no such thing as miracles Chapter 4, a supernatural fanfic

A/N This is a much shorter chapter than the others but it seemed a good place to cut it. we really appreciate the feed back we have been getting, consider this a shameless request for more. Let us know what you like and what you don't. And always… THANKS FOR READING!!

Again these are not my toys, I'm just playing with them.

Dean was lying on his stomach, in his boxers, his head on his folded arms. And he was shaking his head.

"You two really need to redefine vacation." He grumbled for not the first time.

"Quiet." John said as he took one of the papers from Sam again to look at it again as he carefully drew on his son's back with a black sharpie. "Ash says this will do it?" He asked Sam.

Sam nodded and drew on his own side. "According to the PDF file I have."

"PD what?" John asked.

"Techno talk."

"Ah."

"Whatever." Dean said. "If I wanted a tattoo, I would have gotten one a while ago."

"Stop moving." Sam said as he sat back. They had to let the ink set. Couldn't afford so much as a smudge. John recapped his marker.

"Believe me, this isn't my idea of fun." John said. "But it's necessary."

"The chances of a big bad being after me is actually pretty small, you know that, right?" Dean said with a chuckle. "I'm the wall between the two of you and big bads. Big bads slam against me, they don't come after me."

"Just humor us." Sam said.

"If they don't come after you, we wouldn't have had to pull you off an altar. It's this sort of thinking that gets you into trouble, Dean. You know better than that." John told him forcefully.

"Besides." Sam said. "Chicks think weird tattoos are hot… although you probably would want a better artist than Dad if you go that route." He teased.

"What?" Dean asked, not having even considered that girls might see it. "What have you guys drawn all over me any way?"

"It's a cipher, one that will keep the big bads from doing anything to you. Meaning we can actually relax a little and have a vacation." Sam pointed out. "And I can get some sleep. " They still hadn't told Dean everything. John and Sam both thought it best that way. Some things you just didn't need to know about all at once. Being pawns on a demonic chess board, and slated for possession…well Dean was anyway… ranked pretty high amongst things not to tell someone while in the midst of recovery.

"Great." Dean said. "There goes working on my tan. What with you guys having used me as doodle paper."

"You'll do fine." John said, slapping Dean on the shoulder, meaning he could get up. Which he did and went straight into the bathroom.

"This is the freakiest thing I've ever seen." Dean said despairingly. "It's not even tribal cool..."

"Well, it'll work." Sam said, laughing as he folded up the papers carefully. In case they had to touch Dean up. "So no scrubbing."

"Yeah, you're not the one who's been scribbled on." Dean grumbled as he got dressed. He didn't get all the fuss. He wasn't the one that was supposed to be fussed over. He was the self reliant, independent one who could take care of himself.

Sam leaned back in his chair and looked over at his father. Their dark eyes mirroring each other's concern. John however was worried about both of his sons. He had always known the yellow eyed demon was after Sammy. That wasn't news, although both of his boys caught in the crossfire of warring demons was enough to turn a man's hair white.

"You look like bookends." Dean said as he came back in the room and flopped down on the couch picking up the remote for the TV.

A pretty reporter was walking in front of a motel, one of the doors cordoned off with police tape. "While the identities of the young women staying in this hotel room are being with held from the public, sources tell us that this is one of the most gruesome crime scenes they have ever seen.-"

"Vacation, remember." Sam said as he went to the TV and changed the channel there.

"I'm not the one having trouble remembering that." Dean pointed out.

"Hey, I'm trying to keep you safe."

"And I appreciate that. Total waste of time that could be spent getting a little nookie, but I appreciate it."

"There's more to life than sex." Sam said with a shake of his head.

"Not really." Dean said. "But you hold onto that thought. And turn the channel back."

"Dean, vacation."

"I think that's our hotel." Dean protested. "And if this is supposed to be crawling with cops, I think I should know. Unlike some people, I'm among America 's most wanted."

"Why do you say that like it's a GOOD thing?" Sam said, turning the channel back.

Dean shrugged. Mostly it was because he could either find it humorous, and a point of recognition, or he could sit back and worry about when the cops were going to bang on the door and take him away… again. He knew which he preferred.

"This just in." The reporter continued. "24 year old Theresa Carpenter was found dead on the scene, her roommate no where to be found." The screen was filled with the face of a pretty brunette, and Sam sank onto the sofa.

"Coincidences can happen on vacation… right?" He asked although he knew the answer to that. It was possible that the girl he had been chatting up had been murdered by a psycho freak who had nothing to do with either of them. Any number of things could have happened that had nothing to do with them, but exactly how likely was that? Had he gotten another girl killed just by talking to her?

Dean paled. "Son of a bitch." He swore. He looked at his father and brother. "This means my fling has either been made off with by a psycho killer, or she is the psycho killer." He said and got up, pulling on his boots and tying them quickly.

"Where are you going?" John demanded.

"I'm going to the scene." Dean said.

"Place is crawling with cops." Sam protested.

"Yeah, like we've never done that before." Dean scoffed. "You guys can stay behind if you want."

"Dean---!" John said and swore under his breath as his oldest son walked out of the room. He shook his head and followed after him, Sam on his heels.

Dean came to the barricade and flashed a fake ID, identifying him as a profiler, on vacation, and willing to lend a hand. Luckily he got a rookie cop, who let him under the tape.

He walked around the room, it looked like a massacre. Theresa's body was still covered with a sheet, her blood soaking through. It was the most vicious crime scene he'd ever seen. And he'd seen a lot. He circled the room and went into the bathroom, the only clean place. Except for a smudge of blood by the window. He took a piece of toilet paper and wrapped it around his finger, running it over the sill. Not surprisingly, it came back yellow.

"Sulfur..." He muttered beneath his breath. Then he walked back out into the bedroom and lifted the sheet off Theresa, who had fallen between the two beds. There had been some sort of fight, or she had been tossed around pretty good, the room was a mess. Chairs splintered, table overturned, the phone ripped out of the wall. He looked at her face, frozen in terror as her eyes stared sightlessly up at him, her body torn apart. He cleared his throat and walked out, the rookie cop stopping him.

"So what do you think?" He asked.

Dean shrugged. "Never seen anything like this." He lied. "Obviously someone strong. Possibly with a weapon. And rage. Lots and lots of rage." And he walked away, toward his father and brother. "Sulfur." Was all he said as he headed back to the room.

"Okay, so we move on." Sam said as he started toward his room to pack.

"No way." Dean protested. "I'm not gonna let this demon put me on the run. He doesn't get to win… besides… I gotta make sure Rebecca is still alive."

"Boys." John said firmly, getting their attention. "Pack up. Vacation's over. We'll look into things then move on." Sam started to protest, and John gave him a look. "Don't start Sam, You know the drill, now let's get a move on. We're burning moonlight."

Sam stalked off to his room and started packing. The worst of it was that John and Dean were right. They needed to investigate because no one else could. But damn it, when did they get to protect one of their own for a change? If it was him in danger Dean and John both would have been packing the Impala and dragging him out the door for safer pastures. But not for Dean. No, for Dean they had to stick it out and investigate something they couldn't kill anyway. The colt was gone. It had disappeared in the hospital.

He was the last one done, but he met them out in the main room. "Okay, where to first?"

"Back to the beach. Party is still goin' strong. Maybe Rebecca is down there having a good ole time with no clue her roommate is toast." Dean said. He wondered if he weren't getting too jaded. When his first thought was that now he would never get Sam to ask another girl out.

"I'll scout out the hotel, see if I can find some inside information." John said, wise enough to know he wouldn't fit in a beach party.

"Some vacation." Sam grumbled. How were they going to keep Dean off the radar if they were in a full fledged demon investigation? He wished, just once, his brother would put himself first. That John would put Dean first. Just once. And that that just once was right now.

"Come on, Sammy. Isn't that bad." Dean said with a grin. "Rebecca may have no idea. She might need a shoulder to cry on you know."

"Dean..." Sam said, not believing his brother was that...but one look at Dean's face showed he was joking. And serious about the investigation as they made their way out to the beach. The party was still raging, more driftwood added to the bonfire, and the music was even more boisterous, even if a little too 'contemporary' for Dean's taste.

"I don't see her yet." Dean said, scanning the crowd.

"Maybe she's not here." Sam said.

"We gotta split up. Meet back at the bonfire every fifteen." The party was too large. "Call me if you have any problems." Then Dean disappeared into the undulating bodies dancing wildly beneath the stars.

"Dean!" Sam said. "Dad is going to KILL me." He grumbled as he started off in the opposite direction. He walked along the shore, keeping an eye peeled for Rebecca until he saw a figure sitting on a dune and headed over there. It was Rebecca, crying, covered in blood. She shrieked as Sam apprached.

"Get away from me!" She screamed, but no one would hear her over the music.

"Shhh..." Sam said with his hands up. "I'm not going to hurt you." And he pulled out his cell phone. "Dean? I'm over on the south beach." He said, raising his voice so his brother would hear him. "I found her." Then he hung up, knowing Dean would head that way. "Rebecca, I'm Sam. Dean's brother. You know, the guy you...um...met...earlier. What happened? Who's blood is that?" He walked slowly closer to Rebecca, not wanting to startle her.

But she looked at him with clear green eyes. Eyes that were a little...too...green.

"I killed her." She said with a perky smile. "She screamed so loud, but no one heard. Because I wouldn't let them hear." She laughed. "Rebecca is inside, and she's horrified. She'll probably kill herself after this, poor girl."

"Why did you kill her?" Sam asked, horrified as he dialed his phone again. Dean needed to hurry up.

"To flush you out." She said with her ever present smile as she opened her mouth.

Sam backpedaled as he demon exploded from Rebecca and seemed to swirl around him. He fought against it, trying to find a way to prevent it from getting inside him. But he was failing. He sank to his knees and screamed as the monster filled him, forcing him backwards into his own mind, into that dark place Jessica had taken him to in his dream.

Dean crested the dune just as the demon entered his brother. "No!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, stumbling down the dune in his haste to reach his brother . This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. NO! The demon was supposed to be after him, he should have known better. It was just another trap to get to Sammy and he had set it up to be sprung himself. Should have listened to him and gotten the hell out of dodge. Should have listened to the frigging psychic. But no, Dean had to hunt… Dean had to prove that it couldn't beat him, and now it had taken his brother. "Sammy..." He said looking at his brother.

"Aw, you really do care, how touching." The demon said, using Sam's voice, but everything else was completely wrong. The way he moved, the way he spoke. "And you're right, this really is your fault. It was supposed to be you. But no… you had to go and let them save you, let them protect you, and you didn't even think to protect your own brother. Not like you can blame Daddy for all of this. He's off his game. You knew that. Hell that's why you went along with this family bonding shit. It was all about you though. "

"Let my brother go. I'll give you what you want. Anything you want… just let him go." Dean said, Damn it Sammy, fight him. You fight him.

"Can't… not yet anyway… not with that cipher scribbled on your back. Have to wait for that to fade. But that's alright, Sam's a decent ride even if a little rough. But don't you worry, I'll have him broken soon enough. They always give up after a while. After all where are they gonna run to?" He looked over at Rebecca. "Isn't that right blondie?"

He looked at Rebecca, who had probably just bought herself a nice one way ticket to the looney bin. No way could she reconcile being possessed and killing her roommate with what she considered reality. Most people couldn't. And he couldn't worry about Rebecca right now, she was out of his reach and beyond his help at this point.

But the demon wearing his brother, he could deal with. He would have to deal with in fact. "Let him go." Dean repeated again. "And I'll get this thing off my back." He knew it had been a bad idea to get this drawn on him.

The demon laughed, with Sam's laugh. "Sorry. This is even better. I get you to do what I want, and I get to cause trouble. Such an innocent face, don't you think? No one suspects him of doing anything wrong." He said. "I thought you'd thank me. Who you call the yellow eyed demon is right behind me. Now he can't get Sam. Isn't that something? Maybe you did save your brother after all." He mocked Dean.

"Sorry Sammy." Dean said meaning many things in that statement, but mostly sorry for the black eye he was about to give him, and he swung out, connecting with his brother's face. "You're making a big mistake. You have no idea what you are dealing with here." All it would take was a devil's trap and the damned ritual that Sammy had downloaded from Ash and this sorry ass bitch was history.

The demon growled in absolute fury. The sound was alien and gut wrenching coming from Sammy's throat. "Get that thing off your back." He said, unable to retaliate against Dean so long as that protective sigil was in place.

"Ooh ooh." Dean said smiling a little, but it didn't reach his eyes. Those were cold, and dark with anger. "What, you can't bat me around like a rag doll? Sorry. It doesn't come off until you get the hell out of my brother. "

Sam's brown eyes flashed brilliant green and he turned his attention to Rebecca, who was whimpering in the sand, staring at the two brothers one moment then screaming in agony the next, as her flesh burst into flames. "The sad truth is Dean, you don't know who you're dealing with. Azazel has his plans and schemes, but over all he isn't half the bastard you think he is. Me on the other hand… I'll burn this place to the ground one innocent at a time if you cross me again." He turned to walk away, calmly, casually, adopting Sam's long legged coltish gate.

"Sam!" Dean said as the demon wearing his brother quickened his pace but still managed to look calm and casual. When he was just barely in earshot, he turned around to face Dean.

"When that's off your back...come find me." He said with a wave and disappeared back into the party.

Dean ran back to the hotel where John was heading back to their room to finish loading up the Impala. "What is it?" He asked, stopping at his son's face.

"That demon after me...green eyes..." Dean said, out of breath. He'd done a full out sprint back to the hotel. And from the dune, it wasn't a short run. "It has Sam."

"What?" John barely kept from roaring. "How did he get your brother?" He barely stopped from the recrimations. Like 'where were you?' 'Why didn't you stop it?' He was slowly learning from his past, but it was still a learning curve.

"Because of this thing!" Dean said, pointing to his back. "He can't touch me, can't even shove me. Because of this. So he used Sam as bait and insurance policy. I get this thing off my back, he'll release Sam." One way or another. Because he wanted Dean.

"Absolutely not." John said, tossing a bag to Dean. "We'll think of another way, but I'm not giving you up to save Sam, anymore than I would give up Sam to save you. Don't ask me to."

"I'm not asking." Dean said, face set in determination, an expression John was sure he'd seen in the mirror once or twice. "Not your choice."

"He's a demon, Sam, what makes you think that he won't just take you over and make you watch as you kill your own brother? Or have another demon waiting to possess you or him?" John pointed out. "This is our one advantage, you are NOT going to give that up. I am not going to lose either of you much less both of you."

"Fine, I'll do it myself." He said tossing the bag aside and stalking toward the bathroom, he had to do this. He couldn't let the demon have his brother. Sam was too gentle inside, he wouldn't survive the things that monster would do while he was along for the ride. " And you won't lose us… you'll get Sam the hell out of there when that thing takes me instead and you and Sam will get me back."

"Dean, listen to yourself. If you honestly believed there was a chance of that happening you wouldn't be doing this." John said as he grabbed his son's arm. "But the truth is, they were preparing you for this… they were wearing you down and we don't know how much of what they were doing succeeded. You don't even remember everything they did. If he takes you, there may not be any coming back. We have a better chance at saving Sam."

"And that's what I'm going to do." Dean said, wrenching his arm from John's hand and stripping off his shirt. He found one of those back washer things and poured soap on it, and alcohol, and a bottle of nail polish remover that came with the bathroom and started scrubbing at his back.

"Dean!" John said, taking the brush from him. "Stop and think. I will not lose both of you. Because if you let the demon take you, Sam's going straight after you and it will be a never ending cycle until one or both of you are dead."

"Look, this is happening." Dean said taking the brush back. Burned like fire on his back, and it was only making a small dent in the sharpie scribbles. "We've each got demons after us. Right now the yellow eyed one can't get Sam. And he doesn't want me. So we've bought Sam a little time until we figure out how to send Azazel back to hell."

"Azazel?" John said.

"The yellow eyed one's name. Now we just have to find out the green eyed one's name and we're good to go. So why don't you get on that..."

"Excuse me? Are you trying to give ME an order?" John asked.

"No sir." Dean said. "Just, you might not remember it, but I've spent my whole life taking care of Sammy, watching out for Sammy, making sure Sammy was okay while you went off on the hunt. This is my job. And I don't plan to fail. You do your job, I do mine."

"And I am telling you, that there is no way this is going to free Sammy." He said as he took the brush and helped his son remove the mark. "At least sit down and look over the file Sam downloaded. There might be another form of protection we can use for you. You are not going in there completely vulnerable."

Dean frowned. "I'll look." He conceded, mostly to get his father to back off. He didn't think there would be anything that wouldn't create more trouble.

"Dean, some of those marks they put on you before… they were breaking down barriers… I think they were designed to break down your soul. If you insist on doing this we have to find a way to protect that, so that you don't cease to be." John couldn't believe that he was helping Dean do this. It was insanity. He was going to sacrifice both of his sons in one night. This was absolute insanity. "If your soul is destroyed, it's just a few short rituals to turn your body into a permanent haven for the demon… do you understand what I am saying?"

"Yeah, I understand." Dean said. "Which is why we need to move." He said. "Because I was prepared for this, obviously my body can handle it. Maybe Sam's can't. The more time we waste, the longer he's in Sammy and the more likely it is that there's nothing left to save. Obviously I can survive a possession by this thing. I don't know if Sam can." Or if Sam would survive even if his body did. That's why he wanted to move. Move now and get this over with.

"Dean, I did not come back from the dead just to watch you two die." John said.

"No? Do you know why you came back? I sure don't. Had to be more than just bait, or the demon would have taken you back already." Dean said. "So until you can tell me why you're back, we better not talk about that. That kind of guessing is dangerous. Maybe you're here to bury us, burn and salt us like we did you. Maybe it's more punishment for me and Sam, just have a taste of what it could have been like, knowing that it was all going to go to shit again anyway. Or maybe it was one just big coincidence. All I know is I don't know why you're here. Glad you are, don't get me wrong. But I can't change my plans because of you."

"Plans?" John asked.

Dean smirked. "Come on, Dad. You raised a warrior who would kill himself to keep his brother safe. You really think there's another ending to this?"

John took a deep breath. "Sam is going to be fine." He said reluctantly. "He and all the children like him are… special in more ways than you know." The illusion was shattered. It was time to reveal some of the things he did remember. "So you have time to tell me the details of this plan, and it better involve more than sacrificing yourself, because there is a big difference between killing to keep him safe and laying down and dying."

"So you do remember." Dean said shaking his head. "Fine. Then you remember what you told me before you up and finished your own self sacrifice. Save him or kill him. Don't think I don't know why I'm still alive. Because I can save him and you can't. You knew that then, you know that now. I'm not going to lay down and die, but if it comes down to either me or Sam...I'm choosing Sam. And you better do the same."

"You're alive because you are my son and I..." He frowned. "I couldn't bear the thought of losing you. I put a heavy weight on your shoulders that I should never had done, but you were the only one I could trust to take care of Sammy. Azazel is building an army… the kids like Sam. I suspect there is more that I can't remember. But if you give yourself over for him… it could destroy any chance Sammy has of coming through this on the right side of the line. And that's if the demon has any intention of keeping his word."

"Demon doesn't have a choice. He can't possess me without leaving Sam. And if Sam is fine, you'll be there. If he isn't, this whole thing is moot anyway." Dean said. His back burned like fire, but the cipher was off. There were red marks outlining where it had been, but they would fade soon. "Maybe that's why you're back." He said, standing up and putting his hand on his father's shoulder, as he had done for years. When he shouldn't have had to, he had. And now he was doing it again, eyes oddly peaceful. "To take care of Sammy when it's my turn."

John glared at his son, desperately searching for something…anything… to make his son see reason. "You say he couldn't touch you because of the cipher?" John asked as he took out the sharpie once more. "Then I guess you need to return the favor and draw it on me. Because when he takes you over… Sam isn't going to have the heart to do what will need to be done if we can't save you." John's eyes revealed everything he was feeling in that moment. The anguish inside that was worse than any torture he had ever endured. The certain knowledge that his son was dying had been enough to drive him to sacrifice everything, his chance at destroying the demon, his life. But the knowledge that he could possibly have to destroy his own son threatened to drive him mad. But he knew he could never allow any one else to do it. He didn't know that he could do it. He opened the paper that Sam had so carefully folded and started to remove his shirt. "But I swear of you come through this … we are tattooing this damned thing on your hide."

"Yeah, okay." Dean said with a laugh as he unfolded the paper and started drawing the cipher on his father. It took longer, because he was one person. And when he had it drawn on himself, he had both John and Sam doing it. He finished and capped the marker. "Okay, let's go get Sammy."

He trusted his father to finish it any way he had to. If that meant that Dean couldn't be brought back, he would rather be dead. And John knew that. So he was going into this with a clear conscience and a clear heart. Everyone always talked about Sam's destiny, but he'd thought of his own enough to know this was it. He'd go out defending his brother, one way or another.

John rose slowly, and put his shirt back on, pulling the flannel over it. He looked over his shoulder at his son. It was hard to see the man before him. A man who thought his whole reason for living was to sacrifice himself. John knew it was his own fault. It was his doing that the boy who had brought laughter and so much energy into his and Mary's life had grown into the man before him, instead of the man he should have become. All of this was his fault, and he hated himself for it as much now as he had the night that made the deal with the demon.

"Help me get all this out to the car." He said past the lump in his throat.

Missouri had sat up bolt right in her bed the moment the demon had entered Sam's body. "Oh baby, I am so sorry." She said to no one that would hear and got out of bed. She started a pot of coffee and got dressed, then took the already packed suitcase out of the closet and set it by the back door. "We are going to have to have a very long talk… if we can get you back… " she filled the thermos with coffee and picked up the suitcase, heading out to her car. "This is not the way I wanted to see New Orleans." She muttered.

They weren't there yet, but when they were she would be waiting for them.

Ellen answered the phone. "Harvelle's." And she had to pull a stool over as Dean, who was loading up the car. Dean told her everything and she paled. She sat on the stool. "Oh sweetie..." She said and closed her eyes. "I'll get Ash on it. We'll see what we can come up with from our end."

"Thanks." Dean said and hung up his cellphone and looked at his father. "All right. We're good to go." He said.

John looked at him for a long moment, his dark eyes hooded and solemn. "Not quite." He said and sighed at Dean's questioning look. Then punched his son. In the jaw, hard. Sending him against the Impala. "Sorry, I am so sorry." He said as he picked his son up and put him in the passenger seat, handcuffing him to the door. "But you're not sacrificing yourself. I can't allow that."

John got into the car and drove. He didn't look back. It hurt to abandon Sam that way, but he also knew that the demon inside him wanted Dean. He would come for him. And that would give him more time to prepare a trap of his own. Dean wasn't thinking, he was feeling. He would hate him when he came around, but John could handle that. He had handled Sam's hatred, even if the boy denied it, it was there. He could handle Dean's… he hoped.

Tamiel paused, looking up as he heard the sound of the Impala driving away. He raised one dark eyebrow, and excused himself from the woman he had been chatting up. Apparently young women liked the fluffy puppy look. Another perk to keeping the body he had. It would just be harder to rid it of that pesky soul, and sadly this body was easier to kill than the other one. But it would do. So long as he possessed it, Azazel did not.

He strode to the parking lot and scanned it, eyes falling upon a motorcycle. An eldritch glimmer in his eyes and it started for him, purring like a kitten.

Your brother just abandoned you. He thought. How ironic is that, aren't you usually the one doing the abandoning?

"Shut up." Sam yelled into the darkness. "Dad's protecting him from you… and that's how I want it." Sam wanted nothing more than for Dean to be on the opposite side of the world from him right now.

Sure it is. Tamiel laughed as he drove down the highway. You like hanging out in the dark, waiting for your soul to go mad with the isolation. Waiting to give up and fade to nothing.

"Better me than him." Sam called out, his tone almost matter of fact. As though it were a given. He did see the demon's point however… If he didn't do something quick, he was going to be mad as a hatter before it was all done. Great… Alice In Wonderland images… good going Sammy. He thought to himself. Well… let's get out of this fucking rabbit hole. He said as he started searching in his mind in earnest. Wishing he could just sleep and dream his way through the ordeal… "Dreams." He said and smiled… if you could call it that when you had no real body. At least not one that you controlled.

John looked over at his son, the bruise showing up lividly on his face as he drove. North. Not toward New Orleans. He'd intercepted the call from Ash, telling Ash that Dean was in the bathroom. And if the demon was going to go anywhere, he'd go to New Orleans to recharge. Tap into all that energy and power there before moving forward.

Of course with his luck the demon was going to Atlanta. Which he'd drive through. But he was betting on New Orleans. A nice center point of energy. Enough ruins to hide in, big enough to blend until he was ready...it was when the demon was ready that John worried. It might still come after Dean. And he'd lose both of his sons in an instant.

Just when they were starting to feel like a family. Right when he was finally starting to be a real father to them.

"Ash, keep searching." Ellen said, leaning over Ash as he worked his magic on the computer.

"Ellen, I'm telling you...if it's on the net I'll find it. Just gotta give me time." He was scouring the web for Azazel. Real information from professionals, not just the anecdotal from religious freaks. But the Vatican wasn't exactly easy to crack into. He would have had much more fun cracking into Homeland Security.

"We don't have time. It's got a hold of Sam and it wants Dean. And their father is right in the middle of it."

"Thought you didn't like the old man?"

"It'll tear those boys apart, or what's left of them, if they have to watch him die again."

Where do you think you're going, Sammy? Tamiel asked, as he continued down the freeway, well on his way to New Orleans.

"Someplace you can't reach. And the name is Sam." He corrected and finally saw the lights in the distance. He knew it wasn't a real building, anymore than the hands he looked down at were real. But it was safety…it was home… and it was Jess. That was why Missouri had told him to pay attention to all of his dreams. He got to the building and ran inside, up the stairs and into the apartment he had shared with Jessica.

He could see the darkness gathering around the building, threatening to force its way in, but he found the salt in the kitchen and began to salt all the entrances, windows and doors, the smallest possible entry was given a line of salt as a barrier.

Do you really think that is going to work? It asked him, and Sam could feel it pressing in on the walls, heard them creak but that was all the further it could go.

"I don't know… but it's a beginning."

Dean woke with a groan and tried to lift his hand to his face. "What the…?" He asked wincing at the pain in his head, and then spotting the cuffs holding him to the car door. "Son of a bitch." He swore at his father. "Where the hell are we? And you had better say we are chasing the demon." He had never used that tone with his father before, it felt alien, unnatural.

John looked at Dean and kept driving. "North. Have a friend left in South Carolina. You'll stay there and I'll go after Sam." He said evenly, as if discussing the weather. Discussing something not important to anything relevant. He winced a bit as Dean started jerking on the cuffs.

"You son of a bitch." Dean said. "You have no right to treat me like a child now. After everything."

"You are a child. You are MY child." John said. "And I'm not risking both of you. I'll get Sam, and then you two can hate me together. But you're going to hate me in this life, not the next."

"This isn't your choice!" Dean shouted, kicking at the floorboards in frustration. "This is my choice! And I made it. What gives you the right to kidnap me, handcuff me and drag me in the opposite direction?"

"I'm your father." John said. "I haven't been for a long time, piss ass time to start, but that's the way it goes.

"Whose in South Carolina ? Don't think for a minute I can't get away from who ever it is… " he said, hating that he had to do it this way. "Damn it Dad, why are you doing this? You know as well as I do that the only way to get Sam back is to trade me for him. "

"I'm not trading either of my sons for another." John said firmly. "And stop kicking the car." An automatic reproval. "There is not going to be a deal where I trade you for Sam, or you trade yourself for Sam. Or anything like that. All I've ever tried to do is keep you boys as safe as I could when you were children. Dragging you across the country on different hunts because I didn't trust anyone else to understand what you were up against. Now it's finally here, and I've got the good luck to be back in time for this. I will not lose my sons to any son of a bitch demon who thinks he can best a Winchester. There will be another way. And I will find it. And don't think I won't have you restrained in Carolina until this is finished."

Dean put his head against the seat. "You picked a helluva time to start being a traditional father." As much as was possible in the entirely untraditional circumstances.

"I know." John said with a quirk of a smile. He bet Ward Cleaver never had to deal with demons coming after Beaver or Wally. Or the possibility that he would have to kill Beaver to keep Wally safe. Because if he was too late, if Sam was too far gone, he would have to be destroyed to stop him from coming after Dean. If the situation was reversed, he would have made the same decision. Let one son go so as not to lose them both.

Even if it hardly made him father of the year.

"Okay" Dean said staring out the window instead of looking at his father "What's you're plan?" He was furious. But he knew he wasn't as angry as that demon was going to be. Unfortunately that Demon has his brother.

Dean was laying on his stomach, in his boxers, his head on his folded arms. And he was shaking his head.