Author's note:

This one kind of hurt

If I close my forever will it all remain unchanged?

When The Man Comes Around: Part 1

Sam looked up at his brother as they stood together in an abandoned street, something eerily silent about the location. They'd been all over the place, been to dystopian futures and worlds, apocalyptic scenarios, and a mess of other things. It didn't really matter; they weren't concerned about the empty sidewalks or abandoned cars. Dean did however point out that it "looked like a zombie apocalypse movie."

"Don't say zombies, I really don't want to run into that out here too." Sam muttered and started walking, "Think maybe raptoribus?"

"Nah, that first world looked the way it did because of something else, maybe it's a similar set up." Dean followed his brother's footsteps as he looked at their surroundings. Buildings left solitary, no life at all as they walked together. At least, nothing until they heard a voice shouting after them.

"Hey!" It was familiar, an older man and as they turned around he spoke again, "Dean? Is that you? Sammy?"

Dean's heart skipped heavily in his chest as he looked to see, dark hair with patches of grey and tired eyes belonging to one man in a high priest's uniform; "Dad?"

Sam's mouth was dry as he stared at what he was trying to convince himself was a ghost. John barely managed to move his feet as he approached his sons, eyes watering the closer he got, "What are you boys doing here?"

"What are we doing here?" Sam heard himself shouting, anger boiling his blood the more he tried to stifle it. "What are you doing here!? We thought you were dead! You've been dead for ten years, you son of a bitch!" He hit his father who seemed more hurt by the words than the physical blows.

"We didn't have a choice, Sam." John tried to say after a moment, giving Sam some time to collect himself a bit. "Do you think I wanted to leave you two? To walk away like that?" His face was twisted with a nightmare he must have been having for years.

Dean's jaw quivered as he tried to keep his composure and shook his head, "Dad, why wouldn't you talk to us? Tell us what was going on? Leave us with someone or take us with?"

"We didn't have time, Dean, we were thrown into this without an explanation or a warning, we couldn't go back home to you and we sure as hell wouldn't have taken you with if we could've." John looked up at a large building next to them warily before he looked at his boys again, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry…" Sam repeated it like it should have fixed everything but it couldn't possibly do that. "Did you ever look in on us? Did you ever check to see if we were okay?"

"All the time," John looked down sadly and shook his head, "But time passed so strangely between the different worlds, we haven't seen you in ages and when we finally got the chance to look back again you were gone." He looked so much older; the more Dean thought about it, John looked like he must have been at least 60. "Last I saw you…" John reached up and touched Sam's shoulder, his hand barely steady as he did so, his eyes betrayed his feelings of being unworthy of laying a hand on his boy, "You were so sick, Sam."

Sam's eyes burned as tears slipped down his cheeks, "Why didn't you do something?"

"We tried, we looked for something to fix you but we found nothing. I thought…" John retrieved his hand cleared his throat before his voice broke, "We thought you'd died, when you weren't there we thought we missed the chance to say something."

Sam bit his lip and wrapped his arms around his dad's shoulders, squeezing as hard as he could. "I'm alright now." He muttered and lowered his head, "I'm alive."

Dean rubbed his face dry as he watched them hug, his heart skipping a little from the weight of anxiety at hearing their father's explanations. "I was worried that you guys had just abandoned us, you know?" Dean broke in as the two stepped apart, he hugged John too and Sam watched in turn. "I'm glad… I'm pretty happy that you guys had to save the world and stuff."

John huffed out a laugh and clapped Dean on the back as they pulled away, "Not bad for an excuse?"

"As far as excuses go, it's alright. Forgivable." Dean grinned and looked over at Sam who nodded.

"Forgivable."

John looked so relieved, there was something about seeing an old man, solemnly, and quietly sad without ever saying it that just pulls at the heart strings. "I want to ask you two about how you got here but we need to find your mother and your partner, I'll explain later but for now we have to get out of here."

Sam furrowed his brow and spoke the exact same words as Dean, "You guys get separated too?"

Dean looked at Sam but saw the expression on his brother's face was far different than his own, Sam again spoke the same words as John next;

"Damn portals, am I right?"

Dean's chest tightened, "Déjà vu."

"It's not déjà vu, Dean," Sam swallowed nervously and looked around, "It's a memory, we've heard this before."

"Futurum." Dean muttered as it dawned on him, "Shit, what else happened there?"

"This was the one where you met dad but I don't know what else happened there, I wasn't supposed to be here." Sam looked at the building again and his chest felt heavy, "I was… supposed to be with Cas." He started running as the ground felt like it was shaking, the source coming from the structure next to them.

"Sammy!" Dean was about to run after him when a hand touched his shoulder.

"Dean," John's tone was serious as he addressed his eldest, "Go after your brother, I'll find your mom. If push comes to shove I'll meet you on the mainline, alright?"

"Thanks dad." Dean smiled and wiped his eyes quickly, "I missed you, you son of a bitch."

John grinned and nodded, "Missed you too, kiddo." He nodded toward the building and Dean didn't need a second cue.

If I close my eyes forever will it all remain the same?

Castiel looked around at the hallway he stood in, the walls were plain and each door looked like the one next to it. He turned to his other side somehow expecting to see Sam but found he was alone. "Sam?" He called and received no reply, "Odd…" He started walking as his mind started to drag up a fresh memory;

'We might be dealing with a vacuo.'

Futurum warned them and something had changed, Sam wasn't next to him like he had been in the vision. Cas bolted toward the stairs; he had to make it to the basement. If it was a vacuo like the vision had showed them the first time, someone was down there and if they didn't get out they'd be trapped in the Void.

He only made it a few flights when he ran into a woman and knocked them both over. Cas scrambled to get up when he had to pause and stare at her face, it looked kind of like Dean's in a way. "I'm so sorry." He stuttered first then saw what she was wearing. "You're a-"

"High priest," She smiled at him, "Mary Winchester, and you are?"

"Castiel." He heard himself say and he wasn't what else he should have said, maybe nothing. "I'm sorry, again, didn't mean to knock you over."

"It's alright, I wasn't looking either." They both climbed to their feet again and looked down the halls, "Do you know what's going on around here or were you just dropped in too?"

"Both, actually. I've been to Futurum and I've seen this place." Cas furrowed his brow and took a shallow breath, "I'd love to talk more but I need to get down to the basement."

"What's happening in the basement?" Mary followed his steps though she was somewhat cautious of him, never trust blindly seemed to be a motto in her head.

"Vacuo."

She paused for a second and caught up to him again, "We should leave then, there's nothing to be done about those."

"I can't, my family's here." Castiel ran down the stairs more adamantly, he didn't know who was down there but he was certain someone was. If the future had changed even a bit, enough to put Sam on a different level than he was at, maybe no one was there but Cas didn't want to assume that and let them fall.

Close your eyes. Close your eyes…

Jet looked the room as he took slow steps in a vague circle, it was large but he could see the corners of it. Every wall was blank except for a staircase leading to a single door higher up; he stood opposite it with the great length of the room between him and the exit. Jet noted he was alone and that the metal wire stairs leading to his only escape looked entirely unsafe. With each step he noticed just how quiet the space was, his heart pounded in his ears and mixed with the echo of his footsteps.

"Hello?" He called and felt his voice shake as the situation became clearer to him. Jet laughed at himself, "Anyone there?"

A low rumble shook beneath his feet and Jet ran as hard as he could toward the staircase. He made good distance but the floor broke beneath his foot and sent him tumbling to meet the concrete. Jet scrambled to get up as the ground splintered and cracked around him, a large, gaping mouth emerging from the rubble. He didn't stop to stare at it, he'd seen it once and that was enough.

Jet watched a translucent film shoot over his head and hit the ground not too far away from him. He thought to slow his pace but instead he ran full force into what he knew was a barrier wall. Jet was thrown back like it was made of rubber and he lost all the air in his lungs when he collided with the floor again.

He pushed himself to his feet and ran at it again, pounding it with his fists, punching and kicking and body slamming it but the thing would not move. "Come on!" He screamed hard enough for his throat to ache, his chest felt like someone had tied too many rubber bands around it, "Give!" He pushed as hard as he could until his feet slipped out from under him and he hit his knees, forehead smacking into the see-through wall.

"Jet!" Sam shouted from the doorway and scrambled down the flight of stairs, Dean right behind him. "No!" Sam fell right in front of where Jet was kneeling and pressed his hands against the film, "No, no, no, don't tell me you're stuck." He gasped for air as he muttered the words, shaking his head.

Jet looked up at him through the veil and smiled sadly, "Looks like I am, babe."

"Shut up, don't call me that." Sam snapped and tried to touch Jet's face, all he could do was press the barrier to his skin but he couldn't feel it, he couldn't touch his boyfriend. "We'll get you out."

Dean had pulled his weapon and started to try everything, anything that would break his friend out. Nothing worked, it bounced back at him and the longer they stayed there the more the area around them started to slide. An awful vacuous wind made Sam's foot slip as he remained at Jet's side.

"Don't you dare stay here," Sam's lower lip quivered and he tried to hold Jet's hand, he could see his boyfriend shaking but there was nothing he could do. That was true for both of them. Jet swallowed thickly and looked back toward the mouth of the vacuo as it stretched and heaved in the surrounding area, the ceiling above starting to cave in.

"I'll meet up with you later," he said after a moment of silence.

"No." Sam hit the barrier again, "No, you're coming with us now!"

"What are you all doing?" Castiel shouted as he ran into the room, leaping right off the balcony and down to the crumbling floor below. His heart sank when he noticed the distance between Sam and Jet and put context to why Dean was beating on air. Cas stood silently as he watched them for a second longer, "We need to leave."

"No!" Sam screamed at him but Castiel was already at his side.

"Sam, go, I'll catch up." Jet said but Sam didn't believe him. He tried to hold onto his spot, to kiss Jet one more time but the film was in the way, he felt the light pressure of Jet's lips but couldn't feel them.

Castiel didn't wait any longer and picked Sam up. "We need to leave, now." He looked at Jet and saw the pushed back terror in the young man's face. "I'm sorry, Jet."

"Get him out of here." Jet snapped and Castiel listened.

"NO!" Sam shrieked again and tried to pull away.

"We need to go, Sam!"

"No Cas!" Sam cried and struggled with no success, "DEAN! Dean help him, please! Bring Jet back to me!"

Dean looked up to where the staircase fell apart, Castiel was safely on the balcony and dragging Sam out the door. He turned back to the barrier and beat on in it as hard as he was physically capable.

But nothing moved.

Nothing except the room. Jet tried to grab onto something but he was slipping closer to the center. "Dean!" He cried out and grasped for something but there wasn't anything he could cling to.

"Jet!" Dean pushed his hand as far into the wall as he could but his fingers couldn't reach Jet's slipping hands. "No! NO!"

Dean stood in horror as he watched his friend slip away, the ground crumbled and the walls cracked and everything was sucked in closer, he could barely stand straight anymore. Jet had screamed, he screamed loudly and it was cut short in an instant. Dean's heart might as well have gone with him.

He didn't move despite the danger, he couldn't comprehend what he'd just lost. Two hands grabbed hold of him and before he knew it he was thrown to the exit's level. He thought he saw long blonde hair but he couldn't think straight.

Dean stumbled outside the danger radius with who he'd realized was his mother, her grip on him firm and unrelenting. He looked back to the building as it sunk into oblivion and disappeared entirely.

Sam grabbed his arm and pulled around to face him, "Where is he?"

Dean felt the tickle of something warm on his face and knew he probably didn't look much calmer than Sam did, "He… he's gone, Sam." The words cut like knives and neither felt like he was able to breathe.

Close your eyes for me.