To the Death

Dean looked at his dad who was staring down at him angrily, wanting to say something, but unable to find the words or get his mind to focus on anything other than the fact that Kacey was in danger.

“What’s going on Dean?” John asked abruptly.

“Kacey’s planning on sacrificing herself to end this battle,” Dean told him noticing the lack of shock on his dad’s face, “You knew.”

“What are you talking about?” John said as Dean got out the car followed closely by Sam.

“You knew what she was planning, or at least what she had to do and you pulled us away so that we couldn’t stop her,” Dean shouted.

“If she didn’t die now she would only ended up getting killed afterwards,” Shane added as Dean slammed him against the passenger door of John’s truck, “At least this way she goes down fighting.”

“She’s your daughter Shane and you’re just going to let her die… I was wrong about you, you’re just as bad as her mother,” Bobby stated glaring at Shane, “Come on boys, we have to get back there before Kacey does something she’ll regret.”

“You’ll be too late,” Shane growled as he struggled against Dean’s hold.

“She’s not dead yet, which means that we still have time… unlike you we don’t give up on the people we care about and we sure as hell don’t let them die,” Dean replied as he let go of Shane and climbed back into the Impala, followed closely by Sam and Bobby.

***

Kacey ran through her plan one more time ignoring her phone, which had been ringing non-stop for the last ten minutes and concentrating fully on the task at hand. Once she had finished, she checked her phone and frowned when she realized she had missed calls from Dean, Sam and even Bobby.

It was five minutes before Sam called again and this time Kacey answered, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible.

“Hey Sam, what’s the emergency?”

‘Lawrence was a bust, so we’re heading back to help you out instead,’ Sam said causing Kacey to panic a little.

“You know what, I’m almost done here… why don’t you just head back to Bobby’s and I’ll meet you there?”

‘Are you sure? I mean we really don’t want to be sitting around doing nothing when we could be helping you.’

“I’ve got everything under control here, just relax… you’ve been driving for hours, if you really want to help you could do some research for me,” Kacey said hanging up and heading over to the clearing.

“Everything okay?” Ethan inquired.

“Everything is fine… let’s do this,” Kacey replied confidently although she was terrified.

“You have half an hour before you can start, it has to be midnight when your blood touches the ground.”

“I understand if you can’t watch,” Kacey mumbled not looking Ethan in the eye out of fear of what she would see, “I can do this on my own.”

“I’m not going anywhere, you shouldn’t have to do this alone.”

Kacey gave him a small smile, but there was no true emotion behind it and she knew that Ethan saw it.

***

Ethan felt his stomach twist in anger when he saw how vacant Kacey’s eyes looked; he remembered just a few weeks before, seeing that familiar sparkle there and the smile that genuinely reached her eyes making them shine brighter. Even with the job they did, nothing seemed to change her but death extinguished the fire that always burnt bright within her and that hurt to see.

Now he could waste time thinking that he couldn’t stop her, but the truth is that he could and he wanted to. All he would have to do is tell her not to do it, but he wouldn’t because the other option was so much worse and Ethan didn’t want her to suffer like that.

Sure, either way she was going to die but at least this way was on her own terms; if she didn’t do this, then the demons that were after her would tear her apart and Ethan couldn’t let that happen to her. Dean could stop her though; he could stop her and protect her with the help of Sam and Bobby… if only they got there on time.

***

“Ethan sent me some co-ordinates for a clearing not far from Bobby’s house,” Dean said his eyes focused on the road but his head focused on getting to Kacey in time.

“How are we going to play this?” Sam asked looking over at Dean from the passenger seat.

“I have no idea, we’ll just wing it… it’s obvious that Kacey has her mind set on going through with it and we all know that once her mind is made up there’s no changing it.”

“If anyone can make her see sense it’s you Dean,” Bobby added from the back seat, “That girl thinks the world of you, me and Sam too but for different reasons.”

“What are talking about?” Dean inquired playing dumb but he knew exactly what the older man was talking about.

“You already know, I don’t need to tell you and you don’t have to deny it either… you’re not a kid anymore Dean,” Bobby replied his tone serious.

“I know it makes everything difficult and we all know how dangerous this job is… it’s a distraction and it’s not worth dying over,” Dean argued although that wasn’t how he truly felt.

“It’s worth everything Dean, don’t let dad take this chance away from you… he’s taken enough don’t you think?” Sam snapped looking over at his brother.

Dean knew they were right, hell he’d die if it meant that Kacey was safe but that scared him and it was even worse because of his dad. John’s ‘emotions make you weak’ attitude was where Dean got it from, he’d had it drummed into his head regularly for years… family and hunting came first… no exceptions.

***

Midnight arrived and Kacey sat in the clearing with her legs crossed, speaking out loud in Latin in order to start the ritual. Her hands shook as she picked up the dagger, the blade reflecting the moonlight as Kacey sliced the blade across her hand, clenching her fist and allowing the blood to soak into the ground.

The wind picked up around her, circling and engulfing her as she said the last few words to finish. The wind faded as soon as the final word left her mouth, leaving her dizzy and feeling sick.

“Kacey?” Ethan said but his voice with quiet and distant.

“Yeah, just give me a minute,” Kacey replied her voice shaky.

The sound of a car screeching to a stop startled her, but she stayed upright and watched as Dean emerged from the trees with Sam hot on his heels. He froze when he spotted her, his eyes moving straight to her hand which was still bleeding and moved towards her slowly, wrapping it with a piece of material from his shirt.

“What did you do Kace?” Dean asked, his voice filled with more emotion than Kacey had ever witnessed from him.

“What I had to,” Kacey mumbled feeling the tears as they trailed down her cheeks.

“Come on, we need to talk… Sammy, can you get a ride with Ethan?” Dean inquired earning a nod from Sam, “We’ll meet you back at Bobby’s.”

Dean led Kacey over to the Impala helping her into the passenger side, before climbing into the drivers seat and leaving the clearing.

“Will you please yell at me or tell me that you hate me… anything, just enough with the silence already,” Kacey groaned.

“I’m not going to yell at you and I sure as hell won’t be telling you that I hate you ever, but that was a dumb-ass move you made back there… what were you thinking?” Dean stated glancing over at her.

“I was thinking that this was the best way out, at least this way I know that the people I care about are going to be okay and I can die in peace.”

“The people you care about may be safe from demons for a little while, but in order for that to happen they’ve had to lose you… I’ve had to lose you,” Dean replied his voice cracking, “I get why you did it but I am not letting you die like this.”

“Dean… it’s already done… I’m dying and there’s nothing that you can do about it.”

“You’re still breathing, I’m not giving up that easily and I won’t let you give up either… I’m not going to stand by and watch you die… I can’t do it,” Dean mumbled finding it hard to keep his emotions in check.

Kacey stared at Dean, his fists clenched tight around the steering wheel as if trying to hold it in place, but Kacey saw it in his eyes… he loved her and that made it hurt even more. By the time they arrived back at Bobby’s, Kacey was struggling to keep her eyes open and the darkness began to descend on her vision.

Dean lifted her carefully from the car, carrying her into Bobby’s living room and laying her gently on the sofa. No one knew how long she had, but they wouldn’t give up… even if Kacey was too tired to fight.