Eyes. Bloodshot. Blood dripping from the corners. These are Dean's eyes from Dean's point-of-view as he watches this nightmare unfold, the nightmare he's been having now since he returned from Hell. He grimaces as his ears pick up the banshee-like shrieking and bloodcurdling screaming occurring from a distance, the very feeling that his head might explode creeping up on him. He also feels intense pain and agony from the torture that he's been forced upon but he can't see what. And then that voice. A voice so thick with evil, malice and authority it makes Dean's pained body shiver to the very bone.

"Dean…give in…you cannot hope to hold out…for much longer," the malevolent voice incites, Dean all but trying to force that voice out of his head but with no avail.

"Dean…Dean…Dean?" The dominant, sinful voice begins to fade away but finds that another one's taking its place yet it's a more softer, gentler voice that he recognizes some how…

Dean can feel someone softly shaking his right shoulder and he quickly realizes that he was dreaming, blinking his eyes which helps to wash away the nightmare, if only for a little while at least.

"Dean? Are you okay? You're mumbling in your sleep," came the soft, whispering voice from beside him, Dean finding out that it belongs to Terry who's holding a mug of what he can smell is definitely black coffee. Hmm, smells awfully good too, Dean mulls as he leans off the table and against his chair, scratching the back of his neck before giving out a good stretch and a yawn.

He stares up at Terry, noticing the visible concern that's written all over his face as he passes Dean the mug of black coffee, "Here, I think you need this more than I do," he replies with a smile," Fresh from the kettle. Does it matter if it's got sugar in it? I can't drink anything black unless it's got sugar in to sweeten the taste."

Dean laughs, but not too loud so it wakes up Sam, taking the cup from Terry's hand, "No probs. As long as it's coffee, I'm game," and with that he presses it to his lips, leans back a little and takes in the strong, bitter but sweet taste that is All-American black coffee. After a large, needful gulp he takes it away and places it on the coaster on the table, noticing that while he had his eyes closed whilst drinking the coffee, Terry had been looking at the still body of his brother slumbering on top of the big bed, being 6'4" made him look awfully big on it.

"He looks so calm, so peaceful like that but then why do I mentally "sense" that, behind that tranquil façade, he has this terrible weight placed heavily on his shoulders like he's holding something back…something that could change his whole world even if he expressed it just a little?" Terry didn't seem to notice that he's mumbling to himself and when he looks at Dean, he can tell that he's heard every word of it.

Dean's hazel eyes are staring at Terry's crystal blues with a little shock but mostly awe, his mouth slightly agape as all he can muster at that moment is, "Come again?" He then swallows the lump in his throat before standing up from the chair and taking a step towards Terry but not in a threatening way.

Terry furrows his brow, "Oh! Didn't Bobby tell you guys about my…gift? If you can call it that, that is." He asks in a tone that suggests that they should have, letting out a quick smile to show Dean that he isn't hiding anything that they should be worried about.

"Bobby didn't even mention that you even had a gift? Is it going to give us problems?" Dean doesn't mean to make it sound so forceful but he just has to ask as in the past, the two brothers had met plenty of people with gifts but weren't really used to help them on their cases or in helping others. Mostly on wreaking havoc or personal gain or whatever floated their boat. He just wants to make sure that this wasn't another one of those cases.

Terry raises his hands up defensively, sensing Dean's urge to protect himself or Sam if it ever came to that, "No, no. Nothing like that I swear Dean. I've never used it to hurt others or get my own way," he replies as though he'd just heard what Dean's thinking, putting his arms back down to his sides when he sees that Dean's loosened up a bit, if still looking slightly tense.

"Well? What is it that you can do?" Dean enquires, crossing his arms over his chest as he waits for Terry to answer, knowing full well that this gift mustn't be all that life-threatening if Bobby knows about it and hasn't done something or told them about it.

"I…God this is gonna make me sound like someone from the X-Men or something," he laughs at himself, his smile filled with perfect, white teeth, before he continues, "But I found that, at an early age, I possess…empathic abilities."

"Empathic abilities?" Dean asks, his brow also creasing, "If my knowledge of that kinds stuff's correct, you're basically saying that you can "sense" other people's emotions all around you?" He then chuckles a little as he completely eases himself from that tension welding up inside, Terry feeling comfortable now that Dean doesn't think he's a threat.

"Got it in one," he smiles before it quickly dissolves into a frown, "I hope it doesn't make you think any less of me like I'm a freak or something? It's just that only a handful of people know about it, people who are close to me and who I can trust with every sense of my being, basically implying my parents, Bobby and Chris."

"I'd never think you're a freak Terry. Being a hunter, you experience and see things that no civilian could ever hope to understand. So you being an real-life empath won't have me running for the hills anytime soon," he then reveals his trademark smirk to reassure Terry that he's totally fine with it. Well he should be, what with Sam having those precognitive dreams and that one specific time where he told Dean he'd used telekinesis. Yet ever since Dean killed Azazel with the Colt after the Devil's Gate was opened, those powers haven't manifested thus far. His mind then wonders to Terry's lover in the other bedroom and Dean just has to ask, even if it is prying into people's private business, "How's Chris taken to all of this? If you don't mind me asking, that is?"

Terry lets out a deep sigh, taking the opportunity to park himself in the chair opposite Dean's at the table, his hand running through his short blonde hair before looking back up at Dean, a small smile forming on his lips, "Chris' taken all of it pretty well, for a civilian." Then, trying not to wake up Sam, they both laugh softly with each other, lightening the atmosphere in the room a little. Civilian's a term hunters use to identify those who aren't familiar with the supernatural or have no interest in becoming a hunter.

Terry then gestures Dean to the seat he was just sitting on just a moment ago, "You might want to sit down for this." He then gives Dean another smile, one that's bigger than the one before, watching as he parks himself on it before closing the lid of the laptop, to give them some quiet, what with all that humming.

"I might as well start at the beginning. I'm right in thinking that Bobby hasn't told you two about the time he helped my parents rescue me from a clan of vampires either?"

This earns him a gentle nod from Dean, "When I was just a kid, I don't know, maybe 8 or 9 years old, I was kidnapped along with some other kids by a clan of vampires who specified in just drinking the blood of children…you know for their purity and innocence. While we were held in captivity and before my parents and Bobby stormed in to rescue us, the lead vampire told me that I was more "special" than the others, because he, like the other vampires, could "sense" that I was a latent empath and that my powers would manifest when I hit puberty. Obviously being a kid I didn't know what the hell he was talking about, too busy begging to be taken home and just be with my parents. He even had this ridiculous plan to keep me with them until those powers did manifest and then help me in controlling them before turning me into one of them, to become this "secret weapon" to aid them in taking down all hunters, including…my family."

He hesitates as though deep in thought as a teardrop trails itself down his cheek, Terry not bothering to swipe it away. What seems like an eternity but really only a couple of minutes, Dean decides then to comfort him by placing a soft, warm hand onto his and showing off a warm smile on his face, "You know, you can stop at any time if this is too hard for you."

Looking down at Dean's hand on top of his, Terry finally swipes away the teardrop and gives him a smile, weaker than before but understanding nonetheless, "No…no I'm fine. I was just thinking for a moment about what would've become of me if…" he hitches, "…if Bobby and my parents hadn't have been there to rescue us, to rescue me."

"Well thank God then that they did and that you were all brought back safe and sound," Dean consoles, his hand still on top of Terry's.

Terry smiles back at Dean, reassuring him that his consoling is helping as he continues, "Afterwards everything seemed to be appear to be back to normal…until the vampire's words came true and my powers manifested when I turned 16 at the worst possible time."

Terry then leans back on his chair, taking his hand away from underneath Dean's and crosses his arms, exhaling a deep breath he didn't know he's holding, "I was out shopping with some friends of mine at the local mall, place literally buzzing with people, when my mind was suddenly bombarded with all those people's emotions, including my friends, that it felt like my head was about to explode. I couldn't take it, the pressure of so many emotions at one time, that I blacked out right there and then. When I finally woke up I found myself lying in my bed, my parents and Bobby watching over me. And that's when they told me everything; that my mother's an empath and that her powers had been passed down onto me and that after I was fully rested she was going to help me learn how to control them so something like that incident back at the mall wouldn't happen again."

Then Terry pushes himself off the chair and stands beside the window, looking out into the spacious backyard where the trees are dancing along with the wind, the Sun beginning to set behind them, as though gazing back into the past, "It was tough at first, having no control over an ability that allows you to "sense" others' emotions in your vicinity, but as the training went on, it got surprisingly easier and I discovered that I could do other things with this power I had."

Terry's right, it did sound like it was coming straight out of a comic-book but Dean didn't care, he's been around this stuff his whole life and shockingly enough, he wanted to know more about what Terry's capable of, "And what were these "other things" you found out you could do? Nothing dangerous I hope?"

Terry beams again, "I can "sense" your uneasiness Dean but you don't need to worry about it. Like I said before, I would never use them to hurt others or for my own personal gain but if push came to shove, I will use them to protect those who I love and care about without hesitation."

Dean doesn't need to be an empath like Terry to sense that that last sentence he meant wholly and who can blame him? "So what are they, if you don't mind me asking?" He takes another sip of his coffee to find that it's already gone cold as he grimaces at the taste.

"Well, apart from sensing people's emotions, I can also "steal" them, so to speak, which leaves whoever I use it on emotionally "numb". I can absorb others' pain to ease their suffering and also induce rapid healing," he subsequently turns to face Dean, "And that's basically it, my life story and my abilities up to this point."

Dean's left open-mouthed at what Terry's just explained about what he can do with his powers, "Wow…I couldn't begin to imagine how it must've felt when your powers "manifested" but I'm sure glad you're in control of them now. Say, have you used your abilities on Chris? The healing part I mean," Dean's quick to correct himself, not wanting Terry to think that he's using his abilities to manipulate Chris in any way.

Terry, now looking back out the window, frowns a little before answering softly, "Yes I have but they have no effect on him whatsoever, even at their fullest. Whatever demon this is Dean, it's a pretty powerful one." He shivers a little as he hears himself say that, as though he feels that there's no hope in stopping this demon and saving his lover from…death.

Dean gets up and follows him to the window, standing right beside him. He then does something that he thanks Sam can't see him do. He pulls Terry into a comforting hug and states softly, "We're gonna stop this demon Terry and we're gonna send it straight to Hell. You hear me? We're gonna save Chris…you have my word." Dean doesn't seem to realize that by the end of that sentence, he's practically growling.

Terry then can't help but collapse into Dean, his arms round his shoulders and his face beside his neck, "I know you both will. I can sense it. Thank you Dean, thank you so much for helping us."

Having a strange feeling that Sam might wake up any minute and spot the two hugging, causing it to get very awkward, Dean pulls away from their embrace and smirks, "Don't mention it…and I mean don't mention it." He nods to Sam to assure Terry of what he means, "Let's just keep this whole talk to ourselves for now and concentrate on saving Chris."

"You're right, oh, and speaking of which, could you watch over him while I pop out? I just need to get some provisions for dinner tonight and then to my office to pick up some files. It's the whole reason why I came in here in the first place, to ask you," Terry asks, scratching the back of his head and giving Dean a small smirk.

"Of course, we'll be happy to oblige," Dean answers, nodding towards Sam again, "We owe you for giving us food and somewhere to stay until this case's over."

Terry nods, smiles and backs away towards the door, "Cool. Thanks again Dean. I promise you I won't be gone long. See you later." And then he's gone, disappearing out the door and down the stairs.

Turning back to face Sam, finding it amazing that he's still asleep, probably a new record since they've been on the road together. Picking up the cup with the rest of the cold coffee, Dean takes one look at Sam, knowing that he's safe like Chris' in the other room, before heading downstairs to make himself a fresh cup, marvelling at the other rooms as he passes by.