A/N: I'm glad to see that everyone is enjoying where the story is taking you all. Thanks so much for all the reviews and welcome to the new readers.
The dark-haired Israeli accepted Tony's steadying hand as he hoisted her off the floor, Gibbs righting her on her feet. The room seemed to spin and it took great effort to focus on what was happening around her.
"All right, David?" Gibbs asked gently, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
She nodded tentatively, catching his eyes. What she saw drew her to a stop, her breath catching slightly in her chest. A look like nothing she'd ever seen before had settled over Gibbs' iron mask, outlining his chiselled features with a haunted visage.
"Are you?" she returned just as quietly, her brows drawing together in concern.
He smiled sadly, looking between her and Tony, simply taking them in. He had been shaken. No amount of iron will could have prepared him for what they'd faced that day, for what he, personally, had seen.
"Boss?" Tony chimed in, his arm still firmly about Ziva's waist.
"Yeah," he finally voiced, clapping Tony lightly on the shoulder, "yeah. I'm alright." He cleared his throat and stepped away, walking purposefully toward Dean and Castiel. They needed a plan, and now was no time to go about revealing emotions he hadn't voiced in over a decade.
"He is clearly not okay," Ziva proffered, watching the grey-haired agent stride away from them.
"I agree with you there, Ziva." Tony looked down at her, feeling relief like he'd never felt before rush over him. She had been dead. He'd watched Kali lash out at her, killing her with a single blow. No amount of training had prepared any of them for what the day had brought. "I think...it's gonna be a long time before any of us are really 'okay' again."
"We were...dead."
He nodded.
"Did you..." she trailed off, crossing her arms defensively over her chest. "Do you think he saw something too?"
It took only seconds for her words to sink in, bringing to the forefront of his mind faint images that seemed just out of reach. It took a great deal of concentration to remember exactly what he'd seen. He'd been back on the rooftop with Gibbs and Kate, the day that Kate had taken a bullet in the head from Ari's sniper rifle, a bullet that had been meant for Gibbs. She was dead before she hit the ground.
"Probably," he managed, his throat burning. He thought he had come to terms with his partner's death. People died in his line of work all the time. They died in Sam and Dean's line of work too. Death was all around him all the time. He was only now starting to realize it.
She regarded the group of men through narrowed eyes, finally standing on her own strength instead of leaning against her partner. "What do you think they are talking about?" She crossed her arms defensively over her chest, noting how they were casting furtive glances back toward her.
Tony shook himself from his reverie, watching the group himself. He took her elbow, a steely determination washing over him. "I dunno, Zee-vah, but let's go find out, huh? We're all a part of this, aren't we? We've all died once today."
They walked together to the group standing beside the stone table, watching the revived hunters follow their lead. The men fell silent, exchanging heavy glances as everyone stood together.
"What now?" Tony asked. "Where's Sam?"
Dean's jaw clenched. "He's gone. Lucifer's in the driver's seat."
"What?" Bobby exclaimed angrily. "Where the hell'd he go?"
Castiel grimaced. "He is going to destroy Valhalla."
"That's what you wanted, right?" Kevin asked.
"Not...not this way," the angel sighed.
"So, cut the crap." Bobby took a step toward the angel, glowering. "How the hell do we get Sam back? Is there any good news?"
Gibbs looked down at the still body of Kali. "Besides Kali being dead?"
The hunter waved the response aside. It hadn't been worth Sam giving in.
"There is good news, I think." Castiel met Bobby's challenging gaze. It was no secret that the older hunter felt responsible for the boys, that he felt like a father to them. Since John Winchester had came into his life, he'd protected Sam and Dean the best that he could, guided them, and provided them, as much as he'd been able, with what John hadn't. "I...am sure that Lucifer is still in the pit."
Bobby blinked, shaking his head slightly. "But I thought you said..."
"I did," Cas interjected, raising his hand to silence the hunter. "All of the torture that Sam endured while he was locked inside the cage implanted Lucifer into his mind,...a projection of the true entity. It operates just as Lucifer did, and Sam's belief in it has given it life. I feel that it is that projection of Lucifer that has taken control of Sam. It speaks and acts just as my brother would, and Sam's body is the vessel...it remembers what it feels like to have him in control."
"So the Lucifer that Sam has been seein',..." Dean prompted, waiting for someone to finish his thought.
"Isn't real," Gibbs obliged, feeling some of the tension leave the room.
"It is not the real Lucifer," Castiel agreed, "but that does not make the situation any less volatile." He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "I feel that we can reach Sam and bring him back, but we must hurry. If he destroys Valhalla before we can reach him,..." he trailed off, the implication clear. If they failed to find and stop Sam, they would have released a greater evil into the world and the Apocalypse would begin anew, greater than the threat that had just been silenced.
"What do we need to do?" Gibbs asked, anxious to put the ordeal behind his team. It was time to finish the job and take his wards back to a simpler time, a time before angels, gods, and demons.
"We need something to bring Sam back," Castiel said, turning to Ziva, "or someone."
All eyes in the room fell on the Israeli.
"Me?" She blinked.
Castiel nodded. "Sam is very strong and he has defeated this once before. He has a weakness for you. I believe...that is the key to reaching him."
She felt a chill race through her body, dread settling deep in her belly. She had listened to Sam talk about what he'd gone through and she had stayed, making a promise to herself that she would be there for him because he needed somebody, anybody, to put a spark of hope back into his drama-filled, grief-stricken life. She couldn't deny that she was attracted to him in a way that made her weak in the knees, but they'd not bothered to explore things any further. There was too much going on around them.
"What...um...what do I need to do?" She struggled to keep herself composed, wanting nothing more than to duck out of the room and find some reality that made sense to her.
Dean stepped forward, drawing the attention back to him. "Look, we can't even be sure what the hell's gonna happen when we find Sammy. I can take a beating. I'll go in first."
"Dean..." Cas started.
"No, Cas. Dammit. I'm not doing this to anyone else." He put his hand on his hip, squaring off in front of the angel. "Now, find him. I don't care what you have to do. Just...find him, and come get me."
Silencing his objections, the angel disappeared, leaving Zerachiel to stand watch over them while he searched. Dean's resolve crumbled and he hung his head, dragging his palm heavily over the stubble on his jaw.
"I'm gettin' too old for this," he growled to no one in particular.
"We all are," Bobby agreed.
Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva wandered away from the rest of the group, finding their own corner of privacy in the large room. She leaned against the wall, her eyes on Dean's back.
"You two alright?" Gibbs asked.
"Yeah, boss," his senior field agent answered.
"Ziva?" His question was soft, revealing a tenderness he usually held in check.
She sighed, shaking her head. "I...I cannot imagine living as they do. I have had only a small taste, they have had an entire life devoted to killing ghosts and demons...and...and Satan." She worried her bottom lip. "Look at him. He puts up such a strong front, but that..." she pointed, "is the posture of a broken man." Pausing, she brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, looking toward her boss. "A lot...a lot...has been asked of us since we were brought in to this situation. We have...seen things that cannot be unseen...We have experienced things that we never would have experienced in a life time. We have even...died." She silenced the chill that ran through her body. "Dean cannot go after Sam alone." She met Gibbs' eyes. "What happens if we lose him and all of this," she gestured around her, "is not over?"
"I don't know how much help we can be," Gibbs offered quietly.
"Castiel thinks I can reach Sam."
Tony nodded. "You have been spending a lot of time with him lately."
"I love him," she stated, the magnitude of the proclamation silencing the group. "He told me all of these horrible things that happened to him,...he told me what his life was like,...but it does not change anything. I loved him from the first moment I saw him." She smiled sadly. "It seems that I have a habit of falling for dangerous men."
"You heard Dean," Gibbs said softly, worry flavoring his words. "Sam isn't Sam right now." He reached out, placing a slightly shaking hand on Ziva's shoulder, feeling the need to connect with her. "I can't risk losing you, Ziva. Either of you." He glanced over at Tony. "I don't want either of you going near Sam until he's...normal again."
Gibbs didn't wait for a response. He stepped away from his team, expecting his orders to be followed. His eyes settled on Kali's corpse, his investigator's curiosity leading him across the room. They'd all been dead. No one had actually seen what had happened except for Castiel.
There was a large amount of blood pooled around the body, and she laid on her left side, her right arm draped across her torso, her palm against the cool stone, a break in the crimson pool. He was surprised to see that gods bled just like humans did. He knelt, brushing her hair back from her face, noticing that her eyes were open, staring blankly at the wall. Her skin had started to take on a marbled effect, rigor mortis settling into the joints.
"Gibbs?" Bobby asked, looking down at the agent.
"First time I've seen a dead god." He gingerly lifted her arm, revealing the large, gaping hole in Kali's chest. A low whistle dropped from his lips. "My God." He sat back on his heels, the enormity of the day settling on his shoulders.
"Yeah," the hunter growled, "that's a Lucifer special."
The seasoned agent found himself mentally piecing together what had happened, losing himself in the imagined confrontation. There were many times in his life that he'd faced terrible situations and saw evil all around him. He'd seen and experienced injustice and heartache. This, however, transcended that invisible boundary. What he'd experienced in his life until this point had just been the tip of the iceberg, even for all the pain it had brought him.
"Does Dean have a plan, Bobby?" He pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the pain in his knees. "Can he do this? Can he save Sam by himself?"
Bobby never had a chance to answer, interrupted by Castiel's return. The angel stood before Dean, holding out his hand.
"I found him," he rushed.
Dean instantly took the angel's hand and they disappeared, leaving those in the room staring at where the two had stood.
"Can Dean save Sam?" Gibbs repeated.
The hunter shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "I..." he hung his head, suddenly exhausted, "I don't know."
tbc...
Horrible cliffee, I know. I've been struggling with this chapter. I apologize.