Two Hunters and a Baby.

Disclaimer: Sigh no matter how hard I try I just don't own anything to do with Supernatural or the characters of the show. Although anything that comes from my fevered imagination is ... kind of ... that's my excuse anyway!

CHAPTER 22

Beside him, Sam sat staring at his brother disbelievingly, still unsure of exactly what happened in the last few minutes, but one thing for sure the man next to him may look like his brother, but it wasn't Dean in there.

Dean pulled his gun out and held it aimed at Sam, before reaching over to yank the gag out of his mouth, 'where is my daughter?'

'Who are you and what have you done with my brother?'

'Wrong answer,' Dean snapped punching Sam viciously, 'where is my daughter?'

Sam spat out a ball of phlegm and blood and glared at Dean, 'go fuck yourself.'

Dean cocked the gun and took aim at Sam, his face a mask of hatred and rage, 'where is she Sam?'

'Somewhere safe where the demon can't get her and neither can you,' Sam snapped, turning his face away from Dean. 'Do what you want to me I am not going to tell you.'

Dean growled low and guttural his finger hovered over the trigger as he fought to control his tumultuous thoughts, he knew he couldn't kill Sam without finding out where Isabelle is, or the Master would punish him for eternity.

Slamming his fist into Sam's exposed side several times he felt better when he heard the grunts of pain coming from his victim and when he slid unconsciously against the car door.

A cold smile on his face as Dean realised that there was one other way of finding Isabelle if Sam wasn't going to help him. Azuraus.

Putting the car into gear Dean span the tyres, kicked up the gravel and took off leaving black scorch marks on the road and a cloud of smoke. He sped down the highway and waited for Sam to regain consciousness his fun was just beginning.

'Dean?' Sam whispered choking on a mouthful of blood and bile, 'Dean where are you?'

The hoarse whispers made their way to Dean's sensitive hearing at first he smirked at the sound of Sam's obvious misery but then the smirk faded and he felt the cloying fingers of confusion start to set in again.

'Good to see you awake Sam,' Dean said as he visibly shook himself and once again took on the cold and unfeeling persona he had before.

'What's going on Dean?' Sam turned his head to look at Dean, his expressive eyes filled with pleading, 'talk to me please.'

'Nothing to talk about Sam, all you have to say is where you have hidden my daughter. She is my daughter Sam not yours.'

'And if you were my brother Dean then I would take you to her in a heartbeat but I have no idea who you are.'

That comment made Dean hiss, skidding to a stop he pulled over on the side of the road and then climb out of the car, seconds later he yanked the passenger door open and dragged Sam out of the car, 'where is she?' he growled dropping Sam onto the ground.

'Go to hell.' Sam ground out, as his breath was forced from his lungs on impact.

'Wrong answer,' Dean snapped kicking Sam's side, 'where is Isabelle?'

'Safe and far from you.'

'Wrong answer,' Dean said again this time he hooked his foot under Sam, making him roll a few times before sliding to a stop against a tree, 'I can do this another way Sam.'

'How?'

'Azuraus.' Dean said with a malicious grin and cold eyes. 'I can summon her to bring Isabelle to me.'

'Don't please, Dean if you are in there please listen to me.' Sam begged but the only answer he received was another beating. Wearily he pulled his knees up to protect himself as best he could from the abuse dealt by his beloved big brother. 'Dean please help me.' Sam finally wept brokenly. 'It's me ... it's your Sammy.'

Dean faltered in mid-punch, he stared down at his bleeding victim confusion reigning in his foggy mind, the blood lust so strong and calling for vengeance against his daughter's kidnapper but when he saw those eyes,' Sammy?' he whispered, 'Sammy?' Dean blinked furiously as his body seemed to fold in on itself, dropping lifelessly to the ground.

'Azuraus, I need you now,' Sam called with his mind as he fought off the encroaching tendrils of unconsciousness. 'Help me.'

Azuraus sparkled into view next to Sam; a cry of shock came from her when she saw his beaten and bloodied body and face, 'Sam what happened?'

'Dean,' Sam whispered, 'check Dean?'

'He's barely breathing Sam, what happened to you?'

'Dean, he – he, the demon did something to him.'

'Dean did this to you?' Azuraus cried out as she realised what happened between the brothers, her corporeal form fading in front of Sam.

'Damn it Az don't do that now, we have to get Dean help before it's too late.'

'Sam look what he did to you.'

'It wasn't Dean it was something else, please Az can you get us back inside the car and to a motel?'

'Yeah, I have had plenty of rest,' Az shrugged as she held her hands out over the two brothers and concentrated for a second, and then once they were safe in their car she took them to a small cabin nestled deep in a dense forest area.

'Where are we?' Sam asked his voice slurred and feint.

'Somewhere safe Sam,' Az said as she settled him onto one of the beds before she disappeared only to reappear with Dean still unconscious he slumped onto the bed, where she used the plastic ties to fasten his wrists behind him instead of Sam.

Gently she cleaned the dried blood from Sam's face, oohing at the depth of some of the cuts and the intense colouring of the still forming bruises. 'How could he do this to you?'

'I'm not sure what happened, but the demon did this Az, not Dean.' Sam answered stubbornly, refusing to believe that his brother could act like that towards him, to act so hatefully and viciously in the way he dealt out the beating.

'Yeah well, I'm not gonna trust him just yet,' Az pouted as she finished bandaging Sam's broken ribs, strapping the elastic bandage tightly around him. 'Sure you don't want me to heal you?'

'Thanks Az, but this is fine, we can't have you laid out for too long,' Sam smiled gently at the spirit guide, 'anyway if Dean sees this then maybe he'll ...'

'be sorry and promise that he'll never do it again?' Az finished for him bitterly, 'Sam the demon got to him.'

'I know Az, but ... I can't abandon him, he's my brother, my best friend and my family Az, him and Issy and you. I can't lose any of you and I can't lose Dean.'

Dean murmured and tried to move, waking up with a fright when he found that he couldn't move his arms, 'where? What?'

'Dean?' Sam whispered with Azuraus' help he managed to sit up, wincing with the movement pulling on his abused body.

'Sam?' Dean blinked, his stomach roiled mutinously, 'what ... I ah shit I'm gonna hurl.'

'Az please help him,' Sam whispered, 'it's okay just help him.'

Azuraus glared down at Dean but did as Sam asked, touching the plastic ties, they fell from his wrists, and then she helped him into the bathroom. Sinking to his knees Dean gagged and then vomited violently. Tears fell down his face as another painful purging pain gripped his stomach and he heaved the remnants of his breakfast into the toilet, weakly he sat leaning against the cold tiles of the bathroom wall and wiped his mouth with scraps of toilet paper.

The room span around him dizzily as he tried to make sense of his jumbled thoughts, 'Sam saved me... I was going to kill my brother.' Shame and guilt filled Dean as his stomach lurched into his throat again and he spat out tiny amounts of bile, 'fuck I tried to kill Sammy.' The thoughts kept screaming at him through the fogginess of his mind.

Physically and emotionally spent Dean dragged himself into the shower cubicle and stood under the needles of hot water cascading over him, his tears of shame mingling with the water, he stared at his bruised and split knuckles in horror. The stark reminder of abusing his brother, something he vowed that he would never do. He could remember the night when Sam was only six and Dean ten, their Dad came home in a rage, the hunt went bad, and the nasties got away, instead of going straight home John detoured via the bar down the road from their temporary apartment. Drunk and still furious he took it out on his innocent sons, Sammy receiving the brunt of it when he wouldn't stop crying, Dean tried to push his scrawny little frame in between his father's fists and Sammy's fragile frame. The beating finished as quickly as it started when John passed out in the boy's room.

The following morning he came too, confused to find himself lying on the floor of the kid's room, his knuckles bloody and split, blood spattered on himself and the carpet. With a sick heart, he lurched into the living room, searching for Dean and Sam, and then he headed towards his bedroom when he heard soft whimpers. The sight of his two small sons clutching each other in his bed broke his heart. Both covered in angry red welts, bruises and cuts, Dean's left eye was completely swollen shut and Sam's lips were split and swelling.

They stared at him with wide terrified eyes and all he could do was drop to his knees sobbing and begging their forgiveness. Dean blinked and tried to shake that image of John from his mind, he had just done the same thing to Sam as what John did to them so long ago.

When the water ran cold, Dean staggered from the shower and dried himself quickly, wrapping his towel around his waist, he slowly made his way to the door bracing himself to face Sam.

'You okay Dean?' Sam asked from the dark depths of the cabin.

'Think so, just need a new body that's all,' Dean managed a lop-sided grin and with the aid of various bits of furniture made his way over to the beds, he sank down on the empty one, trying to avoid looking at Sam.

'Dean?' Sam asked his voice low and almost hesitant.

'It's me Sam.' Dean answered the unasked question, 'ah fuck Sam did I?' Dean choked out lifting his head up he stared at Sam with clear eyes, 'Sam I ...'

'It's okay Dean really, I know it wasn't you.'

'But it was me Sam, I wasn't possessed or anything.' Dean protested not willing to give up his guilt just yet.

'You may not have been possessed Dean but he did something to you, you would never have threatened to kill me or ... or did this if you weren't under his influence.'

'Still Sammy it doesn't take away from the fact that I did do it,' Dean gave a bitter laugh, 'hell I even have the skun knuckles to prove it.'

'Do you remember what happened?' Sam asked paling and wincing as he tried to move and get into a more comfortable position.

Dean felt his heart tighten even more while he watched Sam squirm and try to sit up, 'want me to help?' he offered without moving.

'Since when do you need to ask?'

'Since I beat the crap outta you and that I still might.' Dean answered honestly.

'So you were going to tell me what happened.' Sam prompted not wanting to go on with the direction their conversation started to take again.

'Cornase must have done a number on me with drugs and Merci ...' Dean frowned and ran his hand through his still damp hair absently, 'all I could hear was this voice, but it was just a dream. Just a dream.'

''What voice Dean?'

'Telling me things.' Dean glanced around the room, 'where's Azuraus?'

'I sent her back to Isabelle.' Sam said simply watching Dean's face carefully.

'Oh – okay umm the voice kept telling me that...' Dean frowned and tried to recall the distant voice, 'you kidnapped Isabelle, you're my enemy, you hate me, and you took my daughter.' Dean blinked and glared at Sam, 'where is she?'

'Dean, Dean, dude breath and relax okay,' Sam said as calmly as he could muster, 'focus Dean it was the voice lying to you that's all.'

'You kidnapped Issy.' Dean snarled.

'Dean!' Sam yelled, 'come on dude it was just the voice, you're safe now.'

'Where is she?'

'Dean, listen to me, the demon got to you, he drugged and brainwashed you by the sound of it.'

'Cornase is my Master.' Dean muttered and then shook his head, 'no – no he's not.' He started to punch the side of his head, 'get outta my head.'

'Dean listen to me, just listen to my voice.' Sam tried to sit up but his aching body protested too much and he slumped back against the pillows.

Dean giggled and watched his brother discomfort, 'oh poor baby does it hurt?' he mocked; standing up Dean stepped closer to Sam's bed and stood over him menacingly.

'Dean, dude snap out of it,' Sam cried out his eyes wide with fear once more.

With a roar, Dean raised his fist and slammed it into Sam's stomach, 'where is my daughter?'

'Dean please, no more,' Sam wheezed breathlessly, 'please Dean look at me, it's me – it's Sammy.'

Dean pulled his fist back and stood shaking violently next to the bed, watching Sam's eyes roll backwards and his head loll to the side, sinking to the floor, Dean pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, the shock starting to hit him, he just hit Sammy again.

TBC