Epilogue

Cas walked through the school, Mary yanking him along by his hand.

'Come on, Uncle Cas!' she said excitedly.

'Hold on, Mary, Hoagie can't keep up.'

Mary glanced back at the dog, struggling behind them.

A little grey in the snout, Hoagie still dutifully wore his jacket, but wasn't as quick as he used to be.

Mary crouched down and patted him on the head. 'Sorry, Hoagie,' she said.

Hoagie wagged his tail, tired, but still loved the attention.

Mary stood up again, patting Fries the golden retriever as well, so she wouldn't feel left out. She led the way again, slower this time, mindful of Hoagie's aching joints.

They arrived in the art department, where other kids and their parents were milling around.

'That one's mine!' Mary said, jumping up and down, and pointing at her painting on the wall. She let go of Cas's hand and ran over to the wall, where all of her class's art was being displayed.

Cas followed her, navigating through the crowd of people with both of his dogs. He ended up next to a blonde woman and her son on one side, and Mary on the other, beaming at him proudly.

Cas looked up at the wall, frowning, and shook his head. 'I'm sorry, angel, which one did you say is yours?' he asked.

'This one!' She stretched to point at a painting of a big tree, in what Cas guessed was supposed to be her back yard.

'Of course it is,' Cas smiled.

The woman next to him frowned, narrowing her eyes at him. 'You should really pay attention when your kid talks,' she said snidely.

Cas raised his eyebrows, too shocked by her comment to respond, though he didn't need to.

Mary pushed herself between them, hands on hips, and stomped her foot. 'You can't be mean to my uncle Cas,' she said angrily. 'He hurt his head, so he can't remember things. It's not his fault, so you can't be mean.'

'It's all right, she didn't know,' Cas smiled, placating Mary with a hand on her head.

'Sorry,' said the woman, though her expression didn't change. 'I guess that explains the dogs.' She looked down at them, distaste twisting her mouth, though Mary didn't appear to notice.

'This one's Hoagie,' she explained. 'He's helping to teach Fries how to do his job, so he can retire. Right, Uncle Cas?'

'Right.'

'Oh, so you're the famous Uncle Cas?' Another woman with red hair appeared next to them. 'Mary talks about you all the time.'

'Does she really?'

'Oh, absolutely. She says she's going to be an artist, just like you.'

Mary then ran off to find her friends.

'I'm her teacher, by the way,' the red-headed woman said.

'What are you doing at her parents' evening, anyway?' the blonde woman demanded.

Cas shrugged. 'I've been teaching her to paint. She wanted to show me her work was on display, like mine.'

'Oh, you're the one with that gallery in the city,' the teacher nodded. She glanced at the blonde woman.

'That's right,' said Cas.

'You don't have any kids of your own?' the blonde woman interrupted again.

Cas rolled his eyes, and the teacher shot her a warning glare.

'I'm afraid not,' Cas said politely, allowing a bite of impatience to enter his voice. 'My disability doesn't allow for it.'

'I don't see how that's relevant,' the woman said coldly. 'Why don't you just get your wife to take care of it?'

Cas blinked rapidly. 'My - wife?'

'Yeah, you're married, right?' She gestured at the ring on Cas's finger.

'Um…'

Just then, there were footsteps behind them, and Cas turned to see Dean walking in, looking flustered.

'Hey, sorry I'm late,' Dean said, coming over to him. 'Where's Mary? How did you get here?'

'Mary's with her friends, and she knows how to order an Uber,' Cas smiled.

'Ew, you got an Uber? I'm offended.'

Cas laughed, and noticed the blonde woman still staring at them, so he wrapped his arms around Dean, drawing him close. He softly kissed Dean, taking his time, and feeling Dean's smile. He drew it out for as long as he could, finally pulling away when Dean's cheeks turned red.

'What's that for?' Dean asked with a lopsided grin, rubbing the back of his neck.

Cas quickly pecked him once more, and gestured at the blonde woman, whose eyes looked as though they might pop out of her head. 'I was having a conversation with this lovely woman here. She was just asking why I don't have my wife take care of our children.'

'Oh, I see,' Dean said, eyes sparkling mischievously. 'Why don't you ask her? I know she's been kinda busy lately, but I'm sure she'd be up for it.'

The woman tutted angrily and stalked off, the teacher struggling to hold back her laughter.

Dean put an arm around Cas, kissing this cheek. 'Did you guys sign in?'

'Um.'

'I got it,' the teacher said, hurrying off.

'Uncle Dean!' Mary finally spotted him and bounded over.

'Hey, jelly bean.' Dean lifted her up high, then placed her on his shoulders.

She laughed loudly, and covered Dean's eyes.

'Oh no, I can't see! What am I going to do?' He lifted her up again, briefly dangling her upside down, bringing out a shrieking laugh, then placing her back on the floor. 'Did you show Cas how to get an Uber?' he asked her, tickling her sides.

'Only a little,' she giggled.

'I'm disowning you both if you so much as touched a Prius.'

Cas chuckled, and pulled them both into a nearby classroom, where all the other parents and kids were gathering.

They sat through the parents' evening together, taking Mary's report card, and making notes about the lesson plans.

Cas asked all the questions on the list that Sam had given him, ignoring the looks that the other parents were giving them.

Soon enough, it was over, and everyone began to filter out of the classroom.

The teacher pulled them aside. 'Are we missing someone's mommy and daddy tonight?' she asked.

'Yeah, Mary wanted us to come, and Sam and Jess needed a date night, so…' Dean shrugged.

'We usually prefer the parents to come to these.'

Dean laughed. 'Oh, don't worry, we have note templates, and we got grilled on exactly what to do. Trust me, Sam's here in spirit.'

The teacher relented. 'All right, I guess it's okay just this once. It was nice to meet you guys.'

Cas and Dean stood in the doorway of the classroom, the last ones out, and watched all the kids running around.

Dean sighed, and wrapped his arms around Cas from behind, resting his head on Cas's shoulder. 'I want one,' he murmured.

'I know,' Cas said, rubbing Dean's arms.

'So, why don't we get one?'

Cas released himself from Dean's arms. 'We've been over this. I'm not well enough.'

'First of all, you definitely are. The kids at the hospital don't even have to wear name tags anymore. And second, you don't have to do it alone. We can get help.'

'We can't afford that.'

'Can't we?'

Cas turned to face Dean, saw the confidence in his smile, and his heart leapt. 'What do you mean?'

'We went over the numbers today,' Dean told him. 'The new shop is doing well. Like really well. Way better than we were expecting, not to mention the training program's really kicking into gear too, thanks to yours truly.'

Cas stared at him, hardly daring to believe what he was hearing.

'And your gallery isn't doing too badly either, you know,' Dean grinned.

Cas bit his lip. 'I don't know, Dean…'

'Think about it?'

Cas stepped away. 'My brain - your heart-'

Dean grabbed Cas's hand, and placed it over his heart. 'This thing hasn't gone off once since they put it in me, and besides… one of Jess's friends has a heart condition, and the agency they used didn't have a problem with it.'

'You've - you've really thought about this.'

Dean squeezed his hand. 'I wouldn't ask this of you, unless I thought we could do it, you know that.'

'I have my doubts.'

'And I know that too.'

Mary came barrelling up to them, since her friends were beginning to leave. 'What are you guys talking about?' she asked, jumping up, and hanging from Dean's arm.

'Well, me and Cas might get a little marshmallow of our own,' Dean told her. 'What do you think?'

'That would be awesome!' Mary exclaimed. 'Then I'd get like a little brother or sister!'

'Well, more like a cousin, but sure thing, short stack.'

Cas gave Dean a doubtful look, then they all walked out of the school to the Impala.

Mary threw herself into the back, and buckled herself up in her car seat.

Dean paused outside, and grabbed Cas's hands. 'You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, but will you look into with me? Just to see what's involved?'

Cas nodded. 'All right.' He put Hoagie and Fries in the back with Mary, and sat himself down in the passenger side. He was quiet on the ride back, with Dean's hand resting on his knee most of the time.

They stopped for pizza and snacks, and once they were home, they all cuddled up on the couch, dogs and all, and watched movies.

Dean and Mary fell asleep not long after the second movie, both stuffed full of pizza, but Cas sat awake, his mind running fast.

Then Mary snuffled in her sleep, shuffling closer to Dean, and Dean pulled her into his chest, still asleep himself.

Cas watched them, and his heart melted. He too cuddled close, Mary between them, and gently shook Dean awake. 'Shh,' he whispered.

'What's up?' Dean murmured.

'Let's do it. Let's get a baby.'

Dean blinked blearily, carefully pushing himself up, so he wouldn't disturb Mary. 'Really?'

'Yes.'

Dean smiled warmly at him. 'Okay.'

Cas nodded, feeling good about his decision.

'But I gotta level with you, it's not gonna be easy,' Dean told him. 'I looked into some stuff already, and we've got a lot working against us, and we might not even be approved.'

'I understand.'

'If we're gonna do this, we gotta ramp up our therapy sessions, and checkups, 'cause it'll be stressful. And you can change your mind, I'm not chaining you to this- '

Cas grabbed Dean's hand. 'I understand,' he said firmly. 'I want to do this with you. I want to try.'

Dean kissed him.

'I'm in this with you,' Cas insisted.

'All right, then, let's do it.' Dean carefully stood up, carrying Mary with him, and lay her down on the bed in the spare room.

'I want this every night,' Cas whispered, as they watched her sleeping.

'Me too.'

Dean hugged Cas, breathing him in. 'Thank you,' he mumbled.

'You forget that I wanted this for a long time too,' Cas said, amused. 'Do you really think we're ready?'

'I really do.' Dean took Cas by the hand into their room and climbed into bed.

They talked late into the night, making plans and coming up with ideas, until they fell asleep.

Mary jumped on the bed the next morning, tickling Cas's feet, and waking them both up.

Dean made them pancakes for breakfast, happy and hopeful, and more in love than he had ever been with his blue-eyed, kind-hearted, cautious husband.

'I want bananas on mine!' said Mary.

'You got it, cupcake,' Dean grinned, winking at Cas, and mussing Mary's hair. 'How about some maple syrup too, as long as you don't tell your daddy.'

Mary clapped her hands together. 'Deal!'

'You spoil her,' Cas laughed.

'Yeah, well, what Sam doesn't know won't hurt him.'

Cas poured some syrup over Mary's pancakes. 'I want you to know that, no matter how far we get with this, you'll always have me,' he said softly.

'You did promise me. Twice,' Dean smirked, thumbing his ring. 'We'll see what happens, okay? But for now, let's just get the kid her pancakes before she goes feral.' Dean carried the plate out to Mary and sat behind her.

Cas watched from the doorway, fondly admiring his green-eyed, confident, caring husband, more in love than he had ever been. In love with Dean, with their lives, and with the future they hoped to have.


Cute little epilogue, as promised. Thanks to AGirlIntheGalaxy and Eyum daRelmera for the reviews.

You guys are the reason I keep writing, and I love seeing you here. I'll be back soon :)