Hello, sorry it's been so long! I've been very busy, and I also wanted to get this chapter just right. On the bright side, this chapter is the longest yet. I couldn't find a good place to break it up into two, so it ended up being this one long one.

Just a warning, things are a bit less happy and fluffy in the beginning of this chapter. *Potential mild trigger warning for discussion of child abuse.*

Also, I have never been in a situation like this myself, so while I did research, I'm sorry if some of the details for certain parts are incorrect. I hope you enjoy :)


Standing on the porch was Castiel, who was crying, eyes red. His lower lip was split and swollen, blood staining his chin. On his right cheek was a hand-shaped mark and a bruise, which was bright red and also swelling.

"M-Mary?" he whimpered pitifully. "I need help."

Dean was too horrified to say anything, so he watched his mom pull Cas inside and shut the door in shocked silence.

"Cas, sweetie, oh my God, what happened to you?" she asked, kneeling down to Cas' level and quickly inspecting his injuries with he trained eye of a nurse. Cas tried to answer, but was having trouble speaking properly due to how hard he was crying. "Shhh, shhh, calm down baby, you're alright now," Mary soothed. "I'm going to get you cleaned up, then we can talk about what happened, okay?" Cas nodded pitifully, trying to breath properly and control his crying, and let himself be led into the dining room table.

"Dean, get me the first aid kit and an ice pack wrapped in a dish cloth," Mary told Dean, who practically sprinted to get the requested items. Stupid, stupid, stupid, he chanted in his head furiously. Someone had hurt Cas, and Dean was 98% sure it had been one of the boy's parents, and Dean had known something had been up with him lately, why hadn't he talked to his mom sooner or tried harder to find out what was wrong? With images of Castiel's blood staining his thoughts, Dean couldn't help but blame himself.

"Dean," whimpered Sam, peering around the corner of the kitchen doorway watching as Dean wrapped the ice pack in a dish cloth. "What's wrong with Cas? Why's he hurt? Is he okay?" Dean stopped what he was doing and licked his lips, trying to come up with an answer that the five-year-old would understand.

"Cas is okay now 'cause he's with us. He's gonna be fine, don't worry, Mom's gonna fix him up," Dean said, opting to answer only the last question. Sam nodded, looking terribly sad, lower lip trembling. "Just stay in the living room an' let me an' Mom take care of him, alright?"

"Alright," Sam agreed, distraught but following his brother's instructions anyway. Dean grabbed the first aid kit and went back into the dining room. Mary took the ice pack and gently held it on Cas' lip, having already washed away the blood.

"Keep still and hold it here for a few minutes," she told him. "That will get the swelling down, then I can get the cut clean."

"Okay," Cas mumbled around the ice pack, taking it in his hand. He had calmed down a little bit, his crying had all but stopped and he was breathing evenly again. Five agonizingly silent minutes passed with no one addressing the elephant in the room. Mary removed the ice pack, and informed Cas, relieved, that the cut wasn't deep enough for him to need stitches. She then got some alcohol and a cotton ball from the first aid kit.

"This might sting a little bit, okay?" she said. Cas nodded, bracing himself, and the only sign of pain he showed was a small hiss when he inhaled sharply through his teeth. Mary put some Neosporin on the cut and stuck a Band-Aid on it. She then instructed Cas to now hold the ice pack against the bruise on his face.

"Okay, that's all I can do for now, you don't seem to have any fractures or anything, so we'll just keep the ice there for about 15 minutes then switch it out. It looks like you're going to be fine. The bruise will take a while to fade most likely, but there's nothing critical. Now," Mary took a deep breath. "Cas, sweetie, I need you to tell me what happened to you and who did this." Cas looked down at the hardwood floor, seeming hesitant. Finally he began to speak in a small voice.

"My stepfather," he answered, refusing to meet either Mary's or Dean's eyes. "He's only hit me a few times before. not very often. And never this hard, never this much. Just little, just small bruises or shoves. Only when he drinks that drink from the bottle that makes him angry. Or I do something wrong or bad. And he says that I deserve it because I'm bad and I cost him and my mother too much money and I'm worthless and my mother never wanted me and I'm the reason my real father left-" Cas took a shaky breath. "But I know it's not right for him to hit me, even if I'm bad, because my real father never ever hit me. And my mother doesn't care, she doesn't care about me, she doesn't help me or tell him to stop, she mostly ignores me." Cas was getting himself worked up again, tears threatening to fall. "Before we moved he'd only hit me twice, when he had that drink, any other time he got mad he just yelled but then we came here I started playing with you and spending time with you, and he said if I told you he'd hit me I'd be in even more trouble. That's why I had that bruise on the day we played in the backyard, I didn't trip, I lied, I'm sorry." Cas finally looked up, meeting Dean's eyes tearfully. "I lied a lot, and I know lying is wrong, I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine," Dean said quietly, feeling the need to reassure the young boy. "I'm not upset, I understand." Cas seemed only slightly comforted.

"I don't know what I did today, but he'd drank a lot and was really mad, and I know I probably shouldn't be here, I'm sorry, b-but I need help, I don't want to go back, please don't send me b-back," he whimpered to Mary, properly crying now. Mary immediately took him into her arms, holding him close. She looked horrified, and her eyes seemed teary as well.

Dean felt like crying, too. He had a mixture of deep sadness and boiling rage inside on Cas' behalf. Neither Mary nor his dad had ever, ever laid a hand on either of their sons, and Dean had never thought that any parent would even consider hurting their child like that. And, it was obvious to Dean that 'the drink from the bottle' was clearly alcohol. He had a vague idea of what alcohol was. He'd seen Uncle Bobby drink whiskey and things, and he had distant memories of his dad drinking beer. All Dean really knew was that it messed you up if you drank too much. He supposed that was what happened to Castiel's stepfather.

Castiel. His shy, sometimes quiet best friend with the blue eyes and funny name. Maybe he wasn't really shy and quiet. Maybe he was just scared all the time of getting in trouble or getting hit. Or getting yelled at and told he was worthless. And it seemed like Cas believed that. That part made Dean feel the saddest. No wonder Cas always seemed surprised whenever nice things were done for him. Without a word, Dean moved his chair to where his mom and Cas were and wrapped his arms around Cas too, resting the side of his face on Cas' back.

"You're not worthless," he said. "Don't ever think that about yourself, because you're not." There was so much more Dean wanted to say, but the words got stuck and turned into a lump in his throat. Mary gave a small, appreciative smile over Cas' head to her son.

"It's okay angel," Mary soothed Castiel, rubbing his back gently. "I'm not going to send you back, you're going to stay here," Cas' body sagged with relief. "Now, listen. You, Dean, and Sam are all going to go upstairs to Dean's room for a little while, alright? I need to make some phone calls. Keep the ice on your face."

"Okay," Cas sniffed. "Thank you, Mary." Dean moved so Cas could get off Mary's lap, but the minute Cas was standing Dean scooped him into his arms and picked him up. Cas was still just small enough that Dean could carry him without too much trouble. He seemed surprised at first, but then buried his face into Dean's shoulder, still holding his ice pack.

"You're not gonna get hurt ever again," Dean whispered into Cas' ear, carrying him to his room. "I promise. I'm never gonna let anybody hurt you. I'm gonna keep you safe."

Dean ordered Sam to save any questions for later, so the three boys were quiet in Dean's bedroom. Sam and Cas were sitting on the bed, and Dean was kneeling by the shut door, trying to hear what his mother was saying on the phone. He couldn't hear much, just scattered words here and there. After a few minutes he noticed how silent Sam and Cas were.

"Why don't you two play with toy cars or somethin'?" he suggested. "It's too quiet in here."

"I don't feel like playing," Cas said in a small voice. "I'm scared." Dean abandoned his post by the door and sat on the bed next to him.

"You don't need to be scared, I'm keeping you safe, 'member?" Cas nodded pitifully, leaning into the older boy. Dean wrapped his arms around Cas and held him tight. He wished he could take Cas' pain away, he wished there was something, anything he could do.

Cas crawled into Dean's lap so he could cuddle better. Sam watched them, then took one of Dean's blankets and wrapped it around Dean and Cas.

"Here you go," he said helpfully, looking at Dean with his wide, sad puppy eyes.

"Thanks Sammy, I really appreciate it," Dean said, giving him a small smile. It was then he realized how uneasy and frightened Sammy looked, and he felt a little bad for not paying him more attention. Dean shifted the blanket and held out his free arm, inviting his brother in. Sam gladly snuggled up next to Dean and Cas, and Cas let out a little sigh of contentment at the extra body heat.

"Dean," Sam whispered after several minutes had passed. "I think Cas is sleepin'." Dean saw that he was right. Cas' hand holding the ice pack had slipped, and though Dean didn't want to lose the contact of ice against his injury, he thought maybe it was more important for Cas to rest.

Dean picked up Cas and lay him down on the bed, his small head resting on Dean's pillow. Sam curled up next to him without a word. Cas stirred awake at the movement and blinked blearily, looking up at Dean with confusion.

"Shh, don't worry, just go back to sleep. I'm watching over you," Dean whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed. Cas obediently shut his eyes, drifting back off, mumbling something about angels.

A little while later, Dean heard voices downstairs and wondered who they belonged to. Shortly after that, Mary knocked softly and opened the door. Dean saw a couple of grown-ups he didn't recognize standing behind. He moved in front of the two younger boys protectively, eyeing the adults suspiciously. No one was going to hurt Cas /or/ Sammy on his watch.

"Dean, these people are here to help," Mary explained. "They need to talk to Castiel." Dean hesitated, but trusted his mother, so he turned to wake Cas.

"Hey, Cas, you gotta wake up now," he said softly, gently shaking Cas' shoulder. The boy awoke with a start, sitting up, eyes wide. "It's okay," Dean soothed. "Everything's okay." Cas caught sight of the unfamiliar man and woman stood by Mary, and he instantly hid behind Dean, clutching the back of his t-shirt.

"Castiel Novak?" the woman asked, kneeling by the bed. She had short, dark hair and a kind face. Cas peeked out warily, with only his eyes visible. "My name's Jody, and this is Rufus. We just need to ask you a few questions, alright?" Cas looked unsure and glanced at Dean questioningly.

"Go on, squirt, they're here to help," Dean said, nudging Cas. He'd seen the words on Jody's shirt. 'Child Protective Services'. That sounded like a good thing. Cas was a child, and he needed protecting. Cas moved out from behind Dean, and Jody inhaled sharply seeing his face.

"Cas, you didn't keep your ice pack to your face!" Mary said, concerned. Cas' face crumpled and he stared at the ground.

"I'm sorry, Mary, I fell asleep," he whimpered. Mary seemed to realize her mistake and she instantly pressed a kiss to the top of Cas' head.

"It's okay, I'm not mad. I just want you feel better, that's all." She retrieved the discarded ice pack and dish cloth, giving them pack to Cas. "Here, hold it again for me, there you go, good boy." The group began to move to head downstairs. Dean stood up to follow.

"Dean, honey, I need you to stay up here with Sammy," Mary said quickly. Dean was about to protest but then saw his mother's eyes. She looked tired, and scared, and above all terribly worried. Dean nodded and glanced over to his brother, who'd also fallen fast asleep and hadn't yet woken up. The kid could sleep through a marching band, Dean reflected.

"Okay, mom," he agreed. The door shut behind them and Dean stared wistfully at the door, then glanced back at Sam.

"Just you and me now, kid," he said, sitting back down. Sam stirred slightly. Dean sighed heavily and watched the door anxiously, wishing for answers to questions he couldn't even form.

The next week passed in a blur for Dean. He barely knew what was going on half the time. Castiel moved in with the Winchester's temporarily, for they were 'emotional kin', as Jody put it. An old camping cot was taken down from the attic and set up in Dean's room, and made up with blankets into a bed for Cas to sleep on. Rufus and Jody and a few different people (Dean assumed they were also from the CPS) came in and out of the house, and in and out of Cas' house as well.

Mary took time off of work, Cas was excused from school, and after much pleading, Dean was as well. He wanted out less for selfish reasons and more so he could care for Castiel, who needed it. Sometimes he'd be perfectly normal, coloring in a coloring book or listening to Mary read from Aesop's Fables, but other times he would sit in the bedroom quietly and do nothing, just sit there on his cot and say he didn't want to do anything. Dean could see that he was scared, and he didn't know what was going to happen to him, but he was trying so hard to be brave.

"It's not that I miss my house," he said once. "I don't. I'm glad I'm not there anymore. But... I wish things were different. I wish none of this had happened. I wish everything was normal? I don't know what I wish. But I do know I like being here with you and Sam and Mary." And the Winchesters liked having him. No matter what, Cas was very sweet and polite. Dean loved having his best friend with him at all hours. He just wished in were under different circumstances.

Then, around a week, or maybe more, later, Mary said Cas had to go with her to a court. Dean had a vague idea of what court was. He knew there were lawyers and a jury and a judge who wore a big wig and banged with that small hammer and yelled 'Order in the court!'. Or, well, it was something like that.

Dean had to start going to school again. Missouri Mosley from down the street, who had watched the boys when they were younger, took him and Sam to and from school when Mary couldn't.

At school during lunch once, Meg, the girl Cas had befriended, stalked up to Dean with a scowl on her face.

"You're Dean, right? Castiel's older brother?" she demanded. Dean blinked, confused.

"Uh, no, I mean, yes, I'm Dean, but I'm his friend, not brother." he responded, bemused. Meg rolled her eyes, the gesture looking funny on her young face.

"Well, you might as well be his brother, the way he talks about you all the time," she said. Dean chuckled a little, but was secretly touched on the inside. "Anyway, where is Castiel? Why hasn't he been at school?"

"He's uh, he's not gonna be back for a little while," Dean answered.

"Why not?" Meg insisted.

"He's goin' through some stuff, alright? Personal stuff. He'll return eventually." Meg crossed her arms over her chest, huffing.

"Well, I want him here. He's the only person in the whole class besides me who's not stupid and he's my only friend. If you see him tell him to come back. Tell him-" Meg hesitated, shifting her weight from one hip to the other. "Tell him I'm sorry I said unicorns were girly and he can have my unicorn temporary tattoo if he wants. When he comes back."

"Sure, will do," Dean said, trying not to laugh. "I'll make sure to pass along the message."

"Good." Meg nodded, satisfied. "That's all I have to say to you. Bye, Dean."

"'Kay, bye Meg." The seven-year-old left as abruptly as she'd arrived. Dean found it funny how different she was from Cas. She was blunt and sharp, he was soft and polite. Opposites attracted, he figured. Then he conjured up a picture in his head of Cas proudly sporting a unicorn temporary tattoo and almost laughed out loud.

After Cas came home from the court sessions, he and Dean would go up and sit in the bedroom, just the two of them, and Cas would talk about what had happened that day while Dean asked for details about what the court was like. Cas did his best to answer.

"It's a big, big room and with lots of people in it. My mother and stepfather are there but I don't sit next to them. There's a lot of talking, and it gets boring. I get asked some questions, and they tell me this is a very serious situation and it's very important that I tell the truth, which is silly. I know it's important, and why wouldn't I tell the truth?"

One day Cas came back with news on a recent development for his case. "Today they were asking about any other family members of mine, but I don't have any grandparents or aunts and uncles or anything like that, so they asked about my real father, and where he was. No one knew. I think they're going to try to find out where he is."

"Well, that's a good thing I guess, right?" Dean asked. Cas frowned.

"I don't know. If they find him then I'll go live with him, maybe back in Pontiac or somewhere else. I don't want to be far away from you! Besides, what if my father doesn't want me? What if I /am/ why he left in the first place?" Cas' lower lip, which was almost completely healed, began to tremble. Dean tried to comfort him, but wasn't sure how. He was pretty sure that if Cas was being taken out of his mom and stepfather's care, the next person he had to live with would indeed be his dad.

A couple of days later Cas made a beeline for the bedroom to talk to Dean after he got home from the court.

"My father is dead," he said shortly. "He was in a car crash a few months ago."

"I'm really sorry, Cas," Dean said, feeling awful. Cas gave a little shrug, looking at the ground.

"It's okay. I don't remember him that much. But I'm a little sad because I have no family now." Dean put one hand on each of Cas' shoulders and looked into his eyes seriously.

"Yes, you do," he insisted. "Me and my mom and Sammy. You know, my Uncle Bobby once told me family don't end in blood. That means even if we're not related, we're still family, okay?" Cas' face lit up.
"Really?" he asked happily. "We can be family?"

"Absolutely," Dean said firmly. Cas threw his arms around him, smiling one of those huge smiles Dean wished he'd see more often. Just then the door was gently pushed open.

"Sorry boys, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, just coming up to see if you wanted any apples. But Cas, sweetie, Dean's right. You can be part of our family," Mary said, setting down the bowl of apple wedges she'd been carrying and also giving Cas a hug. Cas snuggled against her, but then looked up.

"Mary, what's going to happen to me?" he asked, troubled. "The people at the court don't want me to go back with my mother and stepfather, and my father is dead, and I don't have anyone else. Where am I going to live?"

"Well," Mary began slowly. "If your parents lose custody of you, then you will most likely end up at an adoption center."

"A what?"

"That's where you'll stay with many other children who don't have homes, or have to be away from their home for a while, and then eventually you could be adopted by a new family." Cas looked alarmed.
"I don't want that to happen. I don't want a new family, I thought you were my family?" Mary stopped cuddling and looked at him thoughtfully.

"You know..." she trailed off, then nodded as if making a decision. "Dean, may you please leave us alone for a moment?" Dean agreed, shut the door behind him, and then immediately knelt and pressed his ear to the door.

"I don't know why I never thought of it before," Mary was saying. "But it seems so obvious. Now, listen to me, Cas. I'm about to ask you a very important question, but the decision is completely up to you, alright?"

"Okay Mary," Cas responded dutifully.

"Would you like it if I tried to gain custody of you?" A pause, in which Dean imagined Cas doing his confused head tilt thing. "That means that I would legally adopt you, you would legally be my son, and you would live here with me and the boys," Mary explained. Dean gasped, and he heard Cas do the same.

"Really? For real?" he said. "I would live here forever and ever and Dean and Sam would be my real brothers and you'd be my real mother and it would all be legal and real?"

"Yes," Mary laughed, and Dean imagined Cas' big blue eyes going wide as saucers.

"I would like that very, very much!" Cas cried. "More than absolutely anything in the world!"

"Okay baby, if that's what you want, then I will do everything I can to adopt you! You're a wonderful kid, and there is nothing I'd love more than to call you my son. I fell in love when I first laid eyes on you, angel."

"I love you too, Mary. You're nice. You're the nicest grown-up I've ever met. Can I tell Dean and Sam now that we might be for real brothers?"

"Sure." Dean heard Cas' footsteps coming towards the door and he quickly attempted to stand up and act like he hadn't been listening, but Cas would too fast. He flung open the door as Dean was only half way standing.

"Dean," Mary chided. "Don't listen at doors." Anything else she was going to say, though, was cut off by Cas chattering about adoption and hopping from foot to foot in front of Dean, who looked to his mom.

"Can you really do it? Can you adopt Cas?" he asked.

"It'll take some work, but I'm fairly positive his mother and stepfather's parental rights will be legally terminated and Castiel will be open for adoption. Rufus is actually an old friend of Bobby's, I recently learned, so I'm sure he'll do all he can to help us out, too." Dean couldn't wipe the grin off his face. "Now, it's not going to be instantaneous," Mary warned. "The process is going to take some time. The court case has to be finished and closed, and there will be paperwork to fill out, and house visits from the adoption agency, and so on."

"But it will happen?" Dean persisted. Mary smiled.

"Yes, Dean, I swear, I will make it happen," she promised. Dean turned back to Cas, whose smile matched his own, and picked him up, swinging him in a little circle.

"We're gonna be brothers, we're gonna be brothers, you're going to live with us and join our familyyy," Dean sang, knowing how silly he sounded and not caring one bit. Cas was giggling. "You'll be a big brother and a little brother, oh, wait 'till we tell Sammy, he'll be so happy, and just think, we'll get you a real bed and we'll share my room, and maybe you'll get your own desk when you're older, and we can do homework together every day, and soon it will be Thanksgiving and we'll have Thanksgiving together and you can go meet Uncle Bobby and Aunt Ellen and little Joanna Beth, and you'll be safe for good, and..." Dean kept going on and on, but Cas stopped listening. Instead he simply watched Dean with shining blue eyes, the happiest he'd been in a long, long time. It was looking like for once in his life, everything would be perfect.


Again, I apologize if any details are wrong about how all the legal/court/adoption etc. parts work. I kept it from Dean's POV so it would be slightly vague on purpose.

Anywho, this is what the story has been building up to, so I very much hope it was worth it for you all and enjoyed! I'm nervous just posting this... Well, thanks reading and for sticking with me this long, I appreciate it :)

Next chapter is the last one, and is more of an epilogue than a full chapter. Should be up soonish!