Living for Giving the Devil his Due. Chapter 8/13
Title: Living for Giving the Devil his Due. Chapter 8/13
Author: Strangevisitor7
Fandom: Supernatural, BtVS & Quantum Leap
Characters: Bobby Singer, Dawn Summers, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Admiral Al Calavicci, Sam Beckett.
Pairings : Sam/Dawn
Rated: PG
Disclaimer: All things SPN belong to Eric Kripke, et al. All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, All thing Quantum Leap belong to Donald P. Bellisario, et al.
Summary: I’m Sam Becket & I leap in time. I’m Sam Winchester & I hunt demons. Yeah, a lot of Exposition.
A/N: I have adjusted the QL time line to match up better. Sam Beckett’s present is 2015 (this is where Al is) and he has been leaping around for 3 years before he lands in Dean Winchester in 2008.
A/N: In all future chapters, Sam Winchester is always Sam or Sammy. Sam Beckett is Doc or Beckett.
Chapter list:
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13
Chapter 8: All Tangled up Like Balls of String
As soon as the demon disappeared, Sam and Bobby were at Dr. Beckett’s side. Helping him to his feet, hauling him inside and onto Bobby’s couch.
Bobby handed Beckett a glass of water. Then, he ushered Sam and Dawn into the next room. “Let’s give him time to recover. I doubt he‘ll be much help, I don’t think he’s a believer, yet. Ok, Dawnie What’s you theory about this Dr. Beckett?”
Dawn smiled, “I think Dean swapped bodies with the good doctor. I should have thought of it before.”
“Are you sure Dawn? That kind of spell is rare.” Sam was willing to accept almost anything but he’d need a little more proof. “If that’s the case why didn’t Dean call the minute he wasn’t himself, or for that matter why couldn’t the demon find him? And why did Dr. Beckett pretend to be Dean.”
“I honestly don't know the answer to those questions. But it did happen to Buffy. She and Faith both touched an object causing them to swap bodies.”
Sam looked at her incredulously. “Now that, I would have liked to have seen.”
“No,” said Dawn, suddenly serious, “you wouldn’t have.”
Sam studied her, concerned with what he saw, but he let it drop for now. Focusing back on topic, he asked. “Why didn’t the demon recognize Dean’s face and take Beckett’s soul instead?”
“The demon would see us as our soul and not as our physical body," Bobby explained to Sam. "Therefore, she saw Sam Beckett not Dean Winchester. Good catch back there on that one, Dawn.”
“Thanks, but what I can’t figure out is when Dean and Doc might have crossed paths long enough to come in contact with a magical object capable of making the swap?
“I think we’re forgetting the bigger question. Why was the Demon bothered so much by Beckett that she left?” Bobby had their attention, now. “I never saw a demon react like that to a mortal. Something ain’t right with him and it’s beyond my experience to even guess”
“I think I can help and I promise it has nothing to do with demons or magical objects.” The three turned to find that Dr. Beckett had entered the room.
*********************************
They were sitting around Bobby’s kitchen table waiting for Beckett to explain everything.
“Usually, when I give this speech I start out with, I know this sounds crazy. Except, given what I’ve seen here today, I think my life is tame compared to yours.” Becket shook his head. “Everything I believe tells me that, that woman couldn’t be a demon but I don’t see how I can doubt my own eyes.
The others around the table smiled. “We get that a lot, Doc.” Sam confessed and encouraged him to continue.
“I am pretty sure none of you have clearance but I don’t care because I’m guessing, I’m going to need your help to fix this.” Dr. Beckett went on to describe project Quantum leap. He told them of his theories. Talked about how time is like a balled up piece of string, which allowed him to leap to cross points within his own lifetime. Unfortunately, he got stuck in an endless series of leaps when he was pressured into testing the system before it was ready.
Beckett explained that he wasn’t talking to himself all those times but to his contact from the future, Al, who supplied him with enough information to try to pass as Dean. “Yeah, that usually works a lot better. At least, this is the first time someone tired to exorcise me.” Beckett laughed
“Really, you’d think that would happen more often.” Sam snarked and Dawn smacked his arm.
“What?”
“Be nice. We practically traumatized the Doc and we kept him tied up for two days”
“Yeah, Sorry about that,” Sam offered, sheepishly.
Becket smiled and waved off Sam’s apology. “As messed up as these leaps can be for me personally, everyone of them has made peoples’ lives better. Al laughs at me because I truly believe that my leaps are controlled by a higher power. I am saving people. You probably think that’s crazy right.”
Sam was struck by how similar Beckett’s philosophy was to the Winchester’s. “Actually, we are the people most likely to believe you. Right, Dawn.”
“Absolutely, we know a few people who are champions for TPTB. It is possible you could be one, too.” Dawn saw Beckett frown in confusion and continued, “The Powers That Be. You know the divine.”
“Maybe champion is too strong a word.” Beckett protested. “More like a tool for good. Every leap has a purpose, which is always positive. Ziggy, my super computer, identifies the event I must change. Once I complete that task, I leap to the next person”
“So, you’re here to help keep Dean alive?” Sam turned to Dawn. “Would TPTB really care about Dean enough to interfere?”
“Most often, I do arrive to prevent someone’s death,” Beckett added.
Dawn’s face brightened. “If TPTB are really controlling Doc’s leaps, there is a chance they want to help Dean.”
“It obvious now that the supernatural elements, in your lives, have made it difficult for Ziggy to calculate mission odds and identify the real purpose of this leap.”
“So, you don’t know for sure? What does your experience tell you?” Sam encouraged the Doc to speculate.
Before he could answer, Beckett heard the sound of the imaging room door opening. Al was back and was beckoning him to leave the room so they could talk.
“It’s okay, Al. They know I’m not Dean. Just stay and catch up because it turns out the Winchesters are not crazy and demons are real.” Dr. Beckett paused, listening to a response, then added. “Don’t talk, Al, just listen.”
It was odd to watch Dr. Beckett having half a conversation. Sam was fascinated by the idea of a hologram from the future and that Al was in contact with his brother. “Hey Al, how’s Dean doing?” he asked the empty space.
“Al says he’s like a caged panther, but well fed and cooperating. So Sam, it’s your turn. Why are you on a first name basis with a demon and why does she want to kill Dean?”
Sam smiled as he echoed Beckett’s speech from before. “Dean likes to call it the ‘family business’. Saving people, hunting things. We been fighting the supernatural our whole lives; all of us.” Sam gestured to Bobby and Dawn. Then Sam went on to explain his brother’s stupidity. About how Sam had died and in a moment of desperation Dean had made a bad deal. “The worst part is, if Dean tries to break the deal, the crossroads demon can negate it and I am dead again.”
“You died? People really can sell their souls to the devil?” Beckett was incredulous and Al wasn’t buying it at all. But then, Al hadn’t seen the demon in the front yard either.
“I guess you’re stuck here for a year then,” Dawn added when Beckett had finished convincing Al to get with the program.
“Wait a year, why?” Beckett turned his attention back to the pretty brunette. “Usually leaps last just a few days or maybe a week.
“She’s right. If you’re really here to keep my brother from dying, then we have to outrun the demon for a year to break the deal. We found a reference to that time symmetry and the demon gave us every reason to believe it's true.”
Dr. Beckett tilted his head obviously listening to his invisible colleague and burst out laughing. “It seems Dean is not making many friends. He's driving Al to distraction and it seems his musical choices are annoying Ziggy. Al is begging for another solution before he throttles Dean, or Dean eats his way through the entire project’s food budget.”
“Now, I can really believe that Dean is in some secret base in the future because only he can piss people off like that,” laughed Sam.
“Al’s right though. We aren’t going to be able to keep Dean in the waiting room for a year. He could learn too much about the future. The paradox might unravel the project,” Beckett explained.
Silence descended as the logistics of keeping Dean locked in a room seemed unreasonable and the glances exchanged between the hunters confirmed that they weren’t keen on the idea of dragging Dr. Beckett around for a year either.
Al relayed some info that Beckett passed along. “Well, there is some good news, guys. Now that Ziggy has info on the supernatural, she was able finish her calculations. Ziggy believes the demon can’t find Dean because he’s in the future. Therefore, it makes sense that my mission is to prevent the demon from harvesting Dean’s soul.” Dr. Beckett just smiled at the ridiculousness of those words. “Meaning, I stay here protecting Dean’s place in time and distracting the demon for as long as it takes.”
Bobby had been quietly absorbing the discussion before throwing in his two cents. “There’s one thing we ain't considered in all his time travel stuff. Are we sure Dean is really safe in the future? Demons don’t have the same sense of time that we do. I mean his soul’s still a 2008 entity. If the demon figures out where he went, couldn’t she still claim his soul?”
“Good point, Bobby. But I assume Dean is farther then one year in the future, right Doc?” When Beckett nodded, Dawn continued “Then, wherever Dean is, he should be beyond the reach of the demon. We just have to keep Doc here safe for the next year.”
“True, but we shouldn’t take any chances.” Sam grabbed some paper to make a list of supplies to show Al. “Dean will need to be shielded. Definitely, need to salt the room and maybe carve some protective symbols in the doorways. Also, it might be a good idea to perform some safeguarding rituals.” Sam looked to where Al should be and addressed the hologram. “Can you do all this?”
Dr. Beckett relayed Al’s response. “Sure, once he explains everything to Dean, he’ll have all the help he needs.”
“No!” Shouted the trio. Sam continued. “Remember, Dean cannot actively participate in protecting himself from the demon. It would be considered cheating and I would die.”
Dawn reached across the table to grab Sam’s hand. “Doing anything, even in the future could be considered cheating and you could die.”
Sam looked at Dawn and knew what he was saying would hurt her. He was choosing Dean over her. “Dawn, you know I have to take the chance that time travel has offered us some loop holes and that Doc here is an agent for good.”
Dawn nodded and pulled her hand away. Sam could see she was fighting back tears. Sam rounded the table and gathered her into his arms. “Dawnie, I...”
“Shh, Sam. I understand. I’d risk the same for Buffy, but it doesn’t mean I have to be happy.”
“No, Sam, I won’t let you do this.” Bobby was adamant. “I’m sorry I said anything. Putting protections around Dean could be a death sentence to you. I’m not going to let you kill yourself to save Dean.”
Beckett found he was against anything that put Sam at risk. Was that Dean influencing him? He could almost feel the guy talking in his ear. “I gotta go with Bobby on this one. There should be no need for protections around Dean. Swapping our souls across time should be enough to stump the demon. Remember, she doesn't see me as Dean the way you do. She really thought Dean was around here somewhere. I doubt she’d think about going eight years in the future to look for him.”
Sam filed that ‘8 year’ slip by Doc away for future reference. “Well, he’s my brother. I think it’s worth the risk to me to protect him and that’s that” Sam dictated. The look in his eyes said that he could not be swayed.
“Fine. We do it your way.” Beckett conceded. Sammy was a friggin’ pain in the ass when he got like this. Again, this knowledge seemed to come from Dean. “What do we need to do?” He sighed.
“It’s easy enough Doc, just get future-me to help Al. Or would that create some kind of... paradox?” Sam asked.
Beckett looked away and Sam knew immediately. “I’m dead. In that future, Al recited to you I died. How long after Dean?”
“Sam, I can’t tell you that” Dr. Beckett looked up into the full force of one of Sam Winchester’s pleading, puppy dog expressions and caved immediately. “Dammit, okay, you only lived 6 weeks after Dean. You fall off a roof. I’m guessing the supernatural had something to do with it and not the ‘robbery gone wrong’ on record.
Sam was stunned. He grabbed the empty chair he’d been leaning on and flung it across the room. Dawn and Bobby jumped to comfort him and calm him down. He shrugged them off and began a rant complete with pacing and arm waving. “Demons. Bastards! They take my mom, my dad and Jess. They think its funny to offer Dean a deal, and then kill me anyway. I have to stop her. I don’t care what it takes. No one is going to die, not me and not Dean. We are going to beat this bitch’s deal and, given the chance, send her so far into hell she’ll never climb out.
Dawn grabbed his arm to stop the pacing. She looked him in the eye and willed him to calm down. “Sam, wherever that building is, you won’t be there. You won’t die.”
Beckett was feeling incredibly protective of Sam as well. “I won’t let you get anywhere near that offending rooftop, either. I plan on sticking to you like glue for the next year.” The thought of his ‘little brother’ dying, tied him up in knots. Dr. Beckett could not recall feeling so connected to a host before and these feelings he was channeling from Dean were only getting stronger.
“What’s the plan?” Dawn had stayed focused on Sam.
Without breaking eye contact with Dawn, Sam spoke to the hologram. “Al, no excuses, where are Willow and Dawn in your time?” Sam and Dawn smiled knowingly at each other.
Al confirmed that they were both alive and living in Cleveland.
“Then the plan is to have future Dawn and Willow protect Dean from the demon for a year. ”
Sam continued to reassure his companions that his plan would work without risk. Future-Willow and Dawn could teleport to Dean, lay the protections and fight off any Demon attacks. If everything worked according to plan, Sam would never have his accident, Doc would leap once the year was up and Dean would be back free of the deal.
Reluctantly, Dr. Beckett sent Al to contact the future Dawn and Willow. He shared that Al wasn’t too happy either.
Sam Winchester walked outside to be alone and the others did not try to follow. Sam figured the plan was perfect. He wasn’t worried if the demon called it cheating and he died because well, he’d been dead once already.
***************************
A Demon Interlude: Part 3
Pacisca wanted Lathos to go over the deal again because when a deal is too good to be true, it usually is.
Lathos laughed at her paranoia but at the same time he was impressed she was learning. “I will show you the connection between Dean’s soul and Doctor Beckett’s so that you can track it into the future.”
“Why can’t you just get this soul yourself?”
“Let’s just say that there were certain protections on Doctor Beckett’s soul that were nullified the minute he transferred in to someone touched by demonic forces. The leap links them but you have the higher claim on Dean’s soul. That makes it your collection.” What he didn’t say was that, by having her make the collection, the tampering with Beckett could not be traced to him.
Pacisca watched Lathos’ face during this exposition and was surprised to find she believed him. “So, when I collect Dean, both souls are pulled from their bodies.” She was still looking for the downside.
“Correct, and I am able to bend the timing on this collection because of the unique circumstances. I get Dr. Beckett’s soul exactly where I want it and you get credit for the Winchester boy.”
“This is too straightforward. What am I missing?”
“Oh,” Lathos smirked. “Did I forget to mention you get one shot at this because of the time issue? You miss and Dean goes free from the deal.” he didn’t point out that he would still get the result he desired whether or not she got Dean. That was the brilliance of this plan.
“Wait, what if he’s not where you say he is?” Pacisca was sensing the catch.
“He will be exactly where the connection shows you. You shouldn’t need a second chance to make the grab.”
“Dean still can’t actively interfere or I can take Sam, right?”
Lathos knew he had her now. “That has not changed form the original deal. If Dean, himself, actively participates to stop you, Sam dies.
That soul Lathos wanted must be pretty damn important to give her a deal like this. Breaking the time constraints was some heavy duty mojo. Pacisca couldn’t believe her luck. Upper echelon of Hell, here I come.
Chapter Title is from “A Light on the Hill” by Margot & The Nuclear So and So's
Chapter 9
Author: Strangevisitor7
Fandom: Supernatural, BtVS & Quantum Leap
Characters: Bobby Singer, Dawn Summers, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Admiral Al Calavicci, Sam Beckett.
Pairings : Sam/Dawn
Rated: PG
Disclaimer: All things SPN belong to Eric Kripke, et al. All things Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, All thing Quantum Leap belong to Donald P. Bellisario, et al.
Summary: I’m Sam Becket & I leap in time. I’m Sam Winchester & I hunt demons. Yeah, a lot of Exposition.
A/N: I have adjusted the QL time line to match up better. Sam Beckett’s present is 2015 (this is where Al is) and he has been leaping around for 3 years before he lands in Dean Winchester in 2008.
A/N: In all future chapters, Sam Winchester is always Sam or Sammy. Sam Beckett is Doc or Beckett.
Chapter list:
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13
Chapter 8: All Tangled up Like Balls of String
As soon as the demon disappeared, Sam and Bobby were at Dr. Beckett’s side. Helping him to his feet, hauling him inside and onto Bobby’s couch.
Bobby handed Beckett a glass of water. Then, he ushered Sam and Dawn into the next room. “Let’s give him time to recover. I doubt he‘ll be much help, I don’t think he’s a believer, yet. Ok, Dawnie What’s you theory about this Dr. Beckett?”
Dawn smiled, “I think Dean swapped bodies with the good doctor. I should have thought of it before.”
“Are you sure Dawn? That kind of spell is rare.” Sam was willing to accept almost anything but he’d need a little more proof. “If that’s the case why didn’t Dean call the minute he wasn’t himself, or for that matter why couldn’t the demon find him? And why did Dr. Beckett pretend to be Dean.”
“I honestly don't know the answer to those questions. But it did happen to Buffy. She and Faith both touched an object causing them to swap bodies.”
Sam looked at her incredulously. “Now that, I would have liked to have seen.”
“No,” said Dawn, suddenly serious, “you wouldn’t have.”
Sam studied her, concerned with what he saw, but he let it drop for now. Focusing back on topic, he asked. “Why didn’t the demon recognize Dean’s face and take Beckett’s soul instead?”
“The demon would see us as our soul and not as our physical body," Bobby explained to Sam. "Therefore, she saw Sam Beckett not Dean Winchester. Good catch back there on that one, Dawn.”
“Thanks, but what I can’t figure out is when Dean and Doc might have crossed paths long enough to come in contact with a magical object capable of making the swap?
“I think we’re forgetting the bigger question. Why was the Demon bothered so much by Beckett that she left?” Bobby had their attention, now. “I never saw a demon react like that to a mortal. Something ain’t right with him and it’s beyond my experience to even guess”
“I think I can help and I promise it has nothing to do with demons or magical objects.” The three turned to find that Dr. Beckett had entered the room.
*********************************
They were sitting around Bobby’s kitchen table waiting for Beckett to explain everything.
“Usually, when I give this speech I start out with, I know this sounds crazy. Except, given what I’ve seen here today, I think my life is tame compared to yours.” Becket shook his head. “Everything I believe tells me that, that woman couldn’t be a demon but I don’t see how I can doubt my own eyes.
The others around the table smiled. “We get that a lot, Doc.” Sam confessed and encouraged him to continue.
“I am pretty sure none of you have clearance but I don’t care because I’m guessing, I’m going to need your help to fix this.” Dr. Beckett went on to describe project Quantum leap. He told them of his theories. Talked about how time is like a balled up piece of string, which allowed him to leap to cross points within his own lifetime. Unfortunately, he got stuck in an endless series of leaps when he was pressured into testing the system before it was ready.
Beckett explained that he wasn’t talking to himself all those times but to his contact from the future, Al, who supplied him with enough information to try to pass as Dean. “Yeah, that usually works a lot better. At least, this is the first time someone tired to exorcise me.” Beckett laughed
“Really, you’d think that would happen more often.” Sam snarked and Dawn smacked his arm.
“What?”
“Be nice. We practically traumatized the Doc and we kept him tied up for two days”
“Yeah, Sorry about that,” Sam offered, sheepishly.
Becket smiled and waved off Sam’s apology. “As messed up as these leaps can be for me personally, everyone of them has made peoples’ lives better. Al laughs at me because I truly believe that my leaps are controlled by a higher power. I am saving people. You probably think that’s crazy right.”
Sam was struck by how similar Beckett’s philosophy was to the Winchester’s. “Actually, we are the people most likely to believe you. Right, Dawn.”
“Absolutely, we know a few people who are champions for TPTB. It is possible you could be one, too.” Dawn saw Beckett frown in confusion and continued, “The Powers That Be. You know the divine.”
“Maybe champion is too strong a word.” Beckett protested. “More like a tool for good. Every leap has a purpose, which is always positive. Ziggy, my super computer, identifies the event I must change. Once I complete that task, I leap to the next person”
“So, you’re here to help keep Dean alive?” Sam turned to Dawn. “Would TPTB really care about Dean enough to interfere?”
“Most often, I do arrive to prevent someone’s death,” Beckett added.
Dawn’s face brightened. “If TPTB are really controlling Doc’s leaps, there is a chance they want to help Dean.”
“It obvious now that the supernatural elements, in your lives, have made it difficult for Ziggy to calculate mission odds and identify the real purpose of this leap.”
“So, you don’t know for sure? What does your experience tell you?” Sam encouraged the Doc to speculate.
Before he could answer, Beckett heard the sound of the imaging room door opening. Al was back and was beckoning him to leave the room so they could talk.
“It’s okay, Al. They know I’m not Dean. Just stay and catch up because it turns out the Winchesters are not crazy and demons are real.” Dr. Beckett paused, listening to a response, then added. “Don’t talk, Al, just listen.”
It was odd to watch Dr. Beckett having half a conversation. Sam was fascinated by the idea of a hologram from the future and that Al was in contact with his brother. “Hey Al, how’s Dean doing?” he asked the empty space.
“Al says he’s like a caged panther, but well fed and cooperating. So Sam, it’s your turn. Why are you on a first name basis with a demon and why does she want to kill Dean?”
Sam smiled as he echoed Beckett’s speech from before. “Dean likes to call it the ‘family business’. Saving people, hunting things. We been fighting the supernatural our whole lives; all of us.” Sam gestured to Bobby and Dawn. Then Sam went on to explain his brother’s stupidity. About how Sam had died and in a moment of desperation Dean had made a bad deal. “The worst part is, if Dean tries to break the deal, the crossroads demon can negate it and I am dead again.”
“You died? People really can sell their souls to the devil?” Beckett was incredulous and Al wasn’t buying it at all. But then, Al hadn’t seen the demon in the front yard either.
“I guess you’re stuck here for a year then,” Dawn added when Beckett had finished convincing Al to get with the program.
“Wait a year, why?” Beckett turned his attention back to the pretty brunette. “Usually leaps last just a few days or maybe a week.
“She’s right. If you’re really here to keep my brother from dying, then we have to outrun the demon for a year to break the deal. We found a reference to that time symmetry and the demon gave us every reason to believe it's true.”
Dr. Beckett tilted his head obviously listening to his invisible colleague and burst out laughing. “It seems Dean is not making many friends. He's driving Al to distraction and it seems his musical choices are annoying Ziggy. Al is begging for another solution before he throttles Dean, or Dean eats his way through the entire project’s food budget.”
“Now, I can really believe that Dean is in some secret base in the future because only he can piss people off like that,” laughed Sam.
“Al’s right though. We aren’t going to be able to keep Dean in the waiting room for a year. He could learn too much about the future. The paradox might unravel the project,” Beckett explained.
Silence descended as the logistics of keeping Dean locked in a room seemed unreasonable and the glances exchanged between the hunters confirmed that they weren’t keen on the idea of dragging Dr. Beckett around for a year either.
Al relayed some info that Beckett passed along. “Well, there is some good news, guys. Now that Ziggy has info on the supernatural, she was able finish her calculations. Ziggy believes the demon can’t find Dean because he’s in the future. Therefore, it makes sense that my mission is to prevent the demon from harvesting Dean’s soul.” Dr. Beckett just smiled at the ridiculousness of those words. “Meaning, I stay here protecting Dean’s place in time and distracting the demon for as long as it takes.”
Bobby had been quietly absorbing the discussion before throwing in his two cents. “There’s one thing we ain't considered in all his time travel stuff. Are we sure Dean is really safe in the future? Demons don’t have the same sense of time that we do. I mean his soul’s still a 2008 entity. If the demon figures out where he went, couldn’t she still claim his soul?”
“Good point, Bobby. But I assume Dean is farther then one year in the future, right Doc?” When Beckett nodded, Dawn continued “Then, wherever Dean is, he should be beyond the reach of the demon. We just have to keep Doc here safe for the next year.”
“True, but we shouldn’t take any chances.” Sam grabbed some paper to make a list of supplies to show Al. “Dean will need to be shielded. Definitely, need to salt the room and maybe carve some protective symbols in the doorways. Also, it might be a good idea to perform some safeguarding rituals.” Sam looked to where Al should be and addressed the hologram. “Can you do all this?”
Dr. Beckett relayed Al’s response. “Sure, once he explains everything to Dean, he’ll have all the help he needs.”
“No!” Shouted the trio. Sam continued. “Remember, Dean cannot actively participate in protecting himself from the demon. It would be considered cheating and I would die.”
Dawn reached across the table to grab Sam’s hand. “Doing anything, even in the future could be considered cheating and you could die.”
Sam looked at Dawn and knew what he was saying would hurt her. He was choosing Dean over her. “Dawn, you know I have to take the chance that time travel has offered us some loop holes and that Doc here is an agent for good.”
Dawn nodded and pulled her hand away. Sam could see she was fighting back tears. Sam rounded the table and gathered her into his arms. “Dawnie, I...”
“Shh, Sam. I understand. I’d risk the same for Buffy, but it doesn’t mean I have to be happy.”
“No, Sam, I won’t let you do this.” Bobby was adamant. “I’m sorry I said anything. Putting protections around Dean could be a death sentence to you. I’m not going to let you kill yourself to save Dean.”
Beckett found he was against anything that put Sam at risk. Was that Dean influencing him? He could almost feel the guy talking in his ear. “I gotta go with Bobby on this one. There should be no need for protections around Dean. Swapping our souls across time should be enough to stump the demon. Remember, she doesn't see me as Dean the way you do. She really thought Dean was around here somewhere. I doubt she’d think about going eight years in the future to look for him.”
Sam filed that ‘8 year’ slip by Doc away for future reference. “Well, he’s my brother. I think it’s worth the risk to me to protect him and that’s that” Sam dictated. The look in his eyes said that he could not be swayed.
“Fine. We do it your way.” Beckett conceded. Sammy was a friggin’ pain in the ass when he got like this. Again, this knowledge seemed to come from Dean. “What do we need to do?” He sighed.
“It’s easy enough Doc, just get future-me to help Al. Or would that create some kind of... paradox?” Sam asked.
Beckett looked away and Sam knew immediately. “I’m dead. In that future, Al recited to you I died. How long after Dean?”
“Sam, I can’t tell you that” Dr. Beckett looked up into the full force of one of Sam Winchester’s pleading, puppy dog expressions and caved immediately. “Dammit, okay, you only lived 6 weeks after Dean. You fall off a roof. I’m guessing the supernatural had something to do with it and not the ‘robbery gone wrong’ on record.
Sam was stunned. He grabbed the empty chair he’d been leaning on and flung it across the room. Dawn and Bobby jumped to comfort him and calm him down. He shrugged them off and began a rant complete with pacing and arm waving. “Demons. Bastards! They take my mom, my dad and Jess. They think its funny to offer Dean a deal, and then kill me anyway. I have to stop her. I don’t care what it takes. No one is going to die, not me and not Dean. We are going to beat this bitch’s deal and, given the chance, send her so far into hell she’ll never climb out.
Dawn grabbed his arm to stop the pacing. She looked him in the eye and willed him to calm down. “Sam, wherever that building is, you won’t be there. You won’t die.”
Beckett was feeling incredibly protective of Sam as well. “I won’t let you get anywhere near that offending rooftop, either. I plan on sticking to you like glue for the next year.” The thought of his ‘little brother’ dying, tied him up in knots. Dr. Beckett could not recall feeling so connected to a host before and these feelings he was channeling from Dean were only getting stronger.
“What’s the plan?” Dawn had stayed focused on Sam.
Without breaking eye contact with Dawn, Sam spoke to the hologram. “Al, no excuses, where are Willow and Dawn in your time?” Sam and Dawn smiled knowingly at each other.
Al confirmed that they were both alive and living in Cleveland.
“Then the plan is to have future Dawn and Willow protect Dean from the demon for a year. ”
Sam continued to reassure his companions that his plan would work without risk. Future-Willow and Dawn could teleport to Dean, lay the protections and fight off any Demon attacks. If everything worked according to plan, Sam would never have his accident, Doc would leap once the year was up and Dean would be back free of the deal.
Reluctantly, Dr. Beckett sent Al to contact the future Dawn and Willow. He shared that Al wasn’t too happy either.
Sam Winchester walked outside to be alone and the others did not try to follow. Sam figured the plan was perfect. He wasn’t worried if the demon called it cheating and he died because well, he’d been dead once already.
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A Demon Interlude: Part 3
Pacisca wanted Lathos to go over the deal again because when a deal is too good to be true, it usually is.
Lathos laughed at her paranoia but at the same time he was impressed she was learning. “I will show you the connection between Dean’s soul and Doctor Beckett’s so that you can track it into the future.”
“Why can’t you just get this soul yourself?”
“Let’s just say that there were certain protections on Doctor Beckett’s soul that were nullified the minute he transferred in to someone touched by demonic forces. The leap links them but you have the higher claim on Dean’s soul. That makes it your collection.” What he didn’t say was that, by having her make the collection, the tampering with Beckett could not be traced to him.
Pacisca watched Lathos’ face during this exposition and was surprised to find she believed him. “So, when I collect Dean, both souls are pulled from their bodies.” She was still looking for the downside.
“Correct, and I am able to bend the timing on this collection because of the unique circumstances. I get Dr. Beckett’s soul exactly where I want it and you get credit for the Winchester boy.”
“This is too straightforward. What am I missing?”
“Oh,” Lathos smirked. “Did I forget to mention you get one shot at this because of the time issue? You miss and Dean goes free from the deal.” he didn’t point out that he would still get the result he desired whether or not she got Dean. That was the brilliance of this plan.
“Wait, what if he’s not where you say he is?” Pacisca was sensing the catch.
“He will be exactly where the connection shows you. You shouldn’t need a second chance to make the grab.”
“Dean still can’t actively interfere or I can take Sam, right?”
Lathos knew he had her now. “That has not changed form the original deal. If Dean, himself, actively participates to stop you, Sam dies.
That soul Lathos wanted must be pretty damn important to give her a deal like this. Breaking the time constraints was some heavy duty mojo. Pacisca couldn’t believe her luck. Upper echelon of Hell, here I come.
Chapter Title is from “A Light on the Hill” by Margot & The Nuclear So and So's
Chapter 9