Memories & Demons
Chapter Ten
A/N: I want to apologize now if I messed up the exorcism part. First time including that in a story. I credit 'John Winchester's Journal by Alex Irvine' as well since that's where it came from. Also, later in the chapter, there may be mention of abuse (and it doesn't involve John for once).
Sam Winchester's hand slashed the switchblade down at his brother's neck when it stopped, shaking badly as if he was trying to fight the spirit controlling him.
"What?" 'John' spirit frowned inside his younger son's body as he found himself fighting to make the boy's hand complete the move. "Sammy, don't make this harder on yourself," he warned, forcing the knife to move again only to have it jerk back. "Sam! You know deep down how your brother feels now about you. How much of a burden, how much he hates what you've become and what you allowed to…"
A hand suddenly reached up to grab the shaking wrist in a firm grasp as Dean's eyes opened to look up. "Y'see, that's the one thing that you didn't take into account, Dad," he smirked, tightening his fingers on the wrist holding the blade while giving his brother a silent apology before using his left hand to strike out to hit the younger man's jaw to knock him back a few steps. "After all the crap Sammy and I've been through recently, the one damn thing I've made sure that he knows is that no one will ever make me turn on him. No one, not a demon, not a siren, not even the damn spirit of our Father will ever make us turn on one another again," he stated firmly then added in a softer voice while holding eyes that he now thought he could see a struggle building. "We're brothers. We're family and no matter how bad it gets that won't ever change."
Stumbling back after the fist to his jaw, the switchblade dropped out of his fingers and for the first time since waking up, Sam's control clawed briefly to the surface. "De'n?" staring at his brother, it was clear that Sam's mind still wasn't his adult self. It was also clear that he was frightened and confused by this. "I'm…scared…I…"
"I know you are, Sammy and I swear that I'll make this better for you but I need you to keep fighting. I need you to keep reaching for me because big brother's about to fix this," Dean promised him, seeing those hazy eyes going dark again as he pulled himself to his knees while reaching for what he'd stuffed into his back pocket. "Let Sammy go, Dad," he ordered tightly. "You've been gone five years. We're not the kids you left behind…I'm not the same son you left and I'm through letting you run my life or hurt what's mine."
"You're still my son, Dean," 'John' replied not caring for how he now seemed to have to fight for control. "Everything I ever did was so that you'd be alright and…"
Anger soared along with disbelief. "So I'd be alright?" he scoffed, eyeing the panic room as if in search of something and knowing that he'd planned to have Castiel here for this part. "You never treated us as sons unless it suited a damn purpose!" Dean snapped, figuring he had one shot at this so he might as well make it count. "I did everything you ever asked me to! I never complained once about growing up like I did! I made the excuses to Sam growing up! Hell, let's just face it and say I raised Sam because you sure as hell didn't!"
Dean remembered the night Sam left for school and he shouted words very similar to that to their Father. He saw a similar flash of rage cross the face his brother currently didn't have control over as John's spirit felt anger come over him.
"I never said one damn word about you leaving for days or weeks at a time, usually without leaving me enough money to make sure we even had food to eat because the money always went for ammo or supplies or crap!" Dean went on, fingers clenching and unclenching as he rode the wave of emotions that he had spent nearly twenty-seven years bottling up. "Sam would get sick but we couldn't call on Bobby or Pastor Jim because then they would've known you'd been gone longer than you said! Then when you did show back it was usually to pack us up and move to a new town, a new school, a new hunt but did you ever stop to think about the hassles your sons had with that? Of course not because the hunt was always more important and I never said a word about it! I never bitched when I dropped out because all the moving around we did screwed up my grades but I made damn sure Sam's grades stayed up because I might not have been going anywhere but my little brother was not getting stuck in the life you'd put me in!"
He took the fist to his face without a flinch this time as he glared into the eyes of his father and could see the man as he had once. "Yeah, go ahead. Your best resort when you didn't get your way or I did have an opinion was always to think with your damn fists," Dean sneered, blocking the next blow as he shoved back but was still careful not to strike back yet. "Hell, I could've told Bobby or Pastor Jim any number of times about the beatings or the fists but I didn't. Not because you were my Father but because of Sammy. I knew if I'd done that, you would've taken Sam and I was not going to leave him with you alone. I warned you once that you could do whatever the hell you wanted to me but that you would never touch my brother and I was so damn stupid to think that you hadn't!" he went on, backing his brother's body up until it was against a wall. "I could've made the choice to come back that summer but you want to know why I didn't, Dad?"
Dean took a step closer until he and his brother were nearly face-to-face. "I chose to let us stay out because I liked to hear Sam laugh. Yeah, Sammy actually could laugh and play just like a real little boy. I actually liked being with a girl who knew what I was, what I did and didn't judge me and who didn't mind my little brother being around," he laughed softly as he could remember being the one who wanted to dunk Sam in the snow for just a little time alone with Morgan. "Morgan was my friend. She gave so much for me and Sammy that summer but you didn't care about that. You didn't care that she would protect Sam against anything but all you saw was what she could do. You didn't see the fear in her eyes when she used those powers to protect Sam earlier that week. All you wanted was to hurt her when she protected Sam from you! Then you lied to me! You knew I cared for her, you knew I was falling for her and you lied to me! You let me believe that she left for no reason but you were the reason and now you think you can possess Sam just to do it again?" shaking his head, Dean shoved both hands back against Sam's shoulders but grunted as an invisible blow struck him in the chest to push him back a good foot. "No. I'm not letting you hurt either Sam or Morgan this time, Dad. You are not taking anything more away from me that I love…now get the hell out of Sam or I'll make you."
"You'll make me?" 'John' seemed amused at that even though he wasn't amused at his elder son's attitude and lack of respect. "Dean, you can't touch me without hurting Sam and we both know you won't do that so how…"
"I don't have to touch you to hurt you," Dean replied, unfolding the piece of paper he'd been clenching in his fist. "Demons aren't the only ones who can be yanked out of a body, Dad. You should know that."
Sam's face took on a look of mixed confusion and rage before 'John' chuckled. "You could barely speak Latin when I tried to teach you that ritual, son," he remarked, hating to hurt his son but having about enough of his attitude and insubordination. "Besides, I'd fight you and you can't fight me and still use that spell…not to mention what it'll do to your brother. You're all alone, Dean. You know that you need at least two to do a proper exorcism and…argh!"
A wave of power took his off guard, pushing him away from Dean to pin him against the wall. "Dean's not alone and you are coming out of Sam."
Face tight as she concentrated on holding what power she'd regained, Morgan's eyes slid to Dean. "I don't…have the energy to force him out like I normally could and Jack's still working on getting another layer of Bobby's…shields down so he can," she told him, seeing his concern but choosing to ignore it. "If you're going to do it then work fast cause I can't hold him long."
"You…won't…hold me…at…" 'John' was furious with this act and strained hard to break the power holding him since he could tell Morgan was too weak. "I'll…"
"Regna Terrae, cantata deo, psallite domino, qui vehitur per calus caelos antiques," Dean chanted the first part of a ritual of exorcism in perfect Latin while he deliberately stepped between his friend and the body of his brother, green eyes serious as he continued to the second verse. "Ecce, edit vocem suam, vocem potentem: Akinoscite potentiam dei."
Teeth clenched against the sudden agony those simple words caused him but he struggled to hold firm. "Don't…do this, Dean," he gritted, letting Sam's head slam back against the wall without care of further harm to his younger son. "Sam…he'll never be what you…or I wanted him to be. Even if he's not a vegetable…after this…if Lucifer corrupts him…he'll destroy the world and you'll die. If I'm inside, he can't lose himself to the Devil and…"
"You think I'll let you keep control of Sam's body?" Dean stared at that one, feeling a soft hand slip into his and he closed his own around it; grateful for the support. "No. You wanted a perfect soldier. I just wanted my little brother to be safe and happy. I failed Sam in that but to let either you or Lucifer control him? No way in hell," he growled. "I'd see us both dead before that happens and I'll see you back in Hell before you hurt me or Sam again now…Majestas ejus, Et potential ejus…"
Just before Dean could finish the first part of the ritual, Morgan felt the power slip before she could regain control of the hold that pinned 'John' to the wall and she wasn't able to throw up a shield when he broke the hold and sent Dean flying backwards into her so that they both crashed to the floor.
"I've had enough of the attitude and lip, Dean," he growled, shaking off the effects of the ritual that had just barely pulled him from Sam's form. "I think your time in the Pit softened you too much or else you'd see that what I'm doing if for your own good. First, I'm going to deal with your friend here and then I'll make Sam do what I want and remind you what happens when you don't follow my…what?"
This burst of blue energy was stronger and forced a painful howl even as he was slammed up into the metal fan in the center of the before being pinned to the wall.
"Now that I have actual use to about fifty percent of my abilities, what say we see about dealing with you my way?" Jack MacShayne stepped over the threshold of the panic room with a mild wince but no decrease in power as his blue eyes went cobalt and met the startled gaze with a smile. "I can deal with handling my nosy interfering relatives and I've accepted that my family is a dysfunctional mess but dude, you are so seriously screwed in the head that I'm shocked neither of your sons have become raving nut jobs. Though I have doubts about Dean here," he remarked, walking to the center of the room while making sure both Morgan and Dean hadn't been hurt further.
"If you try to…force me out…you'll kill Sam," 'John' gritted, fighting to be free but not feeling this power shift even a little while the mystic smirked.
"Winchester, I could very easily yank you outta that boy with a tiny thought and very little damage to him but…" Jack scowled a little now and shrugged. "I lost the coin toss."
Not understanding this, 'John' was about to see how much control he still had of the boy when another, stronger, deeper voice chimed in from the doorway and his spirit screamed…
"Regna Terrae, cantata deo, psallite domino, qui vehitur per calus caelos antiques!" Bobby Singer recited firmly from outside the door where his wheelchair sat with Castiel behind him. "Ecce, edit vocem suam, vocem potentem: Akinoscite potentiam dei! Majestas ejus. Et potential ejus In nubibus!" he finished the first half and hoped this didn't make things worse when he seen Sam's head slam back again only to release a white mist into the air to slowly form a silhouette. "It ain't gonna be that simple, John," the other hunter growled, quickly reciting the second part of the ritual that would dispel the spirit back to where it had come from before it could seek a new host. "Timendua est dues e sancto suo, dues Israel; ipse potentiam datet robur populo suo benedictus dues. Gloria Patri," he finished, slamming a fist on the arm of his chair. "Now, get the hell outta my house and leave this kids alone or the next time I fire you up with so much iron laced rock salt it ain't funny!"
Having been too close to an exorcism closing more than once warned Jack what could happen so he threw up shields around both his employer and the Winchester boys. He also hoped the added boost he gave that spell at the end helped to dispel the spirit of John Winchester back to wherever he'd popped up from and keep him there this time.
"Dean! Don't do…" 'John's' spirit screamed as the final part of the exorcism sent the spirit back in a blinding wave of sudden power that even Jack cursed but held his shield while Dean moved to use his body to protect Morgan from anything that might happen but slowly the lights and spirit were gone leaving the panic room silent until…
"Sammy!" once Jack had stopped his power, the younger Winchester's body seemed to slump to the floor as his brother quickly scrambled over to where he laid.
Meeting Morgan's eyes grimly, the mystic could only shrug since he wasn't able to tell the damage just then. "Winchester, let me or Castiel get…" he'd gone to touch the boy's neck to feel for a pulse only to have Dean slap his hand away sharply.
"Don't. Touch. Him." the voice warned Bobby even as Morgan was pulling herself up to give Jack a warning look but she didn't move toward where Dean had carefully gathered his prone, almost lifeless looking little brother into his arms to run a shaking hand over his face. "Sammy, c'mon." he whispered, praying for some response but getting none. "Open your eyes or something…Cas, help me get him upstairs."
Seeing Bobby nod, the Angel stepped into the room to do the one thing that Dean only let him do when it was absolutely necessary and that was use his meager powers to transport both brothers upstairs.
"Oookay, can we say awkward?" Kelly Robinson spoke from the door next to Bobby. "It's been awhile since I've seen Dean like that."
"He just had to start to exorcise his father out of his own brother, stupid," Morgan muttered, wincing as she touched a new bruise on her forehead and was honestly surprised she wasn't more concussed than she figured she was after today's events. "Sam may or may not be more hurt than he was before John pulled this stunt so Dean's allowed to be a little moody."
"Dean Winchester + moody = serious hassles for is usually," Kelly returned, catching her arm when she left the panic room only to lose her balance. "My question is, what do we do?" he asked, knowing she knew what he meant. "If Sam's hurt worse it's because John used him to get to you so…"
Morgan sighed and began to twist the necklace absently. "John's brought up too much and Dean's too raw," she murmured, thinking about the choices she'd need to make but also thinking of what was best for her friends.
"You run from that boy again and I can promise that he will come after you this time," Bobby warned, figuring that was what she was planning while snarling at the mystic who had just beamed them back upstairs. "Hell, just what did happen that night after I went outside, Morgan?" he asked, shaking his head. "Sam and John did fight after you left because that's when I told John to go cool off but…shiiit," he whistled when it hit him. "Something happened that Sam doesn't remember. Something before you and John had those final words."
"Gold star for you," the young woman didn't mean to sound bitter but the memories in this house were beginning to finally break her shields and to say that she was too raw to cope with anymore was an understatement. "Where are they?"
Castiel had stepped from the library to arch an eyebrow much as he had seen Dean do often. "Jack fixed the bedroom so I took them upstairs," he replied. "I believe that Dean has gone into the shower. Sam is…restless."
"Gee, I wonder why," Morgan snorted, heading upstairs slowly to either confront her demons or break her heart…again.
Knocking softly but not hearing a reply, Morgan eased the door open to see that Jack had fixed the room or as well as he could. Sam was laying on his side on the bed farthest from the door which, as she'd come to understand, was the usual place for him since Dean almost always took the bed nearest the door as if protecting Sam from whatever would come in the door.
She felt the angst and emotion the second she stepped into the bedroom but knew that it wasn't from the restlessly sleeping younger man but from behind the closed bathroom door and supposed she should have seen this coming. Morgan just wasn't sure she was strong enough to handle both Winchesters but knowing that Dean needed to get over this before he could deal with Sam.
"You decent or just hiding in there?" she asked softly through the closed door, not bothering to try the knob since she knew it would be locked. "So, how much of what John said toward the end sunk in the cause this reaction?"
There was a long period of silence before the door unlocked but didn't open so she laid a hand on the door. "Sam needs to know you still believe in him, Dean. He needs to know that you don't blame him for Carthage or anything else. You don't, do you?"
Morgan's eyes narrowed when the hesitation lasted a second too long and she offered a silent but still heard opinion to the man behind the door before it was jerked open. "You know why he stayed behind in Birkstown?" she demanded, careful to keep her voice down to a harsh whisper. "He stayed, not just because he still blames himself for you getting hurt that summer, but because he knows you blame him for Ellen and Jo. I was hoping you'd worked it out but I guess not."
"No, I've been a little busy to allow the rest of that grief to settle. Or for me to decide who was at fault for losing two more friends who wouldn't have died if it hadn't been for Sam and me," Dean shot back but realized that he'd once again stuck his foot in his mouth the second he felt the emotions change and he caught the brief flash of hurt in her eyes. "Damn, Morgan…"
"Well, I'd rather you blame me than Sam and I suppose if we think about it this is my fault," Morgan replied, turning away rather than let him see just how easy he could still hurt her. "I mean, if you two would've stayed out of that mess in Birkstown Sam wouldn't have gotten hurt and John wouldn't have had a chance to attach himself to him and…"
"And you'd be dead," Dean put in, reaching for a clean shirt even though he knew Bobby would be griping if he didn't have his shoulder or the new bruises checked over when a thought flashed in his thoughts that he was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to see. "Ex-cuse me?" he turned on one heel just in time to grab her arm. "What the hell does that mean?" he demanded, forgetting to keep his voice down and missing the way Sam shifted. "Why wouldn't I care? I thought we'd gotten past this?"
Jerking her arm free, Morgan was too tired after everything that had been happening to bother to push the emotions down anymore. "You thought I'd left you for whatever stupid lies John had filled your head with so you only came after me because you still want answers to why I left," she snapped. "If I hadn't been nailed in New Orleans by that bald arrogant son of a bitch I would've known about you going after the Colt and while I might not have been able to stop everything that happened, I could have stopped Jo from getting nailed by the puppy from Hell."
"How?" he countered, losing interest in his T-shirt when his shoulder pulled to settle on just slipping into a dark green button down one instead. "You're good, babe, but not even you can handle hellhounds."
"You want to know how many of those damn mutts could've gotten closer to you that last week, hotshot?" Morgan tossed back, seeing that Sam had begun to move more in his sleep and realizing he was hearing them. "Dean…"
That comment reminded Dean of something else and he took the opening. "You were at the hospital after the accident," he caught the way she tensed. "Sam was driving the car when that truck hit it. Sam should've been hurt worse than he was. Dad kept you from healing me…but Sam…"
"Sam was hurt, Dean," Morgan sighed, keeping her back to him while picking up on Sam's agitation across the room. "Not as bad as you but bad enough that the doctor's were worried. It didn't take much power to heal him enough to let him wake up because I knew you'd need him but…" she paused to glance back. "John found out I was in with you and freaked. He refused to let me near you and called security…I couldn't get back in to help you, Dean and then all I could do was hope you didn't self destruct."
Knowing the risks she'd taken to come openly into the hospital told Dean more than anything else could even though he still had questions something else bothered him but before he could ask a strangled cry from his brother took them both by surprise. "Sam?"
"Nooooo!" screaming from whatever he had seen in his mind, Sam's eyes popped open but only saw the past and that scared him more. "De!" he shouted for his brother but the use of the nickname he'd called Dean by as a child and the tone warned both that something was very wrong. "De, no! Help…"
"Sam!" Dean went to grab his brother's flailing arm only to find himself shoved away in the younger man's panic. "Sammy!"
Whatever Sam had seen before waking up made him go past panic because after he shoved Dean away he bolted out of the bed before Morgan had even a chance to touch him and was gone. "Bloody hell," she swore, shouting for Jack or Kelly to stop Sam without hurting him as she quickly held out a hand to a stunned Dean. "He's scared, Dean. I couldn't see what he was seeing but whatever it was Sam's scared and he's still set back in the past so…"
"So that means he's seeing one of two things," Dean guessed, not caring for either. "The truck stop outside of town or…Dad."
"Dean, Sam's mind itself did damage control over what happened at the truck stop but if John's intrusion into his mind made him recall that night…" Morgan didn't want the younger man hurt again on top of everything else. "We have to bring him back to now before it's too late."
"I barely brought him back after those hunters attacked him," Dean let her pull him to his feet as a crashing sound was heard from downstairs. "I want to know what happened with you and Dad. I want to know what he did to Sam."
Starting to turn to follow the noise downstairs, she froze at his words and swallowed the next few comments as they wouldn't have been very kind. "This isn't the time for…" she started to argue when Bobby's voice was heard shouting for them.
"What the hell's going on up there?" he demanded from the foot of the stairs. "Sam just tossed that mystic into my wall and high tailed it outta the house!"
"Bloody hell, what good is he if he can't even stop one confused hunter?" Morgan asked herself, running from the room with Dean following closely.
"One of these times, you are going to have to come clean with me," he warned, seeing Castiel fighting a grin while Jack was swearing under his breath in a language that Dean thought sounded like Enochian. "Sam say anything before he tossed Mr. Mystic?" he demanded, seeing that Morgan's eyes were following the trail of overturned furniture that led out the back door to the junkyard.
Jack's eyes were dark but he kept his opinions mostly to himself as Kelly turned to reply. "He had no clue who Jack or I were," he admitted. "Shouted for you and Morgan and screamed at Jack to keep his damn hands off of him before he freaked, sent Jack into the table and bolted outside."
"He's seeing trucks, he sees shadows that he thinks are threats and he sees himself as he was at twelve when he was almost…" Jack shut up a second before a sharp mental slap rapped him hard in the head.
That did it for Bobby. He'd been putting up with this crap for fifteen years and he'd finally had enough of it as he slammed his wheelchair in front of the two people he knew could answer him. "Alright, I let you put me off the day you three got here that summer because Sam looked white as a sheet and Morgan was barely on her feet. Now I want one of you to tell me what in the hell happened that day!" he snapped in the tone that Dean knew meant the older man wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"We'd stopped at the truck stop outside of town the day we were coming here because Sam had been whining that he was hungry. I knew if he showed up here in that mood you'd more than likely kick us out in an hour," Dean began, glancing over at Morgan to see that she was chewing her bottom lip in a nervous gesture. "Morgan and I were bickering because she didn't want to be around if Dad showed up so when Sam needed to go to the bathroom, he slipped out before either of us realized it until Morg looked to see he was gone. That's when things went bad…"
Flashback, outside Sioux Falls, SD, 1995:
"No."
"So, you're just going to drop us with Bobby and take off?" Dean's eyebrow quirked up in the way he knew annoyed his friend before shooting an annoyed look across from him at his brother. "Did you pick up a rash or some fire ants get in your jeans or what, Sammy?" he demanded.
Sam threw what his brother had taken to calling his bitch-face at Dean but still squirmed on the bench seat of the truck stop's tiny diner where he sat next to Morgan. "No. I have to use the restroom," he shot back, only slightly less annoyed than he had been before he'd gotten Dean and Morgan to stop for lunch instead of going on to Bobby Singer's like they'd planned. "Can I go while you and Morg keep bickering?"
"No," two voices in sync replied instantly as Dean eyes took a look around at the diner's other customer's which were mostly locals, truckers and a few tourists passing thru. "It's outside, around the building and too far out of my sight," Dean replied, more on edge in the past few hours than he'd been all summer. "Give me a minute to sort this out and we'll go."
"There's nothing to sort out," Morgan shot back, leaning her elbows on the table. "Bobby I can deal with but I don't want to be around when your Dad shows up so it's just as well if I take off."
Dean leaned up so that he could reach across the greasy feeling table to wrap a strand of her hair around his finger. "Angel, I told Bobby not to call Dad right away so you can stay for a couple days at least," he replied with the smile that had never failed to win him what he wanted. "That way…we can drop Sam with Bobby and I can show you around the junkyard."
"A tour of a junkyard?" Morgan grinned. "That sounds kind of…boring, Dean."
"Not my tour," he promised, leaning closer as he planned how to score a kiss in public while his little brother…remembering how antsy Sam had been Dean was shifting his eyes to find his brother even when he felt Morgan tense and pull away.
Looking in the booth next to her to only find Sam's jacket, Morgan swore under her breath. "Sam?" she called, focusing on the odd sense of urgency she was feeling when she met Dean's eyes across the table to see his worry. "How'd he…"
"Probably slipped out from under the table while we were…discussing things," Dean swore he was going to break his brother's legs for this stunt when their waitress came up just then to lay the check down.
"Hey," she began, nibbling the tip of her pencil while shooting a look back to the kitchen where the diner's owner worked. "The little boy who came in with you?"
Both teenagers were instantly paying attention to the twenty-something waitress while Morgan felt a mild panic building that she couldn't place. "That's my brother," Dean replied, struggling not to snap in his impatience. "Did you see which way he went or…"
"He went to use the restroom since he asked me for the key but…" she paused to look back again before leaning in closer as if taking an order but dropped her voice. "Look, I don't want to cause trouble since if Larry finds out I said anything I could lose my job but…there've been complaints about a couple truckers who are my boss's buddies and…I just don't want to see such a cute kid hurt…y'know?"
It took only a second for Dean to catch on and his next few words could've burned the ears off a sailor as he jumped from the seat. "Sonuvabitch!" he swore, feeling Morgan's hand on his arm. "Check the truck lot while I check the restroom," he told her, turning in mid-run to yell a warning he knew was useless. "Shout for me if you need me!"
"Sammy!" Morgan shouted as she ran toward the separate lot the diner/truck stop used for semi parking, she was furious with herself. She'd managed to keep Sam safe and reasonably in one piece for an entire summer only to lose him less than thirty minutes from their final destination. "Sam! Answer me or Dean's gonna kill us both!"
Stepping onto the lot, she noticed that most of the trucks were parked pretty close to the buildings but two of them seemed to have parked off back a good ways where it was harder to see…or hear.
Picking up her pace, Morgan wished she hadn't left both knife and pistol in the trunk of the car when she heard a muffled shout and then… "Dean!" and she took off running while giving a silent shout to the elder Winchester.
"Sam?" rounding a corner of one truck, Morgan immediately didn't like how the two trucks seemed to cut the lot off which would make it tight if things went bad. "Sam!" she snapped the boy's name the second she came around to see Sam struggling as a burly older man in his mid-thirties tried to manhandle the smaller boy toward one of the trucks.
Freezing at the unexpected voice, the trucker nearly lost his grip on the struggling boy as he whirled to face the teenage girl with a smirk. "Well, well, well," he eyed her curiously as gave a quick cuff to the back of the head of his current prize. "Not my usual type, sweetheart but give me a minute and we'll talk about it."
Feeling Sam's fear along with the thoughts of the man made Morgan's stomach flip before anger overrode that. "Oh, you're right. I'm nowhere near your type, you bloody bastard," she agreed, voice tight and it was quickly losing its accent as she moved a hand slowly to feel the power build. "You're gonna let him and you might live to walk away."
Not used to having this much trouble, the trucker didn't care for the girl's tone or by the way she didn't appear frightened. Setting the boy down on his feet but wrapping a hand around the hood of his sweatshirt to keep him still, he sneered. "Is that so?" he replied with a cocky laugh, speaking over her shoulder. "Charlie, looks like this one has a big sister who doesn't like us having some fun."
"I think that can be handled," a gruff, more than slightly slurred voice spoke from about a foot or so behind Morgan but the sound of a knife being pulled out of the too-tight sheath could still be heard. "Pretty girl just might come in handy…afterwards."
Seeing Sam's eyes were wide with shock, Morgan offered a small smile of reassurance even though she didn't want to have to use her powers in front of the boy. "No, I'm not his big sister," she admitted calmly, smiling at the sound of a gun being cocked. "He does, however, have a really pissed off big brother who you're about to meet."
"Get your filthy hands off my brother," Dean's voice had dropped lower in both concern and fury after he'd come around the truck, pulling the pistol he'd grabbed from the trunk of the car that he'd driven from Nevada. "Get Sam and clear out, Morgan," he told her, ducking the knife slash from the drunken trucker easily.
"I ain't lettin' this one go," the trucker holding Sam growled, stepping back when the hand that was holding the boy suddenly got red hot and he had to release his grip with a shout of pain that doubled when Sam suddenly feeling his chance for escape whirled to kick the man's leg as hard as he could.
Blue eyes never left the trucker while she wrapped her left arm around the frightened boy when he ran to her. "Run to the car and lock the doors until Dean and I get there, Sammy," she whispered in his ear, feeling the tears on his face. "Run, Sam!"
Making sure that Sam was clear and that Dean was handling the knife wielding trucker, Morgan's gaze turned to the one who had touched Sam. Even without using her powers much, she could see this one's thoughts and could tell that Sam wasn't the first child these two had abducted at similar truck stops…but he would be the last.
"You think too loud, mister," she remarked quietly, moving her fingers a little before a soft blue light shot from them to slam the trucker into his own truck and then did it again. "You and your mate, you get your kicks from taking innocent little kids like Sammy to hurt and then sell 'em well…touching him was your last damn mistake," she promised, fisting the hand that controlled the light to make it burn brighter as the trucker showed his first signs of panic.
Dean, meanwhile, had easily danced around the sloppy knife thrusts of the other man until he looked up to see what Morgan was doing and he swore under his breath. "Gotta go, tubby," he told the drunken child abductor when he grabbed the hand holding the knife to slam it over his knee and slam the guy's head into the pavement a couple times until he was sure he was out cold before taking two quick steps to grab Morgan's wrist in a gentle hold. "That's enough, Angel," he told her quietly.
Gaze dropping to the now sobbing trucker on the ground who was trying to protect himself, Dean caught the tiny burns on his arms along with the massive bruises that came from being slammed into the truck repeatedly.
"He hurt Sammy, Dean," he heard her whisper absently, the normal soft voice he loved to hear as she read to Sam at night devoid of its normal accent. "He was going to hurt him and then…"
Feeling the edge of her powers through his fingers, Dean realized how close his friend was to the edge and quickly turned her to face him; placing his hands on her face, he waited until her eyes had slowly lifted to his. "I know, babe," he replied, keeping his tone more level than he really felt like Dean knew he had to bring her powers and her anger under control. "No one hurts Sammy, Morgan. Not while we're with him," he stopped as something occurred to him.
The entire summer it had just been the three of them even though the housekeeper and other staff were in the cabin, it was always just the three of them and it was just Dean and Morgan that Sam had come to depend on.
Dean knew that Sam had gotten used to having Morgan with them and that it was only once he'd learned that she'd be leaving that his mood had gone surly. Just like Morgan had gotten used to taking care of Sam so that Dean wouldn't always have to as he recalled just leaning in the door to his brother's room to watch them as Morgan would either read something Sam wanted to hear or he'd ask her questions about anything because he knew she'd answer him.
"No one hurts our Sammy," he spoke the words softly but knew the second her eyes locked on his more clearly that he'd said the right thing while brushing the tears that had escaped her eyes away. "Go stay with Sammy, Morgan," Dean murmured in her ear, nudging her back towards the car. "I'll be right there."
Waiting until he was certain she was out of earshot, Dean knelt next to the trucker who had grabbed his brother to yank his head up while jamming the barrel of the .45 under his chin with pointed determination. "Listen to me very closely," he began in a low, cold voice, which was more threatening than the pistol he carried. "You're gonna pick your buddy up and you're going to live Sioux Falls. You are going to forget you ever saw us and you're gonna forget the fact that my girl could've ripped your lungs from your chest probably," he told the man coldly, jabbing the barrel again to make his point. "If you're smart, you won't ever think of touching another kid because I can promise you that while you're gonna forget us, I will never forget you. You touched one of the two people in my life that will get you killed for threatening and you'll walking away because I won't let her lose that much of herself by killing you. However, the next time I see you…I will end you."
Standing up, Dean considered for a brief moment before kicking the man hard below the belt. "That's for putting your goddamn hands on my little brother," he growled, walking away and slipping the gun back under his jacket when he spotted Morgan leaning against a nearby truck. Face pale he was about to call out when he saw her fall and only a mad dash had him managing to catch her in his arms before she hit cement.
"Shit! Morgan, what happened?" he demanded, noticing how cold her hands were again and swearing under his breath. Dean had known that the girl hadn't regained full strength yet because every time he turned around she was using them a little even if it was to just keep Sam from breaking any bones when he wanted to learn to ski. "It's okay. Let's go back to Sammy and then we're going to Bobby's and…" he prayed he could keep them together if just for a little while longer.
Scooping Morgan up in his arms without a fight told Dean how bad she was feeling since she normally wouldn't allow herself to be carried or appear sick in front of his brother, now she laid her head against his shoulder but he felt the movements of her fingers on his arm and nodded. "I'll make sure Sam's fine," he promised, seeing the black four door 1995 Chevy they'd driven and seeing his brother's head peeking from the back window just as he could also see the waitress and diner owner watching from the diner window and he fought his basic urge to have a talk with the man. "Sammy!"
The back door opened so he could place his friend on the seat before reaching over to pull Sam hard against his chest, a little surprised when his brother didn't resist but tentatively held on before Sam's arms moved to hold on fully. "You okay, little brother?" he asked after a couple moments, reaching a hand up to feel for broken bones but stopped when the younger boy jerked back. "It's okay. We're going to Bobby's and it'll be fine."
"Are…you mad, Dean?" Sam asked, knowing his brother's body language and could tell he was. "I'm…sorry that…did Morgan get hurt?"
Sighing as he eased his hold on Sam so the boy could scoot back but didn't miss the way his fingers slipped into Morgan's hand to hold. "No, she…she just used too much strength and went to sleep," he replied, moving a hand slowly to brush over his brother's hair. "I'm not mad, Sammy but this is way I don't want you running off on me. If Morg and I hadn't been here you could've been hurt and…"
"Dad'll hurt you again if he…" Sam's voice rose in panic at that thought at he grabbed for Dean as he started to slip out to get in the front seat. "Please, don't tell Dad. I don't want him to hurt you or Morgan or…"
"Dad's not going to hurt anyone, Sam," Dean knew he couldn't be sure of that but he'd make certain their Father didn't hurt either Sam or Morgan. "Now, you stay with her while I drive to Bobby's and get him started."
Sam nodded and closed his eyes while holding Morgan's hand in his smaller one. "Dean'll make it better, Morgan," he whispered, not seeing the pain in his brother's eyes as they glanced into the back thru the rearview mirror. "Dean always makes it better for me and he'll make sure Dad doesn't make you leave us cause Dean needs you."
Not showing how much those whispered words broke him, Dean's fingers tightened on the wheel even as he heard his cell phone ring and guessing it was a grumpy salvage yard owner before he reached for it. "Yeah, Bobby…"
Present Day:
Silence rang through the Singer house as the older hunter stared between Dean Winchester and Morgan Harrison before clearing his throat. "Hey, magic boy! Hand me that heavy skillet on the stove!" he yelled to Jack MacShayne before narrowing a gaze at Dean. "So I can hit this damn stubborn idjit in the head! Boy, didn't you think I should've known this happened?"
"No, because all Sam wanted to do was forget it and Morgan and I were there the next few days while he was so jumpy," Dean shot back when Morgan nudged his arm to remind him what had brought this up in the first place. "Can you lecture me later?" he asked sourly with an eye roll that made Bobby remember where Sam had learned it. "After I go find my little brother in that maze of cars you call a junkyard and I find out just what this one isn't telling me?"
Morgan shot him a scowl but didn't refuse the conversation either which shocked him. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you that you won't be any happier after we talk about this than you are now," she muttered, not liking the way Jack had suddenly frowned.
"I'd be less happy if you skipped out on me again like you were planning to earlier," Dean remarked, grinning smartly at her look before he snatched her hand to tug her closer like he used to do. "You keep forgetting, that link gets stronger the longer we're together so even the tiniest thought now is like a shout to me."
"Jack, block that thing for me," she snapped, taking a step toward the door when the mystic swore. "That's your you have something to tell me that you know will get you killed sound. What?"
Jack turned to stare at Bobby. "You safeguarded this house with every sigal, sign, spell, and whatever else you could and you neglected to put the most basic protective spell on the damn grounds?" he groaned. "Something's here but I can't tell what yet."
Exchanging looks, Dean offered his own opinion on that before hitting the yard at a run but caught a shotgun in one hand. "You go that way," he told Morgan, explaining. "That path will lead to the usual spot that Sam always ran to that summer. I'll circle around the other way in case he went the longer way to it."
"Be careful," Morgan urged him, feeling his smirk more than seeing it this time before she slipped into the pathways of junk cars that made up Bobby's salvage yard.
"You too," Dean whispered, taking a long moment to gather his still rolling thoughts before taking the other path that hunter's instinct had made him choose. He still couldn't quite grip the idea that Jo and Ellen had died on his watch and while he blamed himself more than Sam, he also wasn't certain how to convince his brother of that while Sam was so filled with guilt from things done so long ago.
Dean also knew he had another problem. His brother had been too sensitive to the emotions between himself and Morgan so until they came to grips with that one little sticking point of the events between herself and his father, then Sam would still be upset. Especially if he did remember something he shouldn't and Dean wondered just what had occurred that Morgan hadn't wanted Sam to see or remember.
"Damn it, Sammy," he muttered, hating the times when he'd have to hunt his brother down in this maze and marveling at how easy Sam could always find him and Morgan in it. "Kid has bat senses," he decided, stepping around a rusted out junk of an old Cadillac just as a wave of strong power took him by surprise to hurl him into the rusty car's sharp hood and he felt blood flow from his back even as a hand gripped his throat.
"Hello again, Dean," the low voice greeted him as if he were an old friend and not the older brother who was keeping him from claiming his true vessel. "We seriously need to talk about Sam, don't you think?" Lucifer asked, waiting just another moment before releasing the grip he had on the hunter's throat to allow him to fall to the ground.
Gasping for air, Dean glared up at the sickly looking form of Lucifer in his current vessel and noticed that Nick's body didn't seem to have recovered too well from Birkstown. "You can't find us just like the Angel Patrol can't," he argued hoarsely. "Sam ain't been dreaming, I know I'm not dreaming so…"
"No, it's not easy for me to locate Sam these days except through his dreams which he's taken to not sleeping," Lucifer admitted, kneeling down so he'd be more at eye level with Dean. "Locking onto to my erstwhile nephew on the other hand, was a little easier and since I assumed Jack would be checking on his employer took the chance that he'd be with you and Sam."
Looking at the shotgun, which laid too far away to do him any good, Dean slumped back on an elbow. "Fine, but killing isn't going to do anything but piss Morg off and something tells me that wouldn't be a good thing?"
"Imagine my surprise to learn who my nephew worked with and that she means something to my vessel." Lucifer sighed, tracing a finger in the dirt before lifting his eyes to meet Dean's. "I don't want to kill you, Dean. I told you the truth in that future…oh, yes. I know what Zachariah did and I have those memories. Sam has those memories but only as nightmares that he hasn't shared with you since he feels you think he's a freak as it was. I like you, Dean. I respect what you're trying to do for your little brother. I respect that you're willing to risk your own life and that of someone you truly love to alter your and Sam's destinies," he nodded then shrugged. "It won't work because in the end Michael and I will meet and either you or Sam will die but…"
"Not going to happen," Dean gritted, feeling the same sick fear as he had in that future but pushing it back. "Sam will never give in to you and you may as well kill me know because I will find a way to kill you before you so much as lay a finger on my brother."
Pursing his lips, Lucifer considered the elder brother for a long moment. "You'll probably try but in the end it won't matter if Sam's mind isn't healed because…even though I'd like to say otherwise, Jack's brother Ethan was correct. I can't claim Sam so long as his mind is this damaged which is why I've come to you."
"Come again?" Dean wasn't sure what was going on and he prayed that Morgan found Sam and got him back to the house safely.
Chuckling at his disbelief, Lucifer looked down at the dirt to see the symbols he'd been drawing. "I know you don't believe me, Dean, but I'm not a bad person like the stories have made me out to be. I'm just a son who wanted to do right by his Father. You'd understand all about that, wouldn't you?" he caught the dangerous glint in the boy's eyes and smiled. "John lied to you about a great deal of things, Dean. You know that now, just like you know that whatever it was that happened in that house fifteen years ago is still hurting Sam and just like you know that if you force a confrontation with Morgan over it, you could very well lose her again," he frowned slightly as if considering. "Truth be told, it would be better for me if that girl wasn't a part of this since she…is a wild card that could change things too much but for Sam's sake, she's needed."
"So, to help Sam I need to know what happened with him and Dad that made Morgan get involved but to find out I could hurt what little trust she's regained in me and vice versa," Dean shook his head, lost at what the Devil was getting at. "So, why do you care?"
"I care because the two of you are what's important to Sam and since I need him healthy and alive, you and the girl have become important to me as well," Lucifer explained, a sad smile playing at his lips. "Sam lives and breathes his guilt and while he has plenty of it for many things, the pieces that tear at him the most is that summer, feeling like he let you down, and of course knowing that you blame him for the deaths of your friends in Carthage. Dean, I was in your brother's dreams more than once. Sam's whole life is an open book to me and I think it's time you found out just how much of that last night you don't know and why your little friend made Sam forget the worst parts in order to protect you both."
Dean's head jerked up at that, starting to move but felt his body being held in place by a powerful grasp as Lucifer leaned closer to lightly touch his forehead with two fingers. Dean felt his mind explode in a painful crash of sounds, smells, while a white light so bright it burned both his eyes and his mind caused a scream to escape his lips before he slipped into it…
"Sorry, Dean but unlike Castiel, no one said my powers wouldn't hurt with something like this," Lucifer remarked, standing with a final glance at the now unconscious hunter to turn an eye to the rather petite looking brown-haired woman who was standing behind him. "Take a couple of my pets and find my vessel, Meg," he ordered, lifting a brow at her smile. "You are to only observe him. Do not touch because he won't remember you and do not allow the dogs to touch him but if you come across the Harrison girl? Her, you can kill."
"Of course, Father," Meg smiled before whistling for the snarling hounds of hell that only she could see. "Go find Sammy, boys," she released the leashes she held and followed with a soft whistle playing on her lips while hoping before this day was over her Father allowed her to kill Dean Winchester or his whore for all the trouble they'd caused them.
Consciousness fighting to stop the freefall, a part of Dean still knew the danger both his brother and friend were in but couldn't fight the screaming pain or blinding light as his last thoughts passed over him before he the darkness hit. 'Sammy…Morgan…can't…fail again…'
TBC
A/N: What will Dean see when he wakes up and he will recover in time to save both his friend and brother? Will Meg get her wish to see Dean dead? Can Sam's mind recover from all he's been put through? And after learning the truth he has so desperately wanted to know, can Dean finally handle the truth or will it cause a rift between him and Morgan that nothing will fix…not even their combined concern for Sam? CH 11, yes, 1 final chapter (I hope) and all the questions will be answered.