Red Herring.
Summary: -You really think it's all about Sam, Johnny boy? Haven't you ever thought that just maybe I want both of them?- Set after season one final Devil's Trap, John is alive but the Demon isn't finished with the Winchesters. And is Sam the Demon's red herring? Dean POV mostly. Hurt!Dean Worried!Sam Guilty!John, plus appearances by Bobby and the YED in later chapters.
A/N: Hello to anyone reading this! I know I haven't posted in a while but I have been working and this is one of the things I've been working on. This is the first chapter in part one, Devil May Care, I am looking for a beta so if anyone thinks they're up to the job say so and although I have a lot more of this written down and trust me, it gets more exciting, I WILL NOT POST ANY MORE IF YOU DON'T REVIEW. So if you want any more please R&R, if I don't get a good response I'll take it down from the site.
Anna
MBCT
Red Herring
A metaphor for a diversion or distraction from an original objective.
A clue that is misleading or that has been falsified, intended to divert attention.
Something that draws attention away from the central issue.
Any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issue.
Part One:
Devil may care.
"Let him go or I swear to God-"
"What? What are you and God gonna do? You see, as far as I'm concerned, this is justice."
"You destroyed my children. How would you feel if I killed your family? Oh, that's right. I forgot. I did."
"Still, two wrongs don't make a right."
"You son of a bitch."
"Your dad? He's in here with me—trapped inside his own meat suit. He says "hi", by the way."
"He's gonna tear you apart."
"He's gonna taste the iron in your blood."
"Let him go, you son of a bitch."
"You wanna know why? Because they got in the way."
"My plans for you, Sammy – you… and all the children like you."
"Listen… you mind just gettin' this over with, huh? 'Cause I really can't stand the monologuing."
"Funny. But that's all part of your M.O., isn't it? Mask all that nasty pain. Mask the truth."
"Oh, yeah? What's that?"
"You know, you fight and you fight for this family, but the truth is…they don't need you. Not like you need them. Sam—he's clearly John's favorite. Even when they fight, it's more concern than he's ever shown you."
"I bet you're real proud of your kids, too, huh? Oh, wait, I forgot. I wasted 'em."
Agony ripped through his body, starting from his chest.
He couldn't breathe.
"Dad! Dad, don't you let it kill me!"
He was choking on his own blood.
Tasting the bitter metallic taste of blood as it seeped out his mouth.
He couldn't breathe.
"Dad, please."
Everything was going black…
"DEAN!" He was shaken back into reality by a very worried looking Sam.
"Sammy- Wha- Woss goin' on?" He was alarmed by his shock awakening and the concern on Sam's face.
"What's going on?" Sam sounded a bit inquisitive and his unease had slipped down a notch although it was still there. "Dean, you were having a nightmare."
"What?" He had a nightmare? No way, not again, that's Sammy's thing.
"You were talking in you're sleep, yelling, it sounded painful." Sam had a sympathetic look on his face.
"Oh… right. Sorry." He muttered quietly while rubbing his hands over his face, then held back a grimace of pain from the effect of a tightening across his chest as he stretched his arms upward with a tired yawn.
He could still feel and taste the imaginary blood in his mouth.
"You've got nothing to be sorry about." Sam had been forced to abandon the position he had been in when he had shaken Dean awake, leaning over him with one hand on Dean's bicep, and was now sitting next to Dean on his brother's bed. "Do you want to talk about it?" He knew Dean wouldn't answer with the affirmative but he still had to try.
"Nah, I'm fine… just tired." Sam just nodded at Dean's denial, it was Dean's way but he was afraid that this was one thing that Dean couldn't deal with alone.
"You sure you're alright?" He questioned.
"Sam, I'm fine. Just go back to sleep. Don't worry about it." Dean said in a tone signifying the end of the conversation. Sam didn't move from his older brother's side.
They were both silent for a minute, both considering the off balance way their small family had been behaving lately, after the yellow eyed demon's newest attempt at harming them any way possible.
"It's nearly morning," Sam said finally, indicating the lightening window with a wave of his hand. "I think I'm just gonna stay up now."
"What? Oh, right." Staring at the coming dawn out the window with great surprise, Dean was obviously still adjusting to reality, the remnants of his dream still haunting his face.
"I'm gonna go grab a shower." Dean said after another couple moments silence and left the room moving painstakingly, being careful to not cause any more pain then necessary to his battered body, leaving Sam sitting on his bed alone.
They had been at Bobby's place for three days now and three days on the road before that. They had been at the hospital for nearly two weeks after Dean first woke up, the doctors said it was a miracle, Sam didn't know what the hell it was, he was just glad to have his brother back.
Most of the time Dean had been asleep at the hospital but the doctors had assured them that this was normal after coming out of a coma like he had and would stop with time over the coming weeks, and it had, but Dean still wasn't very alert most of the time and sometimes he seemed completely unaware of what was going on around him, that, the doctors didn't have an answer for and no one but Sam seemed to notice the change in his brother.
This nightmare seemed to be just a new symptom that only Sam could see. The shorter temper that Dean had shown in the last few weeks since the demon attack, the tired dreariness that seemed a new constant in Dean's features, the times when Sam had caught him staring vacantly at nothing then looking startled at wherever he found himself, and, Sam had noticed since they first meet up with their father, a new found leadership, and now, this nightmare or whatever it was had Dean practically asleep while standing. It scared him, hell, it scared him a lot more then he'd care to admit.
But Dean would never talk about anything to do with himself, even if it would help him, he would always just call a do-over or something stupid like that to avoid talking about his issues if he ever accidentally let something slip when times were stressed, because it was always someone else who he had to look after, never himself. Hell, he was bleeding his guts out and he was still more concerned about their father then himself, and it was beginning to frustrate Sam more and more.
So, resigned to the fact that it would take a lot more then a 'how you feeling?' to figure out how his recovering brother was actually handling things and that the only breakfast that would be available to him was some stale and possibly poisonous lucky charms from when they had last stayed there as kids and some equally questionable milk, Sam hauled himself to his feet and left the room.
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