Author Note: I have been debating pulling new characters into this story and finally decided that I wanted to! I've been envisioning this chapter in my head for a while, so I hope my vision came together. Thanks for reading :)

I hold my cast in front of my face as I lay in the back of the Impala and sigh loudly. It's only been one week since my run in with Meg, but I'm already so tired of this big clunky cast. I can't sleep comfortably, shoot a gun very well, or even get a shirt on in a timely manner.

"Let's quit the pity party back there." Dean says, laughing quietly to himself. I sit up and lean over the front seat, "Ugh, you're right. Sorry. This is just so annoying." I whine.

Sam takes my casted arm into his hands and smiles at the poorly drawn dog that I told him to draw, his name written underneath. On the other side, Dean attempted to draw a tiny Impala, but it turned out to look more like a blob. It's the thought that counts.

I look out the window, "What did Bobby say again?" I ask. We were headed towards Bobby's house for a visit since we were in the area, but he called to tell us there is a possible case nearby.

Sam looks down at the notes he wrote down while he talked to Bobby, "A local graveyard is thought to be infested with ghouls due to the amount of grave desecrations and disappearances of ground keepers."

I sit back in my seat, "Ghouls, lovely."

We pull into the graveyard just as the sun begins to set. I wrap my jacket around me as I step out into the chilly South Dakota air. Sam wraps his arms around me and gives me a quick kiss before joining Dean at the trunk of the car. The boys and I conceal weapons in our waistbands and Dean fills his green duffel bag with shotguns and other useful items. We are about to set off to search for the ghouls when a groundskeeper emerges from behind a tree and walks towards us.

"Hi folks," he says, "is there anything I can help you with?"

Sam and Dean don't miss a beat, "Yes," Sam says, "we are with a local news station and were wondering if you could show us where the grave desecrations have been happening."

"Yeah," Dean adds, "we're doing a small article about how the community can help stop these horrible acts."

The groundskeeper nods, "Alright, follow me and I'll show you."

I loop my arm through Sam's as we follow the man towards a large tomb. I shiver as we pass through the doors and into the tomb. I look at Sam and then at Dean, "Something feels wrong." I whisper, the hair on my arms standing up. I can tell from both of their expressions that they feel the same way.

The groundskeeper grins at us as the doors behind us slam shut. Dean runs to them and tries to open them, but they are firmly closed. "So nice of you to join us." The man says as two other pale figures emerge from the shadows of the tomb. The three of us brace ourselves for a fight just in time for them to run towards us.

I manage to block a punch from the groundskeeper man with my cast arm, but he is too quick for my reflexes and he punches me hard in the stomach. I gasp, and he uses my moment of weakness to throw me across the tomb. I slide across the floor and hit a stone casket, causing the already teetering lid to slide off the top and pin me to the ground.

I panic and look towards Sam and Dean, but they are also pinned by the ghouls they were fighting. The woman pinning Sam to the wall by his throat speaks, "My, my, looks like we caught ourselves a couple of hunters."

"Let them go!" I shout, trying to wiggle out from beneath the stone lid. The woman looks at me, "Oh. Are these two important to you?" she asks with mock concern.

Dean grunts and struggles to break free from the hold the ghoul has on him. The woman starts to laugh, "I find that hunters are sooo much easier to deal with once they've been put down."

She pulls a knife from inside her jacket and I start to panic and try to free myself even harder. Next to me, Dean does the same, fear flashing across his face. She swings the knife towards Sam as Dean and I both shout, "NO!"

The knife slices into his neck and he falls to the floor while she cackles like a crazy person. My stomach drops, and my ears start to ring as I watch Sam struggle on the floor, holding his hand over his neck. Dean breaks free and reaches for one of the shotguns, anger replacing his fearful expression. He kills the two male ghouls before they even realize what is happening. I finally manage to painfully pull myself out from under the stone and grab a shotgun. The woman tries to run but I shoot her directly in the head and she falls to the ground.

Dean and I rush to Sam's aid and find him unconscious. I pull my flannel over shirt off and push it against the gushing wound on Sam's neck. My eyes are blurry with tears, "Sam!" I shout, "Sammy, come on open your eyes!"

I notice a few tears slip out of Dean's eyes as he shakes Sam's shoulders, "Come on little brother, stay with us." Sam's eyes lazily open but his skin is a disconcerting pale color. I hold the shirt firmly against Sam's neck as his eyes find mine. I can't hold back my tears and they flow freely down my cheeks and onto his chest. He coughs and opens his mouth the speak, "I love you." He says as he cups my face with his hand.

My tears are turning into sobs as I stare into his eyes, "I love you too, but you have to hold on." I look over to Dean, but he looks a million miles away as he watches Sam lay there. "Dean!" I cry, "We have to do something!"

He finally looks up at me with tears streaming down his face. Sam's hand slips from my face and falls to the floor. I look back down at him as his eyes start to close. "No!" I shout at him, "Wake up!" His chest rises and falls one last time, and then he becomes completely still. My sobs become uncontrollable, making it hard for me to breath. "Sam!" I yell, "No! This can't be happening, get up!" I throw myself across his chest and sob into his shirt.

Dean falls backward against the wall and puts his head in his hands, "I failed." He whispers, "I couldn't keep him safe." The ringing returns to my ears, erasing all the noise that surrounds me. I sit next to Sam and hold his hand, willing him to wake up. Dean comes to sit next to me and takes my other hand.

I don't know how long we sit there, but Dean eventually stands up and leaves the tomb. I don't ask where he's going because I can't bear to look away from Sam. I hear the Impala pull up outside and Dean walks back in holding a blanket from the car.

I seem to black out because the next thing I know Dean and I are sitting in the front seat of the car while Sam lays in the back. My tears have momentarily stopped, I must be in shock. I slide across the bench seat towards Dean and he puts his arm around me while we drive down the highway. Neither of us speaks as we drive into the Singer Salvage Yard.

Bobby must hear the car pull up because he comes out the back door as Dean and I get out, "Well this is a surprise!" He says, "I wasn't expecting you until at least to-" He stops short when he sees our tear stained faces. "What happened!" He asks as I take a shaky step forward and burst into tears the second he hugs me to him. "S-Sam i-is d-d-dead!" I wail against his chest.

I dampen a washcloth and make my way back into the living room where Sam lays on the couch. I uncover his face and use the washcloth the clean up the dried blood from his face and neck. I fix his hair and pull up a chair next to the couch. Dean and Bobby are both on the phone trying to find a way to bring Sam back. I look at his peaceful face and take a shaky breath as fresh tears spring to my eyes. "What am I supposed to do now?" I whisper, "You're my favorite person in the whole world, and now you're just… gone."

I catch a glimpse of the ring on my finger. "This isn't how it was supposed to be." I cry, "We were just starting out, we had our whole lives ahead of us!" I pick up his hand, "I don't know how to live without you, I love you too much."

I look over at Bobby's desk and notice a small wooden box sitting on top of a stack of books. A thought pops into my head and I walk over to pick it up. I frantically search for some other items and then slip out the back door before Bobby or Dean notice me leaving.

I walk a couple miles before I find what I am looking for; a crossroads. I walk into the center and sit on the ground with the box in my lap. I forgot to grab a shovel, so I painfully dig into the hard ground with my fingernails. I eventually dig a hole deep enough for the box to fit, but fear runs through me as I lower the box into the ground. I pull my knees up to my chest and stare at the box as the sobs return. I think about what Sam would say to me if he knew what I was doing.

I sob for what feels like hours before I hear a car pull up in front of me and then Dean yelling, "Maddy!" I look up at him and see the panic on his face. He kneels in front of me and grabs my shoulders, "Please tell me you didn't make a deal!" he yells. My face scrunches up and I shake my head and he releases a breath of relief.

He sits next to me and pulls the box out of the ground while I wipe my eyes. He stares into the hole, "I don't know what to do." He says, "I feel… empty." I look over at his vacant expression and take one of his hands in mine, "Neither do I, none of this feels real." I look at my ring, "Everything was fine this morning. We were all laughing."

Dean just nods his head, obviously thinking about what he could have done differently. I look down at the drawing on my cast and say a silent prayer, more to myself than anyone else. "Please." I say in my head, "Help us get through this. Help us either find a way to bring Sam back, or help us live with this loss." I feel more tears coming but I force them down, "Sam doesn't deserve this."

We sit in silence for a couple more minutes before a deep voice speaks from behind us, "Hello."

Dean and I both jump up, I step back, accidentally tripping in the hole, and fall onto my back. I scramble onto my feet and Dean and I both stare at the stranger in front of us. "Who the hell are you!" Dean shouts, stepping protectively in front of me.

He stares back at us, "I am Castiel, and I am an angel of the Lord."