Fic: Scrambled (Supernatural) 2/3
Title: Scrambled
Prompt: Possession/Mind Control
Fandom: Supernatural
Character(s): Sam, Dean, Cas
Pairing(s): Gen
Word Count: 2831
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never has been.
Warnings: None
Summary: A story about witches, brothers, and fire. And maybe a little amnesia thrown in for good measure.
They settled for watching a movie instead of taking a walk. He was toying with the remote, flipping channels while Dean was off rummaging for snacks. He jumped when Dean flopped down on the couch, bowl of popcorn cradled against his chest. He smiled and stole a handful, much to Dean’s annoyance. “This is my popcorn. Go find your own.”
This felt good. Right. “Nah, rather have yours.”
Dean scowled, muttering under his breath, but plopped the bowl down between them. “You’ll never change.”
He grinned. Maybe he could do something right after all. They watched a movie. An old one. He didn’t recognize it, but he couldn’t tell if that was because he had never seen it, or if it was just more of the same. Dean seemed to be waiting for some sort of epiphany, but it was unclear what it was, or should be, or when it was supposed to come. He kept trying to remember, but all it did was give him a headache.
Finally, Dean reached over and smacked him on the arm. “Stop that. Just relax. You’ll remember faster if you don’t force it.”
That was easy for Dean to say. He wasn’t the one who was basically lost with no idea who or what he was. Plus there were the weird thoughts that kept cropping up. Things about shopping, or kids, or relatives he was pretty sure he didn’t have.
“I don’t have an Uncle Will, do I?” He didn’t mean for his tone to be so pessimistic, but he’d lost any real hope of actually distinguishing between real memories and these other ones that were apparently bouncing around in his brain.
Dean frowned. “Nope. No biological uncles at all, actually.”
“Really?” He said, straightening up.
“Yeah, Mom and Dad were both only children.”
“Oh.”
Dean tossed back another handful of popcorn. “You remembering random people again?”
He shrugged. “I guess. Thought you weren’t going to try and fill in any gaps.”
Dean shrugged. “Not exactly a crucial piece of information there.”
Fair enough. He supposed it really wasn’t.
“What did you remember?” Dean asked.
“It’s nothing important,” he said.
“So?”
“I just keep thinking I need to call Uncle Will because it’s his birthday tomorrow.”
“Oh,” Dean said, surprised at the answer.
“Yeah.”
“Do you even know what today is?”
“Uncle Will’s birthday is November 1st.”
Dean snorted. “Well, you’re close. You were out for a couple of days. It’s actually the 5th.”
“I just...” He trailed off, looking for the right words. “It’s weird. I don’t even know the man.”
“Could you call him?” Dean seemed genuinely curious. “I mean, even if you wanted to, do you know the phone number?”
“602-555-3683.”
“Huh… My cell phone number?”
“Which one?”
Dean snorted. “Fine, smart ass.”
Sam relaxed back into the the couch. “What happened to me?”
Dean sobered. “It was just an accident. You’re doing fine. It’s just going to take some time.”
They lapsed into silence, the movie droning on in the background, until a rummaging in the kitchen made him jump. Dean glanced up. “Chill, it’s probably just Cas. I’ll go see what’s up.”
Dean unfolded himself from the couch and wandered into the kitchen. Sam got up and followed him after a minute. At the doorway he paused and listened. They were talking about him, he knew.
Inside Dean was saying, “I don’t know, Cas. He’s still scrambled pretty bad. He recognizes me. At least he knows my name and he seems to do better if he’s not thinking about what he’s trying to remember, but it worries me that he doesn’t remember his own name. And earlier he was talking about hearing whispers in his head.”
“Perhaps the sorceress did something,” a deep gravely voice said. “You did say she cast a spell before you could silence her.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
“I could examine him if you like.”
Dean sighed. “No. Not yet. I really want to let him remember if he can. He’s had too much mixed up to be digging around in that brain just yet.
“You know best.”
“No, I don’t at this point. I just think it’s better if we don’t throw too much at him yet. I think she mind melded with him or something. He keeps remembering things he shouldn’t.”
“He’s strong, he’ll heal in time.”
“Yeah. I know.”
Sam backed away slowly and tiptoed back to the couch. He sank into the cushions and took a deep, shuddering breath. Something was wrong. Something had happened and now something in his head was broken. When Dean wandered back out, Sam had had just enough time to compose himself so that he could smile at the snarky comments tossed his way.
The rest of the day passed quietly enough. Dean had unearthed some books that he was currently perusing. He didn’t feel up to much, he was still sore and aching and activity seemed to make him tired easily. He nodded off before Dean could force him to eat dinner.
~~~
He dreamed of fire.
There were flames all around him. He could feel them licking at his skin and he needed out. The lack of oxygen made him gasp and choke. He could see someone moving through the smoke. He tried to call out, but they disappeared. He tried to chant, put out the flames, but it was no use, they were consuming him and he was going to feel every second of it.
Through the haze, a hand reached out. It was icy against his cracking skin. No matter how he twisted he couldn’t break free and he couldn’t see the person who had grabbed him.
A mouth whispered in his ear over his own screams at the horror of the fire.
“This is what you’ve done to me,” it said in a rough whisper.
He yanked and tugged, but he was being held tight. He couldn’t move, he was just stuck. Where was Dean? Why wasn’t Dean doing something? He had to be there.
Another set of hands grabbed him, sending waves of fiery pain through his body. He screamed at the pain. He was shaking. It just hurt. It hurt so badly.
“Sam!”
He just wanted it to end. Please let it end.
His head cracked against something hard and he jolted up in bed. His hair was plastered to his head and he was dripping with sweat. Dean had grabbed his shoulders and was leaning over him, eyes wide.
Sam took a shaky breath and let it out. It had felt so real. Even now, he could feel the tightness of burnt skin and his lungs felt tight and irritated. He coughed, choking on the clean air of his room.
Everything hurt.
He looked up at Dean. He could feel the tears in his eyes, but he didn’t care.
Dean stared down at him in horror. “Fuck. What happened?”
Sam shook his head. “I was burning.”
Dean made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. “Okay,” he said. “Alright. It’s going to be okay. It’s probably not as bad as it looks.”
Sam frowned and glanced down at his arms. They were bright red, even white in some places, and blistering as though he’d gotten horribly sunburned. “What…”
“I don’t know man,” he said, pulling away. “Come on. Let’s get you up and out of those clothes. You’re still burning hot. Get undressed, gently. And I’ll run you a bath. We need to see how bad it is.”
Sam whimpered as he climbed out of the bed and began to shed his clothes. It felt like his skin was super sensitized and every small movement sent streaks of fire through him.
When he was down to his boxers, he stumbled towards the bathroom where he could hear water running. Dean was standing over the tub watching it fill. He turned as Sam came in and swore.
“Okay. Boxers too.”
Sam knew he should be embarrassed to be seen stark naked, but really he was convinced he was going to die if he had to pull them over his sensitive skin. He had lost all sense of everything. It all just hurt and it sent him into half haze that made him feel like he was floating.
Bracing himself, he pulled the elastic out as far as he could and began working them down. It was like someone was peeling away his skin, inch by inch. Finally they were off and Dean ushered him to the tub.
“Alright. In.”
Sam set his hand on Dean’s shoulder for balance and stepped over the side. He knew it couldn’t be terribly cold water, but it felt like ice. It was so cold it burned in whole new ways. He jerked his foot up, unable to stand the feeling.
“No, man. You have to. It sucks, but you have to. We’ve got to get you’re temp down and it’ll help ease the burns.”
Sam whimpered as he plunged his foot down. It took all his will power to set the other foot in the tub and lowering to sit was excruciating. Within minutes he was sure he was in Hell. He was shivering from the frigid water and burning all at the same time. Dean was running water over his back and chest and kept insisting that Sam do the same over his head and face.
Thirty minutes later, Sam was finally starting to feel semi-human and Dean seemed to have lost a little of his panic. At least until he noticed Sam’s lips, which felt entirely numb to him.
“Shit.”
Sam blinked up at him, tired and hazy. “Wha?” he slurred. He felt thick and tired. He just wanted to go back to bed and go to sleep. For days if possible.
“Dammit. You’re blue.”
Sam frowned. “No. I’m burn’d. Thas red.”
“Fuck. Okay. Stay here. Don’t move and don’t fall asleep.”
Sam hmmed and propped on the edge of the tub. Dean scurried out the door and was back in record time with a thermometer. “Open!”
Sam took the thermometer without complaint. Anything that let him be left alone was fine by him. Finally, Dean yanked the thermometer from Sam’s mouth and glanced at it.
He went pale. “Whas wrong?”
“You’re hypothermic. Fuck. We kept you in the bath too long.”
“So?”
“I don’t think I can deal with this here. Cas!” Dean yelled. “Get your feathery ass down here! Sam’s in trouble.” He turned back to Sam. “If he doesn’t show in the next thirty seconds, I’m hauling your ass to the ER.”
“’k”
With a rushing, Cas stood in their bathroom. He took a glance in Sam’s direction, then averted his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
Dean pointed at Sam. “That’s what’s wrong. He was sleeping, then screaming. When I woke him up he was burned to shit. Now he’s hypothermic from them.”
Cas leaned forward to meet Sam’s eye. “I can try to heal you.”
Sam nodded. “Sure.” He didn’t really care at that point. “Do your thing.”
Cas laid two fingers on Sam’s forehead and he felt a flush of warmth. It tingled in a not so pleasant way. Sam shivered, but when he blinked, he at least felt more aware of what was going on.
“I have healed the burns and your body temperature should stabilize soon. What caused this?”
Sam hugged his arms to his chest, distinctly aware, now that he wasn’t dying of the pain, that he was sitting stark naked on the side of the tub in front of Dean and Cas. Dean read his discomfort and threw him a towel that he wrapped around himself.
“I had a dream,” Sam said through a yawn. “I was trapped in a burning room and I couldn’t get out. Someone else was there. They grabbed my arm. She said that it was what I had done to her. I don’t even know who she was.” Sam looked at Dean. “What happened to me?”
Dean shifted uncomfortably. “Not here. Let’s get you in the bed and I’ll explain.”
“Dean, I swear if you don’t tell me right now, I’m going to strangle you within an inch of your life.”
With a grim frown, Dean grabbed him by his arm and levered him to his feet. “Once you’re in the bed. If you pass out in here, I’m not hauling you back to your room.”
They moved back to Sam’s room and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t relieved to be dressed and laying down again. Stupid brothers always had to be right. “Okay, what went down?”
Dean sat on the edge of the bed. “Brain check first.”
“Dean…” Sam whined.
“Don’t, Dean, me. You want answers, you play by my rules.”
Sam leaned back against the headboard. “Sam,” he said, pointing to himself. “Dean, Cas, my bedroom, 2016.” Sam pointed to each person as he spoke.
Dean scowled at him. “Whoah. Not so fast there. Okay. What’s your last name?”
Sam frowned. It was there. He knew it was there. He could almost remember it.
Dean nodded. “Thought so. Do you remember who I am to you?”
Sam rolled his eyes. “You’re my brother. Cas is an angel. We hunt monsters.”
“I get it, okay. It seems stupid and you want answers, but I want to make sure you’re all in one piece. So chill your ass out.”
Sam heaved a long suffering sigh but nodded.
“Better. Remember where we are yet?”
“My bedroom.”
“Where? Give me a location, a state, something.”
Sam scowled in frustration. “I don’t know. It’s like there’s big gaps.”
Dean nodded. “Fine. That’s fine. That’s all I needed to know. But it’s coming back, that’s good.”
“Can we talk about the elephant in the room now?”
Dean seemed to shrink a little. “Yeah. All right. So, you remember what we do for a living?”
“We’re hunters.”
“Right. So we got wind of this witch, who it turns out was more than a witch. She was grade A sorceress. And she was pissed that we showed up. We didn’t have what we needed, not really so we improvised. She got her claws into you before we could finish and I saw her do some sort of spell. I think she did some sort of mind meld with you. I don’t know. But you went down just as I got the fire going. She burned, Sam. I don’t know what else happened, but when I set fire to her alter, she went up too. And she sort of just collapsed into dust. She must have been centuries old. I think magic was the only thing holding her together.”
Sam stared at his lap. “So you think it’s her memories I’m remembering?”
“I don’t know, but it seems likely.”
“She had family.”
“Sam, she was kidnapping children and eating their hearts.”
Sam felt himself go a little green. He’d actually been feeling something like pity for her. He knew she had made relationships to people, although if she was as old as Dean thought, they couldn’t be her actual family. It was hard to line that up with child murdering sorceress.
“What do we do now? I don’t think I want to go back to sleep.”
“You’ve got to sleep, man. Whatever she did, it’s not been good for you. I can see the circles under your eyes.”
“But what if something happens again? She must be pretty pissed at this point. We need to solve this.”
“I know, but things like this can take days. You can’t go days without sleep. Not as exhausted as you already are.”
“We can’t take the chance that whatever this is will happen again. There are too many things that can go wrong.”
Cas, who had been lurking in a corner to this point, cleared his throat. “I think Sam is right.”
“What?” Dean demanded.
“The sorceress obviously intended to cause Sam to suffer. So far, it’s only happened in his sleep. Perhaps it’s best for now if we try to find a solution before Sam goes back to sleep.”
“Look,” Dean said. “I get that both of you are nuts, and you have a point, but Sam was literally deep fried in his sleep, lived through probably at least second degree burns, and was hypothermic for at least twenty minutes. Even healing him, that’s a stress. Sam, it’s a miracle you’re still awake now.”
Sam pushed himself to the edge of his bed, regretting having to leave the soft comfort of the mattress. “I’ll live, Dean. We have to try something.”
Dean threw his hands in the air. “Fine! You want to pull some crazy shit, then fine. I’ll be in the stacks researching if you two come to your senses or decide you want to help.”
Dean stormed from the room, flinging the door open as he left. It bounced against the wall. Sam looked up at Cas. “We have a library?”
<< Part 1 ~~~ Master Post ~~~ Part 3>>
Prompt: Possession/Mind Control
Fandom: Supernatural
Character(s): Sam, Dean, Cas
Pairing(s): Gen
Word Count: 2831
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never has been.
Warnings: None
Summary: A story about witches, brothers, and fire. And maybe a little amnesia thrown in for good measure.
They settled for watching a movie instead of taking a walk. He was toying with the remote, flipping channels while Dean was off rummaging for snacks. He jumped when Dean flopped down on the couch, bowl of popcorn cradled against his chest. He smiled and stole a handful, much to Dean’s annoyance. “This is my popcorn. Go find your own.”
This felt good. Right. “Nah, rather have yours.”
Dean scowled, muttering under his breath, but plopped the bowl down between them. “You’ll never change.”
He grinned. Maybe he could do something right after all. They watched a movie. An old one. He didn’t recognize it, but he couldn’t tell if that was because he had never seen it, or if it was just more of the same. Dean seemed to be waiting for some sort of epiphany, but it was unclear what it was, or should be, or when it was supposed to come. He kept trying to remember, but all it did was give him a headache.
Finally, Dean reached over and smacked him on the arm. “Stop that. Just relax. You’ll remember faster if you don’t force it.”
That was easy for Dean to say. He wasn’t the one who was basically lost with no idea who or what he was. Plus there were the weird thoughts that kept cropping up. Things about shopping, or kids, or relatives he was pretty sure he didn’t have.
“I don’t have an Uncle Will, do I?” He didn’t mean for his tone to be so pessimistic, but he’d lost any real hope of actually distinguishing between real memories and these other ones that were apparently bouncing around in his brain.
Dean frowned. “Nope. No biological uncles at all, actually.”
“Really?” He said, straightening up.
“Yeah, Mom and Dad were both only children.”
“Oh.”
Dean tossed back another handful of popcorn. “You remembering random people again?”
He shrugged. “I guess. Thought you weren’t going to try and fill in any gaps.”
Dean shrugged. “Not exactly a crucial piece of information there.”
Fair enough. He supposed it really wasn’t.
“What did you remember?” Dean asked.
“It’s nothing important,” he said.
“So?”
“I just keep thinking I need to call Uncle Will because it’s his birthday tomorrow.”
“Oh,” Dean said, surprised at the answer.
“Yeah.”
“Do you even know what today is?”
“Uncle Will’s birthday is November 1st.”
Dean snorted. “Well, you’re close. You were out for a couple of days. It’s actually the 5th.”
“I just...” He trailed off, looking for the right words. “It’s weird. I don’t even know the man.”
“Could you call him?” Dean seemed genuinely curious. “I mean, even if you wanted to, do you know the phone number?”
“602-555-3683.”
“Huh… My cell phone number?”
“Which one?”
Dean snorted. “Fine, smart ass.”
Sam relaxed back into the the couch. “What happened to me?”
Dean sobered. “It was just an accident. You’re doing fine. It’s just going to take some time.”
They lapsed into silence, the movie droning on in the background, until a rummaging in the kitchen made him jump. Dean glanced up. “Chill, it’s probably just Cas. I’ll go see what’s up.”
Dean unfolded himself from the couch and wandered into the kitchen. Sam got up and followed him after a minute. At the doorway he paused and listened. They were talking about him, he knew.
Inside Dean was saying, “I don’t know, Cas. He’s still scrambled pretty bad. He recognizes me. At least he knows my name and he seems to do better if he’s not thinking about what he’s trying to remember, but it worries me that he doesn’t remember his own name. And earlier he was talking about hearing whispers in his head.”
“Perhaps the sorceress did something,” a deep gravely voice said. “You did say she cast a spell before you could silence her.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
“I could examine him if you like.”
Dean sighed. “No. Not yet. I really want to let him remember if he can. He’s had too much mixed up to be digging around in that brain just yet.
“You know best.”
“No, I don’t at this point. I just think it’s better if we don’t throw too much at him yet. I think she mind melded with him or something. He keeps remembering things he shouldn’t.”
“He’s strong, he’ll heal in time.”
“Yeah. I know.”
Sam backed away slowly and tiptoed back to the couch. He sank into the cushions and took a deep, shuddering breath. Something was wrong. Something had happened and now something in his head was broken. When Dean wandered back out, Sam had had just enough time to compose himself so that he could smile at the snarky comments tossed his way.
The rest of the day passed quietly enough. Dean had unearthed some books that he was currently perusing. He didn’t feel up to much, he was still sore and aching and activity seemed to make him tired easily. He nodded off before Dean could force him to eat dinner.
~~~
He dreamed of fire.
There were flames all around him. He could feel them licking at his skin and he needed out. The lack of oxygen made him gasp and choke. He could see someone moving through the smoke. He tried to call out, but they disappeared. He tried to chant, put out the flames, but it was no use, they were consuming him and he was going to feel every second of it.
Through the haze, a hand reached out. It was icy against his cracking skin. No matter how he twisted he couldn’t break free and he couldn’t see the person who had grabbed him.
A mouth whispered in his ear over his own screams at the horror of the fire.
“This is what you’ve done to me,” it said in a rough whisper.
He yanked and tugged, but he was being held tight. He couldn’t move, he was just stuck. Where was Dean? Why wasn’t Dean doing something? He had to be there.
Another set of hands grabbed him, sending waves of fiery pain through his body. He screamed at the pain. He was shaking. It just hurt. It hurt so badly.
“Sam!”
He just wanted it to end. Please let it end.
His head cracked against something hard and he jolted up in bed. His hair was plastered to his head and he was dripping with sweat. Dean had grabbed his shoulders and was leaning over him, eyes wide.
Sam took a shaky breath and let it out. It had felt so real. Even now, he could feel the tightness of burnt skin and his lungs felt tight and irritated. He coughed, choking on the clean air of his room.
Everything hurt.
He looked up at Dean. He could feel the tears in his eyes, but he didn’t care.
Dean stared down at him in horror. “Fuck. What happened?”
Sam shook his head. “I was burning.”
Dean made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. “Okay,” he said. “Alright. It’s going to be okay. It’s probably not as bad as it looks.”
Sam frowned and glanced down at his arms. They were bright red, even white in some places, and blistering as though he’d gotten horribly sunburned. “What…”
“I don’t know man,” he said, pulling away. “Come on. Let’s get you up and out of those clothes. You’re still burning hot. Get undressed, gently. And I’ll run you a bath. We need to see how bad it is.”
Sam whimpered as he climbed out of the bed and began to shed his clothes. It felt like his skin was super sensitized and every small movement sent streaks of fire through him.
When he was down to his boxers, he stumbled towards the bathroom where he could hear water running. Dean was standing over the tub watching it fill. He turned as Sam came in and swore.
“Okay. Boxers too.”
Sam knew he should be embarrassed to be seen stark naked, but really he was convinced he was going to die if he had to pull them over his sensitive skin. He had lost all sense of everything. It all just hurt and it sent him into half haze that made him feel like he was floating.
Bracing himself, he pulled the elastic out as far as he could and began working them down. It was like someone was peeling away his skin, inch by inch. Finally they were off and Dean ushered him to the tub.
“Alright. In.”
Sam set his hand on Dean’s shoulder for balance and stepped over the side. He knew it couldn’t be terribly cold water, but it felt like ice. It was so cold it burned in whole new ways. He jerked his foot up, unable to stand the feeling.
“No, man. You have to. It sucks, but you have to. We’ve got to get you’re temp down and it’ll help ease the burns.”
Sam whimpered as he plunged his foot down. It took all his will power to set the other foot in the tub and lowering to sit was excruciating. Within minutes he was sure he was in Hell. He was shivering from the frigid water and burning all at the same time. Dean was running water over his back and chest and kept insisting that Sam do the same over his head and face.
Thirty minutes later, Sam was finally starting to feel semi-human and Dean seemed to have lost a little of his panic. At least until he noticed Sam’s lips, which felt entirely numb to him.
“Shit.”
Sam blinked up at him, tired and hazy. “Wha?” he slurred. He felt thick and tired. He just wanted to go back to bed and go to sleep. For days if possible.
“Dammit. You’re blue.”
Sam frowned. “No. I’m burn’d. Thas red.”
“Fuck. Okay. Stay here. Don’t move and don’t fall asleep.”
Sam hmmed and propped on the edge of the tub. Dean scurried out the door and was back in record time with a thermometer. “Open!”
Sam took the thermometer without complaint. Anything that let him be left alone was fine by him. Finally, Dean yanked the thermometer from Sam’s mouth and glanced at it.
He went pale. “Whas wrong?”
“You’re hypothermic. Fuck. We kept you in the bath too long.”
“So?”
“I don’t think I can deal with this here. Cas!” Dean yelled. “Get your feathery ass down here! Sam’s in trouble.” He turned back to Sam. “If he doesn’t show in the next thirty seconds, I’m hauling your ass to the ER.”
“’k”
With a rushing, Cas stood in their bathroom. He took a glance in Sam’s direction, then averted his eyes. “What’s wrong?”
Dean pointed at Sam. “That’s what’s wrong. He was sleeping, then screaming. When I woke him up he was burned to shit. Now he’s hypothermic from them.”
Cas leaned forward to meet Sam’s eye. “I can try to heal you.”
Sam nodded. “Sure.” He didn’t really care at that point. “Do your thing.”
Cas laid two fingers on Sam’s forehead and he felt a flush of warmth. It tingled in a not so pleasant way. Sam shivered, but when he blinked, he at least felt more aware of what was going on.
“I have healed the burns and your body temperature should stabilize soon. What caused this?”
Sam hugged his arms to his chest, distinctly aware, now that he wasn’t dying of the pain, that he was sitting stark naked on the side of the tub in front of Dean and Cas. Dean read his discomfort and threw him a towel that he wrapped around himself.
“I had a dream,” Sam said through a yawn. “I was trapped in a burning room and I couldn’t get out. Someone else was there. They grabbed my arm. She said that it was what I had done to her. I don’t even know who she was.” Sam looked at Dean. “What happened to me?”
Dean shifted uncomfortably. “Not here. Let’s get you in the bed and I’ll explain.”
“Dean, I swear if you don’t tell me right now, I’m going to strangle you within an inch of your life.”
With a grim frown, Dean grabbed him by his arm and levered him to his feet. “Once you’re in the bed. If you pass out in here, I’m not hauling you back to your room.”
They moved back to Sam’s room and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t relieved to be dressed and laying down again. Stupid brothers always had to be right. “Okay, what went down?”
Dean sat on the edge of the bed. “Brain check first.”
“Dean…” Sam whined.
“Don’t, Dean, me. You want answers, you play by my rules.”
Sam leaned back against the headboard. “Sam,” he said, pointing to himself. “Dean, Cas, my bedroom, 2016.” Sam pointed to each person as he spoke.
Dean scowled at him. “Whoah. Not so fast there. Okay. What’s your last name?”
Sam frowned. It was there. He knew it was there. He could almost remember it.
Dean nodded. “Thought so. Do you remember who I am to you?”
Sam rolled his eyes. “You’re my brother. Cas is an angel. We hunt monsters.”
“I get it, okay. It seems stupid and you want answers, but I want to make sure you’re all in one piece. So chill your ass out.”
Sam heaved a long suffering sigh but nodded.
“Better. Remember where we are yet?”
“My bedroom.”
“Where? Give me a location, a state, something.”
Sam scowled in frustration. “I don’t know. It’s like there’s big gaps.”
Dean nodded. “Fine. That’s fine. That’s all I needed to know. But it’s coming back, that’s good.”
“Can we talk about the elephant in the room now?”
Dean seemed to shrink a little. “Yeah. All right. So, you remember what we do for a living?”
“We’re hunters.”
“Right. So we got wind of this witch, who it turns out was more than a witch. She was grade A sorceress. And she was pissed that we showed up. We didn’t have what we needed, not really so we improvised. She got her claws into you before we could finish and I saw her do some sort of spell. I think she did some sort of mind meld with you. I don’t know. But you went down just as I got the fire going. She burned, Sam. I don’t know what else happened, but when I set fire to her alter, she went up too. And she sort of just collapsed into dust. She must have been centuries old. I think magic was the only thing holding her together.”
Sam stared at his lap. “So you think it’s her memories I’m remembering?”
“I don’t know, but it seems likely.”
“She had family.”
“Sam, she was kidnapping children and eating their hearts.”
Sam felt himself go a little green. He’d actually been feeling something like pity for her. He knew she had made relationships to people, although if she was as old as Dean thought, they couldn’t be her actual family. It was hard to line that up with child murdering sorceress.
“What do we do now? I don’t think I want to go back to sleep.”
“You’ve got to sleep, man. Whatever she did, it’s not been good for you. I can see the circles under your eyes.”
“But what if something happens again? She must be pretty pissed at this point. We need to solve this.”
“I know, but things like this can take days. You can’t go days without sleep. Not as exhausted as you already are.”
“We can’t take the chance that whatever this is will happen again. There are too many things that can go wrong.”
Cas, who had been lurking in a corner to this point, cleared his throat. “I think Sam is right.”
“What?” Dean demanded.
“The sorceress obviously intended to cause Sam to suffer. So far, it’s only happened in his sleep. Perhaps it’s best for now if we try to find a solution before Sam goes back to sleep.”
“Look,” Dean said. “I get that both of you are nuts, and you have a point, but Sam was literally deep fried in his sleep, lived through probably at least second degree burns, and was hypothermic for at least twenty minutes. Even healing him, that’s a stress. Sam, it’s a miracle you’re still awake now.”
Sam pushed himself to the edge of his bed, regretting having to leave the soft comfort of the mattress. “I’ll live, Dean. We have to try something.”
Dean threw his hands in the air. “Fine! You want to pull some crazy shit, then fine. I’ll be in the stacks researching if you two come to your senses or decide you want to help.”
Dean stormed from the room, flinging the door open as he left. It bounced against the wall. Sam looked up at Cas. “We have a library?”
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