AN: Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I am going to a new (to me) university this Fall and I have been dealing with all that fun stuff, and then on top of that I've been sick. So…been really busy. This chapter is a little bit longer though. Hope you enjoy!
7/10/15 AN: It was brought to my attention that there were some mistakes in this chapter. I have attempted to fix them. As for when I will post the next chapter...not so sure. I seem to have dug myself into a deep plot-hole. Perhaps marathoning Criminal Minds will help...
Disclaimer: None of these attractive men and women belong to me.
Chapter 4
"Four out of the five men who were killed have multiple arrests for petty crimes and have been arrested on suspicion of assault and rape, but the charges were always dropped. Mr. Randle, our fifth victim, on the other hand, was known for his gambling problems and his house was close to foreclosure." Garcia says, typing up a storm on her keyboard.
"Thanks Garcia. Let us know if you find anything else." Morgan says.
"I will. And I'll keep trying to find the Winchester's paper trial; but whoever made them disappear, knew what they were doing. There's no evidence that they even exist for over a year, then Sam hit a dog with his car in 2011 and seems to have settled down in Kermit, Texas for a year. He was even looking into going back to school, but something happened and he fell of the grid again, but no sign of Dean at all."
"Thanks again baby girl, keep us posted." Morgan says, hanging up. "I'm ganna go talk to the Winchesters. See if I can get Dean to talk." He addresses the room at large, each team member busy with their own things.
"Morgan, I wouldn't suggest that." Rossi says, stepping out of the conference room.
"Why not?" Morgan asks, drawing the whole team's attention.
Rossi pauses a moment for Castiel to go into the lounge where Claire has been pacing since the man left the room earlier, before he continues.
"If Dean's delusion is as great as Mr. Novak's and he's as unstable as he says, your presence may push him over the edge. We need someone he will feel is non-threatening. I think Dr. Reid may be our best bet to get him talking."
They look to Reid, who nods in agreement.
"I think you may be right." Reid says, standing from where he has been reading through what little of the massive Winchester file remains; explosions tend not to leave much readable materials.
"I'm not sure that's the best idea. You might want to look at this first." Hotch interjects, summoning Reid over.
Hotch has security footage of the holding cells up on the computer in front of him.
"When they first came in, Sam talked Dean into sitting on the bench, but then Dean doesn't move for several hours. It isn't until…there. That he moves." Hotch explains, fast-forwarding and then pausing right at the moment Sam touches Dean's shoulder.
He presses play and the whole team watches in horror as Dean begins to strangle his brother.
"It looks like Sam got through to him though." Morgan points out, trying to look at the bright side of the not-so-pleasant situation.
"We should consider putting them in separate holding cells. Sam's life could be in danger if we leave him with his brother." Hotch says, concerned for the younger man's safety.
"That may be safer for Sam, but it could put the rest of us in danger. Everything in Dean's file suggests a dangerous codependence. If we remove Sam, or if Dean feels we are threatening Sam in any way, he could become quite violent." Reid informs the team of his findings so far. "Have there been any more outbursts since that one, or was that the only one?" He asks, leaning closer to the monitor.
"That was the only one. Since then Sam has helped Dean wipe the dried blood off, and right now it appears that Dean is sleeping." Hotch tells Reid.
"This may be a good opportunity for me to talk to Sam alone…"
"Be careful Reid." Morgan says, placing an encouraging hand on his shoulder.
The others nod in agreement. Hotch takes a deep breath, but eventually agrees.
Sam is sitting at the foot of the bench, staring out the bars of their cell, keeping watch as Dean sleeps fitfully on the bench. He lifts his head when he hears the door open and close. A tall skinny man with brown hair in a style reminiscent of his own during his Stanford years, comes and stands in front of the cell.
"Sam, I'm Dr. Spencer Reid with the Behavior Analysis Unit of the FBI. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions." Reid asks quietly, as not to wake the older Winchester.
Sam just stares at him blankly for a moment, exhaustion clear on his face.
"So you're a shrink?" Sam asks monotone, not even shifting from his spot on the floor, or caring that he probably sounds rude.
Reid smirks. "No, not that kind of doctor. I have PhDs. in Chemistry, Engineering, and Mathematics."
Sam's eyes widen, obviously impressed.
"Oh."
"Now, Sam. What can you tell me about your brother?"
Sam's eyes narrow.
"That depends on what you want to know." He says defensively.
Dean shifts on the bench and lets out a soft moan. Reid looks at the sleeping man with concern, but Sam ignores Dean in favor of staring at Reid.
"Does he often have nightmares?" Reid asks, attempting to use the circumstances to his advantage and get Sam talking.
Sam looks over his shoulder as Dean jerks in his sleep and moans louder.
"I guess you could say that. We're kind of used to them. In our line of work it's sort of a reminder that we're human. The second we stop caring is when we become the monsters we hunt." Sam shifts uncomfortably, very aware of how that can happen.
"That sounds a lot like what we do." Reid muses.
Sam chuckles. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. The only difference is we hunt creatures that enjoy eating people and you guys hunt the crazy people that want to eat other people." Sam frowns. "I think I agree with Dean on that one. Demons and monsters I get. People are crazy."
Sam could feel the effects of sleep deprivation clouding his mind. Should he be telling this kid that?
"Why would you say people that eat other people?" Reid asks slowly, taking in the information and trying to ask questions that will encourage Sam to talk.
"Well, sometimes when we're looking for our cases, we stumble on some of yours. A few weeks after my 23rd birthday we were investigating some mysterious disappearances and I got abducted by the Bender family. They'd been abducting, hunting, and then eating people for at least three generations. It sort of became our bench-mark for crazy people." Sam explains, willing to tell the old story to this BAU agent who had no doubt read their file.
Spencer furrows his brow in confusion. "What happened to the Benders? I have an eidetic memory, I would remember a case like that."
"I'm not sure. The deputy shot and killed Pa when he tried to escape, but as far as I know the brothers and their little sister were all taken into custody after we left." Sam says matter-of-factly, too stressed and tired to care if this man is actually listening to, or believing him or not.
"You didn't stay behind to find out what happened?" Reid asks, curious.
"We couldn't. The deputy knew who we were and only let us go because we saved her life…that wasn't the first time a cop let us go, and it defiantly wasn't the last." Sam says distractedly as Dean shifts on the bench behind him and mumbles in his sleep.
"I read your file. There are multiple instances where you escaped from police custody or even from prison that seem very improbable without inside help."
Sam shrugs, not really paying attention to the agent as he watches his brother over his shoulder.
"You're not wrong…"
Sam stands up and goes to the side of the bench and hovers over his brother as he thrashes on the bench, his face contorted in pain.
"Is Cas still here?" Sam asks suddenly, coming over to the bars.
Reid takes a step back, weary of the younger Winchester's intentions.
"I believe so. He didn't want to leave without Dean." Reid says carefully, unsure of how to proceed.
"Can you get him please? Tell him Dean is having a nightmare. He'll know what to do." Sam says urgently, going back to hover over Dean as if deciding whether or not to try to wake him.
Dr. Reid only hesitates a moment before doing as asked. By the time he gets to the lounge where Castiel and Claire have been sitting quietly, an ear-piercing scream resonates from the holding cells. Castiel is on his feet and headed towards the cells before Spencer can even relay Sam's message. He chases after the trench-coated man as he seemingly glides to a stop in front of the cell the Winchester's are in. Without a second thought he yanks the door open, breaking the lock. Inside the cell Dean is thrashing violently as Sam attempts to pin him down.
"Cas!" Sam shouts over his brother's panicked and pained screams, nearly taking a fist to the face for his efforts.
Reid stares on in shock as Castiel comes forward and places two fingers on Dean's forehead, effortlessly silencing him as he goes completely limp. Sam sinks to his knees and looks like he's about to burst into tears and Castiel isn't much better, his face a mix of pain, great sadness, and perhaps a little guilt.
"What the hell was that?" Morgan intones, breaking the shocked silence.
Reid swings around in surprise, about half the people in the station have gathered to see what's wrong.
Spencer Reid is completely speechless, having no idea what just happened in front of his own two eyes. It is Castiel who answers.
"That was memories of Hell, most likely made worse by recent events." Cas says matter-of-factly, carefully training his features.
"Cas!" Sam says, surprised that the angel would just announce that to these strangers. "Are you trying to get us locked up in padded rooms?"
"These people are only doing their jobs, as you and Dean do yours. They asked me for the truth and I told them. They even listened. You shouldn't be so quick to judge them by their profession."
Sam stares at him, than shakes his head in tired defeat.
"Whatever you say Cas. Just get us out of here so we can help Dean."
Castiel frowns. "I believe these people may be able to help."
"How?" Sam snaps, "They don't even believe us! You know what happens when people start spouting stuff about angels and demons? They get locked up and put on heavy medication!" Sam says, voice rising. "And worst of all, the longer we're here and not researching, the longer Dean has the Mark! I don't know about you, but I want to get rid of that thing as soon as possible!"
Sam's shaking now, and angry tears are flowing freely down his face, but he doesn't care. All of the stress of the last twenty-four hours combined with sleep deprivation and worry spill down his cheeks and he looks to his brother's angel for guidance.
The BAU team just watches the exchange in shocked silence.
The angel sighs. "Sam, I don't know what the best course of action is, but I believe these people can help us. They may not know about the supernatural, but they understand the workings of the human mind, and I can't help with that, not really."
Castiel's features may have looked almost void of emotion to the BAU team, but Sam could see as clear as day that this was a desperate move on the angel's part.
Sam sighs in resignation. "Okay. We'll do it your way, but, if he gets worse? We're going home."
Castiel nods his agreement.
"Regardless of any agreements that may have been made, you're coming with us, and you can't stay here." Agent Hotchner steps forward, indicating the ruined door and the twisted metal of the frame.
Castiel looks at the indicated destruction with a sheepish look on his face.
"I apologize for the damage I have caused. It was not my intention, but this was a time sensitive matter."
AN: I would like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this story. I hope it's living up to expectations. Please let me know if you think anyone is too OOC so I can fix it!
Love you all!
~Sari Dark