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Chapter 24

Dean was pacing around the sitting room. He couldn't relax. Normally he would enjoy a little rest, drinking beer and watching some Dr. Sexy while nobody was looking, but he couldn't today. Not knowing that there were still two more rings to get while the damn Apocalypse raged on around them.

Glancing toward the closed door of Bobby's study, where he knew Amber and Bobby were looking for signs of the Horsemen, he quietly seethed in anger. Bobby had taken Sam's laptop as well for Amber to use. He would have burst in there and demanded to help, but he didn't want to start anything with Bobby. Thy needed to stick together now.

Sam, on the other hand, looked relieved to have a day of rest. He had his feet up on the coffee table while some monotone voice on the TV droned on about the life of some long-dead ancient civilization. Sam lazily took another sip of his beer and Dean sighed loudly behind him.

"What's your problem?" Sam said, letting his head hang back over the couch so he could see Dean. "You've been pacing for like two hours now."

Dean frowned. "You aren't bothered that we're not working?"

"It's one day, Dean. Calm down." Sam's eyes swiveled back to the TV.

"What the hell are you watching that's so interesting anyway?" Dean shook his head. "This stuff is boring."

"Maybe to you. That's only because you're uneducated." Sam cracked a small grin, joking. "If you could pay attention to something educational for more then a minute, maybe you would learn something."

"Shut up, bitch." Dean said, unable to resist.

"Jerk." came Sam's answer. For a second they both smiled, and then Dean placed his arms on the back of the couch, resting his head on them.

"What am I supposed to do?" he moaned.

"How about relax?" Sam rolled his eyes. "Or maybe talk to Cas. He's been upstairs sulking since breakfast." Sam turned to face Dean and nudged him so his head became dislodged from his arms. "What did you say to him? Did you tell him what you told me?"

Dean shrugged uncomfortably. "I didn't say anything."

"Well, maybe that's the problem. You two should go on a nice romantic walk through the junkyard and make up in one of the cars." Sam grinned and Dean punched him hard.

"Shutup." this time Dean wasn't smiling. He began pacing again and Sam slammed his beer on the table.

"Look, if you want to be miserable about us having a day of rest, be my guest. But do it somewhere else." Sam said, getting annoyed now at Dean's behavior.

"Fine." Dean snapped, and left the room. He sat on the bottom step leading upstairs with his head in his hands. He didn't want to talk to Castiel. He knew the angel had felt his panic before; he could tell by the look on his face. Afterwards he had felt Cas' hurt and confusion at his denial for the angel's company. These situations were not his specialty and he would rather not get into it at all. But he had to now. This wasn't just some fling he could run away from. This was Castiel. Dean groaned into his hands defeatedly and stood up. Trudging up the stairs as slowly as he could to delay the moment when he had to talk to Cas, he began wishing again that he was working instead. He reached the landing and stopped in front of the spare bedroom door. The door was closed, unlike the other doors down the hallway, so Dean assumed that's where Cas was. Knocking softly, Dean called, "Cas?"

There was no answer, and Dean's heart plummeted. What if he had left-? Dean crashed through the door, panic overwhelming him. There was no need to worry however. Cas was asleep in the bed. Or he had been until Dean had come bursting through. He sat up, looking alarmed but still drowsy.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Cas made to get out of bed, but Dean pushed him back down, feeling guilty that he had over reacted.

"No, everything's fine. I just thought when you didn't answer after I knocked that you had left."

"Why would I leave?" Cas looked confused.

Dean shrugged. "It's nothing. Are you okay though? You're not feeling sick again, are you?" he reached out a hand to place it on the angel's forehead.

"No, I was just a bit tired." Cas felt Dean's immediate relief and he smiled. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Dean nodded. He was wondering if he should bring up what happened this morning. Cas seemed perfectly happy. Frigging Sam telling him that Cas was sulking when he was just taking a nap. He decided to just leave the matter be until Cas gave him an odd look and placed a hand on his chest.

"Dean...what's the matter?"

"Nothing." he said quietly, moving away so that Cas' hand left his chest. Cas frowned at him.

"I know you're lying, Dean. I can feel your emotions, remember? Something happened this morning. I felt your panic. And now you are not right." Cas sat up, throwing the blankets off himself. He reached out, pulling Dean down so the hunter was sitting beside him on the bed. "You need to tell me."

Dean looked over at the angel. He could feel his worry and wanted to put him at ease. He wiggled his hand out of Cas' grip and the angel looked like he was about to cry, until Dean placed his hands on either side of Cas' cheeks.

"You know I love you, Cas." Dean said softly and Cas' brows knotted together as he gave a small nod. Dean leaned forward slowly so that their lips met. "I'm just having a minor panic attack, that's it."

"Why?" Cas whispered. "What are you afraid of? Dean, let me help. Is it the Horsemen?"

Dean shook his head slowly. "No. I'm just afraid that this isn't..that it's not going to work out."

Cas' eyes became wide and Dean could feel of wave of panic flowing from him. He knew immediately that Cas had taken that statement the wrong way. A sudden realization sent a shock through his whole body: this was his little speech to every one of his past flings. 'I love you, but there's no way this will work out. There's just no way.'

Cas tried to back away from him, but Dean slid his hands from Cas face down to around his waist.

"Cas, I didn't mean me and you. I love you. I'm just scared that I'm not going to be a good father. I'm afraid I won't be able to protect the baby." Dean pulled Cas closer, hugging him tightly.

"Dean, you will do fine." Cas whispered in Dean's ear. Relief flooded through him at Dean's explanation. He knew about some of Dean's past relationships and he was afraid that this one was about to end like all the other ones had. He was so stupid to doubt his mate. But this life with Dean still seemed so unreal after everything and he was afraid it was too good to be true. "It will be fine."

"Yeah." Dean said gruffly, although Cas still felt a small bit of doubt and panic emanating from Dean. He decided to let it go...it was probably normal for humans to feel some apprehension at becoming parents. He himself was feeling excited but a little scared as well.

"Let's just let this go, huh? We'll deal with it when we need to. There's nothing I can do now. I'll just have to deal."

Cas kissed him. "It will be okay." he reassured his mate again, and tried to sent out comfort to soothe Dean. It seemed like it working; Dean became more relaxed and Cas kissed him again, this time more seductively. He worked his hands under Dean's shirt, massaging his skin, and Dean bit his lip to keep a moan from escaping.

"Cas, everyone's downstairs-" Cas flicked a finger and the door swung closed. He gave Dean a rougish grin that was unlike him. Dean looked surprised. This reminded him of Cas' behavior during his heat cycle.

"There's not something weird going on with you, is there?"

Cas shook his head, grinning. "No. I just feel 'horny' as you describe it." He pulled at Dean's shirt, guiding it over his head. Pushing Dean down on the bed, he climbed on top of him, straddling his hips.

"Cas," Dean tried to argue half halfheartedly, but Cas quieted him by placing his mouth over Dean's. Moving his lips don to Dean's neck, he kissed a trail down to his torso, twirling his tongue around Dean's left nipple.

"Shit, Cas!" Dean moaned. Cas moved his lips back to Dean's, pushing through them with his tongue. Not breaking their lip lock, Dean worked Cas' coat and jacket off, Cas helping, shaking the sleeves off of his arms so the clothing fell onto the bed. Dean's fingers fumbled clumsily with the buttons on Cas' shirt.

Cas made to sit up higher, but Dean grabbed him by the tie to pull him back down. He rolled his tongue along the roof of Cas' mouth hungrily and the angel purred deliciously, making Dean feel weak with desire. If he wasn't laying down, he would have fallen to the ground as his legs felt like jelly. He finished the last button, revealing Cas' skin and his swollen stomach. He brushed his fingers over the bulge, making Cas shudder.

Cas broke their kiss so he could pant out into Dean's ear. "Dean, I love you."

"I know, babe." Dean shook his head amusedly as Cas began undoing his own belt. He unbuckled it and undid the zipper while Dean planted soft kisses on his belly and then-

"Dean!" Sam banged on the door. "There's a Dr. Sexy marathon on. And Bobby's making lunch." Instead of waiting for a response, he burst through the door.

"Dean, did you hear me?" Sam said, stepping through the doorway and regretting it right away. Dean was laying on the bed shirtless while Cas straddled his waist, half naked as well. Dean was pulling Cas' trousers down, grinning, and then he saw Sam.

"Shit!" he cursed, grabbing for the blankets, but they were underneath him.

Sam quickly stepped backward, closing the door. "Sorry!" he said hastily and they heard him practically running down the hallway.

Dean let his head fall back on the pillow, abandoning his attempt to hide them under the cover of a sheet. He closed his eyes for a minute, feeling like Sam was still watching them.

"Crap." He looked accusingly at Cas. "I told you. Now he's going be complaining that we should have hung up a sign or something."

Dean grabbed for his shirt, but Cas stopped him. "Dean, please. We haven't had intercourse since the conception. I need you." the angel pleaded.

"What is wrong with you? Are you sure you're not going through another heat?" Dean shook his head in disbelief. "If I can do without, then so can you." he pulled his shirt on. "C'mon. Let's go down."

Cas narrowed his eyes at Dean, and folded his arms over his chest. He refused to get off Dean and the hunter looked exasperated.

"Is this another one of these mood swings?" Dean questioned, trying to keep his tone neutral. If it was, he didn't want to piss Cas off.

Cas' eyes began tearing up as he spoke. "I just want to be with you. We're never alone. Sam's always with us."

Dean regarded his mate with curiosity as he started crying. Yeah this was definitely one of the wacky mood swings. From comforting to horny to angry to crying..yeah definitely.

Dean touched Cas' chin gently. "Alright. Get off me for a minute, though." He held Cas' arm to keep him steady while he climbed off and stood up. Picking up Cas' coat off the bed, Dean threw it over his shoulders before kissing his tears away. "Can you take us outside to the car?"

Cas nodded, reaching for Dean's hand and suddenly they were outside next to the Impala. Dean pulled the keys out of his pocket and got into the car while Cas got into the passenger seat. He turned the keys in the ignition and the car roared to life. Spinning the wheel, he sped through the junkyard and out the front gate.

"Where are we going?" Cas asked curiously, a few stray tears still shining on his cheeks.

"Somewhere where we can be alone."

They drove in silence for a few minutes until Dean pulled over to the side of the road, parking in a weedy field under a huge oak tree. He held his seat back so Cas could climb into the back seat, following him after he was settled. Dean took his shirt off as Cas shrugged off his coat.

"Are you cold? Do you want me to turn on the heat?"

Cas gave Dean a wicked smile. "No. It'll be hot enough in here in a few minutes."

Dean blinked at the sudden change in attitude. "You're a little whore aren't you?"

"I will be." Cas pushed Dean down and climbed on top of him. Licking Dean's neck, Cas pressed himself into Dean begging for more. "I need you, Dean. Please."

As Dean undid his belt and zipper, Cas whispered seriously, "Thank you."

"Anytime, babe. Just let me know. Whatever you want, I'll do anything. Even if you want to just hang out and watch TV, I'll kick Sam out for a while. I didn't know that's how you felt."

Cas nodded. "Now you know. I don't mind Sam but sometimes I just want to be with you."

Dean groaned suddenly. "Listen to us. We sound like a couple of chicks complaining. How about we just get on to the good stuff and no more talking?"

"Fine with me." Cas whimpered as Dean dipped his head to kiss the skin right above Cas' pants.

"Then get those pants off, Cas." Castiel smiled and did as he was told so they could get to the 'good stuff'.

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Dean leaned against the door, his legs stretched out on the seat. Cas was laying on his chest, his arms around the hunter's waist. Dean stroked Cas' hair slowly. It was starting to get dark outside now, and Dean knew they should get home before the others started freaking out. Unless Sam told them what was actually going on.

"You feel better?" Dean asked.

"Yes." Cas brought his lips up to meet Dean's. "Can we do it again soon?"

Dean sighed contentedly. "I didn't think this day would ever come. Someone is actually begging me to have sex with them without us having a few drinks and flirting first. It's amazing."

"Well, I love you. Unlike the other sluts you went out with." Cas snapped. Rolling his eyes, Dean kissed Cas' forehead and rubbed his back soothingly. "Calm down, Romeo. You really need to chill. These mood swings are freaking me out. You sure they're normal?"

"This is not a mood swing." Cas said angrily, pushing away from Dean and sitting up. "This is about all those girls."

Dean rubbed his eyes wearily. "Cas, you need to relax. You're acting like a jealous wife who just found her husband cheating. I love you."

"You say you do but when I want to spend some time with you, you always bring up Sam or a hunt-"

Dean grabbed Cas and pulled him close, kissing him to shut him up. "C'mon. I'm going to get you home."

He climbed into the front seat, helping Cas over as well. Starting the car up, he glanced over at Castiel, who was looking guilty now.

"I'm sorry, Dean. I think it is the mood swings." he admitted.

"Don't worry about it." Dean reached over to button Cas' coat up, covering his bare chest. "You cold? I'll put the heat on."

Cas smiled as Dean turned the heat up high and then moved his hand over to entwine his fingers with Cas'. "Let's go home, huh?"

They sped down the darkening road turning into the driveway of Singer's Salvage Yard. Dean parked the Impala in front of the house. Helping Castiel out of the car, Dean glanced up at the bedroom window.

"Hey Cas, you wanna zap us back inside?" before Dean had even gotten all the words out of his mouth, he was looking at the bedroom wall instead of a rusted Camaro. "Great. You want to go eat something?"

"Yes. I am quite hungry." Cas pulled his coat off and replaced it with his shirt and jacket, Dean helping him to button them up.

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Sam was still sitting in front of the TV, and the door to Bobby's study was still closed. They probably ate lunch and went back to work. Sam looked around when his brother and Castiel came in.

"Food's in the kitchen." he grinned at Dean maliciously. "I guess you took my advice, huh? Although I'd rather you had done it in one of the cars outside-"

Dean slapped Sam on the back of the head as he passed by. "Shut up, bitch."

"Talk and sex. " Sam chuckled. "Did you have fun, Dean?"

"We were talking about how obnoxious you are. And yeah, I did have fun." he grabbed Cas' hand and pulled him into the kitchen before Sam could say anything else.

There were a few pots on the stove containing what smelled like soup. Lifting a lid and taking a peek, Dean saw his assumptions were correct. He grabbed a bowl and filled it for Cas, who had sat down at the table.

"Here." Dean placed the bowl carefully in front of him before getting one for himself. Before he could bring a spoonful of soup up to his lips, a shrill shriek interrupted him and he thought a monster was attacking when Amber cam flying in. She squealed again.

"We found War!"

"Really?" Dean asked excitedly as Bobby came up behind Amber.

"Yeah." Bobby confirmed Amber's outburst. "A city in Colorado. River Pass. There's been strange stories about it. The people have been murdering each other, children fighting parents, friends fighting friends, for no apparent reasons. There's been about ten deaths already. For some weird reason there's been no police action. It's like they're off the cop radar or something."

"Great! Let's go!" Dean jumped up, ready to shoot out the door, but Bobby held up a hand. "Why don't we get a good night's rest, and leave early tomorrow morning?"

"We?" Dean raised his eyebrows. "You're coming with us, Bobby?"

"Yeah. You boys are gonna need help, and what am I doing here?" Bobby said. "So we'll get ready, and leave tomorrow, okay?"

Dean nodded, if a bit grudgingly, but he knew Bobby was right. They needed to be ready and on their guard.

"I'll go tell Sam!" Amber said, racing for the sitting room. Bobby chuckled at her enthusiasm. "I don't know how you found that girl, but she's got so much energy she makes me tired just watching her. She's a good one to have around."

"Yeah." Dean smiled. Even though he didn't like Amber much at first, she was quickly growing on him. Apparently Sam too, by the way he looked at her.

"Right then. I'm gonna see if I can dig up any more lore on War." Grabbing a beer before leaving the room, Bobby exchanged a look with Dean. "Just get ready, Dean."

"I liked staying here." Cas said quietly from his seat, and Dean glanced around. He sat next to Cas and said softly, "I know. Do you want to stay here while we go? It'll be safer and if you need anything, you can call us."

Cas shook his head. "No, I can't sit here while you face War. I need to come and help."

"I don't want you to get hurt, Cas." Dean moved his hand to rest on Cas' belly. "If it gets really bad, will you stay somewhere safe? Please promise me, Cas."

Cas' blue eyes met Dean's and he tilted his head."I can't do that, Dean. If you and the others are in danger-"

"I don't want a repeat of Pestilence." Dean interrupted. Cas could have died from that sickness, and there would have been nothing Dean could do. Germ warfare was a whole different thing then killing a demon.

Cas gave Dean a quick kiss. "Don't worry. I will be safe; I will keep my guard up. I want to do this, Dean. We will be one step closer to our new life."

The baby suddenly kicked, and Dean's eyes lit up as Cas laughed. "Do you see? The baby can't wait. Neither can I." Cas hugged Dean, resting his head on Dean's shoulder. Dean rubbed Cas' belly, hoping that the baby could wait, at least until they actually defeated Lucifer.

A sudden image of Cas going into labor while they were fighting Lucifer popped into his head and he shuddered. That was the last thing they needed. But at least they found one of the last two Horsemen. Cas was right. One step closer to their new life.

Yes! They're on the trail of another ring!