Fangs and Fury

Summary: After another fight, Sam goes out to cool off when Dean gets jumped by vampires looking to use him as bait or food. It's up to Sam to find his brother before he's turned or killed & he's forced to call upon the last person he ever wanted to ask for help or risk losing Dean again but saving him won't be as simple as either Sam or Benny think. *Hurt/limp/angry/sick!Dean; Protective/concerned/worried/furious!Sam (Benny's here as well)* Set between 08x10 Torn & Frayed and 08x11 LARP & the Real Girl.

Warnings: Some for language and a little violence but nothing too serious.

Chapter Three

"That probably be my brother."

The unexpected voice from the now open door had Doctor/vampire Stan Jessup whirling but he'd only started to move when he was physically yanked away from the unmoving body on the floor and shoved into the wall.

"Who…" he gasped as a hand with strength rivaling his own began to crush his windpipe.

"Not a guy you want to piss off right now," Benny growled low in his ear before tossing a look over his shoulder, frowning at the blood he could see and smell and also at the fact that Sam still hadn't move. "You alright down there, Sam?" he called casually, raising his tone at the silence. "You get any of his blood in you?"

Finally able to breathe though his throat felt like crap, Sam was able to make a thumbs up gesture to the first question and slowly shake his head to the second while lifting a hand to wipe any blood from his cheek to make certain.

Watching Sam for another second, Benny returned his attention to the struggling vampire before giving a show of his own teeth to give the guy an idea of who or what he was. "You know me?" he demanded crossly, sensing Sam beginning to move and not pleased to have his back to the younger hunter but also wanting to keep the vampire away from him. "Better question, you know where Dean's at?"

"Where you'll never find…ack!" Jessup didn't finish the sentence as he gasped as the needle poked in his neck and he stared up at Benny in shock.

"That's what you think," stepping back to let the body drop, Benny smiled a little. "Still going for the blade even though I did just technically save your life, Sam?"

Sam's eyes had cleared and he quickly realized that Benny had done just that but he was also more than a little pissed off and confused all at once. "You just killed the only lead we had and what the hell did you mean when you came in?"

"He didn't know anything to help us find Dean," Benny walked back over to close the door since he didn't want any locals wondering by to get a look at this room. "Luc isn't stupid enough to give his real whereabouts to some local lackey and if he did, we wouldn't have gotten it out of this moron because he's not fully from the nest that grabbed Dean."

More than a little confused and still trying to breathe while hoping not too many ribs were cracked or that his sternum wasn't bruised too much, Sam pushed to his feet only to fall back unsteadily before a hand gripped his bicep to keep him from falling.

"Hey, easy there, big boy," Benny didn't like how pale his friend's brother seemed but could shrug that off to any number of things as he was shoved away.

"Don't touch me," Sam growled, making his head stop spinning and hating that little smirk on the vampire's face since he'd missed the look before it while he was trying to stop the room from moving. "You're damn fault this is happening so got an answer as to why your enemies knew to go after Dean and what did you mean…"

"Not a clue in Hell as to why they picked Dean or how they found out about him," Benny replied, looking at the symbol on the wall with a look of disgust before eyeing Sam again. "Where's the note you found?"

Pulling it out of his pocket, Sam held it out. "You know who's behind this, don't you?" he asked, certain of this before he watched Benny's face as he read the note. "You can read this?"

"Old time Cajun. Not very people except those deep in the bayous even know the language anymore, especially like this but…yeah, I can read it and…yeah, I know who did this," Benny leaned against the wall while tossing his cap aside to run fingers through his hair like he hadn't done since he was alive. "I was kinda hoping to be wrong but…I'm not."

He looked up to see Sam's eyes watching him. "I didn't tell anyone about Dean, Sam. You boys have enough enemies already without people finding out that your big brother befriended a vampire while in Purgatory. Hell, that even pisses you off," he gave a slow smile. "You want my help or not?"

"I want my brother back so if that means working with you to find him then that's what I'll do," Sam stepped into the bathroom to wet a rag because he wouldn't feel clean or safe until he made certain all traces of the vampire blood was off of him. "You screw me over or get Dean killed and all bets are off."

"Yeah, but you're the laid back one or so Dean liked to say," Benny chuckled, wrinkling his nose at the smell from the bathroom. "A little extreme in the message department but then Luc's never been known for being subtle," he clucked his tongue while noticing the way Sam held himself and remembered Dean's actions when they first met. "You trust me, Sam?"

That made Sam want to laugh but instead he offered an eye roll. "You're a vampire. I'm a hunter. Those two things make trusting you really unlikely but for Dean's sake…I am," he tossed the rag and was really beginning to feel anxious to get moving. "The note say anything useful?"

It actually said a great deal but nothing Benny felt safe telling Sam at the moment since the vampire didn't think the boy would want to hear in detail the threats made against his brother.

"Nah, just usual bad guy bragging," he shrugged, seeing Sam's doubt and wondering if the boy knew just how much like Dean he looked right then. "You want the long version or the short one?"

"I want to know who this asshole is and why you said he was your brother," Sam went around the room to pick up stuff that could be traced back to them while also watching Benny from the corner of his eye. "Real or just someone else you tend to use the word for?"

There was no mistaking the bitterness in Sam's voice and Benny knew he was on cracked ice already with the younger man but he was also beginning to wonder if Dean really had a clue to why his little brother hated him and he suddenly wasn't sure it was all the whole vampire thing.

"What Dean tell you about me?" he asked, figuring it be best to find out what Sam knew and it didn't come as too big a shock when all Sam did was shake his head. "Aside from the vampire and Purgatory thing, he say anything else?"

"My brother doesn't talk about Purgatory at all except the one time he said he felt pure while down there," Sam returned, knowing he was bitter and really didn't want to admit that Benny probably knew Dean better now than Sam did. "All he said about you was that he survived down there because of you, that you helped get him out and…that you're a better brother to him than I've been."

"Say what?" Benny had to shake his head, certain he'd heard wrong except the pain on Sam's face as he said it told him that he hadn't and he groaned, wanting to shake his friend when he found him for saying that to a kid who obviously still looked up to him. "Okay, not going there," he decided then sighed.

Taking his jacket off to begin to help Sam clean up a bit more, Benny kept his distance from the hunter because while he felt Sam's dislike for him he also could sense there was something else bothering Dean's brother aside from having Dean in the hands of vampires.

"Short of it, I got turned a long time ago but that whole story ain't vital to this because that was what your big brother was helping me fix the night you and I first met," Benny decided the table was a lost cause. "This is more about a screw up I made right after I got turned."

Debating, Benny looked at the note again to the symbol still on the wall with another sigh. "When I was human, I had a family. The folks were long gone but I had brothers and a sister. Lucien was the youngest of the lot and always in trouble so…I was the one who took it on myself to watch out for him," he began slowly.

"By the time Luc was born our Ma was tired and she let him get out of hand but he was smart. He could pick up a book and remember it, he knew all about the types of plants and animals in the bayou but it's what he did with those things that I tried to temper because my little brother was a goddamn sadist at times," Benny turned to hand Sam a shirt that had been on the floor and knew by the careful way the younger man took it that it belonged to Dean.

"I didn't live a good life, Sam. I skated the thin line between legal and illegal to make a living and most of the family left me alone but whenever Luc was in trouble he ran to me because I was the only one who never turned him away…even when I should've," he read the note for the third time before smirking at it. "When I was turned, before I went away…I reacted stupidly and didn't want to lose my one connection to my family. I also wanted a way to keep an eye on Luc so…"

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Sam frowned. "You turned your own brother?" this was bothering him a lot because it was bringing back those memories of the time he was soulless but another part was listening to the tale of a big brother trying to look out for an out of control younger brother and he did not want to start those comparisons. "Why the hell would you wish that on…you didn't know what it would do, did you?"

"Nope, the guy who made me didn't see fit to share all those secrets then," Benny walked over to the mini fridge and held up a beer, taking it for himself when Sam shook his head. "I was new, the bloodlust was huge and Luc, as always, had just gotten himself into a heap of trouble. I was looking for a way to maybe calm him down and I thought by turning him, getting him away from home that it would but…it didn't work like I planned.

"Luc took to bein' a vampire a lot better and faster than I actually did and instead of distracting him from his little games, it actually made him worse because it wasn't just the blood he got hooked on but something else," looking up to see with some surprise that Sam actually appeared to be paying attention to him. "That's why this is so bad. Him having Dean for any amount of time is not good."

Fully agreeing with that, Sam snorted. "Being a vampire heightens everything so whatever he was into when he was alive just went up two hundred percent and if he turns my brother…" he closed his eyes, not wanting to go through that again because it was the whole letting his brother get turned into a vampire that still bothered him the most even if it was one of Dean's taboo topics.

"He won't turn Dean, Sam and that's the problem," Benny didn't want to drop any more bad news on the kid yet but he also needed Sam to be aware of the risks. "Luc only turns people he can control and even with his methods, he'd never control Dean because man, that brother of yours is too stubborn to be under anyone's thumb even drugged."

"What does he want from you then?" Sam asked finally, getting the odd feeling that the vampire still knew more than he was saying but chose to push for that after he got the bigger picture. "The way I took it from Dean's little clues was this guy was pissed at you so…"

"He hates me," Benny shrugged, clearly not going to go on when they both heard the phone ringing. "Ain't me. You got someone calling you?"

Sam pulled Dean's phone out since he'd recognized the ringtone but frowned at the unfamiliar number. Looking up at Benny, he hit the button to activate the speaker function. "Yeah?"

"Well, it seems you don't know when to take a hint. Sam, I presume?" Lucien Lafitte smiled as he sat back in his chair to look down, bringing his most current guest back to full consciousness enough to let him know who he was speaking with. "I really did think your big brother did a good job convincing you to stay away but then hunter's aren't known for being very smart, are they?"

"You'd be surprised," Sam's voice went low and his teeth clenched at the mocking laugh. "Where's my brother? Let me talk to him."

"Oh, he's here with me but I'm afraid talking at the moment is out of the question," Lucien ran a finger over the gag he'd stuffed in Dean's mouth while seeing the realization coming in slightly glassy green eyes. "You're not who I called to talk to though, boy. I knew he's with you by now so put my brother on the phone before I grow too bored with yours and…"

Taking the phone before Sam could hurl it; Benny placed it on the dresser. "Let Dean go now, ya hear, Luc. He's got nothin' to do with this. Your issue's with me so you let him go."

"Oh, I might do that once you come here so we can finish this," Lucien replied easily, adding in a more coy tone of voice. "Though…by then you might not want him back. 'Fraid he's gonna look like some poor mutt's chew toy by the time we're done with him."

"Sam!" Benny moved to quickly shove Sam back on the bed when he went to lunge for the phone. "You're makin' a bad mistake even worse, Luc," he warned, shooting a warning look at the hunter to keep calm. "Your problem's with me, not Dean. Now, you tell me how you even found out about him and where you are but you keep your people away from him or we don't deal."

Running his finger down to wipe from blood from Dean's shoulder, Lucien's smile grew more malicious as he watched his captive still try to struggle only to have to lean against the side of the chair as whatever he'd been injected with sapped his strength faster with every dose.

"You think I don't know a thing or two about you, big brother?" he chuckled. "I spent a good many years finding out what I could of your life before you supposedly died and since you've been back again. I also made it a point to keep track of that whore you were with before betting turned so want me to spell it out in great detail or just say how much the little bitch screamed before I ripped her heart out after she told me about your hunter friend here?"

"Elizabeth?" Benny's breath caught as it suddenly sank in with him that there was one other person who knew about Dean. "What did you do, Lucien?" he demanded, feeling his anger come as he kicked himself for foolishly thinking that his last living mortal descendant would be safe from his life. "You go after Elizabeth? Now you're trying to use Dean? Boy, you've been a coward since you were a pup but nothin' like this. You hurt her?"

"Check the papers, brother. Your little great granddaughter was found with her heart and throat ripped out week before last," Lucien laughed at the swearing being done at him. "Needed her to find out if you had another weakness and then she told me, after a great deal of screaming and begging, about Winchester.

"What's the deal with him, Benny? He's already got a brother…not a great one and one I'm sure will take the hint and walk away like he should've this time since you know better than anyone how I like to keep my pets," he cupped a hand under Dean's jaw to force his head up. "Of course, maybe I could give him to you to keep. That what he is, Benny? He a pet, a toy to use when…"

Glass broke in the room as Sam threw a lamp into the mirror over the dresser and he tried to grab for the phone but a strong hand placed flat on his still bruised chest kept him still and nearly quiet as he felt like screaming at the bragging vamp on the phone.

"Enough," Benny cut in with a very different tone. The deep and smooth voice was there but the accent had gotten more thick as he fought his anger which would bring on the side that he didn't want to show while in the room with a pissed off hunter. "You put Dean on the phone, Luc. You put him on so I know he's alive, you let him talk freely and then I'll give you what you want."

Silence came over the phone and for a moment both hunter and vampire wondered if the call had ended before a very disgruntled huff was heard then other sounds could be heard and Benny did not want to look over at his friend's brother because he did not want to see his eyes right then.

"My brother, the so-called loyal friend who's only loyal when it suits him, wants to hear from you, boy," Lucien had reached down to free the gag from Dean's mouth while holding the phone out. "You can say whatever you want to him so he doesn't think I'm controlling you."

Trying to work some saliva back into his mouth from being gagged on top of the taste in his mouth from whatever he was being shot up with; Dean managed to glare daggers up at his captor before eyeing the phone in front of him and knew it was set to speaker.

"…Benny?" his voice sounded odd even to his own ears and he wasn't sure why but at the moment Dean knew his time was short, forcing his head to clear enough to do this.

"Hey, brother…you alright?" Benny asked, hearing something from behind him and realized it was the sound of Sam's teeth clenching when he greeted Dean like he always had.

If he could move or think straight he might've come up with a better reply but right then all Dean could do was make a soft sound that might've been part scoff and part laugh. "Oh, yeah. I'm just peachy," he muttered, biting down hard on his lip as his stomach seemed to cramp suddenly. "You got me into one helluva mess here, dude."

"Yeah, I did and…we'll get you outta it," Benny seemed to stress the plural part of his reply to make certain his friend understood. "How many times?" he asked suddenly, sensing the restless prowling going on behind him but knowing there was no way he could put Sam on the phone yet. "Dean, how many…"

"Six and…I lost count," Dean sounded quieter as his eyes suddenly wanted to close but made himself stare at the phone, surprised his captor was giving him this much time but he suspected he knew what Benny wanted to know and gave a tiny smirk at the soft curse. "Yep, that's…my thought. Sammy…he with you?"

Dean had heard a little of the vampire's early conversation to know he'd been talking to his brother which caused his to feel an odd sense of security while also hating the risk this would place Sam in.

"Yeah, he's here," Benny glanced back at Sam and nodded to indicate the phone.

"Dean?" fighting back the burst of emotion and words that wanted to explode, Sam clamped down on them until he'd gotten his brother back. "I…I think I might've scratched the car."

Benny shot him a confused look since he'd seen the pools of tears shining in big hazel eyes before Sam had spoken but when he heard a soft but almost slurred chuckle from the other end he guessed Dean wasn't shocked by the statement.

It never failed to amaze Dean that no matter how many years have gone by or what they've been through that he could still hear the fear and unshed tears in his little brother's voice even as messed up as he figured he was right then.

He had so much he could say to Sam but knew his time was running out and needed to make one point clear to Benny before he lost the phone so to Sam he merely offered a simple… "Apple pie life time, Sammy. Find it and Benny? You…remember that promise I made you give me before…before we got out?"

"Yeah, brother, I remember it," swallowing a little at the lump in his throat, the vampire slid a look over to see that Sam's face was pale as he shook his head in difference to what he'd taken his brother's words to mean. "I said I would and I will. I'll…watch out for your boy," he assured him, hearing a small cry of pain and wanting to slam his fist through something. "You hang on, Dean. You keep fighting for him and we'll get to you."

Dean wanted to believe that but as he took in the IV needle being readied he suddenly had a sick feeling that it wouldn't be as simple as that. "You…watch his back cause…he's…not safe and ugh!"

"That's touching," Lucien had let the conversation go on longer than he normally would have because he thought it would be amusing to see his captive beg but when he didn't get that and heard an actual emotion coming from his own brother for this mortal and was furious as he shoved the gag back in roughly while snapping his fingers. "I might decide to kill him or turn him after all just to see your face, Benny."

"You touch him and it's over, Luc," Benny warned tightly, hearing the way Dean sounded and knew he was in much more danger than from just being turned. "You hurt Dean more than you have or you use that crap on him and I'll end you long before his brother will. Where you at?"

Laughing at the threat even though he knew Benny was far from harmless, Lucien lifted his eyes to gaze around the room. "You should know where I am, brother. You know I never could be far from home," he chuckled as Dean cried out around the gag as something was inserted in his neck. "I wouldn't keep me waitin'. You know how fast a body loses blood in these parts."

"Lucien! Damn it!" Benny swore under his breath, turning to see Sam staring at him. "He's goin' to be fine. We'll get him back."

"What's he doing to him?" Sam demanded, not bothering to care that his hands were shaking. "Dean didn't sound right and it's from something more than just blood loss."

Benny held out the phone but when Sam hesitated to take it, slipped it into his own pocket for the moment. "Lucien drugs his victims, Sam. He was good with drugs growin' up and once he became a vampire he figured out that different drugs in the blood make it taste different so he douses 'em up with combos of drugs and that's how he keeps his nest in line too because they drink from the person and get high on the blood.

"Dean…he sounds like he's been given something but Lucien will make it worse for him because he wants to hurt him," he sighed and saw Sam's eyes go wider as this sank in. "Dying from blood loss or even being turned would be better options because coming down from the high and the drugs is never easy but…hey, Sammy…what's wrong?"

Sam had started pacing as the vampire's words registered with him but now he was even more worried because he knew what Benny didn't. "Dean can't get drugged like that. He can't be because…shit…he just can't be and…don't call me that," the name hit him and the same feeling came that did whenever anyone but Dean called him that. "Only Dean calls me that."

"Fair enough," Benny offered a small smile, lifting a hand up to mean he didn't mean anything by it even though Dean had told him often in Purgatory how he was the only living person allowed to call his brother by that nickname. "Why can't Dean be drugged?"

It was something about learning this that had notched the kid's panic up and while Benny knew between losing blood, probably being hurt in other ways and drugged that Dean's recovery wouldn't be easy, it didn't explain the way Sam seemed to be reacting.

"Because he can't be," Sam snapped, dragging a hand through his hair just as his own phone began to ring and he felt like snarling. "Bad time, Garth!"

"Tell me about it," Garth shot back, clearly distracted since he normally would never take that tone with either Winchester. "You talk to Dean yet? I told him to tell you when I talked to him earlier."

Wanting to close his eyes and pretend this whole mess was a nightmare but finally sighed. "Dean's been grabbed by vampires so I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet," Sam told the other hunter then frowned. "Wait. What did you tell Dean to tell me?"

"Shit, Sam. Morrison's gunning for you and he doesn't care who knows it," Garth was alarmed and it showed because there were no jokes or any banter this time. "I told Dean and…Sam?"

Benny had been watching Sam and he was glad he was when he saw all the color drain from the young man's face, grabbing his arm to keep him from hitting the floor as his legs wanted to buckle. "Hey! Sam? Don't you go passin' out on me now. Sam!"

Already tired and stressed from the recent weeks of nearly constant fighting with his brother, worried about Dean in the hands of vampires on top of fearing for his brother's survival or recovery the sudden name of Shane Morrison from Garth soon had Sam's head spinning and only a rush to the barely cleaned bathroom kept him from making an even bigger mess on the floor.

"That ain't good," Benny decided, snatching the phone up from where it fell from Sam's fingers. "Who the hell is this and what the hell you say to set this kid off?" he demanded, voice pure whiskey coated Cajun accent and temper as he stepped closer to see Sam's stomach emptying the rest of the way. "Well?"

"Who's this?" Garth countered at the unexpected voice.

The skinny hunter knew that normally the Winchesters didn't hunt with anyone else and Dean hadn't mentioned it earlier so he was more than a little suspicious especially upon learning about Dean's kidnapping.

"I asked you first," Benny responded smoothly, glancing down when a hand hit his leg and Sam's fingers were motioning for his phone back. "You look like something your brother and I watched grow on a side of a tree down in Purgatory," he remarked but gave up the phone.

"No, I'm not alright and no, I'm not telling you who that was," Sam muttered after cutting Garth off, letting his head rest on the arm he had propped on the toilet seat. "You know where he's at now?"

Garth was doing his own version of a bitch face while shaking his head as if anyone could see him. "Last I heard he was somewhere in the Texas panhandle which is too damn close if your still in Louisiana," he retorted. "Sam, Dean sounded like he didn't know anything about…you did tell Dean about what happened…oh sweet holy Batman," he let out a low gasp. "He doesn't know?"

Suddenly his whole conversation with the elder Winchester made sense. "Sam! You've got a nut job hunter chasing after your ass after he did one helluva a number on you before, or from what I could get outta you or Jeff, and you didn't think it was important to at least mention it to your brother?" he know fully understood why Bobby Singer was often pissed off. "You've gotta…"

"No, I…I won't hide or run. Not while Dean's in trouble," Sam broke in, feeling like someone was watching him and hating that he'd let this happen while Benny was there. "Just…call Jeff and tell him. Maybe he can…"

"Who do you think called me? Jefferson said for you to warn Dean because I guess he hates Morrison anyway and…Sam, do you need help with this?" Garth knew Winchesters hated accepting help but this just felt wrong to him.

"No…I'll handle it but just go keep an eye on Jeff in case the moron decides if he can't get me he'll try for him," Sam hated that the now retired hunter would be dragged back into his problems but he needed to focus, he needed to find Dean…now more than ever.

Garth seemed to want to argue the point but the steady buzz of a dial tone told him that he'd been hung up on and he glared at it before making a choice that could get him killed.

"You alright?" Benny stayed silent until he thought Sam was ready to hear from him, not sure why he felt the inclination to wet a rag and hold it out. "You in some kind of trouble Dean don't know about, Sam?"

"My 'trouble' is part of the reason my brother hates me right now," Sam replied, bitterness plain in his voice but he stared at the cloth before taking it with a jerk. "Why he thinks he can't depend on me and why he'd rather spend his time with you. It's why he trusts you as a 'brother' instead of me because he thinks I didn't look for him."

Taking that in, Benny considered slapping his friend as soon as he rescued him because he'd spent a year listening to Dean Winchester talk but mostly all he talked about was his baby brother so for Dean to say that to a kid who clearly thought the world of him then either his friend was blind or still riding the edge of what he'd done below.

Sam had mentioned that Dean never talked about Purgatory which told the vampire that Dean was keeping it all inside and slowly things began to make more sense.

Now all he needed to do was stay alive and keep Dean alive long enough to maybe fix this crapshoot of a mess the hunter had let happen.

"C'mon, we need to get moving because it's more than a day's drive to where we need to be," he gave Sam all the time they could afford right then before nudging him with a boot. "Sam, I can do this alone if you can't…"

"He's my brother so I'm going to get him back," Sam threw the rag before pushing himself to his feet to step very close into Benny's space. "I may have let him down. He may think he can't trust me to have his back anymore and he may think I left him for dead but I will be dead or damned again before I let him be hurt by your brother."

Poking a finger hard into the vampire's chest, the hunter's dislike showed in his eyes but another flicker of something crossed his face but vanished a second later. "Dean may want me to walk away to that normal apple pie life we both used to want but I'm going to show him that I meant what I said when I chose to stay with him and hunt.

"He may have to think that I didn't care enough to look for him but I will not walk away now. I will not let him go through this alone and if that means putting up with you while doing it then that's what I'll do. Now back off."

If it occurred to Sam that he was poking a vampire in the chest or that he was essentially telling that very same vampire off in his own quiet way he didn't let on as the two held eyes for a long moment while understanding passed. Then he was shoving past to go grab his and Dean's duffel bags.

"You seriously don't like me do you, Sam?" Benny found it amusing that even though he was a few inches shorter than Sam that the boy hadn't even blinked while getting in his face. "If we're getting Dean back, you wanna share why exactly?"

"You're a vampire, I'm a hunter. Those two things should really explain it," Sam shot back, refusing to think his dislike was anything but that but the soft chuckle behind him that suggested that Benny suspected there was more still made him growl. "I hate that I have to get your help but my brother is more important to me than killing you right now is but don't push me."

As Sam stormed out to put the duffels in the Impala, Benny reached for his jacket and hate while chuckling to himself. "Right, and I can sell that boy a bridge or two if he thinks that's all there is to this," he told himself, beginning to understand Dean's little brother a bit more and also understanding Dean's choice of actions a couple months back even if he didn't think Sam did fully.

"Brother, you are so gonna me one for doing this," Benny again spoke to himself while wondering what Sam would think if he knew just what Dean had made him promise while in Purgatory. "Boy won't like it, that's for sure," he knew that as simply as he knew that Sam would kill him if he believed he had a reason and that just wasn't in the cards as far as the vampire was concerned.

He wanted Dean rescued from his brother as much as Sam did. He hadn't planned on the hunter being targeted by his enemies or what lengths Lucien would go to this time and he didn't want to risk pissing Sam off more by telling him just what else could be happening to his brother.

So with a mental note that he was dealing with Dean's little brother, the little brother that Dean spent practically every waking moment in Purgatory talking about and was now treating the kid like dirt for some reason Benny couldn't fathom right then, he reminded himself of that damn promise and started to go out to his truck for a tarp to do something with the bodies that he knew couldn't be left lying around for maid service to find.

Benny noticed that despite his current state of unease that Sam had still cleared out anything that could be tracked back to him and Dean and he had to remind himself just how much alike the Winchesters really were even if they couldn't see it themselves.

He'd only taken two steps when he heard the first gunshot and a look out the open door gave a clear view of Sam on the ground not moving and a big son of a bitch with a gun aimed at his head standing over him and he hesitated.

He was aware that whoever this man was he meant Sam harm and he could easily prevent that. However he was also more acutely aware that once this was over and Dean was back safe and reasonably sound that the younger Winchester would more than likely try to kill him and that if he stood still to allow the next bullet to fire then his problem would be over.

Benny's hearing what acutely better than a normal human's and he picked up every word the big man was saying even though Sam still hadn't moved and closed his eyes to step back. "Sorry, Dean," he muttered.

Sam was distracted as he tossed the duffels into the back seat for the moment. He needed a better plan than just following Benny wherever because while he wanted to believe the vampire was loyal enough not to let Dean die he'd been trained to hunt by the best man alive and his brother had always told Sam to go in with more than one plan and to always have a way out.

Well, he wasn't getting out until he had Dean and if that meant wading through a whole nest of drugged up vampires then that's what Sam would do.

He just wanted to see his brother safe before being forced to deal with this other matter that had chosen a piss poor time to come back into the light because while Sam hated the strain that was between him and Dean right then he knew he'd hate it more if he was forced to come clean to his brother about those two months right after he disappeared.

Pushing those memories aside to focus his full attention on the matter at hand, Sam was just turning when he felt the danger only a heartbeat too late to avoid the bullet that hit his shoulder and knocked him to the ground with a cry of surprised pain.

"What the…" he groaned as his head hit the pavement hard, stunning him until he heard the sound of the weapon cocking and barely able to bring the blue-black barrel of a .357 handgun aimed at his face.

Not being able to see clearly didn't prevent him from hearing and he wasn't sure if his stomach flipped due to the sudden shock his body had been sent into by being shot or if it was because of the deep gravelly voice he heard over him.

"Hey, Sammy-boy…guess this is the end of the line."

Sam bite down the cry that wanted to come out when a heavy boot pressed down over the hand that was trying to stop the bleeding on his shoulder but could only look up into the barrel, refusing to give the other hunter what he truly wanted and offered a silent apology to his brother for yet another failure as he wanted the killing bullet to fire.

A thick finger brushed over the trigger guard of the big weapon to slowly squeeze the trigger with a sneer. "Promised you I'd be back to finish that dance. Now you can go to hell with that bastard brother of yours," Shane Morrison pulled firmly to fire his next round.

Bang!

TBC

A/N: Hmmm, Sam's in trouble and he still has to find a way to help Dean. What will Benny do? So many little subplots…updating soon.