… and at once I knew I was not magnificent.
High above the highway aisle
Jagged vacance, thick with ice
I could see for miles, miles, miles

Everything changed in an instant.

Everything was fresh and new, everything was broken down and rebuilt, and everything seemed to change.

Castiel could sense it and he knew she could too. They way their child seemed to live was amazing on it's own, or at least to Castiel. he would sit there for hours, watching her. Watching her stir and watching her reach out with her tiny hands and watching an occasional blue eye open to look at him.

He was so mesmerized by her that simply watching her breathe was amazing.

She yawned, stealing a second of a look at her father before falling asleep again, and Castiel tilted his head at her.

"Whatcha doin?" Meg's sudden voice made him jump, and Castiel spun from where he sat on his haunches to stand and look at her.

"Watching her."

"You're still not bored of that?"

"How could I be?"

She shrugged. "You're right. She's a fascinating little shit isn't she?"

He nodded. "I wanted to watch over her."

"For three days straight?"

He knew she felt the same way, that she could feel Nyx's connective tug and that she knew the child needed her, but Meg wasn't the type of person to admit it.

"You should rest."

"I don't sleep."

Meg let out an audible huff, watching him spin on his heel and resume crouching. With a roll of her eyes she followed suit, leaning down against his shoulders and watching Nyx.

"So this is what you do all day."

"When neither you or the Winchesters need me, yes," she watched him raise a hand on a rail of the crib to steady himself. "I'm…amazed."

"Amazed at what? The kid or your swimmers?" When he shot her a confused look, she sighed. "Yeah, you're right."

It was a strange, long moment of silence. Castiel twitched when he felt her arm rest across his back, a tad bit surprised at Meg's closeness, and felt his head roll to where she rested hers.

The touch was so oddly unfamiliar yet so warm that Castiel had a hard time registering it.

"Thank you," he finally said after a while.

"For what?"

"For her. for…everything."

She blinked at him, not knowing what to say but instead watching him kiss her, one hand still holding her chin and the other still balancing on the rails. She'd grown used to his passion and she returned it with a slight eagerness.

When he broke he stared at her, eyes deep blue and full of wonder. "I mean it, Meg. Thank you."

"Yeah," she muttered when he stood up, apparently trying to get a better look at his child.

Standing on her legs she pushed against him, looking down over the railing and blinking.

"There are a lot of things I regret," Castiel went on. "Michael, the angels, a lot more things. But this…

"I could never regret this."

She felt him pull his arm around her like she did, holding her closer to him yet keeping his eyes peeled on the kid.

"I love you both."

There was still silence from her, but he could feel her response when the demon pressed harder against him, resting the back of her head on his chest.

They spent the rest of the night like that until Nyx stirred, just standing there in their glory and immortality over the tiny thing, almost enjoying the domesticity.

Whatever the reason was, Meg didn't regret it either.