Chapter 7: In-depth

"Don't be sorry Dean."

Dean read and reread the message, he simply stared at the screen. He knew his brother was waiting for a reaction but he wasn't quite sure as to what was happening.

What the…

Sam got up and stood beside Dean. As if to clarify exactly what was happening, Sam reached over the elder's shoulder and typed "hell?" Finally Dean's eyes left the computer screen and met his brother's frightened yet excited stare. He let his eyes fall back down to the screen and then locked onto the floor, trying to force his shocked brain to accept the situation. Once he had seen the look in his brother's eyes he knew for sure that Sam had heard him. He looked back up to the younger's face.

Sammy, can you hear me?

Sam hesitantly nodded his head. All of a sudden Sam whirled around and started pacing, his hands entwined in his long hair. Dean could tell Sam was having an even harder time accepting this than he was. He knew he had to do something because if he didn't, then Sam would brood himself silly.

Standing up, Dean walked over to Sam and stood in front of his little brother, blocking his path. He grabbed hold of Sam's shoulders so that the younger man lifted his head to look at the face in front of him. That face was filled with concern, strength and determination that comforted him immediately.

Hey Sam! If you can hear me kiddo, then know that we'll figure this out. I promise ok? Just calm down, everything's gonna be fine.

Sam looked into Dean's eyes and nodded. Then, not able to hold back the relief he felt, he smiled, the dimples he seemed to reserve for his brother making a surprise appearance. He couldn't believe how great it was to hear Dean saying those things. He was starting to believe that he'd never know that tone again, that it would never be there to comfort him. It felt almost as if he had lost Dean when he couldn't actually see him, there would be no proof that his older brother was even there. His heart raced in his chest, not because he was scared anymore, but because he was so relieved that everything he had feared was far from coming true.

Dean on the other hand was a little worried; he couldn't share in the joy of hearing his brother's voice because he still hadn't. He was already weirded out by Sam's freaky visions, but this? Actually infiltrating someone's mind to hear the things they didn't or couldn't say out loud, that was insane and scared the shit out of him.

Before he could stop himself he thought, I'm not even safe in my own mind anymore. Gonna have to watch what I think now.

Sam's smile slipped and Dean knew he had made a mistake. He loosened his grip on Sam's shoulders as his little brother carefully pulled away from him and turned his back on Dean. The joy he had been experiencing moments earlier ripped from his heart with the thought that had passed from Dean's mind to his. He now was overwhelmed with guilt and couldn't look at his brother, he felt as if Dean was blaming him for this and yet again, he was being a nuisance.

Dean was also guilt ridden. His brother had been so happy and all of a sudden he had that taken from him, and what was worse was that it was his older brother, who was supposed to save him from the world, that stole it. Dean walked forward until he stood in front of Sam, yet again.

Shit. Sammy, I'm sorry man. I didn't mean that. It's just...this is a lot to take in yah know? I mean first your visions and now this? He thought. He knew his brother was riding this train along with him and hesitated before he continued it's path. Man I dunno. I'm freakin out here Sam. But think about this, now we got the upper hand on this thing. You can hear me right? And whatever this thing is, it stole voices for a reason, probably so that the bastard can get at those hearts without being detected. Now at least you'll be able to know when it's happening right? I mean you can hear me so you can probably hear everyone else.

Finally done his mental rant, he watched Sam's face, looking for a reaction to prove his words had sunken in. He recognized relief as it flooded Sam, reassuring him that this was not his choice. He hadn't planned on taking an in-depth look at his brother's mind and at first it had freaked him out. Now though he was just happy that he could hear the voice he had been craving. And under that, was a confidence that this job would get easier now that they could at least communicate with each other…sort of.

Ok Dean, so I can hear your thoughts. That should mean that I can hear everyone else's, like you said…well…thought. Then why does it still seem way too quiet around here?

All of a sudden Sam felt really tired. His brain seemed to take on a sluggishness that wasn't usually there and he felt the urge to get off his feet before he ended up on his ass. Quickly striding over to his bed, he sat down heavily and put his head in his hands.

Hey you ok there kiddo? I know you're freaked about this but like I said, it'll be ok.

When Sam shook his head, Dean started to get worried. He grabbed the laptop and then walked over to Sam, sitting next to him on the bed.

Alright so tell me what's up with that increasingly freaky head of yours.

Sam lifted his head slightly and dropped his hands. He looked at Dean for a second and then took the laptop, settling it on his knees. He typed quickly, although Dean noticed that Sam kept making mistakes and his fingers were clumsy, they didn't seem to be moving as fast as they should.

Dean read the message when Sam stopped writing it. "I dunno, I'm just really tired all of a sudden. My brain feels really slow and I can't keep my eyes open."

The elder looked back to the younger as Sam rubbed his eyes and yawned.

Alright Sammy, you just go back to sleep ok? We'll pick this up again in the morning. Our next stop is the library so we're gonna need you sharp to do all the research. We gotta find out about this girl in your vision. Dean thought and then smiled that cocky, 'know-it-all' grin of his.

Sam just nodded and lay back down, scooting back until his head reached the top of his bed and his legs didn't hang over the edge anymore. While he did that Dean worked the blankets up and around Sam so that he could cover his little brother when he settled down. Sam finally lay still and was asleep the next second. Dean sat on the edge of his bed for a moment with his hand on the younger's shoulder.

Jesus Sam. You just never catch a break…first the vision and now this? I'm sorry I can't help you, you know I'd trade places with you in a second. But hey, at least you get to hear the voice everyone in the world wants to hear!! Dean thought, even though he knew Sam couldn't hear him anymore. He wasn't saying these things to comfort his brother right now anyways, they were all directed at himself.

Dean had his ideas about Sam's sudden fatigue. Asides from the normal lack of sleep, nightmares, visions and their jobs…Dean had an idea that this whole 'reading minds' thing was simply draining Sam's energy. At first the fact that Sam could hear everything he was thinking had scared the crap out of him. Then he started thinking about it, and figured that considering that this was a job, and they needed to be able to communicate, this new ability would actually turnout to be a blessing. And, assuming that Sam could read everyone's thoughts, they would always know the answers to their questions and whether or not someone was lying. It was like having one huge lie detector as your trusty side kick.

But now? Seeing what it was doing to his brother…Dean was scared again. He didn't know how long Sam would be able to listen to people's thoughts without getting so tired that he'd just flat out collapse. Dean needed Sam to be sharp, and if this was going to jeopardize Sam in any way, then these powers were not worth it. Not even close.

Figuring he should probably get more sleep himself, Dean reluctantly stood and before he retreated to his own bed, he leaned down and very lightly kissed his brother's forehead. Sam stirred slightly but quickly settled down again with a content look on his face. Sighing, Dean walked back to his bed and lay down, set the alarm and as he placed his head on the pillow he fell asleep. Only one thought played in his head the entire time he was sleeping.

Please be ok Sammy.

The alarm went off at 7 in the morning, not especially early but not as late as Dean would have liked. After the disturbance in last night's rest, he was tired and didn't want to move. But as usual it was too late to go back to sleep.

Once again he didn't hear anything from Sam's bed, the bathroom, or the computer so he figured Sam must still be sleeping. It still worried him, just as much as it had done the morning previously, but at least this time he knew where Sam was.

Groaning (or at least he would have) he sat up and looked over at the still, passed out form of his brother. Sam's chest was rising and falling contentedly. He looked peaceful and comfortable, so peaceful that Dean literally could not bring himself to wake him. So he stood, and silently walked to the bathroom. He skipped the shower to keep the noise level down to a minimum, and just got dressed.

He made his way to the door and with a quick re-evaluation of his plan, returned to the table to jot down a note. He didn't want his brother to panic when he woke up and saw that he wasn't there, especially considering everything that had happened earlier that night. With that task done he once again walked to the door and slipped out with one last glance at his brother.

Sam's eyes started to open, despite the fact that he was ordering them to stay closed. He turned over in his bed, noticing that his sheets weren't strewn all over the place as they normally would be after he slept. The next thing noticed was the fact that the sun wasn't shining in his face, but it was out. So he checked the clock, and as he saw the time he bolted up in bed and looked around the room. Dean wasn't in his range of vision so he stood and walked into the bathroom. Not finding Dean in there either, he walked out into the room again. He was just starting to panic when he saw the note on the table. Picking it up he quickly read it and relaxed.

"Just went out for coffee. Be back later. Don't freak."

Sam's shoulders shook from a silent laugh and he set the note back on the table. He then went and lay back down on his bed, knowing that he couldn't do anything until Dean got back with his coffee. It was ten in the morning and he felt really refreshed, even knowing that there was a girl out there that needed to be saved, he couldn't bring himself to do any research quite yet.

Thanks for the extra hours bro'. Really helped me out…now get your ass back hear with my coffee.

As if on cue Sam started to hear someone talking and knew it was his brother. Sam stood getting ready to take the caffeine off of the older man's hands when Sam noticed just what it was that Dean was thinking.

Damn, how am I gonna tell Sam? Don't we usually get a heads up or some shit!? What the hell man…

And then Dean walked through the door, holding the coffees, and a paper. But what caught Sam's attention other than the thoughts, was the look on Dean's face. He looked pissed, and more than that, disappointed. Sam wasn't quite sure what was going on but when Dean saw the look on Sam's face, the confusion and worry, Dean knew Sam had heard him, again.

Listen Sam, I'm sorry man but…

With that Dean passed Sam the paper. Sam looked at the paper and then sat back down on his bed, his legs having lost their strength for the moment.

"Third Heart Stolen"