(Basement of the Log Cabin)

For twenty minutes now Dean had been sitting in the dark shivering his ass off. The basement was almost as cold as it was outside and the goons hadn't bothered drying him off. His arms were no longer chained behind his back, now they were just chained to the wall. His nose had gone from a searing pain to a dull throbbing annoyance. Once his hands had been freed Dean was able to inspect his nose, it didn't feel broken or anything but that didn't stop the pain. It turned out that the people who had kidnapped him, and apparently Sam as well, did not want them leaving. Not only had they chained him to a wall, he was also contained in a cell that was only 4 by 4 at best. So all he could do was sit here, shiver, and hope that wherever Sam was he was okay. That's when he heard the door open and light streamed down. Dean could feel his body relax just by seeing Sam walk through that door. "Sam," Dean said, not bothering to hide his relief, "are you alright?"

Sam had allowed the men to lead him downstairs, he just wanted to see Dean and start making plans to get the hell out. When they opened the door to the basement below he heard something that almost sounded like chains scraping across the floor and was shocked to see his brother chained to the wall, not only that, but also locked up in a cell.

"Sam, are you alright?"

"Peachy," Sam replied, looking at his captors who just smiled back at him. He was disheartened but not surprised when they put him in a different cell across from Dean. He was watching Dean for any clue of what to do and could see a look of encouragement from his older brother as he let the guys take off the cuffs. Sam had to take a chance. He only waited until one hand was free from the metal bindings before lashing out with his right foot. The connection was solid and there was a nice thud as the first guy fell. The youngest Winchester didn't wait for the other one to figure out what was going on before he punched the guy square on the nose. The man stumbled but didn't fall. The goon came back with a punch of his own but Sam deflected it easily. For about twenty seconds the two men fought before the other goon recovered and stood up to join in the fray. Sam turned around to his newest opponent while placing a surprise back kick to his previous foe. This one landed nicely and Sam could hear the man bang up against the bars. He knew he only had a few seconds before the guy would regain his senses and come back. The other guy looked at his fallen companion with surprise, not expecting the kick either and that gave Sam an opportunity. A well aimed upper cut hit the distracted man in his jaw and knocked him out.

Dean saw the gun and before he could say anything the man aimed the piece at his brother's leg and took aim. Dean forgot about the chains and tried jumping up but was held down securely. "Son of bitch!" he yelled as his brother let out a shout of anguish and fell to the floor. He couldn't believe this was happening, one minute they were looking for some revengeful spirit and now here he was watching his baby brother get shot. As Dean pulled against the chains he could hear them rattle and felt the blood start dripping from his wrists where they were being cut into by the steel bindings. But he didn't care, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to get out, he felt like he had to try. "Sam! Sam, are you alright?!"

"Shut the fuck up or I'll shoot your brother again," that kept Dean quiet.

Sam had just been turning around to face the other guy when he felt a tearing, piercing sensation rip through his leg. He could feel the muscle being torn apart and felt the bullet exit out the front of his leg. He dropped to the floor and let out a quick shout before gasping for air. He could hear his brother yell something and struggle with his bindings but all the sounds where in the distance. The only thing he could hear was his breathing. A couple seconds later he felt his hand being ripped from where he had been grasping his leg and the cool metal wrapping around his wrist, the same was done to the other hand.

"That was fun for a little bit but I was getting bored, sorry."

Ignoring the man who was talking to him, Sam closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall the goon had propped him up on. He was concentrating on breathing, steadying his heart beat, and not crying like a big girl. It wasn't working so well. He could feel the tears well up behind his eyes but he was determined to keep them there. "Screw you," Sam whispered, deciding to release some anger at being shot. That's when he felt the man press a finger into the bullet wound. Sam couldn't help it, he cried out with pain and a few tears came down, he could hear Dean yelling again in the background. The man only left his finger there for maybe three seconds but it felt like hours to the Winchester.

"We don't put up with any lip here boy. I guess I should go get something to stop the bleeding, wouldn't want you dying before we have any fun. Ben! Get your ass up," the goon named Carl yelled to his partner who was starting to stir on the floor. He helped the man up and then climbed the stairs. He wasn't looking forward to telling Nick that he had just shot one of his new found sons but Carl had made sure that it was in a place where there would be no permanent damage.

"What was all that noise down there?" Nick asked, Carl as he saw the two men coming up the stairs.

"Sam decided to give us a little trouble when we were switching him from the cuffs to the chains. He almost had us too, I had no choice, I had to shoot him in the leg. I'm getting the supplies now to clean him up. Sorry," Carl asked, hanging his head and hoping that his boss would understand.

"Alright, just make sure it's clean, I don't want it to get infected," Nick said. Normally he would have pummeled Carl but he had already planned on roughing the two boys up anyway, Carl just got a head start on it. Nick had a feeling these two guys weren't going to take to the news of him being their dad too lightly. The weaker the boys were the more he could control the situation, the more agreeable they might be. Besides, he was one of those parents who believed in total obedience and letting Sam get away with fighting was just unacceptable.

"Yes sir," Carl replied, a little surprised at Nick's reaction. He had been waiting to be yelled at and was unnerved that it hadn't happened. However, Carl didn't want to push his luck so he grabbed the first aid kit and headed downstairs.

(Back in the basement)

"Sam!" Dean yelled as soon as the two men had left. "Sam!" he shouted a little louder when his brother didn't answer him. "You have to breathe Sam, just breathe," Dean said in a more calming voice, figuring no amount of yelling was going to help. He had gotten as close to his little brother as possible but the chains weren't giving him much room, he could only get about a foot away from the wall. Although it was dark there were shafts of light coming from a small window and Dean was able to see parts of Sam's face. The normally calm, almost angelic face of Sam's had been contorted in pain and Dean could hear the short gasps of breath. "Did the bullet past all the way through?"

Sam concentrated on his brother's now calm voice and used Dean's strength to steady his breathing and try to relax his muscles a little. The pain in his leg had become numb but any amount of movement would send sharp pains through his whole body. Glancing down to his leg to check the bleeding and if there was an exit hole Sam was surprised at how unamazing the wound looked. There was a small circle of blood around the hole in his jeans and the exit wound looked pretty clean. The floor underneath his leg had more blood on it and was growing slightly but wasn't as big as he would have pictured it. "Yeah, it's out," Sam said, almost whispering. Talking interrupted the breathing pattern he had established. He took one more go at it. "It looks like the wound is pretty clean, not too much blood," Sam said before slumping against the wall again, staring at what little of Dean he could see.

Dean could see Sam's form slump against the wall and allowed himself to do the same. He didn't like how this was going, they hadn't been here for more than a day and Sam was already hurt, badly. Dean heard the door to the basement open up and his muscles tensed; he could see Sam do the same.

"Well hello again boys. I figured I would help you out Sam," Carl said as he opened Sam's cell and knelt by his leg. "Hold still, I would hate for this to hurt more than it has to."

"If you hurt him again I swear to God I'll kill you," Dean said, watching the goon carefully. Sam's needed the care so other than that short comment Dean kept his mouth shut and noticed that Sam did the same. Although, Dean was pretty sure that was only because Sam was trying not to cry out in pain.

Sam didn't move when the guy came into his cell, he had no desire to give the man another reason to hurt him, plus his leg really need to be cleaned and bandaged up unless Sam wanted problems later on. Sam looked at Dean spitting out his threat and noticed for the first time that his older brother was a little wet and shivering, he would have to ask him about that later. At the moment though Sam concentrated on not letting the guy who was cleaning his leg the satisfaction that he was in pain. He watched carefully as the guy cut away the bottom half of his pant leg and then cleaned the wound. Sam could feel the cold air of the basement on his bare skin now and realized it had to be only fifty degrees down here. 'No wonder Dean is shivering,' Sam thought to himself. As the man went to wrap his leg Sam couldn't help but wince and let a small gasp. Dean noticeably sat up straighter and Sam let out a little smile at his brother's protectiveness. Dean may act like the tough guy but he was a big softie at heart. After about twenty minutes the guy was finally done.

"Alright boys, you have a nice night. I'll see you later," Carl said to both of the brothers as he walked up the stairs, shut off the light, and locked the door behind him, leaving the two men in total darkness.

Thanks for the reviews so far and I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Once again, my biggest goal here is to make sure Sam and Dean sound like Sam and Dean. Anyway, I promise there will be more angst in the next chapter, especially for Dean. What is it about Dean that just makes us want to hurt him? Please remember to keep reviewing; it's what keeps the writers going.