In the bright whiteness of Heaven, Mary Winchester stared down at the scene unfolding in front of her. Under normal circumstances humans were not allowed to view events happening on Earth, it only made them mad with longing. However, the Winchester family had always been an exception to the angels.
Sam, her little boy who had grown so large since she had left, cringed against the wall the demon Lilith had him pinned against. Light shone from her palm and Dean's voice echoed up to her; he was screaming Sam's name.
Her heart clenched at the emotion in that one word, that one childhood nickname, "Sammy!"
When the light dimmed and she saw that Sam had remained unharmed her breath caught, then exploded from her lungs in a grateful whimper.
Lilith disappeared, black smoke erupting from the mouth of the poor host body until the trail ended and the blonde girl crumpled to the ground.
Then, the clock in the room began to chime and Sam and Dean shared a look. On Sam's part it was panicked and heartbroken, while Dean put on a front that made him seem resigned to his fate.
The doors burst open and despite the fact that Sam could not see the hellhounds, that only Dean was able to, Mary saw their outlines. They were hulking black beasts and they knocked Dean to the ground, her strong boy, her sacrificial little soldier. She hadn't wanted any of this for them. She had wanted them to grow up without guns or demons; she wanted them to fall in love and get married and have babies of their own, babies that they would put through school and love with all their hearts. She had wanted the Winchester hunters to end with John.
She closed her eyes tightly, not wanting to witness her children's lives being ripped apart. She heard Sam yell, heard him scream Dean's name over and over, heard the sobs wrenching from his massive chest. She wanted nothing more than to gather them both in her arms and keep them safe, even if it meant her own destruction.
Then all sound stopped and when she opened her eyes it was gone, the audio and the video were gone. She looked around wildly, finding herself utterly alone.
"No!" She screamed, gathering fistfuls of her hair, "They're children! They're my boys! You have to do something!"
The lack of response did nothing to deter her, "They need each other! You bring Dean back and you put my boys together!" She was shaking with a heady mixture of agony and anger, "You do not want to see what a hunter will do when her children are threatened!"
A voice slid around her ears, "Be calm, Mary."
"No," She snarled, "Your angel mojo won't work on me now. You put my boys back together or so help me..."
"Dean will not be in perdition long, we will remove him when we see fit."
"When you see fit?" She screeched, "Since when does a boy who sacrificed his soul to save his baby brother deserve to be in Hell at all?"
"He serves a greater purpose, Mary," The voice assured her, "They both do. They are gods among human beings and we will keep them from harm." The voice stopped, then began anew, "In due time I will remove your son. During that time I will keep Sam from serious harm. They are under my protection. I will ensure their safety even after they are returned to God at the end of their lives. They will have long, happy lives, Mary."
There was silence and then a promise, "I will watch over them."