The blindfold was ripped off and Sam saw Dean standing before him. He was in his own room. How had he gotten back here. Dean was taking the gag off. "What happened?" Dean asked, looking around him for scary British chicks or something.
"Lucifer," Sam whispered.
"Oh, Sammy," Dean said sadly. "How did you manage to do this to yourself in your sleep?"
"What?" You don't think I did this to msyelf?" Sam was incredulous.
"What happened?" Dean asked as he started undoing locks.
Sam relayed everything that happened in his dream, ommitting the details. "It was real," he insisted.
"But, it happened in Crowley's throne room," Dean pointed out.
Sam nodded.
"How did you get back here?"
"Lucifer must have zapped me back after he blindfolded me."
"But why? If Lucifer had his plaything," dean mentally kicked himself as he saw his little brother's reaction to being called the devil' plaything. "Sorry. But, if he had you where he wanted you, why tie you up and send you back to your own bed?"
Sam didn't have an answer to that.
"And why send your clothes back?" Dean lifted up Sam's torn clothes. "And why leave the keys on your nightstand?"
"I don't know," Sam cried. "I'm not crazy."
"I didn't say you were. But, you went through a trauma. It's bringing back memories of a worse trauma. You're acting it out in your sleep." Dean suddenly stopped and got a frightened look on his face.
"What is it?" Sam asked. Maybe he finally beleived him.
"You could really hurt yourself."
Sam rolled his eyes. It would be himself hurt him.
"We'll figure something out," Dean said, ignoring the eye roll. "Maybe Dad made bacon and eggs again."
"Can we not tell them about last night?" Sam begged. If nobody was going to believe him he'd rather they not know.
"Sure," dean agreed, not wanting to unduly worry his parents.
SSS
Sam and John were up in the trees putting up the new security equipment they had bought.
"I thought I heard some muffled yelling this morning," John said. "You and Dean aren't fighting, are you?"
"No, sir. Just another nightmare."
"Don't you think you're a little old to be afraid of nightmares?" John asked.
Sam didn't think they were nightmares, but that wasn't hte point at the moment. As they reached the ground, he said, "You have no idea what I went through."
"Well, from what I understand dEan went to Hell, too, and he's over it."
"Well, we all know that Dean is just stronger than me. And more obedient. I'm sure if hell did bother him and you told him to suck it up and not be scared he would just hop to like a good little soldier." Sam stalked back to the bunker.
"You're back," Mary needlessly annouonced. "Your brother and I thought it would be nice if we all went out to lunch."
Sam was about to refuse. He didn't want to be anywhere near his dad right now. But his mother had such a huge smile he couldn't say no. "Just give me a few minutes to clean up." And cool off.
"OK."
SSS
"So, what was it like when you were all living together as a family?" Mary asked after they had ordered their food.
"Loud," Dean said remembering all the fighting.
"What?" Mary asked.
"Sam could get a little stubborn," John expanded.
"Yep. I'm the only stubborn one in this family," Sam said sarcastically.
Dean regretted his first impulse answer. "It wasn't all bad. We had some fun." He couldn't think of any at the moment, but he knew it was there.
"My biggest regret as a parent is not being tougher on Sam when they were kids. That's why Sam's so much weaker."
"Dad!" Dean protested. Sam was a lot of things, but weak wasn't one of them.
"You both went to Hell, but Sam is falling apart over it years later. You probably were fine from the get-go."
"First of all, I'm not sure why you're being such a jerk. Second of all, I was not fine from the get-go. Third Sam was there a lot longer and in much worse circumstances."
"No. Maybe Dad is right. I am just weak."
"Sam, I didn't mean anything by it, other than that I don't like seeing you like this. The nightmares, the screaming. The exhaustion."
"Well, I don't exactly like it, either, Dad, but I can't just flick a switch and turn it off. And it's not like I can go see a pychiatrist and tell them how Lucifer was my old roommie. I'd end up in a looney bin for all the wrong reasons." Sam had to admit there were probably right reason for him to end up in the looney bin.
There food came and they all ate in silence.
SSS
"Sam, I'm going to cuff you so you won't hurt yourself tonight," Dean said dangling the cuffs in front of Sam.
"Can't you just stay in here and watch me sleep?" If Lucifer was real, he didn't want to be all trussed up waiting for him. Then again, not being restrained didn't really help against a being who could paralyze him with a look.
"I'm going to, but what if I sleep through whatever happens?"
"Alright, but, not too tight, OK?"
"You got it."
SSS
Sam woke up. He wasn't hot, though. That was a relief. Just normal waking up in the middle of the night. He kind of had to go to the bathroom, though. He looked over and Dean looked so peaceful. He decided he could hold it. Lucifer popped up beside Dean.
Sam opened his mouth to wake him up, but Lucifer touched Dean's forehead and Dean slumped over even further. "Your brother has a real faith problem, doesn't he? Why won't he believe I'm real."
"Because you're not?" Sam asked hopefully.
"Be right back," Lucifer said and disappeared and then reappeared with something in his hands. Sam's eyes widened when he saw it.
Lucifer reached into Dean's pockets and pulled out the keys to the cuffs. Then, he undid Sam's hands and pushed him onto the floor. he then moved dean ontot he bed. "Leave him alone," Sam yelled worried that Lucifer was going to turn his attentions onto Dean.
Lucifer laughed. "Don't worry, Sammy. You're the only one I want. And lucky for you, I put your parents into heavy sleep before coming in here." He then picked Sam up like he weighed nothing and put him on the chair Dean had been dozing in. He lifted Sam's shirt up over his head. "I'm sick of ripping your clothes." He cuffed Sam's hands behind him. Then he picked up the barbed wire Sam had seen in his hands earlier.
"No," he begged.
Lucifer ignored him as he wound it tightly around Sam's torso and the chair. Little pinpricks sprouted blood all over his upper body. Then Lucifer pushed up Sam's pants and wound some around his ankles.
"Bye, bye, Sammy," Lucifer said and disappeared.
"Dean," Sam tried to wake his brother. "Dean." Nothing. Eventually he drifted off to sleep.
"Sammy, wake up."
sam' eyes popped open. Dean was standing over him and undoing the cuffs. "how did you sleep?"
"It really was a dream," Sam sighed in relief.
"I told you," Dean smiled.