Chapter 2

Dean

"Hey!" I yelled into my silent house as I shut the door behind me. "Anybody home?"

Grace's voice echoed from the upstairs bedrooms. "Yeah, we're up here, babe!" she shouted.

After I dumped my duffle, wallet, and keys on the dining room table, I jogged up the steps, limping slightly because of the bruises on my hip from landing on my side when the spirit tossed me out that window. I winced slightly, shaking my head and chuckling. Thirty-eight was no joke, although I knew as soon as I made physical contact with Grace, she would heal me and I would feel twenty-six again.

Liberty and Glory, my older daughters, greeted me at the top of the steps, both reaching out to hug me around the legs simultaneously. Lib grabbed my hand and I felt the familiar tingle that she created so often now…her abilities were coming out more and more, resembling her mother more each day. I glanced down and grinned. Lib's healing abilities beat Grace to the punch.

"Hey, Meatloaf, take care of this too, will you?" I said, bending down and pointing to the bruise on my cheek. She grinned and silently put her hand out, touching the scruff on my face. Glory joined her, leaning closer to me and putting both of her chubby hands across my forehead.

When I opened my eyes, I stared into the familiar green of my daughters' eyes and I took a deep breath. It didn't hurt. My girls were miracle workers.

I stood; taking each of the hands they extended to me and walked with them into Liberty's bedroom, where Grace was sprawled out on the carpet with Everett and Faith, my other two munchkins. "Hey, gorgeous," I greeted automatically, grinning a roguish grin at my wife.

She rolled to her stomach, lifting her hair out of her face and smiled at me. "Hey there, stranger," she replied. "You survived."

"I did," I said, bending to sit on the carpet with them. "Thing didn't go quietly, though."

"I was talking about Serra," she said, chuckling.

Lifting my eyebrows, I shook my head. "Man," I began, leaning my head back on the wall, "she is amped all the friggin' time. I'm starting to understand why you're so endlessly patient with me."

Grace nodded and laughed, turning to her back and laying her head on my thigh. "You're a cakewalk compared to my sister, the natural disaster," she replied with a smile in her voice. The kids immediately followed suit, laying over her and playing with the Hot Wheel cars that were scattered around the room, using her legs as a race track. "You don't have to tell me," she said quietly. "I'm glad that you hunt so well together, though."

I agreed. "Yeah, we seem to." I leaned down to kiss her and smiled lightly. "I'd like to give it a go with you."

"We'll see," she said, gesturing at Faith. My youngest was lying in a pillow that propped her up enough so that I could see her serious blue eyes. Faith was only about four months old, but she had the eyes of an older, more angelic soul. "I still don't like the idea of both of us being gone at the same time."

Pursing my lips, I shrugged. "They would be in good hands, considering our babysitters," I said, smiling at Faith. She stared back, showing no emotion, but I knew that was typical. That girl was mostly angel and she reminded me so much of Cas, it was scary. I glanced back down at Grace. "Has Cas come by to see his daughter lately?" I asked sarcastically.

Grace laughed, her eyes crinkling in the corners. "He was here last night. Made himself comfortable."

"When can I expect the wedding invitation?"

"I sent them out last week," Grace answered, not missing a beat. We had joked about Castiel being Faith's real father since she was born, considering he had been the angel to use Grace as a vessel to create Faith; making sure she was more angel than human in order to keep Everett's genetic Mark of Cain under control. Grace's tolerance of the joke was waning, though; the laugh just barely touched her eyes. I made a mental note to back off a bit.

Castiel kept my wife safe while I was gone and I would forever be grateful to the angel that had taken residence as our best friend. We hadn't deeply discussed what had gone here at home during the five months that Ouriel's demon spell had me held hostage; forcing me to become someone I was terrified of becoming again, but I knew it was always under the surface, begging to be talked about. It had taken me months to gain Serra's trust back (although, I wasn't sure if she would ever completely trust me again). Grace seemed to take it in stride, never questioning my loyalty, but there was something that she wasn't telling me. We just hadn't talked about what.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to know.

Grace was always listening to my thoughts and I could feel her body language shift as I brought it up in my mind. She had avoided the topic since the baby was born, using Faith as a shield when she didn't want to get into it. As Everett walked over to me and plopped down onto my other leg and leaned back into my chest silently, I turned my gaze to Grace's.

"We ever gonna talk about it?" I asked quietly.

"There's nothing to talk about," she answered, shrugging. She sat up, immediately moving away from me as she did so often when I tried discussing whatever she was hiding from me.

Lib immediately filled the void left by her mother on my lap and scooted her way into the space. Grace bent to scoop Faith from the floor and walked out of Lib's bedroom, her blonde hair trailing behind her.