"Sam…"
The voice was soft, like a whisper. Smooth, like a caress. It slithered over his skin and sent a shiver up his spine.
"Sam…"
The voice was singing his name now, like a child reciting a nursery rhyme. An unfamiliar warmth settled deep into his belly before spreading out through the rest of his body. Sam rolled from his stomach to his back and felt a soft, comfortable surface gently give beneath his weight.
Wait a minute…
He was comfortable? Than he couldn't be in a hotel bed, which meant he couldn't be in a hotel room…
Sam's hand instinctively shot out and slipped beneath his other pillow, but found nothing. His gun was gone.
"You won't be needing that here, Sam," the voice said, softly.
Sam finally opened his eyes and sat up. He had been right. He wasn't in a cheap, badly decorated hotel. He couldn't hear the constant dripping that had once been coming from the sink in the bathroom. And Dean wasn't asleep, snoring in the room's other bed.
There was no other bed.
In fact, there was nothing. No room, no walls. Not even a floor to speak of. Just a soft, warm, glowing light and a gentle mist filling the air. The vapor touched his skin and was absorbed into it, leaving behind a pleasant tingling sensation. He took a deep breath as he stood to his feet and felt the mist warm up inside his chest.
A slow smile spread over his lips.
"Sam," the voice sang again, sounding closer this time.
"Where are you?" he asked, not realizing how strange it was that he wasn't wondering, "Who are you?"
"I'm here."
"Where?"
"Right here."
"Where's 'here'?" Sam chuckled, feeling as though the mysterious voice was just playing a game with him now.
"Here," the voice said again.
Sam followed it, and turned around.
It was a woman. No, a girl, probably no older than fifteen or sixteen years old. She was young, pretty, and showed no signs of a hard-lived life. A smile warmed her pale, innocent face.
"Am I dreaming?" Sam finally asked.
"Yes and no," the girl answered, vaguely. "Your body is asleep, but your mind is not. And this place is real."
"And what is this place?"
"This is safety," she smiled. "A place without worry, but a place where you can think."
Sam frowned. "I'm sick of thinking. All I do is think."
The girl smiled knowingly and nodded. She knew him, knew his thoughts, and knew his heart. And Sam wasn't sure if he liked that.
"So, I'll ask you again," he began, his voice lower with a hint of force within it. "Who are you?"
"Ever the mentality of a hunter, Sam," the girl smiled. "You've never been one to take things at face value."
Sam opened his mouth again, ready to force a real answer from her, but the girl didn't need any further convincing.
"My name is Caleigh. I'm a sibling of Castiel's."
Sam's eyes grew wide. "You're an angel?"
The girl nodded.
"You must be a crazy one then," Sam argued. "Because last time I checked, you guys don't like me very much."
"Well, I do," Caleigh answered.
"You don't know me."
"Yes, I do, Sam," she stated, forcefully. "I do know you. Very well. And I like you anyway."
Sam dropped his head forward and stared down at the misty surface below him. She said she knew him. Very well. Which meant that she knew what he'd done. Betrayed his brother's trust, defiled himself with a demon, and became addicted to the power she'd offered him.
He had also let loose the darkest force in all of creation.
Beelzebub, the Beast, Deceiver, the Father of Lies, the Evil One, Enemy, the Ruler of Demons, Satan.
He had many names in many languages, but they all knew him as the one, the only…
Lucifer.
"I know you thought you were doing the right thing, Sam," Caleigh said. "Your heart was in the right place. You just went about it the wrong way."
Sam lifted his head and settled his gaze on her. A tear rolled down his cheek and Caleigh's small, soft hand reached up to catch it.
"You can still say no, Sam," she continued, gently. "You can say no to Lucifer."
"But he said I won't," Sam argued. "He said he wants, that it has to be me. That I'm the One."
"Of course he did," Caleigh nodded. "But don't you understand why he wants you?"
Sam shook his head.
"He wants you because he can't have you."
Sam looked at her for a moment and almost smiled. He hadn't thought of it that way before.
"God will never allow Lucifer to have you, Sam," Caleigh smiled.
"Speaking of which," Sam began. "Where is God? Cas has been looking for Him everywhere."
"I know. I've seen."
Sam frowned at her.
"I keep an eye on things. That's my job," the girl said simply. Sam nodded, knowing that it was the only additional information he was going to get from her.
"Castiel can search all he wants for our Father," Caleigh said. "But he's never going to find Him."
"Why not?"
"Because He isn't lost."
Sam let out a heavy sigh. Never in all his life had he heard anyone speak the way this angel girl did. With the simplest words and shortest sentences, she could explain quantum physics.
"God doesn't go missing, Sam," she continued. "And He never, ever loses His way. If we could always see God, then we would have no reason to look for Him. And if our lives were always perfect, we would never need Him."
Sam nodded as he slowly began to understand.
"God likes to be needed, Sam," Caleigh whispered. "And He misses His children when they wander away."
Sam closed his eyes, unable to face her laser like gaze.
"You used to talk to Him every day, Sam," she said, gently brushing a stray strand of hair away from his face. "Do you remember?"
Yes.
Yes, he remembered. Sam used to pray every single day. He used to pray for safety and guidance, wisdom and understanding. He used to pray that God would penetrate the wall around his brother's hard heart.
But then, Dean went to Hell. And took every bit of hope that Sam ever owned, with him.
"Why didn't God stop Dean from dying and going to Hell?" he asked.
"Dean had to go to Hell, Sam," Caleigh answered. "That was part of the plan. But it was also part of the plan for Dean to get out. So God sent Castiel to save him."
Sam felt a twinge of pain deep, within his chest. A raw mixture of jealousy, hurt, and deep-seeded abandonment.
"Why didn't God send anyone to save me?"
Caleigh smiled sadly, placed a warm, gentle hand on the side of Sam's face, and whispered, "Why do you think I'm here?"
Sam's chin trembled and his welled up with tears, but he was smiling just the same.
"God loves you, Sam," Caleigh grinned. "More than you'll ever understand. He always has and he always will. You have a purpose in this grand design. Even though you may not see it now, He does."
"And that's what this whole experience was for?" Sam asked, lifting his hand to indicate his mysterious surroundings. "For me to know that God still…" he paused, still finding it difficult to say the word. "Loves me?"
"You always were a smart one, Sam Winchester," Caleigh chuckled in answer. "You figured it out. And now it's time to go."
The angel patted his cheek and took a step back. She lifted hand and pinched her thumb and middle finger together. Sam closed his eyes, hoping whatever she was about to do wasn't going to hurt.
"One more thing," she said suddenly. Sam opened one eye.
"Be nice to Castiel, Sam," she frowned. "He really is trying to do the best he can."
Sam nodded with a smile. "Thank you," he whispered. "For everything."
Caleigh grinned and snapped her fingers.
Sam heard a loud slam and immediately opened his eyes.
It was morning and he was in a hotel bed in a hotel room. Dean was rummaging through his duffel bag, not even attempting to be quiet. He glanced over his shoulder and threw a balled up shirt at Sam.
"Well, mornin', Sleeping Beauty," he chuckled. "I was starting to wonder if you'd ever be getting up."
Dean paused and stared at Sam for a moment. He frowned, almost as if he noticed something different about his brother. Something…good.
"You okay?" he asked. " Have a good dream or something?"
Sam frowned, trying to recall any dreams he might have had from the night before, but nothing besides a warm, comforting feeling in his belly, seemed to appear.
"Yeah," he smiled. "I guess I had a pretty good dream."