Author's Note:

You guys are awesome! Thank you so much for your support.

Thanks to ToxicTenshi, .5, Acidspades, Rose0, SPN Mum, SnarryMoreidLover, yuffb, and Naire for their reviews on chapter 8!

Chapter 9 - Eyes Wide Open

As his eyes slowly opened, Sam saw both Dean and Castiel simultaneously. Both were leaning over him, Dean looking more worried than Sam had seen him in a long time, and Castiel appearing to be wavering between overwhelming sadness and a glimmer of pure hope. Sam felt his head pulse in warning of an approaching migraine, and he winced before he could school his expression.

Dean moved first, lunging forward and hauling Sam into a fierce hug. "You bastard," he choked out, relieved. "Don't scare me like that again. God, Sam, what were you thinking? Don't answer that." He held his younger brother tightly for longer than he had since they were kids before reluctantly moving back.

Sam met Dean's eyes, clearly shocked, and opened his mouth to reply, when suddenly a glint of light off the amulet caught his attention and he lost all the words he'd been about to say. He'd never dreamed he'd ever see it on Dean's neck again, and the fact that Dean had taken it back before they'd even managed to wake Sam up was astonishing to him. Fixated on the amulet, he almost missed Dean talking to him again.

"I'm sorry I let them drive us apart," Dean told him firmly. He felt sick every time he thought about Heaven now. He couldn't believe he'd missed all the signs! Sam had noticed, why hadn't he? Refocusing, Dean waited until Sam met his eyes again, then added, "It will never happen again, Sammy. I promise."

Sam felt his eyes sting at the words, and he blinked rapidly to prevent himself from completely losing it. He'd stopped expecting anything a long time ago, and to hear Dean not only apologizing for their most recent rift, but also promising reparations for the future was staggering. "Thanks," he managed to get out, coughing slightly to clear his throat and blinking again to clear his vision.

"Sam," Castiel said quietly, more weight and meaning in that one word than anything else he could have said.

The younger Winchester's head whipped around immediately, meeting Castiel's gaze and nearly crumpling under the weight of it. "Cas," Sam breathed, a thousand emotions running through his mind in an instant. "I-"

Before Sam could speak, Castiel was at his level, sitting on the bed and tugging him forward into an embrace. Two hugs from the two people closest to him in the space of a few minutes was already overwhelming, but any kind of contact with Castiel was a shock.

"Sam Winchester," Castiel murmured. "The boy with the pure soul. It is an honor to be loved by you, Sam, and I hope you will accept my reciprocation of your feelings."

Sam was distantly aware that Dean was staring at them both in open-mouthed shock, but he blocked out the periphery information to focus solely on Castiel. "Cas," Sam said again, aware that he breathed the name more than he spoke it. "You can't-"

"I can, Sam," Castiel said firmly. "I will not lie to you, so why do you doubt me when I tell you these things?"

"Because-" Sam started to protest, but he cut himself off. Castiel was right. The angel was many things, but a liar was not one of them. He hadn't been fully honest with them when they'd first met him, but once he'd left Heaven's mission for their sakes, he'd been a valued ally and friend. "You're right," he finally admitted.

"Believe this, also, Sam," Castiel urged him gently. "Your death was a heart wrenching experience I do not ever wish to experience again."

Sam's breath caught in his throat at that revelation. For an angel to describe something as heart wrenching, he couldn't imagine the kind of pain that expressed. He wouldn't have dreamed that he could be the cause of that kind of emotion for an angel, and he felt both his physical and metaphorical eyes open wide with realization at that statement.

"I second that," Dean said wryly from behind him. When Sam twisted to see his brother's face, he caught just a glimpse of the pain Dean was brushing away with his natural bravado.

It finally struck Sam that, as rational as he still believed his idea was, his death would have more significant consequences then he had realized. "I'm sorry," he murmured, glancing between Dean and Castiel to make it clear he meant both of them. "I didn't want to hurt either of you. It was never about that."

"Sam," Dean sighed exasperatedly. "Dude, yes, taking out Lucifer is kind of important, but we will find a much better way to do it then taking you out first. Please tell me that you didn't get this idea in your head just because I was an ass."

"No!" Sam argued immediately, alarmed. "No, Dean, it wasn't about you." At Dean's skeptical look, he added reluctantly, "Not entirely. This wasn't some whiny attempt to end the pain or anything as dramatic as that." He rolled his eyes at Dean's expression. "I'm serious. I didn't just decide to off myself because you were upset with me. You know I'm not that fragile."

Dean smirked slightly, but the expression faded and he was left mostly with curiosity. He glanced at Castiel, who had settled down slightly behind Sam and laid a comforting hand on the young hunter's shoulder. "Sammy, I get what you were trying to do, but did you really think that this was the best option? Did you really think Cas and I would just sit back and be okay with it?"

Sam made a face. "I figured you'd be pissed, actually," he admitted. "I wasn't sure how Cas would react." He glanced back slightly and relaxed when he saw the comforting expression Castiel was giving him.

"Promise me you aren't going to keep trying," Dean said firmly. "You and I are going back on the road, we are going to stop the freaking Devil, and neither of us is going to say yes. We'll find a way to keep Lucifer out of your head so you can sleep, and maybe we can work on finding a way to keep him out of your brain's vision circuit or whatever."

Sam visibly started. "How'd you know I was seeing him during the day too?" He blurted.

Castiel gently ran a finger over the scars on Sam's arm and said softly, "It was a theory, but I assumed these were the result of a need to ground yourself and keep Lucifer at bay."

Sam shrugged uncomfortably. "Between the suicides and the cutting, I'm not really helping my case here, am I?" He said with a huff.

Dean chuckled lightly. "Not really, but now that we know, you don't have to deal with this by yourself. No more trying to kill yourself, and we'll find a way to keep Lucifer out. We're going to be a team again, and we're going to win."

"Team Free Will," Castiel added, a slight smile on his face.

Dean gave the angel an odd look. "You were unconscious when I said that," he pointed out.

"I am also an angel," Castiel replied, as though that explained everything.

Sam had to smile at that, and leaned back into Castiel's touch almost unconsciously, reveling in the repaired relationships he thought he'd lost. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him and he turned to Dean. "Did you guys find my laptop?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I may have scared the crap out of the mail guy when he tried to take your box."

Relieved that he wouldn't have to wait until the box arrived at Bobby's to retrieve his computer, the rest of the implications of Dean finding the box caught up with Sam and he blanched. "So, you read your letters then," he said hesitantly. It occurred to him that the fact that Castiel knew he loved him should have told him that up front, but he had just been dead for most of the morning, so he figured he could be forgiven for being a little slow on the uptake.

A storm cloud passed Dean's face briefly before clearing. "Yeah. Bobby's is still in the box, but we read ours."

Sam considered that for a moment, then nodded. "I'm glad," he decided. "You needed to know all of that. Both of you."

Dean seemed to be struggling for a response, and he finally gave up and just reached forward to haul Sam into another hug, catching his brother off guard. "We're going to finish this as a team," he reiterated. "No more splitting up because we suck at communicating."

Giving a choking laugh, Sam hugged him back and nodded. "Deal."

"Okay," Dean pulled back and cleared his throat, standing. "So I'm going to pack all your crap and then we're getting out of here. You and Cas...catch up, I guess." Dean raised an eyebrow at his brother that clearly indicated that that relationship was going to be a topic of discussion later.

Sam inwardly groaned, but couldn't find it in him to really be nervous. He turned back to Castiel and lay his head on the angel's shoulder. "Sorry," he murmured.

"For what?" Castiel asked him curiously, running a hand through Sam's soft hair and relishing how pleasant the sensation was.

Sam made a noise that could almost have been called a purr before he replied. "Everything. The blood, Lucifer, running off, killing myself, not telling you how I felt earlier. I'm sure there's more."

Castiel was sure that had he been human, the way he was cradling Sam would have been uncomfortable, or awkward, but as an angel, he merely appreciated the closeness and protectiveness their positioning allowed him to show. "You were forgiven long ago," He informed Sam gently. "As far as feelings are concerned, we will have time to uncover and appreciate them fully, I am certain."

"You think we'll win and come out of this in one piece?" Sam asked hesitantly.

"While my faith in Heaven may have been shaken, I have always found reason to have faith in the Winchesters," Castiel informed him with a smile. "I do not believe even Lucifer can triumph against the two of you when you set your minds to something."

"Hey, we only got this far because we had you," Sam pointed out.

"You triumphed over much adversity long before you met me," Castiel corrected him. "However, I am glad to be a part of your team."

"Good," Sam smiled. "I'm not planning on letting you go any time soon."

"Nor I you," Castiel replied quietly.

They remained there on the bed, relaxing in the quiet, until the sudden reappearance of Dean shattered the silence. "All right," Dean announced, tossing a duffle on the bed. "I think I got everything. I also texted Bobby so he knows we found you."

Sam snorted. "Bobby doesn't text."

"Doesn't mean he can't read," Dean shot back. "I'll call him later. Now, can we get out of the creepy ass cabin with the giant bloodstain in the bathroom? Please?"

Sobering instantly, Sam nodded and sat up, turning to Castiel. "Whenever you're ready."

In a flash, they were gone, leaving behind Sam's headquarters for his one-man attack on Lucifer's plans. Now, he was no longer working alone, and if his brother and the angel he loved had anything to say about it, he'd never be on his own again.