Agony

Chapter Five

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Supernatural, and I'm not making any money from this fic. Any characters you don't recognise from the show, I probably own. Anything you recognise from another fandom, I don't own

Warning(s): Strong violence; some swearing; spoilers for the entirety of season one; character torture; automatic AU for any episode following season one

Author's Note: Thank you so much to everyone who's left a review for this fic so far . I have responded personally to any signed reviews. But if anyone leaves an anonymous review, it would be great if they could also leave an e-mail address so that I can say thanks/respond to any questions or constructive criticism.

Enjoy!

"What are you talking about, Sammy?" Dean narrowed his eyes, watching his brother closely with a look that somehow reminded Sam of a predatory bird studying a field mouse.

Sam returned his gaze to Dean, frowning a little. "Did you hear that…?" he asked, trying to forget the cruel words his brother had said to him. It sounded like Dean… But is that even possible…? Sam frowned, and looked more closely at Dean, remembering how the demon had left their dad's body. Is it possible? Could Dean be… possessed? The thought was scary, but it would certainly explain a lot.

"Hear what, Sam?" Dean narrowed his eyes. "Are you hearing voices now as well as having visions?"

If Dean is possessed, then I can't let the demon know that I suspect, Sam thought. And I have to assume that the 'normal' things to do with exorcising demons don't count here. As long as he could hide the pain that the demon's words were causing him, Sam could deal with saving his brother.

He didn't want to have to deal with the possibility that Dean wasn't possessed just yet.

"I must have been imagining things," Sam said. "I didn't hear anything." He stood up. "I'm going out to the shops. Want me to get you anything? You know, anything that's easy and inexpensive."

"A cappuccino and a doughnut would be great," Dean replied. "And get a local newspaper while you're out. We need to look into any jobs while we're here."

Sam hesitated, suddenly no longer as certain about Dean being possessed. If I said about it to him, he could just laugh and deny it. But Sam wasn't as certain about that, so he wasn't going to say anything, just in case.

It would be better if he could talk to Missouri first.

Still, Sam wasn't about to let Dean go on a job, even if he wasn't possessed. "I'll get you a newspaper," he told his brother. "But we're not going to take on a job just yet. You're still not recovered from whatever that demon did to you. I think I should actually take you to the hospital, though."

Dean shook his head, frowning slightly. "I'm not going to the hospital, Sam. There's no need. I'm fine. And I want to get out and about again, rather than be stuck here in this room with you for too long."

Sam bit his lip slightly, trying hard not to let that get to him. I need to just hold on, until I can find out whether or not he is possessed… and then I can do something about it. "Well… let's just see, all right? There might not be anything going on here. And you need to rest up as much as possible before we look at trying to find that demon."

"Not gonna happen, Sammy. Although I appreciate the concern."

Sam took a good look at his brother, and had to admit that Dean did look a bit better – although he was still rather pale and a bit too thin. It reminds me of when he was in hospital after having that electric shock that damaged his heart… It had happened a while ago, but Sam still couldn't get rid of the fear that his brother could die before he was supposed to.

Even though it was always a possibility with what they did…

"Well, whatever," Sam answered. "Let's just wait and see, all right?" He had no intention of letting Dean go on a hunt – but there was no need to actually tell his brother that. If all else failed, he could always drug Dean.

Or try to, anyway.

"Well, then," Dean said. "Go, all right? I'm hungry, and I need caffeine."

Sam nodded. "The queues might be really long, so I could be a while," he responded as he turned to leave the room, reaching into his pocket to close his fingers around his cell phone as he did so.

He didn't take it out just then, though.

"Of course," Dean replied, barely glancing at his brother.

Sam hesitated a moment longer, but then turned to leave the room without saying anything further.

Dean watched his little brother leave, feeling suddenly hopeless. He had no way of knowing if Sam was suspicious or not, but he knew that – even if Sam did suspect – his brother wouldn't let the demon know he did.

But you're intelligent enough to know… Please realise the truth, Sammy, Dean silently begged – which was unlike him.

But he was starting to get desperate…

Even if your brother does realise, it'll be too late for him to do anything about it, the demon told Dean.

Dean was going to make a reply to that, but he suddenly became aware of the fact that the demon was moving his body off the bed. Where are you going? Dean demanded. You know, if Sam gets back to find us gone, he's gonna get suspicious – if he isn't already. Actually, that wouldn't be too much of a problem.

He won't get suspicious, the demon answered as it walked Dean over to the door of the hotel room. I have a couple of calls to make – but you'll be back before little Sammy returns, don't worry.

Dean frowned to himself, wondering just what the demon was planning as it made its way out of the hotel room.

And how he could stop it…