Chapter 63.

Gabriel crowed loud and clear. It was light outside and birds were singing. Cas heard Sarah go down to the kitchen and listened to the familiar sounds of breakfast being prepared. He didn't want to move. Jules was resting her head on his bare chest and her arm lay across his waist. She raised her head and began to kiss along his shoulder.

"Sarah will expect us downstairs soon." he said.

"Does she know you're here?"

"She saw me last night. I didn't stop to explain anything. I needed to see you." he said.

She kissed his neck. "She'll be happy that you finally made it home. I know I am. I guess we should go down. Do you have to go back to the bunker today?"

"Mary wants to talk to me and I should check in with Sam and Jack. There's no immediate hurry. We should have breakfast with Sarah and then continue our conversation privately. I can go to the bunker later."

"I could go with you. I could come back here tomorrow to clean out the chicken coop."

He thought about spending another night with her, in his room in the bunker. Another night without that terrible loneliness. "Yes." he said, "We should do that." He noticed some papers near the bed. He saw the word "nephilim". "What's that?" he said, nodding to the pile of notes.

It took her a moment to understand what he was asking about. Or maybe to decide how to answer the question. Then she said, "Just some ideas for fighting Michael."

"Anything I can help with?" he said.

"No." she said quickly.

"Oh." he said, a little hurt by how certain she was.

"No, I don't mean it like that. It's all just rough ideas for now. At least two of them would need your help, if they ever get further than speculation. I need to work on it a little longer."

"If I can ever help, let me know."

"I will." she said, "Some of the ideas were stupid. Pure desperation." She stroked his chest, an odd look on her face. He wished he knew better how to read human feelings. "I think we should have breakfast." she said, "Which probably means you want to get dressed."

He didn't. He was growing to love the sensations of human contact, which were more intense without the coat and shirt. They were still overwhelming and they still scared him, but the fear brought with it exhilaration and joy.

But he was going down to the kitchen and he would already feel exposed enough when Sarah's clear eyes looked into his and she asked him, half with words, half with that steady gaze, what had happened when he was away from home.

"Yes," he said, "I should get dressed."

"I'll show Sarah my ring." said Jules, getting out of bed and admiring the ring on her hand.

A thought occurred to him. "There is one person who should never see the ring, Rowena. She's been asking me questions about ... about love. It would take her seconds to work out that you were important to me if she saw that ring and I don't want her to know."

"Is she a threat to us?" said Jules, "I know she's too interested in you, but is she likely to do more than mock us?"

"With Rowena, what she would do, how far she would go, is always difficult to judge." he said, putting on his shirt, "I want to take no chances with your safety. Besides, I don't want her asking questions about us. Her curiosity would taint something pure and precious."

She kissed him. "That's sweet, Cas." She gave him his coat and he put it on, "When she's around, I'll wear it on a chain, under my clothes." She straightened his coat, running her fingers down the lapels in a way he found delightful. "Let's go." she said.

He pulled her into his arms again and kissed her. "I was so right to come home to you." he said.

They went down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Sarah was busily preparing a fried breakfast. When she saw Cas, she gave him a warm hug. "It's so good to see you, Castiel. I was afraid we'd lost you this time."

"I was a little afraid I'd lost me too." he said, "But here I am."

Jules showed her the ring. "Look what Cas gave me."

Sarah held her hand to look at it properly. "It's lovely." she said, "And a perfect fit. How did you know her size?"

"I didn't." said Cas, "I didn't even know what sizes there were, but the man in the store showed me the ones he had and I knew which one would fit. The dimensions of every part of her are clear in my mind forever."

"You mean you know exactly how heavy I am?" said Jules.

"You're not heavy." said Cas.

"Good answer." she said. He was unsure why, but she was happy, so he smiled at her.

"I don't want to pry," said Sarah, "But I hope things are good between you now and I hope, Castiel, that you won't be disappearing on us again."

"Things are good." he said, "But I can make few promises and that isn't one of them. I am here now. I want to be here more often. Things will be a lot easier if Dean is found and brought back."

"When, not if." said Sarah.

"You are always warning me of the dangers of denial."

"And the dangers of despair." said Sarah, "The Winchesters have a one hundred percent success rate for coming back. I see no reason to doubt them this time."

"I've always believed before, but this feels different." he said.

She gestured to Jules to sit and put a plate of food in front of her. Cas sat before she told him. Soon a plate was steaming in front of him.

"You don't need to feed me." he said.

"Yes, I do." she said, "More now than ever before. You just let me do what I need to do, because I'm old and set in my ways."

"I'm older." he said.

"And setter." said Jules with a smile.

"Do as you're told." she said, "The past few days have been hard for me."

"For all of us." said Jules, "But you're here now, Cas and we need to take care of you."

"Then I'll eat." said Cas, "Although an angel should be low maintenance."

"Angels should be a lot of things you're not." said Sarah.

He knew she didn't intend it as an accusation, but it reminded him of how frequently he fell short of perfection.

"Thought loop!" said Jules, "Abort, Cas!"

He looked at her, confused, then realised what she meant. He searched his mind for something else to think about. "Yesterday, I met a child who liked my car."

"I love your car." said Jules.

"The child had good taste." said Sarah.

"She knew I was an angel."

"Is that common?" said Jules.

"No. Some people see a little more than others. She may lose the ability as she grows."

Jules was watching him closely. He felt she was asking him a question with her silence, but he wasn't sure what it was. Then Sarah, his go-to expert on things unspoken, translated it for him. "Was meeting the child significant to you?"

"I suppose it was. Talking to her ... It gave me some clarity. I had to explain my mission to her. In doing so, I think I defined it for myself. It was strange to find I still had one ... in a way, anyway."