The next morning found them on the road to Nebraska, going to see Sam's faith healer. Mae wasn't sure why she wanted to come with them, why she felt the need, but she knew it was right. It was a dreary looking day. From the moment they left the motel it rained.

The rain kept up until they reached their destination. By then, the rain had trailed off into a fine misting drizzle. The dirt parking lot, however, was a muddy mess. Proof positive that Dean was not feeling himself could be seen in the fact that Sam drove all the way over and he hadn't issued any sort of complaint about what the mud would do to the paint job. Her stomach tightened as they neared the tent. Dean was not going to like this. As if thinking the same thing, Sam caught her eyes in the rear-view mirror. She saw the same raw edge in his expression and tried to give him a reassuring smile.

The sign read The Church of Roy Le Grange. Faith Healer. The sign could have been bigger, but it was obvious enough to Dean when he paused getting out of the car. Mae watched for a moment before getting out herself. Even feeling as poorly as he was, he might have been inclined to bolt on them. Sam rounded the front of the car while she made her way around the back. He tried to help his brother out of the car but once again, Dean shrugged out of his grasp. "Ah, I got it."

Mae hid the very slight upturn of her lips at the action, the characteristic tone that belonged to a healthy Dean.

"Man, you're a lying bastard." He said to his brother, "thought you said we were going to see a doctor."

"I believe I said a specialist. Look Dean, this guy's supposed to be the real deal."

"I can't believe you brought me here to see some guy who heals people out of a tent."

A woman passing by with an umbrella remarked that the reverend was a great man. "Yeah, that's nice." Dean replied angrily.

"And you!" He turned accusingly towards Mae, "You weren't even gonna let me in on this little secret?"

Mae shrugged as they walked past an officer from the Sheriff's department and an angry protester. "Well, that would have taken the fun out of this lovely day, wouldn't it?"

Dean narrowed his eyes at her and her sarcasm for a minute before looking back at the man being escorted away from the 'Church of Roy Le Grange'. "I take it he's not part of the flock."

"Well, when people see something they can't explain, there's controversy."

"But c'mon Sam! A faith healer?"

"Maybe it's time to have a little faith Dean."

"You know what I got faith in? Reality! Known what's really goin' on."

"How can you be a skeptic," Sam asked disbelievingly, "with the things we see every day?"

"Exactly! We see them, we know they're real."

"But if you know evil's out there, how can you not believe that good's out there too?"

"Because I've seen what evil does to good people."

Mae shifted, a big uncomfortable with where the boys' conversation had led. To be honest, she didn't want to be at this sort of thing any more than did Dean did. But Sam was convinced enough for both of them, maybe all three of them. It was worth a shot.

A young woman with ashy blonde spoke up, having over heard the brothers' back and forth. "Maybe God works in mysterious ways."

"Maybe he does." The words dripped with that raw sex appeal that was laced in Dean's swagger, "I think you just turned me around on the subject."

Sam scoffed, turning away from his brother's overt flirting and looked back at Mae, his expression turned to one of apology. Mae only shrugged and rolled her eyes, trying to keep that needless pang of jealousy from reading on her face.

"Yeah, sure." The pretty woman laughed a bit.

"I'm Dean. This is Sam and… Mae." The pause was odd, but Mae still offered a small smile and shook the woman's hand after she told them her name was Layla.

"So, if you're not a believer, then why are you here?" She asked.

"Well apparently my brother here believes enough for the both of us."

Sam laughed a little, but Mae's eyes went wide. He couldn't possibly be reading her thoughts but damn, it was eerie when they thought alike.

An older woman approached the Layla, Mae suspected it was her mother. People didn't come to these things just for kicks so one of them must have been sick, bringing the other along for their healing. "C'mon Layla, it's about to start."

"Bye." She said as she walked into the tent.

"Well, I betcha she can work in some mysterious ways."

Sam shook his head in disbelief while once again Mae rolled her eyes. Some things about Dean would never change. Inside the tent the air was thick with incense and the dull tinkling of a church organ flooded softly over the voices of people milling about and finding their seats. "Yeah peace, love and trust all over." Dean said eyeing the cameras in the corners.

Mae glanced over her shoulder at the very overt security camera. "They're out in the open about it."

"That makes it so much better Mae."

"The sign said faith healer, not "I trust you bunches"."

Dean frowned back at the woman. At least Mae was supposed to be on his side. She wasn't supposed to be the idealist of the group. They found their way down the aisle to some seats, but Sam insisted on sitting up front. Dean sat on the end of the row leaving Sam and Mae on the inside. Dean was clearly uncomfortable as the reverend began his sermon, telling them about the power of God and how it was Him doing the real work. How God helped Reverend Le Grange see into the hearts of men.

"Yeah that or their wallets." Dean said in an aside to his brother.

It wasn't a quiet as he thought because Roy Le Grange said, "You think so, young man?" with a hint of a smile.

Dean froze, hot faced and fumbling for the right words. "Sorry," was all he said.

"No, no, don't be. Just watch what ya say around a blind man, we got real sharp ears.

He smirked and Mae found herself liking the man a little more even if she didn't totally believe him. She thought Dean found himself thinking the same thing.

"What's your name son?" The preacher asked.

The hunter cleared his throat before answering. "Dean."

Roy nodded, as if he was mulling the name over and having an unseen conversation all at once, "I wancha to come up here with me." He said beckoning him forward.

The crowd clapped and cheered even as Dean waived it off. "Nah, it's okay."

"What are you doing?" Sam asked, unsure why his brother would give up this chance.

Mae wasn't sure which side of this was the right side of be on, but she couldn't deny that she truly hoped Dean would go up and a miracle would happen.

"You've come here to be healed, haven't you?"

"Well yeah but uh… maybe you should just pick someone else."

The crowd still cheered him on, ready to see a miracle even if it wasn't their own. "I didn't pick you Dean, the lord did."

That probably made him more uncomfortable Mae thought than being here in the first place, judging by the expression on his face.

"Get up there!" Sam ordered his brother. He, for one, wasn't going to let Dean miss this opportunity.

The young man didn't resist this time. Maybe it was for Sam, maybe it was because of the cheering crowd or maybe it was because there was a part of him that liked the preacher too. Mae didn't know but she felt an unexpected wave of relief when he stood and made his way to the stage. His brother looked at her, smirking like a fool and it was infectious. Even if it wasn't real, the hope that it might be hard to fight. The redhead returned a shaky smile.

People prayed as Dean took the stage and Mae gave him what she hoped was a reassuring warm smile. It didn't do anything to ease his nerves or disbelief. But he stayed up there. "Ya ready?"

"Look no disrespect; I'm not exactly a believer." He said quietly to the reverend.

Still smiling, Roy replied. "You will be son, you will be."

To the crowd, louder now, he continued. "Pray with me friends."

People joined hands, knelt and bowed their heads around them as Roy spread his hands wide. Mae felt the distinct urge to kneel, genuflect and pray, years of a Catholic school education kicking in. Instead she clasped her hands together and bowed her head just a bit, still keeping her eyes on the skeptical looking Dean. She still offered a silent prayer to God that Dean be healed.

Reverend Le Grange put a hand to Dean's shoulder and moved it up to his head. "Alright, alright now," was all he said before Dean started to waver and fall to his knees. Mae grabbed Sam's hand as the both surged forward a bit, concerned and confused. She felt an odd cold sensation, a pressure on the side of her head before it was replaced with warmth. Why the hell was she feeling anything?

The reverend said a final 'Alright now,' before Dean collapsed to the stage. Sam was on his feet in an instant, pulling Mae with him, calling out his brother's name. He knelt, shaking his unconscious bother until he took a deep breath.

"Say something!"

He didn't say anything. He just looked towards the preacher with wide-eyed alarm.

There had been more cheering, more congratulation as they made their way out of the tent, but the trio remained quiet. Outside of the tent, alone, Sam kept badgering his brother, asking how he felt, if he was okay and each time, he got a more agitated.

"So," Sam broke the awkward silence that filled the car as they drove away from the tent, "do you feel better."

He was hit with an icy, angry glare from Dean. "You never should have taken me there Sam."

"Dean," Mae began softly, maternally, "you can't—"

"Shut up. The two of you are idiots for thinking this was a good idea."

"What were we supposed to do, let you die?" Sam asked.

"Yes!"

They were all quiet after that outburst as Sam drove them to the motel. They didn't talk, they didn't listen to music. It was just a painfully silent, awkward ride back to their room. There was no game plan and clearly there was some unfinished business. Dean was convinced something was wrong and this trip to save Dean's life became a case somehow.

Sam tried to say something, but Dean kept cutting him off. The level of frustration in the room just kept rising and rising. The two started bickering, not about the preacher, not about Dean's heart or recovery but focusing on who was the oldest and who had the last say.

"Hey!" She yelled, drawing attention towards her, "First Sam, when I'm here I call dibs on arguing with Dean about pointless things. That's our thing!"

Another day, it might have made Dean laugh when Sam gave a sort of half laugh. "Second," she continued, "I think we all need to cool down here. Maybe we could all use something to eat." Her sharp stare landed on Sam.

He nodded, pausing only a moment before he offered to go get something. It defused that argument for the moment, but it started a whole new one once the young hunter had left the room. "Here. Get a room if you're staying." Mae frowned as Dean threw her bag off the bed to her.

The bag hit her square in the chest. He hadn't thrown it hard, but she hadn't anticipated the move, and, in her shock, she didn't catch it and it dropped to the ground at her feet. Not only was he throwing her out of the room, out of his bed, his eyes were harsh. It hurt in a way she hadn't anticipated. "Dean-"

"I mean it. You lied to me."

She wrapped her arms around herself. "I didn't lie to you. I never told you we weren't going to a faith healer." A small apologetic smile crossed her lips, but he wasn't moved at all by the look.

"That's your argument? You said you would stop Sammy from doing something stupid. I counted on you to be the smart one here. You should have told me."

"I'm not the bad guy here Dean. We did what we had to do to save you. Why don't you go yell at Sam about this?"

"You think I won't? Besides, who asked you to save me?"

"I guess we had the crazy notion that you do whatever it takes to save family."

"Not when it's wrong."

"Okay, yeah, it was weird and those followers of his...wow. I get it but just because you don't like church or God or whatever doesn't mean it's wrong."

"It's… it's not that."

She knew Dean was keeping something from her. "Then what? What's wrong about this? Roy healed you. He didn't even ask for money. Maybe he's the real deal. If there is something wrong, I can help. I want to help. I mean… if this isn't a miracle…"

He looked at her and found it almost impossible to be so angry with her. His anger didn't totally subside but the way she looked at him, with her big, sad eyes and wide mouth turned into an understanding frown. Her brow was creased with worry and damned if it didn't shift his emotions towards her, towards allaying that worry. "It just felt wrong, okay? I don't know what it was, but it didn't feel… well, hell I don't know how it's supposed to feel but I know when something feels off, you know?"

For a moment, he eyebrow quirked but her expression quickly returned to neutral. "So, what happened?"

"I don't know. You and Sam keep acting like this saved me. Maybe it didn't."

He watched her face fall and he thought for a minute that she might have been on the verge of tears at the notion. Why the hell did she have the power to twist his emotions this way? Half the time, just a look softened him and made him want to wrap his arms around her and pretend the world didn't existed. The other half of the time he wasn't sure if he wanted to fight her or fuck her. Either way, he wanted to get lost with her. It was as painful as it was annoying. "C'mon, you even look better than you did before. You think you're still dying?"

She didn't want to think about that. This had worked. She didn't think there was another way, not one that wouldn't feel even worse to the man. And she wanted desperately to have something go their way, just this once. But Dean shook his head. "No, I don't know. I gotta have it checked out. I'm calling a doctor to see if I can get in to see someone."

"Okay. Well," she picked up her bag at last, "if you need me, I'll be…"

She didn't know exactly where she would go. It was simple, perhaps even wise to get her own room. That was what she should have done the other night but admittedly, she liked sleeping with Dean. Maybe she should leave if Dean didn't want her here.

Dean sighed. "No. Just stay here." he yanked her bag out of her arms again, "I... I'm pissed off, okay? But I didn't mean to take it out on you."

She shrugged, smiling a little. "It's alright. I would wager I'm a little more unpleasant when I vent and yeah, okay we—I went behind your back on this one. I'd still probably do it again. But I'm sorry for not telling you upfront what we planned."

Dean shook his head as he sighed not feeling as righteously angry anymore, instead feeling guilty. "It's not that. If this was on the level, I probably wouldn't be bitchin' just because I don't like some preacher. This is a feeling I just can't ignore. And I... I need you to trust me on this. Sam just wants to take it as a win, but something was wrong and it's something we need to stop that preacher is doing some evil."

"I'll do whatever you want me to do."

Dean's brow arched up with his lopsided grin. "Whatever I want you to do?"

Her smile faded as she gave him the pointed glare. There was still humor in her tone and her eyes. "To figure out if something really was wrong about this, I'll do anything." She meant it. There was no disguising the fact that she cared. "but I think I will get my own room. It's...easier that way."

"C'mon...maybe I'm still dying so it's still my dying wish."

"I thought that was a lap dance."

"It's a lotta things, Red."

He wanted things to be clean and simple, but not in the same way Mae did. He knew she wanted to push back her emotions, ignore what was clearly going on between them, and run from it. He wanted to embrace it, see where it went, and not feel so guilty about having feelings for her. In that moment, he wanted to stop worrying and just do what felt right.

They were ignoring the issue, letting the fight subside as Dean took her by the wrist and tugged her to him. His thumb rubbed light circles over the inside of her wrist as he came intoxicatingly close to her. He leaned in to catch her lips in a kiss, but she turned her head away.

If she let him kiss her, she'd kiss him back and if she kissed him back, she wouldn't want to stop. He could effectively shut down all her rational thoughts. But even turned her head to the side didn't stop him. His lips fell on the side of her neck instead. He kissed her sternomastoid muscle, just above the thin silver trail of the chain of her necklace.

He was scruffier than normal, the friction of his stubble along her skin made her shiver as he moved up towards her ear. His hand slid up her forearm and despite having just those two minor points of contact, her body was practically humming with excitement. It wasn't fair to be so easily swayed by his nearness alone. She wished she could blame this on a spell. He still smelled hospital-y but under that and being so close to him, she could smell him.

Of course, this was exactly what she had feared, her blatantly physical reaction to the man coupled with tender feelings for him overwhelming her. She didn't care about sorting out her emotions or staying committed to her mission. She didn't care if this screwed up either because he could elicit such primal need in her with barely a touch.

He pulled away as his free hand came up, cupping the side of her cheek and righting her angled head back to face him. She swore he was going to kiss her this time and she would let him. Instead, after he seemingly confirmed that by locking eyes with her, he leaned in and kissed her forehead. Then he pulled away to a safe distance, leaving Mae to blink confusedly for a few moments.

Dean's eyes glowed with delight as he watched her breathing become shallow and her gaze darken with desire. He couldn't help but feel victorious, knowing that with just a touch of his hand, she was completely under his spell. His confidence grew, comforted by the fact that this attraction was mutual.

Turning away, she cleared her throat. "You know, I kind of liked the guy, Roy."

"You don't even know him."

Mae shrugged as she took her bag back but sat on the edge of the bed. "It's just a feeling. He seemed like a nice guy, a little churchy for my taste but nice."

"I think he's throwin' down the bad voodoo."

She laughed. "I don't think he is."