Title: Calls Me Home

Summary: A journey through fifteen seasons of Supernatural through the eyes of two Winchesters and a Singer.

Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Ruby Singer, Bobby Singer, John Winchester, and a whole ton of others.

Disclaimer: Everything you see here belongs to Eric Kripke and Co. The title belongs to the song "Calls Me Home" by Shannon LaBrie.

Author's Note: So as you can see, I altered the summary and have decided to do all fifteen seasons out of sheer spite after that finale lol. That and there were some episodes beyond season seven that I could easily picture Ruby in.

Chapter Thirty

November 2nd. She was used to this time of year being a little tense and sad. After all, it was the day that Mary Winchester had died. Now it had an even sadder meaning as this year it also marked a full year since Sam's girlfriend Jessica had died in the same way that his mother Mary had been killed. The Winchester brothers had already been through so much in the past year alone. Ruby hated to see them upset so she did everything in her power to take care of them that day while also giving them space to grieve. It was later that night when she and Dean decided to give Sam a little time alone. He wasn't getting that feeling that he needed to check on his brother like he did the night Jessica died so he felt it was safe to leave him be for a short while. Dean drove with Ruby over to the nearby gas station to fill Baby up on gas. Ruby took it upon herself to wander over into the mini mart to stock up on some snacks and drinks. He followed her inside once he was done filling up the car and grabbed a six pack of beer along with a few beef jerky sticks. Ruby didn't think beer was a good idea on a day like this, but she also didn't want to fight with him either.

"Hey Sammy, I got some beef jerky and a six pack. Ruby got some other snacks and drinks too." Dean called out softly as they returned to the motel room walking inside. "Sam?"

Ruby set the snacks down while Dean set his things down then they both quickly went to Sam's side. "Sam? Are you alright? What happened?"

"Another vision. I think." Sam groaned sitting up beside his bed starting to relax a little. "I'm alright."

"Good. Let's get you off the floor." Dean carefully helped his brother onto the bed. "So what did you see?"

"Uh, I saw you. It was a room. There was us, a doctor, and two guys. One of them was tied to a chair. You thought there was something in him. Dean, you shot him without hesitation." Sam ran his fingers through his hair.

"Sam, I wouldn't have shot him without a reason. Was there a demon in him? Wouldn't I have tried to exorcise him first?"

"I don't know! I didn't see much." The younger Winchester sighed.

Ruby sat down beside him biting her lip. "You said a room right? Did you see anything that would tell us where this room could possibly be?"

"Uh, yeah actually I did. A poster. Crater Lake. It said something about River Grove chamber of commerce." Sam recalled trying to relax a bit.

"Well that gives us something to go on, at least." He shrugged his shoulders and handed his brother a cold water.

She smiled softly at them moving to grab her laptop. "Alright, why don't you relax? Look through the snacks if you want. I'll get the laptop going and see if I can narrow down which River Grove we're looking for. Usually your visions are tied to the yellow eyed demon, but any signs of him haven't popped up lately according to Ash."

"Thanks." Sam took a long sip of the refreshing drink and sighed again.

"You sure you didn't hurt yourself falling off the bed?" Dean eyed his brother in concern trying to see if any injuries were visible.

"Yeah I'm sure. I'm fine really." He assured him with a slight smile.

A sound from Ruby caught their attention as she sat on the other bed with the laptop. "Alright well there are only two towns in the United States named River Grove and only one of them is close enough to a Crater Lake to be advertising about it. River Grove, Oregon. At least there's a local newspaper website."

"Anything suspicious?" Dean asked walking over to take a look.

She shook her head scrolling through the articles. "Not really. It's a pretty small town from what I can tell. Nothing out of the ordinary. No recent deaths or mentions of any missing persons."

"Alright, well let's get going." Sam moved to stand up only to be stopped by the blonde.

Ruby gave the younger Winchester a look. "Whoa, we're not going anywhere. Especially not tonight. The vision said Dean shot someone right? Well he can't shoot someone in Oregon when he is right here."

"What if it was a shapeshifter though?" Dean suggested though he knew it was pretty far fetched by what Sam had told them.

"It had to be you. We wouldn't have been standing there with shapeshifter you, Dean." Sam assured him.

The blonde smiled at the two brothers. "Then it's settled. Dean already gassed up the car so we'll head out first thing in the morning."

True to what she had said, the three of them loaded the Impala up the next morning. Dean took care of checking out while Ruby loaded their small cooler with ice along with the remainder of the drinks they had bought the night before. They stopped for breakfast at her insistence as she wasn't about to let them go on a hunt with empty stomachs. Then it was off to Oregon with the GPS from Sam's phone leading the way. Ruby was still worried about the warrant that was out for Dean along with just how the boys were doing in general. She pushed it aside though to focus on the task at hand which was figuring out what exactly led up to what Sam saw in his vision.

"That's one of the guys from my vision. Not the one that was tied up though." Sam pointed out a dark skinned man standing on the sidewalk in front of a building cleaning a rifle as Dean stopped the car parking it.

The three of them walked out and Ruby smiled at the man. "Hi."

"Hi. Good morning. Can I help you folks?" The man was wearing a blue short sleeved shirt with a multi pocketed brown vest over it.

"We're U.S. Marshals. Agent Gibbons and he's Agent Beard. She's our supervisor Agent Fisher." Dean flashed a badge then gestured at Sam and Ruby.

"I'm Mark. What's this about?" He gave them a slightly concerned look.

"We're looking for someone. Young man in his early twenties. He'd have a thin scar right below his hairline." Sam spoke up.

"What did he do?"

Ruby smiled slightly at him. "Well nothing as of yet. We're actually looking for someone else, but we think this young man may be of some help to us."

"Yeah. He's not in any kind of trouble yet. I think you know where he is though, Master Sergeant." Dean noticed the distinctive tattoo on the man's arm and smiled proudly. "My dad was in the Corps. He was a Corporal."

"Oh yeah? What company?" Mark relaxed a little.

"Echo-2-1." He grinned.

"So can you help us?" Sam looked over at the man again.

"Well Duane Tanner has a scar like that. He's a good kid though, Keeps his nose clean. Lives up in Aspen Way with his family." Mark admitted with a bit of hesitation.

"Thank you." Sam smiled then walked away with Dean and Ruby.

Mark frowned watching them leave then went back to cleaning his gun. Across the street, it was Sam who bumped slightly against a telephone pole. He shrugged it off then did a double take when he saw what was carved into the wood.

CROATOAN

Dean and Ruby realized Sam wasn't following them so they turned back. He stood in front of the pole pointing at the carved word.

"Croatoan?" Dean read the word then looked at Sam.

"Yeah. Roanoke. Lost colony. Ring a bell? Dean, didn't you pay attention in history class?" Sam shot him a look.

"Yeah! Shots heard 'round the world. How bills become laws."

Ruby smacked his chest playfully with the back of her hand. "That's Schoolhouse Rock, you dork."

"Whatever." He smiled slightly at her.

"Roanoke was one of the first English colonies in America. Around late 1500s?" Sam explained.

"Oh yeah, yeah I do remember that. They vanished and the only thing they left behind was a single word. Croatoan." Dean nodded his head.

"There have been many theories of what could have possibly happened. Indian raid, disease, but no one knows what really happened to that colony. They were all just gone. I mean, completely wiped out overnight."

Ruby scoffed laughing slightly. "I mean, that's what everyone says, but isn't it fairly obvious what happened? The colony vanishes and suddenly the nearest Indian reservation has blond haired blue eyed pale members. It's highly plausible that some may have died from disease. I think it's also plausible that they ran out of food and went to the Indians for help. They could only wait so long until people returned with supplies from the homeland, you know?"

"I mean, yeah, that is one of the most popular theories. Look, anyway, whatever is going on here can't be good. At least not going by my vision." Sam admitted looking at them.

"Well like Ruby said, all your weirdo visions are tied to the yellow eyed demon somehow so.." He trailed off only to get interrupted by Sam.

"We should call Bobby.. or uh, Ellen, I guess." He pulled out his phone only to frown. "I have no signal."

"Huh. Me either." Dean looked at his phone and shook his head.

Ruby pulled out her phone swallowing hard. "I don't have a signal either."

"Hey it's going to be alright. Look a payphone." Dean moved to try the payphone only to hear the beep signaling it was out of service and messed with the receiver a few times. "Uh, line's dead. I'll tell you one thing though. If I was going to massacre a town, that'd be my first step."

She rolled her eyes lightly at him. "How reassuring. I can handle this job just fine. I just.. it usually helps knowing my dad is just one call away and now I don't even have that. Oh god that sounded so selfish of me. I'm sorry, guys."

"What? No Ruby, it's okay. We're glad that you have something that helps you deal with all of this and if that's your dad then that is great. You don't have to walk around on egg shells with us just because you still have your dad." Sam assured her.

"He's right and it helps us to have Bobby be one call a way too." Dean smiled leading them back over toward the Impala.

The Impala was parked in front of a cabin style house that was seemingly in the middle of nowhere. It was a bit unsettling to Ruby, but she knew that she was safe with the Winchesters by her side. The three of them walked up the front steps and Dean knocked on the door. It opened and a teenage boy with dark spiky hair appeared. Dean flashed his badge at him and smiled.

"Hey we're looking for Duane Tanner. He lives here right?" Dean was the first to speak up.

The teen nodded his head at them. "Yeah. He's my brother."

"Can we talk to him?" Sam smiled slightly.

He shook his head. "No. He's not here right now. He went out on a fishing trip up by Roslyn Lake. His usual spot. Could be another few hours before he's back."

"Are your parents home?"

The teen gestured behind him. "Yeah they're inside."

"Jake? What's going on? Who's at the door?" Mr. Tanner walked up behind his son approaching the door.

"Hi, U.S. Marshals, sir. We're looking for your son Duane." Dean flashed his badge at the older man.

"Why? He's not in any trouble is he?" He looked slightly concerned at that.

Ruby smiled at him. "Of course not. We just need to ask him a couple of routine questions about someone he might know."

"Jake here mentioned that Duane was on a fishing trip. Any idea when he might get back?" Sam asked gesturing toward the teen.

"Well I don't really know. He could spend hours up there at the lake sometimes."

"Maybe your wife might have a better idea then."

"Oh she's not home." The man tensed up a little bit.

The blonde arched her eyebrow at him. "Jake said that she was inside."

The teenage boy gave them an innocent look. "Did I?"

"My wife went into town to get groceries. So when Duane gets back, is there a number where he can get a hold of you?" Mr. Tanner asked looking at them.

"Ah no, that won't be necessary. We can just check in with him later. Thank you for your time." Dean nodded at him leading the other two hunters down the steps.

"No problem." He watched them leave for a moment and then shut the door.

"So that was kind of creepy, right? A little too Stepford?" Dean raised his eyebrows at them.

"Oh yeah. Definitely." Sam chuckled slightly.

The three of them waited a moment before they quickly and quietly crept around to the back of the house. They crouched below a window and peeked inside just in time to see an older woman tied to a chair with a gag in her mouth. She bore a bit of a resemblance to Jake, the teenage boy, who was standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders. Mr. Tanner walked into the room with a gleaming kitchen knife. The teenager moved to stand in front of his mother and rolled his sleeve up. His father cut into his arm and they watched as he let the blood drip on what appeared to be a wound on the woman's shoulder. The three hunters jumped into action with the guys kicking open the back door. They rushed in armed with their handguns. Mr. Tanner rushed at them with a knife only to get shot three times in the chest by Dean. Ruby rushed to the woman's aid untying her and removing the gag while Sam chased the son. He had a clear shot as the boy jumped out of the window, but hesitated allowing Jake to get away. Ruby calmed the woman the best that she could as they walked her out of the house.

"I'm sorry. Thank you. I.. I'm Beverly Tanner. That was my husband and my youngest son." The woman was clearly distraught as they approached the Impala.

They helped her get into the car and Ruby sat beside her in the backseat. "We were just here to help you. Can you tell us what happened?"

"I'm not sure. One minute they were my husband and son. The next minute it was like they had the devil in them." Beverly sighed recalling the attack on her by her loved ones.

Dean had just gotten into the car in time to hear her say that and the three hunters shared a look. They drove back to town and Beverly helped them locate the local clinic. They helped her inside with Sam flagging down someone to help. Her name tag said Pam. She in turn got the doctor's attention who immediately instructed her to get Mrs. Tanner situated in an exam room in the back. Dean walked in carrying the body of the now late Mr. Tanner over his shoulders.

"Is that... Did Mr. Tanner get attacked too?" The doctor looked at Dean alarmed.

"Uh no, actually he did the attacked and got shot for it." He shook his head. "U.S. Marshal. I'd show you my badge, but uh, yeah."

"Dr. Amanda Lee. Right. Okay bring him back over here." She led the way showing where he could put the body.

While the doctor then went to treat Beverly's wound, the three hunters stepped outside. "Alright so this is crazy. I'd say maybe the Tanners were possessed, but Mr. Tanner just died. There was no black smoke or anything to even suggest a demon was inside of him."

"They were whacked out of their gourd. If Sam here had done his job, we'd have one less of them to worry about."

"I hesitated. He's just a kid, Dean." Sam sighed at his brother.

"No it was an it. Not the best time for a bleeding heart, Sam." He gestured toward him.

Ruby shook her head at them. "You both have a point. It doesn't mean he had to kill the kid though. Could have shot him in the leg to keep him from running. It would have given us time to figure out what was wrong and potentially save him."

"How's the patient?" Sam asked turning toward the doctor as they heard her heels clicking loudly against the floor as she stalked toward them.

"Terrible! What the hell happened out there?"

"We don't know. She was already tied up and gagged when we got there." Dean frowned.

"Yeah? Well you just killed my next door neighbor." She huffed at him.

"We didn't have a choice. He came at us with a knife." Dean countered back at her.

"Maybe so, but we still need the county Sheriff. The Coroner too. Unfortunately the phones are still down. Please tell me you guys have a police radio in the car?" Dr. Lee looked at them pleadingly.

"We do, but it crapped out as well just like everything else." Sam sighed.

"I just don't understand what is happening." She shook her head.

"How far is it to the next town?"

"Uh, it's about forty miles down to Sidewinder." Dr. Lee looked at Dean curiously.

"Alright. We're going to go down there to see if we can find some help." He patted Sam's shoulders and smiled. "My partner here will stay behind to keep you guys safe."

"Safe from what?" Her eyes widened slightly at him.

"We'll get back to you on that." Dean nodded at them then walked out of the clinic with Ruby.

While the pair made their way out of town in the Impala, Dr. Lee returned to the lab studying Mr. Tanner's blood samples. Sam was leaning against a counter staring at Mr. Tanner's corpse. It wasn't long before the younger Winchester brother began pacing around.

"Huh."

"Find something?" He approached the doctor cautiously not wanting to startle her.

"Actually I think I did. His lymphocyte percentage was pretty high. His body was fighting off a viral infection." The doctor admitted jotting down a note.

"Really? What kind of virus?"

"Oh I can't say for sure. I've never heard of a viral infection causing someone to act out so violently. Besides I've also never seen a virus that did this to the blood." She remarked gesturing to the microscope in front of her.

"Did what?" Sam's brows raised as he looked at her curiously.

"I'm not sure. There's this... weird residue. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it was sulfur." Dr. Lee admitted.

"Sulfur."

A few miles away, the Impala stopped by a wrecked car with Oregon plates WTF-4C7. The windows on the car were smashed and blood stained the seats. On the ground by the driver's side door was a knife and Dean picked it up. The two hunters shared a look then got back into the Impala driving further away from the town. They reached a bridge that was blocked off by a bunch of cars and about a half dozen townfolk. They instantly recognized one of them as being Jake. Something bangs down on the roof of the car startling them a bit.

"Sorry, road's closed." A man spoke up holding a gun.

"Yeah I can see that. What's up?" Dean looked at the man while also ensuring that Ruby was still safe.

"Quarantine."

Ruby frowned at the man looking a little worried. "Quarantine? What is it? Maybe you should back up a bit. Social distancing, you know?"

"Don't know, little lady. Something going around out there." The man huffed.

"Uh huh and who told you that?" Dean asked skeptically.

"County Sheriff."

"Oh. Is the Sheriff here?" He glanced around at the crowd.

"No, he called. Say, why don't you folks get out of the car and we'll talk a little?"

The blonde gripped her gun out of sight narrowing her blue eyes at the man. "He called? When the phones are down all over town?"

"Well, you are a handsome man, but I don't swing that way. Sorry." Dean chuckled nervously as he quietly slipped the Impala into reverse.

"I'd sure appreciate if you two got out of the car for a quick minute." The man said then reached in grabbing the collar of Dean's shirt.

"Yeah I'm sure you would." He swung the car around knocking the man off and drove back toward the town of River Grove while the crowd of men at the roadblock fired their guns at them.

"You okay?" Dean asked once the pair were a safe distance away from the crowd.

Ruby checked herself over then nodded her head. "Yeah I'm fine. You?"

"Yeah I'm good." He assured her then slammed on the brakes when he saw Mark standing there aiming his rifle at them.

"Let me see some hands. Both of you. Out of the car."

They looked at each other then got out aiming at him with their guns. "You first. Are you one of them?"

"No! Are you? Put them down."

"No! You could be lying." Dean pointed out.

"So could you!" Mark countered.

Ruby sighed lowering her gun. "This is going to get us nowhere. Look, we just tried to drive over to Sidewinder to get some help. A crowd of men from River Grove with guns have the bridge blocked off. Tried to attack us so we drove back. The Tanners? Yeah, Mr. Tanner and Jake attacked Beverly. She's over at the clinic right now. Mr. Tanner is dead because he tried to attack us with a knife. Jake ran off and he is over at the bridge with that crowd."

"What's going on with everybody?" He relaxed a little bit.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Dean sighed.

"My neighbor.. Mr. Rogers.. He.."

"You've got a neighbor named Mr. Rogers?" He quipped only for Ruby to smack his chest with the back of her hand.

"Not anymore. He came at me with a hatchet so I put him down. He's not the only one either. I mean, it's happening to everyone." Mark shook his head.

Ruby bit her lip. "Come with us to the clinic. Trying to get out via the bridge would be a suicide mission right now."

"I..I don't know."

"Fine. Stay here. Be our guest." Dean shrugged moving to get back into the Impala.

Ruby slid into the back while Mark relented and got into the passenger's seat. As Dean drove them over to the clinic, Dr. Lee was speaking soothingly to Beverly Tanner trying to get a blood sample from her. The woman agreed then suddenly grabbed the doctor's wrist yelling in rage and lashed out with her other hand. Sam tried to help only to get flung into a glass cabinet shattering it. Beverly grabbed a scalpel approaching the doctor as Sam got back to his feet. He grabbed the fire extinguisher and hit Beverly upside the head knocking her out cold. He then tied her up while the doctor calmed down. Dr. Lee then took a sample from Beverly and went to go study it in the microscope.

"I..I'm sorry, but I can't stay here. My boyfriend is still out there. I have to find him." Pam panicked and ran out of the lab toward the entrance to the clinic.

"Alright hey. Wait wait just a second. I know you're upset, but trust me, you are much safer in here right now. Help is on the way." Sam paused as he stopped her near the front door smiling when he heard the Impala. "Help's already here."

"Sammy? Open up!" Dean knocked on the door.

"Hey." He let the three of them inside shutting and locking the door behind them. "Did you guys get to a phone?"

"No. Road's blocked. Uh, Doc is in there. We need a minute to talk." Dean gestured to Mark watching him walk away with Pam then looked at Sam again. "Crowd of men from town loaded with guns. One of them was Jake."

"What's going on out there?"

"We don't know. Sarge was about the only sane person we could find out there. What are we dealing with? Do you know?" Dean looked at his brother.

"Uh, yeah. Doc thinks it's a virus and I think she's right. I think the infected are trying to infect others with blood to blood contact. Oh what's better or worse, the virus? It leaves traces of sulfur in the blood." Sam filled them in.

"A demonic plague?"

"Yeah more like demonic germ warfare. At least it explains why I've been getting the visions." Sam sighed.

Ruby blinked taking all of this information in. "I think I remember Dad mentioning that theory about Roanoke, but he never bought it. Especially since there was a whole tribe of native Americans not that far away so you'd think it would have affected them too."

"Must be where our Dad got the theory. He mentioned it in his journal. Thought Croatoan might have been the name of a demon. Sometimes known as Deva or Resheph. A demon of plague and pestilence." He recalled what he had seen in the journal.

"Well that's.. that's terrific. Why here and why now?" Dean sighed squeezing Ruby's hand lightly.

"I have no idea, but we've got to get out of here. We don't know how far this could spread. We've got to warn people."

"We've got one. In here." Mark called out getting their attention.

"What do you mean?" He let go of her hand walking into the next room.

"The wife. She's infected." Sam admitted with a frown.

"We've got to take care of this. Can't just leave her in there. My neighbors, they were strong. The longer we wait, the stronger she gets." Mark told them.

Dean barely hesitated as he pulled out his gun walking into the lab.

"You're going to kill Beverly Tanner?" Pam looked at them in disbelief.

"Doctor, could there be any treatment for this? A cure for it?" Sam asked looking for any other option.

"For god's sake, I don't even know what It is!" Dr. Lee yelled out a bit.

"I told you it's a matter of time before she breaks through." Mark added.

"Just leave her in there. You can't shoot her like an animal!" Pam pleaded with them.

"Sam." Dean nodded at his brother who stepped forward opening the door to the utility room that Beverly was being kept in.

"Mark? What are you doing? It's.. It's them! They're the ones that locked me in here. They're infected not me! Mark please! You've known me all of your life. Please!" Beverly pleaded with the man as she remained sitting on the floor.

"Are you sure she's one of em?" Dean looked at Sam.

Sam nodded looking clearly upset that there was no other way to save the woman. Mark stepped back in tears as Dean stepped forward. Ruby swallowed hard turning away as Dean shot the older woman twice. Sure, Ruby's own late mother hadn't been infected by a demonic virus, but she had been possessed by a demon so it hit a bit too close to home for her. She walked through the lab and back out to the front of the building. The blonde busied herself with closing the blinds so anyone outside couldn't see in.

"Hey, you alright?" Sam asked approaching her cautiously.

Ruby shrugged turning to look at him. "No, but I will be once we get out of this town. You know, there is something that I just don't get. Your visions have all been connected in a way. They either led you to one of the special children or in the one case they led you back to Lawrence. Maybe this infection isn't meant to spread. I mean, think about it. Croatoan? Only that one colony vanished. It didn't spread to any of the native American tribes in the country."

"Well I also had the visions of Jessica dying before it happened." He pointed out to her.

She nodded her head at that. "Yeah which makes no sense unless... oh god. What if they were meant to scare you away from her? What if the demon wanted you back on the road hunting? I mean, yeah, there are other people out there like you, but you have to admit that the yellow eyed demon hasn't messed with them as much as he has messed with you. Like if he wanted to, he could have just killed you guys, but he let your dad make the deal to save Dean. I don't know. I just don't like it, Sam."

"Neither do I, but it's going to be alright. We'll figure it all out. I promise." Sam assured her giving the blonde a hug.

Before they knew it, it had become nighttime outside. The three hunters were poised with weapons while Mark peeked through the blinds to see outside. There were a few people gathered outside. Pam screamed catching their attention, but hearing Dr. Lee calm her down made them relax.

"We can't stay here. We've got to get out of here and warn people. The Roadhouse? Somewhere. Let them know what's coming." Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, good point. Night of the living dead didn't exactly end pretty." Dean stayed close to Ruby.

"Well I don't think we've got a choice. Lot of folk up here are pretty good with rifles. Even with all your hardware, we're pretty easy targets. So unless you've got some explosives..." Mark explained with a shrug.

"We can make some." Sam got an idea eyeing a shelf and pulled down a bottle of Potassium Chloride.

Suddenly there was a banging at the front door and a male voice could be heard panicking. "Please let me in! Please! Help!"

"It's Duane Tanner!" Mark called out letting him in and shutting the door locking it again.

Duane sighed in relief walking in with a backpack on and limping. "I was up at Roslyn Lake fishing. I..I don't know what's going on. Everyone's gone crazy."

"Is that the guy I.." Dean clicked his tongue and Sam nodded.

He limped forward. "Who else is here?"

"Whoa easy there big guy. Hey Doc, why don't you give him a once over? I think he's hurt." Dean stopped Duane and gestured to his leg.

They entered the lab and Duane took a seat on a stool. "Who are you?"

"Nevermind who I am. Doc?" Dean gestured toward Duane again.

"Man, where've you been?" Mark looked at the younger man clearly concerned.

Duane sighed trying to relax. "Like I said, I was fishing up in Roslyn Lake. Came back this afternoon and I.. I saw Roger McGill being dragged out of his house by people we know! They were cutting him up with knives! I got scared and I ran. Been hiding in the woods ever since. I.. I thought it would be safe to look for help once it got dark out. Has anyone seen my mom and dad?"

"You're bleeding." Dr. Lee explained the deep gash on Duane's left leg.

"Where'd you get that?" Dean eyed the gash too.

He looked down at his leg. "I'm not sure. I was running and I fell a few times in the woods."

"Tie him up. There's rope in there." Dean instructed them.

His eyes widened at that. "Wait."

"Sit down!" Dean pulled his gun on him.

Ruby held her hands up looking over at Dean. "Okay why don't we all just calm down? Duane, I'm sorry, but it's just a precaution until we know you're not infected."

He looked around for a moment then nodded his head. "Well.. alright."

"Did they bleed on you?" Mark asked him.

Duane looked disturbed by that question. "What? No!"

"Doc, how long until we know if he's infected?" Sam looked toward her.

"It took three hours for the virus to incubate. The sulfur didn't appear in the blood until then so.. no there's no way we'd be able to know until he turned." The doctor admitted.

"Dean, we need to talk." Sam nodded at his brother.

The doctor patched Duane's leg up and took a blood sample. While she went to go get the sample ready for the microscope, Duane was tied to a chair in a room outside of the lab. The same room from Sam's vision. The three hunters stood outside of the lab ready to talk.

"This is my vision. It's happening." Sam frowned.

"Yeah well I figured as much." Dean shrugged his shoulders.

"You can't kill him, alright? Not until we know for sure that he's infected."

"Sam, I think we're pretty damn sure that he's infected. Guy shows up out of nowhere. He's got a cut on his leg and his whole family is infected." He retorted.

Ruby huffed stepping between them. "We're not killing anyone else. At least not yet. What if you kill him and then the sulfur never appears in his blood? Huh? No I'm not letting you add that to your conscience, Dean. We can wait three hours and if he goes into a rage, then you guys can shoot him down before he hurts anyone."

"So we risk him hulking out and infecting someone else? Not a chance. I can't risk that." Dean went to move past them only to get stopped by Sam. "Hey look man, I'm not happy about this either, but it's a tough job."

"It's supposed to be tough, Dean. We're supposed to struggle with this. That's the whole point!"

"And what does that buy us, huh?"

"A clear conscience, for one." Sam blocked him from moving.

"Yeah well it's too late for that." Dean sighed making Ruby swallow hard.

"What the hell's happened to you? You might kill an innocent man and you don't even care! You don't act like yourself anymore, Dean. Hell you're acting like those things out there."

The blonde had enough and pushed them away from each other. "Both of you stop. This isn't helping anyone."

"She's right." Dean started walking away only to get stopped by Sam again and flung Sam way from him into a wall.

Ruby gasped and rushed to Sam's side helping him up. "Sam! Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Dean wait!"

"Sorry, Sammy." He shut the door behind him locking it.

"Damn it." Sam jiggled the lock unable to open the door. "Dean! Don't do this! Dean!"

Duane sat there tied to the chair looking horrified. "It's.. It's not in me. I swear!"

"Oh god. We're all going to die." Pam could be heard from across the room.

"Maybe he's telling the truth." Mark suggested with a hopeful tone.

"No it's not him. Not anymore." Dean said coldly.

He sat there tearfully. "It's not in me. Ask the doctor!"

"I..I can't tell." She admitted sadly.

Duane sobbed shaking a bit. "Please don't. It's not in me. I swear. I swear it's not in me. Please don't."

"I'm sorry. I have no choice." Dean raised his gun aiming it at Duane.

His finger hovered over the trigger as Duane sobbed. Dean trembled hesitating before finally lowering the gun.

"Damn it!" He shook his head walking away to unlock the door.

"It's been four hours. Duane's blood is still clean. I don't think he's infected. I'd like to untie him if that's alright." Dr. Lee announced as she entered the room with her hands in her pockets.

The hunters shared a look and Ruby bit her lip as Dean lowered his head. "That's fine. I'll go help you."

"You know I'm going to ask you why right?" Sam asked once the two women left the room as they continued working on making explosives with rags and glass bottles.

"Yeah I know."

"So why? Why didn't you do it?" He looked over at his brother curiously.

"We need more alcohol." Dean said stoically.

"I'll go get it." Sam stood up walking over to the dispensary room where Pam was busying herself. "How are you holding up, Pam?"

"Good. It'll all be over soon." The woman was oddly calm as she moved to shut the door locking it. "In fact, I've been waiting for this the whole time."

"For what?"

"To get you alone." She smirked lashing out knocking him to the ground.

Pam straddled Sam's chest hitting him hard across the face. Dean, Mark, and a returning Ruby heard the commotion from outside the room. They moved to investigate. In one hand, Pam held a scalpel. She glided it against the skin of Sam's chest slicing it open then repeated the action on her palm. Pam then pressed her bleeding palm against the wound on Sam's chest. The door was then kicked open by Dean who didn't hesitate to shoot her three times in the back. She convulsed and fell to the ground. Sam reached out for Dean who was then held back by Mark.

"She's bled on him. He's got the virus." Mark pointed out.

Ruby pushed past both of them to get to Sam. "Hey, remember what you told me earlier? It's going to be alright. We'll figure this out."

She and Dean helped Sam up taking him out to the lab. They set him on a stool where the doctor patched up the wound on his chest. She also took a blood sample and went to prepare it for the microscope. Dean paced around angrily while Ruby held Sam's hand whispering reassuringly to him.

Duane frowned at them. "We can't take a chance."

"Yeah you know what we have to do." Mark added.

"Nobody is shooting my brother." Dean stopped pacing and looked at them.

He looked at him disbelief. "You were going to shoot me!"

"Yeah and if you don't shut your pie hole, I still might!"

"Dean, they're right. I'm infected. Just give me the gun and I'll do it myself." Sam sighed looking at his brother.

Ruby frowned looking at Sam. "What? No. We're not just going to give up. There's still time to figure this out."

"Time for what? Look I understand he's your brother and I'm sorry. I am. But we've got to take care of this." Mark pulled out his handgun.

"I'm only going to say this one time. You make a move on him and you'll be dead before you hit the ground. You understand me? I mean, do I make myself clear?!" Dean glared at him.

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Mark backed down looking at Dean.

"Get out of here." He tossed the keys to the Impala to Ruby. "You've got the explosives. A whole arsenal there. The three of you go with Ruby. You've got enough firepower to handle anything now."

"What about you?"

"Dean, no. No. Go with them. This is your only chance!" Sam pleaded with his brother.

Ruby shook her head tearfully. "I'm not leaving you guys."

"Yes you are. I promised Bobby I wouldn't let anything happen to you and damn it I'm keeping that promise." Dean pulled her into a passionate kiss pouring everything he felt for her into it. "I'm sorry. Get them to safety and then go home."

She kissed him back and then looked a little dazed as she turned to look at Sam. "I..."

"It's okay, Ruby." Sam gave her a hug. "Now get out of here and be careful."

Ruby hugged him back then followed the others out of the clinic only stopping to look back at the Winchesters tearfully for a moment. "I'm going to miss you guys so much."

"I'm sorry. Thanks for everything, Marshals." Dr. Lee looked at them sadly.

"Oh we're not really Marshals." Dean admitted.

"Um oh." She nodded and walked away from the clinic.

The blonde bit her lip cupping Dean's face with her hand gently. "Dean..."

"I know." Their foreheads touched and he closed his eyes sighing.

Pulling back, he pressed a kiss to her head and watched her leave. He shut the door behind her and turned around only to see Sam tear up. Dean sighed walking back over to his little brother. His heart breaking further with every step that he took.

"Man, I wish we had a deck of cards or a foosball table. Something." Dean sighed.

"Dean, don't do this. Just get the hell out of here." Sam still pleaded with him. "Just give me my gun and leave."

"For the last time, no."

"This is the dumbest thing you've ever did." Sam shook his head at his brother.

"Oh I don't know about that. Remember that waitress in Tampa?" Dean shuddered at the thought.

"Dean, I'm sick. It's over for me. It doesn't have to be for you."

"No?" He looked over at his brother.

"No. Not at all. You have Ruby who we both know that you are hopelessly head over heels in love with and I know she feels the same way about you." Sam pointed out.

"Sam, I'm tired. I'm tired of this job. I'm... this life isn't easy, you know? We didn't ask for this. I didn't ask for this weight on my shoulders. I'm tired of it."

"So what? You're just going to give up? You're just going to lay down and die? Look I know all this stuff with Dad has been weighing down on you a lot..." Sam sighed.

"You're wrong. It's not about Dad. Well I mean, part of it is, sure, but..." Dean trailed off as the sound of banging at the door caught both of their attentions.

Dean grabbed both of their handguns and walked over to the door. He peeked out only to see Ruby standing there with Dr. Lee.

"You'd better come see this." Dr. Lee spoke up.

Hesitantly, Dean and Sam followed them outside to where Mark was standing with Duane. The town was deathly silent and no one else seemed to be around. It was as if the rest of the townspeople had simply vanished. After a bit, the group headed back inside. They were unsure of what to do now. At one point, Ruby fell asleep and Dean took his jacket off draping it over her. He gently brushed her hair away from her face and smiled slightly.

"You should tell her." Sam whispered to him.

"I can't." He shook his head. "Not until the yellow eyed demon is dead. I can't.. she can't be the third blonde we lose that way. I just can't risk that. I won't."

"Then you kill the bastard because you deserve to be happy, Dean, and I've never seen anyone make you as happy as she does." Sam admitted to his older brother.

The next few hours went by awkwardly. There were surprisingly no signs of Sam being infected. It was some time in the early morning when Dr. Lee checked Sam's blood sample again. She blinked and looked through the microscope checking it again.

"Well it's been five hours and your blood's still clean. I don't know how, but I think you dodged a bullet." She announced.

"But I was exposed. How could I not be infected?"

"I don't know. You're just not. When you compare it to the Tanner samples..." Dr. Lee trailed off looking in a second microscope at the other samples. "What the hell?"

"What?"

"Their blood. There's no trace of the virus. No sulfur. Nothing." She glanced over at him in shock.

Ruby rubbed her eyes yawning a bit. "Well the people vanished right? Maybe the virus vanished with them."

"Or I'm immune." He gave the blonde a look.

She shook her head moving to hug him. "The important thing is that you're not sick and you don't have to die, Sammy. We'll worry about everything else later."

Duane stood in the doorway with Mark looking over at Dr. Lee. "Hey, the Sarge and I are getting the hell out of here. We're heading South. You should come."

"Thanks, but I'd better get over to Sidewinder. Get the authorities up here. If they'll believe me. Take care though." The doctor smiled at them as they left.

"What about him?" Dean gestured to Sam.

"He's going to be fine. There's no signs of infection."

"Hey man, don't look at me. I got no clue." Sam shrugged at Dean as the doctor went back inside.

"I swear I'm going to lose sleep over this one. I mean, why here and why now? And where did everyone go? It's like they melted." Dean groaned running his fingers through his hair.

"Why was I immune?" Sam added.

"Yeah, you know, good question. I'm already beginning to feel like this was the one that got away." Dean walked toward the driver's side door of the Impala only to realize he didn't have the keys.

Ruby held them up moving past him to get into the car. "I don't think so. Neither of you have gotten any sleep. I did. Therefore it is my turn to drive. You boys just get in and relax."

"Don't hurt my baby." Dean chuckled getting into the passenger seat.

"Don't backseat drive." Sam laughed sprawling out in the backseat.

Duane was in the passenger seat as Mark drove his pick up truck down a dark two lane road. They were already a few hours out of town. Both relieved to be away from that mess.

He looked ahead and spoke up. "Hey mind pulling over right up there?"

"Alright." Mark pulled the truck over onto the shoulder parking it.

Duane nodded his head approvingly. "Thanks. I've got to make a call."

"There's no phone out here."

He pulled out a knife. "I've got it covered."

"What the hell is that?" Mark looked over at him alarmed.

In one swift motion, Duane lashed out slicing Mark's throat collecting the blood in a small metal bowl. He swirled his fingers in the blood and began to talk.

"It's over. You'll be pleased. I don't think any more tests will be necessary. The Winchester boy definitely immune as expected." Duane paused as his eyes had gone pure demonic black. "Yes of course. Nothing left behind."

After the Winchesters had a good enough nap in the Impala, Ruby eventually pulled over at a diner. It had been a good bit since they had last ate so she knew they were all starving. The three of them ate only making quiet small talk here and there. After they finished and paid for the food along with leaving a tip. Ruby let Dean drive again. He kissed her and then got into the driver's seat. Dean stopped the car again not too long after on a road near a bridge that was overlooking a river. It was a pretty nice spot. He pulled out the beers handing Sam one then offered one to Ruby.

She shook her head gesturing to a bench a few feet away. "No thanks. I think I'm going to go try to call my dad."

"Sounds like a good idea. Maybe check with Ellen too. Make sure everything is alright." Dean pressed a kiss to her head then watched her walk away.

"So last night, you want to tell me what you were talking about?" Sam looked over at Dean.

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? You were talking about how you were tired of the job and that it wasn't just because of Dad." He took a sip of his beer.

"Just forget it, Sam." Dean took a long sip of his beer staring out at the water.

"No. No way."

"Ugh come on man. I thought we were both going to die. You can't hold that against me." Dean groaned.

"No, no, no. You can't pull that crap with me. You're talking." He gestured at his brother.

"And if I don't?" He challenged.

"Then I guess I'll just have to keep asking until you do." Sam shrugged.

"I just think maybe we should take a break. Go see the Grand Canyon."

"What?"

"I've never been to see the Grand Canyon. We could go to Tijuana or go to Hollywood. See if we can get you and Lindsay Lohan to hook up." Dean chuckled taking another sip of his beer. "I just think we should take a break from all of this. Live life a little. Why do we have to be the ones to shoulder this responsibility?"

"Why are you saying this?" He looked at his brother in confusion as Dean shook his head turning away. "No, no, you're my brother. So whatever weight you're carrying, let me help a bit."

"I can't. I promised Dad and I already broke that promise once." Dean's gaze travelled over toward Ruby.

"Oh so Ruby knows." He followed his gaze. "Doesn't surprise me. She's good at getting us to open up."

"Yeah. Look, Dad told me something right before he died. He.. told me something about you." He swallowed hard and looked at Sam.

"What? Dean, what did he tell you?" Sam looked at Dean with a mix of surprise and curiosity.

Ruby glanced over seeing that they looked upset and wondered if she should check on them though she ultimately decided to give them space instead. "Yeah we're fine, Dad. I'm just glad to be far away from there, you know? So you haven't heard of anything similar popping up anywhere?"

Bobby shook his head though she couldn't see it. "Good and no I haven't. Just the usual normal hunts. Maybe you guys should just come back to Sioux Falls and lay low for a bit."

She smiled softly at the thought. "Yeah we might. I'll let you know when we start heading back there. I should check in with Aunt Ellen too. I'll call you again soon, Daddy. Bye."

Ruby ended the call and looked back over at the boys furrowing her brows at Sam's raised voice.