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. This chapter also alludes to a sex scene...you've been warned.

Chapter 53

The Zoo

Dean's head was swimming…he had managed to tear a large piece of his shirt and wrap it securely around the cut on his leg. He knew that the blood had soaked through it and that he needed to wrap something else around that wound or he would be bleeding to death. He groaned as he pulled his shirt over his head and felt his way as he rolled it and gritted his teeth against the impending pain. He shifted his leg and agony shot through his lower half causing him to grunt as he tied the remaining part of the shirt tightly around his thigh. He closed his eyes…although it didn't really matter since he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face…the cold damp of the small room was causing tremors to ripple through his torso as it sank into his bones. He had no idea how long he'd been inside the cramped room…his first indicator that it had been a long time, was that he'd been unable to hold the bodily fluids any longer. That had been the most humiliating moment…when he'd realized that he couldn't hold them in any longer. He well and truly understood what his son had gone through…and he ached inside at the loss of humanity it caused. He'd tried to get up and move to a corner, but he couldn't see and even worse…when he stretched out his hands he was able touch the other side of the room…meaning that there really wasn't another side for him to go to…plus the pain in his leg kept increasing exponentially whenever he moved.

God, he was so tired…Dean knew that was probably due to blood loss and the potential hypothermia that had to be setting in at this point. His legs were no longer shivering, just his upper body…his teeth chattering with the cold. He wanted to pull his legs up close to his chest to preserve what little remained of his body heat, but every time he even shifted his right leg it screamed at him in agony. So he settled for simply folding his left leg under him and trying to elevate his other one…somewhat. Dean's throat was so dry he found that he could hardly swallow anymore and he also noticed that he wasn't even hungry…plus he knew that that wasn't a good sign. His skin felt feverish and hot…even to his own touch…but he was still fucking freezing. So he knew that there had to be an infection starting to set into the leg wound. It didn't help that his head was still thumping from the initial hit he'd taken when whoever these bastards were had kidnapped him. Man that sounds funny….him…being 'kidnapped'.

Dean's thoughts flitted back to Ben…he hoped that Sam would continue to take an interest in his son. Because if this didn't go well…which it certainly hadn't up to this point…then Ben was going to need a father figure…and Dean could think of no one that would be better for that role than Sam. He could teach Ben what it was to be a 'good man' and maybe even how to talk to girls…Dean felt his heart jump at the thought of never seeing Ben again. He knew that his brain was flickering between thoughts at random…but he couldn't seem to control it anymore. He wasn't really sure that he wanted to either. Sam's beautiful face popped up next and he found himself smiling as he remembered how Sam had looked the first time he'd met him at the airport.

His tall lengthy frame bending as he walked beneath wings of the aircraft, his long legs…and that ass…his smile when he'd noticed Dean watching him and the immediate flush that had flooded his cheeks before he'd extended his hand in a friendly greeting. Dean's thought shifted again and he was thinking of Sam in a decidedly different manner. He was lying naked on their bed…his glorious expanses of golden skin covered in a light sheen of sweat as he looked up at Dean. The love so plain on his face that it nearly left Dean breathless…as he pushed in and out of the larger man; his pace increasing until he felt the gathering energy of his pending release. Sam's face reflecting pleasure as he groaned beneath Dean, shifting his hips, his lust blown eyes watching intently as Dean's own long fingers stroked him to his own release just as Dean's ripped through his body. They both moaned as the came together and then settled into just holding one another.

A small smile made its way onto Dean's lips as he felt his thoughts suddenly shift to a more fuzzy vision, one of his father; when he'd been young. He didn't remember what he'd done to piss off the old man this time…but he certainly felt the retaliation for the perceived slight. The bruises were always beneath his clothing…one thing that John wasn't was stupid…he never hit Dean where anyone could see…the memories faded out as Dean felt himself slipping into the black abyss of unconsciousness…and that scared him…because he knew he wasn't doing too well…and there was a damn good chance that he might not wake up again, if he passed out. But he couldn't stop the impending dark as it took over, his body slipping down the wall as his head fell forward onto his chest. The darkness finally claiming its prize.

XXXX

Sam was standing motionless in the huge tiled shower…his head resting against the smooth travertine squares as the warm water beat down gently on his shoulders. His eyes were closed and he was thinking of Dean…of all the things that they still had left to do together. The places that they both wanted to go…the things that they wanted to see…but if Dean wasn't with him…then those things simply didn't matter anymore. Sam still wanted to officially adopt Ben, that was the first thing that they were rectifying when this whole debacle was over…and then they were getting married. Even if it wasn't the expensive beach wedding that he'd been hoping for…because feeling like he had no rights where Dean was concerned…well it might be one of the worst feelings that he'd ever had. The tears were just starting to slip down his face when he heard the frantic pounding on the bathroom door.

"Sam!" Gabriel called as he pushed open the door and rushed into the large steam filled room. He'd seen Sam naked on so many occasions that he didn't even consider that it might make the other man uncomfortable this time.

Sam turned quickly, grabbing a towel and twisting the water off at the same time. "What Gabriel?" He asked in slipped tone as he stepped out of the shower, his hair still dripping with water and his face screwed up with worry, since he knew that Gabe wouldn't just walk in on him if it wasn't damned important.

"We've found him!" He said with a smile as he stepped forward and took Sam's shoulders in his hands, ensuring that the other man heard what he was saying.

Sam's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in a silent 'oh' as he simply stared dumbly at the shorter man. Gabriel shook his shoulders to get a response, causing Sam to shake his head and his eyes to focus on the golden gaze of his friend. "You've found him? Where? When? Is he okay? When are we leaving?"

Gabriel shook his head. "Sam, one question at a time. Balthazar's team found where they're holding him. It's in a part of an old abandoned zoo, which explains the tiny room we saw in the pictures. He's being heavily guarded, but I'm sure that'll be no trouble for the teams. Charlie was able to tap into their surveillance system, so while she says there aren't cameras inside Dean's cell, there are cameras everywhere else. Balthazar wants to talk to you and set up the rescue plan. And he wants to try for tomorrow night maybe…whenever it happens…we have to wait till after dark, otherwise we run the risk of them killing him before we can get him out. And then you and me…we need to go to the FBI, Agent Henrickson contacted me…he was put on this case and he wants to take down Alistair and Crowley…legally." Gabriel stopped talking as everything that he'd revealed flickered through Sam's intelligent eyes and he started calculating.

Sam was still standing in nothing but a towel as he began putting together a rescue plan. He knew that it would probably be better if he wasn't involved in the actual rescue…but he couldn't do that. The rational part of his brain told him that he was too close to the situation to think clearly…but he also knew that he would do everything he possibly could to get Dean out alive. And while he understood that Balthazar would try his best…this was one thing that Sam just couldn't leave up to chance. Dean was too important. "Okay, let me get dressed and I'll be right out and we can get this plan together and put everyone in place, because we are getting Dean out…tonight." His voice was steady and low as Gabriel released him and nodded, turning to exit the bathroom. "Gabe?" The smaller man turned. "Thanks."

"You would do it for me Sam." Gabriel said as he thought of Castiel and the mess he would be if it had been him that was taken instead of Dean.

Sam nodded. "Yeah…I would."

XXXX

Sam was sitting in the non-descript blue car, his body still and tight, like a bowstring drawn and ready to release an arrow. He was wearing all black, his body covered to ensure that the darkness was their friend on this extremely important night. He pulled his .45 caliber Taurus from his tactical holster and popped the magazine out, looking at the hollow-point rounds, they gleamed in the low light of the moon as he tapped the mag against his palm to 'seat' the rounds.

Jake looked over at him from the driver's seat. He'd seen this side of Sam on numerous occasions. They'd worked together on over a dozen ops, but it never ceased to amaze him that someone as big as Sam Campbell could look so invisible. His brown eyes flickered to the small flash he saw off to the left. It was the signal he'd been watching for. "They're ready Sam." He glanced over one more time and saw the slight nod as Sam slid the beanie over his head covering everything but his face.

"Let's go get Dean." He said in a crisp voice. Sam was hiding the fact that he was scared to death that they might already be too late. And that Dean wouldn't be alive when they opened that damn rock cell…he closed his eyes momentarily to re-center his thoughts. He knew that he couldn't afford to be distracted, because if he was…then there was a chance that he'd miss something and then someone could get hurt…or he could get Dean killed instead of rescuing him.

Jake nodded and quietly opened his door slipping out and disappearing into the darkness. Sam followed blending into the trees easily as he used the blanket of the dark to cover his approach.

Sam stepped over the old fallen trees and then onto the dilapidated blacktop that used to be an access road for the zoo keepers. He'd researched the old zoo, it had been shut down in the early 70's and it hadn't been used since. Except by the gangs and for other degenerate types of activities; he moved stealthily along the path, his eyes catching the movements of the other teams every few hundred feet. Two other teams were in the process of taking out the guards; his job was to find Dean. He hadn't talked with the FBI man before they'd gone in after Dean, but he knew that he would agree to anything that the man wanted if it meant that Alistair didn't get to walk away from this. He'd authorized the assassination all those years ago and then he'd used the fact that Sam hadn't known that to get close to him and then steal away the one thing that Sam couldn't live without…Dean.

He pulled his thoughts back to the present as he heard movement off to his left. He stopped and then crouched down as a man with a rifle lumbered up out of the woods. Sam watched as he set his gun down and reached down, obviously intent on 'relieving' himself in the trees. Before the man could even get his zipper down, Sam had him from behind…he locked the rear-naked choke hold and waited as the man's air supply dwindled and he slipped into unconsciousness. Sam then pulled the syringe and pumped the animal tranquilized into the man's neck before pulling his unconscious form into the woods. As much as Sam wanted to kill these men for what they'd done, he couldn't. He didn't want to give Henrickson any ammunition to come after him and Dean again. So they had decided that they would 'knock-out' all the guards and stay away from actually taking anyone's life…although it was taking everything that Sam had to do that.

He slipped back onto the path and began moving in the direction of the old lion's dens. This was where the bastards had basically 'entombed' Dean and that was Sam's only destination on this clear dark night. As he approached he saw three more guards sitting around a card table. Fucking son-of-a-bitch! He thought silently, they were all at least as big as he was…and they appeared to be well trained, except for the card playing bit. Just as he was recalculating how he would get past them he realized that Balthazar's team and Jake's team were closing in on two sides. They used the tranquilizer guns, rather than getting close enough to stick the men with needles. The timing was fucking perfect; each man slumped forward on the table, with their hands to their necks at the exact same time.

Sam rushed forward seeing the padlock on the giant chain that was threaded through a thick iron door. He grabbed his lock picks and immediately got to work as Balthazar settled next to him, blue eyes scanning the darkness for additional threats. "We took out the guards on the west perimeter and Jakes team got the ones of the north side, we should be able to exit without too much of a problem."

"I took one out on the south side too." Sam said automatically as he concentrated on picking the enormous silver lock. He nearly sobbed his relief when the thing 'popped' open and he was frantically pulling the chain out of the way. "Help me." He said as he tried to pull the heavy rusted door open. Balthazar stepped aside allowing Jake to step up and pull the door with Sam, their combined strength enough to move the massive metal barrier. As soon as there was enough room, Sam squeezed his large frame through the opening, reaching for the flashlight that he had in his right cargo pocket. His flipped it on, immediately seeing that there were several other smaller rooms inside of the larger cavernous one he'd entered through.

"DEAN!" he called loudly. His fear lurching up and into his throat when he realized that there was no answer, just the reverberation of his own voice. "DEAN!" Sam called again as he started winding his way through the rooms, he wrenched open each door and flooded the small rooms with bright white light only to be forced to move to the next when they revealed that there was nothing inside. He felt his throat starting to close up as one horrible thought rampaged through his head…what if they'd moved Dean? There was only one room left and it was all the way at the back of the large cavern. He prayed silently as he pulled open the door, his light filling the room in the bright white light of the LED flashlight as soon as the door was ajar.

There leaning against the oppositewall was Dean. He wasn't wearing a shirt, it looked like he'd tied that around the bloody wound on his right thigh. Sam gulped as he rushed into the room sliding to his knees next to Dean…his hands were shaking badly as he reached to feel for a pulse. "Please god….don't take him from me…" Sam whispered as his fingers slipped into the crease where Dean's pulse should be. For a moment Sam's heart nearly stopped…he couldn't feel anything. Just as a sob was rippling its way up through his chest, he felt it…the fast birdlike thrum of Dean's heart. The relief that spread through Sam's system was palpable as he nearly went boneless with it.

He felt more than heard Balthazar sink to his knees on the other side of Dean. Sam was just sitting there feeling the life force pumping frantically through Dean's veins. "Sam, we need to get him to medical attention…now." Balthazar said as he surveyed the wounds and the state that the other man was in. Dean's upper body was bare and it was also flushed with what obviously a pretty serious fever and the rancid smell inside the room made him want to go find a corner and puke. The fact that Dean had been locked inside the filthy little cell for the last 6 days didn't do anything to alleviate Balthazar's worry as he looked at the red puffy skin surrounding the wound on the man's right leg. There was white puss leaking through the blood soaked shirt and that worried the Brit to no end. They weren't out of the woods with this thing yet.

"Hey, you guys mind hurrying up? Because it sounds like the re-enforcements just arrived." Jake called from just outside the room.

Sam's eyes flickered up to meet Balthazar's. "Go, I'll get Dean out of here. Just cover me so I can get him to the car." Sam put his flashlight in his mouth and leaned down to pull Dean gently up over his shoulders and into a fireman's carry. His panic increased when Dean didn't even so much as moan…move…nothing…as Sam settled him on his shoulders. He was dismayed by how much lighter Dean was since the last time that he'd moved his body. "Dean…" he breathed as he moved slowly to the entrance, careful not to jostle the injured form, thus causing more damage to Dean's already abused flesh.

Jake moved just ahead of Sam, while a man named Anders moved behind him watching his back. One guard came from nowhere and slammed into Jake, only to be taken down by a series of moves that rendered the man unconscious in seconds. "Let's go." Jake said as he started moving again. Sam was struggling somewhat to keep up with the rapid pace as he tried to keep from bouncing Dean about on his shoulders. "We're almost to the car Sam." Jake whispered.

Sam nodded and lowered his frame so that he was able to pass more easily beneath the low hanging branches, he never even saw the man that took his legs out from under him. All he knew was that one minute he was standing and the next he was falling backward, the added weight of Dean overcompensating his balance and causing him to hit the ground hard. His grip on Dean knocked loose by the impact; causing the older man's body hit the ground and roll away from Sam. Rage lurched through Sam as he climbed to his feet and squared off with the man that had made him drop Dean.

Sam's eyes widened when he saw that it was Alistair and he was wearing clothing very similar to what Sam was wearing that night…all black. His cold blue eyes flickered to the unconscious form of Sam's partner. "He's not looking too good Sam…" The smooth British voice only served to piss Sam off further as he stared angrily at the other man. "You know it had to be this way Sam."

Sam bit his lip as his cheek twitched, he heard the others running up to surround them…some of them were Sam's men and some of them were Alistair's. "This ends…tonight." He said through clenched teeth.

The other man smiled easily and nodded. "Tonight." He looked at his men and then at Sam's. "Whoever walks away from this fight…gets to leave unharmed…agreed." Alistair said as he looked his chief of security in the eyes and then shifted that gaze to Balthazar and Jake.

Sam understood what was happening here…he could end all of this…all the fear and the endless hiding, the running…he could end it…tonight. "Agreed." He said through tightly clenched teeth. "Balthazar, please take care of Dean." The smaller man stepped forward, Jake right on his heels, and they gently lifted the unconscious man and carried him out of the circle. Sam watched, his sharp eyes reflecting fear for Dean…but when he turned back to look at the man that had done this to Dean…there was nothing but determination and anger in his cold blue-green gaze.

TBC…

Author's Note: Next chapter…the final standoff between Sam and Alistair…the rescue of Dean…and then…who knows.

Please Review: The feedback is so helpful.