Chapter Twelve- The Test

Dean followed his brother back to the motel. Sam was on the phone with Bobby, asking for the nearest location with signs of demon activity. Dean imagined Bobby typing away on his computer, scowling at the screen as the news blared in the background. The image made him smile to himself.

After a minute of silence, Dean could hear the croak of Bobby's voice crackle on the other end. It must have been a solid enough lead to sell Sam because he quickly thanked Bobby and hung up. He turned around to Dean and said, a smile on his face, "We got an address."

"Any omens?"

"Just your run-of-the-mill severe thunderstorms brewing…" Sam smiled slyly over his shoulder. "…which are oddly enough solely within our town limits."

As if on cue, thunder rumbled above their heads. Dean stared up at the quickly darkening sky, then back at his brother. Normally, the words would have charged Dean with adrenaline and maybe even some curiousity, but now, all he felt was dread.

Dean knew that when Sam was set on something, there was nothing anyone could do to talk him out of it, even Dean. Sam had had a lot of ideas in the past and more often than not, Dean entertained the idea, partly as a big brother and also because he wasn't one to back down from a challenge. Recently though, it seemed Sam tended to lean towards making the wrong decisions and Dean couldn't help but wonder if the sick feeling that washed over him indicated that this decision was just following the pattern.

The brothers entered the motel room to find Naomi sitting rigidly on the edge of her bed, staring at the floor. When she heard them walk in, she stood up abruptly and stared at them. Her face had more color to it, an additional flash of red appearing on her cheeks as she said hoarsely, "You're back. I thought you both had left..." She didn't need to add the last part for Dean to finish it in his head. "…me."

She thought we had abandoned her.

Dean felt like he had swallowed a rock. Naomi's eyes were wide with confusion and fear. He stepped forward, wanting to console her, wishing he had stayed with her instead of following Sam out the door. His uneasiness about Sam's plan tripled and he now wished he had stood his ground. He stepped back though as Sam walked over to her.

Sam placed his hands on her shoulders, looking down at her. "I'm sorry if I scared you earlier. I let my emotions get away from me sometimes, but that doesn't mean I have an excuse for acting that way. Think you can forgive me?" He tilted his head to meet her eyes, giving her the puppy-eyed look, paired with a playful smile.

Naomi stared up at him for a moment before giving him a small smile back. "Yeah. I could punch a few holes in the wall myself, you know."

Sam smiled down at her. "No offense, but you don't look like you're in a state to be demolishing dry wall."

Dean added, bringing both Naomi's and Sam's attention to him, "Yeah. Maybe you should get some rest."

Sam stared at his brother, frozen. He knew what Dean was trying to do. Dean avoided his brother's gaze and focused on Naomi, feeling shocked himself.

Dean never backed out of a Sam plan. Once he said yes, he stuck to it, even if that meant they'd have to fight their way out of it. So, not following through now was a noticeable change, especially to the ever-perceiving Sam Winchester. Sam glanced at Naomi, then back at his brother. Dean could practically hear the gears moving in Sam's head.

Naomi glanced at Dean. He didn't offer anything, keeping his face flat and unreadable.

She glanced back at Sam. "What's going on? You guys are acting strange."

Sam focused back on her. "Naomi, we need your help to exorcise some demons in a town not too far from here."

Naomi's eyebrows furrowed while Dean's rose. Well, he's getting right down to business.

Naomi asked, "The angel said that I shouldn't go around anything that isn't human. Don't demons count as non-human?"

Sam pressed his lips together. "Yes, they do. We think, though, that we should take care of them since we're so close. They can't be up to anything good, right?"

Naomi stared at Dean, waiting for confirmation. Feeling as if he had somehow betrayed her, Dean gave a quick nod.

She met Sam's eyes. "Yeah, I suppose not."

Sam smiled wider. He rubbed her shoulders, then released her as he exited the room again. "Okay. Let's leave in 10."

Naomi nodded silently, her lips pressed together. Dean watched her silently dig through her suitcase and pull out some clothes to change into. She walked by without meeting his eyes. Before Dean could stop himself, he grabbed her arm before she escaped to the bathroom. Her puffy eyes met his and all what he could think to say was "Make it quick." He released her before walking out of the room again, leaving Naomi to watch him go.

The road trip was a silent one. Dean found himself checking his rearview mirror repeatedly, more to check on Naomi than the road behind him. Her eyes hadn't left her window since she crawled into the back of the Impala. Her face regained all of its color, but her eyes didn't glitter like they used to. He was about to address her when Sam said down to the map in his hands, his voice strong with adrenaline, "Take this road."

Dean turned onto the dirt road to their right and followed it, passing miles of cornfields. The sky rumbled above them and Dean gripped the steering wheel harder, the foreboding feeling churning in his stomach. After what felt like hours, a single house interrupted the green of the stalks. The old country home seemed too far-gone to be habitable, but as Sam checked the address he had written down and smiled, Dean knew it was where the demons were. Sam confirmed, "That's it."

Dean pulled into the patch of grass farthest from the house. As he stood out of the car, he stared up at the house. Other than the beat up truck parked by the house, there wasn't a single sign of life. Dean grit his teeth. We shouldn't be here.

Sam got out of the car and met his brother's eyes over it. "You all right, Dean?"

He glanced at the house again. "Let's just get this over with." He shut the door behind him a little harder than he meant to, unconsciously wincing apologetically towards his Baby. He absentmindedly patted the Impala as he walked to the trunk.

Sam helped Naomi out of the car and didn't let go of her hand as she trailed behind him. Dean noticed how Sam's eyes seemed to inspect her, weighing his hopes with his fears concerning her. Dean turned his attention back to the car.

Popping open the trunk, Dean began digging through the supplies, glancing up at the house all the while. Sam joined him as Naomi leaned closer, inspecting the collection inside. She breathed, "Is it okay if I get a gun too?"

Sam and Dean's eyes met. Dean continued to load his rock salt shotgun, knowing he and his brother shared the same thought. She shouldn't want a weapon. She's supposed to be our weapon.

Sam's face fell as he stared down at the gun he was holding. He handed it to her, not meeting her eyes. "Yeah. Here."

The two held the gun together for a moment before Sam released it. Naomi stared at him for a moment, then hefted the shotgun against her shoulder, aiming at a corn stalk a few feet from her. Dean could tell it wasn't her first time holding a gun. Any other time, he would have asked her about it, but he wanted to have this house in his rearview mirror as soon as possible. Questions would just have to wait.

She lowered it, then quietly said to Sam, "Thank you." He didn't respond.

After Dean and Sam felt adequately armed, with both guns and the demon knife, they snapped the trunk shut and started walking towards the door. Sam said over his shoulder to Naomi, "We'll go in first. You watch our backs. You know what to do if you see anything unfriendly." Dean saw Naomi nod hesitantly out of the corner of his eye.

The wooden stairs creaked under them as they made their way onto the porch. Dean motioned for Naomi to hug the wall. He and Sam nodded each other, then after both taking in a breath, kicked down the door.

Sam was the first to enter and was immediately met with an older man, dressed in a plaid shirt and overalls. After flashing his black eyes at Sam, the man roared as he swung a fist. Sam dodged it, then smacked the demon with the butt of his shotgun and pressed his boot into its neck. Dean skirted around Sam to clear the room up ahead. A woman with graying hair met him and smiled slyly at him. She said, "Well, well, well. If it isn't-" Dean cut her off by shooting her in the chest. The impact of the shot slammed her into the wall. He called out to Sam, "I got one in here!"

He kept his gun trained on his demon as he glanced at his brother. Sam had his knife against the man's throat. He hissed, "How many of you are there?"

The demon laughed, "We're the only ones here, Sam. We were just having a little fun with Old McDonald and his wife here."

Sam took his boot off the demon and roughly yanked him to his feet. "You don't mind if we check behind you, do you?" Sam's eyes found Dean's and Dean got the hint. He nodded and stomped up the steps. After a quick look, he found that the demon hadn't been lying. The house was otherwise empty. A crash and a cry downstairs spurred Dean to sprint to his brother's aid.

He found his brother in the living room, the demons' hands binding their hands together with some rope, their backs to each other. Sam had his gun trained on them both.

"Everything okay?"

Sam turned to his brother. "You know demons. They just don't shut up."

Dean snorted in agreement. "The house is clear."

The man rolled his eyes up at Sam. "Told ya."

Sam shouted, "All right, Naomi! Come in!"

Dean heard quiet footsteps grow closer and watched Naomi peek around the corner. The demons instantly flinched and growled, fighting the rope tied around their wrists.

Naomi stood straight and Dean noticed how thin and pale she seemed. This version of Naomi was the complete opposite of the Naomi he first met only days ago. She lowered her shotgun as she said, somewhat tiredly, "In Jesus' name, leave them!"

The woman started yelling, her eyes squeezed shut. The man huffed out, his black eyes glaring at Naomi, "This is it? We've heard so much about you and this is all you have to offer?"

Naomi glanced at Dean and scrunched her forehead in concentration as she reached a hand out towards them. She closed her eyes and yelled hoarsely, "In Jesus' name, leave them!"

The demon threw his head back as he screamed, which quickly turned into a laugh. He swiveled his head towards Sam. "This is your saving grace, Sam? It looks like your little divine gift is faulty." He turned towards Naomi. "Or maybe that's just you."

Naomi aimed her gun at him and spat, "What have you done to me?"

The demon smirked up at her. "You've done this all on your own, sweetheart.

Dean noticed her finger hover over the trigger. He waited for her to pull it. Instead, after a minute of silence, she tiredly lowered the gun. "This can't be happening."

The demon leaned forward as far as he could. "Better believe it." His eyebrows rose as he gasped, as if he had forgotten something. "Oh, I almost forgot. We were sent to give you a little gift of our own from some of your admirers from our neck of the woods." He wiggled his eyebrows. "You coming to us made delivering it that much easier."

It was Dean's turn to aim his gun at the demon. "What are you talking about?"

The demon took note of Dean's sudden rise, then smiled smugly at Naomi. "Feeling a little under the weather?"

Both Sam and Dean turned towards Naomi. Now that he got a closer look, Dean could see sweat shining on Naomi's forehead and upper lip. She leaned against the doorway, her eyes blinking heavily. The shotgun dropped to the floor.

Dean growled at the demon, "What did you do to her?"

The demon winked. "Just gave her a little something to remember us by. She has quite a reputation down in the fiery pit. Everyone wanted to pitch in and get her something really nice. We thought a strong bout of the flu would be just the thing."

Sam and Dean exchanged a glance. The demon smiled up coyly at them. "Sorry gentlemen, but we thought we'd just celebrate Naomi for today. Hate that you can't share it, but maybe next time."

Suddenly, Naomi collapsed onto the floor. Dean rushed to her and lifted her head. "Naomi? Naomi!" She didn't respond. After putting a hand to her forehead, he stared up at his brother and said, "She's burning up, Sammy.

Sam put the demon knife to the man's throat and snarled, "Take it back."

The demon smiled evilly up at Sam. "Can't. No take backs. Tell me, Sam. How does it feel to have your little savior non-operational?"

Sam growled, as he pressed the knife harder into the demon's throat, "Shut up."

The demon continued, "We both know you could get back on the wagon, suck us dry. You'd probably enjoy it too. All that power yours to do with as you please, feeling in control for once." He glanced at Dean holding Naomi, then back up at Sam. "That won't be enough though and you know it. If it was, you would have already gone happy hour on us."

Sam was silent. The demon relished it, leaning into the knife as he leaned closer to Sam. "Everything you've wanted is being taken away from you and all you can do is just sit back and watch. Must be tough to know that the world is going to end and it's all your-"

Sam silenced him by stabbing the demon between the ribs. Dean watched as the demon gasped as light emanated out of his mouth and the stab wound. Then, the light vanished and the man's body fell as he stopped breathing. Sam jabbed the blade again in his sternum as he yelled. The second demon laughed before Sam silenced it as well. He screamed as he threw the blade across the room and kicked over a rocking chair. He kept kicking it until the chair splintered. He fell onto his knees by its remains, breathing heavily.

Dean clutched Naomi, who was mumbling feverishly. He stared down at her, then at his brother. He would normally have gone to comfort Sam, but he could feel the sweat seeping through Naomi's clothes. "Sam, we need to get her out of here."

Sam sighed, then slowly stood. He retrieved the demon knife and said flatly as he passed Dean, "I'll drive."

Dean carried Naomi and held her in his lap as Sam drove back into town. Naomi was kicking her legs and throwing punches, but she was so weak that Dean hardly felt them make contact. He yelled, "Can you hurry up, please?"

Sam said coldly, "We can't take her to the hospital, Dean. Demons might be looking for us there."

Dean retorted hotly, "I think they've done enough damage already, Sam. What else is there left for them to do to her?"

Sam looked his brother in the eye. "You're the one who went to Hell. You tell me."

Dean stared at the road and tightened his jaw to keep his retort and his bile down. He didn't dare explore his knowledge on how creative demons could be. "Fine. Drop me off at the motel and go pick up some meds. She's not going to last much longer if we don't pump her up with something."

Sam's jaw was tight as he stared down the road. He said, through gritted teeth, "She's not the only one who isn't going to last much longer."

Dean stared at his brother. "Are we seriously going to do this now? She's dying, Sam!"

Sam smacked the steering wheel. "The world is going to die, Dean! She was our shot at saving everyone! Saving the world!"

Dean roared, "She isn't dead yet! And we aren't dead yet either! That means we keep fighting!"

Sam shook his head as he ran a hand through his hair. "I was right. She's lost her powers."

Dean was grasping at silver linings like he was to Naomi. "She still had some left in her. You saw her use it on them."

"It's not like how it was at the church. If she can't take down a couple of demons, how will she end the apocalypse?"

Dean sighed as he looked down at Naomi. Her face was now flushed, her cheeks bright red. He closed his eyes as he said evenly, "Let's just focus on keeping her safe, okay?"

Sam glanced at Naomi's now-limp body in Dean's arms. Dean noticed his brother's features soften for a moment before he looked back at the road. "Okay."