Thank you MaggieMay17 for beta'ing, Ncsupnatfan and VegasGranny for pre-reading, and you all for reading.

Chapter Ten

Nick had seen Sam angry, he'd been thrown across a room by him even, but he'd never seen him like this before. The power he radiated made the hairs on the back of Nick's neck prickle. He wasn't scared, he'd never fear his brother again now he knew who he really was, but he was wary.

Dean looked just as cautious as he approached Sam slowly. "Uh… Sammy… you okay?"

Sam nodded stiffly and seemed to struggle to gain control over himself. He took a deep breath and then turned to Castiel. "You left it a bit late on the call. You said it was nothing to worry about when you took off."

"I didn't think it was," Castiel said. "I thought I could handle it myself, that you could have a little more space."

Sam nodded and then looked around the room, his eyes falling on Dean, and a frown creased his brow. "She hurt you," he stated.

"Just threw us around a little," Dean said. "Got a headache, but that'll pass."

"No, it won't," Sam said, something that worried Nick in his tone. What was he seeing in their brother that made him sound like that? Was Dean seriously hurt?

Sam rounded the unconscious body on the floor and pressed his fingers to Dean's temple.

Though his touch was obviously gentle, Dean grimaced as the light glowed and then breathed out in a sigh. "Thanks, Sammy."

Sam turned his attention on Nick, his face strangely neutral, and then moved to him and touched his temple. He seemed more hesitant than he had been with Dean, and Nick thought he could feel Sam's tension in his touch. He had to remind himself that it was natural for Sam to struggle; not only had he been through hell and then lived with the fact that his family had seen him as the enemy, but Nick had also stabbed him and tried to send him to the Cage.

"Thanks, Sam," he said with a smile as Sam stepped back, receiving a small nod in return.

Castiel was helping Jack to his feet and healing him, too, but he looked around as Sam asked, "You need help, Cas?"

Castiel shook his head. "My arm is already healed. I don't understand how she was able to break it. A reaper should never be strong enough to unless…" He shook his head, looking annoyed. "She was one of Michael's, wasn't she?"

"Yes," Sam said. "He obviously dosed her with grace, too."'

"I didn't know that was possible," Castiel said.

"Me either." Sam ran a hand through his hair. "We've got to deal with her before she wakes up."

"Are you going to kill her?" Nick asked.

"Not yet," Sam said. "Maybe not at all. The final call on what happens to her is Billie's. I want to interrogate her before I hand her over, though. I'm not sure how long she was working with Michael, I can't pinpoint a time when she was with me that she seemed different, but hopefully, she'll know something about his monsters that I can use."

"We can lock her down in the dungeon," Dean suggested. "We've got angel cuffs that might work if she's got grace in her. We've got miles of chains and ropes that we can use, too. Hell, we'll put the demon shackles on her. I get that the warding won't help, but they're still solid enough to hold someone strong."

"We can use a reaper trap, too," Nick said. "Alastair put Tessa in one once, and it seemed pretty damn strong."

A curious look of annoyance spread across Sam's face, and then he nodded. "Cas, can you draw the trap? Dean, get me the cuffs. I don't know how long she'll be out."

"I'll get the chains ready," Nick said when it became obvious Sam wasn't going to give him any instructions.

"Perhaps you should lie down, Jack," Castiel suggested. "I know you're healed, but I don't think you should be here when Violet wakes up."

There was something in his gaze that made Nick think Castiel could see Jack was struggling with something. Perhaps the initial fear Violet had brought when she'd been discussing Lucifer, perhaps seeing Sam so angry—so much like an archangel. Whatever it was, Nick thought it was good that Castiel was giving Jack an out.

They all parted, leaving Sam in the library with Violet, Dean heading for the cupboard where they'd left the cuffs, Jack making his way to his bedroom, and Nick and Castiel going to the storeroom for the chains and paint for the trap.

When they were in the storeroom, hopefully far away enough from the library for Sam to not overhear them, Nick said, "You were with Sam a long time."

"I was."

"Did everything go okay?"

Castiel stopped with a can of paint in his hand and looked at Nick. The intensity in his gaze made Nick want to squirm. Castiel hadn't looked at him like this since the early days after they'd first met, when Nick had been nothing more than the boy with the demon blood.

"Cas?" he said, confusion furrowing his brow. "You okay?"

Castiel smiled briefly. "Yes, Nick, everything is fine. You don't need to worry."

Nick snorted. "Sure, we're locking down a reaper in the dungeon, one that wants my brother dead, but we shouldn't worry."

"Sam is a fully-powered archangel; he is in no danger from a mere reaper. In fact, he is in no danger from anyone now that Michael is dead."

Nick grinned, reassured. Sam was vulnerable emotionally, that was obvious, but there was no physical threat to at least one of his brothers.

Castiel patted Nick's shoulder and left the room with the can of paint in his hand. Nick unhooked a length of chain and wrapped it around his arm then pocketed a heavy padlock from the shelf.

They met Sam in the hall outside the dungeon. He had Violet slung over his shoulder, and his face was stony.

Nick gestured him into the room ahead of him and then followed him in. Sam dropped Violet onto the floor, took the proffered handcuffs from Dean and cinched them around her wrists tight enough that Nick could see them cutting into the flesh.

"Uh, Sam," Nick said as there was a soft moan, and Violet blinked blearily.

Sam looked down at her, then bent over and calmly slammed a fist into her temple again. She rocked back, and her eyes fell closed again. There was no indication from Sam that he had done anything dramatic at all. His voice was neutral as he said, "You ready, Cas?"

"I'm nearly done," Castiel said. He sprayed in one last sigil and then touched his fingers to the edge of the trap and checked them for paint. "It's dry."

Dean carried a chair to the center and set it down, then said, "You need help, Sam?"

Sam shook his head and hauled Violet up, then dumped her in the chair and reached back to Nick. "Chains," he said without looking at him.

Nick handed them over, and Sam began to wrap them around Violet's chest, trapping her cuffed wrists in her lap. When the chains were all used, Nick gave him the padlock, and Sam cinched it into place.

"What next?" Dean asked.

Sam stared at Violet for a moment and then said, "You sleep. I'll stay in the bunker. Give her a night alone, and then I'll come back with my questions tomorrow."

"What questions?" Nick asked. "I thought you already knew it all."

Sam answered without meeting his eye. "I want to get some information out of her about the monsters Michael enhanced. I'm hoping she'll know where I can find them. She sent me to the places they'd been, the bodies he left behind, so she knows something. That might have just been Michael feeding me information through her, keeping me busy, or she might know more."

"Okay," Dean said, shooting Nick a quick glance. "We should probably sleep. Oh! Crap! Mom is here. We'll tell her what's going on. She'll need to sleep, too."

Sam looked confused, but Nick understood. Dean was warning Sam that Mary was there while reassuring him that he would have his space. He probably didn't want to, but he was as committed as Nick was to waiting for Sam to come to them when he was ready. Persuading Mary to do the same while Sam was in the bunker was going to be more of a challenge.

"We'll see you in the morning," Dean said. "There's a whole library full of books if you get bored. You still a reader?"

Sam's lips quirked into a small smile. "Yeah, Dean, I'm a reader."

Dean seemed pleased by his reaction. He grinned, said goodnight to Sam and Castiel then left the room, tugging Nick's arm so he'd follow.

"Night, Sam," Nick said at the door.

There was something flat in his voice as Sam answered. "Goodnight, Nick."

"I need your help."

It was Chuck's voice that spoke, but the face was not that of the man Nick had met. He was formed wholly of a blue-white light that Nick was sure should blind him, but he could see it clearly.

"What do I need to do?" he asked, devotion rich in his voice.

"My sister must be stopped. She destroys all that I create, and I need you and your brothers to help me. It's going to be difficult, but there are worlds that need to be born." His hand touched Nick's, filling him with warmth and a rush of love. "It's going to be the hardest of all for you. You will have to carry the weight…"

"I'll do it," Nick said without hesitation. "Whatever you need."

Chuck smiled down at him, making him feel a wave of intense love that filled him. "It's going to be a battle for us all, and for you much longer than for us. You know how powerful she is. You're going to need to be strong, so, so strong, to resist her influence."

"I can do it," Nick vowed.

Chuck touched his face, sending a wave of warmth through him, "I know you can. You're the only one I can trust with this, Lucifer…"

The name pierced Nick like a knife, and he cried out in pain. "No! I'm not Lucifer! I'm Nick."

Chuck smiled at him again, not seeming to have heard Nick's protest. "You're a good son, Lucifer."

"No!" he cried. "I'm Nick!"

There was a soft laugh behind him, and he turned. Amara stood there, her long black dress brushing the floor and her hands folded in front of her stomach. "Hello, Lucifer."

"I'm Nick!" There was more anger than pain in his voice now.

She walked towards him, her hand reaching for him, and Nick backed away. She came faster, and Nick began to run. He sprinted away, coming to the ledge over a dark abyss. He could hear her getting closer, knew she was almost there and that when she reached him, it was going to hurt.

"Lucifer…" she crooned.

Nick jumped into the darkness. He fell for a long time, wind rushing around his face and making his eyes squeeze shut, then he landed with a thud, and the air was knocked out of him.

He heard a growl of anger and a whimper, and then a voice that he knew spoke.

He got to his feet and turned around. Michael was bowed over a shape on the floor. He'd shed his vessel, standing tall in his true form, and in his hand was a long blade.

He stepped aside, and Nick saw the shape was actually two people, huddled close together. One was Adam Milligan, Michael's vessel, and the other was his brother. Sam.

"Hello, Lucifer," Michael said.

"No," Nick breathed. "This isn't real. I'm Nick!"

Sam looked up at him and smiled with chapped and bloody lips. "Now you are, but to me, you're always going to be Lucifer!"

Nick sucked in a deep breath and screamed. It ripped up his throat and poured from him, sending his pain and fear into the air, and then something pressed down on his mouth and blocked the sound.

Nick's eyes flew open, and he saw Sam standing over him with his hand pressed to Nick's mouth. His expression was strained, and he spoke in a growl. "You're going to wake them up. Do you want that?"

Nick shook his head.

"Can you control yourself?"

Nick nodded.

Sam removed his hand, and Nick drew a deep breath as he sat up.

"Thank you, Sam," he said.

Sam straightened up and stepped away. "You were having another nightmare," he said, then seemed to force the next words from himself, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I…" Nick stared into his brother's face, the face that he'd seen in his dream as a victim, not family, and then said, "I think I need to."

He knew he should talk to Dean, the brother without the pressures and traumas of Sam, but the nightmare was so close, and he was so scared.

The name that had been given to him in his dream seemed more real to him in that moment than his own. He needed reassurance from someone who could understand that, and Sam had been called that same name himself recently. Nick had to talk to Sam, even if it went against the plan to give Sam space and time to heal.

"I dreamed of Lucifer, Sam," he said. "But not the way I used to. It's like I am him. It feels so real. I think that's what I dreamed last time, too."

Sam flinched and averted his eyes.

"Sorry," Nick said. "You don't need to hear this."

"No, it's okay." Sam bit his lip then said, without looking at Nick, "I think you need to forget about it. They're just dreams."

"I know," Nick said, a little too fast to be believable.

Even though he knew logically that Sam was right, there was a part of him that was scared there might be more to those dreams. He looked at his brother, Sam's face stony, and took comfort in it. That was Sam Winchester, Nick's older brother. He might be struggling to be around him now, for good reasons, but Sam wouldn't lie to Nick.

"Go back to sleep, Nick," Sam said. "I've got to get back to Violet."

Nick stared at him and said, "Yeah, sure. Thanks, Sam."

Sam smiled slightly, though it looked forced, and said, "I'll see you tomorrow.

Nick watched him walk toward the door and spoke up as he touched the handle "Sam, don't tell Dean and Mom about this. I don't want them to worry."

There was something in Sam's eyes as he turned back to answer that gave Nick pause. It was like it was hurting him physically to say it. "Don't worry, Nick, I won't tell them. They don't need to know."

He slipped out of the door and pulled it closed behind him. Nick laid down again and closed his eyes. He was still tired, and he knew he should sleep, but he was scared of falling into another nightmare. The one he'd just had scared him more than anything he'd been through in his life, even the Cage, as he didn't feel like himself in those dreams. He felt like he really was Lucifer.

Those nightmares left him genuinely terrified.

So… Nick is having nightmares of his life as Lucifer, and poor Sam's the one that has to help him through them. Yep, I am that cruel.

Until next time…

Clowns or Midgets xxx