Could You Just Hold Me? 46/50
Chapter 46
Bobby had thought about how to let them know that he knew and if it was only to end the forced separation of Sam from the other two. Bobby still was biased about this, nothing could change the fact that they were brothers, but he was willing to give it a chance. They wouldn't stop on his demand so it was either living with it or losing them and he couldn't risk the latter. He couldn't.
He knew how John would have reacted to a revelation like this, it wasn't that hard to imagine, but it did hurt to see Sam and Dean expecting the same from him.
When Jerry accidentally brought it out in the open with that little video of his it hurt to see how afraid they were, Sam and Dean more than Nick, but it was written on all three faces. For some reason it was the worst to see it on Dean's face. That boy rarely showed his emotions but right now the fear was there, already mixed with the acceptance of Bobby's rejection. Dean couldn't even imagine any other reaction from Bobby and his face was a steel mask while he was bracing himself for the harsh words and the accusation and the maybe literal kick-out.
Sam and Dean both tried to discuss it away but neither of them was very convincing. And they had other problems right then.
"Stop it!" Bobby raised his voice and they snapped their mouths shut. "Can it. I know."
There, he'd said it. For a second the only sound in the room was coming from Sam who sounded like he was choking on something.
"You … what?" Clearly confused Dean stared at him and Bobby had to point out to him that he needed to check his definition of discreet.
"And …" Dean started but was at a loss, probably wondering why he was still sitting at Bobby's kitchen table with that secret out in the open.
They had things to talk about, Bobby knew that, but this wasn't the right time and he wouldn't do that in front of the kid anyway. So he reminded them that they had other problems at hand and left it that way for the moment. But he made a point of pointing out that he knew for a while now and hadn't kicked them out. His eyes were on Dean to make sure the boy got what he was saying.
With that out of the way the plan of action was clear. The succubus was next door so they would go over and give her a neighborly visit. And hopefully rescuing Jerry's dad along the way. She had been feeding off him for a while now so even if they got him out alive, he still had the withdrawal ahead of him. Poor sucker.
"Nick saw her earlier." Dean said while he dove into the arsenal in the trunk to get another gun and silver bullets. "She knows we're looking for her so whatever she's up to, she's doing it now."
"Any idea what she's up to?" Sam asked, standing guard while his brother was busy. "Succubi usually are the coward type. They run rather than fight."
"Let's kill her before we find out." Dean suggested and closed the trunk. Falling in step all three men made their way down the driveway.
They didn't come far. The driveway was closed off with cars and quite a number of men were waiting for them.
"There they are!" Someone had spotted them and now all eyes were on them. The men didn't move but they looked in hate and disgust at the hunters. And they shouted insults at them. It was hard to make out single voices but Bobby heard "fag" and "homo" quite often, along with "incest" and "brothers" and some rather graphic insults about how they had sex.
"What now?" Dean asked but neither Bobby nor Sam had an answer to that. They couldn't just shoot the men, they were human after all and only puppets of the succubus controlling them.
Bobby was about to suggest to retread and regroup when he heard a female voice carrying over the yelling crowed.
"Dean Winchester!" A woman, Bobby didn't recognize her face but it was pretty clear who she was, climbed up on the hood of a car. She stayed crouched, mostly shielded by the surrounding men, but her head poked out of the crowed.
"Look at me!" She demanded and her face shifted. Smooth skin became scarred, one eye slipped out of line and her well-defined face was now a bumpy mask. "Dean Winchester, look at what you have done!"
"Not enough!" Dean yelled back and raised his gun but before he could shoot her she had ducked back behind her wall of men.
"Show yourself, bitch." Dean demanded but she wasn't stupid enough to do that. Instead the men started with the insults again and slowly, step by step, came closer to the hunters. Bobby made out familiar faces among the crowd, people he called friends who now stared at him in disgust and with open hate at Sam and Dean. There were police officers among them, too, so even if one of the neighbors called the police it wasn't likely that they would rush in to help. Not that there was much they could do to help anyway.
"Back to the house." Bobby decided and they took off in a jog, never leaving the crowd out of their sight. The men were slowly closing in on them but didn't seem to be in a hurry.
Nick who had been waiting at the kitchen window opened the door for them.
"That was quick." He let them in with Jerry ducking behind him. "Is it over?"
"Can't say that." Bobby locked the door. "We should barricade the house."
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Dean opening his mouth.
"One Romero joke and I shoot you myself." Bobby promised and Dean closed his mouth without saying anything.
"What's going on?" Nick asked with the gun in one hand and his other arm slung around the boy at his side.
"It's Zombieville outside." Dean explained and motioned for his brother to help him with a cabinet.
"Don't think that's going to hold them off for long." Sam examined the now blocked door. "The basement?"
"We would be trapped down there." Bobby dismissed the idea and wondered how long it would take for her to come up with the idea of burning down the house.
"We can always shoot our way out." Dean suggested but didn't seem to be convinced. "Make a dash for the car."
That would mean shooting at people, maybe running them over with the car.
"Let's keep that as a last resort." Bobby ran over to the kitchen to see if he could barricade the window somehow. His place had way too many windows, he decided.
The men had formed what looked like a loose circle around the house, which looked dramatic but it also meant that there were only a few of them near by if they tried to break through.
"Dean Winchester!" She yelled but stayed out of sight. "I want you. Singer and you fuck buddies didn't really hurt me and I feel generous today, if you come out, Dean, I'll let them go. They can all leave unharmed if you come out."
There was a pause while she waited for an answer.
"What do you think? One noble sacrifice to save your friends." She continued. "Remember the good old times? We're going to have so much fun before I kill you."
"I remember the part when I plunged a knife in your face." Dean yelled back. "We can continue there if you want."
"You know that she won't just let us go, right boy?" Bobby felt the need to remind Dean of that fact before the boy could do something stupid.
"Of course I know that." Dean retorted but Bobby knew they had to come up with an idea quickly or Dean would go out there to distract her so that the others had a chance to escape. Bobby saw the same realization on Sam's face and the way Sam set his jaw there would be an argument before he would let his brother do something stupid.
"Okay, any ideas?" Dean asked looking from Bobby to Sam and back again but Bobby had no idea. Shoot her with a silver bullet, that was the only way to kill her but they had to go through her army first. To Bobby's surprise it was Nick who spoke up.
"She has them under control with her whisper, right?" Nick asked, already heading for the study.
"Yeah?" Bobby and the rest of them followed him. For the moment she seemed satisfied with having them trapped and the men didn't close in farther and Bobby didn't have enough stuff at hand to barricade the complete house anyway.
"There was … a spell or whatever you want to call it." Nick had found what he was looking for, the book he'd bought at Adela's on his first visit there, Mystical Creatures Associated With Fertility And Sexuality. He flipped through the pages.
"Here." He laid the open book on the desk. "There is a way to break the whisper."
"I've heard about this." Skimming the page Bobby nodded to himself. "This could work, good job."
But then his eye caught something. "Dammit. I have everything in stock except for bloodwort. And we need her blood for this."
For a second Bobby had his hopes up but there was no way they could complete the spell. The succubus was right outside but even if they could somehow get her blood with the last ingredient missing it would be of no use.
But Nick surprised him once again.
"There is bloodwort tea in the car. Think that would work?" Not waiting for an answer he fumbled with the bent buckle of his bracelet. "And here's her blood." He slammed it on the desk.
Bobby picked up the bracelet and had a closer look. He knew that it had been Dean's anniversary gift and that the silver buckle had helped Nick to escape the succubus in the first place but Nick had always been protective about it and Bobby hadn't pried on it.
The protective symbols were quite obvious so Bobby knew what it was about. What he didn't know was that there were three names burned into the leather on the inside. Sam Nick Dean.
"Oh, that …" Sam started, rubbing the back of his head, but seemed to be at a loss how to proceed. Dean and Nick just looked uncomfortable.
Bobby felt a little bit stupid that he hadn't thought of the possibility that it hadn't only been Dean's and Nick's anniversary but Sam's as well. They had all three been in this from the start. What had Nick said? Sam had been Dean's boyfriend first?
Putting those thoughts aside for the moment Bobby had a closer look a the dark areas around the buckle where the leather had been soaked with blood. It wasn't perfect but when as it ever?
"This should do." Bobby decided and had another look at the description of the spell. "Let's put this together and then find a way to get that tea out of the car without getting ripped apart."
Bobby sent the boys through the house to gather what they needed while he and Jerry set a bowl and candles on the floor. It was a shame to ruin the bracelet, it was obvious what it meant to Nick and how much thought Sam and Dean had put in this gift, but they needed the blood so Bobby cut that piece out.
Bobby gave the now fully ruined bracelet back to Nick how pocketed it with a sad smile. Then they were ready except for the last ingredient.
"Dean!" The succubus yelled once again. "Last chance!"
continue to chapter 47
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