It had been so long now, Sam had lost count.
Two months, three, four – the number didn't really matter anymore. All that mattered was that Dean was gone, rotting in Hell, and Sam couldn't do anything about it. This knowledge tore at him every waking hour. And after summoning demon after demon, all of which refused to deal his soul for Dean's, he'd thrown himself headlong into his work.
Hunting took his mind off things.
It was early in September when he and Ruby found themselves in Pontiac, Illinois hunting a gang of demons. But rather than the normal cut-and-dry cases they'd had lately, this one was a bit tougher. These particular demons were good at covering their tracks despite the fact that there were at least six of them. And Sam was admittedly a bit worried. Six against two weren't really the best odds.
Finally, after hunting all day with no luck, they decided to take a much-deserved break. And even though the hotel they got a room in wasn't exactly the best, it was enough. It had a bed and a bathroom, and that was really all they cared about for – even though neither would admit it out loud – they were exhausted.
Sam could've sworn that he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. He hardly even registered Ruby's presence beside him as he slipped into the impending darkness. And while normally he shied away from such deep sleeps – afraid of the nightmares that haunted him – this time was different.
This time, instead of the demons stalking him in the shadows and the dying screams of his brother, Sam heard a voice. One that was deep and gravelly in texture, yet somehow soothing. It whispered something unintelligible, just on the edge of his consciousness, and despite himself, Sam moved closer – curious, yet still cautious. But he realized as he advanced forward that the voice was steadily growing louder; chanting something in a language he didn't quite recognize. He squinted, trying to make out anything he could, but suddenly the chanting stopped and Sam saw only darkness. For what seemed like hours, this was all he could make out – an unending darkness so think it was practically palpable.
Then suddenly there was light.
A bright, warm light that penetrated the shadows began to shine with the brilliance of a million suns. And out of the light stepped a man – a stranger with radiant blue eyes and awe-inspiring, black-feathered wings sprouting from his back. For a moment Sam was completely taken off-guard, but as he peered closer he realized that the light he'd seen (which he'd originally thought had just come from behind the man) actually originated from him.
If he even was a man.
The winged figure finally stepped entirely out of the encompassing darkness, his light shining even brighter than before, and that's when Sam noticed the man that the blue-eyed stranger held cradled in his arms.
Dean . . . ?
His brother was naked and unconscious, but it was definitely his brother in the winged figure's arms. Bruises and gashes and all other manner of wounds marred his skin, and on each of his shoulders – radiating with a lingering hum of power – were two raised burns in the shape of someone's hands, as if he'd been branded.
But at that moment Sam didn't really care because Dean, his brother, was okay. He was safe.
The blue-eyed man turned to him then, his gaze unwavering, and uttered four simple words that echoed inside Sam's head over and over and over again. Four simple words that gave him a peace he hadn't felt in over half a year, granting him hope and a reason to smile once more.
"Dean Winchester is saved."
X X X
"Dean!"
Sam sat up quickly in the darkness of the hotel room, breathing hard. But as the last vestiges of the dream slipped away he found himself relaxing from his tense position, but not in relief – defeat. It had just been a dream. Dean was still in Hell, and Sam was still here, overwhelmed with a guilt he could not escape from no matter what he did.
"Sam?" Ruby's voice wafted toward him out of the darkness. He heard the rustling of the sheets, and then the lamp on the bedside table flicked on to reveal Ruby's worried face peering up at him. "What's wrong?" She reached up to wipe something off his cheek. "You're crying."
"Huh?" Sam followed suit, brushing a hand across his upper cheek, and realized she was right. "Oh . . ."
"Are you okay?"
Sam nodded, "Oh, yeah. Sorry, it was just a dream. Go back to sleep, Ruby."
She shrugged. "If you say so."
He smiled at her as she rolled over to turn off the light and they both lay back down. Curling up under the sheets as always, Sam stubbornly banished all thoughts of Dean and blue-eyed men with wings so he could get some actual sleep.
The next day, however, was slow going.
Sam ended up waking later than he normally did to find Ruby lounging in front of his laptop in nothing but her underwear, looking for anything that would give them clues to the whereabouts of the demons they were tracking. For a moment he was annoyed that she hadn't woken him, but then again, he'd needed the sleep.
"Any luck?" He asked her, running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to tug the knots out of it.
She shook her head. "Nope, these demons are good. I can't get a whiff of them anywhere."
Sam got up, pulling a pair of pants on as he headed to the bathroom. "It's weird, though. It's almost like they're hiding, or something."
Ruby grinned. "Maybe they've finally realized how dangerous you are."
"Yeah, right," Sam scoffed. "That's probably it. The demons are hiding because they're afraid of me. Good one, Ruby."
She rolled her eyes. "Sam, sometimes you're just way too humble for your own good, you know that?"
Sam just shrugged and walked into the bathroom, itching for a shower. "Call me if you need anything." He said as he closed the door behind him.
The hot water pouring from the faucet felt amazing on Sam's tired muscles, but it did nothing to wash away the strange feeling of uncertainty he had about this hunt and the demon's strange behavior. Nor did it get rid of the memory of that odd dream he'd had the night before.
Dean Winchester is saved.
Sam sighed as he finished and got out of the shower, brushing off the thought. It had just been a weird dream. He'd had plenty of those before. And while the dream itself was slightly unsettling, it was definitely more welcome than the nightmares he usually had. Besides, he'd slept better than he had in months.
The rest of the day was spent in the hotel room as he and Ruby desperately tried to get a lead on the demons, only to come up empty handed at every turn. And finally, after hours of research and no results, Ruby groaned in frustration and leaned back in her chair.
"Let's get pizza."
Sam hadn't realized how hungry he actually was, but now that she mentioned it, pizza sounded amazing. So he ordered one large pan pizza decked out with sausage and pepperoni and then sat down in front of the TV to flip through some channels as he waited, figuring he'd earned the right to laze around for a bit.
When the knock on the door signaling the pizza's arrival finally sounded, Ruby jumped up, still in her underwear, and answered it.
"Where is it?" Sam heard her ask.
"Where's what?" A strangely familiar voice replied.
"The pizza," Ruby replied, "That takes two guys to deliver?"
A pause. "I think we got the wrong room."
Sam got up then, confused, and moved up behind Ruby so he could see who was at the door. There were two guys there – and obviously neither was the pizza delivery man – but Sam had to do a double-take as he saw Bobby, who he hadn't contacted in months (and yeah, he felt sort of bad about that). That wasn't the best bit though, because standing next to Bobby was someone Sam never thought he'd see again, and he could do nothing but stare, because this was impossible. Dean was dead, rotting in Hell, and it was all Sam's fault. So he couldn't be here.
His brother's green eyes crinkled around the edges when he saw Sam and he smiled crookedly, looking almost as if he'd never left. "Heya, Sammy." He murmured.
And suddenly the words from Sam's dream floated back up from where he'd suppressed them. Those four words that he'd decided meant nothing, those four words taken from a dream that made no sense, those four words that suddenly had so much more meaning in the light of the current situation as he stared at his brother, knowing that his mere existence there was impossible.
Dean Winchester is saved.