A note to help explain Dean's actions last chapter: Dean is driven to protect. His surrogate family (who are all now dead or don't remember him), his brother, and his best friend now lover. He will do whatever he thinks will keep them safe at the moment.. usually at the expense of his own happiness. He does ridiculously stupid things like make demon deals, trade his soul, tries to surrender to be Michael's vessel, has Ben and Lisa's memory wiped all when he thinks he has lost control of the situation. I'm not saying his knee jerk reactions are right but there you go. Hope this helped clarify where his mind was at when he didn't just tell Cas what was up.

"He's not answering." Sam says grimly as he opens his eyes.

The minute Crowley had returned, Sam held out his hand for the weapon that would kill Castiel. He'd been an ally, a friend, an enemy, almost family, and now he was about to be dead. He wouldn't allow Dean to pay the price for an angel's obsessed infatuation. When it went past longing looks to forcing reciprocation using magic.. then he would do what he had to do.

The circle of holy oil had been ready and as soon as he grabbed for the Angel Blade he didn't hesitate to start to call Cas. He barely heard Crowley's amused, "Someone's an Eager Beaver."

Sam tensed but nothing had happened. No showdown. No lightening and fireworks. Castiel didn't show.

"Damnit, Dean must have tipped him off."

"I would put good money on it." Crowley chuckles to himself.

Sam's cell phone chimes again and he throws it across the room in frustration.

Crowley purses his lips, thinking. Finally he says, "Why don't you give him a ring that he can't ignore?"

"What?" Sam bites off.

"Just look at me. I didn't pencil you in for a pow wow today and here I am."

"You mean summon him? We've only ever done that with Balthazar and that's only because Cas gave us his symbol to complete the ritual."

"You need the fourth Sigil, yeah? One to represent specifically which angel you're pulling to you?"

"Which I don't have…" Sam said with annoyance.

"Well clear the cobwebs out of that enormous head of yours and think really hard. Do you happen to know of some special doodle that might call our Angelwings?"

Sam frowns but, after a second, points to the paper with the Sigil he'd drawn. "What, this?"

"Bingo."

His phone rings again from somewhere to the far left.

"Why this? It's something he put on Dean."

"Oh I think it'll work just dandy."

Sam looks back down at the paper in his hand, considering.

"I mean unless you're happy leaving your brother as a Whore of Heaven."

Sam's jaw ticks as he glares in response to his wording.

"Thought not. Well you kids have fun. I hate to plot and run but angels give me indigestion."

Sam is stomping out to the Impala before Crowley is done talking. He leaves the sound of his phone ringing behind him.

Popping the trunk, he finds the binder of notes he'd saved on any Enochian they'd ever used. He flips past Angel Warding Sigils and the Angel Banishing Sigil till he finds the one he used to call Balthazar. He stares at it for a second, then finds the myrrh and slams the trunk shut.

Once back inside, Sam snatches up his quiet phone on the way back to the table he'd been using. It was the only piece of furniture in the unrented business space.

Drawing the chalk circle, he divides it in four and carefully copies the three sigils used for the summoning. He fills in the last empty quadrant with the symbol he'd seen on Dean's wrist when he could get a glimpse of it. Four candles. One for each sigil. He lights each, carefully. Then he dumps the bowl of burnt herbs he used earlier and wipes it out thoroughly with a rag soaked in holy water to purify it. Almost done..

He shakes out some myrrh from it's baggie, sprinkles holy water over it, adds a single dove's feather.

The loud ring of the phone shakes him out of staring at the white of the solitary feather and he pauses only a second before flipping it open.

"Sam?!"

"Yeah." He acknowledges while cutting his other hand and squeezing it into a fist over the bowl's contents.

"Don't do anything! Please just let me talk to you, ok?"

"Okay," he says hollowly as he shakes the bowl around so the blood covers everything evenly. The feather soaks up the red quickly.

"Where are you?"

"Empty building at the corner of Henderson and Hillsboro."

"Great. Stay there. I'll see you in five minutes."

"Okay."

Sam drops the lit match in the bowl.

Castiel whirls around to see Sam a few feet away. Chalk. Candles. Blood.

He squints at him with disapproval. "Why have you called me like a common demon?"

"You weren't answering."

"So you would compel me here against my will?"

"What have you done to my brother?"

Castiel comes very close to rolling his eyes and angrily spits out, "Nothing he did not want."

Sam tenses and reaches for the blade hidden in his jacket. "Wrong answer."

He whips his hand forward and stabs Cas in his left side. The angel cries out in shock and pain as he's knocked to the ground with the force of it.

"What have you done to him?!" Sam yells above him.

Cas looks up from one knee but stays silent. Sam lunges again but Cas catches his arm . He doesn't have the strength to keep hold of it when Sam twists away and brings down the blade to pierce his right shoulder. Castiel props himself up with one arm, hand flat on the dirty floor but it's shaking.

"I won't let you take him away from me." Sam says through gritted teeth, eyes shiny. One more hit and it'll be over.

"Sam?! What.. What are you doing? Cas?" Dean freezes inside the doorway and tries to process what he's seeing. Cas is swaying, on his knees but resting back on his legs. Grace and blood are leaking out of a hole in his side that he has a hand pressed down hard over it. Breathing heavily, he barely focuses on Dean before wincing and closing his eyes.

Sam grabs a match, strikes it against the table and throws it behind him as he walks towards Dean. Dean watches the ring of holy oil connect around Cas and feels his heart hit the pit of his stomach. Sam had planned this. Cas has to drag himself backwards away from the line of fire before it closed too near him.

"I would never hurt Dean." The trapped angel manages to say between panting.

Sam doesn't look back at him but stays facing Dean, blocking him. "You bastard. What do you think you've been doing? And do you really think Dean would want this? To be with you because of freaking spell?"

"Sam! You don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Move or I'm going through you."

"I know what the Sigil means."

Dean sighs through his nose and tries to step around his brother.

"Not going to deny it? Explain away why you have Obey stamped on your arm like a damn cattle brand?"

Dean holds up his arm. "I don't. Now let me help him, dammit."

He gets close enough that Sam shoves him backwards. "I know it's a binding spell. It's only broken when one of you die. I'm doing this for you, even if you can't see it."

"Yeah, and who told you that shit? You trust the King of Hell over your own brother. C'mon Sammy. Look at him! Cas is your friend. More than a friend to me. I fucked up and I couldn't tell you before but goddamnit. Please! Let me help him."

Cas is steadily bleeding out, white light leaking out of the wound. He loses his ability to prop himself up and drops all the way to the ground. Dean tries to rush past Sam again to the fire ring but is grabbed by his jacket and hauled back. With a frustrated growl, he dives at his brother. They trade punches, each struggling to get the upper hand. Dean punches Sam twice until he is knocked to the floor. Not looking back, he grabs for the table. All the summoning paraphernalia slides off as he collapses its legs and sends it scooting across the floor until it interrupts a good portion of the fire ring.

He bends down, reaching for Cas who gets to a knee with great effort. Suddenly, the collar of his leather jacket is grabbed and he's yanked to the side to fall on his ass. Sam has the Angel Blade up and about to plunge it right into Cas' chest. Dean pushes off the ground and shoots up to stop Sam's descending arm with both of his hands…

Then he'll stop Sam and make him listen. He would sit him down and they'd have that beer. He'll explain over and over again till Sam got it and he wouldn't be too tongue-tied to get it all out right this time.. that Cas makes everything better and even though it's different and Sam might not get it.. it worked for them. For them. Him and Cas. He would fix that too. And he'd tell Cas that he was really sorry. That he was a dick and stupid and he shouldn't have pushed him away but that he cares about him too much not to have him in his life. And even though he couldn't get out the words, Cas would know what he meant and they'd kiss.. outside somewhere because Cas likes it outside. Away from people and cars and noise.. with so many trees.. so many.. and Cas would call him beautiful like he sometimes does…

Dean is on his back and Cas' face is a little fuzzy but he makes himself focus on it. Sam is next to him trying to talk though he has tears rolling down his face... oh god were they going to have a Winchester Tear-fest now? He cranes his neck forward toward him... wanting to tell him it'll be alright. Cas would heal and they'd all be fine, everything would be fine… but he can't get his mouth to work right. Cas' eyes are so blue.. …but … but they're cloudy and... swimming….

In the end, Dean isn't able to say any of those things he wanted to. He only manages to smile, a little bittersweet. He lays his weary head to rest back against Cas' hand.

Then Dean Winchester... Hunter. Brother. Lover. …dies.

Author's Note: Okay maybe I am a sadist.. The first step is admitting it right? And everyone calm their respective tatas.. I'll have another chapter out today. Would I leave you like that? Hmm..