Dean had been in hospital for a week and a half. His hand was broken and he had a couple of cracked ribs but other than that he was fine. Well mostly fine, due to the hits to his chest he'd passed out due to the pain and the difficulty breathing. No one had found him till the morning and by that time the rain from the night had soaked his clothes Dean's breathing was shallow and his heart rate weak. He'd been asleep for two days and had had to be checked for any spinal injuries. When he came to they determined that he was fine and there should be no lasting injuries from the attack. The police had been as well and they took his statement and talked to him about catching Balthazar. However even Balthazar had not prepared him for who stood in the doorway currently. Hip cocked, arms folded and one eyebrow raised; with a face that just said 'You're going to tell me everything and you're going to do it now' Dean gave a sheepish smile as Mary dropped in to the chair beside his bed.

"Dean about three weeks ago you said and I quote 'Mom stop worrying about things here, have fun visiting Grandpa and Grandma, what's the worst that could happen here' So you want to tell me why I gotta call about your dumb arse being in hospital?"

"Mom I can totally explain but first why has it taken you a week and a half to visit your son in hospital?"

"Well Dean first I had to find a flight here but then three days after Sammy called me to tell me you were fine and for me to come home as normal. And after having you as a child there has been plenty of hospital visits"

"Mom I'm really sorry I never meant for this to happen"

"Dean I love you I know that you would never mean for something like this to happen but I also know that from what Sam has told me you got involved when someone needed help and I would never ask you to go against your gut"

"Mom it's just because I'm a paramedic you know, it's my job to help people that's it"

"You always sell yourself short Dean, but you've been taking care of me and Sam ever since your Dad died, maybe even before then. You are good through and through Dean Winchester so don't you tell me it's just your job because it wasn't your job back in high school to get the neighbour's cat out of the tree but you did it every damn day!" Dean cracked a small smile at Mary as he remembered climbing the large oak every day to get Mrs Rogers cat out of the tree, even after he fell and broke his wrist. Mary smiled up at him and moved her hand over his, she gave him a light squeeze and Dean took a deep breath before telling her everything.

Castiel hadn't seen Dean since his birthday party and that had been two weeks ago. Dean hadn't called, texted or come to see him. Or atleast not directly he knew that Sam didn't care about his health enough to ask 10 times a day. He'd finally been able to get his cast off and Sam had been hanging around more and more. He knew it was for Gabriel but he also knew that Sam always checked his phone before sighing looking up and asking Castiel how his leg was. Cas would always smile politely and tell him he was fine.

The sad part of it all though was that Castiel did miss Dean. He missed the easy flirting and how easy it was to really rile Dean up about the little things but mostly he missed how safe he felt, he hadn't really felt like that in a long time but with Dean around it was almost like no one could hurt him ever again. Castiel sighed as he dropped on to the couch, he couldn't really be mad at Dean, it wasn't really his fault. He'd gone for a one night stand and Castiel had been in a relationship he couldn't really ask Dean to not date anyone in case he and Balthazar broke up. And Anna did like to mess with him a lot. He needed to get out of his own head! He prayed to anyone up there for a distraction…anything…something…'knock'…yeah like a knock at the door…'knock knock'…there's someone actually at the door. Castiel pulled himself up and walked over to the door, he opened it to reveal a very beautiful but angry looking woman.

"Castiel 'Bluest eyes to ever Blue' Novak?"

"Erm…are you going to kill me?"

"You hurt my baby so I'm thinking about it but I doubt he'd be too happy if I maimed you"

"I'm sorry?"

"You will be now follow me" She turned on her heel and started moving down the hall towards the stairs, god knows why Castiel followed but he grabbed his keys shoved on some shoes and chased after her. He caught up to her and they walked side by side neither of them said anything, just walked until she stopped at a cemetery. Castiel stared at her but she just gave him a small smile and it was the first time he really looked at anything but her murderous glare but she was carrying a small basket. She took off again and he followed after her. They walked ten more minutes before she stopped and pulled out a blanket before arranging it on the floor.

"Castiel Novak, my names Mary Winchester and this is my husband John Winchester" Mary gestured to the headstone before pulling some food from the basket. She waved him down and he crossed his legs as he sat down.

"It's good to meet the both of you"

"Cas honey I need to tell you some stuff and I don't want you to say anything till the end okay?"

"Okay"

"Dean is one of the most important people in my life, heck there's only two important people really and that's my boys. Dean has told me everything that happened and I understand you feeling angry I do but you need to handle this better, because he's been at hospital for a week and a half and according to the nurses and Jo he's been miserable. Now I'm gonna guess you didn't know by the look on your face but he's gonna be fine, he got attacked by your ex-boyfriend and you know something he told me he'd take that beating again if it meant you were okay. That's something I really need you to understand because Dean doesn't let a lot of people in but he likes you and I can see by how itching you are to run from here that you like him as well, so I am going to tell you what I told him. Life can throw you a hell of a lot of curve balls and sometimes you fall in love and it gets taken away from you" she ran her hand over the top of Johns grave and Castiel looked away as a tear rolled down her cheek "…but I will never regret falling in love. Even if I knew that I would only get a few years with him and that would be it I would never change that, because despite all the pain it was worth having him in my life and he gave me two beautiful, brave, smart sons that deserve the best. And I think you might just be the best for my boy"

"How can you be sure?"

"Because since the crash Dean doesn't get close to anyone, he's too afraid of losing someone he loves but you survived your car accident and I think he sees you as a sign or something" Castiel smiled at Mary as she halved the food between them. She told him stories about her family. The summers they spent in the back garden with the inflatable pool and having BBQ's. She told him about the first BBQ and how john had spent hours trying to figure out how to turn the damn thing on only to find he'd forgotten to connect the gas bottle. The time Sam had fallen down the porch stairs and even though he was fine Dean was his doctor and Sam never complained just let Dean take care of him. She even told Castiel that she would love to start up that tradition again because she misses back garden BBQ's. They talked well after all the food was gone and Castiel thanked John Winchester for a lovely day before he and Mary left. Once again they fell in to silence as they walked side by side to Castiel's apartment. He invited her up for a cup of coffee and she smiled and accepted the offer while demanding to hear stories of his family.

They stepped in to the apartment and Castiel flipped the light in the living-room. He let Mary know that she was welcome to treat it like home before he went in to the kitchen. He shouted through about milk and sugar and got a quick reply no milk, no sugar, extra hot. Castiel carried the drinks to the living-room but Mary wasn't there he decided she'd probably just gone in to the dining-room.

"So where to start…" Castiel's smile dropped along with his cup as he took the scene in. Gabriel was unconscious and tied to a chair, Sam was beside him tied up but awake, and Mary was at the head of the table with a gun to her head. Balthazar pressed it harder in to her temple and smirked at Castiel.

"You didn't really think you were free did you?"