Dean's sleep was wracked with terror. He kept Cas up most of the night by his twitches and groans that came while he dreamed. When early morning arrived, the beta finally had to wake him up since he was clearly having a nightmare.

"Dean, Dean, enough of this," Cas whispered as he gently shook his mate.

Dean was sprawled out on one side of the nest, sweating as his lips quivered in an attempt to form words. Cas' movements woke him in an instant.

"GUAAH!"

He shot up, panting and gasping, clutching his chest. He turned to Cas and breathed a sigh of relief.

"What did you dream of?" asked Cas.

"I don't know," Dean muttered, rubbing his eyes. "There were…there were yellow eyes watching me. They followed me everywhere. It was…eugh…weird and terrifying."

"Oh, Dean."

Cas put his arms around him and they embraced tightly. Dean yawned.

"I'm sorry," Cas mumbled against Dean's neck.

"S'all right," said Dean. "It was just a bad dream. It's over now…thanks for being there."

"Of course. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, a little bit. The egg hasn't hatched yet, has it?"

Cas chuckled. "I'll wake you the instant it happens if you're sleeping, and you can count on that."

"Hah. Cool."

Cas gave Dean a weak smile and kissed him before he released the hug. He had a bowl of seeds and grains that he offered to Dean for breakfast.

"Is this it?" Dean asked, looking into the bowl. "No fruit or anything?"

"Resources are limited in this town," Cas said rather sadly.

"Don't we have a garden plot outback?"

"Yes, but—whoever started it before we moved in didn't do a good job. The soil lacks fertility, which is critical out here…I miss the woods."

"Yeah, I know, tell me about it."

Dean put a handful of seeds in his mouth and crunched. Cas peered over at him.

"Didn't you pack begin in plains like this?"

"Pastures, technically," said Dean, his mouth full. "Pretty much the same thing. But we got a lot of rain and there were streams that ran all through the place. And you know how it is around water, always plants growing. Most importantly, there was a ton of game to hunt. I don't think there's much out here."

"I agree."

Dean laughed. "Can't believe I complained about fruit."

"Why?"

"Back in the pastures, I hardly ever touched the stuff!"

"Our eating habits have blended," Cas said with a tender smile.

"They sure have."

"I don't know."

"Neither do I! But you're right; I dunno how this town gets by with so little. I have a hard time believing this is where Cain wanted us the stay."

"Yes, I understand what you mean. It is strange…yet, what are we to do? Until you decide which path to take, there's no point in moving."

"Right," Dean sighed, remembering the pressure that sat upon him. Cas touched his arm.

"What if we go down to the water and bathe together?" the beta suggested. "It might make you feel better."

"Worth a shot," said Dean.

He got up and dressed, then they put together some supplies and left together.

"I'll leave the egg with Charlie," said Cas.

They went to the fairy's place where they found Meg and Charlie to be up and busy with meal preparation already. Meg was skinning and salting a rabbit with Charlie sat with her eggs in a basket. She was weaving some kind of clothing.

"Hey, Cas!" the fairy exclaimed when the couple entered.

"Good morning," said Cas. "Dean and I are going to bathe together. Could I ask you to watch our egg?"

"Oh, yeah, sure!" Charlie agreed. "You want to put it right here with mine?"

"Yes, that makes sense."

Cas nestled his egg down between Charlie's three. It looked so much different in comparison. Charlie's were all one shade of deep blue, while Cas' was that piercing, pearly cyan with the weird ring of emerald on the bottom. As he thought about it, he had never seen any eggs that had such varying designs and colors on them.

"You all right, Cas?" Charlie asked.

"Oh-" He startled in the middle of his staring. "Yes. We'll be back soon. Keep an eye on it in case it starts to hatch. I expect it to happen any day now."

"Sure! I'll get you if it seems like it."

Cas waved slightly and went to join Dean once more. They walked through the town together until they found a small, wooden building. It had been built up around a natural spring, and the only source of water for the entire village. Several hand-pumps sat outside but within the walls was an open basin in which the spring flowed, not until the spring in Lawrence only much smaller and lacking the fissure made by an angel. It was similar to a sluice.

Luckily, it was empty. Oh sure, some folks came to get water at the pumps but the enclosed space for intimate bathing was clear. Dean and Cas went inside, undressed completely and stepped down into the water.

"Ahh, that's nice," Dean sighed, dipping all the way down so that his butt rested on the silt at the bottom and the water went to his jaw. Cas sat slightly higher up on a rock that gave him a vantage point over his mate. He shuffled behind him so that his knees were on either side of Dean's head, then took up a soft bar of oily soap and rubbed it between his hands.

"I'll clean you," Cas said.

Dean nodded in agreement, eyes closed, and Cas began to lather the grease through his hair. Dean sighed and purred at the touch.

"That's good," he cooed. "Could you shave me?"

"Of course."

Cas' hands moved down to Dean's jaw and lathered up the facial hair he had been growing out. He used a razor they brought along to clear it all away. Dean tried to relax his face and not smile so as to give Cas an ease of shaving.

Now that his face was clean and smooth, Cas rubbed his soapy hands down to Dean's neck and shoulders. He had to sit up so that he could get clean all of the way.

"Here, too," Cas said with a tiny chuckle. His hands made it down to Dean's waist. "Stand out of the water, if you can."

"Eugh, but I'm so relaxed…"

"Don't you want everything to be clean?"

Dean groaned. "Right, right, okay."

He stood up out of the water and got to the shallowed side, putting his crotch at level with Cas' face. The beta soaped his hands again and ran his fingers through Dean's pubic hair. He wrapped his fist around his cock and pulled down the foreskin.

"Nice," Dean gasped, eyes fixed on Cas.

"I'm just cleaning, this isn't any kind of mating thing," Cas said.

"I know, but still."

Dean couldn't help but grow firm at Cas' touch. His fingers were greasy and smooth, working a gentle motion to clean him up and Dean let out a groan.

"All right, I'm done," said Cas, much to Dean's disappointment. "Can you clean me, now?"

"Yeah."

They got back into the water and Dean now soaped up his own hands. He washed up Cas' body, trimmed his hair and then they rinsed off and were to continue with their day. Dried and dressed, they went to get the egg back.

Meg had announcement when they returned.

"Cain's things," she said, "They're in his house. I think it makes the most sense if you took them. Or, at least, looked them over and decide where they should go.'

"Yeah, okay," Dean agreed, pressing his lips together. He pointed a finger to the alpha female. "But this doesn't mean I'm grand leader."

"Oh, no, I know that. It just makes sense. Come on."

Meg left the house and motioned for Dean to follow, which he did. Charlie, now alone with Cas, gave a little shrug and pointed to the basket. "I guess you want this back now, right?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"They've been safe."

"We really needed that time together without worrying about the egg."

"I get it," said Charlie. "It's only been a day for me, but I get it! It's different."

"Very."

Cas carefully took his light blue egg from the basket and strapped it back into his pouch, securing it against his body. It moved slightly on the inside.

"I suppose I'll take it back home now," he said. "I will see you later."

"Bye!" said the fairy.

The beta male left the house with a smile on his face, happy to be back with his egg. It was nice to have time apart, but nothing made him feel safer than having it near him.

As he walked home, he noticed that the remains of Cain's funeral pyre were still sitting on the outskirts of the town. He caught a glimpse between two houses and stopped when he saw a flame-red mass resting atop it. Curious, he came closer, only to find that the color was in fact Abaddon's hair. She was laying over the ashes in a huddle, sobbing.

"Abaddon," Cas said softly, approaching, "Where are your babies?"

"Rowena," she sniffed, then picked up her head and glared up at him. Her face was covered in the human ashes, mixing with her tears and giving a terribly unpleasant appearance.

Cas nearly startled. He wanted to say something but was afraid it would come across the wrong way. "This isn't healthy" or "you need to be with your children" could turn a sad Abaddon into an angry one.

"Your face is dirty," Cas decided to say. "Would you like me to help clean you?"

"No," she stated firmly, then flung herself face down into the ash once more and continued to cry.

Cas wished he could help, but realized it probably wasn't worth it. She would likely come around in time. She had to mourn and get through it on her own. Cas' main concern was the welfare of her babies but even then, it wasn't that much of his business.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "If you need anything, just—"

"SON OF A BITCH!"

Dean's shouting in the distance stopped Cas completely. Abaddon ignored it, but Cas ran off into the direction it came from.

"I DON'T FUCKING BELIEVE IT!"

Cole's body came bursting through the door to his house. He slid across the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust as he collapsed. Attempting to stand, he coughed, then looked up and saw Dean stepping through the broken door.

"Dean!" Cas called out. "What are you doing?!" He went to pursue his mate, but a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Stop," said a woman. Cas turned and saw that it was Jo, the blonde beta female that belonged to the pack of the pastures but he didn't know very well.

"What's happened?" Cas asked, his heart racing.

"Luci had Cole's eggs, but they're the same color as the first clutch Dean had," Jo explained, frowning sadly at Cas.

"What? What does that mean?"

He looked back at the alpha males. Cole held his hands up in the air as a surrender, but Dean had rage in his eyes that didn't seem to be fading away any time soon.

"You bred my fucking mate," Dean growled. "How could you do that? You…this whole fucking time…you bred her!"

"You don't understand!" Cole coughed.

"The Hell I don't!"

Dean tackled him now, pushing them both onto the floor. Cas let out a cry as he watched, but Jo still held him back.

"You need to let the alphas sort things out," she said.

"But Dean could…"

"YOU SICK PIECE OF SHIT!"

Dean let out a roar as he grabbed Cole's head and slammed it back into the dirt. He pinned him down and started punching him. Cole was at Dean's mercy. He tried and tried to fight back but Dean overpowered him.

"You—rggg—don't understand!" Cole gasped, his nose and mouth filling with blood.

Cas watched the fight with great fear. Others were gathering now, holding their hands over their mouths or eyes, but nobody attempted to break them up. Cas thought about Luci—he just had a clutch but nobody was there to be with him. Carefully, Cas snuck around to the side of the house and stepped through the broken door. Not surprisingly, Luci sat in his nest with an armful of eggs and eyes full of tears.

"What happened?" Cas asked.

"It's not my fault," Luci sobbed. "They're purple. I di-in't mean to have purple eggs…Dean saw and he started attacking Cole…what's a beta to do?"

"We're supposed to let them 'work things out'," Cas said with a frown. He sat next to Luci and tried his best to ignore the cries and wails of Cole outside.

"Dean's pissed," Luci whined.

There was a shift in the noises outside. Both of the men groaned in pain and then a great shoving sound was heard. Cas looked up. He heard Dean scream and he immediately ran back out of the house. "Sorry!" he called to Luci as he left.

"FUCK YOU!" Cole yelled. He had somehow managed to topple Dean and was now leading the fight. He delivered a hard punch to Dean's lip and Cas screamed. "WHY WON'T YA LISTEN TO ME?!"

"Why would I listen to—URRRGH—you?! You bred my—ARGH—old mate!"

Cole punched Dean again and this time, Cas couldn't take it. He didn't care what the law of hunters said or what they were supposed to do, he had to stop it. Without thinking, he jumped into the brawl and tried to pry Cole off of Dean.

"STOP IT!" Cole shouted.

He turned around to push Cas away, but this gave Dean the upper hand again. While Cole was distracted, Dean lunged forward and tried to knock him over, but Cole had a second to realize this beforehand. He dodged out of the way and Dean hit Cas instead.

There was a crack.

The fight stopped.

Dean stared.

"Dean, how could you?!" Charlie's bloodcurdling cry sounded from somewhere around them.

"I…"

Cole managed to slip out from the fight and back away. He darted into his house and out of sight, but the crowd that had been watching them remained.

"What happened?" someone asked.

"Did Dean hit his mate?" another followed.

"No, he hit his own egg," one answered. There was a hushed gasp.

Cas slowly pulled the egg from its bag. There was a crack along the top. People in the crowd were whispering to each other, looking at Dean with great shame. Dean was beside himself. Blood trickled from his nose and contrasted sharply with his now intensely pale face. He trembled.

"He didn't," said Cas. The crowd held their breath. "If Dean hit the egg, he would have hit the front. This crack is on the top. This is…"

Cas looked at the egg closer. A little baby finger poked out of the hole.

"It's not broken," Dean said, finally, getting to his feet. He came to Cas' side and put his hands out towards the egg. "It's hatching!"