Okay here's the final chapter. I hope you like it. It's slightly shorter than the others. Thanks again to all those who have read and especially those who have reviewed. Thank you!
Chapter 11: - Let Go.
Dean leapt forwards reaching out to grab her as she fell over the edge. Grasping her in his arms he yanked her back, pulling her away from the jagged rocks, a wave of relief settling over him. Alex wavered weakly in his arms, before her body locked and she drew in a raspy breath, her eyes staring at him petrified. Dean looked at her, a scared look of desperation etched across his handsome face as he looked at her not knowing what to do.
Suddenly she threw her head back, arching towards the heavens as her whole body strained and shook, her legs struggling to support her weight. Dean, straining to hold her upright, looked at her deeply unnerved as her skin grew hot to the touch and her body began to glow blue.
She let out a deep and ragged breath, as a stiff breeze swirled around them and rustled through her hair. The blue glow grew brighter, streams of glowing blue light flowing up from the town below as Elizabeth's spirit was ripped away from those she had touched, her influence over them breaking as the streams flowed back into Alex and out of her heart, the light spinning around her and Dean.
Dean let out an involuntary yell as Alex's skin burnt white hot under his touch by the force of the repelled spirit. The blue light whirled around them with increased rapidity before it was channelled back into Alex. She threw her arms out from her, the spirit erupting from her chest as it was forced up towards the stars, exploding into nothingness overhead. A single tear cascaded down her cheek as she crumpled limply in Dean's arms.
The pain in Sam's head was intensifying as he watched his brother run blindly after Alex. The images he was forced to relive seemed to be sped up, fast forwarded as he watched the onslaught of memories he had never been able to suppress.
'Hurry,' he pleaded silently to his brother, as his eyes swam with tears, his head feeling like it would explode under the rapid pressure of Elizabeth's torture.
Kneading his temples as he looked up at the clear blue sky, his mind froze, the intensity of the images paralysed. Frozen in shock, he struggled to move his aching muscles. Gingerly, he forced himself to roll over on to his front so he could push himself onto his knees. Looking down at himself, a blue glowing light swirled around him gently before drifting away from him and flowing up to the cliff top. His jaw dropped open as he watched, the torturous images that had consumed his mind, abating. He saw more streams of the illuminating light joining his own and making their way with increasing rapidity towards the cliff edge.
Sam struggled to his feet, looking first down towards the town from which the light was radiating to the cliff top where it was gathering. Staggering forwards, he clambered and stumbled up the steep slope, his head aching and his muscles throbbing. As he neared the top, he heard an incredible roaring and his brother's yell.
"DEAN!" he shouted, forcing his weary legs to move faster as he raced up to the cliff top, something exploding up ahead. "DEAN!" he shouted again, as he climbed the last few feet, his lungs screaming in protest.
Ahead of him, he saw Dean looking down sombrely at Alex, who hung limply in his arms. Moving slowly Dean slid a hand up under her head as he lay her down gently on the ground, moving his ear next to her mouth, listening for a sign of life. Sam ran towards them, falling to his knees beside the pair.
"What happened?" he gasped breathlessly.
"She's not breathing," said Dean, as he moved his ear away from her and checked for a pulse, barely feeling one.
"Shit," Sam muttered, not used to dealing with what most people would call 'normal' emergencies.
Dean leant forwards, tilting Alex's head back and blowing air into her lungs. Alex didn't respond. "Come on … breathe damn it," Dean said through clenched teeth, as he blew air into her lungs again and looked for any kind of a response.
"Nothing," said Sam, as he placed his hand over her mouth. He checked for her pulse, feeling it fading away beneath his fingertips. "Shit," he said looking up at Dean, despair evident in his eyes. "We're losing her."
"No," Dean growled through gritted teeth, starting chest compressions. "Come on," he urged determinedly, blowing air into her lungs for a third time. "Don't you dare give up on us now!"
Sam watched his brother's desperation as he continued to blow air into her lungs and did chest compressions. Sam shook his head again, as Alex failed to respond.
"No … Not again!" Dean said in a strangled voice, remembering all the people he hadn't saved. Ten minutes of breathing assistance had failed to help Alex breathe on her own.
'Just let go,' a voice in Dean's head reasoned. "I wouldn't," he growled determinedly under his breath, as he looked at Sam knowing he would never give up on his younger brother. "Breathe," he whispered, as he leant forward to Alex. "I won't give up on you!"
He blew air into her lungs again as he closed his eyes trying to remember what he had seen done on ER. Remembering snippets of the show, he performed a precardial thump on her chest. The force of his fist colliding with her chest sent shockwaves through her weak body. As he again started compressions, her lungs drew in a sharp breath, instinctively reacting to the sudden violent pressure his fist had caused on them. Her heart, responding to the sudden rush of oxygen, began to pulsate again weakly. Her lungs, struggling to cope, shuddered violently fighting to breathe in enough air to awaken her oxygen-starved brain.
She coughed violently, wheezing with the sudden influx of oxygen that rushed through her exhausted system, her eyes slowly fluttering open, squinting in the harsh sunlight, watering. Dean pulled her into a relieved hug as she continued to gulp down air, her eyes wide with fright.
"Thought we'd lost you for a minute there," he said softly with a smile. "You okay."
Alex nodded weakly, unable to speak, as she rested against his muscular frame continuing to breathe raggedly, her pulse becoming stronger.
Sam let out a relieved sigh as Alex's body began to recover, a calm and peaceful silence settling over the trio. Alex finally broke it as she looked into Sam's tired and drained face.
"I'm sorry for what I umm … well Elizabeth said," she muttered tentatively. "About Jess."
"You remember all that?" Sam exclaimed, his face creased up with sadness, guilt coursing through his veins.
"It's not your fault you know," she smiled sadly. "Neither one of you could have stopped what happened to Jess or your mom."
'Yeah right,' Dean thought bitterly.
"Really!" said Alex, pulling away from him and looking into his face. "Don't be a smart ass."
"What? I didn't say anything," Dean said, looking at her sheepishly.
"But you just said-" Alex began, anxiously looking at Sam for support. He shook his head. "Then how … NOOO!" she exclaimed, shaking her head at Sam in alarm. "Hell no!"
"Can you hear what I'm thinking right now?" said Sam, as he thought of his vision, the vision that had brought them here.
Alex's eyes shone with sadness. "Please don't think that," she whispered, remembering the choking smoke which had filled her lungs as she watched her mother die.
Dean looked between the pair. "Great," he said, trying to break the tension. "I'm stuck between Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
Sam smiled faintly, clouting his brother over the head with the palm of his uninjured hand.
"What?" Dean laughed. "At least I won't ever feel the need to call a psychic hotline! I've got one in the family and another not far away."
Alex cracked an uneasy smile, the air around them sighing in relief.
"Come on," Dean said, pushing himself to his feet and gently picking up Alex, who still felt extremely wobbly. We left Bob in the car."
They began to walk slowly back to the café, Dean grimacing slightly from his injuries as he carried Alex down the slope. "So umm," Alex began nervously. "Why am I able to hear what you guys are thinking?"
Sam, his brow furrowed, muttered, "I'm not sure."
"Do you think I've been left with her … powers?"
Dean shook his head, feeling his chest groan uneasily and thinking back to the slabs and the beach. "I think they were yours all along," he smiled. "You saved our lives. If they were hers you wouldn't have been strong enough to use them against her will."
"It all started around your eighteenth birthday right?" Sam said, thinking about how his powers had suddenly started. "Maybe your powers started when you reached adulthood for a reason."
"To try to counteract the curse," Dean finished for him.
Sam looked at him with an amused expression on his face. "Dude, are you sure you don't have some telepathic ability," he grinned. "You seem to know what I'm thinking."
Alex laughed as Dean's colour rose and he thumped Sam in the shoulder with Alex's feet.
A couple of hours later Alex threw the last of her bags onto the back seat of her Jeep and closed the door. Turning back to Sam and Dean, she smiled.
"So, what you gonna do now?" said Sam breaking the silence.
"I think I'm gonna look for my real father," she said, glancing down at the ring on her bracelet which had belonged to her mother.
"Good luck with that," said Dean. "They have a habit of not wanting to be found."
Alex smiled, leaning forwards and hugged each of them in turn before climbing into the front seat of her car. "Maybe I'll see you around sometime," she smiled, as she turned on the engine.
"Yeah maybe," Dean said with a smile.
"You have our number if you ever need anything," said Sam.
She gave them one last lingering look before reversing out onto the road and disappearing out of sight, Sam and Dean watching her go.
Turning back to where the Impala was parked, Dean reached into his pocket for the keys. Climbing in and pulling off the curb onto the road, they headed towards the Interstate.
"What you thinking about?" said Dean, glancing at Sam who was unnaturally quiet.
"Nothing much man … just something Alex … Elizabeth said."
"You gonna elaborate on that?" Dean muttered, raising his eyebrow as he drummed his hands on the steering wheel to Metallica.
"Nah man, just drive," he replied, thinking over Elizabeth's words. 'You've lost all the women in your lives and you're about to lose the last one.'