Castiel came into Bobby's, looking actually... pleased with himself?
"Since when is Cas pleased?" Dean wondered, scratching his head.
That angel was starting to merge more with his vessel, that's just all there was to it...
"I found something to help Sam!" Castiel said. "It's... I did not know about it before, but... it can help him not only purge the blood, but wipe out the cravings. For good."
Dean looked at Cas, hope in his eyes. "Don't play with me, Cas." Dean rasped.
"There are... side effects." Castiel said a bit solemnly.
Dean frowned. "What kind? Does he grown horns?" Dean joked weakly.
"No." Cas said, that blank, quizical look back on his face. "It makes him unable to lie for a period of time."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Truth serum?"
"I... suppose..." Castiel said slowly. "Though, it is not made the same way." he said.
"Well, we've gone back to full disclosure anyhow--- Sammy told me what Famine was doin' to him right away. It was my fault for not just leaving you with him to protect him--- not that you were all that much of protection at that point..."
Castiel nodded. "I will go make him drink this."
"Just tell him to."
"No, he will not do it willingly--- no one ever does. Wait out here."
"You can't go in there, Cas." Dean reminded. "Sigils?"
"Oh, yes..."
"I'll bring him out." Dean said, opening the door.
When he saw Sam, his heart clutched in his throat. His beautiful little brother... he looked wild eyed and frightened. Small, even in his large, Sasquatch frame.
"Dean?"
"Come on out, buddy." Dean said gently.
"Hurts... I..."
"Yeah, Cas has something to take it away." Dean soothed.
And, before he could move, Castiel was there, yanking Sam's head back to pour a potion bottle down his throat. Sam struggled, but Castiel held his head and nose. "Easy..." he said. "Just swallow, and it will all be all right."
Sam swallowed, and Castiel let go. He turned all sorts of shades of green in a few second period, and then ran to a corner of the room to began violently retching.
"The blood." Castiel explained. "This part will take a little--- he may be dehydrated."
Dean pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn't sure how much mor he could take...
Sam woke up the next morning feeling like he had the worst hangover ever.
"D'n?" he gasped, the words feeling like razors against his dry throat.
"Hey, hey, easy..." Dean said, racing to him with a bottle of water. "Here, drink this..."
Sam looked at him warily.
"It's water, Sammy. You can trust me."
Sam chugged the water, giving him a bit of the evil-eye.
"You let Cas force that crap down my throat." he accused.
"Yes. I did. And, you don't have any more shakes, do you?"
Sam looked thoughtful. "I don't... I don't think so..."
"Well, then, there ya go." Dean nodded.
Sam flopped back onto his pillow; he had a massive headache. But, he felt Dean's cool hand on his forehead, the fingers gently carding through the hair, and he relaxed.
"Mmm, that's nice." he blurted. "Like when I was little."
His eyes squinched open; where had that come from?
But, Dean was smirking at him.
"It's okay, Samantha." Dean grinned. "One of the after-effects of this is you blurt out every damn thought in your head for about a week."
"What?!" Sam yelled, shooting straight up. But, the throbbing against his skull made him regret that action.
Dean gently shoved him back down. "Just relax, kiddo. Long as you don't have any deep dark secrets, you'll be fine."
"What if I do?" Sam blurted, and then winced. "Shit."
Dean frowned. "Then, I'd get it over with and tell me now. What happened to your idea of we don't have any more of those?"
"Well, I was honest with you mostly." Sam hedged. "This is one from before you made your deal."
Dean raised an eyebrow. "And, it was?" Dean growled, annoyed.
"It was from back when we were undercover in the prison." Sam said before he could stop himself. "Damn Cas and his potion." he muttered. "I... stuff happened you didn't know. I mean, I'm a good fighter, but all the fighting moves in the world don't matter if you're knocked unconscious with a bleniem block. Woke up in the infirmary; Deacon standing over me. I made him send me right back to where you were, didn't want him to tell you, and he seemed all too happy to agree to that one."
Dean felt as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of his lungs.
"Sam... Sammy... what are you sayin'?"
"Some guy knocked me out and forced me." Sam said quietly, looking at his hands in his lap.
"Do you know who?" Dean asked, his breaths coming in pants almost now.
"No... they came up from behind--- oh, for another phrasing..." he sighed. "I blocked it out, mostly. Dean, I didn't want to upset you or---"
"Deacon know who?"
"Yes, but---"
"Stay here. I'm gonna go beat it out of Deacon."
"Dean, no! It's---"
But, Dean was already off. "Cas! Cas!"
Castiel walked into the room. "Yes?"
"Much as I hate flying on Angel Airlines... zap me to Deacon, up at the prison. And, you come with me 'cause I'll need to get back quick too. I don't wanna leave Sammy too long. You gonna be okay while I'm gone?" Dean asked.
"No." Sam said, feeling sullen he couldn't hide his true feelings right now. Feeling like he was 6 instead of 26. "I want you to stay, and I don't want you to do something that could get you arrested or hurt, and I don't want you leaving me, but you probably want to, 'cause you're ashamed of me before you even knew this, but now---"
"Sam." Dean cut him off. "I would never, ever be..." he sighed, putting his hands on Sam's arms. "You're my baby brother, okay? None of it is your fault. OK, some of the Ruby stuff is, but not even completely there. OK?"
"No, 'cause you don't mean that."
Dean thwacked him on the back of the head. "Do so! That little twat tricked you, so, yes, it's only 80% your fault."
"OK, that actually sounds... Yeah, I buy that."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Dork. I'm coming back. And, Bobby's here in the meantime..."
He walked over to Cas, who zapped them both into Deacon's office...