A/N Thanks so much to those who have been reading and reviewing! :) Again, sorry for any and all mistakes.

Chapter Seven

"What are you doing?" Maddie's voice was loud in the still night and Dean flinched.

"Listening," he growled and then instantly regretted it when Maddie's face closed off and she shifted, curling up into a tighter ball. Sighing, Dean rubbed a hand through his hair and glanced at Sam who was still sleeping fitfully where he had fallen earlier.

"I was just keeping an ear out for Emma," he said contritely, crossing over to stand closer to where Maddie was resting against a thick trunk.

Maddie looked around, her voice shrinking even more. "Do you think that she can find us?"

Dean gave a none comital shrug. "Anything is possible." The fact that Emma had possibly found them once already wasn't heartening and Dean straightened to his full height, moving back to the perimeter of the area he had designated as theirs. If he was going to attack someone, it would be in the dead of night and he couldn't shake the feeling that the demon was hovering somewhere close by, that she knew exactly where they were and was just biding its time.

Oh, the price he would pay for a whole canister of salt, or maybe ten.

Sam shifted, making a faint keening sound before stilling once more and Dean frowned. Maddie followed his gaze. "He's going to be alright, won't he?"

That was the million-dollar question, wasn't it?

"Sam'll be fine. He always is."

Maddie shook her head, laughing derisively. "I can't believe you have an 'always'. Stuff like this is not a daily occurrence for most of us."

"Yeah, well, welcome to our world." The words came out much more bitter than Dean had intended and Maddie gave him a small, almost pitying smile.

"So you really do this? You really hunt down all these…monsters? For a living?"

Dean sighed again. He really, really, didn't want to be having the talk with Maddie, not right now. "Yup. Have some pretty cool stories out of the deal, too."

"Don't they frighten you?" Maddie was twisting her fingers in her jacket and, after another glance around, Dean dropped down to sit next to her. Snapping a nearby leaf off a bush, he began to methodically rip it to shreds.

"Nah, I know how to kill 'em all, and even the ones that we don't, we figure it out." No, monsters didn't even rank in the top ten of things that scared Dean, not even close.

"Oh…what does then?"

"Old women in skimpy outfits. Oh, and electric cars. Who thought those were a good idea? Go past 50 mph and they are likely to fall' apar' in the middle of the highway. Just saying."

Maddie smiled and for a brief moment, Dean caught sight of the waitress from before, and then her own fear settled back in, drawing deep lines in her face. "But what—"

"Maddie," Dean began, cutting her off before she could really get going. "I know that we kinda turned your whole world upside down, but just accept it and move on. That's what I had to do. Monsters are real, no if's and but's about it. Are you likely to run into another one again? No. Sam could probably sprout all these crazy statistics about that, but I can tell you is that I've never had to save anyone twice. Hell, I've hardly had to go back to the same town twice, with the exception of places like New York or Chicago."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? Because it didn't."

Dean smiled, tossing the stem away and reaching for another leaf. "That's more of Sam's specialty." Exasperation and fondness tickled Dean's heart as he looked back over at his brother. "But you are going to go on and live a full, happy, life and this will just be a bad nightmare by tomorrow, alright?"

Maddie didn't look satisfied, but Dean had already tuned his senses outwards again. His nerves were tingling and he got up, pacing a few steps away,

That was when the whistling began.

It was faint, but clear and distinct and it only took Dean a few minutes to recognize the tune. And a demon would pick The Devil Went Down to Georgia. But it was a clear warning that Emma was close, that she had picked up their general scent even if she couldn't nail them down. That she was still out there, ready and waiting to attack.

Dean's heart began to beat faster in his chest and he scanned the area anew, backing around towards Sam and Maddie. Maddie looked petrified, her hands twisting together and her eyes brimming with tears.

"That's not good," Dean muttered, his mind running through their options. Sam couldn't move, not yet, not till he got some strength back, and if Dean was being honest then he was tired too. They needed a few hours to regroup and rest.

That probably was what Emma wanted anyway, to force them to keep moving and tire them out, but they also needed better protection. Something to keep the demon away 'cause Dean wouldn't leave his back open. Struck with a sudden idea, he began to scavenge around for a large branch.

"This may or may not work, but we are going with it," he said over his shoulder, answering Maddie's unspoken question. "Hopefully this will provide some sort of warding against the demon."

Finding a suitable branch, Dean paced out away from where Sam and Maddie were lying and began to draw a large circle in the dirt around them. The whistling stopped and Maddie jumped, arms wrapping around themselves for warmth. Dean stopped too, listening.

"I think we are still good," he said a moment later with some hesitation and bent back over, continuing to work and digging deep lines into the ground. The ground was harder in spots than others and the result was a rather wobbly and uneven circle.

"Art project?" Maddie asked and Dean shrugged as he moved inwards, eyes still on the ground.

"More like an ancient language project. This is a devil's trap and it does exactly what it sounds like. We use them to trap demons, exorcism them, and then send 'em back to hell." Dean began to back up, stopping to draw a particularly complicated-looking symbol in the dirt and scoffing. "I don't usually find myself inside of one, but I can guarantee you that the demon won't lay a pretty finger inside, which means that she is gonna have to draw us out. We can get some rest, the demon can stew."

"Oh…okay."

Dean grinned at her expression that looked anything but confident. He stepped over Sam and bent down again, chipping away at a particularly dry patch. "I'm like 92.7% sure this will work, so don't worry." Dean paused, admiring his work before scuffing out one of the symbols and redoing it. "Again, I don't think that she actually knows our exact location. It doesn't...doesn't feel dark enough for that. She is just trying to intimidate us."

Flipping the stick in his hands, he slammed it point down in the dirt so that it stuck, quivering there, and moved to straddle Sam's body. Bending down, he slipped and arm under Sam's knees and, while holding his breath tentatively, shifting his legs over to the left and bending his knees up towards his stomach. Sam grunted, his breath catching as his face creased in pain.

"Sorry, go back to sleep," Dean whispered and Sam stilled, sighing a little before going lax. Finishing curling him up into a smaller ball, Dean patted his chest and picked up his stick again, drawing a line right where Sam's legs had been.

"Is it kinda like a magic circle?" Maddie asked, disbelief continuing to waver in and out of her voice.

"Yeah, something like that." Dean moved across from her and tapped her good foot lightly with his to get her to scoot over. At last he stepped back, dropping the stick and brushing off his hands. Looking it over, he nodded in appeasement. Dirt wasn't exactly the best material to be working with, but he wasn't going to complain.

Moving gingerly so as not to break any of the lines, Dean eased himself down into a free spot and rested his sore and aching arms on his knees.

It wasn't five minutes later that the whistling started up again.

Dean looked up, making note of where it was coming from before bowing his head once again, keeping silent watch.

About every twenty minutes the whistling would start up again, sending shivers up and down Dean's back but after a while, he found it almost reassuring. Emma clearly had no clue where they were, not exactly. She wasn't moving in on them, just trying to scare them.

Sam began to fitfully stir sometime around three in the morning, his eye fighting to open just as the whistling began again. Dean edged closer, keeping one eye on him and the other on the woods, but Sam lost the fight after several minutes and his eyes remained stubbornly closed as he drifting off once more.

It wasn't until the cool grey dawn when Sam finally managed to fully rouse himself.

Face twisting up in pain, Sam shivered in the cold air, one arm slipping free enough to bring Dean's jacket further over his shoulders.

"You up for good this time?" Dean asked, turning his head with a wince of his own as he stretched out overused muscles. Sam made a soft noise in the back of his throat in response and Dean turned his attention fully onto him rather than the woods around them.

Clambering stiffly to his feet, Dean crouched next to Sam and gripped his shoulder firmly. Sam squinted up at him as his eyes face clouded over into a grimace and his free hand moved towards his heavily bandaged middle.

Dean tapped his shoulder, regaining his attention. "How you doin'?" He dropped his voice as Maddie let out a snore and rolled over.

Sam processed his words for a minute and shrugged. "Been better," he finally admitted and Dean's heart twisted.

"We just have to make it back to my baby, then you can take a knee." Dean's sought out Sam's eyes and grinned broadly. Sam grimaced, his head rolling back as his eyes slipped closed once more.

"Is Maddie up?" he asked, his voice thick and heavy.

"Nah, but she can sleep for another few while we get some fuel into you but then we'll hit the road again." Dean checked his watch and did a double-take. The whistling routine that Emma had her heart so set upon should have been started and finished by now.

"What is it?"

Dean looked up to find Sam looking at him shrewdly, his eyes all too knowing.

"Just Emma playing games, don't worry about it."

"No, no, no. That's not a 'don't worry about it' look." Reaching out, Sam grabbed onto Dean's shoulder and began to lever himself up into a sitting position. The exercise left him breathless and pale, but Dean didn't comment on it, simply passing him the water bottle and keeping a hand on his arm.

Dean recounted the new turn of events as Sam took slow sips of water, nodding occasionally or stopping to ask a question. He finally shook his head, capping the water. "You should have made for the car last night, while Emma was stationary."

"Maybe," Dean sighed, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. "But we aren't exactly Dr. Who here. No time-turners to go back, so we are just going to have to make do."

"Harry Potter."

"What?" Dean pulled a face.

"Harry Potter. Time-tuners are from…you know what, nevermind." Sam hunched forward, closing his eyes as he breathed out slowly. Dean nudged his hand.

"You should drink more," he ordered, "We've got to keep you hydrated, 'cause you so don't need any more problems than you already have."

"Yeah, 'cause we have so much. When was the last time you had any?" Sam fried back, if a little breathlessly, and Dean scoffed. He offered the bottle but Dean shoved it back into his chest with a pointed glare. Sam's eyes narrowed and then clear exhaustion rolled over him, bowing his back and tightening the lines around his eyes. He uncapped the bottle, taking another sip.

Dean couldn't help but notice that his hands were shaking.

"You're sure that you are up to this?" he asked, accepting the water this time when Sam passed it to him.

Sam snorted. "Not like we have a choice."

"Right," Dean ran a hand roughly through his hair, his eyes sliding away from Sam's face.

"Hey. Drink."

Dean looked back over, surprised but Sam was motioning to the bottle with a listless wave.

"We've been over this already—"

"Drink."

It started a short bark of laughter from Dean, though what was funny about it he didn't know. Shaking his head with exasperation, he took several quick swallows. Sam was down, but not out, not against his brother and not against the demon.

Standing, Dean tossed the now mostly empty bottle into the duffle and rooted out a package of peanut butter crackers. "Eat that. I'm gonna get Maddie up." He made his way over to Maddie, no longer avoiding scuffing the lines in the dirt up. Not like it would do them much good in just a moment anyway.

"Hey…hey, Maddie?" Dean reached out, shaking her shoulder, waiting until she had blinked her eyes open before continuing, "We've got to get moving again, alright?"

Confusion, pain, and fear filtered across her face, and Dean's stomach clenched. "Here," he offered her the second package of crackers and their last water bottle and then moved back to Sam, who was wrapping the plastic wrapper back up around the remaining crackers, offering them up to Dean. He took them, choosing not to press the issue for the moment. It was a minor miracle that he had gotten Sam to eat anything at all.

"Do you need a hand up?"

"No," Sam said stiffly as he eased onto his knees, panting lightly. Dean moved over despite Sam's glare, letting one arm hover behind Sam's back and offering his own forearm for Sam to brace against. Sam grabbed it, pushing upwards, and almost going down again when his knees refused to lock. Dean's hand shot up, clenching the back of his shirt while his other hand moved up to Sam's chest, steadying him.

"Nice and easy," he murmured, waiting patiently for Sam to find his equilibrium.

Sam let him hold him up for a minute as he panted before nodding and lightly pushing his way past Dean's arms. Dean slowly removed his hands, watching wearily for any signs that Sam wouldn't be able to stand on his own before taking a step back and stooping to reclaim his jacket that had ended up on the forest floor.

"Wait for me," he ordered as he slipped into it and hurryed back towards Maddie. She was still blinking tiredly and, unlike Sam made no effort to push herself up. Dean simply slid his hands under her body, ignoring the burn of protesting muscle, and hefted her jerkily up.

She grunted, just holding back a cry of pain, and her hands came up to clench at the lapel of Dean's jacket as he shifted her closer to his chest.

"How far away are we?" She asked, her head dropping back down and Dean shrugged as he made towards Sam, who was bent over, one hand pressed against the tree and the other against his wound.

"About another mile."

Maddie snorted as she twitched into a comfortable position. "Cause that means so much to me. How much longer, if you had to hazard a guess?"

Dean blew out a breath. "Well, give or take the time it might take to battle a demon, I'd say two hours at least."

"Oh…" Maddie let out a soft sound of frustration that Dean related to very much.

"Not a morning person, huh?" he asked friendly as he moved closer to Sam, once again offering his shoulder. Sam let go of the tree and staggered into Dean, who tried very hard not to notice just how heavily Sam was leaning against him or how hard he was breathing into his ear.

Glancing around the trees, Dean mentally paved their path and started walking, angling them more north and once again towards the main path and the bridge.

The sun slowly crept over them, warming the chill from the air until their clothes were starting to stick to their skin. Along with the rising sun, the dull roar of the river had been creeping upon them, and more than anything that gave Dean hope.

They were close to the river, which meant they were getting close to the bridge. Then they would just have to get past Emma and whatever form she had taken.

Still, it came as a small surprise when they broke through a thick patch of trees and onto the bank of the furiously flowing river. Sam breathed out what sounded like a long sigh of relief against Dean's neck, his fingers digging painfully deep into his shoulder.

"'t's the 'Mpala…" he gasped out, raising his other hand to shakily point across the river. Sure enough, they could just see the beautiful black hood of Dean's baby, glinting from the parking log on the far side of the river. The bridge itself stood only a short distance off and for the first time, Dean felt hope flare in his heart.

"See, Baby always comes through." Dean cast a glance behind him, a real smile on his face for what felt like the first time since this whole fiasco had started. Sam wasn't looking at him, his eye fixed across the river.

Sam looked terrible, however, with his face bathed in a fine sheen of sweat and his hair matted and sticking up at odd angles.

"We should probably get back into the tree line."

Sam agreed with a jerkily nod, his eyes slowly moving to the bridge. "It doesn't look like anyone is there…" he said hopefully over the sounds of the river as they stepped back into the shade of the trees.

"I dunno. I wouldn't count on Emma not being there," Dean said hesitantly.

"But if she's not…" Maddie piped up, sounding so wistful that it almost hurt. Sam and Dean exchanged a dark glance and Maddie lifted her head, looking between them and trying to read what was passing between them.

"I'm just saying…What if she really did leave, what if she is out looking for us right now," she insisted.

"It's…it's a thought," Sam finally said and Maddie shook her head, dropping it back down against Dean's chest.

"I know that you guys think that was stupid or something but believe it or not most of don't go around doing this all day. I just…I just wanna go home. I want this to all be over and for everything to go back to the way that it was."

"Maddie, no, we don't think that, at all," Dean looked down at her, surprise crossing his face. "We're just trying to come up with a way to get us all home, I promise." Maddie snorted, wrapping her free fingers into the hem of her shirt and twisting as she blinked rapidly.

Sam's face said that all he wanted was to wrap his arms around her and hug her until her worries disappeared and Dean cleared his throat. Sam flinched a little, jerking his eyes back to Dean's.

"We, ah, actually do need the barest outline of a plan. I know that we kept saying that we would figure it out when we got there, but here we are and we still have zilch."

Sam tracked his words, processing them, and shook his head. "Everything depends on where exactly the demon is, that changes everything, and we don't know, so…"

"Ah, yes, the wing-it plan. My favorite. See, that wasn't so difficult," Dean trailed off, continuing to mutter under his breath as he began to move them in the direction of the bridge.

"As long as you don't go off half-cocked on your own, okay. We are going to figure it out together. Dean?"

Dean didn't answer and Sam's fingers dug into his shoulder.

"Seriously, man, what's up. You're all strung out."

"All I wanted was so burn up some witch's altar. Was it too much to ask, for it to be witches and for me to be able to play with explosives?" He smirked back at Sam but his brother stopped so suddenly that Dean spun around as first instinct told him that his brother was about to fall flat on his face again. Only Sam was glaring at him.

"Dean, man, cut the freaking bullcrap for a minute, why don't you?"

"Excuse me?" Dean's own temper flared and he straightened his back in disbelief. Sam took a deep breath, wiping his hand across his face as he appeared to be counting back from five.

"It's just…Dean, you've been trying to push your way through this, all with just a smile and—"

"—Do you really freaking see me smiling, cause I sure as hell don't remember doing much of it—"

"—And just trying to be this one-man show or something. Dean, you don't always have to take risks by yourself, to play with life and death just 'cause you want to."

Dean narrowed his eyes, taking a step towards Sam. "And what? You get too? If the demon comes after you..."

"Dean!" Sam rubbed a hand across his face in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You gotta just…believe, have trust in me, Dean. Hell, you and Dad were the ones that taught me everything I know. If it comes after me, I won't make it easy."

Dean threw back his head in annoyance since he couldn't use his hands. "This isn't about not trusting you, dude. I do and you know that, but you've been leaking blood and-and, I mean if you could see yourself. You look like a hard breeze could knock you over." He hadn't meant to let that much fear into his voice and he refused to glance over, to see that doe eye look on Sam's face.

"Dean, don't you get that—"

"I honestly couldn't think of a better time have this discussion," Dean broke in, "Not somewhere safe like over dinner or while holed up in a motel room. No, while we are on a run from a demon and you are in danger of bleeding out. Sam, we can talk about my deal later because that is what this is really about."

All the energy seemed to deflate out of Sam and he leaned a little heavier against the tree. "Right. 'Cause you will just be dying to have that discussion later."

Dean ground his teeth together, taking his own turn to count backward from ten. "Sam…" he began as evenly as he could. "Later. If you start ripin' me a new one right now, then the demon will be onto of us before you could even get the first sentence out. Just…later."

Sam appeared mollified as he looked anywhere but at Dean but he did let out a long sigh that had the weight of the world behind it. "Sorry. I didn't..." he trailed off and Dean nodded once, forcing a grin across his face.

"Getting stabbed does tend to make you grumpy."

Sam reattached himself to Dean's shoulder and they continued on for a moment. Dean opened his mouth once, before shutting it again, trying to figure out how to break his plan, really the only plan, to Sam. To his surprise, it was Sam who spoke first.

"You're going to have to leave us behind." His words were short, his voice defeated, and Dean turned on instinct.

"Sam," he said softly, his own gut clenching instinctively but he knew as well as Sam did that this was their only option. He had been working up to saying it himself, he just didn't like Sam sounding that way.

"No, you are right," Sam continued in that same voice. "The demon is going to be waiting for us at the bridge and all we have is a handful of salt to fight her off with. You need to get to the Impala and I'm not winning any foot races here. If I came with you, then you are going to be worried about watching both of us, of defending me. Hell, I'm liability rather than an asset in this fight."

Dean shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, I just don't see any other option, Sam."

"We play into her hand, send me out as bait, and draw her away while you get to the car, get some more weapons," Sam hedged.

"No." The cold fear that surged through Dean's heart made him feel sick. "Hell's gonna freeze over first."

Sam didn't look surprised and quickly relented. "Okay, okay, bad idea."

"You think?"

Both were silent for a long moment. Maddie was staring straight ahead, looking anxious unsure what to do. Dean related.

All he wanted was for Sam to be safe, was that too much to ask?

#

Sam watched Dean turn and walk stiffly back towards the bridge, Pushing off the tree, he limped after him as quickly as he could. In a perfect world, he would have been there to back Dean up, to make sure he didn't do anything stupid, but this wasn't a perfect world.

They had learned that lesson at a very young age.

If Dean was going to be fully focused on this fight then he needed Sam out of the picture because the demon would go after the injured one, after him. And he knew only too well how desperate Dean got when Sam was involved, how stupid he got.

Still, Sam's stomach churned at the thought of Dean facing off against a demon with very few weapons.

"Sam?" Dean's eyes were a mixture of anger, concern, and fear when he turned back and Sam quickly nodded.

"Coming," Pushing his legs a little faster, he moved up to where Dean was waiting.

Still, Dean's back remained rigid and his shoulder's taunt as he blazed a trail for them through the thick forest. He only slowed when it became apparent that Sam was having trouble keeping up and from then one his glances become more frequent, more worried, and the lines around his eyes grew stark.

"Not much farther now," he kept saying and Sam nodded, not wasting energy or words on an actual reply as his breath punched in and out of his chest. The small amount of energy he had had this morning was no more than a wishful thought none and nothing short of sure stubbornness was keeping him on his feet.

But it would be enough to see him through.

"Hold up," Dean suddenly whispered, his back going rigid with attention and Sam came to a stumbling stop and attempted to hold his breath, to stop the wheezing that was sure to give them away at any second.

They stood there, in complete silence, for several long seconds before Dean again motioned them forward once more. Creeping slowly but steadily forward, Dean finally halted them near a large group of trees and jerked his head to the side. Sam nodded once, letting go of his brother so that he could grip the tree next to him. If the world tilted a little and he stumbled more than leaned against the tree, well, denial was everything, right?

Dean eased down onto his knees, dropping Maddie gently to the ground and leaning her up against a tree. She looked up at him, the uncertainty and fear clear in her face but Dean only grinned, giving her a small wink before standing. Stretching out tense muscles, he turned to Sam, ready to offer a hand down but Sam was shaking his head.

"I can stand," he insisted in a low tone, shaking off Dean's attempts to grab his arm.

"Yeah, of course, you can, Humpty-dumpty, but just in case…" he trailed off as Sam continued to shake his head and fend off his attempts at help.

"How far away are we from the bridge?" Sam asked instead, still trying to push his brother off and Dean finally relented.

"Not far, within yelling distance. Speaking of which, you know the drill. Don't leave here—"

"Yeah, yeah." Sam waved Dean off once again, and Dean's eyes narrowed.

"I mean it, Sam. Trust me."

That made Sam pause. He did trust him, trusted him more than he trusted himself, and certainty more than he had his father. And he had thrown in his vote to get left behind…but to save Dean. If Dean was in trouble and Sam knew it...

Dean and Sam shared one last emphatic glance, and then Dean was gone, slipping into the trees with only a little holy water and salt to aid in the fight against a demon.