In a small town like this one, new people were pretty rare. Most of the families here had lived in the same town, the same house for centuries. That was why the whole town paused to watch the moving van roll through the streets, led by a black Chevrolet Impala. Jeremy had been wandering the streets that morning, as he often did when he got restless, and the two vehicles breezed by him. He hadn't thought anything of it at the time but the town was buzzing by mid-afternoon.

"Mum's been going on about it all day," said his best friend, Mark, as they played video games that afternoon. Both of them were crashed in Mark's room, well out of sight of parents. Jeremy wasn't technically allowed to play video games.

Jerking the controller erratically to one side, Jeremy replied "Jeez, one new family moves into town and you'd think the sky was falling."

They left it at that, after all, what did two teenage boys care about town gossip?

When he left Mark's however, he found himself, once again, wandering the streets.

Jeremy was the pastor's son. From an early age he had been familiar with most of his father's flock and that meant he knew almost everyone in town. So perhaps he should have been more excited about new people in town. At least it meant new people. That meant a new house to attend dinner parties at, new stories to hear. Still, maybe Jeremy wasn't forward-thinking enough.

It was on days like this, he liked to slip into his father's church. It was peaceful, away from the gossip and the whispers, and it reminded him that today was only temporary, the lord was eternal. Lately though, he'd been questioning his faith. Sometimes it just seemed too fanciful, too dated and superstitious.

As he slid through the church doors, however, his eyes landed on a girl sat in one of the pews, head bowed and eyes closed serenely. She was beautiful, dark hair framing her gentle features. Somehow, she seemed to radiate light. What struck him most about her, however, was that she was unfamiliar.

"Hey," he called.

Her head jerked up at the sound and kind green-blue eyes met his "Hey."

"I haven't seen you around before," Jeremy wandered down the aisle and slid in beside her. He felt drawn to her, like they were magnets drawing one-another in.

Smiling a little, she nodded "My family and I just moved here this morning."

"No way," he grinned "You're the family everyone's talking about."

She chuckled and looked up at him through her eyelashes "Well I don't know about that."

A silence fell on them then, Jeremy was usually a half-decent conversationalist but now he had nothing to say. "So..." he began "What brings you to church?"

"Well," she laughed again, turning to face him "Churches have always made me feel safe, when we move to a new town, I come here to remind me that, wherever I am, angels are watching over me."

Jeremy couldn't help the way his eyebrows leaped towards his hairline "Wow, you really believe that stuff?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised," she said, in a voice that sounded soft and wise. It was the kind of voice that took his breath away. Just for a moment, he stared at her with complete awe. Her face turned puzzled for a moment "You really are surprised, aren't you?"

Spluttering, he descended into nervous laughter "I guess I've just- I've never met someone with... when you said that so honestly, like most people- they don't... Look, I live with a pastor and I don't think he's ever said something like that and meant it as much as you do."

"That's his loss," she grinned and then asked "What did you say your name was?"

With a smile, he offered his hand "Jeremy."

"I'm Mary," her hand was soft in his and he felt a rush of warmth as she shook his hand.

Suddenly, he glanced round at the door as it creaked open. A muscular man, with a short crop of brown hair, wandered in nervously "Mary, you wanna come and tell us how you want your room?"

"Yeah, sure Daddy," she darted to her feet and then, threw Jeremy a bright smile as she backed towards the door "It was nice meeting you." She slipped out the door, her father casting a curious glance back at him as they left.

.

Dean didn't interrogate Mary about the boy who'd been with her in church. He knew that she was always quick to make friends, it wasn't unusual for her to already have a gaggle of followers. It's just, usually, they were female. He wasn't sure how he felt about his teenage daughter having guy-friends. Even if they were just friends.

The house they re-entered was full of activity. An army of angels and hunters were busy decorating and moving furniture. Decorating was always the first thing they did when they moved to a new house. Dean felt that it was important for the kids that a new place began to feel like home as soon as possible. That way they could have a safe haven to come home to all the time, something he never had as a child. So Dean and Castiel called in the cavalry, every time they moved. Dean was never quite sure why they always turned out but he could guess it had something to do with Mary's puppy dog eyes.

"Dean," Balthazar emerged from the kitchen, carrying a box of Mary's old stuffed animals "Cas wants to see you in the living room."

With a nod, Dean sent his daughter upstairs to were Sam and Gabriel were setting up her room before heading past Balthazar. It took him a while to get through the kitchen and into the living room but, eventually, he found his way to Castiel. The room was almost fully decorated, Castiel was just positioning some photographs on the wall as Dean entered the room. It was refreshingly intruderless. Dean may appreciate the help of their friends and family but it did tend to make the house a little fraught. It was nice to have Castiel to himself for a moment.

"You all right Cas?" Dean asked, closing the door behind him.

With a smile, Castiel replied, rather woodenly "I'm fine, Dean, how are you?" Dean didn't think his angel would ever be comfortable with using human responses like that, instead of endless queries such as "why wouldn't I be fine?" or "what is the purpose of this question?"

"I'm great, thanks, what did you want me for?" Dean sidled further into the room. He could almost see the cogs turning in Cas's head as he calculated his reply. It was actually kind of adorable.

Then he sighed heavily and Dean realised that this wasn't going to be a nice conversation. "It's Sunday tomorrow."

"Yeah, Cas," Dean frowned, shuffling a little "That's right." Sometimes he wished his husband would get to the point a little faster. "So?"

The angel turned his bright blue eyes on Dean "So, I'd like to attend church tomorrow." A spark of anger rose in Dean but he subdued it with a deep breath. Castiel continued "And I'd like you to come with me, and Mary and Robby, obviously."

"Damn it, Cas," Dean groaned, rubbing his temples to try and maintain his cool "We've talked about this, I don't do church unless I'm looking to claim sanctuary."

Castiel sighed again and squinted as he said "But Dean, it's good to show our faith is compatible wi-"

"You know, I'm not so sure it is," there was such finality in the hunter's voice, that Castiel took a step back. The hurt expression in the man's face made him backtrack "No, look I'm sorry, its just. Church isn't my thing, you know its not. I'm not so into the whole, worship of God thing. It's not me. Personally, I think God's a dick but I do believe in you and this whole new brand of faith you're spinning. I'm always here for you but I'm not about to go marching to church to listen to a preacher talk crap. That's not what I want to do with my Sunday."

Urgency tainting his tone, Castiel pleaded "But its not just about that. In a town like this one, a church is a community centre. It's a chance to establish ourselves here before we start our church."

"Cas, you know its not a good idea for people to meet both of us at once," Dean retorted "The whole two dads thing doesn't go down well in most religious circles."

A sudden and dangerous anger flashed across Castiel's face "God doesn't care!"

"Well small-town Christians do!" Dean shouted back at him.

Then there was silence. Dean always felt crap when they fought and this fight recurred often. Whenever they moved to a new town, Castiel always wanted to be "out and proud" from the get go but Dean knew how communities like this worked and new that they just couldn't swing it like that.

"Daddy's right."

Both of them turned and saw Mary at the door. Her eyes were wide and upset but her face was set with determination "You can't just walk into church holding another boy's hand. They'll crucify us before we've started. It's smarter, if we play it this way, to begin with."

Dean felt like throwing in an "I told you so" for good measure but he thought that was too far. Besides, his little girl looked like she might cry. He held out a hand to her but she marched straight past him and hugged Castiel. For a moment, he considered being jealous but then he saw the angel he loved with his arms around their little girl and he just couldn't stay mad in any way. He was just so happy to have them.

.

The church was buzzing on Saturday when Castiel arrived with Mary and Robby. Jeremy smiled at her as he took his seat, next to his mother and brother, in the front pew. Mary and her family were at the back. All three of them were dressed in Sunday best, Mary in a pretty baby blue blouse and a pleated skirt. It was very conservative, very Christian he supposed. Jeremy couldn't help but wonder if her mother had forced her into that outfit just as his had that morning. It was then that it struck Jeremy that the man who sat beside Mary wasn't the man who'd grabbed her from the church the day before. He was sure that she had called the first man Dad and yet, when they came to introduce themselves to his father after the service, this man said Mary was his daughter.

"Mary," the pastor said, shaking her hand "Biblical name."

Smiling politely, she replied "Family name, my grandmother was named Mary."

"And I'm named for an old friend of Dad's," Mary's brother – Robby or Bobby or something – said, a general expression of indifference on his face. He looked a lot like Mary except his hair was lighter and his eyes bluer. Something about him was inherently different though, a little darker, a little unfriendly.

With a smile, Jeremy's father replied "Well that's nice, it's good to see a family so dedicated as to come to church the day after you moved in."

"Yes well, we're mostly moved in now, anyway and its nice to take a minute out to worship," the man claiming to be Mary's father – Cas, apparently, he guessed it was short for Casper – said in a tone that was very serious. He was a very serious looking man, on the whole.

Quietly, Jeremy said to Mary "I see where you get it from."

"What?" she whispered back.

He smiled, his shoulder brushing hers "Your piety, I can see where you get it from."

"Yeah well, Papa's like that, its in his blood," she replied.

He didn't get a chance to ask her about the other man who she'd called Dad because her "Papa" was calling her away. As the three of them left the churchyard, Jeremy's father nodded with a pompous certainty "Nice family them, they'll fit right in."

Somehow, Jeremy wasn't so sure.