A/N: Just a short chapter to keep things moving along. Things are about to reach a breaking point.

Thank you so much for sticking with me so far! All you fangirls (you know who you are) are awesome! Thank you so much for all the encouragement and cheering me on. This story is really close to me heart.

Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own Supernatural; I just get to play in their sandbox for a while. All OCs are mine.

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Chapter 11

Dean was pacing up and down. He hasn't panicked this much in a while. If a very powerful witch like Rowena could be knocked on her ass by a book what did that say about Sam? Sam was still sleeping. The dream root didn't work, what else could be done since Cas seemed to be AWOL again.

"Bollocks!" Rowena moaned pressing her palm against her head as she tried to sit up on the bed. It only took a couple of seconds before Dean was by her side, aspirin and water in hand, gently helping her up.

"Easy there." He coached her. "How are you feeling?"

She looked up to him with one eye, flinching at the light in the room. If looks could kill, he'd probably be a puddle on the floor.

"What happened?" She asked, shaking her head slightly before popping the pills in her mouth, chasing it down with water.

"Uhm, I was hoping you would tell me. The one moment you reach for the book, the next moment you stiff as a doll with freaky purple eyes and I tried to wake you up and grab the book from you but there was this invisible force field or something that threw me clear across the room. What the hell, Rowena?"

"Force field? Are we in some kind of science fiction show or something?" She grunted before swinging her legs off the bed.

"Well, how else would you like me to explain it? You looked like a statute and the next moment you slumped forward, lights out."

Rowena closed her eyes, resting her tired head on her elbows while pinching the bridge of her nose between her forefinger and thumb. The vision momentarily flashed before her eyes. She remembered every detail. So it wasn't just a dream, she thought.

"Yes, alright, alright. No need to get your panties in a bunch, boy." Feeling the bed dip next to her, her eyes flew open as the weight of something else land next to her. Dean brought the grimoire over to the bed and placed it next to her.

Rowena couldn't scramble off the bed fast enough. She grabbed her chest to calm her breathing down while her eyes frantically darted between Dean and the book.

"Something wrong, Rowena?" Dean frowned at her.

"You keep that thing away from me, Dean Winchester."

"But it's a grimoire, I thought you loved these? Don't you collect them or something?" He snorted.

Rowena threw him a bitch face but kept her distance. "I…ugh, no…yes yes, fine. I do collect them but this one, I don't know. I … I can't touch it again."

"And why the hell not?"

"It made me see things," she said, lowering her eyes briefly to stare at the floor. Dean picked the book up again, carried it over to the table but Rowena didn't move a muscle. She stayed in her spot, while only her eyes followed Dean. "Very powerful magic. Old magic." She said with big eyes.

"Care to share with the class?" Dean asked impatiently but before Rowena could reply, his phone started ringing and he growled briefly before answering.

"Bobby, hey. How's the hunt?"

"Don't you start boy. I'm on my way back."

"That bad, huh?"

"Yes. Did you contact Rowena?"

"She's here."

"Good. Listen, I was thinking we should all go back home. It's much …"

"Yeah, yeah." Dean said, half listening as he watched Rowena move over to Sam's bed, pulling the blankets all the way back to examine him more closely. He was still in his boxer shorts and t-shirt Dean helped dress him in after his shower mishap. From where he was standing, something seemed off but he wasn't too sure what. Looked like she was touching him in different places, and he knew he wanted her help, but leaving Sam so vulnerable in her sights, he couldn't just let her touch him like that without supervision…it just didn't sit right with Dean. He also couldn't let her be alone with Sam, even if she wasn't touching him. Dean knew she had a softer spot for the big giant and while he knew she would never hurt Sam, she was still a witch and everyone knew how Dean felt about witches.

"…you listening ya idjit?" Bobby's voice broke through to him.

"Yeah, sorry Bobby. I'll pack the room and we'll head out."

"Sure, see you in a couple of hours."

Dean looked down at his phone for a moment before he walked over to Sam's bedside.

"What's up Row….?" But Rowena interrupted him.

"Samuel is very sick, Dean." He frowned at her and tried to say something but she held up her hand and moved towards Sam's feet. Dean's eyes grew big as he noticed how grey Sam's feet looked against the crisp white motel sheets.

"What is going?" He demanded suddenly. "What did you do?"

He quickly bent over, touching Sam's feet and legs, but quickly pulled his hand away, looking up at the witch. His legs and feet were almost ice cold to the touch.

"I don't know but this boy is fighting a harsh battle and we need to figure out how to help him and fast or he might be lost to us forever."

"What do you mean? Tell me dammit!" Dean urged.

"He's body is dying, Dean. Just look at him. I bet if he was awake he'd tell you he already lost all feelings in his legs."

"Son of a bitch!" Dean called out, looking Sam over for other grey areas. It seemed that his finger tips had a slight discoloration as well.

That was enough to spur him into action. Grabbing his duffel, he started piling clothes and books inside. Rushing to the bathroom, he grabbed whatever was there in one go, shoving it in wherever he found a spot for it. He didn't need to tell Rowena to move her ass. She understood and she helped carry Bobby's books to the impala while the grimoire stayed on the table, untouched. Dean carefully picked his brother up and with Rowena's help they carried him to Baby's backseat. Dean quickly did a sweep of the hotel before he picked up the grimoire and headed to the office to hand in the room keys.

"Get in, Rowena." Dean motioned to the passenger side. He wasn't too pleased about the turn of events and under normal circumstanced, he would never allow her to ride shotgun, but this was a situation beyond his control. Since she arrived via taxi, there was no place else for her to go and they needed to fix Sam. If it wasn't for her reaction to the book, he would have ditched her and made another plan to help Sam but the discoloration of Sam's feet spooked him into action.

"Dean, I…ugh."

"Rowena, get in the damn car. I don't care if I have to strap you and chain you to the door. You're coming with me and you're gonna help me find a way to save my brother."

Rowena chew on her bottom lip for a brief moment before she flung her hair over her shoulder and opened the door, sliding into the front seat. Sliding in behind the wheel, Dean dropped the grimoire next to him on the seat. She shifted against the passenger side door, eyeing it with fear but didn't flee the car. Dean put the car in gear and drove away from the motel.

"We've got a long road ahead of us," he smirked. "So I suggest you tell me what you saw." He said while keeping one hand on the steering wheel and one hand on the book.

"Aye, Winchester." She let out a shaky breath before she started telling him about the vision she had.

ooOoo

Nelle was concerned about Sam who, like Adam, was like a brother to her. She's never had this kind of family union so this was a very important part of her life now and she was concerned for all of them. Sometimes she felt all out of sorts. She's never had the responsibility of carrying the wellbeing of others on her shoulders, being there for someone, so given this opportunity, she's taken this very personally that she couldn't supernaturally be there for Dean or Sam. All she could do was assist Bobby with the phones and hunters.

Needless to say she felt an unwelcome knot in her stomach after getting off the phone with Dean. He and some woman named Rowena was on the way back. She already knew Bobby was on his way since she also spoke to him earlier. Dean sounded much stressed and what he said made no sense. Something about Sam going grey and dying and some vision the woman had. She didn't really understood much and she felt a little useless. Knowing that she really had no knowledge of the supernatural world and she didn't really know how she could help Sam so she did the only thing she could. She changed the sheets on Sam's bed and started on baking pie. At least that was the best thing she could do for Dean.

ooOoo

"Ek gaan vir Nelle bel!" ("I'm phoning Nelle!") Andrea said, after her pacing was briefly interrupted by Pieter, asking her to stop.

"Wat gaan dit help, Dré? Jy hou aan terughardloop na mense wat aan die anderkant van die wêreld bly. Hoe weet jy ooit of jy hulle kan vertrou?" ("What good will it do, Dré? You keep running back to people on the other side of the world. How do you even know if you can trust them?") He asked concerned. He's never seen Andrea panicked like this. She was always level headed. She could think on her feet, make decisions at a moment's notice but watching her lose her best friend to some unknown impossible something, that was too much for even him to bear.

She looked at him in disbelief, snorted and continued pacing.

"Fokken luister jy na wat jy sê? Was jy daar toe ek die droomwortel gedrink het en vir Sam op die kamera in Sioux Falls gesien het? Of het alles net verby jou gegaan? Dink jy almal is daarop uit om vir ons te lieg?" ("Are you even fucking listening to yourself? Were you there when I drank the dream root and found Sam on the video in Sioux Falls? Or did all of this just pass you by? You think everyone is out to lie to us?") The fight was pointless but Andrea was out of ideas and options. She needed to take it out on someone and Pieter was just, well, there.

"Dis nie wat ek sê nie! Sal jy net ophou en vir 'n slag na my ook luister? Jy fokus so op wat hierdie vreemdelinge jou vertel oor iets wat dalk nie eens die regte probleem is nie. Kan ons haar nie net na 'n dokter vat vir 'n tweede opinie ni?" ("It's not what I'm trying to say. Would you just stop and listen to me for once as well? You're relying on all these strangers for something that might not even be the real problem. Can't we just take her to a doctor or something, get a second opinion?")

Pieter didn't like fighting with Andrea. He hated it. He knew what she was saying and he understood her desperation but he wanted to stay level headed. Keep head above water and not drown in all things weird and supernatural. He didn't understand it and frankly, he didn't really want to.

"Gaan jy vir die dokter verduidelik sy is vasgekeer in 'n droomwêreld, huh?" ("So are you going to explain to the doctor she is trapped in a dream world, mmm?")

"Ugh, ons hoef mos nie in detail in te gaan nie, ons kan net verduidelik sy wil nie wakker word nie!" ("Ugh, we don't have to give so much detail. We can just explain she doesn't want to wake up!") Pieter threw his hands in the air headed for the door. He needed some fresh air and space. This was going in circles and he needed time to think.

"Dis reg, hardloop weg! Lafaard!" ("That's right, run away coward!") Andrea called after him before stroking Isabeau's face and sighing deeply. It pained her deeply seeing her friend like this. With a determined look, she took her phone out and dialed Nelle's number. It only rang twice before it was picked up.

"Mmm, hello?" A sleepy voice greeted her.

"Oh gosh Nelle, I'm so sorry. Shit, I didn't even look at the time."

"Its fine Andrea, what's up?"

"I…uhm, I can call back."

"No, no. It's fine. I'm awake."

"It's Iz. I…ugh, it's Pieter really, but it's Iz. She's still out. She's not woken up yet. It's the longest yet and I've tried everything. It's not helping."

"What's wrong with Pieter?" Nelle sat up straight in her bed, eyeing the alarm clock on the bedside table. It was just after two in the morning. She felt like she hasn't slept in a really long time.

"He's being an ass. Says we should take Iz to a doctor – a human doctor. I can't risk it. They will think we're nuts. He said we should lie and just say she doesn't want to wake up but I don't know. I don't think I can do that. What should I do, Nelle? Has any progress been made on your end."

Nelle stood up and stretched her tired body before glancing out of the window. It was a quiet night. The moon was shining brightly and she could see a lot of stars. It always calmed her down looking over the sea of metal stretched out in front of her. Smiling to herself she turned to stand with her back against the window.

"Dean got somebody to read the book. I'm not sure what was actually being accomplished because the person only had a vision and passed out. But they're on their way. Should be here by morning."

"So no news then?" Andrea sighed.

"Sorry, Andrea. I wish I could tell you more but I'll only know more once I've actually seen Sam."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry to have woken you for nothing, really I am. Gosh I hate this time difference."

"Its fine Andrea, don't worry about it. Hunters phone all hours of the day here all the time and since I'm on phone duty, I kinda got used to it."

"Yeah well, didn't want to add to your pile of worries." Andrea said guiltily.

"Nah, I'm not worried about the hunters. And I wasn't really that asleep either. Had to wait for the pie which I made for Dean."

"Pie?"

"Yeah. Cherry is his favourite."

"Oh." Andrea said frowning. Not entirely sure what pie was since the only pie she knew was the one she bought every day at the cafeteria on campus and that would be cheese and mushroom. Extra cheese, very little mushroom. But it was not the time to talk about pie. She already felt too guilty for waking Nelle up.

"Well, okay. I guess I'll talk to you later. You should get some rest."

"Thanks Andrea. Ooh, before I forget. Dean mentioned something about a discoloration on Sam's legs. Perhaps you should just check if Iz shows the same symptoms. Maybe Pieter is right; maybe a second opinion is not such a bad idea, you know."

"Discoloration?"

"Yeah, he said something about Sam's feet turning grey or something. Anyways, I'll speak to you later?" Nelle said between yawns.

"Yeah yeah, thanks Nelle. Have a good night."

"Night." And then the line went dead.

Andrea stood quiet for a moment, looking at the phone in her hand before she slowly turned towards Isabeau. Dreading for what she might find, she slowly pulled the blanket off her friend, all the way down to her feet.

"PIETER!" She yelled at the top her lungs while running out of the room.