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:

Chapter Thirty Eight

The three hunters took a small break after the last hunt at Ruby's insistence to make sure their heads were straight. It was a few days later when they started looking for hunts again. One in particular stood out though. A lawyer in San Francisco who appeared to have been killed by a wild animal in his office which was also several stories up from the ground. Dean and Ruby were a bit worried about how Sam would handle a hunt in California that wasn't that far from where he had lost Jessica. They would both keep an eye on him just in case. After settling into the motel in town, the hunters split up with the Winchesters heading to the Morgue posing as local detectives while Ruby decided to be a little more subtle.

The blonde entered the bar which was a few blocks away from the lawyer's office and made a beeline for a table surrounded by people in professional clothes. "Excuse me, did you guys work with Nate Mulligan?"

A pretty brunette lifted her head obviously having been crying. "Yes. You're not a reporter, are you? I feel like we've dealt with enough of those in the past few days."

Ruby shook her head smiling slightly at her. "Of course not. Nate was my uncle. Well not by blood, but Uncle Nate was close enough to my father that he may as well have been a blood uncle."

"Oh you poor thing! We're so sorry for your loss." Another woman spoke up.

She felt a bit guilty for lying, but didn't let it show as she sat down. "Thank you. Does anyone know what happened? The police aren't telling us anything."

The brunette sighed at her. "We don't really know. The last time we saw him was the night before when he was really drunk so I called him a cab. I was filling the coffee pot with water the next morning when I noticed the smeared blood on the door of his office. So I walked in and.. and there he was on his desk covered in blood."

"We've all been pretty shaken up about it. Especially Madison here though no one can blame her." A guy spoke up gesturing to the brunette.

Ruby nodded her head filing the woman's name away in her memory to tell the boys later. "What was Uncle Nate like recently? I mean, he seemed normal over the phone to me."

"Oh Nate was his usual self. Always working and always flirting. There's all sorts of theories floating around in the news, but the police haven't confirmed much at all." The woman spoke again.

The blonde glanced at her phone then stood up faking a sniffle. "I should really get going. Thank you though."

"His body had a massive bite mark running down his chest. The medical examiner confirms that if they didn't know any better, they'd say a wolf bit him. His heart was also missing." Sam filled Ruby in on their trip to the local morgue.

Ruby looked surprised at what he said. "Well that does line up with what the woman who found him said. Her name is Madison and she was making coffee that morning when she saw blood on his office door. So she goes to look and he was on his desk covered in blood."

"Nate Mulligan wasn't the first victim either. Over the past few months, several women have gone missing from an area called Hunter's Point only for their bodies to later turn up in the Bay with their hearts missing. The murders all took place within the weeks leading up to the full moon which is actually this week." Dean explained.

The blonde nodded her head at him. "So we're dealing with a werewolf."

"Werewolves are badass. We haven't seen one since we were kids. At least we already know how to kill them." The older Winchester brother chuckled pulling out a magazine of silver bullets. "One of these bad boys straight to the heart."

"Anyway we should talk to Madison. See if she knows anything else." Sam suggested.

The three hunters left the motel making their way over to the apartment building where Madison lived. Ruby opted to stay in the Impala so as to not blow her cover just yet. The Winchesters headed into the building then went up to Madison's apartment where she was talking to a bearded man that she then referred to as Glen, her neighbor.

"Detective Landis and this is Detective Dante. We just had a few follow up questions for you." Dean flashed a badge.

"Right. Well I'll leave you to it then." Glen smiled politely and walked back to his apartment.

Madison nodded letting the guys inside. "Uh sure, but I don't really know what else to say. I already told the cops about what happened."

"Did Nate have any enemies?" Sam asked her gently.

She gave them a confused look. "I thought it was an animal attack."

"Yeah, but it's standard to ask." The older Winchester quickly covered for his brother.

Madison thought it over then her eyes widened a bit. "Not really any aside from your typical threats from clients, but... Nate, he'd get several scotches in him and flirt with anyone. You know the type."

"Yeah I do." He glanced at his big brother.

She shook her head and sighed. "That night we were all at the bar. My ex boyfriend Kurt was there. He was just staring at us. It made me very uncomfortable. He scares me."

"This Kurt have a last name?" Dean raised his eyebrows at her.

Madison made a face at that. "Mueller. It's kind of embarrassing, but after we broke up, Kurt went nuts. He got it into his head that something was going on between Nate and I. He showed up at my job and got into it with Nate. Kurt threw a punch before he was grabbed by security. I was lucky to keep my job."

The Winchesters returned to the car shortly afterward relaying the information they had learned to Ruby. It didn't take too long for them to find an address for Kurt. His apartment was empty and there were seemingly no signs that pointed to him being the werewolf that they were hunting. The sound of a door opening and closing followed by a crash caught their attention. Dean made sure Ruby and Sam were safe before looking around again. He opened the sliding glass door stepping onto the balcony only to see claw marks in the concrete wall of the building. The marks trailed all the way down to the ground. He showed them to Sam and Ruby. Moments later, a gun shot rang out. The three of them ran downstairs out of the building only to find a mauled police officer.

"I'm calling the cops." Sam pulled out his phone making an anonymous call.

"Well Kurt's looking more and more like our Cujo." Dean remarked looking at the mauled officer.

Ruby frowned at that. "If that's true then we better check on Madison. She might be in danger."

The brunette looked surprised when she answered the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Interfering with our investigation. Have you seen Kurt around?" Dean asked her.

Madison bit her lip. "Well not exactly."

"What do you mean not exactly?" Sam looked at her.

She sighed softly at them. "He was outside just standing on the grass looking up at me. Just staring. It was really unnerving. Has he done something?"

"Uh, we're not really sure." He admitted before glancing at Dean.

"It's probably nothing, but we just want to check it out. There is a possibility that you might be in danger so one of us should probably stay here just in case he stops by again. Where does he work?" The elder Winchester brother smoothly spoke to her.

Madison nodded her head though appeared a bit scared. "He owns a body shop. I'll get that address for you."

"You guys go, I'll stay." Sam offered once Madison left the room.

"Forget that. You go after the creepy ex. I'll stay here with the hot chick." Dean smirked only to get smacked upside the head by Ruby.

"Dude, why do you always get to hang with the girls?" He argued.

"Because I'm older." He rubbed at his head a bit.

"No screw that. We'll settle this the old fashioned way." Sam declared holding out his fist.

Ruby rolled her eyes as they did Rock, Paper, Scissors only for Dean to lose. "Always with the scissors, Dean."

"God!" He grumbled in frustration.

"Bundle up out there, alright?" Sam chuckled slightly.

Madison walked back in smiling softly. "Here's the address."

"Thanks." Dean took the scrap of paper with the address scrawled on it and left the apartment with Ruby.

The pair drove over to the body shop that Kurt owned. Ruby let Dean take the lead and he found out that Kurt unfortunately hadn't been at work all week. Despite that, he did get a solid tip on where they might be able to find Kurt. Ruby rolled her eyes clearly unhappy that they had to go to a strip club while Dean teased Sam about it over the phone. She huffed keeping an eye on Kurt while Dean handed a dollar to a stripper.

"So what were you doing with Kurt?" Sam asked curiously after ending his call.

Madison shrugged as she folded her laundry. "I don't know. It's not like he introduced himself all like 'Hey I'm possessive and controlling. I like to punch people. Want to be my girlfriend?'. He was sorta charming in the beginning, I guess."

"Yeah well we all make mistakes." He chuckled softly at that.

She nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah well mine is wanted by the police. You want to know why I stayed with him really? I was too insecure to leave."

"I find that hard to believe. You don't seem the type."

Madison sighed tucking her hair behind her ear. "Yeah, well, stuff happened. My life changed. I changed. For the better, I think."

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking." His brows raised at her.

She continued folding her clothes. "I was mugged."

"And that's a good thing?"

Madison laughed slightly. "I know it sounds strange. Don't get me wrong, it did rattle me. Then it hit me. I could keep feeling sorry for myself or I could pick myself up. Take control of my life. I chose the latter. First thing I did was tell Kurt that he had to go."

"Smart move." Sam nodded his head in agreement.

She smiled softly at him. "Yeah apparently. Everything just kind of changed after that. In a good way. It's been wonderful, really. I'm going to go put these clothes away then turn in for the night."

"Okay. I'll, you know, be here. If you hear anything, i mean, if you wake up, just call out." He fidgeted nervously.

Madison nodded her head grabbing her basket of clean clothes. "Okay."

Sam waited until she was in her room then put on a movie. He sighed letting himself relax a bit. The younger Winchester glanced over at her room after a while, but there was no movement so he could only assume she was already in bed. Outside of Kurt's house, Dean stood with Ruby eyeing the building as the lights turn on in the man's apartment. He pulled his gun out ensuring it was ready only to hear the sound of glass shattering. The lights were now off and Dean ran into the building followed closely by Ruby. They entered the apartment looking around. Dean entered one room only to find a woman hovering over Kurt's mauled body. She turned toward Dean and that's when he realized that she was Madison. Her eyes were electric blue, she had bloody fangs, and long claws. She still looked somewhat human though. Madison growled running at Dean knocking him into the wall. Hearing this, Ruby ran in just in time to see her jump out the window. Dean was slumped against the wall holding a silver knife that had a bit of blood on the blade.

Ruby ran over checking him over only to be relieved when she found a steady pulse. "Dean!"

To her dismay, he was definitely unconscious. Luckily he hadn't completely slumped down to the ground so she draped his arm across her shoulders. She closed the knife placing it back in his pocket then slowly walked him awkwardly out of the apartment. Ruby had to stop a few times because he was heavy, but she got him back to the Impala. She set him down in the passenger seat then drove back to the motel. The blonde awkwardly got him out of the car and into the room laying him on the bed. It was then that she gave him a better once over, but he didn't seem to be injured aside from being knocked unconscious.

"Wha..." Dean woke up the next morning looking confused.

Ruby sighed in relief. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

"Alright, I think. Head hurts a bit. Got to get to Sam." He sat up only to groan and lay back down.

She handed him some pain killers along with a bottle of water. "Sam's fine. I checked in with him a few minutes ago."

"Good. Thanks. Ugh she just ran at me before I could react." Dean sighed taking the pills and drinking some water.

Ruby nodded her head. "I know. I'm sorry that I didn't have your back."

"No, no, don't say that. I'm glad she didn't see you. I'd rather get my head rocked than you get hurt or worse." He admitted to her.

She smiled softly at him. "I know."

Dean sighed setting his bottle of water aside and pulled her into his arms laying down with her. She snuggled against him as they fell back to asleep. They woke up a little while later and he called Sam as they got ready for the day.

"Hey. You guys okay?" Sam asked though relieved to hear his brother's voice.

"Yeah now that I'm conscious. The werewolf knocked me out after I caught it hovering over a mauled Kurt. Sam, it's Madison." Dean admitted with a sigh.

"What? That's ridiculous." He made a face walking through the apartment toward her bedroom.

"Yeah, awesome job of keeping an eye on her."

"Dean, I've been here the entire time. She's in bed asleep." He whispered as he entered the room to find the woman in question asleep in her bed with her naked body wrapped in her bed sheets.

"And I'm telling you that she wasn't a few hours ago. Check her right arm below her elbow. I nicked her with a silver knife." Dean told him and hung up.

Madison chose that moment to roll over waking up. She greeted Sam then sat up appearing confused as she realized that she was now naked. He noticed the wound that Dean had mentioned and swallowed hard leaving the room. Madison grew even more confused wrapping her comforter around her and followed him only to see him lock her front door.

A now fully dressed Madison was sitting in a chair with her wrists bound. "Sam, this is absolutely psychotic. Monsters aren't real."

"You know what? Save the act." Sam stood in front of her holding his gun.

Tears fell from her eyes as she gazed up at him. "It's not an act, you ass. I'm not a werewolf! I can't be. They don't exist."

"Then where did that come from?" He gestured to the wound on her arm.

She shook her head in disbelief. "I don't know. I just don't know. Please think this through before you do something that you'll regret. I'm not what you think I am."

"How are you doing? My head feels great, thanks." Dean smirked at her as Sam let him and Ruby into the apartment.

Madison gave her a confused look. "What are you doing here?"

She gave the woman a sympathetic smile. "I'm not really Nate's niece. I'm a hunter. We hunt supernatural things and try our best to save people affected by them."

The brunette shook her head. "It's not true. I'm not a werewolf. They don't exist."

Ruby sighed softly at her. "Then how do you explain Nate's death? Wolves don't just wander into office buildings and maul people several stories up."

"We need to talk." Sam interrupted then led his brother and Ruby into the kitchen. "She has absolutely no idea what we're talking about."

"She's lying."

Ruby shook her head at him. "Or she's telling the truth."

"Like a really hot Incredible Hulk. Come on, dude, she ganked her boss and her ex boyfriend. That doesn't sound rash and unconscious." Dean argued.

The blonde pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment. "Yeah two men who made her feel very uncomfortable. Maybe her subconscious was trying to protect her."

"Look, I don't know. There was something in her eyes. She's not faking it." Sam sighed.

"Yeah she's killing people!" Dean huffed at his brother.

"But if she has no control over it..." He tried to counter.

"Exactly! She can't control it. If she is telling the truth, it's not going to change anything." The older Winchester brother pointed out.

"I'm not putting a bullet through some poor girl's chest when she has no idea what is happening." Sam protested.

"Sam, she's a monster and you're feeling sorry for her?" He looked at him in disbelief.

Ruby rolled her eyes at that. "I thought we agreed that everything wasn't so black and white after the whole Lenore incident."

"Lenore wasn't mauling people, Ruby." Dean scoffed.

"Maybe I understand Madison." Sam frowned. "Look, there might be another way we can get the job done without having to waste her."

"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"Lycanthropy might have a cure if you kill the werewolf who bit you, severing the line." Sam pulled out their father's journal flipping it open to a certain page and read from it.

Ruby gave him a sympathetic look. "Sam, we don't want you to get your hopes up. If there was a werewolf that were ever cured that way, we would know."

"It's worth a shot." He shrugged putting the journal away.

"Sam, come on, we don't even know where to start looking. She could have been bit by anyone at any time."

"Actually, I think I know when." Sam realized and led them back over to Madison. "When were you mugged? Please, Madison, it's important."

She appeared hesitant then frowned at him. "It was about a month ago."

"Did you see the guy?" The taller Winchester raised his brows at her.

Madison shook her head. "No. He grabbed me from behind."

"Did he bite you?" Sam asked her.

She looked at him surprised. "How did you know?"

"Where?"

Madison sighed at him. "On the back of my neck."

Sam set down his gun then gently brushed her long dark hair aside. A scarred lump the size of a golf ball was revealed to be on the back of her neck. Sam frowned and shared a look with his brother.

"Oh that's just a love bite. Trust me, it could have been much worse. Where were you at the time?" Dean asked.

The brunette gazed up at them wearily. " I was walking home from a friend's loft."

"Let me guess, not too far from Hunter's Point?" Sam asked to which she responded with a nod.

Ruby pulled the two boys into another room. "So the same place where those other murders occurred. That can't be a coincidence."

"That must be the werewolf's hunting grounds."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean it's going to be out there tonight." Dean shrugged his shoulders.

"It's the right time of the lunar cycle. I know it's a long shot, but we have to at least try."

She frowned at that. "But what about Maddie? She's probably going to turn soon. We can't just let her get loose again and have her turn San Francisco into an all you can eat buffet."

"I'll stay with her." Sam volunteered.

"And if she busts loose? Sam?" Dean gave him a knowing look.

"I'll do it."

"Sam..." He kept looking at his brother.

"I'll shoot her, alright? I need you guys to out there. At least go look for this thing. Dean, please. We can save this girl." Sam pleaded with his brother.

"Fine." He relented with a sigh.

Ruby bit her lip not pleased at all with the situation. "Just be careful, Sam."

Madison frowned still crying a bit. "Please, just let me go."

"Look, Maddie, I know you're scared. I don't blame you. I know there is no way you believe all of it. I'm only doing this because I'm trying to help you. I won't lie, alright. The odds really aren't in our favor, but if this goes the way I pray that it does then I'll untie you. I'll walk out the door and never look back. You can live your life and I'll be nothing more than a bad distant memory." Sam admitted clearly emotional as he teared up a bit.

Ruby focused as she entered Hunter's Point by Dean's side. She knew deep down that this plan wasn't going to work. It made her feel terrible for Sam and Madison. The sound of an animal howling pulled her from her thoughts. They caught sight of a hooker running down the street clearly terrified and followed her. The werewolf grabbed the woman dragging her across the pavement making her scream.

"Hey!" Dean shouted catching the werewolf's attention shooting him in the chest three times.

The woman still looked frightened as she pulled away from the dying werewolf. Ruby gave her a once over, but didn't see any injuries that would turn the woman into a werewolf herself thankfully. She ran off still scared and the two hunters glanced down at the werewolf. It was Glen, Madison's neighbor.

"Oh god, it happened again. W..Where am I? Help.. Help me. Oh. God. Oh my god." He rambled then coughed a bit.

"Alright, easy, Glen. Just take it easy." Dean tried to calm him down.

They watched as his eyes glazed over and knew he was dead. Ruby glanced around relieved that no one had come to see what was going on. That was the last thing they needed especially with the FBI looking for the Winchesters. Madison awoke the next morning in her room still clothed. She was surprised to see that her room was a mess. Furniture was overturned and claw marks covered every inch of the walls.

"It should be over now. You'll never see me again." Sam spoke as he opened her bedroom door then left the apartment heading outside where Dean was waiting in the Impala with Ruby.

"I mean, it was kind of sad really. Glen knew he was, well, blacking out, but he didn't know why. He had no idea what was really going on. Hey, why do you think he turned Madison instead of just killing her in the first place?"

Ruby gave him a knowing look. "Just like we suspected with Madison. I don't know. He seemed pretty into her. His werewolf subconscious probably latched onto his feelings for her."

"Yeah maybe. Speaking of Madison..." Dean gave his brother a look.

"Oh whatever." His eyes rolled at that.

"Don't whatever me, man. You liked her. Maybe uh.." He trailed off only to get interrupted by his brother.

"Dean, she thinks I'm a stark raving lunatic."

"You saved her life." Dean pointed out.

"Yeah well she doesn't know that." He frowned.

Madison tapped on the window of the passenger side door looking a bit amused. "Your car's a bit conspicuous for a stake out. What are you still doing here?"

Ruby gave her a hopeful look. "Honestly we can't just leave until we know for sure that you won't turn again. We're pretty sure you won't, but we have to be one hundred percent."

"I know this sounds crazy." Sam gave her a sheepish look.

She sighed nodding at him. "Sure does. Well if we're going to wait it out, might as well do it together."

The four of them went back up to her apartment and Ruby bit her lip. "I'm sorry you had to go through all of this."

Madison nodded her head. "Yeah me too. So you guys were telling the truth, huh? About everything. You really were trying to help me."

"Yeah we were." Dean sighed softly.

She frowned at that. "I did all of those terrible things when I turned."

"You didn't know." Sam assured her.

Madison sighed softly. "So when will we know for sure? Moonrise?"

"No I don't think so. You turned middle of the night last night. I think we've got to hang in until sun up." The younger Winchester admitted.

"Well it looks like we've got a few hours to kill. Poker anyone?" Dean spoke up.

The four of them watched as the sun sinks and the moon rose in the sky. It was a tense few hours until the sun rose again. Ruby was surprised when Madison didn't turn again. Could it have really been that easy? She wasn't so sure, but she went with it for now.

Madison looked at the three of them hopeful. "So does this mean it worked?"

"I think so." Sam looked relieved.

She sighed in relief giving Sam a hug. "Oh god thank you. Thank you so much! You, too, Dean and Ruby. Thanks."

"Aw, don't mention it. Actually I think we're going to get going back to the hotel." Dean pumped his fist into the air then took Ruby's hand leaving the apartment.

Madison raised her brows at that clearly a bit amused. "That was smooth."

"He means well, but..." Sam trailed off rubbing at the back of his neck awkwardly.

She smirked playfully at him. "He thinks you're going to get laid. It's okay."

"Too much has happened. There's just no way... we could go back, you know?"

Madison nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah there's no way."

After a moment, she stepped forward and kissed him. Sam gave in returning the kiss pushing her up against the wall. They took each other's clothes off making their way to her bedroom and fall back onto her bed. True to his word, Dean went back to the motel with Ruby. She was still unsure of what was going on as she didn't want Sam to feel pressured to hook up with a girl as she knew he was still healing from the loss of Jessica, but she also knew that he would have left Madison's apartment if he wasn't going to go all the way with her.

"You worry too much." Dean murmured pulling her into a kiss.

Ruby smiled softly kissing him back. "Well someone has to, Dean."

He smiled kissing her again as they removed each other's clothes. Hours later, the full moon rose again and Sam woke up in Madison's bedroom. He heard a growl and looked around only to see Madison in her werewolf form. Before he could get to her, she leaped out of her window. Sam swore under his breath quickly getting dressed before running out of the apartment. There was no sign of her once he got outside. Shaking his head, he ran off toward the motel. He ran down the hall once he got there and pounded at the door of the room that Dean was staying in with Ruby.

"What... Sammy? What's going on?" He answered the door wearing just a tshirt and his boxers.

"She.. she turned." Sam revealed breathlessly.

"What? But I thought... " Dean trailed off looking at him in disbelief.

"I couldn't grab her in time." He frowned.

"We'll find her, Sammy." Dean assured him opening the door further revealing Ruby waking up with the bed sheets wrapped around her bare body.

The blonde yawned then looked surprised to see Sam. "What's wrong?"

"Madison turned again." The taller Winchester admitted grimly. "I'm going to go make a few calls. See if anyone knows anything that might help."

Ruby watched him leave then got up disappearing into the bathroom with her bag. She walked out a few minutes later freshened up and in a clean outfit. Dean did the same then they met up with Sam again. She knew when she saw his face that none of his phone calls had turned up anything useful.

"Well there's got to be something. We'll just have to look harder!" Sam argued with his brother.

"Sam, I don't think we really have a choice here anymore. I hate to say it. She's a sweet girl, but part of her is... evil." Dean sighed.

"Yeah that's what they say about me, Dean! So me you won't kill, but her you're just going to blow away?" He huffed getting upset.

Ruby frowned at him. "The difference there is that you can control it, Sam. Madison obviously can't control it. Like yeah maybe she could find a way to lock herself up every month during the full moon, but that's no way to live."

Before he could respond, his phone rang only to hear a familiar voice. "Sam?"

"Madison? Where are you?" Sam sighed in relief.

The brunette stood in a phone booth glancing around. "I don't.. I don't know where I am."

"Do you see any street signs or anything?" He asked as the three of them headed toward the Impala quickly.

Madison looked around again. "Uh yeah, Middle Point."

"Alright, Middle Point. Hold on, Maddie. We're coming to get you. Stay right there." Sam assured her.

Sure enough, they found her waiting by the phone booth. They got her into the car and took her back to her apartment. The four of them settled in her living room. The three hunters knew what needed to be done, but Sam clearly was still holding out hope for another way.

Madison frowned at them as one of the Winchester's guns sat on the coffee table. "I don't remember anything. Oh god, I probably killed someone last night didn't I?"

"There's no way to really know that yet." Dean assured her.

She grew upset at that. "Is there anything else we can try to make it go away?"

"We'll find something. I mean, there's got to be an answer somewhere." Sam quickly said.

"Actually that's not entirely true, Madison. You deserve to know that we scoured every resource and there's just no cure." The older Winchester brother admitted to her.

Ruby sighed giving her a sympathetic look. "You could lock yourself up every month during the week of the full moon. There's no guarantee that you won't break out and hurt someone though."

She lets out a breath as tears fall down her face. "So I guess that's all there is to it then."

"Stop. Don't talk like that." Sam frowned at her.

Madison picked up the gun and brought it over to him. "Sam, I don't want to hurt anyone else. I don't want to hurt you."

"Put that down." He grew even more upset.

She frowned handing the gun to him only for Dean to take it. "I can't do it myself. I need you to do it."

Ruby grew upset and was about to protest only to be cut off by Dean pulling her into the kitchen.

"Maddie, no."

Madison cried more. "Sam, I'm a monster."

"You don't have to be. We can find some way. I can. I'm going to save you." Sam pleaded with her.

She was nearly sobbing by then. "You tried. I know you tried, but this is the only option left. Please help me, Sam. I want you to do it. I want it to be you. Look, I don't want to die, but I can't live like this either. This is how you can save me. Please. I'm asking you to save me."

Ruby was in the kitchen practically fuming. "That is so unfair of her. I get that she is distraught, but he can't..."

"Ruby..." Sam caught them by surprise.

"Sam, I'm sorry." Dean frowned holding up the gun.

"No, you're right. She's right." He looked at that with tears in his eyes.

Ruby frowned at him. "One of us could do it. We got this one."

"No, no, she asked me to do it." Sam sighed at them.

"You don't have to, Sammy." Dean softened toward him.

"Yes I do. Please." He took the gun as tears streamed down his face. "Just wait here."

A tear rolled down Dean's face as they watched Sam walk away. Ruby clung to Dean both flinching when a gunshot rang out. She buried her face against his chest crying a bit. Once Sam returned, he handed the gun to Dean then walked out of the apartment. They waited a moment then slipped out after him. By some miracle, they were able to blend in with some frightened neighbors who were fleeing the building. They slipped away unnoticed once they were outside and got into the Impala driving off.

Needing a break after what had happened with Madison, the three hunters ended up back at the Singer home in Sioux Falls. Ruby hated that Sam had to go through this. They tried not to baby him and to let him just grieve in peace. Dean took the time to busy himself with giving Baby a tune up. Meanwhile Bobby was still unsure how he felt about the older Winchester brother being involved with his daughter romantically. Ruby just let it be and focused on Sam again.

The blonde approached him smiling softly. "You're in a better mood."

"Yeah well I'm trying." Sam looked over at her.

Ruby sat down beside him. "So, um, you and Madison huh?"

"Uh, yeah. I thought I'd feel, I don't know, guilty, but I really didn't. Maybe a little, but for the most part I was okay." He smiled slightly at her.

The blonde smiled a bit more at him. "That's good. You and Jessica loved each other. That much was obvious. She would never have wanted you to close yourself off, you know? Jessica would have wanted you to take as long as you needed to grieve and then learn how to be happy again."

"I'll be happy once we gank the demon that killed her and mom. But thanks Ruby. I needed that." Sam nodded and pulled her into a hug.

Ruby returned the hug rubbing his back gently. "Of course. You're welcome."