Requests and Challenges - White Balloons: Chapter Six
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Title: White Balloons
Author: girlgotagun
Pairing: Dean/Sam (Unrelated)
Chapter Six: Missouri and Vermont
. hold on .
The rest of the car ride was uneventful. Sam would even call it boring. He was slept-out, so his main source of entertainment was unaccessible. At his house, which he was sure he was never going to be able to go back to, he had herbs and roots that could put him back under, let him play around in the dream realm longer. But now he was at a loss. No altar, no supplies for casting, no more need to sleep for the day. This whole mated-to-a-hunter thing was going to be a huge pain in the ass.
He thought about the house. They hadn’t always lived there, him and the coven. They had moved there right after they decided to do the ritual. It would have been too strange if the teenager next door had suddenly gone missing, never coming out of the house, dead for all anyone knew. They had relocated, and Ruby, Madison, and Lydia had posed as college roommates, excited about their first foray into the adult world living off-campus. Sam had stayed under the radar.
What would happen to the house, now? They had bought it, so there was no one to notice when rent wasn’t paid. Eventually the utilities would be shut off, but would anyone investigate or would they just cut the lights and water or call it a day? Would one of their sister covens come to check on them eventually? Would the neighbors notice the complete lack of activity and have the police look into it?
Would they find the coven slaughtered in the field?
Their bodies had been left, scattered over the field, blood soaking into the dirt. Sam felt sick when he thought of it. He should have buried them, should have said a blessing. Too much had been going on. He had just left them there.
Would they be half-rotted when they were found? Would they be found?
He didn’t want to think about it anymore. It clawed at his chest, made him want to reach into his ribs and pull his own heart out.
Before the coven…
Before the coven he had been…
He didn’t want to think about that, either.
He wished he could sleep.
. hold on .
It felt like days, weeks before they finally came to a stop at the curb in front of a modest, well-kept two story house. But the sun was still up, still fairly high in the sky, and Sam knew from that that it had been less than eight hours. He looked at the clock on the dash. Six. Close enough. Still felt like an eternity.
Dean got out of the car and he followed suit, his footsteps echoing the Alpha’s as he walked up the stairs of the porch.
The door swung open before either of them knocked, and a plump woman with dark skin and a knowing gaze stepped out to meet them, her eyes flitting between them before settling on Sam.
“Sam…” The woman’s eyes were soft, and she reached up to cup his face in her hands, her eyes searching out his. “You poor thing. What they did to you… But you’re safe now. Try to trust that.” She patted his cheek gently before removing her hands, and Sam turned to stare at Dean incredulously.
The Alpha shrugged as the woman turned her attention to him. “Hey, Missouri.”
“You haven’t been following my advice.” The expression on her face was one of stern disappointment.
Dean seemed to be floundering for an answer, his smile sheepish. “I… I mean, I’ve been trying.”
“Oh, don’t you lie to me!” She shook her head. “Well, come inside then. What you’ve come to talk about the neighbors don’t need to be hearing.”
Dean followed her and after a moment Sam followed him. Missouri led them to the living room, settling down in a large armchair as Sam and Dean each took a spot on opposite sides of the couch. She rolled her eyes before her gaze settled on Dean.
“You.” She pointed a stern finger at him. “I told you to stop all that running around.”
“Hey, don’t look at me, I’m spoken for.” Dean shot her a wry grin, earning a glare. “That’s actually what I need to talk to you about.”
“I know,” Missouri said easily.
“Of course you do.” Dean didn’t look surprised, and if finally clicked in Sam’s mind that this woman was a psychic. He had known that was what all the mysticism and vague statements had been about, but he hadn’t thought she was the real deal. But she must be. How else could she have known about what happened years ago?
Missouri leaned back in the chair and turned her attention to Sam, her eyes penetrating. It was as though she were searching for something that none of them could see. Finally she made a low humming noise and looked back to Dean. “You’re worrying for nothing. He’s not going to hurt you. Or the pup.”
Dean looked relieved. Sam was just surprised. Why would she lie to the Alpha?
“But you’ve hurt him more than you know. And that’s a bad wound to try to heal.” Missouri shook her head. “So don’t you go bein’ hard on him. He’s got reason to be hurt.”
Sam scoffed. Maybe she wasn’t the real deal, after all. “I’m not hurt.”
“Yes you are.” Missouri looked unperturbed by his denial. “You’re hurting so bad it’s about to swallow you up. It won’t, though. Hang in there. Don’t let it take you over.”
“Alright, I’ve had enough of this.” Sam stood up and turned to Dean. “Where did you even find this nutbar, anyway?”
“She’s never wrong, Sam.” Dean didn’t look happy about it, but Sam didn’t think he was about to be dissuaded, either. The Alpha sighed, rubbing his face before standing up as well. “I’m gonna hit the head and then we’ll get out of here. Thanks for everything, Missouri.”
“Anytime.”
Silence fell over the room after Dean left, Sam and Missouri measuring each other up as though it were a staring contest; who would blink first?
In the end, it was Sam. “Why did you lie to Dean?”
“Child, I don’t lie. Sometimes I keep things to myself; things that people aren’t ready to hear yet. But I don’t lie.” She shook her head. “Dean’s not in danger from you.”
Sam worked through what she had just said, picking through the pieces. “What aren’t you telling us?” His eyes narrowed. “Am I in danger from him?”
Missouri shook her head.
“Then what? What are you leaving out? I know there’s something.”
Missouri’s smile was wise and almost pitying. “You’re not ready to know yet. You’ll find out when you are.” She stood up as the bathroom door opened and closed down the hall, the sound reaching the living room to announce Dean’s impending return. “I’ll be watching you.”
“Back at ya,” Sam mumbled before standing and walking from the room, crossing past Dean in the hallway on his way out of the front door. “I’ll be in the car.”
Dean watched him go before turning to Missouri to ask one more question. “The thing in the gas station?”
Missouri nodded. “Just a little bit of hurt leaking through. You’ll both be okay.”
“What’d you mean by all of that? About Sam?”
Missouri looked like she was trying to decide something, surveying Dean without speaking for a long moment. Finally, she stood up, crossing to him and resting her hand on his shoulder. “You’ll both find out everything you need to know when you need to know it.”
Dean nodded, not happy with the answer but knowing that he wouldn’t be able to convince her to change it. He gave her a quick hug, thanked her, and headed outside to meet Sam at the Impala.
. hold on .
“There’s a case in Wyoming.” Dean’s voice broke through the silence that had settled in the car in the hour since they had pulled away from Missouri’s case. “Figured we’d head up there next.”
“You’re kidding.” Sam threw him a surprised look. “We left South Dakota, drove all the way to Kansas to meet with a psychic for a half hour, and now you want to go to Wyoming to hunt?”
“That’s the hunter’s life, Sammy.” Dean took in the deep concentration on the omega’s face. “Why? You got a better idea?”
“I want to go back to Vermont.” The words were out before Sam could stop them.
“Sam, I don’t…”
“Just for the night.” He swallowed. “I want to give them a real burial. Their last blessings.” His eyes met the Alpha’s, on-guard for any signs of aggression. He didn’t doubt that the hunter would make good on his threat to put him in a scent fog if he pushed too far.
Dean was quiet, turning the idea over in his head for so long that Sam almost gave up on an answer, resigning himself to going to Wyoming.
“Okay.” The Alpha’s voice was soft, understanding. “We’ll go to Vermont, then.”
“Thank you.” Sam barely said the words, but he saw the slight nod and knew that Dean had heard him. He rested his head on the window, watched the trees along the side of the road flit by.
. hold on .
Sam fell asleep five hours into the ride to Vermont. Dean stood before him again, still immobilized, but his expression was no longer one of fear or panic. He watched Sam warily, with a deep note of pity in his face.
"You don't get to pity me; this is your fault." Sam sneered at the Alpha as he considered what to do to him this time. A physical hallucination was risky while the hunter was driving.
He smiled. Time for some emotional pain.
He concentrated on blending himself into the fabric of the dream. The realm was fluid, everything within a mere idea, all made up of the same material. He could create anything he wanted; be anything he wanted.
Right now he wanted to be Dean.
The Alpha blinked as he saw himself manifest, confused. But Sam wasn't done. From nothing came a little boy, dirty blonde hair falling in thick waves to his ears, curling at the nape of his neck. Sam crouched down, held his arms out, and caught the little boy as he ran to him. As he touched him, his hands sunk deep into the flesh between the boy's shoulder blades. His eyes flickered up to the Alpha as his face twisted in horror.
The boy coughed, a deep, wet sound that sent blood spraying onto Sam's shoulder. The witch looked at Dean, reveling in the fact that Dean was seeing himself do this; seeing himself kill their pup.
"Everything you love dies, Dean. Everything you love, everything anyone loves is dead as soon as you touch it." Sam smiled softly. "Why would your pup be any different?"
He let the small body drop to the ground, let the hunter take in the sight of the lifeless heap of limbs and dead eyes, blood pooling deep and dark around the corpse.
He muttered the incantation, focusing on pushing those feelings into reality.
In the real world, the smell of Dean's distress flooded his brain.
Continue to Chapter Seven