A/N:

Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate it! Y'all are the best. I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

The next day, the doctor released Sam from the hospital. Sam was so excited to ride in the Impala again. Dean was almost proud of him. His condition however, didn't change. He was still crazy, but Dean was beginning to understand how to manage him. If he ever got upset, he would just find something to distract him.

They had stopped for food on the way back and Sam demanded a happy meal. Sam got what he wanted. Dean just thought it'd be best to give the kid what he asked for. Sam ate his chicken McNuggets and his fries in about thirty seconds and then he started to play with his toy. When he got bored with it, he played all the games on the box. He connected the dots the wrong way, and he took a short cut through the maze, but he was having fun.

Back at Bobby's, Sam asked Dean a question that broke his heart.

"Dean, where's Cas? I want to see him. I want to tell him that I forgive him." Dean wasn't sure what to say. He didn't know what would happen if Sam heard news that his friend was dead. How did new Sam grieve?

"Sam…after Cas…broke your wall and you went into that coma, Cas opened up purgatory, swallowed all the souls, and basically became God. But then, it got to be too much for him and so we helped him put all the souls back. But…he didn't make it."

"What?" Sam's voice trembled. Tears came to his eyes. "Cas is…dead?" he asked. Dean nodded. Sam suddenly wrapped his arms around Dean in a hug. "I'm so sorry, Dean. You must be so sad. He was your buddy." Dean hugged Sam back.

"Yeah. I am sad," he told him honestly. "Are you going to be okay?" Sam let go of Dean and wiped away the tears.

"Yeah…I think so. He's in heaven now, so he's happy," he said hopefully. Dean knew that it was more likely that Cas had just ceased to exist, but he didn't think that Sam needed to know that.

"Yeah. He's happy."

The next few days at Bobby's were uneventful. New Sam was very good at staying occupied. He always found something to do. He'd run around, pick flowers or watch TV. Of course, Dean had stayed by his side constantly. He didn't know how much of a danger Sam could be to himself?

Old Sam would have complained about being watched 24/7, but new Sam was different. Sam was very dependent on Dean. He never wanted Dean to leave the house. He could barely stand it when Dean wasn't with him. He would pace and worry and bite his nails until Dean was in his sight again. Likewise, Dean hated being apart from Sam. He had to take care of his little, broken brother.

After a while, Dean began to grasp the fact that Sam wasn't going to get better. Maybe Sam would be like this for the rest of his life. Dean had no clue what he'd do. Should he continue hunting? Should he stay and take care of Sam? Should he hire Bobby as Sam's permanent babysitter? Dean's options weren't looking good. He just wanted his brother back.

Dean hated to think that the man next to him wasn't his brother, but in a way, it was true. Sam was different now. He wasn't Sam anymore. Sam was a strong, confident hunter. Now he'd been reduced to a childlike man with Sam's body. He couldn't cross the street without holding Dean's hand. He couldn't load a gun. Sam used to be able to take down the devil from the inside, but now he couldn't even drive. The whole thing was so surreal to Dean.

That left one solution that Dean could see. Get Sam better. There had to be a way. The angels probably didn't want to talk to Dean and he didn't even think about doing another deal. What did that leave? Faith healers? Psychics? Worth a shot, Dean thought. That day, Dean told Bobby his plan. Bobby agreed to help him search for someone who could help.

After three more weeks of endless searching, Dean and Bobby came up with nothing. They couldn't find any psychic or healer that could work its mojo on Sam. Dean wasn't giving up. He continued his search. He wouldn't stop until he found a way to cure Sam.

Sam had taken on several new hobbies while Dean and Bobby were busy searching for a way to fix him. Sam started to bake. He was actually pretty good at it. He'd made brownies, cookies and (much to Dean's delight) pie. Sam's pie was some of the best pie that Dean had ever tasted. Sam had experimented with all kinds of pie, such as key-lime, apple, pecan, and cherry. Each one was better than the last.

Sam had also started writing and drawing. In just those few short weeks, Sam had filled three journals with sketches and stories. Sometimes he'd draw animals and sometimes he'd draw ghosts that he'd encountered. Dean could tell that he missed the life, but wasn't itching to get back out there. He never asked Dean why they weren't hunting anymore. Maybe deep down, Sam knew how broken he was. It broke Dean's heart to think of what must have been going on in his head.

At first Sam's hobbies had been harmless; but that was before Dean picked up one of Sam's journals and flipped through. It didn't seem like much to begin with. Sam drew flowers and trees and such; but then Dean flipped to a certain page that made his heart stop.

The first thing Dean noticed was the fire that was drawn. It was all over, surrounding the subjects of the painting. The most disturbing part of the painting was the people. Sam drew two people. One was Lucifer and the other was Sam. Sam was covered in blood and gashes and burns. He was screaming. Lucifer, holding a long, blood covered knife in one hand, was laughing. The resemblance between the Sam in the picture and the Sam in real life was mesmerizing. The style of the art was very dark like something a rebellious, depressed teenager would draw.

Seeing Sam's drawing made Dean realize that maybe Sam wasn't entirely okay. He'd acted like his stay in the cage wasn't that big of a deal. He never talked about it. Dean never pressed for details because in all honesty, he didn't want them. He didn't want to know the pain that Sam had endured down there. He didn't want to know all of the gory details about Sam's daily torture, but after seeing his latest drawing, Dean had to make sure that Sam was okay. Dean approached Sam about it later that night. He found Sam in the living room at Bobby's, making a paper snowflake with some scissors and a piece of paper.

"Sammy?" Dean called for his brother.

"Yeah?" Sam responded as he put down his scissors.

"How are you doing?" Dean asked his brother.

"I'm great, Dean," Sam responded cheerfully.

"No, that's not what I mean. Are you…are you feeling okay?" Sam gave Dean a puzzled look.

"Of course I am."

"Sammy…I wanted to ask you about this," Dean said as he pulled out Sam's journal. Dean quickly flipped to the page with the fire drawing on it. "Do you want to tell me why you drew this?" Sam inspected the page. He looked down as if he were ashamed.

"I don't know," Sam told him.

"Sammy…did this really happen?" Dean asked him. Sam nodded. "Sam… why would you draw this?" Sam shrugged.

"It's a memory. I draw my memories." Dean nodded, understanding.

"Okay, so do you draw this to cope?" Dean asked.

"Cope with what?" Sam asked, confused. Dean paused. What could he say? Sam had suffered more than any living being in the universe and all he could say is cope with what? Was Sam even aware of what he'd gone through down there?

"Cope with what you saw...and what happened to you in the cage." Sam thought for a minute.

"No, I don't think so. I just draw whatever's in my head." Dean was afraid that what he was about to say could further damage his brother, but it needed saying.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked his brother.

"No!" Sam nearly shouted. For a moment, Sam looked like Sam again. He had this look in his eyes that made him look like his old self, but that look was gone in a flash. He was back to crazy Sammy.

"Okay," Dean told his little brother. "Just hang in there. I'm gonna go make us some dinner." Sam nodded and went back to making his paper snowflake.

Another month passed and Dean was climbing walls. He knew he needed to look after his brother, but he just really wanted to get out of the house. Dean loved Sam but he was getting to be a real pain. He required constant care and surveillance. Dean hadn't had to watch over him like that since he was six years old. That's why when Bobby mentioned a case, Dean was eager to volunteer.

It took a while to convince Sam that he was going to be okay staying with Bobby while Dean went on a hunt. The hunt was only 45 minutes away so Dean would be able to rush back to Bobby's if there was an emergency. It took 3 ice cream sundaes, 2 books and a promise to take Sam to the movie theatres if he was good to get Sam fully on board.

"And you promise you'll call?" Sam asked, worriedly. "Every night?" Dean smiled as he packed all of his things together.

"Every night," Dean assured him.

"When will you be back?" Sam inquired.

"Shouldn't take more than a few days. I promise," Dean told his little brother.

"Okay," Sam said.

"All right, I'll see you in a few days, Sammy." Just as Dean said that, Sam wrapped his arms around his older brother and pulled him in tight for a hug.

"I'll miss you," he said.

"You too," Dean said, rolling his eyes. Sam let go and with a wave, Dean headed out the door. Sam heard the Impala start and drive away. It made him sad that Dean was leaving but he knew he was going to be okay. As for Dean, he had never been more excited to take on a hunt. Of course it wasn't the same without his brother, but it wasn't like he was ditching him. He'd be back. Dean headed out on the open road, thrilled to be back in action.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Don't forget to leave a review. See you next Thursday!