Faith came out of the bathroom, twisting her damp hair back into a bun.
Ignoring the other occupants in the room, she took her laptop out of her bag and went to sit at the table, as far away from Sam as she could get.
Sam & Dean
"So why haven't you killed Ruby yet?" Sam demanded.
"Because you won't let me at her," Dean fumed, pacing like a tiger in a cage.
"So you think I'm just going to let you go at Faith?"
"Ruby's a black-eye Sam, she's like vermin!"
It was Sam's turn to fume.
"Take that back."
Dean chuckled angrily.
"You sure you want me to replace it with anything?"
Faith
Faith rolled her eyes slightly and stood, closing her laptop before she'd even turned it on.
She grabbed a jacket from the back of the chair and headed for the door.
Dean & Sam
"And where do you think you're going?" Dean demanded after her.
"Just let her go," Sam sighed, hands on his hips.
Faith
"Out," Faith turned, raising an eyebrow at Dean.
"Why, you gonna stop me?"
Dean & Sam
"If I have to," Dean pulled out his gun.
"DEAN!" Sam bellowed, coming up behind him to try and take it.
The brothers struggled for a moment, but Dean landed a blow across Sam's jaw sending him flying backwards.
Faith
"Hey!"
Faith grabbed Dean's shoulder and threw him back against a wall.
Dean & Sam
Dean instantly jumped back to his feet, clicking the gun off safety.
"DAMNIT DEAN!" Sam yelled, putting himself between the two.
"Get out of the way Sammy."
"Think logically Dean. If she really was a demon, that gun wouldn't do a damn thing."
"It could still kill you," Dean's eyebrows rose, "like father like demon child, right?"
"Dean this is crazy..."
"Yeah? So what's new?"
Faith
"Go on, baby," Faith said, narrowing her eyes at Dean.
"Take the shot."
Sam & Dean
"Dean NO!" Sam yelled as Dean aimed the gun and pulled the trigger.
Sam cursed as his bicep was hit, covering it with his right hand as he fell back into a sit on the bed.
The blood spatter seemed to somewhat shock Dean back to reality.
"Sammy?" he frowned, dropping the gun by his side.
He clicked the safety on and put it back into his belt, still not making a move to help his brother.
Faith
Faith was torn between leaving and helping Sam, but after a moment hesitating, she moved forward to Sam and put her hand over his, applying more pressure.
"You ok?" she asked, still not looking him in the eye.
Dean & Sam
"So now you care?" Dean scorned.
"I'm fine," Sam scorned, pulling away from her.
"Yeah, because you sure look it," Dean said sarcastically.
"No one asked you," Sam scowled.
"Do I look like I care?" Dean shrugged.
Faith
"I wasn't the one who stopped caring."
Faith pulled her hand away from Sam's and rolled her eyes.
"I'm out of here then."
Dean & Sam
"Faith-"
"Dean," Sam's eyebrows rose, "if worse comes to wors, you know how to trac her down. Let her go."
Dean frowned at her, then turned back to his brother.
"Fine. You and I have some things to settle anyway."
Faith
"Does it involve stupid accusations of us sleeping together?" Faith asked, reaching for her bag.
"Because it was nice to see the level of trust between all of us."
Sam
"I saw you two making out," Sam sorned.
"What the Hell would you have thought?"
Faith
"That doesn't mean we were screwing."
Faith shook her head.
"It was a stupid kiss. One mistake."
Sam & Dean
"Sure it was," Sam scorned, "you really think I'm that blind? Once?"
"We've already been through this, I'm the one that came onto her," Dean's voice rose.
"That doesn't change the fact that it happened!" Sam's voice was on the same level.
"Well hey, you didn't have a problem with me screwing her before," Dean taunted.
Faith
"If I wanted to screw Dean, I would do it, Sam. But not behind your back. I'd just mount him now."
Faith glanced at Dean before returning her attention back to Sam.
Dean & Sam
Dean paused to consider that.
"Then why don't you just go ahead?" Sam said with venom.
Faith
"Because I don't want to," Faith snapped.
"And if he really thinks about it, he doesn't want to do me either."
Dean & Sam
"If you'd asked me yesterday..." Dean shrugged.
"Right. The only reason you don't want to do her is because you think she's a demon," Sam said condescendingly.
"I don't think you're a demon Sam, you're a half breed," Dean corrected.
"So?"
"So whatever disease you've got, you've handed it to her too. Gives a whole new dimension to STDs, don't it?"
Faith
"I'm not a demon, and I don't have a disease," Faith argued.
"Sam and I swapping bodily fluids does not mean I am suddenly evil."
Dean
"Oh. So being telepathic is just a part of your many slayer talents," Dean hit back.
Faith
"Maybe I'm manifesting," Faith said sarcastically.
"I'm not telepathic!"
Dean & Sam
"Right, so," Dean indicated between them.
"Explain the psychic connectio crap then. How did you know where she was?"
"I just heard her voice in my head. Just like I hear his," Sam's eyes searched the floor.
Faith
"What?"
Faith furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
Dean & Sam
"The dude that took us," Dean explained.
"Sam's wired into his radio frequency. They can talk to each other."
"Only if he initiates it. He talks in my head and I answer out loud," Sam corrected.
Faith
"Ok."
Faith scratched her neck.
She didn't really see how that was relevant to her, but whatever.
Dean & Sam
"But that's not how it worked with Faith, right?" Dean's eyebrows rose again.
"No," Sam frowned, "it was almost like... that time that farmer guy screwed with the impala and left me to be eaten by wild dogs and I somehow called out to her. Only in reverse."
"And that's exactly what Andy did to me when you got yourself killed," Dean pointed out, "see? It's yellow eyes. Still screwing with us even though he's been dead almost two years."
Faith
Faith thought about that for a moment.
"Well, then stab me," she shrugged. "One way to find out, right?"
Sam & Dean
"But you'll die either way," Sam frowned, "the blade kills anything supernatural. That includes slayers."
"She's got a point," Dean reasoned, "it's not as if a simple exorcism is gonna work."
"There's got to be another way around it. Maybe the tests that Fred was doing to my blood-"
"What tests?" Dean frowned.
Sam opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again.
Faith
"Fred's gone," Faith reminded him softly.
"My blood is already going to come up funny on the radar anyway. Although..."
She squinted slightly, thinking.
Dean & Sam
"What tests?" Dean's frown deepened.
"Although what?" Sam gulped a little, trying to ignore Dean.
Faith
"I have someone who can help me out," Faith said, glancing at Sam.
"She'll be able to see it, probably better than Fred would've been able to."
Sam & Dean
"Then what are we waiting for?" Sam stood, still holding his arm.
"Woah woah wait a minute," Dean insisted, "I think some kind of explanation is in order here. Seriously."
"Look, when you... were in the pit, I had some tests done at Wolfram and Hart..."
"Oh really?" Dean's jaw jutted.
"Yes, really. I wanted to see if there was a way to... separate the demon part of myself from the human part, so to speak. The tests failed."
"Shocker, Sam," Dean scorned, "are you sure it was Wesley who told your friend Lindsay about you?"
"What do you mean?" Sam frowned.
Dean rolled his eyes and waved him off.
"You need help Sam, seriously."
Faith
"Let's get you patched up first, Sam," Faith said, looking at Sam with warmer eyes.
She took a slow step towards him, as if waiting for his permission to help.
Dean & Sam
"If the tests failed, what makes you think they could help Faith?" Dean asked.
Sam hesitated, looking at Faith, before sitting back down on the edge of the bed.
"They failed for me. For what I wanted," Sam corrected, "but as far as I know they picked up on the supernatural properties."
Dean ran his fingers through his hair awkwardly, then scratched his head.
Faith
"And Willow's a little different," Faith said, getting her medkit out of her bag.
She unzipped it and snapped some gloves on.
Sam & Dean
"Alcohol," Sam indicated the fridge with his bloodied hand.
"Different how?" Dean frowned, going to fetch a bottle.
Faith
"She's a witch. Or a wiccan, if you ask her," Faith said, shrugging.
She took the bottle from Dean and unscrewed it, then offered it to Sam.
"You want a nip of courage before I do this?"
Dean & Sam
"A witch?" the brothers frown in sync.
Sam grabbed the bottle and took a long swig as Dean shuddered.
"Friggin witches," Dean cursed under his breath.
Faith
"She's not evil. Currently," Faith said, then took the bottle back from Sam.
She sterilised the pliers and then handed it back to him.
"You might want another nip."
Sam & Dean
"Uh huh," Sam nodded, taking it back and gulping down some more.
"The 'good ones' are the worst kind," Dean shook his head, collapsing into one of the dining chairs.
"I can vouch for that," Sam agreed, stopping for a breather.
Faith
"Well, if it ends up as we have to take her down, I do it."
Faith put her hand on Sam's other shoulder to brace him slightly.
"One, two - "
She stuck the pliers into the bullet wound.
Sam & Dean
Sam let out a pained cry between his teeth, his jaw clenched and his cheeks going red.
Dean watched on sipping at his own beer as if he were simply watching television.
"I hope so," he shrugged.
Faith
Faith felt the bullet and maneouvred the pliers, before clipping it and pulling it out a little less gently than she would've, had they not just been fighting.
It fell into the bowl with a clatter.
Sam & Dean
Sam took another swig of the beer, then poured the rest over the open wound.
"More!" he indicated to Dean.
Dean got up and handed Sam the rest of his own beer, before going to the fridge to get another one.
"Does it need stitches?" he asked.
"Maybe," Sam looked down at the wound, trying to judge the width through blurry eyes.
Faith
"Yeah, it does," Faith said, already threading the needle.
"Here, look at these."
She pulled her shirt down to distract him, then stuck the needle into his skin.
Sam & Dean
Sam let out a pained yelp, his eyes squeeze shut as hard as they could go.
Dean chukled a little to himself, having a good view from where he stood.
Faith
Faith held onto his arm firmly, sewing the wound closed and enjoying his discomfort a little.
She finished, tying the sutures off, then wiping the blood away with an alcohol swab.
"You can open them," she told him, before reaching into the kit and pulling out a bandage.
Sam & Dean
Sam started panting, opening his eyes to a squint.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Dean teased.
"Maybe I'll just shoot you for the amusement," Sam threatened.
"Down, tiger," Dean smirked.
Faith
Faith taped the bandage over the wound carefully, then, out of habit, pressed a kiss to Sam's forehead.
She hesitated, awkwardly.
"Pain killers?"
Sam
Sam hesitated, taken aback by the kiss.
"My knapsack. Other side of the bed," he replied with a short gulp, cringing in between every few words.
Faith
Faith got up, glad to be away from Sam for a moment. She took the painkillers from Sam's knapsack, then went into her own bag for a bottle of water.
"Here," she said, handing them both to Sam. "With water, then you can get as blind as you want."
Sam
"It's all gonna end up together in my stomach anyway," Sam threw the pills into the back of his throat and skulled the rest of Dean's beer.
He sqeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, letting the bottle drop to the floor.
Faith
"And by the way, one of you stinks. Go shower."
Faith shrugged.
Dean & Sam
"Together? Nuh-ah," Dean shook his head.
Sam coughed, then let out a large burp.
Faith
Faith smirked.
"Hey, I didn't suggest that. I'm just pointing out that one of you stinks."
Sam & Dean
"Probably me. You know, the one that's bleeding everywhere," Sam scorned.
"Bodily fluids do tend to stink," Dean agreed sarcastically.
Faith
"Well, if you need help in the shower, just say the word," Faith said flippantly.
She bent over to start packing up the medkit.
Sam & Dean
Sam hesitated awkwardly, then stood from the bed.
"I think I'm ok. I just need some... plastic wrap."
"Kinky," Dean's eyebrows rose.
Faith
"Ah, can't help you there," Faith said, shrugging.
She sat down on the bed, rubbing her eyes.
Sam & Dean
Sam made his way to the sink, washing the blood from his right hand. That done he checked under the sink and in the nearby cupboard.
"Want me to go get some?" Dean offered, "there might be some in the trunk from last time."
Faith
Faith flopped down tiredly, her part in the whole ordeal over.
"Either that, or he goes through more stitches."
Sam & Dean
"She's got a point," Sam shrugged, coming up empty.
"Right," Dean set his beer down, got up, and grabbed his keys.
"Back in a second."
He headed for the door and out to the impala.
"Thanks for this," Sam said softly to Faith - without looking at her.
Faith
Faith shrugged.
"No problem."
Sam & Dean
Sam nodded to himself, before going to fetch a change of clothes.
Dean didn't take long to return with the wrap, and Sam soon went for his shower.