Title: One Soul Condemned To Heaven And Hell {49-60}
Author: Emono
Rating: FRM
Fandom: Supernatural/RPS
Pairings: Sam/Jared, Dean/Jensen, Castiel/Ryan
Disclaimer: I do not own the souls of J2, or Sam…or Dean…or anyone…not even my own *le sigh* It's all Kripke and McG, the lucky bastards
Beta: gil_follower
Warnings: Post-Hell!Dean, very AU, SLASH!!, post-Season 3, Demon!Sam (sort of), whumping, angst, OOC-ness, wing-kink, SPOILERS!!!! Major spoilers for "Salvation", and basically all of first and second season that involves Azazel

(AN: Let's just say, for arguments sake, John left three years ago and that's when Dean went to get his brother. Cause I've actually fucked up this story line so much, I'm really not sure how everything fits. Just try to enjoy the ride, huh?)


//Manning, Colorado// Jared looked around the cabin carefully, noting all the pictures and all the maps hanging on the walls //Shit, this isn't good at all.//

"First off, boys" John sat down at the table, right in front of Sam's laptop "Did you take care of that…uh, that demon that made Jared's deal?"

Jared shot Dean a dirty look, "You told him?"

"Yeah, cause he's my dad" Dean shot him a trite look in response "And, Dad, it turned out to be a Fallen Angel -turned- Crossroads demon."

John just blinked at him, "Well that sucks."

"He was taken care of" Sam cut it short, hands busy with shucking off his coat "No big deal."

The others didn't say a word about what had happened, it was best not to bring it up. They all still felt a little sore about what had went down, and none of them were about to invoke Sam's ire.

"And you…" John flicked his fingers at Jensen "You doing ok now, Hollywood?"

"I'm fine" Jensen assured him, hands buried in Dean's old jean jacket "It was just a thing, I'm over it now."

John nodded, leaning forward until his elbows touched the table. He ran his fingers over his mouth thoughtfully, then gestured out again.

"So this is it" John declared, eyes darting around "This is everything I know."

The Colt was laid out on a stack of papers, catching the light.

"Look, our whole lives we've been searching for this demon. Right? Not a trace, just…nothing" John met his boys' gazes, getting subtle nods and flickers of frustration "Until about three years ago. For the first time, I picked up the trail."

Dean cocked his head, "That's when you took off."

"Yeah. That's right."

Dean and Sam shared a look, but didn't interrupt.

John thumbed his bottom lip, "The demon must have been hiding or in hibernation."

The oldest Winchester noted the look, "You boys must be pretty mad that I haven't let you in."

Sam scoffed, "Just a bit."

"That's what this is" John pointedly looked around again "The trail, the hunt. I'm letting you in because you're ready, but I'm ready."

"Liar" Jared was only half-teasing "You're letting us in because Azazel (aka: Ol'-Yellow-Eyes) has finally showed himself on the radar again."

The older man gave him a stern look, "Hush up, boy."

"Don't be a prick, Jare" Jensen poked him hard in the side, getting a squirm and a grunt for his efforts.

"Alright" Dean stood before his father, open to whatever he was saying "So, what's this trail you found?"

"Starts in Arizona, then New Jersey, California" John kept looking over at Sam, gauging his reaction to all this "Houses burned to the ground. It's going after families, just like it went after us."

"Families with infants?" Sam inquired.

"Yeah" John admitted "The night of the kid's 6-month birthday."

Sam kinda perked up a bit at this, "I was six months old that night?"

"Exactly six months."

"So basically this demon is going after these kids" Jared stared out the window, brow furrowed "For some reason or another."

Sam scoffed, "Same way it came for me?"

John rubbed at his mouth, Dean knew where this was going.

The youngest Winchester gripped the sink behind him hard, "So Mom's death, Jessica…it's all cause of me?"

Dean sighed, "We don't know that, Sam."

"Oh really?" Sam pushed away from the sink "Cause I say we're pretty damn sure, Dean."

"Sam, stop" Jared pleaded softly, bringing up two fingers to rub at his temple. He knew about Jess, about how much Sam had loved her, about how he had even planned to marry her but had put it off for some unknown reason. He remembered how guilty Sam had felt one night and called him, claiming that he thought he hadn't stopped Jessica's death just to get out of the engagement without hurting her.

Dean turned to his brother, "For the last time: What happened to them was not your fault."

"Yeah, you're right" Sam raised his voice "It's not my fault, but it's my problem."

"No it's not your problem" Dean shot his brother a fierce glare, voice hard "It's our problem."

"Okay" John stood suddenly, frustrated "That's enough."

Dean and Sam both looked at their father, then each other. Sam turned away, trying to gather himself. John got out from behind the desk, unsure if he was going to have to break up a fight. Jensen watched on silently, fists still clenched in the depths of his jacket.

"So why is it doing it?" Sam stated suddenly, trying to keep his mind on the present "What does it want? Why did he give me his blood? These powers? What was the point of all of this?"

"Sam, I wish I had more answers. I do" John sounded a tinge guilty and very exasperated "I've always been one step behind it. Look, I've never gotten there to save…"

John's voice trailed off, a tearful silence set in. Minds went to all the familiar this thing had killed…all the people who had been in the way. Mary Winchester, Jessica, nameless fathers and mothers and siblings who had been burnt up in houses in towns that most of them had never known existed before the tragedies. Names and faces who were pinned up on these walls beside weather maps and Latin scriptures.

Dean leant against the table, eyes going to his father, "All right, so how do we find it before it hits again?"

John looked up finally, pulling himself from his thoughts, "There are signs. Look, it took me a while to see the pattern, but in the days before these fires, signs crop up in an area. Cattle deaths, uh, temperature fluctuations, electrical storms."

All were thinking the same thing.

"And then I went back and checked, and…"

"Those things happened in Lawrence?" Jensen offered timidly.

John nodded, though his eyes were on Dean, "The week before your mother died."

Dark eyes went to Sam next, "And in Palo Alto…before Jessica."

Sam's jaw clenched.

"And these signs, they're starting again."

Sam swallowed thickly, "Where?"

"Salvation, Iowa."

Jensen snorted, desperately trying to contain his laugh. Looks of horror were shot at him, accusing and like steel pinpricks all over his skin.

"I'm so sorry" Jensen pressed the joint of his thumb between his lips, biting down hard "That was completely inappropriate. But…no one else?"

"You're gonna have to ignore him" Dean informed his dad "His trip to Hell was a unique one."

"Salvation, Iowa" Jensen snickered silently, clenching his eyes shut as he tried to hide his amusement "You can't make that shit up, man."

()

(AN: Big spoilers for "Salvation" of season one. I can't recreate episodes very well, cause all the dialogue seems stunted and I can't capture the meaning and details of each moment like I would like to. So if you really want to get a good feel for what I'm laying down, you're gonna have to watch the episode while reading this. You dig? Good. Sam thing goes for very near-future chapters with the episode "Devil's Trap" Watch it and love it.)

They had been driving for some times when they finally made it to Iowa. Jared watched the back of a sign approach from his seat in the back, craning his neck to read it as they passed.

" 'Leaving Salvation, The Heartland of America' " Jared read, eyes suddenly bugging " 'Are you ready for Judgment Day?' Oh shit, guys…I think I just saw live-in-color foreshadowing."

"Calm down" Jensen was running a polishing cloth up and down his boot-knife, getting his body-on weapons ready just in case "It's probably nothing. Besides, if that glimpse I caught was right, the Jackpot here is 1.7 million. That's good, right?"

Dean's brow creased, "Dad's pulling over."

Jared hunkered down in his seat, wishing to disappear, "Here we go. Something's going down, man."

"Oh hush" Jensen hissed, pinching the younger man's arm and making him wince "You paranoid thing."

They pulled off over the main road. John got out of his truck first, the other four exchanging looks before they got out as well.

"Damn it" John cursed, kicking the ground.

"What is it?" Dean asked, confused.

"Son of a bitch!" John struck his truck, pissed.

"What is it?" his son repeated, worry in his tone.

"I just got a call from Caleb."

"Is he ok?"

"He's fine" John shoved his hands into his pockets, upset "Jim Murphy's dead."

Sam leaned against the car, face distraught, "Pastor Jim?"

John nodded, a mix of angry and crestfallen.

"How?" Sam breathed, disbelief in his eyes.

Jared tugged at Jensen's coat, leaning in to whisper in his ear, "Who's Pastor Jim?"

Jensen shrugged, "No fuckin' clue."

"Throat was slashed" John's voice took on a gravel edge "Bled out."

Sam huffed, knocking the side of his fist off the car.

"Caleb says they found traces of sulfur at Jim's place."

"A demon" Dean's nose crinkled "The demon?"

"I don't know" John shook his head "Could be he just got careless, slipped up. Maybe the demon knows we're getting close."

Jensen stepped up beside his lover, "What do you wanna do, John?"

Jared sneered as the rain started to pick up, tucking himself into the folds of his jacket. This was just fuckin' perfect. Tension was thick, they were damp, and he hadn't been really warm in hours.

Fuckin' demons.

"Now we act like every second counts" John stated, going into drill sergeant mode "There's two hospitals and two health centers in this county. We split up, we cover more ground. I want a list of every infant that's going to be six months old in the next week."

"Dad, that's gotta be dozens of kids" Sam pointed out "How the hell are we gonna know which one's the right one?"

"We'll check 'em all, that's how" John snapped "You got any better ideas?"

Dean snuffed, giving his brother a look that said, See what happens when you pick at Dad?

Sam looked away from his lover, swallowing compulsively, "No sir."

//You have no idea// Sam seethed inwardly //I have so much power. I could kill you right now with just a thought. But you're my dad, and I'll play along.//

But Jared walked over and put an arm on the Winchester's back, silently pleading with him to calm down and not to tell John about the blood thing. That's all the man needed, to worry about whether his son was going Darkside or not

"Jensen, Jared" the boys perked up at this, eyes on the Winchester "I want you two to back each other up, take two of the ID's from my boys and take one of the health care centers. They're usually easier."

Sam shook his head, "Dad, they've never gone in alone before. We can't just-"

"I said they'd have each other" John snapped, looking over the actors "Can you do it?"

Jensen nodded for them both, "Yes sir."

Dean and John shared subtle nods, going back to their vehicles. But John stopped at the door of his truck, fingers lingering on the handle.

Dean paused as well, "Dad?"

John took in a shaky breath, turning to them, "It's Jim. You know, I can't --"

Jensen could practically taste the grief rolling off the man, "John?"

"This ends now" the Winchester's features hardened, jaw locking "I don't care what it takes."

The Winchester boys exchanged a morbid look across the Impala, then got in.

"At what cost?" Jared hissed in his best friend's ear "Our lives?"

"This thing killed their mother, Jay" Jensen crowded in close, making sure the other two couldn't hear them "It killed John's wife, it killed Sam's fiancée. It's hard to hear, but it's true. They want revenge for something that happened way before we came along…it's our duty to help."

"It's our duty to Balance" Jared pointed out "To keep them from going over the edge. Did you see John's eyes? Did you see Sam's? Maybe we shouldn't let them do this…maybe if we just delay them a bit…"

"I just lost my guardian, Jay, I'm not losing John too" the older man narrowed his eyes, anger flaring up in his chest "And I'm not losing Dean. Not for you, not for Heaven, Azazel, not for anyone."

Jared couldn't keep it in any longer, "Don't you think this is all so stupid? Getting revenge on something that could've been an everyday demon, an everyday occurrence? Sure we have the Colt, but what if it goes wrong? Wouldn't it just be better to hunt down other things? More harmful things than a demon that kills once every ten years or something? Doesn't it strike you as the stupidest thing ever to throw away your life for something you're not even sure you're gonna find?"

Jensen was ready to punch him. He pushed the taller man away, giving him a filthy look.

"Christ, Jared" Jensen opened the back door, almost growling "Did you lose your fuckin' compassion when you lost your wings?"

Jared watched the door slam between him, leaving him on the road alone.

He couldn't even think until Dean honked the horn at him.

()

Not even two hours later, Jared doubled over on himself outside Eastern Salvation Health Care Center. Jensen dropped to his knees and put an arm over his best friend, letting him muffle his screamed into his shoulder. Thankfully not many were around, and he managed to hide Jared just around the corner in a half-ally. It took him some time, but he managed to calm down enough to speak.

"Sam's found them" Jared rasped.

"Who?"

"The family…the family Azazel is trying to destroy."

TBC

It's all about us (all about us)