The Nutcracker.

Summary. . . . . . . Trying to bring a sick Sam some Christmas cheer, Dean inadvertently places his brother in danger.

Disclaimer. . . . . . Still only playing with those that belong to another!

A.N. . . . . . . . So here we are at chapter 12, as always I thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoy, Peanut x

John had the door open and was jumping into the back seat of Caleb's jeep even before the car had stopped rolling, his eagerness to get to his youngest child growing with each second that passed, an ever increasing sense of worry causing acid to roll painfully within his stomach. Not caring to buckle himself in, he hurriedly spoke. "What did you find out? Where's Sammy?"

It was Bobby who eventually replied, Caleb's focus centered on driving and getting to Sam before it was too late. "This is some ancient mojo crap Sam's landed himself in John. Hell it was pure luck we even found reference to anything even remotely similar. We think it's a human, John. We think it was cursed; we're talking seriously evil dark voodoo here. If the passage we found is anything to go by, the guy must have done some seriously bad deed, cause they only ever use that curse if the crime is horrific. The passage mentioned how to revert back to human form, and what you would need to do this. We need to hurry John; if I've read it right, it's feeding off Sam's fear and pain, and with Sam being ill he doesn't have much time left."

"Why? What will happen to Sam once he's reverted?" Bobby stayed quiet, but his eyes spoke volumes, the sadness radiating from them saying more to John than words ever could. "How do we find him? I can't lose Sam! If I do, I'll lose Dean too."

Knowing what John had said was true, Dean would leave them also if they were unsuccessful in getting Sam back, Bobby replied. "He needs an alter, and a space that's pretty big, and definitely remote. Offerings vary depending on which evil son of a bitch he's trying to please, but most are easily found so we don't even have that in our favor. The only thing going for us is that the ritual needs to be done at dusk."

"That's less than three hours from now! Do we even know where he is? Do we even know yet how to stop him?" John cried out in alarm.

"We have three locations in the area that look promising. We don't think the nutcracker would have risked driving too far from here, and taken a chance on being stopped, especially with the amber alert out on Sam. So these are the only options."

"And stopping it? What do we do when we find it?"

"We think we can stop the ritual, but apart from burning the wooden beast, we're not sure how to kill it. Even with that, there are consequences."

"What do you mean consequences?"

Bobby exchanged a brief glance with Caleb, who so far had remained quiet, the younger hunter speaking for the first time as he replied. "It could harm Sam."

"No way!" John shouted, his fists punching the back of Bobby's seat. "We'll have to think of something else."

"Don't you think we've tried?" Bobby asked. "Don't you think we would rather ourselves get hurt than Sam? But every scenario we've come up with so far, results in the same thing, Sam will get hurt. Your problem now is, would you rather Sam alive and hurt, or dead? I know what I would rather have happen."

John sat back in his seat, he knew Bobby was right, but it still hurt to know that Sam would feel pain. He wondered as they drove just how hurt his youngest son was, wondered if the cold that had refused to let him go, had worsened. He knew that the nutcracker wouldn't have cared if Sam grew weaker from sickness, it would have just made his job all the easier, all he could hope for was that Sam was still fighting, that the stubborn streak that ran through his youngest was keeping him alive.

John rolled across the back seat as Caleb took the turn to the first location at speed, the jeeps two left wheels leaving the ground before landing with a jolt that shook all three men. As the big car rolled closer to the barn, that could be seen through a gap in the trees standing off in the distance, Caleb brought it to a stop, the rest of the way would be taken on foot, stealth and surprise now their biggest weapons. Quietly exiting the vehicle, closing the doors carefully behind them, the three men set off across the plowed field that lay before the trees, wary of each step they took, ensuring that no noise was audible. As they approached the thin line of foliage they halted, eyes and ears alert for any sound, any movement in the vicinity. At seeing and hearing nothing they started their trek again, moving ever closer towards the barn.

John stood back as they finally reached the cracked and worn wooden sides, his heart already telling him what he needed to know. Sam wasn't here. The nutcracker wasn't here. They had chosen wrong, he didn't wait to check the building out, knowing they would find nothing but years old rusted equipment, and the faint pungent smell of stale manure. Looking to the east, knowing from the brief scan of Bobby's research, that the next barn was two miles further down the road, he started running across the field, hoping that if he took the road the crow flies he could cut that distance in half.

Determined to save his son, his legs had soon carried him past the row of trees and into yet another plowed field. In the distance he could make out the frame of a dilapidated barn, sturdier newer frames standing far behind it. He didn't know how, but his instincts screamed at him that this was the place. Taking off at a run once more, his thoughts centered on Sam, he never felt the sharp tips of reaped corn stalks scratch and cut into his flesh, his mind focused, his senses alert. Coming to a rest as he reached the rotten framework, John stilled and listened. Soft shuffling coming from inside aroused his senses. Bringing an eye to one of the cracks in the woodwork, he peered through, his breath catching as his dreams came true and his sight fell upon his baby, his eyes filling with tears, blurring his vision as he took in the sad sight that was his son.

A large table draped with red velvet, held his small son's lax body. No bonds were needed, as even from this distance John could see how sick and weak Sam was. On every corner of the table stood black candles, their wicks casting the only light into the otherwise dulling room. Tearing his eyes away from Sam, John scanned the rest of the room in hopes of seeing the nutcracker, revulsion turning his stomach as the puppet finally entered his line of sight, clasping what seemed to be a bronze vessel, and giving John his first glimpse of his son's captor. Flesh now covered fifty percent of the wooden creatures frame. Hair, now down to his shoulders, framed a face that was gradually taking on a human form. It was the eyes though that freaked John out, evil soulless orbs of black stared out from beneath hooded lids, their sights set upon his son.

Turning away from the crack and maneuvering further around the barn, John searched for a way in, his eyes finally spotting in the gloom loose boards in the barns frame, and a gap just big enough for him to fit through. Climbing through, he stealthily made his way towards where he had seen his son and the beast, his mind doing a quick inventory of weapons on his possession, his hand clasping tightly around the lighter and fluid he had in his pockets. He watched for a few seconds as the nutcracker raised the liquid filled vessel and started chanting, knowing he had no time to lose and praying that this would work, he took a deep breath and made his move.

To Be Continued. . . . . . . . . .

A.N. . . . . . . . Just a quick reminder, now that the time is getting nearer, the Winchester Single Shots will be posted soon. The first ones will be under our own pen names, with following rounds posted under darksupernatural's name. From what I have read so far, there's gonna be some amazing reads, so if you have a chance to, please give them a look, Thanks!

Will be back soon with chapter 13, catch you then, Peanut x