A/N: The meeting between brothers finally happens. Hope you like it and it was worth the wait. A huge thanks to VegasGranny for her help in pre-reading chapters and giving me her insight and suggestions. You rock. Please review, I'd love to know your thoughts. NC

Chapter 25

It was almost dark by the time Sam drove through Whitefish. He had been stuck on the highway for nearly three hours due to a wreck that blocked both lanes in the direction he was heading. There was not anywhere to get off, so he sat there with all the other travelers and waited for it to be cleared and the traffic to start moving again.

He headed on through town and found the two-lane road Rufus' cabin was located on. He drove slowly so he would not miss the turnoff or the driveway that was hard to see in the daytime much less at dusk. A thrill of anticipation ran through him when he pulled up to the cabin and saw the Impala in the headlights. With the car here, then that meant his brother was here too. He stopped and got out, glancing up at the full moon that was just coming out. He thought it was amazing, and so bright against the ebony sky. It looked like you could almost reach up and touch it.

Sam headed for the cabin door and tried it, finding it locked. He knocked and waited for Dean to answer. When he did not come to the door, he tried again, but still Dean did not respond. Sam pulled out his lock pick kit and picked the lock to let himself in. The front room was lit by one lamp sitting in the corner, but no other lights were on, casting the house in shadows as the light of the full moon poured through the windows.

"Dean," he called. "It's me, don't shoot." Sam looked around puzzled to where his brother could be and headed down the hall to check the bedrooms, flipping on the light to see his brother's bags sitting in a chair, but still could not find him. He glanced in the other bedroom across the hall, but it was empty. The bathroom door was opened, and he could see he was not in there. He headed into the kitchen, turning on a light, and saw a beer bottle sitting on the table and knew Dean was somewhere around. Sam was sure Dean had not taken a hike with it getting dark, that was not like him.

Sam froze when strange noises got his attention coming from the basement. He went to the door and tried it but found it locked. He heard it again as he pressed his ear to the door and wondered if something had happened to Dean and he had gotten hurt in the basement. He picked the lock and opened the door looking down the steps to the shadowed basement, hearing groaning that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

"Dean?" he called cautiously when he saw the dim glow of a light coming from below. Someone one growled out some unintelligent words that he could not understand. Sam slowly made his way down the steps and stepped onto the basement floor. He saw a figure hunched over on the other side of the room in the shadows and moved toward it. "Dean, hey man, what's go…" Sam started as he moved closer to his brother. He could hear what sounded like cries of pain from him seeing something seemed to be happening to him. He could see his body twitching and jerking but he still had his back to him. He stared in shock when he saw the back of Dean's shirt split apart as his body seemed to change before his eyes.

It happened so fast, Sam did not see it coming when suddenly Dean whirled around and launched himself at his brother. Sam put up his arm to defend himself as he stumbled backwards until he collided with the workbench, knocking tools, weapons, and various items onto the floor around him. He could not understand what he was seeing as Dean howled angrily and fought the chains that were holding his arms, trying to get to Sam. Sam could see an animalistic hunger in his greenish brown eyes as he growled and gnashed his fangs together.

Sam couldn't breathe, his mind couldn't grasp what he was seeing, he couldn't move as he stared in horror, finally forcing his muscles to release and he fell toward the stairs, half crawling, half running until he got to them. He took them two at a time and raced up the steps as the wails and howls followed him, echoing around him. Sam slammed the basement door shut and locked it, leaning heavily against it for a moment as he tried to suck in deep breaths of air. He could not think, he was at a loss of what to do. He finally pushed a cabinet in front of the door to block it and looked around trying to decide his next move. He could still hear the noises in the basement and did the only thing he could think of, what he was trained to do, protect himself. The hunter in him took over.

Sam ran for the bedroom and found Dean's weapon's bag. He pulled out a gun, checking that it was loaded with silver bullets and headed back into the kitchen. He pulled a chair over in front of the basement door and sat down before his legs gave out. He had the gun clutched tightly in his hand as he tried to comprehend what he had just seen in the dim light. Did his eyes play tricks on him? Did he actually see his brother change into a monster? Something that they hunted and killed? If he had not been chained, would Dean have killed him? What was he supposed to do now?

So many thoughts were racing through his head, it made him lightheaded and near passing out as shock set in. He fought the blackness that clouded his vision, not wanting to slip away and shook his head back and forth, even though it made the pounding worse, but at least it kept him from blacking out and drove away the black spots floating in his line of sight. His ears were roaring, and he felt like he was in a tunnel and all his senses were betraying him.

It could not be true. That could not be his brother. That was a werewolf, he knew that, but it was wearing his brother's face. Sam's body began to tremble as he heard another animalistic howl that sent chills up and down his spine. He was shaking and it was getting hard to breath, but he could not move. He had to stay there, no matter what. Sam tried to hold it together as his body grew cold and shook uncontrollably but he kept a tight hold on the gun in his hand. He was cold but sweat popped out on his forehead and he wiped it away on the sleeve of his shirt. His mouth was dry, but he did not think his legs would support him if he tried to get up to get some water. His vision blurred and he squinted them shut, trying to clear it. He focused on the noises in the basement, trying to tell if Dean had gotten loose.

It was not long before he could not hear any sounds from the basement. The angry growling, howling, and wailing had stopped and nothing, but silence came from down there. Sam leaned forward and strained to hear, but the howls and wails of rage were gone. He was not letting his guard down as he looked down at the gun in his hand. His mind was numb and not working as he started trying to process what he knew. He took some deep breaths to try and calm himself and to make sense of this.

He knew that was his brother in the basement and that he had changed into a werewolf. That could only mean one thing. When Dean went to check the lead on the werewolf they had been tracking, he had found it and killed it. But somehow, he had gotten bitten during the fight. It was the only explanation Sam could come up with. He had started acting strange right after that and would not come back to Bobby's and disappeared for over two weeks without much of an explanation. He was sure now the girlfriend thing was a ruse.

Sam could not stop the misery and utter fear he felt as he clenched his jaw and fought the tears that filled his eyes. They ran down his face and he could not stop them. That was his brother down there and he had turned into something they hunted. If Dean got free, could Sam stop him? Could he reason with him? If it came down to it, could he kill his brother? There was so much rolling around in his head that he could not make sense of it all.

He did not understand why Dean had not confided in him sooner. His fear started to turn to anger because he could not believe Dean would keep something like this from him. He should have let him help him so he would not have to go through this alone. He could not image what went through Dean's mind when he realized what had happened to him. He knew his brother and was sure he would have tried to kill himself than to be like this, but something must have stopped him. He could not comprehend what Dean must have been going through all this time and the toil it took on him. If he figured right, this was the second time he had changed. Sam began to wonder what had happened the first time.

The night wore on and Sam did not move from his post at the basement door. He would not let himself sleep. His body was sore and stiff from being tense all night. His eyes were bloodshot from being awake all night and from crying. His hand was cramping from his tight grip on Dean's gun that he could not release. He looked toward the window in the kitchen and saw the dim light of dawn as the sun stared rising. He still did not move when he heard a soft knock on the basement door and his brother's voice from the other side.

"Sammy, let me out," Dean's voice called softly to him. "Sammy, I know you're out there."

Sam heard him knock again but could not answer him as his throat constricted or move from the chair. He swallowed hard, trying to work up enough salvia to wet his dry mouth and speak. He parted his lips, but only a gurgle came out that was barely audible. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Dean…" Sam croaked, his throat tightening as he tried to speak.

He knew Dean was human again. That is what happened after the moon disappeared and the sun came up. He would not be dangerous to him now, but he still could not make his body get up and let him out. Unshed tears filled his eyes as he heard the knock once again. Sam was not sure he was ready to face his brother after what he saw last night. He was a freaking mess and did not know what to do. Doubt, fear and uncertainty rolled around in his head, not able to take his eyes away from the barricaded basement door. It grew quiet and Sam could not hear his brother anymore. He leaned forward with the gun pointed that way, wondering what Dean was doing.