A/N: Thank you so much for everyone who followed favorited and reviewed! I really appreciate it. I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
Dean read over the news article. Woman found dead in locked apartment. Insides ripped out. It was a 24 year old woman with no known enemies and seemingly of no importance to any supernatural being. Dean had ruled it down to a monster looking for a meal.
Almost glad to be back in his fed suit, Dean snuck into the crime scene. According to the police, the girl's heart was not missing so it couldn't have been a werewolf. Dean wandered the apartment when something on the windowsill caught his eye. He came closer and his fears were confirmed. It was a yellow powder: sulfur. This was a demon case.
Meanwhile at Bobby's…
Sam eagerly flipped to the next page of his book, enthralled by the story. He may have lost all his common sense, but at least he could still read and follow a story.
"Watcha readin there, sport?" Bobby asked him. Sam continued reading and just showed Bobby the cover of the book. Bobby squinted.
"Bobby Pendragon: The Lost City of Faar?" Bobby read aloud. Sam put the book down for a minute.
"Yes! It's about this guy named Bobby Pendragon and he finds out that he's a traveler and his Uncle Press takes him on adventures to different territories and he just landed on Cloral and met this guy named Spader, but Spader's Dad died, oh and all of Cloral is underwater. It's awesome!" Bobby didn't understand a word of what Sam said, but pretended that he did.
"Sounds fascinating. I just came to ask what you wanted for lunch."
"Hot dogs. With ketchup and mustard and cheese."
"So the usual?" Bobby asked.
"Yeah," Sam told him. Bobby was about to head back to the kitchen, when he decided he'd better make sure Sam was doing okay with Dean absence.
"How are you doing?" Bobby asked him. Sam sighed.
"I miss Dean," he said longingly. "But I think I'm doing okay."
"All right. Well, holler if you need anything," Bobby said as he once again started to head for the kitchen.
"I know about it, Bobby." Bobby stopped.
"Know about what?" Bobby asked him.
"Dean thinks I don't know but I do," he said.
"What?" Bobby asked curiously.
"That there's something wrong with me." Bobby's heart sank. He had worried that Sam might notice.
"I know. I know that something's wrong with me. I'm not the same. You guys don't treat me the same. I don't feel the same. I don't act the same. You all think I'm crazy," Sam said sadly.
"No! No, Sam we don't think that."
"No, it's okay. I know you do. I just…wish I wasn't like this. I wish I could change back to the way I used to be… but…"
"But what?" Bobby asked.
"But every time I try, it hurts," Sam said shakily.
"What do you mean?" Bobby asked worriedly.
"I can…turn back into the old me…I can think like him and act like him for just a second, but…then I remember. I remember the cage."
"You never told me this."
"I didn't want Dean to know. He can't. He wants the other me back and if he knows I can do it, he'll make me do it, but then it will hurt. I don't want to hurt. I don't- I can't-," Sam was getting out of breath just thinking about it.
"Hey, hey, Sam. Calm down. It's okay. Dean would never want you hurt, even if it meant getting the old you back." Sam looked up at Bobby and Bobby saw the tears in his eyes.
"You think so?" Sam asked.
"I'm positive," he told him.
"Now, when you say it hurts, what do you mean by that?" he asked Sam. Sam put a hand on his head.
"Here. It hurts here."
"Like a headache?" Bobby asked.
"Yeah, but worse. Like it's on fire."
"And how many times has this happened?" Bobby asked.
"I only tried it twice. I don't want to try it again."
"And no one's going to make you. But from now on you gotta be honest with me about what goes on in that head of yours, alright?" Sam nodded.
"But you can't tell Dean! You can't! Promise me you won't tell him!"
"I promise," Bobby said. "Now how about we eat some hot dogs?" Sam nodded.
Bobby went into the kitchen to make lunch. What Sam had said unnerved him. He should have known something more was going on. He knew that he promised not to tell Dean but it was a promise he didn't intend to keep. When Dean came back from the hunt, he'd want to know.
Later that night
"Yeah, so it seems we're looking at a demon case," Dean told Bobby over the phone.
"You sure?" Bobby asked.
"No doubt about it. Crime scene dusted with sulfur. I talked to the friends and family of the victim. They say she wasn't acting out of the ordinary at all. No enemies. No jealous ex-boyfriends. Probably just a demon looking for a good time."
"You found out where he is yet?"
"No, but I think I might just check the regular demon hideout spots. Abandoned factories, old houses and such. It's not a big town. I'll find him."
"Yes, Sam. Just hold on," Dean heard Bobby say. "Um…your brother wants to talk to you." Dean heard Sam's desperate, pleading voice in the background.
"Well, put him on the phone."
"I think he's upset," Bobby whispered into the phone so Sam couldn't hear. He then handed the phone to Sam.
"Dean! How are you? Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Sam asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, Sammy. How are you?" Sam paused and for a minute, Dean worried that something was actually wrong with his brother. "Sam?"
"It's this book," Sam practically sobbed. "I can't-… they killed him! My favorite character!"
"Oh," Dean said, understanding. "Who did they kill?" he asked. Sam groaned.
"I can't tell you, Dean! I can't spoil it! Ugh!" Sam shouted.
"Okay, okay. Sorry." Dean said.
"Other than that, how are you doing?" he asked. Sam sighed once again.
"I'm okay," he said.
"Alright, well just hang tight. I should be home in a day or two."
"Okay. I'll see you then," Sam said. Dean hung up the phone, amused that his brother was crying over fictional characters just as he did when he was little.