Elixir

Chapter Six

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Supernatural, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any character you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I don't own

Warning(s): Strong violence; original characters; spoilers up to and including episode eight of season two; torture

Author's Note: A big thank-you to all of those who've read and reviewed this fic so far. You're all really great!

Apologies for the lateness of this chapter – I've been quite busy lately.

Sam came back downstairs to find Jody sitting in the living room, staring at the television screen. Her hands were clenching and unclenching in her lap, and her whole body was tense. She seemed to be on edge, and Sam couldn't blame her, to be honest. It had to be terrible to hear that her friend had probably died once.

"Hey…" Sam said softly, heading over to the young woman. He slowly sat down next to her, and glanced at the screen as well. "There doesn't seem to be anything interesting on. Want to change the channel?" He kept his tone gentle.

Jody didn't even smile. She just continued to stare blankly at the screen, looking like she really wanted to cry. She didn't even react when Sam picked up the remote and turned the television off. For a few minutes, the two just sat in silence. Sam couldn't help remembering how he felt after Jessica's death – always a contradiction. Sometimes, all he wanted to do was talk about it. Others, the slightest thing caused him to talk to anyone who'd listen – usually his brother.

Sam glanced sideways at Jody. "You know… if you want to talk about it at all, I'm willing to listen." He paused, then – when there was only silence – continued, "Whenever you're ready." With that, he stood up.

The next moment, though, Jody grabbed onto Sam in a tight, almost clinging hug. A little surprised, Sam slipped his arms gently around her. "It's all right…" he said softly. "Amber will be fine – you'll see." Of course, he had no way of knowing that for sure. It was always the sort of thing he'd say to someone in a similar situation.

Jody didn't say anything. She just held onto Sam. Then, slowly, she slid her hands up over his back, and clasped them behind his neck. Then, she leaned up to gently press her lips to his in a soft kiss.

Before he really thought about it, Sam was kissing her back, his arms tight around Jody. Then, he came to his senses. She's grieving about her friend. She doesn't really know what she's doing. Sam pulled back from the kiss, and moved his hands to Jody's shoulders. Before she could say anything, he spoke firmly. "You're upset about your friend's disappearance. You're acting irrationally."

Sam felt Jody's hands clench slightly behind his neck. Then, she let go of him, and stepped back, her hands dropping to her sides.

"Sorry…" she whispered.

Sam smiled tentatively at Jody. "It's all right," he replied. "It's been a really stressful few days – for all of us, I think." He seemed to be the only one who felt anything even remotely normal – and if he was normal, then there wasn't much hope for anyone else.

For a moment, Sam's mind flashed to his brother, asleep upstairs in the guestroom. What happened in the parallel world? I knew that Amber was probably connecting with her 'twin' there – but I didn't realise she'd died Of course, that would explain why Amber had just run off without saying anything…

"Do you want a beer?" Jody asked, pulling Sam out of his thoughts. She gave a slightly hesitant smile. "I was thinking I'd follow your brother's example of getting totally wasted."

"Believe me, you shouldn't follow my brother's example on anything," Sam answered. "He's just… in a really bad place right now." He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. I don't have to explain Dean's actions… Let's just do something that isn't self-destructive, all right?" he suggested.

"What about trying to find out where Amber might be?" Jody suggested.

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Do you have any ideas about where she might be?"

Jody shrugged. "Just what I've been reading in the newspapers and that Amber was going to go swimming… I'm thinking that she might be in one of the underwater caves. I could be wrong – but it seems to be the likeliest place, I think." She shrugged slightly. "I don't know… What do you think?"

Sam frowned, remembering what he'd found out – and the visions he'd had. "You could be right… But there are a lot of underwater caves to look in. Unless we get lucky, it's going to take a long time to find Amber. We probably need to find some way of narrowing down the search."

Jody nodded slowly, and gave a thoughtful frown. "I don't have any ideas on how to narrow down the search… What about you?"

"I think it would probably be a good idea to sleep on it," Sam answered after a moment. "I'm sure we'll be able to think of something in the morning – but right now, I'm all out of ideas." Maybe I'll have another vision, and I'll be able to see… As Jody opened her mouth, Sam continued, "We won't be able to do anything this evening anyway – I'm sure Amber will be all right. At least – in my vision – she was alive."

"That's not very reassuring," Jody replied. "Couldn't your vision change as the situation changes?"

"It's possible…" Sam frowned. But my visions have usually come true – well, unless Dean and I have been able to stop them from happening. "However, I think it's unlikely. Not that I know too much about this ability, of course…"

"Are we going to be able to find Amber?" Jody asked after a moment. "Do you think she'll be all right?"

I guess I can't really lie to her, Sam thought. "I really don't know," he said honestly. "We'll do all that we can, of course – but I don't want to make any false promises." Of course, seeing the stricken look on Jody's face made him almost regret that honesty. She hasn't been raised in this life – I guess she still hasn't worked out that no matter how hard you try, you can't save everyone.

Jody turned away, taking a deep, almost shuddering breath. "I just… I'm going to bed now," she whispered. "I don't want to talk about this anymore right now." She walked slowly towards the door, but then paused and turned back round to face Sam. "You have to find Amber."

"We'll do our best," Sam promised. But if it comes to a choice between her and my brother – I'll choose Dean every time, he thought.

Jody nodded, and then simply left the room. A moment later, Sam heard her heading up the stairs. He sighed, and sat down on the sofa, raking a hand through his hair. He was out of ideas…

Dean had long since perfected the art of looking like he was asleep and resting when really he was wide awake, waiting for the next attack.

This time was no different. Sam had thought he was asleep – but even with the amount of alcohol he had consumed, Dean still felt the deep-seated need to protect his little brother. He'd always had the feeling that something bad would happen to Sammy if he wasn't alert and ready for an attack.

Dean swallowed, feeling the way his stomach was rolling. He was starting to sober up, and he really wished he wasn't. He had wanted to push away those memories of seeing Amber killed by Meg – but they were now returning tenfold.

As he lay in the bed, Dean could hear someone coming up the stairs. Judging by the amount of noise being made, he assumed it was Jody. Not that she was really loud – but years of hunting had taken its toll on Sam. He moved much quieter than the average person, even after four years away at university.

Dean opened his eyes, and stared up at the ceiling. He would have wanted to try and get some sleep, but every time he closed his eyes, he saw his brother possessed and Amber dying.

A person's death had never quite affected him this much before.

Since he wasn't going to get any sleep, Dean got up off the bed. He thought that Sam was probably still downstairs. Maybe later, he could go into the kitchen and get something to eat. For now, though, he just walked over to the window, and stood looking out – as if he could see the answers he needed to find out there.

How can I help you? Give me some way to find you!

"You should confess. And then all of this would be over – you'd be free of the pain."

The woman hung limp in the chains, her body thin and wasted. If it weren't for the light in her eyes, one would think that she was dead already. She wouldn't look at the man standing in front of her. Her answer still hadn't changed.

"I will not."

He shook his head, reaching out as if to touch her cheek. Then, before his fingertips could touch her, he lowered his hand again. If anyone caught him talking to her, he ran the risk of being accused of consorting with the devil, and being tortured until he confessed to being a witch.

Just like so many others…

"Don't you want to save your own life?"

"They can break my body, but they will never be able to break my spirit." Her voice was soft, with a little pause between each word. She was very weak, and could barely lift her head enough to look at him.

There wasn't much time for him to convince her to make a confession. She was supposed to be burned at the stake just after dawn; unless – of course – she confessed to being a witch, and accused others.

He still didn't know why he wanted to save this woman out of all of those accused – but he really did. "Save yourself," he pleaded. "You'll be burned at dawn unless you confess and name others."

"If you don't want to get accused of being a witch, you should leave me," she whispered, still not looking at him. "I won't change my mind. You're wasting your time."

He slowly straightened up, realising that there was no way he was going to get her to change her mind. He turned away from the broken body, closing his eyes for a moment. He'd done all he could – there was no other way he could think of to save her life. She would burn after the night had passed.

When Amber came to again, her head was pounding violently, and she felt sick. Opening her eyes, she was actually relieved – for once – that there was no light in the place she was in. It would probably make her feel worse.

If that was even possible.

"You know… he's not going to come for you," the person who looked like Dean whispered. "I can tell you think he's going to ride in on a white horse and rescue you – but it's not going to happen."

Amber swallowed, trying to moisten her mouth enough to speak. Then, finally, she managed to get out, "What's in that needle?"

The man frowned. "Didn't you hear what I said?"

"I didn't know it required a response…" Amber muttered. "I feel sick – and I won't be able to do anything for you if I'm too sick – and drugged – to move." The pain in her hand was now a dull ache – but she was still aware that something was wrong with it. Attempting to move even her fingers caused agony.

The man's teeth flashed in the gloom. "Nice try. But I know you'd never help us by choice – especially not now."

Amber started to say something, but then broke out into a fit of violent coughing. She had no idea where the woman and the other man were, and it didn't really bother her too much. There was no other option than to take it a moment at a time. But she couldn't help wondering – was the stranger right?

There was no reason for Dean to come for her. He probably didn't even know she was missing. Even if he did – as far as he was concerned, she was dead. She remembered dying in the other world.

And it terrified her.

The man smiled, and then slowly leaned closer to Amber. Putting his face quite close to hers, he began to whisper, his lips almost brushing the tip of her ear.

And no matter how hard she tried not to, Amber couldn't help listening…