Title: Need Some Light [2/?]

Author: Velyamar

Rating: PG-13 … just to be sure.

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural and do not make any money with this story.

Summary: Tag to Jump The Shark. What if Adam hadn't been dead when Dean found him?

Word count: 3612

Characters/Pairing: Adam, Dean & Sam

Warnings/Spoilers: Spoilers for Jump The Shark. Story goes AU in the middle of the episode. Also, there is some cursing and I don't have any medical knowledge whatsoever so mistakes are bound to happen.

Author's Notes: Update time! The second chapter is finally ready. I'd like to thank everyone who read and reviewed the first chapter and I hope you guys enjoy the second chapter as much as the first. Again, all mistakes are mine and don't hesitate to point them out since they're most likely due to me being from Germany and lacking the vocabulary of a native speaker.

Chapter 2:

Dean was already more than pissed at the ghouls for what they did to Adam. Torturing was bad enough but screwing with his family? Those ghouls would not live to see another day if Dean had anything to say about it. And when he saw Sam tied to that table, wrists slit open and slowly bleeding out, his anger quickly turned into fury.

The ghouls did not look pretty when Dean was finished with them. Afterwards, he could not help but wish he had not been so quick with killing them. Five minutes of fighting did not make up for all the pain they had put both his brothers through but in the end Dean was satisfied and relieved they were dead and would never hurt anybody ever again.

When he had wrapped both of Sam's arms in towels and the bleeding was slowing down and hopefully stopping altogether in a few moments Dean took a minute to regain his breath. Sam looked exhausted and like death warmed over but he was alive and that was all that mattered. Nonetheless Dean checked him briefly over, looking for other injuries now that Sam was not about to bleed to death anymore. He found another small wound on Sam's side that luckily did not bleed too heavily and he told Sam to put pressure on it with his bandaged wrist.

The injuries that made Dean nearly choke were the bite marks. They looked exactly like the ones on Adam's shoulders and Dean wanted to kill the ghouls all over again. He tried to calm himself down and looked at his watch. Seven minutes since he had left Adam in the car.

"How're you feeling?" He looked back at Sam.

"Like someone tried to make me their dinner," Sam replied drily.

"Cute joke, bitch."

"Learned from the best, jerk." Sam chuckled weakly.

Dean rolled his eyes, a small smile on his face.

"Okay, I've got to get a few things, then we're out of here. You'll be alright for a moment?" Dean asked, his voice turning serious.

"What things?" Sam asked and it occurred to Dean that he had not told Sam about Adam yet.

"Adam's stuff. I found him in the crypt in a coffin. The ghouls kept him there, maybe for food, maybe for their own sick amusement, I don't know. He's hurt but alive and he's waiting in the Impala. The Adam we met had been the ghoul all along."

"Yeah," Sam said, slowly processing this new information. "Dad killed their father and they wanted revenge. I thought Adam was dead." He looked at Dean with relief in his eyes.

"No, he's alive," Dean replied, "His mom wasn't so lucky, though. I'm gonna pack a few of his things now. We've got to hurry or he'll drive away without us."

At Sam's quizzical look he added, "I told him to get the hell out of here if we're not out in fifteen minutes."

SPN

It did not take Dean long to pack Adam's belongings. He used the duffel the ghoul had discarded and put everything that was basic needs in there: clothes, toothbrush, an extra pair of shoes. Personal belongings were put in a second duffel Dean found in the closet: wallet, cell phone, books, a journal and every family picture he could find in the house. It was the least he could do.

He swung both duffels over one shoulder and went back to Sam.

"Everything alright?" he asked and Sam nodded.

"Then come on, let's go meet our brother."

Together they left the house with Dean supporting most of Sam's weight. The blood loss had made his brother dizzy and even though Sam protested against the help Dean was better safe than sorry. The last thing he needed was Sam falling down the steps on top of everything and cracking his skull open.

Adam was watching them from the car, his expression relieved and concerned at the same time. He instantly moved over when Dean opened his door and maneuvered Sam into the car.

"Told you we'd be back," Dean grinned. "Adam, meet your other brother, Sam. You can call him Samantha if you want to. He likes it."

Sam looked at Dean with an expression Dean had dubbed bitchface number 42 before he turned his gaze towards Adam, his expression considerably less hostile.

"Hi, Adam. Glad to meet the real you."

"Likewise. Erm, are you alright?" Adam asked nervously, looking skeptically at Sam's badly bandaged wrists.

"Yeah, the bleeding has mostly stopped, I think," Sam replied and shrugged. "I've had worse."

"Show-off," Dean mumbled and closed the door into Sam's grinning face. He put Adam's duffels and his shotgun into the trunk and rummaged through it until he found another water bottle and some power bars. He grabbed them, closed the trunk and after looking once more at the house that had been a happy home for so many years he got into the driver's seat and tossed the food and water over his shoulder at his brothers.

"Let's get the hell out of here."

SPN

As promised, Dean drove them straight back to the crypt that still held Kate Milligan's body. After making it absolutely clear that he would shoot them if either Sam or Adam would move within three meters of the opening in the ground he got to work. He threw two old blankets, a few branches and rope down the hole and went in after them, leaving Sam and Adam huddling above ground under another thin blanket and waiting for him to emerge again.

Dean went to work right away, eager to get this over with and bring a few miles between them and Windom. He made a makeshift stretcher out of the branches and a blanket and tied the rope to it in order to lift it later out of the crypt. Then he went over to the coffin that held Adam's mother. Taking a deep breath he opened the lid once again and looked down at Kate's sunken face. This image will be forever imprinted in Adam's mind, Dean thought. That's how she looked the last time he saw her. It seemed horrible, even by Winchester standards.

Quickly, Dean went to work. As careful as he could he wrapped the decaying body into the second blanket and laid Kate gently on the stretcher. Thankfully, the blanket was big enough to cover her whole body. The last thing Adam needed was to see his dead mother again.

Dean grabbed the end of the rope and climbed out of the crypt. After making sure his brothers were alright he positioned himself on the firm ground next to the hole and pulled. It was slow going. He neither wanted the stretcher to bump against something nor Kate's body to fall off so he had to be careful not to pull too fast. In the end, the stretcher appeared above ground and Adam instantly came over to help Dean pull it the last few inches to safety. Normally, Dean would have told him to stay with Sam but Adam did not seem to hurt himself further and Dean knew nothing would be able to stop himself from helping if it were his own mother they were pulling out. So he humored the kid who looked at him gratefully.

"What do we do now?" Adam asked, looking back down at his mother's body, now out of the crypt. Sam slowly walked over to them, blanket still draped across his shoulders.

"In our life," Dean said as Sam came to a stop next to Adam, "We burn hunters who died so they won't come back as ghosts and can rest in peace. Now, I know your mom wasn't a hunter but she died like one and we could honor her by burning her remains."

Adam was silent for a few moments. Then he looked first at Sam then at Dean.

"Sounds good," he said. "At least this way no ghouls can use her as food ever again, right?"

Dean nodded and spent the next few minutes building a small pyre. Together with Adam he lifted the stretcher onto it and all three brothers stood silently next to each other and looked at it.

"Do you want to say something?" Sam asked and looked at Adam. The youngest Winchester bit his bottom lip but nodded.

"Mom?" he said quietly after a moment, voice trembling. "I'm … I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you. I'm sorry you had to die like this, alone and afraid. And I don't even know if you'd want to be incinerated but I'm sure you'll agree with me that it's better than to be used by those monsters."

Adam sniffed and wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

"I miss you so much, mom," he continued softly, "And I hope you're alright, wherever you are. You're probably worried about me."

Adam chuckled weakly and Dean laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"But you don't have to be," Adam went on, voice slightly more steady. "Did you know I had two brothers? They've found me and they're going to take care of me. I'll be alright, mom. I promise. You don't have to worry about me."

Adam took a deep breath, trying to regain some composure. The tears spilled from his eyes despite his efforts to hold them back.

"Goodbye, mom. I love you."

He turned away from the pyre and Sam wrapped his arms around his little brother, letting him cry on his shoulder. Dean watched them for a moment before Sam nodded at him. It was time to go.

Dean poured alcohol over Kate's body and lit the pyre. Orange flames rose high and Dean silently vowed to Adam's mother that he would do anything to keep her son safe. Adam was a part of their family now and family always came first.

SPN

Dean finally stopped in Fulda, Minnesota after having followed Highway 62 for about half an hour. Cottonwood County lay behind them and Dean figured they were far enough away from Windom for this night. Both his brothers were exhausted and Dean felt the tiredness creeping into his bones as well. He did not trust himself to drive much further. It had been a long and painful night for all of them and they all needed a good night's sleep.

After checking in at a random motel he first helped his brothers out of the car then got their belongings and the med kit. He only realized his mistake when he entered the room he had booked. Like always, he had booked a double room, forgetting for a moment that he now had two younger brothers accompanying him. Both Adam and Sam had claimed one of the beds as their own which left Dean to either share with one of them or spend the night on the floor. There was no way he would let his brothers out of his sight and sleep in another room or the Impala after what they had all been through.

"You booked a double," Sam said and tried to hide his grin. Not very successfully, if anyone were to ask Dean.

"Thanks, Mr. Stating-the-Obvious. I noticed. Old habits die hard, you know?"

Dean placed their duffels on Adam's bed and looked at his brothers.

"So, before either of us falls asleep I want to take a look at your wounds. Who's first?"

Dean looked expectantly at both of them and Sam groaned.

"Ah!" Dean smirked, "So Sam it is!"

He grinned maliciously at his brother before he turned to Adam.

"If you want you can go take a shower. I'm sure you'd like to get the grime off of you."

Adam nodded and Dean pointed at two of the duffel bags he had placed on the bed.

"I've put everything I thought was important in there. The left one has your clothes."

"Thanks," Adam said and started rummaging through the bag. He produced boxers, a worn white t-shirt and grey sweat pants. When he made to leave however, Dean stopped him.

"Leave the shirt here. You'll just have to take it off again anyway. And try not to aggravate your injuries, alright?"

"Yeah, okay."

With that, Adam left the white t-shirt lying on the bed and closed the bathroom door behind him. Dean waited until he heard the shower running before he turned to Sam.

"So, what do you think?" he asked and started unwrapping the bandages around Sam's wrists.

"Adam's taking the whole thing pretty well," Sam observed. He winced when the bandage finally came fully away. The wounds looked bad but did not start bleeding again so Dean decided against stitching them.

"Yeah, but I think that's just the calm before the storm. He's been through a lot," Dean said as he disinfected the wounds. "He was kept in a coffin, tortured and eaten alive. The ghouls did a nasty job with him, believe me. And they showed him Kate's body and even impersonated her in front of him. If that doesn't scar you for the rest of your life I don't know what does."

Dean started bandaging one of Sam's wrists, properly this time. For a moment only the sound of the shower running in the bathroom filled the silence. Then Sam asked, "Anything else?"

Dean shook his head. "Not that I know of. He hasn't told me how the ghouls got him or what else they put him through and I didn't want to press."

"You think he'll tell us?" Sam asked. His voice sounded skeptical.

"I think we should give him some time," Dean said. He finished bandaging one wrist and started on the other. "Let him get some rest. We can talk in the morning, explain the way we live and give him the chance to walk away from all of this if he wants to."

"He won't, Dean. You know he won't. We're the only family he has left, the only people who understand what he's been through. He even told his mom we'd protect him."

The shower in the bathroom stopped running as Dean finished bandaging Sam's other wrist.

"I know," he said, fiercely, "And we will. But we have to give him the choice to leave. It's only fair."

With the bandage firmly in place Dean gestured to Sam's shirt. After Sam nodded in agreement Dean helped him out of it. He was glad there were no other major injuries on Sam's torso except for the small wound in the area under Sam's ribs. Dean disinfected that as well and put a bit of gauze over it.

"Anything else I should know about?" he asked Sam.

"No." Sam shook his head. "Though I'll probably be sporting a few nice bruises tomorrow."
The bathroom door opened just as Dean helped Sam into a clean black t-shirt. Both brothers turned to look as Adam walked into the room, a towel pressed self-consciously to his chest. Neither commented.

"Thanks, Dean," Sam said when the shirt covered him and nodded subtly towards their younger brother. He changed out of his jeans and Dean, getting the hint, made his way over to where Adam was sitting on the edge of the other bed and nervously playing with the hem of the towel. It had a weird green color that reminded Dean vaguely of Flubber.

"Adam?" Dean asked and sat down next to his youngest brother. "Can I take a look at your chest?"

"It looks horrible," Adam whispered, gaze locked on the ugly brown carpet. Dean had feared as much.

"That's okay. I'll make it better, I promise."

Adam glanced at Sam who was lying on the other bed, blanket spread over him and watching his brothers with concern. Then his gaze returned to Dean and slowly, reluctantly, he lowered the towel. Again, Dean felt the almost irresistible urge to kill the ghouls all over again, to make them suffer for what they did to his family. Adam's chest was littered with numerous injuries: cuts of various sizes, more bite marks, countless bruises and even one or two burns. Some of the open wounds were inflamed and he knew cleaning them would be painful.

Dean gently turned Adam around so he could get a look at his back. The worst injuries there were the bite marks that marred his shoulders. Other than that Adam's back was only bruised. Some areas were a vivid purple, others were already fading to green. The bruising both on his chest and back was concentrated around the area of his ribs. Dean could only imagine how painful it must have been for Adam to climb out of that crypt with those wounds.

"Okay," he said, taking a deep breath, "It's not so bad. I'll take care of the wounds on your back first, alright?"

Adam nodded and looked away when Dean moved closer with the disinfectant. He hissed when it touched his skin and Dean made sure to be as careful as he could possibly be while working as fast as he could. The whole area of Adam's shoulders where the ghouls had bitten and sucked the blood out of him seemed to ache at the barest of touches. Dean noticed that Adam's hands were balled into fists and trembling slightly. His youngest brother tried not to scream.

"I'm done disinfecting," Dean said, looking over Adam's shoulder. "You alright there?"

Adam nodded, breathing heavily. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at Dean.

"Yeah, just get it over with. Please?"

"Okay." Dean turned back to the work at hand. "I'll put some gauze on the bites first, alright?"
After another affirmative nod, it did not take long until all the bite marks were covered and hidden from sight. Dean turned Adam gently towards himself.

"I'll start now with your chest," he explained, disinfectant already back in his hand. "If I'm hurting you or if the pain gets too much I want you to tell me, okay? I know this hurts like hell and neither Sam nor I will think any less of you if you need a moment to rest."

Adam looked at Sam for confirmation who nodded.

"Alright," he told Dean, looking warily at the disinfectant. Dean could see the tremor that ran through Adam's body when he moved closer. He gently but firmly grabbed Adam's shoulder to keep his brother from jerking away and then began the painful process of cleaning the other bite marks and cuts. Adam winced whenever Dean came into contact with his skin but he did not tell him to stop. Instead, he had his eyes squeezed tightly shut and after a particularly nasty cut grabbed blindly for Dean's hand on his shoulder. He did not let go until the ordeal was over.

Disinfecting Adam's chest seemed to take hours and felt worse than any kind of torture Dean had ever practiced in Hell. He finally finished after about ten minutes and gave his brother's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"All done," he said quietly. "The worst's over."

Adam breathed an audible sigh of relief and opened damp grey eyes. He looked gratefully at Dean.

"Thanks."

"No problem. I'll just bandage you up and then you can get some well-earned rest."

Adam smiled shakily and reluctantly released Dean's hand. It took Dean another five minutes to bandage Adam's chest properly, making sure the bandages were taut so that Adam's ribs would not cause too much pain when he moved. After he was satisfied he helped Adam into his shirt.

"Does anything else hurt?" Dean asked.

"No," Adam said, "My legs are mostly just bruised like my arms. I'm just tired."

Dean smiled and could not help ruffling Adam's hair affectionately.

"Hey!"

Dean laughed at the indignation in Adam's voice and looked over to Sam only to find him fast asleep, bandaged arms lying on the blanket.

"Well," Dean said quietly, "Looks like you're not the only tired one."

Adam eyes followed his gaze and chuckled.

"It's probably the blood loss," he mused. It painfully reminded Dean that Adam had had a full future in med school ahead of him until those ghouls had decided to turn his life upside down. He stood up, grabbed his stuff from his duffel and went over to the bathroom door.

"I'll just take a quick shower. You go ahead and grab some shuteye. If there's anything you need, water, food, whatever, feel free to take it."

"Wait," Adam said just as Dean wanted to close the door. He looked quizzically at his little brother.

"Where will you sleep?" Adam asked.

"On the floor, of course," Dean said with a crooked grin. "Don't worry about me, alright? You and Sam are both injured, so you two get the beds. It's only for one night, I think I'll manage."

Adam nodded and proceeded to lie down on the bed, his back facing the wall and the blanket pulled up high to his chin. Dean waited until his little brother had settled down for the night before he switched on the small lamp on the bedside table and turned off the main light in the room.

"Goodnight," Dean said and turned on the light in the bathroom. He was stopped once again by Adam's voice.

"Night, Dean," his little brother said and looked sleepily up at him. "And thank you."

"You're welcome, Adam," Dean said softly. He looked at his little brother for a moment, marveling at his strength. When Adam closed his tired eyes and fell asleep Dean quietly stepped into the bathroom and shut the door, ready to wash the horror of the night away.

TBC