Fragment – chpt 14.

by: sifi.

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"Dean?" Sam said softly while he turned his head just enough to meet his eyes, "Come on Dean… talk to me man… what the hell's goin' on in there?" he asked feeling a hint of desperation growing in the pit of his belly. He'd finished cleaning and wrapping Dean's hands and forearms over half an hour ago and he hadn't moved, flinched, snarked, or anything. He'd been completely unresponsive until Sam came back from loading their bags into the trunk of the car. The only thing he could think of, to help pull his brother out of whatever it was that had him in its grip was to get him out of this town.

As if there hadn't been a terrifying time of near catatonia Dean's eyes shifted and met Sam's.

"Dean!?" Sam barked happily seeing his brother 'arrive' as it were.

"He's gonna get away Sam… that son of a bitch is gonna get away… and he's gonna be on the loose…" Dean croaked, his throat salty and dry as he started to work his body and noticed the bandages on his hands and arms.

"Who's gonna get away?" Sam asked, "The one who's not such a nice guy as you?"

Dean nodded and swallowed hard reaching stiffly for a bottle of water Sam handed to him, "He's got one of the kids… he killed all but one of 'em… God the… Sam…" he shook his head ashamed of what he'd seen, "…just so… I could NEVER do ANY of those things… there's a lot of things I could do, but I could NEVER do THOSE things Sam… you gotta know that…okay? Please… you just gotta know that…" he pleaded gripping his baby brother by the shirtfront, the desperation of his plea palpable between them.

Sam wrapped his hands around Dean's gently, holding his big brother's eyes with his own, he had no idea what Dean had seen and he didn't need to know. That whatever it was had reduced his big brother to such loathing and tears, he knew only that Dean needed his assurance and his faith, "I know you couldn't Dean… I know it…" he nodded and gripped his big brother at the neck and shoulder, "Listen to me… whatever's happening in this town… it's gonna drive you insane or kill you if we don't get you out of here okay?"

Dean nodded slowly and breathed deeply, bringing himself all the way back into his own world.

"Earlier when you said one of 'em was dead…" Sam started wondering if it would make any difference, if it COULD make any difference in this universe, "How'd he die?"

The simple question, in Dean's current state wasn't a simple one to answer. He'd been walking the perimeter of the event horizon, picking his way over the faintest crest of what could only be described as a bog. He'd been well aware of what that evil-Dean had done, how far gone he was and it made him violently ill in waves, but though he and the one he called wannabe-Dean were suffering their fair share physically, it was the one he called crazy-Dean who was suffering the worst. He'd realized that they all seemed to be aware of each other and he wondered if they'd tried contacting him like he'd tried to contact them. From what he could tell, contact or those moments of juxtaposition were completely out of their control.

As much as the prospect of crazy-Dean frightened him, especially since he'd seen what happened, it was that Dean who'd enabled him to see his father's face just a few more times. It wasn't that there was a crazy-Dean that really upset him, it was what had driven him crazy that was really scary. A night in a graveyard, a simple salting and burning gone horribly wrong, a trap laid by Big Bad who'd finally somehow managed to wend his way into Sam, using perhaps some moment of weakness to literally trip him up and take possession of the youngest Winchester.

Crazy-Dean saw those yellow eyes staring back at him from his baby brother's face and knew it was Sam's worst nightmare come true, to become a tool of evil, a thing used to hurt others, Sam would have preferred death, and that's what that Dean gave him. Unfortunately, saving his brother's soul by taking his life had pushed that particular Dean over the edge. John had found him four days later, nearly having bled to death after days on end of slicing, peeling and tearing his own skin from his body in an insane effort of contrition.

At least Dad's still alive in that universe… how long will he last? He killed crazy-Dean, I almost gagged on the taste of the steel… not that I blame you dad… death would have to be better than living like that… but it was soo good to see your face again… I miss you dad… more than you can know…and I'm doing my best to take care of Sammy…I'm not sure how much longer I can keep your secret though…but it's okay cause I'll be here to watch over him…We'll watch over each other dad…

"Dean?" Sam asked casting a quick glance around the room, making sure they didn't miss anything. He'd cleaned up the mess in the bathroom as well as possible and left fifty dollars pinned to the wall to pay for a new mirror. "How'd he die?" he repeated.

Dean shook his head and smirked, "Loved."

"Any ideas where we go now?" Dean asked yawning hugely in the passenger seat as Sam pulled them out of the lot and onto the main drag.

"Anywhere that isn't this creepy little town, and anywhere we can BOTH get a good night's sleep! I swear if I have to crack you in the head… you're gonna sleep tonight…" Sam huffed.

"Y'know you're kinda cute when you're playing a mom…" Dean smirked scooting down to rest his head against the door.

"Shut up…" Sam drawled smiling, finally feeling the tension between his shoulders starting to ease as Dean began to doze.

At the last gas station on the edge of town Sam closed the door quietly but Dean cracked his eyes open anyway, Damn… another ten minutes we'd've been skirting the forest and heading toward the freeway, he thought watching Dean rub his bandaged hands over his face.

"'Sup?" he grunted, "I fell asleep?"

"Just filled up the tank and picked up some sodas… go back to sleep…" he urged.

"We still got some of that zaa right?"

"What I was gonna leave two days worth of food behind?... yeah… it's in the trunk… you want?"

Dean shook his head loosely, his eyes already closing again as Sam pulled out onto the street.

Metallicar's lights bouncing off the first few trees made Sam smile, knowing they were that much closer to the freeway. He could feel his shoulders drop a couple inches and the tightness between them and his neck begin to unwind, Aaahhh finally… out of that asylum of a town…I wish we could've helped 'em but no way in hell am I gonna risk you bro… no way in hell… not after everything we've been..

"Sammy STOP!" Dean grunted, pulling himself back up from the depths of sleep again, and setting Sam's heart thumping again.

"It's okay Dean… just rest man…" he tried to comfort.

"No! Sam! Really Stop!... There's something…here…" he sat up peering out of the windshield into the darkness, his eyes searching the tree line for something.

Sam pulled over and put the car into park, adding his gaze to Dean's, "What're we looking for?" he asked while Dean shined the spotlight into the trees.

"I don't know… something… something's here…" he frowned a curious look.

"Something good or something bad?" Sam asked as Dean opened the door and slid out onto the shoulder of the road.

"Not bad…" he shook his head, "…not bad at all…" he closed his eyes and turned his face toward the trees, a warmth only he could feel coming down the hill toward him.

"Good Sam! Very good!" he grinned pumping his arms and legs and dashing into the darkness.

Sam shut off the lights, grabbed the keys and locked the car then moved around to the trunk where he hastily tucked a gun into his pants, stuck a knife into one pocket and a flashlight into the other then took off into the darkness after his brother.

Damnit Dean! As if all this hasn't been freaky enough! Damn YOU! he cursed with a glance to the sky, he shouldn't be having visions, he shouldn't have to deal with this stuff! He's not equipped for it! This is MY burden, he shouldn't be subjected to it…Sam thought, furious with whatever had seen fit to torment his brother like this, who, for all he knew, might be charging headlong to his own death right now.

"Dean…" he groaned a short time later. He drew to a halt, trying to track his brother by sound since there was almost no light to be had and his flashlight just wasn't cutting it.

"Sam!" he heard coming toward him from ahead and to his right, "Sammy keep that light up…."

"Dean!" he called moving toward the sound of his brother's voice. The crunching of brush and leaves came louder and Sam started to breathe again, wondering when exactly this nightmare was going to be over.

"Sam…" Dean sighed and winced when the flashlight beam lanced his eyes, slid off to the side and over something familiar and... blue... at his side.

"Hey Sam…" she croaked tiredly, turning and burying her face into his brother's side.

"Laura?!" he breathed disbelieving, moving the light up and down over her, at first not quite sure of what he was seeing. She was wearing the same flannel shirt Dean was wearing, even though Sam could see he was still wearing it…and she looked…

"Dude shut that freakin' thing off willya?" Dean grumbled holding her protectively to himself.

"Laura?" Sam breathed again.

"Yeah… it's me…" she nodded.

"Are you… blue?" he asked.

"Tired… very tired…" she muttered yawning and started to slide down Dean's side.

He bent and scooped her into his arms, "I gotcha honey… I gotcha…C'mon Sam… let's go…"

Dean settled her into the back seat, wrapped in the emergency blanket from the trunk and turned to face Sam, "What?"

"What makes you think she's really your Laura? If there were other Dean's out there, how do we know she's not a different Laura? It makes sense… she's freakin' BLUE Dean!"

"…and naked!" she called chuckling tiredly from the back seat, leaning her head on the door frame though she held her hands out in front of her, the tips of her fingers already returning to their natural pink, "…thank God it's fading…" she sighed wrapping herself tight into the blanket with a shiver.

"She's mine Sam…" Dean shook his head.

"How do you know?" Sam challenged.

"I feel it… besides… I'm the older brother and you KNOW what that means…" he smirked.

"You're always right?" Sam sighed frustrated.

"Exactly," Dean smacked his chest lightly.

Sam shook his head and shrugged, "Okay…for now… but it doesn't mean you're always right…"

"Yeah… it totally does…" Dean nodded sliding into the front seat, leaving Laura to sleep while they drove through the night.

--

"So Dean was right?" Sam asked dumbfounded and trying to ignore his older brother's smirk across the table.

"Apparently so… at least from what the other Dean told me he'd figured out too…" she sipped the coffee smiling faintly at the return of her normal pink coloring.

"So those whole few days… all that pain he went through? All those horrible things he saw… there was nothing we could've done to change any of it?" Sam shook his head visibly upset.

"No… I… we tried to defend the Sidhe world… we couldn't… in the end all we could do was evacuate…I couldn't make a difference…" she shook her head.

"… did you see this… 'marauder'?" Dean asked squeezing her shoulder gently.

She bit her lip and looked between the two men, her silence sending shivers through them both.

"Laura? Was it the demon?" Sam asked.

Her chest rose and fell quickly, her breath coming in short speedy bursts as she looked between them, "That's just it... I saw this thing… and remember I met yours too… I met Big Bad the night he freed Morgan…this one had the same oily yellow eyes but… it felt different…"

"Different? How?" Dean asked sharing a glance with Sam.

"It shattered an entire Universe Dean…the Sidhe 'universe' for want of a better term acted as a buffer between our world and some of the surrounding ones… as you already figured out… I think we're in real trouble…" her voice began to tremble as images of horrors from the last couple months scrolled before her minds' eye.

"How so?" Sam asked softly.

She took a breath and nodded, "I think the destruction of the Sidhe world was a field exercise of sorts… and I don't think it even cares about us, or the Sidhe, or any other living thing… the sense I got when it was near… the fiery-freezing hatred…" she looked between them. They were both waiting for her to say it, to make it real even though their finely honed instincts were already screaming at them.

"It's coming… I think it's coming for Big Bad and it doesn't care what gets in its way… and…" she stopped, chuckled a shaky huff and had to hold her cup with both hands to keep the trembling under control, "…and I think John was wrong…I don't think they're just demons…"

--

John read the text message on his phone, 'Need to talk re: Dean… come to the office asap.'

Slowly his hand turned the knob and he entered the otherwise empty office. He'd been watching all day, counting the people in and out, making sure there were no police officers laying in wait for him.

"Come in John… we need to talk."

He nodded closing the door behind himself and sat on the couch, all sense of jeopardy temporarily suspended here in this place of sanctuary. This was the one place he felt safe, and without either of his son's left in his life, he was wondering if he could find a reason to continue. The fight against evil, and darkness, and dark supernatural beings seemed to have fizzled out of him. This was the only place left where he could have any kind of peace and those liquid eyes that had been giving him comfort, from the moment his boy had been brought in, comfort he was sure he didn't deserve.

He looked up feeling tears wanting to well up and knew this was one place he could cry, he could let those tears fall while he looked shamelessly, beseeching for some kind of solace into those shifting, oily yellow eyes.

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End.

Please tell me what you think.

Love? Hate? I'd like to know.

Thanks.

sifi

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And one more word of Thanks in particular to Nevermore for being the finest sounding board I could ask for during the writing of this particular fic. For her suggestions, help, pats on the back and kicks in the pants. Thanks Nevermore, my Poe-ian pillar of strength.

For Beist... your stalwart support, ego strokes and begging for more made me give you all I had... (boy doesn't that sound... odd) Anyway beloved you know what I'm saying... You've set the bar... now I only have to live up to it... smirk thanks:D

And thanks to all who've taken the time to read and review and who have stuck with this fic from beginning to end… if I've left anything too horribly uncertain please let me know what it is… maybe I'll use it in an upcoming fic. :D