Going back home wasn't an option. Dean stayed unconscious for a whole day, but when he woke up, the answer was clear: they had to stay put and avoid John, the madness was taking over him and it wasn't safe for Sam to go back.

He groaned as he tried to sit in the bed, his eyes opened slowly as he searched the room. He noticed straight away he was in Castiel's bedroom; he could see Cas sitting by his desk, his eyes trained on Dean.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, not looking away for a second.

Very slowly, the oldest Winchester managed to sit in the bed.

"Like shit." He replied carefully. He wasn't about to lie, but he didn't remember much from the previous night. He knew that he woke up in the middle of the night because Castiel gave him some medicine to help with the pain, but he didn't remember anything else.

"You should take another pill then." Cas said softly.

Dean nodded and reached for the pill and the glass of water sitting in the night stand beside the bed, the whole motion made him groan and whimper in pain. Every muscle in his body hurt, and it wasn't the good kind of pain, he knew he had more bruises than ever and that he must be looking terrible.

Cas got up and grabbed the glass and handed it to him. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared at Dean's form.

"I wish I could help you." He said softly.

Dean could hear the was Cas's voice was soft, he could feel Cas's wish to help and it made him feel weird; he didn't know what it was about Cas, but when he voiced things in his mind like that… it made Dean want to tell him everything.

"I know… And I wish I could tell you." He whispered back.

Dean's eyes started getting heavy again and he struggled to stay awake.

"Go to sleep, Dean." Cas sighed.

Dean didn't have time to protest, as he was falling asleep almost three seconds after Cas was taking the glass away from his hands.

The next time he woke up, he was alone in the room. His hands started roaming over his body, searching for sports where he knew would be hurting the most. His stomach, his shoulder and his neck were the parts that hurt the most since they were the parts that got hit either with the belt or almost chocked to death.

Slowly, Dean trailed his hand up his body, following the path of pain, until he reached his own neck. His hand closed carefully around the bruised skin and Dean felt himself chocking up. He couldn't make himself stop the tears that started rolling down his cheeks, as the feeling of John's hands on his neck was still there.

'If Cas saw me now… He would hate me.' Dean thought to himself. 'He would probably call me weak and scowl at me.'

The tears started flowing more easily, his own voice coming out in rasp breathes as he struggled to breathe and stop crying. The feeling of John's hands around his neck wouldn't leave him, so he didn't dare taking his own hands from around his neck, as if they were making sure there was no-one chocking him to death.

Dean tried to breathe slowly, counting ten seconds before releasing his breath but he couldn't. Nothing worked and his panic rose as he couldn't catch his breathing. He tried to call Sam, his brother always helped him but his throat couldn't form the words, he managed to get out a few strangled noises. His eyes couldn't focus anything, everything looked blurry and his panic kept on rising.

The oldest Winchester was in such a bad state that he didn't notice when two people entered the room running and sat in front of him.

Balthazar was the one who grabbed Dean's arm first, not the one around Dean's neck, but the other one; Castiel tentatively called Dean, trying to gain his attention even despite the chocked sounds he was making.

"Oh, Dean…" Cas whispered as he wrapped his hand around Dean's wrist, pulling it away from his throat. As soon as it was away, Cas pulled Dean's form towards his and hugged him close, making sure Dean felt the warm body around him. "Shhhh… It's going to be alright."

Balthazar shared a look with his brother, his hand still around Dean's, making sure the younger teen wasn't about to hurt himself or try to run away.

"Should I get his brother?" He asked.

Castiel pondered for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"You saw how distraught he was all night. Let him sleep for a while longer and not burden him about his brother's current state."

Dean slowly started to understand his surroundings, noticing there were more people in the room, and even more very close to himself. His body trembled and wobbled in every each way he could, trying to get himself away from the person grabbing him.

The moment he started to get rid of Castiel, was the moment Cas tightened his grasp, making sure Dean couldn't get away until he was calm again.

"Everything will be alright." Cas said in a soothing voice, his hands keeping the other teen from thrashing and running away.

It took a long time of not letting go, of being there, of soothing words… For Dean to calm down and start breathing better, the tears were still falling down his cheeks, but the panic was gone. The presence of the two brothers assured something inside Dean that he was alright and that he didn't need to run away. No-one was going to hurt him.

Around half an hour after calming down, Castiel left the room to fetch more pain killers, leaving Dean with Balthazar for a few minutes.

"You look terrible." Balthazar said.

Dean shrugged, looking away from him.

"Yeah well, I feel terrible… At least this way no-one is fooled."

Balthazar was about to reply when Cas walked back inside the room.

When Cas walked inside, Balthazar got up and left. He felt like Dean would be more comfortable around Cas than himself, and he really did look terrible. Hanging out with Cas would do him some good.

Cas didn't pressure Dean into speaking, too afraid of having the panic coming back so soon. The youngest Novak simply sat down beside Dean with his computer on his lap.

"So, is there anything you would like to watch?" He asked, intending to make Dean feel better at all costs.

Dean gulped, he debated with himself into speaking the truth, but ended up nodding.

"What do you want to watch then?"

Dean looked at the screen and saw Castiel starting his session on his computer, clicking on the browser and waiting for Dean to tell him what to search for.

"High School Musical." He mumbled as he blushed.

Cas looked at him briefly before nodding.

"Alright then, let's watch this." He said with a soft smile.

Around half way through the movie, Dean rested his head on Cas's shoulder and fell asleep.

A week later, Dean and Sam were still living with the Novaks, Dean was feeling a lot better and he was even going to work again. Bobby wasn't happy with Dean's ideas of going back to work, but there's so much a person can do to stop Dean Winchester when he puts his mind in something.

It was Wednesday when the happy days ended.

Dean was working on a Mercedes Benz while talking to Sam, when the shouts were heard; a loud, slurred voice was yelling out for him and Dean gulped.

"DeAnNA! CoME HERE! RIGH' FUCKIN' NOOOW!" John demanded. A crash was heard and John's frustrated screams where heard. "I FAILED LAST TIME, BUT I WON' FAIL AGAINN!"

Bobby looked at Dean and Sam's wide eyes before running outside.

"Come on, Gabe! Dean can check your car out! We're like five minutes away from there!" Cas plead. "And I really hate that weird noise it's making! Cars aren't supposed to make this kind of noise!"

Gabe rolled his eyes.

"We don't have time to go to the garage, baby bro! Balthy is waiting for us!"

"Ugh, since when do you care about arriving on time?"

A light laugh from Gabe could be heard through the sound of the motor of his car.

"Ok fine, you have a point… Let's just get this over with!"

And so they ride to the garage, because really, that noise wasn't normal! And Cas wasn't about to die because the car had a problem!

"SHU'THE FUK' UP!" John yelled, as he tried to hit Bobby.

"No." Bobby stated calmly. His voice not showing all the panic and nervousness he was actually feeling. "Go away John, your sons don't need you anymore. They're fine with me."

"NaHH. DEANNA WILL PAY FOR ALL DA SHIT SHE MADE MEH GO THROUGH!" John spat on Bobby's shoes, his eyes red and his nose fuming with rage.

Bobby started to get slightly aggressive towards John, puffing his chest and shoving him away from the entry way to the shop.

"Calm the fuck down, John!" Bobby warned.

"I'M GONNA KILL HIM! NO SON OF MINE BEATS ME WITHOUT BEING PUNISHED!" And with that, John swings his fist and hits Bobby's jaw.

"Should we park the car here or take it inside?" Cas asked, as they neared the garage.

"Meh, let's leave it outside, if Dean has the time he'll bring it inside, if not we come back later." Gabe decided.

Cas nodded and took his seat belt off. They parked the car and got out, they walked side by side until they heard furious growls and shouts from inside the garage.

Gabriel was about to crack a joke when he saw Cas running towards the door. Quickly, Gabe ran after him, following suit in getting to the doorway without being noticed. The shouts grew louder and louder, until it was unmistakable: there was a fight inside the garage.

"IMMA GO KILL THAT LIL BI'CH!" John growled.

Bobby stepped between John and Dean again – who was standing in front of Sam as if trying to protect him – and kicked John's stomach.

"You won't do such thing. You're not gonna hurt any of them ever again, ya hear me?"

A guttural growl was heard and John stepped forward.

"AS MUCH OF A USELESS PIECA SHI' THAT HE-IS, HE'S MEH SON! AN' I WILL KILL HIM!"

"OUT! GET THE FUCK OUT!" Bobby ordered, his voice raising with each word. "YOU WILL NEVER TOUCH ANY OF THEM AGAIN, YA HEAR ME? NEITHER OF THEM DESERVE A FATHER LIKE YA, JOHN WINCHESTER! NOW GET LOST BEFORE I CALL THE DAMN COPS!"

Gabriel's eyes widen as he realizes what's happening before them, the only thing he can do is grab his brother's arm and start pulling him away from the garage, though Castiel refused to follow.

"IM NOT LEAVIN'!" John screamed as loud as he could.

With a threatening stance, Bobby walked towards John.

"If you ever lay a hand on either of them again I will kill you. SO YOU BETTER START GOING BEFORE I KILL NOW FOR ALL THE SHIT YOU PUT THOSE BOYS THROUGH ALL THEIR LIVES!"

John stumbled backwards, he muttered a few threats to himself and turned away.

The older Novak kept pulling and trying to take him away, but Cas wouldn't move even an inch. He kept himself still, looking at the scene before his own eyes.

"THIS IS NOT OVER!" John yelled as he turned away from Bobby and walked away. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YA IN YOUR SLEEP DEAN."

"Come on Cas, we have to leave!" Gabe whispered. "They can't know we saw this!"

Only then, Castiel turned to his brother. He saw the pleading look in his brother's eyes and he wondered what the hell was happening. Yes, he just figure who the hell hurt Dean in such an awful way. Yes, he had every intention to go after him and kill him. But he also knew he wouldn't have much success if he simply ran after him now. He didn't have a plan and he had every intention of spending the next few days –maybe even weeks!– on planning ways to hurt that son of a bitch. But he also had no control over his emotions.

"You and your brother are going to stay with me from now on." Bobby announced as he turned to a set of bewildered Winchesters.

Cas was about to run after John Winchester when Gabe grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the scene, towards their car. Cas was fuming with rage and he didn't completely noticed being pulled away until he was sitting in the car and Gabe was driving away as fast as he could.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to update, but I had a rough first semester in college ;;n;; Anyway, I will try to update soon!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter ^^