While he ate Dean listened intently as the hunters discussed what they would need to perform the spell. He did not like one bit how they described the difficulty in procuring some of the items for it. If an angel would “help” them in this then their chances would be significantly increased, the young man did not deny that. But if doing this spell meant that they had to wait to go to Sam… he was almost ready to insist that they not wait to do the spell and go now.

Two days? Just to get everything and then another half a day to perform the spell? Did they have any idea how long two days would be for Sam? His brother had already been in the demon’s hands for three weeks and Sam was barely hanging on by a thread!

Dean glared a little at Bobby when the older man helpfully “reminded” him how weak he was. The worst of it was, he knew the older man was right. He was in no shape to face even a few low level demons much less Azazel himself… and maybe even Sam… He had to rest, he had to recover, and he had to do it quickly.

Sam… if he couldn’t go to Sam now he wished he could at least go to his brother in insubstantial form, if only to help Sam hold on… but Azazel had already “warned” him if he went to Sam then his brother would pay dearly for it. The thought of how Sam was paying for it now, how he had watched Sam pay for it, brought tears to his eyes once more but Dean stubbornly held them back.

His father’s question of whether or not the angel might “smite” Dean simply because he had Azazel’s blood in him didn’t really surprise him, but at the same time it did. Maybe it was more the older man’s declaration that he wouldn’t sacrifice Dean for Sam. Frankly, Dean didn’t care. If his death was what it took to save Sam then it was a price he would pay without hesitation.

“I don’t know much about angels. Azazel taught me many things, but those topics certainly weren’t his top priorities.” Dean told the hunters. “But, it will know my blood is human as well. Angels are forbidden from harming humans unless absolutely necessary or ordered by heaven.”

The lie fell surprisingly easy from his lips. He might have some human blood in his veins but most of it was demonic. Azazel had seen to that.

Jim all but bit his tongue at Dean's proclamation an angel wouldn't hurt a human. He supposed in a round about way it wasn't exactly a lie. They would attempt to smite any demon in their presence. If the angel judged the demon blood contaminated Jim and Dean, the angel might well 'follow the will of Heaven' and smite them. Being that they were human, it was possible the angel might purify them of their demon blood, in which case both Dean and he would be useless in the fight if demonic skills were needed. Certainly not dismissing Bobby and John's aid, but both he and Dean had an edge with their demon blood. He gave Dean a glare, telling the man he was calling 'bullshit' on his words, but he decided to let John believe the lie. If the spell summoned an arch-angel, both he and Dean were dead. Plain and simple. A lesser angel…hard telling. If he could convince Dean to pray with him, to beg for redemption, to beg for aid in rescuing Sam, they might well have less of a chance of being killed by the angel.

One advantage of summoning the angel with the spell was that the angel would potentially be contained, in the angelic equivalent of a devil's trap. They could have a chance to speak with the angel before it began avenging the fact it had been summoned by demon magic. He wondered briefly if summoning the angel might be taking it away from some important work such as watching over someone. While the hunter in him wondered if angels even bothered to watch over humans any more, the priest in him clung to his faith in the Lord. He would like to believe that the pain and suffering he had endured while a prisoner of the demon served more than just turning him to embrace God. The books that had come into his possession…already one spell had rescued Dean's soul from Azazel, assuming Bobby was correct that Sam now owned Dean's soul. Maybe this had all been part of God's plan. He tried not to question, but he was human and it was human nature to question.

"Bobby, put together the list of what we need in the way of bones and I'll get started on the research of what graves we need to dig up to get what we need. I don't suppose you know of anything that could help strengthen or help invigorate those of us with demon blood in our veins?"

Bobby gave a firm shake of his head. "Spent all my years trying to tear them down, not build them up. A pure demon? Yeah, I probably could. The things I know would kill the human part of you. Nothing I got would …well, maybe…I might be able to devise some hex bags that would give your demonic powers a bit more punch. That would be easy enough to test and shouldn't risk harming either of you so long as you didn't try anything big, just in case it turned around and bit you instead. I can try," Bobby said with a nod.

"My talents are pretty much limited to demonic spells, but even punching them up a bit could help," Jim said with a nod.

"Dean, while we might use your blood, I think it best if I do the summoning," Jim continued. Being a priest I'm less likely…it might be more willing to listen to me. I'll bring the spell and if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to go through it, make sure that I've translated everything properly. Aside from that, both you and John need as much rest and food as you can possible get. We don't have much time for the two of you to heal up. It's a shame neither of us can heal like Sam."

Dean met the pastor’s stare evenly, though his eyebrows narrowed just a fraction of an amount, almost daring the older man to call him out on his “lie”. He wasn’t all that surprised when he didn’t. The other man knew all too well that this was the best option at the moment to get Sam back, and that was all that mattered. They couldn’t let John Winchester’s foolish idealism get in the way of that, and it wasn’t the older man’s choice to make besides. It was likely he would die anyway, whether he was killed by an angel, Azazel or Sam himself… as long as it freed his brother he didn’t care. Though in truth, the most likely outcome of this would be they all would die. But if that was the only option Dean hoped he would at least be able to give Sam peace before he drew his last breath.

John wasn’t blind and he definitely wasn’t an idiot. He noticed the silent play between Dean and Jim and instead of reassuring him he only grew more fearful for his son. It made him want to call an end to all this talk about summoning an angel and come up with another plan but anything else might take even more time, would be less effective, and Sam…

God damn it…

He would just have to trust. How could he ask his son to trust him if he wouldn’t trust Dean? But even without all the things Bobby and Jim had told him about Dean it was obvious that the young man would do anything for Sam. Would lay his life down to save his brother in a heartbeat and… John simply didn’t know if he could survive the loss of his son again… either of his sons. He had just gotten Dean back, only to lose Sam. He couldn’t lose Dean again. He couldn’t lose Sam. John prayed to god and his beautiful wife to give him the strength to save his boys.

The young man went back to eating his food but he looked up and nodded slightly when Jim suggested that he not be present when they performed the spell. Like the angel wouldn’t know he was in the damned house. It almost made him want to roll his eyes, but he didn’t. He wanted to be there, just to make sure they didn’t fuck up the spell, but if he wasn’t there was maybe a slightly less chance the angel would kill him instantly just because of his demon blood. He nodded again when the priest suggested he translate the spell, again, just to make sure they wouldn’t fuck it up.

Dean didn’t answer the other man’s comment about Sam’s healing, turning his attention back to his plate. Trying not to think about how Sam’s ability to heal was only making him able to endure torture for longer and far more frequently…