Thanks go to Gredelina1 for helping me with this. She listens to me angsting over each chapter and then goes through them with me to make sure they're readable. Love you hon xxx

Chapter Four

Sam noticed a definite trend in his time as a ghost. The worse he busted Castiel's chops, the better Dean's mood seemed to be. It wasn't perfect, the fact he had to use Castiel to make his brother happy, but it was better than the alternative: Dean knowing the truth.

He worried Castiel was going to give the game away, as he kept glancing over the back of the seat at Sam, looking concerned, but Dean didn't notice. He drove as he used to: fast, with the music blaring and his hands tapping the beat on the steering wheel. It was all good until Bon Jovi came on the radio. Dean snapped it off quickly with a moody glance in the rear-view mirror, as if he could see Sam there and was worried about his reaction. Sam hadn't really held out much hope that Dean wouldn't remember his demon days and curing, that would be too good to be true, but it still made him feel a pang of regret at the proof.

He rallied for a way to cheer his brother up again, and came up with an idea. Leaning over the seat, under Castiel's confused look, he flipped the radio on again and twisted the dials till he came to a college-radio station.

Dean groaned. "Seriously, Sammy?"

Sam chuckled. "Ghost picks the music. Driver shuts his cakehole."

Castiel eyed Sam curiously as he passed on the message and then his eyebrows rose as Dean bellowed laughter.

Satisfied that Dean wasn't dwelling on what had happened anymore, Sam patted his shoulder and settled back against the seat. His eyes fell on the cord of the amulet around Dean's neck, and his cheer dropped slightly. He was happy Dean was wearing it again, it felt a little like forgiveness, but he wished he could get into Dean's mind and know why he was really wearing it. Was it out of guilt and need to make things better for his brother, or did he actually forgive Sam all his crap? He'd once said he did, as they'd stood at Rufus' grave, but emotions were high that day and he might not have meant it. When he could talk to Dean in person again, when he'd gathered the ghostly mojo, he would ask. Then he realized the unlikeliness of ever actually persuading Dean into that particular conversation, and he laughed. Castiel eyed him over the seat and he shook his head, not wanting to explain.

When they arrived at Castiel's base of operations, Dean shut off the engine and Sam leaned forward in his seat, looking askance at Castiel. "You ready for this?"

Castiel frowned. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you basically abandoned them a couple months ago, and unless you kept it under your hat, you've not exactly been checking in with them."

"They will understand," Castiel said. "What we were doing was more important."

His eyes flickered to Dean who was staring out of the window, looking bored, though Sam could see the tension in his jaw that made him sure Dean knew exactly what they were talking about.

"Are you ready?" Castiel asked.

Sam frowned. "Sure…"

Castiel sighed. "Sam, you are a ghost now. Every one of those angels will be able to see you, and they can be… intense."

Sam shrugged. "As long as they're not packing salt rounds, there isn't much they can do to bother me."

Castiel didn't answer, but he continued to look dour. Sam wasn't worried. It wasn't like being seen was going to bother him. This ghost thing was a new development. It wasn't like he'd spent his life invisible. As for them being intense, he had spent years in Castiel's company; he knew exactly how intense angels could be. He was more worried about their reaction to Castiel.

Stupidly, he didn't even consider their reaction to Dean.

There was an angel outside the door, disguised as a security guard, or perhaps his vessel had been a security guard before it was taken over. Whatever. He nodded to Castiel and opened the door. Sam could feel his gaze on him as he passed and entered, and he figured they did make an interesting sight, an angel, a human and a ghost.

The vast room of Castiel's base hadn't changed much, except there seemed to be even more desks and computers crammed in. Sam guessed there would be more angels on Castiel's team now as they'd abandoned Metatron's cause. The giant wall of blinking lights had a lot less lights now, but there were still some. That confused Sam. He'd thought the lights denoted Metatron's followers known locations, so what were they doing there now?

There was a hubbub of noise as they entered, angels speaking on phones and to each other, but as people saw them, they fell silent. Sam saw one woman actually drop the phone back into its cradle without a word of explanation. Every eye seemed to fall on their group, and Sam started to feel uncomfortable under their gaze. On some faces was confusion, but the majority of them seemed a little awestruck. Sam remembered that these angels were so into Castiel that had him do roll call just so he would say their names. Apparently there was still a little Bieber worthy worship going on. Then, as they moved through the room, Sam noticed some of the people looked less pleased. It seemed Castiel was going to get some static after all.

"Talk about a mixed reaction," Dean mumbled. "You put any of these in a time-out recently, Cas?"

Castiel shook his head. "It is not me they are reacting to, not all of them at least."

"Then who?" Sam asked.

"You and Dean," Castiel said simply.

The door to Castiel's office opened and Hannah, the angel that had asked Castiel to kill Dean, stepped out. Sam's anger rose at the sight of her. She had wanted his brother dead, and the way she was looking at him now didn't seemed to have earned him any affection. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. She locked eyes with him for a moment, a small smile on her face, and then she looked away at Castiel who nodded.

Muttering broke out, and Sam heard their names in varying inflections. Some sounded pleased and others upset.

"Who does he think he is?"

"How can he show himself here?"

Dean scowled at the angels that had spoken and received crossed arms and stony glares in return.

The walk to the office seemed to take forever, but eventually they were walking past Hannah and stepping inside.

She closed the door behind them and then looked at them each in turn. "Castiel. I am surprised to see you back," she said, "with company no less."

"Hannah," he said soberly. "You know Sam and Dean."

"Yes," she said, locking eyes on Sam. "It is good to see you again, though I wish it were in happier circumstances. I am sorry for your current situation."

Sam raised an eyebrow. Did she really think some sweet words were going to make up for the fact she tried to have his brother killed? "I'm fine, thanks," he said stiffly, "Current situation is not a problem."

"You are trapped," she said. "Does that not bother you?"

Dean's forehead creased and he looked at a spot a few feet from Sam, as if hoping to see his reaction.

"Nothing bothers me anymore," he said, looking pointedly at Castiel so he would know to pass the message onto Dean.

Dean nodded as Castiel spoke, but he didn't look completely at ease. Sam moved to stand beside him and laid a hand on his shoulder. Dean started at first and then he nodded and smiled slightly.

"And you, Dean," she said. "I am surprised to see you again."

"You shouldn't be," Dean said. "Always knew Sammy would fix it."

"I didn't doubt that. I did doubt whether you would have the courage to show yourself."

Dean's muscles stiffened under Sam's hand. "I did nothing that I could control. In case you missed the memo, I was a demon."

"Yes. I know. I also know it should never have come to that. If Castiel had killed you when he was asked to, you would never have been so powerful."

Sam released Dean and strode forward, getting uncomfortably close to the angel. "Shut your mouth" he snarled.

"Sam!" Castiel warned. "Calm down!"

"it's okay, Sammy," Dean said, not seeing Sam's actions but knowing from Castiel and experience that Sam wouldn't handle that well.

Hannah didn't flinch back from Sam's anger. She stared into his eyes. "I am sorry I offended you," she said. "I am, we all are, grateful to you for what you have done for the world. Know this, we are working tirelessly in our efforts to reopen Heaven. We want you to be at peace as much as we want to go home."

Sam turned away from her, disgusted. They didn't give a crap about him and what he'd done, just like they didn't see all the great things Dean had done, like taking out Dick Roman and Azazel, reaching Sam so he could take Lucifer back to the cage, helping Castiel put the souls back in Purgatory, and every other single hunt they'd done to make the world better. They just cared that he'd been a demon. They were assholes.

"This is not why we are here," Castiel said. "Dean and Sam are not the issue. Metatron is. What progress have you made with him?"

Sam turned to see Hannah's reaction. She looked pointedly at the opposite wall. "We have not yet been able to make any headway with him. His will is strong, and he is giving up nothing."

Dean nodded thoughtfully. "Then you're not working hard enough. Everyone breaks eventually. You just need to find the right spot to work."

Sam shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't stupid, of course Dean knew about this stuff, but to hear him talking about it with authority wasn't the greatest feeling. He wished he could flicker out for a while, hide from what they were saying, but Dean would know why he did it and that would hurt him.

Hannah locked eyes on Dean. "I should not be surprised that your mind goes straight to torture, should I. We are not savages. We are angels."

"You're not torturing him?" Dean asked. "What the hell are you doing then?"

"We are questioning him."

Sam rolled his eyes. "So, you've got Metatron in Heaven's jail, scariest place imaginable outside of Hell, and you're talking to him! Are you kidding me?"

Hannah shook her head. "No. There is no one to question him regardless. Thaddeus was Heaven's keeper and he was killed by Gadreel."

Dean cracked his knuckles. "Let me have a go at him then."

"No!" Sam said quickly at the same time as Castiel.

Dean frowned. "That you or Sammy?"

"Both of us," Castiel said. "You cannot do this, Dean."

Sam agreed. Dean would be letting the darkness in again if he did this, and he couldn't bear that. After what Dean had done as a demon, the people he'd hurt, he needed nothing less than to tap into that again.

Dean eyed Castiel speculatively. "How do I know you're not just saying what you want? For all I know, Sam wants me to do this. He's as invested in reopening Heaven as the rest of us."

Sam stiffened. Dean was crossing a line. If they were going to make it work, him as a ghost but still with his brother, Dean was going to need to trust Castiel and not piss him off as he seemed to have done now.

"You cannot know," Castiel said. "You have to trust me. I have earned that much, Dean."

Dean stared into Castiel's eyes and eventually nodded. As soon as Sam was able to have a conversation with his brother without Castiel acting as translator, he was going to remind Dean of just how much they owed Castiel.

"We need to find someone else," Castiel said, turning to Hannah. "Metatron must be broken."

Hannah smiled grimly. "Perhaps, but there are other things we need to discuss first. We need to talk about you, Castiel. You let us down. We needed you, and again, you were occupied with Dean Winchester."

Sam cursed. "And that's a bad thing, why?"

"Because we needed him here," she said. "Not all supporters of Metatron came to our side when Castiel broadcasted his words. Some are still loyal, and they are fighting us. We needed our leader."

"I told you," Castiel said, "I never wanted to be a leader."

"Then this should be easier for you. Many among our number have decided that they would rather follow someone else now."

Sam scoffed, sure by her self-satisfied expression that he knew who they wanted to follow instead. "Let me guess, they want to hitch to your wagon now."

She nodded. "As second in command, I am the obvious choice."

"And I can tell how much you hate the idea," Sam said sarcastically. "Haven't any of you heard of loyalty? Castiel gave everything for you people."

"No," she said. "He gave everything for you and your brother. I have no quarrel with you, Sam Winchester. You have redeemed yourself in our eyes, but your brother has not. Castiel must make a choice. He must dedicate himself to the angels and our mission, or he must let me lead."

"I never wanted to lead," Castiel said. "You and our brethren forced the command on me."

"And now we are relieving you of it."

Sam's gall rose. They were ungrateful, selfish, feathered assholes. Castiel had done everything they wanted, against his own wishes, and they were throwing him aside if he didn't play the game their way. "This is bullshit!" he snapped. "You can't seriously think he's going to abandon us to please you."

"No," she said sadly. "I don't suppose he will. But you can, Sam. You need not stay with your brother now. You can be with us."

"I'm not leaving my brother," he said through gritted teeth.

"Why not?" she asked. "Can you truly look at him now, knowing everything he did while black-eyed and see him as the same man? Does it not get tiring to be unseen and unheard by anyone but Castiel? Stay with us, join our cause, and we will see you home."

Sam laughed. "You're kidding, right? Join your cause! I'd say I'd rather die but that's a bit redundant I guess. How about this: I'd rather serve Metatron than you!"

She shook her head sadly. "I am sorry you feel this way. Castiel, the choice is yours. You can rejoin us and lead, but you will have to forsake the demon.

"He's not a demon anymore!" Sam shouted.

Dean didn't give away any sign of emotion at what she was saying, but Sam knew he was stressed to the point of breaking. If Castiel hooked up with the angel brigade again, there would be no way for Sam and Dean to communicate. That would suck, but it wouldn't be the worst thing. It wouldn't be forever. Sam knew Castiel would never do it though. He would stay with Sam and Dean to the end, because that was what he did.

"I must decline," Castiel said. "You know I never wanted to lead, that has not changed. I am glad to relieve command to you. I have one request though, if you ever do break Metatron and find where he concealed my grace, you tell me."

Hannah was silent for so long, Sam thought she was going to refuse. He was wondering whether it was worth taking a swing at her, just for the satisfaction of it, when she spoke. "We will. And, Castiel, take care out there. Metatron may not be able to command them, but his followers are still following his plan, the main component of it is to recruit. They may target you."

Castiel nodded. "Thank you for the warning." He turned and walked from the room with his head held high. Dean followed but Sam lingered for a moment.

"Is there something you need, Sam?" Hannah asked.

"I have a warning for you, too," he said. "I'm fairly new to this ghost thing. I'm just getting the hang of moving things. I've always been a fast learner though, so let me tell you this. If you're lying to Cas, if you deny him his grace out of some twisted power play, I will take one of those nice shiny swords from the truck and drive it through your throat. Understand?"

She gave away no emotion as she listened, but as he finished, Sam thought he saw a flicker of something in her eyes. She didn't speak but she did nod. Not wanting to turn his back on her, Sam allowed his focus to slip enough that he merely flickered out of existence.

So… Ghost Sammy is badass. This chapter was a lot of fun to write, with the snark and drama, and I hope it was at least interesting to read.

I finished writing the story this week. It didn't come out as long as I thought it would. It's 12 chapters and a epilogue. Keep an eye out for the next chapter. There will be a much loved and much missed — by me at least — character returning.

Until next time…

Clowns or Midgets xxx