Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters. Only in the wonderful world I like to call Dream World!
AN: Ok, I know it has been absolutely ages since I updated, bit I have only recently managed to get my internet connection back. Anyway, here's chapter 12, Faith. Enjoy!
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
The Winchester's… Plus One
Chapter Twelve: Faith
SYNOPSIS
While battling a demon, Dean is electrocuted, resulting in permanent damage to his heart and leaving him with only a couple of months to live. Sam and Emma must come up with a way to save him. Turning to a faith healer, Dean is saved. The group soon find that the faith healers wife has made a demonic pact when trying to save her husbands life, and another life is taken by the Grim Reaper when the faith healer performs a 'miracle.'
ooooOOOOoooo
On their latest hunt, Sam, Dean and Emma now find themselves in front of an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere. Inside was a monster, a rawhead, who had taken two young children. And it was their job to get them back.
Taking out the demon the only way they knew how, Dean pulled three tasers out of the trunk.
"What do you got those amped up to?" Sam asked as Dean handed one each to him and Emma.
"A hundred thousand volts," Dean answered.
"Damn," Emma said.
"Yeah, I want this rawhead extra frickin' crispy. And remember, you only get one shot with these things. So make it count," Dean told them as they made their way into the house.
Walking cautiously down the stairs, guns and flashlight high in front of them, a noise knocked all their attention to a small cupboard.
"On three," Dean whispered to the other two. "One. Two. Three."
Pulling the cupboard roughly open, the trio came face to face with two very scared kids, cowering in the tight space.
"Is it still here?" Sam asked, to which the children merely nodded, unable to speak through fear.
"Ok. Grab your sister's hand," Emma said softly to the little boy. "Come on, we gotta get you out of here. Let's go, let's go."
Gently pushing the children in front of them, Sam, Dean and Emma led them towards the stairs.
"Alright, go!" Emma called to them, watching as the pair starting to flee up the stairs. Sam, who wasn't too far behind them, didn't get any closer to the exit himself as a hand snaked through the railing of the stairs, grabbing his leg and dragging him back down.
"Sam!" Emma screamed out as she moved to the other side of the staircase, coming face to face with the rawhead and shooting immediately. The monster, however, had seen it coming and ducked out of the way, Emma's one and only shot missing.
"Sam, get 'em outta here!" Dean yelled, motioning up to the kids.
"You take this!" Sam called back, throwing his own taser down, which Emma easily caught, dropping her useless one. With Sam getting the kids safely outside, Dean and Emma were left to take down this monster.
"Come on," he called into the basement, his flashlight flicking over box after box after… demon!
As his flashlight beam illuminated the creature's features, Dean aimed his gun, but not quick enough. Before Dean could get a shot off, the demon flew at him, flinging him across the room where he landed in a puddle of water in the corner.
Coming up the other side, Emma took her own shot at the demon again. The demon, however, was already charging at her. Her aim on a fast moving object not perfect, Emma's second shot missed, the creature knocking her aside as it made it's way to Dean. She was merely a distraction.
Seeing the creature loam over him, Dean scrambled for the only working gun, taking aim at the creature. But he failed to see what Emma did.
The creature was standing in the same puddle of water Dean was lay in.
"Dean, no!" Emma screamed to him, but it was too late. Dean had taken his shot and hit, electrocuting the demon. The high current flowed through the creature, into the puddle… and into Dean.
While the creature collapsed to the floor, dead, Dean twitched and shuddered against the heavy flow of electricity working it's way through his body.
"Dean!!" Emma screamed out again, running across the room as her boyfriend fell into unconsciousness.
The kids safe upstairs, Sam chose now to run back into the basement, seeing the sight before him. Dean unconscious in a puddle of water with Emma at his, barely able to control her tears.
"Dean!" Sam cried out as he dropped to the floor by their side. "Dean, hey. Hey."
Sam shook his brother, trying to bring him to, but it wasn't working.
"What happened?" Sam asked a now near hysterical Emma.
"The rawhead," Emma sobbed out through her shaking and tears. "Dean shot it with the taser but it backfired, travelled through the water. I tried to stop him but…."
"Emma, its okay," Sam said softly, trying to calm her down some. "Calm down. We just gotta get him to a hospital."
All Emma could do was nod, wipe at her tears, and hope to God Sam was right.
ooooOOOOoooo
After piling Dean into the car and breaking every known speed limit, Sam and Emma had taken Dean to the nearest hospital. And, having to take care of the frightened children as well, a shaken Emma was stood in front of two police officers, her arms wrapped tight round herself, while Sam stood at the reception desk, sorting out Dean's admittance.
"Sir, I'm so sorry to ask. There doesn't seem to be any insurance on file," the receptionist told him.
"Right. Uh, ok," Sam said distractedly, taking a card from his wallet and handing it to her.
"Okay, Mr. Burkovitz," the receptionist said with a smile. Sam tried his best to smile in response as he moved away from her, standing by Emma and the officer. Seeing the way Emma was stood, Sam slipped his arm round her comfortingly, pulling her into his side.
"Look, we can finish this up later," the officer said, like Sam, obviously seeing the distraught state Emma was in.
"No, no, it's okay," Sam said, wanting to get through the story as quick as possible. "We were just taking a shortcut through the neighbourhood. And, um, the windows were rolled down, we heard some screaming. We drove past the house, and we stopped. Ran in."
"And you found the kids in the basement?" the officer asked.
"Yeah," Sam answered.
"Well, thank God you did," the officer said. Behind him, Sam noticed Dean's doctor making his way towards them.
"Excuse me," Sam said to the officers.
"Sure. Thanks for your help," the officer said as Sam led Emma over to the doctor.
"Hey, Doc. Is he…." Sam said.
"He's resting," the doctor finished for him
"And?" Sam said, urging him to continue.
"The electrocution triggered a heart attack," the doctor said. "Pretty massive, I'm afraid. His heart… it's damaged."
"How damaged?" Sam asked.
"We've done all we can," the doctor said, his tone showing pure sympathy for them. "We can try and keep him comfortable at this point. But, I'd give him a couple weeks, at most, maybe a month."
"No, no," Emma muttered, uttering her first words since they had entered the hospital, her tears now flowing freely as she buried herself against Sam's chest, his arms wrapping round her.
"There's… there's gotta be something you can do," Sam said, pushing back his own tears. "Some kind of treatment."
"We can't work miracles. I really am sorry," the doctor said, leaving the two stood in the hallway, Emma sobbing in his arms and letting her tears flow freely while Sam adamantly kept his trapped behind his eyes. This time, it was his turns to be the strong brother, if not for the sake of his own sanity.
ooooOOOOoooo
In his own private hospital room, Dean was sat with the remote in hand, flicking through the channels of daytime TV. When Sam and Emma came in, and he looked up at him, Sam's battle against tears almost ended. The guy lay in that bed did not look like his brother. His wasn't strong and full of life anymore, but the total opposite. He was pale and drawn, dark circles under his eyes. Emma's strangled sob told Sam the same thoughts were running through her head. She had calmed down slightly, stopped crying, but Sam knew she could start again any minute. And he didn't blame her.
"Have you ever actually watched daytime TV?" Dean said once they entered, trying to lighten the mood as always. "It's terrible."
"We talked to your doctor," Sam said with a sigh.
"That fabric softener teddy bear. Oh, I'm gonna hunt that little bitch down," Dean continued, adamantly ignoring Sam.
"Dean," Sam said again, making sure he couldn't ignore him anymore as he looked up at them.
"Yeah," Dean said, turning off the TV. "Alright, well, looks like you guys are gonna leave town without me."
"What are you talking about?" Sam said. "We're not gonna leave you here.
"Hey, you guys better take care of that car," Dean continued in his joke filled manner. "Or, I swear, I'll haunt your asses."
"I don't think that's funny," Emma said, her battle with tears getting harder with each word Dean said, or each stupid joke he made at his own expensive, when all Emma wanted was his reassurance. For him to tell her this was nothing, that he was gonna be fine and they would be on the road as a group again in no time.
"Oh, come on, it's a little funny," Dean told her, a thick silence now hanging in the air between them.
"Look, what can I say?" Dean continued, the jokes going out of the window at the looks on his brother and girlfriend's faces. "It's a dangerous gig. I drew the short straw. That's it, end of story."
"Don't talk like that, alright?" Sam said. "We still have options."
"What options?" Dean said, beginning to get a little angry with the two for not understanding. "Yeah, burial or cremation."
"Great," Emma said, the new tears she had been so strongly pushing aside springing back to the front. "You know that's…. That's just great, Dean."
Not needing Dean to see her cry right now, Emma ran from the room before the sobbing took over her body, Sam and Dean's eyes on her the whole time. Dean had seen the look in her eyes when she had ran, even though she tried to hide it from him. And the minute he had, he regretted his words.
"She took the words right out of my mouth," Sam said, turning back to his brother, his own voice beginning to take on a hint of anger now. Dean continued to stare at the door for a second longer as if staring that intently would someone make Emma walk back through it without those horrible tears he had caused behind her eyes.
"Look," Dean said, his voice a little softer now. "I know it's not easy. But I'm gonna die. And you guys can't stop it."
"Watch us," Sam said, sweeping out of the door after Emma. And if he hadn't stopped abruptly, he probably would have tripped over her. She was sat on the floor, her head in her knees to capture the tears.
"Emma?" he said softly, making her look up at him with the tears still streaming down her face.
"How can he be so blatant about it Sam?" she said to him. "He's dying. And he's right. What can we do to save him?"
Watching her break gently again, Sam sat on the floor beside her, pulling her closer to him and letting her cry in his arms again.
"I'll find a way to save him. I promise," Sam whispered to her after a minute, adamant that he would do it. He pulled away slightly, making Emma look up at him. "I'm going back to the motel. What do you want to do?"
"I wanna stay here with him," she said softly.
"Okay," Sam said, pressing a gentle kiss on his best friend's forehead, the only woman in the world both brothers would always care about and do practically anything for. With a comforting smile her way, Sam left the hospital, leaving Emma in exactly the same position.
For a moment, Emma stayed where she was. What exactly was she gonna do if she walked back in that room? She could go in there and they could scream at each other, get into one of their typical arguments, and she'd probably ending up killing him a month before his time. Or she could break down, end up sobbing uncontrollably in his arms and make him promise never to leave her, no matter what. Right now, she wasn't sure which one would be worst.
One of the reasons she wasn't jumping up to go back in that room with him, alone, was because she couldn't see him like that again. This was Dean Winchester, the guy despite everything that had happened in his family, had always stood strong. He had always been there for Emma, ready to save her life or pick her up when she was down. And now, in a month's time, Emma wasn't gonna have that anymore. He'd be gone, and she honestly didn't know just how well she'd cope without him by her side.
Wiping at the stray tears that had leaked from her eyes, Emma stood, staring at the door that now separated her and Dean. With a deep sigh, Emma pushed it open, Dean looking up at her as she just stood in the doorway. And the eyes that stared back at her broke Emma inside even more. They weren't Dean anymore. Eyes that usually held such light and laughter, eyes that gave her strength, were now dark and weary, holding no strength of their own.
"You gonna come in or what?" Dean finally said into the silence. Slowly, Emma did just that, gently lowering herself onto the edge of the bed beside Dean.
"I'm sorry," Dean said so quietly, Emma almost didn't hear him.
"For what?" she asked.
"Everything that's happened," Dean said. "It's all gotta be my fault somehow."
"The only thing you have to apologise for is the way you're talking about all this," Emma told him.
"What, you mean being truthful?"
"No, I mean being so blatant. Not caring how it sounds to me and Sam."
"What do you mean, Sam? He didn't say a thing."
"And he won't. He wants to be brave in front of his big brother. He's not gonna say how much this scares him. How much this scares both of us. You need to think how this is for me and Sam."
"Oh, well I'm sorry if I didn't stop to consider how you guys felt in all this!" Dean said, the anger hitting his voice again.
"There you go again," Emma said, anger now taking over her fears and tears. "Not thinking before you open that big mouth of yours."
"I'm not really bothered about that right now Emma," Dean told her. "After all, I'm gonna be six feet under in a month."
"Don't," Emma screamed, jumping off the bed and turning her back on him. "Just stop it! Please Dean."
Her shoulders shaking slightly told Dean that once again, tears were streaking down Emma's cheeks. And just the amount of times she had been crying over him told Dean just how much she was hurting over this. For the second time, he regretted the words that had moments ago left his mouth.
"Emma," Dean said, making her turn to him. He was sat up, his arms spread out to her. "Come here."
Needing more than anything the overwhelming comfort she always got from Dean, Emma crossed the room in one bound and buried herself in his arms, crying against his chest.
"I love you, Dean," Emma mumbled into his chest. "I don't want you to die."
Dean said nothing. He just wrapped his arms tighter round Emma, trying to comfort her. He knew how much this must have been getting to Sam and Emma, he had seen it on their faces. But what neither of them knew was just how tough it was for him. He didn't want to die, and the idea that he might was actually scaring him. But Dean didn't get scared. He had to stay strong for Sam and Emma. So what did he do when he was scared? He made jokes, he laughed it off. He didn't think how much this was hurting the others around him.
While his girl cried in his arms, Dean couldn't stop the single tear that slid down his face.
ooooOOOOoooo
Back in the silence of the empty motel room, Sam sat on his bed as always surrounded by research. But today was a different kind of research. Today he was surrounded by books and leaflets on heart care. But, Sam being Sam and what they did, it wasn't doctors that were solving his problems. It was his father's journal.
Speaking of his father, Sam thought now was the time to try and get in touch with him, tell him what was wrong with his son. Even if he knew he'd never get an answer.
"This is John Winchester," his father's voicemail spoke to him, proving Sam right. "I can't be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean. 866-907-3235. He can help."
As the beep sounded in his ear, Sam for about the third time today tried to push back his tears as he started telling his dad just what this call was about.
"Hey, Dad. It's Sam," Sam began, his voice already staring to break as his pent up emotions got on top of him." Uh… you probably won't even get this, but, uh…. It's Dean. He's sick, and uh… the doctors say there's nothing they can do. Um… but, uh, they don't know the things we know, right? So, don't worry, cause, uh… I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get him better. Alright… just wanted you to know."
Hanging up, Sam tossed the phone onto the bed across from him. Now he was alone, he could fell the tears beginning to spring to the front of his eyes. Emma had been at the hospital since Sam had left, and he didn't figure she'd be coming back anytime soon. So now was the time when he could really let his emotions take over.
Since he had left the hospital, he had been trying his hardest not to think of Dean and just what would happen if they didn't fix this. Because the last thing that could happen right now is that he could lose his brother. He had just found him again, started to be a proper family with him and Emma, and now they knew for sure their father was alive, even if they had no idea where he was. Now was the worst possible time for all this to go wrong.
A knock on the door meant his emotions had to take a back seat again. The only person that could be was Emma, and he had to be strong for her sake right now. He knew this was just as tough on her, maybe worse. Sam knew just how much she loved Dean.
Opening the door, he did come face to face with Emma, only she wasn't alone. She had Dean leaning against her side, looking even worse, if that was possible.
"He wouldn't listen to me," Emma said as if in answer.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asked his brother.
"I checked myself out," Dean said, stepping past Sam and into the motel room.
"What, are you crazy?" Sam said to him.
"Well, I'm not gonna die in a hospital where the nurses aren't even hot," Dean said with a slight shrug.
"I would smack you for that, but you look too ill," Emma told him, making Sam laugh as he closed the door behind them.
"You know, this whole 'I-Laugh-In-The-Face-Of-Death' thing?" Sam told his brother. "It's crap. I can see right through it."
"Yeah, whatever, dude," Dean said as Emma helped her weakened boyfriend into a nearby chair. "Have you even slept? You look worse than me."
"I've been scouring the Internet for the last three days," Sam told him. "Calling every contact in Dad's journal."
"For what?" Dean asked.
"For a way to help you. One of Dad's friends, Joshua, he called me back. Told me about a guy in Nebraska. A specialist."
"You're not gonna let me die in peace, are you?"
"I'm not gonna let you die, period. We're going."
Dean didn't give Sam an answer. Instead, he turned to Emma, who was staring at him, smiling almost pleadingly. She wanted him to do this, didn't want to lose him.
And that was the only reason he gave in.
ooooOOOOoooo
In Nebraska, Sam's idea of a specialist was a tent with the words 'The Church of Roy LeGrange Faith Healer. Witness The Miracle', written across the top and a group of very sick looking people making their way inside.
Pulling their car up outside, Sam and Emma were out first, stepping round the car to help Dean out of the car with a slight grunt of pain.
"I got it," Dean said, shrugging away from Sam and Emma's hands. "Man, you are a lying bastard. Thought you said we were going to see a doctor."
"I believe I said a specialist," Sam half-joked. "Look, Dean, this guy's supposed to be the real deal."
"I can't believe you brought me here to see some guy who heals people out of a tent," Dean said.
"Reverend LeGrange is a great man," an elderly woman with an eavesdropping ear said as she past them.
"Yeah, that's nice," Dean grated out. Still walking towards the tent, Sam, Dean and Emma past another member of the crowd, this guy with a very different opinion to the old woman.
"I have a right to protest," the man called out. "This man is a fraud. And he's bilking all these people out of their hard-earned money."
"Sir, this is a place of worship," a sheriff said as he and his partner walked the man away from the tent. "Let's go. Move it."
"I take it he's not part of the flock," Dean said.
"When people see something they can't explain, there's controversy," Sam said.
"I mean, come on, Sam, a faith healer?" Dean grated out to his brother.
"Maybe it's time to have a little faith, Dean," Emma said, adding her opinion.
"You know what I've got faith in?" Dean told the pair. "Reality. Knowing what's really going on."
"How can you be a sceptic? With the things we see everyday?" Sam asked.
"Exactly," Dean said, as if Sam was making his point for him instead of against him. "We see them, we know they're real."
"But if you know evil's out there, how can you not believe good's out there, too?" Emma said.
"Because I've seen what evil does to good people," Dean told them.
"Maybe God works in mysterious ways," another crowd member said, turning to them. This one was a pretty young blonde woman.
"Maybe he does," Dean said. "I think you just turned me around on the subject."
"Yeah, I'm sure," Emma said with a roll of her eyes as the girl smiled and Dean extended his hand to her.
"I'm Dean. This is Sam and Emma."
"Layla," the young girl said, taking Dean's offered hand. "So, if you're not a believer, then why are you here?"
"Well, apparently these two here believe enough for the lot of us," Dean told her.
"Again with the need to smack, Dean," Emma said as Layla's mother walked up to her daughter.
"Come on, Layla. It's about to start," she said, guiding her daughter away with a wave goodbye.
"Well, I bet you she can work in some mysterious ways," Dean joked. Sam just smiled slightly, knowing his brother, while Emma glared and poked him gently in the arm, guiding him towards the tent as Mrs Rourke had with Layla.
Inside the tent there was already a large group of people sat waiting for the service to begin, while Dean's eyes immediately went to the security camera's in the corners.
"Yeah, peace, love, and trust all over," Dean said, pointing out the camera's to Sam and Emma. Dean carried on walking further into the tent, heading towards a seat in the back.
"Come on," Sam said, pushing Dean further towards the front.
"What are you doing? Let's sit here," Dean said.
"We're sitting up front," Sam told him.
"What? Why?"
"Come on."
"Oh, come on, guys." But despite is protests, Dean was still led towards the front, Sam and Emma trying to help him.
"You alright?" Emma asked.
"This is ridiculous. I'm good, get off me," Dean said, pushing away from the pair as they came to three seats close to the front behind Layla and her mother.
"Perfect," Sam said of the seats.
"Yeah, perfect," Dean said with next to no emotion.
"You take the aisle," Sam told him, the three sitting in their seats just as their host, Roy LeGrange, walked onto stage, dark glasses over his blind eyes.
"Each morning, my wife, Sue Ann, reads me the news. Never seems good, does it?" Roy called out to the very agreeable crowd. "Seems like there's always someone committing some immoral, unspeakable act."
As he spoke, Sam looked up at the table behind Roy, noticing the items on it. It was filled with crosses and religious items, one in particular catching his attention. It was a cross with a smaller one on top of it, the smaller one inside a circle.
"But, I say to you, God is watching. God rewards the good, and He punishes the corrupt," Roy continued to the crowd who were agreeing with and believing his every word. "Who does the healing here, friends? The Lord who guides me in choosing who to heal by helping me see into people's hearts."
"Yeah, or into their wallets," Dean muttered quietly just to Sam and Emma.
"You think so, young man?" Roy said to Dean, the rest of the church going silent.
"Sorry," Dean said, embarrassed.
"No, no. Don't be. Just watch what you say around a blind man, we've got real sharp ears," Roy said, making his followers laugh. "What's your name, son?"
"Dean," Dean answered after a slight hesitation.
"Dean. I want… I want you to come up here with me," Roy said, his wife Sue Ann getting onto the stage to welcome Dean up while the crowd cheered in excitement, Layla and her mother the only ones not joining in with the cheers but looking upset at the news.
"No, that's ok," Dean yelled over the noise.
"What are you doing?" Emma said to him.
"You've come here to be healed, haven't you?" Roy said.
"Well, yeah, but…." Dean began, his voice beginning to get drowned out by the cheers of the crowd. "No, maybe you should just pick someone else."
"Oh, no, I didn't pick you, Dean," Roy said over the claps. "The Lord did."
"Get up there!" Sam said, pushing a reluctant and uncomfortable looking Dean up to the stage.
"You ready?" Roy asked him.
"Look, no disrespect, but I'm not exactly a believer," Dean said to Roy.
"You will be, son. You will be," Roy said before turning to the crowd. "Pray with me, friends."
The crowd lifted their hands into the air, following Roy's lead. Roy reached out his hand feeling for Dean's shoulder, Dean looking just as nervous as the anxious Sam and Emma in the crowd.
"Alright, now. Alright, now," Roy said, moving his hand to Dean's forehead as he worked his healing magic.
The crowd, which of course included Sam and Emma, watched as Dean began to look weak and dizzy, his eyes closes and his legs falling from under him as he fell to his knees. Roy kept his hand against Dean's forehead, almost guiding him down as he collapsed to the floor. The crowd cheered and clapped, seeing something Sam and Emma weren't as they became scared.
"Dean!" Emma called out, her and Sam racing to the stage. Emma knelt beside Dean, shaking him slightly until he woke with a heavy gasp.
"Say something," Emma said to him. But Dean remained silent, in shock over what had just happened. His blurry vision focusing slowly, Dean's eyes fell on someone new in the room. An old man, his face grey and dead and his hair white, was stood behind Roy dressed in a suit. His eyes landed on Dean before vanishing, leaving Dean even more shocked.
ooooOOOOoooo
Back at the dreaded hospital for a second time, Dean now looked a little different. He was sat up on an examination table, looking as well as he always did, while Sam and Emma stood beside him.
"So, you really feel okay?" Emma asked almost expectantly.
"I feel fine, Emma," Dean assured her as the nurse walked back into the room, Dean's papers in her hand.
"Well, according to all your tests, there's nothing wrong with your heart. No sign there ever was," the nurse said, getting two totally different reactions from the people in front of her. Sam and Emma seemed almost ecstatic, happy to have their brother and boyfriend back, while Dean simply looked curious, almost worried about the news.
"Not that a man your age should be having heart trouble," the nurse continued. "But still, it's strange it does happen."
"What do you mean, strange?" Dean asked.
"Well, just yesterday, a young guy like you, twenty-seven, athletic. Out of nowhere, heart attack," the nurse said, making Dean look concerned again.
"Thanks, Doc," he said.
"Oh, no problem," she said with a slight smile as she left.
"That's odd," Dean said to Sam and Emma once she was gone.
"Maybe it's a coincidence," Sam suggested. "People's hearts give out all the time, man"
"No, they don't," Dean argued back.
"Look, Dean, do we really have to look this one in the mouth?" Emma said hopefully. "Why can't we just be thankful that the guy saved your life and move on?"
"Because I can't shake this feeling, that's why," Dean said.
"What feeling?" Emma asked.
"When I was healed, I just… I felt wrong," Dean said. "I felt cold. And for a second, I saw someone. This, uh, this old man. And I'm telling you, it was a spirit."
"But if there was something there, Dean, I think I would've seen it, too," Sam said. "I mean, I've been seeing an awful lot of things lately."
"Well, excuse me, psychic wonder," Dean said, his voice only half joking. "But you're just gonna need a little faith on this one. Sam, I've been hunting long enough to trust a feeling like this."
At Dean's words, Sam and Emma exchanged a look. Dean was fine now, not gonna die, and they just wanted to get out of this place. The two of them were almost over the moon that Dean wasn't gonna die, absolutely ready to take all this on faith, where as Dean was just trying to rationalise everything. Almost as if he was looking for reasons to get out of this, to be a month away from death again.
"Yeah, alright," Sam said, him and Emma giving in to Dean's wishes. "So, what do you wanna do?"
"I want you to go check out the heart attack guy. I'm gonna visit the reverend," Dean told them.
ooooOOOOoooo
Going their separate ways for their separate jobs, Emma had not gone with Sam like Dean had originally suggested. Instead she was now sat with him in Reverend Roy LeGrange's house.
"I feel great," Dean told the reverend. "Just trying to, you know, make sense of what happened."
"A miracle is what happened," Sue Ann said from beside her husband. "Well, miracles come so often around Roy."
"When did they start? The miracles," Emma asked Roy.
"Woke up one morning, stone blind," Roy began to tell them. "Doctors figured out I had cancer. Told me I had maybe a month. So, uh, we prayed for a miracle. Now, I was weak, but I told Sue Ann, 'You just keep right on praying'. I went into a coma. Doctors said I wouldn't wake up, but I did. And the cancer was gone."
Ending his story, Roy removed his sunglasses to reveal his white, blind eyes.
"If it wasn't for these eyes, no one would believe I'd ever had it," Roy said.
"And suddenly you could heal people," Emma added.
"I discovered it afterward, yes," Roy said. "God's blessed me in many ways."
"And his flock just swelled overnight," Sue Ann said proudly. "And this is just the beginning."
"Can I ask you one last question?" Dean said.
"Of course you can," Roy answered in his cheerful tone.
"Why?" Dean asked. "Why me? Out of all the sick people, why save me?"
"Well, like I said before, the Lord guides me," Roy said. "I looked into your heart, and you just stood out from all the rest."
"What did you see in my heart?" Dean asked.
"A young man with an important purpose," Roy said. "A job to do. And it isn't finished."
Emma smiled at Roy's words, seeing just how true they actually were. Dean on the other hand, couldn't see. Roy's words simply surprised, even confused him further.
ooooOOOOoooo
Doing his end of the job, Sam was at the local gym talking to a friend of Marshall Hall, the heart attack victim.
"I'm telling you, he seemed healthy," the man told him. "Swam every day, didn't smoke. So, a heart attack just kind of seemed, well, bizarre."
"And you said he was running, right before he collapsed?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, yeah, he was freaking out. He said that something was, uh, was after him."
"Did he say what?"
"Well, thin air is what. I mean, it wasn't anything."
Sam thought on his words for a moment, taking them in, and thinking about just what Dean had said to. The invisible man on the stage only he seemed able to see.
"Alright, thanks," Sam said, turning to leave before he noticed a clock on the wall above him, the hands still. "Hey, buddy? Your, uh, your clock's busted."
"Oh, yeah, we, uh, can't get it workin'," the man said. "Just froze at 4:17."
"Is that the same time Marshall died?" Sam guessed.
"How'd you know?" the guy asked. Sam didn't answer. He just stored this piece of information away with all the others, new ideas coming to his mind.
ooooOOOOoooo
Back at Reverend LeGrange's house, Dean and Emma were leaving just as Layla and her mother were heading towards the house.
"Dean, Emma, hey," Layla greeted with a sweet smile.
"Hey," Dean replied.
"How you feeling?" Layla asked.
"I feel good. Cured, I guess," Dean answered. "What are you doing here?"
"You know, my mom, she wanted to talk to the reverend," Layla said as Sue Ann came outside.
"Layla?" she greeted.
"Yes, I'm here again," Layla said with another smile.
"Well, I'm sorry, but Roy is resting, and he won't be seeing anyone else right now," Sue Ann said.
"Sue Ann, please," Mrs Rourke almost begged. "This is our sixth time, he's got to see us."
"Roy is well aware of Layla's situation," Sue Ann told her. "And he very much wants to help just as soon as the Lord allows. Have faith, Mrs. Rourke."
With these final words, Sue Ann walked back inside the house. Alone, Mrs Rourke now turned her attention on Dean, visibly upset.
"Why are you still even here?" Mrs Rourke asked him, anger also in her voice. "You got what you wanted."
"Mom. Stop," Layla said.
"No, Layla, this is too much," Mrs Rourke said. "We've been to every single service. If Roy would stop choosing these strangers over you. Strangers who don't even believe. I just can't pray any harder."
"Layla, what's wrong?" Emma asked her.
"I have this thing…." Layla said slowly, her words trailing off.
"It's a brain tumor," Mrs Rourke continued for her. "It's inoperable. In six months, the doctors say..."
As her mothers words trailed off, Layla put her hand against her shoulder, comforting her mother.
"I'm sorry," Dean said softly.
"It's okay," Layla said.
"No. It isn't," Mrs Rourke said before turning to Dean. "Why do you deserve to live more than my daughter?"
Mrs Rourke walked away, her daughter following her with tears in her eyes. Dean watched after them for a moment, thinking the exact same thing Mrs Rourke had just put out in the open.
Still distracted thinking about it, Dean walked back towards the car, Emma behind him. While Emma pulled her door open, Dean paused slightly, staring at nothing.
"Are you gonna tell me what's bothering you?" Emma asked him.
"I'm fine," Dean said, clearly covering something.
"Yeah, right," Emma said. "I know you better than you know yourself Dean. Just tell me what's on your mind."
Dean paused, again looking away and at anything but his girlfriend.
"I'm just thinking… maybe Mrs Rourke was right," Dean said finally. "What is so important about me that I deserve to live over everyone else back there? Over Layla?"
"Please don't start this again, Dean," Emma said.
"But I'm right," Dean said. "What makes me so important?"
"What makes you so important is exactly what Roy said about you," Emma told him.
"Come on, Emma. You know that was just bull," Dean said.
"No, it wasn't," Emma said adamantly.
"How can you be so sure?" Dean asked her.
"Because he saw what I see everyday Dean," Emma told him. "What I see beneath what you show the world. Everything you do for these complete strangers, all the lives you've saved. Dean, you are the most amazing guy I have ever met."
Walking closer to Dean, Emma gently took hold of his hands. And as she looked up at him, Dean could see her eyes glistening slightly.
"I trust in your instincts," Emma continued. "I really do. But…. Dean, I'm not gonna be upset that the guy I love is still alive. I'm just not. You can't expect me to."
As she spoke, Dean looked deep into her eyes, seeing her like he always did. Emma truly meant every word she said. She believed in him, in what she saw inside him. And Dean loved the way she saw him, the way she had faith in him when he wasn't even sure he had faith in himself. That faith she had in him was almost overwhelming and he couldn't see where she had got it from, why she had. But he was glad she had it.
Pulling her closer to him, Dean wrapped her in a tight hug, Emma arms almost instinctively wrapping themselves round him as she hugged him back.
"I don't," Dean whispered softly to her.
ooooOOOOoooo
Back at the motel room, Sam was sat in front of his laptop when Dean and Emma walked back in.
"What'd you find out?" Dean asked.
"I'm sorry," Sam said, a sad look on his face.
"Sorry about what?" Dean asked.
"Marshall Hall died at 4:17," Sam told them.
"The exact time I was healed," Dean added.
"Yeah. So, I put together a list of everyone Roy's healed, six people over the past year, and I cross-checked them with the local obits," Sam said, handing Dean and Emma a pile of research. "Every time someone was healed, someone else died. And each time, the victim died of the same symptom LeGrange was healing at the time."
"Someone's healed of cancer, someone else dies of cancer?" Emma questioned.
"Somehow," Sam said. "LeGrange, he's trading a life for another."
"Wait, wait, wait. So, Marshall Hall died to save me?" Dean said.
"Dean, the guy probably would've died anyway," Sam said. "And someone else would've been healed."
"You never should've brought me here," Dean told them.
"Dean, we were just trying to save your life," Emma said.
"But some guy is dead now because of me," Dean argued.
"We didn't know," Emma argued back.
"The thing I don't understand is how is Roy doing it?" Sam said. "How's he trading a life for a life?"
"Oh, he's not doing it," Dean said. "Something else is doing it for him."
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.
"The old man I saw on stage," Dean said. "I didn't wanna believe it, but deep down I knew it."
"You knew what?" Emma asked. "What are you talking about?"
"There's only one thing that can give and take life like that," Dean said, to which Sam and Emma simply looked confused. "We're dealing with a reaper."
"You really think it's the Grim Reaper?" Emma said after letting the information sink in. "Like, angel of death, collect your soul, the whole deal?"
"No, no, no. Not the Reaper, a reaper," Dean said. "There's reaper lore in pretty much every culture on Earth. Go by a hundred different names. It's possible that there's more than one of 'em."
"But you said you saw a dude in a suit," Sam said.
"Well, what, do you think he should've been workin' the whole black robe thing? You said it yourself that the clock stopped, right?" Dean said, holding up on of the information sheet he had. "Reapers stop time. And you can only see 'em when they're comin' at you, which is why I could see it and you couldn't."
"Maybe," Sam said.
"There's nothing else it could be," Dean said. "The question is how's Roy controllin' the damn thing?"
"That cross," Sam said, more to himself than the others.
"What?" Dean asked.
"There was this cross. I noticed it in the church tent, I knew I had seen it before," Sam clarified while shuffling through the papers in front of him. Picking one from the pile, Sam handed it to Dean and Emma. On it was a drawing of a skeleton, a drown on it's head and the cross Sam had seen in the corner.
"A tarot?" Dean questioned.
"It makes sense," Sam said. "I mean, tarot dates back to the early Christian era, right? When some priests were still using magic? And a few of them veered into the dark stuff. Necromancy, and how to push death away, how to cause it."
"So, Roy is using black magic to bind the reaper?" Emma put before the group.
"If he is, he's riding the whirlwind," Sam said. "It's like putting a dog leash on a Great White."
"Ok, then we stop Roy," Dean said after a moment of thought.
"How?" Sam asked.
"You know how," Dean said simply.
"Wait, what the hell are you talking about, Dean?" Emma said, clocking on. "We can't kill Roy."
"The guy's playing God, he's deciding who lives and who dies," Dean argued back. "That's a monster in my book."
"No, we're not gonna kill a human being, Dean," Sam said, backing Emma's side. "We do that, we're no better than he is."
"Ok, so we can't kill Roy, we can't kill death. Any bright ideas, college boy?" Dean said sarcastically.
"Ok, uh, if Roy is using some kind of black spell on the reaper, we've gotta figure out what it is," Sam said, coming up with a 'bright idea'. "And how to break it."
ooooOOOOoooo
Trying to figure out how this was happening, Sam, Dean and Emma were back at Roy LeGrange's church the next day.
"If Roy is using a spell, there might be a spell book," Sam said as the group got out of the car.
"See if you guys can find it," Dean said, checking his watch. "Hurry up, too, the service starts in fifteen minutes. I'll try to stall Roy."
"Alright," Sam said, their path taking them past the protester they had seen there the other day.
"Roy LeGrange is a fraud," he continued to shout to anyone in the crowd that would listen. "He's no healer."
"Amen, brother," Dean said to him, him, Sam and Emma the only people paying much attention to this man.
"You keep up the good word," Emma added.
"Thank you," he said, watching them walk away, Sam and Emma in one direction while Dean headed towards the tent.
ooooOOOOoooo
Outside the LeGrange house, Sue Ann was with her husband, her and another man helping him down the porch steps. Once they were gone, Sam and Emma pulled out of their hiding place, sneaking round the front of the house and through a window.
Inside, the pair found themselves in the library, both searching through the books on the shelves.
"So what exactly are we looking for?" Emma asked Sam for clarification.
"I'm not sure," Sam said honestly. "A spell book clearly, but it could be a number of things."
"Right," Emma said, going back to the search.
Looking over the shelves, Sam noticed a thin layer of dust along the front of the books covering the wood. All but in one place where the wood could been seen through a small gap in the dust. This book had been pulled out recently.
Taking it from the shelf, Sam read the front cover. Encyclopaedia of Christian History. He began flipping through the pages as Emma moved to stand beside him. Looking over his shoulder, Emma noticed something else on the shelf that he had missed. In the space where the encyclopaedia had been was another, smaller book, tucked away and hidden. Pulling it out, Emma flipped through the pages of this book with Sam watching her. She stopped when she came to a picture of a reaper.
"I think it's safe to say this is what we were looking for," Emma said, flipping through the pagers again until Sam suddenly stopped her.
"Wait," he said, pointing to the picture on this page. "That's the cross."
Tucked away in the pages of this book were a number of newspaper clippings. Taking them out, Sam flipped through the subjects and headlines of some. The first was an article about an openly gay teacher who was sending a strong message of tolerance and acceptance to the nation's schools. The next one started with the headline: 'Local Abortion Rights Advocate Calls For End To Violence Against Woman'. The third clipping the two recognised, taking notice of. It was an article about Roy's very own protester, David Wright.
"And I think we found his next victim," Emma said, her and Sam leaving the house with the small book.
ooooOOOOoooo
Waiting and watching inside the tent, Dean attention was drawn to the cell phone in his pocket as it rang.
"What do you got?" Dean asked as he answered it.
"Roy's choosing victims he sees as immoral," Emma's voice spoke on the other end. "And we think we know who's next on his list. Remember that protestor?"
"The guy in the parking lot?" Dean said.
"Yeah. Yeah, we'll find him," Emma said. "But you can't let Roy heal anyone, alright?"
Both hung up, Dean going back to his waiting game while Sam and Emma searched the car park for David.
The waiting game paid off, somewhat, as Roy began his service.
"Layla. Layla Rourke," Roy called into the audience. "Come up here, child."
As the crowd clapped and cheered for Layla, she stood, hugging her mother tight.
"Baby, I love you," Mrs Rourke whispered into her daughter's ear.
"Oh, man," Dean groaned out. Why did it have to be her?
As Layla removed herself from her mother's arms, making her way up to the stage, Dean stood in her way.
"Layla, listen to me, you can't go up there," he told her.
"Why not?" Layla asked. "We've waited for months."
"You can't let Roy heal you," Dean told her.
"I don't understand," Lalyla said softly. "I mean, Roy healed you, didn't he? Why wouldn't I at least let him try?"
"Because if you do, something bad is gonna happen," Dean told her the half truth. "I can't explain, I just need you to believe me."
"Layla," Sue ann called to her, holding out her hand for Layla to join her on the stage.
"Please," Dean almost begged her as Lalyla looked back into her mother's eyes, the woman urging her to go forward.
"I'm sorry," Layla told Dean, brushing past him.
"Layla. Layla!" Dean called after her. but she didn't listen. She just moved to the stage, taking Sue Ann's hand and letting herself be led forward.
ooooOOOOoooo
Out in the parking lot, Sam and Emma were still looking for David with no luck.
"Help!" they suddenly heard his voice call out. Following the voice and the direction they believed it to be in, Sam and Emma continued to search for David who, unknown to them, had already been marked by the reaper.
ooooOOOOoooo
In the church, Roy had begun his service, raising his hands in the air.
"Pray with me, friends," he said to the crowd before turning to Layla. "I hope you're ready."
"I am," Layla said as the crowd raised their arms along with Roy. All but Dean, who stood still in the back, unsure of what he was supposed to do.
ooooOOOOoooo
In the parking lot, David was still calling out for help as the reaper was cornering him.
"Help! Help me, please!" he called out as Sam and Emma finally found him.
"Where is it?" Emma asked.
"It's right there!" David said, pointing to what he saw as the reaper, but Sam and Emma only saw a fresh air.
"Alright, come on!" Sam said, dragging David away with him and Emma.
ooooOOOOoooo
In the church, Roy was lowering his hand as always, ready to lay his healing touch on the waiting Layla.
"Fire! Hey, tent's on fire!" Dean's voice cut through the silence of the crowd, the words making everyone jump to their feet and scrambling to the exit. "Fire! Everybody, get out of here!"
"No! No, please! Please, don't stop!" Mrs Rourke called through the chaos. "Please! Reverend, please! Please! Please, don't stop! Please!"
Dean heard her words and wished to God he hadn't had to do that. If Roy had chosen anyone else today, he would have been fine. But not Layla. He had now condemned her to death.
Pushing his emotions aside as always, Dean pulled his phone from his pocket, dialling through to Emma as Roy called over the crowd.
"Friends, if you'd all just leave the tent in an orderly fashion, then we can figure out what's going on out there."
"I did it," Dean told Emma down the phone. "I stopped Roy."
"David, I think it's ok," Emma said to him. Breathing a sigh of relief, David nodded and turned his face away. But his relief was short lived as the reaper was now stood in front of him.
"No!" David called, scrambling back.
"Dean, it didn't work!" Emma told him. "The reaper's still comin'!"
Sam and Emma watched David, unable to do anything as they couldn't see the reaper that approached him. All they saw was David falls to his knees, his face been quickly drained of it's colour as the reaper placed his hand against his cheek.
"I'm tellin' you!" Emma called desperately down the phone. "I'm tellin' you, it must not have worked. Roy must not be controlling this thing!"
"Well, then who the hell is?" Dean said, his eyes scanning the church and finally falling on the culprit. Sue Ann stood in the corner with her back to him and muttering.
"Sue Ann," Dean breathed down the phone before hanging up, moving quickly to Sue Ann and spinning her to face him. Round her neck and clasped in her hand was necklace holding the cross from Sam had said was a large part of this.
Her muttering and casting interrupted, the Reaper backed away from David in the car park, his face quickly gaining it's colour back and gasping for air as his hand lost contact with his skin.
Inside the tent, Sue Ann quickly tucked the cross beneath her shirt.
"Help!" she called out. "Help me! Help!"
Hearing her cries, two sheriffs were immediately on the scene, dragging Dean away from Sue Ann and out of the tent with Sue Ann trailing behind them.
"I just don't understand. After everything we've done for you, after Roy healed you. We're very, very disappointed, Dean," Sue Ann said before turning to the sheriffs. "You can let him go, I'm not gonna press charges. The Lord will deal with him as he sees fit."
With that said, Sue Ann walked away, leaving Dean with the law.
"We catch you around here again, son, we'll put the fear of God in you, understand?" one of them said to Dean.
"Yes, sir. Fear of God. Got it," Dean said as the officers roughly let him go, walking away to reveal Layla now stood in front of him.
"Layla," Dean said almost desperately.
"Why would you do that, Dean?" she said to him. "When it could've been my only chance."
"He's not a healer," Dean said.
"He healed you," Layla countered.
"I know it doesn't seem fair. And I wish I could explain, but Roy is not the answer," Dean said softly. "I'm sorry."
"Goodbye, Dean," she replied simply. "I wish you luck. I really do."
"Same to you," Dean called after her retreating back. "You deserve it a lot more than me."
Walking back to the car to find Sam and Emma, Dean passed by Roy, Sue Ann and Mrs Rourke, overhearing their conversation.
"Private session tonight. No interruptions," Roy said. "I give you my word. I'll heal your daughter."
"Thank you, Reverend. God bless you," Mrs Rourke praised as Dean watched them carefully.
ooooOOOOoooo
Back at their motel room, the group was going over the separate information they had found.
"So Roy really believes?" Sam questioned to Dean.
"I don't think he has any idea what his wife's doing," Dean answered.
"Well, we found this hidden in their library," Emma said, showing Dean the small book she still had. "It's ancient. Written by a priest who went dark side. There's a binding spell in here for trapping a reaper."
"Must be a hell of a spell," Dean said, flipping through the pages.
"Yeah," Emma said. "You've got to build a black altar, with seriously dark stuff. Bones, human blood. To cross the line like that, that preacher's wife. Black magic, murder. Evil."
"Desperate," Dean corrected. "Her husband was dying, she'd have done anything to save him. She was using the binding spell to keep the reaper away from Roy."
"Cheating death. Literally," Sam said.
"Yeah, but Roy's alive, so why's she still using the spell?" Dean said.
"Right," Sam agreed. "To force the reaper to kill people she thinks are immoral."
"May God save us from half the people who think they're doing God's work," Dean recited.
"We've gotta break that binding spell, Dean," Sam said. flipping through the pages, Dean stopped on one showing the cross Sue Ann had been wearing round her neck.
"You know, Sue Ann had a Coptic cross like this," Dean pointed out. "And when she dropped it, the reaper backed off."
"So, you think we've gotta find the cross or destroy the altar?" Emma asked.
"Maybe both," Dean answered. "Whatever we do, we better do it soon. Roy's healing Layla tonight."
ooooOOOOoooo
Later that night, Sam, Dean and Emma pulled up outside the private session in Roy's church.
"That's Layla's car," Sam said, pointing to a car close by them. "She's already here."
"Yeah," Dean said, no emotion in his voice.
"Dean," Emma questioned.
"You know, if Roy would have picked Layla instead of me, she'd be healed right now," Dean said, finally getting out what he felt.
"Dean, don't," Emma said gently.
"And if she's not healed tonight, she's gonna die in a couple months," Dean continued.
"What's happening to her is horrible. But, what are you gonna do? Let somebody else die to save her? You said it yourself, Dean. You can't play God," Emma said, getting nothing from Dean. "I've said this once today, and I'm gonna say it again till you get it. I am not gonna be upset that you are alive Dean. And neither should you."
The response this time was a quick glance in the mirror, back at Emma, before Dean silently got out of the car and to the tent, Sam and Emma following.
"Gather round. Please, everyone, gather round. Come in closer. Come on up," Roy said as Layla walked up on to the stage.
"Where's Sue Ann?" Dean asked.
"House," Sam suggested.
Following Sam's intuition, he, Dean and Emma went to the house to find it dark and seemingly empty.
"Go find Sue Ann. I'll catch up," Dean said, looking round.
"What are you…?" Sam began, but didn't get an answer as Dean left their side to walk round the front of the house where the sheriffs from earlier today were.
"Hey," he called to them. "You gonna put that fear of God in me?"
Taking off round the side of the house, Dean was quickly persuade by the cops, leaving the way open for Sam and Emma to find a way into the house. And the easiest and only way inside they found was the cellar.
ooooOOOOoooo
At the parking lot outside the tent, the sheriffs were still looking round for Dean, who was now eluding them.
"You see him?" one asked.
"No," the other answered. Suddenly, the sound of a barking dog caught their attention, both turning to see a large dog barking up out of the window of a trailer.
"Psycho mutt," the first sheriff said, the pair walking away from the dog. If they had stopped to look, they would have seen that what the dog was barking at was actually Dean, who was hiding on top of the trailer.
ooooOOOOoooo
In the cellar of the LeGrange house, Sam and Emma had the luck to come across exactly what they were looking for. Sue Ann's altar complete with crosses, blood bones, candles… and a picture of Dean from the security camera with a blood X across his face. The next victim?
"I gave him life, and I can take it away," Sue Ann's voice said from behind them. Sam and Emma turned to see her stood in the doorway above them. Sam didn't say a word, he just overturned the altar, tipping the contents and destroying it.
Sue Ann backed up, locking the cellar door with them inside and sliding a metal bar in the handles.
"Can't you see?" Sue Ann continued through the door. "The Lord chose me to reward the just and punish the wicked. And your brother is wicked. And he deserves to die just as Layla deserves to live. It's God's will."
Sam and Emma simply chose to ignore her, trying the window as their exit.
"Goodbye," Sue Ann called as Sam used another bar from the floor to pry the window open.
ooooOOOOoooo
At the church, Roy stood over Layla, Mrs Rourke at his side, and began to try to heal her.
"Mrs. Rourke, pray with me. Pray with me, friends," Roy said.
Out in the parking lot, the spell's magic began it's work. While Sue Ann stood outside the tent, looking in and muttering her spell, Dean watched with something between slight fear and acceptance as the reaper walked towards him, placing his hand on the side of Dean's face, the colour draining from his features as it had with David.
With each move that Roy and Layla made inside the tent, Dean and the reaper copied. As Roy guided Layla gently to her knees, Dean fell almost aggressively to his.
As Sue Ann stood muttering behind the tent, she didn't notice Sam and Emma walking up behind her, Emma turning her forcefully ripping the cross from her neck, shattering it on the floor.
Once the cross shattered, the spell was broken, the reaper taking his hand from Dean's face, allowing the colour to return to his features and the air to rush back into his lung with a large gasp. At the same time, inside the tent, Roy took his hand from Layla, his healing powers gone.
"I don't understand," Roy said.
"I don't feel different. Reverend?" Layla muttered softly.
"Sue Ann?" Roy called for his wife, getting no response from anything.
Outside the tent, his wife whimpered over her broken cross.
"My God! What have you done?!" Sue Ann cried.
"He's not your God," Emma replied almost coldly. This woman did, after all, just try to kill her boyfriend after giving him back to her.
Sue Ann turned abruptly to come face to face with the grinning face of the reaper she had only moment ago been in control of.
She tried to back away, scramble towards Sam and Emma who simply stood watching, but the reaper was faster. He moved to her, placing his hand on her cheek and guiding her to the ground as the colour drained from her face and the air left her lungs. Still, Sam and Emma watched, either unable of unwilling to do anything as she collapsed to the floor, twitching in pain before her hold on life gave in.
Leaving her lying where she was and getting out of there fast as they could, Sam and Emma found Dean already stood by the car, pretty much leaning against it after almost dying for a second time.
"You ok?" Emma asked him.
"A little bit weak," Dean answered.
"Yeah. Alright, come on, we should get going," Sam, the three getting in the car and leaving.
ooooOOOOoooo
Next morning, with this case finally over, Dean and Emma were in the motel packing to leave, Sam already packed and checking them out. While Emma moved round the room, gathering her stuff, she couldn't help but notice Dean from the corner of her eyes, sat on the edge of the bed lost in thought. And by the look on his face, they weren't good thoughts.
"What is it?" Emma asked him.
"Nothing," Dean replied.
"What is it?" Emma asked again persistently, knowing just when he was lying to her.
"We did the right thing here, didn't we?" Dean said, and Emma knew without a doubt exactly what, or who, he was talking about.
"Of course we did," Emma answered.
"Didn't feel like it," Dean said, their conversation halted by a knock at the door.
"I got it," Emma said with a sigh and a strained smile. There was only one person she expected who would knock.
"Hey, Layla," she said to their visitor as she opened the door. "Come on in."
"Hey," Layla said slightly nervously as she stepped inside.
"Hey," Dean said, a curious tone in his voice. "How'd you know we were here?"
"Um, Emma called. She said you wanted to say goodbye," Layla answered. Dean turned to Emma, shocked as to why she would do something like that.
"I'm gonna go find Sam," Emma said, giving a weak smile to Dean as she left.
"So, um, where are you going?" Layla asked nervously once they were alone.
"Don't know yet. Our work kind of takes us all over," Dean said.
"You know, I went back to see Roy," Layla told him.
"What happened?" Dean asked, playing dumb.
"Nothing," Layla said, taking a seat ion the edge of one of the beds. "I mean, he laid his hand on my forehead, but nothing happened."
"I'm sorry," Dean said honestly. "I'm sorry it didn't work."
"And Sue Ann," Layla added. "She's dead, you know? Stroke."
"Yeah, I heard. I mean, Roy's a good man. He doesn't deserve what's happened," Dean said. And that was the truth. Roy hadn't been a bad mad, but quite the opposite. He was just a victim of circumstance… and a psychotic wife! "It must be rough. To believe in something so much, and have it disappoint you like that."
"You wanna hear something weird," Layla said gently. "I'm ok. Really. I guess, if you're gonna have faith, you can't just have it when the miracles happen. You have to have it when they don't."
"So, what now?" Dean asked her.
"God works in mysterious ways," Layla said with a shrug, gently touching his cheek. "Goodbye, Dean."
Lalyla stood, heading towards the door.
"Hey," Dean said, making her turn to him at the door. "Uh, you know, I'm not much of the prayin' type. But I'm gonna pray for you."
"Well," Layla said, a soft smile on her lips and tears in her eyes. "There's a miracle right there."
Dean didn't stop her this time as Layla left the room. Outside, she turned left, walking away from Dean's room. If she had turned right, she would have come into contact with Emma, stood hidden away down the side of the building, tears streaming steadily down her own face.
Emma knew exactly where Sam was, and he would be back when he was ready. So instead, she had stood outside the door, listening to the voices inside. And with each word she wished she hadn't. Wished she hadn't told Layla to come, and wished she wasn't listening in.
She hated how much of an effect women who spent a matter of days with Dean had on him. They had him opening up about simple things, whereas she who had known him most of her life, couldn't get him to tell her anything about anything.
The minute she had heard Layla's footsteps heading closer to the door, she had run. Hidden behind the building. She didn't want Dean to see her like this, angry tears spilling from her eyes. But, the thing was, she wasn't sure who she was really angry with. Dean, for flirting and hanging on to random women while all the while keeping her at a distance. Or herself, for letting him do that to her.
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
AN: Ok, there's Chapter 12. What do you guys think? As always, I want your opinion, as honest and brutal as they may be. Hopefully, the next chapter should be up soon because 'Route 666' is one I just can't wait to write.
