Dean stood facing the wall, the after-image of the glowing mini-portal still burned into the back of his closed eyelids. He desperately wanted to see Sam, to see with his own eyes that his brother was safe and healthy and Lucifer-free. It killed him that the best he could do was send a message with no idea if Sam was even able to receive it. The only solace Dean could find was that for Sam, only five days had passed. Sure a lot could happen in five days, but Sam was smart and careful. Dean sighed and dragged a bandaged hand across his stubbled chin. For him, it had been almost 6 long, bloody and violent months since he had seen his kid brother.
When he'd first found out that time flowed differently in this dimension and that he'd be stuck here for months, he hadn't taken it well. Apparently the two worlds only aligned well enough for the coven to produce a stable portal once every five and a half months. No matter how Dean wanted to rage and curse, it wasn't going to change anything. Pretty soon he did what he always did - face what was in front of him and do what he could do until things changed. But God did he miss Sam.
Dean felt torn. He had gotten close the the people here and knew that they needed every fighter they could get, but this world wasn't his home. Two days ago, he and Lynn had finally confronted Lucifer. The hope was that seeing Dean, and having him confirm that his Sam could and did overthrow the devil, that the two could reach her Sam, long enough for him to expel the asshole wearing his skin. Then Michael and the god-squad could take it from there. But Lucifer had looked at Dean with Sammy's eyes and laughed. Apparently, if the archangel was to be believed, Sam was delighted with the current arrangement. According to the devil, Sam wanted to be with Lucifer and their youngest sibling was happy to finally be out of their shadows and out of their family. Sam was enjoying the power and freedom to finally indulge his evil urges.
Of course Lucifer was probably lying, but it didn't stop his words from crushing Lynn's last hope to save her remaining brother. If Dean was honest, it had been painful for him too. To see Lucifer look and sound like Sam,...well even if this man wasn't his flesh and blood brother, it reminded him of some gut wrenching memories and just how precarious the situation was at home. With Amara on the loose and Sam a sitting duck waiting for Dean to come back….he didn't want to think about all the horrible things that could happen to his brother.
Dean's thoughts drifted back to the present and the package he'd sent through the mini portal the diminished coven had created. The note he'd written hadn't said all the things he wished he could tell the younger man. He had a horrible feeling in his gut that the note could be the last thing Sam ever heard from him. He had wanted to say how proud he was of Sam, how much he admired and respected his little brother and, sappy or not, how much he loved the kid. But he didn't want to freak Sam out and putting any of that in writing would have been too much like saying goodbye. He ran his uninjured hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck.
He felt a presence at his side and he turned to give his sort-of sister a wan smile. Dean felt bone tired and old, the constant fighting, injuries and worrying was taking its toll. But if there was one silver lining to this whole fucked-up mess, it was getting a chance to know Lynn and Alex. Lynn smiled at him, her warm hazel eyes - so much like Sam's - showing gold flecks in the low lighting. She put a hand on his arm and tugged gently, turning him away from the wall and it's lost promise of home. The four members of the coven who were uninjured had efficiently cleared away the runes and symbols and were now tiredly filing from the room under Tyson's watchful protection.
"Can we start now?," Nancy's snippy tone grated on Dean's nerves. Intellectually he knew that the irritating woman was a genius in handling all the minutiae of keeping their rag-tag army of humans housed, fed and supplied. Her skills in this area gave her a seat at the table, but it didn't mean that Dean didn't want to punch her in the face upon occasion. Nancy, Max, Alex, Mateo and Katie all sat around a makeshift war table. Maps and other papers littered the surface, juxtaposed with a baby bottle, a soft pink blanket and a rattle.
"Yes Nancy," Lynn pulled Dean towards the table. As they made their way over, they skirted a blanket that was spread on the dusty floor. Little Melody Markham was playing quietly with a doll that Dean had constructed for the girl out of a torn t-shirt and some scrap wool. Beside her a tiny baby flapped her chubby fists and kicked her little feet. In part to annoy Nancy, Dean stopped and crouched down next to the blanket. The baby was Lynn's, born a month and a half ago . Her name was Joy and secretly Dean thought she was the most adorable baby he'd seen since Sammy had been an infant. It made his heart clench to think that this child, his almost niece, had been born into a war torn world of constant death and danger. He reverently tickled her little belly, rubbing just the tips of his big fingers across her little pink and white jumper. Joy flapped her arms a little harder making her mother chuckle and Dean feel just a little younger than he had five minutes ago.
After Nancy had finished a long and boring report on provisions, Max and Mateo had reported on troop placement and Katie had reported on casualties and the injured. Lynn thanked them in turn and then addressed the table at large. "So, as you know, our plan to confront Lucifer two days ago, wasn't successful, so let's discuss what we need to do next and where we go from here." All eyes jumped towards Dean. Even though the elder Winchester knew that the failed plan to defeat Lucifer wasn't his fault, he felt a surge of guilt pulse through him.
"Before we move on, what exactly did happen?," asked Mateo. The soldier had been tasked with leading the attack that had served as a distraction to get Dean, Lynn and their team to Lucifer. Dean opened his mouth to speak but Lynn cut in.
"It didn't work. We tried, but we weren't able to reach Sammy. So, we need to make a new plan." Dean could see by the tightness in her jaw and the deep crease that marred her forehead that Lynn was upset but was trying to stay professional. He knew that Lynn felt responsible for Sam's ultimate betrayal and was taking their failure hard.
"Well," with a quick look of apology at Dean, Mateo spoke up. "I thought that the whole point of bringing Dean here was that he would be able to stop Lucifer?" There wasn't accusation in Mateo's voice, just the disappointment and confusion of a soldier whose orders had changed suddenly. Lynn took a deep breath and seemed about to defend their plan when Dean answered instead.
"The plan was that Lynn and I were to temporarily bind Lucifer and try to make a connection with Sam in the hopes that he could either expel or take control of Lucifer. We hoped that seeing me might give Sam something to fight with." Dean had to pause and chose his words carefully. He didn't want to hurt Lynn or share the cruel words that the devil had thrown at them. "But, either we weren't able to reach Sam, or Lucifer was too strong for him to overthrow." As close as he had grown to Lynn, the fact was that the Sam of this world had been very different than his own brother, weaker and adrift. As the group began to discuss options, Dean let his mind drift again.