After navigating their way around the hospital, the Winchesters peered through the blinds in the window of the room where their friends were. They caught glimpses of Cas staring intently at Jack lying on the bed next to him, holding tightly onto his hand as if he would never let go. They entered as quietly as they could hoping not to disturb the peaceful scene, but the angel didn't even notice them come in at all he was so focused on watching over his loved one.

Dean walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, "hey Cas," putting on a weak supportive smile.

He shot up in surprise from being awoken from his daydream, but was relieved to see his old friends again, "hello Dean…" then looked up a little further, "Sam."

"Hey Cas," he tried to smile but failed.

Cas pulled them both in for a group hug, one brother on either side. They peered over his shoulders at the state of Jack: pale as a ghost and connected by so many wires and tubes to whatever was necessary in keeping him alive. They'd never seen him in such a bad condition before; of course he had been in some pretty nasty situations, but he was always so lively and dismissive of any injuries or pain, the boys respected him for this.

Seeing him like this meant they couldn't begin to imagine how much trauma Castiel was going through, having to see someone supposedly so secure in his life suddenly so unstable. It brought back painful memories of when they almost lost Cas forever, remembering how unbearable the thought of life without him was going to be.

One last squeeze, then the hug broke up with a united sigh and he shuffled away to return to Jack once again, the brothers followed him over.

Sam made the first attempt at conversation, "so, err, how's he doing?"

His forehead wrinkling with concern as he glanced down at all the apparatus assisting him. Red tubes and clear tubes went in and out all over his body, Sam noted the rather uncomfortably large pipe in Jack's mouth that went down his throat forcing him to breathe.

"Well, I don't really know what's going to happen... Not sure if he's immortal still or not or what. But, " he began bluntly. He took a deep breath, his adorable wide puppy eyes staring up at the brothers, "the doctors said they were surprised he was even alive, but I guess that's expected, because, well you know. They said he was very lucky, any further and the bullet would have definitely killed him, but I put that down to the fact that he's already come back once already..."

He seemed to drift off, lost in his own world as he looked down at Jack again, then returned suddenly, "he's stable, for the moment, but they urgently need to take him back into surgery to finish what they started earlier. We just have to wait for their best surgeon to come in. They don't expect him to wake up any time soon as they've put him in a coma due to his serious condition." He smiled down at Jack and stroked his face. "But I think it's all going to be ok."

Dean let out a breath and fell back into a seat, rubbing his face with his hand. After a moment he looked across at Cas, seeming cautious in what he was about to say, "and... you've tried healing him yourself...?"

The angel's calm smile instantly disappeared as he turned to give him a sassy glare, almost yelling back, "you really think we'd be here if I hadn't tried that!" There was a tone of anger and betrayal in his voice, but he knew inside that Dean didn't mean to offend and that he was just concerned. When he dropped the stare, Dean felt the tension ease off and released his breath with a shocked expression.

Then Cas sighed and spoke to Sam, the apparently more logical and sympathetic brother in the moment, "we think it's the bullet, it was from the Colt. Must be stopping me and him from healing it fully, although I don't understand why it still won't let me heal him... I guess we just have to wait. I don't know how you humans do it. You're so fragile." The younger Winchester smirked at the angel's genuine curiosity as he joined his brother on a seat.

The next half hour felt like days. They each shuffled around the room, uneasy with waiting, taking it in turns to pop out to stretch their legs and get coffees. Every so often a nurse would come in to check on the patient, and as always it was "all good, he's staying strong." Each time they heard, "can't be long now, the surgeon should be here soon," and each time Cas nodded politely, but it was clear he was hiding his frustration and impatience. He was a being of so much power but incapable of doing anything to help, he felt useless and miserable.

Sam returned from his turn collecting drinks to find Cas still sat beside the bed and Dean asleep in the chair with a magazine lying across his chest. He put a coffee on the table next to his friend who looked up and smiled weakly to thank him, then he sat down and began to flick through one of the magazines he hadn't read yet.

Suddenly there was a loud commotion as Jack sat bolt upright and instantly began to struggle for air; he fell back down on the sheets and began jerking with convulsions and spasms as he choked on the tube in this throat, fighting for breath. Everyone was in shock; Dean had jolted awake when the silence was abruptly broken and Sam was already up and at the bedside ready to help out. There were restricted gasps and gargling noises mixed with panicked beeping from the medical equipment as Harkness's heart raced while he rolled around desperately on the bed, unable to communicate or help himself, eyes wide with fear and confusion.

"Hang on Jack. We've got you. It's gonna be ok."

The men wrestled the equipment off of his face and pulled out the tube. An enormous rough intake of air filled his lungs, which was followed by a mix of spluttering, yelling and more intense gasps. They turned into calmer heavy breaths of relief when he was greeted by supportive hands and familiar faces settling him down and making him feel safe again. His eyes were tight shut from sudden immense pain and he gripped onto Cas' hand.

After a moment he surprisingly smiled and breathlessly whispered a relieved "fuck me."

The angel saw his opportunity; he bent down, placing his face beside Jack's and replied in his ear, "maybe later, hey Jack?"

Wincing, he let out a restricted laugh. The brothers gave each other a look; they hadn't heard what they'd said but decided they didn't want to know. Jack slowly hoisted himself up and began to unplug himself from the wires and machines as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed.

Breathless again he said through clenched teeth, "so..."

Dean jumped in, "woah woah woah!" He laughed, "where do you think you're going?"

"Where do you think?" He scoffed back, "I'm outta here!"

Then Sam tried, shocked by the attitude. He knew how Jack was, but this time seemed serious, "but, what about your surgery?! They're clearly not done with you."

"Look," he winced as he swivelled round to face the taller brother a bit more, "I've just woken up from a coma that I should have been in for a few days at least. I actually died, apparently for real this time, and came back, and it's not even like I haven't done that before! I've been in much worse states than this, trust me. Lastly, and most importantly, I can't stand hospitals."

Dean laughed to himself, impressed by this guy's confidence and humour in such a dire situation.

"Come on Sammy," he hit his younger brother on the back, "I think it's about time we got outta here then."

They gathered up their stuff, including Jack's clothes, more dressings and some extra painkillers, then Cas zapped them all back to where the Impala was parked. Dean drove back to the bunker with Sam up front with him, while Jack lay asleep across the backseats, his head in the lap of his angel who watched over him the whole way back, occasionally stroking his face, relieved that everything seemed to be going alright again.

A/N: I almost ended the story here, but couldn't resist to write a little more! XD