A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Hopefully this chapter makes up for it.

If You Dare Challenge - #587 (Caged)

Are You Crazy Enough To Do It Challenge - #14 (A perfect life)

Fanfiction Writing Month: November [1499]

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

In the following weeks, Sonny found Dean and Cas holding hands, putting their arms around one another, hugging, kissing… They acted like a true couple. He had never seen Dean so happy before. In February, when the school's dance came around, Cas asked Dean to the winter dance by stringing Christmas lights all over the barn. Sonny could have sworn all the exhaustion and fear in Dean vanished that day, replaced with joy.

Dean still had setbacks; once he had a nightmare so terrible that no one could touch him for a whole day, and Sonny had to keep him home from school. Without Dean, Sam utterly refused to leave the house, but as he couldn't approach Dean to comfort his older brother, as Dean had locked himself in the bathroom. He was now chanting in a raspy, panicked voice. The words were in Latin, Sonny knew, and Amina beganto translate it. "It's...something religious," she explained. "Be humble under the mighty hand of God; tremble and flee when we invoke the Holy and Terrible name at which we tremble… From the snares of the devil, deliver us, Lord—" Suddenly her eyes widened. "It's an exorcism," she whispered, and she glanced at the floor, where she found a trail of white powder spilling from beneath the door.

"Dean!" Sam slapped his hand against the door, frantic. "Dean, it's me!"

The chanting grew louder.

That simple action undermined everything Sonny thought he knew about the Winchesters. Sam was Dean's rock, not a possible attacker. Why would Dean ignore him? It made no sense.

Sam was panicking now, so Cas placed a hand on his shoulder, and began to speak through the door in a calm, steady voice. It must have been the panic, Sonny thought, that bled through Sam's voice, feeding Dean's own fear, which prevented Dean from wanting to open the door. That's why Cas was speaking gently now; he wanted to soothe Dean so that he would stop...whatever it was. The exorcism. It didn't stop Dean right away, but eventually his voice trailed away and he opened the door. That day, Dean was cautious of everyone around him, even Sam, hissing "Christo" under his breath and displaying other odd behaviors. But at the very least, if something like that happened again, they knew Castiel could coax Dean out of an unstable mental state. A couple of times, Sonny found them sleeping in the same bed, arms curled around each other, peaceful.

Once, Dean woke up in such a terrified, horror-stricken state that he woke the whole house with his screaming. He thrashed and shrieked as Sam clapped his hands over his ears, crying. Castiel jumped from his top bunk and ran to Dean, but Dean didn't respond. "Dean! Dean!"

He screamed louder, a bloodcurdling noise that seemed to shake the whole house. Sonny, Amina, Kathy, and Rosa rushed inside as Dean continued to screech, clutching his head and squeezing his eyes shut. They tried to stop him from screaming, but he only pressed on. The sound was so piercing and shocking that the other boys had to leave the room. "Dean, Dean, shh…" Cas tried to console him, but his attempts did not affect his boyfriend. He could make out some words now, like no and please. "Shh…" He moved into Dean's bed and grabbed his hands, interlacing their fingers and trying to comfort him. "Dean, it's okay, it's okay… You're okay… I'm here, Dean, I'm here."

At the sound of Castiel's voice, Dean began to relax, his screams fading and turning into shakes and sobs. Between his hiccups, Cas could hear him say, "He's gonna—he's gonna—no, please—don't—don't leave me, don't leave me—"

"I'm right here, Dean," Cas assured him. "I won't leave you."

Once Dean was lucid and calm (or calmer at least), Cas held him, stroking his hair and kissing his tears away. "Was it about your father?" he asked gently.

Dean shook his head. He was still pale and trembling, terribly frightened of whatever he had dreamed about.

"Who, then?"

Dean shook his head again, and his fingernails dug into his palms. Carefully, so as not to surprise him, Cas pulled his fingers from their painful position and held his hand.

"Dean, please… Talk to me." He signed this time to emphasize his words, fingerspelling some of it. T-E-L-L ME, PLEASE. I WANT H-E-L-P YOU. H-E-L-P ME UNDERSTAND.

Dean let out a breath, gripping Cas' hand tighter. "You—" He stopped, sitting up. "Promise you won't hate me?"

"I could never hate you."

He stared at Cas' crossed legs, at his unblemished feet. "Do you remember when we went shopping?"

"The second day you were here?"

"Yeah."

"Of course."

"And you remember…what happened? After?"

Cas hesitated. "Yes. You were in the dressing room...alone. And it was...hard for you."

"Yeah. I was...scared. It reminded me of...something that happened to me. Before I came here."

"Okay." Cas was hesitant to press into Dean's past; he knew that his boyfriend had been through a lot of rough experiences before he came to Sonny's.

Dean was silent for about a minute before he spoke again. "With Sir—I mean, my dad… We lived in some bad places, you know? And… Once, we were staying in Utah, and…" His expression twisted, contorted by fear. "Th-there was a m-man there. His name was… Dr. Maddela. He wasn't…" Dean whimpered and pulled his hands away from Castiel.

"Dean, Dean, it's okay…" Cas whispered. "He's not here. It's just me."

Slowly, cautiously, Dean gave Cas his hands again. "He… He took me, Cas… He worked at a psych—at a psychiatric hospital, and…" His voice dropped to a hoarse whisper. "He locked me in one of the rooms there. The white, padded ones. Like a cage. He left me a bucket and gave me three meals a day through a little slot in the bottom of the door; it was the same every single day, Cas. Just a little white scoop of some mush, and no spoon or anything… It was just me in there, Cas!" Dean was crying again. "It was j-just me, and I was all alone, and I swear I went crazy in there. He'd come visit me sometimes, beat me until I was passed out… Sometimes he'd inject me with stuff that would make my skin feel like it was on fire…"

"Oh, Dean…"

But Dean continued. "You don't understand, Cas. If I didn't put the tray back within a minute, or if I got angry and threw my food or something, he didn't do anything. He always came when I was least expecting it, and sometimes I'd go for days without seeing him… Days in that little room by myself, no sound, no nothing, just me. I'd scream until my voice was completely gone, just to hear something. I stopped eating my meals, Cas, just to feel something. Hunger was better than the big empty. At least then I knew how much time was passing."

"Dean…"

Dean shook his head, growing more agitated. "I started trying to make him mad, Cas, I—" His head jerked to the side, and his eyes began going blank as though he wasn't here anymore. "I tried to make him mad… I looked forward to getting punished, Cas, because if I was hurting then I… At least it was something, you know? At least then I wasn't stuck with my thoughts in that little white room… I was so confused… I was so scared, Cas…" He sobbed into his hands. "There were days I'd forget what Sam looked like… I'd forget what I looked like— I w-went crazy in there, Cas! I… I couldn't see anything other than that wh-white room, that the white room and that stu-stupid b-b-bucket sitting in the corner… I was so… I—I… "

He cried so hard he thought he would vomit, but Cas stayed and held him as he cried, comforting him and consoling him and kissing his tears away.

Cas, after that, could pull Dean from a nightmare or a dangerous state of mind better than Sonny or Amina ever could. Just the sound of the piano, actually, could make Dean smile. Once, after practicing for months, Cas and Dean decided to put on a little recital. Kathy lent them two tuxes that belonged to her nephews, and they came out in suits and bow ties, beaming. They performed some duets, songs that were melodic and joyful, until their fingers ached, and then they bowed, giddy with happiness. It was unbelievable. Sonny would never have recognized this smiling, healthy teenager as the frightened, broken boy that had arrived at his place around three years ago. By no means were they living perfect lives, but at least they could stay in this safe, supportive environment. Every time either of them suffered a panic attack or a distressing nightmare, they could be comforted and know that they were safe no matter what.

The Winchesters were happy. And that was all that mattered.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Next chapter coming soon.