A/n: Sadness in this chapter. But also more Ellen and some brotherly luff. ^^

-How I wish, how I wish you were here. We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year, running over the same old ground. What have we found? The same old you were here.-

When Dean gets home from work Sam is already asleep on the couch. Domino is lying next to it but lifts his head when he hears Dean come in. As quiet as he tries to be he can't fool the dog's ears. He gets up, shakes his massive head, stretches some and then walks up to his master, pushing his head into the man's hand. Dean smiles as he crouches down in front of the door, scratching behind the big dog's ears.

"Hey. You taking care of Sammy for me?" he asked, earning a lick to the side of his face. He chuckled quietly at that and ran his hands over the dog's head and neck one more time before he stood up and headed for the bedroom.

Remy is in her crate and the cat is curled up on the bed, sleeping, already warming up the pillow where he will eventually lay his head. With a smile, albeit a tired one, he goes over to Remy's crate and crouches down, sliding his fingers through the pars of the cage and letting her sniff and lick them. He has been doing some training with her, trying to get her used to the cat and she's better than she had been at one time. It used to be she wouldn't be allowed out of her crate at all if the cat was inside. Now, so long as he put up a baby gate, Remy could stay in the kitchen while the cat roamed. He still didn't think it was a good idea to leave the two alone while he was sleeping, though, so crated the young dog at night.

"Hey, baby girl," he says as he crouches down to slide his fingers through the bars of the crate and let her lick him. "I know, I missed you too," he says quietly, rubbing the top of her nose once she's finished licking at his fingers. "As soon as the cat is outside again or you two start to get along then we can let you out again at night," he murmurs.

As if on cue the cat lifts his head groggily then lets out a little mewl as it yawns and stretches before jumping off the bed and trotting over so he can rub his head on Dean's legs. Remy's ears perk and she leans down as the cat slinks past, sniffing at his tail when it brushes against the crate. With a bright smile Dean gently strokes his fingers over the cat's back.

"Awe, see… You two are going to be friends in no time. It used to be you'd nearly shake the house barking your little head off every time he came into view," he praises, getting up from his crouch with a soft groan. "I must be getting old," he mutters, pouting a little as he rubs his hand against his lower back.

The man yawns quietly as he strips his clothes, tossing them into hamper in the corner of the room. It is starting to over flow a bit and he wrinkles his nose at the thought of doing laundry. He never has liked the task all that much. With a quiet sigh he crawls into his bed and lies flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. The cat lets out a little 'mrow' then jumps up onto the bed, curling up beside Dean's head.

Dean smiles and moves to scoop the cat up, placing the small, warm body on his chest and scratching under the feline's chin, earning loud, pleased purrs. With a soft chuckle Dean slowly moves the hand to stroke over the creature's back, slightly calloused hands gliding over silky, soft fur. And as he lay there in the dark he can't really help but remember Castiel's bright, blue eyes. Even just imagining the other man's gaze on him makes him blush just a little bit.

The cat mewls.

"There's this new guy at work," Dean says quietly, his eye half lidded, as he continues petting the cat, enjoying the warmth radiating from the cat and the purr that he can feel against his chest. "He's got the bluest eyes I've ever seen… And a weird name but I like it," he murmurs, smiling softly as he closes his eyes. "I've probably never even told you I like men, have I?" he laughs and tilts his head back, closing his eyes. "You don't even know what that means do you? Never really had a reason to, I guess, not like any of my one-nighters are important enough to really talk about with anyone," he says, smiling softly when he feels the cat lean up to lick his chin.

Dean laughs quietly at the lick and the cat slid off his chest, leaving the warm spot it had created to go cold. The animal's small, wet, cold nose sniffs along his jaw, to his ear where his whiskers and fur and the huff and puff of his breath tickle the man into laughing quietly and rubbing his shoulder against his ear.

"Stop that!" Dean demands, smiling as he scoops the cat back up and plants him on his chest again. "Sometimes I think you understand more than I think you do," he says softly, rubbing the back of his finger against the cat's cheek, his eyes half lidded. Even if he doesn't want to have his ears tickled he has to admit that the cat successfully distracted him from any sad or brooding thoughts.

Any time Dean thinks of another man or had sex he wonders what his mother would think of him now. He wonders if she would be disappointed or even hate him for being gay. He doubts it, though. He can never picture his mother being anything but loving. The man can't imagine Mary's face twisted into an angry scowl, or her gentle eyes glaring at him in revulsion. Deep down he knows that no matter what his mother would always love him, no matter what.

He smiles softly, clutches the cat to his chest, rolling over onto his side before he gently lowers it down to the mattress. The cat mewls and shakes itself off then crawls up to the pillow, beside Dean's head and lays there, purring loudly as Dean slowly drifts off to sleep.

-Godspeed, little man, sweet dreams, little man. Oh my love will fly to you each night on angel's wings. Godspeed, sweet dreams.-

It is late in the morning when the phone rings, Dean is out with the dogs so Sam answers and to his surprise his greeting of,

"Hello, Dean Winchester's residence, can I help you?"

Is met with Mrs. Moore's voice.

The mother of his now dead fiancé is calling Dean?

"Sam? Sam is that you? " her voice is full of relief and also thick with unshed tears.

"M… Mrs. Moore. Why are you calling my brother?" he asks, confused as he moves to sit in one of the chairs at the small kitchen table.

"We were looking for you. We…" a pause, "We wanted to let you and your brother to know that Jess's Funeral is today…."

Sam almost tunes her voice out after that.

She talks about how they weren't sure where he was and how since the fire… Because of the fire they weren't going to have a viewing and there was no reason to put off the burial.

He can't remember hanging up but the next thing he knows his brother is standing in front of him, eyes wide and worried as he gently shakes his brother and calls his name.

He can't remember what he says but he can recall the sadness in Dean's face before his big brother pulls him into a tight hug.

He can't remember getting up and getting dressed but he must have because when he finds himself being led out of the car by Dean he is in a suit and so is his brother.

He can't remember a damn thing that the preacher says about Jess or her family or him and he moves on auto pilot as he is lead by Mrs. and Mr. Moore out of the church and to the burial site while his brother moves to help carry the casket.

He can remember staring into that gaping hole in the ground as Jess and her coffin are slowly lowered into it while he sits, front and center, with Jess' family. He remembers the feeling of his throat closing and his body quivering as he fights back tears. His brother's hand comes up from between the seats and rests on his right shoulder. Then another hand, his father's rests on the back of his neck and Bobby's takes the left and he feels his resolve break.

Remembers sobbing and hands touching his back and shoulders, the people he loves letting him know that they are here and that they love him.

-Is it a kind of dream floating out on the tide following the river of death downstream, oh is it a dream? There's a fog along the horizon, a strange glow in the sky and nobody seems to know where it goes and what does it mean? Oh is it a dream?-

Castiel went to work that night, even though he knows that Dean won't be there. It isn't like he can only go when Dean is there after all. He does need to keep the job, if only so that he can talk to Dean and let him get to know him as a man and not a cat. Sam made it very clear in his plan that if or when Castiel got this job he would have to keep it.

He works his shift with Ellen behind the bar and when The Roadhouse is closing he stays behind, taking a seat with Ellen at one of the many tables. She looks up but doesn't ask any questions, just gives him empty salt shakers to fill up. And for a little while they work together in silence.

"If you don't mind me asking," he finally says, pausing to roll the sleeves of his light blue dress shirt up his arms. "Where is Dean tonight?" he asks, going back to filling up the salt shakers.

"He's with his brother and Daddy right now. His brother's fiancé died recently and they held her funeral today. I couldn't ask Dean to just leave his brother after that," she says quietly, putting the salt down and closing her eyes, the woman trying to lock away any emotions fighting to get out.

Of course Cas already knows this. He watched Sam get the call and watched as his brother dressed him and got his big little brother in the car. However, from stories he has heard about Ellen from Dean he thinks that she is someone he's going to need to get on the good side of. However the sadness he's seen in the woman's eyes all night does make him wonder how she's handling all this. Slowly he reaches out and takes her hand in his, gently rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. She looks up, surprised at the action and at the sympathy in her new employee's fathomless blue eyes.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Did you know her well?" he asks, not letting go of the woman's hand nor trying to hold it more tightly. Ellen smiles some.

"I knew her well enough. When Sam decided to introduce her to his family he brought her here and he, she, Dean, and John ate here, got to know each other a little. After that she started coming over to Sunday dinners with the rest of us." She pauses and her hand tightens around Castiel's. "She was sweet, got along with everyone real well."

Ellen smiles some and her eyes get a little glassy with tears unshed.

"John got the boys a basket ball hoop put up outside the house where the ground is hard enough to bounce a ball and um… Heh… Jess, Jo, Sam and Dean would play basket ball together, Jess and Jo against Sam and Dean."

"You all must have cared about her very much," Castiel says gently, squeezing Ellen's hand when she squeezes his. The woman sniffs and reaches up to rub her hand over her mouth.

"We did. She was already almost part of the family. All she and Sam had to do was get married. Oh, Poor Sam," the woman said, closing her eyes for a moment. "I still remember how bad it was when Bill died," she said quietly, pulling her hand away from Castiel's to twist the wedding band she still wore on her left hand.

Castiel let her go easily and fiddled with a salt shaker.

"That isn't all that's bothering you, though, is it?" he prods gently.

Ellen closes her eyes and sucks in a shaky breath.

"I just. She was so young I can't… I can't imagine putting my little girl in the ground like that. I don't know how Mrs. Moore could…" her voice fades away and anything else she was going to say is left unsaid.

"Jo will come back, Mrs. Harvelle," Castiel says, getting a feeling that fear for her own daughter was really getting to the older woman. Her eyes turn to Cas' shock evident in them. He smiles softly.

"Dean told me that Jo tends to wander but she always comes back. I'm sure she'll be home again soon." Ellen smiles a little at that and starts to fill up salt shakers again.

"You like, Dean, don't you," she says after a moment, the comment more of a statement than the question it sounds like. Castiel almost drops his salt shaker.

"How did you know?" he asks, squirming just a little bit. He honestly hadn't thought that the woman would find out about his attraction to the other man so quickly. Ellen just let out a huff.

"You watched him like a hawk last night. I don't recall you ever taking your eyes off the boy. And you seem to derive far too much pleasure in making him blush," she states simply, screwing the top onto a salt shaker. Castiel just blushes a bit more and rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I can't help it if he looks cute when he blushes," he finally mutters, filling up another salt shaker. He is quiet for a moment before looking up at Ellen again, his head tilting to the side. "Do you dislike the fact that I like him?" he finally asks and Ellen just snorts.

"No. You're free to try and get into his pants. He doesn't need me to protect his virtue," she says watching the man blush just a little more.

"I don't just want to get into his pants," Castiel muttered, pouting just a bit as he played with his salt shaker. Ellen smiles just a little bit.

"Well if you do manage to worm your ways into his heart just keep in mind that Dean is like family to a lot of people, so if you hurt him you'll have more than your fair share of people scrambling to beat the shit out of you," she stated bluntly. The dark haired man across the table looked truly offended at that.

"I wouldn't hurt him!" he exclaims, biting back anything else he wants to say because he has to keep pretending that he doesn't know Dean because he is supposed to be the new guy in town, not the cat that hangs out around Dean Winchester's house.

"I don't think anybody really sets out to but they always seem to manage it," Ellen mutters darkly, more to herself than Cas. "Anyway, speaking of family do you have any around here?" she asks and Castiel feels himself calm down just a bit as he starts to fill up the shakers again.

"No. My mother died a few years ago, never really knew who my father was. My brothers and sisters and I sort of went our separate ways…" he says, which isn't too far from the truth.

He had been born to some nameless alley cat, along with two other kittens. As soon as they could take care of themselves they struck out on their own but he stayed with his mother the longest. He never knew who his father was but he had been with his mother when she finally lay down to die.

Ellen frowned at the admission of his lack of family. She hummed quietly and tilted her head to the side.

"Why don't you come eat with us tomorrow," she finally says, looking up at the younger man. Cas is surprised by the offer.

"You mean with you and Jo? I wouldn't want to impose," he says, squirming a little bit and glancing up at the woman.

"Well me, Jo, Ash, Dean, Sam, John, and Bobby," she says, shrugging a shoulder. "And you wouldn't be imposing. Dean seems to have a knack for finding people who either don't have family or don't have enough family and he collects them every Sunday for dinner," she says with a little smile. "He just doesn't think people should always be alone."

Castiel smiles softly, that sounds like his Dean.

"Alright, well if you're sure that Dean and the others wouldn't mind, I'll come," he says and Ellen smiles.

"Good, meet me here and I'll give you a ride," she says, and for a while after that they are quiet and they fill salt shakers.

-Down. I need a fix cos I'm going down, down to the bits that I left uptown. I need a fix cos I'm going down. –

Dean is sitting in his brother's bed, in their old home. He is still in his suit and Sam is laying beside him, an arm thrown over his hips and face pressed into his side. The young man hums quietly, running his fingers through his little brother's hair. Sam had fallen asleep crying with Dean humming, holding, and petting him like he did when they were younger and his little brother would come to him crying about a nightmare.

Of course that had stopped as they got older but Dean doesn't mine picking up with the touchy feely stuff again. His brother needs him and if hugging, holding, humming, and petting his brother will ease some of the younger man's pain he'll do it. He'll do anything for Sammy; even engage in these chick flick moments that he tries to avoid because they make him feel slightly awkward.

"…If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now, it's just a spring clean for the May queen. Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run there's still time to change the road you're on. And it makes me wonder…"

His voice slowly trails off and he just looks down at his brother, biting his lip. He promises that he won't let his brother end up like his father. He promises that he won't let his brother drown himself in alcohol.

He just doesn't know if he is making the promises for himself or his brother.

-I've gotta drinkin' problem man one mouth and two hands and an empty can I ain't got no loochie loochie. And yall don't understand I'm just a simple man, doin' the best I can without no loochie.-

A/n: Poor Sammy D: At least he has Dean to make everything better. The lyrics used for line breaks are from he following songs. Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd. Bright Eyes, by Art Garfunkel. Happiness is a Warm Gun, The Beatles. Drinking Problem, by Rehab.