Notes: Hello fearless readers. This is just a heads up that this fic is going through some updating/rewrites. There are no major story changes, more just some story tightening, closing of plot holes and scene expansion. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has stuck with me over the 10 years of writing this fic. It has been a labour of love and probably my most personally successful writing piece. I have grown so much as a writer through it, that I think I will never stop tinkering with it. I think I can promise that it will be continuing, but new parts are possibly on a brief pause. It really makes my day. If you choose to re-read from the beginning I hope you enjoy the edits. If you feel like leaving a review I may not respond to all of them, but I promise I do read and deeply appreciate every single one.

Carry On.

Yours,

LeadaAlexys

Chapter 33: Feverish Pursuits

The next morning Dean spent some time getting surveillance set up for Kevin. Sam took a nap. Andy sent him to lie down around noon because he was threatening to fall out of his chair at the library table. She checked on him regularly, but he stayed asleep. Through all of that day…and the night. Dean had just returned from a supply run when Sam finally emerged from his room. His hair was a rat's nest, and he was still pretty bleary eyed.

"What time did I lay down?" Sam asked rubbing a hand over his face as if he could erase the weariness that was clear on it.

"Around noon…yesterday," Dean said. Andy watched as he tossed a beer towards Sam. She winced when she heard the bottle shatter across the concrete floor. Sam looked over to the place where the bottle hand landed.

"I'm…I'm sorry,"

"It's why we don't have nice things Sam," Dean said. Andy chuckled slightly. He was not wrong. Her smile faded as Sam swayed slightly in place. She placed a hand on his back.

"You ok?" Dean asked.

"Yea…yea I'm fine," he said unconvincingly as he leaned against the table. "We should go find Kevin."

"Sam, you are just barely staying upright," Andy said her hand still on his back.

"She's right. I've hacked into all the cameras around Garth's houseboat, where Kevin's mom lived, we can keep an eye out from here. While you get better."

"What? I'm fine. Guys, I can still go out there, I can still hunt," Sam said firmly. His argument once again lost some momentum when he swayed heavily again and had to lean against Andy.

"Yea, sure kid," Andy said.

"Look, I don't know if the second trial was more intense or what," Dean said gruffly "but it hit you way harder this time." Sam looked away as he righted himself and pulled away from Andy.

"It felt the same," he said quietly. "Until the next day." Sam sank into one of the library chairs.

"So, we stay here until you are a bit more yourself," Andy said with a warm smile. "How about I see if I can fine tune that herbal draught I've been working on and see if that can get your strength up a bit?" Sam gave her a weak smile and a nod. So, Andy went off to the apothecary to do her thing and Sam grabbed his laptop. He and Dean were saved from more awkward conversation when an email notification popped up. Apparently Charlie was in the area and had found a case worth looking into.

It was great to have Charlie visit, and there did seem to be something to the case that she had found. She and Dean went to check it out. Dean was not going to let Sam go anywhere while he was so off his game, and Andy had a decoction to babysit for at least another few hours. Andy wasn't super keen on Charlie hunting, but she did appreciate that someone would be with Dean for backup. Finally, her brew was finished, so Andy went looking for Sam. She found him with his FBI duds on strapping his gun to his belt.

"And you think you are going where?" Andy said leaning against his door. Sam started and whirled around. He cleared his throat and looked a little sheepish.

"I heard over the wire another body's been found. Figured I'd go back Dean and Charlie up," he mumbled and tried to push passed Andy.

"In the immortal words of Bobby Singer – Do I look like a ditchable prom date to you Sam?" Andy said in her most surly voice. Sam hung his head. "I'm not saying we're not going, but I am saying there is no way I am letting you go alone. Here," she thrust the mug she had prepared at him. "Drink that, and don't you dare give me sass Winchester." She held up a finger in front of his face. Sam held up his hands in surrender.

"Yes ma'am," he said and took a drink from the mug. "I will say, I think these taste better every time. You're really getting good at that." Sam gave her a grateful smile. Andy winked at him and went to change.

Sam and Andy somehow made it to the scene before Dean and Charlie showed up. Sam took the lead talking to the cops while Andy looked around the scene in general. When Dean and Charlie finally made it, Dean was pissed to see Sam there.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Dean asked gruffly.

"Working the case, same as you," Sam answered.

"I'm surprised you were able to give Andy the slip, she's getting sloppy in her old age," Dean grumbled.

"Hey, who're you calling old mister," Andy said wandering over.

"You let him come?"

"Dean I don't 'let' him do anything. Which also means he didn't 'let' me come, I didn't give him a choice," Andy said fixing Dean with a stare. Dean rolled his eyes.

"Look, I know you're frustrated. But you're also sick," Dean turned back to Sam.

"Dean, you cannot take care of the both of us. I need to be here. Play through the pain, right?"

"Come on, don't quote me to me," Dean scoffed.

"Dean, he's here, he's upright. I've got him dosed, and I'm here if anything goes sideways. Come on. Let him do this," Andy interjected. Sam gave her a grateful look.

"Whatever," Dean said and walked away. Andy sighed and looked up at Sam. He looked miserable but seemed to be holding up.

"Give him some time Sam, he's just scared for you," Andy said. It took a moment for them to realize Dean hadn't just walked away he had driven away. Luckily Sam had stole Charlie's car, so the three of them headed to the coroner's office to find some info. The whole thing was turning out to be either really efficient or really fishy. The bodies had already been burned. They headed back to the bunker to do some research on the blue handprint.

Once Dean made the connection to Djinn and found the reference in John's journal, Charlie scooted out for a snack run.

"She seem a little off to anyone else?" Dean asked once she had left the bunker.

"Since the second she got here," Sam answered. Andy nodded her agreement.

"Well, we'll keep an eye on that," Dean said and went to grab a beer.

A few hours later Charlie wasn't back and wasn't answering her phone. Luckily, Dean had turned on her GPS and they tracked her to an apartment in town. It was full of false identity documents and evidence of donations to a local hospital for the care of Gerturde Middleton, but no Charlie. Dean and Andy went to check out the hospital and Sam went back to the bunker to dig into more Djinn lore.

It wasn't hard to make the connection. Gerturde Middleton was Charlie's mom.

"You've got one hell of a daughter Mrs. Middleton. I promise you, we will find her," Dean said once the nurse who had given them the story on Gerturde had left. Andy put a hand on Dean's shoulder.

"Damn right," she agreed softly.

Back at the bunker Sam had made some headway. The coroner fit the bill just right.

It was easy to find the canning factory and once inside, easy to find Charlie. Sam ended up a little knocked around by the Djinn, but Andy managed to get the drop on her while she was distracted. What they didn't count on was the antidote not working.

"I love that you guys just keep African Dream Root in your car," Andy said as she mixed up the brew. She handed it to Dean.

"You get our girl back, I'll keep an eye on this one," Andy said nodding up at Sam. Dean drank the concoction down.

"Ok, I need to go to sleep fast so…punch me." Sam swung a fist and landed a blow across Dean's cheek.

"Wow, you really are a little off your game 'cause that –" Andy cut him off with a swing that managed to hit the off switch. Andy looked at Sam.

"You are off your game," she said and patted him on the shoulder. Sam rolled his eyes at her. Then coughed suddenly into a fist. Andy winced at the painful sound and put a hand on his back.

"Sounds like I still haven't got the balance right yet," she said. Sam got his breath back and leaned into Andy.

"I think it is helping a bit though," he said roughly.

"I'm glad," Andy said. They stood in slightly anxious quiet while they waited for Dean and Charlie to wake up. Then there was a sound…They looked at each other. Sam gave Andy a nod and she pulled out her knife and went to take a look around. Suddenly something hit her from behind. Andy went down with a shout. She flipped over and saw a teenage boy, eyes flaming blue.

"So, you're the one who's been hunting sloppy," she said slightly winded.

"You killed my mom!" the kid shouted at her. Andy picked herself up and watched as the intricate markings of the Djinn revealed themselves on the kid's arm. His hands glowing. Then, just as suddenly a knife was sticking through his chest and Andy caught sight of Sam as he pulled the knife out.

"Thanks kid," Andy said. They rushed back to Charlie and Dean, just as Dean was opening his eyes.

"Hey, Dean, what happened?" Sam asked pulling Dean up out of the chair.

"I'm ok, I'm ok," Dean said turning to Charlie who had also just opened her eyes. Andy held out a hand to her and she took it. She and Dean looked at each other.

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry. I had to," Dean said. Charlie hugged him, tears streaming down her face.

During the drive back to the bunker Charlie and Andy talked quietly in the back seat. Charlie stayed that night and in the morning decided to go back to Topeka.

"I've got something to take care of," was all she would say. Dean saw her out. Andy smiled as they walked up the stairs to the bunker door. Charlie and Dean had developed a special bond. Like siblings. Dean had a little sister that he never knew he wanted. She heard Sam cough, and her smile faded a little. Sam was getting worse. Andy felt like she was working against…well a god level force that was determined to not let her help Sam. When Dean came back in Sam stood looking resigned.

"Look, you were right. I should have laid low. But I'm glad –"

Dean cut him off by wrapping Sam in a hug. Sam glanced at Andy with a stunned look, then put his arms around his brother. Dean pulled back and looked between Sam and Andy.

"What do you say we find our prophet?"

It took a few weeks to really get anywhere. Andy kept playing with the mix and dosages of herbs in Sam's draughts, but they only seemed to mute the effects of the trials slightly. Around the second week Sam started running a low-grade fever that would spike quite high every so often. Andy started adding willow to the mixture, which helped a bit. Then he stopped eating. That put Dean into a tizzy of protective big brother. He did his best to get Sam to eat something, but Sam was really having none of it. Most days the only thing he had was a bit of water and Andy's draughts. Andy did her best to hide her concern for Sam, knowing that having Dean freaking out was enough to drive Sam up the wall. If Andy let on how much she was worried about him, that would be a bit too much for him. They had been chatting quite a lot recently. He seemed to be more ready to tell Andy how he was feeling both physically and emotionally about the trials.

"I just feel like this is part of it," Sam said one night after Andy brought him a mug in his room. "This is part of the sacrifice. It's not just tasks to do, they're doing something to me as well."

"That makes sense," Andy agreed. "But it doesn't mean you have to suffer needlessly or so much that it kills you before you can finish right?"

Sam gave her a look that said he wasn't quite sure about that. He took the mug anyway and drank down what Andy had brewed for him. He went a little green for a moment, but it stayed down, and he sighed.

"I hate feeling like I'm starving and nauseous at the same time," Sam said offhandedly.

"I bet," Andy said taking the mug back and sitting next to him on his bed. "Sam, you know Dean's just worried for you right? Would it kill you to let him take care of you a bit? You let me."

"It's different with you. I don't know…" Sam huffed a sigh and leaned back against his headboard. "Dean doesn't realize that I'm not going to get better until this is over. There is no point in me resting or taking it easy because I'm only going to get worse. He keeps trying to fix me, and fuss over everything. Like I'm not strong enough to do this. Whereas you…" Sam trailed off and looked at Andy with his big puppy dog eyes. She had seen that look a thousand times. This was different. His face was so pale and drawn. He had lost weight, and there was a thin sheen of fever sweat on his forehead.

"Whereas I will just take you as you are," she said with a soft smile. Sam nodded. She reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair off Sam's face. Subtly checking the warmth of his skin. His fever wasn't too bad at the moment. Sam stared at her, not quite sure what to make of the gesture of affection. "You know, as much as I can and will take you as you are, it doesn't mean I'm not worried for you. It may not be what you want to hear right now, but these trials are scaring the shit out of me." Andy met Sam's eyes. She felt the prick of tears coming and she took a deep breath and tried to blink them away. Then suddenly Sam was hugging her. Hard. One moment of startled understanding later and she was hugging him back.

"Thanks Andy, for everything," she heard Sam mumble into her hair.

"You know I'm always here for you kid," she said with a teary smile and gave him a final squeeze.

The next afternoon, Dean was doing his routine of trying to get Sam to eat something and threatening him with a thermometer, when an email notification came in on Dean's phone.

"It's Kevin," he said walking over to the computer.

The video was heartbreaking to watch. The 'I'm sorry' at the end brought Andy to tears and she jumped when Dean lashed out and knocked a book off the table. Kevin was gone. All their work trying to get him back, and he was just…gone.

"Why didn't he just come back…he was safest here," Andy said quietly. Sam put a hand on her shoulder. She cleared her throat and wiped her eyes and pulled away from Sam.

"I'll get the printer set up so we can get going on Kevin's notes," she said and walked away.

They spent the next few days pouring over Kevin's notes. One page at a time. Andy's eyes were starting to cross when Sam pointed out a reoccurring symbol on several pages.

"Look here, Kevin has this symbol marked as like a signature of the Scribe. It shows up when he makes one of his editor's notes. I swear I've seen it before, in a humanities class at Stanford," Sam said getting up and going over to one of the bookshelves.

"They teach word of God at Stanford?" Dean asked incredulously.

"No, it was an overview of Native American art I think it's a –"

"It's a petroglyph!" Andy cut in accidentally, jumping up herself and helping Sam look for the right book. When she was next to him she could feel the heat of his fever radiating off him. She glanced at him, but he was so focused she didn't say anything. It took them about an hour, but they found the reference. A small tribe in Colorado who used the symbol as a territory marker. It translated to 'Messenger of God.'

"Messenger of God, Dean, Andy, we have to go there!"

"On that hunch?" Dean asked gruffly. "You can barely function."

"Dean," Andy cautioned.

"I'm only going to get worse," Sam said firmly. "We're out of prophets Dean, let's go to the source! Find this Metatron who wrote it in the first place!"

Dean ran a hand over his face.

"So, you think that Metatron is hiding out in the mountains with a bunch of Indians?"

"Yea, yea I do!" Sam replied. "You're not really supposed to say…Indians it's…never mind. We should go." And Sam turned on his heals and went to his room. Andy and Dean stood there and exchanged a look.

"You're delirious," Dean said under his breath and followed his brother.

"You're not wrong," Andy muttered and followed Dean.

They all made the drive to Colorado. Dean was quiet most of the way, and Sam fell asleep about an hour out of Lebanon. They got a room at the Two Rivers Hotel…with an odd look from the fellow at the front desk. Sam seemed like he hadn't just slept 6 hours in the car. He seemed a little shakier on his feet than he had been. He looked around at Andy with a confused look.

"Did you hear that?" he asked.

"Hear what?" Andy asked cocking her head. Sam shook his head. They went up to the room and dropped their bags. Dean went out to check out the hotel a little and Andy gave Sam another dose. She was glad she had stockpiled some over the past few weeks. Sam seemed to be having a particularly rough time at the moment.

"Sam, why don't you lie down for a bit," Andy said passing him a glass of water. Sam downed it in one go and flopped down on his bed.

"Hey, do you remember that first year you were with us…we were up in New Hampshire and Dad was out doing some research and you took Dean and me to that huge penny arcade," Sam asked sounding a little loopy.

"Yea…I think so. Funspot or something?"

"That was it," Sam laughed. "You beat the pants off of Dean in Street Fighter." Andy laughed as well.

"It was always a sleeper skill of mine."

"That was always one of my favourite memories of you from those early days," Sam continued. He sighed.

"What made you think of that?" Andy asked.

"Don't know, just a nice memory that popped into my head," Sam replied and rolled over slightly. Andy reached out and gave his hand a small squeeze. The door opened and Dean came in with a brochure.

"Real tourist mecca here. We're the only guests in the whole place," he said and flopped down on the other bed. Sam laughed slightly.

"What's funny?" Dean asked.

"Andy beating you at Street Fighter," Sam giggled. Dean looked at Andy confused. She shrugged.

"We had a little trip down memory lane," Andy said.

"Ok…" Dean rolled his eyes. "I'm going to check out the Two Rivers Tribal museum."

"Yup, yup," Sam said straining to sit up. "I'm gonna follow the hotel manager. He's like a Scooby-Doo villain." Dean and Andy exchanged a quick look.

"No, hey…" Dean said putting a hand on Sam's shoulder. Sam looked up at him with wide unfocused eyes. "You, should get some rest."

"Yea, I can do that too," Sam agreed and flopped down back on his bed.

Andy and Dean went to the museum and listened to the manager talk about the story of the tribe. He told them that this was the home of the great creator's messenger on earth, and that he asked the people to tell him stories in exchange for blessings. Andy wandered as she listened. She came across an old photo of a family in front of a shelter.

"Dean, come and look at this," she said and pointed at one of the men in the photo. "Isn't that…" Dean nodded.

"Thanks for the info, we've gotta go," Dean said to the manager and grabbed Andy's hand. They had just made it back to the impala when Dean's phone rang.

"Sam?" He paused a moment. "Sam?" A little bit more urgently. "Sam, you there?" He looked over at Andy eyes panicked.

"Drive," Andy said and grabbed the phone. "Sam, if you can hear me we're coming. If you can get to the bathroom and run your wrists under cold water that will help. Ok Sam, we're coming."

Luckily the museum was only five minutes away from the hotel. Dean blitzed into the parking lot and barely turned the car off before he was sprinting towards their room. Andy was not far behind mentally prepping for what they might find. When she got to the room Dean was shouldering the door open. Something was blocking it. Andy could just see through the door that it was Sam, collapsed on the floor. Andy was able to slip through the door first and she managed to shift Sam away from the door so Dean could get in the room.

"Damnit," Dean mumbled under his breath. Sam was unconscious and completely grey faced. Dean pressed his fingers to his brother's neck, checking for a pulse. He found one. It was way too fast and the heat coming off of him was insane. Dean moved to get the med kit from his duffel. Andy propped Sam's head and shoulders up on her legs and started talking to him.

"Hey kid, I need you to open your eyes ok? Sammy can you do that for me? Open your eyes." Dean was back, thermometer in hand. He slid it into Sam's mouth and looked at Andy panicked.

"He's going to be ok Dean," Andy said with a confidence she didn't really feel. The thermometer beeped and Andy's heart missed a few beats as she read the 107 on the display.

"Son of a bitch," Dean breathed.

"Dean, cold water in the bath. Right now," she said urgently as she rushed to grab the ice bucket. Dean was moving in a second and she heard the water start. She ran four trips back and fort to the ice machine, which by some miracle was well stocked, while Dean hauled Sam to the bathroom. He had stripped Sam's shoes off and nothing else. Andy felt bad for pouring ice over Sam, but at this point it needed to be done.

They waited. For heart stopping moments that felt like hours and Sam didn't wake.

"Andy?" Dean said her name like a question. A plea. Andy had no idea. In a desperate thought she knelt next to the tub.

"I'm so sorry Sam," she said and gently pushed on his shoulders until his head was under water. She had just meant to give him a dunk. To wet his hair to pull more heat out of him. But apparently submerging him had done the trick. Sam's eyes flicked open, and he sat up gasping. Andy moved out of the way as Dean tried to help his brother out of the tub.

"Guhhh, Get off!" Sam stuttered as he scrambled out of the tub flailing slightly and pushing the hair out of his face.

"Take it easy Sammy, take it easy," Dean said holding his hands out in case Sam stumbled.

"We found you passed out on the floor. Your temperature was 107. We had to force it down, or you were toast." Dean wrapped a towel around Sam's shoulders.

"He's here. Metatron is here, I know it I can hear him!" Sam said firmly as he shivered.

"What are you talking about?" Andy asked rubbing her hands along Sam's arms.

"All I know is that I'm connected to it somehow,"

"You mean like a prophet?" Dean asked cautiously.

"I don't know! I just know he's here," Sam said.

"Ok, here where?" Andy said. Sam got a far away look for a moment and Andy was afraid he might pass out again.

"I can show you. The manager was delivering books to him."

"Books?" Dean asked.

"Books. Hardcovers, paper backs, novels. Books!" Sam clarified. Dean and Andy shared a look.

"Stories," they said together.

They spent some time getting Sam cleaned up. Andy and Dean let him get himself dressed, then Andy helped him dry his hair a bit. He was anxious to get moving and take them to Metatron though.

"I should be taking you to the ER," Dean grumbled when they finally stepped out into the hallway.

"They can't do anything for me," Sam said holding onto the wall for balance. "You know…I am remembering things…little things so clearly, like Andy beating your ass at arcade games. I remember you used to read to me," Sam said slightly slurred looking at Dean. "From…that classics illustrated comic book do you remember that?"

"No," Dean said simply.

"Knights of the round table, I remember this picture of Sir Galahad. He was kneeling, with light streaming over his face," Sam continued. Andy exchanged looks with Dean again. "I remember thinking…I could never go on a quest like that…because…I'm not…clean." Sam swayed and reached out for the wall again. Dean blinked and regarded his brother. Andy took a sharp breath. How could a little kid think something like that about themselves. "You think…" Sam swallowed heavily. "Maybe I knew…about the demon blood…and the evil of it, and that I…wasn't pure." Dean was just listening. Taking it all in. At that he finally spoke.

"Sam, it's not your fault," he said. Sam held up a finger and shook his head.

"It doesn't matter, because these trials…they're purifying me."

Suddenly it all made sense to Andy. Why Sam had been so driven to continue, why he had been saying that he couldn't be better until they kept going. He saw this as some kind of redemption quest. Sam turned away and lead them down the hall a little farther and stopped in front of a door.

"They were here, the books, the boxes…they're gone," Sam said. Dean pushed at the door, and it opened. Carefully, they all went in.

Metatron was not what Andy had been expecting. A small mouse like man who had been hiding away in the mountains of Colorado, of all places, for eons…and reading. Andy shared Dean's opinion of "This…this is Metatron?" She was shocked how out of the loop he was. Thinking that they worked for Michael…or Lucifer. But the fact that he knew exactly what they were trying to do when he realized that Sam was resonating, told them that they had found the right guy. But he seemed to be a bit of a coward.

"So, you just ran, and decided to stick your head in the sand for a couple thousand years. You really have no idea what's been going on out there?" Dean asked incredulously. Metatron shook his head.

"Nope," he said.

"So, you've been here…just listening to stories and reading books?" Andy said. She was starting to not think much of this particular angel.

"Oh, and it was something to watch, the stories you humans can tell. The raw chaos that you can harness. But it's really your story telling. That is the flower of creation." Andy could feel Sam tensing next to her.

"You know what," Sam said softly. "Pull the frigging trigger." Andy blanched. She saw Dean swing a shocked and concerned look at his brother.

"What?"

"Pull the frigging trigger, you cowardly piece of garbage," Sam raged.

"Sam!" Dean stood and put a hand on Sam's chest.

"How long have you read over humanities suffering at the hands of your kind?" Sam growled the question. Dean pushed him back and Andy put a soothing hand on his back.

"You want a story? Try Kevin Tran's story. Just a kid, then he got sucked into all this angel crap. He became a prophet of the word of god. Your prophet. You should've been looking out for him but no, you've been here, holed up reading books," Dean finished.

"He's dead now. Because of you," Andy said quietly. Metatron had the good sense to look a little abashed. He turned away from them and set his rifle down. He was quiet for a moment. Then: "Kevin isn't dead. He's being held…by a demon."

"What?" Dean and Sam said at once.

"Just a moment," Metatron said, then he vanished. A few moments later, Kevin was sitting in the chair where Dean had been, battered and bruised. Eyes closed. Metatron placed a hand on his chest and Andy saw the bruising fade away and the colour return to his skin.

"Is that it? Is he good?" Dean asked, emotion cracking his voice slightly.

"Give him a minute," Metatron said stepping away. Dean followed the angel, Andy with him.

"Are you with us?" Dean asked.

"You really intend on closing the gates of hell?" Metatron countered.

"Seems like the thing to do," Dean nodded. Metatron smiled slightly.

"It's your choice. That's what this is all about. The choices your kind make. But you're going to have to weigh that choice. What is it going to take to do this, and what will the world look like after it's done." Metatron let that statement hang for a moment. Then there was a shout from Sam and Dean went back to the other room. Andy lingered.

"What do you mean, about how the world will look afterwards?" There was something about the angel that was putting her off. Something…not quite honest about him.

"Just that there could be unforeseen consequences of closing the gates…ones that even you, my dear prophet, can't foresee." Metatron smiled again. It made Andy's skin crawl as she followed the angel back to where Sam, Dean and Kevin were.

"The third trail, I got it. I didn't tell Crowley." Andy heard Kevin say.

"So, what is it?" Sam asked his voice hoarse.

"To cure a demon."