"Come on, dear." Cassiopeia looked at her son. "We're all helping your dad with Earth."
Lucifer looked away, apparently bothered by the fact he had to help, which was completely different from his first reaction.
"You were so excited." She reminded him. "What's wrong now?"
he sighed, uncrossing his arms and looking something between upset, jealous and sad.
"There's nothing I can invent that Michael already hasn't. He already did, like, 70 species."
Cassiopeia shook her head, finally understanding. Michael and Lucifer were teenagers now - too close in age -, and were a problem sometimes, so alike that they unbalanced each other, always competing on the smallest of the things.
"Well, you can create 70 more. Your Father is so excited with what you'll be doing." She tried cheering him up, touching his shoulder with her free arm while holding a sleepy Gabriel against her body with the opposite arm.
Michael was the first one helping Jehovah with the Earth, eager to please his father with lions, tigers, squirrels, mooses and many kinds of walking animals. Raphael followed him and even made a couple of water mammals with his brother.
And Gabriel… Well, he created the platypus and messed with the poor elephant's nose, but at least he tried.
"Fine." He decided. " Fine, I'll make something."
Cassiopeia smiled openly, kissing his face.
"That's my boy. Go help him."
Half an hour later, God was standing by his mate's side.
"A snake." He pointed, not sure if he was proud or surprised.
The Goddess' eyes fell on him for a second before going to the said snake. It had no legs or ears or… Actually, the animal was all belly, mouth and fangs.
"How does it walk? How does it eat?"
"It… Bites."
She nodded slowly.
"Did he…' She cleared her throat. "Did he create anything else?"
He nodded, walking to what he called a swamp.
"Crocodiles, lizards, spiders… Oh, and the dinosaurs."
Cassiopeia blinked.
"He's very… Creative. At least he helped." She decided.
He nodded.
"Yeah."
"We need to leave now." Cassiopeia looked at the two Winchesters. "Dean, go slow with the salt. Sam, try to convince him to eat more healthy food."
The younger Winchester nodded.
"Cas, son, are you coming?"
The seraph shook his head.
"I'm staying, Mother." He stated. "They need me here."
She nodded in agreement and kissed his cheek.
"I love you, little one. Take care of these two."
Castiel nodded and Cassiopeia grabbed her coat from the chair.
"Thank you again, boys." You directed your voice to them once more. "I'm really sorry about the kids again. Kids and their wars, I can't believe I let it go that far."
Dean choked on his drink for a moment, trying not to laugh.
"So, just a quick question before you leave." He raised his finger. "Who was born first?'
She turned to look at her children.
"Michael was the first, but I had Lucifer in a very close period. Raphael a bit later and Gabriel is…"
"The one they had because mum needed to spoil someone and we were all too big." Michael finished her sentence.
"I'm not spoiled." Gabriel protested.
"Come on, she created sugar just because of you." Raphael stated, looking at him.
"Well, that explains a lot." Dean looked at Castiel.
Cassiopeia just looked at her sons.
"What did I just tell you about fighting?"
The two of them looked away.
"Sorry, mum."
"Let's just go."
Before they could protest, she laid a kiss on each Winchester's cheek and looked at her older children.
They nodded and, with a zap, the five left the bunker and landed in the garden of the small land she shared with God. Well… Chuck now.
Feel free to visit. She heard as a pray from Dean, probably said after she left.
"Wow." Gabriel looked around. "New Eden?"
Cassiopeia shrugged. The two gods two had established there years earlier and were very careful with her new garden.
"No humans allowed this time." She looked at him, sighing. "Those two spoiled my sweetCardentilas. I was never able to create those again."
hearing a song, Cassiopeia looked up at the 2nd-floor window, seeing as her mate played the guitar with his back turned to the outside.
"So…" She sighed at her four children. "Ready?"
They all nodded and Cassiopeia could see how they struggled no to hide behind their wings.
"Come." She whispered.
She was the first one to enter the house, taking off her shoes and jacket and waiting for them to do the same.
"Chuck?" She called out loud. "Chuck, I'm home."
They frowned at the name but didn't protest.
"Wait in the living room." Cassiopeia whispered to them.
She climbed the stairs silently, entering the office room of the small mansion they kept.
"Chuck." She stopped by the door.
Leaving his guitar aside and standing up with a smile, he pulled his mate to a deep kiss before she could start saying anything.
"Love." He smiled openly.
"Hello." She frowned, but smiled, laying her hands on his shoulders. "What happened?
"I've had an idea." He affirmed. "Two of them, actually."
Cassiopeia shook her head. He always had ideas, that's how the two of them ended up creating all the existing universes.
"First." She interrupted him. "I need you to come downstairs."
He frowned.
"What are you planning?"
"Just trust me."
Holding his hand, Cassiopeia pulled him out of the room and to the living room.
She really hoped he liked the surprise. It had been an eternity since they've all sat down together.
Both of them entered the room in silence and the four archangels stood up with ashamed faces.
"Father." Lucifer looked at him.
Chuck looked at his mate with surprise, but she interrupted him.
"It is been thousands of years, Chuck." She touched his hand. "He learned his lesson."
The two stared at each other for the longest of the moments.
"We talked." She affirmed. "Look, I know he was wrong. But he suffered in that cage and he is sorry. We can't keep him there forever. He's our son."
The room fell into silence as she kept staring at her true mate.
"Gabriel is back." Cassiopeia pointed with a smile. "Michael and Raphael are here. Do you even remember the last time we were all together?"
She had to blink a few times in order to keep the tears away, but it didn't work, and the salty fluid drop fell on her cheek. Quickly, Chuck caught it with his thumb.
"Talk to them." She whispered. "They are our children. Treat them the way they deserve to be treated."
Chuck stood in silence for a moment and sat down on the couch.
"Hello." He finally said.
The talk took the whole day, the next night and the next day but, at the end, everything was fine again and the four archangels agreed on staying home with their parents in order to make up for the lost time.
"Here's it." Cassiopeia stepped in the corridor where four rooms stood around. "Luci's room here, Gabe here." She opened the doors. "Raph and Mike."
The four nodded and looked down at their mother.
"You see… Once I could carry you in my arms. Each one of you." She reminded them, feeling emotional. "I had you inside me, and now… Look at you, using the tallest vessels you could have. It is not fair that I need to look up to look at you, you used to be so small." Her sweet voice broke.
Gabriel pulled her to a hug before anyone else, but they were all around the mother in a second, squeezing her in their arms.
"Okay, okay." Cassiopeia dried her tears away with the back of her hands. "Now go to your rooms, find a way to make them yours and let me have a moment with your Father, okay?"
Raphael made a disgusted face.
"Last time you had a moment with Father you told us you were expecting Gabriel." He reminded her.
"And I'm proud of it." She stated, taking a breath. "Now go, go."
The four of them complied, and Cassiopeia climbed the stairs to the 3rd floor, entering her room and meeting Chuck, who was sat on the bed.
She looked at him with huge eyes, half excited, half afraid.
"You are a minx, you know that?" He pointed at her.
She shrugged.
"You love me." She stated, and he didn't protest.
Cassiopeia walked to his direction, sitting on his lap with her legs on each side of his body. Chuck's hand landed on her waist and he looked up to meet her eyes.
"Thank you." He whispered. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
She shook her head, leaning down to kiss his lips.
"So." She caressed his face with her thumbs. "You said you had an idea."
His face lightened up.
"Oh, yes." He caressed her back. "I was thinking that maybe we could marry again."
She was surprised.
"Really?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "It is been… Five decades?"
"1962, yeah."
Cassiopeia and Chuck married many times in their lives. Every time tradition changed, they married again. They celebrated weddings in Rome, Greece, Egypt…
"Okay." She smiled down at him, kissing his lips again.
"Okay. Now, I just had this idea. We could make a family reunion."
Her eyes widened.
"You mean…"
"Yep." He nodded. "Every single one of the kids, Amara too."
Cassiopeia pondered. It wasn't a bad idea; they needed to spend time with the rest of their children
"We can arrange that." She agreed. "Oh, and the Winchesters. I think Castiel has a crush on Dean, but I'm not sure. I'll sit down with him soon." She affirmed and looked at him in expectation. "And the other idea is…"
He bit down his lip, and she knew her mate was up to something significant.
"I was thinking that, maybe…" He took a breath, nervous. "Maybe we could have one more kid."
She was surprised.
"Chuck, we have plenty of kids."
"Yes, I know." He held her tighter. "But I want a baby. The four boys were the only babies we had; the other kids were born full adults. I want to see you round again, want to get up at night to soothe a hungry kid… Do you remember when you had Gabriel?"
"Of course I do."
"Think of it again." He affirmed, excited. "Have a life inside you once again, come up with names…"
"Change diapers." Cassiopeia finished his sentence.
"I'll help you this time." He promised. "I promise I won't create another planet."
"Do you promise?" She looked in his now piercing blue eyes.
"I promise in God's name." He stated, joking.
She shook her head but smiled.
"Fine." She sighed. "Let's have another kid"