May 2-3, 1999
It seemed to take forever to extricate Dean and Sam from the wreck. Though they were careful, every time the emergency responders jostled the wreckage, it felt like someone stabbed Dean in the knee. Gabriel practically hopped from foot to foot as he waited, and the instant they pulled Dean from the car, Gabriel elbowed his way past the paramedics to confront him.
"What the shit, Dean?" he shouted, the unmarred skin on his face flushing red in contrast to his scars.
The paramedics pushed him back out of the way. "Sir, you need to give us room to work."
"Not right now, Gabriel," Dean pleaded. The secret was blown with the angel, but he couldn't talk about Cas in front of all these strangers. "I swear I will tell you everything, but later, okay?"
Gabriel nodded and allowed the medics to move him aside, but he didn't look happy about it. His eye never left Dean once the whole time he was being examined.
"Do you have an angel on the way?" one paramedic asked.
Dean shook his head, flinching and sucking in a hissing breath as she gently palpated his knee. "I don't have one. The driver's my brother – half-brother – but Gabriel was his mom's angel," he improvised.
"Ah, I see," she said. Turning away, she called out, "We're taking him in." Another medic stepped up to help her move Dean to a gurney.
Dean hated the lie. It felt like he was disavowing his mom, but he didn't want to deal with the buttload of questions that would surely come if he gave the truth. This was easier. He looked again toward Gabriel, who was still watching him with a worried frown.
Finally, both Dean and Sam were taken to the hospital to be checked out, where it was determined that Dean had sprained his knee, not dislocated or broken it. The doctors told him there was a possibility he might need surgery if the ligaments were badly damaged, but that would be decided after the swelling had gone down enough to evaluate it properly.
Gabriel stayed right beside him through all the scans and pokes and prods. Nurses and technicians and doctors seemed to be everywhere, and there wasn't a moment alone to talk to the angel. Police came and got his and Sam's statements, even though they didn't have much to tell them. The light was green and then bam. That was pretty much it.
"And the demon?" The officer looked up from his notepad with his bushy eyebrows raised.
"Um. Demon?" Dean repeated stupidly. His belly did a flip, and he had to remind himself that Cas was long gone and perfectly safe. Presumably. It wasn't like he'd seen him in two freaking years.
"There was a demon?" Sam interjected, fear on his face. Dean realized his brother had been unconscious for Cas's appearance.
The officer explained, "Multiple witnesses said a demon materialized directly next to the accident site. Did you see it?"
What was Dean supposed to say to that? "Uh, yeah, maybe? I was pretty shaken up, though. I guess it must have left when it saw Gabriel?"
"Hm." The officer returned to chicken scratching at the notebook.
After the officer had finished asking questions and gone on his way, Gabriel swooped in.
"Okay, spill," he demanded in a fierce stage whisper. "That was your winged angel from the pond, wasn't it?"
"What?" Sam yelped. "Cas was there?"
Gabriel turned his fiery glare on Sam. "You're in on this, too?" He threw his hands up in irritation and bellowed, "Somebody better tell me what I just saw out there, and right the hell now!"
"Holy crap, Gabriel, I'd freaking tell you if you'd just calm down!" Dean shouted.
"Whoa, rein it in, you idjits!" A new voice cut sharply through the room.
Everyone fell silent and turned to see that Bobby had arrived, looking even more annoyed than usual. He stabbed a finger in Dean's direction. "You. Are you all right?"
"Knee sprain. I'll be fine."
The finger zeroed in on Sam "And you?"
"I'm fine. Gabriel healed me."
"Well, okay, then," Bobby grunted with a satisfied nod. "Next time one of you jackasses gets in a wreck and doesn't call me immediately, somebody is getting their ass kicked."
"Sorry, Bobby," Dean mumbled. Sam echoed him.
"Now what's all the ruckus about?"
Gabriel opened his big mouth then. "Dean's imaginary friend showed up and waved a knife at me!"
"Hey! You're the one who decided I was making things up. It's not my fault you didn't believe me," Dean sniped. Even though it was an ancient wound, it still hurt to poke it.
"Knock it off!" Bobby barked. "Dean. Start explaining."
Dean slumped back into his hospital bed with a heavy sigh. He'd never intended for any of them to find out about Cas, but the cat had long since slipped the bag, and now he had no choice.
"His name is Castiel. The first time I met him, I was four years old, and he saved me from drowning."
He went on to give them a brief history of their relationship with Cas, with Sam breaking in to add or change a detail now and then. It sucked. Recounting it just dredged up all kinds of crappy feelings. Seeing him today, even for a few seconds, had only made it worse.
"Even though we haven't seen him in forever, today he showed up just the same as you, Gabriel – to help us when we were hurt. But he doesn't trust angels – he can't. He's afraid of you, and I don't blame him for that. Angels see wings, they think demon, they attack. If he weren't so cautious, he'd probably have been killed a long time ago," Dean concluded.
Bobby eyed him thoughtfully and nodded. "And he's been AWOL?"
"For the last two years," Sam answered from his perch on the end of Dean's bed. "Ever since he found out we were going to get Gabriel back."
"I expect the only reason he showed up today was because Sammy was hurt so bad." Dean tried to swallow down the sudden lump in his throat and waved a hand at his braced and swollen knee. "I don't think he'd come just for this. And after today, he probably won't come at all anymore."
Sam reached out, putting a comforting hand on the ankle of his uninjured leg. Dean gave his brother a look of gratitude. Sammy at least understood.
Just then, a nurse came in with discharge papers, and not too long after that, Dean was free to go home.
Bobby left with Sam to drive back to the house. Gabriel stayed until all the i's were dotted, and when Dean was ready, he flew them directly to the living room where he got Dean settled in on the couch. Bobby and Sam hadn't made it back yet.
Gabriel looked out the window, keeping watch for Bobby's truck. "I'm sorry, Dean. For not believing you way back then."
A little twinge of guilt came alive in Dean's belly for having brought it up. "It's okay. I know how ridiculous it must have sounded, especially coming from a four-year-old."
"True. But I'm still sorry I hurt you," Gabriel said softly, his gaze still fixed outside. "I hurt you then, and I can't heal you now."
"That isn't your fault. And you saved Sammy. That's way more important than fixing my stupid knee."
Gabriel stirred from his spot by the window. "They're here."
Since it was ridiculously late, there was no more discussion of Castiel. Bobby went straight to bed, and Gabriel fussed over Dean, finding him pillows and bedding and bringing him water and snacks. Joshua was apparently off on a mission with his garrison, since he was nowhere to be seen.
Sam sat in the recliner beside the couch. They had the TV on, but kept the sound low, so as not to bother Bobby. Suddenly, Dean heard a tiny sniff and realized Sam was crying.
"Sammy? Hey, what's wrong?"
"I'm so sorry, Dean."
"What're you talking about?" Dean asked.
Losing his fight for control, Sam gulped air in hitching breaths. "The car! I had it for all of two hours before I totaled it. You worked so hard, and now it's wrecked, and you're hurt, and-"
"Sammy, no! It wasn't your fault," Dean reassured him, frustrated that he couldn't get up and go to him. "The guy that hit us was drunk as a skunk and ran the red. Of course it sucks that the car's wrecked, but it's just a car. And I'm fine, really. I'm just glad you're okay. You scared the crap out of me, dude."
"I didn't mean to!" Sam wailed.
Gabriel bustled in from the kitchen and hurried to Sam's side, sitting on the arm of the recliner and putting an arm around him. "Hey, hey, what's going on in here?"
Sam just leaned into Gabriel and sniffled.
"Hey, kiddo, it's okay. Everything's okay." Gabriel let Sam cry himself out, talking soothingly the whole time. When Sam was done, the angel stood and guided him toward the stairs. "I'll just get Sam upstairs. I'm sure he'll feel better after some solid sleep. G'night, Dean."
Glad that someone was there to take care of Sammy since he couldn't, Dean smiled. "Night, Gabriel."
The next morning, the good drugs had worn off, and Dean's knee was super pissed off. Plus, he hadn't slept for shit. He'd been stuck on the couch all night, since the bathroom was downstairs, and he couldn't be trusted to navigate the stairs on crutches yet.
He hobbled into the kitchen to find Joshua and Bobby fixing eggs and toast.
"Sit. Food'll be up in a few."
"Thanks, Bobby," Dean groaned as he eased himself down into one of the chairs at the table.
After pushing down the lever on the toaster, Joshua leaned back against the counter and addressed Dean. "Bobby filled me in on your...friend. I'm sorry you felt you needed to keep his existence a secret from us."
Dean grunted. "It wasn't my choice – it's for Cas's safety, and he didn't want you to know. I wouldn't have told anyone if this hadn't happened."
"Still," Joshua continued, "I'm glad it's in the open now. You should know that neither Bobby nor I would have a problem with him if he wished to be here. He's proven himself to be a friend to you, and that's enough for us."
"Yeah, well, it's not up to me."
Bobby looked up from his egg skillet. "Next time you see him, though, you can let him know. Give him a chance to think it over."
Dean scowled at the brace on his knee. "Sure. Next time I see him." Which would be never.
Sam came in during that exchange, with Gabriel at his heels. His eyes were still a little swollen from crying last night, and he seemed to be going out of his way to avoid eye contact with anyone.
Gabriel told Dean, "That goes for me, too, you know. He's saved your asses enough, I'm more than happy to have him here as long as he doesn't try stabbing me again. Anybody bound to the line is family."
Joshua tipped his head and pursed his lips. "So how was Castiel bound to your bloodline? Do you know?"
"Not for certain, but we've got some good guesses," Sam said, perking up a little at the question. "We know our grandfather Henry and his angel Hannah were killed back in the '50s in a demon attack. We also know Cas has been around way longer than us. The way we figure it, maybe Grandpa Henry and Hannah started a binding ritual to raise a new angel, but they got caught and killed before it was finished."
"I suppose that would follow," Joshua mused.
"If it's true, we don't actually know how Cas survived, since demons either take back their fledglings or kill them if the bond is completed." Sam shrugged. "He made it out somehow, though. We've never asked, and he doesn't talk about it."
Bobby pulled the skillet from the heat and turned off the burner. "So is he more angel or more demon?"
"There's definitely a halo – I saw it," Gabriel piped up. "And he's healed the kiddos several times, so I'd lean toward angel."
Sam shook his head. "He passes through angel warding – the best that Dad ever found. He's not an angel. And he doesn't hear prayers, either."
"And the wings are confusing, too," Gabriel added thoughtfully. "I wonder if it means he can't cross into the otherworld."
"Why?" Sam asked.
"Well, you know we're anchored to both the earth and the ether – our wings are the link to the ether that allow us to cross the barrier," Gabriel explained.
Joshua said, "Right! His manifested wings might mean he's bound here permanently."
"So maybe he's more like a demon that's stuck on the wrong side of the wall?" Bobby suggested.
Dean listened to the discussion in silence, until he finally couldn't stand it anymore. "Who cares?" he snapped, pushing himself unsteadily to his feet...well, foot. "What difference does it make? It doesn't matter one damn bit what you call him – it doesn't change who he is. He's my friend, and that's all that's ever mattered to me. Just quit trying to stuff him in some convenient box already."
Snatching up his crutches, Dean hitched himself out of the kitchen and onto the porch. It made no sense for him to be this upset about something so dumb, but the way they'd been dissecting Cas's existence like some kind of scientific curiosity pissed him off. He settled himself into the battered old porch swing which creaked ominously as it took his weight.
Glaring out over the machinery and broken down wrecks of the scrap yard, Dean cursed himself for leaving the kitchen without breakfast or painkillers, but he'd be damned if he'd go back in there now.
A few minutes later, Sam peeked out the front door, then pushed it open with his shoulder as he carried a plate of eggs, toast, and ibuprofen out to Dean. He held a glass of water in his other hand.
"I thought you might still want some breakfast," he offered.
Dean accepted the food and the pills gratefully. "You're my favorite baby brother in the world, Sammy."
Sam made a wry face at the name.
"Hey," Dean had a sudden thought. "Could you do me one more favor?"
"Sure."
"Would you go get my cell? I haven't called Cassie since the accident – she's gonna be ticked I didn't call from the hospital." Dean wrinkled his nose, dreading that particular conversation.
"Yeah, okay," Sam said. As he opened the door, he paused and turned back to Dean. "Sorry we got carried away in there. You know we didn't mean anything by it, right?"
Dean nodded and swallowed his bite of egg. "Yeah, I know. Sorry for being cranky. Didn't sleep very well."
Sammy nodded, then disappeared into the house to fetch the phone.
After finishing the last of his breakfast, Dean carefully balanced the plate on the porch railing and looked back out over the scrap yard. It reassured him to know that if Castiel ever did show up, he wouldn't be immediately attacked by Gabriel or Joshua and murdered for being a demon freak.
Dean just didn't expect Cas ever to come within a hundred miles of him again.