In the Light

Chapter Thirty: A Small Music Store

She woke up on the floor of one of the upstairs rooms. Castiel had two fingers against her forehead. His face was about an inch from hers. "Jesus!" She shouted, her head slung back and hit the wall. "Ow!"

"No, it's me, Castiel."

Ruby laughed. "Yeah, I got that." She gingerly put a hand to her head where it had been bleeding. There was still blood there, but it didn't hurt. "Thanks," she said to Cas.

"It was no problem." He moved to her left. Sam was next to her with blood running down his head. Cas healed him and stepped back a little so he wouldn't startle Sam. Sam woke up and looked around the room.

Mary was looking at them both, concerned. The teens, Kat and Gavin, were talking quietly. Dean was in the corner, putting a bandage on his chest where Sam had shot him. He pulled his shirt back over his head carefully. She could tell it hurt, but he was playing it cool. "You okay?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Sammy over there just put salt on an open wound. I would apologize for that bad joke, but it wasn't as bad as yours. This girl -" he pushed himself off the wall and walked towards her. "Right before she passed out, she says 'I thought spirits at rest were supposed to stay at rest.'" There was a light chuckle around the room.

"To be fair, I had a bullet wound from my boyfriend's failed attempt to kill me. That Ellicott. Man, what a dick." She looked at Sam and smiled, letting him know she was okay.

"Well. I'm out of here," Kat spoke up and walked to the door, Gavin trailing behind her. The others started to follow. Sam got up then pulled Ruby up. Ruby started to go with the others but Sam grabbed her arm.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things. I can't believe what I did." He looked ashamed of himself.

"It's okay. It wasn't you, right?" Doubt had entered her voice. "Sam."

"Not completely. I would never want to you dead, but... Ruby, are you really okay?"

"I guess I can't say I blame you for asking me because I don't know either. I am all over the place, but that's what being bipolar entails. Hunting really helps though."

"I just don't want you to be reckless with your life."

"Being a hunter is reckless," she pointed out.

"I know, but-"

"Sam. I can't help any of this. You need to accept it. Just don't leave me unless I want to be alone. I don't think I'll try to do anything. If it gets that bad again, I'll tell you. I promise." She instantly regretted it; she could never promise that.

"I'll never stop worrying about you. You can't stop me."

"I know." She hugged him tightly. She put her face against his warm chest. She was so small; his arms crossed around her back. He smelled good. His scent was indescribable. They stood like that for a minute then she stood on her toes and kissed him.

He was still tense, so she kissed him harder, her nails scratching his back over his shirt. He kissed her back, holding her tightly. His tongue slipped into her mouth. It was amazing, but it ended quickly. They were breathing heavily. "We should-" she gestured toward the door.

"Yeah." He put his arm over her shoulder and they walked out.

Dean was already in the car listening to Kansas with the windows rolled down. Ruby got in next to him. "Did Mary and Cas take Kat and Gavin home?"

"Yeah. I overheard Kat saying that she was going to break up with Gavin because he brought her there. He told her they were going to a movie."

"Ouch," Ruby said. They were on the road by then. Ruby saw a music shop up ahead. "Dean. Go over there." She pointed to the store. It was small, not a chain store. She didn't like chain stores.

Inside, she made a beeline for the guitars. She picked up an acoustic guitar and sat down on the floor. She played a fast-paced arpeggio. It sounded more complicated than it actually was. Her fingers flew up and down the frets. She ended it with a slow C chord and looked up.

Dean smirked, looking impressed. "You're gonna have to teach me that. Know any rock songs?"

"Mm. I used to know Stairway to Heaven, but I'd need the tabs for that. Tablature," she added as if that would make it clearer. "Actually, they might have a book of it here." She carefully put the guitar back on the wall and headed toward a stand with some books on it.

Sam found a book of Led Zeppelin tabs. "Here." He handed the book to her. He bit his lip to keep to himself from smiling too widely. She flipped through it. It was perfect. She walked back to the guitars. Sam went with her, but Dean stayed behind, looking for more song books.

It was like riding a bike. She hadn't played in awhile. She sometimes played in the convent, but that was just chords to go along with singing during recreation. She had played the song so many times when she was younger. It all came back to her. It felt so good to really play again.

When she finished, Sam said "Which one do you want? That one seems to work pretty well."

"Which guitar do I want? Really?" She may have squealed a little. Sam was sitting down next to her, so she leaned over and hugged him.

"It's nice to see you so happy. Lost in the music. Good luck teaching Dean, though." They laughed.

An older man walked up to them. "You kids finding everything okay?"

Ruby held up the guitar. "We'll take this one."