Roswell Fanatics

FINALLY, I'M BACK!! Ankle's healed up and I have another beautiful baby boy, who decided to come five days early, and we are home and trying to settle into the new routine. Well, at least the newborn routine with two toddlers. My parents came in a week before the baby's due date and are staying until next week to help out which has been amazing and given me time while the newborn sleeps to do some editing on my phone. Hopefully, I'll be back to once a week updates but don't want to promise anything yet.. unfortunately I don't know how everything will play out when the parents leave and the husband goes back to work so it will definitely be a play by play as I find the right groove with everything but here's to hoping for the best!


Chapter Twenty
March 2011

They lay sprawled out on the huge hotel bed. Liz’s feet were pressed against his legs, cold as usual but Dean was still in heaven. The bed was amazing, the sheets were like butter on his skin and the pillow.. the pillow was like the greatest thing he'd ever laid his head on. That was something he wouldn’t admit that out loud, maybe top three out loud. He silently wondered if he’d be able to get the pillow in his duffle.
Liz had texted him an address and he nearly choked when he pulled up and a man wanted to take his car. She wanted to celebrate their anniversary with a random motel meet up like they had met and he knew she needed to blow off some steam since she'd been getting overly frustrated with the dead ends in her search for Khivar, more so than normal recently but this was way more than a forty five dollar a night place. Hell, he didn't know how the star thing worked but if this wasn't a five he didn't know what was, unless of course there actually were hotels with bathrooms made out of gold.

Liz rolled on her side to face him, "are you still thinking about that valet?"

He frowned, "valet my ass, that guy wanted my baby."

Liz giggled, "it's his job and believe me he's probably driven cars way more expensive than baby. I still can't believe you argued with them until you could park her yourself. I don't think they let many people do that."

He smirked as she laughed. He didn't hear that all that often. "Nobody puts baby in the corner."

She laughed harder, "Swayze? Seriously?"

He grinned, "Swayze always gets a pass."

Her laughter died down and she slid over next to him. "This bed's too big." She laid her head on his arm and her hand over his heart as she pushed her chest into his side.

His hand started slow caresses up and down her arm. "You were the one that went with the whole pretty woman deal."

"Excuse me?"

He smirked. "Hey you paid. I'm calling myself the escort."

"Escort?"

"What? That's what they're called, high end escorts."

"She was a street hooker."

"Not when he brought her to that fancy place and bought her all those clothes."

She leaned up to look him in the face, "you watched that whole movie."

"I thought this was supposed to be a random motel like the one we met in. We didn't really meet in that motel anyway."

"I didn't say the motel we met in, I said the motel we spent our first night together. I mean you could say we really met in the motel.."

He chuckled softly as he lightly brushed his fingers on the back on her hand resting on his chest. "That's not even biblical.."

"You mean lay with didn't mean meet in those days?" Dean laughed whole heartedly at her shocked face. Her smile returned as she laid her head back down on his arm. "Technically, we did really meet in the motel because you didn't have the guts to talk to me."

"You gave me my drink. How did we not meet at the bar?"

"I was the bartender dean, the only reason I got your name was because of a flash of your brother yelling at you. You didn't even talk to me except to tell me what you wanted then you walked away to a table and just kept ogling me the entire night before leaving without even so much as a goodnight. You weren't very gentleman like."

"That's exactly why you liked me."

She pinched his chest. "Shut up! No, it's not."

"Pretty sure it's the only reason you talked to me in the motel."

"Oh by talked, you mean throw me up against the wall?"

"What was I supposed to do? You fall into my room saying you had the wrong place then started asking questions about what I was doing. I didn't remember giving you my name." Liz chuckled and Dean’s hand smoothed down her arm. "You were the one to talk me out of it."

She smiled, "god Sam’s face when he walked in that morning."

Dean chuckled, "I thought he was going to flip when he saw you in the bed with me. Give me some crap for sleeping with you when I only planned to let Michael take me."

"I couldn't really blame him for the Lisa comment. I did kind of look like her. How did he know you went to see her anyway?” She shook her head, “nevermind. I think he was too intent on finding out what was really going on with you to really spend much time on me."

Dean smirked, "I'm surprised Cas didn't though. I didn't see you jumping in front of me either so.."

"Yeah, landing in Bobby's house with only a sheet.. definitely not the best way to be initiated into the group. Or see Bobby again.” He smiled at the blush he knew was coloring her cheeks. Her voice was quiet when she spoke again, “speaking of Lisa, you know it never would have worked." Dean looked down at her face, watching her intently. "You and Lisa. I mean I'm sure you could have grown to love her instead of what she represented."

"What?"

"You know it wasn't just because she was a great lay you had what 8, 9 years before? You saw a family, a family you could be a part of. You loved what that represented, what you wanted. She seems like a great person from what I've seen but, and I hate to say this, she's normal. There's a part of you that wanted to live that dream but at some point something could come after you and that would put them in danger. You'd probably be thinking about it all the time, never able to really forget what's lurking in the darkness. You'd never actually relax and live your life, you'd just be playing a part, and hope it wouldn't drive you insane."

His eyes stared at the ceiling letting her words flow through his mind. He wanted to find a hole in her logic, a crack in her read of him, but he couldn't find a damn thing wrong with her theory.

Her hand pressed softly into his chest, "I'm sorry."

He rolled his head to face her, "what? Why?"

"I probably shouldn't have said anything. I know you don't like to think about it."

He rolled to his side and pulled her against him then kissed the top of her head. "None of that crap. You don't have to be sorry for speaking your mind to me. I can take it, I'm a big boy. Besides its kind of hard to lose something I never had in the first place."

"But you know you could have. You know she would have let you in."

"Yeah but I know what you said is true. I could never really settle down and just forget everything I know, everything I've seen and done. It's just too much."

"I'm sorry you don't have that life.."

His hand brushed up her back. "Hey.. I'm grateful for what I have. It may not be ideal but its mine. That life wouldn't suit me anyway. I was raised a hunter. It's a calling really."

Liz chuckled softly, "oh, now it's a calling?"

His hand snaked under her chin lifting her head gently to see her eyes. "I have you Liz. Honestly, that's enough. More than enough."

~~

July 2011

Liz heard the quiet movements around the bed as she started to wake, "you heading out already?" Her voice was groggy and she had yet to open her eyes.

She felt the bed shift next to her and smelled his jacket immediately. "Yeah, getting an early start. Sam couldn't sleep, might as well get on the road. I'll call you when we get in." She felt his lips brush her forehead before pressing against her lips. She reached her hand towards his face to hold him in place for just a few more seconds then let him go. She heard his soft chuckle as she felt his body move away. "I'll see you soon, bed head."

She opened her eyes only slightly and caught his soft smile as he gazed at her for a few moments before pushing off the bed and lifting his duffle. "Take care of yourself and my boy, make sure that hair doesn't get in his way."

Dean smiled and came back to the bed, kissing her one last time. "Okay, now I really have to go." She shoved at his chest with a smile of her own and curled up on her side, shoving her hands under her pillow as he went out the bedroom door.

Liz felt herself slowly start the descent back into sleep when she heard the soft click of the door opening then the latch clicking into place again. She peeked through one eye and saw Isabel slip into bed with her. Liz smiled, "couldn't get back to sleep?"

Isabel pulled the sheet up and pulled Dean's pillow close to Liz's before laying her head down facing her. Liz could see the tension on her face and how her shoulders weren't completely relaxed. In the few moments it took for Isabel to get in bed, Liz felt herself snap fully into a wide awake state. "What is it?"

Isabel brushed invisible hairs away from her face as if there were any out of place from her braid but Liz waited silently. Finally Isabel's eyes came back to meet Liz's gaze, "his dreams are getting worse."

"What?"

Her brow furrowed slightly before she continued, "I started dreamwalking him because I knew he was holding something back.."

Liz interrupted, "Izzy.."

Isabel's eyes softened and Liz could read the worried concern and maybe a bit of fear. "You don't understand, he was scared of something but wouldn't tell me what was really going on. Just brushing it off as a nightmare but I could tell it was more than that so I just peeked in one time and Liz.. What I saw.."

"What?"

Moisture gathered in Isabel's blue eyes, "he's threatening me now. He took on my shape.. my form.. to seduce him then he told Sam to let him in."

"That dirty son of a bitch.."

"Sam saw through it. I don't know how but he pushed me.. well his version of me away. So he said he'd show him the consequences of his betrayal and started peeling my skin away like it was nothing but wallpaper. And that was just the first time. Sometimes it's the rest of us.. groups of two or three or just one and he forces Sam to watch. He's not playing nice any longer and it's really taking a toll on Sam. I tried teaching him how to break out but he is either too afraid at the time it happens or he can't break out of it."

"How is that asshole still so strong? I know he's an arch angel but come on! Cas said he's having a harder time even trying to track him because his powers are slowly dissipating. He thinks it's because the angels are leaving, just disappearing because the end of their fairy tale apocalypse doesn't look like it will ever come. Like a bunch of children stealing the ball and running off because the game isn't going their way."

"I'm worried about him. I don't know how much more he can take. It's not really showing much during the day but I can see it, I don't know how or what is really going on but I think he's starting to see things when he's awake too. The other day when we were in the kitchen, the look on his face when Dean walked in.. like something was terribly wrong but when I asked him if he was okay and his eyes came to mine then went back to Dean.. He just shook it off and said he was fine. I don't know if he's planting images like time bombs in his mind or if he's somehow able to reach him outside of his dreams now." She wiped at the tear that rolled down her cheek and Liz grasped her hand.

"We’ll get the bottom of this somehow Izzy. We’re not going to lose him. We’re not going to lose anyone else especially to a spoiled son of a bitch like Lucifer, do you hear me?"

Isabel stared into her friend's confident, determined eyes and nodded her head but Liz could tell she was still afraid. Honestly, she couldn't really blame her. They had gone up against some sick and demented enemies before but none had the type of fixation or resources that Lucifer has, even Khivar who so thoroughly screwed with Liz's life didn't have this type of torture in his arsenal. The worst part was Liz had no idea how to really help Sam. Maybe she could talk with Ava and see if there was some way that her, Isabel, and Liz could somehow build some walls in his mind or a safe house of some sorts but could Sam really lock himself away every time he went to sleep or even be able to get out of a dream that was being controlled by Lucifer or anyone else for that matter?

HypnotiqBlueEyes: Everett Wesley.

Chapter Twenty One

Nov 2011

Clothes were strewn in a haphazard line to the bed where amid tangled sheets the outline of two bodies could easily be seen. Lying quietly together sharing a pillow, long raven hair spread around a head of short brown once styled hair. Dean brushed her hair away from his face and Liz chuckled as she pulled the rest of her hair to the nape of her neck then laid her head closer to his face. He touched her cheek gingerly, another bruise from another fight that she ended up walking into that he didn't need to hear details about. She won, that was all he needed to know. His cases had monsters and hers were monsters of a different kind that saw her as a case. The first time he noted those similarities had changed his mind and affected the way he judged and carried out every new case.

Liz laid her palm over his fingers on her bruise and with a small green glow, a little warmth spread between his fingers. She brought his hand to her lips pressing a light kiss to his fingertips as he stared once again at perfect unblemished skin. "I don't know if I’ll ever get used to seeing that."

His fingers went back to the once multicolored cheek brushing over her smooth skin. Her eyes glanced down at his hand then back to his eyes, "does it scare you?"

His gaze jumped to hers and with a small shake of his head he answered, "no.” She lifted her eyebrow slightly. "Okay, okay, so maybe it freaked me out for a second and part of that was because I thought you might be an angel or demon pretending to be you to mess with me. Either one at the time were after my ass."

Liz chuckled, "yeah, you were definitely pissing off a lot of people." He quirked his eyebrow with a grin and she amended, "not people, everything else but people. Is that better?"

He kissed her softly, "this is better."

She smiled, "you're damn right."

The silence fell over them again as they just enjoyed the feel of each other’s warmth and the peaceful quiet that enfolded them. The past couple of weeks had been different since Bobby had called on the brothers to help him with a case and the pod squad was tracking down a strong lead on Khivar but it ended up being another crapshoot. After two stressful weeks of searching then finding an empty house that Khivar was supposed to be in, she almost snapped. Instead she called Dean then drove through the night to meet him fueled only by the frustration of another miss and her intent to see him again. She knew this was the only time her mind ever quieted down and let her be at peace. She wasn't sure if it was what he did to her body or if it was just being with him that made her feel normal. She never let herself think about it too much because she might lose the peace she had found with him and she didn't want to think what it would be like without that. It was the one thing she swore she wouldn't let Khivar or Lucifer take from her and she'd do everything to keep that promise.

His quiet voice broke the silence. "What's your endgame Liz?"

“What?”

“You know what I mean. I know the whole revenge thing but what's your endgame?” After a moment of silence, he continued. “The guy you hold responsible could still be on a whole other planet. Which believe me still sounds crazy every time I say it.”

“If I kill enough of those he sends and leave the one to report back to him then he'll have to come himself if he wants the Granolith. And believe me he wants it bad enough that sooner or later he’ll come and he’ll die by my hand. Or he'll suffer for the rest of his life knowing he could never get his hands on the Granolith because of a human girl.”

“If he wanted it so badly, why wouldn't he have come for it already? Things change. We've seen that with the angels. The only reason Lucifer is still gunning for Sam is because he has no other option.”

“Call it a 75% sure thing. Whether he still wants it for himself or the council is ordering him.. sooner or later he's going to need it too.”

“I would say I hope you're right but I'm actually hoping that you're not and you'll find that he's dead and it's all been a ploy to scare you into giving it up.”

"Life's never that easy. Not for us."

"Maybe it's about time then."

"And when the hell did you become Mr. optimistic?"

"Do you want the truth?" She raised her brow and he smirked, "when I started wanting the best for you."

Liz chuckled, “yeah, just a little cliché but surprising coming from Dean Winchester, man about town.”

“Man about town huh? I don’t really have the time for that anymore.” Their quiet laughter filled the space around them before tapering off. There was a slight tension for a second as the playful words did touch upon their reality.

Liz’s hand brushed lightly across his forehead trying to smooth out the worry lines that appeared. “Don't worry. I'm gonna be there.”

“What? Where?”

“I promised to help you and your brother. We all did. We’re going to end that asshole’s attack against your brother just like we’ll end Khivar’s on us. You're too super co-dependent with him to let this go on forever. Misery doesn't look good on you. And you’re not as funny.”

His brow rose, "you're long running revenge plan has changed you, Parker. That was low. Below the belt even.”

Her hand snaked under the sheet covering the lower half of their bodies. “No, this is below the belt.”

“Why are you so perfect?”

“Because you're damaged.”

“I don't know if I could call you damaged.”

She raised her brow as his grin slowly spread across his face. “Do I have to spell out my whole story again?”

“Nah you’re not damaged, you're driven.”

Liz chuckled, “you and me both. Driven right off a cliff.”

"Okay calm down, Thelma."

Liz let out a bark of laughter then Dean’s arms curled around her, "I love the sound of that."
~~

April 2012

Liz paced outside of the small house where they had found a group of Khivar’s men. They had caught a break when two of his soldiers had attacked Liz, Ava, and Serena just outside of their safe house. The girls easily turned the attack around and got the two soldiers to talk rather quickly, something that had caught their attention. The group had gone to the address given by the two soldiers carefully, knowing full well it was just a tad too easy and could be a set up. What they found surprised them. A house of seven men, all but two that were completely over their mission on Earth and ready to call it quits. The two that had stood their ground and tried to fight were captured, tied up, and questioned. They found out the two fighters just happened to be their leader, who the other soldiers simply called Ke and his second in command, Tift. They were not only the leaders of this small group but they were all that was left of the group sent to search the north east. Liz had been thrown out of the so called talks after she hit Ke with a couple bolts of lightning for continuously hurling insults about Max. She still didn’t see the problem because she knew full well that Michael and Zan had grown tired of them as well. If she was honest it was also because of the way he kept staring at her like a creepy uncle. And Dean, well Dean was getting irritated because he could see what it was doing to her and she wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about that.

Dean walked out of the house and stopped Liz’s pacing by stepping in front of her and placing his hands on her shoulders. “You know Michael will get what he wants. The man is great at it.”

She took a deep breath, “I know. I just feel like this one really knows something and we could finally get somewhere.”

Dean pulled her against him and pressed his lips to her forehead. “We’ll get whatever we can and maybe we can end your nightmares.”

She pulled back quickly, “what?”

Dean watched her closely, confused by her defensive stance. “Khivar. End this ugly nightmare. At least one of our nightmares.” A small smile came to her face but he swore it seemed to come more as relief then understanding.

She rolled her eyes, “right. Being anxious and stressed is not a great combination.” She wrapped her arms around his middle and pressed her face against his chest.

“How about I take you out for some food? One of them will call us if they start to get anywhere.”

There was a few seconds pause where he could almost feel her think about it and then she pulled back slightly and smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”

An hour later, Dean and Liz strolled up to the house when the front door burst open and Kyle skidded to a stop at the sight of them. “Just the woman I was looking for. Michael wants you in there. He knows where he is.”

They followed Kyle through the house and into the basement where they had been questioning Ke. Michael stood at the bottom of the stairs and filled them in quickly that Ke said he would only talk to Liz but Michael warned her that if she didn’t think she could handle it then she just needed to give him a sign and he could take care of it. Liz wouldn’t hear it and walked over to the man tied to the chair in the middle of the room.

She looked at Ke with an air of indifference as if she didn’t believe for a second that he knew anything of value. “So? What’s this information you could only tell me?”

The man’s head came up at her voice and he smiled. His eyes slid down her body again, “at least Max made a good looking choice when he chose a human over his queen.”

Liz rolled her eyes and spun on her heel, quickly heading back over toward Michael, Kyle, and Dean who were still standing at the bottom of the stairs. “I told you he didn’t know anything. I’m out of here.”

The man raised his voice, “you’re even better when you’re angry!”

“Nice meeting you.” Liz threw over her shoulder as she started up the stairs.

“He’s in Florida.” Liz stopped and backed down the stairs. “Khivar jumped ship when we got here and went into hiding. No one was to know where he went except for a very select few that he chose himself.” He stopped and watched her when she didn’t budge from the bottom of the stairs. He smirked, “you have to come closer if you want the rest.”

Liz strolled over to the middle of the room and leaned back against the wall closest to him. “Go on then.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“I know he's in Florida but nothing more. The plan was to send him a message when we got a hold of you and he would reply with an address to take you. Of course, that would be after I got to have my fun with you."

Liz leaned towards him completely missing Michael having to push Dean back at his comment. “If you were chosen by him then what does he look like?”

He smiled, “why are you fishing? If you control the Granolith then you already know what his latest form looks like.”

Liz bit the inside of her cheek to hide her confusion but the small lift to the right side of his mouth blossomed into a cocky smirk then he laughed. In the blink of an eye, she pulled out the gun from the holster at the back of her waistband and pointed it at his head. “Then I guess you’ve served your purpose.”

“LIZ!” Michael jumped in front of her with his hands up, effectively blocking her from shooting him. “We still need him to get the address.”

Ke started laughing loudly. “You’re joking, right?” Michael turned to look at him. “You think he hasn’t already heard about my capture? He’ll never respond!” His laughter bounced around the basement walls.

“Good to know.” Dean pulled out his gun and silenced the laughter. The sound of the shot echoed around the basement as the four friends stared at the now dead leader.

Liz turned towards Dean as Kyle glanced between Liz and Dean trying to gage what her reaction would be. He couldn’t help but cringe as she walked stiffly over to Dean but she surprised him when she wrapped her arms around Dean and buried her head in his chest. Kyle's brow knitted together, he was happy she wasn't mad at him because he expected a full out, pissed off, going in swinging Liz but it also confused him. How could she be so calm after the death of their closest and only lead? He heard the words leave his mouth before he realized he was talking, "what the hell do we do now?"

Michael and Liz turned towards him and spoke at the same time, "the second in command and then Florida."

Kyle's eyes went wide, "oh, that's all huh?" Kyle moved to the stairs shaking his head then made his way up, "I'll go inform the others."

OH MY GOODNESS!! Has it seriously almost been a month?! Good grief! To make up for this grave injustice, I have a LOONNGG part for you! Along with my sincere apology.. here's a new chapter where things are getting crazy.. fast.




Chapter Twenty Two
One week later.

Dean walked into the kitchen rubbing his throbbing head and bumped into someone. "Shit. Sorry." He looked up to find a smirking Isabel.

"It's okay." She took a good look at him and her smile faltered. "What's wrong?"

He could hear the slight panic in her voice as he made his way around her probing gaze to the coffee machine and for a short moment marveled at the fact that he knew more than just his brother this well. He shook his head slightly then regretted it. He shoved the heel of his palm into his temple trying to shove back at the pressure there. "Liz hasn't been sleeping well. So I haven't been sleeping well." He turned and leaned against the counter sipping the coffee. He looked at Isabel, "I'm pretty sure she's been having nightmares but she won't tell me."

He brought the mug to his lips again and as he sipped the warm liquid he caught the shift in her eyes and the tension in her jaw. Once again there was that little flicker in the back of his mind telling him he knew what that meant. She knew something but she wasn’t sure she should tell. "Isabel." His voice wasn’t accusing or rough, just tired and pleading.

Her eyes met his for only a moment before jumping away again. "It’s about Lucifer.”

“So, he’s been knocking on Sam’s door every now and then, that’s nothing new and why would that affect Liz?”

Her gaze slowly came back to his, “I think it might be partially my fault. Your brother.." She sat heavily at the kitchen table and wrung her hands. "He's been having nightmares induced by Lucifer. A lot of nightmares.. like almost every night. I told Liz I hadn’t been able to help him and it's only gotten worse. I think she may be trying to help him. Those nightmares might not be her own but Sam’s."

Dean felt the anger boil up in his veins but when he watched Isabel wringing her hands, he saw the cracks in her armor. She looked tired and her makeup couldn’t hide the worry lines on her face. He forced himself to cool down. He took a deep breathe in and forced it out slowly through his nose. The action only accentuated his fatigue. "I saw he looked a little off but.. why didn't anyone tell me?"

Isabel's gaze came up from the table. "Sam won't talk about it, the only reason I know is because I was able to get in a few times but I can't do anything once I'm there but watch."

"Why the hell wouldn't she tell me?"

Isabel gave her very own patented "like you don't know" face that Dean tended to liken to his brother's bitch face. "So you can worry about her and your brother? Yeah, that's really Liz's thing. She probably didn't want to give you another thing to deal with. Everyone's got enough to deal with as it is."

He put his mug down and scrubbed his face. "This is ridiculous."

"There's not really anything that anyone can do about it except for me, Liz, and Ava. And that's not even a guarantee. We're just the only ones that have the possibility of helping him."

"Perfect."

She saw his eyes move to the ceiling and she wondered if he was looking towards the room he shared with Liz if he was hoping Castiel had been listening in and would swoop in with an answer. She didn’t think that was likely from what Liz had told her about the angel’s slowly dissipating powers. "Look, I know it's not ideal but when you guys go off on your cases Sam doesn't want you to try to over compensate for him. He knows he can still do the job and he doesn't want you to kill yourself by looking at him instead of the case."
His haunted gaze came back to her. "And Liz? Is she just telling me to look out for Sammy like it's just something to say?"

Isabel felt her own anger spike. "No! You know her better than that! Liz would say that anyway just like she tells Sam to look out for you. She probably tells bobby to look out for the both of you!"

Dean took the few steps towards the kitchen table and placed his hands flat on the table across from her, "and who looks out for her?"

Isabel's face softened as she reminded herself why they were both so upset over this. "We all do because we know she takes all the responsibility on her shoulders and wouldn't ask anyone else to. Besides, at this point she knows we do anyway even though she pretends like she has no idea."
~~

It took longer than Liz thought to get Tift, Ke’s second in command, to finally break. Michael had caught the man’s slip that he knew the code for Khivar to send the address during his first interrogation and they decided that a finer, less harsh approach was needed if they wanted to get anything anytime soon. They kept him in the room Michael interrogated him in and left his hands secured behind his back and to the chair with bindings that were alien fool proof. They spent two weeks opening the door and simply asking him to help them and finally after two weeks and two days, their simplicity had paid off. Instead of his usual blank stare, he finally spoke a simple question. Dean had been the one to ask him for his help and was already closing the door when he heard the quiet voice, “if I do this for you, will you do something for me?”

Dean had paused and opened the door. He looked at the man warily, not buying that he would cooperate. “Depends on what it is.”

Tift lifted his head slowly. He was no longer trying to hide his exhaustion and discomfort. “If you let me live, I will help you.”

Dean raised his brow, “you’re serious?”

He simply nodded his head and Dean left the room. When he came back in, Michael and Liz followed him. Liz walked over to Tift and took the bindings off his wrists, allowing him to stretch out his arms. He dropped his heavy arms on his lap and rubbed his wrists. “If you allow me to live and make sure no one knows that information, let me disappear and finally live, I will help you.” Michael and Dean stood by the door as Liz stood in front of him watching him quietly. Tift looked up at Liz, “you don’t believe me?”

Liz gave him a small smile, “no, I know you’re telling the truth. I’m just surprised I guess.”

His eyes widened, “you know?”

She nodded, “yes.”

“So, it’s true. You have been given the seal and have gained powers.”

Liz smirked, “actually I started gaining powers before getting the seal.” She watched his face as confusion turned to something close to fear.

“You can defeat Khivar? Send him out of this life?”

Liz nodded, “yes I will, that you can be sure of.” The confidence in her voice left no room for doubt.

“I need the communicator from the house you found us in. It will be in a safe behind the south wall in the basement. Once I send the code, he will reply with the address.”

Liz brow furrowed, “you knew we had no intention of killing you so why did you feel the need to ask?”

His eyes cleared as he looked her directly in the eye. “I needed to be sure that I wouldn’t have to worry about Khivar putting a bounty on my head or coming for me himself.”

Liz smiled, “oh, you won’t have to worry about him. You leave him to me.”
~~

A week later, they had an address and Liz had come up with a plan. One that she knew not everyone would be happy with but she knew the people that she truly needed for it to work would back her up. At least for the most part, she was sure she could get everything to go according to plan but she needed a little insurance first. She waited until minutes before their little planned meeting to set it all in motion. Liz pulled Serena into her bedroom and pushed the door almost closed, leaving just a crack between the door and jam.

Serena chuckled, “woah Liz, take me to dinner first. No matter what Kyle has said, I’m a classy girl.”

Liz spun towards her and Serena’s mirth slipped away when she saw the expression on Liz’s face. "I need to keep them away and the only way I can do that.."

Serena interrupted Liz, already knowing where she was going. "You’re playing with fire Liz."

"I have no other choice."

"You don't know that, if you just tell him.."

"No, I know him and he won't give me another choice."

"You have no idea how he'd react to this. He doesn't know how you were after Max, he may know the stories but being there.."

"But nothing Serena. I can't let him hold me back anymore and there's no way in hell I'm going to let them screw this up."

Confusion scrunched Serena's brow until Liz's plan finally hit her and her eyes widened. "You’re not.."

"It's the only way."

Serena watched the fear flicker across Liz's face only to be replaced by determination. "Liz what if.."

"I can't think like that now. Maybe after but I can't afford to now."

Serena saw Liz throw a glance towards the bedroom door and wondered what Liz was waiting for. Serena looked towards the door herself but saw nothing that gave her any idea what was going on. She did know one thing though, Liz only acted like this when she knew something bad was on the horizon and for her to think that giving up the one good thing she'd found in this entire mess made her shiver. Whatever it was, it scared her to the point of taking extreme measures but did Liz really know what the consequences would be? And could she really live with them? Serena watched Liz leave the room not knowing how she could get through to her if she was already this scared. Would Dean ever believe her? And if he did would he ever forgive her?
~~

Ten minutes later, the group gathered in the living room where Liz and Michael were already huddled together whispering furiously. A few glances were sent their way when they suddenly cut off with the arrival of the Dean, Sam, and Kyle.

Kyle plopped himself down next to Serena on the couch, "so what's the plan?"

"We're finally going to end this." Michael spoke but wouldn’t meet anyone’s gaze, only stared at Liz.

"Obviously but what's the master plan? How are we doing this? Who's going where?" Kyle felt the tension in Serena’s shoulders and glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

Liz turned to Kyle. "Ava, Zan, Michael, and I are going to introduce ourselves to Khivar."

"And the rest of us?" Sam asked, surprising more than just Liz.

She looked Sam in the eye. "You're staying here."

"I'm going with you." Dean glanced at Michael who wouldn’t meet his gaze.

Liz expected his fight and replied immediately. "You’re not coming dean."

He took a step towards her in the middle of the room. "Like hell I'm not."

Her eyes met his calmly but coldly. "No, you’re not."

"Liz." She knew that stubborn look but it wasn't even an option.

"This isn't up for debate. You’re not coming with me and nothing will change that."

"You’re not going without me. I told you I'd be there to help you. Or do you think I'll just be holding you back?"

Liz caught the look in his eye and the tension in his jaw. It wasn't a question but an accusation and she knew he had heard. He had followed her and Serena to the room just like she thought, just like she planned. "You’re not the hero in this scenario, Dean. You have to just let me go."

Maria yelled with disapproval in her tone, "Liz!"

Her eyes flicked to Maria then back to Dean and she took a deep breath. "I told you that you could help me find him, I never said anything about you coming." When he tried to interrupt, she threw her hand up and his mouth snapped shut. "You can't protect me from him, you can't hold me back, and you can't make everything okay. You can't just grab a hold of me and pretend that you're the hero and as long as you’re with me, I can't get hurt. It won't work with Khivar, you're dreaming if you think you could help me in his presence. I can protect myself, they can protect each other and me but I can't guarantee you that same safety! I will NOT have another innocent be hurt.."

"Is that all I am to you? Another innocent?"

Serena stood from the couch, "that's not what she meant.."

Liz interrupted her, staring defiantly into Dean's eyes. "No, it's exactly what I meant. You’re not going."

"If you go out that.."

Sam yelled at his brother, "Dean!"

"If I what? You know you should watch your ultimatums with me because unlike your brother I'll actually follow through!"

"Elizabeth Parker!" Maria's eyes bounced between her friend and the man that she knew held her friend’s heart.

The two stood in a standoff in the middle of the living room as the group around them watched on in confusion except for Serena who stared at Liz with an unreadable look on her face.
Liz saw the fight in his eyes- the fire that she knew meant he wasn't backing down. She saw his hand reach for her arm and smacked it away. "Don't. You’re not coming." She watched the anger flare before he turned sharply and left the room. Her eyes caught Sam and Maria's confused gazes and then landed on Serena. Liz was momentarily surprised by the concern she saw on her friend's face who knew exactly what she had planned to do but then again Serena wasn't exactly with her plan when she told her. "What?" Liz spoke to the room.

Isabel seemed to come out of nowhere and grabbed Liz by the arm then pulled her from the living room. She pulled Liz down the hall to an empty bedroom then closed the door firmly behind her before she turned to Liz, "what the hell do you think you’re doing?!"

Liz kept her voice quiet and controlled. "What do you think Isabel? I'm keeping him out of harm’s way."

"And what about yourself?"

"I don't follow.."

The door opened and Maria, Ava, and Serena walked in. Maria was the first to jump in, "what the hell?"

Serena watched Liz the entire time, "she thinks she's keeping him safe this way."

"What?!" Maria turned toward Serena, "you knew about this?"

"She told me a small piece of her harebrained scheme only moments before that little meeting."

Maria turned back to Liz, "what the hell do you think that will accomplish? Pushing him away isn't going to help anything! What if he tries following you? Then you have.."

"That's not going to happen because you, Isabel, and Serena will watch him."

"Seriously? You think he's going to want babysitters on top of his girlfriend shutting him out?"

"Who said I was his girlfriend?"

"Oh for the love of..” Maria grabbed Liz by the shoulders. “You can't just pretend he means nothing to you when you feel like it! You don't know how he'll react to.."

Serena interrupted, "I said the same thing. You know she won't listen, Maria."

"Then answer my question." The girls turned to Isabel to find her staring at Liz. "What about you?"

Liz rolled her eyes. "Isabel.. That's not important."

"It is important! It's important to us because we were the ones who had to watch you spiral out of control and try to kill yourself last time!"

Liz waved her hand at the door and a shimmering wall appeared in front of it. "Right.. The last time Khivar took something from me? I will be damned if I let him take one more thing from me!" She moved stiffly to the window and looked out. "All I see, over and over, is that bastard stripping Dean’s flesh off right in front of me just for the fun of it, because he knows he can't touch me and Dean would be the next best thing and I.. I can't handle that. I wouldn't be able to deal with another loss like that. I will lock his ass in the trunk of his damn car. No one will ever change my mind on this. He’s not coming."

The girls watched as Liz's strong facade fell, her shoulders slumped and she turned back to them with tears in her eyes. "He's not going to take another thing away from me. I won't allow it."

Maria's voice was soft, "but you’re pushing him away yourself, you’re already allowing it."

"He's still alive Maria."

Isabel fumed, her conversation with Dean still fresh in her mind. "What are you expecting? That he'll just be mad enough not to see through it until you’re already gone? Even if that's true, he's still going to be pissed you weren't honest with him. And that's if he even gets passed his anger."

"I know him. This is the only way I can keep him safe."

Maria felt the tears in her eyes and tried to force them away as her anger shook her. "You’re doing it again. You’re making decisions for other people and just expecting everything to come out fine on the other side."

Liz deflated slightly as she looked at Maria. "The other side is better than what I see in my head. Alive always trumps dead." Liz pleaded with her eyes for Maria to understand.

Serena laid a hand on Maria's shoulder. "We just have to do our part Maria. We can't force her to change her mind." Maria looked to Serena and caught the look in the other girl’s eyes. Maria nodded, a silent agreement to whatever Serena had in mind.

“Fine.” Maria turned towards the door, “but I don’t have to pretend to be happy about it.”
~~

Two days later.

Sam found Dean cleaning a few guns in the room he shared with Liz. A room he knew Dean had been sleeping in alone since they're fight. Sam wasn't sure where Liz had been sleeping the past two nights or if she slept at all before they left this morning. "Didn't know if I'd find you here."

Dean didn’t raise his head from his task. "Well, it's not like she's sleeping in here. Someone might as well use the bed."

So, he didn't know where she was sleeping either. Or did he and he just didn't want to talk about it? Sam leaned against the wall just beside the open doorway. "Did you talk to her before.."

Sam was cut off with a curt no. He knew his brother was trying to tell him he didn't want to talk about it and if it concerned someone else he just might give his brother his wish but not with Liz. Not with what she meant to him even if he wanted to pretend she didn't. "You know she was.."

His movements became sharper and his face more intent on the gun he was cleaning. "She was nothing, Sam. I know a shove away when I see it and it's not like it came out of the blue. She's been slowly closing off for a while now. This was just.."

Sam laughed and Dean's eyes shot up to his brother’s. Sam smiled, "Jesus, you really don't see it. Wow, I mean I thought you'd get it by now but.." He laughed again and shook his head. "Wow."

Dean's confused brow smoothed out, "laugh it up chuckles. Glad to see I can still humor you."

Sam walked to the small table where Dean had the guns disassembled. "Damn, she really has you tied up in knots. I guess she does know you that well.” He picked up a piece and inspected it. “Your anger just overrides everything."

"What the hell are you babbling about?" Dean threw a quick glance at his brother as he snatched the piece back. Sam only smiled in return.

"You really think she was trying to.. What? Break up with you?" He couldn't finish the sentence without laughing.

"You think I didn't do my share of the same thing in high school?"

"Wow. High school.. That's where you’re going with this? You really are dense when it comes to her."

"What?"

Sam smiled, "yeah she's pushing you away because she's done with you. It has absolutely nothing to do with.. Oh I don't know.. the fact that this guy could kill you with the snap of his finger."

"Yeah because we don't face that all the time."

"Or I don't know.. because this guy killed the first man she loved so why would she ever try to keep you away from him." Dean's hands froze and Sam continued, "your anger somehow seemed to skip over that and go to high school. Funny because you've done the exact same thing to me that she's doing to you. Always trying to protect me with no concern for how I'd feel about your methods. I have to admit I was confused for a bit but then I realized she's so much more like you than even I realized and she may not be going about it the best way but a way that would definitely piss you off enough to knock you off your game. It's genius and kind of beautiful to see in action really. Almost like an amazing work of art created right in front of my eyes."

Dean slowly put down his gun and the cleaner then got up and walked towards the door. "Son of a bitch."

Sam watched him go and called out. "It's no use, they won't budge. None of them know the exact location anyway, Liz saw to that.” He followed him out of the room and down the hall. “Kind of like she knew at one point you'd figure it out. I knew she was a woman with a plan but damn does she know how to put her ducks in a perfect row." Dean didn't bother to look back at his brother as he made his way towards the front of the house because he knew Sam would have a huge smile on his face thinking he was so damn clever. He got to the front door where Sam caught up with him. "Where are you going to go?"

"Florida." Dean opened the door and Sam slapped his hand against it effectively shutting the door. "Back off Sammy."

"Florida's a big state. What are you going to do? Drive around until she accidentally turns on her phone so you can ping her GPS?"

Dean's hand tightened on the door knob as he stared angrily at his brother then heard Isabel's voice from down the hall before the soft footsteps towards them.
"Dean, it's no use. She'll call us before she goes in and you won’t have enough time to find her. You'll be away from us and we are getting updates. I know it doesn't feel right. It's the same for us but you have to respect her wishes. She doesn't want Khivar to have the chance to take someone else away from her and if you go then Sam will go and you'd give him a chance to take someone else from me too."

Dean dropped his hand from the door knob and he turned, "she could have told me."

Isabel's brow rose, "sure. That might've worked."

Dean could tell she didn't believe a word she just said but then neither did he. "Yeah. It could've." He walked around Sam and Isabel and moved back to their room. He closed the door behind him and pulled his phone from his pocket before sitting on the bed.

He stared at the phone for a few minutes before flipping it open and going to his text messages. He opened the last one he got from her, a message that looked innocent enough but was full of innuendo that maybe only he could understand. He shook his head. He was such an idiot falling for that bullshit. Maye Sam was a little bit right about his anger and about what she could do to him. Instead of seeing through her series of carefully placed dominos, he hit them all right on the head knocking out her story exactly as she wrote it. He hit reply and quickly typed out, "I'm an idiot. Stay safe and come home in one piece." He stared at the screen then thought better of admitting that in any sort of writing and erased it. “Next time I won’t fall in line but I’ll give you this one. Stay safe and come back in one piece.”

He hit the send button then watched his phone as if she'd send a reply right back like she normally did but he knew she would have turned off her phone so he couldn't find her. He knew it because he would have done the same. He hit the reply button again, "kick his ass for me." He hit send and closed the phone before he laid back on the bed and closed his eyes. It was going to be a long few days.

Ack.. sorry about that double post. The internet was being weird when I posted.
HypnotiqBlueEyes: Everett is doing great! He's my big baby.. lol gained a pound in two weeks (went from 8. 7 lbs to 9. 7) He's sucking the baby weight off me.. I love it! Can't believe it's already been six weeks.
barbara87413: Ankle's doing good. Thank goodness! I couldn't imagine not being able to walk around with my baby when he was born. Still had to wear a light brace just in case but it wasn't too bad that I couldn't carry him.
Twilighteyes: lol I would say your welcome but that might come off narcissistic..



Chapter Twenty three

After another four hours of driving, they were forced to take another gas and bathroom stop. Liz got back to the car first and leaned against it deciding to breathe the fresh air while she waited for the others. A couple of minutes later, Michael walked up to find her looking at her phone. "Did you turn it on?"
She glanced up at him. "Yeah. Just to make sure. I told Isabel I’d check it regularly and that you'd have yours on for emergencies."

Michael leaned against the car beside her with a simple nod. They were quiet for a moment then Michael glanced over catching still staring at the small gadget. "So what's your back up plan?"

Liz looked at him in confusion, "for what?"

"For Dean. I know you've got one. What if he slips past your body guards?"

Liz chuckled but the laughter didn't reach her eyes, "he thinks we're in Florida."

"Why? We're heading in the opposite direction."

She smirked, "he may have accidentally overheard that little bit of information."

Michael shook his head and smiled, "damn you’re cold and calculating." He glanced at her phone, aren’t you worried he’ll try your GPS?”

She shook her head, “no. He’ll think I’ll have it off the whole time because I don’t want him to find me.” Michael raised a brow and she shrugged as she looked down at the phone she was now clutching in both hands, she dropped right hand flexing her fingers and loosened her hold with her left. “Besides he’s probably too mad at me anyway. He won’t want to find me.”

“Hey.” Michael touched her hand bringing her eyes back to his. “He’ll get over it..” Michael stopped her from interrupting with a shake of his head, “believe me. I know I don’t know him as well as you but I watched Maxwell long enough to notice certain things and Dean, as guarded as he is, I’ve seen the same looks on him.”

“Sometimes.. I don’t know.. I feel like maybe we would both be better off..”

“Don’t Liz. I said that too.. I thought I would only hurt her. I thought I would hurt all of you but you are smarter than that, we all are now. He’s got just as much crazy going on as us, so what? How does that make it worse for the two of you? I will never admit this if you tell anyone but I think you and Dean were meant to meet. I think we can help them and they’ve helped us more than I think they will ever know. Don’t give up on what makes you happy because you’re scared Liz, we’ve all dealt with too much shit to be stupid enough not to enjoy the small amount of good that we actually get.”

Liz’s eyes grew as he spoke. “Wow. Michael Guerin, closet romantic. Who knew.”

He turned back towards the gas station and looked away with a small smirk. “Shut up.”

Liz watched him quietly for a moment, taking in his relaxed profile and once again marveled at all the small changes from the boy she knew in high school. “Thank you Michael. For everything. I know you don’t like the mushy stuff and honestly, I don’t always think about it but when I do.. I know I could never thank you enough.”

He shrugged. It was quiet for a few moments again until Michael finally voiced the question he'd been thinking of for days. "Did you see it? Us meeting him? Is that why..?" He turned his head towards her to catch the haunted look in her eyes.

She swallowed then looked up at him. "I don't know. I've had dreams.. bad ones. Khivar doing.. terrifying things to.." Her eyes dropped from his, "those we love."

Michael's brow scrunched in confusion, "just dreams? Or DREAM dreams?"

Liz shook her head, "I don't know.. that's the problem. All this energy spent trying to help Sam with his nightmares.. the feel of them because of Lucifer controlling them. My.. I don’t know what to call it but the way I used to know.. that feeling is all screwed up. I honestly haven't been able to tell so I just took precautions. I know Maria's mad at me too but.." She looked up at him, "would you want Maria anywhere near.."

"Hell no!" Michael interrupted her.

Liz gave him a tight lipped smile. "Figured."

Ava and Zan finally strolled up to the car. Ava narrowed her eyes at Michael, "hey I thought you were going to start the car?" She smirked at Liz, "He was growling at us inside saying he was going to leave."

"Shut up and get in the car whiner." Michael pushed off the car and opened the driver door.

Ava rolled her eyes and chuckled as Zan moved around the front of the car towards the passenger’s side with a smile plastered on his amused face. Ava threw her arm over Liz's shoulders. "Are we sure we want him driving?"

Liz laughed as she opened the back door, "well I don't care who drives I just want to get some sleep."
~

Liz felt the coldness that brushed against her skin and made the shiver run up her back, raising the hairs on the back of her neck. She knew exactly where she was without moving. She could picture every tiny blemish of the small room in a dilapidated warehouse before she even turned around and she knew what would be there when she did. The only thing she didn't know for sure was who because it was never the same person or even group of people- just as the torture was never the same. She clenched her eyes closed and tried to change the scene but then she heard the screams. Her eyes snapped open and she spun around, unable to stop herself. There stood Sam and Isabel tied back against back in the middle of the room as Khivar burned their flesh with a torch, melting them together. He always thought he was clever, she could almost hear his taunting words already. “STOP!” She yelled and tried to run towards them but like every other nightmare, she was frozen in place.

A shimmer in the corner of the room caught her eye, drawing her towards it slowly. Before she could even be amazed that for the first time she was able to move, the room faded away. She was now moving along a dark hallway she'd never seen before. She felt like she was floating, not quite touching the floor, almost as if she was being carried by her arms. An ache started to radiate from her left shoulder and down her arm but before she could focus on it, a heavy door opened in front of her. Blinded by the brightness of the room, she squinted then started blinking rapidly trying to see- fearing that if she couldn't get her bearings quickly, she'd be dead. Her fear and anxiety spiked, not knowing what would come next as the light continued to blind her. Everything felt jumbled and disconnected then the bright room fell violently into darkness. She opened her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief that she could finally focus. It was a cold, dank room- the word prison cell came to mind even though she saw no signs of chains or anything else one might find in a cell. She didn’t have time to linger on that fact because she felt a burning pain develop in her wrists but when she tried to look down to see what was causing it, she couldn't.

She heard a crash and looked up towards the noise, realizing by the angle that she must be on the ground. There about ten feet in front of her were two men wrestling.. fighting for control. One face came up and looked directly at her, "GO!" The face from her nightmares made her blood run cold and she panicked. She told herself to run but her body wouldn't budge. Once again she felt stuck. Suddenly her head shook in the negative, telling the face staring at her that she wouldn't leave him. She couldn't tell if she was more baffled by the fact that her head just moved on its own or the fact that she wouldn't leave him. The face become more determined, "GO YOU FOOL! GO FOR HER! GO TO HER! NOW!"

The man wrestling the face from her nightmares got a hand free and slashed a weapon across his face. Finally her body moved except she was running towards him instead of away until the screeching of a door behind the fighting men caught her attention. She knew instinctively that more men would be coming and they would not be there to help. She skidded to a stop, reversed her direction, and took off at a speed she didn't think her aching legs could achieve. She felt a deep sorrow and grief bloom in her chest that she couldn't explain because the sorrow was for the man she was leaving behind.

Liz bolted awake and Ava’s face came into focus in front of her. She could see her lips moving but it took a few seconds for the words to finally reach her brain. "It's okay. You’re safe." Liz focused on Ava's eyes, letting her soothing words wash over her. "That's right, it's me. It was just a dream." After a few moments Ava's calm demeanor turned curious, "was it Sam? Was it one of his?" Liz nodded and shrugged it off when she saw the disapproval on Ava's face. "You needed to rest. We're going to need you completely here with us. Isabel is taking care of him."

"I know. I just wanted to check in." Liz looked away from Ava, the left over emotions from the dream lingered and confused her. Why would she have felt sorry that she left him behind? How could she feel anything for the man that haunted her day and night and filled her head with images of blood and horror? What kind of twisted dreams was she having now? How the hell could she ever feel sorrow for Khivar? She felt her phone buzz against her leg and pulled it out of her pocket.

“I was going to wake you up before you started to tense up because that thing was going off. Sounded like a text so I was going to let it go but then you started to thrash about.” Ava looked towards the phone, “who is it?”

Liz opened the phone and read the notification. 2 new messages. She opened her text messages and saw both were from Dean. “It’s Dean.”

Ava looked away quickly. “Ah, took him longer than I thought.”

Liz knew that tone. “What did you guys do?”

Ava looked at her from the corner of her eye, “I don’t know what..” Liz punched her in the arm. “Ow! What?” She rubbed the sore spot and pouted making Liz roll her eyes. “We were looking out for you like we always do. We made sure you didn’t regret anything.”

Liz shook her head as she opened the texts from Dean. Ava continued to watch from the corner of her eye and felt her anxiety ease as the smile bloomed on Liz’s face. Ava thought as she finally looked away, “good job guys. Good job.”
~

Dean felt lost. He was running as fast as his legs would go but he couldn't seem to get out of the thick brush. He couldn't see a damn thing in the darkness thanks to the new moon. Winchester luck. If it wasn’t bad then they didn’t have any at all.

He slid to a stop and listened, his chest heaving, lungs sucking in air like a starving child. Tree branches cracked as they smacked each other, the wind howled and whistled as it made its way through the forest. Then the noise that sent him tearing into the dark night in the first place, her blood curdling scream, pierced the dark again. He took off, crashing through the forest trying his best to move towards her voice that kept calling his name. He felt like he'd been running forever and everything looked the same, everything sounded the same, even her screams. It didn't seem to matter how far he ran, they were always in the distance. His foot caught in the underbrush twisting his ankle violently and he crashed to the ground.

He looked down and grabbed his ankle, feeling the bone protruding above the ankle joint. "Shit." He tried to stand and knew it would never work, he wouldn't be able to move well on clear, flat ground. It would be possible in this mess but he had to get to her. His clenched his teeth together and tried to jump forward on one foot. "Fuck!" He fell to his knees and felt dizzy and nauseas.

"You could just fix it, you know."

His head snapped up at her voice and he stared at the impossible. "Liz?" His voice was shaky.

She looked at his ankle as she crouched down in front of him, "this isn't because of me, is it? I mean my psyche is fucked up enough as it is. Please don't tell me I did this too."

"Who the hell are you?"

Her face fell and she looked around, "I'm sorry. I never meant for you to get hurt. She has a way of pushing people away or keeping them at arm’s length but you've heard the stories." Her gaze came back to his and she chuckled at the look of confusion. She smiled sadly, "close your eyes and think of somewhere you'd rather be." He simply stared. "Come on, I can't do everything."

He closed his eyes and an image immediately surfaced, He and Liz lying on top of a sleeping bag surrounded by the trees of Fraiser Woods while she pointed out constellations and star points.

"See now that's better." She laughed softly. "These are definitely better woods to be in."

Dean opened his eyes and looked from the beautiful woman lying in his arms to the same woman standing next to him. "Are you.. Dream walking?"

Her smile was soft and secretive, "kind of."

"What did you mean she pushes people away?"

"It's.. hard to explain but let's just say in the part of her that she.. keeps in check behind that filter of hers."

His brow furrowed, "what? You're a part of her?"

"Subconscious. Does that make any sense?"

"How are you here?"

"Through your connection. She's dreaming so I just took a little stroll on the bridge. Just wanted to see what was going on but I didn't expect to see that damage. I'm sorry."

“Connection?”

“You know that little tingling..” At his face she tried to think of a better way to describe it. “If you think about it, you always know when Liz is near and without looking you know she's entered the room because you feel her coming closer to you.” His brow furrowed for a second before she saw the light bulb go off. “That's your connection with her and no, you haven't changed or anything. Maria and Serena both have connections with no alien DNA or enhancements."

He paused for a second but decided to think about that little revelation later. "Wait, the damage?"

She quirked an eyebrow at the subject change but let it go. "Yeah.. like that little horror show we just came from? You do have a tendency to put everything on your shoulders and God forbid you not be there to protect those you love. She may be extremely smart but she doesn't always think things completely through, especially when she blocks me. She didn't want to hear how much it would hurt you by taking that ability away from you. If your honest with yourself, you knew the whole time she wouldn’t let you go. You knew that it was something she had to do on her own. You are more than just a shield you know."

"This is just.. trippy."

She pointed to herself, "saved by an alien.. changed human.." Then pointed to him, "saved by an angel.. Special sword."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it." He glanced back at the scene in front of him. It was odd, usually he was living out the dream but to watch it was a whole different thing.

"That's a good look on you."

He turned back to her. "What?"

She nodded towards the scene. "It's nice to see you so relaxed and really nice to see that smile. She loves that more than you know."

He watched and remembered what came next. Liz was going to make a joke about an alien planet that he learned later was actually a real thing. He saw his own face light up as a bright smile answered her laugh. "Damn, I really am irresistible." He listened to her laugh and remembered the scream from minutes ago. He turned to the woman next to him, "tell me she's going to be fine. That she'll make it back." Liz turned from the scene in front of them and her face clouded. He hated when he couldn't read her. “You’re have access to the premonitions right?”

She looked back to her smiling counterpart on the sleeping bag. "She has built up this.. monster to such a degree and mix that with your brother's nightmares that she can't stop.. It's given her horrible nightmares of her own. With all that going on.. she's ignoring.." Her eyes met his and she shook her head. "I know from a very reliable source that she's going to be okay."

"What source?"

She opened her mouth then closed it and furrowed her brow. "Maybe another time."

"Come on. That's fucking annoying in real life but in my own dream.."

She interrupted him, "are you dreaming?"

"Yes! Shit like this doesn't happen in.."
Dean's eyes snapped open. "Son of a bitch." He rolled his head to the side and looked at the empty pillow next to him. "I hate when you use your smarts to avoid me. Make me think about the fact that I was dreaming to wake me up." He dropped his hand on his forehead and squeezed. What the hell did she mean reliable source?
~

Later that night.

Michael, Zan, Ava and Liz arrived at the address and got inside easier than they thought. There were no guards and nothing to block their way. They moved carefully as one unit through the house until they came to a small comfortable room lit by a fire going in a small fireplace. The chair in front of the fire turned slowly and they finally laid their eyes on the man that they had spent years searching for. He sat very comfortably in a high back chair, a glass of a dark liquid in his hand. He looked at them approvingly. “You finally found me.” He smiled as his eyes fell on Liz, “hello Liz. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

She raised her hand, palm facing him. “Get up.” Her voice was low but the steel was unmistakable.

Confusion colored his face then he smiled. “I see we have a lot to talk about.”

He turned his chair slightly and the light from the fire highlighted his face. Liz saw the faint scar that ran across his face. She was taken aback for a second then brushed the faint tingling in her mind away. “We have nothing to talk about. It took way too long to get here and it’s time for this to be over.”

His eyes closed and he shook his head, “you don’t know, do you? Did he not make it back to you?”

“What?”

“Max? Did he not reach you?” The concerned look on his face confused her.

“Yes, he did. You didn’t kill him that quickly.”

He looked at her quietly for a moment then spoke softly, “Liz, you know that I did not kill him. The injuries he had were not from my hand.”

“You really think we’d fall for that?” Michael scoffed.

Khivar didn’t look away from Liz. “I know he passed the seal to you, that you are connected to the Granolith. I can feel it radiating off you. Even if he didn’t get the chance to tell you before he passed.. you hold the information you need. You know that I am telling the truth.”

Liz felt the tugging in her mind and shoved at it. “You’re lying!” She flicked her wrist and sent Khivar flying out of his chair and into the wall.

He looked at her, not fighting her power. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to hurt any of you.”

Zan, Ava, and Michael kept glancing between Liz and Khivar. Michael was fighting the urge to pummel his face so he couldn’t talk anymore while Zan battled with the side of himself that believed Khivar. Ava watched Liz concerned that Khivar was trying to get in her head, worried that he could play with her memories.

The fire flared again lighting Khivar’s face. The scar there seemed to draw her in and she felt her mind tugging again. She closed her eyes and the scene burst before her. Being drug from one room to another, the men fighting, Khivar telling her to run, the man.. the guard slashing Khivar’s face as he fought so she would have the chance to run. Not she, not her. Her eyes started to water as she felt that ache in her chest, that sorrow and grief over leaving Khivar behind. She opened her eyes slowly and lowered her hand. “How..?” Her voice was low and shaky.

“The Granolith, Max is with the Granolith.. so to speak.”

Liz turned towards Michael and her eyes rolled back. Michael and Zan threw their arms out to catch her before she fell to the floor.

“You can lay her on the couch over there.” Khivar pointed to the far side of the room as Ava stood still, warily staring at him.

“How do we know you’re not playing with our minds?” She spoke evenly as Michael and Zan communicated without words. Michael carried Liz to the couch while Zan stood beside Ava.

Khivar raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “You know what that would feel like and Liz has the Granolith on her side. I wouldn’t be able to get in.”

Michael stood in front of Liz blocking her from Khivar’s view. “Ke said that Liz would know what you looked like because of the Granolith.”

Khivar nodded, “because Max had seen me in this form. Max being a king would merge with the Granolith.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Zan said.

Khivar looked towards the duplicate. “The Granolith.. did your protector not educate you either?” Zan shook his head. “Great plans really went to shit here, didn’t they? The Queen really shouldn’t have underestimated the council. You have the essence of the King but not the seal so I don’t know if your spirit will merge but yes, the Granolith has the knowledge of all past Kings. Maybe we should wait for Liz to wake before I go too much into this. I know she will have questions.”

Ava sat heavily in the chair by the fire, her eyes staring blankly into the bright, wavering flame. “What the fuck.”

Michael and Zan looked at each other, both wary of the information and knowing exactly how Ava felt. How wrong had they been this whole time? What else had they not known?

Michael glanced down at Liz on the couch, still unmoving. It wouldn't be the first time or even the fifth time that their enemy knew more than they did but now Khivar wasn't their enemy? Were they falling for a very well-crafted ruse? Liz was the one that read people's intentions and she was out of it. She saw something that made her drop her hand and drop her hold on him or did he make her see something. What he wouldn't give for Maxwell to be there right now. He looked to Zan who was still on guard but he could see the doubt in his eyes as well. Liz needed to wake up because she was the only one they trusted that could say Khivar was telling the truth or not. Michael leaned down and shook her shoulder lightly. "Liz, come on wake up.” He whispered in her ear. “We need you right now kid.”

Woohoo! One week and back with an update!
barbara87413: Gotta love the twist! I love it when it comes to me while writing, those are the best! Those answers are coming.. Thank you! Yeah.. luckily my parents would have just stuck around a little longer if I didn't heal so fast! They're retired so it's easier to do that now. My mom took a month off of work when my other two were born so this time it was a lot easier. They got to drive from TN and then just stayed as long as they wanted. I'm blessed to have parents that I get along with very well and so does my husband. I have friends who would not feel the same way in that situation.


Chapter Twenty Four

Ava watched Michael as he gently tried to rouse Liz but nothing was working. Her gaze moved to Khivar who seemed emotionless or he had an extremely good poker face. She got up from the chair and moved to the couch, “that’s enough Michael. I’ve got this.” Ava pushed him out of the way and kneeled next to the couch placing her hands on Liz’s chest and with a little concentration sent a small shock through her chest. Liz sprang up with a gasp, clutching her chest with wild eyes scanning her surroundings. After a moment, Liz got her bearings and her gaze landed back on her friend kneeling next to her . “Damnit Ava!”

Ava shrugged, “calm down sleeping beauty, you know it doesn’t have any lasting damage.” She glanced towards Khivar, “if you remember we just had a very odd bombshell dropped on us and apparently you hold all the answers.. at least the ones we’d believe.” Khivar nodded, seemingly unaffected by her words.

Liz pushed herself back into the corner of the couch and pulled her legs up to her chest. She was aware of how small it would make her look but she reminded herself bitterly that she was not in the presence of any enemy so she simply didn’t care. There was too much going on in her head right now, it was swimming with information that seemingly came from nowhere and she was sinking. She thought this would be it, that this would be the end of Khivar’s threat on her life even if the cost was her life. She had been completely ready to pay up to rid him from her family’s lives forever. The plan complete in her head that with her last words she would tell Ava where to find the letters she wrote before she left the house and everything would be over. Her family would, in time, be able to move on. Dean and Sam would forgive her in time because they would understand, even though it would take Dean longer but he would be able to understand more than Sam would. But now.. Khivar was never their enemy. Her plans failed miserably because she never had all the right variables. It was almost funny how off they truly were. Almost. She felt betrayed, lost, and heavier than before when she felt worlds on her shoulders.

She felt them all watching her, waiting for her to speak but she honestly didn’t know what to say. Her voice sounded small to her own ears, “what? What do you want me to say?”

Ava’s brow scrunched and Michael bristled then turned towards Khivar, “what did you do to her?”

Khivar turned to Michael, “I did nothing. I told you I didn’t hurt Max and I wouldn’t hurt any of you. We are all on the same side and have the same enemy.”

Michael scoffed, “bullshit!”

“He’s telling the truth.” Michael turned back to Liz. She was looking right at him and he didn’t like what he saw. She almost looked defeated. “I saw it Michael. Before we got here, I thought it was just a weird dream but the scar on his face.” Her eyes flicked to Khivar as if to reassure herself. “I saw when he got that. He and Max were being held.. prisoner and Khivar took the guard.. he took the hits so Max had the chance to run, the chance to get to me.”

Michael glanced back to Khivar who only nodded. Michael raised his hand, his voice frosty, “how do we know that you’re not making her see that?” Khivar showed the first bit of emotion since they found him sitting in that room and it threw Michael slightly. Pity and understanding were not exactly something he thought he would see on his enemy’s face but it only pissed him off more. “I don’t need your pity!”

Zan touched Michael’s shoulder trying to defuse the situation, “Michael..”

Khivar watched Michael, “I’m sorry, it’s not. Max told me about your upbringing in Roswell, it was much different than the one on Antar. Although Max said he thought it made you a better man. One of your weaknesses on Antar was your trouble with compassion and understanding those in bad situations. Of course, Max said none of you remember that life.” At Michael’s angry look, Khivar raised his hands in surrender. “I mean no disrespect, this is not coming out as I mean for it too. So let me answer your questions. No, I would not be able to make Liz see anything because she has the Granolith. The council hasn’t gone through all the trouble it has to retrieve it because it’s just a pretty statue. Its power is unlike anything any planet has seen and that power is with Liz because of the Seal. The Granolith has protected kings and planets and if it fell into the wrong hands those that know its power fear what they could do with it but those who truly know the Granolith know it’s not possible for the Granolith to be controlled by anyone not worthy of it.”

Michael stared at him, still worried about trusting the man he’d been hunting for half his life. “And we’re just supposed to believe you? You could be making all this up so we let our guards down.”

Liz’s voice broke his concentration on Khivar, “Michael, he’s telling the truth about the Granolith.”

Michael threw a glance towards her. “How the hell do you know for sure?”

“Max told me.” She stated as if it were a simple and clear statement.

“How is that possible? We were there, he didn't say anything..”

“Later than that. He.. he appeared to me.”

Ava looked at Liz concerned, “that was just in your head..”

“No it wasn't. I saw him a lot I just stopped talking about it because you all thought I was crazy.” Liz looked at Michael, “he was the one that pointed out that thing in my head to you. He was the one that told you it was imperative you get it out. You may not have heard his voice but you felt what he was sending you." Michael, Zan, and Ava's eyes went wide. "The last time I saw him.. He said he couldn't come to me anymore and he told me about the Granolith. He talked about kings and some queens of the past that were somehow connected with it. He said the Granolith had all of their knowledge. I dreamt of that prison cell before we got here but I had so many nightmares. This one was so different from the others.. and then Khivar’s face. The dream I had on the way here, I saw a guard cut his face and he yelled at me to go, to go to her. I didn't realize it at the time but when I saw the scar.. that was Max’s vision, not mine. Max was trying to tell me that Khivar wasn't the enemy but I just thought it was a weird dream because I was so stressed. I just.. Khivar’s telling the truth. He was just as much of a pawn as Max was.” Liz looked towards Khivar, “how? I mean.. why did everyone think you were dead?” The question she left unspoken was why had Max not told her before?

“You know about the council?” Khivar asked and they nodded. “When the ship reached Earth, I left as soon as I could. I’ve been hiding here ever since. All those men that were sent after you were working under their orders, not mine. The council was always in control of everything. I was just a figure head, I think the term on this planet is scape goat. Even in the beginning, before the war on Antar and I had no idea. It was my fault really. I was young and stupid and in love. When they told me Zan had been committing crimes against the crown, I should have gone to Zan but instead I thought I was saving the planets.. that I was saving Vi. She loved you two in that life too..” At Michael’s cringe he continued, “no.. not like that. You were like a brother to her and honestly you were always too busy training with the troops, if you had a love interest, I never knew about it. I don’t know why they gave you the betrothal story because Vilandra was never in romantic love with you. I hate to brag but that had always been me.” A warm smile came to his face, “before everything went to hell things were.. perfect.” His smile faltered, “but I went and helped destroy that. I was only supposed to secretly place Zan in jail but there were men there in royal guard uniform..” He looked into the fire and seemed to be far away as he told his side, “they shot both you and Zan. In all the chaos I found Vilandra and Ava had met the same end. It destroyed me. I went underground, I believe you call it, as searched for the men I had seen fire at Zan and your former self. I did eventually find them and already knew the story that the council had been spreading, that I was the one responsible for the Royal Four’s death. That I wanted the Granolith.” He scoffed, “bastards killed the love of my life and made it seem like I betrayed her to kill her family!” He turned his back to them and the fire. All they could see was the controlled rise and fall of his shoulders.

When he turned back to them he was calm and in control again. “Once I.. dispatched the two guardsmen that killed the royal four then I went into hiding from the council. I knew if they used me once they would either try to use me again or kill me. Long story short, they found me and threw me in prison. When Max made it there in that ship, they were waiting for him and threw him in the same prison. I believe it was the day Max landed that they threw us into a large cell together and told us that whoever survived would be able to go home. I thought he would just kill me and get it over with, he was angry enough about the betrayal of his former queen and I was ready for it to be over but he wouldn’t take the shot. We stood in that cell staring at each other, he looked horrible and I believe I probably looked the same. They pulled us from that cell and separated us, the council tried to bribe me with so many things to kill Max but they couldn’t give me the one thing I wanted. They couldn’t bring Vilandra back to me. We were.. put through their convincing tactics until one would take the final blow but at the end of every day, neither of us would. So they began putting us in that cell together after their little tactics because they thought that if Max and I were kept together long enough one of us would simply tire of the torture and take the shot so we could leave but instead Max and I talked to pass the time. Max.. he was a good man. To be honest, he was a better man than he had been on Antar. I respected him, I was happy to hear that you three had made a better life for yourselves on your new planet even with your threat of exposure.. you still found..” His breathe hitched, “love.” He coughed, clearing his throat. “The night Max escaped, I had enough of the council’s interference in our lives and I took the first chance I got. The guard came in, I let the rage fill me and I jumped on him, I told Max to go but the damn idiot wanted to fight for me. It wasn’t until he knew we didn’t have a chance to escape together that he finally ran. I was told that Max never made it, that he was shot down before he even left the planet’s air space but I always hoped that he did and the council was just trying to punish me. It wasn’t until they told me that I would need to kill Liz to take the Granolith did I know that Max was most likely dead. I knew that if I didn’t agree to go that I would continue to be their little torture puppet so I agreed. I just needed to get to Earth and maybe I could find some of the happiness that you all found.” Khivar once again stood in front of the fire staring into the flames.

Liz stretched out her legs and slid to the edge of the couch, “he thought you were dead. Everyone did, Larek only found out you were still alive when they sent you here. And why did they send you here if you never did what they wanted to Max?”

Khivar smiled, “he said you were an inquisitive little thing. Smart too. I’m sure you can figure that out, without me who would possibly be their villain? Can you imagine the PR nightmare? If they brought back the Granolith, people would find out the amount of bloodshed that ensued just to bring it back. Antar has always been a planet that valued life. Hell, they created that system, spread the life sustaining ability on the other planets. They would need someone to take the fall once the Granolith was returned. Everyone already hates me and they already spread the rumors about Zan falling for a human girl and how you kept the Granolith away from me. It wouldn't take much for them to put two and two together that I would destroy you and your world for the Granolith because I'm the ruthless villain in their tale so why the hell not? It didn’t matter if I actually did it because their men would be on the ground with me, they needed video of me leaving with them to keep the story real.”

“But the rebels.. The people that know what the council is doing..” Ava said from her perch on the edge of the couch.

“They're not enough. Larek and his band of merry men can't over power the council. Hell, he didn’t even know the real story of what happened between Max and I. They have too many resources, too many hands in the pot and no one would ever be able to re-spin the story that has been building and stewing for far too long. It's a lost cause and with nowhere to hide from them on those planets, I thought this rock would do rather nicely. History is always what the winners print, my darling. The rest is cast aside as here say and fables.”

Michael leaned against the wall next to the couch with his head down digesting the story in shock. Zan sat next to Ava on the couch with his head in his hands. Liz walked towards Khivar, her voice soft. “I’m sorry.” That brought all their heads up. “For so long I had all this rage and I blamed you for everything. I knew about the council and some of that rage was towards them but I thought you were the one that tortured him but you had gone through the same right beside him and you.. He wanted to get you out. He wanted to bring you back here. We were always grasping at straws knowing that we didn’t know enough but this.. it’s just so insane! The lengths they went to.. the story they spun.”

Khivar turned towards her, “when the real story is so unbelievable then why would anyone give it even a passing glance should someone try to tell the truth?”

Zan’s voice was rough, “I never wanted anything to do with Antar because all the stories felt so wrong and I didn’t want to go back but I never even..” The four friends felt the crushing reality that it would never be over. Khivar was just this imaginary finish line but the council had gone to such great lengths already, why would they ever give up at this point?

Khivar’s voice was quiet as he broke the silence that fell between them. “He told me you were strong, that you were a fighter.”

Liz looked up, “what?”

A small smile came to Khivar’s face. “He talked about you a lot. Couldn’t get him to shut up but then again, anything to take our minds off the reality we were in was worth it. I see your mind spinning, filling in the blanks but if I could get in their blind spot so could you. You really think men will keep coming after something that they think is gone? It’s been a long time back in that star system. A long time with no results. New leaders have probably stepped up and the council won’t be able to focus solely on the retrieval of a relic people haven’t seen or heard about in years except through old fables. I can’t say you won’t have the occasional fanatic but for the most part you’ve defeated or scared away the remaining troops that came with my wave.”

Michael sounded skeptical. “So that’s it?”

“For the most part and for both our sake’s I certainly hope so.” Khivar looked around at the four. “I can gather some things for you and you can get some rest. We can talk more if you wish but you probably need some time.” He had already started to walk out of the room when Ava's head popped up.

"Wait.. If you didn't do what they wanted before why would they send you down here where you could easily hide without punishment?" Her mind automatically going straight to the device planted in Liz’s brain without them even knowing.

He turned around and smiled, "still always thinking of all the angles. They had sent me to have a piece of equipment implanted in my brain that should I not fulfill my end of the bargain, they could end my life but their vicious stories of me finally bit them in the ass." His smile stretched across his face, "that particular piece of equipment was never placed in this head. In fact nothing was placed in this head." With that he walked out of the room, giving the four of them time alone.

Ava watched Liz move stiffly to the chair and sit down. “What do you want to do Liz?”

“I’m tired. I’m so drained. I think sleep would be the best idea and then we could figure it out from there.”

“So we’re believing this? This is the actual real story?” Michael asked without lifting his head.

Liz looked to Michael and nodded. “It’s the truth. We finally have the real story, even though it’s not even close to what we thought.”

Zan said, “I think that’s what makes it that much easier to accept as truth. We’ve been lied to for so long and it was either the complete opposite or not even close to the true story.”

“They’re never going to believe us.” Michael dragged his hand down his tired face.

Ava sighed. “I think it’ll be easier than you think. We won’t be dead and if we have to we’ll figure out a way to get them to see what happened.”

Michael glanced at Ava, “really?”

Ava shrugged, “Khivar had a point. The council wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble for some hunk of metal or whatever but it’s also been a long time since anyone has actually seen it. Who knows maybe they’ve already put it behind them that it went with Zan and the royal four and would never be seen again. Once the majority has accepted that, the council won’t be able to keep pushing people to believe in something as more than just ancient history or a story that’s supposed to remind them of their morals. The one good thing that we learned is it has a lot of power and Liz has that power. We don’t even know everything that it can do but it’s in our possession and they can’t just take it. The Granolith has accepted Liz as its Seal holder or whatever and it won’t let just anyone take it. I take that as a very good sign for us.”

Michael looked at Liz, her eyes were already closed. “I think Liz is right, we could definitely use some sleep. We can figure out the rest after.”

HypnotiqBlueEyes: In time my friend, in time. Sorry it took so much time to get this chap up!

Found a couple minutes to post this, forgive me if theres any typos.. I didn't get to read through it and nit pick.


Chapter Twenty Five

It felt like they had been driving for weeks but it had only been two days, the same amount of time it took to drive to Khivar's hiding spot from the safe house. They had all been quiet for the first day with only a few words spoken here and there that were, in all honesty, just meaningless. Ava sat slouched against the backseat with her head leaning against the window watching the scenery fly by but she didn't really see a thing. Her mind couldn't come to terms with the fact that their searching was over but the fight might never come to an end. With the council still out there, worlds away- basically untouchable and still desiring what they had, it would never end. Sure, they might only have to deal with a few random strikes, it might not be like it's been for the past couple of years but they would never really be able to let their guard down, not completely. Even if the threat wasn't out there, after all they've been through, would they have even been able to completely put that behind them and live without a care? No. No, there was no way of closing those doors so what really changed? Wasn't there enough to be wary of on this planet? So how much had really changed? The enemy from another life no longer had a face, a single name- that was it. Somehow knowing the name seemed to give them power, knowing their true agenda gave them a sense of their enemy, but the council- who really knew exactly what their true agenda really was except they want control of the Granolith. For what? Why? Just to feel like they had the ultimate power over the planets? Don’t they already have that through the stories they spread as truth?

A rustling then a fist to her leg pulled her from her head, she looked away from the window and down at the seat where Liz was sleeping and thrashing about. Again. What really changed? They still had more than enough on their plate.

She reached down and brushed the hair out of Liz's face then grabbed her fist and leaned down whispering, "Liz. Liz it's okay, it's just a dream." Liz jerked again and Ava shook her shoulders. "Liz. Wake up." She placed her hand on Liz's face but before she could connect, Liz's eyes popped open and stared up at her. The look on her face, the fear in her eyes sent a shiver down her back. "Hey.. It's okay. We're in the car."

Liz looked around as if to judge for herself that all was as it should be. She swallowed hard and Ava couldn't help but ask, "what are these nightmares about? They can't all be Sam's. You were way too out of it to reach out to him."

Liz tried to sit up and Ava patted her own lap. A ghost of a smile came to Liz's face as she slid over the seat to lay her head in Ava's lap. Memories of doing that so many times for each other during their college years rushed through her mind. Ava ran her fingers through Liz's hair, massaging her head with slight pressure and a little alien warmth from her fingers as she brushed through Liz’s thick locks. Ava's voice was quiet. "Tell me about it. Maybe it'll help."

Liz looked up into Ava's warm blue eyes, "it's different.. not different. It's confusing." Liz closed her eyes and tried to explain. "Sometimes it's Sam but it's not his nightmares.. it's something altogether different. I thought maybe it was premonitions at first but I don't know I think some of it has already happened and then sometimes it switches and Khivar's there torturing them.. Sometimes it's Lucifer."

"Well, we know Khivar wouldn't be torturing them so that was just your fears playing against you. Maybe that's all the others are too."

Liz frowned as she thought about how clear some of the other dreams were. "Sometimes it's like I'm watching Dean and Sam and they're going after Lucifer, trying to find a solution to take him out but they fight and go separate ways. Some of the words.. some of the fights I feel like they've actually had before but Sam.. he says yes to Lucifer and Dean.. he loses it and becomes someone I don't recognize."

"Are you with him?"

Liz opened her eyes and shook her head, "no. In those dreams I never see any of us."

Ava thought about it before speaking, "maybe that's what would have happened without your involvement. Without us."

"So why do I keep having the dreams?"

"Maybe some things are still the same and we're supposed to stop them. Stop Sam. Maybe even stop you."

"Stop me? What do you mean?"

"Let's face it.. If you and dean break apart even though we wouldn't want to choose sides you know we'd have your back. Maybe none of us are there because we're with you."

"Why would that.." Ava raised her brow and Liz looked away catching her point. "Right. I get that you guys didn't agree with me but.."

"But nothing Liz. You keep holding him out just enough and acting like the relationship is expendable then you’re going to lose him. I've heard and seen enough to know that what he has with you is completely out of his league. He's never had anything like it which says to me he wouldn't know how to deal if you break it. He wouldn't be able to be around you if things went south, hell I don't know if he'd know what to do at all."

Liz rolled her eyes, "he's not fragile Aves."

"People used to say the same about you."

Liz's gaze met her friend's. "It'll be fine. He understands."

"This time, maybe. But what happens next time? When you feel the need to put your relationship on the back burner so you can go about what you think is the safer way?"

"I'm not going to put people in harm’s way because I want to spare my relationship with dean."

"You’re already putting people in harm’s way by thinking like that, don’t you see?" Liz looked away again and Ava sighed. "Did you ever think that maybe people in our lives were put there because they're supposed to be there? Maybe because with the lives we lead we need that other half for support or maybe just because our lives are destined to be short so we deserve that kind of love by our side for as long as we can get it. You’re lucky to have found it twice.. There's no reason that you have to lose it twice and don't tell me it's not like that. You won't fool anyone with that bullshit."

Liz was quiet for a moment then swiftly changed the subject. "Why would Sam say yes now? It just doesn't make any sense. In the dreams they always have this huge fight and break apart. Sam had no one to help him fight Lucifer off so he just says yes."

"They haven't broken apart and we're involved. We're helping Sam in his dreams. We've already changed it.. for now."

"What if that's not enough and he sneaks away?"

Ava looked out the window for a few seconds taking a deep breath to get rid of her slight frustration at Liz’s avoidance. She looked back down at her frightened friend. "We're helping him. Nothing would make him run away from that." Liz frowned and looked away. "What is it?"

"I know one thing that would make him run away."

"Like what?"

Her eyes came back to Ava’s. "Like Lucifer saying he would hurt one of us. If he ever located us and got his hands on.." She vividly remembered the way her own enemies had used the projection of her parents being tortured to lead her into a trap. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to will the image away.

"That'll never happen. We won't allow it."

Liz opened her eyes, "how can we seriously be one hundred percent sure? You really think he'll never find us?"

"We'll make sure of it. It's all we can do."

"Yeah." But Liz wasn't convinced. She feared that the dreams were only trying to get her ready to face a truth that she didn't want to- that one day he would say yes and Sammy would be lost. Then what would Dean be? Would he turn into that angry shell of a man he was in those dreams? What would become of Isabel? What would she become? What would she do to fix it all? She felt the car start to slow down and then the smooth ride became rough.

“Home sweet home.” Michael yawned from the passenger seat.

Liz sat up and looked at the house as they drove up the long driveway. Most of the lights were out and she wondered if Ava or Michael had called ahead. Liz saw the light coming from Maria and Michael’s room and knew that Michael probably told Maria how far out they were and she had waited up. Maybe she just left the light on for him, Maria could fall asleep and know Michael would kiss her when he returned. Maria wouldn’t have to worry about things being different between them when he returned. But what kind of damage had she done before she left? Dean had texted her but she knew she hurt him. She stared out the car window and wished she could see her bedroom window from the front of the house. Had he heard from Maria that they would be arriving sometime in the middle of the night? Did he care? Would he be waiting up for her? Was he ready for a fight just in case she was still in the same mindset from when they had left? She looked for the Impala but knew she wouldn’t be able to see it from the front of the house when they normally had the cars parked in the barn they had turned into a garage for all their cars. No one needed to see a parking lot in front of their house.

Ava knocked on the window from outside the car and Liz looked up at her. Ava smirked and opened the door. “Someone nervous of going home? Not so sure about that crazy plan you had when you left?”

“Not helping Aves.”

Ava swung on the strap of her bag up over her shoulder. “Well love, I believe the phrase is, you’ve made your bed now lie in it.”

Liz gave her a tight lipped smile as she climbed out of the car. “Thanks for your support.”

Ava shut the door behind her then handed her bag over to her. “Always Lizzie.”

Liz took her bag with a grateful smile reminding herself who she was really mad at- herself. She followed behind Michael and Zan next to Ava while trying to ignore the looks sent by the other female and trying her best to pretend she wasn’t dreading every step. She imagined Dean ignoring her completely and him waiting for her by the door, ready for a fight. Then she pictured him treating her with indifference as if her pushing him away meant nothing, like it was only a matter of time before she disappeared like everyone else. She walked through the door and took a deep breathe in. All the lights were off except for a small one in the first floor hallway and they seemed to be the only ones awake. Michael closed the door then headed up the stairs. Zan was already walking down the hallway towards the bedroom he shared with Ava while Ava waited watching Liz. “You could always try to sleep on the couch again or you could lie in your own bed and talk with him when he wakes up.” Liz turned to Ava, “you know which one I would choose but then I’ve slept in more than enough crappy places for a lifetime so I will always choose a soft bed over a couch.” Ava gave her a hug then walked towards her room.

Liz made her way slowly up the stairs. The house was quiet and her footsteps seemed loud and echoed around her. She tried the door knob to her room and it opened easily. She started to tread lightly across the room avoiding all the spots she remembered had weak floorboards. If only she could get to her side of the bed quietly she could slip in bed without him noticing but halfway across the room she froze when she felt his eyes on her. She stared at him, afraid and waiting. "Do we need to talk?" Her voice was so quiet, when he didn't answer right away she wondered if he had even heard her. Her eyes shot to the door and she debated if a quick exit would be the best thing for her or if it would look too cowardly to ever help her in the long run.

He watched her quietly for a moment, wondering if she was going to get clothes and slip out or if she was really going to get in bed. The light of the moon lit her face in a soft blue glow. He saw the emotions start to flit across her face around her crumbling facade. The moisture building in her eyes glittered in the moonlight. He sat up and opened his arms. She took the last few steps to his side of the bed then threw herself into his arms. As his arms wrapped around her, the dam broke. "Shhh Liz it's okay. You’re safe. I've got you. No one is going to hurt you." She tried to say something but only seemed to cry harder. "Hey what is it? Tell me what to do."

She pulled away from his chest and looked him in the eyes and tried to talk around her hiccupping breathes. "I want you.. I'm sorry. I was afraid and.. it's all so confusing. I just want you.. to be here, to be safe.. with me."

Dean grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her. "Hey.. I'm right here. I'm safe, you're safe. I'm not going anywhere. You really think you can push me around enough to make me leave? You know how long I've been getting the shit kicked out of me?" She laughed and he smiled, "I'm not going to leave you. You may know how to push my buttons but you don't know me as well as you think." He pressed his forehead against hers. She closed her eyes and breathed him in. "I love you." Liz's eyes snapped open and her breath caught in her throat. She searched his eyes and only saw the light and laughter. "You’re family now and you never give up on family."

Liz pressed her lips against his and savored it. Maybe her meeting him and becoming part of his life did change things enough that the nightmares were only a warning of what could happen if she let things fracture and fall apart. Maybe it was just her fear corrupting images from another timeline, it wouldn’t be the first time she received images from another lifetime. Dean fell back to his pillow, pulling her with him and she lost herself in the sensations only he could create.

HypnotiqBlueEyes: Some of those thoughts and questions will be answered here although I don't think your biggest ones will.. without giving anything away I'll just say.. those still need time.



Chapter Twenty Six
*Two lines taken from Supernatural episode, “The End” in italics.*

The next morning.

The group found themselves meeting once again in the living room but without the tension that had filled the air last time. Those who had stayed behind listened quietly as the four that met Khivar gave a play by play of how they came upon him and the story he had to tell. As Michael finished telling how Liz confirmed Khivar’s story with a vision of her own that Khivar was never really the one controlling anything Isabel leapt to her feet. “He wasn’t in control?! Bullshit! He came for me Michael! You were there when he came to me our senior year, when he wanted me to go back with him!” Sam’s hand caught Isabel’s and squeezed. She felt his calm concern before she turned and saw it written on his face. She looked into his eyes and took a couple of slow calming breathes.

Liz’s voice was soft, remembering how scared Isabel was back then when she really felt the Vilandra side of her for the first time. “That was while the council was gathering supplies and having a ship built to send to earth. Khivar was able to use a transport and used all of the energy they had reserved to send himself to earth to see you and when you denied him, he went back knowing they would probably kill him. Of course they needed him too much so he was thrown back in a cell instead of the short leash they allowed him around their secret compound. I think he thought if you came back with him, he’d be able to get away because the people there would do anything for you and maybe they would listen to you. Of course he had thought Max got back to us and was able to tell us what really happened or at least he had hoped.”

“He hoped?” Kyle asked.

Zan answered. “They told him Max was shot down, that he never made it out of their air space.”

Serena sat spinning ulterior motives but none of them made sense, not with Liz’s absolute certainty. “So that’s it? It’s really over?”

Michael shook his head, “Khivar said he destroyed their comms but I’m sure by now the council has figured out something is wrong. If they haven’t heard from anyone in years, I think they would have at least sent a few to find out what really happened.”

Ava nodded, “but Khivar gave some interesting information that we didn’t know. Time moves different here, slower. It’s been a seriously long time up there since the royal four. We’re basically like an old fairy tale and he doesn’t think that many would be up for some useless search on another planet for a relic from an old story. Too many years without anything to show for the searches others have done before them. Khivar said..”

Kyle interrupted her, “like the holy grail? Because there are people that still go after that.”

Sam rolled his eyes, “this isn’t an Indiana Jones movie kyle.”

“Right because our lives haven’t entered movie territory before.”

Ava gave Kyle a look that shut him down before he could go any farther. “Okay getting back to the real information. Khivar said he can’t say there won’t be some fanatics but those that still believe in the Granolith would also have a healthy fear of the one in control of it.” She looked to Liz, “Khivar told us she wouldn’t be able to be messed with because of the Granolith.”

Maria was watching Liz and was a little worried about bringing up the thought that brought to mind. “Then what about.. the time someone did get her? Where the hell was the Granolith then?”

Ava, like everyone else in the room, turned her gaze to Liz. Liz rolled her eyes, “he wasn’t able to mess with my memories. He couldn’t actually change any of them so he couldn’t gain access to my mind with his powers so he used that device to hurt me. We asked if the Granolith would have healed me or would have killed that guy through me and he said he didn’t know but it wasn’t able to save Max back on Antar so he wasn’t actually sure if it can act on its own or if the person in control would have to access its power. Zan was shot to death before he even saw the gun and since I had and still have no damn idea how to.. we don’t really know.”

Ava didn’t miss the fact that Liz was looking at her hands instead of any of them at the end of that little spiel. Liz had left out the fact that Max had actually been talking with her and she figured it would be a lot on Isabel at once so she had let it slide but the avoidance Liz was showing now was the same from earlier when she was glazing over the Max portion of her tale at Khivar’s. What the hell was she holding back now? Did Max tell her how to access it? Hell, wasn’t Max essentially a part of the Granolith now? No way in hell would he allow her to get killed specially by his own enemies. Her mind exploded with activity, turning around theories and questions that popped as she watched Liz who was giving Dean a reassuring smile. At least something good came from this whole mess.

“So nothing’s changed except we know for a fact that Khivar is just in witness protection on our planet now and the bad guys still want us dead.” Kyle looked at Michael wondering how he could be so relaxed.

“Well, we know that the wave of men that came with Khivar are either dead or pretty much terrified but no, pretty much nothing has changed.” Zan said.

Isabel finally sat back down and Sam rubbed her leg as she stared blankly at the floor. Liz’s gaze floated around the room, noticing that almost everyone shared the same look. They were all taking it in and giving themselves time to fully absorb the new information. “Khivar said if he heard anything or felt anything he would let us know but for now just to live our lives.”

Maria let out a bark of laughter and everyone’s head snapped towards her. “What?” She looked around at the different variations of confusion and shock except for Kyle who couldn’t hide his small smile. “I can’t be the only one that sees how seriously ridiculous it is that Khivar is now considered an ally.”

Suddenly, winds kicked up in the room and a loud pop sounded that brought everyone to their feet just before Castiel crashed through the living room table. Kyle, Dean, and Serena were the closest and reached his side first. “Cas, what the hell happened to you?” Dean stared at the blood that trickled from Castiel’s nose and suddenly recalled the time Cas took them to the seventies to stop Anna. “Shit.”

Serena wiped the blood away, “are you okay?”

Zan winced at the angel’s appearance, “you look like shit, man.”

Castiel coughed when he tried to answer, “I had to use the last of it to get here.”

“What do you mean?” Maria asked as Liz and Isabel’s eyes widened.

Liz leaned in and tried to help him up, “it’s gone? Like completely?”

Cas nodded as Dean and Kyle got under the angel’s arms and hefted him up and over to the couch. “I’m afraid I’m completely useless now.”

“Does anyone want to let the rest of us in on this conversation?” Kyle threw in.

Sam looked at Kyle, “his grace. It’s what gives him his.. angel juice.”

“What?” Several voices around the room asked.

Cas answered a bit roughly, “I no longer have my grace which means I'm nothing more than human now.”

Maria crossed her arms over her chest. “Hey! As one of the few “only human” members in the group I take offense to that.”

Dean came back in the room and handed Cas a damp hand towel, “yeah. Welcome to the club.”

Cas took the cool cloth and didn’t know what to do with it so he just pressed it to his throbbing head. “Thanks. Except I used to belong to a much better club. And now I'm powerless.
I'm hapless, I'm hopeless.”

Serena stood in front of him with her hands on her hips, “excuse me Mr. I’ve only been a human for a couple of seconds but I think you know damn well that we humans are not powerless or hopeless.”

Cas looked up at her and tried to apologize, “I’m sorry if that offended you. It’s been a long day.” Some of them nodded understanding his sentiment too much.

The room fell quiet except for Liz and Isabel fussing over Castiel. Sam looked for Dean when he noticed he was surrounded by women then spotted his brother towards the back of the room next to Kyle just in front of Zan and Michael. Sam rolled his eyes. The men had stepped back and let the women do their thing as usual. He strode towards them with a slight smile on his face at a very amusing thought. When he reached them he spoke quietly, “someone’s going to have to teach him how to use a gun.”

Zan and Michael tried to hide their smiles then failed and started to laugh at the almost matching looks of horror on the two men’s faces.
"Shit."
"Sonofabitch."
~~

Four days later

Liz walked outside and found Cas laying on the ground staring up at the stars with an empty bottle of liquor near him and an almost empty bottle in his hand. As she got closer to him, she couldn’t miss the smell or how much of a mess he let himself become. She stopped beside him and looked down and as expected he had a couple days of scruff on his face. “So how did your grace keep you clean shaven?”

He tried to look around her to see the sky again but not only was the sky spinning so was she so he gave up. “It only took a thought before.”

“Yeah, so does a shower.” His brow scrunched together and she explained. “Have you noticed any bad smells recently? Because you stink.” She felt bad for her words at the lost look on his face. Even though he was pretty much wasted he still looked sad and confused.

“Why am I even here? Why didn’t I cease to exist when my grace was used up?”

Liz sat down next to him and looked up at the stars, remembering all too well how he felt. “When I lost Alex, I broke down. I knew something had happened to him but no one believed me. Then I lost Max and my world just collapsed. I didn’t understand why I should go on or why everyone else thought that I should. I fell apart completely. But when I pulled myself back together, with the help that my friends annoyingly and consistently gave me, I found out a few things about myself.” She looked down and found Cas’s eyes staring at her, unlike before they were focused and he looked like he was hanging on her every word waiting for an answer to his many questions. “I found that I was stronger than even I had thought.”

“Was that because max was talking to you?”

She smiled sadly, “no. It was before that started. I had to pull myself together just to make it through the school year.” She looked back up to the sky, “by the time I started seeing Max I was in college and I thought I had gained a bit of crazy which made sense since I was broken. It didn’t bother me, it was just a truth I had excepted. I didn’t think anyone could go through as much as I had without being broken. Of course I had no idea how much I still had in store for me.” She paused and took a deep breath, “I guess what I'm trying to say is.. you lost this big part of you but at least you’re not alone. You’re still a part of something good or at least we try and what's that old saying?” She glanced back down to his blue eyes. “God doesn't give you more than you can handle?”

“That's just a phrase humans created to help themselves cope.”

Liz smiled, “well, you’re a part of that group now so it was made for you.”

He took a swig from his bottle. “My father is gone. My grace is gone and everything is just hopeless. Who are we to think we can beat Lucifer? Michael was supposed to kill him and no one knows where he is and I will never be able to find him now. It’s all broken because of me. If I..”

Liz stared down at him as she interrupted. “Didn’t go against orders that you felt weren’t right? If you just followed the program for Dean to kill his only brother to save what was left of the world?” Cas looked up at her and put the bottle down and scrubbed his face. “It’s not easy having free will Cas. Always wondering if you made the right decision, questioning your own moves and actions. You don’t know how many times I wished I could go back and change everything. Go back and tell myself not to listen to future Max because he was just as clueless about everything in his own timeline as he was in this one.. never let Max go near the granolith with Tess.. never leave Alex’s side.. flush Tess out before she deceived us.. hell, even letting myself die on that diner floor by somehow keeping Max from the Crash that day. But going back and changing it will just screw something else up so we just do the best we can with what we have. Honestly, that really is the best we could ever do. We make mistakes, learn from them, and move forward. I can’t say that following your gut instinct was right but I understand where you were coming from when you chose your own way. In terms of free will you were still learning, you were basically a child and your role models were two guys who, to put it gently, didn't have all their shit together. I think if your father really is watching he’d be proud of you because you stood up for what you felt was right, what he ingrained in you to be right. You were protecting us lowly humans that your father created. Even though we weren’t perfect, he didn’t just destroy us and create something better, he let us live and like you said he loved us. So why wouldn’t he be happy that you did everything you could to help us and now you’re one of us? I don’t know maybe you were part of a great club but I don’t think we’re all that bad either.”

“I think I drank too much. My head hurts.. my mind.. is moving really fast.. crowded.”

Liz chuckled, “sorry I kinda went on a tangent there.”

Cas grabbed his head with both hands. “How does dean do this and still function?”

Liz laughed, “years and years of practice. It’s called a tolerance and you have yet to build yours.” Cas smiled but it looked more like a cringe. “Come on, let’s get you to bed light weight.” She helped him up and choked. “Maybe a shower first. We might have to replace your bed if I let you sleep on it like this.”
~~

3 Months later. End of August 2012.

Liz pulled her hair up off her neck and secured it in a messy bun and sprayed some hairspray to keep the loose strands from falling out and sticking to her face again. It was too hot for thick hair. She walked towards the thermostat and checked the setting then tapped the button that lowered the temperature a couple of times. If anyone bitched about the bill she would hand them money herself. She thought hot summers in New Mexico were bad but at least it was mostly dry, this humidity with high temperatures of the Midwest was just insane. She went into the kitchen and grabbed the sandwiches she had made and the pitcher of iced tea then placed them on the tray. She grabbed two cups out of the cabinet and added it to the set up along with a bag of chips. Inspecting the layout on the tray, she nodded in satisfaction then picked it up and headed for the living room where Cas was laid out with his foot resting on a couple cushions keeping it above the level of his heart.

Liz placed the tray on the table in front of the couch and handed him a glass of iced tea first. “Trust me this will help.” Cas gave her a small smile and reached for the glass then winced when he accidently moved his leg tweaking the pain in his foot. Liz cringed, “I told you not to move!” She gave him the glass then moved down to his foot. She placed her hand gingerly on his ankle sending the warm pulses through his hyperextended tendons, “I can’t mend the bones, you have to wait for Zan for that.” She smiled, “so you’ve got to do this like a normal human.”

Cas chuckled softly, “there’s nothing like it. There’s a lot of things about the human experience that are great.. amazing even but this is not one of them.”

Liz shook her head with a smile knowing exactly what his amazing experience was. It was actually a bit shocking that it took the guys a month to realize that Cas was a virgin and they saw to it that he wouldn’t be a virgin for long. They even took bets on who could get him his first one night stand without paying for it. The winner of the bet ended up being a shocker for everyone including the winner himself but then again, Sam was the only one that gave Cas advice that would work in a real relationship.

“I can tell your mind is spinning. What are you thinking about? It’s actually exhausting trying to figure out what you’re thinking.”

Liz looked up at Cas and started laughing softly. “I think every male on the planet would agree with you but I bet it helped take your mind off your foot.”

Cas tilted his head as he watched her. “So, you’re not going to tell me? Am I being punished? Dean says..”

Liz interrupted him with a smile, “don’t take your lady advice from Dean. Sam would probably be a better option. Dean is still learning.”

Cas narrowed his eyes, “so I’m not being punished but you still want me to figure out what you’re thinking?”

Liz chuckled and shook her head, “You don’t always have to know what people are thinking but I was thinking about what you said, your sentence brought up memories that you were referring to.”

Cas looked away and his cheeks turned a slight shade of red. “Oh. Right.”

Liz smiled, “are you embarrassed?”

He tried looking at her but kept looking down. “Well.. you’re with Dean and Dean is a good friend and you’re picturing me naked and Dean said when a girl does that it means they want to..”

“No..” She laughed and waved her hands at him to cut him off. “No. Cas, I wasn’t picturing you naked!” She laughed a little harder because now her mind was starting to picture him naked. “I was thinking about how you got to that point and how Sam was the one that gave you the good advice.” She laid her hand on his arm as her laughter started to settle, “and believe me.. most women don’t really want to picture men naked. We get the ones we want naked.. we don’t just go around picturing them naked. That’s more of a guy thing.”

“Guys picture other..”

“No, guys picture women naked. It’s all about wiring or something.”

“Oh, like the sex thing.”

“What sex thing?”

“It comes up. A lot. Even if I don’t it want to, it seems to jump into mind.”

“That could be your wiring too or just the fact that you’ve been around Dean and Kyle too long.”

“What’s wrong with being around me and Kyle?” Dean came into the living room in jeans and rubbing a towel against his wet hair.

Cas tilted his head to see Dean, “making me think about sex too much.”

A brilliant smile lit up Dean’s face, “that’s just letting you know that you’re a man, my friend.”

Liz rolled her eyes, “Sam doesn’t go around talking about it all the time because not all men let it control them.”

“Just because Samantha doesn’t talk about it around you doesn’t mean he’s not thinking it or that he’s not talking about it with us.” Dean wiggled his eyebrows at Cas, “Believe me, he thinks about it just as much as we do.”

Liz pulled the towel from Dean’s hand and whipped him with it. “That’s why Sam got Cas laid.”

Dean pulled her against him, “please woman, you know he just got lucky because Cas is a good looking man.” Dean smirked as she took in his naked chest then her gaze rose to his.

Cas laughed then inhaled sharply. Liz dragged her eyes away from Dean to catch Cas trying to reach his foot. “Damnit Cas, how many times did I tell you..” She tried pulling away from Dean but he tightened his grip. She turned confused eyes on Dean.

He leaned in and kissed her. “You’re hot when you go all Nurse Liz.” His grip loosened then he let her go as she laughed.

“Stow the fantasies horn dog.” She got to Cas and sent more soothing warmth through his foot. “This is your fault Dean, you said it was an easy job.”

“Hey it was! I didn’t know twinkle toes here was going to have a problem walking.”

Liz looked up at the clock on the wall. “And where the hell is Zan? What is taking them so long?”

“When I talked to Michael he said they were on their way. Cas can take it. He was cherishing the whole human experience yesterday.”

Cas threw his arms in the air to get their attention. “I’m right here you know and yesterday someone didn’t send me into a house with a pissed off spirit that broke my foot!”

“Shut up whiner, I’ll go get some aspirin and whiskey. You’ll be fine until Zan gets back.” Dean turned and headed towards the kitchen. “Friggin’ baby. I’ve been breaking my body for years.. hell decades and I didn’t have an alien heal it up. I had to heal naturally.”

Liz smiled at Cas. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just pissed because you’re getting the attention.”

Sorry this took so long! I thought things would settle down but real life loves throwing some curve balls.. this one was shaped.. well no, this one was more than just one ball it was a whole basket of them! Plumbing problem that ended up being all the pipes in the house needed to be redone. Tip for first time home buyers.. check the water pressure and if it seems weird, ask questions! But anyway after going to my brothers for the weekend since the plumbers couldn't start until Tuesday and we wouldn't have any running water until they finished. The plumbers rocked it out and finished up today and now I have running water and hopefully *fingers crossed* things will settle down and get back to a nice routine where I can sit and write. (We were planning on renovating the bathroom anyway so we did have money set aside, most of it went to the re piping of the house but we're creative, we can still make it awesome!) Enough of my boring life stories.. LOL

I finished this chapter and zipped through editing it so forgive me if there's any typos!



Chapter Twenty Seven
*Some lines from Supernatural episode, “The End” in italics.*

End of August 2012.

Ava sat on the bed and leaned down to tie the laces tightly on her sneaks then stood and bounced a few times to test the feel. Satisfied, she walked around to Zan’s side of the bed and kissed his forehead. He mumbled incoherently and she smiled, “just going for a jog, go back to sleep.”

Zan rolled over and Ava heard his mumbled words. “Yous crazy.”

Ava made her way out of the house and found Serena stretching in the front yard. “It’s about time, I was about to leave without you.” Ava walked down the front stairs then passed Serena and started jogging down the driveway. Serena heard the footfalls and sprinted to catch up. “Yeah, yeah. We’re aliens, we don’t have to stretch out before a run.” Serena smiled as she fell into step with Ava but when she caught the look on her face, the girl seemed a million miles away. “Hey what’s up?” Serena tapped her arm when she didn’t answer.

Ava looked towards her, “yeah sorry. I was getting these new sneaks on.”

Serena’s brow rose, “umm, okay. That’s not what I was talking about.”

“Have you noticed anything with Liz lately? Actually since we got back from the whole Khivar fiasco.”

Serena could tell Ava’s mind was still spinning. “Get right down to it, I can do that. I have noticed that Liz seems to be getting along better with Dean since you guys got back but I don’t think that’s what you’re getting at.”

“She was actually talking to Max, like he was physically appearing to her and he’s part of the Granolith so maybe he was the Granolith’s way of reaching out to her.”

Serena almost tripped over her feet. “Wait what?”

Ava looked at Serena as she slowed her stride, “she didn’t say anything when we got back because she said she thought it would be too much for Isabel and she’s been conveniently occupied with Cas since but she told us that Max was the one who told her Khivar wasn’t the enemy. She had a dream that was a memory of Max’s. Then she admitted that Max had been appearing to her and we had just thought she was having a breakdown and seeing things but apparently he’s part of the Granolith or something. So what if Max told her that she was connecting with the Granolith and told her how to access it? Why wouldn’t she tell us?”

Serena chucked slightly, a little thrown off with the direction of her thoughts. “So totally glossing over the real facts about Max here, what you’re really worried about is why she isn’t confiding in you? Maybe he didn’t tell her how maybe he was just talking with her because let’s face it before Dean came she was still on edge. If she hasn’t said anything, it could just be that she had nothing to say.”

Ava looked forward at the road in front of them and shrugged, “maybe but there’s something more there and I don’t know what it is. Liz has always been straight with me but when I try to get anywhere with her on the Granolith, she shuts down.”

“Maybe it’s Max. Maybe talking about him with Dean around worries her or maybe she just has nothing to talk about. Did you ask Maria?”

“Why would she tell Maria?”

Serena noticed the tension that came to her shoulders, “you know you’re tight with Liz but Maria was there when Max was. If this is something to do with him she may feel it’s easier to talk to her about him.”

“She’s talked to me about Max a lot, I was there when she saw him the first time.”

Serena grabbed Ava’s arm and forced her to stop running. “No one is saying Liz wouldn’t talk to you. We all know you guys are tight but all of us are in some way. It might be that she just wanted to keep some things to herself or she may have talked to Maria because Maria was there and she was friends with Max too. That’s all I’m saying, if you want to know, try asking Maria.”

“Sorry, I was just..”

Serena smiled. “It’s okay. I get it. We all have our jealous sides. Although you might not want to act that way around Dean, you might give him ideas. Or Kyle for that matter.”

Ava let out a bark of laughter and quickly covered her mouth. “Seriously.. you just had to put those images in my head didn’t you?”

Serena started jogging away, “HORNDOG!”
~~

Maria was just sitting down on the front porch with her cup of iced coffee when she saw Ava and Serena come running up the driveway. Her body tensed until she heard the laughter coming from the growing figures. She rolled her eyes and relaxed. It really shouldn’t surprise her that she automatically felt danger when she saw one of her friends running but it still annoyed her. Even with how quiet things had been lately or maybe that just made it seem worse like waiting for the other shoe to drop. The two women slowed as they approached the porch then stretched their legs out on the first step.

Serena smiled at Maria, “good morning sunshine.” Maria just raised her coffee cup and Serena grinned as she switched legs. “So, Ava had a question that I thought you might be able to answer.”

Maria perked up at that, “really? Got some gossip for me?” She chuckled but when Ava looked up at her, the laughter faded as her face fell. “What is it?” Maria got up and walked over to the stairs then sat down on the step above them.

“Has Liz talked to you about Max?”

Marias brow furrowed, “not lately. Why?”

“Maybe when we got back from Khivar’s?” Ava stretched her arm over her head.

“Not since before then. What’s going on?”

Ava sighed and sat down, “she told us when we were at Khivar’s that she was really talking to him when we thought she was seeing things and she kept seeing him, talking with him. He told her things about the Granolith and he gave her his memory with Khivar on Antar. She dreamt it when we went to confront him. She said Max was trying to tell her he wasn’t the enemy.”

Marias eyes went wide, “Jesus. It was all real?”

Ava nodded, “and we told her she was crazy.”

Maria shot back. “Not crazy.. just grieving.”

“Apparently a part of him is with the Granolith and I think she was hiding more than that info.”

“Why was she? Oh.. Isabel.”

Ava nodded. “Yeah.”

“So what do you think?” Serena leaned against the railing and watched Maria’s face. Detective Deluca was already in full force.

Ava sat in the grass in front of the steps looking up at the two women. “I have too many possible theories in my head. Maybe Max told her how to access the Granolith or maybe even him talking to her was her accessing the Granolith.”

Maria held her coffee mug in both hands and stared into the liquid as if she were casting a spell and the creamy liquid would show her the truth. “I just don’t see Max allowing anyone to hurt her if he had any say in it though.” Maria took a second then her head popped up. “Sam.”

“What?” Serena and Ava answered simultaneously.

She started ticking her reasoning off on her fingers. “He wasn’t around to see her spin out of control, he didn’t know max, and he’s never been involved with Liz. I would say he would be the best candidate for her to actually open up to about Max. If she talked to anyone, my bet is on him.”
~~

Liz felt odd- dizzy, off balance, and foggy. She couldn’t see a thing and felt like she was clawing her way out of something dense. She tried not to focus on the picture it brought to mind when suddenly the darkness was chased away by different shades of green. She was in what looked like a garden but the smell that assaulted her nose was all wrong and made her gag. She tried to move away from the awful smell when she recognized it. Sulfur. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as the word came to mind. Demon. She turned quickly scanning the area feeling her panic rise as she knew she had nothing to protect herself. She only saw green and brown- bushes, trees, long stems with red and white roses. Then she heard the familiar voice. Sam.

She moved around the tall bush and saw what could only be Sam dressed in a completely white tuxedo. His head was tilted down, his hair a curtain blocking his face. Her gaze followed the logical line of his sight and screamed. Sam’s foot clad in a white shiny dress shoe was on Dean’s throat and as her eyes connected with Dean’s, the white shoe pressed hard and turned severing Dean’s head from his spine. Liz screamed as she rushed forward. She didn’t notice that her scream hadn’t made a sound of the fact that Sam had not looked at her as she reached Dean’s body. She vaguely heard talking near her but all she could see was Dean’s unseeing green eyes and she was too distraught over his unmoving chest. Words finally seemed to pierce her brain when she heard a shout that could only be Dean. "You better kill me now!"

"Dean?" Liz turned and saw him standing, glaring with fury at Sam. She looked back in front of her and still Dean lay there staring with an empty gaze.

“Pardon?” Sam’s voice sounded so.. off.

“You better kill me now. Or I swear, I will find a way to kill you. And I won't stop.”

“No.” Liz pushed to her feet and quickly moved around Sam to get to Dean, "no stop!" She tried to get him to look at her but he looked right through her. Liz’s brow knitted together as she turned and looked at Sam. Then it finally dawned on her. Lucifer. Sam wasn’t Sam anymore. Sam started to talk and she stared at him. Lucifer made little movements that were Sam's but so much different.

“I know you won't. I know you won't say yes to Michael, either. And I know you won't kill Sam. Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up—here. I win. So, I win.”

Liz bolted awake and found herself alone in bed. She breathed in the smell of breakfast and her stomach rumbled. She was starving. She jumped out of bed and checked her clothing before leaving the bedroom. She learned her lesson of walking out of that room without checking what she was wearing when she sauntered into a kitchen full of guys in only her boy shorts and the tiny lingerie top she had gotten as a surprise for Dean. A surprise he got in front of every other male in the house with catcalls and whistles as background noise. It was the last time she tried to surprise him before he got back from a hunt. Dean had absolutely loved it and wouldn’t allow her to forget it either.

As she walked into the kitchen Dean was looking her way and pulled out the chair next to him with a smile. He snapped his fingers at Kyle and a plate was handed his way. Liz smiled in thanks and kissed Dean on the cheek before sitting down. He wiggled his eyebrows as he leaned towards her and she rolled her eyes. She looked at the plate in front of her and frowned at the pristine white that sent a shiver down her spine. Words whispered in her mind. We will always end up..

"Here. Liz?"

Liz snapped her head up and stared into Sam's eyes. "What?"

She read the concern all over his face, "I was asking if you wanted any bacon. Here." He tried handing her the plate full of the crispy meat but she shook her head.

"No. That's okay. I.." She turned her head to Dean and saw the same expression and swallowed thickly. "I'm just going to the bathroom.. I forgot to brush my teeth." She jumped from the seat and made her way swiftly out of the room.

Sam looked at his brother whose eyes followed the dark hair out of the room. “What’s that about?”

Dean turned his gaze to his brother sharing his concern but tried to shrug it off. "She’s got a thing with morning breath." Dean looked back towards the doorway once more before being pulled back into the conversation with Kyle.

Ava and Serena shared a glance with Maria who had not missed the odd exchange that ended with their girl bolting from the room like it was on fire. Isabel who was standing beside Michael at the stove furrowed her brow as the three females seemed to talk silently.

When the loud chatter resumed amongst the men at the table, Isabel made her way over to the females with bowed heads whispering furiously. "What the hell is going on?"

Three sets of eyes with expressions ranging from guilty to surprise looked up at her. Serena simply said, "we need to talk about Liz. Not here."

Isabel’s brow rose and Maria added, "no need to worry anyone until we figure her out."

~~

Isabel closed the door and turned to the other women, “you know we’re going to give Kyle ideas if we keep doing this.”

Maria smiled at Isabel. Her strength had always grounded her when she was seriously worried but Isabel’s Ice-Queen-Always-In-Control strength had been missing in action recently and Maria didn’t blame her one bit. After losing Alex and Max she never thought Isabel would open her heart again but somehow Sam was able to find a way. Now he was being threatened and Isabel had a front row seat with no way to reach the stage or change the script. At least not yet.

Serena chuckled, “Kyle has those images regardless, believe me.”

Isabel crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the door waiting stoically. Ava was the first to speak as she was the first to be able to look Isabel in the eye. “Okay, we think Liz was keeping it quiet because she thought it would be too much for you on top of everything else but Max was really talking to her like not a vision or delusion but actually there.. kinda.” Ava forced herself to ignore Isabel’s sharp inhale and continue on to get to the real point. “He’s connected to the Granolith and he was the one that told Liz that Khivar wasn’t after us, he sent her a memory with Khivar before he escaped. Max was able to get back to you because Khivar sacrificed himself for Max to get out. But that doesn’t seem to be the only thing she was leaving out. I thought and now they think as well that she knows something else or is going through something else that she’s not talking about. We have a few theories but Liz hasn’t been talking to anyone.”

“At least not that we know of. We haven’t really been able to ask Sam yet since we thought he’d be the best candidate but the way Liz just acted with him and the look on his face kinda answers that question for us.” Serena said.

Isabel closed her eyes and took a deep cleansing breathe. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy to shove that difficulty out of their lives. She always knew when they finally did cross Khivar off it would come at a price but she never in a million years would have imagined this. Not only was Khivar not their enemy but Max had been visiting Liz. She wasn’t crazy, she wasn’t talking to herself all those times they had overheard her voice talking alone in a room. She of all people should have known. Her brother. She always wanted to believe that he was watching over them but this.. was a bit much. It was so fitting for Max though. “So.. he.. still visits her?”

Maria shook her head, “we don’t think so. She told Michael, Zan, and Ava that he had just sent her the memory and at the time she had thought it could possibly just be a dream but when she saw Khivar’s face.. a scar was there from her dream. She felt that everything Khivar was telling them rang true. It was as if Max was trying to tell her before they had even got there that he wasn’t a threat.”

Ava added, “she said she hadn’t seen him in a while.”

A tear fell from Isabel’s eye and she wiped it away. “None of you saw him.. it was just Liz?”

Ava gave her a sad smile, “none of us saw him. She told us one of the times he visited, he told her that all the past kings and some queens were with the Granolith, their spirits or something were a part of it, they made up this collective energy and intelligence. She said even Max had a hard time explaining it. But what worries me is she’s hiding more than just that. When she was telling everyone she glossed over Max and then later when she was talking about not knowing how to access the Granolith, or basically saying that, she had the same look on her face like she was glossing over something.”

“So what does that have to do with her little freak out at breakfast?” Isabel furrowed her brow.

“Something is going on with her obviously and we don’t seem to know what.” Serena said.

Isabel perked up. “She’s been having nightmares. Dean told me that she hasn’t been sleeping well and that she wouldn’t talk to him about it, just brushed it off.”

Ava shook her head, “Liz told me about those, it’s like twisting nightmares of Sam and Dean fighting and going after Lucifer but then Khivar is torturing them or Lucifer is. It was one of the reasons she didn’t want Dean going but we know that Khivar wouldn’t have done that so I told her it was just her stressing about them.”

“What if it’s more than that though?” Maria sat up straighter, “her premonitions have been funky before. With all the stress.. maybe there is a premonition in there and the stress and fear and her worry about everything is barging in and tainting it somehow? She could be getting part premonition and part nightmare. Liz once talked to me about variables and how the tiniest variable could change things and that was why her premonitions could never fully be relied on because the smallest thing could change it. Maybe that was why she freaked out at breakfast.” When Maria looked up all three women were looking at her strangely. “What?”

“Well Deluca.. you just shocked us a bit with that strong arm from left field there.” The corner of Serena’s mouth quirked up.

Ava mulled it over, “I told Liz they couldn’t be real because we weren’t in them. She never saw any of us with them so I told her maybe they were warnings of what could happen should her and dean break apart because we would always have Liz’s back.”

Isabel dropped her eyes and rubbed her arms and Maria narrowed her eyes, “you wouldn’t.”

Isabel’s gaze jumped up, “what? Of course I would.” She tried to laugh it off but it fell on unbelieving ears. Isabel dropped her hands down to her sides, “no, I don’t think I would let Sam go off on his own.. without me. Liz would understand.”

“So what the hell is she hiding?” Ava sighed.

Serena rolled her eyes, “why don’t we just ask her? If she doesn’t give us an answer we believe we either push her or we watch her.”

Maria stood up and walked towards the door, “I’m going to get her. Enough is enough, she’s had her space.”

Hey hey! Can't believe it's almost been a month!! Everything is good.. lol my luck has gotten better! Summer is running away with me and hasn't given me a ton of time to write but I'm back! So enough chatter back to the story!



Chapter Twenty Eight

Previously..
Words whispered in her mind. We will always end up..
"Here. Liz?"
Liz snapped her head up and stared into Sam's eyes. "What?"
She read the concern all over his face, "I was asking if you wanted any bacon. Here." He tried handing her the plate full of the crispy meat but she shook her head.
"No. That's okay. I.." She turned her head to Dean and saw the same expression and swallowed thickly. "I'm just going to the bathroom.. I forgot to brush my teeth." She jumped from the seat and made her way swiftly out of the room. --

Liz Parker wasn't one to run from anything- at least that’s what she tried to tell herself since she had her last talk with Max but once she made it out of the kitchen, it seemed that flew out the window. Once she stepped over the threshold of that room and turned into the hallway, she found herself running as fast as her legs could take her. Before she knew it she was closing her bedroom door behind her and throwing her back against it. She slowly slid down as her hands covered her face and she felt the sobs take hold. The images flashed through her mind’s eye until they almost took over completely. She heard the voices echoing their damning words in her head and she couldn't stop them. She could never stop them.

She knew what it was. The feeling was undeniable. She had another premonition but for some reason she was moving around in it without affecting anything. That could only mean one thing, in the future she isn't there. What would cause her not to be there if they were trying to save Sam? That had to be why Dean was there. But why the hell were there two Deans? That didn't make any sense. She pushed herself up and ran for her journal, quickly scribbling down every detail she could remember then scrawled the most pressing questions.

- how did lucifer get Sam?
- why were there two Deans?
- why wasn't she there? Where was everyone else?

She heard a knock on the door then Maria's soft voice, "Liz?"

Liz closed her journal and slipped it under her pillow, "yeah?"

She saw the door knob turn and quickly waved her hand across her face erasing any sign of the tears that had streaked her face. The door opened slightly as Maria stuck her head in, "is it okay for me.."

Liz interrupted, "yeah, why not?" She forced a small smile.

Maria slipped in, "so. What was that about?"

Liz's face scrunched up, "what?" Maria raised her brow and pointed down. "Oh in the kitchen?" She waved her off, "it was nothing. Just a bit of deva vu from a dream. It caught me off guard and I just needed some air.”

“So you ran to your bedroom? For air?”

Liz frowned, “I just couldn’t sit there anymore.” She looked down at her pillow and started to pick at her finger nails. She felt Maria’s eyes on her and made a decision. “It’s the nightmares. Sam said something that just made one come to life in front of me and I didn’t want to break down in front of them. We have enough to deal with as it is.”

She saw Maria’s bare feet before she felt the bed sink next to her and then Maria’s hand stopped her picking. “Liz..” She waited until Liz’s eyes came up to meet her own. “That’s what we’re here for. It doesn’t matter what we’re dealing with or who is dealing with what. No one is more important than anyone else. If something is going on, you need to let us in.” She smiled, “besides, we’re just going to talk about you behind your back and try to figure it out and believe me the places we can go without your input is pretty fantastic.” Liz chuckled and shook her head. “I’m not kidding, Ava thinks you know how to access the Granolith and didn’t want anyone to know because it would put us in danger and we told Isabel about Max.” Maria held up her hand at Liz’s raised eyebrows, “she handled it just fine but we’re concerned for you. And if you just talk to us.. we can help, even if it’s just with some chick flicks, ice cream, and some great funny stories. So how about you either come with me to Ava’s room downstairs where the rest of the female powerhouse is probably talking about us and maybe taking bets on if you’ll come down or not, or you can sit up here and you know Isabel won’t be as..” Maria paused then cringed, “as quiet as me. If you know what I mean.”

Liz laughed then hugged Maria close to her. “Thank you ria.”

Maria patted her back, “always chica, always.”

Maria stood up and walked to the door while Liz watched her, silently debating her next move. Tell them the truth or a half truth? Liz stood when she saw Maria turning to look at her and gave her a smile as she moved towards the door. Could the premonition really help anything when it had absolutely nothing to do with them and no way for them to change anything? She followed Maria into the hallway still debating whether the complete truth would help or hurt them in the long run. It was just too soon and there wasn’t enough information there. Waiting might be the only smart option.

~~

A few hours later, Dean walked into the room he shared with Liz looking for his wallet. Isabel had all but declared the house a girls’ domain for the night and banished the men giving them not much time to get the hell out. With little argument the men agreed they could use a night out, making plans of their own. He had no idea what that was about but a guy’s night wasn’t a bad idea at all. He spotted his wallet sitting on the nightstand on his side of the bed. He moved to the nightstand when something caught his eye, the corner of a black leather bound book sticking out from under Liz’s pillow. He grabbed his wallet then looked back at the book before turning and telling himself to leave the room. He looked at the door then sat on the bed and pulled the book out from under her pillow. He opened the book and read a little bit from the page it opened to. He looked around nervously and whispered to himself, “just put it back Winchester.” He looked at the door and then back to the journal page.

How do I go on when all I feel is lost? There’s no proper direction- just destroy Khivar and there’s nothing else, no drive past that. It’s such a far stretch from the plans I had in high school and how does anyone plan for something real after all I’ve been through? Could I have anything real when I truly feel like once Khivar is gone I’ll have nothing left and maybe that’s because somewhere deep inside I know I’ll have to sacrifice myself to kill him? There was always something more driving me but now all I have is hate. No one ever lasted long with that driving them. What was that saying that Maria was always harping? Dig two graves? Well that would probably be the best I could hope for at this point. At least I couldn’t hurt anyone else.

It wasn’t so much the words he read but the feelings that started to choke him, not that the words didn’t strike a chord inside him as well but he needed to breathe. Focus on something else. Hadn’t he felt the very same thing not that long ago? He checked the date she scribbled at the top and noticed that it was before he met her. It was about the same time that he was telling himself a very similar story. He flipped through the pages and saw a few entries after that when he heard a knock at the door. He dropped the journal and kicked it under the bed. The door opened and Sam looked inside, “you find it?” Sam watched him and quirked his brow. “Why do you look like you were caught doing something you shouldn’t be?”

Dean got up and continued looking. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“And that. That's what you do.. What the hell did you do? I know you. What could you have done? You’re acting like you were caught looking through her underwear drawer but that wouldn't make sense..”

“Whatever Sam.” He looked under the bed, his eyes dropped on the journal then spotted the knife against the wall just underneath the head of the bed. "Got it. I knocked it off the bed when I sat down." He got a good grip on it while he thanked his lucky stars that Liz must have knocked it off one night and pulled it out from underneath the bed. He stood up and brushed himself off then caught the look on Sam's face. "What is wrong with you? Lose the bitchface, Sammy."

"Don't do something stupid."

"Yeah okay." Dean slipped the knife under his pillow.

"I mean it."

"Okay. Dad." Dean pushed past Sam and Sam took a quick confused glance around the room before he followed his brother.

~~

Liz knew exactly what Isabel was up to and that the other girls were probably in on it as well. She had little to say when Maria brought her into their little pow wow earlier and she knew they wouldn’t leave it at that. Her few words that she really didn’t know much more than what Ava had obviously shared fell on unbelieving ears and they didn’t hide that fact at all. This little girl’s night was more to clear the air and pick her brain than anything and she knew she wouldn’t be able to give some half assed answers this time. After all when the guys left the next morning for the case that Sam found she’d be stuck in the house with them and they would make her life a living hell. The only good thing so far is that she wouldn’t have to duck Sam’s concerned glances for the rest of the night. She was a little interested in the fact that Dean wasn’t acting different towards her at all. Maybe he really did think she was fine or he just respected her to open up to him when she was ready. Of course that would mean he knew she wasn’t being completely open with him and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

“Heads up Liz!”

Liz glanced up just in time to throw her hand up and catch the small pint of ice cream thrown at her. “You almost hit my head Serena!”

Serena smirked, “please. Not only do you have awesome reflexes, you also have your alien genes helping you out.”

Now that her attention wasn’t out the window but inside the living room, she noticed all the girls were sitting around the room each with a pint of ice cream and a spoon. She rolled her eyes at the lengths Isabel was willing to go. She opened her vanilla ice cream and found Reese’s pieces inside. She smiled and felt just a little bad for all the evil thoughts she’s directed at Isabel for the last hour. She caught Isabel’s eyes and nodded, a silent thanks for the treat in her hands.

“We’re not trying to bully you Liz. We just want to help and we know you too well. The small dark circles starting under your eyes, bolting at the drop of a hat, shying away from conversation. The signs are there and we don’t want you to drown. If we have to force you to open up you know we will because we don’t want you to get to the end of that rope.” Isabel said from her spot across the room on the couch.

Liz felt her face heat up as her eyes dropped to her ice cream. “I’m sorry.. I just didn’t want you.. I don’t have anything concrete. Just dreams that mix with things that might mean something but I don’t understand it so how could talking about it make any more sense right now? I don’t want to scare anyone.”

“You used to tell me that a sounding board helped. Someone to bounce ideas off of can make a world of difference.” Ava said.

“You told me once that airing out thoughts was like cleaning out your closet, you find things you forgot about or that got lost in the mess.” Maria smiled.

Serena chuckled, “hell, Maria just likes hearing you talk.”

Liz looked at Maria and laughed at the seething look her friend sent Serena. The tension in the air popped as Serena made ridiculous faces at Maria’s angered look that made everyone laugh.

Maria tried to hide her smile, “you’ve been around Kyle too long.”

Ava wiggled her eyebrows, “who said that was a bad thing?”

Serena smiled as she nodded at Ava, “got that right.”

Isabel grinned, “you’re the first to complain when Kyle is acting like an ass, Maria. Without his.. what did he call it? Clearing his negative energy and balancing his chi?”

Maria rolled her eyes then pinned Isabel with a mischievous grin, “well if you’re going to go there.. How is Sam in bed, Izzy?”

“Oh god.. here we go.” Liz said into her ice cream.

Serena’s eyes shot to Liz then Maria. “Well, we know how his brother is.” Her small grin growing as Liz ducked her head lower.

“Do you think the guys are going to try to get Cas laid again?” Ava asked then caught the pillow thrown at her by Maria.

“Party pooper!” Maria chuckled.

Liz looked up from her ice cream, “obviously my man keeps me very satisfied and there is no reason for me to brag and make you all feel bad.” She grinned.

Isabel laughed, “that’s my girl.”

As the laughter settled Maria sighed, “this feels good. We really need to do this more. Things have been so crazy recently, we need to take a break from everything and just have fun.” Maria’s gaze settled on Liz, “after you spill everything. No one needs you slowly losing it.”

Isabel’s sat up straight and they all could see her eyes light up. “Halloween is coming up!”

“Is Halloween your new Christmas?” Maria asked.

“Any holiday will do when Isabel needs a project.” Serena said.

“What if we do a haunted house for the kids in town? The guys will love it!” Isabel brightened as ideas swam in her mind.

Ava laughed, “yeah since they already have enough stories about us. What was the last one we heard Maria? That we were witches and warlocks?”

Maria raised her eyebrow, “umm those stories were like a month ago. The last ones were more penthouse forum and I know Kyle wasn’t exaggerating because Sam overheard it too.”

Serena turned towards Liz, the mischievous grin back in place. “I guess we know how loud you can get.”
~~

Dean ordered another round of beers then turned and walked back towards the table the guys were sitting at. He couldn’t help scouting the room for a few easy targets to hustle but pushed the thought from his mind. One rule he had to create for himself since they had settled in this safe house was no hustling where you live. The idea was still felt foreign but having a home base to come back to was a really nice feeling. He never thought he would be able to do it and maybe in another life he wouldn’t. Liz had mentioned that she thought in another timeline he had lived with Lisa for a while but he had nothing to really go on with that thought. It just didn’t seem possible to him but he’s sure he would have tried and that was the word Liz used, tried. He tried to live the normal life and it just didn’t work. How could a hunter just pretend there wasn’t anything out there killing innocent people and go on day by day trying to be something they weren’t? He made it to the table as Kyle and Zan pulled Michael and Cas over to the pool table.

Kyle grinned when he spotted him. “Hey Winchester, you coming to teach some of your expertise?”

They did say they were going to teach Cas one of these days. He smiled, “you guys got this round.” Kyle laughed before following the others. Dean glanced back at the bar before sitting at the table.

“How is she really?” Sam asked.

Dean’s brow knitted together for a second until he caught what his brother was asking. “She’s fine, she just worried. When the dreams don’t give her answers, it pisses her off.”

Sam looked at his brother not convinced, “it seems like there’s more to it.”

Dean interrupted him, “when she has something she’ll tell us. You can’t push her or she will close off completely.”

Sam’s brow rose, “so you are thinking about it.”

“Of course I am! You don’t sleep in bed with her. Some nights I don’t get much rest because she’s tossing and turning then up the rest of the night because whatever she saw either scared her or she feels responsible for it not happening. It’s full blown craziness in her head sometimes. Can you imagine having multiple timelines thrown at you? Movies playing constantly in your head showing things that could happen and things that will probably never happen because we made different choices and took different paths. Hell, I exhaust myself just thinking about it but I know that if I push her or rush her to something that she’s not ready with then I will lose her. I know Isabel has told you a little bit about her past when she got bad but hearing it is nothing compared to feeling it.”

Sam’s eyes widened, “you felt it?”

Dean paused as the waitress put down their two pitchers of beer and both guys gave her a small smile in thanks as they waited for her to move away. Dean looked back to his brother thinking about the feelings that seemed to seep into his skin from her journal that reminded him of a night from so long ago. “She must have dreamt about it or something because one night she woke up and grabbed me and like transferred it to me. She explained it to me but I was trying to breathe because the feeling was..” His eyes dropped to the table then came back up after a couple seconds of silence. “It was worse than I felt when I was ready to give in to Michael. It was worse than I could ever imagine. I don’t want her to feel like that ever again, I wouldn’t want any of them to feel the soul crushing loss and responsibility that she had consuming her. The only way I know how to make sure that doesn’t happen again is to let her know that I will never leave her or rush her or give her a reason to run.”

“You’re a good man Dean.” A smile broke out on his face. “I never thought I would see the day.”

“Shut the hell up.” Dean picked up the pitcher and poured the golden liquid into their glasses. “How is your head?”

Sam sipped from his glass. “It’s okay. Isabel makes it feel like I’m not fighting alone in there.”

“She’s still slipping in there?”

Sam nodded, “yeah. A couple times she’s even been able to get me to snap out of it.”

“I’ll be damned.”

“Yeah, it’s like ever since we became a part of the group, we finally have a chance to really beat something without the strings for once.” Sam looked over at the pool table where Cas just hit a ball into the corner pocket and the guys cheered for him. Cas had a goofy smile plastered on his face. “I don’t think I ever thought it would feel normal to see Cas like this.”

Dean smiled at the merriment going on at the pool table and knew exactly what his brother meant. There never was a point where they ever felt their lives could have that type of easy going happiness that normal people had but one thing the alien club had taught them was how to enjoy the time they got in between the craziness even if there was a big bad breathing down their necks. Sure, he and Sam would try to do something fun in between jobs if the chance arose but with this group there was a real life, a real life with a twist but a life. They knew they couldn’t win the war if they were too beaten down by the everyday and he knew how quickly that grind could make you want to give up, he knew all too well.

He vaguely remembered a feeling close to it before yellow eyes came back into the picture but there was always something- Sam fighting with dad, Sam pissed off that they weren't normal, Sam leaving. After the yellow eyed demon came back into the picture, everything was screwed. Even the times they tried to unwind and do something fun there was always that.. tinge to the air whether it was the haunted look in Sam's eye or the thought in the back of his own mind that wouldn't shut up. But with the alien squad, there was a hope in their way of living that made it feel like they could come out on top and they wouldn’t have to trade something for it either. Of course if one could ignore all the hidden looks at Liz when it got bad but he was there now and he wasn’t going to let her go there again. Never again.

A bit late so I'm jumping on to post this real fast!

Chapter Twenty Nine

Early October 2012

Dean felt something pulling him but he couldn’t figure out what it was. Suddenly, he was ripped from sleep by a swift kick to his shin. He was instantly alert with his hand wrapped tightly around the handle of the knife under his pillow. After looking around as much as he could without moving everything seemed normal. He was in his bed and the even though the room was still dark, nothing seemed out of place. He turned towards Liz and saw her brow knit together in the soft light from the moon spilling in the window. Her arms tensed and she kicked out again almost hitting him before he caught her leg. "Liz." He whispered. He placed his hand on her shoulder and shook slightly. She threw her fist out and he caught it easily. “Liz.” A little louder this time but still her eyes darted underneath their lids. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him then spoke in her ear. “Liz, I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

He waited. He wasn’t sure if he was waiting for her to wake up or just to calm down but whatever held her hostage in her dreams troubled her. He didn’t like not knowing what it was and wished he could enter her dreams like Isabel. Her stiff body started to relax. “Please talk to me. Tell me what is going on.”

“Why are you so scared? So alone? What are you running from Dean?” She whispered.

Dean frowned as his own brow knit together and matched hers. “What do you mean?”

“It kills me to see you like this. I don’t know where you are, where I am. I wish I could change it.” Her voice was softer.

“Liz you need to wake up.” He shook her shoulder again and raised his voice a little louder. “Liz. Wake up!”

Her eyes slowly blinked open then she frowned. “What is it?” She said sleepily.

Dean watched her for a second. “You were just talking to me. You don’t remember?”

She seemed lost for a second and asked, “what did I say?”

“You were asking me why I was scared and running. Then you said something about you didn’t know where I was or you and you wanted to change it.”

Her brow knit together and she dropped her eyes to his chest. “I don’t know.” She paused a second, “I’ve been having these dreams though.. sometimes about you and it’s different. You aren’t with me and sometimes I wonder if you even know me. I told you before about some of them but I keep having them. Sometimes it’s just really strange like seeing another lifetime, you know?”

“I don’t know exactly but didn’t you think your other dreams were premonitions?”

“I couldn’t know for sure because the things in them didn’t happen. I asked you and Sam about some of things and you both said they didn’t happen. I haven’t had another.. well, not one that made me question anyway.”

He tilted her head up towards his face again. “You know you can talk to me about them. I’m not going to lose it. I can help.”

She smiled softly. “I know.”

“Come here.” He rolled on his back and pulled her with him, resting her head on his chest. “Try to get some rest.” He stared up at the ceiling and felt the tension in his gut that something was wrong but he simply couldn’t point out what. Liz stared at the door as images ran through her mind and the pit in her stomach felt heavier. The images seemed to be pieces to a puzzle that she couldn’t quite put together yet and until she had all the pieces it would never make any sense. These dreams with futures that didn’t seem possible in this timeline were not helping to solve anything but show her just how lost they all could get. She just needed to keep everyone together and on the right path but there was one obstacle she couldn’t figure out how to beat. Lucifer getting to Sam. How does one get around the devil himself?

~~
Two weeks later.

Dean pulled the impala into its usual spot behind the house and shook Sam's shoulder to wake him before getting out. He threw his small bag over his shoulder as he made his way to the back door with a glance up towards the room he shared with Liz. Just as he thought, the small lamp on his night stand was still on. He had been worried to leave Liz when Kyle had found the case for them four days before but she wouldn't have let him stay even if he had suggested it.

He made his way quietly through the house, passing Isabel in the living room too deep in the plans in front of her to notice him but he gave a small wave before he realized it. As he approached his door he heard the soft music playing on the other side. He opened the door and closed it quietly behind him. She was sitting up with her back against the small headboard with her eyes closed before she cracked them open to look at him. He gave her a soft smile while placing his duffle on the floor by the bed. She looked tired yet wide awake. He sat down and started to untie his boots with a glance over his shoulder, "can't sleep again?"

Her voice was soft. "I was asleep. Just wanted to clear my mind before trying it again."

He toed off the boots once they were loose enough then laid down on his pillow looking up at her. "Wanna talk about it?"

She looked down at him and shook her head, "more like forget about it."

His hand slipped over hers and he pulled it to his lips. A light kiss to her knuckles then he pulled her down to him. A soft kiss to her lips lead into another and then a deeper kiss with all the heat that built from the few days away. She broke first taking a deep breathe. "I missed you too."

He looked into her eyes, "I know." He pulled her head down and kissed her forehead then waited as she settled against him before resting his hand on her shoulder playing with the hair that fell there. They lay there for a few minutes with the soft music keeping it from complete silence. "How can you listen to this?" Dean asked.

She snorted and he smiled. "This coming from the guy who apparently can only listen to old loud music?"

"Not all of its loud."

"It helps me think and sometimes it helps me not think. I can just get swept away in the feelings the music is creating helping me to forget for a little while." She paused, "close your eyes and listen." She let the music swept over them then asked, "what does it make you think about?"

"Sex."

She rolled her eyes, "ok you always think about that, now what does the music make you think about?"

He listened for a moment to the soft cello then the voice that blended perfectly with the melancholy of the cello. "You."

"You’re a pain in the ass."

"What? How was that a wrong answer? You listen to this kinda stuff so of course I would think of you when I hear it."

"That wasn't really what I was getting at."

"I'm a guy, Parker."

"Yeah I get it."

He paused for a moment and listened. His fingers skated softly on the skin of her shoulder as his mind wandered. He knew the nightmares wouldn't be chased away by something as simple as music. The voice floated in and out as the cello and piano created the atmosphere. He felt the pull of a sadness that confused him. "I don't know how to let you go? Who is she talking about?"

"Is she talking about a person?"

"She's saying you.. Isn't it implied?"

"You call your car baby."

"So, don't bring her into this." She chuckled and he smiled, "touché. So what does she think she needs to let go."

"It's not about her, it's about you. What does it invoke in you?"

"Invoke?" He scoffed.

She pinched his stomach, "you know what I mean Smartass."

"You. It makes me think of you. Of your power..the dreams. Makes me think of Sam and fighting destiny." He noticed her silence and continued, "and max. Or the Granolith."

"Max?"

"Yeah, it's pretty easy to go to him."

"Dean.."

"It's okay. I understand."

She leaned up and looked into his eyes. She couldn't help but see the pain there that he tried to hide. She shook her head, "it's not him. I.. Said goodbye to him a while ago."

He nodded, "I know."

She brushed hair behind her ear, "then why would it make you.."

He simply raised his brow, "it's okay." He brushed hair behind her other ear,
"I'm okay with this."

Her brow knotted, "dean.." He pressed his hand to her lips.

"I shouldn't have said anything I’m sorry. I didn't mean to bring him up."

"It's fine. Really. There's.. Nothing there anymore."

"Okay."

"Really dean. I moved on from.. the memory of him. Specially after facing Khivar and seeing that memory." She leaned into him and kissed his lips. "I have all I need right here." She stared into his green eyes trying to convey her point. "Honestly."

A small smirk came to his face, "you think maybe you could get to sleep now?"

She watched him, "only if you hold me."

"Well, I think I've got that one down." He ran his hand through her hair as she lay her head back down on his chest. He stared at the ceiling as he felt the air brush his chest as it left her nose. She stared out the window as she listened to his heart beating underneath her ear thinking only about that moment.

~~

Sam walked into the house and locked the front door behind him then flicked the switch for the porch light. He yawned as he made his way to the stairs and made it halfway up before backtracking down and looking into the living room at the woman sitting cross-legged on the floor with a mess of papers in front of her. He couldn’t help but smile at the loose tendrils of hair that had come out of her pony tail that obviously annoyed her as she pushed them out of her face. “Isabel?”

Isabel’s head popped up and she smiled, “hey! You’re home already?” Her head turned towards the large clock on the wall and her face fell.

“Yeah, its really late. What are you doing?” He dropped his bag and rubbed his face as he walked into the living room. “Don’t tell me. Stupid question.” He saw the sketches, color coded tabs, and pictures of Halloween costumes.

She smiled up at him, “I wanted to wait up for you so I decided to just finalize these plans. I went over a lot of it with Kyle and everyone else on their separate things before and while you guys were gone.”

Sam chuckled as he knelt down next to her, “so that’s what those phone calls were that Michael and Kyle were bitching about.” He shook his head, “sounds like it’s going to be the best thing this town ever had.”

She suddenly looked concerned, “you don’t think it’s too much? That this could bite us in the ass?” She moved some papers around, “I could cut back on a few things and maybe it won’t be..”

Sam pulled the papers from her hands and let them float back down to the floor. He took her face in his hands, “you can have whatever you want.” He kissed her then pulled back to look at her, “as long as we can go to bed right now.”

Isabel smirked then glanced down at the papers, “yeah. This stuff can wait til later.”

“Come on. I missed my bed.” Sam wrapped his arm around her.

She laughed. “Yeah, I bet you did.”