Somehow, Dean made it out with Allegra before the wildfire destroyed what was left. She didn't say a word as he carried her away from that godforsaken place and just withdrew into herself, just like she had when she found out about Gabriel. Only this time, it was so much worse.
When they got to Bobby's, Dean cleaned Allegra up as best he could. He changed her clothes and put her in bed, and asked Bobby to watch her whilst he showered and took care of his own wounds. Sam had left to go on a hunt with their grandfather. Apparently, that was more important than helping his brother and their friend. Dean vowed to tear him a new one when he got back, but Sam wasn't his priority right now. Helping Allegra was.
But after three days, Dean didn't know what to do anymore. Allegra still wouldn't talk. She wouldn't eat or even touch anything Dean and Bobby brought up. She didn't sleep either. Every time she closed her eyes and seemed to drift off, she screamed out and cried. Only Dean could calm her then. He would hold her in his arms and say it was okay, that it was over. It helped a little. But Dean couldn't stop the nightmares.
Allegra relived everything in her dreams. Every plague, every death... Guilt was tearing her apart. No matter what Dean said to make her feel better, Allegra only got worse. Her eyes got dark circles around them. Her skin went sickly pale, and her hair was a mess. Dean couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't watch Allegra do this to herself because of them. But so far, all he had was radio silence.
"Castiel... for the millionth time; get your feathered ass down."
The first two days, Dean was angry at Castiel for ignoring him, yelling, and ranting to the ceiling. Now he was just straight out tired and frustrated, and sank down in the chair at Allegra's desk.
"All those years protecting God's special Archangel... for what, huh? To discard her like some used-up toy when her batteries run dry? To laugh at her humanity? She's better than all you douchebags put together, and you know it! You don't deserve her on your team."
Dean sighed.
"I don't deserve her," he whispered.
A flutter of wings made Dean turn in his chair. He hadn't thought he would actually see someone, but yep, there he was. Castiel, the angel of the Lord, looked at Dean as if the Hunter hadn't been praying, insulting, and begging him to come for hours on end.
"Hello, Dean." He dropped Allegra's backpack next to her bed. "I brought this; she left it at the safe house."
He looked around.
"Where's the Staff?"
Dean had to resist the urge to get up and punch Castiel's lights out. The nerve the bastard had to show up like that! He didn't even have the decency to ask how Allegra was doing. Dean dug his nails into the chair to contain his anger.
"Took you long enough. Been calling you for days."
"We were busy," said Castiel, as if he actually believed it was a valid excuse.
"I'm sorry, you were 'busy'? Yeah, I suppose wiping a town out qualifies as 'busy.' Even if you're only the clean-up crew. 'Cause the real hard work is for the woman on the ground, right?"
Castiel met Dean's harsh glare but remained unfazed by his words.
"Look at her," ordered Dean. "Have you been inside her head lately? Do you know what she dreams about? If she shuts her eyes long enough to dream, that is."
The angel didn't move or respond to him but kept his head bowed. Obviously, Castiel didn't want to be confronted with the aftermath of what they had done. Of what he had made her do. Dean jumped up and pointed at Allegra's slow-breathing figure.
"I said, look at her!"
Clear blue eyes finally flickered over to Allegra. Dean was glad to finally see Castiel's contrite expression. It was about damn time.
"Take them away," he told the angel. "Take those goddamn powers away."
"I can't," reacted Castiel. "Even if I wanted to... I don't have the power to take something away from God's own creation."
"Then block them again. She didn't have them as a kid, so it has to be possible. Make sure she never has to use them again."
"Allegra received this gift for a reason. Her work is not yet finished."
Dean grabbed Castiel's trench coat and pushed him against the bedroom door. The action itself didn't really bother the angel; Dean was human, after all, and couldn't hurt him. But the Hunter's sudden move stunned him nonetheless.
"A gift?!" spat Dean. "Seriously?! The plagues are a goddamn curse! She's out there, front and center, every time they're unleashed. Allegra is the one who watches hundreds of innocent people die, Cas, not you! You're all high and mighty up on your cloud, and you don't even stop to think about what your so-called 'gift' is doing to her! So you cut the crap, and you help her, dammit!"
Dean narrowed his eyes at Castiel as the angel stared at him. If he had to, he would force the bastard to act, but thankfully, Castiel decided to do the smart thing. He sighed and nodded, and Dean let go.
"Can you help her sit up?" Castiel asked.
Dean walked over to the bed and put his hand on Allegra's shoulder. Her eyes were open, staring at the wall but not really looking at it. His touch did make her blink, and then she slowly turned her head to peer at him over her shoulder.
"Alley, Cas is here to help you," said Dean gently. "I need you to sit up for a minute."
But Allegra remained motionless, her dark eyes empty of all feeling. He pulled her up and scooted behind her. Allegra slumped back against his body. She was cold as ice. Dean brushed some wayward hair strands away from her face. He felt Castiel's eyes on him, watching his every move carefully, but he ignored him.
"I'm right here;" he whispered to Allegra. "It's okay."
He put his arms around her to hold her and gave Castiel a curt nod. The angel came forward and put his hands against her temples. They lit up at his touch. Allegra trembled in Dean's arms. He applied some pressure on her body to keep her calm. After a few seconds, Castiel moved his hands away.
"I can't heal her nor take away her memories of the past days. The Archangel within Allegra won't allow me to do that. But I took away her guilt. She has nothing to feel guilty about, after all. She was merely doing the Lord's work. I realize it's not much but it's the best I can do for her."
Dean looked down at the young woman in his arms.
"Allegra? Alley, you okay?"
She blinked again at the sound of his voice. Dean sighed in relief. The angel of the Lord did his part. Now he wanted nothing more than to throw Castiel's ass out.
"Staff's in the closet," he said harshly without looking at him. "Take it and go."
Castiel nodded but didn't move away. Instead, he squatted down so he was at level with Allegra. His hand touched hers.
"For what it's worth... I am sorry."
For the briefest second, the room was dead silent. Then... all hell broke loose.
Allegra elbowed Dean in his still sore ribcage so he would release her from his embrace and flung herself at Castiel. The angel fell backward with her on top of him. She had one hand around his throat and the other stretched out. There was a loud bang when the closet door came crashing down. The Staff of Moses flew right to Allegra's hand. She put the tip against Castiel's cheek.
Dean recovered fairly quickly and got off the bed, intending to pull Allegra off Castiel, but he stepped back when he saw the wood transforming into the black head of a giant king cobra. He witnessed how fast that thing could attack and had no desire to be its next victim. Allegra lowered herself onto Castiel, like a predator ready to strike at its prey.
"I warned you what would happen if you made me do something against my will, Castiel. I'm not going to rest until every - single - one of you has paid for all those lives. And unlike some, I keep my promises."
The cobra hissed at Castiel, and its venom dripped on his face. The angel yelled out in pain as God's poison burned through his skin. Dean carefully knelt next to the pair. He reached for Allegra but stopped mid-air when the cobra turned its head to him. The serpent glared at him, and Dean thought that was it. That was how he was going to die. But the cobra did nothing and quickly returned its attention to its actual target. Dean's hand touched Allegra's shoulder.
"Alley... don't. Let him go. I understand you wanna rip his head off, but what good will it do?"
"So it's okay for you to get revenge but not for me?" Allegra snarled at Dean.
"We're not the same," said Dean. "You've made it plenty clear you're done with them. So, what better way to tell them 'screw you' than to start living your life the way you want it? You're not a coldblooded killer like me, Alley, don't do this."
"They made me a killer!"
"And you have the decency to feel guilty about it!"
Her head jerked aside, and she stared at Dean. Her words. He threw Allegra's own words right back at her.
"You're better than all of them put together because of your humanity," urged Dean. "Don't stoop to their level now, please."
Allegra bit her lip and closed her eyes. She then threw the Staff aside with a cry, causing it to change back to its wooden form. She crawled off of Castiel and fell back against the bedframe. Dean mouthed a quick 'go,' and the angel disappeared. He sat next to Allegra and put an arm around her, pulling her close and allowing her to put her head against his shoulder. They sat like that until sunset. Just the two of them. Totally alone.
***
The giant king cobra slithered away from Bobby's salvage yard into the tall grass. Allegra watched it go, thinking back at how close she'd come to killing an angel. If Dean hadn't stopped her... She turned around to see him lean against the Impala, his Baby, with two beers in his hand. Allegra walked over to him and gratefully accepted one of the bottles.
"You really think it was a good idea to do that?" Dean asked her.
"I don't know. I can't keep the Staff with me, and I can't let the angels have it either. This seemed the safest option. The Staff can protect itself in this form but can also reach out to me or I to it, should there be a need for our powers to unite again. Though honestly, I hope I never have to see that damn thing again."
"Amen to that," said Dean as he took a swig of his beer.
They drank in silence, enjoying the quiet night and each other's company. But the redhead noticed Dean looking at her from the corner of her eyes. He tried to hide it by quickly looking in the opposite direction, but he wasn't fast enough.
"What is it, Dean?"
"Nothing. Just... you sure you're okay now?"
"I will be," said Allegra with a deep breath. "The nightmares will stop after a while. It'll just be another screwed-up memory for my already messed-up life. Nothing I'm not used to already."
She turned her head to Dean. He looked sad for her. Sad and concerned. And pretty beaten up. She felt bad for not having noticed sooner that Dean took some hefty punches from those demon followers.
"How 'bout you, tough guy?" asked Allegra, leaning in to carefully touch the stitches at his brow.
Dean grimaced lightly but then waved the pain away.
"Meh, one for the collection. What's another scar, right? Oh damn... Alley, I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
"It's fine, don't worry. Wish I had a scar on my brow. It's way more badass."
They finally smiled at each other. How long had it been since they'd been so casual, so normal? Allegra honestly couldn't remember. It felt so good just to be together like this again. It felt... natural.
"So, since when have I earned the privilege of my very own Dean Winchester nickname?"
He grinned in reply.
"Get used to it. Once you're officially given a nickname, you're stuck with it for the rest of your life."
"You couldn't have gone for something a bit cooler, though?"
"Alley-cat was too long," said Dean in all sincerity.
Allegra's fist went right for his shoulder. It was a playful punch, and Dean laughed at her reaction to his little quip. That wonderful laugh sent shivers through Allegra's body, but in a good way. It was hard to describe the feeling 'cause Allegra couldn't compare it to anything. Not even Eric had ever made her feel like that.
Eric... 'So you want Dean to end up like Eric?'
Allegra felt Dean's fingers caressing her arm, pulling her away from the worst memory she had.
"Hey listen, I euhm... I never got the chance to apologize. For that night here."
She looked at him in surprise.
"You've got nothing to apologize for."
"No, I do. I shouldn't have treated you like that," said Dean. "You don't have it easy and..."
"Don't finish that sentence, and shut up for two seconds." Allegra put her fingers to his lips (Oh God, those sweet lips). "It was my own doing what happened that night. So I should be apologizing to you. I tricked you when I should've just... Well... Like father like daughter, huh?"
"You are nothing like him."
Allegra gave him a weak smile. But the truth was, she was more like Gabriel than she cared to admit. A lot more.
"Hey, let's take a ride," Dean suggested suddenly. "We'll hit the road and... well, we'll see. Just the two of us. Bobby can hold the fort for now, and Sam is... okay, I guess. Let's just go. What do you say?"
His green eyes shimmered with hope. Allegra wanted to say yes and jump in the car right now to steal into the night with this wonderful guy. But instead...
"How's Lisa?"
There was a slight twitch at the corner of Dean's mouth. He sighed and averted his eyes, indicating Lisa wasn't a topic he wanted to talk about. Allegra shuffled a bit away from him.
"Dean, she's your girlfriend. And she's good for you. I told you before; you're better off with her."
"Hm." He nodded as he looked at her. "But you still haven't told me why."
"You still have to ask? Dean, you almost died. When the plague of the firstborn hit, I thought that was it. I thought I lost you."
"But you didn't. You saved me, just like you saved my dad and Bobby when you were a teenager."
"Dean, please..."
Dean moved to stand in front of her.
"Alley, it was my choice to be there. It's my choice to be here. And I don't regret it for a second."
He reached for her hand. She stepped away before he could pull her close.
"Don't... I'm sorry, okay? For lying and pushing you away. I know the feeling better than anyone, and it sucks. So I'm sorry I did it. But I meant what I said. You belong with Lisa. You have a family with her. Go back to them."
Dean scoffed and slowly shook his head.
"This was your plan all along, wasn't it? Make me leave and hate you so that I have no choice but to go for the other girl and then play on my conscience when we're together again? Make me feel guilty? That's a dick move. You're a real heartbreaker, you know that?"
"Better a broken heart than a dead one."
"Stop playing that tune, Allegra. It's getting old."
Dean walked around the Impala. He opened the door but didn't get in yet. His eyes met Allegra's. All the concern he showed earlier was gone. Just like that. Just like she wanted.
"You know, we can't avoid each other forever," he said. "One day, you're gonna wake up and realize you can't go on without me. But as long as you keep lying to yourself and me, we don't have a chance. And I don't plan on waiting forever for you to admit the truth."
Dean got in the driver's seat, and Allegra watched the Impala leave Bobby's salvage yard. She could've stopped him. She could've made him break up with Lisa and made him stay with her. But she didn't. Allegra let him go, her heart bleeding as she was left on her own again.
Dean was right about one thing. He only talked about it as if it still needed to happen. Allegra had already discovered she couldn't go on without him. The day they had their talk in the hospital, almost three years ago. That day, Allegra had entirely and indisputably fallen in love with Dean Winchester.