When Sam saw Amara raise her hand against the light bombarding her, he had though it would just be a half-ass shield she tried to conjure to protect herself. He never thought this is what would happen.
The light had changed courses mid direction, swinging at Dean instead of her. Sam had screamed, tried to alert his brother of the danger behind him but it had been too late. The fire had struck the small of Dean's back where blood had exploded from. Light shot through his whole body before he began to fall.
Thats when Sam's whole world went black and white and someone had shoved cotton in his ears. Everything was muted, everything but Dean and his blood. The seconds it took for him to reach Dean seemed like minutes which felt like hours which felt years. And when he finally caught him, seconds before he would have collided face first with the floor, time was faster and the world was a blazing canvas of thoughts and motions and colors.
"Dean," Sam whispered, pressing on the puncture wound in his brothers back. "Dean, stay with me."
Gabriel paused his flow of light and Amara lunged forward but was hit back with a cloud of red smoke that Sam knew to be Crowley. "Dean?" Gabe called.
Dean turned his head, spitting out blood. "Finish her Sammy," he whispered. "I can't." Then louder, he called. "Keep going Gabe! Leave me."
"I can't," Sam said, his voice angst ridden. "You have too."
"I can't do that Sammy, I'll be dead within minutes. Dean's voice cracked on 'dead.' He gripped the lapels of Sam's jacket. "I'm not coming back this time, Sam," he said.
"Don't talk," Sam whispered. "You won't die." He knew the words were in vain, there was blood, oh so much blood, Dean's life force trailing away, staining the white stone with red.
Dean weakly smiled and put his hand on Sam's shoulder. Beside them, Amara collapsed. Her eyes were half closed and her breath coming in heaving gasps. "Finish it," she hissed. "But know this Angels, your power cannot heal Dean. Nothing can, I doubt even God could. The amount of hate and anger in that fire, it's incredible."
Sam drew in a deep breath. "Dean, you're going to kill her." He gently supported Dean as he got up and walked slowly over to where Amara lay, Sam's hand still pressed to his back, trying in vain to stop the blood flow.
Crowley silently handed Dean the Angel blade. Just as he shakily raised it, Amara asked, "so answer me this, who was it? Who left that claim on your soul?"
Dean laughed weakly. "The Angel you killed, Cas, the one you deemed unimportant, irrelevant, and the one who was your downfall."
"Castiel," she said, the name sounding bitter. "At least you'll see him again soon. Do it." She spread her arms. "Go ahead. Free me from this body, as long as I never return to my cage I will embrace the sweet release this blade will bring me."
Dean wiped his eyes. "Goodbye Amara," he said. "See you in Hell." He paused. "I almost wish there was another way." He gave her a look of momentary sadness and regret before plunging the blade into her heart, or where it should be. Amara's body flickered with black for a moment before her eyes slid shut and she went still.
And the Darkness was dead.
He was done, utterly, utterly spent. Dean let himself fall limply backwards, knowing Sam would be there to catch him. Sure enough, he felt his brothers solid body shift forward to ensure Dean would not hit the cold stone. He felt hot blood seeping through his jacket, covering his skin.
"Dean!" Sam's panicked voice rant through Dean's head. "Please man, please stay here, stay with me."
Dean smiled up at Sam, his baby brother, the family he had chosen over the world so many times over. He felt pride in himself, a rare feeling. The terrible dream he had had hadn't came to pass, he had twisted it, created his own version. Sam was alive but his angel was still dead. His gaze slid to Cas's body, lying still and cold on the floor. He coughed, choking on his own blood but managing the three letter word. "Cas." Then he looked up at Sam. "I'll tell him hello for you Sammy." Then Dean fell silent, his green eyes staring unseeingly up at his brother, a tiny smile twisting his lips.
"No," Sam whispered. "No!" His voice rose to a shout. He pressed his forehead against Dean's, feeling the cruel stone already leeching the warmth from his brother.
It felt like seconds and it felt like years, Sam was simply in a state of being. Time did not matter, nothing mattered because Dean was dead, again. And this time, he was not coming back. Sam sat there for years, months, days, seconds, minutes an undefined amount of time in which only Dean existed, not Lucifer, not Gabriel, not Amara's corpse in the corner. Only Dean, with his sightless eyes, the tiny smudge of lipstick on the corner of his mouth from when he kissed Amara, and the blood spilling out of him, the slow pulse of life gone from it.
"Sam," Gabriel said gently. "Hey."
Sam didn't move.
"Sam, we need to get out of here."
No.
Gabriel knelt. "Sam, he's gone. We've both lost a brother in the past days, hundreds of my family have been murdered. I know Dean was the only family you had left but-"
"Don't," Sam said. "Don't say 'was' and 'have'. It makes it too real. I can't handle that right now." He was surprised at how steady his voice was.
Gabriel fell silent and, to everyone's surprise, Lucifer was the one to speak. "Sam Winchester," he said. "I'm going to return to Heaven and I'm going to make things right with the Angels. I'm also going to ensure my brother has his Heaven in order and by that I mean that gonna see if he and Dean share one."
Sam froze. Chills crept up his skin, memories of that calm voice while Sam screamed in the cage, echoed through his mind. He didn't answer.
Lucifer sighed. "Still mad about the hell thing? Of course." He threw up his hands. "Crowley, you talk to him. I was just informing you, I mean, I don't have too."
"No," Sam said, looking up at the blonde devil. "Please make sure they're together."
Lucifer nodded. "Gabe, I'm not sure how well I can fly. I might need help."
"Of course," Gabriel said, he winced as he took in the air that Sam assumed was where Lucifer's wings are. "They will heal over time. All wounds do."
Not all of them.
AN: Sorry :( it was hard to write but fear not! I have some tricks up my sleeve. Lol
