Dean looked over Cas who was sitting on the edge of his bed, his broken arm in a sling and his casted leg dangling over the edge. "You okay?"
Cas looked pale, but he looked more scared than injured. "Yeah… I heard the screaming. The demons were trying to claw in, but something held them back."
"Sam put up a couple sigils on the door frame and window frame." Dean offered.
"I painted a devils trap in case it failed at any rate."
"Yeah, what'd you use for that?" Sam asked, looking at the reddish marks and wrinkling his nose at the strong scent.
"Iodine." Cas admitted, nodding towards the discarded bottle in the corner. "I could only hop, I didn't know how to get past them."
"Well I'm glad you didn't." Dean said seriously.
"I didn't know what happened to you two… I wasn't sure…"
"It's okay." Dean assured him. "I was out of surgery. Woke up to Sam finishing off the last of them. Made our way up here as soon as we could."
"Yeah, except now we're cornered and we don't have a plan." Sam muttered.
"We fight our way out of here, that's what." Dean replied.
"Yeah, except you just got out of surgery, and Cas is down two limbs. In case you haven't noticed, we're at a slight disadvantage. Even if there weren't demons, we'd be slow going getting you two out of here."
Dean pulled a face, but he knew Sam was right. Morphine may be keeping the pain down, but it wasn't going to do anything to keep his stitches together in his chest or leg. And Cas couldn't exactly use crutches with his broken arm. "You got any bright ideas?"
Sam thought for a moment. "Yeah. Maybe." He looked tentatively around the corner, his knife raised. "Seems quiet… I'm going to take a look around, try to get a view on the situation. You two stay here." he demanded.
"Hey." Sam turned to look back at Dean. "Stay sharp."
Sam nodded, heading out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Dean couldn't help but feel the strong pull of worry he always had when Sam left his sight and he wasn't able to be backup, but he knew not only was Sam a capable hunter, but also had an angel copilot with their shared survival in his best interest.
The hunter took a moment to take as deep a breath as his battered chest would allow, feeling the fatigue hit him like a brick wall, leaving him more than a little dizzy. He felt a bit like he was going to be sick, but he rode it out. He looked up, meeting Cas' gaze. The former angel looked… more than a little spooked. "Hey."
Cas nodded, but Dean was almost sure he got a shade paler. "Hey." He replied weakly.
"So. Not angels." the hunter dead-panned with a nod.
"Not angels."
Dean gave a slight chuckle, shaking his head. "At least they had the good manners to wait until after I was out of surgery."
Cas let a small smile slip past his defenses in spite of himself, and a little of the tension worked its way out of his shoulders.
"Apparently they're after Sam… they know he has Crowley, they want him back."
"So we were just bait?"
"Basically." Dean admitted. "Saw that Sam didn't come out to check the break in and improvised. Played right into their hand."
"You knew something was wrong with the storage unit."
"Yeah." Dean muttered. It wasn't enough.
"So how do you think we'll get out of here? Sam can't move us both." Cas shook his head. "One at a time?"
"We'll figure it out. We're not splitting up again." Dean took a moment to compose himself. "How are you holding up Cas?"
Cas looked embarrassed for a moment. "I feel a little out of my element." He admitted. "I have not faced a demon as a mortal, let alone a battalion of them. The intensity in which human emotion strikes… I find this confrontation somewhat overwhelming."
Dean pushed the chair forward slightly, ignoring the pain. He put a hand on Cas' good arm. "You're doing fine. The three of us? We got this."
Cas sighed, relaxing his shoulders the rest of the way. "I'm glad you're alright. When the attack started… I thought perhaps they had gotten the two of you…"
"Yeah… I didn't know about the sigils, I thought you were screwed." Dean admitted, giving a short humorless laugh. "And when we get out of here, we deserve a damn vacation." He looked up as the door opened and Sam slipped in. He hastily withdrew his arm from Cas. "How's it look out there?"
"I didn't find anyone left alive… I'm not sure if we got the last of the demons, or if there are more somewhere in the hospital, but I know at least they weren't screwing around on casualties."
Dean blinked. "Seriously? Everyone? There's gotta be what, a thousand people in this place?"
"Maybe more." Sam agreed.
"Jeez. So how do you wanna do this?"
Sam walked back out into the hallway and backed in with an ambulance stretcher. "Awkwardly."
Dean stared blankly for a moment before scowling. "Wait… you're not serious?"
"You got another plan for me pushing the two of you out of here at once?" Sam shook his head. "It's this or we split up and do this twice, and that doesn't seem like the wise move to me. Cas, you first." He raised the top into a sitting position before reaching a hand over towards the former angel.
Cas accepted the offered help, hopping over to the lowered gurney and sitting on the edge, Scooting painfully to sit back against the raised headrest.
"This is gonna suck." Sam apologized, propping a pillow against Cas' chest to try to create some separation between his fractured ribs and the older hunter. After a moment's thought he grabbed the blanket from the bed, using it to pad his firmly wrapped leg.
Dean glared at Sam as he turned and offered a hand to him. "We never talk about this again. Ever." He allowed himself to be pulled from the wheelchair, sliding onto the stretcher and leaning back against Cas' padded chest. He tried to ignore the room spinning as he settled his weight.
Sam raised the side arm rails of their new transport, and buckled the straps loosely over their legs. He grabbed the last blanket of the hospital bed, laying it over Dean's good leg before settling a large full garbage bag between them. "Supply run." he explained at his brother's questioning glance. He had taken the opportunity to get some of the good meds, as well as things he'd need to take care of the two of them out of hospital. He handed Dean a shotgun and Cas his phone. He winced as he saw both their faces, this seating arrangement doing nothing for their injuries. "We'll try to be fast." He looked at Cas. "It's set up. We encounter trouble, hit play. It'll get the exorcism out faster than I can."
They pushed off, heading back along their route towards the closest elevator, reaching it without resistance. At least it seemed they got rid of the demons who knew where they were. As they approached the ambulance entrance to the ER, Sam was just starting to gain hope that maybe the three they got outside their room were the last of them. Then he spotted the two guarding the exit. Or rather, they spotted them.
Sam quickly threw his weight into stopping the gurney's roll, and he stomped on the brake, pulling out the knife and circling to stand beside the bed. Cas hit play on the recording at the same time Dean fired off a shot. Sam intercepted the closest demon, who had been trying wildly to reach the bed before the exorcism could do it's work. He stabbed him clean through the heart. The other dropped to his knees, giving in to the Latin phrases and finally being expelled from the already dead body it inhabited.
Hurrying back, Sam unlocked the wheels, pushing forward towards the double doors, and heading out towards the closest ambulance. Sam winced again as they hit the rough pavement, jolting both of their injuries.
"Sam… careful where you're driving this thing." Dean's voice was slightly slurred, and Sam's body tensed, knowing his brother was losing his fight with consciousness.
"Dean?" Cas shoved the phone securely at his side, reaching a hand up to grip the hunter's shoulder.
"'m fine." Dean mumbled. His arms drooped, the shotgun falling to rest in his lap. His head rolled back, leaning onto the pillow atop Cas' chest.
The former angel looped his arm to be more around Dean's chest, holding him still as they continued to move. He glanced up and behind him, catching Sam's eyes with his own worried glance.
Sam swallowed. "He just got out of surgery. It's okay." He hoped he wasn't lying.
Cas nodded, looking up, and preparing himself as they approached the abandoned ambulance's rear doors.