Typical Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side.

I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this one as much as I enjoyed writing it!

---

Under careful scrutiny, Marcia checked all of Sam's vitals and medications. Afterwards, she smiled and nodded to John and Dean before leaving the room. She continued her rounds and checked on her other patients. Once done, she returned to the nurse's station and picked up the phone. The other night shift nurses were still making their rounds.

The phone rang a few times before a voiced greeted her from the other end of the line. "This is Marcia. He's here and sedated. His father and brother are with him and are on guard."

"Sam has seen them?" Karen's voice was terse.

"Based on his chart, they sedated him after waking from his surgery. Apparently he became extremely agitated. It doesn't give details on the chart, but I'm willing to assume he was confused about his dead family standing around him," Marcia whispered into the phone.

"Find out for sure."

"I can't! If I stand there and concentrate they'll know I'm doing something."

"Do what you have to do to find out. If Sam has seen them it's going to be difficult to persuade him back."

Marcia sighed heavily, "I'll see what I can do." She hung up the phone and started working on paperwork as one of the other nurses joined her.

Dean remained in the seat next to Sam and John stayed on the small couch against the wall opposite the door. As the clock neared midnight, John stood up and checked the hallway to see if anyone was wondering around. He then quickly moved back over to Sam's bed and picked up his chart. Dean watched him with anticipation, he knew his father was about to do something.

After glancing over the chart, John nodded to himself then looked towards Dean, "get ready; we're getting out of here."

"What's wrong?" was Dean's only question as he began gathering their belongings.

"They know we're here. I would have left sooner, but I needed to make sure they believed we felt secure."

"How are we going to get Sam out of here in his condition?"

John smiled at Dean. A light chill ran up Dean's spine … he wasn't going to like this.

---

Marcia and the other nurses were at the station talking lightly as Dean approached. He flashed them his most charming smile and put on his best routine.

John listed the murmuring and waited until he heard the inevitable giggles as Dean charmed them. He slipped down the hall to where a wheelchair sat next to the wall and returned to Sam's room with it. He removed the IV and oxygen mask from Sam, verified the alarm was silent before removing the heart monitor. Then he gently moved Sam from the bed, cradling his large frame against him as he set him in the wheelchair.

After a short while, Dean returned to the room. "They're all still at the station, but are going to be making rounds soon." John nodded and they slowly wheeled Sam out of the room and down the hall away from the nurses. "How are we going to get out of here? We're on the third floor and the elevators are near the nurses?"

John just smiled as he neared the door to the stairs. "Oh you've got to be kidding me?" Dean huffed as he held the door open for his dad to push Sam through. It was slow going, but together they were able to carefully take one step at a time lowering Sam down to the first floor. Dean distracted the security guard as John quietly wheeled Sam out into the parking lot and to the truck.

Dean joined his dad at the truck and helped him lift Sam up into it. Once John started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot they both let out a sigh of relief that they had apparently gotten away without incident.

---

After the excitement calmed down Marcia picked up the phone. Her hand shook as she dialed the number.

"Yes?"

"Uh … there's been a problem … and …" Marcia swallowed hard and her mouth felt like it was full of cotton.

"Yes?" Karen's voice lowered and the tone changed to a threatening growl.

"They left the hospital. I … they snuck out somehow … I didn't see them leave the room … I don't know how they …"

"Shut up!" Karen cut her off. "Your watch, your fault." The line went dead as Karen hung up on the phone.

Marcia sat shaking as she heard the click and then the dial tone.

---

John and Dean carried Sam into the motel room as Missouri held the door open for them. Once they'd gotten him into the bed Missouri sat next to him and just held his hand. John and Dean stood back and watched with worried expressions as Missouri face changed from concern to pained and sad. She shuddered and they saw a tear run down her cheek.

Dean couldn't stand it anymore, "what? What's wrong? Missouri tell me…" John put a hand on Dean's shoulder to silence him.

Missouri just shook her head as she placed Sam's hand on his stomach and stood. "Dean, you stay here and keep an eye on your brother. You father and I need to talk." Dean started to protest, but the look from Missouri was enough to make him just huff before pulling up a chair next to the bed.

Missouri took John outside and tried to explain to him what she'd heard and felt in Sam. John stood and listened, his frown deepening as she recounted his feelings of complete loss and how he truly believed that John and Dean were dead.

"The woman. The one I hit did this to him. Sam didn't even recognize us and tried to fight us when we got there to get him. She was watching him the entire time, she never took her eyes off of him. Sam didn't know it was us until after I knocked her out."

Missouri just sighed, "we need to get Sam somewhere safe so we can start his healing. It's going to rough, though. At first, he's not going to know what's real."

John nodded, "first things first, in the morning, we're getting as far away from this town as possible."

---

Sam slowly became aware of his surroundings. He could hear the light breathing of someone near him and his first thoughts were of Carol. But his memory of the previous day's events came flooding back. He tried not to panic. He needed to maintain his senses and figure out what was going on. His hunter instincts kicked in and he let his ears and nose tell him what they could about his surroundings.

Someone was definitely sleeping near him, but not beside him in the bed. Movement of someone walking towards him made his heart race as he tried to remain relaxed and still. The smell around his was familiar, after staying in so many motels they tended to start smelling the same though some were smokier or stronger smells of mildew. But basically the same. A warm but calloused hand touched his forehead and he instinctively but lightly flinched. The hand moved and he felt that person presence remain near him.

The voice was unmistakable. He'd heard it all his life. "Sammy?" it was his dad's soft whisper, but the sound woke whoever had been sleeping nearby. He heard the movement and creaking of a chair as the second person stood, "is he awake?" It was definitely Dean's voice. Sam's heart raced as he slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times trying to get into focus. He was looking at his father. He turned his eyes as the second person gripped the edge of the bed and covers in barely controlled excitement. It was Dean. Sam's mind was beginning to spin and he felt nauseated.

"Back up and give your brother some air Dean," John huffed lightly as he stepped back himself. He stared down at Sam a second more before he walked to the other side of the room and started turning on lights. He then went to the sink and fixed a glass of ice and water before returning to the bed where he offered the glass to Sam.

Sam winced as he tried to sit up, pain shooting through his left arm and chest. The memories of the hunters and being shot caused his stomach to lurch again and he swallowed hard. As he shifted his weight and used his right arm to help him sit up, Dean grabbed the pillows he'd been using in the chair and put them behind Sam's back. John gave Sam the glass of water and he sipped is slowly. "If this is a dream or hallucination, I need to be calm and see where it takes me," Sam kept telling himself.

Dean was now sitting in the chair next to the bed watching his brother with barely controlled excitement. He was worried that Sam might have another panic attack like he did in the hospital.

John took the water from Sam after he'd had a few drinks, and then picked up the sling he'd left on the small nightstand, "you better put this back on so you don't aggravate the injury."

Sam nodded a little and took the sling in his good hand. They'd had to use these many times when hunts didn't go quite as expected, so he easily slipped it on and over his head with experienced moves that kept him from hurting his already throbbing shoulder. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand it read 2:43 AM.

"So," Dean started but wasn't exactly sure what to say. As he struggled to keep himself from grabbing Sammy in a bear hug, he kept his hands on his knees and just watched his brother fix the sling and relax back into the pillows. He noticed Sam glance at the clock, "you've been out of it most of the day, with the injury and all."

Sam nodded. He remembered when he'd first woken up and freaked out like an inexperienced school boy. He silently chastised himself knowing his father was probably thinking the same thing. He'd seen plenty of ghosts in his time hunting, but seeing Dean and his dad while believing they were ghosts was just a little much.

"Hey, Sammy, are you hungry?" Dean asked as he tried to gage his brother's mental condition.

Sam looked over at him and studied his features in the poor motel room lighting. He could see the anxious clench of Dean's jaw and the worry in his eyes. It seemed real enough. But so had looking at their graves during his visit in Lawrence. His stomach started to turn a little again, so he shook his head no, turning to gaze down at his hands resting on his stomach.

"As soon as Missouri is awake in the morning, you three are heading back to Lawrence," John stated matter of fact as he started packing up some items.

Dean frowned and Sam looked up at him nervously. "What are you going to do, dad?" Dean asked as he turned in the chair to look in his dad's direction.

"I'm going to check out the house and police station to see if the cops did anything about those bastards." John's voice didn't change in pitch, but there was a definite growl that the boys could easily recognize when their dad was about to cause some serious pain to something he was hunting.

"You've got to be kidding me? You can't go near that house, not after what they did to Sammy." Dean stood up and faced his father. "If they can make Sammy believe we're dead," he glanced back at his little brother briefly before turning back towards John, "there's no telling what else they might be able to do."

Sam said nothing and just watched the exchange. Dean kept glancing at him as if he was expecting Sam to protest John's decision, but when Sam just sat there on the bed watching, Dean frowned, "Sammy? You know what they did to you, right? You know that they tricked you into believing we were dead, right?" Now both John and Dean were looking at Sam and he began to feel nervous. When he saw Dean shift and heard him inhale, about to barrage Sam with more questions, Sam whispered, "I don't know."

"You don't know? What do you mean you don't know?" Now Dean's frustration was turning away from John to Sam. "What's wrong with the both of you? We need to all get away from here before they find us. Even you Dad." Dean was trying desperately to maintain control over his emotions. His brother was not only alive but back with him; he was elated and felt complete, only now his dad wanted to go check up on an enemy that they really knew nothing about and his brother appeared lost or indifferent to the whole situation.

Dean's frustration was boiling up and he clenched his fist, "No," he said flatly turning to his father. "We are all leaving in the morning and we are getting the hell out of here." John raised an eyebrow at Dean and was prepared to protest when Sam stopped him, "I agree with Dean. We should go," he was speaking softly but both of the older Winchesters heard him loud and clear. "I need to see the cemetery again." John frowned, but after looked at both his boys he finally nodded, "ok, we all go home then."

Sam lay back down and drifted in and out of sleep for the next few hours. John left as the sun rose and brought back some of the continental breakfast from the front desk area. They dressed, ate silently, and packed up all their belongings. Shortly after, a light knock on the door brought Missouri into their room, already packed and ready to go.

Missouri rode in the truck with John after telling Dean that it would be good for Sam to be alone with him in the Impala just like they use to ride. Before getting into the vehicles, Missouri pulled Dean to the side and whispered, "be careful Dean, and light with your words. He's still a little unsure if this is real or a dream." Dean frowned and looked down at his feet taking a deep breath, "I'll try," he whispered as he looked back up at her, "are you sure you shouldn't ride with us so you can talk to him if he needs you?" Missouri smiled, "honey, you're the one person I think he needs above anyone else. I told you before, you're his strength. He knows he can count on you. He'll be fine; he just needs a little time."

It was a long ride and mostly quiet. As they got closer to Lawrence, Sam reached up and turned off the blaring ACDC. Dean scowled, "Hey! We're not going to start fighting about the music again are we?" Sam smiled a little, "no, I just wanted to ask you something." Dean raised an eyebrow, "ok, what?" Sam sat silently for a second as if he wasn't sure how to ask or if he wanted to know.

"What happened in New York?"

"Oh," Dean mumbled as he turned his gaze away from Sam back to the road. Dean thought for a few minutes, then figured it might help him to know everything, so he started from the point that Carl saved him from Ande. Dean explained his arrest and rescue by their dad, Sarah's coma, the searching for him, the hunting for explanations on his disappearance, the items found, and the funeral for him. The last piece caused a pained expression to cross Sam's features and made Dean's heart ache at the memory. "Don't you ever make me go through that again either, you hear me?" Dean chided playfully, but seriously as well.

"So, when we get the cemetery, I'm going to see my own grave?"

"Well," Dean thought for a second, "we'll get rid of that. We can't have both Winchester boys presumed dead you know," he grinned lightly.

Dean continued to recant the events that happened when Missouri called him and started actively trying to sense his location, and completed the story up to the fight in the barn.

"It's so weird. I swear I'd never seen those two hunters before in my entire life, but it was actually you and dad?"

"Yeah. I couldn't figure out why you were trying so hard to kick my butt knowing full well that you've never been able to and never will."

Sam hit him on the shoulder playfully and smiled.

---

They had driven through the day and night. All of them were exhausted and Missouri insisted that they stay over at her home. She made sure the spare rooms had clean linens and then retired for the remainder of the night. She recommended they all get some sleep before trying to go traipsing through the cemetery. John took one room while Sam and Dean shared the other.

It had only been a few hours when John knocked on their door and woke them up. "You need to come downstairs and read something.

The look on his face made the boys nervous so they quickly jumped up throwing jeans and shirts on. They found Missouri and their dad in the kitchen frowning. When they entered, Missouri quickly got up from the table and headed out of the kitchen. She paused momentarily to touch Sam lightly on the arm, "I'm sorry honey." Before Sam could ask why, she was heading down the hallway away from them. A knot began forming in Sam's stomach and Dean quickly walked over to his dad, "what's wrong? What is it?"

John turned the laptop towards them so they could read the article he had pulled up.

The headline read, "Tragic death of local nurse and unknown female shocks community." Sam swallowed hard, thoughts of Carol running through his mind. Dean started reading bits and pieces of the article out loud and Sam just sat down in the chair and listened.

"Local nurse, Marcia Valentine, was found dead in her home after an apparent electrical fire started in the kitchen. Cause of death is believed to be smoke inhalation. An unknown female staying with her at the time was also found dead, but it's suspect due to a gunshot wound found in her leg." Dean looked up at his dad and then at Sam. "A passing car saw the smoke and called authorities. The nearest neighboring house is vacant, so police are asking for help in identifying the unknown female."

---

Dean and Sam got a motel for several days. They walked the cemetery and Sam spoke with the authorities to clear up the mistake that he was in fact alive and well. He used the amnesia excuse that seems to work way too often, but was happy when they bought it. John had disappeared for several days and the boys were beginning to worry. He wasn't answering his phone as usual.

Sam was beginning to come to terms that this was not a dream, much to his relief, and that Carol obviously had the ability to manipulate his senses. He was just happy to back with his brother, even if he'd never actually say it to him.

Almost a week after they'd come home, John returned and met the boys at the motel room. Dean and Sam stood nervously waiting for the news he'd brought them. John's face was solemn and he took a deep breath before he spoke, "the farmhouse was burned almost completely. The other house was empty of everything. Even the barn was empty and the garden stripped. I can't find them. I'm sorry, they're gone."

Sam sat down on the edge of his bed and Dean just looked down at the floor, "so what now?" John looked at both of them, "we do what we do best. We hunt."

end