The Final Straw

Summary: A night out finds Sam waking up a captive of someone he never thought he'd have to fear & in a place he never wanted to see again. Fighting to not only save himself but his brother, it's a race to see if Sam's strong enough to face this nightmare or if his brother's strength of will can win out as the final straw nearly breaks them both. *Hurt/limp/angsty/emotional!Sam & evil/possessed/guilty/super caring!Dean* Set in season two between 02x17 Heart & 02x18 Hollywood Babylon.

Warnings: Language of course, nothing too graphic but it might get a bit more than normal. Also, I'll toss a violence warning on this one, more so in chapter two so watch out for that. While it may not need the M warning since it will have some more intense violence next chapter I'll put that rating on it.

Tags/Spoilers: None really though some mention of events from Heart are included.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. The characters belong to Kripke & the CW. I just come up with new ways to hurt the boys for the entertainment of others.

Author Note: So this piece is done for a prompt for the lovely Jenjoremy who wanted to see possessed Dean back before the boys picked up those nifty tattoos. So for all the hurt!Sam fans out there (I know you're peeking) this one is for you.

Also, look me up on Facebook under morgana07 to catch up on new story ideas, chat about older fics if you have a question or just chat since I always enjoy meeting and talking to readers.

Chapter One

Pain all over his cramped body was what woke Sam Winchester slowly. His brain seemed fuzzy and he couldn't remember anything after stepping out of the bar he and Dean had been at earlier that…he wasn't sure since he didn't know how long he'd been unconscious.

Had they been jumped? Who the hell would attack them outside a dive bar in some small town in California? Too many questions as Sam went to move only to feel the first prick of fear settle in his gut.

He was tied and not tied by an amateur since his wrists were tied behind him, his legs were tied at the hips, thighs and ankles before being pulled up behind him to allow another short piece of rope to bind his wrists and ankles together but it was the piece of rope that had been wrapped around his throat to thread through the other pieces that freaked him out.

Every small move of his head or if he shifted just a little too much in an effort to move or feel where he was pulled that rope until it was tight, nearly cutting his air off.

Opening his eyes to try to see brought another burst of fear when the young hunter discovered not only was he blindfolded but the feel of heavy burlap against his cheek told him that his head was covered by a hood and a move to shout for his brother or for help revealed that something had been tied in and around his mouth to gag him.

Tied, gagged and hooded with no idea who'd attacked them or where his brother was or his condition nearly led Sam into a panic attack like he hadn't had in years and only years of training, of knowing that no matter Dean would find a way to get them out of this.

Sam often didn't like his older brother hyper manic protective ways but he couldn't deny lately, since Sam had been forced to kill Madison and had taken that emotional hit hard, that he appreciated having Dean close.

He knew that his brother had wanted to be the one to handle the young woman whose unfortunate encounter with a werewolf had left her turned and dangerous.

They'd tried everything to help her but in the end there had been only one way and Sam had done it. Madison had been his first lover since Jessica and that made killing her that much harder but he'd known that he couldn't allow his brother to take that burden on…even though Dean had been with him every second since to handle the fallout.

It had been Dean who had cleaned up as much as possible in the apartment, wiping their fingerprints down and getting Sam away after he'd nearly fallen to pieces right after but it was in the following three days that Dean almost didn't leave Sam's side.

Driving them away from the scene, finding a new hotel and then just allowing Sam to grieve and mourn in his own way even if it meant swallowing the no chick flick rule when the nightmares brought Sam screaming awake to cling to his brother until the sobs and shudders eased off.

Never once did Dean complain or bitch which since Sam knew how on edge his brother could get if not working or moving, especially these days since losing their Dad, dealing with Gordon's attack on Sam, facing that demons were a little too interested in Sam and finally Sam's possession by Meg.

Sam expected his brother to start to get antsy about moving on or finding a hunt but he hadn't even though that night at the bar he'd noticed a few little odd things about Dean that bothered him but excused it as days of hardly sleeping, eating takeout, trying to stay under everyone's radar and just being Dean.

Since Madison's death, Sam hadn't been doing much but trying to get over the grief of failing another woman who'd trusted him so he hadn't really wanted to go out to a bar to watch his brother hustle pool but since Dean had put up with so much from him lately he'd given in and went.

He'd been content to sit at a booth working on his latest idea to get his notoriously bad at Latin brother to learn something useful while occasionally looking up to see Dean surrounded by pretty women all watching him play pool and only a few times did Sam have to actually catch his brother's eyes to remind him to tone it down.

Sam wasn't a huge drinker but he had had three beers, the last one right before he'd talked Dean into leaving because it seemed like his brother had flirted a bit too much and with a woman that belonged to one of the men he'd just beat at pool.

It had been when he was stepping out of the bar that Sam realized his head had started to feel a little weird but before he could comment to Dean about as he stepped up to the Impala things went black after he was hit from behind.

Trying to keep calm as his head ached and his arms and legs burned but being pulled into the position he was in, it took Sam another couple moments to force the instincts he'd been taught to have by both Dean and their Dad to use his other senses as best as he could.

He couldn't see but while his hearing was muffled he wasn't deafened which he was glad of because that loss would've sent him over a fine line that he'd always been able to maintain.

Listening carefully, there was a sudden cold ball in his stomach as he finally picked up the familiar rumble of the Impala's engine and realized he'd been tied and stuffed into the trunk.

A fear of small spaces had always been with Sam since he'd been young and locked in a closet by some asshole. He'd managed to bury it for the most part but this time, not knowing where Dean was or even how he was or who had jumped them to do this he felt his breathing pick up until he was once again hearing his brother's soothing voice in his head telling him to keep calm.

Then the anger began to seep in. Anger at himself for not seeing a risk since that was one of the first things his Dad would bitch at him over if he was still alive and then anger at the bastard who'd attacked them and was driving his brother's car.

Dean loved the Impala nearly more than he did anything else still alive…though Sam thought he still had a slight edge on the car for his brother's affection, and to think of someone else driving it made Sam both angry and afraid because the only way Dean would surrender the keys willingly was if he was unconscious or if their attacker had threatened Sam.

He wanted to kick the closed trunk but the rope cutting into his throat reminded him to stay as still as possible while also trying to control his breathing under the hood.

Sam could hear the dim sound of the radio playing and knew that Dean would kick this guy's ass because while driving the Impala was one sin, screwing with the radio was quite another and the sound of actual oldies music playing made the young man cringe.

Trying to shift a little to relieve the pressure on his body, Sam's tingling fingers felt something laying in the trunk that he knew by touch shouldn't have been there and squeezed it into his fingers to hold onto it as if drawing strength from the tiny medallion Bobby had given them to ward off possessions after Meg's little sneak attack.

He tried to recall when Dean had taken his off and figured it couldn't have been that long ago but just the feel of it in his palm calmed him down a little until he felt the car slowing down before coming to a hard stop that jerked Sam and he gagged a little as the rope tightened on his throat.

The unknown shouldn't scare him. He'd grown up on the road with his Dad and brother and after learning the truth of what John Winchester really did, of the things that haunted the night.

He'd seen his girlfriend die on the ceiling of their apartment, he'd nearly seen his brother die countless times and had been there the day their Dad died along with so many other things that being tied up in the trunk of a car should not bother him as much as it was.

Yet as Sam listened closely to the radio being clicked off and the driver's door opening to slam shut he felt his heartbeat jump, tensing as the trunk opened and he was ready to hear a mocking voice of whoever was doing this but the silence was suddenly worse for him.

Tightening his hand around the medallion, Sam grunted and tasted blood as a fist suddenly flew from the darkness to connect with his jaw but still the mystery assailant didn't speak instead he used the distraction to reach in and pull Sam up and out.

Expecting a chance to fight back or get the upper hand when the man, it was clearly a man, cut his ankles loose, Sam swore bitterly to himself at the sick realization that his captor wasn't expecting him to walk as he made a soft grunt while putting the hunter over his shoulder and slamming the trunk closed.

Sam's voice was muffled behind both the hood and the gag as he tried to speak or yell at the feel of cool night air and knew he was outside for at least the time being.

Drawing attention was risky, especially until he learned where Dean was being held or even if he was still…no, Sam wouldn't allow his thoughts to go there when a hand on the small of his back dug in tightly with strong fingers as if warning him not to make a scene but something in that touch also made Sam's aching and blurry head still as if something was off about it.

Yelping in pain as his head was not so gently hit off a door, Sam's teeth bit into the gag as his body was stretched too much and the rope choking him nearly made him black out until his captor must have realized this and eased up, allowing him to try to suck in air through his nose.

Listening to the sounds of creaking steps and wood floors confused Sam because he'd expected to be taken to a warehouse or some other out of the way place for whatever this was about, tensing as several ideas ran through his head that once again nearly had him hyperventilating and wishing with his whole heart that he had some idea of where Dean was and if his brother could find him.

The odd faint smell of charred wood and smoke broke through along with the sound of a squeaking door opening, closing and locking made him tense as he tried to count the steps the man took from the door until he was placed on a mattress that had a smell that made Sam's already turning stomach flip violently and he prayed he didn't vomit while gagged.

The burlap hood was jerked off but with the blindfold still on, Sam couldn't see as he felt the gag being removed and he was finally able to draw in as much air as the rope around his neck would allow while trying to wet his lips.

"Who are you?" he demanded, voice dry and rough as it hit him that he'd also been drugged by something. "Where am I? Where's my brother? Why're you…argh!"

An unexpected burst of pain went up Sam's chest as something lashed across it and with a sick sinking feeling he realized his shirt was off and he fought to stave off the panic.

The sound of a knife flicking open stilled him but rather than feel more pain, Sam felt the connecting ropes between his neck, wrists and ankles be cut free but nothing else was freed which still left him powerless to defend himself or fight.

Strong hands picked him up again to set him on the floor while cutting his wrists free of the ropes but a knee to his stomach left Sam gasping for air and distracted while solid metal cuffs attached to the ceiling were hooked around his wrists while something heavy was put on his ankles to act as a weight to cause his arms more pain but to also keep him from trying to move his legs as he was hung.

"Fine, do whatever the hell you want but I'll tell you now…my brother will so kick your ass when he…no," he whispered, hearing a low chuckle from near him when the stale smoky odor in the room finally eased up that another smell struck him and he suddenly wanted to wish he was in a nightmare. "Where's…where's my brother?" he demanded again, feeling the wetness fill his eyes as he listened to the low deep chuckle come again but this time from right next to him and suddenly he realized there was something much worse than being scared of the unknown.

When the unknown was as familiar as the deep voice of his older brother as the blindfold was ripped off and Sam found himself staring into the deep green eyes of his own brother as the knife in Dean's hand pressed the tip against the lump in Sam's throat as the full weight of this horror began to sink in.

"Big brother's right here, Sammy," Dean smiled but it wasn't a true smile but more like a predator as he grabbed a handful of hair to yank the wide eyed hunter's head back with the hard jerk. "And all your hope of being rescued is out the window because it's kind of hard to be saved by the man who's about to teach you a new lesson on pain, little brother."

Gasping in pain, the fear was livid but the sight of the silver ring still on Dean's hand as well as what Sam still clenched in his own fist gave him the answer in a fast blur of panic and disgust for not seeing the signs before this.

"You're not my brother," he gritted, feeling the knife cut into his shoulder before he wrapped his head and mouth around the word he needed. "Christo…mmmh!"

A hand clamped roughly over Sam's mouth but not before the green eyes that Sam had grown up with flashed black as the demon inside his brother showed its true self with a smirk that was more like the elder Winchester. "College boy is maybe a bit too smart for his own good," he remarked lowly, reaching into his back pocket for a heavy piece of cloth that he forced deep into Sam's mouth before buckling a wide leather strap around Sam's head to force the gag in more and assuring that the hunter couldn't speak…and could exorcise it from Dean.

"I'm gonna have to punish you for that one, kiddo…maybe punish you both but then punishing you, hurting you like I plan to is punishment enough for your big brother," the demon in Dean grinned, watching blood pool to the surface of the cut he was slowly making on Sam's arm. "You want to know the why, where, and how of it, Sammy? Oh, I'll tell you…maybe but first…don't you want to know where we are? You should know it."

The hate was plain in Sam's hazel eyes as he glared at the demon wearing his brother's body and hating this so much. He knew only too well how it felt to be possessed by a demon, to be a prisoner inside his own head and to be forced to watch and feel everything that goes on but be powerless to stop it.

Sam had been that way when Meg possessed him only months earlier and he still had nightmares about what she'd forced his body to do, what she'd done to him while in his body. So he'd never wanted Dean to feel that way, especially when he knew that his brother would be fighting for control but helpless to stop the sneering demon that clearly had nasty plans for Sam.

A fist to the kidneys had Sam crying out but it was when his head snapped back and his watering eyes looked up to the ceiling that he realized what the demon had meant by that he'd know where he'd been brought and he did.

A broken sob escaped the gag as his eyes looked around what had once been a bedroom, the bed still where it had set, the mattress replaced but soiled with filth and whatever else by whoever had been squatting in the old apartment building that had once been home to Sam and his late girlfriend, Jessica Moore.

"Big brother would never bring you 'home' would he?" the demon sneered, looking around the room that still showed some minor fire damage even after the building had started to be slowly remodeled. "You're hanging directly under the spot where your pretty little girlfriend burned up, Sammy boy and by the time we're done… you're gonna be wishing to be as dead as she is as your brother, you're so-called hero, rips, cuts and beats on you until I get bored…and before I let him go I'll slit your throat so he can watch his baby brother die in his arms."

The knife shifted in a hand that seemed to shake but was steady when it pressed against Sam's throat as the young man tried to trash against the cuffs holding him too close to the spot where Jessica had been trapped and died but a scream came when the blade cut a shallow line over his chest.

"I'm going to enjoy making your scream, little hunter," the demon in Dean Winchester smiled while slipping behind the panicking young man to jab just the tip of the blade that belonged to Dean into his shoulder blade to bring a muffled shout of pain before stepping back to leave Sam gasping as he went to begin to set other things up. "Get comfy, Sam. You're in for a long…painful night."

TBC

A/NII: So I planned for a one-shot but like others I write, the plot bunny and the Muse hit a cliffhanger point and decided to leave Sam hanging…literally. This one should only require three chapters…since of course the third must have healing, guilt and brother moments…but first we must hurt Sam so stay tuned for more of Sam's emotional and physical turmoil and we'll see if Dean can free himself before going too far or how the boys will get out of this one…