Notes: Yes, I am still alive. Want the whole sorry tale of how my master plan to finish this before summer crashed and burned? I'll give you a few highlights: I was brimming with inspiration before I went to England, and had planned to write lots, but then the events in Oslo and Utøya happened, and all inspiration vanished for quite some time. When things finally began going back to normal (though it's only now we're slowly beginning to move on in everyday conversation), I was in Northern Norway at a wedding and there wasn't much time to myself. Then school started and I've just finished my first week, which has felt like a month. I hope now to be able to write a bit every evening, even if it's just a few words. Here's a little snippit chapter to get my inspiration back. Hope you enjoy! Anyone still actually reading this is my hero.

Chapter 3

'Sam.'

The hunter turned, surprised to hear her calling him. He wasn't exactly her favourite mortal. She stood oddly sad looking, arms hanging at her sides instead of her usual pose with them on her hips or crossed across her chest. Sam glanced in the direction he had been going, towards his car, but Eric hadn't arrived yet. He turned back and walked over to her.

'Yeah?' he answered. She gave him a long stare, half suspicious, half emploring. Sam could hear the beat of music inside Fangtasia, and the cries of the protesters in front of it. He was glad they left by the back.

'Take care of him,' she said. Sam frowned.

'Of course,' he replied, sligthly suspicious. He couldn't quite believe she was really entrusting Eric's care into his hands - that was almost the same as giving him permission to be Eric's.

'I mean it,' she told him.

'Okay…' She looked off into the night, hesitating.

'He's not himself,' she said softly, as if it was the first time she had admitted it out loud.

'He's weak,' Sam pointed out, 'whatever the demons did to him, it took a lot out of him.'

'It's more than that,' she said, shaking her head. She looked him in the eye. 'If you think you know him, you're wrong. He's my Maker, I know him better than a child can know its parents, better than a lover, better than siblings-'

'Okay, I get it,' Sam half-grumbled. She fell silent, which was also very out of character. In the few days Sam had been there she had yelled at him ninety percent of the time, or growled low.

'Why does he want you to leave?' she asked him suddenly.

'He- he wants to be strong, to help me be strong,' Sam explained. He didn't want to go into details about killing Lilith. They didn't even have a plan yet, but Eric wanted to get back on the road, hunting and training, and perhaps find a way to kill her on their journey.

She was right, though, Eric hadn't been himself, but Sam understood how people changed after being in the care of demons for extended periods of time, so he would just allow Eric the time he needed to heal.

XXX

Zeppelin was blaring on the radio, but anyone looking at Dean's face would have thought he was driving in silence. The music was just noise to him, something to fill the Impala with.

'Dean.'

The wheels screeched as Dean nearly jumped out of his skin. He quickly righted his baby and steered her towards the side of the road. He stopped a bit more abruptly than he usually did before turning to his sudden passenger.

'Cas,' he bit out, 'could you not do that?' He sighed when all he received was a blank stare. 'You called over an hour ago, where have you been? What do you want?'

'Where is Sam?' Dean's face turned to stone.

'He's looking for Eric.' Cas looked away, pensive. 'What's going on?' Dean pressed, uneasy with the situation.

'I believe he may be in danger. You must find him and keep him close.'

'What kind of danger?' Dean sat up straighter in his seat.

'Perhaps danger is the wrong word…' Cas murmured.

'Then what?' Dean demanded.

'Can you call him? Ask him where he is?' Dean gritted his teeth to prevent himself from nagging and dug out his phone. He had Sam on speed dial and as he waited for Sam to pick up he watched Cas, whose face was intense, but incrutible. It was his usual look, basically.

Sam wasn't picking up. Finally, Dean gave up and closed his phone.

'He's not answering,' he whispered, mind racing through a million different types of horrible deaths his brother could have managed to get himself offed by. It would be Dean's fault too; he had known they shouldn't have split up.

'You have to find him,' Cas insisted.

'Just tell me why he's in danger,' Dean growled, eyes burning into the angel. Cas sighed.

'It's Lilith, she wants him dead.'

'A demon that wants us dead,' Dean deadpanned. 'That's not exactly a news flash.'

'She's afraid of Sam,' Cas explained. 'Of what he could, potentially, become.' Suddenly, Dean could read Cas' face perfectly. It wasn't death Sam should fear, it was himself.

'Sam's not going to do anything stupid,' Dean said, though he wasn't entirely sure he believed himself.

'You shouldn't have let him out of your sight,' Cas reprimanded.

'He needed to go after Eric,' Dean argued. 'What was I suppose to do?'

'Go with him.' Dean looked away.

'I couldn't,' he admitted. He heard the flutter of wings and knew the angel had left. He put the Impala into gear and spun up a cloud of dust as he raced away, hopefully towards his brother.

He tried calling, but Sam didn't pick up. He tried again, and again, and again. Finally, he went looking in the direction Sam most likely started looking.

XXX

'Not good enough Sam,' Eric told him calmly, eyes blank as he stared down at the large hunter underneath him. Sam panted, struggling instinctively against the hold Eric had on him.

'Let me up,' he gave in at last. Eric stepped away immediately, walking across the large abandoned warehouse to pick up a bottle of True Blood that stood on the table beside Sam's guns and knives. Sam sat up slowly, watching his vampire lover. He pushed away that uncomfortable feeling he had deep in his gut and wiped at the cut on his lip.

'If you want to kill Lilith,' Eric said, taking a large gulp of the True Blood, 'you need to be stronger, faster, more powerful.' Sam had heard the line a hundred times already in just a couple of weeks. Eric had become obsessed with training. They had been hunting too, mostly ghosts and creatures, but Sam knew Eric was constantly on the lookout for demons, even though they hadn't found any yet.

'You know I want to kill her,' Sam replied from the floor. 'I just think we need a plan first.' Eric turned, licking his very red lips and smiled. He put down the bottle and came forward. Sam wished he knew what the vampire was thinking.

'I know how to kill her,' Eric said, holding out his hand. Sam stared up at him, unmoving.

'How? Why haven't you told me?'

'You are not ready yet,' Eric explained as if to a child.

'And when will I be?' Sam asked, bitterness and sarcasm layering his voice. He gave an insincere look of interest. Eric returned it with a slightly condecending look.

'You'll know,' he replied. Sam huffed in frustration.

'And what makes you the expert?'

'I gained a unique perspective of the demons while in their captivity.' Sam stilled at this. He hadn't asked Eric about his time away, as Sam referred to it in his mind, but he knew it must have been awful. Eric had regained his strength now, but he still sometimes got these odd pained expressions, as if he was trying to hide the pain, but couldn't quite.

Sam took Eric's hand and was pulled to his feet. They ended up rather close, a deliberate move no doubt. Sam didn't hesitate this time and gave Eric the kiss he wanted. It quickly turned hard and devouring.

The rest of evening was scheduled. They barely took the time to pack up and get the stuff in the trunk of Sam's car before they were pushing each other into the motel room just half a mile down the road.

They hadn't had sex more than a couple of times since Eric's recovery, and Sam could already tell things were different. Eric let Sam on top more easily, yet somehow he was still harsher, more rough, as if he let Sam on top only because he thought that would please him, yet still he couldn't fight his animalistic nature.

Sam couldn't quite decide if he liked this or not. He never really analysed their activities until after the fact, and even then he was easily distracted.

They were down to their shorts now, with Sam pushing Eric down into the uncomfortable bed. He kissed his way down Eric's chest and up again, loving the smooth skin.

'Bite me,' Eric whispered just as Sam's lips skipped across the pale neck. The hunter didn't need telling twice and bit teasingly, though never hard enough to breach the skin.

Suddenly, Eric's body grew stiff and the flash of pain was visible on his face. It was gone by the time Sam raised his head to look, but he had felt the stiffness.

'You okay?' he asked.

'Fine, get back to work,' Eric growled back. Sam went back to his task, though Eric remained stiff for a few more seconds.

'Harder,' he urged when he relaxed. Sam kissed and bit. 'Harder.'

Any harder and he would breach the skin, with or without fangs.

'Harder,' Eric gasped. Sam stilled. 'Go on,' the vampire whispered. Sam raised his head again, staring down with confusion. Eric reached up and cupped the side of Sam's face with his left hand, while bringing his right had to his neck. 'You'll be strong,' he said. 'You'll end it all.'

'What are you talking about?' Sam's question came out in a hoarse breath.

'You're special,' Eric told him. 'Lilith fears you-'

'Ruby wanted me to drink-'

'Demon blood,' Eric cut in. His eyes seemed to draw Sam in, like they had that first time, only this time he was afraid in a different way. A more chilling way. 'The demons wanted to keep me from you, because they know you'll be strong with this. Drink.' Eric used his strong nails to cut a small wound in his neck. Blood trickled out. Sam stared at it, feeling the familiar thirst even though he knew he wasn't looking at demon blood.

Would it taste the same? Would it make him feel like Ruby's blood had? Invincible? But this was Eric's blood… surely, that would be even better? Because Sam knew Eric would never do anything to hurt him.

'Trust me,' Eric said.

'I do.' He had to. If he couldn't trust Eric, who was left? Certainly not himself.

Slowly, he lowered his head. When the smell of it hit his nostrills he knew he was gone. The thirst overwhelmed him. He licked a bold stripe across Eric's neck and the first taste was like an explosion of heat and pleasure. It was just like demon's blood, only it seemed to hit him even quicker- or perhaps that was just because he had been clean so long.

Sam lost himself in the blood, cradled in his lover's arms.

XXX

When Sam had drunk his fill, Eric pushed him away gently. Sam's eyes flashed, but he went willingly.

'Do you feel it?' Eric asked, eyes roarming over the angular face. Sam's eyes shone with supernatural colours, but they disappeared in the blink of an eye, literally.

'Yeah…' Sam sounded awed. He held up a hand in front of his face, staring at it as if he had never seen it before.

'Do you feel strong again?' Eric asked urgently. Very slowly, Sam shook his head, but he looked uncertain.

'It's not like before….'

'What do you mean?' Eric demanded. He grabbed Sam's chin to make the hunter look at him. 'Tell me.'

'It's different, I feel… weird… and sick.' Sam bolted from the bed, going over to the bathroom. He stopped just in front of the door, hands braced on the doorframe. 'No, it's-'

'What?' Eric asked, rising as well, but appearing hesitant to go over to the mortal.

'I need air,' Sam suddenly decided. He turned abruptly and went for his clothes, putting them on hastily.

'Where are you going?' Eric asked, grabbing a shoulder. Sam shrugged him off. 'Don't you feel strong?'

'Just give me a moment to think, all right?' Sam snapped.

'Hasn't it worked?' Eric pressed. Sam went for the door.

'I'll be back in a moment.' He slammed the door after him, leaving the vampire staring at no one. A phone rang, Eric's mobile. The vampire picked up his discarded jacket to get it out.

"D" said the caller id. He hit reject without hesitating.

Slowly, the vampire went to the small dressed with a mirror hanging above it. He looked at himself. The reflection stared back, with black eyes.

'Why won't it work?' he asked out loud.

TBC...