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 11 – Lost and Found

Dean sat up on the bed, looking at the gun in his hand. Sam must have put it there, it was the only explanation, but why hadn't he told him what was going on? Dean angrily put the gun in the waste band of his jeans. Sam was trying to protect Dean and in doing so, he had put himself in danger once again. "Damn it Sammy! When are you going to understand, I'm the protector…but did you trust me to tell me what was going on…No! You had to go and get yourself in trouble. Well this time…you can just get yourself out!"

Dean walked into the bathroom, feeling the hurt from what he felt was his brother's betrayal. Sam should have told him, even if he had been out of it, he should have waited until he could back him up! Dean shoved the sling onto the floor as he ran the water to splash on his face. He sighed, he realized he really wasn't angry at Sam, he wasn't even angry at himself…he just wished they would get a break. Missouri's house was suppose to be safe…Dean had let his guard down because he thought they would be safe. He was mad, because it finally hit home; there was no place that he and Sam would ever be safe.

As Dean reached for a towel, he noticed a piece of paper sticking out of the sling. He picked up the sling and pulled the small piece of paper from it, recognizing Sam's chicken scratch. He smiled slightly as he realized that Sam was using a secret code known only to the two of them. Quickly deciphering the code, he shook his head. Sam had told him what was going on and he told him where to find him in case something happened. "That's my boy!" Dean grinned as he pulled the gun from his waste band and headed for the garage. "Hold on Sammy…I'm coming to get you!"

ooooooooo

The shape shifter knew he only had a short time to get Sam stashed and to dump the van. Stupid Dean had returned early and almost caught him. Looking back at the crumpled figure in the back of the van, the shape shifter smiled. But he was too late…he would never find his brother. He was in control once more.

As he drove through the small town, he saw a local motel. Pulling into the parking lot, he smiled; "Perfect, just what the doctor ordered!" The shape shifter pulled next to the red pick up truck. He quickly picked the lock and hot wired the truck. Looking around to make sure that no one was paying attention, the shape shifter pulled Sam from the van and threw him into the back of the pick up truck, he quickly re-tied the tarp covering the bed. Sam wouldn't be visible to any prying eyes as he left town.

The shape shifter got into the cab of the truck and pulled out of the motel parking lot. He needed to get out of Lawrence; there was no place in the town that would be safe for him now that Dean knew what was going on. He would need to find a place and lay low for a little while until Sam's brother gave up. But he didn't mind, it would give him more time to get to know Sammy a little better.

ooooooooo

Missouri groaned as she heard the trap door slowly opening. "Dean honey…it's ok, come on down here quickly!"

A moment later, she saw Dean cautiously entering the cellar. "Missouri…are you ok? Where's Sam?"

"I'll be fine, but the shape shifter has gone and taken Sam…I tried to stop him, but I wasn't strong enough Dean…I'm so sorry." Missouri felt Dean place a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry Missouri…I'm going to get him back! Now, tell me the truth before I move you…is anything broken?"

"No boy, I'm a little battered and bruised, but thanks to your brother I'm in one piece. Just give me a hand up." Missouri almost fell back over and would have if Dean hadn't placed her arm over his shoulder, she could feel Dean straining to get them both up the stairs, but she knew better than to say anything. She had no doubt that if she hadn't been able to walk; the boy would have carried her.

Dean carefully lowered Missouri to the sofa. He saw red when he saw the bruises on the woman's face. The coward had hit her. No one hurt the people Dean protected and lived. He watched as Missouri closed her eyes, obviously at the end of her endurance. Dean grabbed the blanket on the sofa and covered Missouri gently.

"Just give me a moment boy and then we gotta start finding your brother!" Missouri said softly.

"Missouri, you need to rest. I'll start looking for Sam…Don't worry." Dean stood, running a hand through his hair. The only problem was he had no idea where to start looking and he couldn't leave Missouri here unprotected. What if the monster came back? He knew it wasn't likely, but he couldn't risk having Missouri hurt again.

"Dean honey, you gotta stop…my defenses are a little weak right now." Missouri moaned and placed a trembling hand on her temples.

"What's wrong Missouri…do you need me to take you to the hospital?" Dean tried to get a look at her eyes; he needed to check to see if she had a concussion.

"Dean, I'm gonna be fine as soon as I get a little rest. But you gotta try to control your emotions for me, just for a little while…I'll help you find Sam, I may still be able to link to the shape shifter. I just need to have a little quiet to regroup…why don't you go out and fix me a cup of tea. You know where everything is…I'll be fine in just a short time." Missouri patted Dean on the arm.

Dean hurried from the room to get the tea she requested. He realized that somehow she was reading his emotions. He never realized that she must have some sort of control to keep her from receiving unwanted thoughts from everyone around her. From the pain he saw on her face, she must not be able to block his thoughts from reaching her.

He wondered how long it would be before she would get her ability to block out his feelings. Dean never liked the idea of anyone poking around inside his head…he was glad that Missouri had asked him to leave the room. As he started to make the tea for Missouri, he also gathered up what he would need to clean her wounds.

As he poured the tea, he thought about what Missouri had said. If she could tap into the mind of the shape shifter…what would keep the shape shifter from reading her mind. "Shit!" Dean said as he hurried back into the room. Missouri was moaning softly on the sofa, her face creased in pain as she fought. Dean knew that the shape shifter was trying to finish the job…he had to do something to protect Missouri until she could block the other's thoughts.

"Missouri, tell me what can I do?" Dean asked, feeling totally useless. He had no idea how to help her. Using the same voice he used for Sam, he tried to coax Missouri back to consciousness. "Come on Missouri, I made your favorite tea…just open your eyes for me ok?"

Missouri's eyes opened as she took a shuddering breath. "Dean honey, help me…get me to my parlor…hurry!"

Dean grabbed her arm and once again helped her to her feet. Stumbling slightly, he helped her into the parlor where she would do her readings. "Here you go Missouri…are you ok?" Dean didn't like the gray tone to her skin. "Stay here…I'm going to get a few things. I'll be right back."

Missouri smiled as she watched Dean leave. She breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily the protection she had built into this room was blocking the shape shifter. She had felt him in her mind, trying to find out what Dean knew. In her current condition, she was open to everyone and everything. She needed to rest before she would be able to block unwanted guests and thoughts from her mind. She only hoped that she could re-establish the link…no, she would re-establish it and she would help Dean find his brother. She owed them both that much.

Dean entered the room and placed the cup of tea in front of the black woman. He gently wiped her battered face with the washcloth he had brought. Although there was a great deal of bruising, luckily there didn't appear to be any major damage. "There you go Missouri…you just rest here. I'm going to go do a little more research while you nap and then we'll go get Sammy!"

Missouri never opened her eyes, but she smiled as she heard Dean leave the room. Yes, soon they would find Sam…she had to believe that somehow everything would be fine.

ooooooooo

Sam shivered as he tried to fight his way back to consciousness, but his body refused to obey him. He had a sense that he was cold and he could feel his body being thrown around…but soon the darkness called to him once more and Sam had no choice but to give in.

TBC