Thanks once more for reading and reviewing! Here's a quicker update and longer chapter. Enjoy!

As Sam and Dean looked over the list of ingredients they would need for the spell, Bobby called Ellen.

"Her and Jo are fine," he told the brothers after he hung up the phone. "I warned them to take cover just in case."

"Do you want to call your other hunter friends?" Sam asked. After hearing Dean's words about the ghosts going after hunters, Sam was afraid that the spirits might have gotten to some of Bobby's acquaintances.

Bobby shook his head sadly. "I'd rather not think about that right now, not with everything that's going on here." He stood up and started grabbing any weapons they could use to ward off the spirits.

"These are some funky ingredients Bobby." Dean looked up from the list. "Me and Sammy don't know where you keep this stuff, if you even do."

"Yeah, I thought of that. I'm going to be able to get the spell together the quickest. Can you two hold down the fort for me? Keep those spirits at bay?"

With a roll of his eyes, Dean huffed. "You think we can't handle a few spirits? We'll be fine, just shoot em' whenever they show up."

"These aren't your typical ghosts, you know that boy," Bobby reminded Dean.

Dean shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, but they're still ghosts…"

"They're extremely dangerous. You saw what they did to your brother."

Dean stiffened upon hearing those words. Sam knew that Dean understood the severity of their situation, he was just trying to play brave and act like the ghosts could be handled easily. That was just how Dean was – even more so now that he was a demon. But when Bobby reminded Dean of what the ghost had done to Sam, he quickly dropped the confident stance.

"Yeah, I know. And I won't let them get to him again," he said curtly.

"I know you won't, you boys will protect each other." Bobby turned and held out a leather glove to Dean. "Now, you wear this."

"My hand isn't cold Bobby." Dean gave their friend a strange look.

"Not because of the cold! I figured you boys could use these iron bars I have down here to swing at the ghosts. It may be quicker than firing a gun if they're close by."

Dean's eyes widened, as he understood what Bobby was saying at the same time Sam was. Bobby was giving Dean the glove so he could hold the iron bar and it wouldn't burn his skin. Smart idea.

Sam took the glove from Bobby, because Dean couldn't put it on himself. He slipped it on his brother's hand and watched as Dean flexed his fingers.

"A little big, but it will do," he smirked.

"Shut it, you idjit." Bobby rolled his eyes as he held out the iron bar to Dean.

"Awesome." Dean grabbed the bar with his right hand and started swinging it around dramatically.

Sam sighed and Bobby rolled his eyes. "Quit foolin' around. I've got holsters for your shotguns so you can keep those on you too."

Sam's eyes widened as Bobby pulled out the holsters. "Geeze Bobby, you really do have everything in here, don't you?"

"Just about," Bobby shrugged. "Thought of everything that might come in handy in case of an attack."

Sam just hoped they would need to use this room as little as possible. It was amazing, of course, but it kind of gave him the creeps. With all this talk about the looming apocalypse, the room reminded Sam of one of those bunkers in Zombie movies where the survivors would keep safe.

He decided to stop thinking about that right now. They had a problem in the here and now that they needed to take care of. He strapped on his holster and placed the sawed-off inside of it before glancing over at Dean.

Great, Dean was still screwing around, probably trying to imitate a fight scene from one of those lame action movies he always loved. He looked absolutely ridiculous with that one leather glove and his limp arm lying in the sling while he continued to whip around the iron bar.

"Dean!" Sam called out; he had to force himself not to smile and the startled look on his brother's face as he snapped out of his imaginary fight. It was best to just keep on a straight face with Dean when he acted like a goof. Sam learned that if you laughed or smiled just the tiniest bit at anything Dean did or said, his big brother would get a big head and just think he's the funniest guy in the world.

Dean didn't stay started for long as his look changed to that of annoyance. "What?"

"Stop acting like an idiot and let me put this holster on you."

Dean groaned but allowed Sam to strap the holster on. After putting Dean's gun in place, Sam looked to Bobby.

"You ready?"

"Yep," Bobby nodded. "How 'bout you, Dean?"

"I'm more than ready." Dean was practically bouncing on his feet. "Let's go gank some ghostly ass."

Dean was buzzing with energy. The thrill of the hunt excited him even more than it did when he was human. If Dean was restless before, he was extremely so now. He figured it was because of that demon rage inside of him that he was able to push back easily day after day with the help of having his brother by his side. The restlessness was also due to being tied up for so long in Hell, and then even after being off the rack, he knew he was always being watched, forced to torture soul after soul, he had no free will. It was only when Alastair became certain that Den was turning into his perfect creation and stopped watching him constantly that Dean was able to get away from his 'teacher'. Dean had tricked Alistair and had been busy trying to find a way out of Hell when he had ran into Crowley.

Speaking of Crowley, Dean figured that he better give that arrogant demon a call after the holiday and find out if he knew anything about Lilith or Alastair.

Lost in his thoughts, Dean bumped into his brother as Sam stopped on the steps up to the main floor.

Bobby grabbed Dean's shoulders from behind and kept him from falling. Heh, it was a good thing that Bobby liked him now. Dean didn't feel like trying to take on these ghosts with a bleeding head that was cracked opened from falling down the steps.

"What's the holdup Sammy?" Now that Dean thought of it, why was he letting Sam go up first? He hadn't even realized it, but now that he did, Dean didn't like it. Sam would be first in the line of danger if the ghosts decided to attack as soon as they got upstairs.

"I think I heard a noise."

This was a perfect opportunity for Dean to take the lead. "Yeah, they're probably waiting for us." Dean pushed past Sam on the stairs. "And if they are, it's me that's going to take the first hit, not you."

"Dean, I'm perfectly capable of defending myself from them," Sam pouted.

"Yeah, I know that. But these things can kill you, they can't kill me." With that finally settled, Dean marched up the stairs and threw open the door to the main floor.

And…there was nothing.

Well, that was pretty anti-climactic.

"How's it look, Dean?" Bobby called from the steps.

Dean took another look around, scaled the living room.

"They're in hiding…for now. Come on up, but watch yourselves."

Sam and Bobby finally emerged onto the main floor. Bobby went straight to his desk and began searching for supplies.

"Sam, make a salt circle around Bobby's desk," Dean ordered his brother. "I'll keep lookout."

Sam did as he was told, picking up a bag of salt that Bobby always kept near his desk.

But as soon as Sam bent down, Madison appeared behind him.

Bobby gasped, but Dean got over and swung the iron bar just as she began reaching out to squish Sam's organs with her ghostly claw.

Okay, it wasn't a claw, but Dean bet it sure hurt like one.

Madison vanished and before Sam could ask what had just happened, Dean urged him to continue working.

"They're going to keep popping up. I've got your back," Dean reassured his brother. "Just finish the circle."

Sam completed the circle without another ghost appearing, thankfully. As Bobby dug around in his drawers for ingredients, the lights flickered again and Bobby's wife was staring him down, outside of the salt circle.

Sam turned around, but the ghost easily flung him to the side and sent him sliding across the floor.

Dean wasn't sure if ghost powers would work against a demon, but he didn't want to find out….

As soon as Dean raised the iron bar, Karen spun around and Dean went flying backwards. He slammed into Sam who had just gotten up and they both hit the floor with a loud thud.

Suddenly, pain shot up Dean's arm and he couldn't help but grimace as he dropped the iron bar and clutched onto his bad arm. The force of landing on the arm was sending waves of pain from the stab wound all the way down to his fingertips.

Dean noticed his vision was getting blurry and the sounds around him became muffled, two things that rarely happened to a demon unless they came across an extreme injury. He closed his eyes on instinct against the pain.

"Dean, hey….get up man…." Dean felt hands on his shoulders…someone trying to lift him up into a sitting position. With a groan Dean held onto his bad arm tighter…he didn't want to sit up….he just wanted to take a moment to breathe through the pain.

"Dean! Are you okay man…shit Bobby….it's his arm…something happened to it…."

It was Sam. But if Sam was looking over him, then where was Karen?

Dean willed himself to calm his breathing as he tried to tune into the conversation around him….he needed to open his eyes..he needed to get back into the fight.

A gunshot went off and Dean heard Bobby sigh in relief. "She's gone….for now."

He cracked his eyes open, squinting as soon as he did, but he didn't dare close them again. He was leaning against the wall….turning his head to the side, he saw Sammy crouching next to him with a concerned look on his face…

Dean found himself gaining awareness a lot quicker. He took another look around and saw that he and Sam were sitting in a salt circle themselves, protected from the ghosts that may come by.

"It's, okay," Sam was saying. "Take your time, I put a salt circle around us, we can stay here until you feel a hundred percent." He had a hand on Dean's right shoulder and squeezed. That was when Dean noticed he was still clutching his bad arm with his right hand.

Dean slowly let go, the pain was still there, but it was more of a humming pain than a thunderous one.

Crap, landing on that arm had completely taken him out of commission for what looked to be at least a few minutes. He really needed to get that thing fixed as soon as possible.

Dean looked over to see that Bobby was fine; although it looked like Karen had tried to throw a few objects his way in an attempt to harm him. He had a bowl and was mixing some ingredients together with haste.

Dean nodded, his arm felt a lot better now. "I'm good Sammy, help me up."

Sam looked worried. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling fine, ready to kick some ghostly ass, come on, help me up."

Sam helped his brother stand up and broke the salt line that protected them.

There was a loud noise from the upstairs and both Dean and Sam turned to look at each other.

"Should we go see?" Sam asked.

"I'll go," Dean offered. "You stay here and protect Bobby. Be safe, okay?"

Sam smiled, Dean wasn't sure why. "I will Dean, you too."

Dean marched up the stairs, he both wanted John to come so he could blast him full of rock salt but was also dreading it at the same time.

He already knew all of John's words were true, he didn't need them repeated to him when they already went through his mind every goddamned day.

Dean stood in the hallway, iron bar wielded and ready, waiting for the ghost of his father….

Of course, when Dean was prepared, John decided not to show up. Just like always. Growing up, he was never there when Dean actually needed him, the damn asshole.

"Come on, Dad! Don't you have anything else to say to your demonic son? I'm sure you'd love to list all the ways I failed you! Come and face me like a man, you coward!"

Dean felt the air grow cold around him, but before he could react, he felt someone grab his shirt. The next thing Dean knew he was getting thrown across the hallway. Luckily, this time he landed on his ass and not his arm. Still, his head hit the back of the wall hard enough that it would have given a human a concussion.

Dean blinked and John was standing in front of him, a menacing look on his face. Below Dean, there was paint on the floor, a devil's trap. Of course John, ghost or not, would know to trap a demon he was hunting in a devil's trap. Just great.

"Looks like you dropped something, Dean," John reached down and grabbed….the Colt. Shit, Dean forgot he had the Colt on him. It must have fallen when he got thrown around.

Dean went to stand up but John reached out with his hand, into Dean's stomach and clenched his fist.

Holy hell, that hurt! This was what John had put Sam through? That son-of a bitch!

For a human, it had to be nearly unbearable. For a demon, it was painful, but not nearly enough to make Dean scream; it took a lot of pain to make him scream after what he had gone through every moment in Hell….

"Not gonna yell, demon? John extracted his hand from Dean's gut and then with his ghostly powers, threw the iron bar down the hallway. "Looks like I'm going to have to try something different."

Suddenly, the shotgun that Dean had been reaching for was in John's right hand….and the Colt was by his feet, ready to pick up whenever he pleased.

Oh great, he was screwed.

Dean was about to call for Sam, but he heard commotion and gunshots. Sam had his own ghosts to take care of. If Sam was getting hurt, and Dean wasn't there to protect him….

"That's right, demon. You're failing Sammy again, how does that feel? Knowing that you can't ever do anything right? You let him die…you let him die right in front of your face…"

Dean glared John right in the eyes. "I know I did, but I brought him back! I sold my soul for…"

The shotgun went off and all that Dean felt was PAIN. He couldn't help but let out a whimper at the rock salt that was now embedded in his chest…sizzling his skin…His bad arm fell out of the sling and lay limply to his side.

"Yes, just like I sold my soul for you, you pathetic piece of trash. And for what? I kept my humanity but you…you rotted away…you wasted my gift to you!"

"I know I did! But I did it for Sam!"

John cocked the shotgun, aimed and fired again.

Dean's body bounced against the wall, he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood but never screamed.

"You did it for Sam? You think becoming a demon is helping your brother? Giving him your blood? You're ruining him, corrupting him! The last thing he needs is disgusting hell-spawn following him around!"

"You're the one that wanted me to kill him because of the blood in him! I would never do that, I never gave up on him!"

Another shot and this time he did scream.

"There you go, screaming like the true coward you are. Did you know, that I never screamed once in Hell, demon? No matter what they did to me?"

Dean coughed and as he did, it felt like his lungs were getting pierced with a hundred knives.

"I…I get it, you're stronger than me! I'm a pathetic waste of space! Don't you think I know that already!"?

Another shot, and this time when Dean coughed, he felt blood bubbling out of his mouth. It was like Hell all over again…Alastair would transform into John a lot, claiming how much his father hated him. Dean kind of believed it.

But now he knew it for a fact, his father was confirming everything Alistair had told him. Maybe it was fitting for Dean to out this way, for John to kill him. Dean did waste his father's sacrifice after all…

"Good, you finally admit it, now I'm going to do everyone a favor." John lowered his left hand and raised his right. The Colt was suddenly in his right hand, now pointed directly at Dean's head.

"Get away from my brother, asshole!" Sam's voice suddenly filled the upstairs hallway and it was enough to distract John for a second. Dean took the opportunity to will his broken body to fall to the floor just as John sent off the would-be-fatal shot. The bullet lodged itself in Bobby's wall and Dean hit the ground, his whole body aching in agony.

From the corner of Dean's eye, he could see his little brother, face beet red and angry, come charging at John and swung his iron bar down with a scream. John dissipated and the Colt clattered to the ground.

Sam didn't waste any time as he picked up the colt and shoved it in his pocket. Then he ran over to his fallen brother and broke the devil's trap. He then grabbed Dean by the shoulder to hoist him up, all the while muttering shitshitshitshit.

"Oh god Dean," Sam's voice was strained and he looked like he was going to pass out. "Oh my god…look what he did to you! That bastard! I wish he was back alive so I could kill him myself!"

Sam didn't mean that, Sam would never do such a thing.

But looking at the rage on Sam's face right then, Dean started to doubt himself.

"He practically tore your shirt to shreds!" Sam seethed as he started peeling off the remnants of Dean's shirt that were stuck to his bloody skin. "And…oh my god…I can see your ribs…Dean…"

Sam started crying. Dean cocked his head to the side in worry. "Are you okay…Sammy…are you hurt?"

Sam's head shot up, tears still flowing down his face. "Am I hurt? Hell yeah I'm hurt…I'm hurt from seeing you like this! Do you have any idea how much this kills me Dean? You don't deserve any of this shit! Dad has always pushed you around, you went to HELL for me and now…you're still getting tortured. It's like it never ends, you can never catch a break and I'm so goddamned sick of it!"

Dean was about to say something back when John suddenly appeared behind Sam.

"Sammy…" Dean gasped.

Sam didn't waste any time as he jumped up and spun around, wielding the iron bar.

"You! You piece of shit! How could you do this to your own son? Your son that would have done anything for you?"

"That's not my son, the moment his eyes turned black, he died."

"He IS your son! IF anyone would know, it's me! He went through endless torture and became a demon to help me, yet he's still Dean. That's how strong he is! That's what he's willing to do for me! Dean's done so much more for me than you ever did…he was always there for me and he still is. And I know this really isn't you, but this is the truth and hopefully when you go back to wherever you came from and you're thinking straight, you'll take this information with you."

Sam then swung down the iron bar, only for Madison and Jess to appear beside him.

"Still protecting that demon, I see," Jess shook her head sadly, "when you refused to protect us."

Sam jumped and froze for a moment before walking in front of Dean to shield him. "Don't you touch him."

"We're not here for him, we're here for you. Because you let us down!" Madison said. "You should have tried harder to find a cure, but you gave up. You gave up on me but you refuse to give up on him."

"There was no cure Madison, no cure!"

"And there's no cure for demons," Jess chimed in. "But you still keep Dean around. You still love him even though he's one of the things that killed me!"

Jess and Madison flickered, and then they were right next to Sam, surrounding him on either side. Jess threw out an arm and then the iron bar was pulled from Sam's grasp and disappeared.

As they went in for the attack, a gunshot went off and Jess vanished. Sam caught a glimpse of Dean somehow managing to stand. He tried the gun again, but it was either out of salt or jammed.

Madison took this opportunity to her advantage as she lunged at Sam…

But then Dean flung himself in between them and Madison was on top of his brother, grabbing on to Dean's already tortured chest.

Dean screamed just like Sam had heard when he was rushing up the stairs earlier. With his blood boiling and eyes still watering, Sam ran to the end of the hall where he saw either his or Dean's iron bar. Sam sprinted back as fast as he could once he grabbed the bar and swung it at Madison.

Madison vanished once again. Sam hovered over his brother, who was shaking like a leaf, his body attempting to heal but only getting hurt over and over again…

"Why did you have to do that, huh?" Sam asked in a choked voice. His stupid brother was always looking out for him even when he could barely stand.

Dean just offered him a small smile, his teeth bloody, and that almost made Sam's tears start coming again.

"You can get rid of us over and over again, we'll just come back every time," John's voice called out and Sam turned around to see not only John, but the two women also staring them down.

Sam stood in front of Dean, if they wanted to get to his brother; they were going to have to kill him first.

But luck would finally be on the brothers' side. The ghosts suddenly burst into flames as they shrieked, before vanishing…this time for good.

Bobby had completed the spell.

Dean coughed from the ground and Sam hurried to his side. "About god damned time, Bobby!" Dean called out before collapsing into Sam's arms.

Dean came to slowly; he heard the crackling of a fireplace nearby and the shuffling of some papers. There was a blanket around him and gauze around his chest. While his chest still felt tight and a bit uncomfortable, he felt a lot better.

When he opened his eyes, Dean was almost attacked by both Sam and Bobby, as they both stood up and came rushing over to him.

"Thank goodness, boy. You had me worried as hell." Bobby sighed in relief.

"Dean!" Sam sounded like a big weight was just taken off of him. "How are you feeling? Do you need anything?" He asked eagerly.

Dean rolled his eyes and tried to sit up, but Sam's hand was on his shoulder, pushing him to lie back down on the couch.

"You're not getting up until at least tomorrow. I won't allow it." Sam shook his head. He'd always been a stubborn little brat.

"I'm fine," Dean rasped, clearing his throat.

Sam apparently didn't like the sound of that. "Bobby, he needs a glass of water, can you grab him one?"

"Of course, be right back."

"Do you need anything else?" Sam asked and Dean noticed how his little brother was looking at him with those dreaded puppy-dog eyes again.

Well, if giving Dean something would make Sam happy, then Dean supposed….

"How about some pie?"

Sam's whole face lit up and he called out to their friend. "Bobby! Do we have any pie?"

Bobby came back into the living room with the glass of water. "Sure do. That morning after you boys showed up…when I went to get car parts, I also stopped at the grocery store. Bought some extra pies knowing Dean was going to be here, apart from the ones I have saved for Thanksgiving."

"You got apple?" Dean asked.

"Of course I got apple, you idjit. Now drink," he held out the glass of water to Dean.

What the hell was this? "A bendy straw Bobby? Really?"

"Hey, bendy straws are cool in their own right," Bobby chuckled as Sam helped Dean shift on the couch so his head was inclined enough to drink the water with a pillow placed at the base of his neck. "Remember how much you loved the things when you were little?"

Sam grabbed the cup from Bobby and held it up to Dean's lips. Dean sent Sam a glare; no way in hell was Sam helping Dean drink water again, not when he had the use of one arm. He reached over and took the glass from Sam, sipping the water gratefully.

"Yeah, I used to always blow the straw wrapper at Sam's face, Dad hated that."

Both Bobby and Sam tensed up at the mention of John.

"Yeah, well I always thought it was cute. You boys needed opportunities just to be kids, damnit."

Sam had gone silent and pale. Bobby noticed this and stood up.

"I'm gonna go put that pie in the oven before Dean throws a hissy fit." He smiled slightly and ruffled Dean's hair, much to the older brother's annoyance, before making his way into the kitchen.

One look at his little brother's face and Dean knew that Sammy was in 'we're going to talk about this' mode. Sam's jaw was set and he was determined, there was no stopping him.

Dean sighed. "Just spit it out already, Sammy."

Sam took a deep breath and looked Dean right in the eyes. "I heard some of what Dad said, and I have a good idea about the rest." Sam paused but never broke eye contact. "It's not true Dean."

Dean laughed harshly. "Of course it's true, Sam. Every damn word that he told me was true."

Sam narrowed his eyes. "Oh yeah, what part?"

"The whole thing! I broke and he didn't. He was stronger than me. I wasted his sacrifice by turning into a demon."

Sam shook his head. "There's some truth to what all of the ghosts were saying. But they are only seeing it from their twisted perspective, Dean. They don't know the whole story. You didn't waste his sacrifice Dean, you brought me back. You sold your soul to save my life. Now tell me, was that a waste?"

Dean glared at Sam. Of course it wasn't a waste to bring Sam back! "No Sam, it wasn't. But I turned into a demon. Even if his ghost is fueled with anger, you can't deny that dad - the real dad would be disappointed and wanting to kill me."

Sam shrugged. "Maybe he would. But he never had his priorities straight. He was willing to kill me because of the demon blood, remember? He made the hunt more important than his won kids." When Dean didn't respond Sam continued. "It doesn't matter what he would think anyway, he's dead. But I'm here, Dean. I don't care that you're a demon, I know that you did it for me and I appreciate that so much."

Dean wanted to simply ignore Sam but he couldn't help but hold onto some of what Sam said. He had a point, what did it matter if John thought that way? The important thing was that Sam supported him and understood the choice he made to become a demon.

Sam had always been there for him where John hadn't. Dean always loved Sam more than he ever loved John.

So Sam's opinion should count more.

Dean nodded. "Alright, I get what you're saying. Now what about your crazy ex-girlfriends?"

Sam looked shocked at Dean's agreement but then frowned at the mention of Jess and Madison.

"They attacked and broke my gun. I had the iron bar though, so I was able to keep them at bay pretty easily. They didn't touch me again. Karen almost broke the salt line surrounding Bobby too by opening the windows, but I got rid of her right before she could do that."

"Okay, good. But what did they say to you?" Dean knew that the girls' words had a great possibilty of hurting Sam more than their physical attacks could.

"They were mad at me for keeping you around. Jess was mad because she was killed by a demon and Madison was angry that I gave up on her but not you," Sam shrugged.

"They are right, you know. You should have killed me the moment you realized I was a demon."

Sam huffed angriliy. "You're ridiculous. You know I could never do that. I'll say it again Dean, that only see it from their perspective. They don't understand that you haven't killed anyone like Madison did. They don't get that I would never kill you, no matter what happened. I only knew Madison for a few days, and while it hurt to kill her, it would hurt a thousand times more even thinking about you dying."

Dean nodded and took a good look at Sam. He looked miserable and tired as hell. He also looked a bit sad.

"It wasn't your fault about them dying either. Madison was already turned before you met her. And Jess…well, that was just unfortunate."

"I know, Dean." Sam looked away and then changed the subject. "You seemed to be healing well, so it shouldn't take that long until you feel a hundred percent. We…since we got rid of the ghosts, does that mean the seal is closed?"

Dean shook his head. "Nope, just that we stopped the ghosts from appearing. The seal's broken and Lilith will continue to break more. We don't have to worry about those though. What we'll need to focus on after we leave here is killing Alistair and you know…sending demons to hell…" with your powers was left unspoken.

"Looks like we'll be busy."

"Yeah, but right now I say we deserve some down time. We're staying until Thanksgiving and we're gonna stuff our faces, got it?"

That got Sam to laugh, mission accomplished. "Got it, jerk."

By Thanksgiving, Dean was feeling like he was back in tip top shape, except for his broken arm, and he was going to use this time to his advantage.

He was teaching himself how to teleport.

He had only been able to teleport a few feet so far, and it left him dizzy and disoriented for a few minutes. This time, Dean was trying to go from upstairs in their bedroom, to downstairs in Bobby's kitchen.

"Good luck with that." Sam laughed, he was really enjoying himself by watching Dean's failed attempts as his older brother landed on his butt half the time.

"Aww, you don't believe in me Sammy?"

Sam shook his head. "Nope, you're gonna land in the kitchen sink, or something like that."

"You're just jealous of my awesome skills. I'm going to appear right in front of the fridge, flat on my feet."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Sure you will. I'm going to head down there now so I can laugh at your sorry ass." Sam chuckled as he headed out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

Well, Dean was going to show him a thing or two. Dean Winchester was going to teleport into that kitchen, and he was going to be awesome at it.

Dean closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on the location he wanted to teleport to. It was hard to get the exact location correct because his mind started to sway each time he tired to focus.

Teleporting was complicated, or at least learning to teleport was. Demons like Crowley did it without a second thought. Dean on the other hand, since he was just learning, had to picture the exact spot he wanted to go to in his head. Then when he eventually worked his way up, he could teleport without knowing what the location looked like, as long as he knew where he wanted to go.

It wasn't as easy as it sounded. He needed his undivided attention focused on only the act of teleporting, and it kind of hurt his head, so it wasn't pleasant either.

Finally, Dean felt himself begin to leave the bedroom. Ha! He would show Sam…

Dean immediately knew something was wrong but he didn't have more than a second to think before he was landing flat on his back on the kitchen table. Thank goodness he didn't land on his arm again.

Dishes clattered and some fell off and shattered onto the floor. Bobby yelled in shock and turned around, gun drawn.

"Hey, Bobby." Dean grinned from his awkward spread-eagled position on the dining table.

Sam burst out laughing from where he must have been standing in the doorway. Even though Bobby was probably going to kill him, figuratively speaking, it was worth it to hear Sammy truly laugh.

Bobby put his gun away and slowly folded his arms; his eyes were narrowed at Dean. "You mind tellin' me what you're doing lying on my table, boy?"

"Oh, you know, just relaxing," Dean said casually.

"Oh, really now? Well since you decided to relax on my kitchen table, you can continue to relax by helping me. I heard cleaning and cooking is a very calming experience."

Dean pulled himself into a sitting position. "I thought it was Sammy's turn to help you."

"It was, but since you so kindly decided to pop in, I assume you wanted to help. Now your brother can take his turn relaxing, hmm?"

Sam took this as an opportunity to leave, still chuckling and holding onto his sides as he did so.

Dean hopped down from the table and began picking up the broken plates. Might as well get this over with.

"Good to hear that kid laughing again," Bobby said and when Dean looked up, he saw that the older hunter was still staring at the doorway in which Sam had just left. "When you were…when you were gone, it was like he shut down completely. He was like a robot or something. Emotionless…just goin' through the motions. I could tell he just wanted to break down….and then one day he just left and I didn't see him again until he showed up with you."

Dean didn't like talking about Sam's sate of mind when he was in Hell. That was his fault that Sam had been so broken. "Sammy's strong, he would have gotten over my death and moved on eventually."

Bobby shook his head. "I'm not too sure of that, Dean. He turned into someone else after you died. And now…now he's back, just like he was before your death."

Well, not exactly, there was the whole demon blood-drinking thing. But Dean wasn't about to tell Bobby about that, at least not right now. He didn't feel like getting shot today, he wanted some damn pie.

Bobby eyed the sling holding Dean's bum arm stable. "So that's why you gotta take better care of yourself Dean. No more getting your arm or other limbs stabbed, which by the way, I think I found something. I'll tell you boys after dinner." Bobby paused and then looked seriously at Dean. "Protect yourself, not only for your sake, but for Sam's as well."

Dean nodded, but when he turned away he let in a deep breath.

Bobby didn't understand. Sam didn't deserve the life of hunting and having a demon follow him around. He deserved true happiness, a normal life with a wife and kids.

Which was why when this was over, Dean was leaving. Maybe if Sam was apart from him for so long, the soulmate thing would be broken and Sam could go to heaven in peace.

But the thing was, Dean didn't expect to live through the battle at all. What Sam didn't know, was that it would be a miracle if Dean made it out alive.

One way or the other, Sam was going to have to move on.