A/N: Welcome back my dear readers to the second story of this trilogy. We continue on our journey with the brothers and see what lies ahead of them. I hope you enjoy the read. Reviews would be great. NC

Chapter 1

It felt like Dean's whole body was frozen in place, he couldn't move, he couldn't speak; all he could do was watch his little brother look at him with despair, sadness, and anguish, before turning and stumbling from the room. The scene played out again in his head but this time he was in a motel room and their father and Sam were arguing over him going to college. He didn't make any move to stop him then and he wasn't going to let that happen again. Dean broke out of his trance and hurried to the door calling his brother's name as the double doors at the end of the hall swung shut.

"I can't let this happen again, I'm going after him," Dean turned to say to Bobby and John.

"Wait son, that might not be wise," John spoke in a tired voice. Too much had happened too quickly, and he was feeling the effects of his injuries, the surgery, and the shock of realizing his youngest might be a monster. He didn't know how to explain to his oldest what little he knew without it sounding crazy. He may have lost one son tonight, he just hoped he didn't lose another.

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to ask you to leave now," a nurse told them when she came in to check John's vital. "Mr. Winchester how are you feeling? You seem a little agitated, are you in pain?" She put the blood pressure cuff around his arm and hit the button on the machine to pump it up.

"C'mon Dean, we need to let yer Daddy rest," Bobby told him taking his arm to guide him from the room. "We can come back when visiting hours start."

Dean gazed at his father for a moment, before allowing Bobby to move him. "Get some rest," Dean told him before stepping from the room.

Bobby led them to the waiting room outside the stepdown unit and went inside. He looked around seeing a couple asleep on one couch and moved to the other side of the room so they wouldn't disturb them. He spoke quietly to Dean. "What are you thinking Dean?"

"I'm thinking I need to go find my brother. I don't know what happened to him while he was missing, but that doesn't matter. He's still my little brother and nothing is going to change that. He needs me right now and I need him."

"What about yer Daddy?"

Dean looked away and huffed madly. He had a responsibility to him too, especially since he was injured. Every fiber in his body was saying go find your brother, but his mind was telling him to at least wait until morning to be sure John was going to be okay. After several moments he finally answered Bobby. "I'll stay until the morning to be sure there's no complications. Can you stay with him until he's discharged? The longer I'm here the further away Sam will get and I'm not going to lose him again."

"I know you want to go after him son, but it's not that long until morning and it wouldn't hurt to try and get a little sleep if you're determined to leave. You did turn on the GPS on his cell, so you'll know where he's at. I doubt he'll be thinking about his cell and I kind of doubt he'll be going very far. Sam is as tired as we are, and he'll probably find a motel to stop at somewhere. Why don't we settle down here and try to catch a couple of hours of sleep?" Bobby suggested. He knew how tired he was and even though Dean was younger, he could tell how exhausted and weary he seemed and add to that the stress over Sam would not make it safe for him to drive.

"I guess you're right. I don't think Sam will think about his cell, so I'll get my laptop in the morning and see where he's at. He doesn't need to be going through whatever this is alone."

"I agree with you son, but maybe Sam needs a little space too. Our reactions to what he said weren't the best and you know that had to hit him hard. He could see what we though on our faces and it made him run. We don't know what he's thinking maybe he just needs a little time to sort it all out."

"Did you get the feeling there was something Dad didn't tell us that he knows about Sam? I know he started to say something, but Sam interrupted him."

"I can't rightly say. Your Daddy can be tight lipped about things when he wants to be. Now quiet down and get some rest," he mumbled as he flipped up the footrest of the recliner and leaned back. He settled down and glanced over at Dean to see he was stretched out on the couch with an arm slung over his face to block the dim lighting in the room. He knew how desperate Dean was to go after Sam but couldn't see him getting in an accident because he fell asleep at the wheel. Bobby was almost certain of his words to Dean that Sam wouldn't be going that far away and hoped he was smart enough to get a motel room and get some rest too. He hoped things would look better in the morning, at least he hoped so.

spn

John watched them walk out of the room and brought his attention back to the nurse as she asked him questions. He listened to her explain they would be waking him up every hour because of his concussion and later in the morning he would be going to radiology for a head MRI to be sure everything looked okay. She asked about his pain levels and if he needed pain meds, which he said yes to. The pain was increasing behind his eyes and he didn't want to let it get worse. She went out to get the meds and some fresh water.

"Alright, here we go," the nurse said coming back into the room with pain meds and water. She gave him the pills and let him sip some water before sitting the cup on the stand at the head of his bed. "If you need anything press the call button. I'll be back in an hour to check on you." She dimmed the lights before leaving the room to make it more comfortable for him.

"Thank you," John replied. He lowered the head of the bed slightly to get settled. His body ached from his ordeal with the ghouls and his shoulder was stiff and tender where he had been shot. He should have figured that there were two of them with the higher number of missing persons in the area. One had been bait to lure him in and the other had got the drop on him. Some of the details were still fuzzy in his mind but all that mattered was they were dead and wouldn't be eating any more people.

His thoughts went to his youngest son and what Sam had told them. The yellow eyed demon was dead because Sam killed it. John could not even guess how he did it. In all his research, the only thing that he could find that would come close to doing that was a special gun made by Samuel Colt back in the 1800's. The Colt was thought to be a myth and not real, but John knew differently. He had been looking for it for several years now, knowing that was the only way he could take the Demon out and finally get his revenge and protect his sons.

When several of the demons he questioned told him the same story about a force stronger than Azazel that killed him, the 'Boy King', they called him, he finally believed it. He wasn't sure what that name meant if it was a kid that was going to rule Hell or be a leader for the demons. Now he understood they were talking about Sam. Sam was young and possessed tremendous unknown powers and Azazel wanted him for a reason, but somehow, he freed himself and killed the bastard. But did that mean he wasn't evil? But if he had unknown powers, would that turn him evil? Would he lose his son to forces he couldn't protect him from? If other hunters found out about Sam, would that be a death sentence for him? Would Dean be safe with Sam? There were too many questions and not enough answers. John rolled his head to the side and tried to will the increased pounding in his head to go away.

The Demon was dead, and John felt lost because his one mission in life had been taken away from him. He should feel elated and relieved that the hunt was over, but he felt none of those emotions when he accepted Azazel's death. The hole in his soul didn't heal, he didn't feel the desire to stop hunting, and it never crossed his mind he could stop and settle down. No, his one thought was there was a new danger out there that he needed to stop this 'Boy King' before it started destroying mankind. What he never imagined was his youngest son was the…He couldn't call him a monster…but could he call him a threat?

The conflict raging in John's mind was keeping him from the rest he needed. He had been looking for yellow eyes for nearly eighteen years and had gathered all the information possible on him. He knew how powerful and destructive he was. Now, to find out his son had been the one who killed him was staggering and mind blowing, but also frightening and disheartening. If Sam had the power to destroy a demon as powerful as yellow eyes, what else was he capable of doing?

John loved both his sons, but now he had an underlying fear of his youngest. Fear of what he might turn into; fear of what he might do; fear that he would lose him for good. He didn't understand or know what happened to him and wondered if the Demon had something to do with it. John had learned that Mary had been killed because she interrupted the Demon when he was in Sam's nursey. He had done something then to Sam, he was sure of it.

John groaned as he rubbed his temples hoping to alleviate some of the pain in his head. This was almost too much for him to handle. What was he to do now? He needed to help his son and he needed to find out if he was a danger to others or to himself. He needed to know who Sam was now.

Memories of the shaggy haired, young boy running to him and throwing his arms around John's legs and looking up at him with such love in his eyes made its way to the forefront of his mind. But the look of hurt, despair, and pain he saw in Sam's eyes before he fled the hospital was almost too much to bear. John couldn't help the emotions that flooded his mind when he realized Sam was who the demons called the 'Boy King' and who they feared.

The pain meds began to kick in and John let his mind close down so he could rest. Morning would be here soon enough to figure out what to do. He needed to talk to Sam and find out what happened, but he didn't think Sam would be too interested in talking to him. Maybe he should encourage Dean to go after him and bring him back. John didn't want Sam to be out there thinking he was alone with whatever he was going through. They needed to deal with this as a family. He couldn't abandon his youngest. He knew Mary would want him to help him, even if ti meant protecting Sam from himself and others. If it came down to it, and nothing could be done to save him, could he kill his son?