Hallowed (B. Barnes)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Sydney follows Sam through the bunker as he heads towards the garage, she has a cute little annoyed and confused frown on her face, her hair pulled back. Her clothing has taken on a more hunter aesthetic that seems to have come from being around her brother again, even just a few days. Which is probably a bad sign, that she falls back into her old ways so quickly.

"So after all of the trouble you went through to get me to come back" She complains. "You want me to stay put whilst you go and get him...?" She asks with a frown because that makes no sense to her. Sam asked her to help him with Dean, and now that they have a location on him, Sam wants her to stay here, in the bunker.

"I just think it would be best to keep you a secret until I know what sort of state he is in" Sam defends. "I don't want him to hurt you" She softens a little and then shakes her head.

"Sam, just like you two, I am perfectly capable of looking after myself..." She reminds him.

"Please, Syd" He whispers. "Just stay here...." He then turns and heads off towards the garage without her, she rolls her eyes and takes a deep breath.

.............

Sam stares one of the cars in the garage, ready to leave when the passenger side door opens and Sydney climbs into the car, ignoring his look. There is no way in hell that he is leaving her behind. He dragged her into this mess.

"I thought I told you to stay put" He points out.

"Well, I hate being told what to do so I ignored you" She counters and gives him a look back, he sighs and then nods. "You cannot drag me all the way back into this freak show and then sideline me..." She scolds him. "So...let's go get our brother back" Sam smiles a little and then nods.

...........

Dean is sitting at a piano in the bar. He plays a few notes but his mind is elsewhere. He takes out the First Blade and slices open his left palm. It instantly heals. Behind him, Sam slowly approaches him.

"Hiya, Sam." Dean greets and then looks at the bartender wiping down the bar. "Hey, Harv, why don't you go grab a smoke?" He looks at Dean and then leaves the two of them together. Dean looks at Sam's slinged arm. "Who winged you?"

"Does it matter?" Sam counters.

"Not really" Dean agrees and then reaches for his drink on the top of the piano. "I told you to let me go."

"You know I can't do that," Sam argues as Dean takes a sip from his glass. "By the way, your, uh, pal Crowley...Sold you out"

"Sounds like him" Dean then stands as Sam moves closer. Dean's fingers wrapping around the blade's handle.

"Dean, hold on a second" Sam tries. "You don't have to do this. Look, we know how to cure demons. You remember that?"

"Little Latin, lot of blood. It rings a bell. Did you ever stop to think that if I wanted to be cured, I wouldn't have bailed?" Dean asks his brother.

"That was Crowley." Sam points out.

"It really wasn't" Dean argues with a smile.

"It doesn't matter, all right? 'Cause whatever went down, whatever happened, we will fix it." Sam offers.

"Will we? 'Cause right now, I'm doing all I can not to come over there and rip your throat out... with my teeth." Dean warns. "I'm giving you a chance, Sam. You should take it."

"I'm gonna have to pass," Sam admits.

"Well, I'm not walking out that door with you. I'm just not. So, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna kill me?" Dean asks as he leans against the bar.

"No."

"Why? You don't know what I've done. I might have it coming."

"Well, I don't care. Because you are my brother. And I'm here to take you home"

"Hmm. Ah!" Dean laughs humourlessly. "You're my brother, and I'm here to take you home." He mocks as he pours himself another drink. "Yeah, what is this, a Lifetime movie? Huh? With your puppy-dog eyes?" Dean continues laughing. "Oh, thanks, Sammy. I needed that." Sam takes out a pair of sigil etched handcuffs from his pocket. "You really think those are gonna work?"

"There's one way to find out." Sam moves closer to Dean, just then, tear gas comes flying in the window and Sam dissolves in a fit of coughing. Dean has vanished. Sam stumbles outside where a figure, Cole, is waiting to knock him unconscious. Dean suddenly appears behind Cole who spins and pulls his gun on Dean.

"Wow. It's really you."

"We met?" Dean asks.

"Talked on the phone," Cole admits.

"Right. Right. You're the guy who's supposed to put a bullet in Sammy's brain. Did you miss?" Dean asks.

"Well, I had a better idea. I figure if I let your bro escape, he'd go running to you, and all I had to do was just tag along. And now here we are, finally...Dean Winchester."

"Great. A groupie."

"You remember me?" Cole asks him.

"Yeah, yeah. You're that guy from that thing."

"Nyack, New York, June 21, 2003." Cole offers when he realises that Dean does not actually know who he is.

"That supposed to ring a bell?" Dean asks.

"It was the night you gutted and murdered a man by the name of Edward Trenton. He was my father." Cole answers.

"Okay," Dean states with a shrug.

"Okay?" Cole asks, frowning with how unaffected Dean appears to be.

"Well, hey, I'm not saying I didn't slice and dice your old man. I'm just saying that he wasn't the first, and he certainly wasn't the last, and they all just kind of get blended up"

"I saw you...That night...After. You let me live. That was dumb -- real dumb. I spent half my life training for this moment. I've played out this fight a thousand times in my mind. And I know all about you, Dean-o. And you're good. Oh, you're real good. But, you see, I'm better"

"Prove it. Take a shot." Dean provokes slightly.

"Now, that's not payback" Cole holsters his gun and draws his knife. "This is pay...." Cole stops short, stares at Dean before he falls forward, standing behind him is Sydney, holding a metal pipe, now stained with Cole's blood. She lets out a breath and throws the pipe aside before she looks at Dean, he lets out a snort.

"Sydney" He greets, she cocks her head. "Where the hell did he find you?"