Chapter 12

Bobby tried his best to keep speed with the madman driving the black beast in front of him, but his old pickup as no match for the monster engine housed under that black hood. As the miles went by faster and faster, the distance between them got wider and wider, until he could no see even the glow of tail lights in front of him anymore. It didn't really matter, he knew the way to Nebraska, and he'd have no problem finding them when he finally go there.

He replayed each one of the events over and over in his head, trying to sort them out and make some sense of them. She was powerful, of that Bobby was sure, but what did she want with Sam? What did any of them want with Sam, for that matter. After seeing what had happened, he was beginning to wonder if Sam had been her intended target, or had she really wanted Dean all along. She worked so hard at breaking him down, crushing his soul and stepping on the pieces, and emotionally crippling him. He'd agreed to take his father's place in hell, and she'd almost exploded at the sheer joy that emanated from her when he did so. Now, it seemed, she had him, and if she did, he didn't know if there was any way of getting him back.

He also couldn't understand why, if she wanted him in exchange for John, why she'd sent Dean back, or at least his body, anyway. More fears surfaced at that thought. He'd never seen Dean so limp and lifeless before. John came back, and it didn't take him long to be ready and raring to go, but Dean, he had no life. None. He'd gotten pretty close to the boys in the last few months, and he couldn't stand to see nay of them this way.

The more Bobby wracked his brain, the less he was paying attention to his driving. He'd failed to notice that he was almost out of gas. He knew he'd need to find somewhere soon, or he'd never make it to Nebraska, and he needed to make it there desperately. Thankfully, he wasn't in the middle of nowhere, not yet anyway. Another twenty miles and he knew he'd hit something.

He pulled into the first station he saw, rolling up to the pump as the engine was ready to die.

"Guess it's my lucky day," he snorted, climbing out to fill 'er up.

With the tank now full, he climbed back inside to continue on his trek, feeling sick inside that yet another story in the life of the Winchesters wouldn't have a happy ending. Back in his seat, he started up the engine, thankful to hear it roar to life. He was back on the road, lost in his own thoughts again. So lost in thought, he didn't notice the woman sitting in the truck next to him, until she spoke.

"Hello Bobby."

Once the initial shock wore off, Bobby mentally thanked whatever god there was for not putting any trees on either side of the road he currently traveled, because he knew if there had been, the second she spoke to him, he would have hit one head on. There she was, sitting right next to him in his truck, smiling like the early bird with the worm. He was speechless.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue? I'm sure you have a few choice words for me rolling around in that crazy old head of yours."

Anger flooding over him, Bobby slammed on the brakes, sending her hard into the dash. He grabbed her by the throat, shoving her against the door, not caring that she would probably kill him on the spot. With the truck stopped, he took a moment to compose himself, choosing his words carefully before he spoke.

"What do you want with me, I'm not a Winchester? Haven't you had enough fun for one night, anyway?"

"What I want from you is a lift to Nebraska. Seems I have some unfinished business there. Then I'll be on my way, and out of everyone's hair."

"You want me to take you to Nebraska? I'm not taking you to Nebraska or anywhere else, except maybe back to hell, where you belong."

"Now, we both know that's not going to happen, Bobby. I worked too hard to get out of hell to go back now. Just hear me out, I think you'll change have a change of heart. You drive, while I entertain you with a fascinating story, and we'll see how you feel then. Besides, I am probably the only one that can help."

As Bobby drove, he listened intently to every word she said.

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The steady rise and fall of Dean's chest as he took in breath was the only sight for their sore eyes. The rest was not as pleasant. The burnt, raw skin on his face and neck now sported small blisters, scattered here and there. The needle pricks that had covered his chest were their own, separate, angry shade of red. At least the thin sheen of sweat across his brow indicated he'd started retaining some fluids.

"We'll be moving him upstairs in a few minutes. I'd like to keep him here at least until that fever breaks. Hopefully not more then a day or two. You must have a million questions for him, because I know I do. I'm looking forward to talking to him," Dr. Garfield turned, and left them alone.

"Yeah, so are we," John couldn't help let slip out.

Sam couldn't stop the one, lonely tear that trickled down his face at the sight before him. He'd gently lifted a lid, wanting to see his brother's eyes. He needed to see the sparkle that indicated Dean was still there. That wasn't what he saw. What he saw was cold, almost dead, unseeing eyes stare back at him. John saw it too. He put a firm hand on Sam's shoulder, hoping to comfort him, but all it succeeded in doing was crushing what little control he had over himself. He dropped into the chair next to him, face in his hands, and cried. He knew if his brother saw him, he'd never hear the end of it, but he didn't care. In fact, he wished his brother would see it. He'd gladly take that ribbing for the rest of his life if he had to.

Sam forcibly pulled himself together when the orderlies showed up, intent on wheeling Dean away to yet another god awful hospital room. He was sick of hospitals, almost as much as Dean was. They'd mindlessly followed when they were indicated to, into the elevator, and up two floors. Silently trailing behind, they'd watched the men settle Dean in for the duration of his stay, however long that may be.

Finally alone again, they both pulled up a chair, and did the only thing they could do. Wait. Minutes seemed like hours, hours seemed like days. The sun was up and in full force, brightly flooding the room with it's sparkling cheer. Sam wanted none of it, and closed the shades and turned off the lights, making the room as dark as possible. He hadn't really slept in what felt like days, and topping that with the headache that currently had a firm hold on his brain, the damn bright light was just too much to take. It was also making his mood pretty foul, and that didn't help when John finally decided to talk to him.

"Sam, I know you don't want to hear this, but we need to prepare for what might be coming."

"And what would that be, Dad? That his body is alive, but he's dead inside? How do you expect me to prepare for that? As long as he's breathing, there has to be something we can do."

Looking at his brother, then his father, he was struck with more déjà vu, remembering the last time they were in this situation too. Thinking about what his father had done that time only seemed to anger him more. It was like the last several months never happened, and they were right back where they started from, only this time with even fewer options then before.

"I don't know if there is anything we can do. If she's got him in hell with her, he's there to stay, son. Nothing we do can bring him back from that."

"You just want to give up? You just want to let him die? I can't do that Dad. You don't know what it was like when you died. He was so hurt, and angry, and it tore him up inside. He blamed himself for everything. And on top of that, you lay this big secret on him, telling him he may have to kill me. What the hell was that? Do you really think he'd be able to do it? How dare you lay something like that on him, then do what you did."

"I did it for him Sam. I couldn't think of any other way."

"Did you even try? There had to be other options, but you didn't even look. There had to be a better way."

"Don't you think I wracked my brain for any another way? Do you think I would have done that if I had any hope at all? I couldn't let your brother die Sam, I would have done anything to save him."

"Yeah, well, what are you gonna do now? What's gonna save him this time?"

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Bobby pulled into the ER parking lot, spotting the Impala in a matter of minutes. He thanked god yet again, and found a spot to park. As he walked at a rather hurried pace inside, he realized he had no idea what name they'd have given this time. Sure as hell wasn't Winchester, that he knew for a fact. He pulled out his phone, dialing Sam's number. Straight to voicemail, no big surprise. He headed for the desk, trying to figure out how he was going to get the information he needed without sounding like some crazy man.

"Can I help you, sir?" A cute, young nurse looked at him with her sad, doe eyes.

"I hope so. Young man would have been brought in a few hours ago, only go his first name. Dean. I have some of his personal belongings, want to return them. Can you give me any information? I'd like to see how he's doing."

"Hmm, let me see. I'd be willing to bet we got more then one Dean here right now. You said he was brought in today?"

"Early this morning. Father and brother were with him. Think they're still here too, I saw their car outside."

"Ok, here, Dean Johnson, admitted a couple hours ago. That him?"

"Young guy?"

"Yeah, says here Dad is John."

"That's him. Can you give me a room number?"

"222. Up the elevator, turn left. Evens will be on your right. Hope everything's alright."

"Me too. Thanks for your help."

Bobby climbed into the elevator and headed up. Turning left as instructed, he knew he wouldn't have a very hard time finding the room. All he had to do was follow the angry voice of Sam down the hall. Letting himself into the room, he shut Sam as he spoke.

"You two wanna keep in mind you're in a hospital? You haven't even been together a full day and your already at each other's throats. Nothing ever changes, does it?"

"Bobby, where have you been? What took you so long to get here?" Sam was relieved to see he'd finally made it here. If he didn't have Dean to mediate, at least he'd have Bobby.

"Your not gonna believe me. Guess who I ran into on my way here."