Wasn't gonna post today, was gonna do my replies to your reviews, but what the heck! Figured you'd like this more! It's done so I thought I give you a little treat of two chaps in as many days, might be a little delay though on the next one but I want this story finished before S5 get back on the air so you're wait may not be that long! Mary x Little swearing in this!!

There are question that need answers, they will come, promise!

Dean stepped to the side to let the angel help them pull Sam from the panic room. "Did you find Gabriel?"

Castiel got a grip on Sam's arm and freed him from his brother's clutches. "I did not. Yet." He put a supporting hand on the younger Winchester's back and lifted Sam out the doorway, almost dragging Bobby through after him. "We need to go."

"Did you get rid of him or did he leave?" Dean lent back against the door, trying to stop the room spinning from the exertion of lifting his brother across to the door.

Castiel shook his head. "He left. Which means…"

"…that he knows we'll come out to get Sam help. Can you take us somewhere other than the local hospital? Slow him down a bit." Dean pulled in a long, slow breath and was relieved to find the room finally settled.

"Yes. Let us go." Castiel raised his hand but Dean stopped him.

"Do your mojo on his ribs first." He pointed a finger at Bobby. "If Gabriel can track us through him then maybe so can the horseman."

Castiel obliged and Dean managed a little smile at Bobby's hiss of pain. "I'd love to see the face of the guy that does it, if we ever need an autopsy done when we die."

Bobby snorted. "Yeah, knowing you, I would bet against you being able to, can we go now?"

Castiel didn't wait for Dean's reply he just let Sam rest against his chest, Bobby steadying him there, and touched a hand to the heads of his other two companions.

---

They were standing in the carpark of St Matthew's hospital. Dean had no idea where that was and he was glad, if the horseman was still routing around in his skull he wasn't going to find anything that would give him a major jump start on their location. His insides heaved and he fought the urge to just throw up where he stood.

"You ok kid?" A hand touched his back and he turned into the worried face of Bobby.

"I'll be better when they can tell me what's up with my brother."

"Better put that knife somewhere where they won't see it," Bobby warned as they headed for the entrance to the ER.

"Can you…" Dean started to ask but Castiel reached out his hand.

"I'll keep it." The hunter handed it over and watched the angel slip it into his pocket.

"You're Dean and Sam Singer, Sam collapsed and we brought him here," Bobby advised as the exchange happened. "Let's get Sam inside."

Castiel lifted the younger Winchester as if he was no weight at all and manoeuvred him through the doors, Bobby calling for help as they did. An orderly appeared with a gurney and Sam was lowered gently onto it and wheeled away.

The elder hunter realised as they walked to the desk that the ER was completely empty. "Quiet night, good find Cas."

The angel ignored his pointed stare. "It's early here, hence the quiet. Although I may had moved us up the queue slightly before I came for Sam."

Bobby smirked at that as he came to a stop behind Dean at the desk.

"I want to go with him," Dean asked of the girl there.

"Are you family?" She looked at the face of the man in front of her thinking that on a better day he would be handsome. Just now he was drawn and ill looking. "Are you alright?"

"I'm…."The words dried on his lips. "Actually, I don't feel too great either." The sway was only partly faked as he caught the desk and she stood, called through the doors for help. The same orderly that took Sam through appeared again and took Dean's arm, leading him through to a row of seats behind the double door.

Bobby grinned at the move wondering how long Dean would stay there before he started to look for his brother. He turned to the woman. "They're my nephews. I can fill in any forms that you need me to."

Smiling she handed him a clipboard.

---

The orderly and one of the doctors came over to Dean, the doctor sliding into the seat next to him. "Hi," she flipped the paperwork in front of her. Dean Singer?"

He nodded.

"I'm Dr. Susan Gregg. Can you tell me what happened with your friend?"

"Brother," Dean corrected her. "He was fine yesterday, we were just visiting friends and he complained of feeling unwell. I got him to lie down for a while but when he wouldn't wake, we brought him here."

"What about you?"

"I'm just tired."

The doctor raised an eyebrow at that. "I'll be the judge of that, let's get you up and into a room, get you looked over."

"I want to see my brother." It sounded like a plea even to his ears.

"Dr Anderson is with him, checking him over. Let me take a few tests and then I'll see about getting you in to see him or get you an update on him. Ok?" Dean went to argue but she stopped him. "Quicker I get these done, quicker you get to find out how he is."

The hunter said nothing, just stood and let the orderly guide him into the room behind her. Once there he was asked to get up on the bed, which he did, knowing that she was watching him. He followed her line of sight to his hands.

"It's arthritis," he covered quickly. "Runs in the family, Sam got skipped, lucky me."

She took his hands, turning them in hers. "Arthritis eh?"

"I haven't had it very long," he answered, pulling his hands free and tucking them in under his arms. "You gonna do these tests or what?"

"You on any medication?" She unlocked the drawers at the side of the bed and started to rifle through them, pulling out the stuff that she needed.

"No."

"Ok then, I'll take some blood and we can run through any symptoms that you've been having while I do."

Dean politely answered yes or no to all the questions fired at him, his mind though on his brother lying in one of the other rooms. After what felt like forever she stopped poking, writing and asking and handed him a cup. "Can you give me a sample?"

"If you'll give me a minute."

"I'll go get these started, the bathroom is in the corner. Will you manage alright on your own, I can get Gary to come in and help you?" She laughed at the face he made. "I'll take that as a no. Ok, I'll be back in a little while and I'll check on your brother for you."

"Thanks." Dean managed a smile which she returned and then waited until she had left before trying to get back up. He had no idea why he was feeling so crappy, tried not to think about the horseman's word about touching Sam. Getting to his feet he eyed the bathroom door on the far wall, locked onto his target and started for it at a slow gait. It felt like it took forever to get there but get there he did, took care of business and then worked his way back to the bed. Leaving the sample on the cabinet be turned and headed for the door, faster this time, his need to know about his brother urging him on. Stopping to check outside he stepped into the empty corridor and worked his way round the other rooms and cubicles. It took only took a couple of minutes to find Sam but at the end of it Dean was sweating.

His brother was in the room alone as Dean stepped inside and crossed to the bed, dropping on the side of it as soon as he got there. He passed a glance at the monitors above Sam's head and took in the pulse ox on his finger and the cannula under his nose. "Hey Sammy, you hanging in there little bro?" He passed a hand over his sibling's head, pushing his unruly mop of hair off his forehead.

"Thought I told you to stay in the other room and that I'd come and update you on your brother?" Dr. Gregg came over to stand next to him, reaching for Sam's chart as she did.

"Sorry Doc, guess my hearing must be going to, or maybe it's my memory." He half smiled at her and turned back to his brother. "So hit me with it? What's wrong with him?"

The doctor stood quietly for a moment, looking at the charts but Dean could tell she wasn't really reading them, just gathering herself to tell him what he thought he probably already knew.

"We're not really sure what is going on, Sam's organs are slowly shutting down, one by one and we can't tell why. We're going to take him for some more tests and a scan. See if we can't get to the bottom of it."

Dean didn't look up at her, just let out a long weary sigh. "And if you can't get to the bottom of it, what happens then? Do I get to just sit and watch my brother die?"

"Hopefully it won't come to that, but if things don't improve we'll need to put him on life support soon. We're going to move him up to the ICU shortly."

"Ok." It was all Dean could manage to say.

"You really need to come back and lie down, I'm not happy with some of your own results, I'd like to run some more tests on you too."

Dean shrugged. "Whatever, but if you lose my brother doc, I really don't care if you can't help me. I want to sit with Sam for just now, you can run whatever the hell you like later."

"Mr Singer…"

"I said, later." She was being dismissed.

"At least sit in the chair before you fall off that bed." She slid the chair round to him and forced him off the bed and into it. "You've got fifteen minutes, then I'm coming back and I'm not taking no for an answer."

Dean waited until she had gone and then slid Sam's hand between his own, curling his fingers and tightening his grip around it. "See, still doing my exercises. Just like you taught me to. Fighting this just like you wanted me too. Come on Sam, fight back too. Please."

The awkward cough behind him caused him to turn to find Bobby standing there. "Hey kid. Doc tells me he ain't doing so well." Bobby walked over and stood behind Dean, resting a hand down on his shoulder. "Sam's tough and Cas has gone to see if he can either find Gabriel or a solution for us. How are you feeling?"

"Been better Bobby."

The elder Winchester looked absolutely spent to Bobby's eyes. "Dean, go and lie down for a while, you look all in. I'll sit with Sam, call you if we need you for anything."

"You mean if he slips further? If my brother dies? Again? Because of me?" The anger filling him somehow made him feel better, so he channelled it. "I need some air." He squeezed his brother's hand as tightly as he could and then lent over and whispered quietly to Sam. "Don't go anywhere, do you hear me?" He wasn't sure if he felt or imagined his brother's fingers tightening for the briefest of seconds on his. "I mean it." He let go and stood, turning too fast and almost loosing his balance, righting himself before Bobby could help. "I got it."

"Not happy about you going outside on your own, specially when we don't know where the horseman is."

Dean turned, anger in his eyes. "Screw the horseman. Let him come. I don't care." Pushing past his friend Dean headed for the door, getting out into the corridor, shuffling along it before anyone could stop him. He could feel bile rising in his throat, not sure if it was worry or sickness that was trying to bring him down. He didn't let it. Spotting a staff entrance that was lying open Dean stepped through it, avoided the smoker and headed over to where there was a little bench, dropping onto it, drawing in the fresh air like it was life itself. It cleared his head, eased the pain in his chest a little. He looked up, spotted the church across the road, and felt the anger fill him again.

Gathering up every little resource of strength that he had he walked over to it, pushed open the door and walked up to the altar. Getting there he dropped to his knees and let his head fall back on his shoulders, eyes fixed on the ornate roof above.

"I swear, to you actually, if you don't get your ass down here and fix my brother, I'll make the apocalypse look like a Sunday school picnic. I'll go down and dig your wayward son outta Hell my fucking self and let him in. I'll help him to destroy the hosts of heaven. Hell, I'll let him destroy Heaven itself if that's what he wants. I'll fucking burn your house down. Do you hear me? I am not asking anymore, I am not pleading anymore. I'm promising you, I will bring about the end of days if you don't save him, because if my world has to end then I don't give a damn any longer about anyone else."

He forced himself to his feet and left, heading back over to the hospital, the fire burning in him fuelling the needs of his body for now. Slipping back inside he headed for Sam's room. He stepped through, frowning at the fact that Bobby wasn't inside. He walked up, dropped back in the chair and went to reach for his brother's hand when the door opened and the nurse came in. She smiled, sympathy written on her face and he wanted to scream at her that he didn't need it, that neither he nor his brother were dying tonight. Instead he smiled back. "Where's my uncle?"

"He got a phone call, stepped outside to take it." She walked round beside him, checked the monitors. "We're about to move him, I'll need you to wait outside while we get him ready."

Dean stood, legs only just obeying him this time, adrenaline rush spent, as he headed for the door.

"That's odd, I was sure that I removed all your brother's jewellery when he came in."

Dean turned and watched as the nurse raised his brother's hand and pulled at the ring on it, dread working it's way up his spine as she failed to get it to slide off. He knew that ring, hell he'd sliced it off the finger that wore it himself.

"That's not his ring."

The nurse looked up and by Dean at the source of the voice, fear on her face as she looked at the wicked grin on the face of the man that was speaking.

"It's my brother's. And I've got another one that's looking for a home too."

The nurse dropped to the floor, Dean not sure if she'd fainted or if Death had done something to her. An arm tightened around his neck, cutting off his air. "Hold out your hand." Dean tried to fight it, couldn't. He raised his hand up and watched as the horseman reached for it. In a last show of defiance he started to curl his fingers in but he didn't get far, pain and the tightening of the choke hold stopping him. Death forced Famine's ring onto his finger and then let go, pushing Dean to the floor. "Now, all I have to do is summon my brothers back from where you two put them and together we can raise our last sibling."

"Thought they were dead?" Dean tugged at the finger as he spoke, trying and failing to dislodge it.

"Did I say that? Guess I lied. They need a vessel though to get back on this plain, what better ones than the brothers that sent them off it in the first place?"

"You need us as vessels? What is it with everybody trying to get up inside me and my brother?" Dean could feel his strength returning, knew what was causing it, could feel it flowing from the ring. He used it while he still could. "Don't you need my permission? Sam's permission?"

Death laughed. "Do I look like an angel? I don't need anyone's permission to do anything. Me or my brothers. I want, I take. Or kill." He put a hand on Dean's head, forcing him to stay kneeling. "And I really wanted to kill you but this, this is so much better, and, it's going to hurt." Death smiled at him. "Like a bitch."

.