AUTHOR'S NOTES: I apologize if there's a touch of confusion with this chapter. I did my best to make sure it was easy to tell when the scene flips from Sam and Dean's Excellent Adventure through Heaven and what's going on back on Earth.

Chapter 23

Dark Side of the Moon

The steady sound of Fiona's sneakers hitting the pavement matched the quick pace of her breathing and heartbeat.

It had been so long since she'd last gone for a run but thanks to Anna, it was if Fiona's injuries had never happened.

Of course the early morning runs were just part of what had changed lately.

Sam and Fi had taken to getting their own separate motel room since the past week they'd been getting more and more wild and crazy during sex and Dean was ready to start shooting if they all kept sleeping in the same room.

Slowing to a jog when she was about a mile away from the motel, Fiona suddenly felt a sick clenching in her stomach. It was the same feeling that she'd had more than two years ago when—unbeknownst to her at the time—Sam had been stabbed to death.

Kicking it into gear, Fiona raced towards the motel, almost getting run down as a pick-up truck careened out of the parking lot.

Getting to Dean's room, Fiona stopped dead and it was as if the entire world came to a screeching halt.

Sam and Dean both lay on the beds; face up, chests torn open by shotgun blasts. There was blood spatter on the headboards and marks on the walls from stray buckshot.

Fiona numbly entered the room, stopping when she kicked something on the ground. Bending down, she picked up Dean's gun and slowly sat down on the nearest bed. Looking from Dean to Sam, tears filled her eyes and she started to cry.

It was one of the strangest dreams Dean had ever had.

It was also one of the strongest memories he had.

Dean sat in a plastic chair and watched a much younger version of his father pacing anxiously. After a while, John stopped and looked at Dean. "We're waiting for your new baby brother, Dean," he said with a smile.

At first the statement seemed to come out of nowhere, but then Dean remembered asking his father what they were waiting for.

"Mr. Winchester?" A nurse said as she came out of the room. "You and your son can come in now."

Dean followed his father and the two went into the hospital room where Mary lay in bed, holding a tiny baby Sam.

And suddenly, Dean found himself sitting behind the wheel of the Impala on a dark road. "Okay…" he said, looking around. "What the hell is going on?"

"Not Hell," Castiel's voice said from the car's radio. "Heaven."

"Cas?" Dean said, not sure what was going on? "What are you talking about? Why am I in Heaven?"

"Dean?" It was Fiona speaking this time and she sounded frantic. "Please tell me you can hear me!"

"I hear you," Dean assured her. He heard her sigh of relief and asked, "Why are you and Cas poking around in my dream?"

"Listen to me very carefully," Castiel replied, quickly. "This isn't a dream."

But if it wasn't a dream, then…? Dean didn't like the alternative but holding out that maybe it was something else, he asked, "Then what is it?"

"You're dead," Fiona said, a catch in her voice. "Look, Castiel and I don't have a whole lot of time. He's doing this spell, but it's difficult to maintain. Where are you?"

Dean looked around but didn't see anything to identify where he was specifically. "I-I don't know, it's just a road."

"Okay, follow it," Fiona instructed. "It should lead you to Sam. When you find him, try to contact us. Cas will be waiting for you."

The signal cut out and Dean started the Impala and headed down the road hopefully finding Sam along the way.

Some Hours Earlier…

After a few minutes of trying to wrap her head around what had happened, Fiona finally pulled out her cell phone and dialed Bobby's number. It took a few moments for the older hunter to pick up and when he did, Fi didn't know what to say. "Bobby," she said, finally, her voice choked with sobs.

"Fiona?" Bobby said, concern and worry thick in his tone. "What's wrong?"

"They're dead," Fi managed to get out. "I got back from a run and… I-I found them." She was sobbing openly now and all she heard through her cloud of thoughts was 'stay there' and '3 hours'. Hanging up the phone, she wished her father was there. She didn't want to be alone with Sam and Dean, but she couldn't bring herself to leave the room.

Going to the table where Dean had set up his own computer, Fiona tried to think. She had to find out who killed Sam and Dean. She'd only caught part of the plate number but she'd seen a couple bumper stickers on the tailgate of the truck.

But before she could start up the computer, Fi's phone rang and she sat down as she saw the name on the caller ID.

"I'm on my way, Fiona," Gibbs assured her. "Got a flight to South Dakota and I'm leaving for the airport right now."

"Bobby called you," Fi deduced, trying not to start crying again.

"I'll be there in less than two hours," Gibbs promised. "Just hold on, okay?"

"Hurry," Fiona said, ending the call. But suddenly, she had a brilliant idea. Calling Abby, she didn't wait for the forensic scientist to say anything before she said, "Abby, I need a trace on a vehicle."

Up in Heaven, Dean finally found the end of the road which just happened to be a two story home painted a nondescript blue and gray. It didn't take long for him to recognize the house. Hell, he'd been there often enough lately. But the house didn't look as… plain as it did these days. Flower gardens were blooming under the windows and the paint job was new.

Getting out of the car, Dean walked up to the house and stopped short when a woman with red hair opened the door, giving him a smile.

"Well, it's about time, Dean," Shannon Gibbs said as she let Dean inside. "Sam's down in the basement. But you already knew that, didn't you?" Seeing that Dean looked confused, Shannon laughed and led the young man into the living room and indicated that he should sit down. Looking around the room, she went on, "You see what you want to in Heaven. The best times of your life. For me it was being with Kelly and Jethro in this house."

Dean thought about that for a while. But after a few moments, he went down to the basement where he found Kelly, Fiona, Sam, and his younger self under the boat frame that took up most of the space.

Kelly was looking at the others and Dean had to stifle a laugh at how cramped grown-up Sam was as she sat with his back to him. On the contrary, Dean was also amazed at how short he'd been as a kid.

As Kelly gave her friends their nicknames, Dean thought about how strange it had been that Sam was nicknamed 'Hazel'. But maybe it wasn't so strange. Hazel hadn't been the strongest, but he had the heart. He risked his life over and over for the sake of his brother and the other rabbits.

Dean could relate to that. As he inadvertently creaked the stairs, he watched Sam jump to his feet and come out from under the boat frame. "Hey, Sammy."

"Dean?" Sam said, looking confused. "What are you doing in my dream?"

x

"Wow," Sam said as he and Dean stood in the living room a few minutes later. Dean had just explained what was going on and now Sam was trying to think of what the next step should be. "So what do we do now?"

Dean wasn't quite sure, but he was spared from having to reply when the TV suddenly flicked on and Castiel appeared. "Cas?" Dean said, going over to the TV. "I found Sam."

"Good," Castiel said, quickly. "Listen, I need you to follow the road. It's called the Axis Mundi. It's a path that runs through Heaven. In order to get back you need to find an angel-"

"No offense, man," Dean said, wanting to do nothing more than get back to Earth. "But we're kinda ass-full of angels."

"It's not a question or a debate," Cas snapped, irritably. "Celeste is one of God's favored angels. Find her. She'll lead you to the Garden where you'll find an angel named Joshua."

"And what's so special about Joshua?" Sam wanted to know.

"The rumor has it, he talks to God," Cas went on. "And if you can find him, maybe we can find out what God has been saying."

When the TV shut off, Sam and Dean headed outside, but stopped when they saw that what had been a road of two-lane asphalt was now an overgrown forest. Turning back to the house, they began searching for any clue as to where to find the road next.

When Gibbs got to the motel, he was shocked that Fiona wasn't falling apart. But when he noticed the three angels in the room, he just nodded.

"Bobby's still a couple hours out," Fiona said as she looked over at Sam and Dean. She tried not to think about the fact that they were dead, but being in the room with them, the reality was impossible to ignore. "Castiel and Anna are going to keep an eye on things here."

"Why can't they just bring them back?" Gibbs asked, as though it were the most obvious question.

"Castiel and I can't return to Heaven," Anna explained as she stood, arms crossed. "And if Gabriel returns, it'll just cause even more trouble."

"There are a few angels who will be able to help," Castiel added. "With any luck, Sam and Dean should be fine."

Gibbs narrowed his eyes as he took a few steps towards Castiel. The angel wisely backed up under the intense blue-eyes stare from the NCIS Senior Special Agent. "I don't want to hear 'should be'," Gibbs said, and even though his voice was low and even, he meant business.

"This is not an entirely worked out plan," Cas explained, wishing Gibbs would stop staring at him. "I'm… making this up as I go."

Gibbs contemplated headslapping the angel of the lord, but set the thought aside for later when his phone rang. Glancing at the ID, he flipped the phone open and said, "What do ya got, Abbs?"

"I managed to track the truck Fiona saw to a bar in North Dakota," Abby reported. "I called the local police with a BOLO and they're holding Walter Vincent and Roy Harris on murder charges."

"Good work, Abby," Gibbs replied, wondering what to do about the two idiots now. "Keep me posted."

"You got it, Gibbs," Abby promised, cheerfully.

Gibbs looked over at Fiona who looked eager to get her revenge and debated on telling her about the two hunters. But at the same time, he fully understood getting payback on someone who had hurt your family.

On the other hand, Gibbs figured that Bobby Singer might want in on the action as well.

The Axis Mundi had taken Sam and Dean to Kansas and Arizona before finally putting them outside an abandoned house in Indiana.

Dean wasn't sure whose memory it was at first, but as he thought about it, he turned to Sam who didn't want to look at him. "This?" Dean asked, dawning realization coming over him. "This is the night you ditched us for Stanford, isn't it?" Sam didn't reply and Dean couldn't help but feel hurt at the idea that this was a good memory for his brother.

But the more he thought about it, Dean realized that his resentment was more towards himself than at Sam. Dean had been proud that Sam had scored a full ride to college. And while he felt hurt that his brother was leaving, he also knew that it was an opportunity that Sam had dreamt about for years. It was a chance at a real life and Sam had jumped in head first.

"Pssst!"

Sam and Dean turned and found that they were suddenly in the middle of a patch of dense brush, facing a figure dressed as a Mexican wrestler.

"This way! Hurry!" the figure said, leading the brothers to a decrepit looking shack before drawing some sort of sigil on the door. Once inside, he ditched the costume and said, happily, "Buenos dias, bitches."

"Ash?" Sam said in surprise.

Ash clapped his hands twice and the lights came on. Looking at the Winchesters with a smile on his face, he said, "Welcome to my Blue Heaven."

Dean looked around as he and Sam joined the computer genius at the bar. "My God, the Roadhouse. It even smells the same."

"Bud, blood, and beer nuts," Ash replied, savoring the aroma. "Best smell in the world. "How about a cold one?"

"Sure," Sam said with a shrug. As he and Dean sat at the bar, he asked, "So how'd you know where to find us?"

Ash grinned at the question and downed his own beer in one go before answering. "See, Heaven's not just one place. It's more like a buttload of places all crammed together. Everyone gets a little slice of paradise. Some people share—special cases, like soul mates." After popping the top on a second beer, Ash went on. "Anyway… most people can't leave their own private Idahos."

"But you ain't 'most people'," Dean said with a smirk as he took a sip of his own beer.

"Nope," Ash confirmed. "They ain't got my skills. Hell, I have been all over: Johnny Cash, Andre the Giant… Einstein. Sam, that man can mix a White Russian." Seeing the astonished looks from Sam and Dean, he added, "The other day I even found Julia Child. Trust me… you never tasted anything so good in your life. A man could eat like a king in there."

"Julia Child?" Sam asked, amused. Somehow, Ash of the Mullet Haircut didn't seem like the type.

But Ash just grinned as he reached down and brought up his computer. "One of the friendlier angels hangs out in Julia's Heaven. The two of us hit it off pretty well, if you know what I mean," he added with a dirty grin.

"All this from a guy who used to sleep on a pool table," Dean said, still amazed at the situation.

"Yep, now what I'm dead, I'm livin', man," Ash said, happily. "Whole lot more."

"So, is this—?" Sam asked, pointing at the computer. "—how you knew we were here?"

Ash nodded, hitting a button on his rig. High-pitched sounds filled the room and he turned the sound off for a moment. "That's angels blabbin' Enochian. Okay? I'm fluent. I heard that you guys were up—of course I had to find you again."

"Again?" Dean asked, even though he couldn't remember being in Heaven before.

"This ain't the first time you've been here," Ash said, sounding more amused than anything. "I mean, you boys die more than anyone I have every met."

Sam and Dean were about respond to that but turned when the front door opened and a woman in her 30's strolled in. She had wavy blonde hair, amazing legs, and Dean was so glad that Ziva wasn't there to see him studying the woman's rack.

"Got a cold brew for a thirsty bitch with wings?" The woman asked with a grin. Catching the beer Ash threw at her, she sat at the bar, tossing her hair over her shoulder while looking at Dean. "So you're Dean Winchester, huh?"

Sam and Dean both looked at each other, then at the angel sitting at the bar, and then at Ash. "Uh, dude…?" Dean asked, nodding to the blonde woman. "Friend of yours?"

"More than a friend sometimes," the woman replied, finishing off her beer and crushing the can with one hand. "You can call me Celeste."

Sam and Dean exchanged another hasty look before Sam said, "We've been looking for you."

"Same here," Celeste replied as Ash poured her a shot of tequila. "Been trying to keep you off the angel radar since Zachariah wants both your asses for lunch."

When Bobby showed up at the hotel room with Ellen, Jo, and Rufus in tow, he stopped dead at the sight of the Winchesters lying dead on the two beds in the room. Looking at Fiona, he asked, "Don't you think we should do something about the boys before someone calls the cops?"

"Already got it covered," Gibbs promised. He didn't go into details, but he figured that didn't need to.

"Okay," Bobby said, slowly. He seemed a bit dubious, but figured that since Gibbs was an actual federal agent, he was probably able to pull off stuff that even Bobby would have trouble with.

"So what are we doing here, then?" Rufus asked, impatiently. "Let's hunt those two knuckleheads down."

"You know where Walt and Roy are?" Ellen asked, coolly. If those two dumbass hunters thought they could kill Sam and Dean and get away with it, they were dead wrong. Even Jo looked eager for some payback.

"They're being held in the county jail on murder charges," Fiona reported, grabbing her duffel and looking at the other hunters before turning to Gibbs. "You mind keeping an eye on the boys?"

Gibbs nodded silently and gave his goddaughter a hug. "Take care."

"You know me," Fiona replied with a smirk Dean would have been proud of. Looking at Jo, Ellen, Bobby, and Rufus. "Let's go."

xxxxx

The drive wasn't long at all thanks to Jo's driving and when they stopped outside the county courthouse later that evening, Rufus asked, "So what's the plan?"

Fiona hadn't exactly thought about that and as she felt her anger simmering just below the surface, she realized that going in guns blazing was probably a stupid move. But as she saw the sheriff walking in with his hand on another man's shoulder, she changed her mind. "Okay, handguns only," she instructed, getting out of the car.

"Fiona?" Ellen asked, looking uneasy. But she got out as well and followed the others inside the building.

Bobby went up to the sheriff and gave the man a nod. "Evening, Sheriff."

"Good evening," Sheriff Blake Hutchins said with a reciprocating nod. Looking at the rest of the group, he asked, "How can I help you folks?"

"You've got two guy who killed a couple friends of ours," Rufus replied, stepping forward. "We just want to have a little chat with them, that's all."

Hutchins frowned at that and straightened up. "Look, I'm gonna need you folks to leave. Now."

But no one moved except for Jo who stepped forward and gave the older man the best smile she could. "Look, sir… those two guys you're holding? They shot two brothers who are the closest thing I've got to siblings. My parents—" Jo pointed to her mother and Bobby. "—practically raised Sam and Dean. Fiona, here? Dean's her best friend and she was hoping to get a ring from Sam."

Hutchins looked back at the holding cells and then at the group standing before him. He could understand family loyalty. But he couldn't let these people just waltz in and take his prisoners. Unless… "Look, I want to help, honey. I do," he said, thinking on his feet. "But those two yahoos aren't going anywhere without a police escort."

Rufus caught the nod from the sheriff and a corner of his mouth tweaked into what might have been a smile. "Got it. Thanks for the help."

Outside, Rufus got behind the wheel of the Impala and headed for the nearest motel. After getting a couple rooms for the night, the 5 hunters gathered in a small diner nearby to discuss plans.

"So what's the plan?" Jo asked, curiously. "We go in after dark or what?"

"We don't need to go anywhere," Rufus said, smirking. "That sheriff is going to bring Roy and Walt right to us."

"And then what, genius?" Bobby asked, frowning.

"And then we get a little vengeance for what those two did to Sam and Dean," Fiona replied, coldly.

While Sam and Ash looked for a shortcut to the Garden, Dean and Celeste sat together at a table, sharing a bottle of tequila.

"Never thought I'd meet the infamous Dean Winchester in person," Celeste said with a smile, tossing back her 5th shot.

"Why's that?" Dean asked, curiously as he sipped his own glass.

Celeste shrugged and poured herself another glass. "Typically, I used to stay on Earth. My big thing is healing and my vessel owned a bar. It was a good spot to offer some comfort and healing. But then Zachariah told me God wanted to see me and once I was back up here I was grounded."

"That sucks," Dean replied, frowning. He remembered being on lockdown when his father went to work a job. "So what do you do up here, then?"

"Trying to work on getting the angelic factions to put aside their differences, mostly," Celeste replied. "Some angels are rooting for Lucifer, some want Michael to win, and some just don't care."

Dean hadn't known that Heaven was in the midst of a war, but thinking on the pulls from Heaven and Hell, it made sense. "So what about you? Whose side are you on?"

"Yours."

Dean hadn't actually been expecting that answer—he'd been hoping, certainly. "We're not exactly doing a stellar job."

Celeste gave Dean a warm smile and put a hand on his. "You're doing just fine. You haven't said 'yes' and you're still fighting. It's better than a lot of people would be in your shoes."

Dean wished that he could believe that but the truth was that he was wondering if it was worth fighting it. Sure, Team Free Will was growing, but what chance did they really stand against Heaven and Hell?

"I think we found something," Sam said, looking over at Dean. When his brother turned towards him, he added, "Shortcut to the Garden."

Ash got up from his barstool and started using a piece of chalk to scrawl something that was part equation and part sigil. "All-access pass to the Magic Kingdom," he said, continuing to work.

"Yeah, but Zachariah's going to be watching all the roads to the Garden," Celeste pointed out. Looking from Sam and Dean, she said, "I'm coming with you."

"Look, it's really not necessary," Sam insisted. Celeste seemed cool and he didn't want her to get caught in any crossfire.

Celeste crossed her arms and studied the Winchesters with a raised eyebrow. "Did I ask a question? No. I'm going with you because I'd like to keep your asses in one piece. Capiche?"

"Stubborn, much?" Dean muttered to Sam who gave a small nod of agreement.

Straightening up, Ash turned to the brothers. "Ahh, gentlemen. I don't mean to be a downer, but I'm sure I'll see you again soon."

Dean didn't want to say what he was really thinking which was that he was sure Ash was right. But playing it off as casually as he could, he said, "Keep a sixer on ice for us."

Going through the door, Sam and Dean were surprised to find themselves in the basement of Fiona's townhouse. And Dean thought he was going to be sick when he saw Fiona straddling a naked Sam. "Dude!" Dean said, smacking his brother hard in the arm.

"Wait, why are we here?" Sam asked, looking from Dean to Celeste.

"Okay, guys, you gotta concentrate. Otherwise Heaven kinda does it's own thing," Celeste explained. But as she and the Winchesters turned to leave the basement, they found their path blocked by Zachariah who was flanked by two other angels.

"Hello, Celeste," Zachariah said with a smug smile. "Haven't seen you around lately. So whose Heaven were you hiding in?" Taking a step towards the other angel, he went on. "I mean, we checked all your old haunts."

"Julia Child," Celeste replied, flatly as she withdrew an angel sword. "Sam, Dean, get out of here. Get to the Garden."

"Dean, let's go," Sam said, grabbing his brother's upper arm.

"How dare you try to stop me?" Zachariah said as he watched the Winchester run up the stairs and out of sight. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"You think I don't remember?" Celeste said, keeping a firm grip on her blade, even though it was pointed towards the floor. "You and Lucifer were inseparable. Your big brother and you wanted to be just like him. And then Michael sent him to the cage and you wanted more than anything to get your brother back. You even resorted to manipulating prophecies to get Lucifer back topside."

"You don't know what it was like," Zachariah replied, his voice quiet, but full of malice. "You were God's favorite."

Celeste felt hurt by that but she didn't let it show. "His favorite daughter, maybe. But it had nothing to do with my loyalty to Him. He loved me because He knew that He could count on me to do the right thing. To heal and comfort His creations."

But the younger angel wasn't about to stand down. "So, what? We just wait for God to pull the plug? Shut down the Apocalypse?" Zachariah stared at Celeste in disbelief. "He's not coming in with a big save at the end."

Celeste knew this all too well. She even knew what would eventually happen with Lucifer. "God's waiting for Sam and Dean to do the right thing. For everyone." Raising her blade she headed for the stairs. "Don't try to follow. You won't like what happens."

Roy and Walk couldn't believe they'd actually managed to break out of the jail. Their car had been put into impound so they'd made a run for it and finally found a cheap motel with an unlocked room which at first glance seemed to be empty. But when Roy flicked the lights on, he tried to shout a warning to Walt but was prevented by someone throwing an arm around his neck and putting him in a chokehold.

The door was slammed shut and locked and Roy and Walt found themselves thrown onto the beds. Before they could get up, they found Bobby Singer and Rufus Turner aiming shotguns at them.

"You got 3 seconds to give us an extremely good reason not to shoot you," Bobby said, gold fury etched in every line on his face. When the two hunters remained silent, Bobby shot Roy in the shoulder with a rock salt round. "I'll say again…" Bobby repeated, cocking the shotgun.

"Look, we weren't the only hunters gunning for the Winchesters," Roy pointed out. "Besides, Sam was the one who—"

"Whoops!" Rufus said with false remorse as he fired and hit Walt in the stomach with another rock salt round. "Damn, that trigger's sensitive."

"Sam didn't break the final seal," Fiona said as she tried to keep her calm. "So you just shot an innocent person. Someone I loved. So tell me why I shouldn't kill both of you right now."

"You want to kill us, do it," Walt snapped, angrily. "You don't give a shit what we have to say anyway."

"You're the boss," Fiona said, grabbing the shotgun loaded with the normal lead rounds and cocked it. "Any last words?"

But Roy and Walt said nothing and after a brief look at Bobby and Rufus, Fiona fired one shotgun blast into each of the two hunters who had coldly gunned down Sam and Dean.

It took a moment or two to figure out why the Garden looked so familiar, but finally Dean remembered the field trip he gone on with Sam back in Cleveland, Ohio. Dean had been running interference between Sam and Dad for the past couple weeks and decided that he and Sam both needed a break. So when Sam's science teacher had asked Dean to act as a chaperone for the field trip, Dean had done so without a second thought.

"Glad you boys could make it," said an older looking black man, standing near a potted plant.

"Joshua, I presume," Dean said, approaching the angel.

"Celeste told me you'd be along," Joshua replied with a smile. "I know what you're doing here. Why you've come to see me." His expression turned grim as he said, "But I can't help you. God doesn't believe that you need His help."

"What?" Dean said, shocked. "How could He think that? He's the only one who can stop all of this. We need Him!"

But Joshua shook his head, a sad smile on his face. "No, you don't, Dean. All you need to stop the Apocalypse, you already have with you. You just need to see it." Noticing that Dean looked let down, the angel went on. "God saved you before. He sent you out of the danger zone when the seal broke. He got Fiona to the hospital and he brought Castiel back. And despite what both of you have done, you were both granted salvation in Heaven." With a shrug, he added. "It's more than He's intervened in a long time."

"Can we really stop it?" Sam asked, not sure he really believed they could anymore.

"Only He knows for certain," Joshua replied with another small shrug. "But I will say this—I'm rooting for you boys. And I have faith in you. As long as you stick together, I believe you can win."

Gibbs had been sitting quietly at the table in the hotel room with Sam and Dean. Every now and then, he took sips from the coffee that archangel—Gabriel—had brought by.

Ever since the death of James Brendon, Gibbs had felt like he'd inherited the position of godfather to Sam and Dean as well. Sure, the boys had Bobby Singer and Ellen Harvelle to look out for them, but Gibbs could still remember the boys when John would bring them by the house while working a case.

Before her death, Kelly had told her dad that she had a crush on Dean and that someday she'd marry him.

Gibbs hadn't liked the idea much, which explained why he was hesitant to give Dean the go ahead to date Ziva.

With all Ziva David had been through with her father and Mossad, she needed a more stable family. She needed to put down roots and demon hunting didn't really allow for that. But once she and Dean had started getting together, they seemed to become even stronger than they had ever been.

Thoughts of Ziva led to thoughts of Fiona, and Gibbs hoped that somehow Sam and Dean would be able to find their way back. Losing her mother hadn't affected Fiona too much, given her youth. But when she'd lost her father, she'd taken James' death hard.

If Fiona lost Sam for good, Gibbs didn't know if she'd be able to survive that.

Gibbs looked up when Sam suddenly sat up with a gasp. When Dean sat up as well, Gibbs set his coffee cup down and said, simply, "Welcome back."

"Gibbs?" Dean said, looking at his shirt which was ripped apart and bloodstained. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Get changed," Gibbs ordered. "I'll be back in a few."

When the group reconvened at Bobby's house the following afternoon, Castiel seemed somehow lost. He'd had such hope that God could help but now he knew that God was another deadbeat father who had run out when his children needed help.

Going to Dean, Cas pulled the amulet out of his pocket and held it out to the young hunter. "I don't need this anymore," he said, dejectedly, before winging out.

Dean looked down at the amulet Sam had given him for Christmas and rolled it over in his hands. It didn't matter that the amulet hadn't led Castiel to God. Somehow, the sight of it, or the weight of it against his shirt always reminded him of Sam—of his family. And to Dean, that mattered more than anything else in the world.