A/N: To guest Loreley: LOL Yes, bad manners indeed! XD To answer the question, Ran is not limited to water in a natural environment (hence she can stand in the research station because the floor is covered in water) however, it does have to be somewhere she can physically fit into. So... if I were James, I sure wouldn't want her to figure out my address, or taking a bath would never be safe again! Hahaha!

I have to plug LadyWallace's new fic, Standoff. I just read the first chapter... angst, whump, and her character list includes Gabriel, so needless to say I'm ridiculously excited, hahaha. Check it out if you want to join the fun ride I know it's gonna be!

Alright, let's not keep Dean hanging... on with the show!

Aileen's hand flew to her mouth in horror as Dean reappeared in the nearby water tank that must have been used to hold fish for study, back when the research station was operational. It was tall and narrow, extending from the floor to the low ceiling, with no visible opening from there. She and Sam dashed forward as Rán stood to the side with arms crossed, looking smug.

"Dean!" Sam bellowed. He slammed a fist against the glass, but it was too thick by far. The hunter hit it again, then again. Still, it held.

The water elemental turned this way and that, looking for something sturdier to hit the tank with, even knowing that it would do no good. She whirled back to look at Dean, seeing the fear in his eyes as he weakly kicked at the glass, uncoordinated without the use of his hands.

"Rán, let him out!" Sam shouted, turning on the goddess and drawing his gun. "He'll drown!"

"Then you should stop wasting time," she snapped back. The gun didn't remotely faze her; they all knew it wouldn't even slow her down, much less kill her. And if they did kill her, Dean was trapped.

"I can't get it all in time! Stop it, please! I can't even get back to the house before he drowns!"

The goddess shrugged, looking almost bored. "Well, that's certainly too bad for your brother."

She really wasn't going to let him out, Aileen realized with a surge of terror for the hunter. And Sam was right, they didn't have nearly enough time. Unless…

Aileen threw her hands out to press against the tank, concentrating with all her might. An inch and a half of clearance made up a small air pocket at the top, but maybe that would be enough. "Dean, swim up!" she called through the glass when she realized the hunter was starting to panic too much to realize what she was trying to do. "Get as close to the top as you can!"

"You can't get him out," Rán remarked from behind them.

Aileen ignored this, knowing that it was true. But she could at least keep him alive, as long as Dean had the strength to keep swimming. Focusing, the elemental pushed against the water in the center of the tank, sending it to fill the outer edges around the top. It only hollowed out an extra inch or so, but it made the air pocket deep enough that Dean could stick his nose and mouth above the surface of the water and gasp for breath.

"Interesting," the goddess murmured. "She's buying you a bit of time, dreamboat… I'd stop wasting it if I were you."

"Sam, go!" Aileen yelled over her shoulder. "I'll keep him breathing! Find a way to get the gold, hurry!"

For a moment, Sam didn't answer, but he surely had to realize that this was the only way. After a minute, Aileen heard a low oath, then Sam was beside her again, banging on the tank.

"Dean! Hold on, you got it? I'll be back as fast as I can, hold on!"

"G-go, Sammy," Dean gasped out, barely audible from behind the thick glass. He was still kicking hard, trying to wedge his feet between the walls of the narrow tank to prop himself up since his hands were bound, but the hunter's boots kept slipping on the slick surface. As tall as he was, the tank was taller, forcing him to keep moving in order to keep himself afloat in the miniscule pocket of air.

Aileen knew well that treading water for too long would be exhausting enough, but doing it without his arms would be even worse. As Sam turned and sloshed from the room, the elemental continued to focus all her power on keeping that one air pocket intact.

Inside the tank, Dean was wrestling with the belt that bound his hands, with no success. She heard him take a deep breath.

"Aileen…"

She shook her head stubbornly, familiar enough with these guys' patterns now to know what the hunter was likely trying to tell her. No way was she just going to abandon him though. It wasn't like she'd never been in danger herself. "I've got you, Dean," Aileen said. "Just hang in there."

For a few tense, silent minutes, he seemed to be holding strong, but soon Aileen could tell Dean was starting to flag. Her heart tightened with fear, weariness tugging at her own stores of strength. She couldn't let him go.

"Dean, keep kicking!" she pleaded, pressing harder against the glass.

"T-trying… it's n-not so easy when y-you can't f-feel your legs."

Aileen cursed, realizing the problem with a flash of anger toward herself for not having considered it before. She'd been in the Pacific plenty of times, but usually with a wetsuit, and the times without had generally been unintentional. Dean must have been freezing by this point. If he didn't warm up soon, he would end up unconscious while his brain tried to conserve what energy it could.

Then he would stop swimming. Then he would drown.

"Okay, hold on!"

Her power worked by her control over each molecule of water. All she need do was speed those molecules up, get them moving and energized, and it should start to warm the water. Unfortunately, there was so much water in the tank that Aileen knew even before she started that she wasn't strong enough to keep it up for long.

Still, she gritted her teeth and concentrated hard. Soon, the glass began to fog where her hands pressed against it.

"Very interesting," Rán spoke up, voice mild in contrast to the near hysterics they'd seen earlier.

Aileen swallowed as she felt the goddess approaching, leaning over the elemental with a thoughtful eye. She couldn't afford to be distracted, and at least it didn't seem like Rán was about to attack, but it was nerve-wracking to have even her friends and family watch her use her abilities. To have the goddess as an audience was a thousand times worse.

"Stay away f-from her!" Dean snapped inside the tank, angling his head a bit so that he could see what was happening and still keep his face in the air pocket.

Rán payed no attention, but sauntered to Aileen's other side to peer down at her closer. "I know what you are, you know."

"Good for you," Aileen gritted out, not looking up. She was getting tired, and Dean's legs were starting to move slower. She focused harder on raising the water temperature, even though it meant sacrificing a few precious millimeters of air space.

"Your power is… ahh, it's beautiful," the goddess breathed. "Why are you wasting your time protecting these humans?"

"If you'd let him out, I wouldn't have to," Aileen tried, though she doubted it would do any good. It didn't.

"Now, you, I would hate to kill. Ability like yours, you'd be more than welcome in my house. These humans aren't worthy, child. With your kind of power, I'm sure we could work out some kind of arrangement. You could safely walk away from here. Leave the humans to me, and you'd be free to go."

Aileen's gaze rose to meet Dean's, watched as his exhausted form struggled to stay afloat. Her eyes hardened and she poured more strength into the tank, trying to buoy him up and maintain the air pocket at the same time.

"Pass," she growled. "And Dean, don't you dare stop fighting now. I've got you, hear me? Hang on for Sam and Castiel."

Rán sighed. "Such a waste," she said. "And we both know he can't hold on forever. And neither can you."

"Not forever," Aileen agreed as she forced herself on. "Just long enough."

SPN SPN SPN

Sam raced for Wessen's house with nothing on his mind but the fact that he was going to get that gold away from the man one way or another. With Dean's life on the line, there was nothing the younger hunter wouldn't do.

Which was just always the way, no matter how many times the brothers told each other that they needed to stop that mentality.

This time was different, Sam's mind shouted to himself as he clenched the Impala's steering wheel in a crushing grip. Wessen had made a deal with a demon; his soul was already forfeit. It wasn't like he was an innocent bystander that Sam should be trying to protect. Besides, he'd tried to kill Sam and Aileen. So whatever happened to the guy, it was no longer the hunter's problem.

Praying that Aileen could keep Dean afloat, Sam came to a careening, uncontrolled stop outside the tall hedgerows bordering the small mansion. He'd hardly turned the car off before he was jumping out the door and sticking his head around the barrier to check the driveway.

"Shit."

The security team was still there. Wessen probably had the vault sealed down like Fort Knox by now. Not that the Winchesters weren't capable of getting into such places, but it would take time that Dean didn't have. This was a fool's errand; even if he got into the house and then into the vault, Sam would only be able to bring back a duffel bag full of the treasure at most. What were the odds of getting in and out without being shot, not once, but a dozen times?

The hunter knew what he had to do. He'd known since Rán had demanded immediate results that there was only one feasible option, and Sam couldn't put it off any longer. Even though it rankled, even though it was probably going to cost them all dearly, the younger Winchester jerked his phone out and mashed a button while bile rose in his throat at what he would have to do.

"What now, Moose?" Crowley demanded in lieu of "hello" as soon as the line connected. "I know it might not occur to anyone with a head as big as yours, but you're not the only one in this bloody universe with things to do."

"Crowley, shut up," Sam snapped, in no mood for the demon's attitude and overall lack of helpfulness. "We've got a problem."

"And by 'we' I assume you mean you Winchesters. Shove off, mate, I've got all of sodding Hell to take care of. You think you've got troubles?" Crowley snorted. "I'm hanging up now."

Sam moved back towards the Impala, out of sight of the house, and slammed a hand against the metal frame of the car. "Damn it, listen to me, Crowley! That goddess, Rán? I told you, she's got Dean and Cas."

"My heart bleeds. I get why you're upset, I really do," Crowley assured him, but with the same flat tone that promised a complete unwillingness to cooperate. "You know what I don't get? How any of this is my problem. Oh, that's because it's not. Goodbye, Moose."

The line went dead and Sam slammed a fist down onto the car's roof again. Dean was going to be furious about the dent it left. As long as he was still alive to be angry, though, Sam didn't even care. Undeterred, the hunter redialed Crowley and waited with an impatient drumming of his fingers.

"What, damn it?"

"I don't think you understand. If I don't get that gold back for her… she's going to kill Cas and Dean. Kill them, Crowley."

"I'd worked out as much, thanks," the demon growled back, dripping in sarcasm and unconcern. "So. Things look rather dire. And I'd say I'm the only option you've got, or you wouldn't be calling me. Don't get me wrong, Moose, taking on the Darkness and Lucifer together was really a bundle of laughs, but we're not partners anymore."

Sam took a deep breath in an attempt to keep his cool. Sometimes it was amusing when Crowley only considered them to be on the same team when he needed something done. Other times, like now, Sam just wanted to wring the demon's neck.

"Trust me," he snapped. "You're the last one in the world I want to be talking to right now. But this was your demon-"

"-Who won't be making any more deals in the near… ever."

"-and you need to clean up the mess."

There was a quick pause, and then Sam could almost hear the demon's smile as he said,

"Well. Sounds like you need a favor, doesn't it? So… what shall we trade for?"

Sam snorted with laughter. "Try your life."

"You're not holding that card, Moose."

"Oh, I'm not?" Sam shot back. His hand clenched into a fist as he glared at nothing. "Get up here and move this gold down to the water… or I'm going right back there to tell Rán that you stole it as a way of declaring war on the Pantheon, now that the Darkness is gone. And trust me, she's insane. She'll believe it. You really want that bullseye on your back? You think Hell will protect you from that, and me?"

This time, the pause was significantly longer, and then Crowley growled, "We should talk."

Sam blinked. "We are talking-"

"In person, you twat," Crowley snapped, this time from directly in front of the human.

Sam jumped in shock, stumbling back as he whipped his gun out from sheer reflex. The demon pointedly turned his phone off and gave Sam an unimpressed look.

"Don't waste your bullets," he suggested. "Now listen up, because I'm only going to make this offer once. I seriously doubt you ran all the way back to save your beloved big brother and feathery wingman and somehow forgot to drop Wessen's name to the goddess. Ergo… pointing out culprits hasn't gotten you very far. Even if she wanted to come after me, Hell's not known for its vast oceans. She can't touch me there."

"Crowley-"

The demon held up a hand, closing his eyes as though with great patience. "However. It would be an inconvenience to get on the Pantheon's bad side. Even still… you'll have to sweeten the pot a bit, I'm afraid."

Sam lowered the gun, casting a suspicious eye at the demon. "With what? My soul?"

"Hardly. I honestly don't even want you two in Hell at this point. Not when you're so useful up here."

The hunter took a step forward and raised the gun in anger. It wouldn't kill Crowley, but at least he could relieve some frustration. Sam never got the chance to shoot, though; the demon twisted his hand in the air and the pistol went flying from Sam's grip.

"For someone so worried about Dean and Cas," Crowley observed, "you're being remarkably thick. It's a straight-up favor. You need me to do this for you. The deal is, someday when I need a favor, you'll provide. Simple as that."

Sam's refusal was on the tip of his tongue, but he hesitated. The problem was, Crowley was right. The King of Hell had had much worse than just the Pantheon gunning for him before… Sam needed Crowley far more than Crowley needed him. With no leg to stand on, the "no way" died on the hunter's lips. His jaw clenched.

"You get all the gold out of that vault, all of it in one shot, and it goes directly to the beach outside the old research station," he growled.

Crowley shrugged. "Done." He grabbed Sam's shoulder before the hunter could pull away.

The horrible feeling of transit via demon turned Sam's stomach, but when the cloud dispersed, he was standing on the beach with Crowley. The research station stood in tall silhouette to the left. At their feet, piles and mounds of gold glinted faintly in what little moonlight escaped through the stormy clouds. Sam stumbled back a step, eyeing the treasure trove in awe and disbelief.

No wonder Rán had been so furious. And, looking at the sheer quantity of the coins and baubles, Sam shuddered to think how long it would have taken to remove it all one bagful at a time.

Crowley watched him with indifferent eyes, unaffected by the lure of the treasure. "Satisfied?" the demon asked with a bit of impatience.

"Let the human out of the deal," Sam retorted, though he could hardly bring himself to care much about James Wessen's fate. Being such a miserable person was punishment enough, and the hunter couldn't deny a certain pleasure at the idea of Wessen living for years upon years in a life he clearly hated. "He doesn't get to keep his end, so Hell doesn't either, right?"

Crowley snapped his fingers. "Done," he said. "Messing with gods isn't how we do things. Besides, I expect I'll be seeing him in the end anyway, sooner or later. Pleasure doing business with you, Moose, and the next time I need your assistance, remember that you owe me a favor. Now leave me alone. I have a kingdom I'm trying to rebuild."

He was gone before Sam could retort, which was just as well. The King of Hell was already far from Sam's mind as he turned for the research station and raced for the door, heart pounding with the desperate hope that he'd made it back in time.

He flung the front door open, footsteps echoing down the empty hall as the hunter shot straight towards the open room at the end. The first thing Sam saw as he burst into the wide space was the tank… Aileen was still pressing her hands against the curved glass, and there, to his exhausted relief, was Dean. Still kicking, still just barely above the surface, but alive. The goddess was standing beside them, arms crossed and looking impatient, but her gaze shot to Sam as he pushed his way inside.

"Rán!" Sam shouted, splashing through the water. "Your gold-"

"My gold!" she gasped. The goddess's eyes grew wide with a hungry light as she evaporated through the water, no doubt having felt the ocean surf brushing against her coveted treasure.

For a fraction of a second, Sam nearly panicked, thinking she had simply left Dean there. Before he could even say a word in protest, though, the hunter heard a loud splash as his brother collapsed to the floor outside of the tank. Dean rolled onto his back, staring up at the dark ceiling as his chest heaved up and down with relief. He gasped, coughing and gagging intermittently, while Sam raced towards him and threw himself down beside his brother.

"Dean!" he shouted as he fumbled to undo the belt binding the hunter's hands. "Dean… hey. Hey, come on. You're okay, you're alright. Come on, man…"

"Aileen," Dean choked out, pulling his dripping wet head out of the water but then collapsing back with a splash. He raised a weak hand to brush Sam off, and sputtered again, "Aileen…"

"Aileen?" Sam called, twisting in place and then lunging through the water with dismay as he realized that she had also collapsed, resting her cheek against the thick glass. Her eyes were closed, but they blinked open when Sam gave her a careful shake.

"Yup," she murmured. "Yup, we're good. You know… mostly."

Sam could see that she was just as exhausted as Dean was, realizing now just how hard she had fought to keep his brother alive. She was shaking ever so slightly from the exertion of holding the water back. Sam pulled her into a fierce, almost hysterical hug of relief.

"You saved him," he whispered. "Thank you."

"Oh… you know… just your friendly neighborhood elemental."

Sam managed a weak chuckle, then released her to turn back to his brother. He cleared his throat, pulling himself together.

"So," he said. "We need to get Cas, quick. Did Rán tell you where we can find him?"

Dean's chest was still heaving up and down, but the question seemed like a catalyst to pull him up off the floor. When Sam saw the fear in his brother's eyes, his heart sank like a stone.

"No."