Dean and Jess pulled up to the small restaurant they had all agreed on. They lost Sam and Cas somewhere along the way, but they couldn't be far behind.

The restaurant was a local favourite. It didn't look like anything special, but the food was well known to be some of the best in town.

As Dean stepped out of the impala, Cas and Sam were just pulling into the parking lot. They were followed closely by Gabriel driving Castiel's car.

Sam was laughing as he stepped down from the truck. "Yeah, I could have done that stuff for sure."

As Cas came around the front of the truck he was still talking to Sam. "It was terrible. I can understand the legal jargon, but it was a very slow and boring read. I am glad it's mostly over."

"Hey guys." Dean said as they walked towards them. Jess was still sitting in the car, she hadn't worked up the will to stand up quite yet.

"Saaaaaam" Jess called from the passenger's side of the impala. "Help meeeeee."

Sam went to help his wife up.

Dean grabbed Cas's hand when they were alone and pulled him in for a kiss.

"How was that? Sam didn't interrogate you too hard did he?" Dean asked.

"No." Cas laughed. "That was nice. Sam is very enjoyable to talk to. I like him a lot."

Dean smiled. "Yeah, me too."

"Ew, guys c'mon." Gabe said as he suddenly appeared from behind the truck.

"Shut up Gabe." Dean said as he quickly kissed Cas again before letting go.

Cas smiled at Dean. He was glad he was so comfortable with Gabe already.

"Unfortunately for you, shutting up is not in my nature." Gabe said as he came in closer.

Sam and Jess walked over to meet them.

"Are you feeling ok?" Cas asked Jess, she looked uncomfortable.

"Yeah I'm ok. Just fat and tired all the time." She sighed.

"I wasn't going to say anything." Gabe said as he turned to Jess. "Did you eat an entire turkey dinner to yourself? Or are you just usually this fat?"

Jess laughed at the comment. "I keep getting fatter these last eight months, I can't figure it out."

"Well, I wouldn't bother getting these guys to explain it to you." Gabe said as he pointed his thumb towards Dean and Cas. They both did dramatic eye rolls.

Gabe stepped forward. "I'm Gabriel, Gabe." He said holding his hand out to Sam.

"Sam." Sam said reaching out to complete the handshake. "This is my wife Jess."

"Hi Gabe, it's good to meet you." Jess said as she placed both of her hands over her belly and sighed again. "Can we go and sit down please?"

"Yeah." Dean laughed. "Let's move it."

They entered the restaurant and were led to a large booth not long after they put their name down. It was fairly busy inside, so they were pleased to be seated so quickly.

After Gabriel had slid himself into the booth, Cas followed beside him. Once everyone was seated Gabe turned to Cas and grabbed the collar of his shirt.

"What the heck? Did Meg get you?" Gabe asked, checking out his brothers markings.

Cas blushed. "Uh, no."

Jess piped up across from them. "You should see the rest of him."

Dean groaned.

"Ew. Ew. Ew." Gabe said. "No thank you."

Sam and Jess laughed, while Dean and Cas looked mortified.

"If you're keeping this one, I'd invest in some turtle necks." Gabe said.

Cas laughed. "I'm keeping him."

"Good." Gabe smirked. "So you're Dean's brother?" He said to Sam. "You must be where I can find all the dirt."

"Yep, I have a ton." Sam smiled.

"This was my idea?" Dean asked Cas.

"Yes, definitely your idea." Cas told him.

Dean sighed.

"Don't worry about it Dean, I have plenty on Castiel here to make up the difference." Gabe said.

"That's not making me feel better Gabe." Cas told him.

"It wasn't supposed to." Gabe laughed as he leaned across the table to talk to Sam and Jess.

"I wasn't that bad." Dean said to Cas, as they were cut out from the conversation.

Gabe started laughing hysterically at whatever Sam had told him. He looked back to Dean.

"You didn't?"

Gabe turned back in to Sam and Jess instead of waiting for an answer.

"Neither was I. I mean, I really wasn't. I don't think." Cas said worriedly to Dean, just before Sam and Jess started laughing themselves.

"No, that's cute." Jess laughed.

Cas looked at Dean like he wanted to either die, or punch him in the face.

Dean thought it may have been the cutest thing he had ever seen. He was glad he suggested this.

"Ok, enough guys." Dean said to the others to help bring Cas out of his misery.

Jess was smiling at Cas from across the table. Cas wished he knew whatever Gabe had just told her so he could understand it.

"Ok." Sam laughed.

A waitress came to their table then to hand them their menus.

"Hi guys. Sorry, we are swamped tonight! Can I get you some drinks?"

Everyone placed their drink orders and the small frantic waitress scurried off.

"Gabe." Sam started the conversation back up. "You're visiting too?"

"Yes sir!" Gabe said. "I am currently residing in Detroit, but I am heading over to California soon."

"What do you do?" Jess asked curiously.

Gabe looked around the table uncomfortably. He looked at Cas before turning back to the group.

"I'm and auditor." Gabe said.

Cas loved this. Gabriel never talked about himself seriously. Gabe was also very well educated and great in his field. He would travel around auditing businesses. While it wasn't exactly a popular job, Gabriel was amazing at it. And he got to travel. It really was perfect for him.

"Ooh. Dear." Sam said, his lawyer senses kicking in.

"Boooo." Jess said quietly beside him as Sam nudged her.

"I know, I know." Gabe said. "My work is not a popular subject. Please tell me yours is better?"

"Actually." Sam laughed. "I'm a lawyer."

"Ok, I feel better." Gabe said smiling at Sam. "And I guess you are a full time baby brewery these days?"

"Pretty much." Jess sighed.

The waitress showed back up with everyone's drinks.

"Please tell me you know your orders?" the waitress sighed. She was young, and seemed new. Everyone placed their orders and silently wished the waitress good luck as she left.

"I'm a full time pregnant lady." Jess said to Gabe. "I hear Deans on his way to being a bird man like Cas though, hey Dean?"

Dean laughed.

"I don't think so." He said. "That movie was pretty cool though. There were these birds, the brown ones." Dean asked Cas.

"Hawk probably." Cas said.

"Yeah, and it ate this whole rabbit!" Dean said excitedly. "It was awesome. Or the ones eating the dead stuff."

"Vultures." Cas laughed.

"Those were freaky." Dean said.

"Ugh, gross Dean." Jess moaned.

"You both need some serious mental tweetment." Gabe said, smiling and waiting.

Cas groaned and put his head back.

That's what Gabe was waiting for. He started laughing.

"Dean said you have a bird." Jess chimed in, speaking to Cas.

"I do. Meg. She's a palm cockatoo." Cas started telling Jess.

"She's a jerk." Gabe said rolling his eyes.

"What? No, she's my buddy." Dean told him.

"She hates me." Gabe said, as the waitress returned with their food.

Once everyone had been served the waitress turned away without another word.

"She doesn't like anyone who thinks they can teach her to fly by tossing her across a room Gabe." Cas said as he picked up his cutlery.

"I was trying to help her." Gabe said exhaustively.

"Her wings are clipped, as far as she knows you just threw her across the room like a jerk."

"You were so mad." Gabe laughed as he took a bite.

Cas rolled his eyes and dug in to his own meal.

"I want to meet her before we go. Dean said she swears, I have to hear that." Jess said, talking to Cas.

Cas shot Dean a look.

Dean tried his best not to laugh thinking about Meg swearing.

"You can come up and see her whenever you like." Cas told Jess.

"Cas said you met his mom?" Sam asked Dean, he couldn't wait to hear about it any longer.

Dean, Cas, and Gabriel all groaned in unison.

"That good hey?" Jess asked looking the three of them over.

"Yeah, it wasn't that bad." Dean said.

Gabe nearly choked.

"Not that bad? She tore you apart and insulted your dead parents. It was awful." Gabe said.

"She what?" Sam asked, looking at Dean with concern.

"Ok, so it wasn't that great either." Dean sighed. "I didn't die, so it could have gone worse I think. Overall it was a good night."

"Ahhhh." Everyone but Cas and Dean sighed out, understanding.

"Oh, no. You guys. Weird." Dean said as he glared at them.

"Is it because, you know, the gay thing?" Jess asked.

Cas laughed at that. "No. The, um, 'gay thing' isn't the problem there. She's just mean."

"And she wants you to marry Gadriel, adopt 100 babies, and be a stay at home dad." Gabe threw in.

"Yeah, there's that too. Which I am glad is dealt with." Cas said, sounding relieved.

"What?" Sam asked.

"I'll tell you about it later." Dean told him.

Gabe's phone started ringing. He picked it out of his pocket.

"Speak of the Devil." He said silencing his phone.

"Mom?" Cas asked.

"Yeah. Why's she calling me? You're her favorite." Gabe wondered out loud.

Gabe was right. Cas felt his pockets for his phone.

"I must have left my phone in Sam's truck." Cas realized.

Gabriel's phone started ringing again. His mom was calling back.

"She must be serious if she's calling me twice. Sorry guys." He said as he accepted the call.

"Hey." Gabe said as the call connected.

"Yeah, I'm with him." He continued, looking at Cas. "Yeah, here."

Gabe handed Cas his phone, and Cas sighed.

"Hi mom." Cas said as he put the phone to his ear. "No, I left my phone outside."

"What's going on?" Dean asked leaning in front of Cas to talk to the others.

"She didn't say, she wanted to talk to him. That's normal, Cas is more serious." Gabe said with a lifetimes worth of understanding behind the words.

"Oh." Cas said seriously, and the others turned their attention back to him. Whatever his mother had just said, based on the look Cas was wearing, it wasn't good.

"Yes, we will come right away. I'm sorry mom. We'll see you soon. Love you too." Cas said ending the call.

Everyone was watching Cas and waiting.

"Dads in the hospital. We have to go Gabriel." Cas told his brother as he slowly massaged between his eyebrows.

"He was fine this morning." Gabe said alarmed. "Better than usual."

"I don't know. She doesn't know. She just wants us there." Cas said sounding worried.

"Ok. Well. Sorry guys." Gabe said to the group.

"No, don't be sorry." Sam told them.

Everyone was pretty well done their meals now anyways. They signaled the waitress for their bills.

As the waitress was taking everyone's payments, Dean leaned in to Cas.

"Is everything ok?" He asked.

"I don't know Dean. I hope so." Cas sighed.

Dean reached down and squeezed Cas's hand.

"It'll be ok." He said, trying his best to reassure him.

They retreated to the parking lot once their bills were paid. Sam separated from the group to reach into his truck and came back with Castiel's phone.

"14 missed calls." Cas sighed after Sam handed it to him. "Thank you Sam."

"No problem Cas. If you guys need anything call ok?" Sam said seriously to Cas and Gabe.

"We will." Cas said with a half smile.

"We better hit the road." Gabe said to Cas.

"Yeah." Cas said as he turned to Dean.

"Can you please feed Meg?" He asked, handing Dean his house keys. "I'm sorry to ask, but I don't know how long we will be."

"Yeah of course. No problem." Dean said as he took the keys from him. "Do you want me to come by at all?"

"I will let you know if you can. You know mom, for now I think its best that only we are there."

"Yeah, family stuff, I get it." Dean told him. "If you need me though you say. Got it?"

Cas smiled up at Dean despite his worry. "Yes, I've got it."

Dean leaned in to kiss him.

"Call me?" Dean asked.

"Of course." Cas responded as he turned to join Gabe near his own vehicle.

"It was great meeting you guys." Gabe called back to Sam and Jess. "Let's do this again soon."

"You got it!" Sam called back, as Gabriel and Cas got into their car.

Dean, Sam, and Jess watched as the other two pulled out of the lot.

"I hope everything is ok." Jess said worriedly.

"Me too." Dean said matching her. "I have a bird to feed. Let's head back. I'll call Cas in a bit and find out what's up."

They all separated to get into their own vehicles. Jess went with Sam. She knew what Dean was like when he was worried, and knew he would prefer to be alone right then. She was willing to make the truck climb for him.

Dean closed the door to the impala and sighed out heavily. All the pain he had felt when his dad was sick came rushing back through his heart. He knew this had to be how Castiel was feeling right now, and he wanted to be there for him if he could.

He knew what he could do though, and that was take care of Meg. He took that resolve and started the engine.

It might not be a lot, but he was going to do what he could. That started with feeding the bird.