Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Sam.”

Piper and Dean glanced at each other as Phoebe came back to herself. The look on her face was nigh on terrified, and after an already exhausting and terrifying night, they were already expecting the worst.

“What about Sam?” Dean spit out immediately.

Phoebe opened her mouth, but stopped before she said anything and sprinted towards the door.

“Phoebe?” Piper called after her, blinking away the last of her tears in confusion before starting to scramble after her sister, with Dean close behind. “Phoebe, what’s going on?!”

“It’s Sam!” Phoebe shouted, practically leaping over the banister when she reached the last flight of stairs. “There was a premonition-I saw Sam and he-and…” She choked at the end, leaving them even more afraid than before.

The other two reached the bottom of the stairs just as Phoebe was pulling the house phone off of its cradle, punching the buttons desperately before putting the receiver to her ear. “Prue, answer the phone…”

(-:-)

Prue’s phone started ringing.

She stopped in confusion as she walked back to the parking garage.

“It’s four in the morning…” she muttered to herself. She pulled it out of her purse anyway, and raised an eyebrow when she saw that the caller ID said that it was the Manor. She continued walking before she pressed talk. “Hello?”

“ Prue! ”

“Phoebe?” Prue could feel herself tense as she heard her sister’s voice. Phoebe had been in terrible shape when they had talked last. Her ex-boyfriend had been killed less than two hours ago. If she was already this worked up about something else, something had to be very wrong.

“Please tell me that Sam is with you!” Phoebe begged her.

Prue started speeding up a little. “No. I left him in the car to avoid questions from security. What’s going on Phoebe?”

“Oh no. Prue, you’ve gotta get back to the car right now …”

Prue didn’t wait for her to finish the sentence before she sped up, starting to run down the sidewalk and up the stairs of the parking garage.

“…I had a premonition and something was attacking him! I didn’t get a good look but you have to save him Prue! Please hurry!”

“I’m already moving,” Prue gasped into the phone. She pulled it away from her ear, and tried moving faster.

She had luckily only parked on the second level of the structure, making the journey quicker than it could have been. It was deserted, though, and her stomach started to go queasy as she ran to her car.

It was empty.

Her heart started racing.

“Oh no…” she breathed. She turned around, hoping that he had left the car. Maybe he’d gone to a vending machine or he wanted to look at another car or…

She started to breathe even harsher. “No-no-no-no…Sam!” she yelled. “Sam! Please say something if you can hear me!”

There was no response. The only noise in the garage was Phoebe’s tinny voice coming from her cell phone. Prue started to tremble.

Sam was gone.

She staggered backwards until her back hit the door of her car, heart racing, mind narrowing to the single, horrible idea that her little cousin was missing.

A single tear started to roll down her face. “Sam…”

(-:-)

A light passed by Sam’s eyes.

Then another.

And another.

Dazedly, he blinked, wondering where he was. He was in a moving car. They were passing street lamps at intervals, explaining the light. The last he remembered, he was in the parking garage. Where was Prue? Shouldn’t she be back already?

His eyes began to focus, though, and he realized that the car he was in was definitely not Prue’s sedan.

Also, there was a gag in his mouth, and ropes around his wrists.

The second he started struggling to sit up, a hand reached over, pinning him back down to the car seat.

“Now, now, Sammy boy, you need to stay where you are.”

Sam craned his neck to look up at the source of the voice. It was the red-head that Prue worked with. Hannah.

What is she doing here? He thought frantically, looking away and starting to struggle against his bonds. What’s going on?

“He’s woken up already?”

Sam froze when he heard Rex’s voice. He had known something about Prue’s boss wasn’t right. Why hadn’t he been more careful? He knew how to protect himself, and still this had happened.

“Kid’s more resilient than you gave him credit for.”

“Well put him back down anyway.”

Sam’s eyes went wide. No-

“Already ahead of you, boss man.”

The hand that wasn’t on Sam’s shoulder moved into Sam’s vision, holding a dark gray stone to his temple.

The world around him started to go dark, and he was unconscious without another thought.

(-:-)

There were already a few police cars around the building when Andy reached the parking garage. The police had already started sweeping the building, asking questions at any of the shops nearby or inside, hoping that Sam had just run off, but Andy knew better. Sam wasn’t the kind of teenager to do something stupid like that.

The other officers looked confused when he walked onto the scene. He wasn’t a missing person’s investigator after all, but when he had heard the bulletin go out over the radio, and heard Sam’s name, he immediately forgot about picking up an early breakfast to see what he could do.

Things might have been weird with Prue lately, but he couldn’t ignore this.

He finally saw her when he reached the second floor, standing a few feet from her car with the police officers that had come to take her statement. It was odd seeing her look so shaken. In all the time they’d known each other, Prue had seemed so strong, so practical and unshakeable. Now he could practically see the fear seeping through the cracks. She was jittery, trying to remember every detail as she talked to the police, and she was one push away from breaking completely.

“Hey!” he called, hurrying over. Prue looked over at him, eyes going wide with surprise. “I came as soon as I could…”

“Andy…” Prue breathed. She ducked towards him, and he immediately put his arms around her comfortingly. The on-duty officers nodded at him and moved off to talk privately.

“I don’t know what happened…” Prue choked. “I wasn’t gone that long…”

“Hey,” Andy breathed. “It’s gonna be okay. Sam’s a smart kid, and I know these officers. They’ll find him…”

“But what if whoever took him…” Prue started, but cut herself off, swallowing thickly at whatever terrible thought had come to mind. She drew away from him, shaking her head slightly.

“Hey, we’ll find him,” Andy repeated. “In the meantime, can you tell me what happened?”

Prue looked up at him, nodding slightly, before looking back at the ground. Wrapping her arms around herself, she started, “Last night we had a break-in at the auction house,” she started. “Then, an hour or two ago, I remembered I had brought a necklace home with me to do research on, and I wanted to return it before someone realized it was missing. I was keeping Sam company during one of his headache spells, so we decided to go ahead and return it now instead of waiting until I came in for the day…” She trailed off, clenching her jaw. “But I left him in the car. Damn it, why didn’t I just take him with me?”

As she spoke, Andy started to feel uneasy. He knew that Prue wouldn’t lie to him, not about something so important, but something was off. He knew Prue, and he knew that she wasn’t telling him everything.

But Sam was missing. Why would she lie now?

He reached out anyway, putting a hand on her shoulder. “You had no idea this would happen,” he told her sincerely. “Look, why don’t you go home. I’ll go with the police and see how I can help them. Try and get some rest, okay? I’ll call as soon as we know something.”

She bit her lip when she looked back up at him, but didn’t reach back to touch him as she started to turn away. “I’ll try…” she muttered quietly.

Watching her walk off, he tried not to take it personally. She was stressed. Her cousin was missing. But this hadn’t been the first time in the last few weeks that she had blown him off, and it was starting to sting.

He clenched his jaw and put it aside.

There were other things to worry about.

(-:-)

Piper wrung her hands, pacing back and forth through the kitchen as she waited.

Dean was in the garage, trying to call his dad. Prue was still with the police. Phoebe had flat out disappeared. Without knowing what was going on, it left her alone without anything to do to try and help. All she could think to do was wait.

She absolutely hated it.

Something crashed against the wall of the garage, and she was already racing towards the door to see what had happened when Dean walked inside. He no longer had his phone, and he was absolutely fuming.

“Dad still isn’t answering his god-damned phone!” he shouted.

Piper’s hand tightened around her wrist nervously, nails digging into her skin as she tried not to start panicking. Even with the last few months of monster fighting under their belts, Sam getting kidnapped was something that they were not ready to handle. Piper didn’t think they ever could be.

Dean’s first thought was to call for backup. Even though John hadn’t picked up his phone since they had received their powers, they had prayed that he would be around to help when his son was missing.

Apparently not.

She breathed deep for a second, moving out of Dean’s way while he stomped across the room. “Okay, okay, um...what about Uncle Bobby? You were going to try calling him, weren’t you?”

“I did,” Dean grumbled. “He’s on a hunt in fucking Maine . Of all the places…” He sounded like he wanted to keep ranting, but he stopped himself, and turned back to her tensely. “Even if he were to leave right now, it would be hours before he could get to his library, and even longer before he could get to us. He’ll try and do what he can from there, but all we have to go off of right now is Phoebe’s vision.”

“Which isn’t much,” Piper grumbled, eyes closing tight. She pressed her thumb hard into the center of her palm, trying to focus on something before she started crying.

“I wish I at least knew of somewhere to start,” Dean growled. He ran a hand through his hair agitatedly. “I don’t know if this is magic or if this is some creep-”

“It’s not.”

Both of them looked up to see Prue coming through the entryway to join them in the kitchen. “Everything that we have seen since we got our powers has been magic,” she continued. She kept her voice as flat as possible, masking the fear that they knew was threatening to break them all. Still, neither of them said anything, and she said out loud what they already knew. “If something took Sam, it’s because we’re witches.”

“Probably,” Piper agreed, biting her lip thoughtfully before looking at Dean. “Is there anything…”

Dean shook his head before she could finish. “Not without knowing more. Sam’s too old for the things that kidnap kids, too young for anything that wants men, and he knows about everything that goes after teenagers. I don’t know what the hell else would just grab him in a parking garage…”

“There has to be something…” Piper looking at Prue desperately. “What about the Police? What did they say? Did they find anything?”

Prue looked at the floor as she settled against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest, closing herself off even more. “Not while I was there,” she answered. “They were going to look into the security cameras or something. Andy…” She paused, wincing just a bit. “Andy showed up and told me to go home. He’s going to keep an eye on the police for me and let me know if they find anything.”

“That’s a start,” Dean muttered.

“Yeah, not much of one.”

Piper looked back up at her sister, surprised at how subdued her sister seemed. In her experience, Prue didn’t get sad or give up. She got angry. She couldn’t be breaking down now …

“Maybe…maybe there are other things we could look at. Maybe a warlock or…”

“A warlock could be anywhere in the city and we can’t track something we don’t know anything about,” Dean interrupted, his voice bitter and frustrated.

Piper closed her eyes digging her nails harder into her skin. “That doesn’t mean…”

The familiar creak of the loose floorboard in the hallway cut her off, and she opened her eyes to see Phoebe creeping in.

Even Prue seemed to take notice of just how bad of shape she was in as she glanced around the kitchen. She had her arms crossed over her chest, letting her curl up on herself and making her look even smaller than she already was. She looked like she hadn’t stopped crying since she had told them about her premonition, and like she was only moments away from breaking down again.

“I-I heard Prue come home,” she said quietly. “Did the police see anything? Do they have any idea what…” Her voice trailed off as she looked around the room, and saw how discouraged everyone else was. Her face crumpled just a little more, and she backed into the door frame. “Oh.”

“Hey,” Piper started. “No, We just need to start looking. We’re going to find him…”

“I’d sure as hell like to know how,” Dean grumbled.

Piper turned to him pleadingly. “Dean...”

“No, no, let him talk,” Prue spat. “He’s the expert. If he thinks this is hopeless I don’t see why the rest of us should feel any differently.”

Looking between the two of them, Piper felt the tears threatening to spill out of her eyes, and fought to keep her voice level. “Prue, please, not you too.”

“Piper,” Phoebe breathed. “Sam’s missing. We might not…He might…” She choked on the words, and put a hand over her mouth. For a second, Dean looked panicked about this, but Prue walked over and put her arms around her sister, trying to be soothing while at the same time glaring at Piper.

Piper stayed rooted into her spot in the center of the kitchen, looking at the three of them desperately. “Guys, we need to do something. We can’t...can’t just…”

“Get emotional? Freak out?” Prue hissed. “If there was ever a time to freak out, it’s now! How the hell are you still calm when Sam is missing-“

“I am not calm!”

Despite her wishes, the tears she’d been holding back finally made it past Piper’s eyes, but the exclamation still got everyone’s attention. She heaved in a breath. “Sam is practically my baby brother and he is missing- probably kidnapped by some monster for god-knows-what! I am about to break apart at the seams just like the rest of you! But that isn’t going to get him back!”

She broke off, wiping the tears off of her face angrily. “Uncle John isn’t here and Uncle Bobby can’t help us, which means that we are the only people who can help Sam right now. We can’t do that if we are falling apart and picking fights with one another.”

Phoebe curled up in Prue’s arms a little more. “But-”

“No,” Piper said sharply, looking at them all and pointing. “You are the ones that said it. We’re witches. We are supposed to protect people, and we are going to find Sam ! I don’t care how we do it, we are going to figure out what took him, got it?”

She did her best not to shake, and they all stood a little straighter.

Prue pulled away from Phoebe. “What should we do then?” she asked, voice going flat again.

Piper took in a shuddering breath. “Dean,” she started, a little hesitantly. “Where’s the first place you go search when you find a hunt?”

Dean didn’t answer for a second, but eventually closed his eyes, gritting his teeth when he got the answer. “The place where it happened,” he muttered, some of his earlier anger gone. “He went missing next to Buckland’s.”

Piper looked around pointedly, and Prue nodded.

“Then that’s where we start.”

(-:-)

The second time Sam woke up, he was in a dark room, barely able to see anything. A dull red glow coming from the door nearby allowed him to see the outline of a couch to his right and heavy curtains on the far wall. At least the gag was out of his mouth, though.

A few more moments of observation told him that he had been tied down on top of a table. His arms were stretched over his head, bound against what felt like hardwood. His legs were similarly bound, keeping him fully secured against the thing.

Probably an altar , he muttered mentally, trying not to freak out at this revelation. He tried to keep focused. If it’s an altar, they either want to cast a spell or I’m a sacrifice…

And that definitely did not help with the not freaking out part of his plan.

His breath sped up slightly, and he pulled at his bonds as hard as he could.

“Awww, Sammy, don’t be like that…”

He gasped a little before looking up. Hannah was standing in the corner, barely illuminated by the light from the door.. She looked just as smug as she had been in the car.

Sam huffed a little, trying to wriggle even harder. “What do you people want with me?”

She didn’t seem the least bit impressed. “And ruin the surprise?” she mocked. “Ha!”

Sam was really starting to dislike this lady. “If you want to kill me you are in way over your head,” he spat. “My family-“

“Has no earthly idea where you are, boy, so I’d be quiet if I were you.”

Light accompanied Rex’s voice as he opened a door on the other side of the room. He looked just as smug as Hannah. Leaving the door open behind him, he twirled his knife in one hand, walking closer to Sam.

Sam looked away from him, trying to see everything in the room while there was light. They were in someone’s living room, he realized. The furniture was high end, all in dark woods or red leathers. He wondered vaguely if it belonged to the people who had kidnapped him, or if they were just using it. Were they even people? Maybe they were just wearing someone else’s bodies like a terrifying meat suit.

“So what are you freaks anyway?”

“Freaks?” Hannah gasped mockingly. “Oh Sam, I don’t think you’re one to talk…”

“Shapeshifters?” Sam asked, still struggling with his bonds. “Skinwalkers? What? I feel like I should at least know what’s going to try killing me.”

“You talk an awful lot for someone on a chopping block,” Rex hissed, walking over to him and putting a hand on one of Sam’s bound arms, and held it down painfully.

Sam gasped and craned his neck to see what was going on.

Considering that Rex was holding a knife to his wrist, he kind of wished he hadn’t.

The pain shot through him, magnified by the fear and shock he was already in. He wasn’t being stabbed and the cut wasn’t nearly as deep as it needed to be to really hurt him, but it stung, and Sam’s heart beat faster and faster- wondering in terror what would happen next.

Rex ignored his struggle, instead holding a small bowl up to Sam’s arm, catching the blood as it oozed over his skin. Sam could still feel it dripping over the side of his wrist, pooling under his arm. When Rex pulled away, Hannah crossed the room to take his place, holding a thick bandage and a towel.

“Excellent,” Rex muttered, looking at the blood he collected as he walked out of the room.

Sam huffed, and tried tossing again, even as Hannah began wrapping his wrist.

She held him down firmly. “Hey, none of that. Keep bleeding like this and you might be too weak later.”

“Later? Aren’t you planning on killing me anyway?”

Rolling her eyes, Hannah flicked him in the nose. “Oh please, Sammy. You’re a Halliwell. We have much more exciting plans for you than just dying .”

It wasn’t reassuring at all.

Still, Sam stopped struggling, waiting at least for Hannah to finish bandaging his wrist. Even if he wanted out, she was right. He would need his strength to get through this, and a bandage could only help.

Eventually, Hannah stood, and walked after Rex.    

Once she was out of his sight, Sam sighed, and looking back at the ceiling as he tried to think.

They weren’t going to kill him, apparently.

But there were worse things than death.

He looked towards the window, hoping that the others were already on their way to find him.

(-:-)

Several stories below, standing on the sidewalk, Leo Wyatt glared up at the building, watching the exact same window.

He could sense Sam. He was injured, was in pain, but for the moment, the demons had left him alone. He was alive, and that was technically what mattered.

That didn’t change the fact that Leo’s charge had been kidnapped by demons .

This isn’t what’s supposed to happen , he thought harshly. I should be doing something.

He watched for a few more moments, reassuring himself that Sam wasn’t in immediate danger, before he looked to the sky and orbed away.

He touched down in the clouds just a moment later, and looked up to see Zachariah and Hester standing in front of him. Zachariah was still wearing the same vessel he had been last time, suit and all, while Hester was in her formal robes. Leo nodded to the two of them respectfully before reporting.

“Sam is with the demons. They haven’t hurt him badly yet, but I know they’re planning something terrible for later,” he reported. “They needed his blood.”

“I understand,” Zachariah answered, nodding before turning back to Hester. She nodded at him, as if she had been given orders before she orbed away.

Leo looked at him expectantly. “What are we planning to do?”

To his surprise, Zachariah just shrugged. “Well, I don’t really think there’s anything we can do. Or at least should do.”

Everything seemed to stop, and Leo just stared at him in disbelief before asking, “Excuse me?”

“You just said that your charge isn’t being threatened with death,” Zachariah answered. “His family is looking for him, and as you know, they’ve always saved the day before. There’s nothing to be concerned about-“

“Sam has been kidnapped!” Leo snapped. Zachariah stared at him, and Leo didn’t even flinch as he realized that he was yelling at one of his superiors-one of the Angels. “I think that’s pretty big cause for concern!!!”

“Leo, I understand that you feel responsible-“

“Of course I feel responsible!” Leo interrupted again. “He’s one of my charges! I was given this job to protect him­ -all of them-and you’re asking me to stand around and watch?!”

“Our interference is not always necessary,” Zachariah said blandly, all expression fading from his face. “But your compliance is. This is an order.”

“May I object to it?”

“You already have, I believe,” Zachariah added. “And if you don’t want to see what pains I can cause you-I suggest you silence your complaints. Your charges need a whitelighter, preferably one who can walk.”

Leo grit his teeth, understanding the threat. He stood at attention, and set his jaw. “They’re my charges,” he repeated. “At least allow me to watch.”

“I had no intention of stopping you,” Zachariah said plainly. “Although, because I cannot abide any interference, I’ll be sending someone along with you.” At his words, Hester reappeared, this time with the being Castiel at her side.

It had been a few weeks since they had met, during a similarly life threatening situation for the Halliwells. It was the same day Leo had been accused of being too close to his charges as well, specifically to Piper. He still wondered if Castiel’s involvement in that discussion was meant to be a threat, a reminder that there was someone more powerful right behind him if he messed up.

“Castiel,” he said in greeting.

The unfathomable voice responded, Leo. I am certain your charge’s family should prove capable of rescuing him in your stead.

The other thing about Castiel was his complete lack of ability to interact with others. Leo vaguely understood why Zachariah had asked him to meet with Leo and the other whitelighters. If he ever got an assignment on Earth, he would be hopeless.

So, he forgave Castiel’s denial of Leo’s point. “I’m sure they will,” he answered. “However, I would still like to keep an eye on the situation.”

Zachariah waved a hand in front of him. “Please, don’t stick around here,” he said dully. “But-make sure to keep Castiel with you?”

Leo glanced up at the angel.

“He’d be pretty hard to lose,” he grumbled.

(-:-)

In the Manor, Piper flipped through the Book of Shadows as Prue paced on the other side of the room, listing off the details of her place of employment.

“Okay, so Bucklands,” she started. “Auction house established in 1973 under Ray Buckland, before his son Rex took over last year. Housed in a building with numerous other companies and offices.” She sighed, and looked over at her sister. “That’s a lot of people to cover.”

Piper nodded. “Then we narrow it down. You were the target-you and Sam specifically. Whoever took him had to know that you would eventually take him there, which would be weird, especially in the middle of the night.”

“Maybe they followed us from the docks?” Prue suggested, sighing even heavier. “Damn-what if they have some sort of magical sensing power…”

“Hey-no,” Piper said, looking up sharply. “Don’t go down that rabbit hole. Who at Bucklands knows you and Sam?”

“I mean, Sam’s been with me to the office before…”

She trailed off, looking at the door as Dean and Phoebe came in. Dean had a bag slung over his shoulder, and Phoebe had rope.

Piper and Prue looked at them cautiously. “Um…what are you doing?” Piper asked.

“We need more information,” Dean said. “You and Piper keep going with running through the list of human suspects, but I need building history and an employee list. Maybe we can pick out something that looks weird.”

“So,” Phoebe added. “We’re going to break into the offices and see what we can find. Someone in that building is bound to have the information we’re looking for.”

Prue’s eyes narrowed. “You mean someone like Rex?”

“Not him specifically,” Dean said shrugging. “But yeah.”

“Uh, yes him specifically,” Prue said. “You know I have a key to his office, right?”

Dean and Phoebe both looked at her, and Piper rolled her eyes. “New plan,” she said. “Prue and Dean go to Bucklands. Phoebe, you’re with me and the book.” She looked at all of them, and went back to the book after she got a nod in response.

Phoebe joined her at the book and looked at the notes she had started taking. “So what are we planning right now?” she asked, as Prue and Dean went downstairs.

“We’re trying to figure out where we’re going to look when we have more information,” she said. “Once we have more information, we can narrow down the list of suspects based on…something. Don’t know what yet. Dean’s the expert.”

Phoebe’s mouth twitched to the side. “I wish I would have another premonition,” she grumbled sadly. “If we just knew that he was alive…”

The suggestion made Piper’s eyes narrow, and she looked up thoughtfully. “Huh,” she muttered.

“What?”

“Well, when you have premonitions, they usually have a trigger, don’t they?”

Phoebe shrugged. “Sometimes,” she said. “I mean, if it’s important, they just appear, but I can also get them…” she trailed off, realizing what Piper was saying. “If I touch something that belongs to someone!” Her eyes went wide. “I’m going to Sam’s room!”

(-:-)

Despite the hour, the police station was scrambling.

After the announcement that a child had been kidnapped, several detectives were brought in, starting to get information on the incident and all of the details involved so that they would be ready to go first thing in the morning. There were more than enough leads to go around: Sam’s friends, his school, distant family members, and of course, Buckland’s itself. But it would have to wait a few hours, until morning when the rest of the city had woken up.

Andy sat among them, filling in the blanks on the Halliwell family as they went. He knew enough from growing up with them, and more recently dating Prue, to stand in without a massive amount of research or statements from the family. The other officers at the station had all heard plenty about her and her family from him before, so while it might be unusual, they were willing to work with him, filling in any blanks they hadn’t gotten from Prue earlier in the evening, until the family had started to get over some of their panic.

Unfortunately, how close he was to the subject also meant that he was otherwise locked out.

Being at the crime scene to comfort Prue was one thing, but officially being on the case when he was that close to the victim? No one had even volunteered his name when the assignments were passed out, and he had only needed to look at the chief to understand that he wasn’t going to get one even if he asked.

So, instead, he stayed at his desk, seething as he waited for news. The other detectives swirled around, occasionally stopping by his desk to ask questions about various people that came up in their digging, assuring him that they were sure they would find Sam.

That didn’t help.

“You look like you could use a cup of coffee.”

Andy looked up to see Darrel standing in front of his desk, looking tired and holding out two cups of coffee. He sat one on Andy’s desk before rounding to his own, yawning widely.

Darrel hadn’t come in with the rest of the force. Andy hadn’t been positive why, but it made sense now that he knew he’d been benched for the duration of the case. If Any couldn’t get involved, his partner couldn’t either, after all.

Which made Andy wonder why he’d turned up now.

“What are you doing here?” he grumbled, taking the coffee with a frown.

“Wilson called, said I might need to keep you from doing something stupid,” Darrel answered, shrugging like it was nothing. “I hear your girl’s kid is the one that got taken and you’re taking it a little personally.”

Andy looked up at him sharply, catching the hint. “It’s not because he’s Prue’s kid,” he said sharply. “I’ve known Sam since he was in diapers, so yeah, I’m worried about him.”

It was the truth, but Andy could see that it didn’t change Darrel’s opinion. “I get that part too, man, but you can’t act like Prue isn’t part of this.”

As far as Andy was concerned, he could act however he wanted to, especially when it concerned Prue right now. He still didn’t understand why she was acting like she had. He could have put it off on stress if it had just been just tonight, but it hadn’t been. It had been weeks now, and he just couldn’t figure out what was going on.

He thought they were happy, that their relationship was going great.

What had changed? What had caused Prue to distance herself like this?

Maybe once Sam was back, he could get her to talk to him.

He looked pensively at his coffee, and took another sip before looking up at Darrel. His partner had evidently accepted Andy’s silence as proof of his point, and was settling in for the morning, ready to distract him and keep him from doing something rash.

Andy was starting to think that maybe he needed it.

(-:-)

The drive to Buckland’s was mostly quiet.

As Prue focused on driving, she tried keeping away thoughts that this was pointless. Sam could be anywhere. He could be dead by now. They were probably too late. But, Piper was right: they couldn’t think like that. Sam had to be alive. He had to.

Every now and again, she could feel Dean’s eyes on her, looking up questioningly, trying to find something to say.

Eventually, he went with, “He’s okay, you know. It hasn’t been that long. Sam knows how to take care of himself.”

Prue glanced at him briefly. “I know, I just…” She struggled to find the words before sighing. “I feel like this is my fault. I shouldn’t have left him alone. I put him in danger and he’s-“

“He’s your responsibility?” Dean asked quietly. “I know that feeling.”

The tone of his voice made Prue’s heart drop. “What…has this happened before?”

“Not exactly,” Dean muttered, looking down at his hands. “I know you all love Sam. You’re family, all grew up in the same house. Hell, legally, you’re his guardian. But-“ He paused, licking his lips and sitting back a little, bracing himself. “He’s my little brother. When I said as kids that it was my job to protect you-that wasn’t some childish bullshit. Ever…Ever since mom…” he trailed off, and Prue didn't push him, waiting until he said, instead, “...since the fire, Sammy’s been my responsibility. Dad’s always expected me to protect him, and there have been some close calls. Witches after kids when we were little. Monsters he couldn’t outrun. He ran away one time when we were staying at Bobby’s and I was so fucking scared.

“Losing him again now…” He took a deep breath. “I just…I get it. I’m scared out of my mind, and I’m as guilty of letting him get taken as you are. If we don’t get him back, I don’t know…”

The idea hung in the air between them, heavy and stifling, and Prue took a deep breath.

“I know.”

They pulled into Buckland’s garage a few minutes later. There were a few police cruisers outside, but no one stopped them, and it wasn’t long before they were in the building looking around the offices.

Rex’s was easy to spot at the end of the hall, his name printed on the glass, and Prue’s key got them in without any hassle. While Prue slipped on a pair of gloves and started to boot the computer up, Dean looked around.

Something didn’t feel right.

“Huh,” Prue muttered once the screen popped up. “There isn’t even a password…”

He didn’t answer her, instead trying to figure out what the feeling was, what he was noticing that the police hadn’t yet. In the dim light, it looked like just another corporate office. There were diplomas and awards hanging everywhere, and the executive desk was unnecessarily bulky. The walls were white, and the thin carpet was a dull blue color.

Except it wasn’t.

Not everywhere. A drop of red was next to his shoe, and he could see others trailing towards a closet on the side of the room, where it was pooled even more heavily. If someone else had been there, it could have been easily explained as a soup stain, or a leaky trash bag. But Dean was suspicious.

“Prue,” he started.

“Give me a sec, I might’ve found something,” Prue muttered. “There’s a list of news articles here for some reason.”

The closer Dean walked to the closet, the more he could smell the sickening stench of dried blood. It made his stomach churn as he got closer and opened the door.

There was no body, but on the shelves was something that terrified him far more.

“It’s a list of deaths…” Prue said. “This…oh my god. There are so many…Up until Rex took over the business there were way too many deaths in this building to make sense. How…why would it have stopped?”

“I might be able to shed some light on that,” Dean said, his voice tense as he pulled a book out of the closet. There was an inverted pentacle on the front, and Prue swallowed hard as Dean followed it up with a ceremonial knife.

Dean clenched his jaw. “Looks like your boss has something to explain.”

(-:-)

High above, watching from an overhang of the Clouds, Leo took a deep, relieved breath.

They had figured it out, he thought thankfully. They knew who had Sam, and they’d find him.

Hopefully before it was too late.

He narrowed his eyes in on the apartment where Sam was being held. He was still tied down, but the demons holding him hadn’t made any attempts at hurting him further. He was safe for now.

Why would you risk Zachariah’s wrath for them?

The question surprised Leo, and he looked over to where Castiel was perched nearby, if you could say that such a large being could ‘perch’. Castiel had been quiet since they had alighted on this watch-cloud, merely observing, as they were wont to do. The fact that the angel had a question in the first place almost surprised Leo.

It didn’t have to do with Castiel’s mission, after all. Or at least Leo assumed so. He didn’t know what Castiel’s mission was, aside from that it might involve going to earth. Yet, unless it was to get a clarification of their orders, Angels rarely asked anything.

He looked back down, not having to think about his answer. “Because they’re my charges,” he said simply.

His response didn’t seem to answer the question, though. But they are not your only charges, Castiel added. You have other missions, other tasks. These humans cannot be more important than your other orders.

Leo looked back up, smiling sadly. “I disagree.”

Castiel turned minutely. Without the facial expressions Leo would have seen on a vessel, he couldn’t tell whether Castiel was angry at the suggestion, or confused, or if the being thought Leo was out of his mind. But they had wanted a response, and Leo knew he should say more.

“I know I’m not like you. I started as a human, and I haven’t been a whitelighter for so long that I’ve forgotten that. Angels, the elders…you’ve all been around so much longer than I have, and you’re so much more powerful. The only thing you and I seem to have in common is the fact that we work for heaven, really.”

Castiel shifted again. Then perhaps it is an affliction that will leave you as you age, as your grace becomes stronger, they suggested.

“Maybe,” Leo admitted, laughing a little. “But I hope that day never comes.” He looked back over the ledge, smiling. “I know you angels aren’t a part of it anymore, but humans…I believe they’re the reason why we’re here. Heaven was put in charge of protecting them for a reason, and not just because of demons, or God’s plan.”

Everything is about God’s plan.

“Maybe, but humans are part of that too. You’ve all been so detached from them that you fail to realize all you can learn from them. Even amongst the pain and suffering, there is so much joy. They are kind when they don’t have to be, and risk their lives for the sake of others, rather than because they were told to. Maybe not all the time, everyone has their faults.

“When I was still human, I was a doctor, you know? I wanted to heal and help people. It’s why I was made a whitelighter, and before all else, healing and helping is my primary function in the host. And that means protecting my charges. I have to keep them safe, even when it goes against orders.

“I don’t know why angels aren’t the same way. I was under the impression it was your job too. Maybe it’s how powerful you are compared to them, or maybe their lives are so short that you see it as inconsequential. I don’t know.

“I do know, though that if it means losing what I have left of my humanity, the ability to care, I don’t really see the point in being here.”

Perhaps it is your humanity that makes you so partial to them, Castiel suggested.

“Perhaps it is, perhaps not,” Leo said, shrugging. “Let me know if you’re ever mortal for a day. We’ll see if you understand.”

Castiel didn’t say anything else, but he moved closer to the ledge, sitting a little closer to Leo, and looking over. It was as if they were trying to see what Leo did, trying to understand. Despite himself, Leo smiled briefly.

But he also remembered where this was coming from, and frowned. “If the others look like they’ll be too late to save him, I will go down there,” he said. “I don’t know what they want to do, but I won’t risk my charge’s life because Zachariah believes it is inconsequential.”

It was silent for a few moments as Castiel continued to look over the edge, not saying a word before they persisted, I have my orders.

“Your orders are to prevent me from doing my duty.”

They are , Castiel agreed, and for a moment, Leo believed he heard unease in the being’s voice. And neither of us have the authority to oppose that.

(-:-)

Piper looked at the page she had opened the Book of Shadows to one last time before starting to search the attic for the supplies she would need for this spell. There wasn’t a guarantee that it would work, considering that the Book said it was meant to find lost objects, but maybe, with enough focus and intent, they could locate Sam instead.

She looked up when Phoebe came back into the room, looking a little disappointed. “No luck?” she asked quietly.

Phoebe shook her head, and tumbled onto the sofa, putting her head in her hands.

Setting down the parts of the spell, Piper stood and walked over to hug her sister. All of this was starting to feel like too much. All of them were feeling it, and Piper knew it had to be worse for Phoebe.

“I don’t know what else to try,” Phoebe breathed tiredly, obviously fighting off tears. “I tore his room apart looking for something that would give me a vision, and there was nothing.”

“Shhhh,” Piper said soothingly, pressing her cheek to the top of Phoebe’s head. “It’s not your fault…”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s my fault or not!” Phoebe choked on the words, breathing raggedly. “I can’t…we can’t lose him Piper. And I can’t stand around here and not do anything to help. If I stop I’ll…”

She choked again as tears returned to her face, and Piper held her closer.

“We’ll find him,” Piper said resolutely. “I promise we’ll find him, and getting premonitions isn’t the only thing you can do.”

The declaration made Phoebe pull back, snapping back to attention with a little spark of hope in her eye. “What did you find?” she asked.

Piper pulled away, turning back to the coffee table where she had laid everything. “There’s this spell,” she said, sitting on the couch next to her sister and sorting through her tools. “It’s not a big one, just scrying for his location with a pendulum. I don’t know if it can be used to find human’s too, but we can damn sure try.”

Phoebe followed her closely. “What’s the incantation?” she asked, gently picking up the amethyst pendulum Piper had brought out.

“There isn’t one, from what I can tell,” she said. “It’s just magic. We hold it over a map,” she held up the California Road Atlas she had pulled off of the shelf, “and move the pendulum around. Eventually, the magic will pull it down onto the map and show where he is.”

Phoebe nodded, and sat up a little straighter, handing the pendulum back to Piper after she opened the map up to San Francisco.

It took her a few minutes to figure out how to hold the chain, but she slowly started swinging the crystal over the page. They both watched it anxiously, their hearts beating faster with every minute that it didn’t drop.

And they slowly started to wonder if they were doing it wrong.

“They can’t have taken Sam out of the city,” Piper muttered, her voice edged with panic.

“They haven’t had enough time, have they?” Phoebe paused for a moment as her eyes went wide. “Can demons teleport?”

Piper froze, and she put the pendulum down before going back to the shelf to see if they had another map.

Phoebe flinched a little at the idea. How were they going to get to him in time if he was on the other side of the country, or the world for that matter?

She dropped her head onto the table, forehead hitting the map with a slap, and she gasped.

An image came to her, trailing up the body of a kid who’s hands and feet were tied. Eventually, it focused on the face, and Phoebe wanted to collapse as she realized that it was Sam. Not only that, but his eyes were open, looking around the room he was in warily.

Sam was alive!

“Phoebe?” Piper asked sharply. “Phoebe what is it? What happened?”

“It’s Sam. He’s alive. He’s tied up somewhere, but he’s alive.” Her face radiated relief as she looked back at the map on the table. “I got the vision from the map of San Francisco. He’s gotta still be in the city.”

Piper walked back over. “Then why isn’t scrying working?”

“You said it was for objects, right?” Phoebe asked. “What if we need more focus to find a human? We’ve done that before, right, where you need a representation of someone to find them, or something that means something to them? I’ll be back.”

Without delay, Phoebe jumped to her feet and ran out of the room, leaving Piper looking nervously at the map. She tried reasoning through it. Phoebe wouldn’t have gotten the vision from this map if it wasn’t important. Maybe it wasn’t San Francisco specifically, but he was definitely in California. They still had a chance. They could save him.

Phoebe came running back in a moment later. She had one of Sam’s school photos in her hand, as well as his backpack for good measure. Piper took them delicately, and kept one hand on his photo as she started scrying again.

For three nerve wracking minutes, she swung the pendulum, and felt her heart surge when it dropped.

Phoebe sagged with relief, breathing sharply. “We found him,” she said shortly. “He’s downtown. We’ve gotta…”

“We’ve gotta get a hold of Prue and Dean,” Piper said, using a pen to mark the spot on the map before she got up and started moving for the attic phone.

Before she got that far, though, they heard the rumbling of a familiar engine.

They ran downstairs without another word.

Prue and Dean walked in at the same time Piper and Phoebe reached the front hall. Whatever they had found had left them both looking dire, making Piper nervous when Dean held up a strange looking book. “We have a problem.”

(-:-)

The book was called a Grimoire.

Apparently, it was the demonic version of the Book of Shadows.

The girls felt their stomachs roil just looking at it, a perverse reflection of the book they used to help people.

Dean had other problems.

“We’ve got demons,” he said, his voice sharp and angry.

“So, Kali was a demon and we took care of her,” Phoebe said, nudging the book away from her in distaste. “Is this different?

“Yeah,” Dean growled, pacing across the attic floor as he tried to figure out how they were going to handle this. “Kali wasn’t even really in our dimension, she could only interact with it and possess people through a mirror. This guy may have been possessing Prue’s boss for months just waiting for the right time to go after Sam.”

Without warning, a shelf full of books flew to the floor behind them. Everyone jumped before looking at Prue, whose fists were balled as she glared at the coffee table. Dean had told her as much in the car, and she was still furious.

Her own bosses had targeted them, and she had missed it.

It would have been one thing if they had earned her trust, if they had somehow tricked her, but Hannah had been nothing but cruel to her since the day they met. Rex was almost too friendly, now that she thought about it, and she felt sick as she thought of all the ways he had played her.

“We need to make them pay,” she hissed. “How do we do that?”

“Same way we beat Kali?” Piper suggested, sounding doubtful from the way Dean was storming around. “Exorcisms?”

“Maybe?” He sounded unsure, though, and he raked his hands through his hair as he thought about it. “I mean, exorcisms should work, but first we’d have to keep the demon still long enough to say the thing, and we don’t know how strong it is. If it’s old enough…” he trailed off, letting out a huff. “The older the demon, the more tricks they have up their sleeves. Bobby’s got reports of older demons fighting off exorcisms, laughing at holy water. If these demons are old enough to have a grimoire like that, we’re gonna have a hard time.”

“And there’s no way to kill them instead?” Prue asked angrily.

“No. No hunter on earth knows how. Bobby’s been looking for years, and there are myths about a gun, but it’s never panned out.” Dean shrugged before looking at Phoebe. “You said Sam was tied up?”

She nodded. “It was like when Javna took me,” she said. “He was on a table with his arms and legs on each corner. Like they were doing a ritual with him.”

“Were there any other signs in the vision?”

“No, just Sam,” she said, a little frustrated as she thought about it. “I think it was only to tell me that Sam was alive, not any details.”

“Okay, then what else do we know?” Dean grumbled.

“We know the address he’s being kept at,” Piper said. “If we get in there fast enough, keep them distracted, we could just grab him and run.”

“Sounds dangerous,” Prue muttered.

“Are you saying we shouldn’t do it?” Phoebe asked, a note of challenge in her voice

“I’m saying, that you shouldn’t.”

Her words made Piper’s eyes go wide and angry. “Excuse me?”

Prue looked up, pursing her lips as she glanced between her sisters. “I don’t want you getting hurt too. The fewer of us there are, the fewer of us they can-”

“I don’t care.” Piper stood up and faced them both. “All of us love Sam, all of us want him back. You don’t get to side line us on this one when it’s never been a problem before, and you are not putting yourselves in danger and leaving us behind.”

“Piper, you heard Dean: these demons are bad news. We’re already risking losing Sam with this,” Prue breathed. “I can’t risk it with you too.”

“Well, tough,” Phoebe said, speaking up as well. “Because I’m not risking losing you either.”

“Guys, please…”

“Prue, no. They’re right on this one,” Dean said, looking over at her. “Look, I don’t like it either, but we don’t know what we’re walking into. It could just be Rex, but what if there are more demons there? That’s without asking what kind of tricks he has up his sleeves already. The demon could have more power than we can handle. Someone has to get in and get Sam, the rest of us need to make sure that we don’t get killed while doing it. We need everyone.”

Prue grit her teeth, and looked at the floor as she realized she was entirely outnumbered.

She didn’t find anything else to say as Piper moved away, going back to put the Book of Shadows away. “Looks like we need to get ready for a fight,” she said. “What do we need?”

Turning grimly towards the door, Dean waved them to follow him.

“Got everything we need downstairs. Let’s get you geared up.”

(-:-)

Outside of the window, Sam could see the sky start to lighten. It was nearly dawn, and he could see the first rays of light starting to streak through the sky.

If he made it out of this, Sam really hoped he wouldn’t have to go to school in the morning. Actually, forget that. He’d probably pass out as soon as it was over anyway.

His head lolled back, and he looked at the ceiling. Since he had been tied up, he had yet to figure out anything more about the situation. Rex had mostly stayed out of the room, working on his dastardly plan in private rather than where Sam could watch and potentially learn more about him. Hannah had returned with a magazine, and flopped out on the couch nearby.

She seemed bored more than anything.

A little part of Sam was insulted. Was he really that little of a threat? That a single demon could be bored while watching him?

Maybe he should have been grateful, considering that it meant she was paying less attention. Still, he still hadn’t found a way to escape, so her inattentiveness didn’t help him much. The bonds around his wrists were still too tight for him to slip out of, and they had taken his knife when he was unconscious. He was still stuck. At least Hannah hadn’t put him back to sleep.

But lying there, not being able to do anything was driving him crazy. He had to figure out some way…

He looked back over at Hannah, trying to look bored, maybe even annoyed to hide the fear lingering in his voice. “So why me?”

Hannah put up a finger, telling him to wait as she finished a paragraph. Sam rolled his eyes before she looked back to him. “What was that, Sammy?”

“Why me?” Sam repeated. “You were both around Prue more often. You had way more chances to get her.”

Hannah rolled her eyes, and looked back to her magazine. “Oh Sam, there are just some things that a boy your age shouldn’t know.”

Sam glared. “Um, you have me tied to a table. You don’t have to supervillain monologue or anything, but a little information why I’m the lucky Halliwell on your chopping block would be great .”

She snorted at him, and closed her magazine. “Aww, are you feeling singled out?” she cooed at him, leaning over the table and actually pinching his cheek. “Well, don’t worry too much about that. You weren’t our first target. We didn’t intend for any of you to find out who we were, not yet at least.”

“But you have been targeting us?” Sam asked, filing that information away. “That’s why Prue was hired at the auction company?”

“Obviously,” Hannah said, snorting slightly. “I mean, the witch is good at her job, but how else were we going to get in her pocket? It’s not like I was going to make friends with her…”

Which wasn’t surprising. Hannah’s attitude, from what Sam knew, had never been ‘friendly’, not to Prue or any of their other coworkers. From what Sam had heard, she had actually vowed to kill one of the appraisers while under a Truth Spell. “I doubt you could’ve pulled it off if you tried,” he agreed flatly. “Definitely too much of a bitch to get Prue on your side.”

As far as Hannah was concerned, it wasn’t even an insult, and she gave him a saccharine smile in response. “Oh, you say the sweetest things, Sammikins.”

Sam made a face. “So why? Were you just watching us?”

“What else was there to do?” She asked, rolling her eyes. “Let’s just say that there’s…an interested party who wanted eyes on the Halliwell Family. We signed on to wait and watch, see how you ickle-witchies used your powers, how you fought. And I have to say, your grasp on magic is hilariously disappointing…but you white-witches usually are disappointments, after all.”

“What about me? This doesn’t look like watching.” Sam tugged at the ropes on his wrists again, emphasizing his point.

“You got me there. Our interested party, it seems, has a special interest in you.”

Her voice went low, reveling in something dark and dangerous. Whatever tortures she was dreaming up, Sam wanted no part in it. He grit his teeth, and fought against the sick feeling that pooled in his stomach. He took a deep breath, remembering the one subject that seemed to have an interest in him since all of this had started.

“The yellow-eyed demon?”

Hannah’s grin grew wide. “That’s the one.”

His heartbeat picked up speed, and all pretense of annoyance dropped from his face in the wake of his fear. “What does he want with me?” he growled, voice cracking. “Is-is it my family? My powers?”

With one last laugh, Hannah stood up. “Oh, honey, you’ll get your answers soon enough.”

She stalked away from him towards the windows, and drew the curtains shut. Sam looked away, and tugged at his restraints again. As much as he wanted to know who the demon was, what he wanted with Sam, he didn’t want to find out while he was tied to a table. Closing the curtains meant they were playing tricks with Sam’s head now, or that they were almost ready to do with him what they wanted.

It wasn’t long before Hannah turned back, taking a seat back on the couch. She grinned at the absolute terror on his face. “Oh come on Sam. Don’t get upset now; you were the one that wanted to know.”

Sam huffed. “Yeah, thanks for that,” he grumbled, looking back at her. “Won’t your boss be irritated that you’ve been talking to me? Rex doesn’t seem like he wants me knowing anything.”

With a little snort, Hannah slouched back on the couch. “Rex? Oh, he might be my superior in front of you, but he’s hardly the boss of me.”

“So you like to believe.”

The two of them looked over just as Rex walked into the room. In his hands was a pewter bowl, kept carefully level as he walked further into the room.

Hannah rolled her eyes at him, but said nothing, instead watching as he walked in and set the bowl down on an end table. He looked back at Sam, grinning slightly.

“Looks like it’s showtime.”

Sam looked at him, and his eyes widened as Rex looked towards the window.

The sun had been rising. Whatever ritual they were performing needed to be completed at dawn.

He felt every muscle in his body tense, eyes darting around the room one last time as he tried to find a way that he could get out of this. His family had to be on their way. He had to break free of the ropes. He had to do something.

He did none of that as Rex looked down at him maliciously, and pulled out a knife.

It was too late anyway.

(-:-)

Every muscle in Leo’s body tensed.

It was starting.

The ritual, or whatever it was, was about to begin, and his charge was still down there, all alone.

The other Halliwells were on their way, but they were still at least fifteen minutes from arriving. That was plenty of time to perform the ritual, and Rex was already standing over Sam with the knife.

He glanced over at Castiel. The angel didn’t move, but Leo would have been a fool to think that he wasn’t on alert, especially now that it was starting.

Deep in his chest, Leo knew that he didn’t stand a chance at getting around Castiel.

For his charge’s sake, though, he had to try.

As quietly as possible, he started to orb, but before he could even lose his footing on the cloud, a hard pull of grace forced him back. He was thrown into the archway that led to the watch station, grunting as he slid back to the ground, and Castiel was upon him.

Leo, this is folly . You must stop, Castiel ordered .

“Sam’s in trouble,” Leo grunted, staggering back to his feet. “I can’t just sit here.”

He was knocked back down without any warning, and Castiel still hovered over him. And I can’t let you go .

Something pressed against Leo’s shoulder.

The next thing he knew, everything went black.

(-:-)

Sam screamed as Rex cut his arm again.

He had tried hard to stay strong, tried to act like these demons were nothing as far as he concerned. It had worked for a while. He had roughed through the first cut, and kept his mouth closed during the second. But as they worked up to the third, and then switched to his other arm, he hadn’t been able to take it anymore. His headaches were one thing, but the searing cuts running up and down his arms were different. Blood ran down his arms in slow streams now, dripping onto the carpet in tiny droplets, oozing into his t-shirt.

So far, the cuts weren’t deep enough to make Sam bleed out, but he wasn’t naïve enough to think that would last.

Hovering above him, Rex looked like he was enjoying this., as if causing Sam pain was like a bonus for him after all his hard, hard work. Leaning against a nearby wall, Hannah was grinning as she mixed ingredients together in a mortar bowl. Sam got the impression that it’s contents were part of the next step in the ritual.

Which meant all of the pain he was going through now was just the beginning.

Rex dragged the blade over Sam’s arm again, and he choked out another pained shriek.

“Alright, now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Rex laughed. He stood, motioning to Hannah to bring the bowl over to him.

“Now for the hard part…”

“For you or for me?” Sam croaked, gritting his teeth.

Rex rolled his eyes as he took the bowl from Hannah’s hands. “Me, of course,” he said in amusement. “I really don’t care how hard this is for you.”

Sam saw him pull a thin paintbrush out of the bowl, the end coated with a thick brown liquid. He didn’t let any of it drip onto the floor as he moved back to Sam’s side and started painting down his arms in small concentrated squiggles. From the way he was tied, Sam couldn’t see what the symbols were, and he didn’t exactly care once the brown ooze touched his cuts.

He had been right.

The pain the knife had caused was like a sunburn compared to this.

Sam didn’t even try to hold back his screams as Rex painted each cut in turn, starting another cascade of the white hot pain. Each cut felt like it was on fire, and slowly, he could feel the blood stop oozing across his arms as the pain starting to wind its way up and down his arms, into his fingers and shoulders, starting into his chest.

By the time the last cut had been painted, every nerve in his body was screaming that this wasn’t right.

Over his screams, he heard a loud bang, and Rex’s voice saying, “Looks like they found us after all. Keep the door covered, I’ll wrap this up.”

Through the pain, the only thoughts Sam could parse were how he wished that it would stop. He couldn’t deal with this anymore. Why was this happening? What did Rex want from him? What could he do to make him stop ?

Rex’s voice came through the haze, chanting lowly in Latin. The symbols on Sam’s arms glowed slightly, burning even hotter than the rest of his body.

Whatever banged on the door hit it again, and then again.

The fourth try was a gunshot.

Hannah yelled something, and then Sam heard Prue’s voice too.

Prue.

Prue was here.

Prue was here, which meant so was Dean and Piper and Phoebe.

They would make it stop.

If Rex didn’t start this on them too.

His voice cracked from the screaming, and at the end of one of Rex’s words, the symbols on Sam’s arms stopped glowing. The burning of the cuts came to an abrupt stop.

His chest heaved as he dragged in as much air as he could. The pain in the rest of his body was still searing, and his throat felt raw, but this tiny bit of relief was enough to get his bearings. His eyes opened slightly, and he flinched back when he looked up and saw Rex was smirking even as someone tackled him from the side.

“Sam!”

His brother loomed over him this time, looking partly relieved to see him, but also scared. He moved to untie Sam’s wrist, but was yanked away without warning, and Sam craned his neck to see Rex had dragged him against a wall.

On the other side of the room, Hannah and Prue were fighting each other while Piper was held against the wall by an invisible force, struggling hard against the telekinetic power keeping her there.

The only person Sam didn’t see was Phoebe.

The reason for that was obvious when he felt a knife slice through the rope binding his left leg to the table.

He didn’t make a sound, not revealing Phoebe’s position. The pain in his arms started to fade to a dull throb now, which he hoped was a good sign. That was something he could deal with. He’d still be able to help them.

The rope holding his other leg was gone next, and then Phoebe came into view next to his arm.

“Hey Sam,” she said quietly, eyes wide with fear as she looked over his wounds. “We’ve got you now. It’s gonna be okay.”

“Phee…” he choked, taking another deep breath. “It’urts…”

“I know, I know,” she said, cutting the rope on his left wrist and rubbing it comfortingly. “We’re gonna get you out of here. It’s-“

Before she could cut through the remaining rope, she was yanked away as well.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”

Sam fought through the remaining pain to roll off the table, looking around for anything sharp that he could cut the rope on his right wrist, before growling, and tearing at the knot with his fingers instead.

Standing in front of the table, Rex had Dean and Phoebe both pressed against the wall. Dean was obviously struggling to breathe, and Phoebe looked terrified as Rex ripped the knife she had been using from her hand.

“You think you’re clever now don’t you?” he asked, running the blade over her skin now too. “Did you really think you could fight us and come out ahead?” He sliced her skin, and she let out a sharp cry. “You have no idea who you’re messing with.”

Sam got the knot undone, and hissed as the rope released his skin before he jumped ahead, tackling Rex from the side.

His muscles screamed at the additional abuse, but the thumps behind him were relief enough. Dean sucked in a harsh breath and Phoebe was at Sam’s side in seconds to help him hold Rex down.

It wasn’t enough though. Rex’s skin heated up hot enough to scald them, and they had to jump away, leaving him laughing.

“Oh, that’s adorable,” he laughed. He stood up, and dusted off his suit, making a face at the blood on his jacket before looking at Sam. “You’re gonna pay for that you little bastard.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.”

Dean was in front of them now, pointing his gun at Rex, who only laughed.

“Come on now Dean, you know that isn’t going to work on me.”

“It’ll hurt like a bitch, though,” Dean said. He pulled the trigger, only for Rex to put a hand out. The bullet didn’t so much stop as reverse direction, slicing through the side of Dean’s jacket, grazing his ribcage.

He shouted, and Phoebe yelled his name as Rex stepped forward. For the first time in the fight, he used his hands instead of his powers, punching Dean hard across the face. He managed to stay upright, but only long enough for Rex to hit him a second time, sending him to the floor.

Rex laughed, kicking at the bullet wound in Dean’s side lightly before putting his foot on Dean’s throat.

But then, a loud shriek from the other side of the room stopped everything.

Everyone staggered, eyes flashing to where Hannah was standing in the middle of the room, Prue’s hand at her throat, and Piper sliding against the wall, with wide eyes. Hannah’s face was turned to the ceiling as thick, black smoke surged from her mouth, and tremors shook her body as it poured out.

“That bitch,” Rex hissed, pulling away from Dean when Hannah’s body collapsed, empty of occupation. He looked ready to spit fire until another smoke cloud appeared overhead.

It was slow, bubbling eerily across the ceiling as it made its way towards Hannah’s empty vessel. The Halliwells possibly wouldn’t have noticed if Rex hadn’t gone stiff, staring at the smoke cloud with dread.

Prue staggered back, looking sickly down at what was happening in front of her. Just like everyone else in the room, she watched in morbid fascination as the smoke inched towards Hannah, slowly swirling into a point that smothered her face, twisting into her mouth and nostrils.

Just as the smoke cleared, she let out a low eerie laugh. She pulled herself to a sitting position, and looked around the room with bright yellow eyes.

(-:-)

Sam froze. Seeing the demon here made his lungs freeze up. He had known that Yellow-Eyes was interested, but after all of this…

Sensing his distress, Phoebe staggered closer to Sam, gripping his shoulders tight, and starting to edge their way towards the door. Her mind was reeling with all the ways that she could get Sam to safety, how she could calm him down at the swirling chaos that he had been dragged into.

With Yellow-Eyes in front of them, Phoebe didn’t see a way to achieve either goals.

“Well, well, well.” Despite using Hannah’s voice, the thing in her body didn’t sound anything like her. The tone was rough and amused, with a hint of an accent as it spoke slowly and deeply, making a point. “I see you found us out. My, I was wondering when I would get to meet all of you in person, instead of just little Sammy here.”

She looked over at the boy in question, and Sam shrunk a little further into himself. There was no doubt that this was the demon from his dreams, right down to the voice. “What do you want?” he choked out. “What did you do to me?”

“Oh Sam, it wasn’t anything bad, ” Yellow-Eyes practically laughed, pulling Hannah’s body to her feet. “I mean, you wanted a way to stop those pesky headaches, didn’t you?”

Sam swallowed hard, afraid to answer that question.

Yellow-Eyes looked around the room, mouth twisted, almost disappointed. “What? No one’s grateful, after all the trouble I went through?” she asked, laughing cruelly. “Well, goes to show you. I’m almost tempted to let Rex kill you as he wishes.”

She looked in Rex’s direction.

With the focus off of him, the demon had started to pull back, unsure of what Yellow-Eyes was planning, but he grinned at his suggestion. “It would be my-“

One of Hannah’s hands raised up, clenched together, and Rex choked on his words. “Didn’t you hear the word ‘almost’?” the demon laughed.

Without warning, Rex flew across the room, slamming hard into one of the walls. Yellow-Eyes strolled forward, glaring down at the demon. “I made myself clear that we were being gracious. No death to come to the Halliwells. But you had to start show-boating.” She shook her head and kneeled down.

Rex shook, starting to breathe harder as Yellow-Eyes looked up at him and grinned. “And I had to come all the way up here to stop you.”

Looking over her shoulder, she grinned. “You all have a good night now,” the demon said cheerfully, momentarily focusing on Sam to give him a wide, sick grin. “You enjoy your gift, Sammy.”

Sam almost threw up at the suggestion, starting to tremble as he wondered what had happened-what had been so important that he needed to be kidnapped. But also, what did they need him alive for?

The Halliwells all looked at the spot, their faces stuck in shock and terror before looking back at where Phoebe and Sam had backed into a corner.

Sam looked back at them with wide eyes, shaking in Phoebe’s arms.

Dean was the first one to his feet, crossing the room to wrap his little brother in a hug.

No one said anything as Piper and Prue slowly joined them, not acknowledging what had just happened, or admitting to the unknown consequences of what had just been done.

They just held onto each other tightly, thanking whoever was listening that they hadn’t lost each other.

(-:-)

As it turned out, Darrel Morris was an expert at distracting people.

Which mostly meant filling out all of the paperwork he and Andy had neglected to fill out for the last three months, old incident reports, witness statement filings, and training bulletins that they had neglected to read. It was just mind numbing enough to keep his thoughts off of Prue and Sam while also making sure he got reports from the other cops as they went.

Darrel kept up a stream of inane banter as they went, keeping his mind off of everything going on elsewhere.

Andy wasn’t sure if he begrudged him for it or not. He was being a good partner after all, keeping him from going crazy, and keeping his mind off of his relationship drama and the horrors that were being inflicted on a kid he had known forever.

At the same time, though, he was itching to do something for Sam. Anything. He hadn’t become a detective to sit at a desk.

He sighed, trying to ignore it as he faced the next sheet of paper, and then snapped up in relief when his cell phone rang.

“Detective Trudeau, San Francisco PD,” he said sharply, hoping for news.

He froze when the other voice responded.

“Andy?”

His heart pounded. “Sam?” he choked out. “Sam-is that you? Are you okay?”

Sam took a shuddering breath, his voice sounded raw. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’m alive.”

He looked up at Darrel, but the other man was already on his feet, jogging across the precinct and shouting for the lead detectives. With that settled, he looked back at the phone. “Okay, we’ll get medical treatment to you as soon as we can. Do you know where you are? Who took you?”

“I don’t know the address,” Sam answered. “I think it’s a penthouse? It’s big and no one came when…” His voice trailed off, and he took a jagged breath. “The wall next to the elevator says Martin Apartments.”

“Okay, do you know who took you?” Andy repeated.

Sam took another harsh breath. “Rex Buckland. Prue’s boss. They’re gone now.”

Andy wrote the location and the name on a sheet of paper, and handed it to another cop as he stood up and started moving towards the door. Of all the people that might have taken Sam, that was not the one Andy had suspected.

Still, at least they knew he was safe now. “Okay Sam, we’re on our way. I’ll stay on the phone…”

The next thing he knew, half the squad cars in the building were on their way downtown. A dispatcher gave them an exact address for the building in question and was already pulling files for Buckland and any of his past offences.

When they pulled up to the building, there were already several squad cars waiting outside, as well as the other tenants of the building standing around in shock, and an ambulance.

He was surprised when he saw Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Dean among them.

“Let us through, my kid brother is up there!” Dean was growling at the officer barring the door.

“I’m sorry sir, we can’t-“

Andy pulled up before Dean got angry and flashed his badge at the uniformed officer. “They’re with me,” he announced, grabbing Prue’s hand to pull her through the door, allowing the others to follow through with Darrel. “What are you guys doing here? How’d you know-”

“Sam called,” Prue answered, her voice low and tired as they walked in a line towards the elevator. “He was panicked enough that he forgot to call the cops first, so we drove out as fast as we could.”

He looked at her in concern, putting a comforting arm over her shoulders. She looked up at him, eyes tearful and sad, but didn’t say anything before leaning on his shoulder.

None of the others said anything as they took the elevator up to the penthouse, but he could still read their moods as they stood there. Piper was a ball of nerves as always, and stayed close to Phoebe, who looked almost as tired as Prue did. Dean, who strangely not wearing his dad’s leather jacket as per usual, and seemed to be developing a black eye, looked flat out angry. Andy wondered what he had gotten into because his brother was missing.

They were all out in a flash the second they reached the penthouse.

Sam was sitting inside, with and emergency technician working to clean a series of cuts on his hands. From what Andy could see, there were also rope burns on his wrists, but that seemed to be the extent of the damage.

Prue pulled away from Andy without a word and rushed over to Sam, pushing the EMT out of the way and hugging Sam close. “Thank god,” she choked.

The rest of the family gathered close, breathing words of comfort and relief as they took their turn hugging the littlest Halliwell. Sam didn’t say a word through all of it, just closing his eyes tight and keeping a hold on them each as long as he could. From the conversation he’d had with Andy, he had a good reason for it.

The apartment was completely wrecked. Someone had shot through the lock on the door, and all of the furniture next to it was thrown over. Sam’s blood was pooled on the carpet around the coffee table, still wet. The bright red stain stood out against the white carpet, and called into question whatever the brown goop was that had come from an overturned bowl a few feet away.

Any had seen a lot of weird stuff in his days as a detective, but the idea that Sam could have been killed for some kind of sacrifice was probably the strangest he’d been through yet.

(-:-)

Leo opened his eyes to the bright light of the clouds, and immediately felt panic take over his being.

Sam.

He bolted upright, and looked around desperately, eventually seeing Zachariah and Castiel a few yards away. Zachariah was looking at him pityingly, while Castiel was just looking.

Leo tried to get to his feet, stumbling with each step. “What happened to Sam?” he demanded.

Zachariah sighed slightly. “Your charge is at home safe,” he answered. “As we told you, his family rescued him.”

“Before or after the ritual was over?” Leo’s voice was practically a growl, and he could see in Zachariah’s eyes that it wasn’t to be tolerated.

The angel blasted him back across the room.

He hit the wall again, and choked in a breath as Zachariah made his way closer. “Leo, I made myself very clear that you weren’t meant to interfere. Whether or not the ritual was completed doesn’t matter. You disobeyed orders.”

“I was trying to protect my charge.” Leo grit his teeth, and looked up defiantly at Zachariah. “My mission is my charges.”

“Your mission is subject to Heaven’s guidance,” Zachariah said. “We tell you to stay out of it, and we expect you to do as you are told. You’re lucky that we don’t intend to strip you of your position and reassign the Halliwells to someone who can be trusted.”

Leo struggled against the force keeping him in place to look at Zachariah. “So what do you intend to do to me, sir?” he asked. Despite how bitter he was he stayed calm. He knew he was in the right, and he had known that he would be in trouble the second he tried to fight against Castiel. Maybe if he had managed to reach Sam in time, he wouldn’t have even cared what the punishment was.

The grace holding him up disappeared, dropping Leo back to his feet, and he looked at Zachariah as he sighed.

“As it stands, Castiel kept you from actually interfering,” Zachariah answered tensely. “You broke rank for reasons in line with your orders, so you will be let off with a warning. This time.”

Leo put a hand to his chest, and wished he felt relief instead of dread. This time could only mean that there would be a next time. Another day when Leo would be asked to ignore the safety of his charges.

Zachariah nodded at him, silently warning that he would be watched from here on out before he disappeared with the sound of wingbeats, and Leo cursed.

He looked up at Castiel. “What happened?” he asked the angel, hoping he got answers this time. “Did they complete the ritual on Sam?”

Castiel looked down at him for a moment before answering, Yes, but he is alive and he is safe.

A deep growl came back out of Leo’s throat. “That isn’t the point!” he shouted. “We don’t know what the ritual did! He could be possessed for all I know, or cursed! There were demons cutting him up, Castiel. He is not safe!”

Somehow, Castiel managed to look confused. I know you take your charges very seriously, but your anger seems unnecessary. Your charges have proven to be resourceful time and time again. They should be perfectly capable handling whatever it is they have gotten themselves into.

Leo sighed. “But they didn’t,” he said shortly. “They didn’t invite this in any way, and they don’t deserve to deal with it when we…when I could have stopped it.” He pulled himself upright, and shrugged back his shoulders. “I need to go see him for myself.”

He looked at Castiel one last time, and wished the angel understood.

“Remember what I said about being human.”

He orbed away before Castiel could respond.

(-:-)

When they walked through the doors of the manor, Sam felt his shoulders sag with relief.

His body still throbbed from the pain he had experienced earlier, and he was going to have to keep his arms bandaged for a few weeks, but he was home, and home was the safest place he knew.

He leaned against Piper wearily as they sat on the couch in the attic, the four younger Halliwells taking comfort from each other as they settled down from the nights terrors, or, in Dean and Phoebe’s case, cleaned their wounds.

“C’mon Pheebs, you aren’t gonna hurt me,” Dean said, although he couldn’t hide how his voice was trembling slightly. “It’s just like when Grams taught you to sew…”

“Grams didn’t teach me how to stitch up flesh.” Phoebe was visibly shaking as she held the needle, trying to thread it with the thread from Dean’s emergency medical kit. The wounds they had left with weren’t immediately threatening, but there hadn’t been time to properly clean them earlier, and it needed to be dealt with.

The cut on Phoebe’s arm hadn’t been a huge issue for all the whining she did once they got home. It had been shallow enough, and in their rush, a makeshift bandage hidden under a sweater was all they needed to hide the wound.

Dean’s bullet wound wasn’t so easy. Their makeshift bandage of tissues and duct tape had been soaked through by the time they got home, and despite Dean’s efforts to hide the pain behind anger all night, he was starting to falter. Piper had even pulled out a bottle of whiskey to help him with the pain.

And while he’d appreciated it, he hadn’t drunk any. Not when he had to explain to the girls how to stitch him up.

Despite his exhaustion, Sam tried to sit up. “Give it to me, Phoebe. I can do it tonight…”

“Oh no you don’t.” Unsurprisingly, Piper put a firm hand on his shoulder and pulled him back to the couch. “Sit. Rest. I’ll take over.”

Phoebe looked relieved as Piper took her spot, and she stood up to sit next to Sam instead. She slung an arm over his shoulder, pulling him to lean on her instead, and he let out a comforted sigh.

“Sure you don’t want pain killers?” Piper asked one last time, her voice shaking slightly with nerves as she picked up the needle. “A shot? Anything else I don’t know about? Please?”

Wincing a little, Dean shook his head. “Not yet,” he grumbled. “Let’s just get through this first. Go ahead and make the first stitch, almost at the end there…” He trailed off as Piper approached with the needle, and pulled the belt he’d been wearing earlier off of the table. He bit down on it, and shut his eyes tight when Piper pushed the needle through his skin.

The look on Piper’s face was almost as terrifying as Dean’s. She had been perfectly fine with this until the reality of piercing flesh was in front of her. Still, it was a little late to stop now, so she grit her teeth, focusing on the cut instead.

Sam wasn’t surprised when Phoebe covered her eyes, and he winced in sympathy before hugging her a little tighter. After ten years of summers at Bobby’s, Sam was more or less used to the rough medical treatment, he and Dean had stitched each other up more than once after all. It wasn’t pretty, and the girls needed to learn it eventually. Still, the night had been hard enough on all of them without putting this at the end of it.

Dean heaved in a huge breath once the needle was through the other side, gulping in air through his nose as Piper finished pulling it out so only the suture was in. After a moment, he took the belt out of his mouth, and panted, “Okay, now tie a knot. Doesn’t have to be pretty. We’ll clean it up later…”

“Are you sure you don’t-“ She paused, choking slightly as she cagged, and looked away.

“Yep. I’m sure. Soon.” Dean’s voice was clipped. “Can you guys maybe say something? C’mon, distract me. Please?”

“Do you expect us to talk about the weather?” Phoebe snapped, daring to peek out from between her fingers, only to quickly hide again at how Piper was fumbling to make a knot as blood slowly continued to ooze down Dean’s side.

Sam shrugged. “Did I miss anything?” he asked instead. “What was going on with Prue and Andy?”

There was a few seconds of quiet, and Piper looked at Dean hesitantly. He gave her a few quick instructions on how to continue before he put the belt back between his jaws. “Not sure,” Piper said. She took a deep breath after she realized how her voice was shaking, steadying herself before starting on the second stitch. “He was helping the police look for you all night, and well…you heard her. She said they needed to talk.”

“Don’t know what ‘talk’ would have kept her at the station for over an hour,” Phoebe commented.

“It didn’t sound like it was going to be a good conversation,” Sam muttered.

Piper dared to glance at Sam for a moment after the needle went through Dean’s skin. “It probably isn’t,” she admitted. “But she had to talk to him eventually…”

The suggestion that she was finally breaking up with him went unspoken.

Just another painful memory they’d have to add to this night, Sam thought, looking up at the ceiling with a sigh.

Letting out another harsh breath, Dean took the belt out of his mouth. “What about you Sam? Aside from the kidnapping, what’d we miss with the demons?”

The reminder sent shivers through Sam’s chest, and he was quiet for a long moment. He gently touched the bandages on his arms, trying to remember the details instead of the burning pain.

“They…they weren’t supposed to come after us,” he said after a minute, remembering his conversation with Meg. “They hired Prue to keep an eye on us. Just to watch. For some reason, something changed, and the demon with the yellow eyes told them to do this instead.”

Phoebe pulled her hand away from her eyes to look at Sam, slowly leaning forwards to put her head atop his. “The demon was worried about your powers,” she said quietly.

Sam didn’t say anything, but curled up tighter on himself. “I don’t know why…” he said quietly, before sighing, pressing his palms into his eyes. “I wish I could remember more of the ritual. If I did that-if I could find out what they did to me…” He cut himself off, gritting his teeth.

All of it was a blur now. After all of the cuts, things had gotten blurry. The only thing that stood out was the pain. He knew Rex had been chanting, but he only remembered the sounds of his screams. Whatever symbols had been on his arms had disappeared after the glowing had stopped, not even left behind for the EMTs to wash off.

He didn’t know what they had done, and he wasn’t sure he ever would.

Phoebe’s arms wrapped tighter around him. “Hey, it’s going to be okay,” she breathed. “We’ll figure it out.”

He wondered how she could say that when to him it felt hopeless. “How?” he choked out.

“Same way we found you tonight,” Piper said assuredly. She pulled another stitch through, moving quickly this time, and looking up at them. “We stick together, we bust ass and take names.”

Phoebe let out a surprised snort, and Piper gave them all a little smile. Despite himself, Sam fought one too.

Dean pulled the belt away from his mouth, and despite the pain lines and sweat on his face, managed to smile at his brother. “I’d listen to her,” he teased. “You also missed how she was ready to fight all of us when we were down earlier.”

“It’s not like I was wrong,” Piper said. “Look, I’m not saying we can do everything, but we’ve faced the impossible before, and as long as we do it together, as a family, we come out ahead every time. The best chance we have is to remember that.”

Sam gave them all a light smile, and found it in himself to make a face when Phoebe kissed the top of his head. “Ewww, Phoebe…”

She just laughed again, and hugged him tighter, kissing the sides of his head and threatening to tickle him. Sam laughed at her antics, and then laughed harder when Dean whined because he wanted to laugh and knew he’d pull his stitches if he tried.

Piper covered her mouth to stay quiet, and continued her business with the needle.

Sam settled back into Phoebe’s grasp, and sighed lightly.

Maybe he could hope a little…