Summary:

Dean and Sam fall into a vampire hunting pack's trap; Sam manages to escape but has to leave Dean behind. When he loses the trail to the nest, he calls on the vampire who's life he saved, Lenore, to help him find his brother. Kate, part of the nest that has Dean, decides Dean's punishment for helping to kill her mate, Luther, should include becoming a vampire himself. Post Croatoan.

Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own the copyrights to the Boys. But thank you Kripke for such fab characters and letting us play in your universe!!

Rating is for some bad-boy language and some implied violence. This chapter could be rated much gentler but I'll leave the rating stand because of the other chapters.

Bonus! This chapter could easily be broken in half as it's twice as long as my other chapters, but I didn't really see the sense in dividing it. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! Reviews are the happy-happy joy-joys of my fanfic writing. Please comment!

Blood Debt

Chapter 6

Sam hadn't asked. He'd been afraid to because he already knew what the answer was. Once a human drank vampire blood, they were turned. He'd read Elkin's journal cover-to-cover and no way had ever been found to return them to human. Sam could only pray that Kate hadn't yet turned Dean.

They'd left the hotel in Atlanta as soon as the sun set that night. Detroit and Lenore rode with Sam in the Impala and Shelly and Eli followed in their Protégé. The first three hours had been straight driving, heading northwest. As they grew nearer to their target, Detroit struggled to find Thompson. They'd long since turned off the highway and they drove back and forth across old country roads, Detroit directing Sam down this road or that, sometimes indicating they needed to back-track, sometimes confirming they were getting closer. Sam could tell Detroit was having a harder and harder time of sensing where Thompson was as the night wore on.

"Sam," Lenore said from the back seat, "pull into that little motel up ahead."

He looked over his shoulder at her. "Is something wrong?" he asked as he slowed the Impala and clicked on the turn signal. He swallowed back his yawn. He'd run out of coffee hours ago and stayed awake by sheer force of will and a desperate hope of finding Dean this very night. He didn't want to think his brother would have to endure yet another day in the clutches of Kate.

She laid a hand on Detroit's shoulder. "Detroit can't keep this up without food. We didn't have a chance to eat before we left for your hotel. There was a farm not too far from here. We can take one of the cows and that should get us by for a few days."

Detroit gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks, Lenore. I am getting hungry, and," he paused and glanced over at Sam, "you're really not helping."

"What?" Sam asked. "What am I doing wrong?" He'd been trying to keep quiet and follow any order Detroit gave him.

Detroit gave a wan smile. "You're human. You smell really, really good right now."

"Would…would it help if you had some human blood, Detroit?" Sam asked as he made the turn into the gravel parking lot and pulled into a spot beside an old Chevy pickup. A soft cloud of white dust kicked up by the tires sparkled in the headlights.

Detroit shook his head firmly. "No. I will not drink human blood ever again. I'll choke on anything else's blood, but never again on a human. I'll die first," he said. "But it doesn't change the fact that you smell like a feast and it's really beginning to distract me."

"He's young," Lenore said and squeezed Detroit's shoulder before letting her hand drop away. "He'd drain you without meaning to, Sam. He barely has control of his bloodlust. Even if he were willing to feed on you, the withdrawals from drinking human blood combined with trying to go back to feeding on animal blood makes it quite an ordeal and to put him through that again so soon after he came over would be cruel."

Sam looked back at Lenore as he put the car in park and shut off the engine. "When you drank my blood…"

She smiled gently. "Yes, Sam. It was a bitch. Eli got me through it because he knew how determined I am for us to keep this way of life."

"But you only took as much as you needed from me. You didn't drink that much, not really."

She solidly met his hazel gaze. "No, Sam. I took far more than I actually needed."

His eyebrows lifted in surprise, and sudden doubt came into his eyes.

She chuckled at his concern. "Be glad I'm in control of my bloodlust or you wouldn't be here now. It's foolish to offer to a vampire permission to feed. If we're well fed, it's easy enough to only take a bit. If we're desperate, we'll kill you, whether we mean to or not. The bloodlust is very hard to control, even for older vampires. It's like asking you not to breathe."

"If they turn Dean," Sam began, his voice wavering. "Do you think he can control it? Could he learn . . . to be like you?" Tell me I won't have to kill my brother.

Lenore didn't answer as she looked out the window and gave a nod to Eli when the Protégé pulled into a parking spot beside them.

"Lenore?" Sam asked softly. Others had done it. Why did she think Dean couldn't?

"You have to make me a promise," she said, still looking out the window. She raised a hand to Eli, indicating he should stay in the car.

"Anything," Sam said, confusion and trepidation coloring his face.

"You must promise me that you'll never tell anyone what I'm about to tell you."

Sam gave a half shrug and nodded. "Okay. My word."

"I mean it, Sam. You can't record this in your hunter's book. You can't tell another soul, except for Dean."

Sam's brow furrowed. "I promise, Lenore. Whatever it is, I'll keep it secret. And I'll make sure Dean does, too."

She gave a heavy sigh and turned to face him. Her look became dark and pained and her words came reluctantly. "If we get to him soon enough, you may be able to bring Dean back to human."

"But I thought there was no returning from vampirism," Sam said, shocked. "Everything I've read says one drink and you're done. You're turned." Feelings of elation mixed with his fear. Was there really a way to save his brother if Kate had turned him? He waited for Lenore to say more, holding his breath, praying it wasn't a rumor she'd heard, but hard fact, and that she knew how to save his brother if it came to that.

"And we would prefer hunters think that," Lenore said. Her gaze dropped from Sam and she stared at her hands. "If they believe vampires can be returned to human, they'll ignore the limited window of opportunity and try to regain those long past any hope. In the process, they'll cause terrible suffering. We'd rather die quickly than have some misguided do-gooder torture us for an unrealistic hope of bringing a turned vampire back to human."

Sam twisted in the seat so he could see her more easily. The parking lot lights shone bleakly, highlighting only half of Lenore's face and made her pale skin almost translucent.

"Limited window of opportunity. How limited? Hours? Days? Weeks?" Sam asked anxiously. Let it be weeks. Please let it be weeks, he thought desperately.

When Lenore remained silent, Detroit spoke up. "It depends," he said. "It depends on how strong and how healthy the person is."

"For some," Lenore finally said, "one drink of our blood is enough; they cannot be returned to human. Others can fight it for a short period of time." Her gaze came back to Sam's. "Our best understanding of what we are suggests we are a kind of half-breed demon. We're what we were in life, but the demon part of us keeps the body young and functioning. Most quickly let go of their human sensibilities and embrace the demon; we'd go crazy if we didn't."

"How do you become part demon? Is it like being possessed?" Sam asked.

"Akin to it, I suppose. Vampirism is a demonic virus. A human is fed limited quantities of vampiric blood over a few weeks. The human immune system can sometimes fight off at least part of the virus in the first few feedings, and in turn, fight off the demonic control. By the next few feedings, the demon part usually has enough of a foothold to cause a craving for more virus, more vampiric blood. Once enough virus is established in someone's system, the hunger begins and that hunger quickly escalates to the bloodlust. Once the bloodlust starts, the virus is beginning to overwhelm the immune system and the virus demands fresh blood to allow it to multiply. Then it begins to take over the body's systems, and begins to kill cells only to replace them with its own. As it tends to start with the nervous system and hence the functioning of the vital organs, the process is painful." Lenore hesitated and her voice grew softer as she continued to explain. "Deadman's blood poison's us because the virus feeds on cells that are decomposing and no longer associated with life, which in turn kills the virus."

"That's why you can't feed on blood like at a blood bank?"

"We can, but only if it's within a few hours of being drawn. Otherwise, though it doesn't hurt us like deadman's blood, the virus can't use it for sustenance. For a full vampire, the virus is what keeps the body functioning. Kill enough of the virus, kill the vampire. The virus is very hard to kill and the bloodlust the virus brings forth in its attempt to survive is very powerful."

"But if you feed a newly turned vampire deadman's blood—" Sam began, realizing what she was suggesting.

She gave him a half-smile, not surprised he'd jumped to the right conclusion. "Yes, you'll kill the virus. But the virus releases a toxin when it dies which is why it's so painful to us. Too much virus in the system, too many cells already converted, too much toxin released, and the vampire dies as well."

Sam chewed over her words. "So why can't the virus feed on the vampire's own blood?"

Detroit raised an eyebrow. "Could you fend off starvation by eating your own flesh?"

Sam nodded his understanding. "What about a transfusion? Wouldn't that help flush the virus out of the system?" He looked between the two, waiting for an answer.

Lenore shook her head. "It's an all you can eat buffet for the virus. That's one of the strategies tried by so-called-rescuers, and all it does is strengthen the virus. It's also one of the reasons it's widely believed there is no return from vampirism. The only way to kill the virus is with deadman's blood and starvation. Holy water can help as well."

"I didn't think holy water hurt you," Sam said, surprised.

"Splash it on us, and we only get wet. If we drink it, we get some unpleasant burning and indigestion. If we drink enough of it, it gets into the body's system and starts working on the virus," Lenore said.

Sam sat in silence. With just a few feedings and it could be too late for Dean. No. I refuse to accept that as a possibility. Dean's stronger than that. He dreaded the answer, but he had to know. "When's this window of opportunity end? How much time can pass before a newly turned vampire can't survive returning to human?"

"A week, maybe a week and a half," Lenore said. "Some very healthy, very strong, might survive at two weeks, though twelve days is the longest I've heard of. By three weeks the vampiric teeth have begun to form and by six weeks, the vampire teeth are usable for feeding."

Sam felt his stomach clench. It was already thirteen days. If Kate had turned Dean immediately, it may already be beyond the window. Why had Sam waited to call Lenore? He should have called her as soon as he figured out the vampires weren't taking Dean to a nearby nest. His reluctance to involve Lenore may have cost Dean his humanity. Even if they did find him and he was being turned, would he help or hinder any rescue attempt?

"During this period of transformation, are they still themselves?" Sam asked. Would Dean still be fighting it off, or would he be unable to do anything to stave off the demon?

"Until a vampire can feed himself, he's pretty much under control of his sire," Detroit said. A tormented look came into his face. His voice had grown quiet, and a faint tremor came into it. "What ever his sire orders him to do, he'll do. So long as he needs fresh vampiric blood to continue the transformation, the virus will force the person to obey. He'll do things that …" Detroit swallowed hard and continued, "…well, let's just say I don't really like looking at myself in the mirror every evening. I still have nightmares over the ones I killed because Thompson ordered me to."

"But it wasn't your fault," Sam said.

Detroit looked over at Sam, his eyes lost in the shadows cast by the street lights, "Granted, I couldn't stop myself. But it's the pleasure I took in feeding from them, the way I savored every drop as they died. No confession I make is enough to scour those feelings from me, or take that taint from my soul. As I lay dying in the street I turned my back on God when I should have had faith in him."

"Maybe," Sam said, "God put the vampires there at your shooting so you could save Shelly from them and bring her over to a better way of life. So you could help me save my brother. Dean and I are hunters. If—when he gets back on his feet, he'll go on to save a lot of lives, lives that otherwise would be lost."

Detroit softly chuckled. "They do say He works in mysterious ways, but that would be above and beyond, I think. Still, I hope you're right, Sam. I hope I can help save your brother and in doing so, find some redemption for the things I've done."

"Sam," Lenore said, "if Dean has had any number of feedings, attempting to bring him back will be excruciatingly painful for him. He'll suffer deeply and may well die, regardless."

Sam slowly nodded. "I understand, but I'm sure Dean will want to try, no matter the risks." Sam pulled the keys from the ignition and opened the car door. "I'll get us two rooms while you and your family get your dinner."

He got out of the car and slowly walked toward the desk, his mind buzzing with teeter-tottering hopes and fears.

It took Detroit half the next night, but he finally narrowed the location down to a valley with fifty or so homes spread out on spacious farms. He couldn't get a more precise direction beyond that. With no other alternative, the two vehicles split up and drove the roads. An hour later, Lenore answered her phone.

"Yes, Eli?" she said. "Yes. Okay. We'll meet you there." She closed her cell phone and slid it back into her pocket.

Sam gripped the wheel tightly. "They found the nest?" Sam asked hopefully.

Lenore smiled. "Yes. Shelly smells the family and there's a farm with its lights on at three in the morning."

Sam briefly closed his eyes, relieved. I'm coming, Dean. Hang in for just a few more hours.

"Where?"

Lenore nudged Detroit and pointed at the map. Detroit unfolded it and held it up for her. She studied it a minute then pointed. "Eli wants to meet with us here. The farm is up the road about two miles from there. We're here," she put her finger on the map, "right now."

Sam looked at where she pointed. "And we're going where?"

She indicated the spot.

"I'll navigate," Detroit told Sam. "Take the next right turn."

Twenty minutes later they saw Eli at the side of the road, waving him down a dirt drive. Sam pulled the Impala in and saw the Mazda pulled off the drive, back near some mountain laurel. Sam parked the car next to theirs and they gathered together at the Impala. All eyes went to Sam.

"Do you have a plan?" Lenore asked him.

Sam raked his fingers through his hair. He sighed as he recalled scouring Elkin's journal for viable strategies against a big nest. Elkins stressed time and again it was best to let sleeping vampires lay for as long as possible. Once they were awake, things got fast moving and violent. Elkins preferred taking vampires out a few at a time. Even as great a vampire hunter as he was, he wouldn't have gone up against such a sizable nest. He'd come across two such nests and had opted to either call in help, or pick them off a little at a time.

"I was a expecting a small nest, planned to go in and grab Dean in the daylight, then get the hell out. Since you told me I might be dealing with twenty-five to forty," he looked at Shelly, "combined with Dean potentially being turned, I've been considering a lot of options. I still don't have a better idea than trying to go in in the middle of the day to break Dean out. If he's turned, he won't want to come and I'll have to knock him out before he wakes the others and I'll have to carry him out. If he's not turned, I doubt he'll be in any shape to walk out of there. I'd appreciate backup if you're willing. Unless you've got any suggestions, some vampire rules that you could use that might help me get Dean out?" He looked to Lenore hopefully.

She slowly shook her head. "Families that don't feed on humans are looked down upon and they'll be able to smell our last meal wasn't human. We also aren't as strong as they are, for the same reason. Kate has full rights to claim Dean. If it had been you, I could have gone in and claimed you as mine since I've fed on you before. I might have been able to push it and get you free, but," she shrugged helplessly, "I can't with Dean."

"He saved your life. That doesn't count for anything?" Sam asked, trying to reign in his frustration.

"But he's also killed vampires. The scorecard isn't balanced," Eli said. "He killed some of Kate's family. He killed one of ours." His eyes grew dark and his voice had taken on a rough quality. Conrad had been his best friend for years and it still galled him that they owed these brothers anything. The hunters had celebrated after Conrad's death. He remembered Sam tied to the chair and Lenore talking to him, trying to convince him they didn't feed on humans while Eli had wanted nothing more than to rip Sam's throat out.

"We didn't' know there were vampires like you," Sam protested.

"And when you learned there were and accepted it," Lenore said, giving a patient smile to Eli, "you helped up."

Eli ground his teeth and gave a nod. "I know," he said. He sighed and the anger in his face drained away. Sam had proven himself an ally. But damn, he still missed Conrad.

"If Dean's been turned, how hard is it going to be to deal with him? Will he still be himself? Will he fight to the death to stay with his sire?"

"The vampire in him will not want to leave and will fight you. You won't be able to trust him or anything he says," Shelly said.

Sam frowned. "If he were to drink another vampire's blood, could the new vampire hold any sway over him?"

"Possibly," Lenore said thoughtfully, nodding slowly to herself. "It will depend how many times he's fed from his sire. The older the vampire, the stronger the virus. Convincing him to feed from another vampire won't be easy. During those first weeks, a vampire is extremely loyal to their sire." She looked at Shelly. "Do you have any idea how old Kate is?"

"Twenty or thirty years old I'd guess, from some of the things she's said." Shelly said.

"Lenore? How old are you?" Sam asked hopefully.

Lenore fixed her gaze on him. "Don't you know it's rude to ask a lady her age?"

Sam flushed. "I'm sorry, I was just wondering—"

Lenore laughed at his consternation. "I came from the old country, many years ago. I might be strong enough to hold some sway over Dean, but being as old as I am, my blood might push Dean over the edge of no turning back. And," she sighed. "I'll need to drink human blood to strengthen my virus to be able to beat hers."

Sam pushed his sleeve up without hesitation. "As much as you need." Lenore's words of foolish offers whispered in the back of his mind but he pushed them away.

Eli stepped between them. "She had a hard enough time last time coming back from it. You can't ask her to go through that again."

"Eli," Lenore said softly, "I can get through it. No, it's not fun, I'll be miserable for a week and have cravings for a few months, but if we don't do this, Dean will be lost." She turned Eli to face her. "When that hunter had me, Dean didn't approve of the torture, but I know he still wanted to kill me. I know he fought every instinct he had, to not kill me. He saw me as I was. He saw me fight off the hunger and he sided with me. We won an ally that day and we can't afford to lose such allies. Allies like Dean are the only chance we have to survive."

"Haven't we done enough? We got Sam to the nest. If we go up against Thompson, siding with hunters, our own kind will hunt us down. They won't forgive that betrayal." His eyes shone with his fear for the woman he loved so desperately.

"Thompson has plenty of enemies," Shelly said. "I doubt anyone but his family will care. Admittedly, though, he does have one of the larger extended families."

Detroit spoke up. "Sam, your idea of going in during the day probably isn't the best. While we can tolerate the sun, it's still hard on us and will make it harder for us to back you up. And then there's the little problem that Thompson tends to be cautious and he usually sets guards, even during the day. It'll make it that much harder to get in unnoticed. If we miss one of the guards, the whole nest might be alerted and awake, waiting for you."

Sam shrugged helplessly. "We can try to pick them off, but if the family is as large as you say, all we'll really end up doing is alerting them that they're in danger. Taking out even five or six just won't reduce their manpower enough to make them manageable even if all five of us went in. It would still be four to one for each of us, if we're lucky. I don't think we could survive that. Daylight is the only viable option that I see."

"Oh, maybe we just need to be smart about this," Lenore said as she leaned against the car. She pursed her lips and Sam could see she was contemplating some sort of plan. She looked at Shelly. "Do you have a way to contact Thompson?"

Shelly's face darkened. "Yes," she said. "He always made sure everyone in the family had an emergency contact number that could reach him. It should still be good." Shelly took Detroit's hand. He gave her a weak smile. He didn't want to go back. He wasn't sure Thompson would let him live if he did go back.

Lenore nodded and stared at the stars twinkling overhead, still obviously deep in thought.

Eli knew that look and groaned inwardly. That was the same look she'd had when she'd declared an end to feeding on humans after they'd lost half their family to a hunter. He'd called her crazy, but it had worked. They'd stayed off the radar of most hunters for a very long time. Until that bastard hunter, Gordan Walker, had gotten on their trail and kept them on the run for months.

Sam tried to wait patiently but finally asked. "Lenore? You have an idea?"

"Yes, I think so. It will be risky for all of us, and we may have to fight our way out, but it'll get us in. It's going to be hardest on you, Sam." She turned to Detroit. "We'll need somebody out here with the car to come in and get us if we run into trouble. Would you mind sitting this out?"

Detroit looked at Shelly who nodded encouragingly to him. A look a relief coming to his face. "I can do that."

"Shelly, Eli, do you think you can come back after drinking human blood? You don't need much, just enough to change your scent and to prove we've been feeding on Sam."

Sam swallowed hard. Three of them were going to feed on him? He trusted Lenore to keep her bloodlust under control. She'd proven herself worthy of that trust—more of less—but Eli and Shelly? Sam sometimes felt Eli wanted a piece of him and wasn't really crazy about the idea of giving him the chance. As for Shelly, well it apparently hadn't been all that long that she'd been off human blood. How would she react after tasting his blood?

Shelly looked at Detroit lovingly. "Absolutely."

Eli's jaw clenched and he stared at the ground for several seconds. He finally nodded. "Yes." He looked at Lenore. "If I didn't love you so damned much . . ." he said with a shake of his head. "You are one damned stubborn woman."

She grinned at him. "That's why I'm still alive." She turned back to Sam. "We're going to have to convince them you killed some of our family. You'll need some bruises. We'll need to bind you. We'll need to feed on you. This isn't going to be pleasant for you. And we can't go in until tomorrow night. Do you trust me?"

Sam looked at Lenore, fear lingering in his eyes. They were going to beat him. They were going to feed on him. They were going to tie him up and walk into the nest with him. He would be at their mercy and maybe the mercy of the entire nest. His stomach practically did flip-flops.

He started to speak but found words escaped him. He looked at the Impala, the incarnation of his brother's soul, and took a deep breath.

"Completely," Sam said as he swallowed back his fear and lied to her. He'd do anything to save his brother, absolutely anything.