Dean stayed a long time in the shower, long after the hot water had run out. he just stayed under the spray, not moving and keeping his head pressed against the old tile, staring at the mildew growing in the corner.

He had no idea what to do here and he was under no belief that his dad knew anything. This was out of their leagues in every way.

It's not like there's a book for this, Rehab Demon Blood for Dummies.

Sighing Dean finally turned the water off, his teeth were clattering from the now cold water, and got out, grabbing a towel to dry himself off. Going back to his room he redressed and collapsed into bed.

Kicking and wriggling enough to bring the blanket up he grabbed the pillow, wrapping his arms around it. he didn't bother closing his eyes, he already knew he wasn't going to sleep.

His hand wasn't hurting anymore but it still held the phantom pain, more in that it was his brother that did it than what had happened.

He wanted to remain positive, wanted to believe that they could get Sam back, and that everything would be okay.

But the truth was, they didn't know that. maybe Sam was lost to them. There was a hell of a lot of things they didn't know about demons, who knew what they did to Sam as a result?

Anything and everything was a possibility and they had no idea where to start.

Alright. First things first. The demon blood and getting him off of it. Quitting cold turkey, no other option.

The next part was trying to figure out what else the demons did to him. He was only gone for three months but apparently the demons worked fast.

No, not even then. Dean remembered when they found Sam with the other demon. He had a confident air around him, he even used telekinesis expertly enough that showed practice.

So that meant even less time. Some time between Sam being kidnapped and the time in the warehouse the demons got Sam hooked on demon blood, broke his mind, rebuilt it, and trained him enough to be their effective pawn.

Despite Sams insistence, he wasn't a demon. He passed all the tests and proved that he was still human.

The timelines didn't match up, that's what was bothering him almost as much as anything.

Sam was strong and stubborn, that much was evident as anything even now. He wouldn't break so easily, he wouldn't give in to this point.

So what the hell were they missing?

Dean turned onto his back so he could look up at the ceiling as he thought.

The only demon Sam mentioned was Azazel, his upper lip curled up in disgust. He named the demon his father, that had to mean something.

It was like he was trying to put a puzzle together without the picture and a few pieces missing.

The demons took him, broke him, and then rebuilt him. There was a lot of things they didn't know about demons.

Dean banged his fist against the mattress as he scowled at the ceiling.

It couldn't have been possession, possession would only destroy the person's mind, not rebuilt or recreate it.

He remembered years ago, before Sam left for Stanford, Sam had been obsessed with the history channel one motel had and had watched constantly. More than a few times they walked about prisoners of war. About how they were tortured to such a point that they were willing to do anything their captors demanded, so long as they didn't get hurt anymore.

So, point being made, the demons tortured Sam until they got him to a point that he was willing to listen to them.

It was the confidence that was tripping him up the most. POW's didn't have that confidence, that assurance.

Dean tried to imagine his brother downstairs, tried to remember something, anything about him that could give him sort of a clue.

He, physically, looked the same. Still had the same stupid long hair that-

He stopped, something pricking in the back of his mind about that.

Before Sams kidnapping his hair had bangs and was hitting only the nape of his neck.

Now it was hanging down, brushing just past his shoulders.

And then, at the warehouse, he didn't notice because they've kept Sm chained to the cot, but he had grown more. Just an inch or two but enough for him to have noticed.

The longer hair, the growth, those things didn't happen overnight. Or even in a three months.

He knew his brother, down to the hair. Sam's hair didn't grow as fast as he did, it took months to grow just a bit.

It took years to grow as long as it did.

A part of him felt ridiculous, using hair as a growth measure like this, but it was all he had and he gripped at it.

It was a leap and he knew it but at the same time, it started to make sense.

If the demons had done something like this, it meant that they didn't have Sam for months.

It meant that they had Sam for years.

I do not own Supernatural.

321/365

I do take requests so if you have requests you can send them to me.