Sam sat in the war room by himself waiting for the others to arrive. Guilt was quietly eating at him. Daniel wouldn't have gotten out if he'd been more vigilant, then they'd still have Daniel and the mirror. Now they had neither.

"Good job, Moose," Crowley quipped, undoubtedly sensing Sam's inner turmoil, and Sam glared back at him.

"It's not Sam's fault, Crowley, and you know it," Dean snapped as he entered the room followed by Syd.

Crowley rolled his eyes and took a seat. He clearly thought otherwise, but he didn't seem to be willing to fight with Dean in front of Syd.

"Yeah, hindsight's 20/20," Syd said and took a seat next to Sam. "It's easy to think of what you should have done after the fact, and it seems to have been a plan that everyone agreed on." Syd gave Crowley a measuring look, and he scoffed.

"Why do you think Ranger Dan took the mirror?" Dean asked and tried to steer the conversation away from the blame game.

"I don't think Lucifer actually told 'Ranger Dan' what he was after. Daniel seemed to think that what I had was an actual object. Maybe he could feel the power that the mirror was giving off and thought he could use it to buy himself some time," Syd added thoughtfully. "Although I was thinking about it earlier… I think that Daniel planned on getting captured at some point. Maybe he was hoping that you wouldn't but planned a backup strategy just in case. He probably had a lock pick or something in his jacket lining or something. That would explain how he got free from the table. He didn't even really use magic until the end, just well-planned maneuvers."

"So we got beat by a magic-less ranger. That's comforting," Crowley said snidely before getting up. "I'll check with my contacts. I'll see what Daniel's going to do with the mirror. You guys should probably get to cleaning up the mess. Don't want him to make a return visit."

Crowley left quickly, and Sam felt more at ease. He hadn't expected Syd to defend him, but she seemed to just be going with the flow.

"I do have a question though," Syd said. "What should I do about Lucifer's offer?"

"What offer?" Dean asked but gave Sam a quick glance.

"He said that he'll stop harassing me if I help him get back his grace, but after he just double crossed me, I'm not very happy with him."

"Take the deal," Sam said and noticed Dean staring at him. "Look, there's no use in Syd being hassled every other night. We can decide which information to give him and see what he does with it. But we should probably try to get the mirror back, Syd. We don't want him to know what that can do."

"But don't let him bargain with you for it," Sean insisted as he walked into the room. "He doesn't have the full mirror, so it's basically useless. I hid one of the pieces just in case."

Sam was irritated by Sean's distrust of them, but he had to admit that it came in handy. Syd nodded in agreement and seemed to be thinking it over.

"Um, Syd, can I talk to you alone for a few minutes ?" Sam asked.

Dean looked curious but went back to looking at one of his magazine, but Sean looked furious.

"Sure thing," Syd said as she got up. Sam led her into the kitchen before he started.

"I just wanted to apologize for everything. I really should have been more vigilant."

"I can't forgive you because I don't blame you, Sam. It could have happened to Dean… probably not Cas though. He's a tank. And I meant what I said. No one's to blame but Daniel and Lucifer."

"I'd feel better if you said it though," Sam said with pleading eyes.

"Okay then. I, the great and magnanimous Syd, forgive you for all of your evil deeds. Feel better?"

Sam laughed and replied, "A little. Thanks."

"No problem."

"There's one other thing. Dean said earlier that I've been acting… distant towards you. I just want you to know that it's not because I don't like you or anything. It's just…," Sam sighed and brushed his hair out of his eyes. "Dean and I have lost a lot of people. I just—."

"I get it, Sam," Syd interrupted with a small smile. "It makes sense. You guys hunt monsters for a living. Plus I had just assumed Cas told you about the time Lucifer decided to try and mess with me by looking like you, and that you didn't want me to feel uncomfortable. Although, I am a bit angry."

"Yeah, sorry if I made you uncomfortable," Sam apologized under Syd's stare.

"That's not the reason I'm mad, Sam," Syd sighed. "Remember what I told you and your brother at the convention?"

"Um," Sam replied trying to remember what she had said.

"I told you that I'm responsible for myself, and I don't want you to feel guilty over me. But I guess I shouldn't have expected one conversation to solve this weird 'hero-complex' that you and your brother seem to have. You don't want to get too attached to me because if something happened you'd blame yourself for even getting me in this mess."

Sam nodded. He didn't like it, but she was right. Syd put her hand lightly on his arm.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me. I'm really grateful, but I said it before. Don't waste time thinking about how it could have happened. I'd much rather we work together and get this Lucifer thing solved. And if I do die somehow, I'm willing to bet I'd be due to my own stupidity than anything to do with you."

Sam laughed and felt a bit more relaxed now. Syd was right. There was no use in thinking about things that he couldn't change. Sam smiled, and Syd gave him a small smile in return.