When Lena regained consciousness, she was sitting in a chair near Dean's bed. "Hey Lena", Sam said moving over to her, cup of water in his hand. He held it out to her.
"Thanks", Lena said sipping the cold liquid.
"Why did you tell me that you were fine?" Sam asked.
Lena looked down at her drink "You had enough to worry about and I didn't want to add to it", she said quietly.
"Next time, don't be afraid to tell me", Sam said softly, lifting her head so he could look her in the eyes "you're wellbeing is just as important to me" His hand moved from her chin to her cheek and the brunette leaned into his touch "I care about you".
"I care about you too", Lena said softly. The pair leant towards each other, this time their lips touched without any interruptions. Lena moved her plastic cup away with her magic so she wouldn't accidently drop it as they made out. This definitely was worth the annoyance/disappointment of their almost kiss months ago. Eventually they pulled away, resting their foreheads together.
Unnoticed by either of them, Dean's spirit entered the room as did Nathan. He'd been looking around the hospital for where John would summon the demon but no such luck. Dean smiled at his brother and Lena while Nathan looked away out of respect. "About time", Dean remarked.
Lena pulled back from Sam "Dean?" she questioned, surprised, standing up.
"You can hear me?" Dean asked, hopeful. He'd been wanting someone to be able to hear him since he discovered that he was a spirit.
Lena nodded "Yeah, I can", she confirmed.
"Thank god", Dean said, utterly relieved.
"You can hear Dean?" Sam asked looking around the room "what's he saying?"
"He was asking if I could hear him. And he's relieved when I said 'yes'", Lena answered.
"There's something in this hospital Lena", Dean said "a Reaper".
Lena's eyes widened "oh boy", she breathed.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked, concerned.
"There's a Reaper here", Lena replied. Nathan cursed under his breath at her answer.
"That's gonna be a big problem", he muttered.
"Ask Dean if its after him", Sam said to the witch.
"No need to ask, I can hear you. And yes its after me", Dean explained.
"He says you can just talk straight to him as he can hear you", Lena repeated "and the Reaper is after him".
"Well, if it's here naturally, there's no way to stop it", Sam stated.
"Nope, can't kill death", Lena said.
"Which means I'm screwed", Dean added. Lena glanced over in his direction.
"No, you're not screwed. We'll figure out a way", she said firmly.
"She's right Dean", Sam agreed "There's gotta be a way. Dad'll know what to do". The younger Winchester then left the room, leaving Lena and Nathan with Dean.
"You know its going to be impossible to call off a Reaper", Nathan told her.
"I know. Not gonna stop me from trying though", Lena said.
Lena, Dean and Nathan looked over at the doorway when Sam came back, carrying John's journal. "Our Dad wasn't in his room but I got his journal, so who knows? Maybe there's something here", he said. He started to page through, Lena, Dean and Nathan moving over to have a look.
When Sam reached a page titled 'Reapers' and Dean's eyes widened reading something on the page. He quickly left the room to go find Tessa. Sam carried on going through his father's journal.
"There's nothing in here", Sam said tossing the journal angrily onto the chair "I don't know how to help him".
Lena hugged him as he started to get upset "Its going to be ok", she said softly rubbing his back "I can keep healing him if you like", she offered.
"That's not really a good idea", Sam said "you passed out last time".
"He's right", Nathan added.
"But this time around I wont be trying to heal him the whole way, just enough to get him out of the danger zone", Lena said "maybe that'll stop the Reaper from coming after him".
Sam looked at his brother and then at Lena "do it", he said. Lena stepped away from him and toward the bed. She took a breath and held her hands over Dean's chest again. Her eyes turned blue as she started to recite the healing spell once more.
Sam watched the brunette healing his brother. Several minutes passed and she was still going. Suddenly Dean gasped, eyes flying open. Lena jumped back, startled. Sam darted to the doorway as Dean started to choke on the tube in his throat. "Help! I need help!" Sam shouted.
"Well done Lena", Nathan said, proudly.
"Thanks", Lena said.
Several hours later…
Sam, Lena stood back while the doctor spoke to Dean. "I can't explain it. The edema's vanished", he said "The internal contusions are healed. Your vitals are good. You have some kind of angel watching over you". Or a white witch Dean thought casting a glance at Lena.
"Thanks, doc", Dean said to the medical professional and the doctor leaves "thanks Lena, I owe you big time", he said to the brunette.
"I wish I could take the credit for your speedy recovery but there's no way I healed you that quickly", Lena said.
Dean frowned "So who was it?" he asked.
"We have no idea. All we know was that a Reaper was after you", Sam told him.
"If you hadn't healed me enough…then how did I get away?" Dean queried to Lena.
"Your guess is as good as mine", she replied "I'm gonna call Bobby, tell him the good news".
"I'll come with you", Nathan said and the two of them left room, passing by John in the hall. The man in question, entered his son's room.
"How you feeling, dude?" he asked.
"Fine, I guess. I'm alive", Dean replied.
"That's what matters", John remarked.
"Where were you last night?" Sam demanded.
"I had some things to take care of", John explained, vaguely.
"Well, that's specific", Sam said sarcastically.
"Come on, Sam", Dean said but his brother ignored him.
"Did you go after the demon?" Sam pressed.
"No", John answered.
"You know, why don't I believe you right now?" Sam said.
"Can we not fight?" John asked, his voice taking on a pleading tone "You know, half the time we're fighting, I don't know what we're fighting about. We're just butting heads. Sammy, I, I've made some mistakes. But I've always done the best I could. I just don't want to fight anymore, okay?"
Sam frowned, taken aback by this sudden change in his dad. "Dad, are you all right?" he asked, concerned.
"Yeah", John replied "Yeah, I'm just a little tired. Hey, son, would you, uh, would you mind getting me a cup of caffeine?"
"Uh…sure", Sam said and left the room, still rather confused by the change in his father's attitude.
Lena met the young Winchester as he was coming back toward Dean's room, cup of vending machine coffee in his hand. "Bobby is really happy to know that Dean's ok", she told him "as is Meg".
"How is Meg doing?" Sam asked.
"She's ok, trying to sort through everything that's happened while she was possessed", Lena explained "Bobby's gonna help her".
"Good", Sam said. He happened to glance into an open doorway and saw his dad on the floor "Dad?!" he exclaimed, the coffee cup falling out of his hand and he ran into the room. "He's not breathing!"
Lena darted to his side and started using her magic to try and revive John. "I don't understand. It's not working", she said.
"Keep trying", Sam urged. Lena nodded and continued. "Why are you stopping?" he asked when she lowered her hands "don't stop, you gotta wake him".
"I can't", Lena said quietly, a slight tremble in her voice "he's gone Sam".
Sam shook his head "No, he can't be…" he said adamantly. His dad couldn't be dead! He just couldn't be!
"I'm so sorry Sammy", she whispered.
"No", Sam said, his own voice starting to tremble as he began to tear up. Lena put her arms around him as he started to cry.
"Sorry I was so long, I wanted to…" Nathan trailed off "oh man…"
Lena and Nathan hung back at a respectable distance while Sam and Dean stood by their father's funeral pyre. The young woman knew that this wasn't going to be easy for either of them having been there herself with her parents. And she would do anything to help the brothers even if it meant keeping her distance for a while.
Sam stared at the flames, tears pricking in his eyes as he watched his father's body burn. Dean just stood there silently. "Before he.." Sam swallowed and tried again "before, did he say anything to you? About anything?"
"No. Nothing", Dean replied, not looking at him. There was no way he was going to tell Sam what John had said. He could he? His father had basically said that he might have to kill his brother if he couldn't save him. And he was going to save his brother if it's the last thing he does.
Eventually the flames dwindled down to burning embers. "Thanks for being here", Sam said quietly to Lena.
"You're welcome", Lena said, matching his tone "if there's anything I can do…"
"There is", Dean answered making both Sam and Lena look at him "come with us". If there is anyone who could help him 'save' Sam, it was her.
"You mean on cases?" Lena asked.
"Yes", Dean replied.
"Alright, I'll tag along", Lena said. Dean looked back at the burning embers of John's funeral pyre. Lena slipped her hand into Sam's. "I'm so sorry I couldn't save him", the witch murmured.
"It's ok", Sam said "you did your best".
"Well, I'm going to do better for this point on, I promise", Lena vowed, gently squeezing his hand. The trio continued to watch as the last flickers of flames died out leaving behind a pile of ash. Lena had no clue what the future held in store for the boys but whatever it was, she was going to be with them every step of the way, doing her utmost to protect them. Even if that meant at the cost of her own life.