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 13 – Promise Fulfilled

Dean watched in horror as his brother's life begin to fade in front of him. This couldn't be happening, not like this! Dean continued to gently push at his brother, willing him to wake up. Suddenly Dean's heart stopped…Sam wasn't breathing!

Dean did the only thing he could do in his current form, he raised his head and howled, his pain carrying throughout the forest.

Dean placed his head on Sam's chest, desperately trying to give his brother the will to live. If only he were human, he could have stopped the bleeding and saved Sam. His anger at the nymph grew as he realized that she was the reason his brother was close to death, if he wasn't dead already. Dean had no way of telling for sure in his current form.

Dean knew that he had no choice. He had to find the nymph and convince her to change him back before it was too late. Dean lifted his head as he sensed something coming. His eyes scanned the forest and saw the object of his anger approaching. His first thought was to attack the woman, but as she approached, he decided to wait to see what she would do…he had to be strong for Sam.

The nymph approached the young hunter and his brother. She had felt the death of the demon but she had not expected to find the young hunter in this condition. As she came closer, she could feel Dean's anger, and yet he did not attack, he merely waited for her. "Dean, I am sorry about your brother, he has such a noble spirit…I can see now why you fight so hard to protect it. Perhaps,when he is gone, you would consider helping me?"

"I don't think so; if Sam dies…I don't have any reason to help anyone. Besides, I failed at protecting him…who would want me!" Dean growled; looking at Sam once more he continued. "You were able to heal him once before, can you do it again?"

"It is possible, but I made him a promise that must be kept. If I keep that promise, I may not have enough power left to help him and protect my forest."

"What do you mean? What promise?" Dean asked, already knowing the answer.

"Your brother asked that I restore you to your human form. He is a most amazing man; he opened my eyes to many things. Both of you have made me realize that perhaps there are alternatives to just killing. Now if you are ready, I will reverse the transformation." The nymph moved towards Dean.

"NO! If you do not have enough power to help us both, I choose to have Sam…besides if he dies, I can't go on… I need him in my life." Dean would plead if he had to, he had to make her see that Sam was worth saving, more so than him.

"I'm sorry Dean, but I made a promise and I intend to keep it." Before Dean could move, the nymph touched his head and chanted. Dean could feel himself returning to human form, but before he blacked out he tried one more time to appeal to the nymph.

"Sam went up against the demon to help you and your animals, I know my brother…he would not want to see the demon hurt anyone else. Besides, he was in your forest; trying to help you do your job…doesn't that place him under your protection as well? Are you not required to save him?" Dean felt himself slipping into darkness as the nymph considered his words.

Sam struggled to open his eyes one more time. He could feel himself teetering on the edge, it was so hard to breathe and he was feeling disconnected from his body. "Dean" Sam whispered.

"Dean is fine Sam, he is just sleeping. When he wakes up, he will be a little sore but otherwise, he should be fine." The nymph replied as she placed her hand on Sam's fevered brow. She could feel the pain and the fear, but she could also feel the strong will to live within the young man. At last she began to understand, this man and his brother still had much to give the world. They were needed to protect those that were outside her sphere of influence.

"Sam, I think I understand now what you were trying to explain to me. I can heal you, at least enough so that your brother can get you the help you need. It would not be much as my powers are very weak. You would still not be out of danger of death, but I can buy you some time. I'm not sure that there will be much of my powers left afterwards…but you and your brother still have much to do."

Sam looked at the nymph; he understood that she was going to give up her life to save his. "No, you can't do this; I will not be responsible for the death of everything within this forest. I will hang on until Dean can get me help…you'll see, I will be fine…" Sam was once again losing his battle to stay awake.

The nymph shook her head sadly. Sam was right, if she used the rest of her power, she could cease to exist and the forest would die. In this case, she could not see any other alternative; she was responsible for Sam's condition so she had to be the one to correct it. She knew that her time was coming to an end anyway; she had felt her powers getting weaker for some time now. She just hoped that the creator would see fit to send a replacement so that the forest could continue after she was gone.

Sam didn't know where he was, all around him was a gray fog. As he walked forward, he thought he saw a familiar shape moving towards him. Sam held his breath as the shape took form…"Jess!" Sam closed the gap quickly, wanting to see her, to tell her how sorry he was for everything that had happened.

"Sam, it's good to see you again. I have missed you!" Jessica placed her arms around Sam and gave him a hug.

"Jess, I've missed you so much…I'm sorry…I should have warned you" Sam held onto Jessica, not wanting to let her go.

"Sam, there isn't much time, but I wanted to let you know that I understand. It was not your fault and there was nothing you could do to stop it from happening. It was my time."

"But Jess, if I hadn't gone off with Dean, I could have done something, I should have protected you. I knew about the dangers that lurk in the dark and yet I closed my eyes." Sam felt the tears running down his face as he looked at the woman he loved.

"Sam, you have to let me go and move on. You are meant to do so much more with your life, you will be a force of good against the coming evil…I can't tell you more, but know this…I do not blame you for what happened and I'm proud of what you have accomplished since you got back together with your brother. He still needs you Sam…it is not your time yet, you must return." Jess kissed Sam before she stepped back, already beginning to dissolve into the mist.

"No, Jess…I can't go on without you!" Sam called, trying to follow her into the fog.

"Yes you can, you already have…just remember I'll always love you Sam!" Jessica's figure disappeared as Sam felt himself being drawn back from the fog…back to the other person in his life that he could not live without…his brother Dean.

Dean groaned as he opened his eyes. His shoulder still hurt, but he didn't care, at least he no longer was covered with fur. As he became aware of his surroundings, he sat up "Sammy!" Dean looked over and saw the nymph sitting with Sam's head in her lap. Her eyes were closed and her hands once again were resting on Sam. Dean scrambled to his feet and went to kneel beside his brother.

He watched as the nymph used her power to once again bring Sam back from the brink of death. He could see his brother's breathing improve and some color return to Sam's face. Sam moaned, "Jessica, No…please stay!"

"Aw Sammy…you have to come back, I need you!" Dean whispered close to Sam's ear, hoping his brother could hear him. Dean looked up at the nymph who now began to appear almost translucent. For a moment, Dean worried about what would happen once the nymph was gone. He knew that Sam would not want this and neither did he, but he had to save his brother's life.

For the first time, Dean truly understood why Sam took him to the faith healer. For a long time after that incident, he had been silently angry with Sam, forcing him to live with the fact that two lives had been lost to save his own. He still had trouble sometimes living with the guilt that followed him. He still felt that Layla should have been the one saved that night, not him. But in the end, even she had understood and accepted her fate with more grace and courage than Dean had ever seen before.

Dean jumped as the soft voice of the nymph broke him from his thoughts. "Dean…my time is now short, I have done all that I can, but your brother is still in danger…you must get him help as soon as possible. Do you understand?"

"Yes, will you be ok? I mean, is there anything I can do to help you?" Dean asked as he grabbed Sam's back pack and prepared to carry his brother back to the car.

"No, only the creator can replace me…until then, there will be no one to protect the forest or those within it. It is my hope that the replacement can learn from my mistakes and do a better job than me." The nymph had learned a great deal from these men, she only hoped that her successor would retain her knowledge and put it to good use.

"Look, after Sammy is taken care of…we will return and try to keep things safe…I mean, just until you are feeling better…maybe with a little rest, your powers will return as they have in the past. You just don't use any more of your power until I return…deal?" Dean wanted to believe that she would not die and that the forest could still be saved. Any other option was unthinkable.

The nymph smiled. "You do truly have the heart of the protector and all the powers that go with it…I really wish things could have been different. You will always be a powerful ally to anyone that you decide to protect. Now go, your brother needs you. Do not worry about me, I will be fine."

"Ok Sammy boy, once again I get to carry your ass out of here. You know next time you could get injured a little closer to the car…I'm getting too old for this shit!"

The nymph smiled as she listened to Dean's words; somehow she knew that because of this man…everything would be fine.

TBC

Raven524: Whoa! Ok, no more mad yo-yo threats! (shudder). Let's just chalk the last cliffie up to not enough sleep and not enough coffee…but I've loaded up on the caffeine today. As penance, I'll try to get the next chapter up by this afternoon…am I forgiven?