Author's Notes: Wow! I was really impressed (and flattered, haha!) by the warm reception from everyone, as well as the positive reviews. It makes me feel really good to know that people are interested in what it is I have to offer, so I hope the story doesn't let down! I've received more notifications for people putting this story on alert in one day than I did any of my other ones, which I'm taking as a very good sign. ;)

So, here's chapter two! It's a little shorter than chapter one. And, you can expect most future chapters to hover around the length of this one, give or take some length for longer periods of dialogue.

Please leave me a comment after you read letting me know what you think :) They're always much appreciated! Enjoy!

Even though Sam had completely been expecting that answer, it still felt almost like a joke to him when he heard it. He looked at Ruby disbelievingly, and even let out a quiet chuckle.

"You're funny, Ruby," he said dryly.

"I'm not kidding," she stated flatly.

With that determined, the young hunter stared at the one across from him with a renewed energy that had seemingly come out of nowhere. He still felt unsure, but he couldn't pass up on learning more. Not if it meant saving Dean.

"Then how?"

"It's pretty simple, really." Ruby stepped back, then turned on her heel and headed toward one of the beds on the right side of the room. She plopped down on the one furthest from the entry door. "Have you ever heard of the ability to 'call' for someone, Sam?"

"No," Sam replied quickly, honestly.

"Anyone's capable of it. Even humans. But those with…well, some kind of extra magical boost tend to do it better." She rested her hands in her lap. "Basically, it's where you focus on the person you want, and with enough practice and power, you can draw them to you."

"Do you mean physically, spiritually, or what?" To Sam, that seemed like a too-loose explanation that didn't fit what it was he was concerned with. Plus, it sounded evasive.

"It can be any of them, depending."

"So…what you're saying is that I can basically call"—he used air quotes—"Dean's soul to me, and I'll have it." He couldn't help but sound skeptical. Was she fooling with him?

"Not exactly." Ruby shook her head. "You need to be on the same plane, first and foremost. Or have some sort of gateway in order for one or the other to cross through. This can transcend distance, but not space, time or anything in between."

Sam snorted. "Sounds like a load of bull to me."

Ruby let out an annoyed sound. "Listen, Sam. If you don't want to hear what I have to say, then fine. Fuck Dean's soul, and fuck helping you. But if you want to save him, then just shut up for a second."

Now it was Sam's turn to be irritated. He, however, refrained from speaking, and moved back to the chair he had been sitting in previously, placing himself in it. He gestured with his arms for her to continue.

She smiled sardonically. "Thanks. As I was saying, it takes a lot of practice, skill, and power. The relationship needs to be strong. I can't think of any stronger than the freaky one you two share."

He chose to ignore that comment. "Do you really think it's possible?"

A considering look appeared on her face. "I can't guarantee instant results, but…"

For Sam, the ultimate point of everything was to get Dean back. And Ruby had been trying to help him all along, for reasons he still wasn't entirely sure of. That, as well as why she cared to help him prepare to fight the demon army, and even to get Dean back. That was when he realized that he hadn't even asked her that simple question.

"Ruby." Sam blinked. "Why…do you care so much? Why do you want to help?"

Ruby didn't say anything for a moment. Then, as she stared out the window to her right, just a little quieter than before, she said: "It's like I told Dean. I may be a demon, but that doesn't mean I forgot what it's like to be human. And honestly, I don't want Hell on Earth." Her gaze turned downward. "I wouldn't wish that kind of life on my own worst enemy."

This moment was the only time Sam had ever seen her acting so humanely. She looked legitimately concerned, and her tone matched it. If she was acting, she was doing a damn good job of it…but he doubted she was. Why go through all the trouble? There was no reason.

"So…how do I learn to do this?" Sam spoke quietly, but with intrigue.

Ruby shot her focus to Sam. "Well, first, I want my knife back."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. Where is it?"

At the sight of Ruby preparing herself to get up, Sam extended a hand to get her to wait. She didn't move. "It's in the car. I'll get it for you, but first, just…tell me."

She sighed. "Fine. Basically, you're gonna have to learn to control the powers you've got inside of you. Yeah, I know, you don't want to. Yeah, I know, they're dormant. But that doesn't mean that you have a choice now, does it? Not if you want to save your brother."

It was like a screwed up catch 22, Sam thought. In order to save his brother, he had to do the one thing that they had both fought so hard to prevent. At this point, though, he was desperate. He would try anything to get his brother's soul back; to save him from the undoubtedly horrific torture he had to experience down below. Dean was depending on him. It wouldn't matter in the end how he got him…just that he did it. Dean would forgive him.

He wasn't giving up his life, after all.

"Learning how to use your powers will help you defend yourself against other demons, including Lilith," Ruby continued. "So there isn't much of a downside here. You just…you have to listen to what I tell you, all right?" Sam nodded. "Good. Then we'll get started on that as soon as possible. But for now…" She stood up, bringing a hand to her face and waving it from side to side. "Get a shower. You smell like death, and it's really disgusting."

. . .

Sam spent the rest of the night taking a shower, getting himself something to eat, and basically just trying to take care of himself. Ruby confessed to having something to do, which made him wonder, but she took her leave shortly after he got out of the bathroom, not giving him much time to question her on it. It didn't matter at this point, however; the peace and quiet was nice. Something he needed. Plus, he had a skeletal outline of some kind of plan, and that was enough to put his mind partially at ease…or at least enough to allow him to eat without getting sick, and eventually fall asleep sometime past eleven.

He woke up sometime past seven o'clock that following morning. The electric green digits on the clock resting on the nightstand told him that. Normally he would have used his phone to check the time, but Sam realized in his light post-awakening haze that he must have left it in the impala. After all, it wasn't in any of his pockets, and it wasn't beside the bed.

With a faint yawn, he slipped out of the bed—still wearing the A-shirt and sweatpants from the night before—grabbed his keys from the table beside the entertainment center, stepped into his shoes, and headed outside. The air was crisp and cold, and briefly he wished he had brought his jacket with him. But when he crawled into the car to gather up his phone he forgot about the cold, choosing to sit inside for a moment and check things out. His phone's screen showed that he had five new voicemails, and after he bypassed them, he saw that Bobby had tried calling him ten times since he had left New Harmony. That didn't include the first that Sam had gotten from him just after having left. He remembered having put his phone into silent mode and shoved it in dash compartment after that.

Bobby was probably very angry with him.

Oddly enough, Sam didn't care.

He remained sitting in the impala for just a moment, still feeling cold. He looked around it. Everything was still very much the same inside, and what felt the strangest to him was the fact that he was sitting in the driver's seat. It had always felt that way, mostly because it happened so infrequently. Sam supposed that, even if it hurt to think it, he would need to get used to being in this spot for a while. He didn't know how long it was going to take to get his powers honed in strong enough to save his brother.

With any luck, it wouldn't be long at all. The quicker, the better. And Sam was a fast learner.

He crossed one arm over his waist and lifted the opposite arm's hand to his mouth, giving a long sigh through his nose. This was still very hard, and even if he did have some sort of plan, there wasn't a guarantee that it would work. Part of him was feeling almost fatalistic. He didn't know why, exactly, and he wished he wasn't. Thankfully, the overwhelming majority of him was still heavily focused on the positive; but all it would take was just a little bit too much negativity for this whole thing to come unraveled.

After sitting in the impala for a few minutes longer, Sam finally got out of it, locked it, and went back into his motel room. The heat enveloped him and he crawled back into his bed, under the covers. That was where he stayed well into the rest of the morning. He didn't fall back to sleep, and instead simply lay there, many things running through his mind: thoughts of Dean, of Bobby…second guesses as to this whole idea of using his dormant powers. He felt like he was in the midst of a tug-o-war, trying to decide if allowing himself to give in to them was worth saving his brother, or if he should try and find another way. It certainly seemed like an easier answer to do the former, and if it helped him defeat Lilith as well, then as Ruby said, there truly wasn't a downside.

But Sam remembered what the other children had been like when they gave in to theirs. He remembered Ava—sweet little Ava and her slightly neurotic tendencies. Giving in to her power had tweaked her mind, and eventually drove her off the deep end. Not to mention how they had caused Max Miller to shoot himself in the head, and made Jake Talley murder him. Sam could feel his skin retracting and his blood almost boil at the memory of him.

He deserved what he got.

Would he end up like them? For the sake of everything, he hoped not.

But old Yellow Eyes had told him he was different—had claimed that he was his favorite, because of his leadership and hunting skills. Sam knew he had a strong will and an even stronger sense of loyalty both to his brother and saving him. Learning to use his powers wouldn't make him evil…nor would it make him homicidal. It was simply going to be a means by which he would save Dean's soul. He would exercise more control over them than any of the others.

Or was he just trying to tell himself that in order to not feel so bad about it?

The electronic radio clock beside him on the nightstand beeped quickly twice, notifying him that it was a new hour. When he turned onto his side to look at it, he saw that it was nine o'clock. It felt earlier. He supposed that had to do with the fact that, reflecting as he was, he hadn't given much thought to the time passing.

Beside him, on the bed, his phone vibrated to remind him that he had voicemails. He had been delaying listening to them, but it was now or never. Feeling that same adrenaline pumping nervousness as before, the young hunter called up his voicemail box, typed his password, and then listened to them.

Bobby's angry voice soon boomed in his ear. "Sam, you'll get your ass back here if you know what's good for you! And don't ignore my calls! This is the third time I've called in the last ten minutes since you left. Call me back!"

Beep.

Same tone, but lower octave. "Sam, it's been a half hour and you haven't called me back yet. Damn it, what the hell are you doin'?"

Beep.

Now he seemed more irritated than before. "Sam, I'm gettin' damn sick of you not callin' me back. It's been about two hours now. Look, I just wanna help. So gimme a call."

Beep.

There was an almost bargaining tone to Bobby's voice in the fourth message. "Now look, Sam. I'm not tryin' to tell you how to run your life, but just…call me back. I'm gettin' worried about you. It's…about ten in the mornin', now. Wherever you are, just stop, all right? Lemme know where you are, and we can do this together."

Beep.

The last message sounded completely unlike Bobby, which made Sam sit up in the bed as he listened to it. "Sam, listen. Please, call me back. This isn't right. I was close to Dean, too. I wanna get 'im back any way possible. Gimme a call."

Beep.

Sam checked the last call from Bobby in his log. It was at six-thirty this morning, just before he had woken up. As he set his phone down beside his legs, he felt a little ill. When he recalled the memories of just the other night, it all seemed like one incomprehensible blur. Dean dying, him staying beside him for what felt like hours, and then arguing with Bobby about the car keys before he drove off without him. And now, here he was, sitting in a motel room some sixteen hours away, trying to come up with enough solid logic so that he could learn to control his dormant powers without fearing that he would become evil.

It was absolutely amazing what could happen to him in the span of just one or two days. How he hadn't lost it completely, he didn't know. Maybe it was that strong will he was convincing himself that he had. If ever there were proof, that was it right there.

God, a drink sounded really good right now, he thought.

Sam wavered back and forth on whether or not to call Bobby back right then. Maybe it really was in his best interest to do so. Bobby knew things that he didn't, and who knew? Perhaps he knew another way of getting Dean's soul back without having to resort to demonic powers. After a few minutes of frustrating uncertainty, the young hunter finally picked up his phone, gazing down at it as he looked for Bobby's number. He was just about to press the send button when he heard someone clearing their throat.

Looking up, he saw that it was Ruby.

"Good morning, starshine," she said, charmingly dry as always.

Sam paused, holding his phone halfway between his ear and his lap. "Ruby." He couldn't help but sound surprised. "What're you doing here so early?"

"What? I thought you'd want to get started on this right away. At least I waited until you were awake." She raised an eyebrow then, sending a quick glance to the phone in Sam's hand. "Who're you calling?"

"Nobody," came Sam's immediate reply.

"Ah. Hm. So, 'nobody' is in your phone book? That must be interesting." She folded her arms over her chest, and now focused her gaze on Sam, who stared back for a few seconds before giving in and looking away.

"Fine. I was gonna call Bobby."

"Why?"

The question had been so blunt, and part of Sam bristled from it. "Because he wanted to know if I was okay or not. And he deserves to know."

Ruby's eyes narrowed just slightly as faint creases appeared in her forehead. "If he was really important, wouldn't you have brought him along in the first place?"

Her question stung. He wanted to counter and say that yes, Bobby was important, but that last bit was unfortunately true. Sam would have given the keys to him if he had thought that he was truly important enough to help save Dean's life. Though he was only partially aware of it, Sam's hero complex was in full effect. It was up to just him to save his brother—only he could do it, and nobody else, including Bobby, had the knowledge. But moreover, none of them had the right.

"He's important," Sam finally said, though mildly petulantly, almost like a child who had chastised.

Ruby ran her tongue over her teeth, just behind her lip. "Yeeeah. I see that."

"Look, are we gonna do this, or not?" Sam snapped. He looked at Ruby, reaching up to rub his eyes with his right thumb and index finger.

"Touchy, touchy…" The blond demon soon moved herself to take a seat on the bed just a few feet away from, and parallel to, the one upon which Sam currently sat. She hunched over and rested her elbows on her thighs, linking her hands together. "Sure you don't want to get something to eat, first? Or, you know, a shower? You did just wake up, after all. I know how grumpy you can get if you don't get your morning pampering."

"I'm fine."

"If you say so."

Neither Sam nor Ruby spoke after that for a few moments—only the occasional chirp of a bird outside broke the silence in the room. Then, finally, he turned to look at her completely. It lasted just long enough for her to turn her glance away, and when she did, Sam got up and out of the bed, moving into the bathroom to relieve himself. He came back out not too long thereafter, his arms folded over his chest.

His tone was uncertain. So much so, in fact, that his words sounded more like a statement than a question. "So…how do we do this."

"It's not that hard," Ruby stated, standing up. "Practice makes perfect, right? You could, what, move things with your mind before? Was that what it was?"

"There were premonitions, too, sort of, but those stopped when Yellow Eyes died," Sam explained.

"That's more passive. You can't do anything about those, Sam. I'm talking about gaining access to your active abilities. You have them in you. You just need to learn what triggers them."

Sam immediately recalled some two years ago, with Max, when he had been trapped in the closet while Dean was upstairs, and how he had moved the cupboard blocking him in by some means or another. He had been having visions all around that time, as well. Try as he might, he couldn't recall the exact feelings he had experienced back then. But he could be sure that one of them was fear, and another, desperation.

"Are we talking emotional triggers?" he asked.

"Maybe. Or physical. Powers can manifest in a lot of different ways." Ruby shrugged. "When was the first time you used that power?"

Sam furrowed his brow in thought. "Two years ago, I think. Around there."

Ruby looked mildly surprised, though why, he didn't know. "And what happened?"

"Dean and I were in Michigan…we were trying to help this kid. He had telekinetic powers. He was one of the special ones." He shook his head. "Anyway, he used them to trap me in this closet. While I was in there, I had a vision of him killing Dean, and…I don't know. I just remember feeling this intense pain, and all of the sudden the door was open. But I know I was the one who did it."

"Huh." Ruby didn't seem surprised by this, nor did she seem to particularly care. But then she said musingly, "So, Dean was in trouble, and you see him die, so you freak out, and your power activates. Then…Lilith tries to kill you, you freak out, and your power activates." She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. "My guess is that you've got some kind of knee-jerk reaction thing going on. You—or even Dean—get in danger, and then your power pops up like some kind of defense mechanism."

"So then, how do I make it not passive?"

"Were you not listening earlier? I told you. Practice."

"Right." Sam nodded slowly, disbelief visible on his face. "So, I guess I just need to freak myself out, then make things move. I don't see that happening. In fact, I don't see it ever happening. I've been freaked beyond my wildest dreams in the past two years, and they haven't activated once—well, more than once—since then."

Ruby snorted. "Rome wasn't built in a day, Sam."

The young hunter snorted derisively. "Yeah, well, I don't that kind of time."

"Then you better get on it. Unless you really do want Dean to continue suffering hellacious torture."

At that moment, Sam felt an incredible burst of anger surge through him. Not necessarily at Ruby, however, just at the concept of Dean suffering. It was because of him. It was in order to save him. And here he was, getting into an argument. It was ridiculous.

"I see that rage in there," Ruby noted, stepping closer. "You don't hide it well, Sam. Your mouth gets all tight and your pretty little eyes light up. You have a very serious tell. But hey, did you know? Anger is a great motivator. Who knows? It could even activate your power. Why don't you try it, hm?"

Sam narrowed his eyes at the blond haired demon, suddenly feeling his anger pouring out of himself and toward her. If she had just made him do it her way—had just shown him, even when he said he didn't want to be shown—then they wouldn't have been in this predicament. Dean would have still been alive, and all of this…it never would have happened.

"Why, Sam, are you glaring? At me?" Ruby cocked her head to the side and jeered slightly. "You can't possibly be pissed off with me. I didn't do anything." She took another step forward, which closed the distance between them even further.

Now Sam could smell her. There was a sweet scent in the air, but it mingled with something almost like rotten eggs. He felt himself both repulsed and repelled by it. That seemed to build his frustration and anger even more. In a very unexpected move, he lifted his hands up toward his chest, palms facing Ruby.

And then he did it. Making a pushing motion—although barely—Sam thought about how much he wanted Ruby away from him. There was a painful twinge toward the back of his head, just behind his eyes, and when he looked at her, he watched as she stumbled back, as if she had been hit by an invisible wave. It blew some of her hair over her shoulders and some into her eyes, causing her to sputter just a little bit. It took her a second to recollect herself.

An amused, almost sanctimonious look lit up her face. "Ah, see? I knew you had it in you." She sighed, stepping forward again, but keeping a more comfortable distance between them. "You're a natural, Sam."

Somehow, that didn't sound right to him. Somehow, it felt almost…off.

But he nonetheless accepted it. Even with the slightly ominous feeling in the back of his mind.