Lazarus Rising

Dean and Bobby were sitting in the living room of Bobby's house, empty liquor bottles on the table, Dean wiping the holy water Bobby had just sprayed all over him off his face.

"That don't make a lick of sense," Bobby muttered.

"Yeah, you're preaching to the choir," Dean agreed.

"Dean, your chest was ribbons, your insides were slop, and you've been buried four months, even if you could slip out of Hell and back into your meat suit…"

"I know, I should look like a Thriller video reject."

Bobby hesitated a moment, "What do you remember?"

Dean sat down, deep in thought, trying his hardest to remember what it had been like in Hell, "Not much. I remember I was a hellhound's chew toy and then...lights out, then I come to six feet under, that's was it," Bobby sat down at his desk, looking very confused, while Dean continued, "Sam's number's not working, neither is Michelle's, their uh...he's not…"

"Oh, he's alive, as far as I know," Bobby sighed.

"Good...wait," Dean glared at him, "What do you mean 'as far as you know?' And what about Michelle?"

"I haven't talked to him for months," Bobby admitted, "And I haven't heard from Michelle either."

"You're kidding, you just let him go off by himself? Michelle just let him go? Bobby, you should have been looking after them…"

Bobby stood up, interrupting Dean, "Well these last months haven't been exactly easy and you know Michelle, there's no way she'd leave that boy by himself."

"Then where is she?" Dean argued, "Why isn't she with Sam?"

"I don't know ok!" Bobby looked away, earning a suspicious look from Dean, "She came to my house the day we…we had to bury you. We'd been talking about how we might be able to break the contract without either you or Sammy dying and what we could do if we failed. She said she had a plan, needed more research," he sat down heavily, "She came back later saying she figured it out and to give Sam that knife she's always carrying. Then she left."

"So she brought me back?"

Bobby shook his head, "No, I don't think she did. The way she was talking, she was going to get you outta Hell that day. It's been months Dean. I tried to contact her but she gave me her phone along with all her other stuff. I just think whoever she went to, to get you out, screwed her over, changed the contract, took her out, I don't know, but she was gone and so were you."

Dean shook his head, rubbing his shoulder, "Why did you bury me anyway?"

"I wanted you salted and burned, the usual drill. But Sam wouldn't have it. Michelle didn't get involved."

"Well, I'm glad he won that one."

Bobby grew grim, "He said you'd need a body when he got you back home somehow, that's about all he said."

"What do you mean?"

"After you died, he was out of it. Withdrew from everyone, only one he let near him was Michelle. But when she disappeared he got…quiet...real quiet. Then, he just took off, wouldn't return my calls, wouldn't even let me talk about Michelle and what she was planning. I tried to find him, but he don't wanna be found."

"Aw damn it Sammy!" Dean slammed his fist onto the table, suddenly realizing something.

"What?" Bobby looked up.

"Oh, he got me home ok, if Michelle couldn't, he would," Dean shook his head, "But whatever he did...it is bad mojo."

"What makes you so sure?"

"You should have seen the gravesite, it was like a nuke went off. Then there was this…this force, this presence, uh…I don't know but, it…it blew past me at a fill-up joint, and then this…" he lifted up his shirt sleeve to reveal a scorched handprint on his left shoulder. Bobby stood up and went over to him.

"What in the hell?" Bobby eyed the print.

"Yeah, it's like a demon just yanked me out, or rode me out…"

"But why?"

"To hold up their end of the bargain."

"You think Sam made a deal?" Bobby's eyes widened.

"It's what I would have done," Dean answered, getting up to find his little brother.

~8~

"So tell me, what'd it cost?" Dean demanded of his brother as he watched Sam say goodbye to a brunette and shut the door behind her.

He still couldn't believe how different his brother was upon seeing him, standing in a hotel with a half-naked woman, treating her like a one night stand. It especially pissed him off to see his brother dealing with a hooker when he had a perfectly good woman in Michelle, regardless of whether she was there right now or not. He just couldn't wrap his head around what happened to her. He couldn't reconcile the woman he knew Michelle to be with what she had seemingly done, up and left.

"The girl?" Sam chuckled, "I don't pay Dean."

"That's not funny Sam," Dean said, referring not only to the fact that he wasn't talking about that sort of thing, but also that he seemed to be so over Michelle, "To bring me back. What'd it cost? Was it just your soul or was it something worse?"

"You think I made a deal?"

"That's exactly what we think," Bobby nodded.

"Well I didn't."

"Don't lie to me," Dean ordered.

"I'm not lying," Sam insisted.

Dean approached his brother, "So what? Now I'm off the hook and you're on, is that it? You're some demon's bitch boy, or did you give them Michelle? Huh? I didn't want to be saved like that."

As though a switch was flipped Sam became enraged and shoved Dean away, "Don't you dare talk about that bitch."

Dean's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, "The hell are you talking about?"

"Michelle," he nearly spat, "Don't you dare bring her up around me. Do you know what she did?"

Dean glanced at Bobby, who shook his head not to say anything.

Sam didn't seem to notice as he continued, "She left! I needed her, the one time I actually needed someone and she wasn't there. Three days! That was all it took for her to up and leave. You were dead and she just left. She left me alone…" Sam actually started to cry a bit at this and Dean knew it hadn't been his brother who got him out. Sam took a breath, "Look, Dean I wish I had done it alright…if I didn't have Michelle, then I needed you. I tried everything, that's the truth. I tried opening the Devil's Gate, hell, I tried to bargain Dean, but no demon would deal alright? You were rotting in Hell, for months…for months and I couldn't stop it. And I had no one with me to help me. So I'm sorry it wasn't me, alright? Dean, I'm sorry."

"It's ok, Sammy," Dean sighed, hugging his brother, "You don't have to apologize, I believe you."

"Don't get me wrong, I am glad that Sam's soul remains intact, but that does raise a sticky question," Bobby began.

"If he didn't pull me out, then what did?" Dean looked up at Bobby.

If it hadn't been Sam or Michelle then who?

~8~

"Hey Dean, what was it like?" Sam asked, watching his brother put on his necklace again.

"What, Hell?" Dean looked up at him before sighing in frustration, "I don't know, I must have blacked it out. I don't remember a damn thing."

"Thank God for that," Sam smiled.

"Yeah," Dean agreed.

~8~

Dean was driving the Impala down the highway, following behind Bobby, on their way to visit the man's psychic friend, when he turned to glance at his brother, "There's still one thing that's bothering me…"

"Yeah?" Sam looked over, unable to stop smiling now that he had his brother back.

"Yeah, the night that I bit it, or got bit. How'd you and Mi…you guys make it out? I thought Lilith was gonna kill you."

"She tried," Sam admitted, "But she couldn't."

"What do you mean she couldn't?" Dean raised an eyebrow.

"She fired this like burning light at...us, and...it didn't leave a scratch, like we were immune or something was protecting us," Sam shrugged.

"Immune?"

"Yeah, I don't know who was more surprised her or us. She left pretty fast after that."

"Huh...what about Ruby, where is she?" Dean hesitated a moment, not really caring where the demon had gone.

"Dead, or in Hell."

"So, you been using your, uh, freaky E.S.P. stuff?" Dean asked. He was dreading the answer, he knew that Sam had issues not using it and without him or Michelle keeping an eye on him, Dean could only imagine what he'd gotten up to.

"No…" Sam began, only to be cut off by his brother.

"You sure about that? Ah, well, I mean, now that you've got immunity, whatever the hell that is. I'm just wondering what other kind of weirdo crap you got going on."

"Nothing, Dean," Sam sighed, frustrated, "Look, you didn't want me to go down that road, so I didn't go down that road, it was practically your dying wish."

"Yeah, well, let's keep it that way."

~8~

Bobby knocked on the door just a second before a beautiful woman opened it to see him standing on the porch with Sam and Dean.

"Ha ha, Bobby!" she reached out and pulled him into a bear hug, actually managing to lift him off the ground while the boys watched, amused.

"You're a sight for sore eyes," he smiled at her.

"So, are these the boys?" she looked over at them.

"Sam, Dean, Pamela Barnes, best damn psychic in the state," Bobby introduced.

"Hey," Dean nodded.

"Hi," Sam greeted.

"Mm-mm-mmm," she eyed them, obviously checking them out, "Dean Winchester, out of the fire and back in the frying pan huh? That makes you a rare individual."

"If you say so," Dean shrugged.

Pamela shook her head and turned to Bobby, "So where's the other one?"

"Other one?" he asked, looking between her and Sam.

"The girl," she answered as though it were obvious, "You know, about yay high," she held up her hand about an inch or two shorter than Sam, "Brown hair, gray eyes, damn handy with a gun. Special little thing she is."

"Uh," Dean cleared his throat, seeing a dark look appear on his brother's face, "She's not here."

"Obviously," Pamela rolled her eyes, noticing the looks the boys were sending Sam, "Come on in."

~8~

Things did not end well during the séance Pamela had held for them. She had tried to contact the demon who had taken Dean out of Hell. He'd warned the woman to leave him alone, actually claimed he was busy, before she demanded he show himself to her…melting the eyes right out of her head. They rushed her to the hospital and she was stabilized now, the doctors taking care of her.

The day just got worse as they found themselves in a diner with three demons working inside. Dean had wished Michelle had been there, it would have been useful to know they'd been sitting there, surrounded by demons, so they could be prepared. But, surprisingly, the demons didn't attack, not even when Dean slapped one.

Even worse was that night, when a loud pitched noise had almost caused Dean to bleed out his ears on the floor of the motel. Bobby had rescued him and they were now driving back to Bobby's place after talking to Sam, who hadn't been in the room at the time, on the phone.

"Why the hell didn't you tell him?" Bobby asked, referring to Dean's last discussion with Sam.

"'Cause he'd just try to stop us," Dean replied.

"From what?" Bobby said slowly.

"Summoning this thing," Dean answered. Bobby looked at Dean, who looked back at him seriously, "It's time we face it head on."

"You can't be serious."

"As a heart attack, it's high noon baby."

"Well, we don't know what it is, it could be a demon it could be anything," Bobby began, before sighing, "Dean, if it's that powerful, what if…what if it's the thing that got Michelle?"

"What?" he looked at Bobby, now more shocked than serious.

"Think about it, Michelle goes to save you and she disappears, and then you eventually show up again," he swallowed, "What if it had something to do with her? You know Michelle can take care of herself, ain't no demon alive gonna take her down without a fight."

Dean set his jaw, "That's why we gotta be ready for anything."

Unlike Sam, who thought Michelle had abandoned him, both he and Bobby were of the mind that something had to have happened to Michelle. A demon or something had to have taken her out for her to not make her way back to Sam. She would never just leave him. Not like that. And if this was the demon that had killed her…well…he wanted to make sure it died a horribly painful death at his hands for it.

~8~

Dean and Bobby were sitting in a barn, spray painted with every symbol from every faith that could help them defend themselves from whatever they had just summoned…which explained why Dean was now standing across from a man who had just withstood Ruby's knife and knocked out Bobby by just touching his forehead.

Dean was leaning over Bobby, checking his pulse and looking back over at the man who was now flipping through a book on the table. He glanced up at Dean, "Your friend's alive."

"Who are you?" Dean glared at him.

"Castiel."

"Yeah, I figured that much, I mean what are you?"

"I'm an angel of the Lord."

Dean stood up, "Get the hell outta here, there's no such thing."

"This is your problem Dean, you have no faith," Castiel stared at him as lightning cracked around them and the lights formed a shadow of huge wings extending from the man's back.

"Some angel you are, you burned out that poor woman's eyes," Dean chastised.

Castiel sighed and looked down, "I warned her not to spy on my true form, it can be...overwhelming to humans and I was too preoccupied to try and shield her from it. My real voice can also be overwhelming, but you already knew that."

Dean's eyes widened, "You mean the gas station and the motel. That was you...talking?" Castiel nodded, "Buddy, next time, lower the volume."

"It was my mistake, certain people, special people, can perceive my true visage. I thought you would be one of them, I was wrong."

"And what visage are you in now, huh?" Dean eyed him, "What, holy tax accountant?"

"This…this is a vessel," Castiel explained, looking down at himself, dressed in a white suit with a tie and a tan trench coat.

"You're possessing some poor bastard?" Dean raised an eyebrow.

"He's a devout man, he actually prayed for this."

"Look, pal, I'm not buying what you're selling, so who are you, really?"

"I told you."

"Right, and why would an angel rescue me from Hell?" Dean rolled his eyes.

"Good things do happen, Dean."

"Not in my experience."

Castiel sighed, "I rescued you because she willed it."

"Who?" Dean's brow furrowed in confusion.

"The one who saved you," he replied cryptically.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean shook his head, "I thought you saved me?"

"When you were lifted from perdition," he explained, still not clarifying anything, "I brought you to Heaven to be healed."

"Why would anyone want to save me from Hell?" Dean shook his head.

"You don't think you deserve to be saved?"

"And why did you bring me to Heaven?"

"Because we have work for you," Castiel replied, "Because it was asked of me by her."

~8~

Quite a few states away, in a little pasture where an enormous oak tree was growing, a figure gasped awake, before rolling on her side and curling up in a fetal position, her hand gripping her left shoulder, shaking from the pain, physical and emotional. The sudden movement hadn't been smart on her part, not by a long shot, but it helped comfort her a bit.

She breathed heavily, trying to gain control of her body, when a piercing high-note screeched around her. She sighed, looking up at the sky, listening intently to the voice within the screech.

She nodded, pushing herself off the ground and struggling towards a road, she needed to get to Bobby's and fast.

A/N: Woo! I posted! Sorry, my town is doing rolling blackouts, cutting off the grid so they can work on it, I was out 10 and a half hours yesterday (all time I was going to use to write FF). I was afraid that it would last much longer and I wouldn't be able to post. Not the case, thankfully. And now we've got a little more of a chapter. I tried to keep it more towards Dean's POV here, so that we get a sense of his confusion and just returning to the world of the show through his eyes.

And even more questions...what happened to Michelle? Who's right? Dean, thinking a deal went bad, or Sam, believing she abandoned him? Does Dean really not remember Hell? What was Castiel 'too preoccupied' with? And who is this HER that Castiel keeps speaking of? Who saved Dean? And who is this waking up at the end?

Oh boy, things are about to get interesting...