Chapter 11

Haley tugged on her bindings while growling that she was going to kill Sam. She didn't mean it literally but she was going to kick his ass for this. She pulled on her wrists to find they had been tightly bound to the chair that Sam had tied her to. The rope rubbed her wrists and burned them but it was regular rope burn. She had to be grateful to that since Sam could have easily killed her since she stated that she wasn't for what he was up to.

She shook her head at the fact that Balthazar was leaving her hanging on this one. Though it was probably for the best since Dean and Sam wouldn't understand why she was on speaking terms with the angel that decided to mess with humanity. It only made clear that she missed Angela, who would have understood, and she wished that she were here.

Haley met Balthazar when Sam and Dean were tracking down their usual crazy and it ended up being that the angel was making deals for human souls using pieces of holy weapons. They were the kind of thing that Angela would pick up without think twice and using it and that would be based on instinct and that there was someone in danger. The angel pissed off Dean and Sam but she never ventured an opinion and it seemed to spark interest on the angel's part.

He was the one that summoned her or rather he approached her in her dreams. And it had been a good dream with her and Dean snuggled against each other doing their ongoing game of hunter versus witch. The mood sobered quickly when Balthazar gave his usual quips and made her glare at him. She wasn't a dream walker so she really couldn't do much damage but she did let her annoyance show and she demanded why the angel was bothering her.

Because you interest me. Oh come on not that way.

Haley had given the evil eye to the angel for that response. She hadn't been in the mood and it caused the angel to compare her to Angela saying she was more fun. Haley disliked the comparison but she humored the angel only so far. She was rewarded when the angel got down to business.

Look, the only reason I am even talking to you is because of a mutual acquaintance of ours that is still festering in that hell hole.

Haley sensed that it was not going to be like a deal with the devil. Yet she was wary of Balthazar. The angel seemed to appreciate the fact that she didn't take things at face value and questioned him to death about a few things. In the end, the arrangement was something that most wouldn't expect. It was one of her biggest secrets and one she disliked keeping from Dean. Now she understood how Angela felt when stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"You know that's a good look on you. Does Dean go for that?"

Haley glared at Balthazar as he stood in front of her looking amused. She couldn't say anything since the rag was still in her mouth and she couldn't quite manipulate her mouth to spit it out. She muttered angrily, aware that it was muffled and only fueled the amusement.

Balthazar smirked as he studied the juju princess. He had made a pretty good decision to go into business with her. Of course it required a few things that would have him dancing with glee if Dean found out. At least he would get some answers, answers that Castiel had been evasive with. He listened to Haley's muffled heated words and sighed with slight annoyance, "Alright, alright."

Once the rag was out of her mouth, Haley glared at Balthazar and said, "It's about time. Thought you knew how this guardian thing works."

"I said that I had a basic idea but it was never my intention to be one of those guys," Balthazar countered smoothly. "And I certainly wasn't ordered to like Castiel was. Consider this as a learn as you go thing."

Haley huffed at that as the bindings came undone. She rubbed her wrists and muttered, "Learn as you go. I can't believe I agreed to this."

"We both want the same thing," Balthazar reminded her. He stood there looking at her and the mutt that joined them after he freed it. "We want our mutual acquaintance back before things get a little rough."

"More like save your ass if things go south with this insurrection your brothers are doing," Haley countered. She looked around, glad that they were back in the salvage yard. Now she needed to go onto the hunt and stop Sam from making a mistake. "Because she is the one called a protector of man."

"That's the bells and whistles and yes part of it," Balthazar replied, knowing that lying was not an option. He would lose the cooperation of the witch for certain. He sobered slightly and added, "But also because it's her. You know she saved my life once."

Haley looked at the angel with a raised brow, "You don't say."

"I know you don't believe me."

"Kind of hard to considering you just gave Sam the means to tainting his vessel which means he's going to kill Bobby," Haley retorted pointing at the door for emphasis.

"And you were supposed to stop him."

"I still am." Haley patted Moira and started walking towards the door. She managed to get out, "Thanks for the help."

"Anytime." Balthazar watched as Haley left where she had been held. He offered one piece of advice before she left, "You might want to turn on those juju instincts. For the storm that comes after this."

Haley looked at the angel with a raised brow. "I intend to," she replied. She wasn't going to hide that she had been working on improving her abilities and that included the next stages for juju. She sort of mentioned it to Dean but given the circumstances, she refrained from mentioning it out of keeping focus and she didn't want to worry him further.

"Alright. Well you know how to call me if you need me," Balthazar offered as he watched her leave. He gave a slight huff of breath before leaving while wishing her the best of luck.

In the meantime Haley set out on the prowl looking for Sam. She managed to make it to the house and found it empty. That wasn't good and she looked at Moira and asked, "Hey, you got anything?"

Moira made a sound and took off. Haley followed and for good reason. She found Xander muzzled and tied up and it look like he took a blow to his body. There was some blood but she wasn't even sure that it was the dog's blood. If Sam made a move against Bobby then the old man would have defended himself. That much was clear and he would put up a helluva fight.

It was a risk but it would also provide distraction. Haley undid the muzzle and untied the dog. She had to admit Sam picked up a lot and knew what rope to use to subdue a Wilder. She rubbed Xander's head and Moira's. "Yeah I wish Zep was here too," she said as she looked around. She didn't hear anything and if Sam was going to follow through.

Sighing, she figured out where Sam would go. One thing about a salvage yard was that there was always places to hide. For the Singer Salvage Yard though, there were some areas that were pretty much off limits unless you wanted to tempt fate. That would be the one place for this to go down and the last place anyone would expect Sam to go. She didn't want to go but she had to and she knew the ways to get in while avoiding the possibility of certain death. She straightened up and looked at the dogs and gestured, "Come on. We gotta stop this."

Moira whined at that. Haley didn't blame her. It had been hard for the dog since she was essentially going against her hunter. "I get it," she said as she rubbed Moira's head. "We're only going to stun him. The elder is threatened."

She didn't know why she said that but it made sense at the time. It certainly made sense to Moira as she stopped whining and became alert and ready for work. It made Haley feel like she was missing something but she was going to go with what worked and not question it unless it became an issue. She let Moira and Xander take the lead as they made their way out of the house and to where Sam was holding Bobby.

She paused when she heard Bobby talking. At least he was alive for now. Whether he was hurt or not was another story. It had her sort of wish that she had a sensitive nose like Angela. Then she could tell if blood was spilt. Then again the coppery smell of it… it was enough to make a normal person gag. She wouldn't want that so in truth, she didn't envy Angela one bit but felt sympathy for her. And she used to think that the whole thing with Dean's socks was a joke.

"Listen to me."

Haley leaned in and heard Bobby talking. No doubt he was trying to talk down Sam. She kneeled by the dogs and rubbed them in reassurance as she readied herself. She could feel her power flow but she wasn't going to bust in there like it was nothing. She would give Bobby a chance though she seriously doubted that it would work.

"You don't wanna do this," Bobby was saying, "Sam. I've been like a father to you, boy. Somewhere inside you got to know that."

"Well that's just it," Sam replied.

Haley knew that she had to make a move. She opened the door a crack to let the dogs in and then followed them. She barked, "Go!"

Xander was the leader, Moira followed. Both dogs charged it and headed straight for Sam. Moira was slightly hesitant but even she couldn't miss the fact that Bobby was tied up. The elder of the pack was tied up and her instincts were telling her that the alpha of the pack would not be happy with this even if Sam was her mate. She stood there and bared her teeth at Sam while Xander tackled him and grabbed him by the pant legs.

It was remarkable restraint, Haley thought as she entered in. "Sam, don't do this."

Sam managed to shake off Xander with a hard shake. The attack caused him to lose focus and now his attention was on Haley. "How did you?"

"How about that's my secret," Haley replied as she brought up her hand to let it glow. She was not going to throw punches in terms of hand to hand versus magic and hand to hand. "Sam. Put it down."

"I have to do this, Hale."

"No you don't."

Sam looked at the juju witch. He wasn't sure of what to make of the assertiveness. "You won't do anything."

The electric strike near his foot said otherwise. Bobby wasn't able to do anything since he was tied to the chair. Still he was surprised that Haley was actually cutting it close. Then again it was to make a point. Haley knew she was going to have to apologize to the old man later but this was a serious matter at hand. She looked at Sam and said, "Won't I?"

"You're bluffing."

Haley gave another bolt of electricity a little closer. It was nothing like the playful jolts she gave Dean. This was meant to indicate seriousness. It wouldn't kill Sam but it would hurt and make him think twice about his actions. "I am not, Sam. Stop this now. If you do this, you are not just hurting yourself. You are hurting her."

Sam paused for a moment. He pointed his knife at Haley. "Don't," he warned.

"Or what?" Haley knew she was goading him but if it got his attention away from killing Bobby, she would go with it. She would deal with the repercussions later. "I'm not the one who turns into a prissy bitch every time her name is mentioned."

"Hale."

"What was her name? Do you even care about her name?" Haley knew she was pushing buttons all the way but enough of walking on egg shells. "Oh right. Angela. And she is one hot piece of ass."

Bobby went wide eyed the moment Haley said that. He thought she was crazy since they had all seen Sam's reaction. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out and nothing was needed. The moment Sam raised his hand with the knife it was grabbed by Dean, who appeared out of nowhere.

"Hi, Sam. I'm back."

Dean knew that he was going to get a big 'I told you so' from Angela and that was if he managed to make it to the finish line with this bargain with Death. He was used to having heavy decisions placed on him and he was used to dealing with the fallout of it. Big example was when they tried to stop the Apocalypse by killing Lucifer and in the end Ellen and Jo died and he was certain that Angela had a hard time forgiving and forgetting. He didn't blame her if she felt that she couldn't. Jo was a little sister to her and Ellen… Ellen had been there for the things that a mom was needed for. He thought he was starting to understand.

Angela was always the one to shoulder things if she could. She knew that there were consequences to actions. She had always tried to tell them or rather show them. It was annoying as hell at times but the showing always seemed to make a big impact. She knew that. She would have done her job. She would have hated it but she would have done it. That's why Dean was beating himself up internally.

He knew that if Angela had been in his place, she would have chosen Sam definitely. But Dean figured she would have bargained with Death. It sounded weird and damn near suicidal but that would have been something she would have done. And if she got the same deal as he did… he knew that she would have done the deed and kill the girl without batting an eye. It didn't mean that she was heartless. It was just the opposite. He knew that Angela would have been in emotional pain and probably keep it bottled up but it would have shown up in other ways. It disturbed him to think that she would end up cutting herself; she sort of did that when Sam first died.

He screwed up and he knew that. Now he was seeing what was happening as a result of that. Tessa was right about the natural order crap. Angela had even tried to teach him but he didn't listen. Now the little girl was alive but the nurse, who shouldn't have died, was dead and her husband had gotten himself drunk in his grief and was now going to drive. Dean saw that as a disaster waiting to happen. He had to fix it.

He wasn't sure how he managed to do it but he found himself in the car with the guy Scott. And the guy was drinking and driving. He said, "Come on man. Pull the car over. You're gonna get yourself killed."

He didn't forget that he couldn't be heard. Once he put on the ring, he became invisible to the living like Tessa. He was only visible to the dying and the dead. Still he had to try on this. He spoke louder, "What are you doing? Pull the damn car over."

Scott was crying. His grief was all over his face. Dean had seen that look before. It was the look that showed real grief. He had felt it and understood. At least he thought so but this was not the way. It was suicide and in Dean's mind, doing that… it was stupid. He noted that the guy was increasing his speed and heading towards and intersection with no signs of slowing down. He kept repeating for Scott to stop the car.

The intersection was straight ahead and the light was red. This guy was defiantly trying to kill himself. Dean wasn't going to let it happen. He knew that what he had to do would have him lose the bet. If he kept it on, he would get Sam's soul but in the end… Making the choice, he put his fingers on the ring and swore slightly. With one motion, the ring was off his finger.

Dean knew that he had startled Scott but he was on a mission. He barked for Scott to hit the brakes and was slightly surprised that he obeyed. At the same time he pulled on the wheel to turn the car off the street and away from the intersection that would kill them both. He held onto the wheel like he was executing a one-eighty like he had seen Angela do when she introduced them to the world of racing.

The car ended up colliding with a parked car but they were alive. Scott would have a nasty bump to the head but he was alive. As for Dean… he sat in the passenger seat and looked at the ring. He knew that he had lost the bet. There was no hope for Sam's soul now and no chance of getting Angela out either. That hit the most and he couldn't help but swear, "Damn it."

Dean got out of the car groaning slightly from the impact. He was certainly going to be sore from it but he was alive. Still that didn't alleviate his feelings. He was more angry with himself but true to form, it was easier and made him feel better to lash out. He looked around and called out for Tessa and shouted, "You there Tessa? I lost. Sam's screwed. You happy?"

He doubted that she would be happy about it. She never liked it that he had agreed to this along with Death in the first place. She was only following orders because Death said so. He continued, "Least you could do is zap my ass back home."

When he was met with silence, he looked at the ring again. If he was going to see the reaper again he would have to die or… Taking the ring, he put it back on his finger, not aware that Scott had been coming to and saw him disappear. He saw Tessa waiting by a car and she didn't look the least bit sorry as he repeated, "I lost the bet."

"Sorry, about your brother." She walked towards Dean.

Dean didn't want to hear it since he knew that he lost. He couldn't change that but he could take care of last minute business. "Let's just go."

"Go where Dean? We're done." Tessa wasn't sure what Dean was getting at. The next thing she knew, they were back in the hospital room of the little girl. Tessa looked at Dean as he approached. "What are we…?"

"Unfinished business," Dean replied. His gaze didn't leave the sleeping girl. He knew he screwed up and he had to make it right regardless of the fact that he lost Death's wager. He knew he had to do this otherwise…

"It's over," Tessa replied, "You took the ring off. Anyway I thought you wanted the girl to skate by." She looked at the elder Winchester with a look that didn't betray any emotion.

"No one really skates by," Dean countered. He knew that now. Hell he and Sam were living proof. Angela was living proof. He looked at the reaper. "Do they?"

Dean didn't expect an answer and Tessa didn't give him one. He just accepted it and walked towards the bed, skirting around the sleeping father. He looked at monitor that showed the girl's vitals knowing that it was going to change the moment he did what he had to do. Looking at the father, he kneeled and whispered, "You should say your goodbyes man."

Dean didn't know what it was but at that moment it was like the dad heard him and woke up. He knew that it was going to be brushed off but it was something to think about later. At least goodbyes would be said. It would hurt but it would provide some closure. It did for him when he got to finally say goodbye to his dad. Granted it was after the whole hell gate thing but still… Now it was time. Sighing he turned towards the little girl and leaned forward, reached out and touched her hand.

It was painful watching the father panic when the monitor flat lined. It pained Dean to watch as the doctors and nurses did everything to save the little girl but she was already gone. She was standing in front of him, watching the same thing he was.

"I'm dead?"

Dean looked down at her. He almost couldn't say it, "I'm sorry."

"But what about my dad?" The girl turned to look at Dean.

"He'll be fine."

"Really?"

Dean didn't really know and he didn't want to lie to the kid. "I have no idea." He felt bad at that response but it was the best he could do.

"I can't just leave him. It's not fair."

"I know."

"Well then, why?" The little girl looked at Dean with a plaintive expression. She couldn't understand why here and now she had to die.

Dean didn't have any good answer but the best he could come up with was what he had learned the hard way. He kneeled to be eye level with her and replied, "Because, there's sort of a natural order to things."

"Natural order is stupid."

"I agree with you there." Dean rose to his feet. He thought it was stupid too but he had seen firsthand how delicate it was. It was enough to make him wonder about all those times he had been iced and brought back, the second chances. He didn't let it show on his face when the little girl turned to look at him again. He was able to offer a tentative smile but it still sucked. He stood there watching the grieving father as Tessa reaped the little girl. This whole thing sucked and in the end, the only ones paying for it… He shook his head as he turned away.

"That was a good thing you did."

Dean turned to look at Tessa. She was wearing that sympathetic look again. Maybe she was genuinely sorry about the turn of events but it didn't make him feel better. He had a feeling the Sam he had now was going to be happy with what happened. He didn't look forward to that conversation.

Dean was about to say something when he stopped. It was like something flashed through his head. He frowned, causing Tessa to frown and wonder what was going on. Dean turned as he tried to make sense of it since it felt like a headache.

Stop… Dean… Stop Sam…

Dean blinked and shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had no idea what just happened but it was enough for him to recognize the voice. It just had him confused but determined. He looked at Tessa, "I need to go."

It didn't take much effort to get back to the salvage yard. It was as if Dean knew where to go and it helped that Zeppelin led the way. He found Sam with a knife and Haley looking ready to lay it into his brother with her powers plus the dogs were growling and snarling. Worst of all was Bobby tied to a chair. Something was up and he had to do something. He grabbed Sam's wrist and said, "Hi, Sam. I'm back," and laid a punch to knock out Sam. He turned to see Haley still in a defensive posture but looking relieved to see him.

A/N: Looks like Haley and Balthazar have a secret going on and she and Dean manage to stop Sam from doing the worst thing possible. Stay tuned for the conclusion of Let the Games Get Bloody...