ONE MONTH LATER…

Moonlight was filtering through the space between the thick curtains that covered windows. The light fell over the two beds that occupied the small hotel room. Sam was laying beside of Ella, staring up at the ceiling after waking from another nightmare. He glanced to her after a moment, waiting to make sure that she was asleep before he carefully climbed from the bed. Things had been hard since Dean had died. They had buried him and left a plain wooden cross to mark his grave. They had spent the month trying to continue as things had been before, but it just wasn't the same. Oshea had been quiet, she'd barely spoken

since Dean had died and she hadn't been eating or sleeping much, but the same could have been said of Sam. He ran his fingers through his hair as he left the hotel and went to the Impala, grabbing a few things from it before he left. He walked and walked until he found what he was looking for: the crossroads. He had stopped along the way, grabbing a bottle or two... or four.. of liquid courage before he stumbled onto the crossroads, waiting for the demon to arrive. "COME ON! Show yourself!"

Suddenly a man who appeared to be in his early thirties appeared, wearing a dark brown suit, his hands stuck casually in his pockets. "I was wondering whether to come or not, I mean, you shot one of my coworkers," He said with a humorless chuckle. "Don't take this the wrong way, Sam, but you don't look so hot, buddy." He smirked, his eyes flashing red for a moment and then returning to their normal color. "Guess burying your brother didn't agree with you. Let me guess. You want to make a deal?" He started walking towards Sam, his hands still in his pockets as he strolled towards him. "And round and round the Winchesters go... Sorry Sam, you could have saved yourself the trip. It's not gonna happen," he said with a shrug as he shook his head.

"Yes, I want to make a deal." Sam started, his voice slurred slightly. He narrowed his eyes, trying to keep himself standing steady as he watched the man. "What do you mean, it's not going to happen?" He

said, his brows furrowing. "You don't have to give me any time, just take me now. I just want Dean back. I'll do anything."

"Sorry, Sam, no can do. We've got your brother right where we want him. So the answer's no. You wanna kill me? Go right ahead. I've made peace with my lord," the demon said with a wide grin.

"You can't do this, it's a fair trade!" Sam yelled, taking an unsteady step forward. "Just take me!" He spread his arms out before letting them fall to his sides. He could not believe this was happening. "It's

a fair trade!"

The demon chuckled before shaking his head slowly. "You Winchesters crack me up," He said with a smirk, and then he disappeared.

Sam stared at the place where the demon had stood and shook his head. "No! Come back here! What is my soul not good enough for you? It's a fair trade!" He yelled again. He lifted his hands and tilted back his head as he roughly combed his fingers through his hair. He sighed heavily and dropped his hands to his sides, turning as he found himself standing in the glow of headlights. Blinking, he lifted a hand to shield his eyes and took a step backwards out of the road as the Impala pulled up beside him.

Ella rolled down the driver's side window and looked out at Sam with a tired expression on her face, as she pulled up next to him and stopped the car. "Figured I'd find you here," She said with a sigh. "You didn't... I mean, I'm not too late, am I?"

Sam looked away, staring down at the ground. He kicked a piece of gravel away with the toe of his shoe then shook his head. "He wouldn't make a deal with me." He said quietly.

Ella sighed. "I miss Dean too, Sam. I can't imagine what you're going through, because Oshea is still here and alive. But we already lost Dean, we can't lose you, too."

Sam rubbed his eyes and sighed heavily. He ran his fingers through his hair and pulled open the Impala's door, climbing into the passenger seat. He sat down heavily and closed his eyes. "I had to try, Ella... you said once that you'd sell your soul for Oshea if it came to that... Dean sold his for me, I had to... I had to at least try..."

Ella looked over at him. "I know. But Dean wouldn't want this. He wouldn't want you to fall apart like this. These last few weeks have been really hard, not just on you but Oshea too, and on me, because I'm try so hard to keep you guys from sacrificing yourselves."

Sam's brows furrowed and he leaned up a little, dropping his hand from in front of his face. He turned and looked at Ella as a thought came to his mind from what she had said. "Where is Oshea now?" He whispered, glancing in the back of the Impala then looking back at Ella when he saw she wasn't there.

Ella raised an eyebrow for a moment. "She's back asleep at the motel, why..? You don't think she...? Oh crap," She said suddenly, taking the Impala out of park as she sped away from the crossroads back towards the motel.

Oshea curled her arms around herself, glancing over her shoulder to watch the old S10 pull away and drive in the opposite direction she was going. She had pretended she was asleep the whole night until she had heard the Impala drive off. She had quickly dressed in a pair of jeans and a green zip up hoodie, throwing her hair into a ponytail before rushing out to the road and finding rides until she reached the

crossroads. She stepped into the middle of the crossroads, crouching and pulling out the small box that contained the items she needed. She placed it into the ground and covered it up before standing straight again and waiting.

A few moments later, a young woman with long, wavy dark brown hair appeared on one of the roads, dressed in a plain black dress. "Well, well, if it isn't one of the Winchester's pretty little gal-pals," she said with a grin and a wink, her eyes flashing red for a moment as she walked towards Oshea and circled around her. "That's right, I know who you are. Demons talk, you know." She looked her up and down as she circled around her, and then stopped, standing still with her arms crossed over her chest. "So, doll, what can I do for you?"

Oshea took a deep breath, standing still as the demon circled around her like a vulture. "If you know who I am then you know why I'm here." She whispered, looking up at the woman. "I want to make a deal."

The demon rolled her eyes and then chuckled. "You humans are just so delightfully stupid, you know that? It's so fun to watch you squirm around in your little meat suits, just itching to sacrifice yourself for your latest lover. It's adorable, really."

Oshea swallowed hard, releasing her breath in a soft sigh. "I want Dean Winchester back." She said quietly, lowering her eyes. "I don't need any time. You can take me now. Just... bring Dean back for me..."

The demon laughed bitterly. "Sweetie, what makes you think we want your soul? Why would we take a little nobody like yourself, when we have Dean Winchester doing the hell-fire rumba downstairs as we speak?"

Oshea flinched slightly, feeling her chest tighten and a lump gather in her throat. She closed her eyes a moment to compose herself, trying not to think about how much Dean must be suffering. "I... I will do anything." She whispered, fighting to keep her voice steady. "Please... There has to be some way we can work this out. Something or someone I can bring you to give you along with my soul... anything."

"Tsk, tsk, not the brightest crayon in the box, now are you?" She smiled for a moment and then turned serious. "Dean's staying right where he is. And even if I wanted to help you out, which I don't, we've got strict orders not to bargain with you, Ella, or the other Winchester boy about Dean's soul. So sorry, sweetie. Guess you'll have to find yourself another boy toy."

Oshea's brows furrowed. "What? Why? Why have you been told not to bargain about Dean's soul?" She asked, taking a step towards the woman. She had been planning on going to every crossroads she could find until someone decided to help her, but if they had all been ordered not to release Dean for some reason, then it was hopeless.

The demon chuckled. "That's for us to know, and you to find out." With a wink, she was gone.

Oshea stood there for a moment after the woman had vanished, not knowing what to do. She sighed and pulled up the things she had buried before walking down the road. She hitchhiked a ways and stubbornly tried a few more crossroads, only to be met with the same response. Finally, she went to the place where she, Dean, Ella and Sam had spent that last night together. She sat down by the place where they had watched the stars together and placed her head in her hands, softly beginning to cry.

After stopping back by the motel and seeing Oshea wasn't there, Ella and Sam stopped by every crossroad in town, but Oshea was still nowhere to be found. "Come on, Oshea... answer your phone..." Ella cursed as once again she was met with the voicemail, and she let the phone snap shut and fall into her lap. "I'm getting really worried, Sam."

Sam sighed and reached over, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Ella. I'm sure she's alive." He said quietly. He had been about to say that he was sure that she was okay, but none of them were okay, and Sam wasn't sure they would ever be okay again. "She isn't at any of the crossroads and Dean isn't back so she must not have made a deal... okay? Let's just keep looking. Maybe we can try our old camp site. Remember? Where Dean..." he swallowed hard. "Where he... he died..."

Ella nodded slowly. "Yeah, yeah, you're probably right... we should go check there." She took a deep breath and put the car in reverse, turning around and driving in the opposite direction.

It was getting dark by the time they pulled up to the spot. Sam pointed to the huddled figure sitting on the ground that was washed in the light of the headlights. "There." He said quietly. Oshea did not move from where she was, tears were still running down her face and her arms curled around herself. As they stopped the car, Sam climbed out and stood just outside of the open car door.

Ella jumped out of the car and walked towards Oshea and laid down on the grass next to her. "Do I have to get a collar with a little jingly bell on it for you and Sam so I don't have to chase you guys all over the place?" She said with a sigh.

Oshea swallowed hard and glanced toward her sister a moment before she scooted to her and threw her arms around her, burying her face in her shoulder. She was too tired to cry anymore, her form was shaking with soft, weak hiccupping sobs. Sam remained where he was, lowering his eyes.

Ella patted Oshea's back softly. "I know it hurts, sis. We all miss him. But we'll get through this." She said quietly.

"We should get back to the hotel," Sam said after giving the siblings a few moments alone. He watched as the two returned to the car. Oshea climbed into the back silently and Sam sat back down in the passenger seat. The ride back to the hotel was silent, when they got back to the hotel, Oshea went directly to her bed and buried herself in the covers, going to sleep. Sam took a deep breath and turned to Ella, watching her a moment before he moved toward her and kissed her on the lips. He eased her back to the bed and laid her down on it before he climbed onto it himself, deepening the kiss.

Ella was surprised at first. Ever since Dean had died, Sam hardly looked at her, let alone kissed her like that. She could taste the alcohol on his lips, and she pulled away for a moment. "Rob a liquor store on your little outing earlier?" She said, arching a brow.

Sam closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against Ella's. "Kind of," He said quietly. "Ella... I just... I want to forget about what happened... I want to forget everything..." He opened his eyes and slid his hands beneath the edges of her shirt, touching her sides and stomach. "I need you... please..."

Though he could not see it in the darkness of the room, Ella blushed a bit. She put her hands on his and moved them away, but held onto his hands. "Sam, that isn't going to make you forget. You're drunk and sad and you think it's going to make you forget, but it's not. You know I care about you," she said, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "But what you think is going to happen, isn't going to happen tonight... especially with the state you're in, and especially not with my little sister in the same room. So, let's just go to sleep. Okay, Sam?" She stared him in the eyes, smiling faintly, hoping she could get through to any bit of sobriety that was in him at the moment.

Sam returned the little kiss on his lips and sighed as he allowed her to pull his hands away from her. "I care about you, too." He said quietly. With a little nod, he whispered, sounding a little hurt. "Okay..." He pulled away and laid down beside of her on the bed. Climbing beneath the covers with her, he curled one arm around her and pulled her close to him. He laid his head by her shoulder, closing his eyes.

A/N: So this concludes "season three" of the story. Stay tuned, as "season four" will be uploaded shortly :)