Author's Note
Hey y'all! :)
Thank you so much to everyone who has favorited, followed, and reviewed this story, and don't be afraid to let me know what you think! I'm also always happy to answer questions about pretty much anything about the story- don't worry, I promise I won't bite.
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I hope you like it! :)
It was supposed to be just another hunt. We had tracked the rawhead to an old, abandoned house in the middle of nowhere, had a solid plan to take him out, and had brought all of our supplies- we thought we had it in the bag. Yeah, not so much.
We pulled up to the house late at night and got out of the car, heading around to the trunk. I took a moment to wrangle my hair into a bun and to make sure the laces on my boots were double-knotted, and straightened up to see Dean pulling out three tasers from the trunk.
"What do you got those amped up to?" Sam asked him, and Dean grinned at him and tossed him one.
"A hundred thousand volts," Dean said proudly, and Sam shook his head at him.
"Damn."
I rolled my eyes at the two of them and walked over to Dean to carefully take the taser from him, and he was about to give it to me, but pulled it back with a warning glance.
"I want this thing extra frickin' crispy- and remember, you only got one shot with this thing, so make it count."
I took it from him and shoved it in my pocket before I reached into the trunk to grab a gun and a flashlight, and watched as the two brothers did the same.
"You ready, Ella?" Sam asked, and I grinned at him.
"Let's do this thing."
We crept through the house and down the stairs to the basement, Dean making sure that I was behind him at all times. We swung our flashlights around, but saw nothing, and I was about to nudge Dean and ask if he was sure this was the right place when we heard a noise from a cupboard in the corner. We glanced at each other and moved towards it, guns at the ready. Dean held up three fingers, and Sam and I nodded at him as we pulled out our tasers. He put each finger down one by one until he showed us his fist, and Sam swung open the door. As soon as we saw the two kids crouched inside with their hands over their ears, we relaxed.
"Is it still here?" Sam whispered, and they nodded. I stepped forward and helped them out of the cupboard, and Dean bent down to talk to them.
"This is Ella, okay? She's gonna get you out of here," he said, tossing me the car keys, and I smiled at them and held out my free hand. The boy grabbed it before reaching back to take his sister's hand, and we went up the stairs as fast as we could. We made it out of the house and to the car, where I helped them into the backseat and locked the doors before standing outside of the car with my taser in my hand. A minute later, I heard Sam scream Dean's name, and my heart sunk. I wanted to run to them so badly, but I stayed by the car- Dean had a better chance of protecting himself than the kids did.
"SAM!" I yelled as loud as I could, and I heard him respond to me, sounding strained.
"ELLA! START THE CAR AND GET IN!"
I jumped into the driver's seat and started the car before getting out and climbing into the backseat with the kids. They looked up at me, terror on their small faces, and I smiled as reassuringly as I could. Then a lightbulb turned on in my head, and I reached down to dig through my backpack. A second later, I triumphantly pulled out a half-eaten bag of jelly beans and offered some to the kids before happily eating some myself. I had just eaten a pear-flavored one when Sam opened the passenger door and lifted an unconscious Dean onto the seat, strapping him in. I gasped and reached out to him as Sam got in the driver's seat and peeled away.
"What the hell happened to him?" I asked frantically, somehow managing not to swear in front of the kids.
"I don't know- when I found him, he was on the floor in a puddle of water, not moving," Sam stammered, and I reached out to feel for a pulse on Dean's neck. At that point, I let out a stream of curse words that were definitely not appropriate for the present company, and turned to Sam, trying desperately to keep my breathing under control.
"He's barely breathing- we need to go faster!" I gasped out, and Sam looked at me with a panicked expression.
"Do you want us to crash? We're already going like 80 mi-"
"SAM, I swear to god, if you don't drive any faster, I will shave your head in your sleep!" I hissed, abruptly cutting him off, and he slammed down on the brake, throwing me back into my seat. I threw off the flannel shirt I was wearing over my tank top and dabbed at Dean's forehead with one hand, checking his pulse with the other. We pulled into the hospital and swerved into a spot in front of the ER, narrowly missing a pole. As we screeched to a halt, I jumped out and carried the kids to the main entrance and left them at the door with a security guard. I then sprinted towards the ER, bursting through the doors just in time to see Dean being rushed away on a stretcher. I swore and followed them, but was quickly stopped by a security guard.
"Miss, are you family?"
"Those are my brothers!" I managed to say, and he waved me past. I took off running again and caught up to them, reaching out to grasp Dean's hand. They got him into a room and hooked him up to about 5 different things, and started CPR. My knees suddenly gave out and I collapsed into Sam, who quickly helped me out of the room. I made it about 5 steps away from Dean's room before leaning backwards and sliding down the wall to the floor, my whole body shaking. Sam quickly slid down next to me and wrapped his arms around me, and we sat there until everyone had cleared out of Dean's room. Sam jumped up and then reached down to help me stand, and we rushed into the room.
Dean lay in the bed motionlessly, his face as white as the sheets on top of him. I quickly grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to the bed and sat down before my knees could fail me again, and reached for the hand that didn't have the pulse monitor on it. I grasped his hand and leaned over to rest my forehead on the bed next to him, letting my tears fall onto the blanket instead of him. Sam pulled up a chair and wrapped an arm around me, resting his head on my shoulder, and we sat like that until a doctor came in to tell us what was going on.
I quickly straightened up and wiped my face on the flannel I had torn off earlier, and Sam got to his feet to shake the doctor's hand.
"How is he, doc?" Sam asked hopefully, and I could see the doctor's face soften.
"He's resting," he answered, and I leaned forward, expecting more.
"And?"
The doctor sighed and reached up to rub his forehead, and I could see Sam's hopeful expression disintegrate.
"The electrocution triggered a heart attack- pretty massive, I'm afraid. His heart… it's damaged."
"How damaged?" I questioned, my voice breaking.
"We've done all we can. We can try and keep him comfortable at this point, but I'd give him a couple weeks at most, maybe a month."
As soon as he finished talking, I burst into tears and wrapped my arms around my waist, curling into myself. I could just barely hear Sam pleading with the doctor over the sound of my tears before the doctor walked away and closed the door behind him with a definitive click. I felt Sam pick me up from the chair and carry me over to the couch across from the door, and he pulled me into his chest. I curled into him, crying so hard that I was almost screaming, and I could feel Sam's arms shaking around me. I cried until I couldn't anymore, and fell asleep on Sam's tear-soaked shirt as he stroked my hair and hummed quietly.
I woke up sometime later to see that Dean was awake and flipping through channels on the small TV. I glanced around, looking for Sam, but he had left the room, and I sat up on the couch. Dean saw that I was awake and smiled weakly at me, motioning for me to come over. I walked across the room, still shaking, and was about to sit in the chair next to the bed when Dean shook his head at me. He patted the bed next to him, and I sat down as gently as I could. He still looked terrible, but at least he was awake.
"Have you ever actually watched daytime TV? It's terrible," Dean quipped, and I rolled my eyes at him. Even as he literally lay dying, he was still cracking jokes. I started to tear up again, and Dean shook his head at me again.
"Hey, what do I always say about chick-flick moments?" He said softly, and I shot him the death glare.
"Dean Winchester, if you weren't actually dying, I would junk-punch you so hard," I laughed through my tears, and he chuckled. He held out the arm closest to me and motioned for me to lay down, and I gave in, curling up on my side and resting my head on his shoulder. Sam came in and smiled weakly at us, moving to sit in a chair on the other side of his bed. Dean looked over at him and clicked the tv off.
"All right, well, looks like you two are gonna leave town without me," he said in a resigned tone, and I shot up so that I was leaning on my elbow.
"Are you insane? There's no way in hell we're leaving you!" I protested, and Sam nodded his head in agreement.
"Hey, you better take care of that car. Or I swear, I'll haunt your asses," Dean threatened, and I clenched my hands into fists, trying my hardest not to scream.
"I don't think that's funny," Sam said sharply, and Dean looked at him and rolled his eyes.
"Oh, come on- it's a little funny," Dean retorted, and I got off of the bed and walked around to where Sam was now leaning against the wall and looking down at his feet, fighting down tears. I leaned against the wall next to him and folded my arms under my chest, looking anywhere but at Dean.
"Look, guys, what can I say. It's a dangerous gig, I drew the short straw, that's it- end of story," he said nonchalantly, and I could feel Sam go completely still next to me.
"Don't talk like that, alright? We still have options," Sam pleaded, but Dean shook his head.
"What options? Yeah- burial or cremation. And I know it's not easy, but I'm gonna die. And you can't stop it."
I couldn't bear to listen to this for another second, and ran out the door and away from his room, sprinting down the stairs until I reached where we had parked Baby. I fell against the side of the car and slid to the ground, shaking violently. I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my forehead on my arms while I tried desperately to pull air into my lungs. Eventually Sam found me and sat down next to me, rubbing small circles up and down my back and murmuring over and over that we would find a way to save him. After a while, I managed to calm down, and Sam helped me stand. I walked over to the passenger side and climbed into the front seat while Sam started the car, and we pulled away from the hospital and from Dean, desperate to save him.
A few days later, the only thing we had managed to do was cover the beds with pages and pages of useless research and leave John about 50 voicemail messages. Sam hung up for the last time and tossed his phone onto the other bed, and we sat in silence, both fighting back tears. Then we heard a knock on the door, and I grabbed my knife from my boot and crept up to the door while Sam stood quietly. I opened the door and held my knife up by my shoulder, promptly dropping it when I saw that it was Dean, who looked like absolute hell.
"What the shit? What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded, and was debating if slapping him across the face was really worth it when he cracked a smile.
"I checked myself out."
"What, are you crazy?" Sam sputtered, and Dean walked into the room, leaning on everything within reach. I sighed and picked up my knife, rushing over to help him and ducking under his shoulder so he could put his weight on me. He tried to push me away, but he was too weak- I also may or may not have threatened to burn all of his porn. I shoved a pile of paper off of the nearest chair and helped him sit before flopping onto the edge of the bed and crossing my legs under me.
"Well, I'm not gonna die in a hospital where the nurses aren't even hot," he grumbled, and I heard Sam choke down a laugh as he closed the door. I slid my knife back into the holster I had sewn into the lining of my boot, and saw Dean shoot me a surprised look.
"What?" I shrugged. "When you get bored, you find the nearest convenience store- I figure out ways to not die." Sam laughed out loud, and Dean was about to make a snarky comment when he realized that I had a point, and promptly shut up.
"You know, this whole I-laugh-in-the-face-of-death thing? It's crap. I can see right through it," Sam pointed out softly, and Dean shot him a glare.
"Yeah, whatever, dude. Have you two even slept? You look worse than me," he retorted, but Sam just rolled his eyes and sat in the chair on the other side of the table.
"Ella's been scouring the internet for the past three days, and I've called every contact in Dad's journal," Sam said, and Dean looked at him in surprise.
"For what?"
"For a way to save your life, Dean," I said quietly, and he turned to me and shook his head. But before he could say anything, Sam spoke up.
"One of Dad's friends, Joshua, he called me back. Told me about a guy in Nebraska- a specialist." Dean rolled his eyes and tilted his head back, sighing, before looking back at us in annoyance.
"You're not gonna let me die in peace, are you?"
"We're not gonna let you die, period. We're going, and so help me, if you decide to pull a Houdini and end up dead somewhere, I will find you and bring you back to life so I can kill you again!" I growled at him, and he looked down at his lap sheepishly. I could hear Sam chuckling, but he quickly squelched his laughter when I gave him the death glare.
"I'm gonna go take a shower- try not to die while I'm gone," I smirked at Dean, and grabbed some clothes from my backpack. I turned the shower on and stepped in, tipping my head under the spray and letting the water run through my hair. I stood there for a few minutes, lost in thought, before washing my hair and stepping out of the shower to dry off. I pulled on a pair of dark skinny jeans and a black tank top and dried my hair a little bit with the crappy motel dryer, putting on some eyeliner and mascara to avoid looking dead. I opened the bathroom door and quickly glanced over at Dean to make sure he was okay. He was leaning back in his chair and still looked pale and weak, but he saw me looking in his direction and gave me a thumbs-up.
I started to pack up my stuff, grabbing my laptop and charger from the corner and sliding them into my backpack and throwing the papers on the bed into the trash. Sam started packing up his stuff, and once I had finished with mine, I started packing Dean's bag for him, wrinkling my nose at a few things. He started to get up to take over, but I shot him a glare and he settled back into his chair, deciding not to push me. I carried our bags out to the car and put them on the floor of the backseat, then walked back to the room to help Dean to the car. He mumbled something about not needing help, and got up out of the chair and walked towards the door. I looked back at Sam, who shrugged and jogged to catch up to him while I took one last look around the room and closed the door behind me.
We drove for a while without saying anything, while I sang along quietly to the songs on the radio that I knew. Dean and I sat in the backseat so I could keep an eye on him while Sam drove carefully, and about an hour into the trip, I looked over to check on him and saw that he was fast asleep. I reached out to make sure that he was still breathing and he stirred, not looking very comfortable. I shook him gently, and he opened his eyes slightly.
"You okay?" I asked softly, and he looked at me blearily.
"Yeah, just tired," he mumbled, and I reached out to check his pulse. I decided it was normal and looked up from my watch to see that his eyes were already closing again. I sighed and reached down to grab my pillow from the floor, brushing some crumbs off of it before putting it on my lap. I reached out and put my hand on Dean's shoulder and squeezed, and he started awake.
"Wha's goin' on?" he muttered, and I patted the pillow on my lap. He smiled sleepily and rearranged himself so he laid across the backseat with his head on the pillow, quickly falling back asleep. Sam looked back at us through the rearview mirror and smiled at his sleeping brother.
"Sammy?" I asked softly, and he looked up at me.
"Yeah?"
"Dean's gonna be okay, right?"
He looked back at the road for a second, and when he looked back up at me, his eyes were filled with tears.
"I hope so, Ella. I really hope so."
I woke up the next morning when Sam pulled the car into a gas station and reached back to gently shake my shoulder.
"What the hell time is it?" I mumbled, trying to stretch without disturbing Dean, who was still passed out on my lap.
"Trust me, you don't want to know," Sam laughed, and I rubbed my eyes.
"How long 'til we get there?" I asked, opening the car door and sliding out, and glanced back at Dean, who had somehow managed to stay asleep.
"An hour, maybe?" he replied, and tossed me his wallet. "You should probably grab something to eat."
I nodded and walked into the store, looking around for something edible. I grabbed two blueberry muffins for myself and some bagels for Sam and Dean, and walked over to the drinks. I got coffee for Sam and Dean and grabbed a few Diet Cokes for myself- I wasn't much of a coffee drinker- and dumped everything at the register. I paid and walked back out to Sam, handing him his coffee and a bagel before opening the backseat door and poking Dean in the side. He shot to a seating position and was about to swing in my direction when he noticed the bagel I was dangling in front of me and stopped, rubbing his eyes.
"Mornin' sunshine!" I teased, and he mumbled something about it being too early to be alive, quickly stopping when I held his drink out to him. He took it and sat up, and I dropped his bagel on his lap and walked around the car to claim shotgun. I climbed into the car and made myself comfortable, and tossed Sam his wallet through the open window before opening one of my drinks. He finished with the gas and went in to pay as I started in on my first muffin. Once he got back, he got into the car and started the engine, taking a bite from his bagel as he pulled away from the station and onto the road.
An hour later, we stopped the car next to a large tent. I looked out the window and saw a sign next to the tent that said "The Church of Roy LeGrange. Faith Healer. Witness The Miracle." I reached over and smacked Sam's shoulder, and he turned to me, confused.
"What was that for?"
"A faith healer? Really?" I hissed at him so Dean couldn't hear me, and he shrugged.
"This is our only option, El," he said quietly, and I shook my head at him.
"Dude, Dean's not gonna be happy about it," I warned, and turned to look at Dean, who was asleep again. I poked his chest and he stirred, squinting at me.
"Hey, you," I said quietly, and Dean smiled at me, reaching up to run a hand through his hair.
"Where are we?" he asked gruffly, and I shook my head at him and shot a death glare at Sam before getting out of the car and walking around to Dean's door. I opened his door and held out my hands, and he grabbed them so I could pull him out of the car. He stood up, wobbling a little bit, and I reached out to him, but he shook his head at me and steadied himself. As Sam got out of the car, Dean noticed the sign, and turned to look at Sam with his arms folded across his chest.
"Man, you are a lying bastard. Thought you said we were going to see a doctor," he grumbled, and Sam shook his head.
"I believe I said a specialist," Sam corrected him, and Dean rolled his eyes at him. Sam sighed before continuing. "Look, Dean, this guy's supposed to be the real deal."
"I can't believe you brought me here to see some guy who heals people out of a tent!" Dean huffed, and looked like he was about to get back into the car.
"Dean, please? At least come into the tent before you decide the guy's a hack," I pleaded, and he looked over at me, his face softening.
"Fine, kid. I'll go see the guy," he sighed, and I smiled up at him. He slung his arm over my shoulder, and I reached out to wrap my arm around his waist as we walked towards the tent. As we walked, we saw a man arguing with a cop, and I caught something about having a right to protest and the man being a fraud.
"I take it he's not part of the flock," Dean quipped, earning a glare from Sam.
"When people see something they can't explain, there's controversy," Sam retorted, and Dean shot him an exasperated look.
"I mean, come on, Sam- a faith healer?" he complained, and I hip-checked him. He looked down at me in surprise, and I gave him a pointed look.
"Dean, you've got about two weeks to live, at best. You might be okay with your death, but Sam and I aren't- so you bet your ass we're going to try everything we can, even if it sounds crazy," I said sharply, and he looked down at his feet.
"Maybe it's time to have a little faith, Dean," Sam said softly, and Dean looked up at him, his face hardening.
"You know what I've got faith in? Reality. Knowing what's really going on."
"How can you be a skeptic? With the things we see everyday?" Sam asked him, and Dean threw the arm that wasn't around my shoulders into the air in frustration.
"Exactly! We see them, so we know they're real!" he retorted, and Sam shook his head at him in disbelief.
"But if you know evil's out there, how can you not believe that good is out there too?"
"Because I've seen what evil does to good people," Dean snapped, and Sam went silent.
A young, attractive woman who was walking near us turned to look at Dean and smiled at him, interrupting the conversation.
"Maybe God works in mysterious ways," she said, and Dean quickly removed his arm from my shoulders and stood up straighter, checking her out. I, however, was not impressed, and resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
"Maybe he does," Dean said slyly, and I elbowed him in the ribs. He looked at me, offended, but turned back to the woman and continued to flirt. "I think you just turned me around to the subject."
"Yeah, I'm sure," the woman said with a hint of sarcasm, and Dean reached out to shake her hand.
"I'm Dean, and this is my brother Sam and his girlfriend Ella," he said, and Sam and I looked at each other in surprise. Dean shot us a pointed glare as she shook the woman's hand, and Sam reached out and grabbed my waist, pulling me to his side. I choked down a yelp and smiled at her, and she nodded at us.
"Layla. So, if you're not a believer, then why are you here?" she asked, raising her eyebrow in Dean's direction.
"Well, apparently my brother here believes enough for both of us," he replied, and I could feel Sam tighten his grip on my waist. An older woman approached us and put her arm around Layla's shoulder, telling her that it was about to start. She and Layla smiled at us and moved inside the tent, and Dean was about to follow him when I aimed a sharp kick at the back of his leg. He spun around and was about to flip me off when Sam cleared his throat and motioned to the people around us. He quickly shoved his hand in his pocket and shot me a glare before turning around to walk through the opening of the tent, and Sam and I followed him as fast as we could.
The tent was full of people making their way to their seats, which were arranged in rows in front of a stage with a lectern covered in candles. I felt my shoulders tense up, and Sam squeezed my side reassuringly. I had always had issues with being in large crowds, and both brothers knew it. Dean instantly moved to stand on my other side and placed a hand on my lower back, guiding me to a seat towards the back.
"Come on," Sam said, pulling me forwards. I looked up at him in surprise, and saw Dean shoot him a similar glance.
"What are you doing- let's sit here," Dean hissed at him, but Sam shook his head and continued to walk.
"We're sitting up front."
"What? Why?" I asked nervously, and Sam looked down at me and smiled reassuringly.
"Come on, guys," he said patiently, and we kept walking forward. I could hear Dean grumbling about this being ridiculous, and I looked over at him and nodded in agreement- I didn't want to sit in the front any more than he did. Sam finally found three seats in the row behind Layla and the woman from earlier, and let go of me, moving to sit in the seat furthest from the aisle. He grabbed my arm and pulled me down next to me, and I resisted the urge to slap him. He motioned for Dean to sit on the aisle, and Dean unhappily sat down, but not before calling him something rather colorful under his breath.
On stage, a woman was helping an older man wearing sunglasses onto the stage, and I heard the room go silent. Glancing around, I noticed security cameras around the tent and nudged Dean with my elbow, nodding my chin in their direction.
"Peace, love, and trust all over, huh?" he whispered in my ear, and I nodded silently. The man and the woman finally reached the lectern, and the man, who must have been Roy, raised his hand to quiet the whispers around us.
"Each morning, my wife Sue Ann reads me the news," he began, shaking his head. "It never seems good, does it?" The crowd murmured in agreement, and he continued to speak. "Seems like there's always someone committing some immoral, unspeakable act. But I say to you, God is watching."
I nudged Dean with my elbow again and rolled my eyes, and I saw him choke down his laughter as Roy kept speaking.
"It is the Lord who does the healing here, friends. The Lord, who guides me in choosing who to heal by helping me see into people's hearts."
"Yeah, and into their wallets," Dean leaned over to whisper in my ear, and this time it was me who had to choke down my laughter.
"You think so, young man?"
The crowd fell silent when Roy said this, and Dean looked up at him, mortified. He muttered a sheepish apology, but the healer waved his hand in dismissal.
"No, no- don't be. Just watch what you say around a blind man- we've got real sharp ears," Roy chuckled, and the crowd did the same, falling silent again when he spoke.
"What's your name, son?"
Dean hesitated and cleared his throat before responding. "Dean."
"Dean," Roy said thoughtfully, nodding to himself. "I want… I want you to come up here with me."
At this, the whole tent exploded with applause, and I could see Dean stiffen in his seat. The woman who had helped Roy onto the stage, who must have been his wife Sue Ann, moved to center stage, smiling at Dean, who shook his head.
"No, it's okay," he said, and I could see Sam shoot him a look.
"What are you doing?" he hissed, and was about to say more when Roy spoke up.
"You've come here to be healed, haven't cha?" he asked, and Dean hesitated.
"Well, yeah, but, ah… maybe you should just pick someone else?" he said over the cheers and encouragement of the crowd, but Roy shook his head. Sam looked at Dean like he was insane, and I was too stunned to say or do anything- I had frozen in my seat.
"Oh, no, I didn't pick you. The Lord did," Roy replied, and I could hear the crowd getting more and more excited.
"Get up there!" Sam said excitedly, and Dean turned to me, raising an eyebrow. I was still stunned, but snapped out of it to give him a smirk.
"You wanna know if this guy's a hack? No better way than this," I said, and he smiled hesitantly at me. I reached over to squeeze his arm, and he got up and started moving slowly towards the stage. Sue Ann rushed to help him, and led him up to the stage, standing him next to Roy. I could see the two exchange a few short remarks before Roy turned back to us and raised his hands towards the sky.
"Pray with me, friends."
The crowd lifted their arms up and joined hands, and Sam and I did the same, not wanting to look out of place. Roy stood in silence before placing a hand on Dean's shoulder and then moving it to the side of his head. I could see him murmuring to himself, and Dean suddenly sunk to his knees, Roy's hand still on his head. I shot up from my seat and was about to run to the stage, but Sam gripped my hand and pulled me back down to my seat. I watched in horror as Dean's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the stage floor, not moving.
I screamed and ripped my hand out of Sam's, sprinting towards the stage as the crowd clapped excitedly. I leaped onto the stage, Sam following close behind me, and fell to my knees next to Dean. I reached out to him just as Sam slid onto the stage next to me, pulling Dean up by the front of his hoodie. Suddenly, Dean's eyes flew open, and he gasped loudly. I clapped a shaking hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming again, and Sam helped him to a sitting position.
"Say something!" Sam pleaded, and Dean blinked groggily and looked up at us. I put my hand on his cheek and turned his face towards me, but his eyes stayed fixed on something behind Roy.
"Dean?" I asked quietly, but his eyes stayed locked on whatever he was seeing. I spun around to look in the same direction, but saw nothing, and turned back to Dean, who seemed to snap out of it and look up at me.
'E-Ella?"
I started tearing up, and Dean looked up at me with worry written across his face as he pulled himself to a seating position.
"Dean, what happened? Are you okay?" I asked frantically, and reached out to check his pulse. When I felt how strong and steady it was, I burst into tears.
"What's wrong?" Sam asked, panicked, and I looked up at him, tears streaming down my face.
"Sam… feel his pulse!" I demanded, and Sam reached out to do so. I saw his eyes widen, and he pulled Dean and I into a bear hug. The voices of the ecstatic crowd faded around us, and we sat on the stage floor together for a moment before Sam and I pulled away and started to help Dean stand. He waved us off and leaped to his feet, the color returning to his face. He looked at Roy, stunned, but Roy just nodded knowingly. I wiped the tears from my face as Dean jumped off the stage and extended his arm to me, which I gladly took as I stepped off the stage. Then I remembered that I was supposed to be Sam's girlfriend and reached out to lace my fingers through his. He smiled down at me and pulled me out the tent door, Dean following closely behind. He still looked stunned as we got into the car, but snapped out of it when I reached out to squeeze his shoulder from the backseat.
"How are you feeling?" I asked him, and he turned around to smile at me.
"I'm fine," he replied, and I saw Sam give him a skeptical look from the driver's seat.
"So what, you're suddenly perfectly healthy?" he questioned, and Dean rolled his eyes at him.
"I feel fine, Sam," he sighed, and Sam shook his head as he pulled away from the tent.
"Just to be sure, we're going to the doctor," he announced, and Dean groaned.
"Really?" he complained, and was about to continue when I stuck my head between the two brothers.
"Dean, a few hours ago you had a week to live, and now you feel fine? We're going," I retorted, and he looked at me and sighed.
"Fine, we'll go."
"Thank you," I said quietly, and he nodded, still looking disgruntled. I turned my head to Sam and blew in his ear, startling him, and he whipped his head around to look at me.
"Before we go see if Dean's still dying, can we get some food? I'm starving," I asked, and gave him my best puppy-dog eyes. He nodded reluctantly and turned back to the road, and I settled back into my seat.
"Works every time," I mumbled under my breath, and Dean smirked at me through the rearview mirror before reaching out and turning the radio on. He found a song he liked and turned the volume up until the sound filled the car, and started to sing along. I joined him, and I could see Sam roll his eyes at us. I leaned forward to stick my head between the two boys and deliberately messed up the lyrics, and Dean reached over to mess up my hair while Sam laughed at us. We both froze and turned to him with evil grins on our faces, and we both started tickling him at the same time. He tried his best to focus on the road and stay serious, but burst into laughter a minute later, and begged us to stop before he crashed. We stopped tickling him because we were laughing so hard we could barely breathe, and we spent the rest of the car ride laughing and making fun of each other.