Linking Lives / Book 12 / The Life Series / Supernatural Season 13

Exodus

Seconds after Sam and Lucifer had walked into the camp in Dayton, Dean and Mary walked closer to embrace Sam. Aiden, Amara and I also embraced Sam tightly in relief.

"Sam?" I asked. "What happened?"

Sam nodded to Lucifer, clearing his throat. "He, uh... he brought me back."

"It's what I do," Lucifer told us.

Aiden glared at him. "It is not what you do. How did you get in here?"

Lucifer shrugged. "VIP pass. I'm with the band. Come on, shouldn't you be thanking me? I--I gave Sammy an extra life." He pointed at Gabriel. "Besides, what with my... little bro here being a hot mess, I figured you'd need me. So I'm here to join the team." He walked toward his son. "Your name is Jack."

"And yours is Lucifer," Jack replied.

"No," Brandon told them. "No, no. No." He pointed at Lucifer. "You don't talk to him." He pointed at Jack. "And you, don't listen to him."

"Um, don't you think that's his choice?" Lucifer asked.

"No," Amara answered.

"Are you trying to keep me from my son?" Lucifer asked.

"Well, this is Kelly Kline's son," Castiel told him. "He's nothing like you."

"Don't say he's nothing like me," Lucifer told him. "I'm the only one who understands him. This power he has? I'm powerful, dangerous, ruthless. In the best sense, though."

"No," Dean told him, looking at Gabriel. "Kill him."

Lucifer chuckled. "He can't. He's not strong enough."

"Dean..." Gabriel trailed off.

"You've got the blade," Dean told him.

"Stop it," Jack told us.

"He's the Devil!" Dean told us. "Kill him!"

"Stop it!" Jack told us, disappearing.

We all looked around, sighing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amara looked at Lucifer sarcastically. "Well, great. He does that when he's scared. Way to go 'Dad'."

"I'll go look for him," Gabriel told us, walking away.

"I don't understand all the hostility," Lucifer told us. "You need me. I am a walking weapon. I know this Michael. Heck, I beat him. So how about a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T?"

Castiel took the angel cuffs from Brandon's backpack, walking toward Lucifer. "In case your innate evil overwhelms this newfound team spirit, you won't mind wearing these then, will you? You're not at full power. They should hold you?"

Lucifer held out his wrists. "Slap them on."

Castiel put the angel cuffs on Lucifer.

"So if you're here, is the rift closed?" I asked.

"No, it's open," Lucifer answered. "I left Rowena some grace. So you have, I'm thinking, 31 hours, give or take?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I set a timer up on my phone for 31 hours. Sam, Dean, Aiden and Amara were with me.

"Hey," Sam told us. "Listen, I'm sorry about all this."

"Are you good?" Aiden asked.

"I'm alive," Sam answered. "Yeah."