Disclaimer: I used to own supernatural, the boys, the Impala and everything else on the show. But then, the men in white gave me my meds and I had to take them.

Summary: Family stayed together in sickness or in health. Well, this was sickness.

A/N: Hey everyone. Another one in my cataloging Sam and Dean's life after Sam came back.

Bobby felt more than heard the loud rumble of Impala and the squeal of tyres as it came to a stop in front of his house. It wasn't the usual laid back sound that signaled the arrival of the Winchesters for a few days of downtime. This was a frantic, panic-driven sound, which meant desperation, usually one of the Winchesters badly injured. Dread rising in his chest, bobby ran to the front door. As he made to the porch he saw Sam get an unconscious Dean out of the passenger seat. Dean didn't seem to be very bad off, no massive bleeding or bones stuck at unusual angles.

"What the hell is going on?" Bobby asked, stepping down from the porch.

Sam seemed to ignore the question as he rushed past him into the house.

"Get the room ready." Sam said tersely. "I meant to call you, but didn't get a chance."

"What's going on?" "What happened?" Two voices simultaneously said from the kitchen door. Damn, Bobby had completely forgotten about them. Lisa and Ben had been on a mother-son bonding road-trip and decided to stop by at Bobby's for a while. Whatever happened to Dean, he couldn't have ended up there at a worse time.

"What are you guys doing here?" Sam looked at them, horrified. The, as if deciding it didn't matter he said, "Look, just get in the kitchen and stay there. I'll explain everything later. Bobby, help me with him."

In shock, Bobby followed Sam quietly. He didn't realize it until they were at the door, but Sam hadn't headed for the upstairs bedroom or the couch, which were the usual places to deposit Dean after a rough hunt. He had brought them to the panic room.

"Bobby, a little help here." Sam said, laying Dean down on the bed and fastening the restraints on his hands.

"Not until you tell me what the hell is going on?" Bobby replied.

"Croats." Sam answered and that one word made Bobby's heart sink. The Croatoan virus. Pestilence's gift to mankind. Looking over Bobby noticed a cut on Dean's forearm. If Dean had gotten infected – then - then.

"You let him get infected?" Bobby shouted at Sam.

"No." Sam replied. It wasn't a defensive 'no' or a counter-accusation. It was full of disgust, as if Sam couldn't even imagine something like that. "No. They got the jump on both of us. They infected us both. I'm immune, but they didn't know that. As soon as we got free, I knocked him out and bolted."

Bobby started figuring out all possible scenarios. Killing Dean was out of question. They needed a cure. Wait a minute – they had a cure.

"Did you try that sigil Castiel came up with?" Bobby asked. "The one that puts anything unnatural out of the system?"

"First thing I did." Sam replied, pulling aside Dean's collar and showing Bobby the fading sigil. "The second thing was to transfuse some of my own blood, in case it gives him immunity."

"And?"

"And I don't know if it worked." Sam said. "I have kept him knocked out ever since. I couldn't risk him waking up some unsecure place."

Bobby sighed with relief. They were smart, those Winchesters. Sam had clearly done everything he could at the moment. Now it was just a question of waiting. As if on cue, Dean chose that moment to re-enter the world of the awake.

"Sam? What the hell's going on?" He asked groggily. "Why am tied up?"

"You remember anything?" Sam asked. "About what happened?"

"We were – we were hunting some croats. An outbreak." Bobby watched as horror dawned on Dean's face. "Oh my God. They infected me. They bled on me. Sam you used that sigil on me right? The one I taught you? You have to hurry. It won't work once I change."

"Yeah, I did." Sam assured.

"Thanks Sammy. You are a lifesaver." Dean said, relieved. "You can let me go then. Me and Cas tried that before. It works on the virus. I will be fine."

"Really?" Sam asked, looking confused.

"Yeah. Trust me. Let me go now."

"I think you should stay put for now." Sam said, ushering Bobby out of the room. "Just to be sure."

Ignoring Dean's confused look and closing the door behind him, Sam turned to Bobby.

"Did Dean ever tell you about any hunt where he used that sigil on the Croats?" Sam asked.

"No. But Dean hasn't told me about all his hunts." Bobby answered. "What's the matter Sam? If Dean says he's gonna be fine - "

"That's the thing, Dean wouldn't say that." Sam explained. "You know him Bobby. He wouldn't let us set him free until he was a hundred percent sure. At the very least he would ask us to keep him under watch."

"Sam, c'mon. Don't you know your own brother." Dean shouted from behind the door. "You promised you'd trust me. So trust me on this. I'll be fine. Just let me outta here."

Bobby and Sam exchanged worried glances.

"Bobby." Sam said. "I don't think Dean made it."

"The Croatoan virus is a kind of demonic virus." Sam explained, taking a drink from his glass of whiskey. Lisa and Ben sat on the opposite side of the table, listening intently to every word, while Bobby started going calling every hunter he knew for a possible cure. "It basically turns people rabid. Violent. They become something other than themselves, some kind of monsters and their only purpose becomes to kill others or spread the virus."

"How does it spread?" Lisa asked. Clearly worried about Ben's safety.

"Through blood transfusion. The Croats cut you and then cut themselves and then bleed on you. Its infection rate is hundred percent as far as we know, so when we see a Croat we kill it."

"Isn't there a cure or something?"

"Bobby's trying to find one." Sam answered. "But as far as I know, there isn't one. We have only come across this thing a few times. The first time, the whole infected population disappeared off the face of the earth within twenty-four hours. Ever since then, we have killed every one of them we could. And I don't think that this is a kind of virus that goes away on its own."

"Why weren't you infected?" Ben asked, accusation clear in his voice.

"I was, but I'm immune." Sam replied."I don't know how much Dean has told you about our history, but there is something in my blood that makes me immune to the virus."

At the mention of Dean's name, both of them turned towards the noises coming from the basement. Throughout the conversation, Dean had kept up his steady screams for help. He had been continuously shouting out his innocence and begging for someone, anyone to save him. Sam wished Lisa and Ben didn't have to see Dean like this. He knew that Dean wouldn't have wanted their last memory of him as a rabid animal. Apparently Ben couldn't take it either, as he excused himself to go outside and get some fresh air.

"Sam what's going to happen to Dean?" Lisa asked, scared for her family. "I mean, if you don't find a cure?"

"Hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves." Sam comforted. "We'll find a cure. We have to. I'm not losing Dean to this."

Sam wished those words could inspire the same confidence in him as they did in Lisa.

"So how much longer till he turns – you know- rabid?" Lisa asked.

"He has already turned." Sam said, surprised. "Can't you tell?"

"But you said that the virus turns them violent. All Dean has been doing is scream for help."

"It doesn't turn them stupid, Liz. Dean knows that he can't do anything while he is tied up. So he is doing everything he can to get free." Sam explained. "You know Dean. You think that there is even a little chance that he would risk hurting you guys. If it had really been him down there, he'd have been begging us to kill him."

Lisa nodded and Sam took comfort in the fact that atleast he wasn't facing this alone. They sat in uncomfortable silence for some time. Wait a minute. Silence? Dean's screams had stopped. They had stopped quite some time ago and they had been so busy drowning them out that they hadn't noticed it.

"Lisa." Sam asked looking around. "Where is Ben?"

"Ben, c'mon son, just let me free." Dean looked at Ben with pleading eyes.

Ben hadn't actually meant to go into the panic room. He had just wanted to see Dean, to make sure with his own eyes that Sam hadn't made a mistake. But Dean had seem so sad, so vulnerable. Like the times he came home hurt from a hunt but putting up a brave face in front of him.

"Ben you know me. You are like a son to me." Dean begged. "Please, don't do this to your father."

"But Sam said -" Ben started.

"Sam's wrong." Dean interrupted. "Hey, remember what I told you about Sam? About why I stopped hunting with him?"

"You said Sam had made a lot of mistakes." Ben replied, unsure. "That he could put us in danger. And you wouldn't hunt with him until you were sure that wasn't gonna happen."

"That's right Ben. Sam is making another mistake right now." Dean explained. "If Sam becomes convinced that I'm infected, he'll kill me."

"No, Sam said - "

"He lied, okay." Dean said forcefully. "Sam lies. All I wanna do is to protect you and your mother. I'm not the bad guy here. You know that right? I would never do anything to hurt you."

Still unsure of himself, Ben made his way to the bed and started loosening the bonds.

"Ben, no." Sam burst in through the doorway. "Get away from him."

Physically pushing Ben away from Dean, Sam started making sure that none of the restraints had actually been loosened.

"Just go to your mother, okay?" Sam commanded over his shoulder.

"Ben, don't listen to him. He is the one that is wrong here. Fight for me son. Just cut me loose you little bitch." Dean screamed out the last part in frustration as Lisa entered the room. "What, you are too afraid to make your own choices? You just do anything mommy tells you to? Just be a man and let me loose. Grow a pair for God's sake."

Lisa clutched Ben close to her as Dean poured vitriol at them.

"Just wait till I get free, you cunt." Sam couldn't be sure whether Dean was talking to Lisa or Ben. "I'll fuck you up in so many ways. And you know the funny thing. No one's even gonna notice that you are gone, you worthless pieces of shit. No one cares about you. The world will be a better place without you in it. You whole family, they are gonna thank me for getting rid of you."

"Lisa, Ben, don't listen to him." Sam said, finally making sure Dean was secure and turning around.

"Ben, you know why your mom never told you who your daddy was?" Dean asked and against their better judgment, all three of them turned around. "That's because mommy is such a slut, she doesn't even know. She was just spreading her legs for any guy who came along and one of them got unlucky. She still does, you know? God knows how many brothers and sisters you have out there. Clearly, you are the one she hated most, because she kept you with him."

Sam could see that Lisa was trying to be strong, but she was very close to tears. He couldn't let Dean have this victory, because later on, it would mean that much pain to his Dean. He hurriedly ushered them out with instructions not to come back again.

"You enjoying this Sam?" With no weaker person in sight, Dean turned on Sam. "All those times I shoved you in this hole, must feel nice to get some payback."

"You think I like this?" Sam asked. "You want me to believe that you liked throwing me in here?"

"Ohh, best time of my life, Sammy." Dean answered with a feral grin. "I loved watching you writhe in pain. The worst part was when I had to let you out. I would have gladly let you rot in here. I just can't wait till I get the chance again."

He had unconsciously given his brother another weapon to hurt him with. Steeling himself Sam slammed the door of the panic room shut.

Lisa's hands shook as they accepted a glass of whiskey from Sam.

"You were right." She said in a shaking voice. "I didn't know whether to believe you, but you were right about Dean."

"That's not Dean in there." Sam said, trying to be as comforting as possible. "Please, you have to believe that."

"The things he said, you think some part of him actually believes that? It wouldn't just come out of nowhere."

"You think he'd have married you if he did?" Sam countered. "That thing only wants to hurt you. He'll say anything. Lisa, Dean is crazy about you. Please don't punish him for something that isn't his fault."

"You try telling that to the kid who worships him." Lisa started crying. "I told Dean once, if he did anything to hurt Ben - "

"Don't let this ruin what you have." Sam begged. "Dean's a great guy, the very best and you know that. We are gonna fix him, I promise."

Lisa nodded tearfully. One Braeden down, Sam thought. No, not Braeden, Winchester. She was Dean's wife now. And now Sam had to go and give the same talk to Ben. Ben still didn't trust him, that much was clear. In the single hunt where they had been together, Sam had been less than nice to him. He had hoped to gain his trust over time, but now he had to do that now, for Dean's sake.

Sam found Ben outside, leaning against Bobby's shed. Now that he was alone, Ben made no effort to stop the tears from flowing down his face.

"That's not Dean in there." Ben said resolutely as Sam approached. "It can't be. Dean would never say those things."

Sam put a comforting hand over his shoulder. It used to be that in situations like this, Sam would be the one who needed comforting, who needed assurance that he wasn't going to lose his big brother. But he had to be the stronger person here. There were people depending on him for support. Dean's family was counting on him.

"I know kid." Sam agreed. "That's not Dean."

"I almost let him out." Ben was horrified.

"Don't feel bad." Sam said. "Time was I would have done the same thing."

"What's gonna happen to him? Will we have to kill him?"

"No." Sam replied forcefully. "We'll save him, okay. I promise."

"I don't get it. You are immune. Why isn't Dean the same way?" Ben asked.

"It's a really long and complicated story." Sam said, silently cursing his own demon blood. The one thing – the one damn thing it could have been good for and it was useless. But maybe all was not lost, Sam thought as an idea presented itself to him. Maybe his blood could save Dean after all.

"Ben, listen. I might have to go away for some time." Sam said. "There might be someone I know who might know a cure and it might take a few days to get it. While I'm gone, I need you to hold fort here with your mom, okay?"

Ben nodded.

"Another thing." Sam added. "While I'm gone, you and your mom are not to go to Dean under any circumstances. Anything, food water, whatever needs to be taken care of, Bobby will do it. You two do not see him. Understand?"

"What does it matter?" Ben asked. "I'm not gonna free him, not like this. I know that it's not him."

"Yes, but that thing will say things to make you angry. He will do anything he can to hurt you." Sam explained. "And if it succeeds, our Dean would be devastated. Trust me, he is gonna feel real bad about all this when he comes back. I don't want you to make it any worse."

"But – but it's not his fault." Ben reasoned.

"That won't matter to Dean." Sam answered. "Just promise me."

After getting Ben's word for it, Sam went inside to face Bobby.

"Are you insane?" Bobby shouted. "The Campbells? In case you forgot, they kept you in a cage for days. They did experiments on you like an animal. And you wanna go back to them?"

"I'm not seeing a choice here." Sam said desperately. "They took the blood from me to develop a cure. Maybe they succeeded. Either way, we can't do anything less than absolutely everything to save Dean. You know he'd do the same."

"Yeah, I know." Bobby admitted. "But I'm not letting you go there Sam. There is no telling if they try to get you again. Just – just give me the address and I'll go get the antidote if they have it."

"And I just sit here?" Sam asked back. "I don't think so."

"Well, you better." Bobby ordered. "Look, Lisa and Ben, they need you here. You are the only connection they have to Dean right now. Besides, if the answer lies in your blood, your brother's gonna need more of it. You better stay here and keep putting more of it in him. Sam, your brother needs you here."

Sam caved to Bobby's logical arguments. Half an hour later, Bobby was prepared for the short road-trip. This was going to be hell, he thought. It would be like dealing with Crowley all over again.

A/N: I was going to put all of it in one part, but decided to make it into two chapters. Ever since last episode, seeing Sam's honesty, I've been feeling a bit better about him. That was the only reason I was able to write this.