The End | {BOOK 5}

4| Trying to be Strong

Dean's POV

Satan Junior was stretched out asleep in the back of the Impala while Ellie was laying in the front with her back against my side and her feet in Sam's lap. Despite the fact I wasn't in the best headspace after seeing both Crowley and Cass die, I had been trying to be strong for her. She had lost a lot more since her mom got trapped in the other world with Lucifer, so I couldn't afford to also go off the rails at the moment. It also didn't help that both she and Sam were advocating for the creature in the backseat.

"Hey, we still got probably twelve hours until we're home," Sam addressed me in a low voice. "You want me to drive?"

"Do I ever want you to drive?" I snapped, also keeping my voice quiet.

"Look... losing Cass, and even Crowley, that's a lot to process, Dean, especially on no sleep. And the kid-"

"'The kid'? Come on, man, you know how this plays out. Look, when we bend the rules, pretend the bad guys aren't so bad or that things will get fixed, that's when people that we care about get hurt. And then we end up doing what we should've done in the first place, which is end the problem. So this time, let's start with the obvious. Soon as I find a way to take care of... It."

"Dean, 'the problem' might be our only shot at saving Ellie's mom," Sam pointed out.

"You heard Ellie, Sam," I hissed. "Her mom's gone. There's no fixing that."

In between us, Ellie shifted in her sleep and I stiffened briefly, waiting for her to wake up. When it was clear she wasn't going to, however, I let myself relax once more. Reaching around her, I switched on the radio and let the sounds of Metallica carry quietly through the car. It was mostly for her benefit, but also for mine. Metallica always calmed both of us down, and I knew it would help her sleep better.

Sam opened his mouth, looking like he wanted to argue further, but then seemed to think better of it and resorted to staring out the window into the darkness.

⁘

"This is a bad idea. We should've just kept driving," I grumbled.

"Dude..." Sam scoffed, "you were hallucinating sheep on the road. We need a few hours."

I rolled my eyes, opening the door to our motel room and flipping on the light.

"This is nice," Satan Junior said, looking around the room.

"Let's ward the room, get a bite, get a few hours of sleep, hit the road first thing," Sam suggested.

He hit a button on the remote and Scooby Doo turned on the TV. Satan Junior sank down on one of the beds, staring at the screen in awe.

"It's... wonderful."

"Hey, no," I protested, picking up the remote.

"But... Y-"

I glanced at the TV, chuckling a little before shaking my head.

"No."

I turned off the TV, throwing the remote back down.

"And you're on the couch, sport. Alright? So why don't you go over there? Sit down, and..." I chuckled, picking up a black book. "Here."

I threw the book- a copy of the Bible- at the creature on the couch.

"Read a book. We're out of here in a few hours."

I ignored Sam's pointed glare in my direction, instead looking over at Ellie. She was rubbing at her eyes tiredly and looked awful. The lines on her face were a bit more defined and the bags under her eyes were darker than I'd seen them in a while. After handing over the keys to the Impala so Sam could go get us some food, I led my wife over to one of the beds. While Satan Junior read on the couch, I held Ellie close while we snuggled on top of the covers.