Story Name: Pivot Point
Pen Name: ElenaRoan
Disclaimer: Don't own any of them, written purely for enjoyment.
Warnings: It isn't blatant but there is a vague reference to attempted suicide in this chapter, I'm putting a warning just in case. If it bothers you skip the paragraph after Dean gets off the phone with Sam.
Summary: What if Anna decided to derail the apocalypse by intervening to help rather than trying to make the brothers never having existed.
Timeline: Season 4
Note: I'm Australian and I can't bring myself to use USA spelling, sorry.

.

Chapter 49: Different Love

Dean didn't particularly want to be babysitting a random fed who'd wandered into their case. He had to admit that Sam had a point though, if they didn't ride herd on the agent he'd poke around on his own and get tangled up in the case. Being with Nick wasn't as bad as he'd expected, he definitely didn't have a stick up his arse like their first impression of him had suggested.

As he started to relax, enjoying the girls and the discussion he hadn't expected actually to be enjoyable. He wondered how Sam was doing with his part.

Sam was frustrated; he'd managed to talk her into giving them the samples only to discover all four were missing. They went tediously through every single camera footage for the day, even his preference for computers and scholarly pursuits didn't make that enjoyable. He ditched his uncomfortable jacket partway through. Several hours later, after they'd gone through the footage twice, they had to concede that whoever had nabbed the blood had also tampered with the tapes. They couldn't even narrow down the suspects as she didn't lock the door to her office, Sam wasn't sure the small town mentality was a good thing or a bad thing.

"What is so important about the blood anyway?" She asked as Sam tried to figure out what to do next.

"I think someone drugged the men." Sam explained, automatically editing what they'd deduced for his non-Hunter audience, "made them commit murder."

"What?" Cara asked incredulously, "what kind of drug?"

"Uh…I'm not sure yet." Sam fudged, she definitely wasn't unintelligent. Something that just made her more attractive to him. He was more than aware that if the siren did target him, intelligence would be one of the ways it would undoubtedly use. However, he doubted she was it. There would have been far better ways for it to target him and throw suspicion elsewhere than what she'd done. Substituting the blood vials rather than making them disappear was just one way he could think of off the top of his head. She had easy access to the means for producing substitutes, and no one would bat an eye while someone from outside wouldn't have that ability.

"I don't know…" she all but mused out aloud, "I mean, I interviewed those guys, and they had their reasons."

"Yeah, but they all loved their victims." Sam pointed out.

"I'm sure they did." She agreed almost sarcastically, looking up at Sam's expression she chuckled, "come on. Haven't you ever been in a relationship where you really loved somebody and…still kinda wanted to bash their head in?"

Sam wasn't sure he managed to keep his face straight, the number of women he'd loved you could count on the fingers of one hand with some left over, and he wasn't sure he had ever felt that sort of dialectic emotions she described.

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience." He managed.

"Yeah." She agreed, an almost dreamy expression on her face suggested that it wasn't all bad memories. She got up with a sigh and started looking through a nearby cabinet and Sam got the feeling he'd upset her.

"Look, I'm sorry…I didn't mean to pry." He apologised.

"It's okay." Cara replied, brushing it off and depositing a bottle of whiskey and two glasses on her desk, "I'm the one who brought it up."

Sam watched a little bemused as she poured a couple of shots into the glasses.

"Really?" He asked.

"It's medicine." She told him with a grin before handing him one of the glasses, "I'm a doctor."

Sam hesitated for a moment before taking it, after the frustrating few hours he certainly could use it he just hoped it wouldn't blow his image as an FBI agent.

"His name…was Carl." Cara explained, "and we were married."

"What happened?" Sam asked as he took a sip.

"Life happened." She answered with what sounded like a verbal shrug, "I don't know. I mean, I loved him. I still do I guess but…um…I don't know…it's like one day…I looked up, and I was living with a stranger and…you know what I mean, right?"

"I guess…" Sam stumbled, "or…I don't know…maybe…"

"People change." Cara stated, "God, I know I did. But it's nothing to feel guilty about. It happens."

"So you two split up?"

"Yeah, I suppose that's a word for it."

She started pouring more of the whiskey as Sam's phone rang.

"You need to get that?" Cara asked as Sam checked the caller ID.

Sam hesitated before hitting the button to hang up and also send the signal to Dean that he wasn't alone and couldn't answer. Their cases could often mean any conversations would be confusing at the least to alarming at worst.

"No. Not right now." Sam replied, Dean would call back if it was an emergency and required him to ditch whoever was with him pronto.

"Whatever." Cara answered with a smile, "we've all got out own sad stories so…screw it. Have fun, no regrets and live life like there's no tomorrow."

She clinked her glass with Sam's before leaning close, "for instance, I have been thinking about you all night. Well…parts of you."

"Just parts?" Sam asked. Based on the fact that there wasn't even a message from Dean following the call it was probably his brother wanting to tell him not to wait up. And while he was concerned about Dean possibly hooking up at the bar the siren had been stalking he wasn't getting any danger sense him his brother or himself, and he didn't see any problems with, for once, emulating Dean.

She made an affirmative sound, "like your lips. They're very…distracting. It's a problem."

She pulled off his tie before continuing, "I can't stop thinking about…kissing them."

"That so?" Sam asked.

"So…what the hell, huh?"

Sam found himself returning her smile. She wasn't perfect, in fact, if she had been he'd have backed off just in case, but she was exactly the type of person who he'd want as a friend, or more. And for once he wanted just to follow it and not reason everything out.

When Nick handed over an evidence bag with a flower in it after several hours, Dean felt himself go cold as he recognised it. When Nick went to the bathroom, Dean tried to call Sam, only to get the signal that he wasn't alone. He almost called him back to get him to ditch whoever he was with, probably the coroner, but he didn't want to tip her off. Sam wouldn't risk her getting control over him, he hoped.

He tried to massage away the growing headache that had been plaguing him all night as Nick returned.

"You okay?" Nick asked.

"Just a long day." Dean replied, for a moment feeling eerily like his brother was asking and nearly got caught out by his impulse to answer as he would to Sam.

Once he and Nick parted for the night, Dean drove around in the rain trying to patrol for the siren. He had to hope that Sam had managed to get the blood samples so they could prep a blade to take out the siren when they found her.

The motel room was empty when Sam got back to it; he figured that his thought as to how his brother was spending the night was most likely correct. He pulled out his phone and called Dean, if he was busy he'd use the same signal that Sam had earlier.

Dean answered the phone promptly once he saw it was his brother, he didn't even bother pulling over.

"Sam? Where the hell you been?"

"With Cara." Sam answered, frowning at the concern he could hear in his big brother's voice. He wondered if he'd read Dean's joy at seeing him even mildly attracted to someone wrong.

"Oh, it's Cara now?" Dean demanded.

"We were trying to find the blood samples." Sam explained, "someone stole them."

Dean nearly swore out aloud; the siren had obviously acted to remove the threat. And possibly distract Sam at the same time, "yeah…I'll bet."

Sam frowned in confusion; he wondered if he was missing something, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nick found flower petals at the crime scenes." Dean snapped, "hyacinths."

"So?" Sam asked, he couldn't think of the significance of the flower.

"Hyacinths." Dean repeated urgently, "Mediterranean. From the island where the whole frigging siren myth started."

"Okay…" Sam replied, starting to see where his brother was going with the connection but still couldn't figure out what Dean thought it was pointing to nor why he thought Sam would twig immediately.

"Sam, Cara had hyacinth flowers!"

"You think Cara's the siren?" Sam asked a little incredulously. He nearly swore as he realised that Dean wouldn't accept any of his reasoning for it not being her.

"I did a little checking up on her." Dean continued, "she's only been in town for two months."

"And…?"

"And she has an ex-husband. A dead ex-husband. Carl Roberts. Dropped like a stone, no warning. Supposedly a heart attack."

"Maybe it was a heart attack." Sam pointed out, trying to be logical and reasonable, "marrying someone is hardly the MO of the siren."

"You kidding me?" Dean demanded, and Sam did his best not to sigh.

"I honestly don't think it's her." Sam replied calmly.

"And what makes you so sure?"

"If she was the siren there's plenty of things she wouldn't have drawn our attention to. Including the theft of the blood, she could easily have replaced them, and no one would have known the difference least of all us. And I just really think it's not her."

"Seriously?" Dean demanded, he had a sinking feeling in his gut, "did you sleep with her?"

Sam sighed, he wanted to be able to say he hadn't but he couldn't without lying to his brother, and it had been a long time since he'd been able to even contemplate outright lying to Dean.

"Holy crap, you did…"

Most people would only have heard the anger in Dean's voice, but Sam could hear the fear in it also.

"Middle of Basic Instinct and you bang Sharon Stone." Dean continued, "Sam, you could be under her spell right now!"

"I'm not under her spell." Sam stated calmly, though he had a feeling Dean wouldn't accept it.

"Unbelievable, man." Dean grumbled, "I just don't get it."

"What?" Sam asked, doing his best not to sigh.

"Nothing." Dean all but mumbled after a pause.

Sam had a bad feeling, "what?"

"Just…first Madison, now Cara…what is it with you and banging monsters?"

Sam felt like he'd been punched in the gut and reminded himself as he took a calming breath that Dean got angry when he got worried. That didn't make it hurt less.

"Dean, I feel fine. I'm sure it's not Cara."

"I bet you do." Dean snapped back, and Sam could almost have said it with him. His brother had to be thinking Sam didn't have control anymore.

"You don't trust me…"

"Not right now." Sadness crept into Dean's voice along with everything else, "this could be the siren talking."

"It isn't." Sam protested though he knew it was probably fruitless. Knowing where his brother was coming from didn't make it feel better, "tell me where to meet up, and you can see that for yourself."

It took a while for Dean to answer, the situation felt like it was gutting him and he didn't know how to save his little brother, "no."

"Are you serious?" Sam asked incredulously.

"I wish I weren't." Dean replied sadly, "go back to the room if you're not there and STAY there. I'll fix this."

"Dean…" Sam didn't get a chance to finish as his brother hung up. He tightened his hand around his phone; he wasn't sure whether he wanted to cry or punch the wall.

Dean hung up before he could hear any more protests or arguments from Sam, his natural inclination to trust him was at war with what he knew the situation was. He tried desperately to think of who the siren would try to get his brother to kill; it wasn't like Sam was close to many women. Pam and Missouri probably didn't qualify for the type of love the siren focused on, not like they were anywhere near anyway. He needed to figure it out though, if he knew his little brother at all Sam wouldn't be able to handle it if he couldn't keep it from happening. Dean's mind flew back to what Sam had admitted after the Groundhog Day Tuesdays and felt himself go cold. He couldn't let that threaten his little brother again; he didn't know if Sam could withstand it again. He didn't even know if he'd even come close to keeping his brother from that path if he couldn't stop it. The possibilities terrified him; he needed to deal with the siren before she played Sam like a puppet and destroyed him.

Making a quick decision Dean hit another contact on his phone. Unfortunately, he didn't get the older Hunter, just his message bank.

"Sam's in trouble, Bobby." Dean stated without preamble, "I think the siren's worked her mojo on him. Give me a call as soon as you get this."

Hanging up he ran through his options, tackling anything supernatural solo wasn't a good idea. Of course, there were plenty of Hunters who made a habit of hunting solo; their dad had been one of them. He and Sam had got used to having someone at their back though. After a moment's thought, he hit the newest contact on his phone, he usually wouldn't even think of involving a non-Hunter, but he didn't have many options. Especially if he was going to keep his brother from being destroyed.

"Hey, man. What's up?" Nick answered promptly.

"I need your help." Dean told him.

"Uh…sure. With what?"

"Canvassing. We gotta find somebody."

"Okay. Who?"

"Dr Roberts."

"Okay…did you try her home?"

"Pretty sure she won't be there."

"So where do you think she'll be?"

"At a bar, unless I miss my guess, just need to find which one."

"Can't you just wait until tomorrow for whatever it is you want to ask her?"

"I would…if I wanted to ask her questions. I have reason to suspect she has something to do with this case, and not as the coroner. Her office is where I saw that flower."

"If you say so, man."

Dean was striking out at all the bars he tried then Nick sent a text that he'd found the bar she frequented. Arriving at the location, he slid into the passenger seat of his car where he was keeping watch on the entrance.

"She went in just a second ago." Nick reported.

"Nice work." Dean complemented, the headache coming back with a renewed vengeance as he tensed up in anticipation. He grumbled silently to himself as he realised he'd have to take a painkiller at some point if he wanted to deal with the siren tonight.

"Should we follow her in?" Nick asked.

"No, no, no, I don't wanna tip her off." Dean replied, he really wished Sam hadn't got tangled up, it would be a lot easier to work with his brother instead of having to edit his every thought for the consumption of a layperson, "we'll just wait and see who she comes out with."

"So you think…what? She's drugging these guys?"

"Pretty much." Dean agreed, it was as good a description as any to give someone who wasn't a Hunter.

Nick gave a sceptical noise in response.

"I know how it sounds." Dean said scepticism was something a Hunter got used to.

"You sure about that?" Nick asked, "because it sounds like crazy on toast. All these different strippers, they're magically the same girl…but then they're not strippers at all; it's Dr Quinn?"

"It's kinda hard to explain, but I have my reasons, and they're good ones. You're just gonna have to trust me on that." Dean opened up his flask in preparation for taking a painkiller; Sam would probably have yelled at him for mixing it with alcohol if he was here, but he didn't have anything else to drink.

"Yeah, okay. I guess."

"Thank you." Dean replied, surprised at the concession. It wasn't something normally seen in civilians, "that's actually nice to hear."

Dean offered him the flask so he could take a drink as he pulled the painkillers out then accepted it back to swallow the tablets. His headache suddenly spiked to blinding level then faded away; he shook his head to clear it.

"So let's say she is drugging her vics." Nick said, a different quality in his voice, "how's she pulling that off?"

"She could be injecting them." Dean suggested though he was pretty sure it was more organic than that, "you know…or passing the toxin through…uh…physical contact."

"Or…it could be her saliva." Nick suggested an indefinable tone of menace in his tone.

Dean glanced down at the flask as he made the connection and swore silently, Sam wasn't the one in trouble, he was. His automatic reaction was to go for his gun, but his arm wouldn't move even as a strange reasoning seemed to take over his thinking.

"You really should've wiped the lip of that thing before you drank from it, Dean." Nick gloated.

"I should be your little brother." Nick suggested, switching to a coaxing tone, "Sam…you can't trust him. Not like you can trust me."

Coming from Nick's mouth, it was the most reasonable argument in the world. A tiny part of him cringed away from the suggestion, but that part of him, his true self, was not in charge right now.

"In fact," Nick continued, "I really feel like you should get him out of the way…so that we can be brothers…forever."

It made so much sense; Nick was his real brother. The man he'd thought was his brother had obviously managed to take his place and brainwash him into thinking he was his brother. He had to protect his brother.

"Yeah." Dean said, a tiny part of him railed against it, "yeah, you're right."

When they got back to the room they found that Sam hadn't stayed put, Dean wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or thankful. The man posing as his brother was no slouch in a fight and it would be easier to take him by ambush rather than a frontal assault.

When Sam returned, he'd gone to a diner to grab some coffee and settle down after the telephone confrontation since Dean wasn't going to accept his help anytime soon, he was met with the sight of Nick sitting on his bed. He noted the headache returning as he tensed up, he wasn't looking forward to dealing with his brother and the fact that he'd brought in the FBI agent as back up did not promise an easy conversation. Though he could have sworn he'd only sensed his brother in the room.

"Nick." Sam said, "what are you doing here?"

Though he'd been on edge, he'd expected a verbal confrontation and his brother suddenly attacking from behind and holding a knife to his throat was completely unexpected.

"Dean?"

It took him a moment to connect the dots, his mind working slower than usual thanks to his shock at Dean, of all people, holding a knife to his throat.

"I gotta tell you; you're one butt ugly stripper." Sam told the fake FBI agent he now knew was the siren they were hunting.

"Well maybe." Nick returned with a malicious grin, "but I got exactly what I wanted. I got Dean."

Sam switched tack, "Dean. Come on, man. This isn't you. You can fight this. Let me go."

He hoped that the defences Dean had on his mind would help to break him free, he nearly swore aloud as he realised the headaches that both of them had had were because of the siren being present, presumably because its illusions and knowledge had to get past their defences.

"Why don't you…cut him?" Nick suggested almost casually, "just a little, on his neck right there?"

Sam felt a bolt of fear go through him as Dean obeyed without any hesitation, the knife slicing shallowly into his neck.

"Dean's all mine." Nick told him.

"You poisoned him." Sam growled at him.

"No, I gave him what he needed." Nick corrected, "and it wasn't some bitch in a G-string. It was you. A little brother that looked up to him, that he could trust. And now he loves me. He'd do anything for me. And I gotta tell you Sam, that kind of devotion? I mean…watching someone kill for you? It's the best feeling in the world."

"Is that why you're slutting it all over town?" Sam asked caustically.

"Um…I get bored, like we all do…and I wanna fall in love again…and again…and again."

"I tell you what; I have fought some nasty sons of bitches but you…are one needy, pathetic loser." Sam told him.

"You won't feel that way in a minute." Nick declared before forcing his mouth open then spraying some saliva from his mouth into Sam's.

Sam could feel the venom stabbing into his mind, trying to twist his thinking, control his actions. Desperately he used his mental abilities to hold it at bay even as Nick unwound Dean's arms.

"So I know you two have a lot you need to talk about." Nick stated, Sam barely heard him beyond his struggle, "so why don't you discuss it…and…whoever survives can be with me forever?"

Sam felt Dean begin to move in for the attack again and froze him in place with his telekinesis. He also wrapped it around himself just in case and even Nick as the siren realised something was wrong and started to flee. He didn't know how he was going to take out the siren, all of his strength and abilities were being directed towards keeping all three of them motionless and the control from the venom out of his mind. At least they had a supply of the toxin required to kill the siren, just no way to utilise it. He tuned anything Dean was saying out, Dean wasn't in control.

Sam wasn't sure how long he'd been like that, his entire being poured into the abilities that were keeping his brother and him from killing each other when the door suddenly swung open. Bobby strode through, a bronze dagger already in his hand. He jabbed it into Dean's arm, him being closest to the door, before jamming it into the siren's heart. Sam felt the grip of the venom immediately release his mind, and he let that fight and the telekinetic holds drop with a gasp.

"Holy crap…" Dean stammered out as he regained control of his mind, "Sammy? You okay?"

Sam nodded shakily, "shit…I never want to do anything like that again…thanks, Bobby."

"No problem." Bobby replied, "now you idjits had better help me get this cleaned up."

They helped drag the body of the siren, now looking like what it actually did rather than one of the illusions it had projected, down to Bobby's car then out to a secluded area to salt and burn it.

Sam was incredibly glad they didn't have any stairs to climb as they returned, his head was swimming. He clumsily tripped over his feet and barely managed to catch himself on the wall.

"Sammy?" Dean started to reach for him but pulled back when Sam involuntarily flinched away from him. Bobby steadied him with an apologetic look at the older brother.

"You okay?" The older Hunter asked gruffly.

"Yeah, just tired." Sam answered softly. He tried to start moving towards the room again only to stumble again, this time having his feet go out from under him.

Bobby caught the younger brother as his legs went from under him, "hell, Sam, some warning would have been nice. Take a sec to find your feet would ya."

Bobby propped him against the wall, he pushed Sam's head up gently when the younger brother made no response nor effort to lift it himself.

"Shit."

Dean was instantly at his side, and between them, they eased Sam down to the floor.

"Sammy?" Dean tapped Sam's cheek gently, hoping to bring him around. That his brother had so abruptly passed out was seriously worrying him, especially as he had no idea what could be wrong.

"Let's get him back to the room; the corridor isn't a good place for this." Bobby said.

Dean nodded, he should have thought of that himself, and pulled Sam into a fireman's hold before going into the room and depositing him gently on his bed. Bobby closed the door and joined him.

"What's wrong with him, Bobby?" Dean asked worriedly.

"Hell if I know, did he get any other injuries aside from that scratch on his neck?"

"Not that I know of…aside from also getting dosed with the damn siren's venom."

"He got dosed?"

"Yeah…damn siren tried to set us on each other. He immobilised me, and I'm guessing kept the venom from warping his thinking."

"Maybe some kinda reaction to the venom? The lore has barely anything on sirens let alone the response of psychics to sirens."

Sam groaned as he started to come around. Dean helped him sit up once he'd blinked blearily at them for a few moments.

"You okay, Sammy?" Dean asked.

"Mmm…" Sam mumbled blearily.

Bobby frowned and moved off. Dean didn't notice, his attention solely on his brother who didn't appear to be managing to stay very alert even now he'd woken up again. He tapped Sam's cheek urgently but gently, "hey…stay with me, Sammy."

"I…" Sam swayed, and Dean steadied him worriedly.

Bobby appeared at Dean's shoulder and held out a mug to Sam.

"Drink this." Bobby ordered.

"What is it…?" Sam asked, blinking blearily at him.

"Tea with as much sugar as I could get to dissolve. Unless I miss my guess, you burned through all your energy pulling what you did, and you need to replace some before you pass out again, idjit."

"Oh…" Sam took the mug, Dean had to help steady it initially, and sipped at it.

"Feeling better?" Dean asked once his brother looked steadier.

"Yeah, sorry."

"Good." Dean looked over at Bobby, "how'd you figure that out?"

"If Sam could have moved to take out that bastard he would have, he would have known you were dosed, and you both had appropriate daggers. That tells me everything he had was being poured into keeping the two of you from fighting and keeping the siren immobile. Of course, I'd have been a real idjit busting in to save you when you didn't need saving if he'd been able to do so."

"How did you know we'd need help anyway?" Sam asked.

"Only took one phone call to figure out that Agent Nick Monrow wasn't real and he sure as hell wasn't a Hunter. You two sure as hell wouldn't be expecting the siren to come at you from that angle, hell if he hadn't attracted my attention I wouldn't have expected him to come at you from that angle. We all expected it to stick to using girls, who'd have thought it could shift to using brotherly love."

"I see…" Sam managed around a yawn.

"You. Are going to bed." Dean ordered, pointing a finger at him. He didn't even want to think about what would have happened if Sam hadn't frozen them, though that didn't mean he liked what that level of energy expenditure had done to his brother. And when he got a chance he owed Sam a ginormous apology for the crap that had come out of his mouth during the confrontation, he cringed inside every time he remembered it, and he didn't blame Sam for flinching away from him.

"Sounds like a really good idea, man." Sam mumbled, "you sticking around, Bobby? It's pretty late."

"Crashing on your couch would be mighty appreciated, drove straight here once I realised you were in trouble."

"You're definitely welcome to it." Dean told him as Sam crawled under the covers, "or you could have my bed and I'll take the couch."

"Nah, it's your room. And you're way too tall for the couch anyway."

Dean didn't sleep well, waking up multiple times to check that Sam was sleeping peacefully. Eventually, he gave up trying at some point before dawn, retreating to the kitchenette for a coffee. Bobby joined him a few hours later.

"Couldn't sleep, huh?" Bobby asked softly as he grabbed a coffee for himself.

"You should have taken the bed." Dean returned.

"That bad, huh?"

Dean just shrugged and took a sip of his coffee, he wished he had something stronger to put in it but the only alcohol he had right now was in his flask, and he shuddered every time he thought about it let alone looked at it. He nearly couldn't believe he could have been that stupid.

"Want to talk about it?"

"What's to talk about? The son of a bitch played me like a fiddle even before he managed to dose me." Dean replied, anger in his voice that was obviously directed at himself, "had me thinking it was the coroner, Dr Cara Roberts. First person Sam's even been mildly interested in for…well over a year I think…and the damn siren had me wanting to kill her, AND thinking Sam wasn't in control."

"Don't blame yourself; they have centuries of practice at tying people up in knots."

"Yeah…that's going to be real useful trying to get Sam to trust me again…if he even should."

"He'll understand."

"Maybe. Spend all this time trying to protect him, turns out I'm the one he needed protecting from."

"Dean…"

Anything more Bobby might have said was interrupted by Sam stirring.

"Sammy?" Dean got up and headed closer to the bed, though he carefully allowed his brother his space, "how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." Sam replied sitting up, "kinda hungry though."

"That I can fix." Dean replied with the first grin he'd managed since the venom had let him go.

"Thanks." Sam flashed him a grin before clambering out of bed and heading into the bathroom. The meal was ready a couple of minutes after Sam returned.

Bobby waited until after Sam was pretty much finished before he spoke up again.

"You boys gonna be okay?"

"Yeah." Sam answered, "that son of a bitch blindsided us, but we survived. Hope we don't need to deal with another one of those, it was utterly invisible to my senses."

"Well, they're not exactly common outside of Greece."

"So here's hoping that's the only one." Dean agreed.

"Well, I'd better get going. Not like I'm a legitimate guest here. You two might want to take a couple more days though." Bobby stated.

Dean shook his head, "nah, someone is bound to notice 'Nick's' disappearance, and then it won't be long before it's discovered that he's not a real FBI agent, then they'll want to talk to us and possibly find out we weren't either."

"Okay. Drive safe." Bobby returned before slipping out of the room and silence fell between the brothers.

"Sam, I'm sorry." Dean said after a long moment.

"For what?" Sam asked, "it was entirely reasonable for you to suspect I'd been taken over, and you couldn't trust any of my arguments because you had no way of knowing if I was speaking the truth. Did it hurt? Sure, but I knew why. I don't need an apology."

"Well…thanks…but I wasn't referring to that, not entirely, not even mostly."

"Then what?"

"The crap that came out of my mouth when that bastard had control of me." Dean replied with a perplexed look on his face.

"Oh…that. I tuned that out. You weren't in control, and I had my attention on keeping all three of us stationary and keeping that poison out of my mind."

"Really?"

"Really. Didn't hear a word."

"Okay. Good." Dean stayed quiet for a moment, "you gonna say goodbye to Cara?"

Sam hesitated, part of Dean's apology had been about what he'd said when he suspected Dr Roberts. And while he understood his brother's reasoning it had reminded him of what happened to women who loved him, "nah."

"Really? Why not? Please tell me it isn't because of what I said about thinking she was the siren."

"What's the point?"

"You sure?"

"Yeah. You said it yourself; we need to leave town soon. It'll be easier for her with any investigation if we all disappear at the same time as far as she knows."

"That's a point. I'll get the salt cleaned up."

"I'll help."

"No, you finish your coffee."

"Dean…"

"Sam, you passed out on us last night. And…and maybe you don't remember the crud I said, but I do…and…I wasn't sure I'd get to apologise. It scared me, Sammy. I want…I need to know you're okay."

"Dean, I'm okay. Bobby figured it out, and now we know for if it happens in the future."

"Yeah…I know…just…take it easy for a bit, okay?"

"Okay."

They slipped out of the room a little while later without bothering to check out; Dean forced himself to keep going until there were a few towns behind them before he booked them into another motel, using a different name.