AN: I hope everyone will have a safe and wonderful day! Happy Holidays!!!
Dean had no idea what to do. His brother had gone from unconscious to sitting straight up screaming as if the hounds of hell were tearing into him, and now… nothing. Dr. Cooper had come rushing in with his entourage to look Sammy over, but was just as puzzled as Dean. Now he had to wait for their dad and see if maybe the solution was a little more… unconventional. As he sat next to his brother, he wished that the eyes that were staring into nothing would shift just enough to show some sort of recognition, anything to show that his geeky brother was still in there. What was the point of getting rid of the damn demon if they only had a shell of his brother left? Shaking that thought out of his head, he felt guilty for even entertaining it for a moment. No matter what, he would take care of his brother; even if his brother wasn't aware he even existed.

So lost in his thoughts, he wasn't aware of his dad's arrival until he heard a choked sound behind him. "Sammy…" John whispered, not fully able to get his son's name out. He was sure that with Dee Dee gone, that whatever hold she had on Sammy would have been broken. Now though, he couldn't help but see how wrong he was. He continued to stand there in shocked horror as the implications of what he was seeing continued to filter through his numbed brain. His normally overactive son was staring into nothing and not moving at all. He couldn't seem to comprehend it, and even looked towards Dean for an explanation, or at least some sort of idea. When he got a blank stare instead, he walked across the room and took his youngest son's hand and let the tears fall.

Dr. Cooper had been called in by Dean as soon as Sam's eyes opened, unfortunately they still couldn't get the boy to respond. He had put a STAT order on the latest blood work, and was pleased to see the results. Whatever had been pulling the young man into a downward spiral seemed to have lost its hold of his body, now they just needed to bring the rest of him back; quickly. Stepping into the room, he relayed the information to the other Winchester's and was about to fill them in on the downside when they were interrupted by someone walking into the room.

"Ah, Dr. Cooper, I assume that you have informed the family." The newcomer said only barely taking in the presence of John and Dean before he walked over and started a cursory examination of Sam.

"Actually, Dr. Evans, I was just getting to that, if you'd like to…"

Dr. Evans looked at the other doctor with distain before he turned to the others in the room. "I'm sure this could have been avoided if things had been done in the proper time. As it is, I am sure this is going to come as a shock, and that cannot be helped. With any suicide attempt there is a mandatory evaluation period, and seeing as how Samuel has made the effort to wake, then we can get started in helping him."

John was more that a little confused, he had no idea who this person was, but it sounded as if he wanted to commit his son. Looking over at Dr. Cooper he could see the truth in the man's eyes, and it didn't make him happy. "Now wait a minute. You can't just walk in here and demand to throw my son in a padded room…"

"I assure you Mr. Winchester, under the current state of things; there will be no need for a 'padded room'. Samuel is in an obvious catatonic state which will not get any better without the right form of therapy. Now if you will excuse me, I have some arrangements to make." Dr. Evans said casually before he walked out of the room.

Dean stood there, trying to get his brain to kick into gear, but knew that either he was caught in his own form of hell, or some idiot was trying to take his brother away. "Like Hell!" Dean growled, as he undid Sammy's IV and wrapped his brother in the blankets before hoisting him in his arms; shocked by how light his brother seemed to be. Expecting resistance, he was surprised when he turned around and saw that his dad had all of Sammy's things already gathered, and Dr. Cooper was acting as look out.

"Ok, all's clear. Go across the hall and take the stairs, I'll meet you downstairs and help sneak you through the back."

Knowing there wasn't time to exchange pleasantries; John just nodded then led the way to the stairs, hoping that he wasn't going to have to break someone's neck in order to get his boys out of there. Taking the stairs a landing at a time, he made sure that the coast was clear before motioning Dean onward. They had only a couple of tense moments when an orderly had started to take a smoke break in the stairwell but was caught and immediately sent back to work, the other time was a couple of interns who thought they were alone and had just started to get to know each other a little better when one of their pagers went off sending them both rushing back through the door. Finally making it to the ground floor, they waited in silence for Dr. Cooper.

Ten minutes of waiting was more than enough and Dean was just about to say something when they heard a slight knock before the door opened and a bag was thrust into John's hand. "I have no idea how I know this, but I have a feeling that you two will be able to take better care of my patient than I can. I've sent security to the other side of the hospital, so the way should be empty of obstacles. Call me if you have any concerns." Dr. Cooper smiled and held the door open for them as they rushed out of the hospital and towards their waiting car.

It wasn't until they were out of town, going in the opposite direction of Waterford that John looked at Dean in the rearview mirror. Dean knew what his dad was asking and silently shook his head before he looked back down to his little brother's face and watched as Sammy's eyes stayed open and unfocused.

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Jim Murphy had already set up the bedrooms and had the coffee on the stove when the very familiar classic Impala pulled into the driveway. He still wasn't sure what had happened, just that the youngest boy had gotten himself into a mess and they all needed a chance to recover. Thinking about Samuel made Jim smile. He couldn't help but remember the energetic ball of energy with a thousand questions, and the eyes that told so much with just a glance. He had to admit, that Samuel had caught his heart as a baby and hadn't given it back since. So for them to be coming to his home to recoup, made him wonder what had really happened, because for all of the boy's curiosity about life, he wasn't normally reckless. Opening the door however, he was totally unprepared for what he saw.

John felt like he hadn't slept in weeks, and felt as if he was carrying concrete blocks on every limb. He had only stopped for gas and to check on Sammy, making sure that the incisions hadn't been pulled too much. When he called Jim he had left out what happened, but now in hindsight he realized that he made it sound as if Sammy was the one who had made a mistake. Not one to readily admit his own failures, he wasn't sure how he was going to explain what happened, but then again not really caring either. Finally pulling into the driveway had felt like a major accomplishment, helping Dean pull Sammy out of the backseat had seemed like a triumph, but it wasn't until he saw his friend in the doorway when it hit him; this wasn't his battle to win, it was going to take all of them to bring his boy back.

Watching Sammy stare continuously was more than a little disturbing, but it was the quiet that was killing him. His brother was always doing something, moving in some way to the point that even when he was reading you knew to give him a little bit of room, because one minute he might be still, but the next those legs would cross or his arms would move around. This was just unnatural, and it was starting to piss him off. He knew his dad had gotten rid of the demon, but seeing how bad off his brother still was, he wanted to resurrect it and make it suffer. Carrying his brother towards Jim's place had made their whole situation hit home; his brother was damaged in a way that he wasn't sure he would be able to fix.

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Bobby, Caleb, and Joshua had converged on the rectory as soon as they found out about the youngest Winchester. After being filled in on all the gruesome details, it didn't take long for the hunters to start calling contacts, and researching ancient tomes trying to find out a way to bring the young man out of whatever trap the demon had tossed him in. It had been two days and not even a twitch, which made them all worry that the longer he didn't respond the less likely he'd come out of it.

Jim had to resort to subtly threatening both John and Dean in order for either of them to lay down for awhile. He took his turn at watching Samuel while the others ate, researched, or even cleaned up, and each time he prayed that there would be some sign of the boy's awareness was increasing, but each time he was disappointed. Samuel continued to stare as if nothing could penetrate his consciousness, and it was a heartbreaking sight.

Bobby hated seeing the boy the way he was, it was enough to make his hardened heart turn to mush. Now though he could only hope that they found something soon, because as it stood, the kid wouldn't be able to take much more; he'd lost too much weight as it was, and they even had trouble getting liquids down his throat without Sam choking. Running his hand over his face he had to wonder what had really happened during the hunt to have a backlash like this; then again, maybe he didn't want to know, it would probably piss him off at John even more. Who ran off and started a hunt without knowing what you were up against anyway?

Caleb sat next to Dean and helped feed another spoonful of a breakfast shake to Sammy. Not fully understanding how this could happen, he was still in shock at seeing the little squirt so still as if the kid couldn't be bothered with the real world anymore. He was used to seeing him being a part of the world, not an accessory to it, and it didn't set well with him. Seeing that they were done, Caleb lowered Sammy gently down to the pillows and turned to Dean, seeing the tears form in the other mans eyes. "Hey, we'll figure it out dude, don't worry about it."

"Look at him Caleb! He's been like that for two damn days; don't tell me not to worry!" Dean yelled, not caring if he disturbed the whole house; secretly hoping to get a reaction from his brother. He didn't know how much more he could take of watching Sammy waste away. He remembered his dad's reaction when they changed him out of the hospital gown and into a light shirt and pair of sweat pants. His brother had lost weight, enough to not only be noticeable, but possibly dangerous; and again neither man had noticed.

Joshua had been following a lead, and he couldn't wait to get back to the rectory; it might be a long shot, but it could very well work. Now all he had to do was convince everyone else that he hadn't totally lost his mind.


AN: Hope you all enjoyed it, let me know!