Break Us (If Only You Could Help It)
Jack Kline x Dean Winchester x Castiel x Sam Winchester | Whump | Injured Jack Kline | Gunshot Wound | Jack kline has three Dads | Leg Wound | 3rd
Hurt/Comfort Word count: 2.8k
Summary: They are on a hunt and Dean accidently shoots Jack. He is determined to make up for his mistake and patch Jack up no matter the cost.
Warnings: Serious injury, blood, gore, gunshot wounds, taking out the bullet, field surgery, accidental torture.
Italics are the character's thoughts
REQUESTS ARE OPEN
Tags: @marchtothefuckingsea
This was the first hunt back after Cas had been tortured by some angels. He was strong so not many things in this world made him break and he was ready to get back out there.
Team free will 2.0 carefully made their trek deeper into the forest, they had been walking for hours already and exhaustion pinched at their muscles. They were supposed to take down an ancient god who lived out here and sent minions out to every corner of the world to sacrifice on her behalf.
Then things started lunging at them from the bushes. Sam and Dean quickly began shooting while Cas and Jack launched into battle with their angel blades.
One grabbed Dean, sending them into a struggle for his gun. The monster managed to secure the nozzle of the weapon and Dean made to shoot but at the last moment it pulled away. In the midst of the chaos, a choked scream rang out piercing that thick layer of silence. They all knew who it belonged to; it was impossible not to recognise. Castiel quickly rushed to Jack’s aid. A single bullet wound etched into his leg. Normally it wouldn’t have been an issue but the warding’s carved into every tree for miles rendered him as vulnerable as a human.
Sam took a glance at Dean who was frozen with fear at what he had just done, and then overturned with rage as something jumped him.
“Me and Dean got this! Get him out of here!” Sam yelled over his shoulder.
Blood spewed onto the damp ground a lot faster than Cas would like to admit while the wound itself drew cries of agony from the young boy. Despite Jack’s pleas, Castiel tugged him up and heavied an arm over his shoulder, guiding him away as fast as possible.
“Jack, you have to work with me here, I know it hurts but we need to get you to safety.” Cas said urgently but gentle.
Jack obeyed and did what little he could to help, to take even just some of his weight off his dad.
“Very good.” Castiel praised but it soon became unsustainable, and Jack slumped against him. Castiel knew that having him in a standing position made him bleed out faster, but they weren’t a safe enough distance away yet.
Jack’s head dropped and for only a moment, his eyes fluttered shut. Cas could hear how his breathing became a struggle and how his body trembled like it needed to get away from itself.
“Jack, can you hear me.” Cas’s tone was growing further worried by the second.
This shouldn’t have happened.
“Yes.” Jack mumbled weakly.
“I know you don’t want to, but you have to put pressure on your leg.”
They kept hobbling away from the ongoing fight, trying to create as much distance as they could.
“No….. ‘t’s gonna hurt. I can’t. Pleaseee.”
When he made no attempt to apply pressure, Castiel slowly eased his weight onto a tree and took off his trench coat, tying it tightly.
“Aghhhh. Please don’t, not any tighter.” He whimpered, resisting, but Cas shoved his hands to the side and continued. Jack cried out as the pressure slowly increased with each movement of Cas’s hands. He felt like he was suffocating, the pressure of the wound combined with the pressure of the trench coat. He flailed around the tree trunk, trying to give himself enough leverage to push away but he couldn’t, the grip Cas had on him was unyielding.
Eventually Cas was satisfied, and he returned to underneath his arm and they went off.
“I’m sorry but that had to be done.”
Jack didn’t respond, it was taking all of his energy just to keep himself up right. To his dismay, Cas kept making sure he didn’t fiddle with the makeshift bandage. It didn’t matter so much though, because the more it soaked with blood, the looser it felt and that brought him some solace to the pain.
They came to a clearing and Cas slowly eased Jack down onto the thick grass. Seeing his son like this, hurt Castiel in ways angels weren’t meant to feel.
“I’m so sorry Jack, this shouldn’t have happened. I promised your mother that-.” He cut himself off, not wanting to continue and peered at the damage.
He didn’t like how the trench coat was almost completely soaked through with blood. He carefully pulled it off, ignoring Jacks quiet sobs and the way he tried to shield himself from probing hands.
It was deep but not through and through, the bullet was still somewhere in there. A sudden wave of nausea hit Cas when he realised that someone was going to have to take it out- and soon. And he didn’t know if he’d have the heart to do that to him.
“Hey listen to me, okay? Dean and Sam will come for us when they are done, but for now I have to do everything I can to stop the bleeding. You’re going to be just fine.” The uncertainty in his voice betrayed him. Sam and Dean mostly patched each other up, he was at a loss with how to help Jack; even though he wanted to more than anything, and that killed him from the inside.
Not missing a beat, he pressed his hand firmly against the wound and shifted so that most of his weight was on it. Jack immediately started to scream and thrash, the sudden pain rising above manageable levels. It was hard to control him since he only had one hand, but he did his best.
“It’s going to be okay; it’s all going to be okay.” He soothed, though he doubted it brought much comfort considering what he was doing. Jack squirmed relentlessly beneath him and it broke Cas’s heart even more.
Cas just hoped that Sam and Dean would come and that they’d know what to do. Surely, he didn’t have to be the one to abandon all of his morals and take bullet out or even worse, try and treat him with his butchered first aid knowledge.
~
"HEY!" Dean screamed as they finally caught sight of the duo. He and Sam urged into a sprint until they reach them. It had only been about 15 minutes since the accident, but it felt like a lifetime.
Jack was down, begging and whimpering, curled into the foetal position as much as Cas would allow while being on top of him and pressing down on his leg.
“Sam, Dean, thank god you’re here.” He lowered his voice for the next bit. “I don’t know what to do.” Cas’s cheeks where red and puffy and still held the faintest dampness.
Sam knelt down, Dean hovering over him. “Jack, let us take a look.” Jack didn’t answer so he made the decision for him, then turned to Cas. “Try and hold him down the best you can, the more he moves the quicker he will bleed out.”
Those words sounded like a glimmer of hope in Cas’s eyes, and he slowly released and made his way to Jack’s head before applying light force to his shoulders, easing him onto his back. The way he visually relaxed when the pressure left, made them all share a concerned glance.
Cas shifted so his face was in Jack’s line of sight. “I’m right here okay, just focus on my face.” He whispered, locking eyes with him. Dean knelt down on his other side and squeezed his hand, letting him know that he was surrounded by family and that they sure as hell weren’t going to let anything happen to him.
Sam began to poke around the wound, ignoring all sharp sounds and half cut cries that escaped Jack’s mouth. Dean intensively held on harder and started to rub soothing circles up his arm. He couldn’t just do nothing, especially since he had caused all this. He had caused Jack so much suffering.
He wasn’t sure that Jack would ever forgive him for this but why would he? He didn’t even forgive himself.
“Dean, I’m scared.” Jack spoke softly, blood bubbling up in the corner of his mouth. His eyes as big as they always were; but now they made Dean desperately want to look away, because he was afraid, he would cry.
Cas quickly found the words Dean hadn’t. “We are not going to let anything happen to you.” He comforted giving him a small kiss on the forehead.
Dean’s head was down, probably in shame, trying to hide the water welling up in his eyes. Though at this point they all had some wetness threatening to break through.
“Cas.” Sam broke the moment and forced them to be strong once again. “Cover his ears.”
“What-.” Cas choked, his fear once again rising.
“Just do it.”
Cas covered Jack’s ears with the palms of his hands.
“Good.” Sam met eyes with Dean and Cas, they both wore the same shattered look on their faces. He wasn’t going to make that go away either. “His injuries.” He took a breath peering below at the blood covering his fingers. “He is losing to much blood. We need to get the bullet out and cauterise the wound.”
Those words made all of their hearts drop, including Sam’s; who had found out that saying it aloud, hurt a lot more than thinking it.
“But we can’t-” Dean started.
Cas cut him off, wanting to get his point across. “I won’t do that do him!”
The conflict in Sam’s face was evident. “I don’t see another way….. unless you guys would rather lose him.”
Cas thanked heaven and hell and everything in between that Jack couldn’t hear their conversation right now. The truth was he really didn’t want to do this to Jack but he agreed with Sam, and no, he couldn’t lose Jack. He’d do anything not to lose him.
Something seemed to change in Dean immediately. “I’ll do it, Cas pass me your angel blade.”
Sam flashed Dean a look that was very nearly stunned. “Dean, are you sure you want to-”
“Yes, Sammy. I did this to him so I gotta be the one to fix it, if he dies and I don’t do everything I possibly can to save him…… I don’t think I’ll survive that.” There was a pause. “Look the kid has been through a lot, comfort him, hold him still, tell him that everything is going to be okay, let me be the bad guy.”
A long silence fell upon the group, but it didn’t last long. Jack was losing time and since Dean offered, they weren’t going to repute that.
“Alright.” Sam said finally, and moved to Jack’s arm, allowing Dean to take the position of his injured thigh.
“We really going through with this?” Cas asked, they all nodded their heads. Cas shifted so that he was holding down one of Jack’s arms and his shoulder while Sam had the other.
“Am I okay?” Jack asked faintly now his ears were released, almost missed in the commotion.
“You will be.” Sam flashed him a small sad smile.
Dean straddled the lower part of Jack’s legs, sterilizing Cas’s angel blade with his lighter. God had he really signed up for this.
Jack must have sensed the atmosphere change because he started to wriggle slightly, and his breathing had gone through the roof.
“What’s happening?”
Nobody wanted to answer that question.
“Dean is going to help you, make you as good as new.” Sam said, the underling trust still woven in his eyes made him want to cry. He didn’t think his heart could break more than it had that day, but he was wrong. The way Jack still trusted Dean even after what happened.
Sweat beaded his forehead, he was sickly cold and pale. He could feel something being pushed into his mouth.
“Bite.” Cas ordered.
Mixed with the warm metallic tinge of his own blood, the thick leather tasted odd in his mouth.
“Kiddo, I’m so sorry.” Dean said before deftly plunging the blade into the wound. Jack suddenly bucked up, but Sam and Cas kept him down, muttering faint apologies. He gasped choking out a strangled scream.
It felt like Dean was butchering him and he wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t. Despite his dad’s attempts to distract him, nothing could take away from every movement of the hot knife in his leg. He could feel the burn as it dug deeper into tissue and he struggled against them, he needed to get away.
“Shhh, Jack I know.” Sam soothed. Followed by, “Dean, faster man.”
“I’m trying.” Dean shouted, abruptly pressing it in far further, hitting a nerve that caused Jack to shriek and spasm, leaving him breathless. “The buggers in there deep.”
Oh god, please no more, was the only thought that ran through Jack’s mind.
He squeezed Cas’s and Sam’s hands harder, turning them all white. He started playing a dance, pushing against them one moment and into the floor the next, nothing gave any leverage or means for escape. He was trapped and Dean was hurting him. The pain never dimmed, only intensified every time Dean shifted and pushed. He was getting sliced open from the inside.
The belt fell from his mouth and a hoarse sound expelled from his throat. “Pleaseeee.” He was left gasping for air. “Stop, no more.”
Cas and Sam were saying things in empathetic voices, but it didn’t matter because it didn’t stop.
“I can’t. I can’t.” He pleaded.
“You can Jack, your so brave just a little longer.” Cas whispered.
He wanted to respond, to beg them to stop until they finally gave in, but Dean kept forcing it further, drawing out nothing but grunts and cries. He prayed as a final attempt for Cas to hear it.
Cas stop please, no more, stop. Agghhhhh.
It didn’t work. Although maybe it had, maybe Cas could hear it all.
He finally felt as Dean hit something other than tissue, something hard, metal. White exploded in his vision and screams tore there way out. He screamed till his throat felt like someone had torn it out with tongs, till his screams barely resembled screams anymore.
He fought.
Sam and Cas held him down.
Dean worked.
He was sure the whole forest knew he was in pain by now. His whole body tensed and jerked as Dean began to manoeuvre it apart from the flesh it had burned into.
"It hurts," Jack whimpered, his voice shaking with pain.
"I know, Jack," Sam said gently, his touch tender despite the necessary force. "But we have to do this to make you better."
Jack's pain became unbearable. Fear took hold, and he began to further resist their efforts. He tried to pull away, to escape the pain that seemed unending. But his father’s knew that they had to see this through, that it was the only way to save his life.
"Jack, you need to stay still," Castiel said firmly, his voice laced with sorrow. “This is going to take longer the more you move.”
"I can't," Jack cried, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Please, make it stop."
The same phrase he had been praying to Cas on repeat for the last five minutes.
In that moment, their roles shifted from caretakers to protectors. They held Jack gently but firmly, determined to do what was necessary to save his life. Dean held him close, his heart breaking at the pain his son endured.
"I'm so sorry," Sam said softly.
Dean started to pull it out, he thrashed and struggled, but his father’s held him in place, their love and determination the only thing keeping him grounded. He kept praying to Cas and at some stages he felt the resistance on Cas’s side ease up a little, but never enough.
Then finally Dean hit another nerve and darkness, blissful darkness.
~
His eyes blurred, he was aware of people faintly talking around him; but it wasn’t until he tried to move and felt someone pat him down that he realised he wasn’t alone.
“Shhh, Hey buddie, I’m right here.” It was Cas’s voice. “You’re in the impala, we are just driving back to the bunker now, your safe okay.”
He was lying delicately in Cas’s strong arms.
“How’s he doing.” Sam twisted his head around from shotgun.
“He’s still slightly cold but the angel healing as started to kick in.” Cas answered, giving Jack a light and comforting squeeze, his warmth was radiating.
“Jack, you gave us a big scare, for a moment there.” Sam finished.
Even from the back seat, he could see Dean’s white knuckles on the steering wheel.
“I’m so sorry, I should never have-”
Jack stopped him, “It’s okay Dean.”
“No, its not. You were hurt, I hurt you-”
“DEAN STOP.” His voice was louder than intended. “I’m okay now, thanks to you.”
There was a silence from him, he hoped it was Dean forgiving himself but that wasn’t likely.
Cas peered down at him, warm and loving blue eyes glinting in the reflection from the window. “I heard you, you know….. Everything you said- begged- pleaded. I’ve been tortured before but that was worse than anything I’ve ever experienced and yet somehow, I managed not to give in. I love you so much Jack, I could never lose you.”
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