Disclaimer: I still don't own Supernatural or its characters and am not making any money on this…I'm still just having fun!

THE CUPID EFFECT

Chapter 3 – Flip Sides of the Coin

Bobby followed quietly in Dean's footsteps as they entered the silent house. Dean looked back at his friend, the worry clearly evident in his eyes and motioned for Bobby to search downstairs. He'd take up—and pray he wouldn't find Sam in the middle of something…well at least he better be clothed.

As Dean moved quietly up the stairs he heard soft voices, suddenly rising in anger coming from the bedroom where he left Sam.

"I can't believe you can be so selfish Bella. That gun is the only way I have to save my brother and you are still planning on selling it?" Sam's baritone voice reverberated down the hall.

"I told you Sam, none of that matters to me. I learned a long time ago to look out for number one and I've been doing a pretty good job of it so far." Bella's clipped English Accent following Sam's voice as they continued to argue.

Dean stepped into the room and almost smiled at the sight in front of him. His six foot brother towered over Bella, his hands clenching and unclenching while Bella stood, her own eyes filled with the fire of defiance.

"So I see the honeymoon is already over kids—what was that like twenty four hours?" Dean interjected. While he wouldn't mind letting his little brother strangle the self centered bitch, he knew Sam wouldn't be able to live with the consequences.

"Dean?" Sam turned, his gaze slightly confused as if he couldn't figure out what he was doing here.

"That would be me, your handsome older brother…" Dean moved closer, trying to put himself between the arguing pair. They still have a full day to get through without allowing either one of them to kill the other.

"Well you can just take Romeo here back with you. Don't let the door hit you on the way out boys!" Bella grabbed some clothes and headed for the bathroom.

"Sammy, you really know how to handle the ladies. So you ready to come home?" Dean watched the emotions flowing through his brother's eyes. Confusion, regret and then something stronger, a longing he hadn't seen since Sam spoke of Jessica. This couldn't be good.

"I have to apologize to her; I have to make her understand…" Sam began as he started to move towards the bathroom door. Dean moved quickly to stand between his brother and the doorway. He didn't like the ruddy hue on Sam's cheeks or the fine sheen of sweat that seemed to be forming on his face. It hadn't been there a few minutes ago, what the hell was happening now.

"Come on Sammy, we can talk about how to get her back once I get you to the hotel. You know what they say, 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'…" Dean felt the tremor in his brother's arm as he gently pulled him from the room. He noticed Sam's eyes continued to look back at the closed door.

Once at the bottom of the stairs, Dean called softly for Bobby. When the old hunter appeared, he nodded upstairs. "She's in the shower cooling off. I'm going to take Sam to the hotel. Maybe you should stay here and keep an eye on her?"

Bobby's eyebrow quirked for a moment before he sighed and looked upstairs, "So now you think I'm in the baby sittin' business?"

"Well, if that's true, you'll have your hands full with her. Oh and watch your pockets old man, the girl is quick…" Dean continued to pull Sam out the door, ducking the sweat stained ball cap aimed in his direction.

"Dean I have to go back…" Sam whispered as he pulled against Dean's hold on his arm. Dean was concerned; his brother seemed to be getting awful weak all of a sudden. He could see actual shudders running through his brother's body.

"Hold on Sammy, we'll figure this out once we get back to the hotel." Dean helped Sam into the passenger seat; the hand brushing his brother's forehead noted the heat radiating from him. Quickly jumping into the other side he headed back towards the hotel. After a few moments, he watched as Sam's head sagged against the window. Dean grabbed his cell phone and dialed Bobby's number.

"Miss me so soon Dean?"

"Bobby, have you seen Bella yet? Is she ok?" Dean heard Bobby huffing as he began to climb the stairs. A moment later he heard a soft exclamation followed by the thudding of the phone on the floor.

"Bobby! Hey what's going on?" Dean pulled the car to the side of the road and looked worriedly at his sleeping brother. Sam hadn't said a word since he'd gotten into the car. Reaching over, Dean tried to wake his brother.

"Sammy? Hey, nap times over…" But there was no response. Dean could feel the heat radiating off his brother's body as he quickly checked for a pulse. He sighed as he felt the strong beat beneath his fingers, but the fever seemed to be burning much higher than before.

"Dean? Boy, you still there? You best get back here—I think we have a problem." Bobby's worried tone came through the phone.

Dean turned the car and headed back the way he'd just come. "I'm on my way back already. Let me guess, Bella is sick with a fever right?"

"Sam too?" was Bobby's only response.

"Yeah, guess we need to come up with another plan. I'll be there in a few minutes." Dean sighed as he closed his phone and dropped it back into his pocket. His worried gaze looking once more at his unconscious sibling before he pressed harder on the gas pedal; obviously separating the two love birds was not an option.

"Jeez Sammy, not a great time for your Elvis impression Dude. I mean, I don't think when he sang about being a hunk of burning love—he meant it literally." Dean waited, but there was no huff or eye roll following his comment. Reaching over, he patted his brother's thigh lightly. "Don't worry Sam, we'll figure something out…"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sam woke slowly, his hand reaching for the bridge of his nose as he tried to figure out why his head was going to explode. The last thing he remembered was…"Bella!" Sam sat up straight on the bed, his eyes searching for the woman who now seemed to haunt him even in his dreams. He placed his legs on the floor and tried to stand, but the room immediately began to spin.

"Hey Sammy, about time you decided to wake up." Dean's soft voice interrupted his little brother's attempt to rise from the bed. Sam turned and noticed the dark shape sitting in the chaise lounge by the window. His lips quirked as he saw his brother sitting, legs crossed and books scattered on the floor.

"I see you decided to do a little light reading…" Sam leaned forward, his elbows on his knees as he cradled his head in his hands. He wished the pounding would stop, and why was it so hot in here?

"Laugh it up geek boy! Of course, me being the awesome big brother that I am; I decided to do your part and do a little research. Are you feeling any better?" The tired young hunter watched as Dean stood and moved to sit beside him. He could feel his brother's hand on the small of his back, lightly providing a measure of support without really saying anything.

Sam looked up and saw the worry hidden in the depths of his brother's gaze. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why he felt so bad. "My head is killing me and it's so hot Dean—what's wrong with me?"

Dean stood and left the room, returning shortly with a glass of water and some white pills. "Here, it's time to take some more ibuprofen. It should help with the head and the fever." Sam didn't miss that his brother had totally evaded his question. But he swallowed the pills and let the cool water ease the dryness in his throat as he continued to watch his brother.

The oldest Winchester grabbed the bowl and wash cloth on the nightstand and once again left. Sam could hear him emptying the bowl and refilling it, probably with more cool water. He felt so tired, but he couldn't understand what was wrong. When he and Bella had been together, he'd felt fine—he felt more than fine. A slight blush crept up his neck and into his pale cheeks as he remembered the way he'd spent the previous night. There was nothing 'cold' about Bella.

He felt a cool cloth on his forehead as he jerked his eyes open once more. He didn't remember lying down and yet not only was he back in bed, but the covers were pulled up and he had another wet cloth covering his face. Groaning, he pulled the cloth from his eyes, squinting to see his brother's face in the waning light. "Dude, what happened?"

"You decided to take another nap Sammy. This fever is taking a lot out of you. Now put the cloth back on while I get you some more medicine." Sam shook his head as he tried to figure out what was going on. But his mind was too groggy. Dean was here, he'd take care of everything until he felt better. Before he could dwell too long on the fact, his brother might not be here in a few more months, strong arms helped him sit up and held the glass steady while he downed the pills.

"Where's Bella? Is she sick too?" Sam finally asked as he let Dean pull up the covers once more.

"She's fine Sammy. She's sleeping next door. So you want to tell me what you two were up to last night?" Dean sat on the bed, his hand resting on Sam's arm in a comforting gesture.

"Seriously Dude, what do you think we were doing? I mean, I never ask you to tell me about your latest conquest—why the twenty questions?" Sam felt like there was something important he was missing, something he had to do. Suddenly he remembered as he sat up on the bed, almost knocking Dean off in the process.

"Dean, I have to go into town…" Sam tried to get up, but strong arms pushed him back onto the bed.

"Why in such a hurry Sam? The town will be there tomorrow when you're feeling better…" Sam tried to push against his brother, but soon gave in. He was so tired, but he had to make it right. He had to make sure she understood.

"You don't understand Dean; I have to get the ring. You can't propose without a ring…" Sam's voice trailed off as the fever finally pulled him back into a restless sleep. He never heard the softly indrawn breath or felt the hand gently pushing his bangs from his eyes.

"Don't worry Romeo; I'm sure things will look different in a couple of days. You just relax and sleep."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Dean sighed as he stood to empty the wash basin and refill it once again with cool water. His mind trying to get around his brother's latest bomb shell; but then he should have expected something like this. His brother just wasn't a love 'em and leave 'em kind of guy at heart. However, the thought of having Bella as a sister-in-law, well even the gods couldn't be that cruel.

A soft knock on the door announced Bobby's presence. "Dean, I brought you some sandwiches and some more coffee…"

Dean smiled as he watched Bobby pause by the bed, running a hand over Sam's forehead before setting the tray down on the chest of drawers. "Thanks Bobby. How's Bella doing?"

"About the same, but at least the fever is manageable with them being next door to each other. Of course, you're goin' to have to do some mighty fine explainin' when Sam finds out you've been drugging him." Bobby grinned as he pulled his own cup of coffee from the tray and sat on one of the chairs in the room.

"Well what else was I supposed to do Bobby? I mean, he was only awake for a few moments and wanted to go into town shopping for rings…" Dean shuddered once again at the thought of having Bella in the family. He laughed softly as he thought about the kind of kids that would come from that union. "Hey Bobby, wonder what their kids would be like? I mean, Sam is such a straight arrow and well Bella…"

Bobby snorted. "Sounds to me like we'd have a bunch of little Dean's running around now wouldn't we?"

He almost choked on the sandwich before he joined in on the laughter. For a moment, it felt good to let go after the hours of worry he'd spent. "So you still think by this time tomorrow they'll be over this?"

"I'm pretty sure Dean, but I don't know if we can keep them drugged the whole time. We need to try to get some food and liquid into them at some point…" Bobby looked over at the pale figure on the bed; Sam was tossing in his sleep.

"I know Bobby, but I say we keep them out of it as long as we can. Unless you can come up with some kind of cure…" Dean sighed as he stood and sat next to Sam. He wrung out the wash cloth and began to wipe the sweat from his brother's brow. "Shh Sammy, it's ok—you're just having a bad dream…"

He never heard Bobby take the dishes and leave the room. His focus was on the miserable bundle in the bed. He never could stand to see Sam sick or in pain. And of course, the other thoughts were now added to his internal turmoil. Who was going to take care of Sammy when he was gone?

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Muted light filtered through the room the next time Sam woke. He blinked and wondered what time it was. The only thing he knew for certain was he needed to relieve himself. Pushing himself up, he waited until the room righted itself before he stumbled towards the bathroom. He tripped over the handle of his bag, falling to his knees for a moment.

Thinking a shower and some clean clothes sounded like a good idea, Sam reached in to grab what he would need. His head still felt like it was full of cotton candy; thoughts came and went before he could get a complete grasp on them. As he pulled out a clean T-Shirt, his hand brushed against a small box on the bottom of the bag.

Sitting back on his heels, he pulled the box out and gazed at it for a moment. Blonde hair and blue eyes flashed in his mind followed by the joy he'd felt when he'd found the ring. It was a simple ring, but he'd known Jess would love it. Tears rose to the surface as he remembered talking one of his friends into letting him borrow his car so he could take her to a nice restaurant. Of course, then Dean had shown up and the demon had…

Sam swallowed back the emotions and taking the small box with his clothes he headed for the bathroom. He needed to wash away more than the sweat from his body. Still feeling weak as a kitten, he made short work of the shower. He pulled on his clean clothes and placed the box in the pocket of his jeans. He squinted at his reflection in the mirror, shocked at the paleness of his face. No wonder Dean was in big brother protective mode.

As he brushed his teeth, he noticed the small bottle of pills on the counter. Thinking they must be the fever reducers his brother had been giving him, he began to open the bottle. His mind was refusing to acknowledge what his eyes were telling him. He turned the bottle in his hand, reading the label one more time before slamming it down on the counter with enough force to shatter the plastic bottle.

Pills scattered across the counter and onto the floor. But Sam didn't notice, all he felt right now was hurt and betrayed. "Why Dean? Why did you drug me?" He whispered trying to make sense of it. His brother had lied to him, told him the pills were for his fever when they were really sleeping pills. No wonder he couldn't put two sentences together—he should have known the fever would not have made him this out of it.

"Sammy, you ok in there?" Dean's voice called from the bedroom.

Sam picked up a couple of the pills and walked into the room, his eyes cold as he faced his brother. "Cristo!"

"Sam? What the hell?" Dean looked down and saw the pills in the palm of his brother's hand. Understanding and guilt flashed across his face before he moved closer to Sam. "Listen Sam, I can explain…"

The pills sailed across the room as Sam brushed past his brother. "Tell me you haven't been drugging her too! How could you Dean? I understand you don't like her, but you can't keep us apart this way. Just how long were you going to keep us drugged Dean?"

Sam turned and watched as Dean sat on the bed. "Just until after midnight tonight Sammy—you have to believe me, it was the only way to keep you safe—to keep you both safe."

"Safe from what? You? Seriously Dean, marriage isn't a death sentence…" Sam stopped as Dean stood, his hands clenched and shoulders rigid.

"Do you remember why we came to this town Sam? We had a job, a job where couples were dying. You're not yourself Sam; you've been whammied by a pagan god who gets his jollies manipulating people's emotions." Dean took a step towards his brother, his eyes begging Sam to believe him.

Sam stepped back, something niggled him in the back of his mind. But his desire to see Bella and make things right was too strong. "I don't care what you think is happening here Dean. I'm a grown man and I know what I want. I'm going to ask Bella to marry me and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

Sam stormed from the room, slamming the door in his brother's face as he headed to the bedroom containing the future Mrs. Winchester. At least he hoped she would agree. After all, it was his brother who had kept her drugged for god knows how long.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Dean stood in the room for a moment before his mind was able to reconcile the brother he knew from the one who had just slammed the door in his face. Running a hand down his face, he reached for the door and started to follow is brother down the hall. A moment later, he heard loud voices followed by another slamming door. As he turned the corner, he saw Bobby standing outside Bella's door.

"Let me guess, he threw you out too?" Dean said calmly. He stood next to Bobby and stared at the door.

"The young whelp—told me to leave or he'd toss me out on my ear. I never thought I'd say this about Sammy, but I can see why your daddy used to get so mad at him." Bobby ran a hand through his hair before replacing his ball cap.

Dean sat down next to the door, his back against the wall. "How much longer do you figure Bella will sleep?"

Bobby grinned. "Well, luckily I just managed to give her another dose. So she should be out for at least another six or eight hours. That would bring us within a couple of hours shy of midnight." The older man groaned as he joined Dean on the floor. "In the meantime, we'll just have to wait and hope those two don't do anything stupid…"

Dean's eyebrow rose, "You're kidding me right? This is Bella and Sam we're talking about here. Of course, they'll do something stupid. I just hope we can stop it before it gets real bad."

"Me too kid…me too. Say, you got any cards? We'll probably be here for a bit and I wouldn't mind winnin' back some of the money you took the last time we were together…"

Dean laughed but his eyes never left the door.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sam sat on the bed, Bella firmly enclosed in his arms as he tried to reconcile what his mind and heart was telling him. He knew Dean wouldn't have done anything to hurt him and he was pretty sure no matter how mad he was at Bella; his brother wouldn't intentionally hurt her either. And yet, he couldn't help the feeling of being betrayed by those he trusted most. How could they drug him and Bella?

Bella moaned softly in her sleep, luckily the fever that had been burning in her when he came in seemed to be almost gone. In fact, now that he thought about it, his own fever was gone. Other than feeling a little groggy, probably from the sedatives, Sam felt fine. It didn't make sense, why would he and Bella be sick and then apparently cured so quickly?

Dean's words came back to him as he lightly caressed Bella's shoulder, smiling as she curled tighter into his embrace before settling into a more restful sleep. His brother had reminded him of the hunt. But what did that have to do with him and Bella? After all, he'd been dreaming about her before they had discovered the hunt—it was just coincidence…

A grimace formed on Sam's face as he recognized nothing in their world was ever just a coincidence. That meant whatever was affecting the other couples was probably affecting him. But looking down at the beautiful woman in his arms, his thought became cloudy. Strong feelings chased reason from his mind as he traced her lips with his finger, remembering those lips from the night before.

His hand reached into his pocket and pulled out the small box. The box had contained so much promise; it was his ticket to the normal life once. Maybe, maybe it could be once again. After all, Bella knew what he was—there was no need to keep the family secret from her. His heart swelled with hope, he would ask her as soon as she woke. There would be no secrets this time, no regrets for things unspoken. This time he would do it right…

TBC

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