Aftermath

All his life, Dean was surrounded by his family. It had been a necessity while he was growing up. After losing Mom in the fire, all he ever had was Sammy and his dad. They were the most important people in his life. And, when Dad died - giving up his own life to make sure that Dean survived - Sam was the only one that was left. Though various people came and went over the years, the one constant was Sam.

After everything they had been through, it couldn't end like this. No, he would find a way to save his younger brother from the angel that was possessing him. He wasn't sure who it was, all he knew was that allowing the possession to continue any longer than it had would only cause trouble. And, he had dealt with enough trouble over the years to know that there was a pretty good chance that it would only get worse.

Sam was no longer in the bunker. He wasn't sure where he was, only that he wasn't here. There was no reason for him to be here. Dean was left staring at Kevin's lifeless corpse. That was probably the hardest part; it was necessary for the angel inside Sam (whoever he might be) to kill Kevin. Why? What did he really have to gain from something like that? Dean was missing something; and it probably had to do with where Sam was disappearing to the last few days.

Not knowing what else to do, Dean stood and went to find Crowley. He needed some company and, without knowing of a way to contact Cas, the demon was his only option. Crowley might even know of a way to fix this. Not that he was expecting Crowley to help him in any way; not without giving something in return.

Dean barely saw where he was going. He was simply on autopilot. Didn't even notice when he was done in the dungeon. Not until Crowley commented on his presence. "Well, if it isn't Tweedledum," Crowley said. "And where would we find Tweedledee? Or perhaps Kevin? Always in the mood for torturing him."

"Not here," Dean replied sullenly.

"All by your lonesome then?" Crowley asked.

As much as he did not wish it… "Yes."

"And you came down to see me? Well, don't I feel special?" the demon preened.

"Can it!" Dean warned. "I'm only down here because I have no other option."

"Oh, what; did the Moose get on your nerves?" Crowley asked.

That was an interesting way of putting it. "You could say that."

"Why come complaining to me?" the demon questioned.

"I need your help," Dean said. He didn't want to admit that, but he was the only one who could help - that he had immediate access to, of course. Otherwise, it surely would have been Cas that he turned to for help.

"You want my help?" Crowley asked. "Well, I want to get out of here."

Dean wasn't so willing to let that happen. If he let Crowley out of here, he would lose whatever chance he had at saving Sam. "Do you really think I'm going to let your slimy ass out of here?" Dean snarled. "You've been a thorn in our sides for years, ever since you handed us the damn Colt. You got good people killed over the years, most of whom were innocents."

"And so have you!" Crowley challenged.

Dean glared at the demon. "Even if I did, it was never on purpose." That was the difference between the two of them; Dean wasn't willing to spill innocent blood.

"You've been to hell," Crowley observed. "If I remember the stories correctly, you spent ten years of your forty year stint torturing innocent souls." Dean glared at him. "Not as innocent as you claim, hmm?"

"Low blow, Crowley!" Dean growled. He never liked thinking about his time in Hell. It was time he would like nothing more than to forget.

"It's true though," Crowley, "You might choose to ignore it; but, if not for that feathery friend of yours, you would be one of us. The Moose would probably be hunting you."

That was probably true. And, the situation they were in now; it probably wouldn't be happening. Sam wouldn't be possessed by an angel. He couldn't think like that though. He needed to find a way to save Sam.

"Would you shut it?" Dean snarled. He wasn't in the mood for any of Crowley's shit. All he wanted was his brother back, something that required Crowley's assistance.

"If I help you, what do I get out of it?" Crowley demanded. "I wouldn't help you for nothing."

"How about my eternal gratitude and me not punching the ever-loving shit out of you?" Dean suggested.

"Tempting as that offer is, I think I'd prefer getting back down to Hell," Crowley replied. "Or, would you prefer Abbadon running things?"

If he was being honest, things were better when Crowley was running things. Destructive as he was, at least they knew what to expect. "And if I allowed you to leave here, you would go back to fighting against us," Dean grumbled. He glared at Crowley. "Tell me I'm wrong and I'll consider letting you go." Crowley was silent. "I thought so."

"And how do you intend on saving the Moose?" Crowley countered.

That was the part that Dean wasn't sure about. What could he really do? Research had never been his forte - he left that up to Sam; and later Kevin - instead preferring to fight. He was a man of action. "Unclear at the moment," Dean said. What was there for him to do? "Now, are you going to help me or not?" And, getting word out to Castiel would be helpful. There might be a way to save Kevin. The longer he waited, the more of a chance there was for Kevin's soul to be completely severed from his body.

Crowley never got the chance to answer his question. There was a banging from up above. "You know what, hold that thought," Dean said. He would sooner find out who would be banging on the bunker door than spend time with Crowley. Dean stormed away from the cell that held Crowley and (passing Kevin's prone form) threw the door open.

He breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of Castiel. "You really do have it back, don't you?" Dean asked.

"For the moment," Castiel declared, stepping inside.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Dean asked.

"The grace I took was not my own," Castiel said. "To take the grace of another, it was forbidden. Each grace was specially designed for a specific angel. The power that I have right now will only last so long."

"Long enough to get back at Metatron?" Dean asked.

"It is possible," Castiel informed him. "Why?"

So long as Castiel was here, there was a chance that Kevin could be saved. "Something happened," Dean said. "Something I thought I could stop."

"Dean," the angel said sternly.

"Kevin is dead," Dean replied softly.

"The prophet is...what happened?" Castiel queried.

"I tried telling Sam about what I did, thought he could eject the angel since it was done without his permission," Dean explained. "Only, he must have become really good at pretending to be Sam because it wasn't until it was too late that I realized it wasn't Sam. I'm still not sure who it was."

"Unless we get a hold of Sam, we might never know," Castiel stated.

That's what Dean was afraid of. He was afraid that he would never get his brother back. Dean looked at his angel buddy, realizing something he should have before. "I thought you said that it would be better if you didn't come back to the bunker."

"I heard your prayer, Dean," Castiel said.

It had not been a direct prayer, but Dean did wish that Cas would come back to the bunker. It was the surest way to get the angel back here. "Oh." He came about… "Can you help Kevin?" Dean asked.

"I might be able to do something," Castiel said.

Dean gestured over to where Kevin's body was laying. "He's over there."

Castiel knelt down and began looking over Kevin. He placed a hand on Kevin's forehead and white glow engulfed them.

Author's Note: In the aftermath of watching Holy Terror, I could think of only one thing I wanted to happen; I wanted revenge on Metatron. So, I started writing. Not sure how long it's going to be, but I have no doubt that it will go AU after January 14th.