"Sam!"

Dean was by his brother's side in a second, fingers on Sam's throat, feeling for a pulse. There was nothing. Fear clenched Dean's heart and threatened to consume him, but he shoved it away, placing both hands on his brother's chest and starting compressions.

"Come on, come on…" he mumbled, searching Sam's face for any sign of life.

Suddenly, Sam's body went completely rigid, his chest lifting of the bed. Dean flinched away in surprise.

Sam's mouth opened slightly, and out seeped black smoke. It dissolved quickly and then, with a cough, Sam jerked awake. He bent over on the bed, struggling for air.

"Sammy?" Dean said, hand on his brother's shoulder.

Sam's eyes drifted around the room until they found Dean's.

"Yeah", he said, sounding out of breath. "What the hell happened?"

"I… I don't know", Dean replied, eyes wide. "You just… went. Your heart stopped. And then… black smoke came out of you and, well, you woke up."

Sam didn't reply, he just stared around the room, hand on his throat as if he still couldn't breathe.

"You okay?" Dean asked.

"I think so", Sam said slowly, moving to sit up. "You did it? You finished the spell?"

"Yeah, Sammy, we finished it. You don't remember?"

Sam shook his head, then flinched and pressed his palm against his forehead as if to steady his head. "I remember reading the spell together… but then… nothing."
Dean raised his eyebrows. "Well, we did it. We stopped the disease."
"But… but you said… I died?" Sam said, frowning.

Dean nodded. "Why?"

"If my heart stopped after the spell… what do you think happened to all of the infected people at the hospital?" Sam's eyes were filled with worry and fear as he looked up at his big brother.

Dean hadn't even had the time to think about it. If Sam was infected and he died when the disease was stopped… what if the same thing happened to the sick at the hospital?

"I'll head over there right away", Dean said, grabbing his jacket.

Sam immediately fought to get up from the bed.

"I'm coming with you", said Sam.

"No way", Dean protested. "You're still weak."

"I'm coming with", Sam insisted sternly, rolling out of bed. His legs folded beneath him as soon as he tried to stand and he fell to his knees.

Dean hurried over, wrapping his arm around Sam's back and helping him to his feet. As soon as Sam realized he was being guided back to the bed, he freed himself from Dean's arm only to find that his balance was still off. He stumbled back into the wall and used it for support.

"Dean, I have to come with you", Sam pleaded, out of breath. "I need to see for myself if they're okay, or if they're all…" he paused, not finishing the sentence. "And I'm doing it with or without your help."

Dean hesitated. It was obvious by his pale face that without Dean's help, Sam would fall over as soon as he left the wall. But it was also clear to Dean that Sam wouldn't stay put. With a sigh, Dean let his brother wrap an arm around him for support and they headed out the door.

oooOOOooo

Sam did feel better. His body felt incredibly exhausted, he was dizzy and his throat was burning, probably from all the coughing. But at least he could breathe again without all the blood choking him. At least his head wasn't exploding and his vision wasn't clouded by demon smoke.

Dean carried most of Sam's weight as they headed out toward the Impala. Dean helped him get in the car and then got in himself, turning the ignition and driving towards the hospital.
Sam's eyelids felt incredibly heavy as they drove, the low humming sound making him sleepy. He leaned his head against the door, no longer fighting the exhaustion.

oooOOOooo

Sam woke with a start. Somebody was shaking his shoulder.
"We're here", Dean said, before getting out of the car.
Sam stifled a yawn, rubbing his fingers against his temple to try and clear the cobwebs that were slowing his thoughts. He fumbled with the handle to open the door and got out, using the car for support. He already felt a little stronger and managed to walk into the hospital without leaning on Dean, although Sam constantly felt his brother's weary eyes watching him, as if expecting him to fall over any second.

It was strangely empty in the hallways. No nurses, no doctors, no patients. Just quiet. Sam and Dean exchanged a brief glance before heading toward the room were all the infected patients had been gathered. On their way, they saw their first signs of life. And death. They had to stop to let a row of doctors and nurses with sad expressions push a bunch of gurneys with bodies draped in black bags by them. Nobody said anything.

There were more than twenty body bags pushed by them.

So many dead, Sam thought sadly.

They finally reached the big room, and the brothers hesitated before pushing the doors open, preparing for more corpses or body bags.

Instead, they found the room filled with chatter and even laughter. Patients were sitting up in their beds, pale, but laughing with their relatives. Parents wore expressions of relief and happiness.

Suddenly, Sam saw two nurses approaching them, one supporting the other. He recognized the one being supported as Jocelyn. She looked pale, but she was smiling.

"They all woke up?" Sam asked, his voice shaking slightly.

The nurse next to Jocelyn nodded, then bit her lip and hesitated. "Not all of them. It was weird, one second the patients were sleeping, and the next… they were all coding, at once."
"Including me", Jocelyn added. "Apparently I was infected somehow. And then, according to Sophie," she nodded toward her friend nurse, "my heart just… stopped."

"They all did", Sophie said, smiling sadly. "I called all the nurses and doctors to this floor and we began CPR on as many patients as we could. It wasn't hard to bring them back, they let out a cough of what looked like black smoke, and then they woke up."

Jocelyn nodded.

"But there weren't enough people", Sophie continued. "We didn't have the time… many d-died." Her eyes glistened with tears.

"I'm sure you did all you could", Sam said gently. "You saved most of them."

oooOOOooo

"I kept wondering", Sam mumbled as they were driving back toward the bunker- their home. His mind still felt clouded and he didn't realize he only said half his sentence aloud.

"Huh?" Dean said. "You kept wondering what?"

"How I got infected and you didn't."

"And?"

"Jocelyn, she said she was infected somehow. When we were at the hospital and she showed me those files, we both took our masks off."

Realization crossed Dean's face. "Ah. She was infected already. And when she took off her mask…"

"She infected me."
Dean shook his head. "Damn nurses can't even keep an infection under control."

Sam glared at his brother. "They tried their best. It's not like it was just any disease- it was supernatural. Magic. A spell, or something."

"Yeah, yeah, I know", Dean said. "We beat it though. We did it."

"We did", Sam said with a small smile, leaning his tired head back and staring at the road ahead. Having survived this disease, having defeated a part of the Darkness herself, it gave Sam hope, and- "You have to admit it gives you hope too."

Dean threw a questioning eye at his brother. "Dude, you're not making any sense. Sounds like you're throwing half-sentences around."

Sam scowled, confused.

"What gives me hope?" Dean clarified with a sigh.

"Overcoming this disease. The darkness sent it to kill us all, and we didn't let it. It just, makes me feel like we might actually have a chance at beating Amara."

"Yeah, alright, Tinkerbelle", Dean said with a snort.

"Come on, Dean, admit it. This feels good."

Dean hesitated for a moment, looking over at his brother, realizing how happy he was that Sam was sitting there, alive.

"Yeah. It's good."

A/N: Last chapter! What did you guys think? Please review telling me what you thought, and if you want more stories like this from me. I had so much fun writing this story and I really hope you enjoyed reading it just as much. Thank you all for reading, it means a lot!