Chapter 2
Dean pushed the tree branches blocking his path trying to keep up with Sam as they ran. They came upon the source of the noise and found a man lying in the snow. Dean felt his chest clench at the sight of a gasping Cas. There was red blood splatter that contrasted against the white snow and the majority of red was soaked in the snow beneath Castiel. Dean dropped to the ground, snow crunching against his knees, and began applying pressure to the wound. A scream escaped Cas from the sudden pain and watched as Dean began talking mindless comforts to his friend.
"Don't worry Cas. We'll patch this right up. You'll be fine." Dean was mindlessly talking, to keep himself calm. He looked back to Sam who seemed frozen in place watching in horror.
"Sammy!" Dean yelled snapping his brother out of shock. "Help," was all he managed to say as looked back down to his blood soaked hands. Cas was shaking and his blue eyes were watching intently at Dean, his hands were holding so tight to Deans jacket that his knuckles had turned white. He looked so scared and it was the only thing Dean could focus on. He wanted to think, but he wasn't sure how anymore. All he could do was stare at the wounded man with hands hovering unsure above him.
As Dean sat on the ground, Sam had pulled out his cell phone and was cursing in frustration. "There's no fucking reception!" He yelled before shoving the phone back into his pocket. "Dean, we need to get him to a hospital." Sam was on the opposite side of Cas now and the two brothers nodded in agreement to lift up Cas, but when they pulled him up Castiel screamed in pain and they both set him back down in the snow.
"Oh my God," a voice came from behind them. A man, not much older than Dean, stood staring in horror at the scene before him. Both brothers looked up in unison at the stranger.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," He muttered as he ran forward to help them.
Sam pulled his gun a bit closer to his side. "Who the hell are you?" Dean demanded.
The stranger quickly answered 'Benny' before kneeling beside Dean to expect the wound for himself. "It's not life threatening, but we need to stop the bleeding." Benny pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and went to tie the wound, only to be stopped by Dean.
"Don't you fucking touch him!" Dean shouted pushing the man away.
Benny only replied, "If we don't stop the bleeding then your friend could bleed out!" Those words made Dean sit back reluctantly and allow Benny to open Castiel's jacket.
"I need you to apply pressure to the wound," He told Dean. Dean did as he was told but pulled back when Cas cried out.
"I told you to keep pressure. Make sure it's directly on the entry point too." Benny scolded.
Dean applied pressure again and Cas sucked in a breath trying not to scream. Benny tied the cloth tight around Castiel shoulder. Cas let out a small whine before his head went limp and hands fell from Deans jacket to his side in the snow.
"Cas?" Dean asked fearful of the worse. He looked quickly to Sam who was already feeling Cas's neck.
Sam shook his head. "He just passed out."
"Okay, we should get him out of the cold now." Benny stated. "How far's your cabin?" he asked Sam.
"About a quarter of a mile that way," Sam pointed.
Benny nodded and helped Dean lift Castiel's limp body up. "You boys take him back to your cabin and I'll go see if the road's cleared." He disappeared as quickly as he had come behind the pine trees, leaving Dean and Sam supporting an unconscious Castiel.
Dean glanced at his friend and couldn't help but to feel guilt overtake him. This was his fault. He shouldn't have made Cas leave. He should've made him stay for at least a few minutes. Now his best friend could die. And it was his fault.
The walk back to the cabin was laborious and exhausting. The fact that snow had started to build up and was now falling in thick flakes really didn't help either. Both brothers had to take turns supporting Cas as they trudged through the snow. The other one would run ahead to ensure they were on the correct path.
"God fucking damnit Cas!" Dean mumbled aggravated, but really trying to ease himself of the guilt he felt. "You need to lay off the burgers!" Cas's blue piercing eyes flitted over to dean and he gave a sly smile before hissing from the pain.
"They make me very happy," Cas managed to say through clenched white teeth. Dean's heart eased a little; if Cas could give a smartass reply then he'd be ok.
They made it to the cabin and Sam was immediately inside grabbing his car keys. "Put Cas on the couch. I'll go bring the car up and we can leave for the hospital." He shouted as he ran past his older brother, down the road to where their car was parked.
Dean made his way into the cabin and helped Cas lower onto the couch. It was going to suck explaining to Dad why his hunting cabin was stained with blood. He pushed the stupid thought aside and released Cas, his shoulders cracking, as they were relieved of the weight.
"Cas, keep pressure on the rag." Dean ordered and left to go find Sam. Cas nodded obediently, letting his gaze fall to the wooden floor. Dean left the room and darted through the cabin keeping his eye out for Sam. When Dean had done a full tour without catching a glimpse of the younger Winchester, he headed out the door into the brisk winter air.
It was already late at night and the snow only seemed to be falling heavier. The wind blew hard and cold and made it difficult for even Dean to stay standing upright. Dean's eyes swept the white area and caught sight of a moving object in the distance. He recognized it was Sam's silhouette and ran down the road to greet him, but Dean couldn't help feeling concerned as to why Sam hadn't brought the car with him. The brothers were finally face to face and Dean couldn't help but notice the worry in Sam's features.
"The snow's blocking all the roads out. We'll have to wait until they're cleared to leave," he shouted over the howling wind.
"It looks like there's a blizzard coming," Dean said acknowledging the worsening weather. "We won't be able to leave for another coupled days if we don't go now."
"I'm sorry Dean. We'll just have to take care of Cas as best we can until we get reception or the roads are cleared." Sam yelled back.
Dean's heart clenched and he wanted to yell at his brother, but the weather wasn't Sammy's fault. Dean nodded in agreement that they should wait it out and hurried back to the cabin.
Cas was still on the couch where Dean had left him, except now he had removed his coat and was laying back into the cushions, barely conscious. His eyes had lost some of their fierce blue and Dean felt weak in the knees seeing Castiel in such an enfeebled state. The hunter cupped Cas's face in his hands. Castiel sighed and shut his eyes leaning into the warm touch welcomingly. A sense of responsibility filled Dean.
He lifted the bloody rag to get a better view of the wound as Cas hissed in protest. "Shh, it's okay Cas. I'm just gonna get you some clean bandages." Dean cooed.
This, he could make better. In an instant Dean had run off into the bathroom and was searching through the cabinet and found a medical kit. Taking the scissors and some gauze in hand he went back to the couch and began cutting at Castiel's once white, but now bloodstained, shirt so he would have better access to the wound.
Once the shirt had been removed, Dean felt his eyes lingering on the skin that had been hidden before. It was pale, almost as white as the snow outside. Dean couldn't be sure whether it was from blood loss or because Cas rarely spent time in the outdoors. One hand was untying the bloody handkerchief while his left hand stayed resting on Castiel's chest. As Dean removed the red rag, careful not to break any of the already crusting blood, he felt Cas's abdomen tighten and relax below his fingers. Dean swallowed hard trying to ignore how warm his cheeks were feeling.
There were loud footsteps heard entering the room and Dean quickly removed his hands and turned to the door. Sam stood staring at the unconscious Cas, oblivious to his brother's sudden uneasiness and red cheeks.
"How's he doing?" Sam asked leaning against the doorframe.
"I don't know. It stopped bleeding almost, but the bullet's still in there" Dean answered sadly.
Sam waited in the doorway observing Dean as he sat opening gauze packs beside the couch before speaking up again. "Do you think we should cleanse the wound?"
Dean studied Cas for a moment then answered; "There's no peroxide in the med kit. What about soap and water?"
"No," Sam said shaking his head. "Won't kill the bacteria deep in it. We need something with alcohol."
Sam could practically see the light bulb go off in his brother's head. Digging through his pocket Dean retrieved a silver flask and shook it to emphasize his idea.
"Will good ol' Jack Daniels work?" Dean question holding out the metal container to his brother.
Sam raised an eyebrow, a bit shocked by what his brother had produced from his pocket, but nodded in agreement. "Better than nothing." Sam said with a sigh.
Sam took the flask and inspected it carefully, going over the tiny swirl details and drawings engraved on the side. "How are we going to do this?"
Dean thought for a moment. "Lets move him to the bedroom, that way we can pin him down on a flat surface and we won't have to move him again afterwards."
Sam had no problem with that plan and helped Dean lift up Cas. They each entwined an arm around Cas's shoulders and dragged him into one of the bedrooms. Luckily, Castiel was still fairly out of it that the movement caused little pain, even with the occasional hit to the wall when one brother had moved quicker than the other had expected.
When they made it to the bed the boys helped lower Cas gently on the thick blankets. Cas groaned and his blue eyes opened slightly. They were cloudy and his face looked flushed.
"That hurts Dean," Cas managed to whimper. Guilt managed to find another spot to rest deep in his stomach suddenly realizing that he may have been just a little to rough with Cas's injured shoulder.
"I know Cas. We're trying to make it better." Dean replied staring into Cas's eyes, pushing a strand of hair off his forehead.
Cas gave a nod and Dean knelt down to be at equal height with Cas. He steadied himself on the hard wooden floor before proceeding "We're going to clean your wound Cas. And it's gonna hurt like a fucking bitch. Trust me," he placed the flask in Cas's hand. "You're gonna want to have some of this before we do."
Cas eyed the silver flask, then Dean suspiciously. He undid the cap and took a quick swig of its contents, immediately he began coughing and made a face that expressed his disgust towards the smoky taste. Dean only laughed and patted Cas's cheek. "You'll thank me later."
Sam handed him a worn rag and Dean soaked it with liquor.
"Ok," Dean said dread lacing his words, "This is going to hurt."
"I'm ready," Cas reassured looked between both Sam and Dean. Sam glanced back at Cas with apologetic eyes and walked over to his side. Cas leaned back on the bed and allowing Sam to pin him down and Dean placed the rag over the shoulder.
The next few minutes were hell for everyone. When Dean first put the rag on the open wound Cas couldn't help but shriek from the burning and lurch forward, only to be pushed back into the mattress and held down by Sam. Grabbing onto Dean's band shirt he wound his fingers through the material and held tight, his eyes squeezed shut, his lips pressed into a tight line, his knuckles turning white from his deadly grip. On top of it all he could hear Dean barking at him but Cas couldn't hear over his own muffled cries.
"Keep him down!" Dean yelled again pushing the rag harder against Castiel's shoulder.
"I'm trying!" Sam snapped back.
"Yeah, well it's not working!" Dean said angrily turning his attention back to cleaning the wound.
Sam sent him a venomous glare. "What else do you suggest then?"
Dean thought for a second and an idea popped into his head. He lunged forward, keeping one hand pressed hard against the rag and the other grasping roughly at Castiel's hair, pulling the injured man into a coarse kiss. Castiel's vicious movements faltered for a few moments and stared wide eyed at Dean who was keeping his eyes shut tight. His fingers ran through the raven black hair, finally finding a comfortable place around the back of Cas's head. Their lips seemed to melt together, Cas's hand had found themselves loosening their grip on Deans shirt, but held on tight enough so Dean couldn't pull away. The kiss became rougher their need taking over and Dean suddenly realized what he was doing. He snapped his eyes open again and stumbled backwards onto the floor. His brother and friend staring in shock at what had just transpired.
Long awkward moments passed before Sam finally spoke up. "What the hell was that?" It wasn't angry. Sam just sounded confused, just like everyone else sitting in the room.
"What?" Dean said with an uncomfortable laugh, trying to ease the tension best he could. "It worked didn't it?" He said to demonstrate his point.
Sam looked back and forth between his brother and their very confused friend, both now blushing and refusing to make eye contact with each other. Sam merely shook his head, "If you want to press sexual assault charges, I'll represent you." he joked to Cas.
That caused Cas to smirk. "How about a restraining order?"
Dean bent down to grab the flask off the floor glaring at the two smirking guys. "You both can go screw yourselves." He used the slim flask to point accusingly at the two of them.
"I thought that's what you were doing to him." Sam quipped back gesturing to Cas.
Sam and Cas burst into laughter as Dean stood glaring at them. "Yeah, it's all shits and giggles." he grumbled. "We better wrap the wound before he starts bleeding again."
Sam nodded in agreement and went to grab the open gauze packs from the living room, leaving Dean and Cas waiting awkwardly for him to return. They exchanged a few glances, Cas staring at Dean more than what Dean felt acceptable, his heart fluttered for a moment as he caught Cas's gaze. Dean felt his ears getting warm and had to look away again.
"Does it still sting?" Dean asked as his played with the flask that was in his hand.
The amount of sass that came out of Cas was something he rarely heard from the normally socially awkward guy. It made Dean have to make a double take to make sure it wasn't Sammy who was sitting in the bed.
"You going to kiss it and make it better?" Cas asked lifting his eyebrow as if offering a challenge. A million thoughts raced through Dean's head on how else he could make Cas feel better and had to mentally smack himself. This was Cas not Angelina Jolie. He was about to ask if the offer was real when Sam came stomping back in.
"We've got a visitor," Sam announced upon entering the room.
Dean gave a questioning look and Sam replied, "The guy who shot him came back. Probably to apologize."
"Who knows," Dean said with a cocky smile. "Maybe it'll be like 'Misery.'"
Dean dropped the flask into the large pocket located on his jacket before leaving the room prepared to beat the shit out of whoever the fuck shot Cas in the first place. This guy had hurt someone he cared for, and Dean was a very protective when it came to the people he cared about. Who the hell shoots a guy, then just ditches him out in the middle of the forest? That was a question Dean didn't plan on letting the guy answer. Instead he was going to make sure the guy couldn't talk for a really long time.