"Son of a bitch," Sam swore, panting and doubling over, hands braced on his legs for support. Dean didn't think he could've said it better himself.
Dean checked the road for any sign of the attacker, but it seemed that the guy had simply given up and left with the money. He turned back to his brother. "Jesus, Sam, that was really close. Are you okay?"
Sam stood up, lifting a hand to gingerly prod at the bruises and scrapes on his face. "Son of a bitch! He got the money- Shit, I won't be working with these. Damn it!"
Dean held up his hands, trying to get Sam to calm down. "Sam, chill. It's okay. Things happen." In his mind, however, he was already planning on how he would be taking care of Sam's attacker as soon as he was back in business.
"God," Sam hissed quietly, "I hate it when this happens." Dean froze and Sam realized what he'd just said.
His brother turned his head to peer at him. "This has happened before?" Sam licked his bottom lip and kicked awkwardly at a small pebble on the ground, and watched as it bounced away.
"Maybe once...or twice," he muttered under his breath.
Dean scowled. "Sam..."
Sam made a 'ch' sound and turned on his to start walking back to the house, and Dean, who was fuming (though at what he had no idea), followed him back. "Hey, I don't want to sound like an ass or anything, but how am I supposed to go back to normal?"
His little brother gave him a frustrated glance, and sighed. "I don't know. I've been thinking about it, and I'm wondering if it's a demon." Dean drew back in surprise.
"A demon," he echoed, "A demon? What reason would a demon have for throwing people out of their bodies?"
Sam suddenly came to a stop, and his eyes widened in worry. "What if it needs them for something?" Dean gaped and scoffed angrily.
"There's no way in hell I'm letting some punk ass demon use my body for anything! I'll kill that sucker," he raged, and Sam briefly looked rather amused. Dean couldn't help the warmth that blossomed in his chest.
"Somehow, I don't think the demon's going to be quivering in its boots," Sam jibed, grinning a little. Dean's face exploded into a bright smile and he felt absolutely elated.
This was Sam.
"I'll make it quiver Sam," he shot back and Sam snorted quietly. They went back and forth with lame jokes, but Dean didn't care, because they were finally being brothers again.
When the house came back into sight, Sam's smile faltered and faded, and Dean couldn't help but curse inwardly. Slowly, Sam's iron wall was chipping away, revealing both the brother Dean knew and loved with all his heart, and all the pain and scars from Sam's time alone.
Dean was pretty sure he would never forgive himself for that.
Sam smiled again, but it was softer, gentler this time.
They went inside, where Victoria went all mother hen on Sam, bandaging up his hands and putting ointment on his cuts. Which Sam got pretty angry about, because apparently there wasn't a lot of it.
Ben seemed pretty concerned, Dean noted. He was talking with Victoria later, after Sam had gone up to his room to rest. Dean crept closer, trying to gauge this guy.
If he didn't know what Ben had done, he would've thought he was a pretty decent guy. At least, when Sam wasn't around.
"What happened to him?" Ben asked. Victoria twisted her hands nervously, obviously concerned about the entire ordeal. Dean felt a little weird, standing less than five feet from them, and they had no idea he was there.
"I'm not sure," Victoria admitted, "From what I gathered, Sam was assaulted by a man when he was out on the streets. All his money was taken, and, um," she faltered, briefly glancing around to see if anyone else was in earshot, "The guy tried to, well, you know..."
Ben looked kind of sick. As he should, Dean thought bitterly. "Did he?" Victoria shook her head and Ben let out a small breath of relief. Victoria gave him a look.
"Why aren't you like this around Sam? It would certainly help with the asshole reputation you have."
Ben shrugged. "I don't really know how to act around him, you know? I know what I did, and I can barely look or speak to him, save for when we argue." Dean rolled his eyes, not really wanting to hear his emo crap.
He quickly left the scene and went to Sam's room, where, per usual, he was smoking away.
"You're going to give yourself lung cancer," he muttered. Sam ignored him, mumbling a retort to himself, too quiet and quick for Dean to catch.
Dean just rolled his eyes again and stayed with Sam, waiting until he fell asleep to sit back and close his eyes. Of course, he couldn't really sleep since he didn't really have a body, but he could kind of just...rest.
When he opened his eyes again, it was to the sound of a panicked scream. He looked over at Sam, who was just beginning to stir under his blanket, which was much too small for the guy.
"Wha? Wha's goin' on?" Sam asked, voice slurred with sleep. There was another scream, and the brothers were on their feet in a flash and out the door, Sam leading the way.
"Everybody, get out! Get out now!" Sam recognized the voice as Victoria's and he bolted down the hall before skidding to a stop. One of the rooms was on fire, and the flames were spreading.
Judging by the blankets that were now also burning, some people had tried to put it out. "Sam!" Victoria cried in a panic. She ran to him, reaching out to grab his arm.
"I can't find everyone! I think Heather's upstairs!" Sam went pale and he nodded, steering Victoria towards the exit.
Sam licked his lips. "Victoria, get all the people you can find on the lower levels and get out of here. I'm going to go through the upper floors, okay?" Victoria nodded numbly. "Stay calm; We'll be okay."
Dean wished he could touch Sam, because he would smack him one. "What the hell do you think you're doing? The apartment is burning down, Sam! You gotta get out of here!"
Sam shook his head. The fire had spread to most of the hallway, and most likely part of the floor above. He could hear screams, though from where, he wasn't sure.
He ran through the flames, emerging onto unburnt floor, eyes watering and coughing from the thick clouds of smoke. He swiped a small blanket from the ground and pressed it to his face to try and keep from inhaling smoke.
Sam began checking the rooms, Dean hovering around him and glancing around for anything Sam might've missed. The heat was sweltering, and Sam broke out into a sweat as he climbed the stairs to the third floor.
"Is anyone here?" he called over the roar of the fire only a few halls down. There was a harsh cough and Sam was moving forward, slipping into a room. Ben was on all fours on the hardwood.
Sam's face hardened, but he crouched next to Ben and ripped the blanket he had in half, pressing the other piece to Ben's face. "Hold it there," he said loudly. Ben nodded weakly and replaced Sam's hand with his own.
"Can you stand?" he asked. Ben nodded and weakly rasped, "Yes." Sam pulled him to his feet and escorted him out into the hallway. Sam made sure to crouch down so he and Ben were face to face.
"Get out of here as fast as you can. If you see anyone else still inside, get them out immediately. Do you understand?" Ben nodded and Sam let him go, turning to jog towards the source of heat.
He turned the corner and practically slammed right into a familiar blonde, who was covered head to toe in black soot and coughing harshly. "Sam!" Heather gasped.
Sam quickly pressed his blanket piece against her face. "Breathe. Do you know if there's anyone else?" Heather shook her head, small hands feebly pushing the cloth against her mouth.
"There's..no..one else..I think...," she wheezed. Sam nodded, his momentarily relief quickly turning into alarm as Heather swayed on her feet. He scooped her up in his arms, briefly marveling at how light she was.
"Sam, let's go!" Dean pleaded and Sam nodded once to show Dean he had heard. He choked on smoke when he inhaled, and had to pause to catch his breath.
When he could breathe again, Sam set off, lumbering down the halls and nearly falling down the stairs with Dean following and growling about how they needed elevators.
Technically, elevators wouldn't be very helpful to people in a fire, but Sam figured he could mention it later, when they were out of the building.
Suddenly, there was a loud groan, and Sam could feel the floor under his feet vibrating. A snap, and a piece of blackened woods crashed to the ground in front of them.
"Damn it," Sam hissed. He stepped over it, wincing at the blistering heat as the flames licked at his legs. Dean skirted around his brother and went ahead, watching for danger.
He caught sight of the front door and breathed out in relief. Dean turned to look back at his brother, and his eyes went wide.
"Sam! Look out!"
The wood slammed into Sam's back and he dropped to one knee. Heather suddenly grasped at the fabric of his shirt, panting weakly. Luckily, Sam was able to scoot out from under the debris and wobble back to his feet.
It was Dean's warning that saved him, and he would make sure he thanked him for it. Sam's head was swimming, and his chest constricted as it ran out of air. Dean's yells for him to get to safety became muted and his ears began to ring.
He stumbled forward anyway, collapsing against the door and pushing it open to stumble out onto the lawn. "Sam!" Sam passed Heather into someone else's arms, and let Victoria lower him to his knees, panting heavily.
Everyone was gathered on the sidewalks. Some were burned, others were breathing heavy like Sam. A few had a few belongings clutched in their hands, most of them scorched or melted.
Almost everyone was crying. Kitty was sobbing, burying her face into Ben's shoulder. Jasmine and Lily were crying too, clutching Heather, who was sniffling quietly.
Nearly every face was stained with tears, for their only home and refuge, and for each other, and all they had lost. They had nothing now, and all they could do was stand there, knowing they had no where to go.
Sam was crying too, eyes shiny with tears and his hands were fisted in the grass, clutching at the ground. His breaths came in soft hiccups and his entire body trembled.
And everyone watched their home burn.