Ghosts, Part IV
Title: Ghosts
Author(s): darkmagic-luvr
Crossover: Supernatural/Firefly
Disclaimer: I do not own Firefly or Supernatural. Any characters you don't recognize are my own and should not be used without my permission.
Type: het
Word Count: Part IV - 4,728
Characters/Pairings: Part IV - Sam Winchester, Inara Serra, Dean Winchester Mal Reynolds, River Tam, Simon Tam, Jayne Cobb, Kaylee Frye, Shepherd Book, Zoë Alleyne Washburne, Hoban Washburne, Ruby, Lenore, Eli, Lilith
Warnings: sex, lanuage, violence, death
Spoilers: the Firefly 'verse and through the beginning of season 4 of Supernatural
Artist: quiet-reble
Link to Art: here
Summary: Inara never wanted to die, and with the help of the Winchesters she hadn't for over 500 years. When an old friend and lover walks back into her life, she has to open her closet and face her skeletons, whether either of them want to.
Author’s Notes: Chinese translations at the bottom. This segment right here is Dean's exorsism, the one at the end is set in modern day, in the flashback Sam has from 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'.
(PART IV)
“I’m sorry, Dean,” said Sam softly, his voice choking a bit as he lifted his arm. Dean shook his head.
“No you aren’t,” he said, his jaw clenching as his eyes flashed black. “What the hell did I do to make you hate me so much?”
“You kill my son, Dean,” said Sam. “Mine and Inara’s.”
“He knows what he did,” said River. Neither men looked over at her, but she continued anyways, knowing they could here her. “Enjoyed it too. Hell made him angry, you had Inara, made him angrier. Happier together without him. Wanted to ruin it.”
“Would you duck tape her mouth or something!?” roared Dean, eyes going black and his head whipping around in River’s direction, sending her flying through the rice paper door. She landed just short of knocking into Jayne and Wash, who both stopped and looked at her on the floor then at Dean. Wash took a step away from the room, his eyes unnerving him a slight.
“Wuh duh ma,” he breathed.
“God doesn’t have a mother,” spat Dean, his eyes flicking back to green, but just as quickly turning black again. “Here to watch the show?”
“You gonna do it or what?” asked Jayne, bouncing on the balls of his feet, looking from Sam to Dean. River stood up, cuffing him across the back of the head.
“Nai xin nin ju xing sha gua,” she said. “Takes time.”
“Killin’ don’t take time.”
“Does for normal folk.”
“Well, they ain’t normal folk.”
“Yeah, c’mon, Sammy. Get it over with. C’mon baby brother send me back to hell in all my glory. But I’ll be back and you know it. And maybe next time I kill everyone else on this boat. Start with little Kaylee. I’ll make you watch Inara die. Maybe I’ll take River back home with me-”
“You sick tah mah duh,” started Jayne, starting forward. Sam broke his gaze with his brother long enough to look wide eyed at Jayne as he stepped into the room.
“Jayne, no!”
“But,” Jayne stopped, giving Sam a look. “He’s sayin’ stuff. Now, I’m particularly found of River, but-”
“Jayne. Don’t come in here,” said Sam interrupting Jayne. “Just…everyone step back.”
.
Sam didn’t tell Inara about Mal stealing her picture. He didn’t think it was his place, and if Mal really wanted his head bitten off he’d tell her himself. He stuck to Inara’s shuttle however, wanting to keep out of Mal’s way, afraid that he might snap if he was in close contact with him. It made the half a day trip to Osiris even more boring that it usually would have been, but it was a price to pay. Sam was cooled off by the time Wash’s voice clicked on overhead, and really, he could understand Mal’s curiosity. Didn’t mean he understood him stealing the photo, just meant he understood Mal.
Sam took his time down the stairs, his eyes on Inara who was already in the cargo bay talking to Mal about something. From the annoyed look on Inara’s face he assumed Mal wasn’t giving himself up, and his eyes narrowed at the older looking man.
“We make port, you go off and get your business and then we leave. Am I clear?”
“Mal, it’s not that simple-”
“I already told Ruby,” said Sam from the other side of the bay. Inara and Mal looked over at him and Sam shrugged. “Wash told me where we were landing, I sent a wave to Ruby. She’s meeting us here.”
“You did what-?”
“You don’t have to meet her if you don’t want to,” said Sam with another shrug. “But she doesn’t bite.”
“She used too,” muttered Inara. Sam coughed uncomfortably and inwardly rolled his eyes.
They were interrupted by the rest of the crew filing into the cargo bay, eager to touch down on solid ground. Wash was last to come down, bouncing down the stairs and pressing a button to open the blast doors. Sam slipped his hands into his pocket, preparing himself for whatever snide comments Ruby was most likely going to throw his way. However, stepping off Serenity Sam felt his mouth drop.
“Lenore?”
“Sam!” the vampire pulled Sam into a hug, behind her was Ruby and Eli, standing together awkwardly. Sam shoot Ruby a grin, who returned it tightly, and nodded to Inara. Mal walked up behind Inara, stopping next to her and looking at Sam and Lenore.
“Well, she doesn’t look like a demon.”
“She’s not,” said Inara simply. “She’s a vampire.”
“What?!”
Lenore pulled away from Sam finally and Ruby stepped forward, a serious look in her meat’s blue eyes. She looked over his shoulder at the crew of Serenity and the man who had once been Dean. She swallowed and closed her eyes.
“He was here, wasn’t he?”
“I took care of it,” said Sam, the tone in his voice changing to the one he only used with Ruby. The crew, for the least part, looked surprised in his change. Ruby nodded.
“Good.”
“Any news on the demon hotline?” asked Sam tersely. Ruby glared at him, which didn’t suit the sweet looking redheaded meat sack.
“Bela and Dean are pissed off,” she said matter-o-factly. “They’ll come back for you and rip you apart.”
“I know,” said Sam. “Has anyone come to drag your ass back to the pit?”
“Not with a planet full of fangs,” said Ruby, grinning wolfishly. “You’d be surprised how many vampires take refuge on Osiris.”
“Plenty of blood, of course,” Sam flashed Lenore a grin. “Thought you were a vegetarian?”
“Times change,” said Eli. “We do what we have to, to get by.”
“Don’t we all,” said Inara. “It’s good to see you two undead.”
“Good to be here.”
“Should they be melting or something?” asked Wash, looking at the vampires from behind his wife’s shoulder. Lenore laughed goodheartedly at him.
“Turning into ash is just an urban legend. It’s not our favorite thing, but we can get by.”
Sam was ignoring the conversation, still staring at Ruby with his face blank and his eyes hard. “What aren’t you telling me, Ruby?”
The redhead sighed, looking away from him. The others were still talking adamantly, but Sam and Ruby were talking quietly now, trying not to attract attention.
“He’s going to get out again, Sam,” said Ruby. “And soon. You pissed him off and he’s got Lilith on his side now.”
Sam’s face went white. “Lilith?”
“Apparently you didn’t kill her as well as we thought.”
“Fuck,” muttered Sam, turning away from Ruby, running his hand through his hair. “Fuck.”
“Sam?” Ruby looked over at Inara seriously, shaking her head. The other woman understood, her eyes widening slightly, reaching out to touch Sam’s shoulder.
“You have to disappear,” said Ruby. “You can’t stay on that ship.”
“I’m not running from him anymore,” snapped Inara. “You know how we can end this. Once and for all, don’t you?”
Ruby nodded. “I know a spell.”
“I hate your spells,” said Sam, looking sideways at her. “They always involve killing virgins.”
“This one doesn’t,” said Ruby tersely. “Blood, yes. Virgins, no.”
“Who’s blood?” Ruby hesitated.
“Yours. You’re his only blood relative.”
“Do we have to wait for him to come back?”
“Yes.”
“Then we’re all dead,” said Sam seriously. Ruby dropped her head, nodding.
“I know,” she said softly. “But this spell locks him in hell forever. He’ll never be able to get out again.”
“What about Lilith?”
“She’ll be content with me,” said Ruby, her voice still soft. Sam closed his eyes, taking in her words.
“You’d do that?”
“Not much of a choice, is there?”
“We have to do it on the ship,” said Inara softly. “He wont be expecting it.”
“Mal’s not going to like it.”
“We’re easily persuadable,” said Eli, from where he was eavesdropping. Sam gave him a look and Eli shrugged. “One less powerful demon to take care of on our end.”
“I’ll talk to him first,” said Inara, giving Eli a tight grin and turning to Mal, who had been telling Kaylee to fill the ship up. He looked up as Inara approached him, her hand falling onto his shoulder and started talking quietly with him. Mal clenched his jaw.
“No gorram way.”
“Please, Mal. It’s the only way.”
“I am not putting my crew in that kind of danger. I saw what he did to you.”
“He had a gun, Mal-”
“If what you told us about demons are true, then all the magic potions in the ‘verse wont save us from the hell you’ll bring upon us.”
Inara went silent, her gaze steady. After a moment she moved her hand from his shoulder, her arm falling to her side.
“I didn’t want to have to force you, Mal,” said Inara. She looked over her shoulder at Eli and gave him a nod. Immediately Eli’s fangs descended, hissing dangerously and advancing on the captain. Sam turned his head away, not liking the look Eli was giving the man. Lenore held up her hand, stepping in between Mal and Eli.
“Eli, that’s enough,” snapped Lenore. Eli looked slightly put off, Lenore turned to Inara. “You can stay here and wait for Dean. If he wants you badly enough, he’ll find you.”
“No,” Mal spoke up, catching Lenore off guard. “No, I’m not leaving my people here with you…things.”
“Mal, they’re old friends. We’ll be fine-”
“No, Inara. If you’re ever going to listen to me, may now be the time. I may not be too fond of you keeping secrets from me, or too found of your choice in spouses, but you’re still crew. I’m not leaving you.”
“Do you mean that?” asked Inara softly. Mal nodded, keeping his eyes locked with hers.
“I surely do.”
“Ruby’s the only one who can do the spell,” said Inara, not backing down. Mal sighed.
“She’s to be locked up at all times. Any funny business and she gets her demon butt tossed out the airlock, dong ma?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t believe you almost sicked a vampire on me,” grumbled Mal, all his seriousness disappearing, glaring at Inara. She rolled her eyes at him and turned heading back to Serenity, Sam sighed heavily, watching her go, while Mal followed her, continuing his longwinded lament.
“I‘ve spent the last five hundred years with that.”
“Brave man,” said Wash, staring after Inara, wincing as Zoë whacked him in the gut. Sam chuckled and turned back to Lenore, his chest clenching.
“It’s been nice seeing you, Lenore,” said Sam softly. Lenore pulled him into another hug.
“I know, Sam,” she said. “We’ll see each other again. We always do.”
Sam pulled away from her, gave Eli a nod and motioned for Ruby to get in the ship. Ruby and Lenore shared a look before Ruby followed Sam into Serenity. Something in the mood had changed between Inara and Mal. It looked as if Inara had told him to leave the ship for the time being.
“We’ll we have petty crimes to be doing anyways, I’ll be sure to let you know when we’re done-”
“I’ve had enough of you using petty crimes as an excuse to keep me at arms distance, Mal!” shouted Inara, whirling on Mal, who had to stop quickly and take a step back, surprised by her sudden outburst. “Why do you think I blend in with the lifestyle so well, Mal? Sam and his brother were master con artists. They could be anyone they wanted, scam anyone they wanted. They drove around the country in an antic car hunting things and helping people. Why do you think I was so attracted to this ship, to this life? I’ve lived this life, Mal, Hundreds of times. I was so tired of that life. Watching the people I loved die and come back to life over and over again. It starts tearing your heart apart, and I tried to leave it. But then you and your stupid ship came along and I just couldn’t resist the petty criminal with the antic boat, who can’t help but getting himself into trouble. I was that. I married that.”
“Inara-”
“Mal,” interrupted Sam, standing in the cargo bay with Ruby at his side and River sitting on the staircase leading up to the bridge, staring at the pair. He shook his head seriously. “You don’t want to get into this with her.”
“Boy, don’t tell me what I do and do not want to do.”
“This is wasting time,” said Ruby, rolling her eyes and sounding slightly annoyed, walking towards Mal and Inara. “We have to get ready for Dean and Bela. Possibly Lillith.”
“I’ve heard of this demon. Lilith, you called her?” Ruby turned to stared at Book as he walked into the cargo bay. Ruby nodded.
“You’ve heard of her?”
“Rumors mostly,” said the Shepherd, folding his hands behind his back. “She’s the one who unlocked the seals, correct? She holds the deals of those who sold their souls.”
“How would a preacher know that?” asked Inara. Ruby chuckled.
“That’s no preacher.”
“I assure you, child, I am.”
Ruby rolled her eyes dramatically, turning back to Sam. “You need to start preparations. Also, salt-”
“I remember perfectly what I need to do, Ruby,” said Sam, giving her a look. “But where the hell am I going to find that much salt?”
“What do you think I am, Sam? An idiot?” asked Ruby, nodding to the bag she brought on board. “I’m your frickin’ savior.”
“You brought salt?” asked Sam, cocking his head at her.
“Salt, chalk, roots, crossroads dirt. Anything and everything you need to take these bitches out.”
“Book, do you mind helping me out with some of this?” asked Sam, turning around. “You’re blessing and all, gives us that much more of an edge.”
“I’d be happy too,” said Book. “I’m not sure exactly what it’s all for, however.”
“I’ll explain it,” Sam turned to Inara, nodding in Ruby’s direction. “Go with Ruby and River? Take care of the engine room and the bridge?”
“Are you sure taking River’s a good idea?” asked Inara. Sam nodded.
“She’ll be helpful,” Inara agreed, gesturing to Ruby who tossed Sam her bag. He caught it easily, pulling out a couple bags of salt and a piece of chalk, handing the rest of the material to Inara.
“Alright, Shepherd. We’ll start in the cargo bay and-”
“What exactly are you starting?” interrupted Mal.
“Protection,” said Sam seriously. “For everyone.”
Mal backed down and nodded. “I’ll get the crew out of your way.”
Sam watched him turn to go, the rest of his crew following behind him. Jayne asked him what was going on, but Mal didn’t explain any further than Sam had. The airlock door closed after them, leaving Sam and Book alone in the cargo bay. Sam turned back to book and nodded over to the door leading to the common room and the infirmary.
“We can start lining the ship’s doors with salt. Keep the demons confined to one space at a time,” Book nodded and picked up a sack of salt from Ruby’s bag, examining it as he tore the bag open. Sam was busy moving a couple crates under the solid portion of the catwalk above them, shifting the piece of chalk in one hand as he though about the best way to approach drawing out the devils trap.
“What is the significance of salt?” asked Book as he poured a line of salt across the door lining. Sam looked over at him.
“Some cultures say that salt is a purifier. The same reason you throw it over your shoulder. Me and my brother would use rock salt as ammunition in shot guns. It repels ghosts, so does iron. Silver is used to kill more corporeal creatures, like werewolves or shape shifters.”
“Seems like a waste of perfectly good salt to me.”
“It didn’t use to be,” said Sam with a laugh, turning to finish his own work. Book paused in his salt lining, straightening up and turning to Sam with a curious look on his face.
“Tell me something, Sam. You’re son, how old was he when he passed?” Sam swallowed and stepped off the boxes, with a sigh.
“Almost four, why?”
“What would a demon have to gain by killing a boy?”
“Demons don’t want anything. All they want to cause is pain. They get off on it.”
“But Dean had only been in hell for a few years. How could his soul be caused so much damage in so little time?”
“Time works different in the pit. What’s three years to us is a century to them. And Dean was already pretty gone when he went back. He remembered too much.”
Book reached out, gripping Sam’s shoulder tightly. “I’m sorry for your loss, son.”
Sam sent him a weak smile and shook his head. “I don’t know why it hurts so much still. If Dean hadn’t…done what he did, Isaiah wouldn’t be alive today. He would have died anyways.”
“It will never stop hurting, Sam,” said Book. “You have to learn to accept his death, and try to keep living.”
“I don’t think I can,” he said softly. Book closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“‘There's no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never get back to the way they were.’”
“Dwight Eisenhower,” said Sam with a nod. “You quote presidents of Earth-That-Was frequently?”
“Only when the situation presents itself.”
“I asked Inara to give me the elixir after Isaiah died,” said Sam softly. “I never wanted to leave her.”
“Wash was right,” said Book, pulling his hand off Sam’s shoulder and bending down to continue his salt work. “You are a very brave man.”
“I don’t think he meant it like that.”
“The words were said, Sam,” said Book, dropping the bag of salt on the ground and straightening up once more, brushing the salt off his hands. “And I believe you are a brave man.”
“You’re not really a shepherd, are you?”
The sound of Ruby’s boots coming down the stairs prevented Book from answering him, both men looking up as the demon gave them a nod in greeting.
“We’re all finished up here, Sam,” said Ruby, stopping her descent and leaning over the railing.
“Where are Inara and River?” asked Book carefully. Ruby gave him a look.
“I skinned them alive, burned their bodies and used their bones in a medieval witchcraft ceremony.”
“Very funny, Ruby,” said Sam offhandedly, not noticing the look that passed over the preachers face. Ruby gave Book a wink and headed back up the stairs.
“You don’t believe she’s telling the truth?”
“I just know when she’s being a cynical bitch,” said Sam, still not looking at Book. “Besides, we’d have heard them scream if she had.”
.
Inara was standing with her arms folded across her chest, staring down darkly at Sam and the whore of a demon he had the nerve to fuck in a moment of vulnerability. Had he asked her to go with? No. Had he considered the possibility that maybe he wasn’t the only one hurting? Of course not. The only person he thought about was himself. And while that characteristic of him was subtle, she found herself on the receiving end of it almost every time he called her. She wanted to kill him with her bare hands. She had already tossed the bottles of liquor she had found, tossed the tramps clothes into the sink to get the stink of sweat and sex and demon off of them. Now she was just standing there, content to watch him sleep under her glower until he woke up to his worst nightmare. Well, his worst nightmare yet…
Ruby’s eyes snapped open first. Unconsciously aware that there was another angrier presence in the room. She shifted on her back. Sam hadn’t cuddle with her, and that was fine. But she was still sleeping on the floor next to him, the smell of sex still hanging in the air. She blinked her eyes open and found herself staring into the face of a very beautiful woman she had met before.
Well.
Shit.
Ruby had about enough sense in her to swallow the lump in her throat and to elbow Sam in the ribs causing him to jerk awake with a grunt. He glared at her, his eyes slightly red from waking up. He blinked at her, the beginning of a growl in the back of his throat when he found that she wasn’t looking at him, but up at someone else. Sam frowned and turned over on his back slightly, blinking up at the woman hovering over him with her hands on her hips, glowering at him with so much hatred he wondered why it hadn’t woken him up.
Oh. Inara’s here. How nice.
“I’m not in the mood, Inara,” Sam grumbled, turning back to the floor and burrowing his face back into the crook of his arm. Beside him he could feel Ruby, shifting uncomfortable, standing up and moving away from him as quickly as she could without seeming like she wasn’t completely terrified of the immortal woman above her. Inara scoffed at him, something she rarely did, but he found completely amusing nonetheless.
“Get up, Sam. You look pathetic,” snipped Inara, walking around to his side to she could look at his face. “This is how you greave? Drinking yourself unconscious, sleeping with tramps-”
“Hey!”
“I’m sure you’re a very nice girl, Ruby,” said Inara, rolling her eyes up to the ceiling, not bothering to turn around. “When you’re not trying to manipulate Sam and trying to crawl your way out of hell I’m sure we’d get along great, but right now bai duo an jing!”
Sam gave her a look. “I’m sorry, did I invite you here?”
Inara very nearly growled at him, but at the last minute figured a swift kick in the side would be just as sufficient and get her point across without the sarcasm he would certainly provide after.
“What the hell?!”
“I’m sick of you feeling sorry for yourself,” hissed Inara. “Get up and stop being worthless. It isn’t about you, Sam. When you realize that you’ll be better off. And then you can start treating Dean’s memory like he wasn’t a complete waste of space.”
“Get out,” said Sam evenly. Inara didn’t move, and he knew she wouldn’t. On some level he was grateful, but at the moment he just wanted to see her pretty little head on a stick. Where did she go about judging him?
“I loved him too, Sam.”
It was barley a whisper, but he heard it, and suddenly she had her back to him, hair flying around her shoulders as she walked away from him, complying to his request and he didn’t want her to go.
“How am I supposed to live without him?” asked Sam softly, his voice catching Inara at the door, beside Ruby. The two looked at each other, silently congratulating the other on keeping Sam not dead, and then Inara was back at his side, her hands on his face, telling him to take it one day at a time, before the crushing pain is more of a dull throb, because it’ll come and go, but that was the way love worked and sometimes you just had to live with pain that would never go away.
She told him he was human.
And when he woke up the next morning she was still beside him, and for that he was grateful. His arm slide around her waist, pulling her back against his chest, pressing his face to the back of her neck.
“Please don’t leave me,” he murmured into her skin, pressing his lips against the back of her neck. She shifted against him, sliding one of her hands up the arm wrapped around her.
“Never.”
She forgot why she was so mad at him and settled into his warmth. Lying with him was enough to make up for the lost time they had spent without each other. She never wanted it to end, she never wanted him to leave her again, and she promised herself right then and there that she wouldn’t ever again. They might not be able to come back from it intact they did.
So she stayed, and he let her. Ruby didn’t seem happy about it, but she kept her mouth shut and settled for staring bitterly at Inara whenever she had the chance. She didn’t think the other woman was helping Sam, she thought he was clouding his judgment, and making him blind to the fact that Lilith was out there and she wanted him and everyone he loved dead.
She told him so.
Over and over and over…
The first thing Sam could think of when he walked into the motel room he was staying at was something was wrong. Ruby was yapping at his heels like an annoying puppy, talking about Lilith and Lucifer and other sorts of bullshit he didn’t want to deal with at the moment. He’d just started to straighten his life out again. Yeah, somewhat thanks to Ruby, who’d open the flood gates and taught him how to use his ‘superpowers’, but mostly thanks to Inara kicking his ass until he sobered up. For some reason she’d asked Ruby to stick around, and Sam was beginning to think it was payback for abandoning her in May after Dean.
Ruby stopped talking the moment Inara walked out of the adjoining room. It was the only way to shut her up, Sam mused, it was the only way to shut Dean up too. She gave Sam a slight smile, that really didn’t reach her eyes as she walked up to him, sliding her hand over his jaw before kissing him softly on the corner of his mouth. Sam frowned at her hard.
“You okay?” he asked her, catching her hand as she tried to walk away from him. She stopped, not looking at him. After a moment of silence she shook her head, still not looking at him.
“I’m pregnant, Sam.”
His breath hissed involuntarily, chest clinching, vision wavering just slightly. This wasn’t good. They were in the middle of preparing for a war, a baby…his baby…war wasn’t without casualties. Despite Inara and her syringe of amber liquid, she wasn’t completely invincible. However, that wasn’t what he was feeling was the problem…
“Lilith is gonna be all over this-”
“Ruby, shut up,” snapped Sam, not looking back at the brunette, instead staring at the back of Inara’s head, her hand still in his was sweating slightly and cold. His grip tightened, which seemed to be the only thing he could do. It spoke volumes. Inara squeezed his hand back and a decision was made.
“Start packing,” said Ruby suddenly, snapping both of them back to Earth, turning to look at Ruby who had gone ridged.
“Why?” asked Sam, his eyes going hard. Ruby just shook her head and grabbed onto his upper arm, steering him in the direction of the door, Inara close behind him. “What’s going on?”
“Get in the car and go,” snapped Ruby, not looking at them.
“Lilith?” asked Inara, placing her hand on the demons shoulder in an act of sympathy she rarely showed to the woman. Ruby noticed, because she didn’t snap a smartass remark, just simply nodded. Her eyes locked onto Inara’s as Sam headed for the car, giving the companion a look.
Keep his ass safe.
Inara nodded and turned on her heel, her dark hair flying around her shoulders as she hurried after Sam, already in the drivers seat, turning over the engine. Ruby watched them go, the fear tightening in her chest as she watched them disappear. Something in the air shifted and she turned, settling her nerves for what she was sure was the end of her. Big blue eyes and red pigtails looked up at her, flanked by two demons who didn’t bother hiding what they were. Icy blue eyes were the only thing she saw before white overwhelmed her, suffocated her, broke her, tore her apart…
And they dragged her bloody, black and hopeless soul back to the pit where it belonged.
Dirty fucking traitor.
* translations - nai xin nin ju xing sha gua - patience you giant fool
Author(s): darkmagic-luvr
Crossover: Supernatural/Firefly
Disclaimer: I do not own Firefly or Supernatural. Any characters you don't recognize are my own and should not be used without my permission.
Type: het
Word Count: Part IV - 4,728
Characters/Pairings: Part IV - Sam Winchester, Inara Serra, Dean Winchester Mal Reynolds, River Tam, Simon Tam, Jayne Cobb, Kaylee Frye, Shepherd Book, Zoë Alleyne Washburne, Hoban Washburne, Ruby, Lenore, Eli, Lilith
Warnings: sex, lanuage, violence, death
Spoilers: the Firefly 'verse and through the beginning of season 4 of Supernatural
Artist: quiet-reble
Link to Art: here
Summary: Inara never wanted to die, and with the help of the Winchesters she hadn't for over 500 years. When an old friend and lover walks back into her life, she has to open her closet and face her skeletons, whether either of them want to.
Author’s Notes: Chinese translations at the bottom. This segment right here is Dean's exorsism, the one at the end is set in modern day, in the flashback Sam has from 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'.
(PART IV)
“I’m sorry, Dean,” said Sam softly, his voice choking a bit as he lifted his arm. Dean shook his head.
“No you aren’t,” he said, his jaw clenching as his eyes flashed black. “What the hell did I do to make you hate me so much?”
“You kill my son, Dean,” said Sam. “Mine and Inara’s.”
“He knows what he did,” said River. Neither men looked over at her, but she continued anyways, knowing they could here her. “Enjoyed it too. Hell made him angry, you had Inara, made him angrier. Happier together without him. Wanted to ruin it.”
“Would you duck tape her mouth or something!?” roared Dean, eyes going black and his head whipping around in River’s direction, sending her flying through the rice paper door. She landed just short of knocking into Jayne and Wash, who both stopped and looked at her on the floor then at Dean. Wash took a step away from the room, his eyes unnerving him a slight.
“Wuh duh ma,” he breathed.
“God doesn’t have a mother,” spat Dean, his eyes flicking back to green, but just as quickly turning black again. “Here to watch the show?”
“You gonna do it or what?” asked Jayne, bouncing on the balls of his feet, looking from Sam to Dean. River stood up, cuffing him across the back of the head.
“Nai xin nin ju xing sha gua,” she said. “Takes time.”
“Killin’ don’t take time.”
“Does for normal folk.”
“Well, they ain’t normal folk.”
“Yeah, c’mon, Sammy. Get it over with. C’mon baby brother send me back to hell in all my glory. But I’ll be back and you know it. And maybe next time I kill everyone else on this boat. Start with little Kaylee. I’ll make you watch Inara die. Maybe I’ll take River back home with me-”
“You sick tah mah duh,” started Jayne, starting forward. Sam broke his gaze with his brother long enough to look wide eyed at Jayne as he stepped into the room.
“Jayne, no!”
“But,” Jayne stopped, giving Sam a look. “He’s sayin’ stuff. Now, I’m particularly found of River, but-”
“Jayne. Don’t come in here,” said Sam interrupting Jayne. “Just…everyone step back.”
.
Sam didn’t tell Inara about Mal stealing her picture. He didn’t think it was his place, and if Mal really wanted his head bitten off he’d tell her himself. He stuck to Inara’s shuttle however, wanting to keep out of Mal’s way, afraid that he might snap if he was in close contact with him. It made the half a day trip to Osiris even more boring that it usually would have been, but it was a price to pay. Sam was cooled off by the time Wash’s voice clicked on overhead, and really, he could understand Mal’s curiosity. Didn’t mean he understood him stealing the photo, just meant he understood Mal.
Sam took his time down the stairs, his eyes on Inara who was already in the cargo bay talking to Mal about something. From the annoyed look on Inara’s face he assumed Mal wasn’t giving himself up, and his eyes narrowed at the older looking man.
“We make port, you go off and get your business and then we leave. Am I clear?”
“Mal, it’s not that simple-”
“I already told Ruby,” said Sam from the other side of the bay. Inara and Mal looked over at him and Sam shrugged. “Wash told me where we were landing, I sent a wave to Ruby. She’s meeting us here.”
“You did what-?”
“You don’t have to meet her if you don’t want to,” said Sam with another shrug. “But she doesn’t bite.”
“She used too,” muttered Inara. Sam coughed uncomfortably and inwardly rolled his eyes.
They were interrupted by the rest of the crew filing into the cargo bay, eager to touch down on solid ground. Wash was last to come down, bouncing down the stairs and pressing a button to open the blast doors. Sam slipped his hands into his pocket, preparing himself for whatever snide comments Ruby was most likely going to throw his way. However, stepping off Serenity Sam felt his mouth drop.
“Lenore?”
“Sam!” the vampire pulled Sam into a hug, behind her was Ruby and Eli, standing together awkwardly. Sam shoot Ruby a grin, who returned it tightly, and nodded to Inara. Mal walked up behind Inara, stopping next to her and looking at Sam and Lenore.
“Well, she doesn’t look like a demon.”
“She’s not,” said Inara simply. “She’s a vampire.”
“What?!”
Lenore pulled away from Sam finally and Ruby stepped forward, a serious look in her meat’s blue eyes. She looked over his shoulder at the crew of Serenity and the man who had once been Dean. She swallowed and closed her eyes.
“He was here, wasn’t he?”
“I took care of it,” said Sam, the tone in his voice changing to the one he only used with Ruby. The crew, for the least part, looked surprised in his change. Ruby nodded.
“Good.”
“Any news on the demon hotline?” asked Sam tersely. Ruby glared at him, which didn’t suit the sweet looking redheaded meat sack.
“Bela and Dean are pissed off,” she said matter-o-factly. “They’ll come back for you and rip you apart.”
“I know,” said Sam. “Has anyone come to drag your ass back to the pit?”
“Not with a planet full of fangs,” said Ruby, grinning wolfishly. “You’d be surprised how many vampires take refuge on Osiris.”
“Plenty of blood, of course,” Sam flashed Lenore a grin. “Thought you were a vegetarian?”
“Times change,” said Eli. “We do what we have to, to get by.”
“Don’t we all,” said Inara. “It’s good to see you two undead.”
“Good to be here.”
“Should they be melting or something?” asked Wash, looking at the vampires from behind his wife’s shoulder. Lenore laughed goodheartedly at him.
“Turning into ash is just an urban legend. It’s not our favorite thing, but we can get by.”
Sam was ignoring the conversation, still staring at Ruby with his face blank and his eyes hard. “What aren’t you telling me, Ruby?”
The redhead sighed, looking away from him. The others were still talking adamantly, but Sam and Ruby were talking quietly now, trying not to attract attention.
“He’s going to get out again, Sam,” said Ruby. “And soon. You pissed him off and he’s got Lilith on his side now.”
Sam’s face went white. “Lilith?”
“Apparently you didn’t kill her as well as we thought.”
“Fuck,” muttered Sam, turning away from Ruby, running his hand through his hair. “Fuck.”
“Sam?” Ruby looked over at Inara seriously, shaking her head. The other woman understood, her eyes widening slightly, reaching out to touch Sam’s shoulder.
“You have to disappear,” said Ruby. “You can’t stay on that ship.”
“I’m not running from him anymore,” snapped Inara. “You know how we can end this. Once and for all, don’t you?”
Ruby nodded. “I know a spell.”
“I hate your spells,” said Sam, looking sideways at her. “They always involve killing virgins.”
“This one doesn’t,” said Ruby tersely. “Blood, yes. Virgins, no.”
“Who’s blood?” Ruby hesitated.
“Yours. You’re his only blood relative.”
“Do we have to wait for him to come back?”
“Yes.”
“Then we’re all dead,” said Sam seriously. Ruby dropped her head, nodding.
“I know,” she said softly. “But this spell locks him in hell forever. He’ll never be able to get out again.”
“What about Lilith?”
“She’ll be content with me,” said Ruby, her voice still soft. Sam closed his eyes, taking in her words.
“You’d do that?”
“Not much of a choice, is there?”
“We have to do it on the ship,” said Inara softly. “He wont be expecting it.”
“Mal’s not going to like it.”
“We’re easily persuadable,” said Eli, from where he was eavesdropping. Sam gave him a look and Eli shrugged. “One less powerful demon to take care of on our end.”
“I’ll talk to him first,” said Inara, giving Eli a tight grin and turning to Mal, who had been telling Kaylee to fill the ship up. He looked up as Inara approached him, her hand falling onto his shoulder and started talking quietly with him. Mal clenched his jaw.
“No gorram way.”
“Please, Mal. It’s the only way.”
“I am not putting my crew in that kind of danger. I saw what he did to you.”
“He had a gun, Mal-”
“If what you told us about demons are true, then all the magic potions in the ‘verse wont save us from the hell you’ll bring upon us.”
Inara went silent, her gaze steady. After a moment she moved her hand from his shoulder, her arm falling to her side.
“I didn’t want to have to force you, Mal,” said Inara. She looked over her shoulder at Eli and gave him a nod. Immediately Eli’s fangs descended, hissing dangerously and advancing on the captain. Sam turned his head away, not liking the look Eli was giving the man. Lenore held up her hand, stepping in between Mal and Eli.
“Eli, that’s enough,” snapped Lenore. Eli looked slightly put off, Lenore turned to Inara. “You can stay here and wait for Dean. If he wants you badly enough, he’ll find you.”
“No,” Mal spoke up, catching Lenore off guard. “No, I’m not leaving my people here with you…things.”
“Mal, they’re old friends. We’ll be fine-”
“No, Inara. If you’re ever going to listen to me, may now be the time. I may not be too fond of you keeping secrets from me, or too found of your choice in spouses, but you’re still crew. I’m not leaving you.”
“Do you mean that?” asked Inara softly. Mal nodded, keeping his eyes locked with hers.
“I surely do.”
“Ruby’s the only one who can do the spell,” said Inara, not backing down. Mal sighed.
“She’s to be locked up at all times. Any funny business and she gets her demon butt tossed out the airlock, dong ma?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t believe you almost sicked a vampire on me,” grumbled Mal, all his seriousness disappearing, glaring at Inara. She rolled her eyes at him and turned heading back to Serenity, Sam sighed heavily, watching her go, while Mal followed her, continuing his longwinded lament.
“I‘ve spent the last five hundred years with that.”
“Brave man,” said Wash, staring after Inara, wincing as Zoë whacked him in the gut. Sam chuckled and turned back to Lenore, his chest clenching.
“It’s been nice seeing you, Lenore,” said Sam softly. Lenore pulled him into another hug.
“I know, Sam,” she said. “We’ll see each other again. We always do.”
Sam pulled away from her, gave Eli a nod and motioned for Ruby to get in the ship. Ruby and Lenore shared a look before Ruby followed Sam into Serenity. Something in the mood had changed between Inara and Mal. It looked as if Inara had told him to leave the ship for the time being.
“We’ll we have petty crimes to be doing anyways, I’ll be sure to let you know when we’re done-”
“I’ve had enough of you using petty crimes as an excuse to keep me at arms distance, Mal!” shouted Inara, whirling on Mal, who had to stop quickly and take a step back, surprised by her sudden outburst. “Why do you think I blend in with the lifestyle so well, Mal? Sam and his brother were master con artists. They could be anyone they wanted, scam anyone they wanted. They drove around the country in an antic car hunting things and helping people. Why do you think I was so attracted to this ship, to this life? I’ve lived this life, Mal, Hundreds of times. I was so tired of that life. Watching the people I loved die and come back to life over and over again. It starts tearing your heart apart, and I tried to leave it. But then you and your stupid ship came along and I just couldn’t resist the petty criminal with the antic boat, who can’t help but getting himself into trouble. I was that. I married that.”
“Inara-”
“Mal,” interrupted Sam, standing in the cargo bay with Ruby at his side and River sitting on the staircase leading up to the bridge, staring at the pair. He shook his head seriously. “You don’t want to get into this with her.”
“Boy, don’t tell me what I do and do not want to do.”
“This is wasting time,” said Ruby, rolling her eyes and sounding slightly annoyed, walking towards Mal and Inara. “We have to get ready for Dean and Bela. Possibly Lillith.”
“I’ve heard of this demon. Lilith, you called her?” Ruby turned to stared at Book as he walked into the cargo bay. Ruby nodded.
“You’ve heard of her?”
“Rumors mostly,” said the Shepherd, folding his hands behind his back. “She’s the one who unlocked the seals, correct? She holds the deals of those who sold their souls.”
“How would a preacher know that?” asked Inara. Ruby chuckled.
“That’s no preacher.”
“I assure you, child, I am.”
Ruby rolled her eyes dramatically, turning back to Sam. “You need to start preparations. Also, salt-”
“I remember perfectly what I need to do, Ruby,” said Sam, giving her a look. “But where the hell am I going to find that much salt?”
“What do you think I am, Sam? An idiot?” asked Ruby, nodding to the bag she brought on board. “I’m your frickin’ savior.”
“You brought salt?” asked Sam, cocking his head at her.
“Salt, chalk, roots, crossroads dirt. Anything and everything you need to take these bitches out.”
“Book, do you mind helping me out with some of this?” asked Sam, turning around. “You’re blessing and all, gives us that much more of an edge.”
“I’d be happy too,” said Book. “I’m not sure exactly what it’s all for, however.”
“I’ll explain it,” Sam turned to Inara, nodding in Ruby’s direction. “Go with Ruby and River? Take care of the engine room and the bridge?”
“Are you sure taking River’s a good idea?” asked Inara. Sam nodded.
“She’ll be helpful,” Inara agreed, gesturing to Ruby who tossed Sam her bag. He caught it easily, pulling out a couple bags of salt and a piece of chalk, handing the rest of the material to Inara.
“Alright, Shepherd. We’ll start in the cargo bay and-”
“What exactly are you starting?” interrupted Mal.
“Protection,” said Sam seriously. “For everyone.”
Mal backed down and nodded. “I’ll get the crew out of your way.”
Sam watched him turn to go, the rest of his crew following behind him. Jayne asked him what was going on, but Mal didn’t explain any further than Sam had. The airlock door closed after them, leaving Sam and Book alone in the cargo bay. Sam turned back to book and nodded over to the door leading to the common room and the infirmary.
“We can start lining the ship’s doors with salt. Keep the demons confined to one space at a time,” Book nodded and picked up a sack of salt from Ruby’s bag, examining it as he tore the bag open. Sam was busy moving a couple crates under the solid portion of the catwalk above them, shifting the piece of chalk in one hand as he though about the best way to approach drawing out the devils trap.
“What is the significance of salt?” asked Book as he poured a line of salt across the door lining. Sam looked over at him.
“Some cultures say that salt is a purifier. The same reason you throw it over your shoulder. Me and my brother would use rock salt as ammunition in shot guns. It repels ghosts, so does iron. Silver is used to kill more corporeal creatures, like werewolves or shape shifters.”
“Seems like a waste of perfectly good salt to me.”
“It didn’t use to be,” said Sam with a laugh, turning to finish his own work. Book paused in his salt lining, straightening up and turning to Sam with a curious look on his face.
“Tell me something, Sam. You’re son, how old was he when he passed?” Sam swallowed and stepped off the boxes, with a sigh.
“Almost four, why?”
“What would a demon have to gain by killing a boy?”
“Demons don’t want anything. All they want to cause is pain. They get off on it.”
“But Dean had only been in hell for a few years. How could his soul be caused so much damage in so little time?”
“Time works different in the pit. What’s three years to us is a century to them. And Dean was already pretty gone when he went back. He remembered too much.”
Book reached out, gripping Sam’s shoulder tightly. “I’m sorry for your loss, son.”
Sam sent him a weak smile and shook his head. “I don’t know why it hurts so much still. If Dean hadn’t…done what he did, Isaiah wouldn’t be alive today. He would have died anyways.”
“It will never stop hurting, Sam,” said Book. “You have to learn to accept his death, and try to keep living.”
“I don’t think I can,” he said softly. Book closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“‘There's no tragedy in life like the death of a child. Things never get back to the way they were.’”
“Dwight Eisenhower,” said Sam with a nod. “You quote presidents of Earth-That-Was frequently?”
“Only when the situation presents itself.”
“I asked Inara to give me the elixir after Isaiah died,” said Sam softly. “I never wanted to leave her.”
“Wash was right,” said Book, pulling his hand off Sam’s shoulder and bending down to continue his salt work. “You are a very brave man.”
“I don’t think he meant it like that.”
“The words were said, Sam,” said Book, dropping the bag of salt on the ground and straightening up once more, brushing the salt off his hands. “And I believe you are a brave man.”
“You’re not really a shepherd, are you?”
The sound of Ruby’s boots coming down the stairs prevented Book from answering him, both men looking up as the demon gave them a nod in greeting.
“We’re all finished up here, Sam,” said Ruby, stopping her descent and leaning over the railing.
“Where are Inara and River?” asked Book carefully. Ruby gave him a look.
“I skinned them alive, burned their bodies and used their bones in a medieval witchcraft ceremony.”
“Very funny, Ruby,” said Sam offhandedly, not noticing the look that passed over the preachers face. Ruby gave Book a wink and headed back up the stairs.
“You don’t believe she’s telling the truth?”
“I just know when she’s being a cynical bitch,” said Sam, still not looking at Book. “Besides, we’d have heard them scream if she had.”
.
Inara was standing with her arms folded across her chest, staring down darkly at Sam and the whore of a demon he had the nerve to fuck in a moment of vulnerability. Had he asked her to go with? No. Had he considered the possibility that maybe he wasn’t the only one hurting? Of course not. The only person he thought about was himself. And while that characteristic of him was subtle, she found herself on the receiving end of it almost every time he called her. She wanted to kill him with her bare hands. She had already tossed the bottles of liquor she had found, tossed the tramps clothes into the sink to get the stink of sweat and sex and demon off of them. Now she was just standing there, content to watch him sleep under her glower until he woke up to his worst nightmare. Well, his worst nightmare yet…
Ruby’s eyes snapped open first. Unconsciously aware that there was another angrier presence in the room. She shifted on her back. Sam hadn’t cuddle with her, and that was fine. But she was still sleeping on the floor next to him, the smell of sex still hanging in the air. She blinked her eyes open and found herself staring into the face of a very beautiful woman she had met before.
Well.
Shit.
Ruby had about enough sense in her to swallow the lump in her throat and to elbow Sam in the ribs causing him to jerk awake with a grunt. He glared at her, his eyes slightly red from waking up. He blinked at her, the beginning of a growl in the back of his throat when he found that she wasn’t looking at him, but up at someone else. Sam frowned and turned over on his back slightly, blinking up at the woman hovering over him with her hands on her hips, glowering at him with so much hatred he wondered why it hadn’t woken him up.
Oh. Inara’s here. How nice.
“I’m not in the mood, Inara,” Sam grumbled, turning back to the floor and burrowing his face back into the crook of his arm. Beside him he could feel Ruby, shifting uncomfortable, standing up and moving away from him as quickly as she could without seeming like she wasn’t completely terrified of the immortal woman above her. Inara scoffed at him, something she rarely did, but he found completely amusing nonetheless.
“Get up, Sam. You look pathetic,” snipped Inara, walking around to his side to she could look at his face. “This is how you greave? Drinking yourself unconscious, sleeping with tramps-”
“Hey!”
“I’m sure you’re a very nice girl, Ruby,” said Inara, rolling her eyes up to the ceiling, not bothering to turn around. “When you’re not trying to manipulate Sam and trying to crawl your way out of hell I’m sure we’d get along great, but right now bai duo an jing!”
Sam gave her a look. “I’m sorry, did I invite you here?”
Inara very nearly growled at him, but at the last minute figured a swift kick in the side would be just as sufficient and get her point across without the sarcasm he would certainly provide after.
“What the hell?!”
“I’m sick of you feeling sorry for yourself,” hissed Inara. “Get up and stop being worthless. It isn’t about you, Sam. When you realize that you’ll be better off. And then you can start treating Dean’s memory like he wasn’t a complete waste of space.”
“Get out,” said Sam evenly. Inara didn’t move, and he knew she wouldn’t. On some level he was grateful, but at the moment he just wanted to see her pretty little head on a stick. Where did she go about judging him?
“I loved him too, Sam.”
It was barley a whisper, but he heard it, and suddenly she had her back to him, hair flying around her shoulders as she walked away from him, complying to his request and he didn’t want her to go.
“How am I supposed to live without him?” asked Sam softly, his voice catching Inara at the door, beside Ruby. The two looked at each other, silently congratulating the other on keeping Sam not dead, and then Inara was back at his side, her hands on his face, telling him to take it one day at a time, before the crushing pain is more of a dull throb, because it’ll come and go, but that was the way love worked and sometimes you just had to live with pain that would never go away.
She told him he was human.
And when he woke up the next morning she was still beside him, and for that he was grateful. His arm slide around her waist, pulling her back against his chest, pressing his face to the back of her neck.
“Please don’t leave me,” he murmured into her skin, pressing his lips against the back of her neck. She shifted against him, sliding one of her hands up the arm wrapped around her.
“Never.”
She forgot why she was so mad at him and settled into his warmth. Lying with him was enough to make up for the lost time they had spent without each other. She never wanted it to end, she never wanted him to leave her again, and she promised herself right then and there that she wouldn’t ever again. They might not be able to come back from it intact they did.
So she stayed, and he let her. Ruby didn’t seem happy about it, but she kept her mouth shut and settled for staring bitterly at Inara whenever she had the chance. She didn’t think the other woman was helping Sam, she thought he was clouding his judgment, and making him blind to the fact that Lilith was out there and she wanted him and everyone he loved dead.
She told him so.
Over and over and over…
The first thing Sam could think of when he walked into the motel room he was staying at was something was wrong. Ruby was yapping at his heels like an annoying puppy, talking about Lilith and Lucifer and other sorts of bullshit he didn’t want to deal with at the moment. He’d just started to straighten his life out again. Yeah, somewhat thanks to Ruby, who’d open the flood gates and taught him how to use his ‘superpowers’, but mostly thanks to Inara kicking his ass until he sobered up. For some reason she’d asked Ruby to stick around, and Sam was beginning to think it was payback for abandoning her in May after Dean.
Ruby stopped talking the moment Inara walked out of the adjoining room. It was the only way to shut her up, Sam mused, it was the only way to shut Dean up too. She gave Sam a slight smile, that really didn’t reach her eyes as she walked up to him, sliding her hand over his jaw before kissing him softly on the corner of his mouth. Sam frowned at her hard.
“You okay?” he asked her, catching her hand as she tried to walk away from him. She stopped, not looking at him. After a moment of silence she shook her head, still not looking at him.
“I’m pregnant, Sam.”
His breath hissed involuntarily, chest clinching, vision wavering just slightly. This wasn’t good. They were in the middle of preparing for a war, a baby…his baby…war wasn’t without casualties. Despite Inara and her syringe of amber liquid, she wasn’t completely invincible. However, that wasn’t what he was feeling was the problem…
“Lilith is gonna be all over this-”
“Ruby, shut up,” snapped Sam, not looking back at the brunette, instead staring at the back of Inara’s head, her hand still in his was sweating slightly and cold. His grip tightened, which seemed to be the only thing he could do. It spoke volumes. Inara squeezed his hand back and a decision was made.
“Start packing,” said Ruby suddenly, snapping both of them back to Earth, turning to look at Ruby who had gone ridged.
“Why?” asked Sam, his eyes going hard. Ruby just shook her head and grabbed onto his upper arm, steering him in the direction of the door, Inara close behind him. “What’s going on?”
“Get in the car and go,” snapped Ruby, not looking at them.
“Lilith?” asked Inara, placing her hand on the demons shoulder in an act of sympathy she rarely showed to the woman. Ruby noticed, because she didn’t snap a smartass remark, just simply nodded. Her eyes locked onto Inara’s as Sam headed for the car, giving the companion a look.
Keep his ass safe.
Inara nodded and turned on her heel, her dark hair flying around her shoulders as she hurried after Sam, already in the drivers seat, turning over the engine. Ruby watched them go, the fear tightening in her chest as she watched them disappear. Something in the air shifted and she turned, settling her nerves for what she was sure was the end of her. Big blue eyes and red pigtails looked up at her, flanked by two demons who didn’t bother hiding what they were. Icy blue eyes were the only thing she saw before white overwhelmed her, suffocated her, broke her, tore her apart…
And they dragged her bloody, black and hopeless soul back to the pit where it belonged.
Dirty fucking traitor.
* translations - nai xin nin ju xing sha gua - patience you giant fool