Summary - What if Sam wasn't the only one who was around Dean the last three months before his deal was up? What if there was someone else? This story follows Sam, Dean, and Apple my original character as they try to get Dean out of his deal; though Apple doesn't exactly know about Dean's deal until it's almost too late. What happens if they can't save him? Is Dean really gone forever?

Author's Note - This follows the last six episodes of season three, I just added my own character into the mix and a few more things. I don't own any of the characters or the episodes, just Apple and the plot following the last episode. Let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome. I'd also appreciate reviews, or anything just so I know how I'm doing with this. My first SPN fanfic, so yeah, I'd like to know what you guys think.

Like a virgin
Chapter Seven

The men left in the police station loaded their guns as they tried to call for help. No one could seem to get a line. What the hell was going on? A sort of panic filled the building. How could all forms of communication just be shut off like that? It'd never happened to them before and they weren't sure what to do now, they couldn't get a word out for help.

"The internet, my cell, it's all dead. How can it all be dead?" Nancy asked just as the lights went out.

"Well that can't be good," Dean called from the cell he was currently shared with Apple and Sam.

"Oh my God." Nancy said.

"It's alright. We're leaving right now." The sheriff said to her as he put his hand lightly on her shoulder.

"Nobody's going anywhere!" Hendrickson yelled. "Everybody just calm down."

"My men are out there."

"I understand that, but if we go out there, we're going to be killed too. They're out there, and they're coming in here! This is a siege!" Hendrickson said calmly as he looked at the people in the room. "Now, go lock the windows, bar the doors, and act like trained professionals with some sense." He ordered.

Hendrickson watched as the sheriff left with his last man to do as they were told. "You okay?" He asked Nancy as he turned to face her.

Nancy looked at him for a moment before she nodded her head 'yes', then changed her mind and shook her head 'no'.

"I shouldn't think so. Nancy, right?" he said. "I'm gonna get you through this, you got my word. You got that?" He watched as Nancy nodded once more.

- - - - -

Apple continued to try to care for Dean's shoulder. She felt him wince beneath her ministrations. "Don't be such a wuss."

"What's the plan?" Hendrickson asked as he made his way into the holding cell area. The trio turned to look at him. "Kill everyone in the station and bust you three out?"

"What the hell're you talking about?" Dean asked in disbelief. The guy seriously couldn't think they were behind this?

"I'm talking about your psycho friends, I'm talking about a bad blood bath."

"Okay, I promise you. Whoever's out there? Is not here to help us." Dean said.

"You gotta believe us. Everyone here is in terrible danger." Apple pleaded. She feared for the lives of everyone in the building.

"Ya think?"

"Why don't you let us out of here so we can save your asses?" Dean asked from his position next to Apple.

"From what? You gonna say demons? Don't you dare say demons." Hendrickson said as he held up his gun. "Lemme tell you something. You should be a lot more scared of me," he finished before he walked away from the cell.

"How's the shoulder?" Apple asked as she noticed Dean wince. She lifted up the cloth and looked at the wound.

"It's awesome." He replied. "I'll live. You know, if we get out of here alive. So, either of you two have a plan?"

Apple checked the back of Dean's shoulder before she shook her head 'no'. She didn't know what to do. She turned to look at Sam. "He's still bleeding, it's slowed down some, but if he loses too much more it won't be good."

"Hey, please, please, we need your help." Sam called to Nancy who he had just noticed in the doorway. "It's Nancy, right? My brother's been shot, he's bleeding really bad. You think you could get us a towel? Please, just one clean towel? Look – look at us, we're no the bad guys. I swear."

They watched as Nancy disappeared. Apple sighed, as she applied a little more pressure on Dean's wound.

"Nice try." Dean said, but fell silent as Nancy appeared, a clean towel in hand. She stepped forward and put her hand through the bars. She thrusted the towel out toward Sam.

"Thank you." Sam smiled.

He suddenly grabbed her and pulled her against the bars of the cell. She screamed and tried to pull away. A deputy was down in the holding area in no time at all, gun pointed at Sam.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Dean said as Sam let the young woman go.

"You okay, Nance?" The deputy asked. After she nodded her head, he turned back to Sam. "Try something again, and get shot. And not in the arm."

"Okay," Sam complied.

"What the hell was that?" Dean asked voiced raised as he whacked Sam on the arm as the deputy and Nancy left. He raised an eyebrow as Sam held up the rosary beads he had stolen off of the woman.

- - - - -

Apple continued to sit beside Dean, her hand rested on his shoulder with the towel under it. She hummed quietly to herself as she looked over his wound. He was going to need more work done on it as soon as they found a way out of this place, but for now the bleeding had nearly stopped.

"We're like sitting ducks in here," Sam said darkly, the words pierced the veil of silence that had fallen over them, minus Apple's quiet hum.

"Yeah I know. Would it kill these cops to bring us a snack?" Dean yelled and Apple couldn't help but chuckle.

"Is that all you ever think about Dean? Food?" Apple questioned as she checked his wound once more. She knew she was too worried about his wound, and she knew he could probably put up with much more than just a gun shot wound. But still, she was worried about him, memories of Brower County always plagued her and she jutst couldn't help but obsess over any wounds he might have gained. She didn't care if Dean didn't like it, she was going to take care of him whether he liked it not. Even if he didn't like being fussed over, he never told her 'no' or made her stop.

"You bet, Apple-pie. Oh, that sounds good. I want apple pie now." He pouted for a second before he looked up at Sam. "How many do you think are out there?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. They could possess anyone and just walk right in." Sam answered. He sat down on the ground beside Dean's feet. Sam's brown eyes looked up and watched as Apple gently cared for Dean. She was good with that, if either of the boys was wounded, she was at their side happy to patch them up. It seemed weird to Sam that Dean was alright with the way Apple would sometimes fussed over him and his wounds. Dean usually didn't like when anyone did that, he claimed he could take care of himself. Dean never seemed to put up a fight with Apple.

"It's kinda wild, right?" Dean asked. "I mean, it's like they're coming right for us. They've never done that before. It's like we got a contract on us." Dean smiled at Apple before his green eyes turned back to Sam. "You think it's 'cause we're awesome? I think it's cause we're so awesome."

"I kinda like Dean's idea Sam. I mean, about our being awesome." She agreed, as she smiled back at Dean.

Just as they finished their conversation, the sheriff walked in and opened the cell door. "It's time to go, guys."

"Uhhhh, you know what, I think we're just comfy right here. But thank you." Dean said, as he protectively pulled Apple and Sam away from the open cell door.

"What do you think you're doing?" Hendrickson asked as he walked into the room.

"I'm not gonna sit around here and wait to die, we're gonna make a run for it." The sheriff informed Hendrickson.

"It's safer here." Hendrickson said.

"There's a S. W. A. T. facility in Boulder."

"We're not going anywhere." Hendrickson said firmly.

"The hell we're not!" The sheriff said before a gun shot echoed throughout the room.

Apple watched in shock as Hendrickson stood over the sheriff's body, gun still poised over him. Dean tapped Apple lightly, and she snapped out of it. She took the towel lightly away from Dean's shoulder. Dean and Sam grabbed Hendrickson and shoved his head into the toilet water, which Sam had smartly turned into holy water before hand. Sam began to recite an exorcism but was interrupted by the demon possessed Hendrickson.

"It's too late." He said, his eyes now black as coal. "I already called them. They're already coming."

Sam quickly finished the exorcism. The boys dropped Hendrickson's body to the ground. They heard a quiet yelp, and turned to look at Nancy.

"Is he dead?" She asked in a quiet voice.

Hendrickson sat up suddenly and started to cough. "Is that you in there?" Sam asked as Hendrickson stared at him.

"I shot the sheriff..." he said.

"But you didn't shoot the deputy." Apple smacked Dean lightly on his good shoulder.

"A few moments ago I was fine... and then..."

"Let me guess, some nasty black smoke jammed itself down your throat?" Dean suggested.

"You were possessed." Apple said carefully.

"Possessed like... possessed," Hendrickson said.

"That's what it feels like. Now you know," Sam explained.

"I owe you the biggest I-told-you-so-ever," Dean joked as he handed Hendrickson his gun. He gave Apple an innocent kind of smile as she, in return, gave him a stern look.

Hendrickson grabbed the keys and let the two boys and one girl go. "Alright. So how do we survive?" He asked.

- - - - -

Apple turned her attention away from Dean for a second and watched as Sam sprayed symbols onto the floor with red spray paint. She turned back to Dean and continued to stitch up his wound. The pair looked at the men who had brought in all the guns they owned.

"That's nice, but it's not gonna do any good." Dean said.

"We've got an arsenal here," the deputy informed him.

"You don't poke a bear with a BB gun." Dean said. "It's just gonna make them mad."

"What do you need?" Hendrickson asked.

"Salt," Dean answered. "Lots and lots of salt."

"Salt," the deputy repeated.

"What, is there an echo in here?" He asked sarcastically.

"There's road salt in the store room." Nancy suggested from her desk.

"Perfect," Dean said. "Perfect – we need salt at every window and every door." The men left and Dean turned his attention back to Apple. She smiled at him softly. "How are you doing?"

"I'm alright. I've never dealt with something this huge before, so it's kind of overwhelming for me. But I think I'm handling it alright. You okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks for patching me up. You're pretty good with a needle and thread." Dean said, as he grinned slightly.

"Anytime Dean. Just call me the registered nurse of the group."

"Hot."

"Dean." Apple said, her tone mock-stern; she just received yet another grin. She looked away from him and toward Nancy, she felt bad for the innocent woman. "How are you doing, Nancy?"

"I'm okay. When I was little, I used to come home from church, and talk about the devil... my parents would tell me to stop being so literal. I guess I showed them, huh?"

Apple smiled at her. "You're doing really good, Nancy. Just hang on and the three of us will get you out of here."

The two men came back into the room. They dropped the bags of salt on the ground. "Where's my car?" Dean asked.

"In the impound out back," the deputy replied. "Wait – you're not going out there."

"Yeah, I gotta get something out of my trunk."

- - - - -

Apple followed closely behind Dean as they ran outside to the impound. They entered through the gate and their eyes immediately fell on the Impala. Apple stood as a lookout as Dean stuffed weapons into his duffel bag.

"Dean, we gotta hurry up. Look." Apple whispered as she motioned for him to turn around. They watched as the lights at a gas station across the way flickered and black smoke came around the corner. Tons of black smoke approached them and Apple nearly panicked as it drew closer. Dean threw the rest of his stuff into the duffel bag and grabbed Apple's arm as they sped back to the building.

- - - - -

"They're coming." Dean yelled as he and Apple entered the building.

Sam finished the symbols on the floor as Nancy put the last of the salt at the windows. A demon suddenly appeared in the window. Nancy screamed as she looked into the cold, black eyes. In seconds, the whole building was surrounded by black smoke. Everyone stood still, waiting, then there was nothing; the smoke

had completely disappeared.

"Everybody okay?" Sam asked as he looked.

Dean plunged his hand into his bag and pulled out a few small charms. He handed one to Hendrickson, the deputy and Nancy. "What about you three?" Hendrickson asked.

Apple, and the rest of the small group watched as the boys pulled down the collars of their shirts and revealed the devil's trap tattoos on their chests. She then lowered her the right side of her jeans down slightly, she also revealed a devil's trap tattoo on her hip bone.

Apple remembered seeing Dean and Sam's tattoos a week after having stayed with them, she was surprised to learn that was another thing they had in common. She remembered having told them she had been possessed by a demon when she was nineteen. After it had been exercised, a family friend gave her the idea of getting the devil's trap tattooed somewhere as a form of protection against a possession ever happening to her again. Apple had never been more grateful for the advice.

"Smart. How long have you had those?" Hendrickson asked.

"Not long enough." Sam replied.

- - - - -

Not much time had passed when Nancy peered out the window, she looked at all the people who stood outside. She recognized a friend of hers, but Sam immediately informed her that it wasn't her friend anymore.

"Is that where the black smoke went?" Nancy asked as she looked over her shoulder at Sam.

"Looks like it," he replied.

The deputy followed Nancy's lead and looked out the window. Without his realization, his arm brushed away some of the salt on the window. A small gap in the salt line remained unnoticed.

- - - - -

"Shotgun shells full of salt," Hendrickson said, as he and Dean loaded the guns.

"Whatever works," he replied.

"Fighting off monsters with condiments..." Hendrickson muttered. "So. It turns out demons are real."

"FYI, so are ghosts." Dean said before he popped another shell into one of the guns. "And werewolves. And vampires. Changelings. Evil clowns that eat people."

Hendrickson nodded his head. "Okay then."

"If it makes you feel better, Bigfoot's a hoax." Dean smiled.

"It doesn't." The agent said with a slight frown. "How many demons?"

"Total? No clue. A lot."

"You know what my job is?"

"You mean besides locking up the good guys? No, I have no idea."

"It's boring. It's frustrating. You work three years for one break, and then maybe can save... a few people. Maybe. It's all been a waste. I'm here because of that." Hendrickson paused for a second before he continued on. "So what's out there? Can you guys beat it? Can you win?"

"Honestly?" Dean replied. "I think the world's gonna end bloody. But does that mean we shouldn't fight? We do have choices. I choose to go down swinging." He finished.

"Plus you've got nothing to go home to but your brother." Hendrickson added.

Dean thought for a moment. That was true, he had nothing left but Sammy, then the brunette girl that seemed to fit in so perfectly with them came into his mind. He had her to come home to too, even if it wasn't in a way he might have wanted. He had her and Sammy to protect, to come home to, to fight with, to fight for. He shook his head as he turned back to Hendrickson. "Yeah. What about you? You rocking the white picket fence?"

"No. Empty apartment, string of angry ex-wives... I'm right where you are," he said, then laughed quietly.

"Imagine that," Dean said.

- - - - -

Glass shattered in the next room and both men were up and in the room within seconds. "How do we kill her?" Hendrickson asked as he stared at the blond woman before them.

"We don't." Sam said. "She's here to help us."

Ruby. Apple had heard Sam speak often of her, a demon who was out to help them. It was a weird concept and she assumed she'd have to see her help them out in person to actually believe the story, even though she did trust Sam and Dean with her life. Even Dean had mentioned her once or twice, but she had seemed to be there more for Sam than anything.

"You gonna let me out?" She asked Sam. He scratched a little bit of the paint and the symbol was broken. "And they say chivalry's dead. Does anyone have a breath mint? Some guts splattered in my mouth when I was fighting my way in here."

Apple brushed the salt back into its place on the window before she caught up with Ruby, Sam, and Dean in the next room. "How many are out there?" She heard Dean ask.

"Thirty at least. So far," Ruby replied.

"Oh good. Thirty," Dean started. "Thirty hit-man all gunning for us. Who sent them?"

Ruby looked over at Sam. "You didn't tell Dean?" Dean looked up, surprised by her question. "I'm surprised."

"Tell me what?" Dean asked.

"There's a big new up and comer. A real pied-piper."

"Who is he?"

"Not he. Her," Ruby replied. "Her name's Lillith. And she really, really wants Sam's intestines on a stick. Guess she sees him as competition."

"You knew about this?" Dean waited for an answer from Sam, but he had gone strangely mute. "Well jeez Sam, is there anything else I should know?" He asked.

Ruby turned to Apple, "And you, they don't like you much either."

"What'd I do?" She asked, confused.

"You're helping them out. It's that simple. They don't like you because you're helping the Winchesters. I'd be careful if I were you." Ruby warned. "And as for you two, how about you talk about this later," she paused in thought. "We'll need the Colt."

The boys looked looked rather awkward, Sam shoved his hands into his pockets, as Dean ran a hand through his close-cropped hair. Apple simply stood in her place as she waited for either of them to tell Ruby where the Colt had been stolen.

"Where's the Colt?" Ruby asked.

"It got stolen," Sam finally said.

"I'm sorry, I must have blood in my ear. I thought I heard you say you let the Colt get stolen out of your think, clumsy, idiotic hands," Ruby snarled. "Fantastic. This is just peachy..."

"Ruby..." Sam began but was quickly cut off.

"Shut up," she said as she held her hand up. "Fine," she continued. "Seeing as we don't have another option, there's one other way that I know of to get you out of here alive."

"What's that?" Apple asked.

"I know a spell. It'll vaporize every demon in a one-mile radius. Myself included," she told them. "You let the Colt out of your sight, and now I have to die. So next time, be more careful. How's that for a dying wish?"

"Okay. So what do we do?" Dean asked.

"Aww. You can't do anything. This spell is very specific. It calls for a person of virtue." Ruby replied.

"I got virtue." He countered.

"Nice try. You're not a virgin." Ruby said as she rolled her eyes.

"What?"

"Nobody's a virgin."

They looked around the room for a moment. All four of their eyes landed on Nancy. Apple shook her head 'no'. No way was she about to let Nancy give up her life for them, no way in hell.

"No." Apple said. "I won't let Nancy do it. I'll take her place."

"No. No way, you're kidding me, right?"

"What? It's a choice, okay?" Apple defended. She didn't exactly want them all to know she was a virgin, but she'd just never made time for boys. Sure, she'd kissed and made out here and there, but sex? No. She wanted it to be special, and that was just the choice she had made. She didn't give a rat's ass if no one liked it, it was her body, her choice.

"So you've never... not even once? Wow," Dean said. He shook his head in disbelief. Though, a very small part of the Dean no one really saw, thought she was brave for holding onto the one thing that couldn't be taken back.

"So this spell. What do I do?" Apple asked as she bit her lip.

"You can hold still – while I cut your heart out of your chest," Ruby supplied as she approached her.

"What?" Apple gaped.

"What?" Dean asked. He definitely did not want Apple to die, there was no way he was going to allow for this to happen.

"I'm offering a solution." Ruby said.

"You're offering to kill somebody!" Dean argued.

"What do you think is gonna happen to her once the demons get in?" Ruby asked.

"We're gonna protect her, that's what," Hendrickson added.

"Would everybody please shut up?" Nancy yelled over all the commotion.

Everyone turned to look at the woman, what did she want?

"All those people out there. Will it save them?" She asked.

"It'll blow the demons out of their bodies. So if their bodies are okay, yeah," Ruby replied.

Everyone watched Nancy as she seemed to think this over. "I'll do it."

"No!" Apple, Dean, and Hendrickson said at once.

"I want to help my friends who are out there."

"We don't sacrifice people." Hendrickson said. "We do that, we're no better than them."

"We don't have a choice." Ruby argued. She was about ready to just throw her hands up and walk out.

"Yeah, well your choice is not a choice."

"Sam. You know I'm right," Ruby said as she looked at him. Everyone turned to look at Sam.

"Sam?" Dean questioned. "What the hell is going on? Sam, tell her!" Sam stood still and stayed quiet.

"It's my decision," Nancy piped up once more.

"Damn straight, cherry pie."

"Stop! Stop!" Dean yelled. "Nobody's killing virgins. Neither Nancy or Apple. Sam, Apple, we need to talk."

- - - - -

"Please tell me you're not actually considering this," Dean said once he had gotten Sam and Apple into a room alone so they could discuss this whole thing. "We're talking about holding down a girl and cutting out her heart."

"Would you have let Ruby do that to me?" Apple asked. "I mean, I volunteered for the job. You can't let Ruby kill that poor girl."

"You know I wouldn't have let her hurt you Apple. We're talking about thirty people out there, though. Innocent people. Who are all going to die, along with everyone in here," Sam argued.

"That doesn't mean we throw away the rule book and stop acting like humans!" Dean said, desperate to get Sam to understand. "I'm not going to let that demon kill some nice, sweet, innocent girl who hasn't even been laid! I mean if that's how you win wars, then I don't wanna win." He looked over at Apple and gave her a small smile, she shrugged her shoulders and waited for Sam's response.

"Then what? What do we do, Dean?"

"I got a plan," The oldest Winchester said. "I'm not saying it's a good one, I'm not even saying it'll work. But it's sure as hell beats killing a virgin."

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Apple asked.

"Open the doors. Let 'em all in, and we fight."

AN: Chapter title – Like A Virgin-Madonna