Chapter Ten:

Dean ignored his brother's staring, and leaned impatiently against the exam table, staring off into space. Something was off, and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He felt like bugs were crawling on his skin, and the fact that Deanna had disappeared somewhere early this morning, was starting to make him antsy.

"So, you really feel okay?" Sam asked. Again.

"I feel fine, Sam." Dean answered shortly. He was saved from another question when the cardiac doctor they'd come in to see that morning finally came back in the room, holding a file folder with the words D. Winchester written along the edge.

"Well," she said cheerfully. "According to all your tests, there's nothing wrong with your heart. No sign there ever was." Dean could feel Sam breath a sigh of relief next to him, and even with the feeling of wrongness he couldn't get away from, something deep inside him unclenched as well. "Not that a man your age should be having heart trouble, but still, it's strange it does happen."

Dean, who'd been watching Sam out of the corner of his eye, snapped his attention to the doctor. "What do you mean, strange?"

The woman shrugged. "Well, just yesterday, a young guy like you, twenty-seven...athletic. Out of nowhere, heart attack." She gave them a smile and then left the room.

Dean pulled on his jacket as Sam thanked the doctor. Something was seriously wrong. "That's odd." he mentioned casually to Sam, even as he could feel small tendrils of panic coil around in his belly.

"Maybe it's a coincidence." Sam said quickly, knowing exactly where Dean was going with this. "People's hearts give out all the time."

"No." Dean argued, turning to look at Sam square on. "They don't."

"Dean, do we really have to look this one in the mouth?" Sam asked, pleading with his brother to let this one go. "Why can't we just be thankful this guy saved your life and move on?"

"Because..." He sighed. This was not something he wanted to discuss with Sam, but he knew that if he didn't, then Sam would just stay after it. Like a friggin' dog with a bone. "Because I can't shake this feeling. That's why."

"What feeling?"

Dean shrugged. "When I was healed, I...I just felt wrong. I felt cold...and for a second, I saw someone. This, uh...this old man. And I'm telling you Sam, it was a spirit."

"But..." Sam licked his lips, and looked around, shuffling his feet. "...if there was something there, I think I would have seen it too. I mean, I've been seeing an awful lot of things lately."

Dean glanced up in irritation. "Well excuse me, psychic wonder. You're just gonna need a little faith on this one Sam. I've been hunting long enough to trust a feeling like this."

Sam nodded reluctantly. "Yeah. Alright. So...what do you want to do?"

"I want you to go check out heart attack guy." Dean said, feeling minutely better now that he had something to do instead of just sitting aimlessly and feeling...wrong. He turned to walk out the door. "I'm going to go talk to the reverend. And where the Hell is Deanna?"

"She took off early this morning. I don't know where." Sam said meekly from behind him.

Dean took a deep breath. "Okay. I'll find her. Go. I'll see you back at the motel."

Sam looked reluctant to leave his older brother, but at Dean's determined stare, he took off down the hallway. Dean pulled out his cell phone, and dialed.

"Hello?" she asked quietly.

"Where are you?" Dean asked, walking purposefully towards his car.

"At the motel. I take it Sam dragged you off to the doctor's."

"Yeah." Dean said. "And they poked at me, and prodded at me...all to tell me there's nothing wrong with my heart."

"That's great." Deanna said distractedly.

"Not great. You saw the old man too, didn't you." It wasn't a question.

Deanna sighed. "You know, subtlety is not your strong point." At Dean's silence, she continued. "Yeah, I saw him. He looked like a ghost but...if so, why didn't anyone else see him? Why not Sam?"

"I don't know. But get this. Sometime yesterday, a guy my age dropped dead of a heart attack...instead of me."

Stunned silence was his only answer before a shaky, "What?"

"Yeah." Dean swallowed around the lump in his throat, and pushed forward. "Stay where you are. I'm going to talk to the reverend. I'll pick you up."

"Yeah. Okay. I'll be ready."

Dean nodded and snapped the phone shut, peeling out of the parking lot and zipping down the road towards the motel. He wouldn't tell Deanna this...but he felt better going to see the reverend with her there, strong at his back.

O~O~O

Deanna was quiet the whole ride over, only answering direct questions Dean directed her way. Dean kept glancing over at her out of the corner of his eyes, but she just stared ahead, picking at her cuticles. It was something he'd noticed she did when she was nervous, or thinking about something.

They finally pulled up outside the reverend's house, and Dean marched up the steps. Deanna stayed on his heels, little more than a shadow.

Sue Ann answered the door, but she didn't look surprised to see him. "Dean! How nice to see you. Please, come in."

Dean walked in, and felt Deanna follow behind him. "Sue Ann, this is Deanna. My sister."

"Hello, Deanna." Sue Ann said pleasantly.

Dean listened as Deanna made quiet but polite small talk with Sue Ann, before he stepped forward. "I was wondering if your husband was home. I'd really like to talk to him."

Sue Ann smiled, "Of course. Come with me."

The twins followed Sue Ann into a bright sitting room. Roy was sitting in a chair, looking out a window. At what, Dean didn't know.

"Roy, dear." Sue Ann said, stomping loudly to announce her presence. "Dean and his sister Deanna are here to see you."

"Dean. Nice of you to stop by and see us." Roy offered a friendly smile in their general direction. "How are you feeling?"

Dean sat down on one of the couches. Deanna sat down next to him, sitting so close their knees were touching. "I feel great. Just, trying to you...you know. Make sense of what happened."

"A miracle is what happened." Sue Ann said happily, looking between the siblings. "Well, miracles come so often around Roy."

"When did they start?" Dean asked, looking over at Roy.

Roy smiled. "Woke up one morning, stone blind. Doctors figured out I had cancer. Told me I had maybe a month. So, we prayed for a miracle. Now, eventually I became so weak, but I told Sue Ann, 'You just keep praying.' I went into a coma. Doctors said I wouldn't wake up. But I did. And the cancer was gone." He took off his glasses to show them his useless eyes. "If it weren't for these eyes, no one would believe I'd ever had it."

"And suddenly you could heal people?" Dean asked, looking between Sue Ann and the reverend.

"I discovered it afterwards, yes." Roy smiled again. "God's blessed me in many ways."

"And his flock just swelled overnight!" Sue Ann chirped again. "And this is just the beginning!"

Dean felt Deanna stiffen next to him, and when he glanced over at her, he saw Deanna staring at Sue Ann with narrowed eyes.

He nudged her, getting her to relax, before he turned his attention back to Roy. "Can I ask you one last question?"

"Of course you can." Roy replied.

"Why? Why me? Out of all the sick people, why save me?"

Roy gave him a look that said he answered this question a lot. "Well, like I said before, the Lord guides me. I looked into your heart, and you just stood out from all the rest."

"What did you see?" Dean asked, honestly curious.

"A young man with an important purpose. A job to do. And it isn't finished."

Dean and Deanna shared a glance, before Dean stood up and shook the reverend's hand. The two stood as one to walk out the door, and were stopped when Roy spoke. "I was wondering...Deanna? Could I have a word with you?"

Deanna shared a surprise glance with Dean and then nodded. "Uh...sure."

There was silence for a moment, and Roy tilted his head to the side. "Alone. If you don't mind."

"Okay." she turned and nodded at Dean, who followed Sue Ann out of the room. He looked back at her curiously, and she shrugged. He waited until the front door shut, before speaking.

"I meant what I said, about Dean having an important purpose."

"Uh...okay." Deanna said, sitting back down on the couch. Roy followed her movements unnervingly.

Roy folded his hands in his lap. "But so do you, dear."

Deanna just blinked. "I don't understand."

Roy smiled at her. "As I said before, I'm stone cold blind. I can't see a thing. But you..." Roy trailed off and ran a hand over his mouth. "...you my dear shine so brightly, I can't help but see you."

"Excuse me? No disrespect Reverend, but that makes even less sense." Deanna pushed her hair out of her face and stared down the revered. "What are you talking about?"

"The Lord guides my hand, showing me who to heal. Those people appear to have...a sort of shining light in the darkness. It's soft, like a candle in a darkened room, and when I heal them, it flairs brightly for a moment, before disappearing. That's how I know they've been healed. You on the other hand..." he waved a hand in her general direction. "You shine even though you don't need healing. And your glow is so bright...if I had eyes, I would think it would be hard to look at you."

Deanna just stared at him incredulously. Missouri had told her that once. That she shone brightly for all the world to see. That was what drew children to her, Missouri had said. Honestly, Deanna had always been under the impression that she gave off a chocolate chip cookie flavored pheromone that attracted kids. She hadn't bought into Missouri's trailer park psychic act.

But now, Roy Le Grange, faith healer extraordinare was saying the same thing?

Deanna didn't believe in coincidences.

Roy leaned back in his chair and seemed to study her. "It's interesting, how a child such as yourself can shine so brightly, but yet have friends who thrive in the darkness."

Deanna looked up at him, knowing exactly who he was talking about. "It's interesting how a blind man can see so much." She countered.

Roy gave her a wry smile. "That is true."

Deanna stood up, and Roy stood with her. He held out his hand, and Deanna shook it immediately. "Well, thank you for the weirdness." She said, hoping her smile came through in her voice.

"Anytime." Roy said, returning her smile. Despite the coldness that she'd felt since laying eyes on Dean's 'spirit ghost, she found herself warming to the elderly man in front of her. She turned to walk away, and was almost to the door before Roy spoke behind her.

"Remember what I said, Miss Deanna. Your twin and younger brother have an important purpose still in this life, but so do you. There's going to come a day that they are going to be forced to stand against each other. When that time comes, they are going to need you to remind them what family means to you three. When that time comes, you are going to have to make difficult decisions in order to keep them safe. From the world...and from each other."

Deanna raised an eyebrow at him. "I never said Dean was my twin. I also never mentioned a younger brother."

Roy tilted his head. "It was you who pointed out I see more than I should. It just so happens that what I see, no one else does."

Deanna nodded. "Why are you telling me this?"

Roy shrugged. "No one deserves what is coming to you and your brothers. Least of all you three. But those are the cards destiny has dealt for you. I hope that with warning, you will be able to use those cards in a way that will cause the least amount of damage. To your family, and to the rest of the world. You're going to be the one that will have to protect them from the dark. I only hope your shining light will be able to keep the darkness from swallowing you whole."

Deanna stared at him for a moment longer before giving him a whispered thanks, and heading for the front porch.

Deanna opened the door in time to see Layla standing on the steps, looking at Dean with soft, sympathetic eyes, as her mother snarled words to her twin that made her want to rip the woman's head off.

"Why do you deserve to live more than my daughter?"

Fury washed over Deanna, and she walked up behind her shell shocked brother. She wasn't tall by any means, only measuring a little bit over five feet. However, while she didn't have Sam's imposing height, she more than made up for it in presence.

Deanna pushed past Sue Ann, who just stood there and watched the whole thing, and planted herself in front of Dean. "Lady, I don't know who you think you are, but I suggest you walk away from my brother. Now."

Layla's mother glared at her. "Why? He's going to live. He's going to live and my beautiful little girl is going to shrivel up and die. He's not even a believer. It isn't fair."

Deanna glared back. "Life isn't fair. And I'm truly sorry for your loss." she nodded at Layla. "Really, Layla. That's awful, and I'm sorry." Deanna returned her gaze to the woman in front of her. "But if you come near my brother again, and you try to tell him how little his life is worth, I will be forced to do something not entirely Christian. And I can be very creative when given the opportunity. Back off."

Mrs. Rourke's eyes widened considerably, before she grabbed Layla's arm and bustled down the porch stairs.

Deanna glared at her the whole way.

O~O~O

Deanna had calmed down considerably by the time Dean had driven them back to the motel. When they walked in the door, she felt her anger shift to concern when she saw Sam sitting at the lone desk, staring at his computer, looking upset.

Dean glanced at him, and frowned. He tossed his jacket on the bed and sat down.

Sam remained silent, and his gaze shifted nervously from Dean to Deanna, and then back again.

"What'd you find out?" Dean finally asked.

Sam's gaze skittered between his siblings one more time, before he looked down at the computer keys. "I'm sorry." he whispered.

"Sorry about what?" Dean asked, staring down his little brother.

Sam visibly gulped. "Marshall Hall. He died at...at 4:17 yesterday."

Deanna's heart almost stopped. She looked over at Dean, and saw his understanding as well.

"The exact time I was healed." Dean said softly, a look of stunned horror crossing his face.

Deanna knows the feeling. She'd known something was off, but this?

"Yeah." Sam agreed. He took a deep breath and then nodded, mostly to himself. "I put together a list of everyone Roy's healed. Six people over the last year, and I cross-checked them with the local obits. Each time someone was healed, someone else died. And each time, the victim died of the same symptom LeGrange was healing at the time."

"So someone's healed of cancer, someone dies of cancer?" Deanna asked, reaching for the stack of papers by Sam's arm.

"Somehow, LeGrange is trading one life for another." Sam said quietly.

"Wait. So Marshall Hall...he died to save me?" Dean asked, looking at Sam and Deanna. They looked at each other guiltily.

"Dean...the guy probably would have died anyway. And someone else would have been healed." It was the only argument Sam had, and the three of them knew it.

Deanna sat down on the chair next to Sam. "Oh God." she whispered.

Dean pointed at the two of them. "You never should have brought me here. Never."

"Dean..." Sam started. "I was just trying to save your life."

"We were just trying to save your life." Deanna corrected. No way was she letting Sam take all the blame. Not after it was her contact that had sent them there in the first place.

"But now, some guy is dead because of me." Dean said, louder than he intended. Deanna flinched and Dean couldn't bring himself to care.

"I didn't know." Sam insisted. "We didn't know."

"What I don't understand," Deanna began, suddenly standing up from her shell shocked position at Sam's side, "Is how he's doing it. How's he trading a life for a life?" She reached over for her jacket and began digging through her pockets.

"Oh he's not doing it." Dean said, pacing the room again. "Something else is doing it for him."

Even Deanna looked up at his tone. "What do you mean?" Sam asked cautiously.

"The old man I saw on stage." Dean said. He smiled wryly. "I didn't want to believe it, but deep down I knew."

"Knew what?" Deanna asked, standing up from her position by the bed, cell phone in hand. Her fingers began to play with the keys, though she never actually pressed any of them.

"There's only one thing that can give and take life like that." Dean said. He finally sat down on the edge of one of the beds, and threaded his fingers together between his knees. Sam and Deanna exchanged confused looks, and Dean sighed. "We're dealing with a reaper."

Deanna listened to her brothers talk through the reaper theory in muted shock.

A reaper?

Seriously?

Suddenly not being able to stay in the same room with them any more, Deanna walked out the front door. She stopped when she got to the Impala, and leaned against the hood. She noticed Dean looking at her from the window, and she gave him what she hoped to be a convincing smile. He frowned at her, but then turned back to Sam.

Deanna thumbed her phone open and dialed one of the few number's she'd ever bothered to memorize. It went straight to voice mail, and Deanna waited impatiently for the tone, letting her fury build.

"Damon, it's Deanna. Call me back. Now."

Author's Note: Thank you to all who are reading and sending reviews. I've become slightly addicted to the e-mails I get in my inbox that tell me someone has put this story on alert, or that someone has sent a review. So keep them coming. Also, if you feel so inclined, for those of you who leave anonymous reviews, if you send it directly to my e-mail, which is on my profile page, I will respond to them.

Thanks again. More to come soon. :)