Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. I got hit by a horrible cold and have been spending the last week coughing up a lung. Finally, today, I feel better and can get back to posting! Today's prompt comes from FanficAllTheWay who requested, "As for a prompt, maybe something with Sam, Cas, and possibly Jody? Maybe Sam and Cas are working a hunt, and something happens with Sam in the snow and Jody's house is nearby?" I love this idea, but I changed it a bit. Hope that's okay. Thanks so much. Let's set this early season seven but pretend that Cas isn't the bad guy who broke Sam's wall.

"In the bleak midwinter

Frosty wind made moan

Earth stood hard as iron

Water like a stone

Snow had fallen, snow on snow

Snow on snow

In the bleak midwinter

Long ago."

Celtic Thunder, "In The Bleak Midwinter"

The snow felt soothing on his flaming skin. In the deserted forest, Sam laid in the snow, eyes gazing upwards at the clear, blue sky as the puffy clouds rolled across. It was oddly peaceful and honestly, a relief, as it finally drowned out the ringing laughter echoing in his ears. He couldn't remember exactly how he got here, dressed in only a pair of jeans, a light t-shirt and a thin jacket, but his head ached, and the world spun.

"Pretty, huh, Sammy?"

He didn't need to turn his head to know it was the Devil beside him. Sam kept his gaze glued to the sky, letting the cool snow engulf him in numbness, wishing for it all to just go away.

Lucifer hummed "carol of the bells" and cackled.

"Pretty day to die, huh, Sammy?"

Sam shut his eyes and tried to drift away.

Castiel stood in the middle of the forest, Sam's discarded cell phone in his grasp. The angel's brow furrowed, his lips tightened in a thin line, grimacing. It had been nearly six hours since Sam had stopped taking Dean's calls and after tracking the phone's location, Castiel offered to go ahead and scout the area while Dean drove the Impala across state lines. It wasn't ideal, but they didn't know what kind of state Sam was in or where they would need to go to hunker down and figure out what the next step was.

Since the wall had been broken, Sam had been in a world of eternal pain. Castiel honestly didn't understand how the broken young man kept functioning with the visions of the Devil taunting him at every corner. Still, the strength that Sam displayed on a daily basis amazed the angel. How could anyone in so much pain act like he was fine and push through without nary a complaint?

Sam Winchester may have been chosen to be the Devil's vessel, but as far as Castiel was concerned, he was the kindest human that he'd ever encountered.

And Castiel would find him if it was the last thing he did.

The sky was growing darker, the clouds giving way to stars shining in the heavens. The temperature had dropped significantly, but Sam couldn't feel it. His body was numb, and the Devil had finally grown silent. Maybe he was dying, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Sam knew he was broken, that he was damaged goods. He was no use to his brother or Bobby. He was barely handling his daily life, let alone hunting. At this point, he was a walking liability and he shouldn't go on.

No, Sam would fade away in this forest, lying in the snow, on this crystalline night, letting his pain be numb by the freshly fallen snow.

"Sam?"

Only there was a pair of cerulean eyes staring down at him, a warm hand on his freezing cheek.

"C-Cas?" Sam swallowed, his voice hoarse and dry. His chest felt heavy, his lungs sucking in air, but it felt like syrup, hard to inhale.

Castiel's eyes darted around, searching for something that Sam couldn't quite figure out. Slowly, the angel pulled Sam's body up, resting his big frame against the angel's shoulder. He lowered his voice, "Stay with me, Sam. I'm going to get you somewhere safe."

There's was a flutter of wings, but Sam couldn't keep his eyes open. He wanted to protest, wanted to state that he wasn't worth saving, but the words wouldn't come.

Darkness, however, did.

Jody Mills liked to say that nothing fazed her, but when a trenchcoated angel appeared in the middle of her kitchen holding an unconscious Sam Winchester in his arms, she couldn't help but jump.

"Sam?"

The youngest Winchester's head lolled, his skin way too pale, almost the color of a corpse in the morgue.

"I found him in the snow—"

"Put him here," Jody gestured to the well-worn couch, pulling a blanket out of her spare closet, draping it over Sam, "He's too cold." She rushed through the house, pulling out any and all blankets she found, hoping to any deity in the heavens that they would be enough.

Castiel—that was the angel's name, she remembered—stood helplessly by the couch, his eyes locked on the hunter lying on the couch.

"Here," She shoved blankets in his hands, "I'll get some hot water. We have to warm him up."

"Understood." Castiel nodded and meticulously wrapped all the blankets around Sam's thin frame.

Jody moved past the cheery Christmas decorations she'd put up in her house and tried to focus on the task at hand. She didn't know what was going on or where Dean was, but she had to somehow hold this together.

She had to save Sam.

Sam blinked as an unfamiliar room decorated with rainbow Christmas lights came into focus. His body felt like lead, covered by a mountain of soft blankets and warmth permeated his frail frame.

"So, we didn't die," Lucifer muttered, smirking, "Maybe next Christmas, huh?"

"Sam?" Jody moved into focus, her warm smile reminding him of a mother he didn't remember. She placed a hand on his forehead, running her fingers through his hair, "How are you feeling, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, tell the nice Sheriff how you can see the Devil right beside you." Lucifer chirped, practically chuckling.

"What happened?" He tried to sit up, but a steady handheld him down.

"I found you in the snow," Castiel explained softly, "Do you remember what happened?"

Sam frowned, "No."

"That's okay," Jody soothed, a warm smile on her lips, "Dean is on his way. Just rest up until he gets here."

"Yeah, let big brother fix this," Lucifer cackled, "But we both know it won't help."

Castiel must've seen where his gaze was drifting, glancing back at the spot where the Devil occupied, "Rest, Sam. All will be well."

It was a lie, but Sam closed his eyes and let himself try to believe it.