A/N: I want to thank everyone who has been keeping track of this story. Also, a big thank you to my beta, Bayre, for her awesome beta'ing skills. I did make a few minor changes, so if there are mistakes, they'll be mine. There will be some cursing coming up, so consider yourself warned.

Disclaimer: Still don't own Sam and Dean (or anything related to Supernatural). Kripke hides them and refuses to share.

"Ouch damnit!" A growl slipped out between clenched teeth as Dean stumbled on another hidden root. "I hate trees." He'd been out here for over forty minutes, and had found diddly squat in the way of spirit activity. His foot caught on another branch, and nearly fell flat on his face. "Oh for the love of…." Dean was real tempted to go back to the car and pick up his hatchet. It was brand new too, just itching to be used….

Sighing, Dean turned around, and headed back towards Sam. He hadn't heard anything from the pesky geek since they split up, and Dean was hoping that his brother was having more luck than him.

Sam was wishing now that they hadn't split up.

He'd woken up with a pounding headache, and after blinking a few times to clear away the fuzziness, he saw that he was in the backseat of a car. His shoulder burned tirelessly, and when Sam tried to move his arms, he bit back a cry as the rope dug painfully into his wrists and his already dislocated shoulder was pulled farther out of its socket.

Sam was freezing, and only then realized he did not have his jacket on, and had only a pale blue t-shirt to protect him from the cold. Fat lot of good that was doing him. He was freezing. Chills raced up and down his arms, triggering pain receptors in his head, shoulder and down to his feet. His teeth chattered together as his body tried to generate some form of heat. Sam let his weary head rest against the floor of the car, trying to stop the interior view from going round and round.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been lying there, when the sound of footsteps caught his attention. A shadow passed by the driver's side window, and moved towards the driver's door, where it creaked open with squeaky hinges, and a face loomed over him.

"You're awake. I wouldn't want you to miss anything because you were still off your face." Declan sneered.

"What the hell do you want, Declan? Is this something to get back at my brother for? 'Cause you should know, it really pisses my brother off when someone does something stupid. He can't stand stupid people and I'm looking at one now." Sam threw back, watching with satisfaction as the jab hit home. The satisfaction died a quick death, however, when the infuriated hunter reached down and had Sam by the throat, slowly tightening his grip until the edges of his vision flickered with black.

"You are nothing more than an expendable piece of your damaged family, Sam." Declan snarled, leaning in closer to whisper in the youngest Winchester's ear. "And Dean? He's going to experience loss like I did. He's going to know what it's like to be just that few seconds too slow to be able to save a loved one. How's that for being stupid?" A persistent ringing registered in Sam's hazy mind as the hunter released the grip on his throat. It occurred to him that it was coming from his own cell phone, of which the hunter had in his hand.

"You wanna bet that's big brother calling to check up on you? I bet it is. Should I answer it?" The ringing stopped, and Sam felt a moment of helplessness.

"Hmm… maybe I'll call him." Declan moved swiftly in the front seat, his head peaking above the tops of the headrests of the front seats. A creak, and what sounded like a gear shift had Sam ineffectively pulling at his restraints. "I hope you know how to swim. Goodbye, Sam." The hunter's cruel voice taunted him as he pulled himself out of the car, and slammed the door closed. A few seconds later, and Sam felt the car roll forwards.

"Oh, shit!"

Sam couldn't see anything from his view on the floor in the backseat of the rusted car, but felt a jolt as the vehicle crept forwards towards the water, the slope and weight of the car propelling it forwards.

"You son of a bitch!" Sam yelled as he tried pulling on the ropes that held his arms about his head, attached to the car's door handle. Sam cried out as he pulled, sending ripples of pain down his dislocated shoulder. Sam's heart pummelled against the inside of his chest, the fear threatening to crush him like a vice. His head slammed into the passenger front seat as the car hit the water, causing a blood smear to appear on the back of the seat, where Sam's head collided with the metal pole keeping the seat rooted to the framework of the car. Dazed, and with blood running down the side of his face from the impact with the back of the seat. Sam looked up towards the ceiling of the car, feeling the slow rocking back and forth as the car plunged into deeper water, the tires losing traction with the gravely surface below. Sam heard the water come in, trickling through the roof of the car and slapping against the windows.

Trying to control his panicked breathing, Sam resumed pulling on his restraints, crying out again as fiery pain coiled around his injured limb, like a snake constricting around its prey. The ropes held tight, rubbing his wrists raw with blood coating the rope as he continued to pull despite the agony he put himself in. The water was climbing higher, now up to the middle of the window. His fingers were numb with the occasional prickling feeling from the lack of blood flow to his hands. No matter how hard he pulled, his restraints stayed firm and unforgiving.

Dean trudged his way back, his shoes sinking slightly in the sand. No sight of Kaylie's spirit anywhere. Something about this hunt was bothering him. Meeting up with Declan out of the blue, his eagerness to help out with the hunt, to the apparent forgiveness for what had happened back in Cedar Falls. None of this was sitting well with him. Something was off. Alarm bells were screaming in his head to get back to his brother. Digging out his cell phone from his jacket pocket, he dialled Sam's number.

"Come on Sam; pick up your damn phone!" Dean waited several rings, until Sam's voicemail came on. "Hey this is Sam. Leave a message and I'll get back to you." Dean snapped his phone shut and redialled Sam's number again. A knot was growing in the pit of his stomach. Something was very wrong, and his instincts were telling him it involved his brother. They shouldn't have split up. He quickened his pace along the shore line, as he dialled Sam's number for the third time. "Come on, pick up. Pick up!" Just as he was about to hit the end key, the other line picked up. "Sam, why weren't you answering the…."

"Sorry, Sam can't come to the phone right now." Dean stopped dead in his tracks. Fear rippled down his back in the form of chills, as his grip on the phone tightened and his voice shook with barely contained fury. "Where is my brother, Declan?"

The water continued to trickle in, pools of water seeping into the carpet and seats as it creped towards the back of the car. The water had passed the windows, and darkness blanketed the car. The only sound was the sloshing noise as the water reached Sam's right side, licking his skin with its frigid liquidity. Panicked, trapped, and in utter darkness, Sam frantically pulled on his restraints, his anguish cry ricocheting off the metal interior as he fought to free himself from his sinking prison.

A scraping sound just outside the driver's side passenger door captured Sam's attention. Perplexed, Sam eyed the window carefully, straining to see anything besides the murky water behind the glass. A rotten and peeling hand slapped hard against the window, causing Sam to jolt in his slumped position. The hand slid down the length of the window, the nails dragging across the glass before the hand disappeared completely from view.

The windows began to fog up, glazing over in an ice cold tomb. Sam could see his own breath in front of him as the temperature dropped considerably within the small confines of the floor of the backseat. Ignoring the cold of the water as it reached his neck, his gaze lingered on the driver's side window that had begun to creak. Sam's eyes went wide with fear when he knew what the sound was; the glass was starting to crack under the water pressure. The window fractures cracked and split, allowing spurts of water to bleed through the cars defenceless window.

"Oh God." Sam willed himself not to panic, but failed miserably as the cracks increased in size and the car itself creaked and groaned as water began to fill up the car's interior. Sam's staggered breathing quickened when the dead woman's voice reverberated within the car, eerily calm and tranquil. "It's time to come home."

Sam didn't have time to prepare himself for when the window shattered a few seconds later, gallons and gallons of water rushing in, consuming everything that lay within. Sam struggled to take a breath of air, the water cascading over his face like being stuck under a waterfall. The window above Sam's head shattered, more lake water rushing in, leaving Sam trapped in a swarm of swirling water and rising bubbles. Sam shut his eyes tight to block out the murky water descending upon him, continually pulling on the ropes, trying desperately to free himself. He tried not to scream when his damaged ankle slammed into the metal bar holding the backseats down, while trying valiantly to hold his breath for as long as he could.

"Where the hell is my brother Declan!" Dean faintly heard a splash up near where the dock was located. Dean started moving again, the sound of gurgling water resonating within the pit of his stomach as he raced towards the dock.

"Your brother decided to go for a swim. Can't say he didn't scream when he hit the water, but I'm sure you know all about that Dean. Just like when Blake screamed for you to help him." Dean's eyes went wide as he heard the implication of his brother's fate.

Cedar Falls, Iowa, June, 2004.

Dean ran as fast as he could, using his hands against the grimy walls to steady himself when sliding on the wet tiled floor. He came out of one of the tunnels to see a handgun resting against the floor, water droplets leading towards the railing that overlooked the raging water where all the water connected from all the smaller pipes to join the giant one before him.

Glancing down, Dean's jaw dropped as he saw Blake struggling against the raging water, his arms furiously flapping against the water's surface as he tried to breach the surface to breathe.

"Blake! Hold on!" Dean yelled, unsure if the man had heard him, or if he even could. Panicked, Dean's eyes frantically searched for something to throw out to the hunter, or for something for him to hold onto. The water was too fast and strong for Dean to jump into, without possibly landing on Blake.

Spotting what he needed, he ran down the stone steps and around the side of it, grabbing a sturdy five foot pipe off the ground, probably left over by one of the crew that had last worked on the pipes overhead. Carefully he moved over to the edge, where Blake's thrashing was most abundant.

"Blake! Grab this!" Dean yelled, his voice drowned out by the raging water as he dangled the pipe above Blake's head. Blake surfaced long enough to make a desperate attempt at the rod, but was savagely pulled under the churning waters. Dean swore, leaning his upper body over the railing, trying to extend the range of his reach. Water trickled over the bottom of the railing, covering the cement walkway in a thin later of water.

"Dean!"

Dean jerked his head at his father's call, missing the sudden wave of water until it slammed into him, knocking him into the far corner with a crash, the metal pole clattered in the opposite direction from the force of the hit. He coughed, water trickling out of the corner of his mouth before swiping it away with the back of his soaked sleeve.

A cry caught his attention, and Dean crawled the eight feet back to the edge of the railing to see Blake fighting to stay above the surface. "Grab my hand!" Dean leaned his arm out as far as he could, his hand extended as far as it could go.

Blake grabbed it clumsily, choking and sputtering on water that continued to try and pull him under. Dean began to pull the man back towards him, but a shadow behind the other hunter had Dean looking on in awe. A man, around his early 30's, dressed in mechanic overalls and a red and black checkered shirt appeared behind the struggling hunter. Dean knew this was the spirit of Michael Shurman, the one who had been haunting these tunnels the past two years. The one they were supposed to find and salt and burn.

The spirit locked eyes with Dean, before wrapping strong arms around the hunter and ripping him from Dean's grasp, pulling him down below the water's surface. Dean laid there, arm outstretched, and stared at the last place he had seen the young man. He didn't hear the pounding of feet down the stairwell, nor did he feel hands gripping him, until they pulled him away did he become aware of his father's panicked voice asking if he was alright. All Dean could focus on was the utter devastation on Declan's face as he watched the water's calm, and the realization that Blake had never returned to the surface.

"You sick son of a bitch, I'm going to kill you, you hear me!"

Declan merely chuckled on the other end of the phone.

"I'd love to see you try. Hope your brother can hold his breath. Not that it'll take that long before he drowns. Now you'll know what I went through Dean. I'll be seeing you around." The call ended, and Dean's heart raced as his feet pounded on the uneven ground as he made his way towards the dock, fear and fear alone propelling him forwards at a pace that would have an Olympic long distance runner proud.

"Hold on Sammy, just hold on." Dean whispered to himself as he got closer and closer to the dock with every hastened step he made towards his brother.

The roar of the rushing water died down as the car filled to the brim. Sam's last thoughts were of his brother. How Dean would find his corpse tied up in the backseat of a car. Or perhaps a worse fate would be that his brother would never find him. And Sam would be forever trapped in a world of swirling darkness, where his soul would never find peace. His hopes to save Dean from the crossroads deal would vanish with his last heartbeat.

I'm sorry Dean, was Sam's last thought as darkness crept along the edges of his vision.

Kalie's spirit lingered just outside the passenger door, a pitying expression laminating her dead corporal features. Her black dress swaying gently in the lake's current, concealed by the darkness of the lake's ravage waters. She watched as the movements from the young man in the car tapered off, his struggles becoming sluggish and uncoordinated. Pressing her face against the glass, she whispered, "It's time to go home."

As Dean neared the dock, his eyes continually scanned the water. Even with the flashlight, its glow was swallowed by the dark waters.

"SAM!" Dean scream was drowned out by the gusting winds and the slapping of water on the beach's front. Taking a quick glance at the upcoming cabins, Dean noted that the old '68 Mustang was no longer parked on the beach where it had been just an hour previous. That along with Declan's cryptic message, made his blood run cold.

Dean finally reached the dock, and wasted no time racing towards the end of the planks. The boards creaked under his weight and the wind drowned out any outside noise other than the crashing waves against the pillars holding the dock in place. The moon once again peeked out from beneath the waves, allowing the eldest Winchester to scan the waters with a stronger light than what his flashlight could provide. Dean's breath came out in white puffs as the air cooled considerably. Dean frantically scanned the water, fear squeezing his chest like a vice. There, out of the corner of his left eye he caught large bubbles centering around an area no more than twenty feet from the dock.

"NO!!" Dean pulled off his leather jacket and tossed it onto the dock before diving head first into the frigid waters. The water prickled against Dean's skin like needles. Every nerve ending was screaming in pain as the bone chilling waters surrounded his very presence. Gasping as he hit the surface, he forced his already freezing limbs to start swimming towards where he had last seen the bubbles breaking the surface. Taking a deep breath, Dean dove once again under the water's murky surface.

Flicking the flashlight on, the dull light gave Dean some form of sight in the dark swirls of murky black water. Sweeping the flashlight around desperately, Dean caught a glimpse of red metal. Dean immediately propelled himself forwards, reaching the back end of the trunk. Pushing past the trunk, Dean moved the flashlight towards the windows, his hand gripping the sides of the now broken back window.

Peering inside using the light to see, Dean's eyes widened and he literally felt numb as the light shined on the familiar brown mop of hair. Sam's body was tethered to the door, his long legs and torso floating in the oppressive darkness, enclosed within his metal coffin.

Panic gripped Dean and he reached out and grabbed Sam's arm and pulled, feeling the bindings on his little brother's wrist. Sam's head bobbed back and forth with the movement, his body unmoving of its own accord without the frantic tugs on his arm from his terrified brother. Seeing Sam's body so still sent Dean into a panicked frenzy. Letting go, Dean pulled the knife from his boot and sawed shakily at his sibling's confines, having tucked the flashlight under his arm in order to see so as to not cut his brother. The glow from the light reflected on Sam's face, giving him an almost peaceful look. One that eerily reminded Dean too much of the same look that had been Sam's features in death.

Dean's lungs were starting to scream at him for air as he finally cut away the ropes binding his little brother's arms to the car. Dropping the flashlight, Dean grabbed the collar of Sam's jacket, planted his feet against the side of the door and heaved. Sam's body finally came out of the window after a few harsh tugs and Dean wasted no time wrapping his left arm around Sam's chest, his brother's back held tight against his chest as he made a desperate climb back up to the surface, his lungs burning and his brain screaming at him the whole way.

Dean breached the surface and gasped for air as water sprayed everywhere from the break in the smooth surface, water droplets skittering across the rippling surface like that of glass breaking on the floor. The back of Sam's head laid on Dean's shoulder, almost sitting in the crook of Dean's neck as Dean tried desperately to keep his head above water. Sam's arms splayed out, swaying gently in the water's current, his body lifeless against his brother's racing heart as he made a panicked swim towards the dock, all the while mumbling assurances and promises to the precious cargo he held in his arms.

Finally reaching a hand up to the dock's platform, Dean felt for the small ladder with his foot, and connected with the side of it. Stepping on it, he turned himself around, his back to the dock as he leaned against the dock for support, holding onto the nearest plank to help pull himself and his brother up.

"Just hold on Sammy." Dean whispered to his too still sibling, who flopped lifelessly in his arms as Dean began pulling them up and out of the water. Dean reached the top of the dock, knelt down on the platform and wrapped both arms around his brother's chest and pulled him up the rest of the way out of the water before laying him down on the dock.

"Sam? Sam can you hear me?" Dean shook Sam's shoulder gently, watching Sam's head roll back and forth from the jarring movement. No response. Dean tilted Sam's head back and leaned in close, the side of his face hovering over Sam's mouth, waiting to feel warm puffs of air against his cheek. His heart rate picked up when he felt nothing, and terror gripped him far harsher than the chill of the icy lake.

"You are not doing this to me Sammy!" Dean pinched his brother's nose and blew two strong breaths into Sam's mouth and started compressions. Sam's lips were a horrible dark blue, his skin like wax paper and all Dean could think about as he pushed on Sam's sternum was, Don't stop, don't give up. Come on Sam, freaking fight you stubborn bastard! Another two breaths and back to compressions, Dean's fisted hands pushing down in a steady rhythm, trying hard to keep Sam's heart beating and keeping his floundering brother alive.

"You are not going to die because of me again Sam." Dean huffed out between compressions. Fifteen…sixteen…"You are not going to die because of a mistake I made years ago." Nineteen…twenty…twenty-one… "So you are just going to have to suck it up and live Sam. Cause you dying is just not in the cards today. Not anytime soon." Twenty-four…twenty-five… "Sammy, Goddamnit BREATHE!" It was the one thing Dean wanted, prayed for, hoped for, but at this precise moment, couldn't believe he'd been granted such a gift. Sam's back arched off the dock, gasping, before Dean hastily rolled Sam onto his side where Sam hacked up the water clogging his lungs, his whole body trembling as the cold registered.

"That a boy." Dean whispered, temporarily overwhelmed. He patted Sam lightly on the upper back, trying to offer comfort and help support his brother at the same time. "Take it easy." He murmured, reaching for his jacket and draping it over Sam to try and keep out some of the chill. Sam quieted, eyes closed and body stiff while rampant tremors shook his body as it tried to generate heat.

Dean was so focused on he's breathing, he's alive that he didn't hear the creak of old boards, nor did he hear the click of the gun until it was pressed against the back of his head.

"Hello Winchester."

Dean stiffened; one hand on Sam's shoulder and the other slowly brought down to rest against his thigh, his hand curled into a tight fist. He breathed heavily through his nose to try and contain the absolute fury that had him struggling to pull in air.

"So you managed to fish your brother here out of the lake. How heroic. It's too bad that he's going to go right back in so the bitch can finish him off." He snarled, pressing the handgun roughly into Dean's skull.

"You leave my brother the hell alone, Declan. He's got nothing to do with this." Dean hissed, his eyes not leaving his brother's trembling form.

"He's got everything to do with this!" Declan shouted, grabbing a fistful of the back of Dean's shirt and yanked on it, Dean falling hard on the dock. Dean tried to get up, but froze when Declan aimed his gun at Sam, blazing eyes stayed locked on to Dean's.

"You left Blake to die! You fucking watched him drown and didn't lift a finger to save him, you bastard!" He raged, practically spitting the words in Dean's face. Dean tried to reign in his anger, watching and waiting for Declan to make a mistake.

"I'm sorry I couldn't have saved Blake, but what you're doing, it is not going to bring him back. I'm the one you're pissed at, not Sam, so let my brother -"

Declan howled, his voice tinged with hysteria. "Your brother? That's my whole point, Dean. You should know what it feels like to have to bury your brother. Your little brother, like I had to bury mine."

Dean's face scrunched in confusion, before horrible understanding replaced that look with apprehension. "So Blake…."

"Yes," Declan answered, seeing the understanding on Dean's face, "Blake was my little brother. And you just sat there as that ghost held his head underwater till he drowned. He died, because you couldn't be bothered to get off your ass and help him!" He roared, his gun momentarily losing his target on Sam as he brought his leg around, aiming at Dean's ribcage – but Dean was prepared. He grabbed Declan's foot, yanking on it hard and watched the hunter fall, the gun slipping out of his fingers. Dean pounced, getting in a few right hooks to the hunter's face. Blood smeared across his knuckles as he split Declan's lip open. He paused, reaching blindly for the handgun until fingers met with steel. Standing protectively between Declan and his unconscious sibling, Dean aimed the gun at the infuriated hunter's head, daring the man to move.

"I am sorry, Declan, that you lost your brother that day. But what right does that give you to take mine away?" Dean choked up at the end, knowing full well what Declan had gone through. He'd seen Sam die once before, and that pain, that soul crushing agony never went away. Even with Sam back, that feeling of terror and utter desolation was still there, buried as deep into his subconscious thoughts as it could go.

Declan propped himself up with his arms, glaring daggers at the gun that was pointed at him. "What right? Why should I have to lose my brother? It's not like you looked after yours." The barb hit its mark, and the hunter watched balefully at Dean's grimace. "It's not like he's going to survive, Dean. Even if the little shit does make it out of here alive. Someone is going to take him out, and when he's gone, you're going to have no one to blame but yourself, because you can't protect him forever, Dean. Someone is going to finish what I started." Dean ground his teeth together, tightening his grip on his piece when his hands started to shake; a blast of cold air ripping through his saturated clothes and the cold settling right into his bones.

"It's time to come home." A shrill voice came out of nowhere, a hand snaking out of the water to grab around Declan's ankle, giving a vicious tug. The hunter cried out, the icy touch burning his skin through his clothes and he was dragged off the pier, his nails digging into the docks and splintering pieces of wood

Dean locked eyes with the dead woman, her face grotesque and rotting as she gave him a chilling smile. Unable to look away, Dean's feet planted where he stood - protecting his own. Declan's cries died off with a gurgle as water slipped over his head, and the woman's spirit followed him down, the water making barely a ripple as they disappeared beneath the water's surface.

Shivering against more than the cold, Dean turned around and knelt besides Sam, noting that Sam's eyes had opened and were staring directly at him, bouts of violent shivering wracking his frame.

"It's okay Sammy. We're going to get ya out of here, okay? Just hold on bro." Dean patted the jacket thrown haphazardly over Sam, until he fished out his cell phone, grateful he hadn't taken it with him on his impromptu swimming escapade. He forced his numb fingers to hit the buttons and talked quickly to the operator at the other end, the woman letting him know an ambulance would be on its way, before snapping his phone closed, his attention drawn back to his little brother.

"Ggggone?" Sam asked through chattering teeth, looking all of the age of four, eyes wide and imploring. Dean had to take a moment to figure out what Sam was asking, before answering, "Yeah dude, he's gone." Dean moved behind Sam and gently pulled him up to lean Sam's back against his chest, wrapping his jacket tighter around his little brother to try and trap any of the remaining heat. He knew he should probably have left Sam where he was and not moved him, but damnit, he'd nearly lost his brother again and if that didn't call for a little manly hug, then he didn't know what did.

"Sssooo cccoold. Why's zit so cooold?" Sam murmured through chattering teeth. It was amazing that he hadn't shattered all of his teeth the way they continually clattered together.

"Cause you decided to ssswim with the fishes, little brother. Not the best laid out plan you've ever had, mind you. It's freaking ccold out here." Damnit, if he wasn't beginning to shiver as hard as Sam. Dean was certainly feeling the effects of exposure, and he couldn't imagine how bad it was for his brother. Having found Sam without his jacket on, he assumed he'd been without it for a while, increasing the length of exposure. He only hoped the ambulance would get there soon.

Cinching an arm around his brother, he pulled Sam closer until Sam's head rested just under his chin, his violent shaking reverberating through Dean and vice-versa. Dean found himself gazing out into the calm waters, mesmerized as the moonlight glittered against the dark shadows of the lake, trying to hide the terrors that hid below the surface.

A/N: Well folks, we have one more chapter to go before this story is all finished *sniff* Thanks for all the support guys.