Chapter 9 – Last Night On Earth

"Wait, Sam, what do you mean? We've got a dungeon?" Dean said, trailing behind his brother as Sam hurried purposefully down some stairs.
"Yup, complete with devil's traps and chains to keep demons from smoking out. And we've got Crowley locked up down there," said Sam, coming to a halt outside a door.
"How long has he been in there?" asked Dean.
"A while."
Sam opened the door and hit a switch. Flourescent lights flickered into life, revealing shelves full of filing boxes. Sam led the way across the room to a heavy partition, which he swung open like double doors.
"Nice of you to drop by, Moose," said Crowley.
He was still chained to the chair in the center of a devil's trap, looking a bit the worse for wear.
"We need your help," said Sam.
"My help?" said Crowley incredulously.
"You're the King of Hell, but you're also a crossroads demon. We've got a deal we want called off," Sam explained.
"Ahh, and who was the fool that damned their soul to the deep fryer?"
"Cas," replied Dean quietly.
"I would say that's impossible, but with him human now and all that... so he got a soul just to sell it off then, eh? Sounds like something he'd do," Crowley mused.
"So can you get him out of it?" Dean asked desperately.
"No, I can't. You two of all people should know that," said Crowley.
Sam grabbed Crowley's tie and pulled him forward just inches from his face.
"Don't lie to me, Crowley," he snarled. "This time tomorrow, Cas will be dead and burning in hell. Unless you help us. You're the King of Hell, I know you know a way to stop this. Tell us how!"
"Well I'm not going to give you anything with that attitude," Crowley said. "Honestly, Moose, learn some manners."
"Seriously, Crowley?" Sam said.
"Come on, Moose. Just one little word."
Sam glared at him and seemed to contemplate whether he should give in or punch the demon in the face. He sighed angrily.
"Please," he muttered.
"See, that wasn't so hard was it? Now as much as I'm enjoying this homoerotic tension, if you could loosen your grip a bit..." said Crowley.
Sam rolled his eyes and let go of Crowley's tie.
"Thank you. Now, when did you say Castiel's time is up?"
"Midnight tomorrow," said Dean.
"Well that's rather short notice..." said Crowley. "Looks like we'll have to take the slightly more confrontational route. Which means you'll have to unchain me."
"You're joking, right?" said Sam.
"Do you want to get Castiel out of his deal or not?" Crowley snapped.
Sam and Dean exchanged a look.
"Fine, we'll unchain you. But only when absolutely necessary," said Dean. "Now, tell us what we have to do."

"You're going to let him go?!" Kevin protested.
"This isn't going to work," said Cas.
"You have got to be joking, you can't trust him!" said Kevin angrily.
Sam and Dean had just told them both the plan and neither of them seemed convinced.
"It's the only choice we've got," said Sam calmly.
"You could just let me die..." muttered Cas.
"That's not gonna happen," Dean said.
"If I don't die, Sam will!" Cas insisted.
"Not if we can help it," said Dean.
"Look, Crowley thinks he can make this work, so we're just gonna have to trust him," said Sam.
"And if he's lying?" Kevin asked.
"Then you can be the one to stab him in the face and say 'I told you so'," said Dean. "But we're not gonna let Cas or Sam die, not if there's a chance of stopping it. And Crowley's the only chance we've got. So if you can't trust him, and I don't blame you, then trust us."
"I still don't believe this is going to work, but I'm willing to give it a shot. For you," said Cas.
Kevin sighed.
"I don't trust Crowley, but I don't want to see anyone dead so... I'm in," he said.
"Good," said Sam. "Now let's get some rest. Tomorrow's gonna be a busy night."

Dean sat on the edge of his bed, the lamp on the nightstand filling his room with a soft yellow glow. He knew he should be resting, but he couldn't sleep. The run-in with the demons the other day had freaked him out enough already. Now he was going to have to deal with a crossroads demon and hellhounds and the possibility of failing and watching Cas get ripped to shreds right in front of him. He'd been getting nightmares recently as it was, and all of this wasn't going to help in the least. There was a soft knock on the door and Dean looked up.
"Come in," he called.
The door opened and Cas peered in.
"Hey Cas. What are you doing?" Dean asked.
"Couldn't sleep. I'm assuming you couldn't either," said Cas.
"Haven't even tried... I didn't want to..." said Dean.
He patted the bed next to him to tell Cas to join him. Cas closed the door and sat down.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Nightmares..." muttered Dean. "Vivid ones too. Do you think... do you think they're memories?"
"Possibly," said Cas, frowning.
They fell silent, then Cas turned to Dean.
"Dean... if this doesn't work tomorrow..." he began.
"Don't say that, Cas. Just don't. It's gonna work. It has to," Dean interrupted.
"But Dean –"
"But nothing. I'm not gonna give up on you. I'm not losing you. This has to work, because if it doesn't, there's nothing I can do, you're gone, I can't... I can't grip you tight and raise you from perdition..."
Cas' head jerked up and he stared at Dean, eyes wide.
"What did you say?" he asked.
"I said... I dunno why I said it, it sounded dumb..." Dean mumbled. "Why? Is it important?"
"Yes..." Cas breathed.
He stared at Dean in disbelief.
"Care to elaborate?" said Dean.
"I said that. That exact thing, the first time we met. After I saved you. I said 'I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition'..." said Cas.
"You remember exactly what you said? That was, what, like five years ago?" Dean said, eyebrow raised.
"Of course I remember. That was one of the most important days of my life. And Dean... I think you're starting to remember too. This, the nightmares... I think things are starting to come back," said Cas, then his face fell. "Just in time for my death..."
"You're not gonna die, Cas," said Dean.
"How do you know?" Cas asked.
"Because I promise, whatever it takes, I won't let it happen," said Dean.
He cupped Cas' cheek in his hand and gave him a fleeting kiss.
"We should sleep," he said. "Maybe we can keep each others' nightmares away."
Cas smiled a bit sadly and nodded. Then they curled up together on the bed and Dean switched off the light.