Happy weekend! A bit of a different take on this chapter, considering the boys current predicament, hopefully you guys like it (feedback, as always, makes better writers!) Special thanks to freetobescary, ThornsHaveRoses, VegasGranny, Celtic Knot, lanteaddicted1, and DearHart for your reviews and for always keeping me going!

I still don't own SPN, but will definitely be following along to the SDCC coverage coming up! I am also not a medic in any capacity, so I apologize if any information is wrong, I'm doing the best I can with the time I have to work, research, and write.

Castiel, Angel of the Lord, rebel, fallen, graceless, Winchester, any of the names that have applied to him over the millennia, many of them having come about in just the last decade. He had been faced with much change, not just on a cosmic scale, but on a more personal scale as well. One thing, he had found, that had not changed (only his ability to had) was his appreciation and joy of flight.

It has always been a means of getting from one location to another, but sometimes it was more than that. It allowed him the ability to see the world in its entirety in all its beauty. The sounds, rushing colors, striking visuals, there was no comparison to that feeling anywhere else. He wished, sometimes, that he could fly somewhere just for the sake of doing so, but after all the unpleasantness with the fall, he learned that it was no longer possible. It was in the reflection that followed that Cas noticed how much he would not only notice and miss the convenience of flight, but the joy of it as well.

Cars were confining. There was no other way for the angel to put it. They were large metal containers on wheels, pinnacles of his father's creation's technological prowess, but they still didn't compare to his wings and the flight beneath them.

The Impala, if it were possible, was different. Cas had seen Dean on occasion view her, because it was a she lovingly entitled 'Baby' and Dean would never let Cas forget it, in a similar fashion to how he viewed his wings. She was a means to travel, yes, but also much more. She was a home and security for the Winchesters when they seldom had much else. She provided Dean a way to fly without ever leaving the ground.

Speeding down open Kansas highways, windows down, rock music blaring, that was where Cas had seen the eldest Winchester the most at peace, of course with his younger brother by his side.

It was because of these differences, importances, and the fact that the car was a family member itself, that Cas drove her as carefully and as efficiently as he could to the burned remnants of the Stevens' household. While he was confident in his ability to not damage the beautiful, black beast that Dean had entrusted him with, he had learned to never be too careful.

He wanted, beyond anything else, for Dean and Sam to be able to ride out in the car at the end of the afternoon. That, of course meant that the ghost had to be dispelled, the brothers had to be unhurt, and the car had to remain undamaged.

The actual burning of the house went smoothly, which should have been cause for relief, but instead only increased the worry in the angel's mind. If things were peaceful at the house, that meant that the spirit was at the station with the Winchesters.

The Impala was, of course, irreplaceable, but that didn't stop Cas from wishing that yet again he had his wings so he could get to the brothers just a few minutes faster and prevent any further harm from being done.

He made sure that the small blaze would not spread before he got back into the car and headed to the other edge of town. To his dismay, he saw the billow of black smoke in the sky and heard the roar of sirens before he saw the physical police station. At least the emergency professionals were already on site, hopefully with Sam and Dean sitting annoyed on the back of a vehicle tugging at the shock blankets they had been forced to wear.

As Cas pulled up and parked the car a safe distance away from the fire and where people were working, he realized again that it wouldn't be the case. He quickly advanced to the scene, only to be stopped by a fireman with his hand out.

"We can't have you come any closer, sir, it isn't safe," he advised.

Cas, of course, understood, but it wouldn't stand. "I have reason to believe that my brothers were inside with the sheriff when the blaze started, please, let me by," he said loud enough to be heard over the hoses, sirens, and bustle of movement.

"Sam?" It was a bit weak and came from behind Cas, but it was enough for him to tell that the voice didn't belong to Dean, which was another cause for concern. When he turned around, he noticed the sheriff sitting in a stretcher in the back of an open ambulance, being checked out by one of the paramedics.

His face had its fair share of cuts and burns, one of his arms had been immobilized in a sling, the other was wrapped in bandages, and there was an oxygen mask over his face.

"Yes, he is my brother, was he in the station with you?" Cas asked hurriedly, and walked a few steps closer.

The sheriff, Matthews as denoted by his name tag, nodded slightly. "Was right behind me…dunno where he went." Cas was about to ask if he could tell him anything else, but the man soon dissolved into a fit of coughing that fogged up the oxygen mask. He doubted there was much more to the story that he couldn't figure out himself.

"Thank you, I appreciate it. I wish you a quick recovery," he added honestly. Matthews gave a half-hearted smirk but said nothing else in response.

Cas studied him for another moment before increased commotion brought his attention back to the still burning building and the blaze that was hopefully getting under control. Firemen were ferrying tools back and forth at an alarming rate, and one or two at a time would disappear in full gear through one of the back doors to the station.

In the minutes that followed, Cas had stepped as close to the building as they would allow him. There was still no sign of either Winchester, and by that point Cas was just hoping they would find anything at all. He was answered when they called to bring over a stretcher. In unison, they worked to open the doors fully and when they did so, smoke continued to billow out from the entryway.

The stretcher and paramedics with masks went inside for a few minutes, in which Cas was left lying in wait. When they finally did reappear from the smoke, it was at an increased pace with Sam, hopefully just unconscious, on the stretcher between them.

There were a few positives to living in a small town. Everyone knew everyone, emergency incidents were not frequent occurrences, and when one did arise, the hospital was a short drive away. All of these factors came together, for better or for worse, when the local police station erupted into flames, as if it were the grand finale to a few days of violent, fiery torture unlike anything the town had ever seen.

For a paramedic in the center of the recent days like Masie Nixon, she had hoped that things wouldn't be getting any worse. However, another call eventually came in from a flustered and worried man relaying that the police station was going up with people still inside. Unfortunately, the mystery man disconnected the call before he could say much else, which Masie never tok as a good sign.

In the few minutes it took the fire trucks and ambulances to get there, the flames had already caused the roof to cave in and were showing no signs of stopping. The quick-moving blaze was definitely strange, but if nothing else, it lined up with their last week of burn related injuries. They found the sheriff just outside the building clutching his arm, having leapt out from a high office window. Through his coughing, he kept repeating "Behind me, he was right behind me," in increasingly broken speech. He was taken to an ambulance, fixed up as best as they could, and given oxygen.

Masie lost track of the sheriff when the black beast of a car rolled up and she was subsequently called to the back of the station. She had no idea what the car was about, and hoped they weren't just getting more curious reporters or viewers, they all had a job to do. The firemen had headed inside in their full gear, looking for the other man the sheriff had mentioned. Others were working with hoses to try and quell the flames, but it wasn't working nearly fast enough. By the time they got done, there wouldn't be much left of a building to save.

She had been getting stuff prepped in the ambulance when a call went out and more people went to the back door opening of the station where the firemen had gone in. Masie followed behind and arrived just in time to see a few station members coming back out.

"Anything?" she asked, ready to head in if need be. On the downside, a small town meant smaller forces of emergency services, so she may have to head in. If it meant saving a life in the process though, there was no question about it.

One of the men nodded, almost imperceptible through the gear, and the second ran back to the truck. "Two, one's pinned down pretty bad, see if we can stabilize the debris and get them out," he answered, relaying the information to Masie and a few other service members that had come around to see what was going on.

"Backup?" Jack, another paramedic, spoke up, his thoughts on the same wavelength as Masie's. It wouldn't be the first time, and certainly not the last, that they would be put into a more precarious position.

The same fireman nodded, and they broke apart when the second one came back with a few tools. Everyone knew the drill. They got suited up as best they could, masks and fire-retardant jackets being the main thing, and got the stretchers out and ready for transport.

Two men, Masie hadn't been expecting that. The sheriff had only mentioned the one, so where had the second one come from? The guy that phoned it in, maybe trying to play hero and getting caught up in the mess? She shook her head, wishing that sometimes people would leave it to the professionals, but also understanding where the urge to help came from.

She returned along with Jack and their necessary supplies. By that time, the fire had been pushed back from the rear section of the station so they weren't dealing with active flames in the hallway the men were trapped in. Outside crews were still working on getting the rest of the building put out, but it was under control.

Masie followed the firemen in, and Jack came behind her, both of them being mindful of the cabinets and other debris that had fallen during the fire. A whole section of the roof had caved in and the walls were coated in soot. Their boots splashed in residual water from the hoses as they made their way inside and down the fifteen or so feet to where the men were trapped.

She didn't know what she had been expecting, but she had hoped that it would be better than what she saw. When they got close enough to see through the smoke still hanging in the air, it became clear that part of the caved in roof was trapping two men beneath it. Both appeared to be unconscious upon first glance, which was an immediate red flag.

The man with the short hair was practically on top of the man with the longer hair, as if in an attempt to shield him from the damage that was about to occur. The crews were working on getting the lower man freed first since there was less in the way, but neither of them looked good. They'd have to do a full check when they got outside the building into the ambulance, but just watching over the situation, it was clear that the short-haired one had sustained a head injury and the longer-haired one was breathing much too shallowly to be normal.

In all truth, Masie was surprised the two of them were still alive in the first place. She didn't get much time to think about anything else because a moment later, Jack was motioning her over to help move one of the ceiling tiles that had fallen in the way. It was surprising, and lucky, that it hadn't gone up in flames as well.

"He's face-down, no sign of a possible back injury, we need to move him out," Jack said as soon as the tiles were out of the way. Masie peered in just a bit closer and nodded in agreement. If it wasn't clear before, it certainly was now; the arms and shoulders of the other man had covered most of what would have injured the other. They could start piecing together a play by play after they got out of the station, but for now, they had to work on getting the men out and putting the fire out.

Masie lowered the stretcher and got it as close to the man as she could before they slowly, and extremely carefully, tried to slide him out from the grasp of the other man. And wow, was he a big guy to be moving while he was unconscious. It took both of them and a fireman to get him clear of the debris and the almost protective arms that didn't seem to want to let him go.

When they finally got him up onto the stretcher, Masie immediately put an oxygen mask onto his face, raised up the device, and started wheeling him outside with Jack in front. The sunlight was a welcome change from the smoky, hot interior of the station, but in the natural light she could also see what they were dealing with, which as always, was both a blessing and a curse.

The man had clear bad burns on his hands and face, definitely second-degree and nearing third. Luckily, he had been wearing a jacket which had covered his arms from most of the damage, and while it was singed in places, she was willing to bet that the overall burn damage wouldn't be too bad. The blood from various scrapes could be fixed with gauze and stitches if need be. She was the most worried about smoke inhalation, and just hoped they could get him hooked up to a ventilator in time.

The lingering officials in the lot parted when they saw the stretcher coming through, giving Masie and Jack a clear route to the nearest ambulance. The man still hadn't stirred, even while they were lifting the stretcher into the ambulance, which was still cause for worry. She pulled down her mask around her neck so she could work easier but also have it handy for when she would have to head back in. She was about to climb in after Jack before she heard hurried footsteps behind her and turned around, half expecting it to be someone from inside saying she was needed.

A man in a trenchcoat was standing beside the ambulance, looking worried beyond all belief. Masie knew the look well enough, she'd seen it enough times to last multiple lives.

"You know the victims?" she asked, guessing he had talked to someone or known where the 'victims' had been.

The man glanced inside the ambulance before he nodded ever so slightly. "Sam Winchester, his older brother, Dean, is inside. You said victims…he's not…?" the man trailed off.

Masie quickly shook her head and handed Jack a pair of gloves. The protective covering of the other man made immediate sense, she had an older brother, she knew how it went. "Just unconscious, we'll be transporting him as soon as he's settled," she assured as calmly as possible, which she had plenty of practice in doing. "And you are?"

"Cas, family member," he said, a bit awkwardly, but nothing Masie hadn't seen before. Seeing family in danger tended to make one not the best communicator on the planet.

"Anything we should know before transport? Allergies, past medical history, other living relatives to contact?" Masie ran through as Jack got everything ready for transport.

Cas thought for a moment before he shook his head. "With Sam, no, he is in good health," he paused, "Dean is recovering from a brain injury, he was involved in the plane crash and diagnosed with retrograde amnesia."

Amnesia? Well, that wasn't something you saw every day. "I see," Masie nodded back. A brain injury and add on another head injury on top of that…two months after the crash if her memory of the event was correct. If this new injury was more than a flesh wound, Dean could be in trouble. "We'll do everything we can, Cas, they're working on freeing Dean right now."

"Will they be alright?" Cas asked, his worry seeming to deepen if it were even possible. He was watching carefully as Jack set Sam up with an IV and gently wrapped gauze around the burns on his hands.

"Fire wounds are tricky, we'll try," Masie repeated, and looked back to Jack, who nodded that they were ready to go.

Cas simply nodded. It wasn't like he had much say in the matter, it was one of the things Masie would never get used to, seeing people to helpless and yet so committed to helping the ones they loved. "Can I?" he gestured vaguely to Sam's unconscious body in the back of the ambulance.

Masie looked to Jack, who nodded, and began rummaging around one of the compartments for a blanket. "Quickly, he needs to be taken to the hospital." Cas didn't need more of an answer and moved a step closer.

Maybe he said something, maybe he didn't, but Masie was pulled away in the next moment by one of the firemen.

"How bad is it?" she asked, trying to not let any of the other man's worry impact her ability to work. But having two brothers in the same incident, both with serious injuries, there was a possibility things wouldn't turn out well.

"We've almost got him free, his arms and head definitely need to be looked at," he relayed, to which Masie nodded. Another stretcher, another oxygen mask, another IV, she had the list set up in her head for what to do next when she made her way back over to the ambulance.

Cas was standing a few steps off to the side, facing the building, apparently having had his moment with Sam. As Masie reached up to close the doors of the ambulance, she vaguely noted that Sam's burns looked slightly better from where they peeked out from under the gauze, but surely it was just a trick of the light, people didn't heal that fast. The ambulance sped off, lights flashing, a minute later and Masie strapped on a mask of her own, ready to repeat the same process over again.

Aside from the necessary movement to get him out from under the debris, it was clear that Dean hadn't moved of his own accord. The head wound was still sluggishly bleeding, and Masie wrapped it loosely before getting him too equipped with a mask and wheeled out into the light. The paleness of his face contrasted sharply with the blood and soot that marred it, and Masie pushed the stretcher just a bit faster.

Unlike his brother, Dean was not wearing a jacket, and the burns to his arms were slightly larger in scale but less severe. Maybe it was possible he had been in the blaze for less time? Again, they'd piece together a story from what the sheriff said and whatever the brothers included if, when, they woke up. If was always a reality, but Masie still tried to do the job with a small amount of hope in her back pocket.

Cas watched the whole way as Masie wheeled Dean to the next waiting ambulance, and as soon as he caught sight of the bandage covering Dean's head, Cas seemed to pale a shade.

"Head wounds bleed a lot, burns aren't as bad, we'll get him fixed up," she assured again, and swapped out her gloves before she put in an IV after getting the stretcher into the vehicle. Cas was as close as he could be without physically being inside, looking at everything that was going on.

Masie turned away to grab another roll of gauze and when she turned back, the burns looked slightly less inflamed. Cas staggered back a step from the ambulance, hand slightly outstretched as if trying to reach the unconscious man.

"Cas?" Masie questioned, hoping to draw him back while she wrapped Dean's arms. She couldn't afford the time it would take to calm him down if he started freaking it out, and no matter how much she wanted to tell him that they'd be doing their best, getting Dean to a hospital had to come first. "That black car yours?" she said, referring to the one she had seen in the lot when they had pulled up.

"Dean's," Cas said shortly.

Masie nodded at that. "You alright to drive?" She looked up from the injured man to the worried one, checking for any obvious signs of stress or an inability to drive. If there were any, she'd find someone available to take him over. To her relief, Cas assured that he was fine to operate a vehicle. "Follow behind, someone at the desk inside the hospital will tell you where they've been taken. They're in good hands," she said as gently as she possibly could. Nothing was ever for certain, but damn it did they try their best.

"Thank you," Cas replied quietly, eyes not leaving Dean until Masie stopped moving, a clear sign that it was time to go. Cas backed up and pursed his lips before he shut the doors of the ambulance and Masie tapped on the glass. In a second they were off, everything rattling as they did so.

Dean still had yet to stir, and Masie went about doing some preliminary measurements before they reached the hospital. "You survived a plane crash, right? If you can get through that, I doubt a fire will keep you down long," she talked in a low tone as she worked. Masie was a complete believer that unconscious people could still hear. Whether they remembered or not was another thing, but in the moment, maybe the words were helpful to them.

"Yeah, you seem like the strong, protective type, we'll get Sam fixed up too," Masie mentioned. With such a position as they had been found in, he was probably worried about his younger brother. "Cas is on his way over. You seem to have a good family around you, Dean," she jotted something down, "so don't you go anywhere, alright?"