Thank you so much Franki3Winchester, C1B12, Danae and Blondie 20000 for all the feedback (and the story suggestion Blondie 20000)

I'm so glad you all like the twist with Osiris and that she wasn't pulled from Heaven by the angels but basically left in limbo when Sam stabbed him and Death didn't have her reaped and denied entrance back into Heaven. I wanted to try something different and I couldn't remember seeing that anywhere before.

Yup my Michael is nowhere near as lovable as your Michael Blondie :-).

Anyway, I hope people enjoy this next part.

Thanks

Val

Chapter 14

The four started towards the kitchen when Dean reached down and took Jo's hand. "We'll met you guys in the kitchen in a few." He said as he gently tugged Jo down the corridor leading to their bedroom.

As soon as he pulled her into the room, he wrapped his arms around her, needing to hold her. "Baby, I don't know what to say." He murmured.

The guilt he carried all these years for her death and now to realizing because of him she was ripped out of Heaven and then abandoned here, left in some mental institution...even if Bobby got her in a decent one. Eight years of her life just wasting away...it hurt too much to think about.

Then to be used by Michael...he just wanted to pack up Jo and Amelia and run. Sammy could make the decision if he wanted to come. He was sick and tired of everything and just wanted to be with his family.

Jo sighed as she wrapped her arms around Dean's neck. "It's overwhelming."

"I'm sorry Jo..." he stopped when Jo reached up and put her finger over his lips and heard her soft 'shh'.

"I won't have you apologize for this; you aren't responsible for what happened...even Carthage was never your fault."

"Heaven...Jo you were in Heaven. That Osiris bastard pulled you out and then thanks to me and Sam you were denied re-entry into Heaven and abandoned here alone." He said, his voice cracking.

"Don't go there Dean. Please don't do this." She begged as she leaned up and kissed him. "No matter what we're here now and we have a beautiful daughter we made together and I'm never going to regret anything that I had to go through before Amelia was born and I won't let you have any regrets either. They may have manipulated us for their purposes but we're having the last laugh because we love each other and we're a family. We may not be a conventional family but it's a loving family none the less."

Dean stared at the woman in front of him and thought again how she amazed him. "Yes Mam, no regrets," he said as he stroked her cheek.

Jo smiled as she nodded her head. "Good and no blaming yourself either for things that were out of your control." She commanded as she kissed him again.

Dean sighed, "that I can't promise but I'll try."

"Okay, I'll take that." She murmured.

Taking a deep breath, he reached down and entwined his hand with hers. "I guess we should join Sam and Cas."

"Right," she agreed as rested her head on his shoulder. Jo moaned softly when Dean wrapped his arms around her and gently rubbed her back.

The hunter pulled back and looked down into Jo's face and groaned at the way she looked up at him and he could see the desire in her eyes. "Oh Hell, they're not going anywhere." He said as he captured Jo's lip in a searing kiss as he danced her back towards their bed.

SPNSPNSPN

Sam and Cas looked up as the couple finally joined them. Sam's smart-ass remark about what took them so long died on his lips when saw the blush on Jo's cheeks.

Instead he rolled his eyes when Dean gave him a grin and turned his attention towards Jo as she looked at Cas and asked, "are you ready?"

"There's no reason to rush this." Dean said as he looked at his watch. "I don't know about anyone else but I'm getting hungry."

Sam stared at his brother. "Seriously Dean?"

Jo looked over at Sam and said. "Actually, I could eat."

"Too bad you gave away all our food." Dean teased.

"Fine I'll make a food run, what do you want?" She said.

"Some of the Colonel's finest." He said with grin. He looked over at his brother. "Sammy will go with you."

Jo nodded her head; she knew Dean needed some time to speak privately with Castiel. She turned her face towards him and whispered, "I love you," before kissing him.

Dean smiled as he mated his forehead to hers. "I love you too," he murmured before kissing her again.

Jo reached up and stroked his cheek, giving him a reassuring smile. "Come on Sammy, you can drive."

Sam saw the way Dean looked towards Cas and realized that his brother wanted to speak to their friend.

"Sure, let's go get some food before Dean wastes away to nothing." He said with a grin.

Dean watched as Jo and Sam headed out before turning his attention back to his best friend and saw the way Castiel was looking at him.

"You and Joanna have become intimate?" He asked.

"Ummm you could say that." Dean said as he gestured towards the table for them to sit down.

"I would say that since you both declared your love for each other quite easily."

Dean blushed slightly. "Look Cas, I owe you an apology. What I said to you after Rowena died...I was out of line. I took my anger out on you. I know how bad my anger is and I'm trying to learn how to control it better. I know how toxic I can be and I'm tired of carrying all that anger."

Cas nodded his head. "You are trying to be a good father for Amelia."

"I am and I want to be the man Jo deserves too, starting with not keeping secrets and that is something I need to speak to you about." Dean said

Castiel cocked his head at Dean in confusion. "Secrets?"

Dean sighed as he explained to Castiel about Gabriel 'scavenger hunt' clues and that he had told Jo about the kiss they had shared after they lost Jack. At how he felt shamed for kissing the angel.

Castiel smiled at the hunter. "Dean, are you afraid that I'm in love with you?"

Dean blushed as he looked at the angel. "Ummm I think that's the issue... I'm not sure and ummm I guess I don't want to...ummm you know…hurt you."

"Well I'm hurt that you think what you did was something to be ashamed of. We were grieving."

"Because Cas, I'm not gay..."

"You're the one putting a title to it. I never thought of it as something more between us. We were both in pain and it's natural we would seek comfort from each other but if you need reassurance I am not in love with you Dean. Also that kiss did not bring me anywhere near the pleasure I felt when I kissed Meg…she did this thing with her tongue…"

"Then we're cool!" Dean shouted quickly as he stood up and slapped Castiel on the back. He really didn't want to know what that Meg did with her tongue.

"No Dean we are not 'cool'. We have a way to go before we are 'cool' again."

"You just said..."

"I'm talking about us, how you have been punishing me since Mary's death. What you convinced Sam to do to our son." He said. "That Dean is what I am speaking about."

Dean nodded his head in understanding. "I understand. You need time."

Cas looked at the hunter. "We need time...you, Sam and I need to get past our problems, or we will never defeat Chuck."

Dean knew Cas had a point. "You're right and maybe the three of us need to have a pow wow."

"I believe it would be beneficial." The angel agreed.

"Right but Jo's memories have to come first. Eight years Cas, she was robbed eight years of her life."

"Yes, Joanna deserves her real memories back."

"Also, the sooner we do that and finish dealing with Gabriel then we can bring Amelia home." Dean explained.

At the mention of the infant Cas gave his friend a genuine smile. "I look forward to meeting the newest Winchester."

Dean grinned as he pulled out his phone and began showing the angel pictures of his daughter. He watched as Castiel scrolled through the photos. "Cas, I want to tell you that Jo and I plan on telling Ami all about her big brother...about Jack."

The other man looked at Dean, clearly surprised by the declaration. "I... I think Jack would have liked having a baby sister."

"I think so to." He agreed as he put his phone away. Looking down at his watch he sighed. "They'll be back soon. I need to know...what are we about to walk into?

Castiel took a deep breath. "Her time in Heaven will give her joy...she had chosen a time in her life when she was six years old and she was on picnic in the park with her parents and her father playing with her."

Dean smiled sadly. "Good, I'm glad she will have that."

"Unfortunately, Dean that will only give her a few moments of joy. She will then remembered what it felt like being pulled out of Heaven. She will remember the moment she realized she was truly alive again. She will remember everything that happened to her after she woke up in that construction site and I am sorry to say that Gabriel is correct. The first hospital she was placed in was cruel. She endured electric shock therapy, freezing ice baths and sadly abusive orderlies."

Dean jaw clenched as his hands balled into fists. "Was she raped?" He had heard enough stories about state run mental hospitals to know that wasn't uncommon.

Castiel quickly shook his head. "No, Bobby got her out of there before that happened to her. But they were physical with her to keep her in line when they felt she was not cooperating."

"Fucking bastards," Dean hissed as he grabbed his abandoned coffee mug from earlier and flung it across the room and winced when it connected with the wall and shattered.

"I see you have a way to go with the anger control." Castiel said as Dean got up and began cleaning up the mess.

Dean shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, still working on it," he admitted.

Cas watched as Dean tossed the pieces of ceramic into the trash bin. "Dean, what Joanna is about to go through will not be pleasant, but we will all be here for her." He told the hunter.

Dean's shoulders sagged. "I know...I know."

The angel watched his friend. "There is something else on your mind?"

"It's Gabriel...when he had you locked up; I don't get why he behaved the way he did."

"How so?" Castiel asked as the other man joined him at the table again. Dean quickly filled the angel in on when Jo gave birth and how Gabriel's made up a version Castiel, a version that had told him that Jo and he were always meant for each other...that they were each other destiny and that them together could help stop Chuck.

"He planted these thoughts in our heads...I don't get why he did it. Why did he wanted me and Jo together?"

Castiel consider what Dean said for a few moments. "I believe he knew Joanna's devotion to the Dean he had imprinted on her was fading quickly and her true feelings for you were bubbling below the surface...by telling you both that you are each other's destiny it was giving Joanna the permission she would need to give herself to move on. No matter what Joanna has a strong moral compass."

"Yeah but why would he care about us getting together?"

"You will not like it." The angel said as he looked down at his hands.

Dean sighed. "He really does care about her, doesn't he?"

"I believe Gabriel loves Joanna. I believe he feels guilt for his part as well as anger at what she has endured. He wants her to be happy and he knows you make her happy and I believe that is why he encourage you both."

"Great now Gabriel can add matchmaker to his résumé. Could our lives get any weirder?" Dean quipped with a roll of his eyes. "What about the stuff he said about Chuck? Think there's anything to that?"

"I do not believe Chuck has followed what happened to Joanna since she was brought forward to testify against you since he obviously only saw Joanna as a minor character in your story. He would not consider her a threat to his plans for you and Sam. He always counts on you and Sam's devotion to each only. He would not expect you to open your heart to another as completely as you have with Joanna. That is a mistake. Your feelings for Joanna makes you stronger and that may throw Chuck off."

"Not just me, she makes us stronger...me and Sammy. Jo and Ami give both of us focus that I can't explain." Dean said.

Castiel cocked his head slightly at this declaration since Dean included Sam's relationship with Joanna as being equally important. He looked up when the two in question walked into the room carrying the takeout.

Dean smiled as he met Jo halfway and dropped a kiss on her lips before taking the bucket of chicken from her. His smile quickly disappeared when he pulled the cover off the bucket and looked inside. "Where the Hell is my chicken!"

Jo looked into the bucket before looking up at Dean. "There's 20 pieces of chicken in there."

"This...this abomination is not the Colonel's finest...where's the golden-brown skin with all the flavor." He cried

"Skinless is better for you. All that fat isn't good for your heart." Jo said as she scooted by to grab plates, silverware and napkins as Sammy put the rest of the takeout on the table.

Dean stared at Jo before turning and shaking an accusatory finger at his brother. "You put her up to this...it has your hippy dippy emo stink all over it!"

Sam's mouth dropped open. "No, it wasn't!" The younger Winchester argued. "It's not my fault she loves you and wants you to live a long life."

Dean looked over at Jo who gave him serene smile. "Fine." He huffed before turning back to his brother. "See this is why I hate being so damn lovable."

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother, "Oh yeah just sucks being you."

TBC

Author's Note: Okay sorry I had to bring up the dreaded kiss again and but I figured Dean would have to fess up and explain the scavenger hunt to Castiel...I hope Cas making Dean uncomfortable talking about how much he enjoyed kissing Meg compared to him somewhat makes up for it *grin*.