This was fantastically well done!

Wow! This was such a clever plot! Excellent job, you're a very good writer :)

scary with the bars moving ~ Sam there, then not there ... but Dean, all this time, telling Sam to not give in. Hunters, of all things! Yeah, they would want Sam to "hulk out" to kill off demons. And yeah, they would want to be selfish and try to keep him as their pet demon killer. But they were slowly killing Dean with those drugs, and killing his sanity. Great story plot.

I really enjoyed this. I thought you captured the dynamic of Season 5 well, while also reviving the closeness the boys had in earlier seasons. Nice one.

I'm not sure if the trust they have built by the later seasons 8 is really the same as what they had in the early seasons. The dynamic and root are different, but it is arguably much stronger for the breaks and problems that went into its creation. Not quite the same, but I do recall that those behind SN realized very early on that the core and most important part of the series is the brothers and their relationship. This certainly displays an interesting facet of it, as most good fanfiction in this fandom pulls off. Thank you for posting!

I know this is kind of late, but doesn't matter.
This story is so beautiful. My favorite parts are those inner thought of Dean about his brother. We get to see that kind of expression on Dean's face now and then throughout the series, and get the feeling of his thoughts, the emotion behind them: love and pride. And I think what you have written here just gives voice to his mind perfectly.
I love the handful of times Dean says "That's my boy" in the series (the first time when Sam kissed Sarah in the firs season), and, maybe I'm wrong, but he hasn't said that to Sam's face. It just warms my heart when I think about Dean practically raising his little brother. Sam IS his boy.
This love between them and the thing with the broken trust is one of the many little things on why season five is my favorite so far.

So thank you. :)

-
Amber

I know it's bad that Dean had hallucinations but at least he was hallucinating Sam. :)

Whoa. Really interesting here with the psychological torture and the hallucinations. Nice job writing things that seemed real but could still be explained when there was no Sam there. Kinda like the 6th Sense, how you saw how wrong it was when you went back to it with hindsight.

Ann. Sam channeled Dean when he was lost in the woods, and now Dean channeled his Sammy. Love the brotherly bond. Great story.

So yeah...this is gonna be freaking long. Just apologizing in advance.

LOVED:
Sam's voice softened. "It's not sleigh bells. You're cold, you're shaking and the chains on your wrists are rattling. That's what you're hearing."
"Oh." Dean cleared his throat. "Too bad. We've got leverage with Santa; he owes us big time for all our sucky Christmases." He turned to his right to find Sam sitting at his side, pressed up against him. "Dude, personal space."
Sam shook his head. "Sorry, not moving. You need to get warm and, since you can't move around, we have to share body heat."
Dean shivered. "Well, it's not working. I'm fr-freaking fr-freezing." He gagged as his stomach lurched. "And if I puke on you, remember, this wasn't my idea."
Sam gave a small smile. "Between childhood illnesses and my first benders, I've puked on you more times than I care to admit. I think that earns you a freebie." - The banter is priceless and funny while at the same time making me nostalgic for the simpler times.

AND: "Okay, that's it." Sam pushed himself to his feet, grabbed the bars of their cell and shook them. "Hey," he shouted, his deep voice echoing through their prison. "Get down here. My brother needs help." He rattled the bars again. "I know you can hear me, you son of a bitch. Get your ass down here, NOW."
When there was no answer, Sam slammed the heel of his hand into the bars, eyes flashing with fury.
Dean smiled as his eyes slid closed. He'd never admit it to his brother but Sam in full-on protective mode was a thing of beauty." - Damn right it is...that was just HOT. Could totally picture Sam doing exactly that. Deep, threatening, sexy voice and all :D

AND: "But, right now, we need to focus on you. You look like crap."
Dean snorted. "Nice, Sammy. Kick a guy while he's down." He shifted uncomfortably, tugging at his shackles in annoyance. "Do me a favor? Scratch my nose."
"Seriously?"
"As a heart attack."
"Not funny." Sam reached over and scratched just below the bridge of Dean's nose. "Better?"
"No." Dean dropped his head, rubbed his nose against his shoulder and then turned back to Sam, studying his brother as closely as his hazy vision allowed. "It's Round 3, right? I'm losing track." - Hahaha, poor Dean and yay for so much protective/caring (if only hallucination) Sammy :)

Beautifully crafted and enjoyed the twist at the end. Also, interesting fact about the Vikings! I enjoyed all of the tie-ins to season 5 what with Ruby, the angel's trying to get the boys to say yes, and the hunter's trying to nab Sam's hulking abilities. Really enjoyed this!

OMG, your stories are always amazing, but this one was especially great. I needed that same dose of hope that trust between the brothers can be regained to which you referred in your Author's Note. You delivered that wrapped in a fascinating plot complete with terrifying stacking Viking doors, heartbreaking Dean wreckage, and Cas helping Sam get his adorable geek on with his historical insights... Fantastic.

You got their relationship spot on in this fic set in Season 5, especially with
He hated Ruby, as much now as when he'd plunged the knife into her; for using Sam, for breaking something inside him Dean wasn't sure could be fixed, for eroding the trust between them, forever changing their relationship.
There were too many secrets, too many lies eroding a trust he once thought was indestructible.
For both of them, there was too much, and it was too big, to move on like nothing had happened.
You really had me thinking they were both in that cell when I started reading the fic, even though the darts missed Sam and hit Dean but it makes total sense that Dean would hallucinate his brother, have him the voice of reason in his head when he couldn't really think straight, and also to focus on making sure he was safe. Loved the reveal that Dean had been the only one captured when Sam and Castiel rescued him and perfect too the scene in the hospital where Dean saw that underneath it all there was still the little brother he had raised.
A really great fic and yet another fave :)

I gotta say, I absolutely agree with Dean. Dealing with human crazies is a lot more scary than the supernatural. I'm thinking of the Benders, the 'Austrian headline' and, of course, these guys.

I did hope that they'd maybe get that trust back or that they could at least build something new. I missed much of Season 6 and the second half of Season 7, so I don't know for sure if anything's changed, but I feel very sorry that Dean and Sam hadn't really managed to resolve their issues by the end of Season 5. (Hated that last scene with Sam, by the way.)

Perhaps they would have, had something like this happened on the show.

Wonderful story right when I needed a little hurt!Dean. Plus I got a new piece of information regarding Viking history. I enjoyed the detail and mood of this story. Great job.

Great story :D

Thank you :)