Under Federal Control

#14 in The "Under" Series

AN: Tissue Alert, HurtDean, Hurt Sam, ComfortEl, a brother/sister bond-type thing. The OCs are mine. As always, if you see any mistakes, problems, misspellings, etc., please let me know. And, of course, Reviews Feed My Fan-Fiction-Writin' Soul. Enjoy

It had finally happened. The Winchesters had finally been nabbed. And it culminated with Dean and Sam each with gunshot wounds to the chest. They were now in the hospital, in intensive care, each with a federal marshal guarding his room. Out in the waiting room was a federal agent's wife with tears streaming down her face and blood on her hands.

Peter was talking to the other marshals, but he kept glancing over at his wife. She was pacing. She had had her time to speak to the Marshals but they all thought that she was just too emotional, too fragile right now to even know what she was saying. She deeply resented the attitude and it just added to her upset and worry. Neal had been questioned by the marshals and checked over by medical personnel. He was then sent home by Peter. There was no need for the marshals to discover the Caffrey/Winchester connection. Plus, Peter didn't like how shook up Caffrey seemed. Peter called ahead to June, explaining what had happened to Sam and Dean. The lead agent had figured out, long ago, that that was where the Winchesters stayed when they came in to town. And Peter knew if June had allowed the brothers to stay, that meant she really liked them. And that meant she deserved to know the truth, not matter how upsetting it would be to her. She needed to know what was going on so that she would be able to take care of Neal.

Peter finally finished with the other Marshals and went over to his wife. "They protected me, Peter." El said through her tears. She pleaded with her husband. "They…Dean stood…he actually stood between me and the guy. Sam…Sam got Chelsea and Rena out of the store. He just…. He came back and they just. They shot both of them in the chest!" She finally collapsed against Peter, crying on his chest.

Peter, Diana, and Jones didn't make it to the store until after the cops had shot Sam and Dean. But they had seen the brothers loaded into the ambulance. After checking his wife over, and finding no injuries, he knew the blood on her hands and clothes was not hers. When Neal called Peter and told him about El's text, he was in his office. Peter knew it would take him 10 minutes to get to the store with traffic. He grabbed his coat and started to leave his office, until Neal stopped him in his tracks. Sam and Dean were in town. Neal said that they were all headed to the store. Sam and Dean couldn't just sit and let something happen to Elizabeth. Neal couldn't either. He told Peter that he and the Winchesters would come up with a plan on the way. Peter sighed as he hung up with his C.I. The lead agent quickly and quietly recruited Jones and Diana. They all then hurried out of the office. They just hoped that they got to the store in time.

SPN/WC SPN/WC SPN/WC SPN/WC SPN/WC

The story that the Marshals had not believed had been the truth.

Dean and Sam had been at the mansion with Neal. Peter had given Neal the day off. No new cases to work.

El had sent out a text message intended for Peter. It consisted of one word. HELP!

Neal looked at his phone and then grabbed his coat, much to the surprise of his guests. "El's at the store." Neal explained. "She's in trouble. I'm sure she meant this text for Peter." He said showing it to Dean and Sam.

"Let's go!" Dean said as he and Sam grabbed their coats.

Neal looked at them, shaking his head. "The place is going to be crawling with feds as soon as I place a call to Peter. You won't go unrecognized." He reminded them.

"We'll take our chances, Neal. This is El we're talking about." Sam replied.

"Not a good idea." Neal said, though he knew that nothing he said was going to stop them.

They surveyed the scene and came up with a quick plan. It had been simple. Neal would go in the front of the store, acting as a distraction for the robber. That would allow Dean and Sam to sneak into the back and get everybody out of harm's way, including El. But the plan had gone sideways. Neal had done his part. And Dean had managed to get in between El and the crook. He intended to provide more of a distraction and to protect El. That way Sam could do his part and get El's employees, and El, to safety. But then the cops arrived, alerted by an off-duty cop who just happened to be coming out of the shop next door and had heard yelling. Officer Christian Brooks kept an eye on the situation, as he waited for his backup. It showed up in a matter of minutes. Thankfully the situation inside had not escalated. Well, it didn't escalate until the cops recognized who they had in front of them. Then the action went into fast forward. Shots rang out and the whole thing was over in seconds. Both Sam and Dean Winchester were severely injured, and the robber was dead.

El had ducked after she heard the first shot. She had remembered Peter's training well. She then surveyed the area around her when the shots stopped. She was shocked to see both Sam and Dean lying on their backs, gasping for air. She made her way over to Dean first, the tears in her eyes blocking her vision. He had his eyes open. There was a thin trail of blood coming out of the left side of his mouth.

El shook her head. She realized what had happened when Neal showed up first. She had sent him the text in error. And since Sam and Dean were in town visiting, which, by the way, she had not known. They had come with him. It was her fault that they had ended up here, like this.

"I'm sorry, Dean. I'm so sorry!" El took off her jacket and balled it up. She pressed it against Dean's wound.

Dean groaned at the pressure applied. He then took a hold of the hand she had on his chest and squeezed it tight. "I'm…." Dean struggled to speak. "I'm okay. It's…gonna…gonna…be okay."

El smiled at Dean. She stroked his cheek as he closed his eyes. She watched him for just a moment before she went to check on Sam.

Sam had also been shot in the upper chest. He was unconscious. But his eyes opened as soon as he felt her press on his chest, trying to stem the flow of blood from his wound.

"I'm sorry, Sam." She said. She didn't try to wipe her tears.

Sam smiled at El. He shook his head. He then reached up and touched her arm, smearing his blood on her sleeve. "Thank…you." Sam then closed his eyes and passed out again.

Though her interaction with both brothers lasted a scant few moments, El was quickly ushered away from them, for fear of her safety and because the feds want to get in and survey the scene, and, of course, so that the medical personnel could get in and help the wounded.

El looked around for Neal. He was still sitting against the wall. He didn't look hurt. He was just…shell-shocked. He had never been that close to someone who had been shot before, in distance or in relationship. He had never seen members of his family shot, and he considered the Winchesters family, his brothers. He blinked and tears streaked down his face as El spoke to him, bringing him back to the present.

It had all been a blur. It had happened so fast. And Neal had done the only thing he had known to do. He dove to the ground. He lay there until the shots stopped. Neal was disoriented, and it took him a moment to realize that he was looking at: Sam, Dean and the robber lay on the floor, mere feet from where he was sitting. None of the three were moving and he could see the red stains spreading on both Sam's and Dean's chests. He could also see the bright red blood Dean was coughing up running down his cheek. But, the EMTs soon arrived, they pronounced the robber dead. They then set about trying to stabilize both Sam and Dean before loading them into the waiting ambulances and heading for the hospital.

TBC