Summary: AU. It started when their mother died. The brothers hated Castiel because their mother died when she was giving birth to him. He turns to Gabriel but he just stands by and watches. Dean Winchester, however, can't just watch anymore. Please R&R!

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or its characters.

A/N: I started crying several times writing this chapter. This is a request fic for LOSTrocker, who is also writing a fic for me in return.

Hope you all enjoy and by the way, the Novak brothers are complete bastards.

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I'll Stand By You

-One-

Gabriel winced as Lucifer yelled another mouthful of abuse at eighteen year old Castiel who just sat with his head bowed, trying not to let the second oldest Novak see that he was in tears. He looked as though he was in prayer and Gabriel often wondered if that's what he did when their brothers were hurting him.

"You're fucking pathetic, Castiel!" Lucifer spat, "So you got an A in your history assignment, big deal. The world doesn't stop just because baby Castiel got an A."

Castiel stood up and glared tearfully at his brother before grabbing his jacket and leaving the house, breaking into sobs as he headed towards his boyfriend's house. Dean Winchester was the only one keeping Castiel going. If the youngest Novak was honest, Dean was his only lifeline. He knocked desperately on his secret boyfriend's front door, shivering as the cold February air wrapped around him tightly. Dean's family knew about them and they welcomed Castiel with open arms. He hoped that Dean was at home right now, hoped and prayed so hard. That was when the door opened and Dean was on the other side, immediately concerned by Castiel's tears.

"Cas?"

Castiel flew into Dean's arms and just sobbed heavily into his shoulder, Dean cradling him close and closing his eyes as his lover was reduced to mere whimpers.

"Come upstairs, baby..." He whispered, "No-one's home; it's just us..."

He led his distraught boyfriend inside and closed the door, the two heading upstairs to Dean's room and settling on the bed, Castiel still being cradled in Dean's embrace. Dean hated to see Castiel cry. He didn't cry that often so whatever had happened must've been bad. He told Dean the story; told him what his brothers had said.

"Oh my God..." Dean breathed, "Lucifer actually said that to you?"

Castiel nodded and bowed his head, shame flushing his face which sent pain rushing through Dean's chest.

"Dean?" Castiel asked, "I'm...I'm not pathetic am I?"

"Of course you aren't." Dean whispered, cupping Castiel's face gently in his hands, "Cas, you're amazing, okay? You're gentle, sweet, shy and you're fucking beautiful. You're wonderful and don't let anyone tell you any different."

"Dean..." Castiel began, stopping as more tears filled his eyes before he took a deep breath, "Dean...they hate me..."

"They don't, babe..." Dean said softly, "They can't hate you, angel, you're their brother..."

"They hate me because...it was my fault Mom died..." Castiel cried, "She died because of me."

"She didn't." Dean replied, fighting back tears at his boyfriend's upset, "It wasn't your fault, Cas...nothing's your fault..."

Looking up at Dean, Castiel let a tear fall down his face, only for Dean to cup his cheek again and wipe it away.

"She died because there was a problem with her heart..." The older boy said softly, "Cas, she died because she had a heart attack...you didn't cause a heart attack. You can't cause a heart attack, okay? Your mom...she was sick long before she got pregnant with you..."

"But...my birth caused the heart attack..." Castiel sobbed, "She...I was causing distress because of the cord around my neck..."

"Oh, Cas..." Dean breathed, running his hands into his boyfriend's hair and stroking his head soothingly, "You are not to blame for your mother's death...no matter what the others say. Got it?"

Castiel nodded, Dean smiling gently and pulling him close for a hug. They shared a tender kiss and lay down on Dean's bed, kicking their shoes and socks off before sharing deeper kisses.

"Dean...?"

"Yeah, Cas?"

"Thank you."

I love you.

Mary looked at her oldest son as he sat on his bed with tears in his eyes, one hand over his mouth as he sat deep in thought about something. She wished she knew what was troubling him and she decided to ask. Maybe Dean needed a shoulder to cry on. She knocked on the door, her beautiful son looking up at her with tears escaping his eyes finally, the poor boy unable to hold them in anymore.

"What's the matter, sweetie?" She asked, closing his bedroom door and sitting beside him, stroking his hair and grimacing as he just rested his head on her shoulder with a defeated look on his face.

"Cas." He replied, "His brothers keep blaming him for their mother dying..."

"Oh, honey." Mary whispered, kissing her son's head.

"They shout abuse at him for no reason..." Dean continued, "Like...tonight, Lucifer called him f-ing pathetic and then told him that it wasn't a big deal that he got an A in his history assignment. He told him that the world didn't stop because 'baby Castiel got an A'."

Mary tutted and sighed, holding her son close.

"And Cas turned up on our doorstep tonight, Mom..." Dean breathed, "He turned up crying his eyes out...blaming himself for the fact that his mother died giving birth to him. He thinks it's his fault that she had a heart attack because of the cord being around his neck."

"But...that's not his fault..." Mary breathed, "I delivered that boy, I know it wasn't his fault..."

That was true. Mary had delivered Castiel. She had been twenty at the time and had given birth to Dean just three months before. She'd offered herself to be on call that week and had ended up having to go in and she delivered her son's boyfriend. Of course it wasn't his fault that the cord got wrapped around his neck. It wasn't his fault that his mother had a heart attack almost as soon as he was born. It had just happened and all of the Novak family seemed to look upon that little boy with hate. His father had always loved him. His father had fed, cradled, bathed, clothed and loved that child ever since, and he was unaware of what went off at home, simply because it happened when he was out or away on business and Castiel just wasn't brave enough to tell him.

Mary had once heard one of the adopted children, Uriel, lean down to Castiel's ear before the little boy went into kindergarten for his first visit and told him he hoped that he drowned in the water tray. She'd been utterly shocked and luckily, Castiel's father had heard. He told Uriel off good and proper for that one while poor little Castiel had run away. The three year old had hidden away behind a tree away from everyone and just cried. It wasn't too hard to find him when they heard his sobs and screams coming from where he had ended up laying down. His father had cried too on that day and promised his little boy it was alright, that Uriel was just being mean and didn't mean what he'd said. Castiel ended up not going to kindergarten that day.

Dean remembered the first day that he and Castiel started elementary school. He remembered the way one of the older kids had come up to him in the playground and called him a Mommy killer. Castiel had sat crying for his father in the Principal's office for an hour until his father came to pick him up. Dean had been sat with him for the whole hour and he remembered as if it was yesterday the way Castiel had being crying 'Papa' over and over again when his dad lifted him into his arms and cuddled him close.

That man had done nothing but love that boy so much. But the brothers were just so...evil. They'd grown worse as time had gone on. On Castiel's first day of high school, Dean had seen his friend get beaten to a pulp because some of the kids had found out that he was a smart, shy kid. They'd found out he didn't like sports and that he preferred to learn about science and history and had beaten him up for it behind the bike-sheds. Dean had watched the smirks on Michael and Lucifer's faces, heard the laughter coming from Raphael and Uriel. It had made him physically sick.

Mother and son were snapped out of their thoughts when John burst through the bedroom door.

"Mary, I'm gonna need you down here..." He breathed, "Dean, you stay here."

"What?" Dean asked, "Dad, what's wrong?"

"Dean, just don't come downstairs, okay?" John said sternly, "Please...not until I come and get you..."

"John?" Mary asked, John beckoning her desperately.

"Dad, what's happening?" Dean asked, Mary and John closing the door behind them as they left.

He was panicking now, and decided to ignore his father. What if it was Sam? What if it was Castiel? He edged downstairs, his stomach lurching when he saw a pool of blood on the floor. He moved towards the sound of his parents' panicking voices, stopping in his tracks when he saw them in the living room. He suddenly understood why they wanted him upstairs and part of him wished he hadn't come down.

Castiel was laying in Mary's arms, pale, shivering and bleeding. He'd been stabbed.

-TBC-

Hope you enjoyed!

Thanks for reading!

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