Disclaimer: Only the idea is mine. Supernatural and the characters therein belong to the actors, writers, directors, producers, and technicians that bring it to life. Rated T.

The phone call with Dean was brief.

"Hey, it's me. Hunt's done. I got it. I'm fine."

"Good, Sam. That's good." There was a pause and his brother asked, "Are you going to be back here tomorrow?"

Sam sighed. "Yeah. I'll be there. Home base. See you." He hung up without waiting for Dean's answer. Then he drove all night to get back to the house he called home base, the one he'd shared for a short time with Alexa, all those years ago.

Dean showed up with Lisa and Ben early in the morning. Sam gave them all a hug, talking to Ben about senior year in college and what graduate programs he was considering applying to. They continued to talk, and he let himself fall out of the conversation, pretending to listen. He noticed finally they'd stopped talking and were watching him.

"Sorry. Got distracted. You know what? I'm going to go outside for a while, sit by the fire pit. You guys stay here, we can have lunch later." He stood up and headed for the door.

"Sam." Dean said behind him.

"I'm fine, Dean. It's fine." He answered without turning around.

Out by the fire pit, he sat back in the chair and stared up at the sky. Will there be a falling star when they finish it? Will there be any sign at all she's gone? I know it's today, but when? What if it was last night, while I was driving? He wondered. His jaw clenched and he closed his eyes. Still hurts, he reflected. Still hurts as much as the day she died. She was right about that. It doesn't ever really go away. You just expand with the pain until it becomes your new normal. A gentle breeze brushed his hair off his face. It carried the smell of the pine trees and another scent: familiar, light and spicy. Fingertips caressed his cheek, traced his jawline.

Startled, his eyes snapped open and he bolted upright in the chair.

Alexa was standing beside him, smiling. The clothes were the same she was wearing on the day she died. She looked much the same as that day, except for her eyes. Her gray eyes were haunted with shadows and storm clouds. Castiel stood silently a few feet behind her.

"Oh my Sammy." She whispered to him. "It's so good to see you. But why are you out here all alone?"

He gasped. "Is it really you?" He glanced back at Castiel. "Did they – are you free? Are they letting you go?"

She took a deep, steadying breath, her smile wavering a bit. Shaking her head, she told him, "No. Cas asked to be the one who got me back from the Pit. He asked if he could bring me here to see you one more time and say goodbye before we finish up the deal. They said yes. I wasn't sure it was a good idea, but he thought it would be. And I admit it, I let him convince me, because I selfishly wanted to see you one last time." Sam looked over her shoulder at Castiel, who nodded his head once, solemnly.

"I'll come back later." He vanished.

Sam hesitated, then tentatively reached toward her hand. She entwined her fingers with his, laughing a little as tears began to slip from her eyes. "I've missed you so much, Winchester. Every day for over a thousand years." Grimacing at herself, she said, "I feel so stupid, crying this way when I'm really so happy to see you." Sniffling, she wiped away the tears on her cheeks.

He tugged her into his lap and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her face to his. He was relieved that although she looked somehow insubstantial, he could still feel the strength in her body. "Alexa," he whispered. She placed her hands on either side of his face, brushing his hair back with her fingertips again. "Ástin mín," she whispered back. "You still need a haircut."

He laughed. "You know, I did look that up. Even before you died. That and the other thing you always used to call me. It means my love. The other one means handsome."

"I knew you'd get around to it eventually, Stanford. And you are."

"Which one?"

Her tears fell a little faster and she smiled a little harder. "Both, of course. Silly Sam." She leaned down and kissed him gently, the softest of touches. Then she whispered against his lips, "I still love you. Never stopped. I thought of you every day while I was gone."

In answer, Sam wrapped his hands up in her hair, pulling her closer, kissing her hard, urgently. "I've missed you so much. You can't leave. I love you."

"Shh. Hush now, love. It's going to be okay." She pulled his head to her shoulder and pressed her cheek against his hair. "I just wanted you to know that it was all worth it. All the choices I made, I don't regret them. The year I spent with you was the best one of my life, Sam. Remembering you, knowing that you were safe? It kept me sane down there. No matter what they did, they couldn't touch me, not really. Because I knew you were safe. I know that it hurt you and for that I'm so, so sorry. But not for the rest of it. I love you. No matter what happens to me now, that will never, ever change. I love you, Sam Winchester. So much."

"Please don't go."

"I have to. If I don't go when Cas comes back, then I break the deal and this was all for nothing. The last ten years, everything we went through would be for nothing. I'm not going to do that."

He looked at her determinedly. "Then Cas needs to take me too. I'll go with you. I can't lose you again. It hurts too much. Only losing Dean hurt more, but I got him back. You never came back. And you can't come back from what they're going to do to you. I don't want – I can't do this again. I thought I'd learned to live with it. Guess I was wrong." He turned pleading eyes up at her, breathing hard and shallow.

Alexa bit her lip and shook her head. "I shouldn't have come. I'm making this worse for you. I'm sorry. You can't come, Sam. You have to let me go."

"The first year without you... I woke up every morning wondering how they were torturing you, what kind of pain you were feeling. I still do, a lot of mornings. Sometimes, on a case with demons, I'd ask if they knew you. Where you were, how you were. But I couldn't ever believe what they said. I still ask, sometimes. And I still never believe them."

Whatever answer Alexa had planned to make was interrupted by a loud whoop. She looked over toward the house and saw a tall young man racing over to them.

"Is that Ben?" She asked Sam.

"Yep. It's him." Sam pushed her up out of his lap and stood himself.

Alexa took a few tentative steps in Ben's direction. When he reached her, he grabbed her in a hug and twirled in a circle, laughing. After about a dozen circuits, he put her down again.

"Look at you. You're all grown up!" She grasped his chin and tilted his head from one side to the other.

"Ten years will do that to a kid." Ben said, smiling. "What are you doing back? I thought..." He paused to look at Sam, who shook his head.

"Just a quick visit, in between. Cas dropped me off."

Ben looked around the yard. "Castiel was here?"

Lisa and Dean joined them, staring openly at Alexa. Dean spoke first. "Is it you? What happened?"

"Cas brought me. He thought I might want to say goodbye. He'll be back later. I'm starting to think it wasn't such a good idea though."

"What? Why?" Lisa asked.

"You've all moved on." She looked at Ben. "Grown up. Being here is just a reminder of things you're better off forgetting."

"Alexa, shut up." Dean said jokingly. "We've got this time with you and we're taking it. End of story." He stepped forward and placed his arms around her in a gentle hug. He squeezed tighter after a moment, turning it into a bear hug.

"Missed you." He whispered into her ear.

"Missed you back." She said.

Lisa spoke up. "My turn for hugs, please." She poked Dean in the shoulder and he transferred Alexa over to Lisa's waiting arms. The other woman embraced her, smiling.

"It's so good to see you."

Alexa pulled away, stepping closer to Sam. "It's wonderful to see you all, but I feel terrible. I don't want you to think this is a reunion. I can't stay. Cas is coming back for me. Coming was a mistake, I should have just left you to your lives. I'm sorry." She rested a hand on Sam's chest. "I'm sorry. I should go." She started to call Castiel's name, but Sam placed his hand over her mouth and pulled her against him.

"You're here. Stay until he comes to get you. Please. Just stay as long as you can."

Wide-eyed, she nodded and he took his hand away from her mouth. He wrapped his arm around her and asked, "Anything special you'd like to do?"

"Just be here, with all of you." She replied.

Alexa spent the day listening to stories of the last ten years. No one asked about what had happened to her, and she didn't volunteer anything. Except once. She got up to get a drink in the kitchen and Dean followed.

"Hey, little sister. Tell me it wasn't that bad. Lie to me."

Her answering smile didn't reach her eyes. "It wasn't that bad. I got through it."

He studied her face for a moment, waiting. She met his eyes, knowing he was waiting for the truth now. She shook her head a bit.

"How bad?" He asked.

"Bad," she whispered. "I think I went insane a few times. I never knew it was possible to feel that kind of pain. But thinking of Sam, and all of you brought me back. Leaving today, this will be the hard part. Please don't tell Sam."

"I won't." He looked at her with serious, sad eyes for another long moment, then kissed her on the cheek.

Shortly after dinner, Lisa nudged Dean and motioned to Ben.

"We're going to go. Give you two time to say goodbye. We'll be back later."

"You don't need to leave." Alexa was blushing.

"Yeah, we do. There are things you and Sam might want to talk about that we don't need to be here for. We'll come back in a few hours to say goodbye. Call if Cas shows up before we get back."

They each gave Alexa a hug, then left. She made a quick face at Sam.

"That was embarrassing."

"Mm-hmm." He murmured, stepping closer to her.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Lots of things. But for now, just this," he said, gathering her in his arms and bending his head to kiss her. It was a long, lingering kiss, wistful and melancholy. She rested her head against him, softly pressing her lips to his neck.

"Sam, I'm not sure this is a good idea. I don't want to make this any harder for you."

A huge grin covered his face.

She shook her head at him, but smiled a little. "Pervert. Stop channeling Dean for a second. I'm being serious. Coming here... maybe I shouldn't have. I don't want to make this worse. This was a mistake. You've moved on and I'm dragging you back into the past." She made a grunt of frustration and turned from him.

He moved up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She jumped a little, then relaxed into his embrace.

"It doesn't make it worse. You got through it. Ten years down there. And I get to see you again. Maybe it will hurt more later, to lose you a second time. I don't know. Right now, you're here and I'm happy and I don't want to waste it."

She huffed at him. "That isn't what you said earlier. I'm just worried, Sam. Worried about what this will do to you. I'm such an idiot. I thought maybe, somehow, if I saw you one last time... Such an idiot."

"No, you aren't. Here. Put this on." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black pouch. Opening it, he slid Alexa's necklace into his palm.

"You kept that?" Shock laced her voice.

"Of course." He fastened the clasp and let the necklace rest against her collarbone. Then he bent and swept her into his arms.

"Hey! Put me down."

"In a second." He carried her up to the bedroom and placed her on the bed. He reached for the buttons of his old shirt and eased it from her shoulders.

"I love you," he told her.

"Love you too, Sam." She answered.

A few hours later, Sam was back out by the fire pit, alone again. Castiel had come moments before to take Alexa and conclude the deal. As soon as Alexa was gone, Sam had left everyone behind in the house and gone out to stare up at the stars.

There was a rustle and he turned his head, looking into Castiel's blue eyes. Without speaking, Castiel held out his palm. Alexa's necklace dangled from his fingers.

In deep, sonorous tones, the angel said, "She wanted you to have this."

Sam tucked it into his shirt pocket.

"Was it quick?"

Castiel sat in the seat beside him. "Yes. It was. There was no pain for her."

"Good. That's good." Sam fixed his eyes on a particularly bright star, fighting tears. He could cry for this fresh loss later, when he was alone. Then he would expand to hold it inside and go on living, the way she would have wanted.

"There's one more thing you should know."

"What's that?"

"Something brought her back."

Sam's heart skipped, then steadied. He sat up a little in the lounger. "What?"

"Alexa was destroyed. But something brought her back together. She's in Heaven. No angel could have done that, Sam."

"So someday, maybe?" His voice choked a little as he looked at Castiel hopefully.

The angel smiled. "She told me to tell you to take your time. Live first. She'll wait."

A bright and melancholy laughter filled the darkness, rising up to join the stars.