Supernatural – Heart of Gold

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural. I do own Haley and Dethton.

Author's Note: Thankyou to Chase.

Chapter 36 – Endless Torment

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Dean groaned as he sat up. He was aching all over, and now more so around his chest where Haley had just head-butted him. He saw Missouri standing over Sam and Haley, both of whom were fast asleep. He saw the satchel Missouri had dropped between them, and reached around to look at it.

"What've you got in here?" he asked, eyeing it cautiously.

"Oh, this and that," Missouri said absently, glancing over to make sure John was okay. The old hunter was climbing to his feet, surveying the damage.

"What's this, what's that?" Dean asked.

"Herbs that act as a sedative when their scent is inhaled." Dean dropped the satchel like it had burned him and jumped backwards away from it, tripping on his injured leg and falling flat on his back. Missouri gave an amused chuckle before kneeling down beside Sam and Haley. She sighed after quickly reading them. "It's still in her," she said. Dean frowned, not sure what to say.

"We should get out of here," John said. "Get them somewhere where they can't hurt us or each other," he said.

"Back to the motel?" Dean asked, getting awkwardly back to his feet. He was in so much pain by now that it all seemed to have numbed to a dull throb, unless he put too much pressure on his leg. He stood there, shaking all over from the effort of staying on his feet, John shook his head.

"Nah. Too exposed. Plus you can bet that Meg's had her fun in that place; it'll be crawling with cops before long," he said. "No, we're going to an old cabin out of town; it's where I've been staying these past few days. It's got plenty of rooms; we can keep these two…" he gestured to Sam and Haley, "…separate until we figure out how to fix this." Dean nodded, limping over and lifting (with a lot of effort) Haley off of Sam. He frowned when he took a quick look at Sam to make sure he wasn't too badly injured.

"Sam's fly's open," he said. "Why is Sam's fly open?" he asked, looking over at the two others with him. They both gave him quizzical looks, and he shook his head. "Never mind, I don't want to know," he said, reaching down and zipping up the front of Sam's pants, before throwing Haley over his shoulder and carrying her to the Impala. He shoved her (perhaps a little rougher than was necessary) into the back seat, and pushed her all the way over to the other side. Then he climbed in, sat down in the middle, and helped his Dad and Missouri get Sam into the back seat beside him. Normally he wouldn't willingly let someone else drive his car, but in his state (almost beaten to a pulp and feeling like he could sleep for a month) he didn't feel he could stay awake long enough to turn the key in the ignition. Not to mention driving out of town to wherever the cabin was.

A few minutes into the drive, Dean was fast asleep, one arm wrapped protectively around Sam, the other holding Haley against his chest, and his head resting on Sam's shoulder. John couldn't help but smile as he glanced into the rear-view mirror and saw Dean doing exactly what he had raised him to do; keep the family together. Missouri smiled as well, and after a minute, took out her mobile and took a photo of the sleeping family in the back seat.

John gave her a quizzical look, and her eyes widened when she found out what he was thinking. "You think just because I know herbs and read thoughts, that I'm not keeping up with the times?" she asked. John chuckled, and shook his head. Missouri tried to keep the knowing frown, but before long she was smiling as well. It had been a long day; it felt good to know it was almost over.

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"Where are we?" Sam asked. He was in a vaguely familiar room, filled with sunlight that poured through the open windows.

"Who can tell?" Sam turned to look at Haley, standing there in the white wedding dress he'd visualized her wearing when they'd faced the Fear Spectre. Except the veil; it was laid at her feet. He looked around, realized where he was.

"I've been here before," he said. Haley smiled, and nodded knowingly. "How'd we get here?" he asked, turning to look out one of the windows. The scenery outside seemed to shift as he looked at it, one minute, a vast forest, the next, open fields, the next, a seemingly endless beach.

"Maybe you wanted to be here," Haley offered. "Maybe I did." Sam looked over at her, a confused look on his face. "Maybe I'm not real. Maybe I'm just what you wish I was. What you know I can be." Her smile became somewhat sad. "What could've been." She looked to her right, and Sam gasped as a strange smoky-substance began to materialize beside Haley, slowly taking shape, and then solidifying. Beside Haley stood an exact duplicate of her, with one difference. She was Haley when he had first met her; jet-black clothes, sunglasses, even the black wig.

"What…?" Sam began.

"… am I?" the new Haley finished. He blinked, tilting his head to one side as if to get a better look at her. The second Haley removed her sunglasses, and Sam gasped, taking a step back when he saw the soulless black eyes of a demon staring at him where Haley's blue eyes normally were. "I'm what is," she said, a wicked grin spreading on her lips. "I'm evil."

The Haley in the wedding dress closed her eyes, and seemed to be in pain. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She turned away, and time seemed to slow down for Sam as he saw a knife appear in the hand of the demon-Haley. She turned and stabbed, the knife plunging into Haley's back.

"No!" Sam cried out as his eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright reaching out expecting to see demon-Haley and thinking he could stop her. Instead, the heel of his hand connected with Dean's chin and caused him to fall back off the bed and onto the floor.

Dean stared up at him in surprise and confusion. Sam blinked rapidly, frowning when he realized it must've been a dream. He looked around, and saw Missouri looking at him with concern on her face.

He swallowed, and looked back down at Dean. "Sorry," he said. Dean nodded, climbing to his feet and rubbing his chin.

"What was that all about?" he asked.

"Nothing, it was… just a dream," Sam said. Dean narrowed his eyes at his brother, and Sam gave him a pleading look. After a minute, Dean nodded, accepting what Sam had said. The young Winchester looked around the room and realized he didn't recognize it. "Where are we?" he asked.

"A cabin just outside of Dethton," John said, walking into the room.

"Where's Haley?" Sam asked, realizing she wasn't in the room with them. An awkward silence followed this question while John and Missouri exchanged looks. "Where is she?" Sam asked, a little more forcefully this time. "She… she isn't…?"

"No," Dean said quickly. "No, she's not dead," he said.

"But… I'm sensing a 'but' coming," Sam said, narrowing his eyes at his brother.

"But… she's still possessed by the demon," Dean said. Sam stared at his brother for a few long minutes.

"'I'm what is'…" he said softly.

"What?" Dean asked.

"It's killing her," Sam said. "The longer that thing is inside of her, the harder it's going to be to save her."

"Whoa, wait," Dean said. "There isn't anything inside her," he said. "It's… it's too hard for me to explain. Missouri?" he asked, turning to the old woman behind him.

"I'm not that old," she snapped at him. He took an involuntary step back. Missouri shook her head in frustration, before turning her attention to Sam. "What your brother said is more or less true. Haley isn't being possessed, there's no demon inside her. It's more like… a presence, that's awaking her darker side."

"Her much darker side," Dean put in, and Sam suddenly noticed how awkwardly his brother was moving, not to mention the cuts on the side of his neck. He winced, remembering what he'd seen Haley do to Dean in her twisted attempt to make Sam suffer.

"Well, how do we get this… presence… out of her?" he asked. Missouri opened her mouth, then sighed and shook her head.

"I don't know," she admitted. Sam said, leaning back against the bed head. Then his brow furrowed as he remembered something that had happened right before Missouri had put both he and Haley to sleep.

"What did you do to her?" he asked, turning to look at his brother.

"What… what did I do to her?" Dean asked, assuming Sam was accusing him of something.

"No, I mean… when you were trying to get her off me," he said, realizing how Dean had taken the question. "You did something, with your hands. When you touched, I don't know, it was like you burned her or something." He looked to Missouri for help, since she had also seen it.

Dean also looked to Missouri, suddenly remembering the reaction Haley had had to his touch. She frowned, as if trying to figure it out herself. But the answer came from John.

"I have a theory," he said, and everyone's eyes were suddenly locked on him. "All Dean's life it's been his job to protect Sam, to stop anything from hurting him." He gave a half-hearted laugh. "The way this family is, it was only a matter of time before his desire to protect Sam manifested itself into something… supernatural." Dean stood there, staring at his Dad, unsure what to make of what he had just heard.

"So, wait you're saying that… somehow, Dean has got a power like me and Haley?" Sam asked.

"No," Missouri said, shaking her head, realizing something. "Not like yours and Haleys. The two of you… your powers come from your mind. But Dean's… his comes from his heart. From his unwavering desire to keep you safe," she said.

"Love," Sam said. "No wonder Haley reacted so badly to it."

"What?" Dean asked, turning to look at Sam.

"You saw what happened back at the dock, right before she started trying to strangle me," Sam said, turning to Dean. "Haley's new demonic side can't handle love. She went totally berserk when I tried to direct mine at her." He frowned.

"Sam, don't even think that!" Missouri ordered. Dean and John both turned questioning glances at her. Missouri gave John a piercing stare. "John Winchester, you tell your son we are not leaving him in a room alone with Haley," she ordered. John blinked, obviously not expecting that. Dean was staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at his brother.

"Are you completely insane?" he demanded. "Or have you forgotten that the whole reason this happened was because she wanted to kill you?"

"I can save her," Sam said adamantly. "I know I can." He looked pleadingly at his father. "Please," he all-but begged. John sighed, looking from Sam, to Dean, to Missouri, and then back to Sam.

"Let's see if I have this right: if I let you go in there, and it fails, one or both of you could die," John said. "On the other hand, if I don't let you go in there, Haley's definitely going to die." Sam nodded, slowly. John let a breath out, turning away from Sam, and the youngest Winchester knew right away what his father's answer would be.

"If you don't let me, it's over," he said, getting to his feet. John turned to look at his son.

"What?" he asked.

"If Haley dies, then it's over for me," Sam said, utter seriousness on his face. "I quit. I'll go back to college, I'll graduate, and I won't ever- ever- help you with another hunt again." John and Dean both stared at Sam, not wanting to believe him but both knowing he would be completely adamant in keeping that promise.

Finally, John gave a long sigh, and nodded. "Okay, do it," he said. Dean's eyes widened.

"Excuse me?" he said. "You… Dad, you can't let him." Sam turned and looked at his brother, only just now noticing he was wearing only shorts and had a bandage wrapped around his thigh. He frowned, remembering hearing Dean scream over the phone when Haley had stabbed him. "Sam, you can't really… she's stronger than you, in more ways than one."

"I have to try," Sam said. "It's my fault she's like this," he added. Dean tried to stand in his way of the door, but in his weakened state, Sam didn't have much trouble getting around him. He closed the bedroom door behind him, hearing Dean shouting at their father in a tone mixed with anger and fear. Sam sighed, knowing Dean was only angry because he didn't think Sam was capable of pulling this off. Which annoyed Sam a little; he thought his brother had more faith in him than that. Then again, none of them were exactly one-hundred percent, so that might have something to do with it.

He looked down the hallway, and realized he didn't know which room they'd put Haley in. Frowning, he went to the first door (there were four, and all of them were closed), and turned the knob, pulling it open. It was empty except for an ugly looking lamp. He closed the door and moved onto the next one, which was also devoid of human life (minus the beds), though this one was clearly where Dean had rested while Sam had been asleep (judging by the dishevelled, slightly blood-stained sheets). Beginning to feel more than a little anxious, Sam closed that door as well. He opened the third, and saw Haley standing in a circle of salt with her back to him.

He walked slowly into the room, careful not to make a sound. He turned around and closed the door, and when he turned back to face Haley, he jumped back in shock (hitting the closed door); it wasn't that the fact that she was suddenly staring directly at him, it was just the shock of how fast and how silently she'd moved.

"Haley?" Sam said softly, stepping away from the door. He froze when he felt something, like the beginning of a headache. Then it got worse. A lot worse.

"They're all waiting," Haley said. Her voice was barely audible, less than a whisper. "They're all screaming, like children watching death, they're screaming, but no one hears them." Sam gasped in pain, his hand going to his head as he felt pain beyond any pain he thought the human body was capable of feeling. It wasn't physical, at least not entirely. It was like when he'd been younger in high school, after a long weekend of hunting and having to stay up late trying to finish his homework; that almost-headache feeling you got when you tried to fit too much information into your head at once. Except this was ten times worse. And getting worse by the second.

"What are you doing?" he gasped, falling to his knees, head in his hands, bowing before Haley in a way.

"I'm helping you," she said absently. "You've always wanted to understand what it's like. What I have to suffer every day. There's nothing but pain. Those who inflict it suffer. Those who feel it suffer. There's nothing but suffering." She blinked, and suddenly the pain was gone, as was the blank stare on her face. She had a look of complete control. Sam looked at her, knowing full well that she couldn't reach him as long as she was in the circle of salt.

He slowly got to his feet, still feeling the aftermath of her assault on his mind. Was that really how it was for her? Right now, all that pain, all that loss? And she was still standing. He had a sympathetic look on her face, which only seemed to anger her. She made a lunge at him, but stopped right before her hand reached the inside of the salt circle. She cringed and pulled back from it, a snarl on her face.

"You can't keep me in here forever," she said.

"You're right," Sam said. Haley tilted her head to one side, confused by his words. The next instant, Sam's fist connected with the side of her face and she was sent staggering back, cringing away from the edge of the salt circled at the last second. But before Sam could pull his hand back, she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him forward into the circle, reaching up and pulling him down into a fierce kiss. Maybe it was something of her doing with her vast array of psychic abilities, or maybe he was just dumbfounded by the beauty of kissing Haley to do anything. Either way, Sam was completely unprepared when she pulled back, and then punched him in the side of the face (though he probably should've expected it, considering he just punched her). He staggered back, and as he did so, his feet dragged along the floor and broke the circle. A cold smile crossed Haley's lips as Sam hit the wall, and she stepped over the gaps in the circle Sam had made.

"Thanks, it was getting awfully cramped in there," she said. Before Sam knew it, he was lifted into the air and pinned against the wall, feet dangling about a foot off the ground (which said something for how high up the ceiling was). She looked him up and down, frowning. "You know, this may not be as painful for you if you were a little more…" she reached down and, to Sam's surprise and horror, pulled a knife from her boot. "… afraid." It was small; in fact, like her gun, it could hardly be called a weapon. But it was sharp, and it was in her hands, which was enough to make it a weapon in Sam's eyes. "That's better," she said. She took a step toward him, and then hesitated.

His fearful look slowly changed into a small smile (which was hard for him considering he was pinned to a wall while someone who wanted to kill him had a knife). Haley took a step back, shaking her head. "Stop," she said, swallowing, trying to stay calm. She tightened her hold on the knife. "Stop it. Just stop it!" She threw the knife, but her hand faltered at the last second, and the knife imbedded itself in the wall about an inch to the left of Sam's neck.

Haley's whole body was shaking as she slowly backed away from him, still shaking her head.

Sam was dropped to the floor. He landed in a crouch, watching as Haley stopped backing away right before she reached the salt circle. He breathed a sigh of relief; for a minute, he'd been worried Haley was too overwhelmed by everyone else's pain to feel him, even in such close contact. Luckily, those fleeting moments of fear had been unfounded, and Haley was now staring at him with a mixture of frustration, pain, and desperation on her face.

"It's not true. None of it. You're wrong." She shook her head, closing her eyes. "Stop it. Get out of my head. I can't stand this anymore." She looked up, her eyes a deep, dark black. Sam's eyes widened briefly before he was once again thrown against the wall. Then he felt something else, a clawing inside his skull, like someone had reached through his head and taken hold of his brain. It sent shockwaves of pain through his body. Her face was a mask of calm fury (if that was possible) as she watched him struggle against the invisible force holding him against the wall. She clawed further into his mind; his deepest, darkest secrets were open for her to read like a book. But it wasn't the information she was after (though she certainly got an awful lot of it stored away in her own memory), it was the pain Sam suffered at having his thoughts almost literally ripped from his head that was the reason why Haley was doing it.

"Haley…"

"Shut up," Haley said. "Shut up! Just… stop it!" Sam pushed with all his might against her hold, while at the same time trying to maintain his thoughts and feelings of love directed at Haley (which was fast becoming harder and harder due to the intense stress Haley was causing his mind). His eyes suddenly went wide as he threw all he had (physical and mental) against Haley, and Haley was shoved backwards into what was left of the salt circle (and after that there was almost nothing left of it). Sam was once again released from her kinetic hold, and almost fell forwards (since he hadn't actually been prepared for getting free).

Haley looked up at him, a pained (and angry) expression on her face. Her eyes were still deep black, and they went wide as she made to throw Sam against the wall a third time.

What neither of them expected was for Sam to only be pushed back a few feet. Her breathing ragged, Haley tried again, and again. Each time she tried, it got weaker, until finally she couldn't move him at all. There was a very distressed look on her face by then. Distressed and exhausted. Unsure what else to do, she lunged at him, swung her fist and punched him square in the chin. His head snapped back and he crashed backwards into the wall. Haley stared at him, waiting, not quite sure what to expect.

He climbed unsteadily to his feet, determination (not to mention exhaustion) in his eyes. "Haley…"

"No!" she shouted, and she punched him again, this time in the side of the face. He took the blow, and then turned back to her. Tears started to form on the rims of Haley's eyes as she punched him again on the other side of the face.

"I lo-" She picked him up and threw him across the room into the opposite wall. He struggled back to his feet from where he'd landed, only to have her fist connect with his face once again. There were tears streaming down her face, and she was gasping for air like she'd just run a marathon. "I love you," he gasped. She hit him again, and he turned back to face her.

"No! You… you can't," she sobbed, hitting him again. And again. She kept hitting him, repeating her words and others like them. Each time Sam felt like his head was about to snap off his neck, and each time he turned back to face her. Finally she collapsed forward onto him, still beating her fists weakly against his, crying into the front of his shirt. "Don't do this. Please, please… just make it stop… make the pain stop," she begged. Exhausted, Sam fell backwards against the wall, sliding down, holding Haley in his arms as she continued to cry.

He whispered soothingly to her, reminding her of everything they'd done, of all the good times they'd had together, though the only words that were coherent to either of them was his occasional reminder that he loved her.

After another small eternity, she finally pulled away from his embrace, pain evident on her face. "Make it stop, Sam," she said, a pleading look on her face. He looked at her in confusion.

"I don't…" He trailed off, not sure what she meant.

"You can end it Sam… I thought the only way to make the pain go away was to kill you…" Sam's eyes widened as realization dawned.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "No, I won't. I can't."

"Yes, Sam. Please. Please I'm begging you." She was on the edge of hysteria. "Do it. Please. Kill me." Her eyes were unfocused and bloodshot, her whole body shook with the effort of trying to keep herself from completely losing control. "You have no idea what this… is like," she shouted, looking away from him as a fresh wave of tears began to flow. "I can't stand it another minute. Please, do it!"

"I do…" Sam said softly, holding her so she was forced to face him. "I understand, Haley. Better than most, I know what it's like to feel alone in a… a sea of darkness," he whispered. She stared at him, disbelief on her face. Then she remembered back to their first hunt after joining up. When Sam had been blinded.

She shook her head (or tried, Sam was still forcing her to look at him). "It's not the same," she muttered, trying to look away. Sam sighed.

"Maybe it isn't," he said. "But it doesn't make this situation any different," he added forcefully, and Haley scoffed, looking at him like he was crazy. "I'm serious," he said, and Haley could tell by the tone of his voice that he was. "You saved me. You helped me get through it." He pulled her into a tight, warm hug, and she resumed crying into him. "Now let me help you. Let me save you." Her eyes suddenly went wide and she pushed away from him, gasping for air. Then her head snapped back and she screamed as the black, smoke-like substance of demon essence erupted from her mouth, covering the ceiling in a matter of seconds.

And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the expulsion of the psi-vamp's essence ended, and Haley's head tilted forwards, and Sam gasped; her eyes were still black.

"Th… thank… you," she gasped. She blinked once, and her eyes returned to normal. And then she slumped forward into Sam's arms, her once-again-human body finally completely worn out.

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A/N: Wow, I finally got here. I had this little part planned since… well, the beginning. Until about a day ago, I had no idea how to write it. Now I do, and I have. But the story ain't over yet. No, not quite. I really want to know what y'all think of this little exchange, so why not drop me a review and let me know. Too chick-flicky? Really good? Not good? Awesome? The list of things it could be is apparently endless, and I ain't writing any more of them.