Even though days had passed, each step down the street shot pain through Sam's abs and ribs. Gabriel was right. He had to get out of this. As they walked together to Luci's apartment, Sam was endlessly grateful Gabe was going to be there to back him up if necessary. He was, however, worried to death that Luci would hurt Gabe. Sam could take a lot from Luci. Gabe getting hurt was something that Sam would not be able to handle.

When they reached the building, Sam turned to Gabe and said, "Don't come upstairs. I'll come back after it's done. I don't want him to get upset by seeing you."

Gabe nodded. "If I hear screaming, I'm coming up," he said.

Sam understood that. He hoped there wouldn't be screaming. If Gabe and Luci didn't have to be in the same room, that option would always be preferable.

As Luci opened the door for Sam, his hopes were dashed.

"So, who's that guy you walked up with?" Luci greeted.

Sam walked inside, dropped the bag of Luci's stuff on the floor, and said, "He's just a friend." Luci scrutinized him; Sam could practically feel the skepticism.

"If he's just a friend," Luci noted, "You could've brought him upstairs."

"I didn't want to get you upset," he explained.

"Ha," Luci said, "That's why you've been ignoring my texts and then told me we had to talk. So I would be perfectly calm and relaxed. Right." Luci made a move to sit on the couch.

"I think we should break up," Sam said quickly.

Luci stopped and stood, facing Sam, "Really?"

Sam nodded. Luci swallowed and looked at the floor.

"Does this have anything to do with the man downstairs?" he asked.

Sam balked. "No," he said, "No, it has nothing to do with him. I just can't be with you anymore."

"Why not?" Luci asked. Sam saw Luci's lip quiver and almost moved to hug him. Almost. That was when he knew he really didn't understand his boyfriend. For the first time, Sam was the one causing the pain. And he hated it.

"You hurt me," Sam answered, "All the time. And you don't even care. I can't deal with it anymore."

"I can change," Luci tried, "I really can."

"It's too late for that," Sam said, sadly. Luci's gaze hardened suddenly, as if he took off a mask.

"Fine," he said, with a tone that made Sam very afraid, "Apparently, this hasn't been working out for a while. Nice of you to let me know."

"I'm sorry," Sam said as he made his way to the door. This all had gone much better than expected. He could feel the weight of the situation lift off his shoulders already. He was free. Finally.

Before Sam got to the door, Luci asked, "So, what's his name?"

"What's whose name?"

"That guy who's waiting for you."

Luci was looking down at the street. There was no doubt he was looking at Gabe with that less that fascinated stare. It was as if he'd spotted a bug crawling on the sidewalk. And it pissed Sam off to no end. No one should ever look at Gabe like that.

"His name is Gabriel," Sam answered evenly. Luci turned around and met Sam's gaze. Sam froze. He knew the rage he saw in Luci's eyes. Oh no.

"Look me in the eye, and tell me you don't have feelings for Gabriel." Luci said it like a command. Sam fought the urge to look away. He knew he didn't have to answer this. He could just leave. But he hadn't cheated on Luci, and he wasn't going to let him think he did either.

"I don't have feelings for Gabriel." As the lie rolled off of Sam's tongue, he felt like he'd betrayed Gabe in some way. Like he'd been cheating on Gabe with Luci all this time. But Gabe didn't reciprocate, so none of that made any sense. Luci crossed the room, and his fist connected with Sam's jaw hard.

"Liar!" he shouted. Sam held his face where it was already starting to swell. He shoved Sam into the wall.

"Tell me the truth this time," he hissed, "Do you have feelings for your friend, Gabriel?" Sam hit the wall hard, but he shoved Luci back.

"I already told you. No, I don't." Again the lie churned guilt in his stomach.

Luci grimaced, stepping closer, "Oh, Sam," he said softly, "Always lying."

He brought his knee up between Sam's legs and brought him to his knees in pain. With a sharp kick, Sam was on his back, wondering if his ribs had cracked this time. Luci stood over him.

He asked, "Shall we try this again?" Sam groaned as Luci's boot connected with his torso again.

In an attempt to stop all this, Sam wheezed, "Yes." His vision was still starry from the crotch shot.

"Yes," he elaborated, gaining better control of his breathing, "I have feelings for Gabriel."

Luci took a step back and said, "Thank you for your honesty, you son of a bitch."

He stomped his boot down hard on Sam's left arm. Sam screamed in pain as he heard a sickening snap. He faintly heard footsteps coming up the stairs over the deafening rush of blood in his ears.

No.

Luci could not hurt Gabriel. As Gabe burst through the door, Sam tried to get up to stand between them. He choked on a cry of agony as he realized he wasn't getting up on his own.

Luci laughed, "Are we having fun yet?"

Luci stepped closer to Gabriel and aimed a punch at his face that Gabe caught in mid swing. Gabe took one look at Sam and punched Luci in the side of the head. He hit the ground with a loud thud, and Gabe knelt to check for a pulse. Quickly, he went to Sam.

"Hey," Gabe said, touching the side of Sam's face, "Sam, you with me?" Sam tried to nod, but his head felt too wonky for much sure movement.

"Jesus, Sam. Your arm," Gabe said, "We need to get you to the hospital." Sam tried to look at his arm, but the sight of so much bruising and swelling made his head swim.

Gabe murmured, "Easy, easy. Let's try to sit up, okay?" He helped Sam sit, but the second Sam's arm left the floor, he tried and failed to stifle a cry of pain.

"C'mon," Gabe said, "We need to get downstairs. I'm sorry, but this is really going to hurt." Once on his feet, Sam managed to cradle his broken arm in such a way that the pain was no longer blinding. They walked downstairs, Gabe watching Sam cautiously in case he passed out and fell.

"We should call an ambulance," Gabe said.

"No," Sam said, "The hospital is only a few blocks from here."

"You're crazy. I'm calling an ambulance."

"No, Gabe," Sam said sternly.

He didn't want to get Luci in trouble, but he also really didn't want to stay anywhere near Luci's place. He just wanted to be done with this whole thing.

"Fine," Gabe said, "Compromise." They started walking towards the hospital, each step jarring and painful, while Gabe whipped out his phone. They were halfway there when Charlie pulled up in an unfamiliar car.

"What the hell did you do?" Charlie asked when she saw Sam's arm. He really didn't want to get into it. But they couldn't find out. He didn't want them to know what he'd allowed to happen. This was all his fault anyway.

"I broke up with Luci," he answered, "And he slammed the door. I tried to catch the door and it kinda crushed my arm. It was an accident."

Gabe shot him a look from next to him in the backseat. Sam ignored him. He'd gotten out. There was no need to tell his family now.

Charlie sighed, "Christ, Sam. Well, I already called Dean. He'll be meeting us there with Jo, so she can get her car back."

So it was Jo's car. Charlie eased back into traffic. The car jarred Sam, and he swallowed his pain without making a sound. Gabe touched his good arm.

"Sam," he said, "Don't hold back. Your arm's broken. If it hurts, let it out." Sam knew what Gabe was trying to say. It was over. If he cried out in pain, the pain wouldn't get worse anymore. At the next jerk of the car, Sam yelped, and it felt sort of liberating even though it shouldn't have.

Charlie said, "We're almost there. Two more lights."

Dorothy, Dean, Benny, Jo, Cas, and Balthazar were waiting when they got there. When asked what happened, both Gabe and Sam told the lie Sam made for Charlie. It was an accident. He needed to just leave this all behind him. It was over. His friends and family all had questions, but he wasn't prepared to really answer anything other than it was an accident. Sam honestly wasn't sure why Benny was there since they had never really been friends, but he didn't question it. A nurse came and took Sam to a room with a doctor.

"Do you want us to knock you out for the resetting your bones?" the nurse asked.

He answered, "God, yes."

Before he was sedated, Sam could've sworn he saw Luci in the parking lot through the hospital room window. That hopeful liberation turned to dread just as everything went black.