A/N: Hello folks! I know that it has been a minute. I had a lot going on and I was really struggling with this chapter, but I got it done. I mean it may still not be up to everything that I wanted, but it is what it is.
Thank you so much for reading! I promise a quicker update this time around...I don't have near as much homework this week, so that's a bonus. :)
I would dearly love to hear what you think! Reviews certainly help motivate me. :)
Chapter Three
Damnit.
Sam repeated the curse thickly around the gag and twisted, rolling over onto his side. He froze, breathing heavily through his nose as the agony in his side flared hotly. A fresh spurt of blood accompanied the movement, seeping further into the waistband of his jeans before dribbling down and adding to the growing puddle on the floor.
Panting, Sam swallowed back a wave of nausea and tried once again to sit up. Without the use of his hands, he didn't have any leverage and he only made it about halfway before his arms gave out and he collapsed awkwardly back against the leg of the bed.
He had to get out of here, had to warn Dean...
With a grimace, Sam began to twist the ropes around his wrist but Maddie had known what she was doing. The fibers only dug deeper into the tender flesh, etching their mark, and the gag easily swallowed up each grunt and groan.
Come on! Sam's face contorted as his wound continued to throb with an intensity that took his breath away. However, the thought of Maddie, or Emma, or whatever the demon's name was shoving a knife through Dean's back was motivation enough. Sam knew firsthand, after all, just how much fun that was and he continued to saw at the rope, panting thickly.
A low moan from across the room brought Sam's head up with a jerk. His eyes widened with surprise as he saw Maddie shift weakly, her arm flopping against the ground before she went slack again.
"Maddie!" Sam tried to shout but only choked on his own spit. Coughing harshly, he couldn't stop the relief that blossomed through his chest.
She was alive, they hadn't gotten someone else killed.
"Maddie," he tried again just as uselessly, his voice muffled. Maddie groaned, one hand lazily dragging across the floor to clutch at her head.
Slowly, her head twisted towards him and her eyes prying opened, squinting at Sam with confusion painted across her face.
"Wha…what happened?" she murmured, her fingers twisting in her hair as she looked over at him. "I don't…" she broke off with a whimper, her face going white. Sam jerked forward, only to remember that he himself was bound.
Finally, she raised her head just enough to look at him quizzically until a light went on in her eyes.
"You're—you're from the FBI, aren't you?…Your partner kept trying to get my phone number."
Sam nodded vigorously, gesturing with his head towards his bonds. The confusion on Maddie's face deepened but she did try and sit up, only to end up back on the floor in a heap. Sam lurched forward, but his own body protested the movement and he could do nothing more than listen to her soft yelp.
He knew only too well what it was like to wake up after being possessed.
After a moment, Maddie rolled onto her side and, gritting her teeth, began to drag herself across the ground towards where Sam was tied up. Her trembling fingers began to pick at the knotted ropes, but it was several minutes, and a few well-aimed curses later, that the knots slipped loose enough that Sam was able to wriggle his hands-free.
Yanking the gag out, he tossed it over to the other side of the room.
"Maddie? Are you alright?" Sam grabbed her shoulder's gently, steadying himself almost as much as her.
"I—I'm…I didn't have any control over my own body. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, I couldn't do anything," Maddie said dazedly, her eyes wide and face pale. "After my shift, I was going to the movie's with Emma, we were just standing outside, talking, and then…" She swayed and brought a hand up to her mouth.
"Yeah, possessions a bitch like that. Do you think you can walk?" Sam released her shoulders and, taking a steadying breath, wrapped his arm firmly around his side to add pressure. Grunting, he slouched over in an attempt to compensate for the pain but didn't let up.
There was too much blood on the floor as it was, Dean would be freaking out.
"Possession? What do you mean possession? Like someone brainwashed me or…?"
"No," Sam ground out, shifting his grip a little for more leverage. "Like demonic possession." Keeping one hand pressed against his side, he used his other to find the bedpost. Clenching it tightly, Sam heaved himself upright with one swift movement. For a moment, everything wavered as his legs threatened to give out, but Sam only staggered to the side, bracing himself against a wall.
"Demon? I don't—"
"Maddie, not to be rude, but right now both Emma and Dean are in trouble. I promise that I'll explain all this later but right now I've got to warn him. Can you walk?" Nausea bubbled low in the pit of his stomach and Sam swallowed nervously, closing his eyes for a moment to reorient himself.
Maddie took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "Maybe if you help me?" Her voice was steady, and Sam couldn't be more grateful. Grunting, he shifted so that he could brace himself against the bed and offered her his hand. Maddie took it, before flinching back, deep horror etching onto her face.
Her hand was stained a deep red.
"You're bleeding…!" Her face seemed to grow even paler as she took in his blood-stained clothes for the first time, the obvious pain on his face, and the sweat that was coating his skin.
Sam shook his head impatiently. "I'm fine. Just take my hand, let me help you." Hesitantly, she extended her hand but once again stopped. Sam wiggled his fingers and she slowly placed hers in his and together they attempted to leverage her upright.
With a cry of pain, Maddie fell back to the ground and crumpled onto her side, clutching at her ankle. Sam staggered forward, only stopping himself from going down with a desperate grab for the bedpost.
Well, the broken ankle was one thing that the demon hadn't been lying about.
Sam rubbed a dirty hand across his face as he stared down at Maddie. What were they going to do now?
Painstakingly lowering himself back to his knees, Sam silently caught her eye, asking for permission. She nodded once and slowly uncurled, allowing Sam to lightly probe the injured limb. She whimpered, her eyes closing as all the color leeched from her face.
"Yeah, that's broken." Sam sat back on his haunches, keeping one arm glued to his side as he braced the other against the bed, riding out a wave of vertigo. He needed to get to Dean, they never should have separated in the first place. "Maddie, do you think you can stay here? I've got to go warn my brother—"
"Your brother?"
"Not now, I'll explain everything later. We'll come back for you, I promise." Sam once again began to rise but Maddie reached out, snagging onto the hemline of his shirt as her face filled with terror.
"What if that thing comes back and possesses me again?" Her eyes were welling with tears but she blinked rapidly, fighting them back.
Reaching out, Sam squeezed her arm. "We're gonna kill the demon, alright?"
Maddie's hand flew out, latching onto his arm once more. "I think, no, I know that I did evil things. I think I…I…" she trailed off, her eyes flickering to Sam's injured side. "Please. Don't let it come back to get me again."
Sam sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Holy Water is like—ah, like a weapon against demons and it should keep it away if it comes back. What if I give you a flask of it? All you have to do is throw it in her face, but listen I've really got to go before…" before I pass out or Dean gets stabbed or really any other such stupid thing.
She nodded and Sam eased his hand down and into his pocket to pull out his flask. Maddie took it, her face looking a little green as she wiped the bloody handprints off with her shirt. "What about you? I put a knife in your side."
Sam instantly shook his head, his hand jumping to tighten around her wrist to get her attention. "You didn't, alright? The demon did. Big difference, and don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
"But…you're bleeding. What about blood loss?"
Sam scoffed lightly even as he levered himself back upright and had to pause, letting a wave of dizziness wash over him. "You've seen too many movies. I'm not going to keel over from blood loss for a while. You've got to lose a lot more than this." He stepped away from the bed and almost went down. "My body is just adjusting," he amended with a self-deprecating smile.
"You sure?" Maddie sounded worried and Sam heaved a breath, pulling himself together.
"Yeah, I'm good." Giving her a small smile, Sam tucked his hand further into his shirt, adding pressure once more and trying not to notice just how much blood was pooling out of his side. He turned one last time, meeting Maddie's frightened eyes. "Throw that water on anybody who walks in, but try and use it sparingly. It's all we have till we can get back to the car."
Maddie nodded once, her face solemn as more tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Sam hurriedly turned and limped out the front door without looking back.
The sunlight was disconcertingly bright as Sam stepped out into it, and he stumbled back a step, leaning against the cabin and throwing up his free hand to protect his eyes.
Once he was sure he would be able to walk on his own, he started back down the path. Dean was only about a half-mile away; he could do that. He had done more while seriously injured before, this would be a walk in the park, right?
Increasing pressure on his wound, Sam set off at a steady pace.
The path continued to climb, increasing at staggering rates the closer he got to the top of the mountain and Sam found himself panting once again, his pace slowing down rapidly the steeper the climb became. The path was zig-zagging back and forth, growing ever narrower and Sam found himself strangely grateful as he began to brace against the trees, pushing off one to stagger to the other.
Sweat was soon coating Sam's entire body and the exertion left him shaking and gasping. The air itself seemed to be growing thicker as the stitch in his side came back with a vengeance. Sam increased pressure on his wound, hoping that it would distract from it all.
It didn't, and it only made his side hurt worse.
Rounding a tight bend, Sam came to a stuttering halt as he found himself staring up a steep incline that was jutted with rocks and roots that were surely meant to be somewhat like foot and handholds. He wasn't going to be able…no, he had too. Shaking his head, Sam leaned against the nearest tree for a moment before putting one foot in front of the other. That was all he had to do, just put one foot in front of the other and keep going.
Half-way up, Sam came to a halt, doubling over as his air came out in a pained wheeze, and light danced in front of his eyes. His stomach churned and he braced his hand against the ground as a sudden wave of cold crashed over him that was chased away just as quickly by the feeling of being overheated. Blood pushed up against his hand, vying for freedom. Pulling in a deep breath, he leaned his head against the cool bark of a tree, trying to ground himself.
It didn't work and leaning over, he threw up what little was left in his stomach.
Spitting once, he coughed on the sour taste of vomit and squeezed his eyes shut. Sam allowed himself a short grunt of pain to escape before reigning it all back in and pulling in one steadying breath after the other. Dean needed him and Dean had already given so much—
Pushing all thoughts of Dean's deal away, Sam weakly shoved himself back upright and lunged up the last few steps to a more level part of the path. The lightheadedness still managed to take him by surprise, and Sam stumbled forward, collapsing against a tree in an effort not to tumble backward.
Sam wasn't going to let Dean die today.
Sam wasn't going to let him die period.
Bending over, Sam took several precious minutes to bring his breathing back to normal, or as normal as it was going to get, and to ground himself. Slowly, the feelings of nausea dimmed and the blurriness of his vision faded.
Pushing off the tree, Sam continued at a more normal pace. Surely the Bench was getting close? He had been hiking for—
A noise ahead of him on the path had Sam melting back into the shadows of a nearby tree. Letting it take most of his weight, he huddled close and strained his ears. Voices, those were voices he could hear…something about a witch and a car. Relief bubbled up through him so fast that Sam thought he was going to up and just pass out.
That was Dean's voice. He was still alive.
Wiping the sweat from his face with his sleeve, Sam inched forward a little, peeking around the tree. Now he just had to warn Dean that the young woman who was probably hanging off his arm wasn't who she said that she was, but rather a demon intent on killing them all.
For a moment he considered drawing a devil's trap, but that wasn't practical. They were too close, and Sam wasn't moving fast enough, no, he needed—he needed to sit down but he locked his knees.
Dean and the demon were zigzagging tightly back and forth, their voices growing and fading in accordance. He was rapidly running out of time, it was just going to have to be quick and dirty.
Shifting, he stifled a grunt against the pain in his gut and froze as the voices faltered. Knowing Dean, he was likely shoving whom he thought was Emma behind him and out of the way, probably even drawing his gun and sighting it directly towards Sam's direction.
Sam really hoped that Dean wouldn't shoot first and ask questions later because his brother's aim was damn good, and he didn't want to think about what Dean would do a second time to save him.
Easing back a little more behind the tree, Sam slid his own gun free from the waistband of his jeans. It wouldn't stop Emma, but it might buy him some time to get Dean to safety.
And it wasn't like he could just call out to Dean either because the demon might just make good on her promise and stab him in the back. No, he had to wait for them to get closer.
Peeking around the branches, Sam could see Dean creeping through the trees, gun raised and shielding a pale-faced girl. Dean's gaze was trained unnervingly in Sam's direction and Sam was once again reminded of why other hunters admired his brother. Dean wasn't going to get close enough that Sam could pull him aside, he was too good for that.
Taking a deep breath, Sam prayed silently that this would work before rolling out from behind the tree.
"DON'T SHOOT!" Bringing his own gun up, he pointed it straight at Emma's heart before shifting up towards her shoulder but didn't fire. Dean's eyes widened and he yanked his own gun to the side a second before it went off, putting a bullet into the tree next to Sam's head. His stance dropped just enough that Sam had a clear view of Emma.
Without hesitation, he fired.
Emma staggered back, the force of the bullet digging into her shoulder and sending her spinning around. Dean leaped back in surprise, his gun swinging around to hesitantly aim at Emma even as he glanced sideways at Sam.
"What the hell, dude?" he growled, his eyes darting back and forth between him and Emma.
"Get away from her, she's a demon, Dean." Sam staggered forward, keeping his gun steadier than his feet, and fisted a handful of Dean's shirt, yanking him back and further away from Emma.
She remained still on the ground, a steady pool of crimson gathering beneath her, and Dean gave him another long, searching look.
"Are you sure? 'Cause you really had better be sure!" Dean shifted forward uneasily, freeing himself from Sam's grasp. "Emma?"
"Dean, no, she wants to kill you, she—" Sam tried to intercept his brother but Dean shook him off easily as he dropped the duffle bag, sifting through it for his own flask of holy water.
Glancing back at his brother, Dean had to do a double-take, finally noticing the amount of blood that was covering Sam. "That yours?" he barked, standing up straight and grabbing Sam's arm. It was Sam's turn to pull away as he gestured wildly at Emma.
"Her first, we've got to send her back to hell."
Dean didn't look convinced, but all the same, he turned back. "You're sure it's a demon?"
Emma still hadn't moved and Sam had the sudden and horrible thought that maybe the demon wasn't in Emma after all, but perhaps in some poor innocent hiker. What if he had just shot the victim. Dean would be beyond pissed, not that Sam would blame him.
Dean edged closer to the still body, water held at the ready. Throwing a concerned look over his shoulder, he shrugged and was in the process of tossing it over Emma when she suddenly came to life and lunged at him.
The knife in her hands was aimed straight for Dean's heart.
The water sizzled as it made contact, but this did nothing to hinder Emma and Dean had been half prepared for it and lurched backward.
"WHAT THE—" Rolling to the side, he just missed getting knifed as it slammed down inches away from his chest. Sam was already firing and, while the bullets didn't stop her, they slowed her just enough that Dean was able to swing the contents of the flask towards her face.
Emma shrieked, staggering to the side and attempting to get the burning water off her body. Flinging another round at her, Dean hurriedly scrambled to his feet and placed himself in front of Sam. Throwing back an arm against his brother's chest, Dean pushed him back several steps.
"What the hell?" Dean spat, holding up the container defensively.
"Yeah, what the hell, Sammy?" Emma sneered, her voice higher now in Emma's body than it had been in Maddie's. "How'd you get out of those ropes, huh? And why'd you go and ruin all my hard work? Do you know how freaking long it took me to set that all up? We were just getting to the good part."
Dean shifted, planting his body more firmly in front of Sam. Vicious anger darkened his voice. "What do you want?" He raised the water threateningly as she came closer and Emma huffed, her eyes flickering to pure black for just a moment.
"Aw, Dean, don't get all antsy now. I was just trying to have a bit of fun. You like girls with a fun side, don't you?" she pouted, twirling her knife expertly between her fingers.
"You bitch," Dean swore softly and Emma flattened one hand against her chest.
"That hurts, Dean-o. I thought we were really connecting back there, but I can see that it was all for naught. You men are all the same, only here for one thing."
Dean's lip twitched upwards in a snarl. "At least I get what I want, you? Not so much," he retorted in a deceptively calm voice. "Now, Sam, if you will do us the pleasure."
Sam snorted but started in on the exorcism in rushed Latin. Emma took a step back, struggling to maintain her smile as her body jerked forward once. Her head snapped towards Sam.
"Shut up. SHUT UP!" Her eyes flashed black and she threw her hands out towards Dean.
Dean went flying and Sam stumbled mid-sentence when his brothers hit a tree and didn't get up again. Rounding on Emma with a new fury, he continued to spit out the Latin but he barely had time to take a step forward before he was flung to the side. The ground rushed up to meet him with an eagerness that he did not share and everything went grey.
Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, Sam heaved himself over onto his side, rolling upright. A warm gush of blood followed his actions but Sam had eyes only for Emma who was staring between the two downed brothers, her arms outstretched.
She met Sam's eyes and smirked.
"Don't you dare," Sam struggled to stand up as Emma turned her hungry gaze towards Dean, who was only just beginning to stir. To his great surprise, Emma paused, her gaze jumping back towards Sam whose knees were having trouble supporting his weight.
"Come on, come and get me," he growled under his breath. His knees hit the ground with a thud and he threw out a hand, using it to support himself while trying to pretend that his arms weren't trembling. The knife was clutched loosely in her hand as she advanced and Sam braced himself, staring up at her.
To his surprise, she crouched next to him, her arms draped loosely over her knees. "This is so anticlimactic."
"Excuse me?" Sam thought for a moment that he had misheard, his foggy brain playing tricks on his ears.
Emma snorted. "Do you know how long I have been waiting to break free of hell? Been planning this? If I kill you now, you die together and, what's that phrase you heroes so adore, oh, for the greater good. There's no beauty in it. I guess I could just kill one of you, but…even I have heard rumors of the Winchesters. No, that wouldn't do." She screwed up her face, thinking, and Sam leaned as far away from her as he could.
"You're completely insane, even for a demon." Sam glanced over his shoulder and felt a trickle of relief. Dean was forcing himself upright, looking only slightly shaky as he fixed his eyes on Emma's back.
"Hmm," Emma murmured, not even listening to him as she stood, tapping the knife against her thigh rhythmically.
Dean was up, crawling in search of what Sam was sure was the holy water, and Sam pushed himself a little more upright, mind whirling through possible attempts for diversion. He just needed to keep her busy for a little longer…
"You could just…just…" Sam shook his head, reeling as a wave of lightheadedness took him by surprise. Wrapping an arm tighter around his waist, he was forced to hunch over, panting around the pain. Emma's lips twitched upwards in a smile as she watched him struggle and she leaned in, hooking a finger under his chin. Sam's words stuttered to a halt and he pulled back
"You're adorable." She leaned further in and Sam yanked his face to the side, breathing harshly. Emma pressed in closer until her mouth was right up against Sam's ear. "I bet you that I can get Dean to leave you behind."
Sam swallowed hard, feeling vaguely dirty at her touch even as he dug his fingers into the dirt to keep himself upright. "You don't—don't know him at all then. He would rather die."
She pulled back just enough to look Sam in the eye. "Fine, then I bet that you get him killed because he won't leave you behind. He'll be dead this time tomorrow, double or nothing, whaddya say?"
"Go. To. hell." Sam leaned in, thrusting his face into hers but she stood, her eyes glittering and excited.
"To make it more interesting, I'll even give you, ah, three hours? Three hours head start to try and escape, 'cause I'm nice like that. But I'll find you. And then you'll watch helplessly as I—" Emma screamed, rearing back as Dean upended the holy water over her.
Twirling around, she threw back her head and thick black smoke began to pour from her mouth. Dean swore, backing up to stand next to Sam as Emma's body convulsed before buckling and falling to the ground.
They shared a dark look but Sam had to drop his gaze as the world spun out around him. Tightening his grip on the ground, he concentrated on breathing and not making a fool out of himself. Dean was a blur of colors as he crouched next to him, his hand warm against his shoulder as he pushed him upright.
"Sam? You still with me?"
Sam nodded once, not trusting himself to speak and Dean began to tug at his shirt in an attempt to see where the blood was coming from.
"How bad is it?" he asked gruffly, the concern thinly veiled as Sam tried to push his hands away.
"It's not, but you should check Emma, she might still be alive…" Sam insisted and Dean glanced behind him, his face contorting quickly as concern warred with compassion before he pushed Sam gently over onto his back.
"Put pressure on it," he insisted roughly, handing over a handkerchief. Sam took it, easing it between his arm and the wound before clamping down. He rolled his head to the side, watching as Dean bent over Emma, checking her pulse. The slump of Dean's shoulders gave it away and Sam's heart dropped.
She hadn't deserved that. Emma hadn't deserved this ending at all.
Dean closed her eyes with a tenderness that many people didn't get to see in his brother, but when Dean returned to his side, his game face was set.
"Lemma look," he demanded and this time Sam allowed Dean to peel back the blood-soaked shirt. Sam rolled his head to the side, hazily watching as the color leeched off Dean's face.
"It looks worse than it is," Sam tried again but Dean only shot him an angry glare before he bent closer, gently probing the wound. Sam sucked in a breath, counting backward from ten.
"You have a freaking hole in your body, you don't get to pass judgment because you know what, this is bad. This is way worse than you were letting on, man." Dean bent lower, continuing the torture.
"When? Next time, I'll just kindly ask the demon for a time-out so that I can huddle with you." Sam's snort morphed into a sharp groan, but Dean didn't apologize. Sam reached out, flapping a hand against Dean's arm to regain some of his attention.
It was only then that Dean looked up at him, pulling back his hands. "You need me to stop?"
"No, no, that's not…" Sam paused, trying to gather his scattered thoughts. Damn blood loss. "Emma—that demon—isn't going to let us off the mountain, she's still hunting us."
"Well, I didn't exactly figure that she was going to start handing out lollipops and beer."
"No, like, she put us straight in the middle of some messed up fantasy of hers. We've got three hours to get off this mountain before she hunts us down."
"Sam, we'll worry about her in a moment, okay? Just stay still and stop wriggling around so much." Dean stood, looking around for the forgotten duffle bag and dragging it closer as he pulled out the first-aid kit. Sam was already shaking his head, attempting to push himself upright.
"Dean, no, we need to move. Three hours isn't a lot of time and that demon—"
"Isn't our biggest concern right now. What we need is for you to stop leaking," Dean countered, pressing his forearm lightly against Sam's chest to keep him down. "Now, tell me what happened because the last time I saw you, you were helping a pretty girl back to the car, not getting yourself stabbed."
Sam stilled under Dean's dark gaze, relaxing into the dirt when Dean continued to add pressure. Finally, shaking his head with self-ridicule, he opened his mouth. "The demon was in Maddie and I just didn't see it coming. One minute I was cutting her free, the next I had a knife in me."
"Kinky." The words didn't come off quite so well soaked in concern and Sam reached out, latching on to Dean's arm to draw his attention.
"Dude, I'm fine," he repeated softly and Dean spared him a stiff nod as he unscrewed the small bottle of hydroxide.
"We've got to end this, we're already down two casualties—"
"Dean, Maddie's alive," Sam broke his brother off again and Dean's head snapped up.
"She's alive? What the hell are you doing up here then, why aren't you helping her?"
Sam rolled his eyes halfheartedly. "Cause I kind of like having you for a brother, Dean. That demon was gonna stab you in the back, literally, and Maddie was injured… I didn't have a choice."
"Well, all the same, that changes things. We are going to have to sidetrack back over to get her, not that I'm complaining. I'm glad that she's alive." Dean shook his head, turning back to the bottle he was holding and gritting his teeth.
"This is gonna suck," he warned, bracing one hand against Sam's shoulder to hold him steady. Sam grunted in agreement and threw an arm over his face, squeezing his fist shut. Without giving him any further warning, Dean upended the bottle over the still seeping wound.
Sam clenched his jaw, his back arching off the ground as a garbled groan was torn from his throat. His chest stilled and his jaw worked as his muscles clenched with the effort of riding out the wave of spiking agony.
"Take a breath, Sammy. C'mon, buddy, you've been doing it since the day you were born," Dean ordered lightly as Sam wheezed raggedly, coughing harshly on the incoming air. Dean recapped the bottle, tossing it back into the first-aid kit and pressing his other hand against Sam's chest. "Dude, look at me. C'mon. Don't pass out like some sort of wuss."
Sam managed a stiff glare as he continued to gasp, struggling to get ahold of the pain that had him grinding his heels into the dirt, desperate for some form of relief. "'m not gonna pass ou'," he managed to get out.
"Right…" Dean didn't sound convinced and Sam didn't blame him as dark spots began to dance in front of his eyes and his brother's voice began to take on a dream-like quality, all fuzzy and slightly slurred together.
"Hey, hey, dude, don't do this." Dean's opened-handed slap was a shock and Sam sucked air in surprise and suddenly everything came rushing back in. Dean was bending over him, the worry instantly hiding behind a smile as Sam began to take in steadier gulps of air.
"Sorry," Sam rasped, letting his head roll back as the pain continued to slowly recede. Dean retreated, gathering up the roll of gauze.
"Just don't go checking out on me just yet. We've got a psycho demon running around in who knows whose meatsuit and you're the one who likes that kind of thing. Geek." The insult was used fondly, and Sam smiled. Dean continued to work on binding the wound.
At last, he sat back, watching for a moment to make sure that the white didn't turn red, before smoothing Sam's shirts back down.
Patting Sam's stomach to declare that he was finished, Dean began to repack their meager supplies. His fingers skimmed the painkillers and he held up the bottle in a silent question but Sam immediately shook his head and Dean dropped them back in with a sigh.
"It's gonna suck," he warned but Sam wasn't shifting on this particular issue. He'd be fine, it was just a little bit of pain.
Dean stood in one smooth movement and pointed a finger down into Sam's face. "All the same, that wound really should have been stitched so just try and not do any fancy dance moves. If that reopens, then I will kick your ass into next week, understood?"
Sam huffed, slowly curling an arm protectively around his middle. "Yeah, easy, just going to hike down a mountain and fight off a demon. Just another day at work for us."
Dean flicked some of the used gauze at Sam's chest. "Stop being sassy, its annoying on you." The moment of levity was gone as quickly as it had come and his face fell serious as he surveyed the mountain around them. Sam rolled onto his side, earning himself a sharp glare from Dean and a hot jolt of pain. Grimacing, he shoved an elbow under himself and pushed up into a sitting position.
A wave of dizziness washed over him and Sam threw out his hand, bracing himself as he rode it out. Dean was watching him worriedly when he opened his eyes, though he immediately turned his head, resuming the slow pacing as he worked through his thoughts.
Sam let him, content to just sit for a moment and let his body adjust.
Dean finally turned, the frown still on his face. "Alright, here's the plan, which isn't much of one currently. I was trying to decide if it was going to be quicker to cut cross country back to the cabin, or use the path, but…" he gestured limply at Sam's side and Sam felt his face flush.
"I can manage it," he insisted but Dean was already shaking his head.
"You look like you are about to puke or something just as glamorous and taking the path isn't going to lose us that much time. We'll see what condition Maddie is in and then we'll go from there, okay?"
Dean extended his hand and Sam took it while cinching his right arm tight against his belly. With a silent count to three, Dean heaved him to his feet and looped an arm around his shoulders to keep him steady when Sam stumbled.
"You're good, you're good, just ride it out…"
Sam pulled in a heavy breath and closed his eyes, willing the dizziness away as his knees wobbled. "I'm alright," he insisted, pushing away from Dean. Dean continued to hold onto him warily, his eyebrows coming together in concentration but Sam shook his head. Pulling his hands away slowly, Dean waited, making sure that Sam wasn't going to fall flat on his face before letting go completely.
"Glad we are in agreement. You sure you feel okay? No excessive dizziness or sharp, jabbing pain…?"
"All I feel is underprepared. Damn, I wish that we thought to bring more salt or holy water with us."
"Yeah, well, witches and demons don't die the same way, what can I say?" Dean fell into step just behind Sam, his arm still outstretched just in case as they began unsteadily down the pathway. Dean kept his eyes on Sam more than on the ground, his hand snaking out now and then to lightly brace his arm or back.
"I'm okay!" Sam finally snapped and Dean backed off a step, his hands held up in surrender.
"Just trying to be helpful, dude."
"I know, I just..."
"Yeah, I get it." Dea offered a small smile that Sam returned half-heartedly because yeah if anyone got it, it was Dean.