"Good,now we need to kill Dean and smear his blood on the baby," Lillith said and began to approach Dean.
"I don't think so." A man in a trench coat popped up behind Dean.
"Who are you?" Dean asked. Whoever he was, he was pretty sure he was glad to see him, but in his experience, what turned out looking like good news, often turned to bad news, and quickly.
"My name is Castiel and I'm an angel of the Lord," came the answer. Then the next thing Dean knew he was standing in Bobby's study along with the so-called angel.
"Where's Sam?" Dean asked, looking around.
"What in the Hell?" Bobby asked. He had been drinking a lot lately, but this was pretty insane.
"Hey, Bobby," Dean said. "Where's Sam?" he asked again.
"Right where we left him, I would imagine."
"Go back and get him," Dean demanded. It went against everything he believed in to leave his brother alone with two demons.
"Your brother is an abomination. He is the father of the Anti-Christ."
"He's the what?" Bobby asked.
Dean decided to ignore Bobby for now. "So, you're going to let those demons kill him?"
"The demons won't kill him. I probably should have, but I wasn't sure I would be successful with Lillith standing right beside him, so it made more sense to get you out of there."
"Why would an angel want to save me?" Dean asked, still not believing this angel business.
"I don't care about saving you one way or the other. However, if the demons had sacrificed you and smeared your blood on the baby, it would have started the Apocalypse?"
"So, the Apocalypse is off now?" Dean asked, remembering all the talk about the baby and the father having demon blood and all that. It would take a while to get all that going again.
"It will just postpone it five years."
"Why five years?" Dean asked. "Are there more people out there like Sam?"
"No, there are two ways to start the Apocalypse, both involving the Anti-Christ. The first is the one we just averted. The second is when the Anti-Christ turns 5 (and at that point he will look like a 20-year old human) he will sacrifice his father."
"But that's Sam!" Dean cried.
"Yes, now that Sam is on to their evil plot, at least partly, they will probably take him somewhere and hold him captive until the time has come."
"We have to find him," Dean and Bobby said together.
"How?" Castiel asked.
"You're an angel, supposedly. Can't you find people?" Dean asked.
"Normally, yes. But the demon Lillith is very powerful. She can easily cloak all of them from me, from all of the angels."
"So, what do we do?" Bobby asked. Not only did he want to make sure Sam was OK, but more importantly they had to stop the Apocalypse.
"They have to perform the sacrifice in a specific place. We wait for them there," Castiel answered.
"So, we need to leave Sam with demons for five years? That is unacceptable," Dean yelled.
"I'll be back in five years," Castiel announced and disappeared with the sound of fluttering wings.
"So, do we believe that joker?" Bobby asked.
"I think I do, but we're going to look for Sam anyway," Dean decided.
"How?" Bobby asked.
"I'm working on it."
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
When Dean and Castiel disappeared, Lillith swore. "Well, two can play that game." She transported the parents and baby and herself to an old abandoned castle in Ireland.
"A castle—fit for a Prince of Darkness," Ruby enthused.
"Yes, complete with a dungeon for his father," Lillith said. That was where Sam had ended up when they had landed there.
"Do you really think we can stay hidden here for 5 years?" Ruby asked. This was why they had wanted to go with option number one. Plus she liked Sam a lot more than Dean. She would have much rather had shed his blood than Sam's.
"Yes, we're cloaked and all the people in this town have been possessed so they can serve us," Lillith said with a smirk.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
5 Years Later
"That thing's fifth birthday is tomorrow and we're nowhere," Dean lamented.
"Yeah, and that angel guy has been MIA the whole time," Bobby grumbled.
"He's in Ireland," Castiel said as he appeared in the room.
"Ireland?" Dean asked.
"Yes. We should go there now."
Without further ado, Castiel put his fingers on Dean's forehead and zapped them to Ireland. "Little warning next time." Dean wasn't sure how he felt about this guy.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Sam woke up to the sound of the demons bringing him his breakfast. He had been marking the days off on the wall and realized he had been here almost 5 years. He hadn't seen anyone but the demons bringing him his breakfast. He had exorcised the first ones, so they had started sending down crossroads demons. Not black-eyed, not subject to his powers. He hadn't seen Ruby, or Lillith, or the "child." He remembered that Ruby had told him it would age 4 times as fast a human. So, he would be about 20 now. Weird to think of having a child that old.
It wasn't the regular demons bringing him his breakfast. It was Ruby. "Why are you keeping me alive?" Sam asked.
"Do you want to die?" Ruby asked instead of answering.
Sam sighed. "Yes." It wasn't really living being locked in a cage. This wasn't even like jail. They didn't let him out for exercise. He was doing his business in the corner and it hadn't been cleaned for five years. They gave him water to drink, but not to wash with. He thought that death would definitely be an improvement.
"Well, you'll get your wish tomorrow. I just came down to say good-bye. Do you want anything special for your last meal tonight?"
"Serioiusly?"
"Sure. We've been feeding you slop. You ought to have a treat before you die," Ruby answered.
"A bacon cheeseburger," Sam answered, but only because he had been thinking of Dean, and it hadn't seemed right to ask for a salad for a last meal.
"OK. I'll make sure you get it," Ruby said and started to leave.
"Wait," Sam said. The other demons never spoke to him. This was the first conversation he had had in five years and apparently was going to be the last. He didn't care if it was with Ruby. He wanted to prolong it.
Ruby turned back. "Yes?" She was actually sad to see Sam in such a state. She hadn't seen him since they had come here and he looked terrible. He hadn't shaved or cut his hair in five years. He'd always been shaggy, but this was beyond ridiculous. And the stench was worse than the smell of burning flesh.
"Why now? Why kill me now after all this time?"
