A/N: I do not own SPN. That's the saddest sentence ever.

Okay, so I did my best to get this chapter up fast. There was soooo much information that needed to go into it though, that's why it took me a few days.

I would like to thank GallacherBlackthorneZammie for the idea to put in some Sabriel. I will try to have the next chapter up soon. I'll try my best. I hope you enjoy! Oh, and there's a ton of information and some pretty heavy feels at times. So hold on.

BY THE WAY! If you have not seen the season 8 finale, then there are some spoilers in this chapter. So beware.

Chapter 10

The rest of Tuesday night hadn't been very eventful as they group had separated for the night. Ellen had given the two men the night off given everything that had happened to Jo and everything else that was going on.

After Cas and Dean had gone off into Dean's room, Gabe had pulled Sam onto the couch. "Hey, Sam. Can we talk for a minute?"

Sam raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend. "Since when do you call me Sam? What's going on, Gabe?"

Gabe twisted his hands together, nervous all of a sudden. "I just want to talk to you about everything that's happened today. I just wanted to let you know that…I never wanted to keep anything from you, you understand? I didn't want to hurt you."

Sam gave him a soft smile and placed his hand on Gabe's thigh. "Gabe, it's okay. I understand why you didn't tell me."

Gabe looked up at him, hopeful. "Really? So, I'm not going to lose my Samsquatch? You know I'd be lost without you."

Sam's smile widened as he began to lean forward. "You have absolutely nothing to worry about, Gabey. I'm not going anywhere. And yes, you would definitely be lost without me."

Gabe smiled at the nickname that Sam had given him. He leaned forward as well and met Sam halfway. Their lips met and moved together slowly. It was a slow, passionate kiss that quickly turned more passionate. Gabe reached up and grabbed handfuls of Sam's shirt. He pulled him with him as he leaned backwards onto the couch.

Once Sam was laying on top of Gabe, he wrapped his arms around Sam's long torso and began to run his hands up and down his back. When he got tired of that, he slipped his hands under Sam's shirt so he could have skin contact.

When Gabe's hands made contact with Sam's bare back, Sam moaned into Gabe's mouth. He pulled back just slightly and looked at him seductively. "I think we should take this into the other room. I'd rather not scar our brothers."

Gabe chuckled and nodded, reluctant to break contact, but eager to keep things moving.

They stood from the couch, unable to break contact completely. Gabe couldn't keep his hands off of Sam as he backed him towards his room. Once the door was shut, it was game on.

Wednesday was uneventful as Jo hadn't gone back to work yet. Most of the day went by in a blur for Dean. He wasn't all there like he should have been, but there was just so much on his mind. His Mom had called to remind him that his Dad was coming down that weekend. That had sent his mind into a downward spiral where there was only one remedy for it: Cas.

Cas didn't go to the bar that night since he had a lot of things to grade. They had just done their midterms, so he had to grade them quickly and get them onto the online system for grading. He'd told Dean if he got them done in time, he'd be there, but he had most of his classes to grade, so Dean knew it was unlikely.

When Dean got home that night, he found Cas asleep on the couch, surrounded by graded tests. He smiled softly at the scene in front of him, knowing how exhausted Cas must have been to have fallen asleep on the couch.

He picked up the tests and arranged them in piles on the table so none of them got lost. He picked Cas's laptop off of the floor where it seemed to have slipped off his lap and onto the floor. Cas wouldn't be very happy about that in the morning when he told him, but it seemed to be okay. He closed the lid and set it on top of one of the smaller piles of papers. He turned back to Cas and smiled. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping.

Dean slipped one hand under his thighs, wrapped his left arm around his neck, sat him up a little and then wrapped his other arm around his back. He picked him up and carried him gently to his room. He'd been thinking about asking Cas to just move in with him and make it official. It was always either the two of them at Cas's apartment and Sam and Gabe here, or they were here and Sam and Gabe where at the other apartment. It made no sense to keep going back and forth when they could all just make it official, but he was worried it'd be moving things too fast.

He thanked his lucky stars that he'd forgotten to make the bed before he left earlier that morning. He laid Cas down on his side of the bed, careful not to wake him. He untied his shoes and slipped them off along with his socks. Then he sat him up a little and got his shirt off as well as his under shirt. He'd found out that Cas preferred to sleep in just his boxers and he wanted him to be comfortable. He tried not to smile as he undid his belt and the button on his pants.

He hoped that Cas wouldn't wake up in the middle of him stripping him of his pants and freak out. Thankfully, he stayed asleep as Dean wrestled his pants off and laid them in a pile in the dirty clothes hamper by the door. He pulled the blanket up over Cas and went to get ready for bed himself.

After he brushed his teeth and had stripped down to just his boxers as well, he climbed into bed beside his angel. He had figured Cas would wake up in all the moving he'd done to get him into bed comfortably, but surprisingly he hadn't.

Dean moved so that he was lying on his side looking at Cas. He watched him sleep for a while, thinking.

He thought about asking him to move in with him officially and making his room their room. He thought about how close they had become in the week and a half that they'd known each other.

Well, he thought, we've known each other for most of our lives. We've been there for each other when others couldn't. That has to count for something…right?

He thought back to a conversation he'd had with Sam earlier that night at the bar. It hadn't been busy, at all, given it was a Wednesday night. He and Sam had had a private conversation while Gabe was helping one of the only other customers in the building. Well, they had thought it was a private conversation. They hadn't realized that Jo and Gabe had been listening until afterwards.

Sam had asked Dean if he and Cas had slept together yet. It hadn't been the opener to the conversation, but that's where it had gone.

"So, you and Cas seem to be hitting it off pretty great! How are things going between you two?"

Dean looked up from the glasses he was wiping down with a small smile on his face, thinking about his angel. "Couldn't be better."

Sam smiled, "That's great, Dean! I'm glad you're happy. So, I have a question."

Dean raised an eyebrow, "Shoot."

Sam took a sip of his beer before he asked. "Just wondering, but…have you two, you know…slept together yet?"

Dean's eyes widened a fraction and he set down the glass. "Why in the hell would you want to know that?"

Sam shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just wondering. I know it's been awhile since you've been with anyone. After everything that happened with Hendrickson. I was just wondering if you're letting yourself be happy and opening up to him or if you're shutting him out like you tend to do."

Dean automatically tensed at the mention of his ex. "No, we haven't slept together yet, but I'm not shutting him out either. I'm just…taking my time with him. Cas is special, he's not like the other guys I've been with. I just…I don't want to screw anything up this time. It's different."

Sam nodded, his smile growing. "It's obvious that you care about him a lot, Dean. Maybe it's a good thing that you're taking things slow. You should talk to him about it. Tell him you want to take things slow so he doesn't get the wrong idea and start packin'."

Dean frowned, not sure what to think. "He's not…he doesn't think…" He didn't really know what to say. He was starting to panic that Cas might be having doubts. That maybe he was starting to think he wasn't interested. Which, he thought he had made it obvious he was. Maybe he hadn't…

Sam tilted his head slightly in confusion before it clicked. "Oh no! Dean, I didn't mean that Cas was having doubts or anything. He adores you! I'm just saying you should talk to him so there's no confusion between the two of you, is all. Make sure you're both on the same page. The way he looks at you, you can tell there's something there."

Dean calmed down and thought about his angel. He thought about his smile, the way his eyes would crinkle when he really laughed, the look in his eyes when their eyes met. He'd never been this attracted to anyone else in his entire life.

He smiled softly to himself, just thinking about Cas had that effect on him. Sam watched his brother for a few minutes as his thoughts had turned inward. It was obvious what he was thinking about. He'd gotten a goofy grin on his face as he absentmindedly wiped down the rest of the glasses. Sam knew that Dean was falling hard for Cas. And he also knew that Cas was falling just as hard for Dean.

Dean smiled at the memory of the conversation. He knew it'd been stupid to think that Cas thought he wasn't into him. They held hands all the time, Dean flirted relentlessly with him, they cheered each other up when they could. Hell, he'd even sang to the man. They'd made out pretty passionately on the couch a few times before they'd been interrupted each time.

That was the problem he was facing. They kept getting interrupted when they were trying to have some private time to themselves. After he'd had that conversation with Sam at the bar, he'd thought that maybe it would be a good time to ask Cas to move in with him.

There really was no point in not asking him. They practically lived together now. There wasn't a night that went by that they didn't spend in each other's arms.

He made a mental note to talk to Cas about it the next opportunity he got. With that thought, he wrapped an arm around Cas's waist, shut his eyes, and fell asleep listening to the soft snores of the angel lying beside him.

SPN

It was about three in the morning when an overwhelming feeling of pain and anxiety ripped through Dean at an alarming rate. His heart started to pound and his chest tightened with overwhelming grief. He opened his eyes and found Cas sitting up.

His entire body was shaking and he had his head in his hands. Dean sat up immediately and wrapped an arm around his waist. He used his other hand to try to get Cas to look at him.

"Hey…Cas. What's wrong, babe? What happened?"

Cas leaned against Dean for support and Dean tightened his grip on him. His entire body was shaking from the sobs that were vibrating from his core. He refused to lift his face for Dean to get a look at him, so Dean wrapped his other arm around him and started to rock him gently, trying to soothe him.

"Cas, tell me what's going on. Whatever it is, we can get through it together. You just got to talk to me, baby. It's going to be okay. Just talk to me."

He kept muttering reassurances into his ear and waited patiently until his sobs had weakened considerably and he was able to talk. His voice shook and was thick with tears, but he was talking.

"Dean…they fell."

"Who fell, Cas? What happened?"

Cas lifted his face from his hands, but instead of looking up at Dean, he buried it into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around Dean, trying to get even closer to him, hoping just being near Dean would help.

"The angels. They fell. I watched them. It's my fault, Dean."

Dean's brow furrowed. "Cas, tell me what happened. Everything."

Cas swallowed and tried to take a deep breathe. "In my dream, I watched as the scribe for God, Metatron, he went into Heaven and performed a curse. It was a curse that cast out every angel from Heaven, forcibly making them Fall. I watched as all of my brothers and sisters in Heaven were forced to Fall. I watched as their wings were ripped from their backs and then fell to the Earth. I felt their pain. I wasn't there to help them, Dean. I couldn't help them."

Dean held him tighter, hoping to ease the pain somehow. "It's not your fault, Cas. You Fell a long time ago because God wanted you to. That was part of his plan. Maybe this was too, you never know. Someone once told me that things happen for a reason. Maybe this happened for a reason too."

Cas tried to slow his breathing and get himself back under control. Dean was making sense, but he could still feel the pain his brothers and sisters had been in, could still see them falling from the sky.

"I'm so sorry about what you had to watch, but is it possible it was just a dream? Just a bad nightmare that seemed real?"

Cas shook his head. "No, that was most definitely real. I could tell."

Dean nodded, still rocking them back and forth in an attempt to calm Cas down. "Okay. In the morning, we'll talk to Gabe about it and see what he thinks about it. Maybe he had the dream too."

Cas finally looked up at Dean. "That is a very good idea, Dean."

Dean gave him a small smile, trying to lighten the mood a little. "I come up with those every now and then."

Cas rolled his eyes and laid his head back down, but this time on Dean's shoulder instead of buried in it. The pain in Dean's chest started to subside and he knew his attempts at trying to calm Cas down must be working.

"Cas, everything will be okay. Why don't you try to get some more sleep? It might make you feel better, babe."

Cas nodded and allowed Dean to lay them back down on the pillows. Their arms remained wrapped around each other. Once they were laying down, Cas entangled their legs together in an attempt to get closer to Dean. Dean was his source of comfort and he needed all he could get.

"Dean."

"Yeah, Cas?"

"Why am I in bed wearing only boxers? I recall falling asleep on the couch fully clothed."

Cas felt the rumble of Dean's soft laugh. "When I came home from the bar, I found you on the couch. I put all your papers on the table and carried you to bed. I took your clothes off for you to make sure you were comfortable. I know you like to sleep in just boxers."

Cas shifted so that he could look up into Dean's face. Even in the darkness, he could see the tear stains and the red, puffy eyes from crying as much as he had. His hair was even more messed up than usual, which kind of turned Dean on.

"That was very sweet of you, Dean. You did not have to go to that much trouble just to make sure I was comfortable."

"It was more selfish than anything. I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep without you in my arms and I have a feeling it's going to be a long day tomorrow."

A smile lit Cas's face at Dean's words. "Why will it be a long day tomorrow?"

Dean shrugged, "I dunno. I just feel like it will be."

Cas nodded, switching topics. "I agree about the not being about to sleep. Usually I would not be able to sleep without you either, but somehow I managed to fall asleep on the couch. I was trying to stay awake until you got home. I see I failed in that attempt."

Dean chuckled and kissed Cas's forehead. "It's okay, baby. I completely understood. You must have been exhausted. I don't blame you, although that couch isn't the most comfortable to sleep on."

Cas nodded, "Indeed. I much prefer this bed. It is much more comfortable. Though, it also contains more than one reason to be comfortable."

Dean raised an eyebrow, but waited for Cas to explain.

"It has you in it, Dean."

Dean couldn't help the slight blush that creeped onto his cheeks. He hoped the darkness masked it, but wasn't sure. "Cas, I want to ask you something. I want you to be completely honest with me on what you think about it."

Cas nodded, his face turning serious. "What is it, Dean?"

"I've been thinking…usually it'd be way too soon for this, but since we've practically been inside each other's heads for years…and since we practically are already…um…I was just wondering if…you maybe wanted to move in with me. If you think it's too soon, or moving too fast, that's fine. I just wanted to put it out there. I mean, we're always together and-."

He was cut off by Cas's lips on his. When Cas pulled away he smiled. "You were rambling, Dean. I would love to move in with you, but what about Sam and Gabriel? Have you talked to them about it?"

Dean couldn't help the cheesy grin that plastered itself to his face. "No, I haven't. I was more worried about what you would say. I'm sure they would be fine with it. They've been dating for a while, I'm sure they'd want to move in together as well. They can have that apartment and we can have this one. It works out perfectly."

Cas smiled lovingly at the thought Dean had put into it. "Living with you would be amazing, Dean. I cannot think of anyone else I would rather live with."

Dean's face lit up and his eyes sparkled. He hadn't expected it to go this well. "Neither can I, Cas. And…there's something else I wanted to talk to you about."

His face turned serious again as he thought back to the conversation he'd had with Sam. Cas waited patiently for him to continue.

"I hope you don't think…that I don't care about you because I do, Cas. A lot. And Sam said that I need to talk to you so we're on the same page and there's no confusion. And he's right. I hadn't given it much thought with everything going on and-."

"Dean. What are you talking about?"

"Cas…um…You're special. This…what we have, is special. It's different than anything I've ever had. Connected souls and dream sharing aside, I've never been in a position where what I've had with someone is this special. I don't want to screw this up, Cas. I don't want to move things too fast and things fall apart. I don't think I could handle it if it did. I've never felt this way about anyone before. And I didn't want to ruin anything by…going too fast."

Cas's head tilted to the side in confusion. "What do you mean? How would you go too fast?"

Dean sighed, fighting to find the right words. He looked up at the ceiling, searching for them.

"In our personal relationship, we haven't done much. Part of the reason is because we keep getting interrupted and another part is because…I don't want to push things too fast. Do you know what I'm trying to say?"

"You're trying to say that the reason we have not had sexual intercourse is because you want to take things slow."

Dean looked away from the ceiling and into Cas's eyes. "Exactly. I don't want to rush into things and then screw something up."

Cas smiled, "Do you really think that it matters to me that we haven't had sex yet? We have the rest of our lives to be intimate with each other. I am enjoying just being with you the way we have been and the way we are now."

Dean tightened the hold he had on Cas, bringing him closer to him. "I couldn't think of any better way to spend my time than with you, Cas."

Cas leaned forward and pressed his lips to Dean's, all memories of the nightmare forgotten for the moment as they got tangled up in each other.

They fell asleep to soft kisses and murmured words.

SPN

Dean walked into the shop the next day, opening everything up. He loved being the first one there as it gave him some quiet time to think and work before everyone started to show up.

He started to whistle as he opened up the shop and clean down some tools that had been over looked the night before. He hadn't noticed anyone walk in until they were a few feet behind him.

"What's got you up on cloud nine?"

Dean jumped and spun around, raising the wrench he'd been wiping down in case he'd need a weapon. When he saw Bobby standing there, eyebrow raised, he lowered the wrench slowly.

"Damn it, Bobby. Don't you know not to sneak up on a guy with a wrench in his hand?"

Bobby rolled his eyes and leaned up against the counter as Dean turned back to what he was doing. "So, things going good between you and that Cas fella I presume?"

Dean smirked and nodded, "Yeah, things are great. They couldn't be better."

He looked up at Bobby to let him know he was being serious. Things really couldn't be better at the moment.

Bobby slapped him on the shoulder. "Well, I'm happy for ya, boy. It's about damn time you let yourself be happy. You deserve it. Oh, is yer daddy still comin' up for a visit this weekend?"

The smirk from Dean's face vanished as he remembered the upcoming visit of his father. "Shit, I completely forgot about that. Yeah, he's supposed to be here Saturday. Let's just hope plans change and he reschedules."

Bobby chuckled as he started to walk towards the office. "Knowing your daddy? You never know what could happen."

The day moved slowly since Jo hadn't started at the shop yet. Dean had made her wait until Friday before he let her come back to work. Without someone to mess around with, his day was slower than normal. He thought about driving over to the school for lunch to surprise Cas, but he realized he'd never actually been inside the college. Or, at least not the section that Cas's office was in. He'd have a hell of a time finding where his office was and he only had a certain amount of time to be gone, especially with Jo not back yet.

He made a mental note to ask Sam where the office was and surprise Cas another day. What were brothers for, right? He'd heard Sam talking about hanging out in Cas's office when his class got cancelled or ended early.

He smiled at the thought of his little brother hanging out with his boyfriend. It made him happy to think that they got along as great as they did. It'd always been stressful when he had been with Victor. Neither of them liked each other, so things had been kind of awkward when they were around each other. But things were completely different with Cas, and it made things that much easier on everyone.

When it came time for his lunch, he had the idea to just order pizza for everyone. He made the order and decided to take his break when the pizza showed up.

Dean heard the door chime and Charlie call out that the pizza guy was here and he made his way into the shop. He smiled at the smell of melting cheese and greasy crust.

He paid the guy and was about to take the pizza back into the office when he caught sight of Sam walking through the parking lot towards the shop. He smiled to himself and looked up at Charlie.

"Pizza will be in the office. And tell Sam to meet me there."

She raised an eyebrow, but didn't get the chance to ask what he meant before he was gone, in a hurry to chow down.

He made his way to the office, leaving behind the scent of the hot pizzas as he walked through the garage. "Take fifteen, boys! Pizza's here!"

He set the pizzas down on his desk as Bobby brought out the paper plates and napkins they always made sure they had in case they ordered something for delivery.

He plopped down in his chair and started to dig into the top pizza. He shoved the first piece into his mouth and almost moaned at the deliciousness of it.

Sam walked into the office and made a beeline for the pizza, helping himself to a slice.

Dean looked up at Sam and spoke around his pizza, "So, what brings you here, Sammy?"

Sam sat down in the chair across from Dean's desk, reaching for a plate to set down his slice. "I haven't visited the shop in a while, so I figured I'd stop by since I'm done for the day. I only had to take one midterm today, so the rest of my day is open."

Dean nodded, taking another bite of his pizza. He looked over at Bobby who was finishing up his piece. "Hey, Bobby, could Sam and I have a minute?"

Bobby looked between the two boys, curious as to what was going on, but nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him so no one walked in.

Sam turned to Dean with a curious look on his face. "What was that all about?"

Dean set down his plate, putting on a serious face. "I need to ask you something. Did Gabe happen to have a nightmare last night? About the angels falling from Heaven?"

Sam sat up straighter, setting down his plate as well. "How'd you know that?"

Dean sighed, rubbing his hand through his hair. "Because Cas had the same dream last night. He woke up freaking out. I've never seen him like that before. It was overwhelming."

Sam nodded, "Yeah, I know the feeling. It took a while before I could get him to go back to sleep. How's Cas doing this morning?"

"He's okay, given what he saw. He was a little withdrawn, but it wasn't too bad. It seems pretty serious whatever happened up there."

Sam nodded, "Yeah, there's nothing we can really do though, right? I mean, the dude locked down Heaven pretty much and there are no more angels. There isn't really a way to get to him and fix it."

Dean nodded, "I'm not really the one to ask. I was planning on talking to Cas about it later. Oh, speaking of Cas. I…um…How are you and Gabe doing?"

Sam shifted forward, very suspicious. "We're fine, Dean. Why?"

Dean shrugged his shoulders, taking another bite of his pizza. "Just wondering. You two seem to spend every night together, right?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah, we're together every night. So are you and Cas, if you remember correctly."

"Yeah, uh…we are. That's kind of what I wanted to talk to you about."

Sam tilted his head to the side. "What's going on, Dean?"

Dean swallowed and cleared his throat. "Well, uh…I kind of…asked him…to move in with me. If that's okay with you, of course. I mean, technically it's your apartment, I guess and he'd be living there officially and moving out of the apartment he shares with Gabe. I mean, you two could have more privacy when you're over at his apartment and you're still more than welcome at ours, obviously since it's yours and-."

"Dean! You're rambling. That's awesome! You actually asked him to move in with you! I'm guessing he said yes?"

Dean nodded, staring down at his pizza. "Yeah. I said I'd talk to you though."

Sam smiled at his big brother, "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you too. Gabe asked me to move in with him Tuesday night. Looks like you two get the apartment all to yourselves." He winked at Dean as he looked up at him, astonished.

"Wow, that's great! And now all of us don't have to keep going back and forth between apartments. We can figure out the details later. Oh, and…I talked to Cas about…what we talked about yesterday. At the bar."

Sam's smile widened. "Yeah, and? What happened?"

"He said it doesn't matter to him. That he's enjoying what we're doing now and that we have time for that later."

"Looks like your found yourself a keeper. If I were you, Dean, I wouldn't let that one get away. Ever."

Dean smiled. "I don't plan to."

SPN

Later on that day, Dean got off work at the shop and remembered he'd left some things he'd been meaning to get to Ellen back at home. He decided to make a quick trip to the apartment before going to the Roadhouse for his shift.

He parked the impala and made his way into the building, up the stairs and to his apartment. As soon as he'd walked into the building, he felt something was off, but he couldn't place what exactly. He opened the door, momentarily wondering why the door was left unlocked.

As the door shut behind him, he realized that there was someone else in the apartment. Someone was sitting on the couch, waiting.

"Jason. What the hell are you doing in my apartment?!"

Jason smiled wickedly at Dean. "Well, a buddy of mine found out who you are and where you live for me. I thought I'd pay you a visit. Thought we could chat. We didn't really get the chance to the other night."

Dean moved farther into the apartment, anger starting to bubble into his chest. "What the hell do we have to talk about?"

"Oh, I'd say a certain blue eyed man who has a strange obsession with tan trench coats. You know, I never understood why he wears them. I asked once, even offered to buy him a more fashionable coat, but he just got angry. I couldn't figure out why."

Dean refrained from rolling his eyes at the man's stupidity. "Why do you want to talk about him? We have nothing to talk about."

"Oh contraire, Dean! We have loads to talk about! For starters, I want him back. He was mine first, so I called dibs. I'm sure you understand, being a mere bartender and all. I'm sure you get that all the time."

Dean took another step towards him. "There's no way in hell you're getting anywhere near him, you understand me? Gabe told me what you did to him. How you'd beat him for no damn reason other than you were drunk. You see, I have a very low tolerance for abusive assholes like yourself. I suggest you get the hell out of my apartment before I call the cops on breaking and entering."

Jason stood from the couch and took a step towards Dean, confident in his actions. "You wouldn't want to do that, Dean. I have several of my buddies outside in the hallway just waiting to hear the signal. If you call the cops, well, I'll just have to kill you."

Dean snorted. "I'd like to see you try."

A wicked smile appeared on Jason's face. "That can be arranged."

Before Dean knew what was happening, Jason's fist connected with his jaw, sending him staggering back a few steps. Before he could recover from the blow, Jason was on him again, tackling him to the floor.

They landed with a loud thump, knocking the breath out of Dean as he hadn't expected it. Jason braced himself on his knees as he started to pound his fists into Dean's face.

After a couple of strikes, Dean got his bearings and started blocked all of his strikes. He shifted his weight and moved so that he was pinning Jason to the floor.

Jason had a small build and was more agile, but Dean had more muscle and more weight to him, giving him certain advantages.

Dean landed a few strikes of his own, but Jason used a move Dean had only seen in the movies and somehow had shifted them to the side and was back on his feet. Dean scrambles to his feet, but doesn't get far as Jason grabs hold of the front of his shirt and slams him down on the glass coffee table that Sam had recently bought. It shattered under Dean's weight and he landed on the pile of glass.

Dean winced as he felt pieces of glass slice into his back. He didn't have time to think about it, however, as Jason was coming at him again. He got to his feet and lunged for Jason. He wrapped his arms around his waist, swung him around, and threw him into the wall, hard.

The blow was hard enough to crack the wall where Jason had made contact. It stopped Jason, but only for a second. He pushed himself away from the wall and stood his ground.

"That was a good throw, Dean. I can see you throwing your weight around with Castiel. Or rather his weight."

That was Dean's breaking point. "Don't you ever accuse me of being some kind of lowlife scum who gets off on throwing people around. Namely the people they're supposed to protect. I am nothing like you. Why don't you go back to the hole you crawled out of and just stay there. The world is filled with enough people like you as it is."

Dean ran forward and slammed Jason back into the wall. He rammed his fists into Jason over and over again before Jason slipped away from him.

He got behind Dean and knocked his legs out from under him. As he went down, his head hit the side of the tv stand. His head started to swim as his vision blurred. He could feel something warm start to run down his face, but he didn't think much of it. He pushed past the blurry vision and the dizziness and walked straight for Jason. There was no way he was losing this fight.

Jason had turned when Dean went down, assuming Dean was down for the count. He was wrong.

Dean swung him around and slammed his fist against his jaw so hard he heard a loud pop as his jaw slid out of place. Jason hit the floor in a heap of groans.

"What happened to your buddies, Jason? I see you were full of shit. Like usual."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He called the cops and explained what had happened, that he'd been attacked in his apartment and had defended himself. They assured him that help was on the way and to just sit tight.

Dean walked over to the couch and sat down, resting his head against the back of the couch. His blurry vision was getting worse and his eyes slid closed. He fought to keep them open, knowing he must have a concussion and that he couldn't fall asleep, but the blood loss won in the end and everything went black.

SPN

It was six o'clock. The time that Sam and Cas are usually at the bar getting their first beers from Dean and Gabe. Tonight, they were one person short. Dean still hadn't shown up for work.

So far, he was only a little bit late, so they weren't too worried about it. Jo had mentioned to the group that Dean hadn't allowed her to go back to work that day, but she'd be going back the next day.

Sam and Cas started up a casual conversation, wasting time waiting for Dean to show up for work. They were talking about Sam's classes when suddenly Cas felt an intense rush of anger surge through his chest. He immediately knew it was from Dean. His eyes widened and he looked up at Sam.

"Sam. Something's wrong."

Sam's brow furrowed as he leaned closer, signaling for Gabe to come over to them. "What's wrong, Cas?"

"It's Dean. I feel an intense rush of anger that can only be coming from him. Something's wrong wherever he is."

Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed Dean's number and hit send. He listened as it rang repeatedly and then went to his voicemail. "He's not answering. I'll call Bobby, see if he's still at the shop."

He dialed Bobby's numbed and waited for him to pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Bobby! Hey, this is Sam. Is Dean still up at the shop by any chance?"

"No, he left a while ago. He should be at the bar by now. Somethin' wrong?"

"I'm at the Roadhouse now and he's still not here. He's not answering and I was just wondering if he was still at the shop."

"Oh, no. He could have made a stop, I suppose. I wouldn't worry too much. You know how your brother is."

"Yeah, thanks, Bobby. I'll talk to you later."

He hung up before he could hear Bobby's reply. "He's not at the shop. Bobby said he left a while ago and should be here by now."

Cas looked at Gabe worried. They repeatedly tried to reach Dean on his phone, but eventually gave up when he didn't answer.

Suddenly, Cas's head started to swim. He put his hand up to his forehead and tried to steady himself on the bar. Sam reached out to try to help steady him. "Cas? What's wrong?"

"Something happened…I think Dean's in trouble." He put his head into his hands, trying to stop the dizziness. His worry for Dean was growing by the minute.

After a few moments, his head started to clear and he could think straight again. He lifted his head and looked directly at Gabe. "Could I be feeling his physical injuries? Is that possible?"

Sam's head whipped towards Gabe to see his response. Gabe's mouth parted slightly in concentration. "I have no idea. I've never had my soul bonded to anyone before. Actually, I don't think it's ever happened. You're kind of writing the rulebook as you go, Cas. I guess it's possible that you could be feeling his injuries if they're severe enough. What exactly did you just feel?"

"My vision blurred and my head started to swim. I got very dizzy and felt like I was going to pass out. A few moments later, it slowly went away."

Gabe nodded slowly, in thought. "Well…Okay, I have no idea. It could be possible that Dean hit his head or something and was feeling that. It could be life threatening and that's why you're feeling it. That's when the dreams happen, when either of you are in dangerous situations. Well, since you've connected a hell of a lot more since the last time either of you have had to use the dreams, it could be reasonable to assume that if he's in a life threatening situation right now, you could be actually feeling the severe injuries. But, again, I have no clue. It could very well be a fluke and he could be just fine, sitting in traffic or something. He could be angry because he's late for work and got dizzy momentarily from the heat, I don't know!"

Sam started to fidget on the seat. "I can't sit here and do nothing while my brother might be dying! What the hell do we do?"

Gabe turned around and dialed Dean's number using the Roadhouse's phone. When it went to voicemail, he left a message telling Dean he better give one of them a call back or else his ass was on the line.

Cas stood and started to move away from the bar stool. "I am going to go check at the apartment. Maybe he went back there and something happened."

Sam was about to join him when Ellen ran into the room and turned on the tv. "You guys have to see this. I just heard it on the radio in the back."

Cas walked back to the bar and sat down. They all turned their attention to the tv as the apartment building came on the screen. An woman's voice was heard as she talked about a break in. She said no names had been released, but there had been a break-in. "It seems that this apartment building has seen its first break-in this afternoon. One of its inhabitants arrived home and was attacked in their own apartment. They somehow managed to subdue their attacker and call for help. The attacker is being transported to the nearest hospital. The victim is being treated by the paramedics, but no word on how bad the injuries are. More to come later tonight."

The bar was engulfed into silence as Ellen switched off the tv. They all looked around at each other, thinking the same thing. Dean was the only one not there. That had been their apartment building. They knew that it had been Dean that had been attacked given what Cas had been feeling.

Cas stood. "I'm going to the apartment." Gabe nodded, but before Cas could turn to leave, the door opened. They all turned to see who it was and gasped. Cas ran forward.

Dean closed the door behind him and gave Cas a small smile. Gabe and Sam rushed towards him as well. Cas started to check out his injuries. "What happened, Dean?"

Sam was almost frantic. "We just saw it on the news! And Cas felt it, and we didn't know what was going on! What the hell happened?!"

Dean held up his hands. "Just slow down, okay? I have a killer headache."

Ellen appeared at Dean's side and grabbed ahold of his arm gently. "Let's get you to the bar and have you sit down. Then you can tell us what happened."

Dean let her pull him towards the bar and gently push him down onto one of the stools. Cas sat down in front of him, never moving his eyes away from him. There was something off about Dean and it worried him.

"Okay, now tell us what happened."

Dean looked around at all of them watching him. He took a breath and started telling them what happened. "After I left the shop, I realized I forgot something at home. I stopped at the apartment and ran up to get it. When I got there, the door was unlocked. I thought it was weird, but didn't really think about it. When I walked in, someone was sitting on the couch."

Sam's fist clenched. "Who was it?"

"It was Jason." Cas's eyes widened.

"How did he even know where you live?"

"I guess his buddies found out for him somehow. He decided to stop by to chat."

Cas was getting angrier as Dean went on. Jason had crossed the line this time. He asked a question that he already knew the answer to. "What did he want, Dean?"

"He wanted you, Cas. He knows that we're together and he wanted you back. I told him to go to hell and that I was going to call the cops for breaking and entering. He said if I tried to call the cops, he'd kill me. I told him that I'd like to see him try, so he did. We fought, he threw me onto the coffee table. Looks like we'll be needing to buy a new one. I threw him into the wall, so now there's a nice crack in it. I think we should leave it there though, it's kind of like a victory prize in a way. He knocked me to the side and I hit my head on the side of the tv stand."

He reached up and touched the spot where he'd had to get stitches. It was still sore, so he winced. "Just about knocked me out. I could barely see, but I got up and punched him, popped his jaw out of place and took him down. I called the cops and then sat down on the couch. I think I passed out from the blood loss because the next thing I knew, a medic was shaking me awake and shining a flashlight in my eyes. They wanted to take me to the hospital and get a scan done, but I'm fine."

Sam shook his head, "You're not fine, Dean. You were just in a fight and passed out from hitting your head. You need to get it checked out."

"Sammy, I'm fine. If anything, you should worry about that poor bastard. I don't think he'll be doing any talking for a while."

Cas lowered his voice so that Ellen and Jo, who had appeared in the middle of the story, couldn't hear him. "What did he say to make you angry? I could feel how angry you were just before you hit your head."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "You know when I hit my head?"

"Yes, my vision blurred and my head started to swim as if I had been the one to hit my head. Now answer my question, Dean. What did he say?"

Dean looked down at his hands for a moment before looking back up at Cas. "He'd compared me to him. He implied that I treated you like he did and I snapped. I told him to go back to the hole he'd crawled out of and then slammed him into the wall again. Just the thought of anyone laying a hand on you…"

He shook his head and looked back down at his hands. Cas reached out and lifted Dean's chin with his fingers so that he was looking into Cas's eyes.

"You are nothing like him, Dean. You are kind, caring, and you have so much love for those around you. You would never touch a single one of them and I know that to be true. You would do anything for any of us. You've proven that many times as well as tonight. I am sorry you were dragged into this, but you must know that he only went to your apartment because he is jealous."

Dean smiled softly. "Our apartment."

"Exactly."

Gabe narrowed his eyes at the two of them. "Wait, 'our apartment'? Since when did it become 'our' apartment?"

Dean rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the smile that spread across his face at the idea of him and Cas actually living together and being able to call it their apartment.

Ellen pushed her way through the group so that she was standing next to Dean. "You're not working tonight, Dean. Are you on any pain meds or can I get you a beer? You look like you can use one."

Dean looked up at her confused. "Why can't I work? I'm fine. I made it here just fine, didn't I?"

"You listen here, boy. You were just in a fight with a real piece of work. He could have killed you. You even made the evening news. Now you're going to sit here so we can keep an eye on you and you can relax or I'm going to have Cas here drive you to the hospital and you can have some tests done. Which one would you prefer?"

Dean sighed, knowing better than to test Ellen. "Yeah, I'll take a beer."

Ellen smiled, satisfied. She walked around the bar and got him a beer, setting it down in front of him. She turned to Cas. "Now, you keep an eye one him. You see anything off, you let me or Sam know, you hear?"

Cas nodded, "I will."

"Good. Now I'm going to get back to work. If any of you need me, you know where to find me."

She walked through the doors heading to the back of the building to finish what she'd been doing before she'd heard the story on the radio.

Sam sat down on a stool on the other side of Cas so that he was still in talking distance to his brother and so he could keep an eye on him as well. Gabe went back to his station behind the bar and leaned against it. There wasn't really anyone in the bar given the time of week, so there wasn't anything to really do besides stand there.

Dean turned to Cas. "So, you could feel it when I hit my head? How?"

Gabe scooted down to stand in front of them. "I have a theory, Dean-o, if you're interested in hearing it."

Dean smirked and gestured for him to go ahead.

"Since you can feel the other's intense emotions and go to each other's rescue in your dreams…I'm thinking that it makes sense that if one of you gets a life threatening injury, the other will be able to feel it. That way they know the other person needs help and why, what kind of help. Just a theory though."

Dean looked back at Cas, thinking it through. "It does make sense, I guess. There was a lot of blood."

Worry flashed through Cas's eyes. Dean could see how much it had affected him. He placed his hand on Cas's and squeezed reassuringly. "Cas, I'm fine. Really. I can handle myself against douchebags."

"You should not have had to handle yourself against him. He should not have been anywhere near you. The fact that he was anywhere close to you, let alone hitting you, infuriates me."

Dean entwined their fingers together, squeezing reassuringly once more. "It's okay. I hit him right back. And besides, he's a scrawny little bastard. He had no chance against me. He got in a few lucky shots, I'll give him that. And he's fast, but I have more muscle and more weight to me than he does. There was no way he was going to beat me. There was no way in hell. He only gave me more fuel when he kept talking."

Cas shook his head. He grabbed the beer he'd neglected when he'd started to worry about Dean earlier and took a long swig from it.

"I just want him out of my life. Out of our lives."

Dean nodded, "I know the feeling."

He took a swig from his own beer and stared down at it, thinking about the law suit that had somehow managed to slip his mind in the past week. He'd completely forgotten about it somehow. He still needed to find a good, affordable lawyer.

"Has Henrickson tried to contact you since he delivered the papers?"

Dean shook his head. "Nope. Personally, I'd like to keep it that way. Unless he comes to tell me he's dropping the law suit because the good for nothing jackass who actually did steal from him paid him back. I still need to find a lawyer. I don't know how much it's worth it though. I'd be paying my lawyer about the same amount I'd be paying Victor."

Sam chose that moment to join the conversation. They started talking about different lawyers that he had talked to, some of his professors who still practiced. He'd found him several affordable lawyers who would be willing to take on his case.

They talked law suit business for a good hour or so, going through a couple of beers to each of them. Dean was just about to call it a night and go home given that he still had a huge mess to clean up at home.

He turned to Cas and had just opened his mouth to make the suggestion they head home early when he heard Gabe mutter under his breath as the door opened. "I don't believe it…"

He'd been the only one of the group to hear him say it and he turned to see who had walked through the door. Low and behold, it was none other than Jack Anderson: the man Victor cheated on Dean with.

Dean's eyes widened. What were the chances of him walking through the door that night? Pretty slim.

He immediately stood and made his way over to him. He hadn't moved very far from the door, so Dean pushed him up against the wall when he got close enough.

Cas, Sam and Gabe were watching the interaction from the bar. Sam and Cas turned to Gabe. "Who is that guy, Gabe?"

Gabe wasn't paying any attention to them. His attention was focused solely on Dean and Jack. "I don't believe it. He has the nerve to come in here."

Cas and Sam exchanged a look before turning back to watch what was happening.

Dean lowered his voice, "Why the hell did you steal two thousand dollars from Victor, hm? I know you did it. He's suing me for it."

Jack's eyes widened in fear. He held his hands up, trying to act innocently. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

Dean narrowed his eyes. He wasn't in the mood to put up with anything. "Don't give me that bull. I know it was you. There's no way in hell I'm going to be the one to pay him back when I didn't do a damn thing, you understand? Now, you're going to pay him back and we're going to get this mess straightened out. Okay?"

Jack surrendered. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean for any trouble to come out of it. He'd arranged the whole thing. He said he'd give me two grand if I left the bar with him that night, but was sneaky about it. I didn't know you two were together until you walked in, I swear! When you left, he was distracted so I just took it. I didn't think he'd come after you for it!"

Dean held up his hand, silencing him. "Wait, you're saying he set it all up? He was going to pay you to sleep with him? To meet at the bar that I work at and leave from here?"

Jack nodded, "Yeah, I swear I didn't know anything about you. I thought he was single. I wouldn't have done it if I would have known."

Dean shook his head. He couldn't believe it. That just added to the list of reasons why he couldn't stand Victor. "Okay, I'm going to have my friend over there call the cops and we're going to get this all sorted out. There is no way in hell I'm going to pay the two grand and we might as well just get it figured out now."

He didn't wait for Jack's reply as he turned around and looked at Gabe. He nodded at him, knowing that Gabe would understand. And, sure enough, he did because he nodded back before walking over to the phone and calling the cops.

He turned back to Jack who looked very frightened. "Let's go have a seat at the bar while we wait. I'm sure Victor will make an appearance once he finds out what's going on and when he does, I can rip him a new one."

He walked over to the bar, Jack in tow. The guy was about half the size of Dean and had good reason to be scared of him. He was like a toothpick compared to Dean.

Dean sat down at the stool he'd been sitting at and grabbed his beer. Jack sat down on the other side of him, very nervous.

Cas and Sam looked between Jack and Dean, both confused as to what was happening. Dean turned to them. "This is Jack. He's the guy who actually had the two grand. And he just gave me some rather interesting news. I figured we'd have ourselves a little party."

Gabe walked over to them, nodding at Dean. He pulled out his cell phone and brought up a new text message. He clicked on Victor's number and typed a quick message: I have your money. I'm at the Roadhouse. Come get it.

Cas's head tilted in confusion. "Dean, what is going on?"

"Oh, just wait and see, Cas. You're about to witness me ripping a new one into a federal agent, also known as the ex from hell."

Dean explained to them what was going on. He asked Cas to keep an eye on him, make sure nothing happened to him. If he knew Victor, and he did, he didn't want to take any chances.

Dean told Cas to take Jack over to the pool table and start a game. He instructed him to bring Jack outside about five minutes after he and Victor left. He didn't want to start a scene in the middle of the bar.

It wasn't very long until Victor walked in and sat down next to Dean. Cas didn't move his eyes away from either of them from the moment Victor walked through the door.

"So, I got your message. I thought you'd come around. There's no need to waste money hiring a lawyer when you could just give me the money and be done with it."

Dean set down his beer and stood up. "Follow me if you want your money."

He didn't wait to see if Victor followed him. He left the bar and started walking a little ways away from the door so that people could still get inside without a problem.

Once he got far enough away, he stopped and turned around. Victor was standing behind him with a confused look on his face. "My money's all the way over here? Really, Dean. What's going on?"

Dean narrowed his eyes. "I should be asking you the same question. You see, I found out something that interested me tonight. Something about that night when I walked in with you and another guy."

Victor rolled his eyes. "You're being overly dramatic, Dean, like usual. It was sex. And you were more than welcome to join in, I told you that."

"It's really amazing how stupid you are, you know that? You really think I wanted to join in with my serious boyfriend as he had sex with another guy? You're dumber than I thought."

"It was casual sex, Dean! It was for fun. You remember fun, right? That thing people do when they don't have sticks shoved up their asses. Or…even when they do. But that's not the type of stick I'm talking about here. Speaking of. I heard about you and that…what was he again? Some art freak wash-out? I never knew you were into charity, Dean."

Dean's hands clenched into fists. "Cas is anything but a wash out and I don't see how he is any of your business. So if I were you, I'd steer clear of him. It seems you know exactly what kind of news I received tonight seeing as you've steered the conversation away from it. Now spill, Victor."

Victor crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Okay, this is getting to be more annoying than amusing. I've told you I don't know what you're talking about. You know exactly what happened that night. You saw it yourself."

Dean nodded, a smirk sliding onto his face. "Yeah, I do. You see, the guy who slept with you happened to come into the bar. I knew he was the one who had your money so I asked him about it. That's when he told me everything. He told me about how you hired him to meet you here that night I was working. How you told him to sneak out after you left and paid him to sleep with you. Two grand to be exact. The same amount that when you were following me out of the apartment, he took what was rightfully his. So, I don't owe you a damn penny. And I can prove it."

Victor's eyes widened the tiniest bit before he tried to hide it. "You don't know what you're talking about, Dean. I didn't hire anyone."

"Oh, bullshit. Just save it, would you? You don't have enough dignity to just admit it, do you? To just fess up for once. You're unbelievable."

"I'm not the one with dignity issues here. At least I'm successful at what I do and doing something worthwhile. What do you do again? Oh yes, you're a mechanic and a bartender. How satisfying."

Dean fought the urge to slam him against the wall. His fingers were itching to grab onto his shirt and slam him into the side of the building. "I own my own business and it's a damn good business. You know that. You're just jealous that I'm capable of having people in my life who don't secretly hate me. When was the last time you had a relationship that actually lasted? Besides me. Or how about when was the last time you talked to anyone in your family?"

That was the last straw for Victor. He grabbed a hold of Dean's shirt and slammed him into the wall. "You don't know what you're talking about, Dean."

Dean smiled, "Actually, I do. You never talked about any of your family. Either you don't have any or you don't talk to any of them. You never talked about anyone. No friends, no family, no colleagues. Do you even have a partner that can stand to be around you?"

Victor's grip on Dean's shirt tightened. He heard someone running towards them and knew who it was. He'd been keeping track of the time.

"Just face it, Victor. You're lonely and miserable so you get off by making everyone else around you just as miserable. It's not going to work this time. I know the truth now. And I'm not miserable no matter what you do. You don't have an effect on my life anymore. I've moved on."

Cas reached them with Jack not far behind. He saw the look on Dean's face and hesitated. "The cops are on their way. If I were you, I'd let him go."

Victor turned to look at Cas and saw the hard look on his face. He wasn't fooling around. That's when he saw the familiar face of Jack hiding behind Cas.

"You actually had the balls to come out here, huh? I figured you would have scurried off somewhere by now."

Dean used Victor's distraction to push him off of him. He didn't want to be that close to him, or anywhere near him for that matter. He took a step and blocked Victor's view of Jack.

"Cas was telling the truth. The cops are on their way. In fact, they should be here any minute. Once they arrive, we're going to get this whole thing sorted out and you're never coming near me, my boyfriend, or Jack ever again."

The cops chose that precise moment to pull into the parking lot. Dean smirked as they parked, got out of their cars, and walked towards the group.

"Is one of you named Dean Winchester?"

Dean nodded, "That's me."

"We got a call saying there was a problem. So, what seems to be the problem?"

Dean explained everything to them. He explained about the lawsuit, about what actually happened to the money, he even explained about Victor coming into the shop and threatening him. When he was finished, one of the cops walked away and pulled out his cell phone. After a few minutes, he walked back and looked directly at Victor.

"I just got off the phone with the chief. I told him everything. He's on his way and gave me orders to make sure you stayed here. One way or another."

Victor turned towards Dean and narrowed his eyes. "This isn't over, Dean."

Dean wrapped an arm around Cas's waist. "Actually, I think it is. And it's about damn time too."

SPN

When Dean and Cas were finally able to make it back inside, Sam and Gabe bombarded them with questions. Dean held up his hands and told them everything that had happened.

"And in the end, the chief showed up. He ripped Victor a new one, more so than I did. He's gonna be pretty sore tomorrow. And on top of that, I signed a restraining order, as did Cas and Jack. He can't come anywhere near us again. Oh, and he's been suspended for using his badge falsely or something. I wasn't really paying attention by that point. I was more focused on the look on his face when his boss took away his gun and badge. Now that was priceless."

Cas chuckled. "Indeed it was. I think tonight has been quite successful. You no longer need a lawyer and he cannot come anywhere near you."

Dean smiled at him as he tightened his hold on his waist. "Don't forget he can't come anywhere hear you either. I wouldn't put it past him to get to you to get back at me. And we don't have to worry about Jason anymore. He's going back to prison on parole violation along with some other hefty charges. We won't be seeing him around for quite some time."

Cas nodded. "I just wish it had come with a smaller price than you getting injured."

Dean's eyes softened as he kissed Cas's temple. "It was worth it. You're safe now. That's all that matters to me."

What did you think? I'll give you a clue about what the next chapter will bring. Unwanted surprises, angst, and...wait for it...John. It'll get pretty interesting. So stay tuned! And review or pm me and tell me what you think! Have any questions? Just let me know! Thanks!