It had to be almost midnight when Dean heard the knock on his door.
"Come in," he said through the door, hoping it was Sam or Mary, or just not one of the apocalypse worlders. It was Cas.
"Hello, Dean. How are you?" It had been two days since Dean returned to the bunker. Two days since Michael had mysteriously disappeared. Since returning home, he hadn't done much but hide in his room.
"I'm alright I guess. Need something?"
"Well, I wanted to… talk to you about something, but only if you are feeling up to it... We have a problem."
"I know," Dean replied sadly. And he did. He had been trying to deny it, hoping he had read the situation wrong, or that his judgment was still scrambled from Michael's occupation of his brain. But hearing Cas's trepidation to breach the subject, any subject, told Dean that he had been right. Cas only got this nervous when it came to problems within their little family. So yes, Dean knew exactly what Cas wanted to tell him.
"He's using again." Dean could hardly bear to say the words. He never thought he would have to say them again. It had been years since Sam had drunk demon blood. And after all the work he had put into getting clean, Dean hoped that Sam would never be stupid enough to go back to it. Apparently, he had been wrong. He discarded that though almost as soon as he had it.
Because he also knew, knew, that Sam wouldn't have started using again if there hadn't been a reason. He didn't just start using because of the draw of addiction. No, Sam was much tougher than that as he'd proven on the countless occasions since that they'd been near demon blood. There must have been something, some demon attack or difficult situation that had provoked it. But that didn't mean it wasn't still a problem. And this problem always had a messy solution.
Dean, not wanting to think about repeating last time's adventures in detoxing, asked Cas "And you're sure you can't just- "
"Dean if there was anything I could do I would have done so before. My angelic powers are blocked from the demon blood within your brother. We are going to have to do what we did last time. Unfortunately, we do not, anymore, have access to a secure area like the one Bobby made. We could do it here- "
"No. we can't do it here. There are too many people and we can't do this with an audience. Besides I don't want…" He didn't want Mary or Jack to know about Sam's demon blood addiction. They had managed to keep that particular detail from them so far and Dean, and probably Sam as well, didn't want to have to reveal that sticky bit of their history now. If Sam decided he wanted to tell them, that was fine. But for now, Dean decided he was going to try his best to keep the secret a secret.
But that is where the problem arose. Where would they conduct the detox?
Dean caught himself in his tracks. They needed to talk to Sam first. They needed to get the story straight and try to convince Sam that he needed to stop. Dean got up from his bed and Cas followed him to go find Sam. Dean was sure he would still be awake. Sam had barely slept since Dean had got back. He hadn't slept the last time he was drinking demon blood either. Dean immediately felt guilty. He had been hiding out in his bedroom for the past several days, trying to deny and ignore the signs, all the while Sam had undoubtedly been sinking deeper and deeper into his addiction.
They found him in the kitchen. He was apparently doing some research and he was, thankfully, alone.
"Hey guys," He said without looking up. "Any news about Michael?"
Dean didn't say anything. He just sat down directly across from Sam and Cas stood to the side of the table. They had, intentionally or unintentionally, boxed Sam into where he was sitting. They just looked at him. Neither of them wanted to speak first.
"What's going on." Sam sounded more confused than angry. Dean thought he hadn't picked up yet on the fact that they knew.
"Sammy… umm. Cas mentioned that you might be… he noticed that you have been acting sort of…"
But Cas, ever the angel, decided to get right to the point. "I know you are drinking demon blood again. I told Dean."
Sam reacted pretty much the way they had expected; denial. "What? You think… how-why would I-"
Dean didn't really want to hear Sam try to defend himself so he cut him off there. Despite his outward denial, Dean could see the expression in Sam's eyes. They had been right after all. Now that they had confirmed it, the next part had to be more forceful. "Sam cut the crap. We know you are using again we can see it." At that point, Sam just hung his head.
Unfortunately, Mary chose that precise moment to come into the kitchen. When she spotted Castiel and Dean apparently ganging upon Sam she had to ask, "Boys, what's going on?" Dean and Cas didn't look happy and Sam exuded shame. When she spoke his head snapped up to meet his brother's eyes in a silent plea.
"Mom, could you please leave us alone for a minute?" Dean still had no intention of spilling about the situation to Mary, but he should have known it wouldn't be that easy.
"If something is going on I want to know what."
"Please, this isn't something that-"
"Dean" This was the first time Cas had spoken since Mary had entered the room. "She should know."
How Cas had come to that conclusion was beyond Dean, but he knew that once that had been said there was no escaping the outcome. Mary was smart, and usually very determined. He knew she wouldn't let this go now and that they would never be able to get a cover story past her.
He looked at Sam. "Do you want to tell her or should I?" To that, Sam didn't respond. Dean took it as a sign that he should continue. "Sam is using again." He started with.
Mary wasn't sure which part of that sentence she should latch onto first. Her son was… "Using? Again? What are you talking about?" Sam was… an addict? And she didn't know?
"He… He's drinking demon blood a- "
"No." Sam frantically interjected. "It isn't what you think I didn't-"
"Enough." Cas had gotten fed up with the situation. He wasn't going to let humans complicate a matter that really was rather straightforward. Also, he may not have been at heaven's command for several years now, but he was still an angel. He wasn't going to allow this sort of defilement for any longer than he had to. "Mary, your son is drinking demon blood. He got addicted to it some years back but we made sure he stopped. Now, it seems that he has forsaken years of abstemiousness and gone back to the habit."
Mary's head was spinning so she commented on the only part she thought she could wrap her head around. "Wait. Humans can't drink demon blood."
At that, Sam let out a small bitter laugh. "You've got that right. Only a few select freaks in history have been able to drink demon blood. That's what happens when your mother sells you to a demon before you're even born."
They were all stunned. Dean was sure Sam would never have said that if he wasn't high on demon blood. He looked at Mary, who was between shocked and mortified. Demon blood or not, he wasn't going to let that slide.
"Sam, what is wrong with you? How could you say-"
"Dean stop." Mary had gotten over her shock and now emanated guilt and sorrow of her own. "Dean, he's right. This is my fault. I made the deal…"
"No. He isn't. Neither of us has ever blamed you for the deal you made. He wouldn't have said that if he wasn't using. And besides, you didn't get him addicted. He made his own choice in that."
"Look," Cas interjected. "We can sort this out later. Right now we need to get Sam to a secure location so he can get the blood out of his system."
"No. Guys we don't have time for this right now." Sam was struggling to keep the begging note out of his voice. "We have bigger things to worry about right now. Michael- "
"You're right Sam we do have bigger things to worry about. We should be out there looking for Michael before he ends the world but now, because of you, we have to waste time detoxing you from the demon blood while Michael gets ten more steps ahead of us."
"No, we can worry about me later. And we might as well use my powers to our advantage while I have them. The demons might be able to help us stop him."
"Sam this is not a negotiation. We aren't going to continue like normal while you destroy yourself. I don't care how powerful you think you are or how much you think the demons could help. You aren't going to be any good to us when your eyes turn black. We're not putting your soul on the line and that is the end of it." Cas turned back to Dean. "Dean, is there any place you know of that we could take him? Is there anywhere that might be even near as well equipped as Bobby's panic room?"