Author's note: Thanks for reading! I really do appreciate everyone who takes the time to read this. : )

Ch. 10

Dean and Balthazar dropped Cas off at the bunker and picked up Sam and Garth before flying to the town. Sam had explained on the phone that a group of demons had stormed the town led by Abbadon.

The air was cold and snow fell from the clouded sky, an inch of snow already coating the ground. They could see their breaths hanging heavily in the air as they walked into the town. The buildings were close together, frost cloying to their glass windows.

"I don't like this." Sam said, regarding the scene before them. They expected chaos, but everything was completely silent. Not a single person walking the streets in the middle of the day.

"Something like the Croatoan virus maybe?" Dean gripped his gun tight while he looked around, the metal pressed hard against his skin. The snow crunched beneath his boots as he walked further down the sidewalk.

As they walked further into town they eventually saw where some of the people had gone. A trail of bodies led to a large building, their blood a stark contrast against the white snow.

The building was quiet and dingy inside, the walls stained with smoke. They walked in and the only way to go was down one long hall with a set of double doors at the end. They approached cautiously and slowly opened the doors. The hinges of the doors were stained with rust and groaned loudly as they were shifted. In the room before them were the townspeople and Dean could see them. Every single one of them was possessed by a demon. He could see Abbadon standing in front of a door at the far end and she waved before passing through.

"You go to Abbadon. I'll take on these." Balthazar stepped forward.

"How are you going to take on all of them?"

"Show them the light of course." He smirked, eyes crinkling in the corners. "Now hurry."

Dean, Garth and Sam ran into a room at the end of the hall, their weapons aimed at Abbadon perched at the top of a set of stairs. She clapped her hands together in a slow rhythm, a smile on her bright red lips that turned Dean's stomach.

"Bravo! Bravo boys!"

Dean felt his stomach bottom out as the doors closed behind them. 'Trap.'

He stepped ahead of Garth and Sam, putting himself between them and Abbadon.

"Oh, look at the baby angel, trying to protect you. You couldn't smite a paper bag." Abbadon waved her hand and pinned the three against the wall.

"What?!" Dean tried to push against the force holding him to the wall, but couldn't resist it.

"Like I said, baby angel. You're no more useful than you were as a human. You'll have to practice a lot more to be better than me. I'll be happy to give you some incentive though."

Abbadon pulled a dagger out of the waistband of her pants, the blade glinting in the dull light. "Don't you touch them!"

"I won't touch them, but this will." She brandished the dagger around. Standing in front of Garth she pulled her arm back and plunged the dagger into him with a sickening sound. Dean was only a foot away and could hear the gurgle in his throat.

"No! No!" He tried in vain to struggle again, a knot forming in his gut, knowing what was next.

"Dean I-Dean." Sam's voice wavered as Abbadon stood in front of him. She smiled, all teeth as she sliced at Sam's neck, some of the blood flinging against Dean's cheek with the quick movement. Dean felt the warm blood splatter against his cheek and flinched, his heart squeezing painfully in his chest.

Dean's eyes were cold as he looked at her. "Just kill me and get it over with. But don't think you'll get away with this."

"Oh no, I'm not killing you. I think it's much more cruel to let you suffer, knowing you were too weak to save them. I look forward to seeing you again." She laughed as she exited the room, her heels clacking on the floor.

Dean slid down the wall and immediately placed his hands on Garth and Sam. "Please, please, please." He muttered the word like a mantra, eyes glued to Sam. Dean had never healed anyone but he had to try, he had to. They couldn't die like this, not with him right there. His vision blurred with his tears. "Come on, come on." Finally, light glowed brightly from his fingertips, mending their skin together and it didn't stop until their chests rose and fell with their breathing. Dean took Sam in his arms and clung to him tightly, the fabric of his shirt wrinkled under his fingers as he grasped at it. He felt Sam stir into consciousness against him and the tears falling down his cheeks now. "It's okay Sammy, you're okay."

"How?"

Dean smiled tightly, "Me."

"I'm okay too, thanks for asking.", Garth sat up groggily from the floor.

Dean clapped him on the shoulder.

At that moment Balthazar appeared in front of them. "Saved the mudfish, smote the demons. How'd it go with-" he saw the looks from the three of them, "right, she got away then. Of course, I should have known better than to send you alone with a knight."

"I don't know why I thought being an angel would make things any different." Dean pressed his lips tight together, expression bitter.

"It might eventually, with proper training. For now we should go though. No use dwelling on it."

"Right. Mind giving me a lift too? I think I used all my juice healing them."

Balthazar sighed exasperatedly, "You people always need something."

"I just watched people I care about die and had to bring them back. Blow me, Balthazar."

"No thanks, I'll leave that to Cassie." Dean muttered something under his breath and felt his cheeks heat up.

Dean sat in a chair in the library, looking at Sam and Garth as they went on as if they hadn't just been dead not long ago. This was all because of Abbadon, and all those town people were nearly executed. That was just a taste of what would be to come if she took over Hell. Dean swallowed thickly as he got up. He told them he was just going to check in with Crowley, and that was exactly what he was going to do.

His feet felt heavy as he urged them to go, one in front of the other, but he was determined. He had to go through with this. If more people got hurt and he knew he could have prevented it, he didn't know if he could live with that. He slid the doors open and stepped into the dungeon room, closing the doors behind him.

"You listen to me, I'm going to ask you some questions and you better tell me the truth."

"Fire away, squirrel."

"You guarantee that if I do this I'm not going to go darkside?" This was the most important part. If he broke bad there would be no way for him to protect everyone.

"As I said before, you'll be a hundred percent you. Same eyes, hair, moronic tendencies…you'll just have a batch of shiny new tricks."

"How do I seal Hell once I do this?"

"Spell. Don't worry, I'll fill you in on the details to make sure you don't muck it up."

Dean gnawed nervously as he thought of his next question, sure that he knew the answer already. "When I seal it, do I get sealed in there too?"

Crowley smiled, "The spell seals in all of hell's denizens."

Dean closed his eyes and sighed. 'So much for not self-sacrificing.'

"It's a deal." Maybe for once things would work out this time.

The smile stretched further across Crowley's lips and his dark eyes sparkled, "Long. Live. The king."