Priestly slowly opened the door, wincing slightly as it made a creaking noise. He closed it behind him, careful not to slam it, then walked over to the nearby bench and sat down, trying to hold in his sobs.
The night air was cool on his wet cheeks as he started to cry quietly, his shoulders shaking.
Sam
Sam heard the door closing, and sat up a little as he listened.
He heard the soft crying, and decided to leave him to it for a while. He'd needed his own time earlier, so it was only fair.
But after about fifteen minutes or so, Sam slid out of bed and shrugged a jacket over his shoulders. He made his way to the door - opened it quietly - and stepped outside. He soon spotted Priestly on the bench.
Priestly
Priestly heard Sam's footsteps and wiped at his eyes furiously, so whoever it was wouldn't see him cry.
Sam
"Hey," Sam said softly as he walked up to the side of the bench.
"You ok?"
Priestly
Priestly sniffed and wiped his eyes again.
"Yeah," he said, his voice slightly hoarse. "Did I wake you?"
Sam
"I wasn't really sleeping," Sam smiled slightly.
"We've had a rough run lately. I tend to get a few sleepless nights over it. How about you?"
Priestly
Priestly sniffed, trying to hold it together, but before he could start talking, the tears began to fall again.
"I don't know," he admitted quietly. "The last few days have been hard."
Sam
Sam stepped over and sat beside him on the bench, unsure of whether to offer a shoulder or not.
"Tell me about it," Sam shrugged.
"But I can guarantee you one thing. It's not the first and it definitely won't be the last time something like this happens."
Priestly
Priestly buried his head in his hands and started crying heavily again, his body shaking with the force of his sobs.
"I really thought I'd lost Mom."
Sam
Sam put a hand on Priestly's back, cautiously.
"You didn't," he assured, "and you won't. In our line of work, you learn a few tricks of the trade. I wasn't going to let her go without a fight. I promise."
Priestly
"She was so cold," Priestly sobbed, still keeping his face buried in his hands.
"And then meeting Tru and Lia..."
Sam
"That was uncalled for, I know," Sam rubbed his back a little.
"Them showing up out of the blue, when you won't really have time to get to know them. I'm sorry for that. I didn't get to know Airlia either."
Priestly
Priestly hiccupped, and turned slightly, to look at Sam through his hands.
"They both seemed so much like Mom," he sniffed.
Sam
"They were," Sam nodded.
"Airlia in particular. Tru was a bit more... down to Earth, I guess. Like I used to be."
Priestly
"I guess that's what happens when you have two parents that love you,"
Priestly sniffed.
He paused, then looked up at Sam.
"Used to be?"
Sam
"Yeah," Sam nodded.
"When I was about your age, I had a fight with my Dad... and I ran away to
college," he explained, "California to be exact. Pre-law, and heading to
Stanford."
Priestly
Priestly nodded.
"Mom said that's where Tru was. Before."
Sam
"Yeah," Sam nodded.
"She was pre-med. Same difference. We just wanted to get away from the life."
Priestly
"But it catches up with you, doesn't it?" Priestly asked, wiping at his eyes.
Sam
Sam nodded, taking his hand away.
"Yeah, it does," he said.
"I tried to run, but no matter where I go or what I do I can't hide from
what's in my blood. And you can't hide from what's in yours, which is something
I'll regret for the rest of my life."
Priestly
Priestly nodded slowly.
"Do you think... do you think I'm evil."
Sam
Sam sighed.
"I think you have a choice," Sam said seriously, looking straight at him.
"Both your mother and I have had our moments, and we've found our way back.
Mostly. I think that the potential is there, and if you're anything like me you
will always feel a darkness in your veins," he shook his head, "it's just a
matter of what it takes to repress it. And how willing you are to fight."
Priestly
"That's what Mom said," Priestly nodded. "About the choice. And that's what
Angel said."
He shrugged.
"Cordelia didn't trust me. She and Mom had a huge fight about me. Did Mom
tell you?"
Sam
"No," Sam shook his head.
"But I wouldn't worry too much about her."
Priestly
"I just don't want Mom to get into fights because of me," Priestly said,
shrugging.
"I don't want to be a burden on you guys. And I feel like I am."
Sam
"You might want to get used to that feeling," Sam smiled a little, "I think
in our case, family is supposed to be a burden. Just look at Dean."
Priestly
Priestly chuckled slightly.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly.
Sam"It's not your fault," Sam insisted.
He put his hand on Priestly's shoulder and squeezed.
"I want you to hear me say that and mean it. It's not your fault. None
of it is. If anyone's to blame, it's Azazel."
Priestly
Priestly nodded.
"I feel really alone about this. And I know I'm not. But yesterday, when Mom
was... I just sorta felt all alone."
Sam
"And I know we'll never have the same kind of connection that you and your
mother do," Sam reasoned.
"But you and Dean seem to get along okay, right?"
Priestly
Priestly nodded.
"I don't hate you, Dad."
Sam
"I know," Sam assured.
"But I wouldn't blame you if you did, either."
Priestly
"I just had trouble at first," Priestly said quietly.
"Because I was raised thinking someone else was my father."
Sam
"And that I was evil," Sam added for him.
"Which can't help the whole self esteem issue."
Priestly
Priestly nodded.
"And with Mom, I just... I don't know. As soon as we made eye contact, I just
couldn't do it. But with you... Ty was more persistant about getting you out of
the way."
Sam
"Probably because he knew about the telekinesis," Sam said thoughtfully, "or
the demon blood in general. I don't know. We never did work out what he was
really after. There was this one guy who tried to drain my blood once because he
thought he could somehow absorb the powers from it."
Priestly
"Un... Lindsey?" Priestly squinted slightly.
"Yeah... that was Ty's brother."
Sam
Sam looked at him in surprise.
"They were brothers?" he repeated.
Priestly
"You didn't know?" Priestly asked, raising his eyebrows.
"You never noticed how alike they looked? Or noticed they had teh same
agenda?"
Sam
"Ty went after all of us, to kill us. Lindsay wanted my powers," Sam frowned.
"But now that you've said so, suddenly a lot of things do make sense."
Priestly
Priestly shrugged.
"All I know is that I spent a bit of time with both of them. Lindsey was also
involved with Heritage... that Slayer virus."
Sam
"Now that doesn't surprise me," Sam assured.
"He's always had it in for Faith. Since long before we got together."
Priestly
Priestly nodded.
"I got that impression."
Sam
"It wasn't hard," Sam shrugged.
He hesitated a moment, then looked up at him again.
"So... are you alright?"
Priestly
Priestly nodded slowly.
"I guess. It was just a shock, is all."
He paused for a second.
"Are you?"
Sam
Sam just smiled slightly, then stood from the bench.
"Come on, you should get some sleep. My guess is we'll be hitting the road
again early tomorrow."
Priestly
Priestly just nodded, deciding not to press the issue.
"Ok. Oh and Dad? Thanks."
Sam
"You're welcome," Sam nodded, holding the door open for him.
He followed him inside, checked to make sure no one as watching, and closed
the door after them.