"Who are you?" One demanded.

"I'm what's left of Dean Winchester." The demon with the black eyes said.

"Thought he was pulled out of hell by angels." Said the girl.

"Nope, that's the cover story." He said nonchalantly. He walked closer to the demon in charge and smiled. "I hear we are torturing the brother."

"Yeah, he thinks he's all good because he's immune to Lilith's charms. But we are attempting to teach him a lesson. Good job by the way, of letting it look like you were terrified that he was being hauled off."

"Had to sell it." The demons nodded in agreement.

"Heard you were one of Alistair's best students. His pet even." The girl said admiringly.

"Yup. The things I can do with a blade." He smiled appreciatively. "I sure do love the smell of blood, tinged with…other things." Dean said with a dark smirk.

"You want first crack at the brother?" The head demon asked.

"That's why I'm here. That's why I let you guys take him. I wanted to be the first to sink a blade into his soft soft flesh. I want his first screams to be for me." The demons all started practically salivating.

"Can we watch?"

"No. I want this to be a private matter. You know. Between brothers." He and the other demons chuckled. "I want him to see me, and only me. Want that fear to roll off of him in waves. Because, as any of us know, that is almost as good as blood pouring from a wound." He licked his lips. "His fear will taste better than any wine I've ever had. It'll wet your tongues and it will slip around you, and inside of you. Because what better way to terrify a man than by showing him what he has done to a beloved brother." All nodded eagerly.

"He's in there." One of the demons pointed to a door. Dean nodded.

"I'll make sure to leave something for you guys. Can't let anyone go without." He smirked and opened the door and the demons heard it shut behind him.

Sam looked up and saw h is brother enter the room. Dean was turned to face the door. Sam's relief was palpable.

"Oh God. Dean. I'm so glad you're here. I'm so glad. Thank God. How did you get through the demons? Did the angels help you?"

"Yeah, they helped me just fine." He said and took a deep breath. He turned around and Sam immediately saw his eyes, saw the black, saw the demon. His breath caught in his throat and he started to try to scoot away, tried to push the chair backwards, anything to get away from this thing that was masquerading as his brother.

Dean moved forward and with each step Sam became more and more scared. Dean finally grabbed a hold of the chair and leaned into his brother, forcing his face mere inches from Sam's. "See what you did to me? See these eyes. See what going to hell did to me psychic boy."

"Dean. Dean. You have to be in there. Oh God. You can't be possessed, your tattoo." Sam was grasping at straws, grasping at his brother, the brother he thought had returned to him, thought that had been saved, thought was real. Dean pulled his shirt away from the tattoo and Sam saw the line that had been cut in the circle. He was gone. Dean was truly gone. Panic surged through Sam's veins and he tried to get away again. Dean stopped all movement by backing the chair into the wall.

"Dean. You have to be in there. Dean!"

"Oh Sammy. I've been gone since that day when the blessed hell hounds came and ripped this meat suit into deli thin slices. "Now, it's time you pay the price. You are the one responsible for everything. And your free ride is up."

Dean pulled a knife out of the back of his jeans. He held it up in front of Sam's face and Dean watched the light glittered off of the blade. Sam starred hard at the black of his brother's eyes and wished desperately for a way out of here. His brother was going to cut him up into little pieces, going to kill him.

Dean brought the blade down on his brother's skin and sliced ever so lightly, just enough for the blood to trickle down his chest. And then he did another cut parallel to the last and Sam started screaming out in pain. Then he dropped the knife and hit Sam so hard in the face it knocked him out.

Sam came to in a room he couldn't identify. "You with me son?" Bobby asked as he patted Sam's face.

"Bobby. Bobby?" Sam asked frantically.

"It's okay kid. It's okay."

"Dean. Dean is a demon."

"I'm not actually." Dean said as he entered the room.

"Your eyes. They're black. You're a demon." He said scrabbling backwards.

"No. They're contacts." Dean said and demonstrated by pulling one out. "And they hurt like a bitch. I was hoping you'd come to sooner, so I could take these things out." Sam's body was so tense Dean could practically hear the tension thrumming through his muscles. "Relax Sammy." He said. He disappeared into the bathroom and returned with a case and put the contact lens in the container and slowly moved to sit on the bed next to his brother. Sam starred as Dean removed the other one and put it away as well. Dean gave Sam his face. Full on eye contact. Green orbs searched earnestly for his brother's trust and forgiveness. "I'm sorry about cutting you." He said indicating the wound that was cleaned and bandaged. "I had to. They had to smell the blood. Had to think that I was telling the truth."

"But….this could be the lie. How do I know that this isn't a lie?" He asked. Dean looked at Bobby and he nodded to the younger hunter and dug in his pocket and pulled out a flask. He handed it to Sam.

"It's holy water. You can re-bless it if you would like to. But trust me. It's holy water." Sam nodded.

"I trust you Bobby." He said without breaking eye contact with Dean. Bobby handed it to Dean and he took a big gulp. Nothing happened. Sam relaxed a little.

"Your tatt?" he asked. Dean pulled his shirt down and took a wash cloth and washed his skin. The thin line breaking the circle vanished and he handed the cloth to Sam, who studied it.

"What in the hell is wrong with you? Why would you do that to me?!" Sam yelled. "I just got you back! Just got you back. And for once I felt like maybe demons had nothing to do with it, that you were back because, I don't' know, God willed it, that he answered my prayers, and then you go and pull this shit?!"

"Sam."

"No! I spent months without you! Scared and alone. Then you come back. You're not home a month, and then you pretend to be a demon. Dean. That's not funny! This isn't like putting Nair in my shampoo, or itching powder in my boxers. This is cruel. This was mean!"

"I had to save you Sammy."

"What?"

"The demons had you. It was the only way I could get in there to save you. It's my job. It's who I am."

Sam rested against the headboard of the bed and sighed. It had been such a long time since Sam had had someone at his back, he had forgotten what it was like, what lengths that Dean would go to in order to preserve his baby brother.

"Thanks." Sam said breathlessly. Dean nodded. Back again, brothers.