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Dean calls a few old friends and accquaintances for help. pace slows slightly her but it will pick back up again promise.

Chapter 12

Dean had made Sam go and lie down until they were ready. He had protested but Dean had been insistent and Sam had eventually given in, too tired to fight his brother anymore. Dean had fussed over him, Sam knowing that guilt was playing a part in his brother's ministering.

"I'm fine, I'll sleep, just go do what you have to." He shooed Dean away and pulled the covers up and over his head wanting to block out the world. Dean almost laughed when he had to pull his feet up to fit all of his tall frame under them.

Dean stopped in the door, looked back at his brother's huddled form. "Sam?"

"I know Dean." Sam's voice was flat and broke Dean's heart a little.

"We'll fix this ok?"

"'k."

Dean walked back through and dumped himself at Sam's laptop. This had better damn well work because if it didn't she'd won and Dean just wasn't going to allow that to happen. If he went down she was coming with him.

Bobby had told Dean about the e-mail that Sam had sent to his friend in Stanford. He hunted through Sam's mailbox until he found the reply, staring at it, wondering just how his brother had made sense of it. He typed a quick message and sent it. "Well that's step one down." He was speaking out loud to himself. Next he ransacked Sam's files until he found what he was looking for. Grabbing Sam's little printer from the bag, he printed off a photo and set it aside.

Bobby wandered over at this point with a mug of soup.

"What no purple gunk?" Dean's mood now was almost chirper and Bobby was having a hard time keeping up with the emotional rollercoaster that was Dean Winchester. He couldn't quite believe that this was the same man that mere hours ago was standing half dead in this very same living room or had been verbally tearing his own brother to ribbons less time ago that that.

"I can get some if you want it?" Bobby's smile had a little evil edge to it.

"No, no soup's fine, thanks." Dean took a mouthful and then realised that it was scalding hot. He spat it back into the mug. "Bobby!"

"What not good?"

"No. Too damn hot! My mouth and throat still hurt you know. You could have warned me!" Dean stuck his tongue out trying to let the air cool it.

Bobby pointed to the small curls of smoke rising from the cup. "See the steam coming off it Dean, that means it's hot! Really the purple stuff's in the fridge if you want it?"

"No, just a warning that I'd need an asbestos mouth would have been nice. What about sleeping beauty?" He jerked him head in the direction of the bedroom.

"I'll feed him when he wakes up." Bobby looked over Dean's shoulder and saw the page he had open on the screen. "Interesting. So what's the plan?"

"Don't want to say, don't know who is listening. She can get in my head but I can block her from getting at everything, I think, but she can hear me if she tries, trouble is I don't know when she's trying. Don't think she can see though."

Bobby looked at the photo Dean had printed, realising at least part of what he intended to do. "Could work, if she plays nice. This could make her stronger though."

"Thanks. I know that."

"How d'you know she can open the gate?"

"Bela."

"Bela?"

"She told us that Lilith holds all the contracts right?" Bobby's look was blank and Dean shook his head. "So, she must want to check on her inmates from time to time or else where's the fun. Bitch knows how to have fun I'll give her that." Bobby saw the pained look return briefly in Dean's eyes.

"Makes sense, in a Dean Winchester sort of way."

"Err, thanks, I think."

"What now?"

"I need to make a couple of phone calls. Sam'll need help for his part."

"So who you gonna call?"

"Ghostbusters."

Bobby scowled at him. Dean gave him a 'what' look. "Missouri"

"So when you said your brother was going to follow you in, you didn't mean actually follow you in?"

"No, he is. I just figured he'll need someone to help him find the way back out."

"You're gonna take Missouri in too!" Bobby's voice had an air of incredulity about it.

"How would that help? No, I want her to wait outside and guide Sam back."

"I'd better go and make him eat something then eh? Wouldn't want him to drop dead from starvation before you get him killed marching into hell."

"Hello, what part of immortal or demon dude escaped you? I don't think that hell will be able to touch him or I wouldn't be taking him in."

"Dean, can I ask you something, something that's bothering me about this whole damn plan?"

"What?"

"Don't you need to be dead to get into hell?"

"No, a little something I remembered from my trip, you only have to have been dead to get most of the way in, to the gates at least, there were… things there that had been dead but weren't any more." Dean gave a little shudder at the memory. "I think you'll find that both Sam and I qualify on that score. I only intend going as far as the gates, she gets me much further passed there and its game over. There's a whole lot of hell and hellish before you actually get to the hell Bobby. Believe me. I only need to get her in far enough to ditch her." Bobby noticed that Dean was rubbing his wrists as if to relieve some invisible pain.

"And Sam? How do you stop him going too far if you do?"

"What'd you think I want Missouri for? She'll not only help him get in and out, if this goes south she's the only one that can stop him following me all the way in."

"Risky, kid, very risky." Bobby's grizzled face showed his worry and concern.

"I know but I don't have a choice, I'm not gonna let her use me to get to him, I'm just not. I'm going to finish this Bobby." Bobby put his hand on Dean's shoulder. "I hear ya. So what can I do?"

"For just now? Just go feed my brother." He picked up his phone and walked to the door. "I won't be long."

Dean sat out on the porch and prayed to God that he wasn't about to destroy them all. He opened the phone and dialled Missouri first.

"Dean." He smiled at the sound of her saying his name, somehow he didn't think that she had or needed caller id.

"Missouri. How are you?"

"Did you really think that was any way to speak to your brother, boy? He was only trying to help you after all." Dean took the phone away from his ear and stared at it as if it had bit him.

"Nice to speak to you too. I'll make it up to him." Dean thought how sick he was of people pilfering his thoughts.

"Boy, do you want my help or not?" Missouri used the tone that she reserved solely for Dean.

"Yes, but can you get out of my head, please? I've already got someone else picking through it."

"Well boy, you called the wrong person for that. That's a long way to go? Do think she really knows how to open it? You'll get Bobby to pick me up when I get there?"

"Why did I even bother with the phone?" Dean was worried, if Missouri could pick his thoughts as easily as that then perhaps Lilith had too.

"Boy, no need to worry about her being in your head, the way you organise those thoughts of yours I'm surprised you can make any sense of it, your making me dizzy always jumping from one thing to the next." She paused. "I don't like you taking Sam in with you. He's not ready to see……" She didn't need to finish the sentence, for once Dean knew what she was going to say.

"….where I was. I know, but I don't have a choice."

"I said I didn't like it, I didn't say that you shouldn't do it. I'll see you boys soon….and Dean?"

"Yeah."

"Be careful, honey. She's not finished with you yet either."

Dean hung up and sat starting at the phone for a moment, then he dialled the other number. He knew that Lilith was hovering now, listening, but he didn't care. Now it was his turn.