Chapter 8 Trail and Error:

Dean sits back and rubs the bridge of his nose remembering why he hates research. Even if he could speed read through it, it was still a pain in the ass. He knew that he was good at it but realized that he had become lazy about this aspect of hunting, especially when he had someone who loved it like it were chocolate. "Like a geeky little brother" Dean remembers fondly. However, now was the time to let Sam rest and take back his role as a big brother.

He did all of this before Sam had found out about monsters, he had done the research for Dad and looked for hunts. Being really good at it, he remembers when their father left for a hunt and when he got back Dean would have three hunts lined up waiting for him.

It also helped that Dean had Bobby and Pastor Jim were good tutors in research and he'd learnt a lot from them when John had left Dean and Sam with them. He remembers when Caleb had called him a natural and insisted that Dean was a geek. Dean had to remedy that quickly since the last thing he needed was for people to think he loved reading and researching. Sure, he didn't mind putting the puzzle pieces together especially if it meant ganking the monster of the week faster, but Dean was 13 and needed to maintain a certain image with the other cool kids Caleb hung out with. Hence, that was how Dean's relaxing attitude towards research began. John had nearly kicked his ass, so Dean found a middle ground: when dad was there he researched or finished faster when he was not there and called for new intel from Dean.

Sam's tutor was, of course, Dean starting when Sam had turned 9. "Huh" Dean muses to himself as he walks down memory lane. "I wonder if Sam even remembers that it was me who taught him, how to read and write Latin, how to do research, how spot hunts in the news and paper, and how to shoot his first gun at 9?" When Sam was 8 and discovered the truth about the supernatural world, John did not start off Sam training right away, the kid gloves came off but he only wanted him to learn the basic stuff first. Of course, John made mistakes with Sam in the beginning, he took for granted sometimes that Sam knew stuff at an early age like Dean did. He assumed that Sam knew at 9 what Dean already had known, especially how to shoot a gun….Dean sighed remembering the whole .45 fiasco again with Sam being scared of the thing in his closet. It would later turn out to be a rat. That was one of the first times Dean had wanted to smack his dad upside the head. When the loud "BANG" went off in the room, startling Dean awake, he found Sam cowering under the blanket crying and the gun on the floor. John had come running into their room with his own gun drawn before realizing what had happened and what he had done wrong. He at least had the decency to look guiltily at Dean while Dean was trying to coax his baby brother out from under the blankets and glaring at John. The kid had not yet learned to hold a gun or shoot one. It had been a miracle that Sam had not hurt himself.

Thank God the neighbors hadn't call the cops that time.

It was amazing that John didn't scar Sammy for life with guns that time and now he was such a natural with them. Dean rubs his hand down his face wondering how many trial and errors John and even he himself had with Sam over the years. "Some times, even to this day even though the kid might be 30 freaking years old, all it takes is one injury, illness or loss and his whole demeanor reverts back to the baby brother needing me to fix it" he thinks. "Damn, no human should hold so much power with their eyes". Now, he understands "why". It was just Sam's nature and would always be. A part of himself may have always been aware of this side of Sammy, which is why he could never deny anything his little brother asked when he whipped out the puppy eyes and the pleading childish voice.

Dean straightens his back as he had been sitting hunched over for the past 2 hours pouring over books regarding a certain little Hindu war goddess he needs to contact. Wanting to have everything ready when Cas got there at 8 o'clock, he looks at his watch and realizes that he needs to start dinner for Sam and wake him up soon after.

Dean gets up, stretches his muscles and cracks his neck. Once he gets all the kinks out he heads towards the kitchen but stops briefly at the entrance and makes a turn to the hallway on the left. He quietly enters Sam's room to listen to his easy breathing. The lights were dimmed and he walks over to the crib to look down at his sleeping baby brother. He looks so adorable turned on his side, hair mussed and pacifier hanging slightly from his lips. So peaceful and content. Dean reaches in and gently ruffles Sam's hair. Sam stirs a bit, but just re-latches onto the pacifier sucking it into his mouth when he moves.

Dean crouches down next the crib and places a hand on the rails looking at Sam. He makes a mental promise right there and then to them both, "this is the last hunt/adventure. This is it, after which we'll be taking an indefinite break" he thinks. He needs to contact Garth and see about starting the "Bobby's help network", connecting lines to him and possibly Charlie if she ever got back from "Oz'.

Since Garth went missing as well the hunters really had no "go to" help except him and Sam but sometimes they were indisposed like when saving the damn world more than a couple of times. Not to mention, as Garth told him recently, "a new band of hunter is cropping up with no real guidance or dependable guidance like Bobby, Rufus, Jim, Caleb and even John". The few that were still left seemed to have gone MIA. Dean needed to make a list before he made the next move for him and Sam.

Dean stands and rubs his hand down his face "well little brother, who would of thought I would end up being the 'new Bobby'? I always thought, no more like believed, that my life would end either in a blaze of glory taking down as many son of a bitches with me as I could or with a bullet to the heart or head" he mutters. Sam just sighs in his sleep in response to Dean's comment.

"Yeah me too, baby, I agree" Dean chuckles softly. He steps back and heads out of the room. He walks into the kitchen knowing to make something that his rabbit healthy eating baby brother loves to eat.

Sam begins to stir in his sleep…..he shifts to his left side then his right and lets out a small whimper.

Sam is dreaming...

Dread fills his chest as he runs to the warehouse that he knew Dean was in, probably already engaging Metatron. He quickly walks through the door to survey the scene before him arriving in time to see the blade fly into Dean's hands. However, Dean hadn't seen Metatron standing in front of him, angel blade, which had been raised, coming down as he turns. Sam is frozen as he watches Metatron plunge the angel blade through Dean's chest. "NOOOOOOO" he screams and runs to his brother. The whole scene replays again and again. He knows that Dean isn't going to make it, that he is going to die.

Sometimes as he runs he feels as though the distance between the stair case and the wall where Dean is leaning is vast, no matter how hard he runs he can't get to him. Sometimes he's already half carrying Dean and his brother asks him to stop because he needs to tell him something. Sam doesn't want to stop cause he knows what will happen…"no,no,no, you're going to say you're proud of us and then you're going to die." Sam frantically thinks "maybe if I don't stop he'll make it this time". He knows it's not true but he has to try. He's been here so many times, no matter how many times he changes the scene in his dream, Dean always dies. Sam feels his heart and soul break each time. He tries to hold onto the last bit of light he can see in Dean's eyes and feel in Dean's body before it goes cold.

A broken mantra runs over and over in his head and heart "don't leave me, please don't leave me, please Dean…you promised you'd never leave me, please big brother you promised." But Dean's gone and Sam is alone.

Then he hears a keening sound erupt from inside himself.

Sam sits up fast, gasping for air and holding on tight to something he felt against his chest. His shoulders shudder as he tries to hold back the tears and fears. He tries to remember "who, what, when". However, before he can gather his thoughts, the lights came on suddenly in his room, making him blink his eyes to focus on his surroundings.

The nightmare ebbs away little by little helping him get a grip of his emotions. He lets out a shuddering breath. Just as he is about to take a breath in, he feels his bed move a bit and then strong hands grasp him, pulling him forward as he hears soothing sounds.

"Oh hey, hey, it's okay. You're okay Sammy" he hears as his head is pressed up against a strong broad chest. Sam almost panics, trying to regain full conscious, but then recognizes the low timber of the gruff voice and the gentle rubbing hand on his back.

Without realizing, the tears he'd been holding back rush forward and start to spill. The dream is still in the front of his conscious. Dreaming about Dean's death had made it all too real again and the suddenness of Dean being there, holding him had released his emotions. Too many times Sam had been here, dreaming about Dean's death only to wake up screaming, crying and wishing he could have done something different. He'd seen Dean die so many times that he had lost count. Each time it was like he was being skewered alive. He would never understand how he could have so easily told his brother that he could let him go during the last fight they'd had.

"Feeling better?" Dean asks quietly. Sam gives one last exhale before composing himself. He is a little embarrassed to find that he is holding on tight to Dean and the stuffed dog. He throws it next to the couch and runs his hand through his hair, regaining his posture.

"Yeah man, just you know, bad dream" Sam waves it off and tries to get off Dean's lap, realizing he is sitting on it again and that they are in the arm chair. He must have been really distracted not to have sensed the movement from the bed to the chair.

"Um, Dean. I'm really fine you can let go" Sam says trying once more to get up, however, Dean stands up with him instead. Sam sighs and tries, again, to reason with Dean.

"Ok, I don't see the necessity of you carrying me all the time if you expect me to get better. I can walk on my own…even toddlers start walking at an early age" Sam says the last part though gritted teeth.

Dean smirks at the last part "yeah but let's first get some more weight on you before I let you run all over the place."

"Dean!" Sam pouts as they walk out the room, "this is was getting tiring" he thinks as his head drops onto Dean's shoulder. Sam grumbles to himself about stupid brothers and something about independence and what not. Dean simply smiles taking it all in his stride.

"Somebody's a little cranky, is someone hungry?" Dean singsongs, receiving a groan in reply to his question. Sam knows it's an irrelevant question. Regardless whether or not he is hungry Dean will do whatever he likes, which is feed Sam. Not that Sam is complaining, something smells really good as they walk into the kitchen.

"Mmmm" Sam takes a deep breath and inhales the delicious aroma, "it smells really good and 'huh' familiar?" he thinks "almost like the soup from my favorite café back in California. Found the same kind here in town as well".

He feels Dean sit him into his chair. "Not my chair" Sam corrects himself "it's a stupid high chair Dean got for me". As Dean locks the tray around him, Sam settles and looks around the kitchen for the first time. He notices that it had been redecorated and remodeled to have a more homey feel to it. It no longer had the industrial cafeteria look, not that it had ever bothered him. He'd been reminded of school days in Stanford and the dinning commons where students went when they didn't have money to go to the nearby cafes, only having their lunch cards provided by the university.

Now, the bunker kitchen had a center island where vegetables could be chopped and washed and where kitchen utensils could be more conveniently stored. The marble counter connected to it had three stools where visitors could sit and eat and where his (not his, he reminded himself) chair was next to. Although Sam knows he was out cold for a full day he wonders how Dean had managed to build it all. "Must be nice having angel and demon mojo to do this" he concludes, the only idea he can come up with. Not that he blames Dean for using his new found powers. "He probably found the kitchen in complete disarray the first night back….aw who'm I kidding. The kitchen was a disaster zone after I used it as chemical lab but when I tried to cook, well that was technically not my fault".

Living from motel to short rental apartments did not give a growing kid a chance to learn how to cook. When they did have access to a kitchen Dean cooked for everyone, simple dinners, but still using the stove and oven. So learning the hard way that cooking oil and water do not mix but causes higher flames, well you couldn't really blame a guy - thank god for the nearby fire extinguisher. Unfortunately, the whole stove had ended up scorched which was when he'd decided to stick with protein drinks and bars for fuel, and vitamin supplements for nutrients his body needed. He'd turned the kitchen into a lab to summon demons and for spells that required a lot of experimenting. Which had actually gone well until he'd got a bit overzealous….

"Overzealous? How about lack of sleep equals a catastrophe waiting to happen" Dean quips.

Sam is brought out of his thoughts by Dean's comment and before he can get mad at him again for mind prying, Dean is placing something on the tray. "Is that cheesy garlic toast and" he thinks looking at the bowl. " No way!" Sam voices his surprise "dude you made butternut squash soup?" He looks at Dean with confusion.

"Sure figured it would be something you'd like, especially since, if I recall you get it a least once a week in town."

Sam looks down at the whole setting: two Italian loaf slices of cheese garlic toast, a bowl of butternut squash soup and a sippy cup of cranberry juice.

"Dean this looks…wow, uh great and smell so good" Sam awes as his stomach grumbles.

Dean laughs and sits down in the chair next to Sam but as Sam reaches for the soup Dean picks it up with a spoon in hand. Sam scrunches his face and glares at Dean.

"Oh god, not this again" he intones.

"You're right, I almost forgot something" Sam looks up startled at Dean's comment.

Dean gets up, bowl in hand, and walks back to the counter where he picks up something. He walks back, sets the bowl on Sam's tray and reaches over to Sam leaning over with his hands going behind Sam's neck. It's so swift that Sam doesn't react until he looks down to see that he's now got a bib on.

"Now we're ready" Dean grins, bowl in hand and takes a spoonful of soup holding it up to Sam.

Sam scowls at Dean and crosses his arms before turning away (or as much as he can in the chair).

"Aw come on Sammy, you'll like it, it's my own take on the recipe" Dean tells Sam.

Sam looks at Dean and bites his lower lip contemplating. Dean's done some amazing things with just hamburgers and even salads with his own home made dressing for Sam.

The soup smells awfully good and there's some sort of aromatic spice he tries to figure out, besides the garlicky smell of the loaf. Sam is curious to try the soup, knowing Dean made it from scratch and most likely added some other ingredients to make it robust in flavor. He really does love Dean's cooking and had missed it. He doesn't realize he's twisting his fingers and reaching up to tug on his hair but Dean sees and knows they are what Sammy does when deciding to give in but it's killing him to do it.

Dean smiles without calling attention to the gestures as he leans forward with the spoon to Sam's mouth.

"Come on baby open up, know you must be hungry" Dean soothes.

Hazel eyes filled with hesitancy, look at Dean then at the spoon and ever so slowly Sam parts his lips.

Dean with gentle care places the spoon inside Sam mouth and waits. Sam eyes light up the moment he swallows it down.

Sam can't help but smile "whoa this is amazing Dean, what did you do?" he opens his mouth again without realizing he's doing it automatically. Dean just chuckles and gets another spoonful to feed Sam.

Hoping to provide a distraction, he begins to tell Sam what how he made the soup and what he added to it. "Well, for starters I didn't boil the butternut like the recipe said. I knew that would take too long, so I thought maybe if I roasted it, it would peel faster and concentrate the flavor giving it a more nutty taste. Also, besides adding the usual cream and basil, I diced a sautéd onion and added that with a sautéd tart apple. Instead of basil I added sage, stirred in full cream, blended all the ingredients and violà roasted butternut squash soup" Dean finishes explaining to Sam.

Dean notices they are half way done with the soup and Sam has not once complained about being spoon fed. As Dean was talking Sam had picked up the garlic toast and is munching on it happily, pausing in between to get more soup. Sam is unaware of how adorable he looks munching on toast and slurping up his soup while his legs are kicking away happily listening to Dean talk, adding his own words here and there.

The picture in front of him, warms Dean's heart. It reminds him of 2 year old Sammy all over again, being care free and happily babbling like he conversed with 6 year old Dean back then.

Sam is happily talking away to Dean about when he first came across this soup in his Stanford days in a 'mom and pop café' in Palo Alto. It was raining and he walked in after getting soaked and how he only had enough to get $4 dollar latte. The wife took pity on him and set a bowl of their soup of the day with his coffee. It was the first time he'd tried butternut squash soup and he'd thought it was delicious - not as good as Dean's though - so once a month he go by just to get a bowl.

As Sam continues animatedly talking he's not paying attention to how he holds the garlic toast, not bothering to wipe his hands as his fingers get greasy. He grabs his juice cup with the same fingers getting grease on it. His whole tone is getting lighter and his demeanor is relaxed and happy, and because he's speaking excitedly to Dean he doesn't realize some juice has spilled on his bib and drips down a bit. When he does feel the cranberry juice pool a little in the corner of his mouth he quickly wipes the back of his hand over it and keeps going like nothing was amiss.

This is Sammy at his normal content happy childlike state and Dean remembers him like that a lot over the years. This is where Dean needs to help him by showing how happy he is.

"All finished" Dean announces to Sam causing him to blink up not realizing how much time that has gone by. Dean puts the bowl down and turns around to grab the wet cloth from the counter as Sammy looks down at the now empty bowl. He notices a few splotches of the soup at the bottom and using the last small piece of toast in his hand he leans in to sop up the residue without thinking.

Dean turns around in time to catch Sammy sopping up the last bit of soup. The toast is not big enough to catch all of it and some drips down his wrist. He tries to pop the whole piece into his mouth and lick the escaping soup off his fingers and wrist at the same time.

When Dean coughs with a smile on his face Sam freezes, realization dawning about what he'd just done and his face turns a shade of red. He lowers the wrist that had still been on his mouth and tries to wipe it on his pant legs.

"Well, that's a good place to wipe your hands on, but you've got a little on your face. Dude, I forgot what an eager eater you are at times. You know you're supposed to eat the food not wear it" Dean chuckles as he reaches with the wet towel to wipe Sam's face and hands. Thank god he remembered to put a bib on Sam, there were greasy orange stains all over the bib.

Sam is horrified at his recent behavior, as his brother cleans him off. He's too shocked to move or offer any protest. When did he lose himself to such childish behavior? What the hell is wrong with him that he can slip so easily? A queasy sensation settles in his stomach. As Dean finishes wiping his left hand, he feels the tears start to pool at the corner of his eyes.

"Oh, hey, hey what wrong baby?" Dean asks worriedly.

"What's happening to me?" Sam whispers.

"Nothing wrong with you Sammy, you were just enjoying yourself, nothing wrong with letting go" Dean gently explains.

Sammy looks up at Dean as two big tear drops roll down his face.

"Aw hey ,come on Sammy, it's okay, none of that now" Dean tries to sooth his brother. "Hey, I know lets get you out and see if some curricular activity will help you feel better and help you relax". Dean unlatches the tray and picks up Sam and they walk over to the living room area of the bunker. The whole time Sam is sniffling trying to get himself under control wondering what new and crazy stunt Dean has planned now.

As they walk into the living room he sees a rather large quilt pattern blanket laying out on the rug. It's brightly colored with blue, yellow and red squares, ABC lettering and 123 numbers, plus animals here and there. As Dean sets him down he begins to take notice of other stuff on the blanket.

Sam looks up at Dean who is standing close by as Sam sits.

"You're kidding right?"

"What?" Dean asks innocently.

"Blocks? You really want me to play with blocks?"

"Or color or make something with the color clay or whatever you feel like playing with" Dean mentions the other stuff on the quilt. Sam looks around and sees the big coloring books and crayons. The box of rainbow color clay a fire truck and other cars.

Since his brother is a little uncomfortable Dean decides to leave his brother alone, telling him that he's going to clean up the kitchen. He reassures himself that Sam is safe here and he won't be able to harm himself nor get into any trouble. Sam looks like he's about to complain but seems to think better of it, nodding to his brother. Dean walks off to the kitchen leaving Sam alone.

With a small sigh he looks around the things on the mat. Since Dean had made him such good soup, maybe he can pretend to be happy sitting here? It definitely won't be because he enjoys any of the stuff on the mat with him. He'll just sit quietly until Dean comes back.

Dean walks back quietly back in to the living room and sees a scene that makes him happy. Sam is gingerly building with the blocks. It looks like he's built a bridge connecting two towers and he grabs one of the sports cars before carefully putting it on the bridge. When it doesn't collapse, Sam's face lights up with a smile before grabbing another car to place on the other end of the bridge. He then quickly grabs the fire truck, looking left and right making sure no one is there. Since Dean is towards the back of the room Sam can't see him. He leans in the archway as he hears Sam make quiet siren noises.

Dean watches Sam play for a few more minutes and then looks at the time. "Whoa" he thinks "it 6.50pm, Sam's been playing for a full 45 minutes!" Even if Sam didn't start playing as soon as he left him alone he's still been doing it for a while and seems really into it having a good time.

This is all that Dean wants for Sammy. However, he knows the moment is going to go a bit south once he clears his throat. When he does, of course Sammy freezes.

"Hey Sammy, 5 more minutes, then its bath time okay?" Dean tells him. Sam automatically lets go of the car he was about to push along the bridge and drops his head down to his chest.

"Sammy?" Sam has not made a sound or replied to Dean's comment. His hair is hiding his face to whatever emotions are going through him. Dean could just listen to Sam's thoughts but just by his body language he guesses his brothers thoughts are probably not that coherent right now or in order. Besides, Dean wants Sam to feel comfortable and trust him so that he can come to him and share anything. Like he'd done when he was younger and would come to Dean for anything.

Dean sighs and walks over to Sam then crouches down, "hey what's up buddy?"

Sam's hands are clenched, his head still down "Dean if you don't mind I'm gonna head off to my room now."

Dean tilts his head and analyzes Sam's tense shoulders "okay, if you're done playing now, we can go to the bathroom and have a nice bath and then bed time."

Sam's hand clenches even more "you know I'm just feeling very tired and I'll just skip the shower and head off now". Sam makes to get up but stumbles forward a bit, knocking over some of the blocks. He flinches as they fall and takes a shaky step forward. When he feels Dean gently place his hand on his back he stops. Dean very slowly brings up his other hand to turn Sam around to face him.

"I get that you're tired and upset right now, but I can't let you skip your bath because, dude, you have orange stain splotches around your mouth and your fingers, and I'm pretty sure you won't be happy waking up with greasy hair, thanks to the garlic toast."

Sam's head snaps up and to look directly at Dean. His face is set "you know what, you're right I'll most likely be angry at myself in the morning when I wake up feeling gross with my hair all stringy with grease, but it will be my choice, my hair and my body that I decided to let sit in grime for one night" as Sam finishes his rant he pushes away from Dean.

He quickly spins to walk away, but forgets that he'd knocked some of the blocks over earlier. In trying to avoid stepping on them he loses his coordination and stumbles awkwardly forward. He tries to catch himself, but doesn't see that one of the toy cars had rolled farther away and his left foot comes down on it. Sam feels the small twinge of pain shoot up his foot which makes him completely lose his balance.

Sam face plants on the floor, he feels his face grows hot and his breathing erratic, not because of the pain, he's felt so much worse in the past and weathered through. No, it's the humiliation because since Dean came back he can't seem to get it together. It's like he's reverted back to that awkward, klutzy, accident prone little brother he was so many years ago.

His knees hurt and his hand palms sting a bit. "Wow" Sam thinks "I suck, where's the mighty hunter now? The boy king who once had indestructible psychic power fueled by demon blood, the boy who took on Lucifer and won". Sam gives a watery laugh "oh right, he's right here in some childish jean overalls with a cute train design on the front pocket, cranberry juice dripped down the front, butternut squash soup coloring the corners of his mouth and was just caught building with blocks playing with toy cars."

He feels Dean's hands grip him and pick him up before settling him on the couch. He doesn't want to look up at Dean right now. He feels Dean roll up his right pant leg.

"Okay, just a slight rug burn. Let's see the left knee." As Dean finishes inspecting the right knee he rolls up his other pant leg and notices the same thing. "Come on Sammy into the tub. I'll put some ointment on this after your bath to help with the sting."

Sam nods his head and makes to get up from the couch but feels Dean gently lift his arms around his neck then feels Dean's hands on his hips preparing to make to pick him up. Sam quickly drops his arms and tries to scoot back on the couch. Dean stops his movement by grabbing his arm but not squeezing. He's just holding it to get Sam to stop.

Sam looks up at Dean then and his eyes glaze a bit, "please Dean, I can … I can." Sam's breath hitches a bit, he can't form his thoughts and doesn't know what he wants to say to Dean. Can he what? His head is starting to hurt so he simply leans towards Dean and rests this head upon his shoulder.

Dean warps his arms around Sam and rubs his back a bit "S'okay Sammy, you're just tired. It's getting late and a nice warm bath will help." Sam allows Dean to pull him in closer and pick him up. He keeps his head on Dean's shoulder and mumbles "m'head hurts."

Dean continues to rub Sammy's back as they walk towards the bathroom.

"I know baby, just hold on, almost to the bathroom." Dean is hoping the warm bath will help soothe Sam's tension head ache because that is what it is.

As they walk into the bathroom the lights come on and Dean walks over to the blue gingham bathinette next to the bathtub. He settles Sam down on it without fuss from him.

Sam simply sits and looks at what he's sitting on. His head is still throbbing a bit and he blinks tiredly at Dean. He's feels the distaste for this new thing Dean has put him on but is just too tired to argue. Maybe if he just rests this week with no more fuss he can get it together mentally and emotionally and not feel like he's spiraling back in forth in his vulnerable state of mind. It's what he usually did when sick or hurt in the past. Dean would take care of him and he just wallowed and indulged in the comfort Dean gave him before getting back on his feet.

Sam watches as Dean reaches and unsnaps the buttons of his overalls. "Hey baby, can you lay back?" Dean asks. Sam blinks one more time and then slowly lowers himself back on the mat before looking up at the ceiling. He feels Dean pull down his overalls past his hips, down his legs before pulling them off completely.

Dean then reaches for Sam's shirt to pull it off and sees Sam starting to yawn "aww Sammy, hold on kiddo, just a quick bath then you can go to sleep" Dean promises.

He finishes undressing Sammy completely and lowers him into the tub. Sam completely relaxes into the warm water which smells heavenly. Dean had put in some lavender to help Sammy relax and enjoy his bath. He picks up the small pitcher and begins to wet Sam's hair, making Sam sigh in contentment as the water cascades down his back. Dean wets his hair thoroughly before picking up the baby shampoo. He washes Sammy's hair quickly but gently then he rinses him off again. He then puts on baby conditioner leaving it to set in. He picks up the wash cloth and pours some baby body wash, also scented in lavender, and washes Sam's body. Sam gives himself over completely to Dean's care and just basks in it, the love and warmth he is feeling.

The next thing Sam is conscious of is the feeling of a big white fluffy towel being wrapped around him as he's picked up form the bathtub. He simply leans into Dean's chest and rests there content as he feels Dean walk down the hall towards his room. Dean enters Sam's room and walks straight to the changing table to lay Sammy on it. He opens the towel up and with a second proceeds to dry Sam completely. Sam's restful state of mind vanishes as the cool air hits him and he realizes he's completely bare in front of his brother. He feels the towel lower down where….

"OH MY GOD DEAN STOP!" Sam bolts up fast almost losing his balance on top of the changing table.

Dean rolls his eyes "now what Sammy?" Sam snatches the towel from Dean's hands and drops it over his lap to cover himself "I'll do the rest" Sam says through gritted teeth and proceeds to try to dry the lower half of his body. As he reaches down his legs, Dean stops him. He gives him a warning look, takes the towel back and drops it in the laundry hamper by the table.

Sam is still sitting upright as he looks around for the change of clothes to slip into. He's preparing to hop off when, again, he feels Dean's hand on his chest pressing him backwards to lie down.

"It's okay Sammy, you are doing just fine" Sam gives Dean puzzled look as he allows himself to be guided to lay on his back. When he feels Dean scoot him a little upward on the changing table, he feels himself turning red knowing he's uncovered, laying naked from head to toe. It suddenly hits him what's next; being diapered. He wants to protest but he knows that it won't matter so he just looks at his big brother and whimpers a plea.

"Shh, baby s'ok I gotcha'" Dean murmurs to Sam as he grabs a new diaper and slides it under Sam who cringes at the soft feel of it under his bum. Sam tenses as Dean hand rubs over his groin area with the baby ointment, he grips the side of the towel still under him to stop him from bolting and knocking Dean over. Dean sprinkles the baby powder and closes the diaper. He grabs the white onesie below the table and slips it over Sam's head. Dean is trying to be fast, he can feel Sam slipping completely from his relaxed mindset he had moments earlier.

After snapping the onesie closed he grabs a white tube and squeezes a cool gel on Sam's knees before gently smear it in, for the red rug burns. After applying that he finally grabs a blue baby sleep gown and slips it on Sam. Sam, once again, has his eyes shut through the whole dressing making Dean sigh. Just when he thought Sam was making progress. "Maybe the next step will help" he thinks as he reaches down and picks Sam up. Sam startles and looks at Dean as they walk over to the comfy armchair.

Dean settles them and grabs a soft yellow blanket to wrap around Sam, leaving his arms out, he tucks the blanket around his shoulders before settling Sam against his chest. He reaches into the side pocket of the armchair and pulls out a book.

Sam looks curiously over to Dean "uh what are you doing?"

Dean smiles "it's bed time and you've always loved story time" Dean says.

"When I was 5! What's with the bedtime? It's not even 8pm!" Sam retorts.

"Bedtime's always been 8:00pm for you Sammy" Dean reminds his brother.

"What are you talking about? I've hadn't had a set bedtime since I left for Stanford!" Sam yells.

"And now we are getting you back on schedule, not to mention it's part of your recuperation since you didn't sleep these past four months" Dean admonishes.

Sam looks at the book Dean is holding. "The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter? I was 4 when you read that."

"And 5 and 6, the book was falling apart by the time you were 7."

"This is stupid" Sam grumbles.

Dean ignores Sam and begins to read chapter one. By the time Dean gets to Chapter 3 Sam is nodding off, eyes dropping, yawn escaping his lips. Dean places a book marker.

"Okay Sammy, let's get you a drink of water and off to bed" Dean shifts Sam and produces a bottle filled with water. He looks at the time and sees it's 7:48pm, "great timing" he thinks as he puts the bottle into Sam's mouth. Sam latches on with no argument or fuss, then again a sleepy Sam is a cooperative little brother.

Sam finishes his bottle and burps as Dean lifts him up to rub his back. He walks over to Sam's crib and places him in covering him up with his blue blanket. Sam rolls onto his back and gives a small sigh as blinks tiredly up at Dean, who places a pacifier next Sam. Sam looks at it and hesitates for a moment, but then he picks it up and plops into his mouth before rolling away from Dean to snuggle deeper into the covers and pillows. Dean stands there for 5 more minutes, turns on the mobile and watches Sammy fall asleep. He then dims the light by the crib and turns off the overhead lights and walks out quietly leaving the door slightly ajar.

Sam stirs in his crib, then he rolls over and lifts his head to look around a bit. He lays back and lets out a long breath around the pacifier, he tosses the blanket off, sits up quickly, spits the pacifier out and crawls over to the crib bars. He pushes the release button to lower the crib bars but when they don't move down, he tries again. Sam grunts a bit "huh, they seem to be stuck" he thinks.

He grabs the top of the bars and pulls himself up to standing position. His head barely clears the top as he stands on his tip toes. He looks over to the end of the rails and sees the black small slim lock. "What the…?" Sam thinks "great looks like Dean made sure I wouldn't be able to lower the bars any time soon". Sam huffs determinedly "it's not like a lock is going to stop a 'Winchester'" Sam smiles ruefully.

He grabs the top of bars tightly and pulls himself up and over. He holds on tight to the bars and doesn't drop his body right away knowing Dean will hear any noise he makes with the monitor on. That thought makes him look over to see the green blinking light.

Slowly, with as much muscle control as he has, he lowers himself as close to the ground as possible before letting go. He drops silently but with a small "oomph" sound escaping his lips. He freezes and doesn't move for a few minutes, waiting to see if he's been discovered. When no one comes Sam exhales slowly and rubs his shaking arms.

God, he's really let himself go. That shouldn't have been hard. When this is all over he is so going back to his work out regiment routine. How did he let himself get this bad? He used to pride himself with how he took care of his body.

Oh yeah, Dean died then his body went missing. Sam had found it only to discover Dean had turned into a demon, not just any old demon, but a Knight of Hell with the Mark of Cain. Then went missing again for 4 months! Yeah that would make any sane man lose his sanity and reason! Sam groans and leans against the crib, maybe Dean and Castiel are right…..Sam shakes his head quickly and snaps out of that thought. "Okay yes, I went off the rails and my health took a plunge, but Dean's always helped me get back to health without this extra nonsense" he thinks.

Sam straightens up and goes back to his original plan of "saving Dean" by removing the Mark. Once he does that they can sit down and talk about all this ridiculous stuff Dean's been doing to him. Maybe it stems from the deep rooted seed of Dean old mentally. Dad's strict orders of "take care of Sam" but mixed in with the Mark of Cain it's taken a whole new twisted meaning. If that's the case, then when Sam manages to take the Mark off; Dean is going to be utterly embarrassed and most likely not want to talk about it like it never happened. This time Sam couldn't agree more with Dean's "let's bury it and pretend it didn't happen" attitude.

Sam stands then and walks over to the door to listen. Hearing nothing he peers outside carefully. He lets out a sigh of relief, he was scared his idea was not going to work. He looks down at his left hand. He brings it up and begins to gently rub the end of his palm until he lifts what looks like a flap of skin making him grin.

It had worked and it was such a simple child trick that Dean taught him when he was 6 and bored. Dean had supplied the materials so easily. He grabs the fake skin flap and begins pulling it off. Underneath the layer Sam had drawn a protection symbol with paint.

After Dean had left him alone in the living room, he had gazed around and saw that Dean had left something on one of the work desks in the living room den area. After looking towards the kitchen and hearing Dean turn on the faucet he'd got up and walked quietly but quickly to the desk and picked up a hard cover note book and a book of conjuring spells.

The wording wasn't in Latin or Greek or any other languages Sam had seen. He'd thought it almost looked like old Persian before he realized he was wrong. He'd seen this before. His mind quickly recognized it as Hindu, which as impossible, they'd never looked into any Hindu lore or studied the language so what was Dean doing with Sanskirt? He looked over to Dean's note book "wow and Dean deciphered what he was looking for. What the hell Dean, when did you go all scholarly?" he thought. Not that he doubted his brother's intelligence. Hell, Sam knew his brother's raw intelligence was sometimes scary to see working but book smart had always been Sam's thing. Research and form a plan form 'a' through 'z' carefully.

It was amazing to see Dean pull a rabbit out of the hat when their backs were to the wall. He had always wondered how he did that! He knew Dean was no slacker when it came to the supernatural world. That's why he'd told Dean he was a damn good hunter, if not one of "the best". He quickly looked down at Dean's notes and tried to see what his brother was up to.

He looked up confused "why is Dean summoning 'Kali'?. The last we saw of her was when we burned rubber out of that fake hotel in the middle of nowhere after Gabriel showed up and told us to get the hell out of there and take Kali with us."

He remembered how upset she was and had asked them to pullover after driving five miles. When Dean had refused stating "not until we are 100 miles away from that place" she'd said "fine." The next thing they knew was that they were in front Singer's Salvage yard. "Excuse me if I don't stay and chat as your friend in there has the place warded against beings like me" she smirked as she opened the Impala door and walked out. She'd paused and look back at them "I think it's best if we never meet again, but thank you" and then she'd vanished.

Sam was pulled from his memories when he heard the water shut off in the kitchen. "Crap" he thought walking back to the blanket not knowing when Dean would come out of the kitchen and how he was going to conceal thoughts of what he'd been up to from his brother. Sam bit his lips wishing he had more time to see if he could still do what Ruby taught him back when he was exploring the use of his psychic powers although he knew they were still there just dormant.

If Sam knew that if he had time to meditate he could block his presence which would veil his thoughts. It was something he'd learned with Ruby when they needed to sneak up on demons. However, concealing his presence would also alert Dean so he needed something to hide his more pressing thoughts behind. Like those of rescuing first himself first and then Dean. Suddenly he realized that that it was like the baby proof spell Hannah had placed on the bunker. What if he could do the opposite? He knew of a spell for hiding subconscious thoughts from psychic mind attacks. He found the spell while archiving a while ago and thought it would be useful later. Thank God he'd memorized it! He looked around the blanket to see what he could use and then saw the paints. Where could he hide them? He looked down at himself and realized it was going to be hard, he clenched his hand thinking….then it hit him!

He looked over at the art supply stuff, and saw a bottle of glue. He smiled and hoped to God he had enough time to do this. He looked over to the kitchen before setting to work. He painted the sigil on his left hand and then blew on it to dry it. Luck was on his side as it was fast drying paint child safety paint. He just need it to stay in place during the next part which was harder. He squeezed just enough glue to cover his whole palm spreading it carefully not to ruin sigil. Once done it didn't take long to dry out either. The last part was mixing the paints to get a close to peach skin color as possible. When he was done it was a bit amateurish but it just needed to hold until Dean left him alone in his room again. He just needed to remember to keep his hand down and not expose it too much.

When he'd looked around to see what he could do to look casual, he'd noticed the blocks. At first he'd scrunched his nose in distaste thinking "no way am I going to pick them up" but then realized it might distract Dean. He'd never thought he would actually get caught up playing with them. He sighs remembering that incident, but it could have helped him get into better mind set to throw Dean off.

He hadn't expected to get lost in the colorful blocks and for just a moment he'd forgotten why he was doing it and just enjoyed (he swallows hard) his play time. What was that about? He knows he has no time to analyze things since he needs to get back to the library to see what Dean and Cas are up to. He's worried because he always had his brother's back in research, and he always did the summoning because Dean had a hard time remembering whole exorcisms never mind a whole Sanskrit summoning spell. The intonations, the rising and falling notes in the right places, "damn it Dean anything could go wrong if you say something this complicated wrong!" he thinks.

He walks quietly down the hallway more confident since the protection symbol on his hand keeps his thoughts hidden, at least his conscious ones that would alert Dean that he's awake. For all he knows Dean only senses him subdued and sleeping. He should be able to spy from the archway and stay hidden but still be able to be Dean's backup, whether he likes it or not. He stops at Dean's room and finds the stash of favorite guns and takes back the Taurus Dean had given him.

Sam makes sure it has silver bullets just in case before approaching the archway to the living room. He can hear Castiel and Dean speaking. He leans against the wall and holds still, listening in.

"I don't understand Dean, from all my research there are no more archangels left except for Lucifer and Michael and they are currently locked in the cage. You are not thinking of releasing Michael are you?" Castiel asks Dean. Sam holds his breath.

"No! Of course not, last thing we need on our plate, is another asshole archangel wanting to smite us for stopping the apocalypse. Come on Cas use your head, there must be still one archangel who loves to play tricks on humanity, well humans who deserve their just deserts" Dean hints.

"Dean you and Sam confirmed his death, when you got out with Kali five years ago, surely you're not thinking Gabriel?"

Dean smirks at Castiel with a mischievous grin "I've heard otherwise. It's sure great to be a Knight of Hell and have low life minions come talk your ear off to impress you."

"Demons lie, especially the lower rungs" Cas reminds Dean.

"Yeah they do, but when you are holding their insides in your hand (Cas raises his eyebrows at that) and this power helps me see when they are lying to me" Dean finishes.

"Why did you not use that from the beginning, when they spoke to you" Cas questions.

"Aw come on Cas where's the fun in that?" Dean whines.

"Dean you weren't supposed to hurt anyone" Cas lectures.

Dean rolls his eyes " they were demons not humans, I kept myself away from hurting any innocent humans except maybe a couple of douche bags, I just beat the crap out of them. Just to see how they like to be bullied, you know on the receiving end?"

"Never mind Dean this is neither the place nor the time. Tell me what you discovered" Cas asks.

"Old Gabriel is alive and kicking and a certain little Hindu war goddess has been keeping him safe and protected" Dean smiles and waits for it to sink in.

Hannah was the first to react "that's not possible, how and why has he not come home, he must know what happened to heaven!" she exclaims.

Dean look over to Cas to see his reaction first of disbelief and then one of sadness.

"He does not wish to come home does he?" Cas looks at Dean.

"No" Dean responds.

"Then how are you going to get him here if he refuse to come?"

"Well that's the trick. Any higher being juiced up powerfully can ignored the most strongest summoning spell right?"

Castiel nods.

"But all beings no matter how powerful have one thing in common" Dean pauses "use their own juice against them or more like this one his blood" Dean finishes.

"Gabriel's blood?" Cas asks "no angel or archangel ever allowed anyone or anything to take their blood. Otherwise it could be used against them, we all know this rule."

Dean smiles big "that's were our girl Kali comes in."

"I don't understand."

"That night when all the mythology gods and goddess had us Sam and I trapped. I told you how she did it, she took a vial of blood from me and Sam and she used it to hold us. She also had Gabriel's blood. Well when old Lucy showed up she was more than willing to give Sam and my blood back, but she kept Gabriel's" Dean finishes.

"That's the reason you want to summon her, she still has it?" Hannah concludes.

"Yahtzee."

They start preparing the ingredients as Sam watches from the shadows. "When did Dean have time to figure this all out" Sam ponders. He looks up when he hears chalk being scraped along the floor. Dean had rolled up the carpet and was drawing an intricate summoning circle, different from what they drawn all their lives.

When Dean finishes he asks Cas and Hannah to stand at certain points outside circle, both holding a gold bowl, with the ingredients they mashed and mixed.

Dean looks at them "so remember at certain points in the tones I make you need to light your bowl right away, that's why it takes three people to do this. Be fast and simultaneous, no hesitating" Dean looks directly at both angels and begins. Sam get his gun ready by taking the safety off. "Well here we go again down the rabbit hole" Sam thinks. He moves around the archway and stands close to the bookcase. He can still see Dean. Cas and Hannah's backs as are to him. Sam waits and watches for any mistakes, to his surprise Dean is almost finished and Cas and Hannah immediately react when Dean hits a pitch perfect low tone and then a perfect high pitch tone. They light their bowls and then 'voosh' the smoke and light show begins. When everything clears Kali is standing in the circle, just as Sam remembers her except she's wearing a white pantsuit instead of the red and black gear she wore last time.

She quickly spins around to face Dean. She walks towards him but then stops at the circle's edge. She slams her fist and it's like hitting an invisible wall.

"Sorry sweetheart look down." She looks down and sees what's outside the circle, another drawing. "Looks like old Krishna didn't trust all his god and goddess either, made sure there was an effective way to keep them locked in a circle" Dean smiles smugly.

"What do you want?" she hisses.

"You have something we need."

"I really doubt that" Kali smiles and folds her arms.

"Aw darling, don't be like that" Dean drawls and smiles that full on flirty grin that no lady can resist.

"I already said 'no' to you the first time we met. What makes you think I've changed my mind?" Kali flirts right back.

"I've changed since that first time. I think you'd be surprised as too how much and if I recall correctly" Dean steps close to the circle barely a breath away very seductively "you love men with power and who can keep up with you" he whispers the last part.

Kali holds her breath and looks down as something radiates down her skin. She looks back-up at Dean's intense green eyes. There's something powerful and alluring in Dean, now she can sense it.

"Why Dean, are you implying you've join the ranks of godhood?" she smirks.

"Oh baby, I don't need titles" he says before is eyes flash full black and, most surprising, the Mark begins to glow brightly.

"Well, well, well Dean Winchester has joined the ranks of demon hood and crossed over to the dark side. Very impressive" Kali tilts her head as she appraises Dean.

"Aw baby, you say the nicest things, but you got me figured all wrong" Dean is still half circling Kali and appreciating the beauty in front of him. "You'v got give Gabe credit" Dean thinks, "the archangel does have great taste in women."

Castiel clears his throat "uh Dean, I hate to interrupt but we have a more pressing matter." Sam huffs quietly and rolls his eyes where he still stands in the background amongst the shadows of the bookcase and the archway. He'd already lowered the gun and was resting against the wall. "Leave it to Dean to think with his downstairs brain instead of his upstairs brain when it comes to women and sex" he thinks.

Apparently Hannah shares the same sentiments. "Okay enough, of this blatant disregard for the situation we are in" she huffs and looks at both demon and war goddess. "Do you or do you not have Gabriel's blood?" Hannah narrows her eyes as she look directly into Kali's.

"No" she answers,

Hannah blinks "you are lying, why would you lie?" Hannah is confused at Kali's refusal to help.

"Well Hannah, this is why we negotiate first before we make our demands known and show all of our cards" Dean quietly lectures.

"Cards?" she looks even more confused, "we don't have cards."

"It's not a reference to real cards" Cas tries to explain "its more of a…" he looks at Hannah's confused look and sighs, "never mind I'll explain later."

Sam is watching the whole exchange with a bit of amusement but boredom too. Right now he would be stepping in to appeal to Kali's, hopefully understanding, side. "I bet Dean's regretting me not being here to do the convincing, like I've always done with witness and other beings in the past" he thinks before slumping against the wall. He wonders if he should say something, but is afraid he'll get into trouble if he does. So far no one has noticed he's there, which is a good thing. Sam realizes this is his chance to leave with everyone here distracted especially since there's no telling how long Kali will hold out with Gabriel's' blood.

Decision made, Sam backs off carefully trying not make any sudden movements to attract attention to himself. He carefully eases back towards the archway, keeping the gun low. Just as he is about to turn around and walk away he realizes he's forgotten to put the safety back on. He glances monetarily at the argumentative group.

Kali is really annoyed and angry at Dean for managing to lure her here and trap her. She could just play along and pretend she going to give into them and then take back the vial. There is no way she is going to give up Gabriel. As much as that damn archangel pisses her off she does really hold a torch for him in her heart, especially since he almost gave up his life for her and rescued her from Lucifer. She owes him her loyalty, but then again all these angels walking around earth have really put a damper on her side of the world. To hear the souls of the dearly departed stuck in limbo with nowhere to go because of heaven's gates being closed sucks too. Maybe it would be better to get Gabriel involved? She kind of knows the spell Dean is going to use to summon Gabe but they do need a drop of his blood, which she currently has. However, it's not like she wants to do it for free. She looks at Dean who is also busy studying her and waiting for her response.

"Hm, what are you offering?" she muses to him.

"I could make it worth your while."

"I don't know. My worth is pretty expensive" she retaliates. Then, as she's about to say something else, she sees a flash glint over to the right of Dean's shoulder. She narrows her eyes as she finally sees the younger Winchester.

Sam freezes as he catches Kali's eyes on him…

Kali's voice goes cold "so Dean, waiting to see when you can distract me and have little brother sneak up on me and snatch the vial?" she says, anger filing in her eyes.

Dean looks confused "what?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" she yells "or are you saying that's not your brother to right of you by the entrance to this room hiding in the shadows waiting for a chance to jump at me?" tone accusing.

Dean whips his head around in time to catch a mop of brown hair flash around the bend. Dean eyes narrow and he starts towards the archway before picking up speed when he hears a familiar yelp.

He stops at the entrance of the hallway seeing said little brother sprawled on the floor, trying to pick himself up.

"Sammy!" Dean's voice is full of anger and concern. Sam winces at the tone of voice directed at him. Damn it. He could have been father down the hallway if his panic hadn't made him forget that there were two steps to get down from where he was. Now here he was sprawled on the floor again.

Dean takes the two steps down to help Sammy up before noticing the Taurus in Sam's right hand.

"Sammy, you know better than to play with guns!" Dean lectures as he reaches down to take the gun from him. Sam doesn't know what possess him but he pulls the gun close and twists away from Dean "no Dean, this is mine".

"Baby, give me the gun now" Dean holds out his hand. Sam looks a bit crestfallen, he didn't do anything wrong, just what he normally does, have Dean's back. Dean holds Sammy's gaze with a firm narrowed eyes, jaw line tight.

"Now Sammy" there's no room for argument in his voice. Sam slowly and reluctantly hands his Taurus over to Dean. Dean cocks it just to make sure the safety is on, which it is, then he slips it into the back of his pants. He turns back to Sam who is just staring down at the ground, scuffing the floor with his sock clad feet.

"As much as I want to scold you right now and take you over my knee, we need to get back to Cas, Hannah and Kali" Dean lectures as he wraps his arm around Sammy's waist to pick him up. Sam sags against Dean. He should have left sooner when he realized all was going well with Dean and Kali, but no, he had to stay longer and watch because he was in shock at how well Dean handled the summoning spell. Dean hadn't even hesitated like he'd done in past when trying to remember the Latin exorcism from the top of his head. Then of course he was seen by Kali and before he knew it he'd tripped over the last two steps.

Now here he was being taken to his room to be put back to bed? "wait why is Dean walking back up the steps to the….holy shit!...no, no, no" he thinks as he starts to squirm to get out of Dean's hold. They walks through the archway into the living room where everyone else is.

"Settle down Sam" Dean warns him before turning to were Cas and Hannah are standing near Kali. "Hannah could you please bring Sammy's play pen in here?" She looks surprised to see Sam but nods her head in acknowledgment. Sam meanwhile has completely buried his face against his brother's neck refusing to look around, feeling his face go hot with embarrassment. He feels Dean's movements as he walks towards something. Then he's lifted up, but Sam holds on tight to Dean, not wanting anyone to see him like this. Even if Cas and Hannah had already seen him he wasn't wearing the ridiculous baby blue layette gown with the open elastic bottoms and matching baby blue socks.

"Sammy you are way past your bedtime and this is the only way to keep an eye on you while I finish with this. Now you will sit in your play pen and behave."

"No please Dean, my room" he mumbles.

"No Sammy" Dean states as he unlatches Sam and puts him down. There's more than a couple of comfortable pillows in the pen plus a soft white satin comforter Dean notices before he looks towards Hannah with question in his eyes.

"I thought it might be a little chilly in here for him and maybe he can go sleep there, while we work", Dean raises his eyebrows, "most babies don't like being alone and actually appreciate the hustle and bustle of their family being busy. It lulls them to sleep better, gives them some sort of comfort" Hannah explains while she twiddles her hands hoping she didn't over step.

Dean smiles at her and thanks her, he unfolds the blanket and covers Sam with it. He's sitting up and looking up at everyone through the bangs that fallen forward. Dean reaches to the desk next to the pen and grabs a pacifier then turns back to Sam and goes to give it to him, but Sam looks at him with a startled expression.

"Dean" he pleads, voice hitched and whispered low. Dean's just gives him a look and Sam parts his lips with tear glazed eyes. Dean slips in the yellow pacifier and gently runs his fingers through Sammy's hair causing Sam to whimper around the pacifier. Sam's chest feels tight with emotion as a tear escapes. He's hurting with utter humiliation. Everyone saw how he was just reprimanded and treated like he was a naughty baby.

Kali had been watching the whole proceeding with interest and a bit amusement. When Sammy looks woefully over to her she feels something soften inside her at the precious sight in front of her.

"Get some sleep Sammy, we'll talk later" Dean says still rubbing his head. Sam looks at Cas, Hannah and Kali then slumps his shoulders in defeat before flumping down onto the pillows and turns away from everyone.

Kali clears her throat "perhaps I was being too hasty in my refusal to help" she says as kindly as she can. Dean narrows his eyes.

"What do you want?" Dean asks suspiciously.

"What? Can't a girl change her mind?" she asks innocently.

"No, not you, so what do you want in exchange" Dean asks again more firmly.

"Look, I really want to help and…" she falters here.

"And?" Dean raises his eyebrows waiting.

"Well, once you get Gabriel here, you and Castiel will need to go to heaven with Gabriel and by the looks of it your little brother is out of commission to go along for the ride."

Dean looks at her puzzled. He's wondering where this is going.

"So you'll need someone to stay behind and look after him" she mumbles that last part. Dean is amused.

"You're offering" he smiles.

"There really doesn't seem to be much of a choice" she tries to sound bored.

"Well ..." before Dean can finish that sentence, Hannah steps up.

"Actually there is me" she reminds Dean looking at Kali then back at Dean. "What does she know about infants and children, and what experience does she have?" She asks, head held high waiting for Kali's answer, but before Kali answers, Dean replies.

"Actually Hannah, you'd be surprised. People only remember Kali as the war, death and fire goddess of Hinduism, but she is also the goddess of fertility and mother to her people. She is known to love all children and innocent souls" Dean explains. "So, she not only is a great baby-sitter, but more importantly a great protector too." Dean finishes.

Kali raises her head, reaches for her neck and pulls out the necklace she is wearing, the vial hanging from it. She gives the necklace one tug and it breaks then she holds it out to Dean. Dean smiles reaches down with his knife and scratches the circle.

Kali steps out and hands the vial to Dean, "thank you" he says as he takes it from her hand but stops her before she withdraws away completely. He holds her elbow and leans down "so what gives?" he genuinely asks.

Kali sighs "nothing, it's like you said. I am the mother goddess of my people and... "she lets out a breath "you brother awoke something inside me."

Dean smiles inside realizing Sammy is still doing what he is naturally good at, getting people to open up and trust them.

Dean rubs his hands together "well let's get this party started." Kali, Cas and Hannah are in agreement with Dean and set up to prepare the next ingredients that will bring a certain ex-trickster to the bunker.