New Family

It was dark and it was late, but he was very scared… So he entered the bedroom silently as he held his stuffed dinosaur against his chest. He couldn't see well in the dark room, so he called at the bottom of the bed, "Dee?" The little boy's voice was low and tremble, almost inaudible. When he noticed no one had heard him, he called a bit louder "Cas". This time he saw someone moving under the covers.

"Asher?" Castiel recognized the 5-years-old boy's voice that woke him, but couldn't see him properly in the dark room. He sat up and blinked a few times until he saw the boy at the bottom of the bed.

Noticing that someone was awake, the boy dressed with a blue pajama with colored dinosaurs climbed up the bed and crawled to Castiel, holding his favorite plushie in one hand. Dean also woke up, feeling the bed stir next to him.

Asher sat on Castiel's lap and leaned against his chest, whimpering. Castiel evolved the little boy with his arms and asked concernedly, "What's the matter?"

The boy trembled and clutched Castiel's shirt. "I saw it," he sobbed. "I saw the monster again." And Asher broke down crying.

Castiel hugged him tighter and ran a comforting hand up and down the boy's back.

It wasn't the first time that happened. It wasn't the first time Asher had nightmare about the monster that killed his family. It had been almost two years ago that Asher's parents had been attacked by a werewolf. When Dean and Castiel got there it was already too late, they couldn't save the couple. But they did save the little boy that was hidden under his own bed; the lonely boy who had no other family left alive.

Sometimes Castiel wished he was still an angel, although he got used to being human.

"Shh… It was just a dream," Castiel whispered soothingly and kissed the boy's head. "You're safe." Asher continued to wet Castiel's shirt with his tears. "The monster is not going to hurt you, he's not going to hurt anyone."

They didn't know what Asher had seen that fatidic night or what he saw in his nightmares; he never got into details and they didn't ask.

"Yeah, because we won't let anyone hurt you and we'll kick the ass of whoever tries" Dean added with a confident smile to cheer up the boy that he treated as his son.

Asher's cry diminished and he looked at Dean. "Really?" he asked, still sobbing a little.

"Hell, yeah!" Dean replied and wiped the tears of the boy's cheeks.

The boy smiled a bit. He got out of Castiel's lap and wrapped his arms around Dean's neck. "Thanks," Asher said.

Dean couldn't help but smile at the boy's affection. He hugged back the boy and then he sat him on his lap. "And if you see the monster again," Dean looked right in the boy's eyes "you just show him Rexy." he grabbed Asher's stuffed green tyrannosaurus. "He'll be so scared that he'll run away and will never bother you again."

Asher looked at his toy and smiled. "Okay," he said, nodding.

"Great!" Dean squeezed Asher a little against his chest.

After a while Dean looked at the clock on the nightstand and it was 3am. "Hey, buddy, now that Rexy is gonna protect you while you sleep, are you ready to go back to bed?" Dean asked.

Asher looked sad again and shifted uncomfortably. "I- I had… a little accident," he confessed shyly in a low voice.

"Oh," Dean said, knowing what he meant. It wasn't the first time Asher wetted his bed accidentally, it sometimes happened when he had nightmares. "It's alright."

The boy looked up and asked hopefully, "Can I sleep with you?" He looked at Dean and then to Castiel.

"Yes, Asher. You can sleep with us." Castiel replied with a smile. "But how about we change your clothes first?" He got out of the bed.

Asher nodded and got up and walked over the bed to Castiel who lift him up and took him to his bedroom. About 10 minutes later Castiel returned, carrying Asher I his arms, dressed with a new pajama. He was almost asleep, with his head resting on Castiel's shoulder, arms around his neck and nearly letting the toy fall of his hand.

Dean pulled down the covers and Castiel laid the boy on the bed, between them. Dean kissed the boy's brown hair and whispered, "Good night, Ashie." Asher was already sleeping profoundly.

Then Dean looked at Castiel that was watching him with a smile. Dean always thought he wouldn't be a good father, but at each day that passed Castiel noticed how wrong Dean was. In his eyes, Dean was a great father.

"Good night, angel." Dean leaned closer and kissed Castiel gently. Although Castiel wasn't an angel anymore, he still was and would always be Dean's angel.

"Good night, Dean" Castiel replied, still smiling.

They lied down and soon fell asleep with their boy between them.

Asher wasn't exactly their son; he knew and remembered his true parents and he didn't called Dean and Castiel 'dad' or anything. Asher didn't know exactly what Dean and Castiel's were to him - it was a bit confusing for his young mind - but he was sure of one thing; they were his new family.