They finally reached Sam's house to find the yard dark and foreboding. "Too quiet." Dean whispered as they got off of the bike. They made their way toward the house with quiet movements along the edge of the building. "Stay close." Dean raised his arm out and pressed it against Cas to move him against the wall. The front door of the house was opening as they drew closer. Then a voice called down to them.

"'Hello, boys. You finally made it. Thought that I was going to have to start the party without you." Cas could see A's gaunt frame just past the door. He was holding Lil in front of him. "Oh, who am I kidding? I already did start the party. Now, put the gun down, Dean, or I might have to go back to my fun little game with Lil." She whimpered in his arms, but she did not speak. Cas started to rush toward her.

"Let her go!" Cas yelled.

"Now, that will be close enough." Cas couldn't see well enough in the dark, but he stopped in his rush the moment that he heard Lil's piercing scream. "So many pokable parts on this little thing. Should I make her into a little pin cushion while you watch, or should I shoot her in the back, like you did to me? Poetic justice right, Cas?"

"Just tell me what you want. I'll do it. Whatever it is, I'll do it." Cas was desperate. He was holding out his hands in front of him, placating and begging all at once.

"You stay there. Send your boyfriend into the house. I have something to show him." A stepped back from the door and said, "Come on, Dean. Join the party. Your brother is already here and I'm afraid he just couldn't hang with the big dogs." A laughed in an odd hollow way that added to the hysteria that was careening about in Cas' body. Dean had set down his gun, and he was now moving slowly up the stairs to the front door.

A had eased back further into the house, and Dean reached out to the screen door that was separating them. He opened it and stepped in. "Oh, God, Sammy! You son of a bitch, I'll kill you. I swear to God, you are dead."

"Oh, such bravado, boy. You sound just like your brother. Now take a seat." Cas couldn't see what was happening but he could hear Dean silently moving about inside.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked after a few moments of quiet.

"Just making sure that I don't have to deal with you while I have my little conversation with Mr. Novak. By the way, Dean, I was just telling your brother how much I like what you are both doing with this place. You'd almost never know that a lady was BBQ'd in here."

Dean's growl of frustration was followed by the sounds of struggle. Cas began making his way up the steps.

"Are you going to scream like she did? Are you going to cry?" A's mocking tone was crawling out the door to Cas' ears. He wanted to hurt him, but how?

"Let the kid go. You have me now. You don't need anymore captives. You certainly don't need to hurt a kid." Cas could hear Dean trying to sound convincing despite the fear that laced his words.

"Oh, Dean. I am just getting started. I haven't told you this, but, I really hate cops. The holier than thou attitudes and the moral upkeep, just about kills me every time that I encounter them. So, when you thought that you were joining Niveus in secret, I saw this as so perfect. Here was this stupid cop, thinking that he had fooled everyone, falling right into my hands." He stopped speaking for a moment then continued. "When I found out more about you, who you were, more importantly, who your mother was, I just about died laughing. How perfect, really was my life?" He laughed again at his words and then pressed on, "I have waited for this moment for so long. It feels like it has been forty, goddamn years, my boy. It has been a long con for you. Thankfully, my employer let me play with you. I fed you so much. You would take two steps forward then I would find ways to send you back with so much misinformation. God, it was so good watching you hope and fall, hope and fall." Cas was at the screen now and he could see in. "You might as well join us, Cas."

Cas opened the screen and crossed over. The sight that met his eyes was a tableau of the macabre. Sam was slumped over in a chair with his hands bound behind him. His face was a patchwork of bruises and blood. There was a split in the skin just above his eyebrow that was oozing blood down his face. Dean was bound to a separate chair across from Sam. "Lil. I'm here. You'll be okay. I promise." Lil's body was on the couch now, just a couple of steps away. Lil didn't move or respond. It was then that he noticed the way that her head was drooping back in an awkward angle.

"Sorry, baby can't talk right now." A mocked him with a sneer. "Poor little fool. Thought you had it all figured out, didn't you?" Cas leveled his stare at A. A had his gun aimed at him. In his belt was a long bowie knife, smeared with blood.

Cas threw his glance around the room, looking for a solution. There was a smell assailing his senses. The smell of fuel. "What are you going to do?"

"Just a couple of things. Nothing to worry your pretty little head about." He twisted his mouth into a half grin. He waved his gun at Cas in a way that was meant to move him. "Put your hands up on the wall there."

Cas complied when he saw the way that A next looked down at Lil. "I can get you the file."

"I already have that." A laughed as he responded. Cas could feel A at his back. He pressed up against him, running one hand up Cas' side to his arms, then his wrist. "Do you think that Dean likes what he is seeing?"

Cas turned just a little and caught Dean's eyes with his. Dean was being uncharacteristically quiet. Cas knew that he was calculating. They were in a tight spot. Sam was unconscious. Something was wrong with Lil. Dean was bound. Cas was about to be bound too. The house smelled of gasoline. He looked back into A's eyes that were too close to him. God, he's planning to burn us alive.

He had to respond. Cas knew that once he was bound that A would light the place on fire. He did not know what to do though. A pulled out a zip tie and slipped it over Cas' hand. He was moving over Cas' body in a lascivious manner, casting pointed glances over his shoulder at Dean. It seemed to be about the slow torment for A than about the end result which could only be their deaths. Cas' arm was being pulled down behind him. "Lower your other arm, lover." Cas decided that now was the moment to fight. He moved swiftly into a crouch, spinning around, he landed a punch into A's side. It sent A back a step, but it did not topple him. A raised his arm and aimed his gun at Cas. Cas did not hesitate. He rushed him, sending A back onto the floor, gun flying from his hand. A was breathing heavily as Cas scrambled to gain the upper hand. He was on A now slamming his fists into him. A shifted his weight and Cas tumbled back.

A took the opportunity to pull his bowie knife from his belt. He slashed out at Cas, cutting through the front of his shirt. Cas felt the slight sting of the cut on his skin. Cas scrambled toward the gun. "Oh, no you don't." A caught him by the leg and pulled him back. Cas felt the bite of the knife in his leg. He kicked out, landing it on A's arm. A was up now. Cas could feel the deep burn and the warm, wet blood on his leg. It wasn't a deep cut, but it wasn't easy to ignore. Cas was making a move toward A, but A had already gotten an advantage. He had pulled back Dean's head and pressed his knife to his adam's apple. Cas froze in his movement.

"I'm going to cut him." A glared over at him. "Next time, you'll do what you are told." He ran the knife down Dean's chest. He angled it toward Dean's thigh. He slowly pressed the tip through Dean's jeans into his leg. Dean's face contorted in pain, but he did not make a sound beyond the change to his breathing. A was twisting the knife just slightly. A millimeter back and forth. Cas was afraid to try rushing him again because he knew that his leg would not propel him forward fast enough. A could easily move the knife up to Dean's neck and end everything before Cas could do a thing. "Now, we are going to do this differently this time. Lay down over there. I'm going to truss you up like a pig."

Dean spoke. "Keep fighting him, Cas." A twisted the knife a little more.

The smell, the pain, the look on Dean's face caused him to grow dizzy. The hall behind A seemed to move. Cas swayed a little. Dean's mom died there, down that hall, all those years ago. The movement down the hall seemed to become more tangible. There was white in the dark. Cas tore his eyes from it and lowered himself to the floor as A had directed. A was standing over him now. He turned his head up to look at him and saw that he was flicking a match. The flame danced about in front of A's face before he tossed it away from him. The flame caught. "I am done with you." A was reaching down to tie up Cas while the fire began lapping up the walls.

"Goddamn it Cas, fight!" Dean yelled at him. A reached out and backhanded Dean.

"Oh, shut up, already." He turned his attention back to Cas. His arms were pulled together. He could feel the bite of the tie digging into his wrists. Cas had his head turned to the side, watching the hall.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. He looked up at Dean then back along the floor toward the hall. I see you. It was growing closer. At first it seemed to be transparent, clothed in white. A ghost. A lady in white. He held his breath. The flames were building. He spoke quietly. "I don't understand what you want."

A didn't answer right away. He stood up over Cas. Cas stared at his feet; he did not look up at his face. "Did it ever occur to you that I just like what I do. Just so you know, I'll be taking the girl with me." There was white behind A now, but Cas did not raise his eyes to it. He felt that if he looked at the specter that it would vanish. Somehow he knew that he needed her there, that she was goodness and light in the world that was burning into darkness around them.

The sound of cracking wood was harsh in his ears. The next thing that he noticed was A's body falling down beside him. His face was turned to Cas, blood was flowing from the side. He was not moving. He felt gentle fingers fumbling with his wrist ties, the cool press of the knife cutting through, and then he was free. He looked up and saw, not a ghost, but a woman in white, Jess. The fire was spreading fast now. Jess used A's knife to undo Dean and he took it from her to get Sam. "Get out of here," He said to them. Cas scooped up Lil from the couch. He could feel blood on her. He stumbled with her out to the yard. Jess was behind him. Dean was dragging Sam's large frame from the house. He was struggling with him. Cas set down Lil and rushed up to help. They each pulled at Sam's arms, dragging him out. Neither of them was strong enough to lift him. They got him to the yard. Jess grabbed him and pressed kisses into his battered head. "Be okay, be okay." She kept repeating.

Before Cas could return to Lil, Dean was turning back to the house. The fire was out of control now. He seemed to be contemplating going in. "What are you doing, Dean?" Cas grabbed him.

Dean pulled away from Cas. "He knows too much to die. I can get it out of him. I have to go in and get him." Dean was already rushing back to the fire.

Cas grabbed him again. "It's not worth it. The fire is too strong now."

Dean seemed to be desperate to get back in there. He was obviously wrestling with the decision. A lifetime of effort could all come down to the decision made in this moment. He let out a noise of exasperation. "What do I do?"

Cas held his gaze and said, "Let it burn."

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Many thanks to all of you for commenting. As this is winding down, I really need to make sure that you all know how much it really meant. I would not have written this much without all of the encouragement. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It has been good for me to remember what it was like to have this creative outlet. Big ole thanks to Mummabro for always having something lovely to say. Thanks YoungHopeful for the supporting shoutout. BTW, if you are looking for another fic to fill time, I just started reading one called Denial by 6or3d0m and it was amazing. Plus, this is a first fic from the author, so supporting new writers is a good thing.