The Aly that I know and love comes back in this chapter. YAY! LOL. Anyway, enjoy!!!

After Effects
Part Two

Things were getting worse.

Chloe's hands were bleeding now, she'd scratched them so much. Beth's hair had become flat and unattractive instead of frizzy and unattractive. Britney's face was broken out, which was a complete opposite from her usually clear skin. And Chris…well, Chris was having trouble breathing now. The jacket was shrinking, like I'd thought before. He wasn't gaining weight just standing there.

And we couldn't take the jacket off. Dean had tried to cut the jacket off with scissors and a knife, but there was no getting through the material. It hardened under the metal trying to cut it.

Dean seemed to be untouched, but my belt - the one I'd loved instantly - seemed to be tightening much like Chris's jacket. It wouldn't unbuckle, and it had started cutting into my skin.

Sam and Bobby were here now pretending to be people from the Center for Disease Control. The gym was under quarantine now and no one was allowed in or out. Except for them, and maybe me and Dean.

Chris wasn't buying the disease angle, mostly because of his jacket. So I avoided his questions as best as I could.

"How bad off are they?" I asked Bobby.

"Do you really wanna know?"

"Yes," I replied. "I think I do."

"All these people - the ones who are infected - are going to die if we don't find a way to fix this."

Sam nodded in agreement. "Things like this usually escalate."

Dean glanced at my belt. "You mean she's gonna die?" he asked, his voice strained.

"No, I'm not. Because we're gonna fix this."

We'd been through a lot worse; we'd get through this. A belt was not going to kill me.

"So, what's the deal? What story are you going with?" Dean asked.

"Contagious plague?" Sam suggested. "Anyway, the people infected…if we don't stop it, it'll keep spreading."

"What is it?" I asked. "I mean, do you know?"

"No. Best we can tell is…cursed objects. We've never seen a case where so many cursed objects were in one place, though."

"Really?" That was strange. "The demons from the gate…could they have done this?"

"No, they would just kill them or possess them. They wouldn't do this first," Bobby said. "What would be the point?"

"Well, then what's causing this?" I asked, frustrated. "Demon pox? Monster measles? Fiend flu? What would make these things…" I stopped, realizing something. "The only people that have anything wrong with them are the ones who picked something from the donations from that store."

"What store?" Bobby asked.

"Um…I don't know. I'll ask Chris."

When I reached Chris I could tell he was having an even harder time breathing. He and Chloe were on the floor leaning back against the pushed in bleachers.

"Hey, how you doin'?" I asked them both.

"I'm doing better than Chloe."

"Chloe?" I looked at the black haired girl. "How're you feeling?"

"My hands hurt."

"Can I?" I gestured at her hidden hands. "Let me see."

Her hands were so raw, I was afraid to touch them.

"Oh, wow. Chloe…"

"Alyson…what are Bobby and Sam doing here?" Chris asked. "Do they know what's going on?"

"Um…they think some of the things are contaminated. That's why people are reacting badly to things."

"Contaminated?" Chloe asked. "With what?"

"They're not sure. Disease Control has us quarantined, though, so they'll know something soon."

"Where are they? The Disease Control people?" Chris asked.

"Uh…outside, I guess."

Dean's words of me never being able to be honest with Chris came back to me and I sighed.

"Look, which store donated that jacket?"

"Uh…Trick's. Trick's Clothing and Accessories. It's a new store downtown. It's, like, ten minutes away."

"Okay…well, maybe…maybe we can contact them. Just stay here, okay?"

I began to get up and I made it a few steps away and then I realized Chris had gotten up and followed me. The only reason I knew that was because he grabbed me, and turned me to face him.

"Wait!"

"What?" I looked at him curiously, removing his hand from my arm.

He moved closer, so close our bodies were almost touching.

"You know…what's going on. Don't you?" He seemed so sure.

"I don't…know exactly. I know it's got something to do with the donations."

"You know more than that," he said. "I can tell when you're not being completely honest with me. You look away before you answer. Like you're stalling for time."

"Chris…you don't wanna know. Trust me."

"I do. I do trust you. If you're keeping something from me, then you have a good reason. But…I think I can handle whatever it is that's doing this. You can tell me."

"Is there a problem here?" Dean asked, coming to my side and taking in Chris's and my closeness.

"Chris wants to know what's going on," I sighed.

Dean nodded and huffed out a breath. "Your jacket is strangling you."

I stared at Dean. Had he really just said that out loud.

"Yeah, I can actually feel that. What I mean is…why? The way you're acting…I know you know. All four of you do."

"Well, we don't know really. We can guess right now, but that's it. Sam, Bobby and I are gonna check out the store. Where's it at?"

"Down town," I said. "What about me? You didn't include me in your field trip."

"Someone needs to stay here in case something happens. You're the strongest out of us, so we volunteered you."

"Oh." I nodded. "Okay. Yeah. Just…call when you find something out."

"Yeah. 'Kay."

Chris gave Dean directions to Trick's and then he, Sam and Bobby left. Things got worse a little after that. Britney and Beth locked themselves in one of the stalls in the girls' locker room. Chloe's hands were so raw you could see the muscle. I considered hitting her just to knock her out; at least she wouldn't be in pain. And Chris couldn't move without getting out of breath.

"You should just lay down," I said. "Don't move much."

After helping Chris get comfortable I tried to unzip the jacket again, but it tightened in response, so I stopped.

Fifteen minutes after the guys left, Dean called.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"Hey, there's nothing here."

"What?"

"The directions Chris gave us led us to a field. Either he lied or he didn't know what he was talking about."

I moved away from Chris so I could talk openly. "No, he wouldn't lie."

I heard Dean sigh on the other end. "Are you sure about that, Aly? You haven't known him for very long."

That was true. "Okay, well, why would he hurt himself in the process? I mean, that jacket is squeezing the life out of him. If we don't hurry, his ribs are gonna crack under the press -"

I broke off as a high-pitched screech came over the line. I held it away from my ear.

"Dean?"

The sound continued as I tried to hear his voice, and when I couldn't I shut the phone with a snap. That's when I felt this tremendous power. I'd felt it twice before maybe two months back, but I had never expected to feel it again.

"Hello, Alyson," a mocking-yet-not-evil voice said.

I knew the voice even though I'd only heard it a couple times before. The last time the very presence of this being knocked me to my knees. I guessed I was growing immune to the side effects of my being able to sense things.

Things around me were frozen. Chris had been laying down and now he wasn't breathing or moving at all. Chloe had been in the middle of scratching her hand again, and her hand was frozen in mid-air. The other people who had helped were frozen too.

When I looked at the being that had caused all this, I clenched my teeth together.

It was the Trickster. The one from the college. The one that was supposed to be dead; Dean had stabbed him in the heart with a wooden stake. So, yeah, he should be dead.

"You," I said lamely.

"Me." He grinned goofily at me, loving that I was surprised to see him.

"Thought you were dead."

"I'm not." He laughed.

"Obviously." I looked around the room, thinking about the different things that had happened. The mirror making Britney break out, the hair band making Beth's hair fall out, Chloe's gloves causing skin irritation, Chris's jacket strangling him, and my belt cutting into my skin.

"Should've known this was the work of one of your kind."

"Yeah. Proves how far off your game you are that you didn't catch it. I mean, the store name alone should've given me away." He rolled his eyes. "But, no, you've let your guard down. You've had your head so far up your ass you can't see straight."

It was funny, but the way the Trickster was talking to me was exactly the way Sam had talked to me the day before when he'd called me a brat. It was like I was a misbehaving child.

"How do you know what I'm like?" I asked.

"Oh, I've had my eye on you." His tone was light and amiable.

"Why?" I crossed my arms over my chest. "Why go through so much trouble just to talk to me?"

"Oh, right. There was a point to all this. Teaching lessons is what I do, isn't it?"

"The lesson being?"

"Lessons. Plural. The first lesson is…you're not normal. Quit pretending to be. I mean, that is what you like about Chris, right? That he's normal. Makes you feel normal?"

I looked away from the Trickster. I wasn't feeling any outward animosity so I figured I wasn't in any danger.

"Well, get over it. You can't have normal. You sealed your fate when you became a hunter." He looked at Chris and Chloe. "Those two…they were caught in the crossfire. You put them in danger just by being near them."

"Stop it," I said quietly.

"Hard to hear?" he taunted in a non-evil way.

He stepped toward me, and I could tell just by the look he gave me that he was being serious.

"You are a fighter, Alyson. You face things. It's in your nature. And believe me…what's coming? The world is gonna need you."

"The world?"

The Trickster's face took on a haunted expression.

"It's gonna be bad. You have no idea how bad it's gonna get. We're talking…Apocalyptic bad. Four horsemen bad. War, Death, Famine, Disease…the whole nine yards."

He smiled bitterly.

"And then there's you. A unique champion for good in a troubled world. This is what you were made for. And here you are moping because your boyfriend's gonna die. And he will die. You might as well get used to that fact now. You should be honing your skills, not hanging out at a rummage sale."

I clenched my fists together not because I was angry, but because he's said Dean was going to die. The way he'd put it sounded final, like he knew for a fact that Dean wouldn't be saved. I didn't like it.

"You'd be better off if you just left him. But you won't." His voice was actually sympathetic and it was weird coming from him. "I know you won't."

"That's right," I said. "I won't."

The Trickster surprised me by grinning again. "No matter how miserable it makes you, he'll still comes first, huh?"

"He will." I didn't even have to think about it. "So…world ending, huh? Why would you come to me? Don't you root for the other side? I mean, when did you become the champion of the people?"

The look he gave me was almost comical.

"Are you kidding? I love people."

"You love playing with people," I corrected, pointing at the belt. I noticed it wasn't cutting into my skin anymore so I took it off.

"Please, the people I play with get what they deserve."

I gestured to Chris and Chloe.

"This was get your attention." He pointed at me briefly. "I had to show you that you can't have a normal life."

"Hm." I wasn't amused. My arms hung loosely at my side and my hands hit my thighs nervously. "Okay…say believe you…"

"Oh, let's say more than that. World ending, I wouldn't joke about that. It's kind of an emergency situation. So…get over it and get on board. Unless you're too busy helping people with fundraisers."

The Trickster had stuck around. Everyone was still frozen, and I suddenly wondered if maybe he'd stuck me in a time warp thing and it just looked like everyone was frozen.

I'd wanted to tune the Trickster out but I couldn't. What he was saying was true and therefore very painful to hear.

"You think your life is over because Dean won't be here. But just because he's gonna be gone doesn't change what you are. A fighter."

I'd begun leaning against the bleachers - slumping, actually - and I imagined I looked very much like a petulant teenager.

"And this bratty mood of your is grating."

I sighed. "Are we done? I heard this all from Sam, I don't need to hear it from you."

I was surprised at how well I was getting along with this powerful being, but then again…I always did see the good in people. Though, technically, this wasn't a person I was talking to.

"I mean, really, you're at a point where you think everything sucks, right? If you were to die tomorrow, you wouldn't care."

"I don't know what you're talkin' about," I seethed. He'd hit a nerve with that one. "I don't…wanna die. If I wanted to be dead, I would've kept that belt on. It would've split me in half eventually."

"Okay, well, maybe you don't wanna die," he said. "Maybe that's the wrong way to put it. But you don't wanna exist without him. Am I warmer?"

I sighed in defeat. "Maybe."

"Well, too bad. You're gonna. And ya know, with him gone, you'll see how strong you are. You'll see that you don't have to rely on him as much as you think you do."

I looked up at this man/creature and felt my lower lip tremble.

"Why are you telling me all this? Why do you believe in me so much?"

He shrugged. "Because I know you."

"You've met me once," I reminded him, smiling slightly.

"Yes, but I've had my eye on you, remember?"

"Right. And why was that exactly?"

He grinned his silly grin. "That's for me to know and you to find out." He was serious again. "Talk to Dean. You'll feel better."

He slapped his hands against his thighs much like a farmer would before getting to work. "Now, what are we gonna do about your friends? I don't usually do amnesia tricks, but in this case…"

"Yeah. Yes."

"Okay…I'll make them forget that any of the supernatural stuff happened. Chris can have his jacket…the others can have their stuff. What you do next is up to you."

I nodded, and I had this overwhelming desire to thank him for some reason.

So I did.

Turns out, when the Trickster pulled his amnesia trick it was more a going-back-in-time trick. Back to when Chris brought the first two boxes of stuff from Trick's. He had yet to put on his jacket.

I hesitantly touched the box and was relieved when it didn't shock me.

When Chris went to get the other boxes, I turned to Dean.

"Hey, let's leave," I suggested. "I mean, I'll think of somethin' to say to Chris, but we should leave."

"Why?" Dean seemed confused. "You're the one who wanted to come."

"Well, I changed my mind," I looked at him intensely. "Something weird happened, and…I need to talk to you."

"Like, really talk to me?" Dean was hopeful.

"Yeah. When we get back to Bobby's."

"Sure," he agreed. "I'll wait for you in the car?"

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay." He kissed my cheek, softly brushing his lips against my skin. "Love you."

I let a small sigh escape. "I love you."

Chris came back as Dean walked away and I turned to him. The jacket was back on.

"Hey, where'd Dean go?" he asked, putting the boxes on the table.

"Uh, Chris…something came up and I have to go. I'm sorry."

Chris shook his head. "Don't worry about it." But I could see the disappointment in his eyes.

"I'm really sorry. And, uh, I don't know when I'll see you again. I'm probably not gonna be around much."

"So, what? This is good-bye?"

"It doesn't have to be," I said quickly, although I knew I should've just said 'yes'. "But I'm not gonna be around a lot. Dean and Sam and I move around. Our job takes us everywhere. So…"

Chris smiled sadly. "I guess I understand that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I don't know exactly what you guys do, but it's important to you."

"It is," I agreed. I made a mental note to be careful of what I said to him in the future. Chris was perceptive.

Dean met me right outside the gym with the car and I got in. Immediately, Dean wanted to know what was going on, and so I told him.

I told him everything starting from the minute I'd shocked myself on the cardboard box to where I'd touched the box the second time without any problem.

"So, the Trickster, huh? The same one?"

"Uh-huh. The one and only."

"Thought he was dead."

"So did I. But apparently not."

"Why did he do all this? Why go to all the trouble? I mean, it couldn't have been to get you back on track. No matter what he said."

"Well, I dunno. But if things are gonna get as bad as he says then he may actually care about the world. Humans." Dean didn't buy it. "I mean, he could've killed me any time today. He didn't."

Back at Bobby's we went to the bedroom immediately. It was our private place here, and we were going to need privacy for this.

But when it came down to it…neither of us really knew what to say.

"One of us needs to start here…or we're never gonna have this conversation," I said lightly, but the weight of the words were heavy.

"You're comfortable around Chris," Dean said.

It surprised me, the way he'd just said it would loud like that. It seemed to make him sad. I didn't understand why he'd even said it, let alone the mood that went along with it.

"Dean, what does Chris have to do with anything?"

"Nothing, I just…I watched how you fit in so easily with him and his friends. He's…normal."

"Yeah…" I said hesitantly, not knowing where he was going with this.

"I'm not. You can't have that when you're with me. And seeing you there, trying to be like them…" He sighed. "Aly…I've tried to be the right man for you…and seeing you today…it made me think that maybe I'm not."

"Dean…"

"You deserve better, Aly. Someone who will put you first. Someone who'll be there when…when I won't be."

My breathing went from normal to short and shallow in about two seconds flat. Was he breaking up with me?

"No…you don't get to decide that. I love you, Dean. And I don't want normal without you. I don't want anything without you, but you took that choice away from me. You're not taking this one. I'm gonna be here as long as you're alive. I'm not gonna let you push me away. You know I don't give up that easily."

"I'm trying to make this easier for you," Dean said. "I thought if you just left…"

"I'm not leaving you. I promised you I wouldn't leave. I plan on keeping my word on that."

"But you're gonna be miserable."

"I can handle it," I said sadly. "Besides, if we don't find a way to save you…Sam's gonna need me when you're gone."

"I don't expect you to stay with him…if…I mean -"

"I know. And you know that I wouldn't stay with him if I didn't want to." I looked down at the carpet, finding it easier to look at then at Dean. "I love you," I repeated. "And even though I'm the one who pushed you away, I missed you. So much…"

"Aly…" His voice was much like it had been the night I'd walked away from him and went to sleep in my own bed; broken and said and sorry.

"Let me finish," I said pleadingly. "I know why you did what you did. I even understand it, a little. But when I realized what you did…Dean, I've never been that angry, or hurt. I never thought - never dreamed - you'd be the one to pull that response from me."

I looked up at him now. Remorse was written all over his face.

"And I don't know what I'm gonna do if we…can't save you. But what I do know is that I love you and that when - if - it happens…I'm gonna miss you. Every second of every day. A part of me will be missing." I took a step toward him "And I'm not ready to lose that part yet. I'll never be ready…and I'm not gonna leave just because things aren't going my way."

I had wanted to do this without crying. I'd wanted to do this calmly, but I could help it.

Sometime in the last few minutes I'd begun hiccupping back sobs. I was surprised Dean had been able to understand half of what I'd said.

Dean came closer and pulled me against his chest. "Come 'ere."

It felt good being in his arms again. It felt like coming home. Safe, secure, and right.

I grabbed onto his shirt hard enough to hurt my fingers and let the first sob out. He led me to the bed where I curled up on his lap.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry for what I've done to you. I'm sorry I can't take it back."

"No. You're not. If you could go back, you'd do the same thing." My tone wasn't angry, but it was firm.

He didn't deny it. I didn't want him to.

After I'd gotten my crying out I told Dean I needed to talk to Sam. I needed to apologize for how I'd treated him the day before. Dean was reluctant to let me leave, and his arms didn't seem to want to let me go.

"I'll come back," I said. "I won't shut you out anymore. But I have to do this."

"Yeah, okay." I got off the bed. "I would say take your time, but I kinda want you to hurry back."

"I'll come back when I'm done."

Dean nodded, not moving from his spot on the bed.

I left the room and went to Sam's. He'd been spending most of his time in his room. I knew when I knocked and went in that I'd find him on the bed, books surrounding him, so it didn't surprise me when that's exactly what I saw.

"Hey," I said softly.

"Hey," he replied, smiling slightly. He took in my disheveled appearance and frowned. "You okay?"

I shrugged half-heartedly. "Not really. I, um, wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have treated you the way I did."

Sam's eyes lit up slightly. "So…Aly's back? The real one?"

I let out a short laugh. "Yeah, I guess so."

I went to the bed, clearing a spot for me to sit. "I also wanted to say…I'll help you try and find a way to save Dean. I'm not real optimistic - I can't let myself be - but I still wanna try." I bit my lip, thinking of what to say next. "And, uh, I don't blame you for what Dean did, and you shouldn't blame yourself."

Sam nodded, but he looked at the bed, so I knew he wasn't really taking my last statement in.

"How could he do it? Knowing how he felt when Dad did it for him."

"He didn't know what else to do, and he doesn't know how to live without you."

"He shouldn't have done it," Sam said, shaking his head. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad I'm alive, but he shouldn't have done it."

I didn't feel particularly inclined to disagree with that, so I didn't say anything else.