(Note: As fanfic was doing some crazy shit the last couple of days, I managed to bang out a couple of chapters. Now we are heading towards the finale, if you can bear with me, the final chapter will be Chapter 20. Thanks for sticking with it!)

(Disclaimer: Don't own anything but this story)

Battle Weary.

Chapter Sixteen.

Dean sat on the porch steps drinking beer with Sam. There was no need for him to get in any more practice, he was as ready as he was ever going to be. Now was his time with Sam. Sammy. He sipped at his beer and smiled at his younger brother who was rambling on about something or other. It didn't matter what he was saying, just hearing his voice was all he needed. He'd never tell Sam, but he'd been the one that had kept him sane, kept his demons at bay. He knew if it hadn't been for his brother, he'd be dead. Either by doing something reckless that would've killed him … or by his own hand. He owed Sam his life, that's why he'd done what he had. He would die for his baby brother, do anything within his power to keep Sam alive….anything. He sipped his beer, trying not to think about what he'd really done and concentrated on the sound of his brother's voice instead.

Sam sat on the porch steps drinking beer with Dean, rambling on about something or other. He didn't know what he was saying, they were just words. He just needed to be near his brother, sharing the closeness, the bond that would always be there. He didn't need to look at his watch to know that dusk was only three hours away. Every time he thought about it, he felt sick. Sick about what lay ahead for Dean and sick about what he was going to have to do. He'd never tell Dean, but he'd been the one that had kept him sane, sane throughout all the nightmares, sane every time he'd felt the hopelessness overwhelm him. He knew if it hadn't been for his brother he'd be dead. By either forcing himself into a confrontation with that yellow-eyed bastard or…by his own hand. He owed Dean his life and the only way to save him….he sighed and tried not to think about it. Instead he rambled, trying to keep his brothers mind off what lay ahead…his brothers mind and his own.

Jay sat on the trunk of her car, reading. She sighed, all she damn well did was read. She rubbed a hand down her face and looked at her watch. Three hours til dusk. She pulled the necklace from underneath her t-shirt and looked at it. Zeke. It was his necklace, but it was so much more than that. Why the hell couldn't he just come out and say what he meant? Say what he wanted her to do? But nooooo, not her brother. She looked at the necklace again, it was a woman wearing a ceremonial headdress killing a frog headed man. The man was 'Heh' the Egyptian symbol for primeval darkness, the woman was 'Ishtar'. She shook her head. Bloody ironic bastard. 'Ishtar' was the Egyptian goddess of battle and healing. But it was what surrounded the symbols that had freaked her out some. A Thaumaturgic Triangle, it was hidden in the background, but it was there and you didn't mess around with them. They were what opened the door to the other realm. What the hell was Zeke trying to tell her?

Gus stood by the window watching the three of them. He didn't know how much longer he'd be able to keep this thing at bay. He knew something was going on inside him, he had a fair idea of what it was too but he'd had to be careful, if they found out he knew about it, it was over for the lot of them. All his energy was being used to make sure they didn't know about Jay. Not for her sake…well, yeah, for her sake he guessed but more for Dean's. If those bastards found out he could self-heal, the boy would be seriously fucked. He sighed, he'd left enough damn clues for them to realise what was going on but not one of them had figured it out. Still, to be fair, they did have a lot of other shit on their minds at the moment. He cursed himself, he'd been the one that made sure Dean had used the pact…well not him exactly but…him. He should have realised …realised they would find him eventually. He'd let his guard down for one minute and they'd got him. Well they weren't gonna get Dean and Sam, not if he had anything to do with it. He'd promised John he'd look after them and look after them he would, even if it killed him. And Jay, he was hoping she'd be the one to figure it out but she hadn't, so if she had to be collateral damage…then….well, then that was just the way it had to be.

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"Beer?"

Jay looked up from her journal, Dean was holding out a cold one for her. "Ta. Where's Sam?"

"Said he just had to go and check on something" he leaned back against the car next to her "Still reading huh?"

She shrugged and sipped at her beer "You nervous?"

He shook his head "Nah. Just another day really…another fight against…"

She laughed "Yeah, yeah…keep livin' the dream, Dean"

He laughed softly "Do you know how to not piss people off?"

She smiled "Not really, but I've never been one for popularity contests either so…" she shrugged.

He laughed again "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure"

"What did you used to do…you know …before…" he waved his hand "this"

She laughed "Before all this madness?" she shook her head "Doesn't matter. Can never go back to it."

"Jay…"

She shook her head "I'm gonna find him, Dean. There'll be a way and I'll find it. I don't care how long it takes. Like I said, it's not like I can go back to my other life anyway" she looked at him "You're lucky, you and Sam. You've got a purpose, a calling. You do good things…something that…" she shook her head "forget it" and sipped at her beer.

He smiled to himself, she'd caught herself again, not wanting to say too much "Where are you gonna go after this?"

She smiled "Wherever the wind blows me. Things tend to have a way of…working themselves out. I'll go where I'm supposed to"

He looked at her, oh yeah, she was up to something alright "Can I see your necklace, the one Zeke left you?" she pulled it out from underneath her t-shirt and he moved in front of her to look at it.

He studied it carefully, it seemed familiar to him, he frowned…something didn't feel right about this, he looked at her "Unusual. What do the symbols mean?"

"Not sure…he's had it since he was a kid. Never really asked him about it"

He smiled "You have to learn to lie better. Now tell me…that triangle…"

"It's just a shape, Dean. A necklace that he's had since he was little, that's all it is"

"Uh huh" he looked at it carefully…there was something…wrong. He frowned "Where'd he get it?"

Jay shrugged "Not sure. He's always had it" she reached up and tried to take it from his fingers "Let go, Dean"

"No, there's…I know this symbol" he held tight to the necklace, searching his memory.

Jay pulled on the necklace "Dean, let go of it"

"No" he looked at her "You're hiding something. What is it?"

"Now you're just being ridiculous. I'm not hiding anything"

"Jay…"

She reached up grabbed his shirt and pulled his lips to hers, kissing him hard, taking the necklace from his fingers as she did so and tucking it back under her t-shirt "Let it go, okay?" and she jumped off the car and went into the cabin.

He watched her go…oh, if she thought that was gonna work, she had another thing coming.

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Sam sat on his bed, holding the dagger in his hand…the dagger Zeke had given him. How the hell was he gonna do this? He understood he had no choice, it was the only way to save Dean. He didn't know how it would but he had to trust Zeke…. and that's where the difficulty lay. He didn't know this man, didn't know him from jack, but their Dad had said to trust him. Trust a man he didn't know. A man that held the fate of him and Dean in his hands and who was now presiding in Hell while his pain in the ass sister was planning something stupid. He sighed….and what would Dean do once he'd done this? Would saving Dean tear them apart?

He sighed again. Zeke said he had to be with Dean during the fight to ensure the demons didn't get either of them and Dean wanted him here to make sure Jay didn't do whatever the hell it was she was planning. And she was planning something, there was no doubt. She'd been pouring over Gus' books but making sure he and Dean didn't see what she was reading. She'd been scouring both journals as well, writing in her own code (he'd checked when she'd gone to the bathroom) and she kept touching the necklace she now wore around her neck.

He looked out the window and saw Dean heading into the house. He slipped the dagger into his boot and was changing his t-shirt when Dean came in and closed the door.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, just ..yeah, I'm fine" said Sam.

"Dude, you know I'm gonna be alright. Those bastards don't stand a chance and even if I do get a little hurt" he grinned "I'll heal up and they won't know what hit 'em"

Sam straightened, squared his shoulders and looked his brother in the eye "I'm coming with you, Dean"

Dean shook his head "No, Sammy"

"Don't argue with me, Dean. This is the biggest fight of our lives…our lives. It's not just your fight…it's mine. You had no right to change the challenge but what's done is done. I won't let you go out there alone" he shook his head "no way and no how. You always say you've got my back, Dean. We'll it works both ways, dude"

Dean shook his head again "You're not coming. I need you here…"

"Bullshit. Don't use Jay as an excuse to keep me away, it won't work. Sure, she's planning something, I get that, but whatever it is, Gus can handle it and there is NO way I'm letting you go face them alone. You may have to fight them by yourself but I WILL be there with you"

"No"

"Yes. You can't win this argument, Dean. So stop fucking trying"

"Sammy…"

Sam shook his head "No. Would you let me go battle alone? Would you?" he stared at his brother "Yeah, didn't think so. Well, I'm not letting you go alone either. End of discussion" he turned on his heel and walked out of the bedroom.

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Jay was sitting on the couch going over her journal again. Men. They were all the same. Pain's in the goddamn arse. Her brother had taken it upon himself to spend eternity in Hell and then expected her to sit back and say 'thanks' and get on with her life. Fat bloody chance of that! She was just as stubborn as he was. And Sam…he'd been a pain in the arse from the minute she'd met him, still, he was pretty funny when he was pissed and she could see how much he loved Dean. She understood where he was coming from too, she was in the same damn boat and that boar was up shit creek with no freakin' paddle. And that brother of his…it was bad enough she'd slipped up and banged him, although it had made her feel better, she smiled to herself, quite a bit actually but that was so beside the point. He knew she was up to something and he'd drive her crazy trying to find out what it was. Still, she had his measure, she shook her head…typical. And Gus, she looked over at him, he was watching her, yeah, something wasn't right there either. She couldn't put her finger on it…but it was something.

She looked back as Sam plonked himself down on the couch next to her "I need your help"

She laughed softly "Again?"

He shook his head "You brother said you 'grow' on people…" he grinned "I'm still waiting for that to happen"

She laughed "Stop it with the compliments. Now what is it?"

"I need you to stop planning whatever it is you're planning": he put up his hand to stop her "Just hear me out. I'm going with Dean to the battle, he doesn't want me to 'cause he thinks you're planning on doing something, which you are. He won't concentrate properly and I need him to concentrate"

She laughed softly "I think you're building up something between your brother and I that just isn't there, Sam. Sure, we banged each other…but it was just physical. He annoys the crap out of me and I'm pretty sure I annoy the crap out of him"

Sam laughed "Yeah, I see that but…just don't okay?"

"Sam, I don't know what you're on about, I'm not planning anything. I'm just trying to find my brother, that's all" she sighed "I know you and Dean think it's a fool's errand but I gotta try. So just let me, okay? I don't know what I'm looking for and I don't know if I'll actually find anything that will help him, but I'm pretty damn sure I'm not going to find anything within the next couple of hours. So just chill out"

"Yeah….uh huh…." He got up and walked outside.

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She'd had her head back in the journal for about five minutes when Dean sat down next to her. She sighed inwardly, here we go again.

"You're up to something. I know it, Sammy knows it and Gus knows it too. Whatever it is, you stop it. When I beat these assholes, I promise you, me and Sam will help you as much as we can"

She smiled at him "Dean, this isn't your problem. It's mine. I'll find Zeke and I will get him back. And before you start…I'm not planning anything 'cause I don't know what the hell I'm looking for and I have no idea how to get my brother back from a Hell that's in the future. So just relax and go spend some time with Sam"

"I know you're up to something, Jay…and that necklace has something to do with it" he smiled.

Jay laughed "You're thinking of that kiss aren't you?"

"No. And that was unfair"

She laughed "Too easy. Now go sit with Sam" she pushed him off the couch "Go" he got up and went to join Sam outside.

Jay turned to Gus "And what do you have to say about all this, Gus?"

Gus stared at her for a long time before a slow smile crept onto his lips "The journey of a thousand miles starts with…twelve steps" his eyes bored into hers "Twelve steps"

She frowned and cocked her head at him…he smiled at her, got up and went outside to join Dean and Sam.

To be continued…..