For my reviewers: Dean's Racy Ally, chase83, Alyssa43, hikachan3, bonniebeast and Jessfairy88

Twelve days. For twelve days, Adiana watched as Sam, Dean and Bobby ran themselves into the ground trying to figure out what had happened to her. She wished that she could have taken control of her body even for a minute to tell them to take a break. Eventually, she bugged Leraie enough about it that the demon actually told them, but it did absolutely no good. They consumed old texts, called hunters day and night, even summoned up a crossroads demon to extract information. Nothing cropped up that matched Adiana's case, and things slowly were getting worse.

On the day after the exorcism, it had been agreed that Leraie would be allowed to take a shower, much to Adiana's relief, partly to wash off all the blood and dirt that could infect her wounds and partly to make sure there wasn't a binding link etched somewhere on her body. Under Dean's watchful eyes, Leraie washed away all the blood and oil in her hair and on her skin. And that was when Adiana and Leraie both noticed it. The veins on her chest, creeping up towards her neck and down her stomach had turned black. At the center over her heart, the skin had turned the light pinkish color of burning flesh. She pressed her hand to it. The skin was hot. Leraie stumbled out of the shower, rubbing the steam from the mirror to get a better look. Dean had come up behind her, brushing aside strands of wet hair, studying the back of her neck with a concerned expression. She twisted around. Her veins stood out from mid-chest all along her spinal column, disappearing up her neck into her hair. And day after day, the black continued to spread out, splintering her skin like ice.

The chest wound started to heal. The bruises began to yellow and fade. Her fractured hand was easier to move. However, the pain did not go away. Everything ached, and the pain intensified and then faded at seemingly random intervals. Adiana and Leraie would experience that same sensation they had felt during the exorcism. It was the feeling that something was pushing from beneath the skin, forcing its way out and making their thoughts foggy. Whatever was going on, it was making Adiana and Leraie both very tired. They would doze off for a few hours at a time, a new experience for Leraie, and not one that she particularly enjoyed. It was a dreamless sleep that simply cut out hours that would have been spent watching the men run in and out of the house, after which they would inevitably wake up still feeling exhausted. Even when they were released from the chair, Leraie would sit on the floor, only pacing at short intervals when her legs fell asleep.

Currently, Leraie was curled up on the floor, resting against a pillow. After one of her naps, she had woken up with it tucked under her head and a worn comforter thrown over her. No one had owned up to giving them to her, but what mattered was that it deadened some of the discomfort that came from sleeping on a wooden floor. Of course a bed would have been better, but that would have been pushing it. She had wrapped herself up in the comforter, keeping the edges pulled tight in her good hand.

"It wouldn't kill them to turn up the heat a little."

"It's not cold," Adiana responded with a sigh. "We have a fever, remember?" Leraie huffed and pulled the blanket even tighter. She looked over at Sam. After five days of only sleeping if their bodies forced a shut down, Bobby insisted that the boys get some serious rest. After a short argument, they agreed with the condition that they would watch Leraie in shifts. Still, they were not getting enough hours in, and Sam had fallen asleep under the window with a book open in his lap.

"Sam would do it."

"Let him sleep. He needs it."

"Fine." Leraie didn't have the energy to fight, and Adiana was right. He did need the sleep. Besides, out of the three men Leraie liked Sam best. He was the only one who would actually talk to her. It must have been the demon connection in his blood. Azazel had been right. Even so, she wished that she hadn't pledged her allegiance to him because now things had gone wrong beyond repair. And she was tired of dealing with this mess. It was about time to let Adiana know. "Adiana, we need to talk."

"Okay. Shoot."

"I think I'm making you sick."

"Hallelujah. She's finally catching on."

"I'm serious." Adiana shifted in her mind, brushing up against Leraie's consciousness. There was a burning sensation, and she backed off. Still, she couldn't sense any deception.

"What do you mean?"

"I told you that your body was resisting me. Usually being inside a human, it's…" Leraie was silent as she sought a way to explain a concept that was beyond human understanding. "Well… you've played video games?"

"Yeah. Wait, have you played video games?"

"I was in a game designer for a while," Leraie murmured absently, poking around through Adiana's memories.

"I wish you'd stop doing that." Adiana watched as Leraie found a particular memory and examined it for several minutes.

"What's this called?"

"It's the Sims."

"All right, it's like playing the Sims."

"Um… that's…what?"

"You can control them; make them do what you want with relatively little resistance. Only occasionally will the body be able to fight your command. And it's all as easy as pressing a button on your controller."

"Okay." That sort of made sense… in a really weird way. "So what's the problem?"

"I'm trying to play your Playstation game on an Xbox. Sometimes the game just doesn't work, but sometimes the consol will ruin the disk."

"But why are we two different systems?"

"My best guess? You're from a parallel universe, so your body has a slightly different make-up. I can't explain exactly what it is, but there's something about you that feels strange. Not like other humans. Hell does expand from this universe into the others but my original form must be from this one. It's been way too long for me to remember."

"But then something like this must have happened before, if a demon came up in this universe that was originally a human in another universe. I can't be the only one."

"And yet, no one seems to have heard of this before. What does that tell you?"

Adiana was quiet for a very long time. Leraie's theory was just that. A theory. There was no proof that it was true… except that they were the proof. The smoke swirling in her eyes, there but not part of her. The veins filled with black blood. The heat blazing up from beneath, burning her skin. The exhaustion. The pain. Even though she'd been trying as much as she could to ignore it, Adiana knew that if her body kept declining at the rate it was going, then she wouldn't last much longer.

"So what you're basically saying is that you're a virus my body can't fight off, so I'm going to – to die."

"I'm not a virus, but yes that's the general gist of it."

"How much time, do you think?"

"At this rate? Hmmm…" Leraie furrowed her brow thoughtfully. "A few weeks if you're lucky. I think that little stunt Dean pulled cost us more time."

"Us? So you too, then?"

"Pretty sure. All my powers have been zapped and this pain is bothering me way more than it should. Plus, I feel really thin and all… spread out. It's kind of hard to explain but if you go, I don't think I can hold this body together."

"But if we have a couple weeks, then there's still time. Bobby's got a ton of connections and more books than a library. Someone was bound to have recorded something that can help."

"You really believe that?"

"I believe that there's at least a chance. And if anyone is going to save me, it'll be Sam and Dean. They wouldn't give up on me."

"No, they won't. So maybe it's time that you give up on yourself."

"What?"

"You care about them?"

"Of course."

"Really? Then why are you willing to let them watch you die?" Adiana was speechless, so Leraie plowed forward. "For weeks they'll have to watch, knowing you're trapped inside a dying body and unable to do anything about it. You can already see it. Sam looks at you like you're a dying kitten he doesn't know how to save and Dean, well he won't even look at you. Even Bobby's just putting on a brave face for the Winchesters. And you want to torture them like this for weeks, making them feel guiltier as they practically kill themselves trying to save you? Maybe I'm not the expert on this, but that doesn't seem much like caring to me."

Adiana had compressed herself in the back of mind, feeling close to tears but unable to cry. No, she didn't want to cause that much pain. She hated even seeing Sam and Dean the way they were now. She didn't deserve them, it was true. She's always known that. And they didn't deserve to feel guilty about something they had no control over. But how could she just admit defeat when she knew that her death would tear them up? Yet there was a part of her that wondered if it would be that bad. They'd dealt with harder losses before.

"So, what are you suggesting then?"

"That we cut this short. Make it easier on everyone. Look, the Winchesters will start getting over your death faster, and they can't dedicate the rest of their lives to exacting revenge, because I'll be gone. You can head on off to Heaven. And I don't have to worry about ending up back in Hell, where my boss would make the rest of my existence extremely unpleasant for me."

"No. Listen, they'll still blame themselves for not watching you. And maybe if we both get weak enough, I'll actually be able to talk. I think it might be better if I got to speak to them one last time. Just to let them know that I'll be okay. It's better that way. At least they have each other."

"That sounds nice and all but I really wasn't asking your permission. I've thought it over, and I'm taking my chances. I just figured it would make this whole thing a lot easier if you were on board."

"Leraie, wait-"

"Bye, Adiana. It's been… interesting." Leraie loosened her hold on the comforter and turned away from Sam so that she was facing the desk. She slipped her hands out where she could see them. Adiana panicked and began to throw herself repeatedly against the burning wall between their two consciousnesses. She willed her limbs to move, all the while calling Sam's name, screaming it so that it echoed in her head. But no matter how hard she pushed, she didn't have enough strength.

Leraie undid the bandages wrapped tightly around her broken wrist. She rested the hot skin between her teeth, tightening her jaw. A deep breath, and then Leraie bit down hard while jerking her head to the left. The skin tore away in her mouth, black blood spurting up. She spat the mouthful of skin and nerves onto the floor and then tore out another chunk of flesh. Blood and sinew filled her mouth, faintly tasting of burnt meat.

Adiana stopped pounding on the wall. God, how could Leraie stand it? She wanted to gag on the mouthful of her own flesh. But she didn't have much time. Calm down, and look for a crack or some weakness in the wall. She began to feel more carefully.

Leraie shoved the one wounded wrist back under the comforter and focused attention on her other hand. She tore into that one as well, and blood welled up. It wasn't deep enough. She needed to hit the artery. She moved a little higher along the arm, making sure bone was touching the top of her teeth before biting off a mouthful of muscle and skin. Black sprayed over her face. Perfect. She slipped the hand under the comforter, already feeling dizzy and dedicated her remaining strength to holding up the wall that would keep Adiana out.

3:11. Dean stared at the alarm clock next to his bed. Nineteen minutes until shift change. He could have closed his eyes and tried to get more sleep. Hell, that's probably what he should have done, but now that he was awake, he'd feel guilty taking any more time. Just over three hours was enough to keep him going for a while. Sammy could catch the extra shut-eye. Dean sat up and stretched, yawning wide. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, jamming his feet into boots. He'd been going to bed dressed just in case he needed be ready in a hurry, but the boots would have been overkill, not to mention damned uncomfortable. As quietly as he could on the old floorboards, he slipped out of the guest bedroom and down the stairs.

First thing he noticed in the study was Sam passed out on the window seat. He quickly glanced at the demon, but she was unmoving under the Devil's Trap. Well, no harm, no foul. Besides, neither of them had been getting enough sleep. He'd just let his brother lay where he was. The floor squeaked as Dean slipped across the room and pulled the book from Sam's limp hands. Demons and the Eighteenth Century. Yikes. No wonder Sam couldn't stay awake. But Dean would pick up where Sam had left off anyway, on the off chance there was something in the book that could explain what the hell was happening to Adiana.

The only place left to sit was the desk chair, so Dean slumped down into that and kicked his feet up onto the desk. The demon still hadn't moved or spoken a word, meaning she was probably asleep too. He hadn't believed she'd been out the first time it had happened. Slumped over in the chair, they'd all thought the worst, but their yelling had made her open her eyes. As it kept happening though, his confidence was shaken. What was the point in pretending to be asleep? It wasn't like they were going to leave her unsupervised because her eyes were closed. None of it made any sense, and the fact that the demon maintained that she had no idea what was going on was making him nervous.

Dean looked over the desk at the demon wrapped up in an old blanket that Sam had gotten out of a closet after watching her shiver for a few hours. Blonde hair covered her face, and for that he was grateful. He hated having to see the dark black veins that crept over Adiana's skin, reminding him that no matter how peaceful she looked, there was a demon lurking just beneath the surface. The moonlight only touched her back. The rest of her body was thrown into dark shadow that was… shining? He set down the book and stood up. A patch of the blanket near her stomach glistened as he stepped around the desk and crouched down. He touched the blanket. It was wet. He grabbed the demon's shoulder, rolling her on her back and revealing her face. Her lips were smeared with black, flecks of it spotting her cheeks and drying on her chin along with small drops of red. Apprehension settled like a rock in his chest as he pulled the blanket open. More black stained her arms and her wrists were a torn-up mess. Much of the blood had clotted, but some still leaked out onto the blanket. For a second, Dean was frozen in shock. Bit her wrists open. A demon suicide. No. Not suicide, murder.

"Sam!" A snorting sound came from behind him as Sam woke up. Dean pressed his fingers to Adiana's neck. Her pulse was faint, but still beating. "Bobby!"

"What-" Sam took one look at Adiana and got to his feet. "Jesus Christ."

"Get bandages." Dean wrapped the edges of the blanket around her wrists and pressed them against the ground.

"I didn't-"

"Just go!" Sam stumbled out of the room to get the medical supplies. From above, Dean heard the sound of footsteps as Bobby got up. "Adiana, you gotta stay with me. You gotta stay with me." If the demon had been waiting to ambush him, this was her chance, but there was still no movement. That scared him more than anything. He could hear the pounding of the stairs as Bobby came down, nearly running into Sam.

"What's going on?" Bobby asked, but he got his answer as Dean let go of the blanket to take one of the rolls of medical bandages from Sam's outstretched hand. "Aw, dammit boys." Dean started wrapping the bandage tightly around one of Adiana's wrists while Sam did the other one.

"What'd we do, Bobby?" Dean kept twisting the bandage around her wrist as black blood soaked through. "We can't take her to a hospital."

"You think I don't know that?" Bobby ran a hand across the back of his neck as he hovered over the Winchesters. "All right. Dean, tie up under her elbow too, looks like that one hit an artery. And keep her arms up. And careful, remember there's a demon in there. I'm gonna make a call." He ducked out into the kitchen. Dean finished tying the bandage on her wrist and started the one on her arm. Her skin was much cooler than it had been earlier.

"Dean, I'm sorry." Sam sniffed, his voice cracking. "I just – I swear I just wanted to shut my eyes for a minute. If she dies-"

"Shut up." Dean looked up at his brother. Sam was staring at him with so much guilt on his face that for a split second Dean considered saying that this wasn't his fault. But he couldn't. "She's not gonna die, you hear me? I'm not gonna let her die." Dean turned his gaze away, back to Adiana's face as he worked to tie the second tourniquet knot. A single strand of hair fluttered at the corner of her lips, letting him know that she was still breathing. But barely. Her arm was slack in his hands as he held it up. The feeling of helplessness surrounded him, weighing down on him as he watched her. "I can't lose you, baby." Adiana didn't move, probably couldn't even hear him. Why hadn't he ever told her how much she meant to him? Because he hadn't realized until now. Not really. "I love you." He shuddered, a sob rising in his throat that he forced back down. "So damned much." He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead. Her breath warmed his neck, and for a moment with his eyes shut, he could believe she was only sleeping. But if she slept now, she'd never wake up. Please baby, he willed, breathing in the scent of her skin, wake up.

"Either of you boys know her blood type?" Dean straightened up, and both Winchesters looked over at Bobby. He was standing in the kitchen doorway with a phone pressed to his chest. "Look I know this ain't easy, but could ya pull yourselves together enough to answer the question?" Bobby continued as gently as he could when they continued to stare at him.

"N-no," Sam answered in a small voice. Dean shrugged and shook his head. Bobby lifted the phone to his mouth.

"No…. Well we got plenty of that…. Hold on." He dropped the phone again. "Anything with her blood on it before she was…" He just nodded towards Adiana on the floor. Again Dean shook his head, but Sam had an idea.

"Her shirt." He cleared his throat. "From when we found her. It's in the trash out front."

"Go grab it, would ya?" Bobby then put the phone back to his ear. "Yeah, we think we got something." He wandered back into the kitchen, continuing the conversation in the shadows.

"I'll go." Sam's eyes were shining with unshed tears as he gently held out Adiana's arm towards Dean. "You can stay with her."

"No, I'll go." Dean needed a few minutes to clear his head before he had a breakdown right here. If he looked at Adiana like this for another second, he knew he would. Sam nodded in understanding and took her other wrist. Dean got up and headed out the front door.

As soon as it closed behind him, Dean sat down hard on the top step of the porch. His hands balled up into fists, and he pressed them against his eyes as he felt them burn with the effort of holding back tears. It would have been easy to blame Sammy, so easy. But it was his fault too. He should have been watching her. He never trusted that demon bitch for a second, so he should have never left her alone. And somehow trying to Merrin his way out of this one had made it worse, he was sure. If only he hadn't pissed that demon off, maybe Adiana would still be awake and not– Dean suddenly slammed a fist against the porch. Pain shot up through his hand. The wood cracked beneath his fist with splinters digging into his knuckles, but he didn't care. It felt good to just hit something, anything. But he didn't have time. He needed to get back inside and he needed to keep it together just in case she – He got up off the steps quickly and went to find the trash can.

Adiana's bloody shirt and jeans were sticking out of the top of the can. Dean took the lid off and pulled out her shirt, speckled with dark red stains and a smear of black. He folded it over his arm before going back inside. He took the direct route to the kitchen where Bobby was still on the phone, pacing back and forth.

"If you think it'll work, fine. But I swear to you if…Uh huh." Bobby caught Dean's eye and mouthed 'on my desk' and then frowned deeply at whatever the person on the other end of the phone was saying. Dean brushed by him, but stopped in the doorway between the rooms.

"…I promised I'd be there when you needed me and I wasn't." Tears shone on Sam's face, as bright as the blood in the moonlight. "I killed Jess. I could have saved her and I didn't. Just like I could have saved you. If I'd only just stayed awake, you wouldn't be…" Fresh tears fell from his eyes as he squeezed them shut, choking back a sob. His whole body convulsed, and he was forced to take a deep breath of air. "Adiana, I'm so sorry."

It hurt Dean even more to see his kid brother in tears like this. If he couldn't do anything to make Adiana feel better, at least he could do something for Sam. Yeah, he was going to have to be the strong one. Somehow. Dean strode into the room, and Sam gazed up at him, as he placed the shirt down on Bobby's desk. Dean knelt down next to Adiana and took one of her hands. His tongue darted out over his lips as he steadied himself, making sure his face didn't betray any emotion.

"It's gonna be okay, Sammy. It's gonna be okay." Sam nodded almost imperceptibly. He sniffed and ran his shirt sleeve over his face.

"Got someone who should be able to help," said Bobby, coming back into the room without the telephone this time. He pulled down the brim of his cap.

"Who?"

"Her name's Doctor Claudia Wyatt, and uh..." Bobby leaned against his desk and crossed his arms. "There're a few things you outta know before she gets here."

Adiana was warm, really warm. She'd had that fever so long she had almost forgotten what it felt like. It was nice. She just kind of felt like she was floating on something really warm and soft. It was on her back or maybe she was lying down on it. Yes, she was lying down. And then the cold began to creep in, but the softness stayed. What was happening? She didn't like the sensation. Like ice, that cold started at her head and slid down over her body. She wanted it to be warm again. Now it hurt, soreness all over. What had happened? But as the discomfort intensified, memories flooded in, wave after wave. Sam. Dean. Blood. Pain. Leraie.

"Yes?" Adiana groaned. So, she was still stuck with the demon that had tried to kill her. Well, at least that meant she was still alive. That explained the overwhelming exhaustion.

"You sound weird."

"I make an unsuccessful attempt on your life and the first thing you say to me is 'you sound weird'. You humans really are a strange race." But Leraie did sound peculiar. Her voice had always sounded so strong in Adiana's head, and now it was more distant and sort of tired and sleepy. Speaking of which, her left foot was definitely asleep. She wriggled it, trying to shake off the unpleasant tingling feeling.

"Wait…" Adiana shifted her foot again and wiggled her toes. They moved. She moved them. Her eyes flashed open. White spots danced in front of her eyes, and she had to blink several times until they adjusted. She was in a room that she had no recollection of. Her cheek rested against a faded blue pillow, and she was facing a closed wooden door. No elaborate furnishings in this room. She turned her head, looking up at the Devil's Trap spray-painted onto the ceiling. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of movement and she glanced toward it.

"Dean!" Adiana said aloud. Dean was sitting on a chair right next to her bed, watching her anxiously, but she saw the flicker of relief that passed across his eyes. Adiana tried to sit up, but pain flared in her arms as she put weight on her wrists.

"Whoa." Dean caught Adiana as she slumped backwards, putting a hand behind her back to prevent her from slamming into the headboard. "Hey Sa – mmpf." Adiana cut him off as she closed the few inches of space between them and kissed him. She felt him respond almost instantly, pressing his lips back against hers as he pulled her closer.

"Awkward." Adiana tensed, and that was enough to remind Dean of what he was doing. He jerked back, breaking the kiss and giving his head a little shake.

"I'm sorry," Adiana apologized to him. "I just… I honestly thought I was never going to see you again." She reached out to touch him and something yanked painfully on the inside of her elbow. "Ow. What the hell?" Adiana looked to see a needle taped down to her skin. She followed the needle up the attached tube and to a bag of clear liquid hanging next to her bed. They'd put her on an IV. She couldn't believe Bobby had one of those around.

"Adiana?" Adiana focused her attention back on Dean.

"Yeah. Yeah, sorry. Just woke up, my attention's a little bit-" She shrugged. "-everywhere." Dean was staring as if he couldn't decide whether it was really her or not. After what happened with Sam, it wasn't like she could really blame him, but she would have to try and prove it. If she acted like herself for long enough, maybe he'd begin to believe her. "So where's Sam?" Dean pulled his hands away, his fingers curling almost into fists before he set them on his knees. He shrugged.

"No clue. I'm gonna go-"

"No, wait!" Adiana said quickly as Dean started to get out of his chair. "Stay with me. I'm not sure if this is going to la-" She nearly screamed, as she suddenly felt like someone had jammed a white hot poker into her brain. Then the pain was gone, and Leraie stretched her shoulders.

"That's better." She smiled at Dean.

"Oh, come on," Adiana groaned. She prodded the wall she'd once again been forced behind and began to feel a sting. Leraie remained firmly in control.

"Hiya, Dean. I hope you enjoyed that little exchange because that's the last radio broadcast from Adiana for a while." Dean's face hardened, mouth curling into a sneer. And that was when the door clicked open.

"Ah, I thought I heard voices." The woman who strode through the door had to be in her early fifties, or maybe older, considering she seemed relatively in shape. She had cropped brown hair that fell to her shoulders in a perfectly straight bob. She was well dressed with a light cardigan over a pressed button-up shirt and navy dress pants. Green eyes shone from behind black designer glasses and her lips were curved in a small smile. Heels clacked across the floor as she approached the bed. "Glad to see you're awake. I'm Doctor Claudia Wyatt." She held out a hand with perfectly manicured fingernails. Leraie glanced at it, but made no move to shake hands.

"Do you know who this is?"

"No." Adiana decided to hold back. She might as well figure out what had happened and what exactly was going on before she tried anything else. At least she knew it was possible now to take control. Something had changed. Claudia dropped her hand, her smile faltering for only a moment.

"So, how are we feeling?"

"Um… fine." Claudia circled the bed, checking on the IV drip. She tilted her head.

"I'd be most surprised if you felt fine after everything that you've been through."

"Okay, then." Leraie peeked at Dean, but he was watching Claudia intently. "Exhausted and in excruciating pain."

"Now that sounds more like it. And how about you, Adiana?" Adiana shifted. It was strange to be addressed directly when she couldn't really answer.

"Tell her the same thing, I guess."

"The same," Leraie relayed. "If she keeps talking to you, I'm not carrying messages back and forth."

"Okay, you're not my owl. I understand."

"What?"

"Never mind. It wasn't actually that funny." Claudia opened the drawer in the bedside table and rummaged through it.

"Unfortunate, but at least you're still alive, hmmm?" she commented over the rustling and clinking sounds that came from inside the drawer.

"Yes, I'm thrilled." Leraie shuffled back along the bed so she could rest against the headboard. "This is your doing, then?"

"Afraid so." Claudia pulled a short thermometer out of the drawer and shut it. "Now if you wouldn't mind opening up?"

"Is she serious?"

"I'm afraid so," Adiana responded. From where exactly had they dug up a doctor that could deal with this kind of stuff? She must have been close by. "Just go with it. I want to find out what happened." Rolling her eyes, Leraie opened her mouth to allow Claudia to stick in the thermometer.

"Thank you." Claudia took Leraie's chin in her hands and looked into her eyes. "Sorry about this. Just need to be thorough." She let go and pressed two, cool fingers to Leraie's throat. "I'd check your wrist for a pulse but that's not exactly… an option anymore." She finished absently as she stared at a watch on her wrist.

"I'm not going along with this."

"You're just as curious as I am. Now stop complaining. If anyone gets to pout, it's me. You tried to kill me, remember?"

"It was our best option. I still think it's our best option."

"Your pulse is a little fast and…" Claudia drew out the thermometer, leaving Leraie to wet her lips in an attempt to get rid of the plastic taste from her mouth. "One hundred. Hmmm, that's up from yesterday."

"Yesterday? How long were we out?" Adiana asked in surprise, as Claudia drew out a small black notebook from her pants pocket and started scribbling in it.

"So tell me, where are you feeling pain?" Claudia inquired, not looking up from her notebook, before Leraie could say Adiana's question aloud.

"Where am I feeling pain?" Leraie repeated with an edge of disbelief etched into her voice.

"Yes."

"Okay. Look, lady." Claudia did look up then. Her pen hovered over the open page. "I get that you're trying to make Adiana all better and you probably owe Bobby a favor or something. But, here's the deal." Leraie smoothed out the blanket over her legs. "As you've gathered from the fact that I essentially chewed and ripped Adiana's wrists open, I don't actually want to live nor do I particularly care if she gets better. So thanks for all your help, but I'm not going to be answering any of your questions."

"Just answer her questions," Dean demanded in a dangerously low tone, "or-"

"Or what? You have nothing on me and you know it. You want to cause Adiana more pain after you left her alone to bleed to death? You know, I had legions of demons under my control down in Hell, and I'm tired of not getting any respect from – what are you doing now?" Claudia had gone back to digging through the drawer. She didn't answer.

"Where is all this coming from?" Adiana asked, feeling something bright and hot coming from the front of her mind. "You've been oddly calm up until now."

"I'm – you wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"No. I'm done." The blinding flash of pain hit again, searing Adiana's skull. Adiana put a hand up to her head, wincing as she bent her wrist. Well, she was back in control, but she could still feel Leraie lurking at the back of her consciousness.

"Ow." She shook her head, lowering her hand when Claudia grabbed it. "Ow!" Something sharp jabbed into Adiana's finger. There was a scraping noise as Dean stood up, the chair sliding against the floor.

"Please relax, Dean. I'm just getting some blood." Claudia put a cover back on the small razor's edge she'd used on Adiana's finger. From her other hand, she revealed a small tube that she squeezed at one end to gather up the black blood that had welled up. "I'll drop by in a little while," Claudia murmured distractedly as she held the full tube up to her eyes. She flashed Adiana one last smile before exiting the room.

Adiana nearly put her finger into her mouth to suck the blood away, but she caught herself. She still wasn't completely sure why her blood had changed color and even though it was in her already, she wasn't sure if she should be ingesting the stuff. Besides, that kind of reminded her of Leraie biting into her wrists. Black smeared as she rubbed her fingers together. Maybe there were band-aids in the drawer. She reached out, but her fingers stopped at the edge of the Devil's Trap.

"Could you check if she has band-aids?" Adiana asked Dean. She held up her hand, fingertips towards him. "Just for this. I don't want to get it anywhere." Dean sat down in his chair, which was farther away now. He made no move to help. "Look, Ler – the demon went away, back in my mind or whatever. She was pissed. It's me." Adiana sighed and rubbed her fingers together again. The bleeding had almost stopped anyway. Great, now how was she going to prove that she was herself when Leraie had access to all her memories? Someone knocked on the partially closed door.

"Yeah," Dean called and the door opened. Sam hesitated in the doorway, but when he saw Adiana sitting up, he came in.

"Hi, Sam," she greeted.

"Hey." Sam fell into a second empty chair and looked apologetically at Dean. "Doctor Wyatt's busy downstairs, so I thought Adiana must be awake."

"What's she doing?" Dean asked. Sam shrugged a shoulder, his eyebrows rising slightly.

"Honestly, I don't even know what half of that stuff she has is for."

"Awesome." Dean ran a hand through his hair and yawned. "Well, at least this worked."

"Hey, guys?" Adiana tried to get their attention, but the brothers ignored her.

"Yeah, that's something at least." Sam rested an elbow on the arm of the chair, curling his fingers over the edge.

"Guys, it's me."

"Bobby keeping her company?" Adiana's eyes moved back and forth between Dean and Sam as they continued this line of inane conversation. She was tempted to prod the moody mass that was Leraie, but something told her that the demon wouldn't be of any assistance. At least, she had one thing she had to get off her chest.

"You know, I was actually the last one awake while I was bleeding to death." The Winchesters went quiet. Adiana moved cautiously forward. "Even after the demon. I think she tired herself out by trying to keep me from getting back control of my body. So I was just lying there. I couldn't move or open my eyes or anything, and I was really freaked out. I mean, I knew I was dying." She looked down, spreading her fingers out over the blanket. "So I was listening really hard, hoping I'd hear that someone woke up, but it was just silent. It felt like forever and there was just no sound. I got so tired. I knew it would be over soon. Then I realized that I did hear something." She looked up at Sam. "I heard you breathing. You'd been breathing the whole time of course, but I just thought how weird it was that I didn't even notice.

And then I thought, no it's not really weird at all because it's just that I've gotten used to it. Hearing you breathe at night. Well, when I don't have this one breathing in my ear." She nodded towards Dean with a grin. "And I knew that I'd be okay then because whatever happened, in the time I had here, I found two people who I could be completely comfortable with. So I listened to you breathe until everything just faded. Sam, you told me that you would be there when I needed you. You were. You both were. I love you both. Differently, yeah, but I don't think it counts any less. I understand if you can't trust me, but in case I… I just needed you two to know."

Sam and Dean had both turned to look at her. Only Leraie remained tangled in her own thoughts. At least Adiana felt she had said her piece and was done with it. Yes, it sounded kind of corny, but that didn't make it any less than the truth. She hadn't wanted to die without letting them know, and she wasn't about to put all of her faith into this new doctor that she knew nothing about.

"Adiana?" Adiana set her attention on Sam and she nodded. He stood up from his chair and took the few steps to the side of her bed. All at once the air was knocked out of Adiana's lungs as he hugged her. She winced as her chest twinged, but hugged him back nonetheless. At least, he'd believed her. But she really wished Dean would too.

"Okay Sam." She smiled. "Before you let me go, you've definitely lifted me a few inches off of the bed, so if you could just set me back down. Otherwise I'm going to be in a lot of pain."

"Oh, yeah, sorry." Sam gingerly lowered Adiana back onto the bed, before resuming his place. Dean looked like he was in physical pain, trying to decide what to think. Sam nudged him in the shoulder. "C'mon Dean, you really think a demon could make that up?"

"Man, I don't – All right. If you are the demon, then that was the biggest string of bull I ever heard." Adiana raised an eyebrow.

"And if I'm not?"

"Then… I don't know, babe, I think you need to write the speeches for the next Miss America because that was beautiful."

"The day I get a serious answer out of you." Adiana rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help laughing.

"Well." They all turned around. Claudia was standing just outside the doorframe. "I think that was beautiful, too."