Chapter 14

Dean managed to find Sam. He knew the kid's aliases and habits but he also figured out that if Sam took Angela's advice once, he would do it again and went with what he knew Sam wouldn't pick. He almost wanted to scoff at the fact that Sam booked the 'Honeymoon Suite' but he had to admit that it was pretty good.

He had to admit that it was disconcerting that Angela wasn't there yet. He could owe it to the fact that she was further away from him when she started out but he had to admit that he was disappointed she hadn't beat him to the punch. While she had been terse on the phone, he could tell that she was confident in what she was doing. The thought that she might have hit some trouble along the way stole into his thoughts but he had it banished. He couldn't think about that now; not with the issue with Sam on the line. That began with Ruby being on the business end of the knife.

He made his way up the stairs after figuring out the room Sam would have used. He paused to check the halls for any sign of Sam sticking his head out. He almost had a brief moment of panic when he spotted Sasha entering the hall. The mutts knew all of their scents. She could easily give him away if she made a beeline to him. It was one of the problems he didn't anticipate when he said it was a good thing that the pup was with Sam. He wondered what Angela had been thinking when she suggested that she keep Sam company in the panic room.

As it turned out Sasha didn't give him away, which was a surprise to him. She just waited for Sam. The only indication she may have known he was there was the twitch of her ears and the slight flare of her nostrils. Dean made a mental note to investigate since Sasha never failed to run to him when she was in a playful mood.

The coast was clear so Dean made his way to the room that Sam had left. No doubt Ruby was still in there. It was a walk in the park to get the door open and he found the bitch packing up. Slowly he pulled out the demon killing knife and stalked the bitch. One more thing for the to-do list.

His footsteps gave him away and Ruby wheeled to defend herself. He managed to get her across the forearm but it didn't stop there. They ended up with locked arms and with him pressing to try and gut the bitch. They wrestled around until he rammed Ruby into the wall and pressed. He got a good look and saw the fear in the bitch's eyes. He managed to twist his arm to get it free and was going to go for the plunge.

"No."

Dean found himself flung aside. He hit the bed and it broke his fall. He looked to see his brother trying to hold him off. Sasha was barking but rooted near the door looking like she was between them. Sam was looking at him and trying to placate him saying, "Just take it easy."

Dean got to his feet as Sasha whined. He looked at Sam and glanced at Ruby and replied, "Well, it must've been some party you two had going… considering how hard you tried to keep me from crashing it. Well, solid try but here I am."

Sam tried the calm approach and what he said, he meant it, "Dean, I'm glad you're here. Look. Let's just talk about this. Wait till Angie comes."

"Soon as that hell bitch is dead, we can talk all you want." Dean knew that it would have made some difference if Angela was there but she wasn't. He wasn't going to pass up on getting rid of something that he should have taken care of a long time ago.

Sam looked at his brother. He knew Dean meant what he said. He really didn't want it to be this way. He turned towards Ruby and said, "Ruby, get out of here."

"No, she's not going anywhere," Dean started.

Sam stopped Dean's advance. Ruby took the opportunity to run but not before Sasha lunged with a growl and clamped onto her ankle. Sam started towards the dog but Ruby kicked her off and left and Sasha went as far as the door and snorted. Dean waited until Ruby was gone before saying, "She's poison Sam."

"It's not what you think," Sam defended himself.

Dean was incredulous at that, "Look what she did to you." He had Sam's attention with the silence and continued, "She vanishes weeks at a time, leaves you cracking out for another hit."

"She was looking for Lilith," Sam explained. It felt frustrating talking to Dean.

Dean stared at his brother like he was an idiot. He was almost rendered speechless but he managed to retort, "That is French for manipulating your ass ten ways from Sunday."

"You're wrong, Dean."

"Sam, you're lying to yourself. I just want you to be okay" He paused to let it sink in. He had to appeal to that part of Sam. He was going to be low with this but he had to get through to his brother. "You would do the same for me. You know you would… And you would do it like a hell hound on the move if it were Angie."

That was low for Dean and Sam knew it and could tell that Dean knew it. He closed his eyes and took a breath. "Just listen." He realized he still had the knife in his hands and tossed it onto the bed. "Just listen for a second. We got a lead on a demon close to Lilith. Come with us, Dean. We'll do this together."

"That sounds great," Dean allowed, "As long as it's you, me and Angie. Demon bitch is a deal breaker. You kiss her good-bye, we can go right now."

"I can't." Sam saw that Dean wasn't getting it. "Dean, I need her to help me kill Lilith. I know you can't wrap your head around it but maybe one day… you'll understand."

Dean had turned away since he had to think about what to do and say. He couldn't look at his brother. Sam wanted his brother to understand. He continued, "I'm the only one who can do this Dean."

Dean frowned the moment he heard that and turned to look at his brother. He shook his head slightly, "No, you're not the one who's gonna do this."

"Right. That's right. I forgot. The angels think it's you."

"You don't think I can?"

"No. You can't. You're not strong enough."

Dean narrowed his eyes in anger, "Who the hell are you?"

Sam tried being rational but slowly was becoming agitated, "I'm being practical here. Angie would say the same thing. I'm doing what needs to be done. She would tell you that and do it. It's what she does."

"Don't you dare Sam. You know her better than that." Dean pointed angrily at Sam. "Angie may be a lot of things that we don't know but you and I both know that she won't do this. Not without taking everything into consideration. Or have you forgotten that?"

Sam sighed with pursed lips and then said, "I am doing this for her. I am doing what needs to be done."

"You're not gonna do a single damn thing."

Sam snapped, "Stop bossing me around, Dean."

The high pitched whine of Sasha was an indicator that the tension was high in the room. Sam tried to calm down, "Look… my whole life, you take the wheel, you call the shots and I trust you because you are my brother. Now… I'm asking you, for once… trust me."

Dean listened to what Sam said. He knew Sam argued logically but he couldn't let his brother destroy himself. "No. You don't know what you're doing Sam."

"Yes I do."

"Then that's worse."

"Why? Look, I'm telling you…"

"Because it's not something you're doing. It's what you are!" Dean paused, realizing that he was heading down the slippery slope that Bobby warned him about. Yet he couldn't stop, "It means…"

"What?" Sam had to ask the question. He saw the look on his brother's face and that hurt. His eyes were starting to water. He shook his head and said, "No," but it turned to anger and he added, "Say it."

It pained Dean to say it. He had no idea that Sam had hallucinated about him saying what he was going to say to his little brother. It also meant that he could imply the same thing about their girl. She would say she was guilty of the same thing. He choked out, "It means you're a monster." The tear fell.

Sam choked a bit as he looked away. His own brother said that to him. It hurt. It allowed him to look at his brother and give a punch that he meant. He watched as his brother fell and landed on the ground. He gasped for air as he watched his brother shake it off and got to his feet. He knew that warranted a retaliatory punch and gritted his teeth and he felt his features contort in response to the anger that he felt. He looked at his brother and took gasping breaths, ready to fight and for one he could see what Angela had meant when she had taught him to fight.

Dean got to his feet and looked at his brother. Sam wanted it to be that way, then he would give it. If he had to kick his brother's ass to save him… He would do it. He came back with a punch of his own. It hit Sam square across the face. The fight was on.

They had fought before in jest, mostly to test each other, with it being more fun on Dean's end. This time though, it was to seriously hurt and injure each other. It didn't help that Sasha was barking more like someone shouting at them to stop it. Dean swung and delivered hard blows and got a couple of them in, pushing Sam back into the bathroom.

Sam retaliated by blocking and forcing Dean back. He was driven more by anger. It showed when he hit Dean with enough force to smash into the mirror and break it. He waited until Dean swung and made him miss. Using his brother's momentum, he flung him through the barrier separating the bathroom and watched as his brother landed in a heap of glass and wood or plaster.

Dean grimaced on the ground from the pain. He had hit the barrier head and shoulders first. He felt the blood come out of his nose and a dull throb on his head. Then he felt his brother's hands close around his throat. He looked up to see Sam looking down at him like he wanted to kill him. Dean did what he could to try to relieve the pressure.

Sam's blood was up and he was on top of Dean trying to choke the life out of him. He heard Sasha barking but ignored it. He looked down at his brother with an angry expression. Was it hate? He didn't know. He was just… angry… like it was rage.

Suddenly Sam felt a sharp pain in his upper arm. He turned to see that Sasha had bitten him and hard. She growled slightly combined with a whine. He looked down at his brother and released him and got up. He was still angry. "You don't know me. You never did. And you never will," he spat out in anger. He turned to leave.

Sasha gave a whine. Sam wheeled and snapped, "Stay stupid mutt."

Dean was coughing on the ground. His brother had tried to strangle him and if it hadn't been for Sasha… He coughed out, "You walk out that door… don't you ever come back."

Sam paused and turned to look at his brother lying on the ground. Dean used the same words their dad told him when he wanted out of the hunting business to go to college. First Dad, then Dean… maybe it was better this way. He opened the door and walked out leaving his brother on the ground. He tried to kick Sasha away when she followed. "Sasha, don't. Stay," he said after she managed to nip his ankle and grab onto his jeans and tug.

She refused to be cowed and continued to follow. Sam waved his hands in frustration and walked away. He had a job to do.

Ruby had made it to her car. For a moment there, she was certain that Dean was going to get past Sam and kill her. He almost had the jump on her before Sam interfered. If it hadn't been for Sam, she would have been a cold corpse on the ground. She fumbled for her keys.

"I warned you the last time we met, Ruby. Did you really think that I was playing with you?"

Ruby paused in what she was doing and her expression became sour as she turned away from the car. She glared at the newcomer and replied, "It's what you do and you haven't done anything to make me think otherwise, bitch."

Angela looked at Ruby as her breath made clouds of smoke in the cold night air. She looked at the demon and took in the situation at hand. She noted that Ruby looked a little flustered in spite of the fact she was being her usual bitchy self. She should be. "Are you really going to go down that route?" She asked the question as she stepped forward.

Ruby stepped away from the car. It was then she noted the low throated growl coming from Cerebus. First the Wilder and now this? It was a bad day all around the first time she could actually go about and do what she had been doing. She ignored the hell hound and focused on Angela who was approaching her with a raised brow. She said, "And are you still willing to go behind Sam's back to deal with this?"

"Behind his back?" Angela raised her brow at Ruby. She gave a slow grin and said, "This has been out in the open since you walked through the front door bitch. There is nothing behind whoever's back here. We've both made it clear that we would kill each other."

Ruby stared hard at Angela. The hell hound was growling low but he hadn't moved. No doubt Angela had something to do with both mutts behaving the way they were. She nodded in agreement, "You're right. I saved your ass the last two times because I wanted to kill your ass myself and where's the gratitude in that?"

"Oh I'm grateful considering that we had a nice little rumble the last time out."

"And you're the cause of Sam hurting," Ruby countered, trying to pin it on Angela. It didn't matter if Sam was there or not. Eventually he would find out what happened and maybe he'll blame this cow for what happened. "You knocked me out for three weeks."

"Was it only that?" Angela mocked disappointment. She put a hand as if to think about it before shrugging. "I must be getting soft. Usually the bitches like you get the hint the first time."

"You've been soft too often. It's a wonder anyone is afraid of you," Ruby shot back. She dropped her bag on the ground. At least she had one weapon available to her if things got too ugly. "I mean what we did… nothing compared to some of the landmarks you visit."

"Well as has been pointed out to me, I'm no angel," Angela replied. She eyed Ruby and noted her movements. "So I have no problem opening old wounds between us. How's the burn mark?"

Ruby automatically put a hand to her side. She narrowed her eyes and snarled, "That was a low blow even for you. You know how it feels."

"Maybe… maybe not." Angela knew full well how it felt to have a lasting mark. There were a few that she was sensitive to and it took a lot of effort when someone touched her the wrong way not to react. "All I know is that," she pointed were Ruby's hand touched her side, "is a minor show of how much affection I have for you."

"Care for me to issue some payback?"

"If you think you can."

It was a rather nasty taunt and there was no guarantee that she would win but Angela was determined to give the beating of a lifetime to Ruby. It would mean that she was serious. If Sam happened to show up, it was going to be a difficult situation but she would do what she had to do. The demon blood was not the way to go.

Ruby on the other hand was up to the challenge. Even though her arm still stung from the knife she was up for beating this bitch's ass black and blue. This time she would not walk away with a few bumps and bruises. She gave a slow smile, her lips almost pouting a bit as she replied, "Oh I know I can. The question is whether or not you have the balls to finish what you should have." She raised her brow slightly in a challenge. "Well… do you or do you not?" It came out as a sneer and Ruby tensed her muscles to see what Angela would do.

Angela twitched her lip slightly. She looked down at the ground and sideways at Cerebus. The hell hound growled low in his chest but he sat down. He wasn't going to move. She sighed and looked back up at Ruby. As soon as she did, she made a sweeping gesture and sent the demon flying where she collided with the wall. It was followed by a rushing of the demon and Angela pressed her against the wall with her eyes glowing.

Ruby grunted from the impact of the double whammy. She could tell that Angela was pissed. Well she could dish it back too. She looked at Angela and noted that her eye teeth had the faintest hints of elongation and her eyes were glowing. It was on.

"Want to dance?" Angela gave a slightly evil looking grin.

Ruby pursed her lips and it slowly turned into a smile, "Oh I love it." She pushed hard to gain some leverage and delivered a hard left. It gave her enough opening for her to use her mojo to send Angela flying back herself where she collided with the side of a car and left a particularly nasty dent. It sucked that the only way her mojo would work on the bitch before her was if she caught her off guard.

Angela shook her head slightly since the back of her head hit the door of the car. It was sheer luck that it didn't have an alarm system. It would have been hard to explain why she and a hell bitch were going at it in a parking lot. There was also the issue of being arrested for assault and then that would be a bitch. As it were the area was pretty quiet.

Looking up, Angela got to her feet but she was off balance since Ruby decided to charge her. She was on her knees but she grabbed the demon by her waist like she was going to tackle her. It gave her a bit of leverage to get to her feet since she had a grip on Ruby's belt. The downside was that Ruby had her by her belt and neither one of them was going to let go.

It was an interesting form of tug-o-war as each woman tugged on their end, trying to lift the other. It would have looked funny and certainly garnered cat calls but it was hardly fun since both also extended their arms, trying to scratch each other. Ruby managed to scratch Angela on the lower back where she gave a kidney shot the last time. Angela reacted and managed to lift Ruby's feet a little but took off moving and swung her to the side and into another car, leaving a dent near the back wheel and possibly damage to the rear axle.

The shot to the hip had Ruby grunting. She brought up her arm and hit Angela square on the lower back. It forced Angela to grit her teeth and she slid down. It gave Ruby opportunity to grab her in a similar manner and completely fling her aside. She followed up with a kick at Angela's midsection while she was down and grinned in pleasure as Angela rolled away to try and get to her feet. She aimed with another kick.

Angela was ready for it though and brought her arms up to catch Ruby's foot with both hands. With a deft twist, she twisted Ruby's ankle and heard a slight crunch. She exerted enough force to have Ruby spin midair before she fell to the pavement and hit it hard. Stumbling Angela got to her feet and pounced on Ruby and ended up grabbing her hair.

Ruby retaliated and pulled on what she could of Angela's hair. They started rolling on the ground. It was a general and literal hair pulling ordeal. Both had a grip on each other's hair near the roots and tugging while struggling to prevent the other from pulling it out. After rolling around, Angela landed on her back with Ruby grabbing the hair near her ears and she had hair near the back of the bitch's head. Ruby growled from the pain and drew back her fist and drove a right hook across Angela's face.

The punch was a stunner and had Angela blink but that didn't stop her from throwing a left hook that knocked Ruby off of her. She rolled to her hands and knees and got to her feet. It was a good thing since Ruby was back on her feet and swinging her punches fast and hard along with a couple of kicks. Angela blocked and gave a few back and finished with a spinning back kick to slam Ruby into a dumpster with enough force to make the lid slam down.

Ruby snarled at Angela and reached behind her. Her hand closed on something and she brought it out in a wide swing. The piping caught the side of Angela's body, mostly on the shoulder but it changed the dynamics. Ruby swung hard with her weapon while Angela sprang away until she grabbed the pipe. It was all that Ruby needed.

Ruby took the opportunity to deliver a hard kick to Angela's midsection. She followed through with a backhand and a punch. When Angela let go she swung the pipe and hit her hard and heard the crack of ribs. Dropping the pipe, she grabbed the dhampir and flipped her onto the dumpster, slamming her back down on it and she drove her elbow in. "Take that you stupid bitch," she muttered as she drove another elbow towards home.

"Don't mind if I do," Angela replied a bit weakly. Her vision was blurring from the hits and her body was sore from the beatings. With the last ounce of strength she could muster, she reached out and punched Ruby in the face and grabbed her head by her hair and yanked down. It was an action she would regret later but it felt good at the time.

Ruby yelped in surprise when the fangs pierced her neck. It wasn't a love tap. It was a full on bite. She jerked back and ended up pulled Angela off the dumpster and they landed in a heap on the pavement. Fueled more by rage, she grabbed Angela in a similar manner and slammed her head into the dumpster and watched with certain satisfaction when Angela collapsed face down and didn't get up. She was still conscious since she gave a slight moan. Ruby took her opportunity and grabbed her knife from her boot. Gasping from exhaustion and pleasure, she grabbed the back of Angela's head and lifted to expose the throat. She heaved a chuckle as she started to bring down the knife.

"Don't!"

Ruby looked to see Sam holding her arm, preventing her from delivering the killing blow. He looked pissed and hurt but more pissed. "What are you doing Sam?"

"Don't," Sam repeated.

Ruby took in his expression and slowly lowered her knife to put it back in her boot. She couldn't help but pout, "She tried to kill me."

Sam just stared at her with a hard look. Ruby was silent on the matter as she followed Sam. She cast a look back at Angela as she struggled on the ground. Who's the bitch now?

Angela blinked as she felt the thousands of sore spots on her body. She thought it was the end when she felt her head pulled back and her neck exposed. In the end though, Sam saved her. She was disoriented but she heard him tell Ruby not to do it. The tone alone was something and had she been coherent enough, worried about that. As it were, she was down for the count and she saw Sam walking away with Ruby. They were followed by Sasha, who only paused a moment to look at her and Cerebus before jumping into the car. Where did things go wrong? It was on her mind as her vision blurred to darkness, watching the car drive away.

A/N: Dean catches up with Sam and they duke it out. Meanwhile Angie catches up with Ruby and round two starts and ends with Ruby nearly killing Angie. What happens next? Stay tuned for the season finale 3.22 Descent into the Maelstrom...