Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or its characters and am not making any money on this…just having fun!

In The Thick of Things

Chapter 14 – Devlin

"Here we go again!" replied Dean as he headed towards the duffle bag his father had dropped in his hurry to help his son's earlier. "Man, at this rate we are going to need to keep this stuff by the gallon" Dean said as he grabbed another bottle of holy water.

John tried to get up, but grabbed his leg and fell back onto the chair with a groan. Dean went over to his father, taking a moment to place a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Dad, its ok, Sammy and I can handle this one…you need to take care of that leg. Maybe you and Bobby should check on our guests in the other room while we handle this…ok?"

"Fine…just be careful Dean and watch out for Sammy!"

"Yes Sir!" Dean remarked as he headed out the front door. He looked towards the ghost image of his car…Well at least the kid had good taste, he thought as he started towards it. Suddenly, he paused and took a quick look around, he expected to see Sam, but he was no where in sight.

"Sammy…Sam…damn it answer me" Dean yelled as he broke into a run towards the car. "Not again…if he left, this time I will kill him!"

Dean rounded the front of the car and was stunned at what he saw. Sam was sitting on the ground, with the head of the man on his lap. As Dean got closer and knelt down next to Sam, he noticed the tears running down Sam's face. "Hey little brother…" Dean said softly "What's wrong?"

Sam looked up at his big brother, shaking his head sadly "Another death…there's just so much death…and this time it was my fault. I forgot that there was an innocent person…I just saw you in trouble and ran him over. I can't believe I killed him!" A shudder ran through Sam as he gently laid the man back down on the ground. He ran a shaky hand through his long brown hair and stared off into the woods as if they would contain the answer.

"I don't know what to do Dean…I just want it to stop…but it can't stop can it?"

"Sammy…look, I know I keep saying this, but you gotta stop letting this type of thing eat you up inside…remember what you said to me back in the other cabin when I was upset about Meg and the other guy I killed. I didn't have a choice and neither did you!" Dean went to stand in front of Sam, forcing his kid brother to look him in the eye. "I told you before and I meant it Sam…I won't let anything bad happen to you…I'll always be there for you no matter what…just like I know that you will always be there for me…remember, us freaks just need to stick together and everything will work out fine!"

Dean was rewarded with a slight smile from his little brother. God how he hated these chick flick moments! Dean looked at the body lying on the ground and shook his head sadly. How many innocent people were going to be hurt or killed…some times it seemed like there was just too much for him to handle. But then he looked at his brother standing off by himself, so alone and he knew that he would never stop. Shrugging his shoulders he started to head back to the cabin.

"Ah…Sammy, what do you think happened to the demon who was inside the man?" Dean looked carefully around as if he expected the demon to jump out at him at any time.

"His name was Devlin, Dean the man's name was Devlin and I'm not sure…but you can bet that it will be back" Sam sighed dejectedly.

"Come on Sam, lets get back to the cabin…we need to let Dad and Bobby know what happened and then we need to figure out what to do with the men inside and with…Devlin"

"I'll be there in just a minute Dean, I'm just going to move the car around back and try to clean it up a bit…no sense in providing the police with a reason to question whatever story you and Dad come up with."

"Sammy" Dean started when Sam held up his had to stop him.

"It's Sam…Dean and I promise, I'm not going anywhere…I just…I just need to keep busy for a moment ok?"

"Ok, just let me let Dad know what's going on and I'll come out and help you…be careful, we don't know what happened to the other demon. Yell if you see anything suspicious! By the way, great choice in cars…I see you at least inherited my good taste in cars…where did you get it by the way?"

"Oh, I borrowed it from a little old lady"

"Aw come on…you're kidding…little old lady my ass…"

Sam laughed as he started to head for the car. Well that should keep Dean busy for a few moments he thought as he watched his brother head back to the cabin. God he had missed him…he was glad to be back.

Dean headed into the cabin shaking his head. Great, just great, I can hardly wait to see what nightmares Sam will have after this one. He looked at the retreating back of his brother as he got into the gray impala.

As Sam sat behind the wheel and reached to start the engine, he felt a sudden piercing pain in his head. God, not again! Sam groaned as the keys fell from his fingers. The pain increased, causing Sam to hold his head…it felt like something was tearing him apart from the inside out.

"Dean…help!" Sam yelled as he tried to get out of the car. As the ground rushed up to meet him, Sam's thought he heard an evil chuckle…a moment later there was silence as Sam crumpled to the ground unconscious.

Dean heard the cry as he started to close the front door on the cabin. He quickly ran back outside in time to see his brother crumple to the ground.

"Sammy…Sammy…hold on! Bobby, get out here and bring the shot gun!" yelled Dean as he sprinted towards his fallen brother.

Dean knelt beside his brother and carefully turned him over, looking for any sign of his injury. Sam's face was bathed in sweat and pale. His whole body was shaking and there was blood leaking from his nose. Dean placed a calming hand on his brother's face and was shocked at the heat he felt there. "Sammy…Sam, can you hear me…wake up Sam!"

Bobby came up shortly followed by a badly limping John. "What's going on!" they both cried in unison.

"I don't know, I just found him like this. He's running a high fever…I didn't realize he was sick earlier…he always looks pale and tired…I should have checked him out before now…I can't believe I missed it!"

"Son, calm down…none of us noticed he was sick…lets get him inside and then see if we can figure this thing out. We are too open here…we need to get him inside, into the protection of the cabin…we don't need to be worrying about another demon attack at this point!"

Dean felt Sam relax as he gently rubbed his hand down Sam's forehead and cheek. He nodded to Bobby when he reached down to lift Sam onto his shoulders in a fireman's carry. Dean helped steady Sam onto Bobby's back…frustrated that he couldn't do it, but he still had trouble lifting his arms over his head to get dressed. The three men headed towards the safety of the cabin and the charms and protective symbols that they hoped would keep out any further attacks from the demons.

As Bobby crossed the salt circle in the doorway, Sam's body suddenly started bucking and twitching in earnest. Bobby would have dropped him if Dean hadn't been there to steady them both. "Calm down little brother…we'll get you cooled down real quick…just work with us here ok?"

Sam seemed to quiet down again at Dean's soothing words. Bobby struggled under the boys weight, as he started to head for the bedroom the boys shared.

"No….no…Dean…help me…please…I can't…I can't" Sam mumbled as he began to toss his head from side to side.

"I am going to help you Sammy…just let Bobby get you into the bed…hold on Sammy, just hold on…"

As Bobby gently placed Sam on the bed he was shocked at the amount of sweat that seemed to be pouring off the boy. Sam moaned weakly on the bed as he opened eyes glazed with pain…"Dean it hurts, God it hurts, make it stop…please…God…I can't" As Dean reached for his brothers hand to try to comfort him, Sam's eyes closed and his face contorted into a mask of pain.

"Sammy…Sam, tell me what can I do?" begged Dean as he motioned for Bobby to get him the thermometer and a wet rag for Sam's face.

"Nothing…it's too late!" came a low growl from Sam as his eyes rolled up into his head.

TBC