Charlie and John were setting the huge table when Dean walked in to the dining room. He could already smell the food a room over in the kitchen, and couldn't help but wonder if there was pie in the works. Knowing Mary, he wouldn't doubt it.

Folding his arms, Dean leaned on the doorway as he formed a smile. Being back with his family was one of the best feelings he'd come to know. He could hear the chatter and laughter in the living room as the sun began to set. Dean could hear Bobby telling everyone about his camping trip with Jody and their kids and how they'd stumbled upon a bear. They were scared out of their minds, but Bobby chased him off with a stick. The man was crazy as hell.

Dean was staring at the table, distracted by the background voices, when Charlie wrapped her arms around his waist. Dean was caught by surprise, and he hugged her back, real tight. There was nothing better than unexpected hugs.

"Have you been enjoying yourself so far, Charlie?" Dean ran his fingers through her red hair, bending down to kiss his daughter's forehead.

Charlie looked up at Dean, nodding. "Have you?"

"Of course I have. I'd missed the family," Dean said, staring up at John, who was still busying himself at the table. John had never been an affectionate father, but he'd been a good one. Dean wanted to be the best dad to his two daughters, but there were times when he felt defeated.

As though she could read his mind, Charlie squeezed her arms tighter around him. "I love you so much, daddy."

Dean smiled. "I love you, sweetheart."

Someone bumped shoulders with Dean, walking in to the room. It was Sam, wearing a black Stetson. Dean blinked at him for a few seconds before laughing breathlessly.

Sam waited for Dean to compose himself with a smirk. "Don't I look handsome?"

Dean turned Charlie around so she could look at her uncle, and she giggled. "You look like a real cowboy, Sammy," Dean said amusedly. "Where'd you even find that?"

"Cas brought it with him," Sam said, tipping the hat in the front, looking mysterious. "He says he carries all sorts of props in his trunk for photo shoots. Cool, huh?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "If you say so."

Sam turned to John, who was done with the table. "Dad, how do I look?"

"Like a moron in a hat," John called back, snickering.

Sam waved him off, huffing out a breath. "I look good. I'm going to buy one for myself."

Dean turned to Charlie, and they smiled at each other. "Send us some pictures. We'll hang them up to scare off the spiders in the attic."

Sam crouched down to mess up Charlie's hair. "You don't lie, Charlie. Tell me, do I look silly in this?"

"No, I like it. Cowboys are my favorite," Charlie said.

Dean shook his head, knowing that was all on him. Sundays at his house were filled with old western films.

Moments later, everyone was gathered at the dinner table. Adam had forced Dean to sit down next to Cas, while Adam sat to his other side. He really was stuck on Dean getting to know his new catch, and Dean didn't know how to say no to his little brother. Besides, Cas wasn't bad company at all.

Somehow, the conversation had shifted over to Cas because his family didn't seem to have enough of him. Cas was overly polite, and he didn't seem bothered by the attack of questions. Dean turned to him, smiling pensively as Cas talked about his job and hobbies. Apparently, he could sing. Dean wondered what his voice would sound like singing a Bob Dylan song, or anything by the Rolling Stones.

"I can play piano," Dean said after taking a sip of his homemade lemonade.

Cas turned to him, eyes wide in shock. "Can you really? You're a man of many talents, aren't you, Dean?"

Dean shrugged sheepishly, scraping his fork against his plate.

"Cas, what are you most afraid of?" Charlie asked, tilting her head to the side. She seemed genuinely curious. "I'm afraid of spiders and crawly things. Are you?"

Cas hummed, appearing to think hard on the answer. He looked very serious as he answered, "I am deathly afraid of falling."

"Falling?" Charlie asked, confused.

"Yeah, I mean, all types of falling is scary. You could get seriously hurt."

"I hear that," Jody said. "Heights terrorize me."

Cas grinned, locking eyes with Dean, quickly, before looking back at his plate. "Yeah, well, there are always risks in life. What's one more?"

Adam laughed softly. "Don't worry, Cas. You can drown me with your fears because I won't let you sink alone anymore. That's what I'm here for."

Swallowing down hard, Dean stared around the room. Holy fucking crap. That was a line directly from The Life of Kevin. Adam was sweet talking Cas with Dean's words? How long had this been going on?

Cas placed his hand on top of Adam's on the table, and it made Dean feel sick. "He always knows exactly what to say."

"It comes out naturally. You mean more to me than waking up to the sound of the rain," Adam said, squeezing Castiel's hand.

Son of a bitch. That's from my first novel.

Dean looked around the table, but his family seemed to be engaged in separate conversations, except for one person. Sam shifted in his chair, looking uncomfortable. He shook his head at Dean from across the table, and Dean glared back at him. How was he supposed to let this go? Those were Dean's words, not Adam's.

"Pie," Dean said, trying to keep his anger under control. "Is there any pie, Mom? I'd really like some pie."

Mary glanced at him, furrowing her brow. "Yes, it's in the kitchen. Dean, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'll be right back." Dean got out of his seat, heading straight for the kitchen, but his feet led him right out the backdoor. The night was quiet, and he could hear the sound of the lake, despite the lack of waves. His family would be waiting for him, but Dean didn't want to go back inside. It was one thing to accept that Castiel was completely out of reach, but this? This crossed all the lines. How could Adam do that, right in front of him? "Fuck," Dean cursed at the wind.

When he went back in the kitchen, he could still hear everyone in the dining room, laughing and talking normally. He ignored the instant pang of betrayal and cut up a slice of pie, eating it alone on the kitchen counter.

He went back to the dining room when the table had cleared and he helped Jody and Bobby clean up the mess. As a family, they took turns with the chores around the house, switching it up every day. It wasn't Dean's turn to do this, but he needed a distraction.

That night, Dean went to check on his girls before going to bed. Emma and Charlie were staying in a room with Henry and Jesse—Sam's boys. But when Dean pushed open the door, he saw Castiel and Jessica sitting on one of the beds, both smiling. The room was filled with the props Sam had mentioned earlier. Charlie was wearing the Stetson, and Henry had on a pair of sunglasses and a blue lightsaber. Emma was holding an expensive-looking camera, and Jesse was playing with a beach ball.

"Hey, Dean," Jess said, catching the ball Jesse tossed her way. "Come on in. We were just getting the kids ready for bed."

"That's why I'm here, actually," Dean said, narrowing his eyes on Emma. He'd given her a lot of space today. In fact, they hadn't shared more than a few words. He really hoped Cas' advice would work. "But these guys don't look like they're going to sleep any time soon."

"That might be my fault," Cas said with a shrug. "Emma asked if she could take a look at my camera, and I thought I'd just bring them all the toys I carry around. I don't particularly need them anymore."

Dean nodded, forcing his eye contact with Cas to stay to a minimum. He liked looking at their pretty blue color more than he wanted to admit. "Awfully nice of you, Cas." Dean folded his arms. He watched Charlie skip around the room wearing the black hat and he smiled to himself.

"It was nothing," Cas said.

Emma turned to Dean with the camera and snapped a picture with a blinding flash. "Gotcha!"

"Please delete that," Dean said, suddenly mortified. That was Cas' camera. "I think I blinked."

Emma shook her head, smirking from the other side of the camera. "I need blackmail material. This will do just fine."

Dean sighed. "Emma."

His daughter said nothing else to him. She turned to Cas and Jess, taking a picture of both of them. "You know, you're very photogenic, Cas. You too, Aunt Jess, but Cas comes out looking like a boss. Like a real boss, someone who's in charge."

Cas laughed and scratched the back of his neck. "I should probably try to dress more casual while I'm here." He was probably right, but Dean wished he hadn't noticed. After working out and showering, Cas had put on another black suit and his tan trench coat. It was a good look on him.

"Nah, I kind of dig the tax accountant look," Emma said, returning the camera back to Cas. "Do me a favor and email me those pictures. Like I said, blackmail material."

Immediately, Cas turned to Dean, asking him a silent question. Dean just nodded his approval, and Cas turned back to Emma. "I'll send them your way as soon as I can."

"Sweet. Thanks, Cas. You're actually kind of cool." Emma gave Cas an abrupt hug, leaving everyone as shocked as Dean felt. Emma wasn't big on hugs, aside from birthdays and Christmas. This was big.

Cas and Jess both picked up the props and put them in a duffle bag. Dean tucked Charlie in bed as Jessica did the same with her boys. Emma was texting in bed, and Dean resisted the urge to ask who she could possibly be texting at this time at night, but he didn't. Finally, they all exited the room, turning off the light behind them.

"That was weird," Jess said, looking from Cas to Dean.

"Tell me about it," Dean said, shaking his head.

"What what weird?" Cas asked.

"Are you kidding me? Emma hugged you!" Jess said.

Cas cocked his head to the side. "Yes, I'm aware. What's your point?"

"She doesn't do the hugging thing with people," Dean explained. "Personal space issues." Emma got that from Dean, of course.

Cas rolled his eyes at Dean. "That's quite absurd."

"Don't believe us," Jess said, turning and walking away. "I'm too tired to argue about this. Good night, boys."

"'Night, Jess," Dean and Cas said in unison.

Then there was just them two on the dimly lit hallway, while everyone else settled in their rooms to sleep. Dean looked away for a moment, trying to form a simple word of dismissal, but it seemed close to impossible. His fucking palms were sweating, for crying out loud.

"Sleep well, Dean," Cas said, clearing his throat.

"Yeah, you too." Dean lifted his eyes long enough to catch Cas' sweet smile that reached his eyes. "See you tomorrow."

Dean thought he heard Castiel's name being called, most likely by Adam, and he started moving down the stairs before his brother came out of his room.

This morning, Dean didn't miss breakfast with his family. He woke up just in time to see Castiel making pancakes in the kitchen, while Adam leaned on the counter watching his progress. Dean cleared his throat, in case he was interrupting something.

"Dean, guess what?" Adam said, smiling broadly. "Cas can actually cook!"

Cas laughed, flipping a pancake over. "Breakfast, mostly."

"I thought you guys were living together..." Dean said slowly.

"Not yet," Adam said, standing up straight. He walked behind Cas to open the fridge and poured himself a glass of milk. "But if it were up to me, we'd already have a house together."

Cas frowned at his next pancake, and Dean walked closer in the room. "How long have you known each other?"

Adam took a long drink of his milk and set the glass down on the counter, wiping the milk from his upper lip. "I don't know—two, three months?"

Dean narrowed his eyes on Cas. "And you didn't know Cas could make breakfast?" Something about that just seemed odd.

"Well, it's hard to have more than one meal together when I have to be at work most of the time," Adam said, yawning and stretching. "Cas gets it. Don't you, hon?"

Cas chewed on his bottom lip as he stacked the pancake on a large plate. "Yeah," was all he answered.

Dean sighed, feeling sympathetic towards Cas. It hurt to see how oblivious Adam was about what his work life was doing to his relationship. Dean had barely met Cas, but he felt like he already knew him better. The man was unhappy about the mention of Adam's absence, about something as simple as not being able to eat a meal together. Why couldn't Adam remove his damn blindfold and see this?

It wasn't Dean's job to interfere, though, so he kept his mouth shut. After all, he was still pissed about his youngest brother stealing his words.

"I'm gonna go call everyone to the table. Be right back," Adam said, heading to the lively living room.

Dean got comfortable on a high stool on the other side of the counter. He still felt half asleep, but the smell of pancakes had awoken his stomach. Cas smiled at him before he started humming a song. Dean leaned his elbows on the counter, and his chin in his hands, as he listened. He thought he recognized the song. Cas was humming "You Are My Sunshine."

Dean didn't comment on it, but sooner than later, he was mouthing the words to the familiar tune. Cas lifted his head, locking his crystal blue eyes with Dean. Before Dean knew it, they were singing.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away…"

When Cas had claimed to know how to sing, he wasn't kidding. His voice was deep and strong, and it carried out with the melody of the song. Dean had stopped singing halfway through just so he could listen and smile.

His family had scurried off to the dining table, interrupting Castiel's singing, but Dean had heard enough to keep him smiling. Neither of them said anything else, but Dean got up to join the table.

He noticed Emma was missing.

"She's in the room," Charlie said as soon as Dean asked. Dean thanked her before he went upstairs to find Emma.

The room was empty, but he heard the shower running and figured it was her. In that instant, he heard a vibration coming from the still open bedroom. Somewhat muffled underneath something. A pillow?

Dean went back in the room, searching for the sound. It had to be a cell phone. Finally, he lifted the mattress and found Emma's cell phone. It was still vibrating, but it wasn't a phone call. It was a set of long messages.

Dean was about to set the phone back down when he accidentally glanced at the latest text displayed on the screen. Something about seeing those words on his daughter's cell phone didn't sit right with him. Dean gaped at the cell phone in his hand as he fearfully opened up the entire conversation.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God." Dean's hands started shaking, and he thought his eyes were on fire. "Son of a bitch!"

Whoever "Trevor" was, he was filthy, and utterly repulsive. But that wasn't the most shocking discovery Dean had made. Emma answered him with equally dirty things. What the hell was that girl thinking? Dean did not teach her those things.

"Fuck," Dean said, gripping the phone as he ran downstairs. He paused at the head of the table, behind John, panting as his heart raced.

"Dean," Sam said, "what the hell?"

"Help!" Dean called, lifting up the phone. "I need help, now! Major emergency. Single dad cannot deal with this kind of crap emergency."

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Mary asked, getting out of her chair.

There were children in the room, and Dean felt wrong even holding his daughter's phone. He shook his head and walked out of the house, towards the lake. He heard a couple footsteps behind him, and when he stopped and turned, he nearly bumped into Sam, Jess, Adam, and Cas.

"I didn't need a whole army," Dean said, but then thought about what he'd read and nodded. "Okay, yes I do. Just take this." Dean handed the phone over to Sam, and watched as his brother's face went from confused to understanding, and then to completely upset.

"What is it?" Jess asked, taking the phone from Sam's hand. She passed it along, all the way down to Cas.

"Whoa, that was way more than I needed to know," Adam said.

"Dean," Cas said calmly, "this is clearly a violation of your daughter's privacy." He offered Dean back the phone, but Dean didn't take it.

"It was an accident!" Dean said, folding his arms and glaring at the stupid phone in Castiel's hand. "God, it's like I don't even know my daughter. What if she's pregnant?"

"Don't be stupid, Dean," Jess said. "You can't get pregnant from texting."

"No, no, you obviously don't get it, Jess," Dean said, throwing his hands in the air. "If she's doing this, thinking like this, what makes you think she's not actually out there doing it? God knows if she even knows this guy."

"Sounds to me like she really does," Adam said.

Dean ran his hands through his hair, unable to keep them still. "What am I going to tell her when she comes downstairs? How am I going to face her now, after this? And I told her she couldn't have a boyfriend until I met him, but she clearly doesn't give a damn about my rules."

"I sure feel glad I don't have a daughter," Sam said.

Dean groaned. "Sammy."

"Okay, why don't I go talk to her?" Jess suggested. "Would that make you feel better?"

"Yes, it would," Dean acknowledged.

"Great, so let's go back inside because I'm freezing." Jess turned to Cas. "You're coming with me, in case she gets violent."

"Why me?" Cas asked.

"She hugged you, which means she doesn't hate you. That's more than I can say about anyone else here," Jess said.

As they all walked back inside, Cas turned to Dean, narrowing his eyes. "You were supposed to give her space, not spy on her private conversations."

"It was an accident," Dean said, raising his eyebrows.

"Dean, accidents don't happen accidentally," Sam said.

Jess actually laughed, but she always laughed at Sam's jokes, even when he didn't know he was joking. "Come on, Cas, let's gets this show on the road."

Ten minutes later, Dean heard a skin crinkling shriek coming from upstairs, and Dean ran for it, grabbing his keys on the way out. Today more than ever, Dean was grateful for his family.