Sam woke up in the cold Impala and sighed. He really had to pee. Checking his watch, he groaned when he saw that it was 3:27 in the morning. Even with Dean's jacket, he was still cold and he hoped they would be able to leave soon.

He sat up and glanced over to the front seat to see that Dean was out cold, shivering slightly. Sam suddenly felt horrible as he remembered the blanket in the Impala's trunk. He'd grab it for Dean when he came back inside the car.

Sam stepped out into the unseasonable cold early-autumn night as he attempted to adjust his eyes to the scenery around him. It had stopped raining at least, but the ground was all mud. About ten feet in front of him the trees started to gather so Sam made his way over. He might as well hide in the forest. Even though it was very early in the morning, he didn't want someone to drive by and witness him peeing on the side of the road.

Sam walked through the trees, listening to the owls hooting and other animals scurrying through the damp grass. It was so peaceful. He couldn't imagine what would happen if the whole apocalypse plan was put into action. What would happen to the forests? Would the whole Earth be overgrown with them? Or would everything simply burn down and look like a living Hell? Would animals thrive or would they be the first ones to die off?

Sam guessed that no one really knew the answer to that except for Lucifer. It was scary to know that the Devil was real. Sam always thought so but just knowing it for a fact made it that much scarier. He was down in Hell waiting, hoping that Sam was falling for all the wrong tricks so he could be set free and walk around in Sam's body and destroy the world.

Sam finished going to the bathroom and then started walking back to the Impala. There's no way Sam was going to let that happen. Dean was making sure he wasn't being led down the wrong path. Dean would keep him….

"Sammy?!"

…safe.

Dean's voice started echoing through the forest, calling his name frantically. Great, Sam thought he was being considerate in sneaking out of the Impala and letting Dean sleep. Apparently Dean didn't agree.

"I'm over here, Dean!" Sam shouted. He walked towards the Impala quicker until he saw his brother and called out his name. Dean spun around, his black eyes looking creepy for the first time in a while, matching the dark black sky around them.

Dean marched over angrily. Of course. Sam internally groaned, couldn't he do a single thing on his own without telling his brother?

Dean stormed over and grabbed Sam's shirt, shaking him. He was angry as hell but there was also relief on his face.

"Where the hell did you go?" Dean growled at Sam. He stopped the shaking but kept his hands fisted in Sam's jacket – the jacket Dean gave to him.

Sam pushed Dean's hand off of him. "Relax, Dean! I had to pee. Do I have to let you know what I'm doing at every minute of the day?"

"Did you have to go wander into the forest? I had no idea where the hell you went or why!"

"Does it matter where I went, Dean?" Sam interrupted his brother. "You want me to trust you and I do, Dean, but why can't you even trust me?"

Dean glared at Sam; the look was so harsh that it made him flinch. "If you let me finish…," Dean started out slowly, every word laced with anger. "You'd learn that it's not about that at all. I came back from Hell and risked everything to save your ass. Why would I do that for someone I don't trust."

Sam became quiet. "You wouldn't. Then why are you so upset?"

"I swear I can't believe you got into college. You can be so fricken' dense sometimes, Sammy." Dean shook his head. "Think about it. Think about what the angels and the demons want."

"The apocalypse."

"Exactly. And what could help jump-start the apocalypse?"

"Opening the seals?"

"And who can open the seals, Sammy? Actually who can open the most important one of them all?" Dean rolled his eyes.

Sam paused, finally understanding just how dangerous everything was for him. "Me."

"There you go, smart one. They're after you. Basically every single demon that knows what's going on is trying to twist you to kill Lilith. The fricken' angels want you to believe you're saving the world by having you kill her. I thought one of them got you! What was I supposed to think? Huh, Sam? I wake up with you vanished, no note or anything! Fake Ruby could have found you! Alastair could have grabbed you! Even worse, one of the angels could have snatched you up and then I would have no way to get to you!"

Dean was panting, that was how worked up he was. Sam couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Dean… were you this bent out of shape after Castiel took me from Crowley's?"

"What do you think, dumbass? And then you go vanishing again and I didn't know what to think! You could have been killed! It's my job to protect you! I'm not going to fail again… I can't stand to see that happen again…"

Dean dropped his arms. He seemed defeated, worn-out, exhausted. It took Sam a minute to register just what his brother was referring to.

"Dean… you didn't fail at anything. You couldn't stop Jake from stabbing me, there was no way…" Sam said gently. He suddenly felt extremely stupid for leaving the car, like he should have known better. Of course Dean would assume that Sam went missing.

"I don't want to hear your excuses for me," Dean said coldly. "I wasted too much time, I should have gotten there sooner and then you never would have been alone for him to stab you." Dean turned around but didn't start walking without Sam. "Come on, let's get back to the car."

"Dean…. come on, man…." Sam walked beside his brother and attempted to put a hand on his shoulder only for Dean to shake it off.

Dean turned to Sam then, his face showing the most emotion Sam had ever seen on his brother in his entire life.

"I can go through Hell a thousand times over but it could never break me like losing you could."

That's where the demons and angels got it wrong. Bringing Dean to Hell and breaking him, turning him into a demon… that didn't destroy him. Dean was still very much Dean despite everything he went through. It was losing his brother that would kill Dean. With Sam gone, there would be no Dean left.

Just as Dean had told him before, he would just be another faceless demon, killing recklessly in order to try and feel something, anything at all.

They got back into the Impala and Dean plopped down in the front seat, his arms crossed with a frown on his face. He looked miserable and cold.

That was when Sam remembered the blanket in the trunk. He was about to simply walk outside before he remembered how angry Dean would get if he went somewhere without telling him.

"I'm going to get a blanket from the trunk. Do you need me to tell you that too?"

"I don't care what you're doing, Sam. I just want to know where you're going so I can keep an eye on you or so I know where to find you."

"Okay, I get it." Sam really did. "Then the same goes for you, too. Let me know or leave me a note."

"I already do." Dean grumbled. Sam thought back and remembered the note Dean had left when they were in Crowley's mansion. Sam had a tendency to wander without thinking about what precautions he could take. When he got mad he'd storm off, not even knowing where he was heading himself. Sam guessed it was that stubborn independence within him. The part of him that didn't want to hide in his brother's shadow- the part that wanted to go off and do his own thing. The part that wanted to be treated like the adult that he was. Those things seemed so petty now... Sam had acted very childish in the past… marching off to Stanford with hardly a dime in his pocket, and then proceeding to ignore most of his brother's (very few) calls during those last two years at school.

Dean was just protective, now more than ever it seemed. He wasn't treating Sam like a child; Dean was trying to get him to act more like an adult.

"Be right back," Sam told his brother as he hurried outside. It took him longer than he wanted to find the stupid blanket and the whole time he was searching, Sam saw something from the corner of his eye. It was Dean watching from the Impala, his black eyes observing Sam, as if on lookout.

Of course once Sam found the blanket and closed the trunk, Dean averted his eyes, acting as if he wasn't concerned at all.

"Here," Sam stated, handing the blanket over to his brother. "I got it for you, you look freezing."

Dean snatched the blanket, muttering a 'thanks' before lying back down.

Sam had been wrong when he assumed Dean didn't feel guilt at all anymore. He might be a lot more carefree and not let things bother him but he still felt guilt for not getting to Sam in time. Sam guessed if anything were to happen to him on Dean's watch, his big brother still would never forgive himself. Dean didn't let anything bother him…. except worrying about Sam.

"I still don't blame you, by the way. I should have been more cautious."

Dean huffed. "I was a stupid human, I was thinking too much when I should have just sped over there and got you. Who cares if it was a damn trap or battlefield out there, I should have just made it out there as soon as possible."

That was what Dean did now, just ran out to Sam when he was in trouble, not thinking of the danger he could be getting into. Dean broke into that building to save Sam from Castiel, knowing full well that the angel had the upper advantage.

"But whatever, that's not going to happen again, I won't let it. And that's why you have to tell me where you're going to be at all times."

"Okay, I will. I swear," Sam told his brother and then decided to change the topic. "We don't have much time left to save the woman, do we?"

"A couple months. And if you insist on having her live instead of getting rid of the demon the easy way, then you need to practice. We're gonna hunt down some demons and you're going to pull all of their souls from their bodies. I need you to be strong enough to where you can get the soul out when the demon isn't tied down."

"You really believe I'm going to be able to do this?"

"Hell yeah, I mean you are the second-best hunter out there."

Sam rolled his eyes. "So you still consider yourself a hunter, then."

"Of course, just because I'm a demon, it doesn't change anything. I just kill my own kind now."

Sam failed to hold back his chuckle.

Their first demon was the first one Dean managed to sense. He had suddenly pulled to the side of the road, his eyes wide.

"There's one nearby," he told Sam, reaching over to tug open the dashboard compartment. A bunch of maps came tumbling out. "Where are we?"

Sam glanced around at the street signs. They had been heading back towards the woman who was pregnant with the antichrist half-demon child just so they could be near.

"I think we're on 70. We passed Denver a while ago." Sam helped Dean search through the maps and found the Colorado one.

Dean studied the map for a few minutes. "Alright, the next city is called New Castle. Be on the lookout for it. The demon is probably there."

"Are you sure it's in the town?"

"We're in the middle of Colorado, where else would it be? Hiding in the mountains? That's no fun. Demons get bored easily, as you could probably already tell with me. And like I already told you, what is the source of pleasure for most demons?"

"Hurting people," Sam answered.

"Yeah, mostly killing people. Not sure why that makes them so happy. If I'm bored, I just screw around with people and get them irritated."

"Or irritate me." Sam rolled his eyes.

Dean grinned. "Of course, that's what I live for."

"Or you blow up peoples' fancy cars," Sam stated, remembering the motel owner from a few months ago.

Dean shrugged. "What can I say, people need to appreciate true craftsmanship," he said while stroking the steering wheel of the Impala.

Dean started up the car again and it didn't take long before they saw the signs for the small town.

"Oh yeah," Dean nodded. "The demon is definitely here."

"It can't sense you because of Bobby's spell, right?"

"If it did sense me, it would have been long gone by now. Demons don't like to conflict with one another for the most part. They just go off on their own and cause trouble, demons working together would only cause problems and they'd probably kill each other."

Sam laughed. "Yeah, like you and Crowley."

"Trust me, we want to strangle each other most of the time, but Crowley's a business man. He works to make deals. If he was a fighter, there'd be no chance we'd be able to work together."

Dean pulled off the expressway and into a Rodeway Inn. The south of the town was nestled against the banks of a river and surrounded by mountains.

"I wonder why a demon would choose such a small, random town," Sam thought out loud.

"Crowley thinks demons head toward what they're most familiar with when they were human, even though most of them don't remember. He thinks it's an effort to try and connect to something, to who they were- most demons can't, and that's what makes them frustrated and violent."

"So that's why you headed toward me."

Dean rolled his eyes and opened the door. "Please, as if I could ever forget your whiny ass. But yeah, basically. And the fact that I had to save you."

As Dean exited the Impala, he changed his eyes back to their green human shade. It actually shocked Sam; he had become so accustomed to his brother's black eyes that anything else seemed strange. The green eyes actually looked out of place on his brother now since Sam had become so accepting of his demon form.

Dean paid for their room and mixed Sam a demon-blood drink before going out to grab some take-out from the local diner. When Dean returned, Sam realized just how hungry he was and went to grab at the Styrofoam containers, only to have Dean slap his hand away.

"I know you love food, Dean, but at least let me have some of it," Sam said as he reached over again. This time Dean pushed Sam and his chair backwards about a foot or two by using his powers.

Irritated, Sam looked up to see Dean grinning at him, his eyes black once again.

"You can have your food after you practice."

"You're trying to tempt me with food?" Really, Dean?

Dean shrugged and sat down on his bed. "It would work for me."

"But we haven't even found or captured the demon yet."

"You think I'd throw you into a room to extract a demon without you having any more practice? You've extracted one demon, Sam. Me. And I let you. This time you'll practice on me, but I'm going to be fighting you. It will still be harder extracting other demons, but at least this way you'll have practice on what to do."

Sam sighed. "Fine." He held out his hand; for some reason that seemed to help him control his powers. Sam concentrated until he could see Dean's soul, Dean's calm soul. His brother was right; pulling out his soul, even while Dean fought against him would be much easier than pulling out any other demon.

Sam latched onto Dean's soul, only for his brother to immediately begin fighting him. Sam felt his powers weaken, and the link that connected his powers to Dean's soul broke.

"Come on, Sammy," Dean sighed. "You can do better than that. Keep up the concentration and ignore how much the soul is trying to fight you."

"I'm trying, Dean."

"Focus just on pulling the soul out, nothing else at all."

Sam rolled his eyes; Dean made it sound so easy.

"It's all about concentration, Sammy. Like aiming to hit the bullseye."

Sam took a deep breath and repeated his actions, this time focusing more on the movement of Dean's soul before latching on again. He tugged with his powers; it was difficult, but he was able to keep Dean's soul in his grip. Sam pushed his powers out further and that was when he heard a noise of discomfort come from his brother.

Sam looked over to see Dean's face twisted in pain. The first thing he thought of was the hellhounds, how Dean's face looked when they were tearing him apart. Tearing his soul out. That was what Sam was doing right now. It was the same thing.

Sam let go, shaking his head as he backed up, ashamed.

"What… what the hell are you stopping for?" Dean panted. "You almost had my soul out!"

"You're hurting," Sam told his brother, his voice trembling slightly. "I'm not going to cause you any more pain, Dean. Especially after all you've been through."

Dean rolled his eyes, seeming frustrated. "I'm fine, Sam! Of course it hurts to be pulling against your powers! I'm doing this to help train you, the only reason it hurts is because I'm focusing on fighting against you, like all the demons will be."

"I don't want to do this. Not against you, Dean."

"It's not a big deal!" Dean threw his hands up in the air. "Once you get the hang of it, you won't have to do it to me anymore."

"But I just can't ignore that it's you, Dean! I don't want to hurt you so how am I supposed to be focused when it's you I'm causing pain?"

"Oh my God, you've got to be kidding me!" Dean shouted. "You have to work on me, first! It's the easiest way to train you. If you can't work as hard knowing it's me, then just pretend. Pretend I'm the demon-bitch that wanted to trick you. Ignore me and focus on fake-Ruby. Focus on pulling her soul out and getting back at her for what she tried to do to you. Or better yet, think of Lilith when you do this and how she tried to screw you over and start this whole apocalypse."

Sam was beginning to understand his brother's logic. "Or how about how she killed you. How she forced you to go through Hell."

Dean shrugged. "Sure, if that works for you, then think of that."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"As long as you don't stab me with that knife or send a Colt-bullet through my head, I'll be peachy."

"Shut up."

"I'll be forced to shut up if you rip my soul out of my body," Dean grinned.

Sam huffed, ignoring his brother's remarks as he tried one more time. This time he kept going even through Dean's moans of pain. Sam grasped onto Dean's struggling soul and thought of what Lilith did to Dean. Lilith killed his brother, all to trick them both into rising Lucifer.

He wasn't going to have that. He was going to rip her soul from her body and lock her in Hell. She would never see the light of day again for what she did to his brother.

So Sam concentrated, fighting against Dean's thrashing soul that whipped out at him. If he was going to send Lilith to Hell, he needed to at least be able to pull a demon out of its host. Starting with his brother.

Dean gave one last final effort to fight against Sam, but the younger brother held on as he starting lifting Dean's demonic soul from his body. Sam was quicker this time as he pulled the black cloud… his brother… from his body. Dean's body collapsed lifelessly on the bed while his soul floated above it.

Sam held on to Dean's soul while he thrashed around. He had control, even through Dean's resistance. It was nice to know and Sam really felt powerful just then, knowing that he could control a demon, that he wouldn't harm the host when getting rid of the demon that possessed them.

But right now, Sam was holding onto his brother and it was about time that he released the poor guy… or cloud… smoke… soul…?

Or Dean. It didn't matter if he wore black eyes, green eyes, was in his human body or floating around as his demon-cloud soul. He would always be Dean, Sam's big brother.

Sam let go of Dean as he released his powers and watched with a smile as Dean zipped around the room. Sam briefly wondered if Dean felt more free in his soul-form or if he felt more comfortable inhabiting his human body.

Dean floated around Sam's head in circles and then draped around his shoulders like a scarf.

"Dude, get off." Sam laughed as he batted at Dean; he was surprised when he didn't feel anything strange as he swatted his hand through Dean's soul. His brother was still such a goof and Sam suddenly felt very fond of his brother and everything he was doing for him.

He wasn't going to let Dean down this time; he wasn't going to let anyone take him away again.

After whipping around in circles a few more times, Dean hovered over the food he had left at the table, causing Sam to laugh. Then he floated over to his fallen body, seeming eager to get back in.

Of course Dean would enjoy being in his body more, without it he wouldn't be able to eat.

The next morning, Sam figured he'd purchase an entire apple pie that was sitting at the diner. He was waiting for the take-out breakfast burritos to be ready when he spotted the pie. Dean deserved the entire thing even though he was being a lazy bum.

Dean had groaned when Sam tried to get him up to go out for breakfast, narrowing black eyes at him and whining that fighting against Sam's powers left him exhausted. Sam didn't know if that was true or not, but he knew how much Dean loved his sleep.

The breakfast burritos were ready and smelled delicious. Maybe these and the pie were enough to get Dean out of bed. Sam drove back to the motel only to forget all about the food.

The door was open and while the salt line remained intact, Sam could see that the inside of the room was a mess.

He jumped out of the Impala, not bothering to close the car door as he rushed over to the room with his gun drawn.

"Dean!" Sam called as he studied the sheets thrown all over the place. The lamp was on the ground and busted, like there had been a struggle.

Suddenly, his brother approached from the bathroom, looking disoriented and confused. He was rubbing his head but then looked up at Sam… with green eyes.

Dean smiled, and it was different, his face was more relaxed… he seemed more…. human.

"Sammy, oh my God, I'm so glad to see you. I'm so glad you're not hurt." Dean exited the room, stepping right over the untouched salt line.

What the hell?! Sam tuned into his powers, searching for Dean's soul. There was nothing… no demonic cloud inside of Dean.

Sam backed up quickly as Dean went to hug him. Sam pointed his gun directly at Dean…. or whoever… whatever this was.

"You're not my brother. What did you do with Dean?" Sam demanded, his tone cold and rough. What the hell was going on? Everything had been fine half an hour ago!

Dean frowned, and he looked genuinely sad. "Sammy, it's me. It's really me. They fixed me. The angels gave me back my humanity."