The Long Road Home

Chapter 6 – Lost and Found

Dean watched from the driver's seat of the blue mustang. Joshua and Ellen had jumped out and were currently placing salt around the whole building. They had insisted he stay in the car and play lookout. He flexed his arm and winced at the healing stitches. The injury was painful still but nothing would keep him from getting his brother back.

So far there was no sign that anyone was inside. But then it didn't surprise him. Demon or hunter both would be keeping things low key. The fact that is was so quiet convinced him this was the right place. Just as he was going to get out and check on his friends he saw a dark sedan pull up with four men inside.

He slumped down in the seat, thankful that the car blended in with the shadows around him. He watched as one of the men got out, his cell phone in his hand. A moment later the large metal sliding door opened to reveal another man. As the man stood beneath the lone light above the entrance Dean pulled in a sharp breath. It was the man from the pictures Ellen had brought with—Wade.

The young hunter was tense as he watched the man wave the car in. Before the door closed he could see a large black van further inside. He pulled his cell phone out and sent a quick text message to Ellen and Joshua. "Company arrived."

The urge to rush in was strong but they had a plan and he was going to follow it. Too much depended on him not getting caught. He had to get his brother back, had to let him know he'd never really given up on him—he still loved him more than life. The more he thought about his brother, the more he realized that while he'd feel a certain freedom the past couple of months, there still had been something missing. The hole he'd felt after his father's death was nothing compared to how he felt every time he looked over at the empty seat in the Impala. Bobby was right, they needed to work on their issues but they had to do it together.

He jumped as the back passenger door opened. "So how many do you think?" Joshua asked as pulled his long legs into the car. "At least five maybe six. I didn't see Dodger, but Wade is definitely there." Dean responded as he tightened his hands around the steering wheel.

"Ellen should be done in couple of minutes Dean. She'll signal when she's ready then its show time." Joshua grinned as he reached into the back seat and pulled out a fire extinguisher. It would be Dean's job to get them inside. Joshua would spray as many as he could to keep them distracted while Ellen finished the salt line behind them. Dean was to start broadcasting as soon as they cleared the doorway. It was a simple plan, but sometimes those were the best.

"I just hope Sammy isn't hurt too bad. I don't even know if we can take him to a hospital yet. I mean, what happens if they run a blood test?" Dean shook his head. His brother's addiction had brought more complications than he cared to think about.

"Bobby will have things ready when we get back to the hotel. Don't worry Dean, if we have to take him to the hospital, we'll figure things out. You just concentrate on finding him once we get inside." Joshua placed a hand on Dean's shoulder and squeezed before he looked back at the building. "There she is! Time to get this show on the road."

Dean nodded and started the engine. He gripped the wheel tight and aimed for the large metal door. "Hold on Sammy I'm coming!"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sam shivered violently as he faded in and out of consciousness. Wade had 'played' with him for a while longer until all Sam could feel was the pain. Luckily this time it took less time for his body to refuse to come to. He didn't remember how he got back in the small room, but he knew it wouldn't be long before the possessed man would be back.

He was surprised to find his arms and legs were no longer tied even though the gag still remained. He tried to move to sit up but his body screamed in agony. The wounds refused to allow him even the ability to reach up and remove the rag in his mouth. A single tear fell down his bruised cheek as he realized this was just the beginning. He wanted to think he'd be as strong as Dean, but he knew he wasn't.

While his brother had been suffering in hell, he'd been topside wallowing in the bottom of a bottle and listening to the soft lies of a demon. He remembered the first time he'd tasted Ruby's blood. It had seemed innocent at the time, but now he knew it was calculated. He hadn't even really known what it was at first. Ruby had told him it was just some brew she'd made to help with the horrific headaches he suffered after using his powers.

Of course, once she'd poured it into his mouth, he recognized the coppery taste for what it was. He had swallowed before he'd fully realized but as the potion burned through his system he felt a strange sense of power flowing through him. For a moment, it was as if he had taken a hit of the strongest drug. Ruby had assured him it would only boost his abilities but he had continued to resist using it again until the night they had to face a whole nest of demons.

He remembered her running the blade down her arm, looking at him with adoring eyes as he moved closer and gently lapped at the crimson flow. Suddenly he had to have more, he found himself sucking greedily while she ran her hands down his back. His own arousal matched hers as they fought for dominance but in the end he had won the battle for control. He remembered thinking he should be tired afterwards, but instead he'd felt like he could run a marathon without breaking a sweat. To say his powers had blown the demons away was an understatement and more importantly he no longer had the painful headaches that had plagued him.

Still, he'd resisted until that night when Dean had admitted he saw no future for them. He would do anything to allow his brother the chance to grow old, to maybe meet someone and have the family he should have had. But in order for that to happen, he had to end this. At least that's what he told himself at the time. Now he saw it for what it was—his need for control, for power had been unleashed from the carefully constructed prison he'd erected over the years. He had been weak and given in to the easy way.

He had done the one thing his brother could never forgive him for; he chose to believe a demon, to follow her even though Dean had tried to warn him. His brother was right to keep him away; he'd only give in again. Maybe not now, but some day he would and that would kill Dean or worse get others killed. No, his brother had been right to turn him away.

He groaned softly as another shudder ran through his frame. He deserved to suffer, he deserved to die but once again his life was no longer in his control. He believe the demon when he said they could keep bringing him back—after all Dean had been brought back by an angel and Lucifer was also one. Now even the option of death had been taken away from him.

It was hopeless.

Suddenly Sam heard the sound of a large metal door opening. A few minutes later he heard the sound of men laughing. They were coming and he was too weak to even stand and face them. As he listened to the door closing he finally gave in to the darkness. It no longer mattered, he was just a meat suit, a thing to be used until there would be nothing left. He would continue to say no for as long as he could but if the past was anything to go by, he wouldn't last very long. He just hoped that when the time came, his brother would find it in his heart to forgive him.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Dean pushed the accelerator down and floored the car. Luckily the classic was made of sturdier stuff than current cars because it was going to have to go through a metal door. He saw Joshua brace for the crash as the door came closer. As the car hit the door, it took all of Dean's skill to keep the car from careening out of control. He tapped the pedal and turned the wheel barely avoiding the other two vehicles. As they came to a stop, he grinned as he saw the shocked look on the faces of the men standing near the center of the room—that is until he saw the stain at their feet and the chain dripping with blood hanging from the ceiling.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean cried as he slammed the car into park. The men seemed to gather their wits quickly. Four of them advanced towards the car while the hunter Wade headed for a door near the back of the room. Joshua jumped from the car and aimed the extinguisher at the men, the reaction was instantaneous as they fell to the floor screaming.

"All demons!" Joshua managed to yell as he charged forward to keep them doused. Dean wanted nothing better than to run towards the other room but he couldn't go after Wade and help control the other demons. He quickly switched on the speakers and cranked the sound until the sound of the exorcism filled the cavernous room.

Grabbing his own fire extinguisher he leapt from the car. He noticed Ellen was behind them quickly distributing the salt. The demons would be trapped. All they had to do was keep them from attacking. He noticed one demon managed to get to his feet and was aiming his hand at Joshua.

"I don't think so!" Dean cried as he aimed the holy water at the man. Once again, the demon fell writhing in pain. "Take that you demonic son of a bitch!"

Joshua nodded as he continued to soak the other three. A moment later Ellen joined in, keeping her gun trained on the four men in case they managed to break through. Dean looked back at Ellen and handed her the fire extinguisher. "Can you handle this?"

"Go get Sam!" Ellen cried as she grabbed the can and joined Joshua. As the exorcism continued, it was clear it was affecting the demons. They cried out and cursed as the black smoke choked the hapless victims.

Dean pulled the demon blade from its sheath and headed for the door that the other man had disappeared behind. He knew his brother was there. He paused outside the doorway and listened as he heard a soft groan followed by the sound of something being dragged. He didn't wait as he stood back and kicked the door in.

Wade turned, his black eyes flashing as he dropped the burden he was carrying. Dean tried not to think of the loud crack he heard as his brother hit the cement head first. He was too busy rushing towards the demon who suddenly looked like he was in pain. It dawned on the hunter that by opening the door, the exorcism was now filtering into the room. It must have been muffled just enough with the door closed to protect the demon.

"Not so smart now are you!" Dean ground out as he moved to make the final blow.

"You may win now—but he'll be my father's soon. He will be Lucifer's vessel." The demon screamed as Dean drove the knife through its neck. He felt bad for a brief moment as he saw the soft brown eyes of the hunter return before the man shuddered and the demon was gone. He gently laid the hunter down and noticed the bullet hole to the heart. "Sorry man, but it looks like you wouldn't have lasted anyway." Dean replied as he wiped the blood from the blade and placed it back in its sheath.

He hurried over to the crumpled heap that was his brother. "Sammy—Sam, can you hear me?" Dean said softly as he gently straightened out his brother's frame. He gently pulled the soggy gag from his brother's mouth. They hadn't even allowed his brother the opportunity to talk. His eyes filled with tears as he saw the damage to his sibling's body. "Oh God Sam. I'm so sorry…" Dean choked out as he pulled his brother into his arms. He pressed a shaking finger to Sam's pulse point and sighed as he felt the faint throbbing.

"They're all toast Dean." Joshua announced as he walked into the room. "Holy crap! What the hell did they do to him?"

Dean shook his head and wrapped his arm around Sam's shivering frame. "The bastards almost killed him. We have to get him back to Bobby. I don't even know if we can fix this…"

"Boys, I think we should get…Oh my God!" Ellen cried as she got her first look at the youngest Winchester. She shook her head and moved over to stand next to Dean. "I'm so sorry Dean, what can I do?"

Dean wiped a hand down his face before he gently laid Sam back onto the floor. "Ellen, can you get the blanket from the trunk? Joshua and I can use it to make a litter for him. We'll need the sleeping bag too. I don't want to put any clothes on him until we can get him cleaned up.

Another groan followed as Sam's body shivered. Dean leaned forward and placed his hand on the bruised cheek. "Sam?"

Hazel eyes cracked open but they were unfocused as they roamed around the room. The shivering increased which caused another moan to fall from the cracked lips. Dean pulled his flask of holy water from his pocket and held it to his brother's lips. Sam swallowed a couple of sips before he turned his head aside.

"Don't worry Sammy, we're gonna get you out of here and all fixed up." Dean placed a hand against Sam's head, trying to get him to focus.

"D'n?" Sam whispered.

"Yeah, sorry I got here a bit late…" Dean watched as his brother blinked before a tear fell down the bruised cheek.

"Sssorryyy…" Sam choked out before looking away, his eyes slowly closing.

"Sam—Sam, stay awake…" But the youngest hunter had clearly reached his limit. Dean patted him on the shoulder before he nodded for Ellen to leave. "Don't worry, we'll get this figured out Sam. Just don't give up on me okay?"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The ride back to the hotel only took twenty minutes, but it was the longest ride Dean had ever been on. He was in the back seat holding onto his shivering brother. He could feel the heat burning through the sleeping bag they had managed to get around him. Except for the short period of consciousness in the warehouse, Sam hadn't stirred.

Joshua pulled the car into the spot in front of the room. A quick glance around showed no one around as he stepped out and opened the back door. "Ready Dean?"

Dean nodded as they carefully maneuvered his brother's body from the car. Ellen already had the door open as they hurried through with their precious cargo. Bobby had the bed stripped down to just the sheet. The first aid kit was on the table along with towels and a bowl of fresh water. "Lay him down here. I figure we'll do the clean up on this bed and them move him to the other once we're done." Bobby instructed. The only sign that he was affected by the shape of his young charge was the slight shake of his hand as he rolled forward for a better look.

"He should be in a hospital Bobby." Dean said softly as he sat on the other side of the bed. Joshua and Ellen both returned to the car and brought in the rest of the supplies.

"We're gonna go back and clean things up Dean. Also, gonna make sure there's no trail back here…" Joshua stated as he and Ellen headed for the door. Dean didn't bother to respond, his focus was on the injured man, his baby brother.

"Well he 'shore is a mess. Let's get him cleaned up a bit first so I can see what we've got." Dean nodded as he grabbed a towel and began to gently wash the blood and sweat from his brother's frame.

He paused as he cleaned the blood away from the wound on Sam's stomach and chest. None of the cuts looked deep except for the one in his shoulder and side. He looked closer and noticed the burn marks around Sam's stomach and side. He remembered seeing an old battery at the warehouse and realized what had caused the scorch marks. "They used electricity on him Bobby. What if they damaged his heart?"

Bobby shook his head. "I don't think so Dean. The burns aren't that bad and they seemed to have stayed well below his waist. The muscles around there are probably gonna be sore though."

Dean sighed. "He shouldn't have had to go through this."

"I know boy, none of this is fair. Let's just get him fixed up before he comes to. I've got some of the good stuff, but I want to make sure he doesn't have a concussion before I give it to him."

The two hunters worked on the unconscious man for the next couple of hours. Dean helped Bobby sew up the deepest wounds after they thoroughly cleaned them. His brother's back was a mess of whip marks but luckily none of them needed stitching. It was almost as if they were trying to just cause pain without killing.

The bullet wound in his brother's leg looked slightly infected but Bobby felt it would be okay with the antibiotics he was going to give Sam. An IV had already been set up to give the man the needed fluids to replace what he'd lost. Dean sucked in a breath at the condition of Sam's feet. The bottoms were shredded. After cleaning them as best they could Bobby instructed him to just wrap them in bandages.

Since Joshua hadn't returned, they managed to roll Sam while changing the bloodied sheet beneath him. Dean gently tucked the cover sheet and cover over his brother even as Bobby was placing ice packs on his brother's swollen left eye. "That's about all we can do for him Dean. I think his ribs are cracked, but his breathing is fine so I don't think anything's broken. His heart rate seems fine considering. Once he wakes we'll check him for concussion."

"Thanks Bobby." Dean replied as he took the bloodied towels and placed them in a trash bag with the dirty sheets. He quickly dumped them outside in the trash bin before returning to stand watch.

"I think I'll catch some shut eye. Wake me if he comes to." Bobby replied as he wheeled over to the other bed and managed to transfer himself with ease.

Dean simply pulled his chair closer and kept vigil. There was no way he was sleeping until his brother woke up.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The first thing Sam noticed was he was warm and laying on something soft. Part of him was curious enough to want to investigate but as he got closer to awareness the pain began to kick in. Maybe if he stayed where he'd been they'd give up and leave him alone. Something cool was placed on his head and he thought he heard a low voice but he knew it couldn't be what he hoped. Dean had told him they needed to stay apart and he was right.

"Sammy, come on wake up…" the insistent voice kept breaking into the darkness but the young hunter just couldn't go there. Opening his eyes meant pain and emptiness while staying here in the dark meant only loneliness.

"Please Sam—how can I apologize if you won't open those eyes." The young hunter tried to understand. Why would Dean be sorry? He wasn't the one who ended the world—he wasn't supposed to be a vessel for Lucifer. It didn't make sense. It had to be a trick. The demon was trying to get him to wake up so they could torture him again.

"No—no more…" Sam whispered as he drifted back into the comforting darkness.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Dean felt moisture gather in his eyes as he heard his brother once more saying no. For the past hour it looked like Sam was going to wake but then he'd moan and go back to where ever his mind had taken him. He could understand it was a way for his brother to protect himself. He'd been pushed too far by the demon and his henchmen. But as long as his sibling remained there he couldn't reach him.

"Has he woken yet?" Bobby's gruff voice sounded from the other bed.

"I don't know if he will Bobby. I mean, look what they did to him!" Dean sighed as he looked at the swollen face nestled on the pillow. He had arranged Sam on his uninjured side to hopefully keep the pain from his back to a minimum. The truth was between the gun shot, stab wounds, whipping, electrocution and beatings he shouldn't be surprised that Sam didn't want to wake up.

The sound of Bobby transferring to his chair caused the hunter to turn. He almost offered to help but he'd learned after the first month to only do so when asked or risk the wrath of the injured man. Once he saw his friend was safely in his chair he returned his focus to Sam. "I mean, how is he even going to walk Bobby? Between the gun shot to his leg and what they did to his feet…"

"He don't need to walk Dean. I'll have Joshua pick up some more supplies and Ellen mentioned that while she was at the realtor's office there is a small house on the edge of town that is up for rent. She and Joshua are going to check it out on the way back. You don't have to do this alone Dean. We'll all be here until the kid is back on his feet." Bobby sighed as he looked down at the injured hunter. It was definitely going to be a long road before the boy was back with them.

Another soft groan from the bed brought caught both men's attention. This time Bobby wheeled over and placed a hand on Sam's head. "Come on son, your brother is about to keel over from worry. Open your eyes Sam."

Dean watched as Sam briefly leaned into the older hunter's hand. He stayed back and watched as this time his brother seemed to be fighting his way back. For a moment he felt a jab of pain when he realized he hadn't been able to get through to his brother. Had their relationship been so damaged that Sam wouldn't respond to him any longer? Another groan was followed by a low whisper.

"Bobby?" Sam's voice was barely audible.

"Yeah you idgit, it's me. I need to see your eyes Sam. We have to make sure you don't have a concussion so I can give you something stronger for the pain." Bobby continued to rub his finger down the side of Sam's face. Dean grinned as he finally caught sight of hazel eyes.

Sam blinked lazily as he stared at Bobby. "Don't tell D'n…" Sam whispered before wincing from the pain in his body. "Better off without me Bobby—demon told me—Lucifer's vessel. You need to leave too…"

"What kind of talk is that boy?" Bobby looked up at Dean with sympathetic eyes. Dean knew Sam couldn't see him because he was facing away. Sam's first words had hurt but he didn't want to intrude. He needed to know what his brother was thinking so he could do damage control.

His brother sighed before he continued. "I'm poison Bobby—Lucifer won't give up—don't want you or Dean to get hurt or killed."

"Since when has that mattered? Hell your brother has just as big a target on him. He won't be safe no matter where you are…" Bobby tried to correct his young charge's thinking.

Another sigh was followed by a defeated tone. "He doesn't want me anymore Bobby—I don't blame him—all my fault—he was right about Ruby—about everything."

Dean couldn't stay silent any longer as he moved to stand behind Bobby. "No Sam, I wasn't right—not about everything." He watched as Sam blinked.

"Dean?"

"Yeah it's me you big idiot." Bobby moved so that Dean could pull a chair closer and be eye level with his brother. He could see the tears that refused to fall along with the shame in his brother's eyes.

"You save me." Sam said before he grimaced again. It was clear his brother was feeling the pain from his wounds and yet he forced his eyes open once more. "You shouldn't have—I'm not worth it."

Dean could see his brother was struggling to stay awake. He knew he only had a few moments to get through to Sam. "Listen to me Sam, we're gonna give you something for the pain. But I need you to pay attention okay?"

His brother licked dry cracked lips but nodded as he continued to look at him. "I was wrong to tell you we were better off apart. I thought I was keeping you safe, that I was helping you grow strong. But the truth is neither one of us is strong without the other. Let the bastards come—we fight together or we go down together. Do you understand Sammy?"

Hazel eyes blinked as a tear fell down the battered cheek. "Okay…" Sam whispered.

TBC

Raven524: So the boys are back together but somehow I don't think the road is quite finished yet. Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews, you guys are awesome!