Chapter 8

It was late and things were pretty secure at the shed or mini house. Sam was making a quick run outside to make sure that none of Loretta's guys were around. He knew that Dean made a round personally but Bobby and Akira were at the house and that was hardly safe but there was Sasha and Cerebus was roving. Lilah was with Angela and refused to budge and he wasn't going to argue with arguably the largest dog there though Cerebus was about the same… or maybe a little bit bigger.

Angela was staying in the shed since it was pretty well protected and by her own design. That and there were a few things even a demon would avoid and Sam wasn't going to even try to figure out what that was. It was the shed or on the road and he didn't like the idea overmuch. There was the option of going back to the school and he was willing to go with that.

From what he remembered the last time he was at Roslyn, the place was pretty secure. True Lenya and her cohort managed to infiltrate there but for the most part the kids were pretty safe. Angela would have blended in with the crowd though there was the possibility that she would be out of place given what they knew of the spell's effects on her. Sam couldn't deny that he thought she would be better of there.

Angela had other ideas. When it was explained to her that they thought she should go, she refused. Both Sam and Dean thought that she would fly into a temper tantrum but she didn't. She looked at everyone in the room and said that she was going to stay. She explained that she was going to help Kess and did so in a way that even Akira was on board with it though Sam suspected she was just humoring her. Christian on the other hand was ready to obey.

In the end they were going to go through the plan of talking to Morpheus. Everything was made secure and double checked by Dean. Sam had been pressed to make sure that Christian didn't beat the crap out of his brother since the vampire took offense to the fact that he wasn't doing everything he could to protect her for this. The whole thing made everyone nervous except for Akira. Then again she was something else and Sam was under the impression that she knew more than she let on at times; it was very much like Angela.

Sam walked by a pile of junkers and paused. He had sensed someone was there and he wasn't sure if it was friendly or not. Slowly he pulled the demon killing knife out. It may not work of anything other than a demon, he didn't know, but it would hurt or kill especially if they were human. He moved around, being careful since there were traps that would take someone like Angela or someone skilled as her to disable them. He didn't want to trip any by accident and he wouldn't welcome an ass chewing from Dean.

He rounded a corner when a dark shape jumped down. Sam struck with the knife only to have his wrist grabbed in a first grip. It took him a moment to realize who it was.

"You've improved. You almost had me."

Sam rolled his eyes slightly as he retracted his knife. "And you should know better than to sneak around Christian."

Christian chuckled at being scolded by the human. "I wasn't sneaking. I was patrolling. There's a difference." He smirked at Sam and teased him, "Thought you knew that too. You're an educated man."

"Semantics?" Sam looked at Christian, not in the mood for games. He was anxious enough considering that this whole mess was like a shadow over Angela. "Not in the mood."

"No I figure you wouldn't be. Your brother's behavior is evident of that." Christian looked to the side and groused a bit. "As if I would ever let anything happen to the Ice Queen. Not after everything."

Sam looked at the vampire. Christian had been really put out that Dean insinuated that he was putting Angela at risk. Shifting on his feet, he asked, "How do you know Angie?"

"Pairing made in hell." At Sam's blank look, Christian explained, "She was still working for the Centurion when we were more or less ordered to work together to do a job and we didn't take to each other." He pursed his lips in a grin and looked away. "She hated partners."

"Maybe just you," Sam joked.

Christian looked at the younger Winchester, still smirking in amusement. "Partly. It was hell just working through the barbs." Christian paused a moment and sighed. "You know she didn't have to save me. She could've let me die and still completed the mission."

Sam gave a slight shrug. "That's Angie." It was hard to believe that she could be that callous. Even now it was still hard to believe that she tortured demons and he sort of saw that with Alistair. But… "She cares even when crap beats her down. She won't let it and keeps on giving her time, effort… makes anyone else that selfless seem like a douche."

Christian studied Sam. He may come off across as an academic more often than the captain of the school guardians but he could read people. He knew the Winchesters were fiercely protective of Angela. He liked Sam in particular since, like his wife, he noticed that he was the only one to truly pierce the walls of ice that she shielded herself with. "You have it bad," he said, effectively catching Sam off guard.

"What?"

"You've got it bad," Christian repeated.

Sam looked at the vampire, not liking what he was hinting at. "What do you mean?"

"You don't have to lie to me… well you can't." Christian tapped his temple to indicate that all he had to do was dive into Sam's mind if he wanted to. "I can tell and any idiot with eyes can see. And it's not brotherly love."

Am I that obvious? Sam looked at the vampire who was merely standing there. There was no expectation of an answer on Christian's features; like it was meant to make him think about things. That was all he seemed to be doing these days in between taking care of business. Better to confront it since he wasn't sure if Christian was like Austin and teased or worse Nick, who implied other things and pissed him off. "Maybe it is that," he admitted.

"Maybe?"

"I don't know." Sam ran a hand through his hair and turned to look away. He pursed his lips and looked at Christian. "It's complicated."

"How? Because of the current situation?" Christian made a slight face at that. "Well I can see that but is that the problem?"

"Pretty much right now."

"Pity."

Sam rolled his eyes at that. "That's the second time someone said that to me. What is it with you people being so interested?"

"Oh the fact that it took you this long to see a few things."

Sam huffed a little at that. It was no use getting pissed at the vampire and trying to fight him. More likely they would get themselves killed by whatever was set to spring in this death trap. "I'm just here for your entertainment then?"

"No. You do that yourself." Christian gave a dry chuckle at that. "You and Angie." He noticed that Sam was going to say something and continued, "But for what it's worth, I'm glad. I was worried she would be the Ice Bitch from Hell forever."

Sam didn't say anything but stared at Christian. It was annoying when you had friends and acquaintances that knew how to figure out things or were just that good at reading people. They always hit the nail on the head when they talked to you about things. At least Christian was one that wasn't a jerk per se; he was more like Austin and he didn't have a problem with him. "Thanks… I guess."

"Perhaps I should thank you. And that can extend to your brother but I'm not feeding that overblown ego."

Sam couldn't help but chuckled at that. He sobered after giving a slight cough, "Um… good idea on that. But seriously… thanks. It's something I have to work around but I won't let anything happen to her once we're in."

"Oh I know you won't." Christian adjusted his stance and looked up at the sky. "And neither will Dean. " He looked at Sam and grinned, "You two are like a pair of first time parents with her right now. It is comical."

"And I'd like to see it when it happens to you," Sam shot back. He hadn't meant to say anything regarding Akira's pregnancy since he had no clue if she told him or not. Luckily the comment was taken in jest.

"We'll see. So are you ready?"

Sam took a breath and loosened his shoulders, "It's dream walking. Nothing unfamiliar and I've met Morpheus before."

"Just be careful with what you say. And that is if he decides to talk to you. Gods are temperamental and it's a wonder that Angie is still alive and walking."

"Tell me about it," Sam replied thinking about how she talked to Uriel and the angels.

It was a brief moment of comradeship as they shared an understanding on that level. It allowed them to acknowledge that they were there to do their jobs and they weren't going to shirk it. They walked back to the shed where Dean was waiting and probably pacing madly like a dog. Christian stopped outside and said, "I won't give you advice since you know what you're doing so I'll say good luck."

"You're not coming in?""

"Guard duty and you have Lilah inside."

"About that…"

Christian shrugged his shoulders, "Stray that came in to the Manor and pretty much stayed. She's helped out on a few jobs but mostly stays around the Manor. Why?"

"I think Angie wants to keep her."

Christian hummed at that, curious himself. He had no clue about the relationship his friend had with the dogs that ran around this place. The Wilder, Sasha, he could understand since he was familiar with that breed. He knew a cousin who had one and his grandfather once bred and raised them for hunters and various others until he died. He shrugged his shoulders, "Let her keep her."

"I think that was already decided. She said that Sasha stays with Kira."

Christian let the nickname slide. He actually liked it and considered possibilities with it. Besides his wife didn't seem to mind when Dean called her that. He was no stranger to them since his partner never stopped with the one she saddled him with when they first met. "Then an even trade sort of." He sighed and looked around, "I'll be around. Good luck with Morpheus."

He was gone before Sam could say anything. Sam wasn't put out. He was confident in Christian's word. Apart from Dean and Bobby, he trusted the vampire to make sure that they wouldn't run into trouble. It allowed him to go into the shed where Dean was waiting with Angela who had fallen asleep in his lap. It was a Kodak moment and one that Sam took the time to take.

Dean looked up the moment he heard the click of the camera phone and narrowed his eyes. "That better not be what I think it is Sammy."

"Too late. Is she asleep?"

Dean looked at Sam like he was an idiot. "What do you think? Ready for this?"

"As ready as ever."

Dean nodded and stood up holding the little girl. He carried her into the room where the keys were still on the floor. The game that Angela and Sam played with the keys revealed that they fitted together to create a pattern. It ended up being a summoning sigil and with Bobby's help it was the means of calling forth Morpheus. They still had to go into the dream realm and they had to have Angela with them.

Laying Angela on the bed, Dean stood back and watched as Sam gently ran a finger through her dark locks. His brow rose slightly at the sight and turned away. It was something… at least he thought so. When Sam was finished he asked, "You done?"

Sam shot Dean a look. He knew that Dean saw that but it wasn't any different from what he had seen his brother do. But it was different because of how he felt about her. Saying nothing, he went to the makeshift pallet he put down and sat while Dean did the same. Both looked at the keys and then at each other. Here goes nothing.

"Don't say it."

"What? Not my fault you appeared wearing the get up from that reenactment place." Dean was grinning from ear to ear since Sam was dressed full on. He wasn't wearing the girly shoes but he still was dressed up.

"Oh and you're happy in the Hansel and Gretel getup," Sam retorted with a slight eye roll.

Dean ended up scowling as he looked at the clothes he had been forced into during October Fest. "Okay fine. But I'm still the good looking one."

Sam scoffed as he looked around. There were fragments of memories all around. He recognized a few from jobs they had done when Angela was her normal size but they were a little fuzzy, like they were behind a curtain or something. There were some other memories as well but they were really fuzzy and they were of people and events that occurred long before they met her. "I think we are in Angie's head."

"What?" Dean looked around. He was seeing the same thing as Sam was. "Did we screw up?"

"Sammy? Deanie?"

Sam and Dean turned to see their girl… and she was still the same size she had been for the past two and a half months. She was dressed, to be clichéd, like an angel in a white nightgown. Her dark hair was down and held in place by the headband that Sam sometimes styled her hair in. She was looking at them a little confused and they both realized that she was seeing them in their get up.

The brothers looked at each other and Sam said, "Maybe we're in Angie's dream."

"This is what she dreams of? Memories?"

"Oh but it is much more than that," a new voice entered.

Both Winchesters turned to see the god Morpheus standing against a column that conjured out of nowhere. The god of dreams was smiling at them like he knew something they didn't. He looked at them and then glanced at Angela who was watching the whole thing wide eyed and confused. He looked back at the brothers and chuckled, "Interesting choice though I think it has more to do with the actual memory. You do look good in boots Sam."

Sam swallowed his retort, not wanting to piss the god off. He did manage to say, "Just a choice in memory."

"Yours… or hers?" Morpheus motioned with his eyes towards Angela. "Be careful how you answer that. This realm is how the dreamer shapes it. There's three of you here and it is how you make it. Loose thoughts, resentments, arguments… it all takes place right here." He gestured down towards the ground.

Dean was going to say something when something caught his attention. He blinked at the scene and remembered it well. It was when he and Angela talked before they were going to duke it out with those renegade slayers but some of the conversation was when they talked after they were sure Sam was going to be okay. He looked at the god and then at Sam.

Sam was seeing nothing but Angela working through a hustle or on a job and the various no name douches were flirting with her. He felt his body tense having to relive those moments. One was even that asshole from when they first met Christian and he felt his teeth grind together as he watched her get uncomfortable. He was about to clench his hand into a fist when a small hand fell into it. He looked down to find Angela looking up at him with a slight smile. She said, "It's okay Sammy. Youse here now." She patted his hand with her other one and continued to hold his hand.

Morpheus was grinning, "Well now that we have the confusion about what goes on around here settled though I think you would have remembered from the last time we met. Right Sam?"

"How could I forget? You forced her to think… Mom was still alive," Sam narrowed his eyes slightly at the god. He didn't go further since that would be going towards a time that Dean preferred not to talk about.

"I only worked with what is there and it's a pain in the ass when someone holds you on a leash. I'd think you'd at least understand that," Morpheus replied with a pointed look at Sam, reminding him of the 'leash' he had hung himself with when he sided with Ruby.

Dean knew that this was going to go nowhere. They needed to play nice with the god of dreams but it seemed that he was hell bent on pissing Sam off or making him feel miserable. He hadn't missed the jibes at him and they seemed to pick up the moment Angela put her hand into his brother's. He stepped forward saying, "Alright, we get it. We're here and we make what we see."

"And rather poorly considering I watched you when you were under the sway of the dream root," Morpheus dropped as he returned to a leaning posture, his expression bored. "And yet Sam managed to break through on that. You impress and disappoint me at times."

"Well we're not here for entertainment," Dean replied before Sam did. "We're here because we have a few questions."

"And are you sure that you aren't here because you want to be here? Dreams and nightmares have to occur. How else do you resolve anything?"

Sam had calmed down enough holding onto Angela's hand. He looked down at her as she watched Dean and the god argue back and forth. She wasn't scared and he aimed to keep it that way. Being nice, he stepped forward still holding her hand, he explained, "We came to ask you a couple of questions. We found some keys and when we put them together…"

"And I was wondering whatever happened to those," Morpheus countered interrupting. "So you found them?"

"Found them and…"

"Put them together to create the summoning seal within the dream realm." Morpheus studied the Winchesters a bit. "I'm impressed you were able to put it together." He pushed up from the column and it disappeared. Everything else vanished when the god swept his arms downward and a beautiful garden arose the moment his arms came up.

Sam and Dean looked around and then noticed that they were in their normal clothes. The only one that didn't change was Angela. She was looking around at the garden and smiled in recognition. She let go of Sam's hand and walked over to a setting of jasmine, her little nose twitching as she breathed in the scent. The brothers did their own scan and found that it was nice with the hanging vines, flowers and shrubbery.

"It is a sanctuary," Morpheus explained, "Created by the power of the blood key seals. This area is protected from interference from those that the princess of the warrior royalty was being pursued by. As you can see, she has been a frequent visitor lately."

It took a moment before it dawned on the Winchesters that the god of dreams admitted that he had been protecting her in her dreams. It allowed them to relax a little since that was one point in their book with regards to this particular god. Dean couldn't help but say, "Seems like Angie makes friends wherever. How'd she make friends with you?"

Morpheus smirked slightly at Dean's question. He liked his direct manner even if it lacked tact and manners at times. "Let's just say that it has little to do with what she means in terms of the larger picture. I was impressed when I came across her in her dreams or rather helping someone who was having a nightmare. She's a natural."

"Yeah, uh we get that," Sam said after giving a slight cough. "Listen the reason we have the keys is because we are looking for something and one of the memories from the keys pointed us in this direction."

"You're looking for the staff of Osiris aren't you?" Morpheus had started walking around the part of the gardens that he had been standing in marveling at the creation of it.

"Yeah. You know where it is?" Dean glanced at Sam before taking a step forward. The gravel under his feet felt real but given his clothes, he felt he was out of place and tried to play it off.

"It's not here if that is what you mean," Morpheus replied looking more at Sam, "but it is a good deduction. The keys would have indicated at such." He walked past a decorative column with handing vines of flowers.

"But you know where it is. Can you tell us?"

"Even if I did, you won't be able to find it."

Sam looked at his brother and then at the god, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that the staff is not where anyone can go." Morpheus came out and looked at the Winchesters. "It is not your concern about the staff. It is gone."

"Gone?"

"Gone as in returned to the pantheon. I have to say that it was rather an elaborate ruse for Absolution to create but it had its merits. Anyway you can't get to it. No one can and with good reason. But enough of that."

"Don't tell me that she created these keys, made a treasure hunt only to reveal that it isn't here?" Dean sort of expected it but he felt annoyed by it. It felt like work had been wasted.

"The staff of Osiris is a powerful weapon. It is known for leveling mountains and laying waste to entire regions. I'm sure that was implied as much by the other person that chanced upon it." Morpheus paced a little before continuing, "Absolution did right by returning it and the one who has been chosen made the dreamscape journey there. Unreachable."

"Then why are the demons talking about it?"

"Rumors. Whatever." Morpheus shrugged as if he could have cared less. "More likely they are drawn to the fact that there are still two of the remaining three out in your realm. Those two are what stabilize the destructive power of the staff but can be just as terrible if used in the wrong hands. Those are what you should find. That was the purpose of the keys. If the race to find the staff was on, it was made as a warning system but also a safe haven to meet." He looked at the Winchesters and noted their expressions. "I know you expected to find something here. All there is here is me telling you that one is safe but the other two are out there. Find the heart and the eye."

A/N: Looks like Sam and Dean pay a visit to Morpheus and they learn that it isn't the staff they have to worry about. Keep watching for more Memory Resolved...