Author's Note: Hey everyone, I'm back. Lol Sorry for these long breaks I've been taking. I've been busy with school and the drama that is my life lol. Anywho, first semester is nearly finished two exams left and so, I decided to take time out to update. The story is almost complete. Aren't you excited? I am. Then I can start the sequel! Anywho, hope you enjoy. And please continue to review, hopefully that will get my butt into gear to write faster ;) wink wink. Also, excuse any typos, I wrote this very fast without reading over first because I'm tired and just wanted to put this up. There, you guys know my secret. I'm lazy. Anywho. Enjoy!!! Thank you for the continued support and for all the reiews, please keep it up! I love it!

Note: The POV's change in this chapter and are seperated so you'll know. I did it for a reason, so I hope it doesn't bother anyone too much and that it's not too confusing. If it is just let me know. I know sometimes it can be annoying. Hopefully this is not the case.

Disclaimer: Don't own Supernatural as always darn but, I do own this brand new laptop that I'm typing my stories on! Thank you Santa. But not thanks to Kripke who did not leave a freshly wrapped Dean under my tree. waves fist One day Kripke, one day!

Crash Course

By: Babyhilts

Chapter 13:

The room went quiet. Missouri hovered somewhere in the backdrop. Dean watched while the blonde woman closed her eyes one final time. He'd have rushed forward had his younger brother not done so first. Sammy did his whole Dr. Quinn medicine woman thing. She seemed fine. Her chest rose and fell with each life giving breath but something wasn't right. There was something going on inside that head of hers. The rapid shifting behind closed eyes and the beaded sweat that began to build along her chest and face was clear proof of that.

The eldest Winchester dragged a tired hand through his hair. Sam lifted Leah's head into his lap and pushed the girl's dampened bangs out of the way. Missouri mentioned something about getting some blankets and making up a spot for her on the couch. A minute later she was gone from the room and the sound of footsteps on stairs filled the room.

Dean watched and waited as everyone else around him seemed to know what to do. Leah was unconscious and he knew deep down it was their fault. She shouldn't even be there with them. They'd brought her into this shit and no one else. Now she was paying for it. The worse part of it all was she had tried to warn him earlier that day. She was trying to be the hero and yet she was the one who needed the saving now.

A low, pain filled moan formed under Sam's lanky body. The two Winchester's turned concern eyes towards Leah, assuming she was about wake but nothing else happened except for a minor twitch of her arm. Dean gave out a frustrated growl from the depths of his throat.

"Dean, you need to calm down."

Although Sam had been focusing his attention for the most part on their newly acquired friend, he'd been sensing the rising anger in his brother ever since the woman had fallen unconscious. Dean was pacing, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and chewing at the skin on the tip of his right thumb. He was ready to pounce; Sam could feel it.

"I am calm."

"Dean…"

"Where is Missouri with those blankets?"

Sam kept silent. He knew the older man wasn't expecting a real answer anyway. It wasn't too long until the aging psychic had returned with a quilt and two sheets piled high in her outstretched arms. The weight was throwing Missouri off balance. She'd struggled with each step, doing her best not to trip over herself. Thankfully for the older woman, chivalry wasn't completely dead. During his seething and over-the-top dramatics, Dean had managed to steal a glance in Missouri's direction. Within a minute he was at her side, taking the blankets from her tired arms. His own balance was thrown and he found himself stumbling backwards until he fell roughly onto the couch.

Without complaint, the trained hunter went through the motions and quickly made up a bed. Sheets tucked carefully beneath the cushions and the quilt drawn back just enough to slide Leah beneath it's warmth and protection, it was a throw back to the Winchester's childhood when John would demand they make their bed everyday, even in the skuzziest hotels of rural America.

The last of the two pillows were already downstairs; fluffed and seated at one end of the couch. It was then that Dean once again found himself growing anxious. Arms dangling like dead weights next to his hips, his hands folded in and out of fists with the need to be more useful..

Why couldn't she wake up, he wondered. What was so interesting about her subconscious that kept her away from him? Was this some type of woman thing? A way of pushing the boundaries of their sarcastic quips? If it was then she had won hands down. He couldn't beat this. Well, perhaps he could, but it would take something bigger than this and at the moment his mind couldn't come up with squat.

"Dean, you mind pulling the mother hen act somewhere else?"

Sam was a mere foot and a half distance away with Leah held limply in his arms. Dean didn't answer. In fact he wasn't sure he had heard his brother at all. Maybe he had heard something but it was muffled by every single thought racing through his head. For those first few moments where he tried to decipher whether or not Sam had in fact said something, he was staring, watching longingly at the pale figure that seemed about ready to slip out of his younger brother's arms. Her slightly muscular arms hung in mid air pale and freckled in the light and even more so in sunlight Dean remembered. She wore a scrunched, childlike expression across her face. Lips parted slightly, eyes creased in discomfort, while her chubby nose ran rampant with snot. Were it anyone else in Sam's arms he probably wouldn't have given them a second glance. The reality was though, that it wasn't someone else. It was Leah and whether he liked her or not, he wasn't sure. All Dean understood was that there was something about this older woman and he'd be damned if he let anything happen to her before he found out what that something was.

"Dean, she's no light weight man. Come on."

The incessant whine from the youngest of the Winchester's was finally enough to break through. Without a word or even the slightest of acknowledgments, he silently took a step back and away from the couch.

"Missouri, what is this? What's going on?"

Sam drew the warm quilt to just beneath Leah's chin. Missouri, being the wise woman she was, had run off during the time that Dean had allowed himself to space out and had returned with a cool wash cloth. Sam held it in one hand, wiping carefully at her forehead, while the other he used to comb back her ruthless blonde bangs.

"I'm not exactly sure hun, but if one was to ask, I'd take a wild guess and assume it has to do with that thing you boys are after in Stull."

Sam caught the thoughtful look in Dean's eyes and knew without question his older brother was thinking the same thing he was.

"So, then whatever we're dealing with, it isn't just confined to the cemetery. I mean, if what you're saying is true then it managed to pull its little bipatty bopaty boop thing all the way here in Lawrence."

Sam nodded "I think we'd better start opening our minds and start looking at this thing on a wider scale. I mean maybe this has some kind of connection to The Demon."

"Yeah, but why though? I mean why get Leah involved? Why bring us all the way out here to Stull? He waits a few months for us to recover from the accident with the semi just so we can all face off again?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Maybe Leah's supposed to be collateral for the demon."

"Sam, we didn't even know Leah until a few weeks ago. Why would the demon bring someone we'd never met before into this? Why not someone else like Missouri or Bobby. Someone we actually have connections to?"

"I'm not sure just yet. But I'd bet you any money a lot of the answers lie in Stull."

Dean nodded. In his heart he knew that Sam was right. Whatever was going on, they'd find the solution in Stull cemetery. The reason behind Leah's random shift in time; everything. Still, he couldn't help shake the feeling that maybe they should stay. Leah's warning earlier that morning was starting to worry him a bit. She'd seemed so fearful, both for herself and him and his brother. Though at the same time, the longer they waited around twiddling their thumbs and talking about it, the longer Leah would be in danger. Whether she was in danger at the moment or not, it was clear that Stull and Leah were connected somehow and since Stull had been their job from the start then it was their job to help her. He knew she wouldn't like it. Hell, Dean didn't care for the idea much himself but it had to be done. It was their life, their poor career choice that had been handed to them by their father.

"Dean?"

Dean tore his eyes away from Leah one last time. With a quick gesture of his hand, he motioned for Sam to follow him.

"We've got work to do."

Pain. Discomfort. Stiff, throbbing muscles. As consciousness slowly returned all I could really think was 'Wow, my life sucks'. Not in the "I'm sixteen and my boyfriend broke my heart and mom and dad didn't get me a red corvette for my birthday" sense. I felt that my statement clearly rang true. I mean, any third party outsider who took a quick glance into the past few days would realize that my life did in deed suck.

Eyes still closed, I brought a heavy hand up to my head in hopes of soothing away the dull ache that had so rudely taken up occupancy. It wasn't so bad but it just added to the agony that engulfed the rest of me.

Although the pain had disappeared from my stomach and the insistent humming sound had faded away, my body still maintained a weighed down feeling. I felt exhausted. Had I ever run a marathon –which I certainly never did- I'm sure the feeling would have resembled something along the lines as to what I was feeling at the moment.

Sprawled across a cool, linoleum like floor, I shivered in my light t-shirt. My hair was a mess and fell across my chest and face in ragged lumps of blonde knots. I knew immediately, maybe even before I was fully awake, that I was not back in Lawrence with the boys and Missouri. Nor was I at the hospital in Vancouver. I wasn't sure where I was but I just knew it didn't feel familiar. In fact, the moment my mind began to process this new information, an unsettling feeling began to set in.

With a bit of a struggle, I managed to prop myself into an upright position. The room spun for a few seconds before it began shifting in and out of focus like a bad television reception. I dug my nails against the cold floor, clawing at the cracks in the tiles as if to somehow keep out the dizziness. The room soon steadied itself once more. I let out a shaky breath I hadn't know I'd been holding in and wiped at the sweat that had gathered above my upper lip. A layer of the clear liquid found itself buried minutes later into the leg of my jeans.

"Well, that's attractive."

Unsteady as I was, I began to prep myself to stand up. I started with one leg and then the next as I would any other time and used the floor to push off of. The moment I took a semi straight stance I felt the airy feeling in my head return but I didn't loose my footing as I thought I would.

"Hmm, baby steps" I mused.

I hadn't even taken a step yet and at the rate I was going I'd make it back to Kansas by the time the boys were in full swing of the third season. Speaking of the boys, where were they? Or for that matter, where was I? It wasn't as though I was surprised to find myself somewhere foreign. I mean, the past week I'd been a regular Alice in Wonderland, stepping through the looking glass every time I closed my eyes. However, it didn't matter how many times I had tea with the Mad Hatter or the March Hair, I still wasn't getting used to this any time soon.

A warm rush of air blew across my uncovered arm. A series of light shivers crawled beneath my skin, slithering slowly up into my chest and winding around into my upper back. Hesitantly, I stepped forward. A shaky breath escaped my narrowly parted lips.

From where I stood it seemed as though the hall stretched on forever. There seemed to be no end. No doors or windows, only cold linoleum beneath my feet and the constant flickering of long, sodium bulbs above my head. They buzzed and the glass shook dangerously from the fast traveling yellow light of electricity. I glanced up at them while I wandered down the hall. Would the yellow light escape from its glass case and fall on me if I waited long enough, I wondered.

Dean threw the green duffel bag across his left shoulder. He looked over the bed in Missouri's spare room. It was still made. Now standing over the bed he recalled he hadn't bothered to use it the night before. In fact, he'd been more comfortable curled against the cold glass pane of his Impala with half of a strange girl cured in his lap. She'd fallen asleep first. He remembered because he had fallen asleep shortly after, listening to the light sounds of her breathing, watching the slow movement behind her closed eyes. She had been dreaming.

Dean sucked in a tired breath. He looked down at the made bed and the wrinkled clothes that had been carelessly tossed on top of it. Leah's bargain priced clothes. The ones his hustling money had paid for.

"Dean?"

Shaken from his thoughts, the sturdy hunter suddenly appeared taller, more confident. He rubbed a callused hand across his forehead, wiping away the buildup of sweat. A minute later the strong façade was once again in place. Dean snatched his leather jacket violently from off the bed and turned out of the room.

Sam was standing patiently at the bottom of the stairs. He had a small handgun filled with silver bullets tucked against the small of his back, hidden by his plaid shirt. Dean was carrying the rest of their supplies. The journal, the rocksalt, holy water, rosaries, anything and everything to kill whatever evil son of a bitch wanted them dead.

Dean handed the duffel bag to Sam as he passed him on his way down the stairs.

"Take it out to the car? I'll be there in a minute."

Sam took the bag without question and stepped outside. Dean watched his younger half disappear out the front door. Missouri was still in the livingroom, keeping a silent vigil next to the still unconscious Leah.

Dean stepped cautiously around the corner and stopped next to Missouri. Leah was quiet for the moment. He wished she'd say something, anything at all. He smirked, remembering when all he wanted was her to shut up. The girl couldn't keep herself quiet for more than thirty seconds.

Missouri reached out and touched Dean's hand gently with her own. She smiled. Dean mirrored the older woman's look but he was finding it hard to smile.

"She'll be fine."

Dean shook his head and slipped his hand out of Missouri's. "No. She wont be fine until we kill whatever is haunting Stull cemetery. Leah will be stuck here forever if we don't find out what's going on."

"Dean Winchester, I commend your heroism but did you not stop to think that maybe running blindly into battle like this could do more bad than good. Leah told you of the warnings."

"Missouri, you and I both know how evil works. It manipulates people to get what it wants. And if it wants a Winchester than its going to get a Winchester."

"Dean, honey…."

Dean combed back a stray piece of Leah's hair. "Just look out for her. Make sure she doesn't leave the house."

"Dean…"

"We'll be back in a few hours."

Dean turned and left. Missouri frowned as the front door slammed and the gravel was stirred in her driveway. The engine of the old Chevy revved and the tires burned rubber as the Impala was hear tearing down the quiet suburban street.

The further I walked the thicker the air came. There was a musty smell that curled the hairs in my nose and it hovered just above my head. I tried to push forward, but the closer I seemed to come, the further the hall seemed to grow. I'd sweated buckets by then and I was certain I wouldn't be able to keep going for much longer. I was just about to fall in a heap and cry when my legs just gave out. A loud thudding sound shattered the silence and echoed off the walls as my knees made contact with the tiles. I gave out a frustrated yell, but no one was around to hear me.

"Great, all I need now is that depressing R.E.M. song playing in the background and I'll be completely pathetic."

The words had barely left my mouth when the sound of glass shattering erupted from ahead of me and one of the lights blew out. My back tensed and I clenched my hands into tight, sweaty fists. Glass shattered once more, this time from somewhere behind me. I snapped my head around to try and catch the source of the breaking lights but there was nothing but the empty hall. I swallowed the growing lump in my throat. Another bulb broke. Then another. Three more. The hall was slowly filling up with the eerie black. The apprehension was killing me as I waited for another bulb to break. I felt I was suffocating. Each shatter, more glass littered the floor. I was trapped. I had no shoes on and I wouldn't be able to move in either direction over broken glass. Another light spewed out translucent shards. My heart was racing. One more light broke.

I must be in some B-rated horror flick because this is just too cliché. I smirked at my mental quips but in all honesty it didn't matter how cliché this seemed, I was panicking. I mean, it was always the dumb blonde girl who stayed put when things got scary that was brutally killed with hedge clippers.

I stared ahead, squinting my eyes at what little light that remained and started to make out a shadowed figure, slowly advancing through the darkness towards me. There were no distinguishing features that I could make out from where I sat, just shadow. The smell of sulfur overpowered the earlier smell that I had then found so rancid. As the shadow stepped towards the next light it blew out and in the same instant one behind me did the same thing. Pieces of the broken bulb hit the back of my open neck. I cringed and bent forward out of reflex. When I knew I was fine, I lifted my head to discover that I was now sitting under the only remaining light in the hall. Everywhere I looked there was darkness. I wanted to reach out but fear of loosing an appendage scared me, so I kept my arms and legs drawn protectively into myself, under the safety of the light. Somewhere in that darkness was that dangerous shadow.

"Leah…"

I froze. My mouth went dry as it seemed my tongue had suddenly grown thick like a sponge from the excess saliva. I recognized this voice. I may not have recognized my surroundings but the evil that drifted across the air I'd remember anywhere. It was the thing from the hospital. The whispering winds from Stull cemetery. The voices in my head.

"What's going on! Why am I here?"

I struggled to keep my voice from shaking as I tried to confront the evil that lurked somewhere in the darkness around me. I was sick of being pushed around by this thing. I was through playing games.

"Loose lips sink ships, m'dear."

"Excuse me? Mind not speaking in proverbs?"

"Funny. Too bad your clever wit won't save you or the Winchesters."

"Look asshole, you don't scare me…"

"Don't I?"

The thick ebony laughed mockingly at me.

"I've separated you from your world. From the only people in this world you know. Your alone Leah. You're confused and are loosing your battle to stay calm. I can smell your fear from here dear girl."

"Awe, and I wore deodorant and everything. Hmm, 'Secret, strong enough for a woman, but not for a demon' how does that sound?"

There was a moment of silence before I felt myself thrown backwards a few feed. I hit the floor with a painful thud. The moment I was able to regain my composure I darted for the circle of light. I'd barely stepped beneath the sodium glow when I heard a loud popping sound and felt glass raining down on me.

"Stupid girl, the light cannot protect you."

I spun around nervously trying to pinpoint the voice that had spoken through the thick surrounding black.

"Still think you're not scared? I warned you more than once to stay out of this. The Winchester's will die in Stull and you will die here."

"What…"

"I warned you girl…"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why bother bringing me here? How did you?"

"What are you going on about?"

A frustrated sigh escaped from somewhere in the darkness.

"Why bother taking me from one reality into another if you were just going to kill me now?"

"That was a mistake on my part. One that wont be repeated for quite some time. You were to be what helped bring the Winchesters down. I watched you in your world. Pathetic, overweight, single. You were the perfect candidate, not to mention your knowledge of what lurks in the dark. I knew the Winchesters would take you with them and I knew you would stay with them. I hoped that you would try to take on all the big bads like most girls in your position, put the boys at risk. However, that didn't work. I hoped you would have heeded my warning. That didn't work…"

"How come I keep going back to my own world You're not the cause of that."

"No, I am not. It has something to do with your physical body in the alternate universe. The connection between your form here and what remains of you there is strong. Your physical body is recovering and your consciousness is returning therefore the connection is growing stronger, pulling you further back into your world."

"So, why not let it take me? Why keep screwing around with me if you already realized your plan wasn't working?"

"Because, you young lady have walked over my grave. I don't too kindly to people who just pass me off. I am something your worst nightmares could not conjure up."

"Well, nice dramatics. Did you learn that at community college?"

A sharp pain suddenly commence in my chest. I gasped in spite of it and bent forward in hopes of releasing some of the discomfort.

"Your time is up Leah Carlson. You'll die here and the connection to your physical body will be forever cut and you will never see the light again."

The pain increased ten fold until I ended up face first on the hard linoleum. A minute later there was light again, but the pain had yet to stop. The light grew brighter and hotter. Things were heating up. Literally. Through the torture that continued beneath my chest, I opened my eyes and noticed the advancing of flames. They were moving fast. Sweat rolled down the sides of my face. The fire snap, crackled, and popped like a breakfast cereal. A stray flame licked my foot. I cried out in pain, gasping in air, desperately trying to find oxygen.

Through the settling haze I heard the echoed name 'Winchester' and cringed, knowing what would happen.

The fire was melting the ends of my pants. The material heated and liquefied within seconds and stuck painfully against my leg. I screamed and the scream was echoed back from the shadows. Something began to pull on me from the right. Like a light tug on my arm. I moaned. The scream sounded once more, this time frustration and anger clearly evident. Once more I felt the tug and everything went black.

Someone was shaking me. I could feel the pressing light of mid afternoon on my closed eyes. Tiredly I opened them and found myself staring into the worried face of Missouri Mosley. She smiled relieved and lowered her hand from my right arm. I followed the movement with my eyes, watching her pick up a cold washcloth from the table and wiped the sweat off my forehead.

"You…" I croaked, my voice sounding dry and weak to my ears. I struggled to sit up but Missouri hurriedly pushed me back down, shaking her head.

"Yes, I brought you back dear. Now rest, you must be exhausted."

"What happened?" I asked, ignoring her orders. She sighed.

"I almost lost you, that's what. This demon you've gotten yourself involved in is a nasty one. Nearly took you with it this time."

So I had almost died. It was just a dream. This was real. Missouri must have sense the panic in my eyes because she immediately placed her hand upon my arm once again.

"It's alright dear. I still know a thing or two about warding off demons."

She flashed me a wide, toothy grin. I nodded as a response because I didn't much care for the cheering up anymore. Yeah, I was glad I was alive. I mean, who wanted to be burned to death? I don't think anyone would but that wasn't the point. Now that I was fine and in Lawrence with Missouri, I had other things to worry about. These things being Sam and Dean Winchester, who were now in serious trouble.

"Missouri…"

"They left hon. Some time about."

"What! Not to Stull, right? They just stepped out for some M & M's and a cold compress right?"

"Fraid not. Look, everything will be fine."

I wasn't hearing this. They just left! While I was knock unconscious, fighting off some demon who got his kicks taking single girls and throwing them into alternate realities they were off gallivanting around a cemetery. Hell no.

I swung my leg hurriedly over the side of the couch. A little too fast I might add, as the room spun for a moment. When things began to settle once again, I got to my feet and rushed around the living room like an addict looking for her fix.

"Leah, girl sit your butt back down. You should not be running around like this."

"Missouri how could you let them leave?"

I ran into the kitchen and searched through the drawers hoping to find anything besides a butter knife and rolling pin that may come in handy.

"Excuse me?"

"I didn't mean it like that…I just… their idiots. Their both, stubborn, idiots!"

I ran up the stairs, two at a time and found myself in the spare room. It smelt of leather. It smelt like Dean. I quickly changed into a pair of fresh clothes and had almost left the room when something caught my attention from the corner of my eye. A brown piece of Swede was sitting on the nightstand. When I went to pick it up and turned it over in my hands I realized that this was the sheath that contained the same knife Dean had leant me a few days earlier in Stull. I grabbed it gleefully in my hands and dashed out of the room and down the stairs. Missouri was already waiting for me, a frown spread across her face.

"Please Missouri, don't look at me that way. You know this has to be done. If I don't go…"

Without a word the older woman pushed a leather bound book into my hands. It was in rough shape, with loose pages sticking out here and there. I took the book, making sure to handle it gently.

"It may be of some use to you if things get rough out there. I don't know if there's anything in there that will get rid of that demon but it's worth a shot."

I smiled. "Thanks Missouri."

She nodded and ushered me towards the door. I stepped hesitantly onto the porch and looked back at the older psychic. "Go kick some ass." A set of car keys found their way into my open palm and I was off, opening the door to the old station wagon that sat collecting dust in the driveway. I turned the engine a few times before it would start and tore out of the gravel drive.

I was heading for Stull cemetery. I was scared shitless. I had only a knife to protect me and all I could think about was Dean Winchester. I cursed under my breath and muttered,

"Who the hell does he think he is, Rambo?"

Minutes later I increased the pressure on the gas pedal. I couldn't wait to get to Stull and knock some sense into him.