I just want to let you know that this chapter has abuse in it. Nurse Lauren is in this and again she is my friend but yes in this she is married to Jensen Ackles :) Thank you to the people that have reviewed :D

It had been just over a week since Castiel had checked out of the hospital. Balthazar had insisted that Castiel come home so he could take care of him. This meant that Castiel was on bed rest, he got up to go to the bathroom and then Balthazar made sure he was back in bed. Castiel was just waiting for the moment he snapped. He knew it wouldn't be much longer. Balthazar came in to the room and leaned against the doorframe.

"I just talked to Gabriel"

"Really, what did he say?"

"He asked me if you'd spoken to Dean since you left the hospital" He spat Dean's name out as though it personally offended him. Castiel tensed as Balthazar came closer to him. "I thought you said he meant nothing to you"

"He doesn't, Gabriel liked him"

"You're telling me that your brother likes Dean and that's why he's wondering about him"

"Ye…yeah" Castiel recoiled as he felt the sharp sting of Balthazar's slap across his cheek

"I don't like being lied to Castiel" Balthazar moved his hand over Castiel's cheek and gently stroked the red mark "I want the truth Castiel. Did you prefer spending time with Dean over me?" Castiel tried to turn away from Balthazar's hand but he forced him to look at him. Castiel cleared his throat to try and give himself some time. He couldn't lie, he was the worst liar but he knew if he told the truth Balthazar wouldn't really want to hear it.

"Dean was a good company and he…" Castiel screamed as Balthazar pushed down on the rib he broke, although it had been weeks since the accident his body was still sensitive to everything and although his lung had been repaired any pressure on his chest still left him breathless and in more pain.

"Would you rather he was here with you now?" Balthazar kept his hand gripped on to Castiel's side as he spoke

"No" Castiel tried to sniff back the tears that had escaped his eyes and continued to stare in to Balthazar's eyes. He felt Balthazar's hand relax on his waist and he placed a kiss to Castiel's temple before leaving the room.

Castiel's leg was still in a cast and he wouldn't be able to get it off for 3 weeks. He could tell Gabriel about Balthazar but what if he hurt Gabriel, then that would be Castiel's fault and this was his fault already. He should never have asked Dean to stay in the first place, it had just come out. Dean had saved his life and he didn't think he owed Dean anything but he could hardly just say 'Thanks for saving me and all but you can leave now'. Castiel wiped his face as the tears continued to fall, he'd tried to stop thinking about Dean but he couldn't help it. If he was honest he would admit that he had developed somewhat of a crush on Dean. It sounds so childish though a crush like he was a little kid writing I heart Dean on everything. Castiel rolled his eyes at his own imagination. He tried to shift his weight so that he could sleep better but that stupid cast made it difficult. He had to settle with just shuffling a little further under the quilts and trying to sleep that way.

Castiel rubbed his eyes to wake himself up. His whole body tensed as an arm slung over his waist. He turned his head towards the body beside him and sighed with relief when Gabriel stared up at him.

"Hey"

"What do you want Gabriel?"

"I wanted to let you know that this weekend I won't be home"

"What? Why?"

"Jeez don't worry; I'm staying with Sam this weekend"

"Are you sure you want to spend the whole weekend with him?"

"Well yeah I mean he's picking me up Saturday morning and then were gonna spend the day at the beach or something, I don't really know but dinner and a movie should be great"

"Right of course and I guess this is your first weekend as a couple"

"It sure is, and there will be plenty of sex and other stuff"

"Do you really have to tell me there will be plenty of sex?"

"Yes I do. Now the real reason I am in your bed"

"Gabe why haven't you moved out yet? Kali gave your apartment back, so why are you still here?"

"I'm having the whole place redecorated. Kali did it the first time and man do I hate her style so yeah I wanted it all new"

"Okay, but you're sure about this weekend?"

"Yes, wait a second, are you trying to make sure I'm gone so you can have a sex fest or something with Balthazar because it's about time little brother"

"Yeah that's totally it; I really can't hide things well"

"You can't hide anything from me I'm your big brother" Gabriel smiled at Castiel before getting off the bed, he walked out of the room and came back with a pair of crutches

"Michael told me to give these to you like 2 weeks ago and I…erm…forgot"

"You forgot to give me the things that would help me walk"

"I'm sorry but here you can use them now and stuff" Gabriel edged the crutches on to the bed and quickly stepped back so Castiel couldn't swing for him. Gabriel helped Castiel pull his legs over the side of the bed and stand up.

"So when does Balthazar get back?"

"He comes over after work so about 5"

"You talked to Dean at all"

"Why would I?"

"Cassie seriously you and he seemed to get along really well and I thought you liked each other"

"Well you thought wrong okay" Castiel knew he shouldn't snap at Gabriel but he just wished that he hadn't mentioned Dean to Balthazar. Not that Gabriel really thought it would make Balthazar angry at him because...

"I'm sorry Cassie I didn't mean to think otherwise it's just you don't seem to make many friends and then when you and him were hanging out you would smile like you did when you were a kid"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm just saying that recently you've isolated yourself, from me, your co-workers, our family and I haven't seen you smile that much since when you were a kid"

"Get out"

"What?"

"Get out! Now!" Gabriel stumbled back from Castiel. He'd barely ever heard Castiel raise his voice to anyone, especially him, he'd been putting up with his shit for years and never said anything. "Fine"

Castiel watched as Gabriel left his apartment. He knew he was right he had been pulling away from everyone for months; he just couldn't risk anyone knowing what was happening to him. He didn't want people to talk about him or treat him differently because he deserved this, he deserved what Balthazar did. Balthazar was right who could want him after this, he was pathetic he couldn't even stand up for himself but he loved Balthazar he was sure of that. Castiel let himself fall in to the wall behind him and closed his eyes. He slid down the wall and pulled his good leg up to his chest. He used to do this when he was a kid; when his parents would fight he would sit in the corner of his room and hug himself as tight as he could. It made him feel safer and right now all he wanted was to feel safe, so he sat in the corner hugging his knee to his chest till he felt safe.

It took a few hours but Castiel forced himself up. He hadn't eaten since yesterday morning and his body was making sure he knew. He picked up his crutches and hobbled in to the kitchen. He used one crutch to steady himself and prepared his dinner with the other. He couldn't really make more than a microwave meal but it was good enough. He set his food down on the table and settled himself in to one of the chairs. Castiel glanced at the clock on his oven Balthazar would be back soon. He picked at his food for a little bit before just pushing it away. He was too tired to eat; he left his food on the table and hobbled his way back to his bedroom. He got himself comfortable and then picked up the book he had been reading.

He'd only been reading for about an hour when he heard his apartment door open and close. He guessed it was Balthazar, who else would just walk in to his place. He figured he would just continue reading until Balthazar came to see him. That idea was cut short.

"Castiel, come to the kitchen?" Castiel grabbed his crutches and slowly made his way to the kitchen

"How did you know I got my crutches?"

"I didn't, I just simply didn't care how you got in here"

"What did you want?"

Balthazar was holding the plate of food Castiel had left "I want you to explain to me why you have wasted this food that I bought for you"

"I just wasn't hungry anymore" Castiel flinched away as the plate hit the wall beside him

"Unless you were starving I would expect you to make nothing" Balthazar stalked towards Castiel and grabbed his arm. He started dragging him towards the bedroom, Castiel tried to keep hold of his crutches but he lost one as Balthazar dragged him away.

"Balthazar please this is hurting my leg"

"Do you really think for one second I actually care" Balthazar pushed Castiel on to the floor as he stood over him. Castiel tried to pull himself over to the corner but Balthazar stopped him "Don't think I'm gonna let you go to your little safety corner" He yanked Castiel up by his arms and brought him close to his face "When I do something nice for you I expect you to show gratitude" He shoved him back in to the mirror hanging from the wall and it cracked on impact. Castiel crumpled to the floor and tried to pull himself out of the room. The mirror hit the floor and the glass shattered across the room. Balthazar walked in front of Castiel and grabbed on to his hair, he yanked him up by it.

"I don't know why I ever wanted you, I mean look at you now crawling on the floor like an insect" Balthazar pulled his head back and leant in close to his ear "You think Dean would want you now? Did he even want you in the first place?" Castiel let out a cry as Balthazar pushed him back to the floor; he felt the shards of the mirror digging in to his back. Balthazar laughed as Castiel tried to push himself up and away from the pain in his back. Castiel closed his eyes as he prepared for Balthazar to hit him but it never came. He heard skin impact on skin but nobody was hitting him. He opened his eyes to see a very tall, brown haired man standing in front of Balthazar.

"Castiel?"

"You must be Sam"

"Yeah, Gabriel sent me over to get some clothes for him. I doubt he thought I'd find this asshole" Sam helped Castiel get back on to the bed and then went over to Balthazar who was sprawled on the floor, Balthazar groaned as Sam pulled him up by the scruff of his jacket. Castiel tried to settle himself back but there was shooting pains all up his back. Sam hauled Balthazar to the front door and threw him out "Stay the fuck away asshole" and then promptly shut the door in his face. Sam made his way back to Castiel.

"Do you want me to call Gabriel?"

"Would you mind?"

"Of course not he's actually sitting in my car"

Sam left the room and made the call. It rang four times before he picked up.

'Dean'

'Yeah Sammy what's up?'

'Where are you?'

'Just finished a 12 hour shift, why?'

'I need you to help me'

'Why? What happened? Are you okay?'

'It's not me dumbass. It's Castiel'

'He doesn't need my help'

'Dean please, his boyfriend hurt him pretty bad I need your help'

'Fine. I'm doing this for you'

'Yeah sure you are. He lives…'

'I know where he lives'

'…'

'I'm not creepy Sam. I did talk to the guy for a week and he mentioned it'

'Okay just get here quick'

'Yeah yeah I was already in my baby'

'Thanks Dean' Sam hung up the phone and text Gabriel

To Gabriel/From Sam

You need to come upstairs now. Castiel's boyfriend is a colossal dick, Castiel needs you.

Sam walked back in to the bedroom and found Castiel lying on his stomach.

"Erm…Castiel"

"Oh hey Sam, can you do me a weird favour and cut my shirt off"

"What?"

"It's sticking to the blood on my back and my arms hurt and I can't lift them at the moment" Sam looked in a couple draws and found a pair of scissors, he cut the sleeves and the sides and carefully pulled the shirt away from Castiel's back. There were tiny cuts all over and sharper bits of glass were still stuck in his skin.

"What the hell happened in here?" Sam whipped his head around to see Gabriel taking in the room. There were glass shards all over the floor; some with blood on them, the small table at the end of Castiel's bed was broken as Balthazar had landed on it when Sam punched him and Castiel was sprawled over the bed with Sam holding his cut up shirt.

"I'm not too sure you might wanna ask Castiel" Sam turned around to hear the answer but Castiel had drifted off

"Gabe lets go in the living-room, okay?"

"Okay" Gabe let Sam lead him to the couch in the front room "Why does my baby brother have glass sticking out of his back and why aren't we doing anything about it?"

"Gabriel we are, I already called Dean and he looked exhausted so be glad he's sleeping and not feeling any pain" Gabriel just nodded at Sam, there wasn't much he could do at the moment and it probably was better if Castiel just slept.

Sam was out of his seat the second someone knocked on the door. He pulled it open and Dean had finally arrived with his first aid bag in tow.

"Where is he?"

"Bedroom" Dean quickly made his way to the bedroom and saw Castiel sprawled on his bed with his cast leg hanging off the edge.

"Sam I'm gonna need a bowl of warm water to clean his back, and a pair of tweezers, I have some but I think there'll be too big for the glass in his back" Sam left to get the warm and to check the bathroom for the tweezers

"Dean, do you think he'll be okay?"

"Physically of course"

"Just not…"

"Gabriel I don't know, okay, if you wanted that answer you shoulda called Michael. I think it's better if you go sit in the living room or kitchen or just somewhere that's not here"

"Dean here I got what you needed"

"A clean cloth would be helpful Sam"

"Oh sorry"

Sam came back a couple minutes later with a clean cloth. He set what Dean needed on the drawers beside him and took Gabriel in to the kitchen. Dean took a deep breath and tried to wake Castiel. He gently shook his shoulder till Castiel grumbled and opened his eyes.

"Dean?"

"Hey Cas"

"What are you doing here?"

"Fixing you up, I just wanted to make sure you knew it was me and not…"

"Balthazar. Yeah Dean its fine"

"So your boyfriend is kind of an asshole"

"I think that's putting it lightly and he's not really my boyfriend"

"So what is he?" Dean started to wipe the blood from his back, he was being careful of each cut as he didn't want cause any further damage.

"He was a mistake, you know it's his fault I crashed my car"

"What? How?"

"I mean not really but the night before I came home and he was actually in my bed with my cousin. I mean my cousin. She ran out and he actually tried to defend his actions, but I just lost it I told him to get the hell out and that we were over and he left…" Dean absently rubbed circles in to Castiel's shoulder to calm him down "I thought that was it. Then the next day I was driving to work and he rang me and I was staring at my phone in disbelief so much that I didn't realise I had swerved on to the wrong side of the road"

"Cas I need to take the glass out of your back okay, so why don't you try telling me a story to distract yourself" Dean sanitized the tweezers as best he could and got to pulling out the glass. Cas hissed in pain each time, he took a deep breath and decided on something to tell Dean.

"It's my birthday next week and my family is throwing a party at Michaels house, he has a bigger house so it makes sense. I really wish he would settle down you know and stop with all the one night stands I mean really you can only live off them for so long. You ever had a one night stand Dean?" Castiel hissed as Dean pulled a larger piece of glass from his back.

"Not recently, only a couple years ago"

"Well I think I've had one in my whole life, I suppose you wouldn't need to have one what with your girlfriend" Dean stopped what he was doing to lean closer to Cas

"What girlfriend?"

"Jo"

"Jo! Oh my god no Jo is my partner…oh…I meant she was my partner on the ambulance"

"Oh that clears up a lot of things actually"

"Like what?"

"Well you flirting with me for one"

"Like I was the only one, now stop distracting me from my job, and tell me who you invited to the party"

"Well Nurse Ackles, I mean Lauren, she hits me when I call her Nurse Ackles. I know Sam will go and I called the theatre teacher Miss Bradbury, Charlie I think you'd like her she's pretty cool. Speaking of you, I would really like it if you would come with me"

"As your date?"

"Only if you want, I wouldn't want to force you or anything"

"I would love to, but can I bring Jo maybe she could find a guy"

"We could always set her up with Michael"

"Like a blind date?"

"Yeah just tell her it's my cousin and he's a great guy"

"I doubt I'll have to sell him that much she's desperate"

"I don't think she would appreciate that"

"Then don't tell her" Dean chuckled as he pulled the last shard of glass out of Castiel's back "Okay that's all the glass, so I just gotta clean you up, cover your cuts and then we'll be done" Dean used the cloth to clean the wounds before covering them with gauze and medical tape.

"Thank you so much for doing this Dean, I know I don't really deserve your help after I just up and left the hospital"

"Cas it's okay, I'm not mad I understand, I mean I don't totally understand the situation but I get you were doing what he wanted"

"Dean would you mind getting some warmer water"

"What? Oh right sorry, I'll be right back" Castiel was very tired and he knew Dean wouldn't fully understand the situation but he just wished that he could tell him that he didn't do what Balthazar wanted because he was scared or anything he was doing it to protect Dean. Balthazar never liked Castiel talking to other men, especially ones that looked like Dean. He was just trying to make sure that Balthazar wouldn't hurt Dean because of him.

"So I've warmed the water and I'm nearly finished anyway and then I'll get out of your hair I guess"

"I know this is weird to ask but would you, Gabe and Sam mind staying here tonight"

"Cas don't worry Sam and Gabe are already getting ready for bed in his room, you know once Sam actually got him to calm down and not go hunt Balthazar down. And I can sleep on the couch"

"Thank you Dean, it means a lot I kinda like having my own personal paramedic"

"Hey, I am not just for you, I'm like Batman out there saving lives" Castiel started to laugh as Dean finished on his back "I could be Batman"

"Okay Dean, I'm sure you would look amazing in a bat mobile ambulance and leather"

"I look fantastic in leather"

"You should come as Batman to my party"

"Is it a dress up party?"

"No, I just think we need some entertainment"

"Oh aren't you downright hilarious" Dean moved off the bed and started tidying away everything he'd used. Castiel straightened himself up on the bed and laid down carefully trying not to irritate his back.

"Erm…do you want me to clean up the glass?"

"Just leave it for tonight, its late and I really need to rest"

"Okay how about tomorrow we plan your birthday or something?"

"I'd really like that, again thank you Dean"

"It's really no problem" Before Dean could really stop himself he pressed a kiss to Cas's cheek, he pulled back giving Cas a shy smile. He backed out of the room mumbling random responses; he banged his shoulder on the door frame as he left the room and gave a slight wave to Cas. "Night Cas"

"Night Batman" Cas pulled the covers over himself and fell asleep thinking about his birthday plans.