Sam gawked at the angel who was standing in front of him, finding it hard to form words. He thought Crowley had protected his mansion from angels. But the thing was… Sam hadn't even seen Castiel in Crowley's house. It was almost as if the angel had teleported him here, which was probably the case.

The angel continued to stare at Sam and he didn't look poised to attack. It was obvious that Castiel wanted Sam to say the next word so the younger Winchester got his nerves under control and said the only thing that mattered.

"Where's Dean? What did you do with him?"

Once again, the angel looked confused. "I did not touch your brother. I have learned that if I was to harm him, you would never cooperate with me."

"Damn straight." Sam shocked himself with how much he sounded like his older brother just then. "And you better bring me back to him too."

"I cannot do that."

"Why the hell not? You take me away from my brother and pull me out of my life. You have no right to!"

"I am an angel of the Lord, it is my job to follow my Father's word," the angel said, sounding proud.

"So God told you to use me to start the apocalypse? Why would He tell you that?"

"I am helping to prevent the apocalypse. That is what my brothers have told me."

"Brothers?"

"My fellow angels."

Sam paused before he spoke, not sure if he had understood right. "Wait a minute; I thought you said God told you all this and now you're telling me angels did?"

"My brothers passed down the information to me." Castiel seemed confused at Sam's question.

"Then if you never heard this from God himself, how do you know this is what He wants?"

"My brothers wouldn't lie to me." He seemed so certain, yet there was a sudden spark of doubt in his eyes, like he was just realizing something for the first time.

"What's stopping them from lying to you? Maybe they made up this plan for their own reasons and are tricking you."

"Your brother could be doing the same as well," Castiel stated matter-of-factly.

"My brother would never…" Sam stopped as he realized he would sound like a hypocrite just then. "Okay, I get your point. But you don't know my brother and me; you don't know how close we are. Dean spent his whole life protecting me. He raised me. There's no way he would use me."

"Your brother is a demon. Demons will lie and manipulate to get whatever they desire."

"But what if they didn't have to lie?" Sam demanded. "If there was no reason to? Dean knew he could tell me the truth because he trusted me. Why would he fight his way out of Hell to start the apocalypse? He has no reason to want it, because even Hell hates him."

"You are asking me to take the word of a demon over the word of angels?"

"I'm asking you to just hear me out. Hear Dean out. He knows what he's talking about. He heard a lot while he was in Hell and he understands what's really going on."

"I am willing to consider your word only because I failed to save your brother as I was assigned. I will enquire about your doubts and return later." Before Sam could ask the angel where he was going, Castiel simply vanished before his eyes.

Okay, well no loss there. Time to get the hell out of this place.

It quickly became evident that the angel had fully secured the building. The doors wouldn't budge and anyway, when Sam went to touch them it sent a harsh shock through his body. He couldn't believe that this thing claimed it was an angel. What happened to angels being good and pure?

After hours of searching for a way out, Sam wandered into what must have been a break room for the factory workers. There was an old ratty couch still sitting in the room and Sam plopped down on it, immediately thinking of his brother and his love for sleeping. Where was Dean right now? Was he just sleeping and waiting for this incident to solve itself? Was he sitting around hoping Sam would be returned? Was he demanding Crowley to look into his sudden disappearance? Could Dean even move right now from the injury Castiel inflicted?

If Dean reacted anything like what his human self would have, he would be going berserk right now. Sam could picture his brother throwing things, screaming and once he found out where Sam was - because Dean always rescued him - Dean would jump into the Impala and speed down the road, not slowing down until he reached his little brother. Hopefully, that was happening right now. It had to be. Sam trusted his brother. Dean would be looking for him; Dean was on his way right now. It was with these thoughts that Sam restlessly drifted off to a sleep filled with nightmares.

Sam woke up feeling relieved that he wasn't getting any cravings for demon blood. So far Dean's predictions had been right. By keeping his quantities limited and measured, he wasn't feeling any addictive urge even though he missed his daily 'demon blood Kool-Aid'. Speaking of Dean, there was still no sight of him or the angel. As the day wore on though, Sam was getting less worried about Dean not showing up. Sam remembered how angry Dean had been when the ghoul had been attacking him those few months ago. Dean had rushed upstairs to rescue Sam even though his little brother had been treating him like shit. That protective side of Dean never vanished; maybe it was even stronger than ever. Dean still worried over him constantly, it was obvious. He would show up.

The only problem was how would Dean know he was here?

Sam was busy pacing the dirty floor when Castiel reappeared again. He looked more confused than usual.

"My brothers are being very secretive about their motives. I believe they know something that I do not."

"Great. So now you know that they're lying to you. Now you can send me back to Dean." Maybe this would actually work out.

"Not necessarily. I still will never trust a demon. If you truly believe that there is something else going on, I will consider working with you to find out the truth."

Sam shook his head, trying to suppress his anger. "You're not going to get me to do anything without Dean."

"I cannot accept him."

"I'm never going to abandon him," Sam stubbornly stood his ground.

"He would most likely abandon you at the first available chance. He probably is not even looking for you."

"That's a lie!"

Castiel had the nerve to look the tiniest bit sad, or perhaps Sam was just imagining the emotion. "He's not the person he once was and I apologize for not rescuing him."

"Yeah? And why are you sorry? Are you sorry because it caused him more pain and allowed him to turn into a demon? Or are you sorry because you failed your orders?" At the lack of response Sam shook his head and laughed bitterly. "That's what I thought."

Suddenly there was a commotion coming from outside the building. There was loud banging, as if someone was trying to break in. Dean, please be Dean.

The door on the left side of the building collapsed and quickly rushing in with the Colt in his hand was Dean, his black eyes blazing.

"You leave my brother alone you son of a bitch!" Dean hollered. He aimed the Colt at the angel and without any hesitation, pulled the trigger. Sam looked just in time to see Castiel's eyes go wide before he vanished, the bullet flying through empty air.

Dean looked flabbergasted and frustrated but he immediately turned his attention to Sam, a look of relief spreading over his face. He didn't waste any more time before running over to Sam and surprised him by grabbing his little brother's shoulders in both hands, his black eyes wild with fear. It was so familiar, so Dean. Sam couldn't believe he had ever doubted his brother, even if it was temporarily.

"What did he do to you? Did he hurt you?"

Dean's grip was starting to really hurt Sam's shoulders, so he placed a hand on Dean's bicep and attempted to pry him off. Dean got the hint and dropped his arms but never backed away.

"He didn't hurt me at all. He wanted to try and figure out why I believe killing Lilith would lead to the apocalypse. He's starting to doubt the angels' plans it seems like, but he has a major issue with you. He already said he won't kill you because of me, so don't go shooting him."

"He took you away and trapped you! If I wanna kill him, I'll kill him!" Dean was getting furious, filled with rage. Sam could tell by the spastic state his soul was in. It was time to calm him down.

"Remember what you said? If we have an angel on our side it can really help us. So just hold back your anger, alright? He wasn't going to hurt me, so maybe he's not as bad as we think. If he reappears then just hold your fire."

Dean was breathing heavily. "I don't think I can do that," he said harshly.

"Do it for me. Come on Dean, if he causes the slightest problem then you can do whatever you want. Let's see if he can help us."

Dean looked irritated as hell, but he reluctantly agreed. "Fine, if things go wrong it's your funeral."

"You wouldn't let me die."

"Damn straight I wouldn't. Now let's get the hell outta here before he decides to come back."

It seemed like the angel heard Dean, because he appeared a few seconds later in front of the brothers. They both jumped and Dean quickly pulled out the Colt but didn't shoot, obeying his brother's orders.

"You ever come after my brother again, I don't care what Sammy says, I'll shoot you on the spot."

"I will not question your brother without your permission any longer. I observed that you have a very unique relationship for a human and a demon." Castiel's glare then turned cold on Dean. "But you are still a demon and while your brother may trust you, I do not. If you happen to step out of line in any way I will be forced to send you back to where you came from."

"Well geez, no hard feelings, huh? That was a great conversation. I'm glad we got off on a wonderful start," Dean seethed.

Sam ignored their arguing. "So does this mean you'll help us?"

"I will consider it."

"If you could find Lilith and keep us informed on where she's heading that would be great," Sam smiled.

"Or find a way to be able to lock the bitch up tight in Hell so she can never get back out," Dean added in.

"I am not sure what a female dog has to do with Lilith, demon. However, I will look into getting her locked away." And with that, the angel vanished once again.

Dean spoke up first. "Huh, well at least he's funny in an oblivious sort of way. If he didn't take you away I might even consider not hating him."

Sam punched Dean in the shoulder and gave him a glare. "I told you he just wanted to talk to me. It seems like he's just misguided and if we can change that we can really have an advantage against Lilith."

"Let's hope so. Now let's really get the hell outta here in case he decides to pop back up."

Sam wanted to relax when they were back in the Impala but it seemed like every time he found himself feeling secure, something bad would happen. He glanced over at Dean who was a lot less tense than he had been confronting the angel. It seemed that when he found out the angel hadn't been hurting Sam, Dean had cooled down immensely. Looking at his brother right now, Sam finally noticed something that was never there before, something new...

Dean had his classic rock blaring and was humming along, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. This would seem normal to anyone who knew Dean, but Sam knew him better than anyone. Yeah, Dean would go through the same actions before when he was human, but there was always something else going on. Dean would have a certain set to his jaw, his posture riged, and his eyes... Sam could always tell when his brother was thinking too much by looking into his eyes. Before-Dean always had that distressed look in his eyes; the stress lines on his forehead spoke volumes about Dean's inner self-hatred. When it had looked like Dean was enjoying himself, he was really using it as a cover to disguise how he was really feeling deep down, how he was feeling worthless and not good enough for anyone. No matter how hard Sam tried to change that about his brother, he could never seem to fix him. He had figured that there was no true healing for his brother.

Except now... even though his eyes were black, Sam could still read Dean just as easy as he ever could. There was no guilt or loathing hidden behind those eyes. Dean was slouched in the seat, his humming coming effortlessly. He was lost in the music, not like before when he would use the music as a shield to get lost in other memories. Nothing that had been eating away at Dean bothered him anymore. Maybe it should get Sam nervous that Dean had gone through Hell and had tortured souls and could care less about it. But Sam couldn't find it in him to really care. What happened, happened. And truthfully... he was just glad that Dean was relaxed and by all means and purposes... really seemed happy.

Before-Dean had been living by letting the events and tragedies pull him through his life while he trailed behind, getting lost in the process. Now Dean was embracing life, living in the moment and not caring about his past, not caring about anything.

Well, except for his little brother. The fierce protectiveness that was shown when Dean had burst into the warehouse was something that hadn't changed in Dean at all.

"Thanks for coming, by the way." Sam had to shout over the music just so Dean could hear him.

Dean gave Sam a strange look before reluctantly turning down the music a bit. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Thanks for showing up to get me. How did you find me anyway?"

Dean's carefree look vanished as he cast Sam that same look he had when he found Sam's voicemails. Shit, that was the last thing Sam wanted. If there was one thing his brother fretted about, it was Sam's doubtfulness.

"You didn't think I'd come and get you." It wasn't a question and Dean's voice was flat.

"Dean, first of all you couldn't move when I was taken away. And I just wasn't sure how you would react. I mean, I know you would have rushed out to save me before but I wasn't sure if you'd wait it out this time. Or if you wouldn't find me because it could involve the angels and they could kill you..."

Dean's fists tightened around the steering wheel and his arms actually began to shake. "I'm your brother, Sam."

"I know Dean, I..."

"You honestly think that I would leave you? Not knowing where the hell you were or what could have happened to you? I was up walking before I even could properly. I was throwing stuff around, hell I threatened Crowley. He somehow put a tracking coin on that angel. He knew where you were, but he wouldn't teleport me to you because he was afraid of the angels. So I jumped in my damn car and broke every fuckin' law on the road to get to you. We're lucky if we don't have cops after our asses. And you thought I could sit there like everything was fine and dandy? And why, because I'm a demon? Huh?" Dean glared Sam's way, anger written all over his face.

"I'm sorry, I only thought so for a little bit and then I realized how stupid it was. I wasn't sure if being a demon..."

Dean interrupted him, and what he said shocked Sam.

"It doesn't change us, it doesn't change what we have."

What we have. Trust. Intuition. Protectiveness. Brotherhood. Friendship. Codependency.

Dean was right, none of that changed just because he was a demon.

"You're right. I'm sorry."

"I thought you knew that by now, Sam," Dean gritted out between clenched teeth.

"I do. It was just a moment of doubt. It'll never happen again. I feel like shit."

"Good, you should."

Sam sighed. He didn't like this. He hated the tension between them that came with a fight. This hadn't changed either, nothing about them had. How stupid could Sam have been to think Dean wouldn't come searching for him the minute he vanished? If Dean would have come back from Hell human like he was intended to... Sam couldn't even begin to fathom what a mess he would be inside. Dean would have been even more tormented, would have felt so guilty and would probably fall into depression or alcoholism. He would have been so withdrawn; maybe he wouldn't even be functioning. If Dean had come back human he might have even been less like the Dean of before than he was right now. Sam hadn't even thought about that, he could have gotten back a brother that he couldn't even relate to anymore, that had gone through so much that his human mind couldn't take it.

"I am really sorry, Dean," Sam repeated himself. "I think too much and I make bad decisions and even beat you up when you first came back to save me. I keep worrying about little things that I shouldn't. I'm a horrible brother and I don't deserve you."

Dean actually got angrier, something that Sam wasn't expecting. "Don't say that, dammit. That's not true, Sammy. Just... shut up."

Dean could still say something like that, even as a demon. Gosh, Sam loved his brother. He waited about five minutes and when Dean's tension still didn't change he grabbed a piece of crumbled newspaper and threw it at his brother, hitting him in the nose.

"What?!" Dean shot out, still looking...hurt. Sam saw glimpses of it before, but the emotion never lasted more than a few seconds. Now, Dean was hurt again by Sam's words and it affected him so much that he wasn't even hiding it this time.

"I know it won't make up for everything, but I promise to get you pie after every meal for the next week. I'll pay for it all."

Dean took his eyes back off the road to look at Sam. It seemed like he was having a hard time staying mad. Yeah, things didn't change after all, those puppy-dog eyes still worked on his demon brother.

"Pay for my entire meals and I'll call it a deal."

Sam smiled, feeling relieved and the tension that had been hanging in the air vanished.

"Wipe that stupid smirk off your face, you're still an annoying bitch."

"Thanks, jerk. For everything."

Dean rolled his eyes and groaned loudly. "Shut up, Sammy."