hello everyone, thank you all once again for the great reviews. they really do mean alot to me. this chapter is a little light on the action side, but dont worry the actions will be back again soon. as always, let me know what you think. :)

ETERNAL

Chapter 12

"Are you still feeling ok? Do you need to rest?"

Kerri closed her eyes, praying for patients. She knew Sam had a big heart, knew that he had only her best interests in mind, but really, he was starting to drive her crazy. They had been looking for Dean for twenty minutes, the halls slowly growing brighter and better decorated as they walked. And, in that short time period, Sam had asked if she was alright no less than twelve times.

"Yes, Sam, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Positive, can you please stop asking me."

"I'm sorry." Sam mumbled, and Kerri instantly regretted her sharp tone.

It wasn't Sam's fault after all, hell, if there was anyone to blame it would be her. She was the one that wandered off with Bramhurst, knowing full well what he was capable of. And the worst part of all was that she wasn't sure why she had done it. Yes, she usually acted on impulse, but she wasn't suicidal, and apparently that's what going with Bramhurst was. But that didn't change the fact that she had still gone with him, and she had been kicking herself every since.

It wasn't that she was afraid of dying, she didn't want to, but it was a fact of life. No, the worst part of the whole stupid ordeal was the effect it was having on the brothers, and Dean in particular. He had promised long ago to keep her safe, and she knew that he wouldn't let heaven or hell keep him from holding that promise. He was blaming himself, she knew that without even seeing him, and she just wished there was something she could do to help him, something she could say to make him believe that this wasn't his fault. But well, in Dean's mind everything was his fault, and it was a trait Sam seemed to be developing as well.

It was almost like the younger man was trying to make up for his years away, trying to make up for everything he had ever done to hurt his brother. But what he didn't know what that he had never hurt him, not even when he left. And really, Kerri didn't think there was anything Sam could do to make his brother hate him, to make Dean feel like Sam owed him something. Hell, his little brother was the reason he was still alive, the reason he hadn't done something suicidally stupid. Like wandering off with the bad guy, for instance.

But then well, that's where she was different, that's where the terrible march of time had changed the two families. Dean still had his brother to keep him from falling over the edge. But Kerri, her family was gone. She had watched them die, all of them, and then she had been forced to spend over two years alone, left with nothing but memories and fading photographs. She acted on impulse because she literally had nothing left to lose.

"I'm sorry, Sam. I didn't mean to snap."

"You're getting the life sucked out of you, you have the right to be a little testy."

"Like a license to bitch."

"Something like that."

"Hm, that could come in handy."

"Just don't pass it on to Dean."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Kerri smiled, relieved that the moment had passed.

Things between her and the brothers had been far too tense. But then, they had spent twelve years apart, spent their formidable adult years forgetting each other, there was bound to be some friction. But when they were kids everything had been so perfect, so right, so easy, and the naive part of her wanted all that back again. Even if it was just a dream.

They were hunters now, though, nearly thirty, and things had changed. They weren't the little kids that terrorized Mrs. Miller at the local store, weren't the kids that raced down hills, rode their bikes around the mountains for hours on end. No, now they were the adults that fought of the darkness, the ones that killed, the ones that burned, the ones that buried. What little innocence they had managed to find was now completely gone, and it had left their once unbreakable relationship more than a little strained.

"So." Sam began a few moments later, draping is suit jacket around Kerri's shoulders when he noticed she was shivering. "Any great plans rolling around in that head of yours?"

"Nope, you?"

"I got nothing."

"What are the chances Dean has one?"

"I'd say their pretty good actually. But his plans have a way of being….. Outlandish."

"I like outlandish."

"You would. But I think subtly would be best right now."

"Yeah, it's never a good idea to blow a millionaire away in front of about two hundred witnesses."

"Getting wise, huh."

"Someone had to."

"Ha ha."

Just then the lights flickered violently before finally flashing out, sending the pair into complete and total darkness. Kerri could feel Sam wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her a bit closer, using his much larger body to shield her from anything and everything that might be hiding in the shadows. She held her breath for several tense seconds before realizing that the lights weren't going to come back on.

"I hate this house." Kerri sighed, a bolt of lighting crashing no more than two hundred yards from the house. The instant flash of light illuminated the eerie hall and Kerri couldn't help but gasp when her eyes landed on the shadowy figure standing at the end of the hall, lost again as the thunder rolled.

Despite herself she pulled closer to Sam, the fear that had been floating just below the surface all day finally boiling over. They were without weapons, without back-up, and without their phones, and Kerri had a sinking feeling that Bramhurst knew exactly where they were and what they were doing. It was like a giant game of cat and mouse and she was the mouse, Bramhurst catching her and releasing her at his will. She had tried to push it all away, tried to ignore it, but the danger, the fear, that was always there and it was something she could no longer hide.

She buried her face in Sam's chest, the younger man shielding her from the approaching stranger, standing between her and the darkness.

"Sammy?"

"Dean?" Kerri could feel Sam's grip relax as she peered around him, the shadow moving towards them growing more and more recognizable as it approached.

"Oh thank god. Where the hell have you two been?" Dean nearly shouted, but his voice was one of the sweetest things Kerri had ever heard.

"Oh you know, just went for a stroll."

"That's not funny, Sam."

"Where do you think we went. We got caught."

"How'd you get away?"

"Uh, we just kind of got up and left." Sam shrugged sheepishly, finally releasing his death grip on Kerri.

"He let you just walk away?"

"Well." Kerri began, still staying close to Sam as the lightning flashed again. "He let me wander away, I kind of found Sam laying in the corner."

"What?" Dean cut in, immediately turning eyes towards his brother, though Kerri knew he could barely see him in the dark.

She felt a little guilty about sicking Dean on Sam, but she just didn't want him fussing over her at the moment. She knew she had been stupid, knew that she should have told Bramhurst to take a hike when he offered her the drink. But she hadn't, and she didn't want to get lectured about it now. After all, there was nothing she could do to change it, what happened, happened.

"I'm fine, Dean."

"The hell you are." Dean began, fighting his much taller little brother as he checked his head. Kerri guessed that, by the way Dean seemed to go over one area again and again that Sam had a pretty sizable bump on his head.

"Look, it's nothing bad. Not like some of us."

"Traitor."

"What, what happened to you? And what are you wearing?"

"Pjs."

"I see that, where'd they come from?"

"I'm still a little foggy on that."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, his voice thick as he grabbed her shoulders, pulling her away from Sam. "Are you weaker? Do you need to sit down or anything?"

"No, I'm actually feeling pretty good."

"How?"

Kerri suddenly found herself unable to look at Dean, her heart growing heavy as she tried to do anything other than tell the truth. She knew he blamed himself for what was going on, and she knew that he was trying he best to keep her safe. And she just didn't want to burden him with anything else. But there was no way around the truth and she knew it, no matter how much the confession would hurt Dean.

"Kerri, what happened? What'd he do to you?" Even though she could barely see the older man in the dark she could have sworn she had seen a fire in his eyes.

"I woke up in some room, I guess it was his."

"What? Why'd you go with him again."

"I was half-asleep." She nearly shouted back, fear and fatigue getting the better of her. "I got really dizzy and I thought you were beside me. I didn't know what was going on. All I can remember is someone picking me up."

"And you woke up there?" His voice was frighteningly even and deathly calm, and it sent shivers up Kerri's spine. Dean was her best friend, and she felt safer with him than anyone else on the planet, but there were still times when he scared her.

"Yes. I was still so out of it. He gave me this drink--."

"What the hell's wrong with you. Some creepy as hell dude gives you a drink, you don't take it."

"I was dying, Dean. Right there. Hell, if I hadn't drank it I'd be gone by now. So excuse me if I was trying to buy you an extra few hours."

"Guys!" Sam broke in, scanning the dark corridor. "This really isn't the time or place for this."

"You're right, Sam. Maybe we should go back to the painting, see if it sucks the life out of Kerri again. You know, just to see what that crap she drank actually did."

"Dean, I'm sorry. It wasn't like I had a whole lot of options."

"Don't drink mystery tea, that's an option."

"You don't know what this is like. I could feel myself slipping away. Dean, I wasn't sure I was gonna wake up again."

The instant Kerri made the confession she wished she hadn't. She had never seen Dean look so broken, had never seen the life drain out of his vibrant eyes so fast. She knew he had been trying to fool himself, trying to believe that things weren't as bad as they really were, but Kerri knew that it was time he learned the truth. She was dying, her soul slipping away like water in clasped hands. There was nothing else she could have done, no other option. And even now, she could still feel her time running out, could still feel her life falling away.

Unbearable silence followed her words, Dean staring at her like he had never seen her before. And she knew exactly what was running through his burdened mind. He was blaming himself, cursing himself as he stared at her, as he let his long kept promise fall to the ground in pieces. She didn't blame him though, and she never would, but she just didn't know what to say or do to make him believe that. All their lives, Dean had blamed himself for one thing or another, even though much of it was beyond his ability to control. And, no matter how she tried, no matter how long she knew him, that was something she couldn't save him from.

"Look." Kerri began, trying to break the elder Winchester out of the trance he had fallen into. "I don't think Bramhurst let me go on purpose. Do you have any idea what he could be up to?"

"Uh um, no. But, he knows us."

"What do you mean he knows us?" Sam began, wrapping an arm protectively around Kerri.

"Exactly what I said." Dean stated curtly, leading them down the hall, gun in hand. "Apparently, we aren't the first hunters that have tried to stop him."

"But, how did he even figure out we were hunters?"

"I didn't mean he knew we were hunters, Sammy. I meant that he literally knows who we are."

"By name?"

"Yup. First and last."

"How is that even possible."

"Well." Kerri began, her gaze shifting between the brothers.

She had always been amazed at how little they actually knew about the hunting community. They always acted like they were the only ones, like their very existence was a secret to the world, but they had always been wrong. John Winchester was one of the best hunter of the last century, of that anyone would agree. But it was also said, spoke in whispers around darkened bars, that he wasn't anything compared to his boys. Oh yes, the Winchesters were like legends, and Sam and Dean just never understood that. But then, they did what they did to help people, to save those that couldn't save themselves. They weren't in it for the glory.

"You guys are pretty well known."

"By who?"

"Hunters. And I would assume some choice baddies. I mean, come on, you're the Winchesters."

"I always hate it when you say that." Dean mumbled, turning the corner.

"Hate it or not, it's true. Your dad made quite a name for all of you."

"So." Sam broke in, obviously trying to make heads or tails of the entire situation. "Bramhurst knew who we were the second he saw us at the door."

"Maybe."

"Then why even let you two come?"

"This is all a game to him. He probably wanted to see if we could catch him." Dean answered absently.

"He wasn't going to let us in." Sam answered Kerri slowly, turning towards her as he spoke. "He wasn't going to let us in until Dean told him I was married."

At Sam's realization Dean froze, everything finally falling into place. Bramhurst wanted a challenge, and Dean had played right into his hands. "He said we were the first to use another hunter as bait."

"You said I wasn't bait."

"Dean, when the hell were you talking to him?"

"About an hour after Kerri's little disappearing act. He showed up while I was looking for her."

"And you two had a chat?" Sam asked in disbelief.

"Oh yeah, we talked about the weather, golf, how he's been sucking the life out of people for five hundred years. It was nice."

"Jerk."

"Wait, five hundred years! And no one's caught him?" Kerri asked, her heart finally sinking. Maybe she wouldn't be getting out of this one.

"Yeah, five hundred years. But that's only because he's never met a Winchester before." Dean smirked, winking at Kerri.

She knew he was trying to calm her, knew he was just as scared as she was, and she couldn't be more appreciative of the gesture. She knew that, at the moment, she was beyond screwed, but well, she had been there before and still came out alive and kicking. She had been missing for three days when she was eleven and Dean had still managed to not only find, but save her. His little brother had been literally drug under the earth at the age of twelve and Dean had single handedly dug him up before he was completely crushed. And even recently with the witch in the mines. Even then, even while facing a wall of fire and fever, they had still managed to survive. So really, a five hundred year old millionaire had nothing on all the other supernatural beings that had tried and failed to kill them.

"So." Sam began a few minutes later, the voices of the other guests rising faintly to their ears. "What do you think he wants?"

"To eat Kerri's soul."

"Ew." Kerri began, shivering at the image. "Don't say it like that."

"Why not?"

"Because it sounds too creepy that way."

"You hunt ghosts and you're worried about how creepy something sounds?"

"Whatever, at least I'm not afraid of rats."

"Those little things are gross. And before you say it, squirrels are just rats pretending to be pretty."

"Wimp."

"So, what do you think we should do next?" Sam asked, breaking up the argument as the distant voices grew.

"Let's get back to the room and regroup. If it's a game of cat and mouse he wants, then that's what he's gonna get."