Authoress Note: Welcome to Chapter 37 and the last part of Croatoan. I worked hard on this last chapter. I know I hurt Aeron in the last chapter, but there was good reason behind it. I wanted to give Sam and Aeron time together and have him take care of her. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Without further ado Chapter 37.

Chapter 37

Virus In Sam

The shades were drawn in the clinic.

Mark peered through them cautiously.

Sam pulled out his hunting knife and checked his blade over.

Dean loaded his gun up.

Aeron pulled out her gun from the back of her jeans. She checked to make sure that it was loaded.

A scream alerted them that something had happened. The four of them ran into the lab.

"You're clean, you're okay." Dr. Lee told Pam who was freaking out because she had dropped the vial of blood.

"Why are we staying here? Please, let's just go." Pam pleaded with them.

"No, we can't, because those things are everywhere." Dean said shaking his head.

"Oh god…" Pam said sinking down to the floor.

"Hey, shh, shh…" Dr. Lee said trying to sooth Pam.

Sam let out a sigh. "She's right about one thing. We can't stay here. We've gotta get out of here, get to the Roadhouse? Somewhere. Let people know what's coming." Sam said softly to the two hunters.

"Yeah, good point. Night of the Living Dead didn't exactly end pretty." Dean said rolling his eyes.

"Oh Dean come off of it. Life isn't a god damned movie." Aeron snapped at him.

"Well, I'm not sure we've got a choice. Lots of folks up here are good with rifles. Even with all your hardware we're, we're easy targets. So unless you've got some explosives…"

Sam glanced up at a shelf of medical supplies. An idea comes to him. "We could make some." He said going to the shelf to take down the potassium chloride.

Aeron smiled. "Good thinking Sam. "

They turned sharply.

The boys scrambled out of the room.

Aeron continued to get the potassium chloride down and whatever they needed to make some homemade explosives. Aeron looked up and saw Dean dragging in Duane.

"Hey Doc! Give Duane a good once over would you?" Dean ordered the doctor.

"Pam?" Dr. Lee said to her helper.

"Who are you?" Duane asked looking at Dean.

"Never mind who I am. Doc." Dean said looking at Dr. Lee.

"Yeah, okay."

"Duane. Where you been?" Mark asked the boy.

"On a fishing trip up by Roslyn." Duane told him. "I came back this afternoon. I… I saw Roger McGill being dragged out of his house by people we know! They started cutting him with knives. I ran, I've been hiding in the woods ever since. Has anybody seen my mom and dad."

Dean turned to Sam and Aeron. "Awkward…"

Duane sat down on a stool. He had a gash on his left leg.

"You're bleeding." Dr. Lee said in shock.

"Where'd you get that?" Dean asked narrowing his eyes.

"I was running, I must have tripped." Duane said nervously.

"Tie him up, there's rope in there."

"Wait…"

Dean pulled his gun on Duane. "Sit down!"

"I'm sorry, Duane, he's right. We've gotta be careful." Mark apologized to him.

"Careful? About what?" Duane asked scared.

"Did they bleed on you?" Dean questioned his lip curling in rage. He wanted to know.

"No, what the hell? No!"

"Doc? Any way to know for sure, any test?" Sam asked looking at the Doctor.

"I've studied Beverly's blood work backwards and forwards."

"My mom!"

"It took three hours for the virus to incubate. The sulfur didn't appear in the blood until then, so… no, there'd be no way of knowing. Not until after Duane turns."

"Dean, I gotta talk to you. Now." Sam said looking at his brother.

Dean glanced at Mark.

Mark nodded his head.

"I'll just stay in here." Aeron told the brothers.

Dean followed Sam out of the room.

"Sit in that chair." Mark ordered Duane.

Aeron began to tie the rope around Duane's wrists.

Mark looked at the young woman. He had to admit that she was dangerous with how she stood. He figured that she was not a US Marshal. She didn't have that look. She had to be something else.

Aeron finished tying him up. "Those should hold." She said nodding to the knots that she had tied.

Dean came back into the room. "Get out." He said looking at Aeron.

"Dean what the hell."

"Get out!" He grabbed onto her and shoved her out pushing her out with Sam.

Aeron stumbled into Sam. She turned and hit on the door. She looked at Sam. "What the hell is he doing?"

"I tried to stop him." Sam said softly. "He's gonna kill him even though we don't know if he has it or not."

"Damn it!" Aeron pounded on the door again. "Dean!"

"Ry…" Sam placed a hand on her good shoulder. "We can only hope that he doesn't kill him."

"And if he does. There might be a chance that he doesn't do it." Aeron said sadly. "I still can't believe he threw me out of the room."

"Aeron he's just trying…"

"He is spiraling Sam. Out of control. Hell he takes it out on me more than he does on you." She shook her head.

"Aeron… he misses dad."

"I know. But that gives him no right. No right to treat me that way."

The door opened and Dean was standing there.

Sam looked at his brother.

"We got explosives to make." Dean told Sam. "That means you too Red."

Aeron nodded her head.

SNSNSN

The three hunters were preparing explosives with rags and glass bottles.

Dr. Lee came into the room. "It's been over four hours. Duane's blood is still clean. I don't think he's infected. I'd like to untie him, if that's alright." She said crossing her arms.

The brothers looked at one another.

Sam nodded his head. "Yeah sure."

Aeron got up from the table. "I'll go and untie him." She walked with Dr. Lee.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Aeron asked looking at the doctor.

"For keeping us safe. You and those boys. You've been great help."

Aeron smiled a small smile. "You're welcome. It is something that we thrive on doing. We protect people." She told the woman as they walked into the lab.

SNSNSN

Sam sat on the stool holding a bandage to his chest. He looked down at his knees. How could he allow this to happen? Him get cut and infected? He would be leaving Dean and Aeron and knowing that the two of them would most likely kill one another.

Dean paced back and forth angrily.

Aeron's eyes were averted. She had tears in her eyes. How did it come to this? When Dean brought Sam in she had never expected the worst. He was the one Winchester that she could handle.

"Doc, check his wound again, would you?" Dean saw the doctor made no move. "Doctor!"

"What's she need to examine him for? You saw what happened." Mark snapped at Dean.

"Did her blood actually enter your wound?" Dr. Lee asked looking at Sam.

"Come on, of course it did!"

"We don't know that for sure."

"We can't take a chance." Duane said looking at Dean.

"You know what we have to do."

Aeron whipped her gun out pointing it Mark. "No."

"Nobody is shooting my brother." Dean looked at Aeron. "Put the gun away Red."

Aeron put the gun away.

"He isn't gonna be your brother much longer. You said it yourself."

"Nobody is shooting anyone!" Dean yelled.

"You were gonna shoot me!"

"Oh shut the fucking hell up!" Aeron snapped. "He still just might shoot you if you don't shut your damn trap."

"Dean, Aeron. They're right. I'm infected, just give me the gun and I'll do it myself."

"Forget it."

"Aeron?"

"No Sam." Aeron said swallowing the thickness that had formed in her throat.

"Dean, Aeron, I' not gonna become one of those things." Sam pleaded with the two of them.

"Sam we've still got time." Dean said looking at his brother. He wasn't about to allow Sam kill himself.

"Time for what? Look, I understand he's your brother, and I'm sorry, I am. But we gotta take care of this." Mark pulled out his hand gun.

Aeron stood in front of Mark blocking his shot.

"I'm gonna say this one time. You make a move on him, you'll be dead before you hit the ground. You understand me? I mean, do I make myself clear?"

"Then what are we supposed to do?!"

Dean tossed Mark his keys to the Impala. "Get the hell out of here, that's what. Take my car. You've got the explosives, there's an arsenal in there. You three go with him. You've got enough firepower to handle anything now."

"What about you?" Mark asked looking at him.

"Dean no. No go with them. This is your only chance!"

"You're not gonna get rid of me that easy." Dean said looking at his brother.

"No, he's right. Come with us." Mark said looking at Dean.

Aeron shook her head. "Dean I'm not gonna go with them."

Dean looked at her with wide eyes. What the hell was she doing? She had a chance to get out of there and she wasn't going to take it?

Mark let out a sigh. "Okay, it's your funerals." Mark lead Duane and Dr. Lee out of the room.

Dean looked at Aeron. "You should've gone with them."

"No." Aeron said shaking her head.

Dr. Lee stopped at the door. "I'm sorry. Thanks for everything, Marshals."

Dean looked at Doctor Lee. "Oh, actually we're not really Marshals." Dean said with a small smile.

"Um. Oh." Dr. Lee left them.

Dean shut the door. Dean turned and faced Sam.

Sam felt the tears fall from his eyes.

"Wish we had a deck of cards, or a foosball table or something." Dean said softly trying to make these last what ever moments that they had together bearable.

"Guys don't do this. Just get the hell out of here."

"No way." Dean said shaking his head.

"Sorry Sam. I ain't going no where." Aeron said crossing her arms.

"Give me my gun, and leave." Sam pleaded with the two of them.

"For the last time, Sam. No." Dean said shaking his head.

Sam slammed the table. "This is the dumbest thing you've ever done Dean."

"Oh, I don't know about that. Remember that waitress in Tampa?" Dean shuddered.

"Dean, Aeron, I'm sick. It's over for me. It doesn't have to be for you two."

"Sorry Sam. I should have been dead years ago. So what is the difference now?" Aeron asked swallowing the lump in her throat.

"No?" Dean questioned his brother.

"No you can keep going."

"Who says I want to?"

"What?"

Dean crossed over to the other wall and pulled the handgun out of the waistband of his pants and sat down on the filing cabinet. "I'm tired, Sam. I'm tired of this job, this life… this weight on my shoulders, man. I'm tired of it."

"So what, so you're just going to give up? You're just gonna lay down and die? Look, Dean, I know this stuff with dad has…."

"You're wrong. It's not about dad. I mean, part of it is, sure, but…."

"What is it about?"

There was a knock on the door.

Dean picked up both of the handguns and went to the door.

Dr Lee looked at him. "You'd better come see this."

SNSNSN

The six of them stood outside looking around. No one was there and it was deathly silent.

"There's no one. Not anywhere. They've all just…. vanished." Dr. Lee told them.

"Just like Roanoke." Aeron said softly shaking her head.

SNSNSN

Dr Lee was looking through the microscope looking at Sam's blood.

Sam was seated next to Aeron on the exam table. He wasn't sure why the strawberry blonde wanted to even be next to him. But her fingers laced with his made it more real. He was her rock he guessed.

Dr. Lee looked at Sam. "Well, it's been five hours and your blood's still clean. I don't understand it but I think you dodge a bullet."

"But I was exposed. How could I not be infected?" Sam asked in confusion.

"I don't know. But you're just not. I mean, you compare it with the Tanner samples." She looked through another microscope. "What the hell?"

"What?"

"Their blood. There's no trace of the virus. No sulfur, nothing."

"That is very odd." Aeron said in confusion.

SNSNSN

Sam, Dean and Aeron leaned against the Impala.

"Hey, the Sarge and I getting the hell out of here, heading south. You should come." Duane said looking at Dr. Lee.

"I'd better get over to Sidewinder, get the authorities up here. If they'll believe me. Take care."

Mark waved to her and then to the three hunters.

"What about him?" Dean asked watching Mark and Duane getting into the truck.

"He's going to be fine. No signs of infection." She went back inside of the clinic.

Dean turned to Sam and Aeron.

"Hey man, don't look at me. I got no clue." Sam said holding his hands up.

"I swear, I'm gonna lose sleep over this one. I mean, why here, why now? And where the hell did everybody go? It's like they just friggin' melted."

"Why was I immune?"

'Yeah. You know what? That's a good question. You know, I'm already starting to feel like this is the one that got away."

The three of them got into the car.

Dean pulled the car out of it's spot. Dean looked at Aeron through the rearview mirror. "Why did you stay?"

"Cause. You heard me. Dean I should have been dead at 14. Well 15…" She let out a sigh. "I am not going into it."

SNSNSN

Dean had pulled the Impala onto the side of the road.

The two brothers were leaning against the fence while Aeron was sitting on the ground. The three of them drinking a beer.

"So last night. You want to tell me what the hell you were talking about?" Sam asked Dean.

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? I mean you said you were tired of the job. And that it wasn't just because of Dad."

"Forget it." Dean said shaking his head.

"No I can't. No way."

"Come on man, I thought we were both going to die. With Red here, you can't hold that over me."

"No, no, no, no. You can't pull that crap with me, man. You're talking."

"And what if I don't?"

"Then I guess I'll just have to keep asking until you do."

"I don't know, man. I just think maybe we ought to… go to the Grand Canyon."

"What?"

"Yeah, you know, all this driving back and forth across country. You know I've never been to the Grand Canyon? Or should we go to T.J. or Hollywood, see if we can bang Lindsay Lohan and her maybe Johnny Depp?"

"You're not making any sense."

"I just think we should take a break from all this. Why do we gotta get stuck with all the responsibility you know? Why can't we live life a little bit?"

"Why are you saying all this?"

Aeron looked at the brothers in confusion. This was the most oddest conversation that she had ever heard between the two of them.

Dean shook his head and turned away from Sam.

"No, no, no, no, Dean. You're my brother alright? So whatever weight you're carrying, let me help a little bit."

"I can't. I promised."

"Who?"

"Dad."

"What are you talking about?"

Dean looked down. "Right before dad died, he told me something." Dean took a breath and looked up at Sam. "He told me something about you."

"What? Dean, what did he tell you?" Sam said in confusion. He wanted to know what his father had told Dean.

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This is the end of Chapter 37. I hope that you enjoyed it. Please let me know what you think of it. I can tell you that Aeron will get to yell at Dean again. This time about how he treats her during the next episode, but I can't say which chapter it will be. Please if there is anything that you would like to see please let me know. Also in the next month or so I am thinking of doing a SuperWhoLock one shot. But I want to know what you guys think on that one. Also please follow me on tumblr. That is where my updates will be telling you which stories I am updating. Also there would be some fun little things going on like character take over for a day or something. Until next time.