Dean wrapped his arms around Jo tightly, pulling her close. He could feel the tears running down her face. There wasn't enough time. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed her until he'd gotten her back. Suddenly the walls began shaking.

"What the hell?" he said, sitting up.

Jo tensed but she wasn't scared. Nothing scared her. Abruptly, an image of Castiel appeared at the foot of the bed.

"Cas? What the hell are you doing here?"

It was more than a little embarrassing to have him standing there.

"Dean. You need to wake up. It's-"

The image of the angel shorted and vanished.

"Dean. Who else did you bring back?!"

"No one! He's not dead! He's an angel and-"

"Wake up!" Castiel boomed, voice full of authority and desperation.

Suddenly Dean was standing beside his friend, Jo at his side.

"Cas. What are you doing in my head?"

"Trying to save your life. You don't know what you're dealing with."

Dean rolled his eyes and sighed.

"The goddess of the dead, Ereshkigal."

Cas's eyes widened.

"So you know who she is. Have you made the bargain yet? Have you said the words?"

Dean shook his head.

"Not yet."

His eyes narrowed as a thought struck him.

"Wait. How do YOU know her?"

He blinked once and then they were all sitting around the table.

"She made a trade for power. She was granted ultimate dominion over the souls that did not ascend to heaven, doing with them what she wished. Even Lucifer did not have same kind of power. Perhaps we gave her too much…"

Dean leaned forward.

"What do you mean GAVE her too much?"

Cas pursed his lips.

"That isn't important. The only thing that matters is that you can't kill her."

"Like hell he won't," Jo interjected.

The angel shook his head.

"No. I'm not saying he's not allowed to kill her. He physically can't. None can. That was part of her deal. She became a true immortal."

Dean sat back in his chair.

"So what the hell are we supposed to do? And why are you so worried about me taking the deal?"

The other man's eyes filled with worry and concern.

"Because she didn't tell you the true cost of the deal."

Jo punched his arm. Hard. "I told you, you arrogant ass. There's always fine print."

"What are you talking about," Dean asked, rubbing at his arm.

"She can take souls out if she wishes, yes. But she always takes one back. She'll let you make a choice without telling you about the third option."

Three choices? What did that mean? Bobby, Jo, and John? Did he WANT John back?

"No," Cas said quietly, as though hearing his thoughts. "Sam."

Suddenly everything fell into place. Sam sleeping all day, hardly moving. She'd done something to him.

"She intends to take both of your souls with her. She hates hunters."

How could he have been so selfish? He was supposed to watch out for Sammy, protect him. What was wrong with him, leaving his little brother defenseless? John's voice echoed in his mind and all of the feelings that came with that voice. Tears welling up in his eyes, he turned to Jo.

"I can't just…"

Tears coated her own face, but she smiled through them.

"Yeah you can. You have to. We all know Sam is your number one priority. That's how it should be. He's your family."

"You could have been my family too," he said quietly, squeezing her hands.

He shook his head, refusing to believe what was so clearly the truth.

"I can't loose you again."

"You're not," she said, resting a hand against his face. "I'm always with you. I'll watch your back."

Pulling her to him quickly, he tried to say every feeling he'd ever had about her in one kiss. All the memories he had flashed by, feeding the kiss. Even after it broke, he just held her there, as close as he could knowing it would never happen again.

"Dean," Cas said as quietly as he could.

Dean ignored him.

"You have an hour left."

Looking over at Castiel, Dean glared.

"Yeah? And then what? Sam and I run from the friggin goddess of the dead for the rest of our lives? Thanks so much for your help."

Cas tried to look empathetic. He ended up looking constipated.

"You can't kill her. But you can keep her down in the pit."

"How?" Dean and Jo asked in unison.

"Revolt," Cas replied, looking only at Jo. "That keeps her downstairs. She must restore order to her realm before she can come back up. If the souls under her watch are restless, then she stays down."

"No," Dean said, furious. "There has to be some other way."

The angel looked down.

"There isn't. I'm sorry."

Jo squeezed his arm gently.

"It's okay Dean. I can do some good down there."

"No," he said, standing. "No. It's not okay. You shouldn't… It's too dangerous."

"Oh give me a break, Dean. We hunted monsters as our day job. I worked in my mom's bar, for goodness sake. I'm good at stirring up trouble."

He looked at the clock. Less than thirty minutes remained.

"Can I have a minute," Dean asked Cas.

The angel nodded and disappeared. Dean held her close, closing his eyes.

"I don't want you to go."

"I have to."

He was quiet, gently caressing her cheek.

"Be careful. Don't get yourself hurt."

Ten minutes.

"You know me. Always finding trouble. I can still help people, Dean. I'll be alright."

"You can't just…"

"Dean."

Two minutes.

"Jo, I love you."

"I love you too, Dean."

Dean's eyes snapped open, lips still burning with Jo's last kiss.

##

She watched as he emerged from his dream state. No. He hadn't said anything. She growled. The furry dog kept gasping for air. Her wings stretched to their full length, hiding the little brother from view. This was not going as she'd planned.

##

Dean stood quickly, the chair clattering to the floor. He looked at the monster in his motel room. Her skin was a dark red, so deep it almost looked black. The gray of her eyes smoldered like coals in a fire. This was the thing he'd kissed for Jo? Somewhere behind her large bat-like wings, he heard Sam gasping for air.

"Sammy!?"

He began rushing forward. She put out a hand, though it didn't have fingers so much as it had talons. Invisible force kept him back.

"You. What have you done?!"

How long would Jo have to be downstairs before Eris had to go back? He had to buy time and hopefully save Sammy's life.

"I've taken my payment. You foolish animal," she said, her voice too deep.

"Sam had nothing to do with this! Let him go!"

"What is done cannot be undone. You've made your choice."

His choice. He'd said that he WANTED to pick Jo, but he'd never actually done it. Cas had interrupted them.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "No I didn't. I haven't said what my choice is."

Her eyes darkened and she bared her teeth, which had turned into pointed spikes.

"You chose the female, did you not?"

"I never said I did. I never made my choice."

Her whole body shuddered and her wings twitched.

"Then, make. Your. Choice." she commanded.

Standing up straight and setting his jaw, he looked her dead in her lifeless eyes.

"I choose Sam."

"That wasn't part of the deal."

"You didn't tell me the whole deal, hell bitch."

The whole room felt hotter and he could have sworn he saw steam coming off her skin.

"Are you sure that is what you want?"

"Give. Me. Sammy."

Clenching her fists, she growled like a lion. A sound like a bird's wings echoed quietly from behind him.

"Castiel you bastard," she barked.

"Hello, Ereshkigal. How is Irkalla?"

Now everything about her was black except for her teeth and smoke rose from her skin.

"What have you done, you feathered fiend?"

"I've done nothing. You heard the man. He made his choice. Give him back his brother and return to your realm. You've no more business here."

"You fools will pay for this."

With a literal puff of smoke, she was gone. Sam had fallen out of the bed and was on the floor. His breathing was shallow, but steady.

"Sammy?" Dean asked, sliding to the floor beside his baby brother. "Sammy, wake up."

The younger Winchester moaned quietly.

"Sammy. Come on. Wake up."

"What the hell…" he groaned.

"Hey, Sammy. How ya feelin?"

Sam sat up and rubbed his head.

"What's going on?"

Dean looked around. No one was in the room, though it still smelled like burned flesh.

"You fell out of your bed in the middle of the night, hit your head pretty hard."

Sam continued rubbing his head.

"Come on, Sasquatch. Lets get you back into bed."

With great difficulty, Dean helped his brother into bed. Once he was settled back in, Dean grabbed the rest of the whiskey and went outside.

"Hey, Baby," he said affectionately. "You'll never leave me, right? You haven't let me down yet."

Leaning against the hood, he untwisted the cap of the bottle. Slowly, he took a long drink, letting the burn of the alcohol numb the rest of him. Castiel leaned against the hood beside Dean.

"I'm sorry, Dean."

"Don't."

Another swig.

"You did the right thing," his friend said.

"I don't care. I'm sick of the right thing."

"You don't mean that."

Dean set the bottle on the ground.

"Don't I? Every time I do the right thing, I get screwed."

Cas remained silent.

"I wanted to take the deal, Cas. I wanted to get her back."

"I know," was all he could say.

"If Sammy wasn't on the line, I would have done it."

Cas sighed.

"She wouldn't have let it work out the way she promised. I'm sorry. I didn't realize how much you missed her."

"Me either. I just… We were happy, for a little while."

Again, Cas kept quiet.

"At least I got to say goodbye this time."

The angel nodded.

"I will do what I can to keep an eye on her. I'll try to make sure Ereshkigal does not find her."

Dean felt the lump in his throat grow again.

"Thanks."

"That's what you do for your family, isn't it?"

Dean smiled.

"Yeah, Cas. Yeah it is."