"So, what's going on?" Sam asked a bit more irritably than he'd intended. He'd just barely found a comfortable position, one that didn't make his head, shoulder, or back hurt, and close his eyes, not to sleep, but to rest them, when Rachel had burst into the apartment babbling about almost being possessed and she knew what was going on and she had to take a shower, but they needed to get back to the hospital as soon as possible.

And now he had to watch her, sitting on Dean's bed, combing her still-wet hair, Dean's hand on her leg. They were practically sitting on top of one another, and it shouldn't bug him, but it did. It burned in him, like a hot coal in the center of his chest. He wanted to smack them both.

Rachel flipped her hair over her shoulder and set her comb down. "I got a call earlier. From Sarah." A look of fear pinched her face suddenly.

Dean squeezed her leg. "I've got the whole room lined with salt. We should be safe." He squeezed her hand.

The fear didn't leave, but she nodded. "I didn't know about her before. And I don't think the demon did, either. Because when it realized there was a woman that you cared about romantically, it tried to possess me. To make me invite her here."

The room was way too cold. Cold, but his palms were sweating. He felt disgusting. Slimy. "Why?"

"It obviously is trying to get someone you care about near you. Romantically, I mean. I think that's what the dreams are about. It's trying to make you, if not fall in love with me, then think you're in love with me."

"Why?"

She shook her head. "I'm not one hundred percent about that part." She folded her legs under her and leaned forward. "Okay, when you told me about what happened with you and Dean and the demon, something struck me as weird. You said that the demon had you and Dean pressed against a wall. He had the gun. And then he put it down."

"Right. I said I was going to kill him, and he taunted me about not having the gun," Sam said, annoyed at having to go over what he'd all ready told her. "So he put it down and told me to get it."

"What did he call you?"

He frowned. Thought. "Psychic boy."

Rachel nodded her head. Sort of smiled. "That's what I thought."

"We already know he's psychic," Dean said. "The demon didn't tell us anything new."

"Yeah, but, psychics don't move things with their minds," Rachel said. "They... tell the future or have visions. They don't necessarily move things with their minds. And Sam can't. Right?"

"Right," Sam agreed. Then he frowned. "Except that once."

Rachel frowned. "When?"

"A few months back. I was having all these visions and we found this kid who was telekinetic. His mother had died the same way ours did, and his powers kicked in around the same time mine did."

"Dean told me about him," she said.

Sam rubbed his forehead. "It's... he locked me in a closet. Had Dean and his step-mom upstairs, and I saw a vision of him shooting Dean in the head. And suddenly, there was this... surge inside me. I pushed the dresser or whatever it was he had blocking the door away with my mind."

"But you haven't done it since."

He shook his head.

"Okay." Rachel nodded, chewing on her lower lip. Her lip looked awful, all chewed up. As soon as she started to bite it, blood beaded and dripped down her chin.

Dean wiped it away with the corner of the sheet. "Stop it, or you'll have to get stitches."

She nodded distractedly. "So, this power got triggered because you needed to save Dean."

"I guess." He could almost see where she was going. He didn't like it.

"So, the demon told you to get the gun. He was threatening Dean while he did it. That's when he started pulling out Dean's heart, right?"

Sam nodded. Sullen.

"I think that, maybe, you're supposed to have telekinetic abilities, too."

"No."

But Dean was nodding. "Makes sense. That's why I get my heart torn out, and you get pinned to the wall. The demon's not trying to kill you; it's trying to... goad you."

Rachel nodded. "Only, this time, threatening Dean didn't work. So it's trying to make it more... something. Intimate? Than Dean. He's trying to make you fall in love."

He thought about it a moment, then shook his head. "No. No. If I was supposed to be telekinetic, why do I get visions? Max didn't have visions. He just moved stuff. I have visions. They are different powers."

"No completely," Rachel insisted. "They come from the same source. Maybe Max will develop psychic abilities in addition..."

"Max is dead," Sam snapped. "Shot himself in the head."

She faltered only a bit. "Okay, fine. But maybe if he hadn't shot himself, he would develop them. And maybe you should have telekinesis. Only it hasn't shown up for some reason." She frowned and pulled her legs into her chest. "So. Maybe there was something different in your upbringing."

"Like the fact that, after his mom was killed, his dad didn't cash in their college funds and drag them across the country fighting demons and denying them the possibility of a normal existence?"

"Yes, exactly," Dean said angrily. "Only, you know, how he also didn't beat you to a bloody pulp every day, blaming you for Mom's death."

"Listen!" Sam started, but Rachel was between them suddenly, kneeling in the middle of the bed, holding her hands out to stay the argument.

"So not the point right now, guys! Just... cut it out. Both of you." She put her hands to her temples. "They beat him?"

"Yes," said Sam, still glaring at his brother. "He used his powers to kill them."

"Okay. Okay, good, that's what I was looking for. The... clue. The key, whatever." She sat back on her heels. "To be sure about this, I'd have to research the other kids the demon went after. Your dad mentioned them in his journal, but he was following the demon as it went after this round, not really looking into the last round. Really sloppy, by the way, because this thing has a motive. Understanding a demon like this is all about motive."

"You know what, Rach? You can criticize my dad once you get him out of his coma, okay?" said Dean. "Until then, shut up."

"You are such an ass."

"Bite me."

"Okay, anyway," she continued loudly, glaring at him, "we have one case of a kid who was victimized his entire life. He never felt safe. And then, suddenly, he develops this ability, which was probably always inside him, waiting for... a trigger or for him to reach a certain age or something. You on the other hand, grew up in an environment where you were protected."

"What?"

Rachel grimaced. "Sam you were. No matter how unstable your life was, your dad loves you very much. Your brother would do anything for you."

"He was a jerk to me when we were growing up."

"He's your brother. Of course he was a jerk. That doesn't change the fact that he'd do anything for you."

There really was no rebuttal. Especially not with Dean looking at him like that.

Sensing his agreement, Rachel sighed. Ran her hands through her hair. "The demon must have known that you use telekinetic powers to save Dean. That's why it hurt him, not you. And didn't you say that back in Chicago, the devas were more after your dad and Dean while you had to watch?"

What she was saying couldn't make sense. He didn't want it to make sense, because he didn't want any of this to have anything to do with him.

"Yeah," he finally said.

"So, it tried putting them in danger, it didn't work. It tried again, and it still didn't work. So now, it's decided to up the stakes. Only, it's already killed your girlfriend, so it's trying to fake it. To use me. So it sends us dirty dreams about each other, and Dean dreams about all the things that can go bad if we get together, and hopes to manipulate us all into the position it wants." She licked her lips. "Until it found out about Sarah."

The coldness returned. "It's going to kill her."

Rachel tilted her head. "Only if it can get her here. It won't do any good if she's killed in ... where she is, and you're here. You have to be in the same place."

"I told her not to come," Dean said. "I called her back when Rachel went to get you. Told her not to come and maybe she might want to take off on a vacation or something. Maybe Rome." He tugged on Rachel's hair. "With any luck, your girl will be more obedient."

She smacked his hand. "Oh, I'm sorry. Next time a hospital calls to tell me my husband is in a coma, I'll tell I can't come because he has some overwrought sense of chivalry." Then she looked at Sam. "But, really, Sarah, should go somewhere safe. Rome sounds good."

Sam nodded, not really listening to what they were saying to him. All he could hear was that Sarah was in trouble. Rachel was in trouble. Any woman he had feelings for was in danger because of him.

And Dean wasn't safe either. No one that Sam cared about was. If this demon was trying to trigger him into using some untapped power to save someone cared about, then...

Then he had to leave.

"I need to..." Sam shook his head. Rubbed his eyes. God, he was so tired.

"You need to sleep," Rachel said. "I can stay awake while you sleep, but you need to rest. And then, you need to start working on telekinesis."

Her words were enough to shock him out of his haze. "Wait. What?" He blinked at her.

She looked serenely back at him. "You need to try and develop that power."

"Why on earth would he do that?" Dean asked, echoing Sam's own sentiment.

"Because that way the demon won't have any reason to hurt the people he loves," Rachel said slowly, as if talking to brain damaged children. "If he has control of the power, can use it, then the demon doesn't need to help spark it in him."

"But it wants me to have this power," said Sam. "It wants me to be able to use telekinesis. Shouldn't that mean the last thing I want to do is give it what it wants?"

Rachel sighed. Rubbed her forehead wearily. Even though it was obvious that she'd finally gotten sleep, she still looked tired. They all did. All had circles under their eyes and pale, drawn skin. If the demon didn't kill them, the lack of sleep and constant stress would. And fighting among themselves wasn't going to help.

"Rachel," he said softly. Sam got out of his chair and crossed to Dean's bed, sitting on it. "The demon said he had plans for me. Me and all the kids like me. So it seems dangerous to try and use this power."

"But Sam. Don't you see that if you don't, it'll just keep coming after us? Me, Dean, Sarah, who knows who else? We're not safe. If you can use the power, at least it won't need to hurt us to try and make you use it anymore. It'll just... try and make you use it for whatever reasons it wants you to."

He shook his head. "I don't want to."

"I think she might be right, Sam." Dean didn't sound happy about agreeing with her, though. "I mean, you have a choice, right? If you use it or not. And it's not like you'll let the demon use you. Or anything."

"How do you know?" Sam rubbed his shoulder, trying to ease the ache as well as he could. He needed more drugs, but he wanted his mind clear. If possible. "How do you know I'll have a choice? I don't have a choice of when I get visions. They just come. I don't have any say. What if it's the same with telekinesis."

Rachel frowned pensively. "Um. They are different powers. Visions come from somewhere else; you have to concentrate to move things."

As much as he hated to admit it, Sam knew that she was probably right. She knew more about this psychic stuff than he did. And there was a certain kind of logic to her words. He didn't like it, but there it was.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't even know how I'd go about it."

Rachel let out a long sigh and slumped against Dean. Dean immediately put his arm around her and squeezed.

"I don't know either," she admitted. She looked at him sleepily. Shook her head. "I wonder if my dad has any idea. If only I could get a hold of him."

Sam started and realized that he hadn't told her he'd called. "Your dad called earlier. On your phone. Oh." He pulled her phone from his pocket and briefly explained what he and her dad had discussed.

"Astral projection," she said, digging through her backpack. "That's crazy, I can't..." She trailed off. Frowned. "Oh. Wow. That kind of explains some stuff, I guess. I've always had such vivid dreams. Woken up knowing things that had happened on the other side of the room before watching the news or anything." She shook her head. "Why didn't he tell me?"

"That you'll have to ask him." He turned his phone over in his hand. "Do you have any books on telekinesis?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'll have to go back to the apartment and look." She looked at Dean. "Will you be okay alone?"

Dean nodded. He looked like he wanted to do nothing more than sleep, something they all shared. "I'll be fine." He kissed her lightly on the lips. "Go. I'll see you later."

She kissed him, then pushed off the bed. "Sam?"

"I'll be there in a minute."

He waited until she was gone, then got up and closed the door. "Do you think she's right? Do you think I really need to figure out how to use this... thing?"

Dean shrugged. "I honestly don't know. You know I'm not really into this whole thing. It's weird. I mean, you're psychic. You're part of the whole supernatural world. I don't get it."

The words hurt. He didn't want them to, but they did. "So you think I'm evil."

"No. No way, Sam. You're the furthest thing from evil," Dean said vehemently. "I just... don't know." He shook his head. "I guess she's got a point. You control this thing, the demon doesn't."

"I guess." He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. "I'm so tired."

"We all are, dude. I say that you and Rachel go find one of those dreamcatchers and we all try to get some sleep. We're killing ourselves."

"I know." He licked his bottom lip and looked down. "Dean. We are going to get through this. Right?"

Dean was silent a minute. Then he leaned forward and lightly punched Sam on his good shoulder.