Disclaimer: The Winchesters do not belong to me, more's the pity, I just like having my wicked way with them.

A/N: There is some infrequent swearing in this chapter - just to let you all know. This is Chapter 5, I hope you enjoy. Please feel free to review. Constructive criticism is welcome and much appreciated. Thanks to all those who have read previous chapters and especially to those who've reviewed.

Stops rambling Enjoy!

Chapter 5: - Witch!

Having laid awake half the night in shock, unable to get the frightening images of Seth and Adam out of her head, Alex finally struggled out of bed, changing into a pair of pale blue linen trousers and a white vest top. She dragged her feet as she made her way across the landing, hesitating as she passed her mother's boarded up bedroom, leaning her head against the wall sadly.

Hearing a muffled but heated conversation coming from the kitchen, she made her way silently down the stairs. Crossing the hall and leaning against the kitchen door which stood ajar, she listened to the voices coming from within.

"Why are you protecting her Jack?" a voice she recognised as Sheriff Peters, muttered sharply.

"Keep your voice down, she'll hear you," her father's voice muttered anxiously.

"Well?" Sheriff Peters snapped impatiently.

"She's my daughter," her father replied cagily.

"Ha!" came the sarcastic response.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he snapped.

"You know what she is. She's a witch just like her great great great great great great grandmother Elizabeth!"

"Shut up. That's not true!"

"You know just as well as the rest of this town does what she is. The curse! You've known it since the day you took them in. We warned you!"

"Stop it."

"We have to finish this now. She's killed three people."

Alex leant back against the wall in shock, refusing to believe her ears. She swallowed hard against the panic that was slowly filling her stomach and tried to shrug off the goose pimples that were creeping up her spine.

"No. I don't believe you!" her father said firmly.

"You saw it for yourself!"

"It's not her fault. If the curse comes true, it's this town's fault. We were the one's who drove that poor woman crazy and you'll not do the same to my daughter!"

"She's not YOUR daughter."

Alex stood paralysed, the colour draining from her cheeks, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"Shut up! I raised her."

"YOU'RE NOT HER FATHER!"

Unable to listen to anymore, Alex forced herself away from the wall and burst into the kitchen. "Is that true." "IS THAT FUCKING TRUE!" she shouted, looking from her father to the Sheriff and back again.

"Alex-" Jack jumped in alarm. He turned and walked towards her, his arms outstretched.

"Stay away from me you liar," she shouted, backing away. She turned and ran out of the kitchen and out of the front door, kicking on a pair of sandals as she went.

Running hard down the drive, refusing to look back as her father shouted at her to stop, she ran out in front of Sam and Dean's car.

"Whoa, watch out," Dean called, as he slammed on the brakes. Alex threw her arms out in front of her pressing her palms hard against the Impala's bonnet and jumping backwards as the car screeched to a halt.

Sam, who had been thrown forwards in his seat, looked through the windshield at Alex's agitated and distressed face, turning to see her father running out of the house after her.

"Alex, wait, please!" he called.

"Stay the hell away from me," she cried, skirting round the car. "Don't you dare touch me!" He stopped mid-step not knowing what to do. Making up his mind, he turned on his heel and stormed back up to the house, his face flushed red in anger.

Getting out of the car, Sam led her aside so that Dean could pull up and park. "Come on," he said. "Let's go and get a coffee."

Placing a coffee in front of her, Dean and Sam took a seat opposite. The café was again all but deserted. Bob had disappeared out back and they found themselves alone sitting in the most discreet corner, hidden from the outside by the dividing walls of the booth.

"What exactly happened last night?" Sam pried gently.

Alex stared down intently at her coffee, her hands twisting anxiously on the table in front of her. "We were just talking … and then … I can't explain it," she said softly. "Maybe they're right. Maybe I am going crazy!"

Sam moved his hand across the table, placing it on hers. "Try us."

She glanced up into his eyes hopefully. They twinkled with a sadness she hadn't noticed before.

"Well we were talking and they just doubled up in pain. Both of them. I asked whether they were okay … and then … well they started acting really oddly. Antagonising each other … but they're best friends … they don't … they never …" she trailed off. "And their eyes," she gasped, suddenly remembering.

"What about them?" Dean asked gently, snatching a sideways glance at Sam who was looking at him, his brow furrowed.

"They … I've never seen anything like it. Seth's eyes … well when he was lying in my lap," tears filled her eyes as she remembered the events so vividly. "His eyes … they changed colour."

'Shapeshifter,' Dean thought instinctively, looking at Sam who knew what he was thinking.

'Maybe,' Sam thought, shrugging slightly, Dean knowing he wasn't sure.

"They changed from this shocking unnatural blue back to hazel. Both had these strange eyes. It was so …" she said, struggling to find the right words. "Do you think I'm crazy?" She looked down at her lap, pulling her hands out from under Sam's and off the table. She pushed herself back into the corner of the booth, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms round them frightened.

"No, of course we don't," Dean smiled reassuringly.

"Well you're the only ones," she sighed sadly. "When I'm forced to make a formal statement, they're going to put me in a straight jacket."

"Was that what you were arguing about with your father just now?" Sam said.

"No. I overheard something I don't think I was meant to hear," Alex responded, her face creased in concentration trying to remember what had been said.

"What is it?" Dean asked, knowing that look so well, having seen it on Sam's face so often in recent months.

"Just something they said. Something about curses, and knowing a secret about me and my mother," she sighed, shaking her head with a sad frown.

Dean and Sam looked at each other, both picking up on what she hadn't. 'A curse,' Dean thought. 'Now we're getting somewhere!'

"I need to get out of here," Alex said suddenly, jumping to her feet. Bob, who had returned, was looking at her in concern, something she couldn't bear. Dean, following her glance, nodded and stood up to leave.

Pushing open the glass door, the summer sunshine shone brightly into their eyes. They walked out onto the gravel path, the sea breeze rustling through their hair.

"What did you do to him, WITCH?" a voice spat from behind them. Alex turned sharply to find a short girl with dark brown hair walking towards them. She recognised her as Adam's girlfriend, Christina. Standing beside her were her mother and the deputy sheriff's wife.

"I didn't … do anything," Alex stammered, taken aback. She looked her in the eye, seeing only blind hatred.

Across the street, her 'father' and the town sheriff walked out of the surf shack, coming to a halt as they saw the scene before them.

"YOU WITCH! I HOPE YOU BURN IN HELL!"

Alex stared at her, feeling as though she'd been stabbed in the chest. "Is that what you all think of me?" she whispered under her breath. "IS THAT WHAT YOU FUCKING THINK!" She looked around desperately as the small crowd which had gathered and stared at her in a hostile silence. A single tear carved its way down her flushed cheek.

"Yes," said the deputy's wife, finally breaking the suffocating silence.

"How about you dad?" she called across the street. "Oh I forgot you're not even my real father are you!" she screamed, more tears bleeding from her eyes. Turning away, she fled, not stopping until she reached the safety of the deserted beach.

Dean and Sam stared at the small crowd in annoyance before running after her.

"What the hell is it with these small towns and their big secrets," Sam muttered, as they reached the beach, pausing to look round for Alex.

"Tell me about it," said Dean, rolling his eyes. "Do you think it is witchcraft?"

"I guess it could be. But it doesn't explain Alex's reaction in my vision. I mean she looked genuinely terrified," Sam replied thoughtfully.

"Well what about if it's a spirit related to her in some way? It would explain the town's reaction and the glowing light in your vision. Could they be intertwined in some way?"

"Either way, something supernatural is going on here," Sam muttered, as he followed Dean, who was heading in the direction of the cliffs where Alex was sitting alone. "I'll wait here," he said, stopping near the sea as Dean climbed up the rocks to where she was sitting, thinking about his vision, his frown deepening.

"Hey," said Dean, as he quietly took a seat beside Alex. She continued to stare out to sea, tears trickling freely down her face but moved over to give him room.

"Thanks. You okay?"

She shrugged, not taking her eyes off the horizon. "Why is this happening?" she said, in a barely audible whisper.

"I dunno," Dean sighed. "But I swear to you, we'll find out."

Alex looked up at him, a sad smile briefly flickering across her face. Dean put his arm across her shoulder as she leant against him. They sat in silence, both gazing out over the sea.

"I wish my mom was her," she whispered, more to herself than anyone.

'Me too,' Dean thought sadly. This case was bringing back a lot of painful memories. Memories he wished he never had. He glanced instinctively back at his younger brother, who stood watching them, a pained expression etched across his young face. Dean wished he could have protected him from all this, their mother's death, Jess, and now these visions.

He was brought back to reality with a thud as Alex was thrown backwards across the beach by an invisible force.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath, struggling to his feet.

Sam, seeing what happened, ran across the sand to where Alex had fallen, lying in a crumpled heap. He looked around automatically ready for another attack. "Are you okay?" he asked, helping her to her feet as she gasped in shock. Turning to look at Dean, he watched in horror as the cliffs above his brother began to crumble, huge boulders raining down towards him.

"NOOOO!" Alex yelled, her hands instinctively reaching out into thin air and sweeping the air aside. As her arms moved, Dean was hurled out of the way of the falling rocks.

Sam looked at her mesmerised, as she looked down at her hands in fright. "Oh my god … Did I do that?" She turned to look at him as he was knocked off his feet by what looked like thin air and was dragged backwards into the sea.

"STOP THIS!" Alex cried, running to the water's edge and looking for Sam.

"SAMMY!" Dean yelled, pushing himself to his feet from where he had fallen and ran down the beach to where Alex stood.

"No Dean, stay out of the water," Alex shouted, throwing out her arm to stop him.

"What?" he snapped anxiously, desperately wanting to save his brother, but feeling something holding him back. He struggled against it frantically but to no avail.

"Trust me!" Alex pleaded, as she waded into the surf. 'Sam where are you?' she thought desperately. She was overwhelmed by a flood of thoughts, thoughts she realised weren't her own. Blinking hard, her head clasped in her hands, she disappeared into the waves.

"SHIT!" Dean cried, fighting against the force that was still restraining him.

Diving under the waves, Alex followed her instincts. Swimming hard against the current, she threw her arms out searchingly, feeling with her hands across the sea floor. Finally her fingers grazed against Sam's face. Reaching out with her other hand, she pulled him off the bottom, and wrapped her arm around his chest, dragging him to the surface.

Letting out a choking breath as she broke the surface, she propped Sam against her chest in the recovery position and swam hard towards the shore, desperately trying to keep his head out of the water. Dean stood waiting, ready to pull him onto the beach.

"Oh god Sammy," Dean muttered in a strangled cry, as he heaved his brother's limp body out of the water, Alex helping as best she could, her body and mind completely exhausted. "Don't do this to me," Dean whispered, as he laid Sam on the sand and placed his ear next to his brother's mouth. "Come on breathe," he pleaded, tilting Sam's head back and blowing air into his lungs. "Don't you dare give up on me!" The desperation in his voice was immense, his mind racing as he thought how he had again failed to protect his brother, who was lying there cold and deathly pale. Tears forced their way to the surface as Sam refused to breathe on his own.

Alex placed a hand on Dean's shoulder as his whole body trembled. "You can't die like this," he whispered, tears trickling down his cheeks as he looked down at Sam's pale face.