Sam Interrupted

Sam was sitting in between Dean and Michelle, across from a doctor, in his office at a mental institution. The boys had gotten a call from one of their father's friends for some help and had immediately headed out. Now, they were just trying to get in. The doctor glanced at their files, then them, and then back to the files in the folder.

"You were referred to me by Dr. Babar in Chicago," the doctor began.

"That's right," Dean nodded.

"Isn't there a children's book about an elephant named Babar?"

"I don't know…" Dean said slowly, "I don't have any elephant books."

"Listen doctor," Michelle cut in, seeing the conversation getting away from them, "I think that the doc was in over his head with this one," she nodded at Sam.

The doctor glanced at the files, seeing the woman listed as a friend of the family.

"Yeah," Dean nodded, "My brother is…" he could only whistle and spin his finger by his head in an 'insane' motion.

"Ok, fine," the doctor held up his hand to stop Dean, "Thank you that's…that's really not necessary," he sighed and turned to Sam, picking up his clipboard to take notes, "Why don't you tell me how you're feeling about all this."

"I'm fine," Sam insisted quickly before retracting his words, "I mean, ok, a little depressed, I guess."

"Alright, any idea why?"

Sam sighed, "Probably because I started the Apocalypse."

The doctor paused in his notes and looked up at him, incredulous, "The Apocalypse?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded, "That's right."

The doctor looked over at Dean and then back to Sam, "And you think you started it?"

"Well, yeah, I mean," he let out a breath and leaned forward, ready to explain, "I almost killed this demon Lilith, I mean, basically paved the way for Lucifer to be freed from Hell. So now he's topside and we're trying to stop him."

The doctor glanced up again, looking between the trio, "Who is?"

"Me," Sam said, before pointing at Dean and Michelle, "And them…and this one angel."

"Oh, you mean like an angel on your shoulder," the doctor gestured to his shoulder.

"No, no, his name's Casty," Sam shook his head, completely serious, "He wears a trench coat."

Michelle just shook her head at him.

"So what do you think doc?" Dean leaned in, "I mean the kid's been beating himself up about this for months."

"I keep telling him the Apocalypse wasn't his fault," Michelle agreed as the doctor looked up.

"It's not?" the doctor frowned, looking at her.

"No, it was this guy Jake Talley, the demons resurrected him to kill Lilith," Michelle explained, "We got to Sam in time and stopped Ruby."

"I'm sorry, Ruby is…"

"She was this other demon," Dean cut in, "Who got him addicted to demon blood, near the end he was practically chugging the stuff," the doctor looked at Sam, who looked down, ashamed.

"But I cleared it all out of his system," Michelle assured the man, "He's clean now."

"Yeah doc, my brother's not evil," Dean agreed, "He was just…high," the doctor nodded slowly, "So could you fix him up so we could get back to travelling around the country and hunting monsters?"

"Oh, and Lucifer," Michelle reminded him, Dean nodded.

The doctor just held up a finger before picking up his phone and pushing a button, "Carmelle? Cancel my lunch."

~8~

The trio was being led through the halls by a nurse with black hair and blue scrubs.

"Dr. Fuller would like to keep you three under observation for a couple of days," she informed them, a lovely southern drawl about her.

"Three?" Michelle frowned.

"Us too?" Dean agreed, the two of them looking at each other.

"Yes, sugar," the nurse replied, "The doctor thinks that would be best."

She didn't notice the secret smiles the three of them exchanged. Dean and Michelle dropped back just a bit to speak quietly.

"Nice plan," Dean whispered.

"Told you," she said, "The truth is sometimes harder to believe than the lies."

"Tell me about it," Dean rolled his eyes as the nurse opened a door and motioned for them to enter.

~8~

Sam and Dean were waiting in the hallway for Michelle, who was the last to get an exam with the nurse. They were both standing uncomfortably near a couch, both seeming stiff and tense, when Michelle strolled up, smiling.

The brothers just eyed her, confused, "Did the nurse…" Sam began, seeing her not seemingly affected by the experience they had both gone through…

"Cavity search?" she asked, smirking at how uncomfortable the words made them, "Nope. That's reserved for the male patients."

"Good to know…" Dean muttered, before clearing his throat and looking around. The day room was littered with patients sleeping or reading or playing with children's toys, "I can't believe I let you talk me into this," he glared at Sam, who just rolled his eyes.

"Hey, it's the least we can do," Sam replied, "Martin saved dad's ass more times than we can count. He's a great Hunter."

"Was," Dean corrected, "Until Albuquerque."

"Besides," Sam cut in, "I just think it's better we keep busy, that's all."

"Better than what?"

Sam shrugged, "Nothing…" Dean gave him a pointed look, "Ok, look, um, the last few weeks you've kinda been worrying me."

"Us," Michelle corrected.

"Oh come on, stop," Dean rolled his eyes, "Look, just because we're in the loony bin doesn't give either of you the right to head shrink me."

"Well I do have a bachelor's in psychology," Michelle shrugged, the boys stared at her. She shrugged, "Double major. Helped with reading people…working my hoodoo, as Dean loves to say."

Sam shook his head, turning back to his brother, "Dean…"

"Ellen and Jo dying," Dean cut in quickly, "Yeah, that was a freaking tragedy. Ok? But I'm not gonna wallow in it."

"Dean, you always do this," Sam sighed, "You can't just keep this crap in."

"Watch me," Dean glared before looking over at someone in the corner of the room, "Oh, there he is."

They walked over to a balding man sitting by a small table, staring out the window, his mouth slightly agape, a drawing of a face on the table before him made in crayons. Sam glanced at the two before clearing his throat. The man looked up, startled, before smiling as he recognized them.

"Sam!" Martin gasped, "Dean, wow!" he stood up to shake their hands, "Wow, you boys got big! You look good."

"Thanks, you do too Martin," Sam smiled awkwardly.

Martin turned to look at Michelle, "Miles?"

Michelle blinked, "Well, that's a first," she mumbled to herself, people didn't usually mistake her for her father, before smiling at the man, "Michelle."

"Sorry," Martin winced, "Well, thanks for coming…" he motioned for them to sit down, the boys did across from him, Michelle at the end of the table, "In the old days I coulda taken care of this thing with both hands tied behind my back, well, now…"

"What do you think it is that we're hunting?" Michelle asked.

"I don't know yet," he sighed, "Ghost? Demon? Monster? Animal? Vegetable? Mineral?"

"Well it's not a demon. Or at least, I haven't seen one yet."

Martin smiled, "I almost forgot about that little ability of yours."

"Were we the only ones who didn't know?" Dean asked, shaking his head at her. It seemed like every Hunter they'd come across knew that little fact about her and they hadn't learned about it till after their first hunt with her.

Michelle just shrugged.

"Hospital's had five deaths in the last four months," Martin continued, "Doctor's keep calling it suicides, but they're wrong."

"So you've seen this thing?" Sam asked, Martin just shook his head.

"Has anyone seen this thing?" Dean frowned.

"Well, uh, couple patients have uh, had glimpses, but that's not a lot to go on," Martin admitted.

"Are they reliable?"

"Oh, sure, why wouldn't they be?"

Dean just looked over his shoulder, at a woman dancing a waltz with herself, "Gee, I don't know."

"I know you must think I'm a bag of loose screws…"

"No, we don't," Michelle told him, reaching out to lay a hand on his arm.

He smiled at her, "You wouldn't be wrong though, but I wouldn't have called you unless there was something here. I can feel it in my gut."

Sam exchanged a look with Dean, "We believe you," Sam agreed, "Have you checked any of the bodies? Found any evidence of an attack?"

"Well, uh, no…" Martin trailed, "I don't…I don't go around dea…" Michelle frowned as Martin started twitching, "Bo…bodies anymore…"

"Alex, Eddie, Kelly?" Dr. Fuller said, walking up to them, they turned to look at him, "Well, I'm glad to see you're making friends. Why don't you and Mr. Creaser join us for a little? Please, right this way," they all started to get up and walked past the doctor, who stopped Dean from continuing, "Actually I'm going to be putting you in the afternoon group."

"What?" Dean frowned, "Why?"

"Well, to be frank…the relationship that you have with your brother seems dangerously codependent..." he glanced at Michelle as she snorted, "I think a little time apart will do you both good."

~8~

Sam, Michelle, and Martin were sitting in a circle with other patients, Dr. Fuller at the head.

"Alright so…who would like to start us off?" the doctor asked, a man with dark hair raised his hand straight away, the doctor just looked around the group, "Anyone else?" the man just kept waving his arm till the doctor sighed, "Alright Ted. Calm down."

"I am calm!" Ted stressed, rocking as he spoke, "And I'd very calmly like to talk about the monster that's hunting us."

Sam and Michelle exchanged a look.

"Ted, we're not going to have this discussion again. It's not good for group."

"I agree. You know what also isn't good for group? A monster eating all our faces off."

"Alright, fine, thank you, now anyone else…"

"I saw it when it killed Susan!"

"I did too," a blonde woman with short hair added, "It had big lobster claws."

"No it didn't!"

"Yeah, and it was an alien, like on 'X-Files.'"

"Stop it! Stop helping. Listen to me. We're all dead."

"That's enough!" the doctor called, leaning forward and taking off his glasses, "There is no monster. Now Ted do you need me to call the orderlies?" Ted shook his head, "Or can you behave?"

"Behave…" Ted nodded.

~8~

Dean was walking through the hall behind a line of patients, when Michelle and Sam stepped out of a room behind him, having seen him pass, distracted.

"Hey," Michelle called.

"Hi," Sam greeted, startling Dean into turning around.

"You ok?" Michelle frowned, seeing him still shaken from something.

"I just got brain raped, so no, I am not ok," Dean replied, "Tell me you found something."

"Yeah," Sam nodded, "Guy says he saw a creature. We should talk to him. Wanna meet back here in an hour?"

"Yeah. Sooner we can take care of this thing, sooner we can get gone. This place gives me the creeps," he turned around, only to be kissed by a woman with long hair as Sam and Michelle watched, disgusted and amused respectively.

"Hi," the woman smiled, pulling back.

"Hi," Dean blinked.

"I'm Wendy," the woman said, walking past him, slapping his butt as she passed.

Dean turned and watched her go, "Maybe this place isn't so bad after all."

"Dude, you cannot hit that," Sam warned him.

"Oh, so torn," Dean lamented as Michelle laughed.

~8~

Sam stepped out of his room with a lock picking tool he'd managed to sneak in, Dean and Michelle waiting in the hall for him.

"It's about time," Dean grumbled, "Nurses run their rounds ever 15-20 minutes, where is this guy?"

"Room 306," Michelle replied, having followed the man after the meeting while Sam kept Martin company. She nodded towards one direction and led them towards the room. They'd just turned the corner, when they heard someone scream.

They immediately bolted into action, running straight to room 306, only to see the patient's foot kick the window in the door, the patient himself being dangled from the ceiling by something. Sam knelt down and quickly got to work picking the lock.

"Oh!" Dean grimaced as the foot kicking started to slow, "Dude! Hurry up! Hurry up!"

"Alright back off Dean!" Sam shouted, finally managing to get the lock open. They rushed in to find Ted hanging from a pipe.

~8~

They'd hidden in the room across from Ted's once the nurses had been alerted and watched as some orderlies moved the body, trailing it from a distance to the hospital's morgue. They waited till the place had cleared before heading in to take a look at the body themselves. Luckily no doctors were called in to examine as it was 'clearly' a suicide.

They walked over to the storage area and pulled out Ted's body, a red line around his neck from where he'd been hung. Sam felt along it, standing at the head, while Dean and Michelle stood on either side, checking the man's arms for scratches that might indicate what they were facing.

Sam frowned, feeling some sort of puncture wound, "Hey," he hissed.

"Yeah?" Dean asked as he and Michelle looked up.

"I think I found something."

"What do you got?" Michelle asked, stepping closer.

"Here…give me a hand," he began to tilt the head, Michelle reaching out to hold the head as Dean leaned over to watch. Sam looked at the puncture wound before grabbing a Q-Tip and sticking it into the hole. He frowned as it went straight through to just about the end of the swab, "This hole goes all the way through to his brain!"

"What does that mean?" Dean frowned.

Michelle looked over and saw a bone saw lying on a table, "Let's find out."

"Seriously?" Dean's eyes widened as he saw her look at it.

"You might want to keep watch," Sam suggested, knowing his brother wasn't too fond of actually having to examine the bodies.

Dean rolled his eyes but went to keep watch anyway, while Sam and Michelle got to work. They quickly pulled on some gloves, Sam taking the bone saw and cutting off the top of Ted's skull. Michelle gently pulled the cap off as Sam reached inside and pulled out a shriveled, blackened brain. They both exchanged a look as Dean rushed back in.

"Dude!" Dean hissed.

"Don't call me dude," Michelle rolled her eyes.

"Look!" Sam interrupted, holding up the brain for Dean to see, "His brain's been sucked dry!"

"That's fascinating," Dean deadpanned, "Somebody's coming."

Sam and Michelle's eyes widened as they ran around, trying to get things back to how they were. Sam put the brain back and reattached the man's head, while Michelle moved the saw and slid the body back into the storage when Sam was done. They both pulled off their gloves and tossed them out in a waste basket just before the door to the room opened and the nurse who had examined them walked in.

"What are you guys doing in here?" the nurse eyed them.

Sam and Dean exchanged a look. Michelle opened her mouth, about to give some sort of believable explanation, when Dean suddenly pulled down his pants and threw up his arms, shouting, "Pudding!"

The nurse just eyed them for a moment, not at all reacting to the sight, before sighing, "Alright, come on you three," she held the door open for them.

Dean quickly pulled on his pants and headed out, "Crazy works," he mouthed to them as he turned to face them.

Sam and Michelle just exchanged a shake of the head before walking out as well.

~8~

The next morning they were standing before a corkboard with various clown paintings tacked up while Martin stood beside them.

"Are those original Gayses?" Dean smirked.

"I painted those," Martin frowned, offended.

"Back on point please," Sam rolled his eyes at his brother, "Um...so whatever this thing is…"

"It's good," Dean whispered to Martin, nodding at the paintings.

"It slurpies your brain," Sam continued, "Sucks you dry."

"Yeah, and then makes the deaths look like suicides," Dean turned to them, "Any ideas?"

"Yeah…" Martin nodded, "A bad one…" he nodded to the side and led them to his room where he pulled out a sketch of an old woman with warts on her skin in clusters.

"What is it?"

"I bet you a chicken dinner it's what we're up against."

"A wraith," Michelle said.

Martin nodded, "They crack open skulls and feed on brain juice."

"Either of you ever tangle with one before?" Sam asked.

"Never. Never wanted to either."

"Twice," Michelle admitted, thinking back to those previous hunts. One she'd done with her parents when she was 13, another she'd done on her own when she was 19.

"So how do we kill it?" Dean asked.

"Silver," Michelle recited, "You so much a touch a wraith with the stuff and the skin will crackle."

"Now that's the good news," Martin grimaced, "The bad news is, it can pass as humans. It could be any Peter, Paul, or Mary in the church."

"Great, fantastic, so how do we find it?" Dean frowned.

"A mirror. Lore says a wraith will show it's true form in a mirror."

"Not lore," Michelle cut in, "They do…and they are ugly, this picture does not do it justice, I will tell you that."

"Ok," Dean nodded, already thinking of how they could get people to pass a mirror, "Well we just gotta spot check every patient and staff member."

"Ok, yeah, but, I mean, what's it doing in a mental hospital?" Sam shook his head, confused.

"Nuthouses are its perfect captive victim hold."

"Makes sense," Michelle agreed, "Who's going to believe a patient when they say they saw a monster?"

"It's the perfect hiding ground," Martin looked down at the picture once more.

~8~

Dean was standing at the corner of a hallway, looking up at a reflector in the corner of the ceiling as people walked by.

"What's up doc?" he asked, seeing his own personal doctor, who had basically brain raped him before, walk up to him.

"You tell me," she said, looking at him through the reflection, both of them normal.

"Hunting. A wraith actually. It could be anybody."

"So I could be a monster?"

Dean looked at her in the reflection, "Nah, you're clean."

She glanced at him, "Why you?"

"Why me what?"

"Why do you have to hunt monsters? Why not let somebody else do it?"

"Can't find anybody else that dumb?" Dean shrugged, "Michelle will kick my ass if I give up now?" he sighed, "It's my job. Somebody's gotta save people's asses, yours included."

"So is there a quota?" she frowned, "How many people do you have to save?"

"All of them."

"All of them?" her eyes widened, "You think you have to save everyone?"

"Yup. Whole wide world of sports."

"How?" she asked, he hesitated, "Believe me, whatever you've got, I've heard weirder."

"It's the end of the world. Ok? And it's a damn biblical Apocalypse. And, if I don't stop it and save everyone, then no one will. And we all die."

"That's horrible."

"Tell me about it."

"I mean, Apocalypse or no Apocalypse, monsters or no monsters, that's a crushing weight to have on your shoulders. To feel like six billion lives depend on you. God, how do you get up in the morning?"

He actually smiled at that, "If I don't Michelle will poke me till I get up…or throw ice water on me."

"This Michelle girl seems to be central to your survival then?" the doctor tilted her head.

Dean frowned, he hadn't really thought about it like that. But now that he did…yeah. Without Michelle there…he didn't even want to think about what he would be now, what Sam would be, if she hadn't saved them, from Hell, from demon blood, from themselves, from each other…she really did keep them both going…

"Hello Eddy," Dr. Fuller said, walking by.

"Doc," Dean greeted. He glanced up at the reflector as the doctor passed to see a decomposing old woman walk past just as the doctor did. He stepped out and followed the doctor with his gaze…the wraith…

~8~

That night, Dean and Martin were waiting in the hallway as Sam and Michelle walked up to them.

"Alright, we had to raid three nurses stations to get these," Sam said, holding up two nail filers, giving one to Dean as Michelle handed one to Martin.

"Silver plated," she told them, "Should work."

Just then Wendy walked down the hallway towards them, Dean shaking his head at her, "Oh, no, no, no, not today sweetheart. Keep walking honey."

Wendy didn't seem to pay any attention to Dean as she walked straight towards Sam, pushing him against the wall. She leaned in to kiss him, when Michelle grabbed her arm and twisted her away, sex addiction or no, she was not touching Sam.

"Keep walking," Michelle repeated Dean's words.

"But I want him now," Wendy looked Sam over hungrily, "He's larger."

"Go," Michelle nudged her down the hall. Wendy sighed but continued on, away from them.

"Thank you," Sam breathed.

"I told you," she smiled at him, tugging his robe, "You're mine."

He returned her smile and then turned back to the group, trying to ignore Dean watching them with a smirk, "Fuller is on call tonight so we'll have to wait till lights out. All four of us."

"What?" Martin's eyes widened, "No!"

"Martin," Dean turned to him, "We gotta get past security, past the orderlies, and then we cut the boss man's throat ok. It's gonna suck start to finish but we can use the backup."

"No, I can't!" Martin backed away, "I can't…"

He turned to walk off, when Sam called after him, "We know what happened in Albuquerque."

Martin stopped, "You don't know the half of it," he muttered before turning to face them, "God, I used to be just like you. I used to think I was invincible. And then, well, I found out I'm not."

"Martin, you're still a Hunter," Dean tried to reason with him.

"No! I'm not, I'm useless. Why do you think I checked myself into the 'Hotel California?' I'd do anything to help you, really, but I can't. I'm sorry, I can't."

He turned to walk off once more, when Michelle called out, "Martin!" he turned around, only for her to jog over to him and stand before him. She stared him in the eye for a moment before reaching out and taking his hand, "What happened in Albuquerque wasn't your fault," he opened his mouth to argue but she shook her head, cutting him off, "We all make mistakes. And yes, sometimes people die because of them…but we have to let go and keep moving on," he looked down, tears in his eyes, she squeezed his hand, "We honor them by fighting on, in their memory."

Martin looked at her, nodding just a bit, but turning and walking away. Michelle watched him go, knowing he would need time to think on everything she'd said. She sighed and turned back to the boys to see Dean looking down, thoughtful, while Sam was smiling at her attempt.

"We should head out," she said quietly, walking back to them.

They managed to sneak through the halls without getting caught by any of the nurses or orderlies, Dean leading the way to Dr. Fuller's office. They crept in, only to find it empty. They looked around a moment, Dean picking up a set of keys.

"He's still in the building," he turned to them. He looked at Sam, "You take the west wing, I'll take the east, and Michelle take the main wing," he quickly divided up the U shaped hospital.

Michelle nodded and headed out the door quietly, followed by Sam and then Dean.

~8~

Michelle had just finished checking a room at the end of her hall, when she heard shouting and a crash from the other end. She took off running, hearing someone fighting. She skid around the corner just in time to see two orderlies dragging Sam into an elevator with a nurse helping Dr. Fuller up. She started forward, only to be pushed back by Martin, who pulled her into an empty room.

"It's not him!" Martin hissed quietly, "Sam attacked him and cut him but the wound didn't burn. He's not the wraith."

"But Dean…" she shook her head, confused, before her eyes widened, "We have to tell Dean!"

Martin nodded and peeked out the doorway before motioning her to follow, hoping they would make it to Dean before he saw the doctor.

~8~

They had managed to find Dean relatively quickly, informing him of the news about Dr. Fuller and how Sam had been taken away by the orderlies. Dean hadn't been too happy to learn his brother had been caught nor that he had been wrong about Dr. Fuller, but that could wait. He had to find Sam and check on him. He'd managed to distract one of the nurses while Michelle snuck in and found Sam's file, saying he was being held in his room, sedated.

Dean glanced back at Michelle, who had agreed to keep guard so Dean could sneak into the room, before closing the door behind him. He turned to see Sam sitting on his bead, his mouth agape, staring up at the ceiling, in a daze.

"You ok?" Dean asked as he walked over to his brother.

"No, no I'm not ok," Sam slurred, before smiling, "I…I am…awesome…"

"They give you something?" Dean asked, eyeing his brother oddly. The file said he was supposed to be sedated, but he looked awake enough.

"Oh yeah, they gave me everything," Sam laughed, "It...it's...spectau-lacular."

"You always were a happy drunk."

Sam suddenly reached out and grabbed Dean's arm, pulling him down, "Dean, the doctor wasn't a wraith."

Dean sighed, "I know. I mean, I don't understand it, I saw it in the mirror, it wasn't human."

"Or you're seeing things. Maybe…maybe you're…you're going crazy."

"I'm not crazy."

"Well…" Sam's head rolled to the side, "Come on, I mean, you've been at least half-crazy for a long time and since you got back from Hell or before that. I mean…I mean we're in a mental hospital…" he laughed again, "Maybe…maybe you finally cracked! You know maybe…maybe now you are really, for real, crazy."

"I made a mistake," Dean shook his head, "That's all. I'll find the thing."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know," Sam turned to him, serious, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I know Dean, look at me, it's ok. 'Cause you're my brother and I still love you."

Then Sam reached out and bopped Dean on the nose.

Dean stared at him, unimpressed.

"Yeah, ok, whatever," Dean shook his head, "I gotta go, Michelle's keeping watch. We'll find this thing Sammy and…"

He turned to try and leave but Sam tugged him back, "Michelle's outside?"

Dean eyed his brother, who was staring at him with wide eyes, like he couldn't believe it, "…yeah?"

Sam smiled, "Tell her…tell her…" his head started to lull.

"What?" Dean shook his head, growing impatient.

Sam looked up, grinning softly, "Tell her…she has really pretty eyes…"

Dean blinked, "What?"

"And…and…a really nice smile."

"…ok…" he trailed. He turned to go but Sam tugged him back, "What now?"

"And a great right hook."

"Fine," Dean ground out and turned to go, Sam tugging him back once more, "Sam!"

"And…that she's really pretty…"

Dean just rolled his eyes and turned once more, only to be tugged back, "Damn it Sam!"

"And that she's awesome," Sam slurred.

Dean took a breath, "Anything else?!"

Sam frowned in thought before letting Dean go, "Nope!" he popped the p and then started laughing.

Dean just shook his head and finally managed to leave the room.

"He ok?" Michelle asked as soon as he shut the door.

"Oh yeah," Dean grumbled, "He's awesome. Let's go."

Michelle eyed him, he was very grumpy. But she just shook her head and followed after him.

~8~

Dean was storming down the hall to meet Michelle back in the day room. They'd split up to try and find the wraith and were supposed to meet there after an hour of looking. He'd just stepped past a door when his doctor joined him.

"You missed our session today," she said.

"I'm a little busy," he brushed her off.

"Still hunting that wraith?"

"People are dying."

"People die all the time."

"Look lady" he stopped and faced her, "Why don't you just let me do my job, maybe save your life…"

"It's not my life that I'm worried about."

"Oh my G…" he rolled his eyes, "I am fine. Ok. I'm fine."

One of the orderlies looked up.

"Come on," the doctor shook her head, "Even you don't believe that."

"Yeah, well, Michelle does and her opinion is really the only one I listen to anymore," Dean said before he even realized he'd said it.

The doctor frowned, "It seems like Michelle has too much say in your life."

"She's earned it," Dean glared at her.

"Back to the point, all this pressure that you're putting yourself under, all this guilt, it's killing you. You can't save everybody. You can't. Hell these days you can't save anybody Dean."

She turned to walk away when Dean called after her, "What'd you say?"

She spun around, fixing him with a hard look, "The truth Dean. You were the one who brought Ellen and Jo on that hunt, they died because of you, you shot Lucifer but you couldn't gank him, you couldn't even stop Sam from killing Lilith, Michelle had to do it for you and, need I remind you, she almost died doing it. And, oh yeah, you almost broke the first seal and again, Michelle had to stop you. All you do is fail. Did you really think that you, Dean Winchester, with a GED and a 'give 'em hell' attitude were gonna beat the devil? Please. The world is gonna burn and there is nothing that you can do about it."

"Who are you?" he demanded, glaring at her, "How do you know that stuff?"

"Hey, settle down," the orderly called over.

"Tell me!" he shouted at her.

"I said settle down," the orderly repeated.

"Who is she?" Dean pointed at her.

"Who?" the orderly shook his head, not seeing anyone.

"What are you blind?" Dean frowned, "Her."

"Pal, there's nobody there."

The doctor smirked, "I'm not real Dean. I'm in your head. 'Cause you are going crazy."

Dean blinked, and she was gone, "Just leave me alone…" he muttered to the air.

He turned and walked away, feeling like everyone was staring at him, even the patients. Every time he looked at some sort of reflective surface all he saw were wraiths. He ran around a corner and tried to get through a door but it was locked, he turned around and pressed himself into the corner, sinking to the floor, breathing heavily…

And then Michelle was there.

"Dean!" her eyes widened as she knelt before him, "What's wrong?" he just shook his head. She grabbed his hands, squeezing them, "Everything's fine," she told him, motioning for him to breath in time with her, he did, slowly feeling himself calm down, "Everything's ok…"

~8~

Sam was sitting in his room, at a small desk, staring out the window. As soon as the medication had worn off he'd requested to speak to Dr. Fuller. Someone knocked on the door and the doctor walked in with an orderly for protection. Sam stood.

"You asked to see me?" he replied, emotionlessly.

"Yeah, thanks," Sam nodded, fidgeting, "I um, I just wanted to apologize. I feel really horrible about what I did to you. I thought you were a monster…"

"I know that. The question is why."

"I was…" Sam began, before shaking his head, "It doesn't matter…because after what happened last night I had a moment of clarity, I realized...there's no such thing as monsters."

He was lying through his teeth, but if it would get him out of the room so he could meet up with Dean and Michelle, he'd do it.

"Well um, I'm glad to hear you say that," the doctor blinked, just slightly surprised, "But honestly, monsters are the least of your problems. People can learn to live with delusions but the anger I saw in you, you hurt those two men and you were going to kill me…" he shook his head, "And if you were capable of doing that to someone trying to help you, I can only imagine what you might do to your brother or that girl, Kelly. You're a danger to them…" Sam looked down, his throat tightening at that, even though he knew both Dean and Michelle could hold their own against him, probably even take him if it really came to it, just hearing it was hard, "The look in your eyes when you came after me, it's like you were barely even human. Like a man possessed."

"Yeah…" Sam cleared his throat, "Please…just…could you give me a second chance?"

"Well, this isn't a prison. You'll be allowed to go to the day room, under supervision."

Sam smiled, "Thank you."

"But if there is one more outburst, I will transfer you to a facility more equipped to handle violent patients, and believe me they will be far, far less forgiving."

Sam nodded.

~8~

Michelle had just gotten Dean relatively calm and seemingly back to normal as she sat him at a table by the window, the same one they'd first found Martin at, when Sam was led into the room by an orderly.

He walked forward and she smiled…only for it to fade when he stopped at an empty table and began to speak. Her shoulders slumped, she'd already figured that the wraith had gotten to Dean somehow and now it looked like it had gotten to Sam as well.

He started talking to whoever he imagined was at the table quietly before he started growing more and more upset. He stepped back suddenly, looking around, wide eyed, turning this way and that, as though he were surrounded. He began to stumble before turning to take a swing at someone who wasn't there.

The orderlies at the edge of the room began rush over, "Leave me alone!" Sam shouted, punching one, taking him out, "Leave me alone!" he repeated as another grabbed him.

Michelle's eyes widened as one of the nurses ran off for a doctor while the orderlies tried to get backup.

Knowing this wasn't going to end well she ran forward, "Stop!" she shouted at them, "Stay back!"

The orderlies hesitated only a moment, about to start forward on him again, when she ran to Sam, ducking under a swing and wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him to her, "Sam!" she whispered in his ear, "It's alright! It's ok…"

Sam's left arm wrapped around her waist as his right arm swung once more, spinning them around. The orderlies watched, stunned, as Sam lowered his right arm and wrapped that around her as well, blinking quickly as though coming out of a dream.

"Michelle?" he whispered back.

"I'm here," she said, hugging him tightly, breathing a sigh of relief as he hugged her back. Sam fell to his knees, pulling her down with him as he buried his face in her hair, scared, "It's alright," she looked up to see the orderlies looking over at Dr. Fuller for instructions, the doctor in question just looking at her in shock, "Come on Sam," she whispered, standing up, tugging him just enough for him to stand on his own. The orderlies moved forward, about to pull him away, but he wouldn't let go.

"Wait a moment gentlemen," Dr. Fuller stepped forward, seeing how calm Sam was now, "Just…wait…"

Slowly Sam removed his arms, but wouldn't let go of her hand. He glanced at Dr. Fuller before looking down.

"I warned you," Dr. Fuller said. Sam just nodded. He turned to the orderlies, "Take him to the isolation rooms, use the restraints when you get there," the orderlies stepped forward, about to pull Sam away again, when he looked up, eyes fearful. Dr. Fuller held up a hand, "Let her go with him…" he could already tell that the woman would be able to help should Sam get upset once more, he'd already seen that.

Michelle nodded at the doctor in thanks and walked off with Sam, following the orderlies.

"And you thought my brother and I had the codependent relationship?" Dean spoke.

The doctor looked over to see Dean watching the whole thing with a small smirk before glancing over at the two disappearing around the corner, perhaps he had been a bit hasty in that diagnosis.

Dean waited till the doctor left before getting up and heading out to find Martin. He felt better now, but he wasn't sure how long that would last. He knew Michelle would keep an eye out for Sam and, between the two, Sam needed her more as he had yet to get violent like Sam had.

~8~

Dean quickly crept into Martin's room where the man was sleeping. He'd started to feel like he had in the hallway again, he needed help and fast. He made a noise and Martin jumped in bed, ready to punch whoever it was, only to see Dean standing there, holding his hands up.

"It's me!" he hissed, "Martin, Martin, it's me."

"Sorry!" Martin apologized, holding his hands to his chest, before frowning at Dean actually cowering, "You look like hell boy."

"I feel like it too."

"Where's Sam?" Martin looked behind him, "Michelle?"

"Locked down. He went crazy. Thank God. Michelle's with him."

"What?"

"I'm going crazy too. I'm seeing things, I'm hearing things, we both were. Crazy is the clue."

"What do you mean?" Martin frowned as Dean started to stare at something off to the side, he quickly snapped his fingers, shaking the boy out of it, "Dean!"

"Crazy is the clue…"

"You said that."

"I mean, the things that me and Sam and Michelle have done, the stuff that we've seen, we're gonna end up going guano eventually," he sighed, "We'll end up a couple of drooling nut bags. No offense."

"None taken," Martin shrugged.

Dean took a breath, "Michelle thinks that, since Sam and I started freaking out on the same day, it's gotta be…"

"The monster," Martin realized.

"What?!" Dean spun around, "Where? Where?!"

"No!" Martin shouted, "No! Not…there's nothing there."

Dean shook his head and turned back, "Michelle was saying…saying that maybe this thing doesn't just feed on the insane. What if makes people insane? Takes what's buried and makes it drive people round the bend? Hmm? Is that possible? Does that seem real?"

"Well, I'm not the most reliable source on what's real…but it seems to make sense and I've never known a time where that girl was wrong, her parents were like that too..."

"Ok. So we got infected. Something shot us up with crazy. Something…maybe it's the ghost of my dad?"

"No, focus on the wraith Dean," Martin shook his head, "Focus!"

"Right," Dean squeezed his eyes shut a moment, "Right, the wraith, the wraith, so the wraith, the wraith…it poisoned us. Maybe, with venom…by touch! Or venom. Or saliva…Wendy!"

"Wendy?"

"Wendy. Wendy! Slobbered all over me! That's how I got infected!"

"But she didn't get to Sam," Martin argued, "Michelle stopped her, remember?"

"Well…maybe she got close enough to do something before Michelle acted," Dean shrugged, "It's the best we got so far."

~8~

Michelle and Sam were in the isolation room, talking quietly. Sam had been strapped to the bed, his wrists and ankles bound, the orderlies had warned Michelle that if she released him she would be removed from the room and neither she nor Sam wanted that, so, for now, she was sitting on the side of the bed, talking. She'd told him about what had happened to Dean and her theory that the wraith had gotten both him and Sam. She had no clues to who the wraith could be but but she was working on it.

"Hey…" Sam said after a moment, "Can you get me a drink?"

"Sam…" she began, shaking her head, she really didn't want to leave him alone, trapped there. What if the wraith attacked? He was in no shape to defend himself.

"The fountain's just down the hall. I'm sure you can find a cup somewhere. I'll be fine," she hesitated, "Please?" he smiled at her, "Whatever they gave me before left me cotton mouthed."

She sighed, getting up, "Fine…but anyone but me or Dean enters you yell, ok?"

He smiled, "I'll be fine…I promise."

She paused at the door and turned to smile at him, "Why don't I believe you?"

He just laughed as she disappeared out the door. He laid back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling before he heard the door shut. He looked up to see the nurse who had examined them enter. His gaze flickered to the reflector above the door to see a wraith.

"You!" he shouted, struggling in his binds.

"Of course it's me," the nurse smirked, "I gotta say you Hunters don't exactly live up to your rep. I mean, Martin's a wreck. He's harmless. And you, your brother, and your little girlfriend come in here, talking tough, about killing monsters? Kinda made you easy to spot. Then all it took was a touch. And you were mine."

Sam eyes widened as he realized she had infected them during the examination.

"Oh, I love it in here!" the nurse continued, walking around the bed to kneel at his head, "This place is my own personal 5 star restaurant…" she swiped her finger across his forehead and licked it, "Crazy brains. They get soaked in dopamine and adrenaline and all sorts of hormones and chemicals that make them delicious!" she swiped and licked again, "And the crazier they are, the better they taste."

"You did this to me!" Sam shouted, struggling more.

"Well, I helped. But that rage? No, no, no, no that's all you," she stood up and walked around to his side, "I don't make crazy, I just crank up what's already there," she sat down beside him, "You build your own hell, but I give you the legos. And when you're ripe…" Sam's eyes widened as a spike extended from the woman's wrist, "I make all of your problems disappear…" she reached out and turned his head to the side, ready to stick him, when Dean burst into the room, stumbling, disoriented.

He'd gone with Martin to Wendy's room and found the nurse sitting beside the woman. Wendy had her wrists slit and the nurse had a spike sticking out of her wrist and the reflection of a wraith in the mirror. She'd shoved him against the wall and attacked Martin, who slashed her hand with the nail file, forcing her to flee. Orderlies had run in moments later, Martin taking them on to give him time to escape, disoriented from the crash and the crazy.

"You need to get away from him," Dean ground out.

The nurse just stood and faced him, "Do you really think this is gonna end well for you kiddo?"

"It won't for you," Michelle said, appearing in the doorway just as Dean collapsed to the floor, the room spinning.

The nurse eyed her, "You weren't affected? Interesting."

Michelle just smirked, "Why don't you fight someone who's actually sane? Or are you that much of a chicken you need to face people who can't fight back?"

The nurse laughed, "Oh, I like you sugar."

"Can't say the same."

The nurse sighed and looked at her, standing there, completely lucid, "You know, I have to admit, for a Hunter you're remarkably well-adjusted."

"Tell me about it," Michelle replied, before lunging at the woman with her own nail file, just managing to scratch her arm.

The nurse screeched and swung at her, managing to shove her against the wall, grabbing her wrist holding the nail file and aiming her spike at the girl's throat.

"Not much of a challenge, are you?" the nurse smirked.

Sam and Dean watched, stunned, as the wraith got the better hand. They'd never seen that happen before.

"You really think I'm that easy to beat?" Michelle replied, grabbing the spike with her other hand and snapping it off.

Sam nearly laughed as the nurse fell back, screaming in pain, grabbing her wrist. Michelle had gotten the nurse to think she had the upper hand to lower her defenses and expose her weakness, her spike. Michelle spun the woman into the wall and stabbed her through the heart with the file.

The nurse fell to the floor, wound sizzling, dead.

Dean blinked and looked around the room, now seeing it clearly, feeling better than he had in a while.

"You still crazy?" Sam called to his brother as Michelle ran to his side and began to unstrap him.

"Not anymore than usual," he remarked, getting up to help Michelle.

"We gotta get out of here," Michelle said, a second before an alarm went off.

They all looked up, stunned.

"Yeah…" Sam breathed.

It would be their luck.

~8~

They ran out of the hospital as fast as they could, the alarms still going off behind them, until they made it back to the Impala, hidden in the woods, still in their hospital garb.

"Looks like Tom Cruise was right," Dean remarked, "Shrinks suck," he looked over to see Sam slowing down to a stop a few feet away, "What are you doing?"

"Sam, you ok?" Michelle frowned, taking a step towards him.

He just shook his head, "No…no, the wraith…"

"What about it?"

"She was right."

Dean shook his head, "No, she wasn't. She's dead ok, let's hit the road. I need a drink...or twelve."

"Most of the time I can hide it," Sam continued, ignoring his brother, "But I am angry. I'm mad at everything. I used to be mad at you and dad and then Lilith, now it's Lucifer. And I make excuses. I blame Ruby or the demon blood but it's not their fault, it's not them, it's me! It's inside me! I am mad all the time and I don't know why."

"Sam…" Michelle began.

"Stop," Dean cut in, staring at his brother, hard, "Stop it. So what if you are? What are you gonna do? Take a leave of absence? You just say yes to Lucifer? What?"

"No, of course not!" Sam shouted.

"Exactly. And that's exactly what you're gonna do. Your gonna take all that crap and you're gonna bury it. You're gonna forget about it. Because that's how we keep going. That's how we don't end up like Martin. Are you with me? Man, are you with me?"

Sam stared at him a moment before nodding, "I'm with you."

"Good," Dean breathed, "Let's get the hell out of here."

They turned and all piled in the Impala, Michelle leaning forward just a bit, "Hey guys…" they glanced at her, "Didn't I say once that we'd probably end up in a nut house at some point?" they frowned before nodding, they could recall her vaguely doing something like that during that 'Supernatural' convention. She smiled, "Told you so."

They laughed.

~8~

In the motel room that night, after having his twelve beers, Dean was passed out on his bed while Sam laid on his back on the second bed, staring at the ceiling, just thinking, his arm wrapped around Michelle, who was curled at his side.

"Sam?" Michelle said quietly so as not to wake Dean.

Sam turned to face her, startled, he thought she'd been sleeping, "You're still up?"

She nodded, pushing herself up on her elbow to look at him a moment before speaking, "Why didn't you tell me you felt that way, so angry?"

He looked away and sighed, "I…I don't know…you've put up with a lot of crap from me…I just didn't want to add to it."

Michelle shook her head, "Sam…" he looked back over at her, "I love you. I will put up with any and all crap you dish out because of that, no matter how much," she smiled, "Just like I hope you'd do for me."

"Of course," he said quickly, though he couldn't think of anything of the sort. To him, Michelle was just…perfect.

"Then you need to tell me these things. You want to be equals with Dean right?" he nodded, "Then we need to be equals too. No hiding things from me that I can help you with."

"How?" he frowned, "How can you help me with this? It's…"

"Like this," she smiled and leaned forward, placing a hand on his heart as she kissed him. He could feel a warmth spread through him that he'd always associated with her. He didn't know what she was doing…but he could feel the anger that had coiled and festered within him dissipating.

"Wow…" he breathed as she pulled away.

"Sam, I can rid the effects of demonic influence much easier than demon blood," she told him, "Demons have been manipulating you…for so long now, probably ever since you were a kid. They've been manipulating you against your family, against hunting, making you angry. So, from now on," she gave him a pointed look, "Whenever a demon is involved and you get really angry, and it sticks with you, tell me. Ok? Because the demon blood that Azazel gave you, it just makes you more susceptible to demonic influences than normal," he frowned, "But…" she tilted his head to make him look at her again, "I can help with that."

She gave him another kiss, spreading warmth through him again, though not from use of her powers this time. She pulled away, Sam smiling as he turned on his side and wrapped his arms around her, ready for a night of sleep.

A/N: Lol, who just wanted to roll on the floor laughing at Sam's 'high' moment. I know I did :)