Fic: Life With Death (PG-13) Ch. 2
Aug. 16th, 2008 09:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blue_icy_roseTitle: Life With Death
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,901 - this chapter
Spoilers/Warnings: All seasons for SPN and Buffy. Though it goes AU during the finale of SPN.
Summary: Sam managed to find a way to save Dean. Of course, Dean never expected this.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Supernatural. They belong to Joss Whedon and Eric Kripke.
Note: This...I don't even know. I got the idea and that was all there was to it. It wouldn't go away until it'd been written. *eyes muse* Bastard. Anyway! I don't expect this one to be too long but no guarantees. Who knows with me, right? Written for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
tamingthemuse (prompt: dead at the wheel).
Honestly? Not totally satisfied with the chapter but I needed a time jump and so here this chapter is! *nods firmly*
The sound of a woman sobbing over the loss of her child was something that Dean had never gotten used to. No matter how many years it had been for him, he could never quite stop the regret whenever he had to take a child.
Today had been no different. An accident on the highway had led to a pile up and Dean had been there to do his job.
He shook his head as he thought of the man who had been pinned between his seat and the steering wheel, killed instantly, while the rest of his family had almost made it.
Almost but not quite. He’d waited, wondering if he’d even be needed and then he’d gotten that feeling, the one that was never wrong and had sat back to wait for the inevitable.
The man’s wife and son died before they’d even reached the hospital.
Dean shook his head as he watched Buffy stretch after her work out. It wasn’t the first time in the past four years that he’d known her that he wished he could spar with her. He had always done better with that than with sitting down and talking.
Except now that was pretty much his only option so he’d had to sit down and talk sometimes or not say anything and snap Buffy’s head off. Still, he thought they’d found a good balance. She didn’t push him to talk but he knew if he needed to, she’d listen.
Buffy looked up as Sam walked in and grinned. “Hey, Sam,” she called. She raised an eyebrow. “Want to show me what you’ve got?”
Sam tilted his head and studied her for a moment before returning her grin. “Always.”
“If I didn’t know you were head over heels for Willow, I’d think you were coming on to me.”
“What?” Sam glanced over at her while Dean smirked and shook his head. He was beginning to seriously wonder about his brother.
“Please, like it’s a secret to anyone but Willow.”
Sam ducked his head before glancing up at her. “Does everyone really know?” he asked as they each fell into a fighting stance, slowly circling each other. Dean grinned and sat back to watch.
“This is going to be good,” he said, amused as always that no one could hear him if he didn’t want them to. He rolled his eyes as neither of them made a move. “Oh, come on. I know you two are annoying and stubborn but one of you has to eventually throw a punch or something. Because this is going to get seriously boring if you don’t.”
It took a few more moments but then Sam and Buffy both moved forward at the same time as if there had been some silent signal. Dean nodded, happy as always to see how much Sam had improved over the years while training with the Slayers.
Though Dean was pretty sure that some of the younger Slayers volunteered to spar with Sam just so they could grab him.
“I need popcorn, damn it,” he muttered as Sam spun out of reach of Buffy before kicking out. Buffy grunted and let the momentum carry her back a bit before she jumped up and did a flip in mid-air, landing behind Sam. He turned towards her and swore when she punched him in the stomach, causing him to hunch over a bit. He was grinning as he retaliated by knocking Buffy backwards.
“Of course everyone knows,” Buffy told Sam, finally answering his question. “You’re not exactly subtle about it, Sam.” She spun into a roundhouse, stopping when Sam grabbed her ankle. He tugged her forward, grunting when Buffy used his hold as an anchor and lifted herself up to kick him with her free foot. She let herself fall backwards and used her hands to flip herself over once more so that she was standing.
Sam was already standing. “I’m subtle. I’m very subtle.” He faked a punch with his left hand and then grinned when Buffy moved directly into his right hand.
“Right. I’m surprised she doesn’t have a hole in her head from all your subtle staring.”
Dean snorted and nodded in agreement. She had a point. He leaned back as Buffy and Sam continued to exchange punches and kicks while talking. Talking while sparring had never been something they were allowed to do since John had wanted to be sure they were focused but he had to admit that Sam had gotten even better at keeping track of his surroundings since he’d started bantering while fighting. It seemed that having an actual distraction while fighting made it easier to realize when something was going wrong during patrol.
It was nearly thirty minutes later that Sam and Buffy stepped back from each other, grinning. Sam headed for the fridge they kept in there, opening it to grab a bottle of water. He tossed it to Buffy before grabbing another one for himself.
“Sam, are you ever going to tell her?”
He paused as he went to pick up his bag. “I want to.” He shrugged. “I’m just not sure how to go about it. I think I left behind the potential romantic interest stage a couple years ago.”
“So you think you’re too deep in the friend stage to do anything about it? Don’t worry, Ross, I promise that Rachel will be interested.” Buffy smirked as Sam rolled his eyes.
“Thanks, Monica, that was very helpful.”
She frowned at him. “Hey, I’m not a neat freak.”
“Right and who is the one who keeps her weapons organized a certain way?”
“I...oh, shut up.” She made a face at Sam as he laughed. “Seriously, though, Sam, after Kennedy died, I pretty much figured that you and Willow were going to end up as just friends too. But I’ve seen the way you look at her and even though she might kill me when she finds out I told you this, I’ve also seen the way she looks at you when you’re not looking. I don’t even know if she realizes she’s doing it.” She smiled at the hopeful look he tried to hide. “I think you might have a chance.”
He thought about it for a moment before nodding. “Thanks.” He smiled. “I’ll think about it,” he said as he left the room. Buffy grinned.
“Pretty happy with yourself, aren’t you?” Dean asked, letting himself appear. Buffy spun around.
“How long have you been there?” she asked.
“Long enough to listen to you playing matchmaker with Sam and Willow.” Dean smirked as he straightened.
“If those two don’t get together soon, I might just explode from all the sexual tension,” she muttered as she picked up her bag. Dean’s eyebrows both rose towards his forehead.
“That would be pretty damn interesting.”
“Oh, shut up.”
Dean grinned as she walked out of the room and began to head up the stairs towards her bedroom. She couldn’t talk back to him when she was in the hallway so Dean usually tried to take advantage of it.
“Does that mean that you still haven’t—“
“Shut up,” she hissed, cutting him off.
“No need to get pissed, sweetheart. It was just a question.”
She paused and gave him a knowing look. Dean frowned as she turned back around and wondered when exactly she’d learned to read him so well. He stayed quiet as they reached her room and she’d closed the door.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Buffy asked.
Dean shook his head. “No.” He relaxed when Buffy didn’t push and just nodded instead.
“Turn around,” she said.
He rolled his eyes and turned to face the wall. “You know it’s not like I haven’t seen a woman in her bra before.”
“Well, you haven’t seen me in my bra before.”
“You know, we could easily fix that if I just turn my head.”
“World of no, you pervert,” she said, laughing.
“You love me.”
Buffy snickered. “You are so conceited.”
“Which is part of my charm. Admit it.” Dean grinned as he listened to the sounds of Buffy changing.
“Okay, you can turn around now.”
Dean turned around and nodded. “Nice,” he said.
“You need to get out more,” Buffy told him, glancing down at her jeans and tank top.
“Believe me, I get out plenty.”
Something about the way he said it had Buffy pausing. “Somehow I don’t doubt that.” She dropped back on her bed, pulling out what she’d need to sharpen her daggers.
Neither of them said anything as she began to sharpen the first dagger. He spun her desk chair so that the back was facing her and straddled it. For a few minutes, neither of them said anything. Finally, he looked down at the floor.
“Big pile up on the highway today.” He glanced up as Buffy paused and then continued to sharpen the dagger. “A family died. The dad died right away but I thought there was a chance his wife and kid might make it.” He shook his head. “They didn’t even make it to the hospital.” He shoved himself so that he was standing and began to prowl around the room. “I hate it when they’re kids.”
“I know,” was all she said. He let out a breath at the agreement and nodded. When he didn’t continue, she spoke up again. “Did I ever tell you about Der Kindestod?”
“Child Death?”
She glanced up. “So you know what it means.”
“Yeah.” He remembered learning about how there were some demons out there that were some form of Death but could still be killed. Der Kindestod had been one of them. He turned to look at her as he remembered the story of how the Slayer at that time had snapped his neck in the basement of a hospital while she’d had a fever. “Wait, that was you?”
She nodded. “That was me.” She lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “I couldn’t save a couple of the kids. Hell, I almost didn’t save the kids that were in the basement.”
Dean gave her a look that clearly said he knew what she was trying to say. He already knew that it wasn’t his fault that the kid had died. But that didn’t mean he had to like it.
Though he could admit that it helped to know that they went to the After when he took them and he couldn’t deny that that place was kind of kick ass.
She smiled at him just as there was a knock on the door. She sat up. “Yeah?”
The door opened enough for Dawn to lean around it and look at her. “We need you downstairs,” she said. “There’s apparently some sort of huge demon problem, according to Giles.”
Buffy nodded and put the dagger to the side. “I’ll be right down.” Once Dawn had left, she frowned and tried to remember if there’d been any talk of demon activity getting worse than usual.
“So, how bad do you think it is?”
She stood and pulled on a pair of boots. “If Giles is calling a meeting then it can’t be puppies and butterflies.”
“Yeah, I kind of figured that.”
Buffy shook her head as she left the room. She had a very bad feeling that whatever it was that was coming was going to be keeping Dean very busy.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1,901 - this chapter
Spoilers/Warnings: All seasons for SPN and Buffy. Though it goes AU during the finale of SPN.
Summary: Sam managed to find a way to save Dean. Of course, Dean never expected this.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Supernatural. They belong to Joss Whedon and Eric Kripke.
Note: This...I don't even know. I got the idea and that was all there was to it. It wouldn't go away until it'd been written. *eyes muse* Bastard. Anyway! I don't expect this one to be too long but no guarantees. Who knows with me, right? Written for
tamingthemuse (prompt: dead at the wheel).Honestly? Not totally satisfied with the chapter but I needed a time jump and so here this chapter is! *nods firmly*
The sound of a woman sobbing over the loss of her child was something that Dean had never gotten used to. No matter how many years it had been for him, he could never quite stop the regret whenever he had to take a child.
Today had been no different. An accident on the highway had led to a pile up and Dean had been there to do his job.
He shook his head as he thought of the man who had been pinned between his seat and the steering wheel, killed instantly, while the rest of his family had almost made it.
Almost but not quite. He’d waited, wondering if he’d even be needed and then he’d gotten that feeling, the one that was never wrong and had sat back to wait for the inevitable.
The man’s wife and son died before they’d even reached the hospital.
Dean shook his head as he watched Buffy stretch after her work out. It wasn’t the first time in the past four years that he’d known her that he wished he could spar with her. He had always done better with that than with sitting down and talking.
Except now that was pretty much his only option so he’d had to sit down and talk sometimes or not say anything and snap Buffy’s head off. Still, he thought they’d found a good balance. She didn’t push him to talk but he knew if he needed to, she’d listen.
Buffy looked up as Sam walked in and grinned. “Hey, Sam,” she called. She raised an eyebrow. “Want to show me what you’ve got?”
Sam tilted his head and studied her for a moment before returning her grin. “Always.”
“If I didn’t know you were head over heels for Willow, I’d think you were coming on to me.”
“What?” Sam glanced over at her while Dean smirked and shook his head. He was beginning to seriously wonder about his brother.
“Please, like it’s a secret to anyone but Willow.”
Sam ducked his head before glancing up at her. “Does everyone really know?” he asked as they each fell into a fighting stance, slowly circling each other. Dean grinned and sat back to watch.
“This is going to be good,” he said, amused as always that no one could hear him if he didn’t want them to. He rolled his eyes as neither of them made a move. “Oh, come on. I know you two are annoying and stubborn but one of you has to eventually throw a punch or something. Because this is going to get seriously boring if you don’t.”
It took a few more moments but then Sam and Buffy both moved forward at the same time as if there had been some silent signal. Dean nodded, happy as always to see how much Sam had improved over the years while training with the Slayers.
Though Dean was pretty sure that some of the younger Slayers volunteered to spar with Sam just so they could grab him.
“I need popcorn, damn it,” he muttered as Sam spun out of reach of Buffy before kicking out. Buffy grunted and let the momentum carry her back a bit before she jumped up and did a flip in mid-air, landing behind Sam. He turned towards her and swore when she punched him in the stomach, causing him to hunch over a bit. He was grinning as he retaliated by knocking Buffy backwards.
“Of course everyone knows,” Buffy told Sam, finally answering his question. “You’re not exactly subtle about it, Sam.” She spun into a roundhouse, stopping when Sam grabbed her ankle. He tugged her forward, grunting when Buffy used his hold as an anchor and lifted herself up to kick him with her free foot. She let herself fall backwards and used her hands to flip herself over once more so that she was standing.
Sam was already standing. “I’m subtle. I’m very subtle.” He faked a punch with his left hand and then grinned when Buffy moved directly into his right hand.
“Right. I’m surprised she doesn’t have a hole in her head from all your subtle staring.”
Dean snorted and nodded in agreement. She had a point. He leaned back as Buffy and Sam continued to exchange punches and kicks while talking. Talking while sparring had never been something they were allowed to do since John had wanted to be sure they were focused but he had to admit that Sam had gotten even better at keeping track of his surroundings since he’d started bantering while fighting. It seemed that having an actual distraction while fighting made it easier to realize when something was going wrong during patrol.
It was nearly thirty minutes later that Sam and Buffy stepped back from each other, grinning. Sam headed for the fridge they kept in there, opening it to grab a bottle of water. He tossed it to Buffy before grabbing another one for himself.
“Sam, are you ever going to tell her?”
He paused as he went to pick up his bag. “I want to.” He shrugged. “I’m just not sure how to go about it. I think I left behind the potential romantic interest stage a couple years ago.”
“So you think you’re too deep in the friend stage to do anything about it? Don’t worry, Ross, I promise that Rachel will be interested.” Buffy smirked as Sam rolled his eyes.
“Thanks, Monica, that was very helpful.”
She frowned at him. “Hey, I’m not a neat freak.”
“Right and who is the one who keeps her weapons organized a certain way?”
“I...oh, shut up.” She made a face at Sam as he laughed. “Seriously, though, Sam, after Kennedy died, I pretty much figured that you and Willow were going to end up as just friends too. But I’ve seen the way you look at her and even though she might kill me when she finds out I told you this, I’ve also seen the way she looks at you when you’re not looking. I don’t even know if she realizes she’s doing it.” She smiled at the hopeful look he tried to hide. “I think you might have a chance.”
He thought about it for a moment before nodding. “Thanks.” He smiled. “I’ll think about it,” he said as he left the room. Buffy grinned.
“Pretty happy with yourself, aren’t you?” Dean asked, letting himself appear. Buffy spun around.
“How long have you been there?” she asked.
“Long enough to listen to you playing matchmaker with Sam and Willow.” Dean smirked as he straightened.
“If those two don’t get together soon, I might just explode from all the sexual tension,” she muttered as she picked up her bag. Dean’s eyebrows both rose towards his forehead.
“That would be pretty damn interesting.”
“Oh, shut up.”
Dean grinned as she walked out of the room and began to head up the stairs towards her bedroom. She couldn’t talk back to him when she was in the hallway so Dean usually tried to take advantage of it.
“Does that mean that you still haven’t—“
“Shut up,” she hissed, cutting him off.
“No need to get pissed, sweetheart. It was just a question.”
She paused and gave him a knowing look. Dean frowned as she turned back around and wondered when exactly she’d learned to read him so well. He stayed quiet as they reached her room and she’d closed the door.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Buffy asked.
Dean shook his head. “No.” He relaxed when Buffy didn’t push and just nodded instead.
“Turn around,” she said.
He rolled his eyes and turned to face the wall. “You know it’s not like I haven’t seen a woman in her bra before.”
“Well, you haven’t seen me in my bra before.”
“You know, we could easily fix that if I just turn my head.”
“World of no, you pervert,” she said, laughing.
“You love me.”
Buffy snickered. “You are so conceited.”
“Which is part of my charm. Admit it.” Dean grinned as he listened to the sounds of Buffy changing.
“Okay, you can turn around now.”
Dean turned around and nodded. “Nice,” he said.
“You need to get out more,” Buffy told him, glancing down at her jeans and tank top.
“Believe me, I get out plenty.”
Something about the way he said it had Buffy pausing. “Somehow I don’t doubt that.” She dropped back on her bed, pulling out what she’d need to sharpen her daggers.
Neither of them said anything as she began to sharpen the first dagger. He spun her desk chair so that the back was facing her and straddled it. For a few minutes, neither of them said anything. Finally, he looked down at the floor.
“Big pile up on the highway today.” He glanced up as Buffy paused and then continued to sharpen the dagger. “A family died. The dad died right away but I thought there was a chance his wife and kid might make it.” He shook his head. “They didn’t even make it to the hospital.” He shoved himself so that he was standing and began to prowl around the room. “I hate it when they’re kids.”
“I know,” was all she said. He let out a breath at the agreement and nodded. When he didn’t continue, she spoke up again. “Did I ever tell you about Der Kindestod?”
“Child Death?”
She glanced up. “So you know what it means.”
“Yeah.” He remembered learning about how there were some demons out there that were some form of Death but could still be killed. Der Kindestod had been one of them. He turned to look at her as he remembered the story of how the Slayer at that time had snapped his neck in the basement of a hospital while she’d had a fever. “Wait, that was you?”
She nodded. “That was me.” She lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. “I couldn’t save a couple of the kids. Hell, I almost didn’t save the kids that were in the basement.”
Dean gave her a look that clearly said he knew what she was trying to say. He already knew that it wasn’t his fault that the kid had died. But that didn’t mean he had to like it.
Though he could admit that it helped to know that they went to the After when he took them and he couldn’t deny that that place was kind of kick ass.
She smiled at him just as there was a knock on the door. She sat up. “Yeah?”
The door opened enough for Dawn to lean around it and look at her. “We need you downstairs,” she said. “There’s apparently some sort of huge demon problem, according to Giles.”
Buffy nodded and put the dagger to the side. “I’ll be right down.” Once Dawn had left, she frowned and tried to remember if there’d been any talk of demon activity getting worse than usual.
“So, how bad do you think it is?”
She stood and pulled on a pair of boots. “If Giles is calling a meeting then it can’t be puppies and butterflies.”
“Yeah, I kind of figured that.”
Buffy shook her head as she left the room. She had a very bad feeling that whatever it was that was coming was going to be keeping Dean very busy.
