Raising Winchesters

Chapter 34

Betsy Warren's hands were shaking as she looked over the amulet. Every few seconds her eyes shot around the room, taking in the sight of the three hunters, the strange man who was wearing the amulet, and the small body of the boy she was trying to help.

She knew Dean was running out of time and she knew that whatever she had to say about the amulet held a lot of weight amongst the group gathered in the room. She also knew that she couldn't afford to be wrong in this. And not just because her reputation as an expert in spell work depended on it, but because the life of a precious little boy hung in the balance.

The blood spell on the amulet was both simple and intricate. It was simple in the fact that it wasn't necessarily tied to just one person. She could feel the intricacy of the power, too, though, emanating from the amulet, sensing the way it encircled Titus, but also reached out for Dean.

Bobby and John couldn't remember the exact wording of the spell Nora had cast, but they knew that it was some sort of binding spell. Betsy didn't need to know the exact wording to understand the basis of the spell. She did need to know a few more specifics, though.

With John's consent, she ran a few tests in an attempt to gauge the strength of the amulet. John insisted that the tests be ran with Titus being the test subject and not Dean, so with bated breath from everyone in the room, Betsy took the amulet from Titus and placed it around Dean's neck. They all watched for several minutes, their breaths hitched in their own chests as they watched Dean's chest move deeper and slower. Stitch confirmed that Dean's heart rate was stronger, too.

Titus, on the other hand, had suddenly broken out in a cold sweat.

Almost an hour later, they'd determined that as long as Titus was within twenty feet of the amulet, his symptoms were nothing more than an annoying headache and a mild sense of breathlessness. It really didn't seem to get any worse as time went on, but the symptoms definitely worsened and evolved as he moved further away.

As much as John didn't like it, Titus was allowed to stay in the room, sitting on the floor fifteen feet away from his son. John knew that the man wasn't going to get close enough to Dean to do him any harm. Not with himself and Bobby both keyed into his every movement.

As they all sat in the small room, Titus eventually started talking about Nora and how he'd become involved with the woman. They were all surprised to hear the animosity the man held for the witch. Of course, by the end of his story, they understood why he'd gone along with her, doing her bidding even though he didn't want to.

But John wasn't about to allow the man any forgiveness for his part in what was currently happening to his son. And he certainly wasn't ever going to forget it.

Nora Doherty wasn't happy. It seemed like once again everything was falling down around her. And once again, it was all because of John Winchester.

She couldn't believe her luck when her escapades with Titus and his clan of Naguals had led her straight to the one man she hated more than anyone else. Of course, that hadn't been the plan. Her meeting Titus had definitely been orchestrated by her in the hopes of having allies that she had full control over. And it had worked in the beginning. Everything was going just as she planned until the night she overheard Titus talking to some of his people about a young boy who had killed two of them, shooting them with the efficiency of a seasoned hunter.

Titus had been trying to talk some sense into the younger group of Naguals that were hell-bent on seeking revenge. Nora had been firmly in his corner, until the moment she heard one of the youngsters say the name of Dean Winchester. From that moment on, she had become a woman possessed with the overwhelming and irrational desire to seek revenge on the man that had ruined her life so many years ago. And she wasn't opposed to using the man's son to get that revenge.

There was a part of her, of course, that hated the idea of hurting a child. But that part was so deeply buried underneath the mountains of resentment and hate that suffused her whole body at the thought of John Winchester. Her hatred knew no bounds when it came to that man. Her need for revenge overpowered every motherly instinct she might have had at one time.

John Winchester deserved to suffer and she was going to be the one to make sure he did.

The problem, though, was that Titus was now missing. She knew that the man wasn't fooled by her any longer. She knew that he was totally aware of her machinations, but she didn't care. She had him in hand, had him right where she wanted him. Well, at least she did until John's hunter friends caught up with them.

Her only hope now was that Titus would find her the lesser of two evils.

Dean felt like his head was about to explode, but he didn't care. All he could think about was the fact that the crushing pain he'd been feeling in his chest was easing up. He could finally breathe and actually felt like he was getting enough air in his lungs.

The pain in his head did cause him to find it hard to focus, though. For however long he'd been out, he'd been feeling like he was drowning. Or maybe like he was buried under a mountain of mud. Whichever it was, he was relieved to finally feel like he was breathing air again.

It only took him a few minutes to realize, though, that the air he was breathing was actually stale and thick, as if there was a cloud of sickness hanging around him. In fact, the air was so sour that he suddenly felt like he was going to be sick.

Not realizing that everyone in the room had their attention firmly directed on him, Dean rolled over and threw up over the side of the bed. He had no idea that it had been hours since he'd shown any type of spontaneous movement of his own, so he was completely taken aback by the chorus of voices that suddenly sounded off around him. A mere second later, someone was helping him to roll completely onto his side, their hands warm against his back.

Dean's eyes fluttered open and seconds later they focused on a strange man sitting on the floor next to the bed. His heart started to race a bit when, after a few long seconds, he finally realized who he was looking at.

He couldn't help the cry of despair that escaped him at the thought of being back in the arms of the people who had kidnapped him. He suddenly wondered how that had happened. Where was his dad? Where was Uncle Bobby? More importantly, where was Sam?

Before he could figure out what to do, someone had rolled him back over onto his back. The hands were strong, but surprisingly gentle. And familiar. Dean allowed his eyes to search out whoever was standing over him and he was surprised to recognize the outline of his father.

"It's okay, Dean. I'm right here, son."

Dean couldn't reconcile the fact that he was safe in what appeared to be his and Sam's room at Uncle Bobby's with the fact that the man who had helped to hold him hostage was in the same room. Or that his dad hadn't killed the man yet. Before he could think any more on it, though, his dad started talking again.

"Dean, open your eyes for me, okay?"

Dean tried, but his eyes would only flutter open for a second or two before closing again. He tried to ask his dad where Sam was, but the only sound he was able to make was a slight hiss. Luckily, Bobby knew exactly what he was trying to say.

"Sam's okay, Dean. He's downstairs with Pastor Jim."

Dean's body relaxed a little when he heard that. Now that he knew that his little brother was okay, he started to do a quick inventory of his body. Besides the fact that his head hurt and his stomach was cramping, he realized that his whole body was stiff and achy. His mouth was bone dry, his ears were ringing, and his fingers felt like they were sausages.

He also suddenly realized that he had something sticking in the crook of his elbow and another something tugging on his most private parts. Panic started to fill him at the feeling of unknown things entering his body. Before anyone could stop him, he reached for whatever seemed to be poking his arm.

"No, Dean. Leave it alone. It's just an IV in your arm."

Dean moved his hand from his arm and reached down towards his pajama pants.

"Leave that alone, too, son. I know you don't like it, but it needs to stay for now, okay? Stitch will take it out as soon as he can."

Dean reluctantly withdrew his hand and tried again to open his eyes. This time, he was able to open them for a little longer. The sight of his dad's worried face surprised him. He didn't think he'd ever seen the man look so worn down or so… scared? He tried to say something to his dad, but he still seemed to have absolutely no control over his own tongue.

"Don't try to talk, Dean. You need to save your energy, boy." Bobby stepped over into his field of vision and Dean was surprised to see the same look on the man's face that he saw on his dad's.

Finding what little strength he'd been holding onto fading quickly, Dean allowed his eyes to close. Half a minute later, he was sleeping again.

Once Dean was asleep again, John allowed himself to fall apart a little. He had been certain that they weren't going to be able to save his son, so the relief he felt from seeing the boy wake up as much as he did was almost more than he could take. John had come too close to losing too much and he was tired.

Bobby noticed that the man seemed to be on his last leg and decided to do something about it. "John, you need to get some rest."

"I'm fine," John immediately answered.

"No, you're not. You're bobbing and weaving like you're drunk. You haven't slept in days, John. And Dean is going to need you to be rested when he wakes up again."

John knew the truth in the man's words, but he didn't want to sleep when they weren't completely out of the woods yet. "What's going on with Nora? Caleb or any of the other hunters having any luck in finding her?"

"Not yet," Bobby admitted. "There've been a few leads, but nothing's panned out yet. They'll find her, though, John. It's just gonna take some time."

"What about our plan B?"

"Jim Harvelle is working on that. He's tracked her down to her most recent known location, but she'd already moved on. She's not hiding from us or from anyone that I know of, so he'll find her."

"And you think she'll help us?"

"I think she can be persuaded."

John ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't like working with witches, Singer. That's what got us into this mess in the first place."

"She's not your typical witch, John. She's good people."

John didn't look convinced, but he didn't have the energy to argue anymore. He suddenly felt like if he didn't sit down, he would fall flat on his face. Without a word, he moved over to the bed and laid down next to his son. "Wake me up the minute you hear anything, Bobby. And don't take your eyes off of him." His eyes moved over to Titus, who had his head leaning against the wall and his eyes closed. "Not for a single second."

"I won't," Bobby assured him. "I'll keep our boy safe, John."

With a small nod of his head, acknowledging the fact that he truly knew how much Bobby loved his son, John finally closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Author's note: I tried so hard to not keep you all waiting too long for this chapter, but you know what they say. Best laid plans and all that….. Anyway, here it is. It may be a little short, but Dean's awake, so I don't think we can complain, right? Right?

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing and sticking with this story. You guys are all amazing and I appreciate you. Take care of yourselves, okay?