Notes: Another train of thought from seeing the preview for 6x07. A take on the scene where Sam is tied to the chair, screaming and they find out he is sans soul. I'm going to drive myself crazy with this before Friday, I just know it.

Summary: Without a soul…what does that make Sam? Slight spoilers for 6x07.

Spiritus Non

Castiel stepped back from Sam. The hunter had passed out from the pain, still bound and bloody. Dean stood stone still behind him, obviously still working through the revelation that his little brother was, literally, soulless.

"I don't understand. This is…"

Castiel thought, 'He should be…' but he wasn't.

"What?" Dean sounded tired.

Castiel looked to be choosing his words carefully, unsure of how to express the information to Dean so that he would understand the situation correctly. What made that all the more difficult was that Castiel wasn't even sure he understood the situation correctly.

"Angels….have their grace. Humans have souls and demons have neither. It's…what distinguishes us, what makes us what we are."

Castiel noticed Dean's eyes glisten before he caught himself and consciously worked to school his features into the hardened mask he preferred.

"So…you're saying Sa-this thing is a demon? Cause we tested for that. A lot."

Castiel's brow creased, frustrated he had failed to correctly convey his intent.

"No. I have no idea what could be going on, but this is Sam. And Sam is human." He had to make sure Dean understood that. That he realized that this really was his brother, just….not all of him. "I've…there's never been anything like this before. Sam is unique."

Dean scoffed, turning away to sit on the edge of the bed across from his passed out brother, still tied to the chair.

"Sam is human, Dean." The angel struggled to impress that point, because if Dean gave up on Sam…What they had between them had saved the world, what would happen if those frayed threads broke? "He's just…unlike any human before."

Dean didn't raise his head from his hands and Sam didn't make any move toward consciousness. Castiel stood between the brothers, and prayed.