Sam watched his brother pace. He reminded him of the cartoons he had seen as a kid where a character would pace so much they'd wear a hole in the floor. Sam expected to see holes in the cheap carpet any minute. He wasn't about to stop him, though. He'd tried it once and Dean had almost ripped his head off. Literally.

So now, Sam just sat on his bed, watching Dean walk back and forth mechanically. Dean hated sitting and waiting, but at the moment that was all he could do. That was all either of them could do.

Chloe's heart had stopped beating twelve hours ago and after that neither brother had said a word— save for Sam's attempt to stop Dean's pacing. Sam couldn't help but think they were holding out hope for nothing. Part of him wanted to just accept facts and move on instead of sitting and hoping for…what? A miracle?

Chloe was dead.

Sam caught Dean's stressed expression as he turned on his heal and started another lap. Silently, he cursed the reporter for putting him in this position. He knew that if she hadn't healed him, he would be the one lying on the bed without a heartbeat, but still. It wasn't Chloe's place to save him. That's what I have Dean for, right? Sam thought, frowning at his bad attempt at humor.

Sam could still remember the stress in his brother's tone as he and Chloe had fought over what to do about his bullet wound. The hospital wasn't an option, at least not right away. They were too high up on the FBI's most wanted to risk a trip to the ER. So instead, Dean had done what he always did: attempt his own surgery. Only this time it hadn't been as simple.

Sam had known as soon as he'd been hit that the wound had been bad. After years of encountering gunfire he knew when something was critical or not. That wound had definitely been critical. Which meant that by healing him, Chloe had killed herself.At first, Sam had assumed her powers would kick in and she'd be up and moving around within an hour. Too much time had passed, though. If her powers were going to kick in, they would have done so sooner. Sam guessed, she'd used up all her extra 'lives'. You couldn't keep playing with death and not expect some kind of consequences.

"I'm calling Bobby," Dean said, breaking the silence. His voice was gruff with emotion, but his face was blank. Typical Dean.

"Why?"

"So he can get ready."

Sam nodded, his heart constricting with understanding. Dean had reached the same conclusion Sam had. Chloe wasn't going to wake up, not this time. He'd call Bobby and tell him to get the pyre ready.

Sam turned back to watch Chloe, while Dean called the old hunter. Despite the number of dead bodies he'd seen over the years, seeing one of someone he cared about was unnerving. And despite the fact that he wanted to bring her back to life and curse her, he knew Chloe fell under the category of someone he cared for. Judging from the way Dean was acting, it as safe to say he felt the same way. So much for not getting attached.

Not that it matters, she's de— Sam paused, something catching his eye.

"Dean!" he snapped, not moving his gaze from the body in front of him. He must be seeing things. Maybe hours of staring were finally starting to effect his eyesight.

Dean hurried to his side, the phone still against his ear. "What?"

Sam gestured to Chloe. "She's…she just…"

"Holy…" Dean backed up, reaching into his duffel bag, sitting on a dresser. He pulled out a small flask, Sam knew was full of holy water. He unscrewed the cap and stepped back towards the bed, sprinkling some of the demon repellent on Chloe's body.

To Sam's surprise, Chloe reacted, but not the way he expected.

"Knock it off," she barked, her voice rough from lack of use. Slowly she blinked and opened her eyes, glaring up at the older brother.

"Christo!" Dean spat in response.

"Same to you." Chloe grimaced as if she were dealing with a major hangover and carefully sat up, leaning against the headboard. "I'm not possessed, Dean."

Sam watched the exchange in fascination. It went against all his instincts as a hunter to just sit and watch as someone came back to life. He should be spouting off some Latin or at the very least pulling out his gun, but he wasn't. She was a meteor freak after all. He must have been wrong about her power's limits, because she definitely wasn't possessed.

Dean turned to Sam, his face still set in hunter-mode. "Did you make a deal?"

Sam shook his head. "When would I have made a deal, Dean?"

"I don't know," Dean stated. "All I know is you're supposed to be dead." He pointed the flask at Chloe as if the water inside could still do some damage.

"Sorry to disappoint," Chloe replied. She turned, resting her legs on the floor so her knees brushed against Sam's legs. "How's your chest?"

"Fine."

"Good."

"Chloe," Dean started, his tone sharp. "What the hell is going on?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. It was obvious that despite her miraculous recovery, her powers were something she didn't enjoy discussing. "Do we really have to rehash how big of a freak I am again? I thought we already had this conversation."

"You told us you could heal people. You failed to mention the whole resurrection, thing."

Chloe scoffed. "What part of ending up in the morgue, didn't you understand?"

"Well you still could have warned me," Dean snapped. Sam stood, sensing that his brother's stress was hitting its peak.

"I didn't think you had such a short memory," Chloe snapped back. Dean met the blonde's gaze, the look in his eyes harsh enough to make most people cringe. Instead of looking away, though, Chloe just glared right back. Sam watched both of them, wondering why it was he always ended up in this position. When it came to arguing, Chloe was stubborn enough to be mistaken for a Winchester.

Surprising everyone in the room, Dean backed down first. He stepped back, tucking the flask into his duffel bag. "Don't ever use your powers on me," he stated finally.

Chloe looked ready to respond, but the older brother cut her off with a wave of his hand, picking up his discarded phone. "Sorry, Bobby…" He stepped out of the motel room as he talked, leaving Chloe and Sam alone.

"Bobby?"

"Old friend."

"Why was Dean calling him?"

Sam swallowed, remembering the pain he'd felt moments before. "To plan your funeral."

Chloe blinked, but didn't look all that surprised. "Oh."


Dean paused before reentering the motel room. He needed to keep his emotions in check before he saw Chloe again. It bothered him that she hadn't told him about the side-effects of her powers. Never mind the fact that he knew what she was capable of. A little warning would have been nice. Besides, a couple hours was a lot less time than the half a day he'd spent watching her corpse. How was he supposed to know she didn't heal as quickly every time?And yet, he couldn't help but feel grateful that she'd risked her life for Sam's. Someone willing to risk their life for his little brother was okay by him, but he really hated being lied to— or at least, not knowing everything he needed to know.

Dean didn't regret telling Chloe about his deadline, but sometimes he wished Sam had never found out about her. They had enough on their plate already, adding a curious reporter hadn't helped matters. Why couldn't she just stay at her desk?

Setting his face, Dean walked into the hotel. Sam and Chloe were sitting right where he'd left them. Chloe had a glass of water in her hand, though, that Sam had probably grabbed for her.

Sam stood as Dean entered, giving Chloe a small smile before turning to his brother. "What did Bobby say?"

Chloe looked up at his question, obviously eager to hear the answer. Dean had realized while still on the phone with the old hunter that he could give away Chloe's secret depending on what he said. And as annoyed as he'd been, her powers were not his secret to tell. Luckily for him, he'd never been given the opportunity to say anything. Bobby didn't want details if they weren't important.

"To keep him posted."

Chloe looked startled. "You didn't…?"

"No. I didn't," he said simply.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me, just stop putting yourself in danger."

"Dean…" Sam started, his tone warning him to watch his words.

"I wasn't in danger," Chloe argued.Dean glared. "You can't mess around with death like that and expect everything to be okay. Trust me."Chloe sighed. "I make no promises."

Dean rolled his eyes. That was as close as he was going to get, but considering the stubborn streak that ran through her, he was happy to even get that.

"Fine."


Chloe smiled to herself as the information appeared on her computer screen. Gotcha. After the bad lead a few days prior, Chloe had spent most of her time trying to correctly track down Bela. She knew the boys didn't blame her for the bad lead, but after everything that had happened she felt required to get them the information they needed.

She picked up her phone, dialing Dean's number by heart.

The hunter picked up after two rings. "Hello?"

"Dean, it's Chloe. I think I've found her."

"Yeah? Where?"

Chloe felt herself relax a little at his question. She may have angered him before, but he was still willing to trust her research.

"She's in Monument, Colorado." Chloe paused giving him a moment to write down the information if he needed.

"Thanks Chloe."

"You're welcome."

"You're not going to show up this time are you?"

Chloe smirked. "No. I'll sit this one out. Just keep me posted."

"Sure."

"And stay safe. Make sure Sam doesn't get himself shot again." She tried to keep her tone light, but the order came out strained. She was worried and she'd never been very good at hiding her worry.

"We'll be fine."


Sam looked at Dean, his hand reaching for his gun. The older brother nodded, silently counting down. Sam followed mentally, grabbing the door handle once they both hit three.

He hurried inside, gun drawn, his brother right behind him. This wasn't the first time they'd stormed into a room, but they both made sure not to be careless.

As Sam checked the rest of the hotel room, Dean moved on to the dresser. Bela wasn't in, but maybe the Colt still was.

"Any sign of it?"

"No. Sure this is Bela's room?"

"I'd say so."

Both brother's turned as the phone took its cue. Careful not to touch too much of the phone and leave a lot of fingerprints to clean up, Dean answered. His brother watching anxiously.

"Dean? Sweetie are you there?"

"Where are you?"

"Two states away by now."

"Where?"

"Where's our usual quipy banter? I miss it."

"I want it back, Bela. Now."

"Your little pistol, you mean? Sorry, I can't at the moment."

"You understand how many people are going to die if you do this?"

"What exactly is it that you think I plan to do with it?"

"Take the only weapon we have against an army of demons and sell it to the highest bidder."

"You know nothing about me."

"I know I'm gonna stop you."

"Tough words for a guy who can't even find me."

"Oh I'll find you sweetheart. You know why? Because I have absolutely nothing better to do than to track you down." And I've got Chloe Sullivan on my side, who's getting closer to you every time.

"That's where you're wrong. You're about to be quite occupied. Did you really think I wouldn't take precautions?"

To Be Continued…