The moon above Blue Mountain clouds over, casting the forest into a creeping shade. Alex blends into the darkness. The demon stands on his left, baying for his blood, while the false feds cower in a bush to the right, begging for mercy.

Sam is still crouched like a fugitive. He knows there isn't much time, and his instincts are telling him to act fast. Dean has been knocked out cold. He's alone now. Maybe, just this once...

He inhales sharply, gathering willpower. Closing his eyes, he visualises the demise of the demon before him; coughing and choking up its insides as it is dragged kicking and screaming into the depths of Hell. But his mind power is meeting resistance. The demon is battling against him, in the realm within their heads. Sam forces himself to concentrate harder. He feels the blood trickle from his nostrils. More mind power, at the cost of his physical health.

Cory wretches and writhes onto the forest floor. The black smokes bubbles on his tongue, until it is released, and gravitates towards the ground. Alex watches in bewilderment as the misty-white eyes return to a fierce icy-blue. All that's left is the lifeless Hawaiian-shirted shell of a poor sunbather from the Bahamas.

Sam and Dean open their eyes almost simultaneously. Dean jumps up, sensing danger, and grabs his gun from the undergrowth.

"Where is it? Where is the demonic bastard?"

"Gone." Sam says, breathlessly. "But Alex is still here."

Dean glances up to Alex, who still stands coldly in the moonlight. Sam gives him a hinting glance. Dean sighs and approaches him, but before he can speak, Alex cuts him off.

"Don't even bother." he says bitterly. "I know you guys aren't feds. I don't care what you are. You just ruined my only hope of happiness."

He turns or his heel and strides away into the frosty night. Dean throws his arms up in frustration as he watches the plaid shirt vanish into the trees.

The beeping of the digital alarm clock shocks Sam awake the next morning. He sits upright in bed and glances at the window. There is barely any sunlight visible through the curtains, but Dean is already washed and dressed, and is in the process of packing his suitcase.

"Rise 'n' shine, Sammy." he says cheerily. "Get dressed, we're gonna grab some breakfast and head off outta this town."

Sam rubs his eyes wearily. Although his is slightly confused by Dean's sudden rush to leave, he climbs out of bed and throws on his jeans.

Sitting in the seat of the impala, Dean feasts upon a greasy bacon sandwich as he enjoys the heavy rock blaring out of the car radio. Sam places his coffee cup down on the dashboard and switches the racket off.

"Dean, we need to talk."

"Can't it wait?" Dean mumbles through a mouth full of food. "I'm busy."

"You know that demon didn't just disappear last night, don't you?"

Dean ignores him, and scrunches up the wrapper of his sandwich. He discards it under the car seat, to join with the chip packets and porn mags which are gradually piling up.

"I stopped it, Dean." Sam continues regardless. "I sent that demon back to Hell on my own. I took on a demon that was almost as powerful as Lilith."

"How can you say that?" Dean interjects.

"Didn't you see his eyes? They were the same colour as Lilith's, and Alistair's! I did it, Dean! I stopped it using my psychic powers!"

"Demon powers!" Dean corrects him.

"But don't you see? I'm finally strong enough to take on Lilith!"

"No you're not, Sam!" Dean snaps. "No amount of that venom in your veins is gonna make you stronger! It's just gonna eat you up from the inside until you..." he fades off.

"Until I what?" Sam sneers.

"You know what." Dean mutters. "You're not gonna fight her this way."

"But I have a plan, Dean!" Sam assures him.

"Oh great, Sam. I can't wait to hear how you plan to stop Lilith from destroying the 66 seals and raising Lucifer before the weekend."

"Just hear me out." Sam pleads. "Alex was able to summon a demon on Blue Mountain Trail. And not any old demon: a really powerful one. He had it right at his fingertips, ready to break a deal."

"Are you suggesting you make a deal with Lilith?" Dean says, disgusted.

"I'm suggesting that we summon Lilith and trap her!" Sam replies. "We could pretend to bargain with her, and destroy her, once and for all!"

"Oh no, no, no." Dean dismisses him. "There's no 'we' in this any more, Sam. I'm not gonna put myself right into her hands."

"So what? I go it alone?"

"You claim you've got what it takes." Dean remarks in a mocking tone. "If you're stupid enough to do this, then why don't you throw yourself right into the ring-of-fire?"

"I might just do that." Sam scowls.

"Go ahead." Dean says, carelessly. "Go and 'save the world', superman."

"And what will you be doing while I go off and stop Lucifer rising? Sitting in a sleazy bar pulling some slut who's probably contracted several STIs?"

"It's gotta be better than contracting demon-AIDS." Dean smirks.

Sam clenches his jaw and steps out of the car. He slams the door of the impala without glancing back. Dean watches his little brother walk away another time and sighs.

In a darkened room on the other side of town, Alex sits in the armchair, shakily clutching a bottle of whisky. Astronomy & Astrology lies abandoned on the mantelpiece, beside a photograph of the couple at university. His eyes are cold and unforgiving as he swigs from the bottle again, and wipes his dried lips.

There's a thudding on the front door. Alex blinks exhaustively, and rises from his seat, letting the bottle fall from his grip and land carelessly on the carpet. The blurred edges of a tall dark silhouette are visible through the window. Alex opens the door slowly with a sigh and sees Sam standing there.

"Mr Porter..." he nods with a feeble smile. "Can I come in?"

"No." Alex responds as-a-matter-of-factly. "Why are you so obsessed with me?"

"I'm here to tell you the truth - about everything." Sam says with a hint of honesty.

"I don't care about the 'truth'." Alex retorts. "Just go away, or I'm calling the cops. The real cops."

"Fine, I'll go." Sam says, holding his hands up in the air. "But I'm gonna ask one more question."

Alex groans. "What?"

"Could I possibly borrow that book? The one you had on the mountain?"

Alex considers his request for a short while, before turning away into the lounge. When he returns to the doorstep, he holds a leather-bound book in his hand.

"Take it." he says. "And I don't wanna see you or your boyfriend here ever again."

He drops the book into Sam's open hands, and slams the door back in his face. Sam marches jollily away, gripping the book tightly. At last: progress.