A/N: Everyone have this short chapter because IDK where I was going with it and I want to get it out there so I can focus on other stuff for Cass and Brooke. Brookstiel? Can I have a ship name for my own character? LOL. Anyway. IN THE NEXT CHAPTER: AUTUMN/HALLOWEEN STUFF. *squeals* Also I'm probably gonna skip ahead in time a bit.

Six

In the morning, as some of the party-goers left, and others stayed behind to help clean up or cook breakfast, Sam came over to Brooke and Castiel. "So, what are you guys gonna do now? Get jobs?" He smiled a little. "Go to college?"

Brooke looked at her husband, realizing she had no idea what the answer to Sam's question was. And by the look on Cass' face, neither did he.

"Oh," said Sam. "Sorry. Didn't mean to open a can of worms."

"No, it's fine," Brooke assured him. "We… we do need to think about this, at some point. It won't be easy now. Can't do our credit card scams anymore. Can't steal cars." She sighed. "It'll just be… real life. And real life is hard."

Castiel wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Whatever troubles we face, we'll be together, at least."

She smiled at him.

"Don't forget you got me and Dean, too," Sam chimed in. "And Jody, and Donna, and Garth. We all gotta stick together."

"You've got us, too," said a voice behind Brooke, and she turned to see Daphne and Peter. Daphne hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Peter and I have been… talking about your situation."

"Situation?" Brooke repeated.

"Your…" Daphne made a face. "Impending homelessness."

"Ah," Castiel said, quietly. He smiled at the floor, the expression on his face unreadable.

Brooke shook her head immediately, catching on. "No, guys," she said, putting out her hands. "We can't live with you."

"Why not?" Peter asked.

"We…" Brooke sighed. "It was different last time. You two didn't know each other yet. Daphne wasn't married. We didn't have our memories. If we stay with you this time, it'll just feel like…" She trailed off.

"Like we're using you," Castiel said.

"Exactly," Brooke added, and despite the discomfort she was feeling about their conversation, she couldn't help but be gladdened by the fact that Cass could still guess what she was thinking, even if he didn't know.

"You're not using us if we're offering," Daphne argued. "Listen, the contract I have with Chris to rent my old house will be up in a few months. I was going to renew it, but I could just make a new contract with you two. And, in the meantime, you can live with Peter and me."

"And where would Chris go, after you kicked him out?" Brooke demanded.

"I would talk with him first, of course. If he can't find a new place, then I'll let him stay. But, otherwise… You two could rent that house from me. You'd have to get jobs, obviously, but you planned on doing that, anyway. Paying rent might make you feel less indebted to me. You'd be just like any other couple renting a house." Daphne smiled at them, hopefully.

Brooke glanced at Castiel, and wished she could have that silent, quick conversation with him about this, right there, so that they could come to a decision in seconds. As it was, she asked Daphne and Peter, "Will you give us some time to talk about this?"

"Of course," Peter replied, and the two of them walked away.

Brooke sighed, turning to Castiel. "So?"

He pursed his lips. "I'm not sure I'm the best judge of what we should do, here," he said.

"Why not?"

"All things considered, I haven't been human for very long—even including the last time I was human. I… I'm not sure I understand enough of how the world works to make a decision like this. You know, we've been, well, living our lives for so long… Stopping the Apocalypse and… everything else, over the years. The bunker is the only place that's felt like home for a long time. So, this…" He shook his head. "I don't know. I think you should decide."

Brooke released a long sigh. "Cass, I barely remember what life was like before I met you. That was fifteen years ago. I lived in a shitty apartment with a couple other women. We could barely afford rent. I worked at a fast food restaurant." She paused. "And… I guess that would be our fate… if we didn't take Daphne's offer."

"We were willing to run away and start over, before," Castiel murmured. "You once tried to convince me to do just that, to forget about angels and Heaven and… live a normal life. If we had done that, we would have ended up living in a tiny apartment, with low-paying jobs."

Brooke rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. "I don't know why I'm fighting this. We should just take their offer."

"I think so, too," Castiel said.

"It just feels like we're… I dunno, moving back in with our parents."

Castiel smiled at the floor. "Perhaps it won't be as bad as you think."

Brooke nodded. "Probably not. All right. Let's go talk to them."

###

In the late afternoon of the same day, Brooke and Castiel stood in the threshold of Daphne and Peter's guest bedroom, staring around at the space that was now theirs.

"Peter, how do you feel about all this?" Brooke had asked the man, hours before. "The last time Cass and I stayed with Daphne, you weren't in the picture, so… It'll be different now."

Peter had smiled in a very Castiel kind of way, staring humbly at the floor. "When I met Daphne, and began dating her, she was very up front with me," he had said. "I knew from the beginning that my life would have to change if I wanted to be with her. I learned about… angels and demons and… all the rest." He had shrugged, then, still smiling. "You two mean a lot to my wife, so having the opportunity of inviting you into our home is something of a privilege for me. I hope we'll become friends."

Brooke had thought, in that moment, that Peter and Castiel were very similar in personality, and she wondered at that, a little…

Brooke took a breath and stepped into the guest room, lugging her small suitcase with her. These would be temporary quarters, since Daphne had, in fact, called Chris and confirmed that it was all right if they did not renew his contract. Soon enough, Brooke and Cass would be living in that old house, assuming they could get jobs before then. Daphne had assured them she would adjust the rent to whatever price was available to them.

"I feel like all this is just being handed to us," Brooke muttered, as she hung up her shirts in the closet.

Castiel flopped his own suitcase onto the bed and unzipped it. "What do you mean?"

"A place to live. A giant house—what are we gonna do with that house when it's just us?"

Castiel fell silent for a long time, stilling his hands which had been pulling clothes from his suitcase.

Brooke paused, turning to look at him. "What?"

He bowed his head. "I suppose, in the long run, the extra bedroom might… might come in handy," he said, his voice strangely high, as if he were incredibly nervous.

"Oh, Cass," Brooke murmured, and touched his arm. He turned slowly to face her, his head still bowed.

"You know, you're not the only one who…" He hesitated, his lower lip trembling for a moment. "Who… has wanted a child, all these years. Of course, we had Jack. Have Jack. But he's… far away from us, now."

Brooke chuckled. "Yeah, I'd say him being God puts him pretty far away."

Castiel lifted a hand and touched her face with feather-light brushes of his fingers. He brought his forehead down against hers, taking a deep breath, and exhaled unsteadily. "It'll probably be a long time until we're… ready for that, but—

Brooke kissed him, cutting off his words. She could feel tears gathering on her lashes and she pulled away to rub her eyes. "We'll get there," she said.

"Yes." He smiled, sniffled, and repeated, "Yes."