Dark Dreams

Author's Note: I do not own anything. All Characters belong Kripke. This takes place pre-series. Dean is 16, Sam is 12. When you see 'This' That is a characters inner thoughts. All that is "This" is the spirit. No the lore may not be correct but, this is my interpretation of it.

Chapter 10: Is it over?

Once they had reached the Motel they made for their rooms and got their gear together. "We need to end this, we are going to do this tonight. She has reached out to Dean again". John informed those who were not in the car. Bobby and Ellen now understood why John was so anxious about this part. "Look, I get that you are worried about this but, we have been on the road for hours. We could all do with some rest first. We rush in tired and stiff, we all become targets. No one can stop her then". Ellen had made a good point but, John still wanted to get there and burn her boys bones.

Dean and Sam were waiting by the car. "So you really scared her by using her name?" Sam asked. Dean shrugged his shoulders. "That's what it looked like. I mean one minute I'm in ghost dreamland then, I'm back in the car with you guys". "That doesn't make any sense though. Why would she fear her name?" Sam said as he thought out loud. "Well, sometimes knowing it's name gives them back their identity. Remember she has been dead since the late 1800's. By now she has forgotten who she was, saying her name gives her that back". Dean explained.

They were sitting in the diner, going over their plan for the evening. They had the name of her son and the cemetery he was buried in. Unfortunately they did not have an exact spot of burial though. The records were not completed but, it was better than nothing. They decided that they would fan out, they would stay close to each other just in case. John would have Dean next to him and Pastor Jim would have Sam. Dean was yawning through out the plan. He was trying to hide it for most of the time but, his exhaustion was getting to him. Sure after he slept for a bit he would feel better but then he would only feel worse a little while later. There was no getting around it, she was doing this to him and as soon as she was gone he could finally get some rest. John looked over at his son and placed his hand on Dean's arm. "You with us kiddo?". John was worried that Dean would be too mentally weak to block out her advances. Dean was also physically weak and that left him open for an attack. Dean could handle himself when he was perfectly fine or even slightly sick but now, he was really run down. "Yeah, I'm with you guys. Sorry". Dean apologized around another yawn. "Just let us know if you need to rest or if you aren't feeling up to this". John said as he gave his arm a squeeze. "I will dad, I promise".

They had started at the rear entrance of the cemetery, hoping to find the grave quicker that way. This was the original part of the cemetery before it was expanded. Finding the gate locked and no one else around they decided to climb the fence. They didn't want to leave any signs of trespass since this one was going to be longer than usual. John brought his hands together and bent his knees, Ellen placed her foot in his hands and on the count of three was lifted. She was able to reach the top of the fence and gripping it she climbed over and made her way down to the other side. Jim and Bobby were able to get over on their own and John assisted Sam over. "If you are having second thoughts on this tell me now. I'll wait with you and let them handle this" John offered. Dean silently walked closer to his father and placed his foot in his dad's hands and gave a nod. John smiled and helped lift his son. Dean could do this on his own but in his condition, he needed some assistance. Dean made it over the top and Jim and Bobby helped him down the other side. John hopped the fence and made sure they all had some sort of weapon and a flashlight. They started making their way into the cemetery searching for one grave in particular.

They were making their way through on good time, they wanted to keep the cover of darkness for as long as possible. John had Dean by his side and kept an extra set of eyes on him. Dean was starting to tire and slow down. He knew the kid was trying to hide it and trying not to ask for a break. Jim had Sam and they were right next to John and Dean. John didn't want either of his kids far from him. Ellen and Bobby took the outer most part of the line and kept an eye out for guards and checking graves. Dean started to sway slightly and leaned against a gravestone. "You ok?" John asked. Dean nodded and then added "I just need a moment". John nodded to the others to keep going, they would catch up. "Take as long as you need kiddo, don't push yourself" John said as he placed his hand on Dean's shoulder. All Dean could do at the moment was nod. He was exhausted, all he wanted to do was curl up and sleep for days. This exhaustion was bone deep and was only getting worse.

They had caught up after several minutes and were back to looking in their original formation. The others were also keeping an eye on Dean. He was looking worse and worse as they went. Dean had needed to take another break, as he stopped and leaned into a headstone and placed his hand upon it he was met with a flash of an image and pain. He saw a child, laying in their crib crying. Another flash and he saw the baby face down, it wasn't breathing. He couldn't breathe he felt this tightness in chest, it was preventing him from taking a breathe. John turned at the sound of his sons struggle to breathe. "Dean, breathe son" John yelled as Dean seemed to be staring at something only he could see. "Dean, you got to breathe kiddo. Take a deep breathe, try to relax". John said as he tried to stop his son from hyperventilating.

John pulled Dean's arm away from the grave and brought him closer to his body. Dean started to relax and seemed to snap out of his daze. "Dad? I saw him, I saw the kid. I felt, I felt him dying. I felt like, I couldn't breathe" Dean said as his breathing was returning to normal. Dean turned to look at the grave. The name had been chiseled off. Dean ran his hand over where the name was and felt the exact same sensations. "This is it, this is him" Dean said as he turned to look at the group. "My Son" was heard whispered into the night.

The others started to look around, trying to catch sight of her. "She's here, she's here for her son. She's here for me" Dean said. John turned to him, "she is not going to get you Dean, I won't let her" John grabbed his son's arm and kept a tight grip on him. "My Dean" was heard only by Dean. He turned to the sound of her voice. "Don't you hear her, can't you hear her?! She's calling to me, calling my name" Dean said as he began to try to pull out of John's grasp. "Dean there is nothing there. We don't hear anything Dean. She's not real" John said as he tightened his grip on Dean. "Mom? Mom! I'm coming mom" Dean yelled as he continued to hear her voice. It sounded just like his mothers voice now. "Dad, mom is calling out. I can hear her, we have to help her". It broke John's heart to see his son like this. He was desperate and emotional. John knew it was hurting Dean to think that his mother was in trouble, was calling to him for help. "It's not her kiddo, mom's gone remember. This is something else, someone else Dean. You got to fight her" John said as he brought Dean into a tight hug. This sudden strength from Dean had surprised John and he almost got away from him. Luckily it was starting to dwindle and so was Dean's consciousness. "Mommy" was Dean's last word before he lost consciousness completely.

They decided to dig up the grave that Dean had pointed out. John was sitting off to the side with Dean leaning against his chest and Sam sitting beside him. John kept his arms around Dean. His son was freezing and he wanted to make sure if he awoke with that strength again John would have the upper hand. When they finally reached the coffin Dean began to mumble and stir in his arms. They opened the casket and saw the remains of the child. "What I don't understand is that if this is her kid, why was his name removed from the headstone?" Ellen asked as the others poured the gasoline and salt on the remains. "We can always look into that later, right now let's just get this over with" Jim said as he took out his matches.

They heard a high pitched scream that made them all cover their ears. Dean was writhing in pain on the ground. The woman in black made her appearance known, she stood next to John and Dean. She placed her hand on Dean's shoulder and he stopped moving and she vanished. "You will not touch my son" Diana said. They turned to look for where she had gone and from where she was speaking. John looked down and saw Dean was no longer in front of him. Dean stood by the foot of the grave. "You will not touch my son" Diana said again from Dean. She was possessing Dean. "Get out of my son! You leave him alone!" John yelled as he made his way closer to his son. "If you hurt my son then, I will hurt yours" she said as she stood perfectly still. "You don't have that kind of power, you're only a ghost. You aren't even supposed to be here anymore. So you leave my son and we end this for you, we can give you peace" John offered as he made his way closer to the grave and his son. "You can not offer what you do not have. I do not want peace, I want my son. I want your son. My Dean" she said as she looked into the grave and the remains of her son. "He was taken from me to soon. He shouldn't have died that night. I should have been faster, a better mother. It is my fault he is gone, why his father left, why I never had another. Nothing could compare to him. To who he could have been, should have been. Now, I have found the perfect son. He will be my last. He is everything I wanted, everything I could ever want" Diana said as she smiled down at her son.

"He won't be your last, you will always keep looking for more. Keep looking for something better. It will never end" John said as tears fell from his eyes. Dean was everything he could ask or hope for in a son. Hell if he had half as good of men as Dean in his Unit in the Marines he would have felt so blessed. He couldn't lose his son now, he had to be better, he had to protect him. While John distracted her Jim made his way towards the casket. He lit a match and stuck it in the matchbook. He tossed the book into the grave and watched as it caught. The flames grew quickly and shot up high into the night.

Dean screamed as he could feel Diana separating herself from him. She was screaming to stay or to take Dean with her. With her last bit of strength she reached for Dean once more. The hand print on his chest burned as Diana burst into flames and turned to ash. Dean dropped to his knees as the print burned on his chest. He pulled his shirt away from the print and noticed that while it was burning it was also fading.

Dean awoke to the sound of the door closing. He looked around and noticed he was back in the motel. He sat up which, was a big mistake. The room took to turning in all sorts of directions making him dizzy and nauseous all at once. John sat next to his son on the bed "hey take it easy, you've had a rough couple of days" John said as he guided his son back down onto the bed. "Dad? What happened? How did we get here? We were in the cemetery and then… I can't remember" Dean rattled off as quick as he could since he was so confused. "Easy kiddo. We stopped her, you were right. She was attached to her son's remains. You found his grave and we had some bumps along the way but, we stopped her. You were pretty out of it so we got you into the car and brought you here to rest for a while" John stopped as he saw his sons face. "What?" John asked. "Did, did you have to carry me or did I walk out of there?" Dean asked. John smiled and chuckled. "Sorry kiddo, we carried you out". Dean pinched his eyes closed and turned away slightly. "Man, not even a little bit?" Dean asked hoping to retain some dignity. John shook his head no and Dean sighed again. "Get some rest kiddo, you did a great job on this hunt. You deserve it" John said as he made his way into the adjoining room at the motel.

Dean ended up sleeping through the morning and most of the afternoon. He woke early evening when his father decided Dean needed to eat as well. "Come on kiddo, we got to get you back in shape. So, you've had some sleep and now you need some food. Come on" John said as he helped Dean sit up and then to his feet. Dean swayed slightly and took a little longer to get to the other room. "So, any news on why the name was removed from the headstone?". Ellen asked Bobby and Sammy who were doing the research on it. They had been at it all morning and had finally gotten information. "Well, as it turns out, her son was the offspring of the town sheriff. He was married and had his own family. His wife did not know of his affair and the kid. Diana had given her son the sheriff's last name. He didn't know she had done that until he had seen the death certificate. Well then he heard from one of the men working on the headstone that his last name was on one of the stones and passed on his condolences. So he waited until the body was buried and then took a hammer and chisel to the stone. He never had it investigated and it went unsolved. Well Diana had confronted him for not looking into it and he confessed to doing it, that he never wanted that kid. So he erased him from existence. Well once that happened, she fell into a deep depression and slowly she faded until she passed away. A few weeks later, the first disappearance of children were noted". Sam explained as he read over the notes he and Bobby looked up. "Nice work Sammy". Dean said from the table. He was doing better and was slowly recovering.

That night everyone was able to get some rest. Dean's handprint was gone, no more visions or voices. They had finally gotten rid of her. John had seen a growth in Sammy that made him realize that he was going to be ready to start hunting. Dean had shown a growth in skill and management. John knew both boys would be the best back up he could ask for.

Dean was sleeping in his bed alone. Finally everyone felt safe enough to leave him alone and to not have someone next to him. Recently he had gotten used to hearing voices in his sleep. Part of him found it oddly comforting while, the hunter side found it more unnerving. So when Dean heard "My Dean-o" in his mother's voice he did feel comforted but then remembered that woman using his mother's voice to trick him. His instincts took over from there. There was no way she had survived that. He had seen her disintegrate after her son's bones were burned. He was going to go and get his father when he heard the voice again. "My Dean-o". Dean sat up a little straighter, 'Diana never called me that, only Dean. Mom used to…'. Dean looked around and felt a wave of comfort come over him. This time it wasn't a false sense either. He felt a cold touch on his shoulder, the love and comfort from it eased him back to sleep. He knew this one wasn't dangerous. "My Dean-o". Mary said to her son as he slept.