It broke Dean's heart, seeing Sam like this.

He spent most of his free time beside Crowley. Dean didn't invite him on hunts anymore. He knew his brother's mind would be miles away. The way Sam looked at the demon (well, man, now…)… It was as if he was silently pleading. Pleading for miracles. Pleading for a chance to make things right.

Dean knew the feeling all too well.

Dean tried to keep his mind off things by hunting any son of a bitch that went bump in the night, but it didn't work. Especially when he tried to hunt alongside Cas. Ever since he and the angel got together, there was a sort of shift with their dynamic. It was hard to focus, trying to make sure his boyfriend would be alright.

"Boyfriend." He thought, "never thought I'd call him that."

Gabriel and Kevin were fine. Mostly. Kevin continued to try and translate the tablet. He focused solely on his task. Dean knew why. He wanted to see again. He wanted to get out of this life for good. Dean couldn't blame him.

Gabriel stuck by his prophet. He seemed to be playing nice. He even helped Kevin with translating the more obscure languages. But they were still no closer to finding a way to fix things.

Dean frowned. Things were such a mess. He couldn't stand it.

"This is all my fault…"

~0~

That night, Dean woke up, Cas curled up beside him. Despite Cas having Gadreel's stolen grace, he still had some human needs. Dean smiled fondly, and kissed Cas's cheek. Cas stirred a little, smiling lightly.

Despite everything, Cas made him happy. He… He loved the angel. Cas was probably the one person he hadn't screwed over.

That was going to make things hard.

He climbed out of bed and got dressed. He had a duffel bag ready by the door.

"Sorry, Cas. I can't hurt you, too. Or anyone else." He whispered as he set a note on his pillow. He crept out of his room.

Dean passed by the infirmary. As usual, Sam was asleep beside Crowley's bunk. Dean simply sighed and walked away, heading for the garage.

That's when Gabriel appeared before him.

"What the Hell are you doing?" The archangel said sternly.

"A hunt just came up."

Gabriel gave him a look. He wasn't buying it. Dean sighed. "I'm leaving. Look at this mess I've made! Kevin's blind, Crowley's in a coma, and Sam…" He looked back at the infirmary.

Gabriel looked back, too. Dean could've sworn he was just as sad as him. He sighed and shook his head. "Why do I bother trying to set you dicks straight?"

"Things'll be better without me around! For everyone!"

"Everyone? Cas included?" Gabriel asked, raising a brow.

Dean sighed.

"You're his world, you know…"

Dean sighed again. "Gabriel…"

"You honestly think running away from your problems will solve everything?"

"I don't know, maybe?"

"Tell me, Dean-o, did running away do me any favors?"

"No."

"Look. sometimes I wonder if I'd have stayed around when Lucifer rebelled, helped out, if my family wouldn't be the dysfunctional mess it is."

"So you're asking me to stay?"

"More like insisting. At least for your brother and Cas's sake."

Dean groaned and dropped his bag on the floor. Gabriel snapped his fingers, making the bag disappear.

"And Dean, one more thing…"

"What?"

"If you ever try and skip out on my brother again, I'll kill you. Repeatedly. Again. And none of them will be hilarious."

Dean nodded and headed back for his room, when he noticed something out the corner of his eye.

Crowley was stirring.

"Sam…"

~0~

A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. This has been a long time coming. I'll tell y'all what I told people on "Here We Are Again". I've been distracted, had writer's block, and a lot of stuff lately. I got a job and school. I may not update all that frequently, okay? Be patient. I'll finish my projects, just chill. I'm not dead. I whipped up this chapter real fast as sort of a way whet your whistles. I'll try to work on this when I can, I'm just having issues plotting this one out, okay? Good.

Carry on, my Wayward Companions. -CH

[UPDATE: I FIXED IT! Sorry about the earlier post!]