Author's Note: OK, ya'll, I'm BACK!

Apologies for Dean's arc through this and the next chapter. He redeems himself, I swear. At the beginning of Season 15 in canon he was kind of a dick, too, if you remember…

***Ember POV***

April 30

It took a few days after Chuck's departure before Ember began to feel normal again – or as normal as things had been since the Winchesters had walked into her life over a decade earlier. Ember eventually settled into a life of working full-time, and Castiel resumed splitting his time between Ember, the Winchesters, and "angel business."

Things were still tense between Castiel, Ember, and Dean. Castiel reported that his conversations with Dean were usually business-related and tense at best, and Ember's conversations with Dean were non-existent. Sam was more understanding, and he and Eileen kept up a constant stream of communication with both Ember and Castiel.

Jack had remained in his room for an entire day after being reunited with his soul before Ember had drug him back into the world of the living. She knew the guilt of Mary's death weighed on him, as did his lack of powers. She feared for his mental state, and assigned herself, Castiel, or Krissy to stay with him around the clock until she could be sure he would be okay.

Five days after his soul returned, he requested to go to the bunker. Sam was hesitant, but eventually returned word that Dean had agreed.

When Jack confronted Dean and Sam, he almost immediately broke down crying. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, unable to look either of them in the eye. "Why didn't I get it? My mother died too. I didn't think I would get her back. I remember what that felt like. Why didn't I understand?"

Dean's surprise shown in his eyes, and for a second Ember saw the man she had loved so many years ago.

"It was my fault," Jack said, continuing to cry.

Dean looked at Ember for help.

"Please…" Jack said, tears streaming down his face. "Please forgive me."

"Jack…" Sam began. "You didn't have a soul. I remember what it was like to be soulless. You're…" he looked at Ember and she nodded. "You're our son."

Dean didn't respond, but he did nod and return Jack's hug when he offered it.

When they had returned to Conway Springs, Jack announced, "You don't have to watch me, you know."

"What?" asked Ember, surprised.

"I know you and Dad and Krissy have been watching me to make sure I don't try to end my life. I promise I won't."

Ember and Castiel looked at each other. "We want to make sure you're okay," Ember said. "We've both lost loved ones before. We've both killed before. And we know the guilt can be overwhelming."

"It is," Jack said solemnly. "But I'm not…" he sighed. "I'm not gonna do anything like that."

Ember looked at him nervously. "I'll never be able to make up for what Sam and Dean have lost," he said. "But I can try. I need to start trying."

***Sam POV***

April 30

"Your brother's drinking again," Eileen said.

"He's always drinking," Sam signed against her skin, pulling her closer. He waited until she turned toward him and added, "The world isn't ending. We're both home at the same time. Let's enjoy it."

"I'll still be here in an hour," said Eileen, smiling and tilting her head upward to kiss him.

"Fine," Sam grumbled, extricating himself from his wife and heading downstairs reluctantly.

True to form, Dean was hunched over the table in the kitchen, two empty bottles of whiskey next to him and some of Rowena's spellbooks.

"There's nothing in here, Sammy," Dean said, hearing him coming. "Nothin' about God, nothin' about bringin' back the dead, nothin' about other universes."

"Dean," Sam said carefully. "If Rowena could've brought Mom back, she'd have done it."

Rowena's death had hit Sam especially hard. He liked to think he had been a large part of the reason she had turned "good" in the end. It had started as a team-up to get rid of a common enemy (Lucifer), and turned into almost a friendship. Still, he had been surprised to learn that she had left her belongings to him.

Over the past few days, Sam and Castiel had spent time going through Rowena's apartment to weed out the most potent cursed objects and magic items and bring them back to the bunker. Sam had found the beginnings of a necromancy spell that Rowena was putting together, but it didn't seem to be going the way she'd hoped. On the final page, Rowena had written, "Mouse came back with no eyes and no heart, died again. Terminal failure #37."

He had not shown Dean.

"I know that, Sammy," Dean said with an edge of annoyance. "I didn't expect to find anything that could bring Mom back. But I hoped maybe there would be at least a reference to another universe in all this crap… but I guess that's just for angels and Chuck."

Sam sighed, sitting down at the table across from Dean and pouring himself some whiskey. He recognized Dean's "I'm finally drunk enough to talk about my issues" mood.

"You heard what he said, Sammy. 'I've got another universe that's my favorite.' It's just like you told me, he's been watching us this whole time!"

Dean took another swig of whiskey. "Just when we thought we had a choice. You know, whenever we thought we had free will. We were just rats in a maze. Sure, we could go left. Sure, we could go right. But we were still in the damn maze. Just makes you think, if all of it... you know, everything that we've done... What did it even mean?"

Sam looked at him, surprised and alarmed. "It meant a lot. We still saved people."

"Yeah, but what for? Just so he could throw another End of the World at us and then sit back and chug popcorn?"

"Maybe," said Sam, wishing he had a different answer. "Yeah, maybe. But... now he's gone."

"You think?"

"You heard him yourself, he's gone off to his favorite universe. He's moved on from us. That's what he does. He gets bored and pulls the ripcord. I mean, that's what he did with Apocalypse World and probably with all of them. He moves on, starts another story. But you know what? Good. 'Cause if he bailed, it's just us. For the first time. It's just us."

"Doesn't help the fact that our lives have been shit because we've been his entertainment…"

Sam and Dean sat in silence for a minute. Finally, Sam said, "I'd hate to be in his favorite universe."

***Ember POV***

May 18th

THREE WEEKS LATER

Things had been quiet. Dean had forgiven Jack, to an extent. Jack came to the bunker occasionally, to train with Dean and Sam. Castiel and Ember both felt it prudent that Jack receive training from the brothers now that he was human in order to improve his fighting skills. Despite the fact that he was now human, none of the four adults involved believed that there would ever come a time when Jack wouldn't need to know how to defend himself.

In addition to training at the bunker, Castiel, Sam, Jack, and Krissy had all spent a considerable amount of time cleaning out Rowena's apartment, which would soon be complete. Dean and Ember joined them occasionally, but never on the same days.

Jack's birthday came and went. Ember and Eileen threw a small party at the bunker, and the atmosphere was jovial on the surface yet somehow tense. Ember caught Dean glaring at her at least twice.

"He's forgiven Jack, but he hasn't forgiven us," Ember said to Castiel that evening.

"I know," said Castiel. "I've known for awhile."

Ember sighed. She wished things had been different. She wished she and Castiel had told Sam and Dean their fears about Jack. Would things be different now?

Jack had seemed happier today than he had in weeks. "Jack smiled today," Ember said conversationally.

"He did?" asked Castiel, his voice muffled where he spoke into her neck. "I didn't see."

"He was laughing at something Krissy was saying."

"Perhaps they'll get back together," Castiel said in his formal way. "It's safer, now. They wouldn't have to keep it a secret."

"Maybe," Ember said, though she doubted it would happen for some time. Krissy had told Ember that she had asked Jack out last week, but he had told her he didn't "feel ready" and that he "wasn't worthy." She had attempted to approach the subject with Jack, but he seemed unwilling to discuss it.

Ember contemplated the situation and finally decided to ask Castiel a question she'd waited to ask him for awhile. "Things are calm now," she said. "Do you think… if we got married… you would be happy?"

Castiel thought about it. "Yes," he said finally. "It would make me happy to commit to you. But not so happy that the Empty would take me."

"Yeah?"

"Would it make you happy?" he asked.

"I'd love to be married to you," Ember said. "But the kind of contentment that would cause the Empty to take me? Not with Dean shooting glares at me and Jack walking around like a kicked puppy, no."

"We could get married then," Castiel said.

It seemed effortless almost, a small decision in the grand scheme of things after all this time, but Ember could feel Castiel's smile against her skin.

***Castiel POV***

May 20

Castiel wasn't looking forward to the conversation he planned to have with Dean, and yet it was necessary. In preparation, Castiel had bought a bunch of El Sol beer and a pecan pie.

"I've got a favor to ask," he said.

"Must be a big favor if you've brought pie," said Dean, who had been poring over a book written in ancient Hebrew.

"Why are you reading about the mating calls of prehistoric birds?" asked Castiel.

Dean looked up, surprised. "That's what it's about? I saw a picture of wings, and… never mind." He shut the book and leaned back in his chair, eyeing the pie.

"I want you to be my best man," Castiel said, bringing in a plate from the kitchen.

Dean looked at him, surprised. "So you're really doing the wedding thing, then?"

Castiel shrugged. "Things are stable, I suppose. Everybody's got their soul. There's no rift to the other side open…" he shrugged, sitting in a chair across from Dean.

Dean grunted in response, having stuffed a large piece of pie into his mouth.

Castiel addressed the elephant in the room. "Dean, I recognize that I... dropped the puck."

"Ball," Dean said, swallowing his pie. "It's 'dropped the ball.'"

"Ball, right," said Castiel. "We didn't tell you about Jack, and then after what happened with your mother..."

"Don't," said Dean, turning sharply and looking away.

"You're angry," said Castiel gently.

"Yes, I am angry," said Dean, stuffing another piece of pie into his mouth. "At everything. All of it."

"All of it?" asked Castiel.

Dean took a large swing of the beer, mumbling something that was quite clearly, "Not drunk enough for this conversation."

"This mess... all the messes," he said finally. "It turns out that we're just hamsters running in a wheel our whole lives. What do we have to show for it, huh? Tell me you don't feel conned."

He stood up and headed to the kitchen with the half-eaten pie, a large piece now gone. Castiel followed him. "God's been lying to you, Cas, forever. You bought into the biggest scam in history."

"You don't think I'm angry?" Castiel said vehemently. "I've never known my father. And he turned out to be so much less than what I expected. But that doesn't mean it was all a lie."

"Really?" Dean asked, beginning the dishes.

"Chuck is all-knowing," Castiel answered. "He knew the truth, he just kept it to himself."

"Well, now that his cover's blown, everything that we've done is for what? Nothing?" snapped Dean.

"Even if we didn't know that all of the challenges that we face were born of Chuck's machinations, how would we describe it all?" Castiel challenged. "We'd call it 'life'. Because that's precisely what life is. It's an obstacle course, and maybe Chuck designed the obstacles, but we ran our own race. We made our own moves. And mostly, we did well with that."

"Did we?" Dean asked. "I'll tell you what we do know. Nothing about our lives is real. Everything that we've lost, everything that we are is because of Chuck. So maybe you can stick your head back in the sand, maybe you can pretend that we actually had a choice. I can't."

"Dean," Castiel said gently. "You asked, 'What about all of this is real?' We are. You, and me, and Sam, and Ember, and Krissy, and Jack. We're real."

"Whatever," Dean said, preparing to leave the room. "I'll be your best man." He took a deep breath. "I'm tired, man. I'm going to bed."

Castiel recognized a brush-off when he saw one. But, at least he had a best man.

***Sam POV***

June 30

SIX WEEKS LATER

Sam and Eileen were in the bunker library when Castiel inevitably showed up. It was two weeks before the wedding, and he had been doing that almost every night recently.

Dean was officially the Best Man, and Eileen was officially the Maid of Honor. Still, the Best Man had a habit of drinking himself into a stupor shortly before Castiel was due to arrive, so Sam was by now accustomed to picking up the slack.

"Cas will probably be here in an hour or so," Sam had reminded Dean an hour and a half ago.

"He always comes too late," Dean complained. "If he's gonna come around blasting wedding cheer at me, he needs to do it earlier."

"Bullshit," Sam protested. "You're always up late."

"God's left us alone, though, right?" Dean asked. "Probably time to do something about my health." He poured another glass of whiskey and downed it without pausing for breath.

Sam rolled his eyes.

"It's not about Ember, is it?" he asked finally.

"Fuck no, it's not about Ember," Dean said as he poured himself another glass. "It's just different now with Cas, that's all. Look, I'll be up to talk to him when he gets here."

Dean had apparently forgotten that promise, as he had headed to bed wordlessly twenty minutes ago.

Today, Castiel didn't even question it. His eyes swept the room before he said, "Evening, Sam. Eileen. Ember wanted me to ask you if Dean could -…"

Castiel's eyes lit on Eileen. "Eileen! Congratulations!"

Sam caught Eileen's eyes in surprise. It couldn't be… could it?

"You're pregnant," Castiel added, in a "how could you not know" tone of voice.

"We weren't sure," Eileen said. "We were hoping…"

"You can see that?" asked Sam.

"Jack's powers hid him from view," Castiel said. "But your child is 100% normal human. Yes, I can see."

Eileen and Sam stared at Castiel for a second before Eileen leapt up to hug Sam. Sam felt a fire awaken in him that he had never known, a joy which started somewhere in his center and branched outward.

Sam and Eileen held each other for a moment before Eileen turned to Castiel. "Is the baby… healthy?"

Castiel laughed. The smile looked foreign on his face. "I can't see everything," he explained. "But there's no reason to suspect not. You're both in perfect health and there are no complications that I can see."

Sam thought that perhaps he had never been as happy as in this moment.

***Ember POV***

July 16

TWO WEEKS AFTER THAT

The wedding was set up to be everything Ember had ever wanted in a wedding. The day was sunny and bright and glorious. The ceremony was held in an outdoor gazebo in a local park, decorated with blue roses and green streamers.

Castiel and the Winchesters had warded it, of course, against everything but angels, in subtle ways such as the pattern of chairs and meticulously placed roses.

It was on the smaller side of weddings, of course – the ceremony had no more than 26 people, all of whom were hunters or whom had fought beside Ember or Castiel before. The reception had been widened to 53 people and included a mixture of Ember's friends from work. Dean was the best man (though Ember still had doubts about this), and Sam and Jack were both groomsmen. Eileen was the Maid of Honor, followed by Krissy and Ember's other adopted daughter Josephine, who was now living in California. Ember's son, Aiden, who still lived and worked nearby, was an usher.

Ember's dress had no train and was made of cotton, in case she suddenly found she needed to fight. Still, it was beautiful and hugged her curves in all the right ways.

Her mother walked her down the aisle, and everyone was smiling and happy. Claire was holding hands with Kaia, and Jody and Donna were next to them. Behind them was Alex, who was sitting with a man Ember had never seen before, and Jo. Everyone stood as she walked by.

Ember had eyes only for Castiel. He stood tall and proud, looking odd in a black formal tuxedo instead of his trench coat, his blue eyes burning. Next to him was –

Naomi.

Ember sought out Castiel's eyes, and he nodded at Naomi and smiled a reassurance. He took her hands and squeezed them. Behind Naomi stood a man Ember had never met before, but immediately knew was an angel.

"This is the first time Heaven has blessed the union of a human and an angel in more than a millennia, and the first ever union of a pair such as this," Naomi began, and Ember's breath caught. Castiel had prepared her for a surprise. He had made her promise that he would make the choice about who would marry them. But she had not expected Naomi…

"It is not a choice that everyone will approve of. However, Heaven cannot deny the good Castiel and Ember both have brought to this world. And for that reason, Heaven gives its blessing."

Ember felt her mouth open with shock. There was some buzzing in the audience, but Ember could tell that Naomi's words were careful. The entirety of the audience knew that Castiel was an angel, and most of them knew of Ember's background as well. Naomi was choosing her words carefully, however, and many of the audience would think she was a priest or pastor. Ember could tell from Castiel's smile that he was overwhelmingly proud of himself for managing to pull this off, and she grinned back at him.

"For this, Heaven will surely bestow a gift of long life. May the bride and groom live their days together and happy. Will you accept Heaven's blessing?"

Ember looked at Castiel for clarification, and he nodded. She understood that Naomi would be working magic on her which would prolong her life, so long as Castiel also lived. (The Empty may have cemented their fates, but who knew how long it would take either of them to be truly happy?)

"I do," said Ember.

"Do you accept this blessing?" Naomi asked Castiel.

"I do," said Castiel.

Naomi put her hands on both Ember and Castiel's shoulders, and Ember could feel grace flowing through her body. It was cooling, cold, cold, burning cold – and then it was gone, as quickly as it had come.

Naomi and Castiel were both smiling. "Now, for your vows."

Castiel and Ember had a combination of traditional wedding vows and a vow angels made to their closest friends before they went into battle.

"Domiel and I made the vow many times," Castiel had said. "Angels do not take it lightly."

Do you Ember, take Castiel to be your husband

To have and to hold from this day forward

For better or for worse

For richer, for poorer

In sickness and in health

To love and to cherish

To protect and keep safe

Never cruel or cowardly

Forever righteous

From this day forward

To death and beyond

"I do," Ember said.

"I do," Castiel repeated.

When they kissed, Ember could feel the sizzling magic between them as Naomi cemented the longevity spell. Her body seemed to glow, and she knew by the sharp gasps from the audience and Dean's surprised face that it was visible to all.

Time spun forward quickly after that as Ember and Castiel were paraded back down the aisle followed by a sour-looking Dean and a happy-looking Sam and Eileen. Greeting everyone as they left for the reception took a surprisingly long time, but eventually only the wedding party remained.

"I have to leave," said Naomi, "But Eremiel will remain for security." She gestured to the male angel from earlier.

"It was an honor to have you here," said Ember, which appeared to be the correct thing to say, because Naomi gave her a small smile.

"See that you don't waste the gifts of Heaven," said Naomi. "They can be revoked if it is decided that you are unworthy of the silver kingdom."

"I understand," said Ember. She pushed down a slight feeling of hurt, knowing that she was extremely lucky Naomi was there at all.

"Angel dicks," Dean grumbled after Naomi had disappeared. "Can't ever just give you a gift without preaching conditions."

***Castiel POV***

July 16

Castiel prided himself on being an angel – on not succumbing so easily to human emotions like stress and anger and worry, and on being stoic when others around him were not. Still, his wedding challenged that view more than many experience in his millions of years of life. He was bubbling with happiness, but always with the undercurrent of ensuring that everyone around him was having fun – that Ember felt beautiful and happy (but not too happy), that Jack wasn't brooding in a corner like he often did of late. It was overwhelming to feel all of this at once, and he thought that tonight he might actually sleep like a human.

It had been the perfect evening, overall. The reception was in the backyard of one of his old safe houses (now no longer useful in that regard). It had been decorated with blue roses mixed in with white tablecloths, tiny bells, and a large cake – all of the normal accompaniments to a traditional wedding. People stayed later than anyone had expected, talking and laughing into the night.

It was nearly midnight before Castiel finally got a real chance to talk with Dean alone. He realized with a sense of irritation that he was surprised that Dean had stayed through the reception, given the way he had acted the past few weeks.

Dean was sitting aside from the 6 or 7 people still checkering the yard, calmly drinking a bottle of El Sol and watching the proceedings. "I think that went fairly well, considering," said Castiel, pulling up a chair next to him.

"Suppose so," Dean answered absently.

"I mean, a ghoul didn't show up, which is helpful," Castiel pressed.

"It's pretty sad if that's your gold standard for a successful wedding, Cas," Dean said, but it was gentle teasing.

"Ember thought you'd try to hook up with one of her friends from work," said Castiel, sitting down in a chair next to Dean and attempting to start a conversation.

Dean's eyes rose slowly and wandered over to one of the small groups still talking. Jo was there with a man Castiel didn't know (Stelios?), her arm draped casually around him. Something clunked into place, a conversation Castiel had had briefly with Sam two days ago suddenly jumping to the forefront of his mind.

"We just found out about Stelios a couple of days ago," Castiel said. "Sam didn't tell you?"

Dean's eyebrows rose in shock, then became angry. "I don't care about Stelios."

Dean surmised from Dean's tone that Sam hadn't told him, and that he did care about Stelios.

"I tried to tell you ahead of time," Castiel said quietly. "You were already in bed."

Dean shrugged and took a longer sip of his drink. "Could've woke me up," he grumbled, and it was so quiet Castiel almost didn't hear him.

Castiel felt defeated. How many nights had he attempted to talk to Dean about the wedding, about Chuck, about anything? On two occasions he knew for a fact that Dean had been feigning sleep. "Why did you even agree to be my best man?" Castiel asked.

Dean looked at Castiel uncomfortably, and Castiel could tell he was trying to keep his voice even. "Look, I'm not a wedding type, man," he bit out. "You'll have to excuse me if I'm not all happy all the time."

Something occurred to Castiel suddenly. "It's not because of Ember, is it?"

Dean laughed derisively. "No. It's not because of Ember. Me and her, we were done a long time ago. Long before either of us wanted to admit it." He stood up. "Look, congratulations on your wedding. I'm gonna go get more booze."

Castiel stood up and grabbed his sleeve. "Dean, what the hell is going on with you? You avoid me most of the time and then bite my head off every time something goes wrong!"

"Yeah, why does that something always seem to be you?" Dean snapped.

Castiel felt hurt lance through him. He was tired, and stressed, and he couldn't think straight. All he felt was despair, suddenly. "You used to trust me, give me the benefit of the doubt," he whispered. "Now you can barely look at me. I've tried to talk to you, over and over, and you just don't want to hear it. You don't care. I'm dead to you. You still blame me for Mary."

Dean nodded.

"Well, I don't think there's anything left to say," said Castiel, and he marched away.

"Where're you going?" Dean asked as Ember walked up.

"Chuck's gone," Castiel said. "Apocalypse averted. Again. Jack and Krissy are both human and adult. I've tried for months to reach out to you, and… I'm done."

"What the hell is going on?" asked Ember, looking at Castiel's face. "Dean, what the hell did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," said Dean, and he looked tired but resigned. "Have a nice life, you two."

"He still blames us for Mary," Castiel told her quietly.

Ember immediately whirled into a fury. "At my wedding?" Ember exclaimed. "For fuck's sake, Dean! After all the times you've hidden stuff from Cas and I? From Sam?"

"Get your wife out of here, Castiel," Dean snapped his voice now loud and dangerous.

"Whatever," Ember said. "Go fuck yourself, Dean."

Castiel led Ember away, leaving a part of himself behind.