Time, Tattoos and Trouble.

Third in the Decebal Trilogy

Disclaimer: Not mine never was and never will be...sigh just my own fevered imagination and the odd original character.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Big thanks to all of my reviewers, I read each and every one, I am sorry that I haven't had the chance to reply personally, I am thankful for all of them. And thanks to my lurkers who read for enjoyment I hope that you keep on reading.

My thoughts go out to those who are caught up in the ice storms, I hope that it all clears soon and that life can get back to normal for you. We get the news reports here; though it is hard to imagine what it would be like as we are in summer, a very hot and dry one, and suffering through a major drought and water shortages. Go figure.

CHAPTER 18 Going on a supernatural holiday

Dean moved slightly and winced with the pain lancing through him, his fingers trailed up his body to feel the collar around his throat, 'yep it's all real and not a dream.' Ever so slowly, he rolled his head from one side to the other in search of his baby brother. 'Sammy?'

'Dean?' Sam's muffled voice came from his right side, turning awkwardly Dean managed to roll over enabling him to see Sam clearly.

'You okay Sammy?'

'Yeah I guess, oh Gods Dean look.'

'At what?'

'Your chest.' Sam's voice breathy and filled with panic.

Dean glanced down at his own body and gasped audibly, the tattoo was back, in the original form with more intensity in colour than ever before. 'What the?'

'Dean? You okay?'

'How? How? How could it have?'

'Dunno but I have a feeling that has to do with Decebal's resurrection.'

'Ya think Sammy?' Dean quipped and then immediately regretted his words and tone when he saw Sam's face. 'Sorry Sammy, so Decebal's out to cause more mischief.'

'Looks like it.'

'Sammy he hasn't?"

'No, no not yet anyway.' Sam said averting his eyes from Dean's direct stare.

'Sam?'

'No, not that I can remember anyway.' Sam admitted without looking up at Dean. 'What do we do know?'

'Okay Josh will find an empty building when he gets there, probably a few traps.'

'Damn we need to warn him, speaking of which where are we exactly?'

'In the back of a truck or something large.' Sam commented without making eye contact with his brother, 'we're heading north.'

'How long?'

'I came too about thirty minutes before you, but don't know how long we were both out for.'

'Did we stop at all?'

'Once I think that's what brought me around but no one has come near us.' Sam looked up and then ducked his head again, red staining his face.

'What is it Sam?'

'Nothing.'

'Sammy please talk to me.'

'I – I can't Dean.'

'Sam.' Dean wanted desperately to find out what was going on in his brother's freaky thoughts but the truck rolled to a jolting stop both brothers raised their heads and listened intently. A few minutes later the doors swung open bathing the interior of the truck with bright blind momentarily blinding the two brothers.

'Bring them.' The order given and obeyed without question, Dean and Sam felt the hands gripping them and dragging them towards the open end. 'Master wants em clean and ready.'

'Sir.' One of the guards holding Sam, lifted his hand and showed it to the other, 'the prisoner's blood Sir.'

Dean blinked and squinted at the guard's hand, he knew Sam was hiding something and the gleaming red stain on the man's hand was definitely blood.

Sensing Dean's anger building and feeling the tenseness of the muscles the guards holding Dean propelled him out of the truck before he could react to Sam's condition.

'What's wrong with it?'

'It's bleeding all over the place.' The guard reported holding a limp and compliant Sam in his grasp, 'not talking either.'

'Bring him closer.' The guard dragged Sam forward stopping in front of his superior; Sam's head lolled forward and his body slumped held only by the harsh grips of the two guards. 'Roll him over.'

Dean struggled against the vice-like grips of the two guards as they forced him to his knees. Unable to do anything, he kept his gaze fixed on Sam's too pale face. 'Sammy?'

'Who the fuck did this to him?' The voice of Decebal was distinctive in the suddenly silent area. 'Well who did this to him?'

'He-He was already l-like this when we opened up.'

'Who did this to you my pet?' Decebal cooed crouching down next to Sam's head, he brushed the long strands of hair from his face and felt the heat radiating off him. Hissing angrily he turned his attention to the guards holding Dean, 'what happened to my pet?'

'We don't know Sir they were both conscious when we opened the doors.' One replied, tightening his grip on Dean's injured shoulder, 'what happened in the truck?'

'N-nothing, but – but if something happens to Sammy I'm gonna kill you all.' Dean pushed the words out through gritted teeth as the pain flared from his shoulder.

'Enough, take the brothers to the compound.' Decebal dismissed them and watched as the guards practically dragged Dean who stumbled between them and then he watched the others carrying Sam. 'If any more damage happens you will be held responsible do I make myself clear?'

'Yes Sir.' The multiple replies all came at the same time.

'Sammy?' Dean called out as he struggled against the vice-like grips on each arm, 'let me go to my brother.'

'Shut the hell up.' One of the guards cuffed Dean on the back of his head eliciting a strongly worded reply from his prisoner.

The guards threw their prisoners onto the floor of a large room, stunned neither of brothers moved until they heard the door locking behind them.

'Sammy?' Dean whispered climbing to all fours he crawled over to his brother, 'Sammy dude are you okay?'

'Dean?' Sam blinked and stared at the familiar face floating above him, 'you okay?'

'Am I? Geeze Sammy ... show me your back dude.'

'What? Why?'

'Coz you're bleeding all over the place.'

'Where – where are we?'

'Dunno and at the moment don't care.' Dean mumbled as he helped Sam to sit up. 'Sorry dude.' Dean inspected Sam's back closely, most of the welts had closed up already so they were not the source of the bleeding. Frowning even more Dean slid his hand further down Sam's back until his fingers hit the band of the harem pants, the elastic already soaked. 'Sammy?'

'Dean it's nothing.' Sam let his head drop until his chin rested on his chest, his arms covering his head and face in embarrassment.

'Sam I have to check this out dude.' Dean felt Sam tense beneath his ministrations and his worry meter exploded. 'Okay just relax a little for me dude.' Dean inched the pants down to where the blood seeped out. 'Oh Gods Sam.'

'What – what is it Dean?'

---------

Joshua swore repeatedly as he went through the warehouse easily dispensing with the traps along the way. He found the room splattered with Sam's blood, the dominatrix' tools still lying where she dropped them. Furiously he picked up the cane and snapped it into pieces hurling them across the room his gaze fell on a wicked looking curved knife. A damp red stain still dripped from the blade.

Moving as quickly as he could he finished his recon of the warehouse taking the knife with him, he wanted to check out the sigils on the hilt of it as he continued to find any hints on what happened to the boys.

'Damn it Decebal you're dead.' Joshua grumbled following a fine line of blood droplets down the main hallway towards a double set of doors. Pushing them open he stepped out into the bright sunlight, squinting slightly he followed the drops until they ended abruptly, the tracks of a heavy truck laid out in an easy to follow trail. Sprinting back to his car he decided to see where the tracks led to and then take it from there.

Pulling out his cell, he rang and checked in with Ellen before heading out, a feeling of dread descending over him as he followed them until the dirt road stopped where the highway intersected with it. Pulling over to the side of the road and thankful for a lull in traffic Joshua checked the surrounding area finding the tracks continuing across the highway on another unsealed road. Wherever they were taking the brothers, it was certainly off the beaten track.

Sprinting back to the car again, he peeled away from the side of the road determined to find the brothers and to return them to their father.

--------------------

'She did it.' Sam whispered hiding his face from his brother's worried stare, 'I – I thought it was alright.'

'Dude she carved you literally.' Dean said hating the dull tone of his voice, 'these symbols I'm not sure what they are.'

'It had stopped bleeding...'

'When they tossed us into the truck they must have reopened them.'

Sam shook his head and dropped his head even more, 'I felt them open when they carried us out.'

'Sam they drugged us and... you still felt it?'

'Yeah, not so much the pain it was dull but I felt the damp, then being dropped onto the metal of the container reopened them completely.'

'She went deep Sam they need stitching, how ... how you doing?'

'I'm okay Dean what about you?'

'Oh isn't this touching.' Decebal interrupted the brother's conversation appearing next to them, 'I just wanted to check on Sam.'

'He needs stitches Decebal, your bitch carved symbols into his lower back.' Dean glared up at the demon almost daring him to come closer.

'My you are a vicious little watch dog aren't you.' Decebal cooed, 'perhaps you need your collar returned.'

'Fuck you Decebal, let me clean Sam's wounds and stitch them, it's the least you can do.'

'True, true and seeing that I am in such a giving mood, I'll give you your wish. But I will expect you to do something for me when the time is right.'

'What the freaking hell are you on about now?' Dean turned his back on Decebal and checked on Sam, 'damn it Deci please he's bleeding out.'

A fully equipped medical kit appeared next to Dean startling the young man for a second before he turned to look at his captor. 'So I'm expected to sew him up on the floor?'

'Oh really Dean you are persistent aren't you.' Decebal waved and a mattress appeared under Sam. Humming softly the demon conjured a chair for himself and sat down to watch Dean work on his brother. 'My Dean you missed your calling you would have made a wonderful seamstress.'

'Oh yuck it up Decebal, how the hell did you allow this to happen?' Dean snarled indicating the symbols so cruelly carved into Sam's lower back and behind. 'Do you know what they are?'

Curiosity getting the better of him, Decebal took a closer look and inhaled sharply, 'the bitch.' He hissed before disappearing into the ether.

'Damn was that all we had to do to get rid of him?' Dean chuckled as he finished sewing up the worst of the cuts.

'Dean?' Sam's faint whisper brushed the edges of Dean's hearing and brought him out of his internal musings.

'Sammy? You back with me?'

'Dean? What ... what happened?'

'What do you remember?'

'Ah pain and getting thrown into the back of a truck, shit I was bleeding wasn't I?'

'Yeah just finished stitching you up.' Dean placed the last piece of tape over the gauze and then covered his brother's lower body giving him a modicum of dignity and privacy.

'Thanks.' Sam turned his head so he could look up at Dean, 'what symbols did she?'

'Dunno but they sent Decebal into a tailspin.' Dean went through the medical box smiling when he found a box of extra strength paracetamol, 'here Sammy take these.' He shook three out and passed them to his brother along with a bottle of water. Rising up enough on a shaking arm Sam braced himself as he tossed back the pills and swallowed them with a large mouthful of water.

'Thanks Dean.' Sam lowered himself back onto the mattress content on watching Dean as the pills worked to ease the pain. 'She did worse to me Dean.' He finally admitted.

Dean stilled and listened to Sam, determined to let his brother talk, for the first time in a long time Sam wanted to volunteer information and he was not going to do anything to jeopardise it.

'How, how can she do it Dean? She's a woman and yet she takes such delight in hurting and humiliating men.' Sam's voice broke but he continued to talk unable to stop the flood he let start. 'I – I don't remember everything, I remember her caning me and using the candles. I ah remember her wanting to break me, she, she abused me.' Sam took a deep breath and felt it shudder through him before he continued determined to purge himself of his self-loathing and something he didn't even know how to recognise, the need to unload the damage and hope it repairs itself all in one fluid action. 'She used a ring on me Dean, it hurt so bad I wanted to rip it off but I couldn't move, she tied me down on this frame, I could do nothing but lie there and take it.'

'Sammy ...'

But Sam continued to speak lost in his own world of horror, pain and abuse, 'I remember her putting something up in me and it ... I felt something rip inside of me and, and I remember her laughing at me when I screamed. Then I don't remember much until I came too and was face down on this thing, it was like a, a bench but had cuffs on the legs and I remember feeling weird coz my head was lower than my hips and then she started to ... I tried to move but I couldn't and when I tried to lift my head ... she had a noose around my neck.'

'Oh Gods Sammy.' Dean breathed his stomach churning, he could feel everything that Sam felt and more, because he wasn't there to save him.

'I – I remember waking up and being allowed to shower and dress in these.' Sam tugged at the ruined harem pants. 'Then, then you arrived.'

'Shit Sam I am so sorry I should have been with you.'

'No Dean, no please.' Sam lifted himself up on shaking arms and turned painfully to face his brother, 'no Dean I'm glad you weren't there, coz she ... she could have done the same to you and I couldn't have handled that.'

'Damn it Sam.'

'No Dean listen to me, I was able to get through it, survive it coz I knew that you would come for me.'

'Some rescue crew I am, now we're God knows where and Decebal is acting totally whacked, well more whacked than before.'

'Dean please you got Bobby out, Josh will find us and ...' Sam's words slipped from his mouth as his arms gave way and he slumped down on the mattress finally giving into the blackness.

Dean propped himself against the wall, cradling his injured arm close to his chest he pulled his knees up and rested his aching head on them. Then, and only then did he let his tears fall.

TBC