" Disease generally begins that equality which death completes. " - Samuel Johnson

• • •

Dean walked towards a door, his expression menacing and determined as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his pistol. He made sure it was loaded, everything appeared slowed and blurred, as he put the magazine back into the gun. He peered around a corner, light hitting him through a window.

Opening the door, he looked at a young blond man seated in a chair in the center of the room. The room was white, looking almost sterile, like a clinic. The blond man looked up at Dean as he stepped in, gun held high, and shut the door.

"No, no, no, no, you're not gonna-" the young man cut himself off, "No! I swear! It's not in me!"

"Oh God, we're all gonna die, "A young blonde girl spoke from another spot in the room. "Maybe he's telling the truth," an older black man stated. "He's not him, not anymore," Dean rebuked.

"Stop it! Ask her! Ask the doctor!" the young man screamed. An older woman in a white clincial coat looked between Dean and the young man, panicked. "It's not in me!"

"I... just..." The doctor stuttered, "I can't tell." "No, please, don't, please don't, I swear, I swear, I swear-" the man's pleas faded into the background as Dean raised his pistol, "I've got no choice."

A gunshot rang.

• • •

Sam panted, his eyes shooting open, staring at the ceiling. He could hear the door to the motel room unlocking and opening, he could feel his heart beating, pulsing rang in his ears matching it's pattern. He recognized that he was on the floor and not in the bed he had previously been on, and was beginning to grasp reality once again as Dean stepped through the door, a case of beer in hand.

He sat up, taking deep breaths as Dean spoke, "Sam?"

• • •

Noah sat up on his bed, raising a hand to his head. He really should know better than to have that many glasses of whiskey in one night. He whistled for Delta, as she jumped onto the bed, he started petting her head.

His gut started to stir as he zoned out, staring ahead at the walls. He had a weird feeling. Something told him to pickup his phone, and he did just so. He looked at his screen and for some reason, he went to his contacts. Something felt off, and he felt the need to check on the Winchesters.

He clicked the keys on his flip phone, having not upgraded in several years, before calling Dean himself. It went straight to voicemail. Noah's concern spiked, as he called Sam.

-

Dean pressed the buttonson the payphone getting nothing but a dial tone. He sighed, turning back to Sam and he put it back, "Line's dead."

"I'll tell you one thing, if I was gonna massacre a town, that'd be my first step," Dean said with a grim tone.

Sam's phone started to ring, Sam and Dean looked at one another. It wasn't ten seconds ago that neither of them had service on their mobiles, they hadn't even stepped away yet. "Okay, now that's freaky," Dean spoke as Sam pulled his phone back out of his jacket, answering, "Hello?"

-

"Hey, you two alright?" Noah asked, stroking down Delta's back. The german shepherd smiled up at him, panting as she rolled over for a belly rub.

-

"Uh, well, we were actually about to call you for some help on a case but we didn't have service," Sam replied, furrowing his eyebrows. It just didn't make sense.

-

"Then how am I talking to you right now?" Noah pondered, now he was beyond confused.

-

"I don't know man, but I think we need your help," Sam requested.

"Okay, where are you?" Noah's voice crackled through the speaker of the phone.

-

"River Grove, Oregon," Sam's reply came through the phone. "Alright, I'm in Salem, I should be able to get there in..." Noah looked at his map, tracing and measuring with his pinky nail, counting miles, "No more than an hour if traffic isn't too bad."

-

"Okay, we'll see you then," Sam went to hang up. "Hey! And don't do anything stupid until I get there," Noah's stern and playful tone shined, even muffled from the phone. Sam laughed, "Last I checked, you had all the stupid with you."

"Fair enough," Noah laughed, "I'll see you then."

"See you then," Sam concluded, hanging up and placing his phone back in his pocket. His smile lingered for a moment he dare not question, knowing the gulf and self-deprecation that train of thought would bring him to. Dean, meanwhile, observed the interaction with a small smile, which he quickly dropped as Sam looked back to him. He so badly wanted to raise his eyebrow at his brother but he muttered to himself, "Not the time, Winchester, not the time."

• • •

Turning onto the main road, Noah passed a sign with a picture of the local lake, which said 'River Grove Chamber Of Commerce.' He looked to his left, seeing Dean stood at the open trunk of the Impala, Sam nowhere to be found.

He pulled the Jeep in, right in front of Baby, making Dean look up and sigh in relief. Noah stepped out, opening the door for Delta as he put her on her leash. Noah looked to Dean, sighing. "What happened?" He could see it on Dean's face.

Dean huffed a breath, looking to the dark-haired man. "Woman was being held captive by her husband and son, we got her out, killed the husband before he could hurt us, the son got away."

"Okay, you maybe wanna fill me in on everything else that's going on? I didn't get much over the phone," Noah questioned in a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah," Dean sighed, rubbing his face, "So, Sam's been having these... weird dreams, for the past month or two and he had one, and we came here, well we were investigating and on one of the telephone poles, the word 'Croatoan' was carved into the wood."

"Like Roanoke," Noah nodded, "Okay, what do ya' mean, 'weird dreams'?" Noah asked.

Dean looked down, "Like," He looked back up at Noah, "Like, they predict the future, weird dreams, okay?"

Noah grit his teeth, banging his hand onto the side of the Jeep, "Dammit!" Delta jumped at the noise, as Dean looked at him, confused and a little concerned, though his features displayed shock. "Uh, what was that about?"

"He's a goddamn psychic?" Noah tilted his head, his stare hard. "Uh..." Dean trailed, "I guess?" he supplied with a shrug.

Noah released a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as his other hand came to rest at his hip. "That's just great," Noah shook his head. Dean stared at him, eyebrows furrowing, "W-what does that mean?"

"Look, we'll get into it later, right now, let's go inside," Noah shook his head, that wasn't his main focus right now.

Dean nodded, reaching into the trunk, and picking up a body wrapped in a blanket. Noah shook his head, "You two are gonna be the death of me."

They entered the clinic, Delta in tow. "Hey," Dean said, grabbing the attention of a female doctor who stood in the lobby. Noah glanced down the hall, seeing Sam, an older woman, and a young nurse entering a room. The older woman looked to have blood all over her arm and her blouse.

"Is that...?" the doctor stared at him, asking. Dean grunted, readjusting the body as he started to lose grip, which made the corpse's arm fall from the blanket, "Mr. Tanner?"

"Was he attacked too?" the doctor asked. "Uh, no, actually, he did the attacking, "Dean respnded, "And then he got himself shot."

"Shot?" She asked him, shocked. "Yeah," Dean stated. "And who are you?" she inquired. "U.S. Marshall, I'd show you my badge but.." He motioned towards he corpse over his shoulders. Noah pulled out his fake marshall badge, flashing it to her.

She looked to him, "Oh, sir you can't have.." she trailed as Noah pulled out Delta's service dog ID. It was forged but so was the marshall badge. He clearly didn't care. "Oh, sorry, uh bring him back here, "She lead them to an exam room.

The three then stepped into the room where Mrs. Tanner was sat as the nurse, Noah could see her name pin said 'Pam', had patched her arm up. She was in tears, distraught, and for good reason.

Noah looked over to Sam, "I thought I told you not to do anything stupid." Sam cracked a smile.

Mrs. Tanner filled the doctor in on her side of the story. "Wait, you said Jake helped him? Your son, Jake?" the doctor asked in disbelief.

Mrs. Tanner nodded, staring off into space, "They beat me, tied me up."

"I don't believe it," Pam stated in utter shock. The doctor looked at her sharply, "Pam." It was a quiet warning and a scolding all in one. The doctor looked back to Mrs. Tanner, "Beverly, do you have any idea why they would act this way? Any history of chemical dependency?"

"No, of course not, I don't know why, one minute they were my husband and my son, and the next, they had the devil in them," Mrs. Tanner tearfully spoke. In a state of shock, understandably, the woman had been through a lot in the past while.

Dean looked over to his brother and Noah, "We've gotta talk," he said quitly before stepping out of the room. Sam was quick to follow, as was Noah once he was sure Delta was at his heels.

Once completely out of earshot, Dean spoke up. "These guy s were totally out of their gourds."

"What do you think, multiple demons, mass possession?" Sam asked his brother. "If it is a possession, there could be more, God knows how many, it could be like a freakin' shriner convention," Dean responded. Noah looked down, shaking his head. "Great," Sam muttered.

"Of course, that's one way to wipe out a town, you take it from the inside," Dean added. "I don't know, I mean, you guys didn't see any smoke with Tanner, and usually a demon won't regard it's vessel being killed, it will continue to possess it, it just doesn't seem right to me," Noah piped in.

"Well, whatever, something turned him into a monster," Dean stated. Noah could see that he was trying to compartmentalize it, he didn't wanna think about the fact that Tanner might've still been human.

"You know, if you would've taken out the other one, it would be one less thing to worry about," Dean suddenly turned, speaking to Sam. Noah glanced between them, not here, not now. He was not having this.

"I'm sorry, alright? I hesitated, Dean, it was a kid," Sam defended himself, his lip curling in anger. Noah could tell he hated being blamed. "No, it was an 'it'," Dean rebuted.

Noah shook his head again, sighing, "Alright enough, both of you, I'm sick of the two of you fighting every single time we're on a case together, now is not the time or place, get it together and stop blaming each other, now let's handle this like adults, dammit," he pinched the bride of his nose, "Fucksake." He thought to himself, 'children, actual children.'

The doctor stepped out of the room, looking to the three of them. "How's the patient?" Sam tensely questioned. "Terrible, what the hell happened out there?" the doctor exclaimed.

"We don't know," Dean responded. "Yeah? You just killed my next-door neighbor," she said. "We didn't have a choice, " Dean defends.

"Maybe so but we need the county sherrif, and the coroner, " She stated. "The phones are down," Sam replied. "I know, I already tried, tell me you've got a police radio in the car or something?" she asked them.

"We do but it's acting weird too, just like everything else," Noah answered. "I don't understand what is happening," she shook her head.

"How far is it to the next town?" Dean questioned. "It's about 40 miles down to Sidewinder," she responded with a sigh. "Alright, I'm gonna go down there, see if I can find some help," Dean stated with a nod, "My partner and Marshall..." Dean trailed off.

"Trale," Noah supplied. "Marshall Trale will stick around and keep you guys safe, as well as K-9 over there," Dean concluded. "Safe from what?" The doctor asked, confused.

"We'll get back to you on that," Dean vaguely replied, before walking out the door. The purr of Baby's engine starting up could be heard from where they stood as Dean got in his car.

• • •

Sam stared at Mr. Tanner's dead body, Noah was sat across the room with Delta's head in his lap. "Huh," the doctor said as she peered down her microscope. Noah and Sam glanced at one another before looking to her, "What?"

"His lymphocyte percentage is pretty high, "she stated, turning to look at the body on the table, "His body was fighting off a viral infection."

"Really? What kind of virus?" Sam inquired. "I can't say for sure, "She shook her head. "You think an infection could've made him act like that?" Noah asked, things were starting to come together in his brain. "None that I've ever heard of, some can cause dementia, but not that kind of violence, and besides, I've never heard of one that did this to the blood," she answered.

"Did what?" Sam asked, sparing Noah a glance. "There's this weird residue," she said, "If I didn't know better, I'd say it was sulphur." Noah looked at Sam, and their eyes shown the pure panic that statement gave them.

Noah motioned with his head to the hallway. They stepped out and Noah looked at Sam. "Okay, if you'll remember, Croatoan was thought to be the name of a small island south of Roanoke, home to a native tribe, right?" Sam nodded.

"Okay, so in John White's recount of the events before he left for supplies, he stated that the hunters were growing slightly more violent, as were the wildlife, and there is clear archeological evidence of some of the remains found on Croatoan island to have been very violently killed..." Noah thought to himself for a moment before he continued, "What if what wiped out roanoke was a demonic disease, and now, well here we are, this town is suffering the same fate?"

Sam looked impressed, nodding. It semed to make the most sense, sulphur residue in the blood, which indicates that it was figthing off a viral infection, they... they were putting blood into Mrs. Tanner's cut. "Oh my God," Sam whispered to himself as it dawned on him.

"What?" Noah asked him. "When we got to the house and we saw Mrs. Tanner tied down, the son cut his arm and dripped some blood onto her wound," Sam responded rapidly. "Oh shit," Noah quietly groaned out, closing his eyes, "Dammit."

• • •

"I-I don't understand, are you saying my husband and Jake had a disease?" Mrs. Tanner asked. "That's what we're trying to find out," the doctor replied, "Now, during the attack, do you remember... did you have any direct contact with their blood?"

"Oh my God," Mrs. Tanner spoke in disbelief, "You don't think I've got this virus, do you?"

"Beverly, I don't know what to think, but with your permission, we'll take a blood sample," she told her. Mrs. Tanner looked distraught for a moment, before she placed her hand on the doctor's.

However, it was in the next few seconds that hell broke lose. She grabbed the doctors hand, screeching as she titghtly grasped her wrist and pulled her. Sam quickly went tor run at her, but she pushed him back with inhuman force, making him crash back into a medicine cabinet, shattering the glass. Noah clicked his tongue, whislting and pointing at her, and Delta quickly tackled her before she could grab a scalpel from the table beside her, and bringing her down to the floor.

Noah quickly kneeled next to her and pressure-pointed her, knocking her out. He looked back to Sam and the doctor, silently wondering what the hell they were gonna do.

• • •

"What if we all have it?" the nurse, Pam, questioned as the doctor inspected the blood sample from Mrs. Tanner, "What if we all go crazy?"

"We've gotta stay calm, all we can do is wait, the marshall's bringing help," the doctor comforted her. Noah could only hope that she was right.

"I can't, I've gotta go, " Pam said, hurriedly walking to the door. "Pam," the doctor stated, trying to stop her. "No, you don't understand, my boyfriend's out there, I've gotta make sure he's okay," she firmly spoke, turning and walking out the door and into the hallway. Sam stood up immediately, going after her.

A few moments later, knocks rang at the door as Dean's voice called for his brother to let him in. Noah stood up, walking out to discuss the situation with Dean as Sam let his brother and an older black man in. The black man held a rifle with a scope on it, and Noah saw a tattoo on his forearm, showing he was a Master Sargent in the Marines.

"Did you guys, uh, get to a phone?" Sam asked them. "Roadblocks," Dean quickly replies, "I'm gonna have a word, Doc's inside." Dean motioned, and the Master Sargent nodded, walking over and into the room Noah had just exited, sparing him a glance and a nod as he passed, which Noah returned.

"What's goin' on out there, Dean?" Sam asked and Noah walked to stand next to them, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

"Man, I don't know, I feel like Chuck Heston in 'The Omega Man', Sarge is the only sane person I could find, " Dean spouted, clearly frustrated. "What are we dealing with? Do you know?" Dean looked between Sam and Noah.

Noah sighed, "It's a virus, and the infected are trying to infect more people by blood-to-blood contact, but here's the real kicker, it leaves traces of sulphur in the blood."

Dean gaped at him, "Oh, what? A demonic virus? Come on!" he groaned out, running his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, more like demonic germ warfare, at least it explains why I've been having visions," Sam added, and suddenly Noah was reminded that there was a talk to be had when all of this was over with.

"It's like a biblical plague," Dean gawked, turning and looking out the window as he gathered himself from the shock for a second. "Yeah, you don't know how right you are, Dean, I've been pouring through Dad's journal, I found something about the Roanoke Colony, Dad always had a theory about 'Croatoan', he thought it was a demon's name, sometimes known as Daeva or as Reshef, a demon of plague and pestilence," Sam explained.

"I also had a thought, because John White's journals reported how the hunters and the wildlife were acting strange in the days leading up to the time he left, as well as evidence of a nearby island by the name of 'Croatoan' which held a cannibalistic tribe," Noah supplied.

"Well, that's terrific, "Dean spoke sarcastically, "Why here? Why now?"

"I have no idea," Sam responded, Dean looked to him, mildly panicked, "But Dean, who knows who knows how far this thing can spread? We've gotta get outta here, we've gotta warn people."

"They've got one, in here!" The Sargent called from the other room. Dean looked to the other two before turning the corner, as Noah, Sam, and Delta followed promptly. "What do you mean?" Dean asked as he walked.

"The wife, she's infected," Noah answered. "We've gotta take care of this, we can't just leave her in there, my neighbors, they were strong, the longer we wait, the stronger she'll get," The Sargent explained. Noah take a deep breath, exhaling through pucked lips as he ran a hand through his hair.

Dean stared for a moment before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his gun, which he quickly cocked, and started walking. The other three were right behind him, hesistant, but they knew it was likely necessary.

A moment later, after speaking with Pam and the Doctor, Pam gawked at them, "You're gonna kill Beverly Tanner?"

"Doctor, could there be any treatment? Some kinda cure for this?" Sam asked her. He really didn't want it to come to death, but she was dangerous, and she was clearly no longer herself.

The Doctor looked at him, panicked as her mouth opened and closed, She didn't know the answer. "Can you cure it?" Dean asked again. "For God's sake, I don't even know what 'it' is!" she snapped.

"It's just a matter of time before she breaks through," The Sargent spoke, readying his rifle in case.

"Just leave her in there, you can't shoot her like an animal!" Pam exclaimed. "Sam, Noah," Dean said with a nod. He still had his gun held low, as he walked towards the utility room Mrs. Tanner was being held in. Sam and Noah walked behind him, as did the Sargent.

Sam put his back to the door, peering through the window in the door, as Noah did the same against the wall. Dean held his gun up, glancing back at the doctor and nurse behind them, Pam looked to the doctor, hoping she would stop them, but the doctor just watched. The Sargent pulled a pistol out of his vest, placing his rifle down, which he cocked.

The Sargent nodded at Sam, who quickly opened the door and stepped back, pressing his back against the wall as Dean and the Sargent stepped in, guns cocked and aimed. Noah pulled his own pistol out, in case she somehow got past either of them.

She looked up at them, "Mark, what are you doing? Mark, it's them!"

"They locked me in here, they tried to kill me, they're infected, not me!" She plead, Noah saw straight through it, he had watched her attack Sam earlier, he knew better. But she was manipulating the Sargent, someone she knew, her friend even.

"Please, Mark," She sobbed, begging, "You've known me all your life! Please."

The Sargent wavered, shaking as his breathing turned heavy. He was pushing back tears, he didn't know what to do.

"Are you sure she's one of them?" Dean turned to Noah and Sam. Sam looked on, he hated this but he knew, and the same went for Noah. Sam solemnly nodded as Noah spoke quietly, "Yeah."

Dean looked at them for a second before taking a breath. He stepped further into the room, rasiign the gun high with one hand as the Sargent stepped aside. He fired three rounds, one after another and the loud noise shook every one of them to their core, all for reasons that were so similar and yet so different.

• • •

The Sargent peered out the window through the blinds, it had long since gotten dark. Noah was feeding Delta, hoping to calm her nerves, the gunshots had racked her a little harder than usual, they aren't usully inside. Sama nd Dean were going over their gear, which they had retrieved an hour or so ago, making sure everything was clean, sharpened, or fully loaded depending on what it needed.

Noah walked over, ready to start sharpening one of his bowie knives, but the loud sound of glass shettering echoed through the hall, as Pam's panicked voice followed it. The four men walked down the hall to check on the young girl as she made sure none of the blood sample had gotten on her.

"Why are we staying here? Please, let's just go!" She exclaimed. The doctor sighed, as Dean answered, "Well, we can't cause those things are everywhere."

"Oh God, why is this happening?" She bent over, holding onto her knees. She was clearly fighting off a panic attack at this point.

"She's right about one thing, we can't stay here, we've gotta get outta here, get to the roadhouse or somewhere, let people know what's coming," Sam turned back to his brother and the other two men.

"That's a good point," Dean agreed, " 'Night Of The Living Dead' didn't exactly end pretty, did it?"

"Well, I'm not sure we've got a choice, lots of folks up here are good with rifles, even with all your hardware, we're easy targets," The Sargent informed, Noah nodded, biting the inside of his cheek as he crossed his arms, "So, unless you've got some explosives."

Noah glanced up, seeing a ton of rubbing alcohol on top of a medicine cabinet, the same one that had been shattered earlier. He looked back to the others, seeing Sam had seen the same, "We could make some."

Noah walked over, picking up a bottle. Isopropyl Alcohol, 90%, extremely flammable. Gauze for a good wick, all they needed were some breakable container, usually he'd use something glass. Combine it all, and boom, Molotov Cocktail, light the wick, let it burn, and then smash it on the ground, flaming alcohol goes everywhere.

Just as he showed the bottle to the other three, a loud banging on the door as well as a young man's shouts were heard from the front foor. They all turned, running to access the situation.

"It's Duane Tanner," the Sargent told them. He walked over, unlocking the door and letting the young man inside. "Oh thank God," he sighed as he stepped in, shutting the door behind him, which the Sargent quickly locked.

Sam stared on wide-eyed, as the Sargent lead him further into the lobby. Dean quickly asked, "That's the guy that I, " he clicked his tongue as he gestured with his hand to his throat.

"Yeah," Sam answered. "Who else is in there?" Duane asked, Dean came up behind him and grabbed him by the arm, turning him to face him. "Hey, woah, woah, woah, easy there, chief, hey Doc! Give Duane a good once-over, would ya?" he requested. The doctor nodded, taking the kid into the other room.

"Pam?" The doctor called out for her nurse. "Who are you?" Duane asked as he was ushered to take a seat. "Never mind who I am, Doc," Dean commanded, motioning towards the chair with the pistol he held in his hand.

"Yeah, okay," the doctor sighed out as she prepared her equipment. "Duane, where you been?" Sargent asked him. "I was on a fishing trip up by Roslyn, I came back this afternoon, I saw Roger McGill being dragged out of his house by people we know, they started cutting him with knives, "The boy frantically explained, "I ran, I've been hiding in the woods ever since, has anybody seen my mom and dad?"

The doctor looked at him, not knowing what to say. "Awkward," Dean whispered. The doctor pulled her gloves on, looking at the boy. She noticed a wound on his leg, "You're bleeding."

She looked to everyone else, as they all stood a little tenser now. "Where'd you get that?" Noah asked him. "I was running, I must've tripped," he excused. Noah stared at him for a second before turning back to the Winchesters, "Tie him up, there's rope in there."

"Wait-" Noah cut him off as he started panicking when Sam, Dean, and the Sargent moved to grab the rope from his duffle, "Sit down!" he raised his gun as he barked out the order at the young man.

"Sorry Duane, he's right, we've gotta be careful," Sargent apologized. "Careful? About what?" Duane asked.

"Did they bleed on you?" Dean asked. "No, what the hell?! No," Duane answered. "Doc, any way to know for sure, any test?" Sam asked. "I've studied Beverly's bloodwork backwards and forwards, " The doctor started, and Duane looked over to her in panic, "My mom!"

"It took three hours for the virus to incubate, sulphur didn't appear in the blood until then, so no, there'd be no way of knowing," she concluded, "Not until after Duane... turns."

"This is all feeling a little too Walking Dead for my taste," Noah muttered with a sigh, being reminded of the comic series he had read when it first came out.

"Dean, I've gotta talk to you, now," Sam spoke quietly to his brother in a firm tone of voice. The two brothers walked out the door, closing it behind them. Sargent asked Duane to sit in a chair instead of the exam table he was currently seated at, before wrapping him in rope, securing him to the metal. Noah kept his gun trained on him in case he tried anything.

When the Sargent had finished, Noah took a seat, his gun still in hand, and with the tension in the room growing thicker by the second, they waited. Noah closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He had a good feeling that he knew what was about to happen, but he had a bad feeling about what that was.

It was a moment before Dean stepped in, gun at the ready. "No, no, no, no, you're not gonna-" Duane started panicking, No, no! I swear! It's not in me!"

Dean only stare at him, eyes hardened. Noah knew what he was about to have to do, and he prepared himself.

"Oh God, we're all gonna die," Pam quietly groaned out. "Maybe he's telling the truth," Sargent said.

"No, he's not him, not anymore," Dean spoke tensely, cocking his gun. "Ask her! Ask the doctor! It's not in me!" Duane shouted. Dean's eyes turned ot her, "I... just..." she didn't have a conclusive answer, "I can't tell."

"Please, don't," Duane sobbed, begging, "I swear it's not in me, I swear, It's not in me, I swear."

Noah looked between Duane and Dean, seeing Dean raising his gun, "I've got no choice."

Noah stood from his seat, watching Dean as Duane continue sobbing. When Dean's finger twitched like he wanted to pull the trigger but couldn't, Noah slowly stepped forawrd, as Dean kept wavering as he tried to muster up the strength to pull the trigger.

Noah placed his hand on his forearm, startling Dean slightly, as he pushed down, and aimed Dean's gun at the floor. He shook his head at him, eyes soft. It wasn't worth it, he told him with his eyes.

Noah could see the visible struggle, the fear, the pain, the protective instinct, all swiling in Dean's eyes. Dean lowered the gun, lip curling in frustration with himself, he couldn't do it. "Dammit," he grit out between his snarled lip and gritted teeth.

Duane caught his breath, slowly calming as Dean turned and left the room.

• • •