spiceblueeyes | Leave All Your Love And Your Longing Behind-Epilogue

Epilogue-Lazarus Rising

It’s been four months. Four months since she and Ben said goodbye and watched Dean and Sam drive off in the Impala, rock music blaring out of the windows like it was any other hunt. Four months since Sam showed up at their doorstep, guilt and anguish in his eyes, alone.

Four months since Dean was dragged into Hell.

It’s been three months since Ben got in trouble at school for fighting. Some other kid had said that monsters weren’t real and Ben had kneed him in the balls and followed it up with a punch to the face. Three months since Ben had started seeing a grief counselor. Sometimes Lisa went with him.

Two months since Lisa cried over Dean, and where he was. She was tired of red eyes and tasting salt in the air. Crying wasn’t helping anyone, least of all Dean.

One month since Sam gave up his search for a way to get Dean back, putting away the books that Bobby said were dangerous and sent shivers up her spine. One month since things started getting back to normal, or at least since they’d started adjusting to the Dean-sized hole in their lives, living with it and around it.

Four months since Dean went to Hell, and now here he was on the other side of the door, a slight smile on his face, arm still raised from knocking.

“Sam!” Lisa yelled and stumbled backwards. “Sam!”

The Maybe-Dean put his arm down and turned both hands palm up, showing he wasn’t armed. “Lisa, it’s me.”

Lisa shook her head. She may not be as well-versed in the Supernatural as Sam and Bobby, but she knew enough to know that people didn’t rise from the dead, and if they did, it was never a good thing. She felt Sam’s presence come up behind her. He passed her and placed himself between her and the door, protective. A knife appeared in his hand from somewhere and he pointed it at Maybe-Dean. “I don’t know what or who you are, but you better leave right now.” Sam said, anger vibrating through his voice. “And don’t come back.” Lisa could see the barely restrained violence in the tense way he held himself.

Maybe-Dean lifted his arms up, away from his body, the universal ‘I come in peace’ gesture. “Sam, Lisa.” He lifted one foot slowly, and moved forward. Past the salt line, past the protection spells, through the devil’s trap inlaid under the welcome mat. He stepped into the house. “It’s really me.”

Silence wrapped around the tension and confusion, holding it tight and making the air feel thick in Lisa’s throat. Maybe-Dean pulled his other foot into the house, crossing the threshold completely, which if he was any kind of supernatural evil, shouldn’t have been possible with all the wards and safeguards in place.

Sam spoke first, a question, hesitant but hopeful. “Dean?”

Dean smiled, “Sam, it’s good to see you.” Sam cocked his head, and quick as a snake, struck out with his knife. Scoring a small line down Dean’s exposed right arm. Lisa knew the knife would be silver, and when there was no smoke, or sparkle, when Dean’s eyes stayed green and only a small amount of blood flowed from the wound, she knew he’s passed the last test. Silver was the only thing they hadn’t been able to ward the house with yet, but here Dean stood, clearly unaffected by the metal.

Lisa stepped forward, then stopped, looked long and hard into Dean’s eyes. He stared back, unflinching, and she saw the same man she’d known. The man she loved. “Dean.” She breathed, and affirmation. He nodded and the air itself let out the breath it had been holding, flowing once more.

“Dean!” Ben, who had made his way downstairs to see what was going on, ran forward only to halt suddenly next to Sam. Lisa watched him, proud, as he took in the scratch on Dean’s arm and Sam’s knife with blood on the tip. She saw Ben notice that Dean was fully inside the house, and that none of the protective symbols they had placed discreetly around the door were still intact. He looked up at Sam, “Is it…” he trailed off. Sam’s nod was all the assurance he needed and he rocketed at Dean, jumping into his arms which reacted quickly, catching Ben and holding him close. “Hey, Dude.” Dean gave a small chuckle, like he’d only been gone for hours instead of four months, and for an instant Lisa wanted to hate him for that. But she’d never managed to hate him for leaving, dying, in the first place, even though it would have made things easier to bear. So she couldn’t hate him for coming back.

She walked the rest of the way to him and leaned up for a kiss, Ben held between them, clutching Dean. The kiss was short, but full of messages, like “I’m sorry,” “I missed you,” and “welcome back.” Lisa broke the kiss and looked back at Sam, still standing in shock.

“Sammy,” Dean said, and his voice was sounded rough, but it seemed to be whatever Sam had been looking for, and he came over, wrapping them all in a hug. His arms big enough to span all three of them together.

Lisa didn’t know what was going on, or understand how or why, and she had a feeling no one else did either. But in this moment she didn’t care, her family was whole again, and in the end that’s what really mattered.

She tasted salt in the air, so familiar, but this time she welcomed it.

The End