CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: Too Feel Or Not To Feel

As Sam slowly drifted into consciousness, he could feel the cool metal of cuffs wrapped around one of his wrists and the soft mattress beneath him. Prying his eyes open, he stifled a groan as he took in the small space that was the panic room and the distinct stench of sulfur occupying the vicinity. His face read of confusion, not too sure how he ended up there since the last thing he remembered was collapsing on the bed upstairs.

"Sammy?" Dean called, his brilliant green eyes peaking through the small opening in the door. He creaked it open slowly, making his way in as instant relief flushed his features when he saw his brother looked okay. "Thank God." He breathed, not caring about the thin painted lines of a devil's trap beneath him as he walked in.

The youngest demon managed a small smile, not forgetting the fact that he had almost done the unthinkable to the person in front of him.

"You feelin' okay?" Dean questioned, brows creased with worry as he examined his little brother and pulled up a chair. Sam waved him off while Dean sat, not in the mood to deal with the elder demons over protectiveness. Especially when he felt like he didn't deserve it.

The taller of the two lowered his gaze and switched to a sitting up position, trying to make himself comfortable even with one hand attached to the bed. "I almost killed you Dean." His voice was barely above a whisper as he spoke, shame and regret evident in his voice.

A small smirk tugged at the eldest demon's lips as he patted Sam on the shoulder. "You almost sent me downstairs early there, Sammy." He teased, trying to lighten the mood.

Sam shot Dean a glare, which the eldest demon promptly ignored as he continued more seriously. "Sam, that wasn't you back there."

"The hell it wasn't." The youngest demon retorted, not wanting his brother to defend his actions.

Dean ran a tired hand down his face, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to think of what to say to his brother and to get him to understand he wasn't mad. Finally after some thought, he looked Sam right in the eyes. "Azazel messed with your head. That wasn't you." He said confidently, leaving no room to argue.

"I'm a monster Dean. I'm a World Class Freak with Azazel's blood running through me!" Sam yelled, getting aggravated at his brother's calmness.

"It doesn't matter what you are, it only matters what you do." Dean said softly, begging with his eyes for the youngest demon to understand he shouldn't blame himself.

Still looking unconvinced Sam let out a slow exhale, suddenly curious how he got into the panic room. "Why am I down here?"

Dean looked embarrassed, standing up slowly and rubbing the back of his neck. "You kinda need to cleanse." He offered, not sure what to call it. He recalled briefly the conversation he had with Bobby and his father earlier.

"Dean?" John said with surprise, jumping up from his seat at the kitchen table as the eldest demon made his way wobbling down the steps pale faced.

Dean looked puzzled, having been unconscious when his father had shown up and saved their asses. He joined the two hunters in the kitchen, glancing around for his brother.

"You're back." Dean said offhandedly, still wondering where Sam was.

John nodded awkwardly, wishing his son had been awake for when he had charged in at Cold Oak. "Yeah, I uh-" He paused, clearing his throat. "I tracked you guys back to that abandoned town after talking to Bobby and came in just in time."

"Real fucking convenient." Dean muttered, shutting his mouth when Bobby shot him a disapproving stare. Finally having enough, the demon looked at the baseball capped hunter anxiously. "Where's Sammy?"

Bobby stiffened, shooting his friend a look before returning his attention to the worried demon standing before him. "He's in the panic room."

"Why?" Dean demanded, suddenly getting angry. He turned, planning on going downstairs only to have John block his path.

"Easy there, son. Just wait a minute." John ordered more then asked, placing a rough hand on the demon's chest.

The elder Winchester kin stopped momentarily, glancing at Bobby instead of his father. "Explain." He barked, his level of patience dwindling.

"Sam needs to clear his system completely of all that blood." The old hunter started to explain, adjusting his cap so he could see the standing demon. "He's in no shape to be let off a leash just yet."

Dean's eyes widened slightly in understanding, although he wished it weren't true. He knew the blood had affected Sam negatively, but not enough to send him into rehab in the panic room. "What exactly is gonna happen to him?" Dean demanded, not liking the fact his brother's life was in the hands of the hunters.

"Here, lemme just check my demon detox manual. Oh wait, there isn't one." Bobby answered sarcastically, giving the middle Winchester a pointed look.

The sound of a pained scream coming from the basement cut off all conversation and had Dean trying desperately to go downstairs, only to have John tackle him to the floor, demon warded cuffs the old hunter's hands, ready to be used as if John had been waiting for complications involving his eldest son.

"It's just the affects of the detox, you need to let nature takes it course. Do I need to cuff you to the damn fridge?" John hissed, his words more of a promise than a threat.

After some grumbled string of curses, Dean shoved his father off before plopping down in a seat at the kitchen table, listening to the sounds of pain coming from below him.

"Cleanse?" Sam questioned, pulling Dean out of his reverie. "What the hell does that mean?"

The eldest demon shook his head, knocking on the panic room door loud enough for Bobby to hear him from the basement steps. "I don't know man, the blood just has to get out of your system. Have you had any pain?" He asked, searching his brother's face to see if he was aware of the screaming he had been doing not even half an hour ago.

This time Sam shook his head, confused by Dean's question. His attention shifted to the door when he saw Bobby opening it slowly, giving him a thin lipped smile.

"Ready?" The old hunter asked, his voice gruff as he looked at Dean with a small blade in hand.

"Yeah," The short-haired demon started, turning back to his brother. "You gonna be okay? Rest up. Ellen found us a case so you need to be back on your feet." Dean smiled, although it looked forced as Bobby scraped some of the paint away and the demon stepped out. "See ya soon, Sammy." He finished just as the door clanked shut.

….

Dean was sitting at the kitchen table, head in his hands as he tried to drown out the incessant yelling coming from below him.

"You look like shit." Jo pointed out, coming up from behind and snagging the seat across from the eldest demon.

"Thanks. I try." Dean quipped, raising his head slightly to meet the young hunter's gaze.

"How's he doin'?" Jo questioned, suddenly becoming serious as he waited patiently for him to answer.

Dean sat up, rubbing at his bloodshot, tired eyes before looking at the blonde. He took a swig from his beer, debating his answer. "He's… okay. Depending on what you're definition of okay is." He finally answered, although he sounded unsure.

"He's alive right?" Jo offered, trying to give the situation a brighter spin. The elder Winchester shrugged half-heartedly, picking at the label of his half-drunk bottle.

"So what's this case about?" Dean asked, wanting desperately to switch the topic away from his hurting brother.

Jo took out a piece of paper that was folded up in her back pocket and slid it across the table to him. "We think it's a shifter."

"A shifter?" Dean asked, his brows knitted in confusion.

The hunter plucked the paper away from him, taking on a teacher-like tone of voice as she educated the demon. "Like a shape shifter." The confusion receded some from Dean's face, still unclear on what exactly that meant. "They find someone and take on their form. They usually go and rob banks, which is exactly what we think this one is doing. There are a ton of testimonies about this one in particular; saying how the person was a straight arrow, never would've done something like robbing a Jewelry store and killing the manager." She finished, shrugging slightly.

"So where do we go from here?" The middle Winchester asked, his interest being peaked.

"Well we have a witness, but the local police don't think he's reliable." Jo explained.

Dean scoffed, leaning back in his chair as exhaustion slowly started to seep in as Sam started a new round of screams. "What's his name?"

"Um…" The blonde hesitated, searching the article for the name of the security guard on duty. "Ronald Reznick."

….

Sam could feel his cold sweat dripping down his forehead into his hair, making his hairline damp as he struggled on the mattress.

"Get away from me!" The tall demon pleaded, his voice breaking as he watched his brother circle him with a wicked knife grasped in his calloused hand.

Dean laughed darkly, venom dripping from his voice as he spoke. "Keep on begging Sammy, it won't do you any good. This is just a little payback for you almost killing me. Decided you wanted to send me downstairs ahead of schedule?" He taunted, slicing the sharp blade across the cuffed demon's chest.

Sam moaned in pain as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying to bite back any response. He felt tears springing to his eyes, wishing Dean would just stop.

"Is Sammy going to cry? Mommy's little girl going to beg for mercy?" Dean leaned over to where his hot breath was ticking his ear, sending chills down his brother's spine. His voice dropped dangerously low as he rested a firm hand on the tall demon's shoulder. "Say the magic word."

"Please- stop." Sam sobbed brokenly. He pried his eyes open only to find a completely empty room.

The demon sat up quickly, hearing the sound of his brother's malicious laughter echoing in his head as he frantically felt his chest, feeling nothing but smooth skin.

Sam glanced around the room, his eyes wide and afraid as he tried to figure out what the hell was happening to him.

….

TBC

Please continue to read and review. It means a lot. Please remember my PM box is always open if you need any clarifications or want to talk about something. I had more motivation to write this chapter by tonight since we don't have a new episode to hold us over till next week. So at least you have a new chapter. Thanks to Nina Ferraro (I hope you enjoyed this chapter!), ncsupnatfan (Jody will be making an appearance and this is certainly not the last of Sam drinking demon blood. Stay tuned!), 1983Sarah (I'm glad you like them!), LeeMarieJack (There is plenty of time for brotherly bonding. And Sam will have no choice but to look out for Dean as his year dwindles down.), Babyreaper (I'm a Dean Fan too, don't worry. John doesn't trust Sam, as you saw by how he awoke in the panic room.), and kasey123 (I'm on it!) for reviewing! You guys rock!