Revelations 2: Lost and Found

by everfaithful

Sequel to Revelations: Johns death revealed two secrets, not just one. Sam is willing to sacrifice it all to give his brother a chance at life, a real life, But Dean isnt willing to let that happen.

5. Chapter 5

Sam was awake long before sunrise. Sleep didn't come easy to him. It had been a long time since he had enjoyed a full night's sleep that hadn't come from a bottle or pain meds. Usually his sleep was filled with images of Jessica, Madison, his father. Now there was Dean as well. The image of him hanging limply, so badly abused that he was unrecognizable would haunt him for the rest of his existence he was sure.

It was those images he was trying to banish as he walked to the nearby park. He had been cursed with his very conception. His family had been cursed. the demon hadn't been satisfied with creating another of his children, he had to make sure that the entire family, everyone that knew or could love them, was miserable or dead... or both.

It was so hard to believe in miracles when all you saw was curses. So much evil and he had yet to witness one miracle that wasn't a curse in disguise. Yet here he was, staring at the sunrise, hoping to see it as the miracle the aging priest had told him it was.

Sam wanted to have faith. He wanted to believe that God actually cared. He knew God existed just as he knew Lucifer existed. That Angels and Demons both existed. But God and His forces were quiet. Letting people like Dean fight their battles for them with not so much as a side ways glance. Dean and his father had been left swinging in the breeze after all the sacrifices they had made to do the right thing. To save people from an evil that God not only allowed to exist but cast out of heaven and into the realm of men.

Sam didn't have any trouble believing. But right then he figured God was enjoying the show. His own personal soap opera or horror movie.

He sighed as the sun crested the horizon. Some where in Corpus Christi, Texas, Dean was sleeping through this sunrise. Bobby was safe and sound, probably up and already working on the next vehicle. Ellen was sleeping hard after a long night's work in the Road House.

He watched as the colors splayed across the sky. Reds and golds mingling with the blue and white. "Red sky in morning... wonder if that's hunters as well as sailors." Still it was beautiful. And peaceful. Might not be a miracle, or even proof of anything more than the fact that God runs the universe like clock work. But at least it was peaceful.

The little evils were crawling away into their dark hole, and the hunters who didn't worry about demons so much as spirits and werewolves were going back to their beds to sleep in relative safety.

Well... maybe there were things about a sunrise to be thankful for after all.

He made his way back to the hotel and drove to a diner he had seen the day before. While he waited on his food to arrive, he called the number the priest had given him. No time like the present to work on his arsenal. He had a long fight ahead of him.

Father Pavel answered on the ninth ring. He had been engrossed in his morning prayers that, unless he was in an exorcism, he faithfully did every morning with the sunrise. Thankful that he had lived to witness yet another one. The cycle would repeat at sunset. He kissed his battered rosary beads and carefully put them away, along with his prayer stole, and stiffly got to his feet to answer the cell phone.

Young people lived with these things. Some were so good, they could receive reception in the deepest most primitive jungles. He knew, he had that kind of phone. It was a convenience, a modern trifle that he had been saddled with, but one he bore with more grace than the rest of his burdens.

"Good morning, child." Father Pavel said, answering it finally. "I had not expected you to actually arise with the sun this morning."

"I don't sleep so well." Sam admitted. "I would like to learn from you, if I could... if... you're still willing to teach me." He figured it was more than possible, it was highly probable that the priest had rethought things. Teaching church secrets to a soon to be demon didn't seem like a sound career move for a priest.

"I am." Father Pavel said. "Be certain to what you are committing to. Because there is no turning back on the road. I was given an out once, when I was twenty two years old, had I known then what I know now, I might have chosen differently." Waking without pain. Perhaps allowed himself a single sinful thought.

"Well...my idea of what I am committing to and yours may be two different ideas. Perhaps we should talk about this in person. I mean ... not expecting me to take vows and join orders are you?" He asked half joking but he honestly had no way to be sure.

Father Pavel laughed. "I don't know, could you take a vow of charity, poverty and celibacy?" He said with a chuckle. "Not to mention more schooling, training, and hoping that you are hand picked by the Pope for this office? Child, I don't have that much time, I'm an old man remember. But certainly, we should meet. Where are you at?"

"Kelly's Diner." He said. "It's over on 5th and Pine." He said with a laugh. "Well... not sure that I have been given to many acts of charity in the normal sense, but poverty has been arranged for me and celibacy... well... that's pretty much a given these days. The rest... no... I doubt they would have me if they knew. And I don't think either of us have that much time."

"I shall join you." Father Pavel said. "If you order me a cup of tea, I shall arrive when it does." He said and hung up, catching a cab. He did have some funds. He was bound by a vow of poverty, certainly, but he did have a small expense account. He arrived at the diner right as the waitress was putting the cup of tea on the table. "Da, very much appreciated." He said with a nod to the waitress. "Your poverty and celibacy do not quite count if they are not actively chosen. But the thought is appreciated." He joked. "And time is always of the essence."

"Celibacy was chosen, but I don't know that I want to take a vow of it." He said with a laugh. He had finished his meal and was sipping at his coffee. "What is it that's going to be expected?" He asked. People thought that Sam liked questions. all of his life there were always questions and more questions. But the truth was Sam hated questions. Questions were big empty spaces aching to be filled. They were hidden truths, and dangers. Answers were what Sam liked. Answers put the control back in his hands, or at least the illusion of it. So when Sam found a question, he wanted it gotten rid of and answered as quickly as possible. Especially now. Especially this. He needed to know everything before he took the next step.

"Forthrightness." Father Pavel said. "To the point that it hurts. Because anything a demon could use against you, he will. Like knives thrown at you in a hurricane. Until you can't stand it and you beg him for death. But it never comes, because that would be far too easy. Far too painless. Everyone has inner demons, and they must be faced and vanquished, or the evil will win every time. Can you do that?" Bobby had his doubts, and Bobby knew Sam far better than Father Pavel.

Sam took a deep breath. "I can try. Do you want to know details? Like 24 years of back confessions?" He didn't know if it would help. "They have allot to use against me. What I am pretty much insured that." He didn't know if he was going to be comfortable with telling the priest everything but the demons knew it anyway and they would shout it out to the heavens he was sure. Better he hear it from Sam than the enemy.

"You are nephilim. You mentioned that last night. After you attempted to exorcise a demon by yourself." Father Pavel said. "All the rest, sex, drugs, your rock and roll, is not important. That is the culture today. Your inner demons are your own, I have them myself. But you must have a pure heart. And the ability to clear your mind. The road to hell, they say, is paved with good intentions. But the staircase to heaven is lined with the souls of the righteous. They were not perfect men, but they did their part."

Sam nodded. "My whole life has been about fighting the good fight. We used to call it the family business. I guess Dean still does. Part of me is still in it to save people. Most of me I suppose, but another part of me... is making a final stand. I can't lay down and just let it take me with out some sort of fight. The vengeance part of it ... I think is done. Ole yellow eyes might bring that out in me again... but the others, it's just... what I do."

"Good." Father Pavel said and pulled out several old, tattered books from his suitcase he carried everywhere. "Then here is what you must learn. I have no time to wait for you to graduate from seminary. Therefore, how do you say, crash course. Tonight I leave, a nice simple possession, but it is somewhere else. You may come, you may assist. On the job training is what is best. But you must accept that everything you know is but the tip of the iceberg, and that I am in the charge."

Sam nodded. "Yes, sir." He said with the hint of a smile. He could readily accept that. He and Dean had spent most of their life learning as they went. Hunting was always OJT, and anyone that thought otherwise wasn't going to live long out there. "Ahm.. driving, flying... how do you plan to get there ?" He was going, but he had to figure out what to do with the truck first.

"Flying." The priest said. "When I first started, I was taking boats to every place. Now, I fly on chartered plane by Vatican. Because the things I carry wouldn't make it past the security checkpoints." He said. "We take the plane at eight o'clock tonight. Until then, I have a parish to visit. I like to reconnect with a regular flock once in a while, lightens the load."

"Yeah... I can understand that." After all calling, Bobby had lightened Sam's. "I'll find some place to store my truck for a while then. When should I meet you?" He asked picking up one of the books to look at it.

"At the airport. I shall be in a private hangar. Bring changes of clothing, but nothing else. Your weapons will be of no use my way. Perhaps later I will teach you how to use them, but for now, we stay in tradition." Father Pavel said.

Sam nodded. "Alright." He said, although going with out weapons gave him a bit of a chill. No weapons usually meant trouble, but this wasn't a hunt. This was an exorcism. The rules were probably different. Besides, nothing he had was able to take down a demon. He knew that from bitter experience. "I'll be there a little before 8."

"Good, good. I will see you then." Father Pavel said as he drank his tea. "Did you catch the sunrise? You say you sleep not so well, but did you watch it?"

"Yes Father, I did." He said with a nod. "It was... peaceful. No one else was around. It was nice." He didn't quite believe it was a miracle. But he didn't believe that it wasn't either.

Father Pavel smiled. "Good. I am glad to hear that." He said. "I've always found peace at the beginning of new days."

"Most of the little evils have gone to bed when the sun comes up." Sam said, staring at his hands. "Most hunters think it's safe then... safe to sleep or let your guard down. It's not though. Not really."

"Also the glare from the rising sun can blind a bus driver and run over a family of four." Father Pavel pointed out gently. "It doesn't make it any less than a new day. New days can be good, they can be bad. But they are new days, and not something to take for granted."

"There is that." Sam said with a hint of a smile. "Okay... I shouldn't be smiling here." He teased. "You just mentioned someone running over a family of four. That's wrong." He laughed a little. He could still do that. Had to do that. The alternative wasn't going to be a life worth living.

"A family of four foolish enough to not look both ways." Father Pavel said with a glimmer of amusement in his own eyes. "You see, you can still laugh. The sunrise did you good."

"I suppose it did at that." Sam told him. "So... do I take these and start reading or is there a specific syllabus to follow?" He asked. He was actually apprenticing himself to a priest... to an exorcist. Talk about things one would never have expected in a million years.

"There is no syllabus. I trained on the job, after seminary of course. After I had been doing it quite a long time, I was pulled in for psychology courses. I suppose some of the so called possessed are actually ill, but it's too easy an excuse. Especially when you can innately know the difference." Father Pavel said. "Just browse them. See how they're different from the training you have already received."

"So where are we going?" He asked as he picked up all of them figuring he could spend the day reading. Research was something he was good at and actually enjoyed. It was why he had been so good at school. John and Dean liked to say it was because he was so smart but Sam didn't think so . He thought it was just that he was good at digging up information. And that's what got you through on tests. Academia was nothing but test preparation really.

"We'll be along the Mississippi River. There are far too many voodoo rituals gone wrong, done by amateurs that invite possession." Father Pavel said with a shake of his head. "Amateurs. If they knew half of what they were fooling with, they'd hide under their beds. Instead of waiting for others to come pick up their messes, like unruly children."

"People play with magic all the time. Unfortunately Voodoo and Satanism have a draw for depressed desperate kids. It promises empowerment and they don't know that there isn't really any such thing out there. Not for free." Dean was the one with experience dealing with Voodoo. Hopefully this would just be a simple possession, not dealing with the cult as well.

"And certainly not for the enslaved, for even that empowerment comes with strings." Father Pavel said. "But we are just going to the disturbed ones. And some psychiatric wards, so you can see the difference between the insane and the possessed. For to the layman, there is no difference. Unless you know what you're looking for."

"Dean and I," his voice choked a little at that, "my brother... we never really went out looking for the possessed to exorcise. They usually found us... made their presence pretty clear, black eyes, pinning us to the wall with out needing hands... I guess the days of waiting to be attacked are over. Can't say I'm gonna miss that."

"Oh you will be attacked. Have no doubt on that." Father Pavel said. "What we face is the scourge of the demon world, those that prey on the weak, the disturbed. Sometimes the only freedom is death. Exorcisms are hard on everyone involved. I've known too many priests who have fought beside me, who have never made it out of the room in one piece. This is not the kind, gentle Church that has been promoting itself for the last hundred years or so."

"You can't be gentle with demons. There was a girl that we exorcised that died... because the demon had taken so much damage while possessing her that when it was no longer possessing her, the body couldn't survive. My brother was nearly killed by a demon and the damned thing didn't even touch him physically. I doubt they will surprise me much. I just hate that they keep coming back no matter how much we send them back to hell."

Father Pavel smiled a bit. "They don't come back when I do it." And they didn't. Because he worked with an entirely different sort of power than the Winchesters did. The very power than banished said demons from heaven in the first place. "You'll see."

"Then I will definitely want to learn. So ... you banish the actual fallen as well? Not just the second generation?" He asked. If he could then this could become Sam's new Holy Grail. If his father truly were tormented in hell for his sacrifice, Sam hoped that it brought at least a brief moment of pleasure or at least contentment to see the demons cast back into hell by his sons. To know that his work was still being carried on.

"Fallen, second generation, third generation, the Unclean One himself." Father Pavel said as he drank his tea, as if he were discussing the weather. "It's all in a day's work. This is what God himself chose me to do, so I do it. To do other wise would be blasphemy. Then I would not be a very good priest."

"Will you be able to teach me to cast out the Fallen?" He asked. It was a stretch. Sam was as unclean as he could be without having crawled up from the pits of hell himself. He didn't think so but it would please him to no end to be able to cast his demonic father into hell to stay.

"I don't know." Father Pavel said honestly. "We will research that. There might be a way, if there is, we will find it. Or a...what is the word...hole of a loop? Loop hole. But, child, if you are going demonic willingly, the power required and harnessed in an exorcism will be painful for you."

Sam frowned a little. "Willing is a ... strong word. I agreed to open myself up to the powers inside me so that he would save my brother. Of course he tortured him to the brink of death to begin with." He sighed. "Well... if it hurts, it hurts. It's what I want to do... what I need to do."

"Ah. Redemption. Never an easy path." Father Pavel said. "But it's a good one. Do you know why Catholics no longer do saint celebrations? Because they're boring. Far too clean, no scandal. The martyrs, the ones with trials, with purpose, those are the tales one likes to tell. Jesus himself had doubted his own faith and his own purpose. Therefore, it is all right for us to do so."

"I've had this ... destiny... hanging over me. Everything falling into place... not where I want them to be, believe me. Visions that lead me down paths... I mean we went to help people but it was all leading toward the yellow eyed demon's plan. Using our need to help people against us." He shook his head. "I don't know if this path is going to save me or destroy me. I guess it all will play out how it plays out... but it's good to know I won't be unstoppable if I cross over."

"The only unstoppable one is God." Father Pavel said. "Everyone else, everything else, is very much stoppable if the right hands are doing the stopping. The path as you call it, your destiny, will as you say play out as it should. But how it should may not be what you think."

"I hope so." He said, as he looked out the window. "I hope so." Dean's life depended on it.

Sam spent the rest of the day studying. It was very much different from what he had been brought up with. Some of it gave him chills. Some of it was a matter of a different phrase here and there. It was a good deal longer as well. the ritual they used was truncated. Cut down for quick and dirty use. Probably set up in hopes of getting rid of the weak ones and scaring off the bigger ones.

He divested himself of his weapons, smiling a little thinking that Dean would make a Star Wars reference. Luke entering the cave and being told by his mentor not to take weapons. He hoped his brother was healing well, but it was so hard to trust in second hand knowledge even when it came from Bobby. He packed up his things and drove the truck over to a storage facility then walked through the shadows to the air port, stepping out from behind the hanger, to make his way over to the aging priest.

The priest gave him a smile. "Welcome to Air Vatican." He said with a chuckle. "Come, we should get settled in before they start the pre flight." Father Pavel was used to flying. All around the world. "You didn't leave the books behind did you?"

"No, I have them here with me." Sam said with a smile. He wasn't accustomed to flying but he wasn't afraid of it like his brother. Then again he hadn't been tortured with heights either. "Lead on." He said, pulling the books from the large pockets in his coat, that normally held weapons, and holy water.

Father Pavel lead the way up the stairs. The plane was appointed nicely, but not to excess. Because he was a priest after all. "There are drinks and snacks. I'd eat now, the appetite goes along with the time to eat."

Sam nodded. "Okay." He said as he took a seat and settled in. He still felt naked without his weapons. What if there was something else that came at them? What if they were attacked outside of the realm of the exorcism? But he supposed he could deal with that now without the weapons in some ways. "So is there a case history to go over or ... something...?"

"Oh certainly." Father Pavel said. "This one," he passed the file, "is a sixteen year old girl who claims she is possessed by Satan himself. This one," another file, "is a thirty five year old man who has been speaking in tongues." He passed files until Sam had about two dozen or so in his lap. "They keep me busy." Because he was a dying breed.

"No wonder you want an apprentice." He said as he picked up the top file. "Satan himself. How often does Lucifer actually possess human beings?" He asked. It seemed a big risk to take even for the Prince of Darkness. He looked over her history. "Aramaic... that's not something the average 16 year old would pick up. Not even by watching The Passion of the Christ a thousand times over. Certainly not well enough to be profane."

"Oh hardly ever. But some demons claim that they are Satan." Father Pavel said. "I suppose you skip the part in your Cliff Notes exorcism on demanding a name from the demon? That's the source of true power, to get it to reveal its name. Because it's easier to draw it out then. To banish it. Because they lie, they cheat, they corrupt. But truth is always the greatest weapon."

Sam nodded. "It's definitely the quick and dirty version I learned and you would probably disapprove of some of the things we have done with that ritual. But I am more than willing to learn to do it the right way." Torturing demons, making them undo bargains they had made, forcing them to reveal information. Yeah they had used it for just about everything NOT in the priest's handbook he was sure.

"There is no 'right' way, but you will learn my way." Father Pavel said. "There are so many rituals to choose from, to tailor into what you need. It is so important to know what you're dealing with before committing to a course of action. Exorcisms aren't read from a book, they're fought from within. Which makes them so dangerous."

"I have a ward against possession that I wear. Was possessed once and that was enough. The demon let me see some of the terrible things it was doing using my body... hurting people I care about... who takes care of the victim once they are free? Or is that another department?"

"That is another department, as you would say." Father Pavel said. "When I call in a successful exorcism, they immediately dispatch a team made of priests and psychiatrists. The local parish is then involved. Sometimes they are hospitalized afterwards, because of what they've been through, but we don't just leave them in Siberia to rot. An unsuccessful exorcism is turned over to the local parish, who have a relationship with the family and can help them through their grief."

"When the subject dies during the exorcism... do we know what happens to their soul?" He knew that sometimes Demons allowed their host to die. A slap in the face to the exorcist, he was sure. Those were the ones that he worried about. "If the soul responds accordingly, they are welcomed into heaven, right?"

"Such a question. It depends on the soul. Some people, they invite possession in. Are so broken already that there is no repair. The innocents, they certainly go to heaven, that I believe." Father Pavel said. "The rest, it depends on the soul. I believe God takes them on a case by case basis. There is no easy answer, because none of us really know. We can't. But the damage a possessed person can do if allowed to stay possessed, to the people who love them, the people who hope and pray for them, or even the people who don't even know them, is too much of a risk."

"I know." Sam said, and he did. The things he had almost done to Jo, to Dean... the hunter he had killed. It wasn't his doing, but it had been all the same. "There is no way for a soul in hell to escape, is there?" He said, as his thoughts turned to his father, strangely.

"It depends on why they're there." Father Pavel said thoughtfully. "Of course, if you heard about this soul from a demon, just discount it. Demons lie. Even when they tell the truth, they lie."

"My father sacrificed himself to the demon to save my brother's life. Dean found out when he was...well.. using an exorcism as torture to make the demon release this guy from his bargain... since his 10 years were up...anyway... he was told that our father was suffering there."

"Obviously the demon was under duress. Perhaps it thought if it said that, and offered a bargain, your brother would stop. And in that instant of ceasing, kill your brother or trap him into a completely different bargain." Father Pavel said. "Sacrifices like that, like what your father did, even if it's part of the bargain, it's so self less, God overrules it."

Sam took a deep breath and held it a moment, but the tears welled in his eyes anyway. He let it out slowly and wiped at his eyes. "Gonna have to send word through channels to Dean about that. The guilt has been tearing him apart."

"I will pass the message if you like." Father Pavel said. "I am familiar with hunter channels. Like I said, you do your part. And it is appreciated. Peace of mind is a very important gift you know. You should feel better to have thought of it."

"I'd appreciate that." Sam said and wrote down Dean's name and cell phone number, handing it over. "Just in case they don't know how to contact him. We didn't get as immersed in the community as you might think. Dad kept us pretty sheltered from the majority of them. And yeah... I do feel better. It's one less victory that ... thing ... has over us." He chuckled. "That had to chap his hide, thinking he had John Winchester dead to rights and no such thing."

"And every victory we can take from them is important." Father Pavel said as he pocketed the number. "And that is one less thing that can be used against you, for you must believe it is a lie."

"It's something to hang on to. Not like they can produce evidence otherwise without letting Dad out of hell to do it." He said. "Besides... Dad is the last man any self respecting demon would want in hell."

"I'm sure they'll feel that way about his sons too." Father Pavel said. He looked up at the captain's door. "We are about to land. Then we will catch a taxi cab and get started."

Sam nodded and cleared his thoughts, going over the ritual as the priest would be doing it, in his head, not wanting to screw things up by falling back on his own instinctive short cuts. A 16 year old girl's life and sanity depended on it. It was madness, the things human beings did to themselves. The things they brought on themselves and the world around them without knowing it. Possession wasn't all that came of mixing up with magic.

Father Pavel prayed on the way to the psychiatric center. And he was still praying when they were led to the ward for the criminally insane. Where they spent a good amount of time just watching the patients behind protective glass. The priest took notes and passed them to Sam on what to look for, what to ignore, what to pay close attention to.

"Unfortunately, the ones in here are beyond our help. We can exorcise them, possibly. But your justice system doesn't accept possession as a legal defense." He said.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I know." He said "They don't believe in a lot of things... so what do we do for them... just leave the ones that are possessed here? Hope that the demons don't slip out wearing a security guard one day?" He asked, hating the thought of leaving them all in that torment. But what could they do? Most places wouldn't allow them to set up an exorcism anyway.

"We bind the demon to the body. So that it cannot escape." Father Pavel said sadly. "There is no choice in that instance, as much as I hate it. But those there have already been bound. Hence the anger."

"What method do you use?" He asked. "There was a sigil that was burned into me when the demon wanted to make sure she couldn't be exorcised. They just had to alter it to allow the demon out. Is it that simple for them to escape ?"

"It can be, for the laymen." Father Pavel said. "Remember, child, I work with an entirely different kind of power and the most awe inspiring highest authority. Even demons are subject to God's will, or they'd be back in the kingdom of Heaven. Or at the very least, would have already taken over Earth."

"I will never be able to keep them permanently at bay, will I?" He said with a nod. "Oh well... slowing them down is better than nothing at all." He continued to ask questions, because that was Sam's way. Knowledge was what he craved. Peace, happiness, a normal life, those things had fallen to flames that had taken Jessica from him. He had known then that he would have none of those things. Knowledge however, that was a hunger that still remained with him. One that this man would be able to fill. Even if he couldn't give him the power to fight the darkness as his equal.

"Never say never. The only entity in the whole universe who can say never and mean it is God himself. And until the day he whispers in your ear and tells you such, never say never." Father Pavel said. "But slowing them down, banishing them, it's all quite a good start you know. That's nothing to be ashamed of at all. Let us break for lunch. You have me nearly in teacher mode, young man, do not be afraid to tell this old man to shut up at any time. It has been a while since I've filled those shoes."

"Usually it's the teachers trying to get away from me." Sam said with a faint laugh. "Dean was always the perpetual motion machine... but with me it was questions. Believe me I will keep coming up with them." He let the aging priest lead him back to the car, opening doors for him as they went. He was starting to feel hope again. Not in his final out come, but in his ability to make a difference anyway.

Father Pavel related stories of his exorcisms over lunch. Underlining over and over that much preparation is always needed. "The Church rarely chooses Americans as exorcists. I for example am Russian. Because Americans have far too much a reputation for being cowboys. Dive headfirst into the problem and hope you come out the other side. When someone's soul is on the line, you cannot do that."

"I guess that is something I am going to have to work on. It's been how we have made our way through life." He shook his head. "I also gotta stop referring to myself as part of a we that doesn't exist anymore. " He in turn gave the priest the accounts of his own adventures and exorcisms. Not as much of it was seat of the pants as it seemed. It was more... adapting to the changing situation. But it was still very much... cowboying.

Father Pavel chuckled. "Well, at least I can skip the long winded lecture on religious symbolism. That's heart rendering in any case. You have quite a bit of good concrete historical knowledge. It should help. Your latin is good too, another step I get to skip. And all the steps I can safely skip the better." He felt his age so keenly every morning, he wondered if he would have enough time.

"Pastor Jim taught us a lot of that as we were growing up. Before we were old enough to hunt, we spent a lot of time with him while Dad was working." Sam finished his food and pushed the plate away. He had an appetite again. First time really since leaving his brother's hotel room. "So... I guess I should start learning more about the Church and all since I am borrowing their conduit to God's power, so to speak."

"Oh dear." Father Pavel said. "It's been so long since I've done any catechism class. Should we start with Genesis then? It's an awfully long book you know. Then there are the papal proclamations, saints, martyrs, beatified people..."

"Wow... guess there is a lot to learn... should probably pick up another book huh?" He said with a smile. "How about we start with the basics... and how it relates to exorcisms for now... we can stop off somewhere and I can get a book on catechism and start reading. Might be easier to go that route since we have so much more to cover as well. Hope you weren't thinking I was going to be an easy student."

"And I am not an easy teacher." Father Pavel said as he politely asked the waitress for a pad of paper. She brought him over a stack of restaurant letterhead and a pen, and Father Pavel began sketching out the Church hierarchy. "Strange, isn't it? You who consider yourself damned are in the presence of an exorcist. The only authority over me is the Holy Father the Pope. That demon who tainted your conception must be breaking out in boils."

Sam smiled. "Now there is an image I like." He said honestly. anything that caused that creature anger or pain, was fine by him. "In some ways, it's all still pretty surreal even to me. This is definitely not the road I saw myself on this time yesterday. I think my father would wonder at my sanity and why I need to go about things the hard way. Or what he saw as the hard way. "

"I entered the seminary because my mother told me to." Father Pavel said. "Smuggled me out of the country to do so." Since Russia was communist Soviet Union then. "Before that, I had fancied myself as a blacksmith or a carpenter. It is amazing how life throws at us things."

"It is... I was going to be a lawyer." He said. "Was even in school for it. Although some people would consider demon a better choice than lawyer." He said with a grin. "Always knew I would be fighting the darkness until it consumed me... just figured it in a more literal sense than this. It's been a rough year."

"It sounds it. And it will be used against you. There are some things you must have faith in. That your father's soul is in heaven. Because they will tell you otherwise. Perhaps even replicate his voice. That your brother is safe. That somehow, their threats are groundless." Father Pavel said. "Because usually by the time the threats come out, they've already been separated from the rest of the demons, no communication is possible. They're in no position to make good on their threats."

"I made him promise to leave my brother alone. So long as I don't go back to see him, or contact him, they won't touch him. But I expect they will try and make me break that rule so that they can go after him. Fortunately we have mutual friends that can let me know if anything has happened. Dad... well... the demon used his entire body while he was torturing Dean. I know they can mimic really well. Dad... no matter what was happening wouldn't want me to give up. I know that."

"Good." Father Pavel said. "Then they will be disappointed that they don't have a full arsenal against you. You will be assisting me this afternoon. Myself and the local parish priest, in the exorcism of the sixteen year old. Now, just a warning. She is sixteen. You are far closer to her age than either myself or Father Matthew. You will most likely be the target of sexual aggression."

"That's not a problem. It's been a while since... well... the last lover I took turned out to be a werewolf so you can imagine how that ended. I've pretty much sworn off women at this point. I can handle it."

"Just remember that there is a girl trapped deep down." Father Pavel said. "A scared, frightened girl. And that no matter how this ends, it's for her own good, one way or another she will be free. It is that black and white."

"I know." He said, and he did. it was why he had wanted Dean to kill him. Why he had been, in the end, willing to end Madison's life. Because sometimes the only release was death. "And I have an understanding of her position as well. I did things while possessed that... I would never do as a free man." He couldn't promise what he would or wouldn't do when his mind started to go as well as his soul.

Father Pavel peered at him over his tea cup. "Child, you're not as trapped and enslaved as you think. If you were, you would hardly be learning a classic exorcism rite at the feet of a master exorcist. You would hardly be offering to read a catechism in your spare time. And you wouldn't be worried about those in your family."

"I hope you are right." He said. "I really do, because if that's the case I might be able to have my family back." He didn't think it was possible but hope wasn't about definites. It was about the uncertain. And just about everything in his life was uncertain. "What all do we need to do prepare for this exorcism and what will you need me to do?" It was going to be different, assisting a priest instead of working in unison with his brother.

"We will go over her medical file. And the report from the nice psychiatrist, who of course says she's multiple personality. Who just happens to speak fluent, vulgar Aramaic." Father Pavel said with a chuckle. "You will say the refrain as indicated in the book when I give the psalm. Hand me supplies. I've arranged for four strong members of her family to hold her down. Should one of them fail, you shall step in their place. You look like a strong boy, you should be able to do it."

He nodded. "I am... there are certain manifestations of my ... genetics. If I had to hold her down that way... would it interfere?" He didn't want to screw up in a bad way. So better to ask the questions before hand. He knew that it would be hard for family to deal with her in this state. It would be horrifying to them and that would make it hard for them to hold her.

Father Pavel sighed. "It might. Only because then the battle might shift to the demon versus you, instead of the demon versus the rescue of her soul. She will be restrained, thick leather straps, but I have seen them snap off. I've seen little possessed children break cow chains as if they were stems of a flower. Sit on her if you have to. As for hurting her, medicine has come a long way. Broken arms can be mended." It sounded harsh, but true. "Demons will use the threat of physical violence against the innocent they are holding to try to make us stop. But once it's begun, we cannot stop. Expect to be awake for at least three days."

Sam nodded "Okay." That he could handle. There had been many times that he had been forced to stay awake for days on end. It came with the job. This was going to be different. It wasn't exactly virgin territory but it was definitely not what he was accustomed to.

Father Pavel nodded and passed him the medical file to start reviewing it.

Meanwhile, in Texas, the 58 Impala was a brilliant idea. It kept Dean out of everyone's hair, and allowed everyone use of their cars. Not to mention it was hard for even Dean to get into trouble while buried in a wreck of a car. Which was probably more the point. So it wasn't surprising to find Dean under it, on it, or in it at any given point during the day. Or night when he couldn't sleep, which was more than he would admit to.

So when Bobby called, Dean had to roll himself out from under it and go to his cell. "Hey Bobby." He said and listened. "Wait, you know where he is? Where is he? No, I'm not accepting that he's in good hands. Tell me where he is! Bobby. Bobby. Bobby! Fine, I'm listening." Dean was silent as he listened to the message Bobby had for him, from Father Pavel, a man he didn't know. A message about his father. "Thank you." Dean said quietly and sat down on the step as he hung up.

Jack came outside, having heard Dean yelling into the phone. "What's up?" He asked, having learned quickly never to ask Dean if he were okay. The answer was always the same whether he was or not. But right now Dean looked shell shocked and that couldn't be good.

"Dad's not in hell." Dean said simply. "Probably got snatched right out from under the demon's clutches, but he's not in hell." That was one major weight lifted off. That his father was being tormented for all eternity because of him. That weight, it had been a crushing one for a long, long time.

"Reliable source for that information?" He asked, hoping that was the case because he didn't want Dean to fall under that weight again. He had enough hovering over him right now. "I hope so, cause that's really good news."

"Reliable as can be, short of asking the Devil or God for a current tenant list." Dean said as he rubbed his face for a moment. "That's excellent news. He deserves peace."

"Yeah... he does." Jack said. "So do you." He didn't have allot of feelings toward his father although he was glad that the man wasn't in hell. At least one of his parents was going to get a little peace. Ben wouldn't tell him his mothers final disposition, which meant it was pretty bad.

Dean nodded. He supposed everyone deserved peace of some sort. He just didn't see his coming any time soon. "So everyone happy they have their cars back?' He asked with a chuckle. He had to figure out a way to ease into another subject, that really wouldn't go over well, but he'd picked up some patterns in the paper.

"Yeah, actually we are. " Jack said with a chuckle. "It's nice to be able to do our own thing again without having to borrow someone else's car. So how is the Impala coming?"

"It's coming. Waiting on a few parts, then I can really get underway. Just stripping the useless stuff off right now. Some of the original is salvageable." Dean said. "But the waiting for the parts gives me time to do other things I guess." His wounds had just finally closed up. He felt better. The antibiotics were done. Time to get back to work, right?

"Oh yeah?" Jack asked. "What do you have in mind?" He was glad that Dean was sticking around. He had been afraid from the phone call that he was going to take off looking for Sam again. That was futile. Jack could see that even if Dean couldn't.

"Oh you know, the usual." Dean said. "Just some house outside Austin that doesn't seem to like people leaving, that sort of thing." He said quickly. "Gotta love houses. So I should decide on a color before I order the body. What do you think? Red?"

" A good dark blood red I think. " Jack said with a nod. "Not some sissy rosy red or bright candy apple red. So this house ... if it doesn't let people leave, what makes you so sure you can get out again?"

"Because I'm that good?" Dean said. "Or because I've done the research, on the area, the house and all the tenants on record, have this huge deep well of supernatural knowledge, not to mention an armory even the military would drool in awe over. The tank is on back order though."

Jack laughed a little. "Leave me the details before you go and a time limit before I have to come and get you." He said. He wouldn't take part in a hunt but he was willing to do rescues or mop up. "I start EMT classes tomorrow."

"Oh absolutely." Dean said. "Gotta have someone to practice your homework on, right? Still can't believe you're going through with this. I mean, you nearly passed out when you had to stitch me up. Though, give you credit where it's due, you did get better with the dressings."

"Hey, you hit me out of the blue with that one, and to be fair it's going to be a little easier when I have been trained to do it." He shook his head. "And you don't need to give me extra credit work, really. I can learn just fine at school so don't go out there and say 'oh hey, Jack could use practice on this one'. "

"You know, just trying to be helpful. I'm underappreciated." Dean said with a laugh. "I really am. But fine, I'll be careful, whatever that means, even though you take great joy out of taking the fun out of life."

"Okay... hospitals...not fun... pain in general... not my idea of fun. Trying to figure out where I am trying to take the 'fun' out of anything but what the hell." Jack said with a laugh. "So what else did Bobby have to say?"

"The son of a bitch knows where Sam is, won't tell me though." Dean said. "He's lucky he's in South Dakota and I'm in Texas, or I'd probably try to beat it out of him. The word being try, unfortunately. He's a tough old bastard." Dean said with a shake of his head. "I don't know, I feel like I'm going crazy, running in circles trying to get a lead on him."

"How does he know- "Jack shook his head. "Never mind, doesn't matter. He's probably just trying to protect you too. Tough life, being so loved." Jack said with a smile. "I know it's hard. But until you find a way to undo what's been done to him... maybe finding him isn't such a good idea."

"You know what Dad said to me. Watch out for Sammy. How the hell am I supposed to watch out for him if I don't know where he is?" Dean said, shaking his head. "I don't know, maybe you're right. Even if I find him, I can't do anything right now. And I haven't found anything. Yet. So what's on your agenda today? Anything I can mock?"

Jack laughed. "Nope. Just more of the same. Taking Kaylie to the movies tonight, debating if I should actually leave you alone right now. You and Ben tend to feed off each other in a not healthy way sometimes. I'll come home and you'll both be drunk on your asses and angsting like a couple of teenage girls."

"We do not angst." Dean said making a face. "We just drink. A lot. One of these days, I swear, I'm going to be able to out drink him. God, if Dad could see me now. The grand master plan of my life moved from killing a demon to out drinking one."

Jack laughed. "And if he is in heaven not hell, then he can." He laughed even harder "Probably sitting there with a bunch of other old crotchety dead hunters wondering what sort of mixed drink could lay a demon out cold."

"Yeah probably. Hopefully if they figure it out, they'll tell me." Dean said with a laugh. "So movies? You know, there are places you can have sex for free you know. A house, a car, any amount of undeveloped private land..."

"Dean, don't know how to break it to you but we actually watch the movie. Ben works nights.. I have sex in my own bed. But if you ever tell Kaylie I confirmed that... I will have to ... fail at kicking your ass." He knew that he wasn't up to taking on Dean now that he was healed. Martial arts training aside, it just wasn't the same as years of experience fighting for your life.

"Miserably, miserably fail." Dean said with a grin. "So guess you should try now, cause I already told her I know that Jack's a real boy after all." He said with a laugh. "About four days after I got here, I told her when she brought in lunch that if she really cared about my recovery, you two would keep it down."

Jack laughed at that. "She never told me a thing about that. Just to keep it down she didn't want anyone to know we were having sex in my room. As though people could have much doubt that we were going there after she tosses that whole I'm pregnant by tentacled aliens line at me."

"Dude, you blew that out of the water with your reaction. And man, it was classic. Wish I had a camera. Never seen someone so pale that was still alive." Dean said with a chuckle. "Then there was that whole can't form a complete sentence. Bro, if you ever do knock her up, it's going to kill you. I swear."

Jack blushed. "Yeah, that was ... pretty funny in retrospect. Nah, I will be ecstatic so long as I have a job that'll support us. Otherwise I will be happy, and worried as hell." He grinned. "Just a bit of a shock there. Just wait until some woman says 'Dean... I'm pregnant'." He told his brother. "Your brain will short circuit too. I promise you."

"Oh, they'd have to find me first." Dean said with an honest laugh. He wasn't sure most of the women he slept with knew his last name come to think of it. And up until now, he'd never stayed in any one area long enough for any pregnancy test to even come into the picture. "Think I'm safe from that."

"Yeah, well we'll see what happens, wont we?" Jack said getting to his feet. "I originally came out to tell you that you're welcome to join us for dinner if you want. Don't see much of you now that you've gotten settled into the studio."

Dean laughed. "Yeah, I know. Still fixing the place up." He said. Like putting actual walls in and things like that. "Yeah, I can do that. As long as the heat's not cranked up to 80. How did you grow up like that?" He asked, laughing. "Wait until he left and knock it back down?"

"Pretty much. Had a fan in my room, opened the windows in the winter." He laughed. "I got used to it, actually. It doesn't bother me so much anymore. He used to tell me that tigers live in much warmer climates than that. So I had to keep it warm for my tiger." He said with a laugh. "Guess Ben should be glad Mom didn't buy me a stuffed Siberian."

"That might have been the deal breaker." Dean said. "So what are we having for dinner?" He was good at multi tasking. Especially in his head. He could think of what to do next with the 58 Impala, what to do to the studio, and what to do about Sam. All at once.

"Kaylie made meatloaf." He said. "Ben brought home Corona, and I picked up an apple pie on the way home from work. Thank god it's my last day there." He said honestly. He loved playing games and had gotten the job in high school. It was well past time to move on.

"It's gotta rock having a guardian who owns a strip club and is never home after nine." Dean said with a laugh as he stood up. "Cause somehow I don't see Kaylie's mom," who he had met once, and who had been less than impressed with Dean until she got a flat tire, "letting you pretty much move in without actually moving in. Never mind the whole sex deal. Ooh, I can see her father with a shot gun now!" He teased.

Jack laughed. "And it wouldn't be to get me to marry her either. It would be or making sure I never touched her again." He shook his head. "They know it's going on... they have to... but they just don't want to admit it, I think."

"Nah, there's no fear of you not marrying her." Dean said. "Which is good. Someone's gotta break the curse I'm sure is hanging over the Winchester heads. Maybe you beat it by not having the last name? Who knows?"

"I don't know... don't think it has to do with the name... think it has to do with the line of work." He said as he opened the door to go inside. He wasn't sure how he felt about Dean getting back into the family business. Ben would flip, but at least it was an earth bound spirit not a demon or creature. Might make it easier for him to deal with. But Jack was worried that it was too soon for him to get back into it again.

"Dude, Dad was a regular Joe mechanic when my mom was killed." Dean said with a chuckle as he grabbed a beer out of the fridge.

"Then it's definitely the last name." Ben said as he sat at the table paying the bills. "Of course, I feel bad for everyone else out there with the last name of Winchester, seeing as it's not a unique, unheard of name. So great shot, you just cursed maybe thousands of innocent people."

"I hate bill paying day." Dean said with roll of his eyes.

Jack laughed. "Yeah, you would think he was a pauper or something as cranky as it makes him." He helped Kaylie bring the food to the table. "So don't even look at the thermostat tonight." He admonished with a grin.

"No, please. Touch the thermostat, I insist." Ben said, putting away the checkbook for the night. "It's actually been a while since I've killed anyone. Might even improve my mood."

"Yeah, until you have to clean it up." Kaylie said with a laugh as she sat down, now that the food was done.

"Fine. Jack, your brother gets to live for another day." Ben said, disappointed as Dean laughed.

+++++

Sam had taken over for one of the girl's family members early on in the process. Her leg had come free and just about taken the poor man's head off. Sam suspected that he was going to have a nasty case of whiplash. He held her leg down ignoring what she screamed at him, knowing it was just the demon talking. That it wasn't real. Well most of it wasn't, and what was, he couldn't afford to let matter.

They were in day three, Father Pavel's voice was hoarse, but strident as he recited the prayers above the girl's voice. Which had a strange timbre and tone to it, inhuman really. And saying vile things in various languages, but he kept going. What was coming out of her mouth wasn't important.

The room stunk of human waste and vomit, it was ice cold though the heat was on. All things he had warned Sam about. The demon was trying to make it as uncomfortable for them as possible. Assaulting every sense it could. Father Pavel felt like needles were piercing his skin, he could only imagine how Samuel felt. But there would be a time to worry about it, and it wasn't now.

Finally his voice rose to that of a thundering level, as he drove home the prayers, flicking holy water on her, red welts raising where it had hit bared skin, adding to the stench of the room burning flesh.

"In the name of the father, the son and the holy spirit," he said, making the sign of the cross, "I expel thee. With the power of the father, the son and the holy spirit, I expel thee." The girl spit at him, globs of phlegm sticking to his face. Father Pavel didn't wipe it off until he was done with that section of prayer. Then he calmly wiped it away with a tissue and threw the tissue aside. "Demon, you have no place here."

"You are failing, Priest." The demon taunted. "You have the enemy in your midst. You give me the means to hang on."

Sam flinched at that. He had wondered if that were the case, if he was the problem but he stood his ground anyway. He wouldn't let the priest down. This was his chance to earn his way back, even if he failed he had to try, and Winchesters didn't give up on anything easily. He clenched his teeth to keep from saying anything at all. He felt as though his entire body were on fire, and he wondered if it were the demon's doing and not the ritual itself. He had never felt this way during an exorcism before, not even when he had been the possessed one. Was this because of the power flowing from the priest? Was this what it would be like every time?

So be it.

"God forgives all that seek it." Father Pavel said serenely, but with force as he approached the bed, drawing the cross on the girl's forehead. "God is a forgiving god, our Father would like nothing more than to be reunited with all his children, if they will just come to him." He proceeded to draw the sign of the cross on every bit of exposed flesh, ignoring the screams. "The damned are damned because they choose to be damned. The repentant shall be granted entry into the kingdom of Heaven with open arms as the angels sing around them. God will welcome you home, even you Demon, if you just confess your sins and embrace the loving arms of the Holy Spirit." Then he backed away. "Or you can burn in the hell fires of damnation. But you will leave this body."

"Not until it draws its last breath. The girl is mine, and she will join me in hell when I go, Exorcist, and there is nothing you can do about it." The girl's face turned to look at Sam. "Pain is just pain, Samuel. It doesn't endear you to God to endure it. "

Sam's jaw clenched, but he said nothing. It was just talk. That's what he told himself anyway. He wouldn't believe that he was going through this for nothing. Wouldn't change his chosen path, but it gave him hope to think that God would see and know what it cost him. Maybe earn a little mercy when the time came.

"His son Jesus endured the pain of crucifixion so that we may find redemption." Father Pavel said. "So that we all may be saved, including the soul of this child." Then he took a breath and dove back into the ritual. He had no fear, from his first exorcism when he was a young man right through this current one, he started each ritual knowing it could so easily be his last.

The hours wore on, turning into yet another day, until every muscle in Sam's body burned and ached. The incense burned his lungs, and even though it didn't burn him, the occasional splash of holy water that touched his flesh stung. His fate had never felt more real than it did in that moment. It took effort to stay awake. The exhaustion coupled with pain was almost overwhelming. He was in awe of the priest as he continued, presenting himself with such power and authority that it didn't seem possible he had been fighting the demon for days.

On the fifth day, it ended. It ended with a whisper. "Mommy..." She whispered through cracked lips. The temperature in the room returned suddenly to normal. So vast a temperature change that sweat broke out under Father Pavel's collar. Most of the stench, the unholy part, dissipated. And the girl was frightened.

"Release her!" Father Pavel said, moving around the men and wrapping her in a blanket. "Someone go get her mother." Who could tend to the more personal needs of this child, like bathing. "My name is Father Pavel, and everything's going to be all right now."

Sam sighed in relief and backed away from the bed sinking to the floor, as one of the relatives went to get the girl's mother. The room seemed to spin around him and he leaned back against the wall, taking a long deep breath. Afraid to close his eyes for fear of falling asleep instantaneously. He had felt the difference, or at least he thought he had. In the past, he had always seen the demon boiling forth and fading into nothing. This was different. It was very different.

Father Pavel nodded to Sam, it was over. And returned to comforting the girl. "Shhh...everything is all right now, it is over. Your mother is coming, you will get cleaned, you will eat, and you will sleep." He said as he stroked her hair. Tomorrow would also be a visit with a counselor. The girl's mother came in, and Father Pavel released the girl, kissing her on the forehead as he stood up stiffly.

"I know you." She said suddenly, looking at the priest with wide eyes. "I was trapped in the dark, and you found me."

The priest nodded with a peaceful smile. "God be with you, child." He said softly as he relinquished her to her mother. "Samuel, I hear a hotel shower calling my name. Perhaps we should leave now?"

Sam nodded and pushed himself up to his feet, only to take two steps forward and collapse to the floor, unconscious. He had taken quite a beating over the last 5 days, Body and soul were worn and ragged and as much as he had wanted to make it out of the room and to the hotel before collapsing in an exhausted heap, his body just wasn't up to cooperating.

"Perhaps some help, gentlemen?" He asked. The family members had rotated in and out. They hadn't had to undergo what Father Pavel and Sam had. "We are booked at a local hotel. Some sleep, he will be as right as rain." He said. The men helped Father Pavel bring Sam to the hotel and put him on the bed. Father Pavel took off Sam's shoes and covered him up with the blankets, ordering room service food that would be fine hot or cold, whenever Sam woke up.

Then he ate half of it, took a shower, devoted himself to prayers, before crawling into his own bed. Some days he felt he was far too old for this life.

Jack got the spare key from the junk drawer in the kitchen and headed up the stairs to the studio Dean was living in over the garage. The Impala had been parked in the driveway for two days, but he hadn't seen Dean. He had figured the first day was understandable, time to recover, but now he was getting worried. He rapped on the door. "Dean?" He called out.

"What?" Dean called out. He was in the bathroom. He was still in the bathroom. He'd been in there since he'd gotten back. After pulling over several times. Because no way was he puking in his car. Not his baby! God he felt like shit. And if Jack thought he was getting off the bathroom floor, where he was hanging over the toilet, the kid had another thing coming. He even had bunched up towels for when he could rest. Which turned out to be a total of forty five minutes in the whole two days he'd been home. The only time he got off the floor was to get on the toilet right now.

Besides, the bathroom floor was nice and cold...

Jack unlocked the door and entered. "Man, what's wrong?" He asked as he opened the windows. The place was stuffy, and it definitely smelled like the flu in there, so the question was more rhetorical than anything else. "How long have you been sick?"

"Dude, I'm fine." Dean said before retching again. There wasn't anything in his stomach anymore, probably not even stomach acid. It was dry heaves, and dry heaves were the worst. "I don't know, since about day two into my extreme home make over of Hell House." He said and leaned his head against the toilet seat. Because that too was cold. He felt like he was back in Ben's living room, when Ben would get on his kick of having it near 100. Except cold at the same time. "I'm fine."

"Yeah, man, I can tell. Several days of puking your guts up... not fine." He said coming into the small bathroom and looking his brother over. Seriously not good. He got a wash cloth and wet it down handing it to him. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He knew better than to get him to move. He didn't think he could get him far from the toilet at this stage anyway. "Don't suppose you have anything like phenergan or compazine in you med kit?"

"Nope. Took it all." Dean said, wiping his face with the washcloth. "Even tried some of that ativan stuff, used to drug Sam to sleep sometimes after Jess died. He had nightmares." He said. "Supposed to help with the whole vomiting thing...no go." He put the washcloth down and draped his arms over the toilet. "Don't suppose you're going to get my gun and shoot me? Would be appreciated right now."

Jack was really worried now. "Dean... is it possible for the ghost to have made you sick somehow? Could that be why none of the meds have worked?" He really didn't like asking that question because it meant that it might be possible and he didn't know how to fight that.

"Possibly. I guess." Dean said, his voice echoing over the toilet bowl. "Never heard of it. Guess it could happen. Or I could just be sick. Oh god." He said and retched again. "So, gun?" He wasn't seriously suicidal, but dude, this sucked.

"No gun." He said and ran his hand through his hair. "I'm a lousy shot and I doubt you could lift it right now. Okay... I will go see if I can't come up with something to help with the nausea, but man... if we can't ... I gotta get you to a doctor cause dehydration is so not the way to go."

"Can't go to the doctor." Dean said, ever hyper vigilant about being arrested. "Unless you drive me way out of town, cause I can't exactly use an alias in this town. Could see him on the corner or whatever. Dude, I'm fine. It'll pass. This just sucks." And now he had to worry about it being a supernatural virus instead of a superhuman virus.

"Well if you haven't stopped in the next 24 hours or it gets worse I'll drive you into Oklahoma if I have to." Jack said and headed out the door. If the prescriptions weren't helping he would have to just work hard at getting something into him to bring up his fluids and make him as comfortable as possible. Maybe make him sleep for a while. He had a feeling he hadn't been able to keep the meds down long enough for them to work.

He headed back into the house and looked for Ben. "I think I am going to need a crash course in larceny." He told him.

"Excuse me?" Ben said, lowering the volume on the television. All these humans took it for granted. It still amazed him, the moving picture in the box. He was a sports addict now, especially in the box. Nearly beat live seats, because the camera would zoom in, and there were replays! "And here I was, sitting here under the impression that I had raised a good, upstanding, law abiding citizen." Hmm. Maybe he'd open a sports bar.

"Dean is sick, can't take him to a local doctor because of the alias problem, can't stop throwing up, can't keep down the meds to make him stop throwing up... he needs an IV for fluids and meds I can put in the IV but they don't just sell those somewhere that I can get them legitimately. So unless you want to fight with a surly puking Dean and take him somewhere they won't recognize him for medical treatment... I gotta get the stuff locally and do it myself."

Ben sighed. "You realize that there is an Alias marathon coming up, right?" Sometimes he got into moods where he would watch TV for hours. "He probably picked up an STD or something, I'm sure there's one that makes you projectile vomit. We should let him suffer, so he learns the error of his ways and at least starts using condoms." Ben didn't know, or care really, if Dean practiced safe sex or not. Or even if he had sex at all. But dammit there was an Alias marathon.

"Ben... they have Alias out in DVD now... I'll go and get you a season of it if you help me. Other wise you know you will have to come and bail me out of jail cause I suck at being a Winchester."

Ben rolled his eyes and reluctantly turned the television off. "I cannot believe I'm missing Jennifer Garner in latex and a push up bra so you can go steal medical supplies." He said as he shook his head. "I told you your brother was nothing but trouble. So, what? I sneak you into a supply room at a hospital and then we're done?"

"Yeah, shouldn't take long at all. Might be back before the next commercial break." He said hopefully. "So long as we don't get spotted... maybe it should be a hospital no where around here... " Just in case they were spotted and he could be recognized later on.

"Fine." Ben said and put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Michigan far enough away?" He said as they appeared in a utility room in some random hospital. Ben went to stand by the door, leaning against it. "So why are we being nice to him again? Before he left on this last adventure of his, I woke up with my air conditioning on."

"Because he is my brother, and I love him. " Jack said. "And you told me I could keep him." He took a deep breath "Okay... now on to find the supplies." He said reaching for the door then stopping and looking around for a box of plastic gloves "I can't believe I am doing this." He said as he pulled a pair on, knowing that he was going to be finger printed at some point in the process of getting his licenses. Too much access to controlled substances.

Ben sighed. "I'll distract the nurses." He said and left the room. Pretending to be a visitor of some random patient, who was luckily in a coma, and turning on the charm. He could be quite charming and personable when he wanted to be. Slipping the keys to the med box out of the pockets of one of them and passing them to Jack. Because one didn't live for five hundred or so years and have absolutely no experience with larceny.

Jack was freaking out the whole time he went about the process of lifting the saline, and then the medications. He wasn't a thief any more than he was a hunter. It was completely weirding him out that he had to do this, but he would in order to help his brother. He almost forgot the syringes and the IV kits as well, barely remembering as he reached for the door. He made sure things were tucked away securely in his jacket pockets, blissfully large, and slipped back out and slipped the keys back to Ben.

Ben slipped the keys back into the nurse's pocket and tied up his conversation as Jack walked past. Then made excuses and grabbed Jack's arm, taking him into the stairwell. "Okay, are we done being criminals now?" Ben said. "Because stealing really isn't that much fun without a completely hot sidekick in something completely inappropriate for the job at hand. And you're really not the sidekick I was looking for."

"Believe me I am so through." Jack said, not understanding how Dean could have made it through life with larceny as his primary form of support. It was an insane way to live. He was going to have nightmares about the police coming to arrest him, he was sure, but it would be worth it if it worked to patch Dean up. "So let's get home so you can get back to your Jennifer Garner fantasies and I can move on to practicing medicine without a license."

"You're spoiled." Ben said. "Completely inoculated to the miracle that is television." He shook his head and transported them back to the house and sat down on the couch. "Moving pictures with sound I can tape, stop, fast forward, rewind, pause. Slow motion. When I was your age, we used to watch people fight and joust and kill each other for fun. Throw really big sticks and stones. It could get messy for the audience. Look, I can watch Jennifer Garner blow up a building, and I don't have to pick anything up! It's fantastic!"

"Wow... that's not something you hear every day... enjoy." He said as he grabbed his text books and hurried back to his brother. "Hey, how ya doin'?" He asked.

Dean was curled up in the fetal position on the bathroom floor. "Super." He mumbled. "I think I'm better now. If I don't move."

"Well I am going to need you to come out of the bathroom. I have the things to set up an IV, but I need room to work. "

"Dude, did you not just hear the don't move part?" Dean said. "You're just as bad as Sam, and just as much a pain in my ass. Course he thinks he's evil. Are you evil too? Think I'd take two evil brothers over the flu."

"Yeah well, the jury is still out on the evil part. Ben thinks I am because I interrupted his Jennifer Garner fix. " He said rolling his eyes. "Okay. Straight up, I have never done this before and I would really rather do it somewhere less cramped. So in the interest of giving you two evil brothers and no flu, I am going to get you into your bed. If you puke on me I promise not to hit you until you can hit back." He said as he moved to pull his reluctant brother to his feet, even if he had to support 90 percent of the weight himself.

It was an upward struggle. Once he was standing, he was dizzy, which meant nauseous, which meant back on his knees over the toilet. Then over the sink. Then over a wastepaper basket. Then he finally flopped on his bed and barely resisted the urge to curl back into a ball. Because that would mean moving, and the walls were already spinning. Jack had a tenuous grip on him the entire time, Dean's skin was slick with sweat from his fever, and he swayed dangerously on his feet.

"Told you...I'd end up your practice dummy." He said.

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry in advance." He said as he prepared the IV kit and opened his text book. "Cause you are dehydrated, and I am inexperienced so ... this is going to be an adventure." He double checked everything that he had there and found something to hang the IV bag from, then settled into place to look for his brother's veins. Which were hiding. His only clues were the scars from previous IVs. Some still newer than he liked. Eventually he opted for Dean's hand, then undid the tourniquet for a moment to get things flowing again, then tied it back in place tightly. "Okay." He said a little shakily and took a deep breath and held it before attempting to place it in the vein in the back of Dean's hand. "I'm sorry." He repeated as he fished for it, then with a frustrated sigh, removed the needle and bent it. "We're going to have to try the other hand." He swallowed hard, hating that he had to do this to his brother. He would much rather take him to the hospital but that wasn't possible.

"Dude, take a deep breath. Relax." Dean said calmly, if a little out there. "Believe me, I've got veins, else I'd be dead right? And unless you're talking to dead people, I'm alive, so I've got veins." He waited until the tourniquet was tied around his other arm and started balling and relaxing his hand. "Doesn't even hurt." His stomach took care of that problem. And he was so hot on top of it. "Just take your time. And just think how you're going to majorly impress your teacher when you get to this part of the course."

Jack took a deep breath as instructed. Relaxing was something else entirely. "This must be the crash course in being a Winchester. This is my second criminal act in one day. I think this one gets a higher sentence... practicing without a license." He said as he slowly inserted the needle into Dean's arm and sighed in relief as it bled back. "Okay..." he breathed and started working, slowly on setting everything up. Triple checking if there were air bubbles, then checking once again before connecting everything together and once more before letting the liquid flow into his brother's veins. "Okay... I have an anti nausea med that I am going to start giving you. Once I check the dosage." He said as he looked that up. "I'm serious. This is serious jail time if I get caught so you better never tell Kaylie, she will kill me."

"What's that? Phenergan? Start me off at 12.5. Zofran? Give me the full eight. Ativan? One milligram should be good." Dean said. "Come on, Dad, you know that stuff. Must be getting slow in your old age." Dean joked weakly as he closed his eyes. His fever was sky high, and Jack sounded so much like John. "Don't start on the lecture, not now. I know what I gotta do, and I can't do it being lazy in the bed. Gotta find Sam. I mean, I found Jack. So one half is done. He's a good kid, probably better off he wasn't with us, he'd probably be as screwed up as us if he was."

Jack waited a heart beat before giving him the amount Dean indicated. It was insane that he knew that. "Just checking to see how far gone you are." Jack said, not wanting to freak out his delirious brother. Great... delirious. "But you aren't going anywhere until you are better. I'm not carrying you around the country side looking for Sam. He'll be fine for now." He could only imagine how John would be in this situation. He had heard the stories of his gruff and all business father. But he had seen the way the man had stood, for days watching out the window for his sons... his other sons. The sons that mattered.

"Dad, you're not dragging me anywhere." Dean said, sadly. "You're dead. You died because of me. Sam left because of me. Probably managed to fuck up Jack's life somehow, because of me. You should have let Maggie kill me when you had the chance, things would be a lot simpler now. I know they would be. You would be alive, maybe you could have saved Sammy. Maybe gotten up the guts to track down Jack yourself."

"Sam left because he couldn't sort out his ass from a hole in the ground. Thinks he is being tough when he is still a scared little boy." He said figuring out the dose for the anti-infective, just in case. "And if you weren't around do you really think he would have lasted as long as he has?" Jack asked, not really pretending to be John at this point, just not breaking the illusion either.

Dean laughed. "He got pushed over the edge because of me. I don't know how yet, but I'll figure it out. Just like I figured out that you made a deal with the yellow eyed bastard so I would wake up. I told him, Dad. I told Sammy what you told me, I promised I wouldn't, and I did. He needed to know. We should have known about Jack long before we did. You can be such a bastard sometimes. I don't understand anything. Sammy's the smart one, I'm just the...I don't even know what I am. I should get out of here before I ruin Jack's life, he seems to have a pretty good one."

"You are part of that life now, you stay put. Don't you give up and make these sacrifices for nothing." He didn't know how to respond to all of this. He just knew he couldn't let his brother get it in his head to leave. " I need you to stay."

"Jack...he can take care of himself. Even if he couldn't, he's got a fire breathing guardian demon." Dean said then chuckled. "Guardian demon, do you know how ridiculous that sounds? Cute girlfriend too. If she were a few years older..." He chuckled again. "But she's not so don't worry. No big rivalry over girls between us. But dammit, Dad, you put all this on me. It's been on me since I was ten years old. I didn't ask for any of this, you did this. Now I gotta give up?"

"It shouldn't have been put on you, and I am not asking you to give up, just get well first. You won't do Sammy any good passing out and puking up your guts." He sighed. "And there are more reasons to be needed than as a body guard, Dean."

"You're right, you're right." Dean said. He couldn't drive like this. He couldn't even open his eyes. "I'll fix it, Dad. I'll fix everything like you told me to. I'll watch out for Sammy, I'll look after Jack. Then, when they don't need me anymore, we can finish that poker game."

"They are always going to need you." Jack said and shook his head. He regretted every moment he ever spent wishing he had known his father. He didn't sound like someone he wanted to know. Ben had been his father. And a good one. It was time to put away childish delusion. He had seen love in the man's eyes when he had looked at the son's he had raised, he had seen his despair when they were lost in the darkness. He had never imagined the damage that would be done to them by the same man.

"Get Jack all settled down, get Sammy all settled down, I'll get to fade into the background." Dean said with a sigh. "It's all right, Dad. It's not what you imagined when you did what you did. I know. I know about that, I know...more than you think I do. And it's all right. I'm just so tired of all the balls in the air. I drop one, I might drop them all. And I dropped one. I'm sorry."

"It hasn't hit the ground yet, Dean. You haven't failed. And some things were never yours to control. You can't make Sam do anything he doesn't want to do. Hell, no one can make Sam do what he doesn't want to do. You have get better, and you have to make a life for yourself that doesn't revolve around your brothers. Involving them and revolving around them are two different things."

"I'm getting better." Dean said. "Jack's practicing on me...thinks he should take care of me or something. Gotta be an only child thing, cause damn, everyone else knows I'm the caretaker..."

Ben came in, he'd seen the episode currently playing, to check on Jack. And caught part of the conversation. "Maybe you should ice him down before his brain fries. Of course, we're talking Dean's brain, so we might not be able to notice the difference."

"Let's get him into the tub. " He laughed at that. "Yeah, and I just got him out of the bathroom." He shook his head. But cold water was better than ice. Especially since it was a more readily renewable resource. He picked up the IV bag "Dean... I know you are going to shoot me, but we gotta get you back into the bathroom. Ben is going to help us."

"Shoot? Where's my gun?" Dean said as Ben picked him up. Easily. Because, well, contrary to appearances, he wasn't human. "Oh dude, I'm gonna hurl."

"And I'll drop you." Ben said as he nodded for Jack to go as they walked. Then they started the cold water, faucet and shower, to a sputtering, bitching, threatening Dean's dismay.

"Yeah I know, man." He said "But you drink too much to waste brain cells to the fever. They're at a premium." He said as they kept him in the water. Didn't take that much effort, it was protecting the IV that was the hardest part.

"Didn't know drowning was part of the treatment..." Dean said before his head lolled back. Ben caught his head before the back of it whacked itself on the wall.

"Don't worry, it's normal." Ben said. "Plus, it means he'll be quiet for a while."

Father Pavel looked at Sam. The poor child was drained. Perhaps the Exorcist's Tour of the Delta wasn't such a good idea after all. Father Pavel on the other hand, he was fine. This was his life's work after all. He liked to think he was running on a mix between good old fashioned Russian stubbornness and God's will. A powerful combination if there ever was one.

"Child, if you need to sit this one out, you can. Not a one will think less of you." He said as he flipped through the medical file of the next case.

"No, I'm going along. Where are we going next?" He asked, getting himself another cola from the small refrigerator in their hotel room. This was very much like his life before. The change in companions was ironic but it was much as it had always been. Only now there was a great deal more pain, more exhaustion. But he would endure it if that was what it took to keep his soul grounded.

"A little town I can't pronounce." He said with a laugh. Because it had a Native American name, though it was pretty white bread these days. Just the combination of the letters was beyond his natively Slavic tongue. "You do not need to attend every exorcism." He said gently. "Even I've been known to turn down one or two for my own physical health."

"Not really sure I should take the time off." He didn't know how much time he had after all. He had allot of purging to do to even come close to undoing what he had done himself to his soul, much less the taint brought on by the demon.

"You can't do this for yourself." Father Pavel said patiently. "It has to be about the soul we're saving, and right now it's not your soul. Doing it for any other reason, it can countermine the whole thing."

"It's not that... not just that anyway." He said. He would have to be even less human than he was for it not to be partly about himself as it was. "I don't know. Guess I am just at odds and ends right now." It had been like that since he had left Texas much less Chicago. It was being without his brother that was tearing him apart inside. "I don't know... I could find something else to do I guess. I don't want to undermine the exorcism. " Maybe he could find another hunt...or... take a little trip on his own.

"Like perhaps study all the material I have provided for you?" Father Pavel suggested. "Catechism perhaps? The next exorcism? Church law and doctrine? Papal declarations?" Father Pavel was giving Sam a crash course on 2000 years of Church history.

Sam nodded. "I can do that." He said. He was a quick study after all, and a thought was forming in his mind on what else he could get up to while he was at it. It wouldn't take anything more than a blink of the eye to get to St. Louis or Baltimore after all, although he wasn't sure why that had come to mind all of a sudden.

"Good." Father Pavel said. "When I was first starting out, I had maybe two or three a year." Of course when he was starting out, there were many more exorcists. It lightened the load. Now there was just perhaps a handful remaining. The load was heavier now. And the rate of possessions was increasing.

"Storm is coming. There used to be just a handful of possessions a year that hunters would come across. Couple years ago when we started trying to fight the demon directly one of our friends knew of 27 in one year. And that's just the ones that he personally knew about. There were probably dozens more. It's preparing for a war, Father."

"Yes, it is." Father Pavel said, nodding gravely. "We've been slowly preparing for it since the first appearance of Our Lady of Fatima. Those of us that have been privy to the final prophecy of Our Lady have known. Not the kindly one released for the public, to discourage the conspiracy hounds."

"Prophesy? What prophesy is that?" He asked, with a slight frown. He didn't like the sound of that. Too many variables with prophesy... he knew a thing or two about visions. And prophesy was nothing more than a vision written down for posterity. How many nightmares were prophesy? How much prophesy was nothing but a nightmare that wouldn't leave?

"The three messages Our Lady gave to three little girls in Portugal in 1917." Father Pavel said. "The third was not released until 2000, but it wasn't the whole message, because there had already been such controversy and cries of conspiracy about it. Telling the masses that Our Lady, Virgin Mother of our Savior, was telling us to prepare for war, the end of times, is more than most people can handle. But she did. So we are. I should have retired long ago. And the priests nowadays, their heads are so full of modern babble and noise, they can't accept what is in front of their faces. God gives us miracles everyday, but they have trouble accepting the evil takes them away just the same. Fooled by the new Vatican, into thinking God is a benevolent creature who loves us all equally and will protect us always. Free will comes with a price, and that price is self preservation."

Sam nodded. He whole heartedly agreed with that assessment. "We have a lot of sheep out there, well meaning, basically good sheep, and very few guard dogs against the wolves." He had often felt as though it was him and his brother out there trying to save the world, when even the other hunters wouldn't see the reality of what was going on.

St. Louis... there it was again. "Father... have you ever had something nagging at you out of the blue... something you couldn't shake... "

"Many times." Father Pavel said. "Usually I follow up on it, or else it will eat at me until I do. What's nagging you, child?"

Sam explained the incidents with the law to the priest. The shape shifters, and Dean's predicament because of it. "It's like its come out of the blue, I have always known it was there but it's like... I don't know. I feel like I need to go and... fix it somehow."

"Then go fix it." Father Pavel said with a nod. "I can cope very easily with the rounds coming up. I've worked with this priest before. You should help your brother while you can. And God thinks you can now, or it wouldn't be on your mind."

"How can I be sure it's from God, and not the other one?" He asked. "All of my visions ... they seem to be about helping others but they have all been about sucking me in deeper into this trap." Sam said as he got up and got his jacket. He would do it no matter who it came from, but he still wanted to know.

"Because the demon would not want you to help your brother. Not after trying to kill him so many times." Father Pavel pointed out. "Because clearing your brother's name and allowing him to rejoin normal society is counteractive to all his plans, when you think about it."

Sam smiled then. Probably the first genuine smile the father had ever seen on the younger man's face. "You think you will be here long? Or should I pack up my gear too?" He asked. He didn't know if Dean would ever actually join normal society. He had never been a part of it in the first place, but who knew? It might work out with Sam no longer in his life. Genuinely out of his life anyway. And it wasn't going against his bargain. He wasn't in any direct communication with Dean about this. Hell, he wasn't in indirect communication.

"I anticipate being in this hotel for a week." Father Pavel said. "IF you have not returned by then, I will have your belongings packed, you have my cellular number to, how do the kids put it, 'catch up with' me." Father Pavel said. "It is all right."

Sam nodded. "Shouldn't take that long but... you never know." He said. "I'll see you when I am done." He told him as he exited the hotel room and entered the nearest shadow. Best to start where it had all begun to go downhill for Dean. St. Louis. He had to get into the police station, without being seen, or leaving evidence, and remove all evidence. Including computer records. That was going to be the tricky part.

It proved easier than he had thought it would. At least the physical evidence. A few dozen boxes of files and supposed physical evidence dumped into the shadows. The computers ... that took time. There was a lot of phasing in and out and hoping that no one came to the room where he had found the available terminal. One thing for sure, he never would have been able to pull it off in his normal state.

He settled in at the computer and pulled up Dean's name, and with a little finagling was able to get a list of all the files on Dean in the system... on all the police systems. They shared apparently and when Diana had been investigating him for murder, she and St. Louis had started the process of gathering all the information on him. He had a lot more places to go to make this complete. It took a little to sort out the main computer's directory and delete all the information on Dean found within.

"Okay... next." He said before heading to Baltimore to do the same.

Diana Ballard was coming into the evidence room to look up evidence on another case. Completely unrelated to Dean Winchester and his brother. But she saw Sam there and nearly screamed. "Sam!" She said in hushed whisper as she moved against the door, to stop anyone else from coming in. Because she owed Sam. "What are you doing here? In the evidence room? How'd you get here?"

"How isn't really something you want to know... As for what... I'm putting a few things to rest. But it looks like it's already been taken care of." He said indicating the missing files. This was not something he had anticipated.

"Well, your brother was cleared of everything on our end, so we moved it to the solved cases." Diana said, watching Sam. "Just the mention that he was initially a suspect, and then was cleared by...Pete's...confession." Still a difficult topic for her. "Where is Dean?" She asked. Those two were a pair. "Do I have to save some innocent secretary from him?" She said with a weak smile.

"No. Dean isn't here. We aren't traveling together anymore." He said honestly. "So there is nothing here to really incriminate Dean of anything other than... escaping..." he asked. "Tell me that won't come back to haunt him if someone is looking for a reason."

"He escaped? I don't remember that." Diana said with an innocent, wide eyed expression. "I can't recall a Dean Winchester at all. I remember my partner confessing to the murder of three people, and then I remember shooting him...must be that post traumatic stress disorder. I have no idea what you're talking about."

Sam grinned then. "Thank you. So... you want some coffee or... harmless innocent friendly dinner?" He wasn't into women his father's age, no matter how cute or helpful. Not to mention women with him usually wound up dead.

Diana chuckled. "Sure. There's a diner down the road, McGovern's. Meet me there. Because I don't want to know how you got in here without anyone seeing you." She said. "Give me fifteen minutes." She said and grabbed the case file she needed and left.

Sam took a few deep breaths, and turned out the light, then slid through the darkness to the diner. "Using that can't be good... no sir... can't be good at all." He waited for his stomach to settle down then headed into the restaurant and got a table for two.

Diana joined him a few minutes later and put in their order for coffee. "So...Sam. Never thought I'd see either of you boys again. I've kept track of Dean, well, his wanted profile. No new charges at least. Staying off the radar, that's good." She said.

"Since Milwaukee anyway." He said with a laugh. "Just trying to make sure that if he gets back on the radar he isn't executed for it." Sam said as he took a drink of the coffee he had ordered previously.

"I saw that on the news. Nearly put a dent in my forehead when I slapped myself. The whole 'what are those two boys thinking?' sort of thing." Diana said with a laugh. "Was an intense manhunt out for you two for a while there. It's still there, but it's died down. Not as newsworthy anymore or something."

Sam explained how that one had gone down. "Oh the fed is still out there looking. He's a pit bull that one. Doesn't give up. I think I know why. He has a little birdie trying to give him information to save himself. But we...I… will have to sort out how to deal with that later on I guess. A little harder to deal with than files and computer records. So how are things going for you? You doing okay?"

"I'm good." Diana said. "I'm still with homicide. I was on leave for six months, but I was cleared. They called it a good shoot. I'm just...living life I guess. One day to the next, take it any more than that and it gets confusing." Something should bother her about this, that Sam and Dean weren't coming as Sam and Dean. No sign of Dean, and Sam was evasive about it.

"Can I ask a favor? If it's over stepping, that's okay and I'll... sort out a way to take care of it. And no it isn't why I asked you to coffee. Really wanted to find out how you are doing. We left you in a pretty rough situation. But I was wondering if you could scour references to Dean from the solved case files. " It was a lot to ask. He didn't want to do it but it would be easier if she were to do it.

"You want me to alter official case files?" Diana asked, nearly amused, then grinned. "Well, I guess I could. Wouldn't want the files to contradict my unfortunate memory lapses." She said. "The confession tape, I don't know. It was pretty out there," though she now knew the truth, "some of the rookies play it for shits and giggles. Usually they're drunk though, and they're not supposed to watch it anyway."

"If it's taken out that much, should be easy to make it disappear with out too many questions " He said with a chuckle as he shook his head. Dean was something else when he got in a mood that was for certain. Pressure from authority tended to bring out his sarcasm in spades.

"True. So it'll disappear by tonight." Diana said. "Sam...what's going on? You forget I'm a detective. I even like to think I'm good at my job."

"Dean was hurt not too long ago... " Sam sighed. "Kidnapped and tortured because of me. He couldn't even stay in a hospital long enough to completely recover because of the warrants out for his arrest. I can't let that happen again. "

It made sense to Diana. Dean was recovering some place where he couldn't be arrested. And it probably should have been a hospital. "I'm sorry." She said about Dean's ordeal. "I'll take care of everything on my end. There will be no record of Dean Winchester in our system at least."

"Thank you." Sam said sincerely. "I can deal with the rest. St. Louis is already taken care of." He told her. "Ahm... keeping my distance from Dean for a while... making sure he stays safe that way. This just... seemed like the only way to make up for a little of it."

"And I was sleeping better at night knowing you boys were out there somewhere." Diana said, just as honestly.

"Oh, neither of us have given up the family business. I'm just a little more specialized these days. Dean is hanging out with our younger brother right now while he recovers completely. Or I hope he is recovering completely."

"I'm sure he is. If there are restraints and threats involved." Diana said with a laugh. She was sure this was just a temporary separation between the two of them. Or else the world might not make sense. Those two...once she got back to the station house, she was moved to call her own brother.

Sam continued on his quest, succeeding even in Langley, before going back to the hotel room to await the priest, and perhaps get a little rest. The nagging sensation had ceased the moment he had destroyed the last file on his brother. Whatever he had been meant to accomplish with it, had been accomplished. He thought of letting Bobby know what he had done but then Dean would get careless again. Better to save that information until it was needed.

The demon appeared in the room, no more substantial than a puff of smoke but taking on human form anyway. "You really do have a way of screwing yourselves over, you Winchesters. Then again, maybe it was some latent desire to see me flay your brother alive."

"Screw yourself. I didn't break our deal." Sam said eyeing the demon warily.

"I hate to disagree, but well... here you are having just cleared your brother's name. Focusing on Dean... looking back. "

"No... you said that I had to leave Dean behind. I have. I haven't made any sort of contact with Dean at all. Letter of the law." Sam said hoping the logic worked because otherwise he had cleared Dean's name for nothing more than a legit head stone.

"Do not play games with me, boy." He raged, and Sam was flung upwards, pinned to the ceiling. "I can make a hundred more like you in the blink of an eye."

"Guess that means I was right then." Sam said, gasping for breath against the force holding him firmly in place. Not sure if he wanted the demon to kill him and get it over with or not. He had just found hope again.

The demon dropped Sam, watching him hit the floor. "Watch yourself." He warned. "You think you want me to kill you, but if I do you will have company on your way to hell. Think of that the next time you push me."

"I'm not a demon yet. Still have my free will, remember?" Sam said when he was able to speak again. "Until I cross over I can do as I will, so long as I don't go to see my brother. You are closer to breaking our deal than I am... " he pushed himself up on shaking limbs. "And you don't have the power to condemn anyone to hell."

"I don't have to. Your god does that for me." The demon said with a snarky smirk. "Think of that with each passing exorcism, as they become more and more painful. It's not the loving hand of God you're feeling, it's His wrath."

"And I deserve it." He said. "I made a deal with a demon." He shrugged as he made his way to the bathroom to wash his face. "It's getting late. I'm going to bed. Don't forget to lock the door on your way out." He said. Dean wasn't the only Winchester with the gift of sarcasm. It was a survival skill as much as shooting and ritual latin.

"He needs to be in a hospital." Ben argued. Again. Dean's fever would break, only to come back. Packing him in ice hadn't helped. And Jack was having trouble finding another IV site on his brother. Then Dean developed a cough that rattled his chest. But that wasn't the worst.

The worst was the seizure brought on by the fever. Which only made Ben try to talk some sense into Jack more. After helping to hold Dean down so he didn't hurt himself, he looked at Jack. "Either you consent to me bringing him to the hospital," since this was Jack's brother, "or I'm calling an ambulance."