O Death! The poor man's dearest friend –

The kindest and the best.

Robert Burns ~ Man Was Made to Mourn

Can't Stop Us Now

Sean's pov….

Dean wouldn't let me out of his sight, not even for a minute. I had tried to save his life, but I couldn't save my own ass from his wrath. Because the bottom line, excuse the pun, was that I hadn't listened to him, I didn't obey a direct order. Mr. Anti-Authority Figure has officially turned into Dad. And he has become my shadow.

"Dean I need some personal space, give me some damn room," I begged.

My request was met with a smile. "You should have thought of that before you went off to hobnob with a demon."

"Well at least it was demon I knew and it was for a good reason," I exclaimed.

"Are you going to hold that over my head the rest of my life?"

"Are you going to keep me captive the rest of my life?" I replied.

After that conversation I got a wee bit of freedom back. We had run far from Bobby's and honestly I had no idea where we were. My arm had finally healed leaving a fresh scar. I had bled more than I had expected and the bright crimson had almost seemed to mock me. The sight had tickled some very old memories; ones I wasn't sure I was ready to accept or believe for that matter.

Sam's pov….

While Sean and Dean were busy arguing, I had come up with some disturbing information about the area so we got comfortable. There were plentiful stories around town about a killing farm where people who unfortunate enough to wander in, never wandered out. But of course nobody had an exact location. The three of us piled in the Impala and began our search.

Our exploration yielded no clues and we traipsed back to the motel feeling defeated. Sean collapsed on one of the beds and turned the TV on. Dean jumped into the shower and I pulled out the laptop.

"I think you need to dream and find us some answers little brother," I said.

"Will Dean stay mad at me forever?" he asked.

"You know he won't, you guys have this dance every few months and everything turns out okay."

"We attained a new level this time, but I didn't know what else to do, Sam."

"He just worries about you; that's why he gets so upset. I've been through the same thing with him, you know that. It'll be fine, but take it down a notch so I can have some peace," I said chuckling.

I spread out the map of the town that we had picked up on our drive. I traced our routes and tried to visualize where this place might be. Sean turned off the TV and padded over joining me in my search. He gazed for a moment and then sat on his bed. Dean and Sean swapped places with the bathroom and I continued to study the map.

"Any new ideas?" Dean inquired.

"Nothing, I think we will need to rely on Sean for this one. Ease up on him a little bit he thinks you hate him," I told him.

"He knows I don't hate him, he just needs to listen to me. How can I keep him safe if he won't listen?" he said in exasperation.

A few minutes later, Sean wandered out of the bathroom and sat at the end of my bed. Now, since I have returned to the fold, Sean has for the most part slept next to Dean so this choice of seats was awkward. Dean looked hurt but was trying to hide it.

"Did you brush your teeth?" he asked.

"Yesssss, and washed my face," Sean said dramatically.

Dean patted the space on the bed next to him and Sean, somewhat reluctantly, transferred beds. Dean put his arm around our younger brother and pulled him close.

"What are you doing?" Sean asked perplexed.

"I do what I do because I care about you."

"Okay, I care about you, too, and that's why we've been fighting."

"New page, we start over tomorrow morning. Deal?" Dean asked, extending his right hand.

"Deal!" Sean said returning the handshake.

Dean pulled up the covers and Sean slid underneath. We turned on one light over the table and continued our search all the while hoping that Sean would wake up with some answers.

At some point in the night a restless Dean got up and took a seat at the table where the map still lay from the night before. His mind had refused to turn off and he finally gave up trying to sleep for the moment. As he looked at the outline of the map, his mind began to wander backwards through time. Sean was on the cusp of his fifth birthday and was once again in trouble with John for being disrespectful and defiant. He was on his knees in the corner facing the wall. He was half way into his ten minute punishment; a very long time for such a youngster, when John stood up and declared he had to run an errand. He waved Dean over and in a quiet conversation made it clear that Dean was to make sure that Sean completed this disciplinary action. Dean looked at his father, bewildered, but nodded compliantly. As John left he turned and said, "It's important, Dean."

John was barely out the door when Sean hopped up and placed himself on the bed.

"What are you doing little man?" Dean questioned.

"Daddy's gone and he won't know. You won't tell him because that would be tattling and you told me how we're not supposed to tattle," Sean said, full of hope and innocence.

"It doesn't matter that Dad is gone, he left me in charge and you need to get your butt back in the corner for five more minutes," Dean said, pointing to the said corner. "If you're not back there by the time I count to three, you will have to sit there for two more minutes; 1…2….3," Dean finished and swooped over picking up his baby brother and plunking him back in the corner.

Dean had barely turned around when he found Sean standing defiantly, arms crossed and scowling behind him.

"You're back up to ten minutes now so get back in the corner," Dean said in the harshest voice he could muster. Why was dad doing this to him, to Sean, Dean wondered? Sam remained impassive on his bed watching the battle unfolding before him.

Sean hadn't moved an inch he just glared disobediently at his eldest brother. Dean's mind was spinning, this was so unfair, he was Sean's big brother not his father, he was only twenty years old for God sake. He made an effort to keep his breathing even as he pondered his next move. He was well aware that John had delivered two swats to Sean's behind prior to placing him in the corner and knew that a third would sting mightily but his baby brother had placed him in a sticky situation.

Sam remained frozen on his bed and Sean just glared rebelliously. Dean sighed and took three quick steps snatching his youngest brother by the arm and delivered one stinging smack across Sean's behind and firmly placed him back in the corner.

"I'll tell you when your ten minutes are up," Dean said with little emotion and then sat on his bed with his back turned to both of his younger brothers.

The ten minutes ticked by slower than the last moments of school prior to summer vacation. Finally it was time and Sean was released from his temporary prison. He jumped up and ran right to Sam burying his head against his brother's chest. Dean could see the spot on Sam's shirt that had been left behind by a stray tear. He felt like crap and intended to let his father know as much.

"I gotta go out for a minute," Dean declared as he rose and headed to the door. As his hand fell to the knob, he was forced to stutter-step as the full weight of his youngest brother came slamming into him; but not out of anger Dean realized, as Sean clung to his leg with all of his might.

It had suddenly become very clear to Dean that his training for the last year and a half had begun that day and why it had been so important. It was he who needed to head this family now. This memory reinforced the fact that John Winchester had a reason for everything he did.

The next morning, as the memory hung in Dean's brain, he asked for a moment alone with Sean.

"What's up?" Sean asked.

"I needed to talk to you about something," Dean answered.

He proceeded to tell Sean about last night's memory and how he felt about it.

"I guess Dad was more on the ball than we gave him credit for. Dean, the reason I was so upset back at Bobby's wasn't about you disciplining me it was because….well, Dad was the one that usually did it and now he's gone. It's just a big reminder that I'll never see him again. The whole dealing with the demon, trading lives and then…you know, his memory just crashed into me. I lost my father and now I feel like I lost my brother too."

"You didn't lose me and I'm sorry, maybe I was too hard on you, maybe…" Dean drifted.

"No, I mean I feel like now you can't just be my brother, you have had to become so much more. It's not fair and I hate it, I hate it for both of us."

"Me too," Dean finished.

Dean and Sean looked like they had reconciled and we headed back on the search for evil. Hopefully, with Sean's head clear, he could be our little compass.

We went east and then west and finally Sean's senses seemed to perk up. He steered us west and then south to a very lonely looking road that seemed to be no more than a driveway. We carefully made our way while keeping a look out for anything abnormal. We had gone a little over a mile when Sean grabbed his head and held his hands over his ears.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Can't you hear the screams?" he asked.

Dean and I just looked at each other hearing nothing but silence.

"Maybe we should turn around," Dean said.

"NO, keep going this is the right place," Sean said, looking like he was in a lot of pain.

We finally arrived at a dilapidated farm house. There was no activity anywhere but there seemed to a sense of heaviness. Sean just waved us on as he remained in the fetal position in the backseat hands still clamped over his ears. We locked the doors after giving Sean a gun, just in case.

We split up with each of us keeping an eye on the car. I walked into a barn that was full of bloodstained tables and the floor was a rusty brown. There were grisly looking tools hanging everywhere and my stomach turned as I wondered what they were used for. There was nobody dead or alive in the barn so I hopped out and ensured the Impala and its contents were safe. I then went to the back where there was evidence that some kind of structure had been there a while back but had since burned down. There was a large tree near there with this odd looking branch about 25 feet in the air. I circled back around to the house and found Dean coming out the front door.

"Anything?" I asked.

"Not really, whoever lives here is not very materialistic and messy, but no bodies or body parts lying around," Dean told me.

"Something doesn't feel right around here," I said. "It seems sad and angry."

"Let's check on Sean and see if he has come up with anything besides the screams which pretty much indicate some sort of activity in itself," Dean said.

We peeked into the backseat and found it empty, except for the gun that lay right where we had left Sean.

"I'm going to kill that kid. I was just worrying that I was too hard on him. We're going to have to start tying him up," Dean said as we began our brisk walk around the property.

It wasn't long before we found him lying under the weird tree that I had seen earlier. He turned to us and filled us in. "There is tremendous evil here, but the one who carries it out is not to blame. He needs to be free."

"What?" we asked.

Sean just trudged back to the car and we followed.

"Just drive," he begged.

We stopped at a diner for lunch and to pick Sean's brain.

"So what gives?" Dean asked.

"There is a lot of evil on that farm; it goes back a little ways. But I don't think it was always there, something visited and never completely left. I'll have to work on it, but I don't think it is going to be straightforward," he explained.

We spent the evening cleaning our guns and inventorying ammunition while Sean retreated into his own world.

The next morning we waited expectantly for Sean to emerge from the shower. He was still rubbing the mousse into his hair as he exited the bathroom.

"You're going to have to believe and trust me," he began. "The farmer made a deal years ago with a stranger. This stranger offered him success like he had hoped for. There was no mention of what this success would cost him; he was too caught up in the moment to care. Things went well for years and he enjoyed his life and achievements until tragedy struck and it was time to pay his debt."

"How?" I asked.

"He has to sacrifice people, offerings. It isn't pretty," Sean finished.

"What does he do?" Dean asked.

"He has to follow a protocol of torture and sometimes he, well sometimes he has to eat the flesh of his victims." Sean seemed to go out of focus but continued to talk. "He asks them where they will run and where will they hide. There are cutting boards and hanging hooks, bloody knives and he promises you won't feel anything at all, but they'll eat you alive, the food hasn't died." Sean seemed to snap out of his trance. "He tries to kill them quickly so they don't suffer, but sometimes he can't do it fast enough." He seemed to drift off again. "They scream, whine and yell but there is no help just the sounds of dinner bells. They will feed the worms and trees, just swallow and chew."

"Wow, that's incredibly gross," Dean said. "He eats them alive?"

"Something doesn't sit right; I think he's being forced into it," Sean said.

"He can always commit suicide," Dean offered.

"I don't think he can," Sean said.

Off we went to research and see what we were dealing with.

"Ted Fulton, his wife, Hillary, and daughter, Grace, lived on that farm until Hillary and Grace were killed in a fire in the tool shed. Ted was rarely seen after that." I said after mulling over my research.

"Not much to go on, we need to have a little talk with Teddy and see what is what," Dean said.

"Don't you think we should find out what might be behind all of this?" I asked.

"That's what we have Sean for," he nodded in Sean's direction who was over in the corner flipping through some magazines.

"Don't put that pressure on him, he may not know. We can't predict what may reveal itself to him," I pushed.

We arrived at the farm and this time a man met us in the front yard. He looked average and normal so we approached in a relaxed manner but as always we were ready to meet with the unknown. He introduced himself as Ted and asked what we needed. It was awkward and we tapped danced around a brief conversation. It was only when Sean came over that the normalcy disappeared and the insanity started.

Sean reached out and touched Ted on the arm. Ted looked revolted and grabbed his arm as if he was in pain. He then dropped to his knees and began to sob, "You are the one I have been praying for."

Sean grabbed us and pulled us several feet away. "He used to be a priest, but was excommunicated for heresy; he wouldn't recant and was booted out of the church. I don't know the exact details but it crushed him and he felt abandoned. He was approached by something that offered him all he could've ever wanted; a family, a business, happiness. He thought he had something that would replace what he had lost to the church. The offer was good while he had his family to care for and be a part of. Then this force became impatient and killed his family, leaving Ted in the same place he had been in years ago, desperate and lonely. It then came to collect."

"What came Sean, what is it?" I asked.

"I don't know," he whispered. "It is very powerful, it makes him do the evil things; it makes him kill. It is fed through Teddy."

We looked over and Ted was standing there. He had taken off his jacket and was standing there in a tank top revealing marks on his upper arm where Sean had touched only moments before.

Dean looked to me for answers about the symbols but I was at a loss.

"It's Aramaic; it means blood in, blood out. This evil in charge consumes the sins of others through you, Ted; it's how it survives. You have been marked." Sean explained in a manner that reminded me of a child repeating a definition in a spelling bee. "You can't break free on your own," Sean stated to Ted.

"I know, I've tried. I put a gun to my head and it misfired; I took pills and vomited them back up; I tried to drown and was saved; I sliced my wrists and the blood clotted. I can't stop myself, I have to torture and kill; it is the only way to make the pain stop," Ted explained.

"What about their pain?" Dean demanded of the victims.

"Their pain is temporary, mine will last forever."

I looked over to Sean but he was now entering the barn. Dean and I quickly followed and nearly lost our lunch as we saw the latest victim hanging above the table. There were cups and bowls full of flesh and blood.

"Is he dead?" I asked.

Sean nodded yes as he looked around. "Not for very long."

"So where is this evil entity?" Dean demanded as he pushed through the door.

"Everywhere, all around," Sean explained.

"He's going to be angry because I haven't eaten or drank yet," Ted explained. "He will come."

"I can set you free and stop this madness; we'll wait with you for him to come," Sean said as Dean and I looked at each other in mutual confusion.

Dean pulled Sean aside to demand answers. "How are you going to set him free?"

"I can do what he can't," Sean said not focusing on Dean at all.

"We don't even know what we are dealing with," Dean said in distress.

"The all-time epic battle between good and evil; only evil has won this battle," Sean said as he walked away.

We got the body of the poor unsuspecting victim and set him outside where the police could easily find him later. As the day went on we noticed the air getting heavier and darker. The wind was picking up and Sean seemed to remain in this daze. He spoke with Ted frequently but always quieted when either Dean or I came near.

"I don't like this one bit" Dean said.

"Me either, but I think we need to let him do this on his own. I don't think we have a choice, it sounds like we are battling an idea more than a being or entity," I told him.

Sean wandered over and seemed to have heard us as he looked at us both with a very stoic look. "I'm old enough to fight the dark, just trust me."

We did, we had no other choice.

As night came, the wind began to howl and the darkness was as black as I had ever seen it. The feeling of repression was immense we felt so trapped and unable to do anything. Time seemed to jump and when we recognized our surroundings again, both Sean and Ted were gone. We didn't dare split up as we searched the barn, the house, the area in the back with the tool shed, and finally, with no sign of Sean, we hoped he had taken refuge in the car. It was then we saw a figure in the sky, a sinister shadow, darker than the sky. It hovered near the tree that had caught my attention the first time we were here. It was only then that I saw another outline, this one hanging from the high branch. The body was flailing and Dean and I both realized not only was it alive, it was Ted. He was choking but alive. We ran to the tree unsure of what we could do when we nearly ran over Sean who was standing beneath Ted. He was looking up to the branch with such intensity that we knew he must be working on some kind of plan. It was then it dawned on me.

"Remember when Bobby told us about his talk with Sean about the telekinesis? I think he is using right now," I told Dean.

"The glass and Dad's head and he repressed the ability, so what?" Dean said.

"I think he is using it now to break the branch and save Ted" I screamed above the wind.

"How did he even get up there?" Dean yelled as he circled the tree. It was then he nearly tripped over the ladder that had fallen. He placed back up against the tree and prepared to climb.

"Dean, it's too windy, don't go up there," I screamed.

I went over to hold the base of the ladder as Dean placed his foot on the first rung. Dean made it to the second step when he fell backwards and right on top of me.

The battle continued to rage and it looked as though Sean wasn't going to win. The branch appeared to be severely cracked but just wouldn't fall. Time seemed to stand still and then, with a crack of lightening and rumble of thunder, the wind died and the branch fell to the ground with Ted breaking its fall. Dean and I recovered and rushed over to the body to find Ted was indeed dead.

"You tried, Sean, the evil, whatever the hell it was, must have held that branch with all of its power to keep it from falling," Dean said.

With the light of the moon now glowing, we could see Sean's face. "It didn't hold the branch up, I did. The only thing that Ted wanted was the freedom that only death could give. It wanted to keep him alive to do its bidding, consuming the sins of another. It fed off of the sins that Ted collected."

Dean and I just dumbly looked at each other as Sean eased over next to Ted's body. He crashed to his knees and spoke to the body. "I told you I'd take you to a place where it isn't dark anymore." He then stood and faced us. "Death is the poor man's dearest friend."

We left the property packed up and placed a call to the local police as we were leaving town.

"So let me get this straight; you held the branch in place so Ted would die, so he would finally be at peace? And did I fall on my own or did you have something to do with that?" Dean asked.

"That's what he needed to make the killing stop and the torture he felt by carrying out the murders," I added.

Sean turned on a flashlight and allowed the beam to wash his face in light. "As Plato once said; to do injustice is more disgraceful than to suffer it."