The Disease of Separation

11

As they got closer to the fray, Dean's heart leaped in his throat as he saw Sam, shouting, stuck under a net with burning angel symbols, monsters swarming over him. Dean grabbed the angel blade from Cas and let go of him, using his one strong leg to launch himself forward. He landed hard on the ground and grunted, but regained himself, crouching in front of Sam. Using his skills with a blade he sliced through the net as Cas pulled away the swarming monsters. Dean created a hole just big enough for Sam to escape through. His giant of a brother threw the net off of him and looked up at Dean, a smile breaking his lips momentarily. Dean smiled back and stood up, only to remember his handicap and fall backwards, once again into Cas' ready arms. Sam's smile disappeared as his jaw fell slack, staring at Dean's missing leg. Dean didn't even know what to say. He gave a half-hearted smile, the best he could do as Cas lifted him up in a bridal carry.

"Gabe, get us out of here!" Cas shouted, and for the first time Dean noticed the archangel. He silently thanked God his brother wasn't just imagining him. It was really the short archangel in all his glory, pulsing eyes illuminating his blond hair. He gave Dean a slight nod, which must have been a greeting but it was hard to read his expression with those otherworldly eyes. Gabriel grabbed Sam's hand and then Castiel's. Dean could've sworn he saw Gabriel's golden wings for a split second before he heard them flapping, which was the last sound he heard before silence. 

Dean had to adjust his eyes to the bright light as he looked around, blinking rapidly. They were in an abandoned parking lot, grass growing through the cracks in the asphalt barely marked by fading white lines, just outside of a wide open baseball field, it's unmowed grass blowing in the breeze. 

They did it. They were outside.

He would have loved to take a second to just breathe in the fresh air and flop into the soft grass, but it'd probably be smarter to get the hell out of dodge. Cas stumbled as he powered down, overwhelmed by the sudden gain of grace, though his desire to keep Dean from falling was greater. Gabriel straight up passed out, falling into Sam's arms. Dean looked to the side and he grinned as he saw the Impala, his Baby, sleek and shiny as ever in the crisp sunlight. It was good to see Sam had taken care of her. He wrestled himself from Cas' grip and leaped into the driver's seat sloppily. There was no way in hell anyone but Dean was gonna drive his Baby, not after being away from her for so long. Surprisingly, Dean saw Sam get into the back seat, laying Gabriel across it and putting his head in his lap. The way Sam looked down at the archangel, the utmost concern in his eyes...He remembered how he had done the same with Cas - how he had placed the angel's head gently in his lap, staring down at him, bashfully touching his lips. he could feel his face heat up so he turned away, looking instead at Cas who sat beside him.

Shit. He had to figure out how to come out to Sam, didn't he?

Nope, nope, nope, he'd think about that later, not now. There was no way Sam could feel like that for Gabriel, he was just seeing things, seeing himself and Cas in his brother. He turned to the wheel and turned the key, grinning as the Impala rumbled to life. "Man, I missed you Baby," He murmured.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me you don't have your leg? I mean should you even be driving?" Dean could see the anger in Sam's eyes in the rear view mirror. Dean was glad Sam couldn't see his face as he looked forward, setting his lips in a straight line. He knew Sam would be furious, but what choice did he have? The last thing he wanted was for Sam to be worried about him.

"You only need one leg between the pedals Sam," Dean answered plainly, trying to direct their conversation away from his leg.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sam repeated. God, would he let it drop?

"I didn't want you to worry, alright? We'll figure something out,"  Dean reasoned, trying to focus on driving as he pulled out of the parking lot and raced down the road, trying to envision a map of the highways and roads in his mind to get back to the bunker.