Thanks to the following reviewers: (In no particular order)
L'insomnie des etoiles, Lilithxfic, I'mcalledZorro, snchills,angel679, The Emerald Phoenix, adder574, Ghostwriter, JaggerK, Transgenic-girl, StoryDreamer, CylentWind, Rae Artemis, Mystiksnake, Karone Evertree, Larabiehn, SilverKitsune1, Aogail, Minako Mikato, SupRNatural119, and Heart of the Wizard. gaelicspirit, Kylelara, Teranika Meneldil, and last but not least, AbbySomeone.
(If I missed anyone, apologies in advance)
P.S. Thank you, Ghostwriter, for the kind words about the family problems.
It was hardly ten minutes later when the battered car screeched to a halt.
Sam looked up in surprise. "Where are we?" He hadn't exactly been paying attention to his surroundings, but his unconscious brother.
"Logan's apartment," Max replied. "How's he doing?"
"He's still out."
"He'll be okay. It was just from the shock. Dr. Carr here will fix him right up," Max raised a dark eyebrow. "Right?"
"Exactly. Let's get him inside."
"Okay.
Gently, Logan and Dr. Carr eased Dean out of the car and hurried into the apartment, Max and Sam at their heels.
Sam glanced around the lobby. "Nice digs." he said absently, trying to keep his mind off the terrible fear that was overwhelming his mind.
Max looked back at Sam. "Yeah, Logan's family is loaded. His uncle is loaded."
The younger Winchester nodded silently as all five of them loaded into the elevator.
Max pressed the penthouse button, and the elevator automatically lurched upwards.
"Penthouse, too?" Sam gave a small nod. "Yeah, I'd say you're loaded," he paused. "How is Dean doing?"
"Still out, but still doing okay… considering. He'll be okay." Max gave him a reassuring smile.
Yep, that's my big brother all right. He can get attacked by a Wendigo, shot by me in the chest at close range with a shotgun full of rock salt, and oh yeah, my personal favorite, get electrocuted… and come out okay.
Not that Dean had been okay after the electrocution… he'd been dying, in fact. The doctor had given a matter of weeks to live. It had been a… miracle, of sorts, if you wanted to call it that, that Dean had lived. Sam had taken him to a faith healer named Roy LaGrange, and Dean had been healed… but they found out later it was at the cost of another young man's life.
Something that Dean still hadn't forgave himself for.
His inner musing were interrupted by the soft dinging of the elevator door opening.
And all of his concentration was then taken up by getting his brother into Logan Cale's apartment.
Once inside, Dr. Carr and Logan took Dean into a spacious bedroom, and carefully placed him on the bed.
Apparently, the jarring was painful enough to bring Dean to consciousness, and he looked up, searching for Sam; blood glistening on his head and face from the head injury he had sustained.
"Dean," Sam dropped down to his knees by the bed, and clasped his brother's hand tightly. "How you feeling?"
How was he feeling… Dean pondered that thought for a moment.
Should he tell the truth, or go with the ever popular lie?
He closed his eyes; as both light and sound stabbed with a vengeance, making his head throb as if it had been caught in a vice.
He must've had them closed longer than he thought; because Sam asked again, with a hint of panic in his voice. "Dean? How are you feeling? Are you okay?"
He opened them with an effort. A painful effort. "Yeah, I'm good Sammy. You?"
"I told you before; I'm fine. You're the one who looks like an extra from Dawn of the Dead."
Dean let out a weak laugh, but stopped quickly as throbbing ribs protested. "Ow. Don't make me laugh."
"All right… let's let me see to my patient now, shall we?" Dr. Carr questioned gently.
Sam quickly stepped out of the way, and Dr. Carr replaced him at the bedside.
"Dean, I'm going to clean, and stitch your leg, and head then check you more thoroughly for more injuries," the doctor's face was solemn, and serious. "I'm going to give you some morphine-"
"No!" At his outburst, three sets of heads, Max's, Dr. Carr's, and Logan Cale's all turned to stare at him.
Sam was looking at him, too, but was mouthing. "Take it. Don't be stubborn."
"Dean, stitching your leg will be… to put it mildly, agony. There's no way you want that done without any morphine."
Sam stepped forward and whispering so that they wouldn't be overheard, said. "It's fine Dean. The doctor's right, your head, you could probably stand having stitched without it… but not your leg," Sam felt ill just thinking about the gruesome wound on his brother's leg. "It's too long, and way too deep. The man has to stitch arteries here. Don't worry… I'll keep watch. Nothing will happen, I promise."
Don't worry… I'll keep watch. Nothing will happen, I promise.
Max frowned. When Dean had refused morphine; Sam, obviously familiar with this, stepped forward.
He whispered in his brother's ear, obviously so that the other three people in the room didn't overhear.
But he didn't know that one of the people in question had higher than normal sensory perception.
So unabashed, Max listened, doing her best to look innocent.
"It's fine Dean. The doctor's right, your head, you could probably stand having stitched without it… but not your leg."
At that word, Sam had paled slightly. Max didn't blame him, after all, she had brothers and sisters, too.
"It's too long," Sam had continued into Dean's ear. "It's too long, and way too deep. The man has to stitch arteries here. Don't worry… I'll keep watch. Nothing will happen, I promise."
After that, Dean had reluctantly consented to the injection of morphine, which had sent him into a drowsy mostly-asleep state.
Max crossed her arms as she watched Dr. Carr work.
"I'll keep watch. Nothing will happen, I promise."
God, they sounded like soldiers. Dean had been afraid to take the morphine, she was sure, because the narcotic would dull his edges and put him to sleep.
Maybe they had more in common with Manticore than she thought.
It was only until Dr. Carr had finished stitching Dean's leg, when a thought suddenly occurred to Sam.
"Oh shit!"
"What? Is something wrong?" Max looked at him with concern.
"No… well, I need to get the Impala… if it's drivable. Dean would kill me if I left it there, it's his baby." Not to mention the little fact of the highly illegal cache of firearms in the trunk, and the fake I.D.'s in the glove compartment… need I go on?
"No. You're not going anywhere," Dr. Carr spoke, not looking from where he was finishing up with Dean's head.
"What?"
"You hit your head pretty hard. Granted, it wasn't as bad as your brother's, but still it was hard enough to give you a mild concussion. So you're sure as hell not driving anywhere."
Sam opened his mouth to protest, but Max intervened.
"I'll go get it for you. I need to go get my bike anyway. If it can still go, I'll drive it back here to Logan's," she cocked her head to the side. "Is that okay?"
Sam nodded slowly. "Yeah."
You had know how to get into the special compartment in the back where the guns where kept.
He just prayed to God she didn't go pawing through the glove compartment.
Just as Max was about to leave, Logan's apartment door opened.
Sam froze.
Then a all-too-familiar voice rang out. "Max. Max are you here?"
God, it was Dean's voice.
Sam noticed that it was Max that froze this time.
"Come on, I know that Logan's here. I saw his piece-of-crap car outside."
The voice was getting closer. In fact, it was right outside.
Then a familiar figure strode into the room.
No, Sam amended, it wasn't familiar. It was identical.
To Dean.
"I just wanted to apologize for this morning, and… what the hell is going here?" The man asked, his gaze zeroing in on Sam.
"Um… well, we really haven't figured everything out," Max said. "But Alec, this is Sam Winchester. Sam, this is Alec McDowell."
"Nice to meet ya." Alec said, and his voice… his mannerisms, hell, his attitude was so Dean, Sam was getting majorly creeped out.
Max was watching the exchange closely, and her breath caught as Alec sauntered over to the bed where Dr. Carr was working on Dean.
Five, four, three, two… one, she thought, waiting for the inevitable explosion.
Alec had known something was up right when he walked into the room.
For one, Max was extremely tense, as if she was waiting for something to blow up in her face.
Then there was the kid, who was staring at him with a intensity that was seriously creeping him out.
"Alec, this is Sam Winchester. Sam, this Alec McDowell."
"Nice to meet ya." Alec replied, and curious to see who Dr. Carr was working on, crossed over to the bed.
When the man's face came into view; Alec literally stopped breathing.
It was him.
Or rather a twin, or clone, or whatever the fuck Manticore called them.
His body tensing, not turning around, he asked Max. "I thought Ben…?"
I thought Ben was the only copy of me running around. And he's dead.
There was silence. Max hadn't answered him.
Alec spun around. "Well? I thought Ben was the only clone of me? How many more is there?"
Shit.
That was the only thing Max could think of. She knew that Sam and Dean would find out eventually about Manticore; but she had preferred it not be today. When they had just been in a car accident.
Sam was looking at Max, then Alec and back again with wide hazel eyes.
"I don't know, Alec. And Dean isn't from Manticore. He's human."
The anger Alec had obviously been feeling changed instantly into confusion. "What?"
"At first, I thought he was you. When I realized he wasn't, I checked the back of his neck. No barcode. He's human, and he," Max inclined her head towards Sam. "Is his younger brother. Whom we are going to have explain ourselves now."
Sam raised an eyebrow. "Um, yes, you do… but Max…?"
"Oh yeah, the car," Max looked over Alec. "You can explain, while I go retrieve their car before it gets jacked."
He gave her a sarcastic power salute, trying to cover up the confusion he was feeling. "Yes ma'am."
"Okay. I'll be back in a few."
And with that, she was gone.
Alec opened his mouth to begin the long Manticore story, but Sam held up a hand, and stood. "Hold on. I want to see how Dean is doing."
"And Dean is your brother?"
Sam looked over his shoulder. "Yes."
There was a lot of emotion in that single word. Dean Winchester must be a awesome big brother.
He watched as Sam knelt by the bed. "So what's the verdict, Dr. Carr?"
Alec heard the little doctor sigh. "Well, it took sixty stitches to close his leg, fifteen for his head. After I got done with that, I checked out the rest of him. He's got three broken ribs, broken collarbone, and a cracked cheekbone."
There was small silence, then Sam whispered. "But he's going to be okay?"
"Yes, Sam. He'll just need a lot of rest, but he'll heal. Have some scars…"
Sam said quickly. "Yeah, Dean always says that chicks dig scars."
"Well, he certainly has enough of them."
Intrigued, Alec listened as Sam stuttered out an explanation about Dean being very clumsy.
Kid's a terrible liar.
It made him wonder what was really going on with the two brothers.
Not that it was any of his business.
When Sam made his way back to his chair, Alec asked. "He going to be okay?"
"Yeah."
"That's good," he paused. "So you want me to tell you about where Max and I came from?"
