Title: Devil in Disguise
Author: alakewood
Warnings: Spoilers up through The End (5.04).
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~900
Summary: One-shot. Dean has a surprise visitor after his revelatory conversation with Sam.
Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing.

oxoxo

"Has he always been so stubborn?"

Dean spun around so fast he almost lost his balance, his hands still in the duffel on foot of the bed dragging it off onto the floor. He felt his heart stop as his breath caught in his chest. "Dad?"

Sure enough, John Winchester stood before him, looking exactly as he had the last time Dean had seen him alive. John shrugged a shoulder, the expression that usually passed as his smile quirking at the corner of his mouth. "Has he?"

"Who?" Dean questioned offhandedly, still too shaken to be following the conversation.

"Sam. Your brother. Has he always been so stubborn?"

"You should know that better than anybody," Dean nearly whispered, taking half a step closer to his father.

"Not better than you, I'm sure."

Dean shook his head slowly. "We butt heads, but nothing like you and Sam did."

A rare half-smile from John as he reached up to rub at the corner of his eye – an old, unconscious gesture that Dean remembered. "Of course not. Kid never wanted to be like his old man, like you. You and me, we get it. Sam, though...College was more important than finding the son-of-a-bitch that killed your mother."

"Sam's priorities-"

"I know all about Sam's priorities. Especially as of recent." Now John shook his head. "I warned you about this, did I not?"

"Yes, sir," Dean said, unable to tear his eyes away from John's boots. "I just, I never. It's Sam, Dad. Sam. I'm supposed to protect him, not kill him."

"Then, now...either way, it's still your finger on the trigger."

Confused, Dean's gaze quickly returned to John's face. "He'll get better, Dad. He will. He wants to stop this as much as I do. He's not gonna go dark-side."

"You say that now, but the road to Hell is often paved with good intentions, isn't it? How did Sam get to where he is today? Because he thought he was doing the right thing. What's a little demon blood here if it makes him strong enough to kill demons there? That's how it's going to happen, Dean. He's gonna think he's doing what's best, then..."

"'Then' what, Dad? He's gonna go all Antichrist Superstar?"

John chuckled. "I wouldn't have put it so blithely. But, yes. If you're supposed to be taking care of him, making sure that that doesn't happen, where is he?"

Dean opened his mouth to reply, but the words just wouldn't come. He shrugged. "I don't know. We went our separate ways after River Pass."

"You pushed him away?"

"It was his idea."

"You pushed him away," John said wearily, but with understanding. "He probably didn't think he had any other choice. Or maybe he didn't think you'd let him go."

Dean recalled the scene up in the mountains, how hurt Sam had looked as he walked away. "What was I supposed to do?" He turned away, unable to face his father.

John put a hand on Dean's shoulder, squeezed lightly. "You did the right thing, Dean."

"Did I? Dad..." Dean was thinking about the conversation he'd just had with Sam. "Look, there's something you don't know."

John smiled as if he were in on the secret. "There's not much I don't know, Dean."

"About Sam. He called – just a little bit ago – and he told me- he told that he's supposed to be Lucifer's vessel."

"Makes sense, doesn't it? If you think about it."

Dean shook his head. "I won't let it happen," he said, turning back towards John. But it wasn't his father standing before him.

"Dean," the man sighed. "This gig isn't for just any Tom, Dick, or...Nick." He gestured towards himself. "Normal humans, they're simply too weak. Sam is the only one on this incredible planet - the only one out of nearly seven billion - that is in every way perfectly suited to be my vessel. He's destined for this purpose. Just as you're destined to be Michael's vessel. It's fate that's been prophesied for millennia. You can't change it."

Anger flared inside him, burning white hot and righteous. "I can. And I will. He's my brother. I'll stop you if it's the last thing I do."

"Oh, it'll be the last thing you do, but you won't succeed. You've seen what Sam's capable of. With me at the helm...there's no contest. You'll never agree to being Michael's vessel – you're too stubborn, unwilling to let someone else be in control. But Sam. He'll resist, but he'll break. So much easier than you did when you were on Alastair's rack. A road paved with good intentions leads to Hell just as swiftly as the path of least resistance."

"He'll never-"

"There's a lot of things you never thought he'd do that he's already done. I doubt anything he does surprises you anymore." Lucifer took a step back. "In time, he'll agree to my offer. And maybe, one day, you'll see that you're wrong in dismissing me so absolutely."

Dean looked away, shaking his head. "I've made mistakes, but this will not be one of them. I promise you." When a response didn't come, he turned back towards where Lucifer had been standing.

But he was gone.