Chapter Thirty-Five

Friday arrived, along with the last of their exams. As soon as the seniors left the exam room, there was a palpable air of relief. Now all they had to do was wait for the results. Dean was confident, but there was no way to know for sure until their grades were posted.

Saturday morning, he dragged Mary with him to the police station before he lost his nerve altogether.

The precinct was busy, and Dean and Mary were led to a detective's desk. They were given water in plastic cups while they waited, but Mary took Dean's from him when his legs started bouncing and he started to spill the water.

At last a woman in her forties with short brown hair approached them. 'Hi, can I help you?' she asked.

Dean's throat was suddenly dry and his mouth tightly clamped shut. Mary glanced at him.

'We would like to report an assault,' Mary said for him.

The detective looked from Dean to Mary. 'Maybe you'd like to go somewhere more comfortable, it's pretty loud in here.'

Dean managed a nod, and followed the detective to a quiet room with couches and comfortable chairs.

The detective settled down in one of the chairs, with a notepad and a pen.

'So, there was an assault?' she prompted.

Dean clasped his hands in his lap, still unable to form the words.

Mary put a hand on his arm. 'You can still back out,' she said kindly. 'If you don't want this, you don't have to do it.'

Dean shook his head. 'I can do it,' he said. He took a deep breath and looked up at the detective. 'It was a sexual assault,' he said, the words squeezing his chest. 'It was a couple years ago though, so I don't expect it to go anywhere. I just want a paper trail, you know?'

The detective nodded. 'Okay, we can take a statement and then we'll see.' She glanced at Mary. 'We're going to have to go into detail, maybe you don't want your mom here for that?'

Dean swallowed. Though Mary knew what had happened, he'd avoided the specifics as much as possible. 'No, it's okay,' he said eventually.

'All right then, let's get started. Take your time, and take a break if you need to.'

Dean struggled through explaining what happened, distracted by the look of revulsion on Mary's face every time the detective asked him an invasive question.

'Okay, so we've got your statement. We're going to go and question Rhonda, but you're right, it's your word against hers, and there's not much to go on,' the detective said sympathetically. 'Do you know where she is?'

Dean gave her Rhonda's address. 'I don't know what school she's at now, though. She got expelled from ours.'

'She did?' the detective asked, her gaze sharpening. 'Why?'

Dean cleared his throat. 'There were others… That's actually why I'm here. I just- I don't know if expelling her will be enough and if it happens to someone else, there'll be a - a record, right?'

The detective smiled. 'That's right. We'll talk to the others and see what they say. We should pay a visit to your principal too, and remind him that he's a mandated reporter.'

'Don't be too hard on him,' Dean said. 'He really helped me get back on track after - after it happened, and I asked him not to go to the cops.'

'All right, well I think that's all the questions we have for now. We'll be in touch if we need anything else. It was really brave of you to come in, we appreciate it.'

'Thanks for taking me seriously, I guess,' Dean said.

They all stood and said their goodbyes, and Dean's legs felt like jelly, so he had Mary drive them home.

Cas was waiting in the living room when they got back, but he said nothing, only hopping over to Dean to give him a hug.

'I'm okay,' Dean murmured. 'Come on, sit down before you hurt yourself.'

Cas allowed Dean to pull him back down to the couch, and ignored the shaking in Dean's legs.

'I'm so proud of you,' Cas whispered.

'I'll make us some coffee,' Mary said.

Dean leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes, trying to block out the flashes of Rhonda in his head.

When Mary returned, she passed them both a cup of coffee, and discreetly handed Dean his 'I wuv hugs' shirt.

Dean drained his coffee, then sunk down on the couch, resting across Cas's lap with his shirt bunched up near his face.

Cas stayed with him for over an hour, gently rubbing his arm and stroking his hair.

Eventually, the storm in Dean's mind subsided, giving way to thoughts of Cas, and the warm smell of his body spray. Dean uncurled his frozen limbs and looked up at Cas.

Cas, who was absent-mindedly swirling his fingers through Dean's hair, and scrolling on his phone. He looked down and gave Dean a bright smile.

'Hey,' Dean murmured.

'Hello,' Cas replied.

Dean sat up and put an arm around Cas, kissing him deeply.

'You're feeling better?' Cas asked quietly.

Dean nodded and kissed Cas again. 'Good weather today,' Dean said, now his head was clearing. 'You wanna go out with your telescope tonight?'

'I'd love to,' Cas smiled.

'Awesome. I'll take you out to dinner, then we can go hang out as long as we want.'

'That sounds nice.'

It felt odd not to have anything to do, now that finals were over and there was nothing left to study, so Dean busied himself with tidying up the garage and his tools. Once he was done, he scrubbed the dirt from his hands, changed, and packed Cas's equipment into the Impala.

'I can do it,' Cas pouted when Dean wouldn't let him carry the telescope.

Dean grinned. 'I know you can,' Dean said, kissing Cas's forehead, 'but I want to do it, keep that leg in good shape.'

Cas sighed. 'I can't wait for this to be over.'

'Babe, it's only been a week. You're just going to have to be patient.'

Cas grumbled something under his breath, then climbed carefully into the car.

Dean took them to their favourite diner, where they both had burgers, and shared a hot fudge sundae. They dawdled until the sun finally sunk to the horizon, and Cas got so excited he could hardly sit still.

Dean drove them to their usual spot, way out of town where there was little light pollution, and set up the telescope at Cas's direction. He then settled on the hood of the Impala, watching Cas fondly. The way Cas fiddled with the settings, and gazed up at the night sky filled Dean's stomach with butterflies. He got up and wandered over to Cas, embracing him from behind and watching over his shoulder, his heart thrilling at the little sigh Cas made at his touch.

'I'm so happy you came here,' Dean murmured into Cas's ear.

Cas chuckled. 'Someone's feeling mushy today.'

'Well, that's because I - I love you, Cas.'

Cas froze for a moment, then twisted in Dean's arms to look at him. 'Really?'

'Really.'

Cas let out a breath and his face lit up. He kissed Dean with such force they almost fell over. 'I thought it was just me,' he said. 'I love you too, Dean.'

'That's good, otherwise that could have been really awkward,' Dean grinned.

Cas didn't pay much more attention to the telescope, and couldn't stop smiling.

They slept in Dean's bed that night, holding each other close.

Dean couldn't see the point of going back to school now that exams were over, but he soon changed his mind when most of their teachers allowed them to talk, play games, or watch movies in class, having no more left to teach them. Dean's heart was light, the stress and strain of the past year slowly lifting from his shoulders. He, Kevin and Jo got used to members of the swim and track teams sitting with them at their lunch table. Kevin, now bright-eyed and well rested for once, chatted almost non stop. The only shadow over Dean was now the occasional jolt when he saw the detective he spoke to waiting in the hallways, or talking to one of the students. He tried to put it behind him, but then he got another leaflet in his locker inviting him to the support group. He carefully folded it up and tucked it into his pocket. He was less conflicted this time, and even looked forward to it. Even though he would rather not think about it, he was proud of himself for making his statement, and he wanted to tell the other boys about it.

The morning of the group, large posters appeared all over the walls, emblazoned with the date for senior prom in a month's time. Dean smiled at it. There was no doubt that he would go with Cas. He wanted to make asking Cas romantic, but he put it to the back of his mind while he made his way to the group.

The guidance counselor was waiting already, but she wasn't the only one. The detective was also sitting in one of the seats, and she smiled at Dean when she saw him.

The others were not quite so happy to see the detective.

'I thought this was supposed to be confidential,' one of them said, dropping into another one of the chairs. 'What happened to "nothing we say here leaves this room"?'

'It is completely confidential,' the counselor reassured them. 'The detective is here because there was a report made about a certain girl, and she wanted to know if anyone else would like to make a statement. You don't have to, but if you do decide to, you can go to a separate room and talk to her privately.'

'Who made a statement?' the youngest boy asked curiously.

'I can't say,' said the detective.

'It's okay,' Dean said. 'I don't mind them knowing. It was me.'

Surprised looks were aimed at him from around the room.

'But I thought you didn't want to,' said one of the boys.

Dean shrugged. 'Yeah, that was when I thought it was just me, but you guys kind of inspired me last week.'

The guidance counselor beamed at him. 'That's really great, Dean. That's what a support group is for - you know - support.'

'Listen, I'm not saying you guys have to do anything,' Dean told them, 'but I got kinda sick of her getting away with it.'

'You don't have to decide right away, either,' the detective said kindly. 'But if you do want to talk about it, you can come find me at the precinct, or you can give me a call.' She handed out cards with her name on them. 'I'll be next door for the rest of your lunch break.' The detective took her leave, and as soon as she was gone, the others launched questions at Dean.

'Whoa, whoa, one at a time,' Dean smiled.

'Did you really give a statement?' one of them asked.

'I did, last Saturday.'

'Were you scared?' the youngest one asked.

Dean nodded. 'Yeah, it was kinda scary, but the detective was really nice.'

'Did she take you seriously?'

Dean recognised the same anxious expression he used to wear on the boy's face. 'Yeah, she did. It didn't matter that I'm a dude, it was still an assault.'

The boy looked slightly reassured, but only slightly.

'I think - I think I'll do it,' said the youngest. 'I can do it.'

'You've got this,' Dean said.

'Do you think - do you think we can keep doing these meetings?' he asked the counselor.

'Of course,' she said. 'I was planning on doing them weekly until the end of the year.'

'That would be good.'

'Do you want to go and talk to the detective now?'

The boy turned pale and shook his head. He wasn't quite ready yet.

'You've got her number when you're ready,' Dean said to him.

The other boys weren't quite as confident, and maybe they never would be, but they all had to deal with what happened to them in their own way.

At the end of the day, Dean called Cas a cab, and helped him into the passenger seat.

'Where are you going?' Cas asked.

'It's a surprise,' Dean smiled, leaning down to kiss Cas through the window. 'Go on, I'll see you later.'

The cab drove off, and Dean sat down in the Impala, then took himself to the mall. He bought himself some nice clothes, a bouquet of blue and white flowers, and a box of fancy chocolates. He changed in men's room, and drove home with the flowers and chocolates on the seat next to him. He pulled up to the house, checked his hair and tie in the wing mirrors, then went up to ring the doorbell.

Mary opened the door and looked slightly shocked.

'Hello, Mrs Winchester, is Cas home?' Dean grinned.

Mary giggled, the called over her shoulder, 'Cas, there's a cute boy at the door for you.'

Dean listened as Cas's crutches clicked through the living room, and he briefly glimpsed Cas's confused expression before he saw Dean.

'Hey,' Dean said.

'What are you doing?' Cas asked.

Dean cleared his throat and held out the flowers and chocolates. 'Castiel Novak, will you go to prom with me?'

Cas's face lit up. 'Dean Winchester, I would love to go to prom with you.'

Dean kissed Cas, and Cas took the flowers from him.

'They're beautiful, Dean,' he said, smelling them delicately.

'Can I come in now?' Dean said, sniggering slightly.

Cas laughed and handed Dean the flowers back. 'Would you put these in a vase for me?'

'Sure thing.'

Dean came in through the door and saw Sam sitting on the couch.

'You're so lame,' Sam said, rolling his eyes.

'Cooler than you,' Dean shot back. He went through to the kitchen with Cas and set the flowers in a vase in the centre of the table.

'I love you,' Cas whispered to him.

'I love you too.'

Welcome back! Thanks to EmilyAnnMcGarrett-Winchester for the review! Happy holidays, and I'll see you next time :)

Just a quick update for anyone here waiting for Half-Blood Prince, it is coming and the first chapter will hopefully be up by mid Jan