Dean and Castiel started making their way downstairs to check on Charlie, who as sure as shit to her word was trying to flirt with Jo. But to their utter surprise, Jo hadn't told her to fuck off. She hadn't smacked the girl away for sitting beside her and chatting her up. Jo just smiled sweetly and laughed along with Charlie's jokes.

Castiel just grinned. "Nothing to worry about. We could have stayed upstairs."

Dean elbows Cas in the side. "Don't put ideas in my head."

Cas shrugged and went over to talk to the other angels with one glance back at Dean, saying where he was going with his eyes. Dean walked over to the couch and chuckled. "I thought you said she was a, uh, demon-lady."

Jo playfully hit Charlie. "Demon lady, really? Someone's been spending far too much time at conventions and not nearly enough time with the Winchesters to be saying that so casually. Though I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing…"

Charlie hadn't smiled that wide in a long time, and neither had Jo and it all just made Dean a little curious. "Jo, I hate to interrupt your lovely conversation here, but can I speak to you a moment?"

Jo looked over at Charlie. "Would you mind?"

"Naw, it's okay, Dean don't scare me," Charlie said with a wink.

Dean chuckled as he took Jo's hand and helped her off the couch, looking back just long enough for Charlie to mouth 'cockblocker' to him, and then for her to have an expression on her face that meant she wanted to try and think of her own clever way of saying that for her own situation.

When they got to the other room, Jo grinned. "Don't be all guilty-sad for me and just cut to the chase. I know the 'don't hurt my sibling' talk-look. Especially from a Winchester, it's not so old."

"Are you actually interested? Or are you just fucking around with her? I hate to ask, because we're old friends and such. But Charlie is my little sister and the last I remember of you ever being romantically involved was your beyond-obvious crush on me," Dean whispered softly.

Jo shrugged. "I'm bi-curious. I have daddy issues, and you are a freaking hunter and the only man that's come that close to me. You do remember when I didn't know you well right? You might as well have hit me back, because I was a bitch to you for no good reason. Come on Winchester, lighten up, it's not like it would have worked out between us. I literally died with that cause, am I right?"

"Jo," Dean cooed softly. "I really am-"

"If you say you are sorry one more time I swear I will kick your ass so hard that you'll be back in Kansas," Jo replied. "Now I will let you get back to Cas, which no one told me I just know because the force is with me. I wanna stay for a while though around Charlie. I don't mean to step in the way, but she's cool and I would like to at least explore the possibility of something working out for me without me dying."

Dean laughed. "Just don't want either of you getting yourselves hurt, alright? You've been through enough."

"So have you, but you don't see me dragging your ass away from Castiel when you are in the middle of good conversation," Jo said smugly. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

Dean nodded and gestured for her to go, which she did with a grin on her face as she went back to a light-hearted conversation about shit.

Then Bela walked up to Dean. "I'm bored, when's Sammy coming to visit?"

Dean shrugged. "Ask Crowley, he's got the reins on that car."

"You are meaning to tell me that you left your brother with the king of hell and came to chill with us cool kids instead? Dean-o, I thought better of you," Gabriel said, walking up and eating licorice between sentences.

"No, it's not," Dean groaned, running a hand through his hair. "It's different. Crowley's kind of almost human now because of an almost-finito demon cure, which Sammy can't finish or he'll die trying unless they find a solution. They are on the hunt for back-up. And – hey, wait a fucking second, NO!"

Gabriel and Bela look at each other and back at Dean. Both sporting fakely-innocent expressions that just about scream 'whatever do you mean, we aren't about to cause a riot for the competition for your brother's preference' on their faces.

"You are not, that is fucked, Gabriel I thought you-" Dean tried to say.

"You thought I only appealed to the ladies? Yeah, well, we'll see about that," Gabriel says with a wink.

Dean sighs, knowing he's not going to talk the trickster out of the idea. So he turns to Bela. "Come on, it was like how long ago you said we should have sex some time? And now you just magically want Sam, that's weird."

"I'm not your type, I could be his, and I am bored. So sue me," Bela said with a grin.

"If he asks, I am going to tell him what's going on when he gets here, because he's probably coming home soon," Dean says warily, walking away simply because he needs a break from the shenanigans of them.

Once he's upstairs and to the peace of Castiel's bedroom, there's a knock on the door. "Cas, you don't need to knock, it's your room."

"It's not Cas," a small female voice says from the other side of the door. "Can I please come in?"

"Uh, sure," Dean replies, thinking he can't exactly be rude to the fallen-angel crowd. He is greeted by a young girl, can't be more than seventeen, with medium-length brown hair and a frame so tiny that she looked sick, as perhaps an angel should look after falling, he supposed. It must be hard. "Hi, what's your name? Is there anything I can help you with?"

"The way you speak to me is condescending, and in the body of a sixteen year old girl, I do frankly understand the tone. My name, well I will go by nickname, is Kina. I just wanted to congratulate you on finally getting together with Castiel. I am not allowed, by the rights of the cupids, to set up angels and humans. It was off-limits, and then you two did it on your own," Kina grinned. "I believe, even though un-fated, there is a love between the two of you that unconditional and unbreakable. He didn't tell me. But even though I have no power over the cupids before as I once did, I still can sense romantic infatuation."

Dean sighed. "How do you know it's going to work out? I don't even know a damn thing here about it."

Kina smiled softly. "The two of you together will always find your way back home. But in the meantime, there's someone visiting downstairs I think you'd like to see. He wanted to see you, not a past angel, but perhaps a past relative? There's a weak bond there. He's at the front steps. I believe, in all accounts, his name is simply Adam?"

Dean just nodded quickly, thanking Kina softly for the information before running down the stairs and opening the door. Adam looked up at Dean with sad eyes, eyes he'd seen on himself and Sammy both before – the eyes of someone's who's literally been in hell for eternities. "They didn't think it was safe to bring him in, but Michael is missing now, and they are talking a bit more to the other one and trying to help him through the pain. His vessel, it keeps melting. He screams, he screams like I used to scream Dean. Have you ever heard something so painful as the scream of an actual demonic angel? It's both satisfying and heartbreaking at the same time, and that makes it the most disturbing experience a soul could have."

Dean nodded, leaning forward to give Adam a strong hug. "I'm just glad you found your way home."

"You mean you want me? I mean, I am not really a real brother in your mind, right? You didn't even learn I existed until I had already died," Adam said, clearly trying not to cry as he shook. "I'm sorry if I am bothering you, I just, I had no other place to go and they brought me here anyways and-"

Dean pulled away from the hug and grasped his arms tight as he made sure he had the boy's attention before perhaps speaking the most important words he felt he'd ever say to keep his family together. "Now, you know Sammy's the closest person to me in this world. He's my brother by blood and we've grown up together and that's the way it's been. But Adam, for every purpose and reason and lack of both, I've found that it's not always the people you knew all along that are your family. It's those attached by blood, attached by family, attached by soul. Family isn't just about blood and everything has got to start somewhere, right? You are my freaking brother whether you like it or not, and I do want you to stay here if you feel comfortable enough to trust me as a big brother to you. I am kinda an expert in that area."

Adam smiled weakly. "Thank you, Dean, I appreciate it."

"Now, I will just yell out for Castiel and we'll get this sorted out, alright? There's extra room everywhere around here. Cas?" Dean yelled over his shoulder.

Cas came running into the room, a freaking apron around his waist and a mess in his hair. "Yes?"

Dean bit his lip trying not to chuckle. Adam even grinned brighter. "So, the keeper of the house, is Molly Maid Cas?"

Castiel shrugged. "I understood that reference. Adam, it is pleasant to see you are out of the cage."

"Thank you," Adam said civilly. "No mean to rush you, because you clearly look busy, but if you could point me in the direction of a bedroom I could bunk in."

Castiel took a moment to think. "Best open spot is a bunk in Alfie's room. I don't think he'd mind sharing. Let me ask."

Adam turned to Dean. "He remembers me?"

Dean laughed. "Yeah, of course, he's seen about as much of you as I have. He's been there through all that time, so yeah. You gotta come visit more often."

Adam just laughed, trying to push back the tears building in his eyes. "I will have to work on it."

"If you need to talk, you know, your brothers are here for you. We've both been in hell, and Sammy's even been in the cage. We have each been where you've been. It's not exactly perfect, but it's the 'hey-we've-all-been-in-literal-hell-and-maybe-anot her-beer-perhaps' type of approach, alright?" Dean offered slowly.

Adam nodded softly. "Maybe later, but what I need right now is a sound sleep."

Alfie walked into the room. He smiled politely. "I wouldn't mind at all. I'm Alfie and your roommate for however long you stay on the Island of Misfit Toys, so just come with me and I will show you our room."

"Did you seriously show them Rudolph?" Dean asked softly, turning over to Cas as the two younger boys walked upstairs.

Cas shrugged. "They rent a lot of movies. I can't keep track of which ones they pick. I am just glad Balthazar doesn't have his powers anymore. I don't think any of us could survive his whims against things like Celine Dion songs again."

Dean chuckles. "Do I ever remember that," Dean replies. "He's here too? Okay, I have to ask because this is a decent question and you can't get upset-"

"But why haven't they just gotten their revenge and killed me?" Castiel responded bluntly. Dean nodded. "I promised my apologies were sincere and I wouldn't let anything happen to them again. I promised that was not a power trip but the act of a caring brother, and they are just continuing to let me prove myself to them. I explained myself for each incident, and they have learned to cope and so have I. It's a hard time and we can't be killing each other when we need truly to just be helping one another survive."

"Well, Cas," Sam's voice rung out from behind us. "Since you are doing so well with the other angels as you've already screwed them over, would it kill you if I brought in somebody that might be even less trusted?"

Castiel's eyes went wide, looking to Dean. Dean sighed. "Sam, he's docile?"

"He's too sick to do anything. Metatron has taken to his power disgustingly. I wouldn't keep company around him too long if they are queasy in any respect, because if you think Alistair was bad," Crowley said from behind Sam. "Then you are in for a whole nother level of tortured when he comes in."

Dean looks at Cas, waiting for approval or something. Castiel turns away. "If you can assure me he won't harm the others here, I will allow it. But he needs surveillance constantly, because the curse could lift at any moment on him and he could be back in the mood for slaughter."

"Cassie, hun, is that any way to talk about your big, ugh," Lucy groaned. He held his stomach and he fell, Sam closing the door behind him. "I'm sorry. I usually am dressed better than this on visits. I mean, sure, maybe some blood and gore – but, you know, not my blood leaking on the carpet. That's just impolite."

Cas turned to look at his fallen brother, fighting tears as his skin seemed to be torn and burned from him bit by bit per second. He moved forward and leaned down, offering his hands. "I may be young, but I am old enough to remember a time where we were considered family. You are lost too, and perhaps you can help the others. We will find some way to help you."

"I appreciate the sentiment," Lucy said, trying to laugh but it came up as a sickly cackle, spurting out some blood. He looked up with a pathetically broken expression on his face. "Sammy?"

"I am right here," Sam said, moving Castiel out of the way and helping Lucifer up himself. "It's alright. The cycle will be over soon."

"It's going to hurt again, I can't take the pain, there it was easier – maybe you can bring me back, heat in heat, hell in hell," Lucy pleaded, leaning into Sam's side.

Sam looked up, a sorry expression on his face. "Is there any spare rooms? He doesn't – I think he'd rather not cause a scene."

Castiel just nodded, leading them up to a free room to chat more about the fallen angels and let Lucy have less eyes on him as he stripped through another skin-suit.

Crowley looked at Dean. "And I thought I looked pathetic."

"Don't worry Crowley, you still look fine enough in the pathetic department," Dean replied. "For what it's worth, sorry that Sam can't do the whole ritual without dying for you."

"It's fine, I am patient," Crowley took a minute, and then rolled his eyes. "When in the hell did I become patient? Ugh, I run between loving and hating this whole humanity thing."

"Even us pure humans have those days," Dean said as he took a seat at the dinette table.

Castiel then came downstairs, slumping into the chair beside Dean. Without thinking and without caring, Dean scooted closer to Cas, asking if he was alright and started rubbing the ex-angel's back. Cas just sat there, unable to form words, and rested his face into the crook of Dean's shoulder.

Crowley just sat across from them, smiled a bit, and chuckled. "I was wondering when you two would figure that out. All the fucking eye-sex was nauseating. I was just saying 'fucking kiss already, you morons!' in my head so many times, it was stupid."

Castiel was still crying into Dean's shoulder, not ready to focus on something more positive. Dean smiled at Crowley. "It's still not-"

"You are either going to tell Sammy now or he's going to find out in a few seconds on his own," Crowley whispered.

Cas looked up and pulled away slowly. "I'm sorry, if this jeopardizes something about what we have in the improper way, I can go and-"

"Cas, just shut up, I'm here for you, and you can just shut up," Dean said quietly before leaning in and kissing Cas once softly. When he pulled away, ignoring the angel brothers in the hall with their giggling and snickering, he smiled. "That wasn't so difficult, was it?"

Cas nodded, and leaned his head on Dean's shoulder again as Dean wrapped his arm around him. Gabriel and Balthazar came in, talking a little of the told-you-so song and dance. Then, Sam came downstairs with Lucy clinging on his arm tightly. Clearly the last cycle was over, but they were getting closer and closer between. Gabriel looked up. "Oh, so now we have the one who killed me here too! Now it's a party!"

Castiel pulled himself away from Dean before Sam paid attention or reached the bottom of the stairs, in an effort to stand and confront Gabe. "It's not about that. We are all fallen and the only other fallen of our brothers is here to help us, and our friends. So please, if you would, stop being so petty and allow for help to come? Because I am not a machine I can't do everything you need me to do and I am trying but I am not enough, okay?"

Gabriel sighed. "I'm sorry little bro. We just, you know, we just-"

"We needed help and security, and we were scared we were going to come back, I was scared I would get hurt again. And this time I am human, so there's no God helping me if I die this time round," Balthazar spoke softly. "Trust isn't easily earned back."

"No? Really, it's not? So after all that I have went through and done to the Winchesters and they have still forgiven me every time like a family should, my real family decides to treat me horribly for eternity instead of even giving me a first second chance?" Castiel said, frustrated beyond repair.

"Cassie," Gabe whined.

Castiel shook his head and ran upstairs past Sam and Lucy who had just come down. Sam took one look at Dean and sighed. "He's your angel, go on."

"Excuse me?" Dean asked, not even tearing his gaze from the staircase.

Sam smiled. "As long as you don't completely ditch trusting me for him, I mean, I don't care what he is to you. So go comfort your ex-angel boyfriend, because he needs you right now and we can't fight this war with a broken army."

Dean looked at Sam. "I love you, you know that right?"

Sam chuckled. "Just go, Jerk."

"Bitch," Dean said with a smile as he ran upstairs after Castiel. Pausing only half-way through the staircase to point at Gabriel. "Behave!"

Gabriel sighed. "I'm not even thinking about that right now. Just, please, let me know when Cassie is okay."

Dean nods, running up all the way to see Castiel.

"Cas," Dean whispers slowly as he opens the door.

Castiel is lying on the bed crying again. He doesn't even look up when Dean comes in, when Dean shuts the door behind them, or when Dean sits beside him on the bed. When Castiel noticed Dean was there finally, as Dean ran his fingers through Castiel's hair, he sat up enough to slump into Dean's arms. "I can't keep doing this, Dean."

"Can't keep doing what? Putting up with Gabe? I know he gets a little annoying sometimes," Dean tried as an attempt of lightening the mood.

It didn't work. "Dean, I, I just can't do anything right. My family either fears me or hates me, no one trusts me – who could blame them, after I've destroyed and ruined so many lives? I can't keep making these mistakes I can't keep-"

"No," Dean said, gently pulling Castiel's face up to look at his.

"Dean, it's not your choice, I just am a failure and I-" Cas tried to begin. He was cut off by Dean's lips crashing on his. When he pulled away, he held Castiel's face in both his hands. "What did we say? Please, Cas, I can't lose you again. The past is the past, and things will get better. I know it's taken a hella lot of time to figure that one out, but I think it's possible. And you know why, Cas?"

"Why?" Castiel asked, tears streaming down his face.

Dean sighed. "I know it because we have each other. And I don't care what kind of stupid mumbo-jumbo apocalyptic crap comes next, because I am telling you that we can and we will get through it together like we always do and you will be forgiven and things will get better and Cas, please," Dean's voice broke and he started crying. "I can't lose anybody else. I can't lose you again, I can't. Please, don't do this to me again."

Castiel took a moment to absorb it and really thought of all the times he'd left Dean. The times he'd died, the times he had abandoned him, the time he refused to leave Purgatory with him. Then something completely new hit him: how much it broke Dean's heart every time he left. He remembers how every time he came back, Dean would always be so conflicted between holding him and yelling at him because he just had missed him so much. As much as his pain of the weight of all the things he'd done and been through felt like it was ripping him apart, he also realized that he couldn't do this to Dean again. They would get through everything together, or they would die together trying.

Cas leaned forward and kissed Dean once softly before pulling away and nodding. "I won't – I can't leave you again. You are right. I just…I am going to need a lot of help from you, and I know I have already asked so much of you and it's not fair to ask more but-"

"Cas, it's not near too much to ask, I promise never to leave you either," Dean replied gruffly. "I know we've had fights in our past about what is wrong versus what is right and what I can't do for you versus what I can, but the fight is over between us and there has come a time for us to work together. We'll figure it out together, but you can't give up, okay?"

Cas just slowly nodded. "Okay," he replies. "Should we go back downstairs?"

"If we must," Dean says with a sigh that has Cas back in better spirits.

Cas laughs. "Maybe not this second then," Cas says before leaning in to kiss Dean.

It's about the time that the kissing has turned into making out that there's a knock on the door. They hear Sam's voice from the other side. "I know you two are probably, uh, busy, but can I come in for a minute? I mean, not if there is stuff going on I mean I can wait a few minutes or something."

Sam winced at how awkward he sounded, but he still rambled on anyways until Dean came to open the door. "Not too busy for my little brother." Cas was a little huffy, but the mood had been broken early enough by Sammy's intrusion that it wasn't really that embarrassing or uncomfortable for anyone. "What's up, Bitch?"

"Jerk," Sam whispered before taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "Actually, I was wondering – you know what, it's stupid, I shouldn't have-"

"Have Gabriel and Bela already started on you? Listen, I told them the whole competition thing was a dumb idea but they didn't listen," Dean said softly. "But, I mean, if you do want one of them or something don't be afraid to do what you want to do I mean."

"Actually, I, well I kinda did start to notice that. And Bela's really nice and she's really hot. And Gabriel's really actually quite great and decently attractive and I kind of could see that working," Sam began, cutting himself off awkwardly.

Castiel picked up on the missing link quicker than Dean. "But you would feel bad pursuing anything because Lucifer is clinging on so closely to you, because he needs you right now. You know, I figured this could happen. Those two are almost as bad with sibling rivalry as Lucy and Michael are – no wonder they are playing for keeps with you."

Sam sighed. "I, I just, I never really have had this problem before."

Dean just looked very shocked, and Castiel was the one who for once had the advice. "You need to take care of Lucifer for now, he's in enough pain as it is and I ask as his brother for you to not put him through any unnecessary pain at this time. When we fix his curse, and we will, you can make a proper decision relationship-wise. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy the attention or look into the options in kind respects, but if you could try not to break another piece of my brother that would be best."

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. "Sammy, it hurts again."

Sam looked absolutely ripped apart feeling-wise every time he heard Lucifer cry out like that. He stood up and answered the door, asking quietly if they could borrow Castiel's bathroom to try to clean out the wounds, to which Castiel just nodded.

Once the cycle ended, and Sam was covered in more blood, Lucy rejuvenates again and kneels in front of Sam. "Sammy, I am sorry, I shouldn't ask this of you." Sam's crying, but he's trying to hide it from Lucy. Lucy leans forward and gives Sam a hug. "If this is ever too much, I mean, I just…it's just a little difficult to go through alone."

"It's okay, really, I understand, it's just really hard to watch every time," Sam replies softly.

Lucy sighs. "At least I have a bit of a break now, I mean, however long it lasts. It will probably start up again soon," Lucy said, pulling away. "Thank you."

Sam smiles and slowly runs his fingers through Lucy's hair, wincing when he starts to feel blood again. "I am here for you, however long this lasts."

"How about after this finally finishes? What then?" Lucifer asks softly. "I don't mean to pry, but it's just, I figure since I am about to be ripped to shreds again by the look on your face, it is okay to be curious."

Sam sighs. "If I had an answer for you, I would tell it. I'm not sure though, okay? Can we just focus on now for now?"

"I suppose we can, because, ah," Lucy screamed in agony. "It hurts again, that was barely five minutes in between, Sammy it's getting worse," Lucy mumbled in a panicked tone.

"Dean, Cas," Sam yells out as he pulls Lucy into his arms and tries to calm him down. They burst in within a minute, watching the scene at hand. "There is barely any time in between now, please, go get Crowley and search for help. Please, find anything that can stop this. I need to stay here with him."

Tears poured down Lucifer's tearing face as he clings closer to Sam still, trying with all his might not to scream more in agony. Dean nods and runs downstairs to fetch Crowley. Castiel watches as Sam comforts his dying brother again, and as he slowly is being torn away at again.

Crowley and Dean are back upstairs within a minute. "Here's the thing, boys, I can only take one explorer along at a time. Who's it going to be?"

Castiel and Dean look at each other shortly. "I have to work and take care of the others, Dean, would you please do this?"

"Of course," Dean said as he moved forward to stand next to Crowley, readying himself to leave.

"I guess it is up to you and me, Squirrel," Crowley said softly, even him wincing from watching Lucy be torn bit from bit.

Dean took one last look at his family, his friends, and his boyfriend before they were to leave. "I guess it is."