Hope you are still enjoying this, well want to know what happened...here goes!

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Chapter 14

The scream brought Lenore running to the door. Sam was on the ground leaning against the door frame with his hand to his neck and Dean was lying at the bottom of the steps outside the room clutching his hand to his chest, the smell of burning flesh ripe in the air. Lenore stopped at Sam first, aware that Dean's scream of pain had brought other people to their doors.

"Did he bite you?" Sam didn't react he couldn't tear his eyes away from his brother.

"Sam! Did he bite you?" She pulled his hand away and she noticed the scrape marks on his neck, relief flooding her that although they were red and angry they where not deep enough to have bled. She looked down at Sam's chest and the small ornate cross that hung there. "You know this little piece of jewellery, probably just saved your life."

Sam had forgotten that the priest's cross was still hanging round his neck; it was so light against his skin. The priest had been right; it had saved him and his brother after all, for now at least. Sam felt sick at how close it had come the being over for Dean, hell maybe even over for both of them, how close he'd come to letting it happen.

"Get inside." Lenore's tone gave him no room to disobey.

She had hissed at him but her anger wasn't really with him it was with herself. She knew this would happen, that Dean would go after his own flesh and blood first, that was the way of all vampires, hurt those that love you first, sever the ties, she should have known better but he had been fighting it so well it had blinded her.

Sam did as he was told and she went to check on Dean. She heard Bobby's voice. "Nothing to see here folks, just a little brotherly spat, go sleep now and we'll make sure they keep it down in future." She heard the mutterings and the doors closing as she knelt before him.

"Let me see."

"No." He forced himself to his feet. "I need to go, I can't…..I can't do this." She grabbed his arm but he pulled her off. "I shouldn't be here….Sam, I almost….I mean……what if I had….?" He couldn't finish the sentence, couldn't put into words what he had almost done to his brother, worse, what Sam had almost let him do. "I just need to go."

"Where Dean? Where will you go? To her? She'll make you Dean, she'll let you feed and then she make you come after him, you know that she will."

"She wont, I won't let her." She could see the doubt in his eyes, hear it in his voice and she played on in.

"What, like you didn't let her turn you?" Low blow she knew but it had to be done.

"That was different; I just wanted it to stop. I'd never let her make me hurt Sam." He had tears on his face but he was still backing away from her, confusion in his eyes as the two halves of the whole fought for control.

Lenore froze as he turned, the roar of the car engine catching his attention, calling him away. She watched as the long black car slowly pulled into the far end of the parking lot, watched as Helena got out, watched his confusion rise as he heard her voice. He moved further away. Lenore knew she had to reach him; if he left it was all over, they'd have lost.

"Dean you can't fight it, hell you just proved that. If she turns you, you won't care about your brother, he'll be alone and she will make you come get him. She won't give you a choice. She'll watch as you kill him, hell she might even make you turn him too."

He stopped and turned back towards her but his eyes were focused on something behind her.

"So you gonna just leave me again, is that it?" Lenore turned and Sam was standing there.

"Sam please, I've got it." Sam ignored her and walked past her towards his brother.

"You made another dumb decision and I'm just expected to let you go and live with it again, is that it? You just expect me to give up and let you go like last time." Sam pulled the cross over his head and threw it in the dirt. "We can save you, I promise you this time I won't let you down. Please just come back inside. Please?"

"Sam, please stop there, don't come any closer." Dean stepped back again, gave another glance over his shoulder at Helena waiting patiently for him. He could hear her voice in his head again, softly calling to him.

Sam watched as Dean stepped away again, watched as his hold on his brother slipped. He played his last card to keep him here. He raised the knife from behind his back and let the sight of the blood dripping from it appeal to the part of Dean that wasn't his brother. He watched the change in him, watched her hold break this time as the bloodlust gripped Dean. He held his breath as Dean stepped back towards to him.

"That's it, come on, you know you want it."

Lenore went to intervene, but Bobby stopped her. "He knows what he's doing."

"Dean's going to kill him, can't you see the look on his face, he doesn't recognise him. I need to stop him."

Bobby held up the small jar in his hand and she knew what Sam was about to do. "Like I said, he knows what he's doing."

Lenore didn't want to watch.

Dean could only focus on the blood, Sam was gone, Helena was gone, there was only blood and he was drawn by the dripping of it from the blade of the knife. Sam's heartbeat filled his head again as he got closer, urging him to close the gap.

Sam waited until they were only a foot apart and then he stepped forward, catching Dean's arms and spinning him round, bringing him in close against him.

"I'm sorry big brother." He lifted the knife that was covered in dead man's blood and drove it into his brother's shoulder, letting go as he did and covering Dean's mouth to stifle his scream. He watched as Helena stepped towards him and then stopped, realising that she had lost this round.

"You can't have him!" Sam screamed at her. "D'you hear me, I won't let you!"

Her only reply was a smile; she turned back to the car, climbed in and drove slowly away. Sam felt himself relax and he looked down at his brother. Dean had gone limp in his arms, the pain evident on his face.

"I'm sorry; I didn't know what else to do. Forgive me." He hugged Dean to him and was rewarded for a moment when a little bit of his brother shone through.

"I wasn't going with her really you know, I just wanted my damn car back."

Sam laughed. "Don't worry; we'll get her back too."

"Promise?" He could feel Dean about to go under.

"Promise." Sam lifted his brother and struggling with the weight carried him back inside.