Dean has never been happier to see his Baby than right now. His feet slip on the slick grass as he pounds towards the car that will be their safe haven, their way out of this craphole they call a life and into a newer, more peaceful one. However even in the excitement Dean knows they are not out of the woods yet and that the lions are still chasing them, eager to tear them to shreds and eat them for breakfast. It only makes Dean run faster than before and forces him to not waste any time peeling onto the road once both him and Cas are situated in the vehicle.

His breathing is heavy as he exits the Novak mansion and guns the Impala onto the highway, quickly leaving that city he loves behind. As the skyline gets smaller and smaller in his rearview mirror he feels himself relaxing, even turning on the radio to his favorite rock station that is blasting 'Heat of the Moment'. And even though the car is silent with tension, Dean can't help himself humming along to the tune, letting his fingers count out the beat on the steering wheel.

"Do you think Gabe will really be okay?" Cas asks after a few minutes, breaking the tense silence in the car.

He turns to find Cas lounged in the passenger seat, but his face is full of worry. Those sapphire eyes he loves are clouded with despair, like a storm is raging and he can't shake it. And even though he's trying to be strong, Dean knows Cas well enough to see the brokenness inside, the trauma that must be brewing beneath the surface.

"I'm sure he will be fine," Dean reassures him, not because he thinks it is true but because he doesn't believe Cas is looking for honesty right now. Dean knows deep down that Gabriel gave his life for them, that the chances he survived two shots are slim. Dean has seen gunshot wounds lesser than Gabe's where the person did not live, but he doesn't tell Cas this.

The Novak gives Dean a small smile. "Thanks for humoring me," he whispers lightly.

Dean just sadly grins back and reaches over to take Cas' hand in his, interlocking their fingers together in a bind. "Gabe is a fighter; he may pull through."

"I saw the wounds. I highly doubt it, and even if he does I can never see him again without getting attacked by my family. I guess I can't even call them family anymore," Cas replies sadly, gripping Dean's hand harder with the realization.

It breaks Dean's heart to see a small tear roll down Cas' cheek, his throat constricting with the held back sobs. "Sam and I will be your family now, Cas."

The Novak turns his head to look at Dean with that little confused crease between his eyebrows. "You mean it?"

"Of course, Cas. You and I against the world, taking down whatever comes in our way. That's the only thing I want."

"You really are amazing, you know that?" Cas says with a bright smile lighting up his face.

Dean only grins back. "Yeah, I know."

The two fall into silence once again as the radio starts to play 'Highway to Hell'. They are about twenty minutes outside of city limits now with no sign of any Novak or Milton on their trail. Everything is too quiet out there, and it makes Dean uneasy. No way they would have let them escape without a pursuit, so where are they? It couldn't be possible that they are free, could it?

However everything fades into the background once Dean looks over and finds Cas playing air guitar to an ACDC song, lip syncing to the lyrics. He can't help but laugh at the view; before meeting Dean, Cas had never heard of half of the bands Dean listened to, and now here he is singing along like a lifelong fan. It makes Dean fill with both surprise and happiness; he has a whole life of this ahead of him and that thought only makes him push the car faster down the road until the next suburb is coming into view and the city is well behind them.

"You're such a dork," Dean laughs, bringing Cas' still entwined up to his lips.

The Novak blushes as Dean's touch, and turns to look out the window. "Shut up; you think I'm adorable, and you're the one who asked me to run away with you in the night. That has to mean you like me somewhat, right?"

Dean drops their hands to smack Cas upside the head, smiling when that little smirk appears on the Novak's lips. "Yeah, you're friggin' adorable all right. Just remember that on the nights when we're shoved into a tiny hotel room with Sam and we're forced to share close quarters. Sure you won't feel so perky then."

Cas looks away from Dean to study the road in front of them. "So this is our new life. Cramped motels and shady diners on the highway, all with two Winchesters nonetheless. Never thought my life would end up like this, but you know what? I wouldn't change a thing. I'm so excited, Dean. For the first time in my life I feel like a free man, and you don't know how liberating it is. No Michael or Balthazar breathing down my neck, no more revenge kills, no more hiding this."

Dean looks over to find Cas looking at him in such a predatory way he almost pulls over right there, but he quickly remembers that they still have a zonked out Sammy in the backseat who probably wouldn't want to wake up to Dean and Cas screwing in the front. So instead of taking Cas' face in his hands and kissing him passionately, he resists and pushes that smirking gaze away while he navigates the road with the other.

"Damn it, Cas. You can't do that to me when I'm driving!"

The Novak has the nerve to smile seductively back, moving in his seat so that he's inches away from Dean's face. "Oh c'mon, you know I wouldn't pull any moves on you with Sam around. Don't want to scar him, do we?"

"Please don't scar me…ow," a voice chimes from the back.

"Sammy?" Dean calls out as he pulls the Impala towards the side of the highway, turning around to find his brother sitting up and conscious in the back seat. "You okay?"

"I feel like I've been run over a thousand times by a truck. What happened?"

And so Dean watches as Cas explains the whole ordeal. The escape, Balthazar's death, how Sam was knocked out for hours, how Gabriel is probably dead and the Novak patriarch is in pretty bad shape himself. All of it runs out of Cas' mouth in a river of words, and Dean is absolutely entranced. No wonder Cas got his degree in Literature; the dude is a friggin poet.

When he's done Sam looks at the Novak with clear pain in his eyes, but it isn't from his own wounds. "I'm sorry for you losses, Cas. But we're free now, right? We're going to be fine. Oh and by the way, where are we headed anyway?"

Dean suddenly realizes that they have no set destination; he was basically just planning on driving until he felt they were far enough away from any Novaks or Miltons. However this brings up the topic as Dean pulls his Baby back unto the road and guns it again, speeding down the highway while Sam and Cas chat about where they should live out their lives. Cas throws out places such as Seattle and even Vancouver, saying crossing the border would be safest for them. However Sam rallies for turning around to head northeast, dreaming about Hoboken and New York. All the while Dean ignores their requests, pulling onto the road that will lead them to Sin City. He knows he's a good hustler and thinks he could make some money in Vegas for them to live on for a bit, enough so that he can get Sam and Cas the medical attention they need.

Clink.

"Hey…did you guys hear that?" Sam calls out, silencing the car instantly.

Oh, no.

Headlights appear in the rearview mirror, the car behind them dangerously close.

Clink. Clink.

Dean blinks and suddenly he sees a fissure in the back window, and he knows one more hit will break it.

"Everybody get down!"

Smash. Seconds after the men duck their heads a crash reverberates through the vehicle, a bullet flying through the glass and into the front window. Dean swerves the Impala across three lanes of traffic and hears the ear-splitting squeal of metal hitting metal, the car behind him still making a quick pursuit.

"Can you see who it is?" Cas yells out from the front, his head ducked under the dashboard as best as he can.

"No, but I can guess," Dean growls. "Doesn't matter now. We've got to lose them, and fast. Everybody better hang on for this."

He doesn't hesitate to start driving like an absolute maniac, pretending that this is a scene from a movie and he's the action star. Its the only way he can cope without panicking, so he turns up the radio as loud as it can go while he gets on and off various highways, driving at least ninety miles per hour. 'Carry on My Wayward Son' blasts through the air as the other men hang on for their lives, Cas and Sam clutching the door like it will save them in an accident.

"Are we losing them?" Sam calls out from the back seat, the answer coming to him in the form of another bullet through the window. "Guess not then!"

"We can't shake them!" Cas screams. "We'll have to fight back another way."

When Dean realizes what Cas is suggesting, he automatically pulls him down to his seat. "Cas, you aren't going to start shooting at them! You could be seriously hurt yourself and I won't have it!"

"Who are you, my father? You drive, I'll shoot, Sam will be lookout. You said we were Team Free Will, right? Now let's act like it!"

Dean doesn't get to argue before Cas rips himself out of Dean's grasp and grabs his gun from the dashboard, firing quick and messy shots into the already broken back window. One of them hits the pursuit car and causes it to go skidding across the empty road they're on, but it doesn't defer them off course enough. The driver of the other vehicle fires back with even more precision than Cas and easily hits him, the bullet making purchase with Cas' already injured shoulder. The impact causes the Novak to fall back on the dashboard, the blood already seeping through his fingers.

"Cas?!" Dean screams nervously, losing control of the car for a few seconds. But he only motions for Dean to drive, that he'll be fine while the blood stains the Impala's seats.

"We can't shake them!" Sam calls from the back. "We need another plan!"

"Well I don't have another plan!" Dean rages back. "We're losing Cas and I'm out of luck and I don't know what to do, Sammy!"

"Dean…" Cas whispers from the front, his consciousness slowly fading.

"Cas…hang in there, okay? You'll be fine."

"It's just a flesh wound…" Cas gets out through gritted teeth, and Dean can't believe this guy is making Monty Python references at a time like this. "It's not life threatening, but I'll probably pass out from the pain soon, but I've got a plan. Bonnie and Clyde."

"Wha…what is Bonnie and Clyde?"

"Dean…" Cas is slowly crashing now, his eyes fluttering shut against the pain. "Think about what you said earlier…and if we don't…make it out of this…I love you, okay?"

"Cas…" Dean whispers desperately, but when he looks away from the road the Novak is already passed out, the grip on his shoulder slack. The only good thing Dean can see is that the bleeding is slowing, but other than that he has no idea what Cas meant by Bonnie and Clyde. Meanwhile the car behind them is gaining in pursuit, and Dean ducks when he hears two more bullets fire from behind him, missing his head only by centimeters.

"Bonnie and Clyde…Bonnie and Clyde!" Sam exclaims from the backseat, jumping up and pulling Dean around to face him. "I know what Cas meant!"

"Then tell me please because I'm still in the dark!"

"Look around us, Dean. Where are we?"

"A friggin highway, where else?"

"Look harder. What are we driving over?"

Dean turns around and really looks at the road they're on. At first all he sees is concrete and yellow lines, but once he realizes what Sam is saying it all clicks in his head.

Bonnie and Clyde, jumping off the cliff. They're driving right on an overpass and Cas wants them to dive off it.

…Is he crazy? If they drive off this bridge then they're dead for sure. But then again, maybe that was Cas' plan all along? Team Free Will, even in death. It almost seems appealing now, the idea of imminent demise. All the running would be over for a sweet nonexistence, or whatever else awaited them on the other side.

But then Dean realizes something. The road below them is deserted with no cars in sight. The headlights behind them are gaining, more shots are being fired, and this is their only chance to escape the monsters chasing them. If he angles the car in exactly the right way, there is a slight possibility he can land the Impala safely onto the road below. Besides, he grew up watching Starsky and Hutch. He had to be an expert because of that, right?

Time is up. The car behind them is now bumping into the Impala's backside, and Dean has to decide. Does he risk everyone's lives for freedom, or does he become a prisoner of the Novaks for life? He turns around to meet his brother's gaze. Sam clearly realizes what is running through Dean's mind, and gives him one single head nod.

And that's all Dean needs to jerk the Impala off the road and into the barrier of the overpass, breaking through the metal barricade to fly over the edge.

Everything moves in slow motion.

Carry on my wayward son…

The song plays eerily in the background as Sam and Dean scream, the feeling of flying gripping Dean's gut in a vice as the vehicle soars through the atmosphere like an airplane. Dean can only watch as the car flies though the air and makes a slow descent to the abandoned road, clearly heading for a face first nosedive.

They'll be peace when you are done…

The ground is only inches away from the Impala's front end, and Dean and Sam brace for impact. Three…two…one…

And bam. The car hits the pavement with a smash and flips over, skidding across the surface with a metallic screech, accompanying the music playing in the background. Dean doesn't even know which way is up anymore as his head smashes against the ground, his eyes blearing with the coming unconsciousness. Everything is broken glass, metal, and bones; the destruction is encompassing Dean and he doesn't know how to get out of it.

Lay your weary head to rest…

The car finally rolls to a stop in a ditch on the side of the road after what feels like forever. Dean is dizzy but somehow still alive, but he doesn't know about the others. His stomach turns at the thought of people finding their bodies in the wreckage.

"Sam…" Dean calls wearily, the pain now taking over his body quickly. "Sammy!"

No response.

"Cas…" he whispers desperately, the tears building in his throat when he gets no answer. "Cas! Answer me!"

Of course all he is greeted with is silence. The only thing Dean can do to keep holding on is shimmy his arm out from under his body to find Cas' unconscious form. He reaches over and grabs the clearly broken wrist of the man, desperately searching for a pulse. His chest heaves with grief when he finds none.

"Cas," he gets out through sobs, the darkness starting to fade into his vision. "If you're still here…I just want you to know I love you, alright? I know I've never said it like that but I do, okay? I do."

The last thing Dean remembers is the flashing lights of police cars coming into his vision, and then everything fades to black.

Don't you cry no more…

A Note from the Author:

Apologies for causing all of the emotional turmoil in this chapter! This is the scene that I originally thought of when I imagined writing this Romeo/Juliet-esque fic about Dean and Cas, and since I'm a linear writer it feels good to finally have gotten the words down after all of this time. But to all of those who are fretting about the fate of our heroes, don't worry; I'm most likely wrapping up this fic over the weekend and will post the remaining chapters in the next few weeks. Depending on how I'm going to end this fic there will either be two or three more chapters. It all really relies on how I'm going to break up the POVs for the falling action/conclusion.

Also, I owe tons of thanks to everyone who takes time to read my work and post comments on it. I'm a super busy college student so I don't really have time to go through and reply to each comment I get, but just know that I love seeing the chapter reactions. It fuels me forward to keep writing, and it also helps me improve as a fanfiction writer since I am still relatively new to this world and have tons to learn yet. You guys are all amazing and I hope you will stick with me for the rest of this ride.

[And for being so awesome, here's a non-spoilerly insight for the next few chapters. Rule number one: things are not always as they seem. Keep that in mind when things go awry...]