Larissa is folding laundry when Jody walks into the house.
"Hey." Jody greets.
"Hey." Larissa nods her head.
"Where, um... where's Athena?" Jody asks.
"Taking a nap. What are you doing home in the middle of the day?" Larissa asks.
"Uh... Sam called." Jody says.
"Okay." Larissa says.
"Um.. honey, Dean, uh... Dean died." Jody says making Larissa freeze.
"Wh-what?" She asks.
"But... but his body isn't there. He... apparently, he woke up and he dipped or something." Jody says. "Wants me to keep an eye out."
Larissa feels tears spring to her eyes as she thinks of Dean.
"He-- wh-- I--" She struggles to come with words.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart." Jody whispers. The nickname immediately reminds her of Dean and the dam breaks. Jody goes over and hugs her tightly, knowing how close the two were. Larissa continues to sob until she tries to push more tears back.
"I... I need to go back to Lebanon. I-- I need to check on Sam." Larissa says.
"I can watch Athena. But you can't drive like this. Take an hour or so." Jody says.
"Are-- are you sure?" Larissa asks.
"Yeah." Jody nods.
+++
After getting calm enough to drive, Larissa made her way back to the bunker. When she gets there, she quickly makes her way inside and down the stairs. She comes to a stop when she sees Sam asleep with his head on the map table.
Larissa slowly walks over and she gently nudges Sam's shoulder, him jolting awake. He looks around before spotting her.
"Lissy?" He asks, tired and confused.
"Hi." She whispers.
"What... what are you doing here?" Sam asks.
"Jody told me... about Dean. Sammy, I'm sorry." Larissa says, trying to keep her own tears in.
"Right. Right." Sam looks down. He doesn't say anything and Larissa knows he probably did all of his crying earlier. Larissa wraps her arms around his shoulders, hugging him, her chin resting on top of his head. She kisses the top of his head, tightening her grip on him a little.
She hears him sniffle and then quiet sobs are released. Larissa holds onto him tighter as he starts to sob. Sam spins in the chair, hiding his face in her abdomen. Larissa keeps her arms around him, running her hand over his head.
"It's okay, baby. I got you." Larissa whispers.
~ ~ ~
After Sam stopped crying, he quickly regained his composure and got up.
"You-- you need to leave." Sam says, starting to drag her upstairs.
"What?" Larissa asks.
"I'm gonna be looking for Dean. It-- you can keep an eye out on him if he ends up in Sioux Falls or something." Sam says.
"Wh-- Sam, I'm not just gonna leave you like this. You're a wreck." Larissa says.
"Real flattering." Sam remarks.
"Sam--" He pushes her out the door.
"It's for the best." Sam shuts the door and locks it.
"Sam!" Larissa tries to open the door. "Sam!" She pounds on it.
+++
A few hours later, Sam opens the door, going to follow a lead. He stops when he sees Larissa sitting on the ground, her back against the wall.
"What are you doing?" Sam asks.
"I told you. I'm not leaving you." Larissa states.
"Larissa--" Sam sighs.
"Sam, you're grieving and on a hunt for your dead but not dead brother. Whatever the fuck happened. That doesn't really sound healthy for you to be alone." Larissa says.
"Why do you even care? I mean, after everything I've said, why give a shit?" Sam asks.
"I told you. Even if you hurt me, but I knew something was wrong, I'd give a shit. So, here I am, giving a shit... which you probably don't fucking deserve, and yet..." Larissa says.
"Really? Even after everything?" Sam asks.
"Shockingly, yeah." Larissa says.
"Just go back to Jody's." Sam tells her.
"How about this? I'll go get Athena from Jody's. And I'll stay here and help you look for Dean. But I'll stay with with Thena when you get a lead... or-or whatever you're looking for."
"Fine." Sam agrees after a few moments.
"Fine." Larissa says.
"I'm going now. You go get Athena, I guess." Sam walks over.
"Fucking stubborn Winchesters." She whispers to herself.
+++
It's been a week and Sam has gotten practically no sleep. Larissa walks into the kitchen and Sam is half asleep with his head in his hand. She walks over and shuts the laptop making him jump awake.
"Hm? What? I'm good." Sam mumbles.
"Sam. You need sleep. Go to bed." Larissa tells him.
"No. No, I have to find Dean." Sam says.
"I can look. You go get some sleep." Larissa says.
"No, Lissy, I--"
"You can't find him if you're dead, too."
Sam watches her grab all of his research and taking it out of his reach. He knows she's gonna move the research to her bed since she hates sitting in the library chairs for too long.
"Garth was right." Sam quietly says after a bit.
"Right about what?" Larissa asks.
"You love with your whole heart. Even after it breaks." Sam says. Larissa stares at him for a few moments.
"Guess I just don't know any better." She says, picking his laptop up. "Go to bed, Sam." She walks out, Sam staring after her.
+++
Larissa is reading to Athena when Sam gets back to the bunker. Larissa looks over at him and her eyes widen at the sling.
"What the fuck happened?" She asks.
"It's-- it's nothing." Sam dismisses.
"Sam, your arm is in a sling. That looks like something." Larissa says.
"I'm fine. Really." Sam tells her.
"What happened?" She asks.
"Just... a demon." Sam says, shrugging like it's nothing.
"Pie!" The two look over in alarm at their 1 1/2 year old. She's looking at them with a smile, her dimples and mostly full mouth of teeth on display.
"Did she just--" Larissa points to the toddler.
"Uh-huh." Sam nods.
"Pie." Athena says again.
"Oh, my God." Larissa laughs, going over to Athena. "You just said your first word!" She picks her kid up, holding her on her hip. "You said your first word." She grins. She looks up at Sam who is smiling softly at Athena. "Ah. She talked. You talked."
"I'm proud of you, baby." Sam chuckles, kissing Athena's head a few times. Athena smiles at the sudden praise and smiles she's receiving.
Whatever gets her extra cuddles.
"Why is her first word pie, though?" Sam asks with a small laugh.
"Uh... oh! I, uh, I made some yesterday. I was craving it... and stressed. Super stressed and worried. So I actually made three. Tried to get her to say it the whole day." Larissa chuckles.
"Well... Dean would be proud." Sam comments.
"Yeah. Yeah, he would." Larissa quietly agrees, a sad but soft smile on her face.
"I, um... I should probably get back to looking for him." Sam says.
"Yeah. Yeah. Right." Larissa nods.
"Good job, baby." Sam kisses Athena's cheek. "Learn "dad" next, please." He tells her. He gently tickles her stomach making her squirm in giggle in Larissa's arms.
Sam smiles softly at his innocent, carefree child. His smile turns a little sad knowing that will all go away one day.
+++
It's been three weeks since Sam's injury happened, and not much leads until recently.
Sam had gone out on a lead and didn't come back until 2 or 3 days later. Though, he did inform Larissa that Dean was a demon. After getting Dean locked down in the dungeon, Sam finds Larissa and Athena in the kitchen.
"Dada!" Athena lifts her arms to him.
"Hey, baby." Sam softly smiles. He picks her up with his good arm and she instantly starts playing with his hair.
Larissa puts a sandwich in front of Sam.
"Thanks." He tells her.
"Mm-hmm." Larissa nods.
"Look, uh... I-I think it's best if you two leave for a bit." Sam says.
"Sam, he's in a dungeon. I think we're safe." Larissa says.
"Just... just for precaution, please." Sam says.
"Okay. But I'm eating my sandwich first." Larissa says.
"Deal." Sam says.
+++
Larissa is finishing up packing some of hers and Athena's stuff up. Sam runs into the room, sighing in relief, seeing both of them unharmed.
"You have to go now." Sam states.
"What? Why?" Larissa asks.
"He got out." Sam states.
"What?" Larissa asks.
"Dean got out. He's not in the dungeon."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know. But you both need to leave. Please."
"Yeah. Yeah, okay." Larissa grabs Athena's diaper bag and Athena. Sam leads them towards the main room. However, he stops them when they hear footsteps in the library.
Their eyes widen and Sam quickly ushers them back into Athena's room.
"Just... just stay here. No matter what. Stay for her." Sam whispers. Larissa nods and Sam shuts the door.
Larissa goes to the top drawer of Athena's dresser. She feels around the top of the drawer and pulls the knife she taped there, taking it out.
"I got you, baby." Larissa whispers.
"Come on, Sammy! Don't you want to hang out with your big brother? Spend a little quality time?" She can hear Dean shout.
After a few minutes, the lights go off, red lights going on and an alarm sounding. Athena whines, Larissa quickly shushing her and comforting her before the waterworks make an appearance.
"Smart, Sam! Locking the place down. Doors won't open. I get it. But here's the thing. I don't want to leave! not 'til I find you!"
"Sammy! You're just making this worse for yourself, man! Oh, by the way, you can, uh... blame yourself for me getting loose. All that blood you pumped into me to make me human... well. The less demon I was, the less the cuffs worked. And that devil's trap? Well, I just walked right across it. It smarted, but still."
After a moment, the power comes back on. Larissa is able to hear distant yelling, but she's able to pinpoint one voice as Sam's which lets her know that he's at least alive.
After a few minutes, Larissa is able to hear footsteps walk down the hall outside of Athena's room. Larissa puts Athena in her crib.
"You have to be really quiet, baby." Larissa whispers. Athena coos.
"Mama." She mumbles, reaching up for her. Larissa gently shushes her, letting Athena wrap her hand around her finger for a moment.
They both jump as the door breaks open, Larissa turning to see Dean in the doorway.
"Aww... protective mama bear scared?" Dean mocks.
"You touch her and I swear to God, it's the last thing you're ever gonna do. I don't care that you're Dean." Larissa threatens, holding the knife out.
"Yeah, I'm sure. We both know when push comes to shove, you're not gonna stab your brother-in-law, Rissy. I mean, he's your best friend, and you're his... even if you'd both never actually admit it."
"Dean..." Larissa warns, holding the knife out toward him as he walks closer.
"Don't worry. I'll kill the helpless little baby last. She'll get to see mommy die, though." Dean says.
Larissa swings the knife at Dean and he dodges it, kneeing her in the stomach. Larissa bites his arm making him let go of her. She kicks him in the abdomen, sending him back against the wall. She throws the knife, it piercing into his leg. Dean groans in pain, holding onto the injury.
Larissa goes to get Athena who is sobbing in her crib. Before she can grab her baby, a hot white pain enters Larissa's back as Dean rams the knife into her.
The woman cries out in pain, gripping onto the crib to support herself. She turns to fight back, but Dean quickly swings the hammer, hitting her head.
Larissa drops to the floor, blood pooling out.
Dean looks at Athena in her crib, the baby sobbing and there's drops of blood on her face and clothes.
"I'll come back for ya." Dean tells her, leaving.
Athena continues to sob, not having any form of comfort given to her.
Sam looks down a hall, but finds it empty. He turns, only to find Dean there, and he ducks just in time as Dean swings the hammer. Instead of smashing into Sam's head, it smashes into the wall. Sam stands back up, holding his knife to Dean's throat.
"Well... look at you. Do it. It's all you." Dean smiles. "Oh, but, uh, before you do... you should know something about your little wife." Sam's breath hitches. "You're a widower now, bud." Dean smiles. Sam feels his heart drop, tears instantly springing to his eyes.
Dean starts to laugh, but stops as arms wrap around him. Sam lowers the knife.
"It's over." Cas states. "Dean, it's over." Dean yells and struggles, his eyes going black. "It's over."
~ ~ ~
They got Dean back in the dungeon as quickly as they could. Sam races through the bunker, barely managing to stop himself at Athena's door.
His eyes instantly go to Larissa's body on the floor, blood pooling around her, her head bashed in, a knife sticking out of her back.
"Lissy?" Sam whispers, rushing over. Athena still sobs in her crib, both scared and confused. She's standing up in it, holding onto the bars for support.
"Hey, hey. Lissy? Baby? Baby, come on." Sam cries. He cradles her head, not caring about the blood getting on his hands. "Cas!" He screeches. "Cas, get in here!" His cries only make Athena's cries worsen, her father's fear not helping hers.
After a couple moments, Cas is rushing in.
"Heal her. Please, please, heal her. God, just heal her." Sam begs, sobbing. Cas kneels next to them and takes the knife out of Larissa's back. He holds two fingers to her forehead, Larissa gasping awake.
Larissa coughs for air as she slowly manages to prop herself up on an elbow.
"Lissy? Hey, hey, baby." Sam cups her face.
"Sammy?" Larissa groggily asks.
"Hey. Hey. I got you." Sam pulls her closer to him, Larissa just allowing the comfort.
"I'll... I'll try to comfort Athena." Cas says. He gets up and picks the baby out of her crib. He takes her out of the room, knowing she doesn't need to see so much blood.
"I got you." Sam cradles Larissa, holding her as close to possible as he still cries, the tears falling into her hair. He doesn't care about any of the blood as he holds her as close as possible.
"I got you. I love you. I'm so sorry." Sam whispers, kissing her on top of the head. He runs his blood covered hand through her hair, only making her hair more matted with the red substance. "I'm sorry."
+++
Larissa is lying in her and Sam's old bed, asleep. After getting cleaned up and changed, Sam lead her to their room. Larissa fell asleep almost instantly after her head hit the pillow and Sam covered her up. Larissa isn't super surprised that the smell of Sam helped her fall asleep, giving her a comforting feeling that she didn't even realize how much she missed until then.
Sam left Athena in her playpen while him and Cas finished up curing Dean. It worked and Dean is currently in his room.
After talking to Dean, Sam walks into the library where Cas is standing and Athena is still in her playpen.
"Hey." Sam greets.
"how's he doing?" Cas asks.
"He's, uh... he's still a little out of it, but better, I think. I mean, i think this whole thing -- the blood cure, and the... all of it-- really wrecked him, you know?" Sam says.
"Yeah. How's Larissa?" Cas asks.
"She's still asleep." Sam says. "On the plus side, Dean's hungry again, so I'm just going to go pick him up a big ol' bag of crap and stuff it in his face myself. And I'll get Lissy some food too. She'll need it. You mind keeping an eye on 'em? I'm gonna take Athena. Get her out of here for a bit."
"Yeah." Cas says and Sam turns back. "You realize one problem is solved, but one still remains. Dean is no longer a demon, that's true. But the Mark of Cain... that, he still has. And sooner or later, that's going to be an issue."
"You know what, Cas? I'm beat, man. One battle at a time, you know? So I'm just gonna go grab my brother some cholesterol, get stuff I think my wife would like. And then, I'm gonna get drunk."
+++
Dean is in his room and there's a knock on the door.
"Yeah." He calls, hiding the pictures he was looking through.
"You look terrible." Cas comments.
"You know, it wouldn't kill you to lie every now and again." Dean says.
"No, it wouldn't kill me. I just... you..."
"Forget it. Well, you, on the other hand, you... looking good. So, are you back?"
"At least temporarily. It's a long story. Crowley, stolen grace. There's a female outside in the car." Dean stares at him and Cas shakes his head. "Another time."
"Well, thank you for, um... stepping in when you did." Dean says and Cas nods. "What did Sam say? Does he want a divorce?"
"I'm sure Sam knows that whatever you said or what you did, it wasn't really you. It certainly wasn't all you." Cas says.
"I tried to kill him, Cas." Dean says. "I basically killed his wife. Or ex-wife or whatever the hell they are."
"Dean. You two have been through so much. Look, you're brothers. It'd take a lot more than trying to kill Sam or his wife with a hammer to make him want to walk away. I'm sure Larissa is aware of this, too."
"You realize how screwed up our lives are that that even makes sense?" Dean asks and Cas laughs. "I'm glad you're here, man."
"Hey, maybe you should, um... take some time before you get back to work. Allow yourself to heal. It's, uh... I don't know. The timing might be right. Heaven and Hell -- they seem reasonably back in order. It's quiet out there."
+++
"Hey. Hey." Larissa wakes up to somebody gently shaking her. She slowly manages to open her eyes, finding Sam squatting next to the bed. "Hey." He greets.
"Mm. How long was I out?" Larissa asks.
"Couple of hours. I brought you some food." Sam puts the takeout on the bed, placing the drink on the nightstand.
"Thanks." Larissa mumbles.
"The cure worked. Dean's okay... well, demon wise, I guess. He's okay as he can be." Sam says.
"I get it." Larissa says, stuffing fries in her mouth.
"Are you okay?" Sam asks.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. Cas successfully healed everything. Don't even have a headache." Larissa says. "Where's Athena?"
"Uh..." Sam points to the playpen in the corner where Athena is asleep.
"No nightmares or anything yet?" Larissa asks.
"Nope. She, uh... she zonked out in the car on the way back and hasn't woken up since." Sam says.
"Good." Larissa mumbles, glad her baby can get some sleep after what she had to see.
"Lissy, I... God, I was so scared. I really thought I lost you." Sam says.
"Don't worry. I'm okay now." She says.
"I know, I just... I can't do that again." Sam frowns. "I can't lose you again. I don't want to. In any way. No-- no divorce or death, I can't do it. I love you too much. And I know you're still-- you still have to forgive me and I get it, I do. God knows I took long enough to forgive you."
"I will do anything to make it up to you, I promise. I will change all of Athena's diapers, I'll sleep in a different room, I'll... I'll make some sort of blood pact or--"
"Blood pact? Dude, we're not in a cult." Larissa says.
"Hey, whatever works. I'll do it." Sam says.
"I do still love you, Sam." Larissa says. "But you also did some pretty good mental damage. Now, you've been pretty good the past six or so weeks and I'm... I'm glad you're you again. Minus the whole you were on a track for your dead but not dead brother."
"But I'm not ready to be us again. Not... not in the way we were."
"Yeah. Yeah, I get that. We still have to patch things up. I get it." Sam says. "Is there... is there anything I can do?"
"I won't stop you from changing all diapers." Larissa says making Sam chuckle.
"Yeah. Knew you were gonna go for that one." Sam nods and Larissa smiles.
+++
Larissa is watching a movie while lying in bed. Athena had woken up and Sam took her to get some food. There's a knock on the open door and Larissa looks over at Dean.
"Hey." She sits up.
"Hey." Dean whispers, weakly smiling. All he can see is the knife in her back and the blood on her head. "Rissy, I... I'm so sorry. I would never-- I can't believe I-- I'm sorry."
"It's-- it's okay, Dean." Larissa says.
"No, it isn't." Dean argues.
"Dean. Dean." She gets up, going over to him, holding onto his arms. "It's okay. I'm not mad or anything."
"What?" He asks.
"You were a demon. I mean, I... it's not like I can be mad at Sam for when Meg possessed him, like, eight years ago and he came to the bar that night. It wasn't Sam, it was Meg. Same with... with Kevin. It was Gadreel, not Sam."
"But this was me. It was me, just... just as a demon."
"Demon you isn't usual you. Usual you is-is sweet and caring... even though you don't act like you are. Usual you would never hurt me or Athena or Sam... and we all know that."
"I think you're too forgiving for your own good." Dean says.
"Maybe." Larissa shrugs making Dean slightly smile.
"I'm glad you're okay." Dean says.
"How are you feeling?" She asks.
"Little tired... kind of out of it, still." Dean says.
"Well... I'm glad you're back." Larissa says.
"Ditto." Dean grabs her nose and shakes her head.
"Dean." She swats his hand away and he smiles.
"How are you and Sam? Back to, uh... back to normal yet?"
"No. But, uh... we'll get there, I guess. Long as neither of us fuck it up again."
Dean nods. He kisses Larissa's forehead before walking out.