A/N: Cammie on Ao3 requested a fic with Amy flying without supervision and getting into some danger. I made some adjustments to the original request to keep the peril more minor, but it still has Amy disobeying and Sam and Dean rescuing her, so I hope it satisfies!


"Grounded"

Amala tilted her head up and snapped a shot of the tree canopy with her little disposable camera. She then pursed her mouth in consideration. There was a bird flitting around up in the branches, and Amala kept glimpsing bits of its brilliant blue plumage. She really wanted to capture a picture of it, but her vantage point on the ground wasn't close enough, and it was hiding amongst the leaves.

She roved her gaze around, and spotted a large dead tree a few feet away from the healthy copse. That would be the perfect spot to get an eye-level shot of the bird without coming too close and disturbing it.

Amala slowly looked over her shoulder back toward the bunker, then around the other direction toward the drive. No one was around. She wasn't supposed to fly without her dad's supervision, but it was just a short leap up into the tree, and she'd gone flying enough times to know how to control her ascension and landing. She'd be real quick, up and back on the ground again before anyone noticed.

Keeping her wings incorporeal, Amala focused on becoming aware of them. It was easier to fly if they were manifested, but Dad flew all the time without having to do that, so she could, too. Her muscles flexed, feathers ruffling. She spread her wings and gave a tremendous flap to launch herself up to the top of the dead tree.

Her landing was smooth and executed perfectly, and she had a brief moment of a proud grin before the bark beneath her feet let out a groan and abruptly gave way.

o.O.o

Dean was working on the Impala's engine when a scream had him jolting so hard he smacked his head on the raised hood. Ignoring the painful throbbing, he spun away from the car and bolted out the open garage door into the wooded area outside.

"Amy?" he yelled, sweeping a frantic gaze around. "Amy!"

Where was she? She'd just been playing outside. Had another monster tracked them down at the bunker and gone after her again? Dammit, he should have been watching more closely.

"Amy!" he shouted desperately as he sprinted through the woods. He pulled up short when he thought he heard a faint response.

"Help," a muffled voice called out.

Dean twisted around, trying to pinpoint it. "Amy? Where are you?" Why couldn't he see her?

"Here!" she called out with a half-sob. "I'm in here!"

Her voice was getting louder, so he was close. But 'in' where?

"Uncle Dean?" Amy called out again.

He came to a stop in front of a large oak with bare, gnarled branches. What the…

"Amy?"

"In- in here," she sobbed.

Dean's eyes widened in horror. "How the hell did you get in there?" he exclaimed.

He heard a few muffled sniffles before her pitiful response. "I fell."

Fell? Dean craned his neck back to look at the top of the tree nearly fifteen feet in height. Had she climbed up there? The thing was covered in rot. The entire trunk was probably hollowed out, which was how she'd gotten trapped in there. But if she'd fallen…

"Are you hurt?" he asked urgently.

She was quiet for a moment, save for her continuing sniffles. "N-no. But…my wing hurts. I can't fly out."

Okay, okay… Dean forced himself to take a centering breath as he pressed his palms against the craggy bark. Damn thing felt pretty sturdy at the base.

"Okay. I'll get you out of there. Just hang tight." Tools, he needed tools. "I'll be right back."

"Don't leave me!"

Dean's chest constricted. "I'm not leaving you, sweetheart. I'm gonna be right back. I have to get a tool to help me get you out of there, okay? I'm coming right back, I swear."

"O-okay," she said shakily.

He tore himself away from his terrified niece and ran back to the garage. What should he grab? A chainsaw would be effective, but he didn't want to frighten Amy more than she already was. An axe, then.

Dean made a quick detour to the inner door and poked his head inside the bunker to holler, "Sam!" He then hurried to the wall to grab the axe.

Sam's pounding footsteps came up the stairs a moment later. "What's wrong?"

"Amy's stuck inside a tree."

Sam quirked a dubious brow. "What? You mean, like, stuck up in a tree?"

"No, like inside a friggin' tree trunk," Dean replied as he hefted the axe and made a beeline back outside, Sam sputtering on his heels.

"Amy, I'm right here," Dean called when he reached the tree. "So is Uncle Sam. We're gonna get you out."

"Okay," came her whimpered reply.

"Call Cas," Dean told his brother. "She hurt her wing."

"No!" Amy cried. "Please don't tell him."

Dean frowned. "What? Why not?"

She let out a small mewl. "Because I was flying when he told me not to."

Dean exchanged a look with Sam. Right, that explained some things, like how she'd gotten to the top of the tree in the first place. They could probably get her out on their own, but if her wing was hurt, they'd need Cas to look at it.

"We have to tell your parents," Sam said as he pulled out his phone and started typing out a text message.

Dean ran his hand along the trunk in search of the weakest spot to hack through. It was difficult to tell, though, so he'd just have to pick a place. He nodded to Sam and gestured for him to head around the opposite side.

Sam pocketed his phone and gave a harried nod. "Amy, come over to the side where my voice is, okay?"

"O-okay."

"That's it. Now cover your head. Dean's going to come in from the other side."

Dean took up position and raised the axe. He swung down, steel thwacking into the rough bark and sending chips flying. He pulled back and struck again, trying to control his swings so that most of the bark was being hacked away on his end. Thankfully, the dead wood started coming away more easily, and he finally made a hole into the hollowed out center. Now he just had to make it big enough for Amy to crawl out through.

There was a flutter of wingbeats behind him as Cas suddenly appeared.

"What happened?" the angel demanded frantically, wide eyes taking in the scene.

"She fell from the top," Sam quickly explained.

"I'm almost through," Dean added before Cas could decide to simply rip the tree up by the roots in order to get to his daughter.

"Amala?" Cas called worriedly.

"I'm here," she called back.

"Keep your eyes covered," Dean said. "I'm almost there." He dug the axe blade into a chink of bark and ripped another chunk loose, finally making a hole big enough. "Okay, come on, sweetheart."

Dean peered into the darkened interior and watched Amy uncurl from where she was pressed against the bark on the opposite side, and then slowly crawl her way over. He stepped back then as Cas hurried in to grab her and lift her out the rest of the way. She was covered in dirt and hair mussed, but Dean didn't see any blood.

Cas dropped to his knees and ran frantic hands over her arms and head, searching for injuries. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head mutely, and Cas wrapped her in a tight hug.

Dean shifted, uncertain about butting in, but… "She said her wing hurt."

Cas's mouth turned down as he peered over her shoulder. "Did you try to catch your fall?"

Amy bobbed her head, biting her lip. Cas ran his hand down her back, then over the space behind her shoulder blades where Dean presumed her wings were, but, you know, not.

Cas's shoulders sagged in obvious relief. "It's not broken. Just a sprain, I think." He let out a stressed breath. "You need to be more careful climbing like that."

Sam cleared his throat and gave Amy a pointed look. She ducked her gaze. Cas glanced at him and Dean in confusion.

"I wasn't climbing," she mumbled. "I flew."

Cas's brow furrowed. "You flew?"

"I wanted to take a picture of a bird," she said pitifully. "It was just supposed to be real quick."

Cas closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again and gazing at her sagely. "So you flew even though you knew you weren't supposed to?"

Amy nodded, eyes still fixed on the ground. "I'm sorry."

Cas placed a finger under her chin and gently lifted it so she would look at him. "Now do you understand why I set that rule?"

She nodded through a sniffle.

Cas gave her a sober look and after a pause, added gently, "And you understand I have to ground you for breaking it?"

Amy nodded again.

Cas pulled her into another tight hug and cupped the back of her head. "I'm just glad you're okay. I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you."

She raised her arms to hug back, burying her face in Cas's neck. "I'm sorry," she said again.

Cas held on for a prolonged moment, and then shifted to pick her up in his arms. "Let's go take care of that wing," he said, and gave the Winchesters a sober look of gratitude.

Dean nodded in return. He needed a drink after all this. Sam ran a hand through his hair, looking much the same.

Dean bent down to reach into the hollowed trunk for Amy's camera and dusted it off. She'd be wanting it back. But later. After her punishment was over. Though, Dean figured what she'd just been through was probably punishment enough. It was a good thing he was just the uncle.

Dean nodded to his brother. "Let's get a beer."

Sam huffed out a snort. "Yeah."

And later, Dean was coming back out here with a chainsaw and taking this wretched tree down for good.