Just as Sam was finally starting to let himself relax and adjust to Tree Hill, something set him off again. He knew Dean was going to lecture him about how he can never just be happy, so opted for not telling Dean right away; at least not until he was sure something was actually going on. So, Sam spent three days observing the town, before he went to Dean with what he found.

"I think Dad might have sent us here for a case after all, Dean." Sam said in a hushed tone while they were at dinner. "And before you call me paranoid, I've already done the research."

"Yeah?" Dean asked, raising his eyebrow before he bit into his burger once more and leaned back a little to listen to Sam. "Go on, let's hear it."

"I think there's a possession in town." Sam said, seriously. Dean looked at him for a minute, before he laughed a little.

"Sam, we've had this discussion. Dan Scott is not possessed, he's just an asshole. If we try to exorcise him again, he's going to call the police. He walked through the salt line without any trouble, and the holy water didn't burn him. Some people are just dicks." He insisted, and Sam rolled his eyes.

"Not Dan." He mumbled with a roll of his eyes, though he wasn't entirely sure that Dan wasn't actually a demon still. "Nathan." He said, swallowing hard and glancing at Haley and Lucas who were by the counter chatting quietly. "He's doing drugs to try to improve his game, and according to everyone in town, he would never do anything like that. I mean, he's already the best at basketball in this town, why start taking steroids now? And Haley said he's being an asshole lately, even to her."

"I'm going to need more proof than a basketball player taking steroids to believe that there's a possession here, Sam." Dean sighed, glancing over at Haley and Lucas before waving for Haley to come over. When she did, she gave him a bit of a forced smile.

"Do you boys need something?" She asked, trying to be polite. Dean shook his head and scooted into the booth for her to sit, before he turned to her.

"No, I just have a question. In our hotel room, we keep getting this… sulfery smell? We were wondering if it was happening anywhere else in town." He said, glancing at Sam as he waited for an answer, and Haley thought for a minute before she nodded.

"Yeah, uh, Nathan's house actually has that same problem. It's really bad in his room, too, I told him he should get it checked out and he told me not to worry about it." She said, and Dean looked up at Sam again. "Another customer needs me, I'll be back in a few for you guys." She said, pushing herself out of the booth and to the other customer, while Dean sighed.

"Alright, maybe you're right." Dean said, scratching the back of his neck.

"So what exactly do we do to get a demon out of Nathan without traumatizing the whole tow?" Sam asked, and Dean sighed again.

"Great question."

"….if you want to break up with me or something, that's fine, but don't make up some crazy excuse…." Brooke trailed off, her eyebrows furrowed as she sat on the edge of her bed, looking up at Dean like he was crazy.

Dean shook his head, reaching out to cover her hand with his own. "Hey, not trying to do that at all. I just… I need your help, and I have to tell you the truth to get your help. So. My dad and Sammy and me all hunt monsters, the kind everyone thinks aren't real. And I just want to protect you from this monster, Brooke." He said.

"By exorcising Nathan…" Brooke trailed off, giving Dean the same look without even the slightest shift in tone or disbelief.

"Yeah. We think he's being possessed, he's being terrible to everyone, he's taking performance enhancers, and other telltale signs of a possession." Dean said, softly, looking away from her for a minute before looking back up at her. "I know I sound crazy. I know. If you just… hear me out, and let us help, I think you'll see that I'm not…. I'm not crazy. This is what we do, Brooke."

Brooke stared at him for another moment before she shook her head and turned to walk away from him, bringing her hand up to hold her forehead. "You… God, you find possessed people and fix them? Isn't that what priests are for?"

"Well, sometimes, but we don't just stop at possessions." Dean answered, following after her. Brooke stopped and turned to him, confused.

"What does that mean?"

"We hunt things. Monsters. Demons. Ghosts. We get rid of things that hurt people." He said, looking up at her and maintaining eye contact with her, trying to get his point across.

Brooke looked at him for a few minutes before she sighed heavily. "How do I know that anything you're saying to me isn't a lie? How do I know that everything you've said to me isn't a lie?"

"Whoa, hey, I've never lied to you. I've stretched the truth and omitted things, but I've never lied. I'm telling you the truth. I'm trying to help you guys." He said, before he sighed and scratched the back of his neck. "Listen, let me and Sam do this, okay? If we're wrong, we'll skip town and you'll never have to see us again and you can tell everyone we're crazy or something. If we're right, we'll help you and your friends. All you have to do is help me, and keep our secret." Dean's phone started ringing, which meant Sam was signaling him that their window of opportunity to get Nathan was getting smaller. "Brooke, I need an answer now." He said as he answered his phone, but said nothing to Sam.

"I…. fine." She finally agreed. "But you bring him here, so I know you don't hurt him." She said, determined. Dean agreed to her terms, and gave Sam the go ahead to grab Nathan.

Twenty minutes later, Nathan was tied to a chair in Brooke's dining room. Brooke was sitting in the other room, watching from behind a not-fully-closed door to make sure they didn't hurt Nathan. She sighed heavily as she watched the boys interrogate Nathan, and just as she was about to stand up and put an end to it, Dean splashed something on Nathan that made his skin start to physically burn and smoke. That made her jump out of the room and grab Dean's arm. "What is that?! Why did it do that?!" She asked, grabbing the bottle off of Dean, concerned he was hurting Nathan.

"Broo, it's holy water, he'll be fine." He insisted, before he held his hand out towards her. "Pour some on my hand. It won't hurt me. Do it to yourself. It won't hurt you. It only hurts the demon who's possessing Nathan." He said, ignoring the way that the demon in Nathan cried for Brooke's help. She looked at Dean for a long minute before she poured a drop onto his hand and frowned when it didn't smoke. She poured a drop onto her own hand and turned to Nathan, pouring a drop on his arm, then watched it smoke and burn before her eyes widened.

"Fix him!" She cried, looking back at Dean, finally fully believing everything he had told her, despite what she had thought was impossible. Sam looked at Dean, who nodded, before he exorcised the demon while Brooke hid her face in Dean's chest. Nathan's whole body slumped forward, left unconscious from the physical exertion, and Brooke peeked out from Dean's hold to look at him. "Is he okay?"

"He will be." Dean whispered, before he pulled her closer and kissed her hair while Sam untied Nathan and carried him to the sofa to lay him down. "Everything's okay now, I've got you. I won't let anything happen to you." He whispered, closing his eyes and nuzzling into her hair while she gripped at his shirt tightly.

"Promise?" She asked, quietly, not moving from how close she was pressed to Dean. All along she had felt safe in his arms, but this was a new and impossibly safer feeling.

"Promise." He answered, just as quietly.