Author's Note: Hi, everyone. I'd like to take a moment to thank crazyjman80, NewbieOnTheBlock, PsychoPicasso, WinJennster, TheBigChillQueen, Hasmik Aharonyan, becs, emebalia, jokergirl94, BranchSuper, animegal24, getthem059, Eliza Ghost, and Wunjo for their awesome reviews. You guys really made my day. And now, let's get back to the story...

Chapter Ten: The Fight to Stay Alive

Dean groaned in pain and opened his eyes. There was dust still settling around him and a murky light filtering in from above. Above? Oh yeah, he'd fallen down through the floor when Selena had attacked. And from the agony radiating from his back, he guessed that he hadn't had the easiest of landings. He reached up to double check that his protection bag was still around his neck. He let out a sigh of relief at finding it still intact. Then Dean struggled into a sitting position, gasping as a sharp pain stung his lower back. He ran his hand up the back of his jacket and shirts and felt the warm, stickiness of blood. Then his fingers touched a jagged piece of wood that was buried in his flesh. Luckily, it had entered at an angle, which meant that lying on his back hadn't forced it further in and cause any internal damage. With a grunt and muffled cry, the hunter pulled it free and felt fresh blood stream down from the wound. He knew that it wasn't serious enough to be life threatening, but it hurt like a bitch. Just like the other, smaller cuts that peppered his face, arms and legs. Note to self: Falling through a floor sucks.

Dean got to his feet and looked around. There were boxes, crates, a car (and just what the hell was that all about?), and a large pile of rubble and debris. And at the bottom of that pile was his younger brother.

"Sam!"

Dean ran to Sam's side and dropped down to his knees. His unconscious brother was buried in the rubble from his waist down and, judging by the blood slowly creeping down from underneath his hair, had been hit in the head by the piece of a wooden board lying nearby. The older man checked Sam's pulse first and then his protection bag. Both revealed positive results. The taller man was still alive and still safe from possession. So far, so good. Now Dean just had to get him out from under the heavy-looking debris.

He started removing the pieces from the top, careful not to disrupt the rest of the pile. Dean was hard at work when Sam made a small, pained noise.

"Sammy? Hey, you with me, man?"

"Dean?" Sam's reply was weak.

"Yeah. Don't move, okay? I'm getting you out of here."

"No, Dean. I don't think you will." Came a mocking female voice from behind him.

Dean spun around to face Selena. It was then that he realized that he was unarmed. Unfortunately, the ghost realized it too.

"Not so tough without your salt, huh Dean?"

"Still more than a match for you." He spat back. It was a bluff and they both knew it.

"No. You're not."

With that, Dean found himself flung backwards. He was starting to get tired of being thrown around by ghosts. As he struggled to his feet, he turned to face Selena.

"That all you got?"

"For you. Sammy on the other hand is going to get quite a bit more."

Dean felt his heart freeze in his chest as the ghostly bitch reached down and put her hand into Sam's chest. Apparently, while the bags kept them from being possessed, they were still vulnerable to all kinds of direct attacks from the spirit.

"No!"

"Sorry, but yes." Selena grinned at him.

Dean wanted to rush her and get her hands off of his little brother, but he had no weapons against her.

"Leave him alone. Your issues are with me, remember?"

"Yes, but you're protected from me, remember?"

Sam was gasping for air and making pained noises. Dean knew he didn't have much more time.

"I'll take the protection off!" The older Winchester practically shouted the offer, his desperation overriding any concept of his own safety.

Selena stopped her attack and pulled her hand out of Sam. By the look on her face, Dean suspected he'd just played right into her hands, but really, what else could he do? There was no way he could let her kill his brother.

"You really are good at making deals for Sammy's life, aren't you?" She mocked. "But, I accept."

"Free Sam first."

"Not part of the deal."

"I'm making it part of the deal." Dean growled.

"You aren't calling the shots here. But if you really want to forget the bargain…" She reached back down for Sam.

"No!" Dean cried out. Then he tried to compose himself. "No, the deal's still on."

Selena smiled a falsely sweet smile. "Good. Then get to it."

Dean reached up and grabbed a hold of the cord around his neck. He pulled it up and over his head. He saw Sam's eyes blink and then focus on him.

"Dean? What are you…"

Dean shook his head to cut the questioning off. "It's okay, Sam." He reassured. But he knew that it wasn't. With no weapons to use against Selena, he would be royally screwed when she took control of him this time. And Sam would know that too. But Dean was out of options.

"Dean, no. Don't do this."

"Sorry, Sammy." Dean threw the protection bag across the room.

His eyes were still locked with Sam's and thus he didn't see Selena's approach. But he felt a cold chill as she enter him.

This time, he felt the loss of control immediately. He began walking to the basement stairs against his own will. Dean didn't fight against her though. At least not yet. It would be too dangerous for Sam. Selena obviously wanted to take Dean somewhere and the best course of action was to see where they were going before he started his struggles. It would also give Sam time to get himself free and hopefully show up with some kind of plan.

Selena walked him up the steps and down a long hall. Soon, he found himself in the foyer once again. He tried to turn his head to see the damage in the floor, but the ghost wouldn't let him have even that small amount of control. And when he tried, she flooded his head with memories that he'd much rather forget about. Pain, depression, regret, and a million more horrible emotions swept through him and made him almost look forward to the upcoming end of his pathetic life. But no. He wasn't going to think that way. Dean wasn't weak enough to give in and do that. He wasn't.

He found himself making his way upstairs and into the library. Dean felt a stab of anger from Selena as they made their way past the fireplace where the hunter had salt and burned her best friend.

'Did you force her to kill herself and join you here?' Dean questioned in his head.

She is how I discovered that I could influence others to do what they had once wanted to do. She knew when we killed ourselves and was tempted to join us. But she didn't. Then she had the nerve to come here two years later to say goodbye.

'And you couldn't let her go.'

No, I couldn't. I missed her and wanted her with me. And now, thanks to you, she's gone. As are the others. But soon, you'll be here with me forever.

'Not gonna happen, bitch.'

Another wave of depressing memories and emotions hit him hard. Dean fought against them and by the time he was once again aware of his surroundings, he found himself on the third floor in the study. And he was staring at the weapons bag.

Now Dean started to struggle against her. The bag was filled with guns and knives and there was no way Dean would live much longer if she got his hands on those. Selena forced him down to his knees and his fingers hovered above the zipper on the duffle. With all he had, Dean pulled his hands back and ended up falling backwards onto his ass. He tried to back away but Selena tightened her hold on him. The hunter fought her but she was way too strong. Dean found himself crawling back to the bag and unzipping it. He watched as his hands dug through the weapons and pulled out a gun. The she stood him up and they stared at the weapon with a sense of sick fascination.

Dean's hand began to raise the gun and he fought with renewed strength. His hand was still traveling up but now was moving at such a slow pace it was almost unnoticeable. They were locked in this battle for several minutes, but Dean was tiring fast. Then he heard Sam's voice calling through the door.

"Dean! Dean, open the door! C'mon man, don't do this. Please, Dean. Open the door."

A thud indicated that Sam was trying to kick the door in, but nothing happened. And the gun's journey was almost complete. Dean felt the barrel of the weapon push into the soft skin under his own chin. And he was almost completely out of strength to even slow Selena down, let alone stop her. But she seemed to be waiting and Dean realized that she wanted Sam to see what was about to happen.

Then the door opened and the younger Winchester stepped into the room and froze.

"Dean, put the gun down."

"Sammy…" Dean's tried to say more, although he had no clue what to say, but he couldn't get the words out. Selena wouldn't even let him say goodbye to his baby brother. Dean felt one lone tear slip out and run down his cheek.

"Don't do this, Dean."

'Don't want to Sammy' he thought. But then Selena was tightening his finger around the trigger and he tried once more to speak to Sam. "Sammy, I… I can't…"

Dean forced his eyes to close, not wanting to see Sam's face as he pulled the trigger.

There was a click and nothing happened. Dean's eyes snapped open as Selena pulled the weapon back to look at it. It was the same one that she'd made him use back at the motel and he'd never gotten around to reloading it. He felt the urge to laugh at her extreme burst of anger.

"No!" He heard his own voice yell.

'Yes, you bitch. Another round goes to me.'

She was about to make him grab for another weapon when suddenly Sam was throwing Dean to the ground and pinning his arms above his head. Dean tried to help his brother restrain himself but Selena was fighting relentlessly. He felt his hands pull free of Sam's and watched as he pushed the taller man backwards. The he rolled over and got to his feet. Dean was facing the large window that took up the entire back wall. He was close enough to it to see down into the rushing river below. He felt Selena recoil at the sight. Fear, pain, anger, and despair coursed through his head, but this time the emotions weren't his own.

And Dean knew what had to be done. He'd seen it many times over the years. Some spirits avoided certain places and situations that they couldn't face. And many times they couldn't survive being forced to relive what they feared. And Selena certainly did fear that river. She had admitted that much, but Dean didn't fully appreciate the depth of those feelings until now.

Her terror had caused her to loosen her control on Dean's body and mind. He turned and saw Sam coming towards him. Dean shook his head.

"I got this one, Sammy."

"Dean?"

Dean threw a wink at his younger brother and then turned back to the window. Selena suddenly became aware of what he was planning but by that time it was too late for her to stop him. Dean once again had the upper hand and he was going to act quickly before he lost it. Without any further thought, Dean brought his arms up to cover his face and then ran forwards. He flung himself threw the large window and down into the rushing river below.

Author's Note Part Two: Please don't kill me, please don't kill me, please don't kill me! I know I've taken Dean out of the frying pan only to throw him into the fire, but that's the way his life seems to go, so it's really not my fault... Please review and let me know what you think.