Thanks for the reviews, as promised here is the next chapter. A bit shorter, but the next one will be long :) Enjoy!

Hanging by a Moment

Lifehouse- Hanging by a Moment

I'm letting go of all I've held onto,

I'm standing here until you make me move,

I'm hanging by a moment here with you.

I'm living for the only thing I know,

I'm running and not quite sure where to go,

And I don't know what I'm diving into,

Just hanging by a moment here with you.

Dean and Sam kept glancing alternatingly at the young man fast asleep behind them. Sam had covered him in a few more blankets which he had fished out from under his seat and was keeping a tight hold on the bag of ready meals he had bought from the general store by their motel. He and Dean had been planning on popping into a diner advertising 'The World's Best Pie!' But, with a half unconscious Castiel in the back of the car, who needed some nutrients and fattening up, the Winchester's had gone for the next best thing. The poor boy was twitching and gasping in his sleep but Sam and Dean decided that a nightmare, no matter how awful, would be a better alternative than pain.

When they finally pulled in to the motel car park, Sam left first, talking to the receptionist and asking her to show him the way to the breakfast room whilst Dean carried a barely conscious Castiel to their room, 101. The irony had not hit the Winchester's till now. Dean carefully laid the boy on the bed and rested his head on the pillow, Castiel's dark hair spiking up at all angles and only making his skin appear paler.

After Sam shoved the ready meals in the microwave provided with their room, which smelt as if someone had burnt a body in there, he grabbed the medi-kits and chucked one to Dean. They began to work in silence, attaching steri-strips to all of the deep cuts and massaging some numbing creams into his bruised and battered body. Dean gently sat Cas up and was about to start bandaging his shoulder for support when a muffled cry escaped the boy's mouth.

"Hey, hey. It's ok buddy." Dean squeezed Cas' good shoulder lightly whilst Sam took the boy's shaking hands, partly to stop him from doing anything stupid and partly for comfort. Cas began to cry weakly and put up a brief attempt of getting away before giving up and slumping against Dean, although he did manage to pull his hands away from Sam. He still didn't trust him fully, the tall, broad stature and the size of his arm muscles. It wasn't that Cas thought Dean wouldn't be able to pack a hefty punch, but Sam's looming figure was a lot bigger and Dean had kind eyes. Cas could always read a lot from people's eyes, and Dean's deep green ones held nothing but concern and good intentions for him. Cas was sure of that.

He leant his head weakly against Dean's chest and allowed himself to fall fast asleep again, deep enough for Dean to wrap his arm, snap his nose back into place and to not wake when Sam swore loudly, having burnt his hand on one of the microwaved ready meals.

"Nice Sam, real cool and collected. Just the vibe we want to give off in front of him." Dean jerked his head towards the still sleeping Cas, who let out a muffled snore through his newly straightened nose.

"I hardly think that he cares if I swear at this moment in time Dean, he's asleep."

"Whoa, hold it there genius, he's asleep? I would never have guessed!" Sam punched his brother lightly on the shoulder and gave him the patented bitch-face before sitting down on his bed next to Dean, as Cas was currently sleeping in Dean's bed.

"Should we wake him for some food?"

"I guess so…" Dean stood walked over to what had been his bed and crouched down on his legs so that he would look smaller and less of a threat.

"Cas, wake up. Castiel, we've got some food for you." When Castiel didn't so much as stir Dean massaged his temple, sat on the edge of the bed and placed a light shoulder on Cas' uninjured arm. The boy awoke with a jerk and pulled away from Dean on instinct. He immediately began to shake and Dean sighed. What on earth did that fugly do to make a nineteen year old so afraid? What can I do to help? Can I do anything to help?

"Hey, chill. Relax, we aren't gonna hurt you. Sam cooked some food for you, you must be starving. When was the last time you ate before we came?" Dean attempted to make the boy speak again but Cas just glanced at him with wide eyes. It suddenly struck Dean how empty his eyes seemed, devoid of anything but pain. There was no love in those eyes, no sign of affection and Dean once again found himself wondering what had happened to this boy to cause so much emotional scarring.

"Do you think you can make it to the table?" Castiel nodded blankly, he barely seemed to be hanging on to reality. His head kept jerking, blank eyes flickering towards imaginary threats, or at least threats that were not currently present.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Sammy's cooking isn't that bad…well…" Dean attempted to ease the tension with humour, but was again disappointed when Cas took him completely seriously, eyeing the food with suspicion. I think I will deserve a medal by the time I make this kid smile!

The three sat awkwardly at the table, Castiel only eating a few mouthfuls from his plate, spending most of his time pushing the spaghetti around. It was clear that he really didn't trust the Winchesters.

"Look, you don't have to eat it if you don't want it, but I promise that there is nothing in that meal that could hurt you. We want to help, don't we Dean…" Dean, who had been absently eating his own meal, pondering the strange boy, nodded and smiled over at Cas, who seemed unnerved by the display of affection and turned away.

Another half an hour later, Castiel had only managed a few more mouthfuls and his head had fallen to his chest, the boy no longer having the energy to keep himself upright.

"Right, I think it's time for bed." Dean glanced at the clock pointedly, although it was only 9. "Do you want to use the shower first Cas?" Castiel pulled his heavy eyelids open and took Dean's question as an order, scooting up and locking himself in the bathroom immediately so that he would not get in trouble. His entire body was screaming in pain and Cas just wanted a few hours of peace before he had to return back to his abuser.

Thoughts of going back to the cottage sent a shiver of fear through Cas' frame, but he ignored the tremors and stepped into the shower, being careful not to get his bandages wet Cas stood in the cubicle for well over twenty minutes, scrubbing his skin red raw in an attempt to make himself feel clean. It didn't work.

Cas forced himself to step out from the comforting patter of water droplets, the feeling of them pattering on his back steadily reminded him of times when his life had been stable, but the reassurance was far too short lived for his liking.

That was when Cas realized he had no clean clothes to change into, but he couldn't walk back into the room in just a towel. Cas bobbed from foot to foot for a while, pondering his situation before deciding to pull on his old boxers and wrapping himself in two towels so that most of his body was covered. That was when there was a knock on the bathroom door Cas' heart immediately froze as he assumed the worst. I must have taken too long. I have done something wrong. I have been bad. Bad people need to be punished. With his head hanging low Castiel opened the door and waited for the punches and kicks to come, but they didn't. Instead, he felt a steadying hand on his shoulder before he collapsed to the ground in a dead faint.

"Whoa…Cas? Cas? Shit!" Sam and Dean found themselves laying Castiel back onto Dean's bed and looked awkwardly towards the pile of clean clothes that Dean had been trying to deliver.

"What was that all about?"

"Dunno, think I frightened him or something…"

"Maybe." Sam glanced worriedly at the unconscious Castiel on the bed and ran a hand through his thick hair.

"We should dress him, and by we I mean you." Sam raised an indignant eyebrow and shook his head, hair flicking in all directions again.

"No way. He's bonded with you better anyway; he would want you to do it."

"Yeah, but you are the one who used to play dress up with dolls…girl!"

"Did not!"

"Whatever…you are doing it."

"Why!"

"Because I am oldest." As if that was the best argument ending ever, Dean swanned over to the fridge and pulled out a can of beer. With a resigned sigh Sam set about pulling some clean boxers and a top onto the boy, blushing slightly and thanking whoever or whatever was out there for the boy remaining asleep. He then pulled another bitch-face at Dean before grabbing a beer of his own and sipping it softly. Dean, who had practically inhaled his slipped into the bathroom and clambered into the other bed, shuffling so that there was enough room for his brother. Sam joined him ten minutes later and soon fell asleep.

It was halfway into the night when Dean began to regret not just taking the floor, Sam's gigantor body took up three quarters of the bed and his little brother had a tendency to sprawl, a fact that Dean was reminded about when he felt Sam wrap an arm around Dean's shoulders.

"Hell no…" Dean shifted from his brother's grip and climbed out of bed, sitting down at the dining table and falling asleep with his head on his forearm. His back was going to be stiff as hell the next morning, but it was better than waking up in a full on brotherly embrace. That was in no way a manly or Winchesterly way to stir of a morning.

However, it wasn't just Dean who was having a bad night. Cas was thrashing wildly against his sheets, clammy with sweat and shuddering.

"ARE YOU DEFYING ME BOY?"

"N-no. I'm sorry. So sorry, please don't…" A hard blow caught Cas across the face, forceful enough to make black spots swim in front of his vision.

"Don't LIE to me. You know what happens to filthy little liars."

"Please don't. I won't do it again. I won't. I won't. I won't." Castiel curled in over himself and tried to crawl further into his cupboard, but was grabbed roughly by the arm and thrown against a wall. The pain ricocheting through his arm caused Cas to scream in pain and his legs gave way, leaving Cas on the ground, completely vulnerable to every kick his attacker laid upon his abdomen.

"SILENCE. If you make another sound I swear to god I will make you regret the day you were born. Do you understand me?" Cas bit his lip and nodded, the movement causing blood from his nose to flow into his mouth. Cas forced himself to remain quiet as more blows rained down on him, he promised himself that he would make his master happy from now on. He was tired of being punished. The metallic taste made Cas gag, but he knew that being sick would just make matters worse. He would me punished for making a mess. Another blow to the head left Cas barely hanging onto consciousness, and one last kick caused him to black out.

With a loud cry of fright Cas awoke Sam and caused both Winchesters to hurry to his side. When they began to talk to him, all Castiel could make out was the gentle, reassuring tone. The words all seemed to be traveling through a tunnel and sounding like some sort of echo.

Please make them leave me alone. Please, please make them go.

Around five minutes later Cas' silent prayer was answered, Sam and Dean accepting that they were not getting anywhere and if anything, were just distressing him even more. They watched in silence as Castiel slowly uncurled from his tight ball and sat himself up a little straighter, reaching over to the bedside table and opened the draw, pulling out the complimentary Bible. Dean exchanged a silent, slightly unbelieving look with Sam as they watched Castiel flick through the pages until he was about two thirds of the way through. Then the boy began to read the page, only moving to occasionally turn the page. He was reading slowly, as if he were trying to memorize every single word and each caress of the page was full of love and affection. Although Castiel was not smiling, his shoulders seemed less tense and his intense frown had lessened slightly. It was the closest to relaxed, and even happy that the Winchesters had seen him so far.

Sam soon found himself dozing off again, but Dean was busy watching Castiel, who was still pouring over his Bible. Dean just couldn't see it, how could someone put so much trust into something, or someone who they had never seen? Where was the proof? How could people show such blind faith, let alone someone who had only seen neglect and abuse? How could Cas find the love and trust within themselves to put faith into something or someone so unreachable?

Dean doubted he would ever fully understand and although he didn't want to admit it, part of himself wished that he had something to believe in, someone to pray to when times get hard. A metaphorical angel by his side to confide with and rely on would be nice on occasion.

When Castiel finally turned his bedside light off and placed the Bible underneath his pillow, Dean allowed himself to fall asleep. He felt a sort of brotherly protectiveness for this broken boy, who barely seemed to be clinging on to his emotions, everything was trapped behind some sort of wall, an emotional barrier that would eventually crumble. Dean really didn't know what he had gotten into, what sequence of events he had so dived into, but he knew he would stand with Cas until the bitter end. Dean just hoped that he and Sam would be able to get Cas through whatever life, or God threw at them. Life is a test after all…

A shorter chapter this time, it seemed to come to a natural end which would fit well with the next song I have lined up. I have never really addressed religion in my stories before, but tried to show both sides of the coin, please let me know how I did! I hope that you enjoyed it and the next chapter should be longer and uploaded on Wednesday (I have a lot planned!). Please review!