And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. Genesis 2:3

Gunnison Island

Sam felt the blessing of sleep and pleasant dreams slowly sucking away. Something was drawing him back to consciousness. He fought it, but slowly he opened his eyes.

"Hello, Moose. All rested up?" Crowley's face was hovering just over his face. He was crouched down on his haunches.

"What do you want, Crowley?" Sam slowly sat up, reaching around as he did so to rub at his back. The ground was not the most comfortable place for sleep, but usually Israfel helped with that.

Crowley looked over to where Castiel was; he was still with Dean. He turned back to Sam. "Just a word."

"I'm listening. Make it quick." Sam's eyes darted about, seeking out Israfel and the others.

Crowley reached out a hand to help Sam to his feet. "Not here. Walk with me."

Sam ignored his hand and lifted his long mass of limbs slowly up from the ground. "Fine." He walked with Crowley away from the makeshift camp.

When they had gotten far enough away, Crowley spoke again, "I haven't been very forthright with you all, Moose." He looked at Sam's face as they continued to walk. "Truth is, it has been difficult. You have always been my favorite Winchester...or maybe my second favorite."

"Dean often takes that role." Sam smirked.

"Not Dean." Crowley's response was quiet.

Sam looked at him now, confusion plain on his face. "What are you telling me."

"A story." The stopped walking when they reached the shore. The sunlight danced blindingly up off of the little waves of water. Sam shielded his eyes while they adjusted to the fierce light. Crowley continued, "I saw her once a long time ago. It was before I was much of anything. She was just light in a vial wrapped in little wisps of black fog. She was in Alastair's chamber, tucked into a throne made of roots. I should not have been there, but I was looking for distraction and often found such diversions when I visited Alastair."

The two of them sat down then on the beach, "I did not think about what I was doing, but it did not seem to be much. I pulled out the vial from the throne and held it. It spoke to me. Let me go. Please, just let me go. As each one of them is born, I feel it tear at me. Show mercy. I am not easily moved, but she was in an agony that I had not heard before. I felt it even through the vial, deep into my essence. Mind you I have experienced much in this place, and below the veil. Her suffering was deep.

"I don't understand why you are telling me this." Sam interrupted.

"Patience." Crowley held up his hand and continued, "I carried her out of Hell on a necklace hung around my neck. I wore her there for years, thinking about what I should do with her. She showed me things from her memory. It was not typical for souls to have this power, but she did. I knew that she must be old then. I also came to know who she was."

"Who was she?" Sam shifted a little.

"She was Eve, the mother of all," Crowley said. "The real question you should be asking now is, how does this all connect back to you?"

Crowley looked at Sam as if he truly expected him to ask exactly that question, "Okay, I'll bite. What does this have to do with us?" Sam finally asked.

"Your mother's presence in Purgatory was no accident."

"Cas said that he had seen her in Heaven. He was surprised to find her elsewhere," Sam supplied, the unspoken question hanging in the air between them.

"Yes, he did see her there. She is still there too, a little." Now Crowley shifted and looked out to the water. The pelicans dipped and swooped ahead of them, making their noises, filling the temporary silence.

"Then who is the woman here?" Sam turned a little toward the direction of their camp.

"She is your mother too, a little." He seemed to feel uncomfortable with his explanation, but he continued anyway, "I continued doing as I had always done, only now, there was this weight on my chest. I felt things. I was drawn to things that had repulsed me before."

"Like what?"

"Love, for one." He tensed up and seemed to be embarrassed by his admission. "She loved greatly. Even in the midst of all of her agony, she loved. It was the reason that I couldn't just release her. She gave that to me. If I released her, I feared that it would all be gone. Selfish, I know, but Hell, I am a demon after all." He smirked over at Sam.

"That isn't love then." Sam said quietly.

"Don't lecture me about love. Do you think that every time you and Dean die that it isn't a little selfish?" He paused for a moment before adopting the mocking tone of a child, "Only I can save the world. I don't want to live in a world without you in it. I just can't quit you…"

"Now you are just being ridiculous. Stop quoting movies and calling it our life." Sam stood up to leave.

Crowley reached up and pulled him back down. "I'm sorry. It is frustrating. I didn't want to lose her. Maybe it wasn't love for me. Maybe it was an obsession, a type of possession. I knew though that it was taking over me, and I had to let it go. I had to be free. I also wanted her to be free to. Maybe that is when it became something more."

Crowley stood then and began pacing along the beach. Sam stood too. "What did you do?"

"I released her...sort of ." He stopped pacing, but did not turn to Sam.

"What did you do?" Sam stared at his back worried over the answer, knowing that it could not be good.

"I added her to a form that already had a soul. You see, I couldn't just uncork the bottle and watch it soar away. I had to keep it just a little longer, but I needed a little distance too. It was too controlling. You must believe me when I tell you that I never thought that it would be like this, that it would lead to this."

"Where did you put it?" Sam felt fear grip him tight then. He knew the answer, but he had to hear the words. Crowley had to say it.

"Her name was Mary Winchester." Crowley turned back to Sam with a look that was awash with regret. "Mary is Eve. She is the mother of all."