Chapter 1 - Hello, let's be friends

"Do you think it's a good idea?" Sam asked as he glanced at Dr. Novak.

The psychiatrist let out a long sigh and shrugged. "Dr. Crowley will explain it once he arrives. But trust me, Mr. Winchester, some company will be good for your brother," he said honestly. "Here he won't get alcohol so the first couple of days or weeks might be hard for him."

Sam nodded, knowing well enough what it meant. For the biggest part of his life it had been Dean who looked out for him and now, even if it broke his heart, it was his turn. The panic attacks, the irrational fear, the nightmares and the developing alcoholism was becoming way too much to handle alone. They were all alone now and this thought always returned to remind him of what had happened.

Making Dean stay in a private psychiatric hospital for a while was one of the best options and even Bobby agreed. Their father's life insurance made it possible to pay for this, but it was worth every cent and he knew it. Dean deserved it, proper help at a good place like this, not a dirty and messy hospital where they didn't exactly care about the patients.

Now they were waiting for the other doctor to come in and tell them more about that certain patient. A few minutes later there was a soft knock on the door, followed by a creaking sound. The quite short man didn't wear a white coat over his suit and looked more like a businessman to Sam. His looks, however, didn't matter to Sam; all he cared about was whether or not he was good at his job. The doctor nodded and walked next to his colleague.

"You must be Dean's brother," he spoke up, his accent making him obviously British. "I'm Dr. Roderick Crowley. Sorry for keeping you waiting so long but I had to talk to Clara," he explained with an apologetic smile.

"Clara?" Sam asked, confused by the unknown name.

"She's my patient and I asked her to help your brother for a while. Clara is an unbelievably clever young lady who's slowly getting better and better. I have a feeling they will get along."

Sam bit his lower lip and frowned at him. It didn't exactly made sense to him, but he was studying to become a lawyer, not a doctor. This is why he asked, "If she's so clever why is she here?"

"This is something I can't talk about."

Dr. Novak cleared his throat before they could change the subject. "We are trying to find an alternative way to help your brother," he said. "Most of the relatives and patients are against the usage of medication but there are only a very few cases when we can leave it."

"So you think my brother's is one of those few cases?"

"Exactly."

Once again he nodded. Hopefully this would work and Dean wouldn't have to be drugged. After he said goodbye to his brother, Sam sat in the Impala and just kept staring ahead. He felt bad, as if he had just done something horrible to Dean, leaving him behind in a place like this. Was he really in such a bad state? What if a psychologist and some therapy could do the same thing without him being locked up here?

But Dean agreed. Hell, even Bobby agreed, who had been helping them so much since their father's death and even long before that. Sam rested his forehead against the steering wheel, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. It's perfectly normal to feel this way, he tried to calm himself. Long minutes passed but he still couldn't get himself to start the engine and leave the parking lot so he pulled out his phone from his pocket and called Bobby.

After only a few rings he answered. "Hey, it's Sam... Yeah, he's fine and the doctor seemed pretty cool as well... No, he said they will try to find a way not to use meds until it becomes absolutely necessary... At least two weeks from now, we can't visit him sooner. They said he has to get used to this environment, so no calls and no visits until then... Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought, too, but if it helps Dean getting better, I won't argue with him. Sure, bye," he said and put it back in his pocket.

He felt a bit better now. Not all that good, but it was pretty close to normal. They did this for Dean. It was either this or something worse later on, so it shouldn't make him feel bad about his decision. Then why did it feel so wrong? Did it mean he betrayed Dean, or what?

Since there was no answer for these questions, Sam let out a tired sigh and turned to key to start the engine. Approximately two weeks. It wasn't such a long time and after that they would see what Dean had to say.

Deep inside Dean knew that Sam had been right when he decided to bring him here. The last couple of months had been tough for both of them but he was just about to hit the bottom and letting his little brother take care of him as well was something he didn't want to happen. Staying here was the best solution; probably the doctors would even find a way to help him get through this soon. He pulled out a clean shirt and sweatpants then changed into them, ready to finally take a walk around the place.

Sam had left so now it was time to discover the hospital and get to know the other patients. Maybe he would even find some people who weren't full-on crazy. On the way to the main room Dean walked down a few hallways, seeing patients wandering aimlessly without acknowledging the others' presence as if they were completely alone in the building. There was even an older woman who completely ignored the nurse who was talking to her by simply turning her back and walking away.

He wondered if they were acting like this because of the drugs they were taking, if those were the reasons why they walked around like zombies in a lame horror movie. Will I turn into this in a few days? Dean thought about it but couldn't decide if getting rid of the panic attack was worth this kind of life. Still, being completely oblivious to reality might even be a good thing.

The main room, just like the entire building, was surprisingly bright and elegant. Well, after all, it was a private hospital they could only afford because of their father's life insurance money. Looking around he found an empty table right next to a window so he went over there and sat down, opening the book he had picked up back in his room. It was The Shining from Stephen King, the one he had read so many times in the past that a couple of the pages already fell out and were now put back where they belonged.

Dean loved the movie but preferred the novel anyway. All the little details and scenes that had been either left out from the movie or were simply changed. Right on the first blank page he found a short message from Sam who had given him the book as a present a long time ago: "Merry Christmas, Jerk. Sammy". He smiled as he turned a few pages until he reached the beginning of part one.

"Hello," a girl said with a wide, friendly smile on her face as she sat down across from him a few minutes later. "You're the new guy, right? I'm Clara."

He closed the book and put it on the table, looking over at the girl. She was probably in her early twenties and looked really fragile, but her warm brown eyes radiated a kind of confidence he envied at the moment. "Dean," he finally said with a nod. He couldn't get himself to smile. Hell, he even had a problem having this conversation with a stranger.

She rested her forearms on the table as she kept eye contact with him. "So why are you here?" she asked eagerly.

"I don't really feel like talking about it," he replied, shaking his head.

"Come on, finally there's someone I can talk to as some kind of a mentor," Clara insisted as she reached over for his book.

Dean grabbed the book and pulled it away so she couldn't take it away from him. When she rolled her eyes, he asked, "What kind of mentor?"

"My doc said I'm getting better, you know, therapy and meds," she explained quickly, "so now I can help other patients during the day. Well, when I say help, I mean I came up with the idea and he didn't say no. Or yes, for that matter," Clara added honestly.

"Are you British?" he asked after letting out a tired sigh.

The girl gave him a weird look. "Does it matter?"

"No."

"Good," she said brightly. "But the answer is yes. So who brought you here?"

"My brother."

"You don't look particularly insane to me," she noted, slightly tilting her head to the side.

Dean let out a heartfelt laugh at this statement. Insanity wasn't only about drooling all the time or being delusional. He thought about what to say now, if he should trust her and tell her the truth but in the end he didn't have to think for long because all of sudden he started talking. "I'm not insane; not in that sense. Ever since my dad died I have these panic attacks and nightmares, I can barely sleep and I have a little problem with alcohol as well. Oh, and trusting people."

"Wow," was all she said at first while leaning back against the chair with her hands behind her neck. "That was honest," she added with a small smile.

Clara looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds, staring at a dirty little spot just above Dean. He glanced up as well to see what it was but soon a hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his thought, dragging him back to reality. His heart was still racing from the fright as he turned his head towards the guy standing next to him. His eyes were bright blue, a shade that matched his dark brown hair perfectly.

For a few moments he was staring down at Dean without saying a word then he pulled away his hand and rubbed his unshaven chin. "Don't blink," he finally said, his voice sounding surprisingly deep and serious.

"What?"

"Don't blink," he repeated. "Blink and you're dead."

Dean raised his eyebrows and looked over at Clara. "What the hell is this guy talking about?" he asked.

The girl smiled at him as she held up her index finger and turned to the man. "I swear I won't blink, I won't turn my back and I won't look away, Cas," she said reassuringly.

It seemed like they had been through this conversation like millions of times before and he had a feeling he would have to get used to it as well.

The man, whose name according to Clara was Cas, sat slid next to her. "Good. It wouldn't be good to lose an ally," he said seriously before pointing at Dean. "Who is he?"

Clara opened her mouth to answer the question, but Dean was faster and extended his hand over the table. "I'm Dean," he introduced himself. It was strange how easily it went; for the first time in weeks he didn't hesitate to shake hands with someone. For a really short second he even had a feeling he had just found friends.

"I'm Castiel," the man replied, shaking his hand.

"What kind of name is that?"

It was Clara who answered since Cas only bit his lower lip at this. "His name is actually Jimmy. Jimmy Novak, but he prefers Castiel," she explained.

Novak. He had heard this name not so long ago. After giving it some thought, it occurred to Dean where: his doctor here, in the hospital. "Are you a relative of Dr. Novak?" he asked since this surname seemed pretty rare to him.

"You mean Lucifer?" he asked through gritted teeth. "Sadly, yes. He's my brother."

Author's note: Hello. There's something you have to know about this story. We had a conversation with a friend of mine, Rory. In the end we agreed to write a fanfiction in the Supernatural fandom that takes place in a psychiatric hospital and we call this project "Asylum". She will write her own version and obviously I'll write mine. This is an AU and also a SuperWho story.

Anyway, what do you think so far?