likely_evil | In Which Sam Finds Ruby's Body...

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In Which Sam Finds Ruby's Body...

OOC: Goes with this. Michael is herecmestrouble and used with permission

She is the sunlight.
The sun is gone.
- Trading Yesterdays "She is the Sunlight"

Ruby always went on jobs on her own. That wasn't what worried Sam. It was her way of relieving stress sometimes - go off on a small case, beat up a few demons and come back and take a long hot shower or else... well, that was another way they both burned off stress.

Sam sat up in bed reading until he fell asleep, waiting for her. It wasn't like her to take that long on a routine matter. He tried to call her again before bed, but it went to voicemail. If she was working, she wouldn't answer her phone. Maybe she needed to wait until late to hunt whatever she was after.

He was expecting her to come in during the night and wake him up by pressing her cold body against his back and wanting to share his warmth. But when he woke up and her half of the bed was still cold, that was when he started to worry.

It got worse when she didn't answer her cell phone still in the morning. It took him seconds to dress and then without even meeting his son for breakfast like planned, he went straight to the library and grabbed Bobby's journal and headed right for a spell room.

Finding the location spell in the book was easy and he said his chants, did the work and soon had her location. Forget waiting for her to come home. Something in his gut was screaming that this was wrong and he had to get to her quickly.

Michael found him in the armory as he grabbed extra shells for his shotgun that he was loading into his backpack. "Dad, what's wrong?"

"I just need to check up on something, son. I'll be right back." Sam barely lifted his head to look at Michael.

"I'm coming with you."

"Michael, no..." Sam turned as he watched his son grab bullets for the pearl handled pistol he wore on his hip.

"Dad, you're freaking me out. Something's wrong, and people are talking. They say Mom didn't come back last night. Is she in trouble?"

Sam closed his eyes. It had been so easy when Michael was little. Everything's going to be alright, son. Now go play and Daddy will be home again soon... "I don't know. But I think so. I did a location spell on her and I'm going to check it out."

"Well, I'm your backup."

"Michael -"

"Dad, she's my mother. I'm going. End of story." Michael stared at his father, a look Ruby had given him so many times in the last 300 years.

"Alright. Then let's go."

*~*

They were almost there when Sam felt it. The pain came from nowhere and he skidding the motorcycle to a stop and managed not to topple it over as he crumbled over the handlebars. He tore at his helmet, throwing it to the ground as he grabbed his head, trying to stop the pain.

"Dad!" Michael was at his side in an instant, hand on his father's back. "Dad, what's wrong?"

Sam couldn't explain it and just shook his head, blinking back past the pain. "We have to hurry," he told his son, and not even bothering to grab his helmet, he was back on the road and pushing the machine as fast as he could, hearing his son keeping pace beside him.

Then they were there and Sam was off the motorcycle and bursting in the doorway. His gun was in his hand as he stalked through the rooms, clearing them in turn until they reached the back room.

He stopped in the doorway and the pain in his chest returned. There she was, in the middle of a devil's trap and sprawled on the floor. "Ruby?" he said softly, making his way over and carefully entering the trap. He knelt down beside her and gently rolled her body over so he could look at her face. Feeling for a pulse wouldn't do anything, but he did it out of habit.

Ruby? he called to her through their bond, but there was nothing there.

She was gone, and the look on her body's face was one of shock and fear. She hadn't been expecting this. Someone had trapped her and sent her back to hell and it was someone they knew. It had to be.

The pain and betrayal was too much to bear and while he knew his son was watching, he couldn't help himself. He just collapsed over her, crying because she was gone, and there was one thing Sam knew he didn't have the power to do. He didn't have the power to bring people back from hell.

She was gone, and Sam didn't know what he was going to do without her.

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Sam looked up at his son, and his reasonable side was trying to fight through the pain he was feeling. But he nodded because Michael was right. "See if there is something we can hotwire. Otherwise call a team to meet us."

He couldn't leave her. Someone had to protect the body and he just couldn't make himself let her go.

He nodded as he started to get up, before giving his father's shoulder a squeeze. "She'll come back."

He nodded, more for his son's benefit than anyone else. Sam knew better, but he wasn't saying it out loud. There was a long list of people they had sent back to the pit through their lives - ones who would be all too happy to tear into them when they got to hell. And now they had her.

Sam had to find a way to get her back. Something he didn't know about when Dean died. Things were different now. There had to be a way...

Summoning his strength, he picked Ruby up and cradled her in his arms carefully. He followed where his son had gone, hoping he had found something.

There was an abandoned minivan not too far from where the building was, and Michael was currently crouched down in the front seat, looking to hotwire it and get it running. He looked over at his father when he got there, before reaching over and opening the sliding back door.

Sam carefully put Ruby's body down in a seat and strapped her in carefully. He then closed the doors and pulled out his cell phone and called back to the complex.

"Yeah, I need a team out on my coordinates to pick up two cycles. Yeah, we have another ride. I'm also..." He leaned against the van, his hand rubbing at his face. "I'm going to need a body storage capsule readied."

He was silent a moment, as was the other side. Finally he took a deep breath. "Then get the research teams started on looking through every single piece of paperwork we have logged on how to pull someone out of hell... No, it's not impossible. There is something there and I don't expect anyone to sleep until they find it... Don't you dare tell me that. Just do your damn job."

He shoved his phone back in his pocket and looked over at his son, seeing how his progress was going.

The engine revved to life just as he hung up the phone, and he shifted in the seat a bit to start driving back in the direction of the complex. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say, because he was relatively certain that nothing he would say would help.

For right now, he just sat in silence, focusing on the road itself.

Sam didn't say anything, just sat in the backseat and kept his arm around Ruby's shoulders. There was nothing to hold the body up, so he just held onto her head, his fingers running through her hair.

He knew he should be consoling his son. But how can you do that when you don't know how to console yourself.

When they pulled up to the complex, he climbed out and opened the back door, starting to shift so that he could help his father with the body. Sam wasn't the only one trying to console someone. Michael didn't know how to fix this, and he didn't want his father to run off and do something stupid.

Not that he'd actually say that, because that wouldn't go over so well.

But he needed to do something, he just had no idea as to what. He figured he could deal with it until his father pushed him away, and then go try and deal with what he could on his own.

Sam wanted to push Michael away. This was his Ruby. He was supposed to protect her and he had failed. But he knew his son was trying to help him, so he gave way to have Michael help him get Ruby out of the van. Then he scooped her up in his arms, keeping her head against his neck as he carried her inside and let Michael get the doors.

When they finally got to the medical ward, two of the doctors came over and he reluctantly handed her to them, being careful of her head as they laid her down on a gurney, and then they took her behind the closed doors to do their tests to make sure that the body would be able to survive the stasis form.

He just stood there, looking through the window on the door he knew he couldn't go past until she disappeared around a corner, and then he just crumpled to his side against the wall, trying not to break down again.

"Dad." His voice was soft as he moved to sit next to his father. "C'mon. It's been a long day, let's just go home."

His dad could probably use another breakdown, but he didn't want to do it here. Once they got upstairs it would be fine, but until then, he needed to get his father somewhere safe.

Sam looked over at his son, then nodded. "Yeah. We can't do much more down here right now."

He stood up slowly, and could feel all three hundred years on his shoulders as he looked down at Michael, then held out his hand. "I could use a drink, how about you?"

"Hell yes," Michael said with a sigh, taking his father's hand with a nod. "Please."

Sam wrapped his son up in his arms, giving him a tight hug before letting go and keeping an arm over his shoulder. "I think I've got enough whiskey and vodka upstairs for us."

"Good," Michael nodded, just leaning in to his father's hold and following his lead. This was better. Maybe they could take shifts. Or something.

He didn't like it when he had to be the one to hold them up, but he could do it. At least for now.

He waited until they were upstairs and that was when he let his son go, just to go to the liquor cabinet. "You should call Tara and let her know you're home safe. If you want her to come upstairs, that's fine."

He nodded, before starting to move over towards his phone to dial Tara's number.

Tara had been pacing in her room. She heard through the rumor mill that the Winchester men had rushed out of the complex and that Michael's mother was missing. She knew how close he was to his parents...

Hearing her phone ring, she dove for it and looked at the ID. She didn't recognize it, but it was one of the phones from inside the complex. "Michael?" she asked, the worry in her voice very evident.

Sam watched him a moment, then grabbed three glasses and poured some whiskey into two of them, leaving the third on the counter for Tara to make her own drink if she came upstairs. He then left one on the desk for his son and went to stand by the window, looking out while Michael talked on the phone.

"Hi," he said softly, moving to reach for the drink but not taking a sip until he was done speaking. "I'm okay, and Dad is too."

"And your Mom? When you rushed out, people said she was in trouble. Is she ok?"

Michael took a breath for a minute, running his hand over his face. "No, she's not."

tara gasped into the phone, then sat down on the edge of his bed. "Oh god, Michael. I'm sorry. Where are you? Do you want me to come find you?"

One of her fingers started to play with the edge of his blanket, worried for him.

Michael glanced back over at his father, before going back to the phone. "No, I'll be back down in a bit. I think I wanna spend some time with my dad for a while. I think he could use it."

"Alright. I'll just stay in your room so I'm here when you get down." She bit her lip.

"Okay," he said with a nod. "I shouldn't be too long."

"Ok. I love you," she said softly.

Sam looked over at his son a moment, not wanting to say that if he wanted to go to Tara, he would be fine. But Sam did want time with his son to make sure he was ok, so he didn't say it aloud.

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