Author's note: So I know that in a few days this story will be AU, but I had to get it started before Season 10 aired as it's been floating around in my head for a while. I think this will be a much darker side of Deanmon than the one we'll see on the show. A later chapter will be MUCH darker, but I'll give you plenty of warning.

P.S. I don't have a beta so all mistakes are my own.

It's always darkest before the dawn

"Sometimes you have to confront your demons and sometimes even let them loose to genuinely find a place where you can gain some understanding" - Peter Mullan

"Human beings, we have dark sides; we have dark issues in our lives. To progress anywhere in life, you have to face your demons" - John Noble

Sam sat at his usual desk in the library with his head in his hands. Reading by the dim glow of the table's lamp was usually a comfort, but for the past six months Sam's research had gotten him no where and it was making his eyes hurt.

He scrubbed a hand over his face and stretched out his tense jaw, noting how desperate he was for a shave.

He slammed the massive book he had been reading shut with a sigh. Sam had spent months trying to find a way to reverse the effects of the Mark of Cain, trying to find anything that could help to bring his brother back, but he was coming up empty.

The few encounters they had had with "Dean" in his current stated had not ended well, it was clear that the demon was enjoying life without limits and was becoming more bloodthirsty as time went on. Even Crowley, the last time Sam and Cas had summoned him, was wary of the power Dean was acquiring, no doubt through fueling the First Blade's blood lust.

Sam growled in frustration, stood up quickly and swiped the entire contents of the table onto the floor with the back of his hand.

He gripped the edge of the table and let his head hang between his shoulders.

Castiel looked up from the pile of reference materials he was re-reading for the third time on the next desk.

"Don't, Cas. Just... Don't say it," Sam pleaded, not wanting a lecture right now.

The former angel placed the file he was holding down and rose from his chair. Stepping carefully around the piles of books stacked near the desks, he moved to stand beside Sam and placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

"I know you won't give up, Sam." Castiel said quietly. "Neither will I. We both want Dean back and for this whole thing to be over, but maybe you should take a break?"

Cas was right, they were working themselves into the ground. If When they find some clue to reversing the Mark, they will need to be on their A game if they have any chance of capturing Dean again.

Sam looked up into his friend's blue eyes and nodded. He straightened and clasped Cas on the shoulder,smiling his gratitude.

"Come on, I know it's too late for dinner and too early for breakfast but I'm sure there's something in the kitchen we can rustle up for brinner."

The pair stepped over and around the mess Sam had created on the floor and headed out of the library together.

"I've not heard this term 'brinner' before," Castiel frowned.

"Brinner, as in breakfast and dinner. You know, like breakfast and lunch is brunch."

"Hmm, it seems plausible."

Sam laughed at the fallen angel's response. They had become much closer in the last few months and Sam relished the camaraderie.

It had been awkward when Castiel first arrived at the Bunker, Sam had a lot of questions about what happened in heaven that Castiel wasn't ready to answer yet and Castiel was finding it hard to adjust to life without grace. Their common goal of getting Dean back had brought them together, and in time Castiel had opened up to Sam and Sam did his best to help Cas with any questions he had about being human, no matter how personal or embarassing.

Mostly they talked about Dean. It had started two weeks after Cas had fallen, landing outside the Bunker's front door with a plea to stay. Sam had welcomed him in with open arms, glad of a familiar face and a research partner. They didn't speak about Dean, both actively avoiding the subject, but both using the library's resources wordlessly to find answers or a cure to Dean's current state.

Two weeks passed without a mention of Dean or the demon, until the day Sam brought an apple pie home from the store with the rest of the groceries for the week. It was subconcious, he hadn't meant to buy a pie, it was a automated reaction left over from decades of living with his brother.

The pie sat on the kitchen table in front of Sam when Cas walked in. The former angel had blinked and sat himself down opposite the hunter, the pie directly between them.

"So–"

"Yep." Sam cut him off.

Neither spoke, just looking at the pie for what felt like hours, but was in reality only a few minutes.

"You know, Dean would be pissed, demon or not, if we let a perfectly decent pie go to waste," Sam said pushing a fork across the table.

"He would indeed be very angry, I think it's only right we eat this pie in his honour."

The elephant in the room was no more. The pair spent the next hour eating the accidental pie and telling each other stories about Dean, from the time he took Sam to hospital on the handlebars of his bike, to when Dean had taken Cas to the brothel.

Right now, Castiel was telling the story about the time he had shown up on the Impala covered in bees.

"The look on his face was very amusing, like an angry goldfish. Then he started shouting at me to get off the hood."

Sam laughed, he could imagine just how Dean would react if someone covered his cars in bees. He put an arm out and stopped Cas walking any further. "Hey, weren't you naked? Dean said you turned up naked once, covered in bees."

Castiel continued walking, his cheeks slightly flushed. "I may have been naked. I wasn't exactly compos mentis at the time."

"Jeez, Cas. Most people go skinny dipping for a bit of a thrill but naked with bees?! That's not advisa–"

Sam stopped mid-pace.

It couldn't be.

Silence. Maybe Sam was hearing things.

But no, there it was again.

Castiel, realising Sam had stopped, looked back and saw all the blood rush out of the taller man's face.

The sound of Smoke on the Water played faintly through the hall.

It was Sam's other other phone, the one only Dean knew the number for.

He turned tail and ran back to the library, Castiel on his heel. Skidding to a halt, he was down on his knees rummaging through the mess he'd made moments earlier searching for the phone. Finally he grabbed it and looked at the caller ID, he didn't recognise it.

"Should I answer it?" He asked, turning to Cas.

The fallen angel shrugged in response.

Hesitantly, Sam pressed the answer button and held the phone to his ear.

"Sammy?"

Sam's breath caught in his chest, his heart hammering.

"Sam! You there?" The voice sounded weak, tired and uncertain.

"Yeah, Dean. I'm here." Sam finally managed to speak. Castiel moved closer, trying to listen to what was being said on the other end of the phone.

"Sammy, I don't know what happened... I don't know where I am, there's nothing for miles but this pay phone." Dean sounded genuinely confused. Which confused Sam.

"Dean, what happened?"

"I don't know, I can't remember. I woke up here," Dean's voice faltered. "I'm hurt, Sammy."

"Okay, Dean. Hang on, we're coming to get you."

To be continued...