Carry On My Wayward Son

Chapter 19

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That's right here's where the talkin' ends

Well listen this night there'll be some action spent

Drive hard I'm callin' all the shots

I got an ace card comin' down on the rocks

-You've Got Another Thing Coming

-Judas Priest

 

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As Dean walked into the kitchen after taking a shower and getting dressed he was still bitching, quietly, about the cold, something his brother seemed to ignore after telling him once to give it some time to warm up. Sure, Sammy had the fireplace going and the heat cranked but, with the cold outside, it hadn't gotten to a comfortable temperature in the house yet. No, it wasn't bone chilling cold but it was chilly enough that it wasn't exactly comfortable yet. Smelling the freshly brewed coffee, the elder brother made a beeline straight for it, pouring himself a cup. Leaning back against the counter, he sipped the slightly bitter aromatic brew while his eyes flitted to what his brother was doing.

Standing at the stove, Sammy was cooking what appeared to be a good breakfast. Though he was used to eating a good sized breakfast each day, they usually came from some kind of greasy spoon somewhere and weren't always the best. This would be the first true home-cooked meal he had in a while so he fully planned on enjoying it. Taking another eye-opening sip of the good java, he pushed off the counter and edged closer, taking a look. Though Sam was a health nut about some things, he liked a good full breakfast with eggs just like Dean did so that appeared to be what he was cooking, complete with bacon and home fries. Oh, this was going to be good!



Grinning from ear to ear as he peered, the best he could anyway, over his brother's shoulder at what he was cooking then said, “That smells delicious, Sammy!”

 

Grinning and shaking his head as Dean's stomach let out an appreciative growl, he chuckled before telling his brother, “Why don't you get the table set and start some toast. It won't be long before this is done.”

 

Nodding, Dean downed the last of his coffee then said, “Will do.” But, before he walked off to get a refill and start the tasks, he wrapped one arm around his brother's waist and pulled him close before kissing him on the shoulder. Grinning, he released him then set about doing what was needed.

 

Sam stopped stirring the scrambled eggs in the pan to look at Dean, a small smile on his face as he did. It was a small gesture, not a big thing, but something about it made this whole new aspect to their relationship more comfortable for him. It was as though it spoke of something more intimate than just sex. Quite frankly, despite his guilt over 'going there' finally, it eased some things, making him more confident of that decision.

 

Shaking his head, unable to get rid of the smile, he went back to ensuring that he didn't burn the breakfast.

 

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Sitting in the living room after breakfast was finished and the dishes done, the two brothers were deciding what to do that day. Right now, probably due to the weather, Sam wasn't getting an internet connection that was stable so playing online was out. With as cold as it was, not to mention the blowing snow and howling winds, taking Dean outside to show him around wasn't viable as well. That left them holed up without much to do, aside from the topic of sex, something that both of them seemed to be dancing around at this juncture.

 

Slouched on the sofa, sipping at his coffee, Dean was actually amused by the whole thing. It was odd that he had a down day to do anything. Sure, he could clean weapons, sharpen knives or things like that but he wasn't in the mood for it. Plus, from the sound of weather reports, he was going to be here for several days anyway so there would be plenty of time for that. So, he was going to do something he didn't normally get a chance to; just loaf around and relax, spending time with his brother. Since they had been apart for so long, he was relishing spending time with him and talking over all they had missed with each other.

Along with that, however, there were high levels of sexual tension in the air, as would be expected from the dance they had done before getting back together. Normally, he was one to not allow that to continue on, pushing for the end result before it got too high. However, in this case, he liked the sensation of it, the slow building up of things and how it made him feel. There was a delicious torment that came with that tension that he seemed to like, something he normally didn't in the past, so he was more than willing to play into it. After all, he was certain that with the two of them locked into the cabin for the foreseeable future, that sex was going to happen again, probably several times, before Bobby showed up. Keeping that in mind, he was willing to let things go on before he started to lobby for some relief.

 

Just as the teasing was turning a seriously sexual way with Dean having suggested the idea of, to be somewhat evil, giving the guys in the chatroom a show on cam of the two of them since that started the whole thing, his phone rang. As the ringtone told him it was Bobby, he groaned then answered it rather than ignore it like he would most anyone else. “What's up, Bobby?” He said when he answered.

 

“I need you to put it on speaker phone, Dean. Both you and Sam need to hear what I have to say,” a very tired Bobby sighed, rubbing his eyes then glanced at Castiel who was sitting across the room from him.

 

Looking somber, Dean did as he said, giving Sam a glance that told him to pay attention. “Alright, done. Something go south on us, Bobby?”

 

“No, not south but I have some info that confirms some stuff for us and throws one hell of a monkey wrench in part of it,” the old hunter sighed, taking a drink of his umpteenth cup of coffee since the angel has shown up in his living room the night before. “Can you hear me alright, Sam?” He asked, wanting to make sure that both boys could hear him fine so he didn't have to go over this cluster twice.

 

“I can hear fine,” Sam chimed in, giving Dean a worried look. If Bobby needed to talk to both of them about this, it was big and probably something neither would like. Not to mention that, from the sound of his voice, he appeared to be exhausted. That didn't bode well.

 

Sighing, Bobby leaned back in his chair then stated, bluntly, “Cas is here with me and can hear everything.”



With that, Dean stiffened up then shot Sammy a worried look. “Bobby, is that a good idea? I've made it pretty clear I want no part of this shit until he can come clean with me about what is really going on.”

 

“I know, Dean, he told me that as well. But he did come clean with me. It seems that he's had a little change of heart about some things after finding out some info we all need.” The old hunter sighed then added, “I think it's probably for the best that he tell you himself what he overheard last night.” Then turning his own cell onto speaker phone, he sat it on the table and nodded to the angel to get on with it.

 

Glancing at the small device on the table, Cas frowned at it then looked at Bobby. “What do I do? Can they hear me?”

 

Forgetting how unfamiliar the angel was with technology, Bobby sighed and scrubbed a hand across his face then said, “Just talk, Cas, he can hear you.”



Giving the tiny thing a wary glance once more he then asked, tone unsure, “Dean?”

 

Shaking his head, a grin on his face about the angel's antics, Dean replied, “I can hear you fine, Cas. So can Sam.”

 

“Sam is with you then?” Cas inquired.

 

“More like I'm with Sam but, yes, we're together,” Dean told him with a roll of his eyes.

 

Nodding, the angel then looked at Bobby again to see if he should go on. When he saw the man motion to, he sighed then said, “Since talking with you those few times, Dean, I realized that some of what you told me made sense. So, I went looking into things and my doubts grew. Last night, I happened to be privy to a conversation that tells me that what is going on isn't how it appears.” Then, slowly, he began to recount the encounter he had seen the night before in minute detail.

 

Though Dean stopped him here and there to ask for some detail or clarification, for the most part all let the angel tell his story without continuous interruptions. When he finished, Cas looked down at the floor then said, very quietly, “It does appear that the angels are helping to break the seals and doing what they can to ensure that the war kicks off. They also want to make certain that the players that are needed in it are around for them to ensure they fulfill their roles perfectly. I was... misled about that, assuming that there was another hand in this and that it was time for such a thing to come to pass.”

 

Scrubbing a hand through his hair, Dean stared at the phone, a sinking feeling in his gut as he did. This wasn't good and he knew it. After a glance at Sam, who was pale as a sheet, he asked, “Alright, I get it. The angels are trying to kick this shit off. At least that's how I understand that part. But, how else does this relate? What else does it mean other than the big pissing match is coming. You said something about me being the one that has to finish it.”

 

Looking slightly more dour, Cas sighed then said, knowing that this wouldn't be taken well at all, “The being that started things off is the one destined to be the vessel for Michael while his brother is the one intended to be Lucifer's vessel. That's why heaven and hell both want you two back in the game.”

 

One glace in Sam's direction showed Dean that he had gone from white to an almost green color, nothing that looked good. He, himself, was all but sick over that revelation. “They want me and Sam to be the vessels so they can do the final dance?”

 

“Yes, that sums it up. You are the most direct descendants of Cain and Able so you're the intended vessels for it. There are others, of course, but not as suitable as the two of you.”

 

Leaning over, Sam buried his face in his hands and shivered, feeling sick to his stomach. It made sense from all he had found since taking himself out of the game. Feeling panic engulf him, he was jarred out of it by a hand on his back. Looking over, he saw a worried look on Dean's face but there was slight glimmer of panic there as well. Gulping heavily, he tried to think then spit out the first thing that came to mind, “That's why Ruby was trying to do the binding spell. She wanted to ensure that I did what she wanted to end it all.”

 

“Yes,” Castiel deadpanned. “Asmodeus wants to ensure that you do your part to kill Lilith. Zachariah is taking care of the heavenly side of things and is sure that, in the end, Dean will do the right thing then fall into line with what he wanted. You, on the other hand, Asmodeus wasn't sure about. Since you left, it appears that he wants Ruby to bind you to him so that he can make certain you do as he wants.”

 

Sliding closer to Sam, Dean draped an arm over him, feeling more than a little ill about the whole thing. If it wasn't bad enough that he had mountains of guilt over starting the whole nightmare, the fact that the other side of things wanted to ensure his brother basically died at his hands, or so it seemed if the final chapter of that book was right. No, that wasn't right at all. Leaning into Sammy, he let a hand begin to roam through his hair to try to calm him down then asked Cas, “She hasn't managed to complete the binding spell yet, has she? I mean, if she had, he would have to be following her fucked up orders by now.”

 

“I don't think that's the case, no,” Cas told him. “However, I need to know what she's done to determine which one it is. If they even consider the possibility that he might know what is going on, it may well end up with Asmodeus himself trying to do it to ensure that it’s in place so his plans aren't messed up.”

 

That made Sam blanch and look more ill, if that were possible. Before he could go any further into it, Dean asked, “Is there any way to tell which one she tried? I mean, without having heard much of the research Bobby and Sam have put into this, I know there are a shitload of binding spells out there. The point is figuring out which one and just how far she's gotten with it.”

 

“Without hearing what was done, I can only make guesses with what I know,” Cas told him, looking at Bobby.

 

“Look, if Sam gives up everything, can you tell? I mean, with him being the last of those damned 'special kids' Azazel created, it could, from our thinking, have something to do with that.” Bobby said, looking at the angel.

 

Nodding, the angel said, “Yes, if you give me the information, I'm sure I can at least narrow things down. If it is related to what was done as a child, I doubt it's a spell that humans would ever know or perform. I'm not exactly well versed in such things but I know enough that I should be able to pinpoint what it is.”

 

After a nod towards the angel, Bobby then said, “Sam? You need to tell him. You and I have gotten exactly nowhere looking into this. I know it's not going to be something you'll like to do and will be damned embarrassing but you need to talk, boy.”

 

A slight red starting to creep up into his face, Sam opened his mouth to protest, glancing at Dean as he did, but was quickly hushed by his brother.

 

“Give me a second, you two, I’m going to put the speaker on mute and talk to Sam a minute.” After hitting the mute button, he looked back at Sam then said, keeping his tone soft like he always did when trying to deal with his brother who was freaking out over something, “Look, Sammy... I assume there is a lot you're going to say that you don't want me to hear. Also, I can guess you did some things you're not exactly proud of but you saw it for something that it was, dangerous, and got out. Just tell Cas what happened then we'll go from there. I won't judge because, in the end, you did the right thing, alright? I might not like it but I won't say shit about it other than to ask questions about stuff I don't understand.”

 

Still not losing that ill look on his face, Sam looked down at the floor then nodded. “Alright. I was going to tell you about it anyway when Bobby got here, I just didn't want an audience for the damned thing if I could at all help it.”

 

Nodding, understanding that, Dean leaned against his brother then kissed him passionately, letting his tongue slide into his mouth. Once he broke it off, he said, voice taking on that sultry tone he used when he wanted to get persuasive, “It'll be fine. No judgments on it. You did the right thing and got the fuck out when you realized something was rotten. That counts big in my book. Just go for it so we can work it out from there.”

 

Flushed from more than embarrassment now, Sam took a deep breath and nodded before saying, “Alright, I can do that. It's just... not something I want to talk about is all. I made a seriously foolish mistake that I wish I had never done so I don't want to even think about it.”

 

“Hey, bro, I understand that! We all have a few of those! Just go for it then we can deal with it from there.” Dean told him in a placating manner. After a few seconds, he asked, “You ready for this?” When Sam gave a shuddering sigh then nodded, he unmuted the phone before saying, “Alright, Sam's ready. Let's do this. You paying attention, Cas?”

 

Scooting to the edge of his seat, Cas nodded while staring at the phone with a single-minded intent until he realized that Dean couldn't hear the nod then said, “I am. Tell me what you know, Sam.”

 

After rubbing a hand over his face in agitation, gut clenching in a nasty way, Sam launched in then told them all of his interactions with Ruby, all of them including the more embarrassing ones where they had sex and he ingested her blood. Looking down at the floor while he talked about some of them, he didn't dare look at his brother. Despite what Dean had said, he was sure there were going to be repercussions over this confession and questions that he didn't want answered. But he managed to get it all out in a fairly concise manner without too many details.

 

Sitting on the edge of his seat, Cas listened to the whole thing with his brow furrowed. Once Sam seemed to be done, he went back over some areas he didn't quite understand or wanted more details on. After he ran out of questions, he fell silent, thinking over the information then trying to line it up with some of the binding spells he did know to see what fit where. Something about it was already confusing him as it sounded like they were trying to BREAK a spell as well as rebind Sam.

 

Watching the angel closely, Bobby waited a few minutes while there was silence from all ends before asking, “Do you know which one they are trying, Cas?”

 

“I think so,” Cas finally said slowly. “If I'm right, I don't think it's so much a spell to bind Sam as to replace a binding that's already there with a new one.”

 

Head jerking up, Sam looked at the phone, wide eyed, “What? What do you mean 'replace one that's already there'? I never had one before!”

 

“It has to do with Azazel and what he did is my thinking, Sam. In a way, he bound all those so-called 'special kids' to him with his blood. Yes, the blood basically gave all of you those strange powers but, in some form, it bound you to him as well, something that allowed him to activate it at a certain time and find you when he needed to. I think, though am not for sure, that Ruby is trying to replace the binding that is there and make her the owner of it. I'll have to look into it but if that's the case it would explain why she is going about this the way she is. The blood, I'm sure, had a two-fold purpose. One was, obviously, to kick the latent powers left by Azazel into dominance but I'm certain the other part was to bind Sam to her in some way. It would explain the sexually motivated attack on him.”

 

Sam was just staring at the phone, his mouth hanging open, not sure what to say. Of all the things he and Bobby had come up with, the fact that there might already be a binding in place wasn't one of them. That made him see things differently. It also led to some hope on his end. “Does that mean that you know how to break it since you know what it is? Or can point Bobby and I in the right direction so that we can find something to do it?”

 

“I'm not really sure which of the spells it is, Sam, so I can't tell you anything specific yet. However, if it's in the group of ones I think it is, there is no chance a mere human can do it. It would have to be done by a fairly powerful demon or an angel. With what is going on, I'm not sure we could find one to do it other than myself. Not knowing the exact one it is, I'm not willing to attempt it either. But I will look into it and see if I can find out which one it is then go from there. It will take a few days though and I'm going to have to, as you humans say, tread lightly while doing so as I don't want to draw suspicion as to why I'm looking into it.”

 

“That's fine, you do what you need to,” Bobby told him with a grunt. “Just try in the next couple days so when I go to see them I have something we can do to bust the damned thing!” Hearing Dean and Sam, both, suck in a breath at him saying that, the old hunter quickly assured them, “He already knows I'm planning on meeting both of you. We've gone and done everything both of us can think of to hide me from both sides. He also doesn't want me to tell him where you are in case someone tries to get it out of him so it's safe.”

 

Letting out a relieved sigh, both Sam and Dean nodded before the elder brother said, “Good idea, the not knowing part. Is there anything else you need to know, Cas? Or something you can give us a clue about to start hunting on our own?”



“No, I think I have all I need. Though you can try to see what you can find, I doubt it'll be a success. I'll leave what I know with Bobby so he can pass it along. But, for now, both of you need to stay right where you are. Neither side can find you and it needs to stay that way. Until we can come up with something that will derail what is going on, both of you staying away is for the best as both sides are looking for you to draw you in. For now, until we can figure out what to do, stay away as the desperation will cause them to do things that might force you back.”

 

“That's good advice, boys,” Bobby told them both gruffly. “I'll keep my eyes and ears open on this end then take a gander at what Cas can find and see what I can do before I meet you both. You two just try not to kill each other until I get there!”

 

Shooting Sam a heated, perverse grin that made his brother color slightly and look away, Dean just replied, tried to keep that smooth tone out of his voice, “We'll be fine, Bobby, don't worry. We're trying to work some things out.”



“You keep right on doing that, Dean,” Bobby told him, trying to hold back a yawn. “It's best you two get along for now since you might be stuck together for a while until we can figure out this mess. Now, I'm going to bed. It's been a long night and I've had no sleep.” After hearing the two say goodbye, the old hunter hung up then looked at the angel. “You have the cell I gave you, right?” Seeing Castiel nod, he then said, “Good. My number is programmed in it. If you need something call. Just do it like I showed you and you'll be fine. Now, you get onto lookin' for that crap while I get some sleep.”



After a nod, without even saying goodbye, Cas vanished with the sounds of fluttering wings.

 

Rubbing a hand over his face, Bobby looked down at his almost empty cup of coffee and grimaced. “Balls,” he said to nothing in particular then hauled himself out of the chair to take the cup into the kitchen before heading to bed.

 

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… holds up the hypnotoad... Please review!

 

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