He hunted, he slept, he researched, and he hunted some more. His head was so far buried in a book most of the time that he didn't eat, and he most certainly didn't stop to talk to her. Ruby, was most frustrated, by this version of Sam. Sam was one who tended to get obsessive, that she knew, that was what she banked on, hoped for, and drove him towards, but she had never seen him so driven to find some monster of the week before. She hated to admit it even to herself but he was good, damn good. She noted several times that he did things in a manner that reminded her of Dean, it was the first time since she had taken over his life that she noted he had anything in common with his elder brother.

However, when he finished the hunt, she thought they were finished with this nonsense, thought that they could go and do something more productive, get him back using his powers, mold him into the type of man she wanted, the type of man that the demons needed. Instead of just following her blindly this time, he went straight to the computer and began looking for another hunt.

"What are you doing Sam?" she asked from behind him.

"There is something weird going on in Colorado."

"Sam. Demons."

"They aren't doing anything right now…"

"Yeah, yeah, saving people." She said with an eye roll.

"Hey, you don't like it, you can leave." She was a little shocked and a little pissed at the same time. Sam didn't speak to her like this while Dean was dead. Maybe she needed to remedy that little problem. It was like that last encounter with his brother had changed him, or made him realize something, something that she and the other demons didn't want him remembering or realizing about himself. She decided to try a different tact. She put her hands on his shoulders and rested her chin on his head.

"So what poor little innocent are you going to try and save this time?" she asked. He shrugged her chin off of his head and he leaned forward and studied the computer.

"Man…I bet Bobby.." he stopped, and his reflection in the window showed him licking his lips and looking back down at the computer. Pain and sadness were in those eyes. She could work with that.

"Bobby what?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"What? Isn't Bobby speaking to you either?"

"He's protecting Dean."

"Your brother doesn't need protecting." She laughed.

"When he's hurt he does. If he doesn't have someone to watch his back he'll go against doctor's orders and do something exceptionally stupid. It's just what he does."

"Your brother does that when he's not injured. He just does stupid things."

"No. He does what is best for others and not what is best for himself." He said and she heard how each word now contained a bite that they hadn't earlier. She was treading on thin ice, and she knew it, it was similar to the ice she skated while he was grieving for his brother, she made some serious missteps then, fallen through that ice, and he hadn't noticed them, but now that he was more or less together he would notice and remember if she made mistakes now.

"Is he protecting you now too?" She felt his shoulders stiffen and for a second she worried that he would turn on her.

"He tried. I rejected it. That's why I'm here." The implied "with you" hung in the air around them.

"Thanks Sam. Girls just love it when you sweet talk them like that."

"Just shut up." he said and continued to read the article that was in front of him. She took her hands off of his shoulders and went to the bed and slumped down and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Sam, we need to practice pulling demons…" He turned around and leveled a glare at her that could have ripped her demonic smoke tail right out of coma girl's body. Sam simply wasn't scary because he could pull demons, but because he could hurt you. Just hurt anyone. The look reminded her of just how large he really was and she suddenly felt small. It took all that she had to keep her butt firmly planted where it was.

"If you say that one more time, I will start practicing again and you will be my first test subject. So I suggest you leave me the hell alone. I am going to hunt until you can come up with any type of substantial lead on Lilith. I have listened to you way too long. I gave up a lot because of you and I'm not going to waste that sacrifice. So, why not, instead of sitting on your ass and hounding me, you go out there and get some reliable intelligence on Lilith? That, I think, would be a very smart move for you. Get the fuck out of here and don't come back until you have something to report."

"What the hell crawled up your ass and died?" she demanded.

"What do you expect when you push a guy to go evil?" Ruby narrowed her eyes as she stood and went towards the door. It was time to bust out the big guns, manipulation and coercion wasn't working anymore, she would not lose this, she tore his brother out of the picture, and by God she was not going to let this one out of her grasp, he was her ticket, her golden ticket and she wasn't about to lose it.

***

Dean was feeling better and stronger. The cast came off and he was exercising the leg to get it up to full strength. More often than not, Dean was out running, exercising his body, trying to make it as strong as possible. While it wasn't out of character, it was disconcerting to watch the boy push himself and ready himself for the simple act of taking down someone he loved more than anything. Once in a while, Bobby caught Dean sitting in the living room reading the Bible, when asked, he simply mumbled "research" and continued to read the text.

But the shock of it all came the day that Dean sat in front of him and said, "Sam killed a hunter." Bobby almost fell backwards in his chair.

"What?"

"Just got a call from an old friend. Sam killed a hunter." Bobby felt the blood drain from his face. It was starting. Cass had forewarned that the time for action was near, and it looked like near was a lot sooner than Bobby had thought.

"He's turned?"

"Seems like it Bobby."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to do exactly what Dad taught me to do, and I'm going to follow his last order." Dean said. His eyes never wavered from Bobby's and Bobby read the determination and the conviction, but he also read the pain, sadness and fear that lurked beneath the determination, and that broke his heart.