This chapter has been edited.

After they entered the beautiful room, Sam watched, helpless and bleeding on the floor as Dean said yes. He said yes to Zachariah to be Michaels' vessel and Sam felt his stomach drop, then Dean winked, and in the flash of an eye, Zachariah was dead, but at the expense of Adam, who had been unable escape after the door slammed shut and locked behind them. They tugged and banged on the door, heard the tell-tale sound of an angel and Adam screaming, then everything was deafeningly quiet. Dean threw the door open and ran back in the room, now an old abandoned office, and shouted every obscenity in the book. Sam stood there limply while his brother screamed and cursed and kicked things. When he had worn himself out, he stopped. With a grim resolve, he walked briskly out of the office and out of the warehouse and kept walking. Sam jogged a little to catch up, he wasn't even sure Dean noticed he was there. They walked until they reached a bus station, and they took the bus back to Bobby's house. Not a word was exchanged between them, and Sam had followed like the good little brother he was. As soon as they made it back to Bobby's, Dean didn't even go in the house. He stepped out of the bus, Sam on his heels, and immediately got in the impala. Sam had just hopped into the passenger seat and shut the door when Dean started the car and hit the gas.

Sam didn't ask where they were going. That was one of the funny things about Dean; there were times when he would get so upset that he would just shut down. It had happened before when he had returned from Hell, and when their father had died. Sam had tried before to talk to him, but it never worked, he'd be lucky enough to get a grunt out of the man, usually Dean just ignored him. While this happening was a rarity, it was nothing short of disastrous when it did, mainly because it seemed the only comfort Dean could find in the world was from the sleek black impala he adored. He'd drive until he had calmed himself – or whatever he did - , or until he ran out of gas.

Sam also didn't bother trying to talk; he'd just waste his breath. He resolved himself to staring out the window at the passing scenery. Dark green trees, yellow fields, and gray residential areas flew past the window. Sam watched the moon dip below the horizon as the sky lit up like fire with the sunrise. He yawned and stretched and looked over to his brother. Dean's mouth was pressed in a hard line, his brows furrowed as he continued staring through the windshield. Sam sighed and resigned himself to continuing to stare out the window. The sun had just barely descended beneath the trees when the sky turned black and rumbled ominously; before they knew it the heavens had opened up and rained down a storm of biblical proportions. There was nowhere along the road they could stop for the night, and only after they had taken a detour off I-90 into Muncie, Indiana of all places, did they see a hotel, lit up in fluorescents, to wait out the storm.

"Let's keep driving." Said Sam, although his growling stomach disagreed. "This place looks kind of sketchy to me."

"Too bad." They pulled into the parking lot.

"The Elysian Fields Hotel." Sam said, looking around and shaking himself off as they walked in the door. Rain water was dripping from his hair down the back of his neck. The lobby of the hotel was lit and buzzing with people. The floor was a warm wood contrasted nicely with white furniture, a soft melody coming over the speakers, and there was a fireplace. Sam thought to himself that this had to be at least four stars.

"Nice digs for once." Dean responded blandly. They went up to the concierge, where a short thin fellow with a red jacket stood typing endlessly on a keyboard. His name tag read 'Chad', he glanced up and smiled as they approached, but did not stop typing.

"Busy night?"

"A port in the storm I guess." The concierge smiled at them and handed them a clipboard. "If you could just fill this out please." He smiled and waited but his attention diverted quickly to Dean. "Sir, I think you've got a little shaving nick there." He handed him a kleenex and Dean wiped the blood from his neck. Sam thought for a moment, Dean hadn't shaved since yesterday, or maybe the day before. He shook off the ominous feeling settling in his stomach. Chad held up a jingling key toward them. "Your key."

"Oh thanks," Dean said distractedly, holding the kleenex to his neck. "You wouldn't happen to have a coffee shop would you?" Sam looked closer at his brother, just noticing the dark circles settling under his eyes.

"Buffet," The concierge replied, gesturing to his right. "All you can eat." He leaned forward, as though sharing a secret. "Best pie in the tri-state area." Sam smiled internally as he watched Dean perk up, if only slightly. They walked into the dining room, immediately being bombarded with the smells of warm food and sweets. The dining room was decorated with rich red table cloths, white chairs, and black walls. Sam had already gotten his food and was sat down when Dean finished up at the buffet, only getting himself a piece of pie. He picked at his food and looked up, just in time to watch his brother get rejected by a lovely bronze-skinned woman in a red dress, twice, before he had managed to even make any kind of move. He grimaced and looked down at his food, getting lost in his thoughts. On the one hand, Sam was glad to see his brother seemingly get back to his normal self. For all the flaws Dean had, he really was a solid, dependable man. On the other hand, Sam knew that this was all just a façade he was putting up, a wall so that he didn't have to face his demons, or in this case, his angel. However, there was something to be said about his defenses, no matter what was going on, no matter what problems Dean might be facing, Sam knew that his brother would always be the strong one, the dependable one, all because of that façade. He realized then that, as hard as it was to admit, in the deep recesses of his thoughts, he was glad that Cas was gone. Cas being gone meant he could get his older brother back, and for the most part, he was right.

"Sam, unpucker man, eat something." Sam looked up as Dean sat across the table from him.

"We should hit the road, Dean." Sam began cautiously. Dean grabbed his fork and heartily dug it into his lemon meringue pie. He pulled the bite into his mouth and scooped up another one and swallowed before looking up.

"In this storm?"

"It's biblical, I know, but I'm not giving up."

"Nobody's giving up, Bobby's got his feelers out. We'll find a way to beat the Devil soon, and you're no good to me burnt out. Okay?" Dean scooped up another bite and shoved it into his mouth. Sam nodded slowly and studied the man across the table from him for a moment, almost sure that maybe Dean was okay.

"We should be looking for Adam," He prodded gently, surveying his brother. "Or Cas." At this Dean froze; a bite of pie halfway to his mouth. Beneath those green eyes Sam could practically see a war raging on. Finally, he sighed and set the fork down on his plate before standing and walking out of the dining room grumbling something along the lines of "won't even let me enjoy my friggin pie." Sam called after him, and when he got no response he shook his head and finished his meal before grudgingly following Dean to their room.

When he finally made his way back to the door he heard giggling, he looked over to see a couple making out in front of their own door, which was the room next to theirs, Sam noted. He opened the door and hoped that they wouldn't be too loud; he thought he might actually want to get some sleep tonight. The lights in the room were out when he stepped inside, and when he shut the door behind him he was submerged in complete darkness. He could barely make out Dean's silhouette in the bed on the far side of the room. "Dean." He whispered, no response. He groped in the darkness to find the other bed, finally his shin found it and he cursed under his breath, holding the affronted limb. He pulled off his clothes, climbed on the bed and slipped in between the sheets. Sam knew that Dean could not have fallen asleep so quickly, but he let it slide, and instead wondered why such a nice hotel was in the middle of nowhere. Soon, his thoughts fuzzed over, he hadn't realized just how tired he was until he felt the soft sheets below him and the warm blanket above. Before he knew it he had slipped into unconsciousness.

No…

No… Please.

PLEASE DON'T!

Sam awoke suddenly, unsure why. He looked over at Dean in the other bed, he had kicked all of his covers off and was sweating, his face pained.

"Don't leave me!" He yelled, thrashing his legs and twisting up the sheets. "Don't go." His voice had fallen into a whisper, and he started crying, not great moaning sobs, but soft quiet tears. Sam watched in awe. "Please don't go, Cas." Sam leaned over and tapped his brother on the arm. He could faintly hear the woman from earlier moaning on the other side of the brick wall accompanied by the sound of a bed thumping. Suddenly there was a huge slam on the wall and it caved in, almost knocking the television completely loose. Sam jumped and Dean sat upright, suddenly wide awake. They both scrambled to get their clothes on, completely forgetting about the drying tears still on Dean's face, and ran to the other room to investigate.

Well, Sam thought to himself, this is just great. After some investigation of the suddenly empty hotel, he and Dean had found the other guests locked in a freezer, and of course that led to them being locked in a room with about a dozen Pagan Gods such as Odin, Kali, Ganesh, and Baldur. As luck would have it everything from the detour, to the rain, to the hotel was a trap and the Winchester brothers had found themselves at the hotel like rats in a maze. They were bargaining chips for the gods against the impending apocalypse. "This is not good." Sam leaned over and said softly, Dean nodded in approval. Just then Odin and Zao Shen began arguing, over what Sam couldn't tell, he didn't speak whatever language that was. The brothers had looked at each other, and used to distraction to try to sneak away, right before a chandelier crashed at their feet. They turned around slowly as Kali – the woman Dean had tried to hit on earlier, Sam noticed – stood up. Kali was talking about violence and bloodshed, but Sam wasn't listening, he was looking over all the exits, trying to figure out how to get out of this one. However, much like a hamster on a wheel, he was getting nowhere fast. He looked over at Dean to see him standing there, attentive and alert. He was watching all of the exchanges, and Sam could practically see the wheels in his head turning, searching for a way out. Sam found that he was ironically happy about being trapped in a room full of Gods who could kill them with a passing thought. The fact that innocent lives were on the line, and there was imminent danger meant that Dean could push everything else out of his head, including his angel, and that wall was as good as built.

"Can't we all just get along?" Came a voice from behind him. Sam whipped around to find a short, honey-blond haired man standing in front of the doors.

"Gabri-?" Sam said, his heart tightening in his chest, but with a flick of his hand, the archangel cut off their ability to speak, choking off the rest of the word.

"Sam, Dean." Gabriel stepped closer to them. "It's always wrong place worst time with you muttonheads, isn't it?" Sam stared down the archangel, completely confused. Something clicked into place when he heard a man speak somewhere behind him.

"Loki."

"Baldur, nice seeing you too. I guess my invitation got lost in the mail?" Gabriel replied, smooth as honey. Sam and Dean exchanged glances.

"What are you doing here?"

"To talk about the elephant in the room." The black man with the name tag 'Ganesh' began to stand, indignant. "Not you," Gabriel amended, Ganesh sat back down. "The Apocalypse. We can't stop it. But first things first." He spun around to face the Winchesters once again. "The adults need to have a little conversation. Check you later!" He snapped his fingers and Dean and Sam found themselves in one of the many rooms in the hotel.

"Alright, so what's our next move?" Sam asked.

"I-I-I... I don't know. Grab those poor saps outta the freezer, I guess? Bust them out? Gank a few freaks along the way if we're lucky?"

"And when are you ever lucky?" Gabriel chimed in from his spot on the couch where he had materialized behind Dean. Sam and Dean turned to Gabriel, and after some bickering and blackmail, they developed a plan to save the innocent people in the cooler, and leave.

"All right you primitive screwheads, listen up." Dean said loudly, standing from his chair.

"Are you out of your mind?" Sam whispered to his brother. The plan had failed, Gabriel had been found out and Kali had killed him, Sam glanced over to where Gabriel's lifeless body sat in the chair.

"I'm outta options." Dean whispered back. He stood and spoke again. "Now on any other given day, I'd be doing my damndest to, uh, kill you - you filthy, murdering chimps. But, hey, desperate times. So even though I'd love nothing better than to slit your throats, you dicks," He paused, smiled, picked up a bottle of amber liquid, turned his back and began pouring himself a glass. "I'm gonna help you. I'm going to help you ice the devil." He turned back around to face the room. "And then we can all get back to ganking each other, like normal. You want Lucifer, well, dude's not in the Yellow Pages. But me and Sam, we can get him here." Sam watched his brother attentively, his back was straight, he was speaking clearly and his chin was held high. He had a plan.

"How?" Kali asked.

"First you let those main courses go. Then we talk. We can either take on the devil together, or you lame-ass bitches can eat me." Sam rolled his eyes. "Literally." Dean finished his speech, smiled, and drank from his glass. That was it, his old brother was back, and Sam would be lying if he said he wasn't happier for it.