Castiel could see Lisa hovering nearby in his periphery. He patiently waited for her to stop biting her nails and advance towards him.

'I heard they're releasing you,' she started, timidly, voice muffled by the hand in front of her face.

Cas slowly nodded his head, sat staring out of the window just as he had done the last time Dean had visited almost three weeks ago. 'If my final evaluation goes well… then yes.' He sucked in a breath and glanced up at the other patient who looked incredibly small even when she towered above his seated form. 'They sorted my meds out… I'm covered for them. And… I have a home.'

Lisa's dainty eyebrows lifted and she sank heavily into the chair next to him, fingers never leaving her mouth. 'With Dean?'

'With Dean.'

A silence settled between them and Castiel tilted his head, studying the woman as she looked down at the linoleum. 'But… I could hear him shouting at you. I should tell them something.'

His head straightened and his brow furrowed. 'Tell who what?'

She bit her lip and let her arm drop to the table. 'I should tell the doctors that he's bad for you. He is, Castiel. I saw your file.'

Anger bubbled inside Cas but he controlled it; something he had worked on in recent weeks was controlling himself and he'd even taken part in a group therapy session. He knew he'd never be fully in control of his body, but he'd somewhat come to terms with it.

'I know you saw my file, but don't think you know anything about my life, Lisa. You can't dictate my future.'

She stared at him incredulously and then sulkily spoke, 'I don't want you to go.'

Cas frowned and then rolled his eyes. 'I remember you once told me I'd be out of here in no time… Did you say that expecting I'd never get out?'

'You're the craziest one here, Cas!' she laughed hollowly. 'I thought… I thought we'd both…'

'What?'

She sighed wearily. 'I thought we'd both be here for good and that I'd have a friend.'

Suddenly Cas felt sympathy flood through him. 'You think you're never going to leave?'

Lisa 'tsked' and shifted in her seat, not meeting his eyes. 'If what I read in my file is true then… no. I'm not leaving. But I won't ever believe that stuff they wrote. There's no way… so… I'm not going anywhere. I thought at least I'd have some company.'

'Lisa, you can get better. If I think back to myself a few months ago, even… as me, now, I'd tell you that I would never recover, but I'm, not okay, but better than I was.' Cas' eyes bored into Lisa's. 'And they're releasing me.'

Her eyes began to glisten, filling with moisture. 'Well good luck, then,' she croaked before shooting out of her seat and scurrying out of the dayroom. He sighed and chewed the inside of his cheek, trying to keep Jimmy at bay by calming his emotions down, something Sam had taught him.

'Here we are, your very last in house therapy session,' Sam said with a smile.

Cas smiled back weakly, fiddling with the sleeve of his top. Sam picked up on his patient's nervousness and leaned forward in his chair.

'I've been meaning to bring something up with you…' Cas looked up and made eye contact with his doctor, eyebrows raised. Doctor Wesson continued. 'As you may have assumed, I'm a certified therapist. I wanted to ask you if you would prefer to have me as your therapist once you've been released? It wouldn't take place here, but in my office just outside of town, weekly. I thought that would be best because we've made so much progress together already.'

Castiel began to grin genuinely but reserved. He felt relieved and safe, like he didn't have to step fully out of his comfort zone. 'Yes. I would like that, thank you.'

'Great! That's great. We can only improve from here, Castiel. The transition from the hospital into normal life will be difficult, but you have to understand that you can talk to me about anything. Even the prospect of you maybe not feeling ready to-'

'No!' Cas quickly interrupted. At Sam's wary expression, he quickly explained himself. 'I- I mean, I'm ready for this. I'm fine, I can handle it. You've got pills for me, right? I'll be fine. Oh, and don't worry, I've got Jimmy under control. He's not happy about it, but I've got him under control.'

Sam cocked an eyebrow but seemed slightly more reassured. 'Okay. You have to understand that your other personality could be triggered. If that ever happens, you need to contact me, or even Dean, immediately once you're in control again, alright?' Cas briskly nodded, feeling a little dismayed about the idea that he could lose control again and end up right back in the hospital. 'Now, if it's okay, I think we should just discuss more right now about how you're doing.'

Castiel nodded again, picking at a loose piece of skin beside his fingernail and wincing. 'Sure.'

'Have you had any hallucinations in the last week involving Balthazar?'

An anxious feeling bubbled up inside his gut. 'No. I haven't seen him, but…'

'What?' Sam asked, studying Cas' face as his eyes became cloudy.

'Will I… Will I ever know what I did? You can tell me what happened all you want, but will I ever remember it?' Castiel looked up and the movement caused some moisture to escape his eyes.

Sam pursed his lips. 'It depends. Sometimes people suppress emotionally traumatic experiences and then enough therapy allows them to break down the walls they've created in their minds. You could eventually break down that wall, Castiel. But, as I said, it was an incredibly traumatic event for you. I know you want closure too, he was your brother but… it could be damaging to you. After all, you did create Jimmy to cope with the memory.'

Castiel worried the inside of his cheek before lifting his deep blue eyes to meet Sam's. What Doctor Wesson was able to see in his patient's eyes was acceptance.

'So… you're free to go.'

Castiel felt like he'd been numb until those words had been spoken. His hearing had fluctuated during the small speech Doctor Fuller had given him, only key things like 'weekly therapy sessions', 'daily doses of medication' and 'safe environment' popping out at him from among the usual shit that doctors were supposed to say when they released someone they'd been holding for years.

'Thank you, doc,' Cas said with a smirk, picking up his small suitcase of possessions and the bag of stuff he'd been wearing and carrying on the day he'd been admitted.

It was autumn and the air was cold so he'd asked Dean to bring him a sweater. It was green and he huddled into it, glancing down at Dean's smiling face. He took in a large gulp of the crisp air and closed his eyes; he could start again, he could be better.