Dean walked into the kitchen, snapping on his watch and adjusting it. He stopped short when he saw Castiel already at the counter, pouring coffee into the mug Dean tended to prefer. He snorted and smiled to himself, he still wasn't used to him doing normal things like this. Cas turned and crossed the room, putting the mug into his hands. Dean put his fingers around it, lifting it to his lips to take a drink. Cas gave a weak smile and then turned away, walking over to the counter to lean against it.

Dean took another drink then stepped forward a little, setting the mug down on the table as he passed it. "You feeling like yourself again?"

"I have burned off all of Meg's demonic energy, yes."

"That's good. I'm glad to have old Cas back."

The angel forced out a laugh, then became serious again. "I never apologized."

"For what?"

"What I did with Meg."

"Dude, I never said we were exclusive…well, at least I hadn't said it at that point, there's nothing to apologize for."

"But it made you upset, which I actively aimed to do, and I regret causing you negative feeling…" Dean reached up and put his finger over Cas's lips to stop him talking, the same way Sera always did to any of them when they started babbling. When he realized he had done it, he lowered his hand.

"It's fine, Cas. Practically forgotten."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Dean plastered on one of his toothy grins. "Soon as we get all of our clothes done and I can find another job to get to, we can get out on the road again. I hope it gets done sooner rather than later, I'm getting restless here."

"You and domesticity have never been on good terms."

"Guess you'd know that better than anyone…"

"That I would."

Dean looked the angel…HIS angel, up and down. This whole thing was still weird to him but he was happy, happier than he had been in a really long time, when he was with Cas. The rest of it, all of the pain and the angst and the grief, just sort of melted away when he was in this angel's arms. Not even that. It was enough just being in the same room, or as long as he could see him or hear his voice when they were on a job he knew he was safe. It was when they had to split up that he got tense and worried.

With all of this running through his head, Dean couldn't help himself. He stepped a little closer and started kissing him. Castiel grabbed him and turned him around, pressing him up against the counter. This went on for several moments before they heard a little cough from the doorway and broke apart. It was Sera, standing there with a laundry basket full of denim.

"I really hate to interrupt you guys, but Sam's going to be down here in like three seconds, just wanted to save some awkwardness."

Dean cleared his throat and gently pushed Cas away. "Uh…thanks."

"No problem." She walked further in and moved the coffee mug so she could set the basket on the table. "Anyone up for breakfast?"

"Not really hungry," Dean said, shrugging, stepping over to the table to pick up his coffee mug, so he would have something to do. They heard Sam's heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. Castiel went over to the fridge and took out the flavored creamer Sam liked to pretend he didn't use and put it directly into his hand as he walked in. Sam stopped and looked at it curiously, then at Castiel, and then just shook his head and kept walking towards the coffee machine.

Sera gave a sly smile at Dean, who looked uncomfortably away. "Is that our stuff?" He said, gesturing towards the laundry basket.

"Yeah."

He leaned over and sniffed it, he had caught a whiff of something and wondered if it was coming from the clothes, and it was. "Why do they smell like vinegar?"

"I had to do a stain treatment…upstairs, before I could wash them."

"Yeah but why vinegar?"

Her eyes were all shifty for a second. "It's acidic…you need acid to break down protein and oil-based stains…"

"Yeah but…" She was giving him a look and suddenly he realized what she meant. "Oh, right. Okay."

Luckily Sam hadn't been paying enough attention to ask what they were talking about. Sera picked up the laundry basket and left the room to go wash them, leaving them alone. Dean just kept taking silent sips of his coffee, Castiel looked between the brothers and then just turned and walked out, leaving them alone to talk for the first time in a very long time.

"So how have things been with Cas?" Sam said, making Dean almost choke on his coffee. "Sorry, what?"

"Hunting, with Cas, how has it been?"

"We told you all about it last night."

"You talked about what jobs you've done, but you didn't give details or talk about what it's been like. A little while ago Sera said you guys were having personal problems, what was that about?"

"It was nothing…" Dean said, "A little misunderstanding over a girl, it really wasn't anything."

"Must have been something or you wouldn't have called her at six a.m. asking for help."

"What, are you listening in on phone calls now?"

"No, just…the ringing woke me up. I sleep light."

"Well whatever it was it's resolved now so just…drop it, alright?"

Sam shrugged "Whatever." He tried to seem ambivalent, but he was really highly suspicious of the fact that Dean didn't want to talk about any of it. He knew he loved to bitch about people behind their backs, he used to talk about Sam to Bobby all of the time. "Sera says I should pack, that I'm going with you when you leave again and Cas is going somewhere else."

Dean's brows furrowed, "What? Did she say where?"

Sam shook his head. "Just that he had 'other things to do.'" He used air quotes. "Which means more cryptic angelic crap she can't or won't tell us about."

"Do you want to come back out on the road? I mean…I'd like it, obviously, but you know…you've got a close to normal life here…"

"Yeah, shacked up with the Guardian of God and our half-human half-angel daughter whose favorite pastime is setting grass on fire. That's normal."

"You're living in an actual house with a beautiful woman that loves you and an infant daughter that worships the ground you walk on. You have your own bed, you aren't traipsing around the country sleeping in abandoned houses and seedy motel rooms. You have very little risk of getting food poisoning from undercooked meat or rashes from dirty sheets…need I go on?"

"No, I think I'm good."

"Just saying that…if I was you, and not me, I wouldn't want to leave this."

"If it was the other way around and you had ended up with her and a kid?"

"We're not talking about me."

"But I don't know what I should do…maybe it would help."

"It really wouldn't. Either way, we'll find out soon enough which is the better choice."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see." What he meant, of course, was that what Dean wanted, what would make him happy, was for Sam to be happy, and if that meant leaving his family and going back out on the road with him, then that's what would happen.

Suddenly Crowley appeared between them, making them both start. He had his arms crossed and lips pursed in obvious frustration. He looked between them, "Have either of you heard from Meg?" He said tersely.

"Uh…no. Why would we?" Sam said, Dean just neglected to answer.

"She's gone missing."

"Don't you have a way of tracking the demons or whatever? You never seem to have trouble keeping the rest of them in check."

"You don't get it. She has literally vanished off of every possible radar that I had her on…and believe me I was keeping a close watch on her, she's crafty. I even had someone tailing her, but a few weeks ago she shook them off and then just…" He made a poofing gesture with his hands and then dropped them to his sides in exasperation.

"Don't know what to tell ya." Dean said. "Maybe she's dead."

"Even if she was, her body would have been found or something by now. No, she's skipped out."

At that moment Sera walked by and stopped on her way out the door when she saw Crowley. She cautiously stepped into the room.

"Something wrong?"

"Meg's missing." Sam said. Sera's eyebrows went up, "Really? Any clues as to where she's gone?"

"None. She's vanished."

Sera looked at Dean, "Well, isn't that strange?" Her eyes flicked over to Crowley. "We'll be sure to call you if we hear anything."

Crowley started to say something, but then stopped, gave her a skeptical look and vanished.

"Well, that wasn't awkward at all." She said sarcastically, before she started walking backwards out of the room. She gestured between Dean and Sam. "Would you fill him in? Because it'd be better if he hears it from you rather than her, or me, and she's going to be here some time tomorrow and you know how she is about keeping secrets…"

Suddenly she turned and rushed out, leaving them alone. Sam looked at Dean. "Tell me what exactly?"

"Hey, you know what? I think I will eat something…"

"Dean." He said sternly. Dean sighed and tried to avoid looking his brother in the eye. How the hell was he supposed to explain the Meg situation?