Chapter Fourteen
Sam was exhausted after four hours of perimeter watch. He undressed and crawled into bed hoping to finally get some rest. He was almost asleep when a knock sounded on the door. He got up and cracked the door open. Liz was standing on the other side wearing a robe and twisting her hair, indecisiveness coming off of her in waves.
"Can I help you?" Sam asked.
Liz smiled broadly and pushed her way into the room. She shut the door behind her and leaned against it. "Yes," she replied. "I need your opinion on something."
Sam watched her curiously. "Oh? What's that?"
Liz unfastened the robe she was wearing and pulled it open. She had on a lacy, black bra and panties set. "What do you think of these?" she asked, biting her lip.
Sam shrugged. "That depends," he told her as a smile spread onto his face.
"On what?" she asked coyly.
"How easy it is to get off."
Liz eyes flashed with lust as she walked toward him. He caught her by the hips and pulled her flush against him.
"God, you're gorgeous," he told her.
She laughed. "And I'm all yours," she said, dropping to her knees.
Sam jolted awake. His heart was pounding, and sweat had dried to his body. It was early morning, less than two hours since his patrol ended, which wasn't nearly enough sleep. It would have to do, though. Sam knew he wasn't going to be able to go to sleep after a dream like the one he'd just had.
The dream lingered in his mind, mixing with memories he had of Liz, like the taste of her skin as he licked from her collarbone down the valley between her breasts and lower. He remembered how it felt to have her thighs wrapped around him and even how she looked falling over the edge into orgasm.
That last thought made Sam recall why he knew those things, and he went cold all over. He felt an almost uncontrollable urge to call Lauren and atone, but he pushed the impulse away and got out of bed, telling himself that Lauren was almost surely still sleeping. She had a conference to speak at in a couple hours, and Sam could handle himself until it was over.
He was glad that he was alone as he started breakfast. He was exhausted from sleep deprivation and didn't feel like making small talk with anybody, especially not Dean. He busied himself with making breakfast and tried not to think. He couldn't manage to turn his brain off, however, and his thoughts inevitably drifted back to the image of Liz in lacy lingerie teasing him.
Sam shook his head to clear his thoughts. He made himself think about Dean and how he was probably at this very moment having a similar dream about Liz, just as he should. Liz was Dean's. Dean's Liz. Liz's Dean. They were together. Sam told himself that he needed to remember that. Dean was in love with Liz. Head-over-heels, can't-even-think-about-another-woman in love with Liz.
XXX
The triplets were blonde and bosomy and beckoning to Dean with their red painted fingernails. The middle one bit her lip coyly. "Mr. Dean, we've been waiting for you all this time. The only thing that can save us is if you make passionate love with the three of us."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Cut the crap. I had enough of your games a long time ago."
The sister who had been enticing Dean laughed. "All work and no play makes Dean a cranky boy. But then, I guess it hasn't been all work lately," she commented with a smile. Her eyes twinkled mischievously. "Aren't you supposed to be providing security for the old man? That is what you told Liz, isn't it?"
"Why don't you mind your own business and stay out of mine?" Dean spat at her.
The girl to the right replied. "Maybe because you continue to make your business ours," she said. She got a calculating look on her face. "Want us to pretend to be Liz again?" she asked with a cruel smile.
Dean glared at her. "Why would I need to use your parlor tricks when I've got the real Liz waiting for me when I wake up?"
The girl shrugged. "Suit yourself. What do you want if you don't want that? It's been so long since you invoked us that we were starting to wonder if we would ever get to see you again."
Dean ignored the comment. "I want to know where Liz has been and why," he demanded. "You're the Fates. That shouldn't be too hard for you."
"Sounds like a personal problem to me," the middle Fate replied.
Dean clenched his jaw and tried to keep his anger in check. It never helped matters to yell at the Fates. He had learned that the hard way. "I think you three owe me after the crap you put me through. You led me into it, and you did it on purpose. It's time to make amends."
The middle Fate laughed. "He thinks we care about his stupid little problems," she told her sisters in amusement.
The Fate who had yet to speak raised her hand to silence her sisters. "You called us here to help you find out the truth about Elizabeth and all she has been doing. There is nothing we can do to help you with this. Elizabeth's mind is just as closed to us as it is to you. She has been protected by some powerful magicks these last five years. If she had not shown herself, we would never have been aware that she remained alive. You are better off asking her your questions and then waiting until she is ready to answer them. But whatever you do, do it with Elizabeth. You need to work it out with her because the two of you are going to be unstoppable once you work through this angst and really open up to one another."
Dean snorted. "God help me if I ever take your advice again."
The Fate shrugged. "As you wish," she replied. "It is your heart to give or hide away. I could really care less which you choose." She patted Dean's arm. "It is time for you to wake now. Breakfast is waiting, and it is going to be a big day for you. You need to get to it."
"That's it?" Dean yelled angrily. "That's all the help you're going to give me? Well, thanks for nothing! I want to wake me up now!"
The Fate patiently watched his tantrum. "Are you done?" she asked.
Dean reined his anger in. "Yes," he pouted.
"Good," she said. "You may wake now."
Dean woke up pissed. He dressed and went to the kitchen to make breakfast, where he found Sam preparing his meal. He seemed distracted as Dean came into the room and dug a soda out of the refrigerator.
Dean sat his drink on the table and sized Sam up. "Something wrong, Sam?"
Sam flinched. "No. Why would anything be wrong?"
Dean gave him a look. "I don't know, but something is."
Sam shook his head. "Nothing's wrong," he insisted. "You want some eggs?"
Dean shrugged. "Sure, scramble me a couple."
"Bacon?"
Dean laughed. "Like you even have to ask," he said.
Sam laughed with him but it sounded hollow. "Guess not," he said and threw several pieces of the cooked bacon onto Dean's plate.
The smile fell off of Dean's face as he watched Sam woodenly maneuver around the kitchen. "You sure there's nothing wrong?" he asked again.
Sam rubbed his eyes. "I'm just tired, Dean. Sleep is hard to come by right now, and all the staying up late is starting to catch up with me."
"I know what you mean," Dean replied, but he wasn't convinced that lack of sleep was what was bothering Sam.
Sam sat the plate of food in front of Dean and sat down opposite him to eat his breakfast. "Have you been paying attention to Maddie?" he asked to change the subject. "She's still screwing up her shooting. She jerks every time she pulls the trigger."
"I know. Madison's scared of a gun. Aly couldn't hit the side of a barn if she were five feet from it. And most of the other girls would much rather be doing something else. How are they supposed to become hunters if they can't even take out a target? Katy's really the only one who stands out. She'll be decent at the job if she'll learn a little patience."
Sam's eyes twinkled with amusement and this time it seemed genuine. "You're lecturing people about patience?"
"I'm patient when I need to be," Dean insisted defensively. "Katy's never patient."
"That girl is crushing hard on you," Sam observed.
Dean glared at him. "Thank you, Captain Obvious. Like I need you to tell me that Katy has a crush on me. She's been very vocal about telling me herself that she wants me. Now that Liz is back, it's gotten worse. Cat fights make me tired, Sam."
"I'm sure that Liz can take care of herself where Katy's concerned."
Dean smiled fondly. "It's not Liz I'm worried about. When it comes to Liz, Katy doesn't have a shot in hell."
"Think she'll figure that out before she pisses Liz off bad enough that she makes Katy wish she'd never been born?"
"Probably not. She'll do something to bring Liz's wrath down on her. You can just about bet on it. And there'll be no one to blame for any of it but herself."
Sam laughed. "Poor girl doesn't even know what she's doing," he said. He pushed his eggs around on his plate a moment and then looked up at Dean again. "Speaking of Liz, where is she?"
Dean stiffened. "Couldn't say. If I had to guess, I'd say she's asleep."
"Oh. I thought maybe you two…It looked like you two…"
Dean pinned Sam with his gaze. "Are we seriously going to talk about this?"
Sam rubbed the back of his neck and avoided looking at Dean. "You're right. This is weird. I don't want to know what you did last night."
Dean thought back to the previous night and remembered how every nerve ending in his entire body seemed to come alive when he had kissed Liz. He forced himself to focus on what Sam was saying. "Liz is fine," he assured Sam. "I'm sure she'll wake up raring to ride my ass for another hundred things she's remembered that I've done wrong over the last five years. Liz will wake up with a smile on her face, I'm sure."
XXX
Liz came awake to the sound of laughter and girls talking. This made her very confused.
"He's had hotter. I'm not even sure I'd put her in the top ten."
"Oh, please, she easily makes the top ten."
"What is on her neck?"
"I don't know."
"I'm gonna need to see her naked to really give her a rating."
It took a moment for Liz's exhausted brain to process that the girls were both in the room with her and talking about her. She pulled the covers tight around herself as she sat up and tried not to look as vulnerable as she felt. Liz recognized all of the girls in the room and wasn't a bit surprised to see Katy amongst them.
Katy gave Liz a vicious smile when she sat up. "Hi," she said. "We were wondering if we could see you naked. It's purely for scientific reasons, promise."
Liz looked around at all of the girls. "Why are you in my room?" she demanded, managing to inject just enough venom into the question to hide the awkwardness she was feeling.
Katy laughed. "Dean always has us rank his conquests. Do you want to know what number you are?"
Liz glared at Katy. She got out of the bed, dragging the covers with her. She let the comforter fall to the floor then pulled the sheet tight around her body. After the sheet was secure, she left the room and headed down the hall.
A look of alarm took over Katy's face. "Wait! Where are you going?" she called after Liz.
Liz ignored the question as she stomped down the hall. She ran into Bobby in the living room. "Have you seen Dean?" she asked angrily.
Bobby averted his eyes. "He's in the kitchen with Sam I think."
"Not for long, he's not," Liz muttered, heading for the kitchen.
As Bobby had said, Dean was in the kitchen having breakfast with Sam. The two of them were laughing and seemed to be enjoying themselves. This further infuriated Liz.
Dean's back was to her, so Sam saw Liz first and choked on his eggs at the sight of her wearing nothing but a sheet. Dean turned to see what had gotten Sam's attention and froze when he saw Liz. "That's quite a fashion statement you're making," he commented with feigned nonchalance.
Liz was not interested in banter. "Please tell me that you did not send those girls to humiliate me. I really want to believe that they did that on their own, so please tell me it wasn't you. And if it was you, please tell me…please tell me that you haven't spent the last five years degrading every woman that agreed to come home with you by subjecting them to that."
Dean got a cocky look on his have. "Well, not every woman, but—"
Liz slapped him hard across the face. "You son of a bitch," she said furiously. "You unbelievable son of a bitch."
Dean stared at her, open-mouthed, shocked from her slap.
Liz was not finished, though. "So that's what you really want? Me stacked up next to the rest of the notches on your bedpost?" She got a determined look on her face. "Well, fine then. Why don't you ask someone whose opinion you actually care about?"
She let the sheet fall, but Dean anticipated what she was doing and caught it before it hit the floor, quickly covering her again. Sam jerked his head away from her, staring at the ceiling until he was sure she was fully covered again.
"What is wrong with you, Liz?" Dean asked angrily as he secured the sheet back around her.
Liz watched him wordlessly as he fussed with the sheet.
"Well?" he prompted when he was satisfied that the sheet was secure.
Anger flared behind Liz's eyes. "What is wrong with you, Dean?" she asked, shoving his chest while she talked.
Dean froze as he noticed her arm. Liz shoved him again but didn't get a reaction; Dean's attention was drawn to the mess of red and blue lines swirling together down her right arm, each intersecting line ending in a starburst of purple. He ran a finger down her arm.
"What is this?" he asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
Liz tried to tuck her arm behind her, but Dean caught it and held it so he could inspect it. "What is this?" he demanded, voice rising. He met Liz's eyes and held her gaze.
"The same thing it was five years ago," Liz answered quietly.
Dean let her arm go and stared her in the eyes. "You mean you're dying," he said, choking up on the last word.
Liz nodded unhappily. "And sooner rather than later."
The group of girls burst into the room then, staying whatever response Dean had.
"Dean, she's lying," Katy insisted.
Dean gave her as stern a look as he could muster. "I'll deal with you girls later," he told them. He still looked shell-shocked.
Katy didn't let it go. "As long as you—"
"I said I'll deal with you later!" Dean snapped.
"Okay," Katy squeaked out.
"Dean," Liz said softly to get his attention. She looked worried as she watched him. Dean shook his head at her and sat back down in the chair he had abandoned.
He looked up at her with a tortured expression. "You can't die, Liz," he insisted. "I just got you back."
Tears came to Liz's eyes. "I'm sorry, Dean. It's not exactly my favorite idea either."
Dean looked away from her. "I didn't think I had enough heart left to survive it being ripped out again. I guess I was wrong." Tears were in his eyes now, too. "You can't die," he repeated. He leaned forward and placed his forehead against her stomach. "You can't. You just can't. I'm not strong enough to survive that."
Liz ran her hands through his hair. "I'm sorry," she told him tearfully. "I'm so sorry."
Dean rocked away from her. "Being sorry doesn't change anything," he said.
Liz looked anguished. "I know."
"What is going on?" Katy interrupted. "What's wrong with Liz?"
Dean stood up. "I have things to do," he said.
"Dean!" Liz said and grabbed his arm to keep him from leaving. "Please talk to me and don't just run away to do something stupid."
Dean sighed. "I'm not going to do anything stupid," he promised. He walked around and her and went outside.
Liz turned to Sam as the tears started falling down her face. "Sam, will you please make sure he's okay?"
Sam gave her a sympathetic look. "Yeah," he said and followed after him.
"Thank you, Sam." Liz did not even try to hide her tears as she turned back to the group of girls. She sat down at the table, buried her head in her hands, and sobbed.
XXX
Sam looked for Dean but didn't see him, so he called Lauren, praying that she would pick up. The call went straight to voicemail, and Sam sighed before beginning his message.
"Lauren," he said in a tired voice, "I know that more than likely you won't be able to call me back for a while, but I really need to talk to you…Liz is back. Dean's Liz. And I really need to talk to someone removed from the situation. Please call me when you get this message. I love you. Be safe."
He closed the phone and sighed again. Dean would be fine, he told himself. He went back into the kitchen, pulling up short when he saw Liz sitting at the table looking very lost. She had obviously been crying, as her eyes were watery and rimmed in red.
The other girls were gone, but Katy was still standing in the doorway looking unsure about what to do. She looked at Sam then focused on Liz. "I don't get it," she said.
"Get what?" Liz replied dazedly without ever looking at Katy. She was barely listening to a word Katy said.
"What Dean sees in you. You're not so special. Why does he make such a big freaking deal about you?"
That got Liz's attention. She jerked her head around to look at Katy. "You little—"
"Leave her alone!" Sam yelled at Katy.
Katy rolled her eyes. "Here comes Sam on his stupid white horse to save the damsel in distress," she muttered.
Sam gave her a hard look. "I said leave her alone. Don't you have things you should be doing?"
Katy smirked and gave Sam a knowing look. "Don't you?" she replied, nodding toward Liz. "She's pretty upset that Dean was so upset."
"Mind your own business!" Sam snapped.
Liz rolled her eyes at the two of them. "Thanks for your help, Sam, but I can handle Katy all on my lonesome." She turned to Katy. "I don't like you. That's a bad thing for you. There will be repercussions for what happened this morning. You can be sure of that. As far as what makes me so special to Dean—I love him and he loves me. Nothing more. Nothing less." Liz stood up and headed for the door. "You two have fun bitching it out. I have things to do."
"Liz!" Sam called after her. "Liz!"
Liz stopped walking away but didn't face him. "What?"
Sam closed the distance between them and spun her so he could see her face. "Are you going to be okay?" he wondered.
Liz knocked Sam's hands off of her arms. Katy was watching them closely with open curiosity gleaming in her eyes. Liz glanced at her then back at Sam. "I'll be fine," she told him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do that involve me having more on than a sheet. If you don't mind, I'd like to get dressed."
"Of course," Sam replied and took a step away from her.
Liz walked away quickly toward her room. When she got into the room, she leaned against the door and took a relieved breath.
She stood there for a few moments then gathered her things to take a shower. She replaced the sheet that was tied around her with a robe and left for the bathroom.
After her shower, she dressed and went to the living room. Nearly everyone was assigned some type of job, so the house was almost empty which suited Liz just fine.
Alex saw Liz sitting on the couch and snuck up on her. He jumped over the couch and landed beside Liz. He bumped shoulders with her playfully. "I heard a rumor about you," he told her.
Liz was lost in thought. "Oh?"
Alex smiled in anticipation of Liz's reaction to what he was about to say. "Yeah. I heard you got laid last night."
Liz jerked to attention, blushing bright red as she did so. "What? Where did you hear that?"
"Oh, please. You think everyone in this place is not talking about you streaking through the house? I'll let you in on a secret: they are. I knew about ten minutes after it happened."
Liz was momentarily speechless. "People should mind their own business."
Alex grinned in response. "Sure, they should. So, did you get some?"
Liz gaped at him. "I…I…Alright, fine. Yes, I did, um, get some as you so succinctly put it. Happy?"
Alex laughed and bumped her shoulder again. "Yeah, you did. It's about time. Do girls high-five about sex?"
Liz slapped her forehead and left her head in her hands. "No, they don't," she answered miserably. "Are you sure everyone's talking about me and Dean?"
Alex cocked an eyebrow. "Liz, you have about forty hunters trapped in a small space bored out of their minds. Yes, everyone's talking about it. If you give me details, I can win a bet. The pot's up to around $400, or at least it was the last time I checked. I'll split the take with you."
Liz sat down, shaking her head in disbelief. "How embarrassing. Can we talk about something else? There is an impending apocalypse, you know."
Alex brushed away her comment. "There's always some impending apocalypse. In fact, you getting laid might be one of the signs of it." Liz glared at him, and he laughed. "Seriously, though, I'm glad you finally got some happy time."
Liz wrung her hands. "I don't think it made either of us particularly happy," she admitted.
Alex was suddenly very interested in what she had to say. "Do tell. I get more points for specifics." Liz glared at him, and his face turned apologetic. "I'm sorry, Liz. You know I'm joking. I'm always here for you. Tell me what's bothering you."
Liz shook her head. "Nothing. I just…It's nothing."
"Okay. If you decide you need to talk about this nothing, I'm here."
"Thanks, Alex."
Alex smiled mischievously. "You know, last night may not have been what you imagined it would be, but there's always tonight. You know what they say, if at first you don't succeed…"
Liz smiled in begrudged amusement. "I think Dean might be able to appreciate your philosophy."
Alex shrugged. "I speak truth, nothing more."
Liz shoved him playfully. "You are so full of crap," she said with a laugh. "Where's Cassie, by the way?"
"What am I? Her keeper? If you must know, she's taking out her aggression on a poor, defenseless target as we speak."
Liz gave Alex a meaningful look. "Is she…okay?"
Alex grew serious. "It's not your fault that she fell in love with you, Liz. She'll get over it. You don't have to worry about her."
"I know, but I worry anyway. She's my friend, and I care about her."
"Hey, lazybones, let's get a move on it!" Linda interrupted from behind them. "I don't have all day to help you with your little problem. I conned a couple of Dean's jailbaiters into watching the kids, and I don't know how long they'll last."
"I guess we'd better get a move on then. And they're not Dean's jailbaiters," Liz insisted.
Linda shrugged. "Whatever you say. Next, you'll be telling me that you have no problem with him getting sweaty with the lot of them."
"It's called training, Linda," Liz replied. She turned to Alex with an apologetic smile. "I'll catch you later, okay?"
Alex looked between the sisters curiously. "Sure. Secret rendezvous?"
Liz flashed her teeth at him. "You know it," she said and followed after Linda. They went in Bobby's office and shut the door. Liz took a seat on the floor while Linda went straight to Bobby's desk and picked up several items off of it. She turned to Liz and tried to gauge her mood. "I heard about what happened this morning. I need you focused if I'm going to do a treatment. Are you going to be able to handle that?"
"I'll focus. Promise."
Linda lit some incense. "Good." She handed her a glass that had a clear liquid in it and one that had the sludge that Bobby made Liz every morning. "You know what to do."
Liz dipped a hand in the clear liquid then rubbed the solution onto her skin wherever the marks from the adultery curse were. When she finished covering them, she drank the contents of the other glass then sat on the floor in front of Linda.
Liz crossed her legs and started to meditate. Linda waited for her breathing to even out before she began chanting. When she finished with the incantation, she grabbed Liz's arm and wiped it down with a rag she had waiting. Color came off on Linda's cloth. Though it wasn't much, the lines were noticeably farther away from Liz's wrist when Linda finished with Liz's arm.
Linda kneeled beside Liz and roused her from her meditation. Liz looked at her arm and fought back tears. "We're adding days now. We used to add months."
Linda brushed the hair back from Liz's face. "Those are days you wouldn't have had otherwise," she reminded her.
Liz choked back a sob. "I know, but it's still not enough." She let her tears fall. "I had resigned myself to it, Linda. I had gone away for a very specific purpose, and if I had to die, at least I was doing it for something I cared about. Now I'm back here, and nothing makes sense any more."
Linda hugged Liz to her and held her while she cried. "It'll be okay, Liz. We'll figure something out," she said into her hair.
Liz barked out a laugh and shoved away from Linda. "Oh, please. It's been five years. We haven't found anything, and we're not going to."
"Keep the faith, Liz."
"I lost my faith a long time ago," Liz replied angrily. She stood up, cracking her knuckles and beginning to pace back and forth. "I want to do the other ritual, Linda."
Linda looked horrified. "No, Liz. I won't let you."
Liz glared at Linda. "I don't see that you can stop me."
"Liz, that spell is bad news. It's serious dark magic."
"I need it, Linda," Liz insisted. "I need to be at my best when all of this stuff goes down, and it's going to take that spell."
Linda rubbed her face. "Liz, this is a bad idea."
Liz stopped pacing and looked at Linda. "Will you help?" she asked hopefully.
"Of course, I will, Liz," Linda responded with a sigh. "I'd rather be here with you than having you try it on your own."
Liz looked relieved. "Thanks, Linda."
"You can thank me by making sure Bobby knows that this was your idea."
Liz hugged Linda. "Thank you, Linda. You're my hero."
Linda smiled despite herself. "I'll try to remember that if this puts you in a coma or worse."
Liz's smile fell. "I'll be okay. Promise."
"That's what everyone says before their souls are sucked from their bodies and they are left as an empty shell of human flesh."
"Don't be so melodramatic."
"I'm not being melodramatic," Linda insisted. She pushed Liz back onto the floor. "Let's just get this over with. I'd rather not think too much about what I'm doing." She jerked a book off of Bobby's desk and flipped to a page that had been dog-eared. She started reading the incantation from the book, ignoring the sudden burst of wind that ruffled her hair. Shadows began to flicker on the wall. Linda continued chanting as if they weren't there.
When blood began to trickle out of Liz's nose, Linda stopped.
"Liz you're bleeding."
Liz wiped at her nose impatiently. "I'm fine," she insisted. "Finish the ritual before you lose the connection."
Linda hesitated but went back to chanting. It took less than a minute to finish, and when it was over, Liz crumpled in on herself. Linda ran to her side and tried to pick her up. Liz's dead weight was too much for Linda to carry, though, so she ran in the hall. "Bobby! Bobby, I need you!" she called as she ran through the house.
Dean was the first person she ran into. "Bobby's at the barn. He'll probably be there a while."
Linda chewed her lip while she debated whether or not to tell Dean what was going on. "I need you to help me move Liz," she told him hesitantly.
"What's wrong with Liz?"
Linda shrugged. "I don't really know."
Dean forced himself to keep breathing. "Is she…?" he trailed off, scared to finish the thought because he was scared of the answer.
Linda shook her head. "She's fine. She just passed out. We were doing a…well, I was helping her with something, and she collapsed on the floor. I'm not strong enough to carry her to her room, so I came to get Bobby. She's fine, though. I promise."
Dean looked skeptical. "Where is she?"
"In Bobby's office," she said wearily. She grabbed Dean's arm as he started around her. "Promise you won't freak out when you see her."
Dean shook her off. "It's that bad, huh?" he said and hurried down the hall.
Linda hurried after him, catching up right as Dean got to Bobby's office. When Dean saw Liz, his heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vice. She was lying on the floor at a weird angle, and she was ashen to the point of almost looking gray. If he were honest with himself, he'd say she looked an inch away from death. He scooped her up and tried to keep the fear from his voice as he asked Linda, "Is she going to be okay?"
"She's fine," Linda assured him. "She just needs to rest. Take her to her room, and I'll check on her every little bit to see if she's come out of it."
Dean glanced down at Liz. "My room is closer," he pointed out. "I'll take her there."
"If you're okay with taking her to your room, I'm sure that Liz would be more than happy about it. She might feel that you're starting to forgive her. She thinks that she's screwed things up pretty badly."
Dean cleared his throat to show his discomfort then headed for his room without responding. Linda followed, watching as Dean gently laid Liz on the bed. He brushed the hair out of her face and kissed her forehead before realizing that Linda was watching him. "You can go now," he told her. "I'll make sure she's okay."
Linda caught Dean's gaze and held it. She smiled at him then nodded once. "You can come get me if you need anything. I'm gonna go relieve whoever's watching my kids. I love them, but they can be a handful."
"I'll let you know if I need anything."
Linda hesitated in the doorway. "I heard about what happened this morning. I know my sister, and I know that she'll probably never tell you this, but she has spent the entire time she's been here trying to figure out some way to tell you. That wasn't how she wanted you to find out that she's dying."
Dean shrugged because he didn't trust himself to speak. He waited until Linda left then let his body sag in on itself. He looked down at Liz for a moment then stood up. "Get some sleep," he told her unconscious form then left.
XXX
Liz woke up with her head spinning. The dizziness got worse when she sat up. It took her a moment to realize where she was, and once she did, she felt too sick to feel anything but passing curiosity at why she was in Dean's bed and not her own.
She wasn't sure what time it was, but she knew it was evening. She remembered that Bobby wanted to have a meeting this evening, so she stumbled out into the hall and promptly ran into Sam hurrying down the hallway.
"Hey, Sam," Liz managed to get out. She slid one hand along the wall for support.
"Hey, Liz," Sam replied with a warm smile as he walked past her. It was like a switch was flipped, and his face suddenly went slack. He turned back around so he was facing Liz. "Hey, Liz?" he asked in a monotone voice.
Liz stopped walking and turned to Sam. "Yeah?"
Sam said nothing, just pushed her against the wall.
"Hey!" Liz protested. "Sam, let me go!"
Sam pinned her wrists and kissed her. Adrenaline shot into her veins, jumpstarting her limbs. She squealed in protest, bucking against him to try and break his hold on her. She managed to knee him in the groin, but he didn't react. He did eventually pull back to breathe.
"Sam!" she yelled. "Sto—"
Sam thrust his tongue into her open mouth. Liz was sobbing as she struggled against him. She bit down on his tongue, but he didn't even flinch. When he pulled back the second time, Liz noticed that his eyes were glazed and unfocused.
"Sam?" she asked in a shaky voice.
She stiffened when he kissed her again. This time, though, she pressed her lips against his for a brief moment. When she bucked against him this time, he let her go. He took a step away from her, a look of confusion on his face.
Liz scrambled away from him. "What is wrong with you?" she sobbed.
Sam looked around himself trying to figure out how he'd gotten into the hall. "Is this a dream?" he wondered, reaching down to pinch his arm.
Liz fought to remain calm. She hugged herself as she watched Sam. "You don't remember?"
Sam shook his head. "The last thing I remember is being in my room. Then I was here."
Liz took a cautious step toward Sam. "You're not going to try and shove your tongue down my throat again are you?" she wondered.
A look of horror dawned on Sam's face. "I kissed you?"
Liz nodded and took another step toward him. "You were pretty insistent about it."
Sam looked tortured. "I'm so sorry, Liz. I don't know what I was thinking."
Liz closed the distance between them and checked Sam's pupils. They were completely dilated. "Has this been happening a lot?" she wondered.
"Me kissing people?"
"I meant the missing time, but since you bring it up, that too."
Sam shook his head. "Nothing like this has ever happened before."
"Nothing else out of the ordinary has happened recently?"
The image of Liz falling to her knees in front of him came to Sam's mind. "Nope," he replied without a second's hesitation.
Liz sized him up. "You sure?"
"Yes," Sam replied. "Are you going to tell Dean about this?"
Liz shook her head hesitantly. "Not if I can help it."
"Thank you, Liz. Thanks for doing that."
"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it because Dean would be devastated if he ever found out."
"Something's wrong with me, isn't it?"
Liz shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. It looks that way."
Sam glanced down the hall. "Bobby's going to come looking for us if we don't hurry."
It was as if Sam had willed the prediction into being. Ten seconds after Sam made the statement, Bobby appeared at the end of the hallway. "Are you two planning to join us anytime soon?" he wondered.
Liz quickly put distance between her and Sam. "Coming, Bobby," she said and headed after him. Sam took a deep breath and let it out before following Liz.