DISCLAIMER: I only own my character! Anything you might recognize is courtesy of the CW.

WARNING: Some of these episodes/chapters may contain graphic violence, cursing, mentions of suicide or assault and other triggering aspects. Proceed with caution please.

Angel numbly sat beside Sam's dead body staring at him in grief. She had been in that position all night, the tears never ceasing, just staring. Bobby tried to get her to move, even Dean, but she wouldn't budge. Her little brother was just murdered in front of her at 23 years old and she couldn't do a damn thing to stop it. Someone she's been protecting since he was a baby. Someone she basically raised along with Dean. Dean. Her other little brother was hurting just as much as she was. His heart breaking even more watching Angel.

"Sammy…" Angel leaned forward, grasping Sam's hand, "You know… your whole life Dean and I tried to keep hunting secret from you. We wanted you to stay a kid, be as normal as you could be for as long as possible. It broke my heart when you found out the truth… About this life, about mom, about everything, and when you told us you were going to Stanford… I was so proud of you, Sammy. I mean I knew I was gonna miss you, and so were Dad and Dean, but… but I knew Stanford was a better life for you than Hunting. I knew that decision meant you were safer in the long run. Away from all this. Even if I was a bitch when you came back." She scoffed as she put her head in her hands, "I just… I just wish we'd never dragged you back in, Sammy." She brought her eyes up to look at his face as more tears slid down her cheeks, "I've protected you guys your whole lives so i promise, somehow, I'm gonna fix this. I promise you that."

Dean stood near them, listening sadly and watching her closely. He didn't know what to do either. It broke his heart watching his family fall apart. First his mom, then his dad and now Sammy. He felt helpless, and he didn't know how to stop it but he was going to try

"Dean, Angel?" Bobby arrived, holding a bucket of fried chicken, "Brought you guys somethin' back."

"No, thanks." Dean said not even sparing him a glance as Angel didn't even acknowledge his presence, "I'm fine."

"You should eat something." His eyes moved from him to Angel sadly, "Both of you."

Dean took a long swig from a bottle of whiskey instead, "I said I'm fine

"Dean…" Bobby sent another sad eye to Sam and Angel, "I hate to bring this up, I really do, but don't you think maybe it's time… we bury Sam?"

"No."

"We could…" Bobby sighed, "Maybe…"

"What?" Dean turned to him coldly, "Torch his corpse? Not yet."

Bobby locked eyes with him, "I want you two to come with me."

"We're not going anywhere."

"Dean, please."

Dean scoffed, this conversation being one of the last things he wanted to deal with at the moment, "Would you cut me some slack?"

"I just don't think you two should be alone, that's all." He mended, "I gotta admit, I could use both of your help." Dean snorted but Bobby ignored him, "Something big is going down- end-of-the world big."

Dean angered, his voice rising, "Then let it end!"

Angel, at the hostility in her brother's voice, got up and turned to see what was going on.

Bobby shook his head at Dean, "You don't mean that."

Quickly Dean got up and stood in Bobby's face, "You don't think so? Huh? You don't think I've given enough? You don't think my sister's given enough? You don't think we've paid enough? I'm done with it. All of it. And if you know what's good for you, you'd turn around, and get the hell out of here." Bobby just stood there, shaking his head so Dean shoved him roughly, "Go!"

"Dean."

At Angel's voice he turned around and paused before looking back at Bobby contritely, "I'm sorry. Please, just go."

Turning, he walked back into the room with Sam earning sad looks from Angel and Bobby alike.

Angel studied him before turning to Bobby, "We just need some time, Bobby."

"Okay darlin." Bobby turned to the door with a sad sigh, "You know where I'll be."

When he left Angel walked back over to her brothers and let Dean have his last moments with Sammy.

"You know…" Dean leaned forward, looking to Sam in grief, "Angel was right when she said we tried to protect you when we were little. We… just wanted you to stay the happy kid you were, but uh you couldn't have been more than 5 when you just started asking us questions. How come we didn't have a mom? Why do we always have to move around? Where'd Dad go when he'd take off for days at a time? I remember I begged you, 'Quit asking, Sammy. Man, you don't want to know.' Angel always had smart ways of distracting you from it and they always seemed to get your attention away from asking questions… We just wanted you to be a kid… Just for a little while longer." He looked up to his brother, "We- we always tried to protect you… Keep you safe… Dad didn't even have to tell us. It was just always our responsibility, you know? I think when we were younger, it fell more on Angie's shoulders. Hell she basically raised us by herself, but uh as we got older I tried to take some of that responsibility. I made sure she didn't have to worry about you so much. I tried to protect you… It's like I had one job… I had one job, and I screwed it up." Dean paused at the emotion that rocked through him, "I blew it, and for that, I'm sorry." He wiped tears from his face, "I guess that's what I do. I let down the people I love. I let Dad down. I let Angel down, and now I guess I'm just supposed to let you down, too. How can I? How am I supposed to live with that?" He started crying harder, "What am I supposed to do? Sammy. God. What am I supposed to do?"

Angel couldn't hear anymore. She couldn't take any more pain. She certainly couldn't take Dean blaming himself for Sam's death. Grabbing the keys to her Trans Am, she jumped in before putting it in gear and peeling out recklessly, looking pale and more than determined to fix things. Stopping on a dirt road, she got out and went to the back of the Trans Am before inserting several items into a box. They included: a fake photo ID of herself, graveyard dirt, and a bone from a black cat. She buried the box in the middle of a crossroads and stood. Her breathing escalated as several seconds passed in silence.

"Oh, come on already!" She yelled as she looked from right to left, more than impatient, "I know you're here so come out already!"

Suddenly, a beautiful woman in a black dress appeared right in front of Angel, "Easy sugar, you'll wake the neighbors." She flashed her red eyes for a moment, "Angel Winchester. It is so, so good to see you." It studied her for a beat, "I mean it. Look at you. Gone and got your family killed. First you couldn't protect mommy, then daddy dies and now baby Sammy. I mean it's simply delicious isn't it? It's too sweet. Excuse me, you're gonna have to give me a moment." She walked to Angel, face to face and so close Angel had to squelch her instincts to back up, "Sometimes you gotta stop and smell the roses."

Angel glared hatefully, her hands clutching into tight fists, "I should send you straight back to hell."

"Oh, you should, but you won't. And I know why."

"And why's that?"

"Following in Daddy's footsteps. You wanna make a deal. Little Sammy back from the dead, and, let me guess, you're offering up your own soul?"

"Deal of the century." Angel lifted her head, "There are a hundred plus demons who'd love to get their hands on it, and it's all yours. All you gotta do is bring Sam back, and give me ten years. Then you come for me."

The demon scoffed, "You must be joking."

"Why? That's the same deal you give everybody else."

"You're not everybody else." It leaned in, whispering, "Why would I want to give you anything? Keep your gutter soul. It's too tarnished, anyway."

Angel nodded, "Nine years then."

"No."

"Eight."

It laughed at that, "You keep going, I'll keep saying no."

"Okay, five years. Five years, and you come for me. That's my last offer- five years or no deal."

The demon started leaning in for a kiss to seal the deal but stopped short, "Then no deal."

Angel clenched her jaw, "Fine."

"Fine." It started walking away, "Make sure you bury Sam before he starts stinking up the joint."

Angel flinched, "Wait."

The demon turned, speaking softly, "It's a fire sale, and everything must go."

After a thick tension fueled beat, Angel's eyes snapped back up to the demon, "What do I have to do?"

"First of all, quit groveling. Needy girls make us all look bad." It sighed, "Look… Look, I shouldn't be doing this. I could get in a lot of trouble, but what can I say? I got a blind spot for you, Angel. You're like a… puppy. You're just too fun not to play with." It sighed deeply, "I'll do it."

Hope filled her, "You'll bring him back?"

"I will, and because I'm such a saint, I'll give you one year, and one year only. But here's the thing. If you try and welch or weasel your way out, then the deal is off. Sam drops dead, and to put up a little security blanket I'll send my hounds after Dean too. They're both rotten meat in no time."

"You can't do that." She scoffed, "Deans got nothing to do with this."

"Oh? But doest he? In fact, the middle brother is busy trying to make a little deal of his own, right now." Angel glared and shifted at that revelation, "But see, we've got a softie for the oldest. So… What'll it be? Demon Dean or a Demon named Angel?" At Angels pained look the demon pressed on, "It's a better deal than your dad ever got. What do you say?"

Without a second though Angel grabbed the demon and kissed her to seal the deal. Within another beat the demon disappeared. Minuted later, she heard the roar of a familiar engine and the crunching gravel of tires snaring to a stop.

"Angel! Angel." Dean's voice sounded behind her before he ran up to her grabbing her shoulders and whipping her around, "Angel, what the hell did you do? Huh? What were you thinking?"

"I just saved our little brother." She glared then pushed him off of her, "And apparently you too! Why the hell would you call a crossroads?"

"That's real rich after this." Dean scoffed, "I mean what the hell, Angel? What- how long?" She looked away from him so he screamed it at her, "How long?!"

"A year! One year, Dean." Grief over took his face and Angel held in her own tears, "Look… I- I did what I had to do. I did what you would have, exactly what dad did-"

"Exactly Angel. Dad brought us back. Sam- he needs you. At least if i had done it my life would have meant something. Something good could've come from a deal like this and instead you're going to die!"

"What?" She scoffed, "You have that low of an opinion of yourself Dean? Huh?" She grabbed his coat, "Dean, i watched you two grow up. I raised you guys, protected you all your lives. That's my job, not yours. I had to do this. I couldn't let him die, Dean, I couldn't."

Dean was so filled with anger and grief he couldn't look at her. He couldn't think straight but when she walked away from him he swung around.

"Where the hell are you going?"

"To see if it worked."