Summary: AU. Dean and Castiel are teenage lovers but both come face to face with a fair few problems because of their sexuality. PLEASE REVIEW!

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

Pairing: Dean/Castiel.

Keep Me Strong

Chapter Four: Keep Me Safe

Castiel moved to the door. Someone was ringing the bell way too much and it was getting on his nerves. He opened the door and saw Dean resting against the frame, his right eye black and his lip swollen and bleeding. In his hands he clutched a shoebox.

"Dean?" Castiel asked, panicked, "Oh my God…get in here!"

He pulled Dean through the door just as Gabriel came into the living room with a bottle of beer in hand. He put it straight on the coffee table and moved to the door.

"Damn…" He gasped, "What the hell happened, Dean?"

"Dad found out…" Dean replied, coughing and leaning on Castiel.

Castiel gasped and his blue eyes widened.

"John did this to you?" Castiel asked, trying to keep Dean steady.

"Right I'm calling the cops." Gabriel began, shocked when Dean grabbed his arm.

"No! I don't want anything to happen to Sam!"

Gabriel shot him a look and everyone blinked when Dean's phone went off.

"Oh God…" Dean breathed answering the phone.

"Dean!" Sam cried down the phone, "Can you come and get me, please?"

"Sammy, what's happened?" Dean asked, his heart thundering in his chest as he heard the fear in his brother's voice.

"I'm locked in my room." Sam sobbed, "He hit me."

Anger flooded Dean's system as he heard those words.

"Sit tight, Sammy. I'm coming for you, Little Man!" Dean said, "Hold on, Buddy!"

He hung up and passed the box to Castiel.

"Keep that safe, Castiel." Dean whispered, "I'm going back for Sam."

"What's happened?" Gabriel asked, taking in Dean's anger and fear.

"He's hit Sam." Dean answered.

"Right, go and get him and you guys can stay here with us."

"Thanks, Gabriel." Dean whispered, earning a nod in response from Gabriel.

"Let me come with you!" Castiel pleaded.

"NO! No, he's not hurting you too!" Dean protested, kissing Castiel's lips before grabbing his keys.

"At least let me come with you." Gabriel said, "If he gets too much I'll deal with him, and then I'm calling the cops."

Dean nodded and the two of them headed back to the Winchester house.

Dean burst through the door and straight to Sam's room. He knocked on the door and called to his brother.

"Sammy, it's Dean," he said softly, "Come on, get your stuff."

Sam opened the door and Dean slipped through, closing it and locking it before hugging his brother. The poor kid had a black eye, his face streaked with tears as he gripped onto Dean tightly.

"Why'd he hit you, Buddy?" Dean asked, helping Sam pack his stuff while getting his own together.

"Because I wouldn't do what he said," Sam replied, throwing his clothes into a bag and grabbing his favourite possessions to pack in a cardboard box he kept under his bed.

The kids didn't have too many possessions which had earned them a few sessions of teasing from the other kids.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"He told me never to speak to you or Cas again…and I don't wanna do that! I want to stay with you guys!" Sam said, choking up a little.

"Where is he now?" Dean asked, putting his stuff in a cardboard box and grabbing his box of tapes for the car.

"He said he was going to the bar." Sam replied, "My face hurts."

"I know it does, Buddy but don't worry. We're getting out of here now." Dean assured him, "You got everything?"

Sam nodded and they headed downstairs, Gabriel taking their bags from them.

"Gabriel, this is my little brother, Sam." Dean said, seeing them both smile at each other, "Sammy, this is Castiel's big brother, Gabriel."

"Hi," Sam said shyly, thanking Gabriel when he took his heavy bag off of him.

"Hey, Sam," Gabriel replied, "Don't worry, you're safe now. Both of you."

"Are you calling the cops?" Sam asked Gabriel as they headed out to the Impala.

Gabriel looked to Dean who moved and sat on the hood of the car to explain.

"Yeah we're gonna call the cops, Sammy…because Dad can not get away with beating us up. Maybe I got it worse than you, but we can't let him get away with it."

Sam nodded and wiped his eyes as fresh tears appeared in them.

"Come on, Dean." Gabriel said, "He could be back any minute."

Dean nodded and the three of them got in the car to head back to Gabriel and Castiel's.

When the three of them entered the house, Castiel moved towards them.

"I'm so glad you guys are safe!" He exclaimed, hugging both Dean and Sam while Gabriel went to call 911, "Come on, I need to get you both cleaned up a little."

Sam was clearly shaken by the entire experience and Dean sat cradling him to his chest while Castiel got a wash cloth and some warm water.

"What happened with John?" Castiel asked, "Did he just let you take Sam?"

"He doesn't know." Dean said, "He'd fucked off out somewhere when we got there."

Castiel began cleaning the blood away from Dean's lips.

The police arrived ten minutes later, and when they got a look at the two boys, they knew they had to find John. After taking statements and vital information, they turned to Gabriel.

"Right, can you keep them with you until we can sort this out?" The officer asked, earning a nod from Gabriel, "Do you have any questions?"

"I want to know if I can apply for custody of Sam and Dean." Gabriel said, causing all three of the teens to look up at him, "His older brother is in a relationship with my little brother, so it would probably be better if I kept them both here with me."

The officer looked at the younger man and couldn't believe how generous he was to offer the kids a home. With a smile the officer put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll look into it for you, Mr. Novak."

"Thanks, Officer." Gabriel replied, "Thanks for everything."

The police left and went off looking for John.

"You'd do that?" Sam asked, "You'd become our guardian?"

"Of course I would." Gabriel replied, "Anything for you guys."

Sam smiled and tears fell from his eyes as he moved forward and hugged Gabriel, who beckoned Dean and Castiel over to join them.

"I'm never gonna give up on you three, you got that?"

All three boys nodded and the hug was broken.

"Thank you." Sam whispered, "For everything."

Gabriel smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Who wants a pizza?" He asked, all three teenagers answering, "Right, I'll get on the phone then."

Sam was sleeping in one of the three spare rooms while Gabriel had allowed Dean to share Castiel's room. He knew they'd not get up to anything gross, but he wouldn't really mind if they did, I mean they had to learn at some point.

Castiel cradled Dean's head to his chest as the older Winchester sobbed. Dean never cried in front of anyone but Castiel. He didn't ever want to cry in front of Castiel but if he needed to and couldn't help it, he would and Castiel would keep him safe all the way through. The youngest Novak whispered soft assurances to Dean as he ran his fingers through his boyfriend's hair, rubbing soothing circles into his scalp.

"I love you, Cas."

"I love you too, Dean."

Dean looked up into Castiel's warm, loving eyes and sat up, gently kissing Castiel's lips since his own were battered and split. Castiel tenderly cupped Dean's cheek and wiped his tears away with his thumb before the couple actually climbed under the sheets, holding and kissing each other as they took Dean's pain away.

The next morning, the police called to say John had been charged with assault and child abuse, and that there would be a court case determining whether Gabriel would gain custody over Sam and Dean as their legal guardian or not. He was Castiel's legal guardian, so why could he not be the same for Sam and Dean.

All four of them hoped and prayed that Gabriel would be able to keep them.

-TBC-