Disclaimer: I still don't own Supernatural or its characters. I and am not making any money on this…I'm just having fun!

Secrets

Chapter 22 – Battered Souls

Dean sat in the back seat with Sam leaning against him. Andy was driving with a barely conscious Melissa in the passenger seat of Trisha's BMW. Dean could feel the tremors in his brother's body as Sam's fever continued to climb. Dean had done his best to re-dress his brother's wounds, but he knew that if they didn't get him to a hospital soon, his brother would die.

"Floor it Andy!" Dean said again as he felt Sam begin to moan again in his arms. His brother had not woken since Dean had freed him from the ropes that held him. He was worried about Sam's state of mind. He knew that Sam would be upset that Trisha had been killed. That added to the torture he had endured and the attacks by the yellow eyed demon had to have some impact on his brother.

"I'm going as fast as I can Dean…we should be there within the next hour." Andy said as he glanced at Melissa. She like Sam had been silent and refused to talk to either him or Dean. She stared out the window with a glazed look in her eyes. Andy was afraid she was shutting down and didn't know how to reach her.

"Dean, I'm worried about Melissa…she's been through so much." Andy said speaking his fears out loud.

"I know Andy, but all we can do is try to be there for her. Did she tell you if her family was still living?" Dean wrapped the blanket that they had placed on Sam tighter around his brother as Sam began to toss in his arms.

"No, she only talked about her sister. I got the impression it was just her and her sister…Oh man, just like me." Andy had tried not to think about what had happened after he shot his brother. He had dealt with it, partially because he knew that if he hadn't done it his girlfriend, Dean and Sam would now be dead. But he didn't know his brother that well. Melissa knew her sister and yet she had managed to find the strength to kill her before she could kill them.

Dean shook his head. He really didn't want to think about it either. Two siblings, each with one of them going dark side and the other having to kill them. It was too close to home for Dean's comfort. He looked down at Sam in his arms and blinked back the tears. Sam would be different…he would make sure of it. "Hold on Sammy, we will be there soon I promise." Dean soothed as he tried to calm Sam down.

Sam couldn't hear his brother; he couldn't hear anything but the voice of the yellow eyed demon as it tormented him.

"You know that you can't save them Sammy…any more than you can save yourself."

"You're not here, you're not real." Sam said as he turned from the demon.

"Physically, no…I must admit I lost my ability to affect your physical body with the death of Trisha…but I can still reach you Sammy. The connection has been made."

"Just talk…that's all you can do huh?" Sam turned to look at the demon that had destroyed his life.

"That's not important…you can't escape your destiny Sammy…your father knew it, your brother knows it. Either you serve me or you will be killed and it won't be by my hand Sammy…it will be by your brother or if he's not strong enough, another hunter."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked

"You're officially considered Supernatural now Sammy…you have a connection to me that you can no longer deny. That in itself is enough for some hunters to kill you. They fear you Sammy and because of that fear, they will kill you. So you see, better the demon you know than the demon you don't" The demon laughed at his own joke.

Sam shook his head. "No, you're lying…demons always lie."

"What do I have to lose Sammy, either you will turn or you will be killed. I prefer to have you on my side, with your powers you would be a God among men."

Sam was confused, how could visions make him powerful?

The demon laughed. "Boy, you have only scratched the surface. You have other abilities…abilities that if channeled correctly can make you a strong warrior in my army. The war is coming Sam…you can't stop it. No one can. And in the end, we will be walking on the earth and mankind will be our slaves."

Sam turned, allowing the hatred he felt for the demon to show in his eyes. "Not if Dean and I have anything to say about it…now leave me alone. I'm tired of your lies."

The demon sensed his time to persuade Sam was gone. "Remember Sam, you are now the hunted. All I have to do is sit back and wait…either me or your own kind. You will never be free."

Sam shuddered as he felt the demon leaving his mind. He once again let himself fall into the darkness of his mind. The only place he truly felt at peace.

Dean felt the change in Sam, he felt his brother slipping away from him. "Sammy…don't you do this. You can't leave me…you have to fight this Sammy." Dean sighed with relief as he saw the Emergency Room sign. Before the car stopped, Dean had jumped from the car and was running in to get Sam help. As he watched his brother being loaded onto a gurney and taken away from him, he quickly grabbed Sam's hand one more time, afraid to let go. "Sammy, you have to be strong do you hear me…come back to me Sam…please!" Dean placed his head against his brother's warm forehead as a single tear made its way down his cheek.

That had been over 2 hours ago and Dean still hadn't heard from the doctor. Andy was sitting beside him as both waited to hear on Melissa and Sam. The doctor had come out to explain that Melissa was going in for surgery, but felt the young woman would be fine. But there had been no work on Sam.

Dean stood and began to pace once again as he ran his hand through his hair. Both Melissa and Andy had killed their sibling. Both of their siblings had gone dark side after being visited by the demon in their dreams. Dean sighed. At least Sam hadn't been visited by the yellow eyed demon…at least as far as he knew. The fear that he might have to kill Sam once again ate away at him. He knew that Sam wouldn't blame him should the time come; in fact he knew that Sam would rather be dead than become a soldier for the demon. He had practically begged him to do the same when he thought he had that freaky demon virus.

But Dean wasn't sure he could do it. Could he kill his little brother? Hell, when Sam had the gun on his father…Dean couldn't let his brother do it…he couldn't let him kill his father, even if it meant the end of the yellow eyed demon. When it came to Sam, Dean knew that he had to save him or risk losing himself. Dean slammed his fist into the wall by the vending machine. Since when did he and Sam have to be the sacrificial lambs…if Sam survived this…he would take them away somewhere…somewhere that Sam would be safe.

Dean jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. "The doctor is here Dean." Andy said quietly motioning with his head towards the other side of the room. Dean moved slowly, part of him afraid to hear what the doctor had to say and the other part impatient to get to Sam. "Ok Doc, how is he?"

The Doctor smiled slightly. "I have to say, I've never seen such extensive injuries in a live person…or dead person either…care to tell me what happened?"

Dean shook his head. "Look, like I told the cops…my brother was abducted by this crazy serial killer chick…you know the one that has been killing the young men around here. We managed to find him before she could finish the job…end of story…now tell me…how is my brother?"

The Doctor backed up slightly at the anger he saw in the cold green eyes of the man standing in front of him. "He'll be fine…eventually. Right now we have him sedated to help with the pain. We've cleaned the wounds and repaired the damage to his leg from the bullet wound. Several of the wounds were infected, but I think we've managed to get that under control. We are giving him antibiotics and fluids…he was very dehydrated from the fever."

"How long before he can leave here?" Dean asked as he digested the news. His brother was going to live and he was going to make sure that he stayed that way.

"He needs to stay here until his fever breaks…I'm guessing that if he doesn't have any other complications, he can go home in the next 48 hours…you can go see him now if you want, but keep in mind, we have sedated him to help him with the pain from his wounds. I'll stop by later to see how he's doing."

Andy stepped forward. "Is there any word on Melissa?"

"Are you family?" The Doctor asked.

"Yeah, we are her cousins" Dean interjected before Andy could answer.

"Oh, ok…well she's out of surgery and in recovery right now. She'll be on the same floor as Sam; I'll have one of the nurses let you know when you can go see her. She came through fine, although I was a little concerned at her health in general. She is severely malnourished…but I see no reason why she shouldn't make a full recovery. In fact, depending on how well she does, she too may be able to leave within the next 48 hours."

Andy smiled. "Thanks Doctor…Dean, are you ready to go see Sam?"

Dean looked at Andy and smiled for the first time all day. "Come on Obi Wan...time to check on grasshopper."

Andy laughed. "Ah Dean…only you could mix Kung Fu with Star Wars…"

Dean just smirked as he headed for the elevator. "And I'm just warming up!"

Andy groaned "Man, I think this is going to be a long night!" as he followed Dean to the elevator.

TBC

Raven524: Bet you all thought it was over didn't ya…well not quite. Hope you are still enjoying the story…Thanks again to all of you who are reviewing. I am trying to respond, but the darn site has been giving me problems for some reason. So if you don't hear from me…please accept my heartfelt thanks for all your support…it really means a lot to me.