Disclaimer:Supernatural is not mine. More's the pity. They belong to Kripke Enterprise and the CW Network. I am not making any money from this; I am simply playing in the fantastic sandbox that Kripke created with these two characters.

Synopsis: Samuel Campbell (Sam) is called home from Palo Alto, CA when his father is killed in an accident at the ranch. His sister Gwen remained in the family business, though it was always his father's intention that Sam should run the family business. Her husband Christian has taken over running the business, but the ranch is losing money and since Sam is the sole executor of the estate he is forced to return. Upon returning home, he finds his family's business is a wreck; an unknown corporation is trying to buy them out.

After interviewing several men to take the spot of one of the hands, Sam's foreman Bobby Singer eventually settles on Dean Winchester. This is after the man saves Sam's life in a bar one night. The cowboy brings his own baggage including a small son. He is also running from something in his past that he desperately wants to keep buried.

Warnings: This is an unrelated AU story with Male/Male pairings. If you don't like that sort of thing, DO NOT READ THIS STORY. There is also foul language interspersed throughout the story, so be on the look out for that. Dean and Sam are unrelated in this story, since I don't really write Wincest. But I do like the dynamic between these two characters. ALSO IF YOU READ MY OTHER WINCHESTER STORIES…YOU MAY NOT LIKE THIS ONE. PLEASE READ ALL WARNINGS.

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Previous Chapter:

"Dean, we need to get out of here." They weren't protected out here and this was a great way to become a Texas cautionary tale.

Dean looked up at him and nodded slowly as he pulled himself up and moved mechanically toward the truck. Sam's eyebrows cut down and he looked over at his own vehicle and decided that he'd be better off riding back with Dean. Bobby's truck had mud tires and four-wheel drive that could climb a mountain if needed.

The ride back to the house was quiet and tense. Rivulets of water ran down the windshield faster than the wipers could clear them away. Sam was driving. Dean had crawled silently into the passenger seat, wrapping the seatbelt around himself and turning to stare out into the rain. The heater was buzzing with activity as it tried to heat the car and keep the fog from forming on the inside and obscuring Sam's vision.

The only way to get where Sam had been was to cross the narrow bridge that spanned a small, but deep, chasm. Approaching the one lane bridge Sam felt the tires slip all at once and he tried desperately to correct the truck. But no dice…the mud was too slick and the tires were sliding toward the bridge. The tail end of the truck spun around and Dean grabbed onto the dashboard. His eyes flashing to Sam when he recognized the gorge coming directly at them.

"Sam…" He said as the back tire slipped over the edge and the truck tilted precariously. Dean's thoughts were filled with Emery and he found his breath caught in his throat at the thought of dying tonight.

Sam shifted and threw the truck into park in the hopes that it would stop their forward momentum. The winds were whipping past them in a tidal wave of water and debris. Suddenly something clicked for Sam and he blinked in fear…this wasn't a normal storm pushing them…it was a damn twister!

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Chapter 21

Together or Not at all

The roar of the rising winds was overshadowed by Sam's strangled cry for Dean when he recognized what they were caught in. "DEAN!" He cried out, as the truck was pulled further and further over the edge. Sam had never actually been in a tornado. Oh sure there had been nasty storms that had caused them, but they'd always been far enough out that they hadn't affected the ranch…but he'd heard about twisters from the time he was old enough to understand a story and he knew that they were in deep shit here. It didn't help that he knew it was his fault that they were out here in the first place. The truck shimmied with a gust of wind that nearly pulled the mirror off the side, pulling his drifting mind back to the present.

"Sam! Jesus…we're slipping." Dean called out as he peered over the edge of the window and looked straight down into the ravine. The blackness swallowed up the light; the only evidence that there was a bottom was the frothing white of the rapids as they pushed manically at the banks of the river. If the truck fell over the edge, it'd be a miracle if they survived.

Fear slipped over the lawyer like an iron casket. "Slide toward me." Sam managed when the truck slipped again. His eyes were pinned over the dash…out into the winds that were trying to kill them.

Dean's eyes slid up and he sucked in a breath, moving slowly toward the other side of the car. He wasn't a math wiz or anything, but he knew enough to understand that Sam was trying to weigh down the side of the truck that still had traction. Somewhere in the back of his mind he was grateful that not everyone had slept through physics class in school.

Flashes of lightening were blinking outside like crazed Christmas lights on the fritz. Sam's fingers inched along the cool handle of the door just as Dean's leg touched his. The winds swirled around the truck and it shifted again. The crackle of the tires being pulled over rock was building to a cacophony of sound that was nearly deafening. They could each feel the one-ton machine starting to slip over the edge. In a moment of bravery or fear…Sam wasn't sure which, he took a deep breath and grabbed a shocked Dean.

"What the hell, man?!" The gravel of Dean's words was lost as Sam made his next move. He threw the door open and leapt from the truck. His hands were full of Dean's shirt as he did. There was no way that he was going to let the other man go over the edge of that bridge. For a moment Sam felt like they were flying…the wind snagging his hair and twirling it around his ears and face making it difficult to see. A small pebble smashed into the side of his head and he groaned in pain at the sudden pain. Ever since he'd been a kid he'd been a closed superman fan…but he'd never considered trying to fly. His over active brain threw a curveball at him and pictured him and Dean as kids…though they hadn't known each other until recently…he was standing on the haystack that his father used to have near the back of the property…there below a younger happier version of Dean grinned up at him. Sam felt like he could do anything in that moment and he jumped…

Sam slammed into the muddy ground with the combined forces of nature and gravity. He hit so hard that it left him instantly struggling for air. He gasped and a deluge of water mixed with mud poured into his mouth. Sam was spewing water and coughing like an asthmatic within seconds. His only comfort knowing that he'd grabbed Dean in an act of desperation when he felt truck's tires give way to the slick mud.

The material of Dean's shirt still held tightly in his fingers. He looked down and what little air he'd gained hissed out in shock. The only thing he'd managed to grab was Dean's shirt…there was no Dean on the other end.

Sam struggled up to his knees and crawled through the mud toward the edge. Sharp stones pressed into his knees and palms with a vengeance. He bit his lip in an attempt to ignore the contusions. He managed to clear the hair and mud from his eyes only to see that the bridge had been torn away by the wind and flying debris. Sam held his hands over his face, trying to protect it from the flying rock chunks as he forced his way to his feet battling the wind for balance. He made his way to the edge of the ravine, a pillar from the bridge the only evidence that it had ever been there. He wrapped his long fingers around it for balance, leaning over the edge.

"DEAN?!" He screamed. The storm ripped his words away from him. He leaned as far over the edge as he could, straining to see some sign of the other man.

Sam's eyesight was blurring and he didn't know if it was from tears or the rain. Either way he kept searching the darkness. "DEAN!" He tried again. The storm roared back in an angry flash of lightening and a deafening growl of thunder and Sam wanted nothing more than to rage back. But something told him he needed to keep looking…so he did.

After what felt like a lifetime he finally spotted it. There about thirty feet below him was a ledge and on that ledge was the unconscious form of…Dean. "DEAN!"

Sam screamed into the distance. "Answer me damn you!" Sam frantically looked around for anything that would allow him to repel down to that ledge…but there was nothing. "Fuck!"

A moment later the winds died to almost nothing and Sam blinked in surprise. He looked straight up and was shocked to see the brilliant white of the moon shining through the swirling vortex of black clouds. Jesus…I'm in the eye…the thought occurred to him without effort. Every science lessen he'd ever had flooded back in seconds and Sam knew that he had minutes before the winds picked up again…and the tailing winds of a tornado are much stronger than the prevailing winds.

Why he could remember what Mr. Flannigan had told him in sixth grade he had no clue. But it had him struggling to his feet and racing toward his own vehicle several hundred yards away. It had been spun around and over turned, but it was still on the ground.

Sam ripped the door open and grabbed the emergency bag from the back. Bobby had beaten it into his head since he was old enough to walk…always be prepared. The weather in Texas was unpredictable and it could change on a dime. Silently he thanked the old man as he slammed the door and raced back toward the remnants of the bridge. The winds were starting to pick up again and he knew that he was nearly at the end of his windless window.

In rising panic his eyes flashed around searching for something to tie off to…there! The iron supports of the bridge were still held tightly in their cement base. He slipped and fell in his haste to get there before the storm attacked him again. Pain rocketed up his arm as he jammed his left hand into the ground to break his fall. "Damn-it!" He swore before hauling himself up again.

Mud was now caked inside his ears, making it hard to hear and the knees of his jeans were shredded from the sharp rocks hiding beneath the muddy soil. He quickly tied a figure eight knot and secured the tail of the rope. The pain in his arm, a ghost of a memory as he worked.

And that was it…it was all the time he had…the storm winds roared to life again. They ripped past him nearly knocking him over the edge. Sam's hands wrapped around the climbing rope and he slid several feet before managing to catch himself. The rope burned into the palms on his hands like a hot knife into butter and he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out.

Sam was now hanging over the edge, the winds pushing him around like a ragdoll. It was similar to the feeling of a parent pushing a child on a tree swing…if that parent was trying to kill said child by bashing their brains out on the spiky tree.

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Rocks were digging painfully into his cheek and his arm was bent the wrong way. But it was the water rushing into his ears that pulled Dean Winchester from the solitude of unconsciousness. He coughed several times trying to clear his mouth of the nasty mud. He ground his teeth together in pain as he wrenched his left arm around, the wound from the bullet now torn wide open along with the white of bone that was now piercing out of his lower arm.

"God-damn-it!" He breathed. The whistle of wind made him blink in an attempt to recall what the hell had happened. He looked straight ahead and realized that he was only inches from fall over something. His hazy thoughts started to come together and Dean found himself sliding his body closer to the rock wall. The ledge was maybe only six feet by eight feet and below it was a two hundred foot fall into the raging swollen river. The rain was blinding him as he tried to look up and see if Sam was up there…because he refused to believe that Sam had fallen with the truck. No…I saw him get out…I saw it. The world swam in a blur of pain that Dean wasn't entirely convinced was physical.

The roar of the water racing below him drowned out any other sounds. He tried to make what was happened overhead, but Dean found that he couldn't see anything above him either. It only took a moment for everything in his life to slip neatly into place and of course it would happen on the side of cliff in the middle of a tornado. He needed to track down Ruby and take her out…Sam couldn't be a part of that…Sam didn't deserve that. But he wasn't giving up on Sam either. Would it be better if the man thought he'd died in this storm? But what about Emery? The agony that coursed through him at the thought of doing something so heinous to his son almost made him vomit…or the pain…who knew. The boy would be safer with Sam… At least until Dean could return, right?

All of these thoughts were flitting through his mind and Dean missed the tortured calls from the frantic man above him. He didn't see the rope drop over the edge and stop about six feet above his head. If he didn't kill Ruby she was going to come after Emery…and Sam, just to get to Dean himself.

How was it that only in mortal peril and agony could Dean think clearly? Ruby had an uncle…a Russian uncle. And Sam had said that the man that was trying to strong arm his way into buying the ranch was…Russian. It was all too much of a coincidence. Which meant that it wasn't a coincidence. His brain had taken over and Dean couldn't stop the plans and schemes that were surging through his head. Another ripple of twisting winds whipped past him and he grunted in pain as he was thrown against the rock wall. Dean slid to a seated position and pulled his busted arm against his body in a desperate need to protect it.

The storm let up and he leaned away from the wall long enough to look up. The moon was huge above him. Bright white and shining down like a beacon. Almost like there had never been a storm at all. And there leaning over the upper edge was…Sam…and all of Dean's plans changed. The absolute devastation and fear on the other man's face was etched so clearly in Sam. And Dean wouldn't do anything to cause him any more.

He and Sam would have to get out of here before he could go after Ruby. And then he could sit down and actually explain the whole thing to Sam. Because Dean knew that he wouldn't handle Sam 'dying' very well…so it would be so insanely selfish for him to do it to the other man…even if Dean did think it would protect him in the end.

"Sam!" He called; his voice was weak and ragged. The other man must not have heard him because he disappeared and the winds started to pick back up. Dean didn't know too much about twisters, in fact the only stuff he knew had actually come from that movie with Helen Hunt…man she was hot back then. Something about an F-5 stuck in his head and he prayed that that wasn't what they were dealing with here. The only reason she'd survived in the movie was because she'd been tethered to some fucking deep ass pipes…he shook his head to pull his thoughts back to his present circumstances. He was fairly certain that what he was seeing above him was the 'eye' of the tornado. Which meant that they only had minutes before the storm slammed back into them.

He shoved himself to his feet and tried to reach above him. If he could grab onto the vines growing out of the sheer rocky face, then maybe he could deal with the pain long enough to climb up. But the second he tried to raise his left arm above his head, blinding pain assaulted him and he crashed back to his knees.

"I'm sorry, Sam." He whispered into the rising winds. Neither of them would have been out here if he hadn't come to this ranch. If he hadn't run from his life and tried to hide out in the wide-open spaces of Texas…

He didn't see the shadow of the man-descending overhead. But he felt his whole world shake with the arrival of Sam…and it was a glorious earthquake…followed by the strongest gust of wind yet.

"Together or not at all, Dean." Sam whispered as he leaned down covering the smaller man's body from the torrent of wind.

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"You sit yer ass right back down, Bobby Singer." Ellen growled as she held the crying form of Emery against her chest. The thunder was crackling in ways she'd never heard before and she was plain scared. But the boy came first and she couldn't have her husband scaring the crap outta the kid.

Bobby's blue eyes glared at her through the low light of the cellar. He'd lived in Texas his entire life and he'd never seen a storm come on like this one had. Jake was leaning against a far way, his arms folded and a piece of straw slicking out of his mouth. On the outside he looked calm, but Bobby knew from experience that the kid was jumping around like a polecat inside. Jake hated these storms more'n Sam did.

And that led him to his current problem. Sam and Dean…those two idgets were out in this damned storm. It never ended with them. Every time Bobby thought that they were safe…they managed to get themselves into some other life threatening peril. He'd started for the door when a particularly violent crash of thunder had shook the underground room. Ellen's sharp command stopped him in his tracks. He turned to stare at her in shock.

Her own brown eyes dropped to the terrified child in her arms and suddenly Bobby understood. What happens to the boy if something happens to him and Ellen? Chances were pretty good that Sam and Dean were in a heap of trouble outside…but Bobby couldn't do anything about that at the moment. He could, however, make sure that Emery was taken care of. "Balls!" He grumbled loudly.

Jake's dark brown haze shifted to him and he tilted his head to the side. "What?"

A spinning cacophony of sound slammed into the door that was protecting them from the storm. Four sets of eyes flashed to the thick wood, it buckled beneath the weight of whatever had hit it…but didn't break.

"What the hell?" Bobby hissed as he crossed to the door. When he tried to shove it open…nothing. Something was wedged against it from the other side. Ellen blinked slowly and continued to run her hands through the blonde child's hair. He'd quieted and was staring at the door with wide blue eyes. They flickered to Bobby and then he turned his tear stained face to look Ellen right in the eyes.

"Is my dad dead?"

"What?!" Bobby asked as he moved hastily to the kid's side. He ignored the pain of old knees as he dropped down next to the boy.

"I think my dad's dead."

Ellen's shocked gaze met Bobby's and she hugged the boy a little closer. "No honey…you're dad is gonna be just fine."

Jake's own gaze widened at that. They both knew that she couldn't guarantee that. There was a very good chance that Dean and Sam had gotten caught in the open…and that was a very bad place to be during a tornado.

"Promise me." Emery's face was so full of hope that Bobby wanted to crawl into a hole and take Ellen with him. How were they gonna explain it to the boy if they couldn't keep that promise?

Jake took the decision away as he slipped up next to them and settled down next to them. "Promise." His deep voice shook with the lie and ruffled the boy's hair.

Bobby ran his hand over his face and shook his head when exhaustion finally got the better of Emery and he slipped into sleep. Even a raging storm couldn't stave off the needs of the human body forever.

He and Jake stepped away from Ellen. "Think they're alive?" The concern Bobby heard in Jake's question confused and delighted him at the same time. He'd hoped that Sam and Jake could come to some sort of understanding…it appeared as though they had.

"I can't accept anything other that that…not right now." His gaze slid to the bowed door. "Cuz I think they might be our only way out of this underground coffin."

TBC…

Author's Note: So yeah…no one got saved yet. But I wanted to post this next chapter so I could move forward and keep working on the story. Yes, to all of you wondering if there 'is' a happy ending in this for Sam and Dean…of course there is! Just putting the boys through hell before they get it. Hope you enjoy the new chapter. Next one should be up soon. Thank you to LeeMarieJack, mb64, steelcandy, flygirl33, Cinderalla55, mel0211, guest, and DearHart…for taking the time to review. Much gratitude.

Oh...Gwen getting ready to play a nasty part in the ranch problem, also Alistair and Ruby are coming...dun. dun. dun...

PLEASE REVIEW: It's the only feedback I get…thank you for taking the time.