Dean lurched and instinctively leaned over the cot he was lying on while his stomach convulsed but nothing came out. He collapsed in the sideways position, the twist in his body sending sharp pain through his leg and chest but he didn't have the energy to move again so he just lay there, watching the sweat drip from his face and hit the wooden floor. Even his curiosity as to where he was wasn't enough to get him to move again.

The floorboards creaked under a new weight and he heard a gasp. "He's awake!"

The figure moved over to him and rolled him onto his back again. He caught sight of vivid red hair cascading over pale shoulders before she turned away to reach for something. When the cool water splashed on his lips he tried harder to stay conscious and found his hand wrapping over hers to pulled the cup closer. She pulled him up enough to help him drink and he took in as much as possible before falling back onto the sheets. With the refreshment of water, he seemed more able to focus and the room around him flourished into clarity and colour.

"I thought you were vampires." He slurred, his voice still hoarse and brain sluggish. But his eyes were taking in the clean room, simple enough, unfinished floorboards, hand sanded furniture and plain, white-washed walls. There was no glass in the windows that let daylight flood the room, but shutters were pushed open. He took in the simple brown dress the woman over him wore and got a very colonial feel about the whole place.

"We are." She answered the statement he'd already almost forgotten just as the room became much more crowded. There were three others entering, among them was the swarthy man Dean had guessed as their leader before passing out.

"What's that?" he asked, taking the red-head's spot at Dean's side and running a hand over his forehead but frowning when he still found it very hot.

"He seems confused that we are vampires." She obediently explained to him.

"I see. Well, coming form the living world, where the tastes of our kind are much more Gothic and dark, I understand why." He turned to address Dean now, "but this is a much more frugal existence."

"But it's so...bright."

"Ah, yes, you have been running around Purgatory long enough to have discovered at least some of its properties. You were right to run from the Night side, but I cannot say the Day side is any safer for you. And the Twilight realm was probably the worst place you could have chosen to camp in. But you're here now, with us in the sunlight. Yes, according to old lore we do not favour the light, but unlike many creature in this verse, we were once human, as were a few other species. We crave a roof over our heads, some sort of consistency, security. Simply put, it is more practical to live in the light. And like I said, the company in the side of light is at least a bit more desirable than the mindless beasts you'll find in the dark side. Does that satisfy you?"

Dean just nodded, the explanation was way more information than he had expected, but he was glad for it. He tried to prop himself up on his elbows so he could face the Vampires on a slightly more even level but too much pain flared up and made him stop.

"Don't move." The cold hand came to rest on his shoulder. "You are very sick with infection. Your body needs to rest."

"Yeah, big tragedy if I die." He snorted. "Then you all wouldn't get your little snack."

"Dean, it would be best if you came to terms with the situation. Is this not a fair deal? In exchange for all this- food, safety, the comforts of a bed and home- all you have to do is give us a little blood. In fact, I think it's more than fair, Dean. With all those monsters out there just waiting to feast on you, or in some cases, get their revenge, I think you won the Purgatory lottery when we found you. You already accepted the offer when you held out your hand to us, remember? So why not stop complaining."

Dean remember the moment, remembered the utter defeat he'd felt. But then his eyes narrowed and he looked up to the leader again. "Wait."

"Yes Dean?"

"I had that cave as monster proof as I could make it."

"But not against those Rakshasas, apparently."

"No, that's not what I mean."
"Oh," a small smile crept over the man's face, "that."

"You might not like Dead Man's Blood, but it shouldn't have been enough to keep you out. You could have walked in and stopped her at any time, couldn't you?"

The small smile became a much larger, satisfied one. "Yes, I could have."

"You wanted me to give in."

"I did."

"Why?"

"Because, Dean, that was the first step to making you mine. The sooner you accept this as your best option, the easier this will be for everyone. But, I guess, you already made that choice."

"Bastard."

"Rest up, Dean." he ignored the insult and headed for the door, but paused before exiting. "And by the way, my name is Osric, and I will be your master for the rest of your life. I will introduce you to the rest of the family when you are feeling a bit better."

Dean shut his eyes, rolling his head back on the pillow.


"There, now get that down you and we'll see what we can do about this problem of yours."

This time, Sam could look across the table and feel at home in the company he'd sought out. He was home—maybe not in his house, but in Lawrence, for the first time in years, and with a friendly warm smile staring back at him that made him dig deep into the mashed potatoes on his plate.

"Thank you so much, Missouri."

"I told you boys to come visit. Figures you wouldn't come until the world nearly ends—again. You could have at least called, you know, when you found out monsters were poisoning the water supply."

"I'm sorry." Sam said when he swallowed his potatoes. "Things moved so fast and...well I guess I have no excuse. I'm just sorry." His shoulders dropped but he jolted with a harsh slap to his back.

"Sit up straight! And don't look so gloomy. So your brother's in a tight spot, it's terrible, there is no working around that. But it's no reason you shouldn't be keeping up your strength with good wholesome food like this. There's no Leviathan additives in that, I can promise you, grown just down the road these vegetables, at Johnson's farm. Just what you need to set your mind straight after all this talk of Death and Purgatory and monsters trying to take over the world."

Sam gave a half laugh at the way Missouri managed to dismiss his insane stories as if they were no more upsetting than coming home after being bullied at school. It was almost a relief to have her accept his word about everything but to put it in a simplistic light.

"I don't know what help an old seer like me can give you, but you were right to find your friends, Sam. How about that Charlie girl, have you heard back from her?"

"Yeah, now that the Dick is out of the picture, she's safe enough to come out of hiding. She says she'll help out if there is anything I need her to do."

"Well that's a start. You've already got two on your team then."

Her positivity washed down on him and he nodded, finding himself actually believing there was something he, an old wise woman and a hacker could do to pull his brother back from Purgatory.

"Who else is on your list?"

One of the solutions Missouri had come up with was for Sam to write down the names of anyone who knew him and might help, or owed him a favour.

"There's a Sheriff back from Bobby's town, Jody Mills. She said she'll help do some research."

"That's good."

"I still can't reach Chuck."

"The boy you say is a Prophet?"

"Yeah."

"And what about your demon friend?"

"She wasn't exactly a friend, but no I haven't heard anything from Meg either. Crowely took her back to Hell. He took Kevin too. Maybe he needed Chuck for some reason as well."

"Alright, then who is next on your list?"

Sam pulled the piece of paper over to him while he washed down the delicious supper with a glass of milk. But when he set down the glass it was with a grimace.

"Someone I really don't want to ask for help again."

"Who?"

"The Vampire Alpha."


"How are you feeling today?"

It was the question that greeted him each morning when Larissa opened wide the shutters to let the constant light fall in on him where he lay trapped in his bed. Not that they had tied him down in any way, he just simply couldn't move with his leg the way it was.

When he'd broken it before, though he'd woken up in a hospital of Leviathan doctors ready to eat him- they had at least put his leg in a cast. Here though, there was no such luxury, so he lay in his boxers with his leg bound up with nothing more than clothe holding it in place. The only way to make sure it healed, was to stay in bed, which he had done now for two full weeks. Hi fever had passed and his other wounds were healing up nicely. So, everyday, when she asked how he felt, he cringed internally, knowing it was only getting closer to when they would start to feed on him.

"Hmm." He grunted out like he always did and she set his tray of food down on the bedside table and then propped him up with more pillows. Though soft and plenty thick, the pillows seemed less comfortable to him after he'd asked what they'd stuffed them with. Monster feathers did not have the same feel as goose down.

He had asked them alot of questions about this world, and usually whoever was in was happy to oblige. They looked down on him, yes. They wanted to drink he blood and saw him as nothing more than leverage in an endless war and a piece of meat, but they at least talked to him. And the more he learned about this world, the more he understood why. Because for as much as they saw him as their dinner, he was quite possibly one of the most intelligent beings left in this world.

"Yes we can die, and we do." Osric had explained one day while checking his patient was getting better. "It is the curse of Purgatory. Creatures killing each other for eternity. But every time you are resurrected, a little less of you comes back."

"Like a copy of a copy of a copy?" Dean had suggested.

"I suppose that is one way of looking at it. With every death, they devolve into more bestial beings. Many of the vampire are like this, no longer seeking clans or shelter but living as wild things on the Night side."

"So then, you and your..." Dean hesitated to use the word but it's what Osric called them "...family, you haven't died much?"

"Less then three or four times each. I myself have only gone through one regeneration. My son, August, however, has gone through four regenerations, and the difference in him is already apparent. I sincerely hope he does not devolve further or he will no longer have a place here."

"You only want original copies."

"Pure, is the word I would use. Pure beings still possess rational thought, intelligence. Without that, there is nothing for us to fight for and we might as well let ourselves degenerate into beasts."

"Are there others like you?"

"Yes. Other clans. But we have all chosen to remain small, keep to ourselves. It is more manageable that way."

Dean had learned there were only seven in this family. Osric, the head of the family, and five younger looking ones. Larissa, though only appearing to be in her early twenties, was essentially the mother of the household, or his wife. Then there his 'children' Aliyah, Khaira, August, Cane and Iver. Dean had seen little of the three young male Vampires, all looking to be about his own age, very strong, and no doubt one reason this clan had managed to defend itself for so long. However, the women were not to be discounted either, Dean got the feeling anyway.

Mostly, his contact was with Larissa and Osric, though Aliyah, the one with the long red hair he'd woken to the first day, often brought his meals and took care of the more menial jobs.

He had then asked about Bobby, wondering what could have happened to him. They had told him he must have been pulled back by the other ghosts, but now that Dean was here, he would be out of his reach. Like his cave, the Vampires had taken measures to keep out unwanted creatures. He said nothing about Cas.

"Almost ready, I'd say." Dean was pulled out of past conversations and back into the present by the bloodless hand against his skin. Larissa caught the look in his eyes and laughed as if he were a small child frightened of going to the dentist. "Don't worry sweetie, you still need to fatten up a bit." She poked his ribs and he winced. "I'll tell Osric to give you a few more days, okay?"

Her sweet voice was no comfort. She often talked to him like that, not exactly a false kindness but like she didn't actually understand that this whole situation was incredibly disturbing to Dean. "Now, eat up!"

She put the tray in his lap and swept out of the room. Now that he was feeling a bit better and a bit more resilient, he looked down at the tray with a scowl and considered not eating it. If he didn't get better, maybe they wouldn't feed on him. But that was a long shot and would still leave him weak and helpless. So he put his wooden spoon in the warm porridge and tried not to enjoy it too much.


When Dean woke to Osric just two days later, he knew he'd run out of his grace period. The elder vampire was simply watching him, as if mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do.

"I have not tasted human blood for three centuries."

Dean really didn't have anything to say. The shutters were still drawn, they were alone in the room and he was starting to worry that Osric had just decided to drink him dry.

"I have prepared myself for this moment, so that I will not take it too far."

"Then why are we alone?" Dean finally spoke, trying not to betray the growing nervousness in his voice.

"You lost consciousness the last time my family was around your open blood. It was nearly a disaster and it took everything I had to stop them from drinking you dry right then. If they were to watch me feed upon you, it would insight the same primal urges."

"I see."

Osric came to the bed and sat on the side.

"Sit up." He commanded as his hands pulled Dean upright.

This was all wrong. He should be fighting, running, screaming, but he was transfixed in the darkness, the silence, and those cold brown eyes watching him with such intensity. A hand wrapped around his back to hold him up, the other pulling down his collar before sliding to his hair to hold his head to one side.

So they were going to do this the good old fashioned way.

"Try to relax." The words whispered low just before every muscle in his body tensed up at the feeling of those rows of shark-like teeth along the sensitive, thin flesh covering such a vital area of his body.

He lurched when they penetrated, every instinct kicking in and he could help that his hands flew out to push the other back, to try desperately to escape his hold. But the strong arm wrapped behind him only pulled him in closer, teeth biting deeper and that horrible sensation of suction on his very veins increased. He felt the rumble of pleasure vibrate up the vampire's throat and into his neck.

"S-stop!" He managed to get out. How much could his body take? He had no idea how fast a Vamp drank blood but it felt like it was killing him.

His heart was beating so fast he felt like it would explode and the pain that ran through his chest was unbearable. His hands clenched into the fabric of Osric's shirt, his left knee came up in a vain attempt to leverage him off. But the other was by no means letting up, the hand in his hair pulled tighter, greedily, and he knew he was going to die.

"...stop." he tried one last time, his voice failing him, his hands falling away from the other. Only then did he feel that possessive grip slacken, the hitch of shock in the other followed by those teeth withdrawing from him and he was dropped back onto sheets which quickly stained red under the continuing flow from his neck.

"Damn." Osric's eyes shone bright in the darkness, his whole being practically shimmering with the glow of power he'd gleaned from Dean's blood. But he looked down on his prisoner and saw at once he'd gone too far. He'd torn Dean's neck open in his desperation to dig deeper and the wound continued to bleed while Dean, barely conscious, tried to cover the wound with his own hand. He was shaking all over, strangled noises of shock and pain escaping him beyond his control.

"OSRIC!" the door banged open, Larissa rushed over when she saw what was happening. Her eyes widened and she stopped herself, her jaw thrusting forward and those fangs sliding down at the sight and smell of all his blood.

"Stay back!" Osric commanded. "I will take care of it."

Dean caught glimpses of movement, heard the door slam, but mostly he just felt cold, listened to the slow pounding of his own heart and the warm roll of blood over his fingers. He made no effort to track the movements of the vampire leader as he hurried around the room, returning to Dean's side to push aside his hand and press something into his neck to staunch the bleeding.

He wanted to pass out, he didn't want to feel the pain in his chest anymore, the trembling of his body and see the look of lust still in Osric's eyes, but the other's voice was telling him to stay awake and some part of him that seemed intent on surviving was listening.


Well you called it Fhyre. , I too think we should see Missouri again so here she is, hopefully she's in the next season! More familiar faces to come! Thanks for the reviews.

Riza.