A Legend In My Time Chapter 4/?
A Legend In My Time
Characters: Dean/OFC (Lexi, played by Eliza Dushku), Sam/OFC
Spoilers: None
Rating: Mature
Summary: Dean's set up home base in New Orleans hunting voodoo queens and vengeful spirits after Sam and Lexi nearly destroyed the world. A gruesome death brings Dean to Pontiac, IL where he finds more than he was looking for.
Or on AO3
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Chapter 4
*~Disclaimer: Any recognizable characters belong to Kripke. It's his sandbox, I'm just playing with his characters. This is a sequel to Restless Heart Syndrome, Under Your Skin and Wayward Son. Thanks to Supernutjapan for betaing. Any mistakes are mine. Reviews would be great! ~*
Lexi wakes with a gasp, pulling out of Dean’s arms as she sits up straight. She runs her hands down her face, trying to shake off the dream. When her breathing is somewhat normal, she reaches over and shakes Dean lightly. “Dean, wake up.”
He blinks up at her and a slow smile spreads across his face. “You ready for round two? This is my favorite part of you being knocked up, always wanting to jump my bones.”
Lexi can’t help but roll her eyes at her husband as she says, “I don’t want sex. I had a vision.”
“Why can’t you be like a normal wife and wake me up in the middle of the night for sex just once? All I’m asking.” Dean grumbles.
“Fine. Guess you don’t want to know the name of who we’re hunting.”
Dean sits up. “You got his name? What is it?”
“Castiel. I don’t think he’s a demon.”
That gets Dean’s full attention. “What do you think he is?”
“I don’t know. We need to do some research,” she replies as she throws the comforter off.
Dean reaches for her and grabs her arm saying, “Whoa, slow down. It’s two in the morning, Lex.”
“So?”
He sighs as he pulls her back to the mattress. “So, you’re pregnant and YOU need to rest. Humor me, okay, and just go back to sleep. We can research who this Castiel is in the morning.”
Lexi gives in and doesn’t attempt to get out of bed but she doesn’t go back to sleep, either. Dean throws an arm around her, rests his head on her shoulder and is back to sleep in less than ten minutes. Lexi lays wide awake listening to the sounds of the motel and the light snoring of her husband. She cards her fingers through his hair as she goes over in her mind what exactly they’re dealing with. The not knowing is killing her. It’s not just the fear of the unknown but the possibility of what they might find out.
Sleep never comes for Lexi. She’s too shaken up and her brain just won’t shut off. Not wanting to wake Dean, she waits until five thirty to slip out from under him and out of bed. She grabs his shirt from the floor and buttons it up slowly as she moves quietly to the small table in the kitchenette to use her laptop.
Dean rolls over and reaches for Lexi in the now empty bed. Groggily he calls for her with just a hint of panic in his voice. “Lexi?”
“It's alright, Dean. I'm just doing some research.”
“Lex, I thought we talked about you taking it easy.” Dean yawns and pulls on his boxers before making his way over to her. “I take it you’re looking for something on this Castiel?”
“Yeah, I just…I can’t stop thinking about that dream.”
“You can’t let this job get to you, Baby.”
Lexi glances up at him, chewing on her bottom lip, “I know but what if I’m wrong? What if this Castiel is some big bad demon?”
“When have your visions ever been wrong?” Dean asks while straddling the chair next to her.
“Never.” Lexi sighs, turning the laptop towards Dean. “But, look, there’s no lore. I can’t find anything on this Castiel.”
“Could be a hundred reasons why you’re not finding anything. One, he could’ve never been out of the pit before or, he has other names,” Dean says and reaches over to tuck a piece of hair behind Lexi’s ear, “How ‘bout you put the research on hold and let me make you breakfast? Hmm?”
“Okay.”
“How do you want your eggs, Babe?”
“Whatever way you make them is fine.” Lexi stops researching and watches Dean move around the small kitchen area. She notices he’s humming and can’t help but smile. Her amusement is fleeting and is quickly replaced by anxiety. “Dean, does it bother you that I can’t cook?”
“No.” Dean replies instantly as he turns to look at her. “The few things that you do make are awesome. Like that Cajun chicken.”
“That’s from Rouse’s Market.”
Dean chuckles and shakes his head. “As long as you don’t tell me that you get your pies from a bakery it’s all good.”
“I don’t.”
“Good, cuz you’re an awesome baker. Best pies I’ve ever had and let me tell ya, I love waking up to the smell of you baking homemade biscuits.” She grins and is out of her chair, wrapping herself around her husband before Dean can tell her to sit back down. She tucks her head under his chin and sighs when he puts his arms around her. He squeezes her and asks, “Lex, you okay?”
“Hmm hmm. I love you.”
“Yesterday you said you hated me.” Dean teases.
“I could never hate you.”
“I know. I love you too.” He says with a kiss to her head and then steps back. “Ya know what would make me happy? If you’d sit down and rest like you promised me you would.”
“Dean…” she begins to protest but the words die on her lips as she sees the look on her husband’s face. Lexi sits in the closest chair and grins up at him. “Happy now?”
“Very.”
*~*~*
Jackie stares at the Impala that’s parked across the parking lot. There was a time when she wouldn’t have hesitated to join Dean and Lexi but since Sam died everything’s different. Jackie’s been hunting on her own since the day Sam supposedly died. Thing is, Jackie doesn’t believe Sam is dead. For one, Dean told her that the binding didn’t work. And two, Sam’s body disappeared. She’s been searching for him for the past year, but when Sam Winchester doesn’t want to be found, you’re not going to find him. Jackie’s changed her strategy. She’s been tracking demons now, that’s what led her here to Pontiac, Il. She can’t help but wonder if it’s the same case that’s brought them here.
She takes a deep breath and heads to the office to find out what room they’re in. A flash of a badge and a few questions later finds Jackie staring at the door of room 224. She knocks twice and the door swings open. Dean is standing in front of her taking up the whole door frame as he stares down at her.
“Jackie.” He says, not bothering to hide his surprise. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” She smirks. “Are you gonna let me in or not?”
Dean steps back letting Jackie enter the room. He closes the door and remarks. “Haven’t seen you in almost a year. You here about the bodies with the burned out eyes?”
“No. I was checking these demons out of Tennessee, and out of nowhere they took a hard left, booked up here.”
“When?”
“Three days ago.” Jackie’s eyes sweep across the room then back to Dean. She raises her eyebrow and asks. “Where’s Lexi?”
“She took Jake to the park up the street. Kid was getting stir crazy in here.” Dean gestures to the toys strewn all over the room. “I was cleaning up. Tell me more about these demons.”
Jackie takes a seat at the kitchen table and shrugs. “Not much to tell. Bunch of demons gathered together is always worth a look, wouldn’t you say?”
“This is about Sam isn’t it? Sammy’s dead, Jackie.”
Jackie purses her lips but says nothing. She’s had this same fight with Dean countless times over the past year. It doesn’t matter what he says, she knows in her bones that Sam is alive. She doesn’t care that Dean’s told her he checked Sam’s pulse himself and there wasn’t one. There are just too many unanswered questions. The biggest one for her is, where’s the body?
When she and Bobby went back to retrieve the body, it was gone. There was also no report of a body found or any John Does in the morgue. Bodies don’t just disappear unless of course Sam just got up and walked away. Dean said himself that the binding didn’t work which would mean that Sam was still a demon. That makes it very possible that he just got up and walked out of the mausoleum.
Jackie watches as Dean goes to the fridge and grabs two bottles of beer. She can point this all out to him again but she doesn’t want to fight. She changes the subject instead and accepts the beer he hands to her. “How’s married life treating you?”
“Married life is good. It’s more than good. We’re awesome.” Dean confides while straddling the chair across from her.
She raises an eyebrow and counters. “So you’re saying, Lexi’s 100% Lexi again?”
Dean doesn’t answer right away. He takes a swig of beer studying Jackie over his beer bottle. He considers how to answer her, hating how easily Jackie can get under his skin. “Not a 100% but close enough.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“You sure about that, Jack? Cuz if you had it your way my wife would be dead right now.” Dean fumed before taking another swig from his beer.
“Dean, c’mon, you know she was dangerous and she was gonna kill…”
“Why the fuck are you here now Jackie?” He interrupts her.
“I told you.”
“Oh, yeah, for some demons right.” He hisses and slams his bottle on the table. He gets up pacing around the room demanding, “Where were you when Lexi, your best friend needed you? Or when I needed you?”
“I needed time…”
“Oh, YOU needed time? What about me? You don’t think I needed time? My brother died and I was scared shitless I was gonna loose Lexi too. She wouldn’t eat, sleep. Hell, she wouldn’t even speak. Then one night, she downs a whole bottle of pills. Lucky I found her in time and then I was afraid to let her outta my sight, but you needed time.”
“Maybe I should go.”
“Yeah, maybe you should.” Dean snaps. Jackie nods and gets to her feet. She makes it half way to the door before Dean stops her. “Wait.”
She stops then turns to look at him. “Yeah, Ace?”
“Jack, I’m…shit, I’m sorry. I…don’t go.”
“You sure? You have every right to be pissed.”
“Yeah, well, Lex’ll be pissed if she finds out I threw you out.”
Jackie smirks saying, “You are so whipped.” Dean answers with a huff and goes to get another beer. He opens his beer, takes a swig and then eyes Jackie. “Ace, you’re not gonna be all weird now are you?”
“No.”
“Good. Why don’t you tell me about this case you’re working.”
Dean sits at the table and gestures for Jackie to join him. Once she’s seated he begins to fill her in on the case. He goes over everything including what happened in the diner but purposely says nothing about Lexi being pregnant. He figures it’s up to Lexi whether or not she wants to tell Bobby and Jackie she’s knocked up.
“So the diner was full of demons and they threatened Lexi?” Jackie questions with wide eyes.
“Yup but Jack, they were scared of her too. Not one of them made a move when she stabbed Flo.”
“Ace, this is big ya know. I was tracking those demons and now this thing you’re hunting is offing them.”
“I know. Fuck, what kinda shit did we just step into?”
*~*~*
Lexi takes a deep breath, enjoying the cool breeze as she sips her peppermint tea. This is her favorite activity with Jake - taking him to the park. Back in New Orleans, she takes Jake to City Park, where he feeds and chases the ducks in the pond, and lets him climb up and down the jungle gym with the other kids. She likes sitting in the shade of the green trees; it’s peaceful and the noise of the city is muted, helping her forget that she’s in the middle of it. But what she loves most is when Dean joins them. They can be like every other family even if it’s only for a few hours.
Lost in her own thoughts, Lexi doesn't notice the well-dressed stranger that is now beside her. She glances at him sideways, wondering how long he’s been sitting next to her. She must've really zoned out since she didn't even hear him approaching. Funny, she doesn't hear or feel anything from him. But that doesn’t really mean anything she tells herself, since she only knows for sure that her visions are back.
“I love parks.” He says suddenly, eyeing her with interest before adjusting his suit, “Don't you?”
“Um, yeah. Do I know you?”
He flashes her with what some would call a charming smile but it gives her the chills. She knows there’s something different about the man sitting next to her. He isn't human; that much she knows for sure. He extends his well-manicured hand, his lips pulling up into a small smirk, and says, “Hello, Princess.”
Lexi rushes into the motel room, holding Jake close. She has every intention of telling Dean what just happened in the park until she sees Jackie sitting at the table. They both turn to look at her and Dean’s brow immediately scrunches up in concern as he realizes something isn’t right. Lexi schools her features and smiles saying, “Jackie, what are you doing here?”
Dean doesn’t buy it. He knows his wife too well, knows all her tells. Like how she chews on her bottom lip or rubs her neck when she’s nervous. Or like the fact that right now she’s fidgeting and her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. He gets out of his chair and crosses the room so that he’s standing right in front of her and looks down at her, eyebrow cocked. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She replies quickly and hands Jake to him.
“Lex, did something happen at the park?”
“Nothing happened, you’re just being overprotective.” Lexi answers then mouths to him, ‘Later.’
Dean follows her lead and ends his questioning. He walks over to the playpen and puts Jake in as he informs Lexi, “I was just filling Jackie in on the case. Turns out she was hunting those demons in the diner.”
*~*~*
Dean waits until Lexi is engrossed with catching up with Jackie to make his exit. “Hey Lex,” he says as he turns off the television, “I’m gonna go do some research with Bobby for a while.”
“Ok.”
After a few hours, Dean closes the book he’s reading and rubs his eyes. He’s done trying to find this Castiel in one of Bobby’s dusty books.
“Hey Bobby, you feel like going out to grab a beer?”
“Sure. Let’s go.”
Once Bobby pulls out onto the road, he eyes Dean and asks, “How you doin’ kid?”
“Aside from my wife having visions about this big bad demon, peachy.” He pulls out his cell and dials. “Hey, Lex.”
“Hey, Sweetie.”
“What are you doing?”
“I was just about to give Jake a bath. What are you doing?”
“I’m gonna go grab a beer with Bobby.”
“Just one beer?” She teases. “Don’t you mean you two are gonna close down the bar?”
Dean chuckles and answers, “Yeah, that sounds about right. You okay with that?”
“Yeah. Go have fun and spill some for me.”
“Done. I’ll see ya later, baby girl.”
Bobby raises an eyebrow. “You just lied to Lexi didn’t you? We’re not going for a drink.”
“Yeah I did, cuz she’d just try to stop me.”
“From what?”
“Summoning this thing. It's time we faced it head-on.” Dean states matter of fact.
“You can't be serious!”
“As a heart attack. It's high noon, baby.”
“Well, we don't know what it is. It could be a demon, it could be anything. This is a bad idea.”
“I couldn't agree more, but what other choice do we have? We've got no place to hide. We can either get caught with our pants down again, or we can make our stand.”
“We could choose life.” Bobby pauses and looks over at Dean. “Ya know Dean, we could use the girls on this.”
“Nah, they’re better off where they are.”
Bobby pulls off the road at Dean’s instance when they pass what appears to be an abandoned farm. He pulls the car behind the barn killing the lights. He turns to Dean one last time and asks, “You sure you wanna do this?
“I said I was.” Dean snaps as he gets out of the car. He leans in the window and looks at Bobby with a raised eyebrow. “You coming or not? We gotta set up before we summon this bastard.”
Once inside the barn, Bobby begins painting sigils. He grabs a can of white spray paint and paints the last symbol on the cement floor. Dean looks up from the table as Bobby stands and looks around the barn smirking, “That's a hell of an art project you've got going there.”
“Traps and talismans from every faith on the globe. How you doin?”
“Stakes, iron, silver, salt, knife.” Dean recites as he points to each item. “I mean, we're pretty much set to catch and kill anything I've ever heard of.”
Bobby shakes his head and warns Dean again. “This is still a bad idea.”
“Yeah, Bobby, I heard you the first ten times. What do you say we ring the dinner bell?” Dean snaps.
Bobby nods reluctantly and heads to the other table. He places a small amount of powder into a large bowl then begins chanting in Latin. The powder immediately starts smoking as the spell kicks in.
Twenty minutes after completing the spell, Dean and Bobby are sitting on opposite tables swinging their legs like bored children. Dean plays with the knife asking, “You sure you did the ritual right?” Bobby gives him a dirty look causing Dean to throw up his hands. “Sorry. Touchy, touchy, huh?”
Seconds later, the barn’s roof begins to rattle and shake. Dean and Bobby grab their shotguns taking positions at the far end of the barn.
“Wishful thinking, but maybe it's just the wind.” Dean says trying to make light of the situation.
The door suddenly bursts open and a man in a trench coat walks into the barn. The light bulbs begin to shatter and spark as he walks under them. Both Dean and Bobby open fire. To their surprise the bullets do nothing to slow the man down. Dean puts his shot gun down and grabs the knife as the man closes the distance between them.
“Who are you?” Dean questions the man.
“I'm the one you’ve been looking for.”
“Oh yeah? Good.” Dean says as he pulls his arm back and then plunges the knife into the man’s chest.
To Dean and Bobby’s shock, the man looks down, unperturbed. He pulls the knife out and drops it to the floor. Bobby attempts to attack from behind. The stranger grabs his weapon without looking and swings Bobby around. He then touches Bobby’s forehead and he collapses on the floor.
“We need to talk, Dean. Alone.”
Dean kneels next to Bobby and checks his pulse before glaring at the men in front of him.
“Your friend's alive.”
“Who are you?” Dean asks again.
“Castiel.”
“Yeah, I figured that much, I mean WHAT are you?”
“I'm an Angel of the Lord.”
Dean stares at Castiel for a beat then gets to his feet saying, “Get the hell out of here. There's no such thing.”
“This is your problem, Dean. You have no faith.”
Thunder and lightning flashes, and to Dean’s disbelief, great, black, shadowy wings stretch and flap across the width of the barn. The moment the thunder and lightning stop, the wings disappear. Dean doesn’t speak for a moment as he processes what he’s just witnessed. His eyes sweep over Castiel and sneers, “Some angel you are. You burned out that poor psychic's eyes.”
“I warned her not to spy on my true form. It can be... overwhelming to humans, and so can my real voice. But you already knew that.”
“You mean the gas station. That was you talking? Buddy, next time, lower the volume.”
“That was my mistake. Certain people, special people, can perceive my true visage. I thought you would be one of them. I was wrong.”
“And what visage are you in now, huh? What, holy tax accountant?”
“This? This is... a vessel.”
“You're possessing some poor bastard?” Dean questions not bothering to hide his disgust.
“He's a devout man, he actually prayed for this.”
“Uh huh. Ya know it might’ve been easier to show up like this the first time instead of all the burning bush shit.”
“Finding a human vessel durable enough to contain me it is not easy.”
“I have that same problem with women.” Dean smirks. The smirk disappears quickly and is replaced with a glare. “Well, I'm not buying what you're selling, so who are you really? "
Castiel frowns not understanding why he must explain who he is again and states, “I told you.”
“Right. And what would an angel want with me?” Dean questions harshly.
“Because God commanded me to find you. Because we have work for you.”
Characters: Dean/OFC (Lexi, played by Eliza Dushku), Sam/OFC
Spoilers: None
Rating: Mature
Summary: Dean's set up home base in New Orleans hunting voodoo queens and vengeful spirits after Sam and Lexi nearly destroyed the world. A gruesome death brings Dean to Pontiac, IL where he finds more than he was looking for.
Or on AO3
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Chapter 4
*~Disclaimer: Any recognizable characters belong to Kripke. It's his sandbox, I'm just playing with his characters. This is a sequel to Restless Heart Syndrome, Under Your Skin and Wayward Son. Thanks to Supernutjapan for betaing. Any mistakes are mine. Reviews would be great! ~*
Lexi wakes with a gasp, pulling out of Dean’s arms as she sits up straight. She runs her hands down her face, trying to shake off the dream. When her breathing is somewhat normal, she reaches over and shakes Dean lightly. “Dean, wake up.”
He blinks up at her and a slow smile spreads across his face. “You ready for round two? This is my favorite part of you being knocked up, always wanting to jump my bones.”
Lexi can’t help but roll her eyes at her husband as she says, “I don’t want sex. I had a vision.”
“Why can’t you be like a normal wife and wake me up in the middle of the night for sex just once? All I’m asking.” Dean grumbles.
“Fine. Guess you don’t want to know the name of who we’re hunting.”
Dean sits up. “You got his name? What is it?”
“Castiel. I don’t think he’s a demon.”
That gets Dean’s full attention. “What do you think he is?”
“I don’t know. We need to do some research,” she replies as she throws the comforter off.
Dean reaches for her and grabs her arm saying, “Whoa, slow down. It’s two in the morning, Lex.”
“So?”
He sighs as he pulls her back to the mattress. “So, you’re pregnant and YOU need to rest. Humor me, okay, and just go back to sleep. We can research who this Castiel is in the morning.”
Lexi gives in and doesn’t attempt to get out of bed but she doesn’t go back to sleep, either. Dean throws an arm around her, rests his head on her shoulder and is back to sleep in less than ten minutes. Lexi lays wide awake listening to the sounds of the motel and the light snoring of her husband. She cards her fingers through his hair as she goes over in her mind what exactly they’re dealing with. The not knowing is killing her. It’s not just the fear of the unknown but the possibility of what they might find out.
Sleep never comes for Lexi. She’s too shaken up and her brain just won’t shut off. Not wanting to wake Dean, she waits until five thirty to slip out from under him and out of bed. She grabs his shirt from the floor and buttons it up slowly as she moves quietly to the small table in the kitchenette to use her laptop.
Dean rolls over and reaches for Lexi in the now empty bed. Groggily he calls for her with just a hint of panic in his voice. “Lexi?”
“It's alright, Dean. I'm just doing some research.”
“Lex, I thought we talked about you taking it easy.” Dean yawns and pulls on his boxers before making his way over to her. “I take it you’re looking for something on this Castiel?”
“Yeah, I just…I can’t stop thinking about that dream.”
“You can’t let this job get to you, Baby.”
Lexi glances up at him, chewing on her bottom lip, “I know but what if I’m wrong? What if this Castiel is some big bad demon?”
“When have your visions ever been wrong?” Dean asks while straddling the chair next to her.
“Never.” Lexi sighs, turning the laptop towards Dean. “But, look, there’s no lore. I can’t find anything on this Castiel.”
“Could be a hundred reasons why you’re not finding anything. One, he could’ve never been out of the pit before or, he has other names,” Dean says and reaches over to tuck a piece of hair behind Lexi’s ear, “How ‘bout you put the research on hold and let me make you breakfast? Hmm?”
“Okay.”
“How do you want your eggs, Babe?”
“Whatever way you make them is fine.” Lexi stops researching and watches Dean move around the small kitchen area. She notices he’s humming and can’t help but smile. Her amusement is fleeting and is quickly replaced by anxiety. “Dean, does it bother you that I can’t cook?”
“No.” Dean replies instantly as he turns to look at her. “The few things that you do make are awesome. Like that Cajun chicken.”
“That’s from Rouse’s Market.”
Dean chuckles and shakes his head. “As long as you don’t tell me that you get your pies from a bakery it’s all good.”
“I don’t.”
“Good, cuz you’re an awesome baker. Best pies I’ve ever had and let me tell ya, I love waking up to the smell of you baking homemade biscuits.” She grins and is out of her chair, wrapping herself around her husband before Dean can tell her to sit back down. She tucks her head under his chin and sighs when he puts his arms around her. He squeezes her and asks, “Lex, you okay?”
“Hmm hmm. I love you.”
“Yesterday you said you hated me.” Dean teases.
“I could never hate you.”
“I know. I love you too.” He says with a kiss to her head and then steps back. “Ya know what would make me happy? If you’d sit down and rest like you promised me you would.”
“Dean…” she begins to protest but the words die on her lips as she sees the look on her husband’s face. Lexi sits in the closest chair and grins up at him. “Happy now?”
“Very.”
*~*~*
Jackie stares at the Impala that’s parked across the parking lot. There was a time when she wouldn’t have hesitated to join Dean and Lexi but since Sam died everything’s different. Jackie’s been hunting on her own since the day Sam supposedly died. Thing is, Jackie doesn’t believe Sam is dead. For one, Dean told her that the binding didn’t work. And two, Sam’s body disappeared. She’s been searching for him for the past year, but when Sam Winchester doesn’t want to be found, you’re not going to find him. Jackie’s changed her strategy. She’s been tracking demons now, that’s what led her here to Pontiac, Il. She can’t help but wonder if it’s the same case that’s brought them here.
She takes a deep breath and heads to the office to find out what room they’re in. A flash of a badge and a few questions later finds Jackie staring at the door of room 224. She knocks twice and the door swings open. Dean is standing in front of her taking up the whole door frame as he stares down at her.
“Jackie.” He says, not bothering to hide his surprise. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” She smirks. “Are you gonna let me in or not?”
Dean steps back letting Jackie enter the room. He closes the door and remarks. “Haven’t seen you in almost a year. You here about the bodies with the burned out eyes?”
“No. I was checking these demons out of Tennessee, and out of nowhere they took a hard left, booked up here.”
“When?”
“Three days ago.” Jackie’s eyes sweep across the room then back to Dean. She raises her eyebrow and asks. “Where’s Lexi?”
“She took Jake to the park up the street. Kid was getting stir crazy in here.” Dean gestures to the toys strewn all over the room. “I was cleaning up. Tell me more about these demons.”
Jackie takes a seat at the kitchen table and shrugs. “Not much to tell. Bunch of demons gathered together is always worth a look, wouldn’t you say?”
“This is about Sam isn’t it? Sammy’s dead, Jackie.”
Jackie purses her lips but says nothing. She’s had this same fight with Dean countless times over the past year. It doesn’t matter what he says, she knows in her bones that Sam is alive. She doesn’t care that Dean’s told her he checked Sam’s pulse himself and there wasn’t one. There are just too many unanswered questions. The biggest one for her is, where’s the body?
When she and Bobby went back to retrieve the body, it was gone. There was also no report of a body found or any John Does in the morgue. Bodies don’t just disappear unless of course Sam just got up and walked away. Dean said himself that the binding didn’t work which would mean that Sam was still a demon. That makes it very possible that he just got up and walked out of the mausoleum.
Jackie watches as Dean goes to the fridge and grabs two bottles of beer. She can point this all out to him again but she doesn’t want to fight. She changes the subject instead and accepts the beer he hands to her. “How’s married life treating you?”
“Married life is good. It’s more than good. We’re awesome.” Dean confides while straddling the chair across from her.
She raises an eyebrow and counters. “So you’re saying, Lexi’s 100% Lexi again?”
Dean doesn’t answer right away. He takes a swig of beer studying Jackie over his beer bottle. He considers how to answer her, hating how easily Jackie can get under his skin. “Not a 100% but close enough.”
“That’s good to hear.”
“You sure about that, Jack? Cuz if you had it your way my wife would be dead right now.” Dean fumed before taking another swig from his beer.
“Dean, c’mon, you know she was dangerous and she was gonna kill…”
“Why the fuck are you here now Jackie?” He interrupts her.
“I told you.”
“Oh, yeah, for some demons right.” He hisses and slams his bottle on the table. He gets up pacing around the room demanding, “Where were you when Lexi, your best friend needed you? Or when I needed you?”
“I needed time…”
“Oh, YOU needed time? What about me? You don’t think I needed time? My brother died and I was scared shitless I was gonna loose Lexi too. She wouldn’t eat, sleep. Hell, she wouldn’t even speak. Then one night, she downs a whole bottle of pills. Lucky I found her in time and then I was afraid to let her outta my sight, but you needed time.”
“Maybe I should go.”
“Yeah, maybe you should.” Dean snaps. Jackie nods and gets to her feet. She makes it half way to the door before Dean stops her. “Wait.”
She stops then turns to look at him. “Yeah, Ace?”
“Jack, I’m…shit, I’m sorry. I…don’t go.”
“You sure? You have every right to be pissed.”
“Yeah, well, Lex’ll be pissed if she finds out I threw you out.”
Jackie smirks saying, “You are so whipped.” Dean answers with a huff and goes to get another beer. He opens his beer, takes a swig and then eyes Jackie. “Ace, you’re not gonna be all weird now are you?”
“No.”
“Good. Why don’t you tell me about this case you’re working.”
Dean sits at the table and gestures for Jackie to join him. Once she’s seated he begins to fill her in on the case. He goes over everything including what happened in the diner but purposely says nothing about Lexi being pregnant. He figures it’s up to Lexi whether or not she wants to tell Bobby and Jackie she’s knocked up.
“So the diner was full of demons and they threatened Lexi?” Jackie questions with wide eyes.
“Yup but Jack, they were scared of her too. Not one of them made a move when she stabbed Flo.”
“Ace, this is big ya know. I was tracking those demons and now this thing you’re hunting is offing them.”
“I know. Fuck, what kinda shit did we just step into?”
*~*~*
Lexi takes a deep breath, enjoying the cool breeze as she sips her peppermint tea. This is her favorite activity with Jake - taking him to the park. Back in New Orleans, she takes Jake to City Park, where he feeds and chases the ducks in the pond, and lets him climb up and down the jungle gym with the other kids. She likes sitting in the shade of the green trees; it’s peaceful and the noise of the city is muted, helping her forget that she’s in the middle of it. But what she loves most is when Dean joins them. They can be like every other family even if it’s only for a few hours.
Lost in her own thoughts, Lexi doesn't notice the well-dressed stranger that is now beside her. She glances at him sideways, wondering how long he’s been sitting next to her. She must've really zoned out since she didn't even hear him approaching. Funny, she doesn't hear or feel anything from him. But that doesn’t really mean anything she tells herself, since she only knows for sure that her visions are back.
“I love parks.” He says suddenly, eyeing her with interest before adjusting his suit, “Don't you?”
“Um, yeah. Do I know you?”
He flashes her with what some would call a charming smile but it gives her the chills. She knows there’s something different about the man sitting next to her. He isn't human; that much she knows for sure. He extends his well-manicured hand, his lips pulling up into a small smirk, and says, “Hello, Princess.”
Lexi rushes into the motel room, holding Jake close. She has every intention of telling Dean what just happened in the park until she sees Jackie sitting at the table. They both turn to look at her and Dean’s brow immediately scrunches up in concern as he realizes something isn’t right. Lexi schools her features and smiles saying, “Jackie, what are you doing here?”
Dean doesn’t buy it. He knows his wife too well, knows all her tells. Like how she chews on her bottom lip or rubs her neck when she’s nervous. Or like the fact that right now she’s fidgeting and her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. He gets out of his chair and crosses the room so that he’s standing right in front of her and looks down at her, eyebrow cocked. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She replies quickly and hands Jake to him.
“Lex, did something happen at the park?”
“Nothing happened, you’re just being overprotective.” Lexi answers then mouths to him, ‘Later.’
Dean follows her lead and ends his questioning. He walks over to the playpen and puts Jake in as he informs Lexi, “I was just filling Jackie in on the case. Turns out she was hunting those demons in the diner.”
*~*~*
Dean waits until Lexi is engrossed with catching up with Jackie to make his exit. “Hey Lex,” he says as he turns off the television, “I’m gonna go do some research with Bobby for a while.”
“Ok.”
After a few hours, Dean closes the book he’s reading and rubs his eyes. He’s done trying to find this Castiel in one of Bobby’s dusty books.
“Hey Bobby, you feel like going out to grab a beer?”
“Sure. Let’s go.”
Once Bobby pulls out onto the road, he eyes Dean and asks, “How you doin’ kid?”
“Aside from my wife having visions about this big bad demon, peachy.” He pulls out his cell and dials. “Hey, Lex.”
“Hey, Sweetie.”
“What are you doing?”
“I was just about to give Jake a bath. What are you doing?”
“I’m gonna go grab a beer with Bobby.”
“Just one beer?” She teases. “Don’t you mean you two are gonna close down the bar?”
Dean chuckles and answers, “Yeah, that sounds about right. You okay with that?”
“Yeah. Go have fun and spill some for me.”
“Done. I’ll see ya later, baby girl.”
Bobby raises an eyebrow. “You just lied to Lexi didn’t you? We’re not going for a drink.”
“Yeah I did, cuz she’d just try to stop me.”
“From what?”
“Summoning this thing. It's time we faced it head-on.” Dean states matter of fact.
“You can't be serious!”
“As a heart attack. It's high noon, baby.”
“Well, we don't know what it is. It could be a demon, it could be anything. This is a bad idea.”
“I couldn't agree more, but what other choice do we have? We've got no place to hide. We can either get caught with our pants down again, or we can make our stand.”
“We could choose life.” Bobby pauses and looks over at Dean. “Ya know Dean, we could use the girls on this.”
“Nah, they’re better off where they are.”
Bobby pulls off the road at Dean’s instance when they pass what appears to be an abandoned farm. He pulls the car behind the barn killing the lights. He turns to Dean one last time and asks, “You sure you wanna do this?
“I said I was.” Dean snaps as he gets out of the car. He leans in the window and looks at Bobby with a raised eyebrow. “You coming or not? We gotta set up before we summon this bastard.”
Once inside the barn, Bobby begins painting sigils. He grabs a can of white spray paint and paints the last symbol on the cement floor. Dean looks up from the table as Bobby stands and looks around the barn smirking, “That's a hell of an art project you've got going there.”
“Traps and talismans from every faith on the globe. How you doin?”
“Stakes, iron, silver, salt, knife.” Dean recites as he points to each item. “I mean, we're pretty much set to catch and kill anything I've ever heard of.”
Bobby shakes his head and warns Dean again. “This is still a bad idea.”
“Yeah, Bobby, I heard you the first ten times. What do you say we ring the dinner bell?” Dean snaps.
Bobby nods reluctantly and heads to the other table. He places a small amount of powder into a large bowl then begins chanting in Latin. The powder immediately starts smoking as the spell kicks in.
Twenty minutes after completing the spell, Dean and Bobby are sitting on opposite tables swinging their legs like bored children. Dean plays with the knife asking, “You sure you did the ritual right?” Bobby gives him a dirty look causing Dean to throw up his hands. “Sorry. Touchy, touchy, huh?”
Seconds later, the barn’s roof begins to rattle and shake. Dean and Bobby grab their shotguns taking positions at the far end of the barn.
“Wishful thinking, but maybe it's just the wind.” Dean says trying to make light of the situation.
The door suddenly bursts open and a man in a trench coat walks into the barn. The light bulbs begin to shatter and spark as he walks under them. Both Dean and Bobby open fire. To their surprise the bullets do nothing to slow the man down. Dean puts his shot gun down and grabs the knife as the man closes the distance between them.
“Who are you?” Dean questions the man.
“I'm the one you’ve been looking for.”
“Oh yeah? Good.” Dean says as he pulls his arm back and then plunges the knife into the man’s chest.
To Dean and Bobby’s shock, the man looks down, unperturbed. He pulls the knife out and drops it to the floor. Bobby attempts to attack from behind. The stranger grabs his weapon without looking and swings Bobby around. He then touches Bobby’s forehead and he collapses on the floor.
“We need to talk, Dean. Alone.”
Dean kneels next to Bobby and checks his pulse before glaring at the men in front of him.
“Your friend's alive.”
“Who are you?” Dean asks again.
“Castiel.”
“Yeah, I figured that much, I mean WHAT are you?”
“I'm an Angel of the Lord.”
Dean stares at Castiel for a beat then gets to his feet saying, “Get the hell out of here. There's no such thing.”
“This is your problem, Dean. You have no faith.”
Thunder and lightning flashes, and to Dean’s disbelief, great, black, shadowy wings stretch and flap across the width of the barn. The moment the thunder and lightning stop, the wings disappear. Dean doesn’t speak for a moment as he processes what he’s just witnessed. His eyes sweep over Castiel and sneers, “Some angel you are. You burned out that poor psychic's eyes.”
“I warned her not to spy on my true form. It can be... overwhelming to humans, and so can my real voice. But you already knew that.”
“You mean the gas station. That was you talking? Buddy, next time, lower the volume.”
“That was my mistake. Certain people, special people, can perceive my true visage. I thought you would be one of them. I was wrong.”
“And what visage are you in now, huh? What, holy tax accountant?”
“This? This is... a vessel.”
“You're possessing some poor bastard?” Dean questions not bothering to hide his disgust.
“He's a devout man, he actually prayed for this.”
“Uh huh. Ya know it might’ve been easier to show up like this the first time instead of all the burning bush shit.”
“Finding a human vessel durable enough to contain me it is not easy.”
“I have that same problem with women.” Dean smirks. The smirk disappears quickly and is replaced with a glare. “Well, I'm not buying what you're selling, so who are you really? "
Castiel frowns not understanding why he must explain who he is again and states, “I told you.”
“Right. And what would an angel want with me?” Dean questions harshly.
“Because God commanded me to find you. Because we have work for you.”