Sam hunched over in the folding chair, eyes flickering back and forth from his brother to the angel and again. He was hoping to see some sign of progress, some indication that things were alright. It had only been a few minutes, but Castiel had said that time in a dream moved much faster than in waking life. Something ought to be happening by now. The song had ended and the tape side was done, and so he just sat in silence.
He began to run through the best and worst case scenarios in his head. Dean was ill, that was for certain, but if he could somehow talk to Castiel and fight his demons he'd wake up, same ol' Dean. Snarky, full of a kind of endearing hubris. Steady and reliable. If Cas failed, and wasn't able to help Dean, then what? Dean's behavior had bordered on suicidal. He was a danger to himself and to others. Would Dean Winchester agree to therapy? Medication? He was far too proud, and possibly too far gone for those to be viable options.
Then there was the other scenario, the one where Castiel showed up and was able to help, and where they actually opened up about how they felt about one another. He knew how they both felt, even if they were too stupid or stubborn to act on it or even acknowledge it. Sam suspected they already knew as well, but were too wrapped up in pride, or machismo, or some sort of angelic code in which no one got to have any fun, ever.
Sam never knew Dean to show interest in other men, but then again Dean had to grow up the strong one, the tough one, the caretaker. He had a gender role to fill that had plenty of room for tits, but precluded cock entirely. Sam had it easier, and while definitely MOSTLY straight he still took the occasional pleasure ogling slim, athletic men when he thought his brother wasn't looking.
Cas, though… Cas was different. While Cas did indeed inhabit a male vessel, and an exceedingly attractive one at that, he was in essence not a man at all. Sam felt at his core that theirs was not a physical attraction, but something deeper. Something having to do with the soul, and grace, and trust. Something Sam had never felt, only seen when he would watch the two of them together. The glances they shared, the faces they made, the lack of personal space. They way Dean would pray to Cas, and the way they stared at each other when they knew the other wasn't looking.
Sam smiled to himself, hoping with every fiber in his being that somehow, some way, Dean and Cas would emerge from this happily. They were his family, albeit dysfunctional as hell, and they meant the world to him. If only I could actually fucking help, thought Sam in frustration.
Then Sam got an idea. The metal chair squeaked as he stood up and walked back to the stereo. He rummaged through the cassettes, looking for something specific, something he knew to have a positive association for Dean, something that reminded Sam of both Dean and Cas together.
"Aha!" exclaimed Sam, once he found what he was looking for. Back in Black by AC/DC. He ejected Led Zeppelin and put it back on the shelf. As he looked over the new tape, trying to decide between side one and side two, he heard a whimper from behind. He turned to see his brother twitching, moaning in his sleep. Castiel's head had slumped over, and a pained grimace darkened his face.
It's happening , Sam thought as worry began to creep up his spine. He looked back at the tape in his hand, flipped it over, and jammed it in the player.
"Let's do this," he said with conviction. He hit play.