DC BigBang fic: It's a (new) Winchester's life (6/6)
Epilogue
After regrouping, staring at the ruins of the house and yelling at Gabriel for not bringing the house back, Bobby called around. Thus, the group ended up standing in front of an abandoned house.
"Ain't exactly perfect," Sheriff Mills shrugged, "but all I can do. I won't notice that you're occupying it."
Bobby nodded. "Thanks, Jody, we appreciate it."
Sheriff Mills took another look at the old wooden structure before turning to Dean.
"I still think you should consider a motel until you find something. This is not a good place for a baby."
"We can't." Bobby answered, "This ain't exactly a normal baby."
"Bobby!" Dean exclaimed.
"Shut it, Dean. The sheriff's okay. We can trust her."
Dean's glace at Jody was suspicious, but Jody didn't seem to mind.
"Okay, boys and girls, settle in. See ya around." she announced, waved and went back to the car.
When they stepped into the house, everything was suddenly clean, furnished and cozy. Bobby shot an appreciative glance at Gabriel.
"Nice."
* * *
Settling into a house perfectly mojoed for their needs was pretty easy, but they couldn't stay there forever. They still needed to appear normal to the other inhabitants of the small town. Dean and Cas started to look for a place of their own while Bobby started to rebuilt his old house from scratch. The old hunter had bugged Dean and Cas about getting a place even before Gabriel mojoed Dean into a woman, and now seemed like the time to do it. Sam, forced from the prospect of not riding at Dean's side for longer, was also starting to look for a home base of his own. He would try to find a place near them, maybe as neighbor, but he didn't want to live in the same house. Dean eased in her mother role easily, and Sam couldn't say he was surprised. Dean was cut out to be a parent since she was four and looking after Sam the first time alone. Castiel was a bit baffled at the human aspects of the baby, even with help from the books, but he picked up quickly with the determination of an angel with a task. It was almost scary to see the serious expression on Cas face while he studied diapers, like he was threatening to smite them if they dared to scratch his baby the wrong way.
If the last months had shown Sam something, it was how close Dean and Cas had grown, and he wanted them to have a place of their own. Besides, he didn't need to take up with Dean's blunt show of affection. Or the light show in late evenings.
Bobby announced he would stay with Dean and Cas until his house was rebuilt, because damn, they had been free loading in his place long enough. Only the panic room had survived the fire. It seemed Bobby would stay with them for a while longer.
The old mother bear would never admit it, but he was glad to have an alibi to stay and mother hen around "lil' feathers" for a while longer. Between Dean, Cas and Bobby, the baby didn't seem to get any alone time at all. They all started to call her Joa instead of Jo, since the memory of Joanna Harvelle was still hurting the hunters just a bit too much.
Jody Mills stopped by a few times to see if everything was all right. When Bobby opened the door and she looked at the tidy interior, Jody just said "Nice!" but didn't pry further. The next time she came and Dean wasn't near, she finally spilled the thought that had bugged her the whole time.
"I don't mean to pry, and you don't need to tell me what's special about the baby. Just tell me, do I need to be concerned?" She asked.
Bobby pondered for a moment. "Honestly? I've got no idea." he answered. "But we have it under control."
Jody nodded and smiled. "Okay. I trust you boys've got it covered."
In between their search for a new home, Dean also looked out for any signs of Amelia Novak, but they couldn't find anything. Dean was pretty sure the demons ganked her, but she didn't stop hoping for Claire so soon. Claire took the whole thing very maturely and settled in with them pretty well. She was a nice and sweet girl for a teenager. She and Cas seemed to develop a bond of their own, and Dean could relate to that. Michael had only been in her for a few minutes, but the deep feeling of familiarity was still somewhere deep in her mind.
"Why do you still wear Dad's clothes?" Claire asked Cas once. She was cuddled up on one end of the sofa, while Cas was sitting straight on the other.
Cas looked down at his clothes curiously, before turning back to Claire.
"I felt obligated to tend and respect all things I took with James Novak. I feel it's my duty."
Claire giggled at that. "It's just clothes, silly!" she laughed, poking Cas in the side with her toes. "You don't need to keep them. Dad wouldn't mind."
Castiel looked down at himself, contemplating his clothes again.
Claire smiled at him, and cuddled up more against the sofa.
"You are cold." Cas observed.
"A bit." Claire admitted.
Castiel suddenly stood up and took off the trench coat. Claire's eyes followed him curiously as he stepped over to her and draped the coat around her like a blanket.
"Keep it." Cas said gently.
Claire stared straight in his eyes for a moment before she lowered them and spoke.
"Dad loved this coat." she murmured. "But mom hated it."
A little smile spread on her face as she looked up at him again. "Thanks, Cas."
Cas only smiled back, before he sat down again on his side, slowly and thoughtfully loosening his tie and taking it off.
Dean watched from the doorway to the kitchen, where she stood in front of the fridge and fed a bottle to Joa. She jumped a little as Bobby's hand landed on her shoulder.
"Girl needs a family if we don't find her mom." he pondered, quietly enough that Claire couldn't hear it.
"Yeah. Best one that has some hunting background but stopped." Dean agreed. "You know somebody, Bobby?"
"Yeah, I do." Bobby said, looking pointedly up at Dean.
Dean stared for a moment before she got it.
"What, us?" she exclaimed incredulously.
"Yeah, you."
"But, that would be weird! Cas is wearing her daddy, for fuck's sake!"
"Didn't I tell you to stop cussing?" Bobby griped and smacked his hand up the back of Dean's head lightly. Dean flinched away, but the impact didn't really hurt. Joa was a good shield against attacks. Bobby nodded in the direction of the sofa. "Does she look like she's looking at her dad?" he asked.
Bobby had a point there. It had been eerie how obvious Cas had been Cas while in Claire's body. It had been the same with Jimmy not being Cas.
"But me and Cas still would be weird for her!" Dean insisted anyway.
"Didn't seem to bother her the last few days."
There was a pause in the conversation. Dean was looking at Claire and Cas again. Claire had given up her place on the other end of the sofa and was now cuddling against Cas, using the trench coat as a blanket. Cas didn't seem to mind. He didn't reciprocate, but this was still Cas. He wasn't much into touching anyone besides Dean. Besides, he probably didn't know how to respond correctly to this situation.
"Girl has been through a lot." Bobby murmured. "She needs someone she can trust."
"I guess you're right." Dean admitted. It was probably thanks to Cas just being there that the girl didn't freak out as much as she could have. Dean couldn't really grasp the depth of the bond the two seemed to have, but she had been Michael's vessel for only for a short time. Cas had been in Claire for days. Two times, even. Dean suddenly realized that she didn't even mind. Cas needed some friends on earth, he had nobody here besides the Winchesters.
* * *
From that point on, an era began that Dean would soon call trench coat 2.0. Claire didn't wear it around the house like Cas had, but she always wore it when outside. Cas' clothing behavior also suddenly changed dramatically. He shed off Jimmy's old suit and tie like a snake would shed the old skin and started wearing Dean's old shirts and pants without even asking for permission. The only thing he kept wearing was the white dress shirt. Dean had bugged Cas about his clothes for ages without any effect, and she just didn't get how Claire could trigger such a dramatic change in one day. When Dean finally asked Cas about it, all he said was:
"I'm not Jimmy Novak."
Dean wasn't any wiser.
Anyway, Dean liked the change more than he would ever admit to anyone. Since Cas seemed to like the dress shirt, Dean secretly looked at the size and went to get some button down shirts for Cas. And no, she totally didn't pick some of light blue shirts because they would match Cas' eyes awesomely. Don't let Sam tell you that. Cas seemed to appreciate it and took to wearing the shirts almost immediately. When Sam first saw Cas with the new clothes, he smirked knowingly at Dean, but thankfully, he didn't say anything.
* * *
It didn't take Dean and Cas long to find a house they liked and settle all legal things. Dean insisted on taking care of those things in the old-fashioned no-mojo way. Their new place was an old, wooden two-story house, only a few minutes from Bobby's junkyard, with the Impala and hidden behind trees. The house couldn't have been seen from the street, and that had been one of the main reasons to choose it.
It had three bedrooms upstairs, one for Dean and Cas, one for the baby and one for whoever in the family might need to spend a few days with them. Currently, Sam and Gabe were occupying it. Bobby slept on a makeshift bed in the living room, while Claire called the sofa her bed.
Rhythm settled in pretty quickly. Bobby's carpet was, for now, rolled out on the living room floor. They all looked pretty dumbfounded as all of Bobby's books appeared magically stacked on the carpet as they rolled it out. Gabriel just laughed at their surprised expressions.
Dean resolved the Claire question quickly by just telling her she could stay with them until they found her mom. Dean didn't even add an if, but Claire seemed to get it and nodded thankfully. Bobby pulled a few contacts, and soon Dean and Cas were the legal guardians with all the papers, and Claire was enlisted in the local high school. Dean was still keeping an eye out for Amelia though. Claire surprised Dean when she asked to help with the research, and Dean showed her how.
Bobby spent most of his time working on his house, and Sam went with him often to help. Dean offered to help too, but Bobby just scolded her to stay with her baby.
Dean slowly got the odd feeling of being a soccer mom as she prepared supper for the hard working men that would come home soon. Bobby and Sam came back home sooner than usual and Sam plunked down in the corner seating unit, dropping his laptop on the table and starting to search for housing options. Bobby predictably went right to check on Joa.
"Hey, Sam, you know it's okay if you stay with us?" Dean asked, and she meant it. Sam could stay in her house all his life if he wanted to, she would be glad.
"No, it's fine." Sam insisted. "Cas and you need a place of your own. We've lived out of each other's pockets long enough. I'll stay close."
Gabriel appeared next to Sam and grinned at him. "At least, now you don't know if it's the baby or those two doing the dirty deed when the lights start going crazy!"
"Yeah, that." Sam sighed.
Dean turned back to her supper preps to hide the slight flush of embarrassment. She had totally managed to forget that little issue on purpose, and she briefly wondered how long it would take Claire to figure it out. And if Claire would freak out completely. She was just a teenager after all. And Cas was still wearing her daddy. It wasn't like Dean was still uncomfortable about showing her affection to Cas any longer, everyone knew anyway - turning into a girl to have a baby pretty much shattered all claims of not being totally whipped - but practically screaming around the house I'm having sex right now! was something else entirely.
"Shut your trap, Gabriel!" Dean barked.
Gabriel just laughed and leaned over to Sam, who showed him possible houses nearby on the screen. Hidden below the table, Gabriel's hand sneaked to the inside of Sam's thigh, rubbing slow circles there. Sam just stopped shortly before continuing on as if nothing had happened. Inside Sam's head, the wheels started turning. He was just discussing their new place with Gabe. And they had never even discussed where they stood with each other. Sure, it was pretty obvious they were a couple, but Sam couldn't tell if they were going in the same direction as Dean and Cas. Gabe just popped in and out as he liked, sometimes gone for days without warning Sam up front. Sam knew it didn't mean Gabe didn't care about him enough. Gabe just had a very different perception of time. A few days, or even weeks, were nothing to him. Sometimes he told Sam where he went, but sometimes not.
Sam was intimidated by the idea of going in the same direction as Dean and Cas. Settling down with Gabriel. Sure, his time with Gabe was awesome. But the totally in love until the earth dies down kind of relationship Dean and Cas had was something else. And it seemed so far away. They hadn't even shared the three big words yet. Sam was still too afraid of how Gabe might react, and Gabe obviously wasn't the type for big commitments. Sam didn't blame him. He wondered if Gabe would also turn him into a girl at one point. Anyway, he continued discussing the pros and cons of housing options.
Just as if on cue to demonstrate to Sam, Cas strode into the kitchen, wrapped his arms around Dean from behind and pressed a kiss on her neck.
"Babe, I'm cooking!" Dean laughed and turned around in his arms to face him. Cas' hands dropped while she was shifting, firmly landing on her ass as if they belonged there. Which they did. Dean wasn't bothered by Sam and Gabe's presence in the slightest bit as she kissed Cas on his lips.
"Later, okay?" she smiled and winked at him as she removed his hands from her and turned back to cooking again.
"I really need a place." Sam groaned, deliberately not looking at the two. Cas had never been one who understood the need for privacy, and Dean seemed to have completely shed off all of her homophobic issues. Or her being-with-a-man issues, since she wasn't exactly gay right now. She was being bluntly obvious most of the time.
Cas sighed and dropped on the bench next to Gabriel, and he didn't even bother to suppress the disappointed pout as he kept his eyes firmly on Dean. Dean chuckled, chopped more carrots and winked at him once more.
Yeah, it was really hard not to notice any of their behavior. Sam looked up again, his eyes on Dean as something occurred to him.
"Hey Dean, don't you want to be turned back soon?" he asked. Dean stopped mid-cutting.
"I... don't know." she stuttered, and the blush was painfully obvious, as it crawled up her neck to her ears, even when Sam couldn't see her face right now.
"What do you mean, you don't know?" Sam asked incredulously. "You like being a woman?"
"No, Sam, that's not it!" Dean exclaimed immediately, turning now to face him.
"No way I want to stay like this. It's not so bad, but up here, I'm still a dude." she explained, tapping at her head. And wow, that's something neither of them ever expected Dean to say.
"So, what's the issue then?" Sam prompted further.
Dean didn't say anything for a moment. This was so typical. Sam looked his brother up and down, trying to figure her out, as his gaze set on her boobs.
"Oh, you want to nurse Joa!" he exclaimed, delighted by that idea.
"No, dumbass." Dean growled. "There's enough good baby food for newborns out there. But... I don't know if Joa would recognize me if I'm suddenly a dude."
Oh. Sam hadn't thought about that before.
"Don't think that's an issue." Gabe joined in. "She seems to feel things a bit like we do."
"Oh." Dean said. She leaned against the counter, food forgotten. She glanced at Cas, and they were starting one of their silent stare-talks. Knowing this could take some time, Sam concentrated on his computer until Dean spoke up.
"Okay Gabe, turn me back."
"Now?" Gabriel asked, raising a brow.
"Damn right, now." Dean confirmed.
"Don't you two want to work on another baby first?" Gabe asked, a teasing twinkle in his eyes.
"I said, turn me back right now!" Dean growled, glaring at Gabriel.
"Okay." Gabe said, raised his hand theatrically and clicked his fingers.
Dean was Dean again. Tall, dark, and most definitely male.
"Shit Gabe, couldn't you take care of my clothes?" Dean complained, looking down at himself in terror. The sight of his brother, now really a brother again, with a bra under his way too small shirt and painfully tight looking girl's pants was just too comical and Sam had to laugh out loud.
"Bitch!" Dean cursed.
"You want me to mess around your most precious parts? Again?" Gabe grinned, wiggling his brows.
If a glare could kill an archangel, Gabriel would be scorched right where he sat. Anyone lesser would be scared to death, but Gabe just leaned back and smirked some more.
A moment later, Dean's eyes found Cas and a mischievous, hungry smile spread on his lips.
"Hey Cas." he announced and purposefully strolled over to Cas, fixing him with that look. Cas looked up at him, eyes wide in anticipation, a slight flush spreading on his cheeks already. Dean leaned over to Cas' ear and growled into it lowly.
"You know what I'm gonna do now, Cas? I'm gonna fuck you so thoroughly you won't be able to walk straight for days."
"TMI, Dean, TMI!" Sam cried out in terror, throwing up his hands to cover his ears while Gabe next to him had a laughing fit so hard he had to hold his belly. Cas eyes had gotten wider with every word Dean said and a smile spread on his face. Dean chuckled low and dirty, took Cas hand, and dragged him up from the bench and out of the kitchen.
A moment later, Bobby entered the kitchen.
"What's all the yelling about?" he asked. "You idjits nearly woke Joa."
"You don't wanna know." Sam said.
Bobby looked at the shell-shocked expression on Sam's face, at Gabe wiping tears of laughter from his eyes and the abandoned work space and pondered "I guess you're right." before taking over kitchen duties.
* * *
Dean didn't let go of Cas for one moment as he dragged him up the stairs and into their bedroom, slamming the door shut behind them. Not able to wait one second longer, he shoved Cas against the nearest wall and pressed against him, covering Cas with the whole length of his body and devouring his mouth while he fisted his hand in Cas hair. Cas' lips opened immediately under Dean's assaults, and Dean didn't wait to take the invitation and press his tongue into the angels mouth, greedily devouring the familiar territory.
Dean pulled back a bit to look at Cas. The sight was beautiful. His eyes were blown with lust, his lips parted slightly and inviting and the blush on his cheeks was deepening. Dean smiled and moved in again, savoring those pink, plush lips between his own. The kiss was sloppy, greedy and deep.
"Fuck." Dean muttered as he pulled back again, because his pants were way too tight, hurting his aching cock. He also still had the stupid bra on under his shirt and he had to get all that off right now. Dean first ripped off shirt and bra, not bothering about tearing them. He would never need them ever again. Cas, meanwhile, already took care of his button and zipper, and Dean couldn't hold back a relieved sigh as Cas shoved down the pants. Cas smiled as he looked down at Dean and Dean followed his gaze. The little lace panties tried and failed epically to conceal his growing male parts. Dean chuckled about it, and this last little bit of girly clothing was also discarded fast. Dean slung his arms around Cas, pressing him close once more as he clashed their mouths together greedily. Cas didn't seem to be more patient than Dean if the hand trailing down and groping Dean's ass was anything to go by.
The onslaught on Cas' mouth was broken once more as Dean decided Cas was still wearing way too much while he stood there naked. Cas made a little disappointed noise as Dean drew back again. Dean loved all those little noises that Cas always made. Cas was totally honest and open about his body's responses and Dean really appreciated it. Dean didn't wait a beat and started popping the shirt buttons open, shushing Cas' protests effectively by kissing and biting down on Cas neck. It wasn't the tender and loving caress that some of their times together were. It was wild and greedy biting and devouring of skin.
"Dean" Cas rasped out, his voice dipping into an even deeper register as it always did when they were like this. It sounded as needy as Dean felt. Dean chuckled against his skin, sucking his way down deliberately, his fingers trailing down Cas' flanks and digging into his skin. He finally dipped down low enough and played a bit with Cas' waistband, licking and sucking a bit on the skin there while he hooked his fingers into the loops of the jeans and pulling them down slightly to expose more skin. It was almost comical how big Dean's pants were on Cas. He could almost pull them down from Cas' slender form without opening the buttons.
"Stop teasing." Cas ordered, staring down at Dean intensely. He bucked his hips forward as if Dean needed the hint.
"Woah there, easy tiger!" Dean grinned, steadying Cas' hips with his hands. As much as he loved teasing Cas, today Cas wasn't the only one who was a little bit impatient. A man had his needs. Dean flipped the buttons of Cas' pants open, dragging them down with his underwear. Cas leaned back against the wall and sucked in a sharp breath as Dean took his cock into his mouth. Dean knew exactly how to work on Cas to leave him as a squirming, panting bundle, and he used every bit of this knowledge wickedly against Cas. Cas was soon gasping for air he didn't need, involuntary little sounds escaping his pretty mouth, achingly hard and fisting his hands into Deans hair to find something to hold onto. Dean reached up with one hand, and Cas knew exactly what to do with it, taking Dean's fingers into his mouth and coating them in saliva thoroughly.
It was almost weird how familiar all of this was, like a well-known ritual, despite having been almost a full year since they did it like this the last time. Sure, he had given Cas blowjobs, but it was still a bit different. Cas released Dean's fingers after pressing a last kiss onto each of them. Dean immediately pressed the first finger against Cas' opening, pushing in carefully. In Dean's opinion, Cas had been enjoying himself way too much and spent too much time on Dean's fingers. Now was time for payback, and Dean shoved the finger in fully. Not fiercely enough to hurt Cas, just impatiently. Cas gasped as he tried to steady himself, but Dean left him no chance, distracting him from the intrusion by scraping his teeth ever so slightly over the head of Cas' cock. Cas' groan was deep, breathy and absolutely beautiful, going straight down to Dean's own cock.
Cas could barely hold himself on his feet while Dean continued his ministrations, working first one, then two fingers into Cas, spreading him and scissoring against his prostate. He was moaning and gasping without shame and Dean held him, steadying his hips with his free hand. When Dean decided that he had prepared Cas enough, he removed his fingers, stood up and spun Cas around.
"Fuck." Dean panted. He was pressing his dick against Cas' backside and he could feel the angel shudder at the contact. Where was the goddamn lube? Dean panicked silently. What he really didn't need right now was a frantic search for the bottle that still had to be somewhere. There wasn't a greater turn-off than that. He still didn't let go of Cas, but searched the room with his eyes, trying to remember where they had packed it.
"Dean."
Dean was looking back at Cas, right into those goddamn blue eyes. Cas eyes were dark, blown apart and filled with intense desire. He was offering a bottle to Dean.
"Jesus fuckin' Christ bless angel mojo." Dean said and took the bottle.
"Dean." Cas repeated, and it sounded seriously pissed. Oh yeah, the thing about blasphemy and sex. Dean still took immense pleasure in pissing off his angel like that. Pissed Cas was just too damn hot to resist.
"Sorry babe." Dean chuckled, not apologetic at all, and pressed a kiss onto Cas neck while applying the lube on himself.
He pushed into Cas without warning. Cas groaned out loud, but Dean knew Cas' reactions well enough to know he hadn't hurt the angel. Not in a bad way, anyway. This felt so perfect. After almost a whole year bottoming, it was pure bliss to fuck Cas again. He gave his angel a moment to adjust, fully enjoying Cas' tight heat around him. Dean leaned forward, pressing little kisses against Cas' shoulder blades and slightly scraping the skin with his teeth, inhaling a lungful of Cas' unique, intoxicating scent. At the same time, the movement pressed him deeper into Cas.
"Dean" Cas gasped. He never said much else. Always a litany of Dean, Dean, Dean in his husky bedroom voice. It was needy this time, and Dean was happy enough to start moving and give them both what they needed. Almost instantly, he found the right angle and pushed against Cas' secret button. The response came in a long, deep moan.
The pace picked up quickly, both of them needy and wanting this, right here, right now. Cas had to steady himself with both hands against the wall to prevent from being driven into it by Dean's powerful thrusts. Soon, Cas was breathing in strangled gasps while Dean couldn't control the sounds that slipped from his own lips. Cas pushed back against Dean as he finally came with Dean's name on his lips, spilling himself all over the wall and coating them both in his white light. Dean had to press his eyes shut again. It was enough to feel Cas' tight hole clenching around him to send Dean over the edge as well.
They stood there for a moment. Dean wrapped both arms around Cas to steady the angel. Cas leaned back and rested against him like a boneless bundle of limbs and looked thoroughly fucked, a lazy smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Dean would never tire of seeing him like this, knowing this was his doing. The mighty being had given up all control to him, a mere little human.
"Bed." Dean decided and Cas nodded against him. Cas gasped, surprised, when Dean picked him up and carried him over to the bed. Dean knew that Cas was still much stronger, and probably not even half as exhausted as he looked, but Dean enjoyed his old skin and testosterone filled veins way too much not to show off a bit of manly strength.
They settled on the bed and Dean closed Cas in his arms.
"You okay there, babe?" Dean asked, just to make sure. It had been a hard ride.
"Yes." Cas hummed contently against his skin. There was no need to point out that Dean couldn't really hurt him. They stayed like this for a moment, cooling down and simply enjoying listening to each other's heartbeats. Cas turned in the embrace so that his side was resting against Dean and he could look up into Dean's eyes. His slender fingers trailed lightly over Dean's belly.
"You still have a little bit of baby fat." Cas stated, the smile on his face equal parts awed and amused.
Dean snorted, but he couldn't manage to be angry at the comment, even when his manly brain told him he should. "That's not gonna stay there long."
Cas finally scrambled out of Dean's embrace.
"Hey, where you think you're going?" Dean protested.
Cas smiled at him, one of his rare really open and happy smiles. "I'll be right back. Get dressed in the meantime?"
"... the fuck?" Dean asked, but Cas was already mojoing himself clean and slipping on Dean's pants and the shirt he had been wearing before, and ignored Dean. He didn't bother with socks and moved to clean the stain on the wall. When Cas slipped out of the room, still with bare feet, Dean finally managed to get up and went over to his drawers.
Oh yeah, that. His drawers were still filled with lingerie. Amused, he closed them again and moved to Cas' drawers that were filled with his old stuff.
It felt so fucking good to be back in his real skin. He had taken a quick shower and was now looking at himself in the bathroom mirror. It was odd. He felt like looking into the same face as before. The lines were a bit harder, the skin rougher, but he couldn't really place a finger on what made him look manly again. Thing was, he had felt really comfortable as a woman at the end, but it wasn't the same. This was him, even when it was hard to pinpoint the differences. He absently rubbed over his cheek, which was still smooth, but he could feel the stubble starting to grow again.
Cas was already waiting on the bed, leaning against the headboard and holding Joanna in his arms when Dean came out of the shower, toweling his hair dry.
"Good thinking, Cas." Dean smiled.
Dean sat back on the bed next to Cas and closed his family in his arms.
"Joanna Maria Winchester, meet your father." Cas announced solemnly.
Dean reached over to caress the little baby's cheek, but snorted amusedly at Cas.
"I'm Dad, not Father!"
"She will call us both Dad?" Cas inquired, turning his head up to look at Dean curiously and tilting it at the same time. Everyone had called Cas Dad all the last days. Dean had been Mom.
Dean quirked a brow and thought about that for a moment.
"I'm Dad, you're Pa. Okay?" he prompted.
Cas nodded.
"Okay." Dean said, and pressed Cas even closer against himself, nuzzling his nose into Cas' ruffled bed hair. Cas relaxed against him, resting his head on Dean's shoulder.
"You know, Dean, it could stay like this." Cas murmured, looking down at Joanna. Dean knew what Cas meant. One of their biggest fears was all the problems that could arise with Joa's differentness, but so far, it had been pretty easy to handle. Yeah sure, it hurt like a bitch when she cried, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as Cas' true voice. Dean wasn't affected as much as the others. It only hurt him a little. Cas said he shared a special connection to her. The others simply started wearing earplugs when Joa was around and started to get grumpy. Also, Joa's grace didn't burn their eyes out. They could look at her without any problems, aside from the occasional blinking from the brightness. And she only shone from time to time. Dean realized he was confident that they could handle it without too much hassle. Maybe, they could take her even out amongst other humans with no problems.
"When's life ever easy for us, Cas." Dean sighed anyway. "You know, her wings are awesome and all, but Bobby's right. They're gonna be one hell of a problem. I want her to grow up as normal as possible."
"It will not be easy." Cas confirmed. "But it might not be as hard as you fear, Dean. Have faith."
Dean nodded, his eyes full of fondness as he looked down at the little adorable bundle in Cas' arms. He just couldn't feel bad when he was looking at his little family. Joa was tiny, she even looked tiny in Cas' thinner arms, but she was a healthy bundle of light and glory.
"We'll manage. We always do." he said.
Cas smiled up at Dean. "Yes, we do."
* * * Fin * * *