CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR: Forgive And Forget

Sam shot Meg a look as she pulled out a beeping cell phone. The brunette lazily glanced at it before turning off the alarm giving the nosy demon beside her an icy glare when he looked over her shoulder.

"Alright fruitcake. Times up." She stated as she pulled out a small pocket knife from her waistband. "Lucifer should be done by now." She said before handing the blade to the demon before her.

With a little more force than necessary, Sam ripped the knife from her hand and set to work, making a point to flick the bullet at Meg when he dislodged it.

Without another glance at the brunette, Sam vanished and reappeared outside the factory doors before rushing in.

The demon's breath caught in his throat as he came to sudden halt, eyeing Lucifer who was standing over his bloodied and beaten brother.

"Dean!" A yell ripped itself from his throat right as Lucifer disappeared. Sam sprinted over to his brother, crouching down on his knees and running his hands along the elder demons body frantically. "Its okay, Dean. I'll get us out of here."

"Sam if you don't get the hell away from me, I'll kill you." The middle Winchester muttered softly as he weakly shoved his brother away before taking a deep breath.

Sam watched as Dean's lips moved but no words came out.

Finally it made sense when Sam felt a gust of wind against his neck. He turned slightly and looked up to see Castiel standing there, looking down at the pair with scrunched brows.

"Dean, what happened?" The angel asked as he too kneeled down, placing a hand on the demon's shoulder.

"Just get me out of here." He stated, his voice barely above a whisper as he locked eyes with Cas.

The angel glanced warily at Sam who seemed startled but he saw nothing but grief in the demon's eyes.

With a solemn nod, Cas adjusted his grip on Dean's arm, giving the younger Winchester a forced smile.

Sam immediately felt extremely guilt as soon as his brother was gone, hating himself for how his own brother rather be rescued by an angel then by him.

Sam didn't know what to do with himself. He continued to sit in the middle of the warehouse, his jeans soaked through with Dean's blood.

…

"Dean, I must ask again. What happened with Sam?" Castiel questioned once they were back in the bunker, the demon lounging on his bed as he waited for his demonic healing powers to kick in.

Dean groaned loudly, rolling his one good eye that wasn't still firmly swollen shut. "I don't have the mark anymore." He said slowly, holding up his arm gently to prove it. Castiel's eyes widened but he remained quiet, hoping his silence would encourage the demon to continue. "Lucifer removed it because Sam made a deal with him…" Dean risked a look at the angel and found nothing but patience and understanding so he continued, feeling more comfortable. "Sammy agreed to let the devil wear him to prom." He ended bitterly as he slowly regained vision in his right eye, the swelling beginning to go down.

Castiel squinted, obviously in deep thought as he absorbed all the information. Finally, he shook his head and muttered something under his breath that the demon could swear was along the lines of profanity. "Do you know when your brother has to say yes?" The angel questioned, watching as Dean stood up to get a clean shirt from his dresser.

"Nope. It's whenever the bastard feels like collecting." The middle Winchester said hopelessly, running a hand down his face as exhaustion and desperation overwhelmed him. "Hell, I only found out because the damn devil told me." He quickly stripped off his scarlet stained and sweat soaked t-shirt, replacing it with a dark blue one.

Cas watched as a variety of emotions flashed across the demon's features before he carefully hid them, locking them away where no one could see. Deciding switching gears might be helpful, the angel stood up and approached his friend. "Dean, where do your loyalties lie?"

The demon seemed shocked by the question, taking a step away from Castiel. "What do you mean?"

"It is apparent you do not serve Lucifer." The dark-haired being began, making sure he phrased this right. "You were a rebel under Crowley's rule. In my experience, everyone has one cause they believe in and will fight for till the end. What is yours?"

Dean only hesitated for a second before his answer came to him. "My family." He said with conviction, having no doubt in his mind that he would do anything for the people he cared about.

Castiel smiled, clearly pleased by his answer. "If I am not misguided, Sam is your family. He may have made a mistake, but now is not the time to leave him to fend for himself." He eyed the demon, knowing he had made his point clear when he shot him a glare.

"Fine." He said grumpily, admitting the angel was right. "I mean, all we have to do is find a way to stop Lucifer. Easiest thing on Earth." He added, sarcasm evident in his tone.

"Dean, that is not an easy task-" Castiel tried to correct the demon, his innocence causing the middle Winchester to chuckle.

"Cas, we need to get you out more."

…

When Sam finally found the energy to go back to the bunker, he made sure he would appear in his bedroom so he could avoid Dean at all costs.

Unfortunately, he couldn't avoid everyone.

He was just getting ready to pick up a lore book from off his bedside table when there was a loud knock at his door, causing the demon to stiffen instinctively. "Come in." He said regrettably as he was not in the mood for visitors.

Sam was surprised when his father walked in, looking like he hadn't slept in days. John stood there awkwardly for a brief moment before he stepped farther into the room and cleared his throat while he rubbed the back of his neck. "I wanted to check on Dean about two hours ago. Would you happen to know anything about why he wasn't there?" The aged hunter inquired, his tone implying he already knew the answer.

The demon swallowed loudly before nodding shamefully. Before he could respond, John took another step towards Sam. "We're gonna fix this, son. I'm not gonna let that dick do anything to you." The eldest Winchester reassured, clapping him on the shoulder.

Sam wasn't sure how his father had found out what happened, and frankly he didn't care, just the fact that John was still willing to be there for him and help him figure this out was enough to give the demon hope. If his father could forgive him for what he did, maybe his brother could too.

…

Dean was sitting on a couch in one of the many rooms the bunker had and was staring blankly at the wall when he felt somebody watching him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a familiar blonde leaning against the doorframe, eyeing him happily.

"Hey Jo." The demon said gruffly, not sure how to act with her after what all had happened the past month.

Her face broke out in a grin as she made her way over to the couch. She plopped down next to him and folded her hands in her lap before turning her attention to him. "I see you're mark free."

Dean laughed humorlessly as he showed off his forearm. "You know, tattoo removal is a lot more painful then I originally thought." He stated dryly. He glanced over at the young hunter next to him and couldn't help but see worry lines etched into her face along with deep, heavy bags underneath her eyes. "Jo?" She 'hmm'd?' and looked at him and saw concern in his thankfully green eyes. "When was the last time you slept?"

The blond seemed as if she had been expecting the question as she pursed her lips in thought. "I only get about two to three hours every night, if I'm lucky."

"Because of me?" He asked softly, not wanting to meet her gaze.

Jo smiled softly and shrugged. "They're of you." She said slowly, referring to her nightmares she had been experiencing ever since Dean sent her flying across that warehouse. "Not because of you though. It's the Marks fault." She pointed out, hoping to not make him feel like it was his fault.

He just shook his head, obviously not believing her when she nudged his arm. "What's that?" She asked, gesturing to a book that was sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Oh uh- Revelations." Dean said awkwardly, noticing the strange look Jo was giving him. "Just trying to get educated about all this apocalypse shit. My mom purposely didn't tell Sam and me about this when we were growing up because she didn't want to scare us. Now I wish she had." He admitted, beginning to see he was in way over his head.

She took the book from off the table and flipped it open and begun reading, ignoring the raised eyebrows the demon next to her was giving her.

After rolling his eyes, Dean grabbed another leather-bound monstrosity from off the floor where he had a stack of books about anything that might help them and dove in.

…

"Crowley, I'm surprised you're still here."

The King of Hell looked up from the paperwork he was reading over, sitting up straighter in his throne. "Lucifer. I'm surprised you didn't come sooner."

The devil smirked, amused by the grizzly man. "I figured I'd give you enough time to leave quietly." He said threateningly as he took a step forward.

Crowley seemed unaffected by the fact that Satan was right in front of him as he set the paperwork aside and stood up, adjusting his suit coat. "Maybe we can come to some type of agreement-"

The King of Hell was cut off as Lucifer grabbed him by the neck and shoved him against the wall, his nose almost touching the Scottish demon's. "I don't make deals with sniveling low-life's like you. Unless you want to experience what all Hell can offer personally, I suggest you leave and let the professional take over." He stated harshly, not even noticing how Crowley was clawing at his wrists.

With reluctance, the King begrudgingly nodded. "Of course… my lord." He said with a hint of sass before Lucifer released him.

Crowley stood with pride as he smoothed out his jacket and sighed loudly. "Good luck."

A smug grin tugged at Lucifer's lips as he watched the former King of Hell disappear. Once he was gone, the devil made his way over to his new throne and sank in, the list of opportunities before him endless.

…

TBC

Sorry this chapter is shorter and not very action packed but I felt we needed to take a small breather after all the craziness in the last few chapters and the craziness that is ahead. I may be doing another filler chapter soon, not sure yet though. I also want to state I am doing NO PAIRINGS with the main characters in this story. Just so you guys know. Thanks for reading, favoriting, and following. Special thanks to CallMeAnonymous9 (Sam should've known. I'm glad that you like the different aspects, I get worried that things will get too confusing. Thanks for the kind words!), 1983Sarah (Thanks! I hope you continue to enjoy them!), Nina Ferraro, (It was time haha. I'm sorry!), babyreaper (Dean is going to forgive Sam only because they have a limited time together now. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!), ncsupnatfan (Yes, you'll see, and most likely not since the Winchester's never have good luck.), and kasey123 (I'm glad you liked it! And thank you!) for reviewing! They help motivate me to write and mean a lot to me! Have a good rest of the week!