Previously…

The last thing he heard before everything faded was Lilith's voice.

"See you soon Sammy."

Dean was delirious.

He had lost far too much blood to think straight, but he knew he was dying.

The makeshift bandages and tourniquet that Sam had made would not hold up against the abuse that Dean had taken.

He was so delirious in fact that he was sure he was imagining it as Lilith reentered, dragging a slumped over Sam. He blinked multiple times, trying to erase the blood that covered Sam's body. But it didn't leave.

"No," he said quietly.

"Yes," Lilith replied. "Little Sammy Winchester is dead. You'll be pleased to know he took out four of my people before I killed him. You would have been proud."

"You filthy bitch," Dean yelled. He tried to lunge at her but barely stood before the blood loss went to his brain and he had to grab the table for support. Nausea came over him in waves.

"Face it Dean, your brother is dead, you'll be dead soon. You're fucked."

Dean tried not to throw up.

"Unless we make a little deal."

"Anything," Dean said.

"I didn't expect you to accept so readily. Though, this is your brother we're talking about. The one who you would do anything for."

"Get on with it."

"Sam's life for your own."

"I'll do it. I'm a dead man anyway."

"Sorry, I must have worded that wrong. I mean, you're going to die anyway, obviously. You could die, and join your brother, most probably in heaven you righteous assholes. Or you could bring your brother back. You still die in a few minutes, as you would anyway, but Sam gets to live on."

"You want my soul?" Dean asked.

"To put it bluntly. I want your ass in hell. And you want your brother to live a happy full life. It's a fair deal."

"I'll do it."

"I knew you would. Time to seal the deal before you keel over."

She kissed his bloody lips. When she pulled away, her own lips were covered in his blood. She licked it lasciviously. "See you in hell, Dean." With a smirk, she disappeared.

Sam sat bolt upright with a deep inhalation. Confusedly he felt his back, where the blood was still crusted but there was no wound.

"Sammy," Dean said weakly, slumped against the table.

Sam forgot all about his absent wound and rushed to his brother's side. "God Dean, I'm so sorry."

"Listen Sammy…" He gripped Sam's arm, but Sam didn't meet his eyes, shaking him off gently so he could retie the bandage that was slipping dangerously.

"I'm going to untie Ruby and hot wire a car. We're getting you to the ER."

"Sammy…"

"Shut up Dean, I'm trying to save you here."

"This is important."

"What is it?"

"I just want you to know that I would do anything for you."

"I know Dean, and I would do anything for you. Which is why I'm trying to save your ass."

Dean gave a ghost of his usual grin. "My ass is screwed Sam."

"Don't talk like that. We're getting you to the hospital. I couldn't get a hold of an ambulance, so we're driving. And fast."

Dean stopped arguing. He'd said the important thing.

XXX

Sam was trying to arrange the two badly injured people in the car he'd just hotwired, without causing them too much pain. It was a small blue sedan.

"Hold this," he ordered Ruby, while tying off the bandage on her leg. "Try and keep as much pressure as you can on Dean's as well."

"What about your shoulder?" She asked.

"It'll be fine. I'm the least injured here. I'm driving."

He was feeling woozy with blood loss, but at least he wasn't dying.

XXX

The nearest town was Portland Maine, which they found after at least an hour of driving. Sam was on the verge of passing out and was seriously worrying about Dean.

"Does he still have a pulse?" He asked Ruby, who patiently checked for Dean's pulse again, though this was the hundredth time.

"It's weak, but it's there."

"Good," Sam said, not very reassured.

"Hospital," Ruby pointed and Sam pulled into the parking lot at a dangerous speed.

"Come on let's get him inside."

Practically carrying Dean, and with Ruby leaning on him like a human crutch, they barely made it through the automatic doors before collapsing.

XXX

Sam came to surrounded by white. He sat up.

"Calm down," he heard a soothing voice say. "You're still suffering from a lot of blood loss. Luckily we could find a transfusion for you."

"Dean," was all he managed to get out.

"You're name's Dean?"

Sam shook his head. "My brother."

"He's in a critical condition. But we have the best working on it. Just lie back down and stay calm, okay?" She was young and pretty with an open face and wide blue eyes. He lay down again. She smiled, showing perfectly straight white teeth. "Good. I'm Doctor Bartlet."

"Like the pear," Sam said dazedly.

She smiled again. "Just like the pear. You comfortable?"

He nodded. The pain in his shoulder was numbed now and he mostly felt tired and worried.

"Good. We have some things to talk about."

He felt more worried and less comfortable. "Like what?"

"The amount of blood you and the other woman with you lost was critical, but you pulled through much more easily than your brother. The amount of blood he has lost could, best case, send him into an irreversible coma. We managed to find transfusions for you easily enough, and she didn't even need them, but your brother has a very rare blood type."

This was not sounding good.

"AB negative. And we're having trouble finding a transfusion."

"I'll give him some of mine," Sam said immediately.

"You can't. First of all you've lost too much blood as it is. Also you have a different blood type."

"Then you've got to find something. Anything."

"Like I said, we have our best people working on it."

"That's doctors' code for it's all going to hell. I want to see him." Sam tried to stand again, but Doctor Bartlet pushed down on his good shoulder.

"You can't yet. He isn't stable."

"If he dies in there and I can't say goodbye…" Sam choked off, unable to finish the sentence. He resorted to his last defense. The puppy eyes.

The doctor sighed and let go of his shoulder. "Just wait until we can't do anything more."

"Please. You said an irreversible coma. I need to see him before that happens."

She took in the stubborn set of his jaw. "You're just going to leave the second I turn my back aren't you?"

Sam tried to look innocent.

She sighed again. "Follow me."

XXX

Dean looked like death. Literally no color was left in his skin tone. He opened his eyes, which looked too vibrant of a green to be in such a pale face. He grinned weakly. "Sammy."

"Dean. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"Yes it is. For some reason that demon was after me."

"Fine maybe it was your fault. Bitch."

"Jerk," Sam said with a small smile at the corner of his lips.

"Sammy, you were right about one thing. That demon bitch was after you for a reason and she's still out there. She won't give up that easily. You need to look out for yourself. Promise me."

"Of course Dean," Sam said, a little taken aback by the urgency of the statement.

Ruby silently entered the room. She looked a little better than Sam, and much better than Dean.

"You," Dean said, and gestured her over. Awkwardly, she sat down on the bed next to Sam. "You take care of my brother, you hear?"

"Will do."

"And you," he turned his focus back to Sam. "Take care of my baby."

Sam nodded, unable to speak.

"And I'm okay with you screwing him by the way," he said to Ruby.

Sam and Ruby blushed, which made Dean chuckle, which turned into a cough. Blood splattered out of his mouth.

He was suddenly surrounded by a herd of doctors switching his IV bag and checking various vital signs.

"His heart beat is getting weaker!" One shouted, observing the machinery. "Get me iron and saline, now."

"Sammy," Dean called with the last of his breath. "I meant it. I'd do anything for you."

They were ushered out of the room, but as Sam took one last look behind him at the bed, he knew. That would be the last time he talked with his brother.

XXX

"Go back to the motel," Sam said. "I have something to do."

Ruby gave him a worried look, but left him to it.

He unlocked the recently recovered Impala and tore out of the hospital parking lot. Ruby sighed and took the stolen sedan to find a motel.

XXX

The underworld had a series of bars that were the kind of bar that no one, not even the toughest of humans would enter. Every once in a while, some tough guy would enter, but leave after about one beer.

Every monster and demon in the room would stare at them dangerously until they left.

So when Sam Winchester entered, it was no different. They could all smell the humanity rolling off of him and glared. He wasn't the usual human customer. He wasn't dressed in all leather or sporting a Mohawk. But he did radiate confidence and hatred. A hatred so intense that it almost made some flinch.

With a condescending glare to all of the patrons until they, one by one, looked away, he strolled over to the bar and ordered a whiskey.

"And leave the bottle," he added.

Most of the demons and monsters in there by now realized that this man was a hunter and a very good one at that. The ones that had realized this were now avoiding eye contact, but there were the stupid ones that glared at him, obviously conversing in hushed tones what they were going to do about him.

The hunter smirked, like he knew they were talking about him and continued drinking.

Eventually, after what must have been Sam's sixth shot of whiskey, a group of about five demons decided it was time to act.

One, the leader, tapped his shoulder.

Sam turned to face him. His smirk widened. "I was hoping it would be you."

"Your kind don't belong here," the demon snarled.

"I know," Sam agreed. "Now, what are you going to do about it?"

It was obviously a taunt and the demon, as well as his four friends took it. They all lunged for him and he met their attacks willingly with a flurry of blows.

A few other monsters, equally stupid and gaining confidence in numbers began to join the fray.

The hunter just laughed viciously and took them all.

After a brief but violent struggle, they had him restrained against the bar.

His eye was swelling and blood was trickling out of his mouth and out from under the bandage on his shoulder, but he just continued laughing.

The demon to start it all punched him solidly in the gut. Sam bent over, coughing violently but continued laughing.

The demon frowned and hit him across the face, splitting his lip wider. Sam smiled, revealing bloodstained teeth.

He began raining blow after blow on the hunter, but it seemed to have no mental effect on him.

"You want to know a secret?" Sam finally whispered to his beater.

"What?" The demon sneered.

"I don't care anymore."

In the pause after that statement, the door crashed open and everyone looked to see who entered.

"Let him go."

"But he started it."

"I said let him go."

Grumbling, the crowd dispersed and went back to their drinks. Sam slumped to the floor, his manic grin now gone.

"I didn't want saving, Ruby."

"Yeah, well you got it anyway. C'mon," she said heaving him up. "Let's get you cleaned up."

XXX

He had been in the shower for over two hours and Ruby was getting worried.

Just as she was about to break the door down and make sure he hadn't drowned in there, the water stopped.

She hurriedly sat down on the bed, trying to look like she didn't care.

The door opened and a battered, but clean Sam walked out, followed by a cloud of steam.

He sat down next to Ruby on the bed.

They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity.

Sam finally broke that silence.

"I've been thinking." His voice cracked.

"Yeah?"

"I couldn't help. You both were getting tortured by demons, who I'm supposed to have this ability to kill with my mind right, but I couldn't do it. I didn't have the power or focus to control it. It's my fault Dean died."

Ruby just listened.

"I was helpless. And… and I've decided that I don't want to be helpless any more. I don't want to have to stand aside as the people I love die."

He turned to face her completely, looking her in the eyes for the first time in the conversation. "I need your help. I need you to teach me how to do this. And," he swallowed before continuing. "I'm going to need your blood."

Author's Note: Gah! Again I'm such a sadist. Those last couple scenes were fun to write, not so much the death part. But not to fear, the next chapter is more fun, if still serious, and heavily features our favorite feathered friend…

Next time…

"And since heaven won't back me up, I need you to."