Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.
It took them days to arrive at the prison where Sam and Dean were, mostly because Cas insisted that Mary drive him there as part of their plan. They couldn't just pop in like Crowley with Rowena.
"I still think this is an awful idea," Mary said.
"It's the only idea we have," Cas said. He looked straight ahead, unfazed by her concerns.
"That doesn't make it a good idea, Castiel."
She swore that Cas almost smiled as he said, "Dean, Sam, and I have made worse plans work."
"We're headed straight towards the guards of a top-secret prison to act as bait," Mary said. "What plan could possibly be worse than that?"
"Giving Lucifer what he wanted so that he could be put back into his cage, even though we all knew that Sam's chance of regaining control from him was nearly non-existent," Cas said. "It was an incredible feat."
Mary swerved into the opposite lane when Cas' words registered, thankful that there was little-to-no traffic on the roads that late at night. "Sam did what?"
"They didn't tell you," Cas said. He said it as a statement, but the slight surprise in his voice almost made it a question. "That doesn't matter right now. We're getting close and you can ask them all the questions you want once they're free."
Every instinct in Mary screamed that she should turn around now. Every fiber of her begged for answers to the questions that Cas raised. Begged her to stop the car until she got them.
But she kept driving the rest of the way to the boundary of the prison because, over-thirty or not, Sam and Dean were her sons. They once were the quiet, happy six month old and four year old who never seemed to stop talking that she remembered. After all, every mother felt that her children grew up too fast.
Well, all of those other mothers really had no idea.
The roads became rougher and less maintained until they were just vague paths made of loose gravel as they closed in on a fence topped with barbed wire in the middle of a wooded area. Cas took a second to call Crowley and let him know to get started on busting Sam and Dean out.
Mary put the car in park at the first sign of distinctly human movement in the bushes, and stepped out alongside Cas.
"Hands in the air," one of the men yelled.
They both complied, and Mary took a deep breath to calm herself despite the guns trained on her.
"We're… lost," Mary said. She had to do her best to not roll her eyes at how pathetic that sounded.
"No, I knew exactly where I was going," Cas said.
She glared at Cas, then looked at the guards. "You know how men can be," she said. "He thinks he knows the right way, but refuses to ask for directions when it's clear he doesn't. If you could just point us in the right direction, we'll be going. There's really no need for guns."
The guards shared a look and quiet murmur amongst themselves, and Mary knew she sounded far too calm for a civilian. But she'd been a hunter nearly her entire life, and facing danger was as natural as breathing.
As a hunter, she had also faced many long nights. She had a feeling this was going to be another one. She just hoped they could give Rowena enough time to slip into Sam's cell and get him out. Crowley had it a bit easier.
She prepared herself to do whatever she needed to help rescue her boys. She just hoped that she wouldn't be returning to the bunker with bullet holes.
Dean never expected to see someone appear in his cell. He especially never expected to see Crowley standing there.
"You smell rancid," he said in lieu of a greeting.
"This place isn't exactly five star quality," Dean said.
Crowley reached his hand towards Dean's shoulder. "I guess it's your lucky day, then," he said. "Time to go."
Dean ducked away from his hand. "Whoa, I'm not leaving without Sam," Dean said. "Lucifer is screwing with him again. We have to go get him. Or you go get him and leave me here. I don't care, just make sure he's out and safe."
Crowley rolled his eyes. "Look, Samantha is being taken care of by someone who can hide from Lucifer long enough to get him out and create an illusion that will make it seem like Sam's still in his cell for another day or so to throw Lucifer off. Now, you're going to stand still and let me get you out of here, or that extra line in my most recent contract that asks for the release of Dean Winchester from prison along with what the poor sap wanted to deal for will go to waste!"
It all came out in a rush of a single breath, and Dean was left staring at Crowley while the torrent of words sank in. "What?"
Crowley shrugged, the red in his face from his tirade fading as he calmed. "Makes his dues come a year early, but it gets you out of prison. No one reads the fine print of a contract anyway."
Crowley clapped his hand on Dean's shoulder, and Dean didn't even try to flinch away this time. His cell faded into the living room of the bunker, and he looked around to find it horribly empty.
"Where the hell is Sam?"
Crowley made himself comfortable browsing through the liquor cabinet. "Hold your horses, Squirrel. Prison breaks take time, especially when Lucifer is involved. He will be here soon enough." Crowley paused in his search to look back at Dean and said, "But it really wouldn't hurt if you used this time to go wash up. Believe me, you need it."
Dean felt the grime that covered him and really wanted to take a scalding shower until it was all washed away, but it was hard to focus on anything other than the fact that he was standing safe in the bunker—in his home—while Sam was still in prison with Lucifer acting as the angel on his shoulder.
Sam cradled his deformed hand close to his chest, not entirely sure what was happening. He did his best to ignore Lucifer's voice in the back of his head, but he couldn't figure out why he would be imagining this. Rowena had waltzed through the door to his cell and slammed it back shut behind her.
"Hello, Samuel," she greeted. "You're looking particularly awful."
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked. He shook his head. "No, you're not real. You can't be."
"I don't have time to deal with your fractured mental state, Samuel, but I am real. I'm also the only one who can get you out without tipping off Lucifer. He can't feel my presence here," she said. "Not unless I want him to."
Sam watched Rowena work as she set up for what looked like a ritual. Symbols drawn on the floor with a stick of charcoal. Candles placed in a pattern he didn't recognize and lit.
Sam still had a hard time believing that he was about to escape, but when Rowena pushed him out of her way as she bustled about his room, her touch was solid. He never remembered his hallucinations of Lucifer as feeling solid. There was always a hollowness to their touch, no matter how real it felt.
Rowena pulled out a blade, and Sam instinctively moved away, but she didn't go near him with it. Instead, she cut open the thin pillow on his mattress and stuffed what looked like an oversized hex bag into it.
"Had to steal some bits from your bedroom to make that," she said. "But Lucifer will still think that you're here because of it, so I was sure you wouldn't mind sacrificing a few personal effects for it."
"What?" Sam asked. It was all he could really get out through the mess of thoughts fighting to be spoken aloud.
"It will simulate your presence, so it will be like you've never left," Rowena said, looking directly at him and speaking slowly like she wasn't sure he would understand her words.
She wasn't entirely wrong. His brain felt like more of a mess than it had directly after the wall fell and all Hell literally broke loose.
"But it will only last for about a day," Rowena continued. "So, we need to be on our way now."
"Why are you helping me?" Sam asked.
"Believe me, I'd rather not," Rowena said. She pulled him into the center-most symbol of those she drew earlier. "But the last time Lucifer was successfully returned to his cage, you played a pretty big role. And I'd like to get Lucifer back into his cage again so I can finally retire in peace in Fiji and leave all of this nonsense behind."
Sam let himself be maneuvered into the symbol. "Fiji?" he asked. He figured his brain must really be scrambled if his hallucinations and mental torment at the hands of Lucifer made more sense than whatever it was his mind had cooked up now. "Why are we going to Fiji?"
"We aren't," Rowena said. "Just me. But not right now. Right now, we're going back to the Men of Letters' bunker."
Any other loose thoughts in Sam's head were put on hold when Rowena grabbed a pinch of powder from a small bag and exclaimed the words of a spell Sam didn't know. He was engulfed in thick smoke and coughed as it filled his lungs.
The world around him spun, and he was certain that he was going to either throw up or pass out. Combining both seemed like a pretty good option.
But when the world stopped and the smoke cleared, Sam found himself being held up by hands tightly gripping his upper arms and he was looking into eyes that always kept him steady. Green and wide with worry.
"Sammy…"
There were times when Sam doubted he'd ever hear his brother's voice again, but damn if it wasn't the most beautiful sound in that moment.
Author's Note: Rescued! Up next: Dean sees the state that Sam is in.
I've always liked the idea of demons adding extra lines to contracts so that they can get something they want as well (other than a soul). Yellow Eyes could teleport other people with him (he took the psychic kids to Cold Oak), but I can't recall Crowley ever displaying that ability, or at least using it more than once or twice if he has. So, that was my solution.
The love that this story has received so far is incredible, thank you! It's crazy to think that it was just meant to be a one-shot, but it's been fun expanding a bit on it.
Leave a review before you go?
