Isabel and Paul left for Jamaica the following day as scheduled. They had only been able to get a couple of hours of sleep after leaving the hospital, and barely a few more to pack their bags and leave for the airport. Isabel left Missouri's hospital discharge in the capable hands of Sam as well as the job of house-sitting. Dean's sole task for the time she was away was to tell Sam about their conversation in Missouri's hospital room, regardless of his reluctance. Missouri thankfully took Isabel's side.

"She's right, Dean" Missouri said as Dean drove her back to her house the day after the wedding "You have to tell him"

"I know" Dean said tiredly "it's just that, with everything that's happened…with our dad…things are hard enough already"

"Secrets will only make them harder"

Back at the house with Sam, Dean thought about how to tell his brother the truth. It had been strained between them after the wedding, but to Dean's relief, Sam was rationally accepting and took Dean's confession with a grain of salt. Dean made it very clear to his brother that he didn't believe that Sam could be turned evil or made to hurt anyone, but pointed out that that wouldn't keep the demon from trying.

Sam was suddenly afraid; afraid of himself, afraid of what he could be turned into or what he may be made to do, and afraid that his family would now see him differently. Dean saw it on his face.

"Listen to me, Sam" Dean said fervently as they sat in the kitchen after dinner "I don't believe for a second what that demon said about you ever being evil. Not for a second, you hear me?"

Sam nodded "What else did dad say?"

Dean faltered and took a swig from his beer "That's it"

After a moment of quiet contemplation Sam finally broke the silence, with words that Dean never wanted to hear again. Not from his father, and certainly not from his brother.

"Listen Dean. If that ever happens, if I ever…you know" He didn't finish his sentence "You'll have to stop me"

"Don't, Sam! No!" Dean cut in alarmed. He stood up abruptly from his seat and left the kitchen "Not you too!"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked following him into the lounge room.

"Dad! Right before he died" Dean whirled in his spot to face Sam "He said if it ever came to it, I would have to stop you. Kill you!"

"He did?" Sam asked quietly. It now made sense why dean had needed to disappear after their father's death. Imagine your own father telling you one day you might have to kill your brother. Your own flesh and blood.

"Those were his last words to me, Sam!" Dean's tone was laced with bitterness.

"He's right, Dean"

"That's a lot of weight on my shoulders. First he tells me I might have to kill you, then I find out I was supposed to die. He gave his life for mine" He started pacing "It's too much, Sam, it's too much!"

"It's not your fault he's gone"

"I know that! But he's still gone, Sam, and I don't know what to do!" Dean screamed desperately "All I know is that I have to do everything I can to stop this, and that's what I did last night"

"But you need to tell me these things, Dean" Sam pleaded "I can't lose anyone else. Not you, not Isabel"

"You think I can?" Dean asked "I still can't believe dad's gone"

"OK, let's think this through" Sam said calmly, trying to get back to the business, to the issue at hand "Now that we know what the demon wants, how do we stop it?"

"We need to find a way to kill this thing, Sam"

"No. We need to take one thing at a time, Dean" said Sam "The first thing we need to do, together, is stop this demon from coming back"

Two weeks later, Dean received a call from Ash at the Roadhouse. It was a Sunday afternoon and Missouri had stopped by to make sure the house was still in one piece. She was pleasantly surprised that even though two single boys had been living in it for two weeks, it hadn't turned into a complete bachelor pad or a dump. She tidied up a little, knowing Isabel and Paul would be back in couple of days, and then Dean drove her home.

His cell rang as he pulled up to her driveway and Missouri watched him closely as he spoke to Ash. She didn't know what was being said, but she could sense his struggle with the news. He hung up and looked sideways at her on the passenger seat.

"I need to talk to Sam" He said.

She nodded in understanding and got out of the car; a look of concern on her face as she watched him drive off.

He got back to the house and found Sam in the lounge room, on his laptop. He looked up from the computer as Dean walked in through the door.

"I haven't been able to find much" He said "Haunting in Georgia and what might be the work of a werewolf in North Carolina"

"Forget that" Dean said dismissively "I just spoke to Ash"

"Any news?" Sam asked hopefully.

"I have good news and bad news"

Of course, Sam thought wryly "Good news first"

"There's a way to stop the demon from coming back. Ever"

"That's great!" Sam said excited, but immediately calmed himself down as he saw Dean's face. If it was that simple, he wouldn't have that look on his face "Wait, what's the bad news?"

"It's not an option" Said Dean with a shake of his head.

"Why not?" Sam flipped his laptop shut.

Dean sat down on the couch and exhaled loudly. His shoulders slumped, he looked tired, sad, and defeated.

"The exorcism we performed on Isabel…it bound the demon to her" Dean explained regretfully "For life"

"What does that mean?" Sam asked, not fully understanding.

"It's bound to her for the rest of her life. It can only come back through her" Dean continued "The only way to stop it from coming back is if…"

Sam closed his eyes in horrible realization "She dies"

"Without her alive, he has no way back" Dean said "It's the only way to stop it"

"You're not suggesting we…" Sam tried to ask in dismay.

"Of course I'm not!" Dean said, alarmed that Sam would think that the thought had even crossed his mind "I said it wasn't an option"

"Do we tell her?"

"I don't know" Dean said "But something tells me that if we don't, it'll come back to bite us in the ass later. Keeping secrets hasn't worked well for us in the past"

"She should know. We can help her…maybe prevent it" Sam said unsurely "How much time do we have?"

"I don't know" Dean said "It'll probably wait until he's stronger…until she's weak. Maybe if she's sick, vulnerable…"

"Or angry, or sad, or scared" Sam listed off possible scenarios "There's no way of knowing"

"It should have been me" Dean said leaning forwards to rest his elbows on his knees. He buried his face in his hands "I really screwed up, Sam. I'm sorry"

Sam took a seat next to his brother "You know, sometimes I think tracking her down and showing up at her house two years ago was the worst thing we could have done for her"

"You had that dream for a reason, Sam" Dean said.

He thought of Sam's dream about their cousin being in danger. The strange thing was that, if they hadn't gone to her, she would have never gotten hurt. She would still be living in Belleville, Illinois, unaware of what her cousins were getting themselves into. Had John being right, abandoning her for her own good? Or were they right, reuniting with their cousin after so many years? Isabel always said that she didn't regret a single thing of how everything had turned out so far. She never regretted the day they walked back into her life. But Sam and Dean sometimes felt different. Times like this.

"We've done nothing but bring her problem after problem" Sam said sadly "Dad was right, we dragged her into this"

"Maybe it was supposed to be this way, Sam"

"You believe in fate now?"

"No, but I'm starting to believe that certain things happen for a reason"

At the end of the day, Dean really did believe Sam had that dream about Isabel for a reason. They were supposed to find their cousin. Maybe they didn't drag her into this, maybe she was always meant to be a part of this. That might have been why their dad refused to take her in when her parents died. It might have been why he'd convinced her to stay in Kansas with Missouri instead of going along with him and Sam. Maybe he'd known all along and pushing her away was his way of preventing it. His only way of protecting her. Maybe John had been right all this time.

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AN: Thank you all for the reviews. 5 more chapters! Toodles, AT.