Dean Winchester came back from hell a broken shadow of a men he was told he was the one to break the first seal it weighed heavily on Deans mind far more then he let on he was breaking under the pressure little did they know it wasn't Sam who would have the choice to break the final seal to free lucifer…and Dean himself.

He came out of the pit in pieces, like he did when his wings first fell but this time, with more injuries than before and the weight that had settled heavy in his gut as the only way to feel anything. The Winchesters hadn't seen him since they were sent to the Cage with Lucifer, so they weren't sure if Dean was coming or going. He couldn't say. It didn't matter to them anyway…the brothers had each other.

Dean was too broken for Sam and it was all Sam's fault...but it wasn't Dean's fault either. It was his own fault. The older Winchester brother knew how much Sam hated the angels, knew how much Sam wanted to find his family again...so instead of taking care of his baby brother Dean took over and became the big brother Sam needed...that Dean should've been able to be and wasn't, because no matter what Dean was still broken and couldn't seem to help even if he tried.

It had only been three months but it felt like years had passed. They had been living on the road for a couple weeks now, sleeping in motels in between hunts and doing their best to ignore what Dean was becoming as he slowly sank into himself. Dean wasn't good at talking about things he was feeling and it wasn't easy to talk about feelings with his younger brother. When he didn't have to he went silent, just letting his thoughts consume him...sometimes the others noticed but usually Sam didn't until he got a look at Dean after a hunt…and he would stare at Dean for a while, knowing that something was wrong...before finally getting up and leaving Dean alone.

Sam never understood what had happened during the year they spent in hell…he knew something bad happened, but the specifics always escaped him, the older Winchester brother wouldn't explain much. Sometimes he would get angry, scream and cry but he wouldn't explain why though. The only reason Sam knew Dean was hurting was through a glance at how the man carried himself when the two of them were alone...it was as if nothing hurt anymore and Dean was numb to everything. But Sam was scared, scared that if he left Dean again something might happen again and he would leave his only support behind again...but Dean wouldn't listen, so Sam stayed.

They didn't do anything together these days, just worked side by side in silence, sometimes exchanging words when there was need...usually when they found something and could take a moment to rest.

Dean would sit down next to Sam on the hood of an Impala, looking across the street from the motel he was sitting next to, eyes distant and mind empty. Sometimes Sam would follow his gaze and see something that reminded him of the past and he wished Dean would stop being such a bastard and open up to him a bit. But Dean kept putting distance between them, he never seemed to want to talk about it...even when he did tell someone it seemed to fall flat. And if he wasn't going to talk he wouldn't tell Sam anything...and Sam would stay silent...because he knew if he pushed Dean enough it would come out and he knew the older brother wouldn't handle that well.

When Sam got bored of waiting he looked up at the sky and tried to think of the past week…the last time he saw Dean and the time before that…maybe it was the night they were supposed to kill Crowley...or maybe Dean was thinking about Cas…Sam couldn't really remember and he didn't care enough to bother trying…but he hoped the thought of his angel made him happy somehow.

Dean sighed deeply in resignation, he closed his eyes and rested his head against the Impala behind him, he heard Sam shift around but the younger brother didn't say anything, just sat next to him quietly, waiting to make sure Dean was okay. It didn't take long for the older Winchester to fall asleep. After a few minutes Sam shook him gently awake. "Come on Dean, we need to go. We need gas," he said softly, pulling his older brother along, leading the way back towards the motel where he had parked the Impala a few blocks from home.

Sam walked around the car checking it thoroughly, making sure there was nothing important he could lose...his gun, some money...a spare tire for the impala…everything was safe. He then turned to wake Dean, who was sleeping peacefully in the passenger seat.

Sam leaned forward to grab him, only to be stopped by two hands on his shoulders pushing him backwards into the Impala and landing hard on the floor. A second later another person climbed inside, crouching low. Dean jumped out of the car quickly, gun in hand and ready, aiming for the first intruder. Sam followed suit as soon as he regained his footing and aimed for the first attacker, hitting his shoulder.

The man yelped and grabbed his arm, dropping his knife as Sam tackled him to the ground and pinned him. Dean pulled out his gun, cocking it and aiming at the first assailant once more...then his phone rang. Dean lowered his weapon, answering it and pressing it tightly against his ear, whispering soft apologies into it as he talked. "Yeah, yeah. Okay. I'm on my way."

He hung up, putting his phone away and turning towards Sam. "I gotta go Sammy…got to pick Bobby up at Sioux Falls. It looks like we're gonna have company tonight."

'Shit.' "Are you serious? Are you gonna get in trouble?" He asked concerned. His worry for Dean must have shown on his face because the hunter smiled slightly and patted him on the shoulder.

"I'll be fine. Besides, Bobby is a smart old guy, he knows better then to pull me in. We both know I'm not much use as an informant anyways…just stay here. Don't worry. If anything goes wrong call Bobby and we'll try to sneak you outta the bunker," he explained. He started walking towards the door but then hesitated. "Oh, uhm...could you bring the trunk up? It's probably full of crap right now. Just bring everything up and lock it up. I don't want it anywhere near us when we leave."

He nodded and hurried towards the trunk, getting up on his feet and grabbing the small box. He made quick work of opening it, throwing whatever he was carrying into the trunk…including the extra guns and knives hidden inside. He put everything in carefully before locking the trunk up. By the time he was finished and Dean was gone Sam couldn't help but wonder what kind of people they would encounter in Sioux Falls.

--

"You okay there Sammy?" Dean asked after his little brother had fallen asleep in the front seat of the Impala.

"Ya, 'm good Dean, just tired" he yawned.

"Good...me too" Dean said nodding a bit before focusing back on the road ahead, keeping his eyes on the rearview mirror to make sure Sam was still out cold. "Where you guys planning on staying?"

Cas asked as he appeared in the impala's passenger seat "We are...for now".

"Okay, so let's go."

Chapter 3

Two hours later they were on the highway, heading towards the town of Sioux Falls. Dean glanced outside of the window every so often to check in on Sam who hadn't stirred once during the whole ride. "What's your plan?" He asked Castiel, glancing at the angel every few seconds from the corner of his eye.

Castiel looked around in confusion, not understanding what Dean meant "My plan? Oh...my plan? What does your plan involve?"

"Well, you said you have to figure out how to save everyone and all that...what do you mean by 'save everyone' exactly? How are we gonna find and defeat the Devil? Who the fuck is the Devil anyway? What the fuck's our plan B? Why didn't you give us one?"

The angel frowned a bit confused "You can't expect me to answer that…" he whispered and took a deep breath to calm himself down. "And besides...you don't understand, do you? You were under Michael's control…you didn't even know your own name...you couldn't even begin to imagine what the Cage has done to you...we have been fighting him for years and he won't ever learn, it will be forever…"

"But we've fought him…he has lost before, we can win this."

"No we won't Dean, no matter what, you'll die. This world needs us and the Apocalypse isn't over. When the angels get out, they're gonna start fighting and it'll be hell…"

"Not if we stop them!" Dean growled angrily. He knew what he had agreed with Cas and what the archangel had said…that Michael couldn't possibly win the war on his own…but he also knew that this wasn't the end of things. There was always a chance they could survive until another day or the angels could win the battle without killing anyone else…they just had to fight harder.

"Dean…" Cas warned