Chapter 66.

The first thing Dean did when he got to his room was to wrap Cas's present. He couldn't really explain why he hadn't done that already or why he had taken it to the bar the night before, out of its box and held it as he told Sam and Cas his decision. He only knew that he would never have managed to get the words out if he had not had it with him.

Something flickered in his chest. For a moment, he wondered if he had picked up on Cas's nervousness, but then he remembered that was impossible. He must just be anxious himself, about his promise, about the party, about Cas. He changed into some ornate jeans, his favourite cowboy boots a denim shirt and a tooled leather vest and then grabbed his hat. Before he headed to the party, he called Cas's phone.

"Hello, Dean." said Cas, "Are you back now?"

"Yes." said Dean, "I'm about to go to the party. Are you ready?"

"I'll be there soon." said Cas.

"Do you need me to ... "

"Jules is coming with me." said Cas quickly.

"Oh. Good. See you soon, then." He was curious, but Cas didn't seem interested in filling in any details, so he decided not to ask for any. Any relationship between Jules and Cas was likely to take years, not hours, to form.

The garage looked fantastic and the smell of grilled meats came in from outside. People were already starting to eat and drink and talk and music played from the speakers. Dean saw his mother handing out beers and went over to her. "Cas will be here soon." he said.

"Everything still on track for you and Sarah?" she asked quietly.

"You think I'd have backed out already?" he said. Her look was an eloquent reply. "Well, I haven't. I'm not going to." He looked around. There was still no sign of Cas. He touched the chain around his neck. The key was hidden under his shirt. He thought about taking it off, but Cas would be wearing his, so there was no point.

It worried him how often that thought entered his head, how ready he was to ignore Cas's distress every time anyone mentioned the mind curse. He looked at his mother, who kept glancing at him between offering people drinks. "I need to get my life back under my control." he said.

"You'll do it." she said.

"I need a way to make the effects of the damn talisman permanent." he said.

"Why? All you need to do is wear it." she said.

"Because I'm a lousy friend." he said.

She put her hand on his shoulder. "That's not true." she said.

There was a ripple of applause. Cas and Jules had arrived. Jules wore a long, blue and white skirt with an intricately embroidered white blouse. She didn't seem quite so scholarly now and he had to admit, she was very pretty. Then he saw Cas. Cas was coatless and dressed in very well-chosen clothes. Jules led him over to Dean, past many people wishing him a happy birthday.

"What do you think?" she asked Dean.

"Wow." said Dean, "Cas, you look ... "

"I know." said Cas, "Please don't laugh."

"Why would I laugh? Cas, we're gonna be peeling girls off you for days."

"He means you look great." said Mary.

"Yeah, of course I do." said Dean.

Jack came in from outside. "Someone said Castiel is here." he said. He held out a small package and a card. "Happy birthday!" he said.

Cas opened the card first. There was a bee on the front. He read the message inside aloud. "Bee happy, now and always, to my beloved father, from Jack."

"I hope the present is the right one." said Jack, "There was no way to check without spoiling the surprise."

Cas opened it. Inside, was a small, leather wallet. He opened it and said, "How did you find her?"

"The internet." said Jack.

"Find who?" said Dean.

Cas gave him the wallet. It held the photograph of a young woman in clothes from the 1900s. "My first earthly vessel." he said.

"Cas, you were a babe!" said Dean.

"Yes, she was." said Cas.

"Lucky we didn't meet when you were in that body." said Dean.

"I was the same being then that I am now."

"Only way hotter." said Dean, "And this is probably the weirdest conversation we've ever had."

"Dean, this isn't even in the top thirty." said Cas.

"I just need to talk to Cas alone for a second." said Dean swiftly adding, "On a subject unrelated to his former hotness." Cas followed him to a quiet part of the garage. "You probably don't need it. I mean, you definitely don't need it, having all those angelic powers," he said, "But a hunter should have one, so I got you one." He decided he had said far too many words to far too little effect, so he handed over the present. "There's no card." he said, "I just didn't think of that."

Cas held the wrapped present and stared at it. He said nothing.

"You should open it." said Dean, "If you don't like it ... "

"Of course I like it!" said Cas.

"Right now, all you like is the shiny red paper."

"Right now, what I love is that you got me a present." said Cas. He carefully opened it and then opened the equally shiny box inside. He took out the silver lighter and turned it around several times. Dean swallowed anxiously as Cas saw the inscription. Cas looked up at him and said, "I didn't know you knew that much Latin."

"I don't." said Dean, "I made Sam translate it. I didn't tell him which phrase I needed, just gave him a whole bunch of them. He'd better have translated it right. If Lux tua, vita mihi means ..."

"Your light, my life." said Cas, "Is that what you wanted it to say?"

"Yes, that's right." said Dean, "And it's not something you need to keep secret. I just wanted you to know what it said before Sam did. A hunter should have a lighter." he repeated, "Sorry there's no card. Do you like it?"

"I love it." said Cas, "I knew I would. I never expected the Latin. I never expected the words, any words and especially not words like those."

"Yeah, well, keep it with you, then when I say dumb stuff, you can look at that and know I don't mean it, because you don't have words engraved in silver that you don't mean."

"Thankyou seems inadequate." said Cas, "But if I say that I will treasure this because it is a tangible proof of our friendship, you'll be uncomfortable."

Dean smiled. "Yeah, I probably will, so we won't do that."

"There you are!" said Sarah, coming to reclaim her angel.

Quickly, before Cas went with her back into the brightly lit party, Dean said, "Happy birthday! You look great."