Part 4

It had been a long day at the office. Sam was a partner now after years of hard work and reaping the rewards of it. His family was comfortable.

After Matthew was born, Reava came along a few years later, and his parents decided to move to California to see their grandchildren grow up instead of just waiting for the occasional visit. Sam bought them a small split-level fifteen minutes away, thankful for the nearby babysitters. That had been eight years ago.

Sam rolled his shoulders as he put the key in the door, looking forward to a relaxing dinner with Jessica. The kids would already be in bed. He threw his keys in the bowl on the console table and removed the rest of his tie.

Usually he smelled something warming in the oven when he got home late. There was also some sort of noise: television, radio, or even the laundry — the simple sounds of a lived-in home. That was also missing.

He went into the kitchen first, then to the family room, living room, dining room, upstairs to bedroom. The doors to the kids' rooms were open, beds freshly made. Sam felt his heart rate speed up, and sweat began to break as he went into the master bedroom.

"Jess?" he called out, then started increasing the volume. "Jess? Matt? Reava?"

His family couldn't just disappear. He rubbed a hand over his mouth. Maybe Jessica had told him they had a game to go to? He was always forgetting to look at the schedule. He raced down the stairs to check the refrigerator and came up short.

There was a stranger sitting at his kitchen table.

"Nice digs, Sammy," the man with short, light colored hair said as he rested his hands on the round glass table. On his finger was a silver band and bracelets peeked out from a plaid flannel sleeve.

Sam had a baseball bat in the hall closet; he started to back up to defend himself and his family. "Who are you? What did you do to my family?"

The man frowned and stood up. "Family? I'm your family." He came closer. "Dean, your brother, Dean," he said as Sam had his hand behind him on the doorknob.

Dean, the strange man, placed a hand on the closet door, forcing it to stay closed, then took Sam's arm and pinned it against his chest, forcing it up towards his shoulder. He gasped in pain.

"I don't have a brother. I'm calling the police." Sam moved his other arm to reach for the cordless phone but then it, too, was trapped in a vice-like grip.

"I can't let you do that." Dean pulled out one of the kitchen chairs with his foot and pushed Sam into it. "Sit. Your name is Sam Winchester. You were born on May 2, 1983. Your parents are John and Mary Winchester."

Sam tried not to move. His eyes darted around to look for a weapon or some form of help. "That's public information," he answered.

Dean rubbed his mouth. "Our mother died when you were six months old. When your girlfriend, Jessica, died you went with me to find Dad and hunt the Yellow Eyed Demon. You are a hunter, part of The Brotherhood, part of the future Triad."

"You're crazy." Sam hadn't meant to say it out loud. He prayed for his family's safety. He willed himself to be calm although his heartbeat was frantic in his chest. "I am married to Jessica with two children, and my parents are both living."

Dean's eyes widened as he shook his head. "No, that's a part of this dream world. You're not really here."

Sam remembered when this had happened before. He was lucky his wife was a psychologist. She had explained his delusion with the car. "You are not here. I must be under stress, like I was before. I wanted a brother because I was nervous about being a father for the first time." He hoped the Dean person would now disappear and he would awake from this bad dream. He pinched his leg, hoping the nightmare would end.

Dean smiled, patted himself on his chest. "That was me, trying to convince you to wake up. Caleb thought it was stupid."

"You have an accomplice? Is that who has my kids?" Sam started to rise from his chair. This wasn't a nightmare as much as he wanted it to be.

Dean pushed him back down. "You don't have kids!" Sam's eyes darted to the refrigerator that held some recent family photos. Dean caught the action and pulled a photo down. "Sonofabitch!" He ripped the photo, took the half, and shoved it in Sam's face. "That's Ruby, a demon bitch, not Jessica." Dean ripped up the picture and let the pieces fall to the floor. He then pinched the bridge of his nose. "Damnit, I'm running out of time here."

"Don't hurt my family," Sam whispered as he was overcome by deep dread of losing his family. "Please, don't hurt them."

Dean sighed, then backed up, his hands finding the edge of the table. "Way to go, Damien." He turned to the side and snapped his fingers while Sam tried to focus. "Look at the table. Is that the one you remember? That's the table from Jim's farm where we had lots of good times." Dean grabbed Sam's chin. "You have to remember Pastor Jim, Sammy."

Jessica had bought a smoked glass table for their kitchen because it set off the stainless steel appliances. They did not have an oak table, which had appeared in lieu of the usual table. Sam didn't know how that was possible.

"Sammy?"

He looked into Dean's eyes and felt a flickering of familiarity, if not in the green color, then in the nickname. His father called him that playfully on occasion when he was little. He stopped when Sam reached his teen years, and Sam hadn't heard it since.

"Yeah." Dean nodded, still holding Sam's chin. "This isn't where you're supposed to be. In my reality you've been sleeping for a long time now. You need to wake up."

"I am awake." Sam pulled his chin out of Dean's hands. He was starting to be lulled by the soft pleas.

"No, you're not." Dean pointed to the stainless steel kitchen appliances, the granite counter tops in the custom made kitchen, along with the kids' art work which Jess had hung up as part of the decor. "I know this life seems really good, but it isn't. It's really fucked up."

"And you're not?" Sam snorted. His voice took on a high pitch of panic he couldn't control. "You break into my house, kidnap my family, and are holding me hostage. Do you want money? I can give you money." There was a safe in the master bedroom with at least $5,000 in cash. "I want them back." He couldn't explain the table, but maybe Jess had a bought a new one and was going to surprise him.

Dean placed his hand on the top of his head, his nostrils flared. "I want my brother back. My brother, Sam, to just wake up, that's all I want." Then Dean grabbed the lapels of Sam's suit jacket and clenched them, giving Sam a bit of a shake. "You said you wanted a brother. Here I am, and all you have to do is remember and wake up."

"I don't have a brother!" Sam yelled with spittle spraying out in his anger.

Dean's chest was heaving as if he had been running a race. He placed a hand on Sam's chest, patting the charm Sam wore under his shirt, then smiled. "If you don't believe I'm your brother, then why do you wear the amulet? It's brass. Ugly dude with horns."

Sam's hand unconsciously went to his chest where the pendant rested. "How do you...Jess gave it to me."

Dean pulled the cord out so that the amulet was fully visible against Sam's blue dress shirt. "No. You gave it to me. I've only willingly taken it off one time, and you kept it for me then." Dean crouched down in front of Sam. "I'm your brother. You know it's true." Dean's hand went to his chest and he gasped, falling over so he was seated. "Sam." Dean reached out to Sam then disappeared before Sam's eyes.

"He doesn't have a brother," Dean mumbled, back in the motel room, leaned over the bed with his head resting on the foot. He couldn't move.

"Deuce, hey, you with me?"

He felt Caleb's hand on his shoulder, and the weight felt too heavy.

"Don't touch me." It sounded like a growl, which he could apologize for later because Caleb moved his hand away.

It took effort, which Dean tried to muster. Using one hand he pulled his amulet from his neck. The next part required him to lift his head, and he slowly felt that he was coming back into his body. In one movement he leaned back against the chair, then lurched forward to place the necklace on Sam's chest.

"Deuce?" Caleb questioned but stayed in his position with his hand ghosting his neck.

"Sam's wearing it in the dream. He's convinced he doesn't have a brother, but he has my amulet for a reason." Dean looked up at Caleb, his hand still resting on Sam's chest where the pendant rested over his heart. "Maybe it will lead him back to us." Somehow Dean meant that in more ways than with just Sam waking up in the here and now.

With a deep breath Caleb placed his hand on Sam's wrist.

"Damien — " Dean noticed that his friend was looking as badly as Dean felt, but all that disappeared when Caleb smiled.

"Sam? Sammy?" Dean shook his brother.

"Come on, Runt," Caleb also joined in trying to rouse Sam.

Finally, there was a groan, then Sam frowned before batting their hands. "G'way."

Dean looked at Caleb and they both started laughing, losing their breath as they couldn't control themselves from the relief of Sam waking up.

Sam cracked his eyelids open. "What's . . .What's the matter with you two?" He pulled himself up to his elbows. "What did you two do?"

Practical jokes were the norm for them, although Dean was unable to remember the last time they had done something to Sam. Dean regained enough of his composure to try an explanation. "You wouldn’t wake up so we had to go in and get you."

Sam narrowed his eyes, looked at the clock on the nightstand, then his wristwatch, then Dean's and Caleb's. "It's three o'clock in the afternoon?"

"Look outside if you don't believe us." Caleb gestured with his neck, remaining serious; reading the situation that Sam was in disbelief and thought this was some incredible plot against him.

"You had to go in and get me? You went into my mind?" Sam touched his forehead as if he was leaking brain matter.

“I was holding the door open," Caleb explained in his simplified matter when it came to his abilities. Dean knew it was to make them less threatening to him. "Your brother got the tour."

"It was like when I was with the djinn, but I was cooler in my dream world. I think you had a pocket protector and drove a Volvo," Dean quipped and waited for his brother to divulge what he saw. At least when djinn had tricked Dean, Sam was still there as his brother.

Sam remained silent, and his brow furrowed deeper.

"Do you remember any of it?" Caleb prompted, looking at Dean. "We don't know what happened or if someone did this to you."

"Someone wanted me to sleep?" Sam stretched his arms, and Dean watched as his brother did so effortlessly while his muscles were protesting movement.

"Or for you to learn something," Caleb added with a glance to Dean.

"Not if I can't remember. You think it was Castiel?" Sam looked between his brother and Caleb.

His brother was smart, not needing the situation spelled out for him. The fact his brother didn't have any recall showed there was no angel involvement. Unless Sam was lying to him, and Dean didn't want to revisit that discussion.

"Maybe. Or someone else." Caleb cleared his throat. "Ruby came by to see you."

Dean didn't answer the accusation with his information. He couldn't reveal he had seen Ruby in Sam's mind because Ruby would deny it. Then there was also the easier explanation that Sam's subconscious had just juxtaposed Jessica and Ruby since Ruby was the current woman in his life. Either way, Ruby was gaining power over Sam.

He was just glad there was a knock at the door because his brother's expression was one of anger. Sam was at the ready to defend Ruby.

"That's Josh," Dean announced. He stretched as he stood, feeling his tight muscles lengthen. He needed a Vicodin or possibly one of Josh's special teas.

"You called him?" Sam sputtered, shifting out of bed, looking out of sorts.

Dean let his brother stew as he opened the door to the older hunter. No need to divulge the agreement they had made with Joshua concerning Ruby or his duty to help Sam. "Adam isn't with him," Dean announced for Caleb's benefit.

"No, I came alone. Where's . . .oh, he's fine," Joshua said as he entered the room, moving his messenger bag off his shoulder.

Caleb stood and slapped Joshua on the back. "Don't sound too happy."

Dean didn't miss the warm greeting between them. Joshua and Caleb had a well earned mutual respect between them. No longer were they just tolerating each other. How pathetic was it that Dean was a little jealous of them since they weren't related by blood. "You were going to be his guinea pig," Dean explained to his brother with a smile on his face. Lately, Sam had the upper hand, but the pendulum was swinging towards Dean for the moment.

Sam's mouth had dropped open, then closed, then opened again. "You were going to let him use me as a test subject?"

"It's perfectly safe, and your name would have been mentioned in the results to the coven."

"Well, no offense, but I'd rather not. . ." Sam started.

"Help mankind?" Joshua raised his eyebrows and then pulled his bag back up from the floor by the strap that was slack in his hand. "I came all this way. I should at least get a blood sample."

"A blood sample?" Sam was backing up against the headboard of the bed.

"Sammy, you're always saying you want to save more people." Dean was perhaps enjoying his brother's discomfiture a little too much, but after all they had been through, he needed the comic relief. Caleb wasn't intervening either.

Joshua was going through his messenger bag as he spoke, "Well, normally we'd give the serum orally and then see the reaction—tongue, eyes, skin changes, but since you're awake that's not really possible. But a blood test might still help."

"He did come all this way," Caleb prompted with a wicked smile. "And you'd help advance. . .what do you call it? Because Mac would have a fit if you called it medical advances."

"The craft. This could be very helpful and breaking down poisons in the future." Joshua pulled out a vial, and it looked larger than a normal glass tube.

Sam stood up, wavered for a moment, but was committed to heading to the bathroom. "Hey, it's my blood."

"I bet Josh has a gentle touch," Dean assured his brother with a snicker. He wondered if Josh would be vindictive with a needle jab or rise above it to show he was the better man.

Joshua blocked his path to the bathroom. Dean and Caleb looked down as soon as Sam tried to beseech them with his eyes.

"Take it like a man, Runt," Caleb said, pointing to the bed.

Sam sighed and sat back down, offering his arm to Joshua.

Joshua tied off the arm with tubing, and in reaction Sam made a fist. Joshua didn't hide the needle he was using. He sort of looked like he waved it in Sam's face, making Dean choke off a laugh. "This won't hurt at all."

"Why don’t I believe you?" Sam asked, but directed the comment to Dean.

"Perhaps you’re still in shock from whatever it is that happened to you?" Joshua arched a brow. "Our relationship does sit on a solid foundation of trust."

Dean looked away as Josh went about his torture. He didn't like to think about needles since the incident with Rose and what she had put him through. "Besides helping all of crafting kind, will this test give you any clues as to what caused the Rip Van Winkle stint?" He wanted concrete proof of Ruby’s involvement to shake her hold on Sam.

"Only if there was a biological agent." Joshua tapped the vein.

Sam shifted. "You’re going to look for anomalies?"

Joshua held Sam's arm still. "In the sense that your blood would have a reaction to antidotes within the coven. Adam and I are working backwards in this case."

Caleb paced alongside the bed. "There was some kind of psychic component. That's the only explanation as to why I couldn’t connect with Sammy. I’m having no problem now, and it’s usually easier for me to reach him because of our abilities.”

"Then how were you a conduit for Dean?" Sam asked, looking away from tube slowly being filled with his blood.

Dean smirked because might as well go along with the jokes at their expense, then avoid them. "We held hands."

"What?" Sam grinned and Dean thought it was the first time since he awoke that it was a truly a reaction he expected from his brother.

"Josh’s fiancé is into the touchy feely stuff," Dean replied.

"Carolyn thought we might be able to tap into The Triad power," Caleb added.

"And it worked?" Joshua had finished and Sam bent his arm.

Dean shrugged. "We’re not sure but you’re awake."

Sam rolled his eyes. "What good is a power if we can’t even use it? And why did Pastor Jim never mention it?"

“Perhaps he didn’t understand it either,” Joshua said, capping the needle and putting it into a blue envelope. Dean recalled those envelopes from when Mac gave them injections. He wondered if Joshua got them from Mac, or had purchased his own as he flirted with being a quasi doctor. "It was rare for his Triad to hunt as a collective. That could have been cautionary."

"Julian, Maxim and Victor hunted together." Sam shook his arm out and glared at Joshua. "I’ve read all their journals. They didn’t seem to be afraid of being at risk, and nothing about Triad power was in their journals. Until Rose used it against us, we didn’t know it existed."

Dean thought about Pastor Jim's journal. He agreed with Sam- there was no information about Triad power in the journal. There was also no reference to why Mac, his dad and Jim only hunted together rarely. He assumed it was because they all had their own outside duties- Jim was a pastor of a church, Mac was a renowned doctor and Dad was falling an obsession.

.Joshua closed his bag after he had stored the blood inside. "There is still a journal you’re discounting."

Dean frowned. "Who's?"

"Their Advisor's, Benjamin Mosley."

"Missouri's dad?" Caleb had ceased his pacing.

Sam sat up straighter on the bed. "Now that you mention it, I don't remember reading any journals from past Advisors."

"And you won't," Joshua rubbed a hand down his mouth. "They’re passed down from Advisor to Advisor, guarded as closely as those of past Guardians."

"Makes sense," Caleb said. "The Advisor has access to Triad workings like no other hunter. He or she would have a unique perspective, access to all three and an insight to the group dynamic."

"Then Missouri should have them," Dean added. Missouri was the current Advisor. "They’ll come to you."

"I assumed the same thing, but the only journal Missouri has to offer is her own." Joshua fidgeted with the strap of his bag. "Missouri left me with the impression that the journals were the least of the unresolved issues Ben Mosley left in his wake. If you wish to incur the wrath of her spoon, by all means feel free to question her further."

Dean shook his head. This was one more thing to make Joshua insecure of his position of Advisor.

"One more thing we've been kept in the dark about. One more thing that can be used against us." Sam rubbed his head. "I'm going to take a shower."

Dean watched his brother make his way to the bathroom. This was unlike Sam, who usually loved a good mystery. "Those journals could make a difference for us, Josh."

"Which is why I assume Mackland has Bradley working on that angle." Joshua straightened his jacket. "Believe me when I say I would gladly take any advice I could get when it comes to assisting with you three."

"No amount of old diaries are going to prepare you for us." Caleb snorted. "You should know that by now." Caleb reached out, tugged on Joshua's sleeve. "Since you came all this way, then dinner is on me. I saw there was a Longhorn Steakhouse down the street." Caleb gestured with his neck to the right where Dean had also seen the large neon restaurant sign.

Joshua rolled his eyes. "I drive all day for your offer to clog my arteries?"

"Pretty much." Caleb shrugged. "We can't help it if he woke up. You told us to keep trying."

"How soon will you find something out?" Dean asked because his focus was more on Ruby than a Triad power that no one knew about.

"If we find out something, I'll let you know." Joshua glanced at Caleb. "This could be solely a psychic phenomenon as Caleb said."

Caleb remained silent, and Dean was thankful he didn't share his idea that the angels had interfered with Sam because that couldn't be father from the truth. It was Ruby. However, he didn't understand the purpose.

"About that psychic thing." Dean pinched the bridge of his nose. "I have a splitting headache; any way you can brew some tea?" He noticed Josh's reaction to him asking for herbs. "Hey, I don't want to go into Damien's stash of Vicodin. We need that for more serious injuries."

"Like losing a limb," Caleb commented. "Make it two cups and I'll even throw in the best bottle of wine they have."

"Wow, a whole $19.95, that's incentive," Joshua griped, but he was already opening his bag again. It was showing him their implicit trust. He may not have the Advisor journals, but he was their Advisor. In Dean's mind an unconventional Advisor with two loyalties to a tainted Triad seemed fitting.

"Can you make something for Sam so he remembers?" Caleb asked.

Dean shook his head. He could not allow that to happen, and his reaction stopped Joshua from answering. Some things were best left unknown. "Leave it." However, with Caleb the topic would be revisited at some point to find out if there were any ramifications for Sam. He would dissuade the Knight unless he proved it was Ruby.

It was his job to keep Sam safe. It wasn't that Dean didn't believe in Sam's dream world. He wanted all that for his brother and more, but he wanted to be a part of it, along with The Brotherhood, and he surely didn't want Ruby as a sister-in-law.

"To him it was a dream he can't remember, and I wish I had more of those."

THE END