Thank you so much SamGirlDeanCurious for beta'ing and VegasGranny and Ncsupnatfan for pre-reading.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The ground began to shake as if in the throes of an earthquake and rip opened in the floor, revealing a red chasm that glowed with a fiery red light.

Dean just stared at it, numb to everything, not moving when the rip reached his feet and his feet rocked, almost unbalancing him. He knew what they rip was and where it would lead, and for a moment, he thought about allowing himself to fall in. He would be in Hell again, and that was an old nightmare, but he would be with Sam. Didn't his brother deserve him to come?

He tilted forwards and hands wrapped around his chest, dragging him back, and Jack's voice spoke in his ear, "No, Dean!"

His heels scraped the floor as he was pulled to the very edge of the room, still trapped in Jack's grip, and his eyes found the door as a high wind ripped through it and the black clouds of smoke funneled in and poured into the hole in the floor. There seemed to be a distant scream coming from them.

Around him people moved, voices shouted, calling to each other. The other Dean dragged his father's body back from the hole and the other Castiel yanked Ruby's chair against the wall when she shows signs of toppling inside, too. Sam shielded Jessica from the demons, though they showed no signs of moving out of the formation that poured into the hole.

Dean watched it all happened dispassionately, an emotionless observer.

After what felt like forever, the shaking on the floor seemed to slow, and the demons pouring past them thinned until they could see individual demons. The last to pour in was red smoke that Dean watched go with a twitch of his head: it was Crowley.

The hole didn't seal slowly. As Crowley disappeared through it, it snapped shut and they perfect lines on the devil's trap met unbroken again.

The first words to reach him were this world's Sam's, and he sounded stunned. "It's over."

"Yes," his brother agreed, his voice heavy. "It's done. He did it." He lowered his father's body tenderly to the floor and said, "We need to take care of Dad. A pyre."

Red hot fury rushed through Dean's veins, breaking through the merciful numbness, and his hands fisted. "A pyre? My brother is trapped in Hell and you're thinking about a corpse! You saw what he did. He knew where Sam was when he finished it. He did that to Sam and you want to burn him now."

"Dean," Jessica said softly. "he was their father."

"He was a bastard!" Dean bellowed.

The other Dean leaped to his feet and stalked towards him; his hands fisted. Dean welcomed him. Let him try to throw a punch. He would be battered and bleeding in second. He hadn't been the one that did this, it had been John, but he was someone that Dean could vent his frustrations on, pour some of his anger into.

Jack released him and Dean took a step forward, but before his counterpart could reach him, Jack had thrown out his arms the other Dean, Sam, Jessica, and Castiel were thrown back by a blast of golden light that knocked them back to collide against the walls. Ruby, still bound to her chair, was knocked over her head hit the floor hard, though she still laughed.

The other Sam licked his lips and said, "He did what he had to do."

"He trapped my brother in Hell!" Dean shouted. "He didn't have to do that. He could have waited. We could have gotten Sammy out first. He was heartless, evil. He knew what he was doing, and he did it anyway. If he wasn't already dead, I would kill him for it.

The other Dean tried to get to his feet and was knocked down again. He glowered and said, "You shut your mouth. My father was a damn hero."

"He was a monster. My brother was a hero. He gave up everything to come here and help you and look what happened to him."

"He was a hero," Jessica agreed. "And we'll never forget what he did for us, what you all did, but this isn't anyone's fault. John was doing what he needed to do."

Dean pointed an accusatory finger at her. "This is your fault. You came to our world with your sob story and made him think he had to save you. If you hadn't come, we would have been happy."

Jessica's chin jutted. "I didn't choose to come."

"But you did," Castiel said, his tone curt. "And look what it cost us."

Dean glared at her. "I hope this haunts you. I want you to look at him"—he pointed at the man sprawled on the floor beside her, his eyes narrowed—"and see my brother. I want you to feel guilty every time you touch him because you're the reason my brother ended up in Hell."

"That's enough!" Sam snapped.

"No," Castiel said darkly. "There is never enough for this. After everything we did for you, brought you back, helped with the trials, told you how to save your world, even killed Michael so your world can have true peace, John doomed Sam."

"He's not doomed," Jack said. "I'll get him back." He looked at Dean. "Won't I?"

"Yes," Dean hissed.

"No!" the Castiel of this world gasped. "You can't open Hell again."

Dean snorted. "Because it'll screw things up for you? You think we give a shit about that? Yes, Jack. You'll get him back. And we're doing it now. Come on."

He strode to the door and along the hall into the library, Jack and Castiel following him. He had halfway crossed the room when a hand grabbed his shoulder and turned him, bringing him face to face with the Dean of this world.

"We won't let you do this," he growled.

Dean shoved him back and grabbed the gun he'd held in the back of his pants. It was loaded with devil's trap bullets, which weren't necessary, but would work as well as any other bullet to make this Dean bleed. He held it up, his finger poised over the trigger. "I will shoot," he said.

Sam grabbed his brother and pulled him back, and Jessica stepped between them. "Don't do this, Dean," she said.

Dean adjusted his aim so it was pointed at her chest. "You think I won't pull the trigger because it's you? I will. I'd shoot you with more ease than anyone else here because you're the reason this happened."

Sam pulled his own gun and aimed it at Dean's head. "I swear to god…" he started.

"That's enough!" Dean's Castiel shouted. "No one is shooting anyone." He turned his attention to Dean. "This is not what Sam would want if he was here. He came here because he loved Jess and wanted her to be happy and safe. He did what he did for the same reason. If you hurt anyone now, you will be hurting him, too. Let's just go now."

Dean knew he was right, but it still burned him. He was so angry at them all, and only violence would sate that.

"Think what Sam would do," Jack said, and the words seemed to hold a deeper meaning than Dean could decipher.

He took a deep breath and turned away, ignoring the gun that was still pointed at him. He tucked his gun away and then picked up the two duffels from the table with the weapons that remained. There were angel blades that weren't in there, but he figured it didn't matter if they left them behind. They had more in their world, and this version of his family might need the added protection someday. A cruel part of him hoped they would. The demons were gone, but the angels had just lost their leader and they'd be pissed.

"We won't let you do this," the other Dean growled. "If you open Hell again…"

Before he could finish, Jack had thrown out an arm and knocked them to the floor again. This time they lay still. Dean didn't know whether he had knocked them unconscious with the fall or if they were just sleeping, but he didn't care.

He strode through the war room with Jack and Castiel and out of the door—which was open and the hinges buckled—without looking back over his shoulder at the people that lie motionless on the floor. He was done with them.

When he got outside, he took a breath of the fresh air and made for the field that lay behind the powerplant that sat above the bunker.

"Wait, Dean," Castiel called.

Dean stopped and turned, frowning. "What? You're not seriously going to try to stop me doing this, are you?"

"No," Castiel said quickly. "But we should be sure Sam is gone before we risk this world again. Ruby could be lying. She would want to hurt us. We should check."

"Check how?" Dean asked.

"If they took his soul the way they did this world's Sam, his body would need to be kept somewhere. They might have left him in Maryland. We should check."

"Yeah," Dean said dully. He didn't believe Ruby was lying, and he felt no hope that he would find anything but the shell of Sam in that Maryland nursing home, but they did need to be sure. "Jack, take us to Manor Park Nursing Home."

Jack nodded and a moment later Dean's feet it the floor in the same room he had been in before when they had found this world's Sam. The scene was the same as before, though there were slight differences in the Sam that lay in the bed this time. There was a small scar on his forearm that Dean knew came from a kitsune hunt earlier that year. It was his Sam, and he was unconscious and still as the other version had been.

"Sammy," he sighed.

"He's definitely gone then," Jack said.

Castiel rolled up the sleeve of his coat and unbuttoned his cuff. "There's only one way to be sure," he said.

Dean cursed. It wasn't really Sam, he was sure, his soul was gone, but this was still going to hurt. Even with the high pain threshold Sam had without his soul, having a fist shoved through his chest was going to hurt like Hell.

"Block the door, Jack," he said. "This might be loud."

Jack moved to the door and held a hand against it with a concentrated look on his face and his eyes fixed on Sam.

Castiel murmured an apology as he pressed the tips of his fingers to a point just below Sam's sternum. "Cover his mouth, Dean," he instructed, and when Dean obeyed, he took a breath and began to push his hand into Sam's chest.

Sam's head flew back, pressing into the pillow, and his mouth flew open, though no sound came out. His scream was as silent as this the Sam of this world's had been. Dean moved his hand from Sam's mouth to his forehead and murmured reassurance that couldn't be heard by his intended subject.

Castiel slowly removed his hand and rolled down his sleeve. "His soul is gone," he said heavily.

Dean had known it, but his heart still sank. "Then we go get him out," he said. "You ready, Jack?"

"Yes," Jack said.

"Not here," Castiel said. "We don't want to open a way into Hell in a building full of people. We need space."

Jack moved back to stand between them and then Dean found himself standing in the middle of a dark forest. It was night, wherever it was, though it had been evening when they'd left Maryland. He didn't ask Jack where they were, he didn't care.

"Go on, Jack," he said. "Do it."

Jack drew in a deep breath and held his hand palm down above the leaf and twig strewn ground.

"Wait," Castiel said. "How are we going to do this? We can open a rift, yes, and I suppose we can dive into Hell, but how do we get Sam out again?"

"Purgatory," Dean said.

He'd already spotted the problem but he wasn't worried. They would get Sam and find their way back to Purgatory. The same exit that had let him and Benny out before would open again when it sensed him, and he could carry Castiel out along with Sam's soul the way he had planned to do it before. Jack, half human, could surely pass through alone.

"I'll be the soul train again," he went on.

Castiel considered a moment and then said, "That should work."

"It will work," Dean said confidently. "Do it, Jack."

Jack didn't hesitate. He narrowed his eyes and light began to pulse from his hands to the ground. Dean held his breath, preparing himself to take the dive, but no hole opened. He had seen Jack do it when Asmodeus had tricked him into trying to release the shedim, but it felt different now. He could see Jack's power, but it just bounced off the ground.

"I don't think…" Jack started, his voice strained.

"Keep trying!" Dean snapped.

Jack nodded and the light pouring from his hands increased its intensity, but still nothing happened. Jack staggered back and pressed a hand to his head. "It's not working," he said. "I don't think I have enough grace left to do it. It won't open."

"No!" Dean said. "It has to work! He's trapped there!"

"I'm sorry," Jack said desolately. "I wanted to do it."

Dean turned away and swiped at his face to clear it of the tears that were falling. He drew a breath, sniffed, and cleared his throat. "Okay. It doesn't' matter. We'll find another way."

"What other way?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," Dean said. "But we've got to."

Castiel was silent a long moment and then his eyes widened. "Perhaps Jack can't do it, his grace will need to be replenished over time, but we can wait."

"We don't have time for that," Dean said. "Billie is coming for us. We need something else." He gasped. "The Colt! We need to find it. That's how Jake opened the Devil's Gate in Wyoming. We can go back there and do that."

"We have no idea where the Colt is in this world," Castiel said. "I don't think the Winchesters of this world will tell us the story of its passage here."

"I'm not giving them a choice," Dean said. "I'll make them tell us."

"You're going to torture them?" Jack asked. He didn't sound disapproving or ever shocked. His tone was merely curious.

"Not them," Dean said. "I'm torturing Jess. Neither of them are going to keep quiet if she's hurting."

"Dean," Castiel said heavily. "Sam would never…"

Dean cut him off. "No? You forgetting all the things Sam had done for me? Where the Darkness came from? You really think he'd stop at torture to get me back if the situation was reversed? He did it to enough demons when I was running around with Crowley as a demon."

"But it's Jessica," Castiel said.

Dean shrugged. "Then he can hate me. He can do what he wants to me. If this means he never forgives me, I'll deal with it. As long as he's not trapped in Hell, I can take it." He would lose his brother if he did this, he knew, but Sam would be alive and free. And Jessica would heal. "Jack, take us back to the bunker."

Jack nodded but before he could act, a bright streak of light appeared behind him and he spun around.

"No!" Dean shouted, knowing what the light was and what it meant. "Not yet!"

Jack started away from the light, but before he could get more than a few paces, a streak of it reached for him and he was dragged through it with a cry of shock.

"Run, Cas!" Dean shouted, sprinting away through the trees.

He heard Castiel's footsteps pounding behind him, and he pushed himself harder.

"It's too… No!" Castiel shouted.

Dean glanced over his shoulder and saw the light touch Castiel's arm and drag him back through it. Determined not to be taken, too, Dean raced on, his heart pounding and only the need to escape, to save his brother, giving him the strength to keep going in his torment. He was alone in this now, he had no backup, but he wasn't going to be taken back without Sam.

Then a warm touch settled on the back of his neck, like fingers, and he felt his feet leave the ground. He cried out in protest, his brother's name ripping from him, but he had no defense against the force that pulled at him, dragging him back.

The light blinded him and when his vision cleared, he was on his knees in the library of his own bunker with Castiel and Jack standing opposite him.

He looked back over his shoulder in time to see the rift shrink into nothing and close, and a howl bubbled up his throat and poured from his mouth as his head flew back and his eyes squeezed closed.

"Dean!" he heard the shocked voice and footsteps running towards him, and then warm hands were touching his face. "What's wrong? Talk to me."

Dean opened his eyes and saw his mother's face close to his as she bent over him. She looked scared.

"We shouldn't have gone," he moaned.

"Gone where?" Mary sucked in a breath as she straightened and looked around. "Where's Sam?"

Dean bowed his head, unable to answer. It was Castiel that found the words, his voice heavy with sadness.

"Sam is gone."

So… Billie's timing sucks. They're back. Sam is not. Just the epilogue left now.

Until next time…

Clowns or Midgets xxx