"Sam, are you sure you're okay?" Dean asked again.

"Yes, I'm sure. That's like the fifth time you've asked." Sam leaned back against the seat. "I'm just tired."

"Yeah, ganking a Hell Hound as part of a weird set of Godly trials will do that to you." Dean paused. "You know, we could always find another of Crowley's bitches, and I could-"

"No. I've already started, I'm gonna finish this out to the end. Besides, we don't even know what the next Trial will be. Kevin's still working on it."

Dean frowned. "Alright, but you gotta be honest with me, man. If you're not okay, you need to tell me."

After a whole day of driving, they reached the bunker around 5. Dean had to admit, it felt nice to have a place to call home.

"Hello, Dean."

The brothers nearly jumped out of their skin as they walked into the main room and found Cas sitting at the table.

"Sorry," He apologized.

"Good to see you too, Cas." Sam mumbled.

"Sam, I'm glad to see you survived the first trial."

"Why wouldn't he?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"No reason. Sometimes these things tend to...take a lot out of a human." Cas said, looking the younger Winchester over. "Your soul seems to be weary."

"I'm fine."

"Good." Cas turned his gaze to Dean. "We need to talk."

Dean raised an eyebrow. This couldn't be good. "Yeah, okay. What is it?" He sat across from Cas.

Sam started to leave the room, but Cas quickly stopped him. "You can stay too, you'll probably want to hear this."

"What's going on?"

"I...have a confession to make. There's something I've been keeping from you."

"Dammit, Cas...what now?" Dean rubbed his temples.

"Do you remember Anna?"

Dean blinked. "Uh, yeah. Fallen angel, got her grace back, went psycho, tried to kill Sam?"

"Yes. There is...more to the story than that." Cas looked down, almost appearing guilty.

"Well, spit it out."

"You and Anna had intercourse the night before she reclaimed her grace."

"Okay, I think I'm gonna-" Sam stood, looking uncomfortable.

"Wait, Sam. This concerns you too."

He reluctantly returned to his seat.

"You impregnated her, Dean."

"I...what?" Dean's eyes widened with shock.

"When she recovered her grace, it sped the process along. Why do you think she disappeared for 7 months after that?"

"No...I...just assumed she was on the run from the God Squad..."

"She was. But she was also carrying your child. She knew it would make her a bigger target, so after giving birth, she took the baby to a place she thought was safe. After I let you out of the Panic room, Sam...when you were detoxing from the demon blood...Anna came to confront me about it. I...I turned her in. She was captured." Cas looked away. "I didn't know about her daughter. But Uriel quickly found out, and exploited it to manipulate Anna into joining them. However, when she found out that they were planning to let the Apocalypse happen, she went rogue again, and tried to kill Sam to prevent it from happening. We all know how that turned out."

Cas took a deep breath before continuing. "After Anna's death, I felt...guilt. It was something I'd never felt before. It was my fault; I'd separated a mother from her child. I stole the baby from Heaven to keep her safe, and I took her somewhere no angel or demon would ever find her. Gabriel helped me; he had a child with a human too, almost 50 years ago. He showed me where his daughter, Ruth, was hidden, and we placed your child in her care. She was safe there...until yesterday."

"Wait, so you're telling me...I...I have a daughter?" Dean was in shock. "Why didn't you tell me? Where is she? What happened, why isn't she safe anymore?"

"I thought it was for the best. You were busy with the Apocalypse, and-"

"What about afterwards? You could have told me anytime between then and now, and you didn't!" Dean shouted.

"I...thought I was doing the right thing. The place I took her to was heavily warded, and I presumed she would be safer there."

"Okay, well if it was so safe, what happened?"

"I don't know how, but a faction of angels found Ruth. Nephilim are considered an abomination, so she was killed. Before she died, she was able to send me an SOS. I came immediately and was able to destroy them before they could harm your child."

"Where is she?" Dean asked, a mix of emotions on his face.

"I brought her here, the safest place I could think of. She's in one of the bedrooms."

"Holy shit." Sam ran a hand through his hair. "This is unbelievable."

"You're telling me." Dean suddenly looked very pale. "What am I gonna do? How...how do you take care of an Angel kid?"

"Similar to human genetics, it's a toss-up on what the child will inhereit from each parent. Every Nephil is unique, and presents with a different set of abilities. Some take after their human parent, and have no angelic powers at all. Your daughter seems to be more human than angel; she ages normally, and requires nourishment. I have yet to discover all of what she is capable of."

"I have...I have a daughter..." Dean started to hyperventilate, remembering his encounter with the Amazon woman. He'd fathered a child then too. Emma. He briefly reflected on the irony that both his children had been half supernatural beings. "Shit, that poor kid."

"Breathe, Dean." Sam touched his shoulder. "Cas, did she see...everything?"

"You mean the murder of her caretaker? No. Ruth told her to hide as soon as the angels came to the door."

"Good." Dean exhaled shakily. "Umm...can I meet her? Does she even wanna see me? Does she know who I am?"

"Ruth told her the truth about her parents, so yes. She knows who you are." Cas got up. "Are you ready to meet her?"

Dean slowly stood, feeling weak in the knees. A million things were going through his mind. The one question he managed to ask aloud was, "What's her name?"

"Anna chose the name 'Grace'." Cas replied, giving a small smile. "Not very original, but a beautiful name all the same."

"Grace..." Dean repeated. "God, I can't believe it." He laughed, voice trembling. "Take me to her."