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CHAPTER TWELVE

Hayley handed the girl at the register a pack of tarot cards.

"This all for you?"

"Yes, thanks," Hayley answered.

Sam stood next to the books and thumbed through one. He took every opportunity he had to try to figure out how to get Dean out of the deal with the crossroad's demon. So far, no luck. Still, he found some interesting details that could possibly turn into a lead. He wasn't going to give up on Dean, just like Dean had never given up on him.

"I could read your fortune," Hayley offered as she stood next to Sam, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Sam closed the book and smiled. "Maybe later." He took out his phone and was surprised that the two of them had been in the occult shop for over an hour.

"Something wrong?" Hayley asked as they walked outside.

"No. Uh, I just thought I would have heard from Dean by now."

Hayley was immediately alarmed, but she made sure that her voice didn't show it. "Do you think they're in trouble?"

Sam shook his head. "Nah. Dean can take care of himself and Lana."

Hayley nodded. She knew that Lana could take care of herself and Dean too.

As they walked past a park, Hayley slowed down to admire the dying plants.

"Want to go in?" Sam asked.

Hayley smiled. "Yeah. If that's okay."

"Sure."

Hayley grabbed Sam's hand and pulled him through the gates of the park. For the time of the year the park, though filled with dying plants, had several bushes and rows of flowers like the Jacqueline Postill. This particular flower looked beautiful against the dying grass and was still in full bloom. In a land of what looked to be nothing but death, there was still life pushing through.

Sam didn't miss the symbolism as he watched Hayley smell the Daphne type flower, gently touching the white and light purple petals with the tip of her nose.

"Oh, Sam, look!" Hayley said happily as she walked towards a patch of small yellow flowers. "Winter jasmine," she said softly. "One of my mother's favorites."

Hayley knelt down in front of the flowers and simply looked at them. She tried to remember what her mother looked like, hoping that the flowers before her would somehow remind her. Instead, she pictured a photo that Lana had given her of her mother when she was in her early twenties.

Sam knew what it was like to lose your mother too soon. He was in the same position as Hayley was and felt bad for the girl before feeling bad for himself.

The two sat down on the first bench that they had come across. "My mom loved being outside," Hayley said. "We even had a garden." She took out her tarot cards. "It's not like I remember the garden… or her, but Lana says that it was beautiful."

"I'm sure it was."

"You don't remember your mom either, do you?"

Sam shook his head as he looked out to the trees. The brown leaves had already fallen onto the ground and were decomposing. It would only take the most gentle of touches for them to crumble right in your hand. That's how Sam felt some days. He was only surviving because of Dean and if Dean was taken away from him, he would turn to ash where he stood.

"I'm sorry about your mom… and about Jess."

Sam's head snapped in Hayley's direction. "How did you know about Jess?" Colored him intrigued.

Hayley wondered if she should even tell Sam, but keeping secrets from people she trusted wasn't her style, that was how Lana dealt with things. "I dreamt about her last night." Hayley paused to read Sam's expression, but like Dean, he was almost impossible to read when he wanted to be. "She's happy where she is."

"Did she tell you that?" It took Sam all he had to keep his voice from cracking. He could feel a burn in the back of his throat at just the mention of her name and with this young girl telling him this he wasn't sure what his reaction may be.

Hayley nodded.

"What else did she tell you?"

"That she's not angry with you," she said softly. "She doesn't blame you… and she doesn't want you to blame yourself."

Sam cleared his throat, fighting back tears. He tried not to think of Jess and hearing her name felt like a hundred knives stabbing into him. He didn't want that; he wanted to think of her and smile because of all the good times that they shared together.

"I dreamt of her dying…" Sam whispered. He felt guilty for her death and that was something that he would never be able to forgive himself for. He couldn't help but to think of the connection Jess shared with Dean. Dean was going to die and it would have known but couldn't stop it.

"He still would have gotten to her, Sam," Hayley said softly. "There was nothing that you could have done." When Jess came to Lana in a dream, it wasn't by accident. Hayley had done a spell to talk to her mother, like she had tried and failed so many times before. Instead of her mother coming through in a dream, Jess did. Jess was beautiful and spoke softy; Hayley could see why Sam loved her. What Hayley didn't tell Sam was that even though Jess was happy, she mourned the life that she and Sam could have shared. Hayley promised herself that she would tell Sam that but not today. Hayley could tell that Sam was near his breaking point and something like this could send him over the edge. She would stick to the warm and fuzzies for now.

Sam nodded. After a few minutes passed with both of them remaining silent, Sam looked at Hayley. "I'm sorry about your mom, too."

Hayley's face softened and she even smiled a little. "I can't wait to get to know her in the next life."

Sam was going to press that to just understand what she meant by that when his phone rang. "Finally," he said as Dean's name appeared on the screen. Sam stood up. "I'll be right back."
"Okay," Hayley said as she scattered her tarot cards in the traditional Celtic cross spread. One by one, she turned the cards over, shaking her head with every mental interpretation. She covered her mouth with her hand. Her eyes widened as she fought back every urge to scream.

"What?" Sam said in a low voice into his phone. Sam turned his back from Hayley and bent over slightly with his hand pressed against a tree. Dean's words echoed in his ears. "Are you sure?"

Hayley took the phone away from him. "A man?" She said quickly to Dean. "A man killed her?"

Dean used his free hand to run across his mouth before answering. "Yeah."

"Don't do anything."

"Hayley…"
"Don't do anything," she repeated.

"Okay," he replied, his tone defeated.

Dean was leaning against the barn when Hayley and Sam pulled down the driveway. Hayley stepped out of Lana's truck before Sam could put the vehicle into park.

Dean greeted her head on, keeping her from going inside. "I'm sorry."

"I need to be with her."

Dean gently grabbed Hayley's wrist. "I don't think that will do any good, kid."

Hayley remained speechless as she pulled her hand away from Dean. She turned around to look at Sam before walking around Dean.

"Hayley," Sam called out as he stood next to Dean.

Hayley didn't respond and instead, walked through the barn doors.

"Dean, what happened?" Sam asked.

Dean looked down at his hands that were covered with Lana's blood. "Hunters… Ted and Allen. And a couple of their friends."

"Hunters? Why?"

"They're after Hayley and they thought that Lana was…" Dean's voice cracked and he stopped talking. He looked down at the dirt shaking his head. "She trusted me to help them,"

Sam put one of his hands on Dean's shoulder.

"Sam! Dean!" Hayley called out.

The brothers rushed into the barn and what they saw next left them both stunned.

Hayley was kneeling down beside Lana, but instead of Lana's lifeless body, the Winchesters saw a very much living girl. Lana was sitting up, her face pale and hands shaking. Although her shirt was still staid with blood it appeared that her bullet wounds had healed.

Dean and Sam went from dumbfounded to alert in half a second. They knew that people didn't just come back to life. There was something supernatural at work here and that usually meant that Lana was some form of the undead.

"Hayley get away from her," Sam ordered.

"No, Sam, it's okay," Hayley assured. "Show them."
Lana held out her right hand to bring attention to ring. The dark red stone was shining brightly, fading with every passing second.

"The stone is linked to Lana," Hayley began to explain. "As long as Lana is killed by a human, the ring can bring her back to life." She held up her hand to show the brothers that she too had one. "Mine works the same way, except if I'm killed by something supernatural, not human, then it'll bring me back."

Lana adjusted herself as she put her hand back into her lap. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you. I didn't know for sure if it would actually work; I've never died before." She looked at Hayley. "Neither one of us had."

Hayley hugged her sister's neck. "I knew you'd be okay."

Lana smiled and hugged Hayley back.

Dean squatted down next to Lana, as if to inspect her. "Sam, get some holy water, will you?"

Lana let go of Hayley and looked at Dean.

"I got to be sure."

"I understand." She looked at Hayley. "Will you go help Sam?"

She nodded and followed Sam outside.

Lana ran the back of her left hand down Dean's face.

Dean took her hand and held it in his own. "You should have told me."

"I know," she said.

"I need you to trust me but I also gotta' trust you." His face had softened and he wasn't even sure if he cared if he trusted her in that moment; he was simply relieved to have her alive.

"I know."

"This isn't going to work unless we both trust each other." He paused. "We're going to talk about this later, in depth. You can't leave anything out this time." When she didn't respond, he felt like he needed to add, "Lana, you got that?"

She nodded. Biting her lower lip, she looked up at him. "I do trust you, you know. I was going to die and leave you to look after Hayley. I wouldn't leave her with anyone less. And I am sorry for not telling you. My grandmother gave us these rings and honestly, I wasn't sure if she was just full of it. She lets her witchy ways get to her sometimes." She rubbed her chest with her free hand. "I feel like I'm going to be pretty sore tomorrow, though."

"Yeah, gunshot wounds can do that to a person." He stood up. "Lets get you back to the motel."

She nodded and accepted Dean's hands. He pulled her into his chest.

"You good to walk?"

With her hands planted firmly on his chest, she looked up at him. "I think so."

"Good."

Lana made a couple steps forward but turned around to face Dean when she noticed that he wasn't right behind her. "You coming?"

"Just let me say one thing, princess."

A smug smile spread across her face. "Yeah?"

"You don't go throwing yourself into trouble like that. I don't care if you're taking one for the team or not. Sam and I agreed to help protect Hayley, but we also look after each other. Now, you're part of that. I don't want you giving up. You hear me?"

"I hear you, Winchester."

Dean stepped next to her. "And for the record, I'm glad you're not dead."

She kissed him on his cheek. "I thought that's how you'd feel." She took a step then held her hand out.

Dean took her hand in his, not knowing where it would lead, but knowing that if he only had months left to live he would spend it with people that made him happy. And this Lana girl, well, she did just that.