The man kicked Dean in the back of the head again, and handcuffed his hands behind him, pushing him down as well so that he was kneeling.

"Now, I want you to call your brother, and I want you to tell him that you're okay, and that you don't need his help." He instructed. Dean chuckled. "If you think that's gonna happen, then you're an idiot." Dean always knew how to smart-ass his way through situations. Even ones where he was sure to get punched or injured in some way after making a remark, he'd always be a smart-ass. It was in his nature, and this was no exception.

The man kicked the Winchester brother in the back of his head again, hard enough to make Dean's vision go black for a second. He motioned to one of his 'friends' to point the gun he was holding at his hostage's head. Dean looked at the gun now currently pointed in his face, and shook his head.

"Where's your phone?" Dean's captor asked, loudly. Dean didn't answer. The man made a hand motion at the person who was pointing the gun at Dean's head. He cocked the gun.

"My jacket pocket." Dean finally succumbed, realizing there wasn't an easy way out of this. He was going to have to just go through with whatever this shapeshifter planned for him. The one pointing the gun at him reached into Dean's jacket, and handed the phone to his boss.

The main shapeshifter navigated his way through the device he didn't fully understand, but had spent enough time on Earth to understand how to make a call. He tapped Sam's contact, and the phone rang.

Sam was with Castiel in a small cabin searching for the creature they were hunting. It had been a while since they took out a shapeshifter, so he was making sure to be extra careful just in case he forgot one little detail in how to gank a shapeshifter. It wasn't hard, it was a simple matter of a few silver bullets.

Castiel had been staying at the bunker with them more often. Since he had no wings and his grace was almost completely gone, there wasn't much to do. Spending time with Sam and Dean was nice as well, though. After all, they were his best and mainly only friends.

Sam cleared out the one bedroom that was in the cabin, while Castiel checked the main room and bathroom. After making sure there was nothing in the two rooms, Castiel returned to Sam.

"It doesn't seem like there's anything here. I guess I'll call Dean and see if he's got anything." Sam pulled out his phone, and as if Dean was somehow reading his mind from miles away, it started ringing.

"Dean, hey, so this place is abandoned, you got anything where you are?" Sam explained.

Dean aimed his head toward the phone so that Sam could hear him.

"Y-yeah. I took care of it though. Uh, it was real funky town here. Just, uh, head back to the bunker. I'll get back on my own." The shapeshifter hung him up before Dean could say anything.

"Dean's in trouble." Sam said, simply, and headed toward the door of the cabin. Castiel followed after him, not wanting to lose time if it was Dean that was at risk. Either of them being in trouble was obviously bad, but he'd said before that him and Dean shared a stronger bond. Sam got in the driver's seat, and Castiel got into the passenger seat, eager to save his friend.

As Sam stepped through the door of the larger cabin that Dean was in, the shapeshifter sunk a knife into Dean's stomach, blood seeping through his shirt after it was pulled out.

"No!" Sam yelled, shooting his gun at all of the monsters that worked with Dean's captor. Castiel came in after him, shooting them again and making sure they were all dead. Sam ran to Dean, holding him in his arms and covering his stomach wound, blood quickly soaking his hand. Castiel ran back to the Impala, and grabbed the first aid kit that they always kept just in case something like this ever happened. He rushed back to Sam, who was saying comforting gibberish while keeping pressure on the stab wound.

Castiel quickly opened up the kit, and handed the gauze to Sam. As he was putting the gauze over the large wound, Dean started coughing up blood. "It's gonna be okay. We just have to get you to a hospital, okay? It's gonna be okay, Dean." Sam was panting, and helped his brother stand up. Castiel helped as well to get them to the Impala. Sam drove, while Castiel stayed in the back with Dean. Time seemed to go abnormally slow as they walked into the hospital, Sam yelling for someone to help them. A nurse came over with a gurney, and they helped Dean get on top of it.

2 Impatient Hours Later

The nurse from earlier entered the room, and nodded to Castiel and Sam to indicate that it was okay to see Dean. The two men walked with her to Dean's room. Sam sat by his bed, and Castiel just awkwardly stood by the door. The nurse smiled at them, and walked out of the room to let them have their privacy.

"Hey Sammy. They say I have to stay a few more days, but I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." Dean's voice was croaky, like he hadn't had water in days, but next to his bed was a half-drank cup of water.

Sam remembered when he, Dean, and his Dad were in a car crash. He remembered when Dean was comatose and when he was a spirit. Before he knew that he was with him, it was terrifying knowing that his brother might not wake up. Seeing his Dad in the destroyed Impala, covered in blood was bad enough, but when he looked to see Dean the same way, it was so much worse. Dean was his world, his big brother. John was his Dad, but Dean was the one who raised him. He raised him better than their father ever did.

"O-okay. I'm glad you're going to be okay." Sam stuttered.

Castiel stepped closer to Dean's bed. "I'm sorry I can't heal you. My grace has almost completely gone away." He bowed his head.

"Don't be. It's alright, Cas. I'm gonna survive, so why does it matter?" Dean comforted. The last thing he wanted was for Castiel to blame himself for this. It was purely the shapeshifter's fault, and no one else's. Castiel smiled a little bit, and walked out of the room.

"I'm really relieved that you're alright." Sam admitted again. He didn't know what he would do if Dean didn't make it.

"Enough mushy stuff, you should go sleep and I should probably do the same, I guess." Dean shifted so that he was more comfortable. Sam nodded and left the room. It was all going to be okay.