Chapter 4

The young woman at the cafe poured coffee and gave a brief background on Andy's luck with debt collectors, whom she assumed Sam and Dean were, based on their 'professional' appearance. It seemed that Andy had an uncanny ability to talk his way out of anything. And after a short outburst from the busboy, Webber, stating that Andy was able to get him backstage at Aerosmith like it was nothing, it seemed they indeed had their man.

She pointed them to Orchard Street, an area Andy was known to frequent. They were only given the description of the van to go on, but had no trouble finding it. How could you miss a Barbarian queen riding a polar bear?

Immediately, Sam got a bad feeling about the scenario. He waited anxiously for Andy to appear so he could get a better read on the man. If he was indeed like Max Miller, they would have to be careful. There was no telling what Andy's 'gift' was and Sam didn't like walking into the situation without more information.

On the other hand, Sam felt a drive to talk with Andy, see what he was like. While Max was ten kinds of wrong, he knew the young man would have been a different person with some guidance and love. Would things have turned out the way they did if Max had a different childhood? Would he and Sam have met under different circumstances, trying to discover their destinies together?

Instead, Sam had watched Max turn the gun on himself and end the pain of his lifetime of suffering. The pain that wracked Sam's own brain, especially after the visit from their mother.

Lost in introspection of what this meant on a larger scale, Dean caught his brother in his usual unhappy facial expression. "What's wrong," he started, hoping to get a little more from Sam than he had over the past few days, suddenly feeling his brother shutting down around him.

"Nothing."

"Sam, you look like you're sucking on a lemon. What's going on?"

Sam sighed and began his diatribe. "This Andrew Gallagher. He's the second guy like this we've found, Dean. Demon came to them when they were kids. Now they're killing people..."

This sent Dean immediately on the defensive and a cold sensation ate through his spine. While he wasn't sure what they had stumbled onto, Dean could certainly see where this conversation was headed, and that was dangerous ground. "We don't know what Andrew Gallagher is, okay? Could be innocent."

But Sam persisted, pointing to the fact that his visions were always connected to the Demon, and that equation only meant bad things for one Andy Gallagher. He was one step closer to being like Max; being a murderer.

The 'special children' would grow to be something more… but what? Killers? It was only a matter of time before Sam found out first hand.

Dean wanted to veer as far away from the conversation and his body language screamed it. The words of his father still rang in his ears, and the last thing he wanted was for his brother to be echoing them in any form at all. He refused to believe what Sam was pushing about becoming a murderer himself, but when hunting and killing evil came up, he knew he wouldn't win the battle with his little brother's conscience. Killing was killing in this argument and his gut tore at him, wishing he'd never opened his mouth in the first place.

And there was a real possibility that Sam, his Sam, would in fact be tempted by the dark side. But Dean knew that he could stop it from happening. Nothing was going to get to his little brother.

Dean turned his head from Sam, creasing his brow, hoping that at least a small part of what he'd said, what he'd been trying to do to protect him, had actually made it through Sam's thick skull. A quick pang of guilt swept through him as he realized by pushing Sam away over the last few weeks, he'd had nothing to do except think about the Demon's plans for him.

He didn't have time to think about it for long, though. Suddenly, Andy emerged from an apartment building, making his way back to his mobile 'love shack,' stopping along the way to gather a cup of coffee from a guy on the street. Then Sam spotted the shooter from his vision and they decided to split – Sam tailing the older man and Dean following Andy.

Sam was determined to stop this seemingly blameless man from killing the store owner and himself. He wanted to stop Andy from killing, too, even if he didn't know when or where it would happen. He felt that maybe if he did so, he could find a way to get through to him – save him. He didn't want Andy to have the same fate as Max.

And he didn't want to befall that fate himself.

Sam pulled the fire alarm of the local gun store from his vision and disrupted the owner's fate. One down, one to go. He swiftly fled the scene and made his way to the sidewalk to make sure that everything followed the new plan.

The next thing he knew, Sam heard the rumble of the Impala, only to look up to see Andy at the wheel, chatting on the phone. Sam, fearing for his brother's safety, called to hear a stunned Dean confessing that he'd given the Impala to Andy because he'd asked for it.

Mind control.

Shit!

This new information understandably pulled Sam's attention from the once-shooter, who was on a haphazard collision course with a speeding Blue Ridge bus.

Screams filled the air as the docile man lay in the street.

And Sam watched in horror as his vision had the same end result.

He raced to the man's side, knowing what he would find. Guilt consumed him as he realized, once again, that his 'gift' had failed him.

"Call 911," Sam called to the nearest gawker who scurried off at his request. He laid his hand gently on what was left of the man. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you." The young hunter rose, unsteadily, and made his way to the curb, realizing there was nothing left to do but wait for the police.

Nothing to do but watch the Demon's plans come to fruition.

Oh God…

Death and destruction were everywhere Sam turned. The visions taunted him; knowing the outcome would still be the same and there would be nothing he could do about it. He could almost feel the laughter tickling the back of his mind as the Demon put each piece of the puzzle in place.

Sam could feel everything around him slipping away. The only thing that made this job worthwhile was the ability to help people, to save them.

And Sam failed again.

His mind swirled as it kicked into overdrive; he was losing himself in his remorse. The conversation with Dean in the car had done nothing to ease his worries. In fact, it garnered strength. Sam felt Dean's bones chill as they started the conversation about Andy and the 'Chosen' going dark side. Dean tried everything he could to stave himself from the realities around him. But Sam knew. He felt it. It poured from Dean like water over a dam.

Since his mother's visit, Sam finally understood what had happened; why he knew Dean was still around at the hospital, his spirit battered but not gone. The connection. It was there – always. Sometimes it was much stronger, like in the car, and certainly at the hospital. Sam was now picking up on Dean's emotions to boot, which explained why Sam was having such a hard time shaking himself free from the guilt of their father's death. He had it times two.

Dean would never forgive himself for their father's death. It was out of his control that John Winchester had made the deal with the Demon, but Dean would never see it that way. He would kick himself silly, trying to figure out another 'what if' scenario that would end with all three Winchesters alive and well.

And that pain radiated from Dean on a constant basis.

Sam's guilt came from his misunderstanding of their father; not knowing why he did the things he did. Needing to question his motives and calculations. Fighting with him non-stop whenever they were within eyesight. All those instances came crashing back to him as he saw his father splayed on the hospital floor. He didn't remember the few moments of laughter of childhood; he remembered one fight after another. And now he just wanted to do right by their father. He wanted to honor his memory by following through and killing the Demon.

It took John's death to bring it into perspective for Sam.

So Sam wandered through the days, riddled with his own guilt and consumed by Dean's – both the physical and the emotional that drew him like a moth to flame.

It was overwhelming.

Sam wanted more than anything to tell Dean about his visit with their mother. To get everything out on the table: Dean's guilt and Sam's fears and the dark future they were facing. Together they could try and come up with their next steps to fight the Demon.

To heal.

But Dean was still being stubborn, and Sam didn't think he was ready to listen. This whole job spooked Dean on such a large scale, it was palpable. Hell, anytime a vision was involved, it cranked the job up to another scale.

Reminding Sam that Dean still thought he was a freak. He'd said so!

In addition, he knew Dean was furious that they had gone to the Roadhouse, but he hadn't given Sam much choice. Sam needed somewhere to go that felt anything like a home. Some place where people would give him support. It wasn't that Dean wasn't enough--Dean just had no more to give, and Sam knew it. Couldn't ask him for more.

Sam looked to the body splayed in the middle of the street as his scattered, devastating thoughts skittered through his head. Tears slid down his face as the paramedics rushed to the scene to try to revive the man. Everything seemed to go in slow motion around him.

Then, a hand at his back.

He knew it was Dean without turning around. He could sense him. Dean just had a familiar way about him, and Sam was so grateful for just that slight bit of normalcy with his brother that he cried a little more, realizing how much he'd been missing over the last several weeks without his brother there. Sam didn't realize how much he had missed, needed, Dean's touch. Even as insignificant as a warm pressure. It gave him the strength he needed to pull himself back together.

The summary of what happened spilled from Sam's mouth as Dean listened. They decided to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible, given the light of the situation.

First things first, they needed to find the Impala, and fast. And luck was on their side as it was parked in the open with keys in the ignition ready to go.

As Dean checked it over, anger swirled through Sam at the thought of this 'special child' messing with his brother. The Impala was Dean's baby - his prized possession - and fear had ripped through him as he saw Andy driving it carelessly down the street, thinking something had happened to Dean.

They decided they needed a little more information, but that the commands for the mind control were definitely verbal. Sam wondered who else Andy would go after, but Dean was not convinced that he was their guy.

"Dean, you had OJ convicted before he got out of his white Bronco and you have doubts about this?

"He doesn't seem like the stone cold killer type, that's all. You know. And OJ was guilty!"

"Either way, how are we going to track this guy down?"

They easily found his van and broke in, surprised at what they found inside. Dean was awed by the 70's-style mobile pad, while Sam remarked about his heavy reading interests.

Andy Gallagher was certainly a mystery.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The only thing they could do was wait; go on their own personal stakeout to see what Andy's next move would be. Dean stuffed his face in the driver's seat of his safe-again baby, and Sam toiled over the mounds of information he had discovered. Dean was still in the 'it's not Andy' camp, and it was starting to piss Sam off.

Suddenly their prey was perched next to Sam, hanging through the window and demanding an explanation. Wanting to know who they were. Sam started to spew their cover story about being lawyers, like the professional he was, while beside him Dean expelled the truth.

"We hunt demons," Dean shot out with a pained look on his face.

A flabbergasted Sam looked back and him. "Dean!"

"Demons and spirits. Things your worst nightmare wouldn't even touch. Sam here, he's my brother…"

"Dean, shut up!"

"I'm trying….He's psychic, kinda like you, well not really like you but see, he thinks you're a murderer and he's afraid he's gonna become one himself., cause you're all part of something that's terrible and I hope to hell that he's wrong, but I'm starting to get a little scared that me might be right."

Sam was in shock. He watched as his brother helplessly spilled his inner thoughts about what was going on.

A glimpse of what their father had told him.

Andy had heard enough, and it was scaring him to no end. "Okay, just leave me alone."

"Alright," forced Dean as he pulled his hand to his head in pain.

Sam looked back and forth, trying to decide which problem he needed to take care of first. He opted for Andy and rushed himself out after him.

The mind control wasn't working on the tall stranger, and Andy pushed further and harder with his mind to stop the advancing giant.

"It doesn't seem to work on me, Andy," Sam said pressing to the man. "You can make people do things can't you? You can tell them what to think." To say Sam was a little freaked out by that whole concept--that he was somehow immune to Andy when Dean clearly hadn't been--was an understatement. Yet another concept he didn't have time to deal with at the moment.

Andy was flabbergasted as the imposing man rattled off an overview of his life since his twenty-second birthday. He wanted to believe that someone else really understood what had happened to him; that it had happened to them as well, but it couldn't be true.

Sam saw the mistrust beginning to fade as he found all the right buttons to push to let Andy know he knew all about him. He knew he would get him to confess to the murder of Dr. Jennings.

"Why did you tell the doctor to walk in front of a bus?" spat Sam, taking hold of his advantage.

"What?"

Pain erupted from Sam's core out of nowhere as he got a flash of woman on fire. She was intermixed with Andy's face staring back at him. The world was starting to go hazy.

A vision.

Sam persisted with the questioning despite the throbbing in his head. He pushed again, hoping that Andy would break and they would solve their murder.

"Why did you kill him?"

"I didn't," Andy insisted, looking truly confused at the accusations flying towards him. Then he saw the giant of a man grab his head and warp his features in pain as he slowly slid to the ground.

Dean raced to Sam's side as he watched the vision take hold, destroying his baby brother from the inside. "Sam, what is it?"

Sam's face continued to contort as the scene unfolded before him. He watched in horror as the blonde victim doused herself in gasoline, lighting herself on fire. The young attendant watched in horror as he shouted for her to stop.

Andy stood in shock as he watched the interaction between the two brothers, fearful that the older would turn on him, especially after what happened in the car. "I didn't do anything to him," he insisted.

The young psychic balled on the ground as he unveiled the latest torture in his mind. "A woman. A woman burning alive," he managed as the pain finally started to recede from his vision. He pressed his eyes and told Dean the rest of the scenario, ending with the revelation of the phone call to her cell. He turned his deadly gaze to Andy.

There was no time frame, but it was clear the call set everything into motion. "As long as we keep our eyes on this son of a bitch he can't hurt her."

"I didn't hurt anybody," pleaded Andy, still trying to figure out what was going on.

"Yeah, not yet."

Behind them, a fire truck raced by. The brothers exchanged a fearful look of being too late.

"Go," Sam instructed Dean as his stomach dropped to the floor. The older brother nodded and headed towards the Impala. Andy made to follow when he was stopped cold. "No, not you. You're staying here with me."

The stalemate played on until Sam got Dean's confirmation of what he already knew. The woman died, painfully, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Again.

Dean knew it wasn't Andy who was causing the deaths. He knew his gut wouldn't prove him wrong. He just had to convince his little brother. "Listen, you were with Andy when this whole thing went down, so it can't be him. It's gotta be somebody else doing this."

"That doesn't make any sense," Sam interjected, but feeling like Dean might be right. It was true that the man was right there with him and he had certainly not made a call. Maybe it really wasn't him…

"What else is new," added Dean with a snark. "I'll dig around here, see what else I can find." He flipped the phone off.

Sam turned to look at Andy, deciding where he wanted to go with his next line of questioning; needing to know as much about the man before him.

"So, Andy, tell me about yourself."

-o-o-o-o-o-

It didn't take long for Sam to lessen his suspicion of Andy. While he still wasn't sure that he was innocent, it was hard not to like the guy. Slowly the walls came down as the men passed the time.

Andy Gallagher, like Sam, was your normal high school geek. Got made fun of for his love of books. Got beat up because he wasn't a jock. But somehow, he always took it in stride.

"'Man first of all exists, encounters himself, surges up in the world - and defines himself afterwards.' That was always one of my favorite quotes. It helped me get through a lot," Andy remarked as he and Sam compared their book smarts.

"Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism is a Humanism." Sam nodded in agreement. "That seems oddly appropriate for you and I, don't you think?" Sam added with a sad chuckle. "Here we are, two freaks of nature trying to make our way, but the more we try to define ourselves, the more we are being defined."

Andy liked having someone to talk to about the books he absorbed. Tracy was a wonderful companion. She loved the quotes and the discussions about philosophy and religion, but she didn't have the passion for the words like Andy did. Then, as things started to change for Andy after turning twenty-two, he knew that he had to let her go. Something told him that she wasn't safe around him anymore, and he cared too much for her to let anything happen.

The conversation with Sam (since they had been formally introduced) was a refreshing change to the lonely nights in the back of his van with Ludwig Wittgenstein's theories on logic and the philosophy of the mind. Sam was highly intelligent and could debate with Andy on any subject he brought up.

As they waited for Dean to return, Sam decided to venture further into the mysteries of their own lives. He told Andy about the Demon – at least what they knew about it – and what it had been doing. Sam mentioned Max and a quiver came through his voice. He hoped that Andy would not succumb to the same evil that Max had. That the Demon really hadn't gotten to Andy and that he was telling the truth about not knowing anything.

Andy squirmed a little as curiosity consumed him. He just accepted his 'gifts' as such after he turned twenty-two, but now, he was wondering what was actually going on. Who he was. And if anyone could fill him in, it would be the stranger before him.

"Hey, Sam? Why did these 'powers' come to fruition after our twenty second birthdays?"

Sam pondered Andy's questions, as he'd done some research on this subject. "I have no idea. We've been trying to figure it all out, and we've found nothing concrete," Sam began; still frustrated he didn't have more information. "I've looked into numerology and the number twenty-two is the most powerful number. There are twenty-two letters in the original Hebrew alphabet, and the trumps of Tarot cards are based on twenty-two," 'Geek Boy' began, eyes lighting up. Once he realized that Andy would really appreciate the research he'd done, Sam went to town.

"The number represents a high idealism and wanting the best for the world, but the negative aspects of it include criminal intent and revolutionary action, so it's a double-edged sword." Sam barely took a breath as he continued. "It also carries psychic gifts like intuition, awareness and heightened sensitivity, along with high intelligence and power on all levels. So, it's a pretty significant number."

Andy furrowed his brow and looked back to Sam. "And you know all this why? And how?"

A smile crept along Sam's lips as he snorted a reply. "It's kinda my job. I like research."

"Yeah… okay," Andy answered sarcastically. "So our twenty second birthdays 'unleashed' our 'powers?' To do what? What does this all mean?"

"I don't know," replied Sam. "But my brother and I are trying to figure all this out. We thought we had corned the yellow-eyed son of a bitch, but then everything went wrong. Now I don't know what to do anymore."

A sadness overcame Sam as he realized this was the longest conversation he'd had in weeks. Philosophy of Women's Smokin' Anatomy was probably the closest Sam and Dean would ever get to a 'deep' conversation, not that he minded, but this felt really good. He also felt all the emotions washing back over him of the events they'd endured.

"Hey, are you alright?" Andy asked sincerely.

Sam looked up at Andy with his two-second smile and his eyes tore back to the gravel. "It's been….it's been a hard couple of weeks is all. We're just working out way through everything."

"What happened?"

The young hunter sighed deeply, knowing that he wanted to just spill his guts right then and there, and it had nothing to do with Andy's abilities. Sam wanted to tell anyone who was willing to listen everything that had gone on with Dean, the Demon, their father. Their mother. But he didn't know anything about Andy, really. How could he just open up and vent his spleen to the unsuspecting outsider? Andy had enough of his own mental mojo going on; he didn't need Sam's issues on top of them. Plus, even though he liked the guy, he didn't know how much he could actually trust him, at least with the whole unvarnished truth. He hadn't even been able to tell Dean yet, and telling a stranger before his brother just seemed...wrong.

But suddenly…

"We lost our dad a several weeks back. It was the Demon," Sam began pensively, testing the waters. "We got rammed by a semi and Dean ended up in a coma; hanging by a thread. He probably wouldn't have made it, but Dad swapped his life for Dean's. Made a deal with the Demon and all hell has broken loose since." Sam leaned his body back on the seat, deciding whether to continue.

The silence from Andy gave Sam the go-ahead he so craved.

"Dean… he won't talk to me about it. About anything. Our dad was his idol, you know? He never questioned him. Well, he did near the end, but he just... He has this crushing guilt about what happened," Sam paused to collect himself, feeling release as he spoke about it to someone. "We both do." His eyes hit the gravel below his feet as he paused. Sam kicked about a bottle cap that lay unsuspecting on the ground and chanced a quick look up to Andy who sat there, open-mouthed, gaping at Sam.

He had no idea what to say or do.

Sam huffed at the non-response. "I know, it's a lot to take in," Sam replied to Andy, pulling his fingers through his chocolate locks. "It's what we do, hunting evil. The family business. But you already knew that…from Dean…in the car."

Andy snapped from his reverie as he considered the incident. He paused as he looked at Sam who suddenly seemed so small and broken. And he was the cause of it.

"Yeah, man, sorry about that. I imagine those really weren't the words you needed to hear right about then. But I didn't know what you wanted with me. It was a defense mechanism," Andy apologized, feeling his own guilt at the discomfort of both brothers.

Sam twisted on the seat, feeling suddenly uncomfortable. "I know you were just protecting yourself, but when you asked Dean to tell the truth, I never expected the verbal vomit that came out." He picked at his cast absently, avoiding Andy's stare.

"You can't really take something like that back."

Sam nodded at the painful truth. "No, there's certainly no 'do over' for words like that." He looked around at the abandoned cars strewn in the lot, finding focus on the fence that kept them in, feeling trapped. "He knows more than he's telling me. About everything. Thinks we're going to become evil, you and I. I just can't…"

The hunter rose from the bench, needing to feel the circulation in his legs once again. To remind himself that the numbness he was feeling was only in his soul. Sam paced a bit, feeling Andy's eyes watch him, but not out of fear; out of concern.

"To some extent, Dean's right. Something big is going down, and we're part of it. Somehow." Sam did not turn to face Andy, but bowed his head, placing it against the fence.

"Dean and I, we have a connection. That's why this has been so painful," he whispered, barely above the breeze. "I never really realized it until after the crash. At times, I heard him, felt him, roaming the hospital when he was in the coma. He died and I heard him fighting the reaper. It's…I can't explain." Sam's eyes welled with tears as the words spilled from his lips. "Since then, something's come alive, and I feel it. His emotions are so raw…" Sam stopped himself and looked to the road, watching the cars going by. Listening for any sign of the Impala.

"Wait. What? You can feel his pain?" Andy gaped, trying to comprehend what Sam was telling him.

"Okay, Bill Clinton," Sam tried, lightening the mood, amazed that he'd spilled as much as he had with Andy. He turned back to face him and sighed. "Yeah. It radiates from him, and I'm like a homing beacon for it. I just need him…"

"To open up to you and talk about it," Andy finished for him.

Sam nodded, grateful that he understood, finding his knees weak. He made his way back to the seat

"What are you going to do?" Andy questioned, thankful that his problems weren't quite as complicated as the brothers Winchester.

"Honestly? I have no clue. Dean lied to me. He said dad didn't say anything about the Demon and his plans for me…for us," Sam corrected. "But I know he did." He looked to Andy, trying to hit the point home that he was a part of this as well.

"But what if you confront him about it? Force him to talk?" Andy's eyes gleamed a bit as he hoped the Sam would connect the dots.

Sam looked to Andy, understanding the meaning, but sadness fell upon him again. "I can't. It's just… it's not fair to him. I know he's already killing himself over what he said in the car. The guilt came off him in droves. To force the rest out of him would breach our trust even farther. I want him to be able to talk to me about it and not have me dying in his arms to tell me the truth, you know?

"I just want my brother back…"

They sat in amiable silence for a few minutes, wondering where to pick up. Andy figured he'd cut the wind song and ask the extent of Sam's 'gift.'

So Sam told him.

"Death visions? Dude, that sucks."

Sam smiled at the honesty behind the words. Andy was really taking this much better than he'd thought he would.

"When I got my mind thing, it was like a gift. Like I won a lotto."

A perplexed looked crossed Sam's face as he continued on the conversation. "But you still live in a van. I don't get it, I mean, you could have anything you've ever wanted."

Andy shrugged, "I've got everything I need."

Realization dawned on Sam. After talking with him, interviewing his perp, he finally felt sure that Andy was not to blame for the murder of Dr. Jennings. "So you're really not a killer?"

He knew now. But it still didn't hurt to ask.

The sigh of relief came out in Andy's entire body as those words were spoken. "That's what I've been trying to tell you!"

The rumbling of the Impala came from the distance, signaling the return of Dean and hopefully answers for all of them. "That's good. Maybe there's hope for both of us."

The creak of the doors grabbed their attention as Dean sauntered up to the two men, starting to fill in some of the missing pieces of Sam's vision.

"Apparently, Holly Becket gave birth when she was 18 years old back in 1983. Same day you were born, Andy," announced Dean giving a side-look to Sam.

"Andy, were you adopted?" questioned Sam.

The skittish young man answered in the positive. Dean mentioned that he was unable to get the birth records due to their lock-down at the county office. Andy smiled at the impending request.

A short time later, the boys were looking through the birth records that were made available to them by the kindly old man at the front desk. "Andy, it's true. Holly Beckett was your birth mother. Dr. Jennings was her doctor, too. He oversaw the adoption. You have a solid connection to both of them."

"Yeah but, I didn't kill them," stuttered Andy, suddenly afraid they wouldn't believe him. Again.

"We believe you," answered Dean, reading Andy's mind. He stole a glance at his brother who also agreed. "But, who did?"

Sam was still rifling through paperwork, looking at all the data before him. This was his forte, after all. "I think I have a pretty good guess. Holly Beckett gave birth to twins."

Andy had a sudden green hue to him as he took in the new information. He looked unsteady on his feet and immediately sat himself on the nearest chair. "I have an evil twin."

Dean came behind Sam and looked at what had gotten his brother so enthralled. "Hate to kick you while you're freaked. Take a look at that."

The face before him rocked his world. It was the busboy from the restaurant, Webber.

Panic surround every fiber in Andy's being. All his fears about Tracy being in danger because of him had now come to fruition. They hurried to the car, intent on preventing another tragedy from happening.

They were making their game plan, discussing all the relevant information about Webber as the first flash assaulted Sam. He grabbed at his head as the plot unfolded in his vision. It encompassed Sam and tore through him, forcing Dean to pull over to get him to focus and breathe.

It was Tracy and she was in danger. Webber had her at the Lake Guthrie dam and he had every intention of having her jump.

They raced to the scene, coming to a stop far enough back that Webber wouldn't hear them. Sam and Andy grabbed munitions, leaving Dean to take up the role as sharp-shooter and out of the range of any additional mind pushing.

Sam approached the side of the car, seeing Webber control Tracy. Without a thought, he crashed through the window with his cast, clocking Webber in the face. Andy grabbed a terrified Tracy and pulled her from the car. She was hysterical and it ate away at Andy.

Before he realized it, Andy was on Webber and after duct taping his mouth shut, he began punching and kicking him for what he had done. A startled Sam had to grab Andy and keep him back. That was all the time the evil twin needed to make his move.

Tracy slowly picked up a piece of wood lying on the ground and with all her might smashed the back of Sam's head, causing him to fall into darkness….

-o-o-o-o-o-o

Sam heard voices, coming in and out. He tried to focus, but his head was pounding. He blinked several times, trying to find his center, but the throbbing was unbearable. Sam placed his head back to the ground, hoping the non-movement would still the thumping.

"…he said I had to wait until the time…"

"Who?"

"The man with the yellow eyes," the voice said as if Andy should know.

Sam tried hard to center on the dialogue. Tried to piece together more of this puzzle.

"What are you talking about?"

"He came to me, in my dream. He said I was special. He told me he's got big plans for me. Wait til you see what's in store, Andy for both of us…."

Sam tried to pull himself up, but the strength of the hit, obviously powered by Webber's mind control, put him under again…

Then, a shot.

Sam struggled again and found Webber in a puddle of blood and Andy holding a smoking gun.

Andy, no…

Despite Sam's best efforts, Andy was a killer now, too.

-o-o-o-o

By morning, the place was crawling with police and paramedics. Tracy was huddled in the back of an ambulance. Sam had refused official treatment, but a lone EMT went and looked at him anyway.

The brothers watched as Andy worked his magic, telling the police exactly what he wanted them to report, leaving Sam and Dean out of it, and clearing himself of all wrong-doing.

Suddenly all the trust he'd built up with Andy the day before came crashing down. Andy was coming into his powers. Really enjoying them. They were going to have to keep tabs on him.

"Look at him. He's getting better at it," Sam said to Dean.

They watched as he approached them, solemn. Tracy was afraid of him now, not even making eye contact as he walked past. There was no going back after last night. After she learned he was as much of a freak as Webber.

Sam looked with pity and remorse at Andy. This was old hat for the Winchester family, but Andy had no idea what was in store.

The mixed emotions that poured over Sam shone on his face as he knitted his brow. Finally, he gave Andy his cell number and said to call if anything came up. The brothers turned to leave as he called after them, looking for some kind of guidance to get him through the ordeal.

"You be good, Andy, or we'll be back," warned Dean as they turned and walked toward the Impala.

Sam was overwhelmed by all of it; too many pieces missing to really form a theory. All the research, all the conversations did nothing to ease his worries about what was to come. And how he could overcome the past.

In addition, there was so much emotional confusion flowing from Dean – fear, regret, concern. All directed at Sam. All hitting him square in the heart.

Oh yes, Sam was getting better at it, too.

When he spoke, Sam opened himself up. He wanted to really know how Dean felt about the matter at hand; the escalation of their impending battle with the Demon and what all these children meant.

The 'Chosen' were dangerous. And every one of them had their breaking points.

"Right circumstances, everyone's capable of murder. Everyone," Sam said, looking Dean in the eye. "You know maybe that's what the Demon's doing. Pushing us. Finding ways to break us."

Dean did not want to have this conversation. He shut it down as quickly as he could by doing what he did best.

Avoidance.

"Sam we don't know what the demon wants, okay?" He slapped Sam on the shoulder, slapped a big grin on his face. "Quit worrying about it," Dean said as he walked to the driver's side of the car hoping, praying, that was enough to end the conversation

Sam watched him go and saw the relief on Dean's face, thinking he'd dodged the second bullet of the day. But this was the moment that Sam had been waiting for. The opportunity to have Dean actually tell him how he felt about this whole strange trip they'd been on.

"You know, I heard you before, Dean," Sam began, making sure he had his undivided attention. "When Andy made you tell the truth? You're just as scared of this as I am."

"That was mind control," Dean shot back, scrambling to get out of the situation. The hidden fear emanated and he volleyed quickly with a joke of sorts. "That's like being ruffied. That doesn't count. I'm calling 'do over.'"

Sam's heart sank at the phrase he'd used earlier with Andy. He couldn't believe that Dean had actually just said it. "What are you, seven?" Sam said, staring at him incredulously.

"Doesn't matter, we've gotta just keep doing what we're doing," Dean continued like Sam hadn't even called him out. "Find that evil son of a bitch and kill it." His voice was steady and confident – one of Dean's best traits. He stared Sam down, daring him to argue the point.

Dean's phone suddenly rang; like he'd planned it as a back up for the conversation to end.

The wind was knocked from Sam's sails. He couldn't believe that they still weren't going to talk about this. "Yeah, I guess." He slowly opened the door as Dean answered the phone and climbed in.

"Ellen, what's going on?" Dean inquired as he listened for a moment. "Yeah, we'll be right there."

-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N - I figured that Sammy needed a little catharsis from their ordeal as well and Andy seemed the perfect fit. He's like Dean's Gordon (think bar scene in Bloodlust) minus the trying to kill him part. :D

This will remain in cannon, just behind the scenes, and will go through Usual Suspects. Not a fan of No Exit at all, but it will suit my purposes. I'm hoping there's one more chapter to completion, two if it's really wordy. It depends on Sam...

As always, a huge thank you to Gem who, very politely, told me my first version of this didn't work. I revamped, did more research (no, me?) and this is the result. All mistakes are mine.

Thanks for reading.

:D

Caroline