Legalities: Supernatural does not belong to me, although I wish it did. I am simply playing in Kripke's sandbox for a bit. All rights and ownership are the property of Kripke and the CW network. I am not making any money from this; it is for my own personal pleasure.

Idea: This little fiction has a story line, but it is unabashed hurt!Dean with extremely angsty!Sam and worried!John. This is purely a selfish little piece that I decided to share. I wanted to focus on Deans recovery and how one would come back from this type of situation. Especially when Dean would internalize everything...

Also, this is a very dark little piece of fiction, so please read all warnings at the start of the chapters and don't read it if you're not into that.

Synopsis: Third part in a trilogy, Dean has defeated the Pandora evil but he has lasting physical limitations as a result of the trials. Sam has graduated from high school and their father will be sending them on a hunt that will bring Dean full circle with where this trilogy started. Through this last hunt Dean will struggle to repair the damage to his body and Sam will struggle to save both of them from a creature that none of them saw coming.

Warnings: This story will contain everything from intense emotional situations, graphic depictions of present and past torture to intense angst. If you don't like this type of thing….don't read this story. I would suggest reading 'Gone Missing' and 'Missing the Hunt' first as they will set the scene for this story.

Please Review: Thanks to any guests and others that can't sign in...I really appreciate that you guys continue taking the time to let me know what you are thinking about the progression of the story.

WARNING...Mentions of violence and gore throughout, this might bother some people so consider yourself warned...there is quite a lot of ANGST in this story...as a matter of fact...I think all my chapters have a large helping of angst...and some hurt Sam and Dean...so be prepared...don't like...don't read.

Chapter 12

God of Death

Dean could feel the intense heat as it pulsed through his leg. He wasn't stupid…he knew that he'd been poisoned. But no matter what his outcome was…Sam's would have a different future…even if for some reason Dean's didn't. He slid his eyes over to where his brother was readjusting his grip on the blade and Dean couldn't help the swell of pride that flared within him. It felt like it was about to burst through his chest…like the vicious little Alien in the movie, but without all the exploding body parts.

Gone was the chubby toddler that had run around calling him 'D'in…because he couldn't pronounce Dean. The childlike wonder that used to fill Sam's ocean-colored eyes was also missing…and Dean knew from experience, that eventually his younger brother would mourn its loss.

The wind was whistling through the tops of enormous trees that couldn't be seen through the darkness had Dean's head swiveling quickly, looking for additional threats.

The sudden rush of nausea nearly sent Dean to his knees. Only the fact that it would hurt like a son of a bitch kept him on his unsteady feet. The irony of their situation wasn't lost on him…that they might die in the woods…or in field, as the case seemed to be…after being forced to fight to the death…was eerily similar to how he'd almost died three years ago.

All of these thoughts were flashing through Dean's head as he curled his fingers around the base of the blade. The cold steel giving him something to ground himself off, as he swallowed the sticky bile that threatened to come racing back up his throat. His gaze dropped momentarily as he looked at Sam's foot, the shirt Dean had tied around it was holding solid and his brother didn't seem to be bleeding through the flannel material. So yeah…that's a good thing. He thought silently.

A sudden lurching sound had him spinning, careful of his injured leg and setting up his body for an attack. He noticed little things while he tried to ignore the fiery levels of pain washing over him in great waves…waves which threatened to send him back into the darkness alone. He was cold. The night air was rapidly taking a toll on his reserves of strength as the beast continued to circle his position. Sam had shifted his own track in an effort to try and flank the creature. They weren't talking. They didn't need to…both of the brother's had hunted together long enough to know how the other one worked. Words were just a waste of perfectly good oxygen and judging from their current physical states… they would need that oxygen.

A sudden cracking limb had them both swinging their arms into an upward defensive position. Sam was crouched lower than Dean, but other than that, they were nearly a mirror image of one another.

The creature howled its displeasure and rushed forward with no further warning. The stench of its putrid breath was making Sam wish he couldn't smell a damn thing. He dropped his weight back down onto his uninjured foot and swept his other leg out, creating an arc that allowed him to spin into the attack. The dog hadn't been expecting that, it shifted its track and the youngest Winchester was able to slice deeply into the right shoulder. A cry of pain and rage escaped the snarling lips as one of the heads bit out, its jaws snapping open and closed as razor sharp teeth gleamed in the pale moonlight. Sam could feel the whoosh of air as it barely missed snapping the bones of his arm between massive jaws.

"Sam!" Dean called. He saw the opening that his brother had created and he forced his agonized frame forward. "Get outta there!"

It all happened like a slow motion movie. The strikes and the parries…the bites and slicing…and in just a few short moments both of the boys and the animal were covered in blood….theirs and their opponents.

Dean wasn't sure where his father was or where Bobby and Jim had gotten off to. He was struggling to keep his mind focused on the task at hand…kill the Cerberus dog. The inside of his head felt like the outside of a peach. The fuzz was everywhere, no matter how many times he blinked his eyes or shook his head, Dean couldn't clear his vision. His arms burned as he hauled the heavy blade up and slashed forward. He watched in satisfaction as it bit deeply into the side of the black dog, at least he assumed it must have been the dog. Since there were like three of them in front of him at the moment and his vision wasn't exactly helping him.

Sam saw the sudden shift in the momentum of the massive black shoulder. His ears rang as a howl erupted from somewhere deep inside of the beast. But he wasn't expecting the slashing white hot agony that ripped through his right arm. The claws had caught his naked flesh as it tumbled to the ground…Dean's sword sticking out of its chest cavity.

"Aawwkk…" Sam cried as his left arm automatically clutched at his mangled right side.

"Sammy!" Dean called as he struggled to focus his eyes. He saw the shape of the dog start to list as its legs gave out beneath it and it tumbled to the ground.

Sam had managed to throw his body out from under the beast just before its weight settled and one last rattling breath escaped its lungs.

"Boys!" John's voice cut through the sudden haze of pain, causing Dean's head to lift slowly.

"We're here…dad." He called out. Dean's legs finally gave up and he sank down, his ass hitting the hard cold ground with a thump. He clenched his teeth together and pushed his exhausted body toward his brother. Sam was still clutching his arm to his chest, but his eyes were watching Dean with concern.

"Ah…are you okay?" Sam asked as he watched Dean reaching down and gently pulling a piece of the shirt, still tied around Sam's foot, and trying to staunch the fresh flow of bright crimson. His gaze dropped to the blackened wound of Dean's leg and he cringed when he saw the stain of red spreading at an alarming rate. He leaned forward and softly pushed his brother's hands away and pressed them against his own wound. "You're not."

Dean just shrugged. "I'm fine, Sam." He saw the incredulous look his brother shot him and amended the statement. "Okay, I'll be fine…I promise. Let's just get you taken care of…" He never got the chance to finish as his father stumbled into their vicinity.

"Oh my god…Sam…" His eyes shifted to where Dean was struggling to remain upright as he tied off the makeshift bandage. "Dean…" John gulped as he stared at the shattered images of both his sons, his own failures staring him in the face.

"You handled that rather well." A deep melodic voice interrupted them.

The eyes of all the men shifted as they took in a figure approaching them. The man was tall and slender with an athletic look that was barely noticeable under the tailored charcoal gray suit. His blonde hair falling in soft waves to just below his ears…but it was the silver eyes that caught the men's attention. He wasn't a mortal…of that they were sure.

"I'm impressed. My sisters can be…how shall I put this…a bit violent." His head tilted to the side as he regarded the multitude of injuries that littered the men's bodies. "I was wondering whether you'd manage to kill that disgusting beast. I'm so glad that you did…" His voice faded as he was interrupted by Dean's gravelly response.

"Why? Can't control your own family? So you gotta to get ours involved? What the hell dude…aren't you guys supposed to be Gods or something?" He was pushing the pain down as he glared at the man.

A long slow breath was the God's only answer as he watched the Winchesters with an intensity that was making Sam distinctly nervous. "Who are you?" He asked quietly.

"I am Thanatos…" He waited…watched them for a reaction to his name. The only one that knew who that was, was Sam. His eyebrows shot into his hairline and his mouth dropped open.

"The God of non-violent death? You're sisters are the Godesses of violent death?"

"Fun family." Bobby groused.

Dean's eyes spun and he stared at his brother. He continued to be amazed by the random facts that were always spinning around inside the kids head. He was trying desperately to follow the conversation, but it was starting to sound as though it was happening under water.

The God pointed at Dean and then looked at Sam. "He needs medical attention." His silver gaze shifted around the rag tag group of hunters and he amended his previous statement. "You all need a doctor. So I'm going to let you go."

"No offense pal, but I don't think that your sisters or your father for that matter, are gonna let that happen." Sam said. His eyes shifting between the rapidly wilting form of his older brother and the God that might be their salvation.

"Let me worry about them…they're so far outside of their job description that they'll be lucky if Zeus doesn't strike them down for this little experiment." He gestured toward the edge of the forest and Sam's eyes widened when he suddenly saw the outline of the Impala. They hadn't been able to see the car the entire time they'd been inside the borders of this damn field.

Bobby was trying to ignore his own waves of knee pain as he struggled to help Jim to his feet. They both leaned down simultaneously to help John up as Sam managed to help Dean into a semi-standing position. His brothers head was starting to loll forward into his chest and his breathing was coming small pants.

"You're really gonna let us go?" Jim asked.

"Yes…you never should have brought into this world of torture and violence. After all don't you live inside that world every day as it is?" A slight smile crinkling the corners of an otherwise perfect mouth.

"Yeah…yeah we do." Sam answered.

XXXX

The trip to the hospital was quick and blessedly uneventful. The emergency room intern hadn't been sure what to do with four bloody men stumbling into his ER, carrying a fifth that was completely unconscious. They'd been split up and sent in different directions as the staff worked to stabilize each of the injuries. Deans were the worst…mainly because the only thing that the staff knew was that he'd been poisoned and they had no clue what the poison was. He'd lost his battle with awareness as soon as Sam had helped to settle him in the back seat of the Impala. He'd been careful of the wounds both on his brother's body and the ones that now littered his own.

His right arm was a mess; he was lying in a stark white room. The smell of antiseptic invading his nostrils and causing a slightly nauseated feeling to trip through his stomach, Sam didn't like hospitals. The nurse had wrapped the arm and elevated it to slow the flow of blood, but it was looking like he'd need surgery to repair the deep gashes. The nurse walked back into the room and smiled as he looked at the clipboard.

"The doctor should be with you shortly." His dark head bowed again as he continued to write in the file.

"My brother and my father?" Sam looked at the man. He put on his best 'puppy dog face', as Dean called it.

"Hey, I'm not really supposed to…" He sighed when he saw the worried expression spread across Sam's face at the denial. "Alright, your brother was taken into surgery. He had several severe lacerations that couldn't be fixed without surgical intervention. As for your father and your friends, they're being cared for and should be released. We are admitting you and your brother though." His patted Sam's uninjured foot and walked out of the room.

Sam stared after him. His eyes burning with emotion as he thought of his family fighting in the field. They'd each brought an intensity that had helped to save each other's lives. The pain medication was sending him into a nice floating world where he found that hanging onto his worries was difficult. But a sudden surge in the link between himself and Dean had him struggling to rise. It was panic and it surged down the link like electricity, galvanizing Sam into some form of action.

TBC…

Author's Note: So the boys are out of the woods…but who thinks that it's going to be that easy to get away from these blood thirsty Gods? We haven't seen the last of Thanatos or the sisters, but we gotta get these Winchesters some help. Thanks to everyone that read and reviewed, Tricia and anyone else that I can't PM.

Please Review: I so appreciate you taking the time to tell me what you think.