Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry about the cliffie there. I couldn't resist. Anyways, here's the next chapter. I've decided that Michael is gonna be one of the good guys. Someone else is gonna come along pretty soon that isn't so good, though. I'm not so happy with this chapter but I thought I'd post it anyways. You guys deserved an update for being such amazing readers. Thanks for reading and remember to review. Love you guys!

True Rayanne Adaire

Chapter Eight

Dean

"I forgive you. Can't say anything for my brothers…but I forgive you. Balthazar was an asshole. He…it sounds like exactly the kind of shit he'd pull."

Gabe's voice was calm and sure when he spoke, earning him an incredulous look from Lucifer. Cas was staring at the newcomer as though he didn't know whether to punch him or hug him. He did neither. Instead, he gave a barely perceptible nod to the guy and came back to stand at my side. I wrapped an arm around his waist as Lucifer walked up to him. Though it was obvious that the newcomer was older than him, Lucifer towered over him. His face was alight with something I'd never seen before. It wasn't anger...but it wasn't anything nice either. When he spoke, his voice was low and dangerous and Cas shivered into me when he heard it.

"You come in here…after five fucking years. Five years. And you think you're forgiven?! If you really fucking cared about us you'd have called Social Services yourself. Taken us away from him. You would have done something besides sit there and let him do that shit to us! Do you know what he did? Do you?!"

"Luci…Michael doesn't need to hear this." Gabe cautioned, eyes wide.

Michael held up a hand. "Let him. Let him tell me."

There was a coldness in his voice, an uncaring that set my teeth on edge. Lucifer reacted to it with a sharp hiss.

"He raped us. Every fucking night for years after you left. And then, when he forced Gabe and I out of the house, he did even worse shit to Cas. I don't think even I want to know what he did to Cassie. Every night for five fucking years I had to listen to Cas and Gabriel screaming for him to stop! While you were in fucking college I was trying to protect OUR FAMILY! Do you have any fucking idea how it felt to watch that? To hear that?! I couldn't do a damn thing to protect them but you could have! You could have fucking stopped him and you didn't!"

Michael's eyes filled with tears as Lucifer poised himself to punch him. In a flash, moving so fast I'd barely seen him, Cas moved to stand in front of Lucifer's arm. His movement stopped him in his tracks. Breathing hard, Lucifer stepped back, eyes narrowed on his older brother even as Castiel was talking.

"They both have their points. I'll never forgive you Michael. Never. Because Lucifer was right…you could have done something. You chose not to. But I won't cast you aside either. You're still my brother. Just…just leave me alone. Leave Lucifer alone. You're my brother and I love you…but I don't want you around. Visit Gabriel if you must but don't expect to visit me."

Satisfied with what he'd said, Castiel turned back to me and took my hand. He led me gently out of the hospital and down to the car before letting go of the emotions he'd been holding in. I wrapped my arms around his small frame, holding him close as he sobbed against my chest. I couldn't imagine how that must feel, to watch his brothers like that and be unable to stop it…but when he looked up at me, his bright blue eyes filling with more pain than I could've survived, I felt his pain take root in my own chest. For a long moment, he held me without speaking and I didn't speak either. When he spoke, his voice was soft, barely audible.

"I'm sorry you had to see that Dean. You…you shouldn't have had to see that."

I sighed, pressing a kiss to his hair. "It's okay Cas. It's not like I haven't seen Lucifer go off before. Besides…I said I love you. That's what love is. It's being there for the person you love through this shit."

"Still…I wish I hadn't even had to see it. Much less you. Lucifer and Michael have never gotten along…Michael just made it ten times worse when he went to college. I can see Gabe's point…but Lucifer was right. Michael could have done so much more for us than he did. Instead, he ran off to college and left it to Lucifer to protect us all."

I pulled him in a little tighter. "Did he…did he know what Balthazar was doing?"

Cas nodded against my chest. "Yeah. He said he'd be back…but he never came back. He never even called after he left. Lucifer…he went through even more than Gabe and I did. He's always been…protective. He thinks it's his job to watch out for Gabe and I…and when Balthazar was doing what he…what he did…he couldn't stop him. It tore him up pretty bad. It's part of why I was so easily able to forgive them. Lucifer deserved to get out."

"So did you."

He paused and then shook his head. "Not really. I…I was a pretty fucked up person. Between cutting and…and partying…and the sleeping around I did…I was quite a bit worse than the others. I…I sort of deserved everything I got."

Pushing him back, I took his face in my hands and stared into his eyes. There was so much pain there that it nearly sent me to my knees. How could someone so fucking beautiful have so much pain inside them? It hurt to see it and it was right then that I made my decision. The decision was an easy one. To take care of him, to take that pain out of his eyes no matter the cost. I would do whatever it took to take his pain away.

"Castiel Novak you stop that. You didn't deserve what he did. I love you. I love you more than I love anyone else in this world besides maybe Sam. You deserve everything good in this world…none of what you've gotten."

His eyes filled with tears but he blinked them back before speaking. "I love you too…but I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one."

"No. I'll just have to prove to you that you're worth the entire world to me."

"You can't…because I'm not."

"You are. To me…you are."

He shook his head, resting against me once again. I tightened my hold, resting my chin atop his head while his body shook with more sobs. It wasn't fair…of course it wasn't. This wasn't what he deserved. Not by a long shot. And the worst part was that I had no idea how to make it better. All I could do was hold him and tell him how much he meant to me…and that may not even be enough…