Author's Note: As always, thanks so much for the reviews. Keep em' coming!
Last Time...
We found Dean doing all he could to take care of his brother; and the boys suspect John knows something they don't.
You may now return to your regularly scheduled program (:
-Chapter Eleven:
"This isn't working," Sugar says, lying back in her bed. Her hand props her head up so she can see the rest of her people as they game plan. On the bed across from her was Dagger, but he had successfully tuned everyone out, not wanting to have any part in what they were planning. Angel had plastered himself in the doorway. It made him feel in charge of everything, they was he was in the front of the room, overseeing everything. Ronald was leaned against the wall, thinking aloud. Harvey was upstairs, finishing the food for Dean and Sam.
Angel made a snorting sound and shot her a look. "Of course it's not working, Sugar. We still don't know anything!"
Sugar sat up, her blond hair bouncing up and falling on her shoulders. "Well you don't know anything either way. It doesn't matter what anything says to you!" she argues back.
For a second, Angel was surprised. No one, absolutely no one, talked to Angel like that. Ronald not included. Honestly, he wasn't exactly sure how he should react to that. But he did the only thing he could to ensure not only to himself, but to the rest of the group, that he's the one who demanded respect around here. Moving phantom-like across the room Angel stood in front of Sugar and stared. She rolled her eyes, uncertain of what he was planning, but forced herself to keep cool. Unexpected to all, Angel slapped Sugar, and he slapped her hard. Almost instantly the side of her face had a red handprint on it. She fell back onto the bed, holding her face. Angel's eyes shined with satisfactions as Sugar's lime green eyes dulled to forest green.
Stepping him, Ronald forcefully grabbed Angel's arm and pushed him back.
"What's wrong with you?" he barked.
Angel's moment of glory had faded and in his mind he was back at the bottom again. No one topped the authority of Ronald. Not even Angel.
Ronald shook his arm, determined to get an answer. "I said what's your problem? Why'd you hit her?"
Everyone else was silent. Even Dagger had gone came out of his mental shell to see what was happening.
Again, Ronald shook Angel's arm. He gritted his teeth at the pain. "Answer!"
Refusing, Angel looks down at the floor. Getting angrier, Ronald twisted Angel's arm until it couldn't go anymore and then let it go when more frustration washed over him.
"Do you see what they're doing to us?" Sugar mumbles as she finally finds the strength to sit up. She slowly puts her hand down and the redness is already beginning to fade. Although she avoids eye contact with Angel, she looks at everyone else. "They're tearing us apart."
Ronald shook his head. "She's correct."
Everyone listens up because Ronald is talking.
"These...kids are at the root of all our problems," he begins, an evil grin swiping across his face. "They hiding something whether they know it or not, and I intend to find out."
Sugar nods. "I agree."
Moving forward a few steps, Ronald cricks his neck. "How did we let this happen? We've gotten so nervous that we're turning to fighting one another? Is that what we've honestly come to?" Ronald gives Angel and Sugar a look of disappointment. Angel drops his head for a moment.
"Now we need to break them. We need them to talk. We need their information. We need to stick together," Ronald says slowly. He eyes everyone in the room.
Sugar shakes her head.
"But how?" Angel asks, finally finding the impulse to speak again.
"A little torture never hurt," Sugar says with a shrug, she only answered Angel because she knew that was the only way she could show she forgave Angel.
He walked over to the bed and took a seat next to her. They exchanged glances briefly before he wagged his finger.
"We've done it to both of them. We didn't really have high expectations for the big one," Angel looked up at Ronald. "We expected the little one to talk immediately but his lips are sealed."
"He's stronger than he looks," Dagger mumbled. Everyone's head swooped over to him, sort of in awe.
Ronald shook his head. "Dagger, are you getting attached to the humans again?"
Dagger stays quiet, he had tuned them out once again.
Everyone seemed to shrug off his comment and continue to think of something.
Just then, Ronald snapped his fingers. "I got it," he says.
Patiently, Angel and Sugar look up at him.
"They're just like us," Ronald says. "They're stronger as a team."
Sugar smiled. "Righhhttt."
Clueless, Angel looks back and forth at them. "What?" he asks.
"We separate them, Angel," Sugar answers in the nicest way possible without ripping his head off.
He stands, a revengeful and evil smile written on his face. He claps his hands together. "Righhhtt."
*All Jokes Aside*
Dagger followed Ronald upstairs to where Harvey was cooking. The smell of it was almost like manure to them.
"Ronald, I need to talk to you," Dagger says.
Turning around quickly, Ronald looks at him suspiciously.
"Dagger?"
He nodded.
"What about?"
Dagger cleared his throat.
"Well it's about the boy."
Ronald rolled his eyes, his broken make up spreading as he forced a fake smile to cover up his twinge of anger.
"Which one, Dagger?" he asked, annoyance in his voice.
Dagger cleared his throat. "The one you call Liebling."
Ronald smiled. "Oh."
"Yes," Dagger says. "Well you see, my concern is his medical condition."
Eyeing him suspiciously, Ronald waits for him to continue.
"Well Angel has-"
"I'm aware of what Angel as done, I ordered it."
Dagger nodded. "I need to see to him, Roger. From what I seen earlier he's not in good shape and it must be worse by now. Especially with no food, no water, no proper cleaning of the wounds, no-"
"Silence, Dagger!" Ronald orders.
Dagger is quiet.
Ronald points his finger.
"Go get two bottles of water and see to our humans. But don't become attached Dagger," Ronald warns. " I know how you get."
With a slight smile, Dagger went to fetch the water, without as much as a 'thank you'.
*All Jokes Aside*
Silence is Dean's worst enemy. The quiet gives his mind a chance to wander. And that was something he hated to do. As he sat there with his back against the wall, he rocked his head back and forth. Sam's head laid on his leg and Dean's hand laid across Sam's chest. He had tried to waken his several times, but it failed miserably. Nothing worked; and that's what scared Dean more than the silence itself. Dean's eyes roamed the room, trying not to think about Sam, his dad, whatever these things were thats keeping them here, or the fact that his bladder was about to burst.
There was a sudden loud bang on the door and Dean jumped a little, but Sam didn't move a muscle. In came Dagger with his medical bag in his hand. Dean sighed. Dagger was the only one he didn't hate that much.
"What's a guy gotta do to get to a bathroom around here?"
Dagger looked at him for a moment with a look that was near a smile, but he soon turned his attention to Sam. He crouches down next to him. Dagger looks up at Dean.
"How long has he been unconscious?"
Dean though for a second. Without a clock, keeping track of time was hard.
"Uh, about twenty minutes," Dean guessed.
His answer must've been enough for Dagger because he nodded, keeping his stare on Sam. He reached his hand out, but stopped.
"May I?" Dagger asked.
Dean nodded. "Yeah, do whatever you have to. Just try not to hurt him, okay?"
Dagger smirked. "Sure," he says almost under his breath.
With both hands, Dagger traces the back of Sam's head and down to his neck. Then he comes over his shoulders and stops.
"What'd you put on him?" Dagger asks, his face scrunched in confusion when noticing the wetness on Sam's stomach.
Dean looked away. "Water," he answers. "Is that bad?"
Dagger shook his head. "No, that's good," he says, ensuring Dean that he hadn't messed up. "That was very smart of you."
Feeling proud, Dean gave Dagger a warm smile before turning his attention back to Sam.
"What about his fever?" Dean asked.
Putting his two fingers to Sam's sweat glazed forehead, Dagger waited for a moment. Seconds later he brought his fingers away with a disappointed sigh.
"What?" Dean asks.
"It's higher."
"Well how high?"
Dagger reached for something in his bag. "103, pushing 104, maybe."
In his mind, Dean cursed.
"What do we do?"
Dagger grabbed another of those ice packs and crushed it and shook it. He handed it to Dean. "Put that on him."
Dean did as he was told as he watched Dagger grab long white bandages out of his bang and set them on the floor. Next he took out a gray bottle with a black cap on it. Dean wondered what that was for. But he didn't question, though. As far as he was concerned, Dagger was the only nice one, so he wasn't going to give him the 3rd degree about every little thing he does. Next, Dagger grabbed what looked like cushioned squares. From Dean's angel he seen many of them, but Dagger only brought out about five. He unscrewed the cap and put the padded squared over the top. He flipped the bottle upside down with the pad covering the opening, wetting the square with whatever was inside of the bottle.
"This," Dagger says, shaking the bottle," is alcohol; I'm going to use it to clean his wounds, okay?"
Dean nods. "Yeah, okay."
Cautiously, Dagger pushes Dean's jacket off of Sam's torso. Dean could see Dagger wince at what he saw, but he kept his composure.
As softly, as he could Dagger presses the alcohol soaked pad to Sam's stomach.
Sam's body flinched and Dean felt his head press harder into his thigh. Dagger didn't stop though, he kelp cleaning the wounds as if he didn't hear Sam at all.
"Ah," Sam whined, tilting his head. His eyes remained closed but they were squeezed together.
Dagger looked up momentarily to Dean.
"Calm him," he says, almost in a demanding voice.
Dagger returns to his cleaning.
Dean rubs Sam's shoulder. He shushes him the the most calming voice he could find.
"Shhh, Sammy," Dean coos. "I know it hurts, but it's gonna help you. Just calm down."
Sam stirs a little more and some of his movement stops, but the presser he's putting on Dean's leg increases.
"Thank you," Dagger mumbles when Sam begins to settle.
Sam's body is tense and Dean can feel it. He tries to sooth him and get him to relax as much as he could, but nothing was really working. Keeping the ice pack on him, Dean talks softly.
"You're gonna be okay," he says. "Everything gonna be okay. Just calm down a little, Sam."
This goes on for about ten more minutes and then Dagger declares that he's finished with the cleaning. Minutes after Dagger has stopped pressing the alcohol soaked pad to his stomach, Sam's breathing as slowed a little and Dean can feel him beginning to relax.
"What now?" Dean asks. He takes the ice pack off Sam's head and puts it on the floor.
Dagger clears his throat as he takes hold of the long white strips of cloth he brought out earlier.
"These have been sterilized and are ready to use."
Dean nodded, not exactly sure what he was getting at.
Dagger stretched the cloth in his hands.
"You think you can sit him up?"
Again Dean nodded.
He put his hands just under Sam's arms and pushed him into the sitting position. Sam made a moaning sounds as more pain ran thorough him.
"I'm sorry," Dean apologized,
Dagger took one end of the cloth and wrapped it around Sam's lower abs. Once it's secure, he takes another cloth and wraps the middle part.
"Lift his arms," Dagger says to Dean.
Then Dagger takes the final cloth and wraps the top part of Sam's stomach.
"That should do it," Dagger says. "I'll be back to change that tomorrow. Try to get him to drink some water, he could really use it."
Dean nodded, but then Dagger's words sank in. Tomorrow?
"How long are you planning to keep us here?"
Dagger shrugs. "It's not up to me. I'm sorry."
Dean opened his mouth to talk, but Dagger shook his head and put his hand up.
"I'm sorry," he says again.
After he packs up his things he takes the two water bottles from the side of his bag and hands them to Dean.
"This was all Ronald would let me get. Use it wisely."
Reluctantly, Dean takes the water. He notices the liquid moving around and it bring him back to his previous concern from earlier.
"What about the bathroom, Dag?"
Dagger shrugs. "I can mention it to Ronald, but I'm not sure."
Dean was silent. If he wasn't chained and if Sam wasn't hurt he'd raise all types of hell, but he couldn't. He was stuck.
With that, Dagger stands and heads to the door. Just as he always does, he turns around and gives Dean a remorseful look just before he walks through the door slowly.
Dean had gotten used to that pattern, and that scared him more than he could ever tell.
*All Jokes Aside*
What's worse than falling asleep without realizing it in a place you know you should be on guard 24/7?
The answer to that question is waking up to yelling, loud noises, quick movements, and bright lights with a full bladder.
Just as Dean's eyes snapped open, Sam was just being yanked from under his arm.
Dean sprang forward toward Ronald, but his chain resisted at his attempt to move anymore.
"Put him down!" Dean yelled.
Ronald took a step back wind Sam in his arms with a crooked smile. He didn't bother to answer; he knew that Dean was incapable of doing anything once he was in a safe distance from him. Dean hadn't noticed that Angel and Sugar were behind him until he felt a hard smack to the back of his head. He fell forward, but pushed himself to his feet almost immediately. He punched Angel back and it set him back a few steps. Sugar charged him, taking him to the ground. This was the only time in Dean's life when he didn't mind hitting a girl. He bucked, throwing her of him, and slammed her back on the floor. She cried out, but Dean didn't care. After all, she started it.
Angel pulled Dean to his feet and spun him around, keeping his hands behind his back. Cool metal were slipped over his wrists, keeping him from fighting back. He soon realized that they were handcuffs.
"You're that much of a bitch, Angel? You can't fight me like a real man- or whatever you are?"
Angel doesn't answer. He doesn't need to. He knows that he had the upper hand.
Sugar drops to the floor to unchain Dean's ankle.
Once he's loose, Dean kicks Sugar hard in the face, sending her backwards. He couldn't help but crack a slight smile. She had to see that coming, right?
"Alright, that's enough," Angel says. He digs into his pocket. Before Dean even had a chance to react he felt a prick in his arm. Almost immediately he felt his body beginning to relax.
What the hell did he just do?
Ronald gestures toward the door with his head.
"Come on, everyone."
He walks out first with Sam in his grasp. Angel and Sugar haul Dean out together.
His vision is beginning to get blurry, but he can still see. Dean was being taken out the room. Ronald walked with Sam to the right; Dean expected to go that way, too. But then he felt himself being turned left, he started to panic on the inside.
A moment later, the black dots that were just at the edges of his eyesight had filled his vision.
Are they separating us or are we getting a punishment? Dean thought to himself.
It doesn't really matter, either way, this doesn't end well...
So, what'cha think? And what about Dagger? Do you believe he's really the good one or is it just an act?
*Announcer's Voice* On Next Week's Episode: Dean and Sam feel a little separation anxiety.
OMG! Did you guys go vote for Jensen to win for Best Lead Actor at the Emmy's?
Go do it!
Anyway, Don't be shy; please review! (: