Auntie took me home the next day but told me in no uncertain terms that I was not to leave the apartment for anything but my physical therapy sessions for the next week. Castiel tried to stay with me during the day but I convinced him that I needed him to collect my homework for me so I wouldn't get behind in my classes. He reluctantly agreed and he and Alexy showed up at my doorstep after school to keep me company. When they got there Auntie excused herself to go to her work. Her boss had reluctantly agreed that Auntie would be allowed to work from home until I got better as long as she came in to help with the project for a few hours every day. I felt bad that she was fussing over me so much, but I had to admit that it felt kind of nice to spend all day with Auntie.

The second day I was home from the hospital my phone rang around noon. Glancing at the caller ID, I was surprised to see that it was Dajan. Auntie was making lunch so I answered the phone with a small smile.

"Hey, Dajan," I greeted him through the phone.

"Hey, Sato. I didn't wake you up from a nap or anything, did I?" Dajan's deep voice asked over the speaker. 

I chuckled quietly and then winced as my rib sent a spasm of pain through my chest.

"No, if I nap too much during the day I don't sleep at night," I said, leaning back into a more comfortable position against the pillows propped up against the headboard of my bed.

"I gotcha..." A small, awkward silence stretched as Dajan's voice trailed off. 

It had sounded like he wasn't finished speaking but as the silence continued, I wondered if he was waiting for me to speak. I was about to ask how his day was going when he cleared his throat.

"So... Alexy told me that you and Castiel got in a car accident," Dajan said, worry and another emotion I couldn't quite name making his voice sound tighter than normal. 

I blinked in surprise and then remembered that this was the story that Auntie and Principal Shermansky had decided on. Since the real reason for Castiel's and my injuries was sensitive information they had chosen to spread the lie that we had gotten in a car accident. I felt bad lying to Dajan about it though.

"Umm," I stalled, wondering if this conversation was really appropriate for a phone call during lunch hour. Dajan sighed and I frowned.

"I thought that wasn't the full story. Alexy wouldn't give me any details about the crash and I couldn't find any reports about it in the news." His voice sounded tired. I sighed lightly, rubbing my neck which was finally starting to clear of the bruises my father had left me.

"The truth is a little more in-depth, Dajan. I... it's..." I struggled to try and explain myself and I heard Dajan expel a quiet breath.

"Is it true that you and Castiel are dating now?" he asked quietly. 

I blinked, surprised that he had changed the subject. Heat crept into my cheeks as I looked over at the sun fairy statue I had dusted lovingly this morning.

"Yes, we are," I responded simply.

"And... you're happy?" he asked, his voice once again quieter than normal. I blinked slowly and was surprised when my lips curved upwards without thought.

"Yah. I... know you aren't a fan of Castiel, Dajan," I commented hesitantly, my smile turning down into a worried frown. "But he's been there for me in every way and I feel safe when I'm with him." 

I heard a heavy sigh through the speakers and then a small chuckle.

"Well, as long as you are happy that's all that matters, Sato," he said in a determined voice, but it also sounded like he was a little sad. Before I could ask him about it though he already moved on. "So he knows the whole story?" Dajan asked. 

I blinked and nodded but then remembered that I was speaking on the phone.

"Yes, he knows," I said, feeling a little confused.

"I'll talk to him about it then. Do you need anything? Can I get you some ice cream or something?" Dajan asked. 

I smiled warmly at his brotherly concern and tears prickled the back of my eyes at his never-ending kindness towards me.

"That's really nice of you to offer, Dajan. But I think I'm okay. I'll be back at school next Tuesday."

"Okay. All of us are waiting for you, Sato. Especially Troy; he's been a basket case ever since he found out about you getting hurt." 

I chuckled lightly, thinking of my sweet basketball boys being concerned for me. I thanked Dajan for calling me and told him I'd let Castiel know he was going to ask him about the real story. He hung up the phone and I sent a text to Castiel, asking him if he would be comfortable talking to Dajan about what really happened.

You're sure you want him to know everything?

I looked at Castiel's response and bit my lip. Part of me was still scared about people finding out about my past, but that part was slowly shrinking day by day as more and more people knew the truth and still stood by my side. I felt guilty that I was asking Castiel to tell my story for me, but I felt like Dajan deserved the truth sooner than later.

Yes, I'm sure. But if you are uncomfortable with telling him, then I can ask him to come talk to me after school.

I had barely put my phone down when it vibrated, signaling I had received a new text.

Don't be stupid, Ghosty. You need to rest. I'll explain things to him after school, so I might be a little late coming over.

My lips quirked into a silly grin and I rubbed my thumb over the text, wondering what I had done to have such a caring boy fall in love with me. We texted back and forth until Auntie came in with lunch. A few hours later a knock sounded on the door and Auntie pushed my shoulders gently as I tried to get up.

"Don't you even think about it. I'll get it," Auntie said while wagging a finger in my face. 

I slowly settled back onto my bed, knowing that reminding her that I needed to walk around to build up my muscles wouldn't help since she had scheduled into our routine several times a day where she would help me walk around the apartment.

Auntie bustled to the door where she paused and turned, glaring at me suspiciously, and I gave her a reassuring smile. The knock came again so Auntie left and I heard her open the door. After a small conversation, I heard footsteps coming over to my room and Auntie pushed open the door to reveal Rosa, Violette, Kim, Melody, and Iris all standing behind her. I blinked in surprise at the unexpected visit and to my shock, all four of the girls began to get teary-eyed as they looked at me.

"Oh, Opal!" Rosa cried, rushing into the room and dropping to her knees beside my bed. She grabbed my hands into her own and looked at me as her eyes seemed to swim with unshed tears. "Are you okay, sweetie? We've all been so worried about you!"

I looked from Rosa to the three other girls hovering behind her and my own eyes began to fill with tears as I looked at my friends' open concern for me. I nodded, not trusting my voice with all the emotion going through me. All five of the girls surrounded me and gathered me in a group hug. They were all very gentle, so I assumed Auntie had warned them about my broken rib, but I couldn't help but let my tears fall as they all murmured how much they had been worried about me. A feeling of belonging descended over me and I hugged all of my friends as love and gratitude flowed through me.

After our tears stopped the girls all found a spot on my bed surrounding me and they asked me what happened. Auntie and I shared a glance as I wondered if I should stick with the school's version of what happened, but Auntie nodded encouragingly to me as if saying that she would support whatever decision I made.

Taking as deep of a breath as my battered ribs would allow, I slowly began my story from the beginning. The girls' eyes widened in shock as I explained how I had come to live at Sweet Amoris and the doubts and fears I had lived with for so long. When I finally finished with my father's attack my voice had gone hoarse and all of the girls were looking at me in stunned silence.

"So... Castiel tried to protect you from your father. And your father tried to kill you..." Rosa summarized with horror making her voice tense. More tears threatened to bubble over but I nodded sadly.

"Wow. Who knew Castiel was so chivalrous," Kim said with surprise in her voice. I blinked in surprise at the comment and Iris chimed in.

"Right? Opal, I am so sorry that you had to grow up with such a monster. But I am really glad that he won't bother you anymore. And now you've got a boyfriend!" 

I looked between Kim, Iris, Rosa, and even Melody whose eyes were all shimmering with excitement, but Violette had yet to lift her eyes from the blanket.

Fear gripped me as I slowly reached a shaking hand out to touch her hand. Violette was such a sweet and reserved girl, what if my story had caused her some kind of trauma? As I brushed the back of her hand Violette looked up and I saw that tears were streaming down her eyes.

"You're not a mistake, Opal," she squeaked out. 

As I took in her tears and her sadness for me, my own tears echoed hers and I felt my lip tremble. Violette gripped my hand gently in hers and looked at me even as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks.

"I've never heard of anything crueler in my life. Please don't believe those awful things that your parents said," she pleaded. I raised my other trembling hand to my mouth to try and cover up the sound of my sobs.

Violette scooted closer and held me in her arms and slowly I felt the other girls add their warmth to the mix. An added weight to the bed signaled that Auntie had joined us and I felt her comforting hand rub my back. I don't know how long we stayed like that but after I finally stopped crying I felt exhausted and Auntie gently asked the girls to leave for now. 

They all promised to come visit again later to get the details about Castiel and me and I waved at them tiredly, feeling a weight lift from my shoulders. Auntie's and Castiel's acceptance of me had begun my road to healing and now that I knew that even my girlfriends accepted my broken self I felt like I could finally leave it behind me and move on.

Auntie gave me some pain medicine and I drifted off to sleep almost instantly. When I woke up next, it was to the soothing sensation of rough fingers running gently through my bangs and across my forehead. Blinking sleepily I tilted my head to look up to see Castiel looking at me with a gentle expression. The lights were off and only the dim light filtering in through the blinds of the window illuminated the room.

"Hey," I whispered, smiling up at him. 

His black eye had faded a lot over the last few days and his nose was back to normal too. The doctors were going to remove the stitches from his cheek in a few days and they said it shouldn't cause a large scar at all. Castiel had said that he wouldn't mind though and frequently said he was going to rip the stitches out so he would get a cool scar.

"Hey, Ghosty," he responded quietly, pulling his fingers away from my forehead. "You feeling okay?"

I nodded, ignoring the ever-present pain from my broken rib and still tender knee. Castiel reached out and brushed the skin right below my eye, making me blink.

"You look like you've been crying," he stated. 

I nodded, not seeing any point in denying it. Slowly I explained about the girls' visit and Castiel shook his head, muttering that he had told me to rest, but then he smiled and stroked my cheek.

"I'm glad your friends could visit you. Are you ready for dinner?" I nodded again since my throat was feeling a little scratchy and I didn't feel like talking.

To my surprise, Castiel pulled my blankets down and slid his arms under me. I winced as he bumped my rib, but after a moment's hesitation, I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned against his shoulder. He carried me smoothly into the living room and situated me on the couch where I could look into the kitchen. I watched with a small smile as Castiel pulled out the dinner Auntie had left in the fridge for us, homemade chicken noodle soup, and warmed it up on the stove.

After ladling us two bowls of soup he brought them to me and set them on the coffee table. Gently he slipped his hand beneath my ankles and lifted my legs so he could slide underneath them. I could feel myself blush brilliantly as he sat down and laid my legs on top of his lap but when he gave me a teasing grin I just reached out for my bowl of soup. Physical contact like this was new to me, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed moments like these when Castiel made it obvious that he wanted to be close to me.

Castiel told me about his day, although he never had anything great to say about his classes. It was interesting to see the world of books and learning that I loved so much through the eyes of Castiel, whose only real passion was for music. When I asked about Demon he said that he was a little sad that Castiel was gone so often, but that he'd make it up to him when I was feeling better. 

I smiled slightly down at my bowl of soup as I pictured quiet afternoons where I could go over to Castiel's house and spend the day with him and Demon. Slowly I began to frown as I turned my attention from my soup up to Castiel who was pushing bits of celery to the side of his soup before getting a spoonful of carrots, meat, and a thick noodle.

"Castiel..." I said hesitantly. He looked up as he inserted the spoon in his mouth and cocked his head to the side in a silent question. "What am I supposed to do as your girlfriend?" I asked quietly.

Castiel blinked in surprise, removed the spoon from his mouth, and swallowed quickly. He narrowed his eyes at me as if to check if I was being serious or not. Feeling embarrassed I looked down at my lap.

"Sorry. it's a weird question. I should've asked Auntie..." I mumbled as I stirred my soup self-consciously.

Goosebumps erupted along my legs as Castiel placed a hand on my uninjured lower leg and rubbed up and down gently. I was briefly grateful that I had showered and shaved this morning before my embarrassment took over and I started to move my leg. Castiel held my leg gently but firmly, stopping me mid-retreat. I looked up to meet his piercing grey eyes and slowly lowered my leg back down, eliciting a small smile to quirk his lips up.

"I know you've never dated anyone before, Opal. Even though I've had a girlfriend and some flings, I never felt about them the way I feel about you, so this is kind of new territory for me too," he admitted, his steady voice rolling like soothing waves over me. "There are things I would like for us to do. For example, I'd like us to hold hands when we're at school so I can show off you're my girlfriend," he stated with a smirk. 

I blushed at the thought but he continued speaking before I could react.

"I also would like us to go out to eat lunch at least once a week. I know you like to eat lunch with your friends and I don't want to take that away from you... but I figure once a week should be fine." 

I blinked and smiled slowly as Castiel gave me a look that looked like a mix of his normally snarky smirk mixed with a hesitancy I hadn't seen in him before. Slowly I nodded my agreement and he grinned widely.

"I'd also like us to go on dates. Hanging out at the mall, going to the waterpark, making music together. Stuff like that," Castiel explained. 

A giggle bubbled up from my throat, causing pain to rip through me. Although the pain was dwarfed by the warmth that was beginning to spread from my heart through my entire body.

"I think that sounds great," I admitted quietly. Castiel smirked arrogantly but then his expression turned serious as he looked me square in the eye.

"What about you? What would you like me to do as your boyfriend?" he asked.

I swallowed past a lump forming in my throat and hardly without looking I set my bowl down on the table and reached out to take his hand in mine. He immediately laced our fingers together and I pulled his hand over to lean the back of his hand against my cheek. I closed my eyes for a moment and breathed in the slightly peppery scent of the cologne he used before opening my eyes and looking into his curious expression.

"If it's not too much to ask... I'd like you to keep your hair short," I said with a small smile. 

Castiel blinked blankly for a second and then a loud, boisterous laugh erupted from his chest. He winced and held his hand to his side, reminding me that he still had a cracked rib, but he quickly grinned, reaching over and flicking me on the nose lightly with the hand that I wasn't holding against my cheek.

"I can't say no to you, Ghosty," he said with a broad grin and I smiled at him. "Is there anything else?" he asked with amusement making his grey eyes shimmer. 

Slowly I lowered our joined hands to my lap and gently ran a finger down each of his long callused ones.

"I would like you to keep playing the guitar. And I want you to tell me if something upsets you or makes you sad. And..." Hesitantly I raised my eyes to look him in the eye. We gazed at each other silently for a few moments before I found the courage to say what I had wanted to say at the beginning. "And I would... really like it... if you stayed by me. For as long as you still love me," I whispered quietly.

Castiel's eyes seemed to be looking through my own and searching my soul as we gazed at each other after my impertinent request. I was about to apologize when Castiel slowly removed his hand from mine and brought it up to gently cup my cheek. We never broke eye contact as he slowly began to lean toward me. Almost as if invisible strings had somehow connected us I felt myself slowly leaning towards him as well.

I could feel his gentle breath wash over my lips as we stopped just millimeters apart from each other. Time seemed to pause for a moment as Castiel's scent brushed my nose and for a moment I forgot every cruel thing that my parents ever told me. Castiel closed the distance between us and gently pressed his lips against mine. We stayed that way for several seconds before Castiel's hand on my cheek slipped gently under my ear and against my neck. His lips moved slowly, opening only a fraction before they closed tenderly around my bottom lip. It kind of felt like his lips were hugging mine and I felt myself smile slightly at the strange thought.

Castiel pulled back for less than a breath before he moved in and gently kissed me again, bringing his other hand up to rest on my neck and his thumb gently stroked my jawbone. Feeling a little silly, I tried to copy what Castiel had done by gently wrapping my lips around his bottom lip. I felt his lips tug upwards and I couldn't keep from smiling as well. Giggles began to try and come up my throat and we pulled away from each other. I didn't know what it was that was so funny but as Castiel gently cradled my neck we pressed our foreheads together and gently laughed. It was a soft, pure sound, and I realized that I really liked the way our laughs sounded together.

After our strange laugh attack wore off Castiel pressed a swift kiss to my cheek and pulled back so he could look me in the eye. There was no hint of mockery or teasing of any kind in his open and happy smile and I couldn't help but return it with one of my own. Slowly he removed one gentle hand to place his finger on the tip of my nose.

"You're stuck with me, lady. I'm not going anywhere," he said, his voice both quiet and resolute.

Joy rushed through me and, ignoring the pain in my chest, I reached out and held onto Castiel, nuzzling my cheek against his chest. With a low chuckle, Castiel reached down and picked me up. After a moment he sat back down so that his back was against the armrest of the couch and I was leaning against his chest.  Letting out a content sigh, I snuggled against him and got into a position where my knee wouldn't hurt. Once I was situated Castiel wrapped his strong arms around me and I basked in the sensation of safety and warmth that now surrounded me. 

As I laid in Castiel's warm embrace he began to hum the song that I sang to him when he was sick. Happiness washed over me and covered me like a blanket. As I felt myself drift off to sleep I realized that no matter the damage that my parents had done to me, I would always be grateful to them for giving birth to me so that I could find the happiness that I had with Auntie, my friends, and Castiel.

"I love you, Castiel," I whispered softly before I drifted into the quiet world of dreams.

A/N ^.^ Sigh. I hope that you were able to enjoy that as much as I did.