A/N: So sorry for the delayed post, I was having some medical issues and couldn't focus enough to write. Lemme tell you, kidney inflammation is no joke, especially if it occurs annually. But I am all better now, so here is another chapter for y'all.

Chapter 7: Between Heaven and Hell

Finding Anna was a piece of cake, especially when you knew where to look. They just barely managed to extract her from the asylum, running from the angels that were sent to collect her. Sam wondered why they came into the picture so soon, when originally it was demons that were after Anna, but then he remembered Cas and his altercation with Uriel, so it must have been his actions that drew Heaven's attention to Anna.

"We are too exposed here." Cas said, glancing out of the window of their dingy motel room. Anna was in the bathroom, still unaware of everything and Sam and Dean were settling in, deciding to stay and rest up for the night. They needed a quiet place to talk, to explain things to Anna, return her grace and see if she would be willing to take their side in the matter.

Sam had hoped that simply rewriting the story would set them free, but as he saw, the timeline had a tendency to try and correct itself, and with Sam feeling God's power as it struggled within him, he knew there would be a moment when they would have to face Chuck once and for all.

"You think the angels might find us?" Sam asked and Cas turned towards him, squinting his eyes. He frowned then turned his gaze at Dean, who was sitting on one of the beds, probably trying to work out how to get Anna in it with him. With a quick step, he walked over to Dean, towering over him. Dean's eyes went wide, but he had no time to react as Cas set his hand on his shoulder and made him stand up.

"This is going to hurt." was all he said before setting his palm over Dean's ribcage, his hand glowing for a moment. Dean gah-ed loudly and as Cas let him go, he fell down on the bed, his hand flying to his chest as if it could soothe the ache.

"What was that for?!?!!" Dean's voice cracked as he shouted, anger intensifying in his eyes, directed more at his betraying voice than at the angel.

"I have etched enochian symbols into your ribs, making it impossible for the angels to find you." Cas informed him and Dean took a moment to figure out whether he should still be pissed or grateful. He seemed to remain in between those two emotions as he looked back up at the angel.

"Thanks. I guess… What about Sammy?" He said looking beyond the angel and at his brother, and it once again escaped his notice that Sam didn't react to the nickname.

"He was given his markings when the elder Sam saved him." Cas simply said and Sam was stunned for a moment before his face morphed into a pleased expression. He won't have to go through that again. Dean's bitchface was impressive.

"What about Anna?" Dean asked, but all heads turned towards the bathroom door when it opened.

"What about me?" She asked, stepping out. The only reason she agreed to go with them and trust them to an extent was because Cas promised her answers to her visions, an explanation to the voices she heard in her head and a reason why she was so special and why the angels were after her.

Cas was the one to take the lead and Sam let him. It was easier for Dean to swallow down the all mighty, all knowing angel, then to think his brother had changed so much that he was a whole different person. Things were just simpler that way. Cas told her everything, from her being an actual angel, to hearing the angel radio, to her being his superior, the leader of his garrison before she disappeared and he had to take that role. It was hard for her to wrap her head around it all, but when he offered to show her, to unlock her memory, she reluctantly agreed.

"Castiel?" She asked after she came to, recognizing the angel, despite her inability to see his true form. Her eyes were wide as she stared up at him, before turning to look across the room at Sam and Dean. "I… Yes, I understand." was all she said. Sam wasn't sure, but by the looks of it, Cas showed her a lot more than just who she was. He was given a chance to ask him about it when Dean took Anna to grab a bite to eat, encouraged by Sam and his eye motions. They all agreed it was best to wait for nightfall, then relocate to a much more secluded place so that Anna could retake her grace - that was one lightshow that could blind a lot of people, so they needed to be careful.

"How much did you show her?" Castiel glanced at him as Sam asked, and took a deep breath before he responded. It was such a human thing to do, as if he was bracing himself for Sam's reaction, since angels did really need to breathe.

"All of it."

Sam pressed his lips together and nodded. Considering the last time they saw her, she tried to… not kill them, but erase them from existence, he was still a little apprehensive about it all, but he figured, if any angel would be willing to help, she would be the first one to ask.

"Good." He eventually said and saw with a corner of his eye as Cas visibly relaxed. "We never got the chance to talk, how did you get here?" Sam lastly asked. This was the first time they were left alone to even get a chance to talk feely, so of course he would use it.

"I honestly do not know. Dean and I were in Purgatory when…"

"Wait, purgatory? Why were you guys there?" Sam asked, looking alarmed, he had no idea what was going on. Cas nodded, clearly remembering Sam wasn't aware of their little meeting with Michael.

"We talked to Michael and he told us how we could trap Chuck. Lock him away like they did to Amara." Sam remembered Chuck showing him the future and the future Dean mentioning Cas taking on the mark of Cain, but it wasn't until now that he made the connection. Castiel kept talking "For the spell, we needed a Leviathan blossom and those only grow in Purgatory. But once we were there, we got ambushed and separated, but I knew Dean was alright."

"How? How could you…" Sam had a frown of confusion across his face, but out of all things, he never expected Cas to tell him that Dean prayed to him. They have been on shaky ground ever since mom died, and Sam really thought it would be a while before Dean opened up just a fragment to let Castiel back in again, but he guessed it was a fact that the angel was perhaps in danger that pushed Dean to face it all. "Then what happened?"

"I was on my way to meet him at the portal when I suddenly felt a pull, it was like something was prying my grace out of me. I guess it held on to my vessel, because the next thing I know, I am facing myself in front of Jimmy's house." Cas said, explaining how they merged and how he took all the grace and all was left was just Jimmy. With a pleased smile he told how he erased the man's memory and returned him to his family, and Sam was glad that Cas got to have that - to fix one of his biggest regrets.

"But you don't know what pulled you here, or how?" Sam asked after Castiel finished his story. The angel shook his head, indicating he had no idea. "You think it was Chuck?" Sam tried.

"I doubt it. Why would he bring me back and even let me recharge to my full power?"

"Another plot? More drama?" Sam offered an answer, and Cas thought about it for a moment before he shook his head.

"No. It felt… Different." Cas started then let out a sigh. "Right before it happened, I was rethinking my past actions, considering all my regrets. Then I think… I believe that if I were at full power in that moment, I would have felt the past change, especially because it affected me too." Sam huffed a smile, Cas was right. Back in the original past, this whole thing was always about the two of them, but as the years passed, the angel became their third brother, he became family. Of course this affected him too.

" I know that the future we belonged to doesn't exist anymore, I tried to see it, to go back. There is nothing there, a clean slate." Cas added.

"If I am changing the story where the three of us are the lead characters… Then why hadn't Dean traveled through time as well?" Sam finally asked the question that was itching the back of his mind ever since he realized Castiel, the angel of the Lord, was actually Cas, their friendly angel brother.

"I don't know." Cas replied with evident sorrow in his voice. "Maybe he will eventually?" For the next few minutes long silence fell upon them as both of them contemplated what might have happened to Dean.

Sam let out a long sigh, contemplating his next words before he lifted his gaze towards the angel. "Do you think…" He started, trailing off, it seemed as though he changed his mind. "I can feel him fighting." The unexpected words made the angel blink in confusion a few times before he seemed to get a clue of what Sam was saying.

"I know this isn't our Dean, and that it is hard, but…"

"No." Sam said, huffing a laugh. "I mean, yeah, Dean is… It is good to see this laid back version of him… I missed him like this, but… I also miss my big brother. I miss telling him things, we… We used to hide everything from one another and I… I don't like it. I don't like that we are back in that part where the trust is thin." Sam said with a dose of regret in his voice, allowing the sadness in for only a moment before breathing it away.

"But, that's not who I was talking about. I was talking about Chuck. He is fighting to break through, to stop this, and I am not sure this - he said pointing to his wound - could hold Him off much longer. We need a plan. We need to find a way to stop him." Sam said. It hasn't escaped him that it was rather fortunate that they were in the past where their friends and future allies were still pretty much alive.

"May I?" Cas asked looking back at the wound. Sam nodded and allowed Cas to press his palm over his shoulder. Even if the angel closed his eyes, Sam could still see the light of his grace shining through his eye-lids and in the next moment he could feel the warmth of said grace coursing through his body. "Cas…" Sam complained, not wanting his friend to waste his energy on him.

"It's alright, Sam. I am back to full power, so I can spare some to help you sustain this… Connection I believe would be the best name for it." Castiel said with a kind lopsided smile.

"Connection?"

"Yes, I can feel His light inside of you. I am guessing that was how you time travelled? It is as if a piece of Him is embedded in you." Cas replied, and it made Sam pause, an idea developing in his head.

"What if… What if that's the way to stop him?"

"What do you mean?" Cas asked curiously.

"You and Dean were planning on locking him up in Amara's cage, but the future Chuck showed me, a future where you took on the mark - it wasn't good. Dean had to… Nevermind that now, maybe it wasn't true, but even you have to admit that locking Chuck up within a person would be just as disastrous as it was with Amara." After a few seconds Cas nodded, so Sam continued.

"But what if we break his light up and lock it up individually?"

"That… That might work if we could figure out how to do that. We would need a lot of power to even attempt to break Him down in pieces and…"

"We know where to find it." Sam said. "We know the power of Heaven's and Hell's souls along with the archangels would suffice. Heck, we could even free Amara again, try and get her to help. We sure know the place we might be able to find a spell like that, ingredients, even a spell caster powerful enough to do this." It was funny how a typical political/business quote served so well in this instance, but it was nevertheless still true - information is power. And if you knew what the future holds, then you don't need to bluff your way through, you could go straight to that royal flush with all of your chips in the pot.

But of course, it wasn't that easy. Planning was one thing, but convincing Heaven, Hell, Amara, Rowena and everyone in between to play ball was a whole other matter. It was easier before to gather them all when the threat of Amara's wrath was imminent, but this was going up against God himself. A lot of them might be too scared to act, or too loyal. After another few moments of silence, it was Castiel who finally voiced what was on Sam's mind ever since he visited Hell. "You aren't planning on bringing Lucifer into this, freeing him from the cage, are you?" Clearly, Castiel considered it to be a foolish idea.

"I… I was thinking more like moving him from his current cage to a new one." Sam's words were cryptic, and maybe if Cas had a chance, he would get a clarification, but they were interrupted by the arrival of Dean and Anna.

Sam gave his brother such a bitchface at the sight of the two of them flustered with their hair sticking out everywhere and their clothes rumpled, but what could he expect from this version of Dean? Having sex with an angel in the back of the impala was a good thing to check off the bucket list, and she was certainly eager to have her last wild night on Earth, as Sam remembered.

He was about to make a 'couldn't keep it in your pants' comment when the door of that motel room burst open, black smoke pouring into the room. Fuck. Demons. Hadn't he dealt with them already?

Footsteps echoed around the quiet room as Cas posted himself in front of the bunch, his angel blade slipping out of his sleeve as the demonic smoke twirled around and around. A man in a suit walked in, followed by a girl with short hair, her small frame almost completely covered by the man's broad shoulders. It has been a while since he saw these two wearing the meatsuits in which Sam first met them, the sophisticated dentist and a cute little hitchhiker.

"Alistair. Meg." Sam said, and noticed the slight twitch in Castiel's hand at the mention of Meg's name.

"I was told you had changed and to stay clear of you, but I had to come see for myself. Especially after you completely obliterated our plans simply by showing up." Alistair spat out the words,clearly disgusted by Sam.

"Great, you came, you saw, now you can go back to hell." Sam replied, coming to stand next to Castiel.

"I don't think that's how the quote goes, Samuel. Besides, Meg here has a score to settle, afterall, you did kill her father." Alistair said, with a smirk, then gave a simple head tilt. The smoke cleared, revealing a dozen demons, ready to face them.

Everything happened in a blink of an eye. Sam's first thought was the demon knife and suddenly there the weapon was, right in his hand. At the same time, Cas turned, producing another angel blade from his treancoat. He called out to Anna and Dean to get their attention and then threw his and the spare blade he had to them. In one fluent motion, the angel twirled around, placing his hand on the closest demon's head, smiting him instantly. Dean took only a split second to be awed by the action, and if it weren't for Anna's quick reflexes, the demon would have had him.

Anna moved with the grace of an angel, thrusting the blade from one demon's chest to the other, taking down four of them. Sam managed four too, with a little help from Dean, but Cas took down six easily. Dean took down two before the third one pushed him, the hunter falling and clocking his head on the table, passing out.

That did it.

Two more demons that were in the room were instantly turned to ash as Sam's eyes gave a bright white glow, and if Alistair wasn't so scared, he would have laughed at the irony of both him and Sam having white eyes. But even a demon such as himself could see the difference between his pale gray ones and Sam's bright warm ones.

"I told you to go, but you wouldn't listen." Sam's voice was deeper, a strange echo resonating deep inside his chest, a light so powerful slowly rising to the surface and Sam let it. Alistair 's eyes went wide and he screamed and in the next second he was simply gone, a small line of light smoke dispersed into thin air.

"NO!!!" Meg yelled and charged them, but Cas stepped forth, placing his hand on her head. Sam knew he wouldn't smite her. Instead, he showed her the truth, then forced her out of the girl's body, leaving the real Meg Masters alive and well, albeit unconscious. With a touch of his fingers, the poor girl forgot all that had happened to her and was reported home. Without even asking, Sam knew Cas sent the demon to find a new vessel, a deceased one, and then join them for the fight. Sam knew that she would do just that. Afterall, the angel was her unicorn.

Anna's eyes were wide and fearful when Sam turned to glance at her. His eyes stopped glowing, but he knew she felt the power that radiated from him at that moment. Even Cas gave him a concerned look, but Sam simply nodded, telling him he was okay. While Cas healed Dean and helped him up, Sam waited to see his brother okay holding his breath. He couldn't lose him, even if this Dean wasn't the one he grew old with. But the Dean was fine, smiling and completely amazed by the angel's healing skills. "Look, Sam, even that strange rash I had is gone!"

"Yeah, I'm happy for you, Dean." Sam said, trying to sound annoyed, but the smile on his face gave him away. As much as he missed his brother, he missed this carefree version of him too. But if everything goes to plan, if they succeed, maybe he could build their solid trust back up again, watch Dean grow into a man with a little less baggage on his shoulder and little less scars on his heart.