Summary: A few months after the events of Mistakes We Make, Castiel receives a phone call that sends him into a downward spiral, returning to alcohol and pills in an effort to forget. While Gabriel tries to keep Cas from self-destructing, Dean and Sam receive information on John's death that threatens tear the threesome apart again.

A/N: Yup, gave in and started on the sequel. And this time it's not even Speedfanatic's fault! Wow. This one will probably be around half the length of Mistakes, with two distinct plotlines to resolve. Of course it may grow longer, I'm not going to restrict myself.

Warnings: Drug use, mentions of psychological abuse, sexual references, angst (in case you couldn't tell from the previous story, and the title).

-WAFD-

Castiel stared at the computer screen. He just couldn't believe what he was seeing, couldn't believe the article he'd just read. Baldur had forwarded the link to them, not realising the effect it was going to have on Castiel.

Lucian had been elected mayor of the town he'd settled in.

His breath was coming in short pants, and Castiel could feel the panic starting to settle in. He'd been edgy where his older brother was concerned for years, the mere mention of him often enough to send Castiel into a downward spiral. If he'd done so well, won such a big election…

The phone rang, and Cas closed his eyes, knowing who it was and considering not answering. But then he'd just leave a message on the machine, and then Gabriel would hear it. He couldn't let that happen. He'd never told Gabriel just how bad things had gotten at home.

"…Hello," he whispered into the receiver, voice and hand both shaking.

"Hey, little brother," Lucian's smooth voice came down the line. "Heard the big news?"

"Yeah. You… you've done well for yourself."

"Mmhm. And you're still unemployed, uneducated, sponging off of Gabriel and Dean."

"…Yes." Castiel felt his throat tighten. It was going to be bad this time.

"So tell me, how does it feel to know that you couldn't even keep hold of your boyfriend? Knowing that he's been through hundreds of other men and women, spreading his legs for money, much as you did for drugs?"

"Stop it." His voice cracked, and the tears started gathering.

"Hmm, no, I don't think I will. I've made something of myself, even after you tried to destroy our family. Michael's been promoted to major, and I hear he's thinking of proposing to his girlfriend. And even Gabriel's doing well, climbing the corporate ladder. You, however… you are nothing, and always will be."

"Lucian, please…" Castiel heard his brother laugh, even as he started to cry, almost silently.

"You're pathetic. A wreck of a human. Mum should have just aborted you."

He couldn't speak any more, the sobs coming faster.

"Well, I'd love to chat some more, but I've got a press conference to attend. I'll call you again."

With that, Lucian hung up the phone. Castiel hung up as well, then sank to the floor, leaning against the wall as he let the tears flow. This happened every time something went well in Lucian's life, or he found out about something particularly bad in Castiel's.

Feeling the bile start to rise, Castiel stumbled to the bathroom, barely making it in time to empty his stomach into the toilet. He hated himself for being this weak, for letting Lucian get to him like this, but he couldn't help it. Couldn't resist the power Lucian would always hold over him.

He flushed the toilet once he was sure that he'd finished, and made his way back to the kitchen. All he wanted to do was forget, and neither Dean nor Gabriel was at home to help him.

The first thing to get consumed was the six-pack of beer in the fridge. He hoped that if he got drunk quickly enough, he wouldn't do anything else, wouldn't go any farther. But part of him knew it was hopeless.

Cas was hopeless. He was twenty six years old, and he couldn't even hold down a job. He'd failed his accounting course, having spent too much time with Dean and Gabriel, not enough time studying. He didn't contribute anything to the house, other than his body at nights. Hell, the others probably wouldn't care if he wasn't there anymore. Then at least they could go out in public, claim each other as a loving couple.

The beer was gone, and he was still conscious. He glanced at the clock, and saw that someone should be home soon. He stumbled to the front room, falling down a couple of times, then sat heavily by the window, watching for one of his lovers to come back and help him.

Then he remembered – Gabriel wasn't going to be home until late, there was this big event that he was helping to run. And Dean was going to be at least another hour, the mechanic where he'd found work was always busy the week before a public holiday.

Which meant there was nothing to distract him, nothing to keep his mind focused.

Nothing to stop him from doing something really stupid.

Castiel tried to get up again, but couldn't keep his balance. So instead he crawled into the office, and dug into the bin. Some girl at a party last week had slipped the bag of pills into his pocket, and he'd thrown them out as soon as he got home, determined to be strong and ignore the call. Now, however, they were just what he needed.

Shaking a little, he opened the bag and swallowed one of his little pink friends, welcoming the nothingness that fizzed away all his concerns as he curled up on the floor.

-WAFD-

Hands are pulling at him, and there are raised voices. He thinks that he knows one, has heard it before, and he leans up to grab at it. He can feel skin under his hands, there's a person there, and he manages to drag them down into a kiss. He's been wanting this ever since everything else faded, has been hard and aching for someone, anyone.

The person is pushing him away, and he feels something drip onto his face. The voice is screaming now, and he's pushed to the floor. He whimpers, trying to reach out again, but there's nothing there anymore.

Then there's someone near again, and he manages to pull them off balance so that they're on top of him. He moans as he feels pressure against his groin, and arches up into the person. His legs are spread wide, he wants something, anything to relieve the tension curling inside of him.

There's movement above him, and he feels the drip again. He sticks his tongue out, licks at the drops, and they're salty. Sadness, they taste like sadness, and he whimpers again, arching again to try and make the person happy. He tries to speak, to beg, but words have gone again.

His hands are pinned to the ground, and he can hear The Voice again, the one that always calms him when this happens. And the fact that he recognises it means that he's starting to come out of it, he doesn't want to go back, he wants to stay like this forever. But he does recognise it, and soon he can hear the words properly, and they make him feel sad and useless.

"You promised me, Cas. You promised never again!"

Cas, he's Cas, and The Voice is Gabby. He starts to cry as it all comes flowing back, and he knows he's been lying here too long, because he remembers how to work his voice.

"I'm sorry," he sobs, voice harsh and broken. "I'm so sorry."

-WAFD-

Gabriel had felt unwell, unable to concentrate, and so had left the party early. It would be just fine without him, there were enough other employees there that they wouldn't miss him. Besides, he'd been wanting to spend some quality time training Toffee. They'd been kicked out of one training class, he wanted to get the basics down before trying at another.

He didn't see the Impala when he got home, but that wasn't really news. Dean was probably still at work. He'd been working late all week, which was good on the money front. Since Castiel still couldn't hold down a job for more than a month, the other two had to work hard to pick up the slack. Not that he really minded – it was nice to have someone at home, doing the general housework and gardening. Cas had an impressive vegetable garden set up in the front yard, where Toffee couldn't dig it up, and Dean was pleased to be able to use fresh veggies in his cooking.

Letting himself in, Gabriel wondered at the lack of lights. Maybe Castiel was already asleep… although that only happened when his little brother was ill. He caught sight of Cas' laptop sitting on the dining table, and wandered over to have a look. When he saw the article still open, he froze.

Shit.

Gabriel wasn't an idiot. He'd noticed that in the past, every time Cas had gone into a tailspin, it had been preceded by news of their older brother. Quickly going into the kitchen, his fears were confirmed when he saw the six empty beer bottles lying on the floor.

He ran from room to room then, frantically looking for his little brother and trying to remember what was in the house. Was there anything stronger than beer?

When he got to the office, he froze, heart clenching. He'd seen Castiel throw something in the bin after they got home from a party last week. At the time, he'd thought it was just a random chick's phone number, and had forgotten about it pretty quickly. Now, though…

Castiel was lying on his side, curled up and purring. One hand was clutching at a bag of pills, and Gabriel felt sick to his stomach.

"Cas… what have you done?" He whispered, already knowing the answer. He heard the front door close, and Dean stumbling in the dark before flipping on the light.

"Anyone home?" The deep voice called out.

"Dean, help me!" Gabriel shouted back, falling to his knees beside Castiel. He tried to get Cas to sit up, even as he heard Dean pounding down the hall towards them.

"What… holy shit, is he okay?"

"No," Gabriel choked out, before Cas managed to grab him back and kiss him. Gabriel could feel himself start to cry as he recognised the symptoms. He pushed Cas away and started screaming at him, wanting to hit him, only he couldn't because Dean was kneeling behind him, arms wrapped around him to keep him away from their lover.

"He's used again," Gabriel screamed, hating Castiel in that moment. "He fucking promised me!"

"I know, I know," Dean was trying to calm him down, but he didn't know what to do. He'd never been there before when Castiel gave in to an addiction, and it was unsettling to see his lover lying on the ground, making little movements as though trying to reach out to them. A movement of Castiel's hips brought attention to the fact that he was rather aroused by whatever it was he'd taken.

Dean loosened his grip on Gabriel when the older man stopped struggling so much, and they both moved closer to Castiel. Gabriel reached out to his brother, only to be pulled down so that he was lying on top of Cas. The younger man moaned and pressed his groin up, spreading his legs and trying to wrap them around Gabriel's.

Horrified, Dean watched as a tear fell from Gabriel's face down onto Castiel's, and Cas licked it up. Castiel whimpered then, arching his back and trying to rub against Gabriel. He'd opened his mouth, apparently trying to speak, but the noises weren't forming proper words, and instead he reached up again, managing to grab Gabriel's neck in an attempt to drag his brother in for another kiss.

"Cas, stop it!" Gabriel begged. "You know I hate it when you're like this, please, I never want to see you like this."

Dean gently reached out and grabbed Castiel's hands, pinning them to the ground. It was the only thing he could think of to do, to try and help Gabriel out. In truth, he was getting turned on a little by the way Castiel seemed so desperate for physical attention – if it weren't for the fact that Gabriel was so upset, and Cas didn't actually seem to recognise them, then Dean would have been encouraging them both to get undressed.

"You promised me, Cas," Gabriel pleads, heart breaking as he saw the signs of his brother coming out of his drug-induced haze. "You promised never again!"

With that, Castiel started crying and shaking uncontrollably, and Gabriel knew that he was back.

"I'm sorry," Castiel spoke around his gasps for air, closing his eyes and trying to curl into a ball. "I'm so sorry."

"Cas, talk to me," Gabriel leaned down and nuzzled his neck. "What happened? Why did you take it?"

But Castiel was beyond reach again, this time lost in grief instead of drugs, and Gabriel couldn't get any response other than the repeated apologies.

"Come on," Dean managed to lift Castiel in his arms and started carrying him towards the bedroom. "Let's get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning."

Gabriel followed slowly, heart breaking with each step. He knew that Cas wouldn't talk to them in the morning, or possibly ever. He'd never opened up to Gabriel about the deeper reasons behind his addictions, and he didn't think that even Dean could get through to Castiel this time.

They didn't bother undressing, just removed their shoes and crawled under the cover, Castiel held tight by both of his lovers.