A/N: I'm not sure what you'll think of this story; it's just that after watching episode 9 and episode 10's promo, I couldn't resist writing this fiction. - It kinda hurt me to watch the invisible gulf growing between our boys, again! - I really hope you enjoy reading it and leave me some reviews so I know what you think. ;)

Oh, and this is totally spoilery! So if you haven't watched even the latest episode, you shouldn't read this one!

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. A Friend indeed? .

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"Sam, answer your frigging phone, dammit." Dean growled into Sam's voicemail when his brother failed to answer his call for... He'd stopped counting after the fourth try!

"I need you here, Sammy." he softened his tone and then went silent for a few seconds before finally sighing and saying, "but I guess it doesn't really matter." And with that he ended the call and for a moment pondered about throwing his phone to the wall, but decided against it.

Not just because he didn't really have enough energy to do so, but also because he most probably still needed that thing if he wanted to survive the predicament he'd founded himself in.

He couldn't stifle the groan that escaped his lips when he tried to shift on the filthy ground.

Closing his eyes for a second he thought about asking for help from someone else; you know, since his own brother couldn't bother to answer his damn phone.

Taking a deep breath he opened his eyes and stared at the sky above him and growled, "Cas, where the hell are you? I could use some help here."

...

Sam was sitting on his bed in the same motel room that he'd been in when Dean had shown up on his doorstep and he'd shut the door in his face.

Listening to Dean's message, he uttered a few swear words before deleting the message and throwing the phone on the bed. He wasn't in a mood to talk to Dean.

Not now... And probably not ever.

What had his brother been thinking? Betraying his own brother! Setting him up! Allying with a monster! And defending the same monster after it'd killed another hunter; a friend!

No.

No explanation could be good enough.

Dean couldn't give him anything that would sound remotely reasonable.

So no, he wouldn't regret cutting the line when he'd called Dean the first time to show him he knew about his little trick. He wouldn't regret not letting him in and he wouldn't regret not answering his calls ever since.

He would regret nothing.

It wasn't his fault. It was all on Dean, this time. He should've thought about this before befriending a vampire.

He trusted that monster so much? He could go and enjoy his company for the rest of his life. Sam didn't care. Not even an Iota. He had someone else on his mind.

He kept telling himself that, but at the back of his mind, he felt bad for not talking to Dean; for not answering his phone when Dean had said he needed him. And worst of all was when Dean's tone of voice had changed to icy and distant when he'd muttered the last sentence before ending the call: 'I guess it doesn't really matter.'

Sam was glad that he'd deleted the message. He knew he couldn't listen to that tone and pretend like nothing was wrong.

But like he'd been telling himself earlier; it wasn't his fault.

"If he thinks I haven't been there for him, he can go and screw himself." he said aloud angrily to no one in the empty room. "If I've been such a terrible brother, then he doesn't have a right to call and ask for help."

"Or maybe you could pull your head out of your butt and try and see things from his point of view." a voice behind him made Sam jump from his place on the bed.

He cursed himself silently. After having the angel around for the last few years, he shouldn't get startled by his sudden appearance anymore, but that kept happening! "Cas."

"Do you even care for him?" Cas asked passively.

"What?"

"Dean. Do you even care for Dean?" he asked again. "Because from where I'm standing it really looks like you don't. I'm not talking about this exact position, of course." he looked around for the first time and then looked down at the spot he was standing on.

"What the hell?" Sam bristled, "of course I care." he didn't pay attention to Castiel's momentary confusion.

"I know you haven't even looked for him when we disappeared last year. Why didn't you, Sam?" Cas asked looking genuinely eager to know. "It seems like you were so tired that the moment he vanished, you-"

"STOP RIGHT THERE." Sam all but shouted. "You don't know anything about what happened to me. You don't know what kind of hell I went through when Dean just vanished right in front of my eyes. You have no right to judge me. There was nothing I could do."

"You could look." Cas stated indifferently. "You didn't know for sure if he was dead. You just assumed and went your own way."

"Dammit, Cas-"

"I'm just saying that you can't blame him for trusting Benny. It's not fair to him." The angel usually wouldn't interfere, but Dean and Sam were taking things too far again and he was tired, besides Purgatory had changed him. "And I can say that you are not upset about Dean choosing a vampire as a friend and defending him; you're just jealous. But like I said, you have no right. How many times has he needed you and you haven't been there? Tonight was another example."

"Tonight he-"

"He was lying in a pool of his own blood, merely 50 miles away from where we're standing now. This exact position. He tried and called you seven times before finally giving up and deciding that he needed to call someone who wouldn't turn his back on him because of uncalled anger or jealousy." now he sounded really angry, something that happened rarely.

Sam wanted to hit Cas and tell him that he was NOT jealous, that he didn't have any reason to be.

But deep down he knew Cas was right.

That was not what stopped him, though.

There was something else that his tired mind couldn't register fast enough. Something about... blood? "Blood?"

"Yes, Sam. Blood. He was hurt by a couple of demons. He, of course, had managed to kill them both; but as good as he'd become after spending one year in Purgatory, he is still bounded by limitations of every human being and can't fight two powerful creatures all by himself and walk away unscathed."

Sam didn't know what to say. Dean had been hurt; that was why he'd called. The pang of guilt he felt in his chest was almost too much to bear.

"He's in hospital."

"Where?" Sam managed.

Instead of answering his question, Cas put his fingers on Sam's forehead and within a second they were in the hospital.

It was late, so it was no wonder they were alone in that long corridor.

Looking around Sam noticed where Cas was heading to and walked behind him. Stopping outside a room, Cas motioned with his head for him to look inside.

There he was; his brother was lying in a hospital bed again; hooked up to various machines and IVs.

Sam was about to step inside when he noticed something else.

Dean wasn't alone.

Standing in a corner, next to the window was the cause of all their problems.

Benny.

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... TBC ...

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A/N: So, what do you think? :)

Sorry for any mistakes.

And, uh, I'm a bit busy with my exams; so I probably won't be able to update for at least two weeks, but I promise to come back with a longer chapter.

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