A/N: Though this story began at the end of season 7, there were some changes, other than just Cas, to what happened during that year. This chapter involves a certain town from Season 7, but this will be the boys' first visit.

Also, there were some questions about Johnny's name for Cas. Tata can be a name for fathers in other countries, but at this point, it's jut Johnny trying to say Cas. He'd have only heard "Cas," and wouldn't know any other words for dad than what he'd heard from his family. I'm not ruling out that the guys might realize the other meaning for that word and making it stick, though.

Please enjoy!

Chapter 37

Cashing in Favors

"Here's something to think about: How come you never see a headline like 'Psychic Wins Lottery'?" Jay Leno

"A town of psychics?" Dean asked as he buckled Johnny into his carseat.

"That's what she said," Sam said, tossing his duffel into the Impala's trunk. "It's apparently a big festival, or something."

"A whole town of psychics?"

"You keep repeating the question," Cas noted almost studiously, "as though you expect the answer to change."

"A bunch of charlatans trying to mooch poor, innocent idiots out of their money, milking their grief-"

"I would get that all out of your system before we reach Missouri. She'll have your hide," Sam said.

"She'll have it anyway. That woman hates me," Dean said, and Sam wondered if his older brother realized just how much he sounded like a petulent child. Really, Sam couldn't blame him, since the last time they had been around Missouri, it had involved a lot of bad memories for Dean. Not to mention the fact that the woman had been quick to snark at him, even tease him with a level of familiarity that he obviously wasn't used to from someone he didn't know well. Sam also knew his brother wasn't very thrilled with the idea that if they were the genuine article, like Missouri, they would be able to see into his head. It bothered him enough that Cas could do it, and Cas was Dean's closest friend.

Or whatever the hell he was. That whole relationship had been getting fuzzier and fuzzier before Sam's eyes. It made him unbelievably grateful that his own was going well and had not had the added complications of making him question his sexuality or the possibility of risking his only friendship. (Because, yeah, Cas was just about his only friend in the world, too, so he could at least sympathize with his brother on that front.)

"You know what's sad? Last year, I might have enjoyed going to this stupid thing," Dean said. "Because at least we'd have been close to the Biggerson's central office and the country's biggest Biggerson's." If Dean had sounded a bit like he'd been pouting earlier, he was full-on pouting now. He had been since he'd heard that Biggerson's was closing its doors. Not only had the place gone bankrupt, but a salmonella outbreak nationwide had been the death knell for the chain. Despite the fact that Dean, himself, got sick from the stuff and might have died had it not been for Cas's constant presence last year, he still groused each time the restaurant came up, or whenever he saw Richard Roman on TV. Roman had had the opportunity to save Biggerson's, but the salmonella outbreak seemed to have clinched it for him that he and his company would not be buying.

"We'll find you a Big Boy's or Denny's along the way," Sam said.

"It's not the same." Dean was regressing into a two-year-old before Sam's eyes. All because of a mediocre restaurant chain.

In fact, the whole reason they were going this year instead of last was because Biggerson's had imploded on itself. Apparently, Lily Vale was incredibly close, geographically, to all of these Biggerson's landmarks and it had gone belly up right around the time of the town's annual festival. It had seemed inappropriate, or so Missouri relayed to Sam, to have the psychic festival when the surrounding area was suffering so much. She'd then added, "Really, they just realized most of their audience was hitting the unemployment line and wouldn't be able to afford any psychic readings."

"How exactly did they hear about Missouri?" Dean asked as he made a face at the boy in the back of the Impala through the glass of the back window. Sam could hear Johnny laughing through Cas's open door.

"The Supernatural books, apparently. Lucky us, this town already has a few true believers in the Winchester gospel."

"Well, yippee frickin' skippy," Dean muttered as he opened the door to the car. "And Missouri was sure it would be safe to bring Johnny along?"

"She said she was positive he'd be safe."

"He'd better be, or I'll have her hide instead," Dean said. He sounded a bit like Yosemite Sam as he climbed into the car, muttering words that were vaguely close to swearing, but not quite, all for the sake of his son's ears.

Cas climbed into the back of the car. It didn't seem as though the angel was so uncomfortable about the idea of riding in the car as long as it was for Johnny's sake. Apparently, the Impala wasn't so claustrophobic when he was going to be entertaining the baby.

Sam had the last of his things in the car and had sent a text to Emma, who was back home in Minnesota, to let her know where he was going.

"Off to Psychicville, U.S.A. with Dean Winchester and an angel," he'd written. "Pray for me."

#

One thing was for certain: Dean couldn't drive the 16-hour trip in one day with a one-year-old in the back of the car. Johnny needed to move around and play. They had made several pitstops along the way, and arrived in Lily Dale, New York the following night. Johnny seemed to have no trouble adjusting to hotel rooms, and though it was obvious that he got fidgetty being in the car for so long, he was still amazingly well behaved. Once again, Dean was reminded that he had a damned good kid.

Dean was almost grateful when he saw the bed and breakfast where Missouri was staying. He couldn't care that it looked pink and girly on the inside, or that he was in a town full of people who could read his mind, or even that he was pretty sure Missouri didn't like him and would make his time here miserable. He was at a stopping point where Johnny would be free to roam and where tomorrow wasn't going to be filled with another day of driving.

The woman who ran the B&B greeted them at the front door. "You must be Dean, Castiel, Sam and Johnny," she said, holding the door open for them. She was an odd mix of sweet, grandmotherly type and savvy business woman. "I have some sandwiches in the refrigerator. Feel free to help yourself. I'm sure you've had a long day. Missouri and I were just having tea in the dining room." She smiled. "She's a lovely woman, and so fascinating."

Dean followed her to their rooms. Apparently, Sam was to bunk with Missouri on a pair of extra long twin beds, which was just fine by Dean, and Dean, Cas and Johnny had the room next door. Dean opened the door to see a single queen and a crib already waiting on them.

There's no knowing smile from this woman—an improvement over the hotel they'd stayed in the night before, when the guy at the counter had done the math that two of the men had to be sharing a bed—and there was no judgment. Dean was too bone-tired to really care if there had been. They'd have just packed up and moved on the following night.

She didn't even give them a pissy look about their duffel bags. The guy last night had been really snooty about their lack of proper luggage. There was a reason Dean and Sam didn't typically stay in nice places. But baby-proofing most of the dives they'd have normally picked in that town would have been impossible. They should have called up Andrea and asked to crash at her place for the night. It was definitely an idea Dean was keeping tucked away for the ride back.

"Well," Dean said as he took Johnny from Cas and took small comfort in the tight hug he got from the boy, "let's get this over with."

"Why are you so willing to do a favor for a woman who you say very clearly dislikes you?" Cas asked.

"Because she did one for us, and she helped Dad, too. That and there's something about the woman that feels like family." Dean shrugged. "Let's just go and face the music."

"I don't hear any... Ah, never mind."

"Catching on there, angel cake," Dean said, walking out the door of the bedroom. He winced at what he had just called his friend, then scowled as he saw his brother standing in the opposite doorway snickering. Sam put his hands up as to say he wasn't going to make a single comment about what Dean had just said. He must have realized that would result in certain death; he always was the smart one.

Dean didn't even bother to glance back at Cas and his, likely, confused expression.

As soon as Dean made his way to the diningroom, where the owner was setting a tray of sandwiches on the table, he saw Missouri drinking a cup of tea. "About time you got here," she said, and she was all smiles. "And this must be little Johnny." She stood and walked over to Dean and his son.

"Hello, Missouri," Dean managed.

"I don't hate you, you know," she said, tracing her finger over Johnny's hand. "You're just a bit of a handful, but I like you just as much as I like Sam."

Yeah right.

"Don't you doubt me, boy," she said, pointing a finger up into Dean's face. "Have some sandwiches and let your boy play a bit. I'll keep an eye on him." Dean wanted to argue, just for the sake of arguing, except his stomach chose that moment to let out a loud roar. He let Johnny get used to Missouri first, then tried handing his son off to her. Johnny would have none of that. "He must be picking up on your tension around me."

No idea why he'd think I was tense. Once again, Dean found himself being glared at. Just great that he couldn't even manage to complain in his own mind.

Almost as soon as Castiel walked into the room, the psychic's expression turned to one of awe. "You have to be Castiel." She shook her head. "We're going to have to do something about you. I had no idea how obvious it would be that you aren't human."

Still, she extended her hand to the angel, who took it in return. "It's very nice to meet you," he said, but his tone was reserved. It was as though he was being reproachful because Missouri had the ability to make Dean so uncomfortable.

"I never thought that I'd get to meet an angel, but these boys can certainly use the help of one." Her other hand gave Castiel's a pat and she guided him to the dining table.

Dean had a seat at the table, giving Johnny enough room to snuggle against his chest. The boy seemed to just want the closeness. Dean would have thought he'd be toddling around on the floor now, but he just seemed to want his dad. Dean was man enough to acknowledge that made him feel pretty awesome.

"So what are we dealing with?" Dean asked.

"Something's killed two of the headlining acts for the festival. Gave them premonitions about their deaths, and then they happened."

"Aren't you a headlining act?" Sam asked, taking a sandwich from the tray.

"Exactly why I want you to catch this thing before it gets to me," Missouri said, sitting back down in front of her tea cup.

"But you knew you'd need us here months ago. Back when I talked to you at Andrea's place."

"I knew I'd need you," Missouri said. "I didn't know why. It's pretty rare I get a premonition, but I knew we'd be together right about now, and since this was where I was going to be, I knew this was where you were going to be."

"So how many headliners could get picked off," Dean said. "No offense." He chomped into a roast beef and cheddar sandwich that was almost good enough to make up for the lack of Biggerson's.

"Smart aleck," she said. "They're really trying to make this festival a big one. They want to make up for missing out on their annual festivities last year, so more names, more people from out of the area, and bigger and better events. They're trying to tie it in as some 125th anniversary of some kind, though it seems like a stretch, since Lily Dale has been here longer than that, and the Fox sisters, who founded the place, were around before that, too." She shook her head disapprovingly. "Though a lot of the people in this town are genuinely nice people, and of those, a handful really have the gift, the mayor and counsel know where their bread is buttered. Psychics are the money for this town, and they keep the cash flowing."

"But you came here anyway," Cas asked with a slight tilt of his head.

"I might try to use my gift for good purposes, but sometimes, Castiel, you just have to eat."

As they all began talking strategies and eating—including Johnny in the latter—Missouri disappeared momentarily to the room she would be sharing with Sam. When she returned, she was holding a silver amulet on a black leather cord out to Castiel. "I came across this in one of the gift shops in town and knew it was more than a little special. I think it's for you."

Cas took the amulet into his palm. "It is a hand of fatima," he said. "A symbol of protection, but there is more to it than that." Dean watched as the angel turned it over in his hand. The moment he saw whatever was on the back, Cas's expression became one of awe and of sadness. Dean hadn't decided yet if he was grateful that Missouri had found it for the angel or angry that it had upset him. "This was Zadkiel's."

Sam wanted to geek out at that, it was clear from the look on his face, but he must have seen something in the way Cas looked just then that made him stop and wait for their friend to speak. "She was the angel of mercy and of freedom. She certainly lived up to that name. She had been trying to reach out to demons, to 'spark the good that must have once resided there.'" Dean noticed that Johnny had gone still in his arms and was watching the angel curiously. He couldn't tell if the boy was tuning in to Cas's sadness or merely caught up in what sounded a little like a bedtime story, if not a particularly happy one. "I do not know what she found with the demons, but she did find there was no tolerence for her beliefs in heaven. Zadkiel vanished after that, but heaven didn't want to lose one more of its archangels, even one of the lower ranking ones, not after Lucifer had been thrown out and Gabriel had disappeared. Zadkiel must have used this to remain hidden."

"So what does it do?" Sam asked.

"It dampens an angel's Grace. It doesn't wipe it out completely, but would render them more human and less prone to detection."

Dean wasn't sure he liked that. He remembered what Cas had been when his Grace had been frittering away, and what he could become if allowed to sink fully into humanity, but what he didn't understand was Cas's sadness at the amulet.

"If it has come into human possession... then I can only assume that Zadkiel is dead." And there the pieces fell into place. Dean wondered when the loss of an angel would be one too many for his friend. It was easy for the hunter to sometimes discount how strongly Cas could feel about his family, partly because it was so huge and partly because Dean still thought that they were dicks with wings-present company usually excluded. However, he knew that Cas still loved them all.

Missouri placed her hand on Cas's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "I don't know how much angels can read energy, but I didn't feel any death associated with that amulet. I sense joy and love, as well as some fear and longing, but no death."

Then, the angel looked up at Dean as though to confirm that Missouri was good enough to know that. For all their differences and how much the woman liked to get under his skin, he could at least vouch for her there. "If she doesn't sense anything bad, I'd believe it. She could tell that our mom was still in our old house and the evil that Yellow Eyes had left behind. I don't think she could miss the death of an angel."

Cas nodded and looked hopeful, just because Dean said he should be. Sometimes the hunter wondered what it was he'd done to find someone who gave him such explicit trust. He watched as Cas pulled the leather cord over his head. "This feels very familiar."

"At least this time you don't have a bug bite," Dean said, getting a smile for the reminder.

"Indeed. Those are incredibly obnoxious."

"Tata?" Johnny said, sounding just a bit like he was asking a question. He'd been cautiously watching the angel for some time, and Dean was surprised it had taken him this long to speak up. Cas offered a smile to reassure the boy that he was OK.

"You didn't tell me he was talking," Missouri said.

"Just a couple words. Ta or Tata for Cas, Dada for me," Dean had just about popped a shirt button when Johnny had said that. "We think he might be calling Sam 'Me,' but he'd not really consistent about it yet." And Sam was totally encouraging that, too. He was spoiling Johnny rotten trying to get the kid to give him a name. Bobby wasn't pushing it and said that the baby would figure out what he wanted to call him when he was ready, not that it was stopping Bobby from doting on Johnny like crazy.

"He's a smart little one. And I suspect he's had a little help with his development. Not all children have an angel as a father."

"Dean's his-" Cas began, but Missouri cut him off as quickly as she usually did Dean.

"Don't give me that," she said. "You know that boy is crazy about you and that you are as much his dad as Dean."

"Been telling him that for months now. He won't listen," Dean told the woman.

And for a while, the talk turned to more pleasant topics than dead psychics getting visions of their murders. Though he might be closed off about himself, Dean was always ready and able to talk for hours on end when it came to his son.

#

Dean may not have been a psychic, but he got the message that Missouri wanted to speak with him and sent his brother, son and angel back to their rooms and lingered at the table with Missouri. "Fatherhood suits you," she said with a smile. It didn't put him at ease, and she didn't really expect it to. Dean had had issues with her poking in his head before hell and Castiel, now he was doing his darnedest to put up a big brick wall she couldn't see through. It didn't work, but she noticed the effort all the same.

"I wasn't lying when I said that I didn't hate you," she said. "Never have. You frustrate me to no end and make me worry like a mother hen, but I don't hate you. And as much as you're going to hate to hear me say this, I always felt a little sorry for you, not for the reasons anyone else could see, your mom, the pressure your dad put on you, how much of Sam's troubles you bear on your own shoulders." He was getting ready to lash out, and she knew she would have to finish her thought quickly. "But I want to hurt your father for leaving you to place such a low value of your own worth."

"I don't know who you think you are to go talking about my self-worth, or my worth at all. I don't like people poking around in my head, and if you've been in there, you should have known that-"

"I know it. Why do you think I was so hard on you the first time we met? You were like a wild animal ready to run off or attack the first moment you might think I got a glimpse inside that noggin of yours. So I let you think that I only saw that front you put up for everyone else."

"You couldn't have done me the favor of pretending again?" Dean asked.

"No," she said in a tone that brokered no argument. "Not when your insecurity is liable to mess up something really good." And there was that skittish animal back again. Dean's eyes were wide and he looked five seconds away from running off, because apparently having Missouri know that was worse than her knowing about hell. "You're already a family. He'll already do anything for you. You die, he'll die, whether or not you're in a relationship or not, Dean."

"I've never asked him to do that."

"No. Sam's never asked you to make a crossroads deal for his life, Bobby never expected you to hand over years of your life in a deal with a warlock on his account, and Castiel never asked you to to stand up to him all the while he was proclaiming himself God, just in the hope that the Cas you know would come back. You and your family, you do the craziest things out of love. Your dad, you, Sam, Bobby, even your angel. He's part of your brood now, and there's no changing that, even if you don't want him doing something stupid on your account."

Dean didn't look any more comforted by those words, but he didn't look quite so close to fight or flight. It was something, at least.

"You make him happy, you know. And he has so much faith in you. I know you saw it when I told him about the amulet. Just a word from you is enough to give that angel reason to hope, and that's saying a lot about an angel who lost faith in God."

"Which was all my fault."

"May He strike me down if he wants, but no, it wasn't. It was God's fault. He left this world's clock to wind down without so much as a command to anyone." She took a step toward him and considered placing a hand on his arm, but she knew better. She'd gotten him off the ledge, but only so far. "I don't expect you to go in and proclaim undying love for him just because I say so, but will you at least think about what I've said?"

She got nothing in reply, but he'd listened, and that was something in and of itself.

#

Dean had a lot to think about that night, and he realized it wasn't going to be easy when he saw Cas sound asleep in the rose-colored wingchair next to Johnny's crib. Apparently diminished Grace also meant sleep, and Cas didn't look entirely comfortable. At least he'd changed into those cotton pants the angel seemed to like, whether or not he'd taken up yoga. Dean wasn't left with the question of whether he should leave Cas in his clothes or change him into pajamas. Those were probably comfortable enough. Dean stripped down to his boxers and a T-shirt, then threw on a pair of pajama pants all while Cas slept on.

He found it odd that the angel snored a little. It wasn't loud, not the freight train that Dean knew he could be when he had a nasty cold, just a faint hiss then hum that he could hear on the other side of the room.

Dean was in the process of tossing the eight dozen throw pillows off the bed as he watched Cas try to twist himself into a comfortable position on the chair. There was no way he could leave his friend there, and he knew that taking the amulet off sort of defeated the purpose of remaining incognito in the town. But Dean really wasn't going to like where this was going.

He chucked the last of the pillows before realizing there might have been a particular way they were supposed to go and trying desperately to remember if there had been anything special about their organization. Most of the weapons were out in the Impala, but not all, and he didn't want an improperly made bed to act as an invitation for the owner to come in and do some housecleaning. She wouldn't like what she found.

There was no way he was going to remember, and he'd just have to wing it. Or rely on Cas's better memory to get it right.

He pulled down the covers on the bed and stared at the queen that suddenly looked way too small. He looked again at Cas, who had managed to wedge himself in the chair like that army man stuck in the Impala's ashtray. Dean sighed and walked over to the sleeping angel and cursed Missouri, Zadkiel-or whatever her name was-and that damned amulet. And Cas and himself for good measure.

He had no idea if this was going to work, since Cas was such an immovable object whenever Dean tried to hit him all angel-juiced up, but the hunter though he might as well give it a go. He hooked one arm beneath the angel's knees and another at his shoulders and lifted. He almost sent them both tumbling backwards because he had put a little too much effort into the act. Jimmy had been one wirey little bugger.

Cas didn't wake, thank God, because getting caught carrying him bridal style was a level of awkward that Dean just wasn't ready to deal with right now, not after his conversation with Missouri. Tomorrow morning would be bad enough if he didn't get out of the bed before Cas started to rally. He lowered his friend's form onto the bed, firmly on "his" side, then moved to the other side to climb in with him. Dean went to sleep with the chant of "Don't roll over, stay on your side" on his lips, but he knew what morning would bring.