Time is on My Side.

CHAPTER SEVENTY ONE , TIME IS ON MY SIDE

a/n : honestly with this chapter...i'm just trying to get through it, so i can get to the last episode 😭

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Gil sat comfortably in Athena's lap while her hand ran over his black, sleek fur. She was sitting in a chair watching while Sam and Dean tortured a demon for information about Dean's contract. The demon's screams were agonizingly loud. Luckily, they were in the middle of nowhere; no one would be interested in what was going on in the cabin.

Dean has 3 weeks left, and the Winchesters were growing restless. For the past few days, they haven't slept. They've just been pulling all-nighters trying to find any lead on the demon that held Dean's contract. Athena had to leave the motel room and throw up on the side of the curb. They were so close to Dean's death date, and they were getting nowhere. And all that shit Ruby told her about Dean and her not being able to say anything about who she is.

Everything has felt so heavy on Athena's mind recently. She didn't know if she could handle much else.

Just thinking about Dean being gone made Athena's chest hurt in a way that caused her to stop in her tracks. How would she and Sam survive anything without their big brother?

"You ready to talk?!"

The demon screams again, steam radiating off his body. "I don't know. I don't know anything!"

"Oh, you hear that, Sam? He doesn't know anything." Dean looks at his brother.

"Yeah, I heard."

"I'm telling you the truth." The demon pleads.

Dean raises his brows with a sarcastic shock taking over his face. "Oh, you are? My god, then I owe you an apology," he presses his lips into a smile. "Allow me to make it up to you." he grabs the jug of holy water and douses the demon's mouth and face with it.

Athena kept her eyes close on the torment the demon was being put through. The demon continued to scream in agony, unable to move.

"I'm gonna ask you one last time--who holds my contract?!" Dean's voice booms through the cabin.

Soon, the demon lifts his head, his solid black eyes revealed. "Your mother."

Athena softly snorts to herself.

"Yeah, she, uh, showed it to me right before I bent her over." The demon continues to try and get a rise out of Dean.

"Yeah, uh, hi!" Athena holds her hand up. "Just a heads up, mother's is a raw topic for us."

Dean grips the arms of the chair that the demon was sitting in and leans close to his face. "I want a name or else--"

"Or what, hmm?" The demon quirks a brow. "You gonna squirt your holy water in both ends?"

"Brother, that's like a flea bite compared to what's coming to me if I tell you jack."

Athena rubs her forehead and looks down at Gil. They were getting nowhere.

"Do what you want. The only thing I'm scared of is the demon holding your ticket."

Dean leans away from the demon and looks at him with disbelief, but desperation has sunk deep into his stomach. There was nothing more this demon was going to give them. He looks at Sam, who immediately begins to speak the exorcism incantation.

Dean begins to circle the chair as the demon throws his head back in pain.

"How does that feel? That feel good?!" Dean shouts.

The demon groans and cracks his neck. "Go ahead," he shrugs off the incantation like it was nothing. "Send me back to hell...cause when you get there, I'll be waiting for you...with a few pals who are dying for a nice little meet and greet with Dean Winchester."

The demon's laugh echoes through the house, and Athena's skin crawls.

"Should I?"

"Stick him someplace he can't hurt anyone else," Dean says.

Sam continues the incantation, and the demon continues to scream in pain again while Athena pulls Gil close to her lips, needing comfort in any way she could get.

...

"Remember that thing in the paper yesterday?"

Athena pulls her brows together, thinking.

"Stripper suffocates dude with thighs?"

"Gross." Athena rolls her eyes.

"The other thing." Sam sighs.

Dean nods, "Right, the guy that walks into the E.R. and kneels over dead. His stomach's ripped out."

"His liver, actually." Sam corrects. "Anyways, I just found out something pretty damn interesting."

"What?"

"The dead body covered in bloody fingerprints--not the victim's," Sam tells his siblings.

Athena knits her brows together, "Excuse me?"

"Okay, great." Dean hums. "My man Dave Caruso will be stoked to hear it."

"Those fingerprints match a guy who died in 1981," Sam adds.

Athena's brows unfurrow, and instead she raises her brows and leans forward in her seat, causing Gil to trill.

With the same amount of interest as his sister, Dean leans closer to the edge of his seat. "Really? So, what are we talking? Walking dead? Walking, Killing dead?"

Sam frowns, "Maybe."

Simultaneously, Athena and Dean look at each other. They have always wanted a case involving Zombies, so they were ready to jump head first into this case.

"Zombies do like the other other white meat." Dean takes a sip of his beer.

Athena points at Sam. "Why are you suddenly interested in zombies?" she tilts her head. "You've always been against them anytime Dean and I bring them up."

"And you've been on soul-saving detail for months now," Dean adds.

Athena squints her eyes and hums. "Basically a year, but yes, that too," she nods. "We're 3 weeks out, and it's weird that all of a sudden, you're interested in a zombie case."

"Hey, you two are the ones who have been all Gung Ho to hunt," Sam says with a shrug. "I just thought I'd been doing you a favor."

Athena keeps her eyes on Sam, suspicious of this attitude change. Sam wouldn't just do a full 180 on a mission he's already had his sights on, especially when it came to his siblings. So, why was he acting that way now?

Dean stands up, "Hey, no, no, no, no. I didn't say I didn't want to do it, okay?" he then chuckles. "I mean, obviously, I want to hunt some zombies."

"Okay, fine, whatever." Sam rolls his eyes and laughs.

Dean nods his head, satisfied. He grabs his duffel and walks out of the cabin. Sam laughs softly, but his laughter quickly dies down when he notices Athena still looking at him. He pulls his brows together, and a confused smile forms on his lips. "What?"

"I've got my eye on you, Sammy." Athena points at her good eye, then points at Sam. "You've been keeping a lot of secrets recently, and this better not be one of them."

"You think I'm keeping a secret about Zombies?" Sam glances to the side.

Athena stands up with Gil in her arms. "I think. You wouldn't just put Dean's deal on the back burner. Especially with three weeks left. You're onto something. And I'm onto you," she points at him and walks out of the cabin.

Once Athena left the Cabin, Sam let out a heavy breath he had been holding and ran a hand through his hair.

☆

"So, I got a theory."

"Yeah?"

Athena grabs one of her fries and tosses it in her mouth. She grabs another fry and holds it out to Gil, who grabs it from her hand.

"Yeah, I talked to Mr. Giggle's doctor," Sam states. "Turns out his incisions were sewn up with silk."

"That's weird," Dean says through his mouth full of burger.

Sam slightly leans forward, his interest in this case increasing. "Yeah, nowadays it is, but silk used to be the suture of choice back in the early 19th century."

Athena nods her head, "Oh, yeah. It was really problematic. Patients would get massive infections. And the death rate was insane."

"Good times." Dean chimes.

"Right," Sam nods. "so doctors, they had to do whatever they could to keep infections from spreading. One way was maggots."

Athena's skin immediately begins to crawl. "Ew."

"Dude, I'm eating." Dean turns his nose up.

"It actually kind of worked because maggots--they eat bad tissue, and they leave good tissue," Sam explains.

Athena whines, "Sam, what the fuck?" Her mouth was full of fries, but her appetite was long gone.

"And get this--when they found our guy, his body cavity was stuffed full of maggots."

Athena shudders and shakes her hands. "I'm gonna be sick."

"Dude, I'm eating," Dean repeats.

Sam lets out a sigh and shakes his head.

"All right, let me get this straight." Dean starts. "So, people are getting ganked, right? A little "Antiques Roadshow" surgery, some organ theft. But why does this all sound familiar?"

"You were listening?" Athena rubs her arms, trying to flatten her goosebumps. "All I could hear was "maggots, maggots, maggots"--which you know I hate!" she points at Sam.

"I thought it was sloths." Sam shrugs with a smile.

Athena growls, "Those too..."

"You've heard of this before," Sam says, refocusing on the subject. "When you were a kid...from dad."

Athena's jaw clenches. It always circles back to him.

Sam pulls John's journal out and sets it on the table. "Doc Benton--real-life doctor, lived in New Hampshire."

Dean grabs the journal and looks at it.

"Brilliant and obsessed with alchemy, especially how to live forever." Sam continues. "So, in 1816, Doc abandons his practice and--"

"Right, yeah, nobody hears from him for like 20 years, and all of a sudden, people start showing up dead." Dean begins to remember.

"Dead or missing an organ or a hand or some other kind of part," Sam adds.

"'cause whatever he was doing was actually working." Dean frowns. "He just kept on ticking."

"Parts would wear out, he'd replace them," Athena adds.

Dean slightly shakes his head in confusion. "But I thought Dad hunted him down and took his heart out."

"Yeah, I guess the doc must have plugged in a new one." Sam sighs.

Dean cranes his neck forward in disbelief. He sets the book down and grabs his burger. "All right, where's he doing the deed?"

"According to this, Benton's picky about where he sets up his lab." Sam answers. "He likes dense forest with access to a river or stream or some kind of freshwater."

"Why?"

"Because that's where he likes to dump the bile and intestines and fecal matter." Sam chuckles. "Lost your appetite yet?" he looks at both his siblings.

Athena presses her lips together and drops the rest of her fries in the trash can next to her. "And that's that."

Gil meows in protest.

Dean looks down at his burger and clicks his tongue. "Oh, baby, I can't stay mad at you."

☆

"Come on, we're going after Bella."

Athena hops onto her feet with a smile on her face. "Hell yeah!"

"What?" Sam looks at his siblings as they run around to pack their things. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a second."

"Come on, get your stuff. Clock's ticking." Dean rushes out.

"I-I think we should stay here and finish the case," Sam says.

Dean looks at Sam with a perplexed expression. "Are you insane?"

Sam holds his arms out, "Dean, there's no way she still has the Colt. That was months ago. She probably sold it the second she got it."

Dean finishes putting his jacket on and shrugs off Sam's statement. "Then I'll kill her--win-win."

"I agree with that statement." Athena holds her hand up.

"Dean--"

"Sam, we're going." Dean's voice was measured and firm.

Athena raises her brows and looks at Sam, who has a firm expression on his face. "No."

Athena's mouth falls agape. She snaps her eyes over to Dean.

"Why the hell not?!"

"Dean, this--this here, now--this is what's gonna save you."

Athena and Dean look at Sam with confusion.

"What, chasing some Frankenstein?" Dean chuckles.

"Chasing immortality."

Athena blinks, "What?"

"Look, Benton can't die," Sam explains. "We find out how he did ut, we can do it to you."

Athena's eyes widen, "The same guy you were explaining is taking people's organs?" She then lets out a small fit of laughter. "You're screwing with us."

"Look, Dean has to die before he goes to hell, right?"

Athena runs a hand over her hair and shakes her head. She wanted nothing more than to find a way to save Dean, but this wasn't it. Seeing Sam this desperate to throw out an idea like this was not only insane but terrifying.

"So, if you can nver die--"

"You want Dean to become a zombie." Athena seethes. She then turns to Dean, who looks pissed.

"Wait a second," Dean says. "D-Did you know that this was Doc Benton from the jump?"

Athena sucks in a small breath and holds it. Sam glances to the side, "No."

He then sucks in a small breath. "Look, I was hoping--"

"So, the whole zombie thing, you were just lying to us?" Dean takes a step forward.

"I didn't want to say anything until I was sure, Dean." Sam defends. "All I'm trying to do is find an answer here."

"No, all you're trying to do is chase Slicey McHacky here." Dean says. "And to kill him? No, you want to buy him a freakin' beer. You want to study him."

"I was just trying to help." Sam's voice softens.

"Well, you're not helping." Dean snaps. "You forget that if I Welch on this deal, you die and..." he trails off his words before he can say too much. Athena's back straightens, and she pulls her brows together.

"Guess what--living forever is welching."

"Then whatever the magic pill is, I'll take it, too." Sam simply shrugs.

"Great two zombie brothers!" Athena throws her arms up. "We can't be serious."

"We're not," Dean says. "And we're sure as hell not going to become zombies," he snaps his eyes back over to Sam. "It's just like Bobby's been saying. "We kill the demon that holds the contract, and this whole damn thing wipes clean. That's our best shot."

"Even if you had the Colt, Dean, who are you gonna shoot?" Sam questions. "We have no idea who holds the ticket."

"Well, I'll shoot the hellhounds, then, before they slash me up!" Dean snaps.

Athena looks at Gil in her arms, and she could've sworn he rolled his eyes.

"Now, are you coming or not?!"

"I'm staying here," Sam replies without hesitation.

Dean stares for a moment and Athena exhales before holding her breath again.

"No, you're not...cause I'm not gonna let you wander out in the woods alone to track some organ-stealing freak." Dean walks towards his brother.

Sam lets out a harsh and impatient breath. "You're not gonna let me?--"

"No, I'm not gonna let you." Dean snaps.

"How are you gonna stop me?"

Athena groans and sets Gil on the bed. "I hate being the mediator," she says, standing between her brothers. "Dumb. Dumber. Look..." she holds her hands out to them. "You guys are both trying to do the same thing. Finding a way to get you out of your deal." she looks at Dean. "They're just two different ways. And who knows, maybe this is a good thing to do them both at the same time. If neither of them work then we can cross them off the list just as quickly and move on." she looks at Sam. "I really hate the idea of you staying here alone, though."

"You could stay."

Her entire attitude changes. Athena's eyes blow wide, "With the chance of me coming across maggots? I don't think so." she pats his arm and looks at Dean. "I'll meet you in the car." she lightly pats her leg and grabs her bag. Athena walks towards the door and waves a hand. "Good luck, Sammy!"

☆

Athena sits at the table with Gil lying in her lap. She was looking between Dean and the man known as Rufus as they sipped on scotch.

"You know, I don't even bother drinking unless it's this stuff." Rufus states. "Nectar of the Gods, I'm telling you."

"Yeah, it's a nice change, you know." Dean softly smacks his lips together, tasting the dark liquor. "Most of my whiskey's from a plastic jug."

Rufus laughs and Athena lets out an impatient. "Okay, so Bela." She leans toward the man. "She was here because...?"

"She wanted to buy a couple of things, which is gonna take me some time to round up." Rufus answers.

"Where is she now?"

Rufus inhales a breath, "Can I ask you something?"

Athena exhales, "No—"

"Sure." Dean nods.

Athena snaps her eyes over at Dean and the two begin to argue with their eyes.

"What the fuck?" Athena squints her eyes.

Dean raises his brows, "We have to win him over."

"That's what the scotch was for." Athena's mouth twitches. "We don't have time for this."

"Are you two done?"

Athena and Dean look at Rufus. He swirls his plastic blue cup. Dean lets out a sheepish fit of laughter. "Right, yeah. What were you going to ask?"

Athena leans back in her seat and crosses her arms.

"You got 3 weeks left." Rufus states. "Why are you wasting your time chasing after that skinny stuck-up English Girl?"

Dean chuckles and looks down at his cup. "How do you know about that?"

"Because I know things."

Athena snorts and rolls her eyes.

"I know a lot of things about a lot of people." Rufus says.

"That so?" Dean's jaw clenches.

"I know ain't no peashooter gonna save you." Rufus quips.

Athena quirks a brow, "Killing her would make us feel a hell of a lot better, sir."

Rufus looks at the 13 year old and laughs. He points his cup at her and Athena pulls her face back. "No doubt about it. But still...this seems like a waste in the end, don't it?"

"What makes you so sure it won't work?" Dean asks.

"Cause that's the job, kid." Rufus says. "Even if you manage to scrape out this one, there's just gonna be something else down the road."

"Folks like us...there ain't no happy ending." Rufus speaks into his cup. "We all got it coming."

Dean swallows the rest of his scotch and Athena looks down at Gil, who purrs. The room had suddenly gotten tense with a feeling of hopelessness.

No wonder Bobby didn't hang around this guy anymore.

"Well, ain't you a bucket of sunshine?" Dean chuckles, despite his chest painfully tightening.

"I'm what you've got to look forward to if you survive." Rufus says. He then cracks a smile. "But you won't."

Athena's jaw clenches and her teeth begin to hurt. "For a guy who doesn't know a damn thing about my brother, you sure are talking a lot."

"You've got a lot of spunk, kid." Rufus admires. "Reminds me of your daddy."

Athena's face drops and the room becomes tense before. Dean could hardly breathe from the sudden silence.

"What?"

Rufus shrugs, "I said what I said—"

"Well, what you said is bullshit." Athena snaps. "Say it again and I'm smashing this bottle against your head." She points at the blue scotch bottle.

"Thena--"

"What?!" Athena snaps her eyes over to Dean. He softly clears his throat and motions his head over to Rufus. Athena looks at the man and realizes that he's laughing. She knits her brows together, "What's so fucking funny?"

"You're just proving my point."

Athena's face was beet red, and her chest heaved. "You..." She looks at Dean and points at Rufus. "He..." Dean's eyes widen. He has never seen Athena at a last for words before. Especially while being so angry.

"Where the hell is Bela?!" Athena shouts.

Rufus laughs again and grasps at his stomach. "She's like an angry otter."

"Now, you're just asking for it..." Dean sighs.

"All right, all right." Rufus chuckles. "She's at Hotel Canaan. Room 39."

Athena throws her hands up, "Finally."

"But watch your back," Rufus warns.

"Oh, I think I can handle Bela." Dean brushes him off.

Rufus raises his brows, "Oh, don't be so sure about that. There are things you don't know about her."

"Oh, and you do?" Dean squints his eyes.

Athena snaps her fingers. "Don't forget. It's because he knows things."

"Yep."

"And let me guess--you lift her fingerprint?" Dean questions.

"Yep."

"And that got you jack." Dean guesses.

"Yep."

Athena tilts her head to the ceiling and impatiently sighs.

"She burned them off," Rufus states. "Probably years ago."

"Yeah, so you're right where we are."

"Nope," Rufus says, smug written across his face.

Athena and Dean exchange a look.

"You do her ear?"

Dean cranes his neck forward, "Sorry?"

"You do her ear?" Rufus repeats.

"Hey, man, I'll try anything once, but I don't know." Dean lets out a chuckle. "That sounds uncomfortable."

Athena wrinkles her nose, "I...don't get it and I don't want to get it."

"Ears are as unique to humans as fingerprints," Rufus informs the young hunters.

"No kidding."

"Of course, that don't fly in the courts over here, but in England, they're all over it." Rufus says. "A friend of a friend...of a friend faxed me 10 pieces of confidential files within a day. All I had to send him was one clean shot off the security camera."

"That's all?" Athena's eyes widen.

Dean just chuckles, not believing a word Rufus is saying. "One clean shot of her ear."

Rufu walks over to his desk and grabs a file off of it. He sets it on the table. "The so-called Bela Talbot."

Athena keeps her eyes on the Manila folder. She taps her fingers repeatedly. There was one small part of her that wanted to leave that folder untouched. She didn't need to know Bela's information in order to get the Colt back from her.

But the other part of her. The part that wanted revenge against the thief didn't care about her privacy.

So, Athena reached for the folder and flipped it open.

☆

Bela wasn't expecting to be pinned against her door and she sure as hell wasn't expecting a gun to be pressed into her side.

"Hi, Bela."

Bela shifts her gaze to the 13 year old and she raises her brows. "Athena, always a pleasure."

Athena frowns and raises her brows in surprise. "Really? I couldn't say the same thing."

Bela nods her head, "I get why you two are upset and I have to say—"

"Where's the Colt?" Dean growls, already growing impatient.

"Dean—"

"No extra words."

Bela keeps her eyes glued on his. "It's long gone—across the world by now."

"You're lying." Dean searches her pockets.

"I'll call the buyer. Speak Farsi?" Bela reaches for her purse, but Dean snatches it from her hands and pulls the gun out. "Don't flatter yourself."

Athena flicks the lights on in the room and Dean steps away from the woman. "Don't move." He points at her.

The siblings begin to search the room and Bela rolls her eyes. "I told you I don't have it."

"Oh, yeah, I'm definitely gonna take your word for it." Dean scoffs. He turns to look through her dressers and he hears a creak behind them. Dean clenches his jaw. She never fucking listens.

"Ears." Dean warns.

Athena covers her ears and Dean turns and fires his gun, the bullet hits centimeters beside Bela's head which causes her to stop in her tracks.

"Don't move."

Athena turns and her eyes light up. "Nice! You were so close."

Bela looks between the two siblings with wide eyes. Last time Bela saw Athena she was a sweet 13 year old who was absolutely infatuated with her. Now, she was praying on whatever bad thing were to happen to her. It made Bela's stomach turn knowing she didn't have Athena on her side just in case Dean did want to kill her.

Dean grab the suitcase from under her bed and lays it on the bed.

"I told you, it's gone." Bela says. "Get on a plane if you must."

Athena's eyes shift to the suitcase that gave them no luck. She grits her teeth and looks back at Bela. Her blood was rushing through her ears and yet she could hear something that she hasn't heard in so long. It almost felt like she was home.

"Track down the buyer. You might catch up to him eventually." Bela voices.

"God, you are so selfish." Athena spits. "How many times did we save your ass—How many times did I have to convince my brothers to save your ass and this is how you repay us?!"

Dean could feel the shift in Athena's emotions and for some reason just from the way Bela tensed, he knew she could feel it too.

Athena's eyes snap over to Dean and her eyes shift to the weapon in his hand. Do it.

Bela exhales, "Athena, darling, I am truly—"

Athena grabs Dean's gun and his eyes widen. "Athena—"

"Shut up." Athena aims the gun at Bela.

The thief sucks in a sharp breath and holds it. Dean keeps his hand out towards the gun, ready to take it but he had to be cautious about it. As much as he wanted to kill Bela, he wasn't going to let that blood get on Athena's hands. He would never.

"Are you going to kill me?" Bela questions.

Athena quirks a brow, her eyes swirling with a mix of rage and arrogance. "What do you think?"

Bela's eyes skim across the 13 year old's face, hoping to find an ounce of hesitation. "You're not the cold-blooded type."

Athena didn't know what came over her, but as soon as those words came from Bela's mouth she couldn't control herself. She pulls the hammer back on the gun and both adults freeze.

"Oh, but you are, right?" Athena squints her eyes. "Killing your parents..." she winces. "Kind of unimaginable."

Bela, poker face and all, speaks. "I don't know what you're talking—"

"Yes, you do." Athena snaps, both hands gripping the gun for dear life. It was to the point the gun had started to tremble in her grip.

"A little bit younger than I was. 14, right?"

Bela's expression drops and her stomach begins to turn. Her eyes shift to Dean, who hadn't taken his eyes off of his gun in Athena's hand.

"Your parents died in some shady car accident." Athena states. "Police suspected a slash brake line, but it was all too crispy to tell. But cut to you—14 year old Abby. Inheriting millions."

Bela could feel the tears burning in her eyes. But she doubt it would even be noticeable with how much Athena and Dean were clouded by their hatred for her.

"How did you even—"

"Doesn't matter."

For a moment, Athena saw hesitation on Bela's face. Maybe she felt remorse or maybe they didn't have the whole story. But then a smirk forms across her lips. "They were lovely people. And I killed them. And I got rich." She tilts her head. "I can't be bothered to give a damn. But like I don't care what happens to your brother."

"Athena, don't do this." Dean softly urges.

At this point, Athena was white knuckling the gun but she still couldn't find the strength to shoot her. She wanted to, but she had to stop herself. It was like a tug on her insides having to stop herself from even firing the gun. Athena refocuses on the gun in her hands and she pulls her brows together. Why did she resort to wanting to kill someone? Athena has never wanted to take anyone's life before. And she never wanted to...

Right?

Athena lowers the gun and hands it back to Dean. A small shaky breath escpaes her lips and tears fill her eyes. "I hope you get whatever's coming to you." She looks at Bela. "And I hope I never see you again." She pushes Bela out of the way, opens the door, and slams it shut behind her.

Bela lets out a breath through her nose and so does Dean. The brunette looks at Bela and a smirk forms on her lips. "Seems like I know her pretty well to see through her supposed "bloodlust"--"

Dean shoves Bela against the door and presses the gun against her chest. "Shut the fuck up." he seethes, his own anger resurfacing. "You don't know anything about my sister and I promise you, she would've killed your sorry ass."

Bela tilts her head, "And what about you?" she raises her brows. "You gonna kill me?"

Dean takes a step back and aims the gun at her face. "What do you think?"

Bela chuckles and shakes her head. "God, you two are spitting images of one another."

Dean had to admit, just hearing Athena being compared to him made his stomach turn. He didn't want Athena to be anything like him. "You make me sick."

Bela smirks, "Likewise."

Dean points the gun closer to Bela's face and the brunette's eyes fall shut. He smirks and ready's to kill Bela once and for all. Then his eyes shift to what was hanging above her door and his smirk falls. Dean instantly recognizes the herb on the door frame because he and his siblings have looked deep into this root just in case they had to be forced to use it.

Bela opens her eyes again, realizing Dean hasn't pulled the trigger. Dean lowers the gun and lets out a huff.

"You're not worth it."

☆

Athena and Dean had to break Sam out of Benton's cabin. Dean had stabbed Benton in the heart with his chloroform dipped knife which knocked him unconscious.

Next thing Benton knew, he was tied down to the examination table he had used to tie innocent people down for years. After 30 minutes, Benton started to regain consciousness and realize his predicament.

"Oh, hiya, doc." Dean greets the immortal man. "Wakey, wakey, eggs and bac-y."

Benton weakly opens his mouth. "P-Please—"

"Please what?" Athena snaps.

Sam looks at the girl with his brows pulled together, her instant rage catching him off guard. Dean had told him the news about Bela not having the Colt anymore, he said that could've been why Athena was so angry. But Sam could tell it was more than that. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

"You've been killing poor innocent people for over 150 years and now you're begging?" Athena shakes her head. "I don't think so."

"No, you don't understand." Benton wheezes. "I can help your brother. I know what he needs."

Dean clicks his tongue, "Whatever it is you're selling, I ain't buying."

Athena tilts her head thinking. "I think cutting him up into little bits could solve this immortal issue."

"I can read the formula for you." Benton says. "The whole immortality—forever young, never die."

A silence settles into the room. Athena wanted Dean to live, of course she did. But she also knew him and she knew he wasn't going to choose Benton's way to get out of his deal. Even if it sounded convincing at first.

"Dean."

The eldest Winchester tenses from his brothers voice. He already knew that Sam was on board with whatever this immortal doctor had in store for them. "Sam." He looks at his brother.

Sam motions his head out of the room and Athena lets out a breath. She follows Sam out of the room with Dean.

"What?"

Sam exhales, "I mean, we're talking Hell in three weeks or needing. New pancreas in like half a century."

"Yeah, well, you can't exactly get those at a Kiwk-E-Mart." Dean replies.

"It's not perfect, but it buys us more time to think or something better." Sam explains. "We just need time, Dean. I mean, please, just—just think about it."

Dean thinks about it for a moment. And he still came up with the same answer. "No."

Sam's jaw clenches, "Dean, don't you want to live?"

"Can you really consider this living?" Athena looks back into the room where Benton was strapped to the table.

"Athena's right. This is simple—"

"Simple?—"

"—to me it is, okay?" Dean says. "Black or white—human, not human." He walks back into the room. "See what the doc is is a freakin' monster."

"I can't do it." Dean shakes his head. "I would rather go to Hell."

Dean splashes some of the chloroform on a handkerchief.

"You don't understand. I can help you!"

Dean slaps the handkerchief over Benton's mouth. "Now, I'm gonna take care of him." He looks at Sam. "You can help me or not. It's up to you."

━━━━━━━━━━

author's note.

YALL I am currently writing the last chapter of season 3. I'm literally shaking. It's sooo good, but prepare to cry (per usual) 🫶🏾

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