What if Lucifer was telling Sam the truth?

Sam left Dean, Bobby, and Cas to get the blood they needed for the ritual. When he had found it he turned around to see Lucifer.

"You're in Hell," Sam said. He had told Dean he could tell what was real and he meant it. Anything Hell related was obviously not real.

"You're right about that," Lucifer confirmed.

Well, at least his hallucinations were honest, Sam thought. He went to walk around Lucifer. He probably didn't need to bother, but it would just be weird to try to walk through him.

"You're there, too," Lucifer said.

"What?" Sam asked.

"This was the best torture I've ever devised. I let you think you got free, but you're really still here."

"That's ridiculous," Sam said, feeling silly for arguing with someone who wasn't even there.

"Is it?" Lucifer snapped his fingers and Sam saw the cage. He saw Michael and Adam.

"This isn't real," Sam said.

"Yes, it is, Sam. You see, I put you into this dream. Then I sort of split the dream so that you would think your soul was still here and I could actually continue physically torturing you. Then, since you didn't have a soul in your dream, you did terrible things. I knew how much that would upset you. Then I let your soul and mind get back together again. Now, I'm done and you're back." Lucifer grinned.

"NO!" Sam yelled. He knew it was true, though. The past year hadn't felt as real as this did.

"While you were asleep, we taught Adam how to torture," Michael said. "After all, none of this is his fault and we have you to torture."

Adam pushed him down on the rack and they all got to work and laughed maniacally as Sam screamed. Lucifer was right. Letting him think he was free was the worst torture of all.

SSS

Bobby heard a knock on the door and he got up to answer it. "Dean," he said surprised. He hadn't seen Dean since about a week after Sam took his swan dive. "It's been a while."

"Two years," Dean acknowledged.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Something's right for once. I found a way to spring Sam from the cage."

"I thought you promised to leave it alone," Bobby said, knowing nothing good would come out of this. He wasn't even sure Sam out of the cage was a good thing. Dean had told him about the time difference. Sam had been down there for over two centuries. He was bound to not be Dean's "Sammy" anymore.

"Of course I didn't leave it alone," Dean said, insulted that Bobby would even think such a thing. He pushed past Bobby into the house.

"Well, what do you have?" Bobby asked, resigned to the fact that he wouldn't be talking Dean out of this.

"A spell to bind Death. We can make him bring Sam back."

"Sounds risky," Bobby raised his eyebrows. Death. Yeah. Great plan.

"Lucifer did it," Dean pointed out.

"He's Lucifer," Bobby countered.

"Spell's a spell. I have it and all the ingredients right here."

"What do you need me for, then?" Bobby asked, thinking maybe Dean came here so that he would talk him out of it.

"Sam's going to need both of us when he comes up," Dean said. "I can't give him my full attention. Lisa and Ben."

Bobby sighed a breath of relief. So, he was still with them. That was good news. "I guess there's no talking you out of this."

"He's my brother, Bobby." Bobby remembered Dean saying the exact same thing after he had sold his soul for Sam. He knew there was no talking him out of it.

"Fine."

They mixed the ingredients and Bobby read the incantation. Death appeared.

"Are you serious? You've bound me?"

"Desparate times," Dean said.

"What do you want?" Death asked, knowing he had no choice. Besides, he would still be bound to Lucifer if not for this little annoying protozoa, so he supposed one favor couldn't hurt.

"Release Sam from the cage. Adam, too," he added as an afterthought.

"Fine," Death said. He disappeared and reappeared a minute later with a bloody, broken Sam and a surprising well looking Adam.

"Sammy," Dean ran to him. There would be time for Adam later.

"No, not again," Sam wailed. It was too cruel. Of course, that was why Lucifer was doing it again. It was so much fun the first time.

"Sammy, it's OK. You're safe," Dean said.

Adam sat up slowly. He was out. He wondered if this was the same game Lucifer had played on Sam. He didn't think so, though. He had become very close to the two angels over the last 150 years. The first 50 years, he was getting tortured, but then Michael had taken a real interest in him and Lucifer had followed. There had been lots of laughter while Sam was dreaming.

"No," Sam cried.

Adam grinned. Sam thought this was another torture. That was hilarious. "What's the matter, Sam? Mad they stuck me in your dream this time?" he asked.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked, not liking his tone.

"This isn't real, Dean. It's a trick. Lucifer already did it to Sam once. Let him think he escaped, so that when he was back, it was even worse."

Dean seethed with rage. Why was Adam taunting Sam like this? "Sam, this is real. I promise you. If this was a trick, would Lucifer have sent Adam with you to tell you it was a trick?" Logic usually worked with Sam.

"Sure, because otherwise I would think it was a trick since he did it before." Unless of course he out logiced you.

"That's right, Sam. You're burning right now," Adam said.

"What's your problem?" Dean snapped.

"You spend two centuries in a cage in Hell and see how you feel about the person that caused it," Adam snapped back.

Dean really couldn't argue with that. Adam should never have gotten in the middle of all that. He was innocent. But Dean didn't really want him around right now. "Well, now I got you out, so why don't you take off and enjoy your freedom instead of torturing Sam?"

"But, I kind of like torturing Sam. It's fun. I've been doing it for quite a while."

"Get out!" Dean yelled. "I won't ask again." Dean didn't want to hurt Adam. He was his brother. But Sam was more his brother and he had always vowed to protect him. He wasn't going to allow his torturer to stay.

"Fine," Adam said and left. He was just glad to be out. Even with Lucifer and Michael as your allies, the cage still sucked.

"I just want to wake up," Sam whined. The longer he stayed here, the worse it would be. He realized most people would be glad of any time they got out of the pit, but it was just too hard on him. Especially if he was soulless again.

"Sam, you are awake," Dean reassured him. "This is real."

"Did Cas get the souls and Leviathan back into Purgatory?" Sam asked, figuring this dream would pick up where the last one left off.

Dean and Bobby exchanged a confused look. "What does that even mean?" Dean asked. He understood all the words separately, but it sounded like mumbo jumbo. Leviathan wasn't real and as far as he knew Purgatory didn't exist. And he hadn't heard from Cas since the night Sam left for the pit.

"OK, apparently we're starting all over," Sam said.

"Sam, this is the first time you've been back," Dean said patiently.

"Whatever. I'm hungry," Sam said. Might as well have a physical comfort while he was dreaming.

Dean went into the kitchen to make a sandwich.

"Tell me about your dream," he said when Sam followed him.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Because maybe then I can prove that this isn't a dream."

"Don't see how, but OK." Sam filled Dean in on everything that had happened in his last dream.

"That's crazy. You could never do any of that bad stuff," Dean said amazed that his brother had fallen for that. And Cas would never be power hungry like that.

"I guess," Sam said. "That doesn't prove that this isn't a dream, though."

"I'm working on it," Dean said. He wondered if Sam's imagination of Lucifer's had created that last world. Because that was totally nuts.

"Sam, how could a person even walk around without a soul? That doesn't even make sense."

"I know," Sam admitted.

"And dragons? Dragons?"

Sam laughed despite himself. It was ridiculous.

"Wait. Bobby never got his soul back from Crowley?" Sam asked. That was the one good thing that had happened in his dream.

"Actually I did," Bobby said as he happened to walk in the room. "I am capable of taking care of some things on my own, you know."

"How?" Sam asked.

Since Dean wasn't going to be hunting, he left me Ruby's knife. I trapped Crowley in a devil's trap and threatened to stab him if he didn't give me my soul back. He obliged me.

"And you're still with Ben and Lisa?" Sam asked. He had felt horrible about breaking them up.

"Yeah. I told them what I was up to and I would be gone for a week. What are you going to do? You're not going to hunt by yourself?" Dean asked anxiously.

"I never want to see another angel, or demon, or monster again," Sam admitted. "But, I think if I quit, Dad would be ashamed of me."

"No, Sammy. If Dad knew all that you've done, he could never feel that way. You've done more than your share. You saved the whole world," Dean reassured him.

"After I broke it."

"Details," Bobby offered.

"Well, I don't know what I would do," Sam said.

"Go back to law school," Dean suggested.

"How? Sam Winchester died in that helicopter explosion. Remember?" Sam didn't know why he was making plans. He was pretty sure this wasn't real. Dean hadn't come up with anything to refute the dream theory.

Dean realized Sam had a good point. He couldn't do anything that would require any kind of background check.

Bobby was trying to think, too. If it had been Dean he would have offered him a job here. But Sam underneath cars all day just didn't seem right.

"Well, no need to rush to figure that out," Dean decided.

Suddenly they heard a flutter of wings and Cas appeared. "Sam, I heard you were out."

"From who?" Dean asked.

"Death."

"Well, yeah, he's out," Dean beamed.

"I'm afraid this just won't do," Cas said.

"What?" Dean and Bobby asked.

Sam was almost relieved. It looked like this dream would be much shorter than the last one. He could get back to regular torture.

"With Sam and Adam out of the cage, Raphael now wants to retrieve Michael and Lucifer and start the Apocalypse again."

Sam was having major déjà vu.

"How are you managing up there?" Sam asked.

"Fine. Why?" Castiel asked.

"How are you fighting Raphael? Do you get extra power from Hell souls?"

"Sam, that was your dream," Dean said.

"Just two souls. I'm draining you and Adam. I come down periodically and touch you. Don't you remember?"

Sam realized he did remember. It all happened during the dream time, though.

"Why?' Dean asked.

"Because caged souls are the most powerful. That's why I must hurl him back. Adam, too, of course."

"Whatever," Sam said. This wasn't real anyway. What difference did it make?

Dean realized that maybe Sam's dream wasn't completely accurate, but because of his psychic abilities did give glimpses of the truth. He wouldn't let any of it happen. He saw Cas's sword sticking out from his trench coat and grabbed it and stabbed his friend.

"It's just a dream, Dean," Sam sighed. Why was he going to all this trouble to prolong a dream.

"No, it's not," Dean said. "It's real. Is there any way you can think of that would prove it?"

Sam thought. Even in my dream, I was never cold. No matter what. I think it was all the heat from the cage. When I was hunting with Samuel, we were fighting this creature that shot out ice. Samuel and Mark were freezing, but I was still hot. If I were to be cold, I would know it was real.

Bobby went to the freezer and grabbed some ice. While Sam was still talking he dropped some cubes down his shirt. Sam jumped. "That's cold," he complained, then grinned. He was really out.