Danger Brings Us Closer

by Verina100

Okay ppl something i havent tried before. Its a smallville, supernatural, veronica mars crossover. Sam and Dean come to help Veronica and Chloe who are good friends and have been attacked by the yellow eyed demon. Pairings are deanchloe and samveronica.

8. Chapter 8

Hey ppl, this is my second fic. It's a crossover of Supernatural, Smallville and Veronica Mars. I got this idea when I thought about how Chloe and Veronica would be good friends if they knew each other. Anyways I don't own anything or anyone from Supernatural, Smallville or Veronica Mars even though owning the Winchester boys would be my dream. Lol. Hope you like it, and plz plz review.

Danger Brings Us Closer

Chapter Eight

The next morning Dean woke up to the smell of frying bacon and eggs. "Food." He murmured with a smile on his face and without opening his eyes. He heard Sam groan, "Typical." Dean yawned and stretched as he opened his eyes and got out of bed. Sam was already up and Dean wasn't surprised to see him already on his laptop. He rolled his eyes and muttered, "Why don't you get married to that thing already Sam."

Sam threw a pillow at him and in retaliation Dean made to pull out the power plug. "Alright, alright…why don't you just take a shower and go have breakfast. At least you won't be in my face." Sam said in defeat as he pulled his laptop closer to him. Dean laughed, "No one wants to be in your face Sam, its bad enough having to look at it from a far. Anyways, after my shower I am going down to breakfast. I want to see if the girls have any idea on what to do." He said as he walked out after grabbing a towel. Sam looked up instantly, "Actually I'll come with you." He said quickly shutting down his laptop.

Dean smirked as he disappeared to the bathroom and when he'd showered and gotten ready Sam jostled him as they walked downstairs. Veronica and Chloe were sitting at the dining table, a large plate of breakfast sitting between them. They had apparently been waiting for the boys seeing as how they smiled widely at them when they came down. "Finally, my stomach's been killing me." Chloe complained. Sam jerked his thumb at Dean, "His fault." He said simply as he sat down and grinned at Veronica. Dean thumped his head as he sat down and winked at Chloe who turned a shade pink. Veronica looked at this exchange closely and made a mental note to ask Chloe about it later.

They started breakfast in silence and then slowly started talking about the day and the weather. Finally as Dean put his fork down and rubbed his stomach he asked, "So, what do you girls think we should do?" Chloe glanced at Veronica who had been chewing her last bite slowly. "Well, maybe we should try to find out more about these angels and how many of them are still left." She said looking at Dean seriously. Sam frowned at this, "Even if we find out how many are left in the world, we won't be able to save them all. They could be scattered around in all sorts of places…" he trailed off.

Veronica nodded and said, "We might not be able to save them all, and tracking down the ones who don't even know what they are would be hard but we should definitely try finding out more about angel descendants, like how we can identify them." Dean nodded and turned to Sam, "Do you think we should call Bobby and ask him about this?" he asked thinking about all the times he'd helped them when they'd been on a hunting job. Sam agreed, "Yeah, maybe he knows something about it. Do you think he'd come down to help?" he asked back.

Dean thought for a moment and remembered that Bobby was like them; he didn't like being disturbed when he was on a case. "I don't think he'll want come down here if he's working on a hunt. He grumbles enough when we call him down as it is." He added. Sam looked around at the girls and said, "We'll need to do some more research on angel descendants." Veronica groaned; research was the last thing she wanted to do, even if it was for more information. Sam grinned at this and Dean almost jumped up, "I know, Chloe and I'll go to the library this time. You know, make it fair and stuff." He trailed off.

The other three stared at him and he winked at Chloe, "We'll get to learn more about each-each of the victims." He corrected himself. Sam rolled his eyes and Veronica grinned. Sam got up and said, "So what do we do while you're researching? Just sit here?" Dean glanced at Chloe and then back at Veronica who looked at him expectantly. "Well why don't you two note down symptoms and call Bobby or something." He answered. Sam looked at him with an arched eyebrow. "And?" he asked. Dean shrugged his shoulders, "Line the rooms with salt; the YED might decide to try something while we're not all together." He said getting up from the dining table.

Veronica groaned, "Is that all we do throughout the day? You're making it sound like we're supposed to stay inside the whole day." She said looking out the window at the sunny weather. Dean gave her a firm nod, "That's right, stay inside and don't go out looking for trouble. The YED's got reasons to kill the both of you." He said this directly at Sam who looked back at him and nodded. Chloe looked confusedly for a second before realizing what he meant. A part angel and part demon alone and unprotected would be tempting for the YED. Except that Sam was also a hunter, Chloe thought, and Veronica wasn't easy to trick, she added.

She looked at Dean, "Let's go." She said after saying bye to Veronica and Sam. He nodded at the two and said to Sam "Have fun." He received a short glare in return from his brother and saw Veronica look the other way with embarrassment. As the two started to walk away, Dean turned back to Chloe and grinned, "How do you think the bet's going?" he asked her in a whisper. He let his lips graze her ear slightly as he said this and Chloe whacked his arm lightly saying, "Dean not now." He kept grinning however and she sighed in a pitying tone before looking at him. "You're going to lose this bet Dean, I've seen all sorts of relationships form and I can tell that these two won't get together until at least a week later."

"But it's so obvious they like each other, why would they wait until next week?" he asked once they were out of the house and walking down the driveway. Chloe grinned, "Sam and Veronica are both shy and slightly more reserved people. They wouldn't want to jump into anything, especially if they've had previous tragedies with their love life. And anyways, they'll wait until they get a million sure signs before taking any sort of step into a new relationship." She managed to say all of this in a brisk and confident tone making Dean doubt that she was just a journalist. "You aren't Oprah's secret assistant are you?" he asked poking her waist playfully before they got in the car.

Chloe rolled her eyes, "No Dean, it's just that unlike you, I observe and think about people and their personalities, like what their habits are, if they're introverts or extroverts…if they can cook." She added smiling as Dean pretended to bang his head on the dashboard. He smiled at her cockily, "If they are rugged, rough and handsome…if they're good kissers." He said in the same tone she used. She laughed and said slyly, "We can test that out now." He started to bring his lips closer to hers before a car beeped loudly at them.

Dean tried to ignore it and kissed Chloe anyway, but she broke off after a few seconds and said, "I think we should start moving already." He groaned and kissed her quickly on her neck, "Can't we just run whomever it is over." He asked hopefully not bothering to see who was wrecking his moment. Chloe looked closely in the rearview mirror, her eyes went wide and she smiled, "Hey that's Clark." She said happily. Dean groaned again and repeated hopefully, "Run whoever it is over?" Chloe gave him a warning look and she winded down her window, where Clark had pulled up next them in Lois's car.

"Hey Chloe, hi Dean." Clark greeted, his eyes resting carefully on Dean. Dean gave a short nod and pretended to fiddle around on the dashboard. Chloe rolled her eyes at him but smiled widely at Clark, "Hey. What are you doing here?" she asked. He looked around the surrounding houses and said pointedly, "Oh I was just looking around for some people…" They looked at each other for a second quietly and Dean sighed impatiently.

Chloe ignored him and nodded, "Anything you want me to help you on?" she asked. They were going to the library anyways, if he needed some help with research. Clark glanced at Dean and kept himself from grinning. "No, I'm fine, it looks like you guys are going somewhere anyway." He said smiling kindly at Dean who stared back at him warily.

Chloe smiled and started to tell him it was fine but Dean spoke loudly and in a false cheery voice, "Yeah Clark, actually we were going out and we're sort of late for our seminar so I guess we'll have to see you later." He plastered a very happy grin on his face while Chloe stared at him trying not to laugh.

Clark raised his eyebrows and shrugged slightly. "Yeah well then I shouldn't make you guys late. I'll see you later, bye." He nodded at them both (Chloe smiled at him apologetically while she said bye) and drove away. Chloe turned slowly in her seat to look at Dean who was smiling. "Dean…" she started. "Yes?" he asked innocently. Chloe couldn't keep a straight face and laughed, "Forget it." She said shaking her head and sitting back.

Meanwhile Sam and Veronica had started putting all the leftover dishes into the sink. "We should start washing all this up." Veronica said as she threw away some scraps. Sam nodded, "Yeah, I don't want to get Mr. Sullivan mad by making his house look like a sty. He might not stay as generous as he is now when he gets back." He said. Veronica grinned, "Yeah…that reminds me, I should call my dad, he's probably sent out SOS planes over Kansas." She said smiling fondly. Sam glanced at her and nodded, "You should do it now, before you forget again." He said motioning towards the phone.

Veronica nodded and quickly walked over to the phone. She dialed her dad's mobile number and wasn't surprised to find him answering it in less than a few seconds. "Hello, Veronica?" he asked hopefully. Veronica smiled, "Yeah dad it's me, hey." She heard a relieved sigh issue from the other end and then, "Where the hell have you been Veronica? I told you to phone me every day and I haven't heard from you in three days. Do you know how worried sick I've been?" he asked loudly.

Veronica bit her lip nervously, okay, he was mad. "Dad, I'm fine-I was just too busy to call. The workshop was pretty exhausting. And I'm staying with Chloe at her house so I'm safe and stuff." She added hoping her dad would be satisfied. Well she hoped wrong; "At Chloe's house? Are her parents there? Veronica you aren't snooping around for a case or anything while you're there are you?" her father asked in a suspicious tone. She grinned dryly and said, "No dad, I haven't been doing any snooping around, I haven't had any time to." She added truthfully.

Her father asked her about the workshop and she answered, "Yeah the workshop's great. It's actually pretty fun. Um dad I'm sort of late for a lecture, I'll call you back later okay." She said as she looked back and saw Sam washing the dishes (she felt bad, leaving him all the work). "But you just called. You've been speaking for like what? A minute?" he asked. She sighed and said, "Yeah but dad I've got to go. I promise to call you tomorrow and we'll talk for hours then okay?" Veronica heard her father chuckle quietly at her response and he agreed. "Just stay out of trouble okay?" he asked. She smiled and said she would before saying bye and hanging up.

When she returned to the kitchen, Sam smiled at her kindly. "Was it bad?" he asked as she picked up a plate to dry. She grinned, "He can never stay mad at me so I guess not. But he was annoyed that I didn't call him before." Sam wasn't surprised to hear it. "You're dad's a private investigator right?" he asked her. She nodded, "Yeah, he's not a really famous one but he's good. I've learnt a lot from him." She admitted.

He rinsed a coffee mug and glanced at her carefully before asking, "Do you reckon he knows anything about angels and stuff in your family?" Veronica looked back at him and laughed, "Oh no. I think I've proved I'm slightly skeptical, well I was but my dad is even more skeptical than me. He probably wouldn't be believe a word I say if I told him about this angel theory." She said.

Sam nodded understandingly, "Yeah, if he saw what was happening then maybe he would believe it." He added. He saw Veronica pause while drying the mug he had passed to her and she said quietly, "Sometimes I wish I didn't have to believe it either." Sam looked at her quickly and stopped what he was doing.

"It's harder to ignore what's right in front of you." He replied softly. She turned to him and grinned, "Yeah, especially if it's thrown at you three times." He smiled back and they stared at each other for a few seconds in silence. He didn't want her to keep anything inside; it reminded him of what Dean always did. Veronica looked away first and after a while said in a tiny voice, "How bad did it say I could get if we don't find a way to kill the demon?" Sam stared at her in surprise. "No one's going to die Veronica…you're not going to die. We're protecting you, the three of us and we're going to end up killing him." He said in a stern voice, not unlike Dean.

Veronica sighed, "Sam we've got to accept that we might not make it in time. What if we can't kill him and he drives me to insanity? I don't want to end up doing anything to you guys." She said. Sam walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder, "You won't. And it won't get that far; you've just felt the pains in your abdomen right? You haven't had any freaky dreams or started hallucinating so we've got time to figure out a way to stop this." He said as he picked up another glass.

She looked at him was silent for a moment. It made Sam uneasy and he looked back at her questioningly. "I haven't told you guys something…I didn't know what to make of it until yesterday myself so…" she trailed off under Sam's continuous stare. "What is it Veronica?" he asked. She breathed deeply and said, "The dreams, they've started…I keep seeing this lady, an angel probably."

Sam wasn't even aware of the glass cracking into two pieces and under Veronica's voice it went unheard. "Why didn't you tell me about this Veronica?" he asked slightly hurt that she hadn't thought him trustworthy enough. She shook her head and said hurriedly, "I didn't know what it meant until yesterday when we did all that research. And then I was too scared…after a while I forgot and I didn't remember again until just now when you mentioned it." She explained hoping he understood.

He saw her gasp as her eyes traveled to his hand. He looked down absentmindedly and was surprised to see blood dripping off the halved glass. He let go of the glass and it shattered on the floor. "You're bleeding Sam. Oh my god, sit down, I'll bring some bandages." She cast a worried look on him and practically ran to Chloe's room. After a while she came back downstairs with a first aid kit and sat down next to him on the sofa. "Sam, I didn't think you'd get so mad at me for not telling you." She said nervously as she cleaned his wound gingerly.

Sam closed his eyes, "I'm not mad at you, I was just surprised and-and worried." He said opening them again. Veronica was peering at him nervously and she smiled at him, "You know, you and Dean are completely different to each other. He shows how much he cares by being the tough guy who doesn't take any crap from anyone who's out to hurt the ones he's close to. You're the quiet and soft type who understands all sorts of emotions someone's going through just by glancing at them. That doesn't come with your psychic abilities does it?" she asked jokingly however her eyes were still serious.

Sam grinned back gently and shook his head, "I'm slightly better at understanding people's general feelings but I guess with you its sort of different…it's easier to figure out what you're feeling." He said, his eyes falling to his knees as Veronica applied Dettol to his cut. He winced as the antiseptic solution stung his flesh and his eyes connected to hers. They were staring back at him with a slow, seeping warmness and he found it harder to look away.

She glanced at him apologetically when he winced but was still silent for a moment. She tilted her head to a side when asked, "Why is it easier to figure out what I'm feeling? Don't get me wrong, I'm not mocking you but I'm asking because I feel it too. You're the first one to know if I'm upset, the first one to be concerned and the first one to figure out that I'm worried over something."

His intense eyes made her look back down at his hand again after her questions and she concentrated on carefully bandaging his gash. They were both quiet as they pondered over this new confession and Veronica could feel her neck and cheeks warming up. "It's in your eyes…" Sam revealed in the gentle tone he always used when he was with her. She looked up in surprise; she didn't know he'd been observing her that closely. "My eyes?" she asked in an equally soft tone.

Sam's eyes strayed momentarily to his bandaged hand before he looked back at her. "Dean and Chloe are alike in the sense that they've always got a guard up; always. Both of them guard every emotion they feel unless they want to show it. They can press down feelings and emotions if they think it'll make them look weak. But Veronica, your eyes, I can hear you say a thousand words more with your eyes than your mouth. When you're scared, they go wide and you hardly ever blink. They make you look a bit more wild and alert. And when you're sad and worried, your eyes look hollow and dark. You could smile and laugh to make everyone else happy but it never reaches your eyes. But when you're happy, your eyes brighten up and everything making you happy ends up getting reflected in them. They make the person you're smiling at feel really warm."

He stopped for a few seconds and came out of his trance when he saw Veronica blush even deeply and added more firmly (although his tone never changed). "After meeting so many people, so many demons and hunters; you end up learning more and more about fear, joy and pain. And all of it through a person's eyes because most of the time they try putting up barriers too."

Veronica had finished bandaging his hand and yet still clung onto it as she continued to search Sam's eyes for any hints of ridicule or hesitation. "No one's ever told me so much about what they see in my eyes. That's amazing Sam…you've never let on how much you've known about me." She replied glancing at his hands, which were clasped around hers.

Sam smiled at her shyly and said slowly, "I didn't know if it was suitable or not…and the topic never came up." He added. She smiled at him with the same warmth he had seen and talked about a few minutes before. "You've saved me so many times, you've been such a good friend through this whole ordeal I'm going through right now-I think you qualify to talk to me about anything you want." She answered still smiling at him.

Sam grinned back at her and glanced at his bandaged hand still in hers. "Have you noticed something Veronica?" he asked after a quiet moment. She grinned again, "Noticed what?" she asked, although many of things she'd noticed were going through head at the moment. He squeezed her hand gently in his (he didn't want the cut to start bleeding through the bandages) and said, "All this stuff that's been happening. All this danger following us everywhere has brought us closer."

Veronica nodded, " I've noticed that too. It feels like I've known you guys forever since this stuff started, and like I can only be safe with you guys. It's a special sort of trust I've got in you." She said thinking about her uneasiness at being separated from the other three. And these days Sam especially.

They both were aware of the warm feelings they were going through inside. They weren't new to this. Veronica knew what it meant; she felt things for Sam that she couldn't feel for anyone else. She'd been trying to reason herself out of any relationship after Logan. She'd gotten tired of the complications, which came with relationships. And yet, here she was blushing every time Sam would look over at her. Here she was wondering when she'd get ready in the morning if she looked all right. And of course dreading and wanting the conversations they shared alone.

So when she leaned closer (daring not to close her eyes so she could see the emotions in his eyes for once) she wasn't unsure of what she was doing. Veronica didn't dwell on the decisions she took; she carried them through. Sam's eyes conveyed the slight surprise he felt but he held her gentle gaze as their lips touched and he could see her eyes smile before they closed as their kiss deepened. Veronica placed her hand on his neck as they kissed and felt her knees go weak. On his part, no kiss had ever been as sweet and gentle as this. Sam's mind wandered briefly to what a combination they made; a half demon and a half angel and that was when he almost jumped away from a content Veronica.

Veronica looked at him in shock when he stumbled slightly backwards away from the sofa. Her brows knitted in confusion as she asked, "Are you okay? What's wrong? Sam?" Sam just stared at her while his mind reeled. How could he be so stupid? He knew there were so many risks to having a relationship-especially when he was on a hunt. And this was more than just a normal hunt right? A voice in his head reminded him that he was a half demon and that Veronica was a part angel. He could so easily put her life at risk right now. If the YED found out about them, he could find easier ways to get to Veronica and if he did Sam would never forgive himself; he'd been through this already.

He ran a hand over his face and took a deep breath. He couldn't let Veronica get too close to him when he knew what the dire consequences could be. His demonic side could end up killing her; he couldn't be trusted with her. Sam had promised himself not to get involved with anyone since he had found out about himself. And the fact that Veronica was a part angel made things even more complicated. The list of reasons not to go through with this was too long for him to ignore. It didn't matter how much he liked Veronica, she was beautiful, smart and soft and it made it even harder for him to accept this. But of course he had to, he always did.

She was still looking at him in confusion. "Sam, are you okay? Is something wrong?" she asked again more quietly. Veronica was worried; they'd been fine until a few seconds ago (they had been kissing which she hadn't found as bad as he looked like he did) had she done something wrong? Should she have waited a while before kissing him? Veronica made to get up and was slightly hurt to see Sam stumble backwards a few more steps.

He shook his head and said quickly, "Uh, Veronica, I'm sorry…but I can't do this. We can't do this." He was careful not to look into her eyes as he said this and felt bad instantly. This wasn't going to come out properly, he could tell already. Veronica frowned faintly and she asked in a puzzled and disbelieving voice, "Why?" He cleared his throat, "I-it's hard to explain Veronica, but I-I can't be with you. It's too dangerous." Sam looked at Veronica's hurt expression and hoped to god that she'd realize it wasn't anything personal; well not personal on her side. Sam took a deep breath and knew he needed a while to think about how to explain all of this to her.

"I'll be back in a while," he said to her as he almost sprinted up the stairs to the bedroom he and Dean were sharing. He closed the door quietly and sat down on the edge of the bed. That's when he realized that this wasn't going to go well with Veronica who was probably really offended right now. Sam groaned and smacked his hand on his forehead when he replayed the scene in his head, them kissing and then him leaping away from her and stammering about how it was all a mistake before running up to his room. God, she probably thought he was demented.

But there was a more serious tone to this. Apart from Dean and Bobby, nobody else knew that he was a part demon and since Dean refused to acknowledge this Sam himself was the only sure one. Dean didn't realize the anger and hatred, which boiled through Sam's body at times. He didn't get how Sam felt like he had two different people inside of him, how alienated he felt at times.

Sam was ashamed of what was growing in him, a demonic side that was capable of overpowering his normal self and killing the ones he loved. He would do anything to get rid of it and if it meant killing himself to save the others, he would. But he still hadn't been able to tell the girls about what he was. Danger had brought them all closer yet he still had this fact about him that he couldn't share with these two girls who were being hunted by a species of what he was.

He didn't even want to imagine the horrified and disgusted expressions on their faces when they'd find out. They wouldn't want to be anywhere near him, and he wouldn't be surprised if they thought he was the same as the demon they'd been attacked by. Maybe they'd think he was working for the demon. Sam heaved and rubbed his eyes wearily. Sam usually never cared about what other people thought but he couldn't bear to see terrified looks thrown at him from two girls who were starting to mean more and more to the boys.

No, no he wouldn't tell them anything. It was important for the girls to stay with Dean and him so they could keep the girls safe. If they found out, they might decide to go away or to kick the guys out and he wouldn't be able to keep an eye out on Veronica, who was more at risk, than any of them. Maybe after it was all over, when the demon had been killed, maybe then it would be safer to tell them. But until then, he didn't want them to be worrying even more than they were now.

While he sat upstairs wondering how to stop this growing attachment between Veronica and him, Veronica was sitting downstairs on the sofa with her head in her hands. She closed her eyes and tried not to feel too shocked and rejected. She'd scared him, he'd just tried to be a good friend and she scared him away by jumping into a kiss, which he probably got freaked out by anyways. Veronica dropped her head back onto the sofa and covered her eyes with an arm, "I'm so stupid…" she murmured as she remembered his nervous expression when he'd jumped up.

But inside she was feeling the rejection more than anything. She didn't want to admit it, things like this happened right? (Of course not-she said inwardly) Something he had said made her feel like ripping the insane angel part inside her and throwing it somewhere where it would never return. "I can't be with you-it's too dangerous." She repeated what he had said, in an almost whisper, her mouth barely moving.

He was right of course; she was too dangerous. In a few days or weeks or whatever it was she was going to go so crazy that she'd be able to do anything to the others, especially Sam. And who would want to be in any sort of relationship with a girl who was going to be dead in a while. Sam was a hunter, his job was to protect people from demons and she was coming in the way by distracting him. If he became more than a friend he could end up getting hurt and maybe even killed…and if that happened, Veronica thought, she'd look forward to her insane death.

Veronica took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. No, this was stupid, thinking about a relationship when they were all in the middle of a catastrophe. She'd pretend that she didn't mind this little incident and when he'd come back downstairs she'd act completely normal. In fact she'll forget the whole kiss and everything he had said before that. With all this in mind, Veronica got up and walked over to the kitchen to clean up the shattered glass on the floor.

After a while, just as she'd chucked all the broken glass in the rubbish bin, she heard the thudding of Sam's boots on the carpeted stairs. She bit her lip for a second and waited until he reached the kitchen before turning around with a smile on her face. She smiled as much as she could without looking maniacal and saw the slightly surprised look in his face. He looked nervous and Veronica hated the awkwardness settling between them.

"Veronica I-" he started but Veronica shook her head, "Don't worry Sam…it's fine. I shouldn't have jumped into that, I'm sorry." He stepped forward and was relieved that she wasn't running away from him. "It's because of you, I mean, like it is but, but it isn't completely..." He said unsuccessfully. How was he supposed to tell her that he was dangerously homicidal without revealing that he was a demon?

He was surprised even more to see her smile widely (although it was slightly stretched) and say in an understanding tone, "Sam, I know. It's dangerous; there are so many things to think of before stepping into any sort of relationship while you're on a hunt. And then I didn't even ask you about anything, I just kissed you." She added feeling really embarrassed now. Sam almost winced at her words; great he successfully made her feel unlovable. "No, you didn't do anything wrong. The kiss was great, you're great…trust me if this was a different time and maybe a different situation, we'd be together but…"

Veronica nodded, "Yeah. I know what you mean, but it's not the end of the world. Nobody said we can't be friends, right?" she asked smiling. He smiled back, "Of course. You're one of the closest friends I've ever had." He replied truthfully. She grinned back and was careful in pressing down her emotions. She knew what he'd try to do right now, read her eyes again but she wouldn't let him. He'd end up seeing the disappointment and gloom there and she'd have to try and convince him again that she was fine.

"So we're fine?" he asked cautiously. Veronica chuckled and lied, "I'm forgetting what happened as we speak." The image of them kissing was replaying in her head. He gave a real smile then and looked relieved. "So what do you think we should do?" he asked. Veronica shrugged, what was there left to do? "I don't know? Do you want to try giving Bobby a call?" she asked. Sam nodded, "Yeah, I hope he has something to help us." He pulled out his phone from his pocket and dialed Bobby's number.

Veronica sat back down in the lounge room and watched as Sam wandered in as well. She heard him greet his old friend and he started to explain the situation. She heard him mumble his agreement on something and his forehead creased. "Hmm. She's safe with us right now…she's right next to me. Dean's gone out to do some research…yeah with Chloe." There was a pause in which Veronica imagined Bobby replying to Sam's original question. She saw the very slight disappointment in his face as he told Bobby not to worry. "Yeah of course…that'd be great Bobby. Yeah you could just send it on my email. Thanks Bobby." Sam laughed lightly and fare welled the older man before hanging up.

"So, do we have anything?" she asked as he sat down next to her (at a slight distance). Sam put his phone back into his pocket and shook his head reluctantly. "Bobby's fighting off vampires in Oregon. He said that once he finishes up on that case he'd check other hunters for any mention on angels. I doubt he'll be able to come over here though…he has his own hunts to handle so I told him to he could just phone me or email the info to me." Sam said slowly, his eyes wandering around the lounge room.

Veronica nodded, after a while she asked, "Bobby's a close friend of yours isn't he?" Sam's face broke out into a grin. "After dad, he's our father figure…he was a close friend of dad's and he's always been there for us. So yeah, he's our great friend. Tells us a lot that we don't know," he replied.

Veronica smiled gently at that and Sam gripped the sofa edge with her fist to stop him from touching her cheek. Veronica didn't see this and commented jokingly that Bobby was probably used to the bickering between Sam and Dean. Sam smiled again, "Yeah, he's seen it all. He doesn't even bother stopping us sometimes." Sam laughed and turned to finally look at Veronica.

He was alarmed to see her clutch her abdomen and slide onto the carpeted floors in pain. Her eyes were tightly closed and she gasped in pain. Sam jumped down next to her at once and put a hand on the place between her chest and stomach. His eyes went wide as he felt the burning heat emanating from the area and he rushed to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Veronica looked as if she was calming down slightly and she drank the water thirstily. The pain died out slowly and she wiped at the tears that had started to appear at the corners of her eyes. They were tears of pain, sprouting although she had tried desperately not to let them appear.

Sam rubbed her back and asked her if the pain had gone. Veronica nodded and sat up again on the sofa. "It feels like it's getting worse." She said fearfully, a hand still placed on her abdomen. Sam sat next to her and asked how bad it was now. She closed her eyes briefly and said more calmly, "Before it was just quick streaks of pain and they'd be gone just as quickly as they came…but now, the pain burns through me and-and it keeps burning for a while, slowly dying out. It feels like whatever's inside of me is trying to get out."

Sam stared at her in concern and took out his phone, "I should call Dean and Chloe," he started but she shook her head and placed a hand on the phone. "No Sam, there's nothing they can do about it. It'll be a waste of time and they're busy researching." He looked at her closely for a few seconds and reluctantly put his phone away.

As he did Veronica winced again and he placed a hand on her shoulder again expectantly. Veronica shook her head; "It's just my wound this time." She answered pointing towards her side. Sam was relieved that it wasn't another burning pain but the wound could still get infected if it wasn't already and that raised more concern.

He got up and walked over to the coat stand where he picked up his coat. "Let's go." He said simply as he walked back over to her, offering his hand in case she felt weak (and also because he wanted to offer comfort in some physical way apart from a quick pat on the back, which was reminiscent of Dean's comforting techniques) "It's fine Sam…I think it's starting to dry out anyways." Veronica tried unsuccessfully. Sam just looked at her firmly and she sighed. "We're not even supposed to leave this house." She reminded him as she got up and took her jacket as well.

Sam laughed, "Yeah, and we were really going to stay here like good kids under Dean's command?" he asked sarcastically. Veronica couldn't help but smile at that and she nodded, "Yeah I guess you've got a point there." They walked out and stopped when Sam pointed out, "Wait, the only car left is Chloe's and we don't have a key."

Veronica grinned mischievously and pulled out a key ring, which quite plainly belonged to Chloe (the superwoman logo and the daily planet's logo dangling prominently). Sam grinned and tilted his head. "How did you get that?" he asked confused a bit. Veronica laughed quietly and unlocked the car. "I have my ways…I am a private investigator; snooping around and taking things without people knowing is sort of my specialty." She said proudly as they got into the red car.

Sam smiled widely as well and nodded, "Impressive." Veronica smiled but said laughing, "Yeah, well that's what I would've told you if I'd really stolen these keys but luckily, Chloe was in a good mood and wanted me to take care of her keys. So I didn't have a chance to display my private investigator skills." She laughed again at his surprised expression and he smirked, "Hmm, I think that's the first time I've seen you lie and so surely as well. Veronica Mars, you don't seem like the perfect angel to me."

The playful tone in Sam's voice had been completely accidental. Veronica grinned and said in a sly voice, "I never said I was a hundred percent nice." The two laughed and then Veronica realized how it had sounded. The image of Sam jumping away from their kiss and telling her they couldn't be together replayed in her mind shortly after her thoughts and she sobered at once. Sam suddenly felt the awkwardness as well and they were silent for a few uncomfortable seconds.

But then Sam realized a problem and he turned to Veronica while they waited at a red light and asked, "Hey, you don't by any chance know where another clinic would be do you?" Veronica stared at him for a few moments her mind half laughing at their loss of directions and half thinking about the clinics in Smallville before grinning and replying that she had been depending on Sam to know. He grinned sheepishly and said, "Yeah well, we might need to get directions." Veronica laughed and agreed.

Meanwhile Dean and Chloe had been trying to find out as much as they could about angels and their history. They had encountered the stories about the girl who'd been driven to insanity by a demon and had had their insides singed. And they'd been surprised to see that the person who had posted up the story of meeting the dead angel descendant had very recently died, the reason hadn't been given but a look between Dean and Chloe confirmed that they were thinking along the same lines. The girl had probably had her insides burnt as well. As Dean sat back in his chair thinking about the two girls and any possible relation with each other, Chloe moved onto other websites.

Suddenly Dean sat up straightly and asked quickly, "Wait a second, Chloe those two girls, the Wilkins one and the one that just died, do you think they knew each other?" Chloe thought for a few moments, "I don't think it says they did, why?" she answered.

He felt like he was onto something, "These angel descendants have to be related to someone who was an angel, or have to be descended from a family with the angel blood in them right? Well, what if through the dreams these girls have, they meet their angel ancestor or family member or whatever? Maybe their angel ancestor is trying to warn the next angel in their family about the demons." Dean said excitedly.

After a quick seven-minute enquiry on both girls history, Chloe announced happily that they had both been biological relatives (Claire Wilkins had been the other woman's niece) except that they hadn't ever met or known about each other.

Dean processed all of this in his head and Chloe's face broke out into a huge smile. Without warning she kissed him and when they pulled apart she said proudly, "Dean you're a genius." He smiled widely and shrugged his shoulders, "What can I say?" he mumbled. Chloe grinned but said, "Okay so that's why the girls have weird dreams, its not from the demons, it's actually the angels trying to protect them and warn them. Do you think Veronica's had any of these dreams?" she asked Dean. He shrugged, "I don't know. Has she ever said anything to you?" he asked. Chloe thought about the many conversations she had had with Veronica and couldn't recall any mentioning dreams.

"No, she hasn't. Maybe she hasn't reached that stage yet." Chloe said hopefully. Dean nodded but something didn't feel right and he made a mental note to ask Veronica about it when they'd get back. Chloe sighed as she turned away from the computer and asked Dean, "Do you want to try asking the reverend about angels?" Dean nodded, "Yeah, there's nothing else on the web worth looking into, the reverend's got to have something useful to us." They both made their way back to the Impala and Dean started the car.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The nurse glanced at Veronica and Sam impatiently and asked them to take a seat. "Dr. Werner will be with you soon." She added going back to her conversation with another nurse. They both sat down on the hard plastic seats and glanced around. After finding themselves lost more than a good four times, they had decided to go back to Smallville Medical Center, where the girls had previously been attacked.

Veronica had been slightly apprehensive about it to begin with but had realized that the chances of finding another facility were slim and that her uneasiness was silly. The medical center obviously wasn't the demon's home just because it had gained access there. Sam had still been reluctant, "Are you sure? We could still try to find another place." Veronica had looked out at the roads and rolled her eyes, "And we could be lost for another ten days if we do." She reminded him. He had grinned and nodded.

As they waited Sam asked Veronica, "Have you noticed something going on with Chloe and Dean?" She looked at him and grinned, "I've noticed a lot about them." They both chuckled and Sam said, "Yeah, but more than the usual Dean forcibly flirting with Chloe and her giving him the dirties every three seconds." Veronica laughed at his description but after a while she nodded. "Actually, they were acting pretty different today at breakfast…like he was winking and all that. And I think I saw Chloe blushing." She added in an awed voice.

Sam's eyebrows raised and he smirked, "You don't think those two hooked up do you?" Veronica looked surprised, "Hooked up? But when, and how? If they did then they were really stealthy…we didn't even realize until now." She said wondering if they had gotten together finally without telling Sam and her. Sam grinned again, "Yeah Dean can be stealthy when he feels like it. I'm not sure but he seemed really comfortable today and yesterday night." Veronica smiled at the idea of the two but was interrupted by the arrival of the doctor.

Dr. Werner smiled at them and nodded, "Ms. Mars?" he confirmed. Veronica gave a weak smile in confirmation while trying to figure out if he was possessed or not. Sam was beside her and his presence made her feel more comfortable. Dr. Werner showed them the way to his office and mumbled, "In here please." Veronica relaxed as she saw the doctor smile at Sam and when she realized he hadn't locked the door.

He took his place behind his desk and leaned forward, "Okay, well what seems to be the problem?" he asked. Veronica cleared her throat, "Um, I've got a bad gash on my waist. I tried putting off coming to the doctor's because I thought it was just something minor but it's starting to look really bad." She admitted. The doctor nodded and asked if he could see the wound. Veronica nodded and pulled up her shirt partly to expose the wound, which was covered in white bandages. Veronica lifted them aside.

Sam saw the doctor frown faintly as he saw the bluish wound. He shook his head at once, "Young lady, you should have come to see a doctor as soon as you got hurt. It's already become infected." He said. The doctor glanced at Sam who had been nodding silently. Veronica grimaced slowly and said, "Yeah I was going to but I ran into a couple of matters." She shared a quick glance with Sam.

Dr. Werner sighed but nodded, "Yes well luckily for you, it'll need just a removal of the collected pus and you will need a course of antibiotics." He glanced back at Sam, "If you feel uncomfortable, you may wait outside while I drain the pus." Veronica almost grabbed Sam's hand but caught herself in time. She shook her head and said to the doctor, "No, I'd rather have my friend with me." The doctor shrugged and said it was fine.

They waited while Dr. Werner got his instruments ready and when he was prepared Veronica got up and followed him to an area behind a screened wall. Sam could the their shadows and sat there for fifteen minutes while the doctor drained Veronica's wound of pus. When she came out, she looked fine but Sam noticed a hand was placed around the area. The doctor prescribed antibiotics and after they thanked him, Veronica and Sam walked out of his office. "You alright?" Sam asked as they cued up at the chemists.

Veronica nodded, "It pinched a bit when he put the draining needle in but it feels a lot better already." She said. Sam smiled and excused himself to buy the medicine prescribed. While Veronica sat on a hospital chair waiting for Sam, a mother and her four year old sat down next to her. She stared at them absently, smiling as the kid started whining for something. The mother declined wearily and Veronica felt sorry for her.

The kid was still whining and Veronica looked at her in surprise. When she was about to look away, the child turned to face her and Veronica leapt away from her seat. She felt her throat close up when she saw the child's eyes were pitch black. The kid gave her a maniacal grin and Veronica started to shake her head in fear.

She blinked and realized the kid was still whining to her mother. Veronica looked at the mother cautiously and was embarrassed to see her glare at her. Veronica looked at her empty seat and bit her lip; okay the mother probably thought she was being rude to her because of her daughter, which wasn't entirely true. Veronica smiled at her weakly and then turned to the pharmacy where Sam had bought her medicine and was walking back to her.

Sam grinned at her when he reached her and was slightly surprised to see her looking a bit worried. "What's wrong Veronica?" he asked at once. Veronica shook her head automatically and said, "Nothing, I was just thinking." She knew what she had just seen wasn't real. She was just scared and nervous of being back at the same hospital where she and Chloe had been attacked. It was just her fear projecting itself she was convinced of it.

They walked back to the car and as they started driving back towards Chloe's house Sam thought about their miserable day so far. They were going to go back home and sit there bored and feeling awkward because of the kiss that happened earlier. Sam glanced at a quiet Veronica next to him and noticed her unusual quietness. She was an introvert like him but she was always ready to talk with him about something or another and usually they didn't have too many quiet moments. He glanced at the passing scenery of houses and then spotted a playground situated in the middle of a park.

It stood out from the houses surrounding it with its brightly painted monkey bars and slides. It looked just like the playgrounds Sam had always admired from afar when he'd been a kid but had refrained from entering thanks to the boys who'd taken pleasure in bullying him as much as they could. He felt Veronica turn towards it as well and he heard the smile in her voice. "Do you want to stop by there? It looks peaceful." Sam grinned, "Don't you think we'd alarm the kids there if we just turned up to take over the swings?" he asked.

She laughed, "There are no kids there, it's deserted for once…and anyways I don't think I could jump around after that visit to the doctor's. Let's just sit down there on the bench for a while, yeah?" she asked. Sam looked at the playground thoughtfully and grinned slyly as he imitated Veronica, " I thought we were supposed to stay inside the house?" She grinned and asked back in reply, "And you always listen to your older brother don't you?" He laughed in reply and reversed the car into a parking space. As he turned off the engine Veronica grinned and got out, staring at the serene playground.

"Did you and Dean ever have any time for playgrounds when you were kids?" she asked as they walked towards the glinting red slide. Sam almost snorted and said, "Did we have time for hunts and little demon trail expeditions? Yes. Did we have time to swing around in the playground? No." Veronica laughed dryly and replied, "I didn't really think so…well if it makes you feel better, there wasn't much you guys missed out on sorely in your childhood. I liked to play in the playground when nobody else was there."

Sam gave her an inquisitive look and she grinned, "A local playground is the first insight into survival of the fittest for young kids. The tougher and bigger kids bully the younger and smaller ones into playing where and when they say so. And I was a smaller kid who didn't want to spend the daily grind getting beaten up over a seesaw so I decided to claim the playground for myself when none of the kids were there. It was way more peaceful." She said simply.

He grinned widely and said, "So you've been outsmarting people since you were a kid. That's not hard to believe." They had sat down on a couple of swings and had a view of the whole park. Veronica smiled and looked back at him, "How did you guys grow up? I mean, I thought my childhood was slightly abnormal but when I think about how you and Dean grew up around real life stories about werewolves, vampires and demons, didn't you guys ever feel cut off?" she asked scuffing the woodchips on the ground beneath her.

Sam sighed, "Our dad wanted us to be ready for anything, he wanted us to be prepared for what we could have to face…and I guess the normalcy of our childhood wasn't an issue, well not for our dad anyways," he said with a hint of displeasure. Veronica nodded but asked, "So you were all right with it all?" she asked. Sam laughed grimly, "Uh, all right with it? Let me tell you about how I felt about it." Veronica looked at him expectantly and Sam started explaining what it had been like for him as a child, hunting for supernatural beings with his father.

Veronica's eyes widened when he told her about the major falling out he'd had with John before he'd left for university. "Well that is pretty out of the norm, don't kids and parents usually a falling out when parents pressure their kids to go to university?" she asked.

Sam laughed dryly, "Well not my dad…he wanted us to stay together and hunt…it was in our blood, Dean could do it so why couldn't I just follow their lead. Oh and there was the whole, 'do you think you're better than us' dialogue he threw at me." He glanced at her and quickly added, "But I guess after the way our mother died, dad had a reason to be afraid for me. I just had a stupid thought that he was trying to stop my chance at a successful future."

She nodded quietly (she remembered arguments she'd had with her father about her future) and asked, "How did your mother die?" Sam turned to her and she could see him swallow before he spoke. "My mom was killed by a demon." He said quickly. Veronica's mouth formed an 'o' and she said, "I'm so sorry Sam." He shrugged but then looked at her closely, "Veronica, the demon that killed my mom, it's the demon that's been after you…" He saw her shiver and her eyebrows knitted, "The same demon?" she asked. Sam nodded and looked away for a moment.

Veronica took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as her eyes shifted from one point of the park to another. This demon was so dangerous, it had killed Sam's mother years ago and had managed to get away with it until now. Now it was after her and although she was safe with Chloe and the Winchester boys, none of them knew how to kill it.

Out of the corner of her eye, Veronica saw something move suddenly from a bush in front of the park's fence. Eyes widening, Veronica gasped as she saw the black swarming cloud form into a dangerous looking man clothed in old, dirty and ripped jeans and a jacket. Her throat went dry as the demon started walking to her and Sam in surprisingly increasing speed. Veronica felt the burning in her abdomen and she grabbed Sam's hand beside her in fear.

She absently heard Sam's voice ask her what was wrong and she panicked even more; didn't he realize it was here? The YED was in plain sight and Veronica gripped Sam's hand harder. "Sam, look. He's here Sam…oh my god, we have to go! Sam!" she yelled as she forced herself to get up even though the pain she was feeling was making her eyes water. She couldn't hear Sam and when she turned to look at him, she saw the YED standing a few yards away from him.

"We have to go!" she screamed, pulling Sam along with her as she started to run to the other side of the park. A confused Sam was yelling something to her but Veronica's ears drummed with fear and the loud thumping noises of footsteps. Her mind raced with possibilities, they couldn't run out of the front entrance-that's where the YED was coming from, they didn't have anything to protect them from it-weapons were either in Dean's car or back at Chloe's home, and if they kept running along the cemented pathway, the YED would catch up to them in a few seconds.

Her eyes darted wildly at the sides of the pathway and saw with a tiny lining of relief that there were trees and shrubbery obscuring any vision of what was beyond there. She glanced back and saw the YED reach where they had been seated less than a few moments ago. Sam started to ask, "Veronica what are you-" but she just yanked his hand and pulled him into the darkness of the trees leading away from the pathway. Veronica's heart was pounding so loudly; she feared the YED would hear it and she placed a hand over it.

Her abdomen was still throbbing and she gasped as she slid down the back of a thick tree, onto the ground. Veronica looked up quickly at Sam who was about to ask her something but she shook her head, "Don't say anything Sam, he'll hear us…shhh. Make sure you're hidden." she whispered frantically, pulling him down next to her. He started to say her name but when she shot him a deadly look, he quieted and peered around the tree cautiously. She pulled him back and took a few deep breaths. Very slowly and quietly Veronica got up and motioned for Sam to follow her as she quickly sprinted through the trees, finding another huge thick tree to hide behind.

Her eyes scanned ahead for the YED and she glanced back as well. Sam turned her to him but Veronica spoke before he could, they didn't have time for small questions. Maybe Sam hadn't seen the YED when it had appeared but she had and she was going to make sure they didn't encounter it. "Sam, he's behind us somewhere, I saw him…we've got to get out of the park before he catches up. Don't speak-we have to be really quiet." She paused here to strain her ears for any noise suggesting the YED was catching up to them but when she didn't hear any she started forward again.

But as soon as she took a few steps, the pain in her stomach struck like lightning in her stomach and she clutched it with her shaking hand. When she looked up, a bright light met her eyes she focused them to see the same woman from her dreams standing in front of her. Veronica's eyes widened again and the woman stepped forward. "Veronica." She called in a gentle voice that sounded loudly in Veronica's ears. Upon hearing her name Veronica moved forward to the woman, "Who are you? What's happening to you?" she asked quickly.

She heard Sam's voice ask thickly in the background, "Veronica? Who are you talking to?" But she ignored it and focused on the woman. The woman stepped forward again and again placed her hand on Veronica's stomach as she'd done in her dreams. "You're in danger…you mustn't give in. Veronica, the power in your body, they will rip it out of you if you do!" she said slightly more loudly. As Veronica's eyes roved over the woman's face she was shocked to see the just visible scars lining her pale skin. "Did the demon get you? Did it? Who are you?" she asked again, glancing back to see if the YED was scrambling in behind them.

The woman glanced towards the direction as well and her eyes mirrored the foreboding Veronica felt. When she spoke again, he words were hurried and clear, "You must know, my name is Victoria, they almost reached me but I escaped to the heavens, you must know-" she paused here and glanced again towards where the playground and the pathway were.

She looked back at Veronica and said, "They will be everywhere, but you have to fight them! Keep within you, the ones you hold dearest, they will guide you out…and find an equal resistance to bond to, it will-it will, oh no…" Victoria's eyes glazed with definite fear this time and she gripped Veronica's hands in hers, the physical contact making her insides pain again. Veronica winced and closed her eyes involuntarily as the pain struck again. Victoria's voice echoed loudly, "Find the equal resistance Veronica. You need to bond…"

She forced her eyes open and was annoyed to find the large dark trees occupying the spot where that woman, Victoria had been. "Victoria?" she called quietly but found no answer. What had she been talking about? What did she mean? Veronica shook her head and glanced to both sides of her. They were still in the park and they needed to get out. She turned to face Sam who was standing right behind her.

He looked freaked out and she didn't blame him, they were completely unarmed and unprotected and they didn't know exactly where the YED was right now. "Veronica what's going on?" he asked in a very careful tone. She frowned, what did he mean? How could he not realize they were being chased? Was Sam all right? "Sam, we're being chased…he's playing with us." She said slowly staring at his face.

Sam frowned as well and when he asked, "Who's chasing us?" the words were sounding distorted and warped in her ears. Her eyebrows narrowed in suspicion and then she saw it. He had just blinked but she had seen it, the black eyes of the YED, staring coldly at her as it spoke through Sam's mouth. Veronica started to shake violently as she backed away from the advancing demon. It all made sense now, they'd been running and Sam had been acting like he didn't even know the YED had been following them, when Veronica had seen it right in front of them.

It must have possessed Sam when she had started talking to Victoria. The YED displayed a twisted smile on Sam's face, making Veronica feel sick. "It's fun playing with kill for a while," the smile dropped for a moment, "But it gets annoying eventually." He said in a voice that couldn't belong to the Sam she knew. "Don't you dare use his body like that you disgusting bastard!" Veronica screamed at him in anger. The YED's black eyes glinted with malice and he let out a laugh.

"Use his body? Is that what it looks like? Hmm?" he asked taking a step closer. She shuddered and scrambled backwards. The maniacal smile returned to Sam's face and the YED said, "Poor Veronica, you don't even know what he truly is, do you? Well, just let me ask you Veronica, why am I so good at possessing ordinary humans? I'll tell you why, because they always have an evil streak in them…but this little Winchester right here?" It laughed again, "Sammy's a special case…I don't even have to try half as much as I do with others…and you know why?" Veronica's eyes were locked onto his, although she was more than terrified right now, something he was saying was making her ears listen.

He grinned at her silence and said, "Well because Sam doesn't really want to hunt evil. Oh no, he feels that he should but deep inside, there lays the desire for evil to conquer, the desire to see more blood and horror." Veronica gulped, it was lying, and it was lying so that she would try to kill Sam. "You're lying…" she whispered in an equally cold voice, streaming with hatred. He only smiled more and said, "This might be the only time I'm not, he's just as good as me angel face…after all, he is a demon."

Veronica shook her head, no; it couldn't be…not Sam. "Stop lying!" she screamed at him, trying to cover her ears. He stepped closer and his voice changed to sound almost just like Sam's. "But it's true Veronica…I'm not really human, I'm a demon. I never told you how the demon tried to bring me back to our kind when I was just a baby did I? The night my mother died…and I've got a special assignment now, they sent me to follow you. To follow you and then drive you mad…and finally when you start tearing away at your skin, when no one believes a word you say, I get to rip that power out of you…and watch you die." He said, pleasure at the thought, streaking in his words.

Even her hands couldn't block out Sam's voice and she brought them down. No, how could Sam want her to die? How could he be a demon? He was protecting her, wasn't he? A strange voice started whispering in her mind. Had Sam ever told her how he'd gotten his psychic powers? No he hadn't. The YED had told her he could shift into Sam without even trying because he was a demon himself. She'd never been attacked before she'd met Sam. And if he was protecting her, why wasn't he stopping the YED now?

Veronica trembled as she saw Sam take a dagger out from inside his jacket. The cold metal glinted in the sunlight and she shook her head again. How could something so evil lurk inside of the caring and gentle Sam she knew? How long had they spent together without her even realizing what he was? He advanced upon her, twisting the blade in his hand as he did. With an unusual smirk on his face, Sam said in a low tone, "Poor Veronica, I can play with your head just as easily as I play with Sam's. And in a second I'm going to make you shove this knife into your stomach."

He started to close in on her and her frozen feet sprang into action as she ducked underneath his arms and started to run out of the bushes and trees and into the open playground. His snarl echoed in her ears even as she sprinted through the park, not stopping even when the pain started in her stomach again. Sam's words were echoing in her head, he was a demon, trying to kill her. Everyone was at risk because of her-because he was after her.

Veronica ran out of the park panting slightly as she climbed over the short fence surrounding the park. Her fingers fumbled as she tried to pull the keys out of her pocket. But as she did, she heard Sam's thudding footsteps and she turned her head momentarily. He was pretty much striding over the fence and she dropped the keys when she saw him. Her body shook as she started running; they had been really close to Chloe's home when they'd stopped by at the park. If she kept running, she'd get home eventually.

She ignored Sam's voice yelling at her to stop running. Although the words were softer and he was telling her he wasn't going to hurt her, she couldn't believe it now. Veronica kept running, passing the quiet streets and occasionally glancing up to check which street she had reached. After a while, her legs were aching along with her stomach and the houses were all starting to look the same. But just as she was about to turn a corner, she spotted Chloe's street and she glimpsed her house just a few blocks down.

She slowed down and took the risk of stopping for a few moments as she caught her breath. Veronica closed her eyes and rubbed her face tiredly, she'd been running non-stop from the YED and from Sam…she still couldn't believe what had just happened. She opened her eyes again and walked down the street to Chloe's house. But when she reached inside her pocket for the house keys, she realized that Sam had had them since they'd left. She groaned and put her hands on her face as she slid down the wall, sitting with her head on her knees.

A gasp escaped from her lips when she felt a hand squeeze her shoulder. She got up at once and turned to see who it was. She made to run from him but before she could Sam grabbed her waist and pulled her to him. His strong arms kept her moving away and she yelled at him to let go of her. "Veronica! Please, it's me Sam! I'm not going to hurt you!" he yelled back at her, trying to turn her to look at him. She struggled even more in his arms and closed her eyes, screaming at him. Sam's heart hurt to hear her yell he was a demon, that he was trying to kill her and that she hated him just as much as she hated the YED.

He'd realized that she'd started hallucinating, as soon she'd become frenzied at hiding from the YED who was supposedly running after them, although Sam had figured there was no one. He had been very amazed and unsure of what he should do, that was until Veronica started running away from him. Then, he had been determined to bring her out of her dangerous reverie and had followed her, back here to Chloe's.

Now he did something he knew he didn't want to but was necessary. As she screamed and struggled he slapped her on her cheek loudly and she stopped instantly. Her eyes went wide and for a second everything went blurry for her. Then she stared at Sam and wrapped her arms around him tightly. His jaw twitched in anger at the lack of help her could offer her and hugged her back just as tightly. Sam could feel Veronica shaking in his arms and heard her ask him in a whisper, "What's happening to me Sam?" He rubbed her back and shook his head, "Don't worry, he won't get you…I promise."

After a few moments he pulled out Chloe's house keys from his jeans pocket and opened the door, letting Veronica practically run in first. She sat down immediately on the sofa and her lost eyes made Sam sit next to her and grasp her hand. She looked at him and said miserably, "I'm starting to go crazy Sam…I'm already starting to hallucinate." He gave her hand a squeeze and replied; "We'll find a way to ward this off…it won't happen again Veronica." She shook her head and started to say something but was cut off as the door opened again and Chloe and Dean walked in looking and sounding excited and happy.

Chloe smiled widely at Sam, "Hey guys…"she stopped talking when she saw Veronica's pale face and shaking body. Her smiled vanished at once and even Dean, who'd been telling a quiet Sam about a hot librarian, stopped talking and looked over at Veronica in concern. "What's wrong?" he asked immediately. They were all by her side and she looked around at their faces. Dean didn't ignore his brother's grim expression and looked at him questioningly. Sam cleared his throat and Veronica shot him a worried look. Their eyes locked and she turned away after a moment.

Chloe who'd been freaking out by the minute, quickly asked Sam, "What happened to her Sam?" Her eyebrows were narrowed and all sorts of thoughts were going through her mind. Sam spoke grimly, "We went to the nearby park, Veronica's hallucinations have started." He said not wanting to go into too much detail. Dean's eyes widened and he asked, "Hallucination? You're seeing the YED? Where? And when did this happen? How long has this been happening?" He looked towards Veronica who was still pale but had stopped shaking as Chloe rubbed her gently.

Sam glanced at his brother warningly and Dean stopped with his questions. But Veronica took a shaky deep breath and told them all about the park visit and the demon chasing after her. She'd been reluctant to say anything about imagining Sam as a demon but she realized that right now, they needed all the facts if there was even a hope she could be saved from the YED. She stumbled through what she had thought was happening, what she did and how she had felt.

At the mention of Sam being possessed by the demon in Veronica's hallucination, Dean looked at his brother in surprise and Chloe looked around uncomfortably. Veronica in turn, looked down at her feet, consumed in guilt. She was ashamed that she had been able to believe the YED's lies so easily; that the YED had been able to turn into a Sam that only strangers would accept and had been able to twist her mind into believing Sam was going to kill her. She knew Sam would tell her it was all right, that the YED had been twisting with her mind and it wasn't her fault, but she couldn't forget how easily she'd betrayed their friendship.

Veronica couldn't meet Sam's gaze and concentrated on answering Chloe, who had asked, "So you saw Victoria, who's an angel who's been appearing in your dreams?" she nodded and answered, "Yeah, um she said something about finding an equal resistance…she wasn't clear on anything she was saying, she was scared of demons." Veronica paused here and added; "It feels like I know her…like I've seen her face from somewhere." She saw Chloe and Dean exchange glances and she felt slightly irritated. "What?" she asked snappishly.

Dean answered this time and said, "When we were researching we found that the angels appearing in the victim's dreams were related to the victim somehow…they were trying to warn the girls about the demons after them." He let this sink into Sam and Veronica's minds before continuing to ask, "Have you seen her in your dreams before?" Veronica nodded and described the dream involving Victoria. "I've dreamt it so many times before." Dean nodded, briefly wondering why she hadn't told them.

Chloe nodded and then told her and Sam, "I think Victoria's related to you Veronica…that's why she's been trying to warn you about the YED. Do you remember a woman named Victoria in your family?" she asked. Veronica thought back to beyond her grandmother and realized she didn't remember her family tree beyond that. "I don't know…I only remember until my grandma, beyond that I don't know about anyone in our family tree." She told the other three. Sam spoke up finally, "Maybe we should find out more about your family tree."

Veronica looked at him (still avoiding his eyes) and asked, "How are we going to find out about it?" Dean smiled at her and replied, "Don't you worry about that; our resident nerd will take care of it." Sam glared at his brother and walked back upstairs to retrieve his laptop. Chloe asked Veronica if she was all right. Veronica stared at the ground and didn't bother lying, "No…I'm feeling really tired." She didn't have to look to see Chloe and Dean exchange worried glances. Chloe put both her hands on Veronica's shoulders and gently pushed her down on the sofa. "You need some rest. Don't stress over the YED, we're going to find him and kill him." She murmured firmly.

Dean said something in agreement but Veronica had zoned out. She lay on the sofa feeling dread, frustration and guilt as she stared at the ceiling. Dean and Chloe started talking about something but all Veronica could hear was muffled out chatter. But then, she realized no one was talking anymore, she couldn't hear Chloe or Dean and she was greeted with complete eerie silence.

Veronica felt uncomfortable at once and she swallowed nervously. She lifted herself up onto her elbows to take a look around for Chloe and Dean and realized they were sitting in front of her with frozen expressions and poses. "You guys?" she called, staring at them intently. Veronica jerked into a sitting position and was about to pull on Chloe's hand when she heard the voice.

It was scratchy and demonic; she'd heard it before. Her heart gripped into a cold vice and her nails dug into the sofa's material. "Slash out her insides…. hang her upside down and let her blood drip?" the demon asked in a singsong voice. She pushed herself deeper into the sofa and watched in horror as Chloe's body started to split and melt into pieces. Veronica pushed a hand to her mouth in disgust as pieces of flesh dropped to the floor and the demon erupted out.

"No, I like the 'making her write with her own blood' idea…. much more excruciating." A slightly higher demonic tone replied. Veronica turned to look at Dean's clumping and melting body reveal a second demon. They were both females, with evil faces, glinting black eyes, dark black hair and they advanced towards her slowly, their expressions showing pleasure at her frightened face. "No! Get away from me!" Veronica screamed as she scrambled off the sofa and tried to duck from their clawing hands. Her eyes darted to the two demons that hissed and crawled towards her.

She backed up against the wall and looked around for a way to escape. The demons were close enough to swipe at her and she started kicking out at them. But it didn't stop one of the demons from landing a deep gash into her ankle successfully. She yelled out in pain and looked sideways at the mantelpiece next to her. Her eyes quickly by passed the set of keys, the half candle, the telephone diary and the papers strewn across. But when her eyes fell upon the sharp letter opener, she snatched it up in her hands without a hesitation and lifted her hand to stab the demon closer to her.

"Veronica! What are you doing? It's me Chloe!" the demon exclaimed loudly mirroring Chloe's voice. Veronica's heart thudded in her ears and she shook her head in a frenzied way. "You liar! I know what you demons are doing!" she yelled as she tried taking a swipe. She missed by a few inches and the two demons started taking steps backwards, which surprised her slightly. The other demon spoke up, its voice changed from the scratchy demonic tone she'd herd earlier. "Veronica, just-just calm down okay? We're not going to hurt you." Dean's gruff but concerned voice called.

Veronica snorted and stabbed in the air in front of her with the letter opener. "Haven't I heard that before." She replied bitterly as she started walking sideways against the wall. If she could reach the front door, she could be out of there. The two demons tried assuring her that they were Dean and Chloe but Veronica shook her head slowly and focused on the front door. She could feel the blood dripping down her leg slowly and she promised herself revenge for all the pain they'd caused; revenge for Chloe and Dean.

But as she was slowly creeping towards the front hallway, she heard someone slowly thudding down the stairs. Her eyes darted up to the stairs and she glimpsed a surprised looking Sam eyeing her as he reached the bottom of the stairs. She stared at him silently and his eyes darted from the demons to her. "Veronica, what's wrong?" he asked quietly. Veronica narrowed her eyes-like he didn't know. He was their accomplice wasn't he? "You're with them." She said just as slowly and quietly as he had. His eyes widened slightly but his voice was calm.

"You know that's not true…I want to help you." He murmured stepping forward. She was standing a few feet away from him and she took a step back. "No-no you don't." she answered although her tone was unsure. She didn't know whether to believe him or not. She had just berated herself for falling into the demon's lies just a few moments ago. She'd unknowingly broken the trust in their friendship the last time she'd accepted the demon's words. But there was always a fear of not knowing who was with her and who wasn't. She couldn't blindly believe in others after she'd proven herself incapable of recognizing her friends from her foes and vice versa. Veronica knew that if this was Sam, he'd be able to read the clear mistrust in her eyes.

She was right of course; Sam, who'd realized her hallucinations were back once he'd started descending from the stairs, could see the doubtfulness in her scared eyes. His eyes darted back to a scared looking Dean and Chloe who were staring at Veronica and her movements. He saw his brother slowly and quietly pull out a gun and Sam frowned, they weren't going to need to shoot anyone. In a gentle voice he knew Veronica would recognize Sam pulled out a flask of holy water from his back pocket. Veronica looked watched on in confusion. "Veronica, I'm with you in everything you do…I'm here to help protect you. And we're going to make these demons go back to where they came from-to hell. Okay?" he asked taking steps forward.

Veronica stared into his brown eyes, her hold on her weapon loosening as she saw the truth in his eyes. He smiled at her gently and she dropped the letter opener. She nodded wordlessly and practically ran into his arms. Veronica's breaths were relaxing now and she closed her eyes slowly. But a fear was nagging her mind and she looked up quickly. "We still have to kill them." She whispered. She turned back to the two demons and looked back at Sam expectantly. He nodded quickly, pretending not to notice the confused looks thrown his way by Dean. Chloe however looked as though she understood.

Veronica held out her hand for the holy water and Sam gave it to her quickly, "Just throw some of it over them while I read out the binding incantation okay?" He knew nothing would happen to Chloe and Dean if they weren't really demons (which of course they weren't), they'd probably just get slightly wet. Veronica nodded seriously and began dousing Chloe and Dean with the holy water. A second later she heard Sam chanting out something in Latin and felt satisfied to hear the demons scream in agony. They writhed in their positions and clawed at the ground as they burst into flames. Their screams were cut off when a vacuole appeared in the floor and sucked them in, leaving nothing except an unconscious Dean and Chloe.

She rushed towards them and was surprised to see sit up with a smile. Their smile lessened slightly when they realized how scared she was. Chloe got up and placed a hand on Veronica's shoulder. "Veronica…we weren't possessed by demons." She started slowly.

Veronica's confused expression turned into a horrified one as she realized what had probably really happened. "You mean…I was-I was." She didn't want to say it out loud. It made her feel even crazier but Dean finished her sentence. "You were hallucinating. We were just talking when you started seeing us as demons and then you tried to swipe at us."

He shook his head at her when she started apologizing. "We knew you weren't thinking straight." He said smiling. Sam and Chloe both frowned at him and he winced, "Sorry." He said automatically. Veronica shook her head. "I'm the one who should be sorry…you're right, I'm losing my mind and I could've hurt you guys." She said in slight disbelief that she had been really close to it. Chloe hugged her, "Don't worry, nothing happened, we're all fine…you'll be fine too. We just have to find something to stop you from the hallucinations." She said as she stepped back.

Dean nodded and noticed his brother taking a few steps back to walk upstairs. "It's a good thing we had Sam here to pull you out of it." He added. Veronica glanced quickly at Sam who had stopped as soon as Dean had mentioned him. He felt relieved when Veronica smiled warmly at him and said, "I know…if Sam hadn't come when he had, I might have hurt you. Thanks Sam." She said quietly. He shrugged, "I knew you'd hear me…you'd never really hurt your friends." He reasoned.

Veronica remembered her gashed ankle and looked down at it; it was clear and devoid of any scratches. She looked back up at the other three and then sighed tiredly, it had been a long day for her. The emotional ride had been long and treacherous and she just wanted to get away from it all for just a few hours. Sam was staring at her intently and he asked softly, "You want to get some rest?" She looked up at him and nodded, "Rest would be good right now." She replied rubbing a hand over her face.

She excused herself from the others and walked upstairs to Chloe's room. As she closed the door, she locked it behind her. Her body hit her bed with a grateful groan echoing from her lips and she buried her head in the pillow so all sounds were muffled out. She didn't want to think about anything except waking up refreshed and free from worry.

Meanwhile, Chloe, Sam and Dean were sitting downstairs discussing what had happened. "How are we going to stop her from hallucinating?" Chloe asked Dean frustratingly when he had stated once more that they needed to stop Veronica's dangerous hallucinations. He gave a low growl, "I don't know." He replied. Sam sighed as well. "Maybe we should tell Bobby about this," he offered. He thought Dean would object at this but surprisingly he nodded, "Yeah. Maybe we should. He knows how to keep a person sane." He muttered, remembering that the older guy had supported their father through his most insane times.

Sam nodded and called Bobby at once. He picked up at once and said hello in a gruff voice. "Hey Bobby, it's me Sam. Um yeah, we've got a problem. Did you find out anything about angels?" Sam paused and Bobby said heavily, "This angel stuff is pretty deep Sam. You're friend's got trouble heading her way." Sam smiled grimly, "Yeah, well, we've got more trouble. She's starting to hallucinate about the demons after her." He recounted the day's events and heard Bobby swear at the demon at the end.

Sam was quiet for a few seconds and then asked what Bobby thought he should do. "Where's your girl now?" Bobby asked. Sam ignored the 'your girl' bit and replied, "She's resting in her room, she's had her mind twisted." Bobby voiced his agreement and then said, "What's this equal resistance thing she was talking about?" Sam closed his eyes and asked, "I don't know…something that's just as powerful as the power in her stomach?" Bobby was quiet but then said, "Na, something of equal resistance…you boys must have something there that could help her fight the demon." Sam thought about Veronica's belonging, nothing would help her repel the YED.

Bobby spoke again, "Or, something that could help scare the demon. You got something the YED's scared of?" Sam thought about a time he'd seen the YED scared and broke out in a smile. "Yes, there is…Bobby, Chloe's got an amulet that freaks the YED out. He can't touch her then, he couldn't when Chloe had it on." Chloe and Dean were looking at him intently and he heard Bobby say. "Well then you need to let her wear it. It should help her repel the demon…at least physically. You might need to find another amulet to make sure the demon doesn't find a way into her head. We don't know how strong this amulet really is."

Sam thanked Bobby and hung up, looking back at the expecting faces of Dean and Chloe. Dean shrugged his shoulders and asked. "Well?" Sam smiled, "we just need to make Veronica wear the amulet you've got. It'll repel the demon for a while, until we find another stronger amulet…I can't believe I didn't think of this." He said in amazement. Chloe smiled in a daze as well. "I know, it was so clear." She touched her amulet and then quickly took it off. "We shouldn't wait around. The YED doesn't waste time in attacking Veronica." She said looking around at the guys seriously.

The boys nodded and Dean looked at Sam, "We don't know how long this amulet's going to keep her safe…I mean maybe the YED can't touch her but I don't know how hard it would be for him to break down the amulet's protection on her mind. We need to go and find something to protect her sanity." He said picking up his gun and pocketing it. Sam nodded but asked, "Where are we going to find an amulet?" he asked. Chloe looked at Dean and said, "Maya. You'll find something at Maya's shop." Dean nodded and Sam shrugged. The boys walked over to the door and Chloe stopped Sam for a second, "Make sure he stays in line yeah?" she asked smiling gently. She could swear Dean was grinning and Sam grinned despite the moment. "Sure."

When the boys left, Chloe locked the door and lined it with rock salt at once. Veronica and her were vulnerable right now. Anything could try attacking them. She wandered into the kitchen and pulled out some soup and macaroni from the fridge. She had a feeling that Veronica probably hadn't had a bite to eat on the way from running from the YED to her house. And an empty stomach could make her more susceptible to hallucinations. She had her amulet in one hand and she made her way up to her room.

She paused when the door didn't open at her trying and she frowned, setting the tray of food on the phone table next to the doorway. Okay, this wasn't good, she thought to herself; locked doors had become a bad superstition for Chloe, thanks to her past experiences. She knocked on the door and called through it, "Veronica? Are you in there?" She waited for a second and contemplated using something heavy to bust the door down. But relief flooded through her when Veronica's muffled voice called out, "Yeah?" Chloe smiled and called out, "Veronica, can I come in…we've found something to help you."

She was greeted with silence as she heard the bed squeak with shifting weight and then the door opened. A tired looking Veronica appeared, and it seemed she'd woken up. Chloe smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry…I woke you up, didn't I?" she asked as Veronica smiled at her and let her in. She picked up the tray of food and followed Veronica into her room, setting the tray down on her dressing table. Veronica grinned, "Don't worry about it, it wasn't a peaceful sleep anyways." Chloe looked over at her in concern, "Why?" she asked.

Veronica shook her head gently as if it wasn't a big deal. "I just can't sleep easy after that, but I feel sleepy." Chloe nodded understandingly, she'd felt the same so many times before. "I know what you mean…but I've got something for you. It should help you." She brought put the amulet and Veronica looked at it in surprise. "Your amulet." She started. But Chloe cut her off, "Veronica, we called Bobby and the amulet can keep the demon away from you. Dean and Sam have gone to find another amulet, a stronger one." She said. Veronica looked at the amulet in surprise but took it from Chloe, "Won't you be needing this?" she asked.

Chloe stared at her, "Veronica, I can safely say that you need this more than I do. Do you think I'd be happy being safe when you've got the YED hot on your trail? Veronica you have to wear this amulet so that I can rest in peace knowing that my best friend's safe." Chloe finished with a pleading look on her face. Veronica smiled warmly at Chloe and her new best friends status. "I don't want you as restless too. The guys might not be able to handle it." She said smiling as she put the amulet around her neck and tucked the stone into her shirt. Chloe smiled widely and hugged her.

"You look like you desperately need sleep." She remarked as she let go of her. Veronica had been looking down at her body in amazement as she felt a new feeling arise in her; she suddenly felt lighter and less tired. But the weariness was still there, even if it was lessened. She nodded, after getting over the new feeling and said, "Um yeah, sleep would be good, but food would be better." She added as she saw the tray of food. Chloe laughed, "It's for you anyways, you haven't had anything to eat so I thought you'd like some." Veronica grinned at her Dean-like moment and thanked her.

"I might go to sleep afterwards." She said as Chloe made to go. Chloe paused and looked back at her, "Yeah, Veronica um why did you lock the door?" She had meant to ask earlier but they'd started to talk about other things. Veronica smiled embarrassed and looked around for a moment. "It, it felt like something I should start doing now…you know so that I don't hurt anyone. If I'm locked in, I can't hurt anyone even if I do start to hallucinate." She said quietly. Chloe faltered slightly and said, "Veronica, you're not going to hurt anyone…not now, you don't need to lock yourself in your room, okay?" She felt bad that Veronica thought she was that dangerous.

Veronica looked at Chloe with a heart felt smile. "Okay, I won't…but just be careful of me." She said as Chloe walked out of the doorway. Chloe gave her a pointed look and Veronica grinned as her friend said, "Okay, you definitely need some sleep." Veronica thanked Chloe again and closed the door. Chloe smiled to herself but had a scary thought. Veronica was scared of hurting others and her selflessness was showing even in these times. While she was worried that she'd end up hurting her friends and loved ones, Chloe was worried about what she'd do to herself if she hallucinated in an empty locked room.

Chloe glanced back at the white closed door and thought about how close the four of them had become. In less than a month, Veronica, Dean and Sam had become three people Chloe trusted her life with. They were the only people she could say anything to and not fear them thinking she was crazy or deranged. Dean was just as crazy as she was, and when he was with her it felt like they were in a different world. Like she'd never be the same without him. And Sam, finally someone who was an equal partner in researching. Someone who was a quick thinker and someone who could back up her theories when no one else would. Sam loved Veronica, Chloe could tell.

And Veronica had become a sister Chloe had never had. Their experiences, their ambitions and their personalities were so alike, they'd become closer than Chloe had ever been with her cousin Lois (who'd drifted away for a while) and the thought of Veronica going through a traumatic experience made Chloe's hairs stand on end.

They were like four corners of the world and Chloe didn't want anything to break their bond. If they lost Veronica, they'd all lose a part of themselves and Chloe didn't want to think what that would be like. She prayed to god that Sam and Dean would find and amulet in time, that they'd be able to save Veronica in time. "Please don't be too long." She whispered as she wandered back downstairs.

Hey ppl, I don't know if I'll be online later during Christmas and New Year's day. I don't celebrate Christmas (different religion) but we still go out and stuff, so I'm wishing you all a happy Christmas (and for those who don't celebrate it, happy holidays) and a very prosperous New Year. I haven't figured what my resolutions will be for next year but one of them will definitely be to update my stories as often as I can. Yep this chapter's sort of dark, Veronica's definitely getting hit hard with the hallucinations but I hope you all like it. Thanks a million to all of you who read and review my stories. Anyways, have fun, plz keep sending your reviews and thanks.