Sam leaned over his glass, remaining motionless as the patrons around him slowly vacated the bar. Even the two demons in the corner that he had noticed when walking in made a quick exit. Making a mental note to follow them later, Sam raised his glass and took a long drink. He let out a shudder when he slammed his glass back down, his breath suddenly coming out in bursts of fog. Frost grew on the outside of his glass as the temperature continued to drop.

"You know what?" Sam began, letting out a sharp laugh. Now he understood why those two demons hightailed it out the back door. "I don't even want to know how you got out."

"Oh, no?" The archangel slid onto the stool next to Sam and leaned forward onto the bar, tilting his head to get a better look at Sam's face.

"No," Sam repeated. He quickly downed the last of his drink before that, too, froze solid.

"I figured you would be pointing a gun at my face and demanding an explanation," Lucifer said. He rose a hand and summoned one of the bottles from behind the bar, along with a glass, and poured himself a drink after topping off Sam's glass.

"What do you want?" Sam finally turned to look at Lucifer. He noted that the archangel was back in Nick and appeared to be in perfect health. No visible wear and tear from the power of Lucifer's grace.

"Where else would I go? To the demons who currently think Crowley is their King? I'm sure the two that fled out the back will begin to spread the word that I've returned, but I'm hardly one to make sudden appearances in Hell," Lucifer replied before taking a long sip from his glass. "That is a return that I plan to have all demons be aware of beforehand."

"I don't know. Aren't you the least bit mad at Metatron for what he's done? I thought Heaven was technically still your home," Sam said.

"It is, but Michael is off searching for Castiel to help deal with that issue. Apparently my little brother is on the right track and Michael wants to help."

"Mic... If you're back in Nick, then is Michael...?" Sam began, feeling awkward at suddenly remembering that he also had a younger brother.

"Is in Adam, yes. With the Gates of Heaven sealed, Michael was unable to send Adam back up there when the Cage was opened. Michael is safeguarding his soul for the time being. The Cage did a lot of damage. Michael is healing that damage in exchange for having a vessel again," Lucifer explained. He took another sip of his drink and turned to face Sam so they were looking each other in the eye. "How was the damage done to you taken care of?"

"Death put up a wall. Cas took on the effects when the wall broke down." Lucifer gave Sam a look that said he knew Sam was leaving details out, but the archangel didn't push for more information.

"I apologize that I wasn't able to keep a hold of you when we fell in. The primary form of torture the Cage utilizes is isolation and that is difficult to overcome if you aren't quick enough in grabbing a hold of another as you fall in. I wasn't quick enough to grab you."

"Are you... Are you serious?" Sam asked with a thick tone of skepticism.

"I meant it when I promised you that I would never lie to you, Sam, and that promise is still valid. I am not lying now. I am sorry I was not quick enough to grab you. I only know of what the Cage did to me and what it possibly did to Michael. I cannot fathom what it would do to a human soul. Human souls are...fragile things in comparison to an angel's grace," Lucifer said.

Sam turned back towards the bar, lifting his glass for another drink. His last memory of Lucifer was in the form of a hallucination. It was a stark difference to how the archangel was acting now.

"I'm fine now," Sam started. "That's...that's what matters."

"You're not fine," Lucifer shot down his statement.

"Excuse me?" Sam asked, facing Lucifer again.

"You're not fine," Lucifer repeated. "2014 has not been a good year for you. I know what happened with Gadreel. I know what happened with the prophet. I know what happened with Dean and Cain. And I know you well enough to know that you are barely holding it together."

"Barely? I found out yesterday that Dean did not actually die. In fact, he turned into a fucking demon and is probably tracking me down because I have the Impala. Please, tell me what your definition of 'barely' is because I bet I'm past that point," Sam snapped, wiping away the tears that had leaked out. He was far too worn out to keep up appearances.

"Okay, so you're not holding it together," Lucifer placated.

"No, I am not," Sam said. He took a long swig of his drink, draining the last of it, and slammed the glass onto the table again.

"Let Dean come. Small little demon like him I can easily take care of."

"You are not killing my brother," Sam glared. "Demon or not, Dean is still my brother."

"Notice how I didn't say I was going to kill him," Lucifer pointed out. "Don't you think I could undo the corruption without killing them if I really wanted to? I created demons. I gave Cain the Mark. I can easily undo its effects."

"And you would do this...for no reason at all?" Sam asked with more skepticism. He knew better that to automatically assume that the Devil would do something for free.

"Like I said, Sam. 2014 hasn't been a good year for you. I just want you to be happy. I'm not asking for anything," Lucifer explained as if it should have been obvious.

"Yes," Sam said, deciding to get straight to the core issue that was between him and the archangel in front of him. It would always be the core issue.

"Yes, what?" Lucifer inquired, confusion leaking into his expression.

"Yes. I know you're eventually going to be asking because Nick isn't going to last forever. I know he's not. And if you can save Dean. If...if you can save my brother... Just save my brother. I don't care what else you do. Just save my brother. Yes," Sam rambled, wiping away more tears.

"You...want me to take you on as a vessel?" Lucifer asked.

"Like you said. 2014 hasn't been a good year. I just want it to stop."

"You aren't a big fan of letting things run their course, are you?" Lucifer commented, not expecting a reply. He gazed over Sam's face, looking for something that Sam didn't quite know, and made eye contact only when he found what he was looking for. "Alright. I hadn't planned on asking to use you as a vessel again for a long, long time, if at all, but if it's what you want..."

"Yes," Sam interrupted. "It is."

"Okay," Lucifer said. The archangel lifted his hands to lightly grip Sam's face, using his Grace to heal any lingering injuries and pains that Sam had. "You know I'm not about to deny you anything."

"I know," Sam let out quietly. It was kind of convenient to have an archangel that was willing to do anything he asked. Sam knew that Lucifer was most likely going to corner him away in the back of his mind to start with, but when he came back out all his stress and issues would probably be gone. Lucifer would make sure of that.

"Our first task will be to get out of Detroit and bury Nick with his family. It's the least we can do."

"Yeah. Least we could do," Sam repeated in the same quiet tone. He closed his eyes slowly when he felt Lucifer's Grace begin to build up where Nick's fingertips touched his face, a bright light glowing through his eyelids moments later.