Author's Note: Hi everyone! It's been awhile, but here's a new chapter! Please enjoy!
They didn't sleep.
It wasn't like they didn't want to sleep—Sam's neck was killing him after being choked and Dean's arm hurt like hell—but for some reason, the two brothers couldn't relax enough to fall asleep. So, they laid there in the darkness, both staring up at the ceiling.
"Hey, Sam?" Dean called, not even bothering to whisper. The premise of sleep had long ago been abandoned.
"Yeah?" His little brother replied, tone light though Dean could sense the worry coming off of him in waves. The ghost had done a number on both of them and Dean knew it wasn't just physical. Sure, they were both sporting injuries that were going to take awhile to heal, but the summoner's seal concerned both of them. Sam—being the idiotic little brother he was—would blame himself somehow and would want to keep Dean out of danger. Dean would refuse of course, because, hello, taking care of Sam was his job—his duty—and he would never willingly give it up.
"Why aren't you asleep?" It wasn't what he had wanted to ask, but he had a harder time of initiating a chick-flick moment than Sam.
"Because you're talking to me." Sam retorted and Dean chuckled dryly.
"Smart ass."
"Learned from the best." The elder Winchester smiled at that, a swell of pride filling him.
"Hell yeah you did."
A pause passed. Sam shifted uncomfortably on his bed, his mind racing with so many thoughts, so many doubts. What if Dean had been right? What if someone had summoned the ghost to kill him? But then again, would do that? Unless Gordon was out of jail—
He sucked in a breath as he processed the ramifications of that thought. Had Gordon managed to get out of jail? No, they would have known about it, wouldn't they? Ellen or Bobby would've called. Still . . .
"Sam? You gonna tell me what horrible thought just filled that geeky brain of yours?" Dean's tone was light, but Sam had learned that it was only masking the worry that his brother felt. Gordon's attack had caused his older brother to become even more protective than usual. It felt like Dean was always watching him, waiting to catch him if he fell, waiting to take the hit if someone attacked him. On normal days, it annoyed Sam. He was a grown man and he knew how to take care of himself! Still, if he were really honest with himself, it made him feel safer knowing Dean had his back. He wouldn't admit it, but being attacked by another hunter had done a number on him. Finding out his dad had asked Dean to kill him if he went evil was bad enough, having it confirmed by another hunter who was convinced that Sam was the anti-Christ had been even worse. What if he was evil? What if he was a time bomb waiting to go off? "Sam?"
"Do you think Gordon had anything to do with the ghost today?" Sam asked quickly.
"No." Dean answered without even a moment of hesitation.
"No?"
"No."
"How do you know?" Sam pressed and Dean smirked. Leave to Sam to want to know all the details instead of just taking his big brother's word for it.
"Because Gordon would've wanted us to know it was him," He shifted on his bed, uncomfortable with discussing the subject of the rogue hunter that had almost managed to blow up his baby brother. "He wouldn't have summoned a ghost. No, this would've been personal. He would've wanted to take you down with his own two hands."
"So . . ." Sam's voice trailed off, almost as if he was gathering his thoughts before asking his next question. "Who summoned her then?"
"I don't know," Dean confessed, a brief spike of anger filling him. Nobody hurt Sam and got away with it—human or not. Anyone who attacked his brother deserved to be tortured and in some cases, killed. No one hurt his family without facing the consequences. "Amateur, probably. Leaving the seal behind was a rookie mistake."
"Yeah," Sam agreed. "We should figure out who did it before they try to—"
"No," He interjected. "The ghost is gone. We're out of here in the morning."
"But Dean, we can't just—"
"This is not up for discussion, Sam." Dean growled, summoning up some of the fury into his tone that John had often used whenever he had been giving orders. It was a low blow—Sam hated being ordered around—but they couldn't risk staying in this town one more day. As much as Dean wanted to punish the idiot that had dared to lay a finger on his brother, it wasn't worth risking Sam's life over.
"Dean—" Sam protested, voice desperate.
"Go to sleep, Sam."
With that, he flipped onto his other side, effectively ending the conversation and stubbornly shut his eyes, praying that sleep would somehow miraculously come. He heard the door open and was about to say something when his brother interjected:
"I'll be right in the parking lot. I just need some air." The door then shut behind him.
Despite his better instincts, Dean didn't go after him.
"He isn't dead yet?"
"Not yet, sugah," Amber cooed into the telephone, smiling at the men grinning at her as they entered the bar across the street from the payphone that she was using. "They burned my seal."
"Dammit, Amber," Gordon hissed. "Why the hell did you leave your seal where they could get it?" The blonde hunter shrugged.
"Slipped my mind, honey," Amber replied. "But don't you worry, ah've got a bigger plan in store for those two boys." She twirled the cord around her finger and hummed a happy tune to herself.
"And that plan is?" Gordon prompted.
"Now, if ah told you, it wouldn't be a surprise!" She admonished gently.
"I'm getting tired of your games, Amber," He snapped, voice deadly and Amber froze, tendrils of fear gripping her. He had used that tone once before with her, on the night that he had saved her, on the night that she swore that she would somehow repay him. "If you don't kill Sam, I'll get someone who will."
"No," She interjected, worry spilling into her voice. "No, ah can do this. Ah really can."
"Two days, Amber," He snapped. "If he isn't dead by then, I'll get out. And once I'm done with him, I think I'll pay you a visit too."
With that, the line went dead and Amber tried to steady her breathing. Gordon would follow through on his threat—she had no doubt about that. She had to kill Sam or she would be next. She owed Gordon this! If she did this job, they'd finally be even. She had killed humans before. It wasn't hard; all it required was a bit more finesse and a sense of good timing.
Composure regained, she smiled.
It was time to go kill Sam Winchester.
"Sam?"
The voice caught him off-guard and he spun around, knife ready to face off against his would-be intruder. Amber threw her hands up and panic flashed in her eyes. "Easy!" Sam lowered the knife and put it away and Amber came to stand beside him in the motel parking lot.
"Sorry," He told her sheepishly, but she simply waved off his apology. "How are you doing?"
"Okay," She replied, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger. "It's not everyday you find out ghosts are real."
"Yeah," Sam agreed with a dry chuckle. "But you should be fine now. She's gone."
"I wanted to thank you again," Amber started, grinning at him. "And I also found something that I think you should see. Would you come with me?" Her pleading eyes met his and Sam hesitated. He should get Dean. After all that happened, Dean would be pissed if he just took off somewhere without telling him. Mind made up, he nodded his head.
"Yeah, just let me get Dean." He turned his back to her and had his hand on the door when he felt the sharp pain of a needle being jabbed into his neck. Instantly, his vision grayed and he swayed. It was almost as if both his knees were broken and he could no longer stand up.
"Sorry, Sam," Amber told him cheerfully. "Ah think we'll have more fun if it's just the two of us, don't you think?"
And with that, Sam blacked out.
Author's Note: And Amber's plan finally goes into action! Next chapter, Dean finds out Sam is missing! Will he figure out Amber is responsible before it's too late? Prepare for some major limp!Sam and hurt!Sam coming your guys' way! If you have a second, please review! I always love to get feedback!
