13. Unwanted Visitors

I got very slim pickings when it came to pool opponents. I only got one other, and that match I did win. I pocketed the money, feeling as though I made out big in a casino tonight. I made my exit after I saw Sam and Lindsey sitting down with dinner in front of them. As much as I wanted to watch over Sam, I also wanted to air out a little.

I stepped out into the brisk August night, inhaling the air. I was very tempted to go back to the motel, but I wanted to wait for Sam. Something about walking back on my own with demons running amuck didn't sound too appealing. I could barely handle my own against one demon. If more came to swarm me, I wouldn't stand a chance.

I began to slowly pace around the perimeter of the bar, letting my thoughts wander. I felt safe as long as I didn't go any further from the pub. I thought back to Dean, wondered how he was doing on his end. I could say the same about Castiel. Surely Dean couldn't be on his own the entire time he and his younger brother have been separated.

I shook my head as I recalled how Dean actually wanted me to tag along with Sam. It was almost like he trusted me, not much, but just enough for him to want me to keep watch over his baby brother. I was doing a pretty decent job, I thought.

After about a half hour of walking lines along the outside of the bar, the door chimed open, and Lindsey came walking out. She waved to me, and I wished I hadn't made eye contact, because she was making her way to me.

"You waiting on Keith?" she asked me.

"Yeah. We sort of have a buddy system of making sure the other doesn't walk back alone." I cursed myself internally. I sounded so stupid right now, almost childish.

"Well, he's cleaning up for the night. I've seen you around quite a bit. Are you stalking him or something?"

"No, no, we're friends," I told her a bit heatedly. "We've known each other since high school. I've just been looking out for him because he's going through a rough time."

"That's sweet of you to do that. You seem like a good friend." She smiled. "Well, I guess I'll see you around."

"See you." Ugh, that was almost painful to do. I should have interrogated her about liking Sam, why she was so interested with him. Well, I guess it wasn't too hard to see why she was interested: he was an attractive guy, and I could say that in a way that didn't make it sound like I liked him like that. I found it hard to believe that Sam didn't have his share of hookups and whatnot lately, with being on the road and everything with Dean.

After Lindsey was far away from the bar, I resumed pacing. I wanted to go back in and help Sam clean up so we could both go and leave, but I didn't. It was out of laziness. Besides, Sam would wave me away and say that he could do the rest of the job on his own like he'd been doing.

I peeked through the door to see Sam wiping down tables now. He looked so...normal in there, like he wasn't on vacation from hunting the supernatural. It was like we both were living normal lives, almost.

Out of nowhere, I was grabbed from behind and pulled away from the doors. I screamed, but it was muffled with a hand over my mouth. I thrashed about but stopped when I felt a blade on my throat. I huffed, my veins alight with fear. Once I was able to settle down and focus, I saw Tim, one of the hunters from earlier, standing in front of me. He looked like he had been through Hell and back. I bet the money in my pocket that he ran into demons, him, Reggie, and Steve.

Speaking of his flanks, who was holding me from behind?

"Hello again, Dakota," Tim crooned. I wriggled against my captor. Tim looked in through the door. "We were going to go after that waitress, but you'll work even better. If you cooperate, we won't have to kill you. Keep her in line." Tim skulked into the bar.

My captor nudged me towards the door. It kept Tim's conversation with Sam muffled, so I couldn't hear exactly what was going on. I wanted to bite my captor's hand, but I couldn't get my teeth to grab skin.

I found out Reggie was holding me hostage as he wrenched the door open, yanking me inside with him. Sam's eyes grew with tension at the appearance of Reggie threatening to slit my throat.

"You should have worked faster, Sam," I told him.

"Just take it easy, okay?" Sam asked. "Put the knife down."

Reggie actually obliged, throwing the knife on one of the tables. But he still held me. My body tensed, I waited for my moment.

"It's true," Sam said. "What the demons said, it's all true."

"Keep going," Tim encouraged.

"Why? You gonna hate me any less? Am I gonna hate myself any less? What do you want?"

"I want to hear you say it."

"I did it." Sam met my eyes, and already I could feel my heart in my feet. "I started the apocalypse."

I shut my eyes. Dean and Sam had explained to me how the apocalypse had started, with Sam killing the demon Lilith, her being the final seal to free Lucifer from Hell. To hear Sam acknowledge it with such a forceful tone...I knew he hated himself for it.

Tim held up a test tube filled with red liquid. I squinted to get a better look.

"What is that?" Sam asked, pretty much asking on my behalf.

"What do you think it is?" Tim retorted. "It's go juice, Sammy boy."

I blinked, wrestling against Reggie. I knew what it was. Demon's blood. The hell does he think he's gonna do with that?

"Get that away from me," Sam growled.

"Away from you? This is for you. Hell if that demon wasn't right as rain. Down the hatch, son."

"You're insane," I shouted.

"Here's what's gonna happen." Tim completely ignored me, directing his words to Sam, who looked very uncomfortable. "You're gonna drink this, Hulk out, and you're gonna waste every one of the demon scum that killed my best friend."

So Steve hadn't survived the demon attack. It made sense as to why the three stooges were down to two now.

"Hey!" I protested as Reggie handcuffed me to the bar. I swiped at Reggie, but he only laughed at my attempt. I gritted my teeth, wishing I could Hulk out myself and rip these men apart. Wait, I got to have a pin somewhere on me.

"Or she dies," Tim finished.

"Not the first person to put a hit on my life," I told Tim loudly. "Someone beat you to it a while back."

"Then we'll finish what they couldn't."

I pulled as Reggie and Tim advanced on Sam. I fished around my pockets for a bobby pin to get myself free from the bar.

"Come on, you know you want it, Sam," Tim taunted him. "Just reach out and take it."

My attention became divided as I searched for a pin. I kept poking my head up to watch the fight. Reggie threw Sam onto the pool table. I ducked my head again and pulled up long enough to see Reggie and Tim forcing the demon blood down Sam's throat. When I get my hands on them...

My fingers found the pin and I went to work, keeping my eyes fixed on the fight. Tim and Reggie backed away from Sam, and I got myself free. I slunk towards the closest table and grabbed a chair, prepared to unleash my element of surprise on these bastards.

Sam got off the pool table. I put a finger to my mouth when he saw me.

"There, was that really so bad?" Tim said.

Sam spat at Tim, and I took that as my cue to launch my attack. Sam pounded on the two men, forcing Reggie my way. Reggie tried to grab me, but I whacked him hard with the chair and sent him sprawling across the floor. I almost wished he had ping-ponged against a few tables.

I kept the chair at my side as I saw Sam have Reggie's knife at Tim's throat. Sam looked at me, and I shook my head. Though these men deserved something worse than a beat down, they didn't deserve to die.

Sam threw Tim in Reggie's direction. I slowly maneuvered my way towards Sam, the chair still in my hands.

"Go," Sam demanded.

"Don't think we won't be back," Tim threatened.

"Don't think we won't be here."

I set the chair down once the men left the bar. I leaned over it, trembling a little bit.

"Dakota, you okay?"

"Fine, Sam. I'm fine." I grabbed fistfuls of my hair. "Just a little shaken up."

"Did they hurt you?"

I picked my head up and spun around so Sam could see me. "Injury free."

"I'm sorry you had to get involved."

"Hey, I would rather it be me than Lindsey." I stuffed my hands in my pockets. "Tim said they would have gone for her but figured I'd work better. Guess they're stupider than I thought." I laughed bitterly. "Come on, let's get out of here."

* * *

Sam let me have at the bathroom once we got back to the motel. I took a nice, long shower, feeling the last effects of the adrenaline wear off in my body. Like before, I swore I heard Sam talking to someone. I thought back to what he had said before, that he swore he had seen Jessica, one of his dead girlfriends. Was he seeing her again?

If that was what was going on, I wanted to witness it. I ended my shower early, rubbed myself down, dressed, and went through my hair with my fingers before I pressed my ear to the door to listen.

After a long pause, I opened the door. I didn't think Sam noticed me, his eyes were elsewhere, and definitely not on the figure that was beside him, sitting on the bed. My body went rigid in fear. I didn't expect Sam to be lying about this, but it still threw me for a loop.

"How can you be so sure?" Sam asked lowly.

"Because you freed me." That certainly wasn't Jessica; it wasn't a female voice that I heard.

Sam noticed the change too; he turned and practically launched himself off the bed. He stopped temporarily at seeing my horrified expression and then spun around, shielding me from this intruder in the room. Sam had a few inches on this guy, and there were some rather strange looking blemishes on his face...almost like burns. He looked like an older guy, maybe forty-ish.

"That's right." The man's voice was soft, almost too smooth. "You know who I am."

"Lucifer."

I turned around and headed for the bathroom door. It shut right in my face, as though someone was now occupying it. I jiggled the knob. Locked.

"Don't be shy, princess," Lucifer told me. "I don't bite."

"Yeah? Well I do," I snapped, turning to face the Devil. Wow, that was a weird concept to wrap my head around.

"You are a hard one to find, Sam. Harder than most humans. If I had known you had a friend along for the ride, I could have just used her. I don't suppose you'd tell me where you are?"

"What do you want with me?" Sam demanded.

"Thanks to you, I walk the earth. I want to give you a gift. I want to give you everything."

"I don't want anything from you."

"I'm so sorry, Sam, I, I really am, but Nick here is just an improvisation. Plan B. He can barely contain me without spontaneously combusting."

That was such a wonderful thought, a man just instantly exploding. It was bad to say that I wanted that to happen right now. I wasn't up for meeting the Devil, let alone in the middle of the night.

"What are you talking about?" I had to ask.

Lucifer stood away from the bed and moved in on us. He tisked at me. "You have a lot to learn, princess."

"Stop calling me that!" My hands went into fists.

"My, my, what a temper. What little slice of Hell turned you into this?" Lucifer's gaze went to Sam. "Why do you think you were in that chapel? You're the one, Sam. You're my vessel. My true vessel."

Though the news didn't affect me directly, it still had an impact. So Dean was Michael's vessel and now Sam was Lucifer's? What kind of sick, twisted world was this turning into?

"No," Sam whispered.

"Yes."

"No." This time, I spoke up. "That'll never happen." To prove my point further, I wormed my way to stand in front of Sam, staring up at Lucifer.

"I'm sorry, but it will." The Devil looked down on me. "I will find him. And when I do, he will let me in. I'm sure of it."

"You need my consent," Sam concluded.

Lucifer looked over my head at Sam. "Of course. I'm an angel."

That sounded so out of place, to hear the Devil say he was an angel of all things. I mean, the brothers had told me that Lucifer was an angel, but still, hearing it come out of Lucifer's mouth made it sound crazy. But it makes sense. If Sam is his vessel, then he's an angel. Michael is an angel because he's got Dean as his vessel.

"I will kill myself before letting you in."

"I'll just bring you back." Lucifer sighed. "Sam. My heart breaks for you. The weight on your shoulders, what you've done, what you still have to do. It is more than anyone could bear. If there was some other way...but there isn't. I will never lie to you. I will never trick you. But you will say yes to me."

"You're wrong."

"I'm not. I think I know you better than you know yourself."

"Why me?"

"Because it had to be you, Sam. It always had to be you."

I only blinked once, and Lucifer had vanished into thin air. I exhaled loudly, finding my bed so I could sit on it for support. I shuddered, wishing I could wipe my memory of this.

"That was...that was..." Something clicked in my head. "Jessica...that was Lucifer the whole time." I shivered again. I looked up at Sam, who had his eyes on the floor, a hand through his hair. "Sam?" I scooted to the edge of the bed. "Sammy?" I got to my feet and made sure I was in his vision, looking up at him.

"I didn't want this for you, Dakota," he muttered. "But now there's definitely no going back for you if Lucifer's seen you."

"I don't care," I said defiantly. "I'm with you, Sam. I'll be with you every step of this apocalypse." I carefully grabbed his hands. "You'll beat him, I know it." I moved in for the hug, my fingers curling into his shirt.

"Dakota."

"Yeah?"

"You're gonna have to be branded by Cas now so Lucifer won't use you as a tracker."

I pressed my forehead into his chest. "Shit."

**Like I've said before, what happens now will trickle into the later chapters. This story is almost halfway through part 1. (Part 1 is pretty big, almost 30 chapters.) 

So now, they've both officially met Lucifer (which, by the way, he's one of the villains I actually LIKE. And no, there's nothing wrong with saying that, as other SPN fans will agree with me), and now Dakota certainly can't go back.

But it's not like she had much of a choice in the beginning, really.

And I don't know about you, the more they're together, the more I fall in love with their ship <3

Anyway, feel free to provide feedback, ask some questions (which I may or may not answer, depending on what it is), and provide some fanart (seriously, that's HIGHLY encouraged!)**