Sam & Aly Move to Part 1

Little Samantha was calm as could be in Alyssa�s arms.  It took a woman�s touch.  Sam was too much of a hulking monster to the little girl.  He probably even smelled bad.  Sam sniffed at an arm pit before sprawling on one of the antique love seats, his legs dangling over one arm of the piece.  If body odor was the problem, he couldn�t detect it.

Lilith had not appeared when he called to her.  Where could she be?  What could be more important than the delivery of Samantha to her?  Had she been detained?  Was she in trouble?  Sam sat up straight.  He shook his head at the concept.  It was an impossibility.  Lilith was omnipotent.

Sam idly gazed up at the paintings on the ceiling.  He was not surprised to notice the figures up there were moving ever so slowly, playing out whatever battle or scene they�d been programmed to play.  The details were quite exquisite.  It occurred to him that they might not be paintings at all.  Those might actually be real people and real monsters squeezed into two dimensions and forced to replay horrific, mortal events from their lives, over and over again. 

Sam was comforted by that thought. 

Returning from Part 1

Sam and Alyssa appeared suddenly in a large stone chamber illuminated darkly by a source that eluded detection.  There were no torches or lamps, yet enough light was present to see clearly, except of course in the corners of the room, which were inky black, where vague glimpses of silky movement were sometimes visible.   The room was furnished with luxurious furniture, all plush and in red and black velvet � sofas and love seats, antique chaise lounges with claw-footed legs, divans and sectionals, all brimming with colorful throw pillows.  None of the furniture pieces were in any particular order, but rather were strewn about the place.  The ceiling must have been 18 feet above the floor and decorated with detailed and graphic oil paintings that mostly portrayed grisly battles among supernatural creatures, although a section was generously devoted to illustrating human sexual acts and creative positions. 

A Griffon perched halfway up the wall above one of the swirling black corners, its pointed tail curled around its taloned feet.  The creature ignored Sam and Aly as it preened its feathers. 

The baby balled its little fists and pinched its face before letting loose with a blood-curdling high-pitched cry that only a baby is capable of producing.  But Sam attempted to calm her.  He wiggled a finger in front of her and smiled, �Now, now, little Samantha, its your Uncle Sammy and Auntie Aly.  We got you away from those mean people who were totally incapable of seeing your true potential, who would keep you from your destiny.  You�re safe now.  Everything will be just fine.�  At least for the moment.  But the baby continued to wail and bawl.  Little tears trailed down her round, pink cheeks.  Sam rolled his eyes, �Oh for Lucifer�s sake!�  He handed off the baby to Aly.  �Maybe you can calm her. She�s just out of her element at the moment.  Everything is new and scary.� 

The candy striper cowered in the corner.  She no doubt wanted to escape, but Sam�s massive presence was blocking the doorway.  Aly was ticking off the possibilities as to where Dean, Faith, Samantha and the others went.  Sam closed his eyes and breathed deep, trying to regain his composure.  As he did, he was able to draw upon the powers that Lilith had made available to him, those that she had generously shared with him for times just like this. 

Sam was able to track the essence of Samantha across space and time, like following mystical bread crumbs.  In his mind, he followed those bread crumbs to the Men of Letters.  He could even see everyone there, in the main room, puzzling over a book.  It was like he was a fly on the ceiling, looking down on them.  A fly with Sam�s head.  And maybe that�s exactly what he was.  The baby was in Faith�s arms.  Sam would have to be quick.  Quick like a rabbit.  But Lilith had shown him how.  Lilith was his lighthouse in the storm, but she was also the darkness and the raging maelstrom itself.  Lilith was everything, both sides of the coin, all sides of the coin.   

Sam opened his eyes.  All traces of panic and desperation had disappeared from his gaze, replaced by confident resolve.  �Aly, take my hand.�  He reached out to her, their hands melded together, then Sam and Aly vanished from the room.  

******Sam and Aly Move to Part 1******

Her question caught him like a fish on a hook.  Are they still here?  He hadn�t even considered that they might leave while he and Aly were talking and eating.  Suddenly he was concerned that they�d missed them, that Samantha would be on her way to who knows where.  Lilith would be angry if they didn�t procure the child promptly.  He couldn�t afford to go chasing Samantha and Faith and Dean all over the county. 

�Come on, Aly, let�s hurray.�  There was an urgency in his words now.  They deposited their trays on the conveyor belt.  Sam didn�t bother to separate out the trash or place the silverware in the tubs of soapy water.  They didn�t have time for that crap.  �Come on, they�re on the third floor.  Room 313.�  They nearly sprinted to the elevator.  Sam pushed the button multiple times, and when nothing happened, he went for the stairs.  �This�ll be faster.  Hurry!�  They took the stairs two at a time, bounding upwards.  Sam�s breathing was hard when they reached the third floor landing, but it was partly his fear that he�d screwed up.  Lilith had trusted this one thing to him.  Was he going to fail her, just like he had failed everyone else in his life?  They pounded down the hallway, ignoring the nurse who demanded they slow down.  Sam skidded to a stop in front of room 313.  It was empty but for a candy-striper, a teenage girl with a long, dark braid half way down her back, who was changing the linens on the bed.  �Where did they go!?!  Tell me, dammit!�

When Sammy thought of family now, he thought of being a part of Lilith�s grand plan.  Team Lilith, that was his family now.  He and Dean had always clashed on one thing or another.  And sure Bobby had been like a father to him, Aly like a sister, and Cas like the brother from another planet.  There�d been others along the road, too, that had come and gone from their extended, dysfunctional, sometimes freakish family group.  But Sammy was beyond that, he�d moved to a higher plane.  Still, he was going to take some of the old gang with him, like Aly, like Samantha. 

He cleaned his plates of every speck of food, then looked longingly to the dessert section of the buffet.  There were pies and cakes of all types, ice cream and lots of syrups and sprinkles stuff to put over the top.  An assortment of cobblers, tarts, puddings, cookies, brownies, and even doughnuts spoke to Sam from across the room, tempting him, seductively calling his name.  But he resisted.  It was time to get to work.  What would Lilith think if Dean, Faith, and the others got away with Samantha while Sam was downstairs in the cafeteria shoveling food into his face?  Sam had a job to do, dammit, he was on a mission from Gawd, and that Gawd was Lilith.

He wiped his mouth with a paper napkin, then looked across the table to Aly, �So, we ready to get this show on the road?�  He still wasn�t entirely sure she was with him yet.  He hoped she was, but if she wasn�t, he�d deal with it.

�Wouldn�t be the first time, would it?�  Sammy looked up at Alyssa and grinned through a mouth full of lasagna. He was referring to her kicking his ass.  And she knew it.  She might be a foot shorter than Sam, but Aly was quick like a rattlesnake when she needed to be.  And she was feisty.  Feistier than Sam.  Still, after swallowing the current bolus of Italian delight, he countered, �Yeah, no problema, I�m taking care of myself just fine.  Me and Dean, in fact.  He�s been neglecting the basics.  You know he�s been so obsessed about this kid, he�s been spending all his time doting over Faith and preparing for the coming of Samantha.�  Sam scooped a pile of jambalaya into his maw, then pointed the greasy fork at Aly, �In fact, so much so that he hasn�t been keeping up with his hunting.  Do you know he didn�t even bother to tell me about that vampire nest?�  The vampire nest that Sam had lured Aly here to destroy.  �He found it two weeks ago but was too busy out shopping for baby clothes or painting the guest bedroom pink or some damned thing.�  Sam shook his head before starting in on the French fries. 

Sam glanced up at Alyssa.  He almost grinned when she said what she�d said about the innocent.  Aly was beginning to see the darkness at the end of the tunnel.  Soon it would rush up at her like a speeding freight train and bowl her over.  And then she�d understand.  She asked about the phone call. �No, its Dawn Summers.  You know, Buffy the Vampire Slayer�s sister.�  He read the text message, and decided he�d answer it later.  He was kind of in the middle of something here.  Besides, he suspected Dawn was snooping.  He knew she and Buffy were with Dean and Faith and the others.  They were all plotting against him.  Whatever. 

Although Sam Winchester might be possessed or otherwise controlled by evil forces beyond his or anyone else�s control, his condition didn�t affect his appetite.  He loaded up his plate with a mound of that Shrimp Jambalaya, then scooped out a big square of lasagna, added some Vietnamese fried pork rolls, and a beef taco over which he doused with generous portions of green hot sauce.  Realizing he didn�t have room on his plate for side dishes, he balanced the current, main dish plate on a forearm, then loaded up another plate with French fries, a baked potato, hash browns, and a scoop of brussel sprouts; the latter just because he needed something healthy among all this other stuff.  Even the malevolent evil has to eat well.  The buffet had an excellent selection of desserts, too, but Sam didn�t dare juggle three plates.  He�d have to make a second trip. But he did fill up a super-sized soda � half Coke Zero and half Cherry punch, with a lot of ice.  Too bad they didn�t serve Miller Genuine Draft, but then it was a hospital. 

He got back to the table and started to shovel the spoils into his pie hole.  He looked across the table at Alyssa, a frown scrunched up between his eye brows.  �Hey, are you feeling ok?�

He watched as she sipped on the tainted coffee, wondering if she tasted anything off.  There was no indication.  He wasn�t sure how long it would take for the blood to win her over to Team Lilith.  It hadn�t taken long for Sammy Boy.  �Dean and I have been as busy as one-toothed men in corn-on-the-cob eating contests.  Evil is one tough ole boy.  Kind of like a, whaddya call them?  A Hydra.  Cut one head off and two more grow in its place.  Sometimes I think we�re just spinning our wheels, Aly.  How much good are we really doing?  I mean, maybe its just a waste of time.  Maybe its even worse than that, because there�s collateral damage along the way.  Real people, the innocent,� Sammy almost choked on that word, because the only truly innocent humans are newborns, which brought his thinking back around to Samantha, �they get hurt while we�re out trying to fight the bad guys. Fighting them with no real long term gain. One step forward, two steps back.�

He lifted the menu out of Aly�s hands, �You don�t need that.�  He nodded towards the buffet, �They�ve got an amazing selection under the heat lamps.  Come on.� He led her over to the rows of stainless steel trays loaded with a dazzling variety of main and side dishes, desserts, and hors d�oeuvres that any five-star hotel would be proud of.  Sam pointed to one steaming tray, �Try that Shrimp Jambalaya, its to die for.�   Did he catch a glimpse of the transformation in her eyes?

Sam�s blood bond with Lilith was energizing and it significantly expanded his senses.  Not just the five mundane human senses, either.  He was becoming connected to the world, like tendrils of himself were spreading out through the hospital and into the ground, out into the people walking around, and the trees and grass and birds.  And he could feel the anxiety in this room, palpable and thrumming, like a living entity.  It manifested mostly in family and friends visiting patients, but also lived inside hospital employees, and a few recovering patients that were well enough to come to the cafeteria.  Sammy knew that the older woman two tables away had just lost her husband of 53 years to stomach cancer.  She was devastated and alone, and probably would not survive the year, even though her own health was reasonably good.  A doctor across the room was loathing an afternoon meeting with the parents of a nine-year old girl who had been in a bicycle accident.  He would have to tell them that their daughter was paralyzed from the waist down and would live out the rest of her days as a paraplegic.    

Not much good news was to be had here in the cafeteria of Saint Mary�s.  Despite all the advances in medicine over the years, people still suffered through multiple ailments, and everyone dies.  Nobody gets out of this game alive, ladies and gentlemen.   

Sam spotted Aly by the door.  She was glancing around the room looking for him.  He waved his hands and she spotted him.  Aly was fiercely loyal, whip smart, courageous, and at least on the surface, as tough as nails.  But Sam had seen her vulnerabilities too, and knew that in some ways she was as fragile as antique china.  He stood, smiled, and pulled out a chair for her.  �I got you a cup of coffee for starters.�  He gestured to the steaming mug in front of her.  The slice in his fingertip had already healed, thanks to the power of Lilith�s blood now coursing through his veins.  �We can get something to eat, too.  They have everything.�