**Grace Nevermore** Supernatural Fanfiction: Book Three

Part Five: Dean

Sophie sat on the floor, her back against the wall and her eyes closed. She was exhausted and her brain pounded against her skull. Her throat was tight; no matter how many times she swallowed, the knot remained and her stomach rolled relentlessly. Two injections later and almost no progress with Dean, except for the increase in pain it seemed to be causing him. It was starting to sound like, perhaps, he wasn't faking it after all and Sam worried it might be killing him.

Sophie's head rolled to the side, her gaze burning a hole in Sam's back as he muttered incoherently to Castiel on the phone. She would have called him herself, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She was still considering the possibility of truthfulness behind Dean's words- that she may have, in fact, succumbed to him. Maybe, after all this, she had lied to herself; she couldn't be certain, however, and that was almost more devastating than knowing. And what would she tell Cas? Would she even tell him at all with no notion of truth behind it?

Sam walked back over to her, hanging up the phone and putting it back into his pocket. "Cas isn't far. He, uh, he asked how you were holding up to. Guess I'd like to know too... after all Dean said to you and all."

"I knew it would be hard, but I didn't think he would be this hard." Sophie whispered, staring off into the distance. "I keeping thinking: what if this doesn't work. What would Dean want us to do, and it's obvious."

"Yeah," Sam croaked.

Sophie looked up at Sam, noticing the look of alarm on his face. She raised her brows, following his eyes in the direction of the devil's trap and noticed Dean appeared unmoving- his head dipped lifelessly to his chest. Without a word, Sophie and Sam rushed into the room. Sam grabbed a hold of Dean's collar and slapped him across the face. "Hey," he shook his brother. "Hey! Wake up! Wake up! You okay?"

Sophie held her breath as Dean bobbed his head restlessly. He looked up at Sam, his eyes flickering over to her. He groaned and straightened his posture, "If you can call drowning in your own sweat while your blood boils okay."

Sam exchanged a look with Sophie, and she wondered if he too had recognized the hint of Dean's normal spout of sarcasm as much as she did. "We can't stop doing this," Sam started, walking back to the table to grab a syringe.

"Sure you can," Dean corrected, eyeballing him. "You just stop. There's no point in trying to bring your brother back- your friend back now. In fact, your dear bro has been M.I.A for sometime now, but I am loving the new model. Lean, Mean Dean."

"We'll bring you back," Sophie spoke.

Dean grinned, "You do know I tried to get as far away from you two as possible, right? Away from all your whining and complaining. I chose the King of Hell over the two of you! Maybe I was just tired of babysitting you, Sophie; or always saving your bacon, Sammy. Yanking your lame ass out of the fire time and time again."

Sophie frowned, hugging her sides as an attempt to keep the hurt feelings at bay. The urge to reach over and grab Sammy's hand for comfort crossed her mind, but she pushed on, being as strong as she could be.

"Maybe it's the fact that my mother would still be alive if it weren't for you." Her eyes widened, snapping her head in Sam's direction as the poisonous words filled his mind. "It's your very existence that sucked the life out of my life."

"Dean, stop it," Sophie uttered.

"Sophie," Sam snapped, patiently. "This isn't him talking. This isn't my brother."

"You had no brother!" Dean growled. "Just an excuse not to man-up. Well, guess what? I quit."

"No, you don't get to quit. We don't get to quit in this family! This family is all we have ever had!"