John makes a choice...or does he?

Thanks for all the reviews so far, glad you are liking this little tale.

The dark italics are Sam's vision, his connection to Dean.

Chapter 10

John took one final quick look over into the corner of the room and smiled a cold smile at Matthew.

"……..Sam."

Matthew had almost instinctively stepped towards Dean. He froze. "What?"

John smiled at him. "You heard me. I choose Sam."

Matthew looked puzzled. "What's the game John? No way would you choose him over Dean, I've been watching you, did you know that, quietly for over six years John, six years and I know Sam's your favourite. I saw you in Stanford last year."

John frowned briefly at that remark and then slipped his game face back on. "No game Matthew, you said it yourself, I love Sam but Dean, Dean is the perfect soldier, the perfect hunter, obedient and loyal. Sam couldn't follow an order if his life depended upon it. I choose Sam, so why don't you just get it the hell over with."

Matthew smiled back this time. "You can't win this game John, you know that don't you? Very well Sam it is." Matthew walked over and pulled Sam's arm out straight at right angles to the table.

John held his breath and switched his eyes to the figure of Bobby Singer in the corner of the room, the figure that was now holding John's gun.

Matthew raised the machete and then froze as the gunshot echoed round the room. The blade dropped from his hand and clattered on the floor. Matthew watched as the blood slowly blossomed out across his chest and looked at John in astonishment.

"How did you….." He fell to his knees, clutching his hands across his chest, blood slowly trickling through his fingers as John walked over and knelt beside him.

Grabbing a handful of Matthew's now blood stained shirt John pulled the stricken boy up into his face. "Bobby could get a better bead on you at Sam's side than he would have at Dean's you little shit. Did you honestly think you could get me to choose, did you?" John stopped as he heard the sound of the gun cocking behind him.

He turned to face Jake who was standing with his gun pressed to a now disarmed Bobby's back.

"Let him go John, just get up real slow and step away." John raised his hands and stepped slowly up and away from Matthew. "This is just about you and your boys John, nobody else needs to get hurt here." He pushed the still bound Bobby to the floor and stepped towards John. "It's over John, you chose Sam so that's who it's gonna be. Abby!"

Abby stepped out into the light. "What?"

"Get the machete." Jake barked the order at her.

"Well since you asked me so nicely." She made a wide berth round John and picked the blade up from beside Matthew. She walked over to hand it to him.

"What are you doing?"

"You asked me to get this for you, what do you think I'm doing?" She held it out. "Well do you want the damn thing or not?"

"The blade isn't for me it's for you." He waved the gun in the direction of the two tables.

Abby looked over in that directions and turned back. "You don't mean you want me to….? No way, I'm not doing that!"

Jake smiled. "Well if you don't I'll shoot you and you wont get your damn bracelets to go with your little book."

He saw Abby raised her eyebrows in surprise. "How did I know about that? Same way I found your little gun. Should take more care with your belongings when you're sleeping."

She watched as he stepped back from Bobby and levelled the gun at her.

She sighed and cast a quick glance at John.

"Sweetheart, you do this and there won't be a place on this planet were you can hide from me. D'you understand?" John voice was full of threat and promise as he spoke.

"Sweet-heart, I do this and I'll have so much money, you won't be able to touch me. Besides, at the moment"…..she pointed the blade at Jake…"I don't really have a choice."

"Oh honey you always have a choice. Now Jake drop that gun nice and slowly and I won't blow your head clean off your shoulders." Jake turned to the sight of Ellen Harvelle standing with a sawn off pointing at his head. "Don't think for one moment that I won't."

John walked over and pulled the machete from Abby's hands as Jake lower and threw away his gun. Abby tried to walk away from John but John he stopped her by the hair. "You and me, we ain't finished yet."

"Ellen has anyone ever told you, you are a beautiful woman and you have impeccable timing?" Bobby smiled at her relief flooding his face.

Ellen stepped forward and cut the rope round Bobby's wrists that were still bound in front of him with a knife. "Always, you know me Bobby; hate to be late for the main event. I've a few men outside, we've rounded up the ones not in this room, put them in some of the rooms out back. Luke's one of them."

John looked at her and nodded. He pulled Abby round and looked from her to Jake. She so didn't like the smile that was on John Winchester's face.

Bobby waited until one of Ellen's men had untied him and then he stepped forward and stood looking at the two boys. "So what the hell do we do now?"

John turned to him. "Nothing we can do. We wait 'til it's over." His face was set in stone, not a single emotion or tell flickered there.

Bobby and Ellen weren't sure that they had heard right. "We do what?" They almost spoke in unison.

John was calm and clear as he said his next words. "We can't get them off right? So there's no way that I can save both of them?"

Bobby nodded.

"Then we wait. I won't choose Bobby, I'd rather loose both. Besides how do I tell either one of them what I did to the other? You saw what happened with Daniel and his boys. I won't let that happen to mine."

Bobby stepped up in front of him. "You can't be serious John; you're prepared to lose both?"

John placed his hand on Bobby's shoulder. "No Bobby, but I'm not prepared to sacrifice one just to save the other."

"You're a hypocrite. You killed Luke to save Dean!"

"Luke wasn't my son; guess you've got your answer now to that question that you once asked me."

He turned to Abby. "I tell you what though, once my boys are gone I know the next two people that are going to get to wear those nice shiny bracelets." He twisted Abby's wrist and smiled across at Jake. "Seems only fitting that you get to go the same way, since you both went to so much trouble to help set me and my boys up in the first place."

"Your not serious, you can't be?" Abby tried to break free from John's grip.

John tightened his grip on her arm and pulled her closer. "Look into my eyes and tell me if I'm serious or not. You're turn next; I hope it was worth it. Bobby, Ellen can you put these two some place out of my sight for now?"

Bobby and Ellen took one each and walked them through to the back rooms.

"Do you really think he'd just let both of them die?" Ellen was shaking her head in disbelief.

"I know he will Ellen, deep down I can't say I blame him, you know how close those boys are, for one to loose the other like that….might as well both be dead." Ellen touched Bobby's arm as she heard the hitch in his voice and he smiled his thanks.

Ellen opened the room door and pushed Jake through. He looked across to the small figure that was sitting on one of the beds.

The shock registered in his voice. "Dear god….Luke?" He turned back to Bobby. "What the hell has Matthew done?"

"You mean you didn't know that you're nephew brought his brother back? I find that hard to believe? I mean the guy is buckets full of crazy." Bobby touched Jake's shoulder. "Well you guys have fun now, who knows perhaps you might escape the wrath of John Winchester after all. Death by zombie actually seems a pretty good alternative to me."

Bobby walked out and slammed the door.

Jake shifted nervously as Luke stood and walked towards him.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Abby stumbled as Ellen pushed her on the floor of the little room, dropping her bag as she did and hitting her head off the back wall.

"Watch the merchandise!" She struggled to sit up but her head was throbbing.

"Darling you're a bitch and I'm glad that you gonna get what's coming to you, d'you know that. You ain't gonna be able to buy yourself out of this one." Bobby walked up as Ellen went to slam the door. He stopped her as he saw Abby's handbag lying on the floor next to where she had fell.

Walking in he picked up the book that had slid out across the floor, the symbols on it catching his eye.

"Is this the book Jake mentioned?"

Bobby turned it over in his hands.

"Now I know what you're doing this for. This book, it has something to do with the bracelets doesn't it? Does it open them?"

Abby didn't speak, she just glared at him.

Bobby looked at the two bracelets and the two demons depicted on the front of the book. The demons had no mouths. Bobby opened the book and studied a few of the drawings inside it, a smile slowly crossing his face.

He shook his head at Abby. "If you think John was mad with you before, just wait to you see him after I show him this. You had the book that let's you control the damn bracelets and never cracked a word. Abby honey, I think we might have just saved John's boys with this but I think you just punched your own ticket." He stepped round Ellen and walked off down the corridor. Ellen smiled sweetly at Abby as she slammed the door.

Abby waited until they were gone before picking herself off the floor and dusting herself off. "Good luck with the book you idiots. I hope it kills you all." She sat down and rummage through her bag, smiling as she pulled the set of lock picks from the extra lining in it. She wanted to be nowhere near here when they read from that book, even if it meant leaving empty handed…..for now.

She set to work on the door.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

John had gone over to the prone figure of Matthew and touched his fingers to his neck. He knelt down speaking to the unconscious figure before him. "Good you're not dead. When you wake up I'll let you get to watch my boys die, I figure I owe you that much, then, I'll let you watch your two friends die and after that…I'm gonna take you someplace real quiet and I'm gonna show you the true definition of the word pain, you sonuvabitch." He pulled him up to the wall and picked up the handcuffs attached to it, securing him by one of his wrists.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Sam knew he was dying, he didn't think it because he couldn't think, the demon's bracelets had robbed him of that particular ability; he just knew. Sam though had another ability, an ability that was even stronger than that of the demon's spell. He was scared and alone so he did what he always did in situations when he felt like that…he reached out for the warmth and the love of his brother.

Dean jolted as the vision slammed into his head, pushing aside for the moment all the pain and anguish that the bracelet on his wrist was causing. He knew that this thing in his head wasn't a thought for he had none; he knew without doubt that it was his brother.

He watched as Sam walked in front of him, leading him into the graveyard, casually turning round to check that Dean still followed. Sam stopped at two small stone headstones that sat side by side almost touching in a quiet part of the yard. He knelt down and read the inscriptions that were upon them. The same date adorned both, the date that he and his brother would be free of this, that they would be together forever without any of the hurt and pain of life.

He knew it was today's date.

He turned to Sam, understanding filling his eyes. He stood and reached over slowly and grasped his brother's hand in his and smiled his approval.