Chapter Text
December 2005
There was a pause, as Castiel stiffened, recognising who had knocked. The voice that followed rang familiar in Dean's ears as he also approached the front door and had a better look at their night-time visitor.
"Hello,” came the familiar voice. “You two have been very hard to find.”
Castiel pulled the Godling into his arms, his body trembling with unspoken emotion.
"You're here. How are you here?" Castiel whispered into their son's blond hair, his hand reaching up to pat the top of Jack's head soothingly. He hadn’t been able to recall seeing Jack in the Empty, that day had been a mess of half asleep dreams, and it had been such a long time since he had seen their child in person.
Jack looked a little older now. The four-year-old looked closer to twenty-seven, instead of the baby-faced twenty-two the Seraph had last seen. He held a sense of confidence in his stance that he had never had before, and his blue eyes contained a strange sense of all-knowingness as they met Castiels.
"Weeks of astral travel through various universes, dimensions and a little bit of time travel," Jack replied, grinning up at his father.
Dean approached their adopted son and pulled him into a one-armed hug that the Nephil returned enthusiastically. Castiel watched on with a faint smile. It seemed that during the past year that he was gone, Jack and Dean had somewhat mended their fractured relationship.
"Hey, kid. You're a sight for sore eyes," Dean muttered, finally pulling away from their son with a faint sting of tears lining his eyes. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."
"I could say the same about you two," Jack easily replied as Castiel pulled him by the shoulder, directing him into the kitchen where the rich smell of chocolate and mint filled the air. The Nephil glanced around the bright and sunny yellow walls, and extreme amount of bee memorabilia that decorated them. A few plants grew in pots atop the benches, mostly herbs with a few blooming flowers. He even thought he spotted a pale cream lace doily under a fruit bowl. It was all very... Cas. "Is this your house?"
"Yes, this is our home," Castiel said with a faint smile. He poured the Godling a warm mug of hot chocolate and a second for Dean. Cas could tell the hunter was cold now that he wasn't swaddled in blankets, a faint shiver in his shoulders, but he did not want to leave the room and put on something warmer in fear of missing precious time with their son.
"It's Christmas Eve, kiddo. You've got some great timing," Dean said with a grin, his fingers wrapped tight around the bee mug, trying to absorb as much warmth from the delicate porcelain cup as possible.
"I did come to bring you back home. But after getting a look at you both, I think it won't be as easy as I would like it to be," Jack stated, his eyes flashing a bright gold as he assessed the situation in front of him. "You both look... enmeshed."
"We were forcibly combined with our past selves when we were thrown from the Empty," Castiel stated, his hands twisting nervously.
"You did not land in our past, but instead in a parallel timeline that was created during your injection into this time," Jack said with a smile that his Angelic father half-heartedly mimicked
Dean nodded along as if he understood what the two Celestials in his kitchen were conversing about.
"So what should we do?" Castiel asked in a quiet and sombre tone. Whilst he was elated that they had a chance to return... he felt that he might mourn the more domestic lifestyle that the two had created.
"Well... I could bring you back to our time, but unless you use an aging spell, you would remain at the physical age you are now," Jack muttered, seemingly lost in thought. "I could also attempt to untangle you from your past selves. But that might be painful and unlikely to work as you have both been enmeshed for so long."
"Is there any other option?"
"Why do we need another option?" Dean asked Castiel, confusion seeping through his body language as the hunter turned to face his Angel. "Who cares if we look younger? Let's just leave."
"But... we were making a home here, Dean."
"All our family is back there, Cas."
Jack squinted his eyes at the two before understanding coloured his features.
"Oh... you don't want to go back, do you? You want to stay here..." The Nephil muttered under his breath as he glanced between his parents.
"Not for forever," the Seraph clarified, raising his palms as if to calm the hunter.
Dean did not get angry, as Castiel had expected. Instead, he looked pensive and took a few deep breaths as he sorted out his thoughts, his eyes staring blankly into his hot chocolate.
"Why?" He whispered, watching a floating white marshmallow slowly break apart. "I thought we were on the same page with this."
"We don't have any enemies here," Castiel whispered. "We are not hunted. In this world, Jimmy, Jessica, Bobby, Ellen, and Joanna... all the Angels that I killed... Everyone is alive."
Dean looked up to catch Castiel's blue-eyed gaze, unease filling his expression as he took in Castiel's slightly growing panic.
"I don't mean that we should stay forever... I've just been enjoying the freedom we have," the Seraph whispered, breaking their eye contact to look down at his hands.
"You don't need to make a decision just yet," Jack replied, reaching out to pat both of his father's on the shoulder reassuringly. "We know where you are now. This timeline should be safe."
Dean kind of shrunk back into his chair, his mind trying to catch up with the events that unfolded in front of him.
What was to stop them from having this life back there, too?
Except... Cas was right. They had mountains of enemies back home. This place was their only clean slate.
"Ok... let's talk about this later," Dean decided, standing up slowly and downing the rest of his hot chocolate in one mouthful. "Are you ok sleeping on the couch, kiddo?"
"Of course, Dean."
Dean placed his mug into the sink and gave it a quick rinse before giving his son another hug. He pulled away a little too quickly and said goodnight as he climbed the stairs.
"We have a room for you, Jack, however, it remains unfinished," Castiel said with a nervous tone. He wanted to stay and talk to his son for the rest of the night, but knowing that he dropped a bombshell onto his hunter, he also wanted to comfort Dean, and perhaps discuss their future plans in the sanctity of their bedroom.
"I will be ok," Jack said with an easy smile. "Go with Dean. He needs you more tonight. I will be here in the morning, and I will stay for a few days as you both think things through."
Castiel nodded slowly, pulling Jack into a long hug, relishing in the contact. The Nephilim squeezed him back just as tight, before letting go. He gestured upstairs, and Castiel turned to follow Dean.
Dean sat perched on the edge of his mattress, having already changed into a warmer set of pyjamas. Castiel snapped his fingers, and most of the heavier blankets that his human mate had dragged downstairs appeared on their bed. Dean looked up at the Angel with a faint smile, appreciating the gesture, his fingers splaying out across the warm wool.
"So..." The hunter began, looking unsure. "You wanna stay here."
"I do," Castiel replied softly, sitting down on the mattress. Dean leaned back and pushed his legs under the blankets, lifting a corner for Castiel to crawl underneath. The Angel obliged, removing his overcoat and laying his head on Dean's shoulder, his legs entwining with his hunter's. "But we can leave in the morning if you want."
"Let me think about it, ok? I'm not gonna decide without you," Dean whispered, raising a hand to card through Castiel's dark hair. "You made a good point before. But I can't just abandon Sam, my Sam, not that kid we saw earlier."
The two were quiet for a moment, enjoying the warmth the other exuded, only the sound of their breathing filling the air.
"Jack will stay with us for a few days," Castiel whispered, running his hand over Dean's chest. "At least we have time to think about this."
"I want to sit down with you tomorrow afternoon, and write out all the pros and cons of staying and going," Dean stated, pulling away to make direct eye contact with his Angel. "We ain't gonna do anything that only one of us is happy with. All or nothing, got it, I'm not gonna drag you back to our time if you're not 100% on board."
"And I would never keep you from Sam..."
"I know, Sunshine."
The two were silent as their thoughts whirled around them, Dean suddenly sat up with a grin, looking down at the confused Cas.
"So, Jack is gonna be staying with us for a few days, right?"
"Yes, that is correct,” Castiel replied, squinting up at the now giddy hunter in his arms.
"Gonna be a busy day tomorrow, then."
"How so, Dean?"
"It's time to let the kiddo decorate his bedroom. He can't spend the rest of the week on the couch."
~
"Should I buy you a round bed?" Dean inquired with a grin as he looked over the rows and rows of premade beds in the display.
The large blue building was practically a labyrinth, with thousands of boxes sitting on towering shelves and winding aisles of ready-made furniture that looked kind of eerie to the Angel.
Jack had wandered off nearly an hour previous, leaving Dean and Castiel to wander the aisles alone, and the Seraph was starting to feel a little anxious. He had spent such little time with his son, baring the few hours that the two had to privately chat in the early morning, so to have his child suddenly disappear was unnerving. He turned his attention back to Dean.
Currently, Dean was standing in front of a large circular bed, gesturing to it quickly to catch Castiel's attention. It looked reminiscent of what Castiel would find in a more promiscuous setting, such as a lover's hotel or perhaps one of Dean's pornagraphic magazines. The only thing it was missing was a leopard print cover or something covered in velvet.
"What for?" He retorted in a confused tone. Surely, a bed like that would be harder for the human to manage. Changing the sheets alone would be a nightmare.
"If I pile up the pillows, ya know, like a big wall, I could build you the perfect nest."
"A what? Dean, I don't need a - ahh, never mind," Castiel said with a sigh and a shake of his head. He realised now, as Dean's lips twitched in an attempt to not show his amusement, that the hunter was joking.
"You're sure?" Dean's voice was almost sing-song in his teasing, and Castiel rolled his eyes and walked away, intent on finding his son somewhere in this massive warehouse of furniture. "Hey, where are you going? This is a partnership decision, Cas."
"I'm going to find Jack."
"He'll be fine, man. Leave the kid," Dean said with a smirk, walking up beside Castiel and tugging on his arm in an attempt to pull the Angel back over the king-size beds' section. "Kids' God now. It's not like he's gonna get lost in an IKEA. "
"This store is particularly large, Dean."
With a roll of his eyes, Castiel found himself being half-heartedly dragged through aisle upon aisle of bed frames before the two eventually found themselves sitting on a plain wooden and metal-framed bed. Dean flopped down beside him, curling his arms behind his head as he relaxed into the memory foam mattress. Any stress from the previous day seeped out of his body like air, leaving a balloon.
"I found a bed that I like," said Jack, appearing suddenly and standing directly beside the bed his parents were resting upon. Dean jumped slightly at the sudden tone of his son, more irritated to notice that Jack didn't always fly in with the sound of flapping wings. It was as if the earth moved around him instead.
"So did we."
"Which one did you pick?" Castiel inquired, looking up at Jack. The Nephil reached down and tapped at their knees, teleporting the two to the kids' section.
There, the three found themselves in front of what looked like a kids' boat bed, complete with a little sail and an underneath bookshelf, painted all white and navy.
"It's... cute," Castiel decided, looking down at it thoughtfully.
"Isn't it a little small?" Dean asked. To be truthful, it looked about right for a five-year-old, which technically, Jack nearly was. Dean was not going to argue with the boy if Jack wanted it, as long as it would be comfortable for the Nephil to sleep on.
"Nope. It's perfect," smiled Jack with his usual slightly awkward grin.
"Well. I'll go pay for them," stated Dean, patting Castiel on the shoulder in mock sympathy. He turned to leave, intent on finding a store clerk. "But your dad here is gonna be the one to build that thing."