{A.N. Hey guys, I am seriously SO SORRY for keeping you all waiting so long! Three gigs turned into like the busiest five months ever! But here we are back with you! This is only a short chapter yes, BUT the trial starts in the next chapter so hang tight.. it'll be all good and angsty!

I honestly can't thank you guys enough for your reviews! You guys are the best! Twilight684: I'm not giving up yet! PyroNeko: Thanks man! Here's your update. Kurosaki224: Thanks! I'm trying to involve more than just one theme for sure. daydae37: Thanks so much! King-of-Horror: Thank you, means so much! chgkfdgfgfkighjfy: Shit man, hope I got your name right! Dean will fix it! Or he'll try at least. CHiKa-RoXy: Haha thanks! I'm a sucker for praise lols. Kaili Hardman: Thanks and yeah, the shows went damn well! Otex: Yay! Well here's more, so sorry for the delay. MariMagda: Hmm that's an interesting point. I suppose that could feature into it somehow...ktravierso: Yes, daddy issues...They'll be coming up in due time. MonsterV: Haha I hope you didn't expire waiting for this chapter. Again, hope you like it! Gustin azza: Haha yeah, I'm such a sucker for hurt Cas, not gonna lie. Casismyfavourite: Yeah, hopefully even more backstory coming up soon. Slycat888: Thanks man! Yes we did indeed rock out. transformers001: Thank you, here's more for you...}

Chapter 10

Castiel paced the length of the living room trying desperately to come to terms with what Dean had just said. Two weeks? How could he possibly face Alastair in two weeks? He'd only just been released from hospital recently. His arm would still be in a sling from his broken collarbone. His broken ribs would still be tender. Some of the deeper cuts and bruises would be half healed. He would only be half healed. He felt hands on his shoulders and flinched away, even though deep down he knew Dean would never be the monster Alastair was.

"Cas, please, just sit down," Dean said calmly. He made sure to keep a bit of distance between himself and Cas. He hadn't made Cas flinch in a long time. "Cas, stop, please."

Cas stopped his frantic pacing and looked up at Dean. His blue eyes were glassy. "Dean I can't do this, I can't."

"Come on, Cas, just sit down a minute, take a breath," Dean said, reaching out for the other man's hand. But Cas jerked away from his touch. Dean's heart dropped but his hopes were raised a little when Cas walked stiffly to the couch and sat down right at one end. "Just take a minute to calm down alright Cas?"

"Calm down?" Cas asked, the words were meant to be cutting but they came out as desperate. "Dean, I can't do this. Not like this," he said, gesturing to his still injured body.

"You can," Dean assured him. "If I could do it, you can do it."

Castiel turned to the policeman with a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I suppose I didn't tell you the whole story earlier about Michael," Dean sighed. "Sam saw him beating me and talked me into pressing charges. But before I did that, I thought I should try and give Michael a chance to redeem himself. I guess at the time I felt I owed him that or something ridiculous. I went back to our place, we'd been living together but I'd been staying in a motel with Sam after our last fight, to talk to him. He was very calm and polite, offered me a drink and listened to what I had to say. I told him that I still loved him, but he needed help. It wasn't right what he'd been doing, but I was willing to stand by his side while he got the help he needed. I thought we were making progress and to be honest, I still wasn't overly okay with pressing charges. He was basically the boss's son and I didn't really want the whole force to know that I'd been putting up with someone like Michael for years.

"But then something in him snapped. He asked me if I loved him. I said yes. Then he asked why did I have to keep making him so unhappy. I didn't really know what to say to that, but Michael said the reason why he hit me was because I made him unhappy and beating me helped to fix it. He kept trying to force this completely fucked-up logic on me but I wouldn't take it anymore. I said to him that I didn't think we could resolve this and that's when he pulled a gun on me."

"He shot you?" Cas asked, eyes wide in shock.

Dean nodded. He pulled up his t-shirt to reveal a tanned toned stomach and pointed to an old yet angry looking scar on his side. "The bullet went straight through, didn't hit any major organs but it still hurt like hell. I remember dropping to the floor and seeing his coming towards me but I can't remember anything else. I guess I was lucky in that respect. But I wound up in hospital, I think my room was even on the same floor as yours. I forget how long I stayed there but it was a while. Almost all of the ribs on my left side were broken, my jaw was broken, my left arm was broken. And then Sam comes in asking me what I was thinking, going over to see Michael. So we pressed charges and seeing as Lawrence is a pretty quiet town and this was a pretty huge case, the trial took place about two days after I was released from hospital. I had to testify with a cast on my arm, bandages around my ribs. But I could do it."

Dean looked up at Cas for a moment. "You went through all of that hurt and came out the other side more or less whole. And you asked for help. That's the toughest thing you have to do. This next part will feel like a piece of cake."

"You promise?" Cas looked up at Dean and the policeman could still see a trace of the fear in his eyes.

"I can't promise that, but I promise you that I will be by your side the entire time. I will not abandon you, okay?"

Cas nodded, but deep down he felt his stomach twisting in knots. Despite hearing Dean's story and seeing the similarities between their ordeals, he still wasn't sure if he'd be able to do it.

{A.N. Alright guys, I know it's been literally AGES since I last updated but the next chapter is the start of the trial and we know what that means. A freaking truck load of angst. Review!}