A Light In the Darkest Heart

by aryaunderfoot11

If there is one thing Dean Winchester is sure of, it's that witches are evil. That is, until one chance encounter with a child whitelighter brings him and his brother Sam, face to face with the Charmed Ones, who have their own doubts about the Winchesters' affiliation with good. With the fate of their families intertwined, they must fight to protect their worlds as they know them.

4. Demons Aren't A Girl's Best Friend

4- Demons Aren't a Girl's Best Friend

Sam walked out the door of the Halliwell manor, and heaved a huge sigh. He couldn't believe Dean had been so crass with Phoebe and her sisters when they were clearly just trying to help.

"Dean, what the hell is wrong with you?" he asked.

"You are not allowed to be pissed at me right now Sam, you just aren't."

"Well, too freaking bad Dean. I'm pissed. Those girls are all powerful witches. They could help you, and here you are running away, all because one of them can actually tell what's going on inside your head."

"We'll find another way Sam."

"Dean, there is no other way! We've tried everything: talking to the dead, busting Metatron out of prison, working with Crowley, talking to Cain himself—what else can we do? This might be our last hope, and I swear Dean, I will work with witches before I will let you go black eyed again."

"I told you already, that isn't going to happen."

"You don't know that, Dean," Sam said, pausing for a moment. "I've seen you, you know. You're not okay. You tell me that you are every time I ask, but I see you flex your arm when you get angry. I see you jump when you look in the mirror, like you're seeing something that isn't there. I hear you screaming every single night in your sleep. Be honest with me Dean… no, screw that, be honest with yourself. You need help, and the Halliwells might be your last chance to get it."

"I can't look her in the eyes."

"Who?"

"The psychic one."

"Phoebe?"

"At first, she was kind of fascinating, you know. I mean, a girl that hot, looking at me like she knows all my dirty little secrets, it's a turn on. But, she knows things that I don't want to know Sam. She remembers things that I am doing my best to forget."

"Can you even hear yourself right now, Dean? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds? When are you going to stop pushing everything down inside yourself and start dealing with your crap?"

"Sam, don't lecture me please. We have a long walk back to the car, and I don't think I can handle much more."

Sam took a deep breath in. Frankly he didn't have much more to say. In fact, it had all pretty much been said. So, luckily at that moment Castiel came out of the manor, jogged down the stairs, and began to give Dean a piece of his mind.

"Dean, you are my friend, so I need to give you one more chance to stay here while you still can. These witches, The Charmed Ones, they can help you. I know it."

"Aw, Cas, not you too."

"It is a mistake to leave. That is all I will tell you."

"Yeah, well then call me the King of Mistakes, because I'm not staying here!"

Sam shot Castiel a knowing frown and began to follow Dean down the sidewalk, but was immediately halted by the echoing sound of a scream coming from Halliwell Manor. Dean turned, locking eyes with Sam. Without a hint of hesitation the two brothers sprinted back to the house, scrambling for whatever weapons they had thought to bring with them which, in this case, consisted of a shotgun hidden in the waistband of Dean's pants, the seraph blade that Castiel had taken from Dean earlier, and a pouch of rock salt Sam had thought to put in his pocket before they left Kansas.

"What are you going to do with that amount of rock salt?" Dean asked. "Are we lining the entrances of a gingerbread house?"

"Shut up," Sam said, entering the house. Scanning the room he noticed a body, lying unconscious on the floor. Piper. Castiel ran to her.

"Is she alright, Cas?" Dean asked.

"She is hurt severely, and I'm afraid I must use some of the strength left in my borrowed grace to heal her. She is too much of a player for the forces of good in this world. She must not die. Go find the other sisters, this will take me some time."

"Be careful," Sam implored his friend before following Dean up the stairs. They walked gingerly, not knowing what they might be dealing with, until they heard the sound of several screams coming from the attic. This prompted both Winchesters to spring into action. As they entered the attic, Sam was surprised to see Phoebe and Paige, each of them holding on tightly to one of their nephews, pinned up against a wall, being protected by some kind of blue force field, and, most surprising of all, surrounded by ten to fifteen black eyed demons.

"Are those…" Sam trailed off.

"Apparently, that son of a bitch Crowley isn't good for his word. What a shame, I really thought we really had something," Dean replied, turning the attention of the demons away from the Halliwells. "See, he told us he wasn't going to let any more of you bastards out of the basement. Yet, here you are. So what gives?"

"Do you really think we still take orders from that sad sack, Crowley?" a blonde demon-woman snickered.

"Considering the last time you all organized an uprising, he roasted most of you and then imprisoned you in hell for life, I would have to say you'd be pretty dumb to try again. But hey, perseverance is key," Dean said, winking and leaning over to Sam. "Please tell me you grabbed that seraph blade from Cas on the way up?"

Sam looked down at his feet, indicating to Dean that he had not, in fact, remembered said knife.

"Alright then, I guess we're doing this old school. Do you remember the thing?"

Sam nodded.

"I'll distract, you chant."

Dean pulled out his gun and began to shoot at the demons, the pain of each bullet coursing through their bodies, though they continued to live on afterward. Sam began to chant the only exorcism ritual he could remember. It had been a long time.

"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus,"—immediately the demons began to moan—"omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii—"

Sam was cut off as an invisible force pushed him backward into a wall and held him in place, a feeling that was all too familiar to him. He tried to continue on with the ritual, but his airway was blocked and instead he began to choke. The youngest Winchester watched as Dean fought his way through the hoard of demons, trying to remember the next part of the chant as he landed a punch square in the blonde she-demon's jaw.

All Dean could get out was, "Omnis congegatio," before one of the demons threw him up against the wall as well. Sam saw blood begin to run down the wall from behind Dean's head, and he tried to call out to his brother, but it was no use. Just when Sam was thinking that this was how the two of them were going to go out, he felt an unfamiliar pull at his bellybutton. In a flash he was no longer up against the wall, instead he was behind the force field that one of the Halliwells was creating. He had been orbed.

"Quick!" Paige yelled. "How do we get rid of them? Wyatt can only maintain this force field for so long!"

Sam, realizing that these demon's powers were non-effective on anyone behind said force field, scrambled to remember where Dean had left off and then continued with the exorcism, "Et secta diabolica. Ergo, draco maledicte. Ecclesiam tuam secur tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos."

With the utterance of those last few words the demons stopped writhing in pain, and instead dropped to their knees as black smoke cascaded from their mouths and returned back down to hell, where they had undoubtedly come from. Their powers being exorcized along with them, caused Dean to slump to the ground, barely breathing. As the force field dissipated, Sam ran to him and collapsed at his side.

"Dean!" Sam yelled, taking his brother's head into his lap.

He was barely breathing. There was a large gash on his head, presumably from where it had hit the wall, and he had lost a lot of blood. If he didn't get some help soon, he wasn't going to live, and Sam knew that there was only one way he could come back if that happened. Unfortunately it involved Dean getting his own pair of black eyes.

"Can you heal him?" Sam asked.

Paige shook her head.

"But you're whitelighters!" Sam exclaimed, completely distraught.

Paige took her nephews' hands in hers, "We're only half whitelighters, and none of us have developed that power."

"LEO!" Phoebe yelled, kneeling down next to Sam and taking Dean's hand. "Come on, Dean, stay with us. LEO!"

A bright light shone down from the ceiling, and out of it walked a tall man with dark hair, dressed in a white robe.

"Phoebe, what's going on? Where's Piper?" the man asked.

"Leo, there's no time to explain, this man needs to be healed. Please."

Without question Leo knelt down next to Dean and placed his hands over the wound site. Golden light shone out of his hands, but if it was meant to heal Dean, it failed.

"Phoebe, I can't."
"Why not?" Sam exclaimed.

"There is a great evil about this man. He is no innocent."

"It's not him! It's the stupid mark on his arm!" Sam blubbered, tears beginning to run down his face. "He's not evil, but if you don't heal him he will be. Phoebe, tell him. Please."

She nodded, "Leo, this man isn't evil. Troubled, stubborn, angry, hopeless, yes. But, he is not evil. Not yet. I vouch for him."

"You realize that by vouching for him, and allowing him to survive, the elders will hold you completely responsible for anything he does that jeopardizes the state of good in this world. You could be stripped of your powers."

"I understand," she replied, with no hesitation.

Leo nodded, and placed his hands back over Dean's head. This time, Sam was amazed to see the gash on Dean's head close, the bleeding stop, and the color return to his brother's face.

"Dean?"

"Sammy?" the oldest Winchester mumbled back. "I'm gonna get that bitch, Crowley."

Sam smiled and exhaled a sigh of relief, "Me too, man. We'll get him together."

"Phoebe," Leo said, his attention turning to the bodies strewn about the attic floor, "What is going on? Where's Piper?"

"She's downstairs," Sam replied. "Our friend is with her, healing her. She got hurt pretty bad."

"You don't look so good yourself, sweetie," Paige said, bending down to look at Sam's forehead, which he realized for the first time was cut and bleeding. He gladly accepted a wash cloth from the youngest Halliwell, who was showing him the caring nature of her whitelighter side for the first time. Sam couldn't help but think that he could get used to her taking care of him, if he really wanted to.

"And, as for what's going on, I think the only people qualified to answer that question, are these two," Phoebe said, nodding toward the Winchesters.

"They were possessed," Dean grunted, doing his best to sit up.

"Easy," Phoebe warned, helping Sam prop him up. "I've been healed before too. It's a quick process, but it leaves you a little… nauseous."

Dean nodded, "Thank you, by the way for keeping me breathing. I appreciate it."

"Of course," Leo said. "Phoebe was willing to vouch for you, and I would never question her judgement. You say these people were possessed?"

"Yeah, by demons. You might want to check to see if you can heal any of the vessels. There are real people in there that might be able to give us information on what those douchebags wanted. I'm Dean Winchester, by the way, and this is my brother Sam."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Leo Wyatt, the girls' whitelighter, and Piper's husband," he replied and quickly turned to begin checking each body for a pulse. After he had checked all but one, it was clear he had given up hope, but in a last ditch effort he put his fingers to the blonde girl's neck.

"She has a pulse," Leo exclaimed, kneeling down next to the woman in order to heal her. "Her injuries are extensive. This might take a few minutes."

"How did you get rid of the demons?" Paige asked Sam. "It sounded like a spell."

"It kind of is," he replied. "It was an exorcism."

"And that did what exactly?"

"It sent them back to hell."

"So this is what you guys do?" Phoebe asked. "You trek around the country exorcizing demons?"

"It used to be the main thing we did," Dean told her, "But, we haven't seen a possession case in… at least a year, maybe closer to two. We were sort of promised by the King of Hell, that we wouldn't have to deal with them anymore. Until now, he'd been living up to his word."

"King of Hell?" Paige asked.

"His name is Crowley, and we are about to give him a call, aren't we Sam?"

"Hang on, you're on a first name basis with the King of Hell?" Phoebe asked.

"It's a long story, sweetheart."

"Don't call me sweetheart," Phoebe snapped.

"Anyway," Sam interjected, attempting to keep the peace, since it was clear Dean was getting his bad attitude back along with his strength, "I think we should wait on that call to Crowley. The girl said she wasn't working for him. Let's find out what she can remember, and then figure out where to go from there."

"She's healed," Leo said, "But she's unconscious for now. Her body has been put through a lot of trauma today."

"Thank you Leo," Phoebe said. "Now go check on Piper. I know you're dying to."

Leo nodded and left the room followed quickly by Wyatt. Chris however, stayed behind. He walked up to Sam and put his tiny hand on Sam's not-so-tiny cheek, as if he was making sure Sam really was okay. After a few moments, Chris smiled, clearly satisfied with the results of whatever test he had been conducting, and then toddled out the door after his father and brother. Sam sat there, stunned into silence by the peculiarity of the whole thing.

"I didn't orb you away, you know. I probably could have, but I was scared out of my mind," Paige said. "Chris is the one who saved you."

"I'm not sure what I did to deserve his trust," Sam replied.

"Neither are we," Phoebe shook her head. "He has never taken to anyone so quickly."

"Maybe he thought it was his turn to save you," Dean said, surprising them all. "You brought him back to his family, almost single-handedly. I just drove the car."

Sam nodded, not sure what else to say, and then began to really take in his surroundings. The vessels that the demons had been using had made a real mess of the place. There was broken glass and what looked like ingredients for potions scattered everywhere, and boxes that had been stacked in the attic for storage were overturned, many of them broken. Not to mention, there were eleven bodies piled up, and Sam didn't even know what to begin to do with them.

"Leo will take care of them," Paige said, reading the look on Sam's face. "Most of the demons we deal with have their own corporeal forms and just disappear when we vanquish them, but in the rare case they don't, he orbs them up to the elders. They'll return the bodies to their families."

"That's good to hear," Sam smiled at her, very aware of her proximity to him in that moment. Attempting to keep his cool, he turned back to Dean, "Are you good? Can I go check on the vessel?"

Dean nodded, "But you should probably stop calling her a vessel now, and also get her out of the pile of bodies. If she wakes up laying there we're going to have to get Sabrina and her Teenage Witches to wipe her memories for sure. No one could recover from an experience like that without a ton of therapy."

Phoebe and Paige rolled their eyes, but didn't say anything.

"Is there a place she can rest until she comes to?" Sam asked the sisters.

"You can put her in my room," Paige said. "Follow me."

Sam went over and lifted the blonde girl off of the floor, wedding style. He studied her face for a moment, perfectly still and white as a sheet. If Sam couldn't feel her ribcage expanding and contracting in his hand, he would have thought she was dead. Careful not to hit her head on the doorframe, Sam followed Paige out of the attic and down the stairs to one of the bedrooms. It was decorated almost psychedelically, the style and colors straight out of the seventies, though the clothing strewn around the room suggested that Paige really was a twenty-first century girl at heart. Sam did his best not to chuckle as she darted around the room attempting to clean up the mess.

"It's okay Paige. Trust me, Dean and I aren't exactly what I would call neat either. The only difference is instead of clothes and magazines, it's beer bottles, fast food bags, and books on supernatural lore."

"I'm usually not this messy," she explained, pulling back the green and purple, paisley blanket on her bed. "It's just with Chris going missing, and Piper being such a maternally charged mess lately, real live person Paige has kind of been put on hold so that she can be badass witch Paige, and best little sister ever Paige."

Sam smiled, placing the girl down and covering her up, "I know how that is. When your siblings need help it's sometimes hard to remember you need to take time for you too."

"Is it just you and Dean?"

"We had a younger brother, a half-brother, Adam. We didn't know him that well. He's gone now."

"I'm sorry. How did he die?"

"He didn't die exactly… It's a long story."

Paige nodded, "Well, I kind of hope you stick around here long enough to tell it to me."

Sam looked at the ground, aware that he was blushing, "I kind of hope so too… But, what about you? Piper said there used to be four of you."

"Prue was our oldest sister. I never knew her, actually. In fact, I never even knew I had sisters until a few years ago. We all share a mother, but she put me up for adoption since my father was a whitelighter. Didn't want everyone finding out since it was so forbidden for whitelighters and witches to be together back then. After Prue died, I got her powers which kept the Power of Three that the Charmed Ones possess, alive."

"Sounds like it all came as quite a shock to you."

Paige sat down at the foot of her bed, "Yeah, it was. But, so much time has passed, I can hardly remember a time when I wasn't a witch. Were you ever not a hunter?"

"We were pretty much raised in the life. Our mother was killed by a demon when I was a baby, and our Dad was relentless in finding it in order to exact his revenge. I've tried getting out of the business a bunch of times, even went to college once. But, the longer you hunt, the more you realize there really is no getting out."

Paige looked at Sam, her green eyes piercing into his brown ones. He recognized, in that moment, that she knew exactly what he was talking about, that this was common ground that the hunter and the Charmed One could walk on together. There was an unspoken understanding between the two of them that Sam hadn't been expecting.

Just as he was about to ask her what she was thinking, the blonde girl let out a long moan, stirring in the bed. Sam watched as she opened her eyes. They were a striking shade of blue, a nice change from their former blackness. Suddenly, as she registered her surroundings, she began to scream and thrash around.

Paige reacted immediately, her whitelighter side taking over. She slid further up the bed, and grabbed the girl's shoulders. In a soothing, but forceful tone she told the girl that she was safe, and that it was important that she took a few deep breaths.

As the girl began to calm down, Paige introduced herself, "I'm Paige Matthews, and this is Sam Winchester. We are here to help you, I promise. Can you tell us your name, sweetie?"

The girl studied Paige's face for a moment, "Leila."

"Okay Leila, do you know where you are?"

The girl shook her head.

"Do you remember how you got here?" Sam asked her.

She shook her head again, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks, "What's going on? I want to go home."

"Leila, listen to me," Paige said, grabbing the distraught girl's hand. "You really need to calm down, and focus for us. The sooner you do that, the sooner you can go home and forget any of this ever happened, okay?"

Leila nodded her head.

"Okay, Sam is going to fill you in on how you got here, and if you remember anything at all, if anything he says triggers a memory, I need you to tell me. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

Sam looked at Paige, in awe of her ability to calm this frightened girl. Clearly, she had had some practice, but that didn't make it any less impressive. As he pulled Paige's desk chair over and sat down, he couldn't help thinking that this woman had bewitched him, and then couldn't help kicking himself for such an ironic thought.

---

Phoebe watched as Sam and Paige left the room, not sure if she was nervous that they were leaving, or happy to get another crack at Dean.

"Can you stand?" she asked him.

He nodded, and Phoebe threw his arm around her shoulders to help him to his feet. But, before getting even halfway to upright, Dean's knees buckled and all of his body weight ended up on Phoebe.

"Whoa, okay, easy there," Phoebe exclaimed as she did her best to lower Dean back to the ground. "Just take a minute, no hurry."

He looked at her like he wanted to tell her something, but instead he just nodded and looked away. In a way his expression reminded Phoebe of a caged animal looking for an escape route.

"Do I make you nervous?" she asked.

"Not really," he said flatly. "You seem harmless enough."

Silence ensued.

"Okay…" Phoebe trailed off after a few uncomfortable seconds had passed.

"It's the things you know," Dean said quietly, "That freak me out."

"The things I saw in my vision you mean?"

Dean nodded.

"Like I said, certain parts of it were happy, and who knows, maybe with a little explanation the not so happy parts could make more sense to me. I just want to help you, Dean. That's what my gift is for, helping me protect innocents."

Dean snorted, "Innocents? Hate to break it to you sweetheart, but your gift is broken, because the last thing in the whole world that I am, is innocent."

"I really wish you wouldn't call me that. And anyway, the Power of Three has never been wrong before. I trust it more than I would trust my own sisters."

"Yeah well, that's your problem, not mine."

"Who was that girl, Dean? The blonde."

Phoebe watched as Dean's entire body tensed up, his jaw flexed, and he balled his hands up into fists.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I feel so much negativity in you now. I just want to know that there have been times that you were happy, or just not so… hostile." Even more than that, Phoebe wanted Dean to trust her. She wanted to help him, but she didn't want to appear too eager. It was clear that while Dean was brave in the face of monsters and general danger, he could be very easily spooked by his own feelings.

"Oh there were times, believe me. But, it's been a while."

"Why is that?"

Dean flexed his right arm, "Look, you weren't entirely off about this mark thing. But you can't help me. No one can, we've tried."

"Maybe if you told me what it was or what you've tried, we could come up with someth—"

"No, Phoebe. Thank you, but no," he said, pulling himself up into a standing position by using the wall. "There is really nothing left for me, alright. I've had my share of good times, but that's done now. I have to live with this thing on my arm. I have to live with the rage, the lust I feel for creating pain, the guilt when I can do nothing to stop myself from giving in to its influence."

"You can't actually believe that. There is a way, Dean. There's always a way."

"You sound like Sam," he said, walking away from Phoebe who was still sitting on the floor.

"Well, Sam is right dammit! Honestly, I'm starting to wonder why you don't listen to him more often. Clearly, he got all of the brains in the family," Phoebe shouted, and was surprised when Dean didn't yell back at her. Instead, a smile crept across his face. It was the first smile of Dean's that Phoebe had ever witnessed. It was so strange and beautiful she felt like pulling out a camera to capture it for posterity.

"Why are you smiling?"

He shook his head, "You sound like her, just a little bit."

"Who?"

"The blonde girl you can't stop asking me about. Jo. Her name was Jo Harvelle."

"Who was she?"

"A hunter, born into it like Sam and me."

"She hunted with you?"

"Sometimes, when we would let her. She used to hate when her mom made us leave her at home. She hated being treated like she was fragile or something, especially since she was anything but…" Dean trailed off, and his eyes glazed over as he lost himself in thought, the ghost of a smile on his face.

"Did you love her?"

Dean nodded, but didn't say anything else. She saw the glisten of tears in his eyes and knew then that he truly had felt love in his life before. But, like Phoebe's, it had been ripped away from him.

"What happened to her?"

Dean looked down, like he wasn't sure he could continue talking about it.

"Hell Hounds," he answered finally. "They ripped a huge hole in her stomach. She knew she wasn't going to make it out, so she offered to sacrifice herself to create a distraction in order for Sam and me to make it out of there alive... She blew up the building we were hiding in… from the inside."

"Oh god."

"So now you get why I don't want to talk about it. Why I can't talk about any of it. My life, thus far, has consisted purely of shitty relationships, cheating death, cheap beer and hunting monsters. I'm not some case you can solve, or a lost soul you can help. I'm screwed up, and unfortunately there is absolutely no changing that."

There were so many things Phoebe wanted to say to him in that moment. She wanted to tell him that maybe a life of hunting monsters wasn't a very good one, and that he should really quit, before it killed him. She wanted to tell him about Cole, about her own great love that had torn her to pieces over and over. She wanted to tell him that she and her sisters could help him if he would just let them, and that there wasn't a single task the Power of Three wasn't up for. All of these things bounced around in her head, ready to be blurted out at any second. But, before she had the chance to say anything, the two of them heard a shout from downstairs.

"Sam! Dean! Come quick," Leo called. "It's Castiel!"

All of a sudden it was as if Dean hadn't been nearly dead a few minutes ago. In a split second he was no longer in the room, and Phoebe was hurrying out after him. When the two of them entered the family room neither one were sure what they were looking at. Piper was laying on the couch with a look of confusion on her face probably due to the fact that Castiel was lying face down in her lap. Leo had his hands over Castiel's head, doing what he could to heal him.

Sam came bounding down the stairs after them, "What's going on?"

"He just kind of collapsed. He was healing Piper and talking to me, and then he was unconscious."

"His grace…" Sam trailed off, turning his attention to Chris who had just toddled away from his brother, and was now asking to be picked up, clearly rattled by the entire situation.

"Can you heal him?" Dean asked Leo without even looking at Sam.

Leo scowled, "I'm doing my best. There's something unusual about his injury. What did you say Sam?"

"He… he doesn't have his own grace. It was stolen from him, and hidden. To save his life a friend gave him another one. But, it isn't as strong as his own."

"He's been sick for a while…" Dean said.

Leo nodded, "That makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to heal him then."

"Jesus, a lot of good you whitelighters are," Dean complained going over to the couch to pick Cas up and place him on the loveseat. Phoebe was surprised by the amount of strength he exhibited, and then chalked it up to adrenaline.

"I can't heal what is essentially his soul. If the wound was physical, I could help, but this is more complicated than that," Leo explained, clearly getting defensive.

Dean ignored him, instead crouching down in front of Cas to see if the angel was going to make it.

"He's breathing, but he might be out for a while. Do you remember last time?" Dean asked Sam.

"He killed a few demons that were after Dean and me with his divine powers. It took him out for almost a week," Sam explained to the sisters and their whitelighter.

"We should get him back to the bunker," Dean said, lifting Cas from the seat. "A little help Sammy?"

"Dean, wait a minute," Phoebe said. "We need your help."

"What are you talking about?"

"What if those black-eyed crazies come back? We have no way to get rid of them without killing all of their vessels too, some of whom have been people we know personally."

"Sam, write down the exorcism, and let's go."

"Dean," Sam cautioned, "Think about this for a minute. We should stay. What would have happened if we had left before? The sisters would have been completely defenseless, they could have been killed! We need to figure out what is going on here, and we need to prepare these women for the things they are about to encounter."

"And what are we supposed to do with Sleepy the Dwarf over here?" Dean asked, referring to Castiel.

"Put him in my room," Phoebe said. "I'll share with Piper for a while. He can recuperate here since he wanted to stay anyway, and then you two can keep an eye on him while you help us figure out why these black-eyed demons are after my nephew."

Dean looked uncomfortable, but Phoebe could tell as he looked at Sam, who she knew had some kind of innate love for Chris, that he was caving. She wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing to keep him around, but there was part of her that was just dying to know his story, and to understand how a person who dedicates their life to helping people, could come to hate them so much. She wanted to know what the mark on his arm was all about, and why it seemed to keep him so enraged. There was a lot to the person that was Dean Winchester, and Phoebe wanted to be the one to get to the bottom of who he was, and eventually help him overcome his struggle.

"Sam, help me get him upstairs. He's little, but he's no Tinker Belle."

Sam nodded.

"Also, Leo, the girl who was possessed, she's awake. Her name is Leila, and Paige is with her now, but she's very confused and I think she could use all of the calming, whitelighter energy she can get right now."

Leo nodded and kissed Piper on the forehead before handing Wyatt off to her and heading up the stairs.

"Has anything come back to her yet?" Piper asked.

"No," Sam replied. "Do you want to go? I'll help you up the stairs if you want."

"I don't want to overwhelm her. I'm sure the two of them being there is enough for now, but I would like to lay down in my own bed if you want to help me get there. Phoebe, Dean, do you mind watching the boys for a few minutes? Then maybe Leo can help Sam bring Castiel upstairs. You've been through a lot today Dean, no need to strain yourself."

"No worries, Piper. We'll keep an eye on the boys," Phoebe replied, and Dean nodded in agreement.

"Okay," Piper nodded. "I really hope you boys decide to stay. We have plenty of room in the house for you, I promise it wouldn't be an inconvenience."

"We'll think about it," Dean said, shutting down any room Sam might have had for negotiation.

Chris threw a bit of a fit when Sam handed him over to Phoebe, but eventually she calmed him enough to let Sam get Piper up the stairs and himself out of Chris's line of sight.

"What is it about that brother of yours?" Phoebe wondered out loud.

"I'm not sure. To be honest, I'm usually the one that handles kids well. But, your little Jedi nephews do not like this mark," Dean admitted rolling up his sleeve so Phoebe could see it. It wasn't all that scary, it looked like a red tattoo. But, she had seen it glow. She had seen what it could do to Dean, and knew that it was so much more than that.

Phoebe swallowed, trying to remain calm, and got down on the floor, attempting to distract Wyatt and Chris with their toy cars. Eventually she just gave up and turned on the TV for them. They might be all powerful witches, but when the Teletubbies were on, they were just like any other three or five-year-old kids, completely zoned out.

She sat down on the couch next to Dean, wishing that she knew what he was thinking. Reaching out to him with her powers was useless now. The iron walls were back up. He was on the defense once again.

"Why did you vouch for me?" he asked suddenly.

"What?" Phoebe asked, not because she hadn't heard him, more because she was surprised he had started any form of conversation with her.

"Before, Leo said you vouched for me, and that's why he healed me. Why did you do that? You barely know me."

Phoebe sighed, "You know how I remind you of Jo?"

Dean nodded, and looked away uncomfortably.

"You remind me of someone too," Phoebe said, changing her tone, getting in his face to make him look back at her. "I couldn't save him, he was too far gone. That doesn't mean there wasn't good in him once, or a chance that he couldn't be saved before he hit the point of no return."

"So you saved my life to steel your own guilt," Dean said, as a statement more than as a question.

Phoebe scoffed, "No Dean, God, why do you have to be so cynical about everything? I saved your life because I believe in you. I believe that between you and your family, and me and mine, that you can overcome whatever it is you're dealing with."

Dean looked at her, and for a split second Phoebe was sure he was going to open up to her, tell her everything she wanted to know, and beg her for her help. But then the moment passed, he looked away, and the two of them went back to sitting in silence.

Author's Note:

I know it has been a while since I updated! I've been having a really hard time with the chapter I am working on, and the direction of the story. But, hopefully that will change soon! In the meantime here you go! PLEASE REVIEW. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the demon attack, and Dean and Phoebe's relationship. They are slowly becoming my favorite to write! There's just so much drama!

Thank you so much for reading!

xoxo AryaUnderfoot