Sam blinked open his eyes, stretching out muscles stiff from sleeping on the floor. He stilled and stared into nothingness as awareness of what had happened last night in Stull Cemetery washed over him.
It was all over.
He raised himself onto his elbows, to see Cas lying on his stomach, face smushed into the pillow, making his typical snuffling-but-not-quite-snoring noise, his hand clenched in Dean's empty blankets between them.
Dean had herded them into the car and taken off like he had expected every demon, angel, vengeful spirit, shape shifter, vampire, wendigo, rugaru, or other creature they had ever hunted to be hot on their trail. They drove up at the bunker, barred the door behind them, and the three of them had huddled still dressed down to their boots in the floor of the war room, with pillows, blankets, and most of their weapons, waiting for something to come after them.
Apparently nothing had.
Sam could hear the hiss-drip of the coffeemaker, as well as smell the brewing beverage, so he wandered to the kitchen. Dean leaned against the counter, his face reflecting the disbelief Sam felt.
"Mornin'," he murmured.
"Mornin'," Sam returned. "Did you check … "
"As soon as I woke up," Dean rolled his eyes. "Nothing outside, as far as I can tell. Couldn't see anything, hear anything, smell anything. Nothing's messed with the car. I called Kevin. He and his mom are still fine."
Sam's shoulders slumped and shook his head in disbelief. "It's really over."
"It's really over." Dean agreed. "You did it, Sammy. You shut the gates of Hell."
"You and Cas shut the gates of Heaven." Sam frowned.
"It's really over." Dean repeated, sounding slightly dazed. He tipped his head toward the doorway and grinned. "And Cas is still asleep."
Sam grinned and nodded, Cas' almost snoring audible in the kitchen now that the coffee pot had stopped.
Dean poured two cups of coffee, put one in front of Sam, and slid the sugar bowl between them.
"So what do we do now, Sam?" Dean asked, adding a spoonful of sugar to his coffee. "Go to Disneyland?"
Sam stared at the counter, trying to keep his expression neutral, but he knew the twitch at the corner of his lip and the nervous hunch of his shoulders gave him away to Dean. "I'm … going to go meet my son."
He sneaked a glance at his older brother who smirked as things clicked together behind his eyes. "Jody Mills' baby?"
Sam bit his lip and nodded.
Dean chuckled and clapped Sam on the shoulder. "Sam, you dog. Do we need to have a talk about how to prevent these kinda things?"
"No," Sam shook his head, turning slightly to face his brother, his cheeks faintly pink. "He wasn't … he wasn't an accident."
Dean's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything, waiting for Sam to continue.
"Jody … she was lonely, and she missed Owen. She wanted another child. And me, well, it was selfish on my part, but I liked the idea of leaving something of myself behind in this world, in case it all went bad, you know?" He looked at Dean, who nodded in understanding. "In case I didn't make it through this, I asked Jody to tell you. I knew you would watch out for Jack."
Dean nodded, his expression sober. "You know I will, Sammy." He took another swallow of coffee and then shook his head, grinning. "It's just weird to think of you as someone's dad."
"Yeah, tell me about it." Sam agreed.
They sipped their coffee in silence for a few minutes, until Dean spoke up. "So you and Jody … ?"
"I don't know." Sam shrugged. "I guess we'll see what happens. Now that it's all over, and I hopefully won't be putting them in danger, I want to be part of Jack's life, for sure. As for Jody … it's not the wild butterflies and giddy emotions and all like Jess or Madison. It's more of quiet, warm, safe feeling. But she knows everything, and she hasn't run off screaming yet, so that's a good start."
"Yeah. And she's obviously slept with you and survived." Dean teased, earning a bitchface from Sam. Dean smiled into his coffee cup and took another sip before continuing. "So are we heading back to Sioux Falls this afternoon or what? I gotta meet my nephew and make sure you don't turn him into some lame-ass sissy boy."
Sam sighed. "Dean," He ran his hand through his hair. "Don't take this the wrong way. I want you to meet him, I really do, but please. Give me a couple days with Jody and Jack first."
"Yeah, Sammy." Dean nodded. "I understand."
"Really?" Sam asked.
"Yeah. Really." Dean assured.
"Good," Sam answered with a rush of breath. "Because I think you and Cas need a couple days to work things out too." He threw up a hand as Dean opened his mouth to protest. "He's human now. That's going to be a big adjustment. He's going to need you to get him through it. But you two need each other, and it's going to take some time to figure out how you fit together when the end of the world isn't breathing down your necks."
"Sam … " Dean tried to interrupt again.
"Just hear me out, Dean." Sam pressed on. "He's the best thing that's ever happened to you. There's no reason for the two of you not to be together now. There's no angels or demons trying to drag one of you off to Heaven or Hell. So don't screw this up."
Dean looked confused for a moment. "But I thought you wanted me to go marry someone like Lisa and have an apple pie life."
Sam sighed. "Dean, what I wanted was for you to be happy. For you to have someone who loved you unconditionally. I thought it was Lisa, but it wasn't. Cas is the one who makes you happy, and he defied Heaven and Hell for you, so I don't think too many people could love you more than that."
"But he's … " Dean trailed off.
"Yeah, he is." Sam agreed. "But I don't care about that. I just want you to have that person in your life. The one you look at the way you look at Cas. I wouldn't have cared if it was Lisa or Cassie or Cas or Chuck or Garth … " Sam snickered. "Okay, maybe I would have freaked out a little if it was Garth."
Dean laughed. "You and me both."
Sam drank another swig of coffee. "All I'm saying is, Dad is gone. You don't have to live by his expectations any more. You're free to do what you want, be what you want, and be with who you want. And it might surprise you, that very few people are going to have a problem with that being Cas."
Dean nodded. "But this is me we're talking about, Sam. I screw up everything I touch."
"Not as much as you think you do." Sam shook his head. "And I think Cas will cut you some slack."
"I think I will." A husky voice answered softly as arms slid around Dean's waist from behind. "Are you two done having your chick flick moment?"
Sam clapped his hand over his eyes. "That doesn't mean I want to see you two making out in the kitchen!"
Dean laughed and turned to kiss Cas on the cheek. "Mornin'."
Cas tipped his head forward and barely brushed his lips over Dean's. "Good morning."
"I'm going to take a shower." Sam headed out the door. "Take it to the bedroom before any clothes come off! We eat in there!"
Dean slipped from Castiel's arms and turned around. "So Sam's taking a few days to go to South Dakota, now that Heaven and Hell are closed up. What are you going to do?"
"Spend the rest of my life with you?" Cas suggested.
"Most people go on a few dates first." Dean pointed out.
"Does Purgatory count?" Cas asked.
"No, but I think watching The Pizzaman does." Dean smirked as Cas backed him against the wall.
