New chapter! Yay for Erin not taking months to update again! I like this chapter much better than the last. Enjoy :)

When Dean pulled up near Lisa's house he could see the decorations and the teenagers spilled out from the house. Lisa was lucky she lived a little out from the main residential areas or the cops would be here by now. Dean made sure to lock his baby – he did not need to find people making out in her again – and made his way to the front door, managing to squeeze in past the couple way past second base in the doorway.

Everyone was stumbling around drunk and Dean slipped into the kitchen to hunt down a beer, popping off the top and taking a long pull. He looked around to see if Ash was anywhere nearby. Jo hated Lisa and so never came to the party unless Dean dragged her but Ash loved parties so that negated any of his feelings towards the guests and he always went. He couldn't see him so he remained where he was and finished his beer before grabbing another and beginning to wander.

He spotted Gordon and his gang and quickly made a left to go up the stairs, not wanting a confrontation when the four were clearly smashed and therefore completely unpredictable.

He was halfway up the steps when he was stopped by Bela and Lisa dressed in skimpy devil and angel costumes respectively. Dean smirked at them and leant on the wall, taking a swig from his beer.

"I hope you two have made out at least once or those costumes were a waste," he said with a wink.

"You won't be seeing it considering how late you are," Lisa chastised. "Where were you?"

"Movies with the little brother," Dean shrugged.

"Oh," Bela hummed, looking at Lisa. "We thought you might have been with your little boy toy."

Dean raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Castiel Novak," Lisa explained. "You should hear the rumours going around Dean. People are saying you've gone gay."

Dean rolled his eyes. "People don't "go gay" Lise," he sighed. "And besides, no. I'm still a ladies' man."

"Well good!" Bela chimed, clapping her hands together. "There's someone we want you to meet. Come on."

She grabbed his hand and began towing him up the stairs. Dean allowed her to drag him along and smiled a thank you at Lisa when she took his almost empty beer and replaced it with a cup of something much stronger. He had just taken a gulp when Bela practically threw him in the direction of a pretty red-head in a blue Star Trek costume – thank you sci-fi for giving nerdy girls sexy Halloween costumes.

She blinked deep blue eyes at him and Dean plastered on his best smile.

"Dean, this is my cousin Rosie," Bela said. "She's been dying to meet you. Okay, you kids have fun and use protection!"

Rosie's cheeks flushed deep red as Bela and Lisa walked off arm-in-arm, whispering with their heads close together. Dean's smile softened a little as she avoided his eyes.

"Drunk people," Dean laughed. "Gotta love 'em."

Rosie looked up at him then and smiled. "Bela's a bit of a cheap drunk," she agreed. "You missed those two making out on the couch. But I'm sure there's video if you want to watch it."

"Sounds good but... right now I'm a little more interested in the only girl wearing a cool costume at this party." He added a wink for good measure and Rosie fiddled with the hem of her dress a little shyly.

"Since when is Star Trek cool?" she wondered.

"Since always." That got him another laugh and Dean stepped a little closer. "Besides, how could something that looks that good on you not be cool?"

Rosie blushed again but managed to raise her eyebrows without looking too embarrassed. "Your reputation precedes you, Dean. Bela said you'd probably try some cheesy line like that."

"It was worth a shot," Dean shrugged, leaning against the wall and finishing off his drink. He noticed Rosie's cup was empty and left her for a few minutes to bring them back new ones. He was pleased to find she was waiting for him where he left her and smiled at him when he passed her the cup.

This was just what he needed, a pretty girl to take his mind off everything else and help him relax.

"So, why haven't I met you before?" Dean wondered.

"Oh, we just moved here," Rosie explained. "Bela's dad and mine run the family business and they're setting up a new branch here so we came to help out before we head off to the next city. Luckily for me this will be the last high school move. College next year."

"Family business?"

"Department stores specialising in fine wares," Rosie explained. "I'm starting at school here on Monday, my transfer only just came through and I thought there was no point starting on a Friday so I get time to sleep off my hangover tomorrow."

Dean laughed appreciatively. She seemed a little more confident now and he liked that.

"So Rosie Talbot, how much does it take to give you a hangover to sleep off tomorrow?"

"You mean how drunk do you need to get me before I'll jump into bed with you?" Rosie slid a little closer to Dean with a smirk that's impact was lessened by her most recent blush. Dean raised one shoulder. "I don't actually know. Based on your attractiveness and use of smooth lines... it could be a little, it could be a lot."

"Maybe we should do an experiment, you are dressed in science blue," Dean said, turning and leaning further into her space. Rosie smiled up at him through her lashes. God those eyes were blue.

"I do like experiments," she murmured. Dean reached out and took hold of her waist to pull her closer until he could brush his lips over her cheek to whisper in her ear.

"Then, let's head to a more appropriate location for such a task."

Michael and Lucifer stayed up late attempting to clean up as much of the Halloween decorations as possible before the weekend when they could, without guilty, get Gabriel and Anna to do the outside and anything left inside. They worked in perfect harmony, moving around each other with ease and communicating in silence in the way only twins could. Due to the dead silence of the house they both heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs but made no move to see which of the household's inhabitants it was.

A second set of louder footsteps echoed suddenly followed by a frightened squeak, a thump and a cry of pain.

"Cassie!" Lucifer said, dropping his armful of bats and beating Michael out at the sound of their brother's pain. He bounded up the stairs as an upstairs light flicked on and dropped to his knees beside Castiel before glancing up and freezing at the sight of his mother.

She was gazing down at the whimpering ball that was Castiel with a strange detachment that always sent shivers down Lucifer's spine.

Michael joined Lucifer but remained standing, ignoring Gabriel and Anna peeking around the corner to observe.

"Mother," Michael said stiffly, reaching a hand down to squeeze Lucifer's shoulder. Lucifer took the cue and concentrated on Castiel, hands fluttering useless inches away from him.

"Cassie," he whispered. Castiel was gripping his ankle, tears in his eyes and turned as far away from his mother as he could be. "Cassie, I need to touch you. I need to make sure you're okay."

Castiel shook his head adamantly.

"Please, Cassie," Lucifer begged. "At least let me help you up."

Again he shook his head and turned to face the banister, using it to pull himself up before methodically gripping the rail and hopping up the stairs, shuddering as he had to pass too closely to his mother.

Michael watched him go, Lucifer following worriedly before returning his eyes to his mother.

"Michael, I'm going out," she informed him.

"It's nearly two in the morning," Michael responded. "What the hell were you thinking? Sneaking up on him like that. You better hope it's just sprained. Go on, leave."

Melissa Novak's eyes flashed darkly. "Don't speak to your mother that way."

"You're not my mother. I'll speak to you any damn way I please, now get out of my sight."

Michael stormed past her up the stairs to join Lucifer in Castiel's room. He looked at Castiel slowly pulling off his sock, wincing. Lucifer met his eyes.

"It's swollen," he explained. "But I won't know if it's broken since he won't let me touch it."

Michael scowled. "Gabriel, I know you're up, go and fetch some ice," he called. The front door slammed and Castiel flinched. Michael inched closer. "Castiel, will you let me have a look? I won't touch you, I promise."

Castiel shuffled over on his bed so Michael could perch on the edge and lean over to look at his ankle. It was swelling rapidly. God he hoped it wasn't broken.

"Should we take him to the emergency room?" Lucifer wondered. "At least there they'll have someone on hand to sedate him if it is broken and he... you know."

Michael looked sideways at Castiel who was shaking his head again, clearly not liking the idea. He leant over and tugged Dean's jacket out from under his pillow to pull it around his shoulders, snuggling into its depths to ignore his brothers.

Gabriel returned with a zip-lock filled with ice that he had wrapped in a towel. Michael coaxed Castiel out from the jacket to instruct him to gently place it on his ankle which needed to be elevated on a pillow.

"Do you think it would be okay to wait until morning?" Gabriel suggested. "If it looks really bad then it's broken and you've got no choice... or at least he might let Dean look at it when he picks us up for school."

Michael frowned, considering it. Lucifer seemed agreeable but he wasn't sure.

"Would it make me an unfit guardian if it is broken and we take him to the hospital hours after it happened?" he asked Lucifer.

"I doubt it, you can't possibly know. I think Gabriel's right. At the very least Dean will be here in the morning. Cassie, would you let Dean look at your foot?" Lucifer asked. "If you agree to it you don't have to go to the hospital unless it is broken and we'll let Dean go with you if you have to."

Castiel looked up and glanced at each of his brothers in turn before nodding hesitantly.

"Okay, all good. We have more cleaning up to do. We'll come check on you soon."

Lucifer grabbed Michael and forced him to leave the room ahead of he and Gabriel.

"Let's pray it's only sprained," Gabriel murmured.

"Uhhhh..."

Dean pressed his hands against his eyes the second they opened to the bright morning sunlight streaming through the window opposite the bed he was lying in. The throbbing in his head decreased slightly as he burrowed his head down to avoid the light. He rubbed gunk out of his eyes and tried to swallow past the foul taste in his mouth. He rolled over to try and figure out where he was without his head being assaulted by the sunlight when he was suddenly reminded very vividly of where he was by the sight of inches and inches of pale skin, two perfect breasts, waves of deep red hair and a pretty face, still smooth with deep sleep.

Dean stared at the girl for a long moment, trying to remember her name and the sex itself and debating whether to pull the sheets up to afford her more modesty. And warmth.

He studied her face and a flash of dark blue eyes came to mind. He could remember holding her small, soft body close and her cries of pleasure but that was it. He couldn't remember much else and he wasn't sure he was even really thinking of anything besides her eyes. Those, blue, blue eyes.

How much did he drink last night?

A nauseous feeling began creeping up his stomach and he sat up far too quickly, the world began to spin and he barely made it into the guest room's bathroom to throw up. Well, it was either tequila or rum then because those were the only drinks that made him sick, the others just gave him wicked headaches.

He flushed the toilet and went to the medicine cabinet. He used the mouthwash and took some painkillers before hunting down his clothes. He looked at the girl in bed, studying the curve of her hip hidden by the sheet as he tried to remember her name. She was Bela's cousin... some kind of flower maybe.

He rubbed his eyes and got dressed quietly, not wanting to wake her. He still felt sick and he didn't want to deal with her waking up and finding out he couldn't remember her name... or even much about the sex. He couldn't decide which one actually made the situation worse. Besides, he'd see her on Monday.

Right now he needed to go home and-

Shit!

Dean scrabbled for his phone as he made his way out of Lisa's house without paying much attention to his surroundings.

6 Missed Calls

11 Messages

Dean scanned the list and was shocked to see that two of the calls were from Sam, two from Gabriel and one from Michael and Lucifer respectively. Crap, what happened?

He went through the messages which were one from Sam telling him he got a ride to school from Jo, and the rest from Gabriel demanding that he call Michael ASAP. Dean's heart clenched and he got into his car before he made the call. Something was wrong with Castiel, he just knew it.

"Dean!" Michael sounded so relieved. "What happened? We were worried."

"Party, I just woke up but that doesn't matter. What's going on? Why have you guys been calling me?"

"Castiel hurt his ankle but of course none of us can look at it... we told him if he let you look at it then we wouldn't take him to the hospital. He's getting anxious since you didn't show up at the usual time. I was just getting ready to take him anyway. Do you think you can come here? Or do you need me to get you? You sound hung over."

"You're talking too quickly," Dean groaned. "All I got was Cas, ankle, anxious, come here."

Michael made a funny sound. "That'll teach you to drink so much. Again, do you want me to get you or are you okay to drive?"

"I'll drive. I'll be there in five."

Dean fumbled in his glove box to find his sunglasses so he could drive without his head splitting open before heading to the Novaks'. He arrived and Michael shepherded him upstairs to Castiel's room immediately, trying to explain what happened but Dean's brain couldn't keep up.

"Ooh, walk of shame," Lucifer snickered w when they reached the room. Michael nodded with a small smirk. Dean just frowned in confusion.

"Those are the clothes you were wearing yesterday. Is he hung over?" Lucifer asked. Dean groaned while Michael nodded again. "Okay, I'm going to make you coffee and some bacon sandwiches. Look after Cassie."

Dean smiled gratefully at Lucifer and wandered over to sit on Castiel's bed in front of the pillow with his foot resting on it.

"Hey buddy, you don't look so hot," Dean said, smiling at Castiel. Cas was studying him with wide eyes. "Yeah, I don't look great either. I know. So... you fell down the stairs? I didn't know you were a clutz."

Castiel folded his eyes and looked away from Dean. Michael laughed lightly from his seat at Castiel's desk. Castiel looked at Michael with a soft expression. Dean smiled, wondering how long it had been since Michael had laughed like that – genuine with no trace of hysteria or forced cheer.

"So, are you gonna let me look at this?" Dean questioned. Castiel nodded. "Now, I'm going to have to touch it and if it's bad then it's going to hurt, just keep that in mind." Another nod and Dean leant over. It was swollen pretty heavily with same dark bruises. He probed gently at the sides, Castiel wincing as he did so. He pressed in a little harder, making him whimper but he shushed him automatically.

"It's okay," Dean assured him. "Now, do you trust me, Cas?" Castiel looked at him with a raised eyebrow, an expression Dean hadn't seen on him before. He smiled. "That's a yes, then. Right then, this is really going to hurt but I have to do it make sure it isn't broken. After that, if it's just a sprain, I'll bandage it and nobody has to touch it anymore, cool?"

Castiel looked worried so Dean reached out to take his hand, squeezing it gently.

"I'm sorry that it's going to hurt but afterwards it'll be okay."

Castiel took a deep breath and nodded so Dean took his foot in hand and rotated it at gently as possible. Castiel whimpered again but there were no cries of agony and no clicking. Dean quickly put it down and squeezed Castiel's hand again.

"All done and it's not broken, you were great Cas," Dean said with a grin. "Now, let's bandage it so it's not as painful to walk on and go have some bacon."

Michael brought Dean a bandage and he wrapped Castiel's ankle before helping him to his feet with minimal touching. They went slowly down the stairs and Michael directed Dean in a different direction from the dining room. He took him out to a small sunroom looking out over the garden where Castiel could sit with his foot up on the bench and they could eat.

Lucifer brought Dean his breakfast and the jug of coffee with cups for the three of them and a glass of milk for Castiel.

"So, where did you go last night?" Lucifer asked.

"Lisa Braedon's party," Dean shrugged. "To tell you the truth I don't remember a lot of what happened."

"Who did you wake up beside?" Lucifer winked at him lewdly and Dean felt himself flush involuntarily.

"I don't remember," he muttered.

"Waking up or who?" Michael wondered with a tiny smirk.

"The girl's name. She's Bela's cousin and has red hair and blue eyes. She must have been dressed as a Star Trek science officer since that was the only clothing besides mine in the room but apart from those observations I made this morning I don't remember anything," Dean explained without meeting either of their eyes. He chanced a glance at Cas who looked a little upset, picking at a thread on the bench cushion.

Lucifer laughed and Dean glared at him.

"Hey, don't be like that. You're the oldest brother in your family which means you don't have anybody to rib you. We've taken it upon ourselves to uphold that responsibility," Lucifer explained.

"Speaking of older sibling responsibility," Michael said, perking up. "We have something for you. Castiel helped up pick them out but I think we should wait until your eyes don't have black rings under them. Would you like to sleep in the guest room for a little while? I'll bring Sam here this afternoon to make things easier for you if you're not feeling too good."

Dean pushed aside the first comment and focused on the last. He looked between Michael and Lucifer who did look genuinely concerned about him. Ever since their mother had died, Dean had taken on more responsibility than he'd ever dreamed of having. With John constantly away at work, Dean was in charge of getting Sammy fed, clothed and to school on time. He was always looking after the house and his brother. They had Bobby and Ellen check up them occasionally but really, when it came down to it, Dean had nobody to share the load with. Yet here was Michael who had three younger siblings to look after, one of whom needed more attention and care than most. He had Lucifer to help him but the burden he carried was bigger than Dean's. Yet here he was trying to help Dean carry his.

Perhaps it was his sore head and very little sleep taking over but he felt overcome with emotion and he stared down into his mug as he answered.

"I'd appreciate that," Dean said quietly.

"I'll go make sure the bed's made up then," Michael decided.

Dean nodded and continued to stare into his coffee as if it held all his answers when a warm hand took his fingers and squeezed gently. Dean looked over at Cas who smiled softly at him. Somehow he just knew exactly what Dean was feeling and this was his way of telling him it was alright.

Christ, he was more tired than he thought.

"Thanks Cas," Dean said softly. Castiel squeezed once more before letting him go so he could finish breakfast and go collapse into a soft bed.