During the night, Dean woke to an empty bed, although Castiel's side was still warm, as though the angel had not long gotten up. The hunter yawned, then shuffled out of bed, rubbing at his eyes tiredly as he stood and made his way to the kitchen, to find out what Castiel wanted when he heard noises in there.
"What are you looking for, sweetheart?" Dean asked, in concern, one arm wrapped around his lover's waist as he dropped a kiss to Castiel's cheek.
"Eggs. I must have eggs," Castiel mumbled, trying to find some in the fridge but having little luck with his search.
"Eggs? Seriously? I don't think Bobby has got any," Dean commented as he peered into the fridge beside his lover and scanned the shelves himself.
"You'll have to get me some," Castiel said, turning pleading eyes onto Dean, the light from the fridge playing over his face and making him seem beautiful to Dean.
"It's five in the morning, Cas," Dean yawned, as he rubbed Castiel's back tenderly.
Castiel continued to stare at Dean, eyes wide and beguiling and Dean sighed. He could never deny Castiel a thing; even less so when he looked at him with what Dean termed his puppy dog eyes of doom.
"Okay, Cas, I'll get you an Egg McMuffin from McDonald's, okay? Give me about a half hour," Dean relented, making Castiel smile at him gratefully.
"Six," Castiel suddenly said, when Dean turned away.
The hunter looked over his shoulder and asked - "Come again?"
"I want six," Castiel said, hopefully.
"Six Egg McMuffins?" Dean asked, with a small chuckle. "You sure you don't want seven?"
"No, six is perfect," Castiel replied, missing the irony of Dean's question as usual.
"Okay, six it is then," Dean relented, pulling on his jacket and kissing Castiel's pliant mouth in goodbye.
Castiel smiled when the hunter leant down to press a kiss to his pregnant abdomen, before turning to leave. A few seconds after walking out of the door, the hunter returned, expressionlessly heading up to their bedroom to put on his jeans and boots. Castiel was still smiling when Dean left for a second time, cheeks flushing pink with embarrassment.
Dean watched Castiel finish the last of his Egg McMuffins, eyes resting gently on his lover's face as he kissed the angel's knuckles gently, firm lips pressing against warm skin. Castiel sucked his long fingers, removing the last of the grease before settling back against the pillows supporting his back, before sighing happily.
"You good now?" Dean asked, yawning wearily, before he pressed another kiss to Castiel's knuckles, lips lingering against the band circling his finger gently.
"Yes, Dean. Thank you," Castiel replied, turning his liquid blue gaze onto Dean, making the hunter smile wearily at him.
"No problem," he murmured, settling his head against Castiel's shoulder and sighing tiredly.
Castiel smiled down at him, arm wrapping gently around his lover's shoulders as Dean slipped into sleep, hand resting tenderly on Castiel's distended abdomen. Dean looked so peaceful, carefree as he slept and Castiel loved to watch him, to press kisses to his eyelids whenever the hunter looked ready to wake, to send him to sleep once more.
He smiled every time Dean settled in closer, arm circling his thick waist every time Castiel shifted and moved, as though even in sleep, Dean was looking after him and their children. Castiel purred in contentment, nuzzled the top of Dean's head and watched the smile curl the hunter's sleeping mouth gently. The angel waited patiently until Dean woke properly, caressing his arm tenderly and watching over him as he slept.
The next two days were a whirl of activity, as the Winchester family and Bobby set about organising Dean and Castiel's civil partnership. Because they were so close to Ohio, their partnership counted as a marriage, and Bobby knew of a pastor sympathetic towards hunters to marry them in Bobby's home. Dean offered to invite Gabriel to the wedding, but Sam had shaken his head, unconvinced that the archangel would even show.
No one other than their immediate circle were going to attend, which satisfied everyone, preferring a quiet, more relaxed ceremony. Dean and Castiel picked out suits, Elisha sorted the food, while Bobby organised the particulars regarding the wedding itself. Everyone had their role and the arrangements went smoothly.
The wedding day dawned, and the familiar sights and sounds of Bobby's house surrounded them in its comforting embrace as Castiel stared at the pastor standing before him. His large blue eyes blinked owlishly, intense gaze turning first from the pastor to Dean beside him, as Dean repeated the vows from the pastor. Dean looked awkward, his suit too formal, too restrictive, scratchy at the neck, yet still he persevered. He wanted to go through with this, discomfort or no discomfort. When he finished, he turned to face Castiel, smiled in encouragement as the angel repeated his own vows, never taking his eyes from Dean's.
Castiel looked radiant, pregnant stomach skilfully hidden beneath the hired suit, looking for all the world like an overweight man, rather than a pregnant one. Despite Bobby's assurances that the pastor was sympathetic to the supernatural, no one was willing to expose a pregnant angel to him nevertheless.
When his vows were spoken, the pastor asked them to sign the appropriate documents, agreeing they wanted to be officially recognised as a wedded couple, before Dean leant in to kiss Castiel. The angel leant in closer, mouth working hungrily at Dean's, pleasure coiling through him at the thought he was kissing his husband. Dean felt his responsiveness, responded in kind, mouth opening beneath Castiel's onslaught and allowing the angel to slip his tongue inside his mouth.
He felt turned on, hungry to take Castiel into the bedroom and enjoy married sex, yet he knew he couldn't in his husband's currently gravid state. He felt Castiel flinch suddenly, cry out into his open mouth as he drew away, eyes large and filled with pain as he looked down at his own abdomen, one hand stretched over its plump surface protectively.
"Oh shit," Sam said, recognizing the situation for what it meant, before distracting the pastor, carefully leading him away with one arm slung over his shoulders to prevent him from turning round and spying what was going on.
Dean soon lost sight of his brother and the pastor, too distracted in easing Castiel to the ground and making sure he was comfortable with plenty of cushions around him, supporting his head and back. He tried to leave, in an attempt to get more cushions, but Castiel grabbed onto him with one strong hand, pleading with him with pain filled eyes to stay with him, to not leave him.
"Okay, baby, okay, I'm not leaving you," Dean told him, gently, settling beside him and making sure his head was comfortable in his lap.
Castiel tried to smile, reached up to cup Dean's face in one sweating hand, before he said - "You're a good man, Dean."
Dean gave him a lopsided smile, before saying - "You're gonna be fine, dude. Remember what you did last time? I need you to do it again. Breathe, sweetheart, breathe."
Castiel closed his eyes tightly before following Dean's instructions, barely noticing when Bobby rolled back into the room, looking dapper yet harassed in a hired suit, strange without his usual ball-cap covering his head. Dean looked up, continuously soothing Castiel's brow with one hand as Bobby told him that the doctor was on his way.
"Thanks, Bobby," Dean said quietly, before the elder hunter sent Elisha to get more beer, warm water, towels, anything to help with the delivery.
The young half angel went without question, knowing full well that she'd been born the same way and looking forward to being there when her new siblings were born. Last time, when Caelum had been born, she'd been fighting and had missed it.
"You've got a good kid, there, Dean," Bobby said to Dean, watching Elisha leave.
"Yeah, she is," Dean replied, before becoming distracted by Castiel once more.
Castiel had already delivered the first baby by the time the doctor had arrived, and Elisha was cleaning his small wrinkly body up, cooing to her new baby brother as he stared up at her. The doctor moved past her, knelt beside the still contracting Castiel, before helping to deliver the baby boy's twin sister with apparent ease.
Elisha gave Dean the small boy she was holding before setting to work on cleaning up her new sister, as Dean gazed down into his new son's face. He was quiet, seemingly transfixed by the new life he held in his arms, before he turned his gaze to his brother's, now back in the room and staring down at them. Sam was smiling, as was Bobby next to him.
"It doesn't get any less special, does it?" Dean asked, voice choked as he turned his gaze to the weary Castiel's.
The angel smiled, before laying one hand on his baby's abdomen gently. The small boy's fingers wrapped instinctively around Castiel's slender ones, making the angel smile down at him, large blue eyes blinking back tears at their newborn baby.
"Here, Dad," Elisha said, quietly, handing Castiel the newborn baby girl she'd cleaned up and the angel chucked the baby beneath the chin and made her gurgle and yawn in his arms.
The brief flare of a camera went off as Sam took a photo of the happy couple holding their twin babies, Elisha standing off to one side and staring happily down at them, capturing the moment perfectly.
-tbc-