When the man pulled up to the motel Cielo and Sam would be staying in, Cielo got out first, stretching her legs and squinting against the sunlight. Sam closed his door, thanking the man and walking to the trunk of the car. Cielo met him at the back as he opened the trunk. "We're actually doing this?" Cielo asked him, putting her hands on her hips.
"New beginnings," he replies, grabbing her bag first.
Sam is persistent to the clerk in the motel on the two beds for their room. After offering to get Cielo her own room, of course, which she denied and said that one was fine. And when they walked into the room, two beds as promised. She lets out a breath, walking in before Sam and looking around at the room she would be calling home for however long they would be there.
She's sitting on her bed, flipping through the channels as Sam is pouring gasoline on their fake ID's, pulling his lighter out right after. "You're positive?" She asks him.
He sighs, flipping the lighter out and lighting the flame, staring at the identification photos of him and Cielo with fake names and companies. "Yep," he answers, dropping the lighter in the sink, letting the flames engulf the cards.
Cielo stands up, standing next to him, watching her photo burn and disappear into ash. She looks up at Sam and is hesitant at first, and does it very slowly, but wraps her arms around his waist, cursing the memories in her mind for flashing like a warning sign. He looks down at her, giving her a second before wrapping one of his arms around her shoulders. She's tense, but slowly gives in to the comfort.
Both of them ended up getting a job at the bar a few blocks away from the motel. Cielo as a waitress and Sam as a busboy. She liked the job for what it was. Just serving and picking up after the guests. She could wear whatever she was comfortable in and got the hang of the job quickly. But, with new job, came new names.
She went with something simple, one that wouldn't draw too much attention. She ended up with Allison Argent. How she got there, she would never know, but it was fine and she got used to being called that instead of her name or usual nickname. It took everything in Keith to not call out "Ci" in the middle of their shifts. Which, they were glad that they had the same of.
As Sam wiped down the counter with a soapy rag, Cielo smiled at him, grabbing the bottles of beers on a tray. He smiled back, glad to see her grow more and more comfortable throughout the days. She turned around, holding the tray on her palm and grinned at the butterflies that appeared in her stomach at his smile. She set the beers on the table in front of the two men engrossed in a conversation about whatever game happened the night before and left before they could notice that she was there.
Later that night when no one was in the bar anymore, the other waitress working threw darts at the board, missing the bullseye every time. Cielo sat by Sam, seeing that her shift was over, she was just waiting on him. "Hey, Keith, you play?" Lindsey asked Sam, earning both Cielo and Sam's attention.
"That depends," Sam answers, "what are we playing for?"
Lindsey hesitates before she answers. "World peace."
Cielo and Sam snort, exchanging a glance between the two. "Oh, is that all?" Sam questions.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot," Sam replies, tossing the rag at Cielo, to which she catches and gets up to put it away.
"You finish that, uh, crossword puzzle in the kitchen?"
"Uh, I-I guess. Why?"
"The New York Times Saturday Crossword?"
Sam is unfazed at the information. Cielo smirks to herself, silently priding herself on how she managed to lock down a man as smart as Sam. "Was it?"
"Uh-huh," Lindsey motions to both Cielo and Sam. "You both blow into town last week. You don't talk to anybody but each other. You're obviously highly educated. You're like this..."
"Riddle wrapped inside an enigma wrapped inside a taco?" Sam suggests. Cielo giggles, leaning against the counter.
The blonde smacks her lips and nods. "Here's what we play for," she says. "When I win, you buy me dinner and tell me your life story." She makes sure she looks between both Sam and Cielo.
"Sounds fair," Sam agrees.
Lindsey looks at Cielo, who raises her eyebrows and shrugs. "Fine with me."
Sam takes the darts from Lindsey, aiming at the dart board. Cielo already gets butterflies at his concentration, which was kind of stupid but she would never complain. He makes two in the green, giving a guide to the last that goes into the bullseye. "Very misterioso," Lindsey comments.
Cielo doesn't hear the next thing she says when she looks up at the T.V over her head at the news. Hail storms, lightning, and consuming fires. She sighs, looking at Sam, knowing exactly what this meant. "Damn," Hoyt says, turning off the T.V and setting the remote down by Cielo. "Is it me, or does it seem like the end of the world?"
Sam and Cielo exchange looks again, terrified at the actual cause of the storms.
⛧⛧⛧
The next day, Cielo and Sam were sitting at the small table in their hotel room, Sam on his laptop and Cielo writing in a journal with a photo of the outside of the bar glued to the corner of the page. Cielo glances up when Sam places his phone by his ear and waits for Bobby to answer. "Hey, Bobby. How you doin'?" Sam greets, gaining Cielo's full attention.
"Put it on speaker," Cielo mouths. Sam does what she asks and she listens carefully to the conversation.
"Well," Bobby answers, "I ain't runnin' any marathons, but... I'll live." Sam chuckles at his response, earning a smile from Cielo. "Where are you two?"
"Uh, Garber, Oklahoma," Sam replies. "I found a town up the road showing some revelation omens."
"What omens?" Bobby asks him.
Sam glances up at Cielo for a second and back at his computer. "Alright, listen to this. 'And upon his rising, there shall be hail and fire mixed with blood,'" he reads.
Cielo shudders a bit, realizing that Lucifer was the cause of all the disasters. "Well, ain't that delightful."
"Yeah," Sam responds to Bobby. "We already got hailstorms and fires. So, I'm guessing blood can't be too far behind."
Bobby stays silent for a second; Cielo stares at the phone in Sam's hand, waiting for his response. "Okay," he finally says.
Cielo's taken aback slightly. "What?"
"There a reason you're calling?"
"Dean or Cielo didn't tell you?" Sam questions, looking at Cielo. She nods at him, her eyebrows furrowed as if saying "I did tell him."
"They told me," Bobby says.
"Yeah, well... so I just thought you might wanna find out who's in the area, put a man on this."
"Okay, let me see if I can think of the best hunters who might be in the immediate vicinity. Oh— that'd be you."
Cielo sighs, putting her palm on her forehead and resting her elbow on the table. "We can't, Bobby," she says.
"She speaks," Bobby states.
Cielo closes her eyes, shaking her head. "Bobby, we're sitting this one out."
"Hey—" Bobby tries to say.
"We gotta go," Sam interrupts. "I'm so sorry."
"Hold on. Sam."
Sam hangs up before Bobby could say something else and sets the phone on the table. "For the better, right?" Sam questions quietly, biting on his thumb nail.
Cielo nods, bringing down her hand. "For the better," she repeats.
Deep down, she desperately wanted to go on this case. She missed the feeling of a weapon in her hands. Mostly her bow. She wanted to dunk an arrow in holy water and shoot it into a demon's shoulder for Sam and Dean to exorcise. But she knew they needed a break. Both, her and Sam.
⛧⛧⛧
She had the next three days off, which she spent doing some minor grocery and book shopping. Even though she still had a stack of books that she needed to read in her room at Bobby's, it couldn't hurt to have a few more for variety. By the time she got back to the room, the sounds of Taylor Swift came from her phone. She immediately knew who was calling her, seeing that she only had a Taylor ringtone for Diana.
"Hey," she said, closing the motel door behind her. "What's goin' on?"
"Oh, nothing. Summoning an archangel, 'n all," Diana replies as Cielo places the plastic bags on the table after moving Sam's laptop to the bed.
"Archangel?" Cielo questions. "Seriously?"
"Yep," Diana replies. "Rafael, specifically."
"Ninja Turtle?"
Diana snorts, Cielo finally hears the muffled music in the background. "That's the one."
"Why are you summoning a Ninja Turtle? Has Castiel finally got you and Dean on his God search?"
"Exactly that." Cielo chuckles, holding the phone with her cheek and shoulder. "Still in Oklahoma?"
"Yeah," Cielo responds, starting to take the canned soup out of the first bag. "Yeah, we're still here."
"And?" Diana questions. "Anything on the Wingers?"
Cielo laughs, shaking her head. "As far as relationship wise, no. But, I can be in the same room with him for hours on end now, so that's an improvement."
"Fantastic," Diana says. "One step closer."
"Yeah. Baby steps, you know?" Diana is silent for a second and Cielo finally addresses the music she hears. "Where are you?"
"Honestly?" Diana says. "Trying to get Cas a hookup."
Cielo laughs, "You're kidding."
"Am not. He was already swooped away by one named Chastity and Dean went to one at the bar. I'm just waiting at this point."
Cielo smiles to herself. "Aw, all lonely now that Bela isn't an option?"
Diana fake sniffles, making Cielo smile more. "Don't even talk about that."
Cielo snickers and holds the phone in her hand again. "Alright, I'll leave you to it, then. Careful with the Ninja Turtle."
"Careful with the men."
Cielo snorts, "Bye," she says, hanging up the phone.
⛧⛧⛧
Cielo is panting, her heart is racing as she looks at the hunters she knew used to work with John on occasions. She'd already figured that these were the ones that Bobby sent for the omens, yet, she didn't understand why they grabbed her from the motel room and held onto her like bait. She tried asking them, tried getting them to explain to her what it was they wanted and even tried offering any information on questions they may have had, but when they brought up Sam, she immediately knew what this was about.
So, she finally remained quiet and, as much as it hurt, let them drag her to the doors of the bar she and Sam worked at. Sam was working tonight, she knew for a fact that he was in there. The blonde hunter went in first, leaving the other one with her outside. She tried to pull away from him, only for him to tighten his grip on her arm. She knew for sure she would end up with bruises.
Eventually, she hears the other hunter snap at Sam, earning the hunter holding her to drag her harshly into the bar. She whimpers, the pain in her arms intensifying when they see Sam and the blonde hunter. "Cielo!" Sam says when he sees who they have.
The hunter stops, holding her by the back of the neck and putting the edge of a blade against her neck. Cielo stops moving, she almost stops breathing. She fears that any movement will cause the blade to move and end up killing her. She closes her eyes, clenching her jaw, praying that this would be over soon.
Everyone is silent for a second. Sam is just as afraid as Cielo is. "Let's just take it easy, okay?" He says, swallowing down the chill going down his spine. "Put the knife down."
The blonde looks back at the hunter holding Cielo. She slowly opens her eyes and sees him nod. The blade is put down on the bar and Cielo finally sighs out of relief. Sam sighs, glad that at least her dying wasn't an option. "It's true," Sam says. Cielo looks up at Sam, trying to ignore the tight grip on the back of her neck. "What the demon said— it's all true."
"Keep going," the blonde hunter says. Both, Cielo and Sam's hearts are thumping fast against their chests. Cielo thinks that it's the loudest thing in the room.
"Why?" Sam questions. "Are you gonna hate me any less?" He looks over at Cielo. "Am I gonna hate myself any less?" Cielo frowns at him, the crease in between her eyebrows becoming evident. "What do you want."
"I wanna hear you say it." What was this, Twilight?
Sam nods, thinking that this was the only way that they were gonna let Cielo go. "I did it," he says. "I started the apocalypse."
To that, the blonde nods, pulling out a vial from the pocket of his jacket. He holds it up for Sam to see. From her place, Cielo knows exactly what it is.
"What is that?" Sam asks him, his voice shaking slightly.
"What do you think it is?" The hunter twirls it between his fingers. Cielo is shaking her head, glancing from it to Sam. "It's go juice, Sammy Boy."
"Get that away from me."
"Away from you?" He shakes his head, stepping closer to Sam. "No. This is for you. Hell, if that demon wasn't right as rain. Down the hatch, son."
"Sam, don't!" Cielo pleads, only for the hunter holding her to tighten his grip even more on her neck.
"You're insane," Sam says.
"Look, here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna drink this, Hulk out," The hunter holding Cielo moves her, handcuffing her to the bar. She's trying to fight him, but the grip on her hurts and she already feels like she can't move from the panic of Sam drinking the blood again. "And you're gonna waste every one of those demon scum that killed my best friend. Or she dies." Sam understands his anger. When Cielo died, all he wanted to do was kill the bastard that killed her. He would die first before she died again.
"You wouldn't do that," Sam says, shaking his head.
"It's funny how watching your best friend die changes that. You would know, wouldn't you?" Sam closes his eyes, already remembering the feeling of her warm blood trailing down his arm as she bled out. "Come on. You know you want it, Sam." He's taking slow steps back. "Just reach out and take it."
And bam. The other hunter is trying to tackle him down, but Sam throws him onto the pool table and starts punching him, only thinking of the pain that Cielo felt when he was grabbing onto her. He wants to throw another punch, but the blonde hunter stops him and throws him onto the ground with him.
Cielo can't see what's going on from where she's handcuffed and the minute they disappear behind the pool table, she's pulling at the handcuffs, ignoring the pain in her wrist as she tries to snap the chain. Only, it's no use. She curses herself for not putting any bobby pins in her hair that day. She's looking around her in panic, listening to the strain of Sam and the other two hunters.
She looks over, finding a paper clip on a cream folder that their boss must've left for Sam to put away before he left. She's trying to reach and grab it, but it's barely out of her reach. She gasps when Sam throws the blonde hunter beside her on the bar. He's pressing the same blade that was pressed against her neck onto his and she's staring at him in horror. Was he going to kill him right then and there? Did he actually drink the blood? The blood was smeared all over his mouth, some must've been swallowed, right?
Cielo's too shocked to say anything as Sam looks up at her. She can see the anger in Sam's eyes and as much as she wants to say anything, she can't form any words. But Sam can see just as much as hear what she wants to say. Don't do it, Sam.
He picks up the hunter from the bar, throwing him away from him. "Go," he says, pointing at the door.
"Don't think we won't be back," the other hunter says, helping up his friend. That's when she notices the cut on his forehead and the busted lip on the blonde.
"Don't think I won't be here," Sam spits. Sam sighs, looking at Cielo, who's watching the hunters leave. He stands for a second, seeing the paper clip that Cielo couldn't reach.
"You didn't kill him," Cielo finally says, watching as Sam picked the lock on the handcuffs. Sam's quiet and when Cielo's hand is finally free, she grabs his face, making him look at her. He's bent slightly, making him her height. "Did you swallow any?" Sam avoids meeting her eyes and shakes his head in her grasp. "Sam," she says sternly. He finally looks at her, her hard gaze almost giving him chills. "Did you swallow any," she demands.
"No," he finally says; he's still bent over a bit, staring directly into her eyes as he answers truthfully.
She sighs in relief, letting go of his face and wrapping her arms around his neck. She doesn't care that her arms, neck, and wrist are sore. She doesn't care that he's staining her jacket with demon blood. She's glad that they're both okay and he did the right thing, despite his temptations and despite the situation they were in.
He wraps his arms around her, taking in the comfort from her and letting her ground him. "You're okay?" He asks into her shoulder.
She nods, burying her face deeper into his neck.
⛧⛧⛧
It's later that night when Cielo's been asleep for hours in her bed and Sam's still tossing and turning (so he thinks) when he's talking to Lucifer. Cielo wakes up, panicked as she hears his shuddered breaths. She forces herself awake, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she sits up and faces Sam. When her eyes are finally open, she sees how he's staring off into space and breathing hard.
She doesn't know what's happening or what he saw. She just knows that he's terrified and that she still needs sleep. Begrudgingly and against her better judgement, she throws the covers off her legs and gets up. She almost falls over, but she makes it to Sam's bed. He's looking at her, confused but relieved as she gets under his blankets and tugs his arm, indicating for him to lay down.
He does. Even if she was half asleep with her eyes half closed, he would listen to her. She lays down with him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and letting his head fall onto her chest. He freezes for a second, never having been the one to be cuddled like that, but wraps his arms around her waist and hugs her tight.
He lets her play with his hair and draw shapes into his shoulder. Just like she lets him breathe softly, trying to match her breathing. It takes him a little while, but he eventually does and he also falls asleep again, listening to the way her heart beats at a steady rhythm. If she were fully awake, it'd be going much faster, she knows that, but she drifts off back into her sleep, still holding Sam against her, hoping that this was enough to get him to relax again. She made a mental note, thinking that she was probably going to forget it again in the morning when she was more conscious, to ask him why he was so panicked.
He was just glad that she was there and did what she did. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to fall asleep again knowing that he was Lucifer's true vessel.