Season 7 Crazy Town; Ep 17

[weirddreams]

It didn't take a lot of math to deduce that the last time he had any sort of date, roadside or otherwise, with Ruby had been over eight months ago. Castiel was at fault for a lot of that, but Sam had himself to blame for letting Lucifer in too. The last fourty eight hours reality had been hard to distinguish. Ruby helped keep him present though. He wanted to do something in return for her which is why through out the day he stole repurposed things no one was using anymore from around the hospital.

When he was ready, he asked Ruby if she could get pizza from the outside world (please and thank you) and laid things out to surprise her when she got back. It wasn't much. He lit a candle that had been thrown away after a service, straghtend up flowers no longer for the purpose of a funneral and a cup of butterscotch pudding and another of orange jello that was never opened. Just because he was hospitalized for his sleep issues, it didn't mean romance had to die.

Then he waited for Ruby to bring the main course.

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[weirddreams]

Seems they both have the same idea about spending the night together. He hadn't any plan for how to deal with Nurse Penny if she peered into his room other than to have Ruby hide or pretend to leave just then. He'll thank Ruby for that should he find out that she paid the night nurse off.

He can't take his eyes off her when she comes back in. Not to spoil the mood but, "You changed." He also notices right away that her lipstick is the same shade as her dress and he takes it all in with a crooked grin. "I like what you did with... Everything. Hey!" That's been their hello since their Wessen and Deville days. Spoilers: he likes just about everything about her, except has at one time or another admitted she shouldn't ever do pigtails.

"Penny, who?" Part of that is him being facetious, but he can't and won't think of other women now either. Rather than focus too much on his hospital clothes by comparison, he brings her attention to the set up he made. "This is for you... Us, rather. I thought we could have a little date while... while, well, something can be done." Yes, he has faith Dean could find something to help him. Meanwhile they deserved some time together while he was lucid today. "Sit, sit please." Anywhere on the bed would be a good start. He sits next to her.

[peaceonearth]

She'll sneak out in the early hours of the morning, change and come back to see him with breakfast. Penny was happy to look the other way for a little bit of money. She also thinks it's sweet the way Mrs. Smith is there every day to see her husband. To top it all off, the entire hospital has seen how Sam is better with Ruby around.

She shrugs one shoulder at his observation and turns in a slow circle. "This very hot guy asked me out on a date," she teases him. No pigtails for her.

"Good answer, Mr. Smith." Of course, it's for them, just as the dress and the lipstick are for him. She's glad he's lucid today. That's not the case every day, and it's difficult for both of them when he's not. She sits down on the bed and when he sits with her, she leans in and kisses him. "It's already a good date."

[weirddreams]

He'll be happy to see her back the very next morning. Penny was smart to take the money. Exactly; it's a win/win for everyone involved. Sam does better when he isn't alone to suffer Lucifer hallucinations.

He's half sure that she is playing things down but he can't let her. He reaches out closer by extending his hand to finish that twirl right against him if she'd like. "He's a very lucky guy. You're the most beautiful gal I know." He plays right back into the scenario.

"That's the only answer, Mrs. Smith." He only wishes he could have done more. But what matters is that she came, is with him on his worst days and not just his best. He feels closer to her now more than ever. His lips press back on to hers against her bottom lip, but his hands do much more by gathering her into his lap and bringing her as close to him as possible. "I'm glad you like it. Don't think I forgot I owed you a sixth date."

[peaceonearth]

And Ruby only leaves him alone when it's necessary. The worse things get, the more she's here with him.

When he twirls her into him, she rests one hand on his chest and the other on his shoulder before she leans in to kiss him lightly. She likes when he plays along with the scenario. It's easier to accept his compliments that way.

Would it be easier to ditch Sam when things got difficult? Probably, but if she were going to do that, she wouldn't have stayed with him during his whole soulless stint. Ruby may not be the best example of humanity, but she loves Sam and she doesn't want a life without him. She's also very stubborn and refuses to accept anything less than the notion that they will get Sam back whole again. She laughs into the kiss when he pulls her into his lap, arms going around his neck. "And a seventh," she reminds him. They keep adding numbers to the dates owed. "This is a very good start. You. Me. In bed," she whispers between kisses.

[weirddreams]

Good. Some of the nurses already believe that he talks to himself when she isn't around. She's much better company.

All of it is encouragement and this fantasy is easier to let himself fall into than others. He returns the kiss with another and one more for good measure. In some ways, it's how he knows she is still real. He won't speak about the lingering doubts that are created when there is any distance between them. He'd like to keep it going so he waves to the food.

It would break his heart if she ditched him now, but he wouldn't blame her. The same goes for had she left when he was soulless. He was a douche canoe. As far as he's concerned, she's trying to break the mold and be better. Her example has helped him through some of his hardest inward battles. He won't let her down now because her disappointment isn't something he could face.

He smiled into their kiss with her reaction. "I hoped it would be. If you don't mind, let's make this a proper one." The sound of a seventh date is good. They had five proper dates before he jumped into the pit, and the sixth was right now. He loved how she kept adding them on as it made him hopeful for his recovery. They could have sex later, or soon enough. A little conversation, food or TV was what he needed first. He needed a taste of reality, badly, without alarming her.

[peaceonearth]

Little do the nurses know that he's actually talking to Lucifer.

The kisses are returned with a certain sweetness that implies she knows that physical shows of intimacy are one way he stays rooted in reality. If she knew about those doubts, she'd hardly ever leave. She's happy enough to maintain this illusion of normality. After all, that's part of what this night is about.

As long as he's trying and he's himself, he won't disappoint her.

For Ruby, there's no other option except for Sam to recover. They'll figure it out. For now, there's a proper date to be had, and sex later. Ruby opens the pizza box, pulling it close, and offers it to Sam first. "How was your day? Did the guy claiming to be Elvis do anything new today?"

[weirddreams]

It wouldn't do him any favors for them to know. He's already up a crazy man's creek without a paddle. That stays between himself, Ruby and Dean.

Each individual kiss returned implies more than that; there's a connection between them that pulls him deeper into the present and lets him know that she could only be the real thing. He isn't telling her because she deserves to step out for fresh air. It's more than enough that she comes to visit him on a daily basis. This little date is the least he can do to return a little care and romance.

For her, for Dean, he's trying to hold as long as he can. He's not given up or tired as he will be, yet.

Perfect. Sam glances over, again struck by her beauty. It was unimaginable to see her in a dress and he'd be lying if he said he didn't like it. What he probably noticed the most was her choice to not wear anything else under it; her breasts were perky and unrestricted, and he didn't try to hide from being caught looking. Her offer for him to take the first slice gets his eyes to move to the box and smile at her thoughtfulness. He takes a small piece to adjust pace himself to start with. "I'm not sure where my day begins..." he opens up honestly, but pauses to think where it might have begun. "Elvis was singing again on the toilet this morning. It's almost the wake up call around here at this point. Nurse Penny came in with meds again. Other than that, I don't think there was anything eventful between then and this." He's a bad liar and at the same time he can't bring himself to keep things from her. It takes him a second but he shows her his hand. The nail marks haven't broken skin again but his palm is a deep red. He's sharing with her that Lucifer kept him company, but.

"I think I got a little peace for a while. It's better now that you agreed to this." He closes his hand and has a bite of his slice of pizza. He'd like to focus on the date.

[peaceonearth]

She loves that even with everything he has going on, he's thinking about her enough to plan something a date for them.

He has to try to hold on for both of them. She and Dean would be lost if he gave over to Lucifer, not to mention what would happen to the world.

He'd better notice the dress and the lack of underwear. Both are for his benefit. When she caught him looking, she winked at him. Once Sam takes a piece of pizza, she takes a small one as well, tucking her legs underneath her on the bed. "Not the worst alarm you could have," she says, glad he fixed on a point where his day began. "That's good. You're here to relax and feel better," she reminds him. Her brow furrows when he shows her his hand. She reaches out tentatively to touch the marks. "I've got some cream in my bag for those. I also brought you more books and I think I'm going to teach you to knit later this week." She's trying to give him something to occupy his time.

"Anytime. We can do this every night, Sam."

[weirddreams]

Some days the fixed point has to be the last thing he did, but other days, the likes of today, it's easier. He holds his fingers over hers when they venture far enough over the palm of his hand. "Would you mind? I can't wrap it myself half as well as you can." If the hospital would allow it, he'd want her to stay to occupy the after hours.

He won't deny that he feels easier with the promise of her every night. "Did you bring any yarn and instruction books today?"

[peaceonearth]

And on those bad days, she'll help remind him. Sam would do the same thing for her if she were in his shoes. "Puppy, that's what I'm here for. My plan was to lock you up in a room with me and take care of you myself, but apparently, psychiatric medicine has come a long way and Dean thinks you'll do better here with medicine." She leans across Sam and across the bed to snag her bag with one hand then dumps it out onto the bed. There are books, a pot of the cream in question, bandages, tape, knitting needles, and a couple of skeins of yarn. At least tonight she can stay until just before the shift change when she'll sneak out in the early hours of the morning.

She opens the pot of ointment and gently smooths it on his hand. "I am the instruction book," she teases him as she starts to wind the bandage around Sam's hand.

[weirddreams]

Where did he ever meet a girl like her again? He's well aware he'd be lost without her company. He chuckles, but tiredly, at the statement. "Right now it doesn't seem so bad to have the best of both worlds. I slept a few hours before this with the help of psychiatric medicine and now you're here." He promised to keep her updated as best he could and this is it. His eyes explore the contents on the bed as his better hand pushes things to different sides to sort them into sections: reading material, first aid, knitting, and other. Once he's done, his other hand rests on the bed, palm facing upwards. The spot where she had already slept next to him was still open to her. The night was theirs and theirs alone.

Surprisingly, the ointment doesn't sting as it goes over his wound and he flexes his hand, carefully, after she finishes with the bandage. "I'm going to need every bit of guidance you got."

[peaceonearth]

Outside the gates of Hell. "I'm glad you got some sleep," she tells him. She knows he struggles with it right now. "You can get some more later." She figures the knitting might help keep his hand busy so he doesn't hurt himself again.

She's good at her job and not everything has to hurt. "Lucky you, I've been doing this for oh...a few hundred years. Eat more first," she encourages him. "I'll show you how to get started afterward."

[weirddreams]

A restaurant would have been a much better place for their first meeting. Anyone would when Luci-vision belts out Elvis' greatest hits and moves in the wee hours of the morning. "Can I convince you to sleep over?" No one would need to find out if they do it right. Breaking the smaller rules doesn't bother him as much as it used to.

"Thank you." He says softly, lingering on her for a few moments longer before complying with more bites. He'd been more hungry than he let on and when he finished he downed four pieces. He looked at her with expectancy. "So, how do we start?" He realizes how that sounds as he's saying it, and throat clears. "Knitting."

[peaceonearth]

Almost anywhere would have been a better place for their first meeting. However, outside the gates of Hell was fitting for them. She smiles softly at his question and reaches out to smooth his hair back from his forehead. "Already convinced." That's good. While Ruby encourages Sam's strong moral character, breaking the small rules isn't going to hurt anyone and sometimes, like now, it benefits people.

She watches him eat, picking at her own piece of pizza. Once he's done, she clears away the pizza, putting it on the dresser top, then settles in beside him. She hands him two knitting needles, taking up her own and gets both of them set up with a roll of yarn. "Okay. Take the end of the yarn and wrap it around your right needle like this," she shows him slowly and patiently a couple of times so he can get it.

[weirddreams]

Half of his half stays swept and half of it falls back in front of his forehead. He retains his fond stare on her. "I'll let you pick the time to come back." He doesn't want to admit it but he can't recall the time as it was right then. Why spoil their time together with reality?

The second he feels her rest on him, Sam angles his arms over her so she's close and can see his hands and what he's doing. He inhales, indiscreetly, to take in the scent of her hair then exhales. First, he tries to hold the knitting needles out more as his hands take a lot of space. He works like this while slowly and awkwardly working with her instructions. He starts off for the most part well enough but with looser craftsmanship of the knots. "Either you make this look easy or I need bigger needles." properly.

[peaceonearth]

"I'll just stay. Tomorrow I'll sneak out before the shift change, change clothes and be back after you eat breakfast," she suggests. As far as Ruby is concerned, there's nothing more important than spending time with him now. Cas and Dean are researching how to help Sam.

He can sniff her as obviously as he wants; she won't judge. She works on her own knitting slowly, keeping pace with him so that he can watch what she's doing and mirror it. She laughs softly at his comment. "I've been doing this off and on for hundreds of years; I should hope I make it look easy. You don't need bigger needles. That would make your spacing between stitches bigger and looser. You're doing fine. I wasn't very good when I started, but I liked the monotony and rhythm involved. I think you will too. Focus on those, not the results."

[weirddreams]

He puts down the needles briefly to rub one hand up and down her arm as a reminder she's real. "I'd like that. I'll miss you either way. You could even use the shower here. It's... down the hall." He's certain he hadn't dreamed that. Just which direction it falls in is a bit muggy.

When he picks up the needles again, he follows her movements without any real skill. His lips tug downward mildly, not because she's wrong about him needing the practice but because a part of him always desires to do things well. He knows she's only trying to encourage him and shrugs it off as best he can. His hands feel awkward with the exercise. "Yeah. What made you want to start? Were you still human then?" Her life before becoming a demon interested him. He recalled the time when he told her she didn't have to force herself to remember her life and that he only asked to get to know her better. The same applies now. There is never any expectation for her to answer.

[peaceonearth]

"You think if I tell them I'm a demon, they'd admit me and let us be roommates?" she asks, entirely serious. If she thought it was a possibility, she'd do it in a heartbeat. She notices that he doesn't give clear directions to the shower; she'll find it herself in the morning and his being foggy on the shower's location isn't that troubling. After all, she knows he's having problems with things like that already.

She watches him out of the corner of her eye while her needles click and dip, making the knitting look easy. It's good he's still got that desire to do well even if that's the point of this activity. She shakes her head a little. "It was still pretty new when I was human. Embroidery was what I got stuck with as a human. I--I possessed a widow sometime in the..." Her eyes narrow and her brow furrows as she tries to remember the period "18th century I think. It was just getting popular. She was a witch, and she went to a knitting circle a few times a week. I figured out that it helped me calm down and focus. It helped me feel...more human, I guess and unlike embroidery, I liked knitting. Instead of some useless pretty thing, I ended up with something cozy, useful and pretty."

[weirddreams]

"I'm glad you're talking to me before you make that decision. No, I don't think you should," he tells her, following a moment to deliberate. For her sake, he wouldn't want her to put herself through any of the controls she'd be at the mercy of to the hospital. He agreed to remain in this situation, in fact he insisted he had to, when Dean offered to bust him out. He couldn't be a burden on either of them because his delusions led him there in the first place.

Knitting is the perfect distraction from his tired mind. He has something to focus on and if he can at least finish his...thing half decently, he intends to hand it to Ruby for her use. He's almost entirely gotten over how Ruby's lived and taken over other people before and listens only to what she learned from that experience with his best smile under his tired infliction. "Yeah. The fact you can make clothing sounds useful as much as it does cozy. You'd look cute head to toe in wool clothing." It's what comes to mind first. Sorry.