"Dean!" Sam screams as he watches his brother crash into the wall. He would've sworn that he could hear a few bones crack. Dean is just lying there, out cold. Sam yells at Cas, "Cas, get Dean to the nearest hospital. Lucifer and I will finish up here and meet you there as soon as we can." He barely got his sentence out when one of the vampires charged at him.

Cas looks torn about getting Dean to the hospital and leaving Sam and his brother to the rather large nest of vampires.

Lucifer finally brings Cas out of his musings, "Castiel, we do not have time for your stalling. Get your human out of here. Now!"

Cas nods and makes his way towards Dean and gets him out to the Impala. He carefully maneuvers Dean into the backseat thinking to himself, 'What a fine time to become human'. He gets behind the wheel, thanking his Father (who abandoned him) that Sam took the time to teach him how to drive. Dean yells too much. Sam's more patient with him and he's a quick learner. He pulls himself out of his musings and drives to the nearest hospital.

He turns off the engine as soon as he parks the car and carefully extracts Dean from the backseat. He hastily makes his way into the hospital, trying not to jar Dean too much. As soon as Cas steps foot into the emergency room, a nurse is right there, "Can you tell me what happened?"

Cas spaces out for a minute, trying to think up a believable story, "Some men were harassing me, and my boyfriend calmly tried to get them to back down. One of the men got angry and pushed him aggressively. Dean slammed into a nearby wall and I swear I heard bones crack, but I don't know from where."

As Cas tells his tale, the nurse is checking Dean over, assessing where the damage is. She checks his head for any bumps or blood, nothing. She gets to his neck and a look of confusion and worry crosses her face. Cas, the ever observant one, sees this and becomes worried, "What is it? Is it bad?"

The nurse glances up at him, "I'm not sure. I won't know much about it until the doctor takes a look at him." She calls for a couple of orderlies to bring a stretcher and a neck brace. She keeps Dean's head straight while Cas places him down on the stretcher.

The orderlies and the nurse wheel Dean into the back while Cas just stands in the middle of the ER floor, staring at the doors where they have taken Dean. Another nurse comes to stand beside him and gently places her hand on his shoulder, startling him, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

Cas looks at her, "It is alright."

She smiles softly at him, "Would you like to sit down?" She gestures towards the uncomfortable looking chairs.

He makes his way over and drops down into the chair wearily. The nurse stands awkwardly in front of him, "Is there anyone I can call for you?"

Cas smiles politely, "Thank you, but no. His brother will be here any moment."

She smiles and gently squeezes his shoulder, "He's in good hands, I promise. My name is Janice; let me know if there is anything I can do for you."

Cas nods his head, "I am Castiel or Cas. And thank you for your kindness Janice." He watches her go back to her desk and waits patiently for Sam and Lucifer to arrive. He goes back to watching the double doors intently, as if they hold all the answers.

Half hour later, Sam and Lucifer waltz through the ER entrance. Sam immediately spots Cas and he and Lucifer make their way over to him. Cas immediately feels better when he sees Sam and his brother approaching him, "Is everything taken care of?"

Sam nods his head, "Yeah, we finally got all the fangs down and the bodies burned. Any word on Dean?"

Cas slumps into his seat, "They took him into surgery but that's all I know for now. They've been in there for what feels like ever."

Sam smiles at how human Cas is starting to sound. He's surprised to see Lucifer trying to comfort his younger brother. He has a fond smile on his face, memories flooding his mind of all the times Dean would break his no chick-flick moment rule. He squeezes Cas' shoulder comfortingly, "He's gonna be ok. I'm gonna go see if I can get some information."

Cas nods and looks up at Sam, "Ask for Janice. She's been really helpful and she's nice."

Sam nods and walks over to the nurse's station, "Hi, I'm looking for a Janice?"

Janice looks up at him, "That's me. What can I do for you?"

Sam smiles at her, "I was wondering if you have any information on my brother. He would've been brought in about a half hour ago."

Janice types a few things into her computer, "Ah, here he is. I don't have a room number listed so he's either still in surgery or in recovery."

Sam smiles sadly at her, "Thanks. Will you let me know of anything comes up?"

Janice smiles back and pats his hand sympathetically, "Of course, um, what's your name?"

"Sam, my name is Sam. I'm sorry, that was rude of me."

"It's no problem. You'll be the first to know as soon as I have something."

Sam nods and makes his way back to Cas and Lucifer. He sits down next to his boyfriend and whispers in his ear, "You're jealousy is showing."

Lucifer looks over at him, "I did not like the way she was smiling at you or touching you."

Sam smiles and gives him a quick peck on the lips, "She didn't mean anything by it. She wasn't flirting with me, she was comforting me."

Lucifer pouts, "I still didn't like it. You're mine and I don't share well with others."

Sam grabs his hand, "You share me just fine with Dean and Cas."

He huffs, "That's different and you know it. You just like teasing me."

Sam gives him his brightest smile and brings his hand up to kiss his knuckles, "It's because you make it so easy Luc."

Sam looks up to see Janice walking towards them, "Ok, he's finally out of surgery and he's in the recovery room. I'm going to escort you up to the family waiting room and someone will take you to him when he gets put into a room."

Sam smiles gratefully at her, "Thank you so much." They follow Janice to the elevators and to the third floor waiting area. They all take a seat and wait.

Lucifer grabs Sam's hand and kisses his knuckles, "He's gonna be alright." Sam responds by laying his head on Lucifer's shoulder, waiting for news on his brother.

Cas isn't faring any better than Sam. He's trying as hard as he can to keep it together, but it's not working. After he fell, all the human emotions just hit him like a freight train. All the guilt and worry he's feeling is eating him up inside and he doesn't know what to do.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, a doctor comes in and asks, "Family of Dean Winchester?"

Sam looked over at Cas, "You gave them his real last name?"

Cas shrugged, "I don't know any of your aliases. I panicked."

Sam pats his shoulder, "Calm down it's alright." He stands up and gets the doctor's attention, "Yeah, over here."

The doctor makes his way over to Sam and shakes his hand, "Hi I'm Dr. Holiday. I'm the surgeon who operated on Dean. And you are?"

Sam returns the handshake, "I'm Sam, his brother." Cas gets up and stands next to Sam, "And this is Cas, my brother's boyfriend."

Dr. Holiday shakes Cas' hand as well, "Nice to meet you. Shall we take a seat?"

Sam nods and leads him to where they were sitting. He sits back down in the seat that he vacated. Lucifer takes Sam's hand in his and squeezes it gently. Sam squeezes back and gives him a weak smile.

Dr. Holiday seems to notice the other man, "Hello, I'm Dr. Holiday."

Lucifer shakes the doctor's hand, "Luc, Sam's boyfriend."

Dr. Holiday leans forward and places his elbows on his knees, "Dean is doing fine. There were no complications during surgery and I expect him to make a full recovery. However, you are very lucky he didn't hit that wall any harder."

Sam and Cas look alarmed. Sam breaks the silence, "What do you mean?"

Dr. Holiday rakes a hand through his hair, "The damage that Dean has sustained to his neck is a walk in the park compared to becoming permanently paralyzed or instantaneous death."

Sam grips Lucifer's hand even tighter as tears spring to his eyes, "He would've died? But, h-how, w-what?"

Dr. Holiday sighs and folds his hands between his knees, "Dean has severely damaged his cervical vertebrae upon impact. We had to fuse them together with a steel plate. He is still able to move his neck and function normally. He does need to go to therapy for at least 4-6 months."

Sam and Cas share a knowing look. Sam nods at Cas and looks back at the doctor, "Ok, thank you doctor. Can we see him now?"

Dr. Holiday nods, "Of course. Please follow me." He stands up and gestures for them to follow him down the hall towards Dean's room. He stands next to the door as they walk in. He closes the door behind them to give them some privacy.

Sam is immediately at Dean's side, Cas to the other, and Lucifer just hangs back and watches the scene unfold. Sam and Cas each take one of Dean's hands in one their own and Cas leans down and places a chaste kiss to Dean's forehead. Sam tries to discreetly wipe away the tears from his face, but Lucifer sees it and makes a mental note to take care of Sam later.

Dean tries to turn his head into the soft kiss, but moans at the pain that shoots through his neck and head, "Ow that smarts."

Cas soothingly strokes his fingers through Dean's hair and squeezes his hand gently, "You mustn't do that my love. Do you want me to call a nurse to give you some pain meds?"

Dean smiles gently at him, "Maybe later, but first, tell me what the hell happened. All I remember is fighting a nest of vamps and I'm being tossed across the room and then nothing."

Sam looks at his brother, "After you hit the wall, I heard some of your bones break and told Cas to get you to the hospital immediately. Lucifer and I stayed behind and took care of the vamps and came here afterward."

Dean closes his eyes for a moment and opens them and looks at Cas. He sees the worry and concern etched on Cas' face. He removes his hand from Cas' and cups the side of his face, "Hey, I'm gonna be fine." He rubs his thumb gently over Cas' cheek and smiles softly.

Cas leans into Dean's touch and nods his head, "I know, but it's gonna be a long hard journey and Sam and I have come to a mutual agreement."

Dean looks over at his brother, confused, "Sammy? What's going on, what aren't you telling me?"

Sam exhales and wipes the tears clouding his vision, "Um, we are retiring from hunting." Sam holds up his hand to silence Dean as he was about to protest, "Don't. The injury that you have sustained requires that you be in rehab for at least 4-6 months and you are going Dean. We're going to settle down here and while you are recovering, I'm going to secure us some money, housing, and clearing our records because Cas gave them our real last name."

Dean jerks his head over to Cas and immediately regrets the motion, "Son of a bitch! That hurts. Cas, why would you do that? You know we're wanted felons!"

"I panicked! I'm sorry that I didn't have enough time to come up with an alias. I had just enough time to come up with a cover story." Cas says defensively.

Lucifer walks over and places his hand on his brother's shoulder, "That's enough Castiel. We should probably go and let Dean get some rest. He is obviously in a lot of pain; we can finish this conversation tomorrow."

Sam looks at Cas and then down at Dean, "He's right. I'll call the nurse so she can give you your pain medication. We'll be back tomorrow. You should get some rest, you look like crap."

Dean chuckles, "Thanks, Sam. You don't look any better." He looks over at Lucifer, "You make sure he gets some sleep and eats. Force food down his throat if you have to."

Lucifer nods his head, "Of course, you have my word. Rest well Dean." He walks over to Sam and takes his hand and leads him to the door. He looks back at Cas, "We'll give you two a minute alone. Cas, meet us at the car when you're finished." He and Sam leave the room and head down to the car.

Cas looks at Dean and runs his fingers through his hair, "Don't scare me like this ever again. Do you hear me Dean Winchester? You have no idea how worried or scared I was waiting for someone to tell me something, anything about you." He squeezes Dean's hand and finally lets the tears fall from his eyes.

Dean motions for Cas to come closer to him and he cups Cas' face in his hands, wiping the tears from his face, "Hey, hey, hey. I'm so sorry baby; I had no idea that this was going to happen. I didn't mean to scare you, it was never my intention. You better get back to Sammy and Lucifer. There's no telling what they are doing in my Baby." He gives Cas a long, passionate kiss, "I love you and I'll see you tomorrow."

Cas rests his forehead against Dean's and nods, "I love you too. Sleep well my love and you better do everything they tell you to do or so help me…"

Dean plants another kiss to Cas' lips and pulls away, chuckling, "I promise, now go."

Cas pulls away and walks down to where he parked the Impala and sees Sam and Lucifer cuddling in the backseat. He gets into the driver's seat and looks at them through the rear view mirror. Lucifer is holding Sam close, threading his fingers through his hair to calm him down. Tear stains are clear on Sam's flushed face and Cas feels terrible for not noticing how distraught he would be over the news about his brother.

Cas turns to look at Sam, "Samuel, I promise that Dean will be alright. They are going to take good care of him in our absence and when he is able to come home, we'll be there for him for whatever he needs."

Sam looks at Cas through teary eyes, "Thanks Cas. Let's go find a motel, I'm exhausted." He snuggles further into Lucifer and lets the roar of the engine lull him into a light sleep.

A/N: The first chapter for my second Destiel fic! Woo hoo! More chapters will be uploaded soon. ^_^