#kevin gates listener. coming clean

[cryingforcrocodiles]

Hiii!! 20 and 9 🫶🏼

gerda kounde !!! hola !!! ty for sending some in 🙏🏿🙏🏿🤍🤍

9: a song that makes you happy

it's my alarm clock. it reflects me perfectly i feel like. also it's just so catchy like... he's just thinking with his dick... his shit dumb! just makes me smile bc some of the lyrics the first time u listen are like "oh! he said that! okay we're moving on." :) big fan

20: a song that has many meanings to you

brother. this has played at times in my life. my freshmen dance where i span around with a girl, my ringtone for my mom so if she called i could let the song play out without guilt (at the time we didn't have the best relationship...), characters, my best friends etc etc. just so many memories connected to it

ty for asking stuff x2 🙆🏿🤍

[asmo-ds]

this is kind off relatable for everyone tbh. mc got pissed off when another quarantine was announced so they packed their stuff and found a way to go to the devildom on their own. none of the brothers knew that they would be staying with them, how would they react? i can imagine asmo being shocked when he sees how irritated mc's skin is because of the masks!!

There Is No Pandemic in Hell

Obey me Crack

Word Count: 2534

Summary: when the government announces the quarantine has been extended, MC decides to pack their bags and head down to Hell, but they were so desperate to leave they didn’t wait for permission and instead grabbed their bike and rode all the way to their real home.

A/N: Ok so the brothers aren’t really in this fic until like the end and its mostly MC riding their bike through the layers of Hell and almost dies like 10 times. And they fight a cult. That happens too.

“The governor has announced that we will be once again shutting down most businesses and we will be required to wear our masks no matter where we are, that includes restaurants, which will be closing due to the inability to eat with a mask on. Furthermore, we-” You turned off the television, groaning pulling on your mask before you headed to the market. You couldn’t believe that so many people had refused to wear masks and now you were forced back to square one of the world’s recovery from COVID-19.

As you walked down the aisle of the grocery store, you got lost in thought. Did demons ever get sick? Surely they wouldn’t be affected by COVID and they definitely wouldn’t be trapped inside their home for 95% of their day (unless you’re Leviathan and then you will happily do so). You realize you passed half of the aisles you had meant to go down, effectively missing half of your grocery list.

You feel your D.D.D vibrate in your pocket and rip it out wondering if you had missed your daily call with one of the brothers only to see the group chat was being talked in.

Horny Man: Heyyy anyone wanna go shopping with me?

Horny Man: Except Mammon, I’m not looking to go broke from his shopping trip

Gambling Addiction: Oi! I was gonna go with ya but now I think I’ll stay >:(

Otaku Snek: yea that was what Asmo wanted lolz

Mom: I have council business with Diavolo today.

Bookworm: You can call it a date y’know?

Mom: Satan, come to my study immediately I want to have a talk with you.

Gambling Addiction: Ha! It ain’t me in trouble for once

Otaku Snek: Anyway I can’t I have an in-person meet up with some of my teammates

Hunger: Asmo, may I come along so we can stop at Madame Screams?

Horny Man: Of course Beel ~

You silence your phone and put it in your pocket. You couldn’t stand to watch them make plans so casually. It was unfair. You wanted to go out and have fun without your mask or risking your health.

You wished you could be in the Devildom walking around breathing fresh air and not walking through eerily empty stores yelling through two masks and some plexiglass. That’s when it struck you. 

Diavolo had told you that you had a home in the Devildom and were always welcome. So why could you not just go back now? Spare yourself the acne you gain from masks and the annoyance of not being able to hang out with anybody but your reflection every day. 

You abandon your cart in your excitement, silently thanking whoever has to clean it up and apologize as you run out of the store. You make it back to your home, pulling a backpack from the depths of your closet and opening it, throwing your most needed items in, and attempting to zip the overfilled bag as you try to think of how you’d get there. 

You know that Lucifer would never allow you to come on such short notice, so you knew asking them was a no-go. You suddenly remembered someone mentioning how to get to the Devildom by foot you had to walk through the seven layers of hell and you groaned knowing it was going to be a rough journey. 

You try to figure out where the entrance to the seven layers would be, googling all sorts of demonic places where worshippers would gather. You find one that seems like a good option as it is nearby.

You get on your bike and ride to the area and start to look for any worshippers that would be willing to help you find the gate. You wander the dark woods watching carefully for raised tree roots or rocks that would cause your bike to break. 

“Stop right there !” A man in a blood-red hood calls out. “State your business.”

“Listen, dude, I know Lucifer and I wanna go see him but he can’t know yet. So tell me where the gate is,” You reply impatiently. 

“Why should I help you? You don’t even know how to open the gate! You do not deserve the help of Satan’s worshippers-” You climb off your bike putting up the kickstand and walk towards the robed stranger. You grab his collar with one fist and pull his face close to yours.

“Show. Me. The. Gate. Or so help me I’ll summon all seven lords right now and have them disembowel you and gouge your eyes out as the life leaves them. You won’t get to work for Satan as you wish for, instead, you’ll be eaten by him in the most painful torturous fashion. I have to say few words to get him here so I suggest you send me down right now, bud” You growl. The man looks as if he is about to cry and points behind him. 

“T-the cave at the end of this path. You s-should walk into it and keep following the path of torches down. There you’ll f-f-find my cult and they’ll help you out, just tell them I sent you.” The man cries out with teary eyes. You let go and take a step back, giving a sweet smile. 

“Thank you, sir! I’ll put in a good word with Satan for ya,” you wink at the man before getting on your bike, carefully continuing down the path. You were getting back to the Devildom if it killed you.

Thankfully the cave’s path was fairly smooth and you were able to ride your bike to the group the stranger had spoken of. They asked you to stop and you had a repeat of the process you took with the stranger.

“... Fine, we’ll send you down but we need a goat,”

-

The ritual was performed and you were engulfed in a dark shadowy mist. You appeared in an area clouded with a purple fog and you felt sudden drowsiness overtake you. Sloth, the closest layer to the human realm.

You smack your hands harshly to your cheeks and shake your limbs to wake yourself up. You then remember you had packed a pack of Redbull. You stopped your bike and pulled the backpack onto your lap, pulling a can out and opening it as you continue on your way. 

By the time you reach gluttony, you had downed 5 Redbulls and were sure, if you even survived the demons that eyed you hungrily in the land with red fauna and food everywhere, you’d have a heart attack when you finally get to the House of Lamentation. 

You slow your bike down a bit, knowing demons were sneaky and fast. You take off your jacket as it gets increasingly hot the lower you go. Demons lurk in shadows and eye you hungrily and you shiver. Instinctively you place a hand on your stomach as it rumbles. Gluttony.

You suddenly remember the human world snacks you had packed since you knew how badly you missed them last time you were down here. You once again pull your bag onto your lap, ripping the packaging open. The crinkle and sudden smell of food caused multiple demons to charge at you, drooling and feral looks in their eyes. You put the food in your mouth and speed off, pedaling as fast as you can to the fifth layer. 

As the sky began to turn pink you let out a sigh of relief. Until you felt a small creature

on your shoulder. You had failed to notice it when you arrived in Beel’s layer, but it was a small demon that had fallen asleep under your coat and on your shoulder in Belphegor’s area. 

“Hey there, little guy~” You coo at the creature giving it a small pet. “You wanna come back to RAD with me?” The creature nuzzles into your neck with a demonic purr. 

You were glad to at least not be alone anymore.

Entering Lust was awful as you suddenly felt hot and bothered, barely able to keep pedaling. We’re almost to Wrath, just a bit further. Ignore the horny man’s power!

The clouds in the sky begin to turn a sort of green color, making the sky look a bit like a watermelon. Too caught up in staring at the sky you suddenly hear a small caw from your shoulder opposite of the one your newest companion rested on. 

The black crow with yellow eyes stared at you tilting its head. Mammon knows I’m here you thought giving his pact mark on your collar bone a soft touch to let him know you were okay, glad it was him that knew and not another brother who was bound to tattle on you. You nodded at the bird as it fluttered its wings and flew above you.

As you paid attention to the bird and the way it kept pace with you an angry demon jumped at you, knocking you and your bike over as your small friend and the crow both made noises of surprise. 

“Hey, Kevin, it’s alright if I call you that, right sleepy head?” you looked at Kevin as he made a happy noise in response. You turn your attention back to the angry demon that had taken the form of a large feline. “Yup… this is definitely Satan’s realm,” you sigh before sprinting off in a different direction trying to get the demon off your trail. You swerve through trees for quite a bit before you are able to get back to your bike, you, Kevin and the crow taking off at high speeds, approaching the orange wetlands. 

Its so unfair I have to go through all of this, your mind wanders, they all get to have this life without this stupid journey. So stupid.

You shake your head, urging away Leviathan’s envy and continuing to pedal down the dry path that was surrounded by an orange sea for miles. You focus on the path and stare straight ahead. 

Suddenly, Mammon’s crow caws in a panic as the water splashed upward with a creature that lunges for MC who manages to swerve and avoid the attack, pedaling faster and breathing heavily. At least I don’t have to wear the stupid mask while riding my bike anymore. 

The sky gets lighter, turning yellow and the crow flies in circles above your head cawing with the excitement of being in the layer of Greed. Gold littered the grown, jewels scattered about. It was bright and you had to squint but it was beautiful. 

Suddenly you stopped, an overwhelming urge to scoop piles of gold to bring along with you. Mine, Mine, my mind raced with selfish thoughts I need all of it. 

Your eyes shimmer with the reflection of gold as you reach out fingertips brushing a shiny Grimm before Mammon’s crow bites your ear, causing you to jerk back and place your hands over the targeted appendage

Wincing you move your hand and see the blood. “What the hell asshat! Do you know how much the straps of my mask are gonna hurt to put on now, stu- oh that’s right I won’t need the mask. BUT STILL THST HURT, YOU JERK!” The crow seemed to give you attitude and you realized it probably just saved you from succumbing to the sin and being trapped in this realm forever. You start pedaling again seeing a royal blue fog ahead. 

You take a deep breath and keep going forward, trying to stay as quiet as possible, knowing any demon in Lucifer’s land would be the strongest out of any you’ve encountered thus far. 

You failed to consider the blood dripping from your earlobe attracting demons to you. Suddenly a demon tackles you, throwing your bike to the side as it pins you down, mouth watering onto your face as it stares at your bleeding ear. You scream and kick attempting to free yourself to no avail. You feel tears welling up in your eyes as sudden regret runs through you.

Why hadn’t you just asked Lucifer and waited a couple of days? Why were you so desperate to escape Corona that you literally biked to hell?

“Kevin… Crow… Thanks for coming with me,” you whimper as the demon opens its mouth wide ready to bite.

Suddenly before it can attach its mouth to you’re flesh a sword goes into its mouth and out the nape of its neck. You shiver as its blood drips onto you.

“I should’ve known why we hadn’t heard from you in weeks,” a familiar voice says as he kicks the dying demon away from your trembling body. 

You jump up and wrap your body around the torso of Lucifer, squeezing and crying. “LUCIII THAT WAS SO SCARY WHY DIDN’T YOU GET HERE SOONER” you sobbed as he took his handkerchief and wiped your tears and snot.

“Well, I wouldn’t even have known you were here if it weren’t for that idiot Mammon bursting into my office screaming about you biking your way through the layers.” He sighs and suddenly picks you up, throwing you over his shoulder as he lectures you the whole way, dragging your bike with the hand that wasn’t keeping you steady as the crow let Kevin ride on his back.

“Wait hold on did. you say weeks?” you interrupt him.

“Yes time moves slower in the seven layers than it does in any of the places you’ve been to. So you were in there for about two weeks in our time, but to you it should have felt like maybe a few hours.”

-- 

“Ya should be thanking the GREAT Mammon for finding you and sending his best crow to find ya!” Mammon scolds as you sit on the couch, head hung in shame with Asmo and Belphie at your sides. 

Lucifer had left to go speak to Diavolo on the matter of the human exchange student walking through all seven layers of hell. 

“These guys are my favorite part of my layer,” Belphie reaches to your lap and pets Kevin, “They’re really sweet, y’know, for demons.”

“MC those masks were so bad for your skin,” Asmo puts his hands on your cheeks, twisting and turning your head to get a better look at the damage. “Tonight we will dedicate to fixing that skin of yours!”

“No way! MC obviously wants to come to play the new game I got today with me!” Levi shouts.

“Nuh-uh, they owe me and gotta come with me to the casino tonight!” Mammon yells back, as all the brothers grow irritated.

“MC, would you like to watch some detective movies with me, one of my larger felines attacked you and I feel as though I owe you,” Satan puts a hand on your shoulder. 

Belphie smacks Satan’s hand away and pulls MC against him, “guys they’re exhausted can we not do this right now…”

When Belphegor goes to ask what you want to do he is met with your closed eyes and steady breathing, mouth hung slightly ajar.

“...Yea we should have expected that but I get MC first when they wake up I call dibs, you can’t go against dibs!” Asmodeus continues the argument over who gets to hang out with MC first as Belphegor lays down and falls asleep with them.

You were just really fucking happy that you didn’t have to wear your mask and you could cuddle with people for the first time since March.

[ally-writes-many-things]

Secret Voight Season 3 Part 3 (J. Halstead)

Summary: Its been a year and a few months since Olive showed up announcing that she was pregnant with Justin's kid. You were working on a case that involved Justin. Is Justin back doing the same old things or is it something else?

Words: 3.9k

Requested: Yes

Warnings or A/N: Guys, I appreciate the love and support yall are giving me again with this series but please dont keep asking me over and over again if I'm continuing it. I think there will be at least one more part in season 3 and there will be one more chapter for s3. There also maybe be one more chapter that will be special. Idk yet. Well see.

You were smiling at your nephew in his high chair while wearing a birthday hat. It was Daniel's first birthday. You, your dad, Olive and Justin were all singing happy birthday to him as Daniel was just looking around and babbling. "Happy birthday, kiddo. Come on, blow out that candle. Ready? One, two..."

Your dad had put the cake on the food tray as Justin walked closer to his son and they both helped Daniel blow out the candle. "Good job,"

You looked from Daniel and then to Olive. "I can't believe he's a year old already,"

Voight nodded and went to grabbed a present. "Ooh, wait. Time for presents. This one is from me,"

Justin reaches over the table and grabbed the bag and opened it up. He pulled out a toy horse that he seemed to recognize. "All these years you kept this?"

"Your mom did. She kept all your baby stuff upstairs in the attic, just, you know, hoping one day she could pass it along,"

Olive puts her hand Justin's back. "Hank, it's perfect,"

"Yeah. Thanks, Pop. I wish Mom was here too,"

You got up from your seat and walked around to where your brother was and placed your hand on his shoulder. "I didn't know Camille but from what I've been told of her. She would be so proud of you,"

----

It had been an hour or so after you were done with giving Daniel his gifts. Justin and Voight were in the living room catching up. You and Olive were still in the kitchen with Daniel cleaning up. "So when are you and Jay getting married?"

Justin and Olive got married about six months ago and ever since then everyone has been up yours and Jay's ass over it too. Or well besides Voight. Voight told you over and over 'to take it slow'. You chuckled as you had a secret but it wasn't an engagement. Jay didn't even know about this either. "Whenever he proposes, I guess,"

"I'm sure, it'll be soon,"

You shrugged. "I'm just going with the tides. In this line of work, its difficult to worry about things like that,"

She nodded. "You guys did move in together right?"

"Yeah, a couple of weeks ago,"

"With two bedrooms right?"

You cocked an eye at her. "Yeah? Why?"

"Just asking. How's it going?"

"It's going good. It's a lot easy on the both of us since Jay would take me to work,"

Voight walked into the kitchen with Justin. "Sorry to break the girl chat up but we got a case. Team is already there,"

You walked over to where Daniel was and kissed him on the top of his head. "Goodnight my sweet boy,"

---

You and Voight drive to the scene separate but arrived at the same time. You saw Kevin and Antonio were waiting for us at the police line which they lifted up when we walked up to it. "Hey, Serge. We got one dead female found in the trunk,"

Antonio looked at his notepad. "A park district employee was closing the gates. He was about to have the car towed when he noticed blood on the rear of the car and called the police,"

You and the others walked up the car, Jay was already there at the car holding up the trunk. "Victim's hands and feet are tied with barbed wire. Throat's cut. Fingernails are gone, too. I'm guessing she fought back against the assailant. He knew there'd be DNA, so he yanked them off,"

"Cartel hit?"

"Or Russians. They've been known to use barbed wire too,"

You got a ping on your phone and looked at it. "Car's registered to the victim. Her name's Melissa Wilds. She's 26 years old. We got an address,"

"All right, call Ruzek and Olinsky. Tell them to go over there and do a knock-and-talk,"

It was the next day and you didn't have much to go on as of yet. Al and Ruzek knocked at the address but no one answered. Her neighbor came by and they found out she had a daughter. You were sitting at you desk while talking about the case. "Melissa Wilds. Her husband was an Army private killed in a training exercise last year at Fort Bragg, along with three others when their chopper went down,"

Antonio took it from there. "She had an associate’s from Roosevelt and worked as a paralegal for the law firm Sawyer & Sawyer,"

Antonio was still in the outs with you. Yeah, its been a year but you still didn't trust him enough to let him back into your life. Jay, on the other hand, just didn't care because no one was gonna tell him what he can or can't do. Ruzek swung around in his chair to look at Antonio. "Yeah, I've seen those commercials. They're just high-profile ambulance chasers,"

"Bigger than that. They do seven-figure class action lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies or schools with asbestos,"

Jay was looking into Melissa's background and to see if she got any priors. "Except for a few parking tickets, Melissa has zero priors. She's a working, widowed mom, so the more I'm digging here, I can't see any reason why she'd be associated with cartels or any Russians,"

Voight walk to where he was standing in front of everyone. "Well listen. This girl was tortured with barbed wire. That means the killer either wanted something from her, or it was personal. So I want to know where she was before we found her, who she was with- if she was seeing someone new,"

Your phone of your desk rang while Voight was saying what he was saying. "Voight,"

"Roger Simpson is down here. Says he is Melissa's father,"

You pulled the phone away from your mouth and looked up at Voight. "Hey,"

"Hm?"

"Roger Simpson, Melissa's father, is downstairs,"

Voight looked over at Al. "Al?"

"We should start drawing straws,"

It had been about an hour since Al met with Roger and he said that Melissa was acting strange the past few months and that she was asking him to watch Tigan more and more which was no problem but it was hard cause he lived two hours away. He had asked her if something was wrong but she wouldn't tell him. You were engrossed with your digging that you didn't hear Jay walking up to you until he tapped on your desk. You looked away from your computer and up at him. "Hey handsome,"

He slightly smiled before dropping it. That concerned you. "What's wrong?"

"We got Melissa's phone records,"

"And?"

"Follow me,"

Jay started to walk towards Voight's office and you got up from your desk and followed him. "Hey, we got, uh, Melissa Wild's phone records,"

Voight looked at you confused and you just shrugged as you walked into his office. "Okay?"

Jay closed the door and hand a copy to you and Voight. He kept one for himself as well. "She and Justin, um-- they knew each other. Looks like there's maybe 20 phone calls and twice as many texts between the two of them last month. The last phone call she made was a half hour before time of death,"

Voight picked up his personal phone from his desk and started dialing Justin. "He said he was in town to help a friend. Maybe it was her,"

You walked up to Voight's desk. "Where is Justin now?"

"He should be at home with Olive and Daniel,"

Jay looked from you to your dad. "Did he ever mention this girl to you, to either of you?"

"No,"

"Don't you think I would've mentioned it if he did? Straight to voicemail,"

-

You and Voight rush to his house and see that Olive is there with Daniel but no Justin and he looks worried. "Where's Justin?"

"He left over an hour ago,"

"Have you tried calling him?"

"He's not answering. I texted him too. Hank, I'm worried,"

"We'll find him,"

You pulled your phone out of your pocket and dialed Al. "I need you to track the GPS on Justin's car now,"

It took about ten minutes to find the location of Justin car which was parked on the side of the road. You and Voight both jumped out of the car and speed walked to the car. You looked into the car and didn't see anything. You walked around to the trunk where Voight was already opening it up. "Oh, my God,"

You find Justin the same way you found Melissa. Bound with barbed wire. "Justin. He's got a pulse!"

You pulled out your walkie. "Lincoln 5021, emergency. I repeat, emergency,"

Voight was trying to see if he had anymore injuries. "Oh, my God, he's been shot!"

You pushed the button on your walkie again. "I need an ambulance at my current location. We have a gunshot wound victim,"

--

You and Voight ran into Med with Justin and the paramedics when Maggie came into view. "We have incoming. You're with me. Talk to me,"

"It's my son!"

The paramedic started talking to Maggie. "GSW to the neck. GCS 3, tubed in the ambo. Pupils fixed and dilated. Sinus tachy on the monitor. He was bound in the trunk of a car,"

Maggie pointed into a room and started directing them. "Rotate. Get ready to transfer. Three, two, one--transfer,"

Sharon came up to Voight and started to pull Voight away. " Hank, let's step outside,"

"Is he breathing?"

"I need a CT head. Someone call neurosurgery!"

"Is he still breathing?"

"Checking right now, Hank,"

"Come on, let them do their job,"

Voight had called Antonio and told him what happened and the next thing you knew he had brought Olive and Daniel to the ER. Voight didn't look to pleased at Antonio.

Voight looked at you. "GET everyone back to 21,"

"Dad,"

"Now,"

-

You had texted everyone in the unit that if they were at 21st to get there. You couldn't call them because you knew if you called them you'd break down. You stood outside the door of 21st for a few minutes before walking into the precinct and then up the stairs to Intelligence. Jay saw you and walked up to you and pulled you into a hug and whispered into your ear. "It's going to be okay. He's going to be okay,"

You let him hold you for a few minutes before you pushed him away. Antonio looked at everyone in the unit before speaking. "Everybody needs to hold on real tight, and you all know what I mean. If at any point you're not comfortable with something, you come tell me,"

You were all looked at Antonio when Antonio stopped talking when he looked at something. You all turned around and saw Voight standing there with a duffel bag in hand. He throws in on Jay's desk and throw out money. "I want you to put word out to all your C.I.'s. That's 90,000 for any information on who did this to Melissa Wilds and my son,"

Kevin slowly got up and walked towards Voight. "Hey, we got this, Serge. Think you should go to the hospital?"

Voight nodded but didn't say anything for a good minute. "All right, let me be clear. I don't need condolences. I need commitment from each of you. I'm gonna do whatever it takes to find who did this. Anybody not comfortable with that should take the next couple of days off,"

You nodded and walked towards the detail board. While holding back tears, you looked at everyone. "So, turns out Justin went through basic training with Peter Wilds

at Fort Campbell before Peter got shipped to Fort Bragg. That's how they knew each other. They stayed close friends. Melissa started reaching out to Justin about four weeks ago.

"Still doesn't tell us how they were mutual targets,"

Jay who is now sitting on his desk, talked next. "Maybe there's a nexus with her job- the law firm,"

"Check it out,"

Voight had started to leave but you had grabbed him and stopped him. "Hey. You have a grandson now, okay? That is counting on you. Just remember that,"

Voight looked at you for a few seconds before nodding.

-

You were going out of your mind in the car when you and Jay were driving to the law firm. Jay placed a hand on your knee and squeezed it. "It's gonna be okay. Justin is going to wake up and everything will be fine,"

You looked at him and smiled. You appreciated the thought but that's not the biggest thing on your mind. You were worried about what your dad is doing.

Jay pulled up to the law firm and you put everything about your dad and Justin in the back of your mind and put all your focus on the case itself. You walked up to Melissa's boss' office. "Melissa used to be a great employee. Never complained about the hours

or working weekends. But there was definitely something off with her these past few weeks,"

You shifted on your other foot. "How do you mean?"

"Her demeanor. Melissa was always outgoing always had a smile on her face, even after losing her husband, Peter. But lately she'd become withdrawn..distant. To be honest, that's when I started to get suspicious,"

Jay didn't look away from her boss. "Suspicious of what, exactly?"

Her boss didn't answer for a minute thinking about what to say. She held up a finger to signal that she needed a minute. She got up from her desk, shut her office door and then sit back down. "We worked a class action suit last year. Several dozen plaintiffs were awarded mesothelioma cancer pay-outs, all over a million dollars each. three of the plaintiffs were robbed in home invasions, some of them badly injured,"

"Was Melissa the only one with access to this information?"

Her boss shook her head. "Well, no. But the way she was acting, and now what's happened to her, it can't be a coincidence,"

--

As you were leaving the office, Jay called the unit and told them what Melissa's boss, you got in his truck and he got in his truck after he finished the call. You were driving to the precinct when you got a call telling you to meet the team at a location they think Ginger is at and to suit up. Apparently while you were out, the team had learned the suspect's name. You were also texted a picture of him.

Jay parked a little ways down the street and you guys suited up and walked the rest of the way to meet up with the team. Voight saw you and as soon as you got next to him, he started talking. "This one we don't announce. We hit it and we hit it hard,"

You all nodded. Jay grabbed the battering ram and hit the door. Antonio was in first, Al and Ruzek was next, then you, Voight and Jay. You could hear a woman screaming. You saw three males trying to get up and run. You pointed a gun at one of them. "Don't move!"

Jay pointed the gun at the other. "Right there!"

Voight goes past you to point a gun at the three suspect.. "I'll blow your head off! Let me see your hands. Don't move,"

Antonio looked at the girl. "You, get your clothes. Get out of here,"

When everyone was under control you finally looked up at the three suspect and saw that it was Ginger. " You got a warrant?"

"Melissa Wilds,"

"Never heard of her,"

Voight didn't say anything for a minute then didn't take his eye of him but address the team. "The stove. Cover the door,"

Al and Antonio grabbed Ginger and pulled him over to the store as he turned on the store. "Wait a minute,"

"Justin Voight is my son. You shoot him and wrap him in barb wire?"

"No, man, that wasn't me. It was all Kevin!"

"Kevin who?"

"Kevin Bingham, a guy I work with sometimes. He...he used to bang

that girl Melissa when they were younger, started forcing her to give up info on who was getting big pay-outs from her law firm,"

"Yeah, and you did the home invasions.

"I just do the safes, man. He handles the people, then we split it down the middle,"

"Why did he kill her and shoot my son?"

"Melissa wanted out. But Kevin wouldn't let her, so she went to Justin for help. wanted me to meet him at that social club to broker a deal for her safety for five grand. I told him, leave it alone. He had no idea who he was messing with. Kevin knew Melissa was gonna rat him out, so he called Justin to meet to tie up loose ends!"

"Where's Kevin now?"

"I don't know. I swear! He only calls me when there's a job!"

Voight grabbed Ginger's head and forces it down on the hot burner so he could burn his cheek. Ginger screamed out in pain and you looked away in disgust.

Antonio came up to Voight and tried to pull him off of him. "Voight, we can do this at the district!"

Voight shrugged. "We're fine right here. Relax. Relax. Where's Kevin now?"

"Hiding cause he knows you're after him. I swear to God, that's all I know,"

-

It's been about two or so hours since you talked to Ginger. You had finally found some information on Bingham. You printed off a picture of Bingham and what you found on him. You also made copies for the team. "Kevin Bingham. He's been racking up felonies since he was 18, armed robbery, assault, battery, burglary. Five years ago he got popped for attempted murder. A guy spilled his drink at a bar, so Bingham stabbed him 16 time,"

Antonio looked up from the sheet. "Yeah, and he got out of jail three months ago,"

Al who was leaning up against the file cabinet talked next. "Melissa's father said she and Bingham dated six years ago back in high school and after her husband died, he started coming around again,"

Jay pointed at the photo that was sent over. "So these were sent over, all of these are from recent home invasions where the victims were tied up with barbed wire,"

Kevin looked at the phone. "That is definitely something he picked up in prison,"

Ruzek comes into the room with a paper in his hand. "So Bingham's parole officer said he stopped showing up-- violated him, but he's got no LKA. Yeah, so we've been running an extensive check on all his known associates, including those off his prison visiting list. All right, this is Dillon James. visited him all the way up until his parole, putting money into his canteen account. He's got priors for methamphetamine and a thing for stealing UPS trucks and selling the stolen goods,"

Voight turned and looked at him. "Where is he?"

"We got a possible house in Rogers Park,"

Voight nodded. "Let's roll out and suit up. Oh, Antonio. You stay here. Just call us if you get anything,"

-

You hit the house and found his brother but all his brother told you was that Bingham came by last night and took some cash and guns that he was holding for them. He only told him that he needed to get out of town until something blew over.

*Justin was moved to ICU and Sharon will call in an hour with an update*

Dillion: I ain't--I ain't seen him *point the gun at him* All right, he was here! He came by last night. He was picking up some cash I was holding for him and some guns. He also gets a call from Antonio saying Sharon called and told him that Justin came out of surgery and that

You were in the unit for an hour or so when Voight gets a call and goes into his office and he was in there for a few minutes before he comes back out. "I got an address on Bingham. I want everyone rolling there now. First two to arrive, breach. This guy's on the run could be leaving any minute. Let's go,"

You didn’t ride with Jay or anyone else. You rode by yourself so you could have some time by yourself just to think about everything that was happened. You heard your phone go off and you looked down and saw that it was Jay. "Hey, I'm two minutes out,"

"Bingham's not here. No one's here. Not for a while,"

"Is Voight there?"

"Not yet,"

That's when it hit you that Voight sent you to a bogus location and that whoever he was on the phone with, found Bingham and he was at the Silos.

You heard Jay on the line calling for you but you dropped your phone in the seat and as soon as you could turned around. You drove as fast of you could to get to the Silos before your dad could do anything stupid. You drove up and saw that Kevin was digging a hole. You got out of the car and Kevin started talking to you. "Oh, thank God. Thank God. This guy tried to kill me. I didn't do anything,"

You walked up closer to your dad. "Don't do this. Think of your grandson,"

"Get back in your car, Y/N,"

"Do not throw it all away over him,"

"Get back in your car,"

"Dad, please. Justin is still alive and he wouldn't want justice like this,"

"Get out of here,"

"Justin,"

You looked at your dad to Kevin and then back to your dad and knew you couldn't get your dad to think straight. You slowly backed up and got in your car and left. You were halfway down the road when you finally heard the gun go off.

--

You didn't even go the unit after, you went straight to the hospital and you saw Sharon coming out ready to go home. She saw you. "He is in room 12. Say that I allowed it. Talk to him, he can hear you,"

You nodded and said a silent thank you. She placed a hand on your shoulder for a second before removing it. You walked up to the room and no one bothered you. You took a deep breath before opening the door. You opened the door and saw your brother in the hospital unconscious and Olive sitting next to him. She looked at you. "I'll give you two some time together," You walked to the chair and sat down. You finally let go of all the emotion you've been holding on too since you found Justin. You reached out to grab your brother's hand. You sat there and cry until you couldn't let anything else out. When you were finally done crying, you sat there in quiet thinking of what to say. "I don't know if you can hear me, Sharon says that you can. Do you remember when we first met after dad transferred me into Intelligence. We didn't like each other at well. We hated each other at first. Bickered all the time. Yes, we always had bad times but we also had god times and I want...I need more good times with you. I need you to be in my life..."

You trailed off with what you were about to say because you haven’t said it out loud. "Your niece or nephew is gonna need their uncle,"

You put your head on the side of his bed and just sat in quiet once more. "I'm gonna make them my partner in crime,"

[rpmemesbyarat]

RP Meme from “What’s Your Favorite Movie Quote?” thread on Reddit, Part One

“Crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side.” “Get busy living or get busy dying.” “ You can't fight in here, this is the war room!” "Man up and vanished like a fart in the wind!" "They literally stopped me from eating foods that were shaped like dicks. No hot dogs, no popsicles... You know how many foods are shaped like dicks? The best kinds." “People don’t forget.” "They wouldn't even let me watch Wild Things, because Kevin Bacon's dick is in it." "You can promise that I’ll come back?” “He starts monologuing! He starts this prepared speech about how feeble I am to him, how my defeat is inevitable, and the world will soon be his, yada yada yada, he’s yammering! I mean the guy has me on a platter, and he won’t shut up!” “You sly dog! You got me monologuing!!“ “A hero would sacrifice you for the world but a villain would sacrifice the world for you.” "I need your clothes, your boots, and your motorcycle." “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” Try not to suck any dick on the way through the parking lot." “Some motherfuckers are always trying to ice skate uphill." “I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.” "The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long, and you have burned so very, very brightly." "I eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast.' "You eat pieces of shit for breakfast?" "Now you will go to sleep, or I will put you to sleep." "You’re a lousy kindergarten teacher I see those finger paintings you bring home and they SUCK!!!” "When you're ugly and someone loves you, you know they love you for who you are. Beautiful people never know who to trust." "Strange women, lying in ponds and distributing swords is no system for a basis of government. If I went around saying I was an emperor just because some moistened bint lobbed a scimitar at me, they would put me away!" “Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony!“ “Oh, now we see the violence inherent in the system!” “All the time you spend tryin to get back what's been took from you there's more going out the door. After a while you just try and get a tourniquet on it.” "What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul." "Those of you lucky enough to still have their lives, take them with you. However, leave the limbs you've lost. They belong to me now.” "Are you not entertained? " "This is some serious gourmet shit " “I don't need you to tell me how fucking good my coffee is, okay?" “I’m dishonest, and a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly, it's the honest ones you want to watch out for, because you can never predict when they’re going to do something incredibly stupid. “ “In a fair fight, I'd kill you.” “When you have to shoot, shoot, don’t talk!” “Back off man. I'm a scientist.” “People should not be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.“ “I’m not questioning your powers of observation, I’m merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.” “Are you like a crazy person?” “There are over 550 million firearms in worldwide circulation. That’s one firearm for every twelve people on the planet. The only question is: How do we arm the other eleven?” “Are you sick too?” “My hypocrisy only goes so far.” “I forgot you were there. You may go now." "Does this mean we're not friends anymore?”

[anna-justice]

Light My Fire - 1

Summary: Millie Halstead is just a girl finally coming home, Blake Gallo is just a boy looking for one. *Blake Gallo x OC Halstead/UPSTEAD 

...

1 - It’s the Wind

...

O’Hare was buzzing with it’s normal chaotic energy, the business of traveling near the holidays lost on no one. Millie Halstead raced down her terminal, barely phased by the craziness. She couldn’t contain her smile as she saw a familiar redhead standing at baggage claim, she was home. 

“Mildred.” Will said, holding his arms open.

Millie rolled her eyes, “William.” They both laughed before embracing, it had been six months since they had seen each other last. “I missed you.” She said, pulling away.

Will reached out and grabbed his sister’s bag off the floor where she had dropped it. “I missed you too.” He nodded towards the doors, “Let’s get out of here.” 

The two siblings navigated the sea of people out of the airport and headed for Will’s car, which was conveniently (not) located at the far end of the parking garage. When they finally got there, Millie was out of breath, thankful that her brother had decided to take her bag. 

“This is weird.” She said, sliding into the passenger seat. 

“What is?”

Millie shrugged, “Being home.” She watched the city fly by out the window.

Will laughed at his sister’s dramatics, “Mill, this isn’t the first time you’ve come home…”

“Yeah, I know.” She said, glaring at him. “This is just the first time I’ve come home for good.” She peeked at her brother and watched his face go from very confused to shocked, she grinned.

“What?” Will asked, “You decided to take the job here?” Millie nodded, her heart swelling at her older brother’s joy. “The Halsteads,” He sighed, “All back together again.”

Millie laughed, “Looks like it.”

“Seattle not as fun as it used to be?” Will teased. 

She watched the buildings go by, it was similar in some ways to Seattle, but Seattle would never be Chicago. “Seattle is beautiful and I will always love it there, but it’s too far away…” She explained. Millie had attended the University of Washington for biology (specializing under a professor in marine biology), and she would forever say that it was one of the best decisions she had ever made. She had just finished an expedition in the pacific, working with an organization called OCEARCH for shark conservation. When she got back to land, there was a job offer for her from the Shedd Aquarium. 

As amazing as it was to live at sea, Millie missed her family and the decision to move back was a no-brainer. “I’m glad you're back, for good.” Will said, smiling.

“Yeah, me too.” She agreed. 

A few minutes later, Will pulled into the parking lot of the district. “I’ve got night shift tonight, so you are Jay’s problem until tomorrow.” Will joked, putting the car in park. “I’ll leave your stuff at my apartment and you can come grab it later.” 

Millie nodded, “Thanks Will.” She said, pushing the door open. “I’ll see you later.” Will waved before she shut the door, turning to make her way up the concrete steps. 

The 21st district was just how she remembered it, hectic and full of life. “Millie Halstead.” She heard and her head snapped up, meeting her favorite desk sergeants eyes. “Look at you.” She said, rounding the massive desk and wrapping her in a hug.

“Hi Sergeant Platt.” She said, smiling. 

Trudy pulled away, giving the much younger girl a fake stern look. “What have I told you? You aren’t your brother.”

Millie nodded, laughing. “You’re right. It’s good to see you, Trudy.”

“You too, it’s been too long since I’ve seen my favorite Halstead.” Trudy said quietly, “I’ll buzz you up.” 

“Thanks!” Millie threw over her shoulder, before walking up the stairs. She was a lot younger than her brothers, a product of a time where Pat and Jane were happy again. Her mom died when she was still in middle school and Trudy had become a sort of mother figure afterwards. Jay had been in intelligence for a long time and before that he was still at the 21st, she spent a lot of late nights with the resident desk sergeant when she wanted to be anywhere but home. 

She pushed the metal gate open and ascended the marble staircase to the bullpen. As room as she reached the top, her brother jumped up from his desk to greet her. Millie grinned, running past him and embracing his partner who was waiting for her with open arms. “Hey Mill.” Hailey said, hugging the girl tightly.

“Hey Hailes.” She replied. 

Someone cleared their throat behind her, Millie pulled away and rolled her eyes. “Hi Jay.” She said, walking over to hug her brother. 

“If it isn't baby Halstead?” Kevin asked, walking out of the interrogation room. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Hey Kev.” She said before going to hug Kim. “Hey.”

Kim gave her a kind smile. “Hi Mill, how are you?”

Millie grinned, she had some news to share. “I’m great.” 

The members of intelligence had become her family over the years, most of them had attended her high school graduation, Hailey flew out with Jay and Will to watch her walk in Washington. They had all been there for her every step of the way. Like when Jay was shot, Kim sat in the hospital on facetime with her for almost two days while he was in and out of surgery. 

“Hey kid.” Adam said, ruffling her hair. Millie faked a punch and Adam jumped back putting his hands up in surrender. “Woah-wee, did you get taller? I think she got taller.” He said pointing at her.

Millie backed away from Adam, “Shut up.” She turned her attention back to Hailey, leaning against her desk next to her. “So, do you still have that extra room?” She asked and Jay’s eyebrows shot up.

Hailey grinned, “Yeah, it’s been empty since Vanessa left.”

“You feel like having a roommate again?” Millie asked.

“Only if it’s you.” Hailey said, wrapping her arm around the younger girl. 

“Wait.” Jay said, moving his crossed arms to slightly point at his little sister. “Does this mean you are moving back?” Jay asked, his voice getting higher and more excited as he went.

Millie nodded, “Yeah. I took the job,” She took a step forward, almost like she was presenting herself to the room. “You are looking at the Shedd Aquarium’s new resident shark biologist!” 

The room erupted with claps, Jay coming to stand beside her. “I’m so proud of you.” He said quietly before hugging her once again. As much as Millie loved Will, she and Jay had always been closer. Jay was the token middle child, she always hated the way their dad treated him, but they bonded growing up. They were closer in age and even as a kid Jay had a slight hero complex, so when he enlisted Millie was anything but surprised. She was ten when he left, Will had already been gone for a while, he was in New York, but Jay leaving hit her much harder.

When their mom got sick he came home, but he wasn’t the same. Something in him had changed, he was still her Jay: loving, protective, responsible...but there was a darkness that he brought with him. There were many times that year before their mom died that she would sit outside of his bedroom door in the middle of the night, listening to him thrash around. She would stay until she knew he had fallen back asleep and then sneak back to her room. 

He left again for another tour after she died, that was the hardest. Pat was always distant, but after Jane died he wasn’t much of a father at all. Will visited, but he was living a new life far away so when he did come home, the time was short and few and far between. 

Jay joined the force after his second tour, telling Millie that he was home for good. She moved in with him for her last two years of high school, with little interference from their father. They were happy, Jay was pulled into a unit, where he met Antonio Dawson and Millie got a few more people to call family. She even babysat Eva and Diego sometimes. 

Choosing to go to Seattle for college was a hard decision, but she got a full scholarship and she had Jay’s full support, how could she not take it? That was the last time that she lived in Chicago, so Jay was ecstatic that she was back for good. “Let’s go get coffee, I’ve got some time and we need to catch up.” Jay said, grabbing his coat off his chair. 

“Sounds great.” Millie said. 

Jay looked at his partner, “Hailey?”

“I’m good, have fun.” She said, waving them off.

Jay nodded and Millie waved goodbye as they disappeared down stairs to the drive-by. “So…” Millie said as she hopped into the passenger seat of the truck. 

“So?” Jay asked.

Millie sighed, her brother was so dense sometimes. “Hailey…”

Jay laughed, “Yeah, what about her?”

“Jay. In the past two weeks you have called me three times about her.” 

Jay took a deep breath, he didn’t know how, but Millie could always see right through him, no matter how good the lie was. “And? She’s my partner.”

Millie laughed, “I know that excuse works for everyone else, but it doesn’t work for me.” She shifted in her seat to face him, “Plus, you called me about what to get her for Christmas, what I thought her favorite scent was and if asking her to go shopping with you was too much. Those aren’t really partner things Jay.” 

Jay thought long and hard, trying to find something to say. “I hate it when you are right.”

“That must be why you are so grumpy all the time.” Millie teased.

They reached the local coffee shop, ordering quickly (and of course Jay still got Hailey a cup). Even though the walk from the building to the truck was brief, Millie still shivered. “Cold?” Jay asked, smirking.

“You know, after living in Washington for five years, you’d think I’d be used to Chicago winters.” She said, sighing at the heat in the truck.

Jay shook his head, “It’s the wind.”

They rode in comfortable silence for a little while before Millie spoke up. “I was thinking...maybe we could go to Mom and Dad’s grave later? It’s been a while since we cleaned it.”

Jay nodded immediately, “I took tomorrow off, we could go in the morning after Will gets off shift.” He looked at his sister for approval..

“Yeah, that’d be nice.” Millie said, taking a breath. She sipped her hot drink, watching the building fly by. 

“Hey Mill.” Jay said, grabbing her attention. “I’m really glad you’re home.”

Millie smiled softly, “Yeah, me too.”

…

A/N: I am SO so excited for this story. I’ve been toying with the idea for a while now and I have finally have the time to write it! I know the backstory is a little jacked, but with a new character and timeline, I needed it to make sense. Also, I can’t decide if this is a fire or pd story, so let’s just call it both! Thanks for reading! <3

P.S. Comment to be added to the tag list!

[ms-rampage]

Eden’s Gate: Left Behind Chapter 12 - The Attack

Warnings: Language, violence, demons, smut?, degrading?, choking, teasing, John being unfair little shit to female Sam Winchester.

Word count: 2.2k

Summary: Kate’s friends are attacked during their camping trip. John shows Kate how much he loves her. 

Note: Once again sorry for the gap between chapters!!. College sucks ass!!!, and I’m also working on other series as well. 

****************************************

“You’re mine now” John says into the crook of Kate’s neck. 

“You’re all mine and no one elses” he continues to mark her neck, and collarbones. Moving up, and down her body. Biting, and sucking at it.

“I took your virginity, Took your purity. You’re mine” he says into her chest.

His hand tangled in her hair. He continues to shove himself in and out of her. Having her beg for him. Teasing the former virgin. 

“John, please” she whimpers, looking up at him.

“Please what darlin?!’ he says, still teasing her.

“I want you. Please. Please fuck me” she whimpers again.

He stops, and hovers over her. Their faces inches away from each other.

“It amazes me how a pretty face like yours managed to stay so pure, so innocent this long” he says, as he sniffs her hair, and whispers, “I like how you respond, react to what I do to you. The way your body reacts. The way you react to my actions”.

He shoves his cock in her with full force, and she lets out a scream like moan. John stays still, not moving, or giving her any satisfaction.

Being an unfair little shit, “See!!’ he says in a lustful tone, “There’s the reaction I love. I like to see you beg. Beg for me!!”.

Kate whimpers, feeling like she might throw up if he doesn’t fuck her insides.

“C’mon darlin!. Give me a scream”, he shoves his cock inside her again.

Giving him the same reaction from before. He smirks, “Ahh, it’s. It’s like music to my ears!!”.

He wraps his hand around her throat, not putting enough pressure to strangle her.

“Just know, I’m not doing this to hurt you. I just wanna see how much you can take, how much sexual pain I give you. How you can take it”.  Kate feeling like she’s gonna pass out as he tightens his grasp around her throat. Taking away her oxygen. Closing her airway. She didn’t know he was into this sort of thing. Choking, teasing. What’s next?. Spanking? Degrading? Humiliation? Bondage?.

He clicks his tongue, shaking his head when he sees her about to pass out due to lack of oxygen. The color in her face changing, making her turn white. 

“I thought you were stronger than that?!? Hmm?. That’s disappointing darlin”. He holds her throat for a few more seconds, then he lets go. 

She gasps loudly for air. 

Grabbing a handful of her hair again, pulling her head back to bite, and suck at her neck.

Moaning at his aggression, biting her lip, and arching her back up. 

Thinking he didn’t see her reaction. He pulls away, and looks at her with raised eyebrows.

Leaving her whimpering, and wanting more. 

“Oh?. I see that. You like it when I dominate you. When I make you feel vulnerable”.

He pulls her hair again, she lets out a loud moan. 

“You like that don’t you?!”, he tightens the grip on her hair, “You like it when I hurt you?!”

“Y-Ye” she whimpers.

He pulls her hair again before she could answer, “Sorry darlin, I didn’t catch that?!” he teases, “Do you like it when I do this to you?!”, his voice filled with malicious intentions.

“Ye-Yes. Yes” she whimpers. 

“Good, because this is how it's gonna be between us. Whether it’s here. My bedroom, in my plane, or in the church, it’s always gonna be like this. Because I love you, and you’re mine. No one else will ever have you. Do you understand?!”.

“Yes John, yes” she says, panting.

Grabbing her throat again, pulling her hair once more. Overpowering her, and making her vulnerable. 

“I would call you a slut for making me do this to you, but since I’m your first time it wouldn’t make any sense”.

He lets go of her hair, slowly getting off of her, pulling his cock out of her slowly. 

Sitting her up on the table.

He grabs a rag off the table next to them, and cleans the blood from her broken hymen from losing her virginity. 

Her thighs, between her legs all sore. Pretty sure that’s normal from losing your virginity. 

John cleans the blood from the table, between her legs, and thighs.

Tossing the rag in a basket, he holds her head, and kisses her lips. 

“So?. I was your first time?!” he asks, his hand on the back of her head, his fingers gently rubbing circles.

She nods, “Yeah, you were my first time”.

He gives her side smile, “Do you regret it?”.

“No” she responds, shaking her head, “Not at all”.

He holds her head with both hands, cupping her it, and kisses her. 

Passion, electricity running through her body.

Getting mixed emotions about this man. Why are the attractive ones the most sadistic ones?!?.

He takes her to another part of his Gate, where it’s a lot nicer, and cleaner.

*****************************************

At the Whitetails Mountains.

Alissa, Layla, Becky, Sarah, Dylan, Kevin and Ryan all go to sleep, leaving the bonfire on. 

The cracking of the embers, the sound of the crickets, and the wildlife being the only sounds filling the Montana night.

A few hours later around 3AM, the demons appear out of the darkness.

Circling the campsite. Alissa, Sarah and Becky in one tent, Ryan, Layla and Dylan in the second tent, and Kevin by himself in the third tent,

Saleos, and Merihem circling their campsite, like sharks in the ocean circling their vulnerable prey. 

“Follow my lead” Saleos says to Merihem.

They approach the campsite, stepping on leaves as they approach the tents.

Dylan hears the crunching of leaves. Thinking it’s an animal, he goes back to sleep then he hears voices.

The voices of two men, whispering to each other, he looks over to Ryan and Layla who are completely asleep.

His phone vibrates, he gets a message from Alissa, “Dude are you talking??”.

He replies back, “No, it’s probably Kevin”.

Alissa replies back, “He’s asleep. I can see him from my tent”.

Dylan gets a message from Kevin, “Hey are you and Ryan talking???”.

He texts back, “Nope, I’m in my tent. I thought it was you!!”.

The voices grow slightly louder, and they circle the three tents.

“Dude the footsteps are circling the tents!! You think it's the fucking peggies??”Alissa text Dylan.

“It could be!!. I’ll get my gun” Dylan replies back. 

Dylan goes to his gun from his bag, he puts in some bullets, and wakes up Ryan.

“Ryan, Ryan” he whispers, shaking him awake.

“What? What?” he asks, groggling, and half asleep. 

“I think there are a couple of peggies outside, help me take them down” he whispers, louding his pistol.

Ryan rubs his face, making himself wake up, and reaches for his bag to grab his gun.

Their guns loaded, Dylan slowly, and quietly opens the zipper to the tent.

They both jump out, and look around, pistols ready in hand.

 Scanning the darkness, the trees and everything that surrounds them, “Who’s there?!?!” Ryan yells out in a threatening voice. 

Footsteps crunching leaves behind them from the darkness.

“Who’s there?!?!” Dylan yells out, quickly turning around to face the sound. 

Becky comes out of her tent with a sniper rifle, and joins the two guys.

“We’re armed. Hope County Deputy Taylor!!” she yells out, and Layla comes out of her shared tent with a shotgun.

“Hope County Deputy Michaels. Who’s ever out there drop you weapons, and come out with your hands up” she yells out in her threatening cop voice. 

The others stay in their tents, and listen for anything.

The four of them facing all directions of the darkness. Their backs to each other, scanning the darkness like mad men.

The snap of a twig sends them to face the direction of the sound. Then they see the silhouette of a figure appear out of the darkness.

“Calm down children” Saleos says, “No need to be trigger happy”.

He walks closer towards them, “Keep your hands where I can see them! Come any closer, I will shoot you” Layla says, cocking her shotgun.

“That won’t hurt me” he says, walking closer to them.

“Hey! Stay where you are!” Becky yells, “Or we will shoot you!”.

He chuckles, “How cute. I see you’re all friends with a Winchester”

Kevin, Sarah and Alissa come out of their tents. A metal bat, hunting knife, and crowbar in their hands.

Merihem comes out of the shadows behind the group, “How cute. A little army of humans”.

Ryan, Alissa, and Layla turn to face him.

All 7 of them are facing the two entities.

“Who are you two?!?” Ryan asks, aiming his gun at Saleos.

“How do you know Kate?!?” Alissa asks, crowbar in hand, and ready to start swinging.

Merihem chuckles, “Oh trust us. We know her personally, and you’re all gonna learn why you shouldn’t be around her”.

“What?!” Sarah exclaims.

Kevin scoffs, “Yeah sure. No one tells who I can, and can’t be around”, he charges at Merihem, metal bat in hand.

Without touching him, Merihem sends Kevin flying 10 feet, hitting a tree in the process. Landing hard on the dirt.

“Kevin!!!” Sarah exclaims.

Layla shoots at him twice in the chest and stomach. 

Causing him no damage, or blood loss.

“What the fuck?!?!” she yells, in shock that the bullets did nothing to him. 

Saleos uses his telekinesis, and chokes both Ryan and Dylan.

Clenching their necks, gasping for air.

Suffocating them, Becky shoots at Saleos. 

A headshot makes him release his grasp on the guys.

They wheeze loudly from the air. Taking deep breaths.

“What the fuck are you two?!?” Becky yells out.

Shrugging, “Minions of Hell. Demons. Lucifer’s favorite. The list goes on, and on” Merihem says.

Kevin regains consciousness, and hits Merihem with his bat.

Making the demon stumble forward. Doing very little damage. 

He swings at him again, and he dodges it. Using his powers and pushes him back. Hitting a tree once again.

Becky, Layla, Ryan and Dylan shoot at each demon. Doing little to no damage to them.

Saleos gets closer to them, and Alissa swings her crowbar at him.

Burning his flesh a little. Blistering into boils. 

Alissa might have found a weakness for these “men”.

Merihem uses his powers, and makes claw marks on Dylan, Alissa and Kevin.

All three of them scream in agony as their flesh gets ripped open, and they start to bleed out.

“What the fuck?! What the fuck?!” Ryan starts to panic as he bleeds out.

Sarah grabs the crowbar, and swings at Merihem, the iron bar burning his flesh as well.

Blistering it. She swings at him several more times in the head. 

Making him weaker with every hit, he pushes her towards a tree, hitting it.

A black mist flies out of the vessel’s mouth, and takes off into the night.

Layla, Becky, and Kevin who regain consciousness again, all standing tall. 

Protecting their bleeding out friends.

Sarah crawls towards her friends, standing up. Ignoring the agonizing pain in her back.

“Now, now you’ve all done it” Saleos says, pointing to each of them, his eyes turning completely black.

The look of horror on all of their faces.

“What the fuck?!?” Becky pants.

“You gotta be shitting me?!??” Alissa says, putting pressure on her wounded stomach.

He sends the four of them flying in different directions hitting a tree or boulder in the process, leaving the other three to bleed out of their wounds.

“Now that you’ve all got the message. Kate Winchester is poison, her whole family are like leeches. The entire Winchester family is nothing but cancer. She is the reason why you’re all in the condition you’re in now. So she is to blame for this. Tell her Saleos, and Merihem sends their regards on behalf of Crowley the King of Hell”.

Black mist flies out of his body, making the body drop dead to the ground.

Taking off into the night, leaving all of them wounded, bloody, injured, and bruised. 

*******************************************

John, and Kate are asleep in a different part of his Gate.

Cuddled up in bed, his arms wrapped around her waist.

He holds her close to his chest as they sleep.

Making circular motions on her back.

Unbeknown to Kate, her phone starts to blow up in silence with multiple messages, and phone calls from all her friends that were attacked.

“Hey!! you need to do some explaining!!” - Kevin

“Is there something you didn’t tell us?!?” - Layla

“We were attacked tonight, they say that they knew you!!!” - Alissa 

“Pick your phone!!!!” - Ryan

“Kate pick up your fucking phone!!!” - Sarah

“I’m bleeding out of my chest, and the dude didn’t even fucking touch me!!!” - Dylan

All her friends rushed themselves to the hospital were they were treated for their wounds, and injuries.

[bleedinghearthalstead]

SWAT!Jay / Upstead AU

A/N: Part 9! SWAT!AU version of 7x19 Buried Secrets. Crossposted on AO3, link on my blog.

"D-21 Squad, advise 3rd District commander, I need every available patrolman and SWAT. We got a hostage barricade situation."

"Sarge, we got something," Hailey announces when she opens the door of the interrogation room where Hank is questioning Wade Henslow. She waits for her superior to step out before she continues, "Patrol drove by Dylan Stevens' last known. The silver Isuzu from the kidnapping is parked right outside."

"Good." Hank nods. "Tell them to hold tight, we're on our way."

"You got it."

The Intelligence unit gears up and drives to the South Side in three cars, parking down the road of the LKA. Kevin grabs the ram and they walk up the street in a single file, guns ready. Before they can even get to the gate, they hear glass breaking above them and a gun firing. The team ducks behind the brick fence in front of the house.

Hailey immediately gets on the radio. "10-1, 10-1. Shots fired at the police and we're pinned down at 51 Whitecrest. I repeat, 51 Whitecrest."

They hear Gary Stevens yelling at them that he has Charlotte Henslow. "Make any move to come inside and I will kill her!"

Hank calls it in. "D-21 Squad, advise 3rd District commander, I need every available patrolman and SWAT. We got a hostage barricade situation."

With the first patrol cars arriving only a few minutes after Hank's call, Hank and Hailey take charge of the scene, having the patrol officers block off the street and evacuate the surrounding houses on the block. Kim and Vanessa are setting up a mobile headquarters in the church across the street of the house that Stevens is holed up in and Adam and Kevin are taking cover behind one of the patrol cars, observing the house with their guns drawn.

Hailey knows Jay is on duty so she watches in anticipation as a SWAT truck pulls up not even half an hour later and the squad disembarks, first the SWAT team leader followed by his operators. She walks up to stand next to Hank and they wait for the team leader and two of his men to come up to them.

"Hicks." Hank shakes the team leader's hand. "Good to see you. We've got one hostage taker, name's Gary Stevens, white male, 55 years old. The hostage is Charlotte Henslow, white female, 21 years old. They're in the house over there, barricaded on the second floor where the broken window is."

"His position's looking down on the only entrance and we can't breach," Hailey adds and looks straight at Jay, who is standing next to his team leader.

Hicks also turns to his sniper. "Get Sam, get an elevated position and get me a clean shot."

"Yessir." Jay nods. He gives Hailey a wink and a small smile before he walks away, waving at Sam who is standing by the SWAT truck. Jay and his spotter look around the area for only a few moments before Jay gives Sam a hand signal and they disappear into the church.

The team leader then turns back to Hank. "You establish contact yet?"

Before Hank can answer, Kim comes up to them, holding out a phone to her sergeant. "We got a cell phone number for Gary Stevens, line's open."

"Good." Hank takes the phone. Hicks and his second-in-command Trey, their negotiator, give each other a look, but they've worked with Hank Voight often enough that they know things run a little differently when Intelligence is involved. The team leader tells Trey to stay with Hank and motions at Hailey to walk back to the SWAT truck with him.

Hicks stops where the rest of the SWAT team is waiting. "Detective Upton, my breach team will be following your lead."

"Copy that." Hailey and the breach team nod at each other. She's come to know Jay's team quite well over the years and she trusts them to have her back just as much as they trust her to call the shots. The four-man breach team gathers their shields and M4s and she leads them to where Adam and Kevin are waiting while Hicks walks back to Hank.

Settled in their position, Mitch sidles up to her and nudges her shoulder. "Hey, so what's the guy's deal?"

Hailey bemusedly looks at the huge form of the breacher crouched behind the car, the vehicle barely giving him enough cover. She shrugs at his question. "Stevens thinks that the girl's father had something to do with his son's disappearance and we think this is some sort of revenge act."

They listen to Hank talk to Stevens over the radio. "Now, Wade Henslow said you demanded two million dollars."

"He's a liar," they hear Stevens say, "I never said I wanted money." He angrily demands that Wade Henslow is brought here to tell him what he did to his son or he'll kill the other man's daughter. They have one hour.

Hank grimaces and orders Adam to get Henslow from the district. "Drag his ass here now."

In the meantime, the sniper team has set up in the church. They had no choice but to break the church window (please send reimbursement requests to the CPD) and Jay's sniper rifle rests on its bipod on a cupboard. Jay is in a standing position behind the rifle and Sam is next to him looking through his spotter's scope. The position isn't ideal since Jay will have to shoot with an upward angle, but it's the best they can do as it's the only place with a direct view of the window Stevens was shooting from earlier. Their headsets crackle and it's their team leader. "Halstead, you got a visual?"

"I'm locked on the window. No target."

The radio crackles again. "We're waiting for Wade Henslow, the girl's father, but if you get a shot, you take it."

"Roger that." Jay's eyes stay trained on the other house, but the curtains are drawn. There's no way he can take a clean shot this way. He glances at Sam out of the corner of his eye. "You got something, buddy?"

Sam keeps looking through his scope and sighs. "Nah, I got nothing. Gotta wait till he moves towards the window."

Jay nods and lets out a deep breath. Time to get comfortable and wait. It's nothing new really. As a sniper, he is used to waiting on target, waiting for the right moment to shoot. Sam is silent beside him and they're both getting into the zone. Breathing in through the nose, breathing out through the open mouth. Trey keeps the line open and they can hear everything that is being said where he is standing next to Intelligence's sergeant – Henslow's just arrived, Hank is questioning Henslow's story, Henslow is denying his involvement in Dylan Stevens' disappearance, Stevens calling in, Henslow and Stevens arguing –, but it's all just background noise to them.

Jay moves his finger to the trigger as soon as he sees the curtains move and Charlotte Henslow appears at the window, duct tape over her mouth and her hands tied, gun to her head. When Stevens starts his countdown, Jay's world grows smaller and smaller and quieter and quieter until all of his focus is concentrated within the circle he can see through his scope. From somewhere, like it's very far away, he hears Hank yell, "Upton, go now!", but that's not important right now. All he hears is seven, six, five, four… he breathes out, three, waits for another heartbeat, two, and squeezes the trigger. The shot echoes through the street.

"Everybody stand down!" Voight yells. "Was that Halstead?"

Jay presses the button on his radio. "I got a partial. I took the only shot I had."

As soon as she hears her sergeant bark at them to breach now, Hailey, Adam, Kevin and the SWAT team move across the street towards the house. Mitch picks up the ram they abandoned earlier and reaches the door first. He looks at Hailey, who will be first through the door, followed by her team mates. Hailey nods at him. "Hit it."

The door frame splinters under the force of Mitch's entry and the door slams against the wall, the whole place rattling. The Intelligence team moves straight for the staircase and Kevin tells the SWAT guys to hold on the ground floor. The place is very quiet and they briefly wonder if Jay has already finished the job, even if he didn't have a clean shot.

Hailey and Adam start clearing the second floor until they reach the last room. She signals at Adam to hold as she slowly peeks her head in only to quickly pull back when she sees Stevens standing in the back corner, holding his gun against Charlotte's head, the girl standing in front of him as a shield. "Take one more step and I will kill her!"

"No, you will not, Gary," Hailey calls into the room. "There's another way out of this, alright? Just keep calm." She turns to Adam and whispers at him, "Keep everybody back, okay?" Adam nods at her. "Everybody's gonna stay back, but I gotta come in there so I can see that Charlotte's okay, you understand?"

"Stay out!" Stevens yells.

Once again, she slowly peeks into the room, this time also holding up her hand and pushing the door open with it. "My name is Detective Upton. I'm gonna move in, alright?" She keeps her right hand up and although she's not pointing it at Stevens, she's still holding onto her gun.

"Put the gun down!"

She raises an eyebrow at the offender. "I don't put my gun down until you put your gun down."

Stevens is desperate. "I need to find my son!"

"I know you do." Hailey tries to calm him down, moving closer. "You're a good father, you love your son. And we're here to help you find Dylan, alright? But you gotta put the gun down."

"Not until I find answers!" By now, both Charlotte and Stevens are crying, the girls cries muffled by the duct tape over her mouth. Stevens' hand that is holding the gun is shaking.

"Gary," the blonde detective quietly says, "you're not gonna hurt an innocent girl, are you? She's got nothing to do with this, she's done nothing to you. She's just a kid like Dylan, right?" Hailey takes another half-step closer and lowers her gun when Stevens moves the muzzle of his gun an inch away from Charlotte's head.

"Stay back!" Stevens screams.

"Okay, okay." She takes a couple of steps back, holding up her hands.

"You good, Hailey?" Adam calls from the hallway.

"We're good," she calls back. She turns to Stevens. "We're going to find your son, okay?"

The man is getting more frantic by the second, Hailey can see it in his eyes. "If this is some kind of trick, I'll kill her!" The gun is again firmly pressed against Charlotte's temple.

Hailey moves closer again, even slower than before. "Listen, I promise we're going to find Dylan, but you need to let Charlotte go."

"No!" Stevens is holding onto the gun so tightly his knuckles are turning white. "You get out until you find my son!"

"You know I can't do that," Hailey calmly says, but her voice also suggests that she's not going to budge.

"Now!" The man snarls. He raises the gun at Hailey, but before he can fully stretch out his arm or Hailey can raise her own gun at him, a shot rings out and Stevens' hand explodes in a red burst, the gun flying through the air. He screams in agonizing pain and lets go of the girl.

Hailey dives over Charlotte, who has dropped to the floor, and tackles Stevens against the wall. Adam and Kevin have already come running into the room and together they press the older man onto the floor, wrestling his arms behind his back. Hailey can only stare at the bloody mess that is Stevens' left hand, a bullet hole in the center of his palm. She lets the guys cuff him and hurries over to the weeping girl, cradling her in her arms.

"You're alright now," she whispers, gently removing the duct tape and the girl sobs loudly. Hailey then calls down the hallway. "Mitch, a little help here!" She hears loud thumping steps run up the stairs and when the breacher comes into view, she motions at him to help her get the girl up and out of the house. The big guy gets out a knife and cuts through the zip ties around her hands, then carefully picks her up and carries her downstairs and to the waiting ambulance while Hailey follows behind them. She looks over her shoulder to see Kevin and Adam dragging Stevens between them. The man's screams have quieted to distressed whimpers and cries about Henslow killing his son and she can hear Adam tell him that they're going to find Dylan.

Hailey watches from a distance as both hostage and captor are taken to the paramedics while Wade Henslow is taken away by a couple of patrol officers, probably on Hank's orders for further questioning. She startles when a hand lands on her shoulder. "You alright?"

She looks into the concerned eyes of her husband and nods. "Yeah, I'm good."

"You sure?" Jay's hand moves to her face and his thumb rubs over her cheek.

Hailey vaguely remembers having felt some blood splatter on her face. "It's not mine. I'm okay." She gives Jay a small smile. "Thanks to you."

Her husband smugly smiles back at her. "I could see the shadow of his arm through the stained glass."

"So you took a lucky shot, huh?" She raises an eyebrow at him.

He shrugs at her. "I got him, didn't I?"

Hailey can only shake her head at his confidence, but she does know that she's lucky that her husband is so good at his job. Before she can give him a retort, Mitch comes jogging up to them. "Hicks said we're moving out in five."

Jay nods at his team mate and leans down to give Hailey a quick peck on the lips. "I'll see you later, babe."

As she watches the SWAT team pack up their gear and drive off, she rolls her eyes. Typical for them to just leave while they have to stick around and tidy up the scene.

* * * * *

The Intelligence and SWAT teams meet up at Molly's that night, minus their team leaders. The big group is huddled around a couple of tables that they pushed together against Herrmann's will and Hailey watches in amusement as the teams are loudly joking and laughing – they're the loudest bunch in the bar. It's the first time the two teams are hanging out with each other outside of work and already knowing the SWAT team, Hailey is not surprised that the teams mesh well. They're all considered members of elite units and they all have big egos to boast, but both Hailey and Jay consider their teams family and those families share a lot of the same values.

Since they're the only ones who know both groups, Hailey and Jay are wisely staying quiet, watching the mayhem from the sidelines. There's not enough chairs for everyone so Hailey is sitting in Jay's lap, his arms wrapped around her waist. She is sitting sideways with one arm slung around his neck. It's nice to end the day surrounded by people who they trust with their lives.

Later on they get to talking about the day's case and how they all understood Stevens' motivation to find his son. Trey says that he'd do the same or even worse for his kids and Kevin adds that he'd be the same with his younger siblings. Adam solemnly says that he would do anything for the kids he might have in the future and Hailey watches as Kim subtly puts her hand on his knee.

"Hey." Sam nudges Jay. "When are you and Hailey gonna have kids?"

Jay chokes on his beer and Hailey laughs, patting her husband on the back while he coughs. "The fuck, man?" he croaks out.

"You've been married for like two and a half years now, don't you want little Upsteads running around?" While the SWAT team snorts at Sam using the ship name they gave them, the whole group is collectively holding back their laughs and looking at Hailey and Jay with wide eyes as they are still waiting for the couple's reaction.

Jay looks at Hailey who quirks an eyebrow at him, then turns to the group. "Listen, ah, uhm-" he stammers.

His wife giggles at him and strokes his cheek in a calming manner. She shyly looks around the group. "It's still early and I didn't want to say anything yet-"

"WHAT!?" Kim and Sam exclaim at the same time, the others having similar albeit a little quieter reactions. They start talking over each other, giving the couple their best wishes, Kim and Mitch are tearing up, Sam and Adam start arguing about who gets to be the godfather, Kevin and Vanessa are yelling at Herrmann to get them a bottle of champagne.

Trey is staring at them with an unreadable expression. He squints his eyes at them and then groans. "You two are dicks." Jay laughs out loud and Hailey hides her laugh behind her hands.

"Wait, what?" The rest of the group is quieting down and looking at each other in confusion.

"For an elite group of police officers…" Hailey shakes her head. "You did see me drink a couple of beers and all the shots that Kevin and Sam ordered, right?"

"So you're not pregnant?" Kim pouts.

"No." Jay pulls a still giggling Hailey down to kiss her, then winks at Kim. "But we're working on it."

[nickelkeep]

No Cheeseburgers in Paradise

Pairing: Dean/Cas Rating: Teen, for some language Word Count: 5.7K Warnings: Sam POV, Canonverse Divergent after S8 Written For: nickel’s storytime On Ao3

Sam hadn't thought of having a place to set down roots in a very long time. Maybe when he had been with Jess, back at Stanford. But that was years ago, and his home had reverted back to pre-Jess, the back seat of the Impala, and motel rooms across the country. So the parting gift from their Grandfather was a strange surprise, to say the least.

At most, Sam had thought that it was just a warehouse in which the Men of Letters kept their magical relics and volumes of lore. He never expected it to be a fully functional base of operations. Bedrooms, Bathrooms, a Kitchen? That was not what Sam thought he would find as he explored the bunker.

Sam didn't expect to find Dean instantly claiming the place as home. In a matter of minutes, his older brother had claimed room eleven and started straightening it out. Dean even went as far hanging up his clothes in the modest closet, on long-forgotten hangers.

Seeing his brother's almost instant attachment to the bunker, Sam couldn't help but find a room, knowing that Dean wouldn't let him live it down if he didn't. He picked a bedroom that was as many spaces away from the bathroom as Dean's but in the opposite direction. If Dean wanted to settle in, Sam could use that to his advantage and make a physical separation from Dean as well.

The distance between rooms didn't stop Dean from mothering over Sam. He rolled his eyes as Dean referred to his new mode as nesting: cleaning and organizing the bunker, turning it into a home for the pair of them. The latest chore Dean had given himself, and one Sam hadn't seen in a long time?

Cooking.

Sam smelled the meal before Dean turned into the Library, two plates in hand. Dean set one in front of Sam, confirming what the younger Winchester had already thought. Dean had taken use of the kitchen and made them each their own burger.

"Uh, thanks, Dean." Sam looked down at the burger Dean had set before him. "Special occasion tonight?"

"Nope. Was just doing that nesting thing. Figured I could clean the kitchen, then I tested the stove, then I remembered we did some shopping. So I cooked." Dean sat at the next table over, observing Sam. "It's nice to have a full-size kitchen."

"I'm sure." Sam nodded, his eyes not leaving the burger on the plate. "You know, I'm not all that hungry."

"That's bullshit, and you know it, Sammy." Dean bit into his burger and smiled. "Man, when's the last time I was able to make something like this?"

"At Madison's place," Sam mumbled under his breath. "Or maybe before you and Bobby met Cas." Sam shot a look at over Dean, who was blissfully unaware of Sam's comments as he devoured his burger. He shook his head and stared back down at the burger on his plate. It had taken Sam years to figure it out, but Dean's burgers - while fucking delicious - were completely and utterly cursed.

While the outcome of eating Dean's food wasn't always adverse, something would always happen.

"Sammy, eat." Dean pointed at the burger. "I've really outdone myself this time."

Sam bit his bottom lip, dreading what was coming, but nodded all the same as he picked up the burger and took a bite. He let out an almost obscene moan as he devoured Dean's burger. His older brother wasn't kidding when he said this was his best yet. Guiltily and nervously, Sam finished off his dinner before looking at Dean. "That was amazing."

"Right? Now just wait until I get the stuff for making pie. I can even make the crust from scratch with the kitchen we have!" A broad smile widened across Dean's face as he leaned back in his seat. "I'm excited!"

"Well, don't get too excited." Sam tossed a paper over to Dean. "We've got a case." Sam rested his hand in his lap and crossed his fingers. The last thing the brothers needed was the world falling apart on them because Dean kept cooking for them while in the bunker.

Dean bit his bottom lip and nodded. "This looks like a Winchester thing."

Sam let out a sigh of relief.

…

On the way back from the case, Sam found himself silently cursing the fact that he and Dean had both eaten Dean's burgers. The case thing had been surprising and more of a case than even Sam had realized. Dean ended up killing Hitler for a second time. On the way back to the Bunker Dean practically called everyone - talking to anyone who would answer. Cas, that vampire guy, Kevin... Clearly, Dean eating his own burger had been a perk.

While nothing had genuinely happened to Sam, he found himself looking twice at shadows and jumping at sudden sharp noises. Not a good thing when your best friend is an angel that liked to blip around.

As the weeks continued, Sam found himself making salads to keep himself from eating more of Dean's Burgers.

Dean came storming into the kitchen. "Dude! Kevin's figured out the tablet. He knows how to close the gates of Hell!" Dean stopped in front of Sam and pointed down at the salad. "Did you try out that salad dressing I left you in the fridge?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Sam looked up at Dean in surprise. "You made salad dressing?" Sam blanched at the realization he had something Dean had prepared.

"Yeah, we were getting low on that vinaigrette that you like, so I tried my hand at making it," Dean smirked. "Must not have done so bad if you couldn't tell the difference."

Sam swallowed and shook his head, trying not to let his nervousness show. "Nope, we're good, Dean. I couldn't tell the difference at all." Sam pushed the salad away. "So, about Kevin?"

"Dude, we can close Hell. I just need to go through three tests or trials concocted by God. Completed, they slam all the gates shut. We just need to find a hellhound for me to kill."

Sam blanched. He ate Dean's food, and now Dean was going to have to kill a hellhound. Sam cringed internally and reached for his laptop, and gestured for Dean to sit down. "Let's find a demon deal, shall we?"

"Hell yeah!" Dean rubbed his hands together and sat across from his brother

...

It was Sam who had stumbled on the string of luck in Shoshone, Idaho, ten years prior. He wasn't sure if that was lucky or unlucky for him and Dean. However, he still chalked up, locating the goldmine of activity to the fact he had eaten Dean's vinaigrette. Which had Sam thinking. What if it wasn't the food that Dean cooked that was cursed?

He knew he was supposed to be researching the Cassity family as Dean drove them. However, he was too busy focusing on and trying to remember all the times Dean had prepared food for him.

Dean's go-to food was burgers. If he could spare the time - like at Bobby's or when they could get a motel room - he would go all out, making them meals. And since they were mostly burgers, Sam's mind automatically associated Dean's burgers with their sudden changes in luck. But looking at the incident that got them on the road - that was salad dressing for fuck's sake - or another recent event where Kevin fell off the boat after eating a burrito Dean had made him. Sam needed to wonder:

Was Dean cursed? How would Dean have gotten cursed? Sam ran his fingers through his hair and tugged. How could he even broach the topic of Dean possibly being cursed?

Watching as Dean tapped his fingers on the steering wheel along to AC/DC's Hell's Bells, Sam vowed to keep his mouth shut until he could prove beyond a doubt that Dean was cursed. He pulled out his notepad and started taking notes.

As they pulled up to the Cassity Ranch, Sam looked over the list he started. He had matched up instances of Dean's cooking with significant events in their life, going back to before he had even left for Stanford. He pinched the bridge of his nose, massaging it in irritation before looking over at his older brother exiting the Impala. Without a doubt, there was a correlation between Dean's cooking, the amount of prep work that his brother put into it, and how big of a swing in luck it caused.

Now all Sam needed to figure out was how Dean got cursed.

Sam hadn't realized that Ellie had put Dean on grill duty. He figured that Dean was lurking, looking for any sign of the hellhound. However, when the patriarch Noah asked Ellie what her new secret to the grilled food was, she mentioned that Dean knew his way around the grill. Sam took a look at the grilled chicken he had started to eat, and almost instantly lost his appetite.

Accepting his fate, Sam took a quick pitstop in his room to write up a quick theory about Dean's curse and folded it up, hiding it in his duffel bag. If something were to happen to him, Dean would eventually go through his bag and find the letter and be able to put two and two together. If he somehow came out of the whole ordeal unscathed, he could pick up from where he left off.

Sam took a deep breath before zipping up his bag. He told Noah and Margie he'd join them on a slightly drunken night hunt. The hellhound distorted the sounds it made as it traversed through the woods, and was able to easily take down Margie, the youngest Cassity.

With Dean finding out that a third Crossroads deal was made, Sam was benched so Dean could undertake the trials. Listening to the remaining Cassitys bicker was a nightmare. And when the oldest slipped her cuffs - Sam was totally blaming that one on Dean - and ran outside, he realized how much trouble Dean was actually in. He shooed the oldest sibling back inside and ran to the barn, chasing after the hellhound that was going after Ellie.

Sam shot at the hellhound, striking it, and was promptly attacked. From there, Sam's luck changed. Much to Dean's annoyance, despite him not knowing the cause why, Sam killed the hellhound and became the brother who would undergo the Trials of God.

...

As the weeks passed, Sam was able to use his attachment to the trials to wave off Dean's food. Not that it kept Dean from fretting over him. It made researching the curse on Dean even harder to figure out. He still hadn't figured out a way to explain to his brother that he was cursed. Would Dean even buy it?

Sam had contemplated going to Cas, but a second look at his list made him realize something. Some of the references Sam had found were pre-Cas: the burgers Dean made at a cookout before him getting accepted at Stanford, the ones Dean made on the drive back to Stanford after the Woman in White, and the ones at Madison's place. There were smaller, less complicated meals, Sam was sure of it, but Dean had made them. If those were done before Cas came into their life, it meant either Cas knew about the curse and didn't care, or that the curse was something that even the angel couldn't fix.

The second trial came and went. Freeing Bobby from Hell had been an ordeal, and Sam had to wonder what Dean had eaten to make it so catastrophic. Adding the event to his list, Sam focused on lifting the curse off of his brother. They were getting closer to the end, and while he had every intention of seeing the trials all the way through, Sam had a feeling they would also be his downfall.

The day before the brothers started the third trial, Sam asked Dean for a burger. He figured that the worst that could happen was that he would die. Sam partially expected it, especially with how rapidly he had deteriorated over the past several months. In the best-case scenario, it would change his luck, and he would live. Just like he had at the Cassity's and before making the trek to Hell for the second trial, he left a letter and his findings for Dean, explaining what he knew of the curse.

As the third trial progressed, Sam realized that the burger wasn't helping him. He wasn't sure if it was slowing down the process so he could complete it, but Sam knew that he wasn't going to make it, and only hoped that Dean would forgive him.

…

Sam didn't remember passing out as he woke up in the Impala. "Dean?"

"Sleeping beauty finally decided to wake up?"

"What happened?" Sam looked out at the road. "The last thing I remember is the church..."

"Long story short? The Trials failed. You've been out cold for two days. That Metatron dick tricked Cas, and the Angels fell." Dean shrugged. "We're meeting Cas back at the bunker and double-checking the wardings. He's kind of a wanted ex-angel."

Sam tilted his head, and a shiver shot through his nerves. "Ex-angel?"

"Metatron stole his grace," Dean growled. "He fucking de-powered Cas and kicked all the angels out of Heaven knowing they'd be after him."

"So, what's the next step? Find a way to get the angels back to Heaven?"

"Yep, and keep Cas safe," Dean commented. "Teach him how to human, show him the ropes, get him tatted up," Sam swore that he saw Dean's Adam's apple bob up in a swallow. "We just keep moving one foot at a time."

"Sounds like a plan." The last part of Sam's sentence was muted by his yawn. "How far out from the bunker are we?"

Dean shrugged. "Hour. An hour and a half. Go back to sleep. We'll start on fixing our mess when we get back."

Sam didn't have to be told twice. He rested his head against the window and promptly passed back out for the rest of the trip.

...

Cas greeted them at the doorway to the bunker, pulling Sam into a quick hug before pulling Dean into a prolonged embrace. Sam smiled at the casual affection between his brother and Cas when a thought triggered in his brain. Sam liked seeing the pair of them happy. And if Cas and Dean made each other happy, that made Sam even happier.

But Cas had never eaten Dean's food before.

If Cas was no longer an angel and was a full-fledged human, he was going to need to eat. If Cas was going to eat, he was going to eat Dean's food. Sam dragged his hand down his face at the realization and made his way to his room to drop off his bag before heading to the Library to keep researching.

Sam had lost track of time when Cas sat down across from him. The former angel sat a burger in front of him and had a burger of his own. "Dean said you should eat, that you haven't eaten approximately forty-eight hours."

"I, uh." Sam looked down at the plate Cas sat in front of him and felt his stomach grumble. He looked back up at Cas and watched as Cas happily and eagerly bit into the sandwich. "I don't think I could keep it down."

"Would you actually know unless you tried?" Cas groaned around another bite of burger. "Dean said he remembered me liking burgers during the confrontation with Famine. He thought that would be a good first meal that he cooked for me."

"How are they?" Sam tried to casually write down the date and time on his growing list of food and luck coincidences.

"I do enjoy them." Cas took the last bite of his burger and smiled, before guiltily looking at Sam's burger, then Sam. "Are you not going to eat that?"

Sam couldn't help but chuckle, remembering times that Dean had stolen Cas' food that he ordered to blend in. He updated the 'burger' on his list to '2 burgers' and pushed his plate to Cas. "If I think I can stomach something later, I will. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that." Cas moaned into another bite of burger, almost as pornographically as the first bite. "This is so good." He stood up from the table and grabbed both plates. "I need to go thank Dean again." Cas blushed and exited the Library.

Sam pulled his list in front of him. Based on the previous encounters, the effect of the food would happen within the next twenty-four hours. He just needed Cas to experience it. Then he could bring up the curse with the ex-angel, and hopefully have a co-conspirator into finding a way to break the curse.

As he leaned back in his seat, Sam's stomach growled. He whimpered, realizing that the burger did smell really good, and pushed himself out of his chair, slinking back to his room to grab something healthy and untouched by Dean.

...

While Sam certainly didn't follow Cas into his bedroom when he went to sleep or into the bathroom, Sam kept the ex-angel in his sight the majority of the time. It quickly passed twenty-four hours, and Dean happily kept feeding Cas, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary

He sat down at the table in the Library after pulling out another book on curses, when Cas silently snuck in and sat down across from him again. "Am I doing something wrong, Sam?"

Sam jumped in his seat, banging his knee against the desk. "Jesus, Cas. Now I know why Dean's always saying he's going to get you a damn bell."

"My apologies," Cas smirked, and Sam couldn't help but smile and roll his eyes in return. "I was curious as to why you've been following me so closely. Is there something inadequate in the way Dean is helping me?"

"Uh, well." Sam rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I mean, there are always things I could recommend, but that's not why I was watching you. I was watching because I wanted to see how Dean's food affected you."

"It is quite delicious. I'm curious as to why you don't partake? You make salads and eggs and those green drinks that don't look very appealing." Cas tilted his head. "What's going on, Sam?"

"Well, can I answer your question with an ask?"

"I believe you just did." Sam wasn't sure how or when the former angel developed so much sass and fought to keep his jaw from falling. "Go ahead and ask, Sam."

Sam let out a heavy sigh. "Have you noticed anything... weird, since eating Dean's food?"

"Intoxication. Urination. Defecation. They're all weird human necessities." Cas leaned back in his chair. "All of this is new to me, Sam. I'm going to need you to be specific."

"Fine. Have you noticed any big things happening within twenty-four hours of eating Dean's cooking? Good or Bad things?" Sam leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and his chin on his knuckles. "Or anything that seems weird, even for a human?"

"I have not." Cas shook his head in the negative. "Granted, as I said before, I probably would not have noticed, but nothing seems extraordinary if I gather your meaning correctly."

"Damn." Sam pulled out his notepad and wrote down what Cas had told him. "It's good that you haven't, but the fact that you haven't blows my theory out of proportion."

"Your theory?" Cas crossed his ankle over his knee, attempting to get more comfortable in the chair.

"I think Dean's been cursed for a very long time. I need to see Dad's journal and get some more confirmation before I bring this to Dean, but I also want to tell him how to break the spell before I do." Sam rubbed at his forehead. “You probably wouldn't even notice."

"No, I'm pretty sure I would. How is he cursed?" Cas crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Sam.

"Cas, if my research is right, which, it's always right, Dean's been cursed since before I went to Stanford. Wouldn't you have noticed it when you raised him from Hell?" Sam leveled his own stare in response.

Cas shook his head. "I did a thorough check of his body as I repaired it. There as no curse on him."

"Well, what if I told you that anytime someone eats his cooking, something big happens to them. It can be a good thing or bad thing, and it always happens within twenty-four hours." He turned his notepad with his findings and showed it to Cas. "I've been waiting to tell him, but it doesn't seem like it's ever the right time."

"I don't think there is a right time to tell someone they're cursed, Sam."

"I know, Cas!" Sam dragged his hands down his face. "I just wanted to know how to break the curse when I told him that he was cursed so he wouldn't be upset."

"He'll probably be more upset that he knew you willing hid it and didn't share the fact." Cas pointed at some of the findings on the list. "He made burgers before you killed a potential mate. He fed you not once, but twice before you started the trials..." Cas shook his head.

"I just want to know why and how you're immune." Sam rubbed at his temples. "I'm going for a walk. I'll have my phone if you need me, but Cas. Please. You can't tell Dean." Sam turned on his best puppy dog eyes, hoping they'd finally have an effect on Cas. "I'll tell him, I promise. I just... give me a little longer to see if I can figure this out."

Cas' lips turned in discontent. "Forty-eight hours, Sam. I'll give you two days, but then you have to tell him."

"Thank you." Sam let out a small breath of relief, although he wished Cas would have given him more time. He marked his page and slammed the book shut, taking it with him as he practically ran out of the Library and through the War Room before exiting to the outside of the bunker.

Sam walked along the gravel roadway before coming to the main road. He looked both ways and crossed over the pavement, heading to the open field on the other side. After finding a suitable place to sit, Sam cracked the book back open and continued from where he left off reading.

As he read through the pages, a thought nagged at the back of his mind. Cas.

Cas never noticed Dean's curse. He literally grasped Dean's soul, pulled it out of Hell, and rebuilt his body from scratch. If Cas had seen the curse, he would have left it out of the refurbished body. If it was marred on Dean's soul, Cas would have cleansed it. But Cas never detected it.

Cas was also immune to it. For a brief second, Sam thought it was because of Cas' grace, but Cas was depleted. He was human. Dean's cursed cooking affected humans. So even without his Grace, Cas had no reaction. Sam started scanning the book looking for anything about a person being immune to someone else's curse.

Sam found a section about curse loopholes. As he read through it, something became apparent. Cas was not only immune to Dean's curse but possibly the way to break it.

After another hour of reading, Sam stood up and stretched his legs before heading to the bunker. During his readings, he recalled a conversation about soulmates and how Cupids were meant to make sure they found each other. Granted, that conversation ended up with Dean punching a Cupid in the face. Still, Sam remembered something about two souls coming together perfectly.

Sam entered the bunker and headed to the kitchen, finding Dean and Cas sitting across from each other. They were leaning towards each other, talking in a hushed tone, and everything clicked in place for Sam. He ran out of the kitchen and back to the Library, looking for a specific book, Vivlío tis Afrodítis.

He sat down in a chair close to the shelf where he found the book, flipping through the pages until he found the passage about souls being split asunder to find one another. According to the lore, if one half of a soul is plagued, bringing it together with the other would cleanse it. Sam flipped through a few more pages, frowning when he found how to combine the two halves to make the soul whole again.

Cas and Dean would have to admit their feelings for each other.

Sam dropped the book on the ground and rested his face in his hands. His emotionally-constipated brother was going to kill him. Sam had hidden the fact that Dean, or something Dean adjacent, had been cursed for at least fifteen years. And of course, of course, there was a way to break the said curse. True-fucking-love's kiss.

"Sammy?" Dean stood in the doorway of the Library watching over him. "You okay there? You came in the kitchen then stormed out. Now it looks like you were getting into a fight with a book there."

"Sort of?" Sam frowned, realizing it was now or never. At least Cas wouldn't hold it over his head. "Sit down?"

Dean crossed to a chair across from Sam. "What's up?"

For a brief second, Sam considered starting off his sentence with So get this... Instead, he let out a short sigh instead and frowned. "Dean, you're cursed."

"You're funny," Dean responded after a moment. He shook a finger at Sam, smiling. "You almost had me there."

"I'm not kidding, Dean." Sam pushed himself up out of the chair and walked back to where he had set up his research. He grabbed the notepad and turned around and handed it to Dean, who had followed after.

Dean flipped through Sam's notes. "Shouldn't I know if I'm cursed? Like, shouldn't I feel it?" He tapped a spot on the list. "Wait. Since then?" Dean's eyes grew wide. "Oh shit. I might actually be cursed." Dean shoved the file into Sam's hands and ran out of the Library, nearly knocking over an entering Cas.

"You told him?" Cas walked up to Sam and took the notepad and read over it. "How did he handle it?"

"I think he agrees." Sam looked at Cas, who had raised an eyebrow in question. "What? He said 'Oh shit, I might actually be cursed" and nearly ran you over on the way out."

"I thought he'd be more upset." Cas crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the table.

Sam shrugged. "You never know, Cas. the day is still youngish." Dean strode back into the Library with John's journal in hand. "We'll learn soon enough, I think."

"Okay, so about two months before you got your acceptance letter, Dad sent me on a hunt." Dean flipped through the journal, stopping on a page. "He followed me because he didn't trust me to do it on my own. He cuffed me upside the head when it was all done, ‘cause I supposedly scared the shit out of him. The witch got a hit on me." Dean found a page and turned the journal to face Sam. "Dude, Dad wrote down what he thought she said. 'ut ardeat omnia lordum.'"

"'May all your lords glow brightly?'" Sam questioned. "That doesn't sound much like a curse."

"Which would explain why your father didn't think Dean was cursed and didn't treat it like one," Cas interjected, stroking his chin with the tips of his fingers. "Are there any words that could be replaced in that sentence that sound similar?"

Sam crossed over to the shelves and pulled down a book. "Let's look at some Latin, shall we?" He flipped through a few pages before tracing down with his fingers. Sam continued the process several more times before stopping and tapping on a word. "This is a long shot, but... lardum instead of lordum? It would make the sentence..."

"'May all your bacon burn.'" Dean shook his head. "When I make food, it doesn't burn. I'm too good for that." Sam rolled his eyes, glaring at his older brother, who merely shrugged. "I am! But what if it's not me burning the so-called bacon, but the bacon I make causing bad reactions - causing metaphorical burns?"

"That's a fickle curse." Cas quipped.

Dean nodded. "She was a fickle bitch." He set down John's journal and took the list from Cas. "All of these are - for the most part - burns. Sure, Sammy going to Stanford was good for him, but it sucked for me and Dad."

"It actually sucked for me in the long run, cause I met Jess and lost her. And any of the friends I ever made, other than Jess, were actually demons." Sam pointed out.

"And you needed to kill Madison. Shit, you have the run-in with Croatoan on here too. I had made us food before we rolled into town." Dean pushed the list back at Sam. "My food has been cursed to fucking make our lives miserable." Sam watched as a realization crossed Dean's face, and he pointed at Cas. "I've been feeding you non stop since we've been back here."

Sam looked at Cas, who look was looking at him. After getting a curt nod from Cas, Sam spoke up. "I've been keeping an eye on Cas. He's immune."

"I mean, I'd get that if Cas were still an angel. But Cas is human. Right, Cas?" Dean's face remained wide in concern.

"I am very much human, yes. But Sam clearly must have figured something out, as he's told you that you're cursed."

Sam bit the inside of his cheek. While he was sure he had figured it out, he wasn't sure either of the two men with him would follow through. "I think I did, yeah."

"Well, don't leave us hanging, Sammy!" Dean clapped his hands together. "I'd very much like to know my cooking isn't killing people."

"Cas, can I ask you a question?" Sam looked to his side, hoping Cas could help him out without even realizing it.

"Yes, Sam."

"When you were stripped of your grace, did you get a soul to replace it?" Sam watched Dean from the corner of his eye as he looked at Cas.

"Yes." Cas nodded. "I am fully human."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Dean interrupted.

"Cas," Sam continued. "Can you tell anything about your soul, or was that a grace thing only?"

Cas sadly shook his head. "I could if I still had my grace, but as a human? I cannot. Why?"

"Well, need I remind you guys that soulmates are a thing?" Sam walked over to the chair where he'd been sitting with the Vivlío tis Afrodítis, picking it up off the ground. "Soulmates are forced asunder, destined to find each other. If something happens to one half of the soul, if the other half is clean, it can purify any taint."

"HOLD UP." Dean snatched the book out of Sam's hand and started flipping through it. "You're saying..."

Sam cringed at his brother's reaction, even though he expected it. "You and Cas are soulmates, Dean. I'm certain of it. I mean, I've been suffering your pining and longing for several years now. And now that Cas is human and has a soul? You two are meant to be together. I wouldn't be surprised if the cupids came after you in a good way."

"You what?" Dean shot an incredulous look at Sam, before shyly turning to Cas. Dean mumbled something under his breath and looked at the ground.

"For what it's worth, Dean, I have loved you since the moment I touched your soul and rescued you from the depths of hell." Cas stood up straighter, as though he were trying to force himself to be brave.

Dean's head shot up in surprise. "You what?"

"I love you, Dean. As Sam picked up on, it's no secret. As an angel and as a human, it has always been you, Dean."

Sam looked to Dean, realizing that he was intruding on what could be a very emotional scene. He turned to grab his stuff when Dean spoke up. "You sure as hell don't make it easy, do you, Cas?" Sam cringed slightly, risking a small glance at his brother and best friend. Dean had taken a step forward and held Cas' hands in his own. "Sam'll tell you. We were told that love wasn't allowed in this life. It was beaten in our heads, and it was mostly ‘cause our old man was so cut up over losing Mom." Sam nodded to show his agreement with Dean, who continued. "But you? You came in like a comet, Cas. Sparks flying, thunder crashing, lightning striking. The whole kit and caboodle."

"And what does that mean, Dean?" Cas freed one of his hands and cupped Dean's cheek. Sam wanted so desperately to look away, to escape out of the Library. Still, he was entirely entranced by the scene unfolding in front of him.

"It means that I love you too. I was captivated by you in the barn. I knew there was something between us, but it wasn't until..." Dean scoffed. "Let's just say I had to grow up a little to realize how much you mean to me." Dean leaned in and pressed his lips against Cas', and Sam knew that it was time to leave.

Sam set his book down and quietly exited the Library, deciding to set up in his room for the rest of the night.

…

The next morning, Sam woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs, toast, and coffee. The magical blend of aromas forced Sam out of bed and down to the kitchen. There, he found Cas sitting at the table, wearing one of Dean's Zeppelin shirts and a pair of his plaid pajama pants. Dean was at the stove, in similar apparel.

"Morning, Sammy." Dean looked over his shoulder, smiling, and Sam couldn't help but return the contagious smile his brother had flashed. "Join us?"

Looking back and forth between Cas and Dean, Sam agreed. "Using me as a guinea pig?"

Dean winked at Cas. "Don't you know it, Sammy."

[keeroo92]

Be My Nightmare Ch1

Arrival

The brutal murderer V is the newest arrival at Mundus Psychiatric Hospital where you work with the most violent of criminals. Can you help him find peace, or will his machinations pull you into his dark web?

CONTENT WARNING - mental illness, blood, murder, hallucinations, dubious consent, lots of dark thinking.

Word count - 4,261

___________

---Reader---

“Shit, he’s got a knife!”

Five words you never wanted to hear while working in a psychiatric hospital.

They sent you straight into high alert, scanning the lobby and intake area for the threat. Only a few visiting family members and orderlies occupied the room. Still, because of the constrained space it took a moment to find the culprit. Your eyes widened when you spotted the slim figure at last.

A tattooed man with black hair, he brandished the blade before him with a gleeful smile, his green eyes lit with crazed mirth. He sliced at the person closest to him, leaving a line of dark red on her white sleeve.

Fuck! This looks bad…

Yet you didn’t intervene. Instead, you ducked lower behind the intake counter to hide, trying not to draw attention to yourself as you picked up the red phone and dialed the security office. Protocol dictated it, and despite your fascination with the potential new patient you knew better than to ignore the rules. While the line connected, you peeked over the counter to watch the chaos.

The man with the knife had his teeth bared as his green eyes swept the room, searching for something. The three orderlies present were standing between him and the visitors, hands held high in a non-threatening pose. You recognized Kevin and Rob and smirked. They were both experts in de-escalation; that’s why they worked in intake so often.

The third man looked scared, a new face you weren’t yet familiar with. He didn’t hide his fear at all, and the attacker easily picked up on his inexperience. The knife flashed toward him, aimed right for his heart. You held your breath, anticipation flooding your senses as both Kevin and Rob darted forward, each grappling one arm.

Kevin wrapped a meaty fist over the man’s bicep, his other hand applying pressure to his extended wrist as the blade grazed the third orderlies chest. He tightened his grip until his knuckles turned white and the black-haired stranger’s fingers opened against his will. The knife clattered to the floor and Kevin kicked it away as a nurse came running with a set of restraints.

Over already.

A sigh of disappointment slipped through your lips. Contrary to popular belief, working in a mental institution was incredibly boring. Routine and stability were crucial to patient recovery, and the monotony of it made you restless. Not that you wanted people to get hurt, but a little break in the tedium was nice.

“This is Aaron, what’s the issue?”

“Oh! Uh, Kevin’s got a violent patient restrained in intake. Two minor injuries, but nothing serious,” you replied.

“On my way.”

The phone went dead and you set it back into the cradle, monitoring the tense situation as Kevin and Rob forced the stranger into the restraint system. The crazed man repeated the same words over and over as they tightened the straps.

“A land of sorrows and of tears where never a smile was seen!”

You smiled. This guy would be interesting.

__________________

The second your replacement arrived, you headed for the director’s office. You held up your badge to Lenny with a smile and he waved as he buzzed you past the double gate, allowing you into the administrative wing. Within moments, you were knocking on Dr. Malphas’ door.

“Come in.”

You couldn’t hide your excitement as you entered your boss’s office, taking a seat on the comfortable armchair in front of his desk. Dr. Malphas was an odd fellow, elderly and kind. He was the one who hired you straight out of college, despite the lack of experience on your resume. He closed the navy file before him and gave you a grandfatherly smile, folding his hands over the desk to meet your gaze.

“I want the guy from this morning,” you blurted. He chuckled and removed his glasses, using the backside of his tie to clean them.

“I knew you would. He does seem like he needs your special touch. How’s your case load?”

You hummed thoughtfully, reviewing the patients you were already working with.

“I could hand one or two to Dr. Mustafa, one of his just got discharged.”

He gave the lenses one last wipe and carefully placed his glasses back on his face. They made his eyes look bigger, buglike and you smirked. He knew what they did, and he loved it.

“Make it two, I have a feeling this guy will take up a fair amount of your time. Once he’s stable, feel free to begin.”

You beamed and nodded, eagerly accepting the file he held out for you to peruse. The name on the tab made no sense, and you stared back at your supervisor quizzically.

“His name is V? That’s it?”

“That’s all the court provided.”

Weird.

You stood and inclined your head. “I’ll go get to work. Thanks, boss!”

Dr. Malphas chuckled again and waved you off as you hurried out the door, already scanning the file.

Court ordered admission, patient murdered a family of three. Damn, the kid was only five…

You barely acknowledged Lenny in your rush to get back to your office on the third floor. Over the last few years, you’d developed a reputation for your ability to help the very worst of patients, specializing in criminals with violent tendencies. They fascinated you, especially serial killers. If you used the textbook definition, this “V” didn’t fall into that category since all his known kills had occurred in a single evening.

But I’d bet a month’s salary he’s got more skeletons in the closet. They always do.

You grinned; you couldn’t wait to get started.

__________________

It didn’t take long for you to choose two patients to transfer, and as you gathered the required files in your office, you heard approaching footsteps. Only an hour had passed since V’s arrival; it was probably the orderlies bringing him to his cell. You grabbed your badge and scurried out to watch.

They were easy to spot in the hallway through the glass of the security checkpoint. Two bulky men in blue scrubs dragging a third, much smaller man in white between them. Kevin’s annoyed grimace helped you recognize him, and Aaron was unmistakable due to his mountainous form.  You waved at Ben and he buzzed you through with a shake of his head.

You stepped into the hallway and kept out of their way, content to listen to the man’s growled oaths.

“I’ll destroy you for this. I will flay the flesh from your bones and make you watch, I’ll use your blood as bath water!”

“Sure you will, buddy,” Kevin replied.

V snarled like an animal, gnashing his teeth and writhing against the two men’s tight hold of him. He contorted until his eyes locked on yours, and he froze as if a cattle prod had hit him. You expected him to continue his tirade of threats, but he fell silent and tilted his head to the side, furrowing his brow in thought.

Huh… interesting reaction.

You held his gaze unflinchingly and waited, curious to see what happened next. The corner of his lips twitched into a smirk and for the first time you noticed how damn attractive he was. It was hard to look past the madness in his expressions, but once you did it was impossible to ignore.

What a waste.

You followed the three men without thought, your inquisitiveness too strong to resist. Kevin and Aaron dragged V’s newly compliant body into his cell, strapping his limbs down until further notice. It was standard procedure with a new high secure patient; people didn’t end up in your care unless they were a danger not just to themselves, but to society.

“Now, are you going to cooperate and take these or do we have to sedate you?” Aaron asked, holding out a paper cup with V’s first dose of Seroquel. You watched from the doorway as his eyes narrowed, considering his options.

Please be smart, please be smart, please be smart…

After an uncomfortable moment of silence, he opened his mouth obediently to accept the medication.

Yes!

Kevin leaned forward to check his cheeks and smiled kindly when he found them empty.  

“Good man,” he said, then turned to you. “What’s up, doc? He one of yours?”

“As of today!”

“Well, good luck. Hope you can reach him,” Aaron answered. He gestured at Kevin and the two men departed. With V tied down under three levels of restraints, there was no need for them to stay and monitor him. You stepped closer, pulling out the chair from under the desk and plopping down to begin.

“All right… V… I’m Dr. Waras. I’m here to help you get better.”

You paused, waiting for some sign of acknowledgment of your words, but V kept his eyes glued to the pale ceiling overhead. You cleared your throat, but still he didn’t respond.

What the hell? He was talking a few minutes ago.

After another moment of silence, you started to get worried. He hadn’t even blinked. You leaned forward, coming into his line of sight. You chewed the inside of your cheek at the emptiness of his expression.

“V? Can you hear me?”

Nothing.

His tattoos were extraordinary and you couldn’t help but glance at the intricate patterns on his arms. The dark lines looked tribal, like war paint in a way. You tilted your head and called his name again, with no result.

You leaned closer, bringing your mouth next to his ear. Even his head was strapped to the bed, the poor bastard…

“V? Hello?”

He’s not dead, is he?

You extended your hand and felt for a pulse, your fingertips pressing into his neck gently. There was a normal rhythm, nothing out of the ordinary. You moved your fingers to check his airflow, hovering under his nostrils as the telltale exhalation crossed your skin. He still hadn’t blinked and tears were forming in the corners of his eyes.

A catatonic episode. Pretty intense, from the looks of it. Poor guy.

---V---

The scent of blood was overwhelming, but all he saw was white. Where was that delicious aroma coming from? He hoped it was fresh; the color became dull after only a few hours.

“V? Hello?”

Sensations filtered in one by one. Warm pressure on his neck. A thin cushion under him, something wrapped around his wrists and ankles. V struggled to gather his wits, his thinking sluggish and disorganized. The aroma grew stronger and he stifled a moan as the source revealed itself to him – a woman in a white coat, leaning over his prone body. Her fingers were held under his nose.  

Irresistable.

V slipped his tongue past his teeth and between his lips, taking a delightful lick of your fingers with a pleased hum. You retreated with a grimace and pulled a napkin from your pocket to wipe away his saliva. He blinked, savoring the saltiness of your flesh.

I should’ve bitten… damn.

The restraints limited his vision, but every flash of your slim fingers against the white fabric made him want another taste. You tucked away the napkin and opened a thin blue folder.

“R- right. I’m Dr. Waras. Do you know where you are?”

He smirked; he’d rattled you. V reveled in the sense of power it gave him to know only a momentary caress of his tongue had caused such a reaction. His nerves vibrated, anticipating all the fun he could have with you.

What other reactions can I elicit?

He wiggled his arms and legs, testing his range of motion. Only a few inches, far from the distance required. Damn. He’d have to remedy that, somehow.

“Can you speak?”

Ah, I suppose I should play along for now.

“I can. What’s your name?”

You frowned. “I just told you, I’m Dr. Waras. Are you having trouble remembering?”

“I meant your first name.”

You sighed, pursing your lips for a moment before answering. “If I tell you, will you answer my questions?”

V hummed, pretending to think while inside he celebrated his first victory. He hoped you’d prove amenable, but this was almost too easy.

“I will,” he replied with a false smile.

“Y/N. Now, do you know where you are?”

“Y/N,” he purred. He liked the way it sounded, a delightful arrangement of letters. It echoed in his mind, becoming a mantra as he closed his eyes to bask in a plethora of imagined situations where he could say your name again.

You shifted your weight. He wondered if it was from discomfort or if you enjoyed hearing your name roll from his lips. He said it again, testing. A pulse of blood rushed down to his cock as he envisioned decorating your flesh with little cuts, thin lines of red trailing across your skin. He repeated your name again, letting a hint of his arousal color his voice.

You shifted your weight again. He wished his head was free, wished he could see if you were angling your body against the chair to ease the ache…

I think she likes it!

“Hush, Griffon!” he cried, angry at the interruption. Just when he was getting to know you…

“Griffon? Who is Griffon?” you questioned him.  

“Now see what you’ve done? You ruined it! Accursed demon!”

“Demon? V, tell me who you’re talking to.”

The coil of heat in his belly flickered away, extinguished by Griffon’s untimely words. V growled his frustration and closed his eyes, trying to recapture the images he’d conjured. But it was no use, he couldn’t shake his annoyance. He’d lost the precious moment.

“Hey, stay with me. Come on, V,” you said. A warm hand came to rest on his forearm; a gesture of reassurance.

He instinctually tried to turn his head to meet your eyes and growled a second time as he met resistance. Being restrained was infuriating. To limit his freedom, how dare you! He would destroy you for this, no matter how good you tasted.

“If you can calm down and focus, I can take the head strap off.”

He froze, surprised by the proposition. Perhaps you would prove more entertaining than he expected? He revised his strategy and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly and closing his eyes. He held his body as still as he could, projecting calmness as convincingly as he was able. It did not come easily to him.

Regardless, you swallowed the bait and reached out to loosen the thick band of leather holding his skull in place. He waited until you pulled aside the straps to lie flat on either side of the mattress, then turned his head to face you fully. You smiled kindly.

Those features would look even more lovely if I twisted them in fear.

“So. Do you know where you are?”

V rolled his eyes. Such mundane questions you asked, what did it matter if he knew his whereabouts? But he had to play the game, at least for now.

“Unless the judge changed his mind, I would assume this to be Mundus Psychiatric Hospital,” he replied.

“Yes. You’re currently in the high secure wing, but depending on your progress we may be able to get you to mid secure. I’m in charge of your treatment.”

He smirked. “Then I’ll see you regularly?”

You shifted your weight again, and this time he could see your motions. He licked his lips.

“Every day. Next question – do you remember what happened in the lobby when you arrived?”

The image of the knife flashing, its tip sinking into flesh and drawing blood sent him reeling. Such a beautiful sight, why did the fools have to interrupt him? Such a pity. It was the first chance he’d had in months to create another masterpiece, only to be wrestled into submission against his will and drugged.

They will pay.

---Reader---

It was child’s play to catch the gleam of pleasure in V’s eyes, hear the way his breathing hitched at the reminder. Not only did he remember, he felt no shame or guilt. No, he enjoyed it. You shivered, a surge of adrenaline flooding your system as you eyed this incredibly dangerous man.

“I remember nothing,” he said.

He’s lying. But why?

“What would it take for you to release my legs? They’re growing stiff.”

You tapped your pen against your lips. With this type of patient, it may be wise to let him think he had control of the situation, put him at ease. Overconfident. Then, he might open up and give you the details you needed to treat him properly. It was a risk, it always was. Completely against protocol.

But if it works…

“Answer three questions and I’ll untie one leg. Another three, and I’ll do the other one.”

Even if he lies, it’s still valuable information.

“Deal. What would you like to know, Y/N?”

You almost dropped your pen at the low rumble of your name over his lips. It truly was a waste, to see such an attractive man like this. Tied up. Caged. He could’ve chosen any other path, but here he was. You sighed, trying to focus. What did you want to know?

Let’s start with an easy one.

“What’s your full, legal name? It can’t be just V.”

He chuckled, his mouth stretching over his teeth in amusement. “I truly couldn’t tell you.”

Clever bastard. He knows I’ll have to waste more questions to get the full answer. Is it worth it?

You pursed your lips, thinking. This stage of treatment was critical. It established the parameters for the duration of his time here, whether he would see you as an authority figure deserving his respect and trust, or if you’d be nothing more than a naïve fool in his eyes.

“Okay. Who is Griffon?”

His smile vanished. It seemed like you’d caught him off guard by your easy change of topic, like he’d expected you to pursue his name. You smirked and waited for his answer.

“Griffon is a demonic bird. He speaks to me occasionally.”

Audio hallucinations, got it. This might be the last time he answers, better make it a good one.

“Okay. Why did you kill that family?”

V bared his teeth and growled like an animal. His eyes flashed and for a moment you thought he wouldn’t answer. His hands clenched and he tugged at the restraints, but at last he spoke.

“They were supposed to be my masterpiece. That’s three.”

You shook your head. “And that wasn’t an answer.”

He sighed, grimacing briefly in irritation. When he opened his eyes again, he looked so different it stole your breath. The anger, the playfulness, the energy from before had disappeared. Only mournful resignation remained. You leaned forward, pen poised to write his response.

“I wish I remembered.”

Huh. I think he’s telling the truth.

You sat back, surprised by the honest expression he still wore. It was clear he was intelligent, and liked to play games. When he licked your fingers, you first saw the gleam of humor tinting his green gaze. The memory sent another shiver up your spine and you rubbed your fingers together to remind yourself the wetness was gone. There was no way he knew how sensitive your fingertips were, it had to be a coincidence.

“That’s three,” V reminded you.

Right. Here goes nothing.

You scooted closer and unhooked the cuff from the anchor, letting his leg have full range of motion. He groaned suggestively and stretched, overextending his knee until it popped. Lips pursed again, you retreated to allow him the room to lift his leg high and stretch his thigh muscles.

“Would you be so kind?”

You shook your head. No way in hell were you letting him dictate the situation.

“Not unless you answer an extra question.”

His leg trembled and he clicked his tongue, but nodded.

“Do you ever find it difficult to concentrate?”

His eyes narrowed in suspicion and you internally celebrated. Such an ambiguous question would challenge him to decide if a lie was necessary. He remained silent for a long moment, long enough that he lowered his leg to rest. You knew the second he decided and watched his pupils to see if they dilated.

“Never.”

Lie.

Still, he never agreed to tell the truth, so you stepped closer to lift his leg into an assisted stretch. His eyes rolled back into his head and he whined, making a sound so lewd you dropped his calf in shock. You pursed your lips as he smirked at you tauntingly.

All right, time to teach him a lesson.

You darted forward and clipped his leg back into place, grimly amused at his growl of frustration as you stepped back again and gathered your things.

“I think that’s enough for now. I’m sure we’ll make more progress tomorrow,” you said.

He laughed and winked at your departing from. “I’ll be counting the moments, Y/N…”

---V---

Once you were gone, V set his mind on planning. He had to escape, that much was obvious. If he remained here to languish, his masterpiece would never be completed.

Unacceptable.

He tugged at his restraints with an irritated growl, testing their strength. The leather was durable and thick, but perhaps he could sabotage the buckles? Assuming he had a moment of freedom to do so… He’d need to be fast. A distraction would help, as well, but how?

He lifted his head as high as he could, straining to get a look at the rest of the small room. There wasn’t much to see. He deduced the existence of bars over the small window based on the pattern of shadows across the plain beige walls. As expected, considering his supposed crimes. Besides the cot, his only furniture consisted of a cheap wooden desk and the chair you had used during your visit.

Not much to work with, pal. You’re gonna need help.

“Yes, yes, I know,” he replied aloud, rolling his eyes in derision.

How about that cute doctor? She seemed to like you.

“Possible, though it would take a fair amount of time. I’d have to go slowly…”

He fell silent, recalling how cooperative you’d been earlier. There was definite potential there, but V wasn’t one to leave all his eggs in one basket, so to speak. Other allies must be found.

But how to turn you to his side? How to convince you he could be trusted?

Ugh. I don’t have to exhibit docility, do I?

She wouldn’t believe it after the knife thing.

“A valid point.”

So, he’d have to turn you. V truly believed everyone had the capacity to discover the truth that only he seemed to know. Perhaps you simply needed a guide to show you the way?

He smirked, his eyes glittering in wicked amusement. A rush of blood flooded his cock as he envisioned himself teaching you just how much pressure to use when slicing at flesh, the perfect grip for every blade. He licked his lips as he pictured the look of joy in your eyes at your first stroke, discovering the release for yourself. It would be magnificent, ethereal to taste the blood of your shared victims on your lips. He would fuck you until you couldn’t speak in a pool of crimson, your bodies serving as paintbrushes against the canvas of the floor.

He hissed and tried to arch his hips, but the strap over his waist held tight. His cock strained against the rough white fabric of his pants and he shifted his weight, just enough to get a little friction against the head. Enough to imagine how you’d look, licking a mixture of white and red from his length. You’d be so beautiful with streaks of blood left wherever he touched you.  True artistry.

Gods, how he wanted to touch himself. This was such exquisite torture. He wondered if you knew the effect you had on him, if you might even be watching from somewhere as he writhed and moaned, his cock tenting just inches below the accursed strap.

Calm yourself, fool. Do not allow your lust to destroy your plans.

“Fuck off, Vergil!” he snarled to the cold, disembodied voice. The bastard only ever spoke up to insult him.

Or to keep you from self-destructing.

V growled. So many disruptions today! Sometimes being the only one they could talk to was immensely irritating. Once you were able to hear them too, perhaps he’d finally get some peace. For now, there was only one sure-fire way to get Vergil to leave him alone. He smirked and licked his lips.

“Jackpot.”

…fine. Have it your way.

He grinned gleefully, victorious. Yet the interruption had already done its damage; the tent was gone, his cock limp and lifeless once more. He clenched his jaw in frustration.

Soon, I will have satisfaction.

He tugged at the restraints again and sighed. This would become terribly boring without something to occupy his thoughts.

A long roar rattled through his mind. Shadow. She was the most helpful of the bunch, and he smiled at her wise counsel.

“Thank you, as always,” he said. Another, much shorter roar sounded and he focused his mind on the problem at hand.

How to show you his reality, the true reality. It would shock you if he wasn’t careful, to rush the process would spell disaster. Patience was a struggle, but he needed to try. Subtlety had a higher chance at success, and his masterpiece was too important to allow failure. 

~~~Next Chapter~~~

[mittensmorgul]

8.01, We Need To Talk About Kevin.

and

8.02, What's Up, Tiger Mommy?

Dean's back from his vacation to Purgatory, again completely not processing Cas's decision to stay there. Much the same way Cas had refused to engage with his own guilt in the latter part of s7, Dean is now playing the same game with his own guilt and grief, battling feelings of worthlessness at not having been able to "save" Cas.

And like at the beginning of s7, he's once again lost Cas to Purgatory.

DEAN: Yeah, Cas didn't make it. SAM: What exactly does that mean? DEAN: Something happened to him down there. Things got pretty hairy towards the end, and he... just let go. SAM: So Cas is dead? You saw him die? DEAN: I saw enough. SAM: So, then what, you're not sure? DEAN: [turning back to SAM] I said I saw enough, Sam.

And here we have Dean refusing to face what happened...

Meanwhile we also learn how Sam has effectively been running away from his entire life again.

DEAN: I wasn't dead. [He stands up and walks around SAM.] In fact, I was knee-deep in God's armpit killing monsters, which, I thought, is what we actually do. SAM: Yes, Dean. And far as I knew, what we do is the thing that got every single member of my family killed. I had no one – no one. And for the first time in my life, I was completely alone. And, honestly, I-I didn't exactly have a roadmap. So, yeah, I-I fixed up the Impala, and I just... drove. DEAN: After you looked for me. [SAM says nothing.] Did you look for me, Sam? [SAM looks away.] Good. That's good. Now, we – we... always told each other not to look for each other. That's smart. Good for you. Of course, we always ignored that because of our deep, abiding love for each another, but not this time, right, Sammy? SAM: Look, I'm still the same guy, Dean. DEAN: Well, bully for you. I'm not.

And here we have the upcoming character conflict that will power us through all the rest of s8 (and s9, and s10... and through a good bit of s11) (welcome to Marshmallow Era).

(CROWLEY: Really, Dean, who writes your stuff? A marshmallow?)

DEAN: Nothing. Is that, uh, that how you rationalized taking a year off? People will be okay? SAM: People were okay, Dean. You're okay. DEAN: Wow. SAM: Look, I did what we promised we'd do. I moved on. I lived my life. DEAN: Yeah, no, I'm getting that. SAM: Look, it wasn't like I was... just oblivious. I mean, I read the paper every day. I saw the weird stories… [He sits down on the other bed facing DEAN] …the kind of stuff we used to chase. DEAN: And you said what? "Not my problem"? SAM: Yes. And you know what? The world went on. DEAN: People died, Sam. SAM: People will always die, Dean. Or maybe another hunter took care of it. I don't know, but the point is, for the first time, I realized that it wasn't only up to me to stop it.

Because this is what Sam has always tried to run away from. Only this time, Kevin was the fallout of it. I hate, hate, hate this. But heck, it does provide the drama for a good long time to come... fueling Sam's "penance" and self-sacrifice. Except it's coming from this deeply toxic place that Cas's came from in staying in Purgatory, and that Dean's will come from in taking on the Mark of Cain.

DEAN: Okay, if this kid is right, he's sitting on a bombshell. Hell, he is the bombshell. [SAM looks away.] What? SAM: That. I mean, there's no way that Kevin's getting out of this intact, is there? DEAN: Well, he's doing pretty well for himself so far. SAM: Yeah, he got out. DEAN: And now he's in it... whether he likes it or not. SAM: So...free will, that's only for you?

Aaaaahhahhhahhahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa >.>

Dear Sam: no. Dean's literally never had free will of his own. He literally gave it up the moment John put you in his arms and told him to run outside as fast as he could and not look back. Or... probably longer. Especially considering they're Chuck's favorite characters...

Does Dean like ANY of this? I mean, he's long ago accepted he's good at it. He's long ago accepted he's not really suited to any other sort of life. And he's long ago accepted that he's the kind of person who just can't sit by knowing that the bad stuff is still happening in the world, when there's a chance he might be able to stop it. He knows he can't just... know about it all, and just assume someone else will fix it, that it's not his problem anymore. Meanwhile, Sam believes (and has ALWAYS believed) that he absolutely could...

And all of this interpersonal crap continues into...

8.03, Heartache.

DEAN: All right, man, look, I get it. You took a year off to do yoga and play the lute, whatever, but I'm back. Okay, we're back, which means that we walk and kill monsters at the same time. We'll find Kevin. But in the meantime, do we ignore stuff like this? Or are innocent people supposed to die so that you can shop for produce?

DEAN: I don't know about you, but this last year has given me a new perspective. SAM: I hear you. Believe me. DEAN: I know where I'm at my best, and that is right here, driving down crazy street next to you. SAM: Makes sense. DEAN: Yes, it does. SAM: Or... maybe you don't need me. I mean, maybe you're at your best hacking and slicing your way through all the world's crap alone, not having to explain yourself to anybody. DEAN: Yeah, that makes sense, seeing as I have so many other brothers I can talk to about this stuff. SAM: Look, I'm not saying I'm bailing on you. I'm just saying make room for the possibility that we want different things. I mean, I want my time to count for something. DEAN: So, what we do doesn't count?

WELL THIS IS A MIXED BAG HERE IN CONTEXT, But in the larger context of the ongoing story, and where we know they go over the next 7 years, this... is tentatively a step in the right direction, despite it coming from a really fucked up toxic source here in the context of this episode.

Sam's spot on with the realization that they both might want different things, but right now Dean's just grateful enough to be alive and back in the real world to even think about what he might WANT, other than to return to the relatively normalcy he'd lost while in Purgatory. And for him, that's hunting on the road with Sam. The dude is NOT asking for a lot here, Sam.

Plus, Dean's already tried Sam's way, of living a normal life and pretending nothing bad exists in the world, and he HATED it, couldn't do it, and wouldn't chose that for himself again. He can't even begin to understand how Sam could pretend the vast majority of his life just didn't happen and go play house with someone as if he was a person (and not a hunter, to use Bobby's harsh metaphor from 7.09).

So therein lies their disconnect. And Sam isn't pushing this agenda just because he sees them havving their own lives, their own goals and interests, as a HEALTHY thing. No, Sam's still choosing that as a reaction, as "running away" from his life. They're nowhere CLOSE to figuring out how to balance their individual wants and needs and desires. They're still on the "all in or all out" mindset of extremes. Which drives so much of their interpersonal drama for the next few years...

DEAN: Wow. Back in business. Got the win. Admit it – feels good, huh? You know, I was thinking about what Randa said about, uh, you know, what it feels like to be a warrior. I get it, man, I do. SAM: I know. I know you do. I don't. Not anymore. Hell, maybe I never did. DEAN: Come on, Sam, don't ruin my buzz, would you? SAM: Dean, listen, when this is over – when we close up shop on Kevin and the tablet – I'm done. I mean that. DEAN: No, you don't. SAM: Dean, the year that I took off, I had something I've never had. A normal life. I mean, I got to see what that felt like. I want that. I had that.

This is Dean's idea of "normal." He understands this life. And Sam feels even more like it's something he's been dragged into against his will over and over again.

What he had was an illusion. I mean, it actually all did happen, but he sees it in this weird idealistic way in his memories, with too-bright lighting, the cinematic equivalent of rose colored glasses. Which we get to see from an outsider's perspective in...

8.04, Bitten.

The couple leaves and MICHAEL or BRIAN’s camera zooms in on SAM and DEAN.

SAM: All right. There is not a case here. DEAN: There is a case here. You're rusty. We just got to dig a little deeper. Come on. DEAN walks towards the IMPALA and after a moment SAM follows him. BRIAN: Dude, it's so crazy. MICHAEL: Is it just me or are you getting a workplace-romance vibe from those two?

>.>

I mean, Dean's right, Sam's rusty, but at least a little of it is the same thing he expressed in 8.03. He doesn't want to "waste time" on these minor cases when they still have the True Mission of finding Kevin, translating the demon tablet, and slamming the gates of Hell forever... which... yiiiikes.

Reminder to anyone who hasn't read everything I've ever written about s8 before, but I still see this as the one time the Winchesters ALMOST pulled something just as horrific as Cas letting all the souls out of Purgatory, but slammed on the brakes at the last second and saving things. Unfortunately Cas was manipulated (again!) by Metatron into doing the same thing to Heaven and dumping the angels onto the Earth. I mean... thank heck Dean didn't let Sam go through with THAT particular act of hubris, right? Because they really were in the wrong trying to mess with the natural order that badly in the first place. And honestly, EVERYTHING they did after that point was cleaning up the messes they ALL made here... including the Mark of Cain and the Darkness... they stumbled into those things from a place of guilt over all this other nonsense... and they're just now FINALLY getting back to the root cause of all of it in 14.20...

but back to this episode... or these four episodes I guess...

MICHAEL: The FBI is trying to kill me. KATE: Shut up! Everybody, shut up, okay? First things first, those guys – those guys aren't FBI, all right? I'm pretty sure that FBI agents don't say "awesome" that much. You know? And – and they definitely don't hunt and kill college kids. MICHAEL: Did – did they say anything else? BRIAN: Dude, they just sat and talked about how they have been apart for a year. You were probably right about that whole office-romance thing. MICHAEL: I'm screwed. I'm screwed. BRIAN: Kate, come on. What are we supposed to do? KATE: Okay, you know what? You guys, you're missing the big picture, okay? They – they don't know about you, Michael. They're looking for whoever, whatever bit you in the first place, the pureblood. That... that gives us some time... to figure it out, you know?

Even random strangers pick up on the creepy codependency vibes.

KATE: I didn't finish Brian's movie to justify what happened. To be totally honest, I'm not really even sure if I understand it at all. I just wanted you to know that – that Michael wasn't always a monster. None of us were. I'm leaving. And you'll never hear from me ever again. Look, I know that there's another way. I can eat animal hearts. [A tear rolls down her face.] I've never hurt anyone. Nobody human, anyway. I didn't choose this. Please... please give me a chance.

Which...

SAM: Look, Kate's right. She hasn't hurt anybody – well, anybody human at least. DEAN: Yeah, she didn't – she didn't choose this. Let's give her a shot. SAM: Seriously? DEAN: Yeah, yeah. SAM: And, look, if Kate pops back up, I mean, if she strays, then no questions asked. [He unplugs the hard drive and laptop on the desk and picks them up.] We do what we got to do and, um, we take her down.

Which is a very different result from such past episodes as 7.03 and 7.13. And hey, progress... At this point in the narrative, every little step into the grey area, away from the absolutes that still rule their lives, counts.

[ms-rampage]

Eden’s Gate: Left Behind Chapter 18 - Carry On

Warnings: Swearing, Angst, Angels and Demons.

Word count: 3k

Summary: In the penultimate chapter Kate tells all of her friends that she has to leave Hope County due to a family emergency across the country. She has a hard time telling John because of how close they’ve gotten. 

Guest OCs: Paige Winchester, Sarah Dunham, Alissa Connors, Layla Michaels, Becky Taylor, Ashley Saunders, Ivan and Isaiah Wren, Ryan Cho, Dylan Paulson and Kevin Baker. 

Guest characters: Lilith, Archangel Gabriel, (Supernatural, in a dream), Sam, and Dean Winchester, Castiel [mentioned], Eli Palmer, Wheaty, Mary May, Nick Rye, Grace Armstrong, Pastor Jerome, Raphael, Michael and Lucifer [mentioned].

Note: This chapter is a clusterfuck. SMGDFH. 

*************************************

Kate and Morgan are on their way to the Wolf’s Den. They’re planning on telling all of their friends, everyone they’ve come to know during their time living in Hope County.

They’re leaving, they don’t know for how long, not sure if they’ll ever come back especially with the Cult running around, and destroying shit.

They make it to the Wolf’s Den, parking the car by the grassy area, and they make their way up the small mountain.

“So what are you gonna tell Wheaty?!” Morgan asks, trying to keep herself from slipping down the grassy hill.

Kate sighs, “I don’t know. Probably “Hey I’m gonna be leaving Hope County, I’m not sure how long I’m gonna be gone, it’s a family emergency and they need me, and Morgan because she’s family as well”. I don’t know something like that, or along the lines”.

“Aww you see me as family?!?” Morgan says in a sarcastic but also heartful kind of way.

Kate rolls her eyes, “Well duh, I’ve known you for over 10 years. We’ve traveled together”.

They go down the stair of the Wolf’s Den, the Whitetails being the first on their list to say their goodbyes even though they still have two months to do so.

They get to the bottom of the steps, and Kate almost walks into Wheaty.

“Hey!!” he says loudly, startled by their unexpected visitors. 

“Hey Wheaty” Kate greets him with a smile.

“Morgan, Kate. How are you two doing?” he asks, in an awkward tone.

“We're doing great, but we unfortunately have some bad news” Morgan says, walking past him, and sits down on a chair.

“What’s the bad news?” he asks, looking back and forth at them.

Morgan raises her eyebrows at Kate, telling her to explain to him why they have bad news.

Kate clears her throat, “We uh. Unfortunately, we have to leave Hope County”.

Eli walks in as she says this.

“Leave Hope County?!?!” the bearded man asks loudly. 

“Yeah, I got a call from my uncle, and there’s a family emergency, and they need mine, and Morgan’s help” Kate explains to them.

“What kind of emergency?” Eli asks, “If you don’t mind me asking”.

“It’s just my great aunt, she got into some trouble with some sketchy people. She made a few deals, and we have to help her out of it” Kate further explains.

“We’re gonna be leaving in a few months. Because that’s when the “deadline” expires, and we have to help her hold off it” Morgan adds.

They’re both great liars. No one. Not a single soul can know of the evil monsters in this world. 

Vampires, Demons, Werewolves, Ghosts, Ghouls. That shit will only freak people out, and only a small handful of people can know, and hunt these monsters. 

The people in Hope County will never know, or understand what Kate and Morgan do for a living.

What their families have been doing for generations. Saving people, hunting things, the family business. 

It was a close one with John getting possessed, Kate was glad Castiel worked his angel magic, and wiped his memory of the whole thing.

One of the perks on being besties with an Angel of the Lord. 

Kate clears her throat again, “November 2nd. That’s when we’re leaving for Jackson, then we’re going to Pennsylvania because that’s where she lives”.

Eli, and Wheaty look back and forth at the two huntresses.

“As much as we don’t want to leave, especially with the Cult terrorizing everyone” Morgan says.

“A lot of shit going on” Kate adds.

They stayed at the Wolf’s Den for another half an hour, and they moved on to all their other friends.

Luckily Nick Rye, Grace, Pastor Jerome and Mary May were all at the Spread Eagle. 

You can cut the tension with a knife, after what happened several months early with the whole atonement bullshit, and Saleos.

Mary pretty much glared at Kate the whole time, Nick and Grace didn’t even look back to look at her, and Pastor Jerome just looked like he didn’t want to talk about what happened that day. 

“Hey” Kate says, greeting the Holland Valley business owners, and residents.

“Hey” Mary says with a hint of anger in her voice.

Morgan takes the lead with this since none of them want to hear Kate out on this.

“Listen” she starts off, “Kate and I are leaving Hope County in a few months. Family emergency, we’re telling you guys because we don’t want you guys to think we just, up and left Montana out of selfishness”.

As Mary cleans glasses, “So after everything that has happened. You’re just gonna leave like the fucking Cult is gonna let you?!”.

Morgan and Kate both look at each other, then back at Mary.

“Oh wait. That’s right you can because you’re fucking dating John Seed” she yells angrily towards Kate.

Kate snaps back, “Okay first of all I didn’t even fucking know he was involved with that shit!!”.

“Bullshit!!!” Mary snaps, almost breaking a glass “You seriously didn’t even know about the Cult, or the atonements?. Or any of that shit?”.

“What John did to me was un-fucking-forgiveable” Nick says, “I’m surpised you defended him, and was still dating him after all that. Hell I don’t know why you even got with him in the first place”. 

Nick doesn’t even look back at them when he says this, not even turning his head in the slightest.

“I broke things off with John shortly after that. I never spoke to him after all of that” she defends herself but it wasn’t good enough.

“That still doesn’t make things any better Kate!!” Mary adds, “I don’t know if you’re blind, or just stupid for defending that man. After what him and his family have done to all of us, and you still justify his actions”.

“I’m starting to think you two leaving is for your own selfishness” Grace says, not looking back at them. 

Pastor Jerome turns to them, and says “Some of us can forgive you, but we won’t forget. We won’t forget the pain the Seeds have done to us all. The wrath, pain and sorrow they put on all of us will be justified”.

Kate and Morgan turn around, and are about to leave the bar. Kate’s surprised Jeorme didn’t bring up her citing an exorcism during her atonement. 

Mary mutters as she’s cleaning glasses, “I thought you would be like your mother when I first met her. But turns out you're both the same”.

Kate stops, and turns to her, “What did you say?!?. My mother?!?”. 

She walks up to the counter, “What do you mean “I would be like my mother?”.”

“Mandy, or should I say Mother Amanda. She was a part of the Cult, she was The Mother, Joseph picked her. They were the Mother and Father of Eden’s Gate” Mary says, “That was 6-7 years ago”. 

“Bullshit!!” Kate yells, Morgan tries to hold her back, “My mother would never be a part of a fucking Cult. Be a goddamn peggie?!. Fuck no!!”. 

Mary scoffs, “She betrayed us, she betrayed the Cult, and look what happened to her. Joseph had some of his followers kill her”.

Kate's voice starts to tremble, and takes a deep breath “Lies. all fucking lies!!!. She wouldn’t let a bunch of inbred hillbilly motherfuckers kill her”.

Morgan practically drags Kate out of the bar, and back to their car.

“Kate, you have to calm down!!!” Morgan tells her.

Pacing, aggressively scratching her head, “That’s all bullshit. My mom would never join the fucking Cult. I know she’s not dead, I know it. My uncle Brent said he needed her help as well with the whole thing with Aunt Flora”.

“Okay. Kate you need to relax. Let’s go home, and you can sleep for a bit. Then we can tell the others later”. 

Morgan puts Kate in the passenger side, and drives them home.

Kate goes into her room, and tries to sleep for a bit.

1:30 in the afternoon, and she still has a lot more people to tell about her departure in a few months. 

Tossing and turning in her midday nap. She had a very eerie about an old enemy demon that at one time needed to harvest her soul because she was, or she still is the true vessel to this particular demon. 

Lilith the first demon to be created by Lucifer himself. 

 That bitch demon that her cousin Sam had killed several years earlier, she was resurrected by Crowley, or Alister, or Asmodeus one of them demon fuckers brought her back, along with Abaddon. 

-The dream- 

Unable to sleep even her own dream, or should I say nightmare, Kate has a hard time sleeping.

“Hello Katella” a female voice says.

Kate wakes up, sitting up in her bed, and sees Lilith.

“What do you want?!?” she asks, angrily. Narrowing her eyes at the demon.

“You already know what I want” she says, walking towards her, and sitting at the edge of her bed. 

“And you already know the answer” she replies, “It will always be no”.

“I will get you to say yes” she replies in a threatening tone. 

Kate scoffs, rolling her eyes “I won’t let you harvest my soul, my body. I won’t let you. No matter what you do”.

Lilith stands up, walking in front of the bed, and says. 

“I know how much you love your sister. Paige. Her and Abaddon are basically counterparts, just like how Sam and Lucifer, Dean and Michael. You and I”. 

Kate stands up from her bed, “Paige will never let Abaddon harvest her soul, and I won’t let you. The whole thing with Sam, Dean, Lucifer and Michael was a different story”.

Lilith’s eyes turn white, “I will harvest your soul. No matter what. You’re my other half, my true vessel.”

“You need my consent to harvest my soul. You can stay in that meatsuit of yours”.

Lilith scoffs, walking towards her “I don’t need your consent. I can just harvest your soul. Just like any other demon”.

“Not while I’m around” a male voice says, “Stay away from my human”.

Lilith stops, and turns around. Sees Archangel Gabriel. 

She groans in annoyance, rolling her eyes “Of course. One of Heaven’s feathery boys”.

Even though this is all a dream, Kate is relieved that her Trickster Archangel best friend is here.

He narrows his eyes at the demon, “As Kate’s guardian Angel. I won’t let you anywhere near her pure, good soul”.

Lilith laughs softly, “And what are you gonna do about it?!?. By the way how was being tortured by Asmodeus?”. 

She smirks, and that was a huge mistake the first demon ever to be created has ever said.

“He fed off of my grace for years!!” he yells, his eyes turning purplish white.

He banishes Lilith away with a bright light. Kate covers her eyes from the blinding light of the Archangel. 

Turning back to face the Archangel, he stares at her with those whiskey color eyes. 

They stare at each other, “Gabriel?” she whispers.

He slowly approaches her, placing his hand on her cheek. Kate practically melts to his touch.

Sighing softly, closing her eyes. The heat radiating off this angel is very comforting.

Gabriel slowly pulls her closer to him, and-

-end of dream-

Kate wakes up from her very good dream, she’s been having it for a couple weeks now. 

It always ends the same way. Gabriel banishing Lilith to Hell probably, caresses her cheek, and pulls her in closer to him. 

Probably to kiss her, because Gabe is her guardian Angel, Michael being Paige’s and her mothers is unknown probably Raphael. 

That dream is probably telling her something, a sign or some kind of foreshadowing. 

Later that day, her and Morgan leave to hang out with their group of friends. 3:30pm. 

They all go to the campsite they went to several months earlier when Kate first met Wheaty.

“You guys are leaving?!?” Sarah asks.

Kate and Morgan nod their heads, “Yeah, we are”.

“How are you guys gonna get out?!” Ivan asks.

“We’re not sure yet” Morgan answers. 

“We’re driving out. Obviously” Kate says.

They all sit around an unlit bonfire, chatting. Going over their two friends that are leaving. As they're talking, a Cult truck stops near their campsite.

4 peggies come out, all male, rifles in hands. They approach the group of young adults.

“Kate Winchester!!” one of them calls out.

The group of friends turn to Kate, except Morgan her eyes are locked on the 4 peggies. 

“What do you want?!?” she asks. 

“John wants you to go by the church. Now” another peggie answers. 

Kate and Morgan turn to each other.

She gets up, and they guide her to their truck, climbing into the backseat, and they drive out of the Whitetails, and back to Holland Valley. 

Dropping her off in front of Falls End church.

Unsure what John wants, or what he wants to talk about. 

She walks inside, and sees John with his back to her, standing in front of the panel.

Having flashbacks to 5 in half months ago, when all that shit happened. 

“Hey John” she says, her voice echoing. 

He turns around, a huge smile on his face.

“Hello Katie” he says, with enthusiasm, and excitement in his voice. 

She walks towards him, swinging her hands at her sides, clapping them.

“Soo” she says, “Why did you call me here?”.

He sighs loudly, echoing throughout the church. 

“It’s a surprise” he says with a hint of malice in his voice. 

Kate raises her eyebrows at him, “Really?. Am I gonna like it?!?”. 

John chuckles at her cuteness, the innocence in her voice. How cute, naive and innocent she sounds. 

“You’re gonna love it” he says with emphasis on the word love. 

 “Well I look forward to seeing it” she replies, stepping closer to him.

He stares at her with a smirk, “Well to give you a few hints, it might ring a bell, and it’s gonna be very engaging”.

Kate awkwardly chuckles at him, and John notices something is off about her.

“Darlin’. What’s wrong?” he asks, moving her hair away from her face.

Stammering over her words, trying to hold back tears.

“Its-It’s nothing” she lies, John catches on.

“Don’t lie to me sweetheart. What’s wrong?” he places his hand on the back of her head. 

She looks down at the ground, and before she could tell him. Her phone rings, she pulls it out, and sees her sister's name.

Her eyes widened at her phone screen, she looks up at John.

“I’m sorry I really need to take this” she tells him. He nods his head. 

She steps away, standing near the front door of the Falls End church, and answers her phone. 

“Hey!” she says into her phone.

Paige on the other end, sounding like she just woke up.

“You called, and gave me a very lecural voicemail” she says in a groggily voice, “What’s so important?”.

“Uncle Brent called me. Him, aunt Laura, our cousins, and Barbara need our help” she explains to her older sister.

“For what?!” she asks, voice still groggily.

“Our great aunt Flora made a deal with a demon, and she needs our help” she whispers, so that John can’t hear her.

“Okay. So we head back to Jackson, and leave when?” she asks.

“November 2nd. That’s when we leave to Philly” she whispers to her.

Paige sighs, “Okay. I’ll call Brent, and get more details. But we’re gonna talk out our issues, and you’re gonna have to leave school”.

“Well I graduated, and have my Master of Science degree in Psychology” she tells her, “So me leaving school won’t be necessary”. 

They hang up, and Kate turns back to John who is leaning against the panel. His head tilted to the side. Smirk on his face.

“Sorry that was my sister” she tells him.

He can still see the sadness, and worried in her eyes.

“Katie, darlin’. Answer my questions, what’s wrong?.

She sighs, looking down at the floor, “I have to leave Hope County”.

The expression on his face changes from happy to sadness mixed with anger.

“No. No you can’t leave me” he tells her, his voice getting upset, “Why are you leaving me?!?”.

“I don’t want to. My family needs me” she further explains to him, “They need my help. A family member is in deep trouble with some sketchy people”.

John shakes his head, tears starting to form in his eyes, “You can’t leave. I love you, I need you” his voice going hoarse.

“You mean a lot to me. You changed me Kate. I love you, I need you here with me”.

Kate starts to cry, her eyes going red. “I love you too. I can’t leave my family hanging. I’ll come back when we return from Pennsylvania. I have never loved, or cared for anyone before. You’re my first real boyfriend, you took my virginity. Everything we’ve done and been through was all real”.

John tries to smile through his tears. He loves Kate, he really does love her. 

He never wanted her to go through any pain. He wants her to stay in Hope County with him.

But he knows how family oriented she is, and that’s why he loves her. He wants to have a family with her. Grow old together in the ranch house, or maybe move to the West Coast, and start their family. 

The possibilities are endless for them, but he unfortunately has to accept that she has to leave in a few months, and he wants to spend every moment with her.  

[bleedinghearthalstead]

SWAT!Jay / Upstead AU

A/N: Part 3! Crossposted on AO3. Takes place right after Trudy Got a Gun, but is mostly unrelated plotwise. Enjoy!

Five blocks from their house, Hailey's phone vibrates in her pocket. When she pulls out the phone and sees the caller ID, she can't help but sigh – it's Hank.

"Upton," she answers. Jay watches her out of the corner of his eye as she hums and nods to what is being relayed to her until she hangs up the phone with, "I'll be right there." So much for a free afternoon with his wife.

Five blocks from their house, Hailey's phone vibrates in her pocket. When she pulls out the phone and sees the caller ID, she can't help but sigh – it's Hank.

"Upton," she answers. Jay watches her out of the corner of his eye as she hums and nods to what is being relayed to her until she hangs up the phone with, "I'll be right there." So much for a free afternoon with his wife.

"Where are we going?" Jay asks, already checking for places where he could potentially u-turn.

"Jay, you don't have to drive me there-"

"It'll be quicker," he cuts her off, "just tell me the address." And Hailey knows not to argue because she knows that look on his face that reads 'mission mode', so she just tells him the address and they're on their way.

When they pull up at the crime scene, Hank's car is already there and Hailey wonders how he beat them here, since they were only ten minutes away and Hank was still at the district when Hailey left. She doesn't say anything when Jay parks and also gets out of the car. Hailey's already got her badge clipped on her belt and Jay slips the chain with his badge around his neck. The patrol officer standing guard at the red police tape is giving Jay a weird look, but the officer doesn't stop them when Jay holds up the tape so he and Hailey can duck under it. Jay momentarily thinks about changing, he might have another shirt in the trunk, but actually no, who cares.

They find Hailey's sergeant at the loading dock of what appears to be a logistics center, semi-trailers parked in front of the gates. Hank and the medical examiner are standing over a body, a man in his late forties with a single bullet hole that sits neatly in the middle of his forehead. A clean kill. Not that much to do here for the ME.

"Hey, Sarge." Hailey stops next to Hank, peering down at the victim. Jay is looking around the crime scene behind them, studying the blood splatter on the ground behind the man. "Listen, I was on my way home, so my-"

Before she can finish her sentence, Hank turns to Jay and sticks out his hand. "Halstead, didn't know we needed SWAT support today." They shake hands.

"Voight," Jay returns, "yeah, unless you're cool with instigating a sniper standoff, I'm kinda looking forward to my afternoon off." Hank raises an eyebrow at him in question. "Distance, wind conditions, narrow angle between the trucks… this wasn't an easy shot."

"What makes you think this was a sniper?" Hank asks, intrigued.

"Well, I don't know if you've talked to any witnesses yet, so I don't know if anyone saw a shooter, but with that blood spatter, this definitely was a high-powered rifle." Jay tilts his head, examining the blood spatter closer, then turns around, scanning the horizon. Obviously looking for something, he moves to stand right behind where their victim must have stood, mindful not to step on the blood. He points at a building in the distance. "Angle suggests…" He squints, shielding his eyes from the afternoon sun with this hand. "That mid-rise structure about a klick south. Looks like a parking garage, but I can't say for sure."

Hank grunts at him in agreement, then turns to his detective. "Hailey, you wanna go confirm your husband's theory?"

And of course Hank knows, Hailey thinks. She has been quietly watching the exchange between the two men, but when Hank calls her name, she perks up. "You sure that's alright, Sarge?"

"Take some uniforms with you, canvass the area." That's all the confirmation she gets.

They get back into Jay's car and he drives them in the direction of the building that he spotted earlier, a couple of patrol cars trailing them. While he is driving, Jay keeps leaning forward over the steering wheel, trying to glimpse the building he saw from the crime scene.

"Sooo…" Hailey starts, "Hank knows."

"Didn't think he cared." Jay shrugs, still looking around. "And it's in your personnel file, so I'm pretty sure he's always known."

"Yeah, you're probably right… it's just weird that the whole team knows now. Trudy knows! And why am I not surprised that Hank already knew, but never thought to mention it to me?" Hailey frowns. "I've been in this unit for two years now and I'm not close enough to anyone that they know I'm married."

Jay raises an eyebrow at her. "Babe, you can be incredibly aloof about your personal life."

Hailey pouts. "Are you saying I'm an antisocial freak?"

"More like international woman of mystery."

"Good, my plan is working." They both glance at each other and grin.

They keep driving in silence, until Jay asks, "But you trust them, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. They're all good police."

"And good people too?"

"Sure," Hailey answers after a moment's hesitation. And she does mean it. They all have their issues, but what makes the unit work is that they all have each other's backs, no matter what.

"Then why don't you let them in a little?" Jay suggests. And truthfully, Hailey doesn't know how to answer that.

After some twists and turns, but not more than five minutes later, they arrive at what Jay has rightly identified as a parking garage. Hailey has one patrol car wait on the ground floor, telling them to find the manager in case they need to look at the security camera footage. The other cruiser follows them as they drive up to the top floor.

Jay parks and gets out, walking around to the trunk of his jeep. Rummaging around in a box, he pulls out a spotting scope. He quickly orients himself and goes to the north side of the garage, looking for an open space. A few cars over, there is a free parking spot. He walks right up to the edge, which is a half-height concrete wall, and peers through the scope. "Looks good." He hands the scope to Hailey, who, at Jay's direction, finds the logistics center they were at earlier, although their crime scene is hidden between two big trucks. "It's not the exact angle from here, but it's pretty damn close."

Still looking through the scope, she can see the crime lab techs still cataloguing the scene, but sees that Hank's car is already gone. Jay takes the scope back from her and determinedly walks to the northeast corner of the structure. He stops right at the corner of the building and looks through the scope again, then nods. "Got it." He turns to Hailey. "Roll a crime lab to our location."

Hailey nods in confirmation and relays the info through her radio. As she watches him examine the scene and then tell the two patrol officers to cordon off the scene, she thinks about how in another life Jay could've been a great detective.

* * * * *

When Jay drives her back to the district and again doesn't just drop her off, but parks and gets out with her, Hailey almost stops him. It was one thing for him to come with her at the crime scene since he was already there and she thinks that he wanted to back her up just in case, but to join the briefing? She isn't sure how that's going to go down with the team.

He is a few paces ahead when he notices that Hailey is still standing next to the car. Jay thinks he's gotten pretty good at reading his wife's mind and backtracks. "Is it okay with you if I join the briefing?"

She thinks about it for just a second, then nods her head 'yes'. It was Jay who figured out that it was a sniper and it was also him who found the point of origin within minutes. If not for her husband, they would have had to wait for hours until the crime techs processed the scene and then it would have taken even longer to find the parking garage.

Entering the district, Trudy just nods at them and Hailey uses the hand scanner and pass code to buzz them up to Intelligence. Upstairs, the team is already putting up info on the white board, Kevin sticking a picture of their victim onto the board and Kim writing down his stats.

"So what do we have on the victim so far?" Hailey skips the greeting and gets straight to business. When the others notice that she has a tag-along, they all perk up, first and foremost Kevin, who comes over to give Jay a bear hug.

Jay laughs. "Hey, buddy."

"'Sup, man? How you doing?" Kevin pulls back and they do a special handshake. Hailey can only wonder when they had the chance to learn that? She didn't see them do that at the bar.

Adam also joins the group. "Nice catch, man."

"Ah, it's nothing." Jay brushes off. "Total team effort."

Hailey marvels at how easy it is for Jay to fit into the group, almost a little envious that Jay has been able to build a comfortable rapport with her team mates on one single night out drinking, while it has taken her two years of working with them to achieve that sort of comfort level. He can be a charming bastard when he wants to.

Hank comes out of his office and breaks up the chitchat. He acknowledges Jay with a nod, then turns to his unit. "We got a dead body, what do we have?"

Their victim is Frank Moretti, the logistics coordinator at the center where he was found murdered. No priors, no obvious gang or organized crime connections, he seems like an odd assassination target. The team is going through the crime lab and medical examiner's reports, collecting their findings on the board. Jay's sniper theory is proven right, the recovered bullet's caliber suggesting a long range rifle. Unfortunately for them, the round is a .300 Winchester Magnum, which is popular in game hunting as well as military and police use.

Jay nods, "Popular is an understatement. Hell, even I use them."

When they get around to talking about the shooter's location, Hailey summarizes the report. "No conclusive evidence found at the parking garage, no notches or indentations from the rifle, no bullet casings, although we assume it was a single shot, no nothing."

Kim adds, "We're still going through the security camera footage, but no luck yet."

"I still think this was a professional hit," Jay interjects. "It's just too clean. If it was me, I would've done it from the cover of a van. Set up, open up the door, hit the target and drive off. If you know your target's schedule, that would've taken a few minutes tops." The others look at him with various degrees of alarm, Hailey included, but Jay just shrugs. "Just saying that you should be looking for a van arriving and leaving the garage within an hour of time of death."

"Alright, you heard the expert, let's get to work," Hank orders. "Upton, Ruzek, you go check out Moretti's home. Burgess, Atwater, you check out the footage and his financials. See what we can find."

The sergeant then turns to Jay and shakes his hand. "I guess I did need SWAT support today." Then Hank adds, "Don't tell your commanding officer."

Jay grins. He didn't have an afternoon off, but he was able to help with their case and he did get to spend some quality time with his wife. "Anytime, Sarge."

[comickergirl]

I’ve got a pretty big soft spot for Kara’s Daring New Adventures costume, with the shorts and choker. What do you think about that one? And what are your ranking of Supergirl costumes?

I am a HUGE FAN of Kara’s look in Daring New Adventures. Definitely one of my favorite costumes.

I’ve got a few posts about various Supergirl costumes, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually ranked them! So I’ll give it a shot. XD

Okay, so here it is: Supergirl Costumes, RANKED, from the Least Favorite to HECK YEAH!*

*DISCLAIMERS BEFORE WE BEGIN: Obviously this stuff is subjective, so my list is probably going to be different that other folks’ lists, and so on and so forth. Personally, I value simple, effective designs that are both functional and…oh, what’s a good word. They’re superhero costumes. Like, sure, you could probably get the same stuff done in a Kevlar vest and cargo pants, but there isn’t really a ton of flair to be had when you go the practical route

 And bonus points if the costume reflects the character’s personality/disposition, and has a story reason for existing.

Also I don’t think I’ve got EVERY DESIGN, EVER, for any and all Karas in the multiverse, because this post is ALREADY crazy long; we need not make it longer. XD

OKAY, so now that that’s done, LET’S GO:

25. Brainwashed Apokolips Supergirl 

Proof that ‘adding pants’ won’t always solve your costume problems. 

24. Dark Supergirl

So, here’s the thing: I love the black and silver Superman costume. LOVE. IT. So it should follow that I love the Supergirl variation, right? …Well. Sometimes, a design that would otherwise be ‘just fine’ is pushed into ‘oh God, please no,’ by 1.) a terrible story surrounding said design and 2.) really weird, sexualized artwork. Such is the case with our dear friend Dark Supergirl. Which is why it sits so low on the list. (And for those curious, yes, the blue equivalent also sits down here as well, because there’s just. A lot about this era that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.) 

23. Flamebird

Another design brought low by being wrapped up with a terrible story. (I think I dislike the Kandor plot more than the Dark Supergirl plot, actually.) This feels over-designed and like it’s trying way too hard to be edgy. Less ‘edgy’ than Apokolips Girl up there, but. Close. 

22. New 52

This isn’t awful in theory but that red…er…plate? kinda ruins the whole thing. Some artists did their best to make the plate look more like the equivalent of Clark’s trunks, but at it’s worst it’s just an awkward patch that looks even more awkward from a variety of angles. (And it’s BRIGHT RED so it distracts you from the other, more effective areas of the design. NOT GREAT, BOB. NOT GREAT.)

21. Bombshells

Look this one is absolutely a personal taste thing, I’ve just never been into the pin-up aesthetic. 

20. Superman: The Animated Series

I dunno, this design just never really worked for me. It’s not bad–in fact, it’s really simple and clean, but. *shrugs* Maybe it’s just too much a departure from what I generally associate with the Superman ‘family’ of costumes. Also, the gloves always make me think of like. Loony Tunes and Mickey Mouse. (But I love the boots, guys. Those are great.) (I didn’t include her later JLU costume on this list, but know that I like it a lot.)

19. Justice League 3001

Not a huge fan of the color blocking for this look. The crest is cool, but. The shapes don’t really mesh well, IMO. 

18. 70s Hot pants

I like 50% of this costume! As we will see shortly! But that remaining 50% really kills it, man. The way the shorts/hot pants are drawn, they just end up looking like really uncomfortable underwear.

17. Cyborg Supergirl

I’m just not a mech/tech armor person. Lot of plating and circuitry…kinda starts to look too busy and you lose the cooler design elements. (But there’s a story reason for it! So it does get some points in that regard!)

16. Red Lantern

Weird color blocking/shape language strikes again! Not a fan of the knees and torso. (But! It ranks way higher than the new 52 because it makes the plate into an actual full piece of clothing. Improvement!) Mask is really cool. And the sleeves.

15. Elseworld’s Finest

Honestly it’s not a bad design. Pretty simple and slick. Mostly, it’s just kinda plain. I like the way the cape attaches to the main portion, and the boots! 

14. Crucible Academy 

A bit more streamlined that the Cyborg look. Not at all a bad design. But again. Just not into the mech armor take. 

13. DC Superhero Girls

I actually really like this? I mean, she’s adorable? But I don’t quite understand the shirt. Is it a polo? Sweater vest? A sweater vest on TOP of a polo? IDK, it’s a mystery.

12. Gotham City Garage

Belly shirt feels a little dated, but otherwise, I dig it.

11. 1984 Movie Costume

HONESTLY, FRIENDS. ALL THINGS CONSIDERED…IT’S A SMALL MIRACLE THAT THIS COSTUME LOOKS AS GOOD AS IT DOES. We’re starting to move towards my personal favorite look for Supergirl–it’s got all the right elements! But the belt’s not great, and the material–I mean it works but it’s a costume from a movie that’s three decades old. So it’s a touch dated.

10. Headband

So we’re at the point where a lot of these designs are gonna start to look similar so really I can only rank them based on nitpicky things. XD Like, I don’t love when the skirt comes to a point like that, and the way the pleating is drawn makes the skirt sort of…hang weird. (Yes I realize it’s ridiculous to talk about gravity affecting fabric in a DRAWING where neither of those things actually exist but here we are.) Overall though? The crest is nice and bold, the shape is cool, it works well with the rest of the outfit, and they are just LEANING INTO THAT HEADBAND. YOU GO, KARA. (Also heeeeeey STORY REASON FOR HEADBAND so you know what that means. BONUS POINTS.)

9. Matrix

Improves on the areas that I don’t personally dig on the Headband costume–belts and boots are GREAT. Skirt still comes to a point though. :/

8. Linda Danvers

This is why I can’t really take that Flamebird design seriously. You want your Supergirl to look edgy? DOESN’T GET EDGIER THAN FIRE WINGS, BRO.

7. Injustice 2

It’s a video game, so you’ve got SEAMS and WEIRD RANDOM DETAILS and SUPERFLUOUS DESIGN NONSENSE (see: the costume options for the metal thigh bands) but GIVEN that it’s a video game, this coulda gone so bad, bro. So credit where credit is due. XD Don’t like the gloves and bare arms, though.

6. Jamal Igle Update

They took a costume that was…causing problems, and they made it work. Really, really well. 

5. Smallville Season 11

Okay, when they advertised this comic, and Kara’s costume, I was not into it. And then I read it, and LO AND BEHOLD, IT’S G8. The color blocking is KINDA CRAZY but remarkably, when you start drawing it in action? It just. It looks good.

4. Rebirth

IT’S JUST SO CLASSIC. (So why is it not in the top three? Because of that infernal skirt point, I tell ya.)

3. Silver Age

I mean they basically NAILED IT right out the GATE man. NOICE. 

2. Daring New Adventures

The 80s fix the 50% I didn’t like in 70s look–there’s just something about adding those boots…I dunno man, it just MAKES IT WORK MUCH BETTER. I love this look. I love this era in the comics. I love Carmine Infantino’s art. LOTTA LOVE, IN THIS NUMBER 2 SPOT. 

SO WHAT’S NUMBER ONE? 

Oh come on, like you guys didn’t know. XD

1. TV Show Costume

Listen. Listen. A real human being puts this suit on–a human being subject to gravity and weather and REAL WORLD** SCENARIOS–and it’s not a train wreck. The silhouette is nice! The material is convincingly durable! There are little design elements that don’t overwhelm the overall look! The CAPE HANGS WELL AND LOOKS SO GOOD, GUYS. SO GOOD. The skirt does not come to that awkward point and the minimal pleating is well hidden by that front portion. The tights and boots help with the whole ‘flying around in a skirt’ thing by covering her legs completely, and the shirt is actually a leotard, so it’s comparable to stuff that dancers wear. 

LOOKS GOOD.

WORKS WELL.

ALIGNS NICELY WITH KARA’S CHARACTER AND PERSONALITY.

SCREAMS: SUPER! AT THE TOP OF ITS PRIMARY COLORED LUNGS.

LETS FOLKS KNOW THAT YOU CAN ABSOLUTELY KICK BUTT AND TAKE NAMES IN A SKIRT.

So yes. It wins. Forever and always. 

Honorable Mentions: Every single one of Kevin Wada and Cory J. Walker’s Supergirl designs.

[thesinglesjukebox]

JUICE WRLD FT. FUTURE - FINE CHINA

[2.90]

Don't look to us to clean up this mess...

Katie Gill: Bad points: this song is bizarrely short and the chorus makes up a solid 75 per cent of it. This means we get to hear Juice WRLD happily sing about how he'll kill his girl and hit us with some blatant transphobia over and over again. Good points: Future's verse is so friggen stupid that it somehow manages to be completely amazing while also being completely dumb. [2]

Ryo Miyauchi: The chorus just gets worse and worse. Thousand-dollar price tag is a backhanded compliment coming from a rapper who got Future on his side, and the only time I've ever really noticed fine china plates is when they break. You'd think Juice WRLD threatening to murder his love if she decides to break up is terrifying, but then he brushes it off as some kind of cute joke, sliding in "oh, did I just say that out loud" like a violently vengeful Urkel. His affections feel repulsively sour after that, no matter how sweet he coaxes it with melody. [4]

Will Rivitz: Chief among the endless churn of hip-hop thinkpieces are #takes about the glorification of putatively negative concepts in popular rap songs. It remains endlessly popular because of the endless variation within how artists portray contentious things as well as how listeners react to those portrayals. One can present everything from drug usage to interpersonal relationships constructively and incisively or harmfully and lazily, even within the same song, which makes the spin cycle of reactions continually compelling though the overarching genre remains the same. Here, Juice WRLD and Future, caterwauling transphobia and possessive psychological abuse, justify the most negative of these critiques. Extra minus points for Juice WRLD unintentionally arguing in support of using euphemisms for "vagina" instead of the word itself; his mealy-mouthing of those three syllables makes my skin crawl. [2]

Crystal Leww: The pervasive narrative in mainstream rap media is that Lil Uzi Vert is music for the youths that olds can rock with because (1) the melodies popped, (2) the song structures are good, and (3) his lyrical musings about depression were relatable, even surprisingly elegant. This narrative has been largely written by olds, unsurprisingly, and the olds do not seem to have a similar amount of generosity for Juice WRLD, despite their similar styles. This is largely driven by a disdain for unfortunate lines like "so if she leaves, I'mma kill her, oh, she'll die," which like, yes -- in this hip hop hellscape that is now straight up turning someone as hateful and repugnant as XXXTentacion into a martyr -- it's very bad! On the other hand, I cannot bring myself to be patronizing about this -- this is music clearly not made for me, the melodies pop, and you cannot tell me there's a funnier line in a Hot 100 song this year than "Shorty like a ten thousand plate, FINE CHINA." [7]

Taylor Alatorre: Juice WRLD is pretty good at writing chorus melodies. He's even better at writing parodies of Juice WRLD lyrics. He gets by on his willingness to take advantage of the fact that nobody knows what level of irony anyone is on anymore. So he says he's going to kill this girl if she leaves him, which is bad, but it's so over-the-top that he can't possibly be serious, so it's fine, but he's still putting the idea out there, which is bad, but he admits he shouldn't be saying it out loud, so it's self-aware. After going through this cycle of contortions, you're left with the realization that, however benign or toxic, it's just not that interesting. I briefly held out hope that one of the lyrics was "pussy-hatted vagina," which would've at least shown a sort of reactionary political awareness, but no, it's just gender-based reaction. Future sounds so comparatively mature that one has to wonder why he signed on to this project in the first place; is it trend-hopping to hop on a trend that you had a large part in creating? [4]

Anthony Easton: Oh, it's transphobic as hell, and the line about killing her is a third rail of toxic masculinity, and the lake line is cribbed from Cardi B's much better "Bodak Yellow," but I'm oddly charmed by the idea of a pussy like Spode, and Future sells the whole mess. [3]

Andy Hutchins: I do not think Juice WRLD should be allowed to have any communication with women. But it is good to see that Future still knows his planets despite his favorite one not technically being one! [2]

Thomas Inskeep: "If she leaves I'mma kill her," Juice WRLD says, and unfortunately, I believe the asshole. Future, what are you thinking? [0]

Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: The only vaguely commendable thing about "Fine China" is Wheezy's production, which does its jaunty best to prevent you from paying attention to what the rappers it carries are actually saying. On that front, Juice WRLD continues his pursuit of the perfect balance between reprehensible and boring while Future seems resigned to the latter. [0]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: It's easy to get a sense of rap's quick cycling of all-stars when you work in a high school. Three years ago, some of my students were excited about Young Thug. The freshmen this year? They don't know who he is, but they all love Lil Baby. Last year, one student called Kevin Gates a "respectable old head." This year, the new kids only really know him as the dude who collaborated with NBA YoungBoy. If there's a single rapper right now who all my students are into -- from freshmen to seniors -- it's Juice WRLD. He makes miserablist rap that's quasi-similar to Future's previous music, but he doesn't really rap; dude just makes 2000s emo with a rap veneer, the latter informing his music as the drug-fueled histrionics it is. Kids are here for the Juice, so the end result is a sing-songy tune that finds Future's Auto-Tune warbles supporting the simplistic hook-as-everything modus operandi that defines virtually all of Juice's music. It's fine; his best music is always his most harrowing, his most depressing. But that sort of begs the question: why are critics less eager to champion Juice WRLD than Lil Peep or Lil Uzi Vert? Does something have to be objectively more sad in order to justify any questionable lyrics? Why is sadness always measured in the most obvious ways? Whatever the case, Juice WRLD will likely be forgotten in a few years time, a random blip in a line of artists who provided youth with a sense of angst-ridden release. "Fine China" won't be remembered as one of his best songs because it's decidedly not sad. Juice WRLD won't end up on any critics' lists because he's not sad enough. That's a good thing, right? [5]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[shirtlesssammy]

8x07: A Little Slice of Kevin

You’re not misreading this. We’re recapping a Buckleming episode by choice! Is it a hot mess? Yep. But does it also have literal pining!Dean, gothic romance stormy night window visions, boner scenes, roadside confessions, and badass Cas? Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.

Then:

Where’s the angel? Also, Mrs. Tran is a bit of a badass.

Now:

At a playground (!), a small boy makes a mess with paints so his teacher takes him to the bathroom to clean up. Her eyes flash black for a moment before the two disappear inside (literally). A windstorm suddenly blasts its way through the park revealing the now empty bathroom.

Meanwhile, Dean is cruising around in Baby in a pine forest (while listening to The Animals’ “We Gotta Get Out of This Place”. LOVE.) He sees a dirty, bedraggled Cas walking on the side of the road and slams on the breaks. Backtracking, he sees nothing.

Well, nothing but a literal sign indicating there’s multiple pining situations happening. Dean then gets. out. of. the. car. to stare forlornly at his surroundings.

Later, at the cabin, Sam finds a case --the missing boy/tornado from the cold open. He notices similar happenings all over the world. They guess demons but have no clue how any of it connects.

Crowley is peak evil demon while he tortures poor Samandriel out of names. It also seems that Sam and Dean were right about the missing people. Crowley has collected them all in his dystopian sci-fi factory.

Kevin and Mrs. Tran are on the run, and she has 1000% embraced the mother of a prophet gig. She’s making holy water traps, hex bags, salt barriers, and has even hired a witch to make demon bombs. (Sidenote: This scene is the only time I hear Amy Wong on this show.) They check in with Delta Mendota via Skype. *insert gross Buckleming innuendos* She’s ready to help and is in no way, shape, or form going to backstab these two.

The brothers interview the teacher of the little boy who disappeared.

Later that night, while Sam sleeps and Dean googles “how to save an angel from Purgatory”, lightning flashes and Cas suddenly appears outside the window. He’s gone just as soon as he appears. Dean rushes to the window and stares at the rain in disbelief.

Sam awakens and wonders what Dean is doing. Dean confesses to seeing Cas outside, and earlier on the side of the road.

Dean then starts to replay his time with Cas in purgatory, wondering why Cas didn’t try harder (while beating himself up for the same reason.) Before finding the portal, Cas pulls Dean aside and thanks him, “for everything.”

For Science:

(Like, ouch. It’s little moments like this that make me really feel the profound effect Dean has had on Cas. This human, of all humans over the course of Earth’s existence, made such a lasting change in this angel.) Dean “Save the Hallmark” Winchester refuses to even humor the idea of Cas not making it through the portal.

Crowley is having second thoughts about abducting all these people, who believe they were abducted by aliens.

He tries getting them to read the demon tablet, but they are hopeless.

Meanwhile, Delta arrives at the Tran hideout with the demon bomb materials. *insert more gross Buckleming innuendos*

The next morning, Sam is discovering more missing people, while Dean hangs out in that liminal world between worlds where Cas and him meet so often, the bathroom (Lol, I typed that thinking it was going to be a poetic line, but that just sounds dirty.)

“Hello, Dean.”

Cas appears, for real this time. I’m not sure Dean’s eyes could pop out any further from his head.

Cut to Sam being all chatty and questioning about Cas’s return from Purgatory, while Dean continues to stand and stare in utter disbelief. Cas has been trying to reach out but hasn’t been at full power (Ahem, at this moment I would like to point out that the brothers still have the Enochian warding on their ribs and shouldn’t be detectable by angels. How strange that Cas can still find Dean though.) Cas has no explanation as to how he got out. Dean flashes back to their final moments in purgatory.

I love this exchange:

Benny: Aren't you guys all about faith? Castiel: Not particularly

Benny’s soul gets sucked into Dean’s arm via a spell, and Dean and Cas head for the portal. They find the portal at last, led to it by the delicate dance of a leaf. I love this! It's so pretty.

Leviathan arrive.

In the present time, Dean and Sam discuss the improbability of Cas being back with them, while Cas cleans up in the bathroom.

A story told in two gifs:

I mean, what the actual fuck, show? 

Meanwhile Linda Tran continues to be my favorite, chewing out the witch Delta for trying to change their deal. Suddenly Kevin comes running in. The salt line's been brushed away from the bathroom windowsill! Enter Crowley and a demon lackey, who were let in by Delta. Crowley zaps away with Kevin and orders the other demon to kill Linda. But Linda is ready!

Sam and Dean are busy tracking more demon omens. Sam lists out the names of the missing people and Castiel recites along and then completes it (as he watches TV). Damn it, Cas, stop being adorable. STAHP. 

Turns out, those are names of the prophets and they're written on the subway wall in Castiel's mind. Just like slayers, there's only one active prophet and the rest are potential prophets, who get activated when a prophet dies. There's a brief mention here of Chuck. The idea is set forth that Chuck died, thereby activating Kevin. (Chuck you got some 'splaining to do!) Their prophet talk is interrupted by a call from Linda Tran, asking for help.

In Crowley's latest dank industrial hideout, he swans around the table of prophets and bullies Kevin. If the other potential prophets can't do anything to interpret the tablet, they can at least die for it. Crowley brutally kills one of the women when Kevin refuses to translate the tablet, dousing Kevin with blood.

Elsewhere, Dean, Sam, and Castiel wait on a lonely highway for Linda to show up. With nothing more exciting to do, Dean flashes back to Purgatory again. They're fighting the leviathans and it's sharp and brutal and hard. Just barely, they manage to defeat them. Dean steps into the portal and reaches for Cas. They grasp hands, Dean trying to pull Castiel along with him, but the pull of the portal is too strong. Castiel slips from Dean's grasp as Dean zaps away from Purgatory. Dean jolts back to the present and asks Cas to step out of the car to talk. Dean shouts at Cas that he did all he could to get him out. He didn't leave Cas. HE DIDN'T, DAMN IT! Cas squints at him. “So you think this was...your fault?” (Me: Oh my lord these two are bad at words.)

Their confrontation is interrupted by the arrival of Linda who shows them the demon she has in her trunk. It's demon interrogation time!

Speaking of interrogation, Kevin's tied to a chair in Crowley's weird industrial dungeon. With no answers, Crowley chops off one of Kevin's fingers. After screaming in agony, Kevin agrees to read the tablet. He skims through the table of contents for things such as the “collective tapestry of the soul” and “demonic transport to the regions of hell.” (I love this.)

The Winchester-mobile and Linda drive off to Crowley's mysterious industrial pit. Sam cuffs Linda to the car (SAM) and Dean kills the demon in the trunk. Then they head for the compound.

While Crowley casually blows a pinwheel, Kevin discovers a section about sealing the gates of Hell. NOW Crowley is interested.

Sam, Dean, and Cas infiltrate the plant. Sam heads inside and encounters a ton of demons. He pulls out a jar and chucks it at the ground. It explodes and blasts away the demons. There goes their one demon bomb. Meanwhile, Dean and Cas get waylaid by a solitary demon, who knocks the crap out of Dean with a telekinetic blow. Castiel smites the demon, but staggers immediately afterward. His power is super low.

They find a locked door – behind which is Crowley - and while Dean tries to pick the lock, Cas flaps his way into the room alone. Crowley greets him with, “Which Castiel is it this time? I'm never sure. Madman or megalomanic?” They both pull out angel blades and when Crowley scoffs and questions Castiel's power, Cas goes full on angel. His eyes glow blue and he unfurls his wings. “You're bluffing,” Crowley shouts.

“You wanna take that chance?” Castiel asks (and I pause to fan myself). The tablet breaks in two, and Crowley grabs half of it and zaps away.

The next day, Sam bids farewell to Mrs. Tran and Kevin. He's sending them off to Garth. (Yessss I want to watch that show.)

While Sam and the Trans are off having semi-adult conversations, Dean flips out at Castiel, berating him for heading in alone. “Look, I don't need to feel like hell for failing you, okay? For failing you like I've failed every other godforsaken thing that I care about! I don't need it!” OUCH. There are no underlying issues here AT ALL.

Castiel tells him that it wasn't Dean's fault that Cas got left behind. Cas intended to stay behind in Purgatory to do penance. He tells Dean to reexamine the memory. Instead of Cas desperately trying to hang on, Cas actually pushed Dean away and told him to leave. He didn't want to be saved. “I didn't deserve to be out. And I saw that clearly when I was there. I planned to stay all along. I just didn't know how to tell you. You can't save everyone, my friend. Though you try.” GUH CAS

Sam interrupts because, of course. And then suddenly the world disappears and Cas finds himself in a white room. “Hello, Castiel,” a woman in a neat gray suit says. She tells him that he's in Heaven and asks him about Sam and Dean. Castiel immediately spills all the beans EVERYWHERE like a firehose of bean soup.

“Why am I telling you any of this?” he grits out. The woman in the suit is the angel Naomi and she orders Castiel to report on the Winchesters' comings and goings. The angels saved him from Purgatory and reprogrammed him for this one purpose. Castiel refuses, but is powerless to resist her as she zaps him back to the conversation with Sam and Dean. He looks confused, but doesn't remember a thing. Not long afterwards Cas walks off, looking unsettled, leaving a very perturbed Dean behind.

Boris: This post by @elizabethrobertajones makes me very happy.

Quotus Interruptus:

I hired a witch off of Craigslist

You know the rules. Casual encounters. That means no questions asked.

Are we on a spaceship?

I lie, I don't get lied to.

You can't save everyone, my friend. Though you try.

I was going to say that you look like you’ve seen a ghost, but you’d probably be stoked.

This hurts you more than it hurts me, so I can go on forever.

Thank you, for everything.

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive! 

[mycasandstarrs]

SPN 8x17: “Goodbye Stranger”

THEN: Meg. Naomi, and her control over Cas. The angel tablet exists and Crowley knows. Dean wanted to do the trials that would seal the Gates of Hell, but Sam is the one who ends up taking that torch. Dean is concerned for Sam, so he prays to Cas.

SHIT, HOW DID I FORGET ABOUT THIS COLD OPEN.

RIP prototype Dean Winchester. Killed by Cas.

“No hesitation. Quick. Brutal. Everything's back in order.” Fuck you, Naomi.

How long did it take for Cas to do that without any emotion? How many fake Deans did he go through???

Dean going through the Men of Letters archive.

There’s the key to Oz!

Ooohhh a Faberge egg! Dean could sell that and make a buttload of money.

Oh dear, Sam.

“This is a first edition, dude. You know what this would go for on eBay?” But you won’t sell the Faberge egg??

Dean finds the bloody tissue.

That’s a beautiful house.

“About a week ago, something changed in Ann. She was out of sorts, not herself at all.” Ann was possessed.

“I should have stayed. I should have protected her.” Oh no, sir. He would’ve died too.

“So, somebody's killing demons. Well, that is awesome. I feel like we should send a card or flowers. What kind of flower says ‘thanks for killing demons’?” Yeah, send them to Cas.

Wendy Rice.

Special Agents Lynne and Tandy.

“My dissertation is -- is on the history of this town and, uh, its connection to the Underground Railroad and -- and -- and whatnot. I've been working to re-create a map for years as part of my research, and this -- this is the old Jakubiak orchard there.” I really like how proud she was of her project.

“Ann's assistant called this morning, though, asking if I still had the map.”  Another demon? Or Cas?

RIP demon. Killed by Cas.

(The look on Dean’s face thoo.)

Aww, Dean looking out for Sam.

“You heard me, didn't you?” ohh nooo.

Every lie Cas tells takes a year off my life.

“They're looking for a parchment that would allow them to decipher Crowley's half of the Demon Tablet without a Prophet.”

“strange haired demon” haha.

“Well, he puts the ‘ass’ in ‘Cas’, huh?” If ya say so, huehue.

“If he's so sketchy, then why were you praying to him?” FOR YOU AND YOUR HEALTH.

“I am a celestial being.” pft.

Look who’s bad cop now!

“We have a hostage! It's one of Crowley's pets. She's at the Murray Hotel, down by the interstate. She knows the towns where all the crypts are buried. She saw them all back in the day.”

“And she told you about the parchment?”

No, no, no, possible exposure coming up...

“What parchment?!”

RIP demon. Killed by Cas.

I assume Sam and Dean were cursing Cas during the drive to the hotel.

RIP demons. Killed by Cas.

Hello for the last time, Meg.

“Aren't you a little short for a Stormtrooper?”

“What's up with the hair?” Why would that be your first question?

Y’all are asking dumb questions, guys.

“A bunch of innocent people died so you could... buy yourself some time?”

“Hi. I'm Meg. I'm a demon.”  

“She’s gonna tell them the truth. Do I have to kill her?” Aww Cas. I love the genuine reluctance at the possibility of having to kill Meg.

“Any of you dummies got a map?” They got something better.

“What’s there now?”

“Do I look like Google to you? None of these buildings were here way back in the day. Figure it out, genius. Is there any booze in this dump?”

lol

“You really do know how to make a girl's nethers quiver, don't you?”

“I am aware of how to do that. Although it doesn't usually involve cleaning wounds.”

ngl, I lowkey ship Megstiel. 

“Would it kill you to watch a movie, read a book?”

“A movie, no. But a book with the proper spells -- yeah, it could, theoretically, kill me.”

Pfft. Never appreciated that line before.

“So, your noodle's back in order?” Not quite.

“Yeah, my... noodle remembers everything. I think it's a pretty good noodle.”

“Really? You remember everything?”

“If you're referring to the pizza man... Yes, I remember the pizza man. And it's a good memory.”

Aww.

“I miss the simplicity. I was bad. You were good. Life was easier. Now it's all so messy. I'm kind of good, which sucks. And you're kind of bad -- which is actually all manner of hot.” Agreed.

“We survive this... I'm gonna order some pizza and we're gonna move some furniture around. You understand?” Oof, that’s hot as all hell.

RIP demon. Killed by Crowley.

"If you want something done right...blah, blah, blah.”

Team Free Will, plus one.

“No, you're not. Sam... You're damaged in ways even I can't heal. Dean's right.“ Shit dude.

“You should stay here and protect Meg.”

“Since when do I need protecting?”

“Since you were held captive and tortured for over a year.”  

Walked right into that one, Meg.

Sam and Meg getting left behind by the people who want to take care of them.

“Wait -- so I took how many bullets for you guys, and you didn't even look for me?” Aww, poor Meg. Don’t worry Meg, Sam didn’t look for Dean or Kevin either.

“Look, no disrespect, but you haven't exactly been the most, uh, trustworthy person in our lives, Meg.”

“You're not gonna tell me? Seriously? How am I not team Sam?”

Seriously tho! They have history going back aallll the way to S1! That’s a long time.

“Deep down, in parts you never let see the light of day, you want to live a long, normal life away from creepy old things like me.”

“I do. You know, I spent last year with... someone, and, um... ...now I know that's actually possible.”

“Wait -- that's how you spent your last year? With a chick? Lame.”

AGREED. (Well, it wouldn’t be so lame if I actually liked the “chick”.)

“Tell me -- how'd you meet this unicorn?”

“I found it.”

“the Winchester” he HAS A NAME.

OOHHH LOOK AT THOSE BI COLORS. Unintentional as they may be, it damn sure looks like it. 

I’m already getting tense, I know what’s coming.

“Winner, winner, chicken dinner.”

“Good. Hand it to me, and I'll take it to heaven. “

I don’t like this.

“I can't let you take that, Dean.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Both.”

I REALLY DON’T LIKE THIS

“Wait -- h-hold on. There's one part I don't understand. You hit a dog and stopped. Why?” pft.

“You fell in love with a unicorn. It was beautiful, then sad, then sadder. I laughed, I cried, I puked in my mouth a little. And honestly, I kind of get it.” :’)

“I won't hurt Dean.” AWW NO

OH I HATE THIS I WANNA GET OFF THIS RIDE

RIP demon. Killed by Sam.

RIP demon. killed by Meg.

“Cas. Cas. I know you're in there. I know you can hear me. Cas... It's me. We're family. We need you. I need you.”

OOHHH THE CUT OUT “I LOVE YOU”

“You have to choose, Castiel -- us or them.”

There are no words for the love and angst I’ve got for the crypt scene.

“Go. Save your brother... and my unicorn.” Aww.

“Timon and Pumbaa...tell you their big plan? Did they share that little chestnut with you? They mean to close the Gates of Hell, sweetheart. They mean to kill me and all the demons -- you included.”

“You had me at ‘kill you’, Crowley.”

Cas caught Dean up to speed...then leaves with the angel tablet. Damn it, Cas.

“I could beat on you for eternity.”

“Take all the time you want, pig...No Cas in the back seat. Your stone is long gone.” Meg’s last words.

RIP Meg. Killed by Crowley. I’ll miss her.

“If you remember our time in Mesopotamia the way I do, you know I'm a lover, not a fighter.” Crowley and Naomi knew each other?

*Naomi leaves* “Tart stole my move.”

“So... what happened? I mean, Cas touched the tablet, and it reset him to his factory settings or something?”

“I don't know. And I don't care.”

Yeah, you do. You care.

“Listen, I may not be able to carry the burden that comes along with these trials... But I can carry you.” !!!

“You... realize you kind of just quoted ‘Lord of the Rings,’ right?”

Come on, man. But it's the Rudy Hobbit, all right? Rudy Hobbit always gets a pass.”

Of course, Sam (the Rudy hobbit) was the best!

“Goodbye Stranger” by Supertramp.

Apparently this isn’t a typical song Dean would listen to, because Sam gave Dean the “You’re really gonna listen to this song?” look.

Aww Cas. :(