Dean stood next to Sam's body in one of the abandoned buildings in Cold Oak while Kaylee knelt next to the bed, Sam's hand in hers and she sobbed into the bed.
"Dean? Kaylee? Brought you this back" Bobby said walking back into the building with some food. "No, thanks. I'm fine" Dean said while Kaylee stood up, wiping her tears and placing a hand on Dean's chest. "You should eat something" She said softly, making Dean look down at her with tear filled eyes "I said I'm fine" He said firmly before grabbing a beer and taking a drink and Kaylee nodded reluctantly and walked over and grabbed herself a hand full of what Bobby had brought back. "Dean. I hate to bring this up, I really do. But don't you think maybe it's time... we bury Sam?" Bobby asked hesitantly while Kaylee walked back over to Sam's body and sat back down next to him, holding his hand again.
"No" Dean said simply making Bobby look at Kaylee worried.
"Well, we could maybe…" Bobby started to say but trailed off. "What, torch his corpse? Not yet" Dean said sitting down at the table. "I want you and Kaylee to come with me" Bobby said softly. "I'm not going anywhere" Dean stated firmly. "Dean, please" Bobby begged. "Would you cut me some slack?" Dean snapped.
"I just don't think you should be alone, that's all. I gotta admit I could use your help. Something big is going down. End-of-the-world big" Bobby explained worried. "Well, then let it end!" Dean shouted angrily. "You don't mean that" Bobby said shocked and Dean stood up quickly getting in Bobby's face. Kaylee stood up, preparing to get involved if needed. "You don't think so? Huh? You don't think I've given enough? You don't think I've paid enough? I'm done with it. All of it. If you knew what's good for you, turn around and get the hell out of here" Dean shouted at Bobby making Kaylee step between them but Dean shoved Kaylee back "Go! Get out of here! Both of you!" Dean shouted at Kaylee and Bobby before seeing the tears in Kaylee's eyes.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please, just go" Dean said turning away from them. Bobby looked at Kaylee who was sobbing quietly. Bobby wrapped an arm around Kaylee's shoulder.
"You know where we'll be" Bobby said softly as he led Kaylee out of the building. Dean sat down next to Sam in the same place Kaylee had spent the last few hours.
"You know, when we were little... and you couldn't have been more than 5... you just started asking questions. How come we didn't have a mom? Why do we always have to move around? Where'd Dad go? He'd take off for days at a time. I remember I begged you, 'Quit asking, Sammy. Man, you don't wanna know.' I just wanted you to be a kid. Just for a little while longer. I always tried to protect you. Keep you safe. Dad didn't even have to tell me. It was just always my responsibility, you know? It's like I had one job. That one job. And I screwed it up. I blew it. And for that, I'm sorry. I guess that's what I do. I let down the people I love. I let Dad down. I let Kaylee down. And now, I guess I'm just supposed to let you down too? How can I? How am I supposed to live with that? What am I supposed to do? Sammy. What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do?" Dean said pouring his heart out to Sam while finally letting his tears fall. He screamed to the rooftops before grabbing his keys and driving the Impala to the nearest crossroads.
"Oh, come on already. Show your face, you bitch" Dean shouted as he paced the crossroads after digging a hole and putting the little box in.
"Easy, sugar, you'll wake the neighbors. Dean. It is so, so good to see you. I mean it. Look at you. Gone and got your family killed. All alone in the world. It's too sweet. Excuse me, you're gonna have to give me a moment. Sometimes you gotta stop and smell the roses" The crossroads demon said wearing a different meatsuit than last time they met. "I should send you straight back to hell" Dean said angrily. "Oh, you should. But you won't. And I know why. Following in Daddy's footsteps. You wanna make a deal. Little Sammy, back from the dead. And let me guess, you're offering up your own soul?" The crossroads demon taunted walking circles around Dean. "There are a hundred other demons who'd love to get their hands on it. And it's all yours. All you gotta do is bring Sam back. You give me 10 years. Ten years and then you come for me" Dean offered. "You must be joking" The crossroad demon said amused. "It's the same deal you give everybody else" Dean said confused. "You're not everybody else. Why would I wanna give you anything? Keep your gutter soul, it's too tarnished anyway" The crossroads demon mocked.
"Nine years" Dean said desperately.
"No" She replied simply.
"Eight" Dean said trying again.
"You keep going, I'll keep saying no" She mocked.
"Okay, five years. Five years, then my bill comes due. That's my last offer. Five years or no deal" Dean said and she shrugged.
"Then no deal. Make sure you bury Sam before he starts stinking up the joint" She said before starting to walk off. "Wait. What do I have to do?" Dean begged desperately. "First of all, quit groveling. Needy guys are such a turnoff. Look. Look, I shouldn't be doing this. I could get in a lot of trouble. But what can I say? I got a blind spot for you, Dean. You're like a puppy, you're just too fun to play with. I'll do it" The crossroads demon said finally. "You'll bring him back?" Dean asked and she nodded.
"I will. And because I'm just such a saint, I'll give you one year and one year only. But here's the thing. If you try and welch or weasel your way out, then the deal is off. Sam drops dead, he's back to rotten meat in no time. It's a better deal than your Dad ever got. What do you say?" The crossroads demon asked grinning while Dean simply lent forward and kissed her, sealing the deal.
…..
Dean sped back to the abandoned warehouse where he left Sam's body to find him alive and on his feet.
"Sammy? Thank God" Dean said walking over and hugging Sam tightly. "Ow. Uh, Dean" Sam said wincing in pain. "Sorry. I'm sorry, man, I'm just… I'm happy to see you up and around, that's all. Come on, sit down" Dean said leading Sam back to the bed. "Okay. Dean, what happened to me?" Sam asked confused as Dean hesitated. "Well, what do you remember?" Dean asked curiously.
"I… I saw you and Bobby and Kaylee and… then I felt this pain. This sharp pain, like white hot, you know. And then you and Kaylee started running at me and that's about it" Sam explained much to Dean's relief. "Yeah, that kid stabbed you in the back. You lost a lot of blood. You know, it was pretty touch and go for a while" Dean lied smoothly. "But, Dean, you can't patch up a wound that bad" Sam said simply. "No, but Bobby and Kaylee together could. Who was that kid anyway?" Dean asked angrily. "His name's Jake. Did you get him?" Sam asked. "No. He disappeared in the woods. Kaylee went after him but the Yellow-Eyed Demon was there and provided a distraction for him the getaway" Dean explained trying to keep the anger out of his voice.
"We gotta find him, Dean. And I swear, I'm gonna tear that son of a bitch apart" Sam snarled standing up quickly but Dean was there.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy, Van Damme. You just woke up. Let's get you something to eat. Huh? You want something to eat? I'm starving. Come on" Dean said leading Sam over to the table where Bobby and Kaylee had left the food before he yelled at them to leave. Sam explained what happened during the days he was missing. "And that's when you guys showed up" Sam said softly. "That's awful. Poor Andy" Dean said. "Demon said he only wanted one of us to walk out alive" Sam explained. "And he told you that?" Dean asked. "Yup. Appeared in a dream" Sam explained "He tell you anything else?" Dean asked worried but Sam shook his head. "No. No, that was it, nothing else. You know, what I don't get, Dean, is if the demon only wanted one of us...then how did Jake and I both get away?" Sam asked curiously.
"Well, I mean, they left you for dead. I'm sure they thought it was over. Now that Yellow Eyes has Jake, what's he gonna do with him?" Dean asked moving on quickly. "I don't know. But whatever it is, we gotta stop it" Sam said firmly and Dean sighed. "Well, hold on, all right? You need to get your rest. We got time" Dean said worried about his little brother. "No, we don't" Sam argued. "Sam, oceans aren't boiling, okay? Frogs aren't raining from the sky. Let's get you your strength back first" Dean snapped and Sam sighed. "Well, did you call the Roadhouse? They know anything?" Sam asked and Dean sighed and looked away.
"Dean, what is it?" Sam asked worried.
"The Roadhouse burned to the ground. Ash is dead. Probably, Ellen, a lot of other hunters too" Dean explained sitting down across from Sam. "Demons?" Sam asked choking up. "Yeah, we think so. We think because Ash found something" Dean explained. "What did he find?" Sam asked curiously. "Bobby and Kaylee are working on that right now" Dean said thinking about how he treated those two. "Well, come on then. Bobby's only a few hours away" Sam said standing up wincing making Dean jump up as well. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop, Sam, stop. Damn it. You almost died in there. I mean, what would I have…? Can't you just take care of yourself for a little bit, huh? Just for a little bit" Dean begged.
"I'm sorry. No" Sam said softly before they jumped into the Impala and drove off.
….