The abandoned house, Saturday
Sam sat up with a start. He had no idea where he was and the last thing he remembered was sharp, shooting pain as Jake stabbed him.
Looking around, all he saw was cobwebs and dust. It seemed to be some kind of abandoned house. His nose wrinkled and he realized that the couch he had been lying on was moldy.
He shook his head, trying to clear his mind and figure out what had happened.
For all that he knew what he'd find when he reentered the house -- knew the demon couldn't be lying, had to follow the rules, had to give him what he wanted to get him where he deserved to be -- Dean still hesitated at the door.
When he stepped in and saw Sam not just alive, but, up, standing, and looking confused, he grinned. "Sammy."
Screw his chick flick moment rule. He moved forward to grab his brother in a hug.
"Dean, what... what the hell is going on?"
First waking up in some abandoned house and then Dean hugging him. Sam was quite confused.
Dean pulled back, took a deep breath -- and found a small stalling tactic. "What do you remember?"
"Not much," Sam admitted. "I remember pain. I think Jake stabbed me. But nothing after that."
He glanced around the room. "Where are we?"
Dean followed his gaze. "Milieux. That guy -- Jake, I guess -- got away. Meg flipped, so I had to get us back here --" He realized her was babbling and snapped his mouth shut, clenching his jaw a moment before speaking again. "But hey, no, what's important is that you're okay and so's she."
"Meg! The baby! She's okay?" Sam asked. "And wait. If I got stabbed, why are we here and not in the clinic?"
"She's there. At the clinic. She's okay," Dean assured him. "You're okay. I took care of it." He swallowed. "That's my job." Oh crap, his voice was starting to break. He took a deep breath and reached up to clap Sam on the shoulder. "I taught you that pretty well, right? So you can take care of Meg, and the kid and Piper and shit."
Sam stared at Dean. "Dean. What are you talking about? What did you do?"
Dean didn't answer him. He had to get this out before the demon came to collect. "You're right, you know. All those times you said you can take care of yourself. Just, you know. Be extra careful now, okay? Don't go getting kidnapped every couple of months."
Sam shook his head. "Dean, no. Tell me you didn't..."
"Don't be mad at me, Sammy." Dean's voice got rougher as he struggled to stay calm. "Don't you do that."
"Why?" Sam asked, sinking weakly back on the moldy couch. "How long?"
Dean turned his head, suddenly certain he could hear dogs in the distance. "Just enough time to make sure you're okay."
"Can we stop it?" Sam asked. "Call Phoebe and Piper. Maybe they can help."
"No." Dean's voice was harder than he'd intended. "No, Sam, we -- we don't have time for that." And if you do it, you'll die again. "Just -- be okay. Go to school and get your geek on and get married and have kids you'll keep. Don't forget what I taught you." The dogs were getting louder, and Dean stepped back towards the door. He didn't want Sam to have to watch. "I'm proud of you. I just want you to know that."
Sam didn't want to watch, but he also couldn't believe that his brother had sacrificed himself.
"Dean... I'm sorry. And thank you. For everything."
Dean shook his head, his hand on the door knob. "You don't have anything to apologize for." He closed his eyes when he heard the howl from just outside, then looked at Sam and tried for a smile. He'd done his job. His little brother was alive. He'd screwed up once too often, but he fixed it. . . .
"Tell Dad I -- tell him I went out doing something really great. And keep an eye on him for me, too, okay?" A thud rattled the door and Dean winced. He forced himself not to look back at Sam again and slipped out the door.
The hellhound hit him from the left, immediately tearing into him. Dean bit down on his lip to hold back a scream and just hoped if he didn't fight it'd kill him quick.
[ooc: still establishy. Probably still NFB. Dean is dead, long live Dean. . . . I'm told Sam will tell someone about this so's folks can react and all.]