Author's Note: Look! I knew there was a reason Ember saved Pamela early on! That way I didn't have to explain the complicated stuff Dean actually went through in the series at the beginning of this chapter.

I don't own Supernatural.

***Ember POV***

December 9, Night

They had been over it, again and again, for nearly a month now: Should Dean help Sam recover his soul? Did Sam even care about getting his soul back? What would Sam be like if he continued without a soul? Would Dean ultimately have to kill him?

A week ago, Dean had found out for sure that Crowley was unable to break open the cage, which had been their last hope. Ember had almost hoped that Dean would give up and move on after learning this, but both of them had known that he wouldn't. Truthfully, neither of them liked the idea of Sam's soul spending an eternity in the cage with Lucifer and Michael, but Ember didn't see much hope otherwise.

Dean had come up with one last, desperate hope: to ask Death for help retrieving Sam's soul. He would be using astral projection to be able to speak with Death, which meant he had had to come within a couple of hours of Ember to visit Pamela.

"Please don't tell me it's a bad idea," Dean said as he lay in bed with Ember the night before they attempted the astral projection.

"Dean, you already know it's a bad idea," Ember responded. "But we both know you're going to do it anyway. And I don't even fault you for this one. I really, honestly don't know what the best thing to do here is. Part of me thinks it's a terrible idea, but part of me wishes we'd thought of it a year ago."

Another part of her wondered if all of this discussion about Sam's soul was a distraction from what they really needed to be talking about: the fact that Dean hadn't been home in nearly a month.

-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-

The following Saturday morning, Ember and Dean arrived at Bobby's and discussed their plan with the group at large.

"You what?" Sam asked sharply.

"Just hear me out," Dean said.

"I heard Cas and Crowley when they said it would either kill me or turn me to Jell-O, Dean, I heard enough!" Sam responded heatedly.

"When Pamela sent me as an astral projection, Death told me he can put up a wall," responded Dean.

"A wall?"

"Yes, a wall. It would basically mean that you wouldn't remember Hell."

"Really?" Sam asked.

"Really."

"For good?" Sam asked. "Like a cure?"

"No, it's not a cure…" Dean said. "He said it could last a lifetime."

Sam understood the implications. It could last a lifetime… but it might not."

"Great," Sam said. "You're playing pretty fast and loose with my life here, don't you think, Dean?"

"I'm trying to save your life!" Dean exploded.

"Sam," Ember said. "I know how this works, at least I think I do. It's… it's like when people block things out to avoid trauma, that's all it is. Don't go through a lot of therapy, or a lot of things that could trigger or resemble Hell, and you should be fine. You can live the rest of your life."

"It's my life!" Sam shot back. "It's my soul, and it sure as hell isn't your head that's going to explode when this whole scheme of yours goes sideways!"

Bobby looked between the three of them. "Just curious," he said, standing up slowly, "I presume Death isn't doing this out of the goodness of his heart. So what's your half of the deal?"

"I have to wear the ring for a day," Dean said.

Bobby and Sam looked at him curiously.

"Why the hell would he want you to do that?" asked Bobby.

"To get his rocks off?" Dean asked. "I don't know, but I'm doing it."

Sam headed out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Dean asked.

"Look," Sam replied, "I hear you. I just need a minute to wrap my head around it, alright?"

Dean and Ember gave each other a significant look; neither of them believed him. Sure enough, Sam headed out the door and immediately looked for where Death's ring had (until that morning) been buried. "Looking for this?" Dean asked.

"Just taking a walk," Sam replied.

Ember looked at Dean again, raising her eyebrows. "Sam," he said, "I'm your brother. I'm not gonna let you get hurt. I know what I'm doing here."

"And what if you're wrong?" Sam asked.

"I won't let it go wrong," Dean said.

Sam shook his head, resigned. "Fine," he said.

"Fine?" Dean asked, while Ember looked between the two brothers.

"I'm trusting you here," Sam responded. "Barely."

"You sure?" asked Dean.

"You're the one with the compass, right?" Sam asked. "Just don't mess it up."

"I won't," Dean promised. Then he turned his back on Sam, and as he passed Ember and Bobby, he said in a low voice, "Watch him."

-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-

It would be 24 hours until Dean returned, so Ember and Bobby took shifts. There was never any overt agreement, but when Bobby fell asleep on the sofa, Ember drank some coffee to stay awake. She then pretended to be asleep, waited until Sam headed out, and then became invisible and followed him.

Sam ended up in Bobby's barn. As Ember watched, he began a summoning ritual.

Ember showed herself suddenly, and Sam froze. "Who are you summoning, Sam?"

"Castiel," Sam replied.

"Bullshit," said Ember. "Dean told me all we have to do to get Cas to show up is to pretend we have some sort of angel weapon."

"Fine, you caught me," Sam said, getting up and dusting off his hands. "I was trying to summon Balthazar."

"Balthazar?" Ember said, surprised. "The angel? Why?"

"I figured he might know a way to get my soul back, since Cas won't help."

"I think we should wait for Dean to get back," Ember replied, not entirely believing him.

Sam let out a breath, and seemed to be considering something in his head. Finally he said, "Ember, can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"What do you think's going to happen to me if I get my soul back?"

"You'll be a normal, living, breathing human being," Ember said, and then added, "You'll be my best friend again."

Sam looked unmoved, and Ember couldn't help but feel hurt. She knew Sam had no soul, but she was glad she had stayed home for the past few months; traveling with him like this would truly have broken her heart on a daily basis.

"Ember, Cas and Crowley and everyone else agree that this is a bad idea," Sam insisted. "And when everyone agrees it's a bad idea – when even angels and demons agree – you listen."

"So you're really here to figure out a way to stop what Dean is trying to do."

"Yes. And if you ever were my best friend, you'll help me."

"Sam, I'm gonna be honest with you," Ember said. "You had a much better chance at getting me to go along with this argument two days ago, before Death offered his 'anti-trauma' wall. When it was just a matter of Crowley retrieving the soul and shoving it back in you, you actually had a pretty good chance of getting my help. But like it or not, this plan of Dean's is the best thing we've come up with in a year and a half. So, sorry, but I'm going to have to stop you."

"I don't sleep, and you do," Sam pointed out. He had brought a gun with him, and he fired it at Ember. She had been ready for him, however, and had put up her defenses - the bullet simply bounced off her, and she became invisible again. Bullets, which were made of iron, she could handle; if he came at her with force, however, he was much stronger than her. She would have to stay invisible.

"Not tonight, apparently," Ember grumbled. It was going to be a long night.

-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-

Somewhere around hour 5, Bobby had awoken and managed to shoot Sam in the leg, and Ember had managed to knock him out. They still stood guard, but both were exhausted by the time Dean returned.

"Hi babe, I'm back," said Dean, looking around at the sorry group. "What the hell happened?"

Ember shrugged. "Turns out Sam likes being soulless," she said.

"What'd you do?" asked Dean.

"I shot his ass!" said Bobby bluntly.

"It's barely been 12 hours," Ember pointed out. "What happened?"

Dean looked down, ashamed. "I had to kill a 12-year-old."

Ember went to his side and hugged him. As much as she had been annoyed with him lately, at times like these she remembered exactly why she loved him so much.

"What are we going to do?" she asked him silently.

Currently Sam was in the panic room, unconscious, tied to both ends of a table. Dean looked through the bars in the door, and Ember could feel the desperation radiating from him. "I can't keep doing this," he said. "What are we going to do, tie him up every time he tries to kill someone? That's not gonna hold him, he's-…"

"Capable of anything," Bobby finished, and Ember nodded.

"What am I supposed to do here?"

"I don't know," Bobby said.

Ember detangled herself from Dean and looked up at him. "Well, I, for one, am starving. Dean, is there any chance you can grab us something from the kitchen?"

"Yea,h, okay," Dean said, and disappeared.

Nearly four minutes later, Dean had not returned.

"How long does it take to heat up some pork chops," Bobby said irritably.

Ember sighed, rising slowly. She had been hoping to eat and get some sleep. "I'll go find him. He's probably drowing himself in whiskey."

When she approached the kitchen, however, she could hear voices. One, she recognized with a jolt of her heart, was Death himself. "…But now, I'm going to go to Hell to get your brother's soul."

Ember's heart jumped. What had Dean done? Had he made a deal of some sort? Ember turned invisible, and waited out of sight just around the corner just in case.

"Why would you do that for me?" Dean asked. Well, Ember thought, It doesn't sound like he's made a deal.

"I wouldn't do it for you," Death answered. "You and your brother keep coming back. You're an affront to the balance of the universe, and you cause disruption on a global scale."

Ember had to lean closer to hear, but she thought she heard Dean mumble an apology.

"But you have use," Death said. "Right now, you're digging at something. The intrepid detective. I want you to keep digging, Dean. And you, too, out in the hallway." Ember jumped. Realizing she had been made, she slowly became visible and walked into the kitchen to face Death.

"It's about the souls," Death said. "Both of you have a very big part to play ahead. You'll understand when you need to."

Ember and Dean looked at each other, concerned. "Wait," said Dean. "With Sam… is this wall thing really going to work?"

"Call it 75 percent," said Death, and he was gone.

Ember and Dean took one scared look at each other, then at once raced back to the panic room.

***Castiel POV***

December 13, Morning

Castiel was halfway through recruitment of a dozen new angels to their cause when he heard Dean's prayer: "Please Cas, damn it, show up for once. Don't make me make up a damn weapon to lure you here with. Sam's got his soul back. But he won't wake up."

Castiel thought of several choice swear words in Enochian, but he made his excuses and headed in the direction of the prayers.

Almost immediately, he ran into Ember. He didn't have a second to respond before she flung herself at him. "Cas!" she cried, hugging him. "It's been so long!"

Cas tried to remember the last time he had seen Ember. Had it really been over a year and a half now? It had been before the apocalypse, when she had sent him flying across the room.

She was too close, he thought. One sight of her, one sniff, and everything else – the war, Sam's soul, Raphael – everything flew out of his head. All he could think about was throwing her against the wall and kissing her, like he had a week or so before with the demon called Meg. Damn her demon (and angel) attraction powers!

He extricated himself from her. "I don't understand," he said calmly. "The apocalypse is over, and Lucifer is locked up again. Why is your demon and angel attraction still so strong?"

Ember and Dean both looked at him strangely. "It's… not," Ember said. She stuck her hand out and tried to move him, but he barely felt it. "That's… that's my full power, now."

Castiel tilted his head. "That's odd, then."

"Cas!" Dean interrupted. "My brother!"

"What have you done, Dean?"

Dean explained what had occurred with Death, while Castiel felt Sam's soul.

"Well?" Dean asked, after his explanation and Castiel's investigation were over.

"His soul is in place," Castiel said, rolling up his sleeve.

"Is he ever gonna wake up?" asked Dean.

Castiel was angry now. Sam's soul had been so weak and tortured. It should never have been put back into the body. "I'm not a human doctor, Dean." You better hope he never wakes.

"Could you take a guess?" snapped Dean.

"Okay," Castiel said, turning to face him. "Probably not."

"Oh, well, don't sugarcoat it," Dean said sarcastically. Ember put her arm around him.

"I'm sorry Dean, but I warned you not to put that thing back inside of him," Castiel said, his anger surging again.

"What was I supposed to do?" asked Dean. "Let T-1000 walk around? Hope he doesn't open fire?"

"Let me tell you what his soul felt like when I touched it," said Castiel. "Like it had been skinned alive, Dean." Dean gulped. "If you wanted to kill your brother, you should've done it outright," Castiel finished. And with one last look at Ember, he was gone.

***Dean POV***

December 13, Afternoon

Dean sat down in front of Bobby, at his desk. "Sam still asleep?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah," Dean said.

"He'll wake up," Bobby said.

"Yeah," Dean said.

"Dean," Ember said, coming over to him. "It had to be done, what you did. I honestly believe that. Even if he never wakes up, at least Cas says he's peaceful. At least he's out of the pit."

She was right, and Dean knew it. He would keep fighting… it couldn't be worse than where he was before, no matter what Castiel said.

"Dean?" said a voice from the other side of the room, and all three heads swiveled at once. Sam walked with the heir of someone who wasn't quite sure how they had ended up where they were.

"Sam?" Dean felt similarly disbelieving.

At once, Dean and Sam moved toward each other, and Dean caught the larger man in a hug. He could see, out of the corner of his eye, Ember and Bobby looking wary. He knew that, like him, they were still not sure what to expect.

Sam moved toward Ember, hugging her for all she was worth. "Ember," he said, holding her close. Ember looked at Dean curiously, and Dean shrugged.

Sam hugged Bobby next, who also looked at Dean with a raised eyebrow. "Good to see you," he said. He moved back. "Wait, I saw you – I felt Lucifer snap your neck!"

Ember looked at Dean. Bobby said, "Well, Cas kind of-…"

"Cas is alive?" Sam said, his eyes growing wide.

"Yeah, Cas is fine," Dean said. He was beginning to feel a huge sense of relief. It's going to be okay, he thought. He doesn't remember anything… "Sam, are you okay?"

Sam still looked disbelieving as he looked around at the group. "Actually, um… I'm starving."

As soon as Sam was settled at the table with a beer and a sandwich, Dean asked him, "What's the last thing you remember?"

Sam took a moment to answer. "The field," he said, "And then I fell."

It's over, Dean thought. He doesn't remember. He doesn't need to know about being soulless. It'll be better if he doesn't know everything that happened while he was gone.

"Okay, and then?" Dean asked, just to make sure.

"I woke up in the panic room," Sam said, referring to earlier that day.

"That's it?" said Bobby. "You really don't remember-…"

"Let's be glad," Dean said, cutting Bobby off. "Who wants to remember all that hell?"

"How long was I gone?" Sam asked.

"About a year and a half," Dean answered.

"What?" Sam said, clearly startled. "I was downstairs… I don't remember anything. So how'd I get back? Was it Cas?"

Dean and Ember shared a significant glance. Dean knew Ember wanted him to tell Sam the truth. "Not exactly," said Dean.

Sam glared at his brother. "Dean, what did you do?"

Dean put his beer bottle down, backed into a corner. He had to tell his brother something. "Me and Death-…"

"Death?" Sam exclaimed. "The Horseman?"

"I had leverage," Dean protested. "It's done."

Dean saw Sam look at Ember for confirmation, and she nodded. "It's done."

"You sure?" asked Sam.

"It's over," said Dean. "Slate's wiped."

Bobby rolled his eyes. "Well, isn't this just neat and clean?" he said sarcastically.

"Yes, it is for once," Dean said firmly.

Sam looked suspicious. "Is there anything else I should know?" he asked.

Dean could feel Ember and Bobby glaring daggers at him. "No," he said, shaking his head and doing his best to look sincere. "Another beer?"

"Uh, yeah," Sam said.

Dean got up to get Sam another beer, and he was not surprised to feel Ember smack him on his head as soon as Sam had turned his back. "Moron!" she muttered at him.