The Institute

Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone from Supernatural nor do I profit in any way. I just write for the love of writing about the boys and hurting them on the odd occasion.

Warnings:

Rated for language, violence and torture.

NO Wincest or Slash involved in this or any of my stories.

CHAPTER 17 Coffee and Cookies

The motel room seemed empty, blankets strewn haphazardly across the bed, a cold and congealing cup of coffee stood untouched on the nightstand, the TV was on but only static and snow flickered into the room.

Dean dropped the bags, drew his gun out, and cocked it; keeping Summers behind him, he scanned the room with an experienced eye. Nothing seemed to be to far out of the norm and Dean's hunter senses kicked in, signally for Summers to wait at the door he moved in to the room stealthily, a sound of movement in the bathroom made him stop and listen intently. Summers watched holding his breath as Dean moved like a highly trained commando in enemy territory, he was catching glimpses of the kind of training these brothers have had and he was in awe.

Dean lowered his gun and clicked the safety back on, nodding to Summers that it was all clear he moved quietly to the bathroom. 'Sammy?'

Walking slowly into the bathroom he found Sam standing in front of the mirror and vanity, a web-shaped crack spread across the mirror and blood ran freely from the cuts on Sam's right knuckle. 'Hey Sammy what's up?'

'Dean.' Sam acknowledged his brother without turning around, his voice devoid of any emotion, he sounded like he felt ... empty.

'How's it going Sammy?'

'Fine, how about you?'

'Yeah good, listen umm Summers and me brought back some food ya feeling hungry?'

'Nah I'm good.' Sam kept staring at the fractured mirror; his unemotional responses set Dean's warning sirens off in his mind.

'Hey Sam come on I got your favourites ... lucky charms.'

'Lucky charms?' Sam turned to face Dean the look on his face broke his older brother's heart all over again.

'Yeah ... dude talk to me what's going on.'

'Look what they did to me Dean, I know I'm a freak but now I look like one.'

'Hey, hey Sammy you do not look like a freak.'

'I'm hideous Dean, I look like Frankenstein.'

Dean opened his mouth to contradict Sam, but then thought better of it, he needed to word his responses carefully, he took in the jagged and nasty looking scars covering Sam's bare chest, some healed and others still slowly healing. The welts across his back had started to scab but some still wept. He was a mess but the beatings he received would have killed anyone else. He couldn't look at Sam's hair; he knew that was what really broke Sam when he saw what they did to his hair in an effort to force him into conforming. A soft dripping sound caught his attention and his gaze roamed down Sam's long body, resting in horror at Sam's wrist. 'Ah Sammy something you want to tell me?'

Sam lifted his arm slowly, trying to work out what Dean was talking about when he saw the long thin cut travelling down his wrist towards his palm, not a rip across but straight down, an indication of a determination of suicide.

'Dean ... I ... I don't remember...' Sam rolled his eyes back to his brother, a look of horror on his face, 'I don't remember ... I wouldn't.' he held his bleeding wrist out to Dean as though his brother could kiss it and make the owie go away.

'Hey Sammy, it's okay, it's gonna be okay.' Dean tried to soothe his distraught sibling; wrapping his arm around his waist Dean guided Sam back to the main room. Summers stood in the kitchenette watching the brothers as they came back in, he had heard most of the conversation and wanted to rush to Sam's side, but he knew that only Dean should be there for now.

'Sammy I'm just going to get something to fix your wrist, I'll be right back.' Dean said slowly standing so he wouldn't startle his already skittish younger brother.

'Hey Dean how is he?' Summers asked placing a hot coffee in the younger man's hand, 'I can look after the ... cut if you like.'

'Nah I'm fine, it's just ... damn it Summers, they really did a job on him didn't they.'

'He fought back Dean, he escaped focus on that.' Summers offered the advice with a sad smile, 'I have never known anyone with such a will to survive as young Sam.'

'Yeah, he's one of a kind.' Dean agreed sipping the scalding liquid appreciatively.

'Look you can barely keep your eyes open why don't you go and get some rest Summers I'll call ya if anything happens.' Dean offered, 'remember you had a bullet in you.'

'Yeah I know, okay but anything and I'll come straight away.' Summers said smothering a yawn, 'not getting any younger anyway!' he quipped clapping his hand on Dean's shoulders, 'you are an amazing young man Dean, they way you are with Sam, what you did to try and help him, amazing truly.'

'Ah thanks.' Dean mumbled not used to someone praising him so much, especially when his guilt outweighed his pride on this one.

After Summers spoke to Sam Dean carried the first aid kit over to the beds and started tending to Sam's wrist. 'Not as bad as it looks.' Dean mumbled not looking up at his brother, 'just need a few stitches.'

'Dean, I – I know I wouldn't ... I mean I would never commit suicide.' Sam stumbled over his words, his own horror, and self-loathing filling the void in the pit of his stomach.

'I know Sam and you know why? Coz if you did, then you know that I would raise you up and send ya back again and again, just for the hell of it.'

Sam lifted his head and smiled at Dean's words, the images fixed in his mind, 'thanks for the visual.'

'No problems, Sammy talk to me tell me exactly what happened.'

'I ah ... I was asleep and something woke me, not sure what I thought it might be you and Summers back but ... so I got up to go to the bathroom.' Sam frowned and tried to remember the sequence of events, 'I remember washing my hands and looking up at the mirror ... I got so angry ... I – I saw my face and got so angry I wanted – I wanted to ...'

'To what Sam?' Dean prompted him when Sam stopped and started to drift away in his mind again. 'You wanted to do what?'

'Not sure, but I saw what they did to me, and how I look like a freak ... I can't stop feeling so angry Dean, and, and my hair they forced me to have a hair cut they had to hurt me ... why Dean? Why was it so important that they had to hurt me to cut my fucking hair?'

'I don't know Sammy.'

'I look like such a freak Dean, I heard ...'

'What Sam, what did you hear?'

'Someone telling me what to do.' Sam finished in a whisper. 'I heard someone tell me to pick up the razor and to cut my arm, to stop the humiliation for ...'

'For who Sam, who is going to be humiliated?'

'You ... you Dean, it said if I wasn't here then you wouldn't be humiliated by being with me.' Sam dropped his head unable to meet Dean's steely angry gaze anymore. 'Told me what to do.'

'Sammy, someone is playing with your mind,' Dean put his fingers under Sam's chin and made him look up at him, 'look at me Sam, I will never ever feel humiliated or anything else having you with me. Ever, you're my brother dude, my geek brother and no one can tell you anything different.'

'What a wonderful speech Dean, I must admit it almost brought a tear to my eye.' A stranger's voice came from the adjoining door to Summer's room.

'Who the fuck are you and what do you want?'

'Hmm now who am I? I am the one assigned to bring subject twenty-two back to the institute using all means necessary.' The intruder smirked as he watched Dean move to stand in front of his quarry. 'The name is Cole, Nick Cole.'

'Well Cole, Nick Cole you are not taking my brother anywhere.'

'Funny, you know that Summers said the same thing just now before I put a bullet between his eyes, he's not going to come back to life this time.'

'Fuck!' Dean breathed furiously trying to work out how to get Sam to safety, Bobby and Caleb were not due back until the tomorrow, and it was just Sam and Dean yet again.

'Hey Cole.' Dean grinned his voice light and filled with lightly veiled humour, 'want to know something?'

'What?'

'You're pathetic and aint no hunter.' Dean smirked flicking his boot knife expertly in blinding speed, the blade embedding itself deep in Cole's throat, the man's eyes went wide filled with surprise, his mouth dropped open to form an 'O' shape as his knees buckled. Blood bubbled around the blade as he flailed at it with his fingers trying to get purchase on the handle with blood slicked digits. Pulling it out he stared in disbelief at the blade as the life left him, removing the knife caused the blood to gush out, he was dead before he hit the floor.

'Fuck!' Dean kept repeating as he finished dressing Sam's wounds and then rushed around gathering their things and shoving them into the bags chaotically, hurrying to the car he threw them into the boot before going back to shift Cole's body back into Summer's room. Pausing for a second, he checked that Summers was indeed dead, grabbed his knife, and rubbed his fingerprints from the second room. Locking the door he took time for a quick breath and then cast a worried glance over Sam, he hadn't made a sound since Cole's arrival, he hadn't moved he just sat there with his wrist lying limply on his lap; his knuckles scabbed but were no worse and would heal quickly. Sam's state of mind was the one thing that worried Dean, he knew Summers was dead and he knew that they were hunting him down.

'Come on Sammy let's get you outta here.' Dean said gently hooking his arm around Sam's waist he managed to get his brother up and standing. He took one last cursory glance to make sure he hadn't left anything behind then Dean guided Sam to the car, tucking him in, and clicking his seatbelt around him, Dean sat back on his haunches and stared at Sam for a moment. 'I'm just going to check us out of here, make sure we don't do anything that makes us under suspicion with the police, I'll be right back Sammy.' Dean waited for a response but Sam gave no indication that he had even heard what Dean said, 'I'm locking you in the car Sammy, and I'll be right back.'

Dean hurried to the small office, explained that his brother had fallen ill and stumbled against the mirror cracking it, to the motel manager, offered to pay for the damages and that they were checking out, he had to take Sam to the hospital and that he would stay with him. The elderly manager smiled and patted Dean's hand reassuringly, 'you just take care of that brother of yours and don't worry bout a thing,' she said sympathetically, 'and you boys are welcome here anytime.'

'Thanks ma'am,' Dean said passing over cash for the room, not wanting to rip the dear old lady off after hearing that. She smiled at the cash and started to thank him profusely, she doesn't know how to work those dang-fangled credit card thingies, her husband does that, and he isn't around. Taking just enough for the room rental, she pushed the rest of the money back into Dean's hand, in case his brother needs medicines. Dean gave her a big warm smile and started to say thanks and goodbye, when she asked him to wait, disappearing for a moment out the back of the office she came back with a bag of freshly baked cookies and a thermos of hot coffee. Dean took the food and coffee and bending down gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. This must be what having a grandmother feels like, he mused hurrying back to the car.

Sam still sat in the impala in the same position Dean had left him in, his glazed eyes fixed and unblinking, sighing Dean slid in behind the wheel and balanced the thermos on the seat between them, 'she gave us coffee and cookies dude, fresh cookies they're still warm.'

'Dean?' Sam whispered his brother's name and turned stiffly to face his brother, as though looking at him for the first time. 'Dean?'

'Yeah Sammy?'

'Summers?'

'Sorry dude.'

'Cole ... he – he was one of the ones who...' Sam bit his lower lip and tried to swallow his rising tears, running his fingers through his shortened hair miserably.

'He was one of the ones who beat you up and cut your hair?' Dean demanded his anger building, 'damn dying was too good for him.'

'Can we go?' He whispered, 'just go.'

'We're so out of here dude, they can eat our dust.'

'What about Bobby and Cal?'

'We'll text em when we're out of town, let em know where we're heading then.'

'Okay.' Sam went back to staring out the window, but he appeared fractionally calmer than before, his fingers picking at the edge of his bandage the only sign of his nerves.

As they drove through the town and in the opposite direction to the institute Dean noticed the dark car following them, it looked so damned familiar, he risked a glance at Sam who sat nibbling at one of the cookies completely unaware of the countryside flashing past them.

'Sammy you okay there?' He asked as he kept an eye on the rear vision mirror.

'Yeah.'

'Umm hate to do this to ya dude but I have a feeling we're being tailed and I need your help.'

'My help?'

'Yeah I need you to keep an eye on a car behind us, I'm gonna take a couple of detours and I want to find out if they are tailing us.'

'Okay.' Sam said his voice still monotone.

'Hang on.' Dean announced as he took a sudden right turn and pressed the accelerator pedal down, kicking up some dirt and stones as they roared down the side road.

'They're still behind us.' Sam announced seeing the car swerve and speed up to catch up with the impala. 'They're right behind us.'

'Take it easy Sammy, we're gonna get rid of them.' Dean tried to calm his brother down but also calm himself, seeing a fork in the road coming up, he hesitated for a brief second and then floored the car, taking the right hand fork they soon skidded back onto the highway, racing along the asphalt road lane hopping through the growing traffic until Dean could take another off ramp.

'They still with us Sammy?'

'Yeah right behind us, so weird Dean it's like they're ... herding us towards something else.' Sam said suddenly.

'Fuck!' Dean exclaimed, slamming his foot on the brake he expertly slid into a perfect circle and sat waiting with the engine revving, he tightened his grip and shot Sam a mischievous grin, 'let's play.'

Sam shook his head and braced his hands on the dashboard, his entire body strummed with tension as he felt the rumble of the life of the car beneath him.

Suddenly Dean released the brake and simultaneously pressed the accelerator the car raced towards the dark car, a wild look in Dean's eyes flared as he smiled and drove directly at the other vehicle. It was over in a blurred second, the impala kept racing away from the dark car as it kept on a berserker course through the brush ending it only when the car smashed into a large tree and rolled onto its roof. Tyres spinning in the air and tendrils of smoke snaked out into the air.

'Damn,' Dean breathed, the adrenaline still coursed through his body, sending a fine shiver through his muscles, 'you okay Sammy?'

'Yeah I think so.' Sam answered turning wide eyes to Dean, 'man that was ...'

'Yeah it was.'

'They're not going to let me go are they?' Sam asked tremulously.

'We're going to finish this Sam and when we do, that place is gonna be totally nuked out of existence one way or the other.'

'Thanks Dean.'

'Hey that's what big brother's are for.'

'Why did Summers have to die for?' Sam asked suddenly, his voice breaking with the backed up emotions threatening to finally spill.

'I don't know Sammy, they're bastards, sadistic bastards and that's it, none of this is your fault.'

Sam went to argue with Dean when he winced and squeezed his eyes shut, a low mewling came from the back of his throat.

'Sammy?' Dean asked his gaze flicking from Sam to the road constantly.

'Argh hurts; light ... no ... Dean ... hurts me ...' Sam cried out brokenly as a vision assailed his frail form.

Pulling off the road Dean just managed to get around to Sam's side when the passenger door flew open and Sam fell out onto his hands and knees, panting heavily.

Dean pulled Sam into his embrace and held him tightly until the episode finished, keeping him from hurting himself any further in the process.

Sam moaned and sobbed, his fingers spasmodically dug into Dean's arms but he kept the grip tight, not wanting to let his baby brother go.

After seemingly hours that in reality was only a matter of minutes, Sam calmed down and pressed harder against Dean, craving his warmth and strength. 'Sammy?'

'Ah Dean, I saw ah ... I saw Grace she's not dead Dean.'

'What?'

'Grace and, and another young woman they're in a bar ... two men following them ... I saw blood and pain and Grace ... she, she.' Sam turned eyes filled with tears towards his brother, he took a shuddering breath and straightened his shoulders, 'we have to get going Dean.'

'Sam this could be a trap.'

'I know but ... Dean they're in trouble.'

'So we go in, but we do have an element of surprise.' Dean said as he helped Sam to his feet.

'What?'

'You,' Dean said grinning devilishly.

'Me?' Sam stared down at him confused, between Dean and the vision Sam was developing a killer headache.

'Your vision, they might have a trap set but they don't know about the vision and the fact that we have a heads up about it all.'

'But, but what if...'

'What if what?'

'What if they are the ones who gave me the vision as a way to get us there?'

Dean stared at Sam his thoughts racing through his mind, after what happened at the motel room with them trying to force Sam into slicing his wrists open to draw him out and into a hospital. 'No, something tells me that they didn't I'm not sure what but I have a feeling that we finally have a break.'

'What break?'

'Call Bobby and Caleb, they can be at the bar before us and do a recon let us know exactly what we're walking into to.'

Oh, okay.' Sam shook his head and smiled feeling a wee bit better, 'great plan Dean.'

'Hey what else can you expect from Dean Winchester?' He smirked and arched his eyebrow at Sam.

'Fine, just get in the car and drive.'

'You just get on the phone and start talking.'

'Fine.'

'Fine.'

'Bitch.'

'Jerk.'

'Great to have you back Sammy.' Dean said as the impala roared to life under his capable hands, 'it really is.'

'Thanks Dean.' Sam smiled warmly as he pulled out the cell phone and started to scroll through the numbers to find Bobby's, 'Dean?'

'Yeah dude?'

'When you started working in the institute to find me?'

'Yeah?'

'They made you do things to me didn't they?' Sam asked unable to meet Dean's clear gaze.

'Ah ... yeah they did Sammy.'

'I don't really remember ... but I do know that you didn't mean anything like that, that you wouldn't do those things to me for real.'

'God no Sammy, I would never, ever do that to you if I wasn't being made to.'

'Thanks Dean.'

'What for?'

'You risked your life for me by doing that ... they were going to kill you or ...'

'Nah it was worse than dying they tried to get me to be like them.' Dean shook his head in disgust and felt the unbidden shudder hit his muscles and frame. 'Eww I mean come on can you see me wearing those uniforms? Conforming?'

Sam smiled and finished looking up Bobby's number, for the first time in a long time he felt almost safe. Well as safe as one could be with a maniacal man and an institute of zombie warriors after one.

TBC