You guys rock. Seriously. Thank you so much for reading and supporting the story.


Chapter Five

White light shot up into the sky and Dean was pushed back by an irresistible force. He stumbled and tripped, falling to the floor.

He had seen this light before, just after Sam had killed Lilith and freed Lucifer.

There was a loud cracking sound that reverberated in Dean's chest like a second heartbeat. His eyes roved the scene, searching for a sign of Sam. Out of the white light came three figures, two standing and one being cradled in the arms of another. He knew immediately who the fallen figure was.

"Sam!"

Pushing himself to numb legs, he started towards his brother, but Gabriel rushed forward and caught him before he could reach them. "Give them a moment," he said.

Dean struggled against the hands restraining him. He wanted to be with Sam. He had to know he was okay.

"Dean!" Gabriel said harshly. "Wait!"

Dean ignored Gabriel's words but he couldn't ignore the strong grip the archangel had on his arm. It pinned him in place. He was forced to remain still, watching as Lucifer eased Sam to the ground holding his upper body against his chest. Lucifer placed two fingers to Sam's throat, and then dropped his hand, pressing his forehead to Sam's.

Dean's heart hovered somewhere around his adam's apple as he watched Lucifer. Was Sam...?

"What the hell's happening?" he demanded. "What's wrong with him?"

Gabriel ignored his question and turned to Lucifer, his face taut with tension. "Lucifer?"

"He's alive," Lucifer said, his tone heavy with relief.

"He's alive!" Dean choked on the words, relief flooding through him. "And why the hell wouldn't he be? What's happened to him?"

His mind was reeling. He had pinned everything on this chance to see his brother again, but it was all going horribly wrong. Sam was alive but unconscious. The fact that was in question at all made Dean's heart race. This was not how it was supposed to go.

Lucifer disregarded him completely. With care, he eased his arms under Sam again and rose to his feet, cradling Sam against his chest. Sam's head lolled back over Lucifer's arm. His eyes were closed and his face was devoid of all emotion. Dean hated the sight, but he couldn't look away. Lucifer strode past Dean and Gabriel, walking towards the house.

Dean struggled against Gabriel's hold, and the archangel released him. "Give them their space," he warned.

Lucifer and Sam were almost at the house. Dean jogged after them and hurried ahead to open the door for them. Lucifer didn't pay him a moment's attention as he walked through the door, and he continued to ignore Dean when he hurried in after him, keeping his eyes fixed on Sam.

"What's wrong with him?" Bobby asked breathlessly as he caught sight of Sam.

Lucifer ignored him as completely as he had Dean. He walked through the study and into the lounge. With exceptional care, he eased Sam onto the couch, positioning a cushion under his head. He looked down at Sam with such tenderness that Dean felt that he was intruding on something private. He watched as Lucifer smoothed a hand over Sam's face and then got to his feet. He advanced on Dean with a murderous look in his eyes. Dean was not ashamed to admit that he was afraid.

"He's alive," Lucifer said, "no thanks to you two." He shoved Dean's shoulders hard.

"What did I do?" Dean asked, genuinely confused.

"You dragged him back here," Lucifer growled. "Against all that was right and fair."

"I didn't know it was going to hurt him."

Lucifer turned to Gabriel who nodded. "He didn't know. I didn't tell them."

Lucifer's glare left Dean and fixed on Gabriel. "You didn't?"

Gabriel shrugged. "It never came up."

Lucifer threw up his arms, and Dean was forced back a few paces.

"You didn't tell him!" Lucifer roared. "Did you tell any of them what could have happened, or was this purely your selfishness, Gabriel?"

"I did what had to be done," Gabriel said, folding his arms across his chest. "Dean needed Sam to function, and the world needs them both."

"The world!" Lucifer scoffed. "You think I care about the world when this has placed the one person I value in all of creation at risk? What does the world matter to us anymore? Sam was happy. We were happy. You have dragged him back here to this pit to fight your battles for you. Tell me, Dean, would it have made any difference to you to know what could have happened? Were you so caught up in your own problems that your brother's wants and desires were forgotten?"

"Would what have made any difference?" Dean asked. He was feeling distinctly out of the loop. "I'm still lost here. What's happened to Sam?"

"He has undergone great trial," Lucifer said. "He should not have been able to pass through the portal once and survive. He has beaten all the odds and come through a second time intact."

Gabriel's brow creased. "Intact, Lucifer?"

Lucifer sighed and raked a hand over his face. "I do not know. I have healed his body from the damage of the journey, his mind however, I do not know. We will not be certain until he wakes."

"If he wakes," Gabriel said pointedly.

Lucifer's hands fisted at his sides.

"Hold up!" Bobby said, moving into the room and looking down at Sam. "How's about you slow this down so the humans can get caught up. Sam coming through the portal could have killed him, but he's alive?"

Even hearing the question asked was hard. Dean wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer.

Lucifer nodded coldly. "He lives. Be grateful for it."

Dean nodded. "But what's this about him not waking up? Tell me I didn't get my brother back just to lose him again." There was a hint of desperation in his voice. "Please."

"Sam has paid a great price to return to you," Lucifer said. "No human should have to suffer the portal. There is no knowing what damage has been done to him."

Dean's mind reeled. It felt like his world was imploding. How could he have let this happen? He was supposed to protect Sam, not hurt him. He had thought Sam coming out of the cage was the answer to all his prayers, now it seemed the nightmare was just beginning. Why hadn't Gabriel told him? Why hadn't he asked?

But in his most secret of hearts, Dean wondered if knowing would have changed anything. He had jumped at the chance of having his brother back, even knowing he was pulling him from a place of peace with the angel he loved back to the post-apocalyptic nightmare he had inhabited for two years. Would knowing have really stopped him?

Shaking his head and dispelling his guilty thoughts, Dean addressed Lucifer. "Is he going to be okay?"

"I do not know," Lucifer said. "As I have said, Sam has undergone tremendous trial passing through the portal. His soul suffered. I do not know how he will react when he wakes up. If he wakes up."

"Why did you let him come?" Dean asked. "If it was so dangerous for him, why didn't you stop him?"

Lucifer stiffened. "Do you think I had a choice? Once Sam knew you needed him, he was immovable. He would have come back with or without me, even though he knew the risks."

Dean felt immeasurable guilt sweeping through him. Sam had known what it could cost him, but he had done it anyway because Dean needed him. If he never came back from this, as Lucifer and Gabriel seemed to think was a possibility, it would all be Dean's fault.

"You!" Lucifer spat at Dean and Gabriel. "This is all because of you both. Trust me when I say if Sam doesn't come out of this, I will make sure you both suffer for it before being given the release of death."

Dean knew there was nothing empty about this threat. Lucifer meant every word he said.

"This is not the time, Lucifer," Gabriel said in a soft tone. "Tend to Sam."

Lucifer dropped to his knees beside the couch again and pressed his forehead to Sam's. He began to whisper to Sam. Dean wasn't sure he should be listening, but after a moment, he realized it didn't matter. Lucifer was speaking Enochian, and Dean didn't understand a word of it.

Dean felt someone tugging on his arm, and he turned to see Gabriel. "Come on, let's give them some space."

Dean didn't want to leave his brother, but Gabriel was insistent. He dragged Dean into the study again and directed him to a chair. Dean sank down onto it, feeling as if all his strength had passed out of him.

"Gabriel," Dean said in a hopeless voice. "Is he going to be okay?"

Gabriel sighed. "I don't know. I hope so."

"Don't you worry, Dean," Bobby said in a bracing tone. "Sam wouldn't have come all this way just to give up now. He'll be fine."

Dean tried to take comfort in the words, but it wasn't easy. He had seen the ugly side of the world, he had become part of it, and he couldn't help but think this would be his punishment for all the things he had done since Sam had left him. It would be fitting for him to get his brother back physically, only to lose him mentally.


Sam was poised between sleeping and waking, being and failing. If he were to err on either side, he would be lost.

All his senses had left him; all he had was disembodied thought. It wasn't an unpleasant sensation, it was quite peaceful, but there was a nagging feeling that there was something he should be doing, something important.

He scrabbled through his memories, trying to find a clue to what had happened to him. He remembered being in the cage with Lucifer. Had he fallen asleep? No, that couldn't be it. There was no sleep in the cage. He had no need of sleep there, as he wasn't entirely alive. So what had happened? He cast his mind back further. Lucifer had been teaching him about the hierarchies of Hell and the creation of demons when the sun had began to sink, a sure sign that Lucifer thought he'd studied enough for one session. They had been on the beach, just enjoying each other when...

Gabriel! He had come to ask them to leave. Something had happened and they were needed on earth. Dean needed them.

With thoughts of his brother came a new urgency. Sam struggled against the bonds holding him in place. He could feel now, though his limbs felt heavy and clumsy. He was lying on some lumpy surface and his head was pillowed on something soft. Cool fingers traced across his face and ran through his hair. It was a pleasant sensation, and he would have been content to lie there and enjoy it if not for the urgency attached to his memories.

Sound returned to him, and he heard a soft voice talking to him in Enochian. It was soothing him and begging him to return in the same breath. He knew that voice, it was his angel, and once again, he was calling him home.

His eyes rolled in his sockets as he tried to force open his weighted lids.

Lucifer must have seen the movement, as his pleading became more impassioned. "Sam, come back to me. Please. I need you."

Sam's eyes cracked open, and Lucifer's face came into view. There was tightness around his eyes and his mouth was a thin line, belying his fear. Sam blinked and tried to focus, looking around the room. The walls were off white and there were shelves of books lining them. That combined with the familiar scent of whiskey, old spice and musty books made him realize they were at Bobby's.

When he spoke, he was surprised that it was in a hoarse whisper. "We made it then."

Lucifer's face broke into a wide smile, as if he wasn't sure Sam was okay until he spoke. "I thought I'd lost you."

Sam smiled. "You didn't."

Lucifer leaned forwards and pressed a searing kiss to Sam's lips. There were a dozen unsaid things in the kiss; it spoke of fear and relief, absence and reunion.

Sam would have been content to stay lost with Lucifer forever, again, but there was something pressing on his mind, someone. When Lucifer pulled back, he asked, "Where's Dean?"

Lucifer's bright smile faded and Sam's heart clenched painfully in his chest.

"He's okay, isn't he?"

"He is fine and he is close," Lucifer said reassuringly. "They are giving us privacy."

Sam pushed himself to a sitting position and immediately regretted the action. It made his head swim and pound.

"Are you okay?" Lucifer asked as Sam gritted his teeth.

"Yeah, just a headache."

Lucifer frowned. "I have healed you as much as I am able. The passage through the portal greatly damaged you."

Sam felt that it should have some effect on him, to hear how he'd been damaged, but it didn't. He was alive, speaking and moving without too much difficulty. It was better than he'd expected. Hell, he hadn't truly believed he would make it out at all; he'd just known he had to try. Whatever aches and pains he had now seemed a small price to pay for his return.

It felt strange to be feeling those aches though. He hadn't been truly human for so long. He had been beyond pain and tiredness and stress. He had been in his own form of Heaven.

"What are you thinking?" Lucifer asked.

Sam smiled. It was a familiar question, though it had become less asked as the years passed. Lucifer had grown to understand Sam in a way that was beyond words, and he had become an expert at reading Sam's facial expressions and moods without either of them needing to verbalize it.

"I was thinking that it feels strange to be here again. Everything feels new." And though he didn't say it, Sam thought that everything also felt a little raw. Light was too bright and sounds too loud.

Lucifer tapped his chin, looking thoughtful. "You have essentially been reborn. I imagine a newborn baby experiences the same sensations, they are just unable to tell you."

Sam nodded and looked longingly at the door that led to the study. Dean was there, maybe Bobby and Castiel, too. He wanted to see them so badly it was a physical longing, but at the same time, he was nervous. He had effectively abandoned them all to be with Lucifer. Would there be repercussions from that. Did Dean even want him back? Gabriel said Dean needed him, and that alone would have been hard for Dean to admit, but wanting and needing were two different things.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Lucifer asked.

Sam smiled. "I've come all this way, risked so much, it would be rude to ignore him now."

Lucifer looked into his eyes for a long moment, searching for something. Whatever it was, he didn't find it. He nodded and helped Sam get to his feet.

He stepped ahead of Sam and opened the door. Moving on trembling legs, Sam crossed the room and entered the library.

His eyes scanned the room, searching for his brother. He found him sitting by the desk on a hard chair. Dean got to his feet as he caught sight of Sam, and for a moment, they stared at each other in silence.

Dean looked different. His eyes were hard and circled by dark shadows. There were lines on his brow that hadn't been there two years ago. The corners of his mouth were turned down, but as Sam took a shaky step forward, they curved into a smile.

"Sammy?"

They walked forward in unison, arms open wide ready to receive the other. At the center, they met and each threw their arms around the other. Dean gripped the back of Sam's shirt tight, and his exhale was a little shaky. Sam patted his back gently, and relished in the comfort of having his brother in his arms again after so long.

Far too soon for Sam's liking, Dean pulled back and looked Sam in the eye. "You okay?"

"Yeah. You?"

Dean nodded. "I am now." There was so much hidden meaning in that simple sentence that Sam didn't know where to start deciphering it all. He knew he had a lot to make amends for, but in that moment, Dean seemed happy to see him, and that was worth all the risk to make it back here.

He heard someone clearing their throat, and he looked around to see Bobby, who he hadn't noticed before then, standing beside him. He smiled widely, taking in the sight of the grizzled hunter and savoring it. "Hey, Bobby,"

Bobby stepped forward and pulled him into a hug that knocked all the air out of him. He felt Lucifer shifting uncomfortably behind him, and he tried, through a simple nod, to show that he was okay.

"Damn, boy, it's good to see you," Bobby said, releasing him.

Sam grinned. "You, too." He turned to take in the room, and then the breath was knocked out of him as another figure stepped forward and threw their arms around him.

"You, too, Cas," he said, patting the angel's back, feeling a little embarrassed by this uncharacteristic show of affection.

Castiel released Sam and moved back to stand by the wall once again. He looked a little embarrassed, too.

Lucifer linked hands with Sam and led him back so they were standing against the wall. Everyone in the room seemed tense and awkward after the aberrant shows of affection. Sam rallied for something to say to break the moment, and he stumbled upon his latest show of his returned humanity.

"You got anything to eat? I'm starving."


So… They're back and there were hugs. I love hugs, especially Winchester hugs.

Until next time…

Clowns or Midgets xxx