Sam finished packing the last of their belongings as Dean loaded up the car. He paused, gazing down at the small bottle Jen had given Dean for dandruff. Sam picked it up and ran his fingers over it, before he glanced out the window. Dean was muttering to himself, cursing over the writing on the trunk. Dean slammed it shut and leaned against the side of the car, still talking to himself as he waited for Sam to leave the motel.

Despite himself, Sam smiled.

Again, he looked down at the bottle. Without a word, he threw it in the trash barrel and listened to it shatter.

It was over now.

Sam shoved the last of his stuff into his bag. He had just finished zipping it, when he felt a presence in the room. Slowly, he tilted his head and glanced up.

"I know you're waiting for me," Ruby said. "Might as well get it over with."

Sam set his jaw and stalked toward her. "It was you. You're the one that sent the demon to Bela to summon Andras. You wanted it to take Dean all along so I could do whatever your twisted little mind wanted."

Ruby rolled her eyes. "That's the best you can do?"

"Stop with the games, Ruby. You told me that you knew how to save Dean. I've done nothing but cooperate."

"Cooperate?" She crossed her arms. "You haven't even begun to get your hands dirty."

"And you haven't done anything to help Dean."

She just sighed. "You can believe whatever you want, but one fact remains."

"What's that?"

"Your chance to save Dean? That could have been your one shot."

Sam glared at her. "It would have killed him."

"If you had listened to me, then maybe you could have controlled it long enough for it to tell you how to save him." She narrowed her eyes and scoffed at him. "Good job, Sam. You could have just signed your brother's death sentence."

Sam shook his head. No, he refused to believe that. He hadn't lost his one chance. He knew there had to be other options out there.

He turned to face her. "You said there was a way to help him," he said between clenched teeth. "You promised –"

"And I delivered. You chose not to listen to me. That's your problem. Not mine."

"There has to be another way."

"Maybe," she said with a shrug. "But it's going to cost you."

There was always a cost, some price to pay. Sam was growing weary of all the sacrifices. But he wouldn't give up. He wouldn't stop trying. He wasn't a quitter.

"What do I need to do?"

She raised her eyebrows. "You'll know when the time comes."

Sam shook his head. "Look, I need—"

"Who you talking to?"

Sam jerked and looked behind him. Dean stood in the doorway, watching him closely, a sharp intensity to his hardened face. Sam tried not to look like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar, but he knew that Dean could see right through him. When Sam turned away, he realized that Ruby was already gone.

He sighed. "It's nothing."

"Nothing? Well, that's sure as hell pretty intense for a whole lot of nothing."

"Just drop it, Dean." Sam grabbed his bag and brushed past him as he headed for the Impala.

"I can't just drop it," Dean said, following Sam out the door. "Is it that demon gal again?"

Sam stopped and gave him a pointed glare before he started back towards the car. He threw his bag in the back seat and grabbed the driver's side door handle.

Dean grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. "Hey, I'm talking to you."

"Okay. Fine," he said as he spun around. "What did Bela mean when she said you had questions about me?"

"Don't change the subject."

"No." Sam had had it. "I heard her message, Dean. What kind of questions?"

"Questions?" Dean shrugged. "I don't know. That's chick's crazy. She'll say anything."

Sam set his jaw and shook his head. "You're lying. You keep lying. I know something is going on. You can try to hide it all you want, but sooner or later I'm going to find out."

"Yeah? Like you're not keeping secrets, Sam?" Dean sighed. "Look, let's just leave this mess behind us and get out of here."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, all right. Whatever."

Sam climbed into the driver seat and slammed the door. While he waited for Dean to climb in, his gaze fell back to the motel. He knew that even after what happened here in Harmony, that he wouldn't give up on finding a way to save Dean's soul. But he also knew he couldn't do it without Dean's help. He just didn't know how to tackle that problem yet.

And Ruby. He still couldn't figure if she was friend or foe. He wanted to believe that she held the key to saving Dean. He wanted to believe that she was on their side, but there was always this voice, somewhere in the back of his mind, whispering warnings into his ear, urging him to be cautious.

He would ignore them. He would keep ignoring them like he had since the day he had met her.

Caution wasn't something he could afford to waste time on right now.

Yet, despite all his convictions, there was one lingering doubt that outweighed them all.

Dean shut the door. "Ready?"

Sam nodded and started the Impala. "Let's go."

As they pulled out of the parking lot and headed down the road, Sam vowed to become even more dedicated than before. He just hoped that for their sakes, out of everything they left behind in Harmony, Dean's one chance at salvation wasn't one of them.

THE END

End Note: Thanks for reading. I hope that you enjoyed it. I have appreciated the feedback. :)