Cas quivered as he stood in the foyer of the courtroom, his entire body quaking from the sheer terror he was feeling. Weakly, he gripped Dean's hand and tried not to cry, leaning his head on his shoulder and desperately holding onto him. Dean gently stroked his hair with his free hand and dropped a gentle kiss on his forehead before pulling him fully into his arms and rocking him slightly.

"Shh…" He whispered, feeling Cas grip the back of his jacket tightly in his hands, his breath weak and shaky against Dean's neck. "You're okay." He whispered very softly against his jaw. He ghosted his hands over his sides and dipped his head down to kiss him, trying to comfort him in the only way he knew how to. Cas quivered and gripped him tightly again, pressing his forehead to his shoulder.

"I'm scared." He whispered. "I don't want to testify." He mumbled into his clavicle, trying not to burst into desperate tears. "Don't make me Dean please." He whimpered into his neck and shook, his hands gripping his shirt as tightly as he could.

"I'm not going to make you, Cas, I promise. But you know it's for the best right?" He murmured, pulling back enough to look at him, tipping his chin up with a few fingers. "And I'll be watching you, waiting for you. I promise you." He smiled and dropped a tender kiss on his forehead. "We can cuddle and I'll look after you, we can get some pizza or something and watch a few crappy movies." His hand rested on the small of his back gently. "Okay?" He murmured, his hand ghosting over Cas' back as the friendly therapist Cas had been seeing stepped out of the courtroom and looked over at them both.

"Castiel? They want you now." She said gently, not touching him, just looking at him. "Are you ready?" Dean looked down at him and kissed him firmly on the mouth, squeezing his arm.

"I'll be right there." He said softly, stroking his cheek. "I promise." Cas looked from the therapist, Mrs Harvelle, and then back to Dean.

"I'm… Can Dean… Can I…" He swallowed thickly. "Can Dean be sat in front of me? I n-need to see him or I won't be able to testify." His voice was very small and thin, cracking slightly.

"Yes." Dr Harvelle, whose name badge read 'Ellen' on it said softly.

"And is Crow-… He going to be in there?" Cas almost choked on the words and gripped Dean's hands as tight as he could. Dean stroked the back of his hand with his thumb gently and smiled at him, a reassuring smile plastered on his face.

"No." Ellen smiled at him. "Special considerations." Cas nodded, fighting the urge to vomit all over Ellen's shiny black shoes.

"Okay, Dean." He mumbled softly. "Ellen." Cas released Dean's hand at last and looked over at him one last time, trying not to bolt for the door. Dean stroked his shoulder gently and squeezed once, before heading into the gallery.

"Are you alright, Castiel?" Her voice was gentle, soothing to his ears. "Because you don't have to go through with this if you don't want to." Cas looked at her with wide blue eyes.

"I have to. I have to. I'm scared but I have to." He nodded, reaffirming himself. "I can." He followed her obediently, padding along the lacquered floor, his shoes squeaking on the varnished wood. His tie was the wrong way round, and the trench coat he was wearing over his black suit was stifling him. At the door, he faltered and stripped it off, folding it and placing it over one arm carefully so as not to crease it.

"Ready?" She looked him over, smoothing a bit of his hair down gently, trying to reduce the unruly spikes of his dark hair.

"Ready." He replied very quietly, pushing the door open and trying to ignore the stares of the people in the gallery, focussing solely on Dean in the front and centre of the gallery. He climbed into the witness box, weakly gripping the rail so that his knuckles were white. It was only a small courtroom, but as Crowley was technically an adult he had to be tried as such. He looked at Dean, focussing on the older boy, taking in a few calming breaths.

"Please, Castiel. In your own time, just tell us what happened." The judge was nice, calm, a quiet spoken man with a head of dark hair. Cas knew his name was something Fitzgerald and he exuded a kind of peace as he spoke. He looked a little unorthodox, but Cas was comforted by him. He swallowed down his fear and looked over at Dean, the other boy giving him a weak smile.

"I um. I can't… I…" Cas fiddled with his tie. "He just. I don't know what I did to him. I didn't do anything." He ran a hand over his face. "I was walking home a… a week before I started high school again and I s-saw him. He just." He fiddled with the label on his tie again. "He pushed me down, made Alistair and Azazel held me down." He coughed, reaching for the cup of water on the side and swallowing some, his hand trembling. "He… He was violent. Really strong I…" He looked down and gripped the rail tighter. "I felt something in me break." He whispered; eyes downcast. "I couldn't even be close to Sam or Dean when school started again. I thought they might hurt me." He looked up at Dean. "I'm sorry, Dean."

"Carry on." Judge Fitzgerald told him, his voice soft as though dealing with a young child.

"It happened again a few weeks after I came out as… Dean's boyfriend." He faltered as he saw a flash of red hair in the back of the gallery, saw Anna and Gabriel staring at him from the back row, eyes wide from fear. "After school. He didn't even get the o-others to hold me down he just… Did." Cas shook visibly. "I'm sorry. I can't." He gripped the rail again. "Can I go now, please? Please!" His voice cracked and at the nod from Judge Fitzgerald he scrambled from the witness box and out of the door, straight into Dean.

"I'm so proud of you." He whispered into his hair. "So proud of you."

"I couldn't." Cas whispered. "I couldn't say any more, I just couldn't."

"You said enough. More than enough. You did well, Cas." He kissed his hair, moving down to his lips, kissing him over and over. Cas fell into his arms and let Dean hold him, shivering. Dean's arms were warm and tight and he let himself be held. Dean stiffened and Cas turned, coming face to face with Anna and Gabriel.

"Oh." His voice was muted, and almost instantly Anna touched his shoulder.

"Cas, Cas I am so sorry." She told him softly. "Oh Castiel. I wish you could have told me." She gripped his shoulder and Gabe did the same, gripping the other side. "I'm sorry Michael and Lucifer kicked you out, you didn't deserve that." He nodded and looked at them both.

"Cas, you've always got family in me." Gabriel interjected. "Anna and I. We're your family. I promise." Cas nodded and squirmed a little.

"Thank you. I… Can I just… I just want to go." Cas looked uncomfortable, being away from his family had made him wary – the frequent messages of damnation from Michael and Lucifer making him hate himself and worried that the others also felt this way.

"Of course." Anna said quickly. "Can we come see you soon?"

"Yes." Dean murmured, wrapping his arms around Cas' middle. "You can. But right now I think he needs some sleep." He looked at the dark rings beneath his eyes and frowned, stroking his cheek. "Anna, Gabriel, come by in the next few days." They nodded and stood together as Dean and Castiel walked towards the Impala.