A/N: I wanted to say again thanks so much for all of your reviews. And I would like to give a special thanks to Skag trendy. Thanks for all of your reviews, my hero.

Alrighty then, here is Chapter 7. I hope you like it!

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The big walls sheltered the wind as promised Sam couldn't help to feel relieved. He could feel the pain leaving his skin already. He took a much needed deep breath. Then he realized that Dean was no longer behind him. He looked around to find that Dean had already dismounted and was looking up at him waiting for him to do the same. He came down right beside Dean.

Once they were somewhat warm they had a chance to look around. To Dean the 'settlement' looked more like a fortified stronghold, with large walls equipped with guard towers encompassing the buildings, homes and other structures. The center of the settlement was a large area that was currently being used for the market. Just behind the open area was a huge building made out of stone. It was probably the original building here and the wall was created to protect it. On either side of the large building there were smaller ones that circled the market area.

People had stopped their activities, their preparation for the storm and started observing the new comers. Dean felt himself grow uncomfortable with everyone looking at him and Sam. He shifted straightening himself up. "Relax, Dean." Isaac said softly behind him.

"Right." Dean said sarcastically, like he could relax with so many pairs of eyes on him. When nothing happened, slowly people started going back to what they were doing.

"Isaac!" They heard a woman call. They all turned in the direction of the voice. They saw a woman, Isaac's age walking towards them followed by a girl about Sam's age.

"Margaret! Cecelia!" Isaac answered. The older woman warped her arms around Isaac and held him in a tight embrace. He then put his arms around the younger woman and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Let me introduce you to our new guests. This is Dean and Sam." Nodding in their direction when he spoke each of their names. "Dean, Sam this is my wife Margaret and my daughter Cecelia."

Both Dean and Sam smiled politely and extended their hands for a hand shake. "Nice to meet you." Sam said. Cecelia beamed back at him.

"So, Dean what brings you to these parts?" Margaret asked.

"Well…" Dean began to answer. He watched as Cecelia took Sam's had and pulled him over to Artemis, never letting him go. Dean tried to keep up a conversation with Margaret and Isaac telling them as little as he could without being suspicious and trying to watch Sam and Cecelia all the while fighting the urge to stalk over to Cecelia and rip her hand away from Sam. He had never before been a jealous guy but like everything else, that changed when he met Sam. He was still not used to this dark feeling of anger, fear and possession all rolled into one. He watched as Cecelia leaned in closer and closer to Sam. And Sam, Sam just smiled back. From all appearances Dean was having a friendly conversation with Isaac and Margaret but inside, under the calm surface he was seething.

Sam was surprised hen Cecelia suddenly grabbed his hand and yanked him over to Artemis. Once he was there she wouldn't let him go. She seemed to sense Sam's uneasiness. "Sorry about that." She said. "It is so rare that we get any visitors here. And rarer still that they have such fine horses."

Sam let out of small sigh of relief. "Thanks." He said, using his other hand to pat Artemis. "She likes all the complements she can get."

Cecelia laughed. "What's her name? Where did you get her?"

Sam laughed at her excitement. "Her name is Artemis. I don't were she is from originally."

"I like that name. She has got a wild spirit, I can tell." Cecelia said looking deep into Sam's eyes. "When you let her run free, does she let you come? Does she let you ride her?"

Sam nodded vigorously smiling back at her. "That is the most fun. When all she does is run. You don't have to worry about where she is going or paying attention to what is going on. You just sore over the earth."

Artemis whinnied with pleasure because of the affection she was getting from Sam and Cecelia's hands gliding over her face and neck. However the attention was short lived. "Cecelia." Isaac said. She tore her eyes away from Sam to her father. "Please go find your brother and sister and get them ready for dinner."

She looked back over at Sam and finally let go of his hand. "I will see you later." She said as she took off into on of the buildings.

"Yeah, bye!" Sam called back after her.

Dean managed to break away from the conversation with Margaret, Isaac and much to Dean's displeasure Tobias and came over to Sam.

"What was that?" He hissed through his teeth into Sam's ear.

Sam turned around perplexed? "What was what?"

"That girl, she was all over you? Though you didn't seem to mind at all." Dean said boring holes into Sam with his eyes.

Sam sighed. "Dean," he said. "We were just talking about Artemis. Calm down." Sam couldn't see what Dean was getting so angry about. He loved Dean, he loved everything about Dean. There was nothing that he wouldn't do for him, nothing he wouldn't sacrifice but sometimes it was nice to talk to someone his own age about stuff that had nothing to do with running from the authorities or getting in trouble.

Before Dean had the opportunity to say another word their conversation was broken by Isaac once again. "Dean why don't you and I finish up our talk, I can show you to the dinning room. The storm is almost upon us." Isaac suggested.

Dean was about to object when Tobias stepped in. "I will show young Sam to the stables and find a place for your horse. Then we can meet with you for dinner." He offered, with a polite smile which Dean didn't buy for a second. He was about to object further when Isaac leaned in. "I insist." He said calmly. Dean watched as Tobias walked over to Sam. Sam looked back at him giving him a reassuring glace. One that said 'I will be fine. I can take care of my self.' Then Dean watched as Tobias led him and Artemis to the stables. Dean turned and looked at Isaac. Silently demanding an explanation.

"Dean." He said calmly. "I do not mean to alarm you but this settlement, this area is incredibly religious. Growing even more so with each passing day because of the unfortunate…occurrences that have been happening lately. These people are looking for something to blame, a scapegoat to fix their problems." Isaac took a pause first to make sure that everything was sinking in, and the second questioning if he should go any further. The look on Dean's face told him he should. "A boy talking about an evil forest and strange feelings is the perfect scapegoat. There are all sorts of wicked things people will do in the name of religion." Isaac whispered under a hushed breath as they entered the large stone building. Dean didn't say anything back. There was nothing that he could say. He knew Isaac was right, he was thinking the exact same thing when they were traveling to the settlement. With each passing moment that Sam was away he felt his unease grow.

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Sam followed Tobias into the stables. He led them to an empty stall.

"Thank- you." Sam said looking at Tobias waiting for him to go do something else while he waited for Sam to tend to the horse. However he just stood there and watched him. So Sam began undoing the chin strap on Artemis's bridle and slid it off her head. Artemis wined with pleasure no longer having the bit in her mouth. Tobias leaned over the stall watching Sam.

"So how long have you and Dean been traveling together?" Tobias asked.

Sam consecrated on the girth strap, happy that he didn't have to look at Tobias. Tobias gave him a great feeling of unease. He was used to having his guard up with Ethan, but this was different. With Ethan it was like a wild dog, barking, growling yelping, it was hard to ignore. But with Tobias he was more like a snake, moving quickly and silently. Using its tongue to smell the slightest difference in its prey.

"We have been traveling together for a while now. Though it feels like we were always together." Sam answered as he rested the saddle over the stall door and put the girth strap on top of it. Tobias just watched him.

"How did you meet Dean?" Tobias asked. "He seems too old to be a school mate? And you seem too young to be on the road by your self." As Tobias said this he moved into the door way of the stall blocking Sam's exit.

Sam looked up at him. Sam ignored his question. "Where is the feed?" He asked instead. Sam tried to show that he wasn't scared of Tobias, but he had already decided to forgo with brushing Artemis, he really just wanted to get away from him. However he wasn't about to let Artemis go hungry.

Tobias stepped out of the way and pointed to where the feed buckets were. Sam filled one and brought it to the stall, and put it beside the water trough that was already there. Artemis ate hungrily. Once again Tobias was in the door way blocking his exit. This time Tobias didn't move. He moved in a little closer to Sam. Sam didn't back down. He told Dean that he could take care of himself and that is what he planned on doing. Tobias raised his hand and gently moved Sam's fringe away from his eyes. He let his hand linger on Sam's forehead then slowly traced his hair line down past his ear to his jaw. Now Sam backed away. However it was a small stall even before there was a horse in it. Sam didn't have anywhere to go. His back hit the stable wall with Tobias's hand still on his face. Tobias was much bigger than Sam and Sam new he had very little chance in a fight with him so he waited for the right moment. Tobias brought up his other hand caressing Sam's neck, slowly leaning into him. He stroked Sam's lips with his fingers.

"Open your mouth." Tobias huskily said. Sam opened his mouth and Tobias slid his thumb in. He let out a deep pleasured sigh at the warmth and softness that Sam's mouth provided. Sam saw his moment and took it. He bit down on Tobias's thumb as hard as he could. Eliciting a scream from the old man. Tobias pulled his hand protectively to his chest and took a few steps backward. Sam pushed him out of the way and took off at a run out of the barn.

He kept running until he was well in the large center stone building. He collapsed against a wall breathing heavily. He didn't know what to do with himself. He was furious with him self and with Tobias, he was ashamed, repulsed, disgusted and afraid. There were so many conflicting emotions running through him, he thought he might burst. His mind finally settled on Dean. He wanted Dean. He wanted Dean to hold him, tell him he was safe, tell him it wasn't his fault, and tell him he did the right thing. But then he thought of how much Dean already did for him. How much trouble he caused him. The last thing that Sam wanted to do was to add to Dean's burdens. Besides there was nothing that Dean could do. It wasn't like Sam needed to be told to stay away from Tobias and there was nothing Dean could do that would undo what happened.

With his mind made up, Sam composed him self and managed to find his way to the dinning hall. As Sam walked through the huge doorway into the dinning hall his eyes frantically searched for Dean. He finally found him by the head table sitting beside Isaac. Relief washed over him. Merely being in Dean's presents was enough to help calm Sam down. He walked over to him and took a seat beside him.

Dean watched Sam walk over to the table. The closer he got the more he got the feeling something was wrong. When he sat down Dean knew there was something wrong. He went to move the hair out of Sam's eyes when Sam flinched slightly.

Sam cursed himself for being so jumpy but Dean had gone to move the Sam hair that Tobias had.

Dean looked at Sam silently demanding an explanation. Sam refused to meet his eyes, preferring instead to playing the hem at the bottom of his shirt.

"Sam." Dean tried. "What happened?"

"Nothing Dean, I am fine." Sam answered meeting his eyes for a moment then letting them fall again.

"You have always been I terrible liar." Dean said, trying to search for the truth.

"No, I haven't." Sam protested.

Dean thought for a second. In fact Sam was a very convincing liar; it had something to do with the innocence that he possessed. Many thought that such an innocent creature couldn't be such a believable liar.

"No." Dean conceded. "But you have always been a terrible liar when it came to lying to me."

Sam felt his stomach drop. He hadn't meant to lie to Dean. He let out a sigh. "Dean." He said. This time meeting his gaze. "I am fine."

Dean didn't have time to explore the matter any further, as a man standing at the head table stood waiting for everyone's attention. Isaac leaned into Dean. "That is Abraham. He is the one who started this settlement." Isaac clarified.

Abraham smiled at the faces looking up to him. "My brothers and sisters. Let us give thanks for the gifts bestowed upon us by God. Let us be thankful for this food and the strong walls that will protect us from the violent storm that we can already hear barking against our settlement. Let us thank God for protecting this Holy land from the sin and depravity that lurks beyond our walls. We will follow God's word and cast out evil and protect his children. Now let us pray. Raise God's name to the heavens so he can hear our joy and humility. Brothers, sisters let us pray." Everyone bowed their head in silent prayer. Once they were done everyone looked to Abraham once again. "Amen." He said and sat down. Then everyone started eating. The sounds of dishes clanking, forks scraping, talking and laughter filled the room as the people in the settlement enjoyed their meal.

After dinner, Isaac introduced Dean and Sam to a woman that would take them to their room. He had to go tend to his own family and he wished the boys and safe night. Sam was sad to see Isaac walk off. But he was also very tired and longed for a bed and warm blanket. The woman led them down one hall and another. The building seemed to be one large maze of stone walls. They finally reach two large oak doors. The woman smiled and opened them. "There you go boys. Rest well." She said smiling at them.

Inside the room there was a large bed, couch, desk, chairs, table and many windows. What caught Sam's attention first was the fire place. He suddenly remembered the night with his father and the hot poker. He tried to banish the memory. He was with Dean now, he was safe. But he knew that as long as he lived he would carry those memories as he carried the scars. H walked to the fire place as the woman closed the door behind Sam and Dean.

"What do you think that this place is?" Sam asked.

"I think that it started off as a hunting loge and was changed over the years." Dean looked around the room then walked over to Sam. He put his finger under Sam's chin brining his face up to Dean's. "I want you to stay close, and try not to talk to anyone." Dean said.

Sam looked up into his eyes and nodded. He smiled. He didn't need to be told twice. He was happy that Dean seemed to have dropped his inquiry into Sam's unusual behavior before dinner, at least for the time being.

Dean was surprised that after all this time Sam's eyes still made his breath catch. Dean caressed Sam's face. Sam closed his eyes and pushed his face into Dean's hand. Sam couldn't tell if the sudden heat he was feeling was coming from the fire or Dean's touch. Dean brought his lips down on Sam's. Sam opened his mouth allowing Dean's tongue. Sam placed his hands on Dean's strong chest, feeling it rise and fall with his heated breaths. Dean placed his hands on Sam's hips pulling him closer. He wrapped his arms around his back and let his hand travel up his spine to the back of Sam's head, pulling him in for a deeper kiss. Sam pushed his groin against Dean's eliciting a groan of pleasure from the older man. Dean with all of his will pulled away from Sam. Sam looked up into his eyes.

"We should get some sleep" He whispered into Sam's ear. He took Sam's hand and guided them to the bed. Once under the warm covers Sam curled into Dean and Dean wrapped his arms around Sam. Dean fell asleep with Sam breathing on his neck.