Sorry for taking so long. I haven't been feeling well for the past couple days. Any way this is the last chapter, so I hope you enjoy!

XOXOXOXOX

Chapter 10

The Winchester brothers managed to convince Ian to leave the abandoned warehouse. Dean was busy consoling him while Sam carefully wrapped Melody's body in a heavy canvas tarp they he had found before gently placing her in the trunk of the Impala. Dean had planned to take the grieving young man home to help with Mel's burial.

Sam was still feeling numb to it all. He didn't want to think that Melody had somehow sacrificed herself to save him from dying in her body. His mind ran those thought over and over in his head, plaguing him with guilt and silencing him. The only sounds in the Impala were occasional sniffles and sobs that broke through Ian's control.

Once they were back at the farm, Dean had Ian sit on the porch while he and Sam prepared a pyre in the middle of the pasture. Sam was worried about the glazed look in the young man's eyes as he stared out toward the road while smoking a cigarette. By the time everything was ready it was almost dark. Ian followed Dean compliantly. He had finally stopped crying, but he knew he would start again once the pyre was lit.

Sam was waiting for them as they stepped out of the truck. He was holding a burning stick that he handed to Ian as he approached. "Dean and I thought you might want to be the one to-" his throat closed before he could finish.

Ian took a deep breath and straightened his shoulders. "Thanks, to the both of you. I don't think that I could do this on my own." He looked at the artfully arranged pyre. Mel's body lay on top, wrapped in a clean white sheet. "I guess I'll say something first." Ian stepped closer to the wood pile. "Mel, you were the best sister I could have ever had. It wasn't fair for you to die so young, but you died to save a friend. If that doesn't speak volumes about you I don't know what does."

Dean gripped Ian's shoulder to show his support. "I didn't know Mel long, but she was easy to get along with. She was a great friend and I'm so sorry that this happened. She didn't deserve this." Dean's voice was thick with unshed tears.

Silence stretched before Sam could swallow the lump in his throat. "I remember thinking I was going to die back at the warehouse," he spoke softly. He looked at his brother and Ian. "Then, as that knife was coming down, I felt something shove me away. It was Mel. Somehow she had managed to push my soul back in my body." Sam paused to try to control his emotions. "I'm so sorry Ian. It's my fault she's dead."

"No, Sam, it's not. This is what Mel wanted." Ian sighed. "I don't want either of you to blame yourselves." With that he placed the burning stick on the pile of wood, stepping back when the fuel caught. "Rest in peace, Mel; give Danny my best."

XOXOXOXOX

Melody saw everything. She hadn't expected to be trapped on Earth as a spirit and it was killing her. This was different than when she was alive, though. All the colors were muted by a greyish veil, sounds seemed muffled, and she couldn't feel anything; no wind blowing through her hair or the sun warming her skin. It made everything disorienting.

She watched as Ian clutched her body and mourned her; as he struggled to get himself under control during the drive; she watched the Winchesters put together the pyre where her body would burn and she would be released. They worked silently and efficiently. Mel's powers were still with her, and she could tell they were thinking of when they burned their father. The short words they all offered to her broke Melody's heart. She hated the thought of leaving Ian, and she had just started to know Dean and Sam. They were her friends and the closest thing she had to family, and now she had to leave them. Ian touched the fire to the fuel soaked logs and Mel waited for her body to be consumed by the flames.

Suddenly everything froze. "I don't think you're ready to die just yet," a man said. Melody spun around looking for the owner of the voice. It sounded eerily familiar. "You're not going to find me, child." The voice laughed.

"Who are you?" Mel asked. Something about the voice left her feeling conflicted. It left her feeling anxious as her body fought between the comfort it seemed to promise, and terror from hazy memories. "What did you do to my friends?"

"Nothing has happened with you friends, I promise you," the man said. "Time has stilled for us. Now I wanted to talk to you about this death you seem to have committed yourself to."

Mel was confused. It was not a feeling she was used to having. She couldn't tell where this man was. She couldn't detect his thoughts or his presence. "Who are you?" she asked again.

Again the voice laughed. "It must frustrate you to find your gifts are useless against me."

Mel cast a nervous glance at her motionless friends. Time had indeed stopped around her. She walked away from the pyre, hoping to find the source of the voice. "What do you want with me?"

"I want to keep you safe and happy." The man sounded like he was right behind her.

Melody spun around and found herself staring at a bizarre looking beast. The thing was enormous, as big as one of her draft horses, with sleek iridescent fur that ended at its haunches. The creature's rump, hind legs, and whip pike tail were covered in iridescent scales. The head was shaped similar to a jackal. It reminded Mel of Anubis. The chest was huge and deep, causing it to look starved. The long, sinewy muscled forelegs didn't help. Piercing orange eyes gazed at the young woman.

"You!" Mel exclaimed as she backed away from the creature. She recognized those eyes. "What are you doing here? I thought you were sent back!"

"I was released from my prison by your mother, Melody," the voice came from the creature. "I have no plans to return. I was forced to reside in your body, but once my keeper was dead I was free. I left you in the care of your uncle. I knew he would care for and protect you. That was all I wanted for you." The beast sat and watched the human spirit. Its head tilted to the side as its ears folded back. "My presence left you with so much pain, and for that I am sorry. I tried to make it right by repairing the damaged I caused to your body, soul, and mind, but I couldn't. Even the box I made for the memories of what I did is falling apart."

"Why do you care about me so much?" Mel asked. She didn't know why but the beast's presence was comforting in this washed out world she was now in.

"I am a god. It's in my nature to care about those I deem as my children." The beast held its head high as it stared down at Mel. "I no longer have any believers, save you. All my powers and blessings are yours. As long as you believe in me, I shall live."

Cautiously, Melody moved closer. She held out her hand and smiled when the "god" nuzzled it with its muzzle. "So this is what you look like then: a giant lizard-dog?" She laughed as she began to scratch the creature's ears.

"I don't remember my original form or name. I felt that this shape would appeal to you." The beast pushed Mel back with a nudge of its large head. "Enough coddling, I have an important proposition for you. I do not want you to die yet. You are so young and have hardly live. I shall bring you back, but you must promise me something."

Mel was instantly suspicious, but she wanted to be back with her brother an even the Winchesters, though she hadn't known them long. "What am I promising?"

"Use the gifts you have gained from me and from your mother to the fullest. I know you fear turning into the woman your mother was, but I assure you that won't happen. You care about those around you in a way she never did. You do not selfishly search for more power to control as many people as you can. If you combine your gifts, you can save many lives." The beast stepped toward Mel. "Will you do this?"

Mel trembled at the thought of using her magic. She had always thought of it as proof of her poisonous roots. Her Uncle Daniel had told her that it was natural magic, the most powerful kind, but it was still pure because she hadn't succumbed to the dark temptations like her mother.

"Will you be there to help me?" Mel hated that her voice quivered. "Using my magic scares me. It's hard to control because of that. I want to know that you'll be there so no one gets hurt and to make sure I don't turn into my mother."

"Of course, I will continue to watch over your, and I will appear to you when you need me." The god paused to watch the human. "Do you agree then?"

"Yes," Melody said.

XOXOXOXOX

The field was empty now that the fire had died. Sam and Dean had watched silently while Ian scooped some of the ashes into a box. It was well after dark by the time the pyre had burned out, so they agreed to stay the night. Thick clouds blocked the moon and stars, signaling a coming storm. Ian had thought it was fitting that there would be a storm after Mel died. She loved how the Kansas rains washed the prairies clean and lifted the smell of sunny grasses and dirt into the air to be carried by the heavy winds.

In the early hours, before dawn, a bolt of lightning struck the already charred ground in the middle of the field. The ground was sodden from the pouring rain, but soft enough for a hand to breech the crater caused by the lightning. Melody slowly heaved her body from the muddy puddle that was beginning to form. She took a deep breath, only to choke on rain water. Mentally she cursed the god for bringing her back buried.

He had given no warning before sending her back to the living. Now, her skin felt super sensitive after feeling nothing, and her lungs ached from disuse. She almost laughed as she briefly wished for a cigarette. Mel stayed on her hands and knees as she caught her breath and took stock of her condition. There was no pain, other than the burn in her muscles from digging out of her grave. At least the god had brought her back with clothes on. As well as her piercings, Mel noticed as she chewed on her lip. Slowly, she rose to her feet to begin the long walk back to the house.

Walking through the sodden field in the dark proved difficult for the poor exhausted girl. The tripped over numerous small bushes, thick weed patched, and even slide down the steep embankment of a previously dry creek bed. Eventually after hauling herself up the slick bank, Mel made it close enough to see the light posts in her yard.

Mel's legs were trembling by the time she reached the backdoor. She was annoyed to find it locked, so she broke the window with a trowel lying on the porch. Her first concern as she entered the mudroom was getting her soggy mud covered clothes. She didn't hear the movement the men in the house made as they investigated the sound of glass breaking.

"Don't move," Sam said. He was the first one down the stairs, and much to Dean's disapproval, the first to encounter the would-be burglar. In the dark it looked as if the person who had broken in was either stealing clothes, or searching for money. They froze at his voice and raised their hands. Sam heard Dean and Ian behind him. One of them flipped the light on, blinding everyone temporarily. "Turn around slowly," Sam ordered before his vision had fully adjusted.

Dean and Ian stood nervously on either side of Sam. The uninvited guest was a filthy petite woman who had stripped down to her underwear. She kept her hands up as she slowly turned. Dean heard Ian gasp and held the man back. "Seriously, I can explain." Melody said.

All three men stood still, either in shock or by being restrained. "Mel," Ian whispered in a choked voice.

Sam tightened his grip on his pistol when the girl stepped forward. "Don't move," he growled.

"Okay, you don't believe that it's me, I understand." Mel seemed to be pleading to the large man. It had been so much easier to deal with an angry Sam Winchester when he was a 5'2" woman. Now he towered over her as he held her at gunpoint. "Ian can go get some silver and some Holy water." Sam opened his mouth. "Or Dean can go get it from y'all's bags. However you want to do it, you can test me," her voice was raspy and dry.

With a nod from his brother, Dean disappeared up the stairs. "What happened?" Ian asked. He didn't try to step closer, knowing Sam would block him. "I mean your body burned, there's no way for you to come back."

Mel waited for Dean to return. She took the flask of Holy water and greedily emptied it, then looked at the flask with a pout. "Apparently the god that possessed my all those years ago, didn't want me dead," she hissed as she cut the silver knife across the tip of her finger. "So he brought me back." She looked up at Sam, still intimidated by the angry look on his face. "Can I have some water and a bandage now?"

"So some god brought you back just like that?" Sam growled. "No conditions to uphold?"

Mel was starting to get fed up with Sam's I'm in charge attitude. This was her house, her property, and he was her guest! "I just dug myself out of six feet of mud, walked God knows how many miles through a muddy field, and got held at gun point in my own house!" She emphasized her point with a jab to the tall man's chest at the start of each sentence. Sam was stunned and tried to back away as she advanced on him. "I'm tired and I'm covered in mud. If you don't believe that I'm me, then just leave. I'm going to take a shower and sleep for the next month." She gave a heavy sigh and tried to head for the stairs.

Ian and Sam suddenly grabbed her in a tight hug. Ian was sobbing into her shoulder, while Sam was telling her how sorry he was. Dean smirked when the young lady cast a pleading look his way. He walked over and ruffled her muddy hair. "Glad to have you back, kid," he said as she walked away.

"Let me go!" Melody struggled to break free. "I'm practically naked!"

She was overwhelmed and embarrassed by the emotions of love and acceptance coming from everyone. It was good to know her friends believed her. She decided to talk to the Winchesters after she had some rest. She would have to practice using her magic, but she wanted the brothers to know that they could always call her if they needed help with a witch. Thinking about the mess they had gotten in, Mel was going to insist they call here.

END

I do plan on writing a sequel, so please check in frequently. I'm going to be working on rewriting my other story. Don't forget to leave a review!