Dean woke up in a nervous sweat, panting. He looked around with wide eyes, then sighed in relief, realizing it was only a dream. He smiled over at Castiel, who was sleeping soundlessly. He slipped out of bed and walked downstairs.

The kitchen tiles were ice cold under Dean's feet. He slipped some slippers on before cooking. He hummed while he worked, his back turned to the rest of the room. Then, he felt warm arms wrap around him and a body press against him. He froze, but relaxed. It was Cas.

"Dammit Cas," Dean giggled, whisking eggs.

"Pardon me. I thought I was doing the right thing," Cas apologized. Dean set the eggs down and turned to hug Cas.

"You're new to this, baby. I get it," Dean smiled. He stroked Cas's hair as Cas's grip tightened around him. Cas nuzzled into him.

"You still love me though?" He asked in a small voice. Dean chuckled.

"Cas, what kind of question is that?" He asked, pulling away from Cas a little. He lifted his chin so blue eyes met green eyes. Dean saw that Cas's was crying. He wiped the tears away with his thumb, smiling. "Castiel Novak. Nothing in this world will stop me from loving you. Nothing. Not my dad, not yours, not Balthazar. No one. Not death, injuries. I'll always love you and be by your side always," Cas smiled and sniffled. Then he nodded.

"Okay," He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "Can I help you make breakfast? I think we might be out of milk..." He walked over to the fridge, checking. "Yup. No milk."

"Ugh," Dean groaned. "Wanna go get some?"

Cas shook his head. "No. I can go get it. You continue making breakfast. I won't be long," He replied, pulling a sweatshirt on. Dean frowned and opened his mouth to protest. Cas just held up his hand. "I can handle myself."

"Fine. You wanna take baby?" He asked, returning to the eggs. Cas cocked his head. Dean sighed. "The impala." Cas nodded slowly.

"No. I'll just walk to the store next door," He zipped up his sweatshirt.

"Baby, it's cold," Dean started whining a little.

"Dammit Dean, I'm a grown ass man. I can handle myself," He said firmly, then smiled. "I'll be back in 5."

Dean chuckled and moved to their old record player. Elvis wafted through the apartment, and Dean danced around the kitchen.

Cas walked against the wind, his cheeks already red. His hands were deep in his pockets. I should've brought gloves, he thought. He was just about to step into the parking lot when someone grabbed him and threw him into the alley. Cas's scream was lost in the wind.

"You leave Dean alone. Got it?" An English voice said. Balthazar. Cas stood up shakily and glared at him.

"I haven't done anything to Dean," He snarled.

Balthazar cackled. "Not like that you ignorant fool. I mean leave him, break up with him." He said, smirking.

"I'm never leaving Dean, Balthazar," He said, daggers shooting from his cold, blue eyes.

"Fine then," Balthazar said with a shrug. Cas looked confused, the he fell the the ground, cupping his cheek. Balthazar had punched him. Cas yelped, tears streamed from that eye, freezing. "You gonna break up with him, or am I gonna have to break you?"

"I'm never  leaving Dean," He spat. Balthazar bent over and punched him again. "Never!" Cas shrieked.

And all hell broke loose. Balthazar kicked Cas in the ribs multiple times. He hauled Cas to his feet and punched and kneed him in the stomach. An "oof" escaped from Cas's throat along with all the air in his lungs. He fell to the ground clutching his stomach, only to be lifted up again and pressed against the wall. Balthazar grabbed the collar of his shirt, punching him in the face several times.

"Break up with him," He growled through his teeth. Cas spit blood in his face.

"I won't," He rasped. Balthazar screamed and slammed Cas's head against the wall.

His vision went blurry and he fell to the ground again. Balthazar kicked him hard, breaking almost all his ribs. Cas cried, but wouldn't budge. Balthazar pulled out a knife.

"Last chance," He said. And that fucker actually had a grin on his face. Castiel just shook his head. "Fine. By. Me."

((*time skip* You can guess what happens...))

Dean called Cas's phone for the fifth time. It have been 20 minutes. I could've taken that long. Dean had walked to the store about 3 times. The worker said they hadn't seen Cas come in. When the phone went to voice mail, Dean yelled and threw his phone across the room. He sucked in two deep breaths.

"Calm down...maybe Cas decided to go on a walk...maybe he just wanted to visit someone and his phone died..." He suggested to himself. He pulled on his leather jacket and made the decision to go to the store again. He passed the alley, and at that exact moment heard a scream.

Dean ran over and saw a worker from the store standing wide eyes and her mouth covered. All the color was drained from her face. Then he saw Cas. He was bloody, bruised, beaten, and unconscious. Dean took one stride and he was by Cas's side.

"Call 911 NOW!" He shouted. The lady hesitated. "Are you deaf!? I said now!" She ran inside.

About 2, looonnggg minutes later the ambulance arrived. Cas was laid on a stretcher and rushed into the back of the ambulance. Dean tried to follow.

"I'm sorry sir, only family members can ride in the back," A medic said, blocking his way.

"No no no. I'm his boyfriend. Let me go with him. Please!" He pleaded. The medic nodded and Dean sat beside Cas, face in hands.

When the arrived at the hospital, Cas rushed into the emergency room. Dean knew better than to try and follow. 3 hours of tears, frustration, and regret passed. A doctor called his name.

"Dean Winchester?" He called. Dean shot up like a rocket. "You can see him now."

It took everything Dean had not to sprint down the hall. Instead he followed the doctor. Dean gasped and rushed to Cas's side, taking his hand.

"Hey Cassy..." He said, tears streaming down his face. Cas smiled at Dean. "Baby, what happened?" Cas looked at the doctor.

"He can't talk at the moment," The doctor explained. "But it appeared that he was jumped. He broke 18 ribs, stabbed 13 times, and has a broken jaw. One of his ribs was only an inch away from impaling his heart." Dean broke down sobbing. Cas did his best to comfort Dean by stroking his hair, the way Dean did to Cas this morning.

"He'll be okay though, right? Please tell me he's going to be okay," He cried his voice breaking. The doctor nodded.

"Castiel will be fine. He'll just need to be here for a few months," Normally, Dean would've shouted at the time. But he understood. The doctor left the room, and Dean continued sobbing.

"I should've let you go by yourself," He cried. "It was Balthazar...wasn't it?" He asked, his voice suddenly dark. Cas could only nod.

"I'll kill that son of a bitch," He growled. Cas's grip tighten on Dean's hand. "Okay...okay... I understand." Cas smiled at him, Dean smiled back.

((WHOOP WHOOP Another time skip! 4 years later...))

Dean startled awake, looking at Cas. Dean's sudden movements woke him up. After what happened in the alley, Cas has never slept well.

"Dean?" Cas asked sleepily. "What's wrong, babe?"

Dean shook his head. "It was a dream..."

Cas cuddled up next to Dean. "Was it that dream?" He asked.

"Always is," Dean chuckled pitifully. Cas sat up and kissed Dean.

"Don't worry. I'm all better. I'm not going anywhere," He cooed.

"You're never leaving my side. Not until you die," Dean said in a tough voice.

"Dean...I can handle,-"

"My damn self," They finished together. The two laughed then Dean went downstairs to make breakfast.

"Let's hope we have milk..." Cas mumbled.