Thanks for your much needed comments. I need them as they feed me and keep me going… I've had such a busy week, it's late but I just had to get this chapter done. As it's another week of no new episode, I have to get my SN fix with the fanfics. OK enough babbling. Enjoy! Big thanks to Michelle my beta!

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Previously:

….. 20 years ago….

The two women rushed into the room, shutting the door behind them as they playfully chuckled and placed their belongings on the ground.

"Do you think she saw us?" One of the out of breath women spoke softly.

"No, I don't think so."

"What is it that you told her? That Rose had better keep her mouth shut!" The shorter of the two spat while spilling all of the contents of her bag across the table…..

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Both women wavered as they watched the candles blow out one by one. As the last one blew out, they stopped and drew closer to each other. The room remained silent for over a minute before they both gripped tightly to one another. Their attention turned toward the new presence in the far corner. The air was thick and the light was sparse, however both knew it was there.

"It worked!" Aurora whispered, her voice filled with excitement and fear.

Evelyn replied with a gasp. "We did it! The Loa, it's here!"

Chapter 21

Dean wrung the small towel firmly, squeezing the excess liquid away before placing it onto his brother's forehead. He brushed away the bangs that clung to Sam's face.

"Sammy, your fever is really up there." Dean whispered sharply.

He watched his brother twitch at the touch of the cold towel. He knew that Sam was awake. Although the youngest's eyes were closed, Dean could sense that Sam could feel his presence. With that in mind, he continued to speak, muttering soft nothingness into Sam's ear in a vain attempt to provide some comfort from the nightmarish ordeal that Sam was going through.

The speaking was done just as much for himself as it was for his brother. He knew that he had to remain strong. He couldn't let Sam see him struggling for control over his emotions. He was the oldest. He was the one with the most control, the most bravery. He was the one that was supposed to console the youngest one's troubles and worries.

Dean knew that he was strong, but the lack of sleep caused the adrenaline levels in his bloodstream to plummet down until they hardly existed at all, which made it all the more difficult to stay focussed and keep strong. His ears were sharp, able to pick up even the smallest noise, but the last ten minutes had consisted of nothing, but his own movements and sounds.

Evelyn had been gone for more than an hour and Dean knew that something wasn't quite right with her. He'd known it even before she had left, she'd been planning something that she didn't want him involved in. That single, gnawing bit of understanding, the understanding that something was definitely up was enough for Dean to lose patience with himself for letting her go alone in the first place, especially with that thing still lurking around out there.

Despite the mental lashing he was giving himself for letting Evelyn go alone, another, slightly more prominent voice of reason and rationalization chimed through telling him that Evelyn seemed to know what she was doing. It was very likely that she'd be fine, she could take care of herself, but at the moment, Sam was unable to. Sam was still sick. The fever within the younger brother was consuming him and clouding his consciousness. Sam was suffering, while that thing was still out there. He hoped against hope that whatever Evelyn was up to, it involved the permanent punishment of the creature that did this to his brother.

He listened to the silence and realized just how much he missed Sam's nagging voice yapping at him and rattling off some research containing terms that Dean had no idea about and was forced to ask Sam for a translation into 'Dean English' so he could grab whatever weapons and supplies needed and kick some serious bad guy ass. Hell, Dean even missed the 'lost puppy' look in Sam's eyes as he placed every ounce of trust he had on his big brother. Sam trusted him, trusted him with his life, a life that Dean wasn't too keen on letting slip away, not when there was something he could do about it.

'We'll get through this, Sam. I'll find a way to get you out of this mess.' Dean thought to himself and then his face blanked with a hint of ghosting amusement.

Damn it! He'd just gone all chick flicky on himself. It's a good thing Sam wasn't coherent enough to rib him about it or he would never live it down.

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Sam felt like his body was burning from the inside out. The ripples of pain and heat, followed by the fear and longing for an end caused a scream to boil just beneath the surface and lodge itself in the core of his very soul.

A sensation of cold tingling, coming from an unknown source helped him to draw attention away from the nightmare he was caught up in, but there was still discomfort. Something inside of him was stirring and he could feel it slowly consuming him one painful piece by one painful piece.

'C'mon, just focus. Try to move, concentrate on moving, forget about everything else and just focus.' Sam urged himself through his painful mind.

"Sam...fever...up there." Dean's distant words slid through his thoughts.

'Oh, I must have a fever, I've had fevers before. That would explain why it's so damn difficult to focus. Wait though, this time seems different, somehow...' Sam thought to himself as his brother's words registered on his scale of understanding.

Different or not, it was okay. Dean would take care of him, he always had, why should this time be any different? Sam felt his head being moved, but it gained no reaction of fear within him because he knew it was just Dean. The pain throbbing through him made it hard to understand the words that Dean was speaking, but he gave in and allowed his body to be guided by the careful hands of his brother. He trusted Dean. He trusted Dean with his life.

A rush of cool liquid passed over his lips and only then did he realize what was happening. He opened his mouth to sip greedily at the water that would calm the fiery inferno that was his body, but the liquid was pulled away before the fire was put out. It was torture! He groaned a bit, wanting the liquid back to calm the flames and then he felt a hand on his shoulder and a comforting presence looming above him. Dean. It was definitely Dean.

"Okay, I'm gonna give the water back, but you have to drink it slowly, Sammy." Dean's voice was firm and soothing all at the same time and Sam could hear the worry in the words.

The water was returned and Sam did as he was told, drinking it slowly until he could drink no more. The lingering moisture on his lips was brushed away and Sam remembered that he had to breathe. He choked down the puddle of water still in his mouth as a result of his greed for the liquid and drew a deep breath, feeling his stomach flip a bit, he willed the water to remain in place.

Despite his best efforts, the water simply refused to cooperate. Sam tried to choke back the burning in his throat, but knew he no longer had control. He moaned incoherently and Dean responded immediately, knowing what was about to happen. He gently turned Sam onto his side and waited for what was to come.

Sam felt the familiar taste of copper metal invading his mouth, followed quickly by convulsing pain that caused him to stiffen. He coughed, trying to rid himself of the awful taste and horrible pain and heard Dean's near-panicked voice ring in his ears as the red fluid from before flowed freely past his dry lips.

"Oh shit! Sammy!"

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Evelyn looked down at her trembling hands. She fought to keep them still, while grasping firmly on the handle of the blade that she slid over her palm. Her breath came in heavy gasps and her anxiety grew with every breath.

The creases on her forehead multiplied and a small sob escaped her lips as she recalled a memory that she had never forgiven and it had never been forgotten, no matter how much she tried to push it away it always found a way to return and haunt her like a ghost.

20 years ago

2 days after the conjuring.

The air was thick with panic and regret and quilted with an intense silence that was finally broken by the older of the two women.

"Aurora we need to fix this and we have to do it soon!" Evelyn replied.

Aurora became unnerved by the tone of the other woman's. It was filled with fear, remorse and guilt.

Everything had been planned. The conjuring, the spell, the equipment, everything, right down to the very last detail. The two women had worked well together, each bringing skills of varying levels to the table. The pieces of their plan had taken shape. Everything was supposed to have been planned! Still they left out one very important detail, the 'what if.'

What if things went wrong? Neither woman had thought of that. They hadn't expected that factor to be needed. In a perfect world, the world the envisioned, nothing went wrong, everything went perfect. Yet their world was not the real world and in the real world, bad things often happened and this was one of those times...Things had gone wrong. Things had gone very wrong. The Loa was out of control, neither woman could control it and it wanted to hurt them, it wanted to rid itself of them once and for all. It had already tried twice, one for each woman and they had the scars to show for it, not just physically, but emotionally as well. Now the women wanted out, this wasn't part of the plan. They wanted out now.

The 'what if' was a small, yet crucially fundamental piece to making the final picture and the lack of experience of both women had come back for them.

"There is a way." Aurora dropped her head to gaze at the ground. She didn't want to face her friend, didn't want to make eye contact because what she was about to say went against all that her friend believed in.

Evelyn moved closer, frowning. She had heard what Aurora had said, but wanted her to say it again.

"What was that Aurora?"

"I said there is a way we can get rid of it, without us getting hurt anymore, but we need a sacrifice." Her voice picked up in tempo a bit and she finally dared to make eye contact with Evelyn. However, the sight of the other woman's face, tense and concerned caused her to drop her head once more. She knew that Evelyn knew what she was talking about, the flicker of familiarity in her friend's dark eyes told her that much.

"A sacrifice." Aurora repeated.

Evelyn quickly shook her head in disapproval. "No, No!" She started to pace. "I can't believe your even suggesting that! Do you know what that means?!?" Her strides became quicker and more anxious."Someone will have to die, Aurora!" Evelyn nearly shouted.

"Yes, I know. We have to decide on someone." Aurora choked out. Evelyn stared at her in disbelief, she couldn't believe that her 'friend' was even suggesting such a notion! It went beyond a simple realization. It was directly in the centre of the realm of the cruel.

"Aurora, we got into this mess ourselves and we have to fix it. What you're suggesting, it's..it's inhumane! We can't do that! We can't make someone else pay for our stupid mistakes! No, it has to be one of us." Evelyn's eyes brimmed with tears as she stared coldly at Aurora in disapproval.

"Evelyn, I don't want to die! The sacrifice isn't specific, it just has to be a human, why can't it be someone else?" Aurora snapped.

Evelyn turned away from Aurora, wanting to lash out at Aurora for once again suggesting such a cruel act, but she knew the rules. The sacrifice wasn't specific, it could be some stranger on the street and the Loa wouldn't care, not as long as it got what it wanted. It was also true that neither woman wanted to die, but what Aurora was suggesting went against everything Evelyn believed. She couldn't bare the thought of taking another human's life to spare her own, it just wasn't right. No, one of them had to pay for them.

"Evelyn, I am not going to die!" Aurora's words were shouted.

From the moment Aurora mentioned taking the life of another to save their own, the two women were no longer a team. They were unable to see eye to eye and that moment was what ended their friendship forever.

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Later that same day, Aurora watched her younger cousin through piercing eyes, her mind working wildly in an attempt to save her own life.

Rose was small in frame and height. She had long, curly hair that bounced with every movement, the chocolate colour matching her eyes. Her cousin was happy, ready to face whatever was thrown at her, living the perfect life, having everything that one could ever ask for. To Aurora, Rose's faults and imperfections went unseen in their family. Rose got pregnant, had a baby, it was considered a gift! Rose turned her back on the arts (a family tradition) and it went unchallenged by the family, they supported her in it, reasoning that it was her choice and she could do as she wished. The jealously toward Rose had been eating Aurora alive and she had finally crossed the line stretching between Love and Hate for her cousin.

Rose held a small bundle tightly against her and rocked back and forth, humming to the little life-force that giggled back to her. The sight bothered Aurora straight through to the bone. Everything about Rose bothered her.

"She doesn't deserve anything she's got." Aurora muttered as she turned away and walked back toward the room that held the entity.

That was it, she'd made up her mind. She wasn't going to die, she refused to. The sacrifice had been decided upon and that sacrifice would be Rose...

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