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Chapter 49: The Devil You Know

A/N: Sorry it's so late in the day. We're on vacation (Woot woot). But I haven't had access to wifi, so...late update it is!

"Here's the deal," you said to Crowley, your hands on his wrists that were cuffed to the arms of the chair. "You're going to help us in the fight against Abaddon."

He scoffed at you, but you didn't allow him the time to talk and refuse. "Find a way to summon her, help us hunt her down."

"Are you bloody insane?" he shouted. "You don't find Abaddon if she doesn't want to be found. She finds you, and the end result is never a good one."

"Help us kill her and we'll set you free," Dean said, stepping forward and standing by your side. Sam made a noise behind you, but didn't say anything. You knew he disagreed with Dean, but at this point what choice did any of you really have?

"If I help you," Crowley smirked and it was a look you didn't trust. "No demon cuffs."

"No," Dean replied immediately.

"Dean, can we talk?"

He glared at Crowley and looked at you with a nod. You pulled him off to the back corner with Sam and Charlie. You didn't know how you were going to convince them, but you knew you had to at least try.

"We have to take the chance," you said, looking between everyone. "It's risky, but we have to. If we let Crowley go, he can get with some of his demons loyal to him. We could get dirt on Abaddon and find out what she's up to. I don't see any other options."

"The point of having him here is so he doesn't walk freely," Dean answered.

"Um, Dean," Sam interjected. "The point of capturing Crowley was to use him. I hate the idea as much as you do, but Y/N has a point."

Dean shook his head, angry that he was not winning. You wished you could side with him, because he was right. Agreeing to completely free Crowley was risky and stupid. Being a demon, there was an excellent chance he wouldn't help you at all after he was free. But it was a chance you were willing to risk. If nothing else, maybe Abaddon could focus on hunting Crowley instead of wreaking havoc on humanity.

You laced your fingers with Dean's and squeezed his hand for reassurance. "We can make this work for our benefit. And if something doesn't go our way, we'll figure it out."

"You guys always do," Charlie chimed in. "No matter how often the plan changes for the worst, you figure it out."

"Besides," you said, "after it's all said and done, we can kill him."

"Fine. Let's go make us a deal," Dean said.

Hands still clasped together, you and Dean confronted Crowley once again. "No demon cuffs on the account that you help us find and kill Abaddon."

"No more capturing me to be your little pet, either," he spat.

"And," Dean says fiercely. You look up at him with wonder. What other condition could there be? You thought it was all covered. "You will not send hounds after Y/N when her deal is officially over."

His hand tightened around yours and didn't let up. The fact that he thought to demand your freedom from Crowley when you hadn't meant the world to you. It meant he truly cared.

Crowley rolled his eyes. "Fine. It's done. Now let me go."

Sam walked forward with a set of keys and Dean backed you up, pulling you close into his side as you watched on. He seemed to be rather protective all of the sudden, like he was afraid Crowley was going to immediately attack you. You would be lying if you said you didn't enjoy him being protective over you.

Sam cautiously unlocked Crowley's cuffs. The demon glared at Sam and rubbed his wrists. You never gave a thought the handcuffs hurting Crowley but watching him now it was clear they did. Maybe it was because of the etchings on the cuffs. You couldn't be sure.

"We're going to the library to brainstorm," Sam told Crowley. "The second you pull anything, we will kill you."

"Blah blah blah." Crowley mimicked Sam with his hand. "Let's just get this disaster over with."

The group of you walked into the library. Dean kept a tight grip on your hip. You walked slow to get a minute to talk to him.

"Hey, is everything okay?" you questioned. "You seem really tense."

"Oh, I seem tense? Maybe that's because there's a freaking demon roaming around the bunker. Maybe it's because he has the power to hurt you now. Maybe it's because I've finally let you in, and every time I do that it ends badly. There's a lot of variables against you right now."

You leaned up on your tip toes and hesitated for just a moment before giving him a quick, soft kiss. "You should know by now I'm stubborn. I'm not going anywhere. Everything's going to be fine."

He gave you a tight smile. "I don't trust him. Especially not with you."

"Well lucky for you, he doesn't have me. And he won't. I promise. Nothing will happen to me." You smiled to change the subject. "Now, buck up. Be that closed off, tough hunter I met at the beginning."

Dean let out an airy laugh, shook his head, and walked to join the others in the library. You followed closely behind. You were pretending not to be worried, and you weren't. Not at first. But then Dean had to go and be all worried, and it made you feel paranoid.

"I'm open for ideas," Sam said, throwing his hands up in the air like he'd exhausted every option in the small time you were talking with Dean.

"Surely Crowley still has a few straggling followers in Hell, right?"

The demon scoffed. "A few? My subjects have probably been dying for me to get back."

"Right," Dean said with a sarcastic smirk.

"Anyway," you shot Dean a glance. The last thing you needed was to be sarcastic with Crowley when he was supposed to be helping you. "If you could ask around and figure out where Abaddon is, we could all go together and create a distraction while one of us shoots her with the demon trap bullet and then...ya know. Dismember her."

"It may not be the most solid plan," Charlie said, "but it's a plan and I'm down."

Your eyes shifted between the guys in the room, waiting for an answer. Did you propose a good enough plan, or were they going to shoot it down?

"Fine, yeah," Dean said. Sam nodded in agreement.

"Crowley," Sam asked.

"I'm not doing this for you," he clarified. "TheKing needs to reclaim his throne."