'Til Death

Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own 'em and I'm still poor.

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What we commonly call death does not destroy the body, it only causes a separation of spirit and body. --Brigham Young

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Sam fell asleep while surfing the Internet in search of any information about Awena's pendant.

It's inside you.

He didn't know how long he'd been out when he jerked awake after a nightmare. He immediately glanced over at his brother. Dean was still asleep on the bed, curled around a pillow. Sam glanced at the clock before gently touching Dean's forehead, checking for a fever. Dean moaned and opened his eyes.

"Sam?"

"Yeah. It's late, you should go back to sleep."

Dean rolled over and opened his eyes. "You get any sleep?"

It's inside you.

"Yeah." Sam said quietly. "A little."

"Come here."

"What? Why?"

"Come here." Dean said again.

Reluctantly, Sam moved closer to the bed again. Dean reached up and grabbed his collar, pulling him close. "Don't lie to me, Sam."

"Hey!" Sam pulled away. "I'm not lying. I said I got a little sleep."

"There's something going on with you. I can see it in your eyes." Dean sat up, happy to find the room didn't start to spin. "What happened with that woman in the police station?"

It's inside you.

Sam walked to the other side of the room and glanced back at his brother. Dean was getting out of bed, but he still didn't seem all that sturdy.

"I gotta take a leak. Then you're going to talk to me."

"Clearly you're feeling better." Sam said when Dean came out of the bathroom a few minutes later. He stopped at the small refrigerator and pulled out two bottles of water. He handed one to Sam and sat across from him at the small table.

"Big brother's back. Now spill it. She could feel the thing that killed Mom and Jessica?"

It's inside you.

Sam clasped his hands on the table in front of him. "Yeah. She got really freaked out; forgot all about her charm."

"You find anything on that yet?"

Sam shook his head.

"So what did she say to you?"

"Nothing, man."

Dean looked at him. His voice softened. "What did she say to you?"

Sam sighed. "I asked her if she could see what killed them. She said I know what it was because it's inside me."

"That's crazy, Sam. You were a baby when Mom died. How could you have had anything to do with that?"

Sam looked away.

"Sammy –"

"It's SAM!" he exclaimed. Sam stood so quickly the chair fell over behind him. He angrily paced the room.

"Sam." Dean said pointedly. "Listen to me, man. You didn't have anything to do with what happened to Mom. And you were with me when it came for Jess."

Sam looked at his brother, desperately wanting to believe him.

"Don't you think if there was anything evil about you – if you had anything to do with what happened to Mom – Sam, Dad and I would know."

"Maybe Dad does know." Sam said sadly. "Maybe that's why he hates me."

"Hates you? What the hell are you talking about, man? Dad doesn't hate you."

"He was always so mad at me – and he kicked me out."

Dean stood up and moved closer to Sam. "Listen to me. Dad does not hate you. He wasn't always mad at you. From the time you were old enough to talk, you pushed his buttons. He might have been tough, but that was to make us strong. He knew what was out there and he didn't want us to get hurt."

Sam sat on the edge of the bed. "This whole thing – it's just – damnit!" He leaned over, covering his face with his hands. "I just want to find Dad, you know? And I wish – I wish – "

Dean waited, and a moment later Sam looked at him. He had tears in his eyes. "I wish Jessica hadn't died."

"I know. I wish that, too, Sam." Dean sat next to him.

"I would do anything to have her back."

"No, you wouldn't. Even if that Awenna chick could do what she said, you wouldn't have really gone through with it. In your heart, you knew it was wrong."

"I don't think so, man." Sam whispered.

"Well, I do." Dean said, with certainty. "I do."

Sam looked at him, his expression saying everything he couldn't. Dean playfully slapped his thigh. "Come on, we've got a couple more hours of darkness. Let's get some sleep and start fresh in the morning."

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The brothers slept until just before ten in the morning. After cleaning up, they went to the diner for breakfast.

"You think there's any reason for us to stick around here?" Dean asked after the waitress left them with coffee. "We have Awena's pendant, she apparently can't do her mind control mojo without it. If she's human, we can't kill her."

Sam looked thoughtful. "It feels unfinished."

"What else can we do?"

"We still don't know if she can do what she says she can. We don't know why she was here. If she can really raise the dead –" Sam shrugged. "Besides, we still don't know what the hell that pendant is."

Dean sipped at his coffee. "You think the sheriff will let me talk to her?"

"I don't know. Why?"

The older brother shrugged. "Maybe she'll tell me what she wouldn't tell you. She doesn't have as much to torture me with." Even as Dean said it, he knew it wasn't really true.

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The sheriff was walking past the diner when he saw Sam and Dean sitting at a table near the window. He had a feeling they knew more about his prisoner than he did, but he didn't think they were working with her. He also didn't believe they were really reporters, though that was the story Sam told him. After hesitating for a moment, he walked inside and stood next to their table.

"Good morning." he smiled, seeming nervous. "I – uh – I was wondering if you had a few minutes?"

The brothers exchanged a look.

"Sure," Dean said. "Have a seat."

The sheriff sat down and clasped his hands in front of him. "I don't have any idea how to say this without sounding completely insane, but –" he glanced around. The diner was nearly empty, but the lunch rush would be starting soon. "I think there's more going on here than meets the eye. And I think you know what it is."

Sam and Dean exchanged another look.

"I'm not sure what you mean." Dean said.

"The prisoner and her people had a bail hearing this morning. Bail was denied because they're flight risks. I don't like the idea of them being in my county. I think they did more than dig up some graves."

"What do you think they did?" Dean asked, carefully.

The sheriff rubbed his face. He was unquestionably nervous. "I heard rumors about the dead coming back to life. I know it sounds crazy –"

"Maybe not."

The sheriff looked at Sam. "What?"

Dean shot Sam a warning glance.

"You're not really reporters." the sheriff said. "What are you?"

Dean glanced at his brother, who shrugged. "We're not reporters. We're more like investigators, I guess you could say, of the paranormal."

Dean was surprised that the sheriff didn't seem bothered by this piece of information. He nodded his head. "So do you think it's true? Can they do it?"

"Uh – this doesn't shock you at all?" Dean asked.

The sheriff smiled. "Nothing shocks me, Son. So?"

"We've seen a lot, but bringing someone back from the dead?" Dean shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Contacting the spirit, sure. Even reanimating the body, maybe. But not really bringing someone back." he glanced at Sam and saw his expression darken.

"I'm a good cop." the older man said. "I care about my people. It doesn't make sense to me that I didn't investigate these grave robberies more. None of my deputies even seemed interested. That isn't like us."

"What about the families?" Dean pointed out. "Did any of them seem bothered by the lack of investigation?"

"No. What are you suggesting?"

"She had a pendant, a charm. We think she was able to control people with it."

"She had it?"

"We have it now."

"Should that make me feel better?"

Dean smiled. "We're the good guys."

The sheriff sat back in his chair looking thoughtful. "So without this pendant, she's just a normal person?"

"Seems that way. Except she's psychic."

"Why not?" the sheriff sighed. "They were really digging up the graves. Why?"

"We don't know." Dean said. He glanced at Sam again. His brother was staring at the table and didn't even seem to be listening to the conversation. "I'd like to talk to her. She knows what Sam, my brother, and I are."

"Come by the station whenever you want. She and her crew will be there until trial." he stood up. "And maybe later you can tell me about some of those things you've seen."

Dean watched him walk out of the diner, then turned his attention to Sam. He was still staring down, his hands flat on the table.

"What's wrong?"

There was no response.

"Sam?"

"I need to get out of here." he said, standing quickly. "I'll meet you back at the room later."

"Sam –" he stopped when Sam turned to look at him. Dean wasn't quite sure what his expression meant, but he knew enough to give Sam the space he was asking for.