CHAPTER FOUR: JESSI

Dean wrapped his arms around Flare, holding her how he had done to Sam so many times. She was his family now, too, and there was no way he was going to let his family fall apart. It was all he had left. Pulling away, his phone suddenly rang. "Hello?"

"Dean?" Jo answered. "I got Sam to the hospital. He lost a lot of blood, and he might need a transfusion." She sighed. "How fast can you get here? They want to test your blood and see if you can help Sam."

"I can be there in ten minutes." Dean hung up his phone and looked at Flare. "We need to get to the hospital. Sammy needs a blood transfusion and they need to test my blood."

Weakly, Flare stood. If Dean had not been there to catch her, she would have fallen back down. Knowing they had to walk to the hospital because Jo had the Impala, Dean picked Flare up and carried her.

Jo quickly turned towards the doors when she heard them open, seeing Dean and Flare. "Dean," she sighed, happy to see him. She had been going out of her mind with worry. Worrying about Sam, worrying about Flare. Worrying whether or not Dean was going to be able to get over here with Flare being in her current condition. All of it was just too much.

Gently, Dean put Flare down, standing close in case she needed him as support to help her stand. "Where's Sammy?"

"Um,...he's in room 12," Jo answered, helping Flare to a seat. "The doctor's over there by the desk. He wants to talk to you."

Dean nodded, walking over to the doctor. "I'm the brother of the man in room 12," he said calmly.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Winchester. I need to take a sample of your blood, if you will permit, of course, so that I can see if you and your brother have the same blood type. And if you do, we may proceed to the next step."

Flare glanced at Jo. "H-How bad did he look?" she asked, the tears threatening to fall.

Jo looked away, not wanting to meet Flare's gaze. "He looked...bad." A tear fell from her eye.

"And if I don't have the same blood type?" Dean asked. "Then what do we do?"

"Then you can test mine," Flare answered, determined to help Sam.

The doctor looked at Flare. "Yes, I will test your blood as well. And your friend over there. But if no one has the same blood as he does--" he trailed off. "well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." With a smile, he led Dean Flare and Jo into a secluded room where a nurse took a sample of each of their blood. Then, all they could do was wait.

Dean hated waiting. He began to pace around the room, wondering what the hell was taking so long.

"If only he hadn't tried to save me," Flare whispered, her voice dripping with guilt.

"Don't say that!" Dean ordered, spinning so he was facing her, pointing a warning finger in her direction.

"Guys, don't start. Not here. Not now," Jo ordered, rolling her eyes.

Suddenly, the doctor walked in. He looked tired, and upset. "Mr. Winchester, could I speak to you alone for a minute?" he asked, motioning for Dean to follow him outside.

Dean nodded, following the doctor outside. "So, what's the news, Doc?"

The doctor looked at Dean, sadness in his eyes. "Mr. Winchester, I'm sorry. None of you are matches. Unfortunately, your brother has a very rare blood type. And we don't have any of the same type in stock." The doctor looked down at his charts. "Without it, I'm afraid your brother will not make it. He has maybe days before he is too weak to go on. He will be taken over in a comatose state, and then it will be merely hours before his inevitable death." He looked at Dean once again. "I'm very sorry."

Dean was silent for a long moment as the realization set in that he might not be able to save his brother. Panic filled him as he thought that Sam was going to die. No. There was no way he was going to let that happen. He was going to find a way to save Sam. He had to. It was his job. Look after his pain in the ass little brother. No matter what. Even if it meant he would have to make another deal, he was going to take care of him.

He nodded to the doctor, letting him know he understood and accepted his apology. Flare was sitting next to Sam, holding his hand. "Well?" she asked, seeing that Dean was upset. He didn't have to answer, just look. She could tell the news was not good. "No," she sobbed, shaking her head.

Jo had also got the memo. "No! There-There has to be something else we can do. What-What about...Castiel? He can heal Sam, right?"

Dean shook his head. "I don't know."

"Well, you could at least ask him, right?" Suddenly, Dean cell phone rang, causing Jo to jump a little.

"Yeah?" Dean answered.

"Dean?" Castiel spoke. "I heard of the unfortunate events that have happened to Sam. Where are you?"

"North Hospital."

Before Dean even hung up the phone, Castiel was there. He looked down at Sam before looking at Dean. "We need to talk."

Jo wiped at her tears, hating that she was showing her emotions. She knew this must be killing Dean, which only made her cry harder; she couldn't stand it when Dean looked so broken. Flare walked over to Jo and put a hand on her shoulder. She felt a sisterly bond with this girl. Jo touched Flare's hand and smiled, happy that she had someone to share her grief with.

Slowly, Flare sat next to Jo, keeping her eyes on Sam. "How is he?" Jo asked, thinking Flare would have a better idea since she knew him better.

"He's strong," Flare said. "But, right now, I'm not so sure he'll pull through this."

Dean followed Castiel out of the room. "What's going on, Cas?"

"Dean, I know what your brother needs. A girl...she lives not too far from here, in Grand View. She shares the rare blood that Sam has. She is a vessel, so you must hurry before she is taken over by the angel that needs her. Her name is Jessi. Jessi Dallas. Go now."

Dean nodded. "Thanks, Cas." Castiel gave him a half smile before he disappeared. Dean walked back into the room. "I have to go to Grand View."

Jo stood, surprised by Dean's words. "What? Why? What's in Grand View?"

"There's a girl there with Sam's blood type. She can help him."

Flare stood, too. "I'll go. You should stay here with Sam."

"No, Dean, you should go. More sympathy from the girl. If she knows your brother's dying she'll be more willing to give him her blood." Jo grabbed her jacket. "I'll go with Dean, you stay with Sam. Call us if anything changes." With a quick hug, she grabbed Dean's elbow and led him out of the room.

Dean started driving the second Jo climbed into the Impala, not even waiting for her to close the door. He was on a time schedule. "So, Castiel gave you the tip about this girl?" Jo asked, desperate to make conversation during the thirty minutes they would be in the car together.

"Yeah," Dean answered. "He had to use the cell phone to find us."

"Oh, because of those thingys he carved into us?" Jo sighed as they pulled into the driveway of the girl who was going to either save Sam's life or kill him. The thirty minute drive had taken them only ten with Dean behind the wheel. "Dean," she breathed, grabbing his arm before he could get out of the car. "What if she doesn't help?"

Dean shook his head. "Don't say that."

"I'm sorry, Dean, but you have to accept that it's a possibility." Seeing the hurt in Dean's eyes, Jo rolled her eyes. "What the hell?" she asked herself out loud, grabbing Dean's jacket and pulling him into her, their lips connecting in a hard kiss.

Dean was surprised when Jo kissed him, but it soon passed. He kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Jo moved her arms to wrap around Dean's neck, grabbing a fistful of his short cropped hair. Dean didn't even hear his phone ring as he continued kissing Jo, tangling his tongue with hers as they fought for control.

Flare had pulled a chair closer to Sam's bed and was now holding his hand in hers again. Sam suddenly opened his eyes, breathing heavily. "Dean?' he asked, looking around the room for his brother.

Flare looked up at Sam. "S-Sammy?" she asked quietly, brushing some hair away from his face. "You should try not to talk. Save your energy."

"Flare?" he asked, wincing as he turned to look at her. "Where's Dean? I need to talk to Dean." He looked at Flare. "I'm dying. I can feel it. And I have to apologize to my brother." Sam drew in a ragged breath which caused the wound in his stomach to scream with pain. "Please, tell Dean I want...to see him." He lightly stroked Flare's cheek.

Tears rolled down Flare's cheek "Your not gonna die, Sammy. Your not! I can't live with out you!"

"I can feel it, Flare. Please, I have to tell Dean how sorry I am."

"I'll call him," Flare said, pulling out her cell phone and dialing Dean's number.

Jo heard Dean's phone. "Mmmm..." she moaned pulling away. "Dean, your phone. It could be Flare."

Dean frowned and answered the phone. "Yeah?"

"Sam is awake. H-He wants to talk to you," Flare said before handing Sam the phone.

Sam took the phone, feeling weak. "Dean, I--" Suddenly, Sam passed out, Flare's phone falling from his hand.

"Sam? Sammy, wake up, please!" Flare begged, shaking him slightly.

"Sammy?" Dean asked, hearing no reply from the other end. Dammit! Again, he became panicked. "Sammy?! Answer me!" Suddenly, the phone went dead. He looked over at Jo, shoving his phone into his pocket and jumping out of the car. "We need to go now! We're running out of time."

Jo quickly followed Dean, hearing the shouts that were coming from inside the house. She smiled as she began to get the feeling this was going to be easy. She knew how it was when girls fought with their mother. They wanted to get away. And Jo and Dean just became this girl's escape.

"I hate it here!" the girl yelled, storming up the stairs. "You don't ever take my feelings into consideration!"

"Well, maybe I would if you didn't have such bad taste," her mother argued, following her to her bedroom.

"There is nothing wrong with William! He is kind and caring and a good man!"

"And he's also 25! You're seventeen!"

"Age is just a number, mother!"

Her mother huffed. "Not in my opinion. You are not to see him again."

"You're not fair! I hate you!" the girl screamed, slamming the door in her mother's face.

Jo knocked on the door, trying to hide her smile. A tall woman answered shortly after. "Yes?"

"Hi," Jo answered. "I'm looking for Jessi. Is she home."

Suddenly, a petite brunette came down the stairs. "Yes?" she asked, her British accent making Jo a little jealous.

"Hi, I'm Jo Harvelle. My friend and I would like to talk to you for a minute. I mean, if that's okay."

Jessi looked at Dean and nodded, grabbing her leather jacket and walking onto the porch, slamming the door behind her. "What's this about?"

"It's about my brother," Dean answered. "You don't know, but...you can help him."

Jessi looked at Dean; she could see the hurt in his eyes. "What's wrong with him?" She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for Dean to answer.

"He was attacked, and he lost a lot of blood. The hospital doesn't have his blood type in stock, because it's really rare."

"So, how can I help?"

"You're a match. I found you in the hospital files. I just wanted to come over and ask you, please, help my brother."

"Of course I'll help him," Jessi answered, touching Dean's arm. "Anything to get out of this house." She looked at the Impala. "Is that your car?" She began walking towards it. "Sweet ride." She climbed into the passenger seat, waiting for Dean and Jo to get in.

Jo glared at her. "That's my seat," she grit out, looking at Dean in disapproval, willing him to tell her to move when they got close enough to the car.

"Jo, not now," Dean ordered. "Just sit in the back."

Jo looked at him, annoyed. "Dean, I am not sitting in the back of that Impala."

Dean shook his head. "Fine." He walked over to the girl, shaking his head, clearly annoyed. "Hey, could you sit in back? Jo will kill me if you don't."

"Why?" she asked, crossing her arms. "She can sit in the back. It won't kill her."

"She gets car sick," Dean lied.

Jessi rolled her eyes. "Fine," she answered, climbing into the back seat through the passenger seat.

Jo smiled at Dean, happy she had gotten her way.