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"Sam!" Dean screamed, regardless of how useless he knew the action to be.A mockingly close distance away, his little brother's neck was being torn apart by vampires, and he could only stand and watch as the artery broke, sending blood gushing out."D'n..." He heard Sam call, words faint, no neck to place a hand to in his brother's usual mannerism of checking his own words. "Ahh..."Pain.Something that he would never usually admit to. Right there in front of him.The horrifying realisation that his brother was hurting, and close to tears ripping somewhere deep inside him.The vampires threw Sam down to the ground before dragging him off through the cave.He watched as Cas screamed out, a blur of beige as he sprinted after them.Finally managing to throw the vamp off him, he stabbed it in one blow before grabbing his gun and shooting the other.His legs felt like rubber as he took a few steps forward.Cas reappeared from the tunnel looking broken. The angel's gaze fell to the ground before he stopped, and crouched picking something up with great care and slipping it into his pocket before returning to his feet."Cas...""I- I can't find him.""No!" He screamed, trying to pass the angel standing in front of him."Dean-" Cas halted him, keeping him back."Cas... you can't do this, he's your...""I know, but Dean...""But nothing, it's Sam.""Dean-""What?!""I can't feel him anymore..."Dean breathed heavily as he looked at the angel with a confused stare."What do you mean you can't feel him? What does that mean?""He's gone."Dean shook his head."No... No...""Dean, we have to go." Cas grabbed his friend and bustled him towards the exit of the cave, a tear trickling down his own cheek as daylight came into view.Gasping awake, Sam winced as the bright sunlight blinded him. Fumbling upright, he rose a hand to his neck, patting down the skin to find no wounds at all. Furrowing an eyebrow, he looked around the room to find Lucifer sat against the wall."Guh!" He cried out, backing away."Heya, Sammy." Lucifer grinned.Cas risked a glance at his friend as he walked alongside Gabriel bringing up the rear of their now smaller group.Dean hadn't spoken a word since they'd left the cave.Increasing his pace a little, the angel caught up to him."Dean."Dean continued walking, eyes tracking to him."You should have this."Cas took the object from the pocket of his trench before handing it like fragile goods to the eldest Winchester.Dean looked at it, stopping dead in his tracks.One of Sam's hearing aids. Boring brown plastic.They weren't even his good pair. The ones he liked. These were the ones Sam would wear on hunts just in case they got ruined.He'd died in these, not the ones he loved.Dean could picture them on the sidetable in Sam's room at the bunker. Aquamarine plastic with a translucent turquoise earmold.Like many times before, tired and beaten up, they limped into some rundown clinic Sam had found in some no name town off the highway in search of a new pair of hearing aids after the youngest Winchester's last set had met their demise at the hands of some monster they were hunting.Sam made his way over to the desk to grab a leaflet."Can I help you?" A woman asked as she walked down the corridor.Dean smirked as his little brother kept on reading, oblivious."He's deaf.""Oh, apologies." She smiled. "How does he?""Oh." Dean realised what she was asking before stamping his foot on the floor.Sam looked up eyes tracking between both him and the woman before 'oh' appeared on his lips too."Sorry."The woman shook her head."No problem, sweetheart. What can I do ya' for?""Hearing aid replacement.""Okay, do you have insurance?"Sam nodded, grabbing the wallet from his pocket and producing the fake card.Dean wandered around the clinic, a selection of colours caught him eye on the far wall. Walking over, it was a colour chart."You've already done a hearing test then?"He took out a results card from his wallet as well before handing it over."Thank you, that is fine."She walked around to the computer and began typing."So, just the standard?"Dean walked over. 'Look this'Sam followed him to the chart."Oh yes, those are our options for colour customisation. There's not much you can't do with those things nowadays, it's quite remarkable, and they look so pretty."Sam winced at the word pretty, knowing his brother would probably taunt him about that later. He then shook his head."No thanks, fine with normal.""Oh come on, live a little, Sammy. They'll look good on ya', and anyway, you could always have two sets.""We not afford that, D'n.""I don't care.""He's right you know, you could have a standard set for heavy wear and then a customised pair for the everyday." The woman smiled.Sam didn't know how to feel. The most adventurous his hearing aids had ever been were red or blue, two other very standard colours. Looking at the bright colour combinations of all shades of the rainbow, he felt odd and out of place. He had always wanted them to look less elderly when he was younger, but money was tight, and the bottom of the range were the best he could expect, and so he'd just gotten used to them. Now, looking at glittery and translucent earmolds he found himself smiling.His younger self was right, the future was awesome, and so were the things it brought with it."Go on." Dean smiled.Sam grinned.Closing his hand gently around the hearing aid, Dean felt a tear trickle down his cheek."He hated these ones.""I know." Cas answered, softly, voice hoarse and grief filled.Lucifer's finger ran down his ear causing him to wince, slapping it away quickly."You're very forgetful. Always losing these things over and over.""Not touch me." Sam walked out of the structure he'd woken up in, the devil following too close behind. He can feel the knife he keeps hidden in his boot but knows that the chances of managing to arm himself with it while not alerting Lucifer to his efforts are non-existent. The weapon taunting him with every step."What's wrong, Sammy?""No- you not get call me that.""What is your problem? After all the nice things I've done for you, like, for example, bringing you back to life, this is you repay me?""I not owe you anything."Lucifer closed the gap between himself and Sam, the youngest Winchester's back hitting the wall. The archangel moved closer, face horrifyingly close to his own."You owe me everything, you just don't remember how to be obedient." Lucifer traced a finger down Sam's cheek causing him to shiver."Stop...""Awww, does baby Sammy not like that?" He mocked. "Then tough fucking luck, okay?! You, you are going to do what I say, are we clear?"Sam took a breath, desperately trying to calm himself down. "Bite me."Lucifer smirked. "Kinky, bunk buddy."Sam looked horrified, throwing his arms out to shove the archangel away from him before moving away from the wall and down the path towards the forest."Hey, wait up!"Sam closed his eyes, trying to block out Lucifer's words as he fought back tears.Dean was pacing back and forth after having reached the settlement and locating Jack and Mary."Dean." Cas walked over."I need to go back out there and find his body."Cas took a breath. "Okay."Dean looked to him, not expecting that answer."I'll come with you.""Thank you." He nodded before pausing. "Cas?""Yes?""Back there, you said... you said that you couldn't feel him anymore so you knew he was gone."Cas took a few seconds before nodding. "That's right.""Can you still not feel him?""I can't feel anything right now, to be honest. The angel warding from a few miles back, it has drained me quite considerably.""But in that cave, he was definitely.""He passed, Dean, I'm sorry."Dean shook his head. "It's not your fault.""Don't think it's yours either."The eldest Winchester winced. "He died alone and scared surrounded by vampires. He bled out, Cas... that..." He took a breath. "That is a horrible way to go.""It was quick.""He called out for me because he was terrified, and I couldn't save him. That's my job, Cas, he's my little brother.""That's why we need to go and find his..." Cas refused to say the word. "Him. So he's not alone anymore."A metallic sound rang out through the camp.Dean furrowed an eyebrow."There!" One of the civilians shouted, pointing towards the trees.A few seconds later, the eldest Winchester gasped, all air from his lungs leaving him as he took in the sight before him.There, was his little brother, walking towards the camp."Sammy."