AN: This is for Mouse who's birthday is today... I hope you really like it! Take care, and I know you're going to have a great year!
John groaned at the pain that was blooming behind his eyes. He knew he needed his vision to clear, he needed to help his little brothers, but at the moment his body seemed to want to betray him. He could hear Dean cursing at the demon, and the demon speaking to Sammy, but at the moment he couldn't do a damn thing to try to get any of them out of this situation.
Finally, the darkness faded away and his vision slowly came back but he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. In fact, he was pretty sure he wasn't seeing it – it was a weird dream brought on by the obvious concussion from being tossed into the wall. His baby brother could not possibly be binding the very demon that tore their family apart.
"Stop Sammy… whatever you're doing little brother – STOP!!!" Dean screamed as he fought to get off the wall, but whatever Sammy was doing wasn't enough to completely neuter the demon possessed man.
"What do you think you are doing Sammyboy?" the stranger growled at the youngest Winchester. "Do you really think you can stop me?"
As the older brothers stared in shock, the smallest of them weakly braced himself against the couch, eyes wide as he concentrated on the imposing figure in front of him. Sweat poured off him as he held his ground even as the man with yellow eyes fought back, making him worry that he wasn't strong enough. He heard the man's taunt, but it was what he heard in the man's head that frightened him even more.
'Don't worry little boy, when I'm done with you, your brothers are next… I'll be generous though, their deaths will be quick – painful, but quick.'
It was then that Sammy knew he needed to end this… somehow. He knew he wasn't strong enough, but he had to try… his brothers couldn't die, not because of him. Taking a deep breath he steeled himself against the pain and silently promised his brothers that everything would be alright now, even as he forced himself towards the man, even as he grabbed hold of the body of the host, even as he felt the power burst through them in a painful blaze, sinking him deep into the unwelcoming abyss, his brothers screams following him the whole way.
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Dean couldn't get off the wall and it was more than a little frustrating. Here he was less than ten feet away from his little brother and he couldn't do anything to keep the bastard away. To make matters worse, John was down too… leaving Sammy to deal with the demon by himself.
Hearing a faint moan from John's direction he managed to look over and see his big brother coming around and although he felt relief, he knew that it was most likely too little, too late. He was determined though to give it everything he had to not leave Sammy alone in dealing with this monster, and started screaming at the bastard to let his little brother go, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. It wasn't until he heard the other man that he understood that his Sammy was fighting back, and no matter how much it was making him proud of the kid… it scared him just as much.
He was about to yell out, when he noticed Sammy's whole demeanor change – as if finally coming to a conclusion and then finally… resignation. The bad feeling that had been building in the pit of his stomach since this whole ordeal began suddenly intensified until he wasn't sure how he was still able to breathe. It wasn't until he saw the strain in his brother's body and the uncertainty in the demon's face that he fully understood that whatever was about to happen was bad – very, very bad.
"Sammy? Stop Buddy… you hear me? Stop!" he yelled, his voice mingling with John's to echo in terror throughout the cabin.
Whatever he had been expecting though wasn't anything compared to actually watching his baby brother struggle off the couch and lunge at the very thing they were trying to keep him safe from. His screams reached a crescendo as he saw the shock in both the demon and Sammy's faces before their yells echoed his as a bright light exploded through the room, pulling the demon out of the possessed man and sending Sammy unconscious to the floor.
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Bobby could see that it wouldn't take much to get Caleb out from under the vehicle seeing as it was mostly resting on an uprooted tree, the trick was to get the hunter out from under it without doing any more damage though.
"Wait before you do anything Bobby." Jim said warily. He had stopped and was looking around them before showing his fingers. "Sulfur." He stated plainly before digging a container from his bag.
As Bobby watched Jim splash everything with holy water, he began checking Caleb for injuries and other than a severe whack on the head and few scrapes and bruises he felt that the younger man was extremely lucky. Looking up, he smiled at the sight of the former priest performing a banishing rite on the area. He knew that most people, even hunters, would have thought that was overkill, but he'd known the man for far too long to question him. Seeing his friend finishing up, he prepared to pull Caleb away from the wreckage when he heard a groan and saw startled eyes fly open.
"Whoa there, calm down man." Bobby said while trying to hold down the hunter and keep an eye on Jim as he finished the rite. What came out of the younger man's mouth though stopped him dead.
"Sammy… Bobby… we have to save him."
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Caleb walked away from the woman, trying his best to ignore her taunts. It was bad enough that he had no clue as to what was going on, but her intermittent appearance when he started to feel like he was making progress was really starting to tick him off.
"Give it up Caleb… you know you want answers, and you know I have them. All you have to do is stop and talk to me."
Rolling his eyes Caleb was ready to lay into her until he heard something, and by the woman's reaction told him that wasn't supposed to happen. Turning to her he smiled.
"Well, it looks like we're not alone, are we sweetheart?"
Tara looked around, not sure what could have gone wrong, but knowing that somehow her actions had been breached. Growling, she was about to amp up her illusion when she jerked back. Surprised, she was unsure what was happening until she started to flicker. 'This isn't possible.' She thought, 'There's no way they could have found him this fast, and they still wouldn't know I'm here.'
Smiling, Caleb watched the woman flicker and he knew suddenly what his grandmother was talking about. "I think it's time for you to get lost sweetheart." He said happily as she finally disappeared out of sight. Looking around, he wondered once again where he was and how he could get himself out.
"Caleb?"
Turning around, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Sammy? What the…? Are you alright little man?"
Sammy allowed his friend to hug him close before he started to push away. "Caleb. Something happened. I don't know where I am, and my brothers… I don't know if they're ok. You have to help them… please!"
Listening to the boy's plea, Caleb nodded his head frantically. Something told him that the kid's psychic power is what happened and he could only pray that the remaining Winchester's were alright. Before he could say anything though, Sammy looked away.
"I…I did something Caleb. The man with yellow eyes… he was going to kill them… I couldn't let John and Dean get killed. You'll help them; make sure they're alright… right?" Sammy pleaded. "You have to make sure they're alright!"
"Yeah kiddo, I'll make sure. How about you though… how are you?" Caleb knew it was stupid to ask, after all if the kid was there with him talking, then something heavy occurred and he couldn't help but be afraid for the boy.
Shaking his head, Sammy conveyed what they both knew… he didn't know. "Please." He pleaded once again before fading out, leaving one last gift behind – the cabin's location.
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Dean couldn't see anything because the tears were blinding him. He heard John frantically get rid of the body that had obviously been deceased for quite awhile now, but he couldn't bring himself to help; his only concern being his little brother. He held Sammy in his arms and rocked him constantly, hoping, praying that his baby brother would come back, not believing that everything they had gone through was worth this. No, this price was too high. Sure, he knew that Sammy had been fading, and that one day they'd be at this point… but that was sometime in the future – not now!
Looking down, he made sure Sammy was warm and that he wasn't staring into the lamp light. The gentle breaths escaped the young mouth and brushed his cheek, giving Dean the assurance he needed to know that all wasn't lost. No matter what, he wasn't going to give up on Sammy – ever.
"How is he?" John asked as he walked back into the cabin. He hadn't wanted to leave even for a moment, but he had needed to get rid of the body, the evidence as much as possible that something had happened. Now that he was back inside though, he had to fight the urge to run. His baby brother had pushed himself so much that he was now catatonic and not even Dean's urging was bringing him out of it.
Shaking his head, Dean didn't answer. It was obvious how Sammy was, why couldn't John just leave him alone about it? Ever since they saw what Sammy did to save them, he had been worried that this was going to be the time he wouldn't be able to bring their little brother back from the darkness- that this time he was truly lost to them. If he was going to keep any faith at all that this is only temporary, then he couldn't sit there and talk about it.
John nodded and stoked the fireplace, wanting to keep the chill out as much as possible. Looking over his shoulder, he saw his little brothers and wondered just how badly he failed them both. Dean looked like he could snap at a strong breeze, while Sammy wasn't there anymore – or if not gone, then hidden so deeply that he had no idea how they would ever get him back.
"We need to get some sleep. After that we can decide what we're going to do, ok?" he said calmly, hoping he sounded more like dad than some jerk who didn't care. Sitting down next to Dean, he placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Dean, get some sleep. We'll deal with everything in the morning."
Dean had been happy to stay next to Sammy until the end of the world, but hearing their big brother talk as if Sammy was something to be dealt with, something snapped. "Deal? What do you mean 'deal' big brother? You going to make some sort of To Do list and start checking things off? Where does Sammy fit in, huh? Let me guess… right between 'Find a Good Home' and 'Go Back to School'?" Seeing the shock on John's face he laughed sardonically. "Yeah, I kinda figured… you've just been waiting until you could just dump us off and go back to your other life. Well don't do us any favors; you can leave any damn time you want. Me and Sammy'll be just fine!"
