Hi! I felt I needed to explain why this was taking so long to write when compared with my other story "The Collection". Well, this one is just a little harder to write at the moment while the other one is flowing out like a river. No idea why. Maybe I'm just a very sick person!

Just so you know, I couldn't help myself and threw two characters in my Criminal Minds story that have a striking resemblance to Dean and Sam Winchester. I named them Dave and Jared. Yeah, I know, not very imaginative but there you have it. Anyway, they aren't central characters but Sam does get kidnapped by a severely, mentally ill woman. Bad things ensue. Dean, I mean Dave, then gets to spend the rest of the story trying to save Sam, I mean Jared. Yeah, it gets confusing.

If you have to time and inclination you might want to check "The Collection" out. Jared and Dave show up about the third chapter. I think.

Bye for now! I hope to get the next chapter done much quicker than this one came to me. I hope.

Bye for now.

Susanne

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

The cleft led to a large opening. Through the opening, Derek could see a fast paced underground river. It was narrow with a four foot edge on either side. Without bothering to explain, Bob hopped over the river and turned to his left.

He'd always considered himself to be in good shape but trying to keep up with Bob proved Derek wrong. The younger man's pace ate up the ground as if he were running. It took almost everything he had to not be left behind.

"How much farther is it?" Derek huffed. He kept his voice low because he wasn't sure how far sound would travel.

"Why? Are you getting tired?" Bob said over his shoulder. Derek could almost see the smirk on the younger man's face. "Just another couple hundred feet and then we'll come on the tunnels. The castle uses this as their water source so there are lots of tunnels with pipes running through them."

"I won't have to climb on these pipes, will I?" Derek asked. The last thing he wanted to do was to prove to the younger man just how graceless he could be.

"Only if you want to," Bob replied. He'd heard the breathless nature of Derek's speech. Consciously he slowed his pace. It wasn't going to do Nick or Sam any good if they found them and then had to take a break to catch their breath.

OOOOO

"Dean is down here somewhere," Sam stated into the air. Nick was still huddled in the corner of the cell but Sam could tell that he was awake. Worry for his older brother had finally bubbled to the surface. It had been there all along but Sam had been a little too busy to deal with it.

"No, he's not," Nick replied. He didn't bother to move. He'd finally found a position that didn't aggravate his ribs. "Bobby and I found him out in the woods. Bobby's taking care of him right now."

"Is he okay?" Sam asked. Worrying at his conscious mind was concern for his brother. He knew something wasn't right, he could feel it.

"He got beaten up pretty badly but I don't think anything is life threatening," Nick replied. He wasn't telling the younger man the whole truth. The last thing he needed was for Sam to be worried about his brother. Frantic would have been a more accurate world. "I wouldn't have left him if I thought he was in trouble."

Relief pulsed through Sam's body. He trusted Nick to tell him the truth. The cell didn't seem quite so close all of a sudden.

The door to the cell opened up. Before either man had a chance to react, four of the werewolves stepped in. Two of them were carrying trays. Talking amongst themselves in German, the tray bearers set them down on the straw floor and then all four of them turned and left. As they pulled the door closed behind them, Nick and Sam could hear them laughing. Somehow that didn't seem like a good sign.

Retrieving the trays, Sam brought both of them over to where Nick had sat up. The older man had a decided lean toward his injured side. Just sitting up had drained all the color from his face. Setting down the trays, Sam picked up one of the six water bottles and cracked it open. "Here," Sam said as he offered it to Nick.

"Thanks," Nick said as he accepted the bottle and downed nearly half of it before putting it down. Whether the water was drugged or not, he didn't care water had never tasted so good.

Quietly the two men began to eat their meal in silence. Each of them lost in their own worlds, trying to figure w way out.

OOOOO

The kid was as clean as Bobby was going to get him. Dean certainly smelled better, that musky, sweaty scent was gone. Bobby had even rolled Dean out of the way long enough to put a sheet under him. The old hunter wanted to keep him as clean as he could. It was the last thing the kid needed, to develop an infection.

Bobby had stripped him down to his boxers in order to get at as much body surface as possible. Lying there on the couch, the kid suddenly looked so very young. Squashing that thought, Bobby went to the kitchen and came back with some chicken noodle soup he'd heated up in the microwave.

"You'd better eat all of this, Dean," Bobby muttered. He put the soup down on the table long enough to prop Dean up so he wouldn't choke. "I don't want all this effort to go to waste."

"Sam?" Dean breathed. He shifted around a little, trying to get comfortable in the too hard couch. He was finally starting to come around but then the drug pulled him back down.

"It's okay, Dean. We'll find Sam," Bobby reassured the younger man as he started spooning broth into his mouth.

OOOOO

The tunnels were right where Bob had said they'd be. For which Derek was eternally grateful. The tunnels weren't overly wide but they were wide enough for workers to move about when repairs were needed on the water system.

Bob led the San Francisco Precept through the tunnels until they reached what amounted to a large metal grate. The grate was locked from the other side. Slipping his hands through two sections of the grate, Bob proceeded to pick the padlock.

"I guess you need to use that skill a lot in your line of work," Derek stated. "Nick too has developed the proficiency."

Bob didn't bother to respond as he pulled the padlock out of the chain and let them both fall to the dirt. As quietly as he could manage with the creaky old hinges, Bob pulled the grate open. Scanning the immediate area, Bob then stepped out into the tunnel beyond.

Once they were both through, Bob pushed the grate shut again and made it look like it was locked. He'd only gone this far once before. Bob chose a direction somewhat arbitrarily. If it turned out to be the wrong one, he would turn around and try the other one.

OOOOO

Half an hour after taking the first turn, Bob and Derek found themselves in a tunnel lined with wooden doors. The first six of them they looked into were completely empty. It wasn't until the seventh one that Derek saw the two huddled shapes.

He glanced over at Bob who was checking the next cell. The Unit member padded back to him and looked through the small window. Silently, Bob pulled out his lock pick tools and began to work on the lock. He trusted the older man to watch his back while he worked. It was hard to stand still knowing that Nick and Sam were so close. At least he hoped they were. With their backs towards the door, it was hard to make sure who it was exactly.

"Nick?" Bob breathed through the window as he worked. Despite popular belief, the older locks were not necessarily easier to pick.

At first there was no reaction. Then the closest figure rolled over to face the door. It took Bob a second to recognize Sam. The kid was somewhat grubby and looked like he'd lost about thirty pounds. Relief flowed through him. One final twist and the lock opened.

A quick glance at Derek to make sure the older man was still keeping watch, Bob stepped inside the cell. The first thing that assailed his senses was the thick scent of straw, that and the pungent smell of urine. Apparently the werewolves hadn't bothered to give the occupants even a bucket to use. Scrunching up his nose, Bob made his way toward Sam who was struggling to his feet.

"We have to move quickly. Can you walk?" Bob asked. Nick had carefully rolled over. It didn't take a genius to figure out the smaller man was in a lot of pain. He was the weak link.

"With a little help," Sam said. He was going to get out of here if he had to crawl. He turned to look at Nick. He was trying to reach his feet but his ribs kept bringing him up short. Gently, Sam reached down, caught his arm and pulled the smaller man to his feet. Nick teetered and his white face turned virtually translucent but through sheer force of will, he managed to stay on his feet.

"Derek?" Nick breathed. He wiped a hand across his eyes. Surely he was delirious and seeing things. Bob too, would be a hallucination. It was the only explanation. His knees got even weaker.

"What have you gotten into while I was gone?" Derek asked, only half joking. He stepped up to his security expert and first pulled him into a quick but fierce hug and then pulled him against his side. All ready Nick was beginning to sway with exhaustion and pain. Not for the first time Derek was thankful that Nick was somewhat smaller in stature than he was. It made moving him that much easier. "Let's get the hell out of here."