A/N: This is a story I wrote when I was sick so I'm sorry if it's not the best or most realistic story.

Warning: This is not a happy story and does not have a happy ending. Enjoy!

Dean and Cas were done waiting. Crowley had been trying to find Sam for 20 minutes now. Dean was worried something had gone wrong. He kept pacing, walking in circles around his brother's limp body. The sight made him sick to his stomach. There were needles sticking out of his brother's head and blood protruding from the wounds. With every second that went by, Dean panicked even more. If this went on much longer, Dean would probably have a panic attack. Luckily, they didn't have to wait much longer.

Red smoke suddenly billowed form Sam's mouth. The smoke escaped from Sam and went straight into Crowley's body. Then, the smoke was gone. Crowley came back, panting.

"What happened?" Dean asked urgently. Crowley looked up at Dean, and he could swear he saw shame in the demon's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Dean," he said quickly.

"Why? What happened? Did you get him out?" Dean asked him, already knowing the answer.

"He found me. Gadreel. It's a miracle I made it out alive. I'm sorry. I didn't get to Sam in time." Cas and Dean shared a look.

"What?" Cas replied angrily. "You couldn't find him?"

"Do you know what it's like in that brain? It's a mess, especially with an angel wandering around in it all day. I did the best I could."

"That's not good enough!" Dean yelled at Crowley. "Go back. You go back in there and you save my brother."

"I would if I could, but now the halo knows where I am and where I'd go. I'd be dead in a minute. Not to mention, he's probably hidden Sam somewhere I'll never find him even if I had years. It's too late, Dean. There's nothing else we can do." Dean's heart sank. Those were not the words he wanted to hear. He knew he could save Sam. There had to be a way. There was always a way. He wasn't going to let his brother die again. He couldn't. There had to be a way.

"Of course, you know there's only one way that we can stop Gadreel now," Crowley continued.

"And what's that?" Dean asked. Crowley gave him a look.

"I think you and Cas both know how. You just don't want to think about it." Cas frowned.

"No!" Cas yelled at Crowley. Dean wasn't catching on.

"What? What is it?"

"Cas, it's the only way and you know it. We can't let Gadreel out into the world. You know that." Dean looked at Cas, begging him to tell him what was going on. Cas didn't want to tell Dean, but he knew he had to.

"Dean… There's nothing left. We've tried everything. We can't…we can't save him. So Crowley thinks we should go with the next best thing." Dean waited. "He thinks we need to kill him." Dean's eyes grew wide and his heart raced.

"No. No! I am not killing my brother! I'll die first."

"I don't think you have a choice, Dean," Crowley interjected.

"Shut up!" he yelled. "Cas…what else can we do? There's gotta be something else. Some spell or angel exorcism, anything!" He pleaded desperately. Cas looked down. He was starting to think that maybe Crowley's way was the only way.

"Dean…there's nothing." Dean could feel his eyes watering. He was not going to kill Sam.

"Okay, then, we'll just have Crowley keep doing what he's doing. Gadreel's gotta break sometime."

"You heard him, Dean. He endured much worse in heaven. I'm not sure we can break him. Even with Crowley."

"Are you saying…are you saying I should kill him? Are you saying that I have to stab my brother through the heart, for the greater good?" Cas looked down, ashamed, because that was exactly what he was thinking. He wasn't proud or happy about it, but it seemed like the only way.

"Dean," he began.

"No! I'm not doing it."

"Dean, it's either that…or we condemn Sam to an eternity of torture as an angel's vessel. Think of what Sam would want."

"Think of what Sam would want? Are you kidding me?" he asked, emotion thick in his voice.

"Dean…I'm sorry. I wish there was another way." Cas didn't want Sam to die. Sam was his friend. His brother. He'd die for him, but he wouldn't let Sam keep suffering.

"Cas…I can't do this." Dean's voice broke.

"I'm so sorry…but you know it has to be done." Dean bit his lip.

"Yeah, I know," he said softly. Deep down, Dean had always known it'd have to end this way.

"Dean…I can do it. You shouldn't have to be the one to-"

"No. No, I have to…I have to do the right thing. Just me. I'm not letting you kill Sam," he told him. Dean took out his angel blade and he stared at it. He couldn't believe what he was about to do.

"Go. Both of you, go now," Dean told them.

"Dean, you don't have to do this alone," Cas said gently.

"No. I don't want you here for this. I need to do this alone." Cas could tell by Dean's expression that he wouldn't do it until he was alone. He understood.

"I'll be right over there," he said gesturing a little ways away. Dean nodded. Cas took one last look at his old friend tied to that chair, knowing that when he came back, he'd be gone for good. He turned his back and left Dean alone with his little brother.

Dean approached his brother's limp body. For a while, he just stared at it. Broken and bloody. It wasn't even Sam anymore. He knew that Sam was actually gone. He wasn't getting his brother back. Dean fiddled with the angel blade in his hands.

Out of all the crap that Dean had to do and everything he'd been through, this had to be the worst moment of his life. He thought back to when his father had told him to either save Sam or kill him. He knew that Sam no longer wanted to be saved. Sam was done. He was ready.

Dean tightened his grip on the angel blade and prepared for the strike. That's when he heard his brother take a deep breath. He opened his eyes. He looked around, confused and in pain.

"Dean?" he called.

"Sammy?" he asked, stunned.

"What happened? What's going on?" Sam caught sight of the angel blade aimed at Sam's heart. "What are you doing?"

"Sammy, I…" he spoke gently. That's when he came to a realization. His expression grew cold.

"It's not you," he said with venom in his voice.

"Dean? What are you talking about? Of course it's me. You're scaring me."

"No." Dean was adamant. "He would never let you talk to me. It's too risky."

"Dean, please! What's going on?" he begged his brother.

"You think that'll work, but it won't. The only way you can avoid this is to let my brother go."

"Dean, I'm right here. Please, tell me what's going on!"

"You have until the count of three…" Dean told him.

"Dean…you're going crazy. I don't know what's happened to you, but please let me help."

"One…"

"Dean! This is nuts! How could you-"

"Two…" Dean warned.

"Please!" was Sam's final, most desperate plea.

"One," he said with a quiver in his voice. He aimed the angel blade once more and prepared to strike.

"Stop!" Sam said in a voice that clearly wasn't actually Sam's. Dean paused. "You're right. I just wanted to see how far you would go," Gadreel told him.

"So what's it gonna be? You gonna go peacefully or do we have to do this the hard way?" Dean asked.

"You would not kill your brother. You think you can but you can't. You are not strong enough."

"Oh, I'm plenty strong. Strong enough to know that this is what Sam wants."

"Really? You think he wants to die at his brother's hand?" The words hit Dean like bullets, but he didn't let it show.

"I think Sam would want to be set free. I think he'd want me to fix my mistake. And that's what I'm going to do." Gadreel clearly didn't buy it.

"Fine. Go ahead. Kill me and your brother. We'll see what your conscience has to say about that." Dean took the angel blade and pressed it against his brother's sternum. "You don't have the guts," Gadreel spat out.

"Sammy, if you're in there, if you can hear me, I am so, so sorry," Dean said as his voice trembled. Gadreel looked Dean in the eyes. He was wearing a poker face but Dean could tell that Gadreel was scared. He didn't think he'd actually do it.

"This is for my brother." At that moment, Dean thrust the angel blade straight through Sam's ribcage and pierced his heart. The angel screamed. He threw his head back as light beamed from his eyes and mouth. The light show lasted a few seconds and then it was all over. The angel was dead…and so was his brother.

It was the second pyre Dean had built that week and he swore it would be the last. He had decided he wasn't going to get close to anyone else. He'd hurt too many people. Every time he'd try to save someone, more people would just end up getting hurt. Cas helped Dean burn Sam's body. They both watched as the flames licked at Dean's brother, reducing him to nothing more than a pile of ashes. Dean hardly spoke.

Cas tried to talk to him, but nothing worked. Cas knew that this was the one tragedy that Dean Winchester just couldn't recover from. After Sam's funeral, Dean just locked himself in his room in the bunker. He didn't eat or sleep. All he would do was just sit and think. Think about how he could have avoided this whole mess. He played out every scenario but they all ended with Sam's death. That's when he knew that Sam was never meant to survive. He was dead the moment he started the trials.

Dean couldn't stop wishing that he was in Sam's place. He should have convinced Sam that he should do the trials. If Sam had never started the trials, he wouldn't be dead. If Dean had done the trials, he would be dead and the gates to the pit would be closed. Sam could have lived his life, become a man of letters with a wife and kids, and have the life he'd always wanted. Dean knew that wasn't in the cards anymore.

Dean went on. He kept hunting. He called Cas only when he needed his help. He saved hundreds of people, but none of it mattered to him. He was just going through the motions. He knew he'd failed his brother, so why kid himself? Dean was a failure. Years went by and there wasn't a moment that Dean didn't think of his brother. He learned to cope with his loss, but it still left him twisted and broken.

As for Cas, he went around helping people. He'd go to hospitals and heal sick children. He'd wander the streets and feed the poor. He even hunted a little bit, but never with Dean. Dean didn't want him.

Five years after Sam's death, Cas received word that Dean Winchester was killed by a demon. He immediately searched for his old friend only to find that the rumors were indeed true. Dean had died saving a little girl from a demon. The demon caught him off guard and Dean just wasn't fast enough. Castiel took care of Dean's body and gave him a hunter's funeral. No one attended. All of Dean's friends and family were dead. Cas was comforted by the fact that Dean was at least reunited with Sam.

Castiel wished that he could have just told Dean what a great man he was. He wouldn't ever believe it but Dean did save more people than he hurt. Dean was a good person and Cas wished that Dean could have seen that. Now it was too late. Sam and Dean Winchester were gone for good.

THE END