A/N: oh my god, you guys are so nice, with your follows and reviews and likes. this is the second to last chapter and it's pure fluff. I LOVE YOU ALL!
"I present to you, the man who saved the world!" Gabriel said, placing a slumped over and sleeping Sam onto the couch. "Now, before I wake him up, please know to give him some space. He can't handle everyone at once. He's… let's just say, he's been through a lot."
"Gabriel. Thank you. Thank you so much. I wish I could say more, because those words don't cover how much gratitude I feel right now." Dean said, happy tears springing to his eyes.
"Thank you, brother." Cas said, trying to sound less giddy than he obviously felt.
"Consider this your debt repaid." Gabriel said seriously. "Adam is with his mother as we speak. His damage was… well, it was not as hard to repair as Sam's, and I know he will be fine. We have done what we can for Sam. The rest is up to you. Castiel, brothers Winchester, I bid you adieu. I hope to not see any of you again for many, many years."
Gabriel bent over and touched Sam on the forehead and then disappeared.
Sam gasped, choked, as his eyes opened and he saw earth for the first time in 50 years. He sat up immediately, his large brown eyes darting from side to side, as if he were trying to get a sense of where he was. His eyes immediately went to Dean.
"Dean." He whispered.
"Sammy!" Dean cried.
Forgetting what Gabriel had said about giving him space, he ran forward and scooped his baby brother up in his arms. He felt Sam hugging him back in probably the tightest hug they'd ever shared. He held Sam for a long time, somewhat in disbelief that he was back. That he was alive. That he remembered Dean and could even speak after what he'd been through.
"We have to stop doing this." Dean whispered through his tears. "Oh God, Sammy, that amazing sonofabitch did it. He brought you back. Oh Sammy."
"How long was I gone?" Sam whispered, his voice cracking a little bit.
"Almost five months, Sammy. Five of the longest months of my life. I am so damn happy to see you, Sammy." Dean murmured.
Finally, he let Sam go. Sam stared back at him, still looking bewildered. Then he saw Cas standing behind them.
"Cas!" Sam yelled, actually standing up. "Holy shit, Cas, did you bring me back? That was you? How are you alive?"
He rushed the ex-angel and literally picked him up off the ground. Cas gasped and the ways his eyes widened as Sam lifted him up nearly made Dean die for the hundredth time because it was so damn funny.
"Ungh. Sam. Ouch. Can't breathe. Airways. Constricted." He gasped.
Sam put him down. "Wait. Airways? What? You breathe? If it wasn't you… then… What the hell is going on?" He turned to Dean. "Did you make a deal?" He yelled.
"No, Sammy. Sit. You just got back from the ride of your life. I didn't make a deal. It was Gabriel who brought you back. God, Sammy I have so much to tell you. But first, Sam, how are you? Like, really." He said.
Sam shook his head and sat down. "I'm in disbelief. One minute… I was there, and then I'm here."
"How are you… feeling?" Cas asked carefully.
"Right, Hell, torture, Lucifer… well, it's there. I can remember it and it is… bad. But it's kind of a haze, almost like it was a bad nightmare, well, the worst nightmare. It hurts, but right now it's an ache instead of roaring, flesh searing pain. Which is weird. It wasn't like that for you Dean, not at all. Shouldn't this be worse?" He said slowly.
"Gabriel, you amazing sonofabitch. I forgive you for all those times you killed me." Dean muttered, staring at the ceiling, into the sky, which for once, actually held some kind of promise.
"What Dean means to say is that he is happy you are not… well… let's just say for now that it could be much worse." Castiel said.
"Wait, Gabriel? The trickster? I thought he was dead. What the hell is going on?" He asked again.
"Sammy, let me get you a drink. In fact, I'll just give you the bottle. There is so much we have to tell you." Dean said.
When Dean and Castiel finished telling Sam about all that had happened in the short four months he was gone, Dean was afraid he might have done his brother in, yet again. He was staring at them in open-mouthed shock.
"So… let me just put this in simple terms, so I can get my head around it. Cas, you're human, well, mostly, anyway. Crowley is in charge of Hell. Heaven had a civil war. Gabriel is alive and is the new head of the pack. Gabriel brought me back and there were no demon deals involved at all. Adam is back with his mom with no memory of any of this. You two are a couple. And finally, I could be a drooling mess, but I'm just me. Dean, you're not hunting anymore and you two live in Bobby's house." He said.
"That about sums it up." Cas said uneasily.
"Bobby?" Sam muttered. "Bobby's dead, isn't he?"
"I'm so sorry, Sam." Cas said.
Sam took a long swig of bourbon. "Is he in Heaven? Can't Gabriel bring him back?" He said. "I mean, he brought me back."
Dean shook his head mournfully. "I'm sorry, Sammy. Bobby is at peace now. That's what they told us. He's with his wife. It's hard for me too, but… he's at peace." He said.
Sam let it all sink in and leaned back against the couch. "God. The things that happen when you're in Hell. It's as if the entire world flips out." He murmured, rubbing his temples.
"But you're back, Sammy." Dean said. "And you're… you. I missed you so goddamn much. You better never get killed again." He reached over for Sam and wrapped him up in another hug. He felt Sam hugging him back gratefully.
"I guess if I do, you'll just bring me back." Sam muttered to him.
"Damn straight." He said into his brother's ear.
Cas did the best thing he could, which was give the brothers some time alone together. He and Sam stayed up the entire night, drinking beers, shooting the shit, regaling each other with stories from their past and generally just making up for lost time. By around 3am, it felt like Sam had never left.
"Assbutt? He called Michael assbutt?" Sam cried, tears of laughter streaming from his eyes. "He called a fucking archangel assbutt before setting him on fire?"
"Yes! Yes! And you… you fucking made him explode. Oh God, Sammy, it was awful. There were like, guts, everywhere. It was fucking disgusting. It's not funny at all, but seriously, some of his last words were 'assbutt', can you fucking believe that?" He said, wiping his eyes.
"Leave it to Cas to utter the most ridiculous shit ever during the apocalypse. Oh my God, I can't believe Lucifer made him explode. Oh man, I need to apologize to him for that. Ugh." Sam said.
"It wasn't you, Sammy. You saved us all. Literally, you saved the world, you saved Heaven, and you changed everything." He said, getting serious for a moment.
"Dean, are you happy?" Sam asked, locking his gaze on him.
"Yeah, man, I am. I mean, those months you were gone… they were no picnic. In fact, there were days that I wished I were down there in the hole with you and Adam. I got through it though. I never thought I could, but I did, and I am happy, yeah. Now that you're back… well, things are pretty much perfect." He admitted.
"What are we going to do, Dean?" Sam asked.
Dean had no idea and that actually didn't bother him for once. He had achieved his ultimate goal, which was to get Sam out of Hell. He hadn't thought too far beyond that point. He did have a few thoughts though.
"I think… I'm going to stay here. At least for now." Dean admitted. "I like it here, Sam. I like working on cars. I like making dinner with Cas. I like this town, this house, and I like the life I've started to build here. What about you?" He said.
"I have no idea. I guess… I could hunt. I kind of want to hunt. I kind of want to go back to school. I kind of want to just stay here and have Cas make me dinner and be weirded out by your relationship. Honestly, I don't know." Sam said.
"No more hunting." Dean said firmly. "At least not for awhile. If you do hunt, it'll be with me. Anything else you want to do though, it's fair game. Your life is yours to live now. We've paid our debt to this world. Can you handle that, Sammy?"
Sam nodded. "I think I can handle that." He said slowly.
Dean made up Sam a place to sleep in the room down the hall from the one that he and Cas shared. He hugged Sam four more times before he turned in and checked on him two more times before actually hitting the hay himself. It was still unreal to him that Sam was here, that his mind was intact, and that he seemed okay with everything that had happened. Was this it? Were they really done fighting?
Dean crawled into bed next to Cas, who immediately reached for him in the dark, which showed Dean that he had been waiting for him for the last six hours. He sighed contentedly and pulled him in close. Cas nestled into his typical spot, his head on Dean's chest.
"How is he?" Cas whispered.
"He's… doing really well." Dean said. "He's the same old Sammy. I can tell it hurts, like the light here is too bright for him after all of that darkness, but it's him, Cas. We did it. We got him out."
"What now?" Cas asked.
"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Dean said. "I'll tell you what now, Cas. This. Exactly this. This is what I want. I want you next to me every night. I want to see you every morning. I want Sammy to go back to school and meet some nice girl and have lots of nieces and nephews for us to spoil. I want him to be happy and I want us to stay exactly like we are right now."
"I'd like that too." Cas said simply.