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.
Plot: This story has evolved from the meeting of Dean Winchester and Sam Campbell on a plane that crashes, to a full blown life story of what happens when you find that one person that you are supposed to be with. But the universe is constantly placing roadblocks in the way. There are other people to help them along the way. But really it is the story of Sam and Dean and they cope.
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.
Please Review: Another shameless request...I know. But please take the time.
This story contains pairings in an AU of the M/M variety...you have been warned.
Chapter 52
Bait
Dean could feel the cold seeping in and out of his bones as he struggled to stay conscious. The wound on his head ached and the awkward positioning of his shoulders was causing them both to scream in agony from their maintained overhead position. He tried to shift to alleviate the pain, but he found that the chattering of his teeth and the full-body shaking wouldn't allow his body to obey his commands anymore. He had no clue how long he'd been in the hole…his thoughts were fuzzy and he kept thinking that he was smelling something 'off'. But he couldn't quite place the scent…his eyes felt swollen in his head and his throat was so parched that he wasn't sure he could have called out for help if he'd had to. He blinked sluggishly and then leaned against the wall as his eyes fell shut…no longer able to ignore the pull of unconsciousness…he awoke some time later, only then realizing that he couldn't keep track of time anymore.
It took a moment for Dean to recognize that his leg was aching painfully; he tried to move it and was equally surprised when he noticed that his arms were no longer manacled to the wall. He still couldn't see or hear anything but at least he could move…which only served to alert him to the slick pool under his right leg…blood. His head supplied quickly as he moved slightly and found that he was incredibly dizzy too. "Sam…where are you?" He groaned in a whisper. Thoughts of Ben and what he must be going through were flipping through his random thoughts like a flicker show…and it wasn't sitting well…at all. He found that he couldn't keep his thoughts on one thing for more than a few moments before his brain moved onto another thing…or person.
He pulled in a long slow breath and swallowed as he tried to reposition himself again inside the small room. Dean's breathing increased as the claustrophobia intensified and he tried to pull air in through his nose and blow it out his mouth slowly. This was ridiculous…he wasn't afraid of small spaces…although he figured that he might get a little uncomfortable with them in the future. Great, he could add that to his list of things he was nervous about, the other being flying…oh and bears…he really didn't like bears either.
He wondered if he would ever get the chance to marry Sam in that ceremony? Because, oh God, did he want to. Would he get to see the man that Ben would become? How had his life become this fucked up pile of crap? And how did he get back the some semblance of normality for the three of them? Dean didn't want to give up...he knew he couldn't give up Sam...one thing that this whole 'abduction' thing had driven home was that fact. A part of him felt the panic bubble to surface in hysterical laughter as he realized that he and Ben would have 'a lot' to talk about now. What it feels like when someone takes you against your will and then locks you up in the dark with no power to free yourself...due to the darkness. His throat closed at that particular thought...that both he and Ben would know the darkness...and there was a chance that neither of them would escape it.
Something slipped free inside him as he thought of his life…Sam would find him…he just had to hold on long enough…and he fight-like-hell to keep Sam in his life. They were meant to be together and Dean would be damned if he was giving that up just when he'd finally found it. His last thoughts were of Sam on a beach in a white suit, no tie, and barefoot…it would be at sunset. Dean drifted off as his body stopped shaking and his stomach twisted from lack of food and water…but the heat radiating from the infection warming him enough for his brain to shut down…on thought at a time.
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Sam was leaning against the wall of the hotel room, his long legs folded under him and his head rested gently in his hands…fingers twisted into his long hair. His thoughts were centered on Dean and where he could possibly be at the moment…and the condition that he could be in. He groaned inwardly as the images got more and more intense and graphic. He nearly jumped out of his skin when a hand touched his shoulder softly. "Jesus…" he said loudly as his head swung up and he looked at Gabriel's concerned golden eyes.
"Sam…." Gabriel said as he sank down on the floor next to his friend. He sighed and turned so that he could look Sam in the eyes. "We are looking for him Sam…and we will find him."
Sam blew out a breath and then turned bloodshot eyes in Gabe's direction…he started to say something and then the lump in his throat got in the way and he just shook his head instead. He didn't know how to say the things that were swirling around inside of his heart…or his head. "Oh God…Gabe…I just want him back…I want this to all be over…I want to go back to being who we were. Before all this crap happened…and most of all…I don't want Dean to know what we saw and how we wound up here." He whispered as he looked away from Gabriel again.
Gabriel raised his eyebrows and then leaned in closer to Sam. "Sam, he was always going to find out…that was never in your control…or mine." He glanced over at Castiel, where the brunette was reading the newspaper, scouring it for any clues into the murder or anything that might help them find Dean. "They were both always going to find out." Sam's eyes flickered over to Gabriel and his face softened as he read the same fear of rejection in Gabriel's eyes that he was feeling. "Sam, we knew this wouldn't last forever…and that they were going to find us…eventually."
Sam furrowed his eyebrows and the look on his face was that of a kicked puppy…Gabe hated it when Sam pulled out that face. It was part of the reason that they were in this predicament in the first place. If he hadn't fallen for those eyes fifteen years ago…neither of them would be in this position now. And Alistair wouldn't have had a reason to find them and threaten everything that they held dear. Fortunately, the old man wasn't aware of his involvement yet…and that was an advantage that they would be taking. He also didn't know about Sam's past relationship with Balthazar and the things that he had learned as a result of that maintained friendship.
"Have you considered telling Castiel, before this happens to you?" Sam asked quietly as he threaded his fingers together and pulled his knees closer to his broad chest. It looked almost childlike and Gabriel would have laughed if the circumstances had been different. They had run for a reason…all those years ago. What they had witnessed had put them in danger…but the placement of their families within the protective custody had allowed them to maintain relatively normal lives. Until the whole house of cards had come crashing down around their heads with the death of Michael Campbell.
"Yeah, I've thought about it Sam. But I wouldn't even know where to start. How do you explain…our lives?" His golden eyes flickered over to the dark haired man, who smiled in their direction when his blue gaze shot up and connected with Gabriel's searching molten gold eyes. He smiled back. "I can't lose him Sam…" he said quietly.
Sam's eyes widened and he sat up and stared at his friend. "And you think that I can lose Dean?" A part of him knew that that wasn't what Gabriel had meant...he'd simply been explaining why it was that he hadn't wanted to tell Castiel...it was the same reason that he hadn't told Dean about it...he had wanted to protect him. And Gabriel had wanted to protect Castiel...but that didn't make this any easier for Sam.
Gabe shook his head. "That's not what I meant and you know it."
Sam shook his head and leaned back against the wall again, closing his anguished blue-green eyes before he spoke. "I know…I'm sorry. But I keep thinking about the man that they found in the water near the pier…it was Baird. I recognized the photo they finally released…we are the only two left Gabe…and that scares the shit outta me. Because…" he nearly choked on his words. "The way he died…Dean doesn't deserve that…and I won't survive that…"
They were interrupted by a loud knock at the door. Sam pulled himself to his feet and took a few steadying breaths before pulling open the large white door. There was no one in the hallway…just an envelope on the ground, addressed to him. His hands shook as he picked up the large yellow package; it was stiff…like it contained pictures. He took a step back before nearly stumbling as he ripped into the envelope. Cas and Gabe were at his side a moment later, their concerned eyes watching as he pulled a picture from the ripped opening. There were four separate photos on the one sheet…like the bastards were trying to save money or something. Which Sam knew wasn't the case…they had the backing of an entire government.
Bile rose in his throat as he looked at the pictures, the first one depicted an empty box like room; it was cut into the side of…what looked like rock. It was maybe four feet tall and five feet across…it looked like a grave. Sam nearly choked on that thought as his eyes scanned the other three pictures and he found that he couldn't control his stomach…he raced for the bathroom and emptied the meager contents of his stomach. The other three photos showed Dean in the room secured to the wall in one…it had obviously been taken with a night lens, because it was painfully obvious that Dean couldn't see a damn thing. But it was the last picture that had Sam puking in the bathroom…Dean was unconscious or worse…and there was another man…one that they couldn't see the face of, and he was in the process of slicing open Dean's leg. The blood was already starting to run freely down the older man's leg and he had an obvious head wound that had stopped bleeding. But it was apparent from the pictures that if they didn't find Dean, like right-the-the-fuck-now, they may not be rescuing him…but recovering his body. Sam knew that it was a message, these wounds were the same as the ones the police had found on that body…it was a warning…back off!
Another knock at the door had Gabriel scrambling to see who it was before Sam realized that there was someone else in the hallway. He looked out and was grateful to see Balthazar and Jake. He opened the door quickly and embraced the Brit and shook Jakes hand as they lugged their baggage into the room. The security man that had been assigned to them by Alistair was seated on the couch, he glanced up and then back at the game on the tv without much interest.
"Where are the others?" Gabe asked.
Balthazar smiled his usual cocky smile and then pointed at the door again. Just as Jake opened it to allow twelve other men to haul in their gear as well…this got the attention of the guard. "What's going on here?" he asked as he stood and walked over to stare down at the blonde man.
Sam managed to get himself together enough to answer. "This is my security team. And we'll be handling the extraction of Dean." He finished as he brought up a fist and smashed it into the man's face rendering him instantly unconscious. Jake raised his eyebrows and smiled.
"I see you haven't lost your touch there Campbell." He said as he embraced the ragged looking man.
Sam nodded and brought his hands up to return the embrace. "Thanks for coming…all of you." He finished as he stepped back and looked each member of their team in the eyes.
Balthazar grinned. "Of course…wouldn't miss it. Now tell us what we're up against here Sam. And please don't spare us the details. This is obviously a lot bigger than any of us is aware of…this job was damn professional." He said as he sank down onto the couch and looked pointedly at Sam, his blue eyes inquisitive.
Sam knew that he needed to come clean with these guys…because he owed them that. "Gabriel and me…we saw something….when we were young and it landed us in some hot water you might say. We had travelled to Britain on a school trip for a couple of weeks; it was an exchange with Oxford. While we were there we witnessed a murder…turns out that it was the murder of a high profile aristocrat…like in line for the monarchy, high profile…anyways Scotland yard found out that we could ID the man and in exchange for that ID, we were placed in protective type custody for the next several years. My family was aware of that…so was his. We came back to the states and with the cooperation of the FBI we were put into the witness protection program…I got tired of the constant monitoring…which is how I wound up working with you, Balthazar. I thought that it was all over, the men in question were caught years ago…and I hadn't thought about it since then. But the death of my father alerted them of my whereabouts and they used the fact that I was not my father's biological son as a way to get to me." He looked at the wide eyed stares of his 'friends' and then he pulled in a steadying breath as he forged on. "And then they went after Dean…" At this point he couldn't continue, the lump and guilt for his involvement making it impossible for him to speak further.
Castiel was open mouthed and staring intently at Gabriel, his eyes shifting from anger to a type of hurt frustration.
Balthazar was smiling. He clapped his hands together and then laughed out-loud. "Wow…So you two are the ones that brought down Azazel? Damn…"
Gabriel took over at this point. "Yeah, we did…but we would never have put any of you in danger. We honestly thought that was over…and had been for years."
"Well, kingpins don't normally go down without someone else rising up to take their place. And it looks as though that is exactly what happened here…unfortunately for Dean." Balthazar said as he grabbed a water from the stack on the coffee table, twisting open the top and downing most of it in one gulp. He reflected on Sam's story...because if it was true then he remembered when that assassination had happened. And what it had done to his country their hierarchy of succession to the throne. He hadn't understood at the time, but with the additional information that Sam had just given them...well he got it now. He also understood why Lord Alistair was so desperate to keep Sam and Gabriel quiet. This wasn't going to be and easy rescue...not by an means...because these men would anything to maintain their power.
TBC…
Author's Note: Next Chapter…try to find and rescue Dean…and then Sammy is gonna deal with the bad guys.
Please Review: The feedback helps me find new angles for this story.
