Disclaimer: I still don't own Supernatural or its characters. I and am not making any money on this…I'm just having fun filling in the time until September!

Hide and Seek

Chapter 8 – Tormenting Sammy

Sam groaned as they pulled into the hotel parking lot. Luckily he could just go straight to the room, the pain in his back was getting pretty bad and he was feeling light headed again. The last few miles had been pretty weird even for the Winchesters. Dean had tried to keep up a steady stream of conversation…probably to make sure that Sam hadn't fallen asleep at the wheel. Sam felt like he was talking to himself since there appeared to be no one else in the car with him.

Sam jumped as the car door opened and a hand was placed gently on his shoulder. "Jeez Dean, could you give a guy a little warning!"

Dean chuckled, he kept forgetting that his brother couldn't see him. He was concerned by the sweat he saw on Sam's face and the blood that he saw on the back of the shirt his brother was wearing. Obviously, driving did not agree with Sam's wounds. "Sorry Sammy, let me give you hand into the room…don't worry no one is around to see us, I mean you."

Sam rolled his eyes, he knew that his brother was going to be getting a kick out of his current condition and most of it would be at Sam's expense. "Fine, but make it quick ok…I'm…oh man, Dean my back really hurts!" Sam said through clenched teeth as Dean helped him from the car and placed his good arm over his invisible shoulders. He felt Sam wince as they began to move slowly towards the door. The pain must be real bad for Sam to admit it…his brother never said anything unless it was bad.

"Hold on Sam, we'll get you inside and I'll take a look at your back. That's it…let me get the door." Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out his room key.

Once again Sam watched as he heard the lock open and saw the door open, but there was no sign of Dean or the key. "Dude, this is really freaky…I mean it looks like whatever you had on you at the time she made you invisible, is also invisible!"

"Well, that would be a good thing…otherwise I'd be freezing my naked ass off right now. Actually, that's probably true. When I shot at the dogs earlier, they couldn't see the shot gun. I had it slung across my shoulder when Liz cast the spell. You said you couldn't see my phone either right?"

"Yeah…good thing you weren't sitting in the car." Sam said quietly, focusing on getting to the nearest bed.

"Why…that would be really cool Sammy!" Dean smirked, but then realized Sam couldn't see his face. "Hmmm there could be some real advantages to this current situation" Dean thought as he helped Sam to sit on the bed. He quickly went to the bathroom and returned with what he would need. "Come on Sammy, help me get this shirt off so I can see what we have here."

Dean sucked in his breath as he saw the swollen claw marks on Sam's back. Obviously sitting in the car with his back against the seat hadn't done Sam any good. "Well bro' looks like you won't be going anywhere for a little while…at least until these wounds on your back heal up a bit. You've managed to break most of them open. Liz sent some of her special healing ointment with me…do you want me to use that or something else?" Dean knew that the ointment had helped with the pain last time, but he also wasn't so sure that he should trust her concoctions at this point. After all, he was invisible due to her inexperience with spell casting.

"Use the ointment Dean, it did help last time. But if she sent some of that tea of hers, I think I'll pass…just give me fever reducer from our supplies and I'll be fine." Sam tried not to groan as he felt his brother gently cleaning out the wounds again. It seems to take forever, but actually was just a few minutes before Dean started to use the ointment. Sam sighed with relief as the ointment actually took the pain away. "You know Dean, we really should have her give us some of this stuff when we leave…I mean, it works great!"

Dean smiled as he watched his brother's eyes begin to close. "Hold on Sammy, first you need to take the fever reducers and drink this water…all of it. I don't want to have to run you into the hospital because you become dehydrated."

Sam giggled again. "Sure Dude, like that's going to happen…how would you get me there and better yet, I can just see the look on the nurse's face when you try to fill out the insurance forms!"

Dean punched Sam lightly on the good shoulder. "Yeah, but think about the fun I could have in the nurse's locker room!"

Sam rolled his eyes again as he took the pills and drank the water. "You know Dean, you better hope this is temporary…otherwise your days of picking up girls are pretty much over. I mean, how would that conversation go? Hi my name is Dean, I know you can't see me, but believe me I really am something to look at!" Sam continued to laugh as he imagined his brother's face.

"Laugh it up, but at least I could come up with a better pick up line than that…no wonder you never get a date! Now stop goofing around and lie down on your stomach like a good boy. I don't know about you, but I need to get a few hours of shut eye." Dean helped Sam get into a comfortable position on the bed, gently pulling the sheet up to cover his brother. He stood and watched his brother for moment as Sam's eyes closed. He just hoped he would get a few hours of restful sleep.

Dean dropped onto his own bed and closed his eyes, willing himself to relax. He thought it would be hard to fall asleep, but after a few moments, he too fell into a light slumber.

ooooooooo

Liz pulled another spell book from the book shelf as she searched for a counter spell that would work over a longer distance. She felt really bad about what had happened to Dean. She went back to the original spell book, but it only indicated that the spell was temporary. It didn't indicate how long it would last.

Liz rubbed her tired eyes, she really should get some sleep. It was days like this that she really missed her mother. While Liz had excelled at the use of plants and herbs, she had always had to struggle a little with the spells her mother tried to teach her. Both of her parents were strong witches in their own right. Liz sometimes felt like she was letting them down because she knew that her powers were not as strong as theirs.

Rising from the table, Liz moved towards her bedroom. "Well mother, I know I should have listened to you…I can almost hear you saying 'I told you so', but I really wish you were here now to help me. I think you'd like Sam and Dean too. I really think that they will be able to help great grandfather rest at last. But if you are listening, could you give me a little hint as to which counter spell will work best?" Liz waited, knowing that there would be no answer, but feeling a little better anyway. She often talked to her mother this way, deep down she believed that her mother could hear her and it made her feel better, like she wasn't alone in the world. Sighing she decided to get a few hours of sleep and then she would hit the books again. The answer was there, she just had to find it.

ooooooooo

Dean woke from his sleep as he heard Sam moaning on the bed beside him. Looking at the clock, he noticed that he had managed to get about 5 hours of sleep time…more than enough. Dean got up lightly and walked over to Sam, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder he smiled as once again his touch seemed to bring comfort to his brother. He sat there for a few moments longer as he waited for Sam to settle back into sleep.

Dean stretched and decided it was time for a hot shower and then he'd have to figure out something for food. After all, eating at the local diner was out…he'd just have to call something in when Sam was awake. Until then, he grabbed a handful of his handy stash of M&M's to tide him over.

Sam woke up and heard the shower running. He stretched and was amazed that although a little sore, his back felt much better than when he had gone to sleep. He carefully sat up on the bed and decided to reach for a clean shirt. He wanted to take a shower, but was afraid that the water would hurt his healing back. No, he would wait a little while to make sure that the scratches were on the mend.

Sam moved over to the table where the computer was waiting for him. Turning it on, he began to research the history of the area. He wasn't able to find anything on the family name. However, there were quite a few news stories that went back quite a few years regarding strange happenings in the forest. Sam decided to print out a map of the area and began to mark down the location of each of the attacks, hoping that maybe a pattern could be found.

Sam jumped again as he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Find anything interesting yet?" Dean asked as he looked at the map that his brother was working on.

Sam turned to look at his brother and had to smile. As Dean moved towards his bag, Sam saw the white bath towel around Dean's hips hover through the air. Dean's bag opened and some clothes were piled on the bed. The towel flew onto the floor as Dean's briefs replaced it around his brother's hips. Sam couldn't help it, he laughed until he thought his lungs would burst. "Dean…ah…dude, your clean clothes are not invisible…I don't think you want to be walking around town like that!"

Sam could almost see the look on his brother's face as he heard his brother groan. "Ah…come on…you gotta be kidding me right? Sammy if you are yanking my chain so help me!"

"Dude, if you don't believe me, just take a walk out the door and I guarantee you'll be the center of attention!" Sam had tears in his eyes from the laughter. He sobered up quickly as he saw the briefs heading in his direction. A moment later the chair opposite Sam was pulled out and he heard his brother's sigh. "Man, please don't tell me you are sitting across from me naked!" Sam yelped.

"What are you complaining about? You can't see me so what's the difference?" Dean asked, trying to figure out how he would get his clothes cleaned…Sam couldn't see the ones he had been wearing that meant he would have to wear the same clothes until this was over. Dean's good mood suddenly vanished.

"Dean, you can't just walk around naked…I mean that's just wrong dude!" Sam tried not think about it, but it didn't work.

"Oh I don't know, I always wondered what it would be like to walk around without any clothes…I mean it does kind of feel cool…no pun intended!" Dean smirked. He quietly got up from the chair and headed back into the bathroom to get into his old clothes. He smiled as he saw his brother still talking to the empty chair.

"Look Dean, you need to get dressed, what if you suddenly became visible? Besides, we need to go out soon to start doing some research…all we need is for you to get sick because you're running around without any clothes on." Sam stared at the chair, realizing again how frustrating this was. His brother could ignore him and Sam couldn't read his brother's expressions to tell if he was getting through or not.

"Damn it Dean, answer me or I'm going to dump a bucket of ice water on your head!"

Sam whirled as he heard a loud chuckle behind him. "That would be real trick Sammy since I'm not in the chair anymore and you can't find me."

Sam turned back to his computer. "That's it Dean…our first stop will be at the local pet store…so I can get you a freaking cat collar with a bell!"

Sam groaned again, as he heard his brother break out in laughter as he headed back towards the bathroom to finish getting dressed, he hoped. "Man, I must have done something really bad to deserve this!" Sam thought as he tried once again to work on the map.

TBC

Raven524: Here is today's chapter. The fun with Dean's newest twist has just begun…sorry folks but I just couldn't resist a little light brotherly banter before moving into more action…hope you all enjoy it!