This kind of came from nowhere, but I sort of like it, so I'm canonising it as the new chapter...that made sense right? But at least (at last) something good happens
On the long drive back to Castiel's apartment Dean checks his cell for any messages from Sam. There aren't any, and he's distinctly concerned about his brother and how he's coping with this latest buffeting dose of bad news.
There are however three messages from the city hospital, which distract him almost instantly.
Lisa went into labour at three the previous morning, after falling on the stairs at home.
Castiel checks his phone and finds two messages, also from the hospital, and one from Gabriel, which he doesn't listen to.
They have more immediate concerns.
The messages (all five of them, which does little to alleviate Dean's panic) all assure him that Lisa is fine, or at least in no real danger, that she had given birth to a healthy baby boy, but that because of the fall she had a broken leg, and therefore needed someone to help her take care of the baby for a while.
Dean's starting to wonder if God is smiling on them in the most back handed way possible.
Parked in the hospital lot he looks over at Castiel.
"You don't have to see him if you don't want to, but..."
"I'll go." Castiel says, with conviction he doesn't feel.
Dean gets the sense that if he pushes it Castiel will break under the pressure, so instead he leads him into the hospital and they muddle through windowless corridors covered in posters and long, long, coloured arrows. The maternity ward is easily identifiable, thanks to all the pregnant and alternately, exhausted looking women with pink or blue balloons. That's the only way Dean's sure that they've made it.
Lisa is propped up in bed without any makeup on, which is the first time he's seen her barefaced in a while, since they stopped living together in fact. She looks tired and her leg is in a cast, but she smiles with relief when she sees them.
"Thank you for showing up...I thought you wouldn't come." She says, looking between the two of them awkwardly. "My Mom can't fly down for another week and...well, I needed someone to get my things from home and make sure the baby's doing ok...I mean the hospital can take care of him but I'd feel better if..."
"I know." Dean soothes, dropping into the chair beside her bed. "Scared the hell out of me, you know that?" it's true, he'd been worrying ever since he got the first message, and each subsequent one, no matter how polite and straightforward had only added to his concern.
Lisa looks up at Castiel. "Do you want to see him?"
Castiel blinks rapidly, and realises that his shock must show on his face because Lisa says, "I knew you probably wouldn't be able to keep it a secret...to be honest I'm kind of glad it's out. I've lied way too much...I'm sorry." This last she directs at Dean. "I never wanted it to end like this, everyone all angry and spiteful, especially not now."
"Having a kid softened you up then?" Dean jokes softly, and Lisa smiles beneath her softly curling hair.
"Something like that." She looks back at Castiel. "So, did you want to see him?"
Castiel looks a little lost, but Dean takes his hand gently.
"Why don't we both go?" he says, with a sideways glance to Lisa to check that it's ok, she nods.
Once they've found the infant ward and located the right room, they're left staring through a glass partition at rows of tiny crunched up babies in little plastic cribs, each with a little white hat on their head and a plastic bracelet with their information. A plastic sign on the end of one crib says 'Benjamin Braeden'.
"That's him." Dean points. "It's Lisa's maiden name." He explains, half turning towards Castiel, but he stops, seeing that the other man is leaning towards the glass, frowning like he can't decide if he's pleased or not.
The baby has a rough tuft of dark hair, black or brown it's hard to tell. But its eyes are the kind of blue that could only have come from Castiel, enormous and deep and anciently naive.
"He's got your eyes." Dean murmurs, slightly inanely
"He shouldn't" Castiel says, like his mouth is working but his eyes and mind are still wholly occupied with the sight of his son (Christ, his Son.) "It's a recessive gene."
"Maybe he just got lucky."
Castiel huffs a bitter laugh, Dean wraps an arm around his waist.
"Lisa'd probably let you see him...if you wanted." He murmurs.
Castiel gives a tight nod, like feels he should acknowledge this if not agree with it.
"He's really tiny." He says after a while, watching the tiny bundle of white blanket and angry red face twist in its sleep.
"They usually are." Dean presses a kiss to his shoulder. "You're a Dad."
"No I'm..."
Dean kisses the side of his neck.
"Yes you are..." he nuzzles behind his ear. "I'm happy for you."
"I'm sorry that it's not..." Castiel doesn't want to say 'yours' it just sounds too horrible, especially with the new baby only meters away, where Dean can see him and know that he has no claim on him at all.
"Doesn't matter." Dean sighs against his skin. "Ok, so it matters, but at least this way Lisa gets what she wants...and maybe it's what we need, one tiny thing with a bit of you and a bit of her... might keep us all in line."
"Like a treaty." Castiel closes his eyes for a second, feeling Dean so close and comforting, before opening them again to look at his son. "A treaty with really tiny fingers."
Dean chuckles softly against his neck.
"Exactly." He inches his fingers into Castiel's pockets. "and now I have to call Sam...tell him he's not-an-uncle officially now...gives me a reason to talk to him anyway."
"It'll work out." Castiel sighs.
"That's just the baby optimism talking...you know, like 'one day my kid's gonna be president', when really he's going to work in a soulless cubicle."
"I don't think he's going to want to follow in Daddy-Dean's footsteps." Castiel frowns "Though he probably shouldn't follow in mine either."
"Guess Lisa's holding down the career day fort solo." Dean quips morosely. "Yoga Teacher kind of trumps 'Unemployed office drone' and 'hooker'."
"Escort" Castiel corrects him automatically. It's easier to joke about these things than to take them seriously, though Dean aches inwardly at the possibility of some wile blue eyed kid calling him 'Daddy' and showing him terrible pictures of horses and Sam and stick people on fire.
But just for the moment, he can bear the pain, if it makes Castiel happy.