Freedom is a length of rope

Freedom is a lenght of rope

Sam had always known there was more than just a "profound bond" between his brother and the angel whether they knew it or not. When Cas' betrayal was revealed, the look on Dean's face confirmed every one of his suspicions. It all started when they discovered Crowley was alive.

At the time they'd had bigger problems with Eve and the "Jefferson Starships" but after the fact, Sam knew there was no way Crowley could have tricked Cas. He had kept his mouth shut for a while, for Dean's sake but he had to say something.

So when Bobby captured a demon that could have information on Crowley and Dean suggested they call Cas he said they had to leave him out of the loop, assume the worst just in case. Dean looked like he was going to say something but changed his mind and mumbled something about a supply run and promptly left.

Two hours later Dean was back and Cas had dropped in while he was coming home. When asked what he had told him, Dean snapped nothing quite irritably pointing out that Cas was their friend and they were lying to him through their teeth. He defended Cas with lame excuses like Crowley tricked him though Sam knew he didn't really believe them. When Bobby tried to defend himself Dean accused him of thinking that Cas was working with Crowley. Sam tried to reassure Dean saying that he hated it too, Cas was their friend too and they'd die for him. Sam's reassurance didn't last very long as Bobby pointed out that if there was even a small chance, they'd be dealing with Superman going dark side and they needed to stock up on some kryptonite just to be safe. Dean was on the edge of crumbling, Sam knew that much, so when he made a demeaning comment about Sam being Lois Lane, he let it go.  Bobby, probably trying to preserve the peace, changed the subject saying that finding Crowley was the top priority right now. He went back to the demon to do a last bit of "persuasion". It soon gave up and gave them a name, Ellsworth. He was the only contact the rest of the demons had with Crowley.

When they arrived at the house it was clean, too clean for an ordinary demon. Something was wrong. When Sam asked what to do next, Dean suggested they called Cas. When they questioned him, Dean pointed out that it was what they would usually do. Bobby told him that they'd already talked about this. Sam could see his brother was getting frustrated, probably wondering why they weren't trusting Cas. So he basically exploded, telling them everything that had been going through his mind the last couple of days. Dean defended Cas to the best of his abilities, he had broke ranks back in heaven and taken the fall for them so many times. He truly believed that they owed him the be if it of the doubt. Sam was shocked, he knew Dean thought of Cas as a very good friend but he'd never seen how much Dean truly cared for the angel.

So Sam gave in and prayed, calling Cas and asking him to come down. Though Sam knew his prayer was more than satisfactory Dean felt the need to add on his own thoughts. Cas didn't come and Sam could see it broke Dean's heart, his faith in the angel starting to waver.

Then the demons attacked and once again Cas saved their asses once again. Because of this whole fiasco, Sam found himself analyzing his brother and the angel's relationship. He noticed that when smiting the demons attacking Bobby and himself, Cas had been clinical, detached but when it came to Dean he took the time to make sure he was alright. Once they were all back on their feet Dean looked more gleeful than Sam had seen him in weeks, maybe months. He turned to Bobby asking what he thought of Cas saving them again. Bobby quickly admitted that they owed him an apology. 

Everything was great again, Cas wasn't working with Crowley and Dean had been snapped out of his moping. Everything was perfect until Cas quoted Bobby about Superman going dark side. It took Sam a moment but he realized that Cas should've had no idea about that conversation unless he was spying on them. He looked at Dean and see the giant grin slip off his face to be replaced with a look of hurt and betrayal. It didn't last long though as he put on a fake smile and made a comment about putting away the kryptonite.

Then Cas left and Dean just sat down and didn't say a single thing while they were talking and planning what to do next.

The next time he spoke was a few hours later when he called Cas down to execute the plan. Cas popped in a Sam and Bobby rose to their feet but Dean stayed seated looking semi catatonic. When Bobby ignited the holy fire and trapped the angel Dean finally got up and interrupted the superficial questions Sam and Bobby had been asking with a more personal one. Cas who had previously been looking around for an escape instantly whipped his head around and looked Dean in the eye when he asked him to. But when he looked away when Dean asked to tell him he wasn't working with Crowley, Sam had never seen his brother look so devastated. He wasn't the least bit mad and had a look in his eyes that Sam recognized but couldn't place. When he finally did, Sam wasn't sure he was ready for the shock that came with the realization. It was the look Jessica had worn when she thought Sam was cheating on her. It was the look of someone who'd been betrayed by the person they loved and had been left heartbroken.

Dean loved Cas and Sam wasn't sure what to do with that information especially since he was working with Crowley and he didn't think Dean or Cas knew it yet. So Sam kept his mouth shut and listened to the two of them talk. Sam didn't even really care that Cas had brought him back soulless. The one true thing Cas had said that night, in Sam's opinion, was that he hadn't done it on purpose. Cas believed that he had no choice but Dean pointed out that he did, he should of asked for help and they would have dealt with it like they always do. Cas told him it sounded so simple when he said it like that, asking Dean where he was when he needed to hear it. Dean fired back that he was there, Cas wasn't and he should of come to them for help. The angel responded with a maybe that ended the conversation when they all heard demons outside. Cas told that it was too late to turn back now and they had to run. Sam had never heard his brother plea like he was at that moment practically on the verge of crying as he told Cas that they could still fix the situation. The angel told him that it wasn't broken and telling them to run again.

That time they did and as Sam ran to the car he saw his brother look back into the house at his trapped angel one last time before following the rest of them. The ride to Bobby's was completely silent and Sam could see that Dean was battling tears the whole time. The day had taken a big emotional toil on Dean and Sam knew that he was utterly heartbroken even though he didn't know it. Dean didn't do feelings so there was no way he would be admitting, or even realizing, his love for the angel any time soon. When they finally got there, Dean went straight to the bed as Bobby put up angel warding.

When morning light poured into the cabin Dean told them Cas had payed a visit to try to explain. When Bobby had to break the news to him that Cas had actually come to steal a journal Sam saw what remaining hope he had for a future of any kind with the angel disappear from his brother's eyes. Sam knew that this time he'd have to do something he'd never done before, pick up the pieces of a heartbroken Dean.