Catching Up
Chapter 12 - Asylum

A/N: Hey guys, sorry I've been so MIA but I'm back now with a fresh batch of uploads. I'm writing this author's note with the hope that I can go up to Route 666 (you'll obviously know whether I succeeded). Nonetheless I am officially letting out to the universe that Season One should be done by the end of January even if I have to stay up and put the chapters out at midnight. You have my permission to pester me. Also, I wrote a companion scene 'Angelic Antics' featuring Mary learning about Cas and the hooker. I plan to do a few of these and they're not super important but I will make a reference or two here. Until next time, ENJOY! R&R PLZ!

The Winchesters returned to the Bunker after a good day of shopping and stories. No one really brought up continuing to watch the show but it was sort of assumed by all that someone would broach the topic eventually. That someone turned out to be Dean. He'd been the quietest of them all about it but as they got out of the Impala in the garage, he bounced his keys in his hand nervously and muttered, "So…another episode?"

"Sweetheart you don't have to-" Mary began but Dean shook his head.

"I'm fine, really, it's not like I can take it up with him," Dean puffed.

"Alright then, back to the study," Sam announced lightly.

Dean and Mary went ahead but Cas held Sam back, "May I have a word with you?"

"Sure Cas." Sam fidgeted a bit.

"I want to assure you that while I was not actively trying to read your mind, at the diner you projected your thoughts mentally and it was…odd. The first time you were complaining about the discussion regarding your mother's sexual history but the second was about staying somewhere and you mentioned a 'you' as if you were speaking to someone."

Sam, don't think anything back but do not tell him. Not now at least. Sam took some calming breaths, keeping his mind as blank as possible. "Cas sorry if I worried you or something, I was just thinking of some other things. I wasn't even aware that I was projecting. I'm fine."

"You're certain there's nothing troubling you?"

"Yep, I'm good." Sam tried to smile.

Cas's head moved to one side ever so slightly, "Alright then. We should join the others." With that, the angel was gone and Sam let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding.

"Too close," Sam whispered to the air. Way too close. Just try to answer me with your mouth and not your mind, trust me it makes a difference. "How much longer do we have to do this?" Not sure but you can't say anything yet. "Fine," Sam huffed. He went to the study and found Mary and Cas already settled down and Dean loading up the DVD player.

"Hey slow poke," Dean called. "This should be a good one. 'Asylum'," he read off the DVD case. "Sam and Dean investigate an abandoned sanitarium and discover the patients had revolted against the cruel punishments inflicted by the head doctor."

"Sounds fantastic," Sam plopped down on the couch.

"I feel like I should recommend you re-examine your definitions of 'good' and 'fantastic'," Cas put in.

"As soon as we get some better references bud," Dean returned, taking a seat as well. They hit play and watched the obligatory opening montage. The show began with a shot of the Roosevelt Asylum in Rockford, Illinois. Some teenagers were sneaking into the building as cops show up and one tells the other, clearly a new guy, about the place.

"Like that wasn't some obvious exposition," Sam commented.

The cops split up and Dean rolled his eyes, "Newbie gets taken, calling it."

"No point when the show is shouting it," Sam gestured to the screen. True enough, the older officer escorts the teens out while something is obviously off about the newer one especially when he gets a nosebleed.

"Ah the nosebleed of doom," Dean chuckled. "So many hentai jokes, so not the time."

"Hentai?" Mary repeated and Dean grimaced while Sam shot him a look.

"Like I said, so not the time," Dean settled deeper into his seat.

The show moves to the young cop coming home to his wife. From what she says, they were obviously having some sort of issue. Without a word, the officer reaches for the gun and the shot cuts to the outside of the bedroom window where two flashes of light and shots go off. It then turns to TV!Sam and TV!Dean in a motel trying to track down John. From the sound of it, they had been calling around for him but no one had made any contact with the older Winchester. TV!Sam was worried, even considering calling the FBI but TV!Dean refused and would not entertain the idea that John might be dead. Just then his phone goes with a text with coordinates to Rockford and they discover the cop and his wife's deaths. "So John sent you coordinates for a case and nothing else?" Mary asked in disbelief. "Not even two words about anything?"

At same time TV!Dean appeared chime in the conversation, "Who cares? If he wants us there, it's good enough for me."

Dean's mouth twisted, "I'm blonde and I have daddy issues over his job. Great, I could work with Chastity."

"Shall we call you 'Prudence' then?" Cas asked to an uproar of laughter from Sam and Mary. The voice in Sam's head barked a laugh and what sounded like clapping. They were so busy enjoying the joke, they almost missed TV!Sam's and TV!Dean's performance for the other officer from before. They managed to collect themselves to see TV!Sam tell off TV!Dean and cozy up to the officer. TV!Sam left the bar and TV!Dean complained about being pushed.

"A good old fashioned ruse never hurt anyone," Mary commented.

"He shoved me really hard," Dean insisted.

"Ah but did he run through with an angel blade?" Cas smirked.

Dean pointed at the angel, "Keep it up Fluffy Feathers."

"Gladly," Cas said slickly.

"Guys we have a show to watch," Mary reminded them as TV!Sam and TV!Dean entered the asylum to investigate. They determine that the activity is in the South Wing and look around.

"Who is the hotter psychic?"

"Jennifer Love c'mon, is it even a contest?" Sam pffted.

"I would readily place Alyssa Milano and Charisma Carpenter in contention for that title," Cas shrugged.

Sam opened and closed his mouth, "Cas how much Netflix have you watched?"

"I don't need sleep Sam."

Sam and Dean shared a wide-eyed look before returning their attention to the show just in time for Dean and Sam to argue about John not being there and always having to follow his orders anyway.

The voice in Sam's head whistled lowly. The daddy issues are REAL. "Maybe Dean should've been the one to go to the psychiatrist."

"Yeah but only one of us was nerdy enough to pull off the whole 'local history buff' type deal," Dean countered. "And what happened to method acting?" he asked in reference to Sam's rather poor attempt at needling information from the doctor about his father.

"Half-drunk cops are one thing, never try to trick a shrink," Sam shook his head as the doctor offered to talk about the riot in exchange for something honest like talking about Dean.

"So what did you tell him?" Dean frowned.

Sam rolled his eyes, "That we were on the road searching for our monster-hunting father who sent us a job to go take care of the violent ghosts possessing people at the run-down sanitarium that his dad worked at."

"Seriously dude."

"I barely remember," Sam said sincerely. "All I can recall is I talked about us disagreeing a lot and how frustrated I was feeling about everything, especially Jess. Now can we please pay attention to murderous spirits and idiots teenagers that just strolled in there?"

"Fine." Dean gave in. Mary mulled over what Sam had said and couldn't help but feel irritation towards John for not at least calling the boys. She was guilty for a lot of things but John could have at least managed a phone call or even a proper text message. Her elder son's voice broke though her thoughts. "Who the hell takes a girl to a haunted asylum on a date then ditches her?"

"Why would you take a girl to an asylum on a date in the first place?" Sam opposed.

"Did he just make out with a spirit?" Cas squinted.

"Yes he did," Dean bobbed his head. "Poor bastard." TV!Sam and TV!Dean arrived to investigate and found orbs and spirits all over. TV!Sam was approached by a ghost but it didn't try to attack him, still TV!Dean blasted it away. Then they found the girl, Kat, and go searching for her boyfriend Gavin. TV!Dean also takes the opportunity to strongly suggest to Kat to stay out of haunted places.

"This PSA brought to you by Dean Winchester," Sam announced.

TV!Sam finds Gavin who freaked out about kissing a ghost, justifiably so by the room's unspoken consensus. Meanwhile Kat is trapped by another ghost and TV!Sam believe that the ghosts are trying to communicate with them. He convinces Kat to just listen to the ghost and she gives them a number, '137'. Dun, dun, dun! Sam groaned softly, "Not so loud."

The TV!Winchesters split up; TV!Sam is to get the teens out and TV!Dean goes looking for Room 137. "Boys we're going to have a serious discussion about the appropriate times to split up because going to the potential epicentre of ghost activity is NOT one of them," Mary remarked.

"So I'm not your boss," Dean turned to his brother.

"No," Sam maintained. "We're brothers Dean, partners."

"Yeah but you didn't need to say it like that," Dean pouted a bit.

In the show, TV!Dean had discovered Dr. Ellicott's experiment journals and Sam was lured into the basement. "Wow that really sounded like me," Dean said. "Creepy. And now Sammy's going to be ghost chow."

"This portends to be all variations of bad," Cas added drily as Ellicott caught Sam. Luckily TV!Dean talked to the teens still trapped in the asylum and went after him. He runs into now Possessed!Sam and it doesn't take long for things to go south. Possessed!Sam attacks TV!Dean and might have killed him had there been any bullets in the gun. This gave TV!Dean the opening to take control and knock his brother out.

"That could've been worse," Dean said.

"How?" Cas asked.

"He didn't say anything that I didn't already know or couldn't figure out really," Dean shrugged. "Now watch me take out this ghost."

Sure enough, TV!Dean found Ellicott's bones in the cupboard and began to prepare the corpse to b burned. Dr. Ellicott's spirit attacked but TV!Dean still had the wherewithal to grab his lighter and throw onto the body. The doctor's spirit was destroyed and TV!Sam was back to normal again. They said goodbye to Kat and Gavin and TV!Sam apologized for what happened but TV!Dean just wanted sleep.

"All's well that end well I guess," Mary allowed herself to smile. Just then, show cut to the boys in their hotel room with the phone ringing. TV!Dean wouldn't wake up so TV!Sam answered the call and it caused Mary to sit up straighter. "Dad?"