CHAPTER NINE: When Faced With A Difficult Question
Sam was sitting at the long table on the main floor of the bunker with his head in his hands. He was hunched over with his elbows on his knees, taking deep breaths.
None of them had slept last night. Dean was up all night screaming, who would've thought the angel blood would work this well? Sam was up all night listening to his brother screaming and not being able to do anything about. And Castiel, well, he didn't sleep.
"Here," Cas said nudging a cup of coffee in Sam's face. The youngest Winchester took it, but didn't take a sip. "I'm going to go down there and evaluate how much progress has been made."
Sam moved to get up but the angel just pushed him lightly back down into the seat. "No, you stay here. I can handle Dean." The hunter nodded in appreciation as he watched Cas make his way to the stairs.
…
Dean heard the door creak opened and tried to guess who it was. By the light pitter patter of footsteps, he guessed Castiel. Sure enough, the angel yanked the shelves out of the way, and walked in.
Last night had been excruciating. Dean had never experienced pain like that before. It was like someone had stuck a hot, rusty knife into his stomach and constantly kept turning. The last of the blood from the IV bag had flowed into the demon's blood stream, and he was breathing hard. Somehow, through all of the screams, pain, and desperation, the eldest Winchester's new trademark smirk was firmly placed on his face.
What a dick. Castiel couldn't help but think. How in the hell was he still up right, let alone smiling?
"Someone's in a good mood." Castiel practically hissed at Dean.
The Knight of Hell laughed, "You know, you and Alastair have a lot in common. He thought it'd be easy to break me too. Guess you both shouldn't be so overly confident. You know what happened when Alastair got too cocky. It'd be a shame if the same thing happened to you." Dean's smirk only deepened.
The smugness in his voice is what caused Castiel to stop playing games. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not some dick demon. Trust me when I say this Dean Winchester, I will save your sorry ass if it's the last thing I do. I'll be damned if I raised you from perdition for nothing." With that, Cas punched Dean right in the jaw.
Spitting out blood, Dean just shook his head. "Was that you?" He said, nodding at the empty IV bag.
"Yes." The angel said flatly. He pulled out a fresh bag from his inside trench coat pocket, and walked over to the stand.
Dean took a sharp intake of breath, eyeing the bag like it'd bite him. "This is pointless."
"Maybe, but at least I can say I tried."
Castiel turned and walked out, unable to hear the sound of his own thoughts over Dean's pained screams.
….
The second Castiel had left Sam alone; Crowley came out from hiding behind the corner. The youngest Winchester barely glanced at him before getting up and leaning against the table. After running a hand through his hair, he crossed his arms.
"You have something of mine. I'd like it back."
"Oh, you mean Dean? Yeah sure let me just go put a bow on him for you." Sam rolled his eyes, picking up an angel blade from off of the table.
"Moose, can we at least talk about this? Obviously you guys aren't getting anywhere with him. I was making progress."
"Yeah, in the opposite direction of where he needs to go."
"Since when do you know what's best for Dean? Last time I checked, I was with him more this past year then you have been in three." Crowley put his hands in his pockets, trying to figure out a way to get by the Winchester without hurting him. Just in case they had gotten somewhere with Dean, he didn't want him to hold Sam's death against him.
Before Sam could make a witty remark, they were both caught off guard by Dean's screaming. A few seconds later, Castiel strolled in.
"Anything?" Sam asked his tone full of hope.
The angel just shook his head and turned his attention towards Crowley. "Why is he here?"
"Simply to collect what's mine." The King stated. "I brought him back into this world; therefore I have a right to him."
"He's not some damn property for you to possess!" Sam spat. He was tired of Crowley's bullshit.
Crowley burst out laughing. "Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? I highly doubt Dean is up there willingly. If I had to guess, he's tied to a damn chair. So if he's not mine to possess, why is he yours to?"
That stopped Sam. Who was he to decide what to do with Dean? But if he just let him lose, he'd have to kill him, or some other hunter would.
"We're trying to help him." Cas argued.
"So am I. Helping him control his powers will be more successful then trying to cure him." Crowley rolled his eyes at the lack of logic the angel exhibited.
All of a sudden, Crowley took off running. No joke, he was literally running down the hallway towards the dungeon. Not even five seconds after the King had taken off, Cas and Sam were following. He wouldn't let him have Dean. Not again, not after what happened last time. Castiel then tackled Crowley to the floor, just outside the door. Sam ran inside and barricaded the door shut. Rummaging through the shelves, he managed to find a can of paint. He then proceeded to draw a demon warding symbol on the door to keep Crowley out, and ultimately, Dean in.
…...
"Please don't tell me, you three didn't just race down here." Dean was laughing, really laughing. Sam had only heard this laugh on occasion, but hadn't heard in at least three years.
Sam stared at the demon in disbelief.
Dean stopped as fast as he had started. He blinked in confusion, not sure himself what had just happened. "No no. This can't be happening." He whispered.
Sam sank down against the wall, landing on his butt. He figured he'd be in here awhile. Hopefully his brother wouldn't run his mouth.
But unfortunately, that was false hope.
"So, Sammy, looks like we have some quality time to spend together, tell me, should we join hands and share our deepest feelings?" Dean's words were laced with sarcasm. He was trying to cover up the effects the angel blood was having on him, but Sam knew better then to believe it wasn't staged.
The youngest Winchester looked up to see that the blood bag was empty already. Glancing around, he didn't see anymore. Great, now there's nothing to keep his mouth shut.
"Did I ever tell you how handsome you look when you scowl?" Dean said, winking at his brother.
Sam hadn't even noticed he was scowling until the demon had mentioned it. The hunter stood up slowly, taking a few steps towards Dean. "Why did you let this happen?" The question had been itching at the back of Sam's mind ever since he saw Dean's black eyes. Why did you do this to me? He knew it was selfish to think, but he couldn't help himself.
"Last time I checked, you said you wouldn't save me. So I'm slightly confused why I'm in the situation I'm in. If you really didn't give a fuck about me, I would still be on Alastair's rack. Yet, here we are."
"Come on Dean, you really couldn't tell I was lying?! You really think I wouldn't try my hardest to save you? Sure, I wouldn't go as far as angel possession, but I would still try!"
"But torturing me is so much better?" Dean scoffed. "That's great. For fuck's sake Sam, at least I didn't try to kill you myself. All I ever did was my job, protect little old helpless Sammy." He smirked at the end.
Sam couldn't think of a reply. It was their Dad's fault for cramming that down his brother's throat, not his. But Sam still blamed Dean for it, all of it. Now he was torturing the one person who ever cared enough to die for him. The hunter put his hand in his pocket, rubbing his thumb over the handcuff key. He looked over his shoulder at the still locked door and thought, would letting his brother go really be the worst route to go?
Sam strolled over to Dean and undid the chains. He carefully removed the IV from his brother's arm, but kept the cuffs on.
"You're serious? You're letting me go?" The eldest Winchester raised a curious eyebrow at his torturer.
"Not quite." Sam grabbed a hold of Dean's arm and dragged him to the door and opened it. He quickly grabbed the paint and made a huge X through it with his fingers. Castiel and Crowley were gone, so the hunter dragged the demon down the hallway to the garage.
"Where the fuck are we going?" Dean spat. There was a slight hint of worry in his voice, but he masked it the best he could. Approaching the Impala, Sam shoved his brother into the passenger side and took another pair of regular handcuffs from his back pocket. Attaching one cuff to the chain of the demon warded cuffs, and the other to the inside car door handle, Sam shut it and climbed into the driver's side.
What the hell am I doing? Sam thought as he started the ignition and left the safety of the bunker with his demon brother.
…
TBC
How was this chapter? I was a little worried about uploading it because it seemed… I don't know. Either way, please continue to leave such nice reviews. Hopefully you are still enjoying the story!
