Alrighty... here we go, it's Dean vs. a possessed Manda. It's going to get intense here... and by the end you are either going to love it or hate it. I do hope you enjoy it.
Sending this one out to all of you lovely people who have commented, and have been loving the story! Thanks for all the encouraging words :) Hope this one is up to the standards you've been expecting...


Dean could only watch as Manda rose to her feet effortlessly. Beyond her, the body of the man the demon had come in lay immobile on the ground. He wasn't even sure if that guy was even alive, but at this point it didn't matter. His attention had to stay on Manda right now, waiting for whatever the demon in her was going to do. But his feet were unable to move at the moment, and his right hand gripped the knife tight enough to drain all the blood from his knuckles. How could you say killing it is the only way when that means killing you too?

The black that belonged to the demon took over in her eyes, making them empty and devoid of anything that resembled those of the girl he'd fallen for. The smile was demented, but strangely sweet. It just wanted to taunt and remind Dean of how it shared her body now.

As if it hadn't put Manda through enough already with the beating it had given her, it would now play marionette with her, making her body go through the motions, using her voice. But this wasn't her. His girl was in there, but she was nowhere near the surface.

It wasn't her standing before him. That's what Dean had to keep telling himself now, but who was he trying to kid? That simple lie wasn't going to make this easier. As long as it was in Manda's body that was enough reason not to kill it, to think fast on his feet and to find her a way out of this now. There had to be a way. He wasn't prepared to watch her die, or to be the one to kill her. Ending up with her blood on his hands just wasn't an option for him.

Her gaze went to the knife before going back to his face. "Please don't kill me, Dean," the demon in her pleaded in a mocking tone, and then flashed a playful grin at him.

Dean's jaw clenched tightly, the anger surged in him. It was using her smirk. The playful smirk Manda would toss at him when she was teasing or challenging him. All that it had gotten wrong was that it called him Dean instead of Winchester. That was how she would have done it, and it only reminded again that he wasn't about to talk to her. "Funny, you sound a hell of a lot like her, but I think it's you saying that instead of Manda."

"No, I'm pretty sure your girlfriend is the one screaming that right now. But then again, you can't hear the pathetic cries that I can." The grin on her face was dark as her eyes returned to normal. "Dean, please… don't you love me?" Her face took on a look of heartbreak and pain as she walked towards him. "Baby, please… don't do this to us… or to me," her voice broke with the plea.

The words had him frozen on the spot as his mind flashed back to this morning when he'd heard her speak similar ones, and how they had ended with three difficult words to say – I love you. Had that really only been this morning? It felt like longer than that to him with how much had happened since then. Now it was using her memories, twisting them for him, or maybe it had been linked to her mind all along. He wasn't sure, but it's not like it mattered at this point, all that mattered was saving her now.

Dean's fingers clutched even tighter around the knife. He ached to ram it into the demon, but as much as he wanted that, he just couldn't do it. Stabbing Manda was unimaginable, no matter if that was what she wanted. Why had she thought he could do this to her? Make it quick… end it if that's the only choice? Yeah right. I know you're suffering, but you know I can't do this to you, don't you?

"Cat's out of the bag for how it caught your tongue. And to think Manda longed to hear you say those three words just once. Such a heartbreaker you are, Dean. The girl sacrifices herself in order to save you, and you still can't tell her how you feel?" She stopped a few steps in front of him. "But that says a whole lot more about how you really feel, doesn't it? Looks like she gets to die knowing you didn't love her after all."

Dean felt the sting of regret dig deeper into him for not being able to tell her. While demon's lied, sometimes they told the truth, and this one was going to mess with his mind real good now by using things from Manda's against him. But she knew, he was sure that she knew he loved her too even if he hadn't said it. "You son of a bitch," he snarled.

"That's no way to talk to your girl, Dean." The laughter was wicked as she struck him with solid right hook to the face.

He ignored the punch he'd taken. The demon was just going to push him, edge him on to attack her. "You're not her," Dean spit out the words. He hated this, but he needed to keep it talking though, just long enough for Sam to show up. Sam. He'd been through this with Sam before when Meg had possessed him. There'd been no knife back then, and he did have his holy water flask in his pocket, the salt was still on the ground but out of reach. It wasn't much, but it was something, and he knew he just needed to find or create the opportunity to use both. Neither would hurt her, but they would hurt the demon in her at least. I'll get you out of this yet… all you gotta do is hang on in there, Manda.

"Manda knew you'd never get her out of this, Dean. That you'd fail her… Ever think about why she never wanted to ask you for more? She knew you'd only let her down, but the girl just couldn't help herself… falling for someone as tragic and sad as she is even while knowing that you'd never be able to give her what she wants… what she needs." She gave him a stiff blow to the stomach then, followed by another to the face.

Taking the hits, Dean felt he deserved them for failing to protect her. Hadn't he told her he would get her out of this? That he wouldn't let it get this far? How wrong he'd been there. And now he could only wonder how many mistakes they had made to get here, and what would be left when this was done.

The words were more painful than the punches though. The demon was raiding her mind for what it could use to taunt and push him, knowing how much some things would hurt to hear, and leaving him even more unable to do this now. It was probably confident he wouldn't attack her, and while that worked to his advantage, his own reluctance to hurt her cancelled it out.

Manda's body or not, Dean knew he'd have to fight back sooner or later if he wanted to fight to save her from this. He was going to have to hurt her. There wasn't much else in a way of a choice right now. Sorry, baby… you can kick my ass for this when this is all over, I'll let you throw as many hits at me as you want…

Staring at her battered face, he felt even worse about what he was about to do. "Maybe my girl gets a little bitchy towards me sometimes, but she's only cruel to demonic assholes like you," Dean uttered, and then threw a hard left hook to her face. He watched as she stumbled back, pocketed the knife, and reached for his holy water filled flask quickly.

"Smacking your bitch around? I didn't know you liked it so rough, Winchester." Her laughter was hard, evil, and nothing like the one Dean was used to. It was pure demon. "Was that satisfying? I did enjoy doing it to her myself." The black took over her eyes again, and then she kicked hard and high, her foot meeting Dean square in the ribs.

Dean groaned as he hit the wall behind him. He'd wondered how hard her kicks were before, but now he knew they didn't just look like they hurt, they damn well did. He realized he'd dropped the flask, and panicked for a second, but knew he needed to get it.

Having to fight her now would be even worse than having been forced to watch her getting her ass kicked before, and that was exactly what this demon wanted him to do. What a son of a bitch this was, and he wondered what the hell it was up to by making this happen. "Babe, I really don't want to do this… but there's not much choice," he whispered just before he threw her a few good punches. He kept them low, going for her stomach, and made sure none were hard enough to do much damage, but they managed to get her down. He grabbed the holy water without pausing and tossed a bit on her.

She groaned and recoiled as she sizzled. The stream rising off her cleared. "Manda's bawling her weak little eyes out, Dean. She always knew this is the real you, cold, heartless… You're doing fine job of killing your joke of a relationship… and her." Her hand shot up, and Dean flew into the wall.

It was hitting all the right buttons, going for what would hurt the most. But Manda had never thought of him that way, at least that's what Dean believed since she'd told him earlier that wasn't how or who he was. He couldn't doubt that, she'd said it, not like this which came from some demon inside her.

He was on the ground, and just starting to rise to his feet when she grabbed him by the collar keeping him down.

Manda punched him a few times. "She's barely hanging on in here, Dean. You should hear her screams… I don't even have to close my eyes to know it reminds me of hell. I'd almost swear you were carving her to bits and pieces on the rack."

"Get out of her you son of a bitch," he demanded in loud, cold tone. Then Dean threw more holy water on her. He got on his feet when she scampered backwards. He realized then the flask was empty now, and he didn't have much left to work with. The salt, the salt will hold her until Sam comes. He ran for it, and then found himself smacking the wall hard on his side. He reached for the knife as he hit the ground. The demon in Manda hadn't bothered to keep him pinned, and Dean shot to his feet as he heard her footsteps approaching him.

"Why don't you put that down, Dean? We both know you're not going to stab your girlfriend…" Her shrill laughter pierced the room with a wicked echo.

It was right. How could he stab her body knowing she was still in there? That'd be the last moment he'd ever have with her, and it wasn't one Dean wanted to share with her. How did it ever get to this point? It'd gone so far past what he'd wanted it to, so far past what he'd told her he wouldn't let it amount to.

Placing her hand on his wrist, Manda laughed as she took his hand with the knife in it and pressed the tip of it to her side. "Does this make it easier for you?"

Easier? What a bastard this was. Dean's face twitched from his fury. He put all his energy into keeping his hand still, because if he didn't, one wrong move would kill Manda. But the damn thing wasn't suicidal; it just knew he couldn't do this.

Her hand left his wrist. "Can't do it, Dean? Not strong enough to just finish me off even though she asked you for it. Manda's begging for it right now… begging you to kill me, to kill her, but you just can't you do it, can you?"

Stuck between a rock and a hard place like always, there wasn't much of a choice Dean could see here. He could either let it continue or he had to stop it. How much longer could he wait for Sam when he knew Manda was suffering through this? But watching it do this to her wasn't any better for him either. If the demon was going to kill him first, he wished it would do it already instead of just taunting him this way.

He stared at her. She was in there somewhere, and now she had to know how he sorry he was for the move he was about to make. "I'm sorry, Manda…" He slashed her quickly with the knife, making sure he didn't go too deep. He did want to kill her, but this was all he could do to get the demon to back off a bit, and to buy her a little more time.

The power the knife held caused the demon in her to flicker and spark a little, and in that moment Manda stumbled backwards. Her eyes lost the blackness, and she started to fall.

"Do it, Dean," Manda pleaded once she hit the ground. Her eyes glistened with tears. "It'll kill me anyway... you too, if you don't… just end it… please." Her voice broke with the heartbreak of knowing it had to be done, knowing what she was asking for now.

Dean didn't believe it, she was pleading for an end. The end of the demon, and the end of her, but he couldn't give it to her. Seeing her, hearing her, there was no way he could bring himself to do it. This just couldn't be the way that things ended, he wouldn't accept it. He wasn't going to stab her and watch her die, or hold a lifeless version of her one last time when this was done. There was no way in hell he was losing her to this when all she had to do was hold on a little more until Sam showed up. He knew Sam was coming, he had to be. "No… just hang on a little longer," he pleaded in return with her.

"I can't… hold it off… too weak to hold it for much longer…" Manda stammered with the words and her thoughts. She was trying to stay there, but the demon was too strong and she was too weak to keep fighting it off inside her. "Dean, please… kill it, regardless," she begged him in a whimper. She was losing this fight, the demon was rising to the surface now inside her.

"No, I-I can't… I love you," he blurted out. This wasn't the way she was supposed to hear it, but it had just come out. He just hadn't been able to hold it back, it had just rolled off his tongue and out from behind his lips.

Her eyes went black again. "Aw, Dean… you finally work up the guts to tell her and she's not around to hear it. Too bad that was your last chance," she said as she got up and her hands went for his neck.

Dean knew it then, this was a battle he was losing. It would kill him and then her before Sam and Chuch showed up. There was nothing left to do but the one thing he didn't want to do, something he'd never want to remember and would have to carry the pain and guilt around from until his own demise. He wasn't even sure he could do it, but this was the only choice now that he could see, and it tore him apart inside.

He punched her hard, grabbed on to her with his left hand and pulled her closer, and then pulled back his right arm to thrust the knife into her. "I'm sorry, baby… so sorry it came to this," Dean's voice broke as he whispered, hoping Manda could hear him. His throat tightened, and the tears burned as they rose from deep inside. His arm shook before it went forward, the knife so tight in his hand it was like it was a part of him.

"Dean, don't!" Sam shouted harshly as he ran closer. He and Chuch had arrived a few minutes ago and had hurried inside unsure of what they'd find. But whatever he had thought they would find hadn't been this. If it had come to this, he knew what it meant – Manda was possessed.

"Stop, Dean!" Chuch shrieked, not believing what she was seeing right now. The knife in Dean's hand was in Manda's side.

The tip of the knife had just pierced the surface of Manda's skin when Dean heard Sam, and it caused his hand to freeze where it was. If it had been anyone else doing this, the knife would have plunged further in, but all the years of training and his quick reflexes gave him the strength to stop instantly.

"Sam?" Dean's rough but shaky voice called out. The relief flooded in him, but he couldn't move, couldn't even flinch right now. The demon started to flicker and spark within her, and her body started to shake, so he quickly removed the knife from where it was. He slipped it into his pocket, and got a better hold on her since her body had gone fairly limp. Then the horror of the situation sank in. The realization set in that he had almost killed his girl, because if Sam had shown up a second later it would have been done. He had no idea how he'd even been about to do that to her, how he'd even thought for a moment that was the only choice left as his eyes remained locked on her face. "It's about goddamn time you got your ass here, Sammy."

"Holy shit," Chuch muttered quietly getting a better look. She took in the battered state of Manda, the partially beaten up state of Dean, and could only wonder what the hell had happened. Then she saw a body in the distance that confirmed the demon had in fact ambushed the two of them here.

"Dean… I've got it from here. You can let her go now," Sam assured his brother, already using his abilities to hold the demon within Manda still.

"You found something that'll work?" Dean asked. He hesitated at letting her go, and then took a few steps back, trusting his brother was using his powers on the demon within her.

Manda's eyes opened, they were black and cold. "It's too late for Manda, Dean… her meat suit is past its expiration date now. Thanks for helping with that." She laughed wickedly.

The words hit Dean, and he didn't want to believe them, they couldn't be true. She had to be alive still. "Sam, use your mojo to put that evil bastard back in the other body now," he demanded in a hard tone. "Then I'll end this by killing this son of a bitch for everything it's done."

"Dean, it's got to be in her to do this… we can't kill it, we have to send it back," Chuch spoke up. "Her dad's theory… we'll fill you in later, but the man always knew his stuff, trust me on that one," she added, seeing Dean's confused, but furious expression.

Sam nodded his head in agreement to assure Dean it was what they had to do.

The demon in Manda laughed. "Look where it got him… look where it gets his bitch of a daughter. Go on, Sammy, send me back… at least I go knowing the last of the Chambers line ends here… and right in the very spot where her parents went." Her smile was smug, satisfied, and completely cruel.

The irritation and anger were hard to contain, but Dean held it in. "She's not dying… but I'll kill you for this. Even if I have to storm through hell to find you, you rotten son of a bitch, you'll pay for this," his voice was harsh but chillingly collected as he growled the words out. "Sam, do it," he ordered. While he would've rather not have Sam use his abilities this way, if there was the slightest chance it would save her then it had to be done, and he hoped his girl would survive it.

Sam focused and started to pull the demon out of Manda. It gave him a little resistance but he was stronger, and soon it was doing what he wanted it to.

Chuch didn't stick around to watch, she dialled 911 on her cell phone and started running to her car.

The black smoke trailed into the ground, and Manda's body fell with it just as it finished disappearing.

Dean was at her side on his knees quickly, and then searching for her pulse. "Manda?" His heart skipped a beat when he found one. It was weak, but it was there.

"Is she alive?" Sam asked, dropping to her other side.

"Barely. We've got to get her out of here, Sam, get her to a hospital. It gave her one hell of a fight." Dean knew how horrible the beating had been, and he didn't even want to know what her back looked like right now. It was probably shredded for how awful her scream had been.

Chuch came back with blankets. She put aside her worry for a moment as she looked down at her friend, and then gave the blankets to Sam. "Use those for pressure on wherever she's bleeding from. Got an ambulance on the way… Dean, has she got any weapons on her?"

Dean nodded. "I'll get them. Go grab whatever she dropped on the ground. And check on that guy. See if he's still alive." His hands were already reaching for what weapons he knew she still had on her, and pocketing them.

Chuch set about the task quietly.

Sam had put pressure on the wounds he could see from where the blood stains on the front of her shirt were, and kept an eye on her breathing. His face was grim as he looked at the blood collecting under her back. She wasn't in good shape, but at least she was hanging on still. "We need to move her, Dean. She's losing more blood from her back than from where you…" he stopped, not wanting to remind his brother what he had done to her with the knife.

Dean's face held a grave look as he stroked her face softly just once. He didn't want to move her, but Sam was right, they had to get more pressure on her back. "Come on, Manda… you've gotten this far, keep fighting." He wasn't sure she would, but he just had to keep hoping she would.

Manda groaned. She was barely conscious, trying to come to, and finding it hard to manage that. Her mind felt like it had been ripped apart, and everything hurt. Every single part of her hurt, and then she heard that voice calling her. "De-Dean," she faintly called his name out as she came to. Her eyes opened with a struggle, one barely a slit now for how swollen it was.

"I'm here, Manda." He grabbed one of her hands gently, leaned in over her a little closer. He was glad she'd come to, just glad she was still here. He was horrified though. She looked awful, and he tried to conceal his emotions from her. "Hey… there's my girl."

"That was… a real… son of a bitch, huh?" She struggled to get out the words and barely managed a tiny grin to ease the worry she saw on his face, in his eyes. He couldn't mask it, not now, not from her.

Dean smirked. Leave it to her to say that at a time like now. "Babe… I've got to pick you up a bit, okay? Get some pressure on your back." He didn't wait for a response, and just put his hands and arms where they needed to go.

Sam went to help him, but backed off when Dean shook his head sternly at him.

She whimpered as he went to lift her. "It hurts, Dean…" Manda's whispered voice broke.

He stopped. Manda's bruised eyes had started brimming with tears, and the look on her face told Dean that everything hurt a hell of a lot for her right now. "I know it does, baby… but hang in there, you're doing good… just a little more all right?" He hoped that's all she would do – just hang on. Even if she passed out, as long as she kept breathing it didn't matter. Just that she kept fighting to stay here, and with him.

Chuch had picked up the weapons off the ground, and then had checked on the man that was lying there. She could only wonder what kind of fight had occured, because he was pretty beat up too, but he was in better shape than Manda and his pulse was strong even if he was unconscious. She rushed back over to the other three hunters, needing to know that Manda was pulling through. She wasn't ready to lose her friend now.

"It's okay… you're okay… that's all that matters, Dean…" Manda was trying to keep her eyes open, the tears stung though, and not just from the pain, but from the effort as well. But the pain was just too much to take. It was everywhere, coursing unbearably without relief. She was so weak, just too weak to fight it for much longer. Death had been nipping at her ankles, but was now creeping up her legs. She knew there wasn't much time left before it took her away.

"Hey… you're gonna be okay too." Dean lifted her up carefully and let Sam slip a blanket in behind her to help with the blood, but he didn't put her back down. He lifted her up a little further and cradled her close to him instead. He noticed how limp she felt already, and didn't even want to think that she was dying in his arms right now.

Sam didn't know what to do. There was nothing he could say, and nothing he could do at the moment. He looked from his brother to Chuch, who stood nearby bowing her head.

"Where's the friggin' ambulance?" Chuch asked no one in particular. She was finding it hard to keep her eyes clear, but she knew her friend was dying. She'd seen this look enough times to recognize it. The tears started to trickle down her face.

"I've got you," Dean whispered when a frail cry that was filled with pain escaped from Manda as he pressed his arm and hand harder against her back where her wounds were. "Just keep holding on, Manda… can you do that for me?" His voice cracked with pain, and he forced down the stinging wetness that was rising in his eyes as he looked down at her.

She had been beaten to a pulp, taken to the last inch or two of her life, and had probably lost too much blood, was still losing it. She was slipping away from life and from him even though she was in his arms. Don't you give up on me now... not after all this, Dean's mind screamed the thought as he kissed her forehead softly, knowing she needed the small comfort from him.

She wanted to, wanted so badly to hang on for his sake, but the fight in her was gone. The threatening darkness that was death was enclosing on her. It would stop the pain and the guilt if she just welcomed instead of struggling against it now. She smiled painfully sad, and felt the sting from fatter tears that rolled down her cheeks at knowing this was it. This was the last moment of consciousness, the last moment she'd ever have, one she was sharing with Dean. If her heart had the strength left to break, it would have then as she looked up at him.

"You tried… this wasn't your fault… I'm sorry, Dean," she barely whispered. Then Manda weakly began to raise her arm with a sudden need to touch him. "I love you," she mouthed more than whispered as her voice was so faint, so weak, it was barely heard by her own ears. Her hand had been about to touch his face, her fingers a mere inch away, and then her arm just fell to her side.

"I love you too," Dean whispered back, but realized it was too late. Her head had lolled to the side, rolling down and back from his shoulder to her own.

"M-Manda?" he choked a little on her name as his throat constricted with panic and worry. He turned her head back to him with one hand, searched for her pulse on her neck, but couldn't find it. She felt cold, and there was no movement from her now. Her shallow breathing had stopped, and her chest no longer rose and fell either. His eyes glistened with tears that were beginning to cloud his vision. "No! Don't you do this to me, baby, not now… don't you do this." He pulled her closer to him on instinct, rocking her a little in his fear over losing her.

The admission from Dean caused Sam's jaw to drop a little, because he never would have said it in front of them unless he wanted her to know before it was too late, but it had been too late, she had slipped away just as the words had started to come out. He placed a hand on his brother's arm. "Dean, put her down so we can do CPR on her until the paramedics get here."

Chuch turned, unable to watch. She'd seen her friend in bad shape after a few tough jobs, but never like this. Her tears flowed a little quicker, her sobs got a little harder, and she prayed Manda would pull through this even if it seemed beyond hopeless now.

Dean nodded and laid Manda back on the ground. He started trying to revive her right away, letting Sam help him. "Come on, Manda… stay with me." Fight like that stubborn girl I fell for would. You don't get to walk away like this… we're still in this together, so come on, babe… get back here so you can hear me say those words this time. The thoughts were running through his mind as he did chest compressions on her.

Turning back around, Chuch watched how hard Dean was trying to bring her friend back to life. Then she heard the sirens getting louder as they got closer, and ran to meet them.

Sam watched his brother while he helped work on Manda. He noticed the misting in his brother's eyes, and how he was fighting hard to save her. If she didn't make it, Dean would blame himself for this. He checked her for a pulse, but couldn't find it, and shook his head at his brother who was gazing at him with worried curiosity.

Manda appeared at Dean's side then, and stared down at her lifeless body. If she was here, and her body was there, she knew what this meant. She was caught on the line between life and death. She looked at Sam and felt the sadness take over her. Then she looked at Dean, watching him working intensely to save her, showing all his worry and his love for her, and she began to cry. But her tears were silent just like she was right now. She reached out to touch him, to let him know she was here, that it was okay, but her hand passed right through him.

Chuch rushed in followed by the paramedics.

"It doesn't end this way, Manda… you aren't letting this happen now, not after everything." Dean was rambling while trying to resuscitate her still, and wishing she would just come back to him. But he feared this was it, that Manda was already gone. Fearing now that when he'd finally gotten her gotten her to be at his side as his girl, he'd just lost her from it for good.

Sam got up to let a paramedic in to work on her, and then had to pull Dean away so the other one could help out.

It became a blur as Dean was reluctant to leave her side, but allowed Sam to drag him to his feet. He barely registered the grim look his brother gave him, or the way Chuch stood near crying softly. He shrugged out the hand Sam had on his shoulder and walked a couple steps away. He hardly heard the paramedics talking and how Sam answered what few questions he could for them.

He stopped at hearing how Manda was about to be shocked by a defibrillator in an attempt to start her heart again. Staring down at his feet, still forcing a flood of tears to stay in for now, Dean noticed something Chuch had missed.

Manda faded out then, not sure what was happening to her.

When Dean crouched down to pick up the chain with Manda's parents' wedding bands on it, he took a good look at his hands. He froze and stared down at her blood that covered them. The thoughts of how he had failed to protect her like he had wanted to, how he was losing the girl he loved, and how it should have never come to this were rushing through his mind.

He never should have brought her here to tempt fate, or to risk her life in the same spot she'd risked it herself years ago. It was a mistake, his as much as hers if he was honest about it. And if she died now, her blood was on his hands both literally and figuratively.

Dean grabbed the rings, stood up, and closed his eyes tight to stop the tears from falling, but two escaped anyway.

Gripping the rings he had agreed to take in case this had happened tightly in a fist, Dean turned to look bleakly at Sam who was embracing Chuch in a deep hug. Then he focused on Manda, his eyes swelled with tears, and then a few were spilling down his cheeks silently as the thought of how the rings might be all he had left of her now besides his memories hit him.

Reappearing in front of Dean, Manda saw the pain and sorrow on his face and in his eyes, the weight of guilt and regret on his shoulders, and she longed to hold him now. She wanted to throw her arms around him, and she tried to do it, but it failed to work. Her arms had passed right through him, and she was grasping at the air, and then stifling a sob. "Oh, Dean," the whisper left her lips painfully, her face twisting with sadness, the tears streaking her cheeks.

Dean gripped the rings harder for a comfort he knew she would have sought out at a time like this if they were still around her neck as he heard one of the paramedics.

"Still nothing, stopping compressions… go again."

"I tried... I tried to stay with you… and I want so badly to stay with you, baby, but I fear it's time for me to go now… I love you so much, Dean… more than you'll probably ever know." She smiled heartbreakingly as she reached out to caress his face with pure determination, but disappeared just as she was about to find out if it worked this time.

Dean watched as they shocked her again, trying in a last effort to get his girl's heart beating as the gentle, silent tears continued to stream down his face, and in that moment he felt the brush of something on his cheek, almost like a light touch of fingers grazing his skin for a brief second. He gasped, knowing it was possible, knowing that touch had felt just like hers. In barely a whisper, so low under his breath, his voice echoed his thought, "Don't you leave me like this, Manda… not without knowing that I love you too."


Are you a bit teary-eyed? If you are - sorry! I'll admit it - I got a little choked up while writing the sadder parts, and if I didn't, then I know I shouldn't be writing if I can't feel something for the characters - whether they be my own ones (Manda, Chuch) or just giving my twist to the ones that aren't mine (those wonderful Winchesters boys) - while writing this story I've invested so much time (wow, it's been months since I started writing this one) into.
So, there you have it... how it played out. Now, before you start getting angry with me, I need to remind you, it is up in the air at the moment. I felt I had to end it with the wonder... will she live or die? You will have to wait to see (and yes I'm cruel for doing it, I know!) but this is where I wanted to take it, and why I tangled them together so much.
Poor Dean... Poor Manda... what a chapter, what a way to destroy them.
Now maybe Dean wouldn't have been able to stab her, or maybe he would have stopped himself anyway if the sudden arrival of Sam and Chuch hadn't happened, but I liked it going this way. And he got out those three words! WOW! Did you like that or what?? It's about time he said it though, but then the poor girl didn't even get to hear it. (Again, I know - so cruel!) Sort of like the way her spirit disappeared just before knowing if she touched him. (Oh the heartbreak! Manda being caught in between worlds there, and I was almost going to go without that part, but I figured it was better to go that route.)

Anyway, I do hope you liked it. And that everything worked out well as in the theory, timing, and wording. It was a struggle to write, and I hope that everything makes sense in the end... that my ideas weren't too crazy, and that I haven't ruined the story by making it go this way.
I'll try to get up the next part quickly... the true fate of Manda will be revealed there... and I know a bunch of you are hoping she makes it!
Thanks for reading, and as per usual - comment if you wish! Always interested to know what you guys think! :)