So as I said in the last Chapter of Blood Bonds, this next part of the Angels and Demons story is actually two separate stories, one is set in the past and the other the present. Thanks for reading. bambers;)
Chapter One
"Dean, you just about ready to go?" Rowan impatiently called out after knocking on the bathroom door for the third time. Glancing at his Rolex, he let out an aggravated groan and rapped even harder on the sturdy wooden door. "Just to let you know, when most people say they're gonna take a quick shower, it usually means they're gonna be in there about twenty minutes, not an hour and a half."
Opening the door just far enough to stick his head out, Dean nudged his head toward his duffel bag. "Can you get me my clothes, Rowan?"
"Nope, get 'em yourself," the vampire huffed as he plopped down on a recliner and propped up his feet on the nearby table. "Told you we needed to be on the road by ten a.m. It's now eleven-thirty, an' you're not even dressed."
"I could be dressed in like two minutes if someone would get me my duffel." Dean forced a smile as he plodded across the thick carpeting and snatched his duffel bag off the floor. "An' it's not my fault if that's the best shower I've been in since . . . well, since forever. An' actually I took a bath." He shrugged, feeling a bit sheepish when Rowan rolled his eyes. "I mean, how could I not, it's like a freakin' swimming pool with whirlpool jets. An' that's not even to mention the lighted waterfall thing."
"I know what it looks like, Dean, it's my bathroom." Rowan glanced down at his watch again and tapped on it for emphasis. "Think you could hurry it up a little? Bobby and Joshua are waiting outside, an' we really need to get on the road." Normally Rowan wouldn't have begrudged his friend taking a little extra time getting ready especially since he was still recovering from nearly dying, but with Collin still missing and Sam in the hospital, the vampire's nerves were rubbed nearly raw.
He also wanted to be on the road before Jax somehow realized Dean was alive and tried to contact him about Sam. If Dean knew Lucifer had attacked Sam and the younger hunter was now in a coma, nothing would keep him from going to see his little brother. Rowan's stomach clenched at the thought of lying to his friend, but Dean needed to keep his mind focused on Joshua. With a little over four months left to go before his deal with Michael was completed, Dean still had a long way to go, and couldn't afford to mess up now.
Returning his attention to the younger vampire, Rowan shook his head in disbelief when he noticed tiny bubbles still clinging to Dean's hair. "God, please tell me you didn't take a bubble bath or I'm so gonna kick your ass."
"Dropped the shampoo in the water." Dean lowered his head as heat rose to flush his face. "An' what with the jets an' all, there were bubbles everywhere."
"Sure, princess, I believe ya." Rowan chuckled as he got to his feet and headed for the door. "I'm gonna go wait downstairs with Bobby. I'm sure he's gonna wanna hear about your bubble bath, so who am I to keep that kinda of information from him."
"You wouldn't dare." Dean quickly snatched up his clothes to get dressed before Rowan had a chance to tell Bobby or he would never hear the end of it.
"Sure I would, Bubble Boy," Rowan teased, then rushed out the door and slammed it behind him.
"God, please explain to me why I'm friends with him again?" Dean heaved a groan as he slipped on his boxers and jeans. He was about to pull on his t-shirt when he heard a cell phone start ringing. As it wasn't his, he took a quick look around the room, and spied Rowan's phone resting on the recliner where the vampire had just been sitting.
Crossing the room, he grabbed the phone, noticed it was Jax calling, and jabbed the button. "Hey, Jax, what's up?"
For several very long seconds all Dean could hear was Jax's shaky breathing, and then he finally uttered, "Dean?" An unmistakable sound of confusion registered in the younger hunter's tone as he added, "Dean . . . is that really you?"
"I'm not a Skinwalker if that's what you're askin'." Dean chuckled, trying to break the tension that he had inadvertently created when he answered the phone instead of Rowan. "How's Sammy doing?"
"How? I mean . . . what did he . . . how's it possible?" Jax stammered, completely ignoring Dean's question.
"How's what possible?" Dean raised a brow, now becoming concerned at the panic he detected in the younger hunter's tone.
"Rowan . . . he told me ya died. How'd he bring you back?"
"I have no freakin' idea what you're talkin' about." Heading to the window, Dean pried the blinds slightly apart and peered out at Rowan, Bobby and Joshua. Damn it, no wonder I haven't heard from Jax until now. "I don't know what he told you, Jax, but I never died . . . well, maybe I did for a minute or so, but it was definitely not in a salt an' burn my bones kinda way."
"I don't understand." Instead of sounding relieved, Jax seemed even more perplexed. "If you're alive why haven't ya come ta see Sam. I mean, I know you've got yer damn deal an' all, but he's been in a coma for like two weeks, an' at this point they're tellin' me he'll probably never wake up."
"He's what . . . wait, how . . . I don't understand?" Dean stammered, his heart lodging firmly in his throat, making it nearly impossible to catch his breath much less speak. Tears welled in his eyes, and slipped down his cheeks unchecked as he eyed the dark-haired vampire again.
"You – you really didn't know?" Jax asked in clear disbelief.
"If I had known, I'd be with my little brother right now instead of talking to you on the damn phone."
"God, I'm so sorry, Dean. Why didn't Rowan tell ya?"
"What hospital is he at?" Dean said in a hoarse whisper, ignoring Jax's comment as he dragged his hand down across his face, wiping away the tears.
"Presbyterian Hospital. He's registered as Sam Osborne. Third floor, room 346."
"I'll be there in like ten minutes." Dean snapped the phone shut, and heaved it at the wall, busting a hole in the drywall and breaking the phone into pieces. Yanking on his t-shirt and shoes, he snatched the car keys off the dresser, and bolted for the door. He flew down the stairs, taking them two at a time, and darted through the foyer and out the front door.
"Damn, Dean," Rowan chuckled as Dean leapt off the steps, and sprinted toward the black Chevelle Michael had given him. "I wasn't really gonna tell Bobby you were takin' a bubble bath."
Dean stopped short when he came face to face with Rowan, cocked back a fist and slammed it into his friend's face, followed quickly by a jab to the ribecage. "You sonuvabitch, how could you," he snarled as he drew back an arm to strike Rowan again, but Bobby caught hold of his arm mid-swing.
"Dean, what the hell's the matter with you?" the older hunter asked, tightening his hold on Dean's arm as he tried to shake free of his grasp.
"Ask Judas what he did, cause I don't have time to explain right now . . . Sammy's in the hospital dying . . . an' apparently I've been dead for several weeks now." Without saying another word to either man, Dean got in his car, started the engine, and peeled out of the driveway, leaving a trail of dust and gravel in his wake.
XxXxXxXxXxX
After breaking every traffic law known to man, Dean arrived at the hospital in record time. Out of the car in a shot he raced inside the hospital, and rushed to the elevator. Within a few moments, the door slid open and he climbed inside. Anxiously pressing the door close button, he was relieved when it finally slid closed and started moving toward the third floor. The door had barely opened for the third floor, and Dean was out of the lift and on the move again, searching every room number until he finally found the room his brother was in.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, and slow his rapidly beating heart, he chanced a glance in his little brother's room, and his heart lurched into his throat. Several machines surrounded the bed with tubes and wires extending from them to Sam. An intubation tube had been inserted into his mouth to deliver air to his lungs, while several leads had been attached to his chest. From beneath the tubing, Sam looked deathly pale, and for the briefest of moments, Dean thought he might have been too late, but then noticed his brother's chest slowly rise as air was forced into his lungs.
"If he wakes up and sees you, you'll go to straight to Hell," warned a deeply masculine voice from behind Dean, and without having to turn around he knew it was Michael. "Not that it'll stop you, but I thought it only fair to warn you."
"As I made both deals for him, it really doesn't matter anyway," Dean muttered brokenly as he turned to face the formidable archangel. "Is he . . . do you know if he . . . ." his voice trailed off, not wanting to even consider the possibility that Sam would die.
"To every man under the heavens, there is an appointed time in which he shall die. But whether it is Sam's time," he gestured toward the heavens, "only He can say."
Dean gave a curt nod of understanding, more tears welling in his eyes. "An' did you know this would happen when I made the deal with you?"
"Unlike Him, I can only see all the possible choices a man can make, but not the outcome of his actions. So, no, I didn't know Sam would end up here."
"Rowan knew an' he didn't tell me." A deep scowl formed on his features as he thought of the vampire he had believed was his friend, and mentally kicked himself for trusting in him so completely. "He knew my brother was dying, an' he jus' lied right to my face."
"I know it probably doesn't mean much to you right now, but he was only trying to protect you," The muscular, blue-eyed angel said as he placed a comforting hand on Dean's shoulder.
Dean shrugged free of his grasp, and glanced into his brother's hospital room again. "You're right, it doesn't mean a damn thing to me."
"You know," the dark-haired archangel began in a very condescending manner, "I had really thought you were beginning to learn something, but I see now that I was wrong." He crossed his arms, and shook his head as he glared at Dean, blue eyes gleaming menacingly in the dimly lit hallway. "You have no idea just how many people ask for His forgiveness everyday, an' yet when it's their turn to be forgiving they turn a blind eye toward those who need it the most."
"I'm pretty sure that would've probably meant a helluva lot more to me if jus' once you didn't find fault with every damn thing I do." Dean forcefully shoved the angel away from him, opened the door to his brother's room, and headed inside, calling back over his shoulder, "But seein' as none of you have ever forgiven me for any of the mistakes I've made, I think I'm pretty damn justified in saying that I never wanna see that sonuvabitch again."
For several moments, Dean stood at the doorway, afraid to move. He'd never seem in his brother so still or quiet. Pressing his eyes closed, he craned his neck and listened intently, needing to hear Sam's heartbeat. At first all he could hear was the beeping and humming of the machines keeping Sam alive, and then he finally zeroed in on the weak thrum of his brother's heart. He breathed a sigh of relief, and for once he was thankful that he was a vampire. That's it, Sammy, you stay alive for me.
Slowly, he closed the gap that separated them, and ruffled Sam's shaggy, brown hair. A wry smile pulled at his lips as he recalled how many times he had teased his brother about his long hair. "Hey there, Tiger, it's been a while." Dean brushed the back of his hand across his cheek, wiping away the tears slipping down his cheeks. "Bet I'm probably about the last person you expected to see here."
Blinking back his tears, he looked around he room, and for the first time noticed Jax sitting quietly in the corner near the window. "Y-you been with him the whole time?" he somehow managed to choke out.
"They wanted to kick me out, but I told them I wasn't goin' anywhere till Sam left here with me," Jax replied with a weary smile, then covered his mouth and stifled a yawn. "Course I got this neat little mind control trick workin' for me now, so they pretty much jus' leave me alone."
"H-how bad is it?" Dean asked, and then held his breath as he waited for a response from the younger hunter.
Jax bit pensively at his lower lips as his gaze ticked from Dean to Sam and then back again. "They say he'll more than likely spend the rest of his life in a vegetative state."
"An' what does that mean?" Dean gripped hold of Sam's hand, and squeezed it reassuringly, praying that his brother would somehow realize he was there and wake up.
"I dunno, Dean. They used a lot of medical terms I've never heard of before, but by the way they looked at me, I know it can't be good."
Dean swallowed hard against the tight knot in his throat. "Wh-why didn't you heal him? You saved Becca . . . why don't you save him?" he uttered, trying his damnedest to remain strong, but felt his walls crumbling down around him.
"I tried, Dean," Jax's voice rose defensively as he once again looked to Sam, "ya have ta believe I tried an' tried. An' then Rowan . . . well, he kept comin' here everyday with new things for me ta try, but nothin' worked."
"Rowan was here?" Inwardly, Dean seethed, stomach churning at the thought that Rowan had gone behind his back to visit Sam in the hospital, and had never once mentioned it to him.
"Yeah, pretty much twice a day. Once really early in the mornin' an' then again later at night."
"Jax, can I have some time alone with my brother?" he asked, pushing aside his anger for a moment to focus on Sam. "It – it's been a while an' – "
"Ya don't need ta explain anything to me," Jax rose to stand, stretched his muscles, and then thumbed a finger toward the door. "I'll go an' get some coffee, an check on Luke." He trudged to the entrance, then paused and looked back at Dean. "I'm not gonna give up, ya know. If there's a way ta save him, I'm gonna find it, an' bring him back jus' like he was before."
A sad smile graced his features when he heard the undeniable sound of fierce determination in the younger man's voice. "Thanks, Jax."
"No thanks necessary, he's the closest thing ta family I've got, an' I'm not about ta let Lucifer take him from me, too."
