Author's Note:

So I got a pretty little Youya guest who asked me to do a Michael POV, anyone else on board with this?

Happy Valentine's day! Love all around 3

Dean felt his heart breaking as he watched Castiel's meltdown. He saw it coming but chose not to believe it, chose to think that Cas wouldn't have that much trouble. Instead he found himself with bruises on his back and a hysterical, shaken man in his arms. Cas clung to him in silence after that, thinking too much and too hard about anything and everything.

Dean couldn't get those words out of his head; I'm not Castiel!

Yes you are.

He couldn't say it then, his mouth had been dry and he just stared in horror as Cas broke down. What on earth was going through either of their minds then? Something in Cas was rupturing, something was coming to the surface and Dean couldn't figure out what it could be. Maybe Cas was seeing new things, new feelings emerging that he didn't understand and it frightened him. Maybe Cas was learning he couldn't connect to his old self anymore. Regardless of what was causing it, Castiel was having an existential crisis and Dean didn't know what to do other than hold his angel.

Everyone was silent, eyes on Castiel as he shut down and curled against Dean, face hidden and wings protectively wrapped around. Michael stumbled back and found no support so he fell to the ground, legs splayed out ahead of him as his eyes remained focused forward but not on anything.

"What happened to him?" were the first words spoken in several silent moments and they came very gently from Garth. His voice was just above a whisper but no less tender in its delivery.

"A lot," Jet answered when no one else could find the words to do so, "We'll explain it later though, I don't think now's the time."

"Maybe," Garth agreed and quieted down again, looking at Cas with saddened eyes.

"Why wait?" Michael asked, a bitter and rattled tone coating his words. He managed to get his bearings enough to stand up again, his expression still rattled. Dean couldn't imagine how he'd feel if he were in Michael's shoes. He'd probably be blaming everyone in the immediate vicinity that hadn't told him where his brother was.

"Cas needs a break, man." Jet was surprisingly delicate with Michael, though Dean suspected it was more for Cas' sake.

"You like to keep these things to yourselves," Michael didn't have anywhere to aim his anguish or frustration, he wanted answers and he wanted them four years ago. "I don't think you know what Cas needs, there's no possible way you could know him well enough."

"We kept things from you for your own good." Jet warned, still keeping his tone of voice tame though Dean could hear his friend's patience slipping. "And you're not calm enough to make any calls regarding what he needs."

Michael's jaw was clenched, his eyes showed nothing but fury. Dean felt that maybe he and Michael were more alike than either of them really knew. The only thing keeping his mouth shut was the fact that he kept putting himself in Michael's position; what if Sam had been missing? What if he'd lost his brother and found him four years later like this? Being mouthed off to and told to calm down by the strangers his brother clung to? Every single moment that passed he had to ask himself those questions. What if it were Sam? What if he was where Michael stood now?

"How dare you?" Michael was shaking, angry tears on his face mixed with the misery of the rest. He crossed the space between him and Jet, the darker one didn't budge and kept eye contact until Michael stopped only a few feet away, "You think you can make judgment calls about him? Were you the one who was told every day that everything you do should be for him? That you weren't going anywhere but he was, he was going to be something amazing and you should give all you have to make sure he gets somewhere? I don't think so! I've been there for him every step of the way; I worked to make sure he could get out of here. I got him out of harms way countless times, fed him, defended him, listened to him when he couldn't hold it in anymore. Don't you dare tell me I don't know what he needs, I know him better than you ever will!"

"Yeah?" Jet cocked an eyebrow; Michael had closed in, trying to be intimidating despite being shorter. He'd caught Jet's shirt up in his fist and pulled Jet down to his level to even the odds, Jet didn't make a move to stop him. "You're also the one who let him work for the psychopath that abducted him."

"Jet!" Sam scolded a little too late, Jet wasn't listening and Michael had already heard it.

Michael's eyes widened and he dropped Jet's shirt as he stepped back, "What?"

"MacLeod was the one who had Cas this whole time," Jet glared but didn't move closer, he just held his ground. "You let your little brother work for a perverted old man, tell me again how you're the one who makes all the best choices regarding Cas?"

"Jet that's enough." Sam demanded and pushed his boyfriend back toward the house, "Go inside, you're not helping."

Jet sneered at Michael but listened to Sam all the same, "I'm just telling the fuckin' truth."

"No one asked you to." Sam frowned as he escorted Jet away from the others.

"No one ever asks me to."

Dean looked down at Cas whose grip tightened in his shirt, "You wanna go inside too?" Cas nodded once and Dean carefully led him toward the door, glancing back at the others he gestured for them to follow. "C'mon, let's go in."

Charlie put her hand on Michael's shoulder, "It's not your fault, Michael. We all fucked up."

Michael ground his teeth together and clenched his hands into fists, "It is my fault. I was the one taking care of him… how could I not know? He was just outside of town this whole time and I…"

"Stop it," she insisted more sternly as she jerked him around to face her, "The police investigated MacLeod and said he was clean, what were you supposed to do? Not trusting police is my thing, not yours."

"But I should've stopped him from working there." Michael pulled away from her and turned his gaze to the ground.

"Yeah, me too." Charlie agreed, "In fact I tried to tell him not to but he wouldn't listen. I should've tried more than once but whenever I met MacLeod he seemed like a harmless old man. I mean he was almost 80, how could he possibly get the better of Cas?" She sighed and looked up at the house where Dean had stopped by the door to watch them.

Castiel had let go of him to go inside on his own, Dean glanced in to see Bobby greeting Cas with a smile and a pat on the head. Dean heard a quiet 'you did great out there,' and watched as Cas looked up in wonder. A timid smile crossed Cas' mouth and he moved in to hug Bobby.

Dean smiled at his dad who motioned for Dean to go back out, someone should definitely speak to Michael more. He left Cas in good hands and walked back out to settle what needed settling. He heard Charlie still talking to Michael as he closed in, she was watching him as he approached and she let herself smile too.

"Like I said, we fucked up. You and I failed Castiel, but these people rescued him."

Michael lifted his head and looked up at Dean too. Dean saw another expression he could understand, a protective older brother faced with the torture his family had been put through. He wished he could tell Michael that Cas was alright, but he couldn't do it honestly. He didn't know if Cas was okay and he couldn't say that the horrific things he'd gone through were all in the past. It was over but only Cas could tell them when it was finished with him, if that ever happened at all.

"They found him in a state I didn't even see." Charlie continued quietly, "When I met him he couldn't speak, he only grunted and made weird noises to communicate. He didn't understand how things worked and saw things he used to love as if it was for the first time. Dean and his family… They restored him to what he is right now, they care about him and they love him like he was one of them." She sighed and walked passed Michael as she headed for the door. "Cas might never be like he used to be, but I feel like we might be able to remind him who we are." She gave Dean a look as she walked by, one that said she would leave the rest to him. He nodded and watched the older Novak go through the motions of understanding everything that had just happened to him.

Michael looked around at the estate, his mind processing what Charlie had said as he stood in silence for a few moments. "So," he sighed and shoved his hands in his pockets, "you were the one that found him?"

"Yeah," Dean walked over and extended his hand, "Dean Winchester."

"Michael Novak," to Dean's surprise Michael didn't hesitate to take his offer. It was a firm handshake but not the kind where either side was trying to prove something, Dean figured given enough time he'd like Michael. "Cas seems to like you best, can you tell me… is he okay?"

"Well right now he's a bit shaken up," Dean looked back at the door, "But he's gotten pretty damn far since I met him." He felt guilt itching at the back of his mind. He'd had several opportunities to tell Michael about Cas and now, after seeing their reunion, he felt maybe what they did wasn't right. "Hey," he turned back to look at Michael who was doing a pretty good job of collecting himself again.

"What is it?"

Dean rubbed the back of his head and sighed heavily, "Look, I'm sorry we didn't tell you about Cas. You didn't say it loud but I know you wanted to; we didn't have the right to keep it a secret. We thought that anyone who knew him wouldn't be able to handle seeing him that way, and I guess… it wasn't helping either."

Michael's features softened and he turned more fully to face Dean, he didn't say anything to deny or agree but his expression was open.

"We made a choice for other people we didn't know, we made decisions for Cas when he couldn't and I don't know if any of the things we did were right or not. I know I did it for selfish reasons; I wanted to get to know Cas more. I wanted to protect him, I wanted him around, I didn't want to lose him… When we figured out you were so close and reachable, I panicked. I knew you'd want to take Cas home immediately, because that's what I'd do if the same happened to my little brother."

Michael nodded slowly, "You have a brother too?"

"Yeah, four years younger."

"Then you must have an idea-"

"I do," Dean cut him off before Michael could get any real momentum, Dean didn't need to hear it. "I've been trying to get into your shoes, to see it the way you would. I would've been pissed, more pissed than you were. I probably would've accused everyone here of being in on it even if they had proof they weren't. I would take my brother and leave, even if he didn't want to go." He held Michael's eyes for a pause, the seriousness of what he was about to say settling in. "That's why I want to ask you… please don't take him."

Michael looked away, his shoulders lowering slightly. He was thinking but he didn't speak.

"Please let him stay here with us. I get that you're his guardian and you've made most tough choices for his life but I… I need to stay with him. I'm not saying this to be selfish this time, I'm not begging just for me. Cas needs me, maybe not forever but for right now."

"Stop," Michael said but it wasn't cold like Dean thought it would be, "It's okay, I… I don't deserve to be his caretaker after all of this."

It was Dean's turn for stunned silence. He watched Michael smile sadly and look up at the mansion as if Cas would be looking back. "He deserves the best, and right now that's you and your family."

"He needs people he used to know, too." Dean added quietly, "You can't leave him now, Michael."

"I wasn't planning on it." Michael said decidedly and looked at Dean with a subtle smirk, "Make a key for me, I'm not going anywhere."

Dean cracked a grin, "I'll have to convince Jet, but I'm sure I can swing something."

"Jet, he's the one I was arguing with, right?"

He paused and laughed nervously, "Oh, yeah sorry about that, Jet's a bit of an asshole sometimes."

"No, he was right to put me in my place." Michael headed for the front door, "I don't know anything about what Cas went through but I threw my weight around anyway."

"So you're not bitter about that?"

Michael laughed a little, "Never said that, but I respect someone who can tell it like it is." He looked back at Dean, "Kinda like you did, just now. Thanks for telling me what Cas means to you, it helps."

Dean smiled and tipped his head in a nod, "Yeah, you're welcome – wait, helps what?"

"Helps me leave him with you without having to worry. I'm clearly not the best judge as to who's a creep and who isn't."

"That gets better with practice," Dean reassured him and followed inside to give Michael a better idea of what Cas was working with.