A fresh start

Chapter 12

Sorry it took so long to update!!!!!! Hope everybody is enjoying the story so far!

Ok. Enjoy cookies!

What had Dean meant? Cas shook his boyfriend by the shoulders but Dean was out cold.

Who wants me? Why? What happened before?

Questions spun round Cas' brain but he pushed them to one side. First he had to deal with Dean. Cas knocked on Sam's bedroom, which was next door. He was surprised to see, not only Sam when the door opened, but also Gabriel.

"Gabe!" Cas gave his brother a surprised hug and then turned to Sam. "Erm... your brother is out cold on the floor. He ran backwards into a wall. Could you help me lift him onto his bed?"

"Why did he run into a wall?"

"I'm not entirely sure but he was scared, terrified even, and in the shock he ran into the wall and collapsed and now he's comatose so could you please help?"
Sam nodded and together they lifted Dean onto the bed. Cas pulled the covers up over his boyfriend and pulled up a chair next to the bed. Cas sat down and watched Dean as he slept. Dean usually looked so at peace when he was sleeping it made Cas calm but tonight Dean was having nightmares. There was something troubling Dean that he had not thought about in a while and Cas watched as Dean's face screwed up and he broke into a sweat. Cas looked on worriedly but he couldn't do anything about it. He tried shaking Dean and calling his name but nothing seemed to work. Cas felt the tears begin to form in his eyes as he looked on helplessly and Dean became more distressed.

After about two hours Dean started to calm down. And Cas slumped in his chair. Cas had tears slowly dripping down his cheeks but he never stopped watching Dean. Cas was scared that if he left, Dean would hurt himself while having a nightmare. Cas felt responsible for anything that happened tonight but even if he had wanted to sleep, Cas didn't think he could.

"It's you. He wants you. I won't let him Castiel. Not this time."

The words repeated through Cas' brain until it almost started to become a rhythm. Cas had no idea what Dean was on about and he couldn't stop thinking about it. He stared at Dean through his tears and slumped further in his chair.

Sam and Gabriel were stood in the doorframe watching Cas closely.

"What the hell happened in here?" Sam asked.

Gabriel just shrugged. Seeing his brother like this was painful for Gabriel. The look on Cas' face was a mix of defeat, pain, sadness and guilt. The last time Gabriel had seen that look on Cas' face was the night their parents had died. He could still see Cas slumped in Lucifer's arms silently. Anna was crying loudly and he remembered that he, himself was nearly hysterical. The twins had been very strong to try and keep the family together but Castiel had just sat there crying, completely hopeless. From that day on Gabriel had hardly seen his older brother who locked himself away in guilt and sadness.

What he was seeing now was almost exactly the same and Gabriel couldn't bear it.

"Gabe are you ok?"

Gabriel just shook his head and soon he felt Sam pull him into a hug.

Sam didn't know why he hugged Gabriel but it felt right. He wrapped his long arms around the smaller boy and pulled him tightly to his chest. He could feel Gabriel's shaky breaths as he tried not to cry.

"Let's leave them. Everything will be fine." Sam closed the door to Dean's room and they went back to Sam's room.

Dean woke up in the morning to see Cas slumped in the chair next to his bed. He had a splitting headache so went to the bathroom to get some advil. He swallowed two pills with a glass of water and looked in the mirror. He looked like death. He had bags under his eyes from his fitful nights sleep, his eyes were red and there were stains from his tears on his cheeks. He quickly locked the door to the bathroom and hopped into the shower. He let the water wash over his face and tried to figure out what he was going to do. Was he going to tell Cas? Was that really a good idea? Would Cas forgive him if he knew Dean could have prevented it? Could Dean sort all of this without any drama? He could try asking Adam to leave but then Jo would be upset. However Dean looked at the situation he couldn't come up with a good solution. He could attempt to warn Cas. There was a symbol Adam wore on a chain around his neck. Dean knew Adam wanted to get a message to someone in the family and that was his trademark. Maybe if Cas knew the symbol Dean could prove that Adam was the murderer.

Dean wrapped the towel around his waist and walked back into his bedroom. Cas was still sleeping in the chair. Dean quickly pulled on some fresh clothes and went to wake his boyfriend. He gently shook Cas' shoulders and the boy jumped up.

"Dean" His worry melted away when he saw the boy smiling in front of him. Cas gave Dean a relieved hug.

"Are you ok?" Dean nodded and the pair walked down to the kitchen. Sam and Gabe were already sitting at the table.

"Morning baby brothers!" Dean sat across from Sam and watched Gabriel pull Cas into a room next door.

"Just ignore them," Sam reassured Dean, "Gabriel was just a bit shocked when he saw Cas yesterday."

"Why was he so shocked?"

"I think it was something about how Cas looked when he watched over you. Something that linked to the night their parents died I think." Dean felt guilty all over again.

-

"Castiel are you ok?"

"Yes I'm fine. And Gabe do not call me by my full name."

"Ok but please don't worry too much. The look on your face last night... I hadn't seen you like that since mom and dad died."

Cas enveloped his little brother in a hug.

"And Cas... are you going to try and make things better?"

Cas shook his head. "I would but only if he comes to me. I need to know that he didn't mean what he said."

Gabriel nodded. "I don't think he did."

"I need to hear it from his mouth."

"Oi! Are you two going to eat breakfast or not?"

The Winchesters laughed from in the kitchen and Cas and Gabe joined them at the table.

Dean was stood next to the toaster tapping on the counter. When the toast popped up Dean put the pieces on some plates and placed them in front of the boys at the table.

"Jam or butter?"

Gabriel and Sam had jam and Cas stuck with butter.

Dean spread some butter on his own toast and the four boys ate in silence.

"I need to go down to the café... my shift starts in a bit." Cas leaned over and placed a kiss on Dean's forehead. "Come by if you want. Gabe, look after yourself."

Cas ran down the hill. Partially to get to the café on time but also partially so he wouldn't have to deal with anyone who might see him from the other house. Cas let himself into the coffee shop and saw Jo talking to Adam at a table.

"Joanna! Stop being a slacker!" Cas laughed as he went to pull on some fresh clothes. When he came back Adam and Jo had moved to the counter as Jo started setting things up at the bar.

"Cas! Adam and me went into town yesterday and we saw Lucifer."

Cas stopped what he was doing and turned to face Jo.

"Ah yes Lucifer. He was nice."

Cas could have sworn he something in Adam's eyes at the mention of his older brother but made nothing of it.

"Oh. And?"

"He wanted to know if you were safe. I said yes. He wanted you to know how sorry he is and that he wishes to speak with you."

"He wants to speak with me?"

Jo nodded and continued. "He wants you to meet him up on the clearing on the hill tonight at midnight."

Cas felt a sudden pang in his heart at the mention of the clearing. He hadn't actually been up in a while. Not really at all since he started dating Dean. He never felt the need to clear his mind because he felt as if he had found his place. He missed it though. The wet grass beneath his toes and the cool night wind in his hair. He remembered the experiences and smiled.

"Will you go Cas?"

Cas nodded and went to open up shop.