Title: Down the Rabbit Hole [6/?]
Author: alakewood
Warnings: None.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~650
Summary: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. -- Lao Tzu
Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing.

oxoxo

THEN...

Ruby directed Sam to the warehouse she'd holed herself up in – it was five miles down the road from their hotel.

"So, you've been following us?"

Dean's cheeks flushed slightly. "I keep tabs on you to keep you out of trouble. But I do a lot of hunting on my own, too."

Sam parked the Impala on the side of the building away from the road and followed Ruby inside. He laughed at the way she stalked around in Dean's body, as if she were wearing a pair of too-big boots. Inside the building, he realized that the place wasn't abandoned, but had been converted into huge, free-standing storage units. When Ruby started running, he realized something wasn't right.

Ruby shoved the rolling door on the unit the rest of the way up and stared inside. "Shit." She turned to Sam. "I'm gone."

oxo

NOW...

Ruby spun around, intent on running out of the storage unit, but she was unprepared for the way her momentum shifted Dean's body weight and she stumbled into Sam, nearly plowing him over. "Get out of my way, Sam."

"De- Ruby!" It wasn't difficult for Sam to catch up with her, Ruby's awkwardness in Dean's body no match for Sam's long stride.

"There's no time!" She wrenched her arm free from Sam's grasp.

Ruby's panic was vivid in Dean's eyes. "It's only been a couple of days."

"Only a couple of days," she mocked with Dean's gruff sarcasm as she lumbered towards the Impala. "You of all people should know what can happen in a couple of days. We don't even know what's wearing my body-"

"It's not even your body, Ruby, so what difference does it make?" Sam stood stock-still with one hand on the handle of the driver's side door and the keys clenched in the fist of the other inside his pocket.

"Okay, I know the body wasn't mine, but the girl that was inside it'll probably never be coming back. Do you have any idea what that body has been through? Bobby shot me in the chest once. It- she will be dead in a matter of minutes without someone else in the saddle. That is, if she isn't dead already. So get in the damn car, Sam.

Meanwhile, Dean played the silent passenger, seeing Ruby's thoughts nearly as clearly as his own. It was like watching a movie through fog. Individual scenes and clips being spliced together as she imagined all her options. He took his chance and forced his way through her defenses while she was unaware. "Get in the car, Sammy. It's a long-shot, but she's got an idea."

The expression on Dean's face was one of confusion and Sam was equally stunned at the use of his nickname. "Dean?"

"Your brother's a sneaky bastard. Get in the car, Sam – time's wasting."

oxo

As they drove, Ruby filled Sam in on the only decent plan she could come up with in such a limited amount of time. Dean had even agreed that it was probably the fastest way to reunite Rube with her body as well.

"Are you sure this is the way?" Sam asked, turning off the highway onto a rutted, rarely-driven dirt road a few hours later.

"Yes. She prefers to stay out of the way where only desperate, true believers and old friends will attempt to find her."

After a few more miles and a couple of seemingly random turns, a large stone building came into view. No other buildings, no vehicles around save the Impala – the house was a remote island in a sea of prairie grass.

Sam parked a few yards away from the front door and hesitated a moment before getting out to join Ruby at the front door. "What is this place?" he asked, noting the trinity knot formed by wrought iron in the center of the design covering the massive wooden door.

"Technically, Siobhan is a psychic – like you. But, really, that's only one of her many talents."

The door creaked open, revealing a fair-skinned, dark-haired woman only a few years older than Dean. "Psychic, clairvoyant, medium," she shrugged. "I prefer to say that I have the gift of sight." She directed her gaze at Dean- rather, Ruby, then. "I'd like to say this is a welcome surprise, but this is neither welcome, nor a surprise. Ruby: what do you want?"

Arms akimbo, Ruby rolled Dean's eyes as she shifted his weight to one leg. It was all so feminine and unlike Dean. "I need your help. Obviously."

Siobhan turned to Sam. "Your brother's body, yes?"

"Yeah."

"Quite the predicament. Let's see what I can do."