Thank you so much ShadowHuntingDauntlessDemigod for the fabulous beta job and VegasGranny and Ncsupnatfan for pre-reading.
Chapter Eighteen
Sam was tired by the time he reached his motel in Sacramento in the morning, after a slow, careful drive back to counteract the way his head jolted with each bump in the road. Jessica was there, and he had only minutes with her after speaking to Clark before he fell asleep, her hand stroking his face as he drifted off.
He woke hours later, when the light of the day had begun to fade, and his instant reaction was panic that she would be gone, but she was still sitting on the bed with him, her fingers tracing the lines on his forehead.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
Sam took stock before answering. "Better. My head doesn't ache so much now. And I feel awake."
"You probably shouldn't have slept so long after a head injury," she said. "I should have woken you." She smiled fondly. "But you looked so peaceful."
"And you stayed."
"Yes." She bent down and kissed him gently. "I think whatever it was that drags me away was being kind today. It knew you needed me."
"I always need you."
She stroked his cheek. "I know. And I'm here now. Are you going to tell me what happened?"
"In a minute," Sam said, swinging his legs around on the bed and getting to his feet. He was steady and the change in position didn't hurt his head too much.
He walked into the bathroom, used the toilet and then washed his hands and checked his reflection. There was a small white dressing on his forehead where the brick had hit, and when he peeled it back, he saw a small wound that was held closed by butterfly bandages. He covered it again and rubbed at his face with warm water. Someone had cleaned the blood off of him in the hospital, but he still felt grimy. He would have liked to shower, but he didn't want to be away from Jessica too long. She had been there a long time, and he didn't know how much longer she would be able to stay.
He walked out into the bedroom and pulled on a clean shirt. Jessica watched him with a smile and then patted the bed beside her. Sam climbed up the bed and leaned against the headboard, taking her hand in his and squeezing it.
"Go on then," she said. "Tell me how you're a hero."
Sam huffed a laugh. "I'm not a hero."
"You said you saved Zach," she corrected gently.
"I did, I guess." Sam drew a breath and smiled slightly. "Okay, here's what happened. Ash tracked his GPS and I found him at the new West Point Harbor site. He was unconscious and the demon had a knife. I stopped the knife with telekinesis, but the demon threw a brick." He touched the dressing on his forehead. "I didn't manage to stop that. I used the holy water and pinned the demon with telekinesis then exorcised it."
"Just like that? You held a demon with your powers!"
Sam grinned, warmed by her open admiration. "Yeah. And the exorcism was still there, in my head. I studied it when Bobby started teaching us about demons, and it stuck. If I'd gotten a single word wrong, I would have been screwed."
"But you didn't," Jessica said with a beaming smile. "I always knew you were a genius. You were amazing."
Sam ducked his head. "I'm just glad it worked. It could have gone a whole other way." He frowned. "But it means the demons are active again. I told you this is what they did before. They wanted me to see these things coming. I figured they'd stopped, but they haven't."
"And you're scared of who they will target next," she guessed.
Sam nodded. "It could be anyone."
Jessica considered a moment. "Then you need to find them and stop them first. You have done it once, and you said yourself your telekinesis is better than ever. You know it works against them, so you have to find them and keep training." Her eyes widened. "And that's just telekinesis. I bet there's loads more that you can learn to use against them."
"Like what?" Sam asked.
"I don't know, but there's got to be more. You said that demon wants you for something. You need to be prepared when it comes. Try everything. You can research, see what else is possible. There are all kinds of powers. What about that movie we saw when the guy could use mind control?"
Sam remembered the low-budget eighties movie she was talking about. It had been laughably bad, but the idea of mind control had been interesting. "That was a movie, Jess."
"Yeah, but it worked. Try! Tell me to do something."
Sam shook his head, smiling slightly. "I can't mind control people, Jess. It doesn't work like that."
"Try!" she insisted.
Sam grinned. "Kiss me, Jess."
She leaned towards him. "I can't resist," she whispered. "You're making me do it. You can…" She broke off laughing and then kissed him firmly on the lips. "You don't need to command me to do that, and you know it. But maybe you can command other people to do things. You should try."
Sam pulled back, frowning at her. "Why would you even think that I could? It's not a real psychic power."
Jessica's eyes widened for a moment and then she shrugged. "I don't know. It just seemed like the kind of thing that could be possible. You have to admit it's something a demon would want. It could explain what it needs from you."
"I'd never do it," Sam said. "Even if it was possible, it would be wrong to do it. I won't take away someone else's will."
Jessica stared into his eyes for a moment and then nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry. I knew that already. It was just an idea."
"A bad one."
She lowered her eyes. "I know. I really am sorry."
Sam lifted her chin and kissed her gently on the lips. "It's okay. I'm not mad. Just a little surprised."
"I'm just worried about you. I don't want you to be hurt. That's why I think you should train yourself with whatever's possible. You need to be protected. You should practice."
"I can't," Sam said. "I would have to leave you to do it. Demons aren't going to line up here for me."
"I would be here when you came back."
"No!" Sam said, and then softened his voice as her eyes widened. "I'm sorry. I can't do it though. I have been without you too long. I can't bear to be away again, not that now I know you're here. I will practice with what I already have. That will be enough. My family has a name for the demon now. They will find it and the Colt. I will be protected. I won't be hurt."
Jessica nodded. "I know you believe that, but what if you're wrong? I could lose you. And then I will be alone here forever."
"It won't happen," Sam promised. "I'll never leave you again. I'll always be here."
She smiled. "I know you'll try, but we can't control it. That demon is strong."
"We don't know that," Sam pointed out.
"It killed me. It killed your dad. It scares me, Sam."
Sam stroked her cheek. "I will protect you."
Her eyes became sad. "You'll try, but you can't promise me anything."
Before Sam could answer, there was a sharp knock on the door and Sam started.
"Who's that?" Jessica asked, her eyes worried.
"I don't know," Sam said. "I've paid for the room for the next week, and housekeeping doesn't come in anymore. I better check. You should hide."
Jessica slid from the bed and walked to the bathroom as Sam got to his feet and moved to the door. He waited until the door had clicked closed behind her and then he jumped as there was another sharp knock on the door. He took a breath and formed his face into a neutral expression as he prepared to face whoever was there, and then opened the door.
The breath rushed out of him as he saw who was standing on the doorstep. It was Dean, his hand raised to knock again. Standing a little back from him was Mary, Bobby and Clark. Mary and Bobby were wide-eyed and tense, but Clark looked perfectly at ease, leaning against the side of Mary's Jeep. He raised a hand to Sam in greeting and grinned.
"Oh," Sam said quietly, dread in his stomach. "You found me."
Dean pulled the Impala into the lot of the first motel they reached and parked in an empty spot then climbed out. He looked around as if he was going to see a sign of Sam peering out of the windows, ready to meet them. There was no sign of anyone.
He started toward the office, Bobby and Mary on his heels and Clark ambling along in their wake, and pushed open the door.
There was a heavyset man behind the desk, his white shirt buttons taking the strain of his ample stomach. He looked up at them as they entered, and a frown creased his brow. "How many rooms?" he asked.
"I'll take a king," Clark said. "It's been a long drive, and I could do with a nap."
Dean ignored him and said, "We're looking for someone. A man."
The man raised an eyebrow. "There are better places to look. Try a bar."
Dean's hands fisted and an angry retort was on the tip of his tongue, but Mary touched his arm and said, "He's twenty-two and very tall. He might be checked in as Sam Winchester. He's my son."
"How tall?" the man asked.
"Really tall," Clark said. "And his hair is almost as long as mine."
"The giant kid. Yeah, I know him."
"Which room is he in?" Bobby asked,
The man smiled slightly, as if enjoying himself but trying not to show it. "I can't go telling you where to find my guests. If he wanted you to know where he was, he'd tell you himself. Seems to me he deserves a little privacy."
Dean's stepped forward, ignoring his mother's soft-spoken words and hand on his chest, but Bobby moved in front of him and took out his wallet. He laid a fifty-dollar bill on the desk and said, "We really need to find him. We've been looking for him for a long time."
The man snatched up the bill and tucked it in his pocket with one hand while pulling a ledger toward him with the other. He ran a finger down the page and said, "He's in room thirty. You might want to cut him a break before storming in for the reunion, though. Try calling first. His girlfriend is probably in there, and if I had a girl that hot, I'd be finding better things to do with her than talk."
"What girlfriend?" Mary asked as Clark snorted.
The man grinned. "Blonde, hot, nice ass, she's in and out all of the time in the early hours."
Dean exchanged a confused glance with Mary. Who was with Sam? It was far too soon for him to be with another woman, too soon by years. Even without feeling his grief, Sam would never be with a woman yet. He loved Jessica too much to move on already.
"Thanks for your help," Bobby said vaguely, moving to the door.
"Thanks for your money," the man replied.
Dean waited until they were all outside before saying, "It can't be Sam. He'd never be with another woman now."
Clark shrugged. "Maybe he needs a little distraction. It explains why he'd block me. He wants a little privacy for alone time."
"No," Mary said firmly. "Dean's right. It's far too soon. It's something else."
Clark shrugged. "Then maybe he's got himself another Obi-Wan. He got the ingredients for that hex-bag from someone, and he's been training. He could have found himself a little outside help."
"Where's he going to find another psychic?" Bobby said,
"Craigslist?" Clark suggested. "The local woo-woo group? I don't know, but if you're sure he's not got himself a new squeeze, it's got to be something else, and that's the most obvious choice."
"It doesn't matter," Dean said. "We need to see him."
"Yes," Mary said quickly. "Room thirty." She started along the line of doors, coming to a rest where they'd parked the cars and pointing at the door in front of the Impala. "He's here."
"We hope," Clark said. "He could be making a beer run."
Dean started toward the door, Mary and Bobby following him and Clark leaning against the Jeep, looking perfectly relaxed, before stopping and saying. "This might be a bad idea."
"Sure," Clark said. "We drove all night and all day, but now we're here we should… what? Send him an invite to dinner?"
Dean took a calming breath, reminding himself not to bite back, and said, "I mean all of us at once. Maybe I should go in alone at first."
Bobby nodded. "That's probably a good idea."
Mary froze. "You think he won't want to see me?"
"No," Dean said, though he wasn't sure if Sam would. "I just think he came a long way and hid himself for a long time, and it's going to be a shock for him to find us here. Going in slow will make it easier on him."
He didn't want Sam slamming the door in their faces, and he was worried that was what would happen if they overwhelmed him all at once. They needed to take it slow with him.
"He's right, Mary," Bobby said. "We'll all get a chance eventually. Let Dean go first."
Dean could tell she didn't like it, but she allowed Bobby to guide her back to where Clark stood and she nodded to Dean. "Be patient. Stay calm."
Dean had never needed her advice less. He was aware what they were doing to Sam, arriving like this, and he knew it could backfire epically. If Sam took off again, he would make sure he was never found if he didn't want to be.
He knocked on the door and leaned close to listen. He heard a muffled voice, pitched higher than Sam's and then a rumble that sounded like his brother answering. The fact that there really was someone else there made Dean's heart speed, wondering who this person was and what she was doing with Sam. He was sure it wasn't a romantic thing. He knew brother too well to believe it. But there was someone…
He leaned back and knocked again, shifting from foot to foot as he waited for it to be answered. He raised his hand to knock again and then stopped at the sound of the lock disengaging and Sam opened the door.
His first thought was that Sam looked like hell. There was a dressing on his head and a dark bruise spreading from underneath. He was pale and his hair limp. He looked as though he needed a shower and some sunlight. The breath rushed out of him as Dean lowered his hand to his side, and Dean saw the shock and the dread on his face.
"Oh," he said quietly. "You found me."
Dean felt a wave of annoyance at the reaction, but he reminded himself it was to be expected. Sam had been hiding for weeks, he'd left for a reason, and he'd had no reason to think they would have tracked him here. Just because this moment made Dean happy, relieved to finally see him again, it didn't mean Sam would feel the same.
"Hey, Sammy," he said. "Can I come in?"
Sam's eyes widened as they moved past Dean to where Mary, Bobby and Clark stood behind him.
"Just me," Dean said quickly. "They'll wait out here."
Sam hesitated for a moment and then nodded and stepped back and held the door open. Dean entered and flinched as the door slammed closed behind him and the lock engaged as if Sam thought they were going to rush in, too.
There was no sign of the woman that had been speaking inside, the only things Dean could see were Sam's clothes and laptop on the table, but he could sense another presence there, and he glanced at the closed bathroom door, sure that was where she was hiding.
"Can I sit?" he asked.
"Sure."
Dean took a chair at the table and waited for Sam to sit across from him before saying. "How are you doing?"
Sam shrugged. "Okay, I guess. How did you find me?"
"Ash said you were going after a demon in Palo Alto and then the hospital called Bobby. Jessica's father called and told us you borrowed a car and dropped it off without seeing them. He said you'd been seen at the cemetery. We figured you'd be staying close, so we took a chance. What happened?"
"A demon snatched Zach," Sam said tonelessly. "I exorcised it but not before it winged me with a brick."
Dean's eyes widened. "You went after a demon alone?"
"I had to; there was no one else. You never would have gotten there in time."
"That was pretty damn dangerous. You could have been killed." Dean couldn't hide the harsh growl in his tone. Sam had been up against a demon alone, and he'd been hurt. Just thinking about the possibilities of what could have happened to his brother was upsetting Dean.
"I wasn't," Sam said, his eyes drifting to the bathroom door and a look of worry on his face.
"What did they say at the hospital?" Dean asked, tamping down his anger and worry.
Sam shrugged and looked back at him, though it seemed to take effort. "They did a scan. I'm fine."
"How did you deal with the demon alone?"
"I used my powers. I was able to hold it while I exorcised it." His eyes moved back to the bathroom and a look of desperate need spread across his face. "I can't talk right now, Dean. Get a room or something. I'll come find you later and we can talk."
Dean looked from Sam to the bathroom door and said, "Who's in there, Sam?"
Sam looked panicked. "No one!"
Unable to deny his curiosity any longer, Dean got to his feet and walked toward the bathroom. He only managed a few steps before something caught his chest and stopped him. He looked back over his shoulder and saw Sam was on his feet but too far back to reach him. He hadn't touched him, but the concentrated look on his face told Dean he was using his powers to hold him. He had never used them like this before, not to hold one of them. Dean hadn't even known he was able to. He thought it was just Clark, who had years to hone his gift, that could do it. Sam was obviously much more powerful now.
"Let me go, Sam."
Sam shook his head, his voice pleading as he said, "Please, Dean, just go. I promise I'll talk to you later. There no one there."
Dean felt a jolt of shock. Sam was lying to him. Sam didn't lie. They never lied to each other. He couldn't have been more surprised if Sam had physically attacked him.
"Don't lie, Sammy," he said, his hurt obvious. "I am sick of lies. Please, tell me what's going on."
Sam eyes became wet. "I don't want to lie, but I have to. I have to protect her."
"Protect who?" Dean asked, worry tightening in his chest.
Sam wiped at his face, smearing the tears that had fallen. "Please don't make me do this. Just go, Dean. It's okay, I promise. You don't need to worry."
"It's too late for that, Sammy. I'm already ready worried," Dean said. "You're going to tell me or I am going to find out on my own. Either way, this is coming out. I want you to be the one to do it."
Sam sagged and his face crumpled. "If I tell you, you have to promise to leave her alone. Don't make her go away again. I need her."
More confused than ever, Dean stepped back, relieved he could make the movement, and gripped Sam's shoulder. "You know I won't hurt you," he said. "But you have to be honest with me."
"You have to listen," Sam said desperately. "Let me explain it all."
"I'll listen," Dean said. "Help me understand what's going on."
Sam took a breath and wiped at his face again. "It's Jess, Dean," he said with a look of exquisite joy that was contradicted by his tears. "She came back."
So… The secret is out! Dean knows, at least he knows some of it. There's a big conversation coming and a lot of drama. Hold onto your hates people, it's going to get bumpy.
Until next time…
Clowns or Midgets xxx
