It's Wednesday, which means it's update day ! Firstly can I once again say thanks to all of you who have posted reviews. It's very humbling reading your words and all I can say is thank you. It's totally freaky how accurate some of you are with the points you've raised. Glad you found the whole bearded lady and circus thing ironic, because I sure as hell did when I saw ELaC.

Enough chit-chat from me though. Hope you continue to enjoy this story and journey I'm taking the boys on.

On with 'Think Tank'.

Chapter Three- Think Tank

"Sam..!" Dean snapped as he hit the floor as quickly as he could. Sam's sickle crashed loudly into the kitchen. "What the hell is wrong with you…?"

Shaking violently, Sam Winchester's hazel eyes stared at the place the spirit had been moving. The knife had gone straight through the mystical form, which had then promptly disappeared.

It didn't matter though; it hadn't hurt Dean.

"Sam..!" Dean shouted, glancing hurriedly in the direction of where his little brother's eyes seemed trained. "Talk to me Sammy..?"

"It's gone…" Sam said finally breathing, his body shaking as exhaustion ploughed into him. It took every ounce of strength not to collapse exactly where he was standing. Instead he simply sank onto the floor and lent against the wall, his open bedroom door beside him.

Dean crawled over to him and stared at his brother.

"Dude, if you wanted my attention away from the cartoons, throwing a sickle at me.." Dean said with a nervous smile, "That's not how you do it…"

"There was a thing behind you…" Sam said in a drained voice, his head leaning back against the wall, his dark brown hair falling off his face. "It was gonna hurt you…"

"Well, urm, thanks, I think…" Dean said sitting up on his knees and giving his brother the once over. His hand reached forward and touched his brother's forehead. A worried expression quickly appeared on Dean's face.

"You're burning up…" Dean whispered, as he stretched a hand out. "Come on, I'm gonna get you to bed…"

"Humm, the wise ass answer I could give off to that sentence…" Sam said with a sheepish grin, as he allowed Dean to help him stand. He was too tired to protest anyway.

"You should be flattered, deadly flattered…" Dean muttered as he looped Sam's arm around his shoulders. "Most girls would jump at the chance to get me into bed..."

"You didn't even buy me dinner you cheap bastard…" Sam said with a giggle as Dean found himself laughing as well.

"I could so say something about dessert and seconds here…" Dean said stifling a laugh, "But this conversation is weird enough…"

Sam leaned tiredly on Dean, his head bumping lightly against his brother's. Dean gave him a funny look as he eased Sam towards his own bedroom. Sam however reeled back.

"I'm not going back in there…" Sam said in a tired tone.

"Oh, ok, why..?" Dean said sarcastic tone to his voice, as he guided Sam over to the sofa and eased him down on it.

"Are you kidding, that thing screwed with my room…" Sam said as he curled up on the comfy sofa. "Everything is in all the wrong places..."

Dean gave his brother a quizzical look, and walked over towards Sam's bedroom. Slowly, he poked his head in it and took in the appearance. With a wrinkled look on his face, Dean glanced back at Sam whose head was poking over the sofa.

"Dude am I missing something…?" Dean asked in a worried tone.

"You see it to..?" Sam whispered his voice barely audible, almost child like. "It's freaking me out…"

"Sam…" Dean said, his eyebrows raised as he slowly walked back towards his brother, "Exactly what did you see..?"

"It switched the entire…" Sam started to explain but seeing Dean shaking his head furiously, Sam scrambled to his feet and hurried tiredly towards his room.

He lent heavily against the door frame as he stared into his room.

It was in the exact same condition Sam had left it in the very same morning.

Panicking, Sam looked at Dean. Dean tried his most innocent face on Sam.

"You're tired that's all…" Dean said simply, "You just need...-"

"Don't you dare patronize me; I know what I saw…!" Sam yelled, "Everything was in the wrong place, the entire bed had moved to the other side, it was all re-arranged..!"

"Sam, I know…" Dean said with a chuckle, "You're right, it's my mistake. Tell you what, you tell me exactly what happened…"

"You believe me..?" Sam whispered as he looked again into the room, "Cause I know, from that, it makes me look crazy, but I'm not…"

"I never said you were crazy…" Dean said with a grin, as he pointed back to the sofa, "Now go and take a seat over there, and I'll be right back…"

"Where are you going..?" Sam demanded, worrying seeping in, "You're leaving aren't you..?"

"No, don't be ridiculous…" Dean said with a shake of his head, "I'm gonna get the book from the car, maybe there is something in there to help find this spirit of yours…"

"Ok, I'll hit the laptop, I'll see if I can find anything about this area we're in…" Sam said already trying to sit up. Dean's hand however gave him a gentle shove down.

"The only thing you'll hit is you face on that cushion…" Dean said his hand still on his brother's head, "You're burning up as it is. Have you taken your medication this morning..?"

"Half of it…" Sam admitted, "I don't like how they make me feel, it's like I'm not in control of my own body…"

"Sammy, you can't just take half of the meds, they have to work together…" Dean explained, as he saw the crushed look on Sam's face, "Don't give me that look Sam..."

"I'm fine Dean; I don't need to take the full dosage…" Sam pleaded, "I won't even be able to move with the amount of pills wondering through my blood…"

"Just rest, I'll be right back…" Dean said with a sigh.

Sam nodded quietly and placed his fluffy filled head onto the pillow. Dean paused in the doorway and gave his quiet little brother a look.

"Do me a little favour though, while I'm gone..." Dean said with a smile, "Don't play with anything sharp..."

Sam simply flicked his middle finger up at Dean from the sofa and kept his eyes closed as he felt the tiredness creep into his soul.

Dean shook his head as he left the apartment, considering Sam had been so scared all over ten minutes ago, he still seemed to have his sense of humour running around.

That was a good sign; it meant that Sam was trying to not let the situation get to him.

To Dean, that was one huge plus point, because the situation was beginning to get to Dean...

xxxxXXXXxxxx

Dean descended down the steps of the apartment and headed for his black 1967 Chevy Impala. It was a beautiful sight and Dean never got bored with looking at the gorgeous girl of his.

Parked under the house, Dean opened the beauty up, popped the trunk and begun to root around inside for the Key of Solomon. The ancient book had been given to the boys a couple of months back by one of their father's old hunter buddies Bobby. The older man had suggested that the boys might need it for future hunts, and the little Dean had flicked through it, he'd already gathered that the old book was filled with demonic namings, rituals, remedies, legends, traps and of course exorcisms.

This however was the first time Dean would actually go through the book, looking for something in particular. If it hadn't just spooked the hell out of Sam, Dean might have actually been excited.

Ok, so hunting wasn't top of the agenda anymore. Dean knew that, understood it, in fact he'd been the one who'd given the order himself. Too many painful feelings for Dean to deal with at the moment. Too many unresolved feelings towards his father and this whole hunting game that he'd been thrown into.

John Winchester was gone, taken off somewhere and to Dean, it was worse than the first time he'd left him. At least they'd been some grainy phone message saying that he'd gone hunting.

None this time.

John had left his sons after the car crash, while they were still badly injured in hospital. Dean had come round to find that his father was gone, but to make matters worse his little brother was fighting for his life.

A blood clot had burst in his brain; his little Sammy had suffered a massive brain haemorrhage. Dean had been stunned to learn from the doctors that the reason Sam was in the condition he was because of the movements he'd triggered after the crash. Instead of staying still, the younger Winchester had got out the car and called for help. That had released the blood clot from his chest and allowed it to travel to his unsuspecting brain.

What had angered Dean more was learning that Sam's brave actions had actually saved not only his life but his father's. Dean had lost a lot of blood, and needed medical attention; Sam's actions had saved all of them, but cost him dearly.

Sam had died.

Right there, in the hospital, Dean by his side too shocked to believe what was taking place, too scared to admit that his little brother was dead. It had taken several minutes of Sam being in the middle of cardiac arrest for Dean to snap alive. He'd cried his heart out, collapsing at his brother's side when he'd heard Sam's kind doctor call his time of death.

Dean stared at the weapons in the trunk of the Impala. Just the thought of it made Dean's breathing hitch in his chest, the cold sensation running through his whole body.

Then something had sent Sammy back. Not something good. Something evil.

It had sent his little brother back, and up to this very moment, Dean hadn't questioned what had sent Sammy back, he'd just been beyond grateful that Sam was alive and still with him.

Dean swallowed at the idea of losing Sam. It just didn't bare thinking about. It didn't. To feel that sense of loss, to feel that huge amount of emptiness. To feel that alone, that scared, that terrified was something Dean was never ever willing to experience again.

He was twenty seven years old, and for the first time in over twenty years, Dean didn't want to think about evil or hunting.

The only thing in Dean's mind was getting Sammy better.

It was the only thing that mattered.

He'd taken Sam from the hospital, never explaining why.

Dean knew why, heck part of him even understood why the doctors were so intrigued over his little brother. Sam had come back from the dead. That's all the doctors saw, they wanted to understand the science, see if there was a way to help others survive.

Well, that was the way Sam's doctor, Dr. David Kessin had seen it. Dean had liked Sam's doctor; he'd been kind and helpful to Dean when Dean was on the verge of a nervous break down. Not like the other doctor that had plagued Dean the whole time he'd been conscious, his own doctor, Dr. Andrew Wallis. He'd only seen Sam as his chance of fame and fortune, and Dean swore to himself that neither he nor any member of his family was going to be Dr. Wallis' gravy train.

Dean knew at some level that Dr. Kessin had expected Dean to grab Sam and get out the hospital before any tests or specialists could get near Sam.

That, Dean would be grateful to the doctor for, for a long time.

Now however, something was spooking his brother, and that bothered Dean greatly for two simple reasons. Why is it that only Sam could see it, and perhaps more importantly, what did this spirit thing want..?

Dean quietly closed the trunk back, locked it with the keys and then gave the lid a gentle pat.

"You enjoy your vacation as well..." Dean said with a grin as he headed towards the steps with the Key of Solomon tucked under his arm.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

Sam Winchester quietly stood in the entrance of his bedroom. He could feel an uneasy feeling beginning to settle into his stomach. He could have sworn on his life that his bedroom had been in complete disarray less than twenty minutes ago and now, now it looked like it had been a figment of Sam's exhausted imagination.

Sam sighed; it was no doubt what Dean was thinking too.

He'd seen that pitiful look Dean had given him and it made Sam angry. Dean didn't have any right to take pity on him, he wasn't crazy, tired yes perhaps, but defiantly not crazy.

At least that's what Sam thought.

Shuffling back into the living room, he found himself startled involuntary when the door to the apartment opened.

Sam heaved in a shaky breath on seeing it was just Dean returning. Dean's eyes however narrowed as soon as they landed on Sam.

"Didn't I tell you to get some rest..?" Dean muttered, "Then again when did you ever do anything I tell you..?"

"I'm too wired to sleep..." Sam said in an agitated tone as he sat down on the sofa awkwardly.

"I never mentioned the words sleep, I said rest..." Dean said sternly, "Now dude, just do as your told for once in your life.."

"Did you find it..?" Sam asked as he spotted the Key of Solomon under Dean's arm.

"Haven't looked yet..." Dean admitted as he placed the book on the other sofa and glanced at Sam, "Sammy, look, you're burning up...

"I'm fine..." Sam lied, "Really, I am..."

"Dude, you look like someone rubbed oil all over your friggin skin; you're glowing and not in the happy pregnancy kind of way, or in the sexy play-dude kind of way either..." Dean said with a grin, " Come on man, I get that you're a little spooked..."

"I'm not scared..." Sam said defensively, "Look, I just want to find this thing and kick its ass..."

"If it's a spirit it won't have an ass..." Dean said with a grin.

"Don't be a wise, erm, ass..." Sam muttered as he lent back into the sofa and allowed his head to flop back.

"I can't help it if my ass is wise..." Dean said with a wicked smile which earned him a sofa cushion in the face from Sam.

"Did you find anything on the laptop...?" Dean asked glancing over at Sam.

"You trying to be funny..?" Sam said in a pointed tone as he shot his hazel eyes in the direction of his brother. "How can I look this thing up if you hide the laptop from me..."

"I haven't hid...-" Dean started to say his face flushed in surprise, Sam however looked angry.

"Don't look at me like that..." Sam snapped, "You're treating me like I'm some sort of freakin fragile goods or something.."

"Whoa, now hold on there Sammy..." Dean said shooting his brother an annoyed look, "The only reason I'm treating you with a bit of care and attention is because you're not exactly top of your game..."

"Then again, you were always weak and pathetic..."

"What the hell did you just say...?" Sam demanded looking angry at Dean, his eyes ablaze.

Dean's hazel green eyes locked with Sam's livid hazel ones. Something wasn't right here, not right at all.

"I said you're not exactly yourself at the moment, what with the crash and everything, it's gonna take a while..." Dean said trying to calm his voice down, realising that Sam was unusually angry.

"Why did you hide the laptop from me...?" Sam asked in a smaller voice, "I just want to help find this thing..."

Dean gave Sam a quizzical look, walked over to the small table in the kitchenette and returned with the laptop in his hand which he promptly placed on the coffee table.

The look on Sam's face said it all.

It was a picture. A Kodak moment.

Sam's confused eyes looked slowly up at Dean; his hand's stretching out to touch the computer, almost as if he didn't believe it was really there.

Dean stared at Sam with a confused look of his own. His baby brother's behaviour was bizarre, even for Winchester standards.

"I checked the entire apartment, Dean..." Sam whispered, "I checked it over and over again..."

"Look...-" Dean said scratching his head. He was beginning to run out of things to say; at least things that wouldn't result in an argument with Sammy.

"No…" Sam said holding up a hand and cutting Dean off mid-sentence, "I swear to you Dean, I combed this place, every inch of it and that, that was not there..."

"Ok..." Dean said with a heavy sigh as he knelt down in front of an obviously very agitated Sam.

"I swear to you Dean it wasn't there, it wasn't..." Sam repeated.

"Like I believe a word you're telling me...You're just a traitor..."

Sam stared into Dean's eyes.

"Please don't say things like that..." Sam whispered, "I know, I'm not making any sense..."

Dean wrinkled his nose and quickly stood up, his hunter instincts alert and on the prowl.

"This ghost of yours, spirit, whatever it is..." Dean mumbled, "Do you remember what it looked like..?"

Sam nodded his head glumly.

"Then start looking for it in the book..." Dean said as he picked up the laptop from the coffee table and headed towards the outside deck.

"You're going on the deck..?" Sam asked in a worried tone, "Isn't it safe inside..?"

"I think I'll take my chances..." Dean said with a grin, "It's a nice day anyway..."

Sam nodded glumly and looked back at the old book that sat on the coffee table.

"What will you be looking for..?" Sam asked cautiously, "You got any idea what this thing is..?"

"Not yet..." Dean said as he could see the defeated look on Sam's face, "But that won't last for very long..."

"We'll find this thing right..?" Sam said as he pulled the book now onto his lap and slowly turned the first page, "Because this thing, it needs to be stopped..."

Dean slowly stared at Sam, his little brother half if his former self, frailer, weaker and seriously not in any condition to take on any form of the supernatural.

"Don't worry Sammy, I'll find it and then I'll blow it away..." Dean said with a wide grin, "Winchester style…"

"Yeah well, you won't be doing this by yourself..." Sam said sending his brother a serious look, "And before you even bait another argument, I'm coming on this hunt, this thing isn't coming anywhere near you..."

Dean's mind raced, that was the second time today Sammy had used that phrase, and both times Sammy had sounded determined and every bit as angry as he looked.

"Sammy, I can look after myself..." Dean said with a sigh. He knew another argument wasn't coming.

"Yeah well tough, I'm watching your back…" Sam said stubbornly, "That's my job..."

"Yeah well, you got a new job, and it's called get your skinny ass better..." Dean said in a matter of fact style.

"Not washing with me Dean, I'm helping, coming, whatever..." Sam said in a pointed tone, "Just look like old times..."

Dean sucked in a breath. This just wasn't the time for another fight. There were more important things at stake here.

"Let's just try and find out what we're dealing with here, ok..?" Dean said opening the sliding door and slipping out.

"Perfectly fine by me..." Sam said as Dean disappeared from view.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

Its spirit hovered above the two young men, its red eyes smouldering as it took in their emotions and fears.

It studied the eldest, the strongest, the warrior; the protector.

Its weakest link was the young man that sat inside glumly staring at a book, slowly considering the idea that deep down his elder brother hated him; despised him.

The eldest sat on a chair in the sun wondering if his little brother was slowly going mad, while looking for a ghostly spirit thing he was sure didn't exist.

The spirit smiled deeply, its evilness licking the pits of its stomach.

The plan was already at work.

And soon evil would reap its reward.

xxxxXXXXxxxx

(swallows) Anyone else worried..? Thanks for reading and if you get a chance please leave a review. See you all next update: Sunday