Down the Rabbit Hole

One Little Tear

Soundtrack:
The Pretty Reckless – Kill Me
Eddie Cochran – Summertime Blues
Garbage – I'm Only Happy When it Rains
Haim – A Little of Your Love

Lacey opened a portal and stepped back into the cabin to the sound of knocking. She took a deep breath, re-orienting herself. She walked a little unsteadily towards the front door, her nerves a little on edge, wondering who the hell it could be. She never got visitors up here, in the middle of nowhere. Ready to go into attack mode at the drop of a hat, she unlocked the door and opened it. Sam was standing on the door step, his brow furrowed as he waited for her.
"Sam?" Lacey looked back at him, confused. "What are you doing here?"
"It's nice to see you too, Lacey." Sam gave her a crooked smile. "Can I come in?" Lacey nodded and took a step back, letting him inside the cabin.
"I wasn't expecting you. After the last time we spoke... well, we didn't exactly leave it on good terms." Lacey reminded him, leaning back against the kitchen counter.
"I know, I just... I needed some time to myself, to figure out what I want to do next." Lacey raised an eyebrow, waiting.
"Actually that's why I'm here. I sort of met someone." Sam looked up at her expectantly.
"Ok..." Lacey said, waiting for him to continue.
"We've been together a couple of months now and I'd really like you to meet her."
"What? Why?" Lacey asked, frowning.
"Well, you're kind of the only family I have right now..." Sam started but Lacey interrupted, walking up to him as she spoke.
"Family? Really, Sam? Cause I thought family meant nobody got left behind or some other crap. You left us behind. You left me to search for him, by myself. Then you have the audacity to come here and the first question out of your mouth isn't, how's the search going?" Lacey glared at him, her hands balled into fists by her side.
"You're right, Lacey, I should have asked. How is the search going?" Sam asked, giving her the puppy dog eye look he always used to use. Lacey pursed her lips for a moment before answering.
"Not so good. But I'm not giving up."
"Of course." Sam nodded. There was silence for a moment, before Sam spoke again. "So, the reason I came was to ask if you would come and meet her, Amelia, and stay with us for a couple of days." Lacey stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because I've told her all about you and she wants to meet you. And I've missed you, it's been too long." Sam explained. Lacey sighed.
"It's really that important to you?"
"Of course." Sam looked at her, surprised.
"Fine. I'll come. I better get changed and pack a bag." Lacey rolled her eyes and headed into the bedroom at the back of the cabin. Sam sat on the sofa and waited for her. She reappeared a short while later, having changed into a white strappy top, black leggings, a denim jacket hoodie and trainers, a duffle bag slung over her shoulder.
"Ok, let's do this." She said, slightly begrudgingly. The two of them headed out the door and Lacey locked it behind them. When she turned around she forgot to breathe for a moment.
"Hey, Baby." She said softly, running her hand down the side of the car as she walked toward the front passenger door. Sam smirked at her across the roof of the car.
"What?" Lacey asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Nothing." Sam shook his head, smiling, and the two of them got in the car.
"So, where are we going?" Lacey asked.
"Kermit, Texas." Sam told her.
"And how long is that going to take?"
"Uh, about a day." Lacey rolled her eyes.
"Ever heard of teleporting?" Lacey asked, sarcastically.
"You can teleport the car?" Sam asked.
"Hmmm, lets find out." Lacey reached out and put her hand on the dashboard, closing her eyes in concentration. Sam looked around wildly.
"Are you sure this is a good...."
"Shhhh!" Lacey wrinkled up her face and concentrated. Seconds later they disappeared from outside the cabin and reappeared in an empty suburban street.
"Wow." Sam looked around, impressed.
"Yeah, not too shabby. I wasn't sure it was going to work."
"You weren't sure..." Sam stared at her.
"Are we going?" Lacey asked, interrupting him.
"Yeah... Yeah...let's go." Sam said, turning the engine on.

They drove a few miles down the road before Sam pulled into a driveway. Lacey got out, looking up at the house in the fading light. There was a light on in one of the front windows. Lacey took a deep breath and followed Sam up the front steps. He unlocked the front door and held it open for her. As she stepped inside, Lacey caught movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to her right. A small, pale woman with wild black hair was walking towards her.
"You must be Lacey. Sam has told me so much about you." She smiled at Lacey.
"Oh, he has?" Lacey turned to Sam, a smirk pulling at her lips.
"Of course." Sam gave her a look.
"And what has he told you?" Lacey realised her tone sounded hostile but she didn't really care. Amelia looked unsure as she answered the question.
"That you're like a sister to him. That you and Dean used to be.... Before he passed." She trailed off. Lacey took a deep breath, trying to slow her pounding heart and control her anger.
"Right. Well, it's been a long day, I'm kind of tired. Sam, mind showing me where I'm sleeping?" She asked, her tone clipped.
"Sure, right this way." Sam ushered her towards the stairs. When they reached the top he showed her into a small room on the left. As soon as they were inside, Lacey turned towards him, her eyes blazing with anger.
"You told her Dean is dead?! Why would you do that?! He's not dead!" She growled at him. Sam looked down at his hands and sighed before taking a seat on the edge of the bed.
"We don't know that he isn't, Lacey."
"Wow." Lacey stared at him. "Way to keep upbeat. I can't believe you've given up on him." She said, biting back tears.
"Lace, it's been 10 months. I haven't given up on him but we have to face facts, it's not looking good. I had to tell Amelia something, and telling her he was dead was easier than explaining the truth. She doesn't know anything about our world, about what we do. And I'd like to keep it that way, so if you could keep the power usage to a minimum, I would appreciate that." Lacey stared at him for a moment in silence.
"Who are you?" She shook her head. "Never mind. Don't answer that. Look, it really has been a long day so, I need some sleep." Sam looked down at his feet before nodding.
"I'll see you in the morning." He said as he crossed to the door and shut it behind him. Lacey flopped down on the bed. It was hard to be around Sam when he was like this. Part of her didn't know why she had come. She shook her head, she knew exactly why she had come. As much as she was enjoying her little astral projections back in time, she knew it wasn't the real world. She was literally living in the past, keeping his memory alive. Coming here was her way of proving to herself she could deal with the here and now, if she had to she could live without Dean. She lay back on the bed, closing her eyes. She wasn't giving up, no matter what Sam did or said, she wasn't giving up yet.