Disclaimer: I still don't own Supernatural or its characters. I and am not making any money on this…I'm just having fun filling in the time until September!

Double Trouble

Chapter 8 – Risky Plan

Sam groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. The first thing that Sam realized was that he was hanging from a lead pipe, followed by the agonizing pain in his shoulder as he tried to move. His head was pounding and he could feel the blood running down his chest from the shoulder wound.

"Sam honey…glad to see you decided to join the living." Missouri said tiredly. After everything she had done, nothing had changed.

"I'm sorry Missouri…I guess I should have sent Dean to the rescue, at least he wouldn't have been blind sided by that thing!" Sam hung his head, he wondered if he would ever be able to mount a rescue without screwing it up. All he had to do was shoot the shape shifter in the heart…he couldn't even do that right.

"Samuel Winchester, you just stop that right this minute…we don't have time for you to be feeling sorry for yourself!

Sam looked up into the blazing eyes of Missouri. "I know but, all I've done is make things worse Missouri…how are we going to help Dean, he can barely walk and they told me at the hospital that one more blow to his head could result in permanent damage."

"I know you're worried Sam, but first things first. We don't have much time before that beast comes back to begin siphoning your powers. We need to get you ready to fight this thing."

"Missouri, how have you been able to resist this thing for so long…I mean how is it able to use your powers in the first place?" Sam knew that shape shifters could sometimes recover memories from its' victims, but actually tapping into psychic abilities…he had never heard of that being done before.

"I'm not entirely sure, but from what I have sensed from the being, once it taps into your mind, it can use the link to tap into your psychic abilities. As our bodies get weaker, our ability to block the shape shifter from actually absorbing our abilities also gets weaker. From what I have seen, at the moment of death, the shape shifter is actually able steal the psychics powers and use it as its own."

"So sort of like a succubus, only it can drain psychic energy?" Sam asked.

"Yes, Sam…you have the ability to block this thing and I also believe that there may be a way that you can actually help block this thing from reading all of Dean's thoughts as well. It will be difficult for you and don't get me wrong, it could be dangerous. Remember the more of your power's you use, the greater the strain it places on your body. " Missouri didn't like the labored breathing coming from the young man, she could tell that the loss of blood was already taking its toll on his body. But she saw no other choice. A dangerous plan was forming in her mind, one that would take both of them to accomplish, but if done correctly, it was just possible they could buy Dean the time he needed to defeat the shape shifter.

"Missouri…you know I can't control my powers…how the hell do you think I'm going to be able to do this?"

"Look Sam, you have more control than you think…you were able to push the shape shifter out of your mind earlier…just continue to do that. You also were able to merge with my mind. I'm hoping that because of the bond between you and Dean, I can sort of piggy back onto your connection and block the shape shifter from reading anything that would place Dean in danger. We may even be able to get a message to him if we are careful."

Sam snorted. "I'm sorry Missouri, but I think you're giving me too much credit…."

"Since when did a Winchester just give up Samuel…your brother and Daddy would be ashamed of you right now…why you won't even try to help yourself and your brother!" Missouri turned her head as if the sight of Sam disgusted her.

Sam's head snapped up as if he had been slapped. "Missouri…I want to try, it's just…you have to realize that I'm not sure I can do what you ask…look just tell me what to do and I'll try…just don't be disappointed if it doesn't work out the way you think it should." Sam hated the pleading note in his voice, but Missouri's opinion of him mattered almost as much as his brother's.

Missouri smiled softly as she turned her head back towards Sam. "Sam, all you have to do is believe you can do it…I've seen you do some amazing things…things that I could never do on my best days. I'll help you all I can…now first let's try to see if you can connect with Dean."

Before Sam could comply with Missouri's request, he heard a noise above them. "Missouri, pretend you're unconscious and no matter what happens don't open your eyes! One of us needs to be conscious!"

Missouri sighed but complied with Sam's request. It wasn't hard, she was so tired. She closed her eyes and went into the area of her mind that she reserved for her meditation. Here nothing could reach her and she would not be aware of anything going on outside until she decided to return to a higher level of consciousness. It was dangerous, but she had seen Sam's intuition be correct once to often to ignore it.

Sam watched as his double descended into the cellar. "Well, nice to see you're awake!" The shape shifter looked at Missouri, giving her a kick in the side and smiling when there was no response. "Ah, it shouldn't be long now before I can absorb her power. But then, I have plenty of time now that you so nicely delivered yourself into my hands."

"You leave her alone you bastard!" Sam said as he tried to twist his body to follow the movement of his double. Ignoring the pain in his shoulder, Sam tried to tap into his telekinetic ability, visualizing the shape shifter flying across the room. But nothing happened.

The shape shifter smiled as it approached Sam. "That's right Sammy boy, use your powers, show me what you've got!"

Sam shivered as his double ran his hands down Sam's chest. "I have to admit, this body is much better than the last couple that I have had to inhabit. I may actually try to keep you around for a while."

Sam closed his eyes and concentrated on blocking the shape shifter from his mind. He could feel the shape shifter trying to gain access, first gently, then more forcefully. The pain in his head increased as he continued to push the unwanted intruder away.

"Make it easy on yourself Sam, let me in…I can feel the power within you just waiting for me to tap into it...in the end, you'll lose believe me!"

Sam gritted his teeth as he pushed harder, refusing that beast to access any portion of his mind. "I won't let you in, you can't use my powers and I will use everything in my power to make sure you never get them!"

The shape shifter backed away from Sam, blinking in astonishment. He wasn't able to establish a link to the young man…he wasn't even able to access the boy's memories. Now he knew that he had to find a way to break the young man. He didn't need his powers right away, he could still use the powers he had taken from the previous psychics and tap into more of Missouri's powers.

Turning to Sam, the shape shifter snarled. "You may have won this battle, but you will not win the war Sam!"

Sam groaned as the first punch hit him in the stomach. As the shape shifter continued to use Sam as it's personal punching bag, Sam allowed himself to fade into the darkness once more.

"Sam, you need to focus honey. I know you can hear me."

"Missouri?"

"Yes, Sam…It is easier for me to link with you when you are unconscious. But we have to be careful, you need to keep your guard up against any intrusion from the shape shifter."

"But how do I know you are you?" Sam asked, realizing that the shape shifter could just be trying to get around his defenses.

"Reach out with your feelings Sam…you were able to tell before, just trust your feelings."

Sam reached out and touched the mind of the person who was trying to connect with him. He smiled as he felt the calm from before…this was his Missouri. "What do you want me to do?"

"For now just rest Sam…your body is taking a beating right now and will need to rest before we attempt to contact Dean. Don't worry, there will be time, everything will be ok…trust me?"

Sam let himself fall further back into the darkness, his body finally claiming the rest it demanded.

TBC