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(minus Ghostfacers), 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 NRFTW. Let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Author's Note #2 – I've been working on this story for a while now, and I like to think I update it pretty frequently. This is going to be chapter eleven, probably the longest story I've done. I don't want to bug anyone, but I'd really appreciate some reviews, just so I can get a feel of how everyone thinks I'm doing and what you guys think of the story. I hope you guys are enjoying it. (:

You're appealing to emotions that I simply do not have

Chapter Eleven

"What's up?" Dean asked as he and Apple watched Sam walk through the motel door.

"That girl, Lanie? Her mom's ghost spooked her pretty bad last night," Sam told the pair.

"That sucks," Dean replied.

Apple quirked a brow at Dean's distracted tone. She sat up slightly on her elbows as she looked at Dean. All the time her and Dean had been in the room, she hadn't once asked him what he was doing.

"Yeah, it does. Sorry Sam. Dean, what're you doing?" She finally asked.

"I think dad's right. I think the demon is here." Dean said as he stood to his feet, he looked at Apple then focused on Sam. He handed Sam a piece of paper. Apple stood to her feet as well and walked toward Sam. She stood beside him and looked at the piece of paper in his hands.

"Weather reports?" She asked.

"Omens, demonic omens, electrical storms. Wherever we've been for the past two weeks."

"I don't remember any lightning storms." Sam said.

"Well I don't remember you studying meteorology as a kid, either." Dean snapped. "Now I'm telling you, this bastard's been tailing me, wearing some poor dude's meat."

"And it's following you because...?" Sam asked, his eyebrow raised.

"I guess I'm big game. My ass is too sweet to let out of sight." Dean grinned as he said this. Apple couldn't help but just smile, Dean was adorable, in all his stubborn, pig-headed ways. She'd never admit that out loud though, he'd probably kill her.

"Okay sure," Sam said, clearly he didn't believe Dean.

"Well don't get too excited Sammy. Might pull something."

"Dean, look man, I want to believe this, I really do," Sam began.

"Then believe it!" He interrupted. "If we get this sucker, it's miller time."

Apple rolled her eyes at the reference. She sat back down on the bed and watched the exchange. There seemed to be so much tangible tension between the brothers lately, Apple hated it; so much. There wasn't anything she could do about it though, she just had to sit back and watch, and occasionally referee. She sat Indian style on the bed, and continued to watch the argument. Truthfully, she didn't know what to believe. Apple mentally shrugged as she shook herself back to the present.

"That's another thing, dad rattles off an exorcism that can kill a demon – not just send it back to hell, kill it?" Sam said incredulously.

"I checked it out. This is heavy-duty dark ages. Fifteenth century." Dean said, as he showed Apple and Sam the stuff he had pulled up about the ritual.

"Yeah I checked on it too, Dean. So did Bobby, and even Apple." As Sam said this, Apple couldn't help but duck her head and pick up the nearest book to her. She really didn't want to be pulled into this. "It definitely is an exorcism but there's just no evidence it can kill a demon."

"No evidence it can't." Dean quickly shot back. "Look as far as I know, the only one of us that's been to hell, is Dad. Think maybe he picked up a couple of tricks down there, like which exorcisms work?"

"Maybe it does," Sam said. "But we just gotta be sure."

"Why aren't we sure?" Dean asked irritably.

"Because we don't know what's going on around here, Dean." Apple said softly. "I mean, a guy blows his brains out, a little girl is scared out of her wits..."

"Wow, a couple of civvies are freaked out by some ghosts! Newsflash, Apple, people are supposed to be freaked out by ghosts." Dean yelled.

Apple sighed as she looked away from Dean and over at Sam. "Did your dad tell you where to find the demon?" She asked, her face tried to hide the pain Dean had caused her from the way he yelled at her. He'd never raised his voice to her, she swallowed the shock and pain down. She knew she had more important things to do then cry in a corner over what had just happened. Not that she would cry over that, she just wouldn't allow that.

"I'm waiting on the call," he said. Dean waved the phone in front of Apple and Sam's faces.

"I told Lanie I'd stop by." Sam said as he turned away.

Dean was pissed. Apple could feel the anger as is it radiated off of him. She bit her lip as she waited. "You're unbelievable!" Dean cried. "We've been trying for months to break this demon deal and now dad's about to give us the friggin address and you can't accept it?" He yelled. "The man's dead and you're still butting heads with the guy."

"That is not what this is about!" Sam said.

"Then what is it?"

"The fact is, we've got no hard proof here, Dean! After everything, you're still just going on blind faith!" Sam yelled back. It seemed as if his resolve was at the edge. He really wanted to just break but he knew he had to be strong and figure out what was going, he had to. Not just for them, but for Lanie, and the other people in town as well.

"Yeah, well maybe that's all I got, okay?" Dean argued back.

"Please, just don't go anywhere until I get back, okay Dean? Please," Sam said.

Apple watched as Dean sat down on the bed, disgruntled and annoyed. His hand was clenched tightly around his phone. She sighed as she tried to make a quick decision between being with Dean, and going with Sam. Finally, she stood up and grabbed her jacket, she patted Dean's knee and smiled slightly.

"Call me if you need anything." She voiced before she followed Sam out of the door. "Where are we going?"

Sam looked surprised that Apple had slid into passenger's seat of his rental car. He had figured she would have stayed with Dean. "Uh, to see Lanie."

- - - - -

"Have you told your father about any of this?" Apple asked as she and Sam sat at the kitchen table of the house Lanie lived in.

"And bother him at work? No," she replied. "He wouldn't believe me anyway, he'd just chuck me into therapy." Sam and Apple exchanged a look before they turned to listen to the girl once more. "My mother wanted to see me, so I went to the cemetery. Nothing happened. So then she started telling me to do other things."

"What things?" Sam asked.

"Bad things."

- - - -

As the grownups talked, Lanie's little brother sat in front of a small table in his room. He drove his toy cars around on the flat service. He plopped himself down beside his toy phone and tilted his head to the side as it rang. He couldn't remember having heard his phone ring before. His little shoulders shrugged as he answered the phone.

"Hey mommy," he said quietly. "I wanna see you. Where are you?"

- - - - -

Dean sat at the table in the motel room. He stared at the phone before him on the table. His mind wandered to the conversation he had had with Apple and Sam. He almost felt bad for having yelled at Apple, but his adrenaline had kicked in from the fight with Sammy and he barely noticed at the time.

Now, as he sat alone, he suddenly missed the brunette girl. He almost wished she were there to talk to him, calm him down like she'd done multiple times before. But she had left him alone, and opted to go with Sam. It was weird being alone in the motel room, he could almost picture Apple as she laid on the their bed and smiled over at him. He smiled at the image in his head. Ugh, he had started to get on his own nerves. Sappy crap and all.

His eyes roamed over the phone once more. He tapped his fingers impatiently as he waited for it to... ring. He picked up the phone and slid it open. "Dad?" he said.

"Dean," John answered.

"Where's the demon?" Dean asked.

- - - - -

"Lanie please, tell us what happened. It's very important." Sam said.

"Mom told me to go to dad's medicine cabinet. And take dad's sleeping pills. Take all of his sleeping pills!" She said as she cried. Apple reached over and wrapped a comforting arm around the girls shoulders.

"She wanted you to kill yourself?" Apple asked gently. Lanie nodded her head.

"Why would my mom want me to do that?"

"I don't know." Sam said quietly as he exchanged a sympathetic look with Apple.

"I mean, just so I could come to her?" Lanie went on.

"What did you say?"

"She wanted me to come to her," Lanie repeated.

"No, no, no, like how did she say it?" Sam asked, his mind raced as he waited for the young girl's answer.

"Come to me. Like a million times!"

"Lanie, that's not your mother." Sam said suddenly.

- - - - -

Dean surveyed the house his dad had sent him, he double checked the address before he pulled into the driveway. He looked at the house for a second before he took a breath to steady himself. Dean knew Sam had told him wait, but since when had Dean ever listened to his younger brother?

He opened the door to the Impala and slid out of the driver's seat. He unlocked the trunk and grabbed his bag.

- - - - -

"Listen to me, don't answer the phone, don't use the computer, don't do anything unless we say to, alright?" Sam ordered. "Lanie!" he said, as he noticed she hadn't paid him any attention.

"Where's Simon?" She asked.

Apple and Sam looked at each other as they began to search the room. Apple separated from him and went to check the ground level of the house.

- - - - -

Dean skillfully picked the lock on the front door on the house like had done on multiple occasions. He carefully pushed the door open and looked around before he quietly entered the two story house.

He made his way into the living room before he heard a creak on the stairs. "Hello?" he called out. He didn't hear anything in reply so he continued to the living room, ready to carry out his plan.

- - - -

Simon wasn't sure where he was headed to. He just remembered his mom had told him to try to get to the cemetery. When he had asked about his sister, his mom had told him Lanie would meet him there later on. Simon shrugged his little shoulders as he made his way down the stairs and out of the house.

The boy knew he wasn't allowed to leave the house without his daddy, or Lanie, he wasn't allowed to cross the street by himself. He knew all that. But his mama had told him it was alright this time, that she watched over him the whole time.

His feet carried him to a busy intersection. He barely took note of the traffic, his one tracked mind was just interested in being able to see his mom again. He took a step off the curb.

(chapter title: it's hard to say 'I do' when I don't – fall out boy)