Well, this is it! Thanks, once again, to all who have reviewed, alerted and favorited this story – I was completely overwhelmed.

I tweaked a lot, so any other mistakes are mine, but thanks to Gem and TraSan for their help!

This now sort of becomes a tag to Red Sky; I hope you like my leap of faith.

:D

Caroline

-o-o-o-o

EPILOGUE

It was several days later before Sam actually opened his eyes, his body slowly healing from the intense assault. This time, Sam's stillness didn't bother Dean.

Dean and Bobby had managed to peel all the bark from Sam's tortured skin, being extra cautious of his face. They'd stripped him, in every sense of the word, and attended to the nicks and cuts left behind. The stickiness of the now reddish-brown resin was still thick on Sam's skin, refusing to come off without a fight, but it paled in comparison to the bark removal.

The scars from the dagger Sam had taken in the shoulder and the open incision to 'birth' Adonis were both healing nicely. Slight puffiness still invaded the areas, but considering that his chest had resembled your friendly neighborhood oak tree a few short days earlier, they were elated with the progress. Bobby insisted on constant compresses in equal mixture of Vitamin E and Goldenseal to treat the battle scars.

The vase that contained Sam's soul still glowed as it perched next to its body, apparently waiting for the right moment to reconnect. Dean fidgeted next to him, pretending to watch TV by giving commentary on every show so Sam would know what was going on. In reality, it was an excuse to look at Sam, talk to Sam and hope that things were all heading in the right direction. Dean had made a particularly gauche comment about Pamela Anderson when he noticed the light was gone from the vase.

"Sammy?"

A wheezing gasp filled the room as Sam shot up, eyes wide, taking full, deep breaths as if for the first time in his life.

"Bobby? Sam's awake!"

The man hustled into the room, arching his brows at the boy before him. "'Bout damn time, kid. I've been putting up with Baywatch for the last few days." A warm smile engulfed his rugged face and he stepped closer to the sofa.

Sam looked puzzled as he scanned the area, trying to remember what'd happened. "Whe.." he grabbed his tender throat and fell back into the couch with a thump. Panic overtook his demeanor as his gaze shot between Dean and Bobby.

"What do you remember?" Dean asked, inching closer to Sam, bringing some water to his lips and grabbing the back of his still cool neck for support. He greedily took it in as Dean pulled back. "Easy. You've been out for a few days. You'll get yourself sick if you keep that up."

"Thanks," Sam tried, still voiceless. He furrowed his brow as he looked for answers. "Don't remember," the mouthed words were formed but heard loud and clear by the caretakers.

"The trunk? You being a freaking tree? Any of this coming back to you?"

Sam closed his eyes, trying to pull himself together. Bits were coming back to him, but none of it made sense. He drew in a deep breath, turning his head to the side. "Tired…" And with that, he fell back asleep.

-o-o-o-o

It was another day before Sam really woke and was alert. Over the previous twenty-four hours, he'd tossed and turned, working out the details in his head. When he cracked his eyelids to find a concerned Dean hovering over him, he remembered the whole story.

"So, you burned the trunk and that's what brought me back? Was I in some kind of stasis or something?"

"We're not really sure, but I think the fact that your blood mixed with the opening of the lock saved you – both times. Normally, that's not supposed to happen," Bobby added, revealing the research and he and Dean had found in the days during his recovery. "The spell seemed to be set up to take over the victim, turn them to a tree and say goodnight."

"Good thing you're a klutz, is what he's trying to say," Dean interjected cheerfully, loving the chance to banter with his brother once again, especially when he couldn't really fight back.

"And what about Adonis?" Sam asked, ignoring the insult. "What happened to the…body?" Sam saw Dean shiver as he looked away.

"After he was…born, Dean was able to kill him with the tusk, just like we'd planned. The intermingled blood caused…unforeseen circumstances. We were afraid that we might lose you, but you came through with flyin' colors," Bobby explained, patting the youngest Winchester on the shoulder. "After the trunk finished burning, we salted and burned Adonis as well. He ain't coming back anytime soon."

"Damn straight! It's a good thing your Geek brain had a jump start on this, Sammy. I would definitely put that experience on the 'Things Never To Do Again' list," Dean said, now composed from the recent memories. "And while we're on that list, I gotta say, taking the bark off your skin – really not fun. And you owe me big time for, well, taking care of, well… you know." Dean looked sheepishly at Bobby to fill in the blanks.

"Hey, he's your brother! Nothin' you ain't seen before and I wasn't gonna do it!" Bobby threw his hands in the air and walked away.

Sam's face broke into a smile, feeling the tightness of the resin still saturated in his features. It was good to see Dean as Dean – filled with dirty jokes and one-liners. This had been trying and certainly must have brought up a million different versions of Cold Oak for Dean. Suddenly, the thoughts of the past few days brought tears to Sam's eyes.

"Hey, what is it?" Dean sat next to him, running a quick hand to his head checking for fever. "You feeling alright? What do you need?"

"Nothing. I'm just glad…"

Dean got up, angling towards the kitchen. "I know! How about some nice chicken broth, huh? That'll sooth your stomach."

Sam nodded his head in agreement. "Sounds great."

Bobby reentered the room with several volumes of their research. "This was really something out of this world. There was a lot of information and I still can't truly explain this. And I'm sorry about…"

"Don't be. Your friend obviously had some bad intel. It happens," Sam answered, looking to make sure that Dean was out of earshot. Instantly, his eyes welled with tears and his voice cracked as he continued. "Bobby…did I die? Is the deal broken because I died?"

Sam watched as Bobby's face fell, his eyes suddenly interested in the floor, sinking Sam's heart with them.

Bobby paused for a moment before he answered the question. "No, Sam. You hit it as close to accurate as possible. You were in stasis. Your soul was still here and didn't move on. The deal is still intact." He placed a calloused hand on Sam's head, squeezing gently, tracing the side of his still-too-tan skin. The palm landed on Sam's cheek, pulling their eyes to each other. Tears continued to sluice down Sam's face, blanketing the fingers in wetness. "I know, Sam. I wish…We'll find a way, I promise."

Heartbroken at the knowledge that the suffering was for naught, Sam gave in to the full emotions of the situation. "We have to…"

-o-o-o-

The sleek Volvo pulled in front of the posh hotel, its occupant waiting for the sign to exit. After a few moments, another car pulled beside it and the windows rolled down simultaneously.

"Did they open it?"

"Yes," the man answered, coolly.

"And?"

"Somehow they beat it. It's rubble in the old man's junk yard. Both Winchesters are alive and kicking."

The window rolled back up and she pulled from the parking lot, smacking the steering wheel with her hand. "Damn it! I thought that would do it!"

Bela Talbott cruised down the busy highway on her way to meet her next seller. After Gert's coy comment about Sam being her Adonis, the wheels started to turn in her head.

She'd heard the legend of the trunk when she was dealing overseas a long time ago and knew that Sam was the perfect fit – it just took and eighty-year-old cougar to finally put the pieces together for her.

After some research, she'd learned the location of the mythical coffer, finding the storage area and leaking its whereabouts to Bobby Singer. Her paid accomplice called the older hunter with the ruse of an ancient trinket to get Dean out of his deal. By resurrecting Adonis through the Winchesters, Bela had hoped to gain the ancient god's favor, thinking he'd be able to get her out of her deal.

And now it was all for nothing. She was another step closer to Hell.

Anger filled her as she met another road block. Her time was running short and this was her best option to break her deal without having to beg to Lillith.

Bela gripped the wheel with more force, wondering how badly Lillith wanted Sam. Maybe that was the key. Sam's head on a platter - and she knew just the person to take care of it.

She pulled to the side of the road ripping her phone from the side pocket of her Kate Spade bag and stumbled through her contacts, stopping on "W."

A few rings later, the phone was answered abruptly.

"What the hell do you want?"

"Is that any way to treat an old friend?"

"What do you want?"

She paused, realizing this was low, but finding no other choice if she wanted to live.

"I know where the Winchesters are."

Silence.

"Gordon? Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"So, are you interested?"

She heard the smirk on the other end of the line.

"You know I am. What'll it cost me?"

Bela smiled, hoping this would finally be the end.

"Just let me know when Sam Winchester is dead and where I can pick him up."

And the phone went dead.

THE END

-o-o-o-o-o

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