Here is the next chapter. Thanks to everyone for their kind words, they made me feel much better. I hope you enjoy.

Cindy.

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Dinner went off without a hitch, Sam even accomplishing more than a few small nibbles of his toasted cheese sandwich. Dean was quite pleased to see Sam finish his mug of tomato soup and quickly ushered him from the kitchen, forcing him to rest on the sofa while Dean in the meantime went back to help Bobby clean up the dishes from their steak dinner. Dean had felt guilty about eating steak in front of Sam, but his little brother didn't seem to notice, as his mind appeared to be a million miles away. Dean could only guess at where Sam had drifted off to and it killed him to know he couldn't take those memories away from his beloved brother.

Dean and Bobby were just finishing drying the last of the dishes when they heard voices and they looked at each other quizzically before glancing around to determine where the voices were coming from. They moved together to the livingroom and Dean felt an immediate rush of panic when he spied the empty sofa. He rushed further into the room, his eyes darting to each corner, but Sam was not there. The voices came again and both hunters jerked around toward the diningroom. Dean's face went white and he dashed forward, Bobby right on his heels. The men came to a sudden halt at the scene before them.

Sam stood just outside the devil's trap, his body trembling as he held his hand out before him, his eyes glaring intently at the trapped demon who sat writhing in his chair.

"Sam!" Dean cried as he rushed to his brother's side, worry evident in his voice.

Sam seemed to come back from where he had been because he slowly moved his eyes to rest on Dean's face. He dropped his hand and Dean had to reach out and grab his arm to keep the young hunter from falling.

"Sammy…what're ya doing?" Dean queried softly, his eyes moving to the sneering demon.

"He h-has to p-pay…" Sam stammered, lifting his shaky hand up to wipe away the trickle of blood that had begun to drip from his nose.

"You let me handle him, Sammy. He'll pay for what he did to you kiddo. I promise," Dean said as he attempted to move Sam toward the doorway, the younger hunter digging in his heels, refusing to move.

"N-Not for m-me…f-for what he did to you Dean…" Sam whispered.

"God Sammy…don't…not for me…"

"Everything is for you. Everything…"

Dean dropped his eyes and shook his head. He felt Sam tense when Alastair's rough voice sounded from within the devil's trap.

"Pretty good Sammy boy…just not good enough. Story of your life huh? Never quite good enough. No matter how hard you try, you always fall short," the demon hissed.

"Shut the fuck up Alastair," Dean growled as he turned his cold eyes onto the demon.

Alastair chuckled, his eyes never leaving Sam's face. "You never measured up in your daddy's eyes…your brother's either."

"You don't know jack you piece of shit!" Dean shouted, his concerned eyes glancing at Sam, then at Bobby, who stood behind Alastair, anger in his dark eyes.

"I know that both your daddy and you never thought Sammy would ever amount to anything as a hunter. I know that John never wanted another brat to feed…"

Dean was in the devil's trap in an instant, his one hand squeezing Alastair's throat while the other plowed into the surprised demon's face. Blood spurted from the host's ruined nose, but Alastair merely laughed as he stared defiantly up at the furious hunter.

"Temper, temper Deano. I only speak the truth and you know it," he spat coolly.

"The only truth is that you're an asshole!"

"Dean…step out of the trap," Bobby said evenly.

Dean glanced up at Bobby and the murderous glint in his eyes caused the older hunter to take a step back. "I got it under control, Bobby," he said, his voice low and dangerous.

"We don't know what he can still do. Just…step out."

Dean looked back at the sneering face of Alastair then he smiled coldly before letting go of the demon's throat and stepping backwards out of the trap.

"The only thing our little Sammy is good for is being my play thing. The only thing he'll ever be good for. Why don't you come here Sammy…we can give big brother a show…" Alastair taunted, but his triumph was short lived as he was grabbed from behind, his head jerked back, his mouth pulled open wide.

Bobby was beyond rage as he jerked Alastair's head back and jammed a bottle in his mouth. The demon sputtered before a gutwrenching scream tore from his sizzling, steaming throat. Bobby continued to pour the bottle of holy water down the demon's throat, delighting in the anguished sounds coming from the beast. He looked up and met Dean's approving gaze before turning his eyes onto Sam. The young man had moved until he was propped against the wall, his wide eyes transfixed by the scene before him. Dean followed Bobby's gaze and immediately jumped to his brother's aide. He gently pulled Sam to a nearby chair and just managed to seat him before his legs gave out.

Bobby pulled the bottle away once it was empty and stepped from the devil's trap, watching as Alastair continued to squirm in his seat. Bobby joined the brothers, assisting Dean in his assessment of this most recent trauma to the youngest hunter. Besides the nosebleed and general weakness, Sam seemed physically fine. Emotionally though, he appeared to be near the edge of a dangerously steep cliff and even one tiny push could send him completely into oblivion. When Alastair seemed to be about to find his voice, Bobby moved back into the trap and stuck a fresh piece of duct tape over his sizzling lips.

Bobby rejoined the brothers, his concern matching Dean's as they continued their assessment of Sam's condition.

"Sammy, why did you come in here? Why did you remove his gag?" Dean asked softly as he rubbed his hand comfortingly over Sam's back.

Weary hazel eyes turned to him and Sam sighed before answering. "I-I wanted him to pay for what he did to you. I guess…I…I wanted him to say he was sorry for hurting you. Stupid huh?" Sam answered quietly.

"Oh Sam…you knew that would never happen…"

"I know Dean…I just needed to do something for you after everything you went through…for me…"

"Sam…what about what he did to you?"

"I deserved it all Dean. I needed to go through it to set things right…but you…you didn't deserve any of what you got."

"Neither did you Sammy. You don't deserve any of the hand you've been dealt."

"I just want to end him Dean. I can't stand him being here. I can feel him still…I can feel everything…"

Alastair sniggered through his gag and Dean stomped up to him then rammed his fist over and over into the vile creatures face until the man he possessed sagged against his restraints.

"Dean…you'll kill the host…"

"The host is already dead Sam," came a deep voice from the kitchen entrance.

Dean and Bobby turned their eyes to the doorway, both shaking their heads when they spied Uriel and Castiel glaring menacingly at the demon. Sam slowly turned until he too gazed at the angels.

"H-How do you know?" he whispered.

"Because Sam, Alastair never allows his host to live. The second he takes over, they are as good as dead," Castiel answered as he moved gracefully across the room to stand in front of the demon, just outside the lines of the trap.

Alastair glared at he angel defiantly, though he was not able to hide the fear in his eyes.

"Can I k-kill him now? I need…"

"No Sam. You will alert Lilith and she will not come if she knows you still have your abilities. She'll be coming soon to find Alastair and you. Then you can strike them both down," Uriel said in his deep baritone.

"No way. It'll kill him. He's too weak. Look at him! Look at what just using a small amount of power did to him!" Dean snarled.

"We can help him with that. We can speed his recovery and help him build up his power. Without the demon blood, he will be able to take both of the vermin out. The blood is what kept him from success before," Uriel said.

"So…what do we do with this piece of shit in the meantime? I don't want him this close to Sammy," Dean queried.

"Uriel and I will take him to the basement. Bobby can put in another devil's trap. That's as far as he can go though. He needs to be close. I'm sorry," Castiel answered softly.

"Well that just sucks!"

"It's okay Dean. I'll b-be fine," Sam whispered tiredly.

"Sammy…"

"Did you know he possesses the knife?" Uriel questioned.

"Knife? What knife?" Bobby asked curiously.

"The demon killing knife. Ruby's knife," Castiel answered.

"What? Where?" Dean cried.

"Behind his back," Castiel said.

"W-We…we didn't even check. Just wanted to get him secured. Shit!" Dean cried, pissed at himself for missing that.

"Why did he bring the knife?" Bobby queried.

"To take Sam's head," Uriel answered.

"Fucking son of a bitch!" Dean screamed as he rushed to the demon.

He roughly pushed the demon forward and reached down his back, smiling triumphantly when his fingers closed over the hilt of the knife. He pulled it out and flashed it before the quivering demon's face.

"Are you afraid of this knife? It didn't kill you before, but it did cause you pain," Dean taunted, his eyes moving up to meet Castiel's gaze. "You get him secured in the basement. I'll be down once I have Sam settled. I have a score to settle."

"Dean…n-no…the host. You c-can't," Sam started.

"The host is gone. You heard the angels Sam. I'm just going to give him a dose of his own medicine. Weaken him for when it's time for you to do your mind thingy on him," Dean explained.

Sam's glistening, sad eyes gazed up at Dean and the older brother nearly broke at the sight. "Dean…what he made you do…"

"I have to do it Sam. I just have to…for you…and for me. Look, I'll make sure the angels are certain the host is gone. I promise Sammy…only Alastair will suffer."

Sam sat, silent as he gazed at his brother. Dean's pleading eyes tore him apart and he finally nodded before lowering his eyes to his lap. Bobby moved out of the room, hurrying to place the devil's trap so the angels could move Alastair. Dean moved to help Sam up, deciding the best place for the younger man would be his bed upstairs. The further away from the basement he was, the less likely he would be to hear the demon's screams.

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So? Just a quick note. I wrote this before the episode (can't for the life of me remember the name) where Dean tortured Alastair. I very nearly changed the whole direction of the story because of the similaraties between it and that epi. I have changed some of what I had planned in future chapters, but I did leave the torture intact. The things I did change do not affect the outcome that I had planned, just how we get there. Reviews are love.

Cindy.