Here it is, finally. The very last chapter. This story was a surprise even for me, it turned out way differently than I originally planned. Anyway, thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed it. As usual, I'm glad you chose to take this ride with me.

Chapter 13

Mielikki's announcement left them all stunned. They all looked at Dean, as if expecting to see some signs that Mielikki was telling the truth – or, maybe hoping against hope that she was wrong. Dean himself did not seem too surprised by the words. He merely shrugged.

"Good to know we can put a timeline to this thing," he quipped.

"It's not funny, Dean," Sam said sharply.

Dean snorted.

"No, maybe it's not. But what can you do?"

"We have to hurry," Castiel said. "It will take us ten minutes to design a sigil strong enough to keep Lempo contained before we trap him inside the locket."

"Hold on a second," Ketch protested. "We still do not know what sigil to use."

"Well, just pick one at random," Sam snapped.

Ketch rolled his eyes.

"If we choose a sigil that is not strong enough Lempo will wipe the floor with us and then have us for breakfast."

Sam shrugged.

"Yeah. So? He might do that he might not. We don't know for certain. What we do know is that Dean's dying. That's a fact. I'm willing to take any risks necessary."

"I'm sure there are people out there who swoon over your whole codependency-fueled "let the whole world burn" attitude, but unfortunately for you, I'm not one of them," Ketch said tightly. "I have absolutely no desire to be killed by an enraged pagan deity just to give Dean here a fighting chance."

"I'm hurt, Ketch," Dean quipped. "Here I thought you'd started to give a damn."

"I can keep Lempo busy," Mielikki said. "I can lead him to your trap, too. It won't be without risks, but I stand a better chance than the rest of you."

The others eyed her suspiciously.

"And, this help," Elias said cautiously. "Will it come with strings attached?"

Mielikki's smile was slightly wistful.

"No strings," she said. "Not this time. Not to any of you."

"And, when this is over," Dean said, taking one step ahead, "Will you consider things squared with Sam, too? No more favors from him and all that?"

"Dean…" Sam began warningly, as if to show that his relationship with Mielikki was not supposed to be a priority just then.

Dean ignored him, his eyes fixed on Mielikki. She nodded.

"Sam Winchester helped me escape from Lempo's prison. And then he decided to free me from Piru's also. I think we're even."

Dean watched her carefully, as if to spot any hint of deception. In the end, he seemed satisfied. He turned to the others.

"That's settled then. Let's get to work."

While the others were working on the sigils, Dean pulled Sam aside. He tried to catch his brother's eye, but Sam kept his head bent. Dean cleared his throat.

"Hey, listen," he began, but Sam stopped him with a quick, almost frantic shake of his head.

"Don't, Dean. Just don't. I don't want to hear your usual death speech about how it'll be fine and I can do this and…and all the other things you've said so many times before. I never could handle them."

Dean was silent for a time. He reached out and clutched Sam's shoulder and felt Sam tremble.

"I shouldn't have made that challenge to Lempo," Sam muttered in self-disgust. "I should have known it would backfire. It's my fault."

"Hey, we're the ones who pulled you back," Dean pointed out reasonably. "Blame us for crappy timing."

Sam huffed.

"I don't blame you. Never did – not really. Not for long."

Dean shook his head. They were getting dangerously close to too much. He shook Sam's shoulder slightly.

"All I wanted to say is, we're going to beat this, Sammy. Both of us. We just have to hang on a little longer, right?"

Sam did look up then, suspicion mingling with that inherent trust he always had for his brother and Dean had to fight hard not to look away.

"Is that a promise/" Sam asked.

Dean hesitated.

"It's as much of a promise as I can make it."

It was all that Dean had to give. But watching Sam's face light up he realized nothing more was actually required of him.

xxxXXXXxxxx

It took them ten minutes to set up the sigils to summon and trap Lempo. They were all working quickly and efficiently, aware that every second counted, but also knowing that one mistake in what they were doing could be fatal for all of them. Ketch was still grumbling. He did not like that they had to move so fast and had no qualms in letting everyone know about this. Ole agreed with him wholeheartedly.

"This is the most reckless thing I've ever done," Ole muttered.

"Are you including your deal with Piru?" Sam shot.

"Piru and Lempo are not the same," Ole stated. "Piru was fond of people in his own way. He only harmed those he thought deserved to be harmed. He made pacts and stuck to them. But Lempo…if this goes wrong and Lempo somehow becomes more powerful, we're all dead. And probably the world won't be the same after this, either. Are you willing to risk that, Sam?"

Sam smiled darkly.

"You really don't know me if you're asking me this question. I'm ready to risk everything. Do you understand that?"

He moved away from Ole, pretending not to notice Dean's concerned eyes on him. He did not want to give his brother any explanation – not yet. Dean would find out his own plan at the same time as the others. He was not going to be pleased with Sam, but at least he was going to be alive to be pissed. Dean had been right, Sam thought. He was going to make it. Because Sam had his own plan of ensuring that he did.

xxxxXXXXxxx

Everything was set in motion. Sam and Dean were standing in front of the place where Lempo was supposed to appear, with Mielikki between them. The others waited at a safe distance. Dean had actually tried to get them out of the room completely, but none of them agreed – except for Ole, who had to be in the room for the summoning to work.

"Face it, Dean," Helmi said. "That's my living room you'll be desecrating. I've got a right to be there."

There was not much time for them to keep arguing, otherwise Dean would have kept insisting. He did not think it was wise to have that large an audience when Lempo was summoned. If this went wrong, those that survived would have Lempo's attention probably forever. Dean did not want something like that on his conscience.

"Let's get this over with," Sam said, and his tone showed that he would accept no more delays. "We're short on time as it is."

Forty minutes, Dean thought. He had not felt time running out so quickly since he had made the deal for Sam's life all those years ago. It was a strange feeling, to know that he had only forty minutes to live. Well, if things went wrong, that was. Right now, they were all pretending that things could not go wrong.

Ole began a low guttural chant. They had lit candles all around the room and arranged them in intricate patterns. As Ole's song went on, the candles were extinguished, one by one. the curtains in the living room started moving in a cold wind. Dean shivered. He glanced at Sam and noticed his face was pale.

Soon, there was only one candle burning in the room. Ole fell silent. They were all waiting now, not daring to speak, half afraid of what the next few minutes would bring. Only Mielikki looked unconcerned. But, then again, Lempo would probably not harm her no matter how this went.

The candle flickered slightly, leaving the room in complete darkness for a few seconds. When it started burning strongly once again, Lempo was standing in front of them. He smirked when he caught sight of the ones who summoned him.

"I should have expected this," he muttered. "Hello, Mielikki. Glad to see you made out of Piru's jail by yourself. I was going to free you, of course, when I heard of Piru's death."

"And toss me in your own jail cell instead?" Mielikki challenged.

Lempo shrugged.

"That would have depended on whether you were willing to cooperate with me or not. Although, considering your current choice of company, I think I'm right not to trust you."

"You can stop this, Lempo," Mielikki tried. "Just…leave Dean Winchester alone and forget whatever plans you might have for world domination or whatever you think you want to do. For hundreds of years we've all been content with what we had. We don't need to rule the world, Lempo."

Lempo shrugged.

"You might not. Maybe I've grown power hungry in my old age. Maybe I was always ambitious and there were just too many obstacles in my way. Obstacles that aren't there anymore. Thanks to the Winchesters, mostly. Really, I should be grateful."

"Then stop whatever you're doing to Dean," Sam said. "And reverse it."

Lempo cast him a scathing look.

"You dare speak to me, Samuel? You dare to ask me for favors? You double crossed me. We had an agreement. You challenged me and I was ready to take the challenge. And then you backed out."

Sam shook his head.

"I didn't back out. I swear I wanted to go through with the challenge. I had no idea they were going to pull me out of Tuonela. How could I?"

"He's right," Elias spoke. "We were the ones who made the decision to get him out. We had no idea what was happening."

Lempo glanced at Elias then at Mielikki. He chuckled.

"Well, well," he muttered. "Now I know why you're so involved in this, Mielikki. Don't worry. My quarrel is with the Winchesters. It's personal for me. But I don't want anything from the rest of you so, if you behave, you should be fine. As for you two," he added, turning to Sam and Dean. "I'm not going to make the same mistake everyone seems to do with you. You're dangerous. I'm eliminating the competition, boys. As long as you're here, I'm not safe."

"Is that why you set up a time bomb in me?" Dean asked through clenched teeth. "Because you're afraid of us?"

Lempo shook his head.

"No, Dean. I wanted to kill you quickly. Thank your brother for the time bomb. He's the one who struck a bargain for your life and then got back on his word. Such actions have to be punished, don't you think, Dean?"

They were running out of time. The minutes were ticking by and they were wasting them arguing with Lempo. No doubt, that was what Lempo wanted. Sam took a step forward.

"Wait," he said. "You're doing this all wrong."

He could sense Dean's worried eyes on him. His brother would catch on with what Sam wanted to do and he would no doubt try to stop him. But this was between him and Lempo now. He only hoped that Lempo would see it that way.

"How am I doing it all wrong, Sam?" Lempo asked, sounding vaguely intrigued.

"We never set a deadline for that challenge," Sam argued. "Technically, it could happen now, can't it? You're here, I'm here. We could fight."

"Sam," Dean began warningly.

Sam gave a swift shake of his head. His eyes were fixed on Lempo.

"What do you say? I still challenge you. We fight here. The terms remain the same. I win, you let Dean alone."

"And if you lose, both you and Dean die," Lempo said. "Do you have so much confidence in your abilities, Samuel?"

He didn't, he never had. But Lempo did not need to know that.

"I'm plenty motivated," Sam said. "And you don't know half the lengths I'm willing to go to when my brother's life is at stake."

"Sam," Dean repeated. "Sam that wasn't the plan…"

Lempo snorted.

"Technically, that was the plan. And you wouldn't even have known about it until Samuel won – or lost. Unfortunately, I'm not in the mood for such games anymore. I don't trust you. I'm sure you have a hidden agenda. Am I right?"

He glanced at the others as if trying to determine what was in their minds. Then he turned to Dean.

"How're you doing? How long do you have? Half an hour? Maybe less? I bet you're really not feeling well right now, however much you're trying to pretend you're all tough and unaffected about all this."

Dean shook his head as if to dispel the dizziness surrounding him. He said nothing, though, not wanting to give Lempo the satisfaction.

"I think we should stop playing games," Ketch said. "You need to be stopped. And we're here to stop you. Whatever it takes."

"Let me guess," Lempo said. "Men of Letters, right? What makes you think you can kill me?"

"No one said anything about killing you," Sam said. "There are plenty of other ways to stop you, without killing you."

"And to stop what I'm doing to Dean, I suppose. Sorry, Samuel. It's not as easy as you think. If I step a foot out of this trap, you're all dead."

"You can't step a foot outside the trap," Castiel said. "It's not only the sigils that keep you there, it's Ole himself. It was the safest summoning ritual we could find."

"I know all about that," Lempo said. "It's an old shaman trick. He's binding himself to me to keep me in this place until one of you, possibly Mielikki, maybe one of the Winchesters decides to move in and do whatever it is you plan to do with me. Seriously, Castiel, did you imagine I would sit by and let you work? If Mr. Ole has bound himself to me then technically it goes both ways. So I can do whatever I want to him."

He turned to look at Ole. The old man gasped suddenly clutching his heart. Helmi reached out to catch him as he fell to his knees.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "Let him go!"

"Certainly," Lempo said pleasantly.

Ole gasped again and fell to the ground, motionless. Helmi reached out to him then drew her hand back in horror.

"He's dead! You killed him."

"I had to," Lempo said. "He was keeping me in place."

He stepped over the sigils, grinning slightly.

"Now," he said. "Which of you wants to face me on equal terms?"

Mielikki lifted her hand as if to ward him. Lempo staggered backwards a few steps, but held his ground.

"You're no fighter, Mielikki," he hissed. 'We both know that."

He raised his own hand. Mielikki stood her own ground for a while, but she was no match for Lempo. He slammed her into the far wall, looking faintly regretful that he had to use violence against her.

The room started to shake. A bookshelf fell and a table was overturned. Objects were flying everywhere. Castiel and Ketch led Elias and Helmi outside, to safety. Castiel turned to dash back in the room, when Ketch grabbed him.

"What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" he shouted. "You can't go back in there!"

Castiel wrenched himself free.

"I can't let Sam and Dean face this alone," he protested.

"Yes, you bloody well can," Ketch insisted. "You saw what Lempo's capable of. Safety in numbers doesn't matter with him. You won't help the Winchesters if you go back in there. You'll only die with them."

"Good," Castiel said bluntly, heading back for the room.

The door had slammed shut. When Castiel tried to burst in, it wouldn't open, something was blocking it. Lempo had succeeded in isolating the brothers from their support system.

Back in the room, Lempo tilted his head at the wreckage, smirking slightly.

"I hope Ms. Jokinen won't mind a little remodeling," he commented. "I'm sure she'll be grateful I allowed her to escape with her life. Do you think she'll be grateful, boys? Not that it matters. I've got you two exactly where I wanted – just me and you to settle the score."

"Lempo, it's me you have a beef with," Sam said. "I'm the one who backed out of that challenge. Deal with me and let Dean alone."

"Oh, I'll leave Dean alone," Lempo promised. "In about ten-fifteen minutes. He'll be dead by then."

Sam saw red then. He did not know what was in his mind. Only that he had to get Lempo close to the locket. He knew that was the only way he could save Dean. He had to see their plan through. Ole had taught him the brief incantation that would trap Lempo forever, just in case he would be unable to say the words himself. But Lempo needed to be close to the locket, which was now lying on the floor on the other side of the room. Lempo probably had not guessed its significance yet. Otherwise he would have probably smashed it to bits.

Sam rushed Lemp, trying to grab him. Lempo reached out to him and before Sam could twist away, Lempo's hands were at his throat. The touch burned and froze at the same time. It reminded Sam all too much of Lucifer' touch. For a moment, he nearly lost himself. When he came to himself, he was on his knees, while Lempo was chocking him.

"The only reason I'm not killing you outright is because I decided Dean goes first," Lempo hissed. "While you get to watch, of course."

There was a deafening bang and Lempo staggered. He turned to face Dean who was swaying on the spot, his gun in his hand. He shot again. Lempo swayed, but remained on his feet.

"You're just irritating me, you know that?" Lempo said. "You can't harm me that way."

"How about you come here and face me, then," Dean said through clenched teeth.

Lempo shook his head.

"Very soon there'll be nothing to face. You'll be just a corpse, Dean. And then so will Sam. In a way, I'm sorry. You made fine adversaries. I would have liked to prolong the game."

Dean squinted at Lempo. He blinked, as if to clear the fog in front of his eyes. Lempo nodded knowingly.

"It's happening, isn't it? You're so close to death, you can almost feel it."

Dean raised his gun once again, even as he fell to his knees. He didn't want for it to end this way. He did not want to leave Sam alone and unprotected with Lempo, to leave his allies outside with one of their messes to fix. He could not go like that. As a final act of defiance, he shot at Lempo again, making him stagger, although he remained standing. Dean dropped the gun, knowing he would die like that, with Lempo gloating over him, Sam witnessing the whole thing.

It was then that he noticed something else. Lempo was standing quite close to the fallen locket now.

"Sam," he called hoping to draw his brother's attention.

If there was no hope for him, then there was for Sam – and for the rest of the world. If they got rid of Lempo, then Dean could at least be at peace about that.

Sam had noticed it too. He staggered up, still dizzy after Lempo's attack. He was muttering the words that would lock Lempo forever. He knew instantly when Lempo had figured out what he was doing. He saw the horror on Lempo's face, the knowledge that there was nothing to be done now, that his enemies had bested him, had won despite his efforts to eliminate them.

There was a blinding light and something that sounded like an explosion. The force sent Sam on his knees. When the roaring in his ears faded and he could finally see once more, there was no trace of Lempo anywhere. The locket was lying a few paces from where it had fallen. It was close and there was smoke coming from it. It was over. Lempo was gone. He was trapped.

"Dean," Sam muttered, staggering up and dashing towards where his brother lay, unmoving.

He fell to his knees and put his hand on Dean's chest. He could not feel his brother breathing, could not feel his heart beating. Sam shook his head frantically, denial nearly suffocating him. It could not be. He would not be able to bear it if they had defeated Lempo only for him to lose Dean anyway. He shook his brother, willing him to come back.

"No," Sam gasped. "Not now. Not after we've won. Don't you there go like this, Dean, you hear me? Don't you dare!"

He thought he could hear Castiel break down the door. The others rushed in the room, but Sam did not care about them. His world was only Dean at that moment and he was afraid his world was about to end before his eyes.

Then Dean gasped suddenly and woke up coughing and spluttering. He lay there, panting, trying to catch his breath, slightly confused to find himself lying on the floor with Lempo nowhere in sight. Sam bowed his head on Dean's chest, suddenly too exhausted to face the world anymore. All that mattered was that Dean's heart was beating strong and steady. They had won.

xxxXXXxxxx

Sam was sure this was going to become yet another of those things they never talked about. Dean acted as if he did not really remember the last moments of the fight with Lempo, or anything after until he woke up in their guestroom, with Sam standing at the window, looking as if he was not sure if anything around him was real. They had not talked much when Dean had woken up, exchanging only the important news: Lempo was trapped, Ole was dead, Mielikki had turned out to be fine and had left goodness knew where, but she had assured Sam they were more than even now, so she would not be looking for him for more favors. Helmi and Elias were fine and both ready to get back to their own lives. All in all, the news was good.

Dean had rested for a day, then had made true on his promise and had dragged Sam to every possible museum he could find. Sam had been surprised but pleased and had decided not to look gift horses in the mouth. Dean was alive and willing to do "nerd stuff" with him without much teasing, so Sam told himself he should be grateful. In fact, he was so grateful that he had managed to find a classic cars exhibition and took Dean to it. The bright look on his brother's face was worth the hours of complete boredom that followed.

Two days before they were supposed to go back to the States, Sam suggested camping. Dean had grumbled, but then Sam had reminded him that whenever one of them wanted to do some stargazing, they only had to tell the other. So Dean agreed to go. Helmi lent them her camping gear and Elias had told them about a secret spot he usually went to when he needed to unwind. No one would bother them there.

So here they were now, sitting at a campfire with the cold night all around them. Sam wanted to talk, but he had no idea how Dean would receive his confessions.

"So," he began. "How're you doing?"

Dean cast him a blank look. Sam cleared his throat and ploughed on:

"I mean, after Lempo and all that…no aftereffects?"

"You know there aren't," Dean pointed out. "Cas is sure that whatever curse Lempo had cast on me was broken the moment you trapped him. Good timing, by the way."

Sam shuddered. It had not been good timing at all. It had been too late. Dean had been dying.

"I could have been faster," he said. "I was sure you wouldn't wake up. I was sure…this time…"

"Sam," Dean interrupted him firmly, but with less impatience than Dean had expected. "We're not doing this."

Sam nodded quickly.

"Right," he said tightly. "Of course not. What was I thinking? We never do this."

"Right," Dean agreed. "It's not healthy."

Sam snorted.

"Talking is not healthy for you, Dean?"

"It's not productive," Dean replied. "I mean – what's there to say? So I nearly died. Again. I'm getting used to it."

"I'm not," Sam said quietly.

Dean cast him a concerned glance, but Sam was not looking at him.

"You know, when I got to Tuonela," Sam began, "When we were separated, I saw things. The stuff I can't let go of. My greatest mistakes. I saw Ruby…"

Dean shifted.

"Sam," he began, but Sam interrupted him.

"No, wait, Dean. I've gotta say this. I saw Ruby. And I saw Lucifer. And I saw you."

Dean frowned.

"Me," he repeated.

Sam nodded quickly.

"The you I pushed away all my life. The you I rejected because I thought you were holding me back or keeping me from a normal life or…or having too much control over me. The you I could never ask for forgiveness."

"Sam," Dean tried again. "Sam, you don't have to…"

"I do, actually," Sam said. "I've done a lot of crap to you, Dean."

Dean scrubbed a hand over his face.

"And I've done a lot of crap to you. I'd say we're even. Anyway, why are we talking about this? Haven't we agreed to put it all behind us?"

They've actually agreed to bury their past mistakes and not talk about them again. But Sam had never been able to stop thinking of them.

"I suppose we have," he said quietly, knowing Dean would want him to drop it.

Dean sighed heavily.

"Sam, I'm not saying some of the things between us weren't hard," he said. "I'm not saying there aren't things I find hard to get over – just I'm sure you're having a hard time getting over some of the things I've done to you, right?"

Sam hesitated. Dean's tone had been earnest and non-judgmental, though. It was probably safe to admit the truth.

"I guess," he mumbled.

"Good," Dean said quickly. "Cause I wouldn't ask you to. But Sam, whatever was before – it led us to now. And now – now I'm good. I'm good about where I am. And…and I'm glad you're here with me now. And that's enough for me, Sam."

Sam turned to look at Dean, watching his face carefully to spot something untruthful there. But no, Dean had to be telling the truth. Sam had been the discontented one. the one aiming for something out of his reach, sometimes forgetting what he had beside him. It took him half a lifetime to realize what he had beside him was actually the only thing he wanted. He cleared his throat.

"It's enough for me, too, Dean," he said.

Dean looked slightly surprised at that. Then, he grinned.

"Thanks, Sammy," he said.

He must have realized they were getting dangerously close to excessive mushiness and he was never comfortable with that. He snickered, shaking his head.

"Don't know what it says about us that we find freezing our asses somewhere in the Finnish wilderness enough at our age, but I suppose if it works, it works."

Sam said nothing. He wanted to tell Dean how at peace he was. How after Tuonela and what he had seen there he had reached some sort of acceptance. How this night was all he needed and he did not care about anything, past or future. But some things could never be put into words. He bumped his shoulder into Dean's.

"Hey," he said. "Thanks for coming with me. When Mielikki came to the Bunker for the third favor – thanks for insisting to remain by my side."

Dean clutched his shoulder briefly.

"Nowhere else I would have wanted to be," he said.

I had to end it on a mushy note, otherwise it wouldn't have been me ;)

Funny little thing, I'm always sure when I begin a story it's gonna be the last, but then I get three other ideas that demand to be written. So tune in next week. I might have something new.