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One hour. One hour before midnight. Which meant, you had one hour before your time was up. The girl in your passenger seat flashed you a weak smile. For a demon, she wasn’t so bad. Sure, you hadn’t exactly been her biggest fan in the beginning, but right now, she was the only one you could trust. “Time to go…” She says and tries to hide the fear in her voice. But it’s clear from the way it breaks, she is scared of what comes next. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get you out of this,” she whispers as you walk towards the house.
“I knew the price, Ruby. It was worth it.” You weren’t sure who you were trying to convince more, her or yourself.
You grip the demon blade in your hands as she follows behind you to enter into the quiet Indiana home. From the outside, everything seemed normal. But on the inside, it was quite the opposite. The family had been held hostage by Lilith and from the looks of it, things had gotten a little messy. An older man sits at the dining room table, his head turned in an odd position; he looks like he could be sleeping, if his neck wasn’t so mangled.
A younger looking man jumps out from behind you, but you manage to stop him, placing your hand over his mouth. “We’re here to help. You need to stay quiet.” He nods and you look past him at Ruby who has her arms crossed over her chest tightly. “Where is your daughter?”
You slowly remove your hand from his mouth, “She’s not her.”
“Where is she?”
“Upstairs…”
“Okay, I want you to go downstairs in the basement. Do not come out until it’s over. Understand?” You pick up a can of salt and hand it to him. “Put a line of salt at the door.”
“Not without my wife.” He argues with you. But you are losing time. You punch him, sending him falling backwards into the arms of your demon companion. She grimaces holding him up before you take him downstairs. You roll your eyes and let out an exasperated sigh before making your way upstairs to the little girl’s bedroom.
But, you quickly realize it’s not her. Lilith had already left the little girl by the time you make it there. The worst part was, you had no idea where she went. You and Ruby usher the little girl and her mother into the basement, you both know what comes next. And you sure are hell aren’t going to let them be around when the clock strikes twelve. Time was ticking by and it was only a few minutes before your time was up. “I’m sorry, I really am. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.”
But you don’t have time to respond before the front door opens. Two men run into the living room drenched. Sprinklers filled with holy water keep Lilith’s demons at bay for now, but it won’t be able to hold them off forever. The taller of the two reaches you first. He pulls you into his arms, giving you a hug that only Sam Winchester is able to provide. You were his best friend. You were his go to. And he knew that he is the reason you are in this spot. “I’m sorry,” his voice cracks under the weight of the words. But you shake your head against his broad chest. A small kiss on the cheek and you step away from him. You’re soaking wet, but it doesn’t even phase you as you come face-to-face with the older Winchester. He doesn’t waste anytime, wrapping his arms around your body tightly. His grip never falters, but his walls do. You feel something wet land on your cheek. Pulling away, you see the tears in his eyes and a trail marks where a single tear escaped. Wiping it away with the pad of your thumb, you offer him a small smile.
A light knock on the door brings you back to reality. For the past few hours, you had been sitting alone in your hotel room trying to remind yourself why you had done it. You did it to save Sam, you did it to save Dean, you did it because it was the right thing to do. You made sure that you made the most of your last few months alive. But you would tell they knew something was wrong. Normally, you would pick fights with Dean just for the fun of it or tease Sam for being a health nut. But, the last month you tried your best not to even pick fights with Dean. That wasn’t what you wanted him to remember. But, that didn’t stop you from fighting with him tonight. You told yourself to go and apologize, and you would before he went to bed. It was only the right thing to do. Then you would wait until they were asleep and slip out to meet Ruby.
He looks up as you slowly open the door, the light reflecting off his green eyes. Arms crossed over his chest, he stumbles over his words. He’s trying to apologize, but doesn’t know what to say. You roll your eyes and offer him a small smile. “I forgave you hours ago, D.” His eyes light up before he steps further into your room. That’s when he really sees you. Your eyes swollen and puffy, small red splotches beginning to fade from your cheeks along with the tear trails; it was clear you had been crying. He doesn’t ask. He’s actually afraid to ask. Because he is pretty damn sure he knows, but he doesn’t want to be right.
He knew that it had been a year since his little brother had been miraculously brought back from the dead. When he tried to do the deed himself, the demon informed him that Sam was already on the to-do list. Meaning divine intervention or worse. He never asked you about it. To be honest, he didn’t want to know. He didn’t want Sam to know either. You were their best friend. You were the person that had been there for them when no one else was. How could they afford to lose you?
Dean rubs his thumb across your cheek, a small blush rising in your skin. You loved this man, but you never told him. He was one of your best friends and you couldn’t risk losing that. He hesitates before wrapping his right arm around you, hand resting on your lower back pulling your body against his. He leans his forehead against yours, a sad smile tugging on the corners of his lips before he kisses you. You move in sync, like you were made for one another. It doesn’t take long before clothes are discarded and you are making love to the man who stole your heart years ago.
He lazily plays with a small strand of hair that rests on your shoulder, twirling it between his fingers and then caressing your skin. Your head rests on your chest, rising and falling with each breath he takes; the sound of his heartbeat lulling you to sleep. “I love you,” you hear him say and your heart aches. He kisses your forehead before you lean up to look at him. He kisses you and repeats it. But you can’t bring yourself to say it back. Not when you know that by this time tomorrow, you’re puppy chow.
“I know…” It’s not the answer he was looking for. In fact, it hurts him that you don’t say it back. You rest your head back on his chest, taking a deep breath before closing your eyes. Neither of you say anything after that. It doesn’t take long for him to fall asleep, the soft snores spilling through his parted lips let you know that it’s time.
You pull on a pair of jeans and the plaid shirt that he had been wearing. It smells of him and it brings you some comfort. You leave everything else the way it was and lace up your boots. Leather jacket in hand, you rip a piece of paper from the hotel notepad and scribble three words on it: I love you.
When he wakes up, the sheets beside him a cold from lack of your body heat. He tries to tell himself that maybe you just went for some air. But, when he sees the folded note sitting on the nightstand, he gets the answer to all of his questions.
He kisses you just as he had the night before. But the sound of the grandfather clock fills the silence between you. Dean’s grip tightens around you with the howling of the hellhounds. You and Ruby see it standing just a few yards away. Sam and Dean can’t see it, but they hear it’s growls. You grip the demon blade tighter in your hands before you run into the kitchen, slamming the door behind you. Sam and Ruby stand against the door as Dean sprinkles goofer dust along the door and window sill. “Give me the knife, maybe I can fight it off!” You glance back at Ruby, but she isn’t the same Ruby who entered the house with you.
“No.” Sam and Dean look confused.
“That dust won’t last long!”
“I said no.”
“You wanna die?”
“You’re not Ruby.” It doesn’t take long, her panicked face falters and a smirk appears on her lips. With the flick of her fingers, Sam and Dean are sent flying back into one of the walls of the kitchen. She steps towards you sending you flying back onto the table. You do everything you can to fight whatever it is that has a grip on you, but you can’t.
Dean struggles against the wall, “How long you been in her?”
She turns with a girlish grin. “Not long. But I like it, it’s all grown up and pretty.”
“Where’s Ruby?” Sam’s question sounds like more like a demand than an actual question. It was no secret he was closest to Ruby out of the three of you.
Her eyes are white as she speaks, but they return to normal just as fast. “She was a very bad girl, I sent her far, far away.”
“I should’ve known,” you spit towards Lilith who is making her way towards Sam. She tilts her head as glances up at him.
“Hello Sam, I’ve wanted to meet you for a very long time.” He fights against her as she presses her lips against his. But it’s no use. He’s stuck there, just like you.
“You have me, let them go, Lilith.” Sam’s plea goes unnoticed. None of you have nothing that she really wants. And even if you did, she would still let you die.
“So this was your big plan all along? Send me to Hell. Kill Sam and Dean. And then what, become queen bitch?” Her head whips around to you.
“I don’t have to answer to puppy chow.”
You struggle against her restraint. Pain shoots through your body as you try and fight it, but it’s still no use. A sickening smile grows on Lilith’s lips as she opens the door and you hear the growls fill the kitchen along with Sam and Dean’s pleas. It runs at you, it’s claws pulling you from the table with ease. You’ve never experienced anything like the pain you feel now. It rips you apart as the boys yell for Lilith to make it stop, but she just stands there with a little smile on her face. You struggle against the beast, you’ve fought unimaginable things before, but you were no match for this. It slashes your back and shoulders, Dean’s plaid shirt in shreds as it tears you apart. Deep, long slashes across your chest allow for blood to pour from your body.
Sam yells at Lilith to stop, but Dean can no longer make words. He looks down at you, trying to pull himself together because that’s what you would want. You would want him to stay strong.
Your blood soaks your clothes and the floor around you, you’re not moving, but you’re not dead, yet. You want to scream, you want to scream so badly because of the pain. But you can’t. Lilith looks from your body to the boys before she holds her hand up, a white light forming from her palm. But, it quickly fades. She panics. Dean slumps on the floor, Sam in front of him. Sam is the first to notice that nothing has happened. As he walks towards her gripping the demon blade in his hand, she tries to scoot away from him. Though, she doesn’t make it very far. She knows if she doesn’t get out now, she is going to die. That’s when a large black cloud of smoke shoots from the Ruby’s meatsuit.
Sam fights back the tears that are burning his eyes as the body falls to the ground near yours. Dean slowly makes his way to your lifeless body. You aren’t moving. You aren’t breathing. But, your eyes are still open. Dean picks up you and holds your body close to him, not caring about the blood staining his clothes. He doesn’t care how he looks as he cries over your lifeless body. Right now was a good time for one of those chick flick moments. Sam grips onto his older brother’s shoulder as he falls onto his knees. By now, his own tears are falling.
Sam looks over at Dean who stares blankly ahead of him. He didn’t even fight Sam when he took the keys. Your body in the backseat of the Impala reminding him that he had failed you. He had failed to protect you. He should have known that you were in trouble, but he was too afraid to know the truth.
“Hunter’s funeral?” Sam asks.
“No.”