"Sam, we have to take this case." Gabriel burst into Sam's office, full of righteous indignation, holding a newspaper. Gabriel threw the newspaper down in front of Sam before plopping down in one of the chairs across Sam's desk.

Sam's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What's got you all fired up?"

Gabriel practically growled at what he had read that morning. "A teen named Trevor Connelly was arrested for attempted murder. What's not in the paper is that the kid's pretty shaken up because the person he beat up was his father and he caught him trying to sexually assault his half-sister so Trevor lost it. Trevor nearly beat him to death. Here's the kicker…Trevor is the illegitimate son of Pastor Zachariah Adler."

Sam whistled low. "Adler? The Politician Preacher is what they call him, isn't it? He's made a lot of money from Washington. That man has a knack for making money for campaigns…put a lot of politicians in office that quite frankly have no business being there." Sam's face turned red with anger. "What about Trevor's mother?"

"Her name is Rose. I made some calls before coming in and apparently, Adler still visits her. They had cut ties for a while and she got married. That's when she had another child and he even adopted Trevor but he died two years ago. That's when she started seeing Adler again. Apparently she's too scared to lose what little money she gets from him to even defend her own children." Gabriel stopped his tirade and took in Sam's pale face.

"Sam, you okay?"

Sam straightened up and cleared his throat. "Yes…so let me guess, they have no money so he'll be assigned a public defender."

"They assigned him to Naomi. You know she'll do the minimum because she doesn't give a shit about this kid. She's just going to assume Trevor is completely in the wrong and not even try to fight for him. Right now, Trevor's not talking. All we know is what we can get out of his little sister. Please Sammy, let's take this case. I truly believe he was defending his sister."

Gabriel watched as Sam scanned the paper. "It'll be tough since he has a record."

Gabriel's heart clenched at the words he was about to utter. "So did Dean."

Sam's body froze except for his fingers crinkling the paper. "I see you've been snooping." he said blandly, but Gabriel could still hear the slight tremor in the lawyer's voice.

Gabriel reached across the desk and grabbed Sam's hand. "It wasn't that difficult to find out."

Sam still refused to look at Gabriel, one hand continually smoothing out the wrinkles in the paper. "You truly believe in this kid? Just like that?"

"Yes, all the things on his record are petty things but he's poor and his father has money and connections. They'll try him and find the kid guilty while Adler will walk, never having to pay for what he did. Someone needs to stand up for them like somebody did for you and Dean."

"What if he doesn't even want to talk?" Sam rubbed his free hand over his face.

"I know it's very unorthodox, but maybe Dean could speak with him…"

Sam jerked his hand out of Gabriel's grasp. The paralegal cringed at the ferocious look he shot him.

"Absolutely not! I'll not subject Dean to that. Do you realize how much that screwed us up….especially Dean? He still feels guilty even thought it was eventually ruled that it wasn't his fault. I don't want to re-open old wounds."

Gabriel stared at Sam's ashen face. When he had read about Dean and Sam's case, his heart broke for the two young Winchesters. Gabriel thought he had it tough growing up, but he couldn't even hold a candle for what those two had gone through. If Bobby Singer hadn't found them and called upon an old friend to represent Dean, the elder Winchester would most likely still be serving time for something that wasn't his fault.

"Sam," he started out gently, "maybe by helping this young man, it will give both you and Dean some closure, help you heal."

Sam stared down at the grainy picture of Trevor's face, only sixteen years old. Sam nodded mutely.

"Let me finish up a few things here and we'll go down to the county lockup." Sam responded thickly.

Gabriel got out of his chair and walked around the desk to give Sam a hug. He didn't return it but instead leaned into the shorter man, seeking solace from memories. Gabriel ran his hand through Sam's hair and kissed his temple.

"Just let me know when you're ready."

"Castiel!" a gasp came from the doorway of his bedroom.

Castiel looked up blearily at the redhead that came rushing to his bedside. "What are you doing here Charlie?"

"I was about to leave for my conference for work and I was just wanted to remind you to water my plants, but I didn't know you were so sick. Why didn't you call me?"

Castiel fought to sit up. "It's just the flu. With a little rest, I'm sure I'll be fine tomorrow." he managed to croak out.

A cool hand pressed against his forehead and then an unshaven cheek. "You're burning up." Charlie stared down at Castiel in concern. "That's it, I'm cancelling my trip."

"Absolutely not. Go…I'm not dying, just a little sick." Castiel waved her away.

Indecision warred on Charlie's face but then it cleared. "Where's your phone?"

He pointed in the general direction of his dresser. "It's over there. Why you want it?"

She smiled. "Just going to put the phone number of the hotel I'm staying at in case you need me."

"Really, that's unnecessary…hey, who you calling?" he asked in alarm. He tried to get out of bed but Charlie pushed him down with one hand, the other hand holding the phone up to her ear.

"No Dean, this is Charlie. It's about Castiel, he's…" Charlie's eyes widened. "Whoa, calm down big guy, he's essentially fine, he's just got the flu and I hate leave him here by himself."

Castiel groaned, already picturing how Dean was reacting on the other end. He found out early on that Dean was a bit overprotective of him, so he deliberately didn't tell him he was sick. So instead, he would text Dean and make up excuses of why he couldn't go out. He even went as far to tell him his best friend from highschool, Meg was visiting him even though she wasn't due for a visit until the spring.

Besides, he didn't want to burden Dean. Castiel thought that by now, Balthazar would have made an appearance and would just cure him like he always did. He hasn't yet shown and Castiel didn't want to call his friend just to use him for his healing powers. However, Castiel was becoming seriously concerned because he hadn't seen the angel in weeks.

Castiel knew they had made a deal about getting Sam and Gabriel together, that Balthazar would leave him alone, but he didn't think the job was quite complete yet. Even if it was, deep down, Castiel didn't really want Balthazar out of his life and he refused to believe the angel would just take off without saying goodbye.

Castiel sank deeper into his mattress, feeling tears burn his eyes. Great, on top of being sick, now I'm getting all weepy over an annoying angel.

"…I'll tell him you're on your way. I have to get going now if I'm going to make it to the airport on time….Dean…" Charlie huffed, "…he'll be fine by himself for the thirty minutes it will take you to get here, I promise. He's just sick, not dying."

Castiel covered his face with his hand and tried to block out the one sided conversation. Dean was going to be so pissed when he got there to find out Castiel lied to him. He then reached for a pillow and covered his face in attempt to smother himself.

Castiel was struggling to get out of bed when Dean walked into his room. Castiel glowered at him.

"Dean, you shouldn't be here, you're going to just get yourself sick." Castiel muttered as he managed to get to his feet. When he stood completely up, he swayed causing Dean to rush forward to grab his arm.

"Cas, you need to be in bed." Dean tried to maneuver him back into bed, but Castiel resisted.

"I need to go to the bathroom." he muttered with a small blush.

"Let me help you then." Dean wrapped an arm around Castiel's waist and started to help him out of the room to the hallway.'

"I'm not a damn invalid. It's just the flu." Castiel tried to shake Dean's arm away, but Dean ignored him. Instead he chuckled.

"You're a horrible patient, Cas."

"Oh shut up." he grumbled, but tightened his grip on Dean's arm when another wave of dizziness hit him.

"Come on tough guy." Dean laughed and managed to get him into the bathroom but Castiel drew the line with him staying with him and staunchly made him wait in the hallway.

Castiel quickly used the toilet and as he was washing his hands, he looked up and grimaced at his reflection in the mirror. His natural tan was bleached out, leaving a ghastly pasty complexion making his cheekbones stand out more noticeably. Dark circles lay underneath his eyes and his dark brown hair was dull, laying flat against one side of his head while the other half stuck out in all different direction.

"Of course Dean would see me looking like an absolute wreck." he grumbled, frowning fiercely at his reflection. No point of fixing my appearance, he's already seen me and he didn't run for the hills.

Once Castiel was finished in the bathroom, Dean helped him back into the bedroom and got him tucked into bed. When Castiel was safely ensconced in his bed, Dean let his irritation at Castiel come through.

"Mind telling me why you didn't tell me you're sick and I had to hear about it from Charlie?" Dean scowled down at Castiel.

"I didn't want to be a bother."

"Damn it Cas, I lo-uh-care about you and I want to take care of you if you're sick. You'd do the same for me, right?"

Castiel hid his smile at Dean's almost love confession, but he did have a point. If Dean was sick, he would want to take care of him too.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I should have called." he said, his voice heavy with remorse. Dean smiled, seemingly satisfied with Castiel's response.

Dean started to straighten up the room since Castiel hadn't had the energy to do so himself. Once the room was tidy, Dean turned back to Castiel.

"When's the last time you've eaten?"

Castiel thought hard, but he couldn't quite remember. The only thing he could recall having in his system was the nasty home remedy concoction that Charlie made him choke down before leaving.

"I think yesterday morning."

"Yesterday morning? Cas, I really should beat your ass."

"Is that a promise?" Castiel laughed weakly before a coughing fit took over.

"Aren't you just a barrel of laughs." Dean shook his head, but handed Castiel the glass of water that was on his nightstand. When the coughing fit passed, Dean pressed his palm on Castiel's head, pushing his sweaty hair away from his flushed face.

"I'll go make you some tomato and rice soup. Don't go anywhere." Dean pointed at him and smiled when Castiel stuck his tongue out at him.

The rest of the day was spent watching movies on Castiel's laptop in bed while Dean made over him like a mother hen, making sure he stayed fed and hydrated. Dean helped him take a shower, change into fresh pajamas and even changed his sheets. Castiel tried to make Dean leave for fear of him getting sick himself, but the man was stubborn and refused. Dean even went as far as calling Benny and telling him he wouldn't be working the following day so he could stay with Castiel.

By late afternoon the next day, Castiel finally started to feel better and was able to venture out of the bedroom. As he walked into his living room, he gasped at the condition. Castiel was conscientious when it came to cleaning, but this was even beyond him. The place was immaculate.

Castiel wrapped his father's robe around him tighter and shuffled into the kitchen. Long, strong denim clad legs stretched out from beneath the sink. A clanking noise emanated followed by a grunt.

"Dean? What are you doing?"

Dean slid out from underneath the sink and shot Castiel a grin.

"You had a small leak so I was fixing it for you." Dean put the wrench he was using back in his toolbox and looked Castiel over. "You look much better. How you feel?"

Castiel leaned against the counter next to Dean. "Much better." Castiel looked around his kitchen to see it as spotless as his living room. He shook his head and let out a small laugh. "Dean, you didn't have to clean my whole apartment."

Dean moved closer, snaking an arm around Castiel's waist, pulling him toward him. "I wanted to. I figured it would still be a few days before you would feel like doing it yourself." Dean leaned in closer, intent on giving him a kiss, but Castiel covered his mouth and tried to push him gently away.

"Dean, you shouldn't be kissing me, you still might get sick and besides, I haven't brushed my teeth yet."

Dean chuckled as he removed Castiel's hand. "I don't care about that." He gave Castiel as small chaste kiss before moving on to nuzzle his neck, holding his body close to his.

Castiel sighed in contentment but then he felt Dean's phone vibrate in his pocket. Dean slumped a little at the interruption, but pulled his phone out, checked the screen and hit reject before putting it back in his pocket.

"Who was that?" Castiel asked, feeling Dean's body stiffen. He pulled away to walk to the refrigerator.

"Feel up for soup and sandwich for lunch?" Dean was already pulling left over tomato and rice soup along with the ingredients to make sandwiches.

"Dean, you're avoiding the question. Who was that? You've been getting quite a few calls the past two days you've been here and I've noticed you've been ignoring them."

Normally Castiel wouldn't question such a mundane thing as not taking a call, but he noticed that every time Dean would get a call, he would become agitated and withdrawn for a little while.

"It was just Sammy. I'll call him back when I get home." Dean supplied succinctly, evidently meaning that to be the end of the discussion.

Castiel's brow furrowed, now even more worried that Dean wouldn't take a call from Sam. He always picked up for his younger brother.

"What's going on Dean?"

"I really don't want to talk about it right now." Dean placed the food items on the counter and then braced his hands on the counter, looking blindly out window at the gently falling snow that was dusting the ground.

Castiel wrapped his arms around Dean, pressing his chest against Dean's back. Castiel kissed the back of his neck, not liking how tense Dean's body felt.

"Do you need help with the sandwiches?" Castiel asked, letting the subject drop for now, but it didn't mean he wouldn't ask later.

The tension bled from Dean's body at the peace offering. He cleared his throat and looked over his shoulder at Castiel, giving him a grateful look. "Sure."

The two of them quietly made lunch and ate at the kitchen table, keeping the conversation light.

"I've been thinking about leaving my job."

Dean's head shot up from his soup. "Why do you want to leave?"

Castiel shrugged, tearing his sandwich into bits. "Don't get me wrong, I like my job, but it's not what I want to do for the rest of my life."

Dean nodded. "What would you do then? Would you go back to school?" he asked pensively. Castiel knew what Dean was asking without saying it.

"I have no plans to go back to Oberlin. I might finish my degree one day, just not right now and if I did, I would finish it around here. Actually, I was thinking about teaching. One of my friends from college opened a music studio. He contacted me last week, wanting me to be one of the teachers. The school caters to gifted children from four to seventeen and I think I would like teaching the little ones how to play piano. I'll start out making less than what I do now until the studio grows, but I could always get a part time job. I didn't realize how much I missed music-" Castiel stopped babbling when he felt a warm hand over his own.

"I think that's a great idea Cas. You would be great with kids and you have endless patience, I mean, you put up with me so that says a lot." Dean smirked before continuing. "And if it comes to it where you need a part time job, I'm sure that Ellen would give you a few shifts at the Roadhouse. Speaking of Ellen…do you have any plans next week? Next Thursday is Thanksgiving."

"I didn't have anything planned." Castiel couldn't believe the holiday had snuck up on him so quickly.

"Good, then you're going to spend it with me. Ellen always has a big Thanksgiving dinner for family and friends and I wanted you to go with me." Dean gave him one of his toothy smiles that never failed to melt Castiel.

"O-of course, I'd love to, but do you think Ellen would mind if I brought Charlie? She doesn't have any family and I'd hate for her to spend it alone."

Dean's smile gentled. "After seeing how worried she was over you and having the foresight to call me," Dean gave Castiel a small frown for not calling him when he was sick, "she's a Winchester in my book. I expect to see her there."

Castiel gave Dean's hand a squeeze and smiled. "Good. Just let me know what I need to bring and Charlie and I will be there."

They smiled at each other and went back to their lunch, both talking about the things that needed to be done by next Thursday. When Dean's phone went off again, Dean hit the reject button and then completely turned it off, Castiel didn't say anything.

For now.

I know it's been so long between updates, but I have a lot of personal stuff going on at the moment that I need to get straightened out, so updates will probably still be slow for a while. Good news though, I went through my notes and realized I had something like 5 chapters of angst. What was I thinking? So, I tweaked things and ended up with a slightly different story, but now the angst will probably only be about 2 chapters because really, I'm a fluff girl at heart. I don't know exactly when those chapters will make an appearance, but it seems like it won't be as soon as I originally thought. And for those wondering where Balthazar went, he should be in the next chapter. :)

Thanks so much for the reviews, follows and favorites!