Disclaimer: Not my unicorns… LoL… I do love them but alas the Queen of the Sandbox can not lay claim to the own-age of the Winchester world.

NOTE#1: Sorry about the Thursday non-post. Allergic reaction to my meds. Emergency pickup of the gkids in another state and here I am. 103 degree temps also came with them (for days). And then P.T. Therapy for my Youngest for her EDS and then… (smile) I blew the motor on my truck on the way home… So then, car shopping! (Now beyond broke… passed broke several turns back) Shhhh, don't tell the horrible wreck it monster that I'm still kicking… He might come back for another nibble… So two hours of sleep later and I can't focus so I'm just gonna post this chapter… This is last Thursday's post… I am sooo sorry about this… I am soooo behind on my answering of my fab reviews. Thank you so much for the continued support and favs and alerts as well! You guys rock!

Chapter 7

Sam sat alone in the silence left in Bobby's wake… thinking about what Bobby had said. And even what Dean had said. But he'd done such horrible things. Unimaginable betrayals and even when Dean should have killed him… he didn't. Dean had wanted to believe that Sammy would always be his Sammy. That Sam was worth all that trust and blind faith. Funny how he didn't realize that Dean had had that kind of faith in him, not just his Dad until it was no longer there. Sam had continued to only disappointed him again and again. Over and Over.

He kept failing at saving Dean.

Funny how that was not what had cost him his brother. Not failure but stupidity. Everyone always talked about how smart he was… right, his brain drawled out. That's how you all ended up in this… cause you're so smart. He knew… He deserved the finale he had planned for the bringer of destruction. His road to hell had been paved with good intentions. He laughed harshly. Sucks to be me… Sucked even worse to be the brother of someone like himself. Maybe… just maybe he could still rid the world of it's greatest threat (himself) and still let Dean have his attempt at fixing things. It was underhanded and if Dean ever figured it out he'd be pissed… but at least he'd be alive to be that way and he found he could live with that. And with that he felt the weight suddenly lift off him once again. He felt he could breathe. It was easier knowing he could still fix everything and save Dean too. . . Finally he could save him. He gave a dimpled smile that no one saw.

So by the time Bobby returned the sandwich was gone and Sammy had more files opened and placed randomly around the table. Bobby studied him, not moving as he wondered what Sammy had come up with in his head to get him motivated. He was pretty sure he wasn't going to like it and neither would Dean.

"What?" Sam asked as he glanced up, closing one file and opening another one.

"What is going on in that head of yours, boy?" Bobby asked quietly. Dreading what Sammy may have come up with to fix the situation.

"You're right." Sam said simply as he went back to scanning the file in front of him.

Sam looked up in time to see Bobby's raised eyebrow and explained, "If I didn't let Dean try to find another way, he'd always have that hanging over his head, the guilt would crush him… this way he can move forward." He gave a shrug as he added, "He let me try… didn't do any good but he let me… so how can I allow anything less?"

Bobby frowned as he looked at Sam, not able to help that what he'd just heard to him sounded a lot like a double edged sword in the way Sam had worded it. In fact bulls were running rampant in his china shop of a stomach at the moment.

How could he discuss what he thought was going on with Sam with his brother who was at this very moment frantically trying to find a way to save his baby brother… again. A brother that Bobby was beginning to suspect didn't want saved at all.

Sam was tapping a pen on the table as he went from one file to another, in between table tapping he was jotting down notes. He set files down as he stood dropping the pencil he moved away from the table.

"Where you going, boy?" Bobby asked suddenly nervous about Sam being out of sight.

"Lucifer section. Working a theory." Sam commented as he moved away, not looking at Bobby.

"Okay…" Bobby said to no one in particular considering he was now by himself.

Meanwhile in the barn Dean was fairing better in his quest. He had located the shackles and his dad's notes on a spell needed to be done so that Lucifer would be trapped in Franklin. He was confused as to why his Dad never followed it through other than the time thing. Or why John never mentioned this to them or at least to him… he'd stayed. He'd been there through it all with John and yet he knew nothing about the cache of records and research. Dean looked around feeling guilty. Sammy had tried… for awhile he had really tried but Dad had never let up. Finally Sammy had given up and walked away. Sammy never understood Dad's motives and vice versa. Dean was left with all the pieces to fit back into some kind of resemblance of the family he'd once cherished. He laughed harshly, this had sucked from the very beginning… they'd been doomed… God he was getting depressed. Dean broke down and called Cas.

"Hello?" Cas said into the phone.

"Cas. I need you to help me with something." Dean said quickly.

"With what?" Cas asked flatly.

"I need you to find me the Indians of the Mound Dwellers. I need a descendant that is from the Kansas tribe… can you do that for me? Hopefully one that has knowledge of Franklin, Kansas and the Great Lakes tribe. Oh, and the Bermuda thingy that they used to fight the other tribe." Dean rambled.

"Is that all?" Cas asked with what Dean could have sworn sounded like sarcasm.

"You could come up with a way to shove Lucifer back in the cage for me, without using Sam to do it. Save my brother for me… can you do that?" Dean asked his own sarcastic tone dripping all over his words.

"You know I cannot." Cas responded before reminding him, "You have the rings Dean."

"Can not or will not?" Dean snapped anger rolling off him in gigantic waves.

"Dean. I will call you when I find the things you seek." Cas told him dismissively.

"Please hurry. I have a time limit." Dean cut in quickly, afraid he might have angered Cas and lost his chance at help from him.

"Why?" Cas asked, for the first time sounding curious.

"Why hurry?" Dean repeated.

"Why a time limit?" Cas verified.

"Because if we don't find the answers to do it this way, Sam is doing a pit jump in less than a week. And just so you know, it won't be alone." Dean told him firmly, leaving no doubt, he meant what he was saying. It was the last thing he wanted to do… ever. But he wasn't letting Sam leave him the way he'd left Sam. Sam thought he'd fucked up without him… Dean couldn't even fathom the destruction he would cause without his little brother to tether him to the straight and narrow.

"I will do my best." Cas told him then hung up.

Dean worried about Cas finding what he needed and he worried about Sam sneaking off and trying to finish this without him. He took the box of his Dad's things and headed back down to Sam and Bobby. He needed to see Sam for himself. Just to make sure he hadn't Houdini'ed himself again.

Dropping the box on the table that was vacant of people at the moment he looked around, he heart thudding painfully in his chest as he listened for Bobby or Sam. He hadn't passed them on the way to the tables. So he raised his voice as he called out, "Sammy?"

"Over here. Lucifer section." Sam replied immediately from somewhere to his right.

But Sam wasn't in the Lucifer section. He was several rows down in a section on the Bermuda Triangle. He had a couple of files and a book about the mound builders.

"So." Dean commented while he read the titles Sam had, he smirked as he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows, "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

"perv." Sam retorted with a smile as he took a step to climb down the ladder, his foot slipping off the rung.

Dean was instantly there to steady him as he said, "Careful, bitch. Sammy I found some more notes in a box from the barn along with the shackles, Dad had them made." He told Sam starting to get excited.

Sam smiled as he handed Dean another stack of books off one of the lower shelves.

Dean said nothing else until they were back to the tables. Then he commented, "I see you ate."

"Yeah, if I hadn't I was liable to see the choo-choo train until it was gone and I'm just not up for that right now." Sam said as he slid for first couple of books off the one he wanted and said, "There's a lot of theories out there as to what the Bermuda Triangle actually is."

Dean was smiling about the choo-choo comment, he chuckled fondly as he remembered the first time he'd tried that on Sam. He wouldn't eat for Dad but fire up the train and he ate everything for his very proud big brother.

"Did you hear me?" Sam asked giving Dean a nudge.

"What?" Dean asked

"I said there are a lot of theories out there about the Bermuda Triangle." Sam repeated with a hint of Dude, you listening this time? In his tone.

"And that is important why?" Dean asked as he leaned back on the table.

"Because. The power of Bermuda indicates it was taken from that area. A poplar idea besides the whole alien thing is Atlantis is there. I like that one myself." Sam informed his big brother.

"Why?" Dean asked, curious at his little brother's geek side manifesting its self. It'd been awhile. He gave a tiny smile as he looked at Sam.

"Why do I like it?" Sam asked and at Dean's nod continued, "Because they supposedly were highly advanced… so ahead of their times that God or angels under God's command smote them."

"Okay? And you like that? The whole smiting part?" Dean asked with a frown creasing his forehead.

"I'd like for God to step in and smite Lucifer… I'd have liked for him to have saved Dad, you… hell it would have been nice if he'd have stepped in and stopped Azazel before it ever began… " He ran a hand through his hair, "But he didn't and this is our…" He sighed.

"Chain around our necks? Burden to bare?…" Dean took a breath in to continue.

"Problem to fix." Sam supplied tiredly.

"Why? Did we ask for this shit? No, we didn't." Dean growled.

"I like the idea of being so far advanced that war and violence were things from history books and that learning was the new sign of the…" Sammy rattled as he tried to steer Dean away from an inevitable eruption of anger if his thoughts weren't derailed.

Dean burst out laughing as he pointed at Sammy, "Geekville…"

"Dean. What did Dad's notes say from the box?" Sam asked, again clearly trying to distract his big brother.

Dean turned and grabbed a stack of papers as he ran a hand through his own hair, a Winchester trait shared by both when worried or frustrated or at this point both.

Dean looked though the papers as he said, "Dad talks about what he thinks the power of Bermuda is and it looks like he decided on the "Bimini Stone" which is a magic crystal that was taken from the seas in the Bermuda triangle from a place called Bimini Road. It's suppose to be of the purest blue... whatever that means. Anyway, what people say may be ruins of Atlantis. OH, there's info on exactly what the shackles say… it appears to be a pretty powerful binding spell carved into the iron itself. Not unlike what you did to that ghost with that chain. I guess great minds…" He ended with a smile.

"So, we have the binding spell carved into the shackles… I suppose old Lucy is just going to passively stick out his wrists and let us put them on him?" Sam stated crankily.

"No… smartass. There's another one that you say that I guess freezes him, but not for long and then you slap them on him. But the Indians have to let us in… before we can do anything. They are the protectors of the town and…" Dean knew this time he was the one rattling but he wasn't ready for Sam to shoot him down.

"Oh, that's going to be easy." Sam snapped sarcastically.

Well, would you look at that… ready or not… Dean sighed, "Actually I got my people working on it." Dean replied.

"Yeah me, you and Bobby." Sam retorted sarcastically.

"Hey, I have more people than that." Dean commented.

"Then you're talking about Cas." Sam retorted. "You didn't tell him where we are did you?" Sam asked.

"Didn't want him tortured for info, so no." Dean informed him.

"Good." Sam said with a nod before going back to reading.

Dean stared at him, he wasn't letting Sammy go… the knucklehead was just too thick headed to figure it out yet.

TBC