The Nutcracker.

Summary. . . . . . Trying to bring an ill Sam some Christmas cheer, Dean unwittingly places his brother in danger.

Disclaimer. . . . . . Still only loaning the guys, I promise to return them, I just can't guarantee it will be in one piece.

A.N. . . . . . . . Happy New Year guys and gals, due to the fact that I was being lazy and couldn't be bothered to venture out, I managed to get up bright and early and relatively hangover free to write the next chapter of The Nutcracker. Hope you all enjoy, catch you later, Peanut x

Dean could feel the tenseness leave his body as Sam began to relax a little beside him, yet his eyes stayed alert for any sign of trouble, his mind unwilling to completely ignore Sam's intuition; if his brother felt something was off, yet was reluctant to tell him what for whatever reason, Dean would believe that too. It had happened too many times in the past for it to be wrong now, Sam's uncanny ability to know when things were going to turn bad saving both his and their Dad's respective asses on numerous occasions. He could only hope that Sam's reasons for staying quiet was because the threat was minimal.

He looked down again at Sam, sat close to his side and for all intent and purposes engrossed and enjoying the show; at least that's what the untrained observer would think, Dean though knew better, years of looking after Sam, of constantly being aware if his brother was hurting making Dean see things others couldn't, not even their Dad. He could tell from the rigidity of Sam's back that his brother was worried, scared almost; could tell from the tenseness of his jaw and eyes that even though he looked like he was watching the show, his mind was else where, alert and ready to run if the threat he felt materialized.

Seeing Sam smile at something on the stage and relax his posture even more, eased Dean's worries slightly. Even though he was now wary of his surroundings, he really wanted Sam to enjoy himself today, to have a bit of fun in his life, to be happy for a just for a little while before Dean had to break the news that they would be leaving town once their Dad had returned, that they would most likely be spending Christmas on the road yet again, with their Dad treating the day just like any other day. With that thought in mind, and Sam's newly relaxed state, he allowed the brightly colored costumes, the cheerful music, and the dancing babes to ease the restlessness from his mind, and the tension from his body, making him forget after a few minutes what had worried him in the first place.

Sam really wanted to leave. Ever since the curtain had risen he had fought against the urge to run out of there, the feeling of the eyes watching him gaining strength by the second. He knew it was stupid, that he was probably imagining things, but he couldn't suppress either the sensation of hands touching him, causing shudders to course throughout his body, and nausea to rise in his stomach. He tried so hard to conceal how badly he wanted to go home, tried to release the nervousness from his body and enjoy the show for Dean's sake, to make his brother feel he had done something good, managing to do so for a while, but unable to lose those feelings completely.

Sam felt more than saw Dean's eyes turn his way, felt the unasked questions his brother wanted to ask, the nervousness in Dean that he had put there. He plastered a fake smile on his face in the hopes that he could fool his brother, relaxing his stance even more in the hopes that Dean would turn back and enjoy the show; there was no need after all for them both to be miserable. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in as his wishes came true and Dean's eyes returned to the show; the busty blondes grabbing Dean's attention no doubt, causing Sam to smile a genuine smile for the first time since they had sat down.

That smile though died on his lips as the feelings returned, slamming into his mind with more strength than ever. He looked up to the stage hoping to route out the cause of his apprehension looking to see what had changed so much in the previous minutes to have caused such a spike, but all he could see were the wooden eyes of some freaky looking wooden models, and the garish masks of the dancers. He fought back another shudder and tried to lose himself in the music and dancing, surprised when after a few minutes he caught himself actually enjoying show, even if he couldn't quite lose the feeling of eyes watching his every move.

As he followed the dancers as they pranced across the stage, Sam was suddenly overcome by chills, the air around him seeming to freeze. He stopped following the dancers, his eyes seeming to move back to the other side of the stage despite his best efforts to stop them, where only one performer remained sat on the wooden platform surrounded by the wooden figurines that had sent chills through him earlier, the guys eyes fixed on him, but they weren't the only ones; if he didn't know any better Sam would swear that the puppets were also looking his way. The desperation to leave heightened in Sam as the performer licked his lips and waved discretely his way, Making his mind up Sam turned to Dean, he felt so selfish for doing this, but he really didn't feel safe here any more, pulling on Dean's jacket he whispered.

"Dean, I don't feel so good, can we please leave?" He felt so guilty for the white lie, but the urge to get away from the stage was so strong. He turned away from Dean's gaze as his brother looked at him, unable to look at the disappointment he knew would be there, knowing he had once again caused it.

"Sure Sam." Dean said after watching Sam for a few seconds and not liking what he saw. He bit back the disappointment he felt as he took in Sam's whiter than white features and frightened eyes, just what the hell was going on? "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I just really want to go home, I'm not feeling good, headache, you know?"

"Okay then, lets get going."

Sam stood after putting his coat back on and turned to leave, unable to keep from looking back though, shivering as he witnessed the guys eyes still on him.

It infuriated him that he had to lower himself to performing with such amateurs, this was so beneath his status, he was destined for bigger and better things than performing in shopping malls, and his way out was sitting right there in front of him. It took all his restraint, all his self will from moving and taking that which was rightfully his. He watched as the boy struggled to stay calm, almost as if the child knew he was being watched, but he was being so careful how could that be. Looking around stealthily he spotted the reason why, a underling was eyeing his prize with lust. And could it be? Scaring his prize away?

He watched, infuriated, as the boy stood and gripping his brother's hand tightly began to walk away, his mind determined to make the performer pay for his sin, it was too soon, he needed to get closer. Praying that the scent of the boy would be enough for him to follow later, he set his sights on the performer, and using what little strength he had gained from the boys essence began to use his power, focussing on squeezing the life out of the man sending him slipping sideways into oblivion. He smiled to himself as the screams of children began to permeate the air.

A.N. . . . . . . As always I'd like to thank you all for taking time out to read, I'll be back soon with another update, Peanut x