Fic: Angelic Revenge for brihana25
Type of Submission: Fiction
Title: Angelic Revenge
Author: seramercury
Recipient: brihana25
Rating: PG-13 (violence and language)
Warnings: strong violence
Author's Notes: Thanks to for a great prompt list! Also, thank you so much to my beta reader and partner in crime, scarletsherlock! You’re awesome, bb!
Summary: Sam and Castiel find Dean after a barfight that he lost - badly - and go looking for revenge.
Sam Winchester was starting to get worried. The brothers had just taken care of a run of the mill haunting when they decided to swing by the bar before turning in. He suspected his brother Dean may have gone home with someone afterward but it was already 11 am and he had not returned. Sam had received no messages from him, by either text or voicemail, either.
Dean had seemed to be doing all right with his pool hustling and Sam had been exhausted, so he called it a night after finishing his beer. Now it was the next morning, and he was pacing in the motel room, wondering why his brother hadn't answered his phone.
He turned at the sound of wings fluttering to see Castiel standing there holding an unmoving form in his arms. Sam immediately knew who that form was and helped the angel set Dean on the bed.
"What the hell happened?" he exclaimed, taking in his brother's face and the blood seeping through his shirt.
"I don't know, Sam. I just felt that Dean needed help. I found him like that behind a bar."
Sam winced as he lifted the shirt. Black and blue bruising was everywhere and dried blood was caked over what was clearly a stab wound. "Cas, could you grab the first aid kit? It's in the bathroom."
Cas immediately returned with the kit as well as a wet washcloth. The first thing Sam grabbed was a pair of scissors. The t-shirt was ruined already. He was just glad it was a plain shirt and not Dean's AC/DC shirt. He would have been pissed.
Sam picked up the washcloth and wiped the blood from the cut under Dean's eye. Once his brother's face was cleaned off, Sam began to deal with the stab wound. As he did, Dean suddenly grabbed his hand, holding in a scream that was most likely about to erupt from his throat.
"Dean!"
"Damn it, Sammy!" he gasped out.
Sam looked up at Dean's face. His eyes were still closed, but the pain was evident on his face. "Sorry," he replied, continuing to clean the injury site, but being more careful now that Dean was awake. "Want to tell me what happened?"
"Kinda hard to breath," Dean admitted. "Feel like an elephant is sitting on my chest."
That sealed the unspoken decision to take Dean to the hospital. He knew his brother hated them which was why he hadn’t suggested one to Cas, but if Dean was having trouble getting a deep breath to speak then it must be pretty bad.
Sam and Castiel exchanged a glance, and without another word, the angel touched the brothers’ foreheads and they appeared in front of a hospital. The two half-carried Dean to the entrance.
"We need some help, please!" Sam exclaimed. It was then he realized that Dean had lost consciousness again.
A few nurses and a doctor immediately came forward. The doctor called out for a gurney as he checked Dean's pulse. "What happened?" he asked.
"We don't know. We just found him like this," Sam replied.
The medical team finally got Dean onto the gurney and began to work. The doctor kept shouting things that sounded a bit worrisome to Sam. He didn't have a medical degree but he did know what a collapsed lung was.
"Sir." Sam blinked, looking down at the nurse who was standing there with a clipboard. "I'm sorry, sir, but we really need you to fill out this paperwork. Do you know this young man?"
Sam nodded as he took the board from her. "Yeah, he's my brother."
"He's in good hands," she replied with a tender smile. "Just fill that out and bring it up to front desk, okay?"
Castiel was still standing silently beside him as he filled out the papers. He finally spoke. "Why would anyone do something so horrible to another human being? It makes no sense."
"Your guess is as good as mine. I mean, honestly I've seen Dean antagonize people all the time, but never to a degree where someone would literally beat him within an inch of his life."
"An eye for an eye."
Sam looked up from the clipboard. "What?"
"Perhaps we should go, as Dean would say, 'old testament on their asses’?"
"Yeah," Sam replied, chuckling. "Something like that, but we need to figure out what happened first. You stay here and take Dean's phone."
Cas accepted the phone, but stared at in confusion. "How does this work?"
"When I call it will show my name. Just hit the button with the green phone. If it's anyone else, don't answer; just let them leave a message."
Sam walked over to the counter and handed the board to the nurse. "I gotta run out and make a few calls. That's our older brother over there. He's a bit slow, but I know he'll want to see Dean as soon as he can."
The nurse smiled. "I'll take care of him, personally," she replied. Sam wasn't in doubt since she seemed to be undressing Castiel with her eyes... Oh God he couldn't even think like that! He was an angel for fuck's sake!
"Uh... yeah. I shouldn't be gone too long. Thanks."
******
Sam drove to the bar where Castiel had found Dean. He had also called Bobby to explain what happened. The older hunter was just about ready to rip someone a new one, but unfortunately dealing with a case of his own, couldn’t meet up with them.
There didn't seem to be anyone at the bar just yet except for the bartender. What worried Sam more was the fact that the Impala was nowhere to be found. If someone had stolen Dean's most prized possession, he was going to flip.
When Sam entered the bar, he went straight to the bartender. "Hi. Do you remember me and my brother from last night?" he asked. "I was sitting over there and Dean was playing pool with some people."
"Yeah, I remember both of you. That brother of yours has some fine hustling skills. Well, I thought so, but the people he was playing with didn't."
Sam frowned. "What do you mean?"
"When your brother left I heard a bunch of them talking about teaching him a lesson. I followed them outside to make sure they didn't follow through with that threat."
"And they didn't?"
The man shook his head. "They talked to him for a bit, shook his hand, and then he left."
"You're sure about that?" Sam asked. The man nodded. "Then why did my friend find him behind the bar this morning, unconscious?”
"Hey man, I have no clue! I didn't see him when I opened this morning. I swear! If I had, I would've helped the guy! I don't want any problems here."
Sam sighed. "Sorry, I'm just worried about Dean. We got him to the hospital. He has a collapsed lung. Plus all those other injuries he got. Whoever beat him did a pretty good job of it."
"No problem. I got a brother too so I know how you must feel," the man replied. "How about a beer? It'll calm your nerves."
"No, thank you. I got to get back to the hospital. Thanks for your help, though."
Sam placed a 20 on the counter for him and left. He swung around to the back of the bar just to see what he could find. He knelt beside the dried blood he spotted on the pavement. He took a breath and looked up.
The Impala!
The car itself seemed to be in good shape. He opened the driver side door and looked around. There were signs of a struggle in there and more blood. It was everywhere-on the steering wheel, the seats, and the floor.
Dean must have been more injured than they thought. How much blood did he actually lose?
Sam nearly jumped when his cell phone rang. Glancing at the caller id, he was surprised to see Dean's name pop up. "Cas?" he said.
"Sam. The nurse helped me call you. She said it would be easier for her to do that since I am slow. What does that mean?"
"Don't worry about that right now. How's Dean?"
"They had to take him to surgery but the doctor seems confident that he will be all right. I trust him."
"He's lost a lot of blood, Cas."
"I know, but we couldn't tell before. How do you know?"
"I found the Impala. It's a mess," Sam replied, running a hand through his hair. "Whoever did this is definitely going to pay. Bobby is on his way and he should be here in about two hours. I'll meet you there after I clean the car."
Castiel was silent for a moment. "Sam, what does it mean when a woman asks you to meet her in the maintenance closet?"
******
Sam arrived at the hospital to see a nurse sitting very close to an uncomfortable-looking angel. He immediately walked over to them. "Cas."
"Sam!" he said a bit too excitedly, as he stood.
The nurse frowned as she looked back and forth between the two men. Sam smiled at her. "Thanks for looking after him," he told her. "He can get into trouble sometimes."
"It was no trouble at all," she said with a smile as she looked at Castiel.
"Could you check on my brother, please?"
Cas tilted his head at Sam, clearly confused as to what all the fuss was about. "Sam..."
"You wanna tell me what the hell happened?" Sam asked him. "Isn't it your job to protect Dean?"
"Merely set him in the right direction. I cannot control his actions or the actions of others," Cas replied.
Sam had half a mind to smack the angel upside the head, but he knew it would be counterproductive. He was worried about Dean at the moment. Once he knew his brother was going to be all right, he was going to get the story on how it happened first hand.
"Mr. Hagar," the nurse said. "Come with me, please."
Sam and Castiel followed her down the hall to the elevator. She explained that Dean was heavily sedated so he wouldn't even know they were there, and the doctor would go into more detail regarding his condition.
When they entered the room the shock was evident on their faces. The doctor smiled in sympathy. "Gentlemen, please come in," he said kindly.
It took a moment for Sam to even speak. "How is he, Doctor?"
"I'm not going to lie, Mr. Hagar; we nearly lost him twice during surgery. As it is, he lost a substantial amount of blood from the beating he took. Dean suffered some internal injuries that need a good amount of healing. It's going to be a slow-going process and he's going to feel it, too. The bruising goes through to the muscle. I don't suppose the police have caught the men who did this?"
Castiel said, "We did not involve the police."
The doctor raised an eyebrow, but Sam let out a small chuckle. "Of course we did, but they're out investigating the area where we found Dean."
"That's good to know," the doctor said. "I'm going to head off to do my rounds now. The nurses will notify me of any changes in his condition. As I said, he will be out of it for at least the next day or so."
Sam nodded. "Thank you, Doctor," he said, shaking the man's hand.
Once he was gone, Cas looked at Sam curiously. "Why did you lie to him about the police?"
"Because if I had, then we wouldn't be able to go after the bastards who did this! And we don’t want to raise suspicion.”
Castiel seemed thoughtful, but finally he nodded in agreement. "An eye for an eye, yes. I will be back."
Before Sam could even move there was a flutter of wings and the angel was gone. He sighed and moved to sit heavily on the chair. Sam leaned forward, elbows on his knees and head in his hands.
Dean had been through Hell and back, literally, and Sam didn't know how much more he could take. Apparently his brother was destined to save the Earth, as well. Yeah, no pressure there. Dean deserved so much more than the life they led.
"I found them, Sam."
Sam immediately stood. "What are we waiting for, Cas? I gotta grab my duffel from the Impala."
"I feel that our hands would be our best weapon."
There was a sudden flash of light and the two were standing on the porch of a run-down house. Sam peered into the window when he heard laughter inside. What he heard made him seethe angrily.
"That fucking idiot! I'm glad we left him bleeding to death in his sissy car," the tallest man said.
Sam was about to say something when there was another flash of light and Castiel was in the house again, holding the man by his neck.
He wasted no time himself as he rushed in, sending the first one coming towards him to the ground with one punch. As the next one advanced, Sam slammed his fist into his stomach and kept punching and punching. Sam lost all track of anything until he felt strong arms pulling him away.
"Cas?"
"I believe we were... successful, Sam," the angel replied, gesturing to the men on the floor. "I also need to drop you off and ask God for forgiveness. I hope you will do the same."
He barely had time to nod when Cas zapped him back to Dean's room. The angel did not remain. Sam was so lost in thought that he almost didn't hear Dean whisper his name. He immediately went to his side.
"You okay, Sammy?" he asked, trying to hide his own pain. "You have blood on your shirt."
Sam glanced down. It was the first time he noticed he had that guy's blood on him. "Oh yeah, Dean, I'm fine. This is yours."
"Oh."
"Why don't you try to get some rest?"
Dean wasn't going to be deterred from gaining answers apparently. "Sammy, what have you and Cas been up to?"
"Not much, really, just waiting for you to wake up. Watching the nurse flirt with Cas..." Dean raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't say anything. "What?" Sam asked with a chuckle. "No comment on that? I thought you would have something to say about it."
"Dude, still drugged up a bit here. I think I'm slow on the uptake."
Just as he said that, Castiel appeared. "That is was Sam told the nurse about me. He said I was his brother, but I was slow. What does that mean?"
Sam shrugged when Dean looked at him, and then replied, "It's nothing, Cas. So did you go into the maintenance closet with that nurse?" he asked with a grin.
"I asked Sam what that meant and he would not tell me."
Of course Dean has to tell him, Sam thought to himself.
"It just means she wants to have sex with you in there."
Castiel tilted his head. "Wouldn't a bed be more comfortable?"
******
It was nearly two weeks before the doctors allowed Dean to leave the hospital. Sam had a feeling they would have kept him longer if he hadn't been acting like such a pain in the ass. Not that he was really surprised there; Dean had always hated hospitals.
Sam glanced over at him as he drove. Dean was sleeping because of the pain meds. He didn't doubt his brother still needed the rest, but Dean also hadn't told them what happened. Sam didn't think it should bother him so much, but it did.
Dean would never risk his life for a fight over a dumb hustle. He would have just knocked the guys out and ran out the door without ever looking back. But this... there had to be more to it. When Dean woke up Sam was determined to have that conversation.
It would be another hour before he did and by this time Sam was exhausted so he had driven to a motel so they could sleep for the night. By then he knew Dean would be ready (and definitely willing) to drive. Once they were settled in the room, Sam spoke up.
"So are you ever gonna tell me what happened?"
Dean had just gotten comfortable on the bed and was reaching carefully for the remote control. "About what Sam? I can't help you if it burns when you pee. I wouldn't want to either."
"Dude that's disgusting."
He grinned, turning on the TV. "I know."
Sam grabbed the remote from his brother, turning it off. Dean forgot for a minute that he had cracked ribs that were healing and lunged for Sam, who caught him before he fell to the floor. "Take it easy, Dean!"
"If you hadn't fucking done that, this wouldn't have happened!" he exclaimed, holding his side as he clenched his teeth.
"And if you hadn't been hustling pool you wouldn't even have to worry about the fact that you almost died! Dean, just tell me what the hell happened that night! I know you! First off you can handle fighting and it seemed more like you didn't really want to fight and obviously didn't want to hurt the guys who beat the shit out of you!"
Dean leaned his head against the back board and closed his eyes for a minute before opening them and looking up at Sam. "It wasn't because I hustled them, Sam. It was because one of them tried hurt a young girl there. She just turned 21 and was there for her birthday. You remember she was wearing a fuzzy birthday crown."
"Oh yeah," Sam replied.
"Anyway, two of the guys I was playing pool with left the game. I was only half paying attention to them, but I also noticed that girl's friends were looking all over for her and those guys hadn't come back yet. I remember them saying something about her earlier and left the table to find them.
"I sure as hell did! They hadn't done anything to her yet, but she was freaked out and they were definitely going to do something. I yanked them both away and the girl ran. I didn't see her again, but those guys were fucking pissed off."
Sam shook his head. "Yeah, I could tell. When Cas brought you back to the hotel I was so ready to kill whoever did that to you."
"Wait, what?"
"You would have done the same,” Sam replied when he noticed he almost gave away what he and Cas had done.
Realization seemed to dawn on him. "Sammy, what did you guys do?"
Sam shrugged. “Nothing, everything’s all right.”
“You do know that I can tell when you’re lying, little brother.”
“I know, Dean,” he said.
Title: Angelic Revenge
Author: seramercury
Recipient: brihana25
Rating: PG-13 (violence and language)
Warnings: strong violence
Author's Notes: Thanks to for a great prompt list! Also, thank you so much to my beta reader and partner in crime, scarletsherlock! You’re awesome, bb!
Summary: Sam and Castiel find Dean after a barfight that he lost - badly - and go looking for revenge.
Sam Winchester was starting to get worried. The brothers had just taken care of a run of the mill haunting when they decided to swing by the bar before turning in. He suspected his brother Dean may have gone home with someone afterward but it was already 11 am and he had not returned. Sam had received no messages from him, by either text or voicemail, either.
Dean had seemed to be doing all right with his pool hustling and Sam had been exhausted, so he called it a night after finishing his beer. Now it was the next morning, and he was pacing in the motel room, wondering why his brother hadn't answered his phone.
He turned at the sound of wings fluttering to see Castiel standing there holding an unmoving form in his arms. Sam immediately knew who that form was and helped the angel set Dean on the bed.
"What the hell happened?" he exclaimed, taking in his brother's face and the blood seeping through his shirt.
"I don't know, Sam. I just felt that Dean needed help. I found him like that behind a bar."
Sam winced as he lifted the shirt. Black and blue bruising was everywhere and dried blood was caked over what was clearly a stab wound. "Cas, could you grab the first aid kit? It's in the bathroom."
Cas immediately returned with the kit as well as a wet washcloth. The first thing Sam grabbed was a pair of scissors. The t-shirt was ruined already. He was just glad it was a plain shirt and not Dean's AC/DC shirt. He would have been pissed.
Sam picked up the washcloth and wiped the blood from the cut under Dean's eye. Once his brother's face was cleaned off, Sam began to deal with the stab wound. As he did, Dean suddenly grabbed his hand, holding in a scream that was most likely about to erupt from his throat.
"Dean!"
"Damn it, Sammy!" he gasped out.
Sam looked up at Dean's face. His eyes were still closed, but the pain was evident on his face. "Sorry," he replied, continuing to clean the injury site, but being more careful now that Dean was awake. "Want to tell me what happened?"
"Kinda hard to breath," Dean admitted. "Feel like an elephant is sitting on my chest."
That sealed the unspoken decision to take Dean to the hospital. He knew his brother hated them which was why he hadn’t suggested one to Cas, but if Dean was having trouble getting a deep breath to speak then it must be pretty bad.
Sam and Castiel exchanged a glance, and without another word, the angel touched the brothers’ foreheads and they appeared in front of a hospital. The two half-carried Dean to the entrance.
"We need some help, please!" Sam exclaimed. It was then he realized that Dean had lost consciousness again.
A few nurses and a doctor immediately came forward. The doctor called out for a gurney as he checked Dean's pulse. "What happened?" he asked.
"We don't know. We just found him like this," Sam replied.
The medical team finally got Dean onto the gurney and began to work. The doctor kept shouting things that sounded a bit worrisome to Sam. He didn't have a medical degree but he did know what a collapsed lung was.
"Sir." Sam blinked, looking down at the nurse who was standing there with a clipboard. "I'm sorry, sir, but we really need you to fill out this paperwork. Do you know this young man?"
Sam nodded as he took the board from her. "Yeah, he's my brother."
"He's in good hands," she replied with a tender smile. "Just fill that out and bring it up to front desk, okay?"
Castiel was still standing silently beside him as he filled out the papers. He finally spoke. "Why would anyone do something so horrible to another human being? It makes no sense."
"Your guess is as good as mine. I mean, honestly I've seen Dean antagonize people all the time, but never to a degree where someone would literally beat him within an inch of his life."
"An eye for an eye."
Sam looked up from the clipboard. "What?"
"Perhaps we should go, as Dean would say, 'old testament on their asses’?"
"Yeah," Sam replied, chuckling. "Something like that, but we need to figure out what happened first. You stay here and take Dean's phone."
Cas accepted the phone, but stared at in confusion. "How does this work?"
"When I call it will show my name. Just hit the button with the green phone. If it's anyone else, don't answer; just let them leave a message."
Sam walked over to the counter and handed the board to the nurse. "I gotta run out and make a few calls. That's our older brother over there. He's a bit slow, but I know he'll want to see Dean as soon as he can."
The nurse smiled. "I'll take care of him, personally," she replied. Sam wasn't in doubt since she seemed to be undressing Castiel with her eyes... Oh God he couldn't even think like that! He was an angel for fuck's sake!
"Uh... yeah. I shouldn't be gone too long. Thanks."
******
Sam drove to the bar where Castiel had found Dean. He had also called Bobby to explain what happened. The older hunter was just about ready to rip someone a new one, but unfortunately dealing with a case of his own, couldn’t meet up with them.
There didn't seem to be anyone at the bar just yet except for the bartender. What worried Sam more was the fact that the Impala was nowhere to be found. If someone had stolen Dean's most prized possession, he was going to flip.
When Sam entered the bar, he went straight to the bartender. "Hi. Do you remember me and my brother from last night?" he asked. "I was sitting over there and Dean was playing pool with some people."
"Yeah, I remember both of you. That brother of yours has some fine hustling skills. Well, I thought so, but the people he was playing with didn't."
Sam frowned. "What do you mean?"
"When your brother left I heard a bunch of them talking about teaching him a lesson. I followed them outside to make sure they didn't follow through with that threat."
"And they didn't?"
The man shook his head. "They talked to him for a bit, shook his hand, and then he left."
"You're sure about that?" Sam asked. The man nodded. "Then why did my friend find him behind the bar this morning, unconscious?”
"Hey man, I have no clue! I didn't see him when I opened this morning. I swear! If I had, I would've helped the guy! I don't want any problems here."
Sam sighed. "Sorry, I'm just worried about Dean. We got him to the hospital. He has a collapsed lung. Plus all those other injuries he got. Whoever beat him did a pretty good job of it."
"No problem. I got a brother too so I know how you must feel," the man replied. "How about a beer? It'll calm your nerves."
"No, thank you. I got to get back to the hospital. Thanks for your help, though."
Sam placed a 20 on the counter for him and left. He swung around to the back of the bar just to see what he could find. He knelt beside the dried blood he spotted on the pavement. He took a breath and looked up.
The Impala!
The car itself seemed to be in good shape. He opened the driver side door and looked around. There were signs of a struggle in there and more blood. It was everywhere-on the steering wheel, the seats, and the floor.
Dean must have been more injured than they thought. How much blood did he actually lose?
Sam nearly jumped when his cell phone rang. Glancing at the caller id, he was surprised to see Dean's name pop up. "Cas?" he said.
"Sam. The nurse helped me call you. She said it would be easier for her to do that since I am slow. What does that mean?"
"Don't worry about that right now. How's Dean?"
"They had to take him to surgery but the doctor seems confident that he will be all right. I trust him."
"He's lost a lot of blood, Cas."
"I know, but we couldn't tell before. How do you know?"
"I found the Impala. It's a mess," Sam replied, running a hand through his hair. "Whoever did this is definitely going to pay. Bobby is on his way and he should be here in about two hours. I'll meet you there after I clean the car."
Castiel was silent for a moment. "Sam, what does it mean when a woman asks you to meet her in the maintenance closet?"
******
Sam arrived at the hospital to see a nurse sitting very close to an uncomfortable-looking angel. He immediately walked over to them. "Cas."
"Sam!" he said a bit too excitedly, as he stood.
The nurse frowned as she looked back and forth between the two men. Sam smiled at her. "Thanks for looking after him," he told her. "He can get into trouble sometimes."
"It was no trouble at all," she said with a smile as she looked at Castiel.
"Could you check on my brother, please?"
Cas tilted his head at Sam, clearly confused as to what all the fuss was about. "Sam..."
"You wanna tell me what the hell happened?" Sam asked him. "Isn't it your job to protect Dean?"
"Merely set him in the right direction. I cannot control his actions or the actions of others," Cas replied.
Sam had half a mind to smack the angel upside the head, but he knew it would be counterproductive. He was worried about Dean at the moment. Once he knew his brother was going to be all right, he was going to get the story on how it happened first hand.
"Mr. Hagar," the nurse said. "Come with me, please."
Sam and Castiel followed her down the hall to the elevator. She explained that Dean was heavily sedated so he wouldn't even know they were there, and the doctor would go into more detail regarding his condition.
When they entered the room the shock was evident on their faces. The doctor smiled in sympathy. "Gentlemen, please come in," he said kindly.
It took a moment for Sam to even speak. "How is he, Doctor?"
"I'm not going to lie, Mr. Hagar; we nearly lost him twice during surgery. As it is, he lost a substantial amount of blood from the beating he took. Dean suffered some internal injuries that need a good amount of healing. It's going to be a slow-going process and he's going to feel it, too. The bruising goes through to the muscle. I don't suppose the police have caught the men who did this?"
Castiel said, "We did not involve the police."
The doctor raised an eyebrow, but Sam let out a small chuckle. "Of course we did, but they're out investigating the area where we found Dean."
"That's good to know," the doctor said. "I'm going to head off to do my rounds now. The nurses will notify me of any changes in his condition. As I said, he will be out of it for at least the next day or so."
Sam nodded. "Thank you, Doctor," he said, shaking the man's hand.
Once he was gone, Cas looked at Sam curiously. "Why did you lie to him about the police?"
"Because if I had, then we wouldn't be able to go after the bastards who did this! And we don’t want to raise suspicion.”
Castiel seemed thoughtful, but finally he nodded in agreement. "An eye for an eye, yes. I will be back."
Before Sam could even move there was a flutter of wings and the angel was gone. He sighed and moved to sit heavily on the chair. Sam leaned forward, elbows on his knees and head in his hands.
Dean had been through Hell and back, literally, and Sam didn't know how much more he could take. Apparently his brother was destined to save the Earth, as well. Yeah, no pressure there. Dean deserved so much more than the life they led.
"I found them, Sam."
Sam immediately stood. "What are we waiting for, Cas? I gotta grab my duffel from the Impala."
"I feel that our hands would be our best weapon."
There was a sudden flash of light and the two were standing on the porch of a run-down house. Sam peered into the window when he heard laughter inside. What he heard made him seethe angrily.
"That fucking idiot! I'm glad we left him bleeding to death in his sissy car," the tallest man said.
Sam was about to say something when there was another flash of light and Castiel was in the house again, holding the man by his neck.
He wasted no time himself as he rushed in, sending the first one coming towards him to the ground with one punch. As the next one advanced, Sam slammed his fist into his stomach and kept punching and punching. Sam lost all track of anything until he felt strong arms pulling him away.
"Cas?"
"I believe we were... successful, Sam," the angel replied, gesturing to the men on the floor. "I also need to drop you off and ask God for forgiveness. I hope you will do the same."
He barely had time to nod when Cas zapped him back to Dean's room. The angel did not remain. Sam was so lost in thought that he almost didn't hear Dean whisper his name. He immediately went to his side.
"You okay, Sammy?" he asked, trying to hide his own pain. "You have blood on your shirt."
Sam glanced down. It was the first time he noticed he had that guy's blood on him. "Oh yeah, Dean, I'm fine. This is yours."
"Oh."
"Why don't you try to get some rest?"
Dean wasn't going to be deterred from gaining answers apparently. "Sammy, what have you and Cas been up to?"
"Not much, really, just waiting for you to wake up. Watching the nurse flirt with Cas..." Dean raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't say anything. "What?" Sam asked with a chuckle. "No comment on that? I thought you would have something to say about it."
"Dude, still drugged up a bit here. I think I'm slow on the uptake."
Just as he said that, Castiel appeared. "That is was Sam told the nurse about me. He said I was his brother, but I was slow. What does that mean?"
Sam shrugged when Dean looked at him, and then replied, "It's nothing, Cas. So did you go into the maintenance closet with that nurse?" he asked with a grin.
"I asked Sam what that meant and he would not tell me."
Of course Dean has to tell him, Sam thought to himself.
"It just means she wants to have sex with you in there."
Castiel tilted his head. "Wouldn't a bed be more comfortable?"
******
It was nearly two weeks before the doctors allowed Dean to leave the hospital. Sam had a feeling they would have kept him longer if he hadn't been acting like such a pain in the ass. Not that he was really surprised there; Dean had always hated hospitals.
Sam glanced over at him as he drove. Dean was sleeping because of the pain meds. He didn't doubt his brother still needed the rest, but Dean also hadn't told them what happened. Sam didn't think it should bother him so much, but it did.
Dean would never risk his life for a fight over a dumb hustle. He would have just knocked the guys out and ran out the door without ever looking back. But this... there had to be more to it. When Dean woke up Sam was determined to have that conversation.
It would be another hour before he did and by this time Sam was exhausted so he had driven to a motel so they could sleep for the night. By then he knew Dean would be ready (and definitely willing) to drive. Once they were settled in the room, Sam spoke up.
"So are you ever gonna tell me what happened?"
Dean had just gotten comfortable on the bed and was reaching carefully for the remote control. "About what Sam? I can't help you if it burns when you pee. I wouldn't want to either."
"Dude that's disgusting."
He grinned, turning on the TV. "I know."
Sam grabbed the remote from his brother, turning it off. Dean forgot for a minute that he had cracked ribs that were healing and lunged for Sam, who caught him before he fell to the floor. "Take it easy, Dean!"
"If you hadn't fucking done that, this wouldn't have happened!" he exclaimed, holding his side as he clenched his teeth.
"And if you hadn't been hustling pool you wouldn't even have to worry about the fact that you almost died! Dean, just tell me what the hell happened that night! I know you! First off you can handle fighting and it seemed more like you didn't really want to fight and obviously didn't want to hurt the guys who beat the shit out of you!"
Dean leaned his head against the back board and closed his eyes for a minute before opening them and looking up at Sam. "It wasn't because I hustled them, Sam. It was because one of them tried hurt a young girl there. She just turned 21 and was there for her birthday. You remember she was wearing a fuzzy birthday crown."
"Oh yeah," Sam replied.
"Anyway, two of the guys I was playing pool with left the game. I was only half paying attention to them, but I also noticed that girl's friends were looking all over for her and those guys hadn't come back yet. I remember them saying something about her earlier and left the table to find them.
"I sure as hell did! They hadn't done anything to her yet, but she was freaked out and they were definitely going to do something. I yanked them both away and the girl ran. I didn't see her again, but those guys were fucking pissed off."
Sam shook his head. "Yeah, I could tell. When Cas brought you back to the hotel I was so ready to kill whoever did that to you."
"Wait, what?"
"You would have done the same,” Sam replied when he noticed he almost gave away what he and Cas had done.
Realization seemed to dawn on him. "Sammy, what did you guys do?"
Sam shrugged. “Nothing, everything’s all right.”
“You do know that I can tell when you’re lying, little brother.”
“I know, Dean,” he said.