Disclaimer: Don't know, don't own. This is my AU for BUABS. Please review. : )

Chapter 7

Under Your Skin

Day 7

Louisiana- Underpass

Dean looked over at Lexi concerned. She had another vision of a man being murdered. Now she looked like hell. All color had drained from her face, eyes shut tight and leaning her head against the passenger window, she looked like she was about to be sick.

"Dean, pull over."

Lexi bolted from the car before Dean even had it in park, heading for the guard rail. She leaned against it trying to steady herself. This vision wasn't like the rest, it was more vivid. It was as if she had experienced it herself. She had been the killer, she saw through his eyes, felt what he felt. She looked up suddenly feeling the warmth of Dean's hand on the small of her back.

"Lex, you okay?"

She nodded chewing on her bottom lip, "I just need a few more minutes."

"Okay. I'm just gonna make a call."

He walked back to the car leaning against it. He rubbed the back of his neck out of frustration, this was too much. First Sam having these visions, now Lexi too and on top of it Sam was missing. Dean felt like he was always one step behind his brother. He pulled out his cell phone fidgeting impatiently while the other line continued to ring.

"Ellen, it's me again. Any chance you've heard from him? I swear, it's like looking for my dad all over again. I'm losing my mind here. No, I've called him a thousand times, there's nothing but voicemail. I don't know where he went, or why. Sam's just gone." Dean frowned at the sound of the call waiting beep his eyes widening at the name on the caller id, "Hang on. Sammy? Where the hell are you? Are you okay? Hey, hey, hey! Calm down. Where are you? All right, don't move, I'm on my way."

Lexi turned at the sound of the urgency in Dean's voice. She rushed back over to him hoping that at last he had found Sam. She stared waiting for Dean to speak.

"We have to go. Sam's in Minnesota."

"Is he ok?"

"I don't know." He said softly running his hand through his hair, "Come on we're losing daylight."

Twin Lakes, Minnesota

He stopped for mere seconds checking the room numbers looking for room 109. Lexi had a hard time keeping up with Dean's longer strides as he rushed down the narrow corridor. She practically had to run to keep up with his pace if she didn't want to be left behind.

"Sam, it's me. SAM!" Dean opened the door looking around the room to see Sam sitting on the bed, "Sam? Hey."

"Hey, Dean."

"Are you bleeding?"

"I tried to wash it off……" Sam wandered off surprised to see Lexi standing just inside the doorway uncomfortably. "Lexi?"

"Hi Sam."

Sam turned to Dean not hiding the confusion in his eyes, "What's going on?"

"Never mind that right now." Dean stated firmly noticing Sam's shirt covered in blood, "Oh my God."

"I don't think it's my blood."

"Whose is it?"

"I don't know." Sam whispered studying his hands as he clenched and unclenched them.

"Sam, what the hell happened?"

Sam looked up meeting Dean's gaze, "Dean. I don't remember anything."

Xxxxxxxx

Dean and Lexi returned to room 109 with the essentials, namely beer and chips. He was quiet the whole time, his brow furrowed in typical Dean fashion. She placed her hand on his arm stopping him momentarily from entering the room. He glanced at the small hand that was resting on his arm before meeting her gaze.

"What?"

"What do you think happened, D?"

"I don't know, Lex, but I don't like it. Have you ever blacked out like this?"

"No, never."

He nodded his head before they entered the room, an awkward silence settling between them while Dean shifted the bag of groceries he held. Lexi took the paper bag from him, busying herself with the task of emptying the contents into the fridge, giving Dean and Sam time to talk.

"What'd you find out?" Sam asked Dean looking up when they entered the room.

"You checked in two days ago under the name Richard Sambora. Of course, I think the scariest part about this whole thing is the fact that you're a Bon Jovi fan."

"Dean." Sam stated giving him a 'this isn't a time for jokes' look.

"Your room's been quiet, nobody's noticed anything unusual."

"You mean no one saw me walking around covered in blood?" Sam questioned agitated.

"Yeah. That's what I mean."

"Then how the hell did I get here, Dean? What happened to me?"

"I don't know. But you're, you're okay, and that's what matters. Everything else we can deal with." Dean stated trying to calm Sam down.

"Oh really? 'Cause what if I hurt someone? Or worse?"

"Sam . . ."

"What if this is what Dad warned you about?"

Dean through up his hands shaking his head not believing what he was hearing, "Hey, whoa, whoa, come on man; let's not jump the gun here. We don't know what happened. We've just got to treat this like, like any other job. What's the last thing you remember?"

Sam sat on the bed, cradling his head in his hands, "Just me and you, just, in that motel room in West Texas, going out to grab some burgers, and... "

"West Texas? That was, that was over a week ago."

"That's it." Dean looked at Sam nothing bothering to hide his shock, "Next thing I knew I was sitting here. Bloody. Felt like I'd been asleep for a month."

"Okay. Retrace your steps. The manager said you left yesterday afternoon and he never saw you come back, so." Dean stepped over to the window, pulling back the curtain. He turned to Sam pointing at a bloody fingerprint, "Hey."

Dean headed for the door, stopping where Lexi stood shifting from foot to foot nervously. He pulled his gun from his inside jacket pocket placing it in her hand, "Stay here, Lex. Don't open this door for anyone. If anyone or anything comes through that door that's not me or Sammy, you shoot. Got it?"

"I got it." She said softly before grabbing his arm tightly, "D?"

"I'll be back you can count on it. If we're not back by morning go to the first motel in the phone book. We'll meet you there."

Xxxxxxxx

Lexi rolled over rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. The room reeked of a pungent odor that she couldn't place. It wasn't the normal mold and age of motels that she smelled but it wasn't there when she had fallen asleep. She reached for the hideous green lamp on the side of the bed, the room flooding with light when she pulled the string.

"Hello Lexi."

She jumped at the sound of his voice immediately reaching for Dean's gun. "What do you want?"

"Now, now no need to be hostile. I just came here to pay you a little visit."

"What do you want from me?"

"Your powers are coming along nicely." The yellow eyed demon leaned closer a malicious grin on his face, "Makes a father proud."

"You're not my father." She hissed, "I know what you are."

"Ah how do you know? You were adopted after mommy burnt up."

She felt her face burning, cocking Dean's gun, "Fuck you. Dean's not going to get a chance to kill you. I'm going to do it myself."

"I can see why D likes you. You're a spit fire."

"Don't you call him that! I know this gun won't kill you, but it's sure gonna hurt like hell."

His smile only grew wider taunting her, "See he's been teaching you a thing or two. It's really gonna hurt him when you change sides."

"I am not going to help you, I'd rather die!"

The yellow eyed demon shook his head laughing at her, "Oh so sweet. SO in love with Dean, aren't you? You're not going to have a choice, Lexi. I picked you for a reason."

"I'm not evil….."

"Not yet." He stood up leering at her, "But when you are, Dean's going to be very very disappointed."

Xxxxxxx

"All right, we get a couple hours sleep and then we put this place in our rearview mirror." Dean glanced over his shoulder at Sam trying to reassure him, "Look, I know this is bad, okay? You've gotta snap out of it. Sam, say something!"

"Just get some sleep and leave in the morning?" Sam asked not believing how simplistic and nonchalant his brother was being, "Murder, Dean. That's what I did."

"Maybe." Sam scoffed at Dean turning his back on him, "Okay? Hey, we don't know... shapeshifter!"

"Oh, come on. You know it wasn't, you saw the tape. There was no eye flare, no distortion."

"Yeah, but it wasn't you! All right?" Dean shook his head trying to make sense of what had happened hating to admit it was Sammy on the tape, "I mean, yeah, it might have been you, but it wasn't you. "

"Well, I think it was."

Dean's eyes quickly scanned the room in search of Lexi. The room was empty except for him and Sam, the bed mussed and the strong smell of sulfur causing Dean's heart rate to quicken, "Lexi! Lexi!"

"DEAN!" Sam yelled waving a sheet of paper in his face, "She left a note."

Dean sighed out of relief rubbing his forehead after reading the message, "Oh I'm fucking loosing it here, Sammy. Lexi disappearing and you thinking that was you that killed Wandell. That wasn't you."

"I think maybe more than you know."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"For the last few weeks I've been having... I've been having these feelings."

"What feelings?"

"Rage. Hate. And I can't stop it." Sam stated his voice tense while gripping the edge of the mattress, "It just gets worse. Day by day it gets worse."

"You never told me this."

"I didn't want to scare you."

"Well, bang-up job on that." Dean hissed his eyebrows knotted together.

"Dean, the yellow-eyed demon, you know he has plans for me. And we both know that he's turned other children into killers before, too."

"No one can control you but you."

"It sure doesn't seem like that, Dean, it feels like no matter what I do, slowly but surely I'm, I'm just becoming."

"What?"

"Who I'm meant to be. I mean, you said it once yourself, Dean. I gotta face up to who I am."

"I didn't mean this!"

"But it's still true. You know that. Dad knew that too, that's why he told you, if it ever came to this . . . "

"Shut up, Sam."

"Dean, you promised him. You promised me."

"No. Listen to me. We're going to figure this out. Okay? I mean, there's got to be a way, right?"

"Yeah, there is." Sam said simply shoving his gun into Dean's hand. "I don't want to hurt anyone else. I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't. Whatever this is, you can fight it."

Sam eyes teared up as he gazed intently at Dean. "No. I can't. Not forever. Here, you gotta do it."

They faced off to each other, staring silently. Sam placed the gun in Dean's right hand, shocked Dean didn't move an inch. "You know, I've tried to hard to keep you safe."

"I know."

"I can't. I'd rather die." Dean dropped the gun on the bed walking past Sam, "I'm gonna go find Lexi."

"No. You'll live. You'll live to regret this." Sam sneered pistol whipping Dean before walking out.

Xxxxxxx

Lexi walked in the oddly themed room carrying a bag loaded full of greasy diner food for the three of them. The bag fell to her feet when she saw Dean sprawled unconscious on the floor. She rushed to his side immediately to check his pulse, her feet scraping across the lime green carpet, sighing in relief when she found the steady rhythm, she shook him gently calling his name.

"Dean? D wake up."

"Lex?" Dean groaned opening his eyes slightly, "Wh-what happened?"

"I think Sam knocked you out. How does your head feel?"

"Like I was pistol whipped." She reached inside Dean's jacket pocket, causing him to give her a 'what the hell' look, retrieving a small flash light. "What are you doing?"

"Checking to see if you have a concussion, just follow the light, D."

"Lex, I'm fine." He grumbled doing what he was told anyway, "See fine."

She gently touched the back of his head with her fingertips checking for blood and contusions. "That's a nasty bump, you should put some ice on it."

"I don't have time for this. We have to find Sam before he hurts someone else."

Lexi tilted her head raising her eyebrow while helping Dean to his feet, "Hurt someone else?"

"Yeah. I think he's possessed."

Xxxxxx

Jo's Bar

Daluth, Minnesota

Sam carefully watched the bar door in the deserted parking lot patiently for his moment when he was sure she would be alone. He waited for the last car to pull out before heading inside. He walked into the small dingy bar letting his presence be known by clearing his throat.

"Sorry, we're closing up." The tiny blonde replied without turning to look at the person that had just walked in.

"How about just one for the road?"

Jo turned facing Sam not hiding the surprise on her face,"Well, you're about the last person I'd expect to see."

"Well, I guess I'm full of surprises. So can I get a beer?"

"Sure." She nodded, "One beer." Jo placed a bottle of beer on the bar harshly before turning away to finish cleaning up. "So how'd you find me?"

"Well, uh, it's kind of what we do, you know?"

"Speaking of 'we', where's Dean?" She asked casually in an attempt to play it cool.

"Couldn't make it."

"So what are you doing here, Sam? I mean, we didn't exactly part on the best of terms."

"Right. Um, well, that's why I'm here. I kind of, I wanted to see if we could square things, you know?" Sam took off his jacket tossing it on the bar, his eyes never leaving Jo's face.

"That looks like it hurts." She nodded to the circular burn partially hidden under Sam's rolled up sleeve.

"No. No, just, just had a run-in with a hot stove."

"So you were saying something about squaring things?"

"Yeah. Um. Look, I know how you feel about my dad. And I can't say I blame you. He was obsessed. Consumed with hunting; and he didn't care who got caught in the cross-fire. And I guess that included your dad. But that was my father, that's not me."

"What about Dean?"

"Well, Dean's more like my father than I am, but . . ." Sam cocked his head smirking slightly causing Jo to shift uncomfortably. "Boy, you're really carrying a torch for him, aren't you? I'll take that as a yes. It's too bad. 'Cause see, Dean, he likes you, sure, but not in the way you'd want. I mean, maybe as kind of a . . . a little sister, you know? But romance — that's just out of the question, he….he kind of thinks you're a schoolgirl, you know? I'm not trying to hurt you, Jo, I, I'm telling you because I care."

"Well, that's real kind of you, Sam." Jo said defensively trying to hide the hurt in her eyes.

"I mean it." He stated gently placing his hand on Jo's a little possessively, "I care about you a lot."

"Sam, what's going on?"

"I can be more to you, Jo." He said pointedly as he eyed her carefully.

Jo looking unnerved turned to him a harshness now in her voice, "Maybe you should leave."

"Okay." He stood to leave, shoving her hand away roughly. Sam waited for Jo to turn her back on him before grabbing her and slamming her against the bar.

"Sam, get off me! Sam, get off me! Sam!" Jo screamed struggling against Sam. She turned her head slightly seeing Sam's beer bottle still sitting on the bar. She grabbed the bottle with the intention of using it against him. He grabbed her wrist slamming it into the bar, the bottle shattering into little green shards of glass.

Sam twisted Jo around in his grip so that she was now facing him; he ran his hand through her hair his voice taking on the tone of someone disciplining a small child. "Jo, Jo, Jo."

"Sam, no, no! Please! Please!"

Sam grabbed her head, slamming it into the bar knocking Jo out. He lifted her gently laying her out onto the bar. He stroked her almost lovingly, "It didn't have to be this way. Or maybe it did…..."