"What did you just say?" Dean asked, trying hard to wrap his head around what he thought he just heard. "You think there's a child predator out there and you guys were just planning on leaving Sammy out there by himself?"

Holding up his hands, Paul shook his head and looked at each of the men. "You have to understand, this guy is slick, most of the time when he's in an area no one knows about it until he's left a lot of damage in his wake. He's been here before and I guess we have some unfinished business that's why he's back. If I'd known sooner, I would have warned you and made sure Sammy was safe."

"How do you know?" Stephen asked, trying to keep the chilled feeling from progressing through his body, somehow he had a feeling he knew and it didn't comfort him at all.

"I told you about my brother Andrew stumbling into one of my cases, this was it. The maniac snagged him right under everyone's noses during an investigation and we didn't get him back before… well, it wasn't pretty and I've never forgiven myself for not protecting my little brother. Now you're telling me that Sammy's missing and…"

"First of all… it's SAM! Second… we haven't even reported him missing yet, how the hell do you know about it?" Dean asked with a deadly calm.

Paul looked around and sighed, "Come on, we might be known for eating donuts, but we can put two and two together. You guys searched the rent house, pounded on my door, called my Supervisors and you wonder how I know?" Paul asked, but seeing the questions still lingering within their eyes he admitted. "The neighbors told me you all were asking them questions, it made sense that he was missing and I've been looking ever since. There's no way I want him in the hands of that creep, but the odds of him being the next target are huge; mainly because of his association with me – unfinished business, remember?"

As the Musketeers mulled over what Paul said, they couldn't help but feel helpless in their knowledge that they had no idea if their little brother was truly fine somewhere or in the clutches of some deviant who would only harm him further. The way the kid's luck had been going, they were pretty certain which way Lady Luck was leaning and it terrified each and every one of them.

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The shadow had a name, but he despised it. It was the calling card that attracted unwanted attention and made him feel shame in ways he'd never felt before; and that was unacceptable. He had been taught that to be a man, you had to make sure you were confident in what you were doing and to make sure no one stood in the way of the path you were taking. It was a lesson he took to heart and to this day refused to seek out those who supposedly would make his need subside, those were the people who tried to control him and it was something he would never allow to happen; he was his own man, even if he wasn't allowed to share his own name for fear of persecution.

Elliot Miles wasn't known to be anyone special, actually quite the opposite, and although that had angered him years before he had now come to realize the benefits of being invisible. Now though he would give up that autonomy for just another glimpse at the boy's eyes, to see the dimples upon his face, but it wasn't meant to be at the moment. The boy was ill and needed to be taken care of properly.

It had been hours since Elliot had carried the boy out the back door, not caring that the doors were open or that it was raining. All he cared about was taking his precious burden to his new home and take care of it as if it were some rare piece of fine art. Smiling, he continued to bath the boy's face in cool water and enjoyed the contact of flesh on flesh as his hand would occasional brush against the flush face. He'd give the boy another day, and if he didn't wake on his own, he'd find a way to bring him around; one way or another.

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The sound of Paul's cell phone cut through the quiet apartment, causing all of its occupants to startle slightly. Irritated at his own jumpiness, Paul practically growled into the mouth piece and was startled by the person on the other end.

"Slow down Mr. Schneider, yes I know it rained last night… no, I know that he always locks the door… no Mr. Schneider you aren't disturbing… yes, I understand but… are you sure… all right, we'll be right there." As he cut the call he looked anxiously towards the others. "That was a neighbor; he says that the front door to Sam's rent house is standing wide open. I want to get there before anyone else does."

Not waiting for an invitation, the Musketeers followed the detective towards the house not bothering with the posted speed limits. It wasn't long before they all were pulling in front of the house and rushing towards the scene. Before anyone could say anything, Paul stopped them.

"Ok, right now this isn't a crime scene, but if I see any signs of foul play, then you all will have to wait outside, got it?"

The urge to argue was prominent until they all saw the look Paul gave, and they understood that it was more of a request than a demand. Each of them nodded in understanding and followed him inside their little brother's rent house, hoping that they'd find him sleeping, unaware of the commotion that he was causing with his absence. As they entered the living room they suddenly understood how much their wishes and real life conflicted.

The living room was cold with a damp spot still present in the middle of floor, obviously where Sammy had probably been at least for a little while. The relief they first felt to know that he'd been there quickly dissipated when they realized that the carpeting had been walked on by more than one person recently and it only took another moment to fully understand the implications.

"He's been here hasn't he?" Joseph choked out in the effort to try and understand what had happened.

The fear that had been building within Paul increased dramatically as he looked around and nodded. Hearing something towards the back of the house, he took off to see if he could find the source of the noise. Getting to the open back door he noticed the footprints in the mud and smiled, maybe this time he wouldn't be too late.

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The basement room was cold but it didn't drive away the heat Sam felt as he opened his eyes to look around. He couldn't remember feeling this horrible and knowing that he'd be alright, which meant he must really be ill, especially if he couldn't remember where he was. The last thing that he remembered was hearing Dean's voice asking where he went wrong, then the cool night air as he walked away trying to do the right thing for once. Now though he had no idea where he was and he wasn't even that certain that he really cared.

The sound of the door opening made Sam turn his head slightly. The sight of a middle aged man walking into the room didn't register until the man spoke, and then it took awhile to comprehend the words.

"Oh good, you're awake, I was hoping you would be. Are you ready for some soup; I think that will help, don't you?" Elliot said calmly as he watched his young charge for a moment. When the boy didn't answer right away, he looked closer and saw that he had slipped away into unconsciousness again.

Sighing, he turned to go back upstairs but found himself drawn to the boy once again. Placing the soup on the small table he reached over to brush the stray hair from the pale face and continued to watch for a moment as the eyelids flickered but did not open. Although he knew it would be a matter of time, he still felt restless. The temptation to bring the boy to full awareness was strong, but he tamped it down with the knowledge of the fun they would have when the boy was better.

Standing once again, Elliot picked up the bowl of soup and made his way to the door careful not to disturb the boy. He could wait a couple more hours; he wasn't a psychopath after all.

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As they watched the man before them talk on his cell phone, they all glanced at each other and silently agreed; Paul might actually know what he's doing. They had followed the erratic footprints for over a block and noticed that whoever it was seemed to know how to stick to the shadows to avoid detection. Finally though the trail had actually curved back around until they led to the basement steps of a house two doors down and on the back side of Paul's house; the corner of the property and Sammy's property connected.

Now knowing how the creep had been able to keep tabs on both Paul and Sammy didn't make any of them feel any better, but did give them more information to work with. After Paul assured them that back up was on the way, they got closer to the house that they were certain housed a certain little brother and none of the men were going to risk him even if it meant going against police protocol. Prepared to take down the detective if need be, they all were unprepared for what was said next.

"Ok, there's no way I'm going to risk Sam being in there any longer than necessary, so how about we go get him and leave the clean up for the men in blue?" Paul asked, knowing that there was no way these men were going to stay outside.

Together they entered the house to make sure there were no other threats before they proceeded towards the basement. When they reached the bottom of the steps they immediately saw a door and instinctively knew that Sammy had to be there.

Motioning for the others to get ready, Paul quickly opened the door and as they all entered the room, the sight before them made each of them see red. As they watched, a man oblivious to their arrival was running one hand along Sammy's chest while the other was threading its fingers through his hair; all the while the object of said affection was completely unaware of what was going on around him.

Not hesitating any further, Dean tackled the man as he raised his mouth from Sammy's, sending them both to the floor. The element of surprise was enough for Dean to keep the man down while he proceeded to beat him mercilessly. It wasn't until Stephen pulled him off the guy that Dean understood what true loss of control was about, but as he looked at the pathetic lump he couldn't care; the bastard was hurting his Sammy, and no one did that and lived if he had anything to say about it.

"Dean, man you have to listen! We need to get Sammy to the hospital, now!" Joseph was yelling, trying once again to get Dean's attention.

Looking around, Dean realized that it wasn't just Stephen but Taylor also holding onto him and pulling him off the person responsible for his little brother being missing. Turning his attention back to Sammy he took in his brother's appearance and realized that Sammy hadn't moved during the whole exchange. Rushing towards the small bed, he laid his hand onto the fevered forehead and cursed.

"You guys go on; I'll take care of everything here." Paul said as continued to cover Elliot with his gun.

With Sammy in Dean's arms and Stephen leading the way, Taylor and Joseph rushed to the sides to make sure no one else disturbed them. They hadn't made it to the back fence when the sound of a lone shot was heard and the unanimous consensus was heard; "Bastard tried to escape."

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Celia wasn't sure how to deal with this latest development. After everything that these guys had been through, she wasn't sure how much more they could take. It hadn't taken long for tests to be run and conclusions to be made; now she had to go into the room and explain her findings which shouldn't be so hard, but something made her hesitate.

As she looked inside she saw all four of the Musketeers sitting vigil next to the youngest of them and it made her heart break at what she was going to have to tell them. Normally she wouldn't worry so much, normally it was just a tiny setback, but she knew that things weren't normal with Sam's life at the moment and that's what scared her, that he wouldn't be able to bounce back.

"Celia, sweetheart, how's Sammy?" Stephen asked suddenly causing the others to turn their attention to her as well.

Stepping in the room she quietly closed the door and walked to the still unconscious teen in the bed. She sent up a prayer of thanks that they had gotten to him in time, that he hadn't been that creep's play toy in every sense of the word, she was thankful that Sam didn't have pneumonia again, and with that she turned to the men and tried to smile.

"What started out as a simple cold seems to be growing into a full blown upper respiratory infection, it's not pneumonia and I believe that we can keep it from going that far." As they watched her, they knew something wasn't right and they all feared what she would say next. "We took the opportunity to do a cursory exam and we didn't find any signs of trauma, it looks like you found him just in time."

"That's great Celia, but why the long face?" Dean asked while the others let out the breaths they had been holding since she started talking. He could tell that something else was bothering her, and he didn't like it. Grasping Sammy's hand tighter, he continued to watch Celia as she seemed to pull herself together to deliver the last bit of news.

"Sammy's viral load has elevated… considerably. I'm afraid the cocktail we had him on isn't doing the job we thought. Normally I'd say that we'd switch him to something else, but I'm really concerned about his overall health. Guys, I'm not sure what's really been going on, but I do know one thing… when I saw him yesterday he looked wrecked. In fact I haven't seen him look like that since he first came to us, so whatever's going on you all need to pull your heads out and make sure to give him the love and support he needs – got it?" she said fiercely. The more she talked to these thick headed guys, the more she was convinced that somehow they were responsible for Sam's head to get as messed up as it obviously had gotten. Not bothering to wait for their reply, she marched through the door disappeared from their sight leaving them all stunned.

"Well, you know she's right. Somehow we haven't made the time to deal with how this first started, it's no wonder he's a little confused." Taylor said quietly, trying to beat down the fear that kept threatening to rise up at the thought that their little brother's health could have so drastically changed in such a short period of time.

Dean understood what wasn't being said, Sammy had been under too much stress in too short of time. Between the freaky vision thing popping up, then thinking his big brother believed horrendous things about him, then the knowledge of the car wreck and the misunderstanding just the day before, it really made him wonder if he was the best person for the job as Sammy's guardian. As he watched his little brother's face, he knew that there was no other position he'd rather have; if he didn't have Sammy, he didn't have anything.

Stephen watched the myriad of emotions play out on Dean's face and was pretty sure what the other man was thinking. It hurt to know that they all invariably played some part in how their little brother was once again in the hospital, but now he could only wonder about how they were going to be able to make it right.

The hours crept by but no one ventured far from the bed, each one waiting patiently for Sammy to wake up. The dinner trays had been served and picked back up and more vital signs and lab work was drawn but still not even a twitch from the occupant in the bed. The nurse had just left after attaching another bag of IV antibiotics and everyone was feeling tense. Mandy had brought them all dinner and had even stayed awhile before remembering that she had once again left the stove on and rushed out of the room leaving the four men shaking their heads in amazement. So caught up in what had just happened, the missed the slight movement until it happened again a few moments later.

"Sammy?" the asked, each one of them crowding the bed to watch and see if this was the moment they had been waiting for. "Hey Sammy, you in there kiddo?" Dean asked, hoping to hurry his little brother along. It only took a couple more tries before they were rewarded with a pair of dark eyes looking at them blurrily, giving them all cause to celebrate.

They watched as Sammy looked around confused before demanding his attention once again. "Hey kiddo, you had us worried."

"Sorry." Sam whispered, still not understanding what had happened or why they were looking at him like he was going to disappear. Feeling tired, he allowed his eyes to drift closed taking him back to blissful oblivion but not before he heard his brothers' assurances, granting him the peace he needed.

"We're here Sammy, and nobody's going to hurt you on our watch."

AN: For any of you wondering why I didn't drag out Sammy's captivity... come on... even I'm not that sadistic, right? ;) Hope you enjoyed this chapter... see you soon!