Lullaby |Dean Winchester|

Chapter 24: Put Down Roots

Sam swallowed noisily beside me. "This plan," he sighed, "would it actually work? Would it stop Lucifer?"

I sat up so quickly the room spun, forcing Sam to steady me on the squeaky barstool. "Damn it, Jolly. No." The growl in my voice demanded no arguments. Eyes locked on his, I pursed my lips. "You're stuck with us and that's that. Now rub my back so I don't accidentally puke while trying to prove my point." Sam gave me a smile and let me lay my head on his shoulder as he returned to his job. This bitch wasn't going to take my big friendly giant from me.

No way in hell or heaven.

"So we go back in time." Dean said, bringing us back to the task at hand.

Cass shook his fuzzy dark head. "And deliver you both right to Anna? I don't think so."

"These are our parents, Cass. We're going." Dean responded quickly, Sam nodding in agreement.

Our angel sighed heavily. "It's not that easy," he told us as he began to pace. His trench coat billowed behind him like a runway model and I had to fight not to laugh.

"How so?"

"Time travel was difficult, even with the powers of Heaven at my disposal. Now-" Castiel trailed off, clearly uncomfortable. I would have felt bad for him if my aspirin had kicked in already.

But it hadn't.

"So, what?" Dean asked, eyebrow raising as he leaned against the island Sam and I were sitting at. "You're like a DeLorean without enough plutonium?" I snorted, causing Sparky to shoot me a half smile.

Cass shook his head. "I don't understand that reference, but I'm telling you, taking this trip—with passengers no less—" He paused, sighing again. "It'll weaken me."

"It's our mom and dad," Dean pushed again, not taking no for an answer. Hope danced in his eyes and I felt my heart constrict. "If we can save them, and not just from Anna, if we can set things right," he gave a humorless chuckle, "we have to try."

Castiel stared at him, worry embedded in his features. I knew this would be hard on him. But he finally nodded. "Alright," I grumbled. "Let's pack our bags."

Dean looked at me as if he'd momentarily forgotten I was there. "You're not coming."

"And why the hell not?"

Sam shook his head, his hand pausing on my back again and I felt myself go slightly green. "He's right. Andy, you're barely holding yourself together as is. Just take a break. We've got this one."

I shook my head, not sure what I was hearing. Didn't they want me there? "Seriously?" Running a hand through my hair, I stood up and pushed down the nausea so that there was room for anger. "So, what? You want me to sit around twiddling my thumbs and baking pies while I wait to see if my boys are alive? Is that what you want?" My hands shook as I pushed away from the table. "Whatever."

I ran a hand through my hair and headed to the library. Ever since our surprise trip to the future I'd been reading up on time travel. There were a few books that could be helpful. I ripped them from the shelves and planted my butt on a desk. After a few moments of flipping through pages, I let out a frustrated groan and threw the book across the room, nearly hitting Dean as he walked in.

"Impressive arm, Sanders." He mused, offering me a half smile I didn't return.

Rolling my eyes and rubbing my temples, I sighed. "What do you want, Dean?"

He came over and placed his hands on either side of where I sat on the desk. "I wanted to see if you're okay."

"Bullshit." I shot back, pushing him away and jumping to the floor. My drugs were finally taking effect and I didn't feel like I was about to spray chunks.