UNDER THESE CONDITIONS…
Part 11 of "The Under Series" a Supernatural / White Collar crossover.
Neal excused himself as his phone rang. He had to answer it. He could not remember a time that June had called him at work, so it had to be important.
Neal listened for a moment, and Peter could tell from his expression that something was wrong.
"What's going on?" Peter asked when Neal hung up.
Neal looked around to make sure no one would overhear.
"June said Dean showed up there. His face was bloody and bruised. He won't let June touch him. He acts like he's in a lot of pain. And he keeps saying Sam is gone…missing…something like that. She said he's mumbling." Neal looked at Peter asking his permission. He knew he had it when he saw Peter reaching for his jacket. "We should take Diana."
They headed for the stairs. Peter looked at Neal.
"Dean likes her." Neal replied.
Peter quickly and quietly recruited Diana's and Jones' help.
Several agents looked up. They could tell Peter and Neal were in a hurry. But they had not heard anything about going out into the field. They wondered were the group was going. They then dismissed it quickly. People came and went from the office all the time.
Neal was not prepared for the scene that greeted them in June's living room. Dean Winchester, his face barely recognizable, was sitting on the floor behind June's piano. He had pushed himself into the corner.
Neal and the agents had followed the sounds of Dean's groans and his labored breathing over to the corner where he was sitting. Neal knelt down in front of his friend. He kept a safe distance and spoke softly to Dean. Dean reacted to the sound of Neal's voice. But it was obvious Dean had no idea who Neal was. He seemed terrified as he pressed himself into the corner and away from Neal.
The FBI agents looked at Dean Winchester. This was not the man the FBI was after. This man was terrified of something and obviously severely injured.
Neal stood up and went back to where the others were standing.
"Dean's hurt, Neal." June stated. "There's a lots of blood on his t-shirt. And the spots have gotten a lot bigger since he's been here. He's…he needs our help."
Neal nodded still looking at his friend as Diana decided to try and talk to him. She sat down on the floor in front of Dean as she spoke. She made no moves towards him, at first. She just spoke to him. And when she did reach out to touch him, he didn't instantly pull away. She then tried to sit beside Dean. He started to get agitated and his pain increased. His eyes slid closed as he passed out.
Peter and Jones carried Dean into the June's spare bedroom on the first floor as June, and Diana got things ready. Neal hurried upstairs to get Dean some clean clothes.
The full extent of Dean's injuries was revealed when they got him undressed. He had bruises on his back and chest. There were also knife wounds which were still fresh enough to ooze blood. That explained the blood that June had seen on Dean's t-shirt. He had burn marks on his arms and legs, in addition to the cuts and bruises. Some of the burn marks looked to be branding iron-type marks and others resembled cigarette burns.
They were all sickened, saddened and angered by what they had seen. They all knew that Sam and Dean Winchester were not cold-hearted killers. And the torture alone, the pain, could have been more than Dean's mind could take. It would have been more than enough to make him snap and withdraw.
But it brought up far more sinister, bothersome question. If this had happened to Dean, then what had happened or was happening to Sam?
June called a doctor friend of hers to come in and examine and treat Dean. She knew he could keep his mouth shut about who he had seen, aside from all the 'Hippocratic Oath' stuff.
They all left the room as the doctor examined Dean.
"What…what happened?" Peter asked.
"Dean came to the door, Rosaline said. She recognized him, so she opened the door. She said he just looked at her like he didn't know her. She then called me. When I came out to the foyer, he looked at me like he was trying to remember me. But he wouldn't let me touch him." June paused. "He was having a really hard time walking. He kind of stumbled in. He had his hand pressed to his side, and he…he just went to that corner, and he sat down. Every time we tried to talk to him or touch him he just…he shied away. He never…he's never acted like that before. I've never even seen him scared. And he and Sam…." June shook her head. She didn't have to finish the statement. They all knew what obstacles Dean and Sam were up against in their lives.
Peter then turned and looked at Neal.
Neal looked into the bedroom at Dean. At least now, lying in bed, he looked comfortable and not in pain. Neal then looked at Peter. "I've never…" Neal shook his head. "...I've never even seen him scared. And what he does for a living…." Neal shook his head again. "…he has had plenty of reasons to be scared."
"Then we're back to our original question." Diana replied as the doctor exited the room. "What happened to Dean?"
The doctor spoke to them all outside the bedroom as they waited. "Your friend was beaten and tortured. The bruises and the burn marks…." The doctor shook his head. "He had to have been in tremendous pain when he came to this house. He has a long list of injuries. Besides the general bruises and burn marks he has bruised and broken ribs. The cuts are deep. But there are a few superficial ones too. I dressed them all. I'd watch him closely for internal bleeding." The doctor wrote down the signs to look for. He handed the piece of paper to June. "Give the unusual way he was acting; I would look for head injury too. Those signs and symptoms are listed also." He said, referring to the piece of paper he had already given to June. "I took blood, just to see if he was drugged." The doctor sighed. "He needs hospital care. I…he really needs to be monitored, on machines, in a hospital. I realize that may not be in his best interest, for a lot of reasons, but it is medically."
June nodded as she led him to the door. "We thank you, Dr. Cranston. I will call you…if anything comes up."
Diana was the first back in the room. She didn't like to see Dean quiet. She had never seen him not moving. She sat down on the bed and took his hand. She squeezed it and when she didn't get a response she stroked his cheek.
June sat down on the other side of the bed and took his other hand. "The doctor gave him something for pain. He'll probably be out for a while."
Diana nodded. She liked Dean. She didn't like to see him hurting. And it disturbed her, greatly, to see how he had been acting before.
"What had Dean been saying about Sam?" Diana asked, as Jones, Neal and Peter entered the room. They listened, intently, to the conversation.
June shook her head. "He was hurting so bad. He was hard to understand. And he was…I could tell he knew me. But he wouldn't let me near him. He just…he said he couldn't find Sam. He asked me where Sam was. At least I think that's what he said. He was so hard to understand."
Everyone looked up as an unexpected visitor walked into the room. Neal had called El, knowing she would want to know about Dean, especially considering what had happened to him.
"Neal called me." El explained as Peter stared at her. He didn't know she had come to like Sam and Dean so much.
June got up so that El could take her place on that side of the bed. El slid her hand into Dean's. It was only then when she really started looking at Dean that she realized how badly he was injured.
"Neal…" El said, looking up at him. "…what…what happened to Dean?" She then realized that something was missing. She looked around the room. "Where's Sam?"
June spoke up. "Sam wasn't with him. He said Sam was gone or missing or something like that. He was mumbling. I couldn't understand him." She said, shaking her head.
Peter was surprised when he looked at his wife and saw tears in her eyes.
"Who did this to him?" El asked.
"We don't know anything, Hon, not until Dean wakes up." Peter said.
Jones and Diana just stared at El. They had no idea she even knew Dean Winchester.
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Hours Earlier:
Sam was cold and alone. He looked around him, searching for Dean. Sam remembered seeing Dean fighting, punching at the air. He remembered their captors laughing, laughing at the spectacle Dean was making of himself. Sam also remembered the needle. He remembered Dean trying to fight the needle that had been put in his arm. The hypodermic needle had been filled with hallucinogenic drugs. Sam's reaction had been different. He had horrible, terrifying visions of his mom and Jessica burning to death on the ceiling. He could feel the heat from the fire. He could hear their screams as they reverberated off the walls of the rooms. He could not save them, and he watched helplessly as they pleaded with him, begged him to save them. He pulled himself into a corner of the room, powerless to save himself or Dean from what was happening.
Dean had begun to fight his captors. He had seen Sam sitting in the corner. And he knew something was wrong. Dean hadn't seen Sam get drugged. But Sam looked scared and in a daze. And it had made Dean angry. But Dean had his own 'demons' to fight. He saw horrifying images, monsters in human suits accusing him of killing their human counterparts. Then, of course, there were the monsters that he had killed who had promised him that they would never kill again. He heard their voices, loud and clear, over and over again, accusing. He continued to fight, lashing out physically and verbally.
The plan had been to break the Winchesters. It had not gone as expected. Dean was much, much tougher than they gave him credit for. And Sam had not reacted, at all, the way they had expected. He had withdrawn completely. Interrogating him would be no fun. So they left Sam to his delusions and concentrated on Dean.
Dean had been left to die, drugged and beaten. A couple of hours after Dean's sick interrogation had ended, Sam came around. Sam pulled himself up off the floor when he saw Dean lying face down, unconscious, on the floor across the room from him. Sam got up to check his brother. He needed help. Dean needed help. Sam wandered out the door, stumbling as he went, to find some.
Dean opened his eyes. He was in incredible pain. He looked around the room. Sam wasn't there. He called his brother's name several times, though it was a very weak call. Dean tried to roll over. He almost passed out from the pain again. He went back onto his chest, breathing hard. He tried again. His ribs protested, and he made it.
The drugs were very slow to wear off. Dean remembered New York. He remembered his captors saying that they were still in New York. If that was, indeed, the case Dean knew the first place he had to try to make it to.
Sam was lost. He had not gotten over the effects of the drugs and was now lost. He wanted to make it to Neal's place. But he had lost his way and he had no idea, now where Dean had been. It had been a large warehouse, but the area Sam had left had several very large warehouses. And Sam didn't have the energy or the time to search each one. Dean was in big trouble.
Sam had been unable to think clearly. He couldn't figure out what to do because he couldn't seem to think about any one thing for any length of time. He wanted to stop and ask where he was, but he couldn't risk anyone remembering him. So, he pushed forward.
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"We need to find Sam, Boss." Diana stated. She watched Dean as he began to get restless. He was muttering and trying to sit up in bed. She, Jones and Peter looked on as El, Neal, and June tried to calm Dean down.
Peter nodded. "We can't use official channels or government resources." He didn't like the thought of Sam out there, alone, probably hurt badly, looking for Dean.
"He would come here, probably." Jones thought out loud. "He would ….."
"Diana!" Neal called to her interrupting the three of them. They all turned and looked.
Diana went over to the bed and sat down. She laid her hand on Dean's arm and spoke to him. Dean seemed to calm a little.
"See, I told you he liked you." Neal said as he watched Diana and Dean.
"You're right. Sam will try to make it here. But I still want you and Diana to look for him, discreetly." Peter replied. "I can't have the Bureau getting wind of this. The faster we find Sam the better. If anybody finds out Dean's here…."
Jones nodded. Peter didn't have to explain.
Diana said another word or two to Dean and then she and Jones left to start looking for Sam.
Dean closed his eyes again. June, El and Neal went down the doctor's checklists, again, looking for signs and symptoms. Luckily there were no signs of internal bleeding or brain damage.
"…dreaming…?" Dean asked after waking up a couple of hours later. He was still in pain but it was manageable. He looked around the room. He was lying in a nice, comfortable bed in a mansion in his dream. He just hoped it was true and he was not, in reality, lying dying on a cold warehouse floor somewhere along the New York shoreline.
June sat down on the bed. She touched his arm and squeezed. And it seemed real to him. Dean could feel the bed go down, and he could feel June squeezing his arm. He still was not sure he could trust his eyes yet, so the fact that he saw her, too, didn't really mean a whole lot.
"You're not dreaming, Darlin'." June said, squeezing Dean's arm. She could tell he was not really sure of where he was yet. She took his hand and held it in both of hers to try and reassure him.
"You're okay, Sweetie." El said. Dean turned his attention to Elizabeth. He smiled and took her hand. It was becoming a little more real. He had responded to her voice and her reaching for him. His hand had touched warm skin.
"You're at June's, Dean." Neal said. Dean looked at him. He had felt the bed go down when Neal had sit down. Dean nodded.
Dean was suddenly very tired. He heard another voice. He looked in her direction. June got up so that Diana could sit down. She smiled down at Dean, taking his hand.
"Hey." Dean said weakly. He was looking around the room.
Diana knew who he was looking for. "We'll find him, Dean."
Dean strained to sit up. "Sammy…he's...warehouse…drugged…."
"Lie down, Sweetie." El said, putting a gentle hand to Dean's shoulder. "Sam's okay. Peter will find him."
Dean and fell back on the bed, exhausted and hurting.
Peter moved over to the bed and sat down, his agent mode kicking in. He gave Dean just a moment to rest. "Dean, do you have any idea where you were taken, any landmarks? Do you remember any numbers on the buildings?
Dean thought for a moment. He shook his head. Then he remembered. He saw a huge white number 16. He remembered seeing one of the huge cemented things out in the harbor. He didn't know the correct name for them. He told Peter all he remembered, the whole story. How he was fighting and how Sam was sitting in the corner, seemingly catatonic.
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"Ms. June! Ms. June!" Her maid, Henrietta, called to her as she ran into the room. "Mister Winchester is here. He is here!"
Everyone looked up at the announcement and Neal and Peter were the first to the front room. They were just in time to see Sam collapse to the floor.
Neal was the first to Sam's side. He knelt down beside his friend, and turned him over. Sam's face was bloody and his clothes were torn. He had been beaten.
Peter observed Sam's injuries. "These are fresh. This is fresh blood. Sam must have been mugged." He then went through Sam's pockets. There was no money or credit cards, not even a fake ID.
Neal nodded. "He definitely tried to fight them off." Neal said, taking in the condition of Sam's knuckles.
"Sam?" Neal said, trying to rouse his friend. "Sam?"
Sam didn't respond.
"We can get him, Neal." Peter said slipping his hands under Sam's arms. "Grab his legs. We'll put him in there with Dean."
Peter and Neal carried Sam into the room. They pulled off his dirty, bloody clothes. They stripped him down to a modest level, just as they did Dean. They then put Sam in a pair of Neal's PJ bottoms. El and Diana cleaned Sam up, cleaning the blood off his face and chest.
Dean has fallen asleep thanks to exhaustion and pain medication. He didn't wake when Neal and Peter put Sam on the bed. And they had all been glad. Seeing Sam would have upset Dean too much. And the stress wouldn't have helped Dean's condition.
June, meanwhile, called her doctor friend and explained the situation. He came back and made another house call. This time he examined Sam. The doctor agreed with Peter's assessment. Sam had been mugged and severely beaten. He had a broken rib or two and a dislocated shoulder, along with some nasty cuts and bruises. The doctor again, suggested overnight hospitalization, citing a possible concussion, but the reasons not to were the same.
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Dean was aware. But he hadn't opened his eyes. He knew that the bed, the spot beside him was occupied. He turned his head and was shocked to see his brother. He, again, unsure he could trust his eyes, reached out and touched warm flesh. He had touched Sam's arm. Dean hesitated, still unsure what to think.
"…'s okay, Dean." Sam slurred. He himself had not been awake long and the drugs were still affecting his speech. "I'm here."
"Sammy?" Dean asked.
"Uh, huh." Sam said, groaning as he tried to move.
Dean tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. "Sam!" He said, alarmed.
El said Dean's name as she took his arm. She sat down on his side of the bed. "Sam's okay, Dean, he's just sore, his ribs. Just like you."
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Dean and Sam recovered quickly. June found Dean and Sam up and dressed a couple of mornings later when she brought their breakfast in.
June said her tray down on the bedside table. "You're not ready to go yet." She declared.
Dean looked at her and smiled as he shoved some of Byron's borrowed clothes into a plastic bag. Dean went to June and hugged her.
"You've done far too much already, June." Dean stated. "We've overstayed our welcome, and we've put you in too much danger."
June hugged Dean tightly. "I would do anything to help you. You could stay as long as you wanted, and I'll have to tell you some stories about Byron and I in our younger years."
Sam stood waiting for his turn. He was still in obvious pain and was moving slowly. "Dean's right, June, but we do thank you."
"You should still be in bed." June commented. She knew, by his expression, that Sam's ribs were still hurting him.
"Dean will take care of me." Sam looked at his brother and smirked.
Dean glared back. "…breakfast in bed…the whole nine yards…." He said, putting on his best fake grin.
"Uh huh." June said, not believing Dean. "Well, eat up, Darlings." She said then she turned and left.
"I would settle for you not using my toothbrush and deodorant." Sam stated.
"I didn't…."
"The toothpaste is squeezed in the middle, Dean." Sam replied. "I don't do that. And you don't wipe the toothpaste off before you put the cap back on."
Dean took the toothpaste out of his bag. It was obviously Sam's, no indention in the middle. Dean took the cap off, squeezed the middle and then replaced the cap, ignoring the oozing toothpaste.
Dean then threw the toothpaste tube across the bed to Sam. "You're right, it is yours." Dean said smiling.
Sam practically growled at Dean as he picked up the toothpaste. "Jerk!"
"Do you want your deodorant back?" Dean asked sweetly, knowing it was irritating Sam.
"I'll buy some more." Sam hissed.
"You are such a girl." Dean snickered.
Neal had come downstairs by this time and Peter and El had joined him. Peter had come to pick Neal up for work and El wanted to check on the boys before her day started.
They were all standing in the doorway grinning when Sam and Dean looked up, realizing that they had an audience.
"Nobody would ever mistake you two for brothers." Peter joked.
"You can't leave." El said stepping forward. She gave Sam a huge hug, mindful of his ribs. "Neither of you are well enough."
Dean cleared his throat and shook his head. "We've got to go, El. We can't stay in one place too long." Dean then turned to Peter. "Thank you, for…. well…what you didn't do. We really appreciate it."
Peter nodded. He shook hands with both Sam and Dean.
"Take it easy, both of you." El demanded. "Take care of your bother." She ordered Dean.
Dean nodded as he hugged El. "We'll take it easy for a few days." He promised her.
It was Neal's turn to say goodbye. He didn't want them to leave either, but he knew that they had to. He hugged both his brothers. He would miss them. Then, just so that Peter would not know which way they went. June had her driver take them to Jersey to pick up their car after Peter and Neal left for work.
THE END
MORE adventures to come!
