Summary: When Dean made the deal to bring Sam back, he had no idea what plans the demons had for his little brother. Post AHBL Part I. A de-aging story.

A/N: This is my first time writing a Supernatural story. I really miss the good old days when Sam and Dean had a closer relationship and didn't fight 24 hours a day. This story will take place after All Hell Breaks Loose Part I. This story will probably ignore everything that happened after that episode. There will be no Lillith, no Ruby, no Bela, etc.

The squeal of tires pierced the night as the car swerved wildly around the corner without slowing. No other cars were visible along the lonely stretch of road; however, the driver's thoughts were solely focused on his mission.

Sam.

He had let his brother down, let him die…but he was going to fix this. He would make it right even if it was the last thing that he did. In the back of his mind, Dean knew that his reckless actions would have severe consequences, but he didn't care. This was probably his best chance of bringing Sam back, so there weren't any questions in his mind that he was doing the right thing. Sam was his little brother, his responsibility.

Desperately, Dean's eyes scanned the view in front of him. There had to be a crossroads somewhere nearby. He didn't want to be away from Sam for too long; he wanted to see his brother again as soon as the deal was finished. Sam would likely be confused when he woke up. It was Dean's job to be there to reassure him that everything was okay.

Normally the music would be blaring through the speakers as he eagerly drummed his fingers to the beat, but Dean wasn't in the mood to hear the classic tunes. Hands clenched tightly around the wheel, he thought back to the last time that he had seen Sam before the disappearance. He had sent his brother into that small middle-of-nowhere diner alone. Sam was only supposed to be gone for a few minutes, but everything had suddenly gone wrong.

'As soon as he's back, I'm never letting Sammy out of my sight again,' Dean vowed. 'The kid gets into trouble too often as it is. Sam got captured by those insane Benders after leaving the bar by himself. Sam left me after I told him about Dad's last words in the hospital, and then he nearly got shot by Gordon.'

'And now Jake,' Dean fumed as his vision filled with red. Gritting his teeth, Dean tried to shove that bastard out of his mind. There would be time to hunt the man down and deal with him later.

No one harmed his brother and got away with it.

No one.

Stomping on the brake, Dean suddenly realized that the car was fast approaching a crossroads. The Impala swung back and forth a little before Dean brought the car under control. When the car finally stopped, the door was carelessly thrown open. Long strides took him quickly to the trunk which creaked as it was propped open. Sure, confident hands deftly plucked the necessary items from their spot and then placed them into a plain wooden box. After setting one of his numerous fake IDs inside, Dean snapped the lid shut and then closed the trunk. The sound carried in the silent open area, but Dean just continued walking towards the middle of the crossroads.

Squatting down on his heels, Dean hurriedly dug through the dirt and gravel, ignoring his stinging skin as the rocks bit into his hands. It didn't take long for a shallow hole to emerge in the ground. Grabbing the box, Dean held it securely in his hands for a moment and allowed his eyes to close.

'Please let this work,' Dean thought as he took a deep breath and set the box in the open hole. He swiftly raked the gravel back into the hole before standing up and absentmindedly brushing off his hands against his jeans. Looking around impatiently, Dean was aggravated when he didn't immediately spot the demon. He didn't have time to stand around all night. Demons were capable of appearing and disappearing anywhere at will, and this particular demon had better show up soon or…

Well, Dean didn't really know what he would do if the crossroad bitch didn't show up. He didn't have the Colt anymore, so he couldn't hunt her down and kill her with it; however, Dean wasn't in the mood to play games. He would get revenge against her somehow if she failed to show up.

"Hi, Dean. Long time no see."

Dean's body quickly spun around as soon as he heard the voice. The beautiful female in front of him might look sweet and innocent to the average person, but any hunter would know otherwise. Her eyes briefly glowed red before returning to a more normal color.

"Why the long face, Dean? Aren't you happy to see me?"

Taking a few steps forward, Dean didn't waste any time.

"You know why I'm here. I want you to bring Sammy back. I need my little brother again."

Dean didn't like the desperate tone of his voice, but he couldn't stop his voice from nearly cracking as he thought about his brother's cold lifeless body lying alone in that rundown ghost town. If this didn't work, then Dean would never again mercilessly tease Sam and make him the butt of his many jokes. Never again would he see his moody younger brother or hear his constant huffing and complaining. Never again would Sam's puppy dog eyes help them in a case by winning over some female who was strange and bizarre enough to be immune to Dean's charms.

"Isn't it funny how life works?" the demon casually said. "First John, and now you."

Trying not to let the demon's words affect him, Dean spat out through his clenched jaw, "Do we have a deal or not? You bring Sammy back, and then you can have my soul in ten years."

Ignoring Dean's proposal, the demon continued, "Did you ever regret your father selling his soul for you? Knowing you, I bet that you did. How do you think Sammy will feel about you doing the exact same thing for him?"

The demon shook her head in mock disapproval. Anger spiked in Dean upon hearing the demon's words, especially when she said 'Sammy.' Only Dean had the privilege of calling his brother that.

The demon smiled when she saw Dean's anger growing. His smoldering gaze only seemed to amuse her even more. Yanking the gun out of the back of his jeans, Dean pointed it directly at the demon.

A small chuckle escaped her mouth.

"Easy there, tiger. You know that won't kill me."

"No, it won't," Dean agreed, "but it will hurt like a bitch. And it will make me feel better."

"Tell you what," the demon said, "since I'm so nice, I'll bring your little brother back. You'll have Sammy again, and I won't even take your soul in return."

Suspicion immediately filled Dean and his eyes narrowed.

"What's the catch?"

The demon only smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you want your little brother back or not?" she asked as she slowly walked forward and pressed herself against Dean, her lips inches from his. "This is a good deal. Better than any other deal I've ever given."

"What's the catch?" Dean repeated, his voice not as firm as it had been earlier.

Noticing that Dean was caving, the demon went in for the kill.

"I know that you and your brother were very close growing up. It really hurt you when he left for college, didn't it? You missed him, and you felt like he had betrayed your family, but the two of you have become close again. Don't you want him back? You were so desperate to get him back that you were even willing to sell your soul."

Dean glanced away from the eyes that had been staring into his. He knew that the demon was trying to manipulate him, but he almost couldn't bring himself to care. The demon had said that she could bring Sam back. Dean still wasn't sure what she wanted in return; she said that she didn't want his soul, so that only meant that she would want something else in the future.

Looking back down into the demon's eyes, Dean gave his head a slight nod. The demon flashed a smug smile before she lightly brought her lips in to meet his. The kiss was brief but intense. Dean pulled away first and even backed up a few steps. The demon had a satisfied smirk on her face, and Dean wondered – not for the first time – if he had just made a big mistake.

"Say hi to Sammy for me," the demon said before disappearing.

Dean stood still for a moment, staring at the empty air where the demon had just been. When it finally sank in that the demon was gone and that the deal was done, he quickly turned around and raced back to his car. Sam should be awake now, and Dean still had several miles left to drive before he could see his brother again. Since the encounter with the demon, Dean now had a sinking feeling in his stomach. He didn't know exactly why, but he felt like something was terribly wrong. Dean hoped that by seeing Sam with his own eyes that the feeling would go away.

Throwing the car into reverse, Dean whipped the car around. The mysterious feeling of dread made Dean very anxious to see his brother again. Hope was welling inside of him at the thought that he would soon be able to touch Sam and talk to him. It had been a long few days as he and Bobby had tried to locate Sam, and then once they had found him, he had been murdered right in front of their eyes. Even though he knew that both Bobby and Sam would disapprove of what he had done, Dean couldn't bring himself to regret it if it brought his brother back.

The car flew down the road, spraying gravel in its wake. To Dean, it seemed to take more time to reach the town coming back than it had been to find the crossroads earlier. A relieved smile appeared when he finally parked near the building where he had left Sam. As a precaution, Dean re-placed the gun in the back of his jeans before running toward the wooden house.

Opening the front door, Dean loudly called out.

"Sam!"

He didn't hear anything, but he kept calling for his brother anyway. Entering the bedroom, Dean stopped on the threshold when he noticed the empty bed. Sam had probably woken up several minutes ago, but Dean had no idea where his brother would have gone.

"Sam?"

Focused on finding his brother, Dean decided to search the rest of the house first before looking around the rest of the town. He hoped that Sam hadn't wandered too far away. If Sam was in the house, however, he should have been able to hear Dean calling for him.

It didn't take long to search the whole house. There weren't any signs of Sam. Annoyed that he hadn't been able to immediately find his brother upon returning to the town, Dean forcefully pushed the front door open. If he did find out that the kid had left the house to wander around the town, he would have a few choice words with him. Dean shouldn't have to search throughout the whole damn town just to make sure that his brother was alive and well. Sam shouldn't be worrying him like this.

A sudden high-pitched frightened scream tore through the air.

Dean abruptly stopped in his tracks. The sound – slightly faint as if coming from inside a building – continued. Dean's heart sank and he felt as if there wasn't enough air in his lungs.

"Sam," Dean whispered.

Since Sam had been the only person in the town when he had left, it had to be Sam who was making that awful scream. Straining his ears, Dean pulled out his gun and raced toward the sound, praying that his brother was okay.