Chapter 5-You have to be very careful what you wish for

Disclaimer: Don't own'em just love 'em. Wish ta 'ell I worked for Kripke.

The motel room they were in had a mini kitchen, sparsely appointed with a teakettle, mugs some cutlery and dishes. Sam put the kettle on while Belinda went out to get her herbal teas and anything else she might need to regress Dean back to the starting point of his nightmares.

Bobby and Dean sat on the bed engrossed in story telling. Bobby was telling Dean his favorite one the one about the Tiger.

Bobby asked, "Why is the Tiger the best at hiding?"

Dean responded with a grin, "Coz he's got stripes and he stays quiet...an no one can see him!"

"That's right." Smiled the older hunter. "And why is the Tiger the wiliest hunter?"

"Coz he knows his game an picks the best time to jump- Arrrrghhhh!"

"He's some smart, he is, that's fer sure. And why is the Tiger so strong?"

"Coz he licks his wounds when he's hurt and doesn't hunt till he's allllll better!"

"You betcha, huntin' when your hurt's just asking for the prey to get a swing in, an you might get hurt even more and that'd be real stupid."

"Real stooopid" nodded Dean seriously.

Sam pulled up a chair turned it around and sat astride it listening to the story between Bobby and Dean. As he listened he realized that he vaguely remembered this one from his earliest memories of staying at Bobby's. At the time it was just another bedtime story the older hunter had often told them but after awhile he realized that it wasn't just a story it was lessons on hunting skills told to them in story form. Even at bedtime he and his brother kept training right down to the stories they were told to put them to sleep. Sam huffed, "Huh," and shook his head.

Belinda came back in, poured the hot water into a mug and from a small jar she sprinkled some dried herbal leaves into it to steep. It had a strong sweet and pungent odor.

Bringing it over to Dean she asked him to take a sip. They all watched as he took the first one and instantly make a face. "It's yucky!' he complained.

Sam put his hand on his shoulder and said, "That may be so but you gotta be brave and drink a few gulps more, ok?"

Dean looked sadly into the dark steaming brew inside the cup and screwed up his nose, "K," he said softly and took another drink. Four big sips later and his eyelids began to flutter. Belinda sat beside him on the bed and said, "Good boy Dean" as she removed the mug from his hand before it slipped out of his loosening grip.

Bobby grabbed Dean just as he began to crumple and laid him gently back on the bed.

Belinda sat beside him and put her hands on either side of his temples to gauge where his unconscious took him and closed her eyes. She got the impression that he was standing in a swirling mist; it was blown by unseen winds and at times obscured him from her vision. Suddenly it cleared and their eyes met.

"Dean, can you hear me?" she asked aloud.

"Uh huh" Dean answered her as he lay on the bed with his eyes closed.

She opened her eyes and told Bobby and Sam; "I'm now going to regress him to the time he was in hell. He will be perfectly safe and I'll make sure I distance his memories from his present emotions so that there should be no lingering side effects."

Sam stood stiffly by the bed, his hands clenching and unclenching but gave a curt nod. Bobby looked at Sam then Belinda and said, "Do what you hafta do."

She closed her eyes and saw Dean standing in the same mist but his face now looked guarded. "I'm going to ask you to take me with you to a very bad place Dean. It is a place you recently left. A place you have nightmares about every night."

As the Dean on the bed lay beneath her touch he moaned, "Nooooooo, doan' wanna...doan wanna go back..."

The Dean in the mist simply stared back and said, "No."

"I need you to show me your memories in order to heal you Dean." Belinda firmly stated.

The man in the mist looked down at his feet then back up, there was a fearsness in his eyes but when he spoke his voice quavered...ever so slightly. "I can't let you do that Belinda" Dean said to her mind. "You couldn't take it, it would haunt you forever... might break you...and...I don't want to be responsible for knocking you out of the healing game. Besides, I made a promise..."

Belinda sat speechless for a moment, here she was communing with just a fraction of this man's consciousness and it was resisting her, this small piece of Dean's self was willing to stay trapped in torment rather than risk harming his rescuer. Was this an act of selflessness or was the man layered in so much guilt that he couldn't justify a second act of redemption for himself? Or was it something else?

"I'm not just doing this for you Dean" she said, "I'm doing this for Sam."

Dean looked back and pain flashed across his face at the mention of Sam's name.

Belinda saw it, felt it, it was a palpable pain that crossed over to her. His weak spot, he cares more for his brother's safety than he does his own rescue. I have to press harder in order for him to drop the guarding he's doing. "Sam's in pain Dean. Hearing you cry out and moan every night...it's...it cuts him. It cuts him deep just like one of the knives cut at you. Yea, I know. I can see glimpses from here. But it's killing him to see you like this. It's a slow death Dean and it's tearing Bobby up too".

Dean on the bed writhed under Belinda's gentle hands, "Sammy! Be ok? Be ok? Sorry...Sorry Uncle Bobby...I din't mean too...sorry...sorry... I can't...can't go back to the bad place...Noooooooo!"

She held on tighter to Dean's temples and felt what he felt. It was a lock. The demons still had hold of him and forced this guard duty upon him to prevent him from ever getting rid of his torment. She felt his desperation and knew deep in her soul that he felt he was screwed six ways to Sunday.

The face of Dean in the mist changed from pain to anger.

She could hear his thoughts, "Godamn demons," He raged, "The deal was they'd get to have a permanent midnight showing in m'head of highlights from hell and they'd let the angel take me. He could have m'body and m'soul as long as they got to play these memories in m'head from now on. They never said nothin' 'bout harmin Sammy with them or...Bobby too!" Dean raised his face in anguish, " S'not fair, I did what I was asked, the angel struck the deal. It was only s'possed to be between them and me. Just them and ME!" The rage passed and Dean's shoulders slumped as he said almost in a whisper, "Not my family...not the only family I got left..." the man in the mist wept as he struggled to keep the guards up. And then Belinda saw raw, ugly fear appear on his face. Her mind was suddenly struck with the knowledge that if Dean found a way to stop the nightmares permanently the demons would void the deal of his redemption and snatch him back to hell and not even an angel could save him from that because the angel agreed to it. Dean was screwed. That's what kept him there.

She spread her energy out to surround the man before her who was buckled over in his anguish. She reached out with her energy to touch his temples the same way she held on to the Dean on the bed. She wanted to give him comfort but what she got in return blindsided her.

A green void, stifling heat and sickening smells suddenly surrounded her; the sound of screaming almost deafened her. She saw Dean suspended over the void of sound and smell. A tick of the clock went by and she saw Dean's eyes open wide in fear as he watched someone she could not see approach. She heard the thick ripping sound of flesh being sliced open and Dean's agonizing screams filled her ears as the smell of perforated bowels hit her and she felt her nausea rise. She had to get out! She wasn't supposed to be here. She was going to get sick...right.... now.

Belinda broke the trancelike state and heaved herself off the bed, turned and made a dash for the bathroom door just in time. When she came back Sam and Bobby were staring at her like they didn't know whether to offer her a glass of water or something stronger.

Her weak knees shakily let her legs bring her back into the room. She wiped her hand over the cold sweat of her face. Then her piercing blue eyes narrowed and she said, "They're not getting him, they had him once...they're not getting him again. I know what to do."

She took an unsteady step toward Sam and suddenly he was at her side firmly holding on and guiding her gently down onto the chair he just vacated. She nodded her thanks and breathed a moment to quell the fear and pain that still clung to her from her psychic encounter with Dean's memories of hell.

Sam held her hand but looked back to his brother lying peacefully on the bed, and a tear slipped down his cheek. If just that quick peek was enough to do that to her, what the.....OH DEAN! Forty years??!!! You did forty years....ready to do eternity....for....me.

Sam swallowed thickly and turned his attention back to Belinda.

"You alright?....Uh, do you want a glass of....anything?" he asked softly as he stroked her hand.

Belinda looked up to him and smiled weakly shaking her head. Then she made to rise and Sam helped ease her back up. She patted him on the shoulder, "I'm ok, really I am," she assured him and nodded to Bobby. "I saw what happened, I know what to do."

And then she explained, "Dean is still in the grip of the demons, I saw the day he was released. And the demons and this angel struck a deal. The demons would hand Dean over to the angel but only if they were allowed to have him keep dreaming of his time in hell. They even made the angel swear an oath not to remove the dreams himself and made Dean's subconscious act as sentry to guard against any attempt to free him of this nocturnal torment. Because if he find's a way to fully rid himself of the nightmares they will revoke his redemption and take him back to hell.... and the angel agreed to abide by that."

Sam's face turned to a mask of bitter hate. "Some angel..." he spat out.

Bobby's tone warned Sam to reign his anger in, "Sam...."

"I mean it Bobby, sure he got Dean's soul out, made him come back to life..." Sam gestured with a sweep of his arm, "but look at him! He's still being tortured from the inside...every &*%^!# night! Sam then added in a softer tone, "he's never gonna be able to heal...he's dieing Bobby...I'm watching him die a little more each day." Sam had to look away.

"We don't want to loose him," Bobby said to Belinda, "I can't go through it again, an Sam.... the way he was after Dean died.....you loose one of those boys you loose 'em both they're that close...and there wouldn't much left'a me after that."

Stunned by the level of interdependency these three men had for each other Belinda was quick to placate their fears. "There is a way," she told him, "And it will not void the Deal. I am going to give him a post hypnotic suggestion that will switch him from his nightmare to a memory of my choosing. The new memory will get triggered by the nightmares then act like a train switch and it will take him to safe dreams for the rest of the night."

Sam said, "But if he's not dreaming of hell they'll catch on and..."

"Oh he'll still dream of hell," Belinda sighed, " I can't remove those memories, our memories are tied in to every facet of our being. You saw what happened when you tried to take all the damage the demons had done to him away? The mind complied but to do so it had to go back to a time before any damage had been recorded by it." Then Belinda looked up into Sam's tear bright eyes and touched his cheek, "You say he went back all the way to four years old?"

Sam closed his eyes and nodded into her hand. Jesus! They were babies when the demons struck! She realized.

For a few more moments Belinda held his face in her hand then she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his tear stained cheek. Sam immediately wrapped his arms around her and she stood holding him while his body shook as he fought back his tears of frustration and loss.

"Sam, Sam....It will be alright I promise she soothed.

Sam pulled back from the comfort of the embrace and in a voice barely a whisper said, "But you said you'd have to.... to give him the nightmares back? He'll be...just the same.... as before...still tortured?"

Belinda smiled her sad smile and held his face in both hands saying, "but he'll only dream of hell for a short while then the switch kicks in and his dreams will be rerouted to other things until daybreak. The nightmares won't last long enough to disturb his sleep...ever again."

Bobby asked, "What if the demons keep tabs on his dreams and find out he's not getting his nightly dose of torment? They'll call the Deal off and.."

"And I'm going to install my own guard." Belinda's eyes flashed like a glint of steel, "If any demon tries to disarm the post hypnotic switch all traces of Dean's memories of hell will become unreachable even to them. The demons would effectively be destroying their own deal if they tamper with it."

Sam stood straighter and wiped the back of his hands across his eyes. "You say he'll be safe?"

"Yep."

"And I can have m'brother back?"

"Yep."

Bobby stepped forward then and asked, "And he'll start to heal?"

"And...he'll start to heal." Answered Belinda through a wide gentle smile.

Sam looked at Bobby and nodded then they both looked at her.

She turned to Sam to explain what had to be done and while she spoke Bobby went over and sat down on the edge of Dean's bed. "Hang in there Tiger, we're gonna git cha back." He said as he smoothed the spiky hair of the sleeping man.

"Ok," she said. "Sam I'm going to need to get a reading off of you, I need to "pick your brain" to find a memory that only you and Dean share, one that has a deep significance for you both and can provide the emotional link strong enough to act as the switch when his nightmares begin.

"And Bobby?" she said.

"Yeah?" he answered keeping his eyes on the man he considered a son.

"I need to get a reading off of you too, your memories will give me what I need to create the tamper proof lock."

Bobby turned to her and said simply, "Lets do it."

Sam stood straighter and braced himself for her touch. Belinda smirked and whispered to him, "Don't worry I'll be gentle" and that made him huff, his dimples making a brief appearance as his emotional tension relaxed. She reached up and put her hands on his temples and said, "Just let your mind loosen and think of your brother, anything at all that made you laugh together, or share an emotional moment that brought you closer.."

"Uh, there won't be many of those," Sam smirked looking down at her, " Dean doesn't like..uh chick flick moments"

"Chick flick?" Belinda began to ask then suddenly her mind opened to his and was flooded with a heart-wrenching glimpse of the Brothers Winchester's lives. Images flashed by like an E ticket ride on the world's fastest scariest roller coaster. But two memories shined the brightest even though they happened years apart, Sam is standing in an old abandoned room, bad things happened here and he and Dean just barely escaped becoming part of the evil history there. He was worried he couldn't do the job anymore he was scared and felt bad that he'd let Dean down, hurt him but did his brother care? Not Dean. She sees Dean's face is covered in dirt from the building and he just waves Sam's apology away,' no chick flick moments' he says and Sam knows right then he can't ever do anything to disappoint his big brother..."Jerk" she hears Sam say with a smile that belies the love. Fast forward to earlier today they're riding in the car she is overwhelmed by this moment of Sam's devotion... it nearly rocks her, "You're the best brother ever----don't forget that," Sam tells Dean. She sees Dean's return grin. And to Sam time froze, in this morning's light every freckle across Dean's nose stood out more brightly against the paleness of his skin; more than Sam'd ever noticed before. The effect was startling. And it made Belinda gasp. Sam was suddenly struck by the extreme fragileness of life and these too few moments of utter joy he got by having Dean around. Dean, I wish you could see yourself the way I do right now, I wish you could feel the love and pride and....gratefulness I feel in my heart for having you as my brother right this very moment.

The two memories dove tailed nicely together summing up Sam's feelings for his brother and with another little gasp Belinda pulled her hands away from Sam's head. She looked up at Sam and said with tears forming in her eyes, "You're making my job too easy Sam, I've got what I need and it's perfect," she patted his arm as she collected her self to turn to Bobby.

Bobby stood up from the bed and walked toward her his arms hung by his side and he rolled his shoulders to get them to fall loose.

She touched his temples and was immediately there, standing in his shoes on the worst day of his life. She felt his pain as she held on to the stoic man before her. Watched as thoughts of loss, his wife, all hope of having children were ripped away. The pain he felt then brought her another image... that tore him up as bad. It was his memory of the day he touched the sweet face of the man his heart knew of as son and Dean told him of the Deal he'd struck to get Sammy back. She sees Dean stand before him, his own tears riding down his face and Belinda felt Bobby's heart break upon hearing the news that in less than a years time he was going to loose him. She felt Bobby's anger rush up from all the times that he'd butt heads with John-Dean's dad-And Bobby's anguished rage rang in her ears Dean was doing this... throwing the gift of his life away all because his dad had never put the same time and effort into training him to value his light as much as his hunting skills. She felt Bobby's heart wrench as he heard the words that Dean said that he was going to loose that light to the torments of hell.... the boy he called son never knew how much his light was treasured by the older man. It was far more valuable than Dean's hunting skills had ever been in Bobby's eyes and Dean was the best hunter Bobby had ever seen.

A sudden flash whited out the scene and she heard the growl, low and guttural, strong and lethal come out from behind a pile of scrap metal and junked cars. And before her astonished eyes strode the biggest Tiger she ever saw. That's how he see's Dean! The Tiger sauntered over to the older hunter and lowering its head gave the man a gentle nudge on his thigh. It rubbed the length of its tremendously muscled body along the man's leg as Bobby smiled and thumped his hand on the big cat's side. It looked up to him and she saw that instead of golden eyes as a Tiger would have, this one's were tinged in hazel green. She watched amazed as Bobby stood still while the Tiger made his second pass rubbing along the older hunters other leg and with another throaty growl it gracefully lay down by his feet. The look of pride and love in the older hunters eyes was unmistakable and the Tiger's fond gaze back up at the man said the same. Belinda was fascinated as she saw a glow of golden light begin to emanate from the Tiger's chest and then formed itself into the shape of the Tigers heart. And she knew it's meaning... that in Bobby's eyes the great heart of gold was the most treasured thing about the Tiger far more that it's strength and power. And the way the Tiger was content just to be there by the man, relaxed but ever vigilant she knew that the Tiger would use all his power and all the strength in his great golden heart to protect the ones he loved.

That's it, the Tiger is the lock! Belinda breathed out a long cleansing breath and slowly lowered her hands from Bobby's head.

I have what I need she said and she patted the older man's chest as she smiled at him.

Bobby huffed and straightened his baseball cap as Belinda turned to face both of them.

"I'm going to place the post hypnotic suggestion now directing Dean's subconscious to follow the command of turning on the switch shortly after the nightmares start. Sam your memories of Dean are going to be the switch that re-routes his dreams to pleasanter things, the kind of dreams he would normally have. Bobby your true feelings toward Dean will provide the lock. If any demon tries to get past the lock I'm going to give it the command to bound off deep into Deans' subconscious and destroy the pathway to the nightmares forever. That will effectively break the demons Deal by their own hands....Ready?"

"Yes and ready," both men said.

Belinda sat on the bed beside Dean; he stirred and made a small sound. She placed her hands back onto his temples and softly said, "Dean?"

"Hhmmmm?"

"I'm going to introduce you to two friends who love you very much, ok sweetie?"

"K"

"The first is your brother Sam. Sam wants to stay here and play trains with you, you'd like that wouldn't you?"

"Uh huh"

Sam is going to be the switchman and when the nightmare train tries to go down the track He's going to throw the switch and the bad dreams will miss you, they'll whiz right by and not bother you any more."

"K"

"I'm going to place the memory that tells you how much Sam loves you on the track and when the nightmares start you'll see this memory and that will throw the switch to cause the bad dreams to miss you. Watch carefully and know this moment well." Belinda opened the image that Sam had given her of the warm 'no chick flick' moments and the one of them riding in the car this morning. As it played in Dean's head it infused itself into his being and he felt lifted up and loved more than he ever knew before.

Dean smiled in his sleep and giggled blushing ever so slightly. "Love you too, Sammy." Dean sighed.

Belinda smiled and said, "Dean, I want you to meet some one else, someone Bobby brought with him."

Dean was still smiling as he basked in Sam's love then his smile froze and his eyebrows went up.

"Dean who do you see?" Belinda asked.

"Big kitty!" Dean whispered. In his mind he saw the powerful Tiger approach him on giant silent paws. The big cat came right up to him and rose up on its hind legs and put both paws on either side of his head and lapped his face once then dropped down and lay at his feet. "Tiger!" Dean yelped but smiled a gigantic grin. "I like Tiger he's brave n'strong"

Belinda smiled, she didn't realize it but all three of them had been holding their breath hoping the encounter would go well. "Dean, look closely at Tiger and tell me who he is."

Dean lay on the bed his brows pinched in concentration while in his mind he patted the Tiger's head and looked into its eyes, eyes that were remarkably like his own, then he said "He's me, Tiger's me coz Bobby named me that."

"That's right you are the Tiger and what I tell you now is what you must do if any of the things from the bad place ever try to get past you. You must pick up the bad dream train in your big sharp teeth and carry it far, far away where they can never find it, can you promise me that you'll do that?"

"Yeah, an I kin run fast coz I'ma Tiger"

"You sure can," Belinda smiled down at him. "Dean how would you like to stay as the Tiger and play trains with memory Sam for ever and ever?"

"Yeah, arrrrrggghh!" said Dean trying out his growl. Belinda smiled at Sam and Bobby, "Dean one more thing can you see your grown up self there?"

"Uh Huh, he looks sad." Said Dean.

"Can you ask him to come back to Sam and Bobby now, they miss him sooo much."

"K"

Belinda watched in her mind as the Tiger made his slow approach to the Dean in the mist. The man stood with eyes filled with wonder as the big striped cat made a low chuff of a growl and nudged his leg. When he reached down to pat its side the golden glow of the Tiger's heart pulsed and a portion of it zoomed up and entered the center of his chest. He touched his chest and looked down at the Tiger in amazement. Just then the tall figure of his brother stood beside the Tiger and put his hand on the great majestic back. And as Belinda looked on a shimmering golden thread from the chest of Dean, the Tiger and his brother all linked together binding them all to one purpose. Then in a flash the entire scene was gone. And Belinda felt an enormous energy push as the pulse of light exploded; she gasped and let go of Dean's temples.

Dean's eyes began to flutter open.

"Hhhhnnnnnn, wha....what time is it Sam?" Dean mumbled as he rubbed the palm of his hand over his eyes.

He peered out through one of them and the sight that greeted him didn't make sense. He groggily propped himself up on his elbows and squinted at what appeared to be a strange woman sitting on the side of his bed. Huh, did I go cougar trolling last night? He looked past her and realized that Bobby was standing there too and Sam was on the other side of the bed and they were all looking worriedly down on him.

Time to get answers. With an authoritative voice that said this better be good he growled, "Sam?"

Sam had the good sense not to make any sudden moves. He eased himself down to sit beside his brother and said, "How're ya feeling?"

Dean locked eyes with him and said, "Other than feeling creeped out by waking up to three people staring at me, and one of 'em a woman I don't know.....fine"

Sam breathed a sigh of relief, Dean could sense that Bobby and the woman suddenly relaxed too.

The woman was pleasant looking enough, for an older than his average type chick, but there was something about the intensity of those deep blue eyes that unnerved him, it made him think of the way Missouri could look when he swore she was looking right through him.

The woman stood up beside Bobby and continued to look at him with an amused smile.

Dean's gaze went from one person to the other as he tried to figure out why they had all gathered by his bed when his eye caught movement up just behind him. He quickly looked up over his head and saw the dazzling grin of a Bugs bunny balloon smiling down on him. He jumped, "What the..*#%!??????"

Sam bolted off the bed the moment Dean jumped and said, "Dean, I can explain."

Dean shot him a look of barely contained anger and growled, "How do you explain a Bugs balloon tied to a grown man's bed? And don't tell me you had a party here last night and I was too messed up to remember!"

Bobby's eyes sparkled and he said to Sam, "Oh, he's back alright."

Sam answered, "And then some." And he took a weary step over to his own bed, sat down heavily and said, "I screwed up Dean. I couldn't stand how the nightmares were eating you up, so I tried something while you were sleeping... tried to stop them...and it worked but... but...it also changed you."

Dean saw the flood of weariness come over his brother and it made him soften his next words, "It musta been pretty bad to have Bobby come fly'n down here to bail your ass outta it....and bring...." Dean gestured brusquely to the woman, " back-up!"

Belinda made a delicate cough and suddenly Bobby found his manners. "Dean...son, I want to introduce you to the woman that just pulled your ass out of the flames. This here's Belinda and she just fixed what Sam started and cured you of your nightmares."

Dean looked into Belinda's intent gaze and winced inside. This stranger knew of his nightmares, how much did she know? And then something like panic began to rise inside him, he didn't know why but suddenly he feared that something very bad had happened as a result. He looked to Sam and said with a touch of fear in his voice. "Sammy, what did you do?"

"I used Majik Dean, and I shouldn't have. I put a spell on you to erase all your memories of hell and it worked but...it made your mind go back to before all the demon shit came into our lives...all the way back to when you were four." Sam sat there wincing inside, waiting for Dean's anger to explode.

For a minute Dean didn't do anything as he processed what his brother had just said. Then Dean sat up slowly his face a mixture of confusion, anger and fear. And spat out "You used witchcraft? How many times do I hafta tell ya, those demon worshiping skanks bring nothing but trouble. And you....you put a spell on me? I could be a.... a frog right now!"

Sam's eyes went wide with embarrassment and he quickly looked between Belinda and Bobby, "He doesn't mean it, I err...well he does mean it but he doesn't know..."

Belinda didn't even blush, but her stance said everything. Her hands on her hips and her back straight she just looked at Dean and said "Skanks?"

The way she said it and the way Sam and even Bobby were shifting on their feet made Dean realize he'd just crossed a line but he didn't know why...he looked into her intent stare and guessed it must be something about her...all he'd said was that witches were skanks and....uh oh..."You're a witch!"

"Yes, Dean I am." She smirked back, "you'll have to excuse the appearance my black conical hat's at the cleaners."

Bobby spoke up then, "Boy, Belinda here is a WHITE witch and before you say anymore to embarrass yourself there IS a difference."

Dean's anger faded and he felt at a loss as to what to say, "so.... you're not going to make me...."

"Say 'ribbit' and snap at flies?" she quirked her eyebrow up at him.

"Yeah, that." Dean looked up at her with a shy grin and for a moment the little guy was back in the look on his face.

"Dean, your brother actually did a good spell," Belinda said in a voice that was calm, "And he did it for the right reasons; if he hadn't put so much love into the wish it could have gone much worse than it did. Intent is everything in these matters and he had only the purest intent to see you well again." Her face was full of kindness and more than a little patience.

Dean looked at Sam and his brother mouthed, "Sorry" at him.

"But I don't think he'll be doing any more Majik again by himself" Belinda lifted her eyebrow at Sam and said, "if you ever need to have spell work done again...call a professional. There are people out there that know what they are doing and they work for the greater good...use them next time."

Sam said with a sigh of relief in his voice, "If I ever need help like that again.... I will. Thanks Belinda for all you've done." And he rose up to give her a hug.

As Dean got up off his bed, Bobby grabbed his shoulder and stared him intently in the eyes saying, "Seeing ya like that again...all young inside.... brought back memories Tiger," Dean hadn't heard Bobby call him that nickname in years. He looked at Bobby with awe as he saw the older man's eyes brim up. "Even when you were a young'un I could tell you'd be the best damn hunter I'd ever see but it's what's in there," Bobby said poking Dean gently in the chest, " that makes you stronger n'better than most....an don't you forget that."

Dean's gut twisted upon hearing the love in the older man's voice. And he did a very un-Dean like thing he just grabbed the man before him in a hug and held on. And the surprising thing was he actually felt the man relax into him like it was something he did every day. It didn't last long though; not like the hug at the door earlier today, they both broke apart at the same time; giving each other pats on back and coughing a little as they stood away.

Bobby spoke first, "Well, we got a long ride ahead of us and I promised Belinda's husband I'd get her back before daybreak." He nodded to the woman beside him and adjusted his cap.

Dean found his voice and said, " Thanks Man"

Belinda stepped up to Dean; she wore a smile on her face that made her look like she was holding back a laugh. She reached up and cupped his face in her hands so that he had to look right at her and she said, "Promise you won't kick your brother's ass for this?"

Dean glanced over to the Bug's bunny balloon and scowled then sighed, "I won't..." Then he shot Sam a look and added, "much."

She looked at Sam's expression of impending doom and laughed then said, "Brothers!"

As she let go of Dean's face she added, "it was nice meeting you Dean, both versions." And with that she and Bobby left.

As soon as the door closed Dean turned around to Sam but before he could grill him Castiel appeared beside him. And the sudden appearance made Sam jump.

"Jeez....um......I mean...couldn't you knock or something?" Sam said huffing a breath.

The angel ignored him and walked right up to Dean staring at his face. Dean frowned and blinked at him in return, " and where were you when all this took place?" Dean asked.

"Watching." Was the one word reply the angel gave.

"You couldn't have pitched in and helped, maybe taken the damn dreams away in the first place?" Dean fumed.

"No, I could not.' Was Caz's monotone reply. "If I interfered in any way I would have broken the deal I struck to get you free and the demons would have sucked you back to hell. I could not let that happen."

Dean stood wide-eyed at the honesty of the answer. "But I thought angels trumped demons and they couldn't stop you?"

"There is a delicate balance in the universe Dean, even angels have red tape. But I knew of this Belinda woman, she does good work and if anyone could break a deal forged by demons she would be the one to do it."

Sam looked confused now, "But if you lead her here than wouldn't that constitute "helping" and make the demons void it?"

"I did not lead her," Caz said, "I just let Bobby find her and let free will take over the rest."

"Free will?" both brothers said at once.

Something almost like a smile eased onto the angels face as he explained, "It's like God's wild card, we can't control it but we can point it in the most likely directions, the rest is up to you."

Sam said, "So...you're not mad?"

"No, Samuel. I'm glad you fixed him. If you hadn't....it may have turned out to be unfortunate." The angel replied.

Sam's face dropped into that still mask he wore when the cold-blooded hunter in him came out.

Dean saw the change and shuddered inside, "you know I think I'll sleep a whole lot better if you don't explain what "unfortunate" means to you." And clasping the angel on the shoulder began to guide him to the door of the motel.

The angel stopped before they reached it looked at Dean, "You do know I don't have to use a door to leave?"

Dean said, "Yes, I'm just exercising my free will to point you in the right direction."

Castiel made that face again that passed for a smile and said, "I'm glad you are back.... all the way back." And Dean's arm dropped because suddenly there was no angel standing there.

They decided to leave, there wasn't a job to go to but both felt it would be good to go somewhere for a day or two of R&R far away from this place. As Dean drove by the petting zoo his eyes were drawn to it and he slowed the car down.

Sam looked over with a quizzical smile on his lips, "you wanna stop?"

"Nah," Dean said after a moments hesitation and he sped the car up, "I'm starving, I can't remember the last time I had a good cheeseburger."

Sam said, "There's a diner up the road, they have great pie and the waitresses are.... um...friendly"

"Really?" Grinned his brother. "Lets not waist time on the review Sammy." As he headed the Impala down the highway with a renewed purpose."

Sam just smiled his dimples in full regalia and shook his head. Some things never change.

The end.

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