Notes: This is just a story with Nephil Dean. The Michael/Dean version is posted on ao3. There aren't enough Dean with powers fics in general so I decided to write one. Enjoy!
Part One
Nothing good ever happened on Tuesdays - especially if your name began with 'D' or 'S' and ended with 'Winchester'. Sam could attest to that.
The day started out normal enough. Sam woke up at seven to the alarm on his phone - no ASIA's Heat of the Moment, thank god. He groaned and rolled onto his side, hoping the alarm would just stop or his phone would die. Of course neither happened and he was stuck listening to the damn thing for a few minutes before he realized he had no choice but to greet the world.
Once he turned the alarm off, he went to the bathroom to grab a quick shower, glancing over to the other bed on his way. Empty. As usual. Dean would've been still sleeping, probably would've complained about Sam's shrill alarm and tossed a pillow at him. He reached the bathroom door and gripped the handle tight enough to hurt. Dean's often in his thoughts even months after his brother's death.
Sam shook his head, trying to clear it before he could linger on Dean. He's dead and there was nothing he could do. He headed into the bathroom.
By nine AM, Sam's showered, shaved and dressed in a clean black tee and nice looking dark blue jeans. He quickly threw on his jacket and grabbed his duffel bag and headed for the door. He gave the motel room a quick once over before leaving, not wanting another reminder that he had just finished a hunt alone.
By nine thirty he was in the driver's seat of the Impala and starting up his older brother's beloved Baby. It still felt strange, out of place, for him to be seated behind the wheel. He'd find his gaze drifting to the passenger seat, the seat he normally occupied, the one that was currently empty. He hesitated before reaching to turn the radio on. He imagined Dean sitting beside him, that trademark grin on his face as he said, "Heya, Sammy."
Sam felt his fingers start to tremble as he thought about Dean.
The radio blared out, "This one goes out to the man who mines for miracles."
Sam jolted from his thoughts.
Bon Jovi's voice echoed in the car. "This one goes out to the ones in need." Sam sat frozen for a minute, listening to the lyrics. "This one goes out to the sinner and the cynical."
A quick flash. Dean looking at Sam with a huge grin on his face. Sam looking back skeptically. "Really, Dean? Bon Jovi?"
"This ain't about no apology."
"Bon Jovi rocks. On occasion," Dean had said. "Come on, Sammy."
"This road was paved by the hopeless and the hungry. This road was paved by the winds of change. Walking beside the guilty and the innocent. How will you raise your hand when they call your name?"
Sam took a deep breath and turned the radio off.
Dean's not here.
The image of Dean wavered. "Really, Sam? I'm right here."
Dean's not here.
His smile looked a little more broken.
Dean's not here, Sam chanted in his head.
Dean disappeared.
"But I still am," he murmured to himself before peeling out of the parking lot.
At noon, Sam found a small diner in some podunk town in the middle of Nebraska. He ordered a salad and a glass of water. His phone rang half an hour in. The caller ID simply read "Ruby". Sam answered it immediately. "Hello?"
"Hey, Sam," Ruby said.
Hearing the familiar sultry voice of the demon again has Sam rubbing his right wrist nervously. It has definitely been a while since Ruby let him drink. He hesitated for a moment, checking around the crowded diner for prying eyes. "Um, hey, so when are you swinging by?"
He didn't miss the little chuckle from the other side of the phone. He told himself he didn't care what Ruby thought of him and his need for demon blood. It's been hard without Dean around and Sam had to find ways to cope. Besides demon blood made him stronger. Dean wanted him to survive and this was to ensure not only his survival but to ultimately achieve his goal, which was killing Lilith. It was the next best thing other than bringing Dean back from hell, which he had tried and failed to do.
Yes it went against Dean's wishes. He was definitely still using his powers but his brother was dead now. It didn't matter. He was doing this for Dean.
"You really need it that bad, don'tcha, Sammy?" Ruby asked.
Sam ignored the nickname. Only Dean gets to say that, he thinks.
Then.
Dean's not here.
"It's Sam. And you know the answer to that question," Sam growled. He hadn't finished his salad yet but suddenly he wasn't hungry anymore. He stood up and dug out a few crumpled bills and tossed them onto the table. Ruby's quiet for a minute longer than Sam would have liked. "Where are you? I'll come to you then."
He heard a little sigh on the other end. "Look, Sam, I told you the deal. I come to you when I think you need it. I think you'll be fine just a little longer. Don't you still have some blood stashed somewhere?"
No he didn't. He'd used the last of it a week ago. He mumbled, "No. It's all gone." He left the diner. "Why can't you come by?"
There's a small pause. "I have some…things to take care of." Sam frowned. He didn't like the vague answer.
"What kind of things?"
Ruby didn't answer.
Sam's frown deepened. He's in the Impala again. "Ruby, come on," he said.
Ruby sighed. "Important things, Sam. I can't tell you just yet." Sam snorted. Of course. Even though they've been together since Dean's death, there was so much that Sam felt like Ruby was keeping from him. Typical demons. "There's something big that's going to go down." Huh. That, of course, caught his attention.
He straightened up. "What kind of something?"
Another pause. Sam's tense, ready to demand Ruby to just freaking tell him what was going on or fuck off. Then the demon sighed again. "I don't know." Her voice was shaky. Huh. That was new. Ruby was always calm and collected. For her voice to be this affected, it really was something big. Sam didn't like it. "I don't know, 'kay? No one's saying anything. But it's like a sense, like I can feel it in my bones, Sam. Something big is going down and it's going down soon. I just called to check up on you."
Right. Sam blinked. None of what Ruby was telling him was making him feel any better.
His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts.
What could possibly make demons like Ruby scared like this?
Was it Lilith? Was she getting stronger?
But that couldn't be right. She'd tell him if it had anything to do with Lilith.
Then what? Another demon? Something more powerful than Lilith?
Or maybe it was something else, something that wasn't a demon.
He must have taken too long to answer because next thing he knew, Ruby was calling his name. He blinked. "Uh, sorry."
"Right. Sure. Anyways, I was just saying that I have to go now. We'll meet up next week for sure, okay?"
He wanted to groan. Ruby was making him wait another week? "Sure. Okay," he mumbled. He needed it now though. He clenched his fingers, feeling the nails biting into his skin. He ignored the sting.
"Oh, and Sam," Ruby's voice rang in his ear, "be careful."
"You too," Sam said.
Ruby hung up.
Sam sat in the Impala just staring out the window for a while. He wished with all his heart that Dean was here with him. Dean would have known what to do. He always did.
He blinked. A tear rolled down his cheek. "Fuck," Sam said and wiped it away.
I can't keep doing this, Dean. I don't know how.
He watched his reflection in the rearview mirror. He looked a little tired and broken.
An image of Dean bloody and lifeless in his arms flashed in front of his eyes.
Lilith's shrill laughter in the background.
"You've got nothing now, Sammy. You're just a broken little boy playing pretend. Give up already. Your mommy's dead. Your daddy's dead. Now your precious brother is dead. You lost, boy."
Something inside Sam pulsed.
Was he really going to give up? Let Lilith win? After what she did to Dean?
He knew exactly what he had to do now.
He gripped the wheel.
He had to get stronger.
At one PM, Sam was on the road again.
He was crossing the state border by four.
It was just a little past that when he saw it - the strange white light that seemed to encompass everything for miles.
Sam slammed on the brakes.
xxxx
It was exactly 4:07 PM when Michael finished creating Dean Winchester's body molecule by molecule.
A minute later, Dean's body sent out a pulse of white light.
The signal that the Righteous Man lived once more.
xxxx
Dean Winchester woke up in a small pine box on a Tuesday.