Dean was seeing one color. Red! He was seething with anger.

First there had been fear on Dean's part. Fear because Sam had been hurt. He'd been taken by a demon and that demon had fucked him up. Dean had been able to get to Sam, rescue him but not before the demon had cut into his flesh. There had been blood loss. A lot of blood on the floor by the time Dean had made it to the abandoned build the demon had been hiding in. There had been broken bones in one of Sam's hands and one of his feet. A way for the demon to hobble Sam, making it extremely difficult for Sam to escape. The demon, one in a female meat suit had also done a number on Sam's mind, bringing up his time in the cage with Lucifer, his addiction to demon blood and his feelings of self loathing.

Dean had gotten him out, to safety and medical attention. Now, Sam hardly left his room in the bunker. He shied away from Dean when they were together. He rarely spoke, only coming out of his room for food and retreating back in when Dean joined him.

Dean placed a hand on Sam's shoulder, felt him stiffen at the touch. "You're gonna be fine. You'll get through this. We'll get through this together." Dean told him, finding himself on the other end of the encouragement. Offering it to Sam where it was normally Sam who was the optimist.

"I can't . . ." Sam said, shaking his head and limping back to his room.

Dean punched a hole in the wall and vowed to get revenge on the demon who had done this to his brother. The ringing of his phone stopped him from punching another hole. He grabbed it and answered it. “What!” He growled out and then listened to the voice on the phone. “You’re sure? Yeah, thanks.”

He smiled as he ended the call. The smile was cruel and heartless. No matter how fast you run, no matter where you hide. I will catch you, ran through his mind as he left the bunker, a destination in mind.

Now the demon bitch was on the run and Dean was right behind her. It had taken several favors on Dean’s part to get a few questionable people to help him track down the bitch. Now, he was circling the block, accessing the area before he made his move.

It was night before he made his move. He’d watched the building for several hours. He’d nearly jumped out of the car when he’d seen her entering. But he forced himself to hold back, needing to be smart about this. Not to blow the element of surprise.

Getting out of the nondescript car he’d taken from the bunker he made his way to the building and set about picking the lock so he could slip inside. He crept from room to room, making sure that there would be no interference from any other demons. Satisfied his target was alone, he made his move.

“Hey, babe. Easy. Don’t try to sit up.” Danny was on his feet as soon as he saw Steve’s blue eyes open, knowing the SEAL would attempt to get out of bed as soon as he was alert.

Steve’s eyes darted wildly around the room, clearly trying to identify where he was, before settling on Danny. “What happened? Why am I in the hospital?”

“You’re at Honolulu Medical Center,” Danny confirmed his exact location. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

His brow furrowed as he attempted to dig up facts. “We had breakfast?” he tried. “We were talking about plans with Grace and Charlie… There was a call…” He shook his head, bringing a hand up to poke at the bandage there when the motion elicited pain. “What happened?”

“You went running in without back-up, babe,” Danny said.

“You are the back-up,” Steve interrupted automatically.

“Yeah, well, obviously this time I wasn’t good enough because you nearly got yourself killed.”

Steve smiled at him, like the sun coming out after the rain. “You’re always good enough. I still love you.”

Danny was still staring at Steve in confusion when the doctor came in a few minutes later to check Steve’s recall of events. When they discovered what Steve thought their relationship was, the doctor started scheduling more tests and Danny called Chin. There was no way he was handling this on his own.

Maybe Steve had been hit harder than they thought.

Steve jerked awake, bolting upright in bed and reaching for his bedmate. When his hands encountered nothing but air, he called out, “Bucky?”

The silence that answered his call caused him to throw back the sheet. “Bucky!”

Cold sweat had caused his shirt to cling to him as he began to search the apartment. Habit had made him pick up the Shield from where it rested next to the bed, but he held it loosely. He didn’t expect an attack in the apartment, but experience had taught him to be cautious.

He finally found Bucky in the main room, staring out the windows. “Hey,” Steve said quietly, “didn’t you hear me yelling for you?”

Bucky dragged his eyes away from the window, focusing after a moment on Steve. “No,” he said just as quietly.

Steve reached out towards him, letting his arm drop before he actually came in contact. Bucky still shied away from casual contact at times and Steve tended to let him make the first move. In response, Bucky leaned towards him. “What are you doing up?”

“You were gone,” Steve admitted. “I dreamed I never got you back from Hydra.”

“I’m here, punk,” Bucky assured him. “You got me out.”

“Why are you up?” Steve changed the subject. “Did you have a nightmare?”

“No, just enjoying being able to make my own decisions.” Bucky turned back towards the window before continuing, “I should have woken you up.”

“You don’t have to clear every decision with me,” Steve told him. “You going to stay out here or come back to bed?”

“I’ll come to bed. Maybe you can convince me of another decision I can make?” Bucky said with a ghost of his old smile.

Steve held his hand out, allowing Bucky to make the decision to take it or not. After a minute, Bucky accepted it and Steve led him back towards the bedroom. Maybe they both had nightmares, but they’d face them together. ‘Til the end of the line.