Chapter two

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"You know Johnny," the demon smirked gleefully, despite the fact that it was strapped down to the chair in the middle of a demon trap. "We never thought frying that wife of yours would turn you into a man with a mission, and that you'd become so good at it too! Gotta hand it to you Winchester, you climbed the fast-ladder to become the most resourceful hunter around. None of us is happy to have John Winchester on our tail."

It smirked craftily before continuing.
"Strange you never looked into the reason for it all; that maybe that cute little baby boy of yours had something to do with the fire. It was in his nursery after all, wasn't it?"

"What the shit are you talking about, hell-spawn," John replied, taken aback
He knew demons lied but this one seemed overly eager to talk, and John's instinct told him it was taking a particular pleasure in sharing and caring.

"Aw, John, maybe your brain isn't as quick as your gun hand or you'd have worked it out by now.
We didn't care about your little bitch of a wife, she just got in our way. If she'd kept her nose out of our business she would still be cooking and cleaning for her big marine hubby, but she had to go in and check on little Sammy."

As John listened he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rising in sheer terror, a terror greater than he'd ever felt while facing-off against the most dangerous of monsters; it was pure unadulterated horror for the thoughts that were beginning to form in his mind at the demon's words; thoughts which the demon then confirmed, taking the greatest delight in doing so.

"It's taken you a while John, but even a knuckle-head like you has finally got it." the demon jeered, a smug expression plastered on his face.
"It was Sammy who interested us, not her. Your kid is going to be very, very useful to us one day."
It laughed sarcastically, eyes black as coal in the stolen body it inhabited.

"You filthy piece of crap," John hissed showering the demon with holy water, taking great pleasure in watching it bubble and sizzle on its flesh.
"What the hell do you mean? What has Sam got to do with any of this? You better tell me everything or god help me, I'll make you suffer worse than you could ever imagine in hell!"
:

The demon just kept on smiling, not in the least bothered by John's threatening words.
"You can do all you want Winchester but I've told you everything I know, so go on, knock yourself out torturing me if it turns you on, but I want you to know that my meat suit is still alive so you won't be hurting me but him. I'll just take a nap while you get down to work."

And with a flash of black eyes, the demon retreated and gave the human back control of his body, a terrified expression taking the place of the leering one the demon had exhibited.

John cursed, he hadn't yet reached the stage of torturing an innocent human, though he realized his familiarity with the violent world of hunting was gradually making him harsher and unfeeling.
There was nothing more he could do for now, he would just have to perform an exorcism and send the demon back to Hell, saving the human, but it didn't finish here.

He didn't want to believe Sam was involved in anything to do with demons, but again his instinct told him the demon had been taunting him with the truth.
Sam had been targeted for some reason and John wouldn't stop until he found out what it was, even if he had to exorcise every damn demon on the planet!
He escorted the terrified man to the nearest hospital, turned around and set off back to his sons at top speed.

:
As he drove he mulled over what he'd been told.
What could demons want with Sam? He was just a normal whiny teen, as ordinary as they come, except for being a hunter, that is.

Was it really because of Sam that Mary had died?
Sam had only been a baby; whatever was going on, the child had no responsibility for the death of his mother, yet John couldn't quite quell the little voice whispering to his subconscious that in a way Sam was to blame for Mary's death.
He pushed it firmly down. Sam was his son and even if they butted heads continually, he loved him. He wasn't going to let the demon's words affect him like this. He'd need to have more facts before being able to judge what was going on.

:

Dean smirked as he held his brother down, his body sweating profusely.
Sam might be skinny but he was wiry and put up a good fight now that his height almost equalled Dean's, but his little brother needed to build up more muscle-mass before he could ever hope to take him out.
He pulled himself up swaying, holding out a hand to his sibling.

"I can get up on my own, Dean," Sam panted, ignoring the outstretched hand.
"Come on, Sammy, you're not going to huff just because I decked you again," Dean grinned, taking hold of Sam's arms and pulling him up. "You're improving by leaps and bounds, little brother. One day, I'll be the one lying there griping and you'll be smirking down at me!"

"Jerk," Sam answered but he couldn't hold back the smile that came to his lips as Dean crossed his eyes and scrunched his face up at him.
"Bitch, "Dean retaliate amiably, clapping a consoling hand on Sam's shoulder. "Come on, let's go shower and we'll get some chow into that skinny frame of yours. You gotta build yourself up if you wanna beat me!"
Sam huffed good-naturedly. He was used to losing out when training with Dean who was taller and heavier, but this time his disappointment was more acute as he'd felt he might have taken him.

"Yeah, right," he said, "Does that mean a greasy hamburger with double cheese and onions?"
"Sammy, you just read my mind," Dean grinned, ruffling Sam's messy hair, receiving a slap to his stomach for his trouble.
"Ow!"
They were still horsing around when John's truck roared up and parked right beside them.

"Hey, dad!" Dean smiled in welcome, as his father exited the car. "We were just going to shower and get something to eat. You wanna come along?"
John's eyes ignored Dean completely and swept quickly to Sam who squirmed under his father's intense stare, feeling somehow that he was being judged.
"Sam, you okay?" the familiar husky voice asked.
"He's fine dad," Dean answered, taking a step forward, sensing that Sam was being assessed in some way by John, and his 'protect Sammy' gene had flared up instinctively.

"I believe Sam can speak for himself Dean. He's a big boy now," John answered stonily.
Sam gulped before replying. "Yes sir, why shouldn't I be?"
John went on to say something, but he hesitated, pursed his lips and turned away leaving Sam and Dean looking after him open-mouthed.

:
"What was all that about,?" Dean asked. "You do something to piss him off, Sammy?"
Sam shrugged. "Nothing I can remember, but it doesn't take much to get Dad annoyed with me."

"Aw, come on Sam! He's not that bad. You're both stubborn and neither wants to give in, is all."
"Maybe Dean, but I got the feeling he was looking at me different, as if I was something he hadn't seen before," Sam replied sighing.

"Hey," Dean said, cupping a comforting hand on Sam's neck and pulling him close "Let's get a shower and go eat. We can worry about Dad later."
Sam gave him a watery smile and thanked God for his brother; if it had been only him and John, life would have been desperate indeed

"I get first shower, " he declared as he wriggled out of his big brother's grasp and darted inside.
Dean was right, they would worry about Dad later. John wouldn't be slow in calling him out if he'd done anything to make him mad, no point in worrying until they had to.

TBC