Sorry for the delay! I've been busy getting back into the swing of things at school and planning the future of this story! After this chapter, there will be three more in this story arc! Then I've got the second arc outlined already!

The Shake (Awful Feeling):

"Fuck!" She yelped, jerking away from him, "It's nothing."

Dean pawed at her, holding her still so he could look, "That's not nothing, Isabel. You're bleeding!" Dean stared at the wound, the skin cut into two arches. A bite. Not a vampire bite, he'd checked her neck the night before. It had happened since they'd gotten back to the motel. He hadn't done it, but that didn't mean that Sam hadn't, "Did he bite you?"

"Oh, relax!" Isabel whined, pulling her hair back over the bite on her neck, but her refusal to answer was all Dean needed to hear to know that Sam had bitten her hard enough to leave her neck raw and open possibly hours later.

"What's going on? Sam asked, coming out of the bathroom, towel slung low over his hips, he must have changed his mind about leaving the motel without taking a shower.

"Nothing!" Isabel yelled at him, glaring at Dean.

Dean grabbed her, pulling her hair off her neck, "This, Sam. Damnit! Did you try to chew through her neck?"

Isabel jerked away, "Dean, stop it! I'm fine! Not the first time!"

"I did that?" Sam said, voice higher than usual.

"You don't remember biting Isabel that hard?" Dean asked, aghast at them both.

Sam swayed a little, "I thought it was just a dream." He pulled in a sharp breath, "I thought they were all just dreams...nightmares."

Isabel grabbed his face, making him look at her, "Sam, you've been biting me since before we slept in the same bed together. For a while, I thought they were dreams too because there was never a mark there in the morning, but now, I know that's because of how quickly I heal."

Sam touched the wound on her neck, horrified at himself, "You aren't healing now."

"I am, just not my neck. I already checked. Sam, I am fine." She felt her face flush, "I don't mind. It doesn't hurt that bad."

"No, Isabel, you don't understand." Dean half growled, putting himself between them.

She looked at the expression on Sam's face, and dropped her defensiveness. She was obviously not on the same page that the brothers were. Usually she wasn't ever far enough behind them that she got totally lost, but now she was. Isabel sat back on the bed they'd been sharing just hours before. "Oh, come on. What? What am I missing?" The brothers started explaining everything then, and eventually Isabel just threw her hands up, "Okay, okay. I've got it. So Sam's got a major blood kink that's not really a kink, but an addiction. Just one problem. You said that he was addicted to demon blood. Last I checked, I was half angel, not demon."

Dean spluttered, but Sam responded, voice hollow, "Demons were created by Lucifer, your half brother, using his blood, so, technically, their blood is angel blood." He looked up at her, anguished, "I'm so sorry Isabel. I would never intentionally hurt you."

Isabel got closer to him despite Dean's uneasy expression, "No biggie. What I want to know is why. Why do you want my blood if Dean and Bobby supposedly detoxed you?"

"I don't know." Sam whispered when Isabel caught his eyes with hers.

"If demon blood made you stronger, mine certainly hasn't. Between the three of us I'm probably the one who could bench press the most at this point." Isabel said, studying his face for any sign that he wanted to bite her while she brushed some of his long hair out of his eyes, her wrist just inches from his mouth. "What are you dreaming about just before you bite me?"

"I don't know. If biting you hasn't been a dream, then I haven't really remembered any dreams since I woke up from Hell." Sam answered slowly, realizing the oddity for the first time. "That's not normal." He pulled away from Isabel, sitting down in the chair on the other side of the room.

Dean cursed, "Knew it was too fucking simple." He grabbed his jacket, "You two, stay here, and don't let him bite you again, Isabel. Tie him up if you have to, I'll be back." He wavered in the doorway, glancing down at Ion, "And you, he goes anywhere near her, bite him."

Ion stood and lumbered over to Isabel's side, glaring at Sam. Isabel gawked at her dog as Dean closed the door behind him, "Seriously, bud? Who knew you could get him to actually like you."

Six hours later, Isabel had made Sam move the chair so they could both see the TV, and the female was laying sprawled on her back on the bed, Ion's heavy head resting on her stomach. The dog had whined and nudged until he had gotten into, apparently, just the right spot, practically pinning her to the bed. She had to pee though, and forced the animal's head off of her, shutting the bathroom door in his face when he tried to nose in after her. "Knock it off!"

Ion whined in response, until she exited the bathroom.

"Jeez, relax, you big lug." She groaned, evading Ion when he tried to herd her back to the bed. "Hey, Sam?" She called, looking around for her keys.

"What, Isabel?" He asked, pulling his eyes away from the TV screen.

"I think I'm gonna go get food." She told him, shoving Ion's paws off her hip and grabbing her keys. "What do you want?"

"Not hungry." He responded.

Isabel shrugged, "Suit yourself. Gonna text Dean again too."

Sam's eyes were dark, "You really don't need to do that."

"Text Dean?" Isabel asked, frowning at him.

Sam nodded, "He'll be fine on his own."

That didn't sound like the Sam she knew at all. He would do anything for his brother, regardless of the cost to himself. She forced a pleasant smile, finally putting her knee up to keep Ion away as she shrugged through the door, hopping awkwardly in the doorway, "Okay, well I'll just go get food."

Sam yelled after her as she left, "Don't you dare contact him again!"

Naturally, she called Dean as soon as she got to the diner down the street, only to find him in the pizza place across the street with an old man she vaguely recognized but couldn't place. "Isabel!" Dean exclaimed when he saw her, standing and grabbing her from the doorway.

Isabel studied his face, "Dean, are you okay?"

He winced, holding her hand, "Long day." He gestured to the old man, "Uh...this is Death."

"Death?" Isabel echoed, totally confused.

"Yeah, Death, capital D. King of the Reapers, literal death." Dean rambled, guiding her to the chair he'd left.

"Um... I'm Isabel." She said, holding a hand out to him politely.

The old man looked her over, not taking her hand."Isabel Sophia Hastings, yes, I remember you. I came to reap you once, but your angel brother saved your life." He sniffed delicately, still ignoring her proffered hand. "Curious."

"What?" Isabel asked, more than a little worried by the look he was giving her, letting her hand fall to her lap.

"The angel Daniel missed a Hellhound. It was meant to be the face of your death, but just before you opened the door, he burst from his hiding place and slayed the beast." Death smiled slightly, and it was just enough for Isabel to know that she never wanted to see him truly smile.

"I was supposed to die?"

Death nodded, "I like to Reap nephilim myself. You are such an interesting breed."

"Um...thank you?" Isabel said awkwardly, glancing at Dean for help.

"The mixing of species has always been of interest to me. An odd past time considering my primary occupation, but you are interesting to study." Death muttered.

"Me, or my breed?" Isabel asked, scared to know the answer.

Death stared at her, a malicious smile on his face, the one Isabel had hoped to never see, "Both, little nephilim. You are an outstanding specimen of an interesting breed. Of course any creature who mingles with Winchesters is going to be outstanding. You are certainly no exception."

Fear rippled through Isabel, every instinct telling her to run. She forced herself to remain calm, looking to Dean, and asking pleasantly, "What have you two been talking about all this time?"

"He told me what's wrong with Sam." Dean told her. "Whoever pulled him from Hell didn't bring all of him. A part of his soul got left behind. Death is going to fix him."

Dean's face was so incredibly hopeful, but Isabel was wary, "So my blood was..."

"Keeping his soul from further deterioration and an eventual catastrophic implosion, yes little nephilim. Your healing properties were merely a bandaid though. Touch was enough at first, but once he got a taste for your blood he needed more and more to keep himself sane." Death gave her an odd smile, one that was somehow worse than the malicious one from before, "Things have changed, however. In a few hours your blood would no longer serve that purpose. It is a good thing you figured it out before he killed the both of you for getting in his way."

They went back to the motel, Isabel highly unsettled and clinging to Dean, who looked exhausted and refused to talk about it. "Holy shit." Dean exclaimed when the door opened.

Sam was sitting on the edge of the bed, and Ion was glaring at the door, his jaws locked onto Sam's upper thigh, blood pooled under them. Sam looked pissed though, not in pain. "Would you two get this thing off of me?"

From the looks of things, Sam had tried to follow Isabel, and Ion had done his best to stop him. Isabel spied a crunched up hunk of metal and a circle of red on Ion's fur, "Sam! Did you shoot my dog?" She didn't wait for a response, instead clicking her tongue at Ion to come to her, "Oh, my poor buddy. Did he hurt you? Oh, Momma's sorry." Ion buried his muzzle into her stomach when she sunk to her knees to hold him. Isabel kissed the top of his head, "Such a good boy."

Death regarded the giant dog fondly before approaching Sam, who was struggling against invisible bonds on the bed, "It is always nice to see a creature so devoted to it's mistress." He held the fragment of Sam's soul out, looking between the three of them, "I'll warn you, do not scratch at the wall surrounding your memories of Hell. You tried to leave them behind for a reason. Your little nephilim won't be able to save you from them."

Death pushed the rest of Sam's soul into his body, and he screamed in agony. Isabel pushed Ion aside to grab onto Sam, earning a small nod from Death.

Ring in hand, Death vanished, leaving Isabel to hold Sam close to her, running her fingers through his hair, "Hush, I've got you, Sam. You're okay. It's over." Dean sat next to her, and just put a hand on Sam's shoulder, knowing that would say more than any words he could say. Sam had been bitten all over, and, it appeared, at one point Ion had tripped him up and he'd opened his forearm up on the table next to the door. Isabel held his injured arm up as Sam whimpered in his unconscious state. She slid her left forefinger along the wound, and Dean watched, captivated, as the skin sealed shut.

"Wow." He said, sarcastically wondering where the hell she'd been all the times he'd gotten shot and sliced up.

Isabel smiled at him, but her eyebrows were creased in worry, just like his were, "Yeah, I may be healing weirdly right now, but at least I can heal everyone else just fine."

"He'll be okay." Dean said offhandedly. Honestly, he'd seen Sammy dead, so as long as the kid was breathing, he was gonna be okay. "How's your neck?"

Isabel shrugged, "Just fine. Couldn't tell anything had even happened after the third episode of Law & Order." She took his hand and kissed the back of it. "I'm really exhausted. Did you eat anything?"

"Uh, yeah, Death likes pizza. Want me to call something in?" He asked. They didn't usually call from their room for food, but Isabel looked as exhausted as he felt and he wasn't about to leave the two alone again until Sam had woken up and he'd tested him out.

She nodded, stretching out on the bed beside Sam as she whispered, "Yeah, thanks Dean." She curled into Sam's chest, and his pained expression eased a bit, "He's gonna be okay, right?"

Dean hesitated, halfway to picking up the room phone from where it had slid off the desk, "I honestly don't know, baby girl." He ordered a sandwich from the place Isabel had taken a liking to since they'd come to town, but when it arrived, she was fast asleep, curled protectively around Sam, her angel blade clutched in her fist, resting across Sam's chest.

He almost laughed. It was so odd, tiny blonde Isabel wrapped around Sam's huge body, like she would be able to protect him better than he could protect himself. Dean knew she was strong, and had shown reasonable fighting skill, but she was just too undisciplined. The vampire that had pinned her down could have killed her if they hadn't been able to get to her soon enough. Even with the drama about Sam's soul, they couldn't put off training her anymore.

He woke her up at dawn, dodging a sleepy swing of her blade and glaring, "Come on, get up."

Dean trained her for hours, only letting her have a break so they could go check on a still sleeping Sam. Isabel combed her fingers through Sam's hair, sweat dripping from her own hair onto Sam's face, "Dean, I need to stop."

"We can't. You've got to learn." Dean snapped.

Isabel glared up at him, "I have, Dean. I've learned this all before, I just have to remember. I'll be fine."

Dean practically growled at her, "Shit, Isabel, you can't just wing it. You were almost a midnight snack for that vamp the other night. And then Sammy..."

She cut him off, "I can protect myself. I know I can."

Dean frowned heavily, cupping her face in his hands, "Baby girl, you're not invincible. I'll worry as much as I want, and the only thing that will make me feel better is knowing that if Sam and I aren't around, you can get away from a bad situation unharmed. What's the first thing you do when someone is headed to attack you?"

Defeat found Isabel, and she said, rolling her eyes, "I run. As fast as I can the other direction."

"And if you can't outrun them?"

"I stab them with my angel blade or the nearest metal object."

He growled again, "Not funny, you need to work on getting that thing to come when you call."

"It doesn't work like that for me, Dean!" Isabel said for the hundredth time since dawn, "The blade just shows up when I need it."

"And that doesn't work!" Dean yelled at her.

Sam's voice echoed from the door, "Hey, guys, Bobby's been calling."

"Sam!" Isabel shrieked, flinging her arms around him, sending the large man stumbling a few steps back. She kissed his cheeks, looking him in the eyes as best she could while clinging to him, "How are you feeling?"

A smile ghosted over his face, and he pecked her lips with a closed mouth kiss, "Better, Izzy." He looked her over just as critically as she'd done to him, "Did I hurt you?"

"You shot my dog." Isabel answered instantly, raising her eyebrows, daring him to challenge her. He gave her a weak smile, but she took it, holding him tight, "No more leaving parts of your soul behind, okay? You get very cranky."

He laughed in spite of himself, "I'll try not to."

Dean watched from across the room as Isabel fit herself against Sam, head against his chest, arms wrapped around his waist, "You'd better."

Dean sighed, "Glad you're better, Sammy." The brother's exchanged appreciative smiles before Dean asked, "What's Bobby need?"

"Wants us to join him on the road to Sandusky, Ohio, says there's a trail of monsters heading right to there." Sam said roughly, relishing in the steady calming presence of Isabel, and feeling relieved that Dean didn't seem to be glaring at him.

"Must be my aunt. What kind of monsters?" Isabel asked, tipping her head up, her chin digging into his chest.

"Uh, a bit of everything." Sam said, pulling them inside the motel room, trying to ignore the blood streaked around the room. He showed the other two the pictures Bobby had managed to email to them and that he'd looked at to spend more time hiding inside.

"Fucking hell, that's nasty shit." Dean hissed, pulling away from the computer screen to put his stuff in his duffle, "Let's go, gang, before Bobby gets himself ganked."

"Gang?" Isabel repeated, smiling wildly at Sam. He smiled back at her instantly, chuckling. Isabel tucked some of his hair behind his ear, "Come on, Shaggy, you heard him." She hopped away from them both, towards the bathroom, swaying slightly once the door had shut behind her, a wave of dizziness coming over her and vanishing just as quickly as it had come. She shook it off, packing neatly, Ion hovering close beside until the four of them were tucked back into the Impala and on the road again.

"You say a mind is a terrible thing to waste
What good is mine if I'm locked up in a cage?
I was hoping you could help me out of here
So I could finally disappear

I'll throw my thoughts into the sea
Where no one will ever find

I can't seem to shake this awful feeling
You wore, you wore, you wore me out
And I can't seem to
I can't seem to shake this awful feeling
You wore, you wore, you wore me out
And I can't believe

And no I can't seem to shake
This awful feeling

So I'll throw my thoughts into the sea
Where no one will ever find
And your marvelous episodes of pain
Will very soon be mine"

The Shake (Awful Feeling)
By: My American Heart

Reviews welcome! Any guesses at what's going to happen are as well! Thanks for reading!

Up next: The Kahn Worm!

-Jenn