[JP] Allard Lowenstein quote
[Set in the Sam/99 verse. Delilah = makinhstryasido, Ruby = ilove_atallman, Alastair is an NPC. Set after THIS and THIS.]
“The question should be, is it worth trying to do, not can it be done.”
By the time Ruby got back from whatever she was doing, Delilah was gone. God, had he missed that kid. He didn’t realize it until she practically tackled him after the fight but she was just so-hopeful. She was a dose of optimism and happiness that he so sorely needed, and now things were starting to feel a little bit better. He had needed someone to look on the bright side for him for a while. That usually wasn’t a quality instilled in most hunters, and how the hell she managed to hold onto it, he didn’t know, but that was just what the doctor ordered.
Ruby, however, was bringing the mood down with the look on her face when she walked in the door, and he wasn’t sure if that was because she didn’t get what she wanted, or she didn’t get it the way she wanted to. Either way, Ruby was a mood killer, and she just scanned the room for a moment, before looking back at him. “Where’s the kid?”
“Headed out-friend called her about another job about fifty miles from here,” Dean said with a sigh, moving over to push the empty pizza box to the side and pick up his beer. He folded himself into the chair next to the table, looking Ruby over for a moment, before speaking up again. “Find what you were looking for?”
“Yup,” Ruby replied, moving over to her bags and stashing something away. She didn’t have much, but she was picking up stuff as they went, so she needed somewhere to keep it.
“Do I want to know what it was?”
“Nope.”
“Do I want to know how you got it?”
“Nope.”
“Fair enough.” Dean had learned relatively early on that there were some things Ruby were going to have to do that he didn’t want to know about. Given that he hated witchcraft and the details involved to begin with, he wasn’t going to push her on that. Some things he really didn’t want to know. He had enough of a horror show going on in his own head, and he had learned a long time ago what happens if he pushes on the wrong thing. He took another swallow of his beer, waiting for her to straighten and turn back to him before asking the next question. “Where we headin’ to next?”
“Don’t know yet,” Ruby replied “There are some other things that I need to pick up, but they’re not exactly location specific. We’ll just keep our ear to the ground, listen for the next demon attack, and head out then. Otherwise I say we lay low.”
Dean nodded again. “Sounds like a plan.” He hadn’t been this focused in months, but it shouldn’t have surprised him that focus came when they were trying to hit you from all sides. It had started with Tamara going up in a fireball soon after he left Bobby’s, and it just kept escalating from there. Everyone he talked to, everyone of importance to him, they were being systematically wiped off the map, and it had to stop. He couldn’t let himself break, fall apart, not now. Not when people he cared about needed him.
“Good,” Ruby nodded, before starting to head towards the bathroom. “I’m taking a shower.” Dean nodded, before making his way over to the TV and turning it on. It wasn’t long before he passed out for a few hours, his body just shutting down to relax. It wasn’t necessarily sleep, but he wasn’t up and aware either. It took the feel of his phone vibrating against his chest to bring him out of it, and he sat up, rubbing his eyes slightly as he put his phone to his ear.
“Yeah?”
“Hello, Dean.”
Dean snapped into a sitting position, chills running through him at the sound of the voice He knew it instantly, and Ruby could tell by his reaction that exactly who it was, and she turned away from whatever she was working on to look at him, concerned.
“What the hell do you want?”
“I have a friend of yours. Thought you might want to hear her scream.” Dean didn’t have a chance to respond before the scream came, loud and high, splitting his eardrums and rocking him to the core. He knew who it was. He knew without even having to think about it. It seemed to be his curse as of late. Everyone he touched found their way to Alastair’s hands.
“Let her go, you son of a bitch,” he growled, the small parts of Dean Winchester that were there starting to slip away, his voice switching to the cool calm of someone who was ready to kill something. “Or I swear to God, I will hunt you down and make you pay for this.”
“Doesn’t her scream sound so wonderful, Dean?” Alastair taunted. “You know, it’s almost better when they’re human. They can’t magically pull themselves back together again-and then when they die? I get to take them downstairs and do it all over again.”
“D? If you can hear me? I’m coming for you, sweetheart.” After that, he hung up, looking over at Ruby. “We have to go. Now.”
Ruby was already mostly packed. “Dean-you know that we probably won’t get there in time, right?”
“Don’t care,” Dean said with a growl, heading right for the door. “We have to try.”
“Dean-”
“I’m not going to just sit here while he kills her, too,” Dean said, turning back to face her. “She’s just a goddamn kid, Ruby.”
Ruby watched him for a minute, before sighing heavily and following him out the door. “Where are we heading?”
***
By the time they tracked down the warehouse, Alastair and his goons were gone. There was a pile of bodies sitting in front of the door, and Ruby sighed slightly. “I’m gonna get started with the clean up. You see if you can find her.”
Dean nodded before making his way into the low lighting in the warehouse. The air was heavy with blood and sulfur, and he knew in the pit of his stomach that he was too late. Trying to keep himself from being sick, he ran his eyes over the room, searching for any sign of Delilah and where he was. It took him a few minutes before he saw her, sprawled on the floor, the bloody hole in her gut shining in the low light.
Dean’s face fell slightly, moving over to her and crouching down next to her. “I’m so sorry, Delilah. I’m so, so sorry.” He paused for a minute, crouching down next to her and starting to shift her body so that he could pick her up to be salted and burned with the rest. She was still warm. He had missed this by mere minutes, most likely, and it killed him inside. He could have saved her. He should have been able to save her. He shouldn’t have let her leave.
He moved slowly scooping her up off the ground, and he thought his ears were screwing with him when he heard a soft moan coming from the body in his arms. Her head shifted, slightly dropping against his shoulder, and then he was sure he heard something.
“Dean?”
The voice was soft, and he barely heard it, but it was enough. He frowned slightly, looking over at her, and leaning over, pressing his head against her chest, listening for the sound of heartbeat. It was low, and faint, but it was there, and he looked at her with wide eyes, before shouting for Ruby.
“Son of a bitch, Ruby, she’s alive!”
“What?” Ruby frowned, sticking her head in the door.
“She’s alive, we have to get her to a hospital. Now.”
“Dean-”
“Ruby.”
“I’ll get the car.”
***
Dean knew it probably wasn’t safe for him to stay at the hospital while she was in surgery, but he knew that she didn’t have anyone else. He avoided the security cameras, kept his back to anything that would capture his face for someone else to see, and when Delilah was brought back in from surgery into recovery, he moved into her room, away from the cameras and where he would be seen, and just sitting with her, waiting for her to wake up and talk to him. There were so many things he needed to say to her, he needed to apologize for. He had just put the poor girl through Hell, and he would have to make it up to her, some way, somehow.
The room was mostly quiet, with the exception of the faint beeping of the heart rate monitor. Ruby was off taking care of the other bodies, letting him take care of this. This was something he had needed. He had needed to get there and save a life for once, as oppose to just getting there in time to clean up. And if he had to save anyone, he was glad that it was her at least. So he could hold on to that sunshine for at least a little while longer.
A few hours in, Ruby pushed open the door of the room, looking over at him with a sigh. “We gotta go.”
Dean frowned slightly, looking over at her. “But-she’s not awake yet.”
Ruby bit her lip slightly, looking back into the hallway. “Cops are gonna be here soon, Dean, we gotta go.”
Dean sighed heavily, running a hand over his face, before picking up a pen from the bedside table, and scrawling a quick note on the napkin on her tray, before placing the pen down and looking back at her. He gave her hand one last squeeze, before flipping the collar up on his jacket, following Ruby out of the room and out the door.
“Where to?”
“Anywhere but here.”
***
Sunshine,
Remember, you never saw me. Stay safe and call if you need anything.
-McQueen
1668 words
“The question should be, is it worth trying to do, not can it be done.”
By the time Ruby got back from whatever she was doing, Delilah was gone. God, had he missed that kid. He didn’t realize it until she practically tackled him after the fight but she was just so-hopeful. She was a dose of optimism and happiness that he so sorely needed, and now things were starting to feel a little bit better. He had needed someone to look on the bright side for him for a while. That usually wasn’t a quality instilled in most hunters, and how the hell she managed to hold onto it, he didn’t know, but that was just what the doctor ordered.
Ruby, however, was bringing the mood down with the look on her face when she walked in the door, and he wasn’t sure if that was because she didn’t get what she wanted, or she didn’t get it the way she wanted to. Either way, Ruby was a mood killer, and she just scanned the room for a moment, before looking back at him. “Where’s the kid?”
“Headed out-friend called her about another job about fifty miles from here,” Dean said with a sigh, moving over to push the empty pizza box to the side and pick up his beer. He folded himself into the chair next to the table, looking Ruby over for a moment, before speaking up again. “Find what you were looking for?”
“Yup,” Ruby replied, moving over to her bags and stashing something away. She didn’t have much, but she was picking up stuff as they went, so she needed somewhere to keep it.
“Do I want to know what it was?”
“Nope.”
“Do I want to know how you got it?”
“Nope.”
“Fair enough.” Dean had learned relatively early on that there were some things Ruby were going to have to do that he didn’t want to know about. Given that he hated witchcraft and the details involved to begin with, he wasn’t going to push her on that. Some things he really didn’t want to know. He had enough of a horror show going on in his own head, and he had learned a long time ago what happens if he pushes on the wrong thing. He took another swallow of his beer, waiting for her to straighten and turn back to him before asking the next question. “Where we headin’ to next?”
“Don’t know yet,” Ruby replied “There are some other things that I need to pick up, but they’re not exactly location specific. We’ll just keep our ear to the ground, listen for the next demon attack, and head out then. Otherwise I say we lay low.”
Dean nodded again. “Sounds like a plan.” He hadn’t been this focused in months, but it shouldn’t have surprised him that focus came when they were trying to hit you from all sides. It had started with Tamara going up in a fireball soon after he left Bobby’s, and it just kept escalating from there. Everyone he talked to, everyone of importance to him, they were being systematically wiped off the map, and it had to stop. He couldn’t let himself break, fall apart, not now. Not when people he cared about needed him.
“Good,” Ruby nodded, before starting to head towards the bathroom. “I’m taking a shower.” Dean nodded, before making his way over to the TV and turning it on. It wasn’t long before he passed out for a few hours, his body just shutting down to relax. It wasn’t necessarily sleep, but he wasn’t up and aware either. It took the feel of his phone vibrating against his chest to bring him out of it, and he sat up, rubbing his eyes slightly as he put his phone to his ear.
“Yeah?”
“Hello, Dean.”
Dean snapped into a sitting position, chills running through him at the sound of the voice He knew it instantly, and Ruby could tell by his reaction that exactly who it was, and she turned away from whatever she was working on to look at him, concerned.
“What the hell do you want?”
“I have a friend of yours. Thought you might want to hear her scream.” Dean didn’t have a chance to respond before the scream came, loud and high, splitting his eardrums and rocking him to the core. He knew who it was. He knew without even having to think about it. It seemed to be his curse as of late. Everyone he touched found their way to Alastair’s hands.
“Let her go, you son of a bitch,” he growled, the small parts of Dean Winchester that were there starting to slip away, his voice switching to the cool calm of someone who was ready to kill something. “Or I swear to God, I will hunt you down and make you pay for this.”
“Doesn’t her scream sound so wonderful, Dean?” Alastair taunted. “You know, it’s almost better when they’re human. They can’t magically pull themselves back together again-and then when they die? I get to take them downstairs and do it all over again.”
“D? If you can hear me? I’m coming for you, sweetheart.” After that, he hung up, looking over at Ruby. “We have to go. Now.”
Ruby was already mostly packed. “Dean-you know that we probably won’t get there in time, right?”
“Don’t care,” Dean said with a growl, heading right for the door. “We have to try.”
“Dean-”
“I’m not going to just sit here while he kills her, too,” Dean said, turning back to face her. “She’s just a goddamn kid, Ruby.”
Ruby watched him for a minute, before sighing heavily and following him out the door. “Where are we heading?”
***
By the time they tracked down the warehouse, Alastair and his goons were gone. There was a pile of bodies sitting in front of the door, and Ruby sighed slightly. “I’m gonna get started with the clean up. You see if you can find her.”
Dean nodded before making his way into the low lighting in the warehouse. The air was heavy with blood and sulfur, and he knew in the pit of his stomach that he was too late. Trying to keep himself from being sick, he ran his eyes over the room, searching for any sign of Delilah and where he was. It took him a few minutes before he saw her, sprawled on the floor, the bloody hole in her gut shining in the low light.
Dean’s face fell slightly, moving over to her and crouching down next to her. “I’m so sorry, Delilah. I’m so, so sorry.” He paused for a minute, crouching down next to her and starting to shift her body so that he could pick her up to be salted and burned with the rest. She was still warm. He had missed this by mere minutes, most likely, and it killed him inside. He could have saved her. He should have been able to save her. He shouldn’t have let her leave.
He moved slowly scooping her up off the ground, and he thought his ears were screwing with him when he heard a soft moan coming from the body in his arms. Her head shifted, slightly dropping against his shoulder, and then he was sure he heard something.
“Dean?”
The voice was soft, and he barely heard it, but it was enough. He frowned slightly, looking over at her, and leaning over, pressing his head against her chest, listening for the sound of heartbeat. It was low, and faint, but it was there, and he looked at her with wide eyes, before shouting for Ruby.
“Son of a bitch, Ruby, she’s alive!”
“What?” Ruby frowned, sticking her head in the door.
“She’s alive, we have to get her to a hospital. Now.”
“Dean-”
“Ruby.”
“I’ll get the car.”
***
Dean knew it probably wasn’t safe for him to stay at the hospital while she was in surgery, but he knew that she didn’t have anyone else. He avoided the security cameras, kept his back to anything that would capture his face for someone else to see, and when Delilah was brought back in from surgery into recovery, he moved into her room, away from the cameras and where he would be seen, and just sitting with her, waiting for her to wake up and talk to him. There were so many things he needed to say to her, he needed to apologize for. He had just put the poor girl through Hell, and he would have to make it up to her, some way, somehow.
The room was mostly quiet, with the exception of the faint beeping of the heart rate monitor. Ruby was off taking care of the other bodies, letting him take care of this. This was something he had needed. He had needed to get there and save a life for once, as oppose to just getting there in time to clean up. And if he had to save anyone, he was glad that it was her at least. So he could hold on to that sunshine for at least a little while longer.
A few hours in, Ruby pushed open the door of the room, looking over at him with a sigh. “We gotta go.”
Dean frowned slightly, looking over at her. “But-she’s not awake yet.”
Ruby bit her lip slightly, looking back into the hallway. “Cops are gonna be here soon, Dean, we gotta go.”
Dean sighed heavily, running a hand over his face, before picking up a pen from the bedside table, and scrawling a quick note on the napkin on her tray, before placing the pen down and looking back at her. He gave her hand one last squeeze, before flipping the collar up on his jacket, following Ruby out of the room and out the door.
“Where to?”
“Anywhere but here.”
***
Sunshine,
Remember, you never saw me. Stay safe and call if you need anything.
-McQueen
1668 words