Even from a distance, Dean could clearly see Jo's body like a ragdoll as she was propelled onto the hood of the car and all the way over, landing behind it as the vehicle came to a sudden stop. As Dean neared it, a man who looked to be only a few years older than him stepped out of the car and looked around wildly.

Ignoring him, Dean ran straight to where Jo was lying, twisted and bleeding on the asphalt. Dean grasped her shoulder and pulled her over to see her face. She was unconscious, her head bleeding and it looked like her leg was bent the wrong way. It was then that he saw the huge gash that had ripped through her jacket and shirt and into her side. He glanced at the car but couldn't see what had caused the cut.

It was bleeding heavily though and when Dean peeled away the fabric he could see that it was deeper than he thought, and wider, gaping open, and Dean could almost see her insides. Instinct taking over, Dean put his hands on her side and put pressure on the wound, trying to hold her together.

All of this had taken less than thirty seconds for Dean to take in and when he looked up at the driver, he was still standing awkwardly, staring in shock at Jo's body.

"Call an ambulance!" Dean shouted at him, startling the man into doing so. Dean leaned over Jo, calling her name. He could see her chest moving, but slower and slower her breath entered and left her lungs. With one bloody hand, Dean brought his fingers to her throat and felt her heartbeat thumping hard, but too slow.

He continued to keep pressure on Jo's side as sirens echoed through the neighborhood. An ambulance screeched to a halt somewhere behind Dean and three men jumped out. One shooed away Dean and took his place while the other two retrieved a gurney from the back of the ambulance.

A police car suddenly showed up and two policemen got out. Dean faintly heard them say something to him, but he was in a deep stupor and couldn't process anything but the sight of Jo's body being placed on the gurney and strapped down. The police turned from him and went instead to the other man. Cas appeared at Dean's elbow, startling him into looking away from Jo.

"Cas?" he said stupidly, looking into Castiel's sad blue eyes.

Those blue eyes glanced over his shoulder at the driver who'd hit Jo. "That's my brother, Michael," he whispered.

Dean looked at Michael and then Jo. They had already loaded her and were about to close the doors of the ambulance. "I have to go," he told Cas, heading towards Jo and hopping in the ambulance. He watched Cas through the small window as they pulled away and headed towards the hospital, barely hearing the men with him as they loudly shared the various stats they were getting from Jo.

When they arrived at the hospital, multiple nurses rushed out and quickly got Jo out, listening to the fast synopsis of her condition from the others and immediately taking her into surgery. They kept Dean out though, making him wait outside the doors, hands still covered in Jo's blood, which had also gotten on his shirt and jacket sleeves. After pacing for a few minutes, Dean sighed and made his way into the waiting area, pulling out his phone to call Ellen, trusting that Cas would tell everyone else.

"Hey, hun, what's happening?" Ellen asked pleasantly when she picked up.

Dean hesitated. His words came out in a rush as he told her, "It's Jo. She got hit by a car and I'm in the hospital right now. They just took her in for surgery."

Ellen didn't say anything for a moment, but Dean could hear her choked breathing. "How bad is it?" she whispered.

"It's bad," he replied slowly. "I think you need to get here as soon as you can. I don't know how long they'll take but…" he trailed off.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes," Ellen said, hanging up.

Dean fell into a chair to wait and tried to ignore the various hospital sounds that he had just been beginning to forget after Cas had been released. It felt like hours but was only about twenty minutes later when Dean saw Ellen heading through the doors and past reception to where he was.

"Anything?" she asked frantically stopping before him. Dean shook his head and she sighed, taking the seat next to him.

There was a tense quiet between them until Dean spoke suddenly. "She was crossing the road and I could see her and then it was like the car just appeared out of nowhere and—"

"It's okay, Dean, I know it's not your fault. It was an accident, right?" Ellen seemed to fight past the worry and fear to give a small, sad smile at his nod and pat his arm.

It wasn't too much later that everyone else—meaning Bill, Bobby, Karen, Cas, and Sam—showed up in the waiting area. Ellen's husband hugged her as Dean stood and Cas took him into his arms. Dean buried his face into the other boy's neck and clutched at him, not caring who was around.

"Come on, Dean, I'll help you clean up," Cas said quietly, leading Dean to a bathroom nearby. Dean didn't say anything to anyone else but followed Cas silently, watching the floor. In the bathroom, Dean washed the dried blood off his hands and sat on the counter while Cas wiped it off of his sleeves. When he was mildly cleaner Cas stood directly in front of him, resting his forehead against Dean's.

Dean closed his eyes, hands on top of Castiel's which were resting on his legs. "What can I do?" Cas whispered. Shaking his head, Dean didn't reply, wanting something but knowing there was nothing anyone could do at that moment.

Eventually the two made their way back to the congregation and sat next to each other by Sam. Everyone was quietly waiting as time passed slowly. After a while, Dean rested his head on Cas' shoulder and began to doze, the familiar scent of wind and soap wreathing around him from the blue-eyed boy.

It was nearly four hours later that a doctor came out to stand before them all, making everyone jump to their feet to hear the news.

"Well, we have her stabilized for now, but she took a lot of damage. The skull fracture caused internal bleeding that seems to have stopped, but she also broke her femur, a couple of ribs, and has a severe laceration on her side. But she'll live." There was a collective sigh of relief.

"Can I see her?" Ellen asked eagerly.

The doctor shook his head slightly. "You can, if you want, but she's unconscious and we're not sure when she'll wake up."

Ellen looked at her husband and then at everyone else. Finally she seemed to make up her mind. "I should stay here with her tonight just in case, but the rest of you all don't need to stay."

"You sure, Ellen?" Karen asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll be fine, and it's only right a mother be with her daughter." She turned back to Bill. "And you have work tonight, so you should get going." Bill gave her a look, but her expression was resolute and they all knew they couldn't change her mind.

Bill relented. "Alright, but you call if you need anything or if something changes."

"I will," Ellen replied. She moved towards Dean and gave him a quick hug before sending everyone on their way.

It was late evening when they returned to the Winchester house after saying farewells to Bill. Without a word, Dean retired to shower off the remnants of his friend's blood and head to bed. Once again, he couldn't fall asleep, but instead of tossing and turning, Dean was curled into a ball. After a while the sound of his door opening and closing roused him from his half-sleep. Dean hadn't realized he was shaking until Cas got into bed beside him and put his arms around him. Dean hid his face into Cas' chest.

"I just got you out of the hospital and now she's in there," Dean whispered a while later.

"Don't blame yourself, Dean," Cas replied quietly, clutching him close. "If anything, it's my fault." He paused, one hand stroking Dean's hair. "He was coming to see me. I talked to him yesterday and he said he would stop by soon, but I didn't know when…"

Dean lifted his head from under Castiel's chin and looked him in the eyes. "It's not your fault either, Cas. It was just an accident." He relaxed slightly and put his head down again. "As much as I want to be mad at Michael, I know it was just a freak thing and no one's to blame."

Cas didn't answer, but Dean knew he was right. They spent the rest of the night in silence, Dean eventually drifting off to the steady beating of Cas' heart.


A/N: I don't really know much about hospitals or injuries except what I've researched or found out from doing mock-disaster-drills for medical science students when I was in Drama (Don't ask... it's weird to explain). But I tried! I also think it's become a regular thing to have fluff at the endings of nearly every chapter.. I never really meant for that, but that's how it's turned out! Regardless, fluff is always nice to write.

P.S. I'm so sorry, I just love giving everyone pain. I know it's horrible.