Dean turned the chair around and sat down. On the other side of the table in front of him sat Tessa, a reaper he'd met years ago and who he'd caught just now as she was about to blow up a theater. According to another angel that Dean had been ordered to question, Tessa and Oren and a few others had been working together.

"Okay," said Dean, "Well, let's start with an easy one. Who are you working for?"

"Castiel," she answered.

"Liar," accused Hannah. She had accompanied Dean on this interrogation after the first angel he'd questioned accused him of threatening her. It wasn't exactly a false accusation. Now he had been stripped of his weapon and his chance to get Sam back. Yes, it was true, he had thought that by having a reaper in his hands he could find a way to bring his brother back but with Hannah in the room there was no chance of that.

"People like you," Tessa glared at Hannah, "They never understand. Sacrifices have to be made."

"So you go after one of the bad guys," Dean asked, "And if a few humans get microwaved, no big deal, right?"

"In the grand scheme, they don't matter." Dean clenched his teeth so hard they squeaked. It was the same with every angel, humans didn't matter, the ends justified the means. Well he was tired of being an ends to a means. He was tired of Sam being an ends to a means.

"Oh, Tessa," he sighed, "You are so wrong."

"When Castiel came to me and told me what I had to do, he said I was chosen because I was strong. Others..." she shot a glance at Hannah, "They couldn't handle this. They're too weak." Hannah flew at her and slammed her hands down on the table. Her face was inches from Tessa's and Dean could feel the heat of her growl. He grabbed Hannah and pushed her out of the room. As he did, he slipped the blade she'd taken from him out of her pocket. He gave her a quick lecture and went back in the room alone.

"Listen, Tessa," Dean said as he walked back into the room. She had her head in her hands.

"I can't take the screaming," she whispered. Dean stopped unsure how to respond. She stood up and pressed her fingers to her forehead as if trying to rub away a headache.

"Who's screaming?" Dean said. He gripped the blade tightly under his sleeve.

"All of them," she answered, "The lost souls. The ones that can't get into heaven now that it's been boarded up. I hear them. They are so confused. They're in so much pain. All I want to do is help them. It's what I do. It's my job. But I can't. So I suffered until death, nothingness. Suddenly, it didn't seem so bad. It seemed quiet." Dean could barely breath. He heard the screaming now. Sam cried out to him, begged him to help but he couldn't do anything. He felt like throwing up. He gripped the angel blade tighter in his hand. "I hear him too, Dean," she said with pity in her eyes. Dean advanced angel blade slipping from his sleeve into his hand. He snarled.

"You're gonna bring him back," he said.

"Dean," she shook her head, "I can't do that."

"You can and you will. And you'll tell me who else is in on this." He pulled out the angel blade and pointed it at her.

"Where did you get that?"

"I did what I had to do," he mocked. She nodded and grabbed his arms just above his elbows. He eyed her quizzically. As she thrust herself onto the blade he held, she looked at him with pity and sorrow. The screams in her head seemed to echo through her whole body as a bright light exploded from inside her. She crumpled to the ground and suddenly several angels burst into the room. They grabbed him by the arms and ripped the blade from his hand. He was thrust into a chair where they tied him down and duct taped his mouth shut.

When Cas came back, the angels lead him to where Dean was tied down. He glanced from Dean to Hannah and back again.

"Get out," he ordered. When Hannah disappeared he ripped the tape from Dean's mouth and glared at him. "They said you killed Tessa?"

"Not so much," answered Dean, "She knifed herself." Cas didn't seem to believe him. He stared at him as if trying to find the lie hidden in his eyes.

"Dean," he scolded.

"What, Cas? You think I wanted this to happen?"

"I don't know, Dean. Did you? I mean you haven't exactly been the most balanced human of late."

"This has nothing to do with that," Dean growled under his breath.

"Really?" Cas knew. He knew what Dean had wanted; what he thought the reaper could give him. He also knew she couldn't have done it even if she tried. What he didn't know was whether to believe Dean or not.

"Commander," Hannah poked her head back inside, "You have a call from Metatron."