"Dean,"

"Don't 'Dean' me, I'm going on this hunt."

"But-"

"Dammit, Sam! I'm still a hunter. There's something to hunt. So I am going to hunt it."

"You are not coming with us."

"You too?" Dean was ready to start throwing punches. "Come on, Cas. Let's use every man we got. It's the smart thing to do."

"I'm sorry, Dean. But we cannot trust you."

That hurt. He wouldn't let them know, but it hit home.

Bobby must have seen it. "No offense, boy. But we can't afford to be savin' your dumb ass every other minute. You've already proven you don't care about your safety. We ain't gonna let you die. We're not sayin' we don't trust your huntin' abilities; you're one of the best damn hunters I've ever known. But takin' a man with a death wish on a hunt is a bad idea. Puts all our asses on the line.

"Fine. So what, you'll just lock me in the panic room?"

"Yes."

"Jesus, Cas, I was joking!"

"Well I'm not."

"Seriously, guys?!" Dean yelled from the inside of the panic room, pounding his fists on the iron door.

There was no response. They were already gone.

Dean looked around, annoyed to find that the room was all but empty. They had taken all the guns, knives, rope...anything that could be used to hurt himself. "Fuck!" He yelled out in frustration.

It was gonna be a long couple hours.

It was a fairly simple hunt; low-class demon, nothing they couldn't handle. It was over within the hour.

"I will go back to check on Dean." Castiel said.

Zapping into the panic room, Cas was happy to see that Dean was still alive. The hunter was sitting dejectedly in a corner. He just stared off into space, didn't even jump when Cas appeared.

"How did it go?" He asked tiredly.

"Good. The demon is dead."

"Guess you didn't need me."

Cas wasn't sure what to say. "I'm sorry, Dean."

Silence.

This wasn't good. Cas could sense the raw pain emanating from the man. And the despair. He had completely given up. There was no fight left. None of his usual snarky comments, nothing. Just silence.

Sam and Bobby returned shortly after Cas. Sam immediately headed to the panic room to see how Dean was.

He and Cas were just...staring at each other...awkward.

*Ahem* He cleared his throat. Cas looked up, but Dean didn't move at all. Sam wondered if he'd been in that same position the whole time.

"Hello, Sam."

"Hey. Could I have a minute alone with Dean?"

"Of course." Cas was gone in an instant.

Sam sat on the cold floor, across from Dean. "Hey," He said softly.

Dean didn't respond.

"Look, man-"

"Don't." The older Winchester said this one word in a sharp tone.

Sam was confused. "Don't what...?"

"Don't you go on pity patrol. I don't wanna talk about it."

"I'm not. I'm not, I'm just saying..." Sam struggled to find the right words. To get through to his brother somehow.

"Look, Dean. You don't stop being a soldier just cause you got wounded in battle. Okay? No matter what shape you're in, bottom line is; you're family. I don't know if you've noticed, but me and Bobby, hell, even Cas...we don't have much left." Sam's voice broke. "I can't do this without you, Dee. I can't."

Dean finally looked at Sam. There was so much pain in his eyes. Guilt too. "I'm sorry, Sammy."

Sam stood, and pulled Dean to his feet. He looked the broken hunter in the eyes. "Don't you dare think about checking out. I don't wanna hear that again. Okay?"

Sam saw a glimmer of fight in those green eyes, and that was all he needed.

"Okay."

"Good. Now I'm not saying it's gonna be easy...but I'm here for you, man. We all are."

"Thanks. Are we done feeling our feelings yet? Let's stop before we start growing lady parts."

Finally, a spark of the old Dean.