This story is in no way connected to the other one I'm posting-I'm sorry but I'm having to put Personal Demons briefly on hold, since after the last episode Mommy Dearest I just had to write this one. It'll only be about a threeshot, as I want to have it done before next Friday's episode…

And no, I couldn't stop myself getting Sam kidnapped again. I just have a thing about that.

Broken Wings

Chapter 1:

Sam Winchester opened his eyes to total darkness. He blinked several times but it made no difference except to the pounding of his head. He tried to cajole his sluggish memory but it had the same effect.

Where am I? What happened?

He was tied to some hard metal surface; he could feel the cold of it through the rips in his shirt. Wait-his shirt was ripped-how had that happened?

"Hey!" he called hoarsely, his voice seeming to boom and echo for a very, very long way. "Hey, anybody there? What's going on?"

Actually, he had a fairly good idea of what was going on. He seemed to have been kidnapped again, but by who, and why? He closed his eyes again, slowing his breathing, trying to concentrate. His last memory…well, he and Bobby had just put their suspicions about Cas out into the open, and it hadn't gone down well with Dean…but what else could they think after the angel's recent behaviour: all that business with touching people's souls? Once could be understood, but now…Castiel had changed drastically since Sam had fallen into the Pit, that much was clear. Anyway-they had gone back to Bobby's, Sam remembered that, because he remembered falling asleep fully clothed and without having even washed the blood off his hands in the little room he used when he and Dean stayed there, as they did so often these days. Ironic really, that after all this time they almost had a permanent home, with their grumpy, wonderful surrogate father…who Sam had wronged so badly and still had not been able to redeem himself to. Oh sure, Bobby appeared to have forgiven him, to some extent at least. But forgiving himself was another matter…

Suddenly it all came back to him: he had heard a noise in the middle of the night, had woken to some kind of ringing. At first he had thought it was just in his head, but as he lay there, listening, staring up into the shadows, it had grown louder and louder…the sensible move then would have been to wake Dean or Bobby, he supposed. But no…he had taken his gun and gone out into the yard alone to investigate. He frowned as the memories came rushing back-powerful hands grabbing him from behind, spinning him round, a hand touching his forehead. A familiar voice. And then landing hard and falling to the floor, in this complete darkness, and fighting immediately, blindly…more voices, hands trying to restrain him. And then he remembered a burst of pain in his head, and then nothing…

So…what? He had gotten himself kidnapped from Bobby's house, somehow teleported here and when he resisted knocked unconscious and tied up. That quite honestly was not so unusual, taking into account that Sam was a hunter. It had happened before. What was wrong in this was that…only an angel could have done the actual capturing part. He knew the feeling. He had been angel-zapped here…his breath caught in his throat. No, God no. Relax. You don't know it was Cas. Coulda been any one of the millions of angels who want you and Dean out of the picture. Things aren't simple in heaven, remember? It wasn't Cas. It can't have been Cas…

That voice, though…he could barely even remember the words, confused as his memories were, but if he tried really hard…"I'm sorry, Sam." Castiel's voice. Unmistakeably…

No. No. No…Castiel turned traitor? Despite all his earlier suspicions, Sam could still not somehow credit it. Nearly three years now he had known the angel-Castiel had almost given his life for him and Dean many times over. Had done, in fact…Sam's face twisted involuntarily at the memory of the angel literally exploding in his grasp, by his power, by Lucifer's command, in that graveyard…such things did not fade easily.

It did not make sense. How could Castiel have betrayed them?

And yet what other answer could there be?

Panicked and helpless, Sam closed his eyes. Dean…is Dean here? Did they get him too? Did Castiel get him too? He hated being unable to see, hated the pressing blackness…"Dean!" he yelled desperately. "Dean!" But there was no reply…

Except suddenly, voices: again, far off in the distance. Sam sat up straighter, wincing as pain seared through his head, listening hard:

"And why exactly would I want to give you the chance to plot your weaselly way out of this with your boyfriend's kid brother?"

No-not possible-Crowley?

And then the measured, careful, weary tones of the angel: "Just let me talk to him first. Two minutes."

"Hey!" Sam yelled. "Hey, Cas!"

A door slammed somewhere far off. Slow footsteps approaching.

"Castiel, if that's you-" Sam paused, baring his teeth silently in pain. His head seemed to be hurting more with every passing minute. "You don't have to do this. He's using you. C'mon, Cas, it's me…"

"You don't understand anything," Castiel's voice said out of the darkness beside him, far closer than Sam had expected. He jumped.

"So explain, for once!"

"I can't. Not everything."

"How about telling me why you're working for Crowley?" Sam demanded, fighting to keep his voice steady to hide the anger boiling within. He had to try and get through to the Castiel he and Dean knew-it was as far as he could see his only chance. "And what the hell I'm doing here? And-where's Dean? Is he here?"

"Your brother is where you last saw him," Castiel said tiredly. "You are here because we need you."

"Why?"

It was a long, long time before Castiel spoke again, and when he did he sounded more broken and, strangely, more human than Sam had ever known him. "It's your soul."

Sam blinked in surprise, turning his head blindly towards Castiel. "My soul? Is this about the wall?"

"Indirectly, yes…you have a unique soul, Sam, in a unique condition. For our work here…you are indispensable. Why do you think I never wanted to risk putting it back inside you? I was trying to protect you from this…but that is no longer possible. I want to tell you that I am deeply sorry."

Sam was beginning to panic now, his heart leaping inside him like a caged bird. He fought to control his breathing-he had not grown up with John Winchester as a father for nothing. "Cas, please. After everything…you can't do this. You can't. What does Crowley want with my soul? What's he planning?"

Castiel heaved a deep sigh. "I'm sorry. I can't tell you any more."

"Cas!"

Wingbeats. Castiel was gone. Sam sagged back against the metal plate, closing his eyes and clenching his fists, fighting to control himself, to understand. This was not possible. This could not be happening…

And then a burst of deep scarlet light, illuminating the confines of the small rocky chamber like the radiance of hell itself, and as Sam squeezed his eyes shut against it he heard another voice. A voice belonging to someone who should not be alive.

"I take it this means you've finished bonding with your angel there? Good. Then we can get started."

And Sam opened his eyes again to see Crowley emerging from the hellish red light, exactly as he had been before his supposed death, staring blandly down at Sam. It sparked a reluctant memory, and one Sam knew meant trouble-for just an instant, he saw Lucifer walking towards him in full archangel splendour though spattered ghoulishly with blood, against the flaming backdrop of the cage. This situation was all too familiar.

…

"Bobby where the hell is Sam?" Dean's furious, slightly panicked voice echoed through the corridors of the house and Bobby, ever an early riser, sitting at his desk surrounded by books despite the dawn only just breaking behind the house, finally lost patience.

"How the hell d'you expect me to know, ya eejit? He's not a dog on a leash, boy can come and go as he wants."

Dean came slamming into his study then, looking angry and harassed. "He hasn't taken any single car, his jacket's in his room and there's no goddamn sign of him!"

Bobby shrugged. "Well, stranger things have happened. He's an adult too, ya know."

Dean looked ready to explode. "Are you nuts? Right when this whole Mother of All thing is getting tight? Something's happened. You didn't notice anything in the night?"

Bobby sighed. "Dean, get some coffee. Sam probably just went out early, people do that sometimes. You're overreacting." His surrogate son still looked mutinous. "Look, if he's not back in a couple hours it'll be worth getting worried. But cut him some slack, kid probably needs some alone time after all this."

Dean scowled and turned his back, storming out into the kitchen. Bobby ignored him, understanding that he had convinced him for now.

Six hours later things were not looking so good. Sam had not returned, and both Dean and a suddenly-worried Bobby had been out scouring the surrounding countryside for any sign of him. Nothing. It really was as if Sam had just disappeared off the face of the earth, and Dean seemed ready to implode.

"Okay, that does it," he snapped, flinging the Impala's keys down onto a table. "I'm calling Cas."

"You sure that's a good-" Bobby began, but Dean jabbed a furious finger at him. "No more bright ideas from you." He closed his eyes without further ado and looked upwards, intoning: "Castiel. We need you. This time we actually do. Can you get yourself down here?" He waited a beat, then suddenly snarled out: "Goddammit Cas, get your ass-"

"Dean," Bobby sighed. "Even angels need time to-" He jumped as Castiel materialised soundlessly before him and Dean instantly strode up to him. "Cas, Sam's missing. I need you to work your mojo and take a look for him, 'kay?"

"Where has he gone?' Castiel asked without emotion. Dean swore.

"If I knew I wouldn't be asking you!"

"Are you sure he is missing?"

"Yes!"

"All right. I will take a look around." Castiel vanished-less than a second later he was back-and shaking his head. "I am sorry, but Sam is nowhere nearby, Dean. I have searched a hundred mile radius of this house and he is not here."

Den put his head in his hands. "Dammit I knew something had happened, I knew it…" He turned away suddenly, shoulders hunching over. "Sammy, why does this always happen to you? Why the hell can't you-" His voice broke. Bobby and Castiel could only watch him, helpless, uncertain. Abruptly Dean swung back around, snarling: "Well what the hell are you looking at?" He looked distraught, panicked-close, even, to crying.

"Dean-" Bobby had no words to finish his sentence, but as it turned out Dean did not give him time to flounder in any case.

"I can't lose him again, Bobby! I can't!"

Bobby's heart twinged with pity and worry. "Dean, we'll find him. We always do."

Dean just turned away again. Last time he had lost Sam it was to the Pit with Lucifer, and it had nearly destroyed him: without Lisa, it would have. And look at the consequences…no, somehow, over the course of the horror-fraught last months, he had lost all his faith, all the belief he had used to have that so long as he was alive Sam would always be all right. He had believed it hard enough even to bypass Sam's actual death, all those years ago. Now, though…he had nothing.

Oh, by the way. When Crowley calls Dean Cas's boyfriend, I'm not implying that there's anything like that going on. It's just because a lot of angels and so forth on the show have been making cracks about it, I'm just keeping in character with the smartasses of SPN! I personally don't think Castiel and Dean would ever have that kind of relationship or would ever want to. I don't write slash. Just clarifying that.

Anyway, hope you liked it, please leave me a review and let me know if I should just scrap this one, it probably isn't a great story but I just had this compulsion to get it out there…maybe I'm possessed lol. Anyway!