Chapter 7
Once they packed up the few items they had brought in with them, Sam and Dean joined Ellen at the bar for a breakfast of sausages, eggs and pancakes. Jo poured them large glasses of orange juice and left the pitcher for refills and headed back to the kitchen. Neither of the brothers realized how hungry they were until the aroma beckoned them and the large plates were placed in front of them. Then they gratefully tucked into the food.
"So, where are you boys off to next?" Ellen inquired as she wiped the counter around them.
"Probably head over to see Bobby, tell him all about 'Sam and Dean's Big Adventure' in Oregon," Dean replied, talking around a large mouthful of food. Truth be told, the brothers had a lot to tell Bobby, and they hoped he had some answers for them.
Ellen smiled at him. "You seem to be feeling better, Dean. You really okay?"
"Yeah, Ellen, just sore from the fall; nothing to worry about." We just need to get the hell away from Jo right now until we can figure this all out. Dean felt a little guilty and not a little concerned that Ellen may not be safe in their absence, but he couldn't tell Ellen until they were sure about their theory. Oh, by the way, your daughter is really the mother of all demons and I don't think we can get rid of her unless we kill Jo in the process. Nice.
Sam winced slightly and set his fork down abruptly, the metal clanking loudly against his nearly empty plate. Dean and Ellen both looked at him expectantly.
"Sammy? You okay there?" The hell? Dean frowned as he noticed the tremor in Sam's right hand. His brother's face twisted in pain, his left palm now pressed firmly into the center of his forehead, his eyes shut tightly.
"Is it another vision?" Dean hovered close to Sam, anticipating a full blown shining about to happen.
"Gaah! I'm fuck! I don't know. My head hurts!" Dean reached out to steady his brother. As he gripped Sam's bicep, Dean was overcome by vertigo. The room was virtually spinning; the objects and people blurring into lines of whirling colors. He couldn't see straight. He shut his eyes tightly, but his head still swam. He stepped back clumsily and nearly fell over the bar stool. He released Sam's arm and caught himself by grasping the edge of the bar tightly, swaying all the while.
Ellen was around the bar immediately. "Sam! Dean! What's wrong?"
"Dean?" Sam's eyes shot open at Ellen's worried and urgent tone. His head was still
pounding and the morning sunlight assaulted his eyes even further. Through half-mast lids he saw his brother sway beside him. Sam forced his own, substantial pain down and moved to wrap an arm around his brother's shoulders to steady him. Dean was pale; a sheen of sweat covered his face, his eyes unfocused.
"Dean! Talk to me, man. What's wrong?"
As soon as Sam touched him, Dean's vertigo kicked into overdrive, and he could feel himself falling into a vortex, his vision graying out into a narrowing shutter of darkness.
Sam clung to Dean as his brother lost consciousness and sagged limply against him. He lowered Dean gently to the floor. As he did, the pain in his own head exploded and he heard himself scream in agony before he fell beside Dean's unmoving form.
