31. Chapter 31

Dean slept through the clothing store and the candy store, not that Castiel tried to wake him for it. Gabriel picked up enough candy for all of them. By the time they flew back to the cabin, the sun was going down and even Castiel was fatigued, not that he would have been willing to admit it. He pushed the stroller inside the cabin and heaved a soft sigh of relief as Gabriel shut the door behind them. He hadn’t expected shopping to be so tiring. No wonder it wasn’t something that Dean or Sam liked to do very often.

“I’m going to get Dean ready for bed,” he said. They’d eaten late, so he suspected that waking Dean up to try and get him to eat something would not go well. Better to just let it go. “Can you get the mobile set up?”

Gabriel nodded and swiped the mobile out from underneath the stroller. He sat down on the couch with it. Castiel left Dean to sleep for a few more minutes while he went into the kitchen and prepared a sippy cup with juice and grace. He was beginning to run low on grace for Dean, he realized, but he didn’t have any to give. At some point soon he’d have to return to heaven to expedite the process, even though that would mean leaving Dean. There was no way to know how Dean would handle that, but chances were he wouldn’t take it well.

Putting that concern aside for now, he returned to the living room and carefully scooped Dean up out of the stroller. Dean grumbled a sleepy complaint, curling his arm around Castiel’s neck and nosing at his shoulder as Castiel carried him down the hall. Castiel shushed him and spread a plastic mat out on the bed, hoping that the changing table would be ready within the next day or so. It would be a lot easier to change Dean once the room was set up properly.

He set Dean down on the mat and took off his jeans and socks, then made quick work of removing the wet diaper, wiping him down, powdering him and putting a fresh one on. “I know, I know, you’re a tired baby boy,” he cooed when he pulled Dean into a sitting position and Dean whined. He slipped Dean’s shirt off, then pressed the sippy cup into Dean’s hands and helped him to lift it to his mouth, urging him to drink.

The taste of the orange juice and grace seemed to wake Dean up a little more. He blinked fuzzily at Castiel, looking surprised to find himself in the bedroom instead of the stroller, then slumped sideways into him and pulled his knees up against his chest. Castiel rubbed his back and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. He hoped that Dean would sleep through the night instead of waking up with another nightmare, and decided that he would sleep with Dean tonight. The bed was easily big enough for the two of them.

Gabriel wandered in a few minutes later, holding the mobile. It was adorable. It had all nine planets dangling around the sun, and in between each planet was an asteroid, a comet or a meteor. The underside of the part that held it all together lit up with stars when switched on, and each planet glowed a different color as they spun. Rachel had assured him that it could change melodies with just a hint of grace, and as Gabriel snapped it into place over Dean’s bed, the soft tune of “Hey Jude” began to play.

“It’s perfect,” Castiel said, pleased when he craned his neck to see how it looked. Gabriel turned off the lights, and all three of them watched the mobile slowly rotate for a few minutes. Feeling the weight against his chest growing increasingly heavy, he glanced down at Dean. The baby was practically asleep already, green eyes struggling to remain fixed on the mobile.

“I got it,” Gabriel said when Castiel took the half empty cup from Dean. “You should take it easy, Cassie.”

“I’m fine.”

“You forget I can see just how fine you are,” Gabriel replied, raising an eyebrow, and swiped the cup away from him. “I take it you’re sleeping in here tonight. Go ahead. I’ll hang around.”

“I thought you had work to do.”

“They lived without me for centuries. They’ll manage for a few more hours.”

Castiel shook his head, faintly exasperated. He’d never realized that Gabriel had such a propensity for being a mother hen. “No, Gabriel. Go. There’s no point in you staying here if Dean and I aren’t leaving the nest, and we won’t be until tomorrow. You know that. If we need something, you know I’ll call you. But you might as well go now, and then you can enjoy the picnic without having interruptions.”

“I hate it when you make sense,” Gabriel said, making a face. “Okay, fine. I’m gone.” He vanished on the spot, taking the sippy cup with him. A moment later, Dean’s fox fell onto the bed beside them.

“He better remember to bring that back,” Castiel muttered, looking back down at Dean. There was no way he could get up without waking Dean, so he just kicked his shoes off and carefully lowered them both to the bed. Dean snuggled into him, wrapping his arms around his fox and his bee, and let out a happy sigh. It wasn’t long before both of them were asleep.

Unfortunately, it didn’t last. Around 4am, Dean woke up crying from another nightmare, babbling something about Alistair and the rack in between sobs. Castiel hugged him, murmuring reassurances, and then, when he realized that Dean was wet again, got up to groggily change Dean’s diaper. He turned the mobile back on before crawling back into bed, wrapping himself around Dean as best he could. It was a long time before Dean settled down enough to fall back asleep, and Castiel forced himself to stay awake to better watch over him.

Morning dawned bright and early, and with it came the distinct scent of omelets. Dean woke up as soon as the smell seeped into the room, nose twitching. He turned bright but tired eyes on Castiel and sleepily said, “Hungry, Daddy.”

“I think Uncle Gabriel is cooking breakfast,” Castiel agreed, sitting up and swinging his legs over the bed. He was still a little tired, which was worrying, but he was able to hide it from Dean while getting him dressed. Fortunately Dean cooperated. The naps from the day before had gone a long way towards improving his mood, though he still yawned as he and Castiel walked into the kitchen.

Sure enough, Gabriel was standing at the kitchen counter packing delicious smelling containers into a basket. “Hey, sleepy heads,” he said with a grin, which faltered just a little when he caught sight of Castiel. He recovered quickly though, giving Dean’s hair a quick ruffle in greeting.

“Breakfast?” Dean said expectantly, looking around.

“You’re gonna have to wait for it, baby boy,” Gabriel replied, snapping his fingers. The same sippy cup from last night materialized in Dean’s hands. “Your daddy and I have a fun plan for the day.”

“What are we doing?”

“We’re going on a picnic,” Castiel said.

Dean paused. His nose scrunched up. “A picnic?” he repeated doubtfully, finishing the last of his juice.

“That’s right. Do you remember Samandriel? We met him yesterday at the restaurant. I invited him to join us.”

“Why?” Dean said, looking back and forth between the two of them. His grip on the sippy cup tightened. “Is this… are we going somewhere dangerous?”

“No, Dean. We’ll be perfectly safe,” Castiel told him, taking Dean into his arms and hugging him. “I just wanted you to have the chance to meet more of my brothers and sisters. They’re not all like Zachariah and Uriel, I promise. And at some point, you’re going to be coming to heaven with me. Wouldn’t it be nice if you knew more angels than just me and Gabriel when you do?”

“I guess,” Dean mumbled, not sounding very convinced. It wasn’t surprising. So far, he didn’t have the greatest track record with angels, but Castiel wanted to change that if he could.

“It will be fun,” he said out loud, watching as Gabriel picked up the basket. It would’ve been easier to just snap up some food when they got to the lake, of course, but apparently Gabriel wanted to make the experience more authentic. His brother was nothing if not committed to the strangest things.

Gabriel stepped closer and laid a hand on Castiel’s shoulders. He spread his wings and they flew, instantly reappearing beside the small lake where Dean had gone swimming once before. As expected, even though it was early, Samandriel was already there waiting for them. His waiter’s uniform had been replaced by a pair of white and red striped swimming trunks and a thin white t-shirt. He grinned broadly when he saw them.

“Hi Cas,” he said cheerfully.

“Hello Samandriel,” Castiel said with a smile. “This is Dean. Dean, Samandriel.”

Dean openly looked Samandriel over without greeting him, mouth tipped into a frown. Castiel knew what he was doing: he was assessing Samandriel to see how much of a threat he was. Even though he was a hatchling and it wasn’t Dean’s responsibility to deal with any threats that did present themselves, it was a hunter’s instinct that Dean would never be rid of. So he remained quiet, not protesting, and Samandriel was so clearly not a threat that Dean finally relented and spoke.

“I already know a Sam,” he said decisively. “So I’ll call you Alfie.”

Samandriel blinked, looking a little shocked, but Gabriel just laughed. “That was the name of your vessel, wasn’t it?”

“I, um, I guess?” Samandriel said uncertainly, looking down at his white t-shirt as though that would give him some answers. “He had a small tag with that name.”

“What happened to him?” Dean asked.

“He’s sleeping.”

“Dean,” Castiel said before Dean could press for more details. “Don’t you want to sit down and eat some breakfast? Then you can go swimming, or I heard Gabriel has a surprise for you.”

Dean’s eyes lit with interest. “The surprise?”

“I did promise,” Gabriel said.

“What is it?”

“Food first,” Castiel said firmly, guiding Dean over to the blanket that Samandriel had laid out. He gently pushed Dean down and followed suit. Gabriel set the basket down and pulled out a number of breakfast foods: the omelets, bacon, toast, croissants with jam and butter, sliced up fruit, and pastries for dessert, plus orange juice and milk. All of it was delicious. Dean ate quickly, seemingly not caring that he was given a sippy cup in front of Samandriel, and then turned an expectant look on Gabriel.

“Surprise?” he asked, puppy eyes in full form. “Please, Uncle Gabriel?”

Gabriel melted so quickly that Castiel had to cough to cover up a laugh. His brother pinned him with a dark look, but smiled at Dean. “Sure thing, honey. Here you go.”

He reached into the basket again and took out the last thing Castiel had expected. It was a brightly colored kite shaped like a dragon. Dean looked a little confused as he took it and turned it over, running the tail through his fingers. The string was attached to the feet, so the green tail could trail behind it. The wind – which, considering that it had just come up, was no doubt manufactured by Gabriel - buffeted the kite gently, threatening to tear it out of Dean’s hands.

“Let go, baby,” Castiel said, and Dean obeyed, startling a little as an updraft instantly swept it out of his hands and up into the sky. Dean just barely managed to snag the wheel, stopping the kite’s ascent. Castiel tipped his head back to watch it. He’d only told Gabriel about his favored spot in heaven once, and he had to admit he was surprised his brother had remembered. But watching the kite dance gently, a brilliant spot of green and purple against the blue sky, was just as calming as ever.

When he finally looked down, Dean was watching him with a thoughtful expression. Then he smiled shyly and offered the wheel to Castiel. “Do you want to try, Daddy?”

“We can do it together.” Castiel stepped up behind him, wrapping his hands around Dean, and showed him how to let a little more string loose. The kite went a little bit higher and Dean giggled as the tail started to flap around madly. Then he gasped as two more dragons joined the first, one blue and one pink, and when he looked around, Gabriel and Samandriel were flying kites too.

It was more fun than Castiel had anticipated, watching the kites swoop amongst the clouds. So of course the moment was ruined by a familiar ringing. Dean jumped when the sound split the air, then looked over his shoulder at Castiel. Something between anticipation and worry flashed through his eyes. Castiel gave him a reassuring smile and dug in the pocket of his pants for Dean’s cell phone. He wasn’t surprised to see that the caller was Sam, and he handed the phone over to Dean while taking control of the kite.

Dean cleared his throat before he said a tentative, “Hey Sammy. What’s up?” He listened for a moment, then stiffened. A soft sound escaped him, bordering on a whimper, and Castiel quickly took the phone from his slack fingers.

“Sam?” he said, bringing the phone to his own ear. “What’s going on?”

“Cas, thank god,” Sam said, and he sounded so upset that Castiel didn’t even think to scold him for blaspheming.

“What’s going on?” Castiel repeated calmly, letting go of the kite in order to wrap his arm around Dean. Dean twisted around, pressing his face into Castiel’s shirt.

Sam’s voice audibly cracked. “It’s Bobby, Cas. He and Rufus were out on a hunt and… and he got stabbed. The doctors don’t think he’s gonna make it. Please, you gotta come and do something.”