Lucifer's Bride

Chapter 13

Sam wakes up to see a shadowy figure standing by the door. He glances over at Dean's bed next to him. No, he's still there. Who is this and why are they in his room? Unless...
Sam sighs. "Cas, what are you doing here? It's 2 in the morning. Let us sleep."
"Mmn, wrong angel," they say, stepping into the light.
"Who are you?" Sam demands, staring at the man. He's about Sam's height-which is a big accomplishment, he notes-with short hair and an evil grin on his face.
"Aw, come on, Sammy, don't recognize me? You did set me free, after all."
Sam's eyes go wide as he sits up quickly. "Lucifer? H-How did you find me?" he demands, stuttering a little out of surprise. Then it hits him. "You didn't find me. This is a dream. You're not real."
"Close, but not quite," Lucifer tells him, pacing the floor slowly. It's not a nervous type of pacing, but a dominant one, as if he feels he has complete control over the situation. "Yes, this is a dream, but I'm very real. This is the only way I can see you, because of that silly warding spell on your ribs. But that doesn't matter right now. We need to talk, Sam."
"Funny, I don't really feel the need to talk to the devil," Sam replies icily.
"Sam, Sam, Sam," Lucifer says as if he's disappointed in the boy. "You do need me. And I need you, too."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm saying you're special. Chosen. We are meant to be together, Sam."
Realization dawns on him. "I'm your vessel?" he says quietly.
Lucifer nods. "Yes, Sam. You're my vessel. My true vessel. I need you. Together, we can do anything. We can take over this pathetic excuse for a world. We can protect your family. Your brother, Bobby, Castiel. Everyone you care about can be saved. All you have to do is say 'yes.'"
Sam shakes his head. "No, never. I would never agree to that. I will find you, and when I do, I will kill you, just like I do with every other monster I see."
Lucifer sighs. "Of course. That's understandable. You must have heard so much about me, but-"
"Don't give me your sob story," Sam interrupts. "'Daddy doesn't love me, it's not my fault,' blah blah blah. Save it. I don't want to hear it. The answer is 'no,' Lucifer. The answer will always be 'no.'"
Lucifer frowns. "Okay, Sam, if that's how you see it. One day you will change your mind, though, and when you do, I will be there. See you then, Sammy." He winks and disappears.

Sam bolts upright in his bed, breathing heavily. What just happened? Was that just a nightmare? It had to be, right? No way would Lucifer contact him in a dream. Sam isn't a vessel. He can't be a vessel. He definitely isn't Lucifer's vessel.
"Hey, Sammy, what's up?" Dean greets him as Sam walks in the room. Bobby is seated at the table, reading books on God knows what while Dean stands by and drinks a beer. They both look over when he comes in.
"Hey, uh, Dean," Sam says hesitantly. Should he ask? If it's true, there's no going back from this. Still, they both know where having secrets gets them. "Remember when you first met Cas last year?"
Dean nods slowly. "Yeah..."
"You said he came to you in a dream, right?"
Dean nods again. "Not the first time I met him, but yeah, occasionally. Why?"
Sam sighs, questioning whether he wants to continue. Does he tell them? Of course; he has to. He can only hope what just happened wasn't real, and that they can prove it. Sam won't be able to rest until he knows it for a fact.
"Well, um, last night..." he begins, swallowing hard as he gets up the nerve to see what they say. "I had a dream."
"Yeah, I had a dream too," Dean tells him. "And damn, those girls were hot." He chuckles to himself, recalling his memory fondly.
"Well, in the dream, I met Lucifer."
Bobby's eyes go wide. "You did what?"
"I wasn't trying to!"
"Was it real?" Bobby asks. "Was it really Lucifer?"
Sam shrugs. "I-I don't know. He said that it was a dream but that he was real. It might not have been, though."
"Well, if it is, we better move," Bobby says. "Because Lucifer found us."
Sam shakes his head. "No. Uh, he said he came to me like that because he couldn't find us, actually."
"Then why does it matter?" Dean asks. "Whether it was real or not, the devil can't get to us. I'd say we're pretty safe. Why worry about it?"
"That's not all he said," Sam tells them. The others look at him expectantly, and Sam takes a deep breath before he finishes his thought. "He told me that I'm his vessel."
Sam can read the shock on their faces clearly. No one speaks for a moment while they process this information. Finally, Dean breaks the silence.
"You're his vessel," he repeats. "You are the devil's vessel."
Sam nods. "Seems like it."
Dean shakes his head as he starts pacing back and forth. "No. No, you are not his vessel," he declares. "You are not Lucifer's vessel. Because I'm Michael's vessel, and Michael and Lucifer want to fight, big time. There is no way Michael and Lucifer are fighting as us, because that means that one of us dies!" He tells the last part, slamming his beer down on the table. Softer, he adds, "Neither of us are dying, Sammy. Not this time."
"We still don't know if this is real at all," Bobby reminds them. "Dean we do know is Michael's vessel, but Sam may not be."
"Well, if I'm not, then you can bet he's already got his real vessel," Sam says. "Which one's worse? Lucifer without a vessel that wants me, or Lucifer that already has one, and he's already planning how to destroy the world as we speak?"
Dean purses his lips. "Either way, I think what we have to do is pretty clear," he says finally. "We've got to ice the devil."