Working for demons was not exactly Kat's idea of the perfect job. In fact, it wasn't even on her list of jobs that she would wish to do in this or any lifetime. Yet here she was, with her husband and his literally-soulless brother, dropping off another creature for collection by some of Crowley's goons. They met up with two demons near a factory, handing over a hooded and chained creature.

"You're late," one demon said as they got out.

"Traffic was a bitch," Dean quipped as he passed the prisoner to the other demon.

"One Rugaru," Sam sighed.

"Where's Crowley?" Kat asked.

"Banging a hooker in a sweet spot called None of your Business," the first demon replied.

"Oh look at that, honey," Dean smirked. "Demon trying to be funny."

"Oh is that what happened?" Sam commented.

"Night girls," the first demon said and went to leave.

"Wait, hold up," Kat said, taking a step forward. "Are we ever gonna see Crowley again or is he just gonna keep sending his demon extras to pick up his laundry?"

"I'm sorry, I know you're speaking, I can see your lips moving," the demon said, speaking louder. "But I can't understand what you're saying 'cause I don't speak little bitch!" His eyes went black for a second before he turned back to the black SUV they were standing in front of, got in, and drove off with the rugaru.

"Remember when we used to gank demons?" Dean grumbled.

The ride back was silent, though Kat could feel Dean getting angrier and angrier as the ride went on. She was hesitant to touch him to try and calm him down, but she was pretty sure that it wouldn't have helped anyway. They returned to the abandoned house that they were currently staying in, Dean's frustration reaching its peak as they walked in the door.

"No man, screw it, I'm done," he growled, slamming the lights on.

"Calm down," Sam said. Kat winced a bit, knowing that would probably only set him off more.

"We've been going on these freaking Crowley runs and it's not getting us anywhere," Dean continued.

"Dean," Kat said quietly.

"I mean, the only thing that's really changed is now I need a daily rape shower," he finished.

"OK, you're right," Sam said, taking his coat off and setting it aside. "Let's go with Plan B. Oh yeah! We don't have one!. So, 'till we do, sorry dude, stock up on soap-on-a-rope." Everyone sighed. Kat hung her head in her hands, trying to block out the argument. "Dean, if you wanna get my soul back, that's what we gotta do, okay?" Dean paused for a moment and turned back to his brother. "Yeah….you even want it back?"

"I'm working for Crowley, aren't I?" Sam replied as Dean walked over the mantel where a bottle of whiskey and a few glasses were sitting. Kat got up and joined Dean in getting a drink.

"Yeah, well, who says he's gonna hold up his end, you know? It is Crowley. You ever think of that?" There was no response. "Right?" They turned around and saw that Sam wasn't there. "So, I guess the moment's over, is that what you're saying?" No response. "Sam?" Still no response. They looked at each other, put down their glasses, and drew their guns. A quick check into the next room saw Sam lying on the ground, unconscious. There was no time to react though as they were snuck up on by a demon. Dean went down first as the demon snuck up behind him and smacked him on the back of the head.

"DEAN!" was all Kat managed to get out before her world went dark.

When Kat came too, she was bound to a chair facing Sam and Dean, who were each bound to their own chairs and already awake. The demon who presumably knocked them out was standing in the corner of the room, stoic and silent. She could hear a few other demons outside of the room, even caught a glimpse of a few through the cracked door.

"What now?" Dean asked as they looked around.

"I think I know who you can ask," Sam said, looking over Dean's shoulder. Kat followed his gaze and almost let out a growl. Meg was standing there, smiling wickedly. Dean saw her and immediately tensed up.

"Evil bitch," Kat snarled.

"Keep sweet talking me, this could go a whole new direction," Meg said smoothly.

"Meg, I've been dying to see you again," Dean growled with a nasty grin on his face.

"Well, here I am, big boy. So, what should we do now?" Meg teased, looking at the three of them.

"How about I rip you to shreds?" Kat suggested, straining against her bonds.

"Kinky, I like," Meg giggled. "A little Q&A first, if you don't mind. Now, where's your boss?"

"You think we work for somebody?" Sam asked.

"I happen to know for a fact you've been juggling Crowley's orphans. Now where is he?" Meg asked again, getting more serious.

"Don't know, don't care," Sam shrugged.

"You've been working his beat for months."

"Doesn't mean we get face time," Kat said. Meg walked over to Kat and straddled her lap.

"Where's he taking all those things you snatch up for him? I bet you an all-day sucker that's where his majesty's holed up," she asked quietly, almost seductively. When Kat didn't answer, instead opting for just meeting Meg's gaze with one of pure vitriol, the demon pulled a knife out and held it to the witch's throat. Kat heard Dean fight his bonds a little but she kept eye contact with Meg defiantly. "Ok. Officially over the foreplay. Satisfy me or I please myself," she snarled. Suddenly, Sam started laughing.

"Something funny, Sam?" Dean snapped, still looking at the knife at Kat's throat.

"Yeah. Meg," Sam said, still chuckling.

"Really? 'Cause where I'm sitting…"

"Don't worry. She can't do jack squat. She's totally screwed," Sam replied.

"Sam, not helping," Kat said through clenched teeth.

"Look at her, she's furious," he continued. "If she could kill any of us, she'd've done it by now. She's running."

"Am I?" Meg purred.

"Judging by the level of flop sweat on all of you, yeah," Sam answered. "Which means you're running from Crowley. Which makes sense. Crowley would want to hunt down all the Lucifer loyalists now that he's the big man on campus."

"How would you know?" Meg challenged.

"It's what I'd do," Sam said. He then looked between Dean and Kat. "She can't kill us. She needs us to get her to Crowley so she can stick that knife in his neck. It's him or her." They all looked back at Meg, who seemed visibly shook by Sam's declaration.

"Well, I hope you both lose, but good luck," Dean spat.

"So you know what you gotta do now, right?" Sam asked Meg.

"Let me guess. You're gonna tell me," Meg drawled.

"Work with us," Sam said.

"Woah, what?" Kat gasped.

"We'll hand you Crowley with a little bow. On one condition: we come with you and you help us wring a little something out of him before you hack him to bits," the younger Winchester suggested.

"What?"

"Doesn't matter. Question is: can you get us what we need?" Meg grinned before moving over to Sam.

"I apprenticed under Alastair in Hell just like your brother. So Dean, can I make Crowley do whatever I want?" she said, locking eyes with Sam. Kat looked at her husband, who was reliving horrible memories of his time in Hell.

"Yeah, she can," Dean confirmed.

"It's a deal then. Hugs and puppies all around!" Meg exclaimed with overdone joy.

"You gonna untie us?" Dean asked as she walked by.

"Please. Don't pretend you don't enjoy it," she purred. Kat struggled against the ropes again, but her eyes fell to Dean, who looked dead on the inside, reliving all of the things he did in Hell. And now, the prospect of working with another demon seemed to have completely destroyed what mojo he had left in him. The demon who knocked them out walked up to Dean and had a stare down with him.

"You gonna kiss me?" Dean quipped. The demon looked like he was ready to beat the crap out of him.

"Come on," Meg called, and the demon walked out of the room. They were eventually untied and went to get their stuff, but not before Dean had a few things to say to his brother.

"What are you doing?" he snapped as Sam was putting on his coat.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what are you doing?!"

"Dean, you wanted to screw over Crowley. Merry Christmas." Dean didn't look too pleased. "What?"

"You wanna work with a demon again?" Dean snarled, pointing to the door where Meg and her crew had left.

"We're working with demons now. I'm doing this because I wanna stop," Sam fired back.

"She killed Ellen and Jo!" Dean cried.

"I know," Sam said. "But you can't look at this emotionally, Dean. We need her."

"The hell we do. That little bitch is gonna screw us over so fast," Dean continued.

"Of course, which is why we'll screw her first," Sam finished, cutting his brother off. "Meg and her little posse are dead the second we're done with them."

"Yeah, if they don't kill us."

"They won't, 'cause we're bringing insurance."

Sam took Kat outside the house, looked around, and started praying.

"Castiel or Sarakiel, we need you. It's important," he began. Kat looked around and shook her head. "Guys, we found something. It's this gold box. Apparently Nazies were after it back in the day. Someone opened it and their face melted off. I think it's - ready for this - the Ark of the Covenant." Sam continued. Kat started to get mad before a frantic Sarakiel made contact.

"Yes," was all she said before her eyes glowed blue and Sara took over.

"I'm here, Sam," she said. "Where's the box?"

"I can't believe you fell for that," Sam chuckled. "That was the plot of Raiders, idiot."

"I'm mid-battle, Sam," Sara said.

"I couldn't give a rat's ass about your little pissing match with Raphael." Sam snapped.

"Listen to me, Sam -"

"No, you listen! I don't care what you're dealing with up in Heaven. You owe me!"

"You may not care, but believe me-"

"I'm sorry, do you think we're here to talk this out?" he spat.

"Sam, I can't just -" Sara was getting angry about not getting a word in.

"If you don't help us, I will hunt you and Cas down and kill both of you." Sara cracked a wry grin and walked up to Sam. Though a good foot shorter, she had exponentially more strength than he did and the confidence to match.

"Will, you boy?" she growled, her eyes lighting up. "How?"

"I don't know yet," Sam admitted. "But I will look until I find out and I don't sleep." Sara didn't break his gaze, but suddenly felt worried for him.

"You need help, Sam."

"I need your help. Now call Cas down here before I call him myself."

"He won't fall for the same trick," Sara pointed out. "I can warn him."

"And I can exorcize you back to heaven, so what's your point?" Sara let out a frustrated sigh.

"Castiel," she said quietly. The sound of wings announced her mate's arrival. She filled him in telepathically, earning another glare at Sam before they went back into the house.

"You actually showed," Dean said when he saw Cas. "You too?" when he figured out it was Sara standing there as well. "Well Sam, I owe you a chicken dinner. What happened?"

"No big," Sam said, shrugging. "This is what friends do for each other." Cas and Sara didn't say anything, but the look they shared behind the boys backs was scalding. They set about putting together a location spell to try and find Crowley, but it wasn't working.

"Crowley is hidden from us," Sara said, looking over Cas' shoulder.

"Looks like we're gonna have to try this the hard way."

They snuck into the Campbell compound and into Samuels office to look for clues. There was a lot to go through, but it didn't take long for Samuel to come in with a gun.

"Can I help you?" he asked, putting the gun down when he realized who it was.

"We wanna know where Crowley is," Dean explained.

"If I even know, why would I tell you?" Samuel asked in reply.

"'Cause you're our grandfather," Dean said.

"Samuel, I'm gonna get my soul back," Sam explained.

"Who says you can get it back?" their grandfather challenged.

"Me," was the simple answer.

"Look, I'd like to help, but I'm sorry," Samuel sighed

"This is your grandson's soul," Dean said angrily.

"I can't," Samuel snapped.

"What is wrong with you? Do you wanna work for Crowley?" When Samuel didn't answer, Dean looked at the angels. "Cas, Sara, can you give us a minute?" The angels glared at Samuel but flew off. They had to stay close, but Sara was constantly getting updates and giving orders via Angel Radio.

"Sara, are you sure about this? We were right in the middle of-" Cas began.

"I know, I don't like it anymore than you do. But, this is a chance to strike against Hell. Besides, the deal with Crowley still needs to be dealt with," Sara replied. Cas sighed and turned away from her.

"I still don't like that you did that," he muttered.

"I don't either, but at the time I had no choice, I've told you this."

"You did, and I told you I understand," he said, turning back to her. "But that does not mean I have to like it." Sara sighed and looked down. Cas gently reached forward and put two fingers under her chin, gently guiding her face up to look at him. "I just don't like the idea of you being at the beck and call of the current ruler of Hell."

"That's why we have to take this chance, Cas. To make sure the deal is done and I don't have to keep looking over my shoulder for demons… or our siblings." Cas moved his hand to gently cup her cheek, stroking her face with his thumb.

"It will be nice to relax for a moment," he said. Sara nodded and leaned into him, pressing her lips to his in a gentle kiss. He returned the gesture, only giving equal pressure. They pulled away just in time to hear Dean calling for them. They returned and headed back to the house where they had been staying.

The boys started doing research while Sara was pouring over some of Kats resources. Kat told her how to use a computer and she was deep in research when Castiel's voice interrupted her thought process.

"It's very complex," he said, looking at the program that was on the TV. "If the pizza man truly loves this babysitter…" The other three looked up at him. Sara could feel a blush creeping up her face when she realized what he was watching. "Why does he keep slapping her rear? Perhaps she's done something wrong." Dean sighed and looked at Sara, who was pointedly looking at the laptop screen, trying to hide how red her face was becoming.

"You're watching porn?" Dean sighed. "Why?"

"It was there," Cas replied.

"You don't watch porn in a room full of dudes, especially when your wife...and mine...are in the room, too. And you don't...talk about it. Just turn it off," Dean grumbled. Sara snuck a look at Cas just in time to see him look down. The heat in her face rose even higher. "Oh now he's got a boner," Dean said, looking at Sam. "Sara, you wanna control your man, please?" Sara didn't say something as she was looking at the door. There was a knock a second later. Sam stood up and drew his gun while Dean drew his and went to open the door. Cas was still enraptured by the program on the TV, but Sara stood up and drew her angel blade. Dean opened the door, and Samuel was standing there. There was a silent exchange before Dean let his grandfather in.

"This is what you guys do, sit around watching pornos with angels?" Samuel asked after seeing Cas sitting in front of the TV.

"We're not supposed to talk about it," Cas commented. Dean turned the TV off and faced his grandfather.

"Why are you here, Samuel?" he asked.

"It's what Mary would want," Samuel replied. "Now this is what I know." He unfolded a map with a location circled in red. "Whatever we bag ends up there. That's where he tortures them, interrogates them, I don't know. I've only been outside the place but it's a death trap. Nothing gets in that Crowley doesn't want in and nothing gets out period."

"Well thanks," Dean said, taking the map.

"I wish you wouldn't do this," Samuel said quietly, looking at his grandsons. With that, he turned to go.

"Come with us," Sam said suddenly. Everyone turned to look at him, then back at Samuel.

"I may be soft, but I'm not suicidal." With that, he left.

Everyone met with Meg and her crew outside a little while later. As they walked out, Meg gave Cas a look that made Sara uncomfortable and angry.

"Remember me? I sure remember you,Clarence," she said smoothly.

"Why are we working with these abominations," Cas asked Sam and Dean, not taking his eyes off of the demons.

"Keep talking dirty. It makes my meat suit all dewey," Meg said. Sara drew her blade, glaring at the demon. "Aww, what's the matter, sweetie? Jealous?"

"The day I'm jealous of you is the day Lucifer rules the universe," Sara snarled.

"Alright, simmer down," Dean said, putting a hand on Sara's arm. "We know where Crowley is."

"Great, do tell," Meg said, her demeanor changing almost instantly at the mention of the new king.

"Yeah, tell so you can just leave us for dead," Sam scoffed.

"You boys have serious abandonment issues, you know that?" Meg quipped.

"We'll show you, alright? But we're going together," he continued.

"I'm just supposed to trust you?"

"No, you're not that stupid," Sam replied with a chuckle. "Give me the knife for a minute."

"No, I'm not that stupid," Meg mocked.

"Do you want us to take you to Crowley or not?" Sam asked. Meg paused for a minute, then handed over the demon-killing knife that she had stolen from the boys a while back. Sam examined it for a moment, then drove it into the demon that had ambushed them earlier. Two other demons moved to attack him, but Sam brandished the knife at them. "You saw him. He was more interested in killing us than getting the job done. I just did all of us a favor," he insisted. Meg looked at Sam, then jerked her head for the other two demons to back off. Sam turned to go back into the house.

"Hey," she called. "You just gonna keep that?" Sam turned back and held up the now-bloody blade.

"You took this from us. I'm taking it back. We leave in an hour," he spat, and walked away. Meg gave Cas another come-hither look before walking away as well.

Sara and Cas went inside for a moment to think as Dean was packing up.

"You know, you could help," Dean commented as he looked at the two angels.

"I'm ambivalent about what we're attempting," Cas said.

"Well, breaking into monster Gitmo is not a two-for-one in the champagne room," Dean replied snarkily.

"I'm not sure retrieving Sam's soul is wise," Sara said, bracing herself for Dean's angry confusion.

"Wait what? Why?" Dean chuckled.

"We want him to survive," Cas replied.

"What're you talking about?"

"Sam's soul has been locked in the cage with Michael and Lucifer for over a year," Cas began, walking over to Dean.

"And they have nothing to do but take their frustrations out on him," Sara continued, following Cas. "Do you understand?" When Dean didn't answer, Cas continued.

"If we try to force that mutilated thing down Sam's gullet, we have no idea what would happen. It could be catastrophic." Dean appeared very sobered by what the angels were telling him.

"You mean he dies?"

"He doesn't," Sara said. "Paralysis, insanity, psychic pain so profound that he's locked inside himself for the rest of his life."

"But you're saying you don't know anything for sure? I mean, he could be fine?" Dean asked, trying to find a silver lining.

"He could be, yes," Cas admitted.

"Okay then."

"But I sincerely doubt it," he added.

"Well if he's not fine, then you fix him," Dean said.

"Dean, we wouldn't even know where to begin," Sara began.

"Then you figure it out, Sara," Dean cut her off. "Come on...I mean, the guy's a freaking replicant." He moved closer to the two angels. "He needs his soul." The look the angels faces made him wilt a little. "Look, we get his soul back. And if there are complications, then we will figure out a way to deal with those, too."

"Of course," Cas sighed. Dean turned and went to finish packing.

"Or we fail, and Sam suffers horrifically," Sara added. Dean only paused for a moment, then grabbed his back and left.

They traveled to what looked like an abandoned prison, appropriate for what Crowley was using it for.

"Seems pretty quiet," Dean commented as they looked around. The angels, however, disagreed.

"It's not, I can feel it." Cas said. "Meet me at the side door." He vanished after giving Sara's hand a quick squeeze. They went to the door he said and the angel opened it as they walked up. Meg gave the others a very satisfied, almost proud smile.

"This all seem a little too easy for you?" Dean asked no one in particular.

"Way too easy," Sam agreed, but they quietly went inside anyway. As they quietly padded the hallways, they scanned the prison cells. Creatures either dead or unconscious were lying in the prison cells, most of them covered in their own blood. Despite most of them being monsters, Sara couldn't help but feel sorry for them. There was a good chance that some of them didn't hurt anyone, but here they were, imprisoned and tortured. A vampire jumped at the steel door of his cell with a shout as Sam walked past, shining a flashlight in front of him.

"Is someone there?" a weakened female voice called. Dean moved toward the cell and shone his flashlight in. Inside, chained up, was what he recognized as one of the djinn that attacked him a few months back. "You gotta get me out of here. Please, you've gotta get me out of here!" she pleaded, her voice cracking from exhaustion and tears.

"Come on, Dean," Sam said quietly. "We gotta move." They moved away from the djinn, who was only able to watch them with tears in her eyes. A few hallways later, the angels suddenly froze.

"Wait," Cas said.

"What is it?" Dean asked. Sara's heart stopped as she, Cas and Meg turned around, looking back behind them, their faces turning white.

"Damn it," Meg cursed. "Here come the guards." The sound of low barking and growling could be heard echoing down the hallway. Cas looked at Sam and Dean, who both realized what the sound was.

"Hellhounds. Go!" he ordered, and they took off running for the nearest set of doors. The two other demons that Meg brought with her got snagged by the hounds as they ran. Sam and Dean shoved the doors shut. Dean wedged a large wooden handle through the door handles as Sam drew a large salt line under them. "I knew it was a trap," Dean growled as he looked at Meg.

"What do you want, a cupcake?" Meg drawled.

"Alright, that should keep them out," Sam said, pointing at the door and the salt line.

"Not for long," Dean pointed out. "How many of them are there?"

"Lots," Meg said with a wicked grin. "I'll be pulling for you...from Cleveland."

"What?"

"I didn't know this was gonna happen," she said. "Bright side: them chewing up my meatsuit out to buy you a few seconds. Seacrest out." She opened her mouth and tried to smoke out...but nothing happened. She looked around, confused. Sara couldn't help but grin.

"It's a spell, I think, from Crowley," Cas said, looking around. "Within these walls, you're locked inside your body."

"Karma's a bitch, bitch," Dean sneered. Meg glared at him as Sam took out the knife. "What are you doing, gonna slash at thin air until you hit something?"

"You can see them," Sam said to Meg. "Take this, hold them off. It's our best shot."

"At Crowley," Meg replied, only glancing at the knife. Sara was surprised to hear her voice crack and see tears in her eyes. "Take it and go. You kill the smarmy dick. I'll hold off the dogs."

"How you gonna do that?" Dean asked her. Everyone was taken aback when she grabbed the back of Cas' neck and pulled him into a kiss. But Sara was even more shocked when Cas grabbed her, pushed her up against the wall, and kissed her with fervor.

"What was that?" Meg asked with genuine interest.

"I learned that from the pizza man," Cas said, looking at the boys. Dean snuck a look at Sara, who had absolutely no emotion on her face. Her eyes, however, were blazing to the point where he was surprised they weren't glowing blue. He had seen that look in Kat's eyes before, and he knew that Cas was in for the ass-chewing of his life, and an angry angel could level a mountain with a word. The hellhounds smacking the doors brought both him and Sara back into the moment.

"Well, A-plus for you. I feel so clean," she said, not sounding too pleased about how 'clean' she felt. "Okay, gotta go," she said, brandishing Cas' angel blade. Cas looked down at his trenchcoat in confusion.

"Woah, is that gonna work on a hellhound?" Dean asked.

"Well, we're about to find out. Run!" Meg shouted. Everyone else obeyed, Sara drawing her own just to be ready. She was sure that the blade would work on a hellhound, but now that Cas was unarmed, she would have to cover him until he could get it back...and he would. She would make sure of that, as soon as she was done giving him hell.

They headed down a staircase with flickering lights.

"Can't see jack," Dean commented. Suddenly, Cas and Sara found themselves being thrown from the building. They landed in a field somewhere miles away.

"Dammit," Sara cursed. "Banishing sigil. Should've known." She and Cas groaned as they struggled to get up. Once they did, Sara rounded on Cas and smacked him hard. "What the hell was that?" she said, her voice cracking as the tears finally started coming.

"What was what?" he asked. That didn't help.

"The kiss, Cas. The kiss you gave...her," Sara said. Cas looked at her, confused for a moment.

"Was that...not…"

"No, Cas, it wasn't. You kissed a demon...and you looked like you enjoyed it!" She was sobbing now. "I know love for us is different, but…" Cas suddenly realized what was going on, and walked over to her.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I was in the moment...and I wanted to see what it felt like."

"What it felt like?"

"Taking control in that situation. I wanted to see if I liked it or not...before I tried it for real," he explained. Sara's head snapped up, looking at her mate with shock all over her face.

"What do you mean, 'for real'?" Cas cleared his throat and swallowed before looking at her, taking both hands in his.

"What I was watching earlier...I saw how you reacted. Dean told me once what he and Katherine would do sometimes when they were together and I thought, maybe, it would be something you would enjoy. I didn't want to approach it without testing it, and when Meg kissed me, I wanted to practice on someone who meant nothing. If it worked then, then I could only imagine what it would feel like with the person I love," he explained, his blue eyes glistening with hope as he gauged Saras reaction. Her gray eyes were wide, and as he finished his explanation, the blush returned to her cheeks. Cas had never realized how much he adored seeing her like this until right at that moment. She looked innocent, young, and more like, as Dean would put it, an innocent schoolgirl. The corners of her mouth tugged slightly, betraying her instinct to smile. Sara realized it and looked away, trying to hide. Cas tilted his head slightly, trying to keep eye contact with her. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner. Please forgive me," he said softly.

"I'm still not happy that you tried it with a demon in front of me," Sara began quietly. She looked back at him as he nodded his understanding. "If you want to try something like that, all you have to do is ask me, Cas. We need to communicate if we are to be a healthy couple. Promise me we'll talk more?" Cas nodded again, smiling. Sara allowed a smile to grace her face as they hugged.

"I love you, Cas," she said, giving him a strong squeeze.

"I love you, Sara," he replied, returning the gesture. They held for a second before taking a breath and returning to business. "We have to figure out a way to help the boys." Cas thought for a second, then looked back at her, blue eyes twinkling with an idea.

"Crowley's bones," he said. Sara nodded and the two of them flew off to find them. Surprisingly, they were not as well hidden as he probably wanted. They grabbed them and located the boys by locating Crowley within the building...which again, wasn't hard to do. Sara logged that information in the back of her mind but needed to act in the moment.

"Leave them alone," Cas said as they appeared in front of Crowley, who was holding Meg at knifepoint, and the boys, who were being held against the wall at what they assumed was Crowley's will.

"Castiel, haven't seen you all season," Crowley quipped. "And Lady Sarakiel, always a pleasure. You the cavalry now?"

"Put the knife down," Sara ordered.

"You that bossy in Heaven?" Crowley fired back. "Hear you're losing out to Raphael. The whole affair makes Vietnam look like a roller derby." Sara glared at him, but didn't say a word. He then looked at the canvas sack in her hands. "What's in the gift bag?" Cas reached in and pulled out the skull.

"You are," he replied. Crowley's smug grin visibly fell.

"Not possible," he growled.

"You didn't hide your bones as well as you should have," Sara said, showing her own smug grin. Crowley began slow clapping.

"Cookie for you," he mocked.

"Can you restore Sam's soul or not?" Cas asked, putting the skull back in the bag. Crowley snapped his fingers, releasing Sam and Dean.

"If I could help out in any other-"

"Answer him!" Dean shouted. Crowley fell silent as the angels stared him down.

"I can't," he finally replied. Sara dropped the sack and Cas lit it on fire. Crowley's body went up in flames with a scream, and fell to the ground as ash. Dean and Sam looked a little surprised at what they saw, but Sara and Cas looked on with grim satisfaction. Everyone took a second to examine the body. Sam grabbed the knife and stood up to confront Meg, but she was gone.

"Well, she's smart, I'll give her that. I was gonna kill her, too," Dean said. "'Course, I'd have given you an hour with her first," he added to Cas, earning him a scalding glare from Sara, which Dean wasn't sure was coming from the archangel or his wife.

They walked out of the prison into daylight, and they stopped at the Impala.

"Thanks, guys. Hadn't it been for you -" Dean began, but stopped when he saw the look on Cas and Sara's faces.

"Crowley was right," Sara said sadly. "It's not going well for us upstairs." Dean looked at Sam, then back at his friends.

"If there's anything we can do,"

"There isn't," Cas said. "I wish circumstances were different. Much of the time we'd rather be here."

"Look, we know you've got a steaming pile on your plate," Dean said. "There's no need for apologies. We're your friends." The angels then turned to Sam.

"Listen, Sam, we'll find another way," Cas assured him.

"You really wanna help?" Sam asked, then looked back at the prison. "Prison full of monsters. Can't just leave 'em, can't let 'em go."

"I understand," Cas said. He shared a look with Sara, and vanished. Sara looked at the Winchesters and grinned.

"He's right, you know," she said. "We'd really rather be with you two." She closed her eyes and looked up. A dancing stream of light flew out of her mouth and into the sky, vanishing. Kat blinked a couple of times and looked at them.

"She told me everything," Kat said when Sam opened his mouth to give her a recap. "I'm sorry, Sam." Sam just nodded.

"He's right, you know," Dean said to his brother.

"About?"

"About your soul. We'll figure something else out."

"No, we won't," Sam replied.

"Oh why, because Crowley said," Dean scoffed.

"You heard what Crowley said," Sam insisted. "And I heard what Cas and Sara said. Putting this thing back in would smash me to bits."

"We don't know that for sure," Dean said, trying to reassure him.

"You know what? When angels and demons agree on something, call me nuts, I pay attention."

"You say this now?" Dean asked, surprised at what he was hearing. "After we practically died trying to -"

"Exactly!" Sam cried. Kat moved around the Impala to Dean to try and calm him down. "We almost got ourselves killed. I mean, how many times do we risk our asses for this? Enough's enough."

"Sam-"

""I don't even think I want it back," Sam said, starting to walk away.

"You don't even know what you're saying," Dean said, his voice low, almost sorrowful.

"No, I'm saying something you don't like," Sam snapped, turning back to face his brother. "You obviously care, a lot. But I think maybe I'm better off without it."

"You're wrong," Dean said. Kat felt him tense up and even swore she heard his voice crack slightly. "You don't know how wrong you are."

"I'm not sure about that," Sam said quietly, turned and walked away.

"Sam, don't walk away," Dean called. "Sam? SAM!"