Title: Under the Influence of Djinn
Chapter: Two
Summary: AU: The Djinn siblings created a terrible detailed nightmare for Dean out of revenge, nearly killing him, Lisa, and Ben. With Sam alive, Castiel missing, and Campbell cousins in tow, he tries to pull himself back together.
Rating: T
Disclaimer: Supernatural was created by Eric Kripke. No disrespect in intended with this work of fan fiction.

Dean had every right to distrust her and feel confused. Gwen Campbell kept reminding herself of that as she walked down the hall.

The scene they'd walked into had been terrible. The Djinn had teamed up on Dean, Lisa, and Ben. Dean had been caught first before he'd even left for his shift at work, Lisa when she'd come home from work, and Ben two days later upon returning from a friend's house. Dean had almost been too far gone to save.

She recalled the horror, pain, fear, and panic on Sam's face as he'd unhooked Dean from the iv the Djinn had on him. It was a good thing they'd come to check on Dean and let him know Sam was alive or all three of them would be dead now.

Sometimes she wondered if it was fate that she, Mark, and Christian had stumbled on Sam or if it had really been a coincidence that they'd found him and that they were the last of his mother's family. Supposedly the last, anyway. They'd found a couple of possible connections, but without doing a real genealogical search, it was assumption based on shared names in the family tree. It could be nothing, however. Campbell was a common name, after all.

Honestly, she doubted the coincidence idea. In her experience, there was little real coincidence. Higher beings planned pretty much everything and she wouldn't be surprised to know they'd been supposed to find each other and him.

Opening one door, she peered in the room. "Sam? Lisa? Dean's awake."

The two appeared to be intent on some papers, heads bent over them. At her call, they looked up.

"We'll go together," Sam said.

Lisa shook her head. "No. You go first. He'll be glad you're alive and he'll want to see you."

"We agreed -"

Gwen interrupted them. "Hey, you two. He wants both of you. You might want to come before he decides this is all still the Djinn's work and makes a run for it."

She followed them down the hall and made sure the door was closed for their talk before heading back to the main room. There, she joined Mark, Christian, and Ben at the table.

"Did you say Dean's awake," Ben asked, glancing up from his cards.

"Just now, yes."

"Can I see him?"

"Might not be a good idea yet, sport." Christian laid his cards face down and crossed his arms on the edge of the table. "He, Sam, and your mom need to go over a few things first."

"Like what?"

"Like what happens from here."

Ben sat back and tossed his cards on the table. His snort held a ton of pure teenage attitude. "Like do we move again? Do we keep moving? Do I lose all my friends? Again? Because Dean always wanted to keep moving."

"Hey." Gwen slapped her hand flat on the table. "You want to stop that attitude? You three almost died. I think some sort of precautions are in order and yes, that might mean moving again."

He looked away. "I'm losing everything, Gwen." Ben slouched in the chair. "I'm even losing Dean. No way he'll stay now. I know him. His brother is back and…. It's all going to change!"

Gwen could read between the lines easily enough. Ben had come to think of Dean like a father and she thought he was right. Dean was going to end up leaving his life. Maybe it'd be immediate or maybe it'd take awhile, but it would happen. From what Sam had told her about Dean, he might just leave thinking that his absence could save them. "Change is a constant. There's always change, Ben. It's life."

"You're not losing your physical life," Mark pointed out in a gentle tone. "Be glad for that. You have that, but to keep it, you may need to make some necessary adjustments. Roll with the changes that come. People who don't do that?" He raised his brows to emphasize his next words. "They do die and they die bloody. Especially when they've brushed this way of living." Getting up from the table, he left the room.

Exactly part of Mark's story. People he'd loved hadn't accepted the changes that had needed to be made. Out of her, Christian, and Mark, Mark's story was the bloodiest. Mark had actually held his toddler son as the boy lay dying and seen the light of life slip from his eyes. He'd watched his girlfriend commit suicide after realizing she'd been possessed by a demon. And more. There was so much more pain he'd had in such a short time.

Gwen had thought she'd had it bad until she'd met Christian, then Mark, and finally Sam. Talking to Sam once his memory had returned had brought many moments of introspection on their various plights. It seemed their side of the family was cursed for tragedy. Campbell blood meant pain, suffering, and hardship.

"I don't like change." Ben's whisper was faint.

Christian gathered the cards. "A lot of people don't. Gwen's right, though. You can't escape it." He slipped a rubber band about the deck. "You can go in later. How about you and I go out and get some grub while we wait? I could do with something rib sticking."

She watched them go and wondered what changes were in store for all of them.

Lisa was a surprise to Sam these past days.

She wasn't really the woman Dean had once told him about. Nor was she fully the woman Dean had visited before he'd gone to hell. She was somewhere between the two, changed by her circumstances.

He hadn't expected her to choose to leave and choose to change identities. If anything, he supposed he'd expected her to stick it out with Dean and try to work it out. Hell, he'd expected it'd go the way he'd told her, with Dean staying with her while Sam continued to hunt with their cousins and stopped by every now and then to visit. Her choice surprised him and he tried to figure out if Dean was going to be surprised by it. As much grief as Dean had been in over him, Sam didn't want him to have to grieve for her and Ben as well.

He followed Lisa into the room. The fact that Dean eyed him with suspicion hurt, yet he could understand why.

Lisa went to the cot and knelt beside it. "You're okay?"

It was somewhat telling, in Sam's opinion, that Lisa didn't try to touch Dean and he, in return, didn't reach out to her.

"I'm alive," Dean responded, his glance sliding to her and quickly back to Sam. "You want to tell me how you're alive, Sam? I saw you go in."

Taking a deep breath, he sat in the straight back chair. "I woke up in a field with no memory of who I was or what I was. I wandered, drifted around awhile. A few things came back, but not much. Vague things. Confusing things. A couple guys tried to kill me. I learned my real name then. Learned what they thought of me. They called me a killer, demon lover, evil incarnate. Said I'd loosed Satan on the world, which was news to me because I had no memory of that. They had quite a few descriptions for me."

"You know them?"

The memory of being captured and held prisoner wasn't one he wanted to go back to, but he thought it'd help Dean to hear it. "They said I did. Said it was a shame I wouldn't stay dead even after they shot me and my brother. First clue I had a brother."

"They said they shot us?"

He nodded. "They did. Roy and Walt."

Dean's shoulders relaxed visibly. "Those dicks."

"Yeah, well, they won't be hunting much of anything for a long time." He'd gotten loose and put the hurt on them. "They're probably still trying to heal. I, uh, wasn't too happy to have been tied up and beaten."

"Good. Go on."

He thought a moment. "A couple months after that I stumbled onto a job Gwen, Christian, and Mark were working. They brought me in to their group, I don't know why. Gwen maybe. She's a pretty good judge of character."

"Is she? You sure about that?" He sounded like he greatly doubted that assessment.

"Yeah, I am. Why?"

Dean shook his head. "No reason. What about Samuel?"

"Samuel?" What was Dean talking about? Sam shook his head. "I don't know. Samuel who?"

"Campbell. Where is he?"

"You mean our grandfather? Dead, as far as I know. You know otherwise?"

Dean's eyes narrowed. "Huh. How did the Djinn know so much about us?"

"They'd been studying us. They spent time studying us, listening. This wasn't a spur of the moment plan for them. They'd spent years gathering as much intel on us as they could from any source they could find. We killed their dad. They were like dad after mom died. Hunting us. Finding out every weakness they could use." It floored him how they could have been so oblivious to the Djinn there.

"We didn't see them coming," he said in a slow question.

"No, we didn't and…." Sam licked his lips, crossing his arms and shaking his head once more. "After everything dad taught us and we've experienced, shouldn't we have seen it? Shouldn't we have at least thought of that?"

"You were a little distracted by the apocalypse," Lisa said, "and other matters. Maybe they'd hoped Lucifer would do you in and they wouldn't have to expend the effort."

"So they watched me and prepared to finish me off." Dean shifted position on the cot, pausing and studying Lisa before returning his attention to Sam. "Did they find you?" An expectant gleam in his eyes.

"Yeah. I was recognized by another Djinn who let them know I was alive. The cousins and I -"

"Gwen, Christian, and Mark."

Sam blinked. "Yeah, them. Did the Djinn put them in your dream?"

"You were saying? You and they what?"

"We hunted a Djinn, but couldn't find it. That was the one who talked to the Djinn siblings. Anyway, the female Djinn was pretty forthcoming about their plans for us and the steps they'd gone to. Proud of it and defiant about it. They knew a lot. About us, about Castiel, about Crowley even. We killed her."

As the conversation went on, it was obvious Dean was trying to trip him up on details. He couldn't quite figure out why, though it most likely had to do with whatever dream the siblings had given him. Some of the things he asked made no sense to Sam.

There was the rap of knuckles on the door and Gwen poked her head in. "Dinner is here. Might be good for Dean to try eating. Christian suggested it."

The conversation ended.

The story Sam gave for himself was plausible. It actually wouldn't surprise Dean if Sam really had been separated from Lucifer as he'd fallen into the pit and the trauma of having had Lucifer in his body had temporarily wiped his memory. There was a precedent for God whisking them away from places in a blink, like when Lucifer's cage had opened. At least, they'd decided it must have been God.

But the part about the Djinn spending years watching them and plotting revenge was harder to swallow. Still, he knew how dad had reacted to losing mom. He'd been driven in his grief and that emotion hadn't lessened over the years. Was it too far-fetched to believe the Djinn could have created an elaborate plot out of revenge?

When he really considered the question, then no. They were monsters and if men could go crazy in their grief (himself included), then why couldn't the monsters? Why couldn't they have created a dream for him that had taken everything he'd known and turned it upside down? Why couldn't they have bided their time and coldly considered what would cause him the most pain? It made sense that they'd try to break him through those dreams they gave and each element had been a twisted knife inside him, his worst fears. Sam not being Sam, Dean failing as a father, Castiel….

He swallowed hard and picked at the food on his plate while everyone else finished eating.

The longer the Djinn siblings taken, the more elaborate the dream, the better their sense of justice in his suffering.

It really did bring home the danger he'd been to Lisa and Ben. Who else had been watching them? Were demons and other creatures standing by waiting in line for their turn at trying to pick him off? He'd been reckless in going to them. Reckless and stupid.

Dean shoved the plate aside. While the food was good, and he was glad he seemed to be able to keep it down, his appetite had shrunk. He'd managed to finish only half. "We should call Cas."

He wanted to see Castiel and know that he was still the nerdy, somewhat naïve angel Dean had befriended. Seeing him unchanged would do a lot to dispel the lingering wisps of Djinn dreams and right his equilibrium.

Sam sighed. "I tried. As soon as I got my memory back I tried. I used every method I could think of, even the standard summoning. Nothing. He's incommunicado."

Fear tickled at the back of his neck.

"He was heading back to heaven the last I saw. Planned on changing some things."

"Maybe he's busy with that. Maybe he's stuck in the middle of bureaucratic changes and can't hear anything but angels arguing."

Or maybe he'd made a deal with Crowley to defeat Raphael and was….

Stop it, Dean told himself. It was the Djinn. You were under the influence.

Lisa approached the table and sat beside Dean, placing a slice of pie in front of him. "Here. Your favorite. Try and eat a little of it."

"I don't know where Cas is," Sam said. "All I know is I haven't been able to get him."

He saw the worry in Lisa's eyes and, despite not wanting the pie, Dean picked up the fork. Had it been Christian or Ben who'd chosen to get the pie? Ben knew which he liked, yet Sam had been talking to the Campbell cousins for weeks. If they were cousins at all. He thought a good place to start with them was to figure out if there was definitely a connection and what it was.

Lisa smiled a little when he took a bite. "Do you mean the Cas who tried to call months ago? Castiel? He left several messages on your phone, but I was never able to get through when I called back. Full voicemail, then none at all. I did tell you."

"He called me?" His stomach seemed to drop out. He had a vague remembrance of Lisa holding out his phone to him, a pleading and very scared look on her face, and no memory of what she'd said or his response. He hadn't wanted to talk to anyone right then.

"He did. As did a man named Bobby."

Dropping the fork, he laid his head in his hands.

Lisa laid a gentle hand on his back, a comforting gesture. "It's okay, Dean. You were in a bad way those first couple months, barely talking to me or Ben. I'm sure your friends understand."

"It's not okay. I…." He'd done his best to make sure Castiel knew that friends always answered when called and here he'd dropped the ball when both Cas and Bobby had called.

"It is. He's a friend, right? He knows you. He was there and knew what happened to Sam. He knew Sam went in the pit and that you'd be in deep mourning."

Of course Castiel did, but how did Lisa know? He'd never divulged that information to her. Dean cast a questioning glance at Sam.

"She had questions, Dean. I answered them. She needed to know."

Her hand lifted from his back. "My point is that he's probably giving you time like Bobby is."

With a shake of his head, he pushed his chair back and got up. "No. He'd answer Sam, too. He would." Dean's tone was blunt and hard. "I may have been the one he pulled from hell, but he and Sam had an understanding too. They had a friendship. They did. The do. No way would Cas ignore him unless he had no choice." The Djinn-given dream rose up in his mind. In it, Castiel hadn't listened to Sam calling for him. "Something is wrong. He wouldn't not answer."

"Give it a try," Sam suggested.

While Dean gave it his best shot, it was with some relief that Castiel didn't answer him either. The relief wasn't because he didn't answer, but rather that Dean's gut feeling was validated.

Something was very wrong.

Castiel was in trouble.

Raphael circled Castiel.

Castiel could feel the contempt radiating from the archangel and prayed for this to just be over. He was so very weary. His ideas of changes for heaven had been met with anger and resistance from Raphael, who'd promptly taken control as soon as it was clear that Michael was gone. Castiel had tried to fight Raphael and ended up running as each of his supporters was murdered. Angels fell in line to avoid death and Castiel had found himself alone and finally captured. He'd thought then that Raphael would kill him, but no. Raphael had chosen to torture him for his insolence in daring to go against Raphael's wishes, not even bothering to try reprogramming him. He'd weathered several earth months of torture that was non-stop.

But the last round of torture had broken him. He knew it and so did Raphael. He was done, finished. The only sort of fight left inside him was too weak to last. It was superficial and fading fast. There'd be no more outright rebellion and no more attempts to rally against Raphael's leadership of Heaven. Let it all be finished. Let him die and finally have peace. Castiel had no dignity left, no desire for life of any kind. He was ready for death.

"I can be merciful, Castiel."

He couldn't help the snort that left his lips. "You don't know the meaning of that word," he gasped. His voice was rasping, throat raw from screaming. For these months, he'd been trapped in Jimmy's body. Thankfully, Jimmy was long gone and didn't have to know what had happened.

"Oh, but I do." Raphael crouched down and tipped his chin up with a finger. The smile Castiel saw was chilling. "I am merciful and, while you've been a thorn in my side for centuries, I'm not going to kill you."

No. That he could be brought so close to peace and nothingness and have it pulled from his grasp made him tremble. Castiel tried not to let his fear at that show. Mercy would be to kill him. All of these months he'd held on to the fact that there'd be an end to his suffering and it was being denied him.

"Does that frighten you, Castiel? Why? You like humans. In fact, you like them so much, I'm going to let you be one of them forever. A plain, stinking human. It frankly baffles me why you care for them so much. We could have paradise right now, but no, you had to side with the Winchester brothers and intervene." Cold eyes assessed him. "You're close to being one of them already. Pitiful excuse for an angel." Standing, Raphael smiled again. "I'm merciful and here's the depth of my mercy. Are you ready for this? Pay attention and realize I don't have to do this for you. Are you listening?"

He was prodded with a kick to his ribs that toppled him over, then kicked again until he cried out a, "yes!" With painful movements, he pushed back onto his knees and looked up at his tormentor.

"Not only will you live a human life, you can pick anyone in human heaven to be your companion. Anyone at all. You'll need a guide for human things. I accept that and give that to you."

He had the knowledge he'd gotten from Dean, but there was still a lot he didn't know the practical applications for. Raphael's proposal was wrong and unjust for whoever was chosen. What's dead, as Dean had once told him, should stay dead. Castiel blanked his mind, yet could feel Raphael rooting about in it, plucking at thoughts and those things and people Castiel tried not to show.

"See? That is merciful, is it not? To give you human life and a companion to guide you? You should thank me. You like those monkeys, Castiel. You're going to get to spend forever with them. You should bow down before me. Kissing my feet would be a good start."

Summoning up every last ounce of rebellion that remained inside him, he spat at Raphael's feet, the only thing he could do.

Castiel received another kick, this time to his back.

Raphael's features hardened with rage. "Get the woman and throw them both out of heaven. I want him gone from my presence and my domain."

In moments, Castiel felt himself falling.

Then, darkness.