Still not the end! It ran long, so there will be another chapter, which is good for ya'll I suppose. ;) So here ya go! I hope you love it. :) Let me know! Thanks!

And HAPPY SHOW DAY! 40 minutes to "Jump the Shark!" SQUEE!

Chapter 6

Sam was still sitting when he blinked, and he was in the hotel room again. He was sitting on his bed, and his chest tightened when he saw Dean's body on the other. What...?

"Do not worry; you did succeed."

"Cas?" Sam glanced up to see the angel standing beside him, looking at Dean. "Then…what are we doing here?" he asked, throat still thick. "Why is any of this still here at all?"

"It isn't," Castiel answered without looking at him. "This is not your motel room. What you are seeing now was created outside of time."

He frowned in confusion. "What?"

"You succeeded. The timeline was changed, and the first seal was never broken. Lilith is still a threat and must be stopped before she can find someone else, but she cannot yet break any other seals. This gives us time to take her down."

"Good…good. What does that have to do with this?" he asked, motioning around them.

Cas sighed and finally looked down at him. "You did much for us; you sacrificed much. I did not want you to go without saying goodbye to your brother—the brother you know now," he said, nodding to the other bed. "Nor did I want this Dean to be unable to see you again…even if he will not remember."

Sam's head ducked as he swallowed. "So…this is really it then. I have to leave."

"I am afraid that cannot be changed. For this world to be saved, things must remain as you have made them."

"Yeah…I kind of figured that." He blinked back tears and looked across the space at Dean. "Does he already know what we did?"

Castiel crossed to Dean's limp form, glanced down at the body, and then back at Sam. "Do you wish him to know when I wake him? Or would you rather tell him yourself?"

Sam took a deep breath and stood shakily. "No…I'll tell him."

The angel nodded once, and reached down to briefly press the tips of two fingers to his brother's forehead. When he pulled them away Dean gasped. His eyes opened quickly as he jerked halfway up and landed back on his elbows, looking around in bewilderment.

"Cas?" He squinted at his brother, who was a little farther away. "Sam?"

The lump in his throat Sam had been trying to fight away came back hopelessly, sticking in his throat when he tried to reply. "Hey, Dean."

"Hey…" Dean looked back to Castiel. "What the hell is going on?" He sat up the rest of the way and rubbed his neck, grimacing.

Castiel glanced back at Sam, who nodded. "Thanks, Cas," he said quietly. The angel nodded solemnly in return and was gone an instant later.

"Thanks? Thanks for what?"

Sam ignored the question at first. He couldn't stop himself from launching forward, resting a knee on the bed to get low enough, and throwing his arms tightly around his brother. Dean still seemed confused, but he reached up awkwardly to uneasily return the embrace.

"Thanks for what?" Dean repeated, when he finally let go.

Sam let out a long breath and sat next to his brother. "You were dead. Lilith killed you again…snapped your neck," he said after a moment, staring at the ground.

"Wha—what? What are you talking about?" When Sam didn't answer Dean twisted on the bed, staring at his brother. "Wait…" His eyes wandered, as if searching for something. "I remember…bursting in here with Chuck, and I think Lilith was about to run for it, but then she looked at me, and—"

Sam heard his brother swear, and felt Dean stand up swiftly before he felt the hands clamp around his upper arms. "Sam? Tell me what happened," he demanded, just barely shaking him. There was another pause, and then Dean's voice came again, filled with horror. "What did you do?"

Sam only glanced up at his brother's searching eyes for a moment before shaking the hands away, suddenly irritated. "Relax. Do you think Castiel would have been the one hanging around when you woke up if I'd made a deal?"

That silenced Dean for a moment, and he straightened and took a step back, but eventually he came back with the question again. "Then what happened?"

"I…" He trailed off immediately, suddenly afraid to tell Dean anything at all. Saying it would make it true.

Telling Dean what he'd done would make it true, and it would mean leaving.

"Sam?" Dean said more urgently.

His elbows rested on his knees already, and his eyes slipped shut as his head dropped into his hands.

"Sam, what did you do?"

His chest felt tight again, and he was afraid to answer for fear of how he would sound. But he had to answer; he couldn't leave Dean out to dry much longer.

"It was the only way…" he whispered.

"What was the only way? What did you do!" Dean demanded angrily.

"Castiel…" The name was enough to shut Dean up, and give Sam the time to take a deep breath and steady himself as he let his hands fall from his face and hang over his knees.

"What about him?" Dean asked anxiously.

Sam took a deep breath and let it out, still refusing to look up. "He…took me back—to the day I died. I stopped you from making the deal."

Stunned silence. Sam winced and looked up tentatively when he heard his brother drop onto the edge of the other bed.

"But…What? Why the hell would you do that?"

"Because apparently the world is screwed without you."

"What?" Dean snapped.

"Cas told me about the first seal, Dean," he answered softly.

His brother's face clouded immediately. "He told you about the—" Dean growled and pushed himself to his feet again, pacing away from the beds and lacing his fingers tightly behind his head. After a moment he spun, scowling. "I never wanted you to know about that."

"I know…but he didn't have a choice. He had to explain why we had to change what we did."

"Yeah? Why did you have to change what you did?" He paused. "You were serious? You changed it? You stopped the deal?"

Sam nodded uneasily and pulled himself to his feet. "I didn't have a choice, Dean. Cas said they wouldn't be able to reach you in hell again, and I couldn't live knowing you were down there again. Then, the fate of the world is important too…"

Dean snorted. "You believed that crap? You think I'm supposed to save-the-world?"

Sam held out his arms in a shrug. "Well it's not me, Dean. For a long time, I thought it was up to me. I thought I had to kill Lilith. I tried, and it didn't work. That has to mean something."

"Like what? I'm some savior? Seriously, dude; you're smarter than that."

His hands fell back to his sides. "Well what else is there to believe in, Dean? And maybe it's not so drastic as that—I don't know how it's all going to go down now—but somehow, at least in the timeline the way it used to be, you were supposed to be involved somehow. You had to be. With you dead, the world was as good as Lucifer's. Somehow that makes sense to me."

Dean glared. "So what? Now it's all different?"

"You never made the deal; you never went to hell. The first seal hasn't been broken yet, and there's more time to stop Lilith before she's even started."

"But without you. I'm supposed to do it alone."

Sam shifted uncomfortably. "Not…alone. Bobby's not going anywhere, and I'm sure Castiel will still show up this time around—maybe Ruby."

"Oh joy."

"Dean…it was Castiel's idea—his idea, not some superior. All I wanted was to get you out of hell somehow, and he said it was the only way."

"Yeah, well sometimes Cas can be an ass," Dean rumbled. "Kudos to him for thinking for himself, but really—the only way?"

"Think about it Dean…you know there wasn't any other way," Sam gulped.

Dean looked away, and when he glared back again his eyes were damp. "And what if I don't want this?"

"It's already done."

"Then undo it!" he shouted.

"Dean, the—"

"The world can go screw itself. It's always been screwed to hell anyway."

Sam blinked back tears of his own. "You don't really mean that. I know you don't. You said it before, and I know you don't mean it. You wouldn't sacrifice the world just for me—yourself, but not the world."

Dean's jaw clenched. "It's not just you. You're my brother. I've died for you before, and I'd do it again." His hands balled into fists at his sides. "So who the hell gave you permission to throw away everything I've done and just leave!"

Sam felt his heart cracking under his brother's pained, vulnerable stare. "I'm sorry," he choked. "I just couldn't leave you down there…" He swallowed hard and managed to speak more clearly for a moment. "I'm not throwing anything away, I…I'm glad for the extra time we had."

"Time that we'll lose, right?" Dean snarled. "If the timeline or whatever's been changed, then nothing after you died ever happened. You weren't there. The time we've had since then is gone."

"I know," he whispered.

"Then what was everything I did for? What was the point?"

"You couldn't have known Lilith's plans; it's not your fault…"

"That doesn't change anything!"

Sam sobbed, and then there was a hand on his shoulder. He and Dean looked at the same time, and Castiel was there.

"It is not all lost," the angel told them gently.

Dean swallowed and stared at the angel in confusion. "What?"

"What?" Sam echoed weakly.

Castiel focused on Dean. "The physical human mind could not handle duel memories, so you will only remember the altered timeline while you are alive—you are correct in that. However…Sam is no longer alive. His memories will remain unchanged, and yours can be returned to you when you cross to the other side."

Dean looked vaguely interested. "You mean…when I die?"

"Yes. If you choose, the original twenty-one months of memories—when your brother was alive—could be restored then, without losing the memories that will now replace them in the new timeline."

"Why do you ask if I choose?" Dean hesitated. "Is it…because of hell?"

Cas shook his head immediately. "Once you leave this constructed reality—this room—you will never remember hell again. That much of your burden has been forever taken from you. However, if you choose to have those memories with your brother back, you will remember what was said here on Earth. You will know about the seal, and what happened there. You will not remember, but you will know."

Knowing he wouldn't lose his own memories was more relief than Sam could have asked for, and for Dean to remember one day would have been even better, but…

"Dean, you don't have to say yes. I would understand, if you don't want to remember anything about hell at all…" he said slowly.

Dean gave him a strange look. "As long as I don't have to remember hell itself, why would I want to lose the rest of the past couple of years?"

He shrugged silently.

"Look, Sam, I know we've had it rough—I know we haven't agreed on a lot recently, but…I wouldn't want to lose the time. Even if I couldn't have the memories back until I got wherever I'm going, I would want them."

Sam grimaced. "Are you sure?"

"Damn right I'm sure, but—" Dean looked at Castiel quickly. "Why do we have to do this at all? Come on, Cas; there has to be another way…"

The angel shook his head, looking a little forlorn. "I am sorry. It is the only way, and it is done."

"You can't just—I don't know—reset it? Couldn't you find a way to do whatever I was supposed to do without me? Save the world but not change anything?"

"You would be in hell," Castiel reminded him.

Dean jaw clenched. "What if that didn't matter?"

"Dean!"

"'For what should a man profit if he gain the whole world but lose his soul?'" the angel quoted calmly.

"What?"

Slow understanding dawned, and Sam spoke up after a moment of silence. "It's from the Bible."

"Well what the hell's it mean?"

"It means it does matter," he answered quietly. "It's our souls that matter. This is all just as much about that as anything else."

Dean stared at him, seeming to catch some of his meaning. "Wait…Does this have something to do with whatever you've been doing?" he questioned suspiciously.

Sam looked from his brother to the angel, considering. Well…he was dead anyway…and he'd always known Dean would find out somehow. "Dean, I…" His throat closed around the painful fact—the one he was suddenly more ashamed of than ever. "You wanted to know how I was getting stronger?" he all but whispered.

"Yeah, that would be nice."

He huffed out a heavy breath and avoided Dean's eyes. "Ruby. It…was her blood—demon blood—the same thing that gave me the powers in the first place. All I needed was more of it to be stronger."

His eyes closed without him having to tell them to, because he knew what was coming next. He wasn't surprised at all by the barrage of curses that flew from Dean's mouth, or that it was Castiel who calmed him. When Sam opened his eyes both his brother and the angel were staring at him, waiting for further explanation, he supposed—Dean angrily, and Cas looked…concerned.

At least the angel was there. Sam was sure he would have been slammed into a wall by now if he and Dean were alone.

"I didn't want to; I thought it was the only way. I thought I had to kill Lilith…"

"Well you could have let me in on that little fact," Dean snapped. "I could have told you there was no way that was the only option."

"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd react like this!"

"Like what?" Dean growled. "You let me think you're just experimenting with your powers again, and it turns out you've been sucking demon blood the whole time?? How the hell else am I supposed to react to that! Damnit, Sam!"

He flinched. "Not the whole time; when I told you I was going to stop everything, I did."

"Obviously not for good."

"I told you; I only started again because I thought I didn't have a choice."

"Damnit, Sam…" he repeated, in more of a moan this time.

Sam gulped again. "That…it's another reason we need this."

"Cas?" Dean asked desperately.

The angel nodded slowly. "I am afraid he is right. In that light, there is much possibility that his soul was in danger."

Dean scowled. "And this fixes that, too?"

"Sam has sacrificed his life to save your soul and provide a way to defeat Lilith. His soul has been more than redeemed."

Dean scrubbed a hand anxiously over his face. "God…" He focused on Sam, and the glare had faded to a stricken expression that shone through unshed tears.

"I'm sorry…" Sam whispered.

His brother blinked the tears back furiously, fixating on the ceiling for a moment. Sam glanced at Castiel. "Could we have a minute…?"

Cas nodded once, and were there tears in his eyes, too? "I will go," he said quietly, and then nodded across the room at the motel room door. "When you are ready…go through." Sam nodded in understanding, and the angel exchanged a final glance with Dean before glancing once more at Sam.

"I thank you, for what you have done."

Sam forced a smile that he was sure didn't reach his eyes.

"Hey…I'll see you around too, right?"

Castiel cocked his head as if to say perhaps, and then he was gone again.

Silence fell for several long minutes. Dean seemed to be fighting for control, still, and Sam couldn't think of anything to say at first.

"So…do you understand? Do you understand why it has to be this way?"

There was no answer.

Sam took a trembling breath. "I don't know for sure what would have happened, but if Cas and I hadn't done this, we…we could have lost everything—you would still be in hell, the world would have fallen…and I probably would have ended up in hell right beside you."

Dean choked on that, and finally looked at him again, eyes still bright and damp. "Then this is goodbye?"

"Just…for now, I guess. You heard Cas—we'll see each other on the other side. We'll even remember the last twenty-one months."

"Minus hell," Dean echoed dully. "Yeah. I guess that's better than nothing." He didn't sound like he believed it. At least he seemed to understand now that this wasn't going to change—though it hurt to see the defeat on his face.

"Dean…"

His brother moved before he could focus, and then Sam was against a wall, with his ears ringing from the impact.

"How could you just go and do that! Without my input at all!"

"You were dead! And I don't remember you asking how I felt before you went and sold your soul the first time around!" Sam glared.

Dean shook him with the fists curled into the front of his shirt. "Shut up! Shut up, damnit! You should have found a way to talk to me first!"

"Dean—" he choked.

"You should have talked to Cas; something! How could just do that?" His fists pressed into Sam's chest, pounded, demanding answers—why this had to happen, why everything had to change so suddenly.

"How could you!" Dean all but screamed.

Something in Sam pulled free, and he shouted back with just as much intensity, seizing his brother's wrists and holding his arms still against Dean's struggles.

"Because I love you! You're my brother, Dean; I wasn't going to leave you in hell!" The adrenaline fell away just as quickly as it had come, and he let go of his brother. "I love you," he repeated more quietly, looking away.

Silence reigned again at first, and then he heard Dean suck in a harsh breath. "Sammy…you know I love you. That's…it's why I made the deal in the first place," he grated out through what must have been a lump in the throat just as sizable as the one in Sam's. "That's why I did it…because I love you…so I wouldn't have to do this—" his voice broke. "So I wouldn't have to say goodbye to you."

When Sam looked up, Dean's eyes were closed and his shoulders shaking.

"I didn't want to have to say goodbye to you…" he whispered again, trailing off into quiet tears.

Sam's eyes widened at the unexpected sight as he caught his brother, when Dean's legs seemed to just give out. He gently lowered them both to their knees, holding his brother tightly.

"God, Dean…" he cried softly. He didn't know if Dean heard him; he was sobbing into Sam's shoulder, holding on just as firmly in return, and suddenly the whole thing seemed too surreal to believe.

This couldn't be it, could it? This couldn't be the end…even just for this life…

Sam wanted to be strong; if Dean could be this upset…he wanted to be here for him. But…it didn't exactly work out that way, or not the way he wanted. Instead he was crying into Dean's neck in moments.

And somehow, he realized that it was all right.

Maybe…maybe if crying together was the one thing they had never really done, maybe it was what they needed now.