Disclaimer: I still don't own Supernatural or its characters and am not making any money on this…I'm still just having fun!

Heart of the Protector

Chapter 6 – Rats!

Dean rubbed his eyes as he closed his father's journal. He had spent the last couple of hours reading up on nymphs and still was no closer to a solution. Everything he read indicated that while the nymphs were not immortal, their life span was a long one, spanning many centuries. They were demi-gods created to protect and as such were neither good nor evil. But the real problem was there was no record of how to kill one.

Of course, Dean wasn't so sure any more that they should kill the nymph. According to folklore, if a nymph died without being replaced, the woods and everything in them would die. Dean could even understand the nymph's reaction to the hunters. He himself had killed innocents to save his brother and father. The killing of Meg and the other demon had been necessary to save his brother, but part of Dean still wished there had been an alternative. He understood the need to protect regardless of consequences.

Dean was yanked from his pondering when he heard a soft moan from his younger brother. "Sammy?" Dean asked as he walked over to the bed. He watched as his brother once again was struggling to wake up. He sighed as he gently washed the sweat from his brother's face and chest. If the fever continued to rise, Sammy would be in for another bubble bath.

"Dean?" Sam rasped, his throat parched from the fever burning within him. "Thirsty…can I have some water?" Sam finally managed to open his eyes. His arm still hurt, but it wasn't throbbing as much as before. He still felt hot and extremely tired…he just wanted to sleep. But something wasn't right…he could sense something coming. He needed to be alert.

"Sammy…here you go, just drink it slowly. You know you haven't eaten for a while…I heated up some chicken noodle soup…your favorite. Do you think you could eat some for me?" Dean watched as Sam struggled to stay awake.

"Dean…something's coming…I can feel it." Sam wished that these feelings were more specific, whatever it was could be coming in a moment or hours later…and it never gave him an idea of what…it was just so frustrating some times.

"Ok Sam, but I still want you to try to get some soup down. Just let me get some for you." Dean walked over and grabbed the shotgun he had by the door. He wanted to have it within arms reach, just in case.

Sam didn't miss Dean's actions and was grateful. Dean always seemed to have more confidence in Sam's abilities than he did…it always amazed him. He sighed as he once again realized how much he relied on his brother…not to just keep him safe, but to keep him sane in this insane situation.

"Here you go Sam; now I want you to eat all of this…you need to keep your strength up." Dean watched as Sam struggled with the spoon, his hand trembling so much that more fell off the spoon than stayed on. Without a word, Dean reached for the spoon and began to feed his brother.

"So, I did some research while you were taking your little nap." Dean started, trying to distract his brother from the fact that Dean had to do almost everything for him.

Sam raised his eyebrows. "No way…you actually read up on nymphs…you know looking at the pictures doesn't count as reading Dean." Sam smirked.

"Oooo…college boy…thinks he so smart…next time, I get to laze around in bed and you get to do the research geek boy!" Dean smiled; glad to hear his brother teasing him. It was a sure sign that Sam was getting better.

"So what did you find out?" Sam asked, putting his hand up to stop the food. He didn't think he could eat much more and keep it down.

"You're not going to like it…there is no way to kill it…besides, I was thinking that maybe we might have to find an alternative anyway." Dean proceeded to fill Sam in on what he had learned.

ooooooooo

The rat looked back at his brothers who had gathered at his bidding. They were now twenty to thirty strong and yet, if he couldn't get into the cabin, he would not be able to get to the boy. Suddenly he heard a low growl not far from them in the bushes. He ran towards the noise and smiled…he had found his battering ram.

ooooooooo

"So, basically, if we kill the nymph, we kill the forest and all the animals within it…Jeez Dean we can't kill her…maybe we can talk to her, reason with her." Sam winced as he moved, trying to get more comfortable.

"Sure, I'll just go knock on her door and ask her nicely to stop killing the hunters, who by the way just happen to be killing the very thing she protects." Dean shook his head, his brother sometimes amazed him.

"Dean…we don't have any alternatives here…either we try to get her to see reason, or we leave and let her continue. I don't like it any better than you…especially since she has her eyes set on getting you to help her." Sam groaned as he tried to put his legs over the side of the bed.

"Whoa there little brother…where do you think you are going?"

"Dean…I have to go to the bathroom…all those fluids you've been pouring into me have to come out some time!" Sam tried to stand, but fell back weakly onto the bed. He hated this…how could he help Dean if he couldn't even get to the bathroom by himself?

"No problem…just catch a ride on the Dean express, guaranteed to get you there on time!" Dean grinned as he saw Sam's eyes roll up.

Dean helped Sam back into the bed, noticing that the short trip had taken a lot out of his brother. Sam had leaned heavily on Dean on the return trip and was almost asleep before his head hit the pillow. Dean reached down to pull the covers up over his brother, making sure that the sling was sitting comfortably. "You just get some more rest Sam…we can figure out what to do once you are feeling better."

Just as Dean was heading back to his own bed to catch a few moments of shut eye, he heard a low growl outside the cabin door. Before he could react, he heard the sickening crunch of a large body hitting the door. Dean leapt out of bed and grabbed the shotgun as he watched the hinges give way. "Holy Shit! Dean yelled as he aimed at the large brown bear entering the cabin.

Sam's eyes popped open only to be met with his own nightmare standing before him. "Dean!" Sam yelled as he struggled to get up.

"Sammy! Stay where you are!" Dean yelled as he shot the gun at the bear. The rock salt was great for spirits, but unfortunately on the bear, it only made it madder. The bear launched itself at Dean with a loud roar. Dean ducked under the bear's gigantic claws and made a dash for the door, hoping the bear would follow him. But just to make sure, he shot the bear in the back with the second load of rock salt. "Come on Smokey…let's take this outside!" Dean yelled as he ran from the cabin towards the car.

Sam watched in horror as the brown bear took off after his brother. Looking around for a weapon, Sam spotted their weapons bag at the bottom of Dean's bed. Staggering over to the bag, Sam opened it and found the lighter fluid and lighter. Grabbing the old wooden table, Sam kicked at the leg, knocking it off. He grabbed the towel that Dean had been using on him and soaked it in the lighter fluid. He tied it to the end of the kitchen table leg and headed for the door.

Sam watched in horror as he saw Dean frantically ducking and rolling away from the giant bear's claws. Before Sam could move, he saw the bear catch Dean and fling him over the hood of the car, Dean's head hit the windshield with a loud crack, knocking him unconscious.

Sam yelled at the bear as he struggled down the steps. He was dizzy and felt like he was going to pass out at any moment, but he held on knowing that if he failed, both of them would be killed. "Leave him alone you over grown teddy bear!" Sam yelled as sat down on the bottom step and held the make shift torch with his knees, lit it. As the bear charged, Sam stood on unsteady legs and met his nightmare head on, swinging the fire as he walked towards the bear.

The bear reared, frightened by the fire. Sam carefully placed himself between his brother and the bear, swinging the torch. The bear advanced a few steps towards Sam, but Sam held his ground. "Shoo…get out of here…there's no free lunch today buddy!" Sam continue to yell, hoping the bear would give in soon…he was seeing dark spots in front of his eyes and knew that he would collapse any moment.

Just when Sam thought he was going to lose the contest, the bear shook its head and ran back into the forest. Sam wondered briefly what had caused the brown bear to attack. Normally brown bears avoided humans and would run unless they felt threatened. Shaking his head, he fell to his knees, dropping the torch into the dirt. Sam made sure that the flame went out by rubbing the torch in the dirt as he felt himself falling. Barely conscious, Sam rolled onto his back, trying to see Dean, but his breath caught in his throat when he saw a sea of brown rolling towards him. He struggled to sit up, but his body wouldn't let him, all he could do was watch as the army of rats covered his body and began to feed.

TBC

Raven524: Well I just gave Sam my worst night mare…I hate rats. Hope you all are enjoying the ride so far! And to Talon81, I guess I never thought about it, but it sure does suck to be Sam…Dean gets the girl and he gets rats (LMAO)…Thanks to all who have reviewed…I love it!