Legalities, as always Sam and Dean and all things Supernatural do not belong to me. They are the property of the CW and Kripke Enterprises. I wish they would share, but I don't think that is going to happen so I guess I will simply play in their sandbox for a bit.

Rating MA: For language and injured Dean and Sam throughout the storyline, they will also be M/M pairing although they are not brothers in this story. Pairings won't happen till later chapters, so be sure to review the warnings before reading.

If you don't like this type of thing, then don't read this story I am sure there are ones that would be more pleasing to you.

Author's Note: This story will follow Sam and Dean as they try to escape from the Alaskan wilderness. I don't have any idea what a pilot would really do in this type of situation, so bear with me. I am also not an engineer so that means I am totally taking license with Dean's job as well.

Please Review. It makes me write so much faster! Guilty Conscience and all.

This Chapter contains a Sex Scene: You have been warned. M/M This scene may seem a little 'off' for the boys...but it's not promise. Dean's dealing with shit the way Dean does which is his own special brand of crazy. They are not having 'relationship' issues, just trying to keep the story fresh and dynamic.

Chapter 26

Showdown

Sam got the call precisely 24 hours after enlisting the help of Balthazar and their old friends. Charlie had managed to trace the signal to within an area of about 2 square miles, there wasn't much there, but after she had dug around a bit she found an old building permit for a cabin. Sam figured that made sense, since they would want to be 'off the gird' without losing their ability to contact Dean with updates and additional information. Jake, in turn, had texted him earlier, letting him know that he would be in Seattle by the following morning and that they would be 'well supplied' for the rescue run. Sam had called Balthazar a few hours ago and filled him in on the details, and as much as the Brit didn't want to go with them, he had agreed that this was worth the risk. Castiel was 'somewhat' aware of the change in plans, he would need to keep Dean occupied so Sam could slip out, hopefully unnoticed, and meet up with Jake first thing the following day. Finally, the last piece of the puzzle was Gabriel…and Sam was still concerned about the man's involvement due to the nature of his job. Gabriel, on the other hand, was pushing Sam for information, he knew Sam well enough to know that there was something coming down the pipeline and he was worried. Gabriel had always had an eye for when Sam was getting into something that might not pan out the way Sam wanted it to. And the other man was getting that distinct vibe now…he knew that Sam could get the kid, but he wasn't as positive that Sam could keep this from Dean. Dean was an extremely observant person, and even in his weakened physical and emotional state, he was watching every move any of them made…looking for lies and deceptions. The fact that he could read Sam as well as he could already was a testament to that. It had taken Gabriel years to figure out Sam's 'tells', Dean had done it in only a few months.

XXXX

Dean was watching Sam read something on his phone, text message, he thought to himself. He knew that there was something happening and that he was deliberately being kept out of the action. Like hell. He waited until Sam set his phone down and went to the bathroom well that was stupid Sammy…Dean made a frantic grab for the phone and quickly scrolled through the last couple of messages. His breathing increasing with each one he read, his sense of betrayal and his deep abiding love for the man that was trying to protect him increasing ten-fold. He knew that he should be angry with Sam; he knew that he should be absolutely furious with all of them…but he wasn't. He felt betrayed that they didn't think he could help, but he wasn't angry with them for trying to rescue his son. How could he be? Dean hurriedly set Sam's phone back in the same position it had been in a moment before as he heard the toilet flush. He settled back against the pillows of the bed and waited for Sam to exit the bathroom.

Dean wondered how he had managed to land someone as amazing as Sam in his life. Here he was pushing Sam away for something that was his fault, and Sam was still trying to rescue his son. He closed his eyes at the agony that was causing within him. He felt as though he was being shredded in two by the warring emotions. Dean wanted to be the kind of person that could simply accept help and not always be waiting for the proverbial 'other shoe to drop.'

Sam pushed the door open right then and saw that Dean was watching for him, he also noticed that there was a tangible shift in Dean's face. It was softer and reflecting love instead of the hate that been there only moments before…what the hell? Sam wondered as he crawled back into bed, moving his phone to the nightstand next to him. Then he turned and looked deeply into Dean's eyes; searching for what had caused the shift…he saw nothing. The wall was still in place, but Dean was allowing him to see past some of it. Sam blew out a breath, making an instantaneous decision as he reached over and softly traced Dean's brightly colored bruise surrounding his right eye. There was a sliver of Dean's brilliant green iris visible as the swelling had started to reduce slightly. "Dean…" Sam whispered. He didn't know what else to say.

Dean's lips pulled slightly at the edge and he brought his own hand up and mirrored Sam's movements, gently feathering his fingers over Sam's eyebrows and then moving slowly up into his soft hair. "I'm sorry Sammy…" he said, his voice soft and steady.

Sam's eyes narrowed in confusion, "For what Dean?" he asked.

Dean inhaled and dropped his fingers from Sam's face. "Everything." He stated. Sam's face was tingling where Dean had touched him and all he wanted was for Dean to touch him again. Sam took a chance and leaned into Dean, pressing his lips against Dean's. The movement soft and desperate at the same time, like he had been almost scared to kiss Dean.

Dean's heart thudded in his chest at that realization, he was making Sam doubt whether or not he wanted him there. Suddenly Dean was desperate to convince Sam of his worth, of how much he meant to him and how much he appreciated him being there. Because without Sam…Dean wasn't sure he would have survived this whole mess. Oh he would have found Ben, but he didn't think that he would have gotten out of that whole debacle. Dean bit at Sam's lower lip and when he gasped in response, Dean thrust his tongue inside Sam's mouth. His hands were running up and down Sam's chest in desperation as he tried to remove the offending t-shirt that blocked his view of that perfect expanse of muscles. Sam chuckled against Dean's mouth, he knew that it was really a time for levity, but he was just so caught off guard that it was the only reaction that bubbled up. Dean bit down his pain as it coursed through his body, his hip was sheer agony and his side and head were adding to the white hot fire racing through his system. The over whelming feeling though was that of lust, Dean needed to feel Sam, he need to escape the tragedy that was his life, if only for a few moments. Because come tomorrow, he would be going to a cabin in the woods…whether or not Sammy wanted him there.

"Dean…" Sam groaned as he pulled the material out of the way and slid his tongue down Sam's neck, stopping to suck hard at the indentation of his collarbone, Sam was pretty sure he was going to have a bruise there now. Dean's talented tongue slipped lower to his nipples, rolling and gently biting the hard little nubs. "Oh god…Dean." Sam breathed as he closed his eyes and let the feeling of Dean's body plastered against his own fueling the growing erection in his jeans. Dean moaned against Sam's stomach as he reached down and quickly opened the snap on Sam's jeans, pulling the zipper open and pushing them down Sam's lean hips, with Sam's help of course. Dean pulled himself back up Sam's body to his mouth and against proceeded to kiss all sense out of Sam.

The other man made quick work of Dean's own t-shirt and the sweatpants that he had put on after his shower. Dean's own cock springing out and landing with a soft 'thud' on his abdomen. Sam wanted him, right now. He reached for the lube that he knew was in the drawer, pulling out, his hands shaking slightly with need as he popped open the top and squirted a large amount of the clear liquid into his hand. Rubbing them together quickly to warm it before placing his fingers against Dean's tight ring of muscles and sliding one finger inside. Dean groaned, "No fingers Sam…just you." He said through clenched teeth. Sam looked up and shook his head 'no', "I don't want to hurt you Dean."

"You won't. Please Sammy…just need you." Dean said his voice no longer steady as he looked at Sam, the lust building like a tidal wave behind his eyes.

Sam's eyebrow's shot into his hairline, he had never seen Dean this raw and open…the wall was currently under renovation or something, because Sam could see everything…and he was humbled by what he saw.

"Okay Dean." He whispered. Sam reached down and spread the remaining lube over his own leaking cock and then lined it up with Dean's hole. He closed his eyes briefly; knowing that this was going to hurt the other man, no matter what Dean had said. Sam pushed in slowly, stopping when he heard Dean hiss as his crown pushed past the unprepared ring of muscles. "Dean…" Sam said in concern, his face a mask of worry.

Dean just clenched his teeth and pushed his hips against Sam's, forcing the other man completely inside him. Sam gasped at the feeling of being so quickly and so fully enveloped inside of Dean's tight body.

Dean knew that there was a part of him that was doing this to himself on purpose, he wanted Sam…that wasn't even a question. But there was no reason that he should get to enjoy it, he hadn't earned that right yet. Not until all this shit was finished, Ben was safe and Sam was safe…only then would Dean allow himself the luxury of pleasure. Sam had stilled his hips and was waiting, Dean's nose scrunched up and he started lifting himself and then pushing back down onto Sam's hard cock. Sam's head was thrown back in the sensation of Dean moving himself, suddenly Sam couldn't control himself. He wasn't in the driver's seat, his raging desire for the man he was currently buried balls deep in, taking control. He started thrusting with increasing speed and strength into Dean as his fingers clutched at the sheets beneath them. Sam had his eyes closed, just feeling his way through the ever changing sensations that were coursing through his body. If he had been paying closer attention, he would have seen Dean squeeze his eyes shut at the pain and as the growing sensation of being split in two increased with every thrust of Sam's strong hips. But he didn't see it and Dean remained stubbornly quiet throughout the whole thing, he never uttered a word…and that should have been a warning to Sam as well.

When Sam finally came, it was with a burning wave of pleasure as the orgasm ripped its way through him and painted the inside of Dean's body with it.

Sam collapsed on top of Dean, and only then did he notice that Dean hadn't cum, he hadn't even reached down to take his own stiff shaft in his hands. "Dean, you want me to…" he asked as he noticed the painfully hard erection that Dean was sporting.

Dean shook his head and rolled out of the bed, grabbing his cane from the floor and limping into the bathroom, gently closing the door behind himself.

Sam stared at the closed door in confusion. What the hell just happened? He wondered as he rolled over and only then did he notice the small dots of blood on the sheets. His breathing stilling in his chest at the sight of the crimson liquid. NO…no…no…I did not just hurt him…not like that. Sam prayed that the blood was from one of Dean's old wounds and that he had not just essentially forced himself on Dean. Sam knew that Dean felt guilty and that he would punish himself…but please…he didn't just basically rape Dean…did he?

Sam scrambled out of bed and rushed to the bathroom door, he had expected it to be locked, but he tried the handle anyways and was surprised as it open easily for him.

Dean was sitting on the cold tile floor, semen still leaking from him, his eyes down cast and his flaccid cock now lying quietly against his thigh. Sam felt tears burn his eyes at the sight. He dropped to his knees in front of Dean, not daring to touch the other man, but talking to him quietly. "Dean. Why? Why would you let me do that to you?"

"Because I needed it Sam." He said quietly.

Sam shook his head at the complexity of that statement. "Dean, I never wanted to hurt you…especially not like that…not when we…" Sam stopped, his throat closing as a lump formed there, the emotions taking over. Sam couldn't finish.

Dean looked up and saw the turmoil that was rolling through Sam, the guilt. "Sam. I'm okay."

"No you're not Dean. I saw the blood…where did it come from?" Sam asked as he closed his eyes when the picture of what he had just done flashed through his head.

Dean smiled slightly, he lifted his arm to his head and leaned forward slightly and Sam saw that where he had had the wound behind his ear was now coated in the sticky liquid.

"You didn't hurt me Sam." He whispered.

Sam nearly cried with relief, he grabbed a towel from off the rack and placed it softly against the oozing wound. "Oh thank God." He said quietly.

Dean looked at him with a quizzical look on his face, "Excuse me Sam?" his lip pulled up slightly as he almost smiled.

"Can you hand me a wash cloth though?" Dean asked as he gestured to his sticky lower half.

Sam realized that he had been completely ignoring the fact that Dean was still covered in his cum and that he was sitting awkwardly on the cold tile of the bathroom floor. He nearly dropped the towel as he rushed to get a wet washcloth for Dean.

"Mind if I have a little privacy for a moment Sam?" he asked as Sam handed him the cloth.

"Uh no…yeah…call me if you need any help Dean." He stuttered as he rose to his feet, grabbing a wet hand towel to clean himself up on the way out.

"Kay…thanks Sam." Dean said as Sam pulled the door shut after he exited.

Dean sat on the floor, his breaths now coming in ragged spurts as he tried to control the pain of his hip. He shifted then and noticed the blood that had run down his side and was pooling lightly on the tiled floor. Dean thanked God that Sam hadn't seen it. He could deal with this, he had asked for it…but he wouldn't allow Sam to feel guilty about it.

He slowly shifted his weight and used the wet cloth to clean the mess on the tile and then threw it in the dirty clothes to be washed at a later point. Once that was done he crawled into the shower and allowed the water to wash away the evidence of his own self-hatred.

Twenty minutes later Dean was crawling into bed with Sam, he smelled like soap and shampoo and Sam found himself moving to lay his head on Dean's chest. The alarm on his phone set for 4am…and he wanted to get as much sleep as he could before then. The best sleep medicine that he had found was the steady beating rhythm of Dean's heart. Dean's arms came around him instantly pulling Sam in closer, and then he settled his chin on top of Sam's head.

"Love you Dean." Sam mumbled as he started to drift off.

Dean closed his eyes and considered that, "I love you too Sammy." He replied a few seconds later. Sam was already asleep. Dean reached over and turned off the alarm on Sam's phone, instead turning on the one next to himself and setting the volume on low.

XXXX

Sam awoke the next morning to an obnoxious buzzing, he threw his arms over his head to stop the sound from penetrating the warm haze of sleep. He noticed almost instantly, as he did, that Dean was no longer lying next to him, in fact he wasn't anywhere in the bed. Sam's eyes snapped open and he sat up frantically searching for the other man. He flew out of the bed and scrambled to the bathroom door, praying that Dean was inside. As he pushed open the door he saw that there was no one. The room was empty. "Dean?" he called.

Sam grabbed his jeans and boxers from the floor throwing them on as he glanced at the clock, 7:34am. "Fuck!" he said as he dialed Jakes number frantically.

"Damn-it Sam. Bout time you called me, we've been waiting for the last two hours, where the hell are you?" Jake said, his slight southern accent coming through.

"I set the alarm Jake…I don't kn…" he broke off as a horrible thought occurred to him. He hadn't taken his phone to the bathroom after texting Jake last night, and Dean had been different when he came out…Sonuvabitch…Dean read the messages…he turned my phone off. Panic swirled up inside of Sam as he started piecing together Dean's erratic behavior from the previous night.

"God damn-it. Jake Dean read the messages, and now he's gone." Sam swore as he threw his boots on, not even trying the laces as he stumbled down the stairs and out the front door.

Balthazar grabbed Jakes phone at this point, "Seriously Sam, you left your phone sitting unattended the night before we implement the big rescue and you thought what? That Dean was too stupid to realize that something was up?" Balthazar's haughty british tone was grating on Sam's nerves.

"Yeah, I fucked up Balthazar. Whatever…we need to get there before he does." Sam finished as he spotted Balthazar's black Audi sitting at the end of the street. He jogged up to the car quickly, ejecting Jake from the front seat and climbing in next to the irritated Brit.

Balthazar didn't say anything, he just turned his ice blue eyes in Sam's direction and shook his head like a disappointed parent.

"Shut up Balthazar." Sam said through tight lips. He dialed Dean's phone number not expecting an answer. All he got was voice mail, "Dean, please don't go in there without us. Please just take a second and think, you're hurt and they're armed and extremely dangerous. If you do this your putting both yourself and Ben in worse danger. Please Dean…I can't lose you." Sam finished, not caring that the other men were in the car listening to his heart felt phone call.

Balthazar pressed down harder on the accelerator as Sam turned destroyed blue-green eyes in his direction.

"Right." Was all he said.

Sam's phone buzzed with a message alert and he inhaled deeply before opening the text, 'Sam, I am with Dean. I have a plan to stop him or at least slow him down when we stop for gas. Hurry. Cas'

XXXX

Dean was driving; he was currently pushing his baby faster than he would normally. But it was for Ben, he was sure the car would understand the need for speed. While Dean hadn't been willing to wake Sam, he had called Castiel and had him meet in the garage. Cas had argued with him for twenty minutes before deciding that he could protect Dean better from the inside of the car. Dean had threatened to leave his ass behind if he didn't get in the car right then. Cas wanted to call Sam, but the only thing that he was able do was send a text message telling Sam that he was with Dean and that he had a plan as soon as they stopped for gas that would slow down the out of control father.

Luckily that happened sooner rather than later, Dean was blasting through the gas since he was pushing the car's engine. They pulled into a Texaco, and Dean limped inside to hit the bathroom and grab some coffee, leaving Castiel to fill the tank. Cas watched for Dean to disappear into the bathroom and then he pulled open the fuse box, beneath steering wheel and pulled two fuses out. Stomping on them for good measure and then throwing the evidence into the trash container. He quickly closed the cover and continued filling the tank.

Sam chose that moment to text him back, letting Cas know that they were at least hour behind them. Castiel sent a quick response and then place his phone back in his pocket. Gabriel was trying to keep in touch with him through messages too, although he was worried about Cas going with Dean, he was more concerned that they derail Dean's current plan…since there was no plan. It was a dangerous and potentially deadly solution to the situation. Gabriel had no intention of seeing Dean get himself killed, so he had made his own sacrifice and told Cas to go. Every fiber of his being arguing with him, that this was a bad plan, that there was no way to win this game, but sure that they would all play just the same.

The one thing that Cas knew was going to be a problem for him was that Dean knew this car inside and out, he had rebuilt it. So the chance of his discovering the missing fuses was pretty good, hence the reason that Cas stomped on them. Now whether or not that stopped Dean in the long run…he couldn't guarantee, but he could at least give Sam time to catch up and hopefully get to the cabin first. Castiel wasn't stupid he knew that Dean knew how to hotwire a car and there were plenty here for him to do exactly that, so he figured that he had bought them a small window.

Dean made his way back to the car, one hand on his cane and the other carrying a cup of hot black coffee. He needed the 'pick-me-up', Dean was tired and his adrenaline was slowing the further he got from Sam and any potential problems in stopping him from going after Ben. He would have liked to have Sam there with him, but Dean knew that Sam would never have allowed it. The whole time he would have been too worried about Dean to let him help…and Dean needed to help…it was his son damn-it. He saw Castiel place the pump handle back and then walk around to the passenger side, sliding easily into the car. Dean was a bit jealous as he watched how easily it was for Cas to move, he couldn't wait until he was back to 100%.

"We full now Cas?" he asked as he opened the driver's door and sat carefully on the leather seat, throwing his cane in the back seat.

"Uh, yeah Dean…it's full." Castiel replied as he continued to look out the window toward the road.

Dean rolled his eyes at the weird behavior of his friend and turned the key, waiting for the beautiful sound of his baby purring to life…nothing. No purr. The car was dead.

"What the hell?" he said as he cranked it a couple more times and then turned accusing eyes in Castiel's direction.

Cas looked at him in confusion, "What?" he asked simply.

"Cas, why won't my car start?" he ground out.

Castiel raised his shoulders in the universal sign of 'I don't know.' Which Dean didn't buy for one minute, if Castiel thought he was that stupid then Dean had some property to sell him with beachfront views in Arizona.

"What did you do Cas?" Dean growled.

XXXX

Sam couldn't believe that they had caught a break, Castiel had managed to stall Dean for two hours and they had made up the remaining time with the help Balthazar's crazy driving. The dirt road that he had refused to drive his beloved Audi down was rutted and weathered and well hidden in the dense foliage. It would have been hard for them to find without the aid of the GPS coordinates that Charlie had sent them.

Balthazar had hidden his car and Jake and Sam were currently pulling the weapons from the trunk. Jake had called in some pretty awesome favors, since they had several automatic handguns to choose from, Sam had brought his own pearl handled .45 Taurus, and three shotguns. But the really impressive stuff was the small canisters that read, 'OC Spray' and 'Flash Bangs'. Sam knew that these were generally only available to law enforcement and he was impressed that Jake had gathered them into the arsenal.

"Nice." He said as he picked up the black canisters.

"I thought that we could use all the evasion and distraction items I could get my hands on man." Jake said as he chuckled at Sam's impressed look.

"Yeah…good job." Sam said. Balthazar just rolled his eyes at the two men.

"You guys want to hug this out? Or can we get on with the rescuing thing?" He asked snarkily as they each glared in his direction.

"Shut up." They both said unison.

Sam gathered together additional ammo, and then pulled on the black leather jacket and the small pack that held medical supplies for Ben and additional rounds for the shotgun. He turned and looked at Jake, who nodded indicating that he was ready. Sam then turned to look at Balthazar, "This is as far as you go my friend…we got it from here." The brit just nodded his absolute agreement with that; he figured he had stuck his neck out just about far enough at this point.

"I'll be monitoring your communications Sam. Charlie is also monitoring the area from remote surveillance, if she see's anything that looks out of place, she'll let me know and I'll contact you."

Sam nodded, and Balthazar waived a hand toward the path which led off into the slowly darkening woods, "Go Sam…get that kid back."

Sam started into the woods followed closely by Jake…he picked his way carefully through the rapidly failing light; the other man close on his heels and silent as a shadow as they moved through the trees. They travelled like that for about thirty minutes and then he saw the lights of something in the distance. Sam raised his hand, telling Jake to halt as he lowered himself into a crouched position to get a better look at the building. It was a small structure, but they needed to see inside to know exactly which room the bastards were keeping Ben in. Sam shuffled forward when he saw no movement inside the place, he looked at the windows and was unsurprised to see them all darkened from the inside.

'Covered.' He whispered to Jake, who nodded.

They moved around to the back door and listened to the voices they could now hear inside, the men were laughing and joking. One of the voices sounded slurred and the other was whiney. The biggest issue that they had was that neither he nor Jake knew how many kidnappers were actually involved in this, so they were taking a huge risk going in with just the two of them. Sam would never have okay'ed an operation like this in the past. But this was for Dean…and that made him a little more reckless and little more dangerous. Jake recognized the shift in Sam as he heard the men, he knew that Sam had just gone into his 'zone'. That particular zone had never boded well for those on the outside of it. Jake was silently glad that he was on this man's side and not his enemy, because he was pretty sure that none of these men were walking out of this building alive tonight.

Sam gently opened the back door; idiot's always lock your doors. Sam thought as he slipped inside, Jake right behind him, his hand on Sam's back to keep proximity of one another. The 6'4 man moved stealthily through the shadows of the back room, he pressed himself against the wall, as he heard one of the men move. They settled back down and he exhaled a silent breath and was then moving again, he saw a room at the end of the hall. There was a window in the door, Sam stepped up and peered inside, praying that this was the room where they were keeping Ben. He wanted to puke when it turned out that he was right. The kid was lying on the blue single bed that had a very stained mattress on top, his pants hiked up past his ankles as he had tried to shift and move the leg restraints into a more comfortable position.

Sam turned and nodded at Jake, silently telling him that they had found their target. Sam had every intension of making these sonuvabitches pay…but first he had to get Ben to safety. Sam opened the door, cringing when it creaked slightly; he stopped and waited to see if they had accidentally just alerted the men to their presence. When no one came to investigate, Sam pushed the door open and slipped through the narrow opening into the room; he was immediately hit with strong the smell of urine. It was pungent aroma getting stronger the further inside the room he moved; it appeared that the assholes had never even checked on Ben other than probably assuring themselves that he was still alive. Sam swallowed the bile rising in his throat as he mentally calculated that Ben had been here for close to 48 hours and he had had nothing to eat or drink during that time.

Sam looked at Jake holding his hand up, Jake immediately halted and started watching their backs. Sam stepped gingerly into the room and next to the bed; he knelt down and placed his shotgun next to Ben's ankles, within easy reach. His eyes narrowed in sorrow as he looked at the tear tracks that ran beneath the blind folded eyes of Ben Winchester. Sam reached up slowly and touched Ben's arm, the kid shifted violently away from him, letting out a whimper as he did. Sam lost some of his nerve for a moment, then he reached up again and gently untied the earmuffs and the blindfold. "Ben." He whispered. "It's Sam…we're here to take you home." Sam finished as Ben turned frightened eyes in his general direction.

"Sam?" he asked.

"Yeah, Ben it's me. Let me untie your hands and get those cuffs off your legs so we can get you out of here." Sam added as he started to carefully saw through the ropes binding Ben's hands together.

"Is my dad here?" he asked in a dry hoarse voice.

"No…Ben he was hurt. I didn't want him to get hurt worse. Jake, a friend of mine is here with me." Ben's face fell slightly as he realized that his father had indeed been hurt.

Sam removed the rest of the rope and then picked the lock on the ankle cuffs and pulled them from around Ben's swollen feet. Sam wasn't sure that the kid could have walked if he had to, the cuffs had been digging into his legs for two days and there were raw red marks where they had actually cut into the skin. Sam was also disturbed to see that the ropes had abraded the skin on Ben's wrists and they were red and bleeding now that the bindings were gone.

Sam reached down and slowly picked Ben up, concerned by how light the kid was. He cradled his precious cargo against his chest and reached down to pick up his shotgun, placing it carefully below Ben, but still in a usable position. Jake started moving as soon as Sam was ready, they slowly maneuvered back along the path that they had followed coming into the cabin. Once they reached the door without mishap, Sam started to breathe a little easier. They stepped out into the cold night air and then all hell broke loose. Sam heard it…the exact moment when the men found out that the kid was gone; he heard them start screaming and running toward the door. Sam handed Ben to Jake and told him to run, "Sam!" Ben screamed as Jake took off at a dead run for the cover of the trees.

"Run Jake!" Sam cried as he heard the door crash behind him. He slammed his foot into the door forcing it closed as the men tried to exit. Sam heard their cries of pain as the wood smashed back into them and they fell in a heap on the other side. He couldn't run, not if it meant that those men might follow Jake and therefor Ben. So Sam moved; giving himself a better angle on the house and then crouched behind a huge stump of an old tree. Sam figured it would give him the best vantage point to keep an eye on the men inside the house.

Both men stumbled down the rickety wooden stairs at the same time, both howling with anger as they started shooting in random directions. Sam prayed that Jake was far enough way to be out of their range. He picked up one of his flash bangs and pulled the cap, throwing it in the men's direction, the explosive went off in a blinding flash of white light. Sam turned his eyes from the intensity of the blast, he watched as the kidnappers hit the dirt, assuming that they were dealing with more than one person and that this was some sort of official raid. Sam grasped a can of the crowd control OC and holding his breath; he popped the tab and threw the canister at the men. Instantly they were crying out with pain as the capsasium began burning their eyes and their skin wherever the smoke made contact.

Sam opened his eyes and took a breath, the meer proximity to the canister causing his own eyes to burn and his throat to close. He started coughing as he tried to clear the mist from his lungs. Luckily the men were far louder about it than he was, he continued to watch them, rolling on the ground like they had been shot. This was his chance, if he was going to take them out this was the time to do it. Sam was immediately flying out of his hiding spot, closing the distance between himself and the men and then slamming the butt of his rifle into the bigger man's face, watching in satisfaction as the blood spurted from the man's now broken nose. He fell instantly quiet as consciousness was ripped from him by Sam's blow. The other man struggled for his gun, trying to see through the blurry vision and the tears and snot running down his face. The body's natural reaction to the spray.

"Who are you?" the man cried as Sam stepped up next to him.

"You shouldn't have taken the child." Was all he said as he brought his fist back and smashed it into the man's face with so much force that his head rocked back into the ground and he was out for the count. Sam grabbed his pack and pulled the zip ties from the interior, tying the men's hands behind their backs in addition to their feet. He searched them once they were secured and removed the hidden knives and blades that they had stashed in their boots.

"Amateurs." He said as he backed away. Sam then thought better of it and slammed his booted foot into each man's side…for Dean. He thought, his mind relishing the thought of some payback.

Sam pulled his cell phone from his pocket, dialing Castiel's number, since he knew that Dean wouldn't answer his call right now. "Cas…" he was interrupted by Cas's frantic voice.

"He ditched me Sam…More than…I don't know…a while ago. I tried to get a hold of you, but you never answered." Cas said, his voice rising in pitch with each passing word.

"Whoa..slow down Castiel. What do you mean he 'ditched' you?" Sam asked in a tight voice, trying to control his own rapidly rising panic.

"He won't answer his phone Sam. I don't know where he is." Cas said in despair.

"Jesus…Cas we got Ben. Jake's taking him to Balthazar and then we are headed back. I need you to call the FBI and tell them everything…well not about me…but everything about the kidnapping and attempted extortion of the money and give them the evidence. The men are tied up here, they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. But they need to get agents out here immediately." Sam finished in a rush.

"You found Ben? Is he okay?" he asked in a soft voice.

"As okay as he's going to be for a while." Sam said quietly.

"Okay, Sam I'm calling them now, you might want to get the hell out of there."

"I'm heading out now Cas." Sam said as he clicked his phone closed.

He was walking down the dirt road when he saw a car off in the distance, he swiftly moved his path into the foliage next to the road. The old truck rumbled up and Sam strained to see who was inside…he saw the face of a man he didn't know in the moonlight. Oh shit…there were three of them? He closed his eyes and swore again as he started back toward the cabin, he couldn't leave even one of these bastards free. The authorities would be here soon, but he needed to deal with this right now. He jogged a ways behind the truck, but close enough to keep it in sight. Once they were back at the cabin, he stopped noticing that the cab of the still running pickup was empty.

"Yeah I knew you were following me asshole." Sam closed his eyes as the voice came from behind him along with the sound of a hammer clicking back. I'm sorry I wasn't able to keep my promise Dean.

Sam turned and was rewarded with a view of a man that looked stunningly like a version of Ben…only older. "Where'd you take that damn kid?" he said through yellowed teeth.

"You'll never get to him again." Sam said confidently.

"We'll just have to see about that…well you won't be around to see anything, but you get the drift." The man answered snidely raising the run, so it was pointed at Sam's head instead of his chest.

"Hey!" A deep hoarse voice, that Sam would know anywhere, called from behind the two men. Sam's eyes were drawn to Dean's and he bit his lip as he saw Dean waiver with exhaustion and pain. He wasn't even sure how Dean would have gotten this far back without being driven.

"Winchester…" the man sneered.

Dean's reactions were a fraction of a second too slow as the man turned back toward Sam and pulled the trigger. Sam felt the white hot pain rip through his left shoulder as he dove at the last second, trying to avoid getting his head ventilated by this maniac. The report of a second gunshot was heard just a moment later and then the thud of a body hitting the ground.

TBC…

Author's Note: Cliff hanger I know…I hate them too. I tried to bring some of Dean's self-hatred to the forefront in this chapter. Don't hate for it, I just think that Dean would do anything for Sam and if he thought he could punish himself a bit in the process he probably would. Don't flame me for it… I've been watching season two and three lately, so I figured I would work some of the recklessness and the possibly other self-destructive things that Dean might do if he was face with a situation like this. Hope I got it close…I tried. I will post the next chapter ASAP.

Please Review. I really enjoy reading what you guys think.