Author's note: So, this is something that has been bugging me for a while and then that was encouraged by the 200th episode, when they mentioned Adam! I will be updating regularly and hopefully you enjoy it. It's my first fic that isn't a oneshot. Crowley's involvement will be divulged in a chapter, for now, I wanted to get the story rolling at the most important part Let me know what you think!
The Family business
It came out of the blue one day, but then again, it had to have been brewing for a long time. The biggest storms accumulate; build speed and trajectory before they devastate the world. That's how it felt for Sam the day that Dean obliterated his life, broke his heart with his decision. They had been at peace for a while, with Cain gone, Rowena returned to the care of the Grand Coven and Crowley playing for Team Free Will. Sam didn't expect to be blindsided quite so soon, he thought they would at least enjoy their recent victories before they had to consider the future.
"Sammy, the Impala needs an oil change. There should be some oil in the trunk." Tossing the keys with calculated precision, Dean glanced at his brother's perplexed face.
"Erm… okay? Why you telling me that? You usually drool over the chance to tend to baby." Equally skilled hands caught the glimmering keys to Dean's truest love, he turned to face his brother fully.
For any other siblings, it would probably be normal for the eldest sibling to pass off a mundane and uninteresting maintenance job to the youngest; however, Dean loved his car more than life itself. Tendrils of danger prickled at the base of Sam's neck, niggling his intuition and instinct.
"You need to know how to keep baby running, I don't want her dying because you can't look after her Francine, you need to learn to be a man, fix the car." A slight teasing tone thinly veiled his agitation and seriousness.
"Last time you taught me about the Impala, it was because you were embracing your impending death and leaving me behind. You suck at subtle. What gives?" Nothing good comes from a secret decision made by Dean Winchester, it was usually some messed up notion of saving Sam, playing the big brother role.
"Look, Sammy, there's nothing behind it. I just thought that after everything that has happened to us, we could do with some time to bond, you know, over something normal and manly. You need to gain as many man points as you can, or you'll never get laid again." He gave a self satisfied chuckle before continuing, "besides, anything could happen and I want to know that I can trust you to maintain baby, not pull stupid crap like putting an i-pod dock in there. That shit's not cool Sammy. I just want you to learn to change the damn oil, no biggie."
"You're lying."
"No, I'm not"
"Yes, you are. You think after all these years that I don't know you, that I haven't learnt your cues and your tells?"
"Sammy, drop it, I'm not lying to you"
"There. Your gun hand tenses, so slight no one would notice if they didn't know to look for it, as though you want to reach for your gun to protect me. You get this look in your eyes, like you are projecting false honesty, desperate to be believed. You raise your eyebrow at me, as if by adding in a normal mannerism will trick me. Then you look away, twisting the ring on your finger, before repeating your lie. Dean I know you better than I know anything in this world. I am top of the class when it comes to Dean Winchester. So cut the crap, and tell me what gives."
"I- you know me, you know that family is all that matters to me. We've been to hell and back again, literally and figuratively. We made it through, barely, and now we still have no clue on how to deal with the Mark of Cain,"
"Dean, what are you getting at?" Unable to fathom Dean's point, he coaxed Dean without making him shut down emotionally. "Hey, I get it- we have spent so long fighting to save ourselves from something and now you feel as though we are losing to the Mark, but I have faith. We can't give up."
"No Sammy, I think that it's pointless trying to find a way out of the Mark. I give, I don't wanna spend my life chasing a dream and forgetting why we are here. It feels like somewhere along the line we forgot about the family business, why we set out down this path; saving people, hunting things. That's what I need to focus on. And- well- we have some unfinished business on the family business front…" He trailed off, making eye contact with Sam.
Dean wasn't stupid; he knew what his lot in life was. He knew that back when he took on the Mark of Cain, when he accepted the blemish on his life, that this was a one-ticket gig. He just didn't think that it would drag on for so long. He wanted to end on a high, not the same messy, irrational path that Cain had finished on. He couldn't do that to Sam, his job was save people and use his skills to eradicate the malevolence from this sorry, God forsaken world. God had given up a long time ago; he walked away and left it a play ground for his malicious and manipulative children to desecrate. Dean's job was to clear up after God's mess, the Winchester brothers had escaped his original plan years ago, when they avoided being the meat suits of the Archangels- their brother, however, had not.
"Dean I don't un-"
"Adam, Adam is still in Hell and we left him there. I left him behind because I chose to save you, to fight for you. I will never regret that; it's always been about keeping you safe, I think now it's time that I gave Adam the same treatment. I'm his big brother too and he has no one else to fight for him." He closed his eyes, sighing a broken breath. Creases crept across his worried forehead, a lifetime of tension and obligation weighing heavy on his shoulders.
Sam grasped Dean's shoulder; pouring every ounce of support and strength he could into the firm squeeze. Imploring Dean to look at him with his gesture, he frowned and came to the only possible response. "No, it is not your job to do that Dean, I-"
"Sammy, he's family, we can't-"
"Hear me out. It's not your responsibility. It's our responsibility. For once you do not have to carry the big brother burden on your own. That's me too now; I'm a big brother. You are not alone Dean, you never were, but you especially aren't now." Slowly, Dean met Sam's gaze, a silent storm brewing between them as realization hit Sam like a wrecking ball. "You aren't planning on me doing this with you. God damn it, Dean. Are you stupid? Are you that careless with your life that you would even contemplate doing this on your own? Where did this even come from? You don't get to do this. I won't allow you."
"You have no choice Sammy, the decision is made and you are most definitely sitting on the bleachers for this one. That cage took you form me once, it will not take you. I couldn't survive that again. It took so much from me, from us. You will not be going anywhere near that place. This is –"
"Like hell do I not have a choice in this, Dean. It's the two of us against the world so cut that crap right away. Why now? He has been trapped there for a long time, don't get me wrong, I want to save him just as much, I just need to know why now. I need to know it's the right reasons, and not what I think it is."
"Supernatural: The Musical… I just… they were right, he's just there, left in the cage with Lucifer… That ain't right. We have had so much to fight since that show down, now's the time to make it right." His hand shakily grasped the back of his neck whilst he glanced at the floor, completely dejected. "All we've got is family. Bobby, Ellen, Jo, Mom, Dad… the list goes on. They have all gone; we can't leave him behind."
"Promise me one thing, Dean. Just one thing, then together we will do this." Defiantly, he raised his chin to look Dean straight in the eye, searching for a hint of dishonesty. "Promise me this isn't your last hurrah, your swan song. Tell me you plan to survive this."
Dean raised his other hand to the back of his neck, elbows high, like he could take flight and escape the feeling of being trapped, forced to admit his determination to this mission. He scrunched his eyes, misery shooting across his usually stoical face. He knew that Sam would see this for what it was, his final mission.
-Last week-
"Cas, I just need to know if it's possible. Don't give me the 'wise decision' crap. Can it be done?" He reigned in his frustration at the straight talking, socially clueless angel.
"Dean, I-" he was silenced by Dean's murderous glare. "Yes, it's possible. However, I think that this is a highly illogical plan and suicidal at that. I don't understand why you humans are so reckless with your lives and so ready to sacrifice yourselves. Especially you Winchesters. I used to know a Dean who would not give in to his future. He would have, no, he used to, fight to escape a predestined future and you won. Sam won't let you." Castiel tilted his head to the side, assessing the senseless antics of the eldest Winchester in front of him.
"Cas, I don't need your blessing, your understanding or your input. I just needed to know whether this would work." He turned to leave Cas, exasperated and wired, ready to make his plans.
"Dean, just because you can do something, doesn't mean that you should. To break him out of Hell is like poking the hornet's nest… You don't know what will come out of it. You don't know who will come out of it. You are going to have to make some sacrifices here; you can't just stroll up, unlock the gate, take Adam and then lock it back up. Something't gotta give. There will be a payment to make. How willing are you to make that payment? Because it won't just be something easy when it comes the cage of the Morning Star, the angels will have put precautions to prevent either you or Sam getting out of their original plans… It will require ransom… and if you think that Sam will let you go alone, then you are severely mistaken. Then you run the risk of that ransom being paid by Sam.
"If I could use the Mark to do some good, if I can rid myself of Cain's future, then it will be worth it. Sam is not to know the consequences of saving Adam; he is not to know that a payment must be made. No one is. Okay?"
"Dean, we have no idea what we need in order to achieve this… We know very little. I'll look into it, but Dean, please; you have gone through so much to readily throw it all away. Remember the person you used to be, be that better version of yourself where you would never give up. Remember him."
A gentle breeze teased Dean's hair as the angel made his escape. It wasn't the reaction he wanted but it was what he had expected. He knew that Castiel would never understand. This wasn't about loosing hope and giving up. It was about finally doing something that had purpose again, saving his family as he had always fought to do. How could he leave his estranged baby brother trapped in the cage as Michael's meat suit and Lucifer's play toy? That wasn't the Winchester way; Sammy would understand why he had to do this. He'd even give him the illusion that he was a part of the mission. He would never fully be, he wouldn't sacrifice one brother to save another. Plus, it was a possible solution to the desolate and inescapable future the Mark had panned out for him. Cain had taught him that; he would never get out of this unscathed, so if he could save his brothers one more time then that was the way he intended to go. No death wish, merely a better way to go and that was all there was to it. He didn't want to leave Sam, but doing what you want and doing the right thing weren't always the same thing, and he knew that better than anyone.
His phone buzzed persistently in his jacket pocket, cautiously sliding it out he glanced at the call screen; relieved to see it wasn't Sam. He didn't think he could stomach lying to Sam right now.
"Cas says it's possible. Yeah, yeah, okay. What, Cas? He said that it was possible, difficult but possible. Nah, the lore is not always right" His hand twitched slightly, and he forced a laugh. "A Winchester never lies. It's time to come home kid, click your heels three times." He pocketed the phone, lying taking its toll on him as always. Idly, he played with the ring on his finger and shook his head dejectedly.
-Present day-
"I promise you Sammy, I don't wanna leave you."
"That's not the same as promising me that you intend to survive this." Sam said carefully, aware that he was treading on a minefield and likely to cause an emotional outbreak.
"Can't you just accept that I don't want to leave you and that I will always come back to you when I can? Why has it got to be so clean cut, as though I plan to leave you for good? Jeez Sam, can't you just accept that I want to save Adam?" Raw emotion ripped at Dean's throat, torn between genuinely meaning it and knowing he was lying all the same. "Sam – Sammy - it's something I gotta do. You haven't got a choice in this, it's my decision to make, not yours."
Their eyes met once again, this time battling for dominance and control. Sam knew, of course he knew, that Dean felt that the Mark of Cain was a hopeless situation. He knew that Dean was slipping down a dark and unforgiving path that would only cause destruction and devastation, as far as Dean was concerned any way. He also knew the stubborn quality that Dean possessed and that Dean was right, the decision was made and all Sam could do was support him.
"Then we do this together, like we do everything. We will go to the depths of Hell to save our little brother. Then, together, we will help him recover from it. I need you with me Dean because I can't do that alone. You need to help me be as good a big brother as you are to me.
"Fine. Whatever. Now change the damn oil, Bitch."
"Jerk."
They weren't stupid, both knew that there had been no victory here, but they also knew how to play the game of Winchester manipulation. Time, that's what they needed. Sam needed time to figure out a way to save Dean and Dean needed time to figure out how to save both his brother's and prevent Sam from finding out the truth about the cage's payment. Just when you thought you were out, you're in, God damn angels. Dicks.
