A/N Warning for domestic violence in this chapter

"Castiel? Castiel Novak?" Cas turned around, prepared to smile his way through yet another fan encounter. Though the convention had ended late Sunday and it was now late Tuesday, he was still in town, in the same hotel, for a book signing the next day. Then he would leave for another city and attend another convention before heading back home. When he saw who called his name, however, he grinned.

"Hey!" he cried excitedly.

"Dammit, Eve!" Dean cried exasperatedly. "Where'd you put my phone?"

"I didn't put it anywhere," simpered the small blonde. "Where'd you see it last?" Dean huffed.

"In your hand. I loaned it to you so you could call your mom, tel her you were staying at Ruth's tonight, remember?"

"I gave it back to you."

"Then where is it?" Eve shrugged.

"How am I supposed to know?" Dean groaned and flopped onto his and Cas's bed- next to Eve. "You know, if you just... give it some time..." Eve trailed her hand suggestively along Dean's chest. "You might remember what you did with it?"

"When are you going to Ruth's?" Dean asked abruptly, rolling to his feet.

"Oh, I'm not." Eve grinned mischievously and spread herself out on the bed. "I was planning on staying right here tonight..." Dean bit back a moan.

"Eve..." The girl held her arms out to him, her lips forming a pout.

"Come on, baby." she purred. "You can look for your phone later."

Cas smiled.

"What are you doing here, Balthazar?" The tall blonde grinned.

"I heard the illustrious Castiel Novak was is town, and was hoping my little Cassie would be too." The two hugged tightly.

"How have you been, Balth?" Balthazar was Cas's (older) childhood friend- they largely kept up through emails, and very occasional visits. "Do you want to come to my room? I'm trying to avoid fans." The blonde nodded.

"Lead the way."

The two boys spent hours catching up, joking, playing. When the conversation started to wind down, Balthazar ducked out of the room for a few minutes. When he returned, he had a brown paper bag clearly covering a bottle.

"What do you say, Cassie?" Balthazar wiggled the bagged bottle temptingly. "Up for a little fun?" Cas bit his lip thoughtfully.

"I probably shouldn't. I have the book signing in the morning..." the older boy shrugged and sat down next to him, taking a swig from the bottle.

"Alright." Silence fell over the room, Balthazar occasionally taking small swigs from his mystery beverage.

"Screw it." Cas announced suddenly. "I do want to have fun." The blonde laughed and passed the bottle to his friend, watching closely as he took a tentative sip. Cas winced slightly as he swallowed, making his older friend grin. "What is this?" he asked after taking a second -larger- sip.

"Blue Raspberry Vodka." Cas nodded, taking a third swig before passing it back.

"It's... not bad." he finally decided. "Burns a little, but not bad." Balthazar chuckled.

"I'm glad you like it."

Within 15 minutes, Cas had a strong, though pleasant, buzz in his mind. Balthazar was also slightly drunk, and both were giggling- and horny.

Bzzz...Bzzz...Bzzz...

Dean followed the buzzing sound from his and Cas's bedroom, where Eve lay asleep. He rubbed his eyes blearily, stumbling. The noise stopped for a moment and he paused.

Bzzz...Bzzz...Bzzz...

Dean followed the buzzing again and found himself kneeling in front of the bookshelf in the living room. He shuffled some books around as the buzzing stopped- there! Dean pulled his cell phone from behind a large book- Mark Twain's complete works. Who even owns that book? He rolled his eyes at his nerdy friend and unlocked his phone with a brief surge of anger towards Eve.

8 Missed Calls

15 New Messages

3 New Voicemail

Dean hesitantly clicked on his missed calls icon- they were all from Sammy. He clicked on the message icon- all from Sammy. Seeing a pattern, Dean clicked on his voicemail.

"You have...three... new voice mail. You have... no... saved messages. First message, received at...2:12 pm-

'Dean, please come over.'" It was Sammy. He sounded scared, and Dean was on his feet immediately. "'Dad came home from work early and started yelling and... I'm scared, Dean.' Next message, received at... 3:23 pm..." The rest of the messages were largely the same thing, dad still yelling, crashing things. Sam's door was locked from the outside and he couldn't get out..." Dean ran for the Impala as he flicked quickly through the texts. They all detailed the same thing as the voice mail, ending with the newest text saying that it had been their mother who locked Sam in, and now she had locked them both in while John yelled and banged on the door.

Dean could hear the yelling from the car. He turned it off quickly and sprinted to the front door- locked. Cursing, Dean unlocked it and barreled up the stairs. His dad was standing outside Sammy's door, screaming obscenities. Dean didn't bother listening to what they were about before tackling the older man to the floor.

The next thing Dean was really aware of, he was being hauled of his dad, and Sammy's door was open. Sam stood in it, looking scared. Mary wasn't in sight, but he could hear her, somewhere behind him. Then who was pulling him away? Dean caught a glimpse of a starched black sleeve and stopped fighting- it was a cop. He looked down at his dad and was surprised to see that he was beaten to a pulp. As the police officer pulled Dean away, he noticed that his hand was dripping- either his dad's blood or his own- maybe both. Sam followed his big brother down the stairs.

"What happened, Sammy?" Dean asked as they were seated on the couch.

"Once mom realized I had my phone she called the cops. I guess that was right before you got here. I'm sorry, Dean, I should have thought to call them, but..." Sam started crying, loud wracking sobs forcing their way through his body. Dean, anguished, wrapped him in his arms and let his cry into his shirt. He shot dirty looks at anyone who came too close or looked at them too long- and there were several cops in the house- until his mom appeared. A large bruise was forming on her cheek. She sat next to Sammy and lay her head on his back, wrapping her arms around both her boys.

"We'll be okay." she whispered. "We'll be alright."

An ambulance showed up not much longer afterwards and John was taken to the hospital.

Bzzz...Bzzz...Bzzz...

Cas didn't notice his phone going off, his pants discarded on the ground, along with the rest of his and Balthazar's clothes.