Disclaimer: I don't own them, I don't profit from them, but I do like to play with them.

.Authors note: Thanks everybody for reading and leaving kind reviews. It's getting close to the season finale and I don't know about you but I'm going crazy trying to figure out how it's gonna end. Looks like my version of the finale is gonna be way off but what the hell, that's what fan fiction is for.

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They sat around the table talking all night. At one point Sam got up and went back upstairs unable to continue with the conversation they were having. John was telling Missouri at length about the final battle with the demon and Sam didn't want to relive it again. He laid down on the bed exhausted but afraid to fall asleep. Seeing Dean in his visions frustrated him. Dean was there but not there, always within reach but then taken away. His voice haunting him, so filled with pain, that Sam would wake up in a heart pounding sweat.

At some point in the middle of the night he heard his father and Missouri head upstairs to their respective bedrooms. He closed his eyes for just a moment and soon he was fast asleep. He awoke some hours later with John and Missouri standing over him, concerned looks on their faces.

"Dad, what happened? What's wrong?" he asked as he sat up instantly frightened.

"Son you were having another nightmare." John stood back and took a deep breath. Whatever nightmare Sam was having it didn't match the one they had been sharing previously. This one seemed far too frightening. Even Missouri looked terrified. Sam took a couple deep breaths to calm himself down.

"Can you tell me what it was about Sam?" John was concerned. It's one thing to watch your son having a bad dream and another hearing him screaming, waking up terrified of what he saw.

"Dad I…..I can't really tell you. It's not like…what we were dreaming about Dean. I don't know…how to describe it." Sam dropped his face in his hands and closed his eyes. He couldn't tell his father and Missouri how horrible it was and that it wasn't a nightmare but a vision. Missouri left the room and headed downstairs to the kitchen. John sat on the bed next to Sam unable to find any words to comfort his son.

"Was it about Dean?" he finally asked afraid to hear the truth. He looked over at Sam to see what his reaction would be.

"Yes." Sam said his voice shaky. He couldn't return John's gaze.

"Sammy we need to talk about this." his voice stern hoping to force his son to obey him just this once. Sam just shook his head no.

"Dad I can't. Please don't make me." his voice pleading with John to let him be. They could hear Missouri come back up the stairs. Soon she re-entered the room with a tea cup in her hand.

"Here child drink this, it will make you feel better." She held the tea cup out in front of him. Sam looked up at the cup and hesitated to take it.

"I'm not trying to poison you child, its just chamomile tea to help you relax." She smiled as he finally accepted it and took a sip.

"Thanks Missouri. Look, I'm sorry I woke you guy's up." he said as he took another sip and hoped they couldn't see how hard his hands were shaking.

"Now hush child and finish the tea." She watched as he drank more of it, not satisfied until he had drank every sip.

"Sit tight now Sammy. Missouri and I have to step out for a moment but we'll be just down the hall." John looked over at Missouri questioning her real intention with the tea.

Sam knew they were leaving to talk about him. John got up off the bed and headed out the door with Missouri right behind him. As soon as they were down the hall John turned around and faced Missouri, his eyes back on Sam's bedroom door making sure he wasn't standing there listening.

"You gave him a sedative right?" John leaned over and whispered. She looked at him surprised at his question.

"John Winchester do you think I would trick your son into taking a sedative?" She knew her innocent act wasn't fooling John.

"Thanks Missouri, I mean it, he can't keep having these nightmares. I'm willing to do what ever it takes to make sure he gets some rest. If that means drugging him well….." He gave her a grateful smile and she smiled back at him.

"John perhaps you need to do the same. I swear if he wakes up I'll come and get you." She knew John was at least as exhausted as his son and he looked like hell as well. John thought about fighting her but knew she would probably win that battle of wills.

"Fine, wake me up in a few hours. If he makes a peep I wanna know." he told her, still unwilling. He turned back around and poked his head inside Sam's room for a moment making sure he was indeed asleep. Sam was sprawled on the bed, thankfully out cold again, the tea cup still in his hand. John moved in to grab it before it fell to the floor. He set it on the night stand and quietly walked back out.

"Damn what ever you gave him sure worked fast, he's out like a light." John whispered as he looked back at his son.

"And you should be as well John." She gently scolded him. "You know I have more and I'm not afraid to use it."

"Ha, after that little display I don't think I will be drinking tea from you anytime soon." He started to laugh, but stopped when he saw she meant business. Finally he threw up his hands and surrendered.

"Don't worry I'm going, I'm going." He headed back down the hall to his room and within minutes he was sound asleep as well. Missouri walked down stairs and sat in her front parlor. She knew there would be no rest for her that evening. Fleeting images of Sam's visions played over and over in her head.

"There's still time to change the outcome child." She said as she sat in her rocker. She passed the rest of the night quietly trying to determine how she could help.

Hours later she had heard them stirring upstairs and was making them breakfast when John made his way to the kitchen. He eyed the fried eggs, bacon and pancakes as he sat down at the kitchen table and was about to make a comment when Missouri cut him off.

"And what's wrong with me trying to fatten you two up. That boy of yours looks like he could pass through the eye of a needle." She gently admonished him as she loaded up a plate of food and set it down in front of John. She started to load up a second plate when she heard Sam head down stairs as well.

"Thanks Missouri, I'm starving." Sam said as soon as he saw his plate. She stood and watched them eat not satisfied until they both had had a least two full plates. When they were through they sat as she cleaned up the kitchen. John knew she wanted to talk. When she was done she joined them at the table. Never one to hesitate she plunged right in with her first question.

"John what's the one thing you remember when you saw Dean last." Missouri was still trying to piece together the final moments before the fateful car ride. John contemplated the question, unsure of where she was going with her line of questioning.

"Didn't we spend last night discussing this at length? What more does she need?" John thought as he sent her a questioning look. Looking back over at Sam he saw that he was thinking about her question as well.

"I'm not trying to torture you John, its just something is missing here. I think you know where I'm going with this." Her minds eye saw it, now she just had to get John to see it.

Dean had been beaten and bloodied that much he remember but he was still on his feet. He wasn't struggling as she dragged him off and John assumed that was because he was hurt or drugged. There was something else though, something else that suddenly stood out in John's memory. It was the look on Dean's' face. Dean wasn't just scared he was terrified. John looked up at Missouri and Sam with the realization that chilled him to the bone. That man wasn't his son.

"Missouri god, that wasn't Dean." He gasped running the memory over and over again to be sure.

"Dad…." Sammy looked at his father alarmed.

"Sam, remember how he looked, when she shoved him in the car, he looked frightened, terrified. Dean's never been scared of anything in his life let alone a little bitch demon like Meg. Who ever that was he was afraid for his life." John was almost certain now. Sam felt his blood chill when he realized his father was right.

"But Dad, if that wasn't Dean who the hell was it? Oh my god, that means we left him behind. We have to go back, Dad. If Meg has him, God only knows what she is doing to him." Sam was close to panic now at the thought of what Meg could do to his brother. Missouri felt his mounting fear and reached over to stroke his arm. Her touch instantly re-grounded him.

"Sam honey, we're going to find that brother of yours." She spoke in a soothing voice. One look at her and he knew she was right. Still he was overwhelmed with thoughts of his brother being harmed by Meg and others maybe worse than her. His father's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Missouri's right son. We're gonna get him back I promise, but first I need to make a few phone calls. Now head on upstairs and pack up our stuff. As soon as I'm done we're heading out." John's eyes blazed with a renewed mission. This time it wasn't about revenge. This time it was about saving his son. As Sam raced upstairs to pack their things, Missouri pack up some items of her own to send with them. Sam was just finishing up when John and Missouri headed out the door to join him. John silently thanked his friend before he walked past his Sam over to the driver's side.

Missouri held out her arms to Sam for one last hug before he climbed into the truck.

"Be brave Sam. Your brother needs you to be strong." She whispered in his ear as she held him. Sam looked at her alarmed by her warning. If John heard her he didn't let on. Instead he climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine. Missouri placed a small box in Sam's hand before pulling away from him. She pushed the hair from his face as she looked at him one last time. Then he stepped back, with the box still in his hand, and wordlessly got into the truck next to his father.

Missouri said a short prayer as she watched them drive off. It comforted her even if she knew John wouldn't approve. She figured they could use all the help they could get.

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When Dean woke up he was lying on the floor in a dimly lit room. He tried to get up but found he couldn't move his arms. Looking down he saw the reason and started to laugh. He was strapped tightly inside a straight jacket. Even more comical to his addled mind, he actually was inside the proverbial padded room. Tears ran down his face as he started laughing even harder. His laughter quickly turned to sobs though as memories of his father and Sam flashed inside his head.

"Pull yourself together dude. You're in trouble here and there's no one to help get you out now." Dean knew he was truly alone. He pushed back the pain and contemplated his situation.

After a brief struggle he finally was able to sit up. Wiggling inside the straight jacket he tried to get loose but couldn't find a way. Frustrated even more he fell back against the wall and looked around room. He assumed he was being observed but by whom he had no idea. His head continued to spin from the drugs and the shock treatment. He tried to focus his eyes as he saw a figure at the window but couldn't quite make out the person watching him.

He shuddered involuntarily when he remembered the shock treatment. Only one other time had he felt so much pain and that was when he accidentally tazered himself going after the raw head. Dean held his breath and listened to his heartbeat only letting it out when his heartbeat appeared to be normal. He wasn't struggling to breathe like he was that day and that was the good news. He knew Sam would kill him if he got hurt again.

"Sammy…oh god."

The memory of Sam and his father lying on the warehouse floor, as they dragged him away, gave Dean a sudden pain in his head. Meg had purposely showed him their bloodied bodies to taunt him before he started succumbing to the drugs she had injected into him. He felt the grief well up inside him and he struggled to contain it. Unable to control his emotions any longer he turned and put his back to the observation window.

"I should have stayed there. I should have been there to help stop that damn thing. Why the hell did I have to go after Meg? I walked right into her trap and now they're dead. If only I had been a little stronger, Sammy and Dad would still be alive." he thought to himself. He curled against the wall and let his tears finally fall.

Outside the room stood Meg. Her face filled with joy at the scene played out in front of her. She nodded to the men next to her and watched as they entered the room and pulled Dean up from the floor. Dean struggled like a mad man before he felt the prick of another needle in his neck. Not quite unconscious he was totally aware when they undid the straight jacket, placed him on a gurney and rolled him back down the hallway. He tried to struggle as they strapped him on a table but found his limbs had gone numb. With his body trapped and gag in his mouth, Dean could only watch as Meg strolled in the room and up to the table next to him. The evil smile she gave him chilled him to the bone.

"My my my Dean Winchester. Look at the fine mess you have gotten yourself into." His eyes followed her as she walked around him slowly. "Ready for round two?"

Without a warning she wave to the Doctor in the corner and he flipped the switch sending volts of electricity through Dean's body again. As he arched and shuddered she watched with perverse enjoyment.

"Father said I couldn't kill him but I sure can make his life a living hell. This is going to be so much fun." She thought to herself. "He's going to wish he were dead when I get through with him."

TBC

Author's notes: Sorry I've been so slow with my updates. Every time I think I have time to commit to writing my real life keeps interrupting. Damn my real life. Today I managed to get it locked in a closet but its trying to get out again. I'll try to post the next chapter faster. Thanks for reading and let me know how you like it so far.