Athazagoraphobia

Chapter 2

Cas made his way back down the stairs and Mary and John followed him down. John froze when he saw his boys.

His boys were much older now. Older than him, now. They were taller, too. Sam was always tall, but now he towered over John. Dean was the same height as him still, though. He was so entranced with his sons that he didn't realize there were others in the room.

"Sam? Dean?" John asked. He was stunned.

"Dad?" Sam rushed over and crushed his dad in a hug. He couldn't believe it! His dad was back! Out of everyone they could have gotten back, it was him.

Dean scrambled out of his chair. In the process, he had forgotten that his leg was messed up, causing him to stumble and start to fall. Thankfully, Cas had realized what was happening and caught him before he hit the ground. Instead of putting him back in the chair, Cas just helped him stand.

All that commotion caught John's attention. He finally noticed all who was in the room with him and his boys.

"Who are you?" He asked, looking at Cas but directing the question to everyone in the room.

"My name is Castiel. That is my older brother, Gabriel, my son, Jack, and our friend Rowena."

Being the drama queens they are, both Gabe and Rowena bowed when Cas said their names. Jack just smiled and waved.

"And how do you know them?" He questioned.

"Why don't I answer all your questions and more in the kitchen?" Mary suggested. John was once again put in a trance and nodded, following Mary into the kitchen.

Once John was out of the room, all the tension left Dean's body. He collapsed into Cas's arms and took in his scent; it calmed him down.

John couldn't be there. He was finally happy. He finally had some normalcy in his life and now John was gonna take it away.

Before he knew it, Dean was hyperventilating and sobbing into Cas's chest.

"Dad? Dad, what's wrong?" Jack was frightened. He'd never seen Dean have a panic attack before.

Cas picked Dean up, cradled him to his chest, and dashed out of the room. He could faintly hear Gabe explaining what was going on.

When Cas reached their room, he used his Grace to open the door, seeing as his arms were full of Dean, and quickly entered. After closing the door with his foot, he made his way to the bed and gently laid him down. He went around and took off Dean's shoes and socks, jacket, his three shirts, and finally his jeans. He then quickly stripped himself and crawled in the bed beside his husband and pulled the covers over them. He scooted over and moved Dean so his head was on Cas's chest.

"Is this better?"

Dean just nodded, not quite knowing how to respond.

"Would you like to talk about it? I hear that helps," Cas tried, though, he knew the answer already.

Dean shook his head. He wanted to, but he just couldn't. It wasn't that he didn't trust his husband, he did! He just couldn't do it. Every time he'd tried in the past, he would break down and have a panic attack.

He looked back to Cas's face when he felt Cas play with his wedding ring. It was a small gesture, but it was comforting. Whenever Dean got overwhelmed, usually by memories, flashbacks, and nightmares, Cas would grab his hand and mess with his ring. It was Cas's way of reminding him that he was loved, that he wasn't alone. It was also a way to say that he was safe, that no one could hurt him. Except now John Winchester was back. He wasn't safe anymore. John could hurt him again. He could hurt Sam. He could hurt Jack!