Title: The Rescue of Dean
Author: Dhvana
Series: 1) The Monster Under the Bed, 2) A Little Help From Bob, 3) The Temptation of Dean, 4) Questions Without Answers, 5) Don't Lose Your Head, 6) Retribution and Remorse, 7) The Return of an Old Fiend, 8) Undulating Dynamics, 9) Personal Weirdness, 10) On the Road Again, 11) Doubletalk
Rating: PG-13 (for language and violence)
Pairing: Sam/Dean, but the Wincest is implied and unrequited (so far)
Summary: Sam confronts the monster under the bed.

***

Lightning flashed in the distance, jagged white bolts flickering from the sky into the ground. A build-up of electricity in the air, it occurred without clouds or thunder, rain or wind. It was simply light cutting across the horizon, scarring the blackness of the night.

The lightning made Sam flinch every time he caught it out of the corner of his eye. The suddenness of it distracted him from his search and drove him crazy with the fear that something was jumping out at them as they followed the road Dean had taken. He could feel his brother's passing at the edge of his mind like the lingering warmth on a pillow after a lover has slipped away from the bed, and he followed this feeling towards the Reservation with a heavy heart and an even heavier foot.

As he drove, his thoughts passed back and forth between worry for Dean, and the fear that he was already too late. He hated that their last words might have been spoken in anger, that his last action might have been to bloody his brother's nose. There had to be more to them than this. This couldn't be how they were supposed to end. There just had to be something more.

Again, the distant lightning made him jump, this time drawing his attention to a sign informing them they were now entering the Pine Ridge Reservation, but for him, the sign was unnecessary. Sam knew the second the Mustang crossed into Indian land. The air around him instantly grew heavy with power, the weight of it pressing so hard against his body it threatened to suffocate him. Clenching the steering wheel, he took several deep breaths and tried to keep his eyes focused on the road.

"Fuck!" he gasped as it surrounded him on all sides, searching for a way in.

"Sam?" Don asked.

"I'm all right," he said through gritted teeth.

The warrior's concern filled the space between them, but thankfully he didn't say anything. Sam wouldn't have been able to pay attention anyway. The power of the land enveloped him and it was all he could do to keep it from seeping into his pores. It glimmered in the corners of his eyes, vanishing every time he turned his head to try and catch a glimpse of it. It pulsed at his temples as he fought to deny it entrance, flickered across his skin while trying to break through his concentration. It was stronger than he was, but so long as he didn't have to worry about talking, driving, and pushing it away at the same time, he was able to hold it at bay.

He was surprised to feel his own power rise up inside of him and tentatively reach out to test the strange power, telling him that while it wasn't necessarily evil, it wasn't good either. He could sense that it was waiting, but for what, he didn't know. Maybe it was trying to decide whether he was good or evil, though he didn't think it would matter. It was obvious this power could crush him any second it chose, and his own puny abilities could do nothing to stop it.

Facing yet another uncertainty regarding his 'gift'--and another occasion where it seemed to have a mind of its own--Sam felt a twinge of remorse in his heart. If things hadn't gotten so messed up between them, if they hadn't fought, if his brother hadn't been such an idiot, this would be the perfect moment for Dean to chime in with some comment about bending spoons or asking his inner psychic to figure things out. As much as they irritated him, Sam found himself missing his brother's snarky remarks. He knew Dean wasn't trying to be hurtful. It was just one of the methods his brother used to cope with something he had no control over, and he hated not having control. Sam supposed that lashing out with his mouth was better than having Dean lose his temper every time something went wrong.

"Sam, ahead--headlights. Do you think that's him?"

He knew instinctively that the lights belonged to the Impala and the knot in his stomach tightened when he realized the car wasn't moving. Maybe it meant Dean was getting something from the trunk, or had wandered off the road on a hunt and needed the added light. He squinted at the car, trying to spot his brother, and gasped as the knot grew even more painful.

There were dark shapes next to the Impala, deer standing in a circle around two central figures. Sam slowed the Mustang down as they drew near and he recognized the man sitting on his knees in the dirt, held up only by the slender gold fingers around his throat.

"Dean," Sam whispered and Don nodded, his eyes focused on the deer.

"Skinwalkers. I had hoped the rumors weren't true, but it appears a group have joined the side of evil."

"And they've got my brother," Sam growled.

"Unfortunately, they're not alone. Who's that standing next to him?"

Sam stared at the person holding his brother captive and his eyes widened. It couldn't be...could it? Unless there was more than one, but he didn't think so. He'd recognize that thing anywhere. "That's not a who, that's a what. It's the monster from under the bed."

Don gave him a sharp look but kept his mouth closed as Sam studied the monster. It was more...vibrant than he remembered it being. It looked fuller, stronger, more alive.

"I thought I'd killed that thing," he growled.

"Never underestimate evil," Don said, his voice oddly neutral, and Sam wished they'd had the time for him to ask Don what he was hiding.

"I'll keep that in mind when I kill it this time," Sam said as he eased the Mustang to a stop. Though he wanted nothing more than to jump out of the car and save his brother from that thing, he held himself back. There were six skinwalkers around the Impala, with possibly more hiding in the darkness, and then there was the monster itself. They couldn't rush into this. They needed a plan.

"We need a plan."

"The skinwalkers are my responsibility," Don said darkly. "Let me take care of them. You worry about your brother."

"There's too many of them," Sam said, his eyes never leaving his brother's face. "I can't let you go after them alone."

"They are why I was sent to join you."

"I thought you were here to give Dean a hard time."

"That's simply a bonus," he said with the slightest of smiles as he began unbuttoning his shirt. "Give me five minutes. I'll chase off the skinwalkers and you can save your brother."

Sam shook his head. "There's too many of them. You'll never make it."

"I'll make it," he said, pulling off his shirt and reaching for his jeans. Sam glanced over at him, then firmly glued his eyes to the scene before them, not daring to look over again.

"Going to attempt to intimidate them into submission?" Sam asked, seeing as how the warrior was definitely not lacking in the personal arsenal category.

Don chuckled, shaking his head. "Not that I couldn't," he said, wriggling out of his jeans, "but no. Wait five minutes, and try not to get trigger-happy. If you shoot anything, make sure it's either a deer or the demon."

"Because I'd mistake either one for a six foot tall naked Indian?"

"Who said anything about an Indian?" Don said and opened the door. He stepped out of the car and dropped onto his hands and knees, using the open door as a shield.

"Don?" Sam asked, eyes moving frantically between the warrior and his brother. Had the man managed to go insane in just a few seconds? "Damnit, Don, what are you doing?"

"Just remember to look before you shoot," Don said one last time, and as their eyes met, the warrior's brown irises turned to gold with a single blink.

Sam's jaw dropped and he didn't know where to look as Don's bones began to crack beneath his skin, the muscles contracting with violent spasms and practically jumping off of his body. His spine lengthened and his legs shortened while his nose and chin began to stretch, his teeth growing sharp in his elongated mouth. Black fur sprouted all over his body, his ears became pointed, and his nose flattened and turned black.

And as quickly as it began, the transformation was complete. In just under a minute, where there was once a man, Sam found himself staring into to the face of a wolf.

His jaw snapped shut. Son of a bitch. "You're a skinwalker!"

The wolf jumped into the seat his human form had recently vacated and grinned.

"You could have warned me, you know," he scolded, forcing himself to get over the shock, and the wolf shook its head.

"We're going to talk about this later, when you're able to talk again, because this really isn't the sort of thing you should spring on a person. Right now, though, I hope you're in the mood for venison because we've got work to do."

The wolf swiveled its head to glare at the deer and growled.

"I'll take that as a yes." Sam reached into his bag and pulled out a knife and his gun. "Let's go save my brother."

The wolf rolled its eyes and Sam grinned.

"I know, you think he's an idiot and you disapprove of just about everything he does, and right now," he said with a glare at his captive brother, "I'm finding it hard to disagree with you. How about this--if we get him out of this and we're all three still alive, I promise I'll let you corner him in the back of the car and snap at him all the way to the motel."

The wolf let out a playful bark, which Sam interpreted to mean they had a deal, and he chuckled.

"I'm glad you're here, Don. I don't know that I'd be able to do this without you."

The wolf nudged his arm with its cold wet nose, and it was all Sam could do to keep from reaching over and giving it a hug. Somehow, he didn't think Don in either form would appreciate that, so he resisted the urge. Instead he took a deep breath and looked out at the deer, the monster, his brother. In the glare of the headlights, it was hard to see what kind of condition Dean was in, but it didn't look good. Sam especially didn't like the way the monster's hand was wrapped around his throat. He didn't want that thing touching his brother.

"Are you ready?" The wolf growled in assent. "Then let's do this."

He opened the door and stepped out onto the dirt, the wolf jumping out the other side of the car. Don didn't waste any time but immediately charged at the deer, growling and snarling and snapping at the animals. They didn't run away as Sam had hoped, but instead ran towards the wolf, their heads bowed, their antlers ready. The wolf was faster than any of them and maneuvered beneath the antlers, biting at their legs, tearing mouthfuls of flesh from their bodies. The deer screamed in pain and defiance, following Don as he ran across the road and into the grass beyond, leaving Sam to face the monster alone.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped towards the monster and his brother.

"Sam, no!" Dean croaked as the hand around his throat tightened. "Run!"

Sam shook his head. "It's all right, Dean. I'll take care of this." He looked at the monster. "Let him go."

The monster smiled. "Okay." It released Dean, who fell to the ground with a groan, his eyelids flickering as he fought to stay conscious. Sam couldn't immediately see what was wrong with him, but from the obvious bruises and cuts, the various shades of red glaring painfully against the background of his too-white skin, Sam knew he needed to get his brother help, and fast.

Raising his head, he stared the monster in the face and growled, "I'm going to kill you."

"You're going to try," it said smugly, and Sam's eyes narrowed.

"I am going to kill you, and this time, you won't come back."

"I wouldn't be so certain of that if I were you," it said, its voice casual, conversational as it stepped over Dean and walked towards Sam. "Do you want to know how I was able to come back? It's the same reason why you won't be able to kill me this time, so I thought you might like to know."

Sam's eyes flickered towards his brother and then he focused on the demon that was slowly drawing nearer. He didn't give it the satisfaction of answering.

"You won't ask?"

"It's irrelevant. I am going to kill you." The monster was now standing a breath away from him, an incredibly stupid move on its part. Sam pulled the knife from his belt and slashed it across the creature's throat, only to cry out as the shock reverberated through his arm when the blade shattered against the golden skin.

The monster laughed. "Maybe now you'll believe me when I say you can't kill me."

Sam just gaped at it, holding his arm against his chest. What the fuck was going on?

Around him, the power of the land was also rippling from the shock and it demanded with more force entrance into his body. His mind spinning with astonishment, he was barely able to keep it out and had to take his focus off the monster long enough to push it away. There were too many sensations pressing on him--the evil from the monster, the determination of the land, the confusion of his own power--he was losing track of which ones to fight, and which ones to hold on to.

The monster reached out to brush a finger along his arm and he quickly wrenched his body away from its touch. The path it had left on his skin was surprisingly warm, but just that brief touch made him feel nauseous.

"So it is true," the monster murmured, a note of awe in his voice, and then its beautiful face lit up. It placed a hand on Sam's shoulder and slowly began circling him, keeping the hand in contact with Sam's body as it did so.

"Let me tell you the story of my resurrection. I promise to make it quick--no point in drawing out the inevitable, is there? As you may have realized, I was able to reassemble myself from the dust after my premature slaying, but the loss of your brother's blood had left me weak, weaker than I had been before feeding upon him."

"Shut up!" Sam snapped, not wanting to remember how the thing had fed upon Dean. "It doesn't matter to me how you got here."

"But it should," the monster said. "For it was your brother who resurrected me."

"You lie. Dean would never help you."

"I do not lie." Facing Sam again, it grabbed him by the chin, forcing him to look into its golden eyes. He tried to break free, but the monster's grip was too strong and he was coerced into hold its gaze. "Your brother and I made an agreement. I would share with him the secrets of the darkness, and in exchange for my knowledge--" the monster licked its lips "--he let me feed off him."

"Now I know you're a liar," Sam spat. "I never saw any marks on him."

It chuckled, releasing his chin and patting his cheek with three sharp stinging slaps. "Foolish boy. There are other ways of getting the power I need."

"Like what?" he snarled.

Smirking, the monster lowered its gaze to below Sam's waist. Sam also looked down and saw that the monster was fully erect.

"NO!" He jumped away from the monster. "Dean would never touch you like that!"

"But he did, over and over and over again. I drew from him the essence I needed and he got the pleasure and the release he needed."

"LIAR!" Sam took a swing at the monster and was barely able to hold back a scream of pain as his fist hit the creature's jaw. Its skin gave a little, but his knuckles felt like he had just slammed his fist against stone.

The monster laughed. "I don't lie, Sam. Your brother has fucked me more times than I can count, and when he wasn't fucking me, I was sucking him."

Sam shook his head. "No," he said, the protest almost a whimper as he held his injured hand.

"Oh yes, a most definite yes," it hissed with glee. "And do you know why he turned to me, why it is he took me into his bed? He might have told himself it was for information, but I knew the truth. He came to me because he didn't dare touch you."

Clenching his eyes shut, Sam turned his face away. He didn't want to look at the monster any longer. He didn't want it to see his pain as he tried to force away the images of Dean and that thing.

"It was you he wanted, Sam, when he was burying himself inside me. It was your body he was thinking of, your body he was wishing for every time his essence filled my body, my mouth. His longing for you drove him to me because his love for you wanted to keep you safe. Too bad he didn't know that with every drop I took from his body, he was giving me the power to destroy you both. I carry the essence of the Winchesters in my veins. Because of your brother, I am free."

Sam ground his teeth, resisting the urge to stick his fingers in his ears and hum to block out the monster's words. He tried to believe that the things the creature was telling him were lies, but even that small defiance failed him. He knew Dean had wanted him, and now he knew why Dean kept pushing him away, but understanding didn't bring any relief to the despair and betrayal eating away at his heart. All he felt was emptiness and pain, hatred and disgust and a slow burning rage.

Opening his eyes, he looked at Dean. His brother was watching him, guilt mixing with the agony in his face.

"I'm sorry, Sammy," he whispered, confirming everything the monster had said, and the last of Sam's faith in his brother vanished.

He stared at Dean for a few lingering seconds, his heart breaking into a million shards of glass that ripped through his body, and then he shook his head.

"I don't care."

Dean's body shuddered, the horror of his loss reflected in his eyes. "Sammy," he said softly and then grew still, his eyes closing on the tears that never got a chance to fall.

Part of Sam wanted to run to him, to take him in his arms, tell him he was forgiven and beg forgiveness in return, beg him not to give up, but that part was too small to fight his anger and win. The scattered remains of his heart hardened and all his feelings for his brother died a quick, painful death until there was nothing left.

Sam turned away from him and looked at the monster, at his brother's lover. "If he wants you that badly, you can have him."

"Have him?" the monster cackled. "I've had him, not that there's much left to have. No, Sam, my time with your brother has ended. It's you I want now." The golden eyes glowed greedily as it took a step towards him. "You have so much to give, and I'm going to take every last drop."

The power of the land crackled like electricity up and down his skin, offering itself to his use, and Sam knew that without it, he would never win. Slowly, he let it in, hoping that by controlling how much he accepted, he would be able to control it. It connected with his own power, twisting like a helix inside of him. The combination was too much for a single person and he could tell that if he held onto it for too long, it would consume him. He could only hope it would be enough to consume the monster. If what it had said were true, if he alone couldn't stop it, he would need all the help he could get.

"You will never have me," Sam growled.

"You're already mine," it said and launched itself at him. The monsters fingers wrapped around his throat as they fell to the ground. He grabbed onto its wrists and tried to force its hands away, but it was already drawing the power from him. Blackness flickered across his eyes and he thought for a moment just how easy it would be to let go. Dean had betrayed him. Their father had abandoned him. He had no hope for the future, nothing to hold on to, nothing to stay for--why not just let the monster have him?

But then a vision of Jessica flashed across his mind. He saw her pinned to the ceiling, broken, bleeding, her eyes full of fear, and the memory of her reminded him that he did have a purpose, a reason to live. He had to fight for her, for his mother, for all of those who were like him and for their mothers. He had to fight for the people who'd had the ones they loved stolen from them by evil and who couldn't fight back on their own. They were his purpose in life, and even if he failed them as he'd failed in saving his brother, he would at least die fighting.

A roar rose up from inside of him, fueled by the helix of power burning through his veins and his own renewed belief in life. He released the roar into the night as he thrust his hand into the monster's chest. Fire burst from his fingertips and spread beneath the monster's skin, causing the golden creature to burn with a golden light. The monster screamed, flinging itself away from him, but he refused to let go. They rolled across the road, the monster struggling to escape while he struggled to hold on until he was sitting on top of it, his hand still buried in its chest.

The helix poured unchecked out of his body and into the monster, burning it to ash from the inside out. Sam felt his own skin starting to burn, but he couldn't stop the helix's flow. He didn't know how. It just kept going and going, taking everything from him and giving it to the flames. Even when the monster's skin caught fire, there was nothing he could do but watch as the flames crept up his arm. He tried to free himself, but the helix tied him to the monster and he couldn't let go.

Just when the pain in his arm was becoming unbearable and the fire threatened to take the rest of him, something large and heavy knocked him away from the burning demon. The helix broke, the power of the land draining from him even as the meager remains of his own gifts found their way back into his body, but Sam wasn't aware of any of this. He had blacked out the second he'd hit the ground.






When Sam awoke, he was in the passenger seat of the Impala. There wasn't a single part of him that didn't hurt, and the pain in his head was a thousand times worse than the most excruciating migraine. The scent of burnt flesh filled his nose and he didn't even want to know what his arm looked like. He opened his eyes just enough to see Don sitting at the steering wheel, a determined expression on his face.

"The monster?" he whispered with a dry mouth. He didn't even have the energy left to wet his lips. All he wanted to do was crawl into a hole and die, but if he'd survived this long, he figured his chances of a peaceful death were fairly small.

"Gone for good. Whatever it is you did to it finished it off, and the wind saw to it that its remains were scattered."

Sam nodded. "And you? Are you okay?"

"I'll recover."

"The skinwalkers?"

"They are no longer a concern."

"Okay." Sighing, Sam raised his head and looked out the window. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to see Bob," Don said, glancing at him and revealing a long cut that started at his temple and continued down to his chest.

"In Texas?"

"Yes."

"Shouldn't we go to a hospital?"

"Only he can save your brother." Don's eyes flickered up to the rearview mirror and Sam turned his throbbing head to the figure lying prone in the backseat.

If Dean was alive, he couldn't tell.

"He's alive. Barely."

"Then why aren't we taking him to a hospital?"

"The body cannot live without the spirit."

"And Dean's spirit?"

Don faced the road, refusing to look at him. "You should sleep."

"I've killed him, haven't I?" Sam whispered. Don didn't answer.

After everything Dean had done, Sam was surprised at how much it hurt to think that he might lose his brother. Dean could fuck a demon and almost get them all killed, but some small part of his love managed to look beyond all that and live on. He might never be able to forgive him, but it seemed he would never stop loving him.

The very thought made him sick, twisting inside of him until it hurt more than all of his injuries combined. He didn't want to love Dean. He wanted to hate him. He wanted to make him suffer for his betrayal. He wanted him to hurt the same way he was hurting.

But he didn't want him to die.

When all was said and done, Dean was still his family. Dean was all he had.

"Hurry, please," Sam said before the world turned black and he passed out again.

Don nodded and pressed down on the gas.

***

Next story in series - Alone.