Thank you for your reviews! I'm really sorry I haven't had the chance to reply to everyone personally. I do try, and just because I don't manage to doesn't mean that I'm not reading. I love that so many of you are invested in this story, just like I am.

Here's the next chapter to see how Dean deals with the aftermath of coming out to his parents.

Caution: this chapter does have mentions of rape. I'm really sorry if that upsets anyone.

Chapter 28

Dean rushed out of the house through the kitchen. He needed to blow off steam, and the small garden out back would just be enough. He kicked one of his mom's gnomes across the garden before throwing the plastic deck chair in the same direction.

"Dean?" Castiel's voice made Dean stop his tantrum. Looking over, he saw the worried, fear and sadness in his boyfriend's blue eyes, "I'm sorry about that. If I'd have known, I'd have..."

"It wasn't your fault," Dean shook his head, just as Jo, Sam and Mary joined them in the garden, "It was John."

"You know he didn't mean it," Mary sighed, "John is..."

"He meant it," Dean nodded his head, "Please don't make excuses for him, Mom. You make excuses for far too many people. I just...I..."

Dean growled, throwing another plastic deck chair across the garden, making Mary flinch. Even Jo flinched at Dean's show of anger, and Sam and Castiel had weary looks in their eyes. Dean then turned his attention to the garage wall and he punched it, yelling when he felt the pain shoot up his knuckles and into his hand.

"Dean!" Mary shouted at her son, rushing over to him and grabbing his hand. She looked at him, clearly heartbroken from the look in her brown eyes, "Oh, sweetie. Let's get this cleaned up."

"I'm fine, Mom." Dean tried to pull his arm away, but Mary wasn't having any of it. Deciding that he really didn't want any of her sympathy, he pushed her back to pull his arm back again. Mary yelled as she lost her footing. Sam rushed over to his mom, shouting out Dean's name angrily.

Dean shook his head and brushed past everyone in the garden, not really believing what he'd just done. Grabbing his keys from the hook, he went straight to his Impala. He needed to get away from here.

He had intended to drive alone, but Castiel joined him in the passenger seat and he clearly wasn't going anywhere.

"I'm not talking." Dean made it clear.

"You don't have to," Castiel shrugged his shoulders, "But I'm not leaving you alone right now."

With that, Dean turned over the engine and drove away from the house. He went to a quiet spot just between Lawrence and Topeka. It was far enough away from home, and quiet so he could think things through.

"So, John isn't your real dad?" Castiel had clearly gotten that much from the conversation. It was still not something Dean wanted to go into it, but he did own his boyfriend an explanation. In fact, his boyfriend needed to know what he was getting himself into.

"No," Dean shook his head, "Step-dad. He, erm, my real dad was an abusive bastard. Broke my mom down like crazy. John helped her get out of that relationship and then they stayed together afterwards."

"And Sam? He has the same dad as you?" Castiel asked, trying to understand Dean's family history.

Dean nodded his head and then sighed deeply, "Adam is John's."

"You know, I swear I've always heard you call him your dad. Sam has, too."

"That's because he has always been our dad. At least, that's the way we view him," Dean shrugged his shoulders, "It's not all about blood, ya know. One of the best men I know told me that family don't end with bloog."

"So, abusive dad," Castiel nodded, "Now I know why your mom and Sam were so scared when you left. I told them I'd help calm you do. Even Jo didn't want to come..."

"Jo's had to deal with my shit enough times," Dean sighed, pulling out his cigarettes and lighting up to try and calm his nerves, "She gets scared at some of my outbursts. A couple of years ago the abusive bastard turned back up. It threw me completely. I mean...I really don't like talking about this, Cas. It's a lot of shit."

"Well, I'm here to listen," Castiel offered, "Why don't you try and let it all out? It might help."

"You won't want to hear," Dean shook his head, "Sometimes I think I'm turning into him. You know, you spend all this time telling yourself you're not going to turn out to be like someone and then...fuck, look at what I did to my mom. Like she will ever forgive me for that. She put up with that...that sperm donor doing that to her for years and now..."

Dean got out of the car, slamming the Impala door behind him. It wasn't long before he heard the passenger door creaking open and then closing. Rustling over the grass told him that Castiel was coming around the car. Not that Dean wanted to face him right now. Those tears from earlier were back, his eyes burning like crazy. He couldn't let them fall, though. He wouldn't feel sorry for himself right now.

"Your mom won't hate you," Castiel placed a hand on Dean's shoulder, "She'll forgive you. Understand that..."

"Don't you see? That's the problem!" Dean swung around, glaring at Castiel, "She'll forgive me and pretend that it didn't happen. That's just what she did with that asshole. She forgave him time and time again, while he pounded his fists into her. I still remember it."

"You saw it?"

"A couple of times," Dean admitted, "I was four, so some of its blurry but there's one night I'll never forget. I was in my mom's closet trying on her shoes—maybe I should have guessed then that I was bisexual," Dean and Castiel chuckled at the comment before Dean continued, "Well, I was hiding when he pushed her into the bedroom, hitting her about as he did. He...it all escalated. I don't even remember what their fight was about. I guess it was nothing, just him being a drunken asshole. Well, he...he pinned her on the bed and..."

"He raped her?" Castiel frowned deeply, as Dean allowed the tears drop from his eyes. Castiel's hands went up to his hands, trying to hide the shock that was now all over his face. That shock was quickly replaced by sadness and sympathy. Dean didn't want to see that, so he turned back around, taking a long drag from his cigarette.

"I think I get it," Castiel now broke the silence, "Why you didn't want me making excuses for Cain beating me before Christmas. This is why."

Dean didn't nod his head, but he knew it wasn't a question. Castiel was finally understanding everything that was going through his head.

"It's also why I beat the crap outta Michael. Why I got expelled," Dean sighed, "He hurt Jo and I, well, I made it clear that I wouldn't let the people I love get hurt. But now...I'm turning into something I don't want to be, Cas. I'm becoming him."

"No, you're not," Castiel shook his head, "You've never hit me. And you're getting better at controlling your anger. You took it out on the chairs and a wall rather than anyone else. You could have gone after John."

Dean didn't believe Castiel, though. He refused to look at him in the eyes, so Castiel forced him. Before Dean knew it, Castiel was locking lips with him. He quickly pulled away, grabbing Castiel's hands.

"No, Cas..."

"You're not your father, Dean," Castiel shook his head, "I'd know by now if you were."

With that, Castiel kissed Dean again, pulling him towards the Impala. Quickly putting the cigarette out, Dean allowed himself to be pulled to the car. He pushed Castiel up against his baby, pushing his hips into him.

"Mmm, Dean," Castiel moaned, "Don't do that unless..."

Dean smirked against Castiel's mouth, as he opened the back door to the Impala, "Get in, then."


It was a few hours later that Dean finally felt calm enough to return home. He wasn't sure what to expect when he got there, but Castiel held his hand to support him.

"It will be okay." He assured, but Dean really wasn't that sure. Castiel still didn't know everything; didn't know the crap that Dean had pulled over the last couple of years. He wasn't going to go into all that, at least not right now.

As soon as he opened the door, he expected to have glaring eyes on him. Instead, the house was quiet. A little too quiet. There was no light on in the living room—Dean had seen that from the path—so he assumed everyone was in the kitchen. That was if Mary was even still up and Jo was still here. It could just be Sam up.

When he opened the door, he felt awful for the look in his mom's eyes. She had been crying, whether over the incident or Dean running off like that.

"Oh, Dean." Mary sighed, rushing over to Dean and pulling him into a hug. She'd obviously been crying with worry. It was like everything had been forgotten about, and that didn't sit easy with the teenager. Feeling himself pulled into his mother, he couldn't help but hug her back.

"I'm so sorry, Mom," he admitted, "I didn't mean...what happened out there, I have no excuse. But I promise—and I mean it—I won't do that again."

"Oh sweetie, you shocked me, that's all," Mary pulled her son away, looking into his bright green eyes, "I shouldn't have tried..."

"No, you do not make excuses for me. Do not blame yourself, please," Dean begged her, "That's what you did with him and..." he then looked up at Jo and Sam, who were both still in the room, "I'm not going to turn into him."

"We know that, Dean." Sam nodded his head, but Dean could see a look in Jo's eyes that told him something different. She may not have known Dean and Sam's real dad, but she'd heard stories. She may have even heard stories from Ellen, since Ellen and Bill had been friends with him at one point. But Jo also knew the shit that Dean had gotten into—all the shit he'd gotten into.

"Is Dad back yet?" Dean now asked, looking between his mom, brother and best friend.

"Not yet," Mary shook her head, "He'll be out at the Roadhouse. You know that. Bobby will talk some sense into him. Lord knows that man needs some sense talking into him at times."

Dean smiled uneasily, and then sense the presence behind him. He'd completely forgotten about Castiel while talking to his mom. Quickly turning around, he grabbed Castiel's hand and caught the smile on his mom's face.

"So, you've not got a problem with this?"

"Oh, sweetie. I just want you to be happy," Mary sighed, "But now I do understand why you kept saying you couldn't be with Lisa. You know you still have that...you have told Castiel about that, right?"

"Yeah, Mom," Dean nodded his head, "He knows everything."

"Yes, Mrs. Winchester..."

"It's still Mary, Castiel," Mary smiled at the young teenager, "Now, what am I going to do with you two and that room you're sharing. I guess there was no point in the airbed, was there?"

Dean frowned but Mary gave him a knowing look. He just chuckled at the situation and nodded his head.


It definitely wasn't an easy chapter to write, especially Dean opening up to Castiel. Again, all of this has been planned from the start and it brings in some of the storyline from the original boarding school story I wrote in the Charmed universe.

If you stuck around this long, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please R&R