Like a Virgin

Dean had called to tell me that they had gotten Sam's soul back, anyway, thanks to a deal with Death.

Sam was unconscious in Bobby's panic room.

Dean stood with folded arms outside the door, tapping his fingers against his arm.

I walked toward Dean, rolling down my sleeves.

"Well?" Dean asked.

"His soul is in place," I answered.

"Is he ever gonna wake up?" Dean asked.

"I'm not a human doctor, Dean," I told him.

"Could you take a guess?" Dean asked.

"Okay," I told him. "Probably not."

"Oh, well, don't sugarcoat it," Dean told me sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, Dean, but I know you overheard me when I warned Sam not to put that back inside him," I told him. Dean looked confused to how I knew that. "Celestial being with super powers."

Dean shook it off. "What was I supposed to do? Let T-1000 walk around, hope he doesn't open fire?"

"Let me tell you what his soul felt like when I touched it," I told him. "Like it had been skinned alive, Dean. If you wanted to kill your brother, you should have done it outright."

I disappeared, leaving.

*

I was surprised when I heard Sam calling. "Octavia, um... I'm back. So, if you got a minute..."

I came to the motel where he was alone. "Sam. It's so good to see you alive."

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "You, too." I walked closer, wrapping my arms around him. Sam was surprised, but returned it anyway. "Wow. Okay. Hi." I pulled away, looking at him in slight confusion. Sam decided to change the subject. "Um, that was a crazy year, huh? I—I—I just talked to Bobby. He—He told me everything that happened."

"Frankly, I'm surprised that you survived," I told him. "I was begging you not to do it, but you did it anyway."

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "Look, I—I—I'm sorry. I just... It was just something I had to do, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," I answered. "You know what else I know? It's a miracle it didn't kill you."

Sam nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, it's a miracle, all right."

"So, how does it feel?" I asked.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Well, to have your soul back, of course," I answered.

Sam took a moment to respond. "Right. Y—You mean 'cause I was walking around with no soul. Uh... Really good, Tavia. I'm real good. You know what? I'm—I'm just hazy on a few of the details, though. Um..." He sat down at the table. "You think maybe you could... walk me through?"

*

Sam took in everything that I had told him, but it was only a few things.

I hadn't told him everything, because I was thinking that he didn't know. I only told him a few to test him.

Sam looked like he was processing, as if nothing was coming back to him.

"Let me guess," I told him. "You don't remember anything from the past year, do you?"

Sam cleared his throat nervously, chuckling. "What are you talking about? Of course I remember. It's just... Like I told you, I was just hazy on a few things. That's—that's all."

I nodded sarcastically, standing, stepping closer, leaning closer to kiss Sam for a long moment, surprising him, pulling back to look at his shocked face. "So, you're telling me that you remember all of that?"

Sam sighed, chuckling nervously, slightly embarrassed. "Busted." I leaned back against the table behind me. Sam looked up at me. "So, you and me..."

"Wouldn't say it was anything serious, because you didn't have a soul, but, uh... you could say that," I told him.

Sam took a deep breath, nodding. "Tell me more."

"No," I told him.

"What?" Sam asked. "Why not?"

"Sam, you don't know for a reason, and I'm guessing it's because Dean found some way to protect you from your memories of the cage, and while doing so, it made you forget the last year," I told him. "I'm not gonna tell you when it could ruin that and have it all tumbling back, because you could get a fate worse than death." I hesitated for a moment, shaking my head. "I won't do it. Goodbye, Sam."

I disappeared, leaving.