Thank you all that are reading, especially those of you that are reviewing. These chapters are unbeta'd, so any mistakes are mine.


Chapter Fourteen

Dean stumbled down the stairs, called on by the ringing of Bobby's phone. It was late morning, and he'd been sleeping when it had woken him. He'd got back from New Jersey in the early hours of the morning, and he'd been exhausted.

Cursing whoever was on the phone, he scrambled into the kitchen and snatched it off the wall.

"Hello."

"Oh, good, you're back."

"Bobby?"

"Yeah, it's me. Who were you expecting? Never mind. Cas and I have got ourselves into a bit of a situation, and we need you and Sam to come by and help."

All sleepiness deserted Dean as a rush of adrenaline coursed through him. "What's happened?"

"We got word of a nest of vampires in Mitchell. We got here late last night, and went in after them but there were too many. They got our scent, Dean. We've got till sundown to take them out."

"We'll be right there." He jotted down the address Bobby reeled off and tore the sheet off the pad. "You two hang tight. Whatever you do, don't go after them again."

"Got it," Bobby said. "And, Dean, hurry."

"You know it." Dean set the phone back in its cradle and snatched his jacket from the peg on the wall. He jogged out of the house and threw open the door of the Impala. Gunning the engine, he steered through the junkers out onto the road.

As he drove, he dialed Sam's number and waited while it rang. He hoped Sam wouldn't ignore the call. He had every right to after the way their last encounter had gone, with Dean raging at him and not noticing that his brother was slowly bleeding out. That wouldn't be winning him any Brother of the Year awards.

"Dean?" Sam's voice sounded alert when he answered.

"Bobby and Cas are in trouble," Dean said without preamble. "I'm on my way over to you now. Be ready." Dean snapped the phone closed and dropped it down onto the seat beside him. Coaxing a little more speed from the engine, he directed the car to Sam's motel.

Sam was waiting outside his room, with his bag over his shoulder. As Dean pulled to a halt, he climbed in and set the duffel down on the back seat.

"What's happened?" he asked.

"All I know is that a nest of vampires have their scent and they're holed up and waiting for us."

Sam nodded curtly. "You think we need Lucifer in for this?"

Dean considered. Lucifer would be helpful, he could swing a machete with the best of them, but as Sam had said in New Jersey, he had more important things to think about. Besides, Dean still felt a certain drive to prove himself and calling Lucifer in would put a nix on that.

"Nah, we can handle it."

"Okay."

They spent the rest of the forty-five minute drive to Mitchell in silence. Both of their thoughts seemingly directed along the road with Bobby and Cas and their nest of vampires.

The address Bobby had given them was on the outskirts of town, in a derelict industrial estate. Dean pulled up in front of the building Bobby had described, and cut the engine.

They climbed out of the car, and Sam jogged towards the door of the warehouse.

"Bobby? Cas?"

"Hang on, Sam," Dean called after him, opening the trunk and retrieving two machetes. He ran after Sam and handed one to him.

Sam took it and leveled it against his shoulder as he pulled open the door. Dean grabbed his arm and pulled him back, stepping into the building first.

Bobby and Castiel were nowhere in sight, but that didn't worry Dean at first. There were old offices located off the main cavernous room, and he figured they were holed up in here. He and Sam exchanged a glance and nod, and then they each started towards one of the doors leading into the anterooms.

Dean yanked the door open and looked inside. It had once been a storage room. There were metal shelves stacked with moldy looking cardboard boxes. His eyes raked the room, but there was no sign of Bobby or Castiel.

"Dean!"

He heard Sam's shout, and his stomach dropped. There was fear in Sam's voice. He ran out of his room and into the one Sam had taken and stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw. There was a pool of smeared blood on the floor.

"Bobby! Cas!" Dean bellowed, receiving no answer.

"Dean, something's not right here."

"Ya think?" Dean snapped.

There was a rustling sound, and their heads snapped up. They spoke in unison.

"Lucifer?"

"Cas?"

In answer there was a soft chuckle, but no one appeared.

"What the hell?" Dean muttered, turning on his heel and taking in the room.

There was another soft chuckle and a voice came out of the shadows. "My, my, The Winchesters. Your reputation precedes you, though it's largely wrong. I heard you were mighty hunters."

"Why don't you come out and talk to us?" Dean said. "Scared."

"Oh, Dean, if anyone here should be scared, it is you."

There was a second rustling sound and a woman appeared. She was dark-skinned and had full rounded lips and deep brown eyes. She would have been beautiful if not for the sneer she wore as she stared at Sam and Dean.

"Have at it then," Dean said. "What are you, vampire, leviathan or some new fugly we haven't had the pleasure of killing yet?"

The woman chuckled. "None of the above."

"Where are Bobby and Cas?" Sam demanded.

"Not here."

"But Bobby...".

"It's a relatively innocuous ability of an angel, to mimic voices," she said conversationally. "But it came in very handy today."

Sam stiffened. "The blood?"

"Dog," she replied.

Dean breathed a sigh of relief. When he'd seen the blood, his first thought had been of Bobby. He was relieved his friend was okay, though it didn't help their situation much.

The woman smoothed down the folds in her skirt. "I believe introductions are in order. My name is Raphael."

Sam drew in a sharp breath and the woman smiled.

"Now, I would love to stay here and chat, but we have places to be. My brother will soon realize you are missing, and I don't want him spoiling all our fun."

Her hand snapped out and touched Sam on the forehead. His eyes rolled back and closed. Dean started forward and tried to ease his passage to the ground, but he was too late and Sam was too heavy. He caught his arm as Sam's head cracked against the cold concrete floor.

"Bit slow there, Dean," Raphael said. "You need to do better if you are going to be able to protect your brother."

Dean dodged back as she reached for him, and she scowled. "You cannot elude me." She gripped the collar of his shirt and dragged him forward. Slowly, making sure he knew what was coming, she brought her fingers to his forehead.

Before she could make contact, Dean shouted out. "Lucifer! Raphael's got us, at—" His words were cut off as her fingers pressed against his temple sending him to sleep.


When Dean woke, he was assaulted by the noxious scent of stale urine. His eyes cracked open, and he saw he was on the floor of a small room with dirty, white cinderblock walls. At one end of the room was a row of bars looking out onto a filthy hall and into another cell where there was a prone figure on the floor.

"Sammy!"

Sam moaned and rolled onto his back. "Dean?"

"Yeah, it's me. How are you feeling?"

Sam was quiet for a moment, and Dean guessed he was tallying his hurts before answering. "My head's splitting. What happened?"

"What do you remember?"

Sam pushed himself to a sitting position, leaning heavily against the wall. "Raphael."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, dude looks like a lady now."

Sam rubbed his fists into his eyes. "That's almost funny. Don't suppose you got a chance to call Lucifer or Cas before we were taken, did you?"

"I got a shout out to Lucifer. The prettiest angel in the garrison took me out before I could give the address though. They'll know we've been taken though."

"That's something," Sam said, sighing. "Lucifer will find us."

"You really believe that?"

"Yeah, if he has to search the globe, he will find us. I have faith."

Dean wished he had the same faith. He didn't doubt that Lucifer would look, but he was going up against Raphael; they were both archangels. He was sure that Lucifer could smack Raphael down if they came face to face, but Lucifer would have to find them first. Raphael could bounce them around the globe, constantly eluding Lucifer. Their situation seemed pretty dark, but at least they were together, and Raphael had, for the moment at least, decided to leave them in peace.

As if Dean's thought had summoned her, Dean heard soft footsteps coming along the hall. He scrambled to his feet, not wanting to be cowering on the floor when she arrived. He saw Sam doing the same across the hall, though he didn't look too steady. It seemed the knock to the head had done some damage.

"Gentlemen," Raphael said, stepping into view. "I trust that you are comfortable."

Dean grimaced. "Yeah, there's nothing I like more than the scent of stale urine."

She smiled. "Always the joker, Dean. I wonder, will you be as readily amused when I have finished with you."

"And what exactly is it that you are going to do to us?" Dean asked.

Her smile widened. "That would spoil the surprise."

From her pocket she took a key and unlocked Sam's door.

"Hey!" Dean shouted. "Leave him alone! You want to screw with someone, take me."

Raphael turned to face Dean. "Wait your turn."

Sam scuttled back against the wall, cowering away from her. As she reached for his arm, he twisted and writhed, but as her grip tightened, his face paled and he stilled.

"Now, Sam, you and I are going to have a little chat about Lucifer. Say goodbye to your brother."

Sam turned to Dean, and Dean saw his eyes were wide. Though he was trying not to show it, Sam was scared.

Dean lurched forward and reached his arms through the bars. "Leave him alone!"

"I will not," Raphael said. "I have been waiting for this chance for a long time."

She dragged Sam out of his cell, and along the corridor. Dean craned his neck, watching through the bars as Sam was herded along the corridor and out of sight.

"Sammy!"

It was only a few minutes later that he heard the first scream.


Dean paced the length of the cell like a caged animal. He had lost track of the time, all that mattered was the cries he heard coming down the corridor—Sam's cries. Each one tore at him like a knife through his chest. That it was his brother making those sounds, each speaking of unendurable pain, hurt Dean more than any of the blades of Hell had.

Worse than the cries was the silence. At times, there would be no noise but Dean's own racing heartbeat. He prayed those times meant that Sam was being given some reprieve from the pain, but it seemed more likely that he was just too exhausted to scream anymore.

In was in one of these instances of silence that Dean heard footsteps coming down the corridor. He prayed that it meant Sam was being brought back to his cell and that he would be taking his place, but he was disappointed. Raphael was alone when she stepped into view. There was blood splattered on her suit. The sight made Dean suck in a breath.

"Enjoying the show?" she asked.

"I will kill you," Dean vowed.

She laughed. "You're welcome to try. Unfortunately for you, I am not as easy to kill as you might think."

"If it's the last thing I do, I will make you pay for what you have done."

Raphael clapped her hands together. "You have spirit. I like it. Now, I have given your brother a moment to rest, and I thought we should take advantage of the opportunity to talk."

Dean leaned his forehead on the bars. "I've got nothing to say to you that I haven't already said."

"In that case you can listen while I tell you a story," Raphael said. "A story of a good son that was abandoned by his father. You can relate, can't you, Dean?"

"Fuck you."

Her jaw snapped closed with an audible click. "Rude, aren't you. You're going to regret that."

"You think you can hurt me? I've been through Hell. You've got nothing I'm afraid of."

"That's true. You must have quite the pain threshold now, but you know who hasn't? Sam. He's never felt Hell's knives slicing him open, but now he has felt Heaven's. I have been having so much fun with him."

Dean slammed into the bars and rattled them. "You leave him alone."

"I don't think I will. You know what I will do, I let him have a little rest while I speak to him. You see, Dean, your exploits are known to Heaven. I know every little nefarious thing you have done these last two years. I think it's time your brother heard the truth, too. It's really unfair that he had been left out of the loop. Besides, emotional pain is so much more fun than physical."

Dean was enraged. He rattled the bars and bellowed expletives at Raphael.

"Now, now, Dean. The more you mouth off to me, the more I will share with your brother."

"What do you want from me?" Dean asked desperately.

"From you I want nothing. It's Lucifer that I want. Your suffering is just an added bonus."

She turned on her heel and walked back down the corridor. As he heard the door open, words were ripped from him. "Raphael, please don't do this."

The only answer he got was a satisfied chuckle.

As the door clicked closed behind her. Dean raised his eye heavenward. "Lucifer, please help us. She's hurting Sam, and I can't do anything." He wiped at his wet eyes. "Lucifer, please."


So… Raphael is back and having a little fun. Good times to write, not so good for Sam and Dean.

Until next time…

Clowns or Midgets xxx