Chapter 10

Dean rolled over as he started waking up. He still felt sluggish and weary as he wiped his eyes and forced himself to wake more. Deciding to get a shower before heading downstairs, he got up and found some clean clothes and walked across the hall to the bathroom.

The hot water beating on his body felt good as it washed the dirt, sweat and grime from it. He ended his shower with a cool rinse to fully wake himself. Once he was dressed, Dean headed down the stairs and looked around for Bobby. He didn't see him in his office but smelled coffee coming from the kitchen.

With a cup in hand, Dean trooped down the stairs to the basement and unlocked the panic room door, swinging it open. He found Castiel sitting by Sam who was still asleep.

"Sorry, I slept longer than I intended," Dean greeted the angel as he stepped to the cot.

"It is fine Dean. I wasn't going anywhere."

"Did you find anything when you…What is it you do again?"

"I scanned his body and found healed injuries on his ribs, and there had been trauma to his brain,"

"That would explain why he doesn't remember me and other things."

"I also found an amulet that was put on him so he couldn't be found."

"I bet the demons did it so a location spell couldn't be used." Dean bent down and looked at the amulet and tried to pull it off but couldn't open the latch or break the chain. "Can you get it off?"

"Yes," Castiel answered. He grasped the amulet in his fist and used his grace to destroy it, letting the chain fall from Sam's neck. "It is done."

"Did Bobby come down to see Sam?"

"Yes, he said he was going into town for supplies and would be back soon."

"Okay, good. Let me put the cuffs on Sam and then I want you to wake him up."

"Are you sure you want to do this without Bobby Singer?"

"It's fine. He'll be back soon." Dean picked up the cuffs and put one around his wrist and then the cot. He moved to the other side and did the same. When Sam was secure, he stepped back and nodded to Castiel.

Castiel placed two fingers on Sam's forehead for a moment then retreated. He watched Dean as Sam began to come around and saw him tense, waiting for Sam's reaction to his situation.

"You!" Sam accused him as his eyes fell on Dean. He jerked at his hands trying to get free. "What did you do to me?"

"Calm down Sammy. I want to help you," Dean said in a calm, friendly voice. "You had a head injury and lost some of your memory. I am your brother."

"Go to hell," Sam sneered.

"Already been there. Wasn't that fun," Dean quipped making Sam eye him warily. "I don't know how to convince you what I'm telling you is true. I have a couple of pictures of us and Bobby can tell you the same thing I'm telling you. We're family."

"Why should I trust you?" Sam asked and stopped talking when he saw Castiel standing to the side watching them. "Who is that? I shot him point blank in the chest, he should be dead."

"He's an angel, long story for later. Bullets won't hurt him."

Sam zeroed in on Castiel again and glared at him as he tried to decide if what Dean told him was true. He had never heard of anyone seeing an angel before, but if there were demons, why wouldn't there be angels. Sam reached out to try and latch onto the angel's soul but gasped when the grace inside the angel reacted to his intrusion and he grunted in pain. Thinking better of trying that again, he squinted his eyes and tried to reach up to rub his temple but couldn't.

He turned his head and looked back at the guy saying he was his brother and studied him trying to bring up some memory of him. The powers inside of him seemed to churn and shift like they were trying to get comfortable and settle down.

"If I agree to behave, will you take the cuffs off?" Sam asked trying to act calm. "I could use something to drink. How about a cup of coffee?"

Dean looked at him and pursed his lips for a moment before making his decision. He reached and unlocked his right hand so Sam could slip his wrist out. He rubbed it and sat up on the cot.

"Watch him," Dean told Castiel before stepping from the room to get a cup of coffee for Sam.

Sam pretended to stretch and tried to stand only to suddenly fall to his knees like he was in pain. Castiel stepped to him to help and caught Sam's fist in his hand when Sam tried to punch him. He held it in place as Sam grimaced when he put a little pressure on the hand.

"You can't hurt me," Castiel stated in his neutral voice. He let Sam go and stepped back as Sam sat back on the cot contemplating his next move.

"Here you go," Dean announced as he stepped back into the room and handed Sam a cup of coffee.

"Thanks," Sam grumbled taking the cup and sipping it. He spit the coffee out on the floor and glared at Dean. "What the hell is this?"

"It is coffee doctored like you like it."

"I take my coffee strong and black," Sam insisted shoving the cup back into Dean's hand with a disgusted look on his face.

"Guess I'm not the only thing you don't remember," Dean huffed. "I'll get you another cup." Dean left and went back upstairs to get another cup of coffee, black this time.

"That's more like it," Sam said after taking the second cup and sipping on it.

"Here, these are of us," Dean offered as he laid several photos on the cot by Sam.

Sam glanced at them and sat the cup aside to pick one up. It showed him and this Dean person leaning against a black car laughing. He frowned as he studied himself and thought he looked happy.

"If I let you go, will you behave and not try to kill me?" Dean asked him. "I don't like having to do this but now that I finally found you, I'm not letting you get away until we figure out a way to maybe restore some of your memories."

"What if I don't want them restored?' Sam asked making Dean gasp in shock.

"Don't say that Sammy. We're a team. I've looked after you all your life and protected you. We're two of the best hunters out there. I know you better than you know yourself. We keep each other sane."

"I think you want this more than I do."

"Are you going to behave?" Dean asked again.

"Yeah, I'll go along with this, for now."

Dean reached over and uncuffed Sam's other wrist and stood waiting for Sam to get up. He motioned for Sam to leave the panic room and followed him. Castiel trailed along behind them.

"Up the stairs," Dean instructed him.

Sam stepped into the kitchen and looked around for a moment.

"Take a seat and I'll see about fixing us some breakfast." Dean went to the fridge to see what was in there. He pulled eggs and butter out deciding that would do for now. He fixed scrambled eggs and toast and sat a plate in front of Sam and then sat down with his own plate to eat.

They ate in silence, the only noise was their forks scraping against the plates. Castiel stood in a corner watching, keeping quiet. They all looked toward the living room when they heard the front door open, and Bobby came in carrying bags.

"I see you've made some progress," Bobby said when he saw Sam sitting at the table. He sat the bags on the counter and went out to get the others.

Dean got up and took his plate to the sink before starting to unload the bags. He put cold things in the fridge and other items in the cabinets. Bobby sat the remaining bags on the counter and let Dean put the items away.

"Okay, now that's done," Dean said brushing his hands together before looking around. "Sammy this is Bobby, he's family."

"Sam, good to see you again," Bobby greeted him warily.

"Hello," Sam replied cautiously.

"Okay, first step," Dean started. "Why don't I let you read our Dad's journal? I'll go get it." Dean headed back upstairs to retrieve the journal from his bag. He didn't know if it would help but maybe it would show Sam that what he was telling him was true. "Here we go," Dean said as he put the journal in front of Sam.

Sam looked at the book for a moment before slowly letting his fingers trace over the outside of the book. He frowned as a person, an older man with dark hair came to mind for a moment then it was gone. He opened the book and saw a couple of medals pinned to the left side and a picture of a man and woman hugging each other.

"That's mom and dad," Dean told him in a quiet voice.

"She's pretty," Sam commented before turning the page to see the bold handwriting covering it. He leaned forward slightly and began to read his father's written words.

Dean motioned Bobby and Castiel into the other room so he could talk to them privately. He stood where he could see Sam and made sure he didn't try to run.

"Bobby is there any type of spells or rituals we could do that might help Sam remember things?" Dean asked him.

"I've seen ones to take away memories, but not restore them," Bobby answered. "You think reading your daddy's journal will jog his memory?"

"I don't know. I hope maybe something will come back."

"I could link your and Sam's minds and give him your memories," Castiel offered.

Dean and Bobby turned to look at Castiel with a suspicious look.

"There are some things I don't want Sammy to see or know. Can you only give him certain ones?" Dean asked.

"I can limit what he receives."

"Would it erase what memories he still has?"

"No, I wouldn't be replacing memories, only adding to them. It's a slow process but can be done. One thing though, Sam must agree to do it. You can't force the memories on him."

"Alright, that's Plan B. Let's see if he can remember anything on his own." Dean glanced into the kitchen and watched Sam turn the page as he continued to read. He stepped toward the kitchen when Sam stopped and stood up. "You okay Sammy? Need to use the bathroom or something?"

"I'm fine," Sam replied, his voice still stiff and unfriendly. "You say this is our Dad's journal, do I have one?"

"Yeah, we both do."

"Where is mine?"

"I don't know. You kept it in your bag."

"I don't remember seeing it, but I didn't get a chance to look."

"Cas, could you go to the house where the hunters were holding Sam and see if anything got left behind?" Dean asked the angel.

"Of course," Castiel replied and disappeared from the room.

"Holy shit!" Sam cried out in surprise. "Where did he go?"

"That's the way he travels. You get used to it," Dean shrugged.

"I could use the bathroom now," Sam said.

"Upstairs, on the left," Dean told him.

Sam walked by them and made his way up the stairs to find the bathroom. He relieved himself and washed his face and hands. Sam looked at his reflection in the mirror and tried to force memories to come to him. He snorted and rubbed his temples for a moment as a dull ache began to build in his head. He pushed from the sink and stepped back into the hall.

Cautiously, Sam stepped into the room across from the bathroom and studied the twin beds and dressers. It seemed familiar to him and knew he had been here before. He opened a closet door looking at the clothes on the left side knowing they were his. He finally believed what Dean was telling him was true, he was his brother.

A/N: Only one more chapter left, and this journey will be over. Thank you to any guests who left reviews. I do like reviews/comments. NC