice was not exactly loud, it wasn't quiet either, and a few onlookers seated around them started to gravitate their attention towards them. Ellie cautiously peered around catching a few eyes staring at her making her cheeks flush with raw embarrassment as her teenage mind concocted all the possible judgments people were concluding about her in the moment. Despite it all being not as deep as the private teenager was imagining it, without the comforting concealment of her ballcap, it made the awkwardness of everything seem all the more intense.
Ellie swallowed nervously, a humbled paleness washing out her young features for a brief moment before looking back at Dean. A hardening frown began to replace her timid expression almost immediately as she shot the Hunter a sour sulk, showing him how unappreciative she was with his overly loud order, demonstrating with firm clarity she had no intention of giving him a 'yes, sir' for that one.
Taking that for what it was, a test to his nonexistence patience, Dean glared right back, boring his eyes into her asserting very clearly with his hardened expression that he did not approve of that dirty look she gave him as he ran his tongue across the inside of his cheek.
Getting the irritated Hunter's message loud and clear to fix her face, Ellie wisely cast her gaze downward toward the Hunters boots as she instantly complied with the order. She shimmed and shuffled past Dean not wanting to admit the spike of anxiety she felt as her backside crossed directly in his path. She did not put it past the grumpy man to think that glare she gave him deserved a smarting reprimand which would be astronomically humiliating to the highest degree to the teenager delicate pride. And Ellie silently made a promise to herself that she would never forgive him if he did that unspeakable deed. However, all Dean did was place a guiding palm on her outer thigh urging her shuffling feet along.
Once Ellie passed Dean's seated frame and into Sam's space, Ellie shimmied her boots in between the man's spread thighs that seemed to take up the full width of the aisle and then some. Ellie awkwardly lowered her backside down onto the man's lean muscular thigh, which Ellie noted was dreadfully uncomfortable as she might as well have been sitting on tree branch, reminding her of just how strong and fit the Hunter was. Sam placed a steadying palm on the side of her outer thigh as Ellie shifted and adjusted herself against the man's solid leg muscles before he casually resting his other palm on the top of his other thigh. Ellie was awkwardly stiff for a few moments not really sure what to do with her hands or even how one should sit on someone's knee as she really wasn't accustom to the notion, but it wasn't long before she relaxed into acceptance and let go of her stubbornness, forgetting all about the awkwardness as Reverand Le Grange began his sermon.
Ellie was optimistically intrigued with a childlike hope wondering if the man really had been granted the gift by God to heal people and what Ellie really wanted to know was how they would go about getting him to heal Dean. Although Ellie still had every intention of going through with her plan to look to the Grimoire for answers, she couldn't help, but dare to put her hope in this preacher. Like Sam, she wanted to see the 'good' in this world.
"It is the Lord who does the healing here friends. The Lord who guides me into choosing who to heal by helping me see into people's hearts." The blind Reverand preached as the crowd of believers continued to spout off their agreeance in enthusiasm and worship with an abundance of 'amens', 'yeses', and 'hallelujahs'.
"Yeah, or into their wallets." Dean ridiculed in opposition at the worst possible moment imaginable. It was meant just to be for Sam's ears, but just as the words passed over his lips, elevated due to the bustling noise of the crowd, a hush came over the congregation as the Reverand addressed Dean directly with – 'you think so, young man?'. One could hear a pin drop it was so quiet and the private teenager was utterly mortified as suddenly all eyes were directed towards them.
Ellie hunched her shoulders and found herself closing in on herself as it felt like a spotlight of judgement was shining directly onto them making it dreadfully uncomfortable, but as it turns out that was the best possible outcome Ellie could have ever imagined because after Dean expressed apology to the preacher and congregation. The blind Reverand for, one reason or another, took an immediately shine to Dean and asked him to come up on the platform with him suggesting he had every intention of healing him.
However, Dean's cynical and skeptical stubbornness refused and insisted that he just pick something else not wanting to be made a spectacle of in front of everyone. And Ellie could have kicked him as she was utterly dumbstruck that he wouldn't take the opportunity to at least let the man try to heal him, but luckily the Reverand was insistent, and with the crowds enthusiastic clapping of encouragement and Sam's urge to 'get up there', it finally wore Dean down enough to give in and got the man's stubborn ass onto the platform.
Ellie sat on the edge of Sam's knee as she engaged herself completely watching the Reverand place a palm onto the side of Dean's head. Was this it? Was she about to witness a miracle? Devine power at work? An innocent hope swarmed in Ellie as her heart ached for his life, even saying a silent pray to the man upstairs – 'God if you're here, please, he's a good man, h-he…'
Ellie stopped in the middle of her silent prayer as Dean suddenly dropped down to his knees, appearing like some powerful force was pressing down on his body.
"What-What's he doing to Dean?" Ellie asked, a frightful concern lining her tone.
It was then Dean clasped completely keeling over onto the floor. The crowd beamed and clapped with joyous passion as the 'Hallelujahs' and the 'Amens' rang out believing they had just witness great miracle.
"Dean!" Sam's voice boomed in fear as he grasped ahold of Ellie's biceps and pushed her off his lap, jerking her to the side as he rushed up onto the stage.
Ellie stayed where she was absolutely thunderstruck with awe by what had just occurred. With her mouth gaped slightly, she watched as Sam shook Dean back into consciousness.
"Hey! Hey! Are you okay? Say something!" Sam demanded urgently, but Dean continued to stare into the space behind the Reverand, his wide eyes fixed on something gravely disturbing.
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It was truly a miracle like no other and if Ellie was not there to witness it herself, she might have never believed it. Dean was healed with no traces or signs he ever was sick to begin with according to the doctor's test the following day. Dean's heart was back to its normal healthy state and his strength was fully restored.
So much for all that freaking effort to get that Grimoire, risking defying them and putting her butt on the line for a big fat 'nothing'. However, Ellie was so overcome with joy that Dean wasn't going to die, she couldn't seem to find space in her heart to mourning her fruitless efforts. Dean was healed and that's all that mattered at the moment. And besides, Ellie didn't rule her efforts as a total loss as the Grimoire could perhaps come in handy for other things down the line or even, she dared to think, the blood spell for unlocking the Colt to save her uncle might be embedded in the old pages of that spell book.
However, what was supposed to be a joyous occasion was filled with unsettled skepticism from the cured Hunter. While Ellie and Sam were elated about the 'miracle', Dean, on the other hand, was an absolute killjoy and didn't seem the least bit happy about what had transpired. Ellie would go as far saying the cynical man was cold or flat-out peeved towards the amazing news which not only baffled Ellie with intense confoundment, but frustrated her to the point of exasperation. And when the doctor mentioned a man, just like Dean, having a heart attack out of nowhere seemed to only enhance his suspicions about something being dreadful wrong about the 'miracle' that occurred.
Despite Sam's efforts in attempting to talk him out of looking into this as a possible Hunting case, Dean absolutely refused to budge saying when he was healed, he felt wrong and saw some kind of spirit. And with his declaration of 'I've been hunting long enough to trust a feeling like this' Sam reluctantly gave in and, now, here Ellie was, sitting on the porch steps of the old farmhouse of Le Grange's home, waiting until Dean finished interviewing the Reverand and his wife, while Sam investigated the death of Mashall Hall who died of the heart attack recently.
With her backside seated on the wooden step just above the center landing of the old farmhouse stairs, Ellie picked at the white chipping paint on the baluster next to her in agitation, unable to stop the boiling frustration that was building up inside of her at Dean for looking into this as a possible case. It wasn't that Ellie doubted the man's instincts or what he said he saw, as she had an uneasy feeling herself she didn't want to fully admit to, it was the frightful worry that if they did end up finding something supernatural that would mean reversing the 'miracle' that saved his life which was a downright petrifying thought. Not to mention, if there was something supernaturally sinister at play here that would mean God had nothing to do with it and that depressed Ellie's tender heart a lot more deeply than she was expecting. Why was nothing ever 'good' in this messed up world?
Hearing the soft murmuring chatter of voices approaching, Ellie lifted her head up to see Layla and her mother walking up to the bottom of the old farmhouse steps. Layla glanced upwards and flashed a friendly smile up at Ellie to which the young teenager replied with a brief tight smile back before dipping her head back downwards automatically, hiding her face under the concealing shadow of her ballcap.
Just as Layla was about to come up the stairs to greet Ellie, the sound of a creaky door hinge hit Ellie's ears making her turn to look over her shoulder at Dean who was making his way down the stairs towards her. The vibrations of his heavy boots tremoring against the old wood urged Ellie stand up as she absentmindedly swiping her palms across her denim seat ridding herself of the dirty wet residue from the old steps. Despite Ellie's pressing eagerness to leave, once Dean made it half way down the stairs to the center landing of the stairs, Layla was there to greet him.
"Dean, hey, how you feeling?" Layla asked kindly an elevated hope rising in her gentle voice as the young woman seemed to genuinely care.
"I feel good. Cured, I guess." Dean admitted in a slight shrugging manner of indifference which had Ellie fighting the urge to roll her eyes. She was finding it more and more difficult not to fault Dean on, what Ellie, mistakenly, saw as persistent ungratefulness and a frustrating inability to enjoy the fact that he wasn't going to die.
"What are you doing here?" Dean asked curiously as there was no service scheduled for today.
"You know, my mom. She wanted to talk the Reverand." Layla informed as Mrs. Rourke walked up behind her eagerly.
"Layla." The Reverand's wife, Sue Ann, greeted coming down the stairs behind Dean making the man step aside allowing Layla and her mother to walk up to meet her.
Dean walked over to Ellie and rounded her slim frame purposefully until he was standing behind her. He rested his large heavy palm on her slender shoulders as they both listened intently while Sue Ann informed Layla that Roy was resting and would not see anyone else despite Layla's mother insisting that it was there sixth time being there.
"Roy is well aware of Layla's situation and he very much wants to help as soon as the Lord allows. Have faith Mrs. Rourke." Sue Ann encouraged in a kind of sanctimonious way which, for one reason or another, rubbed Ellie the wrong way making her squint her eyes ever so slight at the woman as she turned and walked back into the house.
It was then a dispirited Mrs. Rourke turned towards Dean, giving him a harsh look of accusing disdain which had Dean pulling back his head and blinking in bewilderment completely taken aback by the animosity being directed his way.
Ellie would go as far as saying the woman looked downright disgusted like Dean was the very reason there was evil in this world which, ironically, couldn't be further from the truth as the man heroically destroyed evil on a daily basis.
Ellie inhaled a defensive breath feeling her chest rise as her dark eyebrows dipped in wary offense under her navy cap peering up at her with a quiet, but defensive condemnation. In other words, Ellie was wondering what crawled up her ass and died to give Dean such a look?
"Why are you still even here? You got what you wanted." The woman accused Dean directly allowing her grief and pain to dictate her words feeling too emotionally tired and overwrought to acknowledge or even care about her unwarranted prejudice against the man.
"Mom, stop." Layla urged gently, a pinch of sad embarrassment forming against her feminine features.
"No, Layla this is too much. We've been to every single service. If Roy would stop choosing these strangers over you, strangers who don't even believe." She continued unapologetically looking directly at Dean as she shook her head in harsh disapproval.
"I just can't pray any harder." She exclaimed with a dismal confoundment, bewildered pain lining the gentle wrinkles in her distressed frown. Although, the reproving detest that glimmered in her eyes was unforgiving and harsh, the experienced man was able to read past the outer contempt mindfully aware it was, undoubtably, derived from a deep inner pain and allowed the woman's words to penetrated him with a dignified masculine acceptance.
"Layla what's wrong?" Dean urged a gentleness entering his deep baritone voice as he directed his attention towards Layla, his instincts fearing something was terribly wrong.
Layla sighed a gentle waft of air through her nose, putting on a brave lighthearted smile for Dean.
"I have this thing." Layla admitted vaguely and somewhat dismissively not wanting to put a burden on the man with the knowledge of her condition.
"It's a brain tumor." Mrs. Rourke informed bluntly in a drained tone as she looked off onto the flat farmland of the gentle rolling hills. "It's inoperable. In six months, the doctors say…" Her calm voice was weighted with grief and hopeless despair, but Layla stopped her mother from continuing as she placed a gentle palm on her shoulder in loving comfort.
"I'm sorry." Dean apologized, his voice hushed in pity, feeling his chest suddenly become heavy with a deep sadness for the tenderhearted woman. It didn't take a genius to figure out Layla had a genuinely sweet disposition and gentle character that was infectiously good. In a world where there was so much evil, it seemed heartbreakingly unfair to take one of the better souls out of it, far better than his soul in every way, and the selfless man couldn't help, but feel a personal responsibility weigh on his shoulders for robbing the woman of her opportunity to be healed.
Ellie blinked her brown eyes up at Layla from under her navy cap feeling her young heart sink with empathy at the horrible news hoping against hope Dean was wrong about the possible sinister work at play and the Reverand would be able to heal her soon. Like Dean, it wasn't hard for Ellie to sense the goodness in the gentle-hearted woman and a devastating sadness began to encroached on her heart because of it. Yet, no matter how grievously sad it was for Layla and Ellie's genuine wish for the best for the kind woman, Ellie's young heart couldn't help, but selfishly count her blessings and be thankful for the fact that Dean was the one healed yesterday. Whether that made her selfish or morally inept, the young teenager did not know.
"It's okay." Layla assured bravely inhaling a cleansing breath of the damp air.
"No. it isn't." Her mother retorted bluntly in a bleak monotone voice, like there was not an ounce of acceptance to be found in her broken heart.
It was then Mrs. Rourke turned her attention back to Dean once again, her face entangled in perplexity and bitter blame as her eyes narrowed and her lips thinned into a resentful frown.
"Why do you deserve to live more than my daughter?" She accused frankly in a melancholy tone of confoundment, boring her eyes into him unapologetically as she laid her grief onto the man who, in her mind, unrightfully took her daughter's opportunity to live away from her.
Ellie mouth gaped in disbelief as she was utterly God-smacked with offense feeling her sheer care for Dean raddle her with outrage as she allowed the woman's bitter words to penetrate her heart. Ellie immediately turned to the side slightly as she craned her neck upwards to capture Dean's reaction to the woman's outrageously out of line question. However, much to Ellie's dismay, Dean just simply stared at the woman, a touch of revealing remorse and acceptance lining the troubled frown that was indented into his masculine features openly. It appeared to Ellie like he was almost in agreeance with the woman and that shocked Ellie with a distressed confoundment feeling an intense defensiveness rise within her.
Ellie jerked her attention back towards the grieving mother finding herself nowhere near as accepting as Dean. No matter how sad it was for Mrs. Rourke, Ellie was not prepared to overlook the fact that she practically suggested that Dean's life was somehow less important than Layla's life, hinting that he didn't deserve to be healed yesterday. It was an outrageously untrue insinuation and flat-out mean-spirited and Ellie found herself having a tremendous hard time finding the will to be understanding towards someone who thought the person she cared about was somehow less worthy of life.
While Ellie normally took it upon herself to be 'seen and not heard', hiding in the background and under the comforting shadow of her navy ball cap when it came to conversing with 'civilians', this was a different matter entirely. And with her stubborn disposition and her teenage emotions running high, Ellie just simply couldn't let it go.
Feeling her adolescent emotions raved over her will to remain silent, what withdrawn shyness she felt before was swiftly pushed aside without a second thought.
"Look lady, you have no right to say that…" Ellie blurted out in firm declaration with a strong confidence entering her defensive tone, surprising everyone as all their attention suddenly became directed down at the young teenager who had remained undetectably quiet up till now.
"Ellie, enough." Dean ordered behind her, a tense firmness entering his guttural vocals, giving her left shoulder a firm squeeze of warning. However, Ellie defiantly jerked her shoulder attempting to shake the man's tense hold off of her, but all that seemed to do was make Dean's grip tighten further. Yet, that didn't seem to deter the riled teen in the slightest as she was absolutely determined to say what she had to say to the callous woman who was now looking at her in appalled disgust.
"Dean's life matters too…" Ellie affirmed with a hard and assuring confidence as she glared up at the woman with unrelenting fortitude that was shocking even herself, not even fazed by the disapproving scowl that was molded into the woman's disheartened expression.
"Elena, I said enough." Dean's deep voice dipped to a lower octave, a tight sharpness agitating his serious tone as he gave her shoulder a brisk shake causing the girl's body to sway slightly. Although the sternness in his manner was well received by the teen, and she would be lying if she said a spark of anxiety did not hit her chest by the fierce warning in the man's voice, Ellie stubbornly and foolishly pushed it aside as she wasn't even close to being done. Her desire to give Mrs. Rourke a piece of her mind trumped her desire to obey Dean by a large margin as she felt she was well within her right to defend the man.
In Ellie's mind, the woman needed to be knocked off her sanctimonious high horse and Ellie was only too obliged to call her out on just how wrong she was about Dean. Although Mrs. Rourke didn't say it directly, Ellie knew the snobby woman felt Dean was unworthy of life compared to her daughter's and being a non-believer only furthered her disdain towards the man and Ellie took offense to that notion on a damn personal level. Dean was a worrier, a hero, who put his life on the line each day to saving the sorry asses of snobby, ignorantly ungrateful people just like her.
How dare she think her loved one's are more important?! And what made it all the worse for Ellie was, on top of it all, to say it with suggestive implications and judgement like Dean somehow a 'bad' or 'inferior' person was just horribly wrong in every way and Ellie simply couldn't stand it.
"You don't know the half of what he has done to…" Ellie didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as Dean abruptly cut her off with a sharp crack over the seat of her right denim pocket.
Ellie face instantly blanched as her eyes widened and flashed in unexpected shock. Ellie red tinted lips parted, but barely, by the skin of her teeth, managed to swallow the gasping grunt that was threatening to blurt from her lips. Ellie wasn't braced for the impact and the forceful smack drove her up onto the balls of her boots making her stiffen her frame instantly as she took a stumbling half-step forward, desperate to stop herself from knocking into Mrs. Rourke.
Much to Ellie's horrid dismay, the swat he gave her was by no means light and the stinging remnants of a distinct handprint throbbed straight through the denim fabric of her blue jeans making Ellie's face muscles wince slightly.
Keeping her eyes glued to Mrs. Rourke black loafers, Ellie felt her chest crack and swell with a fierce embarrassment feeling a sweltering heat instantly rushed to the apples of her cheeks traveling all the way to the tips of her ears as her mind fully registered the horrifying reality of just getting popped on the ass in front of the two women. And if that was enough to mortify her teenage pride, that resounding pop rang out clear into anyone within ear shot, leaving no doubt it was done with vigor and the intent to punish.
The spank had the desired effect Dean was intending which was to immediately put a stop to the girl's running mouth, as not only was she being rudely belligerent and blatantly ignoring his order to stop twice, but it sounded like Ellie was heading towards hinting at things pertaining to Hunting which was nonnegotiably forbidden on every level and he knew the girl knew that.
Despite the horrid embarrassment that raddled the teen to her core, Ellie was fixatedly stubborn and wasn't about to take the cowards way out and run away with her tail tucked between her legs like some skittish child. If she did that, not only would she be showing the humbling effects a good smack on the ass can bring to her compliance, but, in Ellie's mind, she would be affirming that Mrs. Rourke was 'right' in some way and it would be over her dead body if that lady thought she was even remotely sorry for what she had said.
Despite her heavy chest caving inward with the natural desire to close in on herself, the willful teenager fought against it as she was prepared to stand by her words. So, with as much dignity as one could muster after being 'unjustly' swatted on the ass in public, Ellie lifted her gaze up and gave Mrs. Rourke one last censorious scowl under the brim of her navy cap. Doing an amazing job of glaring daggers into woman, Ellie narrowed her russet eyes and said everything she wanted through her heated expression before abruptly jerking her attention away from her and taking her leave, making a specific point not to give Dean the courtesy of a glance.
Ellie was fuming mad feeling her blood boil as she laid her boots, heavier than necessary, down the old wooden step forcing herself at a dignified pace as she actively suppressed the intense urge to run to the Impala as Ellie wouldn't dare give that woman an ounce of gratification. Her complexion was flushed crimson red with a mixture of frustrated anger and bitter embarrassment as she kept her gaze directed towards the muddy ground.
It wasn't long before she could feel the man's familiar looming presence treading a few paces behind her, and Ellie would be lying if she said that didn't send a significant spike in her anxiety, but the stubborn girl was determined not to show it as she continued along at the same dignified pace.
All things concerned, Ellie was damn lucky she didn't have a bigger audience than those two women, but that did little to console her bruised pride and indignant irritation towards Dean at the moment. If that painful swat was bad enough, which it sure as hell was, the fact that that he found the need to deliver it in the middle of her trying to make her freaking point, abruptly cutting her off in mid-sentence while she was defending him, was not only soul-crushingly humiliating to the teenager's delicate pride, but downright hurtful. It was like he didn't respect her enough to allow her to say her peace. Just because he didn't have the balls to say what had to be said to that woman, didn't mean he had the right to cut her off like that.
With her chest throbbing from the rifts of the fresh embarrassment and her blood boiling with raging hormones, Ellie couldn't stop herself from opening her mouth and expressing herself.
"That lady was out of line." Ellie declared with full confidence, not bothering to look back at Dean as she continued to walk determinedly to the passenger side of the Impala.
"And you weren't?" Dean countered sternly behind her a little taken back by Ellie's willful insistence not to show a little humility after her outburst and getting a good smack on the ass no less.
"No!" Ellie remarked heatedly not moving an inch on her stance making Dean's brows furrowed in a deep frown at her belligerent and raised tone. "She had no right to say that to you." Ellie declared in an impassioned manner feeling heartily offended and wronged by the woman.
"Mean bitch." Ellie gritted in spiteful impulse though her teeth allowing her frustration to get the better of her. Although it was more or less mumbled, and said under her breath as she consciously aware her words were beyond inappropriate, Dean's sharp ears caught wind of it clearly.
"Hey!" Dean shouted deeply from his chest as he took a hastened step forward reaching his long arm out and grasping a hold of Ellie's bicep making Ellie's muscle jolt and stiffen. A burst of apprehension sparked in her chest as Dean whirled her around to face him. Ellie glanced up at him from under her ballcap, her russet eyes rounded with a newfound timidness, half expecting to be swiftly jerked to the side and getting it right then and there. However, Dean simply bent his torso down slightly leveling his stern gaze on the teenager.
"You need to show a little grace, kid. Her daughter is dying and is in a lot of pain right now. I'm not saying you have to like what she said, but next time you better show some self-control and let it go…" Dean lectured in a firm, but steady tone as he locked eyes onto the girl in a serious and compelling manner.
"But she was wrong, Dean. She might as well have said 'your life doesn't matter' and I'm just supposed to stand there and take that?" Ellie argued a childlike whine creeping into her tone, finding it egregiously unfair that she should control her mouth when that lady didn't, especially since Ellie was clearly within her right to defend Dean. Perhaps she should have let it go in light of the fact the woman was grieving, but grieving or not, Ellie could not see what right that woman had to say what she did. It left Ellie with a bitter taste in her mouth, not just because she was one-hundred percent wrong, but because Dean's indifferent attitude and cynical suspicion towards being healed was downright troubling and the woman's comments were just icing on the cake to that messed up mentality and Ellie was spitting mad and deeply hurt because of it.
"Being angry does not give you a free pass to be disrespectful to someone who is grieving and it damn well doesn't give you the right to hint at what I do. This is not about who is right or wrong here, Ellie, it's about you thinking before you start running that mouth of yours. And if you can't find it in yourself to control your mouth, next time, you better just walk away, because if I ever catch you speaking that way to an adult again, I don't care how angry they made you, your ass will not be sitting too comfortable afterwards. You understand me?" Dean prompted with the upmost seriousness imbedded in his stern steady tone.
Although, he understood Ellie's reasons for speaking up in his defense and how difficult it was for a kid of thirteen to take the high road and have the maturity to hold back, the truth of the matter was, impulsively speaking out in anger would only lead her to further problems down the road. She needed to find some restraint to stop and think before she spoke, especially as a Hunter's kid, or it was going to be harder down the line when bigger, more dire, situation arose which required a sense of composure under pressure. Being a hothead was not a quality that thrived in the Hunting world.
Ellie pressed her red tinted lips together and sighed heavily through her nose feeling for the first time a touch of shame bleed into her skin as Dean called out her immaturity and lack of self-control. Looking back on it, now that her anger had mellowed, she supposed she was rather aggressive and disrespectful in her tone towards the grieving woman. Wrapped up in all her feelings of being wronged and offended by what she insinuated; she totally overlooked the fact that she almost referred to Dean's Hunter status which was a major no-no as far as the Hunter's code was concerned.
And no matter how wrong or unfair it seemed, it didn't change the fact that Ellie was a kid and Mrs. Rourke was an adult. Although there was a misplaced attitude that 'ignorant civilians' did not deserve the same level of respect as Hunters, her parents and her uncle did implement proper manners and decorum into her. And while she may be rough around the edges, she was by no means ignorant to the basic codes of conduct when addressing adults, civilian or otherwise.
"Yes, sir." Ellie agreed reluctantly looking the man in the eyes just long enough to respectful acknowledge him before turning her attention to the side feeling the fresh embarrassment of it all come back to the surface of her sensitive skin.
"But you didn't have to pop in front of them." Ellie couldn't help, but grumble in self-pity feeling her teenage hormones take hold thinking how 'mean' it was of the man to do something so humiliating. Rarely has she been popped on the backside in front of anyone, but kin and other Hunters she knew. Anytime was embarrassing enough to make her want to crawl into a hole, but in front 'civilians', in front of a that woman she was attempting to call out, it was downright soul-crushing.
"You want to spare yourself the embarrassment, you obey my orders the first time. When I say 'enough', I mean 'enough', kid. The reason you got a crack on the ass is because you deliberately ignored me." Dean informed with not an ounce of sympathy in his stern tone as he felt she earned that one fair and square. Unfortunately for Ellie, her teenage pride did not hold much weight against his orders.
The drive back was quiet and Ellie couldn't even bring herself to enjoy riding in the front passenger seat as the turmoil of emotions weaved within her young body. However, fear is what seemed to dominate above all else and no matter how much she didn't want to believe it, she couldn't stop this nagging feeling that something was amiss about the 'miracle' Dean experienced. There was this persistent gut instinct that was telling her that something sinister was at play here and the 'good' that she hoped for was just a figment of her hope-ridden delusion. However, Ellie made a silent promise to herself that whatever it may turn out to be, 'good' or not, she was going to do everything in her power to ensure that Dean's cured state would not be reversed.
"I'm sorry." Ellie declared drearily cutting into the silence of the impala as she stared out of the passenger side window thinking it was better late than never to express her apology for disappointing and disobeying him.
Dean cast his attention briefly over to the young teenager who gaze never deviated away from the passenger window.
"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you and didn't walk away when I got angry, but that lady was wrong." Ellie affirmed in a despondent, but confident tone unable to let go of the woman's harsh words. "You do deserve to live, just as much as everyone else. Layla does too, but your life is not less important than her's and I'm not gonna apologize for being happy that you were healed. Not you, not to that lady, or anyone else in this damn stupid world." Ellie ranted firmly, an afflicted sadness entangling her tone, feeling the burdening weight of unfairness that seemed fall upon Hunters.
"I mean, you kill monsters and save people all the time. Why is it so bad when someone saves you?" Ellie questioned disappointedly as she shook her head in dejected frustration.
"Hunters deserve to live too." Ellie expressed meaningfully with a strong resolve edging her aggrieved tone. Not just in reference to Dean, but her uncle as well affirming to herself that saving them by any means necessary was not only justified, but right in every way.
Dean said nothing as he allowed the girl speak what was on her troubled mind, feeling a slight touch of appreciation and if not a little comfort at the girl's honest words. Although it did not undo the feeling of remorse in taking away Layla's opportunity to be healed, it was, nevertheless, nice to hear the little girl cared. Just how much, and what lengths the little Hunter would go to, Dean could've never imagined.
TBC
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