Out the Other Side
Title: Out the Other Side
Fandom: Supernatural
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I’m not making any money off of this. No, really, I’m not.
Author’s Note: A 5x12 coda. There was a pretty big lose end that needed some tying up.
Summary: Nora remembered everything, even when she didn't want to.
Nora had always wanted to date Gary. Heck, she’d been half in love with him for as long as she could remember. He always had the best ideas and he wasn’t afraid of anything. She especially loved that he didn’t even seem to realize how amazing he was. He wasn’t like Trevor, who always acted like he was doing them some big favor every time he came to hang out with them, like he was better than they were.
Gary was something more than all of the other guys, he always had been. He was special.
So, yeah, she hadn't been too sure about the whole magic thing, but Gary said it was cool so she went along with it. And she’d really started having concerns after that whole picture-drawing bounty-dealing thing landed in their laps. But Gary had been so cool about all of it, so capable, that she just told her brain to shut up. Plus, she couldn’t stand leaving Trevor and Gary alone in some boy’s only club. She had to put up with enough of that b.s. from everybody else, she couldn’t stand it if Gary started not seeing her either.
And then everything went to Hell, literally. That, that, that thing waltzed on inside of her and just laughed at her silent screams and tears. It killed Trevor and acted like it was doing her some huge favor. Maybe she’d hated him a little, been jealous of the way he and Gary understood things about each other that she could never see, but she'd never wanted him dead.
She’d never get the image of his dying face out of her head, never be able to wash the taste of his blood out of her mouth or forget the way his heart felt as she squeezed it. Trevor was dead and inside she felt like it was all her fault.
After those guys dropped her off, the guys who, a lifetime ago, she’d thought about killing, she’d scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed in the shower until her skin was red and her knuckles were bleeding. She couldn’t sleep all night, claustrophobia and paranoia screaming down her nerves. That lilting, playful voice echoed in her head and she knew she’d never be safe.
But she survived that night and then the next. And a couple days later Gary asked her out. She said yes, of course she said yes, it was everything she’d ever wanted.
Except Trevor was still dead. And Gary still had that book, the one that had gotten them all into so much trouble. She asked him, only once, if he would get rid of it. He’d turned on her, fists clenched, and she’d flinched away. A heartbeat later his shoulders lowered and he smiled. He said that he wanted to find a way to use it safely, that next time everything would be all right. She’d see. He was going to give her the world.
When he turned back to his book Nora put her hand to her chest, the tattooed lines of her protection hidden under her shirt. Gary forgot, sometimes, that she knew how to use the library, too. She was safe now; nothing would possess her again. Maybe Gary would do the right thing, maybe it would all be okay. But if it wasn’t, if he ever stepped over that line, she’d be there.
She didn’t want to kill him, but she’d do what had to be done. She'd never be anything’s tool. Not ever again.
~~~
Fandom: Supernatural
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I’m not making any money off of this. No, really, I’m not.
Author’s Note: A 5x12 coda. There was a pretty big lose end that needed some tying up.
Summary: Nora remembered everything, even when she didn't want to.
Nora had always wanted to date Gary. Heck, she’d been half in love with him for as long as she could remember. He always had the best ideas and he wasn’t afraid of anything. She especially loved that he didn’t even seem to realize how amazing he was. He wasn’t like Trevor, who always acted like he was doing them some big favor every time he came to hang out with them, like he was better than they were.
Gary was something more than all of the other guys, he always had been. He was special.
So, yeah, she hadn't been too sure about the whole magic thing, but Gary said it was cool so she went along with it. And she’d really started having concerns after that whole picture-drawing bounty-dealing thing landed in their laps. But Gary had been so cool about all of it, so capable, that she just told her brain to shut up. Plus, she couldn’t stand leaving Trevor and Gary alone in some boy’s only club. She had to put up with enough of that b.s. from everybody else, she couldn’t stand it if Gary started not seeing her either.
And then everything went to Hell, literally. That, that, that thing waltzed on inside of her and just laughed at her silent screams and tears. It killed Trevor and acted like it was doing her some huge favor. Maybe she’d hated him a little, been jealous of the way he and Gary understood things about each other that she could never see, but she'd never wanted him dead.
She’d never get the image of his dying face out of her head, never be able to wash the taste of his blood out of her mouth or forget the way his heart felt as she squeezed it. Trevor was dead and inside she felt like it was all her fault.
After those guys dropped her off, the guys who, a lifetime ago, she’d thought about killing, she’d scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed in the shower until her skin was red and her knuckles were bleeding. She couldn’t sleep all night, claustrophobia and paranoia screaming down her nerves. That lilting, playful voice echoed in her head and she knew she’d never be safe.
But she survived that night and then the next. And a couple days later Gary asked her out. She said yes, of course she said yes, it was everything she’d ever wanted.
Except Trevor was still dead. And Gary still had that book, the one that had gotten them all into so much trouble. She asked him, only once, if he would get rid of it. He’d turned on her, fists clenched, and she’d flinched away. A heartbeat later his shoulders lowered and he smiled. He said that he wanted to find a way to use it safely, that next time everything would be all right. She’d see. He was going to give her the world.
When he turned back to his book Nora put her hand to her chest, the tattooed lines of her protection hidden under her shirt. Gary forgot, sometimes, that she knew how to use the library, too. She was safe now; nothing would possess her again. Maybe Gary would do the right thing, maybe it would all be okay. But if it wasn’t, if he ever stepped over that line, she’d be there.
She didn’t want to kill him, but she’d do what had to be done. She'd never be anything’s tool. Not ever again.
~~~