Dean groaned out in agitation. Of course, Allie had wandered off to God knows where. She had probably been looking for some books within the old library. The chick always did shit like that. It annoyed him to no end, mainly due to the fact he constantly fucking worried about her safety. In this case, he knew she was fine. The Leviathan had been taken care of. Sam and Garth had pointed out that she was not behind the group. "Fucking woman," He growled but his tone held more worry than anger. "I turn away for five seconds..."
Allie had been independent since the moment he met her. Sometimes that was good, sometimes bad. This was shaping up to be one of the bad times. They had other shit to take care of. She was always walking off and doing whatever she wanted, even during training! He began prepping himself to lecture her.
Allie felt the Leviathan's hand squeeze tighter around her throat. She squeaked in surprise. This had not been the prior one but the two seemed related somehow. Potentially romantically entangled? Or at least familiar. She could tell due to this one's anger over their group decapitating the other one. " Fuck you! " She choked out as he strangled her mercilessly against the wall. He had silently snatched her away as she lagged behind the boys, seemingly hoping to gather information or use her as some sort of hostage.
"You beheaded Zarsha!" He growled, black goo leaking from his nose and ears due to a previous fight with the young blonde in front of him. She was a feisty little thing but that was nothing for him, truly she was insignificant. "Your friends will come looking for you." He grinned with a sinister, aggressive indifference to her suffering. They would come, and he would eat them. He would devour them until they were rotting flesh in his stomach and consumed by his true form. Humans were nothing but vile vermin. Rats. Perhaps even lower. Zarsha would not go unanswered. Revenge was fuel, hunger was the back wheel. "I am going to have a good meal."
When Dean entered he stopped to a still at the sight of Allie pressed up against a nearby wall, gurgling as she fought for air to enter her lungs. Another Leviathan, this one seemingly more sneaky than the last. The son of a bitch was hurting her, strangling the life out of her, and Dean wanted nothing more than to tear the bastard apart piece by piece. His hand clenched into a fist and he reached down for the machete strapped to his thigh, pulling it free.
"Get the hell away from her," He growled as he stepped forward. He could hear Sam and Garth running to find the source of his yelling in the background.
Allie tried to warn him of the plan put in place by the foe they stared at but when she attempted to speak the leviathan tightened its grip on her throat causing her to sputter out. The words couldn't come, it was no use. She gripped at the leviathan's forearms, nails clawing at the exposed flesh only to be ignored.
The Leviathan grinned in all of its newfound glory, eyes slanted before tossing Allie to the ground in a leap of gurgling and croaking noises. "You – you beheaded my partner, " Not lover. He was not capable of such a thing. This hunter obviously chose poorly. Zarsha would soon repair and be whole again and then they would feast. Still, the insolence of these humans was undesired and would be paid for dearly indeed. "I am going to eat your body and spit out your spine. "
Dean growled at the Leviathan's threat, feeling more pissed off and protective than he had in a decent amount of time. Aggression pulsed underneath his sarred flesh and he took another step closer to him. "You're dead," He snarled. "You son of a bitch. If you lay one more fucking finger on her, you're dead ." He looked back to the corner that Sam and Garth had disappeared into. "I don't think I'm going to let you live long enough for them to get here," He snarled, eyes darkening as his body pulsed with rage.
The Leviathan just smirked at him and Dean felt something inside him snap. He launched himself forward, slashing at the bastard with his machete as he did so.
Allie watched as Sam and Garth silently approached, seemingly waiting for the right time to sneak up and take out the Leviathan, at least temporarily. Separating the head from the body only incapacitated them for a little while. She slowly stood, wavering on her feet only to see the Leviathan manage to get a rise on Dean, tossing his machete to the ground. She watched as it opened its mouth to an unnatural width, teeth bared and tongue presenting itself as if to reach out and taste its next buffet.
It was slow and yet fast at the same time. Allie made a snap decision, one that she knew the consequences of before she even spoke. The moment. There was no use crying over spilt milk. Or, really, being eaten in favour over her friend. "Hey! Ugly!" She spat to distract the heinous villain of the week. "Your friend? Was fun. In fact, I'm waiting for Humpty to put himself back together again so I can have another go," She sneered. Allie couldn't dare look at Dean for fear of him understanding her plan. If they made any sort of eye contact like last time… well that had killed her, literally. This time was more… chosen.
The Leviathan turned, closing its mouth briefly while taking in the small blonde with disdain. "You are an insignificant insect. Not worth eating." His hand gripped her hair and brought her up to his face. " Enjoy the ride, " He grimaced and suddenly chucked her over the railing of the short flight of stairs. Only a few feet but it would certainly get rid of her momentarily while he had a snack.
This was not the expectation. Allie looked into the eyes of the Leviathan as it suddenly snatched her. Before she knew it she was flying over the stair guard. Her head smacked against a bookcase on the way down and Allie's body fell in a painful heap onto the ground below. So many times they had felt such things, being thrown around like ragdolls.
Sam stood still when he saw what was happening and he felt his heart leap in his throat. Oh fuck no. He saw the Leviathan throw Allie over the railing, and watched as she flew through the air and landed with a crash, crumpling to the ground. He witnessed Dean move immediately, rushing over to her side, and crouching beside her and Sam took action without thought, rushing towards the Leviathan as it turned its attention back to Dean, drawing out his knife and launching himself at the creature's back. He brought the knife up, stabbing it in the throat and then bringing it across and slashing as hard as he could. Its head came off in a gooey mess and Sam threw it down the hallway to buy them more time.
Dean folded his body over hers, watching with careful concern while his stomach dropped. Out of all of them, Allie had died the least, and that was purposeful. Keeping her safe was a mission that he’d grown very attached to. She was breathing and awake but clearly injured. "You've gotta stop scaring me like that, Firefly," He paused and gave a sigh of relief. "You can't keep running off!"
Allie could see him in her vision but it was all she had left. She let out croaks and burbles of pain, intense pain. Overwhelming sharp, horrifying pain. Blood started to pool out of her nose and seconds later her muscles began to convulse in his arms. Every piece of her tensed, every goddamn inch and excruciatingly loud cries of agony left her mouth. She couldn't talk. Her brain couldn't form anything. All that was left was a suffering shell.
"Firefly?" He whispered, emerald eyes widening as her body began to slap harshly against the linoleum flooring of the library. Less than a second ago she had been alright, she was looking up at him, though her eyes were a bit glazed over. He assumed that was from the pain of being flung around like usual.
"It's okay. We're going to get you out of here." He looked up at Sam and Garth, who were both staring at Allie in horror and worry. "We're going to take care of you, you hear me?"
The noises that began to erupt from her were that of a horror film, akin to an animal dying. Darling blue eyes rolled back into her head, revealing bloodshot whites and her body began to seize into a tonic-clonic, flailing and smacking against his limbs and the floor audibly. Foam gathered at her paled mouth and soon turned pink as it mixed with blood. The scarlet liquid poured from her lips as Allie's teeth repeatedly clamped down on her tongue, severing pieces of it and sending chunks flying out and onto his hands, the flesh creating a gruesome vision of mutation.
" Fuck, " Dean said the curse under his breath. His heart spasmed with confusion upon seeing the blood dripping from her mouth, foam frothing at her lips as her body spasmed uncontrollably on the floor. Her eyes were rolled back into her skull and he could hear Sam shouting at Garth to do something but he knew there was nothing to do. There was nothing he could do either except hold her, wrap his arms around her and hope it stopped, given the times Sam had gone through something similar. "It's gonna be okay, Firefly." He whispered as he pressed his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry, Alls. You're going to be fine. " How many seizures had Sam gone through over the years? He always pulled through. They just needed to wait for a little while. She’d be okay, they just had to wait.
" FUCK !" Sam swore out loud while panic grew inside of his large size and he darted over to her body, kneeling down with Dean. Allie was the nurse! Fuck why couldn’t he remember what she had said about seizures? It had been a while. “Turn her head, turn her head!”
The younger Winchester’s face whipped to the side and he called out to Garth. "Call Jody!" He told him sharply before attempting to hold her head and keep her from choking on the blood and tongue chunks in her mouth. "We need to get her to the hospital." He spoke with reverence, looking down at Allie in dismay. The way her body was moving, the blood that was pouring from her mouth, the way her eyes were rolled back into her head...It didn't look good. "Let's go." He’d seen a lot but he was always the one having fits, not the other way around. The sight was nightmarish.
Dean could tell Allie was in pain but she couldn't seem to talk as the seizure took over her body. She was still making sounds but they weren't words. Not really. Just guttural cries of agony and pain as her body twisted and spasmed in his arms. He was afraid to move her and make it worse but if he didn't move her… she could die. He remembered her talking about that once, years ago while they were in a fight over Sam. How people died from seizures. "Okay, We're going to move you, okay?" He told her as gently as he could despite the panic he was feeling inside. "You're going to be okay." the word ‘okay’ was coming out far too much considering how fucking scared he was. Would it be okay? That wasn’t even a question. It had to. She had to. She was tough as nails. They’d been through worse. She’d be alright.
Garth nodded, knowing there wasn't any other option for her, before calling the sheriff and relaying what happened to her. His eyes looked between Allie and Dean, noting that she was starting to slow down. "It's getting weaker." He stated as he looked down at Allie sympathetically. There was nothing more that he could do. He felt helpless standing there and it was awful. His heart hurt. They all cared for Allie, in their own ways.
He watched as Dean picked her up with Sam's help and carefully placed her in the back seat of the Impala, her head lying in Dean's lap as he sat down in the passenger and Sam got into the driver's seat.
"Stay with me, alright?" Dean held her close to him as they drove through Sioux Falls towards the hospital, Sam driving as quickly as he could while being careful not to get pulled over or get them all killed. Her eyes were open but they weren't looking at him anymore. Her gaze seemed vacant and glassy. He didn't know if she could hear him but he was talking anyway. He didn't know what else to do and he needed to talk about something other than the possibility of losing her. "When we get there, I'll get you into a private room. They can hook you up to some kind of machines and figure out what's going on with your brain. It wasn’t that far down of a fall, Al. It wasn’t that far. You’re going to be fine."
The convulsions slowed to a still. A long, choking breath to be confused for drowning. The death rattle. Her eyes were open, staring into his, mouth agape and tongue severed to bits. Nothing was there anymore. A carcass of devotion and pure sacrifice. Pure, painful sacrifice. The years had gone by. Time never slowed for anyone. Time had been on their side, not for a second. Not a moment.
Dean felt sick. He looked down at Allie and shook his head slowly, letting out a shaky breath as he realized that her eyes were glassy and staring up at him unblinkingly. That was not good. She was dead, but it was so sudden and unexpected that he just couldn't comprehend it. Not really. It had been… just a few minutes! She'd been right there with him just a moment ago. And now...now she was gone. Just like that. Just fucking like that. It made no sense to him. How could she be dead? How could he just lose her like that? No. It didn't make sense. She was fine. She was fine her body just needed to rest. That was it. She was tired and her body was conserving its energy from the seizure.
"Alls?"
"What? What's happening?" Sam feared the worst as he attempted to see what his brother was doing in the backseat from the rearview mirror. He was speeding but it wasn’t fucking fast enough! And Baby was fast. His heart pulsed with each second that passed, hairs on his neck standing up as he tried his hardest to hope for the best.
"Dean, what's going on? Is she still convulsing?"
"No. It stopped." Dean felt numb as he said it, looking down at Allie's lifeless face and trying to convince himself that she was still breathing, but the more realistic side of him understood, even if he didn’t want to believe it. They’d seen too much not to know what was happening right now. "She's not breathing, Sammy." His voice sounded distant, even to him. Like he wasn't really in his body. Like he was floating above the situation and watching it happen. "She's not breathing Sam."
"I don't know what to do!" His voice broke as he clutched Allie tighter to his chest. "She's not breathing Sammy, what am I supposed to do?!"
Sam tried not to break down himself as his big brother was in tears in front of him, holding Allie in his lap and crying his heart out as the woman he loved died. He remembered all of those times he saw them together, the long looks, the laughter and the stupid flirting. For a long time, a part of him had resented that part of their group dynamic, but after what Osiris had said… Sam had grown to understand that Dean deserved that, he deserved to be understood by someone in that way.
Dean was hurting. He was in pain and there was nothing Sam could do to make it better. He couldn't help it as his vision blurred from tears and he had to wipe them away as they streamed down his face.
Garth felt like his world was falling apart as he looked at Allie, a shell of the woman she once was. He knew he needed to say something to console the two but he didn't have anything to offer. Nothing would change what happened and it was evident. Instead, he stayed quiet, not trusting himself to say anything that wouldn't make the situation worse. He wiped his eyes, looking away as Sam parked in front of the ER entrance, running inside and coming back with two doctors.
"We have to wait out here." Garth managed to say as the paramedics loaded her onto a stretcher and wheeled her into the ER doors that automatically opened for them. He could tell that the other men were in shambles, which meant he needed to be the leader. Not that Dean seemed to mind, which he usually did. The sight of that… heartbreaking.
Time passed slowly as Jody, Dean, Sam, and Garth stood together in the waiting room. Allie had died before during the battle with Lucifer but that was nearly instant. This time her pain had been unbearably prolonged. Cas was not around to assist this time and Bobby had died. The weight of the world was slowly taking away their family.
When the doctor came out, Doctor Rosa, held a solemn expression. They could not help Allie despite their best efforts. She had significant blunt head trauma. Nothing could bring her back, there was no magic cure. Allie had always wanted to reach her 30th birthday. She saw it as a sign of growth and renewal. Well, her 30th came with the death of her father and, soon after, her own death. She had always known that it would come to this moment. Saving one of the brothers. That was love. That was family.
"We have her in a room. Would you like to see her and speak to her before she is moved?" Dr. Rosa spoke in a gentle and quiet tone before guiding them to the room. "Take as long as you need."
As Dean entered the room he took in the usual surroundings, surroundings that they had seen a thousand times together over the years. She was hooked up to machines. They were doing nothing to help her because she was already dead. She wasn't coming back, even if she looked like she was asleep. He stepped forward slowly, walking to her bedside and looking down at her pale face, alone. Sam would be next. Dean would always be first. Not that he necessarily wanted to. His head and heart didn’t even feel like they were part of his body.
"Hi, Firefly." He swallowed hard, trying to get his emotions under control while unable to look at the way her face had paled, the way her lips were tinged with greyish blue and chewed.
"How are you doing?" He didn't know why he asked, it was a dumb question. It just felt wrong not to say anything.
"We got rid of the Leviathan." He reached down and took one of her hands in his own. Her skin was cold, and lacked the usual warmth and glow that emanated from within like that of moonlight on a star-filled night.
"He got me a little too. Sammy got him in the end though." Talking to her felt right, felt right. Maybe he was attempting some sort of semblance toward normalcy between them despite the fact she was fucking dead right in front of him.
He swallowed hard again, looking down at her and wondering why she had done this to herself. Like always. Allie never listened, Allie always sacrificed. She’d jump in front of a bullet 80 times and he was tired of that. Things were never meant to…
"You..." He pressed his head down to her forehead. "It wasn't meant to be this way, Allie," His voice broke and he closed his eyes tightly while the tears came as he held the corpse of an almost lover. Almost. "It was supposed to be you and me for a long time. We were gonna find a safe place and... I had plans." He had told himself that after the Leviathans he would finally tell her. He'd make good on his promise to Bobby from years ago. He'd tell her he loved her and He'd take her away from this life. His one chance at actual happiness. "You weren't supposed to leave me like this," His grip on her hand tightened and he shook his head. "I can't do this without you, Allie." He whispered hoarsely. "You're my girl, Otter. Al, Alls." He couldn’t fucking shut up with the names, why couldn’t he shut up with the names? Who else in his life had forty fucking nicknames?
He didn't realize he was crying until he felt something wet drip onto her face.
"You know...you've been the best thing in my life since I met you, Alls." He let out a shaky breath and looked at her tearfully. "You're the best part of my life and I can't fucking live without you. I don’t know how. Last time was too fucking hard. I don’t want to do it again."
He pressed his lips against her forehead gently, tears falling freely down his cheeks as he kissed her cold skin for what felt like the last time.
Something made him refrain from telling her that he loved her. That felt like the casket, the final goodbye. He didn’t want that. He’d tell her every night in his dreams if he’d have to but he’d never say it out loud, not at her fucking deathbed. Not when he hadn’t told her the right way when she was alive. His best fucking friend and she died without knowing that he loved her, that he wanted her, that he’d spend the rest of his life driving through the US of A with her, or dancing to stupid music, or singing karaoke until they were banned from every bar in town.
"Goodbye, Firefly."
When it was Sam's turn to see Allie, he found that Dean had already left her room. He walked in slowly and looked down at her for a long time before moving forward. He took a deep breath and leaned down to press a kiss to her nose gently.
"I'm sorry it ended like this." He whispered softly, tears stinging in his eyes as he pulled away. "But thank you for what you did today." He knew it had been a conscious decision on her part, she could have fought back, she could have tried to run away or at least told him what was happening before she made her move, but she hadn't. She had protected him, protected Dean. Because of her, he was alive and unharmed, able to carry on hunting monsters and saving people…
"Thank you for protecting my family." He squeezed her hand gently before straightening up again, brushing the tears off his cheeks. "I love you, Duck. I'm sorry for the things I've done. You always... you've been there. Even when you should have walked away," His voice cracked slightly and he cleared his throat before continuing. "You've always been there for me, even when I didn't deserve it. Thank you." He looked down at her again for another moment, taking in the sight of her face, and committing it to memory before he turned and walked out of the room.
A note: This story was designed to have both a sad ending and a happy ending. This is the sad ending, you may stop here if you prefer emotional endings.
If you enjoy happy endings then the story will be continuing in a few weeks!
