DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. Much sadness.

SPOILERS: It's a Terrible Life, only slightly because of an angel.

Enjoy and review, thanks!

LESSON

He made his way back to the last hotel they were at, thankfully it was in town. They'd been headed here to begin with before they'd been body jacked and had their memories swiped. He was thankful to see the Impala in the parking lot.

Sam was waiting for him. "Dean…so, uh, what the hell was that?"

He sighed, "Angels."

"Castiel?"

"Zachariah." At his brothers look Dean continued, "Cas' boss."

Sam's mouth opened and closed a few times. "Oh." There was a pause. "What the hell he'd do that for?"

He sighed again, this time letting out a groan, too. There was a lot that Dean had yet to tell Sam, things he wasn't sure he wanted to, and other things he knew he didn't. The trick would be to fill him in without giving up anything too close to home.

He figured he had to go for honesty, as much as he could because he can't give Sam a hard time about secrets if he's keeping them too. "Look, there's some stuff you don't know, and I'm not going to talk about," Sam made a face of protest, so Dean continued quickly, "not right now, at least, okay? I don't want to deal with it."

His brother pulled out his irritated, but not gonna push it face, and took a seat opposite Dean, on the corner of his bed.

"Partly, it was because of Uriel."

"Uriel? What does-"

"You wanna hear this?" Dean asked, leaning forward just slightly. "He's dead, by the way."

"What?"

Dean had felt a little shocked when he'd heard it too, not sad, just shocked. If any angel was dick, it was Uriel. Would God smite him for talking ill of dead angel? Doubtful. "Dude, he was killing the other angels." Sam's eyes bulged. "How behind the times are you, Sam?" Dean asked.

"Well, Castiel doesn't really talk to me, Dean."

"Whatever, look, the guys upstairs were getting worried about their grunts getting to mixed up with humans - also why Cas was practically standing in a corner when they were here last." He paused. "Cas said he was getting to close to me." Sam tried to hide a smile. "Shut up, man."

"I didn't say anything."

Dean rolled his eyes, sighed, because now he had to tell his brother part of the something he'd rather not. "In the hospital, Cas told me some stuff, Sammy. And the things they want me to do - I just can't." He caught Sam's eyes. "I just can't, it's too big, it's too much. And I don't want to. I'm tired and…"

He trailed off, thinking about what had come from that conversation, save the world, save the humans, save the angels. It was all his fault any of them were in danger in the first place, and he felt the pull of responsibility, but it wasn't fair. Everything he'd lost, everything he'd given up and all it did was get him more trouble. That'll teach him to be selfless.

"So… what?" Sam asked, "This Zachariah wanted to teach you a lesson?"

"Yep." Dean thought back to what the angel had told him, and honestly? It bothered him, just a little. "He said I'd find my way to being a hunter in the dark every single time." And that he'd do everything he was destined to do. All of it.

He hadn't liked the way that had sounded at all. There were some definite undertones there, and he'd have to remember to ask Cas about it the next time he saw the man.

He looked back at Sam. "So yeah, a lesson. So, I would know I could do it, that it's who I'm meant to be." He waved his hands around a bit; he still didn't totally buy it. There had to be other people out there, more capable, better equipped. Not so damaged.

Sam just sat there, hands clasped between his knees. Dean wanted to hear him say that he was strong enough, that Dean could do it, that Sam would help and would be there. Of course, he knew that's not what his brother thought anymore.

Dean's head pricked up as a thought crossed his mind. "Dude." he said, and Sam looked at him, waiting for the revelation. "Those Hellhound jackasses called us douche nozzles."

Sam laughed, and despite everything, Dean liked the sound of it.

"Yeah, that was weird. We watched their site to learn how to kill a ghost." Sam said with a smile.

"We didn't even have our memories, that doesn't count." Dean leaned back into his chair. "Think you can hack their site?"

Sam huffed out another short laugh, "Dean, come on, ask me a hard question."

He shot his brother a weak grin. How do you stop the apocalypse, Sammy?

End.

Let me know what you think! Thanks!