It's alive... well kind of. My biggest and sincerest apologies to my readers for the long break. I wrote the chapter then lost it, wrote it again and didn't like how it turned out, and then school started... needless to say its been a long couple of months and it doesn't look like it is going to slow down. I am not sure I am completely happy with how this chapter turned out so be feel free to review and let me know what you think.

Thank you to all those who have stuck with me and given encouragement in the form of reviews, follows, and favorites. It means a lot for people to still be interested in this little story.

I am warning you all now that it maybe a while before I can update again, school and work don't leave me much time to write, so please stick with me I promise this story will be finished.

Now with that out of the way on to the story... Please don't forget to review... it gives me encouragement and ideas...

"Spencer? Spencer!"

A voice slowly drew Spencer out of his state of unconsciousness, but if the voice wasn't enough to wake him then the persistent nudging in his ribs did.

"Spencer, you gotta wake up man."

"Mmm… don't wanna…. five more minutes."

Spencer tried to swat the thing nudging him away, and he quickly regretted it as the ache in his chest flared to life. The pain cut through the last of the haze and Spencer became completely aware that he was lying on a floor staring up at the lone light bulb that lit the room. As the pain subsided to a dull ache, Spencer tried to figure out where he was and why his chest felt like an elephant had sat on him. He quickly scanned the room for anything that could provide a clue to his situation; his eyes finally landed on the person who he figured had been the persistent voice and annoying nudging.

"Sam."

"Hey, Spencer nice to see you."

Sam was seated in a chair just out of reach from where Spencer was laying and the question of how Sam had managed to touch Spencer quickly flashed across his mind. He was brought out of his wandering by another nudge to his sore ribs.

"Spencer? You with me man?"

Spencer shook his head to try to clear his head and focus on the situation, his question on how Sam touched him was answered. Seeing Sam seated in a chair made you forget that Sam was in fact over 6 feet tall and could easily stretch his legs and use them to get his attention.

"Yeah, I'm with you, just got a bit distracted that's all. Where are we?"

Spencer moved to sit up and quickly regretted the action as the pain clawed its way through his chest once again and reminded him that he had the life almost squeezed out of him.

Sam must have seen his face because he gave Spencer a sympathetic look and answered his question, "Not sure exactly where we are, in the basement of the Sanitarium probably, didn't get a good look when I was being dragged in the first time."

At Sam's answer Spencer took his first good look at the younger Winchester. Sam had a swollen jaw and black eye, the standard bumps and bruises Spencer assumed you got when being dragged away by a ghost, but what caught his attention were the burn marks on Sam's temples and wrists.

"You look like shit Sam."

Sam snorted at Spencer's blunt observation and replied, "You don't look much better there Professor."

Spencer grimaced at Sam's use of the nickname Dean had given him but didn't say anything, just happy to have found Sam alive and mostly in one piece. He finally managed to push himself into a seated position without throwing up; his chest throbbed in rhythm with his heart but slowly died down again to a dull ache whenever he moved.

"Think you can get me out of these?"

Sam wiggled his wrists back a forth and Spencer finally figured out why Sam had stayed in the chair the whole time, he was bound by what looked like old leather safety restraints. Spencer slowly made way over to where Sam was by crawling on his hands and knees as his head spun when he had tried to stand. He examined the restraints and they were indeed the early versions of safety restraints the only difference was you needed a key to release them.

"Need a key to open them."

"In my pocket there's a paper clip, couldn't get it out before they forced me back into the chair."

Spencer pulled himself up by the armrest of the chair and began to feel Sam's pockets for the paperclip. Finally pulling his prize free Spencer glanced around the room as he set to work to free Sam.

"Where are Dean and my mom?" Spencer asked Sam calmly as he could, while trying not to let him mind wander to all the horrible outcomes they would be facing. He should never had let his mother come no matter how much he was afraid of her, she had no training for this kind of situation, not that Spencer had training either, but a crash course in Ghosts 101 and his FBI training was better than nothing. Now he just hoped that they would all survive whatever horrors Spencer was sure Doctor Golding was planning.

Spencer freed one of Sam's wrists before handing the paper clip over to the more experienced escape artist. He scanned the room or a better description would have been a cell. It was about 10 feet by 10 feet with no furniture other than the chair Sam was strapped to. There was a single door and vent on one wall.

Sam released his other wrist and slowly stood and stretched his arms over his head making his already tall frame seem gigantic. Spencer grimaced as he heard Sam's back crack and pop as it relieved itself of its stiffness.

"Not sure where they are being kept. I woke up in the chair with you on the floor, haven't seen anyone but Golding and his goon since they took me."

Spencer caught the pained looked that flashed across Sam's face whether it was due to his lack of knowledge about the where abouts of his brother or his injures Spencer couldn't tell but that didn't stop his profiler instincts to kick in a try to collect as much information as possible.

"What happened when they took you?"

"Dean and I were waiting for you to get back from the car when the lights started going out. I managed to get a couple of shots off while Dean yelled for you. Next then I knew we both went flying. I don't know what happened next cuz next thing I knew I woke up strapped down with electrical wires attached to my head."

Spencer winced, well that explained the burn marks that he saw on Sam's temples. He mind cataloged everything that Sam told him and he figured that they were somewhere close to Golding's lab and from Sam's experience Golding must be continuing his experiments. Spencer was about to ask for more details on Golding's lab when Sam stopped speaking a cocked his head to the side, like a dog listening for something. At first Spencer didn't hear anything, but then the faint sound of shuffling footsteps reached his ears.

"Shit, that's got to be the goon."

Spencer glanced around the room; he didn't see any hiding places or escape routes. They were effectively rats in a cage. Spencer blurted out the first thing that came flashing across his brilliant mind, because sometimes the simplest plan was always the best and would buy them more time to escape.

"Play dead."

Sam blinked and then seemed to think it over quickly nodding his head in agreement.

"Sit."

"What?"

"The chair, sit down, we need time to plan and escape, they can't know we are awake so you have to be in the chair."

Spencer watched as his words finally set off the light bulb in Sam's tired and somewhat fired brain. Sam sat down and closed one of the restraints just enough to look it was secure, but not actually locking himself down. Spencer closed the other restraint and quickly positioned himself on his side on the floor, facing away from the door just as the footsteps stopped in front of the tried to slow his breathing and forcing his body to relax to give the illusion of unconsciousness. The slot on the cell door slid open and a bright light flooded into the dimly lit room.

After what felt like an eternity the slot was finally slammed closed leaving Spencer and Sam back in the semi-darkness of one light bulb. Neither man dared to move until the footsteps had been long gone.

Sam was the first to move and got out of the chair to listen at the door, "All clear, but he won't be gone for long we need to figure out a plan."

Spencer sat up and they both moved to inspect the door, there were no hinges, no door handle, and no way to open the slot from the inside.

"Dammit," Sam cursed as he punched the wall. Spencer could see Sam's mounting frustration at not being able to get out and find his brother. Spencer couldn't help but pause and reflect on similar the two Winchester brothers were though if asked they would probably deny it. Both brothers even when they were in danger themselves seemed to always be more concerned with the others welfare and would not rest until they made sure the other brother was safe and they had dealt with whatever had threatened them.

Dean had acted the same way when Sam was taken, even with a head injury and no plan; he wanted to charge into danger to save his brother. Sam, the academic of the brothers, always seemed to think every move through before taking one step but when it came to his brother's well being that went straight out the window. The Winchester brothers were cut from the same cloth as their father it seemed if the stories he had heard from George, his mother, and the brothers themselves were to be considered true, and after the day Spencer had been having he had no reason to doubt that they were.

Spencer allowed Sam a moment to collect himself before he suggested the alternative escape route.

"There's the vent on the wall if we can get it off we maybe can find a way out."

Sam moved to inspect the opening and with one hard kick managed to knock the vent clean off the wall. With the vent off it became clear that the opening was a drain pipe of some sort. Only problem was it was barely wide enough for Spencer to fit through let alone Sam larger frame.

Spencer resigned himself to being the one to once again squeeze through a small space and save the day. He tugged off his sweater and rolled up his sleeves before crouching down and trying to figure out the best way crawl through the pipe.

Sam seemed to read his mind and suggested head first, "So you can see where you're going and if you get stuck with in reach I can pull you out."

Spencer grimaced but nodded and made his way head first into the pipe. It was almost pitch black after the first few feet but he slowly shuffled forward. He estimated he had gone about 15 feet before the pipe made a sharp corner; when he tried to make the corner he panicked slightly when his shoulder got stuck. Spencer forced himself to take a deep breath and relax and he managed to unwedge himself. Once he maneuvered himself around the corner he could see pipe becoming lighter and Spencer pulled himself faster toward the light hoping it would be his escape.

When Spencer finally came face to face with another vent and he looked into the dimly lit room that seemed to be an exact copy of the cell he had just escaped from with one big difference. In one corner there were two people, one leaning against the wall with the other's head in their lap. Unfortunately there wasn't enough light to make out any features. He could hear the prone figure muttering softly and the other speaking softly as to give comfort and reassurance.

Spencer took a chance a quietly called out, "Mom? Dean?"

"Spencer, honey is that you?"

Spencer breathed a sigh of relief at his mother's answer.

"Yeah, mom it's me. Are you alright? What about Dean?"

"I'm fine, a little shaken and Dean's worst off then I am."

"What wrong with him?"

"We were dragged to some sort of lab and that bastard injected him with some concoction. Between the drugs and his head injury, he's restless and mumbling in Latin of all things."

Spencer pressed his face the vent to try to get a better look but it was nearly impossible from the angle of the pipe and the lighting. He silently cursed his luck at finding his missing family but having no way to get to them.

"Try to keep him calm and don't move him. I am trying to find a way out of this pipe and spring you, Dean, and Sam before our jailors come back."

"Did you say Sam?"

Spencer realized in his rush to make sure his mother was okay he hadn't mentioned that he had found Sam, or at least been imprisoned with him.

"Yes, I woke up in the same cell and we managed to remove the vent over the pipe. I've been looking for an exit out into the corridor. When was the last time someone checked on you?

Diana seemed to think for a moment and then replied, "They have checked on us twice now, every twenty or thirty minutes."

Spencer thought back to how long he had been crawling in the pipe and estimated that it had been about ten minutes added to the five minutes he and Sam had waited to make sure their jailor hadn't heard anything; it had been about fifteen minutes. If the ghosts held to pattern he only had ten minutes before their captors discovered he was missing.

"I estimate we have about ten minutes before one of the ghosts comes to check the cells, I can see another light source ahead I will find an exit and come back for you, Dean, and Sam."

"Hurry Spencer, I don't know what they have planned but it can't be good."

Spencer crawled as fast as he could to the next light source, it didn't lead out into the corridor but another cell. Spencer squinted ahead trying to find any sign of light farther down the pipe, but it was pitch black as far as he could see. With no other choice and time running out Spencer scanned the cell an exact copy of the other ones, but some greater force seemed to finally taken pity on him as he could see the cell door was wide open.

Spencer pushed on the vent testing its resistance and it seemed to give away slightly under the pressure. Spencer crawled a little past the vent and turned on his side, bring his knees up toward his chest, he delivered a front kick to the vent that Morgan would have been proud of. The vent groaned underneath the abuse and with one more strong kick it fell to the floor with a clang. Spencer stuck his feet through first and wiggled his way out of the pipe. Once he was free Spencer took a breath grateful to free of the small, dark space. He cocked his head trying to hear if his little escape from the pipe had drawn any attention from the ghosts. After not hearing any movement from the corridor Spencer climbed to his feet and quietly made his way to the door. He wanted to rush to where his mother was being held and throw the door open to release her, but his FBI training and experience told him that he needed to be cautious.

Spencer quickly stuck his head out and scanned the corridor; there was nothing to be seen so he quickly entered the corridor, hugging the wall and headed back towards the other cells. Every few feet he would stop and listen making sure nothing was sneaking up on him.

Spencer quietly made his way to the door that separated him from goal, only to find it open and the cell empty. His heart sank, he was too late they had already been taken back to where ever the Golding conducted his twisted experiments. Spencer forced himself to focus on the next task he had to accomplish, freeing Sam and finding his mother and Dean.

Spencer made his way down to the cell that held Sam. When he reached it the door was still closed and locked, he slide the slot door open and looked inside.

"Sam?"

Sam's face appeared on the other side to the slot only a few inches from Spencer face making him jump slightly and pull his face back.

"Spencer?"

"We have to get you out of here and find my mom and Dean I found them but no there not there and the Doctor must have taken them back to the lab…."

"Spencer!"

….My mom said they injected Dean with something and he's delirious and mumbling in Latin not sure why he would speak in Latin it's a dead language…"

"Spencer!"

Spencer stopped mid thought and blinked back at Sam and realized he had been rambling on.

"Sorry."

"It's okay Spencer but I need you to focus on getting the door open."

Sam stuck his hand through the slot and offered Spencer the paper clip. Spencer took a deep breath and took it before kneeling down to work on picking the lock.

"You found your mom and Dean?"

"Yeah, they were in a cell farther down the corridor. My mom seemed okay but I could tell she was worried about Dean. She said they had been taken to the lab and Golding injected with some kind drug that induced a fever and he's completely out of it. She said he was mumbling in Latin…."

Spencer let out a frustrated breath as picking an old lock wasn't as easy as it had looked in the movies that Garcia and Morgan had dragged him to. He was so intent on the lock and filling Sam in on what he had found that he hadn't been paying attention. The shiver that ran up his spine was the first indication that he wasn't alone and he trailed off in his monologue.

Spencer released a breath and could see the condensation in the air; he silent cursed himself for not being aware of his surroundings. He was just about to turn and face the ghost when a curious thing happened. An old iron key was dangled in front of his face; it looked to be as old as the lock he had been trying to open.

Sam seemed to sense something wrong and called out to him, "Spencer?"

Spencer didn't answer him instead his eyes followed the key ,to the rope it hung from, to the hand and arm that held it.

"Spencer!"

Spencer jumped at Sam urgent call and slowly stood up from his crouched position from in front of the lock. He was still facing the door so Spencer could see Sam's reaction when he saw the ghost. With Sam was still stuck in the cell all he could do was watch as Spencer slowly turned around to face the ghost that seemed to be offering help.