Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Dean stumbled through Castiel’s window. His hair tousled, face stained with blood and tears.

He had gotten in the way of his father’s drunken pillaging through the house and ended up with a swollen lip that wouldn’t stop bleeding, lots of welts from John’s belt and a throb in his skull from where it cracked against the wall.

Dean had snuck out that window a million times, trespassing into Castiel’s dreams and privacy. It was all he could think to do. Not one other person made him feel okay like Cas did. Not one other person made Dean feel comfortable enough to be scrambling through their bedroom’s window at four in the morning.

Castiel jolted awake when he heard steps, from the irregularity of them he knew who they belonged to. “Dean?” he spoke into the darkness and bit his lip. The teen reached and turned the light on, squinting until he got accustomed to the light. “Oh my God,” he whispered, he got to his feet and helped Dean onto his bed. “Was it… was it John again?”

A soft breath of relief slipped past Dean’s lips and he shuffled with Castiel towards his bed, sitting down despite the sting it initiated, which was deep and burning. “Yeah,” he said quietly, seeing no point in lying, especially not to Castiel, who didn’t turn him away, or even get angry every time he did this.

Castiel examined his face with soft eyes and bit his lip. “I will get the aid kit,” he said, assuming that Dean wouldn’t want to go to the hospital. “Stay awake.”

Cas moved quickly to his bathroom and came back with a plastic container, he had everything they would need there. “Where else are you hurt?” he asked as he cleaned Dean’s face with gentle hands, trying to see through the blood.

Dean winced away initially, but quickly recovered and tilted his head upward to make it easier for him to clean the blood off. “Just my head, an’ ass, mostly,” he murmured, fingers kneading against a welt on his arm, due to his father’s drunken aim.

Dean’s breath was still hitching slightly, but his voice was even and clear, quiet too so he didn’t wake any member of Castiel’s family.

Cas noticed the bloody bumps on Dean’s arms too and bit his lip. “What did he use this time?” he asked as he cleaned him, trying to be as gentle as he could.

“His belt,” Dean said quietly, green eyes focused up on Castiel’s blue ones. His body still trembled a bit, involuntarily. He couldn’t help leaning slightly into the sweet, nonviolent touch with a sigh.

Castiel hated John Winchester with all he had, he wished that Dean would let him talk to his parents and go to the police. But he knew that wasn’t going to happen.

“I hate to see you like this, Dean,” he murmured.

“‘s not that bad, I shoulda stayed outta the way.”

“No, he shouldn’t have beaten you up like this,” he whispered and held him gently, still cleaning him up. “It’s… it’s okay now, you’re safe.” Castiel gave him a reassuring smile and a soft stroke to his jaw bone. “I will take care of you.”

Dean returned Castiel’s smile with a crooked little grin, his teeth flashing. “Thanks, Cas. I dunno what I’d do without you,” he said, leaning even more into the touches.

Cas stitched Dean’s right brow and spread some ointment on his lip, he didn’t want Dean to have a scar on the middle of his face to remember this night.

Cas was so good to him, and always left a warm, fluttering feeling in Dean’s chest. “Really, you’re my angel.”

Cas chuckled a bit and blushed, smiling shyly. “I care about you, you know that,” he said softly and gently brushed Dean’s hair with his fingers. “No sleeping, okay? And you’re spending the rest of the night here.” Cas didn’t move his hands away from the other boy.

Dean nodded and scooted closer to Castiel, sighing quietly as he took the other’s hand gently into his own, lacing their fingers together.

“Dean?” he whispered softly after a moment. “He… he just hit you, right? He didn’t…?” he couldn’t even will the words to form in his throat.

“He didn’t do anything else, it’s okay,” Dean said, fingers still kneading gently against the angry bumps on his arm. He felt ache-y all over, but being with Castiel made his physical pain die down quite a bit. “I promise,” he added quietly, clutching onto his hand just a tad tighter than usual.

Cas let out a shaky breath, relief washing over him as he took Dean in a soft hug. His heart was beating angrily against his ribcage. “For a moment I-- I thought…” Cas bit his lip and held him close to his chest. “I trust you,” he said and gently stroked Dean’s knuckles.

Dean’s arms immediately wrapped around Castiel, touch soft and loving. His tense nerves began to melt away and his heart rate slowed back to a normal pace. Cas had such a calming feel about him, he always made Dean feel better about everything. “It ain’t like that. He doesn’t do anythin’ I don’t deserve.”

“I don’t think you deserve what he does to you, Dean. Any of it.” Cas didn’t move away, he kept Dean between his arms. “You shouldn’t have to go through this, I… I wish I could stop all that’s happening to you. Make you stay with me.” Castiel squeezed him just a tiny bit. He didn’t know what he would do if some day Dean appeared with something he wasn’t able to fix, or saying that his dad had touched him in a way that wasn’t appropriate coming from a father. “You don’t deserve any of this,” Cas repeated. “You deserve to be happy, Dean.”

Dean fell quiet for a bit and just held onto Castiel, head resting against his chest. He had a hard time accepting that his father struck him far more out of anger and spite than anything else. It stopped being punishment when Dean was screaming that he was sorry for things he didn’t even do. It was all taking a rather large toll on his mental state as well, how fucking unlovable was he if even his own father wanted nothing to do with him? “I’m s-scared,” he admitted, his grip on Cas tightening significantly. He could only keep up his hyper masculine façade for so long, eventually it crumbled under the stress of his father’s abuse.

Castiel felt his heart clench when he hard Dean’s words. He bit his lip and held him closer. “I know,” he whispered. Cas could see right through him. “Stay with me,” he said softly and gently stroked his back. “Stay here, I will take care of you, Dean. You know I will.”

Cas wanted nothing but the best for the boy between his arms. He wanted him safe and sound. He wanted to make Dean happy. Castiel moved a hand up and stroked the back of his head, playing with his short hairs.

Dean sniffled quietly, breath hitching again as he clung onto Castiel. The offer was more than tempting, but what about Sam? What about when his dad noticed his absence and came looking? What if he hurt Cas? Dean would surely never forgive himself. “I can’t,” he said, avoiding meeting Castiel’s gaze. “I gotta take care of Sammy an’ look after the h-house and everythin’.”

Cas bit his lip and nodded. “My mom cares a lot for Sam and for you,” he said. “I know you see that too, okay? She can take you both in, we can go to the police about John.” Cas looked down and reached for Dean’s hand, lacing their fingers. “I’m scared too. I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want you to stumble here one night in a state that I won’t be able to fix, I don’t want to find out that… that John…”

Dean felt all of thirty emotions hit him square in the chest, and he nodded slightly, fingers entwining right into Castiel’s. His thumb rubbed gently circles into the others soft skin, and Dean stared down at his lap, listening carefully to Castiel’s every word.

Cas couldn’t push the idea out of his head and he knew there was a reason for that, he could feel it in his gut. “I would do anything for you, Dean. Don’t you see that? After all this time?”

Dean didn’t think he’d ever find such a kind, selfless, and giving person like this in his whole life. “I’d do anything for you too, Cas,” he said quietly, meaning every bit. “I mean anything. Even murder,” Dean assured him, only half joking as he leaned against Castiel with a defeated sigh. “C-can’t we talk about this tomorrow? I don’t wanna think about it now.”

Cas nodded. “Promise you will consider it,” he whispered and squeezed his hand a bit. “And…” he smiled, “you don’t have to murder anyone. I can’t be with you if you’re in jail, Dean.” He looked at his friend with soft eyes and gave him a sweet smile.

Dean returned Castiel’s smile, giving his hand a gentle squeeze and nodding softly.

He relaxed and leaned gently into Dean, not wanting to hurt him more. Cas placed a soft kiss to Dean’s temple. “Do you want to take a shower?”

A shower sounded nice, something to wash off the sheen of sweat and blood that coated most of his body. “Yeah, I do…” he said softly, leaning back into the kiss with a sigh of content. “If you’ll join me?” he offered quietly, glancing up into Castiel’s dazzling eyes and brushing his fingertips gently over the scruffy skin on Castiel’s jaw.

Cas felt his heart skip a beat. He closed his eyes and nodded as he leaned into Dean’s soft touch. “Okay,” he said softly and gently held his wrist, placing a kiss over his palm. “Come on.” Castiel stood up and grabbed some clothes for the both of them before guiding Dean to his bathroom.

Dean shuffled behind Castiel into the bathroom, pulling the door shut behind him.

He turned the spray on and made it warm. Cas looked at Dean for a brief moment before slowly taking his clothes off.

Dean began to strip off his clothing, unabashed of the mess that lay underneath. He trusted Castiel, wholeheartedly, and he knew the other would accept him, no matter what. His chest and torso were marked up with a fair amount of scars and bruises, not to mention a few stray welts from John’s violent assault with his belt. His jeans and boxers quickly followed, revealing the ugly mass of crimson and purple colored stripes that had been seared into his backside. Even his calves had some welts, all rose, red, and angry.

Castiel turned towards Dean when he was completely naked, his eyebrows shot up. “Oh, Dean,” he whispered. He knew it was going to be bad, but this? This was a whole new level. This was torture. Cas felt his eyes well up with tears and he reached out for the younger teenager, wrapping him into a hug. “What did he do to you?” he murmured, not really expecting an answer. Castiel placed a soft kiss over his shoulder and tugged from him into the shower spray. Cas felt sick, he felt bad for Dean but he was determined on making it better. He started to spread soft kisses over Dean’s scars and bruises, placing his hands on the other kid’s waist.

Dean shivered softly under Castiel’s gently touches, enjoying each one more than the last. It felt very nice to be taken care of for once, like a very heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “It’s okay,” Dean assured Cas gently, arms wrapping loosely around the boy’s bare waist and resting on his hips. “It doesn’t matter now. I got you,” he said softly, leaning very lightly into the kisses while the warm water cascaded over his body. It felt amazing. “You always make me feel better.”

“It is… it’s not okay,” Cas whispered. “But it will be, I promise.” He squeezed his waist a little bit and straightened up to look into his eyes. “I won’t let anyone hurt you again,” he said and stroked his cheek, brushing his hair away from his face. Castiel kissed his forehead and reached for the soap, ignoring the sponge - knowing that it would hurt Dean more. He used his soapy hands to wash Dean’s body, gentle and sweet touches. Cas didn’t want to imagine how some of the scars he saw were made, or how they got to where they tinted Dean’s body. Even then, his mind provided images.

Dean couldn’t help a pinkish tint from pervading his cheeks, and he let out a soft sigh, eyes fluttering closed for a several long moments. It felt so damn nice to be cared for by such an amazing (and attractive) person. It made Dean feel like he was worth something. He brought a hand up to brush gently through Castiel’s damp hair. He really wanted to cup the other’s jaw and bring him in for a kiss, but the time seemed inopportune. Sighing softly, Dean’s fingers dragged down Castiel’s cheek and stopped under his chin, tilting Cas’ head up, touch gentle as hell. “You’re so good to me, Cas,” he whispered, heart fluttering when he felt the other boy’s fingers brush over a patch of abused flesh on his belly.

Chapter Text

Castiel leaned into his soft touch and closed his eyes, just like he had done in his room. “I want to be good to you, Dean,” he said and kissed his palm again. Cas had his eyes open this time and looked into Dean’s as he did that. “I told you, you deserve to be happy.”

It was decided to hell with it seeming inopportune. Castiel was being such a wonderful guy to him... he couldn’t just do nothing. He moved his free hand up and cupped Cas’ cheeks, leaning in and up for a kiss. All the way towards the other boy’s lips.

Cas closed his eyes, enjoying the soft press of lips. His hands wandered up to the sides of Dean’s torso, he smiled easily after they pulled back. “Hey,” he whispered and stroked his cheekbone. Castiel decided to return a soft kiss and go back with washing Dean’s body. “I... I would like to clean those wounds when we’re done here, Dean.”

Dean nodded and leaned into him, burying his face in the older teen’s neck. “I’ve wanted to do that for a while now,” he admitted and wrapped his arms around Cas’ hips. “But I thought that you--”

Castiel shook his head and stroked Dean’s hair. “Don’t,” he whispered. “I don’t want you to beat yourself up.” He rinsed them both and turned the spray off. “Let me dry you up and give you some clean clothes, alright?” Cas kissed his shoulder.

He shuffled behind Cas, holding on to his hand tightly. “Thank you,” he said.

The other boy returned a sweet smile and gently wrapped Dean with a towel. He dabbed him dry, not wanting to scratch his wounds with the fabric of it. “Would you tell me how did he do these?” Cas pointed at the angry red ones, those that seemed to be healing slowly.

Dean looked down and bit his lip. “Those were some weeks ago, I… didn’t work up the nerve to come here. He used a stick,” he said. “Hot, made of iron.”

Castiel tensed, he balled the hand that Dean couldn’t see, feeling his blood boil.

“I was bein’ clumsy an’ knocked over two bottles of beer an’ one of Scotch,” Dean shrugged. “I deserved it.”

“You think that you deserved to be burned with an iron stick over booze?” Castiel cupped Dean’s cheeks. “Dean, it was a mistake.”

“Yeah, but he didn’t like it,” he said indifferently. He was used to it. “I have to learn.”

Cas sighed softly and kissed his forehead. He kept Dean naked as he spread some ointment over his burns. He reached Dean’s back and saw the ones that were all over his butt. “What about the ones back here, Dean?” he didn’t touch him.

Dean shook his head, not meeting Cas’ gaze.

“You said he didn’t…” Castiel left the sentence hanging in the air between them.

“He didn’t,” he whispered. “It doesn’t matter. Can I get dressed now?”

Cas nodded and stroked his arm from where he stood. He gave him some of his clothes, the ones that were worn out and soft. “Where is Sam now?” he asked as he got into his own clothes.

“With one of his school friends,” Dean said softly, still not looking at Castiel. “He’s safe and so am I.”

“That’s good,” he smiled and reached for his hand, wanting to reassure his friend. “Does your head hurt?”

Dean shook his head and squeezed Cas’ hand, lacing their fingers. “’m tired,” he murmured. “Still no sleep?” he asked.

Castiel looked at the clock that hung from his wall and made the mental math. He bit his lip. “I think you’re good,” he said softly. “But I will wake you in two hours, alright?”

Dean leaned into him and nodded. He felt weak, hurt. “Okay,” he said and allowed the other boy to carry him to his bed. Dean felt the mattress dip with Castiel’s weight and felt immediately comforted by it. “Thank you,” he whispered and buried himself in Cas’ arms, hiding. Because that was the only thing that he felt like he could do in that moment. Hide.

The other boy wrapped his arms around Dean, holding him close. He didn’t say anything because he felt like Dean didn’t need to thank him. Castiel was doing this because he wanted to. He wanted to make Dean feel wanted, safe. Cas placed a soft kiss over Dean’s shoulder and ran a hand down his back. “You’re safe here,” he whispered. “Sleep.”

And so he did, for the next two hours and a half -because Cas couldn’t bring himself to wake Dean sooner- he slept peacefully. Even though the night he had had, there were no nightmares plaguing his dreams. Castiel’s warmth kept him feeling good the rest of the early morning.

Around seven, Cas moved away slowly and replaced his body with a pillow. The boy made his way downstairs, where he found his mother already making breakfast.

“Good morning, son,” Amelia said softly. She turned to look at him and frowned. “Have you slept, Cas?”

Castiel shook his head and bit his lip for a second.

“Why?” she asked. “Is Dean…?” That was always her first thought, at least during the past months. She knew what was going on with him and knew that he denied help, only accepting Cas’.

But Castiel had had enough. “No,” he whispered. “He’s not okay.” He walked over to her and leaned into her arms, holding on to his mom into a gentle hug. “I’ve taken care of him but… I don’t want him to go back to John, mom. I know… bringing them here it’s not going to be easy but I can get a job and I’m sure that Dean would be willing to do the same. We can work and study, and take care of Sammy, we can do that,” Cas was rambling, he was aware, but he felt over the top. “I promise. Don’t let him go back,” he pulled back to see her eyes.

Amy bit the inside of her cheek in a nervous manner, ever since they had lost Cas’ father, he had become the man of the house. Working and studying until his boss decided that he needed to cut some of them off because he didn’t have enough money to keep paying to all his employees. Amelia worked too and it probably was enough to maintain the two of them, but it made Castiel feel useful. She cupped her son’s cheeks and stroked beneath his eyes. “We will do our best, son,” she said. “We always do.” The woman got on her toes to kiss his forehead.

Castiel tightened her grip on her and closed his eyes, leaning into the soft kiss. “Thank you, mom,” he murmured. “Seriously, it means a lot to me.”

She smiled. “I know he means a lot to you,” she stroked his hair as she pulled back. “Go get him some breakfast, baby. I made your favorite.”

It was his turn to kiss her forehead, thanking her with a sweet smile as he took the tray that she had prepared. Pancakes with whipped cream, coffee -Cas added another mug- and eggs with bacon, he’d leave that for Dean. He made his way back to his room and slowly opened the door. His friend was already awake, sitting on the bed. He was looking out the window.

“Good morning, Dean,” he said softly, walking over.

He turned around and his face lit up. “You made breakfast,” he said, amused. “Mornin’,” he added, giving a soft nod.

“Well, mom did,” he smiled. “I just told her you’re here with me,” Castiel sat beside him and placed a sweet kiss on his temple. “How did you sleep?”

Dean wanted to hug Amelia, so much. He felt happy and well rested. “Amazin’,” he beamed. “You’re like a furnace.” He leaned into Cas’ soft kiss and closed his eyes. “Thanks, Cas,” he murmured.

Cas blushed a little bit and chuckled. “Well, glad you enjoy that,” he said. “Coffee?”

“Hell yeah,” he said and took the mug that Castiel was offering him. He gave a careful sip at the steaming coffee and closed his eyes. “I have to pick Sammy up today,” Dean told him.

“Okay,” he smiled. “I can go with you after we arrange his room,” he looked at Dean. “I want… I want you to stay here. Would you do that for me?”

“Cas, I dunno, I--”

He interrupted. “Mom’s okay with it. And I won’t let you go. I won’t let him hurt you again.”

Dean bowed his head and sighed, biting his lip. “I don’t want him to hurt you or your mom.”

“That won’t happen,” Cas stroked his cheek with gentle fingers.

He leaned into it. “You dunno that.”

“Did I ever let you down?” he asked with a soft smile as he made him look up. Dean shook his head. “Then trust me on this too. It will all be okay.” 

“Okay,” he said softly and leaned for a chaste kiss before going back to his coffee. Dean breathed out slowly to help himself relax. “Okay, I trust you.” He took a pancake and dipped it in the whipped cream.

Castiel took a sip from his coffee. “How are you feeling? Physically…”

“Better,” Dean looked at him. “I feel a lot better. A bit sore but… at least I can breathe without feeling like shit.”

“And your head?” he asked, slowly reaching out and lacing his fingers with Dean’s. “What about that?”

Dean shrugged a little and looked down at their hands. “’s good,” he whispered. He enjoyed how much Castiel cared for him but there were times, like this one, that he felt like he didn’t deserve Cas’ concern. He worried on his lower lip and pushed the thought away, looking up and placing a soft kiss on Castiel’s mouth.

Cas closed his eyes when Dean leaned in, kissing him back.

“’m okay,” he said, looking into his eyes.

“Alright,” he whispered and stroked his cheek. “C’mon, eat,” he smiled a bit. “You need some of that Winchester stamina back,” Cas teased.

“Hmm…” Dean licked his lips. “Do I? For what, exactly?”

Castiel chuckled and kissed him once again. Cas picked up the pancake that he was holding before, he gave it a bite and remained silent.

Dean smiled then and nudged him gently. He reached for another piece of bacon and closed his eyes, enjoying its salty taste.

They fell into an easy silence, both eating away their breakfast. Cas stole short glances at Dean and Dean did the same when he thought that Castiel wasn’t looking. He felt his heart swell every time he turned and saw Castiel staring at him, just to see him blush a bit and look down. It was then, and only then, that Dean felt like a teenager, like he didn’t have a care in the world. For a moment he forgot that his father beat him up almost daily, that he was a drunk, violent, asshole. He forgot about all the things he had to go through ever since their mother died. He forgot about not being loved by anyone, just because he felt loved by Cas.

“Hey,” Cas said softly. “Dean, is everything okay?” he asked.

Dean was brought back to the present, out of his thought, by Cas’ hand on his cheek. He leaned into it and turned his head, nuzzling into his palm like a kitten would. “Sorry,” he murmured. “Just… I was just thinkin’.”

“About what?” Cas had a soft smile on his face, watching Dean behave like that.

“’bout… ‘bout how I feel when I’m here.” Dean took his hand and laced their fingers again. “Don’t worry, it’s… good. I feel good. I want to stay, I want to give it a chance.”

Castiel stared into his eyes, surprised.

“I want… I don’t want to stop feelin’ like this. An’ I want to show Sammy how good it can be.”

The next thing Dean knew it was that Castiel was holding him down against the mattress, holding him tightly and placing kisses everywhere he could reach. “You won’t regret it,” he whispered into his ear.

Dean closed his eyes and allowed himself to be held, to relax. “I know I won’t.”

Chapter Text

Later that same day, after Castiel had taken care of Dean’s wounds once again, they were out of the house on their way to pick Sam up. Dean had laced his fingers with Cas’ as soon as they left his room and hadn’t let go of him yet. It made Dean fill with pride when Cas squeezed his hand instead of letting go, he felt accepted. A voice inside his head had told him that Castiel was probably ashamed of being with a boy like him. Like him, what did that mean? The Winchester boy looked at his feet as his brain provided an answer. A boy that would, most likely, have mental issues in the future. Not to mention the, already present, trust and daddy issues. Someone that would hide the problems instead of talking about them because he’s afraid of the kickback. Dean sighed and chased the thoughts away, getting Cas’ attention when he shook his head.

“Everything alright?” he asked softly, stroking his knuckles.

“Yeah,” he said quickly. “Just anxious to see Sammy.” Dean looked at him with soft eyes, careful to conceal everything inside.

Castiel didn’t doubt him, he smiled and squeezed his hand one more time. “I want to see him too, it’s been a while since the last time.”

Dean nodded and smiled some. “He can’t stop talkin’ about you, you know? It’s like he admires you or somethin’.”

He chuckled and shrugged a bit. “I can’t help it, everyone likes me,” he joked but stopped when he saw the look on Dean’s face. “Hey,” he said. “Dean, I’m just joking. He probably just likes me because he knows I take care of you.” Castiel made him stop. “Wait up.”

Dean stopped and looked down, letting go of his hand.

Cas cupped his chin and made him look up. “He loves you,” he whispered. “Not me, you.”

He didn’t meet Castiel’s eyes. “You know that ain’t true.”

“No, Dean. What you are saying isn’t true. He sees you as his role model, you’re like a hero to Sam. Don’t you remember Halloween? Or your past birthdays? Don’t you remember what he told us when he appeared in my house’s kitchen saying that he was dressed like his hero? Wearing your clothes?” Cas was cupping his face with both hands. “I can understand that you loathe yourself sometimes, and I see that, and it’s exactly what I’m trying to help you change. But this, saying that Sammy admires someone else when he tries to show you all the time that you are his freaking hero, this is not something I will just sit tight and allow to happen. You’re wrong.”

Dean’s lower lip quivered and he tried to pull his face away from Cas’ hands. “Stop,” he said.

Castiel didn’t force him to stay where he was but he squinted at him and moved along. “Tell me you understand,” he whispered and gently took his hand, stroking softly. “Tell me you see it too, Dean. But not just because I want you to, because you mean it.”

“Why would he admire me?” he asked. “Huh?” Turning it into a demand, right there. “Why would he admire a fuck up like me? Nobody loves me, nobody gives a shit about me. ‘m sure you think ‘m a fuck up too. My dad’s completely disgusted by me,” he moved away, yanking his hand out of Castiel’s grip. “Doesn’t that tell you enough?!” Dean took some steps away. “’cause it speaks fuckin’ wonders to me. It tells me all I need to know!”

Cas remained calm as Dean exploded, he kept his eyes on him. “No,” he said. “It does not tell me enough because you’re not defined by others’ actions, Dean.” Castiel kept his voice even and soft, he had all the patience in the world to treat Dean with and it would always be that way. “You are not defined by what your dad does to you, or by what he thinks of you.”

“Drunks don’t lie,” he murmured.

“No, they don’t lie. They speak nonsense, they speak bullshit. All the dark shit comes out when a drunk opens its mouth,” he frowned. “You know who doesn’t lie?” Castiel looked at him, intensely. “A child.”

“Sam…” he whispered and licked his lips.

“Children don’t lie, not even if they are related to you. You have to fear the day Sam tells you you’re not worth it, fear the day Sam turns his back on you. But while you wait for that, do everything you can to keep that from happening,” Cas softened a bit more. “Your brother loves you, he loves you more than anyone will ever be able to. He’s heard what you’ve been through, he’s seen it.”

Dean crumbled a bit then, his façade broke, but Castiel was right there to wrap his arms around him and hold him against his chest. “’m sorry,” he murmured.

“There’s no need to be,” he whispered and stroked his hair, placing a soft kiss. “I get it.”

He wrapped his arms around Cas and squeezed his waist.

“Dean?” Cas murmured.

“Y-yeah…?” he looked up a little.

“I do give a few shits about you, you know?” he whispered. “A lot of them, actually.”

Dean let out a shaky laugh and buried his face in Castiel’s neck. Only one thought in mind: I love you.

They arrived to Tyson’s house, Sam’s best friend. Dean let go of Cas’ hand to poke the bell and tapped his foot once against the wooden floor of the porch before moving back a step.

Leslie Brady’s friendly face appeared when the door was opened. “Dean, hi,” she said with a soft smile.

“Hello, Mrs. Brady,” he said politely. “I came to--”

Sam rushed past her and jumped into Dean’s arms, interrupting him. “Dean!” he exclaimed and hugged him tightly, it didn’t look like he would be letting go soon.

Cas smiled as Dean groaned a bit, even though he tried to hide the pain that Sammy’s excited welcome caused him. “Hey, kiddo,” he said, voice mellow. His face softened as well as he hugged his little brother back. “Missed me?”

“Yes,” he said, sounding like he was close to tears. “I don’t want to be away from you ever again,” he whispered and held on tighter.

Leslie bit the inside of her cheek and placed her hand over Tyson’s shoulder when he came out. “He asked me to call and check on you but… I figured you’d come when you were ready to pick him up.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Brady,” he whispered as he held his baby brother closer, feeling the kid wrap his legs around him. “Seriously, you helped me out a lot.” Dean tilted his head towards Sam and kissed his temple. “’m not leavin’ you again, Sammy. Don’t worry.”

“No need to thank me, Dean,” Leslie said. “You’re both welcome here whenever you want.” She gave the three of them a polite smile as Tyson agreed happily to her.

Sam leaned more into Dean and looked at Cas, “Hi,” he whispered softly and smiled a little bit. He wasn’t willing to let go of his brother. Castiel offered a little wave and returned a smile.

The older Winchester thanked Leslie once again and apologized for being so inopportune when he called her to bring Sam. She dismissed it with another sweet smile and they walked off.

“What did…” he bit his lip and couldn’t help but tense a bit. “Are you okay?” he asked instead. Sam wasn’t comfortable with calling John his dad, not when he heard Dean screaming his throat raw some nights. “Be honest.”

“I am,” Dean stroked his hair and crouched down to leave the kid standing. Like that, with Dean almost kneeling, they were the same height. “Cas patched me up and took care of me,” he messed his hair some more, earning Sam’s signature bitch face. “How was it with Tyson?” he asked.

Sam took Dean’s hand when he tried to straighten himself up and climbed into his arms. “Carry me,” he whispered, not good with the idea of being away from Dean. “It was good,” Sammy told him. “But it’s not important, Dean, I want to know how bad it was this time,” he murmured, eyes soft and sad.

Cas bit his lip and moved closer. “It wasn’t as bad as previous times, Sam,” he said and stroked his upper back a little. “He’s okay now and he will be, alright?”

“You promise?” Sam asked, serious and hopeful.

“I promise you,” he said and crossed over his heart with his index finger, holding his free hand up.

The little boy nodded, content with Cas’ promise. He trusted him, he knew that Castiel would do anything to keep Dean good.

“We are…” Dean started. “We are spending the night in Cas’ house,” he said. “It will probably be more than tonight, but it’s not decided yet.”

Sam perked up and smiled widely. “Seriously?” he asked. “Really, Cas? Will your mommy be there?”

Castiel smiled and placed a hand over the small of Dean’s back. “She is,” he said. “And she’s going to make your favorite meal, how does that sound?”

The kid beamed and smiled wide. Feeling happy. “It sounds wonderful!” he exclaimed and moved a bit in Dean’s arms.

Cas saw Dean frown a bit in pain and reached out for Sam. “Why don’t you--”

The older Winchester shook his head. “It’s okay. Let’s go back to your house, Cas.”

The three of them walked slowly back home. Cas made sure that Dean was good enough to carry Sam in his arms, he knew that the little boy wasn’t heavy but Dean was still hurt enough to be in pain. The left three blocks Sammy walked between them, holding Dean’s hand tightly. He had a soft smile on his lips.

When they arrived to Castiel’s house, he opened the door and Sam was the first one to walk in.

He rushed into the kitchen. “Aunt Amy!” he exclaimed and wrapped his arms around her legs. “Hi!” Sam planted his chin over her hip and looked up with a huge smile. “Dean said we will stay here,” he told her happily.

Amelia reached down and stroked his hair gently, brushing it a little. Then she placed her hand over his back. “Hi, Sammy,” she said with a sweet smile. “And he’s right. You’re spending some time with us, that’s nice, isn’t it?” The woman crouched to hug him properly.

“It’s wonderful!” he smiled even more, hugging her back. “Thank you for letting us stay.”

Dean and Cas walked into the kitchen then. Castiel had his hand over the small of Dean’s back, tracing small circles with his thumb. “Hey, mom,” he said softly.

She looked back up and stood up with Sam in her arms. Amy’s eyes met Dean’s and she beckoned him, stretching an arm out. The teenager walked forward, hesitant at first, but then he just went. Wrapping his arms around them both as Amelia wrapped her free arm around his shoulders. “I want you both to be happy, boys,” she said. “You deserve that much, alright?” She pulled back to look into Dean’s eyes as she stroked the back of his head. “You don’t have to be ashamed of needing help. This can be your home if that’s what you want,” Amelia looked at Cas briefly. “Because Cas and I do, we want this to be your home too.”

Sam listened attentively to her and bit his lip. “Dean?” he said softly, when Dean looked at him, the kid spoke again: “Say yes. Please.”

Dean stared at his little brother for a second before looking back at Amelia and nodding his head. “I think… I think it’s what he needs,” he said. “What we need.” He bit his lip. “I will get a job and help you out with the money.”

Amelia wasn’t going to deny him that. “Okay,” she said. “You have nothing to worry about here, alright?” They both nodded and Amy leaned in to kiss their foreheads. “Welcome home, then, boys.”

Castiel was smiling widely from where he stood, watching his mother be the amazing woman she had always been.

Chapter Text

Amy squeezed the boys some more before allowing them to move away. She was really happy of finally having them there, where they were going to be taken care of, where they would have food everyday, clean clothes, clean sheets. A home, basically. A place that did not just look like a home, but that actually was one.

Mrs. Novak watched Sam climb over Dean’s lap and rest against his chest as the three of them spoke animatedly. Dean seemed much calmer since they had arrived with Sammy and that made her feel calm too. Castiel looked better as well, settled now that he knew that both his friend and his little brother were safe and sound.

“Dean?” Sam said softly, looking at the ceiling.

“Yeah, kiddo?” Dean moved a hand and gently stroked his hair, brushing it back. “What is it?”

The kid closed his eyes. “I like it here,” he whispered. “It’s… nice, warm and peaceful.”

That made Castiel smile mirroring Dean. “Well,” the older Winchester said. “I think that we will get to enjoy this for a while,” he placed a kiss over Sam’s head. It was then that Sam yawned and Dean knew that his brother had been completely honest. In their house he was always alert and completely awake. “Wanna take a nap?”

Sam opened his eyes and looked at Cas before looking at Dean. “Really?” he asked.

“Yeah, really,” he smiled. Dean stood with the boy in his arms. “I’ll take you to your new room,” he said. “Be right back,” he told the rest and carried Sam upstairs.

Castiel watched Dean walk away and looked at his mom. “Thank you,” he said, sincere, as he stood and moved closer to her. “I appreciate what you do for them,” he smiled.

“No, Cas,” she said. “What we do for them,” she smiled.

Cas looked down for a moment but nodded, agreeing. “You are doing most of it, though, mom,” he said. “And I appreciate it just as much as they do.”

Amelia kissed his forehead and pointed at the stairs. “Dean needs you,” she said. “Go spend some time with him. Show him how much you love him.”

The teenager raised his eyebrows, surprised. “Mom…”

“You can’t hide much from me, son,” she smiled. “Go.”

Castiel made his way upstairs and frowned when he didn’t see Dean. He had heard him walking through the hallway. It was then that Cas made his way to his room and knocked a little before walking in. “Dean?” he said softly, hearing a faint noise that came from his bathroom. He walked over and knocked on that door as well. “Dean, is that you?”

“I’ll come out in a minute.” It was merely a mumble that came from the other side of the door.

Cas bit his lip. “What happened?” he asked. “Would you open the door for me? Please?”

The door cracked open a moment later, it had seemed like an eternity to Castiel. He walked in, seeing Dean sitting on the tub. Hiding, he’s hiding, his mind provided. He crouched beside the white ceramic and reached for his hand, lacing their fingers. Dean squeezed his hand immediately after. “What are you doing here, Dean?” he asked, voice soft and worried.

“I heard him,” he whispered. “I heard him call for me, I…” Dean’s lower lip quivered and he moved, shifting closer to Castiel to hide his face in his neck. “He’s lookin’ for me, what if--”

“He doesn’t know you’re here, Dean,” he stroked the back of his head. “For all he knows, you’re in a motel, in a park, in someone else’s house. He doesn’t know you’re here.” Dean sobbed against his neck and Castiel felt his heart break. He could feel how tense he was, how scared.

“Don’t leave me,” he murmured, holding on to Cas’ clothes.

Castiel wrapped his arms tightly around him, getting in the tub with Dean. His legs on each side of the other boy so he could lean back, with Dean over his chest. “It’s okay,” he whispered as he stroked his hair. “You’re okay, Dean, I promise.” Cas placed soft kisses over his hair and shoulders, kissing everywhere he could reach.

“Talk to me ‘bout somethin’?” he asked, shy.

“Yeah, of course,” he smiled, running his hand down Dean’s back. “Wanna know about the time I tried to impress my mom and broke my arm?” When he heard Dean laugh weakly he smiled. “Well, so, I had climbed a tree. Back in a time where I believed I was able to fly,” he said. “Mom was sitting close to the tree, looking up at me and I thought it was a good idea to jump and show her I was, indeed, able to fly. And… I did exactly that. I jumped, arms and legs stretched as if I was some kind of superhero,” he smiled at the memory. “And landed over my left arm. I spent two months with an itchy cast and a huge frown because I was disappointed I couldn’t do it. I hated birds for some years, and superman even more. DC lied to me.”

Dean laughed some more then, and it sounded genuinely carefree. “You’ve always been a little weird, then,” he smiled and looked up at him.

“Oh, shut up,” he blushed. “You like me weird.” He blushed when he noticed what he had said, waiting for Dean’s reaction.

Dean leaned up a little and kissed his lips gently. “I do,” he said, “and I like you, Cas,” Winchester paused for a moment, “do you…?” his eyes softened.

“Of course I do, Dean,” Cas whispered and stroked his hair. “I thought I had been really obvious since the day I met you,” he kissed his lips once more but this time it was completely different, Dean could feel Cas’ letting go of his feelings in the kiss. Dean fisted Castiel’s clothes and returned the kiss with the same amount of meaning.

A few hours into the night, Sam woke up screaming for John to stop. He was crying and sobbing uncontrollably, the kid was frightened. He took the teddy bear that Dean had left there for him and hugged it tightly, squishing it in a ball.

Sam’s screams woke Amy, and Dean was at his door instantly too. Amelia took his hand gently and shook her head.

“Can I?” she asked softly.

Dean looked into her eyes, noticing how soft and sweet they looked. Right then he decided that Sam needed the figure of a mother. Not his brother once again. He gave Amy a soft smile. “’course,” he said. “But… tell me if he calls for me?”

The woman nodded. “I will,” she said.

Dean smiled a bit more, thanking her and made his way back to Cas’ room.

Amelia knocked and walked into Sam’s room. “Hey, Sammy,” she said softly and moved over, sitting near him.

The boy looked up and crawled towards her, quickly. He sneaked into her arms and hid his face in the woman’s neck. “Don’t let John hurt my brother,” Sam sobbed.

Mrs. Novak closed her eyes and gently stroked the boy’s hair, smoothing it down as she shushed him sweetly, rocking him back and forth. “Nothing is going to happen to Dean, Sam,” she said and moved a bit, wanting to meet his eyes. “I promised you so long ago, didn’t I? And now I’m keeping my word,” she smiled.

“I don’t want to live next to him,” he whispered, tears still spilling down his face. “What if he… gets in here? What if you or Cas are not here?”

Amelia could see why the boy feared that. She bit her lip and kissed his forehead to hide it. “I can’t leave this house, Sammy, I’m sorry,” she said. “But I can make sure he leaves. I can go to the police--”

The younger Winchester shook his head frantically. “I’ve heard what happens to kids that don’t have either of their parents,” he said, sounding even more scared. “They can’t take me away from Dean, or from you,” he looked up at her. “I’m happy when I’m here. I want to keep that.”

Amy felt her heart clench and squeeze, as if Sam was talking about people taking her own child away and that was exactly how she thought of it. She let out a soft, shaky breath and brought him closer again, hugging him tightly. “We will figure it out,” Amelia murmured. “I don’t know what are we going to do, or how are we going to do it. But I promise you, nobody is taking my boys from me. I swear.”

Sammy held on tightly to her, making her fall over her back. He curled closer and remained there, not willing to move away.

They both stayed silent for a long moment, Amelia used the time to think about Mary. About these boys’ mom and how they lost her. How John changed her into a woman that barely went out, someone that stopped every single kind of connection with the people that used to be friends with her. Amy felt tears well up. She could have done something. She could have saved Mary from what was unavoidable, or at least that was how she saw it. The woman played with Sam’s hair silently, remembering how this sweet kid’s mother had been there for her when she was pregnant with Castiel, and how she had been there for Mary when she gave birth to Dean. But then it all blew up, up and away.

“Aunt Amy?” Sam murmured, stopping Amy’s train of thought.

“Yes, Sammy?” she asked softly, still stroking the little boy’s hair.

“Is Dean okay?” he moved a bit beneath the sheets, closer to her. They had shifted and gotten more comfortable.

“Of course, baby, why do you ask?” Amelia looked at him.

Sam bit his lip and looked down, playing with the ring that the woman had as a necklace. “Because… the nightmare seemed too real,” he whispered. “Da-- John had sneaked in here and he took Dean, I was able to see everything but couldn’t do anything to stop him.”

“He came when he heard you scream,” she assured. “But he allowed me to come help you go back to sleep. He’s alright. He’s sleeping in Cas’ room.”

He nodded softly, still playing with her necklace. “Is this Jimmy’s?” Sam asked.

Amelia couldn’t help but frown a little. “You remember him?” she returned the question, feeling a bit surprised.

“Yes,” he whispered. “Dean told me about him. He said that Cas’ dad had passed away like our mommy did,” he said, sticking his finger into it. The kid handled it with absolute care. “I wish I had known him.”

She bit her lip and kissed his forehead, tightening her arms around him. “He knew you, Sammy.”

“He did?” Sam raised his eyebrows and looked up.

“Yes, but you were just a baby when he saw you. And your mommy was really busy with you and Dean to… have us over and meet you properly.” The truth was that it had been John the one that didn’t want them to meet Sam. He had gone that far.

“Oh,” he whispered. “That’s too bad,” he tilted his head down again, pouting a little.

Amy nodded. “It is,” she murmured and trailed her fingers through his hair.

The kid closed his eyes and slowly let go of the necklace, feeling more and more tired by the second. “Thank you, Aunt Amy,” he whispered, low and a bit slurred.

“Good night, baby,” she said.

Sam fell asleep then and Amy remained there, holding Mary’s baby boy through the night.

Chapter Text

Mary had always been lovely and sweet, she was young at mind and at heart, and was always there for those who needed her. She used to be really active and full of life before she met John. When she met him, while they started to know each other, fooling around and dating she dulled just a little bit. But everyone that knew her thought that maybe it was because she was settling down. John proposed to her a few months before finding out that she was pregnant with Dean. Mary went back to being happy and smiley all the time, it was then that she met Amelia. Amy was already six months pregnant when Mary went to her with the good news, she was going to marry John. The love of her life. And she had been right, but not because he was. But because he was going to drain her out, kill her. It’s today that Amy wishes she had seen, wishes that she had known.

Before dying Mary thought of suicide because she couldn’t get away from John, she couldn’t see a way out from the man that tormented her nights and made her days actual, living, hell. But, thinking of her sons, she decided against it. She couldn’t leave her beautiful boys out of selfishness. Even then, Mary was completely sure that Amelia was going to take over with her children if anything happened to her, which was why she stopped fighting back.

Mary wanted to be strong for her sons but couldn’t handle it anymore. She loved them both so much, so much that she was willing to give her life up in order for them to be happy. Even if she did not know how long it would take for them both to achieve that.

One night, John came home really, really drunk. Mary put baby Sam in her eleven year old son’s arms and asked him to hide, masking it as a game she asked her oldest son to hide somewhere not even mommy or daddy would look. She told him that she loved them both and that this was for the best, that she was sure they were going to be okay, she noticed that Dean was scared, and that he didn’t understand what was going on. He nodded anyways, he would do whatever his mom said. Mary kissed his forehead and sent him into the basement. She knew that Dean knew where to hide.

John was out of his mind, one of his drinking buddies had told him that his wife was very beautiful. They were still sober when the other man -Aaron- made that comment. John agreed, softened by the thought, but Aaron got back at it telling him that he couldn’t believe that he was with a woman like Mary Campbell. Winchester cast a glare at the other man and he held his hands up.

“I’m just sayin’, man. You’re just a drunk and, besides being beautiful, attentive, and an amazing mother, she’s the one that does all the work. Ain’t you ashamed?” he had said.

John decided to dismiss it and started to drink, but the thought remained in the back of his head. He came home mad, really mad, and with almost three whole packs of beer in his blood.

The man couldn’t even see straight. Blinded by the anger he felt, and the alcohol, he made his way into his room, where he forced his ‘sweet and smart’ wife -who wasn’t sweet to him at all, there probably was another man, he thought- into bed.

One thing let to another, he had wanted to undress her but Mary didn’t allow it, telling him how wrong and sick he was. She knew she was being cruel. John ended up choking Mary with his bare hands. Being even crueler than Mary had been when he told her about how much he hated her perfect little white picket fence dream, about how much he hated the children he had. The child. Her child, because Sammy had become his favorite since he was so quiet and small.

John woke up the next day beside a corpse. John had a doctor lie for him, saying that she had had a heart attack, because that shit could happen to anybody at any time. They didn’t have a funeral because John ‘didn’t believe in that’, he told his oldest son to man up and stop crying after telling him that his mother was dead.

It took Amelia some time to find out what was going on with Mary. When they met, three months before John proposed to her, they clicked instantly, becoming really good friends, companions. They were united and Jimmy backed that up, suggesting dinners, date nights. But John didn’t like those, John didn’t like people and Mary let Amy know that. So instead it was the two of them when they went out. Girls’ night. Amelia was pregnant with Castiel, her first and later only child, and she knew that Mary and John were on it as well. Looking for their first child.

Amy pressed sometimes -when she was already aware of most of it and trying to put the pieces together-, wanting to know more about John, about what he did for living. She always got clipped answers and sterns looks, as if to leave the subject alone.

Some months later, Mary came with the news of her being pregnant and feeling like it was going to be a beautiful boy, which he was. He looked so much like her that John held on to that to be violent and abusive with him.

After speaking with Amelia and being completely sure that Sam didn’t need him, Dean made his way back to Cas’ room -he looked at the mattress that they had placed on the floor, beside Cas’ bed, because Dean insisted on it being that way- and bit his lip as he sneaked in bed beside Castiel. He got into the other kid’s arms and curled between them, hiding his face against Castiel’s chest, knowing that his warmth would keep him calm.

Dean woke up with his head over Cas’ chest. He let out a soft breath and relaxed, not aware of how tense he had gotten when he woke up. Dean bit his lip and shifted a little.

“Don’t leave,” Castiel murmured and wrapped his arms around him.

“I won’t,” he said softly. “I was just…”

“Thinking,” Cas interrupted. “I know.” Cas shifted and held him better, closer. “Don’t do that either. Just… relax,” he stroked the back of Dean’s head, playing with his hair.

“Cas…” he tried again.

“No, Dean,” he whispered and tilted his head, pressing his forehead to Dean’s. Castiel moved a hand up and stroked his cheek gently, rubbing beneath his eye before stroking his jaw. Cas closed his eyes. “You hurt yourself when you think on your own, so… let’s think together. What do you say?”

Dean tensed and shook his head and pulled away a bit, hiding his face in Castiel’s neck. “I don’t want to.” 

“Dean…” he whispered, placing a hand on the back of his head. “I know it’s hard,” he said softly. “I know you…” Cas bit his lip, he was aware of how he sounded. “You are not alone,” Castiel stroked down, giving a soft squeeze to the back of Dean’s neck.

“I… I have you,” he whispered.

“You do,” he told him. “Of course you do, you have me, Sam, mom. You have a family, Dean. And it might look broken or… stitched together, like we are forcing this. But we aren’t,” Castiel whispered in his ear. “It would have been this way too if Mary was here.”

“W-what?” Dean didn’t move, he fisted Cas’ clothes. “How do you know?”

“I was a boy, but I remember a bit of her,” he said.

“Cas, we’re only two years apart.”

He chuckled. “You doubt me?” he poked his side and held him closer when he let out a soft laugh. Castiel kissed his shoulder. “She was an amazing woman, Dean. I bet… wherever she is, she’s watching you.”

“I don’t believe in God,” Dean murmured.

“I didn’t say heaven, Dean,” he said. “I bet she’s proud of seeing how strong you’ve become.” Cas placed a soft, chaste, kiss on Dean’s lips and pulled back to look into his eyes. He smiled and stroked his face gently. “Don’t talk, or think, like that about yourself. Please.”

Dean moved back, ready to start on how wrong Castiel was. He wasn’t strong, he wasn’t brave. He knew that his mother was probably ashamed about all the shit he didn’t know how to fight. How to escape from it. But Cas was faster, he sealed Dean’s lips with his own. Kissing him. Castiel kissed Dean in a way they hadn’t before. Cas moved his hands up to Dean’s head as he wrapped his arms around Castiel’s waist, holding on as tight as he could.

Chapter Text

A few days later, when the boys were already settled and content with how the things worked in the house the worst thing came to view and it rained all over them. But it felt like it was time. Dean was waiting all the time for the other shoe to drop.

Cas was the one finding the other teen tense and alone, looking at the door or at the window in Castiel’s room.

He hated it, he hated it a lot because he could see how happy his brother finally was. With Amelia paying attention to him, being a mother to them both. Even then, Dean couldn’t help it. He couldn’t chase away the thought of John barging into the house and taking what belonged to him. Those were his perfect little boy and the “soulless soldier” that he had turned Dean into. Of the man hurting Cas, Amy, hurting Sam in the blind anger he was probably going to be feeling.

And then, it happened.

First, it had been a knock on the door, followed by his voice. “An’body home?” he had said, it didn’t sound as slurred as Dean would have expected. “Amelia?” But it was authoritative, nonetheless. “I know you’ve my boys. ’ve seen’em through the window.”

Sam clutched on to Amelia’s clothes and Dean tensed, even when Castiel placed a hand on his shoulder. Everything is going to be okay.

The knocking had turned a bit heavier as the seconds gone by. “I know’re in there!” he exclaimed. “’m goin’ to call the police if you don’t give me m’boys back!”

Amelia moved, placing Sam in Dean’s arms.

“Amelia, no,” Dean said and tried to get hold of her hand, wanting to stop her.

“No. Dean,” she said and looked directly into his eyes. “You keep your brother safe, I will keep you safe,” she kissed his forehead. “Go, hide upstairs.”

Sam bit his lip and hid his face in Dean’s neck. He didn’t want to see how scared Aunt Amy looked.

“I will stay down here with her,” Castiel said. “It’ll be okay,” he promised and stole a soft kiss to Dean’s lips. “Go.”

It was Dean’s turn to bite his lip, not wanting to leave them alone with his father. But when Sammy let out a soft sob against his neck he changed his mind. He held his brother tightly between his arms and rushed upstairs, into Castiel’s room. He saw Cas’ phone over the nightstand and took it.

“Call them,” Sammy whispered. “Call the police.”

“Amelia!” John exclaimed, loud and clear. “Open the fuckin’ door! I know’re listenin’ to me!”

Amelia looked at the door and looked at Castiel. “You should go with them,” she said.

“No,” he said, firmly. “I am not leaving you alone with him.”

The woman nodded and took a deep, steadying, breath in before opening the door.

John barreled inside, pushing them both and looking around. His eyes darting to every single corner of the room. He turned towards Amelia, jaw clenched. John looked menacing and dangerous.

Castiel moved, standing between him and his mother. “You so much as lay a finger on her and you’re going to regret it,” he said through locked teeth.

John laughed as if he had seen something really cute and sweet. “Would’ya look at that,” he smiled. “Jimmy’s boy playin’ macho man.”

Amelia placed a hand on the side of Cas’ hips and tried to push him away, gently. “Son…”

Cas squinted, getting directly in John’s face. “Don’t you dare to say my father’s name again,” he said. “That mouth is no place for a man like my dad, John, so you better keep it shut.”

John frowned at Castiel and leaned his head forward, pressing his forehead to Cas’, pushing him like that. “You’re the one that’s gonna stop me?” he mocked. “On your own?”

Castiel stood ground, keeping the man away from his mother. “You got a problem with that?” he raised his eyebrows. “I don’t think you’ve earned the right to pick who takes Sam and Dean. I don’t think you’ve earned the right to be called a father, John. You’re a lifetime away from that.” He looked right into his eyes, but didn’t move a muscle with the intention of hitting him. He didn’t need that. “You’re scum.”

The man moved and pushed him away, fiercely. “Shut up,” he said. His nostrils flaring angrily. John was a second away from exploding.

Amelia took Cas’ hand and shook her head, afraid of him getting hurt because of this, but when she saw the determination in her son’s eyes she straightened up. Amy wasn’t going to back away either. “Why, John?” she turned towards the man, staying beside Cas. “Are we hurting your feelings? If… if it is that you even have those.”

John looked at her. “I said shut up!” And he moved forward, stopped by words again.

“If you think I’m going to let you kill these kids, like you did with Mary, you’re wrong. So damn wrong,” Amelia said. “If you think I’m going to step aside and let you keep hurting Dean and terrorizing Sam, you’re wrong.” She looked at him, clenching her jaw for a moment. “You don’t deserve them. You never did, John. Never. You turned Mary into something she never wanted to be, and yes, I was too damn stupid back then to be able to notice what you did. But I see it now. I see what happened. I know that you killed Mary.”

Castiel froze in place and turned his head to look at Amy. What.

“How dare you…” John opened his mouth, locking his jaw. He glared at her and moved, ready to take hold of her and hit her.

But since Castiel was smaller, he was faster. He grabbed the man’s arm and made him spin, holding it to his back.

John groaned and swung his free arm back, asserting the first hit to Castiel’s head. He shook him off and held him down, pinned against the floor, his hands around the teen’s neck.

Amelia raised her eyebrows, surprised and scared, and moved forward. “Let go of him, John,” she said. “Now.”

“Or what, Amelia? What’re you goin’ to do?” John glanced up at her with a threatening look on his eyes. “You goin’ to talk me into changin’ my mind?”

She shook her head and made a quick decision, they weren’t going to get out of this without some injuries and that was completely obvious. So, might as well make a lot of noise for Sam and Dean to call the police. Amelia moved her feet, steadying herself and moved. Quick and gracefully. The toes of her Chuck connected with John’s jaw in a snap of fingers.

Because of the stinging pain on his jawbone, John was forced to let go of Castiel’s neck as he fell to the side.

The teen when with him, though. Holding the man down, pressing his thumb beneath John’s collarbone. He knew it hurt and that it was enough to keep him there for the moment. The man was a bit drunk, not senseless.

“Freakin’ bitch,” John muttered as he looked up at her from where he laid.

Then it was the first time that Castiel felt the need to use violence. He swung his arm back and forward, punching the man’s nose. He felt it crack beneath his fist and looked down at John. “You talk to her like that again and I won’t hold back, you hear me?!”

“Just like your father,” John said. “Empty threats.” He smiled wicked, crooked. “I see your lips movin’ but I hear nothin’, kid.”

Castiel swung his arm again but Amelia grabbed his elbow, stopping him.

“That’s not you, son,” she said softly as she shook her head. “You don’t have anything to prove to this poor excuse of a man.”

John used that moment of distraction to punch Castiel’s face, cracking his lip open and making him fall against Amy. “’m a poor excuse of a man?” he asked as he stood, looking down at them. “What about your husband, huh?”

“Son, are you okay?” Amelia asked, ignoring John completely. She cupped Cas’ cheeks, checking his bleeding nose and lip.

“’m speakin’ to you!” John exclaimed and reached down, taking hold of Amelia’s hair and lifting her to her feet. “You pay attention when ‘m speakin’ to you,” he said, lowly.

Amelia let out a pained sound and reached for the man’s hand, trying to pry it open.

Castiel reached out for her from the floor, and made a soft sound when he couldn’t reach her. He felt lightheaded and numb. The teen tried to sit up and stand, succeeding poorly since he had to hold on from the couch to stand up. “Mom…” he whispered.

John shook her, making her scream. He knew he was hurting Amelia, and it was why he smiled. “I want my sons back,” he said into her ear. “Or ‘m goin’ to take yours an’ you ain’t seein’ him again,” he threatened. “I have no lil boy toy to play since you took it from me,” John clenched his jaw. “Takin’ Sammy, I get. But Dean? What’s he useful for, huh?”

Amelia moved her legs, trying to kick him. “He’s an amazing boy,” she told him. “But you made it your job to destroy him piece by piece, to destroy what he believed in, to make him feel like garbage,” she said and looked at him, pure anger in her eyes. “And you know what, John? You are the one that’s garbage here. You are the one that deserves being mistreated, and abused. Because I’m sure as all hell that Dean did not do anything to deserve that.”

Cas came back into the kitchen from behind John. He had moved to the kitchen silently while they spoke and taken the first thing he saw from the sink. Castiel used the frying pan to hit the back of John’s head with all the strength he had left, knocking the man out. He wasn’t quick enough to catch his mother but he quickly knelt beside her. “Are you okay?” he asked softly. “Did he… did he hurt you much?”

Amelia shook her head and gently hugged her boy before checking his injuries once again, properly this time. “He broke your nose,” she whispered.

“I broke his,” Cas gave her a soft, pained, smile.

“Son…” she said, sternly.

“Sorry, I just… I’m kind of glad that it’s finally over. I just hope that Sam and Dean aren’t taken from us.”

“They won’t be,” she said. “We will fight for them like we just did, Cas.” Amelia kissed his forehead and moved away only when she heard the sirens of the police cars approach. It was then that she could see them, more than listen to them, reflected in the living room walls.

Chapter Text

Two police cars came, along with an ambulance and a black Mustang, and as soon as Sam and Dean heard the sirens they came rushing downstairs. Dean was holding Sam in his arms but the boy squirmed and jumped off, running towards Amelia. He sneaked into her arms, hiding his face in her neck without even looking at John - passed out on the middle of the living room.

“Hey, baby,” she said sweetly and stroked the back of his head, holding him tight. “I’ve got you now,” she whispered. “I’ve got you.”

Dean moved over to Castiel, kneeling beside him. “He hurt you,” he said, cupping his face between his cheeks. Dean stroked his hair away from his forehead. “Cas…”

Cas shook his head and leaned up for a soft kiss, careful not to hurt his nose more. “I’m the reason he’s knocked out,” he whispered and stroked his cheek. “I’m okay, well… I will be. Mom’s okay and you both are here with us,” Castiel smiled and winced a bit, remembering that his lip was cracked. “We will be alright.”

“I was so scared,” Sam murmured against Amy’s neck.

Amelia looked at Dean and gave him a sweet smile. “There’s no reason for that anymore,” she said, to the both of them. “No reason at all.”

The door was kicked open then, a group of men walked in holding their guns. The boy on the other side of the emergency line had said that their aggressor was drunk and dangerous.

“Lower your guns,” said the man that had walked in first. “Is that him?” he looked at the blonde woman, pointing at the man on the floor.

Amelia nodded and slowly stood up, holding Sam against her chest. “These are my boys,” she said, voice firm.

The raven haired man nodded, putting his gun away and slowly reaching out for the woman. “Is that your husband? Did he hurt you?”

“He’s not my husband,” she told him. “He hurt my son, not me… Agent…” Amelia looked at him, placing a hand on the back of Sam’s head.

“Castle. Agent Frank Castle,” he told her and gave her a nod. “Would you, please, go outside? There’s an ambulance waiting for you and your son. Me and my boys will take of this,” Frank told her. He tried to be mild and gentle, not wanting to upset the woman further.

Amelia gave Dean and Cas one last look and walked out with Sammy.

Frank made his way towards the two teens and knelt near them. “What happened here, boys?”

“He broke in,” Castiel said. “Dean had taken Sam to bed and I was down here with our mom,” he told him. “We had him… detained for a moment but then it all got out of hand. I hit him, he hit me, he hurt mom…” Cas’ eyes went a bit dark.

“Alright, settle down,” the agent told him. “Garth,” he looked back at the two cops that were with him. “Take this man to the car. I don’t care how passed out he is, he hit a woman he pays the price.”

The scrawny cop nodded and made the other one help him, getting the man out of the house.

“You’re…” Dean tried to keep his emotions at bay. “You’re not a cop.”

“No, boy,” Frank smiled. “I’m an FBI agent. Can you tell me your names?”

“I’m Castiel, sir,” he said. “This is my brother Dean, and Sam is with our mom, Amelia.”

Agent Castle nodded and looked between them, training his eyes on Castiel. “Can you stand?”

Cas nodded slowly and carefully got to his feet, with Dean’s help. He kept an arm around the younger teen’s shoulders.

“Fitzgerald and Henriksen will take that man to the station, put him under custody, and you two, as well as your mother and little brother, will stay away from him. Alright?”

“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.

Dean licked his lips and helped Cas walk, looking at the agent. “Sir? Why is the FBI on this case?”

“I was about to take one of my friends from the station home when the phone rang, I heard you,” he told Dean, “and I can’t stay with my arms crossed in these kind of situations.”

“These kind of situations?” Cas echoed.

Frank looked at him then. “Domestic violence, boy. Can’t sit back and let that happen.” He took some steps further. “Come on now, I need your statements so you can come back home and forget about all this craziness.”

They remained silent as they followed Agent Castle outside. Dean was gently rubbing Cas’ side, as if to keep him calm and apologize for everything that happened.

Amelia was right outside of the house. She was sitting on the edge of the backside of the ambulance, with Sammy glued to her as the paramedics checked on them.

“Would you tell me what happened?” the blonde haired cop, that had been with them for a while, asked with a soft voice.

“Yes,” Amy said. “Of course. He was really drunk, banging on our door, telling us to open.” She looked at Officer Hanscum. “Dean was just putting Sammy to bed and Cas was telling me about this new job he had been following on. And he got the door to budge, walking in. It got out of hand really quick but my son succeeded and knocked him out. He saved me.”

“Are Sam and Dean your sons, too?” Donna asked softly.

“Yes,” Amy said. “They are.”

“And this man… he’s not his father.”

“No, Officer. He’s not. He’s just a drunk, he spends most of the time in bars and clubs. Who knows what kind of stuff he’s on,” she whispered, hoping to be succeeding on taking away the bit of credibility that John could have had. “I’m so glad that we got out okay.”

The paramedics scrambled around when Agent Castle, Dean and Cas approached the ambulance. They gently got Castiel into the ambulance and laid him down. One of them asked several routine questions, just to be completely sure that it was just a broken nose and a split lip.

Dean played along and sat beside Amelia, gently reaching to take her hand. “We will be okay, mom,” he said softly and leaned into her, pressing his forehead to her shoulder.

“I promise you, baby,” she whispered and kissed his head, tightening her grip on Sam.

“It has been quite a night,” Frank said. “And you must be cold,” the man pursed his lips upon noticing that nobody had given her a blanket. The agent took his jacket off and placed over the woman’s shoulders. “My car has good AC, Dean,” he told the teen. “Go get comfortable there, let your mom make a quick trip to the hospital.”

“I’d rather stay with my brother, sir,” he said, voice soft but firm. “Can I?”

Donna moved her head a bit and Frank nodded. “Yeah, okay,” he said. “But you go to the station right after, alright? Donna will be escorting you.”

Dean nodded once and climbed into the ambulance.

Amelia carried Sam into the agent's car. The kid sobbed a little bit when she had closed the door. “What is it, baby?” she asked softly.

“He won’t hurt you again, r-right?” he looked at her.

Frank got into the car as well, then. He looked at them through the rearview mirror.

“No, baby,” she whispered. “He won’t hurt any of us.”

“Your mom will be okay, boy,” Castle said. “I will make sure of that, personally.”

Sammy moved a bit to look at the man. “Do you promise?” he asked, there were tears in his eyes.

Frank’s mouth tightened and he looked at the woman sitting in the back of his Mustang, down at the little boy in his arms. He wasn’t supposed to make promises he might not be able to keep, but that boy’s eyes… that mother’s eyes told him that they had suffered through enough, told him that there were a lot of things that he didn’t know yet. The agent nodded. “I promise, Sam.”

Sam perked up a little bit, his eyes shining. “Thank you, sir,” he said.

“Call me Frank, kid,” he said, messing his hair a bit.

Amelia met Frank’s eyes and gave him a soft nod, thanking him silently.

The agent returned a, barely there, smile that reached his eyes and made him look softer. Just like a father would look.

Sam leaned back against Amelia’s chest as Frank started the car and drove away behind the ambulance and the patrol cars. He watched Donna follow the ambulance and kept himself behind Garth car. He wanted to get this family to give their statements quickly so they could go back home. And maybe stay the night questioning the John Doe in Fitzgerald car.

“Frank?” Sam’s small and tired voice came from the back seat.

Castle looked at the kid through the rear view mirror once again. “Yes?”

“Is…” he bit his lip a little. “Is that man going to stay in jail?”

“I will have to check on his record, and see everything that he’s done,” he said. “But there’s a possibility of that happening, yes.”

“He hurt my brother,” Sam said, looking at the man’s eyes. “He can’t do that again.”

Amelia stroked Sam’s hair, brushing it back.

“Yeah, he broke his nose, I saw,” he said softly. “But since it was an act of self defense--”

“I’m talking about Dean,” he interrupted.

Frank raised his eyebrows and frowned a little, looking at the boy. “He hurt Dean too?” he asked.

Amelia remained silent, she wasn’t going to force Sam into lying.

“Not tonight,” he whispered.

“Would you tell me when, boy?” he asked softly. He had had the feeling that he wasn’t getting the whole truth.

“Ever since our mom died,” he whispered and looked away. Tears rolling down his cheeks.

The agent frowned even more and looked at Amelia through the mirror then.

“He’s telling the truth,” Amy said. “I lied,” she whispered, not looking away from Frank’s eyes. “Sam and Dean are not my sons. They are John’s. Their mother was my friend and after she died, I swore to myself I would protect these two boys.”

“Ma’am,” Frank started. “You can’t--”

“I know I can’t, agent,” she whispered. “But these boys have been hurt more than enough,” she told him. “I sat over this for way too long, letting my son take care of Dean, but not anymore. I’m taking them with me. I am keeping them with me.”

Chapter Text

“Look, I understand where you are trying to get with all this. I do,” Frank was looking at the road, but alternated with glancing at Amelia. “But you can’t lie to the authorities, it doesn’t matter what you are aiming for.”

“Are you going to take us away from Aunt Amy?” Sam asked, he felt on edge again.

Frank gripped the steering wheel and bit his tongue for a second. “Why do you call her Aunt, boy?” he asked.

“Because she’s always been there for Dean and me. She always kept an eye on us, Dean told me. And… and we love her. It feels… it feels like she really is our mom.”

“Will Dean say the same if I ask him?” Frank asked him. His voice had softened a bit.

Sam nodded frantically. “He will,” he said.

“Okay. Then we will wait for him and we will talk,” he looked at Amelia again. “We will do this right, okay?”

Amelia nodded and kissed the top of Sam’s head. “It will all be okay, baby,” she whispered.

Sam turned in her arms and wrapped his arms around her middle, holding on to Amy.

Frank sighed. “Yeah,” he said. “It will be okay.”

The night turned out to be eternally long. Frank took Amelia’s statement as soon as they got there after asking his cops mates to leave this to him. He’d ask if he needed help. Everyone knew that that wasn’t going to happen.

In Donna’s office, Frank let Amelia tell him what had happened since Sam’s mother passed away with as much detail as she could and then he made her write it down.

Amelia wiped some tears and looked at him. “Is this going to help?” she asked.

Frank bit the inside of his cheek. “I will make this work, Amelia,” he said. “I promised that boy and I’m not going to fail him. But this has to go through legal ways, alright?”

“I understand,” she murmured and took a tissue. “Sorry I lied before, I left them to be hurt for way too long, thinking that it was going to change and get better,” Amy looked down at her lap. “We didn’t want to get the authorities involved in this, let alone the FBI,” she let out a shaky breath. “Sam was… he was so scared of being separated from his brother I couldn’t bring myself to do that to them.”

Agent Castle stood and made his way to Amelia, standing behind her he placed his hands on her shoulders gently. He noticed that she was still wearing his jacket. “You are not alone in this now, Amelia,” he said. “I know what it is like to be in a situation like this one.”

Amy sobbed softly and covered her face, crying silently.

Frank closed his eyes and sighed, softly squeezing her shoulders. “Go home,” he said.

“No, I can’t,” she told him immediately. “Dean and Cas…”

“I will drive them. I will get them to testify and get them home,” Frank looked at her. “You trust an FBI agent, right?” he couldn’t help but give her a playful grin.

The woman looked out the window at Sam, sleeping on a small sofa. “Okay,” she whispered. “Don’t let Dean near John? Please?”

“Amelia, he’s his father.”

“No, Frank,” she said, daring to use his name for the first time. “He’s a monster, and you will agree with me once that boy testifies.”

He pursed his lips and nodded. “Alright. I will get Garth to drive you,” he said. “He… likes to speak a lot, I hope you don’t mind that.”

“I could use the company,” she murmured and stood up, following him out. Amelia took Sam in her arms and allowed Officer Fitzgerald to guide her to his patrol car.

Donna got Cas and Dean to the station half an hour later, it was already close to 2 a.m. and everyone in the station looked exhausted.

Garth started with the coffee rounds then, bringing a mug to every single person there. Including Dean and Castiel.

Cas sipped from his coffee quietly, feeling a lot better than he had before Donna took him to the hospital. His face was already turning purple, because of the blow, and the color was sneaking from underneath the huge square of gauze taped to his skin.

“Boys,” Frank said, coming out from Donna’s office. “We need to talk.”

Dean nodded and stood, holding his mug with both hands. It was almost automatic, following orders was burnt into his skull. He walked into the office and sat.

“Where’s our mom, sir?” Cas asked, standing near the agent.

“Your mom,” he corrected softly, earning a surprised look from both of them. “I sent her back to your house with Sam, she needs to rest. There’s no reason to lie anymore, kid,” Frank patted his shoulder.

Castiel nodded and walked in, silent. He looked at Dean, feeling relieved that they didn’t have to play anymore. He sat beside him and took his hand in his, gently stroking his knuckles.

“Amy just wanted to protect us,” Dean said. “She’s tried to give us everythin’ she could ever since she noticed how John treated us,” he looked at Frank, following him with his eyes. “She’s been the closest to a mom that Sam ever had, sir,” he whispered. “He doesn’t have any memory of our mom an’ Amy… Amy filled that blank for him.”

“I know,” Frank said. “I understand why she did what she did, but, if you want me to help, you have to tell me the truth for now on and only that way I will be able to make this right. Do you understand?” He looked at both of them.

“We do,” they said together.

“Good,” Frank nodded. “Now, your father--”

Dean shook his head. “Don’t call him that. He’s John, not my father, nor dad.”

“Alright. From what I understand, John got into the house because he wanted to get you and your brother back. Was he drunk?”

Dean nodded slowly. “He’s been drunk non-stop since mom died.”

“Okay. Amelia sent you upstairs with Sam, and that was when you,” he looked at Castiel, “tried to reason with him but couldn’t.”

“Yes, sir,” Cas said. “He… he called my mom a bitch so I hit him. When I was going to hit him again mom stopped me. It was then that he got me and hit me. After that he… took mom by her hair and held her in the air.”

“Why did he lose control like that?” Frank asked. “I understand that he was drunk, but maybe something that you said triggered it…”

“Mom called him out on murdering Mary,” he whispered.

Dean almost broke his neck when he turned to look at him. “No, my mom had a heart attack. Cas, you know that.”

“John lied,” Cas whispered. “I… I didn’t know about it until some hours ago, I’m sorry.”

Frank decided to intercede then. “Amelia told me the same thing, Dean. I’m sorry,” he said. “She didn’t know how to tell you, and since she decided it was better for Sam not to know the truth, she left you out of it too.”

Dean looked down and nodded, blinking the tears away.

Cas bit his tongue and placed a hand on the back of Dean’s neck, gently bringing him close to himself. “Dean,” he whispered, pressing his forehead to the other teen’s neck. “I wish I had known,” he said. “I wish I could have told you sooner.”

Dean tilted his head, leaning into Cas. “You didn’t know,” he whispered. “An’ I ain’t blamin’ Amy either, don’t worry.” He squeezed Cas’ hand gently. “It just… I know I should’ve known, I know what he’s capable of.”

“What is he capable of, son?” Frank asked.

Dean closed his eyes and the agent could see how he retracted in on himself.

“You don’t have to tell him,” Cas whispered. “Show him.”

Frank raised his eyebrows and stared at them. He watched Dean nod and followed Castiel with his eyes when the older teen stood to shut the curtains.

Dean stood up when Castiel sat, and took off his shirt, revealing all the -still healing- wounds and scars, the bumps of blood and burns, the bruises and marks where there once had been cuts. He reached for his belt, undoing it and letting his jeans fall. There were burns and cuts all over his thighs as well, bumps. Dean bit his lip and looked at the Agent Castle. “He started when I was twelve,” he murmured. “I’m seventeen now, sir. The last time he beat me up was two or three nights ago.”

“He came through my window,” Cas said. “He was bloody and could barely walk straight. I spent the night taking care of all his wounds. You can’t…” Castiel swallowed and looked at Frank. “You can’t let John Winchester walk out.”

“Why did you stay quiet for so long, Dean?” the agent asked. He was starting to feel angry at the man that he already had behind the bars. Hell if he wouldn’t like to be able to beat the shit out of him.

“I’ve a baby brother to look after,” he pulled his pants up, his eyes had softened a bit, “you know? I’ve got to keep him safe, that’s my job.”

“Police could have--”

Dean shook his head. “’m sorry but that’s bullshit,” he said. “Whatever you were goin’ to say. Sir, you know as well as I do, that bein’ a minor doesn’t give me that big of a range to make a decision over my six year old brother. They were goin’ to take him away from me, they were goin’ to put us in different homes. Hell, maybe even different states an’ I wasn’t goin’ to be able to see my baby brother anymore. I ain’t lettin’ that happen. If I had to bow my head and let him hit me for another two years, I would’ve let him have his way.”

Frank felt his heart ache. It had been hell of a long time since the last time that he had such a rollercoaster of emotions with a case, and he had been trainer to ignore such distractions. But the way this kid spoke, that wasn’t something he saw everyday. “Did he ever hit Sam?” he asked.

“No, sir,” he said. “I got in the way every time he tried to.”

Agent Castle closed his eyes and massaged his lids with his fingers for a second. “Well, damn,” he murmured. He felt his knuckles ache and itch with need, he needed to beat that bastard up. “I will need you to write this down, boy. All of it. And you too,” he told Castiel. “All the times you helped him.”

They both nodded and began to write it all down.

Around 4 a.m. they were done. Cas hadn’t left Dean’s side, not even for a split of second. He was tired, and dozing off every once in a while, but wouldn’t leave Dean alone with what he was doing.

When Dean finished he signed at the end and gave it to Frank. “I…” he bit his lip. “If I were you I would read it tomorrow, sir.”

The agent took the stack of written papers and put it inside the drawer, locking it with a key he kept. “Alright,” he murmured. “Let me drive you both home, you need to sleep.”

Castiel took Dean’s hand, lacing their fingers. “Okay,” he said, his voice was deep and low, his exhaustion showing even more.

Frank couldn’t help but smile a bit and shake his head. “C’mon, boys,” he said and placed a hand over Dean’s shoulder, walking them both outside - to his car. “You haven’t mentioned your father, Castiel,” he looked at the blue eyed teen.

“My father died in an accident, sir,” Castiel said. “I was fourteen when it happened,” he murmured. “A… drunk driver crossed from his side of the road to my dad’s and…” he looked away. “Doctors said he died instantly, he didn’t feel any pain.”

Dean squeezed Cas’ hand and stroked softly. “Hey, it’s alright now,” he whispered and moved closer.

“What’s his name, boy?” Frank asked.

“Jimmy Novak, sir,” he whispered, leaning into Dean. He took a deep breath, breathing in Dean’s scent. Castiel reached out and opened the door, slowly getting in. He curled against Dean as soon as he got in as well.

Frank licked his lips and nodded, getting behind the wheel. He started the engine and drove off.

The drive back home was silent, Castiel was asleep against Dean’s shoulder. He had an arm loosely wrapped around Dean’s waist. The younger teen was absently playing with his hair, looking out the windshield, his attention was set on how the car ate the tarmac as it moved.

“Dean,” Frank said, glancing at him through the rear view mirror.

Dean blinked and looked at the mirror, staring at the agent. “Yes, sir?”

Agent Castle found himself gripping the wheel tightly upon noticing the boy’s reaction. He clenched his jaw and tilted his head away, letting Dean see what he wanted him to see. “You okay?”

Dean relaxed and nodded. “I am, sir, I was just thinkin’.”

“About John,” Frank whispered.

“Yeah,” he murmured. Dean looked down and pursed his lips. “If he gets out, he’s gon’ kill me.”

“He’s not getting out, Dean, you’re walking proof of why he can’t get out,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“What do I have to worry ‘bout then?” he asked.

“No thing,” he smiled at him. “I have enough to allow Amelia to keep you both, be your legal guardian. But don’t get your hopes up, yet, alright? There’s a lot of things I have to take care of, we’re not completely done.”

Dean nodded slowly. “I understand, sir.”

Chapter Text

Frank parked his car outside the Novak’s house and walked them to the door. They had to wake Castiel up and help him in. Dean had taken the keys from Cas’ pocket an opened the door. They walked inside but Frank didn’t, shaking his head when Dean offered him to do so.

Amelia, who had been sleeping on the couch until then, got up and walked over to her boys.

“Hey,” she said softly and moved over to gently hug them. “Go upstairs, okay? Get some rest.” Amelia kissed Dean’s forehead before kissing Cas’ cheek and ushered them towards the stairs.

“Night,” they both said.

The blonde woman turned towards the door and saw Agent Castle standing there. “Oh, hi,” she said. “I... didn’t see you.”

“Guess I was a bit too quiet,” he said, apologetic. “Bureau’s training is kind of thorough,” he gave her a gentle smile.

Amy returned the smile and wrapped her arms around herself. “Oh,” she whispered, remembering. “I have your jacket, let me get it.” She moved inside before Frank could say anything and brought it to him. “Thank you,” Amy said softly. “For the jacket and for taking care of my boys.”

“There’s no need,” he said after nodding a bit. “I was just doing my job.”

The woman shook her head. “You went out of your way to help us,” she whispered. “I’m grateful.”

Frank held his hands behind his back, the jacket hanging from them. “Those boys need you, Amelia,” he said. “All three of them.”

“I know,” she said and looked behind her, to the stairs. “I just wish I had been there for them longer than I have.”

“You can’t do anything against a father,” he said and tilted his head a little, staring at her when he should have been following her gaze inside. “Even less if he’s a drunk, violent bastard.”

Amelia blinked and looked back at Frank.

“I’m not going to apologize,” he told her and smiled a bit. “Dean showed me what he did to him.”

She looked down, tensing a bit. “Is it… how bad is it?”

“He has a lot of scars,” he murmured. “A lot of them. Torso, arms, thighs, probably his back too… from what I saw, most of them are healed, but the more recent ones are still bugging him.”

Amelia leaned back against the door frame and sighed, closing her eyes.

Frank reached forward and placed his hand over her elbow, caressing over her sweater with his thumb. “Don’t blame yourself.”

She opened her eyes when she felt his hand and looked up at his face, into his eyes. “Frank…”

He shook his head, taking a step closer. “This is not on you,” he said. “You did the best you could. Alone with three boys isn’t anyone’s piece of cake, you know? You’re doing what you can with what you have and that’s something to be proud of, not sorry.” Frank smiled at her once again and squeezed her elbow a little. “These boys admire you.”

Amy let out a breathy laugh and looked away, running a hand over her face as if to wipe away tears, which she completely was. It had been a while since someone, other than her son, had acknowledged her and... it had probably been Jimmy. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Frank bit his lip and straightened a bit. “Castiel told me about your husband,” he said. “I’m sorry he left the way he did,” he whispered, although he was sorry in general. He had probably been an amazing guy, judging by the family he had left behind.

“There’s no need,” she said, her voice heavy with tears. “It’s been five years,” she said.

“That’s a long time,” he whispered.

Amelia shook her head, not looking up at him yet. “I wouldn’t say so. It feels like yesterday,” she murmured. “Everyday I wake up… hoping for it to end up being a bad dream.”

“Amelia…” Frank started, moving his hand up, but he stopped midway to her shoulder.

“Don’t tell me I have to move on,” she said and looked up at him. There were tears in her eyes, she seemed hurt and broken. Hopeless, even, and Frank got the feeling that she hadn’t allowed herself to mourn the loss of her husband, because she felt like her boys wouldn’t be happy if she did. “Don’t do that,” she added.

He bit his lip and gently tugged from her, wrapping her in a soft hug. Frank cupped the back of her head, pressing her against his chest. “I wasn’t going to say that,” he whispered. “I know what it is like to lose someone and long for them everyday, I know how much it hurts, Amelia.”

Amy didn’t wrap her arms around him, she fisted his shirt and hid against his chest. She cried silently, allowing him to support her. “I miss him so much,” she whispered.

“It’s okay,” he said, placing his chin over her head hesitantly, Castle knew he shouldn’t get too close to this family but he couldn’t help it. “I made a promise,” he whispered. If he was messing this up, he would do so completely. “You’re not alone in this, Amelia.”

She sobbed softly and gently pushed him away. “You…” she pursed her lips and didn’t look at him. “You should go,” Amelia whispered. “You… I can’t.”

“Amelia…” Frank tried to meet her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry,” Amelia took a step back. “Please, just go.”

Agent Castle pursed his lips and looked down. “Okay,” he said. “Alright.” Castle moved away and walked towards his car. “Have a goodnight, Amelia.”

Amelia watched him leave, biting her lip. She looked down and turned around, getting back inside her house. She took Sam, holding him in her arms and walked upstairs to her room, where she fell asleep half an hour later.

Frank practically raced back to the precinct, clutching the wheel in his hands so much his knuckles were white. He wasn’t mad at Amelia, he understood her reasoning and was willing to respect them, but the way he acted… without any kind of cover. He just went for it, when it was clear that he shouldn’t have. Even when Amelia had seemed to need him.

Agent Castle parked his car at his usual spot and walked inside, sulking.

Viktor saw him and walked up to him, making him stop. “Hey,” he said. “What is going on, Frank?” he asked, frowning.

“Move, Viktor,” he murmured, looking at him.

“No,” he said. “I am not going to let you fuck up your whole career for a case, man.”

Castle clenched his jaw. “He deserves what is coming his way,” he said and tried to make him move away.

“Frank, c’mon!” he said and took him by his arm. “No. I understand, I’ve read what that mother said, but you can’t do this.”

He let out a sharp breath and looked at him.

“At least not in here,” Viktor indulged.

That caught Frank’s attention, he looked at the other man. “You’re going to lose your job,” he said. “Viktor, you have kids.”

“Not if we do it how I’m thinking of doing it,” he smiled.

He pursed his lips and glanced away for a moment. “Okay, let’s hear it then.”

Almost an hour later Viktor was opening John Winchester’s cell. “You can go, sir,” Viktor said. “There’s been a misunderstanding, but in case we were wrong you can’t leave the state. Alright?”

John didn’t even give the man a second look, he walked past him and out of the precinct. He had barely walked two blocks when Frank got in his way.

“I’ve got to get my sons,” he said, recognizing him. “Get out of my way.”

“No,” Frank said. “You’re not going anywhere, pal.” He clenched his jaw upon realizing that he had said ‘sons’, Amelia had told him that he man treated Dean like an object. A toy. He wanted to give John the chance to make him angry. More angry.

“I know my rights,” John said, moving towards the other man.

“Oh, yeah?” he asked, moving his right hand and placing it on his hip, beside his badge. “I don’t.”

John didn’t even look down at the man’s badge. He slammed his palms on Castle’s chest, trying to be menacing. “I said, get out of my way,” he repeated, low and dangerous.

“No, pal,” he said, voice raspy and low. “Now we are going to talk. But the thing is, I am going to do the talking because you will be too busy asking me to stop.” Frank threw the first punch, making John lean against the wall. “Dean showed me what you did to him,” he murmured.

“I didn’t do anythin’,” he said, trying to hold his arms up, wanting to protect himself from the blows.

“You didn’t, huh? Then who was it?” Frank punched him once again. “The boogeyman? Do you think I’m stupid?” The agent hit him again, making him fall this time and kicking his side while he was down.

John tried to get on his feet, he wanted to fight back. “You’re hittin’ someone that’s involved in one of your cases, you are stupid.”

“No, pal. Do you want to know what am I doing?” he asked. “I’m beating up a scumbag. I’m beating up a monster that abused his child for almost all his life. I’m beating up a murderer.”

“Murderer?” John asked. “That’s a false accusation, agent.” He smiled wickedly at him. “What made you so invested in the case?”

Frank smiled, nodding in understanding. The man wasn’t as stupid as he had hoped. “Too bad that no one is going to believe a child abusing, alcoholic monster like you.” The agent moved forward, making him stand, and hit him again, cracking his lip and then his brow with the next blow.

John groaned and fell over his ass, groaning again. “There’s no way they will believe you,” he said.

“I will just smile and say that I found you like this,” he winked at him, placing the sole of his boot over John’s ankle. “For all I know, you got into a bar fight and were too damn drunk to remember anything.”

John looked up at him, his mouth closed in a tight line.

“You killed your wife,” he said. “And there’s no reason to deny it, you have no argument that would prove me wrong. You faked it all and I will find out who did that for you, and, guess what? You’re going to be inmates,” he smiled sarcastically. Frank stepped fully over his ankle and punched his face once again, leaving him on his back.

“You son of a bitch!” he exclaimed.

“Do you know what prisoners do to child abusers?” Frank asked. “Luckily it changes after,” he said. “It gets way worse when they find out that the kid you abused is your own child, and trust me, they will find out.”

Chapter Text

It was well past noon when Cas woke up, all he could feel was the pain on his face. He rubbed his forehead and sat up, gently sneaking away from Dean’s arms. Castiel walked towards the bathroom, holding on from the wall on his way there.

“Shit,” he whispered. His whole face looked dark purple, the side of his nose was almost black and the bruises were getting up to his forehead. Cas let out a shaky breath, moving his hand up to gently pad over his skin. He winced and let out a soft groan. “Shit,” he whispered again and frowned at his reflection. Makeup wasn’t going to do anything for him, plus, Amy and Dean knew.

He placed his hands on the sides of the sink and bowed his head, closing his eyes. Cas felt a pair of arms sneak around his waist but didn’t move, he knew it was Dean.

Dean placed a few soft kisses over Cas’ shoulder blade. “Hey,” he whispered. “Mornin’.”

Castiel leaned into him and let out a soft breath. “Hey, Dean,” he murmured back, stroking Dean’s arms over his torso. “How did you sleep?”

“Like a freakin’ baby,” he said. “I was so damn tired.” Dean moved a bit from behind Cas to wash his teeth and saw his face in the mirror. “Oh, damn, Cas.”

“I know, I look like shit,” he tilted his head away.

“Let me help you,” he took Cas’ hand, tugging a little. “You helped me, now it’s my turn,” he kissed his shoulder. “Sit over the sink,” Dean instructed.

Castiel did as he was told and sighed, looking at Dean. “It’s not your fault, you know?” he played with the hem of Dean’s shirt.

“How is it not my fault, Cas?” Dean asked softly.

“Well… mainly because I hit him, not you,” he smiled a little, wincing. “And it wasn’t your fault that I got distracted and let him hit me back.”

“He messed you up,” Dean said, “he’s huge, Cas, he could have killed you.”

Cas chuckled but stopped when he noticed that Dean was serious.

“If he’d punched you any harder, you wouldn’t be here with me now, Cas. He was drunk. You’re lucky he didn’t use more than the strength that he needed.” When Castiel bowed his head Dean continued to speak. “He punched your nose, right?” he said. “There’s a bone here,” he placed a finger between his eyes, looking at Cas, “named nasal bone, that can get into your brain and kill you.”

Cas bit the good side of his lower lip, not being able to hold back a soft laugh.

“What?” Dean asked, gently cleaning Castiel’s face.

“You’re such a nerd,” he smiled and cupped his cheeks, kissing him sweetly.

Dean blushed and kissed him back. “I was tryin’ to make you see how much you risked yourself.”

“I know, Dean,” he said softly. “I know how much I put at stake, but it was completely worth it. Don’t you think?”

He couldn’t help but smile and kiss him one more time, stroking his jaw. “Completely worth it.”

Cas stroked his cheek gently, his whole demeanor softening a bit. “You think Frank will be able to keep you with us?” he asked.

“I do,” Dean smiled and kissed Castiel once again. “I think we will be alright.”

When they were done with Castiel’s nose, they made their way downstairs where Amelia was waiting for them with a huge breakfast. She had Sam sitting in the counter, the kid looked way more relaxed and calm than he had the previous night.

“Good morning, boys,” she turned and moved to kiss their foreheads. “How are you feeling, Cas?” Amy asked.

“It hurts,” he whispered. “Everywhere, but… I’m okay.”

“Heya, Sammy,” Dean moved towards him, gently taking him in his arms.

“Hi, De,” he smiled and kissed his cheek, hugging Dean close.

“You… you look like you’ve been crying,” Cas said softly, taking his mom’s hand. “Is everything okay?”

“It was a rough night,” she said, sincere. “A lot happened in a moment, I think I couldn’t handle it that well,” she whispered.

It was then that Dean, Sam and Cas wrapped her in a bear hug, making her smile wide and happy.

“You’ve got us,” Dean whispered.

“Yes,” she stroked his hair. “I’m very lucky.”

At the precinct, Frank had already brought John back into his cell. He had told Donna how he had found John outside of a bar, in an alley, hurt and beaten up. The man smelled like alcohol and puke and it was disgustingly strong, enough to make the whole place smell like that.

Viktor remained out of it, only interceding to say that he was going to make the man take a shower because he couldn’t stand it anymore.

Frank laughed a bit and shook his head, sitting at Viktor’s desk.

“How long are you going to stay here, Frank?” Donna asked, sitting beside him.

He looked at her, crossing his arms. “Why? You want me to leave already?”

“No, sweetie,” she pinched his cheek and smiled. “You know I love you,” Donna chuckled. “I’m just curious, that’s all.”

“I want to take care of the complete course of the Winchester-Novak case,” he said. “See it ends well and… maybe then I will go back to the Bureau.”

“You like her,” Donna said. “Don’t you?”

“Like who?” Frank arched an eyebrow.

“Amelia,” she said as if it was really obvious. “Frank, don’t pretend with me, okay? I’ve known you since I started in the academy, I can read you like an open book.” She was smiling knowingly up at him.

“I don’t,” he said. “I just understand what she’s been through and want to make it easier for her. That’s it.”

“Yeah, right,” she shook her head and moved away. “Let’s pretend that I believe you.”

Frank licked his lips and shook his head, playfully. “Alright, whatever that makes you happy, sweetheart,” he moved and kissed her forehead before making his way over to the coffee machine. “Coffee? Anyone?” he offered. He prepared a mug for each one of them and sneaked into Donna’s office. Castle sat down and sighed, sipping from his mug as he called Amelia.

Amy frowned at the unknown number but picked it up. “Hello?” she said, sitting over the edge of her bed. She had left the boys downstairs, wanting to take a shower.

“It’s me,” Frank said. “Frank Castle. Good morning.”

“Oh,” she bit her lip. “Good morning, Frank,” she said. “Look… about yesterday…”

Frank shook his head. “No need to apologise,” he told her. “Seriously, I pushed it. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, Amelia.”

“You didn’t,” she whispered, running a hand through her hair. “It’s not easy to explain, I really wish it was,” she sighed. “Frank--”

“It’s okay,” he said softly. “I’m not going to part ways, Amelia.” He tried to be soothing, even when he wasn’t there with her. “I’m not judging you.”

“Thank you,” she said, relaxing.

Frank smiled and leaned back against the chair. “We found John on the street, beaten up and drunk. Viktor let him out by mistake.”

Amelia frowned, puzzled by what he said. “I’d like to see your hands,” she whispered, without thinking much.

He bit his tongue and looked at his knuckles, smiling some more. “Well, there won’t be any lying on this side of our professional relationship either, I guess,” he chuckled.

“I would have beaten him up too if I had the chance,” she confessed. “I won’t be telling anyone, don’t worry.”

Dean knocked on Amy’s door some time later. He was alone and clearly not able to shake off the fact that his mom had been murdered by his own father. The teen bit his lip and waited, wrapping his arms around his torso.

“Come on in,” Amy said.

Dean pushed the door open and looked at her, giving her a nervous smile.

“Dean,” she smiled. “What happened?” Amelia patted the bed beside her, wrapping an arm around his shoulder when he sat down.

He leaned into her a bit. “Frank told me about my mom,” he whispered. “Well, Cas said it first but… Frank told me that you decided not to tell us, to keep us from hurtin’ more.”

Amelia closed her eyes for a moment and stroked his hair gently, bringing him closer. She kissed his temple. “You were… going through hell,” she whispered. “I was scared it would hurt you even more to know that John killed her.” Amy kept stroking his hair. “I’m sorry I kept it from you, and… even if I did tell you, I don’t know much more. We would have to exhume her body and run tests over it,” she looked at Dean. “I didn’t want you be part of that but look how funny life is, you’re part of it anyways.”

“Amy…” Dean whispered.

“I don’t know how he did it,” she kept going. “I wish I knew who did this for him.”

Dean took her hand and made her look into his eyes. “Amy,” he said again. “I know I wouldn’t have wanted you to tell me about this, I’m not goin’ to lie.” He bit his lip. “So… everythin’s okay, now we’ve to find out how and who.” Dean squeezed her hand gently. “You don’t have to be sorry.”

“You’re such a good boy,” she whispered, wrapping Dean in a tight hug. “I know Frank will catch every single person that hurt you and Sammy, Dean, I know he will.” Amelia stroked his hair and closed her eyes.

Dean nodded, tears falling down his cheeks. He bit his lip and hid his face against her neck. “Aunt Amy?” he whispered.

Amelia felt her heart clench when she heard him call her like that. “Yes, baby?”

“I love you,” he murmured, holding on tighter to her.

She let out a shaky breath and cupped the back of his head. “I love you too, son,” she whispered. “I love you too.”

Chapter Text

It was a cold, Friday night, at the beginning of November. Five years ago.

John Winchester was sitting in his car, he had just gotten out of work. The man was holding on to the steering wheel, looking at nothing in particular. He was pretty much gone, caught up in his head, thinking about his awful, boring life, his cheating wife. John was turning into the self-destructive kind of man, but the problem with him was that he pretended to take everyone with him. Well, not his Sammy. He wanted to keep his Sammy safe because his youngest son was amazing, he was a ray of sun in his awful, grey life.

John started the engine and drove off, to his favorite bar in town. He had met a weird doctor there and he had a dark, even weirder, friend. Both were from outside the country. Fergus ‘Crowley’ MacLeod and Alastair Heyerdahl. The latter had an awful accent, John found himself having a hard time understanding what the man was saying, most of the time. Once, Crowley told him that Alastair was Norwegian, while he was Scottish. John could understand Fergus just fine.

Soon after meeting them, John found out that Crowley was a doctor, one of those that did bad things instead of helping people.

“But what is it that you want to do, mate?” Fergus asked. “How far do you want to go?”

“I want to kill her,” he said. “She’s cheatin’ on me, she’s makin’ my life livin’ hell. Both her and her son.”

“Her son?” Alastair asked. “He’s not yours?”

“He is,” John said. “But I can’t even look at him, he’s exactly like her.”

“Well, alright,” Crowley said. “You can strangle her and I can make it pass like a heart attack or something like that. There won’t be a funeral or anything like that.”

John nodded.

“Who is she cheating on you with?” Alastair asked.

“My neighbor,” he muttered. “James Novak.”

“I can take care of him if you give me that beloved child of yours,” he smiled, dark and wicked.

John had to repress a shiver. “Why would you want a useless little shit like him?”

“I’m in need of a new toy, John,” he said. “Don’t worry. No one will hear from him anymore, he won’t see the sun again.”

“Alright. First you kill him, then you get Dean.”

“Good,” Alastair said. “When?”

“We will have to give it some time, a year or two, but the deal stands. You’ve my word.” John offered his hand for Alastair to shake, he was trading his son’s life for James’ life as if they both were only objects. As if James didn’t have a life, a child to look after.

Alastair shook his hand and nodded his goodbye, moving away from the table. He did not need to know much else from what Crowley and John were planning.

“Does she have a life insurance?” Fergus asked. He put his hands in his pockets, looking at John.

“Yeah,” he said. “Been payin’ for it since always.”

“I want that money,” he told him. “And I will keep my mouth shut.”

“It’s a deal then,” John murmured. He looked around and saw Aaron, the man smiled. “I will do it tonight.”

“See you tomorrow then, John,” Crowley said and stood. “You have my number.”

John gave him a nod and walked off, over to Aaron’s table.

Almost two days went away since Frank had brought John back to the precinct.

As expected, no one believed the man that went on and on about how Frank had planned it all and beaten the hell out of him, and Frank felt proud. Even when he knew he that was reaching too far. Donna had started mocking John every time she turned her back on him.

“What are you going to do today?” Donna asked Frank.

“I have to pick Amelia,” he said. “She agreed on going with me to get the results and hospital record on Mary Winchester.”

“You didn’t take her to see the body, did you?” she looked at him. “Because that’s creepy.”

“No, Donna,” he murmured. “I didn’t. I took Garth and he agreed with me, we believe she was strangled. The forensic is going to tell us if we were right or not.”

“And, in the meanwhile, you get to spend more time with Amelia, don’t you?”

“Donna, I will lock you in your office,” he looked at her.

“Good, go ahead. I’ll be happy to stay put, but answer my question.”

Frank sighed, exasperated. “She just needs someone, you know?”

“You want to be that someone.”

He opened his mouth to say something but smacked it closed, turning his back on her and getting out of the precinct.

“That means I’m right, Agent Castle!” Donna exclaimed.

Frank parked his car outside Amelia’s house. He sighed and just sat there for a moment, looking at the window. The agent could see the four of them, talking animatedly despite everything, he couldn’t help but smile a bit before getting out of the car and making his way to the door.

He knocked softly and waited, pushing his hands in his pockets.

It was Castiel that opened the door, the teen was looking better already. “Frank, hey,” he said and held a hand out to shake Frank’s.

Frank shook his head and tugged from him a bit, half hugging him as a greeting. “It’s good to see you’re getting better, boy,” he said.

“Yeah,” he smiled. “Dean’s been taking care of me. He… knows his way around these things,” he slowly lost his smile and pointed at his bruised face.

“I can imagine,” he murmured. Frank messed his hair up. “You rest up, okay?”

“Will do, sir,” he said softly. “I will go get mom, she said she’s going with you to the morgue.”

“She is,” he nodded. “How’s Dean?” Frank asked before he could leave.

“He’s doing… better too. Mom has been there for him, we try to keep him and Sammy distracted,” Cas pocketed his hands. “Sometimes it’s not as easy as it sounds but we do our best.”

“I bet you do,” Frank smiled and finally allowed Cas to walk inside and get Amelia.

The agent hadn’t set a foot inside the house since the night that everything started, and he preferred to keep it that way.

Amelia came out, smiling softly up at him. “Hi, Frank,” she said softly as she closed the door behind her back.

He returned a gentle smile. “You ready?” he asked.

“As ready as I am ever going to be,” she whispered. “We are… not going to see her body, right?”

“No,” Frank said. “And if that’s the case, you’re waiting for me outside. I am not going to put you through that.”

“Thank you,” she said softly and reached for his arm, squeezing gently, before walking away and getting into the car.

Frank smiled and bit the inside of his cheek, climbing inside his Mustang and driving off soon after. He looked at her two or three times throughout the whole ride, not being able to help himself.

Amy kept her eyes on the road, distractedly playing with her hands. It was obvious that she was nervous.

Castle moved a hand away from the wheel and placed it over hers, immediately earning her attention. “It’s not as hard as it sounds, I promise. We are just going to check a bunch of papers and listen to a man speak with terms we won’t understand.”

Amelia smiled a little and held on to his hand. “It’s just… I have a bad feeling,” she whispered. “About it all, about finding out who helped that monster with this,” Amy looked down. “What if there’s more to it, Frank?”

“If there is, I will be right there backing you up and taking care of everything,” he said. He squeezed her hand reassuringly.

She let out a shaky breath and nodded, not letting go of his hand. Amelia needed the support.

“Amelia,” Frank said. “Look at me.”

Amy hesitated for a moment but she did, meeting his dark eyes.

“It’s going to be over soon, okay? Just hang in there a little longer,” he stroked the inside of her wrist.

Amelia nodded and looked back at the road, trying to relax.

Chapter Text

Doctor Marvin Armstrong was there waiting for Amelia and Frank. He was holding a stack of papers with all the information that Agent Castle had asked him to retrieve. Marvin moved, covering Mary Winchester’s corpse with a white sheet and got out of that room, walking towards his office. Frank had mentioned going with a woman and not wanting her to see her friend’s body.

Frank knocked on Doctor Armstrong’s office and waited, he hated the smell of morgues, or hospitals for that matter. The clean scent, the overuse of antiseptic, it made Frank nauseous and uneasy.

Amelia bit her lip and took Frank’s hand again. She wasn’t nauseous, she felt anxious, nervous. Really nervous. Amy couldn’t push away the feeling in her gut, she knew it was matter of time for everything to go sideways and be even worse.

When Frank squeezed her hand and brought her a bit closer, Marvin spoke. “Come on in,” he said.

“It’s going to be alright,” he whispered and pushed the door open, walking in with her close behind. “Morning, Doctor Armstrong,” Frank said, trying show a cool demeanor.

“Nice to finally meet you, Agent Castle,” he gave him a curt nod. “Mrs. Novak,” he smiled a little. “Please, take a seat.”

Amelia returned the nod, feeling out of place but she sat beside Frank, not letting go of his hand for even a second.

“What do you have for us?” Frank asked.

“Yes,” he said and placed the stack of papers before him. Marvin didn’t need to read anything, the information was already in his head. “Okay, so, the doctor that was chosen to treat the case and with the family was Doctor Fergus MacLeod,” he started. “He had no team at the time, we weren’t taking internships.”

Castle couldn’t help but pick up on the familiarity in Armstrong’s voice, he knew the man. “You knew him,” he said. “You met the man.”

“I did,” he nodded slowly. “We worked together on one patient only.”

Amelia bit her lip. “And what did you think of him?”

“Well,” Marvin looked at her. “He was a bit weird, but we all are in our own ways so I didn’t think much of it. I mean, he didn’t seem like the kind of weird that would pass a woman as if she had had a heart attack when she had actually been strangled, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Amy looked down and moved, lacing her fingers with Frank’s as she retreated again, going back to feeling out of place.

“Points for touch, doc,” Frank murmured. He sighed and moved his chair closer to her. “So it is what we thought.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Marvin said softly and glanced at the agent. “It is. Fergus did what you say he did.”

“Where is he now?” Agent Castle asked.

“He left us some months after he treated that woman. I didn’t have contact with him out of the hospital so I can’t help you with a number or an address, but I’m sure you can do that.”

“Yes, of course,” Frank said and looked at Amelia. “There’s not much more for us to do here, Amelia, let’s go.”

Marvin looked between them. “Are you going to search for MacLeod now?”

“Yeah,” the agent looked back at him. “I have a few questions for him. Thank you for your time, Doctor,” he told him and stood up, taking Amelia with him.

“Bye,” Amy whispered and followed him, not letting much space between them.

Frank led her out of Marvin’s office and out of the morgue because he couldn’t stand that place anymore. “Amelia,” he said, trying to get her to look at him. “Amelia, you knew this. You knew he had murdered her.”

“I didn’t know how,” she murmured, not looking up at Frank. “I didn’t know who had covered him.” Amelia ran her hands through her hair and moved away, pacing.

The agent took her by her arm and brought her closer to him. “Calm down,” he whispered. “Amy, calm down. Breathe.” Frank cupped her cheeks, making her look up. “We will catch him, okay? He was way too confident about not being caught, he left a lot for us to hold on to,” he looked into her eyes. “I won’t walk away from this case until I have this man behind bars, where he belongs.”

Amelia let out a shaky breath and sneaked out of his grip, into his arms. This time she did hug him, holding on from his torso for dear life.

Frank placed a kiss on her temple and stroked the back of her head. “I’ve got you, Amy,” he whispered. He closed his eyes and held her against his chest. “It’s going to be okay.”

Dean sat down with Sam over his legs, holding the kid close to his chest.

Sammy was holding on the remote, looking for something to watch until Cas walked into the room, holding a bag of sweets. “Candy!” Sam beamed and let go of the remote, shifting in Dean’s legs to look at Castiel.

“I knew you would love it,” he said and placed the bag between the kid’s knees. “Don’t eat the whole bag, okay? Your tummy will hate you if you do.”

Sam nodded, enthusiastic and took the first candy, popping it into his mouth before leaning his head against Dean’s chest, over his heart.

“Thanks,” Dean said softly and reached for Cas’ hand. “Really.”

“Nothing to thank me for,” Cas whispered and leaned, kissing his cheek softly.

Dean closed his eyes and tugged a bit from him. “I want to,” he whispered, returning a soft kiss.

“You’re welcome, then, Dean,” he whispered back.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, stroking Cas’ knuckles.

“Good,” he said. “I’m good, it hurts but not as much as some days ago,” Castiel pressed his forehead to the side of Dean’s head. “You’ve been taking really good care of me.”

“That’s what you do for the ones you love, isn’t it?” he asked, eyes still closed.

Cas moved back and frowned a bit, he moved a hand up to cup Dean’s chin and make him look at him. “Dean?” he questioned, puzzled. “Did you just…?”

“I love you, Cas,” Dean said softly.

Sam smiled softly but didn’t move much, he felt really happy for his brother.

Castiel let out a breathy laugh and kissed him softly, cupping his cheek. He pulled back and closed his eyes, leaning into him again. “I love you too, Dean,” he whispered, stroking his cheek.

Dean leaned into Cas’ hand and kissed his palm before smiling at him. “Thank you, Cas,” he murmured. “For everything you’ve done for us, for me.” He was completely relaxed and calm for the first time in years, he hid his face in Castiel’s neck and felt his brother shift in his arms, hiding as well as he hugged them both.

“I have a family now?” Sammy asked, voice soft and small.

“You never stopped, baby brother,” Dean looked down at him and stroked his hair.

Cas tilted his head down and kissed Sam’s. “Now’s only legal, Sammy,” he whispered.

The kid beamed and squeezed them, not moving an inch.

Crowley sighed, exasperated, when yet another client closed the door on his face. He was starting to get mad.

“Do I have to threaten you with hurting your family for you to react, Emmanuel?” he asked, lowering his voice, trying to sound dangerous. “I know where your daughters go to school, I know where your wife works. I know your nanny’s name.” Fergus clenched his jaw. “Open the damn door and give me the money!”

Emmanuel opened the door, holding a shoe box. “Please, just take the money and leave. Tell Mr. Roman that I did it as fast as I could, it won’t happen again.”

Crowley took the box and patted his cheek. “I’m sure it won’t, mate,” he said. “But luckily for you, it’s not me who takes care of that. Hope you have a nice day,” he smiled half heartedly and walked away, back to his car.

Fergus MacLeod, a.k.a. Crowley. The man was a huge asshat. Too confident about himself for his own good. He wasn’t reckless, Fergus wasn’t stupid, but he did think of himself as one of the best, if not the best. He was guilty of many, many things. Faking the causes of people’s deaths was one of them, and it was the one that he held higher.

Even though, he led a quiet life terrorizing people and threatening them with hurting their families in order to get the money they owned, and then take it to his boss. Dick Roman. Crowley didn’t get his hands dirty in this job, he was the visible face - yes. But he wasn’t the one that beat up people after they paid, just to make them understand that Mr. Roman (and Mr. MacLeod) were not to mess with.