A/n: I'm so sorry this is late! I've had company over, I've been under the weather, and I've been running around frantically looking for Xmas gifts. No excuses though really. I just forgot with that's going on that I said I'd post every Wednesday. So here it is, chapter 7.

Special thank you to hectatess and LilyBolt for your reviews. Thank you both for your time, interest, support, and thoughts. Thank you to anyone who reads, reviews, favorites and/or follows.

Chapter 7

It felt like years since Dean had seen the house he grew up in. And he supposed it had been. The last time he'd seen it was right before he left to go check up on Sam after the scare Mary's friend Missouri had given him concerning his brother's well being. He was taken home from the hospital and brought to that house as was his little brother, and it wasn't until a few years ago he had finally moved out. Dean had moved in with his girlfriend at the time on 53 Baker Ave, not far from his childhood home. Although things hadn't ended on bad terms, Dean and Carmen had decided to part ways and with his father having passed away only a few months before the break up and with his younger sibling away at college, the elder Winchester son thought it had been best to return to live with Mary.

A swarm of memories hit him the moment Bobby pulled the car up along the curb. He remembered playing with Sam on the front lawn. At first it was with cars and army men along with a few plastic dinosaurs, then it became tag and water gun fights or in the winter time snowball fights, a few years later it was baseball and football. Though more often than not, it was Dean and John who played sports while Sam sat locked away in his room studying, or so he claimed. Dean use to tease him about having "alone time" with his secret stash of adult magazines which Sam would turn red and deny angrily. Dean remembered his first true love and favorite activity he'd shared with John, which was working on the 1967 Chevy Impala that the proud father had passed on to his eldest son. They had spent hours working on her, tuning her, driving her, and washing and caring for her.

He remembered the night his little brother would never forgive or forget for as long as he lived, the night of Sam's prom. The elder brother hadn't meant to hook up with Sam's prom date Rachel Nave, and he hadn't meant to ruin his prom night by having done so. They had their fair share of fights and arguments, once Sam was in high school, he hadn't found much in common with his sibling and so he had decided to take to his own path. Gone were the days where he would follow Dean around the house begging his big brother to play with him. He no longer copied every little thing Dean said or did, he no longer shared secrets or time with him. All of the sudden, now that he was in high school, he had tried to avoid Dean like the plague. He had only really communicated with him when he had to, and that was usually at the dinner table or when they had or went to any events as a family. Then of course he remembered the day Sam left for college. He'd just gotten into a huge fight with their father the night before and had been so thrilled at the idea of leaving Lawrence Kansas and getting away, that Dean hadn't had the chance to say goodbye. He'd left early from work, thinking he'd be just in time to see him off, but when he got there Sam had already left. Thinking back on it, between leaving without so much as a phone call and not inviting him to his wedding, he realized how clear his brother had made it that he didn't want Dean to be apart of his life. He'd just been too in denial to see it.

A sudden flickering of light coming from the window of what use to be Sam's room, now a guest room, caught the eldest Winchester's attention and brought him back to the present. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to his friend who had noticed it too. Dean threw open the door and sprinted as fast as the snow would allow him to the front door. He turned the knob and found it locked. Not wasting time Dean began to pound his fist on the door.

"Sam?! Sammy, it's me!"

When there was no answer, he moved as quickly and carefully as he could through the snow covered lawn towards a small patch where flowers use to be. Now it looked pathetic and empty, with exception of a statue of a garden gnome. Dean picked up the odd yard decoration and a key slid out into his hand. He made a sound of triumph, returned the gnome, and crunched back through the snow to the door. It opened with no trouble and he rapidly gained entrance and closed the door behind him. A scream rang out and he sprinted up the stairs.

"Sam?!"

Dean finished the climb and rushed through the hall grabbing onto the door frame of the guest room to stop him. As he peered in he could see a human figure hunched over something on the bed. The elder Winchester didn't get a clear view, but he could have sworn it was another person who was laying not moving. Cautiously, Dean took a few steps into the room closer to the form. It's shoulders seemed broad enough to be his brother, his frame seemed tall enough though a bit more muscular, and the dark hair looked the right color though longer.

"Sammy?" He asked unsure. The figure turned around and when it did, Dean felt his mouth open in silent shock and horror and he took a couple of steps back. The man with the muscular build and the long hair stared at him. The only thing that hadn't changed, were a pair of hazel eyes, though even those seemed a bit unusual as the size of his pupils reminded Dean of cat who'd found catnip. His upper lip, entire mouth, and chain were completely covered in a crimson red and when he bared his teeth at him, they were red as well. His wild stare didn't soften when they fell on Dean and before the elder Winchester knew it, he was being sent flying backwards only stopping when his back hit the hall wall nearly knocking the wind out of him. Sam's hand was outstretched as he got to his feet and began to walk slowly towards Dean.

"Sammy -" the man began but suddenly felt as though he was having the life choked out of him. The younger brother continued to draw closer, his fingers curled in slightly.

"I told you he was off limits," Sam snarled. "I told you to NEVER bring him into my sight!" The more his fingers came together, the harder it was for Dean to breath.

"Sammy -"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" The younger man was now standing a few inches from Dean who continued to choke as invisible hands crushed his throat. "This time when I kill you, you're going to stay dead. DO YOU HEAR ME YOU BITCH?!"

"It's...me," Dean tried again. Sam smirked and shook his head.

"Nice try. But that's not going to work. Not this time. Now, go to Hell. And this time, stay there." Dean attempted to speak again but this time only strained squeaks escaped him and his eyes began to roll in the back of his head. He could hear the hunter calling out for him, but he couldn't call for help or tell the man to run. All he could do was stand up against the wall while everything around him went dark and silent.

XXX

"He's comin' around." The elder brother could hear the familiar gruff voice say to someone. Although he could hear again, it took a bit for him to finally slowly peel open his eyes. Everything was fuzzy and out of focus at first which made him want to close them again, roll over, and vomit. If Bobby was talking in a calm tone, they couldn't be in danger. His friend's gentle calls only made him want to return to slumber, but a second voice caused him to force himself into full consciousness.

"He's not responding to you," it replied impatiently and in a deep almost gravelly voice. It took him a second, but the elder Winchester realized he recognized it as well.

He groaned and pushed himself to stir to show he was indeed coming around. His head felt like a ton of bricks as he tried to lift it and himself from laying down into sitting position.

"Easy son, easy. There's no race." Dean listened to his friend and gently began to force himself up. A pair of strong hands helped him slowly and steadily. Once he was as close to sitting as he was going to get, Dean blinked a few times and rubbed at his throat.

"What happened?" He asked in a raw hoarse whisper. "Shhh, here's some water. Drink carefully not too fast," Bobby instructed as he guided a glass of water to Dean's lips. The liquid felt both welcoming and unforgiving as it rolled down his throat. He coughed a bit, and Bobby pulled the cup back just in case for any reason it didn't stay down or he needed to set the glass down and pat his back.

"Robert's right, you should save your energy and voice," the second voice said.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The elder Winchester croaked.

"Didn't you hear what I just said?"

"I don't give a rat's ass what you said," Dean stopped to cough and then willed his voice to stay as strong and coherent as possible.

"You should. Your trachea was almost completely crushed."

The mentioning of what happened brought a different and more important question to the young man's mind.

"Where's Sam?"

"Yer brother is safe and sound here with us," Bobby reassured him.

"And where's here?" He turned his head slightly to the left then the right. He didn't need an answer after all. "How the hell did we get back to South Dakota?" Dean frowned perplexed.

"I brought you back," the trench coated angel answered. "It wasn't easy. I had to make a few trips. Your vehicle is still outside the house," he said turning to the hunter.

"We'll deal with that later. It's not all that important right now," the man responded. Castiel nodded in agreement and leaned forward with his index and middle finger extending out towards Dean who quickly moved to block him.

"Don't worry," he said calmly "I'm just going to heal you." The elder Winchester eyed him a bit before slowly lowering his hands but not his guard. Castiel's fingertips met Dean's forehead and the sensation he had felt back when he had first been saved from Gordon ran throughout his body and like the first time, it ended. Quicker this time. Dean cleared his throat which no longer hurt and he looked over at the angel.

"Why didn't you do that earlier?" Dean questioned. When he wasn't given an answer the elder Winchester shook his head dismissively, "whatever. What happened back in Kansas?"

"Your brother nearly killed you," Castiel reported in monotone voice. "If I hadn't shown up when I did, there's a good chance he would have succeeded."

"How did you know where I was?"

"The same way I knew where you were before. And now that whatever was cloaking Sam has been either disengaged or destroyed, I can locate him as well. If I can locate him, so can others and trust me, there are other angels who have been looking for your brother. I imagine they'll start looking for you too."

Dean blinked and frowned. "Why?"

"You and Sam have a role to play that concerns my brothers and sisters as well as the entire world."

The elder Winchester felt his stomach lurch but tried to ignore it.

"I'm gonna need you to hit pause on that for now," he said to the angel.

"It's impossible to temporarily stop the apocalypse, Dean." Castiel countered. Dean could feel his head start to spin and he lowered it into his hands. The young man could feel his head whirling. He didn't have any reason not to trust the celestial being, but at the same time he hadn't known him that long either and the things he was saying about Sam seemed like pretty big accusations. "Alright just...First thing's first," the young man started as he turned now to face the owner of the house, "take me to Sam."

A/n: Thank you so much for reading. Please feel free to let me know what your thoughts are so far. I'll be better about my posts this month, I promise.